The Dragon Master III: Chapter Eight

	I woke up the next morning, and walked out into the PokeCenter. I walked 
over and got some coffee. I put what I liked in it, I walked over and sat by 
Josie. She had "Robbie" in her arms, and she was just sitting there, smiling 
down at him.
	"Oh, how I wish that I could have kept John," she said. "He was such a cute 
baby." I choked on my coffee. She looked at me, offended.
	"I'm sorry, I just swallowed a lump of sugar," I lied. I knew that she 
didn't believe me, but she dismissed it.
	"Right, Mr. Soon-to-be-Pokemon-League-Champion," she said. I choked on my 
coffee again. "What, don't you want to be Pokemon League Champion?" I looked 
at her, though I couldn't reveal my secret to her of why I was going to lose 
on purpose today.
	"I'm just happy to be battling the Leader of the Elite Four," I said. 
"Winning doesn't matter anymore." Again, it looked like she didn't believe 
me.
	"Well, I'm sure that Robbie wants you to win," she said, tickling his 
stomach. I decided to change the subject.
	"So, what are you going to do after the battle today," I asked her. She 
looked at me as if though I already knew.
	"Well, I really don't know," she said. "I mean, I can't be around with you 
anymore, because you're going back to your girlfriend. You never did tell me 
where she lived." I thought fast. I had to tell her something.
	"Uh...she lives in Cerulean City," I half-lied. Josie raised one of her 
eyebrows, but then went back to playing with "Robbie." A gong sounded. It 
was time. Both Josie and I knew it. So did everyone else in the PokeCenter. 
Immediately, they all jumped up and ran out of the PokeCenter to the arena. 
I swallowed the last bit or my coffee, stood up, and walked to the arena. 
The arena was all decked out in teal for my arrival. I assumed that it was 
because of my being a Dragon Master. I walked up the Tony Marchello, though 
I could have mistaken him for Will if I didn't know any better. He was 
standing there in his deep purple cloak, covered with stars and moons, as 
was the usual for a Mysticman. As I was walking to Marchello, I called up my 
teal cloak around me.
	"Hello, Bob," Tony said, shaking my hand. "Today's battle will be a bit 
different than with the other three. Instead, you will use all six of your 
pokemon, as will I. Good luck." He walked to his side of the field.
	"You too," I said quietly. I was still shocked at the resemblance between 
him and his son. I also walked over to my appropriate side. It looked like 
he was ready to battle. He had a deep purple pokeball in his hand, also 
covered with moons and stars. I wondered what kind of pokemon he had. 
Mysticmen were known to be completely unpredictable in the field of pokemon. 
I had to choose every pokemon carefully.
	"Are you ready, Bob," Tony asked me. I had just noticed that the other 
three of the Elite Four were sitting on a bench behind Marchello. Agatha and 
Bruno showed no face expression, while Lorelei looked surprised. I had kept 
my name a secret from her. If she knew, that could jeopardize my mission.
	"Uh," I said, not knowing what to do at Lorelei's expression. Should I just 
continue like I was doing, I asked myself silently. Or should I just get out 
of here? I had to say something; I was beginning to look like a moron just 
standing here.
	"I asked if you are ready, Mr. Shepardson," Marchello persisted. My stomach 
felt like it had exploded. Lorelei gasped, and she put her hand to her 
mouth. I feared that she had figured out that I was indeed her son, and I am 
back in the past. At this point, she ran out of the stadium, though Bruno 
tried to stop her. She brushed him off, and continued running away. I wanted 
to run after her, and I actually started to, but Bruno stopped me.
	"Stop," he said. "Stay and battle. Agatha and I will go find her. BEGIN THE 
MATCH!" The crowd roared and cheered when he had said that. As promised, he 
and Agatha ran out of the arena after Lorelei.
	"Yeah," I said. "I'm ready. But the real question is: Are you? As the 
Leader of the Elite Four, it is customary for you to release your starting 
pokemon first. Then I follow up with mine." He smirked at me.
	"You've read up on your rules," Tony said. "However, you cannot beat 
Venusaur!" Marchello threw out his star and moon patterned purple pokeball, 
releasing the final stage of Bulbasaur, the grass starter that you get in 
Pallet Town. Venusaur roared a battle cry, a sign that said that it was 
ready for battle.
	"A Venusaur, eh," I asked. "Well, that should be no match for Scarlet!" I 
pulled out and whipped out a pokeball onto the field in one motion, sending 
out my first pokemon.
	"Yes, I've read up on your red Gyarados," Tony said. "Evidently, there are 
all kinds of different colored pokemon, call them 'shiny' if you wish. Your 
Gyarados is rare. But let me see if it's powerful. Let me ask you something. 
Where did you catch it at?" I looked at him like he was insane. We should be 
battling, not talking.
	"I caught him at the Lake of Rage," I responded. "But you forgot about one 
thing. Scarlet, Flamethrower! You let your guard down." Scarlet inhaled 
deeply, and then let out a burst a flame, hotter than molten lava. As 
Venusaur is not exactly fast, the fire enveloped it in a cage of fire. 
Venusaur was badly hurt, but Tony Marchello didn't even look worried. 
Neither did anybody in the crowd for that matter.
	"Venusaur, Sunny Day," Tony shouted. I wondered what he was thinking. Sunny 
Day doubles the power of fire attacks. I would roast his grass pokemon alive 
like this.
	"Are you stupid," I asked as Venusaur forced the clouds to clear and the 
sun came out, brighter than I had ever remembered it. "Sunny Day doubles the 
power of all fire attacks. Say goodbye to Venusaur." He still had the same 
smirk on his face.
	"Venusaur, Synthesis," Marchello commanded his pokemon. Venusaur took in a 
whole bunch of sunlight, healing it, as Venusaur was a plant pokemon. "Now, 
Solarbeam!" Venusaur didn't even have to charge to fire. A beam of pure 
grass energy shot out of the flower on Venusaur's back, hitting Scarlet full 
on. Scarlet struggled to get back up, and finally accomplished it.
	"Nice job, Scarlet," I said quietly. "Now, use Rain Dance!"
	"Venusaur," Tony cried, not hearing my order for Scarlet. "Solarbeam!" 
Scarlet looked up to the sky, and the clouds came back. Rain started to pour 
from them. Venusaur wasn't getting any energy from the sun, because there 
was no sun to get energy from. Venusaur was defenseless, and now was the 
perfect time to strike.
	"Scarlet, Elemental Storm," I shouted. From the sky came three things: 
Fire, Ice, and Thunder, all intertwined together, ready for the ultimate 
attack. Venusaur tried to run away, but it couldn't run that fast, and 
Scarlet's attack was going at least 100mph. It caught Venusaur in the back, 
all three elements damaging it greatly. Venusaur fell to the ground, 
everybody in the arena holding his or her breath at the sight. Venusaur got 
back up, though a little shaky. I figured that I could finish him off with 
one more attack.
	"Come on, Venusaur, hang in there," Tony pleaded. "Don't give up!" Now, it 
was my turn to have a smirk on my face. I knew what attack would finish him 
off.
	"Scarlet, Hyper Blast," I cried. Scarlet let out a thin beam of energy, 
headed directly for Venusaur. About three inches from Venusaur, the beam 
erupted in a huge, powerful attack. When the dust cleared, Venusaur was 
crushed into a wall of the arena. I saw Lorelei, Bruno, and Agatha walk back 
in. Lorelei didn't take her eyes off me. She finally took her eyes off me. 
She looked at the Venusaur, and then Scarlet, to Venusaur again, and finally 
back to me. She gave me a thumbs up sign, and sat back down by Bruno.
	"Hmm...you're good," Marchello said, recalling Venusaur with a thin beam of 
purple light spotted with yellow. "But not good enough to beat Typhlosion!" 
He threw out another deep purple pokeball with moons and stars, this time 
releasing a fire pokemon, Typhlosion, the fully evolved form of Cyndaquil. 
Cyndaquil was one of the starters from New Bark Town.
	"Why are you using a fire type against a water type," I asked in 
bewilderment. He looked at me, not worried at all, and then he finally 
answered me.
	"It doesn't matter what type your pokemon are," Tony said. "It's the moves 
you teach them! Typhlosion, Thunderpunch!" Typhlosion ran forward, its fist 
charged with electricity. A couple of punches were swung, Scarlet being 
super careful because of his 4x weakness to the element. Typhlosion finally 
connected a hit against Scarlet, Scarlet screaming out in pain. Once 
Typhlosion connected the first one, he didn't stop. One after the other, 
Scarlet's hit points dropped lower and lower. I had to do something to stop 
Scarlet from fainting.
	"Scarlet, Surf," I cried. However, it was too late. Scarlet was lying on 
the ground, Typhlosion remaining powerful over it.
	"Nice job, Typhlosion," Marchello congratulated his fire pokemon. "Now, 
just keep up the good work." Marchello wore a smirk, as did his Typhlosion.
	"Scarlet, return," I said, recalling my red Gyarados. I had to think of a 
way to defeat it. I pulled a teal pokeball from my belt, and threw it out 
onto the field. "Aeroy, I choose you!" Aeroy came out of his pokeball, ready 
to battle.
	"Hmm...good choice," Marchello said, his smirk vanishing along with his 
confidence in his Typhlosion. "Enough of this, Typhlosion. Use Fire Blast!" 
Typhlosion inhaled once, and let out a burst of flame in the shape of a 
star. The attack was moving impossibly fast towards Aeroy, and I wasn't sure 
if he had to speed to get away from it.
	"Aeroy, Mud-Slap," I cried, hoping the mud would be enough to douse the 
fire. Aeroy flapped his wings as hard as he could, send the mud in front of 
him directly at the fire attack. Instead of the mud hitting the Fire Blast, 
the mud sailed over the attack, hitting Typhlosion in the eyes. The Fire 
Blast hit Aeroy hard, but didn't do much damage.
	"Typhlosion, wipe that mud out of your eyes," Marchello cried in panic. 
Typhlosion furiously wiped the mud from his eyes, but it was just getting 
the mud rubbed in harder.
	"Aeroy, Sandstorm," I called. Aeroy's eyes turned brown, and the little 
rocks everywhere picked up and swirled around Typhlosion. Typhlosion 
couldn't move at all, and I could hear its cries off struggle.
	"TY-" Typhlosion cried before all sound was cut off from the swirling 
tornado of rocks.
	"Aeroy, Steel Wing," Aeroy's wings glowed silver, as in the color of steel. 
He zoomed towards the enemy Typhlosion trapped in the rock attack. Aeroy ran 
right through the rocks and Typhlosion, running him right through the wall 
of the arena.
	"Typhlosion return," Marchello said. With a beam of deep purple light, 
Typhlosion was recalled back into its pokeball. Tony pulled another pokeball 
out of his cloak, and thought for a little bit.
	"Have you chosen your pokemon," I asked him. He still seemed to be thinking 
about the pokemon inside the ball.
	"No," he said. "I'll save you for later..." He pulled out another pokeball. 
"I choose you, Blastoise!" The huge turtle pokemon exploded from the 
pokeball, shooting off its cannons for show. Aeroy looked a little scared. 
But deep down, I thought that Aeroy could pull it off.
	"Aeroy, Ancientpower," I yelled, trying to protect Aeroy from Blastoise. 
Rocks flew, all of them heading for Blastoise.
	"Blastoise," Tony called. "Hydro Pump!" Numerous blasts of water shot out 
of Blastoise's twin cannons, each of the shots nailing the rocks that were 
headed for him. Finally, there were no more rocks to shoot, so Blastoise 
aimed for Aeroy instead. One after another, they pounded on Aeroy with 
supreme force. I had to get Aeroy out of this perilous predicament. I still 
couldn't think of anything. Every wasted second; that was more damage dealt 
to Aeroy. I had it!
	"Aeroy, Fly," I cried. Aeroy flew up high, and Blastoise's attack wouldn't 
reach that high. Perhaps I could attack it from the sky.
	"Blastoise, Ice Beam," Tony cried. Ice flew out of Blastoise's mouth, and 
hit Aeroy directly in his stomach. Aeroy crashed to the ground, almost 
fainted.
	"Aeroy, do something, please," I pleaded with him. But he couldn't do 
anything. One more attack would finish him off.
	"Blastoise, Dynamic Punch," Marchello yelled. Blastoise ran forward, 
cocking his right arm as he ran along. The most powerful pokemon punch 
nailed Aeroy in his stomach, making him soar over to me. I pulled out his 
pokeball again and pointed it at him.
	"Aeroy, return," I said sadly. Blastoise had an advantage over all of my 
remaining pokemon. But I had to choose one. Just one could defeat it. "Go, 
Dragonight!" The first of my three Dragonites appeared from its pokeball, 
sending out roars throughout the stadium.
	"Impressive," Marchello said. "This should be a good match. Blastoise, 
Skull Bash!" Blastoise charged forward, its hard head barreling towards 
Dragonight.
	"Dragonight, Rain Dance," I said. Storm clouds were brewing up in the sky, 
helping Dragonight use his next attack. The time was now or never. 
"Dragonight, Thunderstorm!" Numerous bolts of lightening struck Blastoise, 
stopping him from going any farther.
	"Blastoise, Mega Punch," Tony yelled. But with Blastoise's condition of 
just taking a lot of damage, he would have to recover somehow. Blastoise 
tried to obey its master, by slowly jogging towards Dragonight with its fist 
raised.
	"Dragonight, Thunder Drill," I shouted. There was a good chance of me 
winning this battle. Dragonight's horn started to spin and crackle with 
electricity. Both pokemon were running full speed at each other, the one 
that got hit first to be the victor. There was an explosion of electricity. 
I knew that both pokemon had been hit, because both of them screamed out in 
pain and agony. When all of the elements had cleared, both pokemon were 
lying on the ground, unconscious.
	"Blastoise, return," Tony called, returning his water pokemon. I did 
likewise, but now I was in trouble.
	"Dragonight, return," I said. A thin teal beam of light shot out of the 
pokeball, engulfed Dragonight, and brought him back into it. Both Tony and I 
had grabbed a pokeball and were going to throw out our pokemon.
	"WE WILL NOW TAKE A SHORT BREAK BECAUSE THREE POKEMON OF EACH TRAINER HAS 
BEEN DEFEATED," the announcer said. "WE WILL REGROUP IN FIVE MINUTES FOR THE 
REMAINDER OF THE BATTLE.
	"TRY OUR NEW PIKA-COLA. IT'S DELISH! WITH A TASTE OF ELECTRICITY, YOU'LL 
KEEP WANNTING MORE!" And the advertisements started to run. I went back to 
the bench that was behind my battling area. To my surprise, Josie was 
already waiting there for me, with "Robbie."
	"Nice job, Bob," Josie congratulated me. "Just hope that you don't get into 
a Master Battle with him. Or do you have a strategy for that?" I silently 
pulled out the Elemental Medallion from my cloak, each of the pieces 
reminding me of where and how I got them. I hoped that I didn't have to use 
it. It wouldn't have been fair to Marchello. I generated a teal string, and 
attached it to the medallion. I placed the medallion around my neck, and I 
turned to Josie.
	"This is my strategy," I simply explained. "It is more power than ever 
known to any Pokemon Master or Mysticman. In fact, it is the one thing that 
can defeat a Mysticman. And I don't mean just beating a Mysticman. It can 
kill them with ease..." She looked at me uneasily, like I had become some 
kind of psycho.
	"Have you ever...uh...killed anybody with that," Josie asked, still uneasy. 
I looked away from her, not wanting to reveal my past...or my future...or 
whatever way you looked at it, to her.
	"Two people," I said. "And I'm not proud of it. But those two people were 
more evil than anything."
	"How do you get the gene of a Mysticman or woman," Josie asked curiously, 
obviously getting off an uncomfortable subject.
	"There is no such thing as a Mysticwoman," I said. "It is a gift that only 
affects men for some reason. You could have the gene for all I know, but it 
is always dormant in a woman. If they bear a son, then that son will be a 
Mysticman, regardless of who or what the father is." My eyes popped open. 
Unless John Flargini's father was a Mysticman, then Josie had to have the 
Mystic gene.
	"WE WILL NOW RETURN TO THE BATTLE," the announcer said. "WILL THE TWO 
BATTLERS COME TO THEIR RESPECTIVE SIDES OF THE FIELD?"
	"Good luck," Josie said, kissing me on the cheek. I was shocked, especially 
after what ground rules we had laid down.
	"Josie, please don't do that," I said. "I know you mean well, but it's not. 
I'm sorry, but even that is crossing the lines that we put down."
	"Okay," she said. "But good luck anyway." I walked out onto the field, with 
a chosen pokemon in the pokeball in my hand.
	"I choose you, Meganium," Tony said, choosing his fourth pokemon to battle. 
I was kind of shocked, as my pokemon was perfect to destroy that Meganium.
	"Go and show them what you're made of, Flare," I said, releasing my pokemon 
from his incarceration that was his pokeball. "Flamethrower!" Flare let out 
a burst of fire, headed directly for Meganium. The fire attack damaged 
Meganium greatly.
	"Meganium, Synthesis," Tony cried. Meganium sparkled for a little bit, but 
then it was fully recovered. "Rain Dance!" Rain started to put from the sky, 
and just that was damaging Flare.
	"Dragonbreath, Flare," I cried, desperate for anything to work. Flare let 
out a Flamethrower unaffected by the rain, and it hit Meganium full on. 
Meganium shivered once, but then it couldn't move at all.
	"CHAR," Flare yelled, ready for revenge.
	"It's paralyzed," I yelled. "Sunny Day, now!" The rain clouds cleared up 
and the sun was visible once again.
	"Meganium, Synthesis," Marchello yelled. Once again, a sparkly mist covered 
Meganium, and it was recovered to full health.
	"Not even that can save you now," I bragged. "Flare, Flamethrower!" A burst 
of flame that was hotter than the sun itself roared its way towards 
Meganium, who was a sitting duck, as it was paralyzed and unable to move. 
The fire surrounded Meganium, and knocked it out.
	"Meganium, return," Tony said, realizing that he lost that one. As he only 
had two pokemon left, he had to make a very wise decision right here, right 
now.
	"Nice job, Flare, but don't get cocky," I said. "Just be ready for his next 
one. I have a bad feeling about it..." Flare looked determined, ready for 
battle.
	"I choose you, Charizard," Marchello yelled, letting loose a pokemon the 
same species as my already battling one. Both Charizards were staring at 
each other, ready for battle. I had to strike first, mostly because Flare 
was already slightly damaged.
	"Flare, Fly," I ordered my Charizard. Flare flew up into the sky, but Tony 
knew what he was doing.
	"Charizard, Rock Slide," Marchello yelled with rage. Charizard picked up 
huge rocks and flung them high over Flare's head with ease.
	"Flare, watch out," I yelled, hoping that Flare would be able to dodge all 
of the falling rocks above him. However, things didn't go as I had planned 
them. The rocks hit Flare one after the other, and he fell to the ground, 
unconscious.
	"CHAR," Charizard yelled in victory at the sight of Flare's fainting. I 
looked at Flare sadly. But I had to move on. I had to...for Delilah. For as 
long as Lance was alive, her death wasn't avenged. I looked up in the crowd 
at Josie. Her face was sad, and she nodded to tell me that I should 
continue. I then looked at the woman and her little boy, about eight years 
old, sitting by her. I recognized both of them.
	"Oh my God," I gasped. "Delilah? Lance!" My eyes turned to fury. I felt 
like I couldn't control my anger. My eyes turned bright silver, a silver 
that I had not experienced in a long time.
	"What's your problem," Marchello yelled. "Can we get back to battling? 
Hurry the hell up." I calmed myself down, and realized that I shouldn't hold 
a grudge against Lance at this age. As a boy, he didn't know anything about 
it. I pulled a pokemon out of my cloak. I knew who it was, and what he was 
capable of.
	"Go, Dragon," I shouted, releasing the second of my Dragonites. A mighty 
roar was released from Dragon, and Charizard looked a little bit scared. 
Nonetheless, Marchello attacked.
	"Charizard, Hyper Beam," Tony yelled. A massive beam of light shot out of 
Charizard's mouth. I knew exactly what to do.
	"Dragon, Hyper Blast," I shouted. A thin beam of light shot out of Dragon's 
mouth, headed directly for the Hyper Beam. The Hyper Blast went right 
through the middle of the Hyper Beam, and the farther it went, the more the 
Hyper Beam dissolved. The Hyper Blast, however, just kept on going. Nothing 
could have stopped it. About less than an inch from Charizard's face, the 
Hyper Blast erupted into a huge attack, blowing Charizard back into the 
wall.
	"Charizard, get up now," Marchello yelled in rage at his pokemon. The 
Charizard got up instantly. It looked battered and bruised, but still ready 
to fight and ready to attack once more.
	"Dragon, Ice Drill," I commanded. Dragonite charged forward on his feet, 
running as fast as he could. His horn was spinning, and as cold as anything 
ever experienced before.
	"Charizard, Steel Wing," Marchello told his pokemon. Charizard's wings 
glowed steely silver, and he took flight. It looked like Charizard was going 
to be the victor of this situation. But I had faith in Dragon. They zoomed 
ever so closer, Charizard sure to win. Dragon seemed to be thinking what he 
could do.
	Feet before impact, Dragonite threw himself on the ground, and so he was 
directly underneath Charizard. Then, using his feet, Dragon rammed his icy 
horn right into Charizard's stomach. The both of them flew up high, soon to 
be coming down faster. Dragon grabbed Charizard from behind him and flew 
toward to ground as fast as possible. Charizard was rammed into the ground, 
and Dragon remained triumphant.
	"Nice job, Dragon," I congratulated my pokemon. "Be ready for his last 
pokemon, it's sure to be difficult."
	"Feraligatr," Tony whispered loud enough so only I could hear him. "You're 
my last hope. Make me proud; that's all I ask." He threw his final pokemon 
out onto the field of battle. The pokeball exploded, leaving in place of the 
pokeball a huge Feraligatr.
	"Watch out, Dragon," I cautioned him. "This one looks dangerous." 
Feraligatr looked at Dragon with pure hatred, and something had to be done 
about it.
	"Feraligatr, Blizzard," Marchello yelled without mercy. Feraligatr blew as 
hard as possible, and the ice shards flew. Dragon was struggling to get away 
from the ice attack, but it surrounded him, and Dragon ended up frozen 
solid; one attack knocked him out.
	"Damn you, Marchello," I swore at him. "Damn you and your Feraligatr! 
Return, Dragon, you did good." With a thin beam of teal light, Dragon was 
brought back inside his pokeball for some good rest. I knew that I was in 
trouble now.
	"Why don't you just give up now," Marchello asked. "It would be easier on 
both you and me. It would save me valuable time, and you from getting 
embarrassed." He smirked at me, and I stared back at him in hatred. I pulled 
out my last teal pokeball out of my cloak, knowing that it was do or die. My 
eyes turned silver, and I felt calm and relaxed.
	"Puff," I whispered loudly. "I choose you." I threw out my final pokemon. 
It had come down to this. It felt oddly familiar. Kind of like déjà vu. When 
I saw Puff appear from his pokeball, I was shocked. Not only were my eyes 
glowing silver, but also were Puff's.
	"Feraligatr, Slash," Marchello yelled, noticing neither Puff's eyes nor 
mine. His water pokemon ran forward, its claws raised and sharper than 
anything.
	"Puff, Energy Ball: Grass," I cried. Puff's eyes turned from silver to 
green faster than a blink. A gigantic ball of Grass Energy shot out of 
Puff's mouth, and it hit Feraligatr full on, damaging it greatly.
	"Feraligatr, get up and Icy Wind," Marchello yelled, ordering his pokemon 
to attack once more. Feraligatr started to blow, and Puff was slowed down. 
He was using all of his strength to stay put, though receiving a heavy 
amount of damage.
	"Puff, Elemental Imbalance," I cried, using his ultimate attack. Feraligatr 
was running forward, ready to blast Puff away with an attack.
	"Feraligatr, Ice Beam," Marchello cried, not understanding my call. A huge 
beam of ice shot out of Feraligatr's mouth, headed directly for Puff. 
Seconds before impact, Puff transformed into light blue energy, and shot 
directly at Feraligatr, knocking him down and dealing him great damage. Puff 
and Feraligatr were standing face-to-face, hands interlocked, one trying to 
push the other away. I had to attack now.
	"Puff, Hyper Blast," I yelled. The whole stadium lit up with a bright 
light, the two battling pokemon not seeable to anybody. There were screams 
and roars of pain and agony from both pokemon. With that attack, perhaps 
only one pokemon would be left standing...
-                                         End of Chapter Eight               
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