Chapter 5
Five hours later after visiting the pokemon center to get their pokemon healed, Black Jack and the vice-gym leader Cassandra went to the Rustboro City gym. Inside the gym, a large number of audience members, mostly children, were there to gave a cheer when the two trainers came out together. Roxanne was part of the audience as well.
¡°So, Black Jack,¡± Cassandra said. ¡°Are you ready for this?¡±
¡°I think you already know the answer,¡± Black Jack replied. ¡°How many pokemon we¡¯ll be using?¡±
¡°Three-on-three will be fine.¡±
¡°Alright then.¡±
¡°I wish Seed was here to see this, he¡¯d enjoy watching this,¡± Cassandra sadly thought. But she spotted Seed as part of the audience. Seed gave her nod, motioning that he was very proud of her. Cassandra smiled back in response.
¡°I¡¯ll pick first,¡± Black Jack said. ¡°Go Metagross!¡±
Metagross popped out of his pokeball and yelled out his battlecry.
¡°A Metagross? I never seen that pokemon before,¡± Cassandra said.
¡°Why am I not surprised?¡± Black Jack asked. ¡°Even Gym leaders have things to learn, even when they¡¯re the best ones.¡±
¡°Hmm, I must choose carefully,¡± thought Cassandra.
¡°Come on,¡± Black Jack said. ¡°Choose one your pokemon.¡±
¡°Magneton!¡± Cassandra yelled. ¡°I choose you!¡±
Magneton popped out of its pokeball.
¡°Magneton! Attack!¡± Cassandra ordered. ¡°Thunderbolt!¡±
¡°Metagross! Psybeam attack!¡± Black Jack ordered.
Magneton charged up its electric powers and shot the attack, while Metagross effortlessly shot out two Psybeams out of its eyes. One of Metagross¡¯ psybeams collided with Magneton¡¯s Thunderbolt while the other hit Magneton!
Magenton shook away the dizziness that it took from Metagross¡¯ psybeam. ¡°Magenton,¡± Cassandra called. ¡°Are you okay?¡±
Magneton nodded in reply. ¡°Okay,¡± Cassandra thought. ¡°I must try something else.¡±
¡°Magenton,¡± Cassandra yelled out. ¡°Tackle attack!¡±
Magneton flew down at Metagross, but neither Black Jack nor Metagross were responding to that attack.
Magneton rammed into Metagross, but to everyone¡¯s surprise, neither of them were fazed or hurt.
¡°So, Metagross¡¯ a steel type as well,¡± Cassandra thought. ¡°I got to think of another strategy in order to win.¡±
¡°Metagross!¡± Black Jack shouted. ¡°Tackle attack!¡±
Metagross leapt into the air and gave Magenton a tackle attack, only it¡¯s more powerful than Magenton¡¯s. Magneton fell to the floor hard, but it¡¯s still able to battle after it quickly picked itself up.
¡°Metagross!¡± Black Jack shouted. ¡°Tackle again!¡±
¡°Magenton! Use Thunderbolt!¡± Cassandra commanded.
Magneton used Thunderbolt on Metagross and it took damage. But that didn¡¯t stop Metagross from tackling Magneton about. ¡°Now, Metagross!¡± Black Jack commanded as Magenton was knocked down. ¡°Stomp it now!¡±
Magneton lifted up one of its front legs and stomped Magneton through the ground, knocking it out. Cassandra became shocked of what she saw. She called back her defeated Pokemon. ¡°It¡¯s okay,¡± she said. ¡°You did you¡¯re best.¡±
She picked out another pokeball. ¡°Go, Absol!¡±
Absol came out of her pokeball. ¡°An Absol?¡± Black Jack asked in a confused tone. ¡°Why use that?¡±
¡°Absol!¡± Cassandra shouted. ¡°Flamethrower attack!¡±
Absol shot out her flamethrower. The attack was too quick for both Metagross and Black Jack to react as it hit Metagross, knocking him out.
¡°Shoot!¡± said Black Jack, cursing himself for underestimating Absol. He called back his pokemon. ¡°Nicely done,¡± Black Jack said. ¡°Not only that we¡¯re even here, but you took out one of my best pokemon as well.¡±
Black Jack picked out another pokeball. ¡°Go! Salamence!¡±
Salamence gave out a loud roar, as it prepared itself for battle. ¡°Salamence!¡± Black Jack shouted. ¡°Fly attack!¡±
Salamence flew high up in the air and then dived down at Absol. Luckily, she jumped out of the way. ¡°Good dodging, Absol,¡± Cassandra said. ¡°Tackle it back!¡±
Absol leapt into the air and hit Salamence with her tackle attack. ¡°Nice move,¡± Black Jack thought. ¡°Even though she¡¯s a kid, she battles like a pro. But she still has a long way to go to beat me.¡±
Absol and Salamence kept on exchanging blows on their trainers¡¯ commands. Both pokemon became spent as they breathed heavily.
¡°It¡¯s nearly out, Absol!¡± Cassandra shouted. ¡°Finish him off with Sword Dance and Take Down attack!¡±
Absol spun around to perform her sword dance and then ran at Salamence. He and Black Jack stood their ground, waiting for Absol to hit the move.
¡°You got them now!¡± Cassandra shouted.
¡°Salamence! Counter now!¡± Black Jack commanded.
Salamence lifted up his front legs, grabbed Absol and quickly, using Absol¡¯s strength speed and strength against her, threw her over his head! Absol landed on her back.
¡°I never seen that before,¡± shouted one of the audience in amazement.
¡°How did he do that?¡± Cassandra asked herself aloud.
¡°I¡¯m no magician,¡± Black Jack replied. ¡°But I never reveal my secrets. Now Salamence! Hyper Beam attack!¡±
Salamence quickly shot out a powerful Hyper Beam at the weakened Absol, knocking her out. She was no longer able to battle. Cassandra called her pokemon back and sent out her Gardevoir.
¡°Hmm¡¡± Black Jack murmured. ¡°Salamence return. You¡¯re doing good, take a breather.¡±
Salamence returned to its pokeball. ¡°Nidoking!¡± Black Jack shouted. ¡°Your turn.¡±
Nidoking popped out of his pokeball and gave a loud roar. Both pokemon stood tall for battle. ¡°Why would Black Jack use Nidoking?¡± Cassandra thought. ¡°He should know that a poison type like Nidoking wouldn¡¯t stand up against Psychic attacks.¡±
¡°Nidoking,¡± Black Jack shouted. ¡°Tackle attack!¡±
Nidoking charged at Gardevoir, but she countered it by using her Psychic blast, which blew Nidoking away. ¡°Normally, an average poison type would give up against Psychic types,¡± Black Jack thought. ¡°But Nidoking is an exception. He¡¯s as tough as I am.¡±
From that point on, each time Nidoking used any attack, Gardevoir kept on countering that move with psychic attacks. And each time Nidoking gets hit, he kept on getting back up. And Black Jack was still confident about the situation.
¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Cassandra thought. ¡°Nidoking should¡¯ve been down and out by now.¡±
Nidoking was being battered, bruised and weakened, but he just won¡¯t stay down. Suddenly, Black Jack felt that anger ignited inside Nidoking as he gave a loud roar. ¡°You¡¯re in for it now, kid!¡± Black Jack warned. ¡°Nidoking! Rage and Thrash attack now!¡±
¡°Gardevoir!¡± Cassandra shouted. ¡°Psychic attack.¡±
Gardevoir used her Psychic attack to hurt Nidoking, but he never felt Gardevoir¡¯s attack as he ran and tackled her like a madman. When she got caught, he started pummelling her like a punching bag, ending the attack by giving her a Mega Punch to finish her off. ¡°GARDEVOIR! NO!¡± Cassandra cried as she saw Nidoking giving Gardevoir one heavy punch to the face.
As Gardevoir lay there, everyone thought that she was defeated. To everyone¡¯s shock, Gardevoir slowly picked herself up. Even Black Jack was shocked.
¡°Nidoking!¡± Black Jack shouted. ¡°Grab Gardevoir¡¯s neck.¡±
¡°Gardevoir!¡± Cassandra warned as Nidoking was walking up to Gardevoir. ¡°Look out!¡±
But Gardevoir was too dizzy to concentrate as she turned round, only to get caught in the neck by Nidoking¡¯s claws. ¡°Slam her now!¡± Black Jack ordered.
Nidoking, still having the anger inside him, slammed her. The impact was so hard that it sounded like a rock breaking into pieces.
Gardevoir, feeling rather weak, feeling that every part of her body was killing her, still wouldn¡¯t quit as she slowly picked herself up again. Seeing that, everyone was shocked. Not wanting to see her Gardevoir get hurt anymore, Cassandra ran to protect her from Nidoking. ¡°Enough!¡± she yelled. ¡°I surrender¡¡±
¡°That¡¯s enough now, Nidoking,¡± Black Jack said. He then turned to Cassandra. ¡°Nice timing, kid. You¡¯re not a bad trainer after all.¡±
¡°You¡¯ve beaten me, Black Jack,¡± Cassandra said in a defeated tone. She turned to the audience. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, everybody¡¡±
But, apart from getting boos, the audience gave a standing ovation to both Black Jack and Cassandra. ¡°They like you, kid,¡± Black Jack said.
Roxanne came down to the battlefield and congratulated the two trainers. ¡°Even though a loss is a loss,¡± Roxanne said. ¡°You battled very well, and I¡¯m very proud of you.¡±
¡°For the past several months, you have been uncompassionate to those around you, but Black Jack showed that everyone needs compassion for their pokemon. He also helped you to show everyone that you¡¯re not a bad person anymore.¡±
¡°Actually,¡± Black Jack replied. ¡°We were finishing off what we started the other day. And judging from your Gardevoir¡¯s face, Cassandra, this battle has not ended yet. Might as well leave it for another time.¡±
Black Jack called back his Nidoking and congratulated it. He was about to leave the gym, but Cassandra called him back. ¡°Wait, Black Jack. What about the badge?¡±
She showed him the Stone Badge. ¡°If you take this,¡± she said. ¡°It¡¯ll take you one step closer to the Hoenn League.¡±
¡°But I¡¯ve already got eight different Hoenn League gym badges,¡± Black Jack. ¡°A long time ago.¡±
¡°Take it, a badge is a badge. Just a reminder of our battle.¡±
¡°Okay.¡±
Black Jack took the Stone badge and was about to leave but Cassandra stopped him again. ¡°Black Jack!¡±
¡°Yeah?¡± Black Jack replied.
¡°Don¡¯t tell Gardevoir about it. She¡¯ll get mad at me.¡±
Black Jack gave a small laugh as he left the Rustboro gym and the city itself.
Elsewhere, not far from the gym, Seed was standing on a lamppost, thinking some deep thoughts as he looked at Black Jack riding his motorcycle. ¡°Black Jack is quite an extraordinary individual,¡± he said to himself.
Next episode: Black Jack meets an old acquaintance from his Team Rocket days, and it¡¯s not just anyone¡