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[SWC] The Champion This is supposed to be an anime-style battle-story. People that don't respect Pokemon battling probably won't like it as much as those who do, but this is a different kind of story compared to most of the other stuff we have here so give it a try (and a vote).
Also, some notes:
-Drake and Steven used their in-game lines. This kills off some potential dialogue, but there was never any dialogue in the games anyways.
-Darmanitan has both Sheer Force and Zen Mode as its ability. Just go with it.
Going For: Skarmory
Characters: 41132
Characters Needed: 30,000
"Good job, Salamence!"
The blue dragon roared with pride, breathing out green flames. The pale blue battlefield was now charred with such flames from our battle. However, my opponent and the leader of this battlefield, the Elite Four member Drake, did not appear worried about the damage done to his facility. On the contrary, he wore a very happy smile on his face - his Salamence had taken out my second-to-last Pokemon. Though he looked old and in his fifties, it was blatantly obvious that I shouldn't underestimate Drake. Of course, his attire alone was enough to tell me he was a tough man. Drake wore the clothes of a ship captain. Though the long, black jacket was tattered, showing wear and tear as did the rest of his outfit, they still garnered respect and spoke volumes about Drake's toughness.
Drake had actually forced me into a tough situation here. I had already defeated the three Elite Four members prior to him - Sidney, the master of Dark-type Pokemon, Phoebe, the talented user of Ghost-types and Glacia, the intelligent Ice-type trainer - and was now trying to finish off the Dragon-type specialist Drake. Early on in the battle, he had swept through a couple of my Pokemon with his leading Shelgon. However, I sent in Weavile, and proceeded to even the odds out. My beloved Pokemon was able to take out all of Drake's Pokemon except for his last one, the Salamence facing me now. Salamence's Intimidate trait had helped him survive my Weavile's deadly Ice Shard, though the move should've destroyed Salamence based on the fundamental type chart alone.
Well, now I was forced to use my last Pokemon. Though he had a type disadvantage against Drake's Salamence, he had been my starter Pokemon and I knew how to do battle with him.
"Let's go, Blaziken!" I called, tossing the Pokeball of my starter into the battlefield.
The Fire-type appeared in a burst of white light. A red but human-like Pokemon, Blaziken had a small upper body which contrasted his long red-and-yellow legs. His hands were much like the claws of a bird, though the fingers showed much more dexterity than normal bird claws. His face was similar to that of a chicken's, and his mouth curved into a small beak. Long, beige hairlike feathers grew from his head and enveloped much of his shoulders and upper body.
"Blaziken!" he roared in a deep voice.
"Hmm... A Blaziken. Salamence, take care of him with Fly!" Drake commanded in his scratchy voice.
Salamence roared, and flapped his large red wings as he took to the air. He glided high up, nearly skimming the ceiling with the back of his head, before suddenly falling into a deep dive.
Though Fly was a super-effective move on Blaziken, I was not concerned. My Blaziken was different from many other Blazikens due to a rare trait he carried: the Speed Boost ability. With each second, the muscles within Blaziken were working hard to improve efficiency in terms of his speed. For each moment that passed, my Blaziken was getting a little quicker.
"Blaziken, use Protect!" I called. The Protect move was one I liked to use early on with Blaziken, as it bought time for Blaziken to develop a speed advantage over the other Pokemon.
A green energy shield burst from my Blaziken, forming a protective dome around him. Salamence collided into the energy dome, and roared in frustration as he realized he could not hit his target.
During my years alongside Blaziken, I had learned to recognize how much extra speed the Speed Boost trait had given him by studying his posture. When I saw his shoulders loosen by just a fraction, I knew he had developed the speed advantage he needed.
"Blaziken, let's use Stone Edge!" I ordered.
Blaziken punched his fist into the ground, and picked up a sharp stone from the rubble he had created. The Protect faded, and Blaziken charged Salamence with the stone in hand. He slammed the stone into Salamence's neck, and the Dragon Pokemon crumpled to the floor in pain.
"I see... Your Blaziken has the Speed Boost ability?" Drake guessed. I nodded, a smile on my face. He had guessed the truth successfully, but I figured it was too late. Salamence was downed, and all but knocked out now.
"Blaziken, finish him off with a Blaze Kick!" I instructed.
"Not so fast..." Drake said. "I'm not done for yet! Salamence, use Outrage!"
My Blaziken ran at Salamence, but though he was fast, sound still had him beat by a longshot and Salamence had heard his trainer's commands. Roaring in blatant anger that suddenly and inexplicably appeared, Salamence reared his head and started to thrash about. I called for Blaziken to stop, but it was too late. Blaziken leaped towards the raging Salamence in kung fu fashion, his leg blazing with fire and ready to kick Salamence's face. I saw one of Salamence's claws hit him in the side of the skull, knocking him down.
Blaziken was knocked out - it was obvious. I could only clutch my head and grimace - it was over. I had earned victories over the previous three Elite Four members, but I would be sent to the beginning with this loss and I would have to challenge them all again.
Then, I noticed Salamence was also downed and out. There was a scorch mark on his flank, and I realized Blaziken's Blaze Kick had made contact after all.
"Superb, it should be said."
I heard Drake's voice, and Salamence suddenly disappeared in a flash of red light. Drake pocketed his Pokemon's Pokeball, and smiled at me. As I returned Blaziken to his Pokeball, Drake continued speaking.
"You deserve every credit for coming this far as a Trainer of Pokémon. You do seem to know what is needed. Yes, what a Trainer needs is a virtuous heart. Pokémon touch the good hearts of Trainers and learn good from wrong. They touch the good hearts of Trainers and grow strong. Go! Go onwards! The Champion is waiting!"
I remembered that in the rules announced to me when I had begun this challenge, a draw was enough to allow me to continue onwards. Suddenly, happiness filled me. I would be going on to face the Champion of Hoenn!
I thanked Drake for the battle, and he ushered me into a gleaming chrome hallway leading away from his battlefield. Now, I was in a brightly lit corridor. I knew it well from the other such corridors I had gone through after defeating the other Elite Four members previously. After I turned the corner, then there would be a washroom and a PC for me to heal my Pokemon and change up my team for the next battle.
As I walked into the small lavatory, I noticed my reflection in the mirror. There was a lot of grime on my face and my clothes from the four intense battles I had just won. Figuring it would be appropriate to clean myself up a bit, I washed my face. There was nothing that could be done about my clothes, unfortunately - not at the moment at least. When I was done, I could once again see my face cleanly without any grime or dirt. I put some more gel on my hair to spike it up the way it had been. I stared at myself once again. My hazel eyes eventually met those of my mirrored self. According to just about everyone, there was a kindness in my eyes, though I battled Pokemon with an intense passion. This was evident in the numerous scars and scratches that marred my body. Very few other nineteen year olds were as banged up as many, though then again very few had gone through what I had.
Man, had I been through a lot. Looking at my face, I realized how much I had changed over the course of my Pokemon journey. Perhaps I had only aged a few years, but the change was deeper than my body growing. My journey had changed me on the inside, and the look on my face reflected that. It had been a long journey.
I grew up in the small and peaceful Littleroot Town. At the age of fifteen, my parents allowed me to begin my Pokemon journey. The famous Professor Birch, who also happened to conduct his research in Littleroot Town, had given me my first Pokemon: Torchic. From there on, I had travelled Hoenn, making Pokemon friends and defeating Gym Leaders to accumulate the eight Gym Badges. After that, I had decided to go abroad, visiting other regions. They were different - different in culture, geography, and species of Pokemon. In those regions, I captured more Pokemon - Pokemon one could never find in Hoenn - and refined my battle technique against the Gym Leaders of Kanto, Johto, Sinnoh, and Unova. Now, however, I was back - and ready to become the Pokemon Champion.
When I was done with the toilet and the healing machine, I moved on to the PC. Unlike the battles with the Elite Four members, which had been five-on-five battles, the final battle with the Champion would be a full six-on-six contest. I decided against switching out any of my current team members, but I still had to withdraw one more Pokemon to my team. Now, the choice was easy. I had an ace up my sleeve, and though I didn't use him in battles often, he was a nightmare for opponents to deal with and I knew he'd be very helpful against the Champion.
When I was ready, I continued walking through the corridor. It led me to a set of doors, which I knew would lead me to the battlefield where I would have my battle with the Champion. Taking a deep breath, I pushed through the doors.
The first thing that caught my eye, obviously, was the Champion himself. In the Pokemon League, there were two Champions, Steven and Wallace. Before now, I had not known which one I would face - they took turns battling challengers so that it would be impossible to create a pre-battle game plan as you would not know which Champion you would face. Now, however, I knew that my opponent was the Steel-type expert, Steven. He had a slender frame, and dressed in a black jacket and matching black pants. He had messy grey hair, and those matched the two metal bands on his arms.
The room itself was a beautiful design. It was a magnificent shade of gold, and there were beautifully painted portraits of every Champion, past and present. I noticed Steven and Wallace amongst them. In the middle of the room was the standard Pokemon battling battlefield - an even stone surface with neatly painted lines forming a large rectangle which marked the boundaries of the battlefield.
"Welcome. I was looking forward to seeing you here one day," Steven said. His voice was smooth and even, and there was a calm confidence in it.
"You... What did you see on your journey with Pokémon? What did you feel, meeting so many other Trainers like you? What has awoken in you? I want you to hit me with it all! Now, bring it!"
Steven grabbed his first Pokeball, and I followed suit. We both tossed them at the same time, and two Pokemon appeared in a flash of white light.
"Xatu!" My Xatu appeared. She was a Psychic and Flying-type Pokemon. She was a green condor-like Pokemon, and stood majestically with her white wings folded close to her chest. There were markings and accentuations on her body that were black, yellow, and red, including two on her chest that resembled a pair of red eyes.
"Skarmory!" Steven's Skarmory appeared as well. I knew that he was a Steel and Flying-type Pokemon. He resembled a bird like Xatu, but looked very different nonetheless. He had a mostly silver body with sharpened edges throughout, be it on his wings, on his thin, blade-like head, or even his red feathers. As a matter of fact, his wings and feathers were all as sharp as swords, and I knew they would be deadly to deal with.
My Xatu versus his Skarmory. Both Flying-types. Still, I doubted that this would be an aerial battle. A smart battler such as Steven would typically lead with a Pokemon such as Skarmory with the intent to lay down Spikes on my side of the battlefield, limiting my movement and damaging any Pokemon I send. However, if he was as intelligent as I expected he would be as the Champion, he would predict that my Xatu has the Magic Bounce ability, which would reflect all moves that don't deal direct damage back towards the user. Since he was unable to lay down the entry hazards he had wanted to, he would need to find a different way to kick off the battle.
Despite that fact, I didn't have the upper hand either. Xatu was at a type disadvantage against the Steel-type Skarmory, so we were at a standoff. I eyed Steven, and he returned my gaze. We were both obviously trying to predict each other's next move to make a better move of our own.
"Aah... You're a smart one," Steven noted, laughing a bit. We both returned our Pokemon to their Pokeballs, though neither of us had expected the other to have done so.
"Interesting..." Steven murmured, tossing another Pokeball. I did the same, and my Weavile exploded into view, as did Steven's Cradily.
Weavile viciously eyeballed Cradily. He was a tough battler, one who refused to give up and always aimed for victory. The black Pokemon moved with a slow walk that resembled that of a cat's, and the Pokemon did indeed look a little like a feline, albeit one that walked upright. He had a matching red crown and collar of sorts, and had ear and tail feathers of the same colour. There was a yellow jewel encrusted in his forehead, and he had sharp white claws which I knew were quick and deadly.
Despite Weavile's intimidating appearance, Cradily was obviously not fazed. I didn't know much about her, but I knew she was a defensive Pokemon that was hard to damage. She was a pale green Pokemon, and resembled a plant growing from an odd oval-like base. There were eight pink tentacles growing around her neck, and her head had yellow markings that resembled eyes. However, her real eyes were located beneath the markings on a black section of her face. Like the eye-markings, they were yellow. She smelled very unusual, like water from a swimming pool.
"Alright Cradily, let's start things off with a Rock Polish!" Steven called.
Upon hearing the command, Cradily started secreting a clear, oily liquid from her tentacles. It coated her body, giving it a shiny sheen. It seemed to be similar to oil, and my guess was that it was similar to oil produced by human skin. I suspected that Cradily would have an easier time moving around with an oiled body, which was probably a smart move by Steven as Cradily seemed to be a very sluggish Pokemon.
Hm. This made things a little more interesting. I didn't know what Steven was planning with a faster Cradily, but I knew she wasn't an offensive threat. Since I didn't know what he was planning, I ordered Weavile to use Hone Claws - a move that would make his claws sharper and more accurate. I figured it would put me on par with Cradily's defense.
As Weavile honed his claws, Steven issued a command for Cradily. "Cradily, use Confuse Ray!"
Cradily's eyes suddenly started to glow brightly and I had to close my eyes - the attack disoriented me. I opened them again and Weavile was lying supine on the ground - he had taken the full brunt of the attack as its target.
"Weavile, you alright?" I called to my Pokemon.
"Finish him quickly, Cradily. Use Rock Slide!" Steven ordered. Cradily stabbed some of her tentacles into the ground, and lifted chunks of the battlefield away from the ground before heaving them at Weavile's body. They crushed him, and I knew he was done for. He was strong, but frail as well. Taking a super-effective hit from Steven's strong Cradily was enough to finish him off. I had to think my next move through - I had underestimated Steven.
"Darmanitan, let's go!" I called, tossing Darmanitan into the battlefield. He had the Sheer Force trait, which essentially made him hit harder with certain moves. I figured he would be a good Pokemon for Cradily to deal with.
The red ape burst on to the battlefield with a freakish grin on his face. He screamed maniacally in pride, beating his chest with his two large fists. His flaming eyebrows caught my opponent's eyes. It seemed he had not seen this Pokemon before, which was understandable as Darmanitan resided in the faraway region of Unova. I had to travel there to find mine, as a matter of fact.
"Hmm... I'm guessing it's a Fire-type." I heard Steven whisper to himself. Hearing that made me smile. Though he had guessed the truth, he had also revealed that he didn't know much about my Pokemon. This meant I had options. I awaited Steven's move.
"Alright, Cradily, let's use Rock Slide again!" Steven called, obviously not wanting to take any risks. Cradily once again lobbed debris at my Pokemon, though this time I was ready for it.
"Darmanitan, let's use Fire Punch to smash those rocks!" I ordered.
Darmanitan swung his large fists at the stones, and I watched as more and more flames swirled around those large fists as they smashed through more and more rocks. Steven noticed this, and commanded Cradily to stop. However, by this time Darmanitan had worked up a legitimate fire on his fists.
"Now, use Overheat!" I commanded. Darmanitan launched the fire on his fists at Cradily in a stream of flames.
"Cradily, dodge it!" Steven yelled. Now, I saw why Steven had wanted Cradily to use Rock Polish. Without it, Cradily would be limited in terms of evading moves. However, after Rock Polish, Cradily could simply slide across the floor to avoid attacks. Though Cradily was able to take hits as a beast defensively, adding evasiveness to incredible defenses made it much stronger for me to take down Cradily. He could simply take his time and take out my Pokemon!
I fingered a Pokeball on my waist, wondering if I should call in my ace in the hole. However, it was too early. No, I had an alternative route to go.
"Darmanitan, use Swagger!" I commanded.
Darmanitan eyed Cradily, and I knew from the glare he gave Cradily that there was a message being sent. Cradily took the bait, and angrily charged Darmanitan despite receiving no command from Steven.
"Now, use Superpower and take him out!" I yelled. In my mind, this was a genius idea. With increased mobility, Cradily would be rushing pretty fast towards my Darmanitan. Using Superpower, Darmanitan would smash his fist into Cradily and send her the other way. With all the momentum behind Cradily and the fact that Superpower was also a super-effective attack on Cradily, I figured it would be enough to knock her out.
The scenario ended up playing out the way I had imagined it in my mind, and Steven was soon left with a fainted Cradily at his feet.
"That was an intelligent combination of moves." Steven couldn't help but flash a smile, and tossed out another Pokeball. This time, a Claydol appeared.
The Ground/Psychic-type Pokemon had a large black body with stubby legs and cannon-like arms that seemed to hover a little away from the body. However, the most distinguishing feature about the Pokemon was his head. It was a wide, oval-shaped head, and there were eight pink eyes encircling it.
"Claydol, use Earth Power!" Steven called. Claydol's eyes started to glow blue, and suddenly the ground Darmanitan had been stepping on seemingly imploded. Darmanitan was thrown a few feet into the air, and landed back into the ground. The impact was enough to force the portrait of Wallace to fall off the wall. Steven paid it no heed, and I decided against worrying over the magnificent painting given the current situation.
Meanwhile, Darmanitan had collapsed underneath a pile of rubble. I feared he had fainted, but the debris on top of him suddenly began to float away. I smiled, knowing that this meant my Darmanitan had changed form.
This was confirmed when a stone figure rose out of the rubble. The stone figure resembled a Darmanitan, but the limbs were compacted in a way that was impossible for Darmanitan's oversized limbs. The fiery eyebrows were no longer flaming, and the eyes were glowing yellow.
"What the...?" Steven wondered aloud, clearly taken aback.
I smiled. "Darmanitan has gone into Zen Mode. This happens when he takes a lot of damage, and he is now completely immobile. Still, that doesn't mean he's completely incapable of doing damage... Use Will-o-Wisp!"
The stone figure - obviously my Darmanitan in Zen Mode - started glowing blue. Suddenly, ghostly blue flames appeared in a ring in front of Darmanitan, and launched themselves towards Claydol. Claydol was ensnared within the ring of flames, and they started to close in on Claydol. Claydol was burned, and the ghostly flames ran rampent on Claydol's body.
"Hmm... I remember Zen Mode now. I heard about it a while back from someone..." Steven murmured, trying to remember something. Then, he snapped his fingers and exclaimed. "That's right! Zen Mode increases your defensive abilities, but at the cost of your offensive ones! Then that means it'll be better to inflict a status upon you... Claydol, use Toxic!"
Claydol created a purple ball of energy with his cannon-like arms, and lobbed it as if it were a grenade. It splashed on to Darmanitan, hissing as it made contact. Though Darmanitan could not react in pain since he was immobile in Zen Mode, I knew he was taking damage quickly. The poison caused by Toxic was not normal poison, but a special type of poison that got worse as time passed.
"Keep pushing, Claydol!" Steven urged his burned Pokemon. "Use Extrasensory and increase Darmanitan's sensitivity to the Toxic!"
Claydol's eyes started glowing blue again, and so did Darmanitan. I paled. Steven had ordered Claydol to make Darmanitan even more sensitive to the building damage from the Toxic.
"Darmanitan, use..." I trailed off as Darmanitan suddenly fell to the ground. His eyes had stopped glowing, and were now just empty eye sockets. He had fainted. I grimaced, and returned Darmanitan to his Pokeball. Thinking things over a bit, I decided to toss out the Pokeball of my Aggron.
"Aggron!" the Steel and Rock-type Pokemon bellowed as he came into view. He was remotely human-like in form, but stood almost seven feet tall and was much bulkier than a human could ever be. Mostly black, Aggron had steel knee and arm bracelets, as well as a steel head that loosely resembled that of a dinosaur's. A thick, long tail rested behind Aggron.
"An Aggron..." Steven laughed softly. "Interesting choice. Claydol, use Earth Power!"
Claydol's eyes started to glow blue once again. As I glanced at him, I noticed the burn Darmanitan had given him had already done plenty of damage. I only needed to hold out for a moment...
"Aggron, use Protect!" I called. A green energy bubble formed around Aggron, and a blue energy suddenly blasted against the protective shield. That must've been the psychic energy Claydol had been using to perform the Earth Power maneuver.
"Alright, he looks weakened enough by the flames! Aggron, finish him off with a Take Down!" I commanded.
Aggron charged out of the protective bubble, and rammed his shoulder into the burning Claydol. The Pokemon was knocked out by the collision, and rolled back to Steven, who returned him to his Pokeball.
"Not bad. Still, two can play this game!" Steven cried, tossing out a Pokeball to replace Claydol. An Aggron identical to mine materialized out of the Pokeball, and stared mine in his eyes.
I had options here. I had a move that would definitely knock out his Aggron, but I didn't want to use it yet - it made my Aggron much weaker after using it. Instead, I ordered a Mud-Slap from my Aggron. My Aggron dug his hand into the ground, and heaved rubble at Steven's Aggron, aiming for the eyes.
"Aggron, use Incinerate," Steven called calmly. His Aggron roared, and the rubble my Aggron had tossed at him was suddenly consumed by flames that appeared out of nowhere. I smelled the smoke from the attack, but I wasn't worried of it being used on my Aggron. Though Aggron was a Steel-type, he also had Rock typing which negated his weakness to Fire-type moves.
"Alright then, let's try... Dragon Rush!" I ordered. Upon hearing the command, a blue and yellow aura started to glow around my Aggron. He proceeded to charge the opponent's Aggron, but this didn't faze Steven either.
"Aggron, use Focus Blast!" Steven commanded. Steven's Aggron roared once again, and this time a blast of mahogany-coloured energy was fired from Aggron's mouth. It expanded quickly, and was the size of my Aggron before colliding with him as he was charging towards Steven's Aggron.
"Aggron, you alright?" I called worriedly. Focus Blast was a Fighting-type move, and those were ultra effective on my Aggron. My Aggron coughed a bit, and slowly got up. The Focus Blast had pushed him closer to me, and the two Aggron once again stood on opposite ends of the battlefield.
"Well, there's no other option now. Aggron, use Superpower!" I instructed. My Aggron roared, and charged Steven's Aggron once again.
To my surprise, Steven allowed his Pokemon to be hit the move. I was expecting some resistance, but Steven just watched as my Aggron took his Aggron down with the move.
"Alright, Aggron. Use Metal Burst!" Steven yelled. I paled, remembering this move's effects all of a sudden. It would reflect all damage taken from the last hit on the user back on to the user. There was no way my Aggron could take that.
White energy suddenly exploded from Steven's Aggron, and my Aggron was knocked far, far away. He flew over my head and collided against the doors I had entered through.
"Oh man..." I breathed. That Metal Burst had done a lot of damage to my Aggron... My Aggron weighed about 800 pounds, so that meant the Metal Burst had been strong enough to throw eight hundred pounds about ninety feet. My Aggron was demolished; I returned him to his Pokeball.
I had three Pokemon left, while Steven had four including Aggron. However, Aggron must've been barely conscious at this point... I didn't want to reveal my ace in the hole just yet, and putting in Xatu against Aggron was too dumb. That meant it was time for my most trusted Pokemon.
"Blaziken, let's go!" I called, tossing Blaziken's Pokeball into the battle. He had managed to get me past Drake earlier, and I knew he was raring to go against the Champion now. We had been together since my journey began, and now here was the climax of our adventure.
"Blaziken!" he bellowed, flames appearing around his wrists. I knew that happened whenever he was raring to go - that was good for me.
"He has Speed Boost, doesn't he?" Steven said. "Yeah, he does... I can tell by the way he stands."
I inhaled. He knew about my Blaziken's Speed Boost, which was something that I usually preferred to surprise my opponents with. However, the fact that he knew about the ability did not mean it stopped running - it just took away the element of surprise. No matter.
"Alright, Aggron, we can't give him too much time, or else he'll be too fast. Use Take Down!" Steven called. His Aggron ran towards my Blaziken, ready to tackle him football-style.
"Blaziken, use Protect!" I ordered. By now, I was used to the green shield that appeared around Blaziken - it had done so much for me over the years. Aggron slowed to a halt in front of it, knowing he couldn't get past.
"Quickly, Aggron use Stealth Rock! Limit his movement and plant rocks around the perimeter of the Protect!" Steven called.
Aggron bellowed, and stone pillars suddenly formed around the base of the dome formed by Blaziken's Protect. This, however, was not a problem.
"Blaziken, take down the Protect and use Low Sweep to destroy the Stealth Rocks!" I commanded. Immediately, the protective bubble faded away, and Blaziken performed a quick legsweep around the base of each rock pillar, knocking them over.
"Not bad... Still, you're open for Aggron to hit you now! Aggron, use Take Down!" Steven yelled.
Aggron charged Blaziken again.
"Sky Uppercut!" I hollered, hoping Blaziken would complete the maneuver before Aggron got to him.
The timing was perfect. Just as Aggron was about to make contact with Blaziken, Blaziken threw a quick uppercut and sent the 800-pound Aggron into the sky. Steven returned the knocked out Pokemon to his Pokeball as he was falling back down, most likely to prevent the cataclysmic damage that would befall his facility if Aggron were to fall back down on to the ground.
"Not bad..." Steven smiled, throwing another Pokeball. An Armaldo formed, screeching in a loud, high-pitched tone. The blue Rock/Bug Pokemon was similar to both a praying mantis and a crab in different ways. He had curved blade-like claws, as well as a hard shell on his back. There were eight white-and-red feathers growing from his neck, four on each side. His eyes grew out of the side of his head, and were triangular in shape. He had a thick tail with two spikes on the end of it.
"Armaldo, use Slash!"
Armaldo screeched, and ran towards Blaziken, ready to strike with his curved claws. I looked at them, and decided Blaziken wanted to avoid them - at all costs.
"Blaziken, stay away from his claws! Use Fire Blast!" I ordered.
Blaziken took a deep breath while slowly backing away from Armaldo. Then, he exhaled a large fireball, which flew towards Armaldo.
"Armaldo, use Water Pulse to dispel the fire, and then keep pressing!" Steven called.
Armaldo breathed a ball of water at Blaziken's Fire Blast and they crashed together, resulting in a lot of steam. I couldn't see anything, but I could hear Armaldo's heavy footsteps. They were getting closer.
"Blaziken, listen for Armaldo! Use your ears to detect his presence, and hit him with a Focus Blast!" I commanded.
I heard Blaziken grunt in acknowledgement, and then silence resumed. All I could hear was Armaldo's heavy footsteps.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
"Armaldo!"
I heard the cry of pain, and realized Blaziken had hit him with the Focus Blast as I had called.
"Bah, I can't see anything in this steam." I heard Steven growl, and noticed the frustration in his voice. I was starting to take the upper hand, I realized. "Armaldo, use Rapid Spin!"
Nothing happened.
"Blaziken, use FeatherDance!"
The steam dissipated as the feathers on Blaziken's head were thrown around, blowing away the steam. There stood Blaziken, looking down on Armaldo who was kneeling in front of him. The Pokemon was obviously weakened, but still conscious.
"Finish him, Blaziken! Use Sky Uppercut!" I called, my heart thudding as I realized I could steal away all the momentum here.
Blaziken gave an uppercut to Armaldo, and like Aggron, he was thrown into the sky only to be returned to his Pokeball unconscious by Steven.
"Well, then. I'm in a sticky situation here. Your Blaziken is a problem, so meet my strongest Pokemon: Metagross!"
At Steven's words, a Metagross exploded from a Pokeball Steven had thrown. The Steel and Psychic-type Pokemon rested on four rugged, metal legs. He was built like a tank, albeit a living and turquoise one without all the guns. The four legs all connected a dome-like body. There was a large, silver 'X' on the front of the body, and two small red eyes stared at my Blaziken on either side of it.
"Metagross, use Psychic!" Steven ordered. A blue energy surrounded Metagross, and Blaziken was soon covered in the same aura as well.
"Oh man..." It was too late for me to counter this move now - Blaziken was already trapped within the aura. I could only watch as my beloved Pokemon screamed in pain before the aura faded away.
"You okay, Blaziken?" I asked my Blaziken. He nodded, but he was clearly weak. He stood on one knee, and was taking a few breaths. Steven and Metagross watched from their side of the battlefield, and I thought about my next move.
"Blaziken, use Baton Pass!" I called. I figured what Speed Boost had done for Blaziken would be a huge benefit to the recipient of Blaziken's Baton Pass, and knew that this was time for my ace in the hole.
"Metagross, use Pursuit!" I heard Steven call as Blaziken was turned into red light by his Pokeball. Suddenly, black energy mixed with Blaziken's red silhouette before both were absorbed into the Pokeball.
"It's knocked out now." Steven chuckled. "Really, though, it was a great try. If you had been able to transfer the upgrade in speed provided by Speed Boost to another Pokemon, one at full health, that could very well have been the match. However, forgive me if I couldn't allow that to happen."
I mulled it over in my mind. My ace in the hole probably didn't need the extra speed a whole lot, and while the speed would've made it much easier for me to win, I still had the upper hand with my prized Pokemon.
"Go, Rayquaza!" I called, tossing a Master Ball. The purple Pokeball flew out of my hand, and a large green dragon uncoiled out of the Pokeball. The legendary serpent-like Pokemon bellowed in a proud voice, and eyed Steven and Metagross with his beady yellow eyes. There were yellow and red accentuations on his body, and four horns grew around his neck, stretching in each direction.
"Rayquaza!" he screeched.
Steven was speechless. His face was contorted with shock and awe, and Metagross beside him also radiated the same emotions with a bit more dread mixed in - he had to fight the beast.
"I found this guy atop Sky Pillar." I laughed a bit, patting Rayquaza's flank. "I think he'll do just fine even without the speed boosts from Blaziken, do you?"
Steven seemed to regain his voice, for he hoarsely ordered a Meteor Mash from his Metagross. The Pokemon lifted one of his steel legs, and nervously prepared to jab it at Rayquaza.
"Use Dragon Pulse, Rayquaza," I said with an air of confidence. It seemed I had won - nothing Metagross could do could defeat a Pokemon such as Rayquaza.
Rayquaza breathed a pulsing blue fireball at Metagross, and the Pokemon was thrown away by the powerful attack.
"Oh man... You alright, Metagross?" Steven asked his faithful companion, rushing to his side. Staring at my Rayquaza with worry, he decided what to do. He whispered something to Metagross, and Metagross nodded. There was something solemn in his eyes, but the newfound confidence with which Steven stepped away from his Pokemon was enough to unnerve me.
"Rayquaza, finish him off! Use Draco Meteor!" I commanded.
Rayquaza's body suddenly started glowing, and a large blue energy was exuded from his body. It flew into the air, and gathered in a large sphere above Rayquaza's head. Suddenly, it launched itself at Metagross.
"Metagross, now!" Steven called.
Metagross exploded. The result of the Explosion was enough to send the Draco Meteor right back at Rayquaza, and Rayquaza was ultimately fainted by his own move.
I clutched my head in panic and despair. What just happened? My prized legendary Pokemon had fainted... Was I done for? My heart pounding in worry, I recalled Rayquaza and tossed in the Pokeball of my last Pokemon: the Xatu I had led with.
"Funny how in the end, it ends up the same way we started," Steven smiled, obviously in a much more celebratory mood than I was though we had both lost our strongest Pokemon and were down to our last. As he said, however, our last was indeed our first Pokemon, something that made me feel a little superstitious.
My Xatu and Steven's Skarmory returned to the battlefield, ready to settle things. I could only hope to win - I did not want to start my Elite Four run over from the beginning. After everything I had been through, it would all feel like unnecessarily wasted time. Right now, I was so close to pulling off the win. I just needed to take care of Steven's Skarmory.
The battlefield had changed drastically from when the battle had started. It was destroyed in places where Pokemon had created debris as a result of various moves, and also from the impact my Darmanitan had made when he had fallen to the ground after being knocked into the air by Claydol's Earth Power. Even outside of the battlefield, our battle had caused some damage. The portrait of Wallace had fallen off of the wall, and behind me, the doors I had entered through were now crushed from when my Aggron had been thrown into it.
It had been an impressive battle. Now, however, it was time for it to end.
"Skarmory, use Steel Wing!" Steven ordered. His Skarmory jumped into the air, and quickly dove into a steep dive with his wings ready to smash into Xatu.
"Xatu, use Confuse Ray!" I cried. My Xatu's eyes suddenly flashed brightly for a brief moment - though I could not see the flash directly since I was behind my Pokemon, I definitely noticed the flash as it reflected off of Skarmory's steel body. Skarmory himself, however, had taken the full brunt of the attack. Instead of finishing the Steel Wing attack, Skarmory blinked his eyes in pain and lost control of his body, spiraling into the ground as he shook his head in pain.
"Keep pressing!" I called to Xatu. "Use Synchronoise!"
My Xatu stepped closer to the downed Skarmory, and started to scream in an unusually high pitch. My ears started to hurt from the noise, and I covered them with my hands. On the other side of the battlefield, I saw Steven doing the same.
Meanwhile, Skarmory had started screaming in pain alongside Xatu. Though Synchronoise was a Psychic type attack which Skarmory, being a Steel type, resisted, Synchronoise was an attack that did more damage to Pokemon of the same type as the user. Skarmory, being a Flying type like Xatu, was more prone to the damaging effects of Synchronoise than many other Pokemon were.
"Not a bad way to deal damage. Synchronoise is a very underrated attack," Steven commented. "Still, it's going to take much more than that to take out my Skarmory. Skarmory, counter the Synchronoise with Metal Sound!"
Though he was in a world of pain, Skarmory definitely heard his trainer's command - I could tell by the sudden focus and determination that appeared in the Pokemon's eyes. He scraped his sharp metal wings together, and it caused a horrible, scratchy sound to fill my ears. I put my hands over them again, which helped, but the sound was still intense enough to pierce through my hands.
Suddenly, the sound stopped. My ears were still ringing in pain, but the sound of Skarmory's wings scraping against one another had faded away. Realizing I had closed my eyes during the ordeal, I opened them to assess the situation.
My Xatu was kneeling, clearly in pain. Skarmory towered over her with a vicious look in his eyes - he had an opportunity to end this battle right now.
"Skarmory, use Sky Attack!" I heard Steven say. Skarmory leapt into the air, flying towards the ceiling. When he was as high as he could be in the large stadium, Skarmory stared down at Xatu with a savage look in his eyes, and cawed loudly before launching into a steep dive. He was on a collision course with my Xatu, and I felt a sinking feeling in my heart. Was it over for good this time?
Miraculously, no.
Skarmory was just about to collide with Xatu when, all of a sudden, my Xatu disappeared.
"What the...?" Steven wondered, sounding more worried than ever before.
I was equally surprised. What had just happened?
"Xatu!"
I heard my Pokemon's voice from above, and I looked up. There was my Xatu, resting on one of the rafters. She must've used Teleport at the last second!
"Great job, Xatu!" I cried, happiness and hope flooding me.
"Xatu!" my Pokemon yelled, jumping off the rafters before spreading her wings and taking to the air.
"Skarmory!" the Champion's Pokemon cawed angrily, joining Xatu in the air.
"Skarmory, finish Xatu! Use Steel Wing!" Steven ordered. Skarmory flew at Xatu, his deadly wings spread and ready to slam into Xatu.
"Quickly, Xatu - use Me First!" I commanded.
Steven gasped. Xatu's wings had turned from flesh into steel, much like Skarmory's wings. Though this was certainly an unusual phenomenon, I knew it had been coming when I had ordered Xatu to use Me First. Me First was a move that allowed the user to use an attack being used on it at twice the strength. Since Skarmory was heading towards Xatu with a Steel Wing, Xatu would respond with a Steel Wing of her own. This meant her wings would have to turn into steel.
Xatu flew towards Skarmory with her own steel wings outstretched. Both Pokemon sped towards one another, and they collided. Together, they dropped out of the sky, falling towards the ground below.
"Xatu!" I cried.
"Skarmory!" Steven yelled.
Both Pokemon smashed into the earth, resulting in a huge cloud of sand being whipped up. I could clearly see two silhouettes lying on the ground, prone and most likely very battered. Were they both fainted? What would that mean? A draw allowed me to advance against the Elite Four, but against the Champion, would that remain true?
Then, one of the Pokemon stood up, though I couldn't tell which one. At this, my heart started beating with both hope and panic. If it was Xatu, then I had won. If it was Skarmory, however, then I had lost and would have to restart my Elite Four run.
The cloud of sand settled. There, standing on rubble and their opponent's body, was...
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