THE BLACK LEAGUE By d2kfuture Comments complaints and enquiries to d2kfuture@hotmail.com THE BLACK LEAGUE Chapter 11 The light suddenly disappeared as I was struck savagely from behind. I turned to face Harold once more. Without even leering at me, he punched me in the face again. Blood flowed freely from my nose. He pushed me to the ground and began kicking and pummelling me. Meanwhile, a large group of Rocket Grunts were attempting to capture Eon, Scizor and the two Magnix. Eon was standing up valiantly. However, his coat had caught fire and he was quickly losing HP. Scizor attempted to put out the flames but to no avail. Things seemed hopeless. Harold continued kicking me and hurting me as much as he could. I knew that sooner or later I would faint again. I grabbed at my belt and released the first pokemon I touched. It was Larvitar, my weakest pokemon. However, there was nothing else to be done as Harold grabbed my belt away to prevent me releasing any more pokemon. Larvitar rushed to protect Eon from the Rocket Grunts, using his powerful Tackle attack. They did nothing however, as he was at such a low level that they could just push him away. He became infuriated and began using Rage. This was a completely different story as each time they pushed him away he got steadily angrier. Soon all their pant legs were in tatters and blood was dripping from them. With a last roar, Larvitar used his Rock Throw attack, picking up stones and flinging them at the Rockets. They retreated for the moment and Larvitar rushed to my aid. He jumped on top of Harold, and bit deeply into his neck. Harold screeched in agony. Larvitar carried me quickly to a safe spot behind some rocks. He left me there. I stared at the raggedy, old belt which I had picked up along the way. It was my belt! Harold had dropped it when Larvitar had bitten him. I quickly released all my pokemon. Ampharos, Houndoom, and Quagsire all were released from their pokeballs. I ordered them to go and help Larvitar and Eon. They quickly complied and left. Soon, sounds of battle could be heard from the other side of the large pile of rock. I felt that I was sufficiently recovered to join in the battle. I jumped over the rocks with only a slight twinge of pain. What met my eyes was spectacular. Quagsire had doused the flames from Eon and Scizor had used Recover on him. Now they were working together as a team to drive the Rockets back. Scizor and Eon had erected azure barriers around themselves and the other pokemon. Every now and then the barriers would change colour as an attack hit it. However, none of the barriers disappeared. When it looked like my pokemon were winning however, a huge group of Rockets appeared on the horizon, flanked by a large group of pokemon. Rapidash were rushing ahead while Slowking dragged behind. When my pokemon saw the oncoming group they did not give up however. If anything, they redoubled their efforts to stop the oncoming group from damaging them. A large wall of flame came from Houndoom's mouth to stop the oncoming group. It was reinforced my an electric one from Ampharos. Meanwhile, Quagsire was dealing out Earthquakes left, right and centre. The small group that had been attacking them was definitely coming off second best. Grunts unconscious bodies were lit up by the aura given off from their barriers and the great wall of electricity and fire which Houndoom and Ampharos had created. It was still holding off the oncoming grunts, though was weakening slightly due to their continued attacks. Then, with a quick nod to Scizor, Eon broke away and released as huge amount of water from his mouth at the oncoming grunts. He then infused the water with arcs of electricity and the shole area was as clear as daylight for a few moments before the remainder of the grunts who had been attacking us fell to the ground, defeated. I rushed over and gave out orders quickly. 'Larvitar, we have to hold off those grunts while I heal all of you for the next part of the battle. Use your Rock Throw to block them off even more. That wall is getting very weak'. Larvitar rushed off, eager to comply. 'Scizor, your job is to erect barriers around everyone. Don't let them be hurt by the grunts or their pokemon, if possible'. Scizor nodded his approval and began immediately with himself and Larvitar. 'Houndoom, Ampharos and Quagsire. You three are the main attacking force. Your job is to damage the Rockets as much as possible'. They agreed and prepared themselves. 'Eon, you and I shall assault the enemy with psychic attacks. Is any of the other pokemon faint, it's our job to heal them also'. 'What if I wish to attack them full-on?' 'You're still weak after the burn. I don't want you straining yourself too much. For now, take this Full Restore. It'll heal you enough for the battle, I hope'. Eon gave in in the end. 'Scizor', I called, 'Recover on all of you, now'. He nodded and the arena became hazy for a moment as his eyes flashed a deep, azure blue. Then, my pokemon relaxed. They were ready for whatever the Rockets could do. I nodded towards Quagsire. Without needing orders, he destroyed the barrier with an Earthquake followed by a Hydro Pump. Then, the onslaught began. Harold had called upon hundreds of Rocket Grunts and pokemon and his superiors seemed not to care what happened to their hordes of grunts. Harold was obviously a highly-ranked Rocket to be able to call upon this many Rockets. Ampharos, Quagsire and Houndoom were mowing down Grunts as they came with well aimed blasts of water, electricity and fire. Fleeing Grunts were easily seen by the light given off from the fire and electric attacks, only to be replaced by hundreds more streaming forwards. It was obvious that we could not continue this for much longer. I called out to Larvitar to add to our attack with Rock Slide. The Larvitar roared loudly and an ominous cracking was heard above us. Even the Rocket onslaught halted for a moment as they looked up, as a body, to see what had caused the noise. They were greeted by a couple of hundred tonnes of Rock on their upturned faces. Moans of agony could be heard as the remains of what had been an onslaught crept slowly away, tails between their legs. However, that was not the end. The energy needed for Larvitar to use such a powerful attack caused it faint dead away. The body rose in mid-air and floated towards me quickly. It then dropped down lightly next to me. 'You did that?' 'Owww. Don't do that'. 'Sorry. Got carried away their. You have improved your powers much'. 'Could you tone it down a little. My head is beginning to hurt after that bit of levitation'. 'OK. I'll take over your job while you look after Larvitar'. With that, he refocused his mind on the job at hand, clearing up the remainder of the Rocket Grunts before they could call for back-up. 'You did great, Larvitar, old buddy', I whispered as I poured a Revive over him. 'You'd better rest for a while. That Rock Slide was impressive'. He smiled, happy at my praise. I still could not converse with him for some reason, but I felt that a breakthrough was not very far away. 'Keep up the good work', I called to my pokemon, turning around to rejoing the battle. Larvitar waddled up next to me and sat down, content. The trio of Quagsire, Ampharos and Houndoom was turning out to be an impressive combination. They watched each others backs and attacked with fluid grace, never exposing any other member of the trio to attack. They seemed to sense what the other's were thinking Scizor appeared by my side. 'They no longer need my barriers. The Rocket attack is in shambles, thanks to Larvitar.' Larvitar glowed at this praise. The trio had just dispatched the last Rocket Grunt, when a chilling laugh cut through the air. It was Harold. He had crawled away from the battle area and recuperated. Now he was ready and waiting for me. 'I challenge you'. No more words were necessary. 'Go, Leapfluff', he cried. With that, a yellow, fluffy ball of weed emerged from a pokeball. I consulted my pokedex. 'Leapfluff is the evolved form of Jumpluff. It only evolves into Leapfluff when traded with a Sun Stone attached. Leapfluff is a dual type, part grass and part su...' But I had closed my pokedex, too eager to battle to listen to the remainder of the description. 'Go, Houndoom', I shouted. Houndoom leapt forward from behind me. He was on such a high level that me giving orders would have been useless. He moved almost quicker than I could see. He barraged the Leapfluff with tongues of flame from all angles. However, the Leapfluff simply went on fire, then, with a dazzling display of fireworks released them up into the sky. Moments later, they began raining down like molten death upon Houndoom. He began to slump, but refused to give up. Then, a gloating voice called out across the battlefield, 'Leapfluff is a sun type, you idiot. Your little firey crap won't work on it. I've as good as won this match'. That was the final straw. I wanted to rush over and hit that little bastard across the face. However, I ran straight into an invisible barrier. 'Eon, let me at him', I cried. But I stopped, defeated. It was only then that I noticed Houndoom had disappeared. The spot where he lay was glowing a brilliant white. It reminded me of the Sacremento's pulsing light, but this was so bright, I had to turn away. When I turned around again to face Houndoom, an extraordinary sight met my eyes.