I woke wearily to a cheerful pat on my back and a not-so-cheerful sunbeam in my face. Blinking my eyes a few times, I turned away irritably as blinding morning light met my eyes. To my surprise, I found none other than Janine, my friend from Ecruteak City, sitting next to me on the tree branch. She wore a broad grin on her face.
Janine? I thought, confused. How did you get here?
"Great, you're awake, Thunder," Janine said happily. She petted me gently. "You see, I've agreed to help Falky train his Pokemon for the battle against Katrina." She smiled. "But considering how it's late morning and everyone's still asleep, I'm assuming that you've all worked hard and trained a lot yesterday."
It took me a while to figure out what was going on, but when I did, I smiled. I'm glad you gave Falkner a second chance, I thought earnestly. I looked around. But where is he?
As if to answer my question, a loud thud echoed throughout the indoor forest. Looking down, I couldn't help but giggle a bit upon seeing Falkner picking himself off the ground, hastily brushing dust and dirt off his clothes. Below me, my friends stirred – the loud noise had apparently shocked Bolt and Mordecai out of their peaceful slumber. Midnight had heard the noise too – he was no perched on a low-hanging branch, looking on with a puzzled expression on his face.
Janine shimmied nimbly down the tree trunk, jumped, and landed gracefully next to Falkner, who was ruefully rubbing his bruised knee. I followed Janine and landed next to Falkner as well as he slowly stood up and smiled sheepishly.
"Sorry, Janine – let's just say that I haven't done much… ninja training lately," Falkner said in a carefree manner. He looked around. "Everyone's here, right?"
Right, I answered, giggling. You kind of woke everyone up when you fell out of that tree.
"Well, at least that saved me the trouble of having to go around and wake everyone up," Falkner said, laughing. He took Janine's hand and addressed all the Pokemon around. "All right, everyone. As you can see, Janine's back. She's visiting Violet Gym to help all of us train for the final battle against Katrina."
"That's right," Janine said, smiling. She gestured towards Bolt. "I haven't seen that Jolteon before. Is she yours?"
Falkner shook his head. "Bolt used to belong to my sister," he explained, "but she helped Thunder escape from Katrina's blimp. Now she's here to help use train for… you know what."
"I never knew your sister gave her Pokemon nicknames," Janine stated.
"She didn't," Falkner answered. "Here's the strange thing: apparently, all Pokemon have names they're born with, even though we humans don't realize it. I learned that from Thunder – she told me that my Pidgeot was a male named Lightning. Truthfully, I didn't know that before."
The thing is, I thought, deep down we Pokemon prefer to be referred by our names and genders, but we've never had a way to really communicate with humans. Therefore, most of us got used to being called "it", or our species name.
"Interesting," Janine said softly. "Well, I guess we all learn something new every day."
"So I'm assuming all my other Pokemon – Hoothoot, Dodrio, and Natu – have names too?" Falkner asked.
That's right, I answered. Hoothoot is a male named Midnight, Dodrio is a male named Mordecai, and Natu is a female named Starlight.
"I honestly did not know that," Falkner murmured as he pulled out Starlight's Dream Ball and tossed it into the air. As Starlight materialized in a flash of purple light, Falkner turned to Janine. "So, you want to explain to everyone what's going on?"
"Of course," Janine answered, turning to address all the Pokemon at the scene. "So, I'm pretty sure most of you already know me, but I'm Janine, the gym leader of Fuchsia City. I learned that Falkner was in need of help – his older sister, Katrina, is going to challenge him to a battle pretty soon to prove that her loveless training methods work. So I've decided to help all of you sharpen your battle skills and train for the battle against Katrina."
"Awesome," Midnight chirped.
"Sounds good to me," Mohr, Dee, and Kai said in unison.
Everyone's pretty excited about the training, I translated. Shouldn't we eat first, though? None of us has had breakfast yet.
"That's right," Falkner answered. "I'll go get some food so that everyone can eat. After that, let's all go to the rooftop stadium and have some practice battles to sharpen our skills."
"The practice Pokemon battle between Falkner, the Violet City gym leader, and Janine, the Fuchsia City gym leader, is about to begin," boomed the referee. "Each trainer is allowed to use up to four Pokemon, and the match is over when all four of one trainer's Pokemon have fainted. Substitutions are allowed on both sides. Ready, begin!"
I sat at the side of the battlefield with Starlight, Midnight, Mordecai, and Bolt. Prior to the practice match, Falkner's Pokemon had decided to stay out of their Pokeballs in order to watch and learn from the battle. Also, it was agreed that Janine would have temporary control over Bolt, so that everyone could learn strategies for battling against tough foes.
"I'm going to start with Natu – I mean, Starlight," Falkner declared. Upon hearing her name, Starlight hopped forward and stood in front of her trainer.
"That makes sense, staring out with your newest Pokemon," Janine said, nodding. "All right, I'm going to help her become stronger." She pulled out a Pokeball. "Venomoth, go!"
Janine hurled the red-and-white capsule towards the battlefield, and her Venomoth appeared in a flash of white light.
"Venomoth?" Falkner asked, confused.
"You see, since Katrina's going to use Flying-type Pokemon, I figured Starlight would need some practice – considering that she can't fly yet."
"That makes sense," Falkner smirked, "but you haven't seen our strategy yet. Starlight, use Psychic to fly!"
"Yay!" Starlight chirped as her eyes began to glow blue and her whole body lifted into the air.
"Impressive," I murmured, "and very creative. How did Falkner come up with that?"
"One of his challengers a while ago," Mohr answered.
"She had a Natu," Dee added.
"Falkner pretty much 'borrowed' her strategy," Kai said.
"Pretty cool," I said, nodding. Meanwhile, Janine was calling out her attack.
"Venomoth, Signal Beam!" Janine exclaimed.
Venomoth fired off a jagged, multicolored beam of light from his mouth. Just as it was about to strike Starlight, however, Falkner called out Starlight's move.
"Quick, Starlight!" he commanded. "Use Light Screen!"
Starlight's eyes glowed, and a protective shield immediately formed around her. The Signal Beam struck the Light Screen and disappeared, barely damaging her.
"Smart thinking," Janine commented, "but I'll do something different this time. Venomoth, Poison Powder!"
Venomoth beat his wings quickly, sending a cloud of purple dust flying towards Starlight. Falkner smiled.
"Deflect it with Psychic attack!" he commanded.
Immediately, Starlight diverted her Psychic energy, sending the poisonous dust flying to Venomoth. Because the Psychic attack was being used for something else, Starlight's body stopped glowing with a blue light and she landed on the ground. The Poison Powder collided with Venomoth and disappeared.
Janine did not seem fazed by this – in fact, not it was her turn to smile.
"Venomoth, dive and use Bug Bite," she called. "Quickly, while Starlight's still on the ground!"
With very impressive speed, Venomoth dove downwards towards Starlight, fangs bared and glowing white. Before Falkner could call out a command, Venomoth chomped down onto Starlight's head.
"My head hurts!" Starlight whined, running around in circled and trying in vain to shake Venomoth off. "Ow, ow, ow!"
Falkner! I thought suddenly upon realizing that Starlight's whole body was glowing with a bright blue light. Starlight's like Misty's Psyduck!"
"What?" Falkner asked.
Ask Starlight to use Confusion! I thought triumphantly.
"But – but Natu can't learn Confusion!" Falkner exclaimed.
As soon as Falkner said that, however, Starlight's eyes glowed with a very harsh blue light. Venomoth began to glow as well, and I watched in amazement as Starlight lifted him into the air. Then, a bright beam of pure Psychic energy shot upwards from Starlight's eyes with great force, striking Venomoth directly. When the attack stopped, Venomoth fell to the ground, completely still. To my surprise, however, Starlight toppled over and fainted as well.
"Venomoth and Natu are both unable to battle," the referee called. "This match is a tie!"
Falkner stared, confused. "But why did Starlight faint?" he asked.
First of all, I answered, that Confusion attack probably used up a lot of her strength. Secondly, she had already taken a lot of damage from that Bug Bite.
"That makes sense," Falkner said as he and Janine recalled their fainted Pokemon. "I'm so glad I discovered that Starlight could use Confusion though – ordinary Natu are unable to learn that move. I'm pretty sure I can use Starlight's powerful Confusion attacks to surprise challengers."
"Your strategies are looking very good," Janine commented, "but be careful about how Starlight uses Psychic. Remember, she can use it to either fly or attack – but not both."
"Good point," Falkner said, nodding. He turned to the audience. "All right, Midnight, you're up!"
"Finally!" Midnight chirped happily, hopping forward and standing proudly on one foot in front of his trainer.
"Okay, then," Janine declared, pulling out a second Pokeball and throwing it into the air. "Grimer, I choose you!"
As the Poison-type Pokemon – which looked like a pile of purple sludge – materialized, Falkner called out Midnight's first move.
"Midnight, Peck attack!" Falkner exclaimed.
With surprising speed, Midnight charged forward and leaped into the air. As he effortlessly flew higher and higher, I smiled – all that training had paid off. Then, without warning, Midnight's beak glowed white and grew larger as he dove sharply down towards Grimer. Janine gasped and commanded Grimer to use Sludge Bomb, but Midnight was ready. Even without Falkner's orders, he dodged the oncoming attack and plowed into Grimer's side.
Janine's Grimer grunted upon impact, but she stood her ground and didn't even slide backwards. Meanwhile, Janine called out the next move.
"Grimer," Janine exclaimed, "Use Harden!"
"Midnight, keep on using Peck!" Falkner ordered.
While Midnight darted forward and bombarded Grimer with quick, vicious pecks, Grimer closed her eyes as her body glowed with a soft white light, becoming stiffer and tougher.
"Grimer's barely taking any damage," I observed as Midnight continued landing his attacks. "I'm not sure how long Midnight can keep up like this."
"But if Grimer doesn't attack back soon, she'll only get weaker and weaker," Bolt murmured. "I wonder what's Janine's plan here."
After several turns of Midnight attacking with Peck and Grimer defending with Harden passed, Midnight looked a little worn out. He stood on one foot at his side of the battlefield, panting slightly. Grimer, having taken some damage from Midnight's incessant attacks, also seemed to be quite tired. To my surprise, Janine just smiled.
"Time to turn this battle around!" she declared. "Grimer, Toxic attack, go!"
"What?" Falkner exclaimed in surprise. "Quick, Midnight! Use Hypnosis!"
Midnight immediately began to stare intently at Grimer, but to everyone's shock, the rings of energy that emanated from Midnight's eyes narrowly missed their target. When the attack ceased, Grimer still stood there, wide awake. As the hypnotic rings disappeared, Grimer formed a purple ball of energy between her arms and hurled it at Midnight. The attack struck him directly, and when it disappeared, the Hoothoot's entire body glowed with a sickly purple color.
You've got to be careful, Falkner, I warned. Midnight's been badly poisoned.
"Right," Falkner said, nodding. He pulled out a Pokeball. "Midnight, return!"
As Midnight turned into transparent red energy and disappeared into the red-and-white capsule, Falkner sighed.
"I'm not sure why Midnight's Hypnosis missed," he murmured, examining the Pokeball in his hand. "Was it because he got tired from delivering all those Peck attacks?"
"Precisely," Janine answered. "The only reason why I didn't command Grimer to attack was to tire Midnight out. It's a valuable strategy I use all the time."
"You know, Janine, you're pretty smart," Falkner commented.
"Thanks," Janine said, blushing. "So, who are you calling to fight Grimer?"
"Mordecai," Falkner answered.
"Yay!" exclaimed Mohr.
"Grr," groaned Dee.
Kai just sighed as the Dodrio walked to Falkner's side of the battlefield. I couldn't help but laugh – Mordecai's three heads always amused me with their contrasting personalities.
"Ready," Falkner declared as soon as Mordecai took his place.
"Okay," Janine said. "Let's end this quickly. Grimer, Gunk Shot!"
"Mordecai, counter with Tri Attack!" Falkner ordered.
As Grimer formed a bright purple orb between her hands, a red, yellow, and white energy sphere materialized in the mouths of Mohr, Dee, and Kai respectively. Without warning, Grimer's purple orb shot forward as a purple-and-white beam of destructive Poison energy. At the same time, Mordecai released the colorful orbs from his three mouths.
It happened so quickly. As the two powerful attacks collided forcefully in midair, a huge, multi-colored explosion ensued. The resulting dust cloud was so large and thick that it covered the whole entire rooftop stadium. I coughed and closed my eyes, blocking out the horrible dust and smoke.
When I could breathe again, I opened my eyes slowly and found out that the explosion had knocked Grimer out. Mordecai, though weakened, still stood resolutely on his side of the battlefield.
"Grimer is unable to battle," the referee declared. "Falkner and Dodrio win!"
Falkner walked over to Mordecai and patted him on the back. "Great job," Falkner complimented. "That Tri Attack looked perfect, and you were definitely very strong because you survived that explosion."
"Grimer, you did great. Now take a good rest," Janine said softly as she returned Grimer to her Pokeball. She pulled out another Pokeball and threw it to the center of the battlefield. "All right, Crobat! You're up!"
As Janine's Crobat materialized in a flash of white light, Falkner called out Mordecai's first move.
"Mordecai, Fury Attack!" he orderd.
"Crobat, fly in circles around Mordecai!" Janine commanded.
Mordecai lunged forward, beaks prepared to jab Crobat. He was fast, but Crobat was faster. I watched, genuinely impressed, as Crobat dramatically increased his speed and zipped around and around Mordecai, closing him in. Pretty soon, Crobat seemed to be nothing but a speedy purple blur. The Dodrio stopped in his tracks. All three of his heads looked around, frightened and confused.
"Don't panic, Mordecai," Falkner said steadily. "Keep calm and use Acupressure."
"Not so fast," Janine said triumphantly. "Crobat, use Fly!"
Almost immediately, Crobat, stopped flying in circles around Mordecai and shot straight up into the air. Thankfully, Mordecai remained calm, despite the fact that his opponent was almost completely out of range. He closed his eyes and glowed with an orange light. The light intensified until Crobat began to dive back down to the battlefield and Falkner gave Mordecai the next command.
"Crobat's attacking!" Falkner exclaimed. "Mordecai, use Drill Peck!"
When Mordecai opened his eyes, all three of his heads pointed directly at Crobat as he lunged into the air. Immediately, Mordecai's whole entire body seemed to turn into a drill with his three beaks as the drill heads. The attack struck Crobat with full force, accuracy, and power – whatever Acupressure had done had worked. Crobat groaned in pain as Mordecai's sharp bills relentlessly pecked his body. To everyone's surprise, when the attack subsided, Crobat, though quite injured, somehow managed to continue his Fly attack. Determined, he plowed forcefully into Mordecai's back.
A fairly large dust cloud resulted from the disturbance, and no one could see the combatants at all. A few seconds later, however, the dust cleared. Everyone gasped.
Mordecai seemed to be struggling. The Fly attack had buried his legs into the earth, and now it seemed impossible to get them out. Mohr, Dee, and Kai all bore panicked expressions on their faces, not knowing what to do.
"Don't panic, Mordecai," Falkner said steadily. "Now's a time to show Janine what your three heads are capable of. Use Tri Attack, rapid fire! Mohr, fire into the left side of the stadium. Dee, cover the right side, and Kai, fire into the sky!"
I watched in amazement as the whole entire arena became filled with many differently colored energy orbs. I smiled when I noticed that it was now Crobat's turn to panic. In his weakened state, dodging all the various energy orbs was looking to be a very difficult task. He even got hit a few times, and Janine noticed this.
"Crobat, return!" Janine exclaimed, holding out Crobat's Pokeball. As Crobat turned into transparent red energy and disappeared into the capsule, she turned to Bolt and I, who were completely immersed in watching the battle. "Well, Bolt, I was saving you for last, and now it's finally your turn to battle."
"I think it's about time you took a rest too," Falkner said to Mordecai, who was still helplessly stuck in the ground. He held out a Pokeball and pressed its center button, recalling Mordecai. Falkner then turned to me and smiled. "You're finally up, Thunder," he declared, "and you're finally getting a chance to train and sharpen your skills."
"Train hard," I murmured to Bolt as we left our seat on the edge of the rooftop stadium.
"You too," Bolt said softly, walking towards Janine's side of the battlefield as I flew towards Falkner's side.
We had just taken our places and Falkner was just about to call out my first move when, all of a sudden and without warning, the alarm sounded. It was an ear-shattering series of blares that echoed throughout the whole entire building – the kind of alarm that only goes off when something goes really wrong.
"What's going on?" Janine shouted over the din.
"It's the radar room alarm!" Falkner yelled worriedly.
Radar room? I thought as loudly as I could. Isn't that where we could receive signals from Lightning's tracking device to monitor his position? The sudden realization of what was going on hit me, and I almost screamed out loud. Not waiting for a response, I flew as quickly as I could towards the elevator and jammed my beak on the button, tears beginning to form in my eyes. Falkner, Janine, and Bolt all ran over to me, trying to comfort me.
"Thunder, we don't know what's going on yet," Falkner said over the noise of the alarm, but I could tell that behind his optimistic speech he was extremely worried as well.
"Just calm down," Bolt said as gently as she could. "I know that this is probably very stressful for you, but if there's a problem, you won't solve it by panicking."
"R-r-right," I stammered, taking a few deep breaths as the elevator doors opened and closed behind us as we all piled in. "I've handled sticky situations like this before when I was Flock Leader, and I know that I have to clear my mind and think about a solution. It's just that… I hope Lighting is okay."
Bolt nodded in understanding as the elevator doors opened again to the radar room. Immediately, we all ran over to the large table in the middle of the small room. It contained a rather large radar screen, on which red words were flashing. Unlike Lightning, I couldn't read, but I could tell from Falkner's expression that the flashing red words were not a good sign.
"Not good," Falkner whispered.
What happened? I asked, holding back my tears.
"We've... we've lost Lightning's signal."
To be continued…