Jackson's current team:
Leafeon: Iron Tail, Sunny Day, Leaf Blade, Solarbeam
Weavile: Icy Wind, Metal Claw, Ice Punch, Night Slash
Dewott: Night Slash, Swords Dance, Razor Shell, Water Pulse
Quilava: Quick Attack, Swift, Flamethrower, Flame Wheel
Scyther: Slash, Vacuum Wave, Agility, X-Scissor
Olivine City, Jasmine's House
It was early morning. The gym leader of Olivine City, Jasmine, was outside her house. Her Pokémon, Magneton, Foretress, and Steelix, were out of their balls. Jasmine had a cloth with special cleaner as she was rubbing down Steelix's body.
"There you go. Nice and clean." Jasmine told her partner, who gave a soft roar in response to her content. "That should be everyone." she muttered to herself, "Now, let's show Jackson our cold, hard, and sharp steel with a clang today!" Her three Pokémon gave their cries in response, before she returned them to their Pokéballs.
She pocketed the balls before looking up into the sky. She thought about the battle that was about to take place. She paused as she recalled the first time she met Jackson during the Tentacruel incident. She thought of his selfless yet forward-thinking personality. How he ended up making it to Cianwood City to get Amphy the medicine she needed to recover, to coming back and participating with her in the Battle Tower. Spending all that time with him, she couldn't help but feel a little enamored at how great of a guy he was.
"That Jackson..." Jasmine muttered, blushing as she looked down again, "He is quite a person. How is it he is able to stir my heart unlike other trainers?" She then thought about Lyanne and got a little irritated as she asked, "And why am I suspicious of her? I know he said they were recent friends, but..."
Jasmine blushed horribly, muttering to herself, "Geez, I don't get it! Am I really falling in love with Jackson?! But...he's younger than me, right? I mean, does it really matter?"
She then realized something, and shook her head, smacking her cheeks afterwards, then told herself, "What am I going on about?! I'm the Olivine Gym Leader! The steel-hearted gym leader who fights with a clang. Besides, Jackson wanted to earn his gym badge, so I have to literally steel myself for the match! Besides..." She dug into her pocket, and pulled out a metallic case, looking at it as she said, "I'll give this to him and his Scyther after the match. That'll be the surprise I'll give him." She went back into her house to prepare herself to go to her gym, which was right next door.
(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.)
Jackson, Leafeon and Lyanne left the Pokémon Center, making their way to the gym at the upper part of the city. "You have a plan to defeating Jasmine?" Lyanne asked, "You were thinking quite a bit last night."
"Well, I was planning around how to take her on." Jackson answered, "Magneton and Steelix are the two I got a front row seat on how they fight. Considering how tough the battles were, I believe she wasn't holding back anything from me. The only thing I don't know is her last Pokémon."
"You could've gone around the Center to see if someone knew about the final Pokémon." Leafeon argued, "You did that with all other gym battles beforehand."
"Well, I could, but I'd rather be surprised." Jackson answered, "I kinda feel cheated into knowing how Steelix and Magneton fight, anyway."
"I can't understand you, Jackson." Leafeon sighed, "You try to understand your opponents, but then you decide not to for this one."
"Leafeon, that was learning about an opponent before I even see their Pokémon battle." Jackson argued, I got to see two of Jasmine's Pokémon fight. Because of that, I gotta be fair."
"You keep me guessing how you do things, Jackson." Leafeon noted.
Lyanne watched the two argue, before letting out a giggle, causing the pair to look to her. "Sorry. It's just that I can easily see how close you two are when you talk like that."
"Well, Leafeon is my first Pokémon." Jackson argued, "And we have been through all sorts of physical and emotional ordeals together." The verdant Pokémon nodded in agreement.
"I see." Lyanne understood, "It's no wonder."
The trio made it to the gym and walked into the building. As soon as they entered, which was a more metallic-like room, Jackson called out, "I am Jackson Alpphire of Ecruteak City! I am here to challenge the gym!"
Just then, Jasmine appeared from a hallway nearby, smiling as she looked to the trio. "Glad to see you made it early. I welcome you officially to the Olivine City Gym. I'll lead you to the battlefield." She guided Jackson and the girls through the hallway, making their way to the battlefield, which was a rocky field with some boulders placed here and there. There, a female referee was there, waiting for them.
"Lady Jasmine, I could've gone and gathered them for you." the referee informed her.
"Thank you, but I wanted to get them personally. After all, he was my partner during the Battle Tower." Jasmine walked to one side of the field as Jackson and Leafeon went to another side. Lyanne walked to the sidelines, where a bench was for watchers to sit at to see the battle.
'Fire, Fighting, and Ground-types are the notable weaknesses of Steel-types.' Jackson told himself as he readied himself for the match to start, 'Quilava is an obvious choice, but for the other two, I had to think hard about who to choose. I chose one, but it's a risky one, especially since I am saving Quilava for when its necessary.'
"The Olivine City Gym Battle will now commence!" The referee announced, "The battle will be between Gym Leader Lady Jasmine versus Jackson Alpphire of Ecruteak City. Each train will be allowed three Pokémon. The battle will be decided when one or both sides are unable to continue. In addition, only the challenger is allowed to switch in their Pokémon during the battle. Are both trainers ready?"
"Ready to blade things up a notch!" Jackson declared, pulling out his sword and stabbing it into the ground in front of him.
"Your steel against mine." Jasmine noted, "Let's see whose is sturdier and sharper!"
'I am getting anxious.' Lyanne told herself, 'They were partners just yesterday, and now they're opponents. How will that affect their battle.'
"Let the match begin!" the referee declared, raising her hand.
"I'm sure you're familiar with this one. Magneton, go!" She tossed out a ball, and out came the Magnet Pokémon Jackson was familiar with.
"I was afraid of that." Jackson muttered, "Guess I'll go with the risky choice off the bat." He pulled out his Park Ball and shouted, "Go, Scyther!" He tossed out the ball, and out came his Mantis Pokémon. This surprised everyone else on the scene.
"That's unusual. Why would you deliberately use a Flying-type against my Electric-type Magneton?" Jasmine asked, "I am curious as to what your plan is."
"Just wait and see." Jackson told her, "Scyther, let's get fast. Agility!" Scyther flew towards Magneton, its body glowing as it gained great speeds towards Magneton, dashing about it.
"Slow it down with Thunder Wave!" Jasmine ordered, and Magneton shot a wave of electric rings at Scyther.
"Dodge and fly up at it!" Jackson called out.
"Right, sensei!" Scyther answered, flying up to evade the rings that came at him. Using his wings, he managed to stay airborne, getting a bit above Magneton's floating position.
"Vacuum Wave!" Jackson ordered, and Scyther gathered up energy before firing it from his scythes at Magneton, blasting it backward towards the ground. It managed to catch itself before it hit the rocks, flying back up.
"I see. That's why you used Scyther." Jasmine understood, "Using a Fighting-type move like Vacuum Wave against it while also having an airborne advantage is rather clever thinking."
"When the chances are stacked against you, you take all that you know you can do, and create a way around the odds." Jackson explained, "My masters taught me that lesson."
"Interesting. Let's see how I can break it!" Jasmine answered in response, "Use Metal Sound!" Magneton turned to Scyther's direction and fired off a sonic wave sounding like grinding steel, hitting Scyther. It made him cry out in pain as he fell from the sky, trying to cover his ears. "Gotcha. Thunder Wave!" Jasmine called out.
"Fly forward!" Jackson shouted. Scyther heard Jackson's voice barely, and flapped his wings as he was falling back-first to the ground, causing him to fly away as a stream of electric rings barely hit him. The flying was not graceful, and he toppled to the ground immediately after avoiding the attack.
"Too close." Leafeon sighed in relief.
"No kidding." Jackson stated as Scyther scrambled to his feet, but not before hearing Jasmine shout, "Thunderbolt!" They looked to see Magneton shoot out electricity at Scyther. "X-Scissor!" Jackson called out.
"Right!" Scyther answered, unleashing glowing blades with a cross-slash to counter the electricity. The energy was able to hold it back, but there was a static explosion, and the Flying/Bug-type was flown back in pain.
"Scyther, return!" Jackson called out, returning Scyther back into his Pokéball, "Well, that was a bit tough." he told himself, "Better think of a way around that... Okay." He turned to Leafeon and asked, "Mind if you step in and help?"
"Understood." she answered, leaping onto the field to fight.
"He plans to use Leafeon next?" Lyanne asked, "What does he have planned?"
"Since we fought together, I am familiar with what Leafeon can do." Jasmine pointed out.
"Then you know what I have planned. Sunny Day!" Leafeon responded to Jackson's orders by shooting sunlight into the sky, making sunight hit the field. "Now, Solarbeam!" Jackson called out, and Leafeon charged and shot a beam at Magneton.
"Flash Cannon!" Jasmine shouted. Magneton shot a metallic beam back at the Solarbeam, causing the two to collide. However, Leafeon's attack overpowered, and blasted Magneton out of the air.
"Magneton!" Jasmine cried out.
"Don't let it rest! Leaf Blade!" Jackson shouted.
"Time to go in!" Leafeon shouted, dashing in with Chlorophyll activated, getting close before Magneton could recover, and slashed it in between the eyes.
"Metal Sound!" Jasmine shouted, and her partner shot another soundwave at Leafeon, who was hovering off the ground after the recoil from the attack made her airborne. Leafeon, without her trainer saying anything, whacked her tail to the ground to launch herself into the air, avoiding the head-on attack. "She reacted without him asking?!" she gasped.
"You didn't know Leafeon is smart enough to react to stuff like that, huh?" Jackson stated, "Leafeon, Spin Dash Iron Tail!"
"Time to finish this!" Leafeon shouted, going into a front roll with her steely tail.
"Magneton, Flash Cannon!" Jasmine shouted, and her partner unleashed a shining beam at Leafeon, striking her with the attack. However, instead of slowing her down, she started to cut right through the attack, landing on Magneton, causing an explosion from the collision. Leafeon was sent flying away, slightly injured from the attack, but still standing tall. Meanwhile, Magneton was on the ground, unable to continue.
"Magneton is unable to battle! Leafeon is the winner!" the referee announced.
"That's how you blade things up a notch!" Jackson cheered, "Awesome job, Leafeon!"
"It was a good thing we learned that new move." Leafeon stated.
"Magneton, return!" Jasmine called out to her partner, returning it to its ball, looking at it, "You did an amazing job out there." She placed it away, looking at Jackson as she stated, "I am rather impressed. Utilizing the very move you learned from my Steelix against me. I thought I knew how well you and Leafeon fought, but I guess I underestimated you." She pulled out a new ball as she called out, "But you've never seen this one, yet. Forretress, go!" She tossed out the ball, and out came a Pokemon that looked like a cocoon with a steely shell on top and bottom, and the center revealing the interior, which was red, its eyes peeking out, and four cylindrical spikes poking out.
"So that's the new Pokémon." Jackson understood, pulling out his Pokédex. "Forretress. The Bagworm Pokémon, and the evolved form of Pineco. Forretress conceals itself inside its hardened steel shell. The shell is opened when the Pokémon is catching prey, but it does so at such a quick pace that the shell's inside cannot be seen."
"A Bug and Steel-type." Jackson understood, putting his dex away, "Leafeon, pull back for now."
"Understood." she replied, leaping back to Jackson's side as he pulled out a different ball.
"Sun's out, so Quilava, you're out!" Jackson shouted, tossing a ball to bring out his Fire-type to the field.
"I had a feeling you would use Quilava in this gym battle." Jasmine stated with confidence, "But don't think my team and I aren't able to handle you! Forretress, Earthquake!"
Forretress floated upwards before crashing down to the ground, causing the ground to quake as the shockwave went to Quilava.
"Jump and use Flame Wheel!" Jackson shouted. Quilava leapt high and spun into a flaming wheel, aiming at Forretress, striking it in the face and sending it tumbling backwards in the air. "Now, Flamethrower!" Jackson called out. Quilava exhaled a deluge of flames at Forretress, aiming to burn it into submission.
"Gyro Ball!" Jasmine called out. Forretress closed itself up in its shell and spun like a top, creating a silver energy around itself. The Flamethrower hit her, but was diverted by the spin of its attack.
"What?!" Quilava gasped, landing on the ground.
"That was clever." Jackson grimaced.
Forretress came out of its spin as Jasmine stated, "Told you I knew how to deal with Fire-types. Forretress, Pin Missile!" The Steel/Bug-type shot energy shots from its spikes, aiming at Quilava.
"Swift!" Jackson retaliated, and Quilava shot speeding stars at all the Pin Missiles, blasting them in an explosion. However, through the smoke, some of the Pin Missiles overpowered the Swift attack, and came crashing down at Quilava, sending him flying backwards. "Quilava!" Jackson exclaimed.
"That Pin Missile was that much stronger?" Leafeon asked, shocked.
"Quilava, use Flame Wheel!" Jackson called out again. Quilava spun into another flaming spin, aiming at Forretress.
"Iron Defense!" Jasmine called out. Forretress shut herself inside its shell, creating a steely guard that got hit by Quilava's attack, knocking it back, but not doing a lot of damage. "Now, Gyro Ball!" Jasmine followed up, and Forretress spun while still enclosed in its shell, striking Quilava, knocking him to the ground. At this point, the Sunny Day died out.
"They have a counter for everything!" Leafeon noted, as Quilava struggled to his feet again.
"Jackson..." Lyanne muttered, looking to him with worry.
Jackson focused himself on what to do. Physical attacks won't do a lot of damage, and special attacks just got bounced off. That hard defense is able to block and counter attacks against anything Quilava could unleash. And he couldn't knock it over like a top, as there was no tip to it.
"The only way to do any damage to it is to..." Jackson muttered, thinking to himself, before an idea sprung to his mind.
"Quilava, I have an idea!" Jackson called out, "Get in close with Quick Attack!"
"Okay, I'll follow your lead!" he answered, going into a mad dash as he shot at Forretress.
"I don't know what you have in mind, but Forretress's defense are impenetrable." Jasmine stated, "Use Earthquake!" Forretress hammered to the ground, unlashing another shaking shockwave at the dashing Pokémon.
"Leap, now!" Jackson shouted, and Quilava leapt over the shockwaves, his speed allowing him to soar towards Forretress, who was starting to float off the ground again. "Flame Wheel!" Jackson called out.
"That again? Iron Defense!" Jasmine called out. Forretress closed up his shell again as Quilava hit her with his flaming attack, not doing a lot of damage.
"Stay on top of Forretress!" Jackson called out, and Quilava managed to stay on top of Forretress, even as it showed its eyes. She floated up off the ground, trying to shake her off, but it didn't do anything.
"Forretress, use Gyro Ball to throw him off!" Jasmine shouted. Her Bagworm Pokémon closed itself up and started to spin.
"There's our chance." Jackson noted, "Quilava, jump and use Flamethrower!" Quilava leapt up to avoid being spun off Forretress, turned down at it, and shot a jet of flames straight down on top of it. Unlike shooting it from the sides, there was less force diverting the force of the Flamethrower, but spreading it thanks to the topspin. It was sent back down into the ground, where it spun to a halt, embedded into the ground.
'He stopped Forretress like that?!' Lyanne mentally exclaimed, surprised at the trick Jackson managed to pull off.
"Keep up the Flamethrower!" Jackson shouted.
"Burn to the ground!" Quilava roared, continuing to spew flames as he shot flames that consumed Forretress, who was trapped and unable to move. The scene practically became a towering inferno, the ground heating up all around it from the flames of the attack. When Quilava dissipated his attack, he landed on the ground, panting from overusing his flames. The ground around Forretress was grounded, and its eyes were spiraling, unable to continue.
"Forretress is unable to battle!" the referee announced, "Quilava is the winner!"
"That was a close one." Jackson sighed in relief, catching his breath.
"Yes, but now me, Scyther, and Quilava are worn out from the fighting." Leafeon muttered, "And we still have Steelix to deal with."
"Right. Jasmine's ace." Jackson understood, prepared to psyche himself up to face it.
"Forretress, come back." Jasmine told her partner, returning her to her Pokéball. "You did your part. Now leave the rest." She pocketed the ball, looking to Jackson. She was amazed at how clever he was, and how much of a fight he was putting up. However, despite the admiration, and her romantic interest in such a young man, she had to focus herself into being a gym leader.
Jasmine smacked her cheeks a couple times, telling herself, "Focus yourself. You are the steel-hearted Gym Leader of Olivine City. You fight with a clang." She drew out her last ball, saying, "We are not done yet! My steel is still sturdy and strong! Steelix, let's show him what we can do!" She tossed out a ball, and out came her final Pokémon; the massive Steelix.
Quilava gritted his teeth as he ignited his flames, showing he still had more to unleash. "Jackson, I'm fired up and ready to fight!"
"Okay, partner. Let's go show 'em what we can do. Flame Wheel!" Quilava spun his body and lit up his flames, and charged at Steelix.
"Knock him back with Iron Tail!" Jasmine called back. Steelix made his tail glow a shiny steel hue, striking Quilava with the impact, causing the two to push off agianst one another, until Steelix overpowered the fiery attack, sending him out of his spin, causing him to fly backwards in pain.
"Such power!" Lyanne gasped.
"Quilava, hit her with Flamethrower!" Jackson shouted, and Quilava shot more flames at Steelix.
"Block with Fire Fang!" Jasmine shouted. Steelix opened its mouth as flames ignited from his teeth, and he chomped down onto the Flamethrower, causing a fiery explosion. The end result was Steelix taking some burn to the face, but otherwise, he dulled down the damage.
"Using Fire Fang to BLOCK flames?!" Leafeon gasped.
"Fighting fire with fire, quite literally." Jackson quoted.
"Finish this with a clang! Stone Edge!" Jasmine shouted.
"YOU'RE DONE!" Steelix roared, slamming her tail to unleash stalagmites towards Quilava as he landed, getting struck by it, and sending him hurling upwards, before crashing to the ground, with spirals in his eyes.
"Quilava is unable to battle! Steelix is the winner!" the referee announced.
Jackson pulled out Quilava's Pokéball as he approached him, crouching down as he said, "Well done, partner. You take a rest." He returned him to his ball and retreated back to his position again, pulling out his Park Ball. "Scyther, let's get back in the game again!" he shouted, tossing out his Mantis Pokémon to the field.
"I will not disappoint you again, sensei." Scyther noted, readying his mantis claws.
"Steelix, let's knock them out with a clang!" Jasmine declared, "Use Stone Edge!" Steelix hammered the ground, sending more glowing stalagmites rising up, heading towards Scyther.
"Dodge with Agility!" Jackson shouted, which Scyther responded by speeding up to evade the attack, getting in closer to Steelix. "Vaccuum Wave!" Jackson followed up, which Scyther responded with sending energy into the side of Steelix, causing it to roar in pain from the damage.
"Hang tough, Steelix!" Jasmine called out, who managed to prevent herself from falling to the ground.
"Continuous Vaccuum Waves!" Jackson shouted.
"Of course, sensei!" Scyther declared, unleashing wave after wave of energy at Steelix.
"Block with Gyro Ball!" Jasmine ordered. Steelix started spinning the spiked parts of its body, unleashing an energy ring on several parts of her body that parried off the Vaccuum Waves, much to Jackson's disgruntlement. "Too bad. You can't stop me or Steelix."
"Then let's get up close and personal." Jackson decided, "Scyther, X-Scissor!" Scyther flew at Steelix with glowing claws, moving so quickly, Steelix didn't move in time, and got hit by the attack. The Iron Snake didn't need to move, as it took the blow rather well due to his high defenses.
"Our metal cannot be scratched! Fire Fang!" Jasmine retaliated. Steelix opened its jaws, igniting them to chomp down on Scyther.
"Back off!" Jackson shouted, and his partner flew away from the chomping flames, getting slightly scorched by the attack, but otherwise fine. "Now fly about and use Slash, continuously!"
"Of course, sensei!" Scyther repeated, his mantis blades glowing, as he flew back at Steelix again, striking him off the side. It didn't do much, but Scyther flew back around and struck him again. He kept doing this over and over again, using Slash all over Steelix's body.
"All those attacks may not do a lot of damage by themselves, but they do still accumulate." Jackson argued, smirking at Jasmine, "Steel will eventually get broken if struck too many times."
Lyanne was watching this take place, surprised at Jackson's daring to pull off such a stamina-burdening move, and yet seeing Scyther not give up. She was gripping her fists tightly, unable to take her eyes off what was going on.
"Steelix, use Gyro Ball to force him off!" the gym leader ordered. Her Steel/Ground-type started spinning her body again, causing Scyther's next Slash attack to be pushed back. "Now, let's finish him off. Iron Tail!" Jasmine followed up.
"Vaccuum Wave!" Jackson signaled. Steelix raised its glowing tail, and dropped it down on Scyther just as he gathered up energy into his blades and sent it flying at his opponent's face. Both attacks hit their targets, Steelix's Iron Tail hammering Scyther to the ground, while rearing its head from the explosive attack. Steelix managed to hold itself up, but looked down as she moved her tail, revealing Scyther embedded into the ground, passed out.
"Scyther is unable to battle! Steelix is the winner!" the referee announced, as Jackson called back Scyther to his ball.
"Poor Scyther..." Lyanne muttered, "He was doing so well, out there."
"Well done, Scyther. You gave us a better chance to win." he told his partner, putting the ball away, and looking at Steelix, seeing her condition, "Looks to me like Steelix is on its last legs."
"She doesn't have any legs." Leafeon argued, "But she's definitely almost down."
"Right. It's all up to you." Jackson told her, looking down at her, before adding, "However, I wanna not use Sunny Day this time around. That Fire Fang could be a pain if we do that."
"It will prove difficult, but I can understand." Leafeon agreed, "Let's go for it!" She bounded forward, ready to fight.
"So it all comes down to your Leafeon and my Steelix." Jasmine told Jackson, "I must say, I was impressed by Scyther's ability to deal damage to my Steelix. I can only imagine what it will be after-." She then gasped as she covered her mouth.
"After he what?" Jackson asked curiously.
"Oh, nothing at all." she answered innocently, "At least, nothing I can say now. Let's finish this fight up. Steelix, Iron Tail!"
"Leafeon, match her Iron Tail with your own!" Jackson shouted.
The two female Pokémon readied their steely tails, swinging them at one another. They connected, and sparks flew from their collision, the sound of grinding metal echoing around the area. The two were trying to overpower the other, and it looked like Steelix might actually do the trick.
"You may have learned how to use Iron Tail, but you are far from overpowering my Steelix with its use!" Jasmine argued.
Jackson smirked confidently, much to Jasmine's surprise, as he counterargued, "You may be right about that, but Leafeon's has more than just the attack. She has the skills of a sword-wielder! Leafeon, parry into the air with Iron Tail!" Leafeon understood what he wanted, using her momentum of both attacks to get above Steelix's Iron Tail, and bounce off with with a hammer slash that shot her into the air, getting into her opponent's face.
"Now, dance with blades, and use Leaf Blade!" Jackson ordered.
"See how you deal with this!" Leafeon declared, spinning her tail with precision as she slashed Steelix's body as she fell, causing the Iron Snake to roar in pain from the attack. She landed on the ground, backing off as Steelix swayed where she was at, the injuries from the attack weakening her greatly.
'That was brilliant!' Lyanne told herself, 'To think she could pull off moves like that while in the air!'
"We can't have this go on much longer." Jasmine muttered, "Steelix, Stone Edge!"
"Leafeon, charge up for a Solarbeam!" Jackson shouted. Leafeon charged up solar energy into her tail, readying to fire off the attack. Steelix swung her tail down, bringing stalagmites out of the ground towards Leafeon. "Get ready to ride one of those into the air." Jackson told his partner.
"Just relying on my endurance, huh?" Leafeon asked as she charged, seeing the attack approaching her, "Let's test if we can take a hit like Steelix can!" A Stone Edge stalagmite came from underneath, and shot Leafeon into the air, her body taking a blow from underneath. She flailed in the air, as everyone gasped in shock at the attack she took. Lyanne was shocked, Jasmine was hesitantly optimistic. Jackson gritted his teeth, believing in his partner.
Leafeon's eyes were shut from the attack, her tail still glowing from the sunlight. However, it started to glow strongly as her eyes snapped open, causing Jackson's teeth to become a toothy grin. She spun her body, shouting, "I may not be made of steel, by my resolve is even stronger than that! Solarbeam!" She fired off her attack, blasting it down at Steelix, who couldn't move in time, and got blasted in the head by the attack. She roared in pain as she fell backwards, crashing to the ground, where it was unable to get back up again.
"Steelix is unable to battle!" the referee announced, "Leafeon is the winner! The victor of this match goes to Jackson of Ecruteak City!"
Jackson raced onto the field as Leafeon fell, and caught her before she hit the ground, keeping himself on his feet. "Awesome job, Leafeon!" Jackson cheered, nuzzling her as she looked exhausted, but happy.
Lyanne excitedly raced over, saying, "That was incredible! I was scared about Leafeon taking that hit, but she managed to endure and strike back at Steelix. I've never seen such a risky move pulled off in such a way! You two were just amazing!"
Jackson and Leafeon looked startled at her praise, plus something else. "Um, thanks for the compliment, Lyanne." Leafeon replied, "But..."
"You do know you just said all of this out loud, and with your Pokémon voice in full display?" Jackson noted. Lyanne gasped as she covered her mouth, realizing she got to excited, and forgot about that.
The trio looked to Jasmine, who had already put her Steelix away, but was perplexed at what she was hearing. "Um... Sorry, but why Lyanne's voice sound like that?" she asked, approaching them, "Just who is she, really?"
Jackson and Leafeon looked to Lyanne, who was really guilty for her mistake, but she couldn't deny it. Jackson sighed as he muttered, "Well, if I didn't trust Jasmine as I do, I would have to come up with something desperate. However, seeing as I DO trust her, I guess we can tell her."
"We really don't have a choice." Leafeon admitted.
"Sorry..." Lyanne apologized.
They looked to the referee, who was also curious as she looked from the sidelines. Jasmine looked to her, before understanding what Jackson was thinking, and asked, "Can you give us some privacy? I hope you don't mind."
"Of course, Lady Jasmine." she replied, exiting the scene.
Once she was gone, Jackson put Leafeon back on the ground as he told Lyanne, "It should be okay now." Lyanne nodded, and through white particles, she transformed into her Latias form.
"Wha-!" Jasmine was startled, backing off in shock as she looked to her.
"As you can see, Lyanne is technically not human. She is really Latias." Jackson explained.
"Seriously?!" she asked, looking from Jackson to Latias, "You mean Latias, the legendary Pokemon, and the guardian of Alto Mare?" She did remember Jackson saying she was originally from Alto Mare.
"Yep. She's the guardian there. However, she wanted to go on a journey outside of the city." Jackson explained, "So, she came along with me as a companion."
"Sorry for hiding this from you." Latias apologized, which Jackson translated to Jasmine.
"N-No! You have nothing to apologize about." the gym leader answered, "I was just surprised, is all. But..." she quieted her voice as she muttered, "It's at least relieving, too." Jackson, Leafeon, and Latias tilted their heads curiously as she quickly caught herself and said, "Never mind. It's a lot, but I can take it. More importantly, you managed to defeat my gym."
"Oh, right." Jackson realized, almost forgetting in the moment of what he had accomplished.
"You better had remembered. These injuries were rather painful." Leafeon argued, causing Latias to chuckle.
Jasmine gathered herself up as she looked to Jackson, saying, "You managed to break through my clanging steel, and defeated me. As a reward for defeating me, I present you with this; the Mineral Badge." She handed Jackson a badge from her pocket, which was a simple steel-colored octagon. Jackson took the badge, flicked it into the air, caught it as he went into a spin on one foot, before coming to a halt, grinning in confidence.
"That makes badge number six." Leafeon noted.
"And there's more..." Jasmine continued, getting Jackson's attention, "I did say I would reward you for helping me during the Battle Tower. Let's go to the Pokémon Center, and I'll show you. Latias reverted to her human form, and they walked towards the doors to exit the gym.
They went to the Pokémon Center, where they recovered their Pokémon to full health again. While they were in recovery, Jasmine gave Jackson and Lyanne a small tour of the city, pointing out some nice places to go to, before going back to the Center again. She was hiding the truth of the prize from Jackson, though this was somewhat due to the fact that she wanted to postpone him leaving the city. However, all things came to an end, and they went back to collect their Pokémon.
"Are you gonna tell me NOW what my prize is?" Jackson asked, being led over to a machine in the center, which had two upside-down funnels connected to tubes and a machine.
Jasmine stopped as she turned to him, asking, "Could you pull out your Scyther for me? I have something to give him."
"Um...okay." Jackson answered, pulling out Scyther out.
"I have something to give to Scyther specifically." Jasmine told them, digging into her pocket, and pulling out something was the size of a Pokéball, but it was a cylindrical steel-like item. "This is a Metal Coat." she explained, "By giving this to certain Pokémon, through trading, they are able to evolve.
"Oh, I heard about this!" Jackson recalled, "There are many forms of evolutions, but one of them is known as Trade Evolution. While some trade evolutions are just basic, some trades require certain Pokémon to trade with one another, or for a Pokémon to have a specific item to hold onto in order to evolve."
"Correct. Should an Onix or a Scyther hold onto a Metal Coat, and get traded, they can evolve into a new form." Jasmine replied, "That's how I evolved my Onix to Steelix. I'll do the same for Scyther. We can trade for the evolution to take form, and we can trade back again."
"That's reasonable." Jackson understood, looking to Scyther, "Whaddya say, Scyther. Wanna evolve?"
"In order to improve myself so I won't fail like I did today, I shall do this evolution for you, sensei." Scyther answered, walking over to Jasmine, taking the Metal Coat.
"Let the trading process begin!" Jasmine told Jackson, who returned Scyther to his ball. She selected her Steelix's ball, placing it on her side of the machine. Jackson did the same with Scyther's ball. They activated the trading device, which used energy to suck the Pokéballs up into the machine, where they saw the shadowed figures of their Pokémon on the screen, swapping sides. The energy ignited again, and the Pokéballs appeared on the opposite sides.
"Now, we do it again to get our Pokémon back." Jackson told Jasmine, reactivating the trading device. Their balls were sucked up into the machine again via energy, and saw the screen with Steelix given back to Jasmine, but a different shadowed figure that wasn't Scyther's original look coming back to Jackson. The balls reappeared, and Jasmine took her Pokéball, pocketing it.
"Now, let's see your newly evolved partner." Jasmine told Jackson, who nodded and tossed up the ball. Out of the ball came Scyther's new evolution, which was a red insectoid that was more humanoid than before, a steely body, with smaller wings, but stood upright, and his mantis blades were replaced with round pincers.
"Wow, look at you!" Leafeon told the newly-evolved Pokémon.
"Your Scyther has now evolved into Scizor." Jasmine told Jackson, who pulled out his Pokédex to examine his partner. "Scizor. The Pincer Pokémon, and the evolved form of Scyther. Scizor has a body with the hardness of steel. It is not easily fazed by ordinary sorts of attacks. This Pokémon flaps its wings to regulate its body temperature."
"Wow, so now you're a Steel/Bug-type, like Forretress." Jackson understood, looking at his partner's info, "And you even have a new move. Let's try it out." Jackson put his dex away as he said, "Scizor, use Bullet Punch!"
Scizor turned to one side, concentrated as his fists glowed a silverish-white hue, before unleashing a punch that was barely visible to see when it was launched. It created a shockwave from the power of the attack.
"Awesome!" Jackson cheered.
"I didn't even see the attack take place!" Leafeon gasped.
"Nor did I." Lyanne admitted.
"Really? I thought it was crystal clear." Jackson retorted.
"Your perception is abnormal!" Leafeon argued.
"With my Technician ability, that attack will be boosted to even more, sensei." Scizor pointed, putting his pincers together and bowing to Jackson.
"I look forward to training you to utilize your new strength and skills." Jackson replied, placing his hands in prayer, and bowing back to his Pokémon.
"So..." Jasmine intervened, getting the team's attention. She was looking a bit sad as she continued, "I guess this means you're leaving?"
"Well, I am still on a journey of self-discovery." Jackson replied, "I got a couple more gyms to take on, too."
"I see..." Jasmine answered, understanding, but still sad.
Leafeon and Lyanne looked to Jasmine, then at each other. The Verdant Pokémon flicked her tail to Jackson, getting his attention as she asked, "Jackson, why don't you bring her with us?"
"Why's that?" Jackson asked.
"She obviously is interested in you. You can at least ask if she wants to come along."
Jackson paused, thinking about what his partner meant when she said she was 'interested in him.' Finally, he understood, especially when he saw her expression, and looked a bit hesitant. She was interested in a 'I wanna be your girlfriend' way. That was something he was not ready for, especially since he wasn't fully over his father and his 'male dominance' attitude. He wasn't ready for a relationship. Not yet, anyway. Still, this didn't mean he couldn't invite her as a friend.
He looked to Jasmine as he asked, "Are you interested on joining me on my adventure?"
Jasmine looked surprised at this, before realizing something, and reluctantly replied, "Sorry, but I can't. I am still a gym leader, so I have a duty to fulfill. I don't have anyone to take my place just yet. Plus, I also have to take care of Amphy in the lighthouse, so someone has to take care of her, too. Once I do find the right people, I do plan to go on a journey myself. Maybe I can find out where you're at and go after you."
Jackson smiled as he replied, "That sounds fair. Let's trade numbers, so we can keep in contact, at the very least."
"I would like that!" she replied excitedly, pulling out her Pokégear as Jackson pulled out his tablet, and they traded numbers with one another. "I'll keep in touch. You'd better do the same, okay?" she asked.
"Sure thing." Jackson replied, raising a hand to her, "Keep your steel hard, cold and sharp."
Jasmine smiled as she took his hand, replying, "And may your blade be sharp and strong, cutting through all obstacles." The two smiled, as Leafeon, Scizor, and Lyanne looked at the scene, glad to see a rather satisfying parting with the two.
Jackson, Leafeon and Lyanne left Olivine City to make their way back to Ecruteak City, while Jasmine watched them leave. She blushed as she saw Jackson's smile as he was talking to his two companions. She held a fist close to her heart.
"They say I am a steel-hearted gym leader, but it almost feels like its saying nothing can penetrate my heart." she told herself, "Well, I guess one person is able to do so. And those feelings for you, Jackson...they will stay protected in my heart. You made my heart go clang for you. Until we meet again."
Jasmine turned around, and made her way back to the gym, making sure to think about Jackson, but to prepare herself to take on the next challenger that comes her way.