Chapter 46: Leviathan Rising (Part A) by Michael Keens/ Exodus Emily, Abby and I were still in Ocean Town, and somewhat into the next day. I’d woke up early to eat breakfast without feeling self-conscious of doing it in front of two girls. Living, travelling and doing virtually everything with them was rewarding at times, but mostly a little awkward, so it was nice to do things on my own once in a while without the feeling of being judged by the more perfectionist gender. I would probably have gotten some training done while the girls slept in, but we had places to be. I returned my breakfast tray to the front of the Pokémon Centre and emptied the remnants into a bin before considerately placing it in the kitchen. Then I retrieved my Pokéballs from Nurse Joy and prepared to wake the others. I placed each one on my belt by using the small magnetic clips on each one that doubled as hinges, and then turned to walk away... and knocked heads with a woman wearing a thick yellow raincoat. “Ow...” I groaned, as did the girl in kind. I picked myself up and then offered my hand, which she accepted and helped herself up. I noticed that she’d dropped many credits in coins rather than notes and so hastily got down again to pick them up. “Hey don’t!” she exclaimed, before sighing as I placed several of them in the strange small chest I’d caused to fall and open. “Don’t what?” I asked. “Never mind, its just I need every note.” “Don’t get down, I’ve nearly got them all, it was my fault, I should have been more alert.” “An apologetic and considerate guy. Who new?” she muttered to herself, before adding “Pokémon Trainer, huh?” “Yeah, sure.” I muttered, still picking up money but aiming a quick look at my belt to check that none of my Pokéballs fell. “I’m on my way to Cinnabar Island for my final Gym Badge.” I decided to mention, so as not to let an awkward silence occur. “Cinnabar... Need help getting there?” she offered. “Nah, I’ve got it covered.” I answered. “Just checking.” “And we’re done. Strange way of carrying around money, at least thieves probably look upon stealing something so heavy as a liability.” I joked. She giggled at my comment as she picked up the heavy chest, and quite well for a lady, “Well, thanks anyway, maybe we’ll meet again.” With that she hurried over to Nurse Joy and engaged in a conversation, so I shrugged my shoulders and returned to my room, conscious that neither of us got the others’ name and so we probably wouldn’t ever see each other again. Soon, Emily, Abby and I were heading out into Ocean Town towards the docks, but the weather wasn’t as great as it was yesterday. The reason why the lady had been wearing such a protective and thick raincoat, was because it pouring down with rain, and it was fairly windy. The girls and I made a stop at the general store and invested in umbrellas, but it was hard simply keeping hold of them. If only we’d just sorted out a boat yesterday, we’d be out of here and perhaps away from the lousy weather. “So that woman was formerly a Rocket, but she quit?” checked Emily, referring to the woman in violet clothes from yesterday. “That’s what I just said, and I think she’s true to her words, she’s just seems a little detached from people, or at least doesn’t really want to be around them.” I replied. “Hmmmm.” pondered Emily. Abby was strangely silent, it would have been fine some time ago but nowadays she spoke just as much as most people. “What’s on your mind?” I asked. “Its nothing... Just thinking about what little I know of my past...” she replied. “You and Armour seemed real cosy last night, something changed between you two.” I stated. “Yes, we came to an understanding, it turns out that I’m almost as crazy about my Pokémon as they are about me.” Abby had been seen to by Nurse Joy last night, and as long as she took it easy today, her ankle would be fine to walk on come tomorrow, she’d been given a crutch to help in the meantime, but we’d have to give it back to the Cinnabar Island Pokémon Centre. We stepped down several steps and walked into the docks, where there were many boats docked in. We spent several minutes, well, hours actually, walking past each boat and calling on its captain. Most belonged to tourists, most others were too expensive for the small distance I wanted to go. We sat down on a bench, I didn’t know about the girls, but my feet felt sore from all the walking and standing around, and we didn’t seem close to finding a suitable ship, or even checking all the boats. I sighed, “Guess I can kiss my dreams of participating in the League goodbye.” “Tetsubo, don’t think that way, I know you’ll make it in time.” “Thanks-” I said, turning to who I thought had said that, and then looked a little surprised since it was Abby, when I expected it to be Emily. “I didn’t really mean what I said, even if it costs me my trainers’ leave, I’ll find a Gym that’ll give me a Gym Battle.” I announced. Just then I heard the wailings of a woman in distress, and immediately picked myself out of the seat and dashed towards a boat not too far away. “I’ll get you the money, I promise!” “Dad’s tired of your promises, if you can’t finish paying your instalments, then he’ll just have to sell to someone a little more able to run a business.” “I am, but tourists just seem to pass me by.” “What’s going on here?” I asked. The female voice I’d heard wasn’t quite a woman’s, but the young lady I’d met in the Pokémon Centre. She and a man were inside a boat’s cabin, but the windows were open and their voices were loud enough for many people to hear. Both she and the male turned to look at us, the woman gave me an inquisitive stare while the male looked annoyed at me. A little more clear than before, I could see more of her features even from outside the boat. She looked around twenty, she had brown spiky hair which hung over her face and down the back to her shoulders due to a tight red bandana, she wore a blue and white striped shirt, jeans cut at the knees and orange boots. The male that was harassing her had black spiky hair with a small goatee beard, a small eye patch across his left eye, and a smart dark green and yellow suit that looked like it was from the days of pirates. “Why are you-” asked the girl. “This doesn’t concern you kid, get lost.” interrupted the man. “Why I oughta-” I was interrupted by my two female companions grabbing an arm and dragging me back a little. “Tetsubo, not all disputes are ones you need to solve.” said Abby. “Yeah, you try too hard to make everything right, just sit this one out.” added Emily. “Can’t you just borrow from your parents, they’re loaded.” continued the man. “No. I promised them and myself to prove I could make it on my own, its been hard but its also been fulfilling to me, you can’t take it from me.” pleaded the lady. “I don’t particularly want to either, you’re the only person my age worth competing against, I’d try to convince Dad to give you a little longer if you could just satisfy my needs for a great Water Pokémon Battle, but you haven’t been able to do that in a whole year.” explained the man. “Right now then, my Pokémon are ready for a fight.” she challenged. “I battled them yesterday, they can’t have got experienced enough to beat me in such a short time.” sighed the male. “Well what if I found someone else to battle you? Would you agree to that?” she requested. “I doubt it, you can’t just find a wandering trainer with the talent to best me, let alone one that will even help you.” frowned the man. “Oh yeah? Hey kid, yeah you.” she ordered, and I slowly and nervously stepped forward. “You’re up for a Pokémon Battle, right?” “Um, I suppose.” I answered nervously. “Then its settled, you and Black will battle in the water.” she announced. “Now hold on, that’s different, have you noticed the weather? I don’t have many Pokémon that can deal with those sort of conditions!” I protested. “We do.” said the girls, drawing a Pokéball. “I guess we’re in.” I sighed. “Hmmmm, three trainers with a Water Pokémon each, I guess my thirst might be quenched today. But if they lose, or if they just don’t impress me, then the boat is mine.” stated the male. “They won’t lose, will you Kid?” questioned the woman confidently. I gasped, “I didn’t realise we were battling for that sort of thing!” “Oh I’m sure you’ll do fine, you don’t look like much, but you made it clear that you’re the sort to help people out without expecting anything in return, so you must be good with Pokémon.” assumed the lady. “Thanks, I think, but you should have explained things, how am I supposed to battle at my best if I know what you have to lose?” I questioned. “I’m sure you won’t fail Kid, trust me when I say you don’t want to get on my bad side.” she smiled. “The name is Tetsubo, and I’ll try not to.” I sighed. “Well then.” said the male, standing out on the port, but with two attendants with umbrellas sheltering him from the rain, “Let’s begin.” The first Pokéball opened, and its energy form hit the water, and a Seaking appeared as it leapt up high and splashed back down. “Stand aside Tetsubo.” smiled Emily as she pushed past me and released her Shellder, which simply plopped into the water but surfaced shortly afterwards. “That’s all you’ve got to offer?” laughed Black, “This certainly won’t do.” “Use your Tackle attack, Shelly!” “Horn attack.” “Shell!!!” “Seaking!” Both Pokémon bashed against each other, and rebounded back to where they started, a fairly even start. “Heh, maybe the little clam Will be worth my while, Seaking, use your Fury Attack!” “Sea... Sea... Sea...” grunted the fish as it swiftly leapt over and under the water’s surface, its horn aimed forward. Emily’s Shellder although didn’t look it was a quick swimmer, and swiftly moved to the side each time the Seaking leapt at it, but it didn’t last, and the Seaking caught onto this and changed its angle. “Withdraw!” called Emily, and the hard shell closed up as the Seaking rammed its horn against it several times. The Seaking eventually stopped and plunged into the water to form a new strategy, while Shelly courageously opened its shell to check for danger. “Now! Horn Drill!” shouted Black, and the Seaking burst out of the water and came down on the Shellder, horn spinning quickly. “Clamp it!” shouted Emily, and the hard edged shell closed around the horn and stopped it from pushing forward to Shelly’s soft inside. But it wasn’t perfectly planned, the horn stopped for a moment, and then continued spinning, with Shelly attached to it. It wasn’t long before the Shellder became immensely dizzy, and would soon let go. “Ice Beam!” called Emily, and an explosion of ice shot out of the shell and propelled Shelly away, while freezing the horn solid, plus most of the Seaking. The horn soon managed to spin away and broke the majority of the ice, but a solid ring remained around the Seaking but didn’t encase its tail or fins, so it wouldn’t hinder its performance too much. “Agility.” said Black, and the fish became faster than before, as if it wasn’t speedy enough already... “Shelly watch out!” Too late, the Seaking rammed its horn into Shelly in the form of a Peck attack, and Shelly fell back hurt. “Supersonic!” shouted Black confidently, and the Seaking let out a shrill sound that made everyone uncomfortable, except for the Shellder, whom was supposed to be the target. The Seaking was hit from below and rose into the air, the Shellder under it but backwards, and using Water Gun to propel itself. “That little Shellder sure is creative.” I noted. “Waterfall!” shouted Black, and the Seaking unleashed so much water, the result looked like a waterfall crashing down on Shelly which forced it underwater. We waited patiently to view if the match was over, and Shelly bobbed along the water’s surface not moving. “Hmmmph, I guess I win that round.” smirked Black, before Shelly turned over and blasted the Seaking with an Aurora Beam, a cold glowing light-like attack. “You little cheat. Seaking, use Tail Whip!” shouted Black. “Sea-KING!” it shouted, leaping over and swatting the Shellder hard and making it bounce along the surface. “And Peck again!” “Sheeell-Der!!!...” squealed Shelly, still not backing out of the battle. “That’s very brave Shelly, but unless we do something dramatic, that Seaking has the edge as long as its got water around it... That’s it!” “Let’s make sure it doesn’t get up again. Seaking, Horn Drill!” “Seeea!!!” it roared, leaping out of the water to land on Shelly horn first. “Ice Beam!” Emily shouted, and Shelly backed away while freezing the surface of the water, creating a large ice platform, the Seaking prepared to aim low to shatter the ice, but something caused it to land awkwardly, the ice ring still formed around it. It had become caught in the ice, and the Seaking couldn’t rotate enough to bring its horn down to free itself, good strategy, seeing as the Seaking would have otherwise bounced off the platform. “Now! Tackle! And Ice Beam!” Shelly rammed its opponent hard, and followed up by freezing the Seaking totally, forcing Black to recall it. “Very good, but you won’t win this fight!” “Tenta-Cruel!” said Black’s next Pokémon. “We can do this, no need to use the other’s Pokémon. Ice Beam!” “Hah, you’re gonna need all the help you can get, dive, and use Technique 4!” The Tentacruel was gone before the beam froze the area’s water, and Shelly suddenly went flying, hard fast Bubblebeam projectiles forcing it up, the Tentacruel rose above the surface and sprayed a disgusting green liquid all over the Shellder, causing smoke to fill the air. “Aw no, it used Acid, that stuff can weaken practically any defense.” I stated. “Use Water Gun!” panicked Emily, but me and Abby both could see that two straight battles were too much for her Shellder. “Wrap, and Constrict!” shouted Black, and one swift tentacle whacked against the Shellder and wrapped around it, before crushing Shelly until it was recalled. “I guess I’m out.” sighed Emily. “Don’t get down Emily, I can handle this, Go Twinkill!” I shouted confidently. “Star!” “Heh, use Supersonic!” The Tentacruel repeated the horrid shrieking sound as Twinkill independently used a Psychic attack, but its aim was off due to the screeching sound waves and we were lucky to just miss a passing boat with the powerful blast. “Now Surf!” The Tentacruel disappeared, but reappeared on top of a tidal wave, enhanced by the Tentacruel’s power, it loomed high above Twinkill but it shrunk into its Minimize technique and disappeared as the Tentacruel crashed down. “Thunderbolt!” I shouted, and Twinkill immediately complied, and shocked the Tentacruel, but it in turn was able to fire its own attack, and Twinkill was covered in a thick purple sludge. It dived underwater to remove it, but as it surfaced it was blasted by a Hydro Pump attack, and fell back weakly. “How?” I questioned, “You should have been able to stand up to that.” before noticing a faint purple mist around Twinkill that made it curl up a little. “Toxic.” I figured, as the Tentacruel launched another Hydro Pump. “Use your Thunderbolt!” I shouted, and Twinkill used the water jet as a link between it and the Tentacruel, and shocked its way up to its opponent and left it temporarily dazed. “Better use Recover while you can, Twinkill.” “Poison Sting!” shouted Black, and his Pokémon complied, firing out several thin needles even while being hurt by electricity. Twinkill was hit, and although it couldn’t be poisoned anymore than it already was, it served as a distraction to cancel the healing. “Tackle that bully!” I retorted, and Twinkill slammed into it hard but had to back away. “Screech!” called Black, and a worse wailing sound pierced through the area. Twinkill shook occasionally, trying to fend off the sound, and then came out with one more Psychic attack that hit the Tentacruel dead on, and caused it to collapse and float upside down. “Darn it.” cursed Black, “I Will pull this back, Go Seadra!” “Dra!” “Twinkill, please, another Thunderbolt!” I wasn’t sure if Black was satisfied enough, Twinkill surely couldn’t hold off the poison, and I knew that the only Pokémon Abby had wouldn’t cut it. Twinkill fired several shots around the Seadra and they all converged on it and blasted it into the air. “Now Recover.” Twinkill tried hard, concentrating to heal but at the same time fending off the poison, I could only hope that last attack had stunned the Seadra long enough not to interfere, a wish made in vain. A crackling beam of ice was fired from the Seadra’s current position and trapped Twinkill in a ring, two of its star points were frozen so it couldn’t spin its way out, it was stuck. The Seadra was finally able to drop back into the stormy waters and approach Twinkill at its own pace, its eyes glowed so it could produce a scary look. I couldn’t be sure if Twinkill was reacting or not, it had a lot on its mind. “Now blow it away with Hydro Pump!” “Draaa!!!” “Star!” shouted Twinkill, using a last minute Psychic attack which hit the Seadra hard and deflected its aim, but still, doing so had let the poison spread and knock Twinkill out while the Seadra landed with just a little strength left in it. “Return Twinkill... I guess its up to you Abby, although I’m not too confident in your only Water Pokémon.” I sighed unhappily. “Heh. Then you’ll be surprised, Go Leviathan...” she whispered. The Pokéball was thrown into the water, and then rose up, shooting out a large white light as it returned to Abby’s hand, to Black it must have looked like a tall Pokémon, until that light shot down and formed into the average Magikarp. Black held a head to his face to keep himself from laughing out loud, “That’s it?” he questioned, “You’ve got to be joking!” As he burst into laughter, I sighed, “Unless it evolves, I guess this battle’s screwed up, I guess we won’t be saving that boat after all...” End of Chapter 46A Back to Chapter 45B Chapter 46B Back to Story List #41 - #60 Back to the Pokézone