CHAPTER 8
DEMITRI'S ELECTRIC FORCE
'I bet you that you can only win if you use your legendary Pokémon,' Kamon said to me as we were walking to the Pokécenter.
'I can too win even if I don't use Lugia or Ho-oh,' I replied. 'And I'll show you, too, when I fight the leader of this gym.'
'You'll probably just use some other legendary Pokémon,' said Kamon.
'I don't have any other legendary Pokémon,' I said. 'I'll tell you what. I'll use my Espeon and my Typhlosion. How's that?'
'Sounds good to me,' Kamon responded. 'But what are their levels?'
'Um…' I said. I looked at the computer screen that showed my Pokémon and their stats (we were inside the Pokécenter by now). 'Typhlosion is level 56,' I said, 'and Espeon is level 52.'
'Are you insane?' Kamon asked. 'You can't use a level 52 Pokémon against these gym leaders! They have Pokémon in the 80's and 90's! You get killed.'
'You underestimate my Pokémon.'
'You overestimate your Pokémon.'
I withdrew my Typhlosion and Espeon, and returned my Ho-oh and Lugia. I walked out of the Pokécenter. Kamon followed.
'What you are doing is suicide,' Kamon said as soon as he caught up with me. 'You can't win.'
'You'll see,' I responded. They'll all see, I thought. They'll all see that I am the best trainer that's ever lived.
We walked into the gym. The leader was on the other side of the gym.
'Have you come here to challenge me?' he asked. 'The great Demitri of Dim Town? The leader of all Electric-type Pokémon?'
Kamon leaned over to me an whispered, 'Humble, isn't he?' in a sarcastic tone. I nodded.
'I have come to challenge you,' I said, stepping into the arena. 'My counterpart here is not.' I pointed to Kamon. He glared at me in disdain. I knew he didn't like it when I said that. But I was just trying to provoke him to battle.
'All right. Bring it on. Go Raichu!' Demitri said. He threw an Ultra Ball into the arena, and from it emerged his Raichu.
'Espeon, let's do this,' I said. I threw the Pokéball containing my Espeon onto the playing field, and watched as my Psychic formation of Eevee materialized.
'Drew, you're not actually going to go through with this, are you?' Kamon questioned. 'Your Espeon will get killed out there.'
'Remember what Gatlin said,' I answered, 'you know, how you have to have faith? I have faith in my Espeon. I know that he can beat his Raichu.' I turned back to Demitri and his Raichu. 'Espeon, Psychic!' Surprisingly, the attack did reasonably well.
'Raichu, Thunder!' said Demitri.
'Detect, Espeon!' I yelled. A small, blue shield appeared around Espeon as the sheet of lightning crashed down onto my Pokémon. The attack was deflected. 'Good job. Now, I want you to use Return!' Espeon let out a small screech, and then charged at Raichu, ramming into him, but only doing mediocre damage.
'Raichu, I want you to use Body Slam,' said Demitri. His Raichu charged at my Espeon, and then jumped into the air. He slammed down onto my Psychic-type Pokémon, doing extreme damage. Espeon retaliated with Return. It was a critical hit.
Kamon, at that moment (I think) finally realized that Espeon could win. I think he also realized that I can control any Pokémon.
'Okay, I want you to use Thunder, Raichu,' Demitri instructed. Another lighting bolt struck Espeon. This time, though, it damaged him, and it damaged him a lot.
By some miracle, by some feat of imagination, Espeon survived. I was not exactly sure why he survived the attack, Raichu's most powerful attack. Maybe it was the good training I gave him before I caught Lugia. Maybe it was because he had a really good special defense. But then again, it could have always been that Gatlin was right: all I needed was a little faith in my Pokémon.
'All right, Espeon, a Hyper Beam!' I said. Espeon cocked its head into the air, and then lowered it. As he lowered his head, he fired a golden energy beam at Raichu. Hyper Beam slammed into him, knocking him out. Espeon had defeated someone twice his level.
'Amazing. Your Espeon is really well trained,' said Demitri.
Kamon walked over to me and commented, 'I cannot believe that a level 52 Pokémon beat a level eighty-or-ninety-something Pokémon, can you?'
'No,' I replied.
Apparently Demitri overheard Kamon's comment, and said, 'What level did you say your Espeon was?'
'Er, 52,' I responded.
Demitri's eyes widened, and his jaw dropped. '52!?' he exclaimed. 'No way! That's-that's impossible!'
'Obviously not,' I said. 'Now, send out your next Pokémon.'
'All right,' said Demitri. 'I will. Ursaring, go!' Demitri threw a black Pokéball into the stadium (I assumed that it was a Heavy Ball). A large, brown Pokémon with huge claws emerged. I recalled Espeon.
'Tyranitar, I choose you!' I shouted. I wanted this battle to be a contest of power. Both Ursaring and Tyranitar are very strong Pokémon.
'What level is this Pokémon?'
'I dunno,' I replied. 'Somewhere in the late eighties.'
'Then,' asked Demitri, 'why did you use a level 52 Espeon against me?'
'Because,' I answered, 'I wanted to show Kamon back here that I can win using any Pokémon I wanted, even Pokémon of much lower levels.'
'Ah. Well, you succeeded. Ursaring, Dynamic Punch!'
'Tyranitar, your Dynamic Punch!' Ursaring charged at Tyranitar, fist out. It glowed white as he swung it around. My Tyranitar did the same. Their fists met in the middle, creating a massive explosion! Both Pokémon took a huge amount of damage.
'Ursaring, use Hyper Beam!' Demitri instructed.
'Tyranitar, Dig!' I told Tyranitar. As the gold beam was about to strike Tyranitar, she dug underground. The beam easily missed. Tyranitar broke through the earth under Ursaring, colliding with the giant Pokémon. It was perfect timing. 'Good job. Now, use Crunch!' Tyranitar clamped down onto Ursaring, rendering the Pokémon temporarily helpless.
'Ursaring, use Metal Claw!' Ursaring held its paw high into the air, and then slashed Tyranitar. It barely phased him.
'Tyranitar, use Hyper Beam!' Tyranitar performed the extremely powerful Normal attack, doing a high amount of damage to Ursaring. Ursaring rose up from the ground, and growled. He charged at Tyranitar and then tackled her; Take Down, no doubt. Both Pokémon took damage; Tyranitar took more, obviously.
'All right. Ursaring, use Skull Bash!' said Demitri. Ursaring lowered his head, and then charged at Tyranitar again. Tyranitar held out her hands, catching Ursaring. With a surge of power, Tyranitar started pushing Ursaring backwards. Ursaring tried to counter-attack this, but he couldn't. He started to fall. Tyranitar finished her super-powered maneuver, and Tackled Ursaring. The attack and been reversed.
Teaches you to mess with my Tyranitar, I thought. Ursaring did not move. He was knocked out.
'Come back,' Demitri said. Ursaring was sucked back into the Pokéball. 'Okay, I know what to do. Electabuzz, I choose you! Use Thunder Punch!' Another Electric Pokémon came out. This one used Thunder Punch, an attack that slightly damaged Tyranitar, but paralyzed her. Usually, I would call back a paralyzed Pokémon. I changed my mind, this time. I would regret it.
'Tyranitar, Earthquake!' I instructed. Tyranitar was unable to move. Electabuzz attacked Tyranitar again, this time with Thunder. Tyranitar collapsed under the damage of the attack. 'No!' I sighed. 'Return…'
'Guess Tyranitar isn't as powerful as you thought she was,' Demitri taunted.
'Hey, you shut the hell up, or I'll make you pay in double!' I snapped. I was now very pissed off. No one insults my Pokémon.
'Ooh, I'm so scared.' Demitri waved his hands in the air. Now he did it. If I was closer, I would have punched the holy crap out of him. I hate people like that. They piss me off, being a complete jerk about everything, taunting you and stuff. They make me angry. Demitri was one of those people. Demitri was going to pay.
'Feraligatr, I want you to cause as much pain to his Pokémon as you can. Go!' I threw a Great Ball at Electabuzz. I missed.
Feraligatr came out with a shriek, and then eyed Electabuzz. I wanted vengeance. Somehow, I think, Feraligatr knew that. Therefore, Feraligatr wanted vengeance too. I didn't need to tell Feraligatr what to use. Feraligatr knew that all it had to do was inflict pain. It did not matter what Feraligatr used, as long as the attack inflicted severe pain.
Feraligatr used Earthquake; predictable, no doubt. Electabuzz collapsed, but then got back up, prepared to counter-attack.
'Thunder, now!' Demitri shouted. Feraligatr stuck up its wings, blocking it; Protect or Detect, I couldn't tell. Feraligatr then used Slash, once again knocking Electabuzz back. 'Electabuzz, try Thunder Wave this time.' I guess Demitri thought that Feraligatr's abilities would be hindered by being paralyzed. It would have worked, if Feraligatr hadn't blocked the attack again.
Although I found a cheapness in Feraligatr using the same attack over and over, I did not care. Therefore, Feraligatr did not either. Neither of us wanted it to be touched.
'Feraligatr, use Hyper Beam,' I commanded. Of course Feraligatr agreed. Electabuzz was once again pushed aside like a mere rag doll. Feraligatr had to recharge. This left him open for an attack. That was going to be trouble.
'Now's your chance, Electabuzz! Zap Cannon!' Electabuzz shot a yellow electric ball at the defenseless Feraligatr. It missed.
'You had your one chance to defeat me,' I taunted, 'and you blew it. You were arrogant. You were greedy. You tried to not only damage me but paralyze me, as well. Good job. Feraligatr, finish Electabuzz with a Surf.' Feraligatr did not need to use a powerful attack to knock Electabuzz out. I could have used something powerful, but most likely it would have missed (like Blizzard or something similar). A tidal wave crashed over Electabuzz. He was eliminated from the match.
'Come back,' Demitri said. He was obviously furious that his Pokémon had been defeated so easily. You could hear it in the frustration in his voice; you could see it when he called back his Pokémon.
Serves you right, I thought. Next time you won't make fun of my Pokémon.
'I want you to show this wannabe the true power of Electric Pokémon,' Demitri said as he readied another Pokémon. He fingered the Pokéball that it was held in. He threw the Pokéball. It was an Ampharos.
Feraligatr turned to me to see if I was going to give a command. I shook my head. 'Feraligatr, return,' I said. 'Ampharos, you go. Use Iron Tail.' My Ampharos swung its tail at the enemy Ampharos. The attack struck Ampharos in the torso. I couldn't tell how much damage it did. I often liked to; it helped my decide what attack to use, and where I stood in the battle. Of course, I always knew what was happening in the fight. That, I believed, was why I was so good. I always knew.
'Ampharos, use Thunder Wave!' A ripple of electricity raced across my Pokémon, disabling its every move. It didn't matter.
'Ampharos, Dynamic Punch!' I yelled. Ampharos confronted its enemy, and then punched it with all of his force. The attack not only did a lot of damage, but it also confused him. I can get away with it, I thought. The opposing Ampharos could do nothing but hurt itself. Then again, my Ampharos could do nothing. At all, actually. My Ampharos could do very little physically.
'Ampharos,' Demitri started, 'use your Mega Kick!' His Ampharos snapped out of confusion and then leapt through the air, his foot ramming into my Pokémon. My Ampharos retaliated with Headbutt, making the enemy Ampharos flinch. 'Ampharos, use Hyper Beam!'
'Never! Ampharos, use your Hyper Beam!' Ampharos attempted a Hyper Beam. Ampharos failed. Not only did Ampharos fail in using Hyper Beam, but he failed me as well.
My Pokémon failed me. Never has this happened. Well, not since Lugia failed me against Kamon in Silver Mountain.
Anyway, Ampharos failed in defeating Demitri's Ampharos.
'Over confidence is your weakness,' Demitri said.
'Your cockiness is yours. You are far too cocky to be a gym leader. It's a wonder more people don't defeat you,' I remarked.
'Then I guess we're sort of in the same boat, now aren't we. But there is one difference: you think you and your Pokémon are invincible.'
'I am. We are. Which is why I am going to defeat you! Ampharos, return! Come out Typhlosion!' I knew that if Typhlosion lost, I'd look like an idiot. I was mocking him. I was going to look like the lesser trainer if Typhlosion didn't win. If I didn't win. 'Typhlosion, Fire Blast!' My rarely used Typhlosion spat flames out at Ampharos, burning him. Ampharos immediately retaliated with a simple Thunderbolt. Typhlosion was down to (roughly) half-life. 'Typhlosion, try another Fire Blast!' Typhlosion repeated the attack, singing Ampharos and highly damaging him.
'Your Typhlosion is no match for my Ampharos! Use Thunder!' said Demitri. Death sentence, really. There was no way Typhlosion would live through it.
But what about what Gatlin said? He said that I had to have faith that my Pokémon could win. Right now, I believed that my Pokémon was going to lose. Which is why it would. No, I thought, I can't let him die.
'Typhlosion, no! I know you can win! Hang in there!' I shouted. Typhlosion, by some miracle, lived. No way. It was unbelievable. 'Yeah! All right, use Dynamic Punch!' The attack highly damaged Ampharos, and caused confusion. Ampharos damaged itself, nearly getting knocked out.
'Finish Typhlosion off with Thunder Punch!' said Demitri. And thus, Typhlosion was knocked out. 'Ha, how are your all-stars now?'
'I'll show you. Typhlosion, come back. Feraligatr, come back out and use Bite!' It was all that Feraligatr needed to use to knock out Ampharos. Demitri switched Pokémon to Electrode. 'And what sort of damage do you expect to do to me with an Electrode?' I questioned sarcastically. 'It's an insult to be fighting an Electrode.'
'It's an insult to still have you in this gym,' Demitri retorted. 'Electrode, Double Team!' Electrode spun around, spinning across the room, creating mirrored images of itself. No way would I let an Electrode outmatch me. Never.
'Feraligatr,' I started. But I stopped myself. I couldn't use Earthquake. Too predictable; Demitri would be expecting this and would spoil my plans. Dang, I thought. 'Um, Feraligatr, Slam!' Well, that wasn't the wisest decision, but it was something unexpected, nonetheless. Feraligatr's tail crashed down onto Electrode, critical hit. 'Great, now use Surf.'
Electrode, for whatever reason, was not attacking as of yet. Carpe diem, 'seize the day.' Moment, in this case.
The Water attack surged over Electrode, but did not do exactly what I thought it would. Instead of damaging it normally, it seemed to be absorbed. I quickly realized what was happening. Electrode was using Mirror Coat. A sparkling blue aura surrounded Electrode. The coat of energy was blasted at Feraligatr, highly damaging him.
'Take that, you rookie,' said Demitri. Man, I hated him. It was almost as though he did everything in his power to get on my nerves. 'Now, Thunder!'
It was then when the thought hit me that he was no better than I was. He used the same techniques, the same attacks...everything was something I would do. It was like battling myself. I knew how to stop him.
Anyway, if I lost the match it would be Kamon's fault. He's the one that talked me into using Espeon and Typhlosion. He was just trying to make me lose. He was deliberately trying to make me lose. I would get him for that, whether I won or not. No way would he make me lose. He's not even good enough to battle. I'll show him, I thought. My rivalry wasn't against Demitri; he wasn't even my real opponent. Kamon was. And that would be why I would win.
'Feraligatr, show Kamon what we are made of!' I shouted. Kamon was taken aback. Likewise with Demitri. Neither of them knew what I was talking about. Somehow, however, I thought that deep down, Kamon knew exactly what I was talking about. 'Feraligatr, Earthquake!' I reversed back to my original style of battling. I wasn't going to foil Demitri's plans. I was going to foil Kamon's by showing him that I can win using my style, whether it also be Demitri's style or not. Electrode took minor damage (due to Double-Team).
'Fool. I knew you would do this. Electrode, Zap Cannon!' At that moment I realized that Kamon really wasn't my enemy. Demitri wasn't my enemy. Not even Electrode was my enemy. I was my enemy. I tricked myself into using that attack. I was my own worst enemy.
Zap Cannon missed, allowing Feraligatr to attack again.
'Damn it...okay. Feraligatr, Crunch!' Feraligatr's mighty jaws clamped around Electrode's circumference, squeezing the life out of it. Electrode tried to fight against Feraligatr again, using Thunderbolt. It did mediocre damage. 'Now, Slash!' That was all it took to finish off Demitri's Pokémon.
'Return,' said Demitri. 'I choose you, Charizard!' I recalled Feraligatr again and sent out Heracross. 'Charizard, use Fire Punch!' The Fire-type Pokémon swung its flaming fist around, and the smacked Heracross with it.
'Rock Slide,' I said. I needed to stop using the predictable attacks. It got too, well, predictable. 'Follow up with Mega Horn!'
'Not so fast. Use Flamethrower to stop him!'
'Her,' I corrected. As Heracross charged at Charizard, a burst of flames seared Heracross, causing severe damage. 'Your funeral. Reversal, now!' Heracross held her hands in front of herself, and created a white ball of energy. It was shot at Charizard, doing twice the number of damage that he did to Heracross. Almost a knock-out.
'Not yet! Charizard, use another Flamethrower!' Of course, Heracross fainted.
'Dang! Heracross, come back, and Feraligatr come back out (again)!' I shouted. I had won this thing. 'Finish him with Hydro Pump!' With a final blast of water, Demitri's last Pokémon was knocked out. I had won. I proved to Kamon, Demitri, and myself that I could win no matter what. I really was the best trainer in the world.
'I cannot believe that you won this,' Demitri sighed. 'It's pathetic to lose to someone like you.'
'Eat Spearow crap and die, loser,' I retorted. I had enough of him.
'Fine. See if you get my badge,' said Demitri.
'Don't give it to me and I'll have my Feraligatr kill you.' Demitri was taken aback. He then conceded, like I thought he would.
'All right. Give me your Pokédex.' I handed the mechanical device to him. He uploaded the badge, and then handed me my Pokédex back. 'There you go. Happy?'
'Slightly,' I replied. I left the stadium, and headed back to the Pokécenter.
While there, Kamon was talking to me. 'Good job using your Typhlosion and Espeon,' he said. 'I didn't think you could do it.'
'Yeah,' I said in response. 'I almost lost, too.' Kamon nodded. I exchanged my Espeon and Typhlosion for Lugia and Ho-oh, and then left the Pokécenter to go west toward the fifth gym in Sandrock City.