Lisa the Legend: Chapter 82 - Last Night on Earth now up! (24th June 2013)

[ZeldaFan20]

A very cool fight scene between two legendaries!! Great job!!

[Andrew]

Aww, poor Lisa's hair, you can't be a legend if you don't have shiny hair! After all, the EBTV Sequel - Jessica The TOTAL Legend, omg she has shiny hair lol

But aww, nice to see Dratini ^^ I like Dratini, but not frikken Dragonair, its too ugly. And irritating. But Lisa driving and talking on the mobile! Naughty girl! That's illegal!

Boats and planes in the ice cave omg... how... stupid, but then again, Johoto was always not as smart as Kanto. lol. Loved Gavins reference to the theivery!

Damn impatient Hiro, if he needed it so badly, why didn't he like um, fly them there, or perhaps hire some Psychics to teleport them Twat

Lol, Gavin's an excellent source of sarcasm this chapter! Go him! And Lisa wasn't that smart with using Elekid, but then again, she's Lisa! She can do anything!

So why did Sucine try to kill Lisa and that Wooper oh so long ago? Any answers? And how did Entei force Electric Dog to help him? I'm confused.

And the sacred ball, I say its to catch Entei perhaps.. I dunno.. or its simply a tourist good luck charm made in china. lol.

And if they're in water and they HAVE WATER POKEMON like er.. I dunno... STARYU, LANTURN, FISKMIRE, DRATINI. I have to shake my head at them... ~)~

Great work Gavin, its all leading up to the end...

[100FangCroconaw]

Nice fight scene!I hope Entei gets what he deserves!All in all, nice chappy.

[Gavin Luper]

Genna: I really like Suicune in comparison to all the other legendaries, he's cool! LOL yeah, stupid Lisa should have done the legal thing and taken the 'shortcut', it would have been a lot safer. Ah well, thanks, I really did try to make the chapter as vivid as possible!

ShinyMarill: Hi! yeah, quite a visual chapter. I really really hate how the legendaries are always shown as perfect little creatures who run around playing happily, always doing the right thing. I like this way better!

I spose the hotel is just in a little peninsula aside from Houen - not actually IN it, but beside, if you understand what I mean.

I think you are right; the chapter title is a bit hinty!

Hyperness: Cheers.

Poor thing? POOR THING? Entei is the bad guy! He killed an innocent human being! How can you feel sorry for him?

Dramatic, yet simple ... I like that!

Kirby: Thanks, I suppose it really did show the legendaries in a bit of a different light.

Yes, Lisa and Gavin are underwater, no air at all. Want a spoiler? They both drown and die! Yep!

I think your suspicions are quite accurate.

ShinyMarill2: Nice theory.

GeneChild Mewtwo: Thanks. Yeah, you're thinking along the right path but of course I can't reveal anything until the right time!

Raikou doesn't always have to hang around with them, the three dogs are usually quite happy to be alone somewhere in the country.

Lol, well it does seem very likely! And don't worry, I love long replies!

Zeldafan: Did you like it? That's good!!! thank you very much, next chapter coming up soon!

Oz Andrew: Hey! Lol, Lisa is very hair-conscious these days! Maybe not as much as Jess is, though. LOL no please please please don't do the barbie/jess story! NOOO!

I like them both really, but we'll see! Yeah, Lisa breaks two laws in one day - a record! But of course, she's Lisa, she can do anything she wants to.

Very stupid. I always found that Johto was pretty thick in the head!

Because Hiro wants to save money of course! Why fly them there or get psychics when he could make her come over 300 km to Silver City using her own money?

Yay Gavin! I like sarcasm!

YES. YOU ARE CONFUSED. That's exactly what I want. LOL tourist good luck charm ... well, you never know. JK.

I spose their brains didn't work fast enough.

Yep, the end is approaching - kind of. By my original plans there would only be 8 chapters after this one, but now there are more and more!

Cheers!

100Fang: Yep, he sure did!
Cheers!

[Hyperness is a Good Thing]

Well......^^

I've always had likings for those sadistic evil baddies....Not the aggravating type....the plain, really bad ones...^^

[M1ND G4ME]

Man I Havent been here in a while have I? But right when I come back I see some SWEET chapters. Way to go there awesome.

~GW7~

[Gavin Luper]

Hyperness: H'ray for bad baddies, the real evils. I agree whole heartedly - the stupid 'Jessie and James' approach always aggravated me to all hell.

Karania: Cool! Did you have a good time? New chappie coming up today!

GW7: Yeah, I haven't seen you around for a looooong time. How are you? I'm glad you decided to keep reading!

Chapter 34 up soon!

[Gavin Luper]

Hi everyone! I just wanted to say (before the chapter) that LTL has been nominated for a few categories in the Fanfic Awards, and to check out the voting topic to choose your nominations! This isn't a request for votes of course!!!! It's just me saying "hey, look, I got nominated". Yes. I'm a show-off.

ahem. Chapter 34 is what you were looking for?
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Chapter 34 – The Flight of the Phoenix.


Lisa thought she could still feel the icy water flooding over her and numbing her body, but she soon realised that she was not drowning at all, but she was laying flat somewhere. It was still cold, but not wet at all. Not even damp.

She couldn’t see – her eyes were still screwed shut in terror - but she sensed that Gavin was definitely beside her. Finally, unable to stand the knowledge of the unknown, Lisa opened her eyelids and felt like she had just shut them.

Total darkness! There was no difference between opening or shutting her eyes. Lisa couldn’t comprehend. For one horrifying second she thought she might be blind, but of course her commonsense took over and she tried to be calm and rational. It’s just very dark, she told herself firmly. It’s very dark and we’ve fallen under the ice. But then she remembered, the ice had melted after Suicune attacked Entei. Her and Gavin were underwater, somewhere, but not wet. Very cold and very dry.

“You alright, Lisa?” Gavin asked suddenly, his voice echoing in Lisa’s head as there was a soft shuffling sound. He sat up. “I am, if you were wondering.”

“I’m fine,” said Lisa quickly, hearing her voice as though it was a long way away. Gavin’s voice seemed very distant, too. “But why? Shouldn’t we have drowned by now?”

“I think so,” came his soft voice again. “But it’s really dark, I can’t see.”

“Neither.” Lisa was comforted that Gavin was feeling the same as her – blind and terrified.

There was silence. Lisa pulled herself up to a sitting position, expecting to feel her back ache from the fall or a rough surface underneath her, scratching her legs, but there was nothing. She couldn’t feel anything beneath her – Lisa went to feel the ground again, but her hand went straight down, as though she was floating somewhere. It was so very eerie. The panic rose up in her again. She reached out blindly for Gavin, and found his arm. But he jerked away.

“Don’t!” he said in an oddly constrained tone, his voice breaking and squeaking as he shifted away somehow. “Don’t touch me …”

He sounded so frightened that Lisa burst out. “Why not!?”

There was a long pause, while Lisa continued opening and shutting her eyes to see if there was any difference. There wasn’t. Somehow she lost track of whether her eyes were open or closed.

“I’m not … wearing anything,” spluttered Gavin suddenly, and then he burst into laughter and Lisa could hear him moving away again. She found herself blushing, and with a jolt realised that she, too, had no clothes on at all. It was so unreal, so frightening, so embarrassing, that she too began to giggle. She pushed herself away from Gavin, although she didn’t know how. It was as though she had just propelled herself through the air away from him.

Then, while she was deciding whether her eyes were open or shut, there was a faint light coming from above her, but also below her, and at the same time in front of her and behind her. Her eyes had to be open, then, she decided, as the light filled the place where she and Gavin were. Within a few seconds, the light was overpowering, and she could see nothing but strong, almost solid, golden light, engulfing her entire being. And it didn’t recede at all.

*

Lisa wasn’t sure how long it was before she could see again, but slowly the light did actually give way. She was glad to see that she was wearing her pair of short black pants and a sleeveless red top. Thank God, she muttered to herself, but where am I?

It was a good question. She could feel her hair being thrown back in the cool wind, which pelted at her face from up ahead. All she could see was a soft blue sky, and some pure white, fluffy clouds. She was flying somehow. Slowly she looked down to see that she was sitting on something. And her mouth fell wide open.

She was perched on the back of a giant bird. It was brilliant to say the very least. Lisa had never been at such a loss for words – the thing she was grasping loosely with her hands was so very huge that she felt incredibly fearful, yet at the same time the calmness flowing over her like a liquid was so real. The bird, she soon realised, was not ‘just a bird’ after all. Its vibrant golden crest pulsated as it flew along, regal wings swooping up and down rhythmically, radient gold and crimson feathers so bright it was like they were reflecting the sunlight; but even as Lisa watched she decided the plumage could not be doing that – it seemed to have a brightness of its own.

There was a sparkling, tinkling kind of a sound behind her, and Lisa whipped her head around to see more light; not white, or golden, but a rainbow streaming out behind the glittery tail plumes of the bird. And then it clicked in her overwhelmed mind. The bird was truly special after all.

It was a Phoenix.

The Phoenix.

Ho-oh.

Although she knew it would have been normal to, Lisa could not feel any trepidation or even wonder. It was like she had been wiped blank somehow. By the brightness that had engulfed her before, when her and Gavin were in that eerie, dark place. She also knew it would have been normal of herself to begin assuming scenarios and trying to work out what was going on, but she simply couldn’t. The calming feeling was so pleasant. Lisa actually released the golden feathers, staying onboard only by the slight grip of her knees.

The phoenix – Ho-oh – had not turned to look at her yet. It dipped below a thick patch of cloud, and Lisa smiled as the cold mist fluffed up around her face. Ho-oh weaved its way throughout the maze of clouds for a few minutes, its regal wings beating majestically against the air currents. After passing through a light fluffy cloud, the Rainbow pouring out from behind became more clear than ever, and Lisa could see a landscape below them, not very far down at all. A thick forested area, with some rocky patches. As Ho-oh flew lower, Lisa saw how close they were to the world below. But the landscape was changing now. There were soon some large fields and bare land, and then soft beach sand for a long way. Lisa could almost feel it crunching warmly beneath her feet, and indeed her feet were only a few metres from the ground.

Within minutes, Ho-oh was taking her across the pleasant-looking cornflower-coloured ocean, coming down so low that Lisa felt the seaspray playing across her bare feet. Then Ho-oh lifted up again, not as high as the clouds but at a safe height not to be seen but still be able to see. Lisa looked down to see some whirlpools spinning madly, and a long, narrow strip of brightly coloured coral reef. It was so relaxing she could feel her eyelids flutter closed. But before they could, some islands came into sight. Four islands, all very close to each other. Lisa knew they were the Whirl Islands, where she had met Marina and Anna in November. And it was clear now why they were named the way they were, because from the viewpoint upon Ho-oh’s back, Lisa could see everything. One island was stacked with dazzling silver rocks, which reflected the sunlight heavily; Silver Rock Island. One was covered in rocks with the colouring of dirty scarlet, the rocks scattered between towns. Lisa could see the large stadium on the far east side of the isle; Red Rock Island, and beside it was an island covered in bluish beach sand – not a chemical blue, but a natural wonder, an almost pastel shade. Blue Rock Island. The fourth Island soon came into clearer focus, as the phoenix beat its wings against the wind and soared down. Yellow Rock Island was not populated, Lisa saw, but a small crater rose up within the centre; remnants of the extinct volcano that had tainted the rocks with sulfur-yellow hue. The rest of the island was cluttered with dense jungle-like growth of lush tropical trees and green patches of grass. Lisa stared at it with fascinating, as Ho-oh began to lower again. The magical bird swooped down, and Lisa clenched her teeth as it began to pick up speed – it was going to hammer into the ground – no! – the rocky crater of the volcano itself! The trepidation had sparked in Lisa only for a moment, somehow she knew that everything would be alright. Lisa saw the crest of Ho-oh glitter and pulsate with a golden light, before it bowed its head and plunged into the centre of the dormant volcano.

It was easily the most fascinating experience Lisa had ever had. Compared with this, seeing Suicune or the other legendaries or even riding on them was a dull monotony; this was mindblowing.

There was a strong scent of sulfur present as Ho-oh barrelled down through the solidified magma, but no rock flicked up into Lisa’s face, and nothing grazed her bare arms. It was like Ho-oh was making its own safe path for both of them; for the first time it occurred to Lisa that Ho-oh may not know that she was atop its back at all. But she couldn’t stop to dwell on any possibilities. After a few seconds, maybe a minute, Ho-oh turned sharply and Lisa felt that they were tunnelling horizonatally under ground – underneath the ocean, for certain. Ho-oh was not flying now, but sliding along a sandy-bottomed tunnel, calm and cool.

They soon emerged into a huge hollow cavern. Lisa could hear, far above, the distant echoes of water lapping against rocks. They were underneath an island, but … which one?

Ho-oh hovered up to the very top of the hollow, sand-floored cave, and twisted against a ledge in the natural rocky wall in such a way that it was positioned totally on the ledge. A small hole in the wall let a shaft of light through, and just as Lisa was staring curiously at it, Ho-oh itself turned and looked with huge, knowing, golden eyes at her. It seemed to want her to look through – which she did.

A man with blonde hair and greenish blue eyes was at a desk, sifting fervently through some papers. Something very small sat in a cage on the desk. The man glanced at the thing, whatever it was, then picked up a tiny mobile phone and spoke into it. Lisa tried to look at the thing in the cage, but it was dark and she could not make out any features. There was some sort of dull glow about it, though. She then tried to listen to the man’s conversation, but he was not speaking English, and the note of his voice did not alter; it stayed in the same vicious tone.

With a sudden rush, Ho-oh moved off and Lisa sat down with a jolt. This time, Ho-oh was moving fast and rushed, as though it was late for something important. It took only a few seconds to reach the surface, and then the ocean was receding behind them as Ho-oh flew swiftly and deftly over the fields and rocky mountain ranges. Once or twice Lisa thought she saw a town in the distance, but whether intentionally or not, Ho-oh steered clear of any of these places.

Lisa could feel the exhileration of the flight rushing through her body, and she found herself longing it would never end. Ho-oh showing her the islands and the man had jerked her brain back into gear, and she was thinking about things all over again.

The Phoenix soared high over a huge valley, the borders of which were covered in rolling green grass and evergreen trees. Lisa could see some small cerulean ponds dotted around grassy hollows and ditches, and a waterfall which gushed crystal water down into the valley, forming a clear bubbling pool at the foot of the hill barrier and making a steady river which ran down into the valley, where it linked up with another stream. Trees and growth laced the rivers densely. Staring down in curiousity, Lisa could see a person on a small canoe, paddling down the river. She could not make anything else out but for the flash of blue as the person looked up at her. She could not determine the face.

Leaving the valley, Ho-oh flapped its wings and rose up again, the rainbow still stemming out behind it as it emerged onto plains of lush vegitation. And up ahead, a city, two towers rising up from it, one much larger than the other. Lisa felt – and saw – an odd layer of silvery light trickle over her body, and Ho-oh’s; they were flying into the city. Lisa knew what it was easily. Ecruteak.

Ho-oh hovered above the Burned Tower – the Brass Tower – and halted in the shadow of the Tin Tower. Lisa glanced up at the tower, then at Ho-oh. The Phoenix jerked its head toward the Tin Tower, then turned to Lisa, its eyes filled with an almost teasing mystery.

And then, as though it had only just realised she was there, it sped away at once, east of Ecruteak; Lisa had to grip the gold feathers very tightly and pull her body against the back of Ho-oh to reduce wind exposure. The sights flashed past her, once, out of the corner of her eye, Lisa though she could see Mahogany Town, followed by the Ice Path, and Ho-oh slowed slightly, before regaining its speed and zooming straight on.

A mountain range came into view, Lisa felt Ho-oh’s wings halt instantaneously, and they were falling to the ground. Lisa clenched her teeth again and prepared for the crash landing. But instead, she felt her hands lose their grip on the feathers, although one or two of them actually pulled out and remained in her hand, and she rolled off Ho-oh’s back, feeling soft grass upon her landing. Ho-oh raised its wings and rose into the air to leave.

“Ho-oh!!” Lisa yelled out, hearing her voice for what felt like the first time in her life.

Ho-oh blinked at her, sending a short, confusing telepathic message. //Ho-oh is not my name//

And with that, the Phoenix disappeared, and left Lisa laying alone on the grass, feeling like she had just awoken from a long dream, but a very very real one.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Next up on Lisa the Legend

It’s about time! Lisa has finally arrived at her destination!

The cluster of buildings around the stadiums was looking only marginally closer now, but Lisa could make out specks of people wandering on the outskirts of the township.

And now that she’s arrived, it’s time to do what she came to do.

“Hey Hiro!” Lisa greeted. She reached into her backpack, which she didn’t even realise was still on her back, fumbled around awkwardly for a minute, then withdrew her hand. “I brought the Fog Badge for you!”

All that remains is to wish Hiro a hell of a lot of good luck in his match against Lance.

“WELCOME TO THE SILVER STADIUM MAIN ARENA!” roared the commentator.

Chapter 35 – Welcome to Mt Silver.

[ZeldaFan20]

Unbelievable!!! So Lisa got to actually RIDE Ho-oh?!! A very nice description of the creature, too!! Still, they both left Gaven back in the Ice Path. Will he be okay?

[Hyperness is a Good Thing]

Niiiiiiiiiiiice description......Was it reality or was it a dream? Whatever it was, I want to know more about the bird she thought ws Ho-oh......or maybe it was, but it doesn't know itself as that? Or maybe.....*shall shut up and wait for next chapter*

[Master Kirby]

That was great! I really liked the vivid descriptions of what it was like riding on Ho-oh. I guess Ho-oh is just the name that humans gave it; not its real name.

It looks like Ho-oh was trying to give Lisa a hint that team Rocket was underground. That was also nice of him to save her and carry her to the stadium.

Is she going to go to silver rock island to compete?

“WELCOME TO THE SILVER STADIUM MAIN ARENA!” roared the commentator.

When Lisa rolled off of Ho-oh, she pulled out some feathers. Will these rainbow feathers allow her to find Ho-oh again, like in the game?

I can't wait to read the next chapter. (and get to find out what happened to Gavin. He was left behind. Will Lisa have to go searching for him?

[Chris 2.1]

a stunning chapter. Ho-oh...not Ho-oh? is this a new bird, or just a deep breath into Ho-Oh's ancestral origin? And where's Gavin? poor guy...

The silver tournament sounds good...but doesn't Lisa care about Gavin? *silence*. Fine...gimme asec and i'll go get him...*gets on 'Ho-oh' and rides off*

[Powarun]

Gavin Luper, you are an extremely talented writer. This story has a good plot, and sure is worth reading. What is Ho-Oh name?

[Gavin Luper]

Zeldafan: Yep! How lucky is Lisa ... riding on the back of Ho-oh. Kinda. Thanks very much, and don't be too worried about Gavin. He'll live ... for a while MWAHAHA!

Hyperness: Thank you. Reality or a dream? It's up to you to decide I suppose! Next chapter coming soon, (next friday). I really need to get writing though, i'm only a part way through chapter 36, and with each chapter I write I push the last chapter further away. AT this rate, it could go on forever!!!

Kirby: Thanks! Your suspicions might not be too far off, but the Silver Rock Island ... nopes! Yep, some more will be revealed in the next chapter, and the chapter after, and so on.

Shinymarill: Stunning? Thankyou! Ho-oh is not Ho-oh. Yes that's correct. Very straightforward, no?

Silver tournament will be good, but I really think I might be changing things around. Looks like chapters 36 + 37 need to be changed ... you'll see.

Cheers!

Powarun: Extremely talented? Thank you very much, but talk about an overexaggeration! That chapter was maybe my best, but usually I don't write nearly as well.

Seeya later!

[100FangCroconaw]

Nice chappy. I'm very sorry that I was unable to reply for so long.It's just that school is finally gettingto me and I have to do a Science Fair project...Anyways, I found it strange that that Pheonix thingy didn't notice that Lisa was on it's back.

[Karania]

As always, post when ou can.

[Gavin Luper]

Kirby: I know, I've said it so many times, but it's my way of explaining why my battles aren't very well written since the battle with Morty. It's not peer pressure. You don't know me in real life of course, but I am the kind of person who hates peer pressure and I have never bowed into peer pressure in my life!

The truth is, it just faded. One day I looked at the anime forum and I was like "OMG this is so sad, people arguing about stuff that doesn't exist". So then it just dissolved.

So the battle-related chappies take a longer time.

100FangCroc: Do you have a nick that I can call you, it's so much easier than writing 100FangCroconaw every time!

Don't worry about not replying for a long time - I understand totally.

Karania: I'm revising as we speak, it'll be up within the hour!

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Chapter 35 – Welcome to Mt Silver.


Lisa had landed on a very smooth, quiet, hillside. It was completely covered in lush green grass, and she could see that further downhill there was a small pond of some sort. She had just stood up and brushed her jeans off and decided to make her way to the hut when she realised the crest of the hill was much nearer than the foot.

Still thinking distantly to herself about the odd experience she had just had with the Phoenix, Lisa strode up the hillside for a minute or two until she was almost at the top. She dodged a small cluster of vibrant flowers which she hadn’t seen before, and crested the hill.

Her mouth curved into a small smile.

Spread out before her was a scene that Lisa thought she must have seen on a calendar once before. A large cluster of buildings was set only a couple of kilometres before her, down the hill and up a small track. It seemed like a small town, but it was centred around a few massive stadiums in the centre. It was obvious to Lisa what it was, but she had never been there before. It was very beautiful, with the Silver Mountain Ranges in the background, shadowing the plain.

As Lisa wandered quietly down the hill towards the place the Phoenix had purposely brought her to – Silver City, site of the Johto League Tournaments – she felt suddenly alone, and automatically threw out Aipom’s pokeball onto the ground. The violet monkey exploded out of his house and scampered up to Lisa, nibbled her bare foot affectionately, then sprinted at top speed downhill to catch a butterfly.

However, Lisa realised she couldn’t recover Gavin’s presence by just throwing out a red and white sphere. Where was he? She traipsed with haphazard steps toward Silver City (which was really just a small town bulging with tourists), thinking about the weird state she and Gavin had been in after the ice path melted on them. And what had happened to Suicune – and especially, what had happened to Entei? Had he really died? And what about the flight with Ho-oh – what had it meant? It had just confused Lisa more.

“Especially when it said ‘Ho-oh is not my name’,” Lisa grumbled to herself. Aipom looked up at her as it grabbed at the butterfly with all three hands. The butterfly evaded and fluttered up higher, before being caught in the wind. Aipom gave a disgruntled “Ai!” and looked at Lisa as though he were concerned about her talking to herself.

The cluster of buildings around the stadiums was looking only marginally closer now, but Lisa could make out specks of people wandering on the outskirts of the township.

“What is going on, Aipom?” Lisa asked loudly, scooping Aipom up onto her shoulder, and he patted her hair kindly. “Ho-oh – uh, the Phoenix – just flew me around half the country to see some guy in a cave and someone else canoeing in a river. It’s really weird. Suicune’s killed Entei, I think, and Team Rocket is definitely after me for something. Lenina and that other guy – Lucas or whatever his name was – both tried to kill me! It’s really weird Aipom!” she moaned.

And then suddenly she was pouring all her worries and anxieties out to Aipom, who nodded along and patted her hair continuously (although Lisa thought he might just be trying to pull her bandana off), and by the time the signs of ‘Welcome to Silver City, gateway to the Silver Mountains’ and ‘Experience the Johto League’s finest trainers first hand this weekend!’ and ‘Use Kemp’s new improved Anti-Bacterial mouthwash for longer lasting results!’ were in close view, she felt as though a Snorlax had finished its shoulder ride on her and had hopped off and run away.

Lisa breezed down the footpath beside the entrance road to the city. She even found herself humming a song by Julienne Brextar that she had heard on the radio in the buggy. Which seemed like a long time ago, but was surely that very same day?

Once the tourists began buzzing around her like annoying bugs, Lisa tried to navigate her way through the town. She had to find Hiro and give him the Fog Badge that he needed so much. But Gavin came first; where could he be? She turned to her friend on her shoulder, who looked depressed; Lisa’s woes had been transferred to him.

“Alright Aipom, firstly we have to look for Gavin. But I have no ide-”

On cue, there was a soft tap on her shoulder, and then Lisa spun around and was staring into Gavin’s brown eyes.

“Good morning!” he said cheerily.

“Speak of the devil!” Lisa blurted out.

Gavin grinned. “Oh, just talking about me were you?”

Lisa grinned back. There was a pause. “I didn’t know where to find you,” she said at last.

He ignored her. He was looking very fresh and happy, as though he had just floated out from the shower. His hair was short and neat for a change, and he was wearing CLEAN clothes; a red tank top and black shorts. About time he got some new clothes, thought Lisa abstractly, brushing back some stubborn strands of windswept hair.

“How did you get here?” asked Gavin.

“I walked,” she said, rolling her eyes. “It was easy, you know, I just made my way to Silver City in a few minutes by trekking over the hills for a hundred kilometres. Keeps me nice and fit, you know?”

Gavin laughed softly. “I flew,” he said, sobering up swiftly. “On a bird. A very special one.”

Somehow, Lisa had felt this coming. “Not Ho-oh?”

The boy nodded. “Yes,” he breathed. “I just got here now; I landed on top of a hill just outside town. I saw you up ahead and followed you here! Lisa, it was incredible!”

“You did NOT fly on Ho-oh! I mean - I did!” said Lisa, thrown even more by this revelation.

“Uh, I think you’re wrong.”

They began walking into town arguing their heads off, weaving through the pedestrians who all seemed to be on their way to the shops around the city. Once or twice, Lisa and Gavin were offered merchandise for the big league matches that night, but barely took the time to refuse. They were captivated by each others stories. Lisa told Gavin her side of the tale, while he explained everything from after the melting of the Ice Path. Ho-oh, he said, had flown him to the Whirl Islands also, he had seen the man in the cave too, but had also been taken to Goldenrod City.

No matter how much they tried, neither of the friends could explain what had happened when they found themselves in that eerie, dark place, before the light had engulfed them. But soon, they ran out of time to make any further discussion. Because, just as they stopped to get an icecream, someone yelled out behind them.

“Lisa! Lisa! Over here!”

Hiro came tearing through the tables in the icecream parlour, knocking over a man with a Doduo. “Lisa! You made it!” he cried, reaching her and grabbing her hand, shaking it violently.

“Hey Hiro!” Lisa greeted. She reached into her backpack, which she didn’t even realise was still on her back, fumbled around awkwardly for a minute, then withdrew her hand. “I brought the Fog Badge for you!”

Hiro grabbed it, with such a look of gratitude on his face that made Lisa feel like the troubled trip had been worth it. “Lisa you have no idea in the world how much this means to me!” he gushed, ignoring Gavin’s existence.

“I think I have some idea,” assured Lisa, smiling as she paid the icecream vendor and took the chocolate cone as Gavin took his spearmint. Aipom clutched a maple-flavoured one.

“I can actually participate in the league now Lisa! You know this was my dream, and you fulfilled it for me! Thank you so so so so so so so so so much! You gave me a chance to finish off what I’d come to do. I’d rather lose to Lance than be disqualified!” Hiro went on, regardless, sounding like he had on the day Lisa met him, when he gave her that short lecture about winning and losing battles. “How can I ever repay you? Seriously?”

“I’ll manage without any repayment,” Lisa said calmly, as Gavin nudged her in the back. “You been waiting long?”

“Only forever!” moaned Hiro, but he was smiling in awe at the badge.

Lisa looked at the badge in his hand. “So, when can you battle Lance then?”

Hiro smiled, the grin emphasising his black hair, dark eyes and sharp features. “Right now.”

*

Hiro clutched the ball tightly in his hand. He had grown since Lisa had last seen him; he was taller and looked a bit more mature in the face. Lisa was amazed that the crowd had built up so quickly; the announcement that Hiro was to fight Lance attracted a good few thousand people in the space of an hour, and more and more were crowding in.

She had managed to claim a front seat of course, right in the centre of the battlefield, so she could see both sides equally. Gavin was beside her, looking jittery.

“The match will start any minute now,” said Lisa, checking her watch yet again.

“Hiro won’t win,” Gavin stated suddenly, and Lisa dug him in the ribs indignantly. He moaned and mouthed something that, luckily, she didn’t see.

“It’s not that I doubt him at all,” protested Gavin. “But Lance isn’t the leader on the Elite Four for nothing. It’s not that he is like the strongest trainer in the world anymore; I mean, about ten trainers have beaten him and dozens have come close, but Hiro doesn’t strike me as the greatest trainer in the world. What pokemon does he have anyway?”

“He used to have a Cyndaquil, so it’s probably a Typhlosion by now,” replied Lisa dangerously. “And he had a Venomoth and Heracross, but otherwise, I have no idea what he might use! But your pokemon are nowhere near as good, so keep your gob shut.”

A man’s voice sounded over the stadium, forcing the noise of the massive crowd to reduce.

“Looks like we’ll see in a second,” muttered Gavin, leaning forward in his seat.

“WELCOME TO THE SILVER STADIUM MAIN ARENA!” roared the commentator, almost deafening Lisa. The boy on the other side of her clutched his ears, and she smiled.

“Looks like he needs to lower his voice by a few decibels, eh?” she said to the boy, who had brown hair with blondish streaks. He smiled and nodded empathetically.

“Just a few,” he said gratefully, staring into Lisa’s eyes suddenly. She turned away quickly to the battlefield. Things were about to begin!

“TODAY WE HAVE COME TO WITNESS ONE OF THE MOST GIFTED TRAINERS IN THE WHOLE OF JOHTO, HIRO FERGUSON, DO BATTLE AGAINST LANCE, THE CHAMPION OF THE ELITE FOUR AND ONE OF THE GREATEST TRAINERS IN THE WORLD!”

Lance had emerged from the other side of the stadium now, and Lisa peered at him with the tiny binoculars which had been shoved at her by a man selling them outside. Lance had jet black hair and goldish brown eyes – much like Lisa herself. She noticed that he looked calm and collected, with not even a hint of nervousness. He looked pleased to be battling, but not excited by any means.

“Why is Lance so far away?” muttered Gavin, sounding frustrated.

Lisa took her eyes away from her binoculars, and grabbed Gavin’s, turning them around the right way for him to see out of.

“THE FIRST TWO ROUNDS OF THE MATCH WILL BE PLAYED ON THE MINERAL FIELD, CONSISTING OF SAND, ROCK, STEEL FRAGMENTS, AND ASSORTED OTHER METALS. AFTER TWO POKEMON FROM EITHER SIDE HAVE BEEN DEFEATED, THE PLAYING FIELD WILL BE CHANGED!

“GENTLEMEN, PLEASE TAKE UP YOUR POSITIONS!” roared the commentator. Hiro tensed even more. Lance took a step backwards, then planted his feet firmly on the ground, swishing his left foot in the dirt twice, making an imprint. And then all eyes in the stadium were on Hiro and Lance.

“THIS MATCH IS 6 VERSUS 6,” declared the commentator. “READY …

“FIGHT!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Next up on Lisa the Legend

You thought Lisa’s battle against Irene was a big deal?

“Quagsire, dive into the water!” Lisa called urgently.

Irene laughed to herself, and said under her breath, so that Lisa couldn’t hear. “ Well, that’ll just save us the trouble of having to get you in there ourselves.”

Or that the fight against Morty was a bit vicious?

“ Wake up!” cried Lisa, instinctively.

“ Now, Dream Eater!” yelled Morty in a confident voice. Lisa shuddered, and Gengar’s mouth opened wide, and countless drops of lilac energy spiralled out from it, spinning in ever-growing circles towards Quagsire, who snoozed ignorantly on. When the circle had grown large enough, the tiny spherical drops tore into Quagsire, each one taking more and more energy and life away from it, chipping viciously at it’s health.

Lisa’s battles aren’t all that exciting compared to Hiro’s final match.

“Fire Blast,” Lance’s clear voice wafted across the arena, amplified by the microphone on his collar.

“Magnetic Field, then attack with Thunder!” screamed Hiro.

Chapter 36 – The League Final.

[Hyperness is a Good Thing]

Oh.......slightly more like a filler actually.....kinda short compared to some of your other chapters.......^^

The funniest part was when Gavin was complaining about how small Lance was, until Lisa had to show him how to use the binoculars correctly......XD

[GeneChildMewtwo]

Hmm... So Gavin did ride the Phoenix formerly known as Ho-oh. The backwards binoculars were pretty funny, and they really do seem like something that Gavin would do, but that's why I like him. ^_^

And now Hiro finally gets his chance for the championship.

Go Hiro! Do your best!

Although it's not too important, I thought Lance had red hair... He does in the Anime and in GSC. Maybe he changed it by now? (or it was really black, and he just dyed it before? ^_^)

Now it's back to waiting for the next chapter to be posted.
Keep up the great work!

[ZeldaFan20]

Whew!! I'm glad Hiro got the Fog Badge in time. I can't wait to see how his battle with Lance turns out!

Wait a sec, Gaven flew on Ho-oh TOO?! How's that possible? Unless....does Ho-oh (or what ever its name is) have a......oh well, I guess we won't know until later.

[Karania]

Great chapter! I have high expectations for the next one. Keep up the good work!

[Gavin Luper]

Hyperness: Yeah, quite fillery, but it's these fillery chapters that link the whole thing together. I love writing a chapter less than 2000 words, it feels more refreshing than sitting on the same one for weeks on end, trying to write it.

Lol yeah Gavin is a moron.

GCM: Hi! Yeah, Gavin did too, supposedly. But why didn't Lisa see him then? Odd. Go Hiro! Yay!

Lance doesn't have red hair because this isn't the Anime Crap.

Zeldafan: Yeah, his battle with Lance should be good, it is shaping up to be a bit more than the average battle against someone very good. Keep guessing about Ho-oh, you'll have to wait awhile to find out!

Karania: Don't expect too much! My battle writing is POOR! But thanks anyway, of course

[Mystic Latios]

Great chapter. I can't wait to see that Hiro vs. Lance battle in the next chapter. Good job!

[Karania]

Aw, man! No new chapter. Oh, well I bet you're working it over to make it good. I'm anxiously awaiting the finished product.

[Gavin Luper]

Sorry. I know, my definition of a second is very scary. It might be up today; my stockpile of chapters is running out so I'll just see how I go.

If not today, Sunday for sure!

[Karania]

Looking forward to seeing it, and reading it of course!

[Gavin Luper]

Chapter 36 – The League Final.


Hiro’s reflexes were quick, and the red and white ball had been thrown from his tense fist almost before the bell rang. He had thrown it a good distance, and it landed a quarter-way across the dusty field. Exploding into the arena came a dark, greenish-black Heracross.

Lisa recognised it from the Bug Catching Contest, but it looked much more fierce now. And taller.

The response from Lance came with a dark smirk; he twisted his wrist and tossed the pokeball into the air, it popped open after a couple of seconds and a glimmer of whiteness streaked up into the open-roofed stadium, before slithering back to the ground. There were oohs and aaahs from the crowd, and Lisa cringed. It didn’t look like Heracross would be able to pull this off.

The Gyarados was blue but its scales looked like steel, and Lisa stared at them as though she knew they were harder than diamond.

“Heracross – start with Quick attack,” cried Hiro, leaning forward anxiously at his Heracross, dwarfed by the massive Gyarados. It really did look hopeless, but Hiro was determined. Lisa watched eagerly.

“Gyarados, evasive flight!” called Lance calmly, his eyes and voice steady.

Heracross had the advantage at first – he raced out towards the centre of the field where the serpentine form of Gyarados lay, and launched its horn out to scrape the side of Gyarados’ scales. The big blue creature was slow to react, but once it understood its commands, it was quick off the mark. Heracross had clanged its horn against his opponent twice, with a metallic clink, before Gyarados had flown up.

The huge form of Gyarados rose into the air and hovered about two feet above Heracross, who was totally useless, unable to reach his enemy for any physical attack. It was a fairly actionless moment – Gyarados just hovered there, while Hiro looked confused and Lance’s face remained still.

“More like evasive float,” observed Lisa, and Gavin nodded.

The commentator had been dribbling away for awhile, but Lisa hardly noticed the noise. She was trying to listen to what Hiro was saying to Heracross. But it was obvious within moments. Heracross’ eyes lit up crimson, and he stared into the evil eyes of Gyarados, who blinked back, nonplussed. Evidently the leer hadn’t worked.

Lance spoke finally. “Hydro Pump.”

“Get away from it Heracross!” screamed Hiro. “Use dig!!”

Lisa had to bite her tongue to stop herself from yelling out. Hiro was digging himself into a defeat, but, unlike his battle against Tyler back in Goldenrod, this time she couldn’t help out.

It was over very quickly. Heracross was adept in its digging skills, and had soon used its sharp claws to burrow a fair way underground to escape the blast of water. A few clumps of earth hit Gyarados with no effect whatsoever. The serpent then responded by belching out a massive stream of water from its mouth, gushing across the field and beneath it to where Heracross was digging underground. The tunnel filled up almost instantly, and Heracross came bursting through the earth, covered in dirt and swirling grey mineral mud, panting and looking half-dead. Gyarados stopped the attack on Lance’s command, while Hiro quickly recalled Heracross, very disappointed.

“AND HIRO FERGUSON RETURNS HIS HERACROSS AFTER A VERY QUICK VICTORY BY LANCE’S BEST OPENER, GYARADOS!” boomed the commentator; obviously the volume of the microphone had not yet been lowered. Half the stadium was covering their ears, the other half were already deafened (Lisa among them). “WHO WILL THE CHALLENGER CHOOSE NEXT?”

Hiro threw the ball out without much deliberation. “I should have done this from the start.” Lisa could see him mouthing to himself as she dried herself a bit. Being in the front row seats, Gavin, herself and the boy beside her had copped a lot of the rebounding Hydro pump.

A Magneton appeared from the ball, looking very shiny and powerful. “Magneton, Thunderbolt!” yelled Hiro urgently.

Lance remained perfectly calm and still, as though he was observing a rookie trainer make his first commands against a wild Caterpie. “Look out, Gyarados. Dig if you need to.”

Lisa watched, expecting Magneton to power up for a moment, and she watched Gyarados dive underground swiftly, thinking that Hiro was again going to lose. But she had obviously underestimated Magneton. It zoomed down the hole immediately, firing off thunderbolts everywhere, on Gyarados’ tail as though the serpent was a refrigerator. There was a sudden almightly blast of yellow from somewhere underground, and Gyarados came flying upwards through the soil, a deadweight.

The crowd ooohed, Hiro and Lance were silent, and even the commentator seemed to have nothing to say – well, for a moment. “ACCORDING TO THE INFRA-RED UNDERGROUND CAMERAS, GYARADOS HAS JUST BEEN DEFEATED BY A THUNDER ATTACK, FOLLOWED BY A SPEED STAR!” he boomed. “HIRO’S MAGNETON WINS ROUND ONE!”

Then came about fifteen seconds of cheering, allowing Magneton to show off, then a hushed silence came over the crowd, which was still growing with many late arrivals, having only just heard the news of “Lance has a challenger!”

Lance reacted quickly and calmly, and Lisa stared from her vantage point. What does it take to break him, she thought. How much does it take to push him over the edge?

The Charizard whipped out of the ball dangerously. The boy beside Lisa made a sudden movement, as though he was stunned by the choice. She turned to look at him, but he jerked his head back to the action.

“Fire Blast,” Lance’s clear voice wafted across the arena, amplified by the microphone on his collar. With a sinking feeling in her stomach, Lisa realised that Gyarados had been Lance’s starter – the pokemon to test the opponent’s strength. Charizard would be able to handle Magneton with ease, surely?

“Magnetic Field, then attack with Thunder!” bellowed Hiro instinctively. He didn’t realise how incredibly clever his idea had been.

Charizard flapped its wings hard to propel itself skyward. Just to show off, Lisa thought with disgust, until the commentator pointed out that flight would give Charizard greater mobility. Magneton fired up quickly, a soft static glow appearing around it, slowly emanating outwards. And then, very gradually, the iron filings packed in the battlefield began to unearth themselves. The audience was silent as the iron zipped through the air, faster and faster, sticking onto Magneton’s body. The commentator was going off on a tangent about how the mineral field had been made up, but did comment that the iron filings might act as some sort of shield for Magneton.

Charizard warmed up and spat the fireball at Magneton, and at the same moment Magneton had collected a heavy layer of iron and its magnets spun around somehow. Instantly, the filings were repelled and collided with the burst of flames, screening Magneton into safety. The metal dropped to the ground, burning red. Quickly, Magneton’s magnets glowed bright yellow and split the air with three Thunder attacks. Two of them hit the airborne Charizard, hopefully injuring it considerably.

And now, while the crowd cheered and Lisa clapped louder than ever, Hiro’s plan was formulated. It would, hopefully, be an easy pattern – attract metal, repel it and make a shield, then thunder. Plan, defend, attack.

“Magneton, repeat thac exat – blaaaah … that exact method!” yelled Hiro, his voice amplified by the microphone.

Lance was looking very interested in the battle now, and he was not a Champion for no reason, Lisa decided. She looked through her binoculars at him, and saw that he was playing with a chain on his neck. Nervousness? She wasn’t sure. But a smiled broke out over Lance’s face and Lisa realised he now had a plan.

“Nice try, Hiro,” Lance’s voice was magnified around the stadium. “But you have a long way to go yet! Charizard, flamethrower the ground as much as possible!”

“Yeah whatever,” spat Hiro. “Magneton, repeat it now!!”

Magneton created that same magnetic field, and it began to grow again, a huge hemisphere of magnetism. But Charizard was quicker than it this time, and for a very scary moment Lisa realised it had not been working as hard as it could, not to its full capacity. This time, it breathed a steady stream of flame directly at the ground within the electrostatic orb. The sand and average dirt was not affected, but the iron began to glow red, and then the plan was clear.

“LANCE’S CHARIZARD USES FLAMETHROWER TO HEAT UP THE IRON FILINGS!”

“Bastard, you can’t do that!” Hiro said to himself more than to Lance, then cringed as he realised his voice had been amplified throughout the stadium. Lance smiled anyway.

The filings, still burning red-hot, zipped through the air and latched onto Magneton, burning it all over. An eerie call screamed out of it, (and if you have ever heard a Magneton screaming you will know that it was a dreadful sound; a dull, echoing, hollow drone of pain) and Magneton descended to the ground, but not before launching a final, vengeful Thunder at Charizard – and the lizard must have been becoming complacent, because all three beams struck, each stronger than the last one, fuelled by Magneton’s burning. And with another shriek, Charizard dropped heavily to the ground, having been thundered five times and defeated.

“Both competitors are unable to fight any further!” the commentator’s voice came quieter now, and Gavin unplugged his ears (“What’d I miss?”). “Because Lance has lost two pokemon to Hiro’s one, a field change is in order!”

There was no talk between the battlers, just the dull beeping sound that accompanied the red jet of light. Then Hiro and Lance stepped back, and allowed the field to change over. It sank away from view slowly, leaving a gaping hole. It would be replaced after the five-minute break.

“Good battle, eh?” said the boy next to Lisa.

“Yeah, definitely,” Lisa agreed whole-heartedly. “I’ve never seen the field used to such an advantage. Except water I spose.”

“Once my Dragonair iced a whole water battlefield up,” admitted the boy, who grinned and Lisa saw two pronounced dimples. “It was really funny, the Mantine we were fighting got its tail stuck in the ice, we had to chip it out for hours.”

Lisa listened attentively. “You’re kidding, you have a Dragonair? How’d you get hold of one? You a gambler or something?”

“Nup. My dad had three, so he gave me a spare …”

“Three dra-?” Lisa’s jaw dropped. She jerked her head at Lance out of the field. “He’s your dad?”

“Yeah. Don’t look so surprised. He’s not a celebrity or anything.”

“You’re so lucky, I only got Aipom from my parents!” Lisa said, as Aipom yanked her ponytail angrily. The boy laughed. “So I spose you’re going for Lance then, in the match I mean?”

“Not really,” he admitted. “Dad’s always winning, I think he needs to lose sometimes. He lost three times this year already, which is really good for his ego.” The dimples winked at Lisa again. “One of the girls who beat him was really cool – she used a Ledyba to beat Charizard. It was fantastic!”

Gavin nudged Lisa sharply in the ribs. “Oy Lisa, look over there! Is that who I th-”

“Sssh Gavin I’m talking!” she said, and went back to flirting with the guy. “Do you like dragon pokemon then? Because –”

“Your name’s Lisa?”

“Yes,” she said. “Lisa Walters. And while we’re on the subject, you are …?”

“Darius Hudson,” he told her, fiddling with a little chain on his neck. Lisa looked at it closely, and realised it matched exactly with Lance’s. It was silver and thin, and hung down low beneath Darius’ shirt.

“Is that the same one as your Dad’s?”

“How’d you know about that?” asked Darius, pulling the necklace up until it surfaced just below his neck. “Yeah, it is. I have Dragonair on the end. It’s this new technology they’ve invented.” On the very end of the chain was an indigo-coloured Dragonair, curled up in coils.

“That’s cool,” remarked Lisa.

“It’s like a personalised Pokeball. The Dragonair charm on the end is the pokeball where its kept, and the position its in shows you what its doing inside its home.” He gestured to the coiled up Dragonair. “He’s sleeping at the moment.”

“I t-” began Lisa, but at that moment there was a huge whirring and the new playing field emerged. It rose up and locked into place, and Lisa thought it was the most interesting field she had ever seen. A man-made mountain was in the centre, rising about twenty metres or so, capped with clean snow. A very wide pool of ice surrounded it not unlike a moat, and there were small patches where the water was on the surface instead of the ice. Snow blanketed the remainder of the field.

“Gentlemen, please step up to the trainer’s box.”

“BEGIN ROUND THREE ON THE ICE FIELD!” the volume was back up again, but somehow everyone’s ears had adjusted – either that, or they were too intent on the battle now to see notice how loud the commentator was.

Hiro had washed his face and freshened up, and already had a Friend Ball in hand. Lance, on the other hand, looked as calm as ever but had his hand in his pocket, as though trying to make up his mind which ball to pull out.

“I SAID BEGIN!”

With two flashes and two well-aimed throws, a Dewgong splashed into the ring-shaped pool, while Aerodactyl emerged onto the summit of the mountain. Hiro broke into a grin, while Lance actually showed some emotion and cringed. It looked like an easy loss for him. But, for some reason, he did not recall the flying fossil straightaway, as Lisa knew she would have. Instead, he mouthed something to himself, then spoke “Aerodactyl, Ancient Power!”

“Ice Beam, Dewgong!”

Swooping down to the ground, Aerodactyl snapped his teeth at Dewgong’s head as he went past, just to show he meant business, before taking back to the sky, circling around and around the spire of the hill. Dewgong was much more sensible and much less cocky. He flipped a long slippery tail and delved underwater, knowing that he would be safe there for at least a few minutes. Quickly, the sealion set its concentration to forming an orb of ice in its mouth.

Aerodactyl had paused, waiting for Dewgong to resurface before it made the attack. But it waited one minute. Then two. And although the tension did not break for the pokemon and their trainers, it lapsed into boredom for the crowd. Underneath the water, a small light was forming, and once Lance saw it he knew immediately what he had to do.

“Don’t hesitate Aerodactyl, do it now! Ancient Power!”

It responded with glowing golden and exploding in a burst of bright light.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Next up on Lisa the Legend

What exactly is Aerodactyl doing?

“I told you so,” Lisa said smugly to Gavin, who squirmed in his chair, but she looked amazed all the same. Darius gave them an amused sidelong glance, but turned back to see his father’s fight.

Whatever the case, the battle must go on.

“Throw snowballs at him!” cried Hiro. His pokemon emerged from the water and quickly headed for the ample fields of snow.

Does Hiro still have the upper hand or not?

“Damn this is embarrassing – and dangerous,” muttered Hiro through clenched teeth. Fifty feet in front of him, Furret was bouncing around, just barely evading the dripping fangs ready to slice into it.

Chapter 37 – Secrets on the Ice Field.

[AquaBabe727]

Whoo! REALLY nice chapter Gavin! I loved every word of it--no complaints here. The battles tactics were great, the descriptions were great, the dialogue was great! I thought it was funny the way Lisa took a liking to that guy and completely brushed off Gavin...I feel sorry for him tho...=(
Ah well, it was cool anyway. I like the little dragonair charm idea! Nice! I really can't wait for the next chapter! ^_^

[Gavin Luper]

You really think that chapter was good Genna? I didn't. Still don't really, although I do really like the charm idea as well. Lol yeah Lisa is a bit of a cow but hey she's allowed to be!

Sorry I haven't been replying - or even reading - RIR lately. I really am getting around to it and I will catch up! Cheers!

[Shadow Djinn]

wow..i spent 2 afternoons reading this and its AWESOME. Descriptive and everything...its great.

[Hyperness is a Good Thing]

Niiiiiiice chapter, good fight! And Lance has a son..with who I wonder?

I like the battling techniques and all that.....^_^

[PancaKe]

Cool chapter. Great battle detail but does this Darius dude have anything to do wit Lisa and Gav?

^_^;;

cool.

~Mist

[100FangCroconaw]

Nice.Who knew that Hiro would get this far?

[Chris 2.1]

a very fluent chapter, although the ice feild seems somewhat obscuring. I like this, as its cool seeing Hiro's Pokemon that we havent seen before!

I take it the battle lasts a few chapters, as we're only just scratching the surface. The charm is intriguing, but confusing!

[Gavin Luper]

Yes, I've been flattened by hecticness (i don't think that's a word) lately. But things are starting to settle down and holidays are coming closer.

I have been trying to work on chapter 37 alongside yet another non-poke thing that probably won't be posted. It's coming along very well, about 1500 words from memory.

It's just a matter of waiting. After chapter 38 I should go at a much quicker pace.

[Gavin Luper]

Whoa. I can't believe it but I finished the chapter over the weekend, and it is LONG ... well above 6000 words anyway. I hope the quality is as impressive as the quantity - it was a struggle to write!

I also changed the name but I'm sure you guys can live with that!

Cheers!

-------------------------------------------------

Chapter 37 – More than a Battle.


“Aerodactyls don’t evolve,” stated Gavin, staring at the huge illuminated creature perched up on the small mountain. “Maybe that’s just how Ancient Power works …?”

The faces of Lance, Hiro and everyone in the stadium proved his statement wrong.

Lisa exchanged confused glances with him. “Well … I spose we didn’t think Girafarig evolved, then it turned into Girafury. And the same thing again with Fiskmire. It probably is evolving.”

“That’s different,” said Gavin sternly, staring at the scene with a look of confusion. “If we had have taken the time, we would’ve found that they DO actually evolve. The pokedexes all say so, it’s just very rare. But Aerodactyls DO NOT EVOLVE.”

“Whatever,” muttered Lisa. The transformation was almost complete – the light had subsided now, and the shape of the new creature was made apparent.

“WHOA.”

‘Whoa’ described the creature very well. It was like Aerodactyl had been mixed with a Steelix during the transformation; it was big and shiny and silver and strong. Its teeth were only slightly bigger, but infinitely more deadly looking. Danger lurked about the pointed fangs.

“IT’S A … THING!” declared the commentator. “AERODACTYL HAS EVOLVED … FOR THE FIRST TIME IN GLOBAL HISTORY!”

“I told you so,” Lisa said smugly to Gavin, who squirmed in his chair, but she looked amazed all the same.

“Well maybe the scientists still knew,” said Gavin dully. “Maybe they just kept it a universal secret.” Darius gave him an amused look, but turned back to see his father.

Lance looked just as surprised as anyone else in the grandstand. Lisa took a sidelong glance at him but his amazement soon faded into strategy, his face as emotionless as before. Hiro’s amazement also faded – into concern. His Dewgong had had a clear advantage at first, but with the evolution, the tables might have turned.

“Where’s Dewgong anyway?” muttered Lisa to Darius. He responded by pointing to a patch beneath the ice. Lisa looked just in time to see not a beam of blue, but a massive column of crystalline icicles burst out from beneath the snow. Like a solid pillar, it shot up into the air; then, like a gas, it enveloped the Aerodactyl evolution with stunning speed and accuracy. There was a squeal from the inside the icy cloud, then the sparkly-Aerodactyl came bursting out, its wings iced up but otherwise looking unharmed. It plummeted into the side of the mountain with another squawk, and the ice broke off its wings, melting to the icy floor.

“Gong gong gong!” Dewgong burst out happily from the water. It was greeted with a blast of rocks, sliding down the mountainside that the Aerodactyl-thing was slamming into. The Rock Slide was successful in creating an avalanche of boulders and stones towards the ring-shaped pool. Dewgong looked up to see them, and goggled at the sight.

“No, Dewgong, don’t just watch them, RUN AWAY!” urged Hiro anxiously. With a confused look, Dewgong flopped back underwater, and out of sight. Very shortly after, the Fossil Creature gave up with the rock slide and instead swooped down with a light splash – into the water to follow it’s enemy.

Lisa watched with bated breath – never had she seen a rock pokemon dive into water; not purposely, anyway. Aipom yanked her long hair again, giving her an intense desire to get a haircut.

Dewgong surfaced again.

“Get out, get out!” yelled Hiro. Dewgong obediently thrust its heavy body out of the water and began sliding along the ground as though it were having the time of its life. Only seconds after, the fossil shattered through the ice sheeting and rose into the air, water streaming from its crystalline form. And then the beam formed at its mouth, a hyper beam. The fossil was looking even more enraged now; it’s prey kept dodging it.

Lisa covered her mouth and the crowd held its breath again. The white orb grew in the mouth of the fossil as it flew wildly and swiftly, catching up to its prey slowly. Darius was whispering something to himself. Gavin was looking half at the battle and half at somewhere else, halfway up the grandstand.

“Aurora beam!” roared Hiro, as a last ditch effort. The Hyper Beam was formed now, and almost fired.

Dewgong heard him, and looked up to the creature above him.
The Fossil roared and released the white beam at the still-sliding Dewgong.
Dewgong looked stunned.
The beam raced at it.
Dewgong realised the beam was not aimed at where he was now, but where he would be in a moment.
The beam raced further.
Dewgong stopped gliding.
The beam pierced the ice pointlessly.
Dewgong watched as …
… the fossil exhausted itself …
… then he sent out his own beam of rainbow light from the spike on his head, washing over the Fossil and blinding it.

“GO DEWGONG!” yelled Lisa, accompanied by a few hundred others.

“That was cool,” stated Gavin.

Hiro was looking on, tears almost clouding his vision, but he blinked them away, cheering louder than anyone. “Dewgong, secure this! Headbutt!”

And then the sealion, filled with a rush of adrenaline, launched himself into the air using his tail as a spring, thrusting the spike on his head at the slightly less rocky underbelly of his opponent. The attack struck perfectly, and a small gash opened, a trickle of blood oozing out before the fossil dropped to the ice, cracking it.

“HIRO FERGUSON WINS ROUND THREE OF THE MATCH!”

Amidst the cheering, Lisa saw Lance’s smug face waver again. Halfway there, and Hiro had only lost one pokemon to his three. Surely her would be getting concerned by now? Lisa knew she would be downright panicky if she was in his position; the Champion of the Elite Four could not afford to lose to anyone who had as little experience as Hiro.

“Return!” The voice was sharp and Lisa sensed that maybe, beneath the steely nerves, Lance WAS panicking. “GO!”

Before the commentator could ramble on too much, Lance had thrown out his pokeball to face Dewgong. The reaction from the crowd was as could be expected – not many had seen a real-life Dragonair. Lisa knew even her Dratini was an incredibly rare find.

The indigo serpent plopped neatly into the water and the pokeball reeled back to Lance’s hand. He clenched it shut tightly. Dewgong looked determined but exhausted, and Hiro quickly recalled him.

He’s a very smart battler, thought Lisa, stronger and smarter than when I first met him. He knows when to save his pokemon and when to let it go. But he used to be so fiery.

“Charcoal, do your best!”

What a name, thought Lisa. But she said nothing.

Hiro could have told himself in an instant that the field was against him, but as long as Charcoal stayed well away from where the snow met the ice, everything should work out. His fresh-looking Typhlosion stepped out of its pokeball, looking experienced and dignified, as though it knew everything that was coming and was ready to accept the challenge.

“DRAGON RAGE!”
“DRAGON RAGE!”

The attacks went by the same name but were both incredibly different from each other. Charcoal inhaled with a steely gaze of steadiness – it was not a look of anger or a look of determinedness, both of which Lisa would have expected – it was simply an air of “This is what I have to do, I’m going to do it and I’m going to do it well.”

A column of flames flared out at the loop of icy whiteness (which Lisa thought looked a lot like a very thick stream of toothpaste). The vermilion flames shot through the loop and both attacks hit where they were supposed to. Charcoal reeled back in pain and Dragonair gave a slight squeal. But neither seemed too injured. As for the trainers, they were both looking determined to win.

“Thunderwave!” called Lance, throwing his head back as he commanded his soldier to do his will.
“Char, listen up. You have to be really careful. Stay well away from the ice.” Hiro said, not giving any direct attack command but looked concerned all the same. The flames on Charcoal’s back were heating the snow, creating water. It was becoming mush, wet, slippery mush.

“If his Typhlosion falls into the water, Hiro has effectively lost,” said Gavin slowly. He was speaking to Lisa, but Darius broke in.

“I think either way he’s going to lose this round. Not to sound biased, but Dad’s dragons are really strong. The first couple of fights were really just warm-ups.”

Gavin scowled at him, and muttered something that he didn’t wish Darius to hear.

On the Ice Field, Dragonair had speared the air with a few sharp shocks of blue electricity. As yet, they had not hit the bulky form of Charcoal, who was trying to dodge and be nimble, but the result was inevitable. A bolt finally struck him, and Dragonair maintained the connection of electricity for a good few seconds before Lance ordered it to halt. When it did so, Char was frozen in mid-step – except for the flames on its back, which still roared wildly, occasionally letting off tiny sparks which never reached the ground.

“Wrap attack!”

Hiro knew he was doomed now – the paralysis had well and truly set slithered towards its target. Helplessly, he watched as Dragonair Hydro Pumped the fire on Charcoal’s back in and there was no breaking it now. He could not fight back now. Helplessly, he watched as Dragonair’s thin body entwined itself around his pokemon, and the Typhlosion did not move, although odd strangled screams came from its mouth. Helplessly, he watched as Dragonair clung tightly to the firebeast, then with strength that was not purely physical, the dragon hauled its prey across the snow to the ice and water. It was a lost cause.

But a fire in Charcoal’s eyes, that Hiro did not see, said otherwise. It said that there was still a chance for a win. Slowly, Char began to search within itself for that little hidden chamber – that chamber he had only ever had to use twice before in his life. The little section within him that had the extra ammunition. Not just will power. A bit more.

Dragonair had hauled Charcoal almost to the ice now. The stiff Typhlosion was trying to make himself heavier, but of course that didn’t really do much, so he called upon that little reservoir of strength and protection. Just as Dragonair turned to look at him with gloating pools of eyes, Char squeezed his entire body as best he could – and then he found that little chamber. Hot, glowing, burning red coals came flying out his mouth, from somewhere deep down. They were red-hot bullets, coals shooting out at his enemy, the last defence mechanism that Typhlosion had left. One hit Dragonair in the eye, others struck him elsewhere. The crowd ‘ooohed’ again.

A smile flickered across Hiro’s face. Perhaps some hope remained, after all.

*

“I told him and told him,” said Marina with a smile on her cherry lips. She picked up the tall, clear glass and sculled the remains of her apple juice. “But he wouldn’t listen, of course. He was very disappointed in himself.”

Miki Langston, soon to be Miki Walters, faced her at the table. The two were in the back garden of the Ecruteak Dance Theatre. It was a massive wooden building, very old but sturdy, and very beautiful. The garden was a delight in itself – there were lush green lawns everywhere, interspersed with trees of all kinds – mostly ones which offered much shade and required little maintainance. Miki had taken Marina through a dancing lesson that morning, and now they were relaxing under the shade of an Teak tree.

“Well, I’ve only known Gavin a short time, but that really seems like him,” Miki smiled, picking up the shallow china tray which held an exotic assortment of fruits. She offered it to Marina, who took a couple of grapes.

“Thanks Miki,” said Marina. “So do you take people through these routines very often or was I just an exception?”

Miki was halfway through an orange quarter. She was holding it in her mouth as she adjusted the clip in her sleek black hair. “Sorry,” she muttered at last, taking the orange out. “No, we always do things like that. Although we don’t treat our customers to fruit and juice every time. That’s just a perk of being a friend of Lisa’s.”

“Thank you very much,” Marina said for the millionth time. Miki smiled to herself but ignored her otherwise. “When is Lisa coming back, by the way?”

“Well, any day now I think,” said Miki. “She’ll have to come home soon, Christmas is only a couple of days away, and I suppose you can’t wait forever.”

“Well, I was just coming to see Anna’s memorial,” Marina said with the tiniest of sniffles. “and we arranged to meet over Christmas anyway. So I can wait. It would be great to catch up again. Could you please pass the apple juice?”

Miki complied by passing the half-full carafe to her newfound friend.

“Thanks. I’m not taking up your time, am I?” asked Marina. “Like, you don’t need to be back at work do you?”

“No, it’s alright. I’ve finished for the day – Tom’s taking me out to finalise plans for the catering. The wedding’s only a couple of months away.”

“Oh, of course. Where are you going to have it held?”

“The ceremony will be at St Lucia’s Church near the lake. The reception is actually going to be here – right in this garden. It’s like a fairyland at night. The only problem is making sure that that stupid gym isn’t operating during the reception.” Miki jerked her head to the ugly stone building just beyond the green hedge that bordered the dance Theatre.

“MIKI! I’m here,” called Tom, approaching from the side door.

Miki smiled to Marina. “Looks like I have to go now. Thanks for coming. I’ll show you to the door.”

[Gavin Luper]

Part 2 of Chapter 37:

*

“Damn this is embarrassing – and dangerous,” muttered Hiro through clenched teeth. Fifty feet in front of him, Furret was bouncing around, just barely evading the dripping fangs ready to slice into it.

The battle had gone well, but perhaps not quite well enough. After Char managed to summon his inner strength, he overpowered Dragonair and won that battle, meaning a field change had been in order. However, there had been some sort of technical difficulty and the Ice Field could not be moved. So the last two rounds would be played on the Ice Field.

Lance sent out next one of his best fighters – Pythir, the dangerous evolution of Arbok. It had used a very effective Acid attack to burn Char and then wrapped him up, squeezing the fighting spirit out of the firebeast. Hiro had lost a third fighter. He only had three left, but Lance only had two.

Then disaster struck – Hiro accidentally threw out the wrong pokeball – he had meant to reuse Dewgong but had released his Furret, who he didn’t think was completely sane. Now Furret was bouncing around in glee at having been used for the first time in ages – and Pythir was ready to strike.

“Use Agility!” cried Hiro. The Pythir – a long, purple and black python – was drooling and rearing up at the bouncing Furret, making occasional snaps at the furry thing with fangs that were the size of baseball bats.

The result was that Furret began bouncing faster and more haphazardly. Worst of all, it seemed to be having the time of its life and didn’t mind that it could be bitten by a snake that was ten times bigger than it.

“Acid!”

Pythir hissed angrily and spat a blob of acid at the bouncy Furret, who simply began bouncing in the opposite direction, and tried to go up the side of the hill. Pythir tried to follow it, slithering uphill, still spitting out blobs of gooey green acid. Furret saw that it was going to catch up. ‘Oh goody,’ it thought in it’s crazy, tiny mind. ‘That nice snakey creature is coming to say hello! Wheee!’

As Furret thought ‘wheee’, it ricocheted off a rocky outcrop of the hill and smashed with its full force into Pythir’s head. Hiro looked on with near-amazement. Furret – that stupid thing that he wished he had never caught – was boncing up and down on Pythir’s head like it were on a trampoline.

“REEEE!” cheered Furret.

Lisa, Gavin, Darius and the rest of the three thousand spectators cheered Furret on, and it gained huge confidence. Enough so that it began slamming into the stunned snake harder than ever. Until Pythir was really looking injured, and spaced out. In fact, it’s eyes were goggling and Pythir looked like it may have received concussion! Surely it couldn’t withstand the attacks from the Incredible Bouncing Furret for much longer?

“Pythir, come back!” screamed Lance, and Lisa saw the raw emotion on his face. Concern. Fear for his pokemon’s safety. Shock of his near-losing, and of how Hiro had just let Furret attack Pythir mercilessly, untikl he almost got brain-damage. The scarlet light sucked Pythir back to safety, and Lance immediately gave Pythir’s pokeball to the medic who was on standby. The medic took the ball and rushed off down below the stadium.

“I didn’t want to do this,” said Lance softly into the microphone. He took hold of the chain around his neck, and pulled it up until a tiny silver charm emerged. He held it between finger and thumb, and pressed it. “Revelum Dragonite,” Lance said, and the charm glowed orange, then white, and then it exploded it a burst of brightness.

A Dragonite the colour of rose-gold appeared on the snow. It was bright and shiny and spectacular, but, from her position in the front row of the grandstand, Lisa saw that it had the same glint in its eye as Charcoal had had; not arrogant, not angry, not overly determined, just ready to go.

“See? That’s how the charm works,” hissed Darius in Lisa’s ear.

She nodded, dazed. It certainly was a good hands-free alternative to a pokeball. The way of the new millenium.

Furret was looking blissfully happy. “Re re?” he said loudly, scampering down the hill and running to greet a new concussion victim. Or so he thought; Dragonite’s odd antennae glowed yellow and sent out a Spark of electricity at the rubbery Furret. The furry squirrel creature squealed with joy as it was electrocuted, then rolled down the face of the mountain, slipping neatly into the ring-shaped pool.

“Up! Get up!” Hiro yelled, searching around for a way for Furret to attack from a safe distance. His eyes fell on the patch of snowfields. “Throw snowballs at him!” cried Hiro. His pokemon emerged from the water and quickly headed for the ample fields of snow, scampering with a grin on its face.

“Draco, Ice POWER!”

Lisa blinked. Dragonite had a nickname? Then why did Lance call him Dragonite before?

Dragonite – or Draco – acted swiftly. With barely a beat of his razor-sharp wings, he raised up into the air, gliding majestically to the top of the small mountain. Feet firmly planted on the snow summit, Draco stared a long way away, into space. For a moment, all was still, except the tiny Furret, who seemed to be making a snowman instead of snowballs. But the snowman has a small body and a massive head teetering on the edge.

“Furret, stop playing. I mean it – make snowballs and pelt Dragonite with them!”

The message travelled through the squirrel’s brain slowly, but when it arrived, the stupid creature complied. It began making a very small stash of snowballs.

But soon all eyes turned to the golden Dragonite. His eyes were not vacant anymore – they were filled with light the colour of snow mixed with the periwinkle-blue sky. And while everybody watched the rare creature, the Ice field began to shake slightly. The snow atop the summit of the mountain shook, some fell off and slid a short distance. Draco lifted his goldy-orange arms up high, and then, with the sound of thunder, every inch of ice or snow on the field rose into the air. The Ice shattered into small pieces, the snow clumped together and the snowman crumbled. The snow and ice rose up to the height of the mountain, hovering over the large pool and rocky ground left behind, in the middle of which stood a very cheerful-looking Furret.

“Uh oh,” whispered Hiro.
“Re re!” smiled Furret.
“Now,” ordered Lance.
“Draooo!” roared Draco.

The tonne or so of frozen water dropped suddenly, and thumped down across the entire field, flattening Furret instantly and creating a cyclone of snow. The snow tornado whirled across the field, picking Furret up somehow in its travels and knocking it around. Then, as soon as everything had begun, it stopped. The results were obvious; A Dragonite towering on the mountaintop, a Furret flattened into the snow, its tail sticking out to indicate where it was.

“Damn,” remarked Hiro simply, returning Furret to his pokeball. He knew it wouldn’t last long. But it had actually knocked out Pythir! At least it did have some purpose.

“HIRO FERGUSON, THE CHALLENGER OF THE DAY, HAS WORN LANCE DOWN TO JUST ONE FINAL POKEMON. HOWEVER, NOW HIS POKEMON ONLY NUMBER TWO – CAN HE MANAGE TO MAKE THE DISTANCE AND BECOME A CHAMPION HIMSELF?”

For the first time during the battle, Hiro actually saw the goal up ahead. It was so very very close – within his grasp. His pokemon had performed exceptionally well, and only had to defeat this Dragonite. Dewgong and his final choice. But Hiro was unsure if they could pull it off – this Dragonite looked stronger than any of the others. Why couldn’t it be another Gyarados?

“Go Dewgong! Ice Beam!” cried Hiro.

“Gong!” Dewgong leapt from the ball and slid across the sheets of ice, straight into the pool.

“Perfect,” said Lance quickly, obvious in the swing of battle mode. “Steel Beam attack!”

Lisa erupted into giggles and Gavin snorted and took his eyes away from the binoculars in amusement. “Steel beam,” gasped Lisa between laughs, but Darius did not even smile. In fact, he looked angry.

Dragonite acted quicker than ever, throwing back his head and emitting a beam of silver light, directly into the pool. But instead of acting like light, it seemed to become solid once it hit the water. And Lisa’s eyes widened. A solid steel beam was forming as the light from the beam somehow condensed. And it was forcing the water out of the pool.

Neither Lisa nor Gavin were laughing now. There was a clunk as the steel beam hit the bottom of the pool – which must have been very deep. So this was a physical attack AND a special attack. Very dangerous; Draco was trying to hit Dewgong with one of the beams and knock it out without having to go near it.

A few more Steel Beams were fired off – they didn’t seem so funny now at all. A volley of Ice Beams were being shot from Dewgong from beneath the surface – three hit, causing a lot of damage. But Draco kepy Steel beaming, and within minutes there was a sickening clunk from far below. Lisa deducted the worst, and she was right. A few moments later and Dewgong’s body floated to the top of the water; It had fainted.

“Return,” spat Hiro. Draco was too strong. He was finished. Surely. Taking his final pokeball, Hiro’s gaze lingered on it. My first capture, he thought with a hint of nostalgia. Here goes, then.

With the knowledge of the laughter to come, Hiro reinforced his will, and threw out the ball.

“I choose you … Weedle!”

Lance did not laugh. Hiro did not laugh. Three thousand others did - hysterically.

Lisa, in the front row, allowed only a small giggle; she was thinking. Why would he send out a Weedle? Unless he had had it for a long time and it was really strong – but how strong could a Weedle be? Suddenly, a memory that she had not intended to keep flashed back at her. It was not very important, but she recalled that back in Goldenrod, Hiro had only four pokemon. One was Cyndaquil – Charcoal. One was Heracross. One was his Venonat, now a Venomoth. And Kris had made mention that his other pokemon was a bug. His Weedle – they’d been together for quite some time, then.

“Draco, Tail Whip,” said Lance. He was not laughing, but was slightly amused. He knew that Hiro was a good battler, and surely had a good reason for sending out a tiny little bug against one of the strongest pokemon in the world.

Draco soared to the ground, which was covered still in snow (which was slowly melting under the lights) and landed about ten feet from Weedle.

“Reflect!”

The rose-gold coloured tail rose and came crashing down towards the bug (which was big for it’s specie, about 1 foot and a half). Before it struck, a hemisphere of shimmering light appeared as a safety bubble over Weedle. The tail struck it with massive crushing force, then reflected off the barrier and hit Draco in his face. The reflect stayed intact.

“WOO GO WEEDLE!”
“WEEDLE RULES!”
“I LIKE BUGS! I LIKE BUGS!”

Common cries from the crowd were heard, Lisa’s being the first one.

Lance was looking on in disbelief. Weedles did not learn reflect. They couldn’t. But that one had.

“Weedle, Double Poison Sting attack!” screamed Hiro.

“The hell?” Lance actually said it aloud, breaking his calm and all-knowing front. Weedle couldn’t do that without evolving! IT COULDN’T! “Draco defend your- … self.”

He finished the sentence slowly and with a sense of shock. Weedle had squeaked out a few syllables of its name before leaping up through the air, practically defying gravity, and curling into a ‘U’ shape as it charged through the air at the unseeing Draco. The head and tail barbs both struck Draco’s left leg, causing more than a scratch; blood had been drawn.

Weedle tried the same manoeuvre again, and was grazed by the sharp tail of Draco. The dragon was hurt not – although it might not have been a major injury, it did sting, and the effects of Dewgong’s earlier Ice Beams were really starting to take their toll.

Lance couldn’t comprehend it but he had to; this Weedle was strong.

“Thunder, Draco!”

The antennae sparked with built-up static electricity for a split second, then they formed a star of lightning bolts, all shooting out in different directions. The Reflect was actually still standing, though it had been left behind when Weedle attacked with Poison Sting, so Weedle was a good five metres away, right in the path of two incoming shocks.

Then the amazing bug did something nobody – except Hiro and one other spectator – could have seen coming. He dug his front barb into the ground, and used it as a pivot to lauch himself into the air. And as it looked like he would land, Weedle dug his tail spike into the snow, and launched off again. The result was a very talented set of cartwheels, dodging every single thunderbolt. Weedle finally stopped his routine – safely behind the reflect, which was starting to look a bit weaker. One of the electric bolts had hit it during the acrobatic display.

Draco and Lance were both obviously getting annoyed now.

“Draco, use Hydro Pump, then follow it up with outrage!”
“Weedle, try a Pin Missile attack and safeguard!”

Amidst the dribbling of the commentator, the rose-gold Dragonite barely inhaled for long before it gushed out astonishing amounts of clean, clear water. Most of it was on-target, and struck the weakening reflect. Hiro was proud that it had lasted for so long. The water splashed off harmlessly, but Draco took another breath and intensified the jet of water. The reflect shattered, and the tail end of the attack struck Weedle.

But the bug was tougher than it looked, and with a surge of adrenaline, Lisa in the grandstand began to think that maybe the battle wasn’t such an obvious victory for Lance. Weedle was doing the unthinkable – putting up a fight – and he seemed to be able to hold his own against Draco.

While Draco began glowering with the onset of his Outrage attack, Weedle focused and from his front barb on his head shot two small, pointy, thin barbs, like the needles of a cactus, or maybe slightly wider. The two barbs struck Draco in the side, sticking in tightly and stinging it like hell. The dragon forgot about his commands for the first time in many years – the poison was stinging, itching and infecting him. It was spreading through his body already, and while he tried to crazily pull the spikes out, Weedle fired another two, injecting them into his wing.

“Ruuu!!!!” bellowed Draco in agony, forgetting about the first two barbs and trying to pull out the two which were lodged in his sensitive wings.

“WEEE!” cried Weedle, firing off another two barbs, striking Draco in the chest. This time he seemed to frantic to notice – his wings were throbbing and the poison from all three hits was spreading around his system now – the more frantic he got, the faster it pumped around. Soon it would be injuring him, making him sick.

Draco began firing out random but powerful attacks – Ice beams being the favourite, as they were easy and quick enough, followed by the very accurate Thunderwaves. Weedle was hit by the tip of an ice beam, and then got bombarded with a surprisingly accurate bubblebeam. The battle was fierce, but was taking its toll on both fighters.

“Duuuuuuuulllll!” squeaked Weedle, remembering it’s orders finally and projecting a veil of stars into the air before it. The golden stars – not unlike a Swift attack chasing itself – hovered just above Weedle’s head, shielding it as best it could. Weedle was incredibly lucky – no sooner had it set the defense up than a stray thunderwave came streaking at it. The stars of the safeguard, shining radiently, leapt up to block the attack as though they had a mind of their own. The electricity was deflected.

The crowd were mostly on their feet now, screaming and barracking for whoever they wanted to win – mostly it was Weedle.

“Forget the outrage! Solarbeam instead!”

Hiro waited for the right moment, until Draco had collected sunlight and had the greenish-white orb in his hands, then, spurred on by the screaming crowd and the rush pumping throughout his body, he yelled out. “WEEDLE, USE MIRROR COAT!”

Smiling very faintly, Weedle nodded at his trainer with a determined “wee”, then proceeded to respond. His segmented body took on a reflective metallic lustre, very similar to a mirror. Lance tried to retract his orders, but the Solarbeam was too strong for Draco to handle anyway – it burst out of his hands and shot with stunning velocity at Weedle. The Mirror Coat did not protect Weedle from the strike; he was knocked off his feet and thrown back onto the snow, which was well and truly melting away.

Then the Mirror Coat kicked in.

Dazzling crystals sprayed out from the metallic lustre which coated Weedle – they spun in a formation not unlike a double-helix shape, then, although the ill and injured Dragonite tried to escape by flight, the crystalline formation caught up to him, tearing into him with extreme force – double the damage of the Solarbeam.

Draco was swaying now – dizzy and failing. Hiro had regained the upper hand in the fight – if Weedle could maintain the stance he WOULD win the entire match – CHAMPION HIRO!

“Weedle …” Hiro searched for an attack to use. Weedle was looking weak – the

“Hyper Beam,” yelled Lance. “Full Power, give it everything you’ve got!”

Draco responded quickly as usual – though he was worn and looked droopy – forming the last orb of light in his jaws. Hiro was rapidly searching for a technique – and then the day he caught Weedle – outside Cherrygrove City – came flooding back.

“Weedle, String Shot attack!” cried Hiro urgently.

“Weeedllle!”

And with a final act of determination, Weedle opened its mouth and released the long, ample, sticky thread at Draco, who was standing barely two metres away. Weedle aimed first for the mouth, and after a moment had stuck the jaws of his opponent together. Then, seeing that the Hyper Beam could form no longer, Weedle set about destroying any other chance Draco had to win – the webby thread quickly bound his wings together, preventing any flight from the winged giant, then the string aimed at his feet bound the large feet to the ground. Weedle looked up, shaking in pain from the blast of the Solarbeam, then sprinted as only a Weedle can, with full force behind it, leaping up and tackling Draco in the ribs. The giant moaned through webbed teeth, shook dangerously, and fell the the ground.

Defeated at last.

“WEEDLE! YOU WON! YOU DID IT!” Hiro screamed wildly, as the crowd erupted hugely into a cheering and screaming mob. Hiro could hardly hear himself screaming as he raced to the centre of the field, scooping Weedle up and hugging him tightly. The unconscious form of Draco was forgotten amidst the screaming and cheering and clapping. Lisa yelled herself hoarse, while Gavin and Darius preferred to be a slight bit more civilised.

“HIRO FERGUSON, A TRAINER OF HUMBLE BEGINNINGS IN NEW BARK TOWN HARDLY FOUR MONTHS AGO BECOMES THE CHAMPION! LANCE HUDSON HAS BEEN DEFEATED FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE 1999!”

“YAYYYY HIRO!” cried Lisa.

Lance stood back, half grinning to see the rise of such a brilliant trainer – only four months to defeat him, what talent! He turned slightly to the body of Draco, and clasped the charm on his necklace.

“RETRAHERE!” He said softly, and Draco dissolved into the depths of the charm.

Hiro’s vision was misted with tears as people came running out from nowhere to hand him something – a huge golden trophy, prizes and recognition. His goal had been reached. He had achieved it all at last.

Hiro was finally a champion.

*

Different place, different time, very different atmosphere.

“Tell me now,” a voice demanded, sharper than a scythe.

The room was so cold, dark, dreary – the very aura of the place was of evil. The final spears of dusklight failed to penetrate the tiny, barred windows, which were clothed in layers of dust. There was barely any light in the entire building, save for a tiny candle on the desk.

Another voice gasped back. “I already said, I DON’T KNOW.”

The first voice fell to a dangerous low-pitch. The man who accompanied it looked murderous – something which was not unusual at all. The man was tall, well-built and had very dark eyes. He held another man up against a wall, glaring at him with loathing he had never been able to control.

“You tell me everything you know, or you die,” said the first man, the dark man, triggering his captive’s memory with a dagger.

Shallow breaths accompanied the voice. “Alright. This is all I know.

“I saw them … together … this week, about Monday I think. I had just analysed the … you-know-what … and I was in the town. I already knew about Lucas by then, so I was wary. I knew you had someone on the project before her, and I wondered who. As I was wondering, I saw him in the middle of town, walking along with some friends as though he didn’t have a care in the world. Then I worked it out, so I tried to … clear things up at the lab …”

The Dark Man’s voice broke in scathingly. “You were not trying to clear things up … I know exactly why you went back. You took them … you BURNED them, didn’t you?”

“I didn’t … of course I didn’t … I never …”

“You stole them, burned them, then tried to escape –”

“I wouldn’t! Sir … I wouldn’t do that … I didn’t. The documents are still here, everything is still here, I’ll show you!” The man plunged a hand down into his pockets, searched around for a minute, then pulled out a pokeball. He threw it out before his boss could react, and the figure that emerged was interesting to the Dark Man. A Murkrow, with an entire file tucked beneath its wing.

The Dark Man turned his face back to his captive. “So, you didn’t take them at all, eh? Explain that then.”

“Sir … boss … I took them to save them from the fires. I never meant to steal them for good.”

“You did so. Give them here.”

The captive man jerked his head and ordered Murkrow to hand over the file, which was full and rather lumpy. The black bird complied reluctantly. The Dark Man took the file, tucked it beneath his arm, and smiled, his white teeth shining in the flickering candle light.

“Tell me everything else. Don’t lie again.”

The victim complied quickly, spilling out everything, and then, when he was finished and all the secrets were squeezed out of him, the Dark Man smiled viciously again.

“You didn’t tell me the truth the first time.”

“Please, let me go … I’ll be good, loyal … never again …”

Dark eyes smiled. “Yes. Never again will you decieve me …” The victim’s eyes were brimmed with tears of relief, but just for a yoctosecond. Then – “Yes, never again …” repeated the Dark Man, his hand clutching the dagger with vengence.

“You lying, betraying, backstabbing bastard!”

The Dark Man gripped the silver dagger, thrusting it into the stomach of his victim. It slit open with sickening screams from the victim man, who looked ready to throw up. But instead, his stomach never got the chance. The Dark Man was stabbing it wildly, with sadistic pleasure only a madman would know, as the acids spilled out onto the floor. The eyes of the victim popped out of his head, the dark man began to stab wherever he could – the side, the crook of his arm, the cheek, the eyeballs, the lungs, the heart. Warm, crimson blood flowed onto the floor, spattering and staining the cement. The dark man sliced the heart of his victim one more time with that mental glint in his eye and that sickening, ugly evil in his own heart. Then he gripped the bloodstained dagger, wrenching it from the corpse of the man who had once been doing his will, and turned to the Murkrow. But it was gone, taken flight to some unknown refuge minutes ago. The file remained. The Dark Man picked it up, staining it with the blood and fluids on his hands.

Then he gave a hollow, piercing, deadly laugh, filled with nothing but hatred and a sick, sick mind. His heart was blackened with fury and ugliness, his soul blemished by the blood of another man.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Next up on Lisa the Legend

After all this time, Hiro’s won the Johto League … well, he’s defeated the champion anyway. What’s left to come?

Lance looked at him curiously, but continued anyway, sitting down beside a large statue of a very ancient trainer. “There are some others … a very few others … who have defeated me before. They are scattered across the world. If you want a further challenge, seek them, Hiro.”

Around the corner comes a strike that Gavin’s psychic powers could not foresee.

“I need to speak to Gavin Luper,” she said crisply. Lisa stared at her in confusion.

“Why?” she asked, keeping the door open only a fraction.

“Something’s happened to his Uncle.”

And Hiro has just one more hurdle to leap before he can really become a master.

“Hello Kristal,” said Hiro coolly. Tyler lurked behind, looking sulky.

“Hello Hiro,” said Kristal, almost as coolly. But she couldn’t hold it in any further. “Oh, come on! All three of us are here together … let’s have a battle then!

Chapter 38 – Typhlosion versus Golem versus Misdreavus.

[Gavin Luper]

I did it! It's about four days late, its title has again changed but luckily this chapter is hideously long (by my standards) so as usual it gets broken up!

Have fun guys, this hopefully has been worth the wait!
-----------------------------------------------------

Chapter 38 – Tyler versus Hiro versus Kristal.


Hiro held the golden medallion in his hand, waiting patiently as Lance threaded the silky ribbon through it and then tied a knot. “There you are,” Lance said with a look of satisfaction, as though he had never tied a knot before. “You’re officially a Johto League Champion. That medallion’s recognised by leagues across the world.”

“I still don’t believe it,” said Hiro, holding the medal and tilting it so as to read the engraved words. “That I won, I mean. Not to rub it in or anything!” he added earnestly.

Lance looked impassive. “It was probably about time I lost, to be completely honest. The last person – before this year’s comps anyway – who defeated me was some Drake guy … and that was three years ago. Since then, I’ve had it pretty easy. Except the other day,” he added to himself.

He continued. “I was talking to my son before the match – he said I should be careful, but when I showed him your line-up for the last four matches, he agreed you didn’t stand a chance.”

Hiro sniffed.

“But you did,” said Lance quietly. “And how you did it I will never know. Your Weedle was the most talented pokemon I have ever seen. And it probably always will be – because although a Dragonite can use Hyper Beams and rage attacks, and it looks pretty amazing, a Weedle who can Mirror Coat and do acrobatic routines is by far the more talented one, because it can push past it’s boundaries. Dragons are meant to know great attacks. Bugs aren’t.”

Before Hiro could work out what Lance had meant by that – whether he was saying it in a disappointed, angry, proud or joyful way – the Dragon Master had swished his cape and begun walking briskly across the tiny tiled room.

“Where are we going?” asked Hiro.

“Don’t you know – oh, you wouldn’t, I suppose,” Lance gestured for Hiro to follow him before continuing. “Before the Stadium was built, there was a valley here. And beneath the valley, underground, is a system of caves and tunnels. The oldest of these are where we take the champions.”

Lance was now going very quickly. He had gone through the first two rooms, which just looked like basements, and was now descending some stairs which were uneven and dusty, but looked hardly worn at all.

“To do what?” Hiro quavered.

Lance chuckled. “We have to assess you.”

*********

“I hear that their nightly rates are something like 200 bucks,” moaned Gavin.

“I hear that they have really strict rules on noise and visitors,” nodded Darius slowly.

“I hear that we’re only going to stay there for one night, so it doesn’t really matter does it?” demanded Lisa, seizing them both by the wrist and dragging the boys through the revolving glass doors of the Silver Slumber Hotel. It was a four-storey building which looked very costly but at the same time very luxurious. The sign in the front gardens boasted two pools, spa and sauna, a gymnasium and tennis courts, along with a restaurant.

“Oooh, posh,” ooohed Gavin as they entered. Darius grinned.

“The check-in desk is just over there. I’ve stayed here before,” he added, pointing to a mahogany desk across the vast expanse of tiled foyer. Lisa crossed the foyer determinedly, still holding the boys by the wrist.

Darius shook his wrist free. “I have to use the toilet. Be right back.” He moved off.

The ground floor of the hotel was simple but still gave the impression. Lisa glanced at it out of the corner of her golden-brown eyes; marble columns with burgundy seating around them, a small pool with plants and fish, potted palms and ferns, a water fountain and two lifts. Golden, red and emerald colour tinsel was draped liberally throughout the room, and a massive Christmas tree stood in the centre of the foyer, complete with lights and presents.

“Good afternoon. Welcome to the Silver Slumber Hotel. Can I help you?” A blonde-haired woman in scarlet clothes and a black opal necklace leaned over the counter. Her hands were dripping with jewellery and her lipstick was too red to look human.

Lisa took a few steps toward the counter, and looked her up and down before responding. “My friend -” she let go of Gavin’s wrist and gestured to him “and I would like a double room for one night please.”

“Would you be with a parent or guardian?” the receptionist asked briskly.

“No,” said Lisa quickly. “Just us thanks.”

“How old are you?” she said, more inquisitively.

“Depends,” Gavin butted in. “Is it cheaper if we’re under twelve? Cause I’m eleven.”

The receptionist looked at Gavin’s tall frame. “I think not. Under sixteens are not allowed in here unless accompanied by a parent or adult guardian.”

Gavin brightened. “Oh well that’s alright then, I’m nearly sixteen really. Fifteen and ten months.”

“You look eleven to me,” the receptionist said dryly. “What’s your name boy?”

“Gavin Thomas Luper.”

Lisa s******ed. “You never told me your middle name.”

But the receptionist had leaned back a bit, and a frown had taken over her expression. As if a reflex action, she grabbed hold of a nearby pen and quickly scrawled something down. “Mr Luper, unless you have a parent or adult guardian, you are not permitted to spend a night at the Silver Slumber Hotel.”

“No need to get all narky,” sooked Gavin, wandering off to see the Christmas tree. He took a Moon Ball off his belt and released Natu to sulk to.

Lisa was feeling distressed. “We really need somewhere to stay tonight, miss. We already tried the other hotels in town; they’re full up because of the League Battles recently. All we ask is for one night.”

“Unless you have a parent or adult guardian, you are not permitted to spend a night at the Silver Slumber Hotel,” the woman repeated robotically. Lisa was agitated by her constant tone of voice.

“If you’d just listen to what we -”

“Unless you have a parent or adult guardian, you are not per –”

“Oh my God, shut the hell up,” Lisa cried. “Listen, Tiffany,” she said, reading the woman’s name badge. “In case you haven’t noticed, that rule is absolutely pointless because most trainers are under sixteen anyway and this is where they come to battle. If you had an iota of sense in that little blonde featherhead, you would allow us into your bloody hotel for one teeny little night because we are RESPONSIBLE TEENAGERS AND WE ARE NOT GOING TO BE LOUD AND CAUSE ANY TROUBLE!”

“I told you, missy, unless you have a parent –”

“OH MY GOD STOP IT ALREADY.”

“Security,” said Tiffany into her desk phone.

“Excuse me Miss Rutherford,” Darius strolled up from behind Lisa and leaned over the counter calmly. “I’m sorry, my friend forgot to mention she’s under the care of me and my father at the moment.” He raised an eyebrow at her. “You know, Lance Hudson?”

Tiffany’s expression changed, though it was obvious she was trying not to show it. She began stuttering away pointlessly. After about five minutes, Darius had got Lisa and Gavin a double room at half price.

“You’re welcome,” he grinned, handing the key to Lisa, who gazed at him open-mouthed.

*********

The cave was very vast; the roof was littered with uneven stalactites and was quite low, but there seemed to be no walls to bound the cavern. Evidently it had been modernised to a degree – a huge computer apparatus was near the entrance, a sink and basin were opposite it, and the room was filled with many statues and glass cases which contained photographs, trophies and other odds and ends.

“This is one of the deepest-down caverns in Silver City,” Lance said to Hiro, as they entered down the staircase. Hiro gazed around in awe, but Lance took no time to familiarise him with the room.

“All you have to do is place your pokeballs in this machine,” he explained, gesticulating to a large part of the computer apparatus. “It will register your team of six as the winning team against me on this particular date.”

Hiro handed three pokeballs to Lance then placed the other three in the sockets in the machine himself. Lance looked at them, rearranged them for some reason, then pressed a green button – glass cases clamped over the spheres and the one light bulb in the room went out. The computer screen blinked on.

Heracross zoomed onto the screen. His stats appeared on a readout on the screen. Lance nodded, pressed a blue button, and the level 44 Heracross became registered; a blue shimmer shot from Heracross’ pokeball through a tube into the computer.

The same followed with the rest of Hiro’s team – Level 47 Magneton, Level 49 Dewgong, Level 57 Typhlosion, Level 39 Furret …

When Weedle appeared on the screen, Lance cursed aloud. He seemed to be choking on the concept, and turned to Hiro, who grinned.

Weedle – Level 81.

“No wonder Draco didn’t make it. Your Weedle was so experienced! And it’s defence and speed are astronomical!”

Hiro was feeling smug, but he tried not to show it. “Not really astronomical, we just trained hard I spose …”

Lance was laughing to himself as he pressed the blue button for the last time, and Weedle became registered. Then a picture of Hiro – taken at the beginning of the league ceremonies – appeared, with all his statistics.

“Impressive,” Lance said. “Seventy-two pokemon in total. Well done.”

The registration was finished. “Congratulations. Any pokemon league database across the world will now recognise you as a champion of the Johto League. The medal also proves that. As does this …” The computer spewed out eight pages from what must have been a printer. Lance produced a stapler from a drawer and clipped it all together, then handed it to Hiro. “Your database info. You can keep the hard copy.”

“Thanks,” muttered Hiro.

Lance muttered something in Latin, and the lights came back on. He then casually strolled to the sink and poured himself a glass of water. Hiro stood there for a minute, retrieving his pokeballs, then, as Lance seemed to be ignoring him, he spoke.

“So that’s it then?” he said quietly.

“Hmmm?” Lance bubbled.

“I’m finished the league. Don’t you have any further instructions for me?”

Lance swallowed. “Well, not really. You’re in control of your own life. Go do whatever.”

“No, there must be a next step or something. Isn’t there something harder?”

“You’ve beaten the Champion of a major league.” Lance paused. Hiro coughed loudly, as though he hadn’t yet come to that realisation. Lance looked at him curiously, but continued anyway, sitting down beside a large statue of a very ancient trainer. “There are some others … a very few others … who have defeated me before. They are scattered across the world. If you want a further challenge, seek them, Hiro.”

“But aren’t they scattered everywhere? It would take ages to find each of them. And to know whether they had beaten you or not.”

An evil grin appeared on Lance’s face. “A true Master would have the passion to seek them.”

And Hiro shut up. There was a very long pause, then Lance spoke again. “This room isn’t actually an enclosed one, by the way.” He pointed to the dark space near the computer apparatus where the wall would have been. “I know it looks like endless pitch black, but if you keep going, you’ll emerge into the outside. If you are going to begin your next journey, begin it there.”

With that, the Dragon Master swished his cape, and began going up the stairs again. Hiro called out to him.

“I’m going to take that challenge.”

Lance stopped in his tracks, and seemed to acknowledge what Hiro had said, then disappeared up the stairs without a word. Somehow, Hiro felt that everything between them had been satisfactorily finalised.

*********

“Bouncy, bouncy, bouncy!” squealed Lisa, jumping up and down on the queen size bed in her hotel room. Elekid and Aipom were doing likewise, quite enjoying it too. Fiskmire and Dratini had gone with Gavin to the pool and Lisa and her two pokemon had the room to themselves.

It was a very clean and spacious apartment – fully self contained with an ensuite, kitchenette and vast lounge room. There was a balcony, which overlooked the entire city and hazy mountain range too.

A knock on the door brought Lisa back to reality. She took one last, cushiony, springy step and landed on the carpet, running for the door. Gavin had a key, so it must have been Darius. Once Lisa got to the door, however, she decided to be safety conscious (‘Play it safe’ said a very annoying voice in her head). She looked through the little eyehole and saw a medium-height brown haired woman, whose hair was messed up and she looked on the verge of breaking down.

Lisa clipped the chain on the door and opened it a fraction. “Hello?” She said innocently.

The woman caught her eye, and seemed to be trying to regain some of her composure. “I need to speak to Gavin Luper,” she said crisply. Lisa stared at her in confusion.

“Why?” she asked, keeping the door open only a fraction.

“Something’s happened to his Uncle.”

Lisa could hear something clattering and crashing in her bedroom and knew Aipom was up to something, or Elekid, but suddenly her mind clicked. “Not … not Eusine?”

The worn-looking woman at the door looked overcome with relief. “Yes. Please let me see Gavin. You have no idea how hard it was to find him.”

That ran through Lisa’s head very quickly; how had this woman tracked Gavin down? After all, he’d been travelling with her for two months, and didn’t have parents. His only guardian was Eusine …

“What’s happened to Eusine?” Lisa asked seriously, and pre-empted the woman’s refusal to tell her. “I know Eusine, we’ve met before and he … entrusted me with something.”

The woman almost collapsed, but again tried to regain her composure. “He was killed,” she said simply, and her voice was much much stronger than Lisa had expected it to be. Lisa felt her entire body go into shock – not because she was deeply emotionally affected by this, but she honestly had not seen or felt it coming. And also, she knew that her friend Gavin would be devastated.

The woman spoke. “Please … please let me speak to Gavin Luper.”

Lisa’s mouth was opening and closing, for lack of anything better to do. Slowly, she recovered from the shock. “He’s not here right now,” she said, gulping shallow breaths of air. “but I can show you where he is … he’s at the pool.”

As soon as the words had passed Lisa’s lips, the woman swung her handbag up higher and ran frantically down the bright hallway towards the stairs. Lisa didn’t even bother to point out that there were lifts just around the corner.

“Let’s go see Gavin,” Lisa said softly to Aipom and Elekid. They were already scrambling out through the gap in the doorway, towards the lifts. Lisa ducked inside and grabbed her pokegear, just in case anyone called. Then she raced after her two pokemon.

The lift reached the ground floor not long after the woman had fully descended the staircase. Lisa, Aipom and Elekid sprinted across the lobby and out the side door, which led down a winding path through a tropical jungle-like enclosure. The pool was at the end of this trail, and Lisa could see the woman just ahead of them. She called out for her to wait once or twice, but the brown-haired woman ignored her.

The gate of the pool was open when Lisa reached it, so she simply ran through. Gavin was underwater – Lisa could see his red boardies through the glittering surface of the water. All the pokemon seemed to have been playing harmoniously; Fiskmire had made friends with Lanturn and Dratini had evidently befriended Staryu to an extent (he was coiled around one of the starfish’s spikes and was dipping in and out of the water). Natu was nowhere to be seen, or Girafury.

“Gavin Luper!” the woman yelled at a very high pitch, as he surfaced up above the water. He shook his black hair off (like a dog, thought Lisa) and then caught sight of the woman.

“Melanie!” he burst out, looking stunned. “Mel … why are you here?”

“Gavin, I have to tell you something. It’s important, and serious.”

Gavin hauled himself out of the cerulean-tinged water with tanned arms, and ran up to Mel. She muttered something in his ear and began walking with him back up along the path which wound through the gardens. Lisa decided not to try to listen in, as it would obviously be a very private conversation. Instead, she dangled her legs in the water, choosing to wait until Gavin returned, however long that may be.

“Have a swim guys, there’s no hurry to go anywhere,” she said quietly.

Seconds later, she heard a strangled cry from Gavin and Mel’s direction – she had evidently broken the news to him. Lisa had never heard a man cry, but it sounded like Gavin was choking on his sobs, choking on the shock and instant grief.

Lisa lowered her head, like a sign of respect for Gavin.

[Gavin Luper]

*********

“KRISTAL! No way!” Hiro yelled.

He had followed the cavern as Lance had instructed him, and after a solid ten minutes of walking, he had emerged into broad daylight. He was in a steep and rugged mountain valley, not too far from Silver City. And the first thing he saw was Kristal and Tyler, both waiting around on a ledge on the side of the mountain cave from where he had just emerged.

“Good morning young Hiro Ferguson. Didn’t expect you to actually beat Lance.” Tyler’s crimson hair was more jagged than ever, as was his tone of voice.

“Shut up Tyler,” moaned Kristal. “Congratulations Hiro,” she added, though the voice sounded strained.

Hiro was feeling and looking confused. “How did you guys know that I won?”

“We watched the battle,” said Kristal quickly and sharply. “And why else would you be out here at the cave front? This is where all the champions come … well, except Tyler.” She threw a very happy look at him, and he scowled.

“All three of us made it to fight Lance – we were the only three.” Kristal announced, looking pleased. Her aquamarine hair was tied in the usual way, and she still had her pokegear like a necklace on her neck. It seemed that no time had passed at all since she and Hiro had split their paths in November. She was being much nicer toward him now, though still a bit frosty. “Tyler failed, though it was very very close.” She paused. “And to think, us three trainers from New Bark who left only six months ago … we made it this far.”

“Tyler wasn’t from New Bark,” Hiro pointed out with a twisted smile.

“Well he got a pokemon from Professor Elm, that’s my point,” replied Kristal, dangerously calmly and slowly.

“He stole it,” spat Hiro, loud enough for both the others to hear.

“DID NOT!” yelled Tyler, and Kris intervened between the two, who had both lunged at each other. She was holding a Great Ball, and her face was struggling between anger and excitement. “Now let’s start again.” She stepped back. “Let’s get off on a better foot than ‘NO WAY!’”

The boy settled himself down and made a conscious effort to talk in a very calm manner. “Hello Kristal,” said Hiro coolly. Tyler lurked behind, looking sulky

“Hello Hiro,” said Kristal, almost as coolly. But suddenly she couldn’t hold it in any further. “Oh, come on! All three of us are here together … let’s have a battle then!”

All the expressions changed. Kris was grinning her head off, knowing in her own mind that, according to the battles they had had with Lance, she was the strongest trainer of them all. Tyler was looking interested and even a bit over-confident. Hiro wasn’t sure whether he wanted to have another high-pressure battle immediately after the last one.

“Come on, guys, there’s plenty of room here,” urged Kris, taking a few steps back from the two boys. The area they were on was grassed, with few rocks, and the only danger that could befall the battlers was the steep slope about fifteen metres to the side, which slid all the way down to a ridge in the mountain valley. Beyond the ridge was pure mist, obscuring anything deeper down.

“Alright then,” Hiro agreed slowly. “But …”

“I don’t follow how this is supposed to work,” said Tyler, shaking his wild auburn mane. “You can’t have a battle with three people.”

“Oh yes you can,” Kris said. “It happened at the Whirlpool Cup on Red Rock Island. Lisa told me about it, didn’t she tell you Hiro?”

Hiro shook his head, then looked confused. “How’d you know she was with me?”

“I watched the match,” Kris smiled. “I saw her there, in the front row, cheering you on like mad. I presumed she must have been travelling with you again or something.”

Hiro was going to point out that she had helped him, but he didn’t want Tyler to know that, so he stayed silent. Tyler, however, did no such thing. “This Lisa … this is the one who works at the pokemon centre in Ecruteak City? The one who made Hiro win our battle that time in Goldenrod?”

“This isn’t meant to be a discussion about Lisa. This is a three-way battle. How does two-on-two-on-two sound for everyone?” There were nods from the two boys as Kris took charge. “Alright, let the mayhem begin!”

There were three balls thrown out from each angle, as every trainer took a dozen paces backwards to allow room for the makeshift battlefield. From the light emerged Venomoth, Feraligator and Crobat.

“This is going to be an absolute disaster,” giggled Kris to herself. But she sobered almost instantly. “Chompy, use Light Screen first then Safeguard from Crobat!”

Tyler had called out his orders a moment before he realised Kris had completely pre-empted his moves. “Double Acid attack and Confuse Ray!”

Hiro waited until the other two had begun their strategies. He analysed them quickly and decided on his moves. “Veno, use Leech Seed on Chompy and poisonpowder on Crobat!”

“Why is everyone aiming stuff at Crobat?” spat Tyler, but the other two didn’t hear him.

It was as though all three pokemon had been patiently waiting, eyeing each other off fiercely, until all their masters had given out the commands, then, once Hiro had spoken his last order, everything happened at once. Chompy, Kris’ Feraligator, crossed his scaly arms in an intimidating stance, and within seconds light was being made into a solid shield around him, strengthening for a few moments, then maintaining a stable state. At the other end of the triangular battlefield, Venomoth had taken to the air and was zooming across the sky, bombing Chompy with a small brownish seed, which easily pierced the light screen and tsunkked into his back, releasing vines and beginning to sap the creature’s energy. Venomoth quickly flew up and back in the direction of Crobat.

The purple Golbat evolution was struggling a bit, unlike the others had been. Originally, he had been waiting for the right moment to attack, when the other two were off-guard, but Chompy had quickly shielded itself and Venomoth was too far away. As Venomoth circled back toward Crobat, the bat spat out a lump of purplish acid directly at Veno’s face. The poisonmoth flinched back slightly, evading the clump of acid but not seeing the second one that was also incoming. Crobat’s second acid attack hit it on the wing, burning at the poisonous scales.

Chompy was having a leisurely time at the other end of the field. The three trainers had all been very quiet, as they were experienced enough to let their pokemon do what they had to without overloading them with commands. Chompy was satisfied with the Light Screen now, and was swiftly constructing a veil of stars to protect against dangerous status attacks like Poisonpowder and confuse ray. The other two seemed not to be worrying themselves too much with him, although the Leech Seed was slowly sapping at Chompy’s strength, and through a magical bond, Venomoth was becoming steadily stronger.

Kristal could see this even from her vantage point. “Rapid spin!”

Chompy was not as small and energetic as he had been as a Totodile, but he was still able to perform the technique with much skill. Venomoth and Crobat were having a much more conflicting time together, firing off Acids and poisonpowders constantly.

Hiro intervened quickly. “Psybeam attack, Veno, don’t hold back! Counter anything else with Tackle!”

Tyler seemed to be the most impassive of all three of them; even Kris had seemed more concerned about Chompy than he was about Crobat. The bat had been drained and poisoned repeatedly, but still Tyler had an arrogant smirk. “Crobat,” he drawled. “Attack with Solarbeam!”

Venomoth had psybeamed the bat by now, and Hiro suddenly realised that there was another battler whom they had almost ignored. “Veno, psybeam Chompy too!” Instantaneously, Venomoth let out a great stream of purple circles of psychic power, energy from within the deepest parts of the soul, and therefore almost unblockable. Hiro watched intently, waiting for Chompy to be injured. The Psybeam had only just begun penetrating the light screen when Tyler ordered Crobat to use Toxic on both fighters, before he could collect enough energy for Solarbeam, and it was then that Hiro learned how difficult it was to have a three-way battle; you couldn’t stand back and admire the exchange of attacks, like he had been doing for quite a while as a more experienced trainer. There was only time to command, check up on, and then listen out for both other trainer’s pokemon who might be coming in to attack.

Venomoth’s psybeam had hit Chompy, who reeled back slightly when hit, but there was no chance of confusion due to the safeguard. Crobat had dive-bombed Venomoth with a huge stream of poison, then began aiming for Chompy. “Come back!” called Tyler suddenly, seeing the veil of stars whirling around the Feraligator, just waiting to deflect anything. Crobat pulled back and rose up toward the sun to collect energy for the solarbeam.

Kris had really been biding her time, standing back and watching as the two rivals went to battle, almost forgetting her. But now they had remembered and were starting up the attacks. Kristal Williams went into battle action. “Chompy, Water gun and follow up with Ice Beam,” she cried calmly but sharply. “Slash if either of them get too close!”

Chompy began walking away from his light screen – it had faded considerably now – and he emerged out of it, quite close to where Venomoth was now using a Psychic attack at Crobat, on Hiro’s command. The brownish-purple bat had amassed a lot of energy in his jaws now, and looked ready to fire. Even with the type advantage, it would be a danger to Venomoth, who had already been weakened by acid attacks. Crobat paused, then fired a beam of solar energy directly at Chompy, instead of Venomoth. The gator reeled back once more, injured greatly, but still a long way from out. In response, he let out a jet of water, striking Crobat in the eyes and knocking it to the ground for a moment. The beam of ice was only a fraction later, but it split in mid-air, and forked into two beams – one for each adversary. Venomoth was iced up, and dropped to the ground with a thud. One down. On the other hand, Crobat was not frozen but was injured greatly. Just as Hiro was recalling Venomoth back into his pokeball and began calling out a new fighter, Tyler plunged a hand into his pocket and threw a small golden sphere at Crobat. It landed at the bat’s feet, and the bat zoomed down and gulped the object into its mouth.

“What the hell was that?” demanded Hiro.

“No fair!” bellowed Kristal. “That was a Gold Berry. You can’t use any items unless we agree on it before the battle, Tyler!”

The crimson-haired boy was smug, and Hiro and Kris both felt an intense dislike for him like they had at the beginning of their journey. “Nobody said that we couldn’t use items,” he said with an irritating smirk at Kris. “Well, Crobat, start powering up for another solarbeam!” Kris was furious, but abruptly remembered that she still had some items in her pocket – a berry or two, a devolution spray … aha! Her hand clasped over the small but powerful bomb in her pocket – not a bomb of destruction, but one of intrigue.

“If you used items, it’s only fair that I do,” said Kris, noting that Crobat was gathering energy. She didn’t order Feraligator to do anything; he was in no immediate danger because of her bomb. Kris withdrew the black, orange-sized sphere, and threw it in an arc over the field, where it exploded in a burst of rainbow colours – red, green, yellow, blue, purple, orange, indigo. Each ribbon of light seeped through the battlers, who had stopped in their tracks, baffled, then seeped out of them again and formed back together in the centre of the field, as a dense black ball.

“WHAT’D YOU JUST DO!?” roared Tyler, in bewilderment and fear.

Hiro didn’t make any outbursts, but he looked at Kristal nervously. She was pleased at their reactions. “You know what a Special Guard item does. Well, this is like a really big version of that, the Hyperelemental Bomb.”

“Great name,” remarked Hiro under his breath.

“It prevents any special attacks being used for the entire remainder of the round. It’s not common,” she added, feeling a bit smug. “Lance gave it to me.”

“But that’s not f-” began Tyler.

“Oh, I think it is,” said Kris. “You broke the rules Tyler, and they remain broken. Now, I think it’s time we returned to the battle. CHOMPY, DISABLE AND SLASH!” She smiled – had she not used that item, it was likely that Crobat would Solarbeam Chompy again, knocking him out for the match.

Hiro slipped back into battle mode also, and threw out Charcoal’s pokeball. The Typhlosion appeared quickly, and tried to light up his back-fire. It took awhile, but finally worked – the Hyperelemental Bomb had not affected him because he was not on the field at the time. Hiro slowly realised that, until the other two were knocked out, Typhlosion had a major advantage. He had to make use of it.

As Chompy charged at the fresh Charcoal and the worn Crobat, almost any orders Tyler and Hiro gave went out the window. All three pokemon became entangled in a kind of brawl. Crobat was now the weakest of all three pokemon, and the poisonpowder from Venomoth earlier on finally took it’s toll; the bat was trying to bite at Chompy when his eyes crossed and he dropped to the ground, being recalled quickly.

“Golem, go!” shouted Tyler, and the rock pokemon appeared without delay, bursting into the scene. Kris immediately wished she was still able to use Water Gun – then Golem would be easily defeated – but she had prevented this.

Charcoal was Flamethrowering everything in close range, and now he realised the advantage was being lost. Chompy seemed to be the easiest to eliminate, so he fired off a volley of Swift Attacks, which caught the gator in the ribs and shoved him to the ground. Golem then got in on the act, tossing multitudes of rocks at Chompy and Char. Finally Chompy fell for good, tumbling to the ground after receiving a heavy boulder in the solar plexus. Kristal looked on for one subdued second, then returned him, throwing out her best bet.

“MISDREAVUS! SHADOW BALL!”

The final round had promised to be an absolutely massive showdown between Golem and Typhlosion, and Typhlosion and Misdreavus. However, everything happened very quickly. Char was using Fire Spin to protect himself, as he was weak to Golem’s rock and ground attacks, and Golem was resistant to anything he threw against him. So, the obvious happened; Golem began pounding Char with rocks and injuring him, and the fire spin was the best form of defence Charcoal could muster.

Again, it seemed that Kris’ chosen fighter was being neglected, but that was soon forgotten when she pounded Golem with two massive Shadow Balls, great black orbs which sparked with what looked like lavender bolts of electricity. Golem was thrown back a good way, and ended the attacks on the worn-out Char. Charcoal stopped the firespin, then began a Quick Attack on Golem, who was very slow to get up and recover. Although the Typhlosion was not as small and nimble as it had been in the days of Cyndaquil, the attack was very quick and although didn’t really take much strength off Golem, it knocked him over again.

“Psywave, Missy!” called Kris.

“Golem, use Earthquake!”

“Use those coals, Char!” called Hiro, remembering that when the going got tough, Charcoal could produce hot, burning coals from inside him, which were like a Pin Missile at 1000 degrees.

The earth began to slowly rumble, as Misdreavus flitted her way through the air, knowing her small black body would not be affected, as she was not touching the ground. She released wobbly waves of psychic energy, which connected with Golem’s head and seemed to drain him of a huge portion of his power, and looked to be confusing him. Still, the shockwaves had been sent through the ground already, and an earthquake was brewing. Char had meanwhile summoned the coals within him and fired them out in all directions like a berserk Beedrill. Golem was hit thrice, and even Tyler and Hiro had to step and dodge the dangerous coals.

But Misdreavus was the worst off of the lot. Dozens of fiery bullets ripped into her, and she did not have the predisposition to make herself completely permeable, as a ghost. She went reeling through to the ground, struck down but not fainted. And that was when the major blow hit all three fighters.

The earthquake shook the entire area. Kristal abandoned her spot near the cliff edge in fear of being thrown off, and ran to join Hiro and Tyler, who were clutching at the ground, crouched down. Golem was being thrown about violently by his own deed, and Typhlosion was moaning on the ground, like Misdreavus was, as rocks began tumbling onto them from nowhere. The earth gave one final, huge tremor, and righted itself. The trainers all stood and all realised that every single fighter was almost out of the match. One more attack and they would be finished.

“Misdreavus, get up and use one big Faint Attack on Golem!” Kris cried. She would rather have the final round with Hiro, who she didn’t really get along with, than Tyler, whom she hated.

“Char, Swift at Golem!”

Tyler cursed. “STOP PICKING ON GOLEM! DEFENSE CURL!”

Misdreavus picked herself up, and dusted her front of with invisible hands, then disappeared into thin air. Char conjured up half a dozen golden-white stars in his paws, and released them in a stream of power at Golem. The stars hit and connected with Golem’s head. The last star struck him as Misdreavus appeared directly before the rocky pokemon, and with all the dark energy it could muster, shot an arrow of blackness at Golem’s centre. The darkness seemed to seep into the boulder and drain the energy from him.

Golem was fainted.

“WE BEAT TYLER!” cheered and jeered Hiro and Kris in a total feeling of euphoria. Not once during their entire training had they been able to defeat the crimson-haired boy, who teased them for not having enough pokemon, being too far behind, being too wimpy, being too young – and they had defeated him together. Hiro caught Kris’ eye, and she gave him a small grin; the first since they had split paths.

Golem was recalled. Tyler didn’t know what to say, for her had not thought he would be the first to be beaten, at least until the last attacks had been ordered. He stood there, silent, as the other two cheered and jeered and smiled and laughed in his face. Had he been more sensible, he would have realised they were throwing back in his face what he had hurled at them so often before, but he didn’t.

“**** you,” he said at last, in a savage tone. “**** you both.”

With that bitter taste left in the mouths of Hiro and Kris, Tyler released a Fearow, jumped onto it’s back, and flew off into the mountains, giving his rivals a middle finger on the way. Gladly, neither Kris nor Hiro saw him again for many long years to come.

“Sook.”

“Spoilsport.”

They both laughed. Kristal turned to Hiro. “Should we keep battling?”

“If you want to,” said Hiro. “But they look pretty worn. And it won’t be nearly as much fun without Tyler here to laugh at.”

Kristal nodded and recalled Misdreavus, and Hiro did the same to Charcoal. The two former friends looked at each other from across the field, and then Kristal began awkwardly. “Hiro, I know this has been a long time coming, but I really am sorry for that stupid fight we had back in Olivine. I shouldn’t have been so picky about that stupid Voltorb anyway.”

“It was really my fault,” said Hiro, going red. “If I hadn’t tried to trade my Krabby so persistently in the first place, it wouldn’t have all begun and got so out of hand.”

They walked to each other, and shook hands. Then Hiro asked the big question. “Where are you going now?”

“After the league ceremony tomorrow?” Kris asked, and he nodded. “Well, I don’t know. I do want my own gym one day, but not yet, I’m too young to settle in one place yet. Maybe I’ll do a different league.”

“I’d be honoured if you came with me,” said Hiro. “I’m headed off to seek out anyone else who beat Lance before you and me. He said something about Drake – from the Orange Islands. I think I’m headed there. Could you keep me company, like old times?”

“Old times as in two months ago?” Kris asked and they both grinned. “Hiro, I’d be the honoured one. Of course I’ll come.”

The two friends held hands as they walked slowly to find a way from the mountain valley back to Silver City. Up in a cool cavern about twenty metres above, Lance Hudson watched them. “I knew I could count on those two.”

*********

Melanie came wandering back to the pool much later on. Lisa was still there, sitting in the cool water of the hotel’s pool. It was a warm, humid night, though the sun had set hours ago, but it was perfect for the pool. The pokemon were mostly still in the pool also, but were no longer playing loudly but more slowly and subdued.

Mel sat down very slowly on the edge of the pool, where the paving met the water. “Lisa, Gavin’s gone,” she said quietly, but loudly enough for Lisa to hear. The girl shook her sleek mane of ebony hair and walked over to Mel slowly, very subdued.

“What do you mean, he’s gone?”

“Well, he left,” Melanie said with awkwardness. She seemed to have calmed down a lot since that afternoon. “He ran away. Poor boy, he didn’t take it well at all, first he broke down, then he seemed to recover slightly, but when I told him where Eusine’s body was found, and that the funeral had already been, and he seemed to lose it completely. He just ran down Chester Lane and disappeared into the night.”

Lisa’s mouth was doing the fish thing again. “What, he’s just gone? What am I supposed to do? Just go back to Ecruteak without him? What about his pokemon? This is ridiculous!”

“I’m sorry,” said Mel, brushing her frizzy brown hair back, and getting worked up again, like she had been when she arrived at Lisa’s apartment. “Look, Lisa, I think he’s headed for Ecruteak anyway. For some strange reason, he wants to return to the place where Eusine died. Maybe go back home, and look for him.”

“What about Lanturn and Staryu?” demanded Lisa angrily.

“Take them with you I suppose. Oh, I don’t know … what’ll I do?” Mel said, as though she were suffering from this. “I have to go Lisa, oooh no … dammit … I really gotta go … bye now!”

And with that, the flustered woman sprinted back up the path to the hotel foyer, mumbling to herself and almost colliding with someone who was coming down to the pool.

Lisa sat on the poolside, feeling her head spin. She was alone now, Gavin had been her companion, now he was simply gone. It didn’t seem fair that she was stuck by herself in a strange town with hardly any money. She’d never handle the trip back to Ecruteak well. Unlike other friends she had – Charmaine, Marina, Anna … (Lisa paused her thoughts and sniffed) – Lisa couldn’t really handle herself very well – alone – in the wild.

I need a travel companion, thought Lisa. A new friend.

Suddenly, she felt a cool hand on her bare shoulder. Darius slipped into seating position beside her, dangling his legs into the water. He was wearing only boardies and a towel. “Hi Lisa. Wanna swim?” he asked her.

A smile curved up Lisa’s face, one that spread schemingly into her small dimples and bright golden eyes. Maybe she didn’t have to look far.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Next up on Lisa the Legend

Christmas! That’s right, it’s Christmas time! That means urgent shopping …

“It’s Christmas eve!” giggled Marina hopelessly, while Lisa stared at her watch in despair. “And you’re telling me you haven’t bought a single present yet?”

… not to mention all the presents …

Lisa was tearing open the beautifully wrapped package from Gavin, when Aipom finally awoke. It was probably Bulbasaur who did it, by standing on his tail, but all the same, Aipom awoke in the same hyperactive mood, and began swinging wildly from the top of the Christmas tree, snatching Lisa’s gift.

… and of course, the usual catastrophic attack at Lisa’s place.

There were still many people in the garden, for the second time in a week or so. Lisa gazed around, tapping her fingers on the table and waiting until Darius came back to the table. She was watching the guests at the party, when suddenly a blanket seemed to be thrown over them, smothering out all sound. That was when the explosion happened.

Chapter 39 – Christmas Crush.

[ZeldaFan20]

Page 4?!!! Tisk-tisk-tisk......I didn't think you'd be gone THIS long! It's breaking my heart! I hope you come back soon .