The elevator doors opened. Who came out surprised the pair. It was Palmer, and his partner was a kid a little less than Jackson's age, with fluffy hair the same color as Palmer's, along with the same-colored eyes. He wore an orange and white-striped, short-sleeved shirt, a green scarf wrapped around his neck, draping down in front, black pants, brown shoes, and a brown bag with the shoulder strap wrapped around the opposite shoulder.
"Alright! These are our opponents?" the boy asked.
"We're already facing you?!" Jackson gasped, as he and Jasmine were surprised. This was a fight they weren't expecting today.
"This is your twenty-first match. Therefore, it's my duty as the Tower Tycoon, I am obliged to challenge you to a battle." Palmer explained, "And since it is a Tag Team battle, I decided to bring my son, Barry, here."
"Yo, I'm Barry!" the boy greeted, "I came all the way from the Sinnoh region in order to be with my dad today! I told him if he didn't let me join him in his first Tag-Team battle today, I was gonna fine him!"
"Yeah, yeah. I did promise him that he could join me." Palmer sighed.
"It's nice to meet you, Barry. I'm the gym leader of Olivine City, Jasmine." the gym leader greeted, "Sinnoh, huh? I was actually interested in that region, especially the Pokémon Contests they hold there."
"The gym leader? Ha!" Barry laughed, "I have gained all eight of my badges across the Sinnoh region. I plan to take on the Sinnoh League once I am done here!"
"As you can see, my son is quite impatient." Palmer told the pair, "I'm hoping challenging strong opponents will allow him to see how big the world really is."
"Aw, c'mon, dad!" Barry exclaimed, "It took me ages to get this strong! And I'm gonna prove it by fighting alongside you!" he pulled out a Pokéball, prepared for battle.
Palmer sighed, before glaring at the two, "Well, just because I wanna teach my son a lesson doesn't mean I'll hold back. I'll give you all I got!"
Jackson sighed as he muttered, "Brings back memories... Well, I bet everyone was cocky once or twice in their lives."
"It's those trainers that I'd like to show how wrong they are to be that way." Jasmine noted, smirking as she readied her Pokéball for a battle, as did Jackson.
(Insert 'STAND UP' by Twill (full version))
Music Intro
(Traveling through shining golden tunnel of energy, leading out into space with many world, all of which different colors, with the central world being the Pokémon world. The logo 'Jackson in Johto' appears on screen, before the camera passes through the arch of the 'n' from 'in, going into the world, through the clouds, where the glowing shadow of Ho-Oh can be seen, to the sea, where the shadow of Lugia is flying beneath the waters, before reaching the shoreline, getting blinded by the sun.)
Yeah, stand up boys!
Come on, face forward
(Jackson stands up, with Quilava at his side, followed by Dewott, Weavile, and Scyther, all of which expressing their unique personalities to Jackson.)
The call enveloping you is your guide
Step towards tomorrow
(Dewott gets angry at Weavile for trying to act so cool, while Jackson rolls his eyes before he, Quilava and Scyther took off ahead, with Weavile following behind, ignoring Dewott, who panicked and ran to not be left behind.)
Yeah, stand up girls!
At the end of what's more than real
(Leafeon rises up with Lyanne as Jackson and the boys pass by. The two look to one another, before giggling at the sight of the boys, before looking to the sky.)
We'll grab a light that's been covered by thick clouds
(Camera goes up into the starry sky, where a ball of light was slowly falling down, with the image of Gardevoir inside, her eyes slowly opening up as she looked up.)
How we spend our days before isn't good enough
(Camera passes by still images of all the companions and gym leaders that he has met or will meet in the future, including Cypher at the end of the pictures, while Jackson, Lyanne, Leafeon, and the rest of his current team walked along the bottom of the screen.)
At full speed
We can blast through
Even the highest wall
(Team Rocket suddenly appears, with the four admins of Team Rocket standing together, with the images of their ace Pokémon at their side, and the satellite system right above them.)
Stand up for your dream!
(Jackson draws his sword, while Lyanne turns into her Latias form, and the rest of his team ready to fight together.)
Be enthusiastic at what you do, no matter what it is
(Jackson rushes forward as he slashes his blade against Team Rocket grunts, followed by a spin kick, sending them flying, while Leafeon leaps up and unleashes a forward somersault Leaf Blade, taking out their Pokémon.)
Push your way through to make an opening
(Weavile unleashes an Ice Punch as Dewott throws a Water Pulse at a different direction, followed by the pair unleashing simultaneous Night Slashes. Quilava leaps through their attack, going into a Flame Charge.)
No matter how far
The answer you're seeking is
Stand up for your dream!
(Scyther flies in, unleashing an X-Scissor, followed by a Vacuum Wave, before Latias flies above him, unleashing a Mist Ball, sending it ahead. The attacks all created an explosion that consumed the scene in smoke.)
Even if my feeling show weakness
Your voice that I hear close by
(In the burning Ecruteak City, a serious Jackson raced along the path with Leafeon and Quilava at his side, towards the two towers, where a deranged Ho-Oh and Lugia were at, unleashing Aeroblast and Sacred Fire onto the city.)
Gives me courage and strength
I can go the distance
(Jackson leaps high, landing on Latias's back as they flew off, with the rest of the team leaping with him before encased in a stream of their signature colors, before the screen turn white, with a crystal blue Pokéball with a gold and silver sword crossing behind it the only thing remaining.)
Down below, a crowd was gathering around the waiting room where Lyanne and the rest of Jackson's Pokémon were at, excited to see this battle take place.
"Guess this battle is a big deal, huh?" Quilava stated, looking at the crowd.
"I think Jasmine said this was the head of the place." Lyanne whispered quietly to the other three, "So this is probably a big deal."
"I hope sensei is able to overcome this very large and difficult obstacle." Scyther muttered.
"Leafeon and Dewott will do well." Weavile told them, "I believe they can win."
Scyther and Quilava looked to him, with the latter saying, "I'm surprised you are supporting Dewott, all things considered."
"He doesn't like me. Since when did I say the feeling was mutual?" Weavile asked, "I tolerate his attitude, but I don't dislike him."
"Wow. Unexpected." Scyther muttered.
"This battle between Tower Tycoon Palmer and Barry, versus Olivine Gym Leader Jasmine and Jackson will now begin!" The referee announced, "Same rules apply as before. If all trainers are ready, then ready your Pokémon for battle to begin!"
"Torterra, it's go time!" Barry shouted, throwing his ball, and out came a large tortoise Pokémon with a sort of landscape on top of its shell.
"Milotic, come forth!" Palmer shouted, throwing a ball, and out came a beautiful sea serpent Pokémon with red 'readlocks', and a blue tail that looked almost like peacock feathers.
"Those look powerful." Jasmine muttered.
"And very different from one another." Jackson noted, pulling out his dex to examine each Pokémon. "Torterra. The Continent Pokemon, and the evolved form of Grotle. Ancient people believe that beneath the ground, a gigantic Torterra dwells. Small Pokémon occasionally gather on its unmoving back to begin building their nests."
"Milotic. The Tender Pokemon, and the evolved form of Feebas. Milotic live at the bottom of large lakes. When this Pokémon's body glows a vivid pink, it releases a pulsing wave of energy that brings soothing calm to troubled hearts."
"Okay, let's do it, Leafeon." Jackson told his partner, who bounded forward, ready for battle.
"Magneton, here we go!" Jasmine called out her partner to battle, floating above Leafeon.
"Leafeon, Sunny Day!" Jackson called out, and his Leafeon shot sunny energy into the air onto the field.
"Torterra, use Bulldoze on Magneton!" Barry shouted. Torterra raised its front feet, slamming it onto the ground as it created an orange shockwave that went towards Magneton.
"Fly upwards!" "Hit the ground with Leaf Blade!" Jasmine and Jackson shouted, respectively. Magneton flew up to a safe distance from the shockwave. At the same time, Leafeon leapt into the line of the attack, and countered the Bulldoze with a hammering Leaf Blade. It did cause an eruption, but it made Jackson's Pokémon fly backwards from the shockwaves, landing on her feet afterwards.
"Milotic, Ice Beam on Leafeon!" Palmer shouted, and his partner unleashed a beam of freezing energy towards her target.
"Counter with Solarbeam!" Jackson retaliated, and Leafeon unleashed a blast of solar energy that shot to meet and counter the freezing attack, canceling them out with an explosion.
"Magneton, Thunderbolt!" Jasmine called out, and her partner shot a bolt of electricity that went towards Milotic.
"Protect!" Palmer called out. Milotic suddenly summoned up a barrier to block the attack from hitting her.
Magneton flew down next to Leafeon as they looked through the smoke made by the colliding attacks, only to see Torterra suddenly appear in front of them, scaring them. "Wood Hammer!" Barry shouted. The tree on his partner's back glowed as it swung its body, striking both Magneton and Leafeon with it, sending them flying in pain.
"That Torterra is quite nimble!" Jasmine muttered, "I didn't even have a chance to retaliate!"
"That's cause my Torterra has the Quick Claw item on it." Barry noted, causing his pair of opponents to examine, finally seeing the small claw underneath the Pokémon's neck, "It's able to make him move fast on occasions."
"Darn it. I forgot about held items." Jackson grimaced, "Well, it doesn't matter. Leafeon, you good?"
"Yeah. Didn't hurt that much." she replied, getting to her feet.
"Milotic, use Hydro Pump!" Palmer shouted. Milotic inhaled before expunging a deluge of water from its mouth, aiming to the pair.
"Cut it with Leaf Blade!" Jackson shouted, and Leafeon leapt towards the attack, her tail glowing as she countered the powerful Water-type move with her own.
"Torterra, Crunch on Leafeon!" Barry ordered, and his partner came in close, its fangs glowing as it summoned an energy variant in front of it.
"Stop him with Metal Sound!" Jasmine ordered. Magneton unleashed a wave that sounded like constant scraping metal, the shockwave focusing on Torterra as it stopped and screamed in pain, its Special Defenses weakening.
"Can't dodge this. Solarbeam!" Jackson shouted.
"You're wide open!" Leafeon called out, unleashing a blast of solar energy point blank that sent Torterra flying, scraping along one side from the insane damage it took.
"You gotta pull yourself together!" Barry ordered, "Synthesis, now!" Torterra struggled back onto its feet as it took in the sun from Leafeon's Sunny Day, and recovered quite a bit from it, nearly recovering to full strength.
"Crap! Looks like my advantage became his, too!" Jackson grimaced, looking up at the sun, "Though if my timing is right, it's about to die soon. Leafeon might be able to fire one more Solarbeam quickly."
"Then let's make the most of it, then." Jasmine told him, "Have any plans?"
"Yeah..." he replied, whispering the plan over to Jasmine. She smiled after he finished, pulling away as she stated, "Good idea. That'll weaken them."
"Careful, Barry. Looks like they have a plan cooking up." Palmer stated.
"Yeah, I know!" Barry noticed, "Doesn't matter. I'll be sure to crush them! Torterra, Crunch!" Torterra charged at the pair of opponents with glowing fangs.
"Leafeon, dodge and charge ahead!" Jackson called out. Leafeon used her Chlorophyll to evade the attack as he snapped his jaws at her. Before going towards Milotic. "Now, fire a Solarbeam!" he called out.
"Use Flash Cannon on Torterra!" Jasmine called out, and her partner fired of an energy beam from its magnets, blasting Torterra while its guard was down, causing an explosion.
"Protect!" Palmer shouted, and Milotic created a barrier to block the attack. "Sorry, but that won't be enough." he told Jackson, before seeing the sunlight die down, "And now, your window of opportunity is gone. Use Muddy Water!" Milotic's eyes glowed as it summoned a wave of murky water, rising up like a tidal wave before coming down on Leafeon, causing her to be swept away from the attack. As she was carried off, though, Magneton appeared above the wave, its sights set on Milotic.
"Thunder Wave!" Jasmine called out, and Magneton unleashed a wave of electrical rings that struck Milotic, causing her to be paralyzed.
"Well, I'll be damn." Palmer smirked.
"Leafeon, leap out and use Leaf Blade on Torterra!" Jackson called out. Leafeon jumped out of Milotic's attack, her body muddy, including a bit that covered one eye, but she had enough eyesight and focus to see Torterra enduring the Muddy Water that passed underneath him, before she gave a drop on him with a glowing tail, slamming hard on his head.
As Torterra collapsed under the pressure, Leafeon focused herself, and felt her tail as it started to glow a metallic glow for a moment. The sight didn't go unnoticed by Jasmine, as Leafeon bounced off, landing a good distance from her trainer and his partner.
"Jackson...did I just see Leafeon attempt an Iron Tail?" she asked.
"Yeah. We were watching Steelix do it, so we thought we could do the same thing." Jackson noted, "Still not completely there, though."
"I'm impressed, though. To think you are starting to learn it from just observation alone." Jasmine commended.
"Gah! This does not feel nice." Leafeon grimaced, wiping her forepaw on her face.
"Leafeon, come back!" Jackson called out, "Get yourself cleaned up for a moment." Leafeon did what she was told and came back to Jackson's side as he pulled out a ball. "Dewott, it's time to blade things up a notch!" he called out his Water-type to the field, who had his scalchops already on hand.
"I could feel how tense this fight is gonna be, so let me in on it!" he declared as Magneton floated above him.
"Looks like they gave us the ol' bait-and switch'." Palmer smirked.
"Aw, man, no fair! They deserve a fine for that!" Barry exclaimed, "Torterra, heal yourself up with Synthesis!" Torterra's body glowed as it started to heal itself, albeit not as strongly as it did with the sun out.
"Dewott, better prepare yourself. Swords Dance!" Jackson called out. Dewott crossed his arms as he summoned energy blades around him, improving his attack strength.
"Ha! It doesn't matter!" Barry proclaimed, "My partner's got an advantage against you! Use Wood Hammer!" Torterra's tree glowed as it was ready to swing it at Dewott.
"Metal Sound!" Jasmine called out, and her partner unleashed a screeching wave once more that made the Continent Pokémon stop in its tracks, agonized by the pain.
"That's enough out of you. Hydro Pump!" Palmer shouted. Milotic was able to push through the paralysis as it unleashed a blast of water that struck Magneton head-on, sending it careening from the sky, falling to the ground with a hard thud at Jasmine's feet, defeated.
"Magneton is unable to battle!" the referee announced.
Jackson was startled, as Jasmine called to Jackson, "Don't let this opportunity be missed!"
"R-Right!" Jackson replied, taking the moment given to him by Magneton as he called out, "Dewott, Night Slash, and dance with blades!"
"Oh, yeah!" Dewott declared, summoning purple energy blades from his scalchops. He then dove at Torterra, unleashing the flowing moves of a swordsman onto its head, feet, and sides, before ending with one final cross-slash that had so much force, it was knocked into the air, before crashing in front of Milotic, where it stayed, unable to continue.
"No way!" Barry exclaimed, as the referee called out, "Torterra is unable to battle!"
Jackson took the time to look to Jasmine, who gave Magneton a pat on its body. "You fought really well out there, Magneton. You deserve a good rest." she told them, "I'll give you a wipe down when we're done here."
"Th-thank you..." the monotonous-voiced Pokémon replied for Jackson to hear.
"Thanks for covering Dewott, Leafeon, and I." Jackson told it, "You were an amazing ally to fight alongside. I can't wait for us to battle against each other later on."
"It was fun, too. I look forward to it..." the Electric/Steel-type replied, as Jasmine placed it in its ball.
Down below, Lyanne and Jackson's Pokémon watched this take place, surprised. The crowd was getting bigger as the battle became more tense.
'This is incredible!" Lyanne thought to herself, while Jackson's Pokémon were cheering for Dewott and Magneton's efforts, "I have seen Pokemon battles before, but this is on a whole different level to what I am use to between trainers. So much strategy, power, and heart placed into one fight. Being a Pokémon myself, I just can't take my eyes off what is going on!'
Meanwhile, someone came in, having already lost his match against someone in this tower. Unbeknownst to Lyanne and the others, it was none other than Cypher. He was grimacing at his loss, turning around to look at the screen to see who the crowd was cheering for. He saw who it was and raised his eyebrows in surprise.
"It's that guy again?" he questioned, "How the hell does he have a chance to take on Palmer. Even that soft-hearted gym leader is there as his partner? And..." He noticed Barry standing next to Palmer, stamping his feet in frustration. "That kid again. Hmph! Guess that explains a lot." he scoffed, walking over to the wall, leaning against it to watch the battle take place, "If that's Palmer's partner, then I guess those two have it easy. Palmer has to make up for his mistakes."
She stood up again as she looked to see Barry put Torterra back into its ball. "So, it's one down on each side." she told Jackson.
"Yeah. Leafeon is a bit injured, while Milotic is paralyzed, but still strong." Jackson noted, "We gotta take it and whoever Barry has left."
"How did that little guy manage to beat Torterra? I had such a huge advantage!" Barry exclaimed.
"Don't judge a Pokémon based on appearance." Palmer told his son, "It seems like that Dewott is well-trained."
"Grr... I still won't lose this match!" Barry growled, "Snorlax, it's on!" He tossed out a ball, and out came a short-limbed, very obese Pokémon onto the field.
"Check out the tummy on that guy!" Dewott laughed, as Jackson pulled out his Pokédex. "Snorlax. The Sleeping Pokémon. Snorlax's typical day consists of nothing more than eating and sleeping. It is such a docile Pokémon that there are children who use its expansive belly as a place to play."
"Reminds me of sumo wrestlers." Jackson compared, recalling his time in the martial arts world, "It must be able to take attacks and then dish them out hard."
"True, but I have someone just like that, too." Jasmine noted, "Steelix, let's finish things up with a clang!" she tossed out a ball, and out came her Iron Snake Pokémon.
"I'll do what I can against Milotic." Jackson told his partner, "Water-types will have an advantage over Steelix, right?"
"Yep. I'll do what I can against Snorlax." she answered, "Steelix, use Stone Edge!"
"TAKE THIS!" Steelix roared, slamming its body onto the ground to send a row of stalagmites at Snorlax.
"Use Curse and take the hit!" Barry shouted. Snorlax's body glowed a purple hue as it took the hit from Steelix's attack, though it didn't seem badly affected by it.
"Wait, what happened?" Jackson asked, before realizing, "Oh, right! Snorlax isn't a Ghost-type, so the effect is different! It can boost its physical offense and defense at the cost of speed."
"You got it. That makes it difficult for my Steelix." Jasmine muttered.
"Milotic, use Muddy Water, once more!" Palmer shouted. Milotic slithered to Snorlax's side as it summoned another tidal wave of mud-mixed water towards the pair of Pokémon.
"Dewott, get in front of Steelix and fire a Water Pulse at it!" Jackson called out.
"Got your openin' right here!" Dewott called out, dashing to Steelix while creating a ball of compressed water. Once he got in front, he fired off the ball, hitting the wave of water. It exploded and created an opening where the water went around the pair.
"YOU HAVE MY THANKS." Steelix told him.
"You can thank me by giving it your all when we face one another later!" Dewott answered, readying to attack.
"Dewott, Razor Shell!" Jackson called out, and Dewott charged ahead, with Steelix watching. If it can smile, it would be now at the comment he made.
Dewott came at Milotic as he readied his crescent-shaped blades. "I gotcha, dad! Body Slam!" Barry called out. Dewott suddenly found itself underneath a shadow as it looked up and was stunned to see that Snorlax had jumped into the air, and was coming down at him. He reacted instantly by crossing his scalchops, bringing them upwards as the belly crashed down onto him, creating a shockwave from the impact on the ground.
"Dewott!" Jackson exclaimed, as Jasmine looked horrified.
"That looked like it hurt!" Leafeon gasped.
After a couple seconds, Jasmine shook herself straight and called out, "Steelix, Iron Tail on Snorlax!" Her partner's tail glowed as it slithered forward, and with one swing, it struck the fallen Snorlax, forcing him to move. When they looked where he was at, Dewott, was flattened. However, a second later, he was able to rise back up onto his feet, taking heavy damage from the attack, but still able to fight.
"Oh... okay..." Dewott grimaced, struggling to stay up, "We can... call it even..." He then mustered his energy as he unleashed his ability, his body glowing blue.
"Dewott's activating his Torrent ability!" Leafeon noticed.
"Milotic, Ice Beam!" Palmer wasn't wasting any time for them to recover as it shot an icy beam at Dewott, who saw it coming.
"Use Razor Shell again!" Jackson called out. Dewott readied its cutlass blades again, sharper and longer than before. However, the blades suddenly got struck by the ice, and froze up the cutlass blades.
"His blades are frozen!" Jasmine exclaimed.
"That's fine by me." Jackson answered, "Use those frozen blades on Milotic!" Dewott lunged forward with his frozen blades, and cracked them down on Milotic's body, causing her pain as they shattered, revealing the water energy within.
"Snorlax, hit Steelix with Fire Punch!" Barry shouted.
"Gyro Ball!" Jasmine responded.
Steelix made the spiked parts of his body spin as they glowed with a silver hue, blocking the fiery punch that came from Snorlax as he lunged forward, striking her. The two attacks ended up canceling each other out, as Barry gasped, "But how?"
"I've learned to deal with fire attacks like that!" Jasmine smirked.
"Dewott, Water Pulse!"
"Milotic, Hydro Pump!"
The two Water-types unleashed their attacks at the same time at point-blank range, the attack causing a geyser of an explosion that sent the two reeling from one another. Milotic was able to regain itself, but Dewott was a different story. It flew back and hit the floor as he had spirals in his eyes.
"Dewott is unable to battle!" the referee announced as Jackson and Leafeon raced to his side.
Jackson picked up Dewott as he winced, opening his eyes to Jackson. "Dang it...not again." he grimaced.
"Hey, you did what you accomplished." Jackson commended him, "You defeated Torterra, and you did some damage to Milotic."
"Yeah..." Dewott muttered, "Plus, I got a good hit in on Snorlax. See his belly?" Jackson and Leafeon looked to see that, sure enough, on Snorlax's belly, there was an ex-shaped scratch on it.
"Then I'd say you did a fantastic job out there, considering who we were up against." Jackson noted, "Now take a good rest." He put Dewott back into his ball and pocketed it.
He stood up and looked to Leafeon, who at this point already cleaned herself from the mud. "You ready to fight in his stead?" he asked her.
"Of course. In fact..." Leafeon flicked her tail, stating, "I think I finally am able to understand and use the Iron Tail attack."
"You sure?" Jackson asked.
"Yes. Just let me know when you want me to use it." she told him.
"Understood." he answered, standing up and leaving Leafeon behind as he went back to Jasmine's side.
"Jackson, are you sure you and Leafeon can pull off an Iron Tail?" the Steel-type Gym leader asked Jackson, "I'm not trying to doubt you, but I question the timing in using it in such a battle."
"In my lessons in life, I learned one thing; The best moments to improve yourself are in the heat of battle." Jackson answered, getting his serious face on as he stood there, facing his opponents.
"Can we get to the battle already? Cause Snorlax and I are ready to battle!" Barry called out, "Snorlax, Body Slam on Leafeon!" Snorlax leapt up and went into a heavy fall on Leafeon.
"Jump back!" Jackson called out, and Leafeon ran out of the way to avoid the head-on fall on Snorlax.
"Steelix, Fire Fang on Snorlax!" Jasmine called out.
"GET READY FOR THE HEAT!" Steelix bellowed.
"Use Hydro Pump on Steelix!" Palmer retaliated. Milotic inhaled to unleash her attack, only for paralysis to finally kick in, sending sparks to stop her. This left Steelix to unleash his fiery fangs onto Snorlax, causing a fiery explosion, followed by Snorlax getting hit with more flames, as his body became burnt.
"Snorlax, no!" Barry exclaimed, shocked that he was hit with a status effect.
"Jackson, let me handle Snorlax!" Jasmine repeated to the swordsman trainer.
"You got it." he answered, "Leafeon, Sunny Day, then get to Milotic!"
"Let's light it up again!" Leafeon declared, unleashing another burst of light, getting the sun to shine down onto the field. With the sun out, Leafeon's Chlorophyll made her double her speed, zipping past Snorlax as Steelix readied to fight it.
"Milotic, let's freeze her in her tracks! Ice Beam!" Palmer shouted. Milotic managed to pull herself together, inhale, and unleash a freezing beam of ice at Leafeon.
"Now's a good time as ever." Jackson muttered, "Iron Tail!" Jasmine looked startled he really was planning to do something so crazy in the middle of a match.
"Here goes nothing!" Leafeon shouted, leaping upwards. Milotic redirected her aim to Leafeon as she spun her tail, which became full-on metallic. She then brought it down onto the attack, countering it and splitting the beam in half.
"Oh?" Palmer looked impressed and amazed.
"She did it!" Jasmine gasped.
"I knew you could do it!" Jackson cheered.
Leafeon used the recoil of the colliding attacks to bounce off and spin towards Milotic. "Leaf Blade!" Jackson called out as Leafeon's body spun and she came down towards Milotic with a glowing tail.
"Watch out, dad!" Barry called out.
"Pay attention to the battle!" Jasmine called out to him, "Steelix, Iron Tail!" Barry looked to see that Steelix was ready to swing her tail, and Snorlax struggled to endure the burn it had taken.
"Milotic, Protect!" Palmer shouted. Milotic tried to form her barrier again, but her paralysis kicked in once more, and she couldn't act in time.
Simultaneously, both Leafeon and Steelix struck their tail attacks on their individual opponents. They simultaneously were reeling from the damage they took from their attacks and, as one, crashed to the ground, with spirals in their eyes.
"Snorlax and Milotic are unable to battle!" the referee announced.
"Hilt yeah!" Jackson cheered.
"We took them down!" Jasmine said excitedly, placing her hands together as she beamed.
"No way..." Barry muttered, falling into a sitting position, "I was with my dad, and with all my strength I... lost?"
Palmer closed his eyes, before leaning back and boasting in laughter. "See what I mean? No one is truly indestructible out there. Not even me!" he looked to Barry as he said, "What did I tell ya? You may have accomplished a lot before, but that doesn't mean you cannot improve even further. It's the same as me."
Barry ruffled his hair as he muttered, "Yeah, yeah. I getcha. Man, I don't feel this beaten since I fought that guy a while back. His Prinplup mopped the floor with me!"
"Every loss is a new experience, and one must take those losses with grace and understanding." Palmer stated, smiling as Jackson and Jasmine stood there, with their Pokémon in front of them, "Gym Leaders, challengers, even us Frontier Brains. We all learn from our losses, and help others learn from losing against us. That's how I became as strong as I am today."
He placed Milotic away, before pulling out a new ball and held it out. "I commend you two for teaching my son a lesson. As a courtesy, I will show you a Pokémon I only save for the strongest trainers I come across. Come forth!" He tossed out a ball, and out came a sort of large Pokémon that was a quadruped, with steel pieces on its skull, body, short legs and feet. The rest of its body looked like it was made out of magma.
"That...looks tough." Jackson muttered, already feeling the intense strength from the Pokémon, which was on par Legendaries like Latias and the Legendary Dogs.
"That's Heatran!" Jasmine exclaimed, "It is a Legendary Pokémon. One that is said to live deep within volcanoes!"
Jackson pulled out his Pokédex to examine the Pokémon. "Heatran. The Lava Dome Pokémon. It dwells in volcanic caves. It digs in with its cross-shaped feet to crawl on ceilings and walls. Boiling blood, like magma, circulates through its body. It makes its dwelling place in volcanic caves."
"A Steel and Fire-type Pokemon." Jackson muttered, seeing the type it was, looking at it, "Yeah... I don't think I have high hopes for this one."
"I should thank you for setting up the sun for me, too." Palmer told Jackson, as the flames started to emanate strongly off of Heatran, "Now you'll see how powerful we really are. Heatran, Heat Wave!" Heatran opened its mouth, and expelled seering winds that burned with flames, coming at Leafeon and Steelix, who looked frightened. Jackson and Jasmine braced themselves as the heat made them shield themselves against the oncoming attack. It was too much for them to deal with.
Moments later, the four trainers were being brought back down in the elevator to the lobby. Leafeon was draped over Jackson's shoulders, exhausted. Despite her getting healed, there were some burn marks made from the last attack that only time could heal up.
"I must say, you two were rather skilled to make it that far in fighting the two of us." Palmer told the pair, "Despite my criticisms to my son, I know him as a strong trainer, just like me. To think you would take on both of us and accomplish what you did is no easy feat."
"Even so, we still lost." Jasmine sighed, looking to Jackson, "Are you disappointed, Jackson?"
"Nah, I'm good." Jackson replied, "In fact, it was a great learning experience. It proves that I still need to keep improving."
"You're really taking your loss that easily?" Barry asked, surprised.
"Your father said it all. Losing is just another way to learn to improve yourself." Jackson reminded him, looking down to think about when he lost against Morty the first time, "It reminds us of what we must improve on, or if it's something we did know, but forgot. Either way, I'm just glad I got the chance to show what I could do, at all. You were rather amazing yourself, Barry."
"Um, thanks." he answered, "Your and your Pokémon weren't so bad yourselves."
As Palmer started to laugh as the trio discussed, Jasmine was looking to Jackson with a bit of admiration. He truly was a humble trainer, and one who cared a lot about others. He was willing to go all the way to Cianwood City to get medicine for Amphy, who he barely knew about. He was unlike any trainer she knew. She even started to blush a bit at the sight of his smiling face.
The elevator doors opened up, and they were greeted by a small crowd, all of which had seen them compete. They were giving their full approval at how great the battle was, complimenting all trainers that participated. This made Barry rather boastful, despite being the first one out in the match, while Jackson and Jasmine were appreciating at all the compliments on how far they got.
"Jackson! Leafeon!" Quilava called out, as he, Lyanne, Weavile, and Scyther came out of the crowd. "Dang, you were so close!" he grimaced, "But that volcanic menace was really tough!"
"You did an admiral job, sensei." Scyther commended his efforts.
"You, Leafeon, and Dewott." Weavile included.
"Thanks guys." Jackson thanked his team, before looking to Lyanne, who did a double fist pump with her arms, showing her excitement at such an amazing battle. "You enjoyed it, too?" he asked, "Glad to hear." Seeing that, Jasmine puffed her cheeks slightly, a bit jealous.
As the crowd started to part from them, Jackson smile faded as he suddenly saw none other than Cypher standing there, holding back until the crowd cleared, frowning at him. "Why are so many people so excited over the fact you epically lost against Palmer?" he asked, "Everyone's gone crazy."
"Cypher." Jackson glared back at him.
"Who is he?" Jasmine asked, while Lyanne went next to Jackson, getting bad vibes about him.
"I remember you!" Barry exclaimed, "You were that guy with the Prinplup who beat me a while back!"
"Don't remember you." Cypher bluntly answered, getting a look from Barry like he was stomped in the face, "Must've been such a weak fight, I didn't bother remembering. By the looks of it, some things never change."
"Why you little...!" Barry scowled through gritted teeth, very irritated about his attitude.
"You watched our fight, I guess?" Jackson asked, as Leafeon found the strength to stand up on Jackson's shoulders and glare at him.
"I wanted to see what the hubbub was. To think you of all people managed to take on the Tower Tycoon." he stated, looking to Palmer, who remained stone-faced at him, "Based on what I saw, it must've been a fluke you made it that far."
Jackson, irritated that he was acting like Jasmine didn't even exist in this situation, stated, "It was only due to the faith I had in my Pokémon, as well as my teammate. We managed to work together to make it that far, and we did a good job, all things considered."
"But you still lost." Cypher rebutted, "You couldn't beat his Heatran, and you lost pretty epically from that."
"Like you could do better!" Jackson argued, hating his condescending attitude, "Did you take on the Battle Tower yet?"
"I did." Cypher replied, waving the statement away, "I gained valuable experience by beating all of my opponents, till one person got lucky."
"So, you failed to succeed to beating enough to fight me." Palmer understood, "Did you learn from your loss?"
"I learned my Pokémon are still weak." Cypher scoffed, "I was fine, but they were just not strong enough."
"As usual, you blame everything on your Pokémon." Jackson sighed, "You are the most stubborn person I have ever met."
"Considering you spout that nonsense on friendship and faith in your Pokémon, I could say the same about you." the red head replied, pointing at him, "I don't acknowledge you as being stronger than me. And by the looks of your team, I'd say I'm right. The next time we meet, I will be sure to prove that." With that last threat, he turned and walked away, exiting the place.
"What's that guy's deal?" Barry asked, looking confused.
"He never even bothered to notice me or Jasmine here." Lyanne whispered to Jackson.
"Yeah. All he had eyes for were me and Palmer." Jackson muttered, glaring at where he went to.
"That proves he think of you as a true rival." Palmer replied, getting the attention of the others, "I've seen my fair share of people like him. Folks who only acknowledge the strong because they are hurdles to get over, leaving them behind. Jackson, the reason he was trying to put you down is because he sees you as one of these hurdles. Your ideals and his clash greatly."
"Then it's my job to show him how I think is right." Jackson replied, turning to Jasmine, "And I will continue to prove that by taking on the Olivine City gym, and winning my sixth badge."
Jasmine smiled confidently as she replied, "I know you can prove it to him, and I do thank you for helping me out today in the Battle Tower, so I will reward you at a later date. But don't think that means I will go easy on you in our Gym Battle."
"That's how I like it." Jackson replied, "I'll take you on tomorrow, okay?"
"Deal." Jasmine replied, and the two clasped hands, ready to take each other on.