Stalagmites and Stalactites (Subterranean Kalos Adventure!)

[Curtkid]

Large rocks fell all around them, shattering on impact and causing a deafening noise, still, Curt was just barely able to make out Cassie’s instruction. “Worry about your own Pokemon”, she said. He was a little hesitant at first, but Cassie was a big girl, she could handle herself. Seeing Fang come out of his hole, Whips rejoined Embertail and Curt and the trio quickly ran to Flare(who had Curt’s backback in her mouth) and Lockjaw. Lockjaw would have been freaking out, but Flare was keeping a hole on him with her psychic abilities.

“We should have seen this coming, any idea’s?”, Flare asked as she gave Curt his backpack. The situation looked bad, and Curt’s guilty mind was making it even harder for him to think amonest the noise, Cassie’s and his battle were to cause of this. Curt took a quick glance around, he saw Sai had let out yet another Pokemon he hadn’t seen before (it looked like a moth with a flower on its back), Curt knew Sai could keep his cool in a dangerous situation, he’d protect the group, and Cassie could take care of herself, right now Curt needed to worry about himself and his Pokemon. A stalactite fell in the near bye lake causing a splash and drawing his attention to it.

“Of course”, Curt thought, “A Dragonair can control the elements, Whips could make an air pocket for us in the lake, it would also be easier to avoid the rocks in there”. One look at Whips told Curt he was thinking the same thing, it was risky, but it was their best bet. Quickly calling Flare and Lockjaw back to their Pokeballs, Curt and Embertail hopped on Whips (Embertails ball was buried in Curts backpack, he didn’t have time to dig it out, beside Whips would keep them relatively dry). They were just about ready to dive into the lake when an orange flash picked them up.

The pokemon Sai let out earlier had come to their aid, picking up Whips(and Curt and Embertail along with him) and scooping them on it’s back. Curt and Embertail, though briefly shocked by the moths sudden intervention, quickly rationalized that they were being rescued….again. Whips, however, was not so collective, the dragon did not like being man-handled and was being to thrash around on the moths back, more out of anger then shock. Embertail and Curt were able to calm Whips down, fairly quickly by reminding him that it was partly THEIR fault the cave started collapsing in the first place. Once Whips had calmed down Curt had to admire the strength of the bug Pokemon, it wasn’t that big, a little over 5 feet at best, but it seemed to be caring them all without much trouble, Curt made a mental note to ask Sai what he was feeding his Pokemon later.

“Well, I guess this works too for an escape”, Curt thought, just relieved to be out of danger. A few short moments later, they were safely on the ground, far away from their campsite and in an unknown part of the cavern. Curt and Embertail took a moment to catch their breath while Whips just stood next to them in silence. Embertail gave a relieved laugh while Curt looked around and, seeing that everyone was safe, let out a sigh of relief. He turned over to Sai to see him talking with Cassie.

“Guess we owe you again Sai, Curt said, ignoring the “HURRUMPH” from Whips, but honestly, he was just glad nobody was hurt. He was in the midst of getting himself together when he heard Cassie cry out “IT’S MY FAULT”.

“What’s she talking about”, Curt thought, ”I’m just as much to blame as she is, maybe even more so, she shouldn't be taking the entire burden for this”. He was about to tell her so, but he saw Sai was already one step ahead of him, comforting Cassie. Curt decided it was best not to interfere. A moment of silence passed before a bright blue flash came from Curt’s belt. It was Lockjaw again, with a familiar look of panic on his face. He let out a scream and turned to run down the cavern, but Curt was ready for him this time.

“OH NO YOU DON’T, Curt yelled as he body tackled the little blue alligator, “YOU ARE NOT SENDING US ON A CHASE THROUGH THIS CAVE AGAIN!”. Curt stood up with Lockjaw wrapped tightly in his arms, occasionally scratching Curt with his flailing about, it took them a second to realize everyone was staring at them.

“D-don’t worry, this freak out isn’t that bad, he’ll, (ouch) calm down in just a minute or so”, Curt said over his freaked out Pokemon’s yells, “but while I have everyone attention, I’d just like to, (ow) apologize for my part in causing the cave in, I’m sorry and I promise I will be more careful (ouch) from now on and- Lockjaw please CALM DOWN, we’re safe now!” This time, thankfully, Lockjaw responded to his trainer and stopped his screaming and squirming. Small blessing, Curt supposed.

“And I promise we will be more considerate of other people well-being,(sigh) that was really, really stupid of us and it won’t happen again”, Curt finished, looking at the ground in shame while Embertail gave a soft growl as his own form of apology while scratching the back of his head in embarrassment, even Whips looked somewhat ashamed as he offered his own soft growl in apology. Though Curt sincerely hope the group would accept their apology, a part of him hoped this would help Cassie understand this was NOT "all her fault".

 

[Izzy2Cute]

Isabella felt her body being lifted from off the floor and she looked up, the soft glow from the volcarona shined and her eyes pushed through the light to see Sai had pulled her up and she blushed more. "You're always saving me.." she climbed up and hugged against curt. the smell of curt traveled around Isabella's nose, she didn't judge him everyone's been dirty from being down here to long. she had rested her head on his back, she looked forward looking at sai, and how cassie had dug her head into his bad. Isabella became upset, she wished it had been here. She had so many questions that ran through her head. Why did sai give her more attention, does he like her, are they together, she thought curt and cassie had more interested then her and sai. No matter how many times she denied it she kept on frustrating herself.

As the came down to a slow stop, Isabella jumped down and held her arms and she looked back at the rocks that blocked the path. she sighed and looked behind her to see that cassie had broke down and curt's Pokemon was hurting him. She sighed and rubbed curt's shoulders. "It's not your fault ether." she had listened to the very sweet speech sai gave cassie, her hearing was pretty good, so she kept up with a few words. "don't beat yourself up hun."

Ever since Isabella came into the group, she kinda felt like no one really noticed her so she just kept to herself. she kept on trying to get time with sai but it didn't work. everyone got in the way. she sighed and walked over to a wall and sat down. she looked around a little more and saw that behind a giant rock was a small bit of light. her eyes widen she didn't say a thing until everyone was done pulling themselves together.

 

[PentheWonderful]

She was absolutely terrified.

Suddenly she was against the wall, Sai pressing his weight onto her. Blood was rushing to her face, but it stopped cold when his eyes changed color. Her pupils shrunk, and she felt as if her heart was in her throat, choking her. She couldn't speak, she couldn't think. How could she? No one, no one has ever been this close to her. Ryu roared angrily in his Pokeball, rattling it around, ready to burst. But Sai's next words left him frozen too. Cassie had no choice but to listen, because she knew her Pokemon would've wanted her to. Every word he said, she knew it was true. But that was the most terrifying part.

In moments, she'd been stripped bare and seen for what she really was. He'd torn down all her walls and left her defenseless. Her knees lost power, and she nearly slid down the wall when he leaned off her. Sai had suddenly snatched a Pokeball from her belt, and her knees held once again. Her eyes finally left his and stared into the Pokeball. Fang was in there. Suddenly it felt like the ice in her heart had melted somewhat, and she managed out, "I'm sorry..." The Garchomp seemed stunned for a moment, but quickly and cheerfully starting chortling back streams of what she assumed to be apologies of his own.

Sai's hand was once again back on her cheek, and this time, she didn't shy away. She let him wipe her tears away, but her eyes remained on Fang. Sai wrapped her hand around the Pokeball, and she pressed her forehead against it, Fang doing the same. However, Ryu seemed to regain his senses and burst out of his Pokeball, roaring violently at Sai and knocking him down.

Cassie only smiled, for once, a bright sincere smile. And she laughed softly. "Thank you, Ryu." She grabbed her Lucario's arm and hugged him gently. He hugged back, glaring at Sai still. "I left my bag in the cave..." Cassie mumbled into Ryu, chuckling with bittersweet humor. Nine's Pokeball rattled, catching her attention, and once she locked her gaze on her Ninetales, she noticed he was holding something in his mouth; her bag. "Thank you... I... I love you guys..." She managed, before looking up at Sai and murmured also, "Thanks."

And everything seemed to snap back to normal, as Lockjaw once again resumed his panic attack. Cassie chuckled softly at Curt's attempts at an apology, and sent out Jade. "Grass Whistle on Lockjaw." The Roserade cooed as she twirled, her leaves bristling with a song that would soothe Lockjaw to sleep. Cassie swallowed her pride. Everything was okay. It would be okay. It's time to go home.

 

[Blonde]

Sai had smiled then felt the a strong push against him and he was knocked down. Sai winced, it didn't hurt but it pinched it a bit, he laughed to himself and rub where ryu forced a punch on him. "I was hoping you'd come out." Sai stood up and handed cassie the stone he found in the lake, it was still covered in a hard material he didn't want to take it off, he felt as if this one was ment for just cassie. "Now that that's done.. here take this." Sai gave Ryu the stone that way both cassie and ryu can figure out how to get the stuff on themselves.

Sai looked over and had forgotten about the newborn and smiled when he saw the pokemon had laid himself inside his bag. he walked over picked up his bag and smiled, he walked over to curt and thwacked his head just like he did cassie. He leaned back and smiled at him as well. "I'm not gonna give you a speech. You're a man, a man knows if he's truly messed up or if hes just trying to carry weight on his shoulders. You know it's not your fault so buck up and get strong." Sai had lightly punched curt on his arm and rubbed lockjaw's sleeping head and he also rubbed embertail's head as well.

Sai walked over to Isabella and just stared her down. A small blushed rose on his face and he, quickly gave the girl a hug and let go. He didn't know how to give a regular person a hug or emotional or affection but he tried, he's been for years fixing himself, he still hasn't come close to his mission but this adventure probably made him feel pretty useful. Sai slung his bag around his arm and walked past cassie and ryu.

"Come on then." a small accent comes from his mouth when he utters the words. he knew if they followed this path, they'd arrive at a point where they'll make it out. Sai could feel a small breeze that swayed his hair back and forth softly and he saw a small light at the end of the tunnel.

"If we just walk ahead, well come to something right?" It's been the first time since hed made the group with cassie has sai said more then a sentence to anyone he felt weird but he just went back to being his quiet self that stayed ahead of everyone, like cassie, had put a distance between him and the others. Honestly sai was hiding so much from the group, but he had confidence in his mask, that they just wouldn't notice.

Once Sai was head of them, his face changed from cheerful and relaxed, to cold and lifeless again.
if anyone was to come beside sai or snuck up on him hed quickly change his face back to the mask.

 

[Curtkid]

“Oh, uh, thanks you too, glad he calmed down a little, things like that don’t work on him when he’s in full panic mode, Curt said to Cassie and the Roserade, “really though, I’m glad to see you’re alright”.

He briefly wondered how the Rose pokemon was able to put Lockjaw to sleep without effecting anyone else. He assumed that it had something to do with the Pokemons ability to manipulate the sound waves and channel them at one target. Which was really impressive if it managed to fin-

“OOWW”, Curt yelled as Sai hit him on the head.

"I'm not gonna give you a speech. You're a man, a man knows if he's truly messed up or if hes just trying to carry weight on his shoulders. You know it's not your fault so buck up and get strong." Sai said as he lightly punched Curt on the arm.

“Yeah, but, did you REALLY have to hit me!?”, Curt whined. He didn’t hit him THAT hard, Curt was more embarrassed than anything else, hell, he even heard Whips snickering behind him. Still, Sai had a point, if he constantly beat himself up, then he or his partners wouldn’t get anywhere. With a sigh, he returned the sleeping alligator to his ball as that other girl, Isabella if he remembered correctly, walked up to him and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Don't beat yourself up hun", she said, simple words, but still, they gave Curt comfort and were much appreciated.

“I won’t, but thank-you, that means a lot”, Curt said giving her a smile before turning back to Sai, “See, Isabella was able to make me feel better without hitting anybody.” Curt was, of course, joking, but the words seemed lost on the Sai as the man (along with the rest of the group) started moving forward.

“Rarrow”, he heard Embertail say, his typical grin plastered across his face.

“Yeah, we better follow them, huh?”, Curt said agreeing with his bro. Curt offered to return Whips to his ball, but the Dragonair refused to at the moment, Curt didn’t mind, he actually was happy to let as many of his Pokemon walk beside him whenever they felt like they felt like it.

As they followed Sai, they group felt a chilling wind blow past them that sent a chill up their spines, Embertail even brought his tail closer to the rest of his body. Shortly after that, they saw a literal light at the end of their tunnel. Was this another test the cave planned on giving them, or had they finally found their way out?

 

[Izzy2Cute]

Isabella saw sai hit curt and chuckled. Boys will be boys right? she watched but suddenly a tall shadow blocked her, it had been sai. Isabella blushed and her eyes shy'd to the left. once at happen, she felt a strong body press against her. Sai hugged her, she began to blush hard. she whispered in his ear "thank you sai.." She didn't want to let go but she had to, as sai leaned back letting her go and smiled. She smiled back. The warmth from sai's hugged felt amazing, Sai turned around and began to walk ahead of them

"Come on then." he said. the group began to walk, so did isabella. she could feel the small breeze that came from the end of the tunnel, she hoped it was the way out. when she saw the light at the end her hopes had began to grow and grow.

 

[PentheWonderful]

Cassie flashed a modest smile to Curt, before turning her attention back to Sai. He'd hugged Iabsella, and she found it funny how there was a sense of contrasting feelings there; awkwardness and happiness. She looked back at Ryu and pulled away also. She caressed Jade's petals and, sent out Nine; who handed her her bag. She stared at the dirt clump for a moment.

Crushing the layer of dirt gently with her hand, she patted Nine's head gratefully and slung the bag over her shoulder. There was a draft flowing through the cave, and it seemed to blow all her worries away. Cassie started walking, following behind Sai like Curt and Izzy were, and a light began to shine at the end of the tunnel, but her eyes were fixed on the dirt clump. With her thumb, she chipped the layer of mud and pebbles away until something glowed from within.

Her eyes widened.

A mega stone! Her keystone began to shimmer as she proceeded to chip away the debris from the precious stone. It glowed, brightly. Bright as... The morning sun. Yes, it was right there, she could see it! The tunnel came to an end, and at its mouth was the world. The surface world.

Cassie breathed in a deep breath of fresh air, missing how sunlight felt on her skin. "Everyone... Come out!" In a flash, her full team once again stood by her side, purring and cooing happily at the gentle morning breeze that greeted them. Cassie held up the cleaned Mega Stone, and looked at each of her Pokemon until she found one that matched it. "Fang..." She walked over to the Garchomp and held up the Mega Stone. "This is for you."

Her team seemed to glow with happiness, but none shone brighter than Fang himself, who looked like he might tear up. Cassie pulled a waistband from her bag and clipped the Mega Stone onto it, before finally putting it on him. "You deserve it."

And she kissed the side of his face gently.

 

[Curtkid]

Sunlight at last! Despite the need to shield their eye’s at first due to their extensive time in the darkness of the caverns, Curt and his gang were ecstatic. Embertail gave out a roar of joy and even Whips had a smile glued to his face. Curt saw Cassie release all her Pokemon from their Pokeballs and decided to quickly follow suit. Two quick pops, and Lockjaw and Flare were standing right beside them. Lockjaw was rubbing his eyes, apparently having just waking up from the Grass Whistle, but he seemed happy none-the-less.

“Well, it certainly took a bit longer than we expected, but all made it out of there in one piece, and that’s what matters”, Flare said through her telepathy, looking just as relieved as anyone else. The moment Flare was done talking, Curt saw Embertail walk over to her, say a few words while nudging her on the shoulder, than point his thumb towards Nine. Whatever Embertail said caused Flare’s cheeks to turn bright red, letting Curt know exactly what Embertail was implying.

“For goodness sake Embertail, he’s a fifth my age!”, Flare told the Flame Pokemon, still not losing her blush, “as kind and intelligent as he seems to be, I’m certain he would prefer someone a bit younger then I am, besides I’m not really “looking” for someone right now, do I make myself clear?” Flare finished along with giving Embertail a fiery glare, but Embertail merely walked away chuckling. Few could tell if Embertail was serious about what he said, or if he was simply joking, Curt had a gut feeling it was half-and-half.

Cassies team was certainly causing a commotion, Curt noticed. Looking over, he noticed Cassie give something to Fa-wait, was that a MEGA STONE? Curt walked over to Cassie’s group , he NEEDED to see this for himself. He had only seem them in pictures and on TV screens, all documentaries on ancient and mythical Pokemon artifact, but what Fang now had fit the images he saw to a T. He just couldn’t believe it, and actual Mega Stone…

I-Is that really a Mega Stone Cassie?, Curt asked her even though he already knew the answer, the sphere glowed brightly and seemed to radiate some kind of power, indicating that Cassie also has the equally rare Keystone to activate its power. Embertail and the rest of Curt’s team joined him in trying to get a look, the significance and power of a Mega Stone wasn’t lost on even the most green of trainers and their Pokemon.

“I-I can’t believe you found one, did you find it in the cave? Those are incredibly rare,” Curt said, his jaw slacking slightly in awe. He had heard that a Pokemon that Mega-evolved unlocked incredible power.

"In ancient tales, it was said Mega Stones were tools used by the trainers of old so their Pokemon could obtain great power, sometimes enough power to challenge mythical Pokemon like Groudon or Dialgia," Flare added, the book loving Fox being a bit more knowledgeable about their history. If that was true, then that meant Cassie and Fang were now a major force to be reckoned with, even among some of the strongest Pokemon in the world.

Curt eventual realized how much he was ogling at Fangs Garchompite and snapped himself back to reality, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment.

”W-well, let me be the first to congratulate you all on your find, it’s amazing, really. I’m actually almost glad I fought you guys back in the cave instead of waiting, cuz I’m pretty certain a Mega Fang could take my whole team”. Curt half-joked with a sheepish smile.

“But really, congratulation, call it a gut-feeling, but something tells me you all earned this”, Curt finished, giving Cassie’s team a warm smile, Embertail giving his own congratulation with a excited roar and a thumbs-up and Lockjaw offering his own soft roar in congratulations. Even Whips gave them a small smile in acknowledgement of their rare find.

"Congratulations indeed, I know most trainers would give one or two of thier limbs if it meant getting there hands on one of those Stones", Flare told Cassie with her telepathy.

"So, uuuhhhh, how does it work"?, Curt asked flatly.

(OOC: For the record, Curt and his team don't know that Izzy or Sai got a mega stone as well, that's why they're making such a huge fuss, I always assumed Mega Stones were Uber rare lore wise, like finding a Zapdos or something)

 

[Blonde]

Sai already ahead of the group when they finally made it out if the cave. he took a deep breathe, and let out all his Pokemon. he walked over to his Absol and petted him on his head. he nodded and looked over at his Electivire, His Volcarona, Infernape and eevee. He opened his bag and took out the new born Cubone and placed him on the floor. the Cubone quickly ran back to Sai's leg. Sai let out a smile and bent down holding the Pokemon. "You're a strong little man, Would you like to travel with me?" Sai strokes the bone on the Pokemon's head. Cubone's eyes light up in excitement and jumped out of Sai's arms, he taps the empty Pokeball around Sai's belt and shortly was pulled in by the ball by the red flash. The ball shock once, and stopped. Sai smiled and stood up. "now we have to go." he said to his Pokemon, he looked over at the rest of the group noticed they were to excited, they seemed relieved, all of them took the deepest breathe. Sai didn't want to bother them with a good bye. so he walked into his Pokemon and gave them the look they all smiled and nodded.

Sai finally took out a clean dry shirt from his bag and put it on, he lifted his bag. He remembered that Cassie and Curt needed to finish their battle. He couldn't stay to watch, He felt himself becoming attached to the group, he couldn't have that. If Sai became attached he became emotional and he did not want that. He stopped and gripped his chest where Ryu had placed his palm on when he broke out to protect Cassie from him, He slightly blushed. Sai had knew, the girl he met first in the cave had some how broken Sai's heart from just the touch from her Lucario.

What was he to do at this moment, Cassie was wrapped up in the mega stone Sai had given her, Curt said to Cassie in pure excitement "I-I can't believe you found one, did you find it in the cave?" Sai just smiled, he wasn't the kind of person to claim accreditation for something. But as he saw Curt and Cassie smiling and laughing, they had enjoyed each other. He felt something else he hadn't felt in a while. Sai pondered words, he just couldn't describe it. So he left it alone, he slung his bag over his shoulder with one the hand that held it and one hand in his pocket. He placed one foot in front of the other and bag to walk off into the sun, hopefully without anyone noticing his departure.

With his final words as he walked off and the wind blew, "Until we meet again." Sai let out a smirk and a soft Sai. He disappeared into the path.
Sai was no more.

 

[PentheWonderful]

Nine's ears stood erect when Curt came near with Flare. He didn't seem as fazed as he was the first time they'd met, but he was still rather uncomfortable. He moved behind Cassie and cast his gaze down, locking on his paws. The rest of the team snickered knowingly, in amusement and from mischief. Cassie, however, looked at Curt in surprise, growing quite flustered herself. Maybe it was the lack of a good night's sleep, or maybe Sai had torn down more walls of her's than she thought. "Oh- well- thank you. But, Sai was the one who found it, really. I just cleaned it a little." As she said this, her eyes wandered around to find the curly haired man that'd walked so far ahead.

Her eyes found him, so small in the distance, and she couldn't help but swallow because her throat was suddenly so dry. "He's the one we should all be admiring right now. He saved us all." She watched his form, growing smaller and smaller until he disappeared. Cassie turned back to Curt, and she held up the keystone embedded in her glove. "But as for how a mega stone works... Well, why don't you see fit yourself?"

Fang roared excitedly, once again pumped to settle his unfinished battle. And this time, Cassie won't hold him back. Nine lifted his head slightly, and said, 'Seems like a fine closure.' Ryu punched his paws together, his eyes shining with the thrill of a challenge, 'I agree.'

Perhaps to those who didn't battle Pokemon, it was a puzzling thing. To seek battles as if it were as important as breathing. But to Cassie, and to many others like her, battling was breathing. It kept them alive. It was part of their lives. And it was about time Cassie finally saw that.

 

[Curtkid]

“Well, what do you say guy’s, one more battle before the road”?, Curt said, turning to his partners with a wide grin. A chorus of cheers in unanimous agreement answered him.

“Alright then, Embertail, Whips, care to start us off again?”, Curt asked the two. Embertail began to move into position but Whips was, by all people, stopped by Lockjaw. After what appeared to be a brief conversation between the two, ending with a nod from Whips, Lockjaw walked up to Curt, tugging at his pants and pointing to the battlefield.

“Ah, I see, want a chance to make up for your freak-outs in the caves, huh”?, Curt said understanding the little alligator, “and I supposed Whips would be your best chance to show Cassie and her team what you’re really made of too”. Ever since Lockjaw joined Curts party, Whips took pity on the easily frightened Pokemon and took him under his wing, sort of becoming a big-brother to him. The two had become close and were actually pretty good at working together in a double battle. If there was anyone that could bring out Lockjaws hidden bravery, it was Whips, and Curt wasn’t going to deny Lockjaw a chance to prove he was much more than just a big chicken. Besides, Whips seemed to be a bit more, retrained, when fighting alongside Lockjaw.

“Embertail, do you mind waiting a bit and letting Whips and Lockjaw fight together this time?”, Curt called out to him. Embertail was an agreeable fellow and, he simply gave a smile and shrugged, then returned to Curt’s side along with Flare.

“Alright then, Lockjaw, Whips, let’s get the ball rollin’, Curt shouted in excitement as Whips and Lockjaw eagerly took the field,”are you ready Cassie, because this time we’re going all in!”

 

[PentheWonderful]

"Neither will we." Fang and Ryu sprang back to action as they took their respective positions on the battlefield. Fang was extra confident now that he had a mega stone on his waist, and Cassie was just itching to try out this new level of battling. "Show me your true power! Fang, Mega Evolve!"

She swung her right hand upwards, her keystone catching the rising sunlight and glinting proudly in all its glory, as if happy to finally be of use. It began to glow, and so did Fang's Garchompite. He gave a mighty roar as the light enveloped him, changing his form, making him stronger. But Cassie found it necessary, seeing the determination in Curt's Pokemon, she knew it was the only way she'd match them in truth.

The light dissipated and Fang stood there in his Mega form, shaking his new, shiny scales and chortling happily at his new appearance. Her team stood in awe, and once again Fang gave a proud roar. Even Ryu nodded in acknowledgement. "Alright then, Ryu, Extreme Speed! Ambush position!"

The Lucario once again took off at light speed and disappeared from the naked eye for a moment, suddenly reappearing behind Curt's team. "Toxic, both of you, now!"

It was such a wonderful move. Any Pokemon can learn it, yet it was so reliable. A sinister purple energy emenated from Fang's mouth and Ryu's palm, and they launched it at Lockjaw and Whips.

 

[Curtkid]

“WHIPS SAFEGUARD QUICKLY!”, Curt yelled out as fast as he could. It was a move Whips didn’t have practice with (he was best as an attacker then a defender) and, due to the speed of their opponents, only shield one of them effectively. Lockjaw was spared from Ryu’s toxins, but Whips took Fangs toxic at full force. Mega-Fang moved just as fast, maybe even faster then Ryu using Extreme Speed, they weren't going to be afforded much time to think, just act .

Curt hated to admit, but considering they were now facing a Mega Pokemon, starting of the battle with his second strongest Pokemon poisoned was a much better start then his last battle with Cassie. Still, Whips was a strong Dragon, they had a little time before even toxic began to really slow Whips down, they had to make the most of it.Considering who they were facing, they were going to have to make every move count.

“Whips, if you can, I need you to use Rain Dance to muddy up the field, but first, use your tail to launch Lockjaw at Fang, and Lockjaw you use Ice Fang on him”, Curt yelled the last part at them. Lockjaw only had a brief moment to look stunned before Whips wrapped his tail (or lower end of his body) around the alligator. Lockjaw was scared yes, but Whip and Curt were counting on him, just this once, he was going to be brave! Taking careful aim, Whips put all his strength into his tail and sent Lockjaw rocketing towards Fang as fast as any Extremespeed. Neither of them had the natural speed to catch a Mega-Garchomp on their own, but working together they had a chance.

Immediately after he launched Lockjaw, Whips rose into the air, his orb glowing bright as clouds started to gather about them (Flare instinctively pulled out Curts Umbrella from his backpack to shield herself and Embertail from the rain). Whips was beginning to breathe hard due to the effects of the toxins, but he was still determined to stay strong. The rain would make the ground muddy, Lockjaw was born in a swap, he was used to moving in mud, and Whips could hover, but the wet terrain should make it difficult for a Lucario and Garchomp (even a mega one) to move as efficiently. It was going to be a difficult battle, and they would need any advantage they could get.

 

[PentheWonderful]

Cassie managed a laugh in between the the exchange of moves. Adrenaline rushed through her body and made her feel alive. She embraced the rain as it drizzled from the sky and relished the feeling of the water as it dropped on her face. Fang roared happily, somehow in tune with his trainer's emotions. Even Ryu couldn't hold back a smile.

She raised an eyebrow at Curt's unusual, yet, in hindsight, brilliant command to launch Whips towards Fang with an Ice type attack. "I can top that." She mumbled through her grin. "Alright Ryu, let's go skating! Use Extreme Speed to circle Whips! He's the center! Draw a radius with Dragon Pulse!" While the Dragonair was still occupied with having justt thrown Lockjaw, Ryu proceeded a manuver Cassie had designed. The terrain was slicked with mud, making it harder to move around normally. But Ryu's legs were strong. He actually skated through the mud with each powerful kick of his legs, circling Whips with high speed. He was also kicking up a wave of mud that concealed him like a wall as he moved. With his aura sensing abilities, he honed in on Whips, opened his mouth, and launched a beam of Dragon Pulse as he continued to circle Whips and creating a whirlpool of mud at the same time. The Dragon Pulse came sporadically and suddenly, making it hard to pin point where it would come from next. Cassie hoped Ryu's stamina lasted long enough.

However, there was absolutely no way Fang was dodging Lockjaw, but there was no better target than a target that came to you. If he touches Lockjaw, then it would inflict considerable damage for sure, but Mega Garchomp had a greater Defense, and just enough stamina. So Cassie took a risk. "Dragon Rush!"

Fang's scythes glowed brightly, and using a similar technique as Ryu, he kicked off TOWARDS Lockjaw with his scythes raised. Cassie knew Mega Garchomp had one of the highest Attack a Mega Evolved Pokemon could possess, and she trusted the Garchomp. Everything seemed to move in slow motion as Fang raised one of his scythes towards Lockjaw's Ice Fang, colliding the two attacks together and Fang pushing through with another kick. There was an epic flash of light and Fang was back to back with Lockjaw; his scythe bruised and frozen.

Cassie hoped Lockjaw had taken some damage too.

 

[Curtkid]

Curt was impressed with Cassie’s Pokemon the first time he saw them, even the most green of trainers could tell that Cassie trained her pokemon to be elite fighting machines, with the trainer herself being an exceptional strategist. But after seeing Ryu and Fang not only move through the muddied terrain with incredible ease, but actually used it to their advantage, combined with being able to react to his Pokemons attacks AND launch two powerful attacks at them like it wasn’t even crap…no Curt wasn’t impressed by Cassie’s Pokemon, he was afraid of them.

Lockjaw was able to land an Ice Fang on Fang, biting hard on one of his arm-fins, but if Fang was being hurt by it, he didn’t show it. Instead he raised his second scythe and almost made a direct hit on Lockjaw, somehow, Mega Evolving actually made the Sand-Sharks reaction time and speed a bit slower. At first, Curt thought Lockjaw managed to jump past Fang, but the mere power emitted by Fangs dragon rush caused a massive after-shock to hit Lockjaw, doing cataclysmic damage. The hit sent Lockjaw tumbling across the field past Fang.

Whips had a bit more luck, though the mud Ryu kicked made it almost impossible to determine where the attack was coming from. The situation practically handed Ryu a direct hit on Whips. However, Whips was no stranger to Ryu’s Dragon Pulse, and at first, seemed to bounce back from the hit without much trouble, that was until Whips start coughing. Curt almost forgot about the toxic from earlier.

This was bad, and now that Curt thought about it, agreeing to right Cassie this was a really stupid idea. Cassie had an expertly trained Lucario, a legendary Mega Pokemon, and Arceus knew what else. Where as half of Curts Pokemon hadn’t even made it past there first evolution yet. Whips was fading fast, and Lockjaw was going to start flipping out any second now that he realized how powerful of an opponent Fang was. Really, he should just call the match now to avoid damaging his pokemon.

G-guy’s, I think we shou-, the Curt was cut off by something he thought he would never see before, a roar from Lockjaw. The whole group took a quick look at him, and saw something they had never seen in The Big Jaw Pokemons eye’s before: courage. Normally Lockjaws strength came from his brief freak outs, which allowed him to do rapid damage to his opponents in an attempt to subdue him. But this time, he found the strength to stand up and face an opponent that far outclassed him.

A Mega-Garchomp was far more terrifying then a dark cave, or even several cave in, but maybe that was the point. Lockjaw had ENOUGH of always being a coward, of constantly being a burden on the team, of his fear constantly getting his team in danger and needing to be rescued. Curt saw it in Lockjaw’s eye’s: he was done being scared, he was ready to try being brave.

It was there Curt realized: Lockjaw was right, what was he thinking? If he started doubting his Pokemons abilities, then there certainly done for. It doesn’t matter how big the mountain, of how impossible the climb, they were here, and they were going to do everything in their power to try and make it to the top. It was only over for certain if they gave up, and if there was one uniting factor that united everyone on Curts team, it was a hatred of giving up. He just almost couldn’t believe it took Lockjaw to help him remember that.

“You heard Lockjaw Whips, we aren’t done yet”, Curt yelled, the passion clear in his voice. Whips immediately picked himself up, determined not to let the poison slow him down while Lockjaw gave another heated roar, that’s when it happened. Water rised up from the muddy ground and complete encased the Totodile, and then, in a flash of light, the water exploded from the Pokemons body.

“Well, THAT certainly is interesting”, Flare quipped up. The bright light faded from the Totodiles body, only Lockjaw wasn’t a Totodile anymore. He stood about a foot and a half taller, the white “V” in his chest spreading over the majority of his torso. His jaw had gained significantly more muscle mass, the bottom turning the same doughy-white as his chest, with three addition red spines covering the top of his head.

“Evolving in the middle of a heated battle, sounds like something out of a bad cartoon”, Flare joked with a small chuckle. Curt paid her no mind, to him, this was awesome. Lockjaw took a mere moment to examine his new shape, before returning to face down Fang. Curt didn’t let Lockjaw’s evolution go to his head, even with his new found power, he still only had just enough strength to take one more hit before going down. But not matter what his Pokemon were going give Cassie’s team something to remember them with.

Alright then, LET”S SHOW THEM WHAT WE’RE MADE OF! Let’s give them the old bind and chew, and give yourself a boost with Water Gun Lockjaw, Let’s GO!”, Curt yelled with a fire in his heart. Whips curled himself up and sprang himself, Ryu looked ready to defend himself, only to realize Whips wasn’t aiming toward him. They weren’t dividing their efforts, the two were focusing on the bigger threat: Fang.

Whips was going to attempt to maneuver around the mighty Sand-Shark, and try to WRAP him up, even if only for a moment to slow him down. Meanwhile, Lockjaw charged at Fang, let out a small burst of water to help propel himself through the air, and opened his jaw wide. His teeth became coated with ice in an attempt to deliver one more mighty blow against Fang. It didn’t matter how bad the odds looked, all that mattered right now was that they came at their opponents with everything they had.

 

[PentheWonderful]

Among anything, Cassie and her team was srunnsed to watch Lockjaw evolve. Jade twirled happily to see the bright dazzle, Aurora trying to mimic her but failed to be as grceful. Cassie smirked, proud of Curt for some odd reason. However, both trainer and Lucario were surprised when Whips sprang, seemingly unfazed by his poisoning after Curt's speech, only to miss Ryu entirely and zipped straight towards Fang. Ryu halted his sprint immediately, kicking up dirt in the air as he turned to his partner, roaring in concern before Cassie could. 'It's Wrap!' Cassie clutched her fists as Nine stepped forward, assessing the situation with her. 'It's no use. Fang is in the way of the line of fire even with Aura Sphere." He concluded, seemingly reading his trainer's mind. Cassie had to commend Curt once again for his tactics. He was brilliant, and she doubted she'd be able to ever rise her Pokemon's morale the way he did; pulling them through tough situations and never giving up. That was the mark of a true trainer, and something she knew she'd always lacked. It was a mutual kind of strength. His Pokemon fed off his energy as much as he fed off of theirs. She was truly honored to battle him, and if he wasn't going to give up, then neither will she.

Although Mega Evolution did wonders for Fang's offense, it hindered his speed, thus, despite facing Whips, he wasn't able to dodge him. The Dragonair's wrap came straight at him and around him as he gave a roar of distress. But Fang's ability was Rough Skin. His sharp scales dug into Whips and damaged him even more. However, this was new ground for them, to battle with Mega Evolution, and Fang looked back at his trainer with fear in his eyes, and for the first time in a long time, Cassie's heart melted. "It's okay, Fang! We're doing okay! You're strong, Fang! Not just physically and not because of Mega Evolution! You're strong in the real way! You stuck with me, after all! You endured the hell I've put you through and you thrived! You're strong, Fang!" The Garchomp was stunned to hear his trainer's encouragement, and so was the rest of her team. She had never, ever verbally expressed her feelings towards her Pokemon before, and her words lit a fire inside of him, and it showed in his eyes. Maybe she was a true trainer too. "It's your time, now Fang! You're not just strong! You're Intelligent! That's why you're here! That's why we're all here! That's what makes us stronger!" It was as if a light bulb went off in her head, and she smiled confidently.

"You look tired, Fang! How about you take a nap?" Fang didn't understand at first, blinking his eyes once, twice, the clock ticking away as Lockjaw once again went airborne. The threat of a super effective move coming closer and closer. And then he understood. Squirming about in Whips wrap, moving his feet closer together, his scales caused more and more damage to the poisoned Dragonair. Whips was focusing all his strength on keeping him immobile, and that was by wrapping around the entire length of his body. Lockjaw would only be able to attack his head in order to avoid damage to Whips, and had set his trajectory to do so. Thus, all Fang had to do was fall flat on his face.

With his feet close together, he had nothing to keep him upright. The might Garchomp fell forward, using Lockjaw's trajectory to his advantage with that same confident glint in his eyes. Lockjaw was only inches away from getting a satisfying chunk off his neck, but because he fell, what was presented to the Totodile-turned-Croconaw was now Whips' body. "Ryu, be ready!" Upon command, the Lucario jetted forward, closer to Fang to provide back up.

 

[Curtkid]

“See Cassie, you’re better than you think you are”, Curt thought when he saw her own display of faith in her Pokemon. He only knew the girl for a little more than a day, but judging by her teams shocked relations, she had never done something like this. They responded to her faith with renewed passion and unshakable vigor, a trade mark of Pokemon and trainer fighting as one. It’s important for a trainer to realize that the Pokemon that follow them teach the trainer just as much as the trainer teaches them, maybe even more so.

But Curt needed to focus on the here and now, and right now, Fang was trying to maneuver his body so Lockjaw hit Whips instead. There was precious little Curt could do at this point except have faith that Lockjaw could manipulate his trajectory enough so he would hit Fang. Curts faith was half-rewarded, Lockjaw did indeed bite Fang, but he also bit Whips as well. Fang found the strength to hold on, the Garchomps mega-evolution giving it enough power to withstand the attack. Whips however, had been taking the majority of the punishment for this battle, and Lockjaws Ice Fang did just enough damage to send him over the edge, Whips was out. Lockjaw quickly realized what he did, and almost immediately released himself from Fang and jumped back, narrowly avoiding a hit from Ryu.

“Crap, TIME OUT FOR A SECOND CASSIE!”, Curt yelled as he ran over to check on Whips. He knelt down to check the dragons condition, aside from the typical damage that came after a battle, his injuries didn’t seem too bad. Shed Skin had apparently kicked in shortly after he wrapped Fang, so Curt didn’t need to worry about giving him something for the poison, but it was still clear Whips was done battling for this match. He saw Lockjaw come up a give a soft growl, apparently apologizing for accidentally biting Whips, but judging by Whips returning cry, the Dragonair didn’t hold it against the Croconaw.

“Whip is right, it isn’t your fault Lockjaw, it was a tricky shot, you both did great considering the circumstances”, Curt said offering them both a comforting smile. Embertail reached into Curts backpack and handed Curt some medicine to give to Whips, but as he was feeding it to him, Curt noticed the rain was beginning to die down now, which started giving him an idea. Curt began to pull out Whips’ Pokeball, only for him to give a soft roar in protest while pushing the ball away with the tip of his tail.

“Ah, want to stay out and watch the rest of the battle eh, I see”, Curt responded to Whips as he turned to Lockjaw,” actually, you could use a break too Lockjaw, could you help Whips off the battlefield, seeing as the guy wants to spectate”. Lockjaw gave a quick nod and helped Whips move himself to a safe area to watch the battle. It couldn’t be helped, the dragon loved watching battles almost as much as participating in them. Now that he thought about it, so long as they weren’t too messed up, his Pokemon often insisted staying out and watching the end of a battle over the comfort of returning to their Pokeballs. If one thing could be said about Curt’s training methods, it defiantly gave his team a lot of freedom.

That settled, Curt turned to check on his Kitsune, “Alright then Flare, how’s your leg?”.

“Better”, she replied, standing up and putting some weight on it, “I will be able to fight just fine if that’s what you’re asking”.

“Alright then, Embertail, you’ve been very patient, are you ready to have some fun?”, Curt asked his partner. Embertail responded with a loud and excited roar as he jumped onto the field with Flare following soon after him. Though they were initial nervous at seeing the power of their opponents, Lockjaws strength when facing Fang rallied them up and gave them the courage to face their opponents without falter.

“Thanks for waiting Cassie, Whips maybe down, but this battle if far from over!”, Curt said, the fire returning to his voice as their Pokemon retook their positions on the field.

“Embertail, you and I both know there’s only one move you know that will do any real damage against Fang, are you ready to use it?”, Curt asked the Lizard Pokemon. Embertail turned to Curt, giving him a shocked look and emitted a growl that sounded exactly like “What?”.

“I know you never used it in a battle, but I’ve seen you pull it off when practicing, I know you’ll be able to pull it off here”, Curt said, reassuring his friend. Embertails look of concern was replaced with a look of raw determination. Curt saw Embertail’s tail flame flare up as it doubled in size.

“He’s taking this battle completely seriously, oh Cassie is in for one hell of a surprise”, Curt thought, allowing himself a small smirk. Though Embertail enjoyed battling, he rarely took it completely seriously, at least right of the bat. He saw battling as more of a sport to have fun with than anything else, but once in a blue moon, they would end up in a situation that ignited the passion in Embertails heart and made him fight with every

“Alright then, let’s get this started, FLARE SURPRESS THEM WITH FLAMETHROW, EMBERTAIL ADVANCE ON FANG WITH AERIAL ACE AND HIT HIM WITH YOUR NEW MOVE,” Curt yelled. Immediately a massive stream of hot fire erupted from Flares mouth, showering Cassie’s side of the field in fire, while Embertail rocket towards Fang at incredible speeds. Though Fang was still fast inspite of his Mega-Evolutions speed penalties, Embertail boosted by Aerial Ace allowed him to match Ryu using Extreme Speed. Advancing toward Fang, Embertails pulled his arm back and stretched his claws out like he was going for a slash, but an observant eye would notice that his claws were glowing with a bright green energy. It was a technique that was stolen from dragons in times of old, and used by certain clans against the very dragons that used it to bring them down.

“Now Embertail”, Curt yelled, “DRAGON CLAW!”

 

[PentheWonderful]

Whips was down and out, and Cassie's side of the field exploded in cheers. The trainer gave a hearty, experated laugh and wiped the rain water from her brow. "Alright Fang, brush it off!" The Mega Garchomp shook off the mud and water, his fangs growing red hot. He dug it into his frozen scythe and thawed the ice in an instant. Ryu was by his side in seconds, luckily unscathed from the battle he had run. "Heal Pulse, Ryu!" It was a quick solution in battles, and it was why she liked using Ryu in double battles. As the healing energy emenated from Ryu and enveloped Fang, the damage he'd taken from both Bind and Ice Fang was lifted.

The rain was beginning to clear, but it would take a while for the terrain to truly dry. When she turned her attention back to Curt, however, her eyebrows raised and she clicked her tongue. "Curt, you cheat!" Her exclamation was a joke, but it was also half genuine. No matter. "That means we're going to hit you twice as hard!" Ryu and Fang both looked back for their trainer's support. They'd been through quite a bit with Whips and Lockjaw already, and now they were being faced with fresh Pokemon. Cassie just grinned. "We still have the upper hand, boys! The terrain's still on our side, and Flare and Embertail aren't as adjusted to it as Whips and Lockjaw were!"

From the look on Curt's face, she just knew he was up to something. No matter, no matter. She would counter it and hit back twice as hard. From the sidelines, however, Nine watched with interest as Flare went up on the field.

All of a sudden, the field exploded with a massive Flamethrower, but before her field of vision was covered, she spotted Embertail launch himself to the sky. "Ryu, on Fang's back, now!" The Lucario hopped up in knee jerk reaction, doing a full backflip in mid-air and landing on Fang's back. The Sand Shark shielded his partner from the smoldering Flamethrower and shook off the the soot. Embertail was coming.

"Fang, duck! Ryu, on Fang's shoulder and use Bone Rush! Let's play ball!" In that instant, the mighty Mega Garchomp bowed in obedience, the Lucario rolled over his back, standing with his full height on his partner's shoulders, and produced two bones from the mud, hardening it in his paw, and swung it at the airborne Charmander. The bone collided with Embertail's Dragon Claw, and with the other, he swung towards Embertail's body. Back and forth, one hit, two hits, three. He juggled the Charmander with incredible speed before swinging hard and hopefully sending him back to where Flare was. "Hey, Curt! Don't send a Pokemon flying unless they were meant to fly!" Cassie teased, her tongue stuck towards the man.

It was true. Pokemon that weren't flying types could only maneuver through the air in one flow and trajectory. They can't adjust or do anything but their intended plan, for it was an element they did not belong it. She noticed this to be a certain habit of Curt's; sending his smaller Pokemon flying to make up for speed, but fatally risking them to go Extreme Speeding directly into a planned attack. "Alright, Ryu get off of Fang! Fang, use Dig, and then, Earthquake!"

Fang was ecstatic, but Ryu gulped instead. The Sand Shark burrowed underground once more, settling himself where he found fit, and then gave Ryu the cue. 'He's ready.' "Ryu, Protect, now!"

The moment his shield was set up, the ground exploded with a massive earthquake. As if a Mega Garchomp's Earthquake wasn't powerful enough, with Dig, the power was doubled. Ryu hunkered down with his Protect, and even Cassie was thrown off her feet. But she merely laughed.

Oh yes, she was having a blast.

 

[Curtkid]

“Hah, don’t you think we know that, this is far from the first time Embertails used Aerial Ace, or been sent flying through the air”, Curt responded. Embertail tried to shield himself from Ryu’s Bone Rush, but the Lucario was strong and it didn’t help much, and Ryu got in a few good hits. But despite being sent flying, he was easily able to right himself. Aerial Ace was one of Embertails top used moves, they had worked on it constantly, and being sent flying through the air was absolutely nothing new to the Lizard Pokemon, he had learn to right himself when sent flying through the air.

But now they had an Earthquake to worry about, and an underground one did considerable more damage than an above ground one, but there was one draw-back to doing an earthquake underground: It was delayed. But still, they needed to use those precious few moments wisely and Curt had to think fast, he noticed Ryu sent Embertail flying towards Flare, and that’s when an idea formed in his head.

“Flare, let Embertain jump onto top of you, he needs to stay air-born to avoid that Earthquake, once he’s in the air you use Protect too!”, Flare threw him a quick look that screamed “seriously?”, but Flare knew, despite the absurdity of the strategy, this was probably the best they could do on such short notice. So, she let Embertail bounce of him and leap into the air, before throwing up a Protect of her own. But the Earthquake ended up heading towards her faster than expected, as she was forced to throw up a hastily made barrier, which ultimately shattered, inflicting decent damage on Flare.

Embertail was able to land safely, but even that partly negated Earthquake did quite a number on Flare, and right now it didn’t seem like they could do much. Ryu still had his protect up, they couldn’t touch him, and Fang was still underground! At first Curt though of having Embrtail dig under the protect and flare sending a Flamethrower to fill the dome with fire, but if Protect could shield from Earthquake, it would no doubt shield from dig. Even if they tried to break it, by the time it shatter Fang would have probably left the his tunnels by then and…wait, THE TUNNELS!

“THAT’S IT, Flare use Flamethrower to fill the tunnels Fang dug with fire, completely submerge him in Flames! Embertail, you go cover Flare, the first thing Ryu going to do when Protect fades is try to go after Flare and I don’t want Fang popping out and catching Flare by surprise on the off chance he escapes!”, Curt yelled, and then quickly stopped to take a breath, man that was a mouth-full!. The two pokemon immediately ran towards the hole Fang dug. Flare let out a massive stream of hot fire directly down into the tunnel, if there was one powerful trait Flare had that wasn’t her psychic abilities, it was her ability to produce a lot of fire quickly.

Flare was, much like Embertail, a fast pokemon, she could have an opponent covered in Fire almost before they could blink. So it wasn’t long before the small cracks on the surface made by Fangs Earthquake started spitting out fire too. The whole tunnel system Fang built would be filled with fire in just a few moments.

Flare was beginning to sweat, that Earthquake took a decent bit out of her, but she pushed on, partly out of her stubborn refusal to be seen as a quitter, and partly because she wanted to pay Fang back for that Earthquake. Meanwhile Embertail kept one eye on Ryu, waiting for him to drop protect, and another on the ground around him, to see if Fang would attempt to make a be-line for the surface. If Ryu dropped his protect, Embertail would go after him, if Fang managed to escape the underground fire-tunnels, Embertail would try another Dragon Claw on Fang while Flare contended with Ryu. The blood was rushing through Curts veins and he allowed himself to get a bit excited, it seemed like they were finally able to pull one over on Cassie’s team! But Curt that when fighting Cassie or a mega-pokemon any advantage could quickly be turned against them, and they had to be ready for whatever their opponents threw at them.

 

[PentheWonderful]

Cassie clicked her tongue when, yet again, Curt managed to get his team out of what could've been an instant knockout. He was clever, this man. Despite the silly behavior he'd displayed throughout the cave escape, he was indeed one to watch. Her heart pumped through her veins, loving the way this man challenged her. No one had ever lasted this long against her before. The only other person who'd came close to bringing her down on her knees was Cynthia, and she was the Champion of Sinnoh. A strange, mischievous grin grew on her face as a counter plan quickly formulated in her head upon hearing Curt's orders.

There would be no way Fang was escaping the Flamethrower, and there was also no way she was letting him go to the surface where Embertail would be able to have at him. Ryu won't be able to do much either, with Embertail watching him. He was at risk from a super effective fire attack. And yet, her solution was so simple. Garchomp were dual type Pokemon, that being Ground and Dragon; both of which are resistant to fire type attacks, making him practically immune to them. However, forcing Fang to suffer through it would still be cruel, not to mention Flare's attack was especially powerful. Unfortunately, she wasn't above that. She would just make him suffer less and go through with a plan much crazier than Curt's.

"Ryu, keep your Protect up, and tell Fang to use Protect as well, now." Cassie told her Lucario, who passed the message on to the Garchomp just as the earth exploded with fire. Cassie had to take a step back, but Nine gave a low purr that acknowledged Flare's power. 'He says he can't hold it for long.' Ryu piped back up. He wasn't happy with this arrangement, for, being a Lucario meant you had a strong sense of justice, and he would very much like to help Fang. But he knew Cassie had her plans, and she'd never let any of them down before. So he held his ground. "Alright, so tell him to find where the fire is coming from and extinguish it."

Ryu's eyes widened, and so did the rest of her team's. Nonetheless, the message was sent. Perhaps it was asking too much of Fang. Perhaps it was beyond his limits. But Cassie knew Fang, and he would want to be pushed now more than ever. He'd just gotten his Mega Evolution. He won't let others think that his Mega Evolved self was weaker than his normal self. That was not acceptable to both him and his trainer.

So in the hellfire, Fang took off with incredible speed towards the source of the fire. The ground was still his element. He'd learned last time that absorbing water from the soil gave away his position, so instead, he tapped in to a water pocket, which wasn't hard to do after the cave was flooded. Being the sand shark he was, Fang 'swam' through the tunnels, the water racing to his location, and he surfaced himself in the hole Flare spewed fire into.

For a moment, the fire fox might be able to see his confident face emerging from the fire, along with the massive, violent flood of water that blasted out along with him; Surf. Water flooded the ground above and quelched the roaring fires. However, his eyes were on Embertail, who, in covering Flare, got himself caught in the line of fire.

One look in Fang's eyes and you could see how he was uttering the words, 'You're not getting away this time.'

 

[Curtkid]

“No way!”, was all Curt could managed to say at first when he saw that Fang had not only managed to tough it out through Flares Flamethrower, but be able to draw from a water source deep underground and pull of a Surf! Curt, once again, had to remind himself what his opponent was.

Even a “normal” Garchomp on its own was considered one of the rarest and most powerful Pokemon and trainer could have, Even Curt dreamt of having one before Whips came along. It was what people called: “a Pseudo-Legendary”, a Pokemon so powerful many considered their strength to rival legendary Pokemon like Articuno or Entei. If a normal Garchomp could be compared to the likes of those Pokemon, imagine what kind of Pokemon a Mega Garchomp could defeat.

But he had no time to marvel at Fangs power, he had a battle to fight,” Flare, uses Psychic to stop surf, both of you escape!” Embertail made a bolt for it, keeping an eye on Ryu to make sure he didn’t try to attack him while he was fleeing the surf, but Flare was having trouble. Her brow was creased in concentration, she was beginning to sweat heavily, unable to move. Fang seemed to be focusing only on her now, Embertail may have escaped him, but he seemed to be determined not to let her escape as well. It was at that moment Curt realized what was going on: Fang was over-powering her.

“Flare, get out of there quicky!”, Curt yelled, but it was too late, the force of Fangs Surf broke through her Psychic and landed a direct hit. Flare was pummeled by the powerful waves and thrown clear across the battlefield, practically at Curts feet. There was no question, Flare was out.

“Flare, speak to me, are you alright?”, Curt said bending down to checking on the fox pokemon. Flare coughed up some water and gave him a weak smile.

Y-yes, nothing serious, I believe”, she said before turning her head towards Fang,” I-I’m sorry, it’s just, in all my years, I have never seen such power from a Pokemon before. It seems as though the legends of the Mega Stones are much more than just that”. She didn't need to tell Curt that, even after all the punishment Fang had taken, he just keep going at them like he was still at 100%. Whether that was due to the Mega-Evolution, Cassie's training, or a bit of both, Curt wasn't sure

“No, you did fantastic, especially considering everything you went through in the caverns”, Curt told her with a reassuring smile while he pulled out her Pokeball. Like everyone else, Flare did want to stay out and watch then end of the battle up close. But Fangs surf had felt like a Hydro Pump from Kyogre, she had to concede that it was best she got some rest for now.

With Flare safely back in her ball, Curt quickly assessed his situation. Whip and Flare, his two strongest Pokemon, were out, Ryu’s Bone Rush had defiantly roughed up Embertail a bit. He turned to assess Lockjaw, though Lockjaw was significantly more powerful after evolving, he hadn’t gotten much time to get used to his new form, besides, he was still damaged from Fang’s attack from earlier. A good portion of the field was wet too, but thankfully Fangs Surf didn't draw from a nearby source of water, so the terrain wasn't too bad off.

“Now I really wish I brought Raviel and Jasper”, Curt said before addressing his Croconaw, “Well Lockjaw, you got it in you for one last round?”

Like it was even a question. The not-so-tiny alligator pokemon immediately hopped up from sitting next to Whips and ran to join Embertail on the battlefield. Curt even heard the Dragonair give a roar of encouragement to the two remaining fighters on Curts team.

“He has to getting into this, it’s a rare thing for Whips to give any form of vocal support”, Curt thought to himself before returning his attention to the battlefield.

“Alright Cassie, this is it, my last two Pokemon, beat them and you’ll have beaten us without losing a single Pokemon”, Curt said with a smile that one would almost call cherry,” but don’t think we’ll make it easy for you!” It was funny, technically, Curt was losing pretty badly, but he had never enjoyed a battle this much, and Curt REALLY enjoyed his battles. Even his Pokemon seemed to be falling under the same spell Curt had, they had fought together many times, and Curt couldn’t remember the last time his team had fought this well.

“Emertail, bombard the enemy with Rock Slide, keep them on their toes! Lockjaw, try to see if you can’t get one more Ice Fang on Fang, but be careful!”, Curt yelled out to his partners. The field was practically torn to shreds after what Fang and Flare did to it, so there was plenty of stones scattered around to use Rock Slide. Scooping some up with his arms and tail, Embertail began flinging them at the opposing team with surprising speed and accuracy.

Lockjaw, meanwhile, took a more cautious approach, while Embertail was bombarding Cassie’s team with Rock Slide, he advance towards them, and the moment he saw an opening, lunged at Fang with Ice Fang.

It wasn’t the most complex of strategies, but Curt knew his remaining Pokemon were too warn out to try anything risky. Right now their goal was to see if they could take down a Mega Garchomp, and that was a great feat for any trainer to accomplish.

 

[PentheWonderful]

Cassie let out a simple whistle.

She observed the wave successfully knock Flare out, but yet again, Embertail had escaped. Despite the credit Curt had given to Whips and Flare, to Cassie, the little Charmander was probably the most powerful. He was quick on his feet and quick witted. Lockjaw was quite deadly as well. Ryu collapsed his Protect and looked back at Cassie, acknowledging her success and apologies for his doubt. However, as Fang shook off the water from his scales, and looked to her with hopeful eyes, Cassie had never been more proud. "Well done, Fang." A loving, warm smile stretched across her lips. "I'm proud of you."

The Mega Garchomp's face seemed to light up like Flash, knowing he'd redeemed himself from the premature battle in the cave. Ryu gave him an encouraging pat on the back. It was as if a huge weight was lifted off Fang's chest, and now, he was more than ready to get back into action.

Cassie grinned teasingly at Curt as the rocks from Rock Slide began flying towards her team. "It's your turn now, Ryu! Power Up Punch on those rocks! Build up your power!" A grin seemed to creep into Ryu's face as well, glad to finally contribute to the battle. Fang hunkered down while the Lucario leapt up and began obliterating every single projectile with quick punches, toughening up his fists and raising his attack repeatedly.

From the corner of her eyes, Cassie could see the Croconaw carefully make his way towards them, and held her breath. "Fang, hold still."

The Mega Garchomp obeyed without question, and Cassie waited until Lockjaw lunged. "Alright, Ryu, Power Up Punch on Lockjaw! Fang, use the Rock Slide as cover and get to Embertail!" The Pokemon moved in a snap. Ryu turned sharply around from the rocks and took off TOWARDS Lockjaw, fists raised and bursting with power. He was intercepting the Croconaw's attack and swung his fist right into the Ice Fang. Meanwhile, Fang moved forward, amongst the stream of projectiles to Embertail. "Sand-attack!"

From his jaws, Fang hissed a stream of sand that would hopefully blind Embertail and keep him from escaping the way he does, and right after, Cassie exclaimed, "Bulldoze! Let's finish what we started!" The Mega Garchomp slammed his foot down on the already damaged landscape, sending a massive quake towards Embertail. Bulldoze had a wide range, but it also only hit Pokemon that were adjescent to the user, unlike Earthquake.

 

[Curtkid]

Curt had to admit, it was impressive how, whenever it seemed like Curt ad his team was pushing an offence, Cassie managed to put them back on the defense. It was an extremely sound strategy, keep your opponents on the defense, ware them down, and the go in for the kill when there tired. Cassie knew that, to win a battle, you had to force the opponent to play the game YOU wanted them to play.

At first, it seemed Lockjaw and Ryu’s attacks stalemated, the faster Lucario coming to the defense of his partner, but Lockjaw was just a bit more tuckered out then then Ryu, and was soon overpowered. Ryu sent Lockjaw flying with a quick barrage of punches, with him landing right in the path of Fangs Bulldozer, and Embertail was in no way any better off. The Sand-attack hit true, as fast as Embertail was, that Sand attack shot out like a rocket, and now he couldn’t see where to bulldoze was coming from.

He need to call Lockjaw back, in the condition he was already in, it was too risky to have him try and get up to dodge that Bulldoze, if it connected it would do some serious damage to him. Embertails ball, however, was still buried in Curts backpack, he need to find a way to soften to blow on the little lizard Pokemon. Thankfully, Embertail was still in pretty good shape, only his vision was obscured, all Curt had to do was be his eyes.

“Lockjaw, come back, Curt yelled, rapidly returning the alligator to the safety of his pokeball, “ Embertail, quickly get about ten feet left and get down!” The bond between Curt and Embertail was strong, and the Lizard Pokemon trusted him with his life. Embertail made a lead at the direction Curt instructed him and landed in not dirt, but in mud. The Surf Fang used earlier made a small portion of the terrain moist, and that area negated a chunk of the damage from Bulldozer. That attack, made wide spread, wasn’t terribly damaging to begin with, still Embertail did suffer some damage from the attack.

Quickly cleaning the sand out of his eyes, Embertail attempted to catch his breathe. He was exhausted, outnumbered, and about to lose the battle. Despite their best efforts, Cassie managed to counter their every move. Embertail was not a proud Pokemon, but spending his entire life unable to breath fire and, as far as he knew, unable to evolve did make him insecure about his abilities in battle. He sometimes found himself struggling with the idea of watching his friends grow bigger and stronger while he stayed fragile and weak.

He threw a glare at Fang and Ryu as the flame on his tail began to flare up and coat his entire body. He felt his muscles tense as he began to call from a surprising source of strength in the midst of his exhaustion. NO! He WAS NOT going to let this battle end on a whimper! He was NOT going to go down like this!

Curt sighed as he took in the gravity of the situation, Embertail was tiered and outnumbered. He wasn’t about the let Embertail go up against a Mega-Garchomp and Lucario by himself. The battle was over, and he should end it before his bro got seriously injured.

“Alright Embertail let’s-“, Curt began to saw until he saw Embertails entire body encased in flame. His eye’s grew wide as he began to comprehend what Embertail was doing. He saw his partner turn to him, give him an almost casual grin, then take off toward Fang.

“EMBERTAIL WHAT ARE YOU DOING, DON’T!” Curt yelled at the Lizard Pokemon as he sprinted towards Fang at speeds even a racing Rapidash would be impressed by. However, Curt knew exactly was Embertail was doing. It was a move the Charmander had only used a very small number of times, simple because even he didn’t know how he made it work. But it’s power use undeniable, it’s was one of the strongest moves a fire Pokemon could learn, so destructive it’s power damaged the user as well as the target.

Flare Blitz.

Fang seemed to brace himself for the attack, despite Dragon types having some natural resistance to fire-moves, even an attack of this power could pose a threat to him. The Mega- Garchomp spread his legs in an attacking stance, took a swing at Embertail, only for him to dive threw his legs and keep running past him.

It was at that point everyone realized, Embertails target wasn’t Fang, it was Ryu! He knew that he couldn’t take down Fang with Flare Blitz, but a Steel-type Lucario on the other-hand.

Embertail reached the Lucario in almost no time flat, pulled his arm back, and threw his whole body at the Aura Pokemon.

Curt didn’t see what happened, his vision was blocked out by a quick, but intense flash of fire. When he opened them, he saw that Embertail had been thrown across the field by the force of his own attack. He wasted no time in bolting towards his companion, the only thing on his mind was whether or not he was hurt, even Whips slithered over in concern for his friend.

“Embertail,”, Curt scooped up his friend in his arms, trying to get a better look to see if anything was wrong with him. A few moments passed, and Embertail slowly opened his eyes…..

And gave him that typical sheepish smile of his!

“Embertail y-you crazy son of a bitch! Don’t do something like that again!”, Curt said, trying to sound forceful but unable to hide what could only be described as a mixture of relief and awe in his voice. Curt had known Embertail all his life, and NEVER had he seen him pull of a move that had that much power behind it.

However, as impressive as it was, Embertail clearly used the last of his energy in that Flare Blitz, there was no way he was fit to battle anymore. Still, Curt was happy, despite losing he still considered it one of the best battles he ever had, he felt like something inside him had been reignited, something that he didn’t even realize went out. Perhaps he needed this battle just as much as his Pokemon did, it was just the thing he needed to get him back into challenging the gym and taking the Pokemon league challenges, buut that was for later, right now, he needed to address Cassie, Ryu, and Fang.

“We'll talk about that later, Embertail, but right now...”, Curt said to the Pokemon in his arms and his Dragonair companion, “let’s go thank Cassie for the battle, I just hope you didn’t mess Ryu up too badly…”

 

[PentheWonderful]

Her heart fluttered like the wings of a Yanma. Her attack finally hit!

"GAAARR!!!" Fang roared in triumph, the echo of his voice shaking the very ground. He was satisfied. He had gained confirmation that his Mega Evolution did not make him weaker. That he was still who he was. And more.

But what happened next came completely out of nowhere.

All of a sudden, a blindingly fast fireball zipped through the battlefield. The fire reflected in Cassie's eyes and sent the blood draining from her face. Fang had braced himself for the impact, but she knew it wasn't Fang he was after. The same shock was in Ryu's eyes, and there was only moments between him putting his paws up, and Embertail slamming into him with full force. There would've been no evasion. Flare Blitz was a STAB move. It was feared. Not even Cassie can react fast enough nor Ryu to put up a guard.

Fire englufed the two Pokemon, the heat so intense the trainer felt it from where she stood. A massive spark exploded into a firework array, and Ryu was sent flying backwards, dragging on the ground before coming to a halt, right at his trainer's feet. "RYU!"

She fell to her knees and her team gathered around her in a flash, even Fang. Cassie pulled the beaten Lucario close, placed his head on her thighs. Placing her hands on either side of his face. His eyes gazing at her tiredly before he shut them. "You did good today, Ryu."

'Glad to see you're still in one piece.' Nine joked flatly, earning a weak, playful smack from Ryu. Her team seemed to pipe up in unison, echoing in support to his efforts on the battlefield. Cassie then returned the fatigued Lucario to his Pokeball, kissed Fang on his forehead, and returning him also with a thanks. Soon, everyone was back in their Pokeballs except for Ace, with whom she walked across the field with to Curt.

Despite winning the battle, Cassie had been boundlessly humbled by an experience. It set her feet back on the ground, somehow reviving a part of her she thought had died long ago; the part that could love. She felt like she and her Pokemon had grown, remarkably. Not just in experience, but as living beings in general. A smile graced her face as the blond man also approached, and stopped when they were a foot away. "Thank you." Was all she needed to say. Because the battle had expressed everything else. The petite trainer went up on her toes, and gently placed a kiss on his cheek.

In a single sweep of her dark locks, and a flash of white feathers, she'd mounted her Swanna's back, sitting regally amongst his effervescent wings. Ace watched Curt and his team with his elegant raven eyes, and he gave them an acknowledging nod as Cassie told them; "May we meet again someday."

The sun beamed down on Ace's silk feathers, casting a tender glow. And they took off.