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Victory Road - Unova Region
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Professor Gary Oak's naturally snarky tones now filled their cave, and the humans had made their dinner, and were eating as they listened. Upon hearing who he was, Alex had been hesitant, as most of the Oak family tree had, according to his granduncle, bought into the lies and nonsense the Arcean Church spewed, despite being learned enough to know to check their sources. Gary, thankfully, knew exactly what the Arceans were, and the fabricated allegations against Alex's granduncle were quite far from his mind. "This League Challenge is designed to test your potential as a Trainer. A call went out from across the League recently, to find the best Trainers around every Region, and N knows what he's looking for. This Challenge was meant to draw out the best of the best. Usually, Trainers need to beat five or six Regional Leagues, before they start messing with dual typed Moves, because that experience is usually required for their proper use. You're from Unova though, a Region where Trainers start when they're older. I saw you in Castelia against Ghetsis, and at each of your Gym Battles since. I've watched all three of you. You're all worthy candidates."
The three Trainers shared looks as this famous Professor told them how great they were. They focused again as he mentioned the League Challenge, and their Gym Battles. Alex raised a brow expectantly.
The Professor continued. "If each of you manage to beat the Victory League's Elite Four and the two Champions after them, you'll get an invitation to undergo...a special kind of training. I can't say more until you actually beat this challenge, but I can promise you that what you will learn, and who you will train with...will make you much stronger."
Jess shrugged. "Summer is almost over, and I still have a year of University." Alex nodded. Her parents would, in no reality, let their precious daughter drop out before graduating properly. As far as her brother went, all Alex knew was that his father had some kind of connection to the ninja clans of Gaulia. His son had wanted a Greninja, and his father had made sure he got the best, and everything that came with using one. Alex briefly started to wonder just what their dad had on his belt, as now that he thought about it, he knew of Arcanine, and little else. He'd heard bat wings from the rooms that guests like him were not allowed in, so he assumed he might have a Crobat or Swoobat. Surely, he had others, though, rich people tended to be good Trainers because they didn't blink at the price of buying twenty-eight vitamin packs. They also could afford to feed large teams, without being famous.
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Connor's voice brought Alex back to the conversation, as he spoke. "I intend to go become the Kalos Champion, after this. My team is already strong enough...but the Victory League is the bar by which I will measure them." He smirked, as he felt his friends shuddering with anticipation. There had been some hard feelings after being ignored in Kalos, but they'd grown strong on the party-wide Exp. Share that modern Trainers in Galar, Kalos, and Paldea used. Unova was only just catching up in that regard, but places like the Blueberry Academy had also been giving them out to the next generation, along with Tera Orbs. After going through Castelia, Alex and Jess had upgraded theirs too, which had been as easy as trading in the old harnesses for a Box Link.
Gary nodded. As expected, only Redwood would challenge N. He was here to become Champion and claim the title. Trainers who could beat N were rare, but they did exist. They also had not taken his title, they'd just wanted to battle. "In that case, Redwood should go first. You did say you wanted to be Champion, right?"
Alex cringed slightly, as he remembered the interview he'd been dragged into. "I did. I did say that, yes."
Gary smirked. "I saw. And then you went on to free Reshiram and Kyurem both, from Ghetsis soon after that interview ended. Right?"
Alex nodded, and Gary continued. "Of the three of you, you've already made a good impression on Reshiram. It may be enough to help you defeat Zekrom. The League is...worried about N, lately. They believe he's out of Balance, and now with everything that's coming with the next...World Tournament, they want Unova to have someone strong enough to win." Alex nodded again, wincing slightly as he remembered. N had done alright on the world stage, but only using Reshiram, Zekrom, and his Zoroark had made him easy prey to Leon, Cynthia, and then Ash Ketchum. N had seemed to enjoy each battle though, and the Unovans consoled themselves; that was what mattered most. Winning was nice too, though.
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For Alex, the choice was obvious. He fully intended to go first. If N needed a decent battle to get him out of whatever funk he was apparently in, he felt confident he could vibe with Reshiram enough to at least challenge him and Zekrom. As long as Kyurem hadn't been retrieved from the Chasm by N and somehow fused into Black Kyurem, Alex had a shot. Black Kyurem was beyond him, he had no illusions about that. He'd barely managed to destabilize White Kyurem, and that was entirely because Reshiram despised Ghetsis and had been resisting. Shruikan had also been much more powerful than he usually was for some reason, but those convening events had been enough to free the dragons.
Finally, he said, "Alright, Professor. I'll go first. Jess and Connor can still challenge after me, right?"
Gary nodded. "In the event you beat N, they'll face the Champions, alongside a Legendary Dragon. If the Dragons are indisposed though...you'll likely be facing their teams, in a six on six. First Hilbert or Hilda, then Nate or Rosa. A win at the Victory League on your Trainer Card is nothing to sneeze at...but there can be only one Champion."
Jess elbowed Alex as he was lost in thought. "I'm going after you, if you get rolled by N. I'm sure Champions can do their schoolwork remotely. El Primero did."
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Alex silently nodded as Jess spoke, but he was too focused on the hill before him that he was being told to climb. After talking with several Trainers on Victory Road, he knew exactly how the Victory League was structured for this particular test, and he was planning on relying heavily on Arthur and Shruikan to counter the ghost, dragon, psychic, and fighting types the Elite Four would use. Once he made it through them, if he made it through them, he'd likely end up facing Reshiram. It was no secret that N was closer to Zekrom, but Reshiram had battled with each of the Champions. Hilbert had been more open to sharing him, as needed.
Hundreds of Trainers had probably already tried by now, and all had likely been soundly defeated, unable to control the power of Reshiram's truths or Zekrom's ideals against N, who had mastered both. He would've heard if someone had won, dethroning a Champion with a reign as long as N's was a big deal, at least to Unovans.
Alex had an idea of what he needed to do to beat N, but Gary Oak didn't need to know that. So, he played along with feigned ignorance.
Seeing Alex was lost in thought, Gary spoke again. "Let me see your Pokémon, if you don't mind. All of them."
They appeared simultaneously, as each of them had been watching the scene from within their balls. The Oak name was a legend to Pokémon, as all who listened to Celebi's stories knew of his grandfather, Samuel Oak and the Trainer who joined him from the future to save the time traveling Forest Guardian's life.
The Professor eyed each of them, from Alex's Torterra to Connor's Garchomp. He nodded then, finding only a few who had yet to become Alphas of their species. "As I suspected. All three of you are indeed capable of becoming candidates for the trials of the Psychic Sages. If you win, one of them will likely end up training you. Good luck, you three. You'll need it against these Trainers." Personally, Gary saw the Victory League as obsessed with battle. Shauntal hid it well, but all the new faces were as eager to get stronger as N was. And the Champions were even crazier, but Hilda and Hilbert clearly loved Pokémon training, while for Nate, he strove to be a World Champion. Gary knew how that had played out for him so far, though. Despite having many powerful teams, Nate's brute force damage strategy could be stopped by timely status moves, clever tricks and counters, or a timely switch to a new Pokémon. All of those had seen him lose in the World Tournament.
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The aging man got up and left, then, and the journey through Victory Road continued. Arthur saw the most use and had by this point become as physically strong as Terra or the others, but still had a weakness in being limited to using Psychic or Zen Headbutt, which lacked the versatility of Psycho Cut, a simultaneously close range or mid distance attack. Once they arrived at the Victory Plateau's building, Alex went in first through the gates. The three had agreed to heed the Professor's words and send Alex in first.
As the doors closed behind him with finality and the cast iron gate rose, blocking the entrance until the challenge was finished, he took stock of his dwindling supply of items and then he turned his eyes to the four paths of Unova's Elite Four. One eyebrow slowly rose, as he saw Pokémon type symbols above each one. Ghost, dragon, psychic, and fighting. The path to the fighting types was closed by thick metal bars, however, and Alex's eyes narrowed, as he had expected a free choice, in Unova of all regions. No place claimed to value the rights of the people more, but he supposed it was part of the challenge, or something. He'd wanted to take them first, as Arthur would be at his peak as a psychic fighter against fighting types, and Alex had wanted him fresh to handle their potentially brutal counter moves.
He headed for Shauntal's pathway first. He ignored the spoopy ghost vibes from the spirits trying to levitate his larger frame. He ascended the spiral staircase on his own power, passing right through them, as he suppressed a shudder. He came upon the Ghost Type Pokémon Expert, as she seemed to be reading from a scroll on the desk in her room. It was emanating a silvery light, and Shauntal was limned in it. "Clad in the bones of Dragons, he brings change wherever he goes…" Shauntal turned then, as one of the ghost lights, a Chandelure, manifested beside her, and whispered something. "Interesting. It's been a while since someone picked me first. Welcome, Challenger. I've been keeping an eye on your story, ever since John Crimson mentioned you were rising like a Draco Meteor. I'm genuinely looking forward to this."
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Alex smiled, for once, the sardonic smirk exchanged for a far more pleasing expression. "Shauntal of the Elite Four...your books are awesome. All of them. N's. All the Champions, really."
"Really!? You think so? Some people don't care for Rosa's…" Shauntal replied as she fought down the flush in her cheeks.
Alex shrugged. "Some idiots on the Pokénet don't care for strong female characters, but from what I've read of the situation, Hugh and Nate would've been up a creek without Rosa's timely arrival on the Plasma Frigate. One could easily argue she played a vital role in saving Unova."
Shauntal sighed, with what seemed like relief. It was rare that she got challengers who were humans with culture. This one's eyes were on fire, and she wondered if it would be enough to relight N's. "Finally. Someone who does their due diligence. Welcome to the Elite Four, Challenger Redwood. Let's begin, shall we?"
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Alex threw Arthur's ball, and his Gallade appeared in a flash of light. He was the picture of calm, with the kind of focus only fighting and psychic types could usually achieve. Dark typed energy burned up his arms, and formed into dark humming blades, as he readied his Night Slash, and smirked. "We're going to need Night Slash the most, Arthur...so plan accordingly."
"Gallade." He answered, dropping into his fighting crouch.
Shauntal gulped, and suddenly regretted not bringing Disable. She went for type advantage, and shouted, "Drifblim! It's time for a new chapter...Acrobatics!"
Arthur was already moving. At his level, and with his speed, he was a blur compared to the ghostly blimp. He vanished from the Drifblim's sight, and reappeared moments later behind the floating ghost balloon, then he struck it twice. The tanky health of Drifblim kept it going, but Shauntal had a visceral reaction as she saw how much damage her friend had taken. That didn't stop him from using Acrobatics again, as he drifted after the Gallade.
"Save your energy, Arthur. Aerial Ace, stay defensive. Then counter."
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The Gallades blade arms faded, as the dark energy did, and his shorter forearms, still unable to form into swords, became imbued with flying typed energy. He only aimed to hit the Drifblim's similarly empowered limbs, and the two Pokémon danced around the room as lightning flashed in the window behind Shauntal.
"Drifblim! Use Shadow Ball!"
"Now, Arthur!"
As the Drifblim charged the Shadow Ball, the Gallade bamfed in behind it with his far superior speed once more and struck twice with Night Slash. With a wheeze, the Drifblim's eyes became Poli patterned, and Shauntal recalled her partner, before bringing out her next Pokémon. Since being qualified as a referee was part of the prerequisites for an Elite Four member, they didn't need referees in the Elite Four's chambers. Alex nodded in approval, as Arthur sped back in front of him. All the lessons from Gren were paying off. Arthur wasn't as fast, but he was just fast enough to appear to vanish. Not for the first time, Alex wished he had a Mind Plate crystal, but those were quite rare.
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"You're next, Golurk!" Shauntal shouted as she flung the ball. "Use Shadow Punch!" The ground and ghost type dropped into a crouch, and once more, dark energy swords formed up the Gallade's arms, like it would if he could form them into swords. Alex had hoped that this much use, at an Elite Four level, would help his Gallade figure out the trick to shifting his arms into blades. It would lead them to Psycho Cut, and he knew that his Gallade hated not being able to do something so simple.
The two circled each other slowly, and Alex noted that this seemed to be the most intelligent Golurk they'd yet faced. Most of them were thick in the head, but this one seemed more alert, and aware that this very strong physical attacker was readying a super effective move. Other ghost golems had charged right into their demise after being given a punch move to execute, but this one was waiting for an opening.
"Arthur...don't give away which direction you're going...and watch the counter to the strike. This one is...smarter." Alex spoke, his Gallade nodded, and Shauntal smirked. Not many Trainers noticed the difference between her Golurk, and others, but then, not many remained who understood Golurk at all.
Arthur moved, suddenly, vanishing from sight, and the Golurk spun its head around as it tried tracking the Gallade. It managed to do so, and its body whirled in place, bringing around the ghost golem's Iron Fist straight into Arthur. The ghost energy made him shiver, as he skidded back towards his Trainer, still ready to fight, but heavily damaged.
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Alex mumbled his next order to his partner, and the Gallade smirked again. Moments later, he vanished, but Shauntal wasn't worried. "Shadow Punch again, Golurk! Nobody sneaks up on you!"
Once more the golem's head spun rapidly as it searched out the Gallade, but this time, it found nothing, and began whirring in heightened anticipation, even worry, as it failed to find the attacking target. It was a smart Golurk, but it was still a Golurk. It hadn't thought to look upwards. Arthur placed his arms together above the ghost golem and formed them into a single Night Slash. He spun as he came down fast and hammered the tanky ghost by spinning down his backside, and landing in a crouch.
He flipped away from where he landed, arms crossed, and turned with an elegant half turn back towards the Elite Four member, and her Pokémon as he readied another Night Slash. "Golurk! Use Shad-" She stopped halfway through the command, as she realized her partner was fainted. It fell over then, and she recalled it, eyes wide. "Only Champion N ever took it out in a single hit before...and that was with Zekrom...who are you, exactly?"
Alex applied a Max Potion, as the Battle hit a lull, and Shauntal retrieved her next ball. "Alex Redwood. The next Champion." He said with a confident smirk.
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Shauntal's Cofagrigus and Froslass met similar fates to Arthur's Night Slash, and suddenly, she was down to two, and her challenger hadn't even called out another Pokémon. She planned to change that, or at the very least, weaken the Gallade enough for her Chandelure to handle. She refused to be swept again. "Gengar! Use Shadow Ball!"
Her second strongest partner appeared and started launching sparking Shadow Balls at the Gallade with superior speed. Then, Shauntal placed something on the end of her pen and raised it. Ghost type energy shot into the Gengar, and it ascended to the next stage thanks to a Plate shard, from a Dread Plate. Despite this, and with the same persistently cool-under-fire demeanor that reminded her of Nate, and how easily his Lucario had swept her, her latest challenger seemed unfazed.
"Double Team, and Night Slash." Arthur did as ordered, and soon, the hectic room of floating papers, books, ghost lights, and Shadow Balls became inundated with Gallades. Shauntal's Mega Gengar fired off Shadow Ball after Shadow Ball, but soon, it began to tire. That was when the Gallades who remained, shifted from dodging, to striking. The Night Slash was almost enough to end the Gengar, but as it was in its Mega Form, it weathered the hit.
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Shauntal changed tactics, as she saw how damaged her partner was. Once again, this Gallade proved to be at a higher level. "Hypnosis!" Shauntal ordered, and with surprising accuracy, Gengar hammered the Gallade with his psychic eye beams. Arthur's eyes closed, but he continued smirking, even as they closed. For a Gallade, who only needed four hours of rest to be recharged, his version of sleep was more like a semi-aware trance. "Now use Dream Eater!" The Gengar closed its own eyes, and an opaque version of itself charged quickly for the Gallade.
Alex grimaced, and shouted, "Dodge, Arthur!"
As the spirit Gengar's mouth opened wide for a large bite, the Gallade leapt back at the last moment, frowning as he slept, and the Gengar's intangible teeth came down on nothing but air. It winced, as that seemed to hurt it, and it tried Dream Eater again, only for the graceful Gallade to keep dodging.
Then, suddenly, he was awake, and Alex gave the order. "Now Night Slash!" The Gallade dropped low, swirled in place, and severed the tether between Gengar's Dream Eater, and its body. The spirit rushed back into the ghost Pokémon, and it panted, looking furious as the smirking Gallade readied another Night Slash.
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"Once more, Gengar! Hypnosis!" Shauntal ordered, and her Pokémon obeyed, as the angry eyes focused on the Gallade. Arthur was ready this time however, and he backflipped over both circular beams, before landing, and charging in hard for another Night Slash. "Don't let it hit! Shadow Punch!"
The Gallade leapt, and struck, at the same time as the Gengar, and the two landed harder than they meant to after they crossed in the air. The Shadow Punch had burned up Arthur's left arm, but his right had been the blow that ended the round. He rose, as he heard the Gengar's gasp, but not its fall. He leapt back to Alex then and fell into a fighting crouch.
Shauntal recalled her partner then and sighed. "I had hoped Gengar would weaken it more...come Chandelure! Let us write the final chapter in this intense Battle!" The ghost type in question was much, much stronger than the rest of the team, bigger, higher leveled, and Alex guessed that it had fed well on its Trainer's life energy. He also assumed Shauntal knew the price of being a Litwick line Trainer.
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Alex took the initiative this time. "Start us off with Shadow Ball, Arthur!" The Gallade nodded and began forming and condensing the ghost energy between his hands. It was smaller as it got denser, but still just as damaging. If it managed to hit. Arthur had yet to perfect landing this particular Move, at close range. At a distance he could usually hit.
"Fire Spin." Shauntal said, and as the Shadow Ball approached, the Chandelure spun itself, rather than spewing flames. It burned right through the ghost attack, which evaporated behind it. "Now that's disappointing. I'd heard your ball attacks were harder to cut through."
Alex shrugged. "Arthur is still working on that one...I've been trying to get him to learn something like Shadow Claw or Shadow Punch, but he's determined to get the ball attack right." The Gallade glanced at his Trainer, and then charged up another. He poured more energy into it, making it bigger, denser, and then fired it again.
"Same thing, Chandelure! Fire Spin through it!"
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As the ghost chandelier Pokémon tried bisecting the ball again, this time, it exploded in her face and damaged her to about the same level as Arthur. They were both far from done, though. "Fire Blast!"
"Dodge through the...legs, then Night Slash!" Alex ordered. Arthur did as instructed, and his Trainer flinched, as the barrier protecting his side of the field was tested by arguably the strongest fire type move in the Elite Four's arsenal. Arthur was as graceful as ever as he slid through the bottom part of the five-pointed Fire Blast on his knees as he leaned backwards, and then leapt above the Fire Spinning Chandelure as he landed yet another hit.
Shauntal winced, and then desperately cried, "Dark Pulse! Drive it back!" The Chandelure acquiesced, and Arthur had to leap back, as any forward momentum threatened to get him hit by the intense dark energy. By his measure, he had two hits left that he could endure. "Don't stop! Dark Pulse!" Once Arthur hit the back of the room though, something changed. He zigged ahead of the Dark Pulse as it tried cornering him, and then kept ahead of it. His right arm was the only one that formed a Night Slash this time, and as he ran, he kept it 'sheathed' as his free arm readied to shield him.
The next wave of Dark Pulses came, and were met by a normal sized Shadow Ball, an uncondensed version of the move, and one wide enough to stop the Dark Pulses via type advantage. Shauntal's eyes went wide, as she realized what came next. Arthur came dashing through the smoke of the colliding moves, and in the space of a second, leapt, slashed, and then landed behind her Chandelure.
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Up close, she got a good look at the psychic and fighting type. That he was at a high level was obvious, but there was more to his power than training. Her author's intuition was convinced. She made a note to dig up information on the Gallade, as she was sure now that there was a story behind those sad but determined eyes.
She fell to her knees as her Chandelure did and recalled her partner. "You all did excellently...even though we were swept with one Pokémon that only needed one Potion to finish us. We'll have to train harder!" She felt Chandelure's ball shake, weakly, but it was enough acknowledgement for her. She stood then and nodded at Alex. "You've climbed the first rung on the path to the Champion. Proceed to the next room...I'm interested in seeing how this story ends."
Alex nodded. "I hope you'll be as entertained as I was, when I finished your stories. I think I'll take on...Will, next. He's the Psychic Type Expert that replaced Caitlin, right?"
At the mention of the handsome, book loving psychic type master, Shauntal flushed. Hard. "Oh, uh, Will? Yea. He's uh, been here for a while now...he's so handsome, and strong, and well read, and handsome…"
Alex smirked. "You said handsome twice."
Shauntal turned a shade more crimson. "That was out loud!? Ohhh…" With that, she quickly jumped into the telepad that led to the Pokémon Center, and because it was the Victory League, it was the nicest Pokémon Center in Unova. Built into the mountain, it had room for eating, training, and there was even a field lower down for Battles. The rooms were all singles, as Unova didn't do Double Battles in the Victory League, and challengers were expected to prepare alone, with their teams.
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Alex smirked and looked around the chamber. His eyes were drawn to the desk then. The scroll Shauntal had been reading when he came in was glowing with a whitish light, and as he stepped towards it, he heard two very distinct, and yet almost identical male baritones thunder in his skull at the exact same time. "Don't…"
When a spoopy ghost room told you not to pry further, smart people resisted the urge, and Alex turned, stepping hurriedly into his own telepad, that brought him just outside Shauntal's room. The gate attendant gave him a sympathetic look, as he saw Alex's expression. As the ones who had to clean Shauntal's room after combat, they knew how creepy it could get. Especially if they got curious.
Alex gave Arthur the max variants of a Potion and Elixir, made sure he was ready for the dual types Will was renowned for using in both Japan and Unova, and then headed across the room towards the domain of the Victory League's resident psychic master.
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As he entered, a nonsensical floating cube surrounded him and dragged him up to the platform meant for battling. Will's decor was a far cry from the obnoxiously lavish bed Caitlin had levitated in, and out, during her stint as an Elite Four of Unova. All the area seemed to have around it was constantly swirling cubes, which were easily ignored. The battlefield itself was flat, bare, and reminiscent of the ones used in Japan.
A light purple haired man wearing scarlet and black formal clothes, with hints of gold, spoke as Alex landed, and was deposited by the cube. "Welcome, Challenger. I am Will, a Master of Psychic Types, and a lover of fine novels. I see I am the second on your rise to the top...and I sense...hmm." Will's eyes shifted closed beneath the opaque mask covering them. He smirked, slightly. "A good question. Why don't you ask it?"
"Why is the Fighting Type Master's door barred to me? This is unheard of." Alex muttered, with an appropriate amount of salt.
"In Unova, maybe, but in many Leagues, there is an order to the Challenges that Trainers must face. The new replacement is still preparing, apparently, and requested that he go last, if you were the one who challenged the Elite Four next. You are the first Challenger since Marshal retired a few days ago, so we apologize for the inconvenience." Will snapped his book closed, and Alex caught the cover, in standard Times New Imperium font. It read: Tusk Love, and there was a Walrein on the cover, roaring, white luscious mane flaring in a breeze, and looking impressively chiseled and muscular for a typically chonky Pokémon. "I sense much power...in you and your partners...this is going to be fun. Let us begin!"
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Will sent out an Exeggutor with the Kantonian grass and psychic typing. Arthur once more took the field, and smirked, as his brain brought up all the choices he had for super effective hits. He wished he wasn't limited to four Moves. "Same deal as before, Arthur. Night Slash and Shadow Ball. But for this one...try an X-Scissor first." Alex smirked, as he made full use of the TM Burgh had given him.
Bug type energy hummed in Arthur fists as he readied the move. For a moment, Alex wondered if they would form blades as well, but unlike Night Slash, the energy remained in his forearms. Will's brow furrowed, as he heard the quadruple effective move called, and having just seen Shauntal's encounter with this challenger, he had no intention of getting swept. "Exeggutor! Use Reflect!"
The psychic heads of the undersized tree Pokémon roared in unison, and a barrier of reflective psychic energy formed between them, and the charging Gallade. Arthur's smirk widened, and he vanished from sight, then reappeared behind the much slower Pokémon, landing his X-Scissor behind the Reflect. "Stomp!" Will said, taking advantage of the closeness, but by the time the psychic grass type turned and stomped, Arthur had already zipped back to his side of the field.
"Brick Break! Then X-Scissor!" Alex said, and Arthur readied his arms for the fighting move, before charging in at the Exeggutor once more. He leapt, spun gracefully in the air, and then brought his rolling momentum down on the Reflect, as he smashed through it. The follow up spin into another strike from his other hand, was bug typed, and Arthur brought the Exeggutor down on the second hit. Tanky as it was, a quadruple weakness was hard to withstand more than a single hit with.
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Will called out his next Pokémon then, "Let's try you next! Bronzong! Go! Use Reflect!" The psychic gong appeared with a toll, and then it swung its body the other way, and a Reflect barrier appeared on all sides of it.
Alex chuckled. "Don't waste the Brick Break, Arthur...it's stronger than the Exeggutor. Slip through the Reflect, and then use Night Slash!" Will stayed ominously quiet, as the Gallade charged, arms out to either side as the blades of dark energy formed once more. He flipped over the Bronzong, and noticed a horizontal Reflect screen atop it as well. That left using his lithe figure to slip in between the series of psychic shields. Arthur landed behind the Pokémon, twirled in through one of the slim spaces between the five-sided Reflect, and then struck with Night Slash.
Arthur immediately covered his ears, as the Bronzong donged in response, and then, Will called his counter, looking far too confident. "Payback." The Bronzong didn't even turn, it whirled in place, hammering Arthur with the dark energy, into the Reflect barrier, and then once more struck him with dark energy as he bounced off it. The Gallade was tossed around the five-sided death trap, purposefully left open enough to slip through, so the counterattack would be all but final.
"Arthur! Get out of there! Drop and roll!" The Gallade kept his block up as best he could during the assault, but the damage had been done. When next he fell to the floor, he rolled quickly out from under the levitating Pokémon and its five barriers, and hopped up, panting, bruised, but conscious. Alex grimaced. One Potion was allowed in these Battles, and only to the challenger. He'd wanted to save his, but another Payback, or psychic move, would end them, and their solo streak.
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Arthur came close enough for the Max Potion, and once it took effect, Will countered. "Use Psychic!" Arthur tried dodging, but soon found himself levitating in the air.
Alex countered quickly, before their Potion was made useless. "Break out of Psychic, then Double Team! Charge it and use Brick Break into Night Slash!" Arthur saw the plan in his Trainer's head, and went with it, as he could not think up a better one at that moment. He used his own Psychic on himself to break free, before charging in at the Bronzong again.
"Shadow Ball!" Will ordered, but the Gallade was already dividing himself into clones, and each of them went for a Reflect screen, smashing it. Then, one somersaulted high in the air, and brought a double Night Slash down the Bronzong's back side. "Bronzong!" Will said, as he saw it hang on just enough for a counter. "Use Psychic!"
"Brick Break." Alex said, and as the psychic gong's eyes lit up, Arthur did a half turn from where he'd landed, and sent the steel type skipping across the battlefield, fainted. Will recalled his Pokémon then and brought out the next.
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"You know, at first I thought Shauntal was just weak...but after seeing you Battle up close, I understand better why she seemed to go down so easily...that Gallade of yours is something. Grumpig! Come on out!" Will made his remark and threw his ball with the same panache all of his movements possessed.
Alex smirked, and his Gallade eyed the psychic pig, who had entered a battle stance, and growled a challenge. "Shauntal is more than strong enough to rank here…and she had nothing but praise for you...though after seeing your line-up so far...I'm not that impressed, honestly." Alex said, as he instinctually defended the last 'classic Unova' member of the Elite Four. Those who'd reigned in the Champion's childhoods, Grimsley, Shauntal, Caitlin, and Marshal, were considered one of, if not the best four the Victory League had in its modern history. That said, it was only the current Elite Four, with the exception of the new fighting type specialist, that had been ranked as the hardest in the world by the Pokémon League.
"Let's see if we can't shift your opinion of us. Grumpig! Use Teeter Dance!" The Grumpig nodded, and with a snort, began gracefully dancing. Arthur, who was on the other side of the field once more, simply shielded his eyes with a blade-arm, though his smirk was still visible.
"Night Slash until it falls, Arthur." Alex said, and the Gallade let out a yell, as his arms once more burned into dark arm blades. He charged forward again, and then vanished as he used his speed to move beyond the psychic pig's perception and get behind it. The Grumpig's eyes looked towards its back, but before it could so much as turn, the Night Slash landed, and the Gallade leapt away again, as graceful as he always was.
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"Grumpig! Don't let it close again! Shadow Ball!" Will said, as he pointed. The Grumpig formed a truly massive, sparking Shadow Ball, and fired it like a cannon at Arthur. She had gone for dumping more power into it, rather than condensing what was there to make it more damaging, and that, left it open to being bisected.
"Straight through Arthur! End it!" The Gallade charged forward towards the Shadow Ball and leapt through the bisected pieces of ghost energy as they were cut in half by Night Slash. They exploded, but Arthur was already beyond them and used his remaining Night Slash to land the final hit. Dust from the explosion obscured the field. Will gestured, and the cloud vanished, revealing the Gallade once more behind the Grumpig, but facing Will, arm out from where he'd left it after landing the Night Slash. The Grumpig collapsed, and Will's eyebrow twitch was all that gave away his annoyance at being swept. His Xatu had a very similar fall, and like his Grumpig, only required two hits to faint.
By the time he was on his final two, Will was losing his composure. The mask had slipped slightly on his face, after he'd facepalmed so many times, and his frustration was obvious. Then, he took a deep breath, realigned his mask, and flourished his ball. "This one will not be so easily brought down. Slowbro! Go!"
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"A question, Will, if I might?" Alex said, holding up a hand. Will nodded, as Slowbro was still realizing it wasn't in its ball anymore and was on a battlefield.
"By all means, Challenger. I'm familiar with League rules in multiple League affiliated Regions. Ask away." The psychic user tilted his head as he spoke, wondering what question might be asked. He'd heard many in his time. Most, had been rule clarifications. Alexander Redwood did not break the trend.
"The four Move limit...is that per Battle, or per round? I could never find a solid source on it from Nurse Joy, or the Victory League rules." Alex said. As he spoke, Arthur tried waving at the Slowbro, but she just stared at him with the same unfocused, derpy eyes she'd had since appearing. It did respond with 'Bro' though, so the Gallade took that as a hello.
Will held his chin as he pondered. "A good question. In the Indigo League, I know it's four for the entire Battle, but in Unova, you're all about freedom and intensity. As challenging, and fair, as possible. In that spirit, I would say four per round. Only the most remarkable Pokémon can remember more than four Moves. Battles are always more fun, when they're less predictable."
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Alex bowed, in the Unovan style. "Thank you, Psychic Master, for the clarification."
Will bowed in return, looking far more elegant as he flourished. "My pleasure to inform. Knowledge is power, after all."
Alex smirked. "I agree. Arthur! Show them what you and Blaze learned from watching Leon's Charizard."
Arthur's smirk became downright maniacal, as he recalled watching the Undefeated Champion, at his height, using the move on the World Champion's (of the day) red Gyarados, via the Technical Machine's built in screen. Will made the first move though, and said, "Withdraw, Slowbro!" The dopey psychic water hippo didn't even notice as the Shellder leeching off of it grew and covered most of its back. Suddenly, the eyes widened, and the air rippled, as the Slowbro woke up.
Arthur meanwhile had been bringing the thunder, in a pair of Thunder Punches, and as they landed, the Slowbro's eyes widened in pain, at which point, Will countered. "Disable!" The air cracked, and suddenly, Arthur could remember nothing of what the TM had shown him. The other battles involving Galar's Champion and his starter remained, but even those with Thunder Punch were hazy, around the parts where it had been used, blocked temporarily by powerful psychic interference. "Now use Psychic!"
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Arthur barely had time to process the loss of a move, before he was surrounded by absurdly powerful psychic energy, from a much stronger Pokémon compared to the others he'd faced so far. It seemed Will had saved his strongest for last. The Gallade was tossed around like a ragdoll, as the Slowbro moved it with only its eyes, and then, as suddenly as it began, it stopped, and the Pokémon winced in pain for a moment, then went blank again, as each eye stared off in a different direction. It was damaged, but getting close to hit would result in another Psychic thrashing.
Arthur lowered his stance then, and brought his arms by his waist, as he began empowering the Shadow Ball. He left nothing to spare, this time, and it grew rapidly as he condensed it between his 'hands'. It was smaller than the ones from Shauntal's Pokémon, but for a fast physical attacker with a truly garbage special attack stat, it wasn't bad. Will only had one thing to shout as he tried to counter, "Amnesia!"
Alex's smirk shifted to a grimace, but Arthur fired anyway, and the Slowbro took the hit, as its move made it forget where it even was. By Alex's reckoning, it was almost done, but Will seemed to intend to get every drop out of his psychic water hippo before it fainted. "Now Slowbro! Psychic once more!"
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"End this, Arthur. Dodge, and then Thunder Punch!" Alex countered, and a wave of psychic force rippled past the Gallade as he gracefully spun into a dodge, and then readied his own move in response. Lightning crackled over the Slowbro as he hit, but it stayed standing, as it fainted. Will sighed and recalled his oblivious Pokémon.
"Now it comes down to her...I've never used her in this League, you know. I only joined a few years ago after all. During my time spent in Hoenn I found a rather special Pokémon...one your Gallade may find too much to handle." Will said as he readjusted his mask and flourished a Pokéball with psychic power.
"Arthur is ready for anything. Bring it." Alex said, confidently. His Gallade responded in kind, with a battle-yell, and a drop into his fighting stance. His arms readied a Night Slash, as they knew whatever Will had left would likely be weak to it. The Elite Four's Psychic Master tossed the ball, and Arthur's arms lowered, slightly, as he saw a Gardevoir.
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Unlike the response Will expected, Arthur seemed to be lost in a haze of memory, rather than lust, but it didn't matter. The first move was theirs. "Gardevoir, Dazzling Gleam!"
The Gardevoir narrowed her eyes at the seemingly stunned Gallade. "Gar. Devoir." Arthur blinked, shook his head, and focused back into his fighting stance. There weren't many Ralts in Unova, and the last Gardevoir he'd seen was his mother. As his focus returned to his present, the final round against the second of the Victory League's Elite Four, the red eyed Gardevoir raised her arms, and bathed him in fairy typed light.
There was a blur of darkness in the fairy light though, in the moment after the attack, as her arms were still raised, the Gallade struck with Night Slash, and landed behind her. It was around that moment that both Arthur and his Trainer remembered that fairy types beat dark types, and a psychic fairy type would not be weak to Night Slash.
Arthur didn't let up though, and Will continued to call moves, as Alex let his Gallade handle things. "Charge Beam!" The Gardevoir's arms moved in a specific but untraceable pattern, and then came together, to fire a line of intense plasma at Arthur. Once more, he tried to counter, but he missed, as the Gardevoir spun out of the path of his slash and gracefully dodged him with almost no effort.
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He barely dodged her next Charge Beam, but he could tell it was making her attacks stronger. One Shadow Ball now, and he was done. As if Will read his mind, he gave that exact order. "Gardevoir! We will not be swept by one Pokémon! Shadow Ball!"
"End it, Arthur." Alex said, and his Gallade nodded. The Shadow Ball came for his face, so he went low, running like a ninja along the floor as his arms once more burned to life with dark type energy. Then, he vanished, reappeared by the Gardevoir, and struck with critical success. Arthur walked slowly then back to his side of the field, as she fainted, and let his arms return to normal. He was all but out of Night Slashes, and more than that, after two intense battles against the Elite Four, he was drained. The Max Elixir and Potion helped, but Alex knew he needed a rest.
"Well done, Challenger…" Will finally managed, as he looked at his Pokéball, and then recalled his Pokémon. "You have bested me, and with a Psychic Type no less. I have...never been wholly swept by a Challenger's first Pokémon...it is...an interesting feeling." He walked towards the center of the battlefield, as he spoke.
Alex shrugged. "Arthur fought hard, and so did your team. So did Shauntal's. We competed fairly and found out who was stronger. In my opinion, all Battles should be so fun."
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Will stroked his chin, then. "And how did you get so strong, might I ask?"
Alex nodded at his Gallade. "Arthur is responsible for that...he saw the gap in strength between him and the rest of my team, and he closed it in a matter of weeks. When the others sleep, he's training. While they focused on perfecting dual typed Moves, Arthur was busy learning more than four. Only a few of mine can do that...but the rest are getting there."
Will nodded at his words. "There has been an awakening...a few weeks back, a great power returned to conscious thought, and that event has begun a shift in our Pokémon friends. Long ago, in ancient times, Pokémon Battled with as many Moves as they could, and the strongest was usually the person ruling over the people. These...Dark Times were poorly recorded. Entire civilizations rose and fell within that period, and by the end of it, most Pokémon could only manage to recall four Moves."
Alex pondered Will's words for a moment, then smirked. "Read that in Tusk Love, did you?"
If the Elite Four blushed, his mask hid it, but his mouth did lift into a smirk. "Not quite. That tidbit I discovered while researching the Judgement War. The last major recorded conflict before the Tamer of Arceus's death plunged our burgeoning societies into renewed chaos."
Alex nodded again, but the smirk remained. "You know, Shauntal is quite a prolific author. And a history buff. You should speak with her about this."
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Will tilted his head. "Is she? Interesting. I haven't really had time to talk to the others. I'm still pretty new here, and Champion N made it clear that we are here to find the strongest Trainers and send them his way. Not fraternize."
Alex waved his words away, as they moved towards the pair of telepads at the furthest edge of the platform. "There've been plenty of people who have...fraternized...in the Elite Four. In many Regions. You should speak with Shauntal, she's in the Pokémon Center as we speak, you know."
"Perhaps I will…" Will said, as he stared at the pad. Alex was about to leave, when he spoke again. "You know, I'm not all that good with women. I prefer books."
Alex arched a brow. "But your entire team is female…"
Will chuckled. "Pokémon are a different story entirely. I saw that redhead you arrived with. The thoughts coming from your minds were...distracting. Any advice for someone whose never initiated that kind of conversation?"
Alex blinked, as he realized several things about Will, all at once, and wondered just how old the man was. Then again, some people just didn't care for romance or sex enough to constantly pursue it. Will definitely came off as someone driven towards other goals, but if this was to be his first foray, the least Alex could do was give him what advice he genuinely believed would be helpful. It'd worked for him, after all.
"Honestly? You don't need much. You can open with something simple. A greeting. Just have somewhere to go after. Don't expect 'hello' to be enough for a conversation, because she will say it back to you, and then there will be an awkward pause. Mention books or something, and you'll do fine." Alex pondered for a moment then, and the pause lingered as he continued to think. "Aside from that...eye contact. Very important. You won't have a problem speaking with Shauntal, call it a hunch, but I think she's into you. Maybe take the mask off when you chat, though."
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"Right...simple conversation...eye contact. No mask. How hard could that be?" Will said, as he strode towards the telepad, and was bamfed to the Pokémon Center. Alex was bamfed back behind the Gate of Victory, and once more, the fighting type master's door was barred. He sighed, and then headed for the dragon typed specialist. Arthur needed a break anyway.
Damon had been on the Elite Four since Grimsley departed, replacing their dark type focus with a focus on dragons that had been sorely missing from the Victory League after Nate knocked out Iris from the Champion spot, and into the role of Gym Leader. By all accounts, it was Damon and Marshal who had crushed the most aspiring challengers, and more than that, was the fact that his team was largely unknown. Most people only ever saw his Hydreigon, and he didn't allow the footage of matches that went beyond his first Pokémon to air publicly.
As Alex entered, he wished he had a Salamence, or a special attacking water type with annoying Ice Beam coverage. Hydrus's aim was good, but against an Elite Four Dragon Tamer, he expected it to be countered. Hydrus, Blaze, and Shruikan would give Arthur a much-needed break, and Alex intended to make the battle a longer one, so his Gallade was as rested as he could be, for the final showdown with the fighting typed specialist.
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The staircase leading to Damon was simple, straightforward. One side was covered with menacing bone-white spikes, reminiscent of the claws Grimsley had in this very room. The other side of the path was lined with the same claw structures, except they were jet black, and gleamed with menace in the torchlight of the chamber. As he ascended the stairs, the claws folded back for him, and as he reached the top, he got a good look at the style of brazier holding the torches that were giving the unusually dark chamber its light.
The battlefield was an old style Pokémon field, used in the earliest days of Unova, back when it was known as the Dragon Empire. The ball pattern was more of a square, and that same pattern was repeated on Damon's clothing, as he stepped into the torchlight. Most of his attire was covered by a lengthy black cloak, and the aforementioned pattern upon it was, naturally, white. The entire room had the black and white theme going, from the floor to the Dragon Tamer's own hairstyle, which had apparently been dyed half black, and half white. The clothes beneath the cloak appeared to have the same pattern, a belt, pants, etcetera, save that they were mainly white, and their pattern appeared to be black.
"Welcome, Challenger, to my domain. I am Damon, Dragon Master of Unova. My people have lived in this Region for thousands of years, guarding the Oath Woods with our Dragon Types. I saw your Battles with my contemporaries. I must say, I am impressed. Out of all the Challengers we've had for this latest League Challenge... I believe you're the one most likely to beat it. Your obvious love for your Pokémon is matched only by the power they put out for you. If you can replicate that in your future Battles, you might just unseat Champion N. But first...you must defeat me."
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Damon snapped his fingers then, and one of his balls opened. Alex grimaced, as he stared down a Hydreigon. One look told him it was well trained, and monstrously powerful. He had only heard rumors about the People of the Woods, as Unovans collectively called Damon's tribe. Supposedly, they had once been immigrants who had lived in the Desert Resort, before Reshiram's flames had burned it down to nothing but super-heated sand and memory.
"Shruikan!" Alex said, as he tossed his ball and took the first move, "Use Dragon Pulse!"
As the sphere of dragon energy charged up, the eager to battle Shelgon condensed it, and turned it black and red before he fired it. The dense sphere of sparking dragon energy roared towards the Hydreigon, and with the same calm, but confident monotone as his challenger, Damon countered it. "Stop it, with Hyper Voice."
The air within the chamber cracked like a boom of thunder, and Alex could've sworn that he heard the Hydreigon say something other than its name, but it was drowned out by the boom, and resulting explosion, from their Dragon Pulse. When the smoke cleared, Damon's Hydreigon was untouched, and Alex swore. Now it would be a defensive battle. Hydreigon could rarely be stopped once it got going.
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"Ice Fang, Hydreigon." Damon said, and the dark dragon surged forward faster than Shruikan could ever hope to be, the fangs on its main head encased in ice.
"Start rolling, Shruikan! Then Brick Break!" Alex said, hoping his Shelgon could counter. The Hydreigon's jaws snapped shut with an echoing thud, but Shruikan was already rolling. If he gained enough speed, he could outpace the Hydreigon, which was not very maneuverable but could cover a wide area of effect with its moves. Damon had a bemused expression on his face, as he watched. It faded, as fighting typed energy surrounded the Shelgon's shell. With a Dragonbreath powered leap, Shruikan managed to hammer the Hydreigon in the back, between its wings.
The damage was nowhere near enough for a faint though, and Damon's counter was swift. "Turn and cover it in a Dragon Pulse!"
Before Alex could react, the massive dark floating dragon whirled in place, opened all three mouths, and covered his Shelgon in super effective energy. When it finally faded, Shruikan was barely standing, but standing he was. "Brick Break! Keep rolling to dodge the counter! Don't get hit!" Shruikan gave his Trainer a look, and then once more leapt, and hammered the Hydreigon. It countered without Damon's order, with another Dragon Pulse, but Shruikan was already rolling away past the edge of it. The field burned with blue dragonfire as the Hydreigon set it ablaze.
Damon's eyes widened as the Shelgon rolled near him. "Your Shelgon...did you carve a pattern upon its shell!?"
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Alex blinked. "No... I mean...that probably wouldn't hurt him...might even look cool...but no. I'm no craftsman, I wouldn't risk accidentally weakening his shell like that."
Damon nodded but stayed quiet. The marking had been clear enough to his eyes at least, and he had a feeling it was the intensity of the Dragon Pulse that had revealed the mark's existence. If they were there naturally, he was very glad that he was not facing this Pokémon in its evolved state. There were legends around Shelgon with marked shells, dark legends, usually from other regions, about how unnaturally powerful they were, and when they evolved, they had been compared to death itself. He wondered how such a Pokémon would end up, bonded as he was to a Trainer with the skill to sweep two of the Elite Four with one Pokémon.
"Faster, Shruikan! Brick Break!" Somehow, the rolling ball of dragon propelled himself quicker, and once more, the Hydreigon struggled to track him, even with three heads. His pattern was too chaotic, and as Shruikan saw how the Hydreigon's tracking worked, it was easy to make the heads bump into each other.
Suddenly, he rolled under the levitating dark dragon, and as the main head leaned down to blast him with another wide area Dragon Pulse, Shruikan rolled to the right, summoned the fighting energy and came around on the back of the Hydreigon's head. He rolled through, slamming it fast enough to make the six-winged dragon type rotate in place and become dazed. Alex capitalized on that. "Into the air! Get as high as you can, Shruikan!"
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The Shelgon abruptly stopped, faced himself downwards, and then exhaled, as he propelled himself high into the air with his flames yet again. Damon stared, somewhat in awe, as the Shelgon rose like a Draco Meteor. The move that was called though, was arguably worse, since it was a physical move not a special one and wouldn't weaken the Shelgon after its use. It was one they'd been working on perfecting though, and it required a stunned target to be used effectively. It also needed enough gravity to be as damaging as the move their version was based upon.
At the apex of the Shelgon's climb, Damon spoke up. "Hydreigon, ready a Hyper Beam. Aim upwards." All three heads formed dense balls of intense dark energy, as they focused on the Shelgon.
"Now, Shruikan! Dragon Hammer! And give it a spiral!" Alex called the order, and Shruikan enveloped himself with dragon type energy, before plummeting downwards. The Hydreigon rocked in the air with recoil as it fired the Hyper Beam with only its main mouth, and as the attack missed, Damon stared in disbelief, as he watched the Shelgon use Dragonbreath to guide his trajectory down, as well. His shell skirted the Hyper Beam, but his Dragon Hammer stayed on target and hammered the Hydreigon with all the force of an Alolan Exeggutor.
The armored ball of dragon rolled back to his side of the field then, panting slightly, but eyes aflame, as he felt his experience grow, and roared from within the confines of his irritatingly heavy shell. From across the clearing field of dust, Damon stared, looking somewhat unnerved by the sound. "Impressive...not many Challengers get past my Hydreigon...I've never seen a Shelgon fight like that. Where did you find him?"
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Alex smirked. "Draconis Mons...he was a Bagon, but he evolved pretty quick. Once he figured out how to roll, and make himself faster, he became a terror on the battlefield. He trained hard to keep up with my Charizard. Once you see the bar by which he measures himself, you'll understand why he's so strong."
"Fascinating...most Shelgon I've seen just Protect, and then counter with a bite or a claw attack. We shall have to Battle again, once he evolves." Damon said, as he drew his next ball from beneath the patterned black cloak.
Alex nodded. "By the time he evolves, I'll be your Champion. I look forward to sparring together, Damon." Shruikan affirmed his words with a growl, and that, brought a rare smile to Damon's fierce countenance.
"Go, Haxorus!"