CHAPTER 28
THE FINAL FIGHT
'I've been into Kanto,' she said, 'but that was it. I've never been here before.'
'Quite frankly,' I replied, 'I don't want to be back.'
'Why?' Carly asked.
'Because...well, I fought the master of the Prime League-Mistress, actually-last time I was here, and, well...I lost. I don't think I'm powerful enough to win.'
'Yes you are,' she assured me.
'She is just...so powerful. You don't understand. She uses Mew, Suicune, and Raikou. It's insane.'
'You can win. I know you can.'
'Thanks,' I said, and kissed her.
Kamon and I walked into Center Stadium in Center City. The very stadium where we lost to Crystal only months earlier (it was the beginning of March now).
'You can battle first,' Kamon said to me. 'I want to see how you fare.'
'All right,' I said quietly. I was still uneasy. Could this be the way that Kamon felt when he went to battle me again several years ago?
Kamon stood in the corner of the stadium again. Carly joined him. I walked slowly into the center of the amphitheater where Crystal stood. She had heard we were coming, and was awaiting my arrival.
'Back again, I see. But only to lose again?' Crystal sarcastically remarked.
'Shut up and start the battle,' I retorted.
'Hasty!' she said, shaking her index finger. 'But, if you insist...I'll send out Tyranitar first! Go!' She threw an Ultra Ball into the arena, unleashing the familiar Rock Pokémon.
The Final Fight had begun once again.
'Heracross, go!' I shouted.
Crystal thought for a moment before she selected her move. I knew I had caught her off guard. 'Mega Kick!' she commanded.
Her Tyranitar leapt off the ground and kicked Heracross in the torso. It was perfect for my next attack: Reversal. I told Heracross to reverse the damage, doing four times the normal amount of damage, and nearly knocking out Tyranitar. Things were already going better than the last time I fought her.
'Tyranitar, Fire Blast!' The stick-figure flames enveloped Heracross, but my Bug-Pokémon rose from the ashes, and attacked Tyranitar with Earthquake. My first knock-out. 'Dragonite, I choose you! I wish for you to attack with Aeroblast,' said Crystal. Before the colossal bluish-white beam crashed into Heracross, I recalled my Pokémon.
'If you want to fight that way, go Lugia!' I cried. 'Dragonbreath!' The bout was similar to the last one, with the exception that I knew what was coming. The green flames licked Dragonite's body, causing mediocre damage.
'Dragonite, your Thunder!'
'Protect!' I shouted. Lugia stared up as the lightning bolt crashed down, and then bounced off Lugia's shield. Perfect timing, I thought. Again.
'Dragonite, Outrage!' Crystal commanded. The energy attack beat down Lugia, but my Pokémon came back with Blizzard, doing tremendous damage. Plus, Dragonite was confused. Or so I thought. Dragonite flashed white, and was cured. There was only one explanation: a bitter berry. 'Dragonite, Thunderbolt!' Electric sparks shocked Lugia, brining it down to its feet, but not quite knocking it out.
'Lugia, Rest, and Snore!' Lugia went to sleep, recovering all of its health. Before Dragonite could retaliate, Lugia used Snore, knocking him out.
'Return, my gracious Dragonite...and come out, Celebi!' said Crystal. Celebi unleashed a Solarbeam while Lugia snoozed. The attack woke my Pokémon up, though.
'Lugia, Aeroblast again!' The beam blasted Celebi across the room. Celebi came back with Ancient Power, but it did little. Lugia used Ice Beam, but it, too, didn't do much.
'Celebi, Hyper Beam attack!' Crystal yelled. Celebi fired the golden light beam, critical hit, nearly knocking out Lugia. I recalled Lugia, and sent out Heracross.
'Mega Horn!' I shouted. Celebi was nearly knocked out. Celebi used Giga Drain, recovering a little health, and knocking out Heracross. I sent out Ho-oh, and told it to use Flamethrower. The spout of flames was enough to knock out Celebi. Things so far were definitely going my way.
'Mew, go!' said Crystal. My worst fears became a reality as the small Psychic-type Pokémon emerged.
'Ho-oh, Sacred Fire!' I shouted, trying to keep my cool. Mew was slightly charred by the attack.
'Mew, Rock Slide!' Rocks tumbled down on top of Ho-oh. My Pokémon was buried in the gravel. However, with a burst of flames, the rocks disintegrated, and Ho-oh was back in the battle.
'Hyper Beam!' I dictated. Crystal mimicked me in instructing Mew to use the same attack.
Instead of just firing beams straight at each other, the two Pokémon flew around the room, blasting Hyper Beams. Walls fell and parts of the ceiling crumbled. Ho-oh and Mew continued the intricate dance, weaving in and out of falling boulders and trying to keep away from the other Pokémon's Hyper Beam. Finally, a slab of rock fell down on Mew. As the tiny Pokémon plummeted toward the ground, Ho-oh dove while firing Hyper Beam. The rock shattered, and Mew was struck by the attack.
'All right!' I shouted. Mew hit the ground, sending a cloud of smoke up.
As Ho-oh continued its dive toward the earth, Mew rose from the ground and attacked Ho-oh with Psychic, and then Hydro Pump, knocking out Ho-oh. I sent out Lugia.
'Lugia, Iron Tail!' I said. Lugia slammed its tail into Mew, but it came back with Thunder. Lugia used Mirror Coat, reflecting the attack and causing enormous damage to Mew.
'Softboiled,' said Crystal. She smiled widely.
'Perish Song,' I told Lugia. The eerie tune caused a countdown clock on both Pokémon. Crystal tried to switch Pokémon, but I was too quick-I commanded Lugia to use Mean Look. Both Pokémon were going down.
'You...idiot!' she said. 'You will lose your most powerful Pokémon!'
'So will you,' I replied. I smiled. 'And in this case, I think you have to more powerful Pokémon.'
The muscles in Crystal's face tightened. She was irate. 'Unless, of course, I can knock you out! Mew, Hyper Beam!'
Crystal had gone into a frantic battle mode. She was trying to pull off the most powerful attacks she could in a desperate attempt to win. It almost never worked.
I told Lugia to use Recover, twice. We were down to one move each.
'Explode,' Crystal muttered.
'You fool!' I shouted. Mew self-destructed, taking itself down. Lugia swiftly retreated to the outside of the stadium, as to not take the full damage of the attack. Lugia barely survived (I felt relieved that I used Recover twice). Crystal whimpered as she called back her Mew.
'Raikou, go! Thunder!' The attack nearly knocked out Lugia. Raikou was attacked by Lugia's Earthquake. Lugia fell to Thunderbolt.
'Tyranitar, come out and use Earthquake!' I said. The concrete floor of the stadium ruptured, and Raikou languished through another attack. Crystal call back Raikou and sent out Suicune.
'Hydro Pump!' she yelled, pointing at Tyranitar. A raging wave of water gushed about Tyranitar. She used Thunder, though, at my command. Suicune repeated the attack, knocking out Tyranitar.
'Ampharos, go! If you will, use Thunder!' Ampharos unleashed the powerful Electric attack on Suicune, but it was reversed with Mirror Coat. It didn't matter; Ampharos knocked out Suicune with Thunderbolt on its next turn.
Raikou was Crystal's only Pokémon. Plus, it was damaged. However, Feraligatr was the only Pokémon I had aside from Ampharos. It was vital that I kept Ampharos alive-losing him would give Crystal the advantage. She was still very much in this battle.
'Raikou, Hyper Beam attack!' Crystal cried. Her Pokémon opened its maw, blasting the beam at Ampharos. My Pokémon came back with Dynamic Punch and Iron Tail (since Raikou recharged). Crystal told Raikou to use Hyper Beam again, this time punishing Ampharos enough to knock him out.
It all came down to this. Raikou was almost knocked out, but if I didn't hurry up, Crystal could easily get back into the match. Even, though I hated to say it, win.
'Feraligatr, go! Earthquake!'
'Detect!' said Crystal.
'Another Earthquake!'
'Protect!'
'Cheap,' I remarked.
'Whatever works,' she said, smiling.
'The end justifies the means?'
'Exactly. Now, Raikou, Thunder!' The lightning zapped Feraligatr, brining it down to half-life.
'Feraligatr, use Crunch!' I commanded. Raikou took the hit, but did not fall. Somehow, it was still alive. This was becoming a battle of stamina. Almost a stalemate. Whoever got in an extra attack would win, by my guess.
'Raikou, Spark!' Crystal must have thought that Feraligatr was injured enough so she only needed to use a weak attack. I learned early on to always use benefit of the doubt-err on the side of more powerful attacks. She hadn't learned her lesson; Feraligatr lived.
In an instant, almost like a beam of light graced the stadium and Feraligatr awoke with an unnatural stamina, Feraligatr seized the opportunity and knocked out Raikou with Earthquake. I finally beat Crystal. I finally became the Pokémon Master. Not only of Johto, but of Gehta and the Orange Islands. Kamon still reigned over Kanto, though. I'd have to get him back for that.
Crystal collapsed, too. In grief that her throne was stolen. 'You rightfully earned it, too,' she said. 'You were able to overcome four legendary Pokémon. You are definitely more powerful than I.'
'Thank you,' I said.
'Therefore, you are now crowned Pokémon Master. You will now be recognized as more powerful than any other trainer. Here is the badge-the final badge. This badge is a real badge, though. Keep it with you-trainers across the world will recognize it and you.' Crystal spoke. She slowly strolled over to me and handed me a blue circular badge with a red Pokéball in the middle. Behind the Pokéball was a map of Kanto, Johto, and Gehta. Around the outside in yellow letters it read, 'Declared Pokémon Master of the World & United Pokémon League-Johto, Kanto, and Gehta.'
I thanked Crystal again and walked to the back of the stadium. Carly ran up to me and hugged and kissed me. 'I told you that you can win,' she said.
'You were my good luck charm,' I replied, grinning from ear to ear. I turned to Kamon. 'It's your turn.'
'I'm not battling,' he said.
I was taken aback. 'Why? I thought that the entire reason why we went down to the Orange Islands was to become powerful enough to beat Crystal!'
'Even if I beat her,' Kamon started, 'I wouldn't be able to beat you.' Kamon, Carly and I turned around to leave Center Stadium.
As we were leaving, Crystal shouted, 'Kamon, wait!'
Kamon turned around. 'Yes?'
'You said that you trained this entire time, right?' she asked.
'Yeah, why?'
'Well, I only need your Entei to complete my collection. I'd be willing to trade a Pokémon for it,' Crystal replied.
'Which Pokémon?' Kamon said, puzzled look about his face.
'Well, I suppose that you wouldn't want Dragonite or Tyranitar, since they aren't legendary...I couldn't give you Suicune or Raikou...so I guess the only Pokémon would be Celebi. Would you take it?'
'Uh, yeah! Of course!' Kamon said. He released his Entei. 'Look, buddy-I know that we've been pals for a while now, but this is it.' He sighed. 'Goodbye, Entei.' He hugged his Pokémon, and recalled it. Crystal did likewise.
At the local Pokécenter, they exchanged Pokémon. We bid our farewells, and left to Johto.