Awakening
There's a feeling deep inside me.
And it's always there to guide me.
It's in my heart, and in my soul;
Leading me to the ultimate goal.
You can try your best, it might be fun.
But you'll be down in defeat before you're gone.
Oh, I'm unbeatable.
Oh, I'm undefeatable.
Pokemon Advanced Battle Theme
Glancing up at the building in front of him, Sam Sapphire quirked his mouth, going over his strategy in his head. Since returning from Dictioy, Sam had made it a minor goal to beat the Red League; the Pokemon League that governed Southern Island. He had already won two of the four badges he needed, and today, he was aiming for his third.
The Frostbite Gym, named for its dual specialty of Ice and Darkness, was commonly known as the toughest Pokemon Gym on Southern Island. And for that, Sam had bought along the three Pokemon he knew he'd have an advantage in using; Zeus; the fluffy cloud Pokemon, Hera, the small, blue-winged Polienix, and Angel, the small winged kitten of the Holipus species.
Looking sideward at Angel, Sam scowled back at Angel, her slitted eyes focused on him in a look of disgust. The Holy / Flying type was unusually fussy for her species, complaining if anything touched her without some kind of hospital grade disinfectant being added to it right away. In this case, Sam had 'accidentally' splashed her in a puddle, revenge for her attempts at giving him unwanted acupuncture.
"Ok Angel, you have two choices; in the Pokéball, or going invisible." Sam offered, holding out her Pokéball. Knowing that she'd sulk for a while, he didn't expect an answer, but when she turned invisible with a small 'Pop', he grinned.
Opening the door to the Gym, and feeling the small currents of wind being generated by Angel's wings, he looked around. Each gym tended to have a certain Trial that needed completing before the Gym Leader could be faced, in this gym was no exception. Before he could react, Sam felt his feet slip out from underneath him, and within a few seconds, he was sprawled on his back, looking at the ceiling and having to listen to Angel's cackles of mirth.
"Yeah yeah." He muttered, swatting in the general direction of Angel. Getting shakily to his feet, he glanced around, trying to peer through the darkness that this gym had introduced.
"Welcome to the Frostbite Gym, Trainer. You have five minutes to complete this trial and move onto the next room. Past this time, you will be teleported outside and unable to face the Gym Leader. Only one challenge can be made to complete the Trials per day. Your time begins now."
Blinking, Sam heard a shuffle as whoever it was moved away. Shaking his head, Sam wondered just how much this Gym relied on Beginner Trainers challenging it.
Reaching down to his right, his fingers trailed over three spheres that were attached magnetically to his belt. Pulling on the first one, Sam enlarged it, releasing the creature it contained.
"Ok, Zeus, gimme a lift here."
Sam could almost feel Zeus's signature grin from where he was. Giving Zeus a few seconds to make himself capable of bearing Sam's weight, Sam walked forward, arms outstretched, until he felt the fluffy matter that Zeus was made off. Flattening his palms on top of it, Sam hoisted himself up onto the Thunderhead Pokemon, rearranging his skewed clothing when he was on Zeus properly.
"Ok, Angel, can you light this place up? Slowly, otherwise we'll be dazzled."
"I am no newborn kitten, Samuel. I'm not stupid." Angel retorted huffily. From where she was floating in the air, she focused energy into her wings. Because she was invisible, all that appeared was a white ball of light, apparently hovering in midair. Looking around the room with the newfound light, Sam spied a door, urging Zeus to head that way.
Looking down at the slippery ice as they travelled, Sam felt like he was cheating, just a little. He was mostly used to hard Trials that forbade the use of Pokemon, but here, there weren't any rules. Setting down on the patch of floor in front of the door, Sam looked around warily as he began sinking through Zeus's mass, eventually landing lightly on the ground.
"Thanks Zeus. Are you guys ready?"
The white orb of light that was Angel bobbed maniacally. Looking to Zeus, he nodded his body once. Reaching out a tendril of mist, he touched his Pokéball, bringing himself back into the temporary travel pod.
Resting his hand on the door, Sam winded as the cold bit into his skin. Pushing down on the handle, Sam started a little as the door caught on the ground. Muttering, he wrenched it hard, opening it enough to just slip through.
Looking up, plainly in surprise, the Gym Leader wondered how this young boy had gotten here this fast. Making a face, the seventeen year old boy felt a touch on his shoulder; Angel had decided to rest on it, it seemed.
"Not a newbie then." He heard the Gym Leader say, seemingly to herself. "Well done, Trainer. It'll be a knockout competition, the first to two knock-outs win. Acceptable?"
Nodding, Sam felt down at his belt again. On him right now, Zeus was his most powerful. But with Hera, they'd have a huge type advantage.
"Ok Hera, let's show this Gym how we did it in Dictioy!"
An explosion of red energy swarmed out of the Pokéball, manifesting into a small blue bird with a yellow beak and claws. Flapping her wings, she kept herself in midair, choosing to keep that advantage.
Reaching her arm up dramatically, the Gym Leader clicked her fingers. Instantly the lights dimmed. Waving his hand in front of his face; Sam frowned. 'Hera? Can you still see?' He asked telepathically.
'Yes. The girl is about to throw a Pokéball.'
'You got it.' Looking forward at where he assumed the Gym Leader still was, he got rewarded with a blinding flash as the Gym Leader's Pokemon was chosen.
'Hera, I can't see it. What does it look like?' Sam sent. Squint as he might, he couldn't even see an outline of the opposing Pokemon.
'Black fur, long claws.' Hera said, before dodging to the side with an angry shriek. Flapping herself up high above the arena, she lifted her head up, sending out a long beam of light that flooded the entire arena, lighting up Hera's target. Seeing Hera's opponent, Sam swallowed, suddenly nervous.
'Be careful! It's a Sneasel, they're known for eat small birds and their eggs!'
'They eat WHAT?'
Apparently infuriated by this new information, Hera swooped down, performing a complex twist as she flew. Her Aerial Ace struck true, and with an ear-splitting scream, the Sneasel struck back, its claws glowing ominously.
"Ok Pickaxe, use Death's Scythe!"
Looking at the hidden Leader, Sam realised how much he was trying to rely on his eyes here. Shutting them, his ears instantly began working overdrive, picking up far more than they would normally. Pickaxe's claws split the air, cutting through soft material. Sam's eyes flickered open in alarm, and instantly he began straining again to see how Hera was.
'I'm ok. He only got a few feathers.' Hera's voice entered Sam's mind. Calming down, Sam smiled, shutting his eyes again.
"Ok Hera, use Photon Swoop!'
Drawing in breath, all the light in the room, very little as it was, went out. The room went absolutely pitch black around Hera as she collect every speck of light within sight. The result was Hera's body began glowing, a golden colour edged in white. Sam's eyes sent frazzles of pain up to his mind as they were exposed to light after such a blanketing darkness. Pickaxe let his own yell of pain, covering his eyes with his claws. At last, Hera was ready, and with a song that rained down on the Pokemon below, she swooped, hitting Pickaxe with deadly aim. She wasn't done though, as she wheeled around again, hitting the disorientated Pokemon a second time. Turning one last time, she opened her mouth, and a beam of pure light engulfed the Sneasel, lifting into the air, his body succumbing to the overriding light. Now at the tip of his flight, an explosion sounded out, and when the smoke had cleared, the darkness was back, but Sam was absolutely sure that Pickaxe had been knocked out.
The lights turned on slightly, displaying just enough light to show the ravaged battlefield below. A dark form lay on the ground, while a panting bird landed; her wings and head drooping.
"Pickaxe the Sneasel has been knocked out. Victory one goes to the challenger!" A voice called out, echoing around the icy room.
Returning her Pokemon, the Gym Leader scowled. "Ok, fine. Come out Pandora!"
The lights dimmed instantly. The standard explosion of red happened, and as before, Sam couldn't see. Reaching up his hand, Hera's Pokéball still in it, Sam let out a yell, letting Hera know she was being returned to the red and white sphere.
Feeling over Zeus's Pokéball again, Sam threw it into the fray. Zeus would be as blind as he was, but he made up for that by being able to attack the whole field if he wanted.
And Zeus was in prime battle mode. Small bolts of lightning dripped out from under him, while streamers of the stuff rippled across his cloudy surface. Giving a grin, Sam pointed upwards, forgetting he wouldn't be seen. The action jostled the Holipus on his shoulder, who gave an opposing growl.
"Zeus, let's rain on their parade!"
Taking the hint, Sam hoped, Zeus hovered up until he was against the ceiling. Collecting water from the icy surfaces around him, Zeus built it up, until he let loose, coating the whole field with chilling rain. Angel let out another indignant squawk as some of the rain pelted her, while Sam covered a grin.
This was an old strategy of Sam's and Zeus's, and Zeus took the initiative on his next action. His whole body rumbled, and with a flash of light, he electrocuted the whole arena, keeping it within the set square. Sam had closed his eyes in preparation for this but he could see the whiteness from behind his eyelids. A crack of thunder split the air, making the whole room shake. Whatever had been on the field would have been hurt, badly, at the very least.
This didn't seem to be the case, however. Zeus began glowing bright enough to show the whole battle when a large boulder came barrelling at him. Raising his eyebrow, Zeus simply let the rock go through his cloudy surface. Venturing down, and using Zeus's light, Sam saw what they were facing.
Adapis were rare Pokemon that had the ability to transform, much like Mew or Ditto. However, their unique little trait meant they would only change their types, and it varied with their mood. An angry Adapis might be a fire type, while a sad one may be water.
But from what Sam could see right now, this one was a Rock or Ground type, something that would have easily withstood the powerful blast of lightning Zeus had let out then. However, Sam still had the advantage here.
"Zeus, use Cyclone!"
Whipping the winds around the room, Zeus created a small funnel of air that spun in the middle of the room. The Adapis looked unwavered at this, and began stomping towards Zeus, mud forming in its hands as it prepared another attack. Zeus waited patiently, much like a Spinerak would wait for a Venonat, and once the Adapis was within the cyclone, he added water to the equation. Raining down on the cyclone, the spinning funnel of air swept all the water Zeus released into it, washing the mud out of Pandora's hands and buffering the Adaption Pokemon. This attack was doing damage, Sam could easily tell, but nowhere near enough.
Jumping the air, the Adapis, amazingly light for being a rock, tried swiping at the cloud Pokemon hovering above it. Loosing its footing, it was swept up into the cone and began spinning with the water.
"Zeus, change that Cyclone into a Typhoon!"
Sam could almost hear Zeus chuckle. Instantly, the temperature in the room dropped even lower .Sam could hear the whir of machinery as the Gym’s defensive measures were activated, an invisible wall of psychic energy were erected between the Pokemon battling and the Trainers.
Spreading himself as far out over the field as he could, Zeus let out the last of his rain, calling on ever last reserve of water he had access to. The ice shuddered and melted as Zeus called it up, and by the time he was done, the field was underwater by about a metre.
Now Zeus did the opposite of what he had done before. Breathing in deeply, he blew a gust of frigid air that froze the water. The Adapis, having fallen to the ground when the Cyclone had disappeared, was now trapped within the ice.
And now came the lightning. Crackling with energy, Zeus's body began glowing, hotter and hotter as he gathered the energy he needed. While he was charging, he sent out a thin bolt of lightning, using its white hot edge to cut the Adapis from the ice. The wind, still moving from the cyclone, began batting the Pokemon around like a cat would a toy, slamming it into the walls of the arena, and then died altogether. Zeus was now ready, and with one grin directed at the Gym Leader, Zeus seemed to explode, three incredibly heavy bolts of lightning striking out and hitting Pandora. Giving a cheer as the opponent's Pokemon disappeared under the glow of the lightning, Sam abruptly stopped, covering his ears. Angel had already fled to her Pokéball in anticipation of what was about to happen.
Looking across the field at her opponent, the Gym Leader frowned. "What's wro-?'
Her answer was cut off as the thunder followed the lightning. Even with his ears plugged, Sam's ears ached beyond anything, the ground vibrating under his feet for a good ten seconds. Once it was done, he cracked open an eye, looking at the field.
A deep hole in the ground had settled where the lightning struck, its edges outlined in black. The walls separating the battle and the viewers lowered immediately as the Gym Leader rushed onto the field to search for her fallen Pokemon. Stepping over the line of the field himself, Sam wandered over to where Zeus was, who looked like a very thin fog right now.
"You right mate?"
Panting, Zeus shuddered his body, his equivalent of a nod. Giving a smile to the pooped-out Pokemon, Sam held up the Ultraball he had captured Zeus in, returning him to his capsule.
"I think I won." Sam said plainly, looking over at the Gym Leader, who was hugging the fluid body of her Adapis. Giving a frown, she dug into her pocket, flipping a blue and black badge to Sam.
"Cool, thanks." He said simply. Heading to the door, he looked back. "You might want to get your Adapis checked out, Typhoon isn't a fun attack to withstand." Not waiting for an answer, he left, leaving the too cold Gym and its leader.
Once outside the Gym, he looked around, letting out a tired sigh. He knew that Zeus was the one who was the most tired out of either of them, but Sam was as well. It was at that point a strange nagging began at the edge of his mind. Frowning, he turned, just in time to see a small creature, completely black, leap out at him, claws aimed to scratch.
Giving a yell of surprise, Sam flinched, raising his hands to protect his face. What he wasn't expecting was the flare of blue energy as the creature collided with a blue shield that sprang into existence around Sam, protecting him from harm. Peeking over his upraised arms, Sam looked at the creature in surprise; it was now pacing around his shield, scratching like a Growlithe trying to get in. Looking down at his hands, and then at Angel, who had come out of her Pokéball in the Gym and had instantly resumed perching on his shoulder, he frowned.
"Did you do that?"
It was a simple question, once that was answered with Angel becoming visible, looking as confused as Sam felt. "It wasn't me Sam."
"Um, ok." He said, plainly lost for words. "Maybe if we disappear, it'll go away?"
"What do you mean, disap-?"
Not waiting for the rest of the sentence, Sam gathered his psychic energy, teleporting himself and his flying kitten back home. See no wall of blue fire, Sam smirked. "Well, that was weird, but it's gone now. That's a good thing, right?"
Giving a shrug, Angel took off, heading indoors through an open window. The sounds of hissing and spitting soon followed, when he heard his younger sister crying out "Kitty!"
Laughing, Sam opened the front door, intent on relaxing. A bath for Zeus sounded good, get him some energy. Giving a shrug, he moved off to get to the bathroom, passing a glaring Holipus in the arms of an eight-year old. Not making eye contact, Sam moved off, leaving Angel to deal with her own problems.