RE: Mysteries of the Mind - A Trainer's Vision
Alright, since I'm super-cool and have the permission of like all the mods to do this anyhow, I'm gonna revive this thread after like 2 months hiatus. Why? Cause I have new content obviously!
Now, I don't expect anyone to remember ANYTHING about this, and don't expect too many updates for a while either; this is purely cause I was both bored and had a chapter half-done. It's also the end of a battle, which means the real hard part comes next. Don't expect this out for a fair while - I really have to think about it, and I just don't have time yet with courseworks and my exams coming up. With that said, the next instalment is coming... right now!
Chapter 20 – Ocean’s Calling
“What’s the matter Calum? Afraid of Dewgong over here?”
Cool as you like, Daisy simply gazed over towards Calum, gauging his reaction to her taunts. Not one to be angered by such petty things, Calum looked back, defiance all over his expression.
“Ha, scared of that thing? Hardly… a good pokémon is worth challenging! Now, take on Gardevoir!”
Throwing his next poké ball onto the field, Calum’s green and white embrace pokémon, Gardevoir, came out onto the central platform. She looked over at Dewgong, gauging the situation as Calum steadied himself for the tough test to come.
“Gardevoir… start this off! Hypnosis!”
Gardevoir fixed her gaze firmly onto Dewgong, eyes aglow. The soft amber glaze quickly entranced the sea lion, which dozed off on the surface of the water before long. Lying on its side without a care in the world… it was a peaceful sight to behold. Things weren’t going to stay that way, however…
“Come on Dewgong, wake up! We can’t let this guy have such an advantage like this… you have to DO something!”
Calum chuckled at Daisy’s outburst. “Sorry Daisy, but it’ll be sleeping for a fair while… but it won’t be sleeping peacefully! Gardevoir, Nightmare!”
In a flash, the amber glow in Gardevoir’s eyes switched to a menacing dark purple, as the Embrace pokémon began to further harass poor Dewgong. Sure enough, after around fifteen seconds Daisy’s Dewgong was writhing on top of the water, splashing around and creating a lot of small waves. He was clearly suffering a lot… but the suffering wasn’t going to end there. Knowing what was going to be asked of her as always, Gardevoir changed her focus and began to gather up ambient energy in the atmosphere around her. With Dewgong still in pain, she directed a vicious electrical charge at him, causing a knee-jerk reaction in the sea lion that sent him tumbling underwater.
After about a minute, the white Dewgong shot up to the surface, still a little dozy, but clearly extremely annoyed at the same time. And it wasn’t just Dewgong that was annoyed – Daisy was also clearly infuriated by the spell of good play on Calum’s part.
“Ugh, it’s SO annoying when there’s nothing you can do about stupid sleep here… at least we didn’t have that problem before! Oh well, have to make the most of things I guess… Dewgong, Ice Beam!”
“Stay sharp Gardevoir! Go for a Light Screen!”
Still irate from being exposed to Nightmare, Dewgong rapidly gathered chilling energy from within its body to fire in Gardevoir’s direction. In anticipation, the embrace pokémon created a shimmering, luminescent wall of light, tinted with a dark purple shade. Without any delay, Dewgong launched a chilling wave of energy so potent; it caused water in the air to freeze in a trail behind it as it shot through the air! The now frozen air tumbled graciously into the pool below… but the beam itself collided head-on with the dark barrier in front of Gardevoir! However, as strong as the Ice Beam was, it still couldn’t break the screen of energy in front of Calum’s pokémon. What it did instead was even more shocking though… as time progressed, the impact point on the light screen gradually turned whiter and whiter… before long, ice was forming on the surface of the barricade! By this time, the barrier had extended itself to completely surround Gardevoir. Both her and her trainer looked on in shock, however, as the ice both spread and thickened… eventually encasing the entire Light Screen with an extremely solid crystalline shell of ice! Even when the purple light faded seconds later, the ice stubbornly remained, trapping a stunned Gardevoir within a chilling prison.
“Woah… what just happened? I’ve never seen anything like that happen before… wow. That Dewgong is intense…”
Daisy picked up on Calum’s awe, and chuckled to herself. “Yeah, you better believe that Dewgong is awesome! Now, if we’re going to break that ice, we’re going to have to hit it really hard Dewgong! Give it your all! Giga Impact!”
Dewgong took a brief pause to collect himself for the charge of the match so far… and rocketed over towards the ice-borne stalagmite at a tremendous pace! This was no ordinary charge… this was an all-out assault that was nothing like any that Calum had seen previously! He could only hope that Gardevoir would be ok as the mighty sea lion smashed headlong into the pillar, causing it to shatter in a thunderous roar that lasted well over a minute. The falling ice made it impossible to see just what had gone on; all that could be seen was Dewgong’s panting silhouette on Calum’s side of the arena. Exhaustion prevented him from returning to the water. But, even as the ice began to settle, there was no trace of Gardevoir…
“Gardevoir… what HAPPENED in there exactly?”
A despondent Calum scanned the battlefield in search of his beloved partner, but to no avail. However, moments later…
“Take this…”
Gardevoir appeared directly in front of the immobile Dewgong and fired a series of rapid electrical pulses straight into him from point-blank range. Having no way to avoid them, and being so exhausted from the colossal effort of the previous attack, Dewgong could do nothing but cry in pain as he was quickly knock unconscious by the final assault. Seeing her opponent down for the count, Gardevoir fell to her knees, almost completely out of energy herself. Daisy gasped in utter disbelief.
“Wait… rewind a second… that Gardevoir was FROZEN! How did it not only survive my attack, but also land such a savage blow so soon afterwards! I just don’t understand that at all…”
After a quick check with his worn out partner, Calum turned his attention to Daisy. “Well… according to Gardevoir, she managed to Teleport just as the ice was being broken… so she got away from the full brunt of the attack. Once out of the way, she came back into the fray once the dust settled to finish Dewgong once and for all. I never expected that thing to be SO tough… and you still have two pokémon as well… this could be extremely difficult!”
Gardevoir looked round in Calum’s direction, still almost completely devoid of energy. Both of them knew that they couldn’t take much more before the embrace pokémon would have to be recalled. Unfortunately, Daisy saw this fact just as clearly… and wasted no time aiming to capitalize on the situation to look for the upper hand.
“Ok, so maybe you just got a little lucky at the end of that last one… but you won’t be so lucky this time! Wailord, go!”
Only when he heard those words did Calum really take a proper look at the arena, and realised just how enormous it actually was! And it had to be as well, for the pokémon that Daisy sent out was surely the most gigantic of them all… a colossal blue and grey whale spanning over forty-five feet in length appeared out of the four-inch Net Ball thrown by the gym leader. The bottom half of the whale’s gargantuan body was a murky grey colour, marked with thin grooves that gave a streamlined appearance. The upper half, including the flippers and tail, was a brilliant blue colour, save for four grey spots that decreased in size going towards the tail. A strange red and grey garment was tied around the tail… this quickly caught Calum’s attention.
“Ready for this Calum?” asked a gleeful Daisy, clearly hiding something in this battle. “Wailord, Waterfall!”
Calum looked a little puzzled by the object tied around Wailord. “What the… is that… Gardevoir, when it attacks, use Protect!”
Wailord began a moderately slow charge towards the ailing Gardevoir, who was still kneeling down on the middle platform. However, she still had the energy to fulfil Calum’s command; casting a blue aura around herself, she managed to ward off the goliath of a whale as he attempted to make an impact with his water-infused tackle. Faced with such a powerful, unmoveable barrier, the whale pokémon recoiled back into the water, before making another charge. Soon enough, the blue light began to fade… and, after five consecutive Waterfalls, Gardevoir was left entirely open!
“It IS what I thought it was… Gardevoir… I’m sorry to have to ask this, but... you’ve been great. Please, you know what to do.”
“I understand…”
Fighting tears back as he issued Gardevoir’s final command, Calum closed his eyes and turned away from the battle scene until he knew it was over. Gardevoir, now barely strong enough to remain upright, closed her eyes and waited for Wailord’s attack. Soon enough, Daisy had issued the command, and Wailord began one final charge headlong into the defenceless Gardevoir. The connection was swift and brutal; without a wasted second, Gardevoir was down and out. But… as she fell to the ground for the last time, a jet-black shadow of her remained in the position she once stood in! Having already crossed over to the other side of the pool, Wailord turned round and found the shadow standing ominously on the platform where his opponent once stood. Thinking that it was the real Gardevoir pulling wool over his eyes, he made another rash attack, colliding at full force with the shadow… and passing right through! But, the shadow was now nowhere to be seen… for a few seconds at least. Before long, a black aura began creeping over Wailord from the tail up! Feeling the creeping presence overtaking him, the whale pokémon began thrashing frantically, as if trying to shake the shadow off of him. Everyone in the arena gasped in shock as the shadow crept further and further towards Wailord’s face, before finally covering him entirely. Silently constricting the giant whale, the last few seconds of struggling saw him desperately clinging onto his consciousness… then, fatigued and unable to breathe, he succumbed to the shadow’s grasp, and lay knock out in the water. Daisy was once again in disbelief.
“You had better explain yourself REAL quick Calum… just what the hell was that THING there? It almost looked as if Wailord was dying there…”
As both players recalled their pokémon, Calum took a moment to gather his thoughts before explaining. “That… was Destiny Bond. I REALLY didn’t want Gardevoir to faint, but… seeing her condition, and the Choice Band you had on that thing, I didn’t have any choice. Her final act was to bring Wailord down with her… I’m just sorry it had to look so HORRIFIC there.”
“But I’m still not letting up; as long as you have a pokémon left, I know you can win. So… I’ll let this little guy handle THIS match! Eevee, go!”
Calum’s chocolate dog with the pendant emerged onto the waterlogged centre platform. Having his paws wet as soon as he came out certainty didn’t please the creature. He turned his head in disgust, surveying the rest of his surroundings in the process. Daisy giggled at the little dog’s reaction to the battlefield.
Heh, looks like your little Eevee disliked the water Calum! Well, it’s going to truly hate this beast then… Gyarados, take him down! You’re my last hope here…”
Daisy’s final Net Ball was flung into the arena, and just like in the previous match the intimidating blue seas serpent came roaring into the arena, striking fear into all who looked at it. Especially Eevee. Quivering slightly at the prospect of trying to take such a goliath on, the tiny dog stared anxiously at his trainer for any form of reassurance he could give. Calum wasn’t even that sure himself though…
“Wow… I didn’t expect this thing to come out for some reason… sorry Eevee, I didn’t mean for you to get caught up against THIS thing… however, that doesn’t mean you can’t do SOMETHING to it! Shadow Ball, go!”
Doing all that he could to stay focused on the task at hand, Eevee, tentatively closed his eyes, channelling his thoughts into the Void Pendant. The pendant responded with a crackling sound, followed quickly by a pulsation of black energy. Seeing this, Daisy knew she had to act fast.
“Oh no you don’t! Gyarados, disrupt it with Dragon Rage!”
Seeing the state of his opposition, the huge monstrosity roared once again, casting a jet stream of orange-blue flames in the direction of the focused Eevee. The flames connected with somewhat precise accuracy; however, they were short-lived, and didn’t stop the melancholy ritual that the chocolate dog seemed to be performing. As soon as the flames died down, the pendant sparked once again, now positively shaking with the power it was generating. A brilliant black ball of pure darkness began to form in front of the pendant, transparent like the last use. Finally, Eevee opened his eyes – now the same shade as the Shadow Ball – and shot it over the stadium towards Gyarados.
The energy took less than a second to collide; way faster than anyone (except Calum) expected. Once again the mighty dragon roared, but this time it was in anguish! The serpent fell backwards into the water, looking almost totally drained by the intensity of the attack. Eevee himself, now out of the trance-like state, also collapsed in a heap on the floor.
“Seems like Shadow Ball took its toll on both of us there…” Calum said softly, looking closely at the situation. Eevee began to stir again, slowly but surely regaining his composure enough to groggily stand on his feet. He looked around the stadium for signs of his opponent; when he couldn’t find any, he looked curiously at Calum, wondering what was going on.
Daisy smiled. “That was a good attack Calum… such a lot of spirit for a small creature. But it ends here for him. Gyarados, now! Hyper Beam!”
Calum looked on in shock. “Wait, what!? Eevee, look out!”
The warning came FAR too late though. Deep underneath the surface of the water, Gyarados had been recovering its strength, and had amassed enough energy to generate an orange sphere of raw power in his jaw! With an almighty splash, he came rising out from under the surface, wasting no time in firing the energy in a cylindrical beam straight at the awestruck brown dog in front of him. The wave was so large that it covered the entire platform that Eevee stood cowering on… there was nowhere to run to avoid the onslaught! In an instant, the energy crashed into Eevee, crushing any hopes he had of winning the match-up in a fraction of a second. After four seconds of pure energy coursing through the poor dog’s body, the attack ceased, and Eevee simply lay unconscious on what was left of the platform he once stood on. Seeing the very foundations of the platform beginning to break apart, Calum instinctively called Eevee back without hesitation; in his state, there was no way he would be able to swim if the platform collapsed!
Daisy looked a little surprised. “Wow, did that attack REALLY just break my platform? Man. Gyarados, you didn’t have to go THAT far!” She started angrily at the giant blue dragon in front of her, who merely glared back, breathing heavily as he did so. Seeing that he was still recovering from his last attack, Calum aimed to end this quickly.
“Doesn’t matter to me Daisy; my last pokémon takes to the water more readily anyhow! Milotic, he’s all yours!”
Throwing his last poke ball onto the field, Calum sent out his own sea serpent pokémon; the beautiful Milotic. Heading straight under the water, she awaited instructions whilst her opponent was still out of breath.
“Milotic, he’s recovering from a Hyper Beam! Waste no time, go for a Blizzard!”
Milotic came up from below the surface, with a bluish-white glow around her antennae. She opened her mouth, and summoned a harsh polar gale that howled across the stadium, right into Gyarados! The enormous beast once again roared in pain as the freezing attack struck. The storm was so harsh that minute ice crystals began to form on the surface of the water… and ten seconds into the storm, they began to creep up the body of Gyarados as well!
Daisy gasped. “No way… Gyarados, you can’t freeze! Break out of there, now!”
But it was no use. As good a struggle as he could put up, Gyarados was powerless to prevent the inevitable happening. The ice crystals became larger and larger as the attack waned, fully encompassing the colossal body of Gyarados and prohibiting his movement altogether. He simply lay in the water like an extremely disjointed iceberg, with no hope of breaking free. Milotic simply stared placidly at the work of her attack; this was exactly what she wanted to happen. Almost instinctively knowing what was coming next…
“OK, enough toying around. Milotic, finish this; Hidden Power!”
… she closed her eyes, focusing on gathering all of her innermost energy for one all-out assault. Unable to even turn his head to see what his opponent was doing, Gyarados simply closed his eyes as well, waiting for the inevitable knockout blow to happen. And he didn’t have to wait long. After one short minute, Milotic let out a cry and unleashed a wave of pale yellow sparks in all directions from the centre of her body. The sparks crackled intensely, almost like an electric current flying through the air. They smashed into the frozen Gyarados, breaking through the ice with devastating consequences. He writhed and flailed around in the water out of sheer agony, sparks running all over his still icy body. The ice provided a path for the sparks to travel across; this only made it worse for Gyarados, since the sparks travelled much faster on the solid ice. The shock became so intense that the dragon could no longer support his own weight above the water. He splashed down into the aquatic arena, truly out for the count this time. Daisy sighed, recalling her last pokémon, and conceding defeat once and for all. Exiting the arena, Calum, Daisy, Ryan and Pam all gathered outside the entrance.
“Ok, ok, you won already…” she said quietly, almost unwilling to acknowledge the fact that Gyarados could lose like that. “Can’t say luck did me any favours, but… a loss is a loss. Here, the Palm Badge is yours.”
Daisy held her hand out her hand to Calum, presenting her elusive tree badge that finally granted him access to the open waters. Calum gratefully took the gift.
“Thanks Daisy… really. That match was intense! Seriously, I didn’t think I would win that after going through so much.”
Daisy smiled. “Well, it was a worthwhile game, for sure. But, you won in the end, as expected. Anyhow… you’ll need this if you’re going to go across the water. It’s VERY special, so take extra care of it!” Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out a luminous blue disc with a distinct white label-like mark on the top. Calum took the disc, recognizing instantly what it was.
“That’s Surf, isn’t it? Wow… are you sure it’s ok to give me this?”
“Of course it is silly,” said Daisy, bemused at Calum’s reaction. “If it wasn’t, you wouldn’t be getting it! Just be careful out there… things are going to get even harder for you from here on out, and I want you to PROMISE that you’ll return safely. No ifs or buts – you ARE coming back.”
Calum blushed slightly, unsure as to how to respond to this. “Uhh… yeah… sure…”
Daisy frowned. “Maybe you aren’t hearing me right. You, ARE, returning safely.”
Seeing her expression, Calum hastily tried to recover his composure. “Ok, you got a deal. I’ll come back in one piece, for sure!”
Ryan yawned audibly. “If you two are quite done… we have an island to explore! Let’s move it people!”
Pam laughed. “Yeah, I need to get going as well. Thanks for the great spectacle you two… maybe I’ll get to battle you someday Calum.”
And so it begins… the journey to Pokémon Island. Maybe the truth will finally be revealed there… just what purpose does the pendant serve in this world? What lies beyond the void? Is there really anything in there, or is it just empty space? Will mankind’s lust for power corrupt the world once again? Perhaps we can finally find out the truth…
Give that one some thought whilst I go to bed
