Chapter Seven
Rivalry Renewed
Every seat in the Alpha Battle Arena was filled with a student's bottom as the battle was about to go underway. Tyson, Xander, and Camille sat together as they watched the two combatants on the field prepare themselves. The trio had a decent view, seated in the middle section of the audience and was directly aligned at the center mark of the battlefield.
"Why didn't you guys meet us in the lounge?" Camille asked.
"We wanted to explore the academy a bit before coming here," Xander replied.
Tyson shifted in his seat as he made sure no one was looking at him or heard him. "We overheard Professor Rowan discussing with an assistant about
something in The Unknown Dungeon," he said. "Where exactly is that place anyway? Your brother's were talking about it on the ship. After hearing what Rowan was saying, I'm starting to think the assumption that Craig had is true."
"My brother's also said Chocolate Moo-Moo Milk is the best cure for the common cold," Camille replied, rolling her eyes. "If what you're saying is true, and I have no doubt that it is, then that means that something definitely is going on. The best thing to do is to go down in the dungeon and investigate ourselves."
"There is no way we can just try that without any prior knowledge of The Unknown Dungeon. We need to know what types of Pokemon reside in there," Tyson said as he stroked his chin.
"Aren't you and Bruno, like, best buddies?" Xander asked Tyson, exaggerating the friendship between him and Bruno. "I bet he would give you some information about it if you ask."
"That might be easier said than done," Tyson replied.
The crowd became restless as they waited for the battle to begin. From the northern tunnel came Professor Rowan, waving to the crowd as the audience roared with applause. While Rowan received a standing ovation, a referee came from the southern tunnel with a microphone in both hands. The two met at the center of the field as Rowan received a microphone from the official.
"We will now begin the preliminary school battle! I hope you all enjoy yourselves! I will now turn over the master of ceremonies duties to official Pokemon League referee, Mr. Akuya!"
Rowan exited the field and took a seat in the stands next to the other Professors.
"Good afternoon! I am Mr. Akuya and I shall be refereeing today's main event!"
The crowd cheered.
"This match will be a one on one match with the usage of one Pokemon only! Our first battler introduced," Akuya looked to the eastern tunnel, "is a grand champion of the Hoenn region. Specializing in the Steel-type, give it up for the Head of the OceanBlue dorm, Steven!"
Steven emerged from the tunnel into clear view, dressed in his traditional business attire. He looked to the crowd and saluted them with a silent expression on his face as he took position in the blue corner of the battlefield.
"Our other battler is a legendary Champion of the Kanto region. He's been taming Dragon-type Pokemon since he was young, put your hands together for the Head of the FireRed dorm, Lance!"
There was a considerable amount of praise and jubilation for Lance. Compared to Steven's, Lance's applause was much louder and lengthier. Folding his arms, Steven merely stared into Lance's eyes as the dragon master smirked, leering back into his opponent's. Each of them drew a PokéBall in unison awaiting the referee's signal.
"Are two contestant's ready?" Akuya asked.
"You bet!" Lance said.
"Affirmative," Steven responded.
"Battle!"
"Let's go, Metagross!" Steven shouted as he lobbed his PokéBall forward.
"Dragonite, I choose you!" Lance exclaimed, doing the same.
The intensity of the battle could be clearly seen at the beginning by the mere toss of a PokéBall. Both Lance and Steven's PokéBalls flew forward in a line drive motion before ricocheting off one another and bursting open the process. Both of the called Pokemon emerged from their PokéBalls and were eager to fight one another. Lance's Dragonite immediately took flight as Steven's Metagross stayed stable on the ground looking upward.
"You first," Steven said, scoffing at his rival.
"Oh no," Lance replied. "I insist that you go first!"
"Fine by me. I'll wait no longer!" Steven spat aggressively. "Bullet Punch!"
Metagross's body suddenly vanished quickly as the immense Iron Leg Pokemon went into attack mode. Dragonite, unsure about where Metagross disappeared, looked around cautiously before Steven's Pokemon appeared behind the Dragon Pokemon and whacked it across the back. In minor pain, Dragonite went hurling to the ground but caught itself as it flapped its wings to face the now levitating Metagross.
"Heh, nice one." Lance complimented Steven. "But I've got something up my sleeve too. Dragonite, Dragon Dance!"
Dragonite flew backwards, away from Metagross, and began to fly in an eerie pattern. While it flapped its wings, Dragonite's body began to give off static energy, as if it were charging up.
"One of Dragonite's signature moves," Camille said in amazement that she was seeing this up close. "Professor Lance used this in a League battle against his sister, Clair. I think he specifically had Dragonite learn this move to battle against Steven, though."
"But, there's no point of using Dragon Dance if Professor Steven can just use Iron Defense with his Metagross," Tyson replied, focused in on the battle. He was really paying attention to the way Lance and Dragonite bonded on the battlefield. Even though Dragonite was falling down to the ground earlier, it recovered without command.
"Maybe he's focusing on increasing the speed of Dragonite. Dragon Dance does increase both attack and speed," Camille shrugged.
"With the attack being a bonus, it's a pretty good strategy. Combine that with the possibility of Dragonite knowing physical Fire-type attacks and you've got yourself a strong Pokemon."
"What do you think, Xander?" Camille looked to the blond boy who had been quiet during the conversation.
"Eh? Oh!" Xander was still focused on the battle, "Well, I don't really care. I mean, did you see how cool Metagross's Bullet Punch was? And the way Dragonite charged up Dragon Dance was poetry in motion!"
Tyson and Camille gave Xander a blank look before shrugging it off and agreeing with him. Nonetheless, the battle was still going on. By now, Dragonite had Dragon Danced a couple of times, but the speed and repeated use of Metagross's Bullet Punch were starting to take its toll on it. By now, Dragonite's body was severely harmed by the constant mashing of the Steel-type Pokemon's fist.
"This is just like you, Lance," Steven said. "Afraid to fight, having to rely on special moves to boost your Pokemon's abilities. Goofing around this entire time! The people want to see a battle and you're giving them a contest."
"You're so impatient, my dear friend," Lance chuckled. "The battle is coming, but strategy plays a part in my game plan. But as for now, my strategy is complete. Dragonite, let's get this show started! Fire Punch!"
With both Pokemon still airborne, Dragonite flew towards Metagross, its fist catching fire. Rearing back, Dragonite thrust its fist forward coming in sever contact with the 'X' on Metagross's face. The Iron Leg Pokemon collapsed to the ground, affected greatly by the Fire-type attack. Struggling to get up, Metagross got on its four legs as a burnt mark appeared between its eyes.
"Eh!" Steven grunted. "Iron Defense!"
Metagross laid down firmly on the ground as its body shimmered in the light. Dragonite flew down and landed in front of the defensive Pokemon.
"Fire Punch!" Lance shouted again.
With both hands aflame now, Dragonite began to repeated use Fire Punch on Metagross, directing all of its energy at the burnt spot on the primary Steel-type Pokemon. The standoff of Fire Punch versus Iron Defense went on for several minutes until one deciding Fire Punch shattered a bit of steel on Metagross's body. A small flame appeared on Metagross's forehead, causing it to wail in pain.
Then, Steven shouted, "Take Down!"
Metagross shook off the pain it was suffering from and forced its massive body into Dragonite's gut, sending the Dragon Pokemon flying back and bouncing off the ground repeatedly. Dragonite was slow to get up and bared its dentures. It was still capable of battling but Metagross, on the other hand, was struggling due to the recoil of Take Down.
Steven gritted his teeth, knowing defeat was imminent.
"Now, it's time for some thermal shock!" Lance said with a smile. He loved getting inside of Steven's head. "Sorry Steven, but I can't lose in front of our pupils. I might lose legitimacy."
"Metagross, Meteor Mash!" Steven shouted quickly, ignoring Lance's trash talk.
"Aqua Tail!"
Metagross got off of the ground as its front left fist became shrouded in powdery stardust. It then tossed its entire body at Dragonite, who was flying in from the opposite side, aquatic energy surrounding its thick tail. Because Dragonite was much faster and agile than Metagross, it was able to dodge its fist. Dragonite hen flip forward, slapping its Aqua Tail on the flaming spot on Metagross's forward, instantly knocking it out.
Akuya lifted his right hand, "Metagross is unable to battle. Lance and Dragonite are the winners!"
Lance grinned as he went over to congratulate his Dragonite while Steven returned his Metagross. The FireRed section of the Alpha Battle Arena cheered on their leader as the OceanBlue section remained indifferent about the outcome of the battle.
*****
The day after orientation, all everyone could talk about was how impressed they were by the battle yesterday. Sure Steven's Metagross was terrific, but Lance's Dragonite was just a beauty in a battle. Tyson and Xander both were happy that their first class of the day was Lance's class: Battling 101.
Lance's room was spacey and wide and had a few chairs shaped like a semicircle as they were face towards the front of the auditorium-sized class. Tyson and Xander sat in the front amongst their classmates while Lance stood in the front of the class, beginning his lesson.
"The history of battling goes back to before the creation of Pokemon," Lance began as he displayed a slide show on the wall. "Cavemen were using ancient Pokemon to battle in order to claim territory, food, and even wives."
"Sounds like my kind of time period," Xander joked as the class laughed along with him.
Lance beamed and continued, "In current times, there are all forms of battling: double battling, league battles, and the newly formed tri-battles." He shut down the slide show as he faced the entire class, "But nothing will ever compare to the traditional one on one battle."'
"That was a pretty good battle yesterday, Professor," Tyson nodded. "The way you utilized an array of moves was impressive."
"'I wasn't impressed," said Wheeler, who was seated behind Tyson. "You used girly moves and stalled the entire time. It was a complete and utter snooze-fest."
"Let's see you go up against him then!" Xander turned to face the OceanBlue.
"Wait a minute, aren't you Contest Boy?" Wheeler's friend, Skyla, teased.
Before Xander could make a witty remark, Lance interrupted the debate, "Everyone, quiet! Now, Wheeler, it's clear to understand why you were not impressed yesterday. That wasn't one of my... best battles. However, today I think I'll allow you to show me what you got. Come on up here." Lance motioned Wheeler to the miniature battle field in the room.
Wheeler got up and stood on one side of the battlefield, folding his arms as he waited further instruction from the dragon master.
"And as an additional treat, you can choose your opponent for this battle," Lance added.
"Wood," Wheeler said instantly.
"Alright, Mr. Wood, come on up here."
Tyson eyes widen but then went back to normal. He was anxious about his first battle and confidence began running through his veins. With one Pokemon at his disposal, Tyson wanted to see exactly what Charmander could dish out. Both boys drew their PokéBalls.
"Alright, this will be a brief interpretation. This battle will last exactly two minutes. I will evaluate each of your efforts after time is up. Begin!"
"Go, Olympia!" Wheeler threw his PokéBall forward, releasing his Starter, a male Torchic.
Tyson nodded and tossed his too, "Come on, Draco!" His Charmander emerged from his PokéBall and was on standby.
"Two Fire-type Starters!" Lance took a seat among the students. "Should be interesting!"
"Olympia, Focus Energy!"
The Torchic stood in one spot as he began to focus himself on the battle. Draco, being anxious, ran at Olympia quickly, its body catching fire.
"Draco, Scratch!"
Draco continued to run at Olympia and appeared to have intention on scratching the Torchic, but ended up carrying out a fiery tackle. Tyson, coming from a family specializing in breeding, knew right away that this Charmander had been thoroughly bred in order to learn this attack. Olympia was sent flying to the wall almost on impact and Lance stopped the battle for cautionary measure.
"That was awesome, Tyson," Xander grinned and snickered. "What level is Draco, 70?"
Tyson shook his head as he quickly returned his flaming Charmander, "He's a thoroughly purebred Charmander."
"Which is why it knows Flare Blitz at such a young age," Lance added, retrieving a battered and burnt Olympia off his classroom wall, allowing it to be returned by Wheeler.
The class was in complete silence as they looked at Wheeler's disgusted and embarrassed facial expression. Tyson chuckled uneasily as Xander was enjoying every second of this.
*****
"Please tell me you're making that a key move in every battle you have against an OceanBlue," Xander whispered to Tyson as they sat at a table in their next class, Evolutionary Training.
"What are you guys talking about?" Camille asked, not looking up from her book as she read.
"Tyson and Wheeler battled today in class and Tyson's Charmander
owned Wheeler's Torchic. Flare Blitzed 'em!"
Camille looked up with a raised eye brow. "Your Charmander knows Flare Blitz? What luck."
Tyson shrugged and whispered, "I dunno. I guess it is kind of lucky. But I can't allow Draco to use Flare Blitz until he's fully evolved. He could hurt himself at this age. You know the repercussions of a Pokemon using those types of attacks."
"Psssh," Xander scoffed, "If Twiggy knew Frenzy Leaf, I'd utilize it every battle, just because I could."
Steven noticed the two boys whispering back and forth and made it his duty to see what was so interesting about his class that they had to talk about it amongst themselves. He stood behind them while the boys still argued, before placing a hand on one of their shoulders, each.
"Why are you two talking?" Steven asked calmly.
"Um," Tyson said, "we were just um... Xander, um..."
"Xander?" Xander said as he looked to Tyson. He assumed that Tyson was blaming him for the discussion, "It was Tyson who, um..."
"Well," Steven cupped his hands together and said coldly, "you two can, um, recollect your thoughts in, um, detention. No more talking!"
Steven walked away as Camille watched him closely so that she would not receive detention when she spoke. "Guess you two learned your lesson, huh? Now, can you please be quiet? I'm trying to memorize the causes of evolution."
Tyson and Xander groaned quietly as Steven kept an eye on them at his desk.
*****
Classes were going by fairly smoothly for Tyson. His first few classes had memorable moments already, especially in Lance's class during the battle against Wheeler. Many people were talking about that battle even more now that they were outside in the Deep Forest Area located on the western portion of the main island for Team Building 101. Professor Will, an odd acting and odd looking man, had assigned each student to capture two Pokemon of different species before returning to the entrance of the forest. While in the forest, Tyson quickly managed to capture an abandoned Electrike and a sleeping Hoothoot. Once he returned to the entrance, a few of his fellow students were waiting, including Camille.
"What do you capture, Tyson?" she asked.
"An Electrike and a Hoothoot," he said simply. "You?"
"Well," Camille began, "I got a little excited about our first opportunity to capture Pokemon, so I ended up catching a Meditite, Combee, and a Swablu."
"How did you capture a Meditite in a forest? They're only native to mountains," Tyson said with a confused expression on his face.
She smiled and winked at him as she wagged her finger at him, "A magician never reveals her secrets."
"Of course," Tyson rolled his eyes as he looked to the forest as more students came out.
Soon, all of the students arrived at the entrance again, excluding Xander. Professor Will stood in front of the entire class as he peered into the forest for any sign of the boy. When he did not see him, he notified the class they all were going to go back into the forest to search for the young man.
"Follow me, class," Will sang as he led his pupil into the forest.
Tyson looked to Camille uneasily as he wondered what could be taking Xander so long to capture two measly Pokemon in this beginner's area.
After quite the hike, the class stumbled upon a dirty, dusty, and muddy Xander coming from deep within the forest. He held two PokéBalls in his hands as he held them up to Will, "I'm done! I'm done." The boy was extremely out of breath.
*****
After the school day had ended, Tyson and Camille met up in the FireRed lounge area and they waited on Xander to complete the process of taking his bath, which was taking longer than expected. While waiting, Tyson decided to name his Electrike and Hoothoot. He named them Ike and Hooter respectively. Both Trainers were sitting in love chairs as they waited for the third member of their 'trio' as their Starter Pokemon interacted with one another. Draco built an immediate friendship with Camille's Squirtle, Sheldon.
"I can't believe Xander got muddy catching just a Croagunk and a Kricketot," Tyson said, chuckling a bit. "He's definitely a character."
"Yeah, but it's strangely starting to become normal," Camille shrugged as she looked the male dorm's stairwell and saw Xander dressed in his now clean field clothes.
"Okay, I'm ready!" Xander shouted, running down the steps.
The trio headed out into the hallway as they were in pursuit of Bruno's class. Bruno was easily the most reliable Professor for Tyson and he had high hopes that the muscular man would tell him a tad bit about The Unknown Dungeon. However, Tyson had an unsure feeling. He didn't want Bruno to lose his job by telling a bunch of first years about a project they had no right to ask about. Yet, Tyson's curiosity was big, he could not help himself.
They went inside Bruno's class without knocking and opened the door. Because they did not take Bruno's class until second semester, the theme in his class completely amazed them. There were maps, pictures, and all sorts of geography related displays across the entire class room. The class was warm and inviting just like Bruno's personality. The large man was sitting at his desk before he looked up and saw Tyson and his friends.
"Oh, hello you three. Wasn't expecting to see you guys until second semester. Can I help you with anything?"
Tyson took initiative as he led Xander and Camille to Bruno's desk and stopped a few inches in front of it. "Yeah," he began, "I have a question about the academy."
"Understandable," Bruno said. "This academy has a ton of things a first year would question. Go ahead."
"Well," Tyson began, "it's about the, uh..."
"The what?" Bruno asked, a concerned look on his face.
"The Unknown Dungeon," Camille answered for Tyson.
"Oh the exploration area in the basement? That place has been off limits since the second semester last year. Why would you have a question about that place?"
"Tyson and I overheard Professor Rowan talking to a lab assistant talking about an experiment taking place in the dungeon. We as students feel that we have a right to know what it is," Xander shrugged as he said this bluntly.
Tyson and Camille shot a glare at him.
"What? You two were beating around the bush," Xander shot a glare back at them.
"Ah," Bruno interrupted the stare off, "The Unknown Dungeon is only to be discussed only by staff members at this time."
The trio had a disappointed expression on their faces. "Yes sir," the three said in unison before leaving out of Bruno's class.
As they got into the hallway, the trio crossed paths with Wheeler and his friends, Skyla and Hanley. Tyson exchanged glances with Wheeler, Camille with Hanley, and Xander with Skyla. A bit of a rivalry was already being made.
"You got a problem, Wood?" Wheeler said coldly to Tyson.
"No he doesn't, but I think your Torchic does after what his Charmander did to it!" Camille growled at Wheeler, "It's all around the school, Wheeler."
Wheeler, secretly embarrassed, sped up his pace as he said, "Let's get out of here, guys." Skyla and Hanley hurried behind him.
"That guy is all talk, I swear," Xander shook his head. "Even when you beat him he still manages to keep his yap open. Amazing."
"Yeah, well I guess it'll take a few more defeats to shut him up," Tyson said as he watched Wheeler walking away.
