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The Sevii Islands Saga

Manaphyman

Sevii Trainer
36
Posts
15
Years
A bit different this time, but here I am, with the redone chapter from Serebii.

Chapter 7: Torchic and Flare

They shuffled their feet, the mood destroyed by the bombshell delivered. Mike and John were devastated, a dark red tarnish now marking their grandfather's legacy. George and Joey, while somewhat upset for their friends, were still awed by the sight of Moltres, the Phoenix, and the revelation of its Redeeming powers.

"If John's the Redeemed, who is the Saved? Or the Protected?" George asked shyly, breaking the silence as they continued to progress down the barren mountain side.

"Dunno. Could be any one of us, or someone we haven't met yet. Or it could be a load of ********," Joey reasoned, a hint of jealousy developing in his tone.

"Its not ********," John muttered, his head bowed in shame. He didn't want to be redeemed for anything, he did nothing wrong; but if Aunt Lorelei had said it, he believed it.

"I bet Joey's the one that needs to be saved, and George is the one that needs to be protected," Mike said, almost in a joking tone. He lost his footing on some of the crumbly sandstone, but recovered his balance. Fearing another fall, he stared at the ground, wary of the oblong red rocks and jutting pieces of sandstone.

"Why is that Mike, because I'm an ******* and George is a pussy?" Joey spat, confrontationally, drawing from comments stemming from an old fight.

"Oh ****ing come off it," John stopped in his tracks, looked up, and yelled at his friends.

"This isn't turning out to be the journey any of us planned for, but we can't do anything about it. If we start jumping down each others throats, then what the **** has this been for? What are we doing here?" he barked, his emotions continuing to best his logic.

There was an awkward silence, the cooling afternoon breeze taking the sour mood and seemingly whisking it away. John looked around, calming his mood by looking at the beautiful landscape before him.

They stood poised at the tree line of the volcano; the area in back of them was composed of sun-dried ashy red rocks, a true volcano setting. Before them though, the landscape changed, palm tress dotting the descending slope, swaying with the breeze, providing shelter for Pokémon and shrubs alike. Grass began at the foot of the mountain, although it was in patches and tinted a light brown; the standard for beach grass. From their vantage point, they could see everything: the rolling surf battering the edges of the skinny island, undistinguishable bird Pokémon, flying in the distance, trainers scurrying to set up camp, and of course, the main city a few miles southwest.

What really caught their attention was the scuffle proceeding before them. Locked in battle, a petite feathered chicken Pokémon was attempting to get its footing on its stubby talons; digging its menacing claws into the ground. It reared its large head back, revealing a feather pattern in the shape of a flame perched atop it, and slammed it into the purple and tan mass before it.

The other mass was sent flying into a palm tree, the tree itself splintering and catching fire as a result. The mass turned out to be another fire Pokémon, this one four legged, with a long snout and a round back, from which fire emerged. The Pokémon essentially looked like a bonfire with a head, but John knew it to be a Cyndaquil, and it was preparing to launch a Flamethrower attack. Both Pokémon seemed beat up pretty badly.

"Alright, enough is enough, Mike, we should stop this," John ordered, irked that he had to exert energy into yet another fight.

"Sure, you take care of Torchic and the damned tree," Mike ordered, a sense of urgency appearing in his voice as he reached for a Pokéball.

John reached for one as well, calling out Wingull. The seagull Pokémon, relieved to be out of confinement, flew hastily into the air, ascending into a loop and a barrel roll.

<Wohoo! Freedom!> it cawed, before descending to its mission.

"Dowse that fire," John ordered, pointing to the embers that slowly grew upon the brown back and exposed wood of the tree.

<You could say please…>the bird replied, irritated, a look of disdain appearing in its shinning green eyes.

"Fine, please, and after that, take care of the Torchic," John said, becoming both aggravated and flustered at the situation. His mood was slowly deteriorating.

Wingull obliged, taking a moment to build up the water within its beak, and then shooting a steady torrent, cooling the tree's embers until they were a fine ash. A small puff of white steam, a result of the hot and cold reaction, rose up, until it was ceased by the steadily increasing wind.

The bird Pokémon moved towards the Torchic, who was limping towards a shrub for shelter. Its small form couldn't handle its injuries however, and it fell to its limp knees, its head falling hard into the dirt.

<I think it would be better to throw the Pokéball instead, this one looks like its down for the count,> Wingull joked, stopping short of its dive and hovering over the Pokémon.

"Alright, it's worth a shot," John answered, pulling a Pokéball from the left pocket of his bag and tossing it at the creature, aiming carefully to avoid capturing the bush. A fern wouldn't do too well in battle.

Torchic disappeared into a bright red light, consumed by the Pokéball. The little sphere rolled once on the soft dirt, staining the white half of it with ash and dried mud. It then proceeded to stop, signaling a capture. What bothered John was how abrupt it had stopped; a warning sign that the Pokémon was extremely injured.

He recalled his new Pokémon out of its Pokéball, and into his arms. He examined its light orange underbelly, finding a plethora of black blotches, and an indent dangerously close to where its lungs would be. It probably had a few broken ribs, which, if left unchecked, could puncture a lung and kill it.

"Hey, this Torchic is banged up pretty badly, I think I'm going to go ahead and get it to the Pokémon Center," John shouted, beginning to make his way back down Kindle Road. He decided to return the Pokémon to its ball, where it would at least be safe, free of all the bouncing and irritation that would ensue if it remained in his arms.

"Fine, just go, we'll be right behind you!" Joey yelled to the back of John's head; as he had already taken off down towards the dirt road in the distance.

The others in the group stood dumbfounded, oblivious to the shouts of Mike as he tried to complete his capture.

"I don't care if that thing was a goddamn Arceus; just throw some freaking rocks on it!" Mike yelled at his Bonsly, throwing his bag on the ground in frustration.

George chuckled at Mike's stupidity, and turned to Joey, attempting to fill the silence.

"What the hell is with all the starter Pokémon?" he asked awkwardly, observing a now infuriated Mike wrestling with the feisty Cyndaquil.

"Well, its-," Joey began, but was interrupted by Mike's insane yelling.

"Shit it bit me! Now you're in for it!" Mike screamed, Bonsly slowly bringing him the Pokéball that he needed to capture the fire Pokémon.

"-it's the breeders. They force their Pokémon to mate until they produce an alternate colored Pokémon, or one with a specific move, and then dump the extras in the wild. These islands are so small, that those Pokémon and even Eevee aren't rare anymore, at least not here," he continued, gritting his teeth each time Mike yelled. The capture was obviously not going well.

"Now just stay inside," Mike grunted, now wrestling with a Pokéball, his hands wrapped around its surface, keeping it shut.

"That's what she said," Joey laughed.

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

By now, John had made it about halfway down the island, his lanky legs making good progress along the dirt road. The boy however, was losing stamina and speed, and fast. His Pokémon were not big enough for him to ride or fly upon, and thus, he was on his own. He had to rest, re-gather his strength and breath and trudge on, but he refused. Instead, he continued, slowing his face so that he could look at the map on his Poketch.

His fingers shakily navigated their way to the map upon it, zooming in on the small island containing Kindle Road. Judging by the scale presented, he had about a half a mile until the beach, and a full mile until he reached the Pokémon Center. At best, he could be there in a half hour, which was unacceptable. The warmth and energy given off by the Pokéball was fading fast, meaning Torchic didn't have too much time.

"Hey! Wait!" a voice called from behind them. John stopped, clutching Torchic's and Eevee's Pokeballs. Approaching them was a magnificent white unicorn, its back and tail ablaze with fire. The clamor of its hooves became increasingly audible as it galloped; each step closer brought more of its beauty to light.

Atop the Rapidash was middle aged man with bright, flowing, red hair, dressed in a flamboyant white suit. His white pant legs almost blended in with Rapidash's pure fur, but there was a slight color contrast. He wore blue tinted sunglasses, which hung off his pointed nose and obscured his eyes. The pair rode up beside him, the elegant horse pausing in front of him.

John didn't know who he was, in fact, he didn't care. He was desperate and he needed a miracle, and this Rapidash, in its majesty was his miracle.

"Please sir, you gotta help me. My Torchic is really hurt, and I need a lift to the Pokémon Center," he begged, panting.

"I've been trailing you for the past hour and a half, you looked like you were in trouble," he said, motioning for him to get on.

"I am John, by the way." John introduced himself, climbing on to the horse, attempting to get his footing.

"The name is Flare, gym leader of this island," he introduced himself, grabbing the Pokéball out of John's hand and attempting to give him a lift. John reached for it, but the fatigue and lack of footing bested him, and he slipped, falling backwards and slamming his head on the ground, knocked unconscious the second time in two days.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A few hours later

He awoke, groggy, his head throbbing and his eyes blurry. The boy lifted his heavy head and looked around the stark white room. It looked like a standard Pokémon Center room, a bland, white walled, three-bedded chamber. There were various paintings plastered about, each depicting a different Pokémon or landscape within the island. There was a purple bureau, which was adorned on top with a medium-sized TV, currently switched off.

"Oh crap. Where am I?" John asked, confused.

"You need your rest son," a deep voice ordered. "You fell off Rapidash and passed unconscious. I took the liberty of taking you and your Torchic here. They healed your Torchic and gave you this room to stay," Flare explained, his head appearing above the boy's bed. His blue tinted sunglasses were no longer obscuring his hazel eyes; they were instead inverted, almost hovering above the man's fiery red hair. It made for a haunting effect.

John began to come to his senses, finding Eevee and Wingull on his bed relaxing with him. A bandaged Torchic also clutched his thighs, clinging to his trainer. It's torso and wings were wrapped with linen bandages, its leg neatly set in a small cast.


"Will he be okay?" John asked, a hint of fright appearing in his voice.

"He'll be in fighting shape in a couple of days, which is good, because I schedule your gym battle this Thursday. That gives you four days to train and recover," Flare smiled, hoping his surprise would elevate the boy's mood

"Awesome! Can it be 4 on 4, Mike and I verse you?" John asked excitedly.

"Sure, I was going to tell you that anyway. Two of your Pokémon and two of Mike's verse four of mine," he specified, leaving the room.

"He's awake!" Joey yelled, the boys rushing into the room and huddling around them.

"So Mike caught the Cyndaquil!" Joey laughed, "It was one hell of a battle."

"Lindsey caught a Ponyta, and we rode home on it, it was so sick dude," Mike panted out of breath from shouting the information at John.

He closed his eyes, ignoring them and patting Torchic lightly and attempting to fall back asleep. He would deal with it all, including Lindsey, in the morning.

To be continued…..
 
Last edited:
716
Posts
16
Years
Okay, here's my review for your fic.

The prologue starts off okay, explaining things excellently. At first, John seems a bit cocky, but throughout the story, his personality improves.

Chapter 1

It sounded silly, after all, how could you bond with an egg?

I'm not sure, but I think the comma after 'silly' should be a ;


Houndour, my friend, Houndour.

There are other mistakes, but I don't want to make this review a 'bash Manaphyman' fest. Overall, the chapter was well written. I liked the scene where John visits the grave of his grandfather.

Chapter 2

I wasn't overly keen on the beginning of this one. It seemed filler-ish. But it improved after he left the Ice Cave and met his friends. I've been thinking about the second half of this chapter for a while and I wondered if John and his friends would ever give nicknames to their starters, not just the other Pokémon they have in their teams? (It's just a suggestion; you don't have to take it if you don't wanna). Oh, and Deoxys' attack was pretty cool.

Chapter 3

More news on Deoxys? Wheeeeee! Yeah, anyway… *looks sheepish*… (Sorry, am hyper this morning…). It saddened me to read of John's female Eevee crying like that.

Sevii Islands Schooner

When I read of your rewrites/revamps on the other place, and saw this with your comment afterwards of "alliteration (ftw!)" I laughed. And the veiled, mysterious appearance of Lorelei was awesome, too.

Chapter 4

I guess the only part in this one I really liked was when Lorelei made them into Chosen and said that they had to get the swords.

Chapter 5

Lindsay caught a Chatot? Cool. Wingull Vs Charmeleon? At first, one would think Charmeleon would win due to his experience level. But Wingull kicked his fiery foe into submission fairly quickly and easily, too. And Eevee Vs Eevee? Even better when John's female Eevee won.

John and Lindsay sitting in a tree...

Chapter 6

Lorelei caught Moltres with a Master Ball… that must mean that she is gonna catch Articuno and Zapdos with Master Balls as well. And when all three of them are caught, she's going to try and secure Deoxys again, isn't she?

Chapter 7

Edit: Yep, this version of Chapter 7 was much better. I liked how Flare said he'd followed John for one and a half hours. Stalking much?
 
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Manaphyman

Sevii Trainer
36
Posts
15
Years
Okay, here's my review for your fic.

The prologue starts off okay, explaining things excellently. At first, John seems a bit cocky, but throughout the story, his personality improves.

Chapter 1

It sounded silly, after all, how could you bond with an egg?

I'm not sure, but I think the comma after 'silly' should be a ;



Houndour, my friend, Houndour.

There are other mistakes, but I don't want to make this review a 'bash Manaphyman' fest. Overall, the chapter was well written. I liked the scene where John visits the grave of his grandfather.

John was very cocky in the prologue, and he is somewhat early in the fic as well. Yet he progresses as a character, and eventually overcomes this.

(My bad with the Houndour thing)

Chapter 2

I wasn't overly keen on the beginning of this one. It seemed filler-ish. But it improved after he left the Ice Cave and met his friends. I've been thinking about the second half of this chapter for a while and I wondered if John and his friends would ever give nicknames to their starters, not just the other Pokémon they have in their teams? (It's just a suggestion; you don't have to take it if you don't wanna). Oh, and Deoxys' attack was pretty cool.

Yeah, quite fillerish, but I had to throw something in there as I waited for the egg to hatch. John's friends will be giving nicknames to their starters and the other Pokemon on their teams, and John will do the same. (39 and 40 :])

Chapter 3

More news on Deoxys? Wheeeeee! Yeah, anyway… *looks sheepish*… (Sorry, am hyper this morning…). It saddened me to read of John's female Eevee crying like that.



When I read of your rewrites/revamps on the other place, and saw this with your comment afterwards of "alliteration (ftw!)" I laughed. And the veiled, mysterious appearance of Lorelei was awesome, too.

I enjoyed the Deoxys attack too, and I believe I said "awww," when I wrote about Eevee crying.

Glad you noticed the alliteration thing, and of course, Lorelei. ;]

Chapter 4

I guess the only part in this one I really liked was when Lorelei made them into Chosen and said that they had to get the swords.

Yep. The way it happened in the old chapter was absolutely horrific, so I'm glad I rewrote this.

Chapter 5

Lindsay caught a Chatot? Cool. Wingull Vs Charmeleon? At first, one would think Charmeleon would win due to his experience level. But Wingull kicked his fiery foe into submission fairly quickly and easily, too. And Eevee Vs Eevee? Even better when John's female Eevee won.

John and Lindsay sitting in a tree...

I'm glad you liked the captures! I justify Wingull vs. Charmeleon by Scott's lack of battling skills and his inability to handle such a powerful Pokemon early on. I think...

Yay for female Eevees!

Chapter 6

Lorelei caught Moltres with a Master Ball… that must mean that she is gonna catch Articuno and Zapdos with Master Balls as well. And when all three of them are caught, she's going to try and secure Deoxys again, isn't she?

Yeah, she is. You wont see those captures though, rather feel those reprucussions throughout the Sevii Islands. And no climax spoilers!

Chapter 7

Edit: Yep, this version of Chapter 7 was much better. I liked how Flare said he'd followed John for one and a half hours. Stalking much?

Yep...stalkerish. He had good intentions though, seeing the boy frantically running for that same amount of time. Glad you liked it and thanks for the review!
 
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SilverStilletto

~Bubble~Bubble~
168
Posts
14
Years
hi, i just picked your fanfic out of the list because it sounded interesting, but im glad i did. i really really like how things are going so far. gym leaders in the sevii islands? way cool. deoxys powerful enough to destroy a whole island? MORE way cool. i noticed plenty of grammer and spelling mistakes, and a few awkward sentences, but hey, fanfics are generally pretty long, are they not? you'd expect someone to make a few mistakes. i like how the characters started fighting after spending some time together. that makes them seem more real. i dont know if my feedback helps in any way; im a newbie to fanfics; but i like what i see and cant wait for more! and thats whats important, right? that your readers like it?
 

Manaphyman

Sevii Trainer
36
Posts
15
Years
hi, i just picked your fanfic out of the list because it sounded interesting, but im glad i did. i really really like how things are going so far. gym leaders in the sevii islands? way cool. deoxys powerful enough to destroy a whole island? MORE way cool. i noticed plenty of grammer and spelling mistakes, and a few awkward sentences, but hey, fanfics are generally pretty long, are they not? you'd expect someone to make a few mistakes. i like how the characters started fighting after spending some time together. that makes them seem more real. i dont know if my feedback helps in any way; im a newbie to fanfics; but i like what i see and cant wait for more! and thats whats important, right? that your readers like it?

Haha well I am quite glad you did, another reviewer is always a plus. I'm glad you liked the gym leader and Deoxys. There are plenty of mistakes, you are right about that, and I do apologize. I'm working at it with my beta, so no worries. :]

I'm glad you liked the fighting, its something that I am trying to incorporate with the rewrites. (These are rewrites of chapters I first posted on serebii. In fact, there are 40 chapters posted there, with a plethora of One-Shots.)

Thanks for your review, I really appreciate any and all critique. :]

New chapter should be up in 2-3 days.
 

Manaphyman

Sevii Trainer
36
Posts
15
Years
Yeah well that 2-3 days didn't happen. Sorry guys. I took time to advance the fic on serebii, which by the way, is three chapters from the climax. At any rate, the rewrites must go on, so here is the new Chapter 8. On Serebii, we're at Chapter 42 btw. Yep. 42. We have some catching up to do...

Chapter 8: White Flame

He rubbed his eyes, blinking furiously. It was far too early for this sort of thinking.

Yet Mike had insisted they pull an all-nighter and plan their strategy down to the last detail, something that first excited John; now irritated him. After several hours of planning and re-planning they had decided that John would use Eevee and Wingull, and Mike would use Bonsly and Staravia. The moves they planned on using were initially coordinated, but for some reason John couldn't remember them, as there had been far too many changes.

The two had fallen asleep in the lobby of the Poké Center, John curling up on the rather larger leather recliner and Mike walling asleep on the table, the papers they had used for planning filling in for his pillow. They hadn't planned on falling asleep, but its tempting allure and lulled them into closing their eyes for what they thought would just be a moment.

Slowly regaining consciousness, he fumbled with his Pokétch. The array of digital lines revealed the time: 7:00.

"Crap! Mike we have to get up," he called, jumping out of the chair.

Mike woke up as if he was coming out of an exorcism, his arms flailing, loud grunts spewing from his mouth. Even the receptionist chuckled to herself as she began to resume work for the day.

"Someone better be dead or dying!" he yelled. Mike was always incredibly cranky in the morning.

"I'll do you one better, we have a half an hour until our gym battle," John responded flatly. Years of dealing with Mike had taught him not to take his crankiness personally.

The sour look on Mike's face immediately disappeared as his inverted eyebrows softened and a look of concern seized him. The boy became as frantic as his counterpart, scooping up papers, fixing his hiked up pants and clipping his Poké belt around them.

After their five minute rampage, the two ran out of the lobby, into the rising morning sun. Despite the time, the temperature had already reached a crisp 70 degrees. John was always a morning person; he always enjoyed waking up just as the sun was peering over the trees, immersing himself in the gentle red and orange hues only visible at this time. The same scene had presented itself today, much to his delight.

He was so busy staring at the sky, he had neglected to see his zealous friends, who had awoken and met them outside the lobby. Mike had already thanked them, both excited and anxious about their surprise. They now stood before the distracted John, waiting for acknowledgment.

As if he was coming out of a trance, John shook his head, noticing the three.

"What the hell are you guys doing here? Go back to sleep!" he jokingly yelled. To be honest, he probably wouldn't have done the same if he were in George or Joey's position.

"You're welcome," George said flatly, patting him on the back. Lindsey just snickered.

"I'm here for Mike," she muttered. John chose to simply ignore her.

"No way in hell we're going to miss your first gym battle," Joey exclaimed, attempting to do damage control, "but we just might if we don't get the hell over there."

So the five progressed to the gym, which was just a few minutes walk away. The walk would have been pleasant had John not been so obscenely nervous. Normally he liked these tranquil moments, they were good for observations and Pokémon watching, and certainly for thinking. But now, thinking was the enemy- his thoughts were powerful, often crippling him in times like these.

His stomach was in knots, which he attributed his nausea to, but he quickly put all that aside once he saw the gym.

A magnificent building, the One Island Gym was built into the side of the mountainous terrain. In reality, the building itself was just a façade; the gym was actually a cave, the doors and walls built to give room for the field.

They approached the gym at first skittishly, but at this point the confidence had been booming within John. He took charge, and led the group up the hillside, and into the gym.

As they entered through the cracking glass automatic doors, they abruptly entered the arena, much to their surprise. The gym was old, built without a waiting room or even an office for the Leader. It was a cave, after all.

The arena itself was enclosed, enough height and length for a battle but still constricting. Even though the heat of the day had yet to seize the Island, the insides of the mountain warmed the rocky edifices of the arena.

Standing on the opposite end of the arena was Flare, decked out in a fully white suit, complete with golden buttons that ran up his jacket, complementing his glaringly red hair. The red Pokéballs in his hand stuck out like sore thumbs.

"Alright folks, you know the rules. Two Pokémon each, let's go," He chuckled warmly, tossing two Pokeballs onto the arena.

In an explosion of red light that illuminated the various rocks in the cave appeared two equally red Pokémon: a bipedal lizard with a dull horn and flaming tail, and a rather awkward looking slug, also on fire.

"Eevee, show time," John whispered into his Pokéball, releasing the docile fox onto the arena.

"Come on, Bonsly!" Mike yelled, in a rare display of emotion. The boy had to be excited; this was the moment the boys had been planning for nearly ten years.

"Your move kids," Flare acknowledged, nodding.

"****!" John whispered to Mike, "I forgot the plan."

Without losing a beat, the awkward boy with the bowl shaped haircut answered, "Follow my lead."

"Alright, Bonsly use Rock Throw on that Slugma!" Mike commanded.

"Eevee use Dig, you know the drill," John remembered. It was show time.

Eevee's claws glowed a vibrant white, and in a few seconds, she gained the power to dig into the hardened ground. After she moved the first layer of rocky soil, she was able to move under her opponents, digging an elaborate system of tunnels under the two. The volcanic soil was easily malleable, considering it was so brittle.

In the meantime, Bonsly continued to heave oversized rocks at the Slugma, the poor thing taking hit after hit. The Pokémon just stood there and took it, much to the group's surprise. Everything about the battle was a surprise though, really. Lindsey, George, and Joey were still mesmerized by the petite bonsai Pokémon picking up, let alone throwing, rocks of any kind.

"Enough of this nonsense. Charmeleon, throw Slugma into the air, Slugma, Fire Blast," Flare yelled.

Grudgingly, the Slug Pokémon allowed itself to be tossed in the air by its seemingly over eager lizard counterpart.

It let out a mighty roar, as mighty as its tiny, formless body would allow, and released a towering inferno at Bonsly. The human shaped blast slammed into Bonsly, and despite some visible discomfort and a grunt, the Bonsai Pokémon seemed to be unaffected.

But Slugma was not done. Gravity had taken over, pulling the Pokémon into a nose dive, aimed directly at Bonsly. The Pokémon desperately tried to waddle out of the way, but it was to no avail, the forms collided. Bonsly was knocked over, the Slugma beginning to constrict it, squeezing the remaining consciousness out of it.

"Just what I wanted! Bonsly use Flail," Mike shouted, triumphantly. In reality, it wasn't what he had wanted; John had tipped him off to it earlier to that possibility, but, why give him the glory?

John rolled his eyes, seeing what had happened but refusing to erupt into a confrontation that would end their challenge.

Bonsly ignored the trainer's brief spat, flailing around desperately, slamming the three pronged branch on its head into the face of the slug, and using it as leverage to launch it into the air.

Once the slug landed a few feet away, it collapsed.

Flare raised a Pokéball and recalled the Pokémon, instead beginning to reach for another.

"Alright Eevee, before he calls in another Pokémon, now use Shadow Ball!"

A plethora of static purple balls were released from the underground, using the holes dug by Eevee as their venue to escape onto the field. They trapped the frazzled Charmeleon in an artificial jail, before, like heat seeking missiles, slammed into their target. The lizard Pokémon was unable to escape the wrath of the attack.

"Bonsly, Rock Throw, again at Charmeleon!" Mike yelled.

The little Pokémon tried to oblige, trying to gather a rock to throw, but was unable to. Its bout with Slugma had weakened it sustainably, and, almost simultaneously with Charmeleon, it fainted. Lucky for Mike, the Rock Throw was not needed.

Shocked almost, but not deterred, Flare just simply tossed two Pokémon onto the arena floor. The magnificent, pure, beautiful horse of a few days ago, Rapidash appeared, alongside a lanky orange fowl. The flame like feathers on its head gave it away as Combusken, the evolved form of Torchic.

Mike called out his next Pokémon, the Staravia he had caught almost a week prior.

The energetic starling Pokémon hovered in the air, fidgeting as if it was attempting to contain an abundance of hyperactivity.

"Eevee, we're going to have to strike early or we're finished, use Psybeam!" John ordered, taking charge of the battle. It wasn't an attempt to upstage Mike by any means, but merely to advance his own skills.

Rapidash, without any command, had started to charge toward the tiny fox, absorbing the blasts of pink energy, which, despite doing damage, did nothing to stop the impending attack.

"Rapidash Extreme Speed, Combusken Mach Punch!" Flare shouted.

The Rapidash slammed into Eevee, its speed and girth sending the Pokémon straight into the cavern wall. It fainted almost instantly.

John sighed, slightly worried, but more annoyed at the gym leader's choice of a rather powerful Pokémon. He returned Eevee into her Pokéball, decided to take care of her later.

"Wingull, let's go, front and center," John commanded.

<At your service!> the bird chirped, humorously.

"Alright bud, you're going to have to really concentrate your water efforts on Rapidash, there really isn't another way we can defeat it," John explained.

<I'll try!> the little Pokémon became determined, flying up towards the ceiling, and beginning to unleash a Water Gun attack. The steady stream hit Rapidash first as an annoyance, becoming a real problem only when the Pokémon understood that there was virtually no escape from the attack.

Meanwhile, Mike's Staravia was feverishly attacking the Combusken. The large bird was locked in a fierce battle with the young fowl Pokémon.

"Staravia, use Wing Attack!" Mike called as a counter to Mach Punch. The bird obliged, dodging the rapid attack and responding by cutting the fighting Pokémon with its glowing wings.

Combusken recoiled, and then launched another Mach punch, curling its three clawed fingers swiftly into a fist and thrusting towards the bird.

"Staravia, Wing Attack again, end this!" Mike called. Combusken was fast, but speed was on the side of the bird, who absorbed the attack and responded by slicing at Combusken, this time dealing the fainting blow.

Combusken collapsed from the attack, but even this he used for his advantage, falling on top the weakened Staravia's head with enough force to knock it unconscious.

"God Damn it!" Mike cursed, recalling the Pokémon. He looked at John pleadingly, "this is all you man."

John nodded, instructing Wingull to continue his attacks. It was only a matter of time now.

"I had enough of this, Rapidash Bounce!" Flare angrily commanded, a bit of an out of character moment for the gym leader.

The large horse bounced in the air using its remarkable legs, nearing the area where Wingull hovered, if this attack made contact, the newly caught Pokémon wouldn't stand a chance.

"Wingull, give it all you got!" John called. What else could he do?

The Pokémon obliged, releasing a powerful torrent of water directly at the incoming Pokémon, throwing it off course, at it evaded. Rapidash crashed to the ground, and after a brief tenure attempting to pull itself up using its hind legs, fainted.

After a brief moment in silence, the pair jumped in the air, letting out the pent up energy and anxiety that had plagued them before the battle.

Wingull descended into John's arms, as he squeezed the little Pokémon's triumphant body.

Flare walked to the two trainers celebrating, and handed over two rather new, shiny badges. They were shaped like a flame, three prongs of course, except devoid of the normal yellow, orange, and red, instead replaced by white. There was a small hole in the middle, probably for effect. After admiring it for a while, John placed it in his case. Six more. Seven if he were in any other region.

"The White Flame badge is no small accomplishment my boys. You battled hard, but know this. There will be leaders much stronger than I. I suggest you continue on the path that you are on, it shouldn't lead you astray."

To be continued…
 
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