Bianca and I make it back to Mistralton City by sunset. Well, that little sidetrip took more time than I thought; so much for my perfect plan of beating the Mistralton Gym Leader, and going someplace else before the day is through. Now I'm gonna have to eat and sleep at Unova's lowest-quality Pokemon Center, after all. The thought to just pitch a tent at the outskirts of the 'city,' and sleep that way, had crossed my mind, but there's even less cooling, and the surface is a equally uncomfortable, as I imagine the beds are, if not more. I decide to count my blessings.
Instead of food stands, the Mistralton Pokemon Center has a cafeteria, with a schedule of breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and if you're not there when one of those three periods is in session, you go hungry. Things just keep going up for this place...
Bianca and I make it just before the dinner serving period is over. None of the food served looks or smells good. Still, I pick my favorite out of the selection (in sort of a 'least of multiple evils' kinda way): macaroni and cheese, Bianca gets some lasagna, and we get our Pokemon some cheap mass-produced poffins for later.
Even though the Pokemon Center cafeteria is roughly the size of the one at school, back in Accumula Town, there are only about four other trainers there. It's not a huge shock, considering we're out in the boonies, and I doubt people would want to stay here any longer than they have to.
As Bianca and I are about to look for a table, which wouldn't be too hard, considering there are so many empty ones, we spot a familiar face among the four other trainers: Cheren... or at least I think it's Cheren. Unlike the neutral expression he's usually wearing, he's smiling. Maybe there are brighter and cheerier smiles a person can make, but seeing as Cheren's not interacting with us, or anyone else, and he's smiling, he must have had a darned good day today, even as he picks away at the barely-edible slop this place calls 'food.'
Bianca runs past me and over to Cheren, “Cheren!” She plops down at the table our friend is at, across from him. Since I'd seen Cheren much more recently, I just causally walk over, and sit down next to Bianca.
Cheren greets Bianca with his smile, “Oh! Bianca! It's been a long time.”
“Well, it looks like the trio's back together again,” I say, “You seem to be pretty jazzed, Cheren. What's the story?”
Cheren pauses, but then directs his hand, thereby directing our gazes, to the badges on his jacket: six, in two vertical rows of three. Wait a minute... The last time I saw him, he had four. One of his new badges is the Insect Badge, so it looks like he finally earned his place on the long list of people who'd beaten Burgh, but he'd just won his sixth badge too? It looks like a blue feather, “I'd just won my fifth and sixth badge. Why not be joyous?”
“All right, Cheren. Clearly more happened than just you going back to Castelia City and beating Burgh since we parted. Let's hear it,” I say.
Cheren tells us about his adventures after we parted way outside Driftveil City. He went to Castelia City and, with Combusken, he defeated Burgh easily, and Combusken evolved into 'Blaziken.' Afterward, he returned to Driftveil City, and journeyed up Route 6, where he found the Chargestone Cavern, and caught his sixth Pokemon, 'Elekid.' After that, his Staravia scored her final form, called 'Staraptor,' apparently, meaning I'm now the only one out of the the of us without any wings (C'mon, Rufflet! You can feel free to evolve anytime, now.)
Anyways, the Mistralton Gym Leader just happened to be in the neighborhood. As I'd guessed before, the Gym Leader, who Cheren identifies as 'Skyla,' specializes in flying-types, and she gave our good friend some flying lessons. Afterward, they went to rest their Pokemon's wings, and Skyla told him who she is. They had a quick match, and with Blaziken, he won. They headed to Mistralton City, and Cheren got the Jet Badge. From there, he came here to this sub-par Pokemon Center to eat some sub-par grub and get some sub-par sleep, and that gets us caught up.
Still, something tells me Cheren's not telling the whole story. If it were just about the badges, he'd look merely satisfied, but in this case, he looks... happy. However, if he's not sharing any further details with us, he has a reason, and I know of one big secret he's keeping, and seeing that Bianca is here... I guess I'd better ask him later.
Next, Bianca tells Cheren of her big adventure, like where she'd gone, what Pokemon she'd caught, etc. I don't have a clear idea of Cheren and Bianca's respective timelines, but both of them had gone to Castelia City shortly before the present. If I had to guess, Cheren battled Burgh, and then moved on while Bianca fought in the tournament, where she won Larvitar.
Now that Bianca had gotten past her daddy issues, however, it seems she still can't live without some drama in her life, and she illustrates her latest crisis to us.
“Being a trainer is fun, and all,” Bianca says, “But... I don't know... I'm not sure if being a trainer is all I want to be. I know there are people who make a living as trainers, and that's great, and all, but... I'm not sure if that's all I want to do with my life. I guess... I'm not entirely sure of what I'm fighting for.”
“Don't tell your Pokemon that,” I say, You're their leader, after all, and you are the source of their morale. If you constantly show your doubt, they won't feel the motivation to train or fight their hardest.”
Cheren stares at me, aghast, “That's good advice, Ria... but I never thought I'd hear that from you.”
I grin slightly, “I guess I'm full of surprises, then.”
Cheren turns to Bianca, “Anyway, Bianca, you don't just have to be a trainer. Your achievements as one will greatly help if you want to be a Pokemon Ranger, or an agent for the International Police.”
“That doesn't sound too bad,” says Bianca, “I mean, I want to do something meaningful with the skills I'm gaining from my journey. I'm sure it'll be something to think about.”
Cheren turns back to me, “Anyway, Ria, I seriously doubt that advice you just gave Bianca just suddenly popped up in your head. Is there a story behind that. In fact, what have you been doing, ever since we parted ways?”
I tell Cheren about the adventures I'd had, gallivanting around in Undella Town. Like how, on Route 6, I was targeted by that Team Plasma dude, and his dark-type reopened an old psychological wound; how the Professor told me that Cedric might help me overcome my problem; how I met Cedric; how I learned that some Pokemon need a hardass for a trainer, thereby answering Cheren's question; and how I confronted my fears head-on, and captured Absol.
“So, you met Cedric Juniper?” asks Cheren, “That must have been something!”
“Yeah,” I say, “But anyway, I just know I'm starting to get past my phobia. I mean, I don't know if I'll conquer it completely, after five years worth of damage, but I think I can deal with it better now.”
“It looks like you'd just taken another big step,” says Cheren, “I guess our journey is doing wonders for all of us.”
“Looks that way.”
From there, we send out and introduce our latest Pokemon. Cheren's Elekid is a two-foot-tall yellow Pokemon with a black thunderbolt shape on its chest, and a pair of horns, resembling an electric plug. He says it's an electric-type, obviously, and that it's the pre-evolved form of Electabuzz, that Pokemon Elesa fought me with in Nimbasa City; I guess I'm never free from fighting a Pokemon again, even after beating them once. Bianca's new Pokemon, Larvitar, is a green reptilian Pokemon, exactly as tall as Elekid, with a hard hide; Cheren explains that Larvitar eventually evolves into a powerful Pokemon, called Tyranitar. As for Absol, I introduce Cheren to him, but instead of jumping over the table and hugging Cheren, like he did with Bianca and me, he just gives a passing nod, and then curls up and takes a nap. Oh Arceus... Don't tell me he only likes girls...
---
After spending almost an hour of forcing ourselves to eat our 'food,' we proceed to get ourselves cleaned up. The showers, like everything else in the Mistralton Pokemon Center, are sub-standard, with uneven heating, like the water is freezing cold at one moment, and unbearably hot at the next. Somehow, I survive that.
I get dressed and notice that Bianca is still getting herself cleaned up. As long as I'd known her, she'd been one to take a little longer to take a shower; what a neat freak. Still, this is good. While Bianca's getting herself cleaned, I can ask Cheren about the part of his story I suspect he omitted.
I head to the sleeping quarters, not looking the least bit forward to the night I'm about to have. The room is dimmed, and the few other trainers spending the night here are on their 'beds,' if you can call them that, tossing and turning, futilely trying to find the right position to sleep in. Yeah, good luck with that, guys.
I see Cheren sitting on the edge of one of the beds, with all his Pokemon out, eating some of the processed Poffins the Center offers, and looking like they're enjoying their meal as much as we humans enjoyed ours. Still, food is food, I guess. They are a pretty impressive sight though; particularly Blaziken, a humanoid chicken-ish Pokemon with legs buffed out to the max, and standing at a height taller than most humans.
As for Cheren, he has his Pokedex out, snapping pictures of his dining Pokemon, and reading data on them.
“Hey, Cheren,” I say, as I sit on a bed adjacent to his, and, following his cue, send out my Pokemon, and feed them some of the poffins I picked up earlier. Of course, they aren't enjoying their food either. Rufflet looks at me, with a face saying, 'C'mon, Ria! You're not seriously expecting me to eat this, are you? Get me a pizza, or something!' I respond with a face of my own, 'You will eat it, and you will like it... or try to anyway.'
Cheren glances at me from his Pokedex, “Oh. Ria.”
“So... what was up?” I ask.
“Excuse me?”
“When Bianca and I saw you, you look like you just had the day of your life. You said it was because of the badges, but you seemed too happy for it to just be that. Care to share it with good ol' Ria?”
Cheren hesitates, and then says, “Sure...” He inches closer to me, and lowers his voice, so no one else can hear, “Let's just say I feel... liberated.”
“'Liberated?'”
“Yeah...” Cheren gives me the long version of his encounter with the Mistralton Gym Leader. Apparently, she's a peppy and flirty girl... but most significant of all, according to Cheren, is her outlook. She likes nothing more than having fun, and looks forward to every day, whereas, Cheren, even though he'd had twelve years to deal with his impending death, and has taught himself to not let any of it on to others, but he still worries about it, and had dedicated himself toward pursuing his goal of becoming Champion... without realizing that, at its core, Pokemon battling is essentially a sporting event. Anyway, the Gym Leader, Skyla, helped Cheren realize that what matters is that he makes the most of the time he has, and take enjoyment in the pursuit of his dream, rather than just chase it.
“... I guess that realization just make me feel like something had been lifted from my shoulders,” Cheren concludes, “I can't believe I'm saying this, but maybe it doesn't ultimately matter if I become Champion. This isn't to say I will stop, but maybe the journey is more important than the goal.”
“It's like you said,” I say, “this journey really is doing us wonders.”
---
There are three layers of bunks for the trainers to sleep in, but considering they have no guard rails, rolling around on an upper bunk too much would result in one heck of a rude awakening (and this Center hasn't been sued because...?) Still, with the small number of trainers around, and thus, no shortage of free beds, Bianca, Cheren, and I each take a low bunk.
I lay back in my bed, with a mattress so thin, I'd might as well be sleeping on the floor. I say to Bianca and Cheren, “Well nighty-night and sleep tight... if you can even sleep under these conditions.”
“Are you going to have trouble sleeping?” Bianca asks.
“Considering my body is already starting to ache, pretty much.”
“Yes, this is rather unpleasant,” Cheren agrees.
“I can help!” announces Bianca, as she sits up in her bed. She takes a Pokeball from her belt, and gives it a little toss. There's a bright flash, which warrants some moans and rocking from the other trainers trying to get to sleep, and the Pokemon that appears is a three-foot-long oval-shaped Pokemon, hovering in midair, with a pink and purple body, and a lazy expression. I don't even need my Pokedex to tell that it's Musharna, the Pokemon Munna evolves into, since they don't look that much different.
Bianca says to Musharna, as she gestures to me and Cheren, “My friends are having trouble getting to sleep. Can you use Hypnosis on them?”
Okay... I get it. It would have been a good show of faith if Bianca had asked our permission, but whatever; I'm down with anything that can drag me into the deepest depths of Dreamland right now. Since Cheren raises no objection, it looks like he's up for it too.
Musharna floats over to Cheren. Her eyes glow bright pink, and in about three seconds flat, he's out like a candle. Afterward, Musharna floats over to me. I stare into its beady eyes, which start to glow, and, in an instant, I find myself falling asl... Zzzzzzz...
~~~
I find myself... somewhere. It looks like outer space, or at least what I'd been led to believe what outer space looks like, surrounded all around, even below, by stars, planets, comets, and all that other groovy cosmic stuff. However, something's strange: Firstly, I'm on solid ground, and by that, I mean that there's gravity where I am. Secondly, the surface that gravity has me stuck to is invisible. I feel like I'm walking on a floor, which feels hard, smooth, and tiled, but when I look down, I don't see it. Thirdly, I can breath. Finally, I'm not even human; I'm a Minccino, and I have two other Minccinos with me: One is dark-furred and wearing Cheren's specs, and the other is yellow-furred and wearing Bianca's green cap. As for me, I'm brown-furred, and wearing my black vest.
In front of us is a huge white four-legged Pokemon, with a golden ring encircling its body. I recognize it as Arceus, or at least how most depictions portray Him, and He looks angry for some reason.
The Minccino versions of my friends and I hop into action, and get ready for the fight of our lives against the being who is believed to create the universe.
The battle goes on for a while... and by a while, I mean a millennium or two, though it feels a tad shorter than that, but finally, we have Arceus down, and we're Tickling Him into submission, when the Alpha Pokemon suddenly turns into a colossal Musharna. The dot on its head turns black, and it sucks everything, universe and all, into it like a black hole.
~?~!~
Thanks to Musharna, I managed to sleep well enough, but I ultimately find myself jolted awake.
I open my eyes, thinking I must have had an interesting, if maybe scary, dream, but I can't remember a single bit of it. What's up with that? When my vision comes into focus, I see Bianca and Cheren standing over me, and between them is Bianca's Musharna, and a bunch of pink mist is pouring out of her forehead. Dream Mist?
“Honestly, how long do you plan to sleep?” asks Cheren, “It's almost eleven o' clock.”
“That late?” I ask, drowsily.
Bianca smiles, “You were having an interesting dream, Ria, with us being Minccinos, and fighting Arceus.”
“That's what I'd been dreaming about?” I ask, “How did you know...?” I stop short. Of course I know how they know what I was dreaming; Musharna ate my dream, and is now producing Dream Mist, sharing it with anyone who breathes it in. Did Bianca and Cheren just make me their guinea pig? Whatever. I'm too drowsy to make an objection.
“Anyway,” Cheren begins, “You need to rise and shine, and fast. The Gym Leader is waiting for you.”
“So?” I say, “She's got going anywhere...”
“Actually, she is,” says Bianca.
“Skyla is getting restless,” says Cheren, “She likes spending the better part of her day riding her Pokemon, and, after I watched Bianca defeat her, I said you'd come shortly. She said she'd give you one hour to arrive, and then she'd go on an outing.”
“Okay...” I say, “I'll grab a quick breakfast, and then...”
“Actually, says Bianca, “It took a twenty-five minute walk to get back to the Center, so you actually have thirty-five minutes to get to the Gym...”
“Oh crap!” I'm jolted wide awake at that news. There's no way I'm gonna let another day pass by! Besides, now that Bianca had won the Jet Badge, as I observe on her shirt, that means my reign as the one ahead in the 'badge race' is now over, so now it's time to try and tie the score!
I put on my vest, grab my supply bag, buckle my Pokeball belt, dash out of the sleeping quarters, with Bianca and Cheren eating my dust, pass through the cafeteria to grab a low-quality bagel to eat on my way to the Gym, and leave, dashing across town and down the runway. It's not like I'd been keeping time, but I don't think it took me ten minutes, or even five, to start my day; I think I just set a new personal record!
Through all of that, however, my mind manages to be preoccupied with a thought that isn't involved with how chronologically screwed I might end up being. I realize that Minccino-related dreams have been a pretty common occurrence for me, and after recent events, I retrospectively have an idea why.
About four months after the traumatizing event I experienced five years ago, my dad caught a Minccino, and gave him to mom as a gift. He's sort of been like our family pet, as well as a housekeeping Pokemon, ever since. Anyway, even though he's a cute two-foot-tall critter, I got really nervous around him, even though he was just trying to be friendly. However, time has a way of working a little magic on someone, and I gradually became less and less nervous around him, as I knew he was harmless. I guess he's the reason why I managed to stand being around Pokemon, even while my phobia was going on, and maybe my recovery began before I even knew it. Heh... I owe Minccino a big thanks when I see him again.
---
I head down the mile-and-a-half of runway at full sprint, and the already-humid eighty-degree day isn't making things any easier. Finally, I make it to the end of the runway, where Mistralton 'Gym' is, both winded and with my clothes drenched in sweat. After the morning I'd been having so far, the Gym Leader had better be here.
Despite my limited oxygen, I head over to the whistle, and blow it. The sound that comes out is barely audible. Reluctantly, I wait for my breath to catch up with me, and try again... multiple times.
TOOT! TOOT! TOOOOOOOT! TOOTOOTOOT!
Finally, a young-sounding female voice from the badly painted house beyond the nearby greenhouses, calls out, “Okay, okay! Hold your Horseas! I'm on my way!” About thirty seconds later, a... cloud, or something like that, rises and spreads out from behind the house. I'm startled at first, until I notice that it's not really a cloud at all, but instead, a large flock of flying Pokemon of various kinds; birds, bugs, bats. They fly toward my location, and start roosting on the ground, perching themselves on the two elevated platforms, or simply remaining in the air, hovering or soaring around.
I notice one of the birds, a swan-like Pokemon with a long beak and wide wingspan, flying toward me, and on its back is a human, who, as the Pokemon approaches the ground, jumps off and lands right in front of me. Man, what a showoff.
The person, who I don't think it's a stretch to assume is the Gym Leader, is a young girl, about eighteen, if I had to guess, making her the youngest Gym Leader I'd seen so far on this journey, besides Iris and those triplets in Striaton City. She has magenta hair, striking blue eyes, and an equally blue aviator's outfit. She comes across to me as a pilot of some kind, unsurprisingly, considering the type she specializes in.
“Well, it looks like someone is pretty impatient,” says the girl, who, despite her words, is grinning like she's having the time of her life, “Still, seeing as you clearly came here in a hurry, is your name Ria?”
“Yes, it is,” I say, “Are you the Gym Leader...? 'Skyla,' right?”
The girl winks in response, “You got it. So, you're the third member of Cheren's trio. Hm...” Skyla leans forward and stares at me intently for a few seconds.
“Um... what are you doing?” I ask, feeling uncomfortable.
“Oh, just getting a good look at you,” says Skyla, “Well, I'd say you don't quite hold a candle to Bianca, but you're still an attractive enough girl. I can't believe Cheren's never fallen for either of you.”
“What?”
Skyla waves a dismissive hand, “Oh, just noticing things. Anyway, I know why you're here; a Gym battle, right? I was looking forward to this, so I told your friends that I was about to go flying to get you to arrive sooner.”
“Hold on,” I say, “That whole 'leaving in an hour' thing was just a ruse?”
“Yes it was,” says Skyla.
“Ugh! Of all the...”
“Aw, don't look so sour,” coos Skyla, patting my shoulder as if I were ten years younger, “You want a Gym battle, so you got a Gym battle. Hm...” Skyla gives me a once-over, “Like the handsome Cheren and the cute Bianca, it seems the sporty Ria has five badges too. It looks like I have another five-badge Gym battle, then. I guess we'll follow the rules of the other two: two-on-two, singles, no switch-outs. You don't really have a choice, or anything, but does that sound like a plan?”
“Sure thing,” I say.
“Awesome,” says Skyla with a bright smile. She reaches upward, and her swan like Pokemon takes fight. She grabs its legs and is carried ten feet to the top of one of the platforms. Skyla calls down, “Go onto the other platform, and let's begin!”
“Totally,” I say, though I'm a tad annoyed that Skyla got to be carried to her platform, like she's mocking me, while I have to climb a latter to mine.
When I get to the top of my platform, I think about what my first Pokemon should be. Flying-type Pokemon have always been a problem for me... and really, most other people too. In fact, most of the battles I'd lost to other trainers were because of flying-types. This is because choosing a Pokemon with attacks that have an advantage against them are usually not enough. Either, they have to be able to attack from a distance, be quick enough to counter if one swoops in to attack, or be able to fly too. Luckily, I have Pokemon that are capable of all three of those tasks, but I decide to make Magmortar my first choice, due to his expertise in long-range combat, as well as having attacks that are effective against flying-types, like Thunderbolt.
I grab Magmortar's Pokeball, while I wait for Skyla to make her choice. I noticed before that she has a few Pokeballs attached to her belt, but they have clear centers, which mean that they are empty, or they are custom-made for any Pokemon under her care who need to be recalled to be healed. Noticing that she's looking at the flock of Pokemon that came with her, I'm guessing all of them are her Pokemon to be used for Gym battles.
Skyla glances back at her group of flyers, and after a few seconds of thinking it over, she says, “Alrighty, I've decided! Send out your Pokemon whenever you feel like it!”
“Got it!” I rear back and toss Magmortar's Pokeball into the field, “Go! Magmortar!” The capsule falls ten feet to the ground, the furthest it's ever had to fall, hits the surface and bursts open, releasing Magmortar, and then it flies ten feet up, back into my hand, making me wonder how far it has to fall to not return to me.
At the same time, Skyla gestures at her flock, and then at the battlefield, “Alright, Ninjask! Let's have some fun!” From her group, a Ninjask flies out in a black and gold blur, and appears in the field.
Hm... A Ninjask, huh? I've sen Burgh use one a couple times. It's a bug/flying-type, and it's really, really fast. Still, Magmortar has a big type advantage over it, so it looks like things are looking up for us right off the bat!
I look at Skyla, but I see no sign of worry on her face at all; a sure enough sign that she's up to something. Still, all we gotta do is knock Ninjask out, right?
“Let us begin!” declares Skyla.
“Niiiiiiin!” Ninjask cries out in a shrill voice.
“Magmortar!” I shout, “Let's end this fast! Flamethrower!”
“Mag!” Magmortar aims one of his cannons in Ninjask's direction, and fires off a stream of flames. The attack looks like it's about to hit, but suddenly, Ninjask practically vanishes from its location with a blur. Magmortar tries to follow Ninjask's movements, but even with his speed training with the Power Anklets, the bug/flying-type is much, much faster.
To make matters worse, Ninjask's body periodically flashes blue, and after each flash, its already-unbelievable speed increases even more, to the point where it's not even a blue anymore, and its movements become invisible! I try to analyze this with my Pokedex, but Ninjask is moving too fast for me to get a snapshot. However, Skyla decides to fill me in, “Haha! Are you trying to figure out Ninjask's ability, Ria? It's called Speed Boost. The more the battle goes on, the faster Ninjask becomes. If I weren't your opponent, I'd wish Magmortar luck in hitting him!”
“Tch!” The battles goes on, with Ninjask moving around like crazy, and Magmortar unsuccessfully trying to get a lucky shot in. Ninjask doesn't go on the offensive, and I feel like we're being mocked.
Ninjask suddenly appears right in front of Magmortar's face, too close for him to use his cannons. The fire-type staggers back in alarm, “Magmag!”
“Fire Punch!” I command.
Magmortar's hand emerges from his cannon, ignited. He throws a flaming punch at Ninjask, but it vanishes at the last possible second, reappearing several feet above.
“Thunderbolt!” I yell.
Magmortar's arm turns into a cannon again. He aims up, and fires a dazzling beam of electricity, but that, like every other attack so far, misses, as Ninjask effortlessly dodges it. Shoot! It's too fast! Still, something as small and quick as Ninjask has to be a major lightweight; I can't imagine it being able to take a hit very well, so as long as we can just get one in, it should be all we need to gain the upper hand...
Skyla laughs, “Teeheehee! Good show, Ninjask! Enough fun, though. It's time to attack! Fury Cutter!”
“Niiiiiiiiiin!” Ninjask's claws glow light-green, and it vanishes again. A split-second later, Magmortar winces, as I see a small cut get formed on his skin. Ninjask reappears, and then vanishes again, and another cut is formed. Soon enough, the bug/flying-type is showering Magmortar with slashes, each one seeming to be stronger than the last. Even though it's touching Magmortar, whatever burns it's getting from his Flame Body ability don't matter, as like Emolga during my battle with Elesa, Ninjask's momentum is no doubt blowing out the flames.
Speaking of my match against Elesa, though, between winces from Ninjask's increasingly more powerful attack, I notice that Magmortar is giving me some sort of pleading look, and I have a guess of what he has in mind: the same thing that allowed him to defeat Emolga that time.
I realize that if I verbally give the command, Ninjask may be alerted, and keep its distance away from Magmortar, therefore blowing our chance, so I just respond with a silent nod.
Magmortar performs Overheat, releasing flames from his entire body, though, in order to get in a fast hit, he doesn't charge up. Still, even in its weakest form, Overheat still manages to score a good hit on the unsuspecting Ninjask. Covered in burns, with steam mixed in with the smoke, Ninjask is sent staggering back, and landing on the ground, stunned.
“Ninjask!” Skyla cries.
“Now's our chance, Magmortar!” I yell, “Take it down with Flamethrower!”
“Mag!” Magmortar stands over Ninjask. Being the merciful dude that he is, he aims down at the Ninja Pokemon, and completely engulfs it in fire. When the flames clear, Ninjask is just barely hanging on. It's at that moment, that I notice something tied around its body: a Focus Sash, like the one I gave to Absol! It's glowing brightly, and giving Ninjask one last ounce of willpower.
“Ninjask!” shouts Skyla, “Use Baton Pass!”
“Niiiiin...” Ninjask groans. It points one of its arms skyward, and a bluish beam shoots up from it. Once it's about fifty feet in the air, it takes on a shape: a small glowing blue cylinder. With that, Ninjask collapses.
Skyla recalls Ninjask with one of her empty Pokeballs and says, cheerily, “Well, it looks like I'm down to one Pokemon, and you still have two. You're on a roll, Ria!”
I can tell that something's not quite right. Sure, Ninjask was fast, but overall, that round came off more as 'annoying,' rather than 'difficult.' I'm also worried about that last move Ninjask performed before fainting. Skyla is definitively up to something.
I snap a picture of the cylinder floating in the air with my Pokedex, and 'Technique: Baton Pass' comes up as a result. Without having a lot of time to look all the information over, I just read the first line, which has the moves most basic information. It's says that any temporary ability augmentations a Pokemon gains during a battle are released from a Pokemon's body, and can then be transferred to another Pokemon. I get it... Ninjask's Speed Boost ability increased its speed several times throughout the battle, and now, those increases will be transferred to Skyla's next Pokemon, if it gets to that cylinder! This is bad!
Skyla calls her next Pokemon into the field, “You're up next, Swoobat!” The Pokemon that flies from Skyla's flock to the battlefield is a three-foot-tall blue bat-like Pokemon, with black wings, light-blue mane covering most of its body, a pink tail, and, most noticeably, a round nose with a heart-shaped nostril. According to my Pokedex, it's called Swoobat, the Courting Pokemon, a psychic/flying-type.
Skyla commands, “Swoobat, get the baton, and gain Ninjask's speed!”
“Swoooo!” Swoobat ascends toward the cylinder.
Not good! Swoobat will become as fast as Ninjask if it gets to the cylinder, and I have a feeling this one may be the real deal.
“Magmortar!” I shout, “Fire! Fire! Shoot down Swoobat right now! Don't let it get to the cylinder!”
“Magmort!” Magmortar aims up, and fires several bolts of electricity up at Swoobat in rapid succession.
Unfortunately, while not as fast as Ninjask, Swoobat is still pretty quick, and it manages to swiftly dodge Magmortar's shots as it rises. Magmortar, no doubt understanding the situation, fires off Thunderbolt attacks even more rapidly.
When Swoobat is just a few feet away from the cylinder, Magmortar finally gets in a lucky shot, which grazes Swoobat's left wing. Afterward, the Courting Pokemon, probably just having had a few muscles in its wing paralyzed, isn't flying as fast, but it's still close enough to come in contact with the cylinder. It vanishes on contact, and Swoobat's body flashes with blue light a few times. As for Magmortar, he really wore himself down by firing off all the shots he did, and slumps down in exhaustion.
“Good job, Swoobat,” says Skyla, “Now, keep your distance, and keep firing on Magmortar!”
“Swoooo!” Swoobat swoops down, to get a little closer to Magmortar, but still maintain a safe distance. Swoobat definitely got faster after getting the cylinder, but it's not moving invisibly fast, or even as a blur. It looks like the injury it got slowed it down a bit, which is a plus on our end, but it's clear that Magmortar can't take much more exertion.
A bunch of sky-blue colored blades materialize around, Swoobat, and it flaps its wings down at Magmortar, launching them. The Blast Pokemon takes evasive action, trying to avoid the blades the best he can. With the training he got with the Power Anklets, he's pretty agile, even with his bulky body and short legs, but there are a lot of blades, and it's hard to counterattack while dodging. Ultimately, most of the blades manage to hit, and Magmortar slumps to one knee.
“Magmortar!” I yell.
“All right, Swoobat!” says Skyla, approvingly, “Now, finish it with a Psychic attack!”
“Baaaaaaat!” a large pink orb appears in front of Swoobat, and it fires it down at Magmortar. It scores a direct hit, creating a small crater in the pavement. Magmortar goes down.
“Return!” I say, recalling the Blast Pokemon.
Alright, now we're down one-to-one, but Magmortar did cause quite a bit of damage on his own, beating Ninjask, and lessening the speed increase Swoobat could have gotten. Still, who to send out next...
I have two Pokemon with long-range attacks that are strong against flying-types: Dewott with Ice Beam, and Absol, who can use both Ice Beam and Thunderbolt, but the latter is still in training, so no go there. As for Dewott, I'm not so sure. Swoobat has the speed and distance to avoid ranged attacks, especially from a non-flyer, with ease. The best method I can think of is, rather than attack from a distance, fight it up close and personal, and I have only one Pokemon capable of doing that. Might as well go for it!
I send out my second and last Pokemon, “Rufflet! I choose you!” The Eaglet Pokemon appears on my end.
“Oh!” Skyla squeals, “A Rufflet! That's really awesome, Ria!”
“Um... Thanks?” I'm not used to an opponent getting excited about a Pokemon sent out on the other side.
“Ruuuff,” says Rufflet in an 'aw shucks' kinda way.
“We're not gonna go easy on it, though,” says Skyla, “Swoobat! Attack with another Air Cutter attack!”
“Swoooooo!” Like before, another flurry of sky-blue blades materializes around Swoobat, and it sends them down at Rufflet.
Luckily, since Rufflet is feeling 100%, unlike Magmortar, when Swoobat used the same move earlier, he leaps and flies around, dodging all but a few of the blades.
“Alright, Rufflet!” I say, “Get up there, and let it have it!”
“Ruff ruff!” Rufflet takes flight, and approaches Swoobat.
“Keep your distance, and wear it down with Confusion!” Skyla commands.
Swoobat retreats by a few feet. Its nose glows bright pink, and it starts firing off a volley of Confusion bolts.
Being familiar with the Confusion attack, I know there will be problems of one of those bolts gets Rufflet in the head. “Rufflet! Focus on defense, and guard your head!”
“R-ruff!” Struggling to hover by flapping one wing, Rufflet covers his head with the other. All the bolts slam into Rufflet, but none hit his head.
“Good job,” I say, “Now, advance!”
Rufflet flies toward Swoobat. He, like all my other Pokemon, since their Power Anklet training, is pretty agile, but no matter how fast he is, Swoobat's augmentation makes it even faster, and it falls back, the Eaglet Pokemon being unable to get anywhere close to it.
Rufflet flies after Swoobat, delivering one unsuccessful attack after another.
Finally, Rufflet closes in on Swoobat, but it's quickly apparent that Swoobat's just toying with him, when it dodges upward at the last second, just as the Eaglet Pokemon is attempting to slash it with his talons. The Courting Pokemon flies directly above him, and, facing downward, a large pink orb appears in front of it, and fires.
Rufflet takes the Psychic attack at point-blank range and is pushed downward, ultimately getting sandwiched between the psychic blast and the ground.
“Rufflet!” I cry out.
“Ruff... let...” groans Rufflet as he slowly gets back to his feet.
“Well, it looks like this one's in the bag,” says Skyla, “Rufflet isn't getting anywhere near harming Swoobat. Your Pokemon is fast, but not fast enough.”
C'mon, Ria! Think! Does Rufflet have any moves that can even the speed difference? Brute force alone just isn't cutting it here.
I mentally run through our previous training sessions, trying to recall whatever moves Rufflet had gained. Unfortunately, between six Pokemon, learning techniques left and right, there's a lot to keep track of, and I don't exactly have time to consult my notebook right now. Finally, I recall a sparring match between Rufflet and Magmortar, where the Blast Pokemon fired a bunch of shots up at the Eaglet Pokemon, and Rufflet was forced to dodge like crazy. It seemed Magmortar had him completely at bay, but then Rufflet performed a move that caused him to fly like a jet, and he started flying faster than Magmortar could aim. I was so confident in the speed Rufflet already had that I almost forgot about it! Hopefully he can better match Swoobat's speed that way.
“Rufflet!” I call out, “Use Tailwind!”
Rufflet nods in response, and then his eyes start to glow sky-blue. I noticed that Pokemon do this when they are about to perform a technique where they manipulate an existing element in an area, like plants, water, or, in this case, air. Dust and tiny fragments of asphalt lift off the ground and circle around Rufflet as he takes control of the surrounding air, turning it into wind. The Eaglet Pokemon looks up at Swoobat and spreads his wings wide.
Skyla sighs, “Maybe this isn't over, after all...”
With the wind powering his wings, Rufflet launches from the ground like a missile, straight at Swoobat, who narrowly dodges. Rufflet flies past it, but he then performs an almost instantaneous U-turn, and shoots back down at the Courting Pokemon, and even with its enhanced speed, it looks hard-pressed to compete with the Eaglet Pokemon.
“Ah! Swoobat! Psychic attack!” yells Skyla.
Another orb of psychic energy forms in front of Swoobat, seconds away from being fired. Not good. Rufflet's coming in too fast to dodge in time. An idea occurs to me, however: that ghost-type technique Rufflet learned in Undella Town... and ghost-type techniques are strong against...
“Rufflet! Shadow Claw!” I counter-command.
Swoobat fires its psychic blast. At the same time, Rufflet's talons glow dark purple, and he performs and aerial forward somersault, vertically cutting into the psychic orb.
Rufflet breaks through the attack, not appearing to have taken much damage himself, and he closes in on Swoobat. His talons radiate ghost-type energy again, and he tears into the psychic/flying-type with another Shadow Claw attack.
“Baaaaaaat!” Swoobat screeches, as Rufflet's attack forms no fewer than six steaming scars on its body.
“Ah! Swoobat!” Skyla cries out.
“Awesome work, Rufflet,” I say, “Now, follow that up with Crush Claw!”
“Flet!” Rufflet maneuvers above Swoobat, and kicks down hard with his talons. The Courting Pokemon is sent rocketing to the ground, slamming hard against the runway's asphalt.
“Swoooooo...”
“C'mon, Swoobat!” Skyla tries to urge Swoobat on, “You've still got some fight in you!”
“All right, Rufflet!” I call out, “Now, finish it with Brave Bird!”
“Rufflet rufflet!” Rufflet's entire body glows sky blue, and he shoots down toward Swoobat, who responds by rolling onto its back, and firing another psychic blast up at the Eaglet Pokemon.
Rufflet and the blast collide, and struggle against each other. However, with Swoobat weakened by Rufflet's previous attacks, the attack is also weakened, and the normal/flying-type breaks through with little trouble.
Rufflet slams full-force into Swoobat, and there's an explosion of dust and broken asphalt. When the debris clears, Rufflet is standing over Swoobat, breaking heavily, while the psychic/flying-type is down, not even attempting to get back up. The battle's outcome is clear.
Skyla sighs and recalls Swoobat, “At least we lost to a Rufflet. I can't complain much, there...”
I slide down my platform's latter, and rush over to Rufflet, with my elbow extended to my side. Rufflet flutters up, and perches himself on my arm, “That was awesome, Rufflet! Great battle!”
“Ruff rufflet!”
Skyla rides her swan-like Pokemon from her platform and down to me, “Well, that was a fun battle... Of course, I think all battles are fun, so that's not saying much, but anyway...” She holds out an upside-down fist to me and opens it, revealing the feather-shaped badge I'd seen Cheren and Bianca wearing, “... here's your Jet Badge. Y'know, after battling Cheren and Bianca, deep down, I had a feeling you'd pull off a win somehow.”
“Yeah right,” I respond, as I take the Jet Badge and pin it to my vest, “You really had us on the ropes for a while.”
Skyla shrugs, “Yeah, but trainers who'd won five badges usually don't lose that easily...” She turns her attention to Rufflet, “Anyways, it looks like Ria really raised you well, Rufflet! With a little more training, you'll definitely evolve into one mighty Braviary!”
“Rufflet rufflet rufflet!” Rufflet exclaims excitedly.
“How much longer?” I ask, but then glance at Rufflet, “Uh, not that I don't like you as a Rufflet, or anything.”
'Ruff rufflet,” says Rufflet in an understanding tone.
Skyla says, “It takes an immense amount of training for a Rufflet to become strong enough to evolve into a Braviary, but I'm positive yours is almost there, Ria. Anyway...” She looks over my shoulder and upward, “Did you two enjoy the show?”
“Huh?” I turn around and follow Skyla's gaze.
Several feet in the air, I see Cheren, on the back of a black and white-colored hawk-like Pokemon, and Bianca, riding a light-green dragonfly-like Pokemon, almost seven feet long, with red eyes, wide wings, and a long striped tail. Both of them are hovering in the air, watching us. I'd already seen Cheren's flying Pokemon, Staraptor, and seeing as Bianca told me about it, I'm pretty sure the Pokemon she's riding is the flying ground/dragon-type Pokemon, Flygon.
“Um... How long have you guys been there?” I ask.
“About the time Rufflet shot up at Swoobat,” Bianca answers.
“We decided to watch how your battle would go,” says Cheren, “and give you a shoulder to cry on if things went awry.”
I feign a laugh, as I recall Rufflet, “Ha-ha, you guys. Real funny.”
Cheren and Bianca land near Skyla and me.
“Anyway,” says Bianca, “It looks like we've all just made Hyper Rank!”
Pokemon trainers are ranked by how many badges they earn. Beginners are just that: Beginner Rank. Trainers with one badge are Novice Rank; Two badges are Normal Rank, three are Super Rank, six are Hyper Rank, eight are Elite Rank, and trainers who have earned the Pokemon League Badge, or hold the title of Elite Four or Champion, are Master Rank. Two more, and we become Elite Ranked trainers... not a bad feeling.
Skyla says, “Well, being a Gym Leader, and all, I guess I have to congratulate you. So... I guess I can't count on you sticking around in Mistralton City a little longer?”
“I'm afraid not,” says Cheren, “It's only noon, which means we have enough time to at least make it a fair enough way to Iccirus City...”
“Or Driftveil City in my case,” says Bianca.
“So, you're taking on the Boss-man next?” I say to Bianca, referencing the story I told her about our Driftveil adventures.
“I don't know,” says Bianca, “Now that we're Hyper Rank, the Gym battles are really gonna get tough. I should pick my next opponents carefully. Anyway... before we part ways again, there's something I want to ask.”
“What's up?” I ask.
“Actually, it's something I want to ask Cheren...”
“Hm? What is it?” asks Cheren.
Bianca gives Cheren a straight-forward look, “I want to challenge you to a Pokemon battle. I want to see just how far I'd come as a trainer.”
Cheren seems a tad surprised, not that I blame him. Bianca wasn't hesitant about challenging him at all. He recovers, and then nods, “Okay. I accept. Let's head back to the Pokemon Center, so Staraptor and Flygon can recover their strength, and then we can--”
“Oh, you don't have to go through all that trouble,” Skyla cuts in, “You can go ahead and use my Gym. As for Staraptor and Flygon, I'll be right back!” She rides her swan-like Pokemon over the greenhouses and back to her house. About forty seconds later, she's back, and she hands two white and purple spray bottles to Cheren and Bianca, “Now that you have flying Pokemon to ride around on, it's a good idea to have some Ethers handy. Just spray their wings with it, and the soreness will just disappear!”
Cheren and Bianca do just that, and spray their Pokemon's wings with the Ethers they'd been given.
In the meantime, Skyla explains, “Flying around on your Pokemon is a two-way deal, you know? It gets you places, and it's good training for a Pokemon to become a better flyer. In time, they won't even feel sore from carrying you from one side of the region to the other.”
Mere seconds later, Staraptor and Flygon look energized enough to battle.
“Thank you, Skyla,” says Bianca.
“Yes, thank you,” says Cheren.
“Oh, you're welcome, handsome,” says Skyla to Cheren, “Would you like a good luck kiss?”
Cheren smiles while blushing slightly. Well, Cheren sure wasn't kidding last night about Skyla's flirtatious tendencies, “Thanks, but only if you give one to Bianca too. I'd like things to be equal.”
“Oh, really?” says Skyla, looking over at Bianca, who frantically shakes her head. “Oh well. I guess I'll just say 'good luck,' then.”
“Same here,” I say, “I'd like to see how you guys do against each other.”
“Thanks!” Bianca and Cheren call out as they recall their flying Pokemon.
They take their places on their respective platforms, and Bianca asks, “So... um... what are the rules gonna be?”
“Elekid isn't quite up to fighting strength with my other Pokemon,” says Cheren, “and seeing as you just recently acquired your Larvitar, I doubt it is too.”
“So, five-on-five?” Bianca asks.
“Yes,” says Cheren, “and how about we make this a straight-forward battle with no switch-outs?”
“Okay,” says Bianca, “That's fine.”
“Then let's get to it!”
There is a brief pause, as Bianca and Cheren consider their first move. In some ways, battles against fellow traveling trainers are actually tougher than battles against Gym Leaders, as they don't specialize in a single Pokemon type, so you don't know what to expect. It ultimately comes down to luck of the draw.
I look at Bianca. The Bianca I knew would probably be nervous about battling Cheren, but if she is, it's sure not registering on her face. Well, Bianca traveled and trained on her own for a while, and she'd won six badges, just like me and Cheren. I shouldn't be surprised that she'd become a much more confident and disciplined trainer during that time, and she's not gonna feel doubtful against an opponent that's on the same skill level as her. Still, the transformation is almost scary. Where did the old Bianca go?
After roughly fifteen seconds of consideration, Bianca and Cheren make their first Pokemon choices and toss their Pokeballs into the field, “Gardevoir!”
“Go! Glaceon!”
Gardevoir appears on Cheren's end, while the Pokemon that appears on Bianca's end is a blue and light-blue colored fox-like Pokemon. My Pokedex identifies it as Glaceon, the Fresh Snow Pokemon, an ice-type, and an evolved form of the Eevee Bianca got at the Pokemon Sale; one of several, actually.
“A psychic-type and an ice-type,” Skyla observes, “It looks like a pretty even start to this match.”
“Let's begin, Gardevoir!” Cheren shouts, “Psychic attack!” In response, Gardevoir holds out her arms and fires a powerful blast of psychic energy at Glaceon. After the match against Swoobat, that move seem to be everyone's attack of choice for the day.
However, Glaceon narrowly sidesteps the attack, and Bianca commands, “Good one, Glaceon! Ice Beam!”
“Glaaa!” Glaceon opens her mouth and fires a beam of concentrated frigid air at Gardevoir, who extends an arm in response, and the attack clashes against a psychic barrier that she forms. Looks like a stalemate for now.
“Gardevoir! Close in and use Focus Blast,” Cheren commands.
“Voir...” Gardevoir suddenly vanishes from where she was standing, and reappears behind Glaceon. She extends her arms down at the ice-type, and a reddish-brown energy orb forms in front of her. With that color, it means she's preparing an energy-based fighting-type attack.
“Glaceon! Behind you!” shouts Bianca.
“Gla!” the Fresh Snow Pokemon exclaims as she leaps away from Gardevoir, quickly putting ten feet between them.
“Shadow Ball! Quick!” Bianca calls out.
Glaceon opens her mouth, and a dark-purple ball of ghost-type energy forms and flies toward Gardevoir. At the same time, the Embrace Pokemon releases her attack, and the two energy orbs fly at each other.
Fighting-type attacks are complete ineffective against ghost-types, and the same goes for techniques, apparently, as instead of the two attacks clashing, Glaceon's Shadow Ball attack passes right through Gardevoir's Focus Blast.
The two attacks slam into their respective targets, leaving steaming wounds on both of them.
“Gar...”
“Glac...”
“So, Gardevoir knows a fighting-type move...” notes Bianca, “I guess we gotta play it a bit safer. Glaceon! Hail!”
“Ceeeeon!” Glaceon cries as snow materializes and spirals around her, spreading until is completely fills the arena. Looking through the snowstorm as well as I can, I see Gardevoir, but not Glaceon. Okay, this is familiar; It's the same technique and ability combo Clay's Mamoswine used: Hail and Snow Cloak.
However, Cheren seems fairly unconcerned by this latest development... probably because he countered it with Gardevoir, then Kirlia, before. “Gardevoir! Magical Leaf!”
“Garde!” Several glowing leaves materialize and circle around Gardevoir, as she waits for Glaceon to appear and for the leaves to home in on her.
A few tense seconds pass before the leaves fly out at Gardevoir's four o' clock direction. She turns, a Focus Blast at the ready, but she suddenly gets slammed by a Shadow Ball before she even gets a chance to attack. Afterward, the Magical Leaves return to Gardevoir.
“Gr...” Cheren growls, not looking so reassured anymore, and I can see why; When we battled Clay, his Mamoswine was charging at Magmar and Kirlia, zeroing in on them, but in this case, Glaceon is using long-ranged attacks, attacking from a safe distance, and then going into hiding again. The Magical Leaves alert Gardevoir of Glaceon's location, but not before she attacks.
Gardevoir, clearly having taken quite a beating, is breathing heavily and slightly hunched over. It doesn't seem like Cheren has an idea of how to get her out of this situation. The Embrace Pokemon forms another Focus Blast, and waits for the Magical Leaves to reveal Glaceon's location... which they eventually do, indicating that Glaceon is right behind her.
Gardevoir whirls around to launch her attack, but another Shadow Ball slams into her before she even even has time to aim.
“Gar... de...” Having taken too much damage, Gardevoir slumps to the ground, defeated.
“Tch. Gardevoir! Return!” says Cheren, recalling the psychic-type.
The snowstorm is still going on, and Cheren is gonna have to find a way out of the funk he's in. I wonder who he'll send out next. Blaziken might be a good choice, having a full type advantage over Glaceon, or maybe Froslass, as she has Snow Cloak too, and can also benefit from it.
“Well, handsome is sure in a tight spot,” says Skyla, “I wonder what he has planned.”
Cheren takes several second to make his next choice, but he finally does, “Okay! I'm counting on you for this, Staraptor!” Cheren tosses his Pokeball and Staraptor appears on his end.
Bianca blinks a couple times, “Staraptor...? I sure wasn't expecting that...” The feeling is mutual.
“Oh! I was wonder when he was gonna send out Staraptor,” says Skyla, excitedly, probably because a flying-type had just taken to the field, “but against an ice-type? I wonder what he has planned.”
“Clearly something,” I mutter, “That's not a choice I'd make...”
Bianca shrugs, “Ah, anyway. Take Staraptor down quickly, Glaceon! Ice Beam!”
“Staraptor! Take evasive action!” Cheren counter-commands.
Staraptor spirals upward, narrowly avoiding Ice Beam attacks that Glaceon fires from various location from inside the snowstorm. Eventually, Glaceon wears herself out from attacking too much, and the beams come much less frequently.
“Okay,” says Cheren, “Now! Whirlwind!”
“Raptor!” Staraptor's eyes glow sky-blue, and she starts whirling around. The combination of the gusts caused by the Predator Pokemon's powerful wings, and the wind she's manipulating forms a cyclone around her, which sucks the entire snowstorm into it. Glaceon uses a minor Ice Beam to freeze her feet to the ground, in order to avoid getting sucked in as well, while Skyla and I step back and try to hold our ground against the powerful wind.
After all the snow gets sucked in, the wind pauses for a split second, and then everything gathered by the tornado gets blasted outward in every direction, almost knocking every human present, including me and Skyla, off our feet, and showering us with frost and dust, which is unpleasant to say the least. Where the mini-tornado used to be is Staraptor, hovering in midair, with thin steam rising from her body, no doubt having taken some minor ice-type damage from gathering all that snow.
With the snowstorm gone,and Glaceon no longer able to hide, Cheren says, “Excellent work, Staraptor. Now take Glaceon down! Close Combat!”
“Stara!” Staraptor's beak glows reddish-brown with fighting-type energy, and she swoops down at Glaceon, who tries to counter with an Ice Beam, but the normal/flying-type barrel-rolls out of its path, and slams into the ice-type, riddling her with a succession of powerful pecks, each leaving a steaming puncture.
“Glaceon!” shouts Bianca.
“Now for the finishing blow,” says Cheren, “Steel Wing!”
Staraptor rears back, and one of her wings glows with light-gray energy. She slams Glaceon, creating a misty gash. With that final blow, Glaceon goes down.
“Ah! Come back, Glaceon!” Bianca recalls the Fresh Snow Pokemon.
“They're down four-to-four,” says Skyla, “It looks like things are even again.”
Without taking too much time to consider, Bianca sends out her next Pokemon, “Alright! This one's up to you, Flygon!” Flygon appears on Bianca's end. It's a sensible enough choice; One way to counter a flying-type is with something that flies.
Staraptor ascends to put some distance between herself and Flygon, while Bianca commands the ground/dragon-type, “Okay, Flygon! Use Quick Attack and Stone Edge!”
“Gooooon!” The end of Flygon's tail glows dull-gray and she quickly bolts up toward Staraptor, reaching her in a matter of seconds, and swinging her tail up at the Predator Pokemon.
At the last second, Staraptor maneuvers to the side, the attack just grazing her, and, with Flygon rendered wide open, performs another Close Combat attack, repeatedly pecking her unprotected belly. However, it's an attack that requires a lot of stamina to pull off, and Staraptor is worn out after performing it. Flygon's tail glows again, and she performs an aerial front flip, slamming Staraptor from over head, spiking her down to the ground, slamming hard against the runway's asphalt.
“Star...”
“Hang in there,” Cheren urges Staraptor.
“Okay, Flygon!” says Bianca, “Take it down with Hyper Beam!”
“Goooooon!” Flygon looks down at Staraptor, and opens her mouth. A few seconds later, She fires a bright orange blast of energy down at Staraptor.
“Staraptor!” yells Cheren.
“Star... raptor!” Despite her wear and tear, Staraptor get to her feet and just barely manages to leap out of the beam's path. The Hyper Beam attack tears up the pavement and ground underneath where Staraptor was just a split second ago.
Bianca's eyes widen, “Oh no!”
Skyla states, “Hyper Beam is a powerful attack, but it uses a ton of a Pokemon's strength, and it needs a few seconds to recover. Flygon is now wide open for Staraptor.”
“I see,” I say, making a mental note to be careful about how Hyper Beam is used, in case one of my Pokemon ever learn that technique.
Staraptor flies up to Flygon, who is hovering in the air, stunned, while Cheren shouts, “Here's your chance, Staraptor! Use Brave Bird! Give it everything you've got!”
“Stara!” Staraptor flies up and above Flygon, performs a quick U-turn, and dives into her. The Predator Pokemon's entire body becomes silhouetted with sky blue energy, but also wisps of red, which is different than when Rufflet used the same technique against Swoobat. My Pokedex identifies this as a result of Staraptor's ability, Reckless, which makes high-energy collision attacks even more powerful, as well as strenuous for the user.
Staraptor slams Flygon into the ground, and the ground/dragon-type faints.
“Ah! Flygon! Return!” Bianca recalls Flygon.
“Yay! Staraptor!” Skyla cheers, “Go for three! Go for three!”
“I don't think that's gonna happen,” I say, “Look at Staraptor.” Staraptor is breathing heavily. I notice something wrapped around one of her legs: a Focus Sash, and it's glowing; she's being given one last ounce of energy to fight with.
“Oh.”
“Anyway, the battle is now four-to-three, and Cheren has gained the advantage. I wonder who Bianca's gonna send out next.”
After a couple seconds of consideration, Bianca tosses her next Pokeball into the field, “Okay! I'm counting on you to turn this around, Emboar!”
On Bianca's end, a huge, bulky, five-foot-tall pig-like Pokemon, mostly black with some orange, with large arms, short legs, flames wreathing its head, two tusks protruding from its lower jaw, and gold bands encircling its torso, appears. I instantly recognize it as an Emboar, a fire/fighting-type, also known as the Mega Fire Pig, like the one I'd watched in my Pokeflick. It's been my favorite Pokemon for a while, and I thought I'd be psyched to finally see one in person, but really, I'm not as excited as I thought I'd be. I guess I found some new favorite Pokemon... six new favorites, in fact; Dewott, Rufflet, Gallade, Magmortar, Marowak, and Absol. Heh... I guess it's only natural for trainers to be a fans of their own Pokemon. Now that I'm thinking about it, I used to idolize the Elite Four members, Marshal and Flint, but I think I found some new favorite trainers too... and I'm watching them battle right now.
Still, Emboar is part fighting-type, so will he be alright against Staraptor? On the other hand, Staraptor probably has just enough energy left for one last attack, so typing might not make too much of a difference in this case.
“Don't give in, Staraptor,” Cheren urges the normal/flying-type, “Give it everything you have! Brave Bird!”
“Star... raptor!” the Predator Pokemon cries out, as she becomes completely enveloped in flying-type energy again, takes flight, and charges at Emboar.
“Okay, Emboar,” says Bianca, “Hold your ground!” 'Hold your ground?' She not gonna let Emboar dodge that? What's she planning?
“Boaaaar!” Emboar leans forward, spreads his legs, and raises his arms, clearly anticipating Staraptor's impact.
Just before the Predator Pokemon would have slammed into Emboar, the Mega Fire Pig instantly stops her by clamping his arms on her. He's pushed back a few feet, but recieves no damage at all. Staraptor struggles, trying to break free, but it's quickly apparent that it's futile; Emboar's grasp is way too strong.
“Staraptor!” yells Cheren.
With a slight grin, Bianca says, “Good one, Emboar! Now, Heat Crash!”
“Boaaaaar!” With a roar, Emboar leaps about thirty feet into the air, which is surprisingly high for something of his weight class. After reaching the height of his jump, Emboar's body becomes enveloped with orange flames.
“Staaaaaaar!” Staraptor cries out as Emboar comes crashing down like a meteor, putting all his weight on top of her, which has got to hurt, considering the Mega Fire Pig Pokemon has at least two-hundred pounds on her, if I had to guess.
Emboar gets off Staraptor, who is embedded into the asphalt, not even twitching. It looks like she's as down as down can be...
With a sigh, Cheren recalls Staraptor. Now, Cheren's remaining Pokemon are Serperior, Blaziken, and Froslass, and Bianca's are Emboar, Musharna, and Zangoose; three-to-three. The score has tied once again.
As for Cheren, there's only one logical choice for which Pokemon he'll send out next, as both Serperior and Froslass are at a disadvantage against fire-types. He grabs a Pokeball from his belt, but as he's about to throw it, he pauses, and then puts it away, grabbing another. What the heck? Dude, Blaziken's the only sensible choice you have right now!
Cheren sends out his next Pokemon, “Go! Froslass!” Froslass appears on Cheren's end.
Bianca quickly analyzes Froslass with her Pokedex, and looks dumbfounded, “Huh?”
“I sure wasn't expecting that,” says Skyla.
“Believe me, the feeling is mutual,” I say, “Still, the last controversial choice Cheren made during this battle paid off, so I guess we should know better than to question it, and just assume he knows what he's doing.”
Recovering quickly, Bianca shouts, “It's part ice-type, Emboar! Let's take it down quickly! Flare Blitz!”
“Boooooooar!” Emboar's entire body ignites, but then all the fire converges into his left arm. It looks like he's putting all the fire-type energy he can muster into one powerful punch!
Emboar charges at Froslass with a blazing fist reared back, poised to throw his ample weight into a powerful punch.
Just as the Mega Fire Pig is just a few seconds away from the Snow Land Pokemon, Cheren commands, “Now, Froslass! Double Team!”
Froslass suddenly splits into four images of herself, and Emboar ends up attacking and passing through a fake, stumbling forward and almost falling over as he throws his weight-filled punch into thin air.
“Ah! Double Team...” Bianca groans.
With a satisfied smirk, Cheren then commands, “Froslass! Hail!”
“Laaass!” Froslass raises her arms, and a second snowstorm starts up in the battlefield, with Froslass and her three copies fading into it with Snow Cloak. This time, it's Bianca who's on the receiving end, and Cheren one-upped that strategy by making the ice/ghost-type even more elusive with Double Team! Smart move! I get my notebook and pen out of my supply bag. If Bianca manages to find a way out of this, I should make a note of how, in case I end up facing the same thing, and with the Iccirus Gym Leader being an ice-type expert, according to Bianca, I just might.
As much as I'm hoping Bianca will find a way out of her predicament, she hasn't thought of a solution right away, and seems to frantically be checking her head. Meanwhile, Cheren says, “Good job, Froslass. Now, Psychic attack!”
Emboar is looking around, charging at whichever Froslass he sees, fake or not, when he gets hit from behind by a psychic blast.
“Boaaaaar!” With a steaming back, Emboar does an about-face, and charges at where the blast came from, only to get blasted from behind again. The Mega Fire Pig slumps to the ground in pain.
“Emboar!” cries Bianca, now trying harder than ever to come up with a plan. Finally, her face lights up, “We can still do this, Emboar! Earthquake! Full power!”
“Em... boar!” Emboar raises one of his fists, and it glows brown. He then slams the ground, just barely ducking under another Psychic attack from Froslass. The ground violently shakes. Skyla's Pokemon keep us from toppling over, while Bianca and Cheren tightly grip the guard rails of their platforms. All around Emboar, within the confines of the arena, the ground explodes, launching asphalt, rocks, and clumps of dirt into the air.
“Looks like I'll have to give the Restoration Team a call later,” says Skyla.
“Slass!” Froslass cries out in surprise and pain from somewhere in the bedlam. Her copies, wherever I can see them, disappear, and the snowstorm thins out a bit. She was definitely hit hard. When the ground becomes calm again, with the section of the runway used as Skyla's Gym now being a cracked and ruined mess (luckily, the planes lift off well before they reach this point), I see Froslass, in plain sight, on her hands and knees, covered with scars.
“Ah!” Cheren exclaims.
“Way to go, Emboar!” cheers Bianca, “Now let's give Flare Blitz another shot!”
“Boaaaar!” Emboar charges at Froslass again.
Although at a disadvantage, Cheren still has one more trick left, “Froslass, take Emboar down with you! Destiny Bond!”
At Cheren's order, Froslass's body starts glowing with dark-purple light.
Bianca, apparently aware of the situation, cries out, “Whoa! Emboar! Deflect your attack!”
“Ee-em...” Responding to Bianca's command at the last possible second, Emboar throws his punch, but intentionally fumbles it, just grazing Froslass instead, not inflicting any major damage.
“Oh, not good...” says Cheren.
Bianca, clearly having had some previous experience with Destiny Bond at one point or another, says, “Emboar, when the light clears, take it down with Head Smash!”
Emboar picks up Froslass, and his head starts to radiate dull-gray light. Froslass tries to prolong her technique as long as possible, but finally reaches her limit, and the light fades. Emboar, not wasting any time, thrusts his head into Froslass's, steam rising from the bruise that was inflicted. She goes limp, and, with the ice/ghost-type clearly defeated, Emboar tosses her aside. Cheren recalls the Snow Land Pokemon. It looks like not every scheme ultimately pays off.
“Two-to-three,” I say, “Bianca's in the lead again.”
Cheren sends out his next Pokemon, this time being the one I'm expecting, “Okay! Let's go, Blaziken!” Blaziken appears on Cheren's end.
Analyzing Blaziken with her Pokedex, Bianca says, “Fire/fighting-type versus fire/fighting-type? This ought to be a good one.”
“I wouldn't expect as much,” says Cheren, “After all, Froslass did greatly weaken Emboar. At any rate...” Cheren extends his arm as he commands Blaziken, “Blaziken! Hi Jump Kick!”
“Blaaaaaaaz!” Blaziken charges at Emboar, who, in response, stands firm and awaits impact like he did with Staraptor. However, partway through her charge, Blaziken's body glows a blue color, and she suddenly becomes faster. So, she has the Speed Boost ability too.
“Boar?” The sudden boost in speed throws off Emboar's timing completely, as the Blaze Pokemon rapidly closes in on the Mega Fire Pig. She leaps midway, and sinks her knee into Emboar's gut, and then her other leg shoots up, kicking his jaw and forcing him a few feet into the air. Speed Boost... enough power in her legs to force Emboar off the ground... Man, Blaziken is powerful!
Bianca and Cheren give commands to their respective Pokemon at the same time, “Body Slam!”
“Sky Uppercut!”
Emboar spreads his body, preparing to belly-flop on top of Blaziken, but the Blaze Pokemon raises a fist and jumps into the air, pounding the Mega Fire Pig in the face as she passes. It becomes quickly apparent that in terms of fighting ability, Blaziken has the clear advantage.
With Blaziken practically juggling Emboar with heavy blows, the Mega Fire Pig is forced upward again. Blaziken lands, and Cheren instructs the Blaze Pokemon to deliver the finishing move, “Okay, now hit it with one more Hi Jump Kick!”
“Blaaaaaaz!” Blaziken leaps up at the stunned Emboar, performing a midair twirl, and then a powerful diagonal downward kick to Emboar's gut, sending the fire/fighting-type rocketing into the base of Bianca's platform. Bianca tightly grips her guard rail to avoid falling over from the vibration.
“Em... boar...” Emboar gets to his feet, and takes a couple slow steps toward Blaziken, until his strength gives out, and he falls to the ground with a ground-vibrating thud.
“Good job, Emboar. Return,” says Bianca, recalling the Mega Fire Pig.
Skyla says, “With Emboar down, Cheren and Bianca are even again. This is definitely a battle between two evenly-matched opponents. I can't predict who will win this thing.”
Bianca's reaming Pokemon are Zangoose and Musharna. If I were her, I'd go with Musharna; Zangoose is a normal-type, and not so good against Blaziken's fighting-type.
Bianca sends out her next Pokemon, and as it turns out... I was totally on the ball; Musharna appears on Bianca's end. Still, even at a type disadvantage, Blaziken is way faster than the psychic-type. Can Biacna pull this one off?
Bianca points skyward, “Okay, Musharna! Put some distance between you and Blaziken! Ascend!”
“Musha!” Responding to Bianca's command, Musharna begins to levitate upward.
“Blaziken can clear a thirty-story building with one leap, now more with her Power Anklet training,” says Cheren, “Height means nothing to her! Blaziken! Go after Musharna!”
“Blaz!” Blaziken quickly rushes in Musharna's direction, no doubt ready to leap at any moment.
“Musharna! Psybeam!” Bianca shouts.
“Sharna!” Musharna fires a pink beam from her forehead down at Blaziken, who takes evasive action, coming to a halt, and using her inertia to leap backwards with a midair backflip, narrowly avoiding the psychic-type attack.
Musharna reaches a safe enough height, at about thirty or forty feet into the air, and Bianca commands, “Now, Musharna! Attack! Don't let Blaziken get anywhere near you!”
“Mushar!” Musharna starts firing a series of Psybeams down at Blaziken. However, the safe distance thing works both ways, and the Blaze Pokemon is given plenty of time to dash around, avoiding Musharna's onslaught. Still, with Blaziken easily dodging the psychic-type's attacks, and the fire/fighting-type grounded, unable to leap at Musharna without getting blasted, the battle is at a stalemate, and someone's gonna have to start getting cleverer.
Cheren, being the brainiac he is, is the first to come up with an idea, “Okay, Blaziken! Charge your Speed Boost to the maximum, and launch your attack!”
“Ziken!” Blaziken's body starts flashing with blue light, and she gradually becomes quicker and quicker, until she's moving around as slightly less than a blur. She jumps, kicks off Cheren's platform, and jets toward Musharna. However, for a non-flying-type like Blaziken, there is only one way to approach an aerial target: straight ahead.
Bianca and Cheren issue simultaneous commands to their respective Pokemon, “Psychic attack!”
“Blaze Kick!”
Musharna fires a large blast of psychic energy at Blaziken, while the fire/fighting-type's legs ignite and she flies toward her opponent, foot-first. The Blaze Pokemon flies into the psychic blast, and their attacks collide, struggling against each other. However, with speed backing Blaziken, her attack proves more potent (I guess speed is power, after all), and she breaks through, bursting the Psychic attack, though she appears to have taken some damage from its residue.
With Blaziken having broken through Musharna's attack, the psychic-type is left wide open. The Blaze Pokemon, slightly slowed down, but still moving with a lot of speed, ignites her legs again, and performs an aerial somersault, delivering an axe kick, which slams Musharna from above with her heel. The Drowsing Pokemon tumbles to the ground, slamming against the broken asphalt.
“Musharna!” shouts Bianca.
With a smirk spreading across his face, Cheren says, “Well done, Blaziken. Now finish her with another Blaze Kick!”
“Blaaaaz!” Blaziken's legs ignite again, and she poises herself to thrusts her leg down at her opponent, no doubt to propel herself in that direction.
Bianca counter-commands, “Don't let Blaziken beat you, Musharna! Use one more Psychic attack! Give it all the power you can!”
“Muuuusha...” Musharna floats a couple inches off the ground, looks up at Blaziken, and a psychic orb starts forming in front of her, gradually expanding. Meanwhile, the Blaze Pokemon shoots down at the psychic-type.
As Blaziken approaches, Musharna hangs back, pouring as much power as she can into the Psychic attack, until the last possible second, and lets it fly. There's another power struggle of Blaze Kick against Psychic, with the latter being much more powerful than before, while both speed and gravity are backing the former.
Instead of just a burst, this time there's a full-on explosion of psychic energy mixed with flames, which engulfs both Pokemon. When it clears, Blaziken is on the ground, standing, hunched over, and breathing hard, while Musharna is hovering just about an inch off the ground. Finally, Blaziken slumps to her knees and crashes to the ground. Seconds later, Musharna stops levitating, and tumbles over; It's a double-KO. Cheren and Bianca recall their respective Pokemon, with the score still tied, and one Pokemon left for each.
“Zangoose and Serperior are the only Pokemon they have left,” I say, “Normal-type and grass-type.”
“It'll be a pretty even final round, then,” observes Skyla.
“I'm counting on you! Go! Zangoose!”
“Let's finish this, Serperior!” Bianca and Cheren send out their final Pokemon. Looking at the two of them, I'd probably put my money on Serperior, being eleven feet long, and able to extend that length even further with Vine Whip, while all Zangoose has is his claws.
“Let's keep Zangoose at bay,” says Cheren to Serperior, “Leaf Blade!”
“Ssssssserp!” A group of leaves sprout from Serperior's tail, and then jut outward, with sharp edges, resembling knives. The Regal Pokemon's body then extends to a length long enough to cover the entire expanse of the arena; It looks like Serperior's version of Leaf Blade is an upgrade to Vine Whip.
Serperior thrusts her bladed tail at Zangoose, but the Cat Ferret Pokemon casually turns his body to the side, narrowly avoiding the attack. Serperior maneuvers her blade to get Zangoose from behind, but he jumps to the side, performing a midair cartwheel over Serperior's body, his claws glowing sky-blue, and slashes the Regal Pokemon's tail, completely severing it. “Eeeerior!” Serperior cries out as her body returns to its normal length, and the severed part regenerates.
Geez! Zangoose didn't even break a sweat, and furthermore, Bianca didn't give Zangoose any orders at all; He acted completely on his own!
Bianca says, sounding unusually haughty, “Zangoose's natural enemy is Seviper. There's no Pokemon better at fighting a snake.”
Cheren gives some kind of facial expression as a response to Bianca's info, but I can't tell if it's good or bad.
“Seviper is a snake Pokemon that fights using a blade on its tail,” says Skyla, who'd no doubt seen many different Pokemon through her daily battles as a Gym Leader, “The tactic Cheren just attempted with Serperior is not going to work on a trained Zangoose.”
Zangoose goes on the offensive, taking multiple swipes at Serperior's ample body. In response, the Regal Pokemon takes evasive action, performing swift and complicated slithering motions. I glance at Cheren, and see him making a circular motion with his finger.
Serperior dodges another Slash attack from Zangoose, and then encircles, closes in, and tightly coils herself around the normal-type, at least three times over, and gradually constricting.
“Zan...” With his arms bound, Zangoose futility tries to break free.
Despite her circumstances, a slight grin crosses Bianca's face, “That's not going to work, Cheren! Zangoose! Swords Dance!”
“Zaaaaaaaaan!” Zangoose's body surges with red energy. He attempts to resist Serperior's hold on himagain, and this time overpowers and breaks free of Serperior's coil.
“Ssser?” Zangoose leaps toward the stunned Serperior, passes her head, and twirls around, delivering a Slash attack from behind, which sends the grass-type flying to the other side of the arena.
I'd seen that Swords Dance move a couple times. Basically, it supercharges a Pokemon's strength. Serperior no doubt took a really heavy blow from that last attack.
As Serperior recovers, Skyla observes, “Unless Cheren thinks of something, Zangoose will probably win through sheer power.” Of course, Cheren is no doubt aware of that fact too, as he seems to be planning a way out of Serperior's current situation.
Bianca says, “Okay, Zangoose! It looks like we've got this one in the bag! Finish Serperior off with X-Scissor!”
“Zan!” Zangoose raises his arms, his claws glowing light-green, and he charges toward Serperior.
Cheren, who seems to have come up with an idea, shouts, “Serperior! Use Leech Seed!”
“Sserp!” Serperior opens her mouth, and spits a volley of seeds at the charging Zangoose, like they were bullets. Every one makes contact, sinking into the normal-type's hide. Just as the Cat Ferret Pokemon is about eight feet away from reaching the Regal Pokemon, and delivering a finishing blow, the seeds sprout thin vines, which quickly wrap around Zangoose's body like ivy.
“Z-z-z-zaaan...” Zangoose suddenly stops in his tracks and sinks to one knee.
Curious about what just happened, I get out my Pokedex and take a picture. Besides Zangoose, and Serperior, part of whose body is in the shot, 'Technique: Leech Seed,' comes up as a result. It's a move grass-types use, which drain an adversary's strength, and give it to the user. Not a bad way to counter Zangoose's power boost, I guess; after all, it's gotta take a bit of stamina on the normal-type's part.
Zangoose, surrounded by a green aura, visibly weakens, while Serperior, engulfed by a similar aura, seems to be recovering her strength.
However, Bianca isn't done yet, “Zangoose, you know there's more where that power came from! Swords Dance! Give it all the power you can!”
“Zan... Goose!” Zangoose's body produces an other red aura, which commingles with, and eventually overpowers the green aura. The ivy-like vines gradually whither and fall from Zangoose's body.
However, Cheren still has some tricks handy, “Alright, Serperior! Put the strength you gained into your ultimate attack! Frenzy Plant!”
“Peri!” Serperior spits out seeds again, this time into the cracks throughout the arena. As Zangoose is about to go on the offensive again, suddenly very thick vines, surrounding the Cat Ferret Pokemon, sprout from the ground, and converge on Zangoose. They try to wrap around the normal-type, but Zangoose manages to break free or sever them, but they regenerate quickly, and there's eventually too many for him to fend off, and they overwhelm him, binding his body. However, Zangoose had gained a ton of power, and resists, causing the vines to gradually give way, but not before they sprout thorns, piercing the normal-type in more places than can be counted. Even so, Zangoose continues to resist, and with one last burst of red energy, breaks the vines and frees himself.
Zangoose's white fur is almost entirely dyed crimson, but he's still standing, though it doesn't seem he will for much longer, between Serperior's attack, and putting so much of his energy into his Swords Dance technique so he could overcome Frenzy Plant.
Likewise, Serperior looks pretty worn out as well, having just used such a powerful move. I analyzed Frenzy Plant while it was going on, and the result says that it's one of the most powerful grass-type techniques there is, only able to be performed by a small handful of fully-evolved Pokemon. However, it's similar to Hyper Beam, as it uses a ton of energy to perform, and a Pokemon needs a few seconds to recover afterward. Since it failed to finish off Zangoose, Cheren could be in major trouble here.
Bianca lets out a sigh, “Whew... Way to go, Zangoose. Serperior is wide open for you now! Finish it off!”
“Zaaaan...” Leaving a trail of blood in his wake, Zangoose zombie-shuffles toward Serperior. He raises a claw to deliver the finishing attack, but then suddenly loses his balance, most likely to to complete and total fatigue, and stumbles back, almost falling over; This gives Serperior enough time to recover from Frenzy Plant.
“Ah! No!” cries Bianca.
“Okay, it looks like the tables have turned again,” says Cheren, “Serperior! Leaf Blade!”
“Ssssssser... perior!” Serperior's tail sprouts a bunch of blades yet again, and she slams Zangoose, sending her flying across the arena, and slamming against the side of Cheren's platform. Okay... if Zangoose can still be standing after this... well... Okay, I guess I don't have a snappy remark for it...
Zangoose slides down, but is still on his feet. He takes a step toward Serperior... but not a second, as he falls forward onto his face, and doesn't try to recover. Manohman... what a battle...
“Oh...” groans Bianca. I can totally get her position, coming so close to winning, but suddenly falling short.
“Whew...” exhaless Cheren, sounding understandably relieved.
Skyla cheers, “Yay! Way to go, handsome! Way to go!”
With their Pokemon outside of their Pokeballs' recall range, Bianca and Cheren climb down from their platforms and to Zangoose and Serperior, respectively. They call their Pokemon back, and walk over to one another, and share a respectful handshake, and this, of all battles, definitely warrants it.
“Darn...” says Bianca, disappointingly, but also slightly smiling, “I thought for sure I was gonna win. Still, that was the funnest Pokemon battle yet!”
Cheren gives a wry smile of his own, “Likewise. Back when we started our journey, I never would have imagined you'd be the opponent you'd just proven yourself to be.”
“Yeah, same here...”
I rush over to Bianca and Cheren, followed by Skyla, “Wow, guys! That was awesome! If I ever have a rematch with you, I'd better be careful.”
Cheren gives me a slight grin, “Scared, Ria?”
“Heh. Maybe...”
Skyla runs past me, and into Cheren, giving him a sudden embrace, “Congratulations, handsome!”
Cheren, whose cheeks turn a light shade of pink, says, unusually speechless, “Oh, um... Thank you, Skyla...”
Without warning, Skyla then gives Cheren a quick kiss on the cheek and pulls away from him.
Cheren, being the most dumbfounded I'd ever seen him, responds to Skyla's latest action with stunned silence.
Skyla grins, “I couldn't give you a good luck kiss, so that was your victory kiss! Anyway, I hope all three of you make rightfully make it far as trainers, and that you visit Mistralton City, and, more specifically, me, again soon!” She turns to her swan-like Pokemon, “Okay, Swanna! Let's fly!”
“Swaaaa!” 'Swanna' takes flight and makes a low swoop, as Skyla jumps and lands on it. From there, they take to the sky, followed by the Gym Leader's flock. Well, that was a quick exit; If I didn't know any better, I'd say she's embarrassed, though she didn't show it on her face.
Cheren stands like a statue, with one hand on his cheek, watching Skyla get further and further out of sight.
Okay... I see how it is! I give Bianca a sly grin, and she returns it with a goofy smile, blushing slightly.
When Cheren breaks out of his trance, I put a hand on his shoulder, “I think someone likes you.”
Cheren responds, a little too calmly, “She was just flirting; It doesn't mean anything.”
“Dude, you're the brightest guy I know, and I can just tell you're feigning denseness.”
Cheren gives me a defeated smile, “It looks like you got me...”
“Heh.”
“Well, what you claim has crossed my mind...”
“So, Cheren,” says Bianca, putting a hand on Cheren's other shoulder, “You have an idea of what Skyla thinks of you, so... what do you think of her?”
“I can't say for sure, at least not yet,” says Cheren, “but the one thing I can say with certainty is that I won't mind seeing her again.”
“Well, it looks like little Cheren's growing up,” I jest, giving his shoulder a couple pats, “Anyways, we've all had some tough battles today. Let's get our guys, or girls, in Cheren's case, to the Pokemon Center.”
---
Bianca, Cheren, and I walk back to town, and get our Pokemon fixed up. Afterward, I ask Bianca if she wants to battle me, but she says she had enough action for one day, and will have a six-on-six with me, after she trains her Larvitar a bit. Cheren says he'll do the same, after he gets Elekid up to speed with his other Pokemon.
From there, we part ways, Bianca heading southeast, down Route 6, to Driftveil City, while Cheren and I head north to Route 7. This time, when we reach the fork in the road I was at when I was on my way to the Celestial Tower, we take the other path, which leads to Spiral Mountain. According to a Town Map I picked up at the Pokemon Center, the road to Iccirus City goes through it. Well, it looks like it's time to do a little hiking.
---
We follow the mountain path for about a half-hour, until we find a mine's entrance. Next to it, there's a sign, “'Driftveil Excavation Site,'” Cheren reads, “'Do not take fossils.'”
“'Driftveil Excavation?'” I say, “Gee, I wonder who's in charge of this operation. I take it Clay is selling fossils now? This would make it his... what? Fourteenth billion?”
“This would imply that there are several ancient Pokemon fossils to be found here,” says Cheren, “meant to be sold and cloned. I guess letting traveling trainers come through and taking what they please would be bad for business.”
“Money-grubbers...” I mutter.
“It's not like we have much need for fossils anyway.”
“Speak for yourself. I wouldn't mind training a Kabutops.”
We enter the mine. I send out Marowak to be our escort, in case a wild Pokemon plans to do something mean to us. As for Cheren, he keeps his Pokemon inside their Pokeballs. Seeing as their battle with Bianca's Pokemon was way more intense than a Gym battle, they deserve a good rest.
Inside, the place is well-lit with various lamps attached to the walls, probably all connected to a powerful battery somewhere. Also, it isn't a stretch to say that Spiral Mountain is basically hollow, as its interior is a massive mining shaft, with near-countless floors worth of wooden walkways, connected by tunnels and exits. This place is like a gigantic maze!
There are a few workers, assisted by various ground-type Pokemon, around, looking for more fossils, making sure no passing travelers pulls a fast one and take any of them, denying their Boss a couple hundred measly credits. However, they prove to be helpful, as they give Cheren and me directions to successfully navigate our way through the maze-like mine. I wonder how many times they'd done that for travelers, as their advice came out pretty polished.
Cheren and I make our way through the area, walking along the walkways, going through tunnels that go up or down to other walkways, or exiting the mine to momentarily take a mountain path that leads into another area of the mine.
When going through the tunnels, one of the most common sights are skeletons of long-dead Pokemon embedded in the walls. The were a surprising and interesting sight at first, but after passing the seventh one, they just become another scenery detail.
A couple hours of walking pass, and the once-fascinating sight of the mine in general starts become ordinary and stale.
“Cheren,” I say, wanting to start a conversation to pass the time, “I can't believe I didn't think of this sooner, but couldn't you have just rode Staraptor over the mountain?”
“I could have,” says Cheren, “But part of the reason trainers go on a journey is to see what the world has to offer. That's why we could take the subway around, but usually don't. Besides, I'm just getting used to walking a lot, and my body could use more of it. It's like you said before about us not looking good, if only train our Pokemon, but not ourselves.”
“Heh. Good point,” I say.
“Anyway, I'm glad I'm walking through here,” says Cheren, glancing around, “This is an interesting place. I wonder what might have happened in the distant past to cause so many Pokemon to be fossilized here...”
“Glad you're still interested,” I murmur, “I'm looking forward to seeing something normal again...”
We head into another tunnel, and I glance at yet another unlucky Pokemon's skeleton in the wall... but then do a double-take when I see Marowak rush up to it like it's the most interesting thing he'd ever seen... and maybe it is, seeing as he doesn't do a whole lot outside of battling and giving others attitude.
As Marowak is pacing around, observing the skeleton, I give it a look-over as well, trying to figure out which Pokemon it is, and it doesn't take me long when I see the skull, because I recognize it! It's the same kind of skull Marowak is wearing, only with hollowed out eye sockets. However, unlike the living Marowak, the dead one is about five feet tall, two feet taller than my Bonekeeper. I recall Cheren saying once that some Pokemon grow bigger than most of their kind. Am I looking at one of them?
“What's up, Marowak?” I ask, “Find an old relative?”
“Maro...” Marowak's club starts glowing reddish-brown, and he starts whacking away into the wall around the skeleton, or at least on of its legs, each Brick Break attack putting a sizable dent in the wall.
As I'm about to ask Marowak what he's up to, a memory flashes through my head: Soon after I caught him, I was trying (unsuccessfully) to figure out why the Bonekeeper had such a chip on his shoulder. I looked to find answers by thoroughly reading the Pokedex's data on him. It said that it's believed that a Marowak graveyard exists in the world somewhere, and that they get new bones from the remains of others of their kind. I doubt we're in a Marowak graveyard right now, but the ground-type is definitely grave-robbing right now. I think I've been training a monster... oh wait...
Finally, one of the bones comes loose from the skeleton, the thick one that makes up the thigh. I don't know anatomy very well, but that would be the... femur bone?
Marowak picks up the bone, gives it a couple practice swings, nods approvingly, and tosses his old club aside. The new one is bigger and thicker than the old one. Well, each Pokemon is allowed at least one augmentation; I guess this new Thick Club can be considered Marowak's...
---
We journey even deeper into the mine, and I don't think it's gonna be evident that we're close to reaching Iccirus City, until we actually get there.
Suddenly, my Xtransceiver beeps, indicating a transmission coming my way.
“It looks like you have a call,” observes Cheren.
“I have forty credits that say it's Professor Juniper,” I say as I take the communication device out of my pocket.
I accept that transmission... and if I were making a real bet, I'd be forty credits poorer right now, since the the caller appearing on my screen is my mom, “Hello, Ria!”
“Huh? Mom?” I guess I really shouldn't be surprised. I'd been making a few calls home, but have neglected to do so over the last couple of weeks...
“You really should call more,” says mom, “I know you're on a Pokemon journey, which is a part of growing up, but I still get worried about my little baby girl.”
“Uh...” I glance around me. Just about everyone watching me found mom's previous statement amusing. It's not like anyone's laughing, but they are cracking grins, including Marowak, “Hey, um... I kinda have an audience here, so could you watch what you call me?”
“Oh. Sorry.”
“Min!” Suddenly, Minccino climbs up mom's back and onto her shoulder, “Cino! Min min!”
“Oh, Minccino wants to say hello too,” says mom.
“Hello, Minccino!” I say, “Anyway, I'm sorry I hadn't called you lately. It's... been a busy journey. So, how's it going? Still nuking my room, so you'll have a cleaning project?”
“Oh, I did that twice more since you left,” says mom, like it's not the least bit unusual, “but I'm satisfied now, and your room looks good as new!”
I'll believe it when I see it, I think to myself, but say, “Good to hear.”
“Professor Juniper came by recently,” says mom, “She told me that you recently won your fifth badge, and are about to try for your sixth.”
“That info's a little outdated,” I say, “I just won my sixth badge a few hours ago.”
Mom's face lights up, “Really! So, you're a Hyper Ranked trainer now? That's wonderful news! Your father only won five badges during his first summer as a trainer. I'm sure it will be great news for him.”
“I might do that.”
“At any rate,” says mom, “It seems you are proving yourself to be a very powerful trainer, and, with that fact, I'd like to ask a favor of you.”
“Min...? Min!” Minccino exclaims, glancing at mom, and looking kinda excited for some reason.
“Cool,” I say, “What's up?”
Mom pauses, then says, “Actually, I need you in person for it, so if you could take a brief trip home, that would be wonderful.”
“Riiight,” I say, nodding, “Sure, I can head home for a little while, but why can't you tell me now?”
“I am asking you for a favor,” says mom, who then smiles somewhat mischievously, “but it's also a surprise, and you'll find out when you get here.”
“Alright,” I say, shrugging, “I'll swing by and visit for a day when I can.”
“Okay,” says mom, “I'll see you then!” The transmission ends.
“A favor and a surprise...” says Cheren, who was listening in on me and mom's heart-to-heart, “From what your mother said, they seem to be connected to you being a trainer.”
“Sounds that way,” I say, “Well, let's keep moving. If we get to Iccirus City soon, I might be able to make that trip home sooner than mom thinks.”
Cheren and I move on, moving from a wooden walkway into yet another tunnel, and it's there that we hear the sound of several feet headed in the opposite direction, but only one person walks around the corner: a tall boy with long green hair and monochome-colored clothes. Both Cheren and I stop in our tracks upon seeing him.
“Wait,” says Cheren, “Isn't that...?”
It's N, alright. He looks at us blankly, and I think about that darkly dressed Team Plasma guy who attacked me, saying it was on his 'master's' orders. With that memory, I angrily charge straight at N.
“Ria!” calls Cheren after me.
I know it's not like me to get this PO'd, but seeing as N ordered someone to specifically attack me, both physically and mentally, I'm not letting that one go! “N!” I barrel right into him, and pin him back-first against the nearby stone wall, yelling, “You have a lot of nerve just showing up here, after you sent that thug after me!” Wow. Sometimes I scare myself...
N says nothing in response... but he does do something. He starts by shrinking down to a height just a few inches shorter than me, then his clothes fuse into his body, which then turns black and furry, and finally, his eyes become blue and very un-human-like, and his face elongates and changes into a black face with pointed ears. He's not N anymore; he's a humanoid fox-like Pokemon with dark fur, a long mane of scarlet hair with black streaks, and sharp red claws on its hands and feet. “Zorrrrrr!” The Pokemon growls.
“Holy...!” I stumble back, my anger replaced by shock. Marowak, not missing a beat, stands between me and the Pokemon that was apparently masquerading as N.
A familiar voice comes from further up the tunnel, “I had a feeling she may respond to what she believes with hostility, but you went in my place. You didn't need to do that, but you have my gratitude, Zoroark.”
“Zor zor!” responds the Pokemon, 'Zoroark.' It runs off in the direction of the voice that I remember as N's... the real N's.
N walks into view, along with five Pokemon. One is 'Zoroark,' and another is that yellow and brown rodent-like Pokemon with the long claws and quills I saw with him in Nimbasa City. Didn't N say that he released Pokemon after the fought for him for a little while. Is that a different Pokemon of the same species, or did N actually discover that his whole 'persuade and release' policy was gonna hit a snag sooner or later?
Anyway, the third Pokemon with him is spider-like Pokemon covered with yellow fuzz ,with blue highlights, almost three feet tall. I actually recognize this one; It's a Galvantula, a bug/electric-type that Burgh used when I fought him in Castelia City.
However, I don't recognize N's last two Pokemon. One is a bulky five-foot-tall blue bipedal turtle-like Pokemon with short arms and legs, and armored by a large shell and the other is a four-foot-tall monkey-ish Pokemon with white and brown fur, gold plating on its shoulders, chest, hands, and knees, and has a large flame rising from its head.
I take a quick group photo of N and his team with my Pokedex. The results that come up are, 'Pokemon: Blastoise,' 'Pokemon: Galvantula,' 'Pokemon: Infernape,' 'Pokemon: Sandslash,' and 'Pokemon: Zoroark.'
“It's been a while, Ria,” greets N. He looks past me and at Cheren, “Oh! I remember you from Accumula Town. You're Ria's friend... what was your name again?”
“Cheren,” Cheren flatly answers.
I sigh, “What do you want, N? You sent one of your goons after me, and now you're greeting us like we're old acquaintances. What's your deal, anyway?”
“I've been informed of what happened to you on Route 6,” says N, “I have no way of proving it, but I assure you I was not behind it.”
“He... er, she... I mean, it, said something about its 'master.' Seeing as you're Team Plasma's king, and all, I can only assume it meant you.”
“To you, I'm sure it seems that way,” says N, “However, the Shadow Triad also follows the orders of the Seven Sages. They are aware of what I'd revealed to you, and I told them to leave you alone, but I imagine some of them might see you as a threat, and acted on their own.”
“Seeing as you're their king,” says Cheren, “wouldn't that be treason?”
“Yeah,” I say, “So, did you have whoever's behind that dragged out to the town square to be publicly drawn and quartered... or something like that?”
N gives us a questioning look, “It happened because one of my followers was only doing what he thought was best for Team Plasma. Why would I punish him for that?”
I put a hand over my forehead. Is this guy for real? “Geez, you sure are forgiving. If only real kings were more like you. Anyway, you're saying someone went behind your back, and acted on his own?”
“Yes,” says N, “I'm sorry that happened, but I hope you'll believe me. Do you?”
Do I? I'm not sure if I should so readily believe him, but thinking about it, he did tell me who he is, outlined his plans, and even challenged me to stop him. Would he tell me that, only to try to shut me up, or whatever that Shadow Triad thing had in mind. That doesn't really add up. In hindsight, I might have even had trouble believing N was behind the attack, “Okay, I believe you... I guess.”
“Thank you,” says N, gratefully, “I'll try to make sure that never happens again.”
“You do that.”
“Now that that's out of the way,” says Cheren, “I would like to ask you a question.”
“What is it?” N asks.
“Ria told me about her encounter with you in Nimbasa City. There, you mentioned a 'Reshiram.' What is that, exactly? We're under the impression that it's a Legendary Pokemon, but is it really?”
“It is,” answers N, “Are you aware of the legend of the two dragons that originated Unova?”
“I am,” says Cheren.
“Glanced at it,” I say, shrugging. It's not a complete lie; Cheren mentioned it to me.
“Reshiram is one of those dragons, also known as the Vast White Dragon.”
“I see,” says Cheren, “So, it is a Legendary Pokemon, after all. What gives you the idea it will aid you?”
“I cannot say for sure,” says N, “but with my mission, I am sure it will.”
“You think it'll help you because you wanna become Champion and make everyone release their Pokemon, whether they're happy with their trainers or not?” I ask.
“It's not quite like that,” says N, “My mission is to learn of what kind of world Arceus intended. Simply put, I want to learn the absolute truth. Is this the way the world should be, or was it meant to be one where Pokemon and humans live separately, and something went horribly wrong? With Reshiram's help, I hope to find that answer.”
“Uh huh?” I say, not quite getting it.
Instead of giving any further explanation, N says to me, “What about you, Ria? Why do you think humans should keep using Pokemon? Why... do you think I'm wrong and want to stop me, and Team Plasma, from achieving our goal?”
I think for a moment, inhale deeply, and answer, “If you really wanna know, N, it's because I think this is how the world should be. I know for a fact that most Pokemon wouldn't want to leave their humans trainers. We've lived together and done things together for a long time, and we care for one another. I know my Pokemon would be sad...” I glance at Marowak, “... or bitter about being told by their trainers to leave them. What can I say? Humans and Pokemon are close. I'd even heard of a possible phenomenon where Pokemon follow their trainers into the next life. With something like that, how can you say we'd be better off apart?” I take a breath, “Besides...” I kneel and put a hand on Marowak's shoulder, “... I love being a trainer. I love my Pokemon and I love traveling with them. It's through that that I learned how to be a better person. Besides, Pokemon training and battling are the only things I'd ever been good at. I want us to keep living as we are, and whether you get the help of Reshiram or not, my Pokemon and I will resist you with everything we have. Right, Marowak?”
Marowak nods, grinning back at me, “Marowak maro!”
N smiles mysteriously, “That's good, Ria. I hope you and your Pokemon keep holding on to your ideals.”
“Oh, we will,” I say, “but why are you so happy about that? You do know that we'll not make your mission an easy one.”
N walks toward and past us, followed by his five Pokemon, “You'll find out, I'm sure...” He pauses, “One more thing: You're going to Iccirus City, aren't you? If the signs present themselves, please come to the Dragonspiral Tower.”
“Dude, I'm totally into your cryptic routine,” I say, “I kinda wish I knew what you're talking about, though. Care to enlighten me? What's the Dragonspiral Tower? What do you mean, 'if the signs present themsevles?'”
“Do some research and you'll know,” says N, “As for the 'signs,' I'm sure you'll figure it out when... if it comes.” He glances back at his Pokemon, “Let us go.” The six of them keep walking.
“Hold on,” says Cheren.
“What is it?” asks N, stopping again.
“Whether you think it's the 'truth' or not that we should be apart, are you aware of the possible consequences if humans and Pokemon were to be separated? Humans were almost rendered extinct a long time ago, because we had no Pokemon to fight alongside us against wild Pokemon, and if it weren't for capturing and training Pokemon, we wouldn't even exist right now. If we were to release our Pokemon into the wild, we'd be helpless once again. Worse, some Pokemon, made powerful by the training the received, may feel betrayed or abandoned, and come to resent, and may even actively hunt humans.”
“Maro maro!” shouts Marowak. He has been there before.
“Isn't it obvious? Humans need Pokemon!” Cheren continues, “Also, seeing as you're working up the ranks as a Pokemon trainer, just like Ria and me, you must have seen many trainers with their Pokemon, and should know that they are happy together. If you know that, then why are you doing this? Is it because you object to the fact that Pokemon have battles? Pokemon are a naturally combative species, born with the will to become strong and the ability to fight. Knowing that, are Pokemon battles so wrong?”
N glances back at Cheren, still smiling, “Interesting. It looks like you have some strong ideals of your own. At any rate, whether the truth exists with your reality or my dream will be something to be determined by Reshiram. If you truly value the coexistence of Pokemon and humans in its current form, become strong enough trainers, and prove that the truth lies with it.” N and his Pokemon start walking away, “Goodbye, for now. I imagine we'll meet again soon, Ria. Until then, I wish you luck.”
We listen to the sounds of N and his Pokemon's footsteps getting further away, and Cheren sighs, looking back in the direction King Plasma went, “He may be Team Plasma's leader, but he seemed reasonable. I thought I could talk some sense into him...”
“I don't think anything short of defeat will make him stop,” I say, looking at the ground, thinking about the latest turn of events, “In Nimbasa City, when I asked him where he got the idea that Pokemon are suffering, he started crying. He said he'd known many Pokemon that had their spirits broken beyond repair because of what humans had done to them. Whatever his history is, it seems to have touched him too deeply for him to abandon his journey, no matter what proof to the contrary he'd witnessed.”
“It's interesting, though,” says Cheren, “Even though he's clearly in favor of separating humans and Pokemon, he doesn't seem to entirely object to the idea of things staying as they are. The proof of that is in the fact that he seems to genuinely want us to challenge him. In fact, I'd even go so far as to say that he likes the idea that we're in opposition to him.”
“Yeah, good point,” I say, “He did tell me to try to stop him if I could. I mean, if he just wanted to separate humans and Pokemon, he could have just kept everything to himself, but there's definitely more to it than that.”
“It adds up, though,” says Cheren, “He said he's looking for the 'truth.' I imagine it takes two to figure that out. Still, if he gets Reshiram, his side of the grand debate will gain a huge advantage. I don't know how he think we'll be a challenge to him, if he were to wield that much power.”
“There's only one thing I can think of right now,” I say, “Keep going as we are, train like heck, and defeat N, all while praying Reshiram has better stuff to do.”
“I suppose that's all we can do, right now,” says Cheren, “besides, now that we're Hyper Rank, our last two Gym battles will likely be the toughest yet.”
“Alright,” I say, kneeling down to Marowak's level, “Hey, Marowak? After we get out of these mines, we're gonna take a quick trip to my home, and head back tomorrow, but after that, I hope you're ready to trainer harder than ever!”
Marowak nods in understanding, grinning, and slinging his new club over his shoulder, “Maro!”
“Okay! It's settled, then! Let's go!”
---
From further into the tunnel, the voice of Ria's friend echoes to N's ears, “It's interesting, though. Even though he's clearly in favor of separating humans and Pokemon, he doesn't seem to entirely object to the idea of things staying as they are. The proof of that is in the fact that he seems to genuinely want us to challenge him. In fact, I'd even go so far as to say that he likes the idea that we're in opposition to him.”
N signals for his five Pokemon friends, Zoroark, Sandslash, Galvantula, Infernape, and Blastoise to walk ahead, while he briefly stays put, curious to how Ria and her friend will react to their latest encounter amongst themselves, convinced he'd left.
Ria's friend is right, of course; he does want to be challenged. He has resolved himself to keep moving forward with his mission, and not turn back, as he has too many people and Pokemon counting on him, but he'd also seen that more Pokemon than he could have possibly imagined are happy with their trainers, to the point where the thought of separating them is... almost depressing.
N thinks back to an Xtransceiver transmission he had with his father...
“... Father?”
“N, my boy! How goes your journey?”
“Things are going well, so far. I'd won my third badge.”
“Excellent! It won't be long until you challenge the Champion and liberate all Pokemon.”
“Your suggestion for me to go on a Pokemon journey is sure to achieve the goal of Team Plasma, but... the outside world wasn't quite what I was expecting.”
“Oh?”
“I'd always been told of how horribly Pokemon were abused by humans, but I'd seen things that are the exact opposite. I'm... confused...”
“You aren't forgetting that everyone is counting on you, are you?”
“No, I haven't, but...”
“Hm... My boy, you appear to be torn between what kind of world is truly meant to be. To put it simply, you seek the truth.”
“I guess...”
“Do you remember that story I always told you growing up?”
“The one about the two dragons?”
“Yes. That one. Do you remember that the hero that Reshiram fought alongside was in search of truth?”
“Yes.”
“You are clearly in a similar position... and I haven't a doubt Reshiram would be willing to aid you in your quest.”
“Really?”
“Yes. Reshiram is sleeping somewhere in Unova, awaiting a new hero determined to find the truth... and the hero could be you. N, my boy, become stronger, for the Legendary Pokemon only assist the mighty, and awaken Reshiram!”
“I... I'll try.”
“Just keep one thing in mind: regardless of whether your mission is to find the truth or to liberate all Pokemon, your final objective is the same: defeat the Champion! After all, if you can defeat the strongest of trainers, it will be apparent that the world Team Plasma is striving for is the way this world was intended to be!”
But is that really be the answer? N thinks to himself, I have no doubt that the Champion is Unova's most powerful trainer, but what is he, compared to the might of Reshiram? It sounds too simple a determination for finding the truth. I'm sorry, father, but just this once, I'm going to try to find an answer on my own: is the one I must defeat with Reshiram's help really the Champion... or a new hero that pursues ideals... with Zekrom's aid?
TEAM UPDATE:
It's been almost a month, hasn't it? Sorry for the wait, but it takes a little time to write up a ~40-page mega-installment. Since there was a lot to go over, it's possible there might have been some edits I'd missed, so if you notice anything, please let me know.
This installment has the story's first "major" battle. I'm aware that the battle between Cheren and Bianca may not have been entirely necessary, but I really wanted to do it. I don't think it's a spoiler that Ria will eventually have rematches against them, so I kinda wanted their three-way rivalry to come full-circle. I'm aware that battles can be tiring, so I tried to make the battle with Skyla short, but still tense, so the reader won't be worn out for the "real" battle.
At any rate, I truly hope this installment was worth the wait, and the next one shouldn't be as long, and should also be a bit more laid back.
Also, 431 pages!
) wants to evolve, so if one person has a good share of evolution stones, one could be rich. Nice thought, Valin!
