COMPLETE: The Dragon Master III

[TheDragonMaster]

'The Dragon Master III'

same as the first two. a bit of language, but bleeped out.

The Dragon Master III: Chapter One

I am relaxing on the top of the Goldenrod City Radio Tower, with a radio, and I’m listening to the music that they’re playing. I’ve been sitting here, and thinking about the past years and all that has happened. I am still the Pokemon League Champion, though I have I lots of challengers. There haven’t really been any close battles. I’ve won them all with ease. But, if I had given up on defeating Flargini, none of this would’ve happened, and Kanto and Johto would’ve been demolished. But, that was a year ago, and I’m now sixteen years old. Misty is the same, and we’ve been closer together than ever. We’ve stuck together during everything. Everything has been going smoothly, and I’m happy about that fact. Today, however, I just needed some time alone. Because every two years that the Pokemon League Champion remains undefeated, there is a celebration, and they are considered to be pretty much undefeatable. To this day, there have only been two people to last this long. Lance and me are the only two. Lance had lasted eight years, before his untimely death by my hand, and I had just finished my second year. The celebration was to take place at six o’clock tonight. I really wasn’t that excited, to tell you the truth. I had to be back there at five o’clock to get ready. I looked at my watch. It said that it was five-fifteen!
“Holy s***,” I said to myself. “I’ve got to get back to the Palace of the Elite Four!” I called my wings, threw off my cloak, and jumped off the Radio Tower. I was headed back to the Palace. While I was flying, I heard a voice in my head.
“You’re late, Bob,” Sabrina said telepathically. “Misty is going to be angry with you.”
“Be quiet, Sabrina,” I said. “And quit prying into my head like this. I’ve got a plan.”
“Whatever,” Sabrina said, though I knew that she knew that I was going to get yelled at. I picked up the pace by blasting a Dragon Rage out of my hands that were pointing behind me. That cut my flying time in half. I finally made it to Indigo Plateau at about five-thirty. I snuck into the Palace, and sprinted towards my room. I crept in, and shut the door behind me. I looked through the peephole, and sighed with relief.
“Don’t sigh just yet, Bob,” Misty said as I spun around. “So much for you and your ‘Don’t worry, I’ll be on time.’”
“Um,” I said, trying to think of something witty to say. “Hey Misty. I’ve been looking for you for the past half-hour.”
“Right,” Misty said. “What is with guys and trying to get out of stuff with lies. I’m not mad. Just be on time next time, okay?”
“Okay,” I said. “I’m gonna get ready.” She was about to walk out of my room when she turned and asked me something.
“Bob,” she said. “Why do you love me?”
“That’s easy,” I said as she walked towards me. She got very close. “You’re beautiful, smarter than me, although I don’t like to admit it, you drive me crazy every time I think about you, and I love you. Now, why do you love me?”
“Well, Bob,” Misty said. “The reason that I love you is because the first time that I ever saw you, I knew that you were someone who was caring, and did what was best for other people. Plus you were quite cute. But…”
“But what,” I said, wondering what she was going to say.
“When I was less than a year old,” Misty started, “I was lost on Cerulean Cape and there was no one that knew me. My sisters had left me there as a prank. I didn’t find it so funny. I sat there and cried for about a half-hour, when a boy came. He was about sixteen years old, and he looked kinda like you. He had a little boy in his arms, and he stopped and asked me what was wrong. He picked me up, and went to the nearest Officer Jenny that he could see. He asked her if she knew me, and she recognized me as one of the Waterflower sisters. So she told him to take me back to my house. She gave him directions and everything. He got me there, and my parents took me. They thanked the boy, and that was the last that I ever saw or heard from him again. One of the reasons that I love you is because you remind me of him. But, I love you for you, not just because you reminded me of him. That story is the reason that I fell in love with you in the first place. We’d better get ready.” She walked out of my room and into hers. I snapped my fingers, and I was covered with a teal ninja’s uniform. This was what Koga expected that I wear. He had spent the last year teaching me the martial arts to discipline myself. I then covered that up with my Master’s cloak. I went out of my room, and Koga was standing there, waiting for me.
“You were late,” he said, clearly angry. “You shouldn’t have been. Say that it won’t happen-”
“It won’t happen again, Koga,” I said as I bowed to him and ran out to the front of the Palace. There were already thousands of people there.
“It has been estimated that over ninety percent of Kanto and Johto are here,” Duplica said as she snuck up on me. We stood there watching all of the rides being put up.
“That’s nice,” I said. “I just want this night to be over. I don’t like this. All of these people gathered here. A perfect target for a terrorist.”
“We have the best guards,” she continued. “No one will be able to get in.”
“Sure,” I said. “There are still some crazy people out there. Let’s just get this show started.”
“But it’s not scheduled to start for another five minutes,” Misty said as she appeared. I walked out, and there were cheers that deafened my ears. Misty ran out beside me, and I walked up to the podium.
“People of Kanto and Johto,” I said into the microphone. “Being your Pokemon League Champion from over the last two years; it has been wonderful. I can’t think of anything else that I would rather have for a job.”
“How about a murderer,” a voice said. I couldn’t locate it, as it sounded like it was all around me. The voice sounded all too familiar.
“There,” Will said as he pointed to the top of one of the rides. “But…no…it is him!” I looked up, and spotlights flashed to where the figure was standing. It was a man standing in a teal cloak, holding a lance.
“Lance,” I exclaimed. “But you’re dead.”
“I was dead,” he said. “But this is another of my backup plans. Agatha, being a Ghost Master, raised me from the dead. Now, I have a new plan, which cannot fail me. Unless this doesn’t work.” He threw his lance at me, which I caught an inch from my face.
“Wow,” Koga said as he saw that. “I’ve trained him well.”
“Yes, Koga, you have,” Lance said. “And since that didn’t work, I’ll be forced to go with my other plan.” He jumped off of the Ferris wheel and took flight. I threw off my cloak, called my wings, and followed him. Eventually, he landed, and I confronted him.
“How are you alive,” I asked him, my face full of fury. “Two years ago, I killed you in this world. You went to h***. Just last year, you came back, but you were in Flargini’s mind. I killed you again, and once more, you went back to h***. Clair and Flargini soon followed. How can this be? How many times do I have to kill you before you stay dead?”
“Ah, Bob,” Lance said. “Ever since I’ve been burning in h***, I’ve been thinking of new ways to kill you. I’ve had that second plan since I became Pokemon League Champion in the first place. Last year, Flargini and I discussed what would happen if we failed yet again. Which we did, thanks to that idiot. He let you acquire the Elemental Medallion. But this time, you shall not interfere. No matter how fast you go, you cannot stop me this time. Do you know what I am planning? Let’s just say that there is another Mysticman involved. Flargini’s younger brother is overly pissed off at you. In fact, he is going to help me. Last year, you discovered some of the many powers of the Mysticman. But, Bob, did you know that they have the ability to send someone through time? That’s what I plan to do. Go back in time when you were not old enough to defend yourself, and kill you. The good thing is, you can’t stop me because Flargini and his brother, Jim, were the only Mysticmen left on this planet. This is a brilliant plan, is it not?”
“You’re insane,” I said. “You could change the course of history? Just for your own personal goals. H***, without me, what would this world be like? Perhaps Delilah would have adopted someone else that would have killed you in the end. So you see, Lance, your destiny is to be dead. Plus, I’ll kill Agatha for bringing you back.”
“So violent,” Lance said. “Anyway, I have all the time in the world. Jim, come. Set up the portal. Time to kill Bob.” A Mysticman popped out of the bushes and his eyes glowed an unholy black. The watch on my wrist went crazy. I had to stop Lance from going back into the past. My eyes glowed silver, and I hurled a ball of silver energy at the Mysticman. It hit him straight on, and killed him instantly. I was too late, however. The portal to the past had already been opened.
“No,” I yelled.
“You’re too late, Bob,” Lance said with a chuckle. “You may have won all of those previous battles, but I shall win the war. Because without you, those battles would have never taken place. Remember back to the year 1988. Three months after you were born. Goodbye, Bob.” He jumped through the portal that was ten feet away from me. I sprinted over there, and jumped. The portal was getting smaller and smaller. Right when I reached it, the portal disappeared.
“D*****,” I cursed. “D*****. D*****. D*****. This is not good.” I flew back to the Palace of the Elite Four, where all of the other Masters were gathered.
“Did you get him,” Misty asked anxiously.
“No,” I said. “He went on his plan. And without any Mysticmen, I’m done for. He went back to the year 1988 to kill me. November 1, 1988 to be exact. Since there’s no Mysticmen left, I’m-”
“Um,” Will said. “I am a Mysticman.”
“I thought that you were a Psychic Master,” I said.
“You see,” Will began, “my mother was a Psychic Master, and my father was a Mysticman. I received both of them.”
“Will,” I said. “Send me back to November 1, 1988. I have to save the world.”
“What are you talking about,” Erika said. “You’re going to save yourself.”
“But without me,” I said. “Lance would still be the Pokemon League Champion. And the world would follow his every command.”
“Bob,” Will said as he handed me a cell phone. “Take this with you. It’s modified to work over time. I developed it a while ago. Good luck.” With that, his eyes glowed an unholy black, and a portal appeared. It was just like the one that Lance had gone through.
“Let me come with you, Bob,” Misty said. “You can’t face Lance alone.”
“No,” I said. “You are staying here.”
“Bob,” Will said. “You do realize that once you go through that portal, I can’t generate another one for a week. You’ll have to kill Lance before then. You must.”
“I love you, Misty,” I said as I kissed her on the lips. “I will be back. I promise.” I left her and jumped through the portal. I saw nothing but black. I was going to the year 1988…
- End of Chapter One -
The Dragon Master III: Chapter Two

I fell out of the portal, dismantled and looking like a wreck. I didn’t know where I was, but I did know when I was. I checked my PokeGear and it said that I was on Route 29. I was so close to Cherrygrove City. I sprinted as fast as I could to the orphanage between the PokeCenter and the PokeMart. It looked like it was still in the same condition in 1988 as it was in 2004. I went inside and talked to the secretary.
“Excuse me, miss,” I said. “But is there an orphan named Robert Shepardson here? It’s very important.”
“Let me check the files,” she said. She went back and looked through the filing cabinet. “I’m sorry, but there isn’t even anybody with the last name ‘Shepardson’ here. Why don’t you go and try the Lavender Town orphanage.”
“D*****,” I cursed under my breath. “Where am I? I thought that I was supposed to be here.”
“Um, sir,” the secretary asked. “By the way, you’re in Cherrygrove City. But, who are you talking to?”
“No one in particular,” I said. I was walking out of the door and bumped into a couple holding a baby boy.
“Watch it there, kid,” the man said to me. He wasn’t that much older than me, though I’m 16 years in the past.
“Sorry,” I said. I took a closer look at him and the woman with the baby. It looked like…but no…Giovanni and Lorelei?
“Do you need something,” Lorelei asked me, because I was staring at the baby, which was me.
“Um,” I said. “Actually, could I talk to you two over here for a second.” I motioned them over to the corner of the building.
“This had better be good,” Giovanni said. “I have some important business to attend to.”
“This is of the utmost importance,” I said. “Someone is trying to kill that baby.”
“What,” Lorelei exclaimed. “Who’s trying to kill Bob?”
“He’s a 24 year old lunatic,” I said. “He will stop at nothing until your little boy is dead. Please, let me protect him. I’m the only chance that he will survive.”
“What the h*** is this,” Giovanni asked. “Why would anybody want to kill him?”
“If I told you, you’d think that I was crazy,” I said. “I can’t explain to you now, but call back to the orphanage in a week and I’ll leave a note explaining everything. Please, Lorelei, do this for your son.”
“How did you know my name,” Lorelei asked. She seemed to do some serious thinking. “Why would anybody want to kill him? He’s just a three-month old baby. He can’t do any harm.”
“Maybe not now,” I said. “Please, you have to trust me on this one. Otherwise, he will die within the next 24 hours.”
“We’ll let you have him,” Giovanni said. “Plus we’ll call back here in a week to verify that you’re telling the truth, if you can tell me my name.”
“Easy,” I said. “Your name is Giovanni. You’re both seniors in high school, and Lorelei here, got pregnant with Bob at the beginning of the school year. That enough proof for you?”
“Yeah,” Giovanni said weakly. “Though that was more than I’d like for some people to know.”
“We’re placing his life in your hands,” Lorelei said as she handed three-month old me, to me.
“You won’t regret this,” I said. “I will take care of-” BOOM! An explosion rang outside of the door. And Lance was standing there, his hand smoking from a Hyper Beam that he had just sent through the door.
“You,” Lance exclaimed. “How did you get here? I left you in the future. You had just killed the last Mysticman on the face of the planet. And yet you defy me! What the h*** is up with that?”
“I’m not just saving him,” I said. “I’m saving the world from you ruling the Pokemon League.”
“Die, Bob,” Lance yelled at me as he sent a Dragon Rage at me. I grabbed Giovanni and Lorelei, and dodged the Dragon Rage.
“What the h***,” Giovanni said weakly. Lorelei, however, was defending her three-month old son.
“Lapras, go,” Lorelei yelled. “Blizzard!” Her water/ice pokemon plopped on the floor and ice flew out of its mouth. The ice consumed Lance and blew him out of town.
“Now do you believe me,” I said to the both of them.
“Protect my son,” Lorelei said. “Hurry, leave now.”
“Okay,” I said as I ran out of town and towards Violet City. All of the people that were just standing outside, minding their own business looked at me when I ran out of the orphanage. I finally slowed down when I reached Route 30. There was a trainer standing all alone on the path. He came up to me when I ran past him.
“Hey, you,” the kid said. “Cloaked guy, you wanna battle me?”
“I’m sorry,” I said. “I can’t battle you right now. Or ever for that matter.” I started to run away from him.
“Wrong answer,” he said. “You should have just let me beat the living crap out of you and your pokemon. But you had to do this the hard way. Boys, let’s go.” He snapped his fingers once, and about twenty thugs came out and surrounded me.
“Oh my God,” I said with a smirk on my face. “You’ve got to be kidding me. Twenty against one? Too easy.” They all came at me at once. I roundhouse kicked the first guy in the stomach, with him piling up two or three more guys. I broke a guy’s nose with my fist, and threw him into four more guys. The remaining guys charged at me all at once, so I sent a twister at them. They spun around for a little bit, before I sent them hurtling into a tree.
“Holy s***,” the trainer said. “I’m sorry to bother you. Have a nice day.” He almost tripped over his own feet trying to run away. The three-month old me was laughing at what he was seeing. I ran all of the way to the Violet City PokeCenter.
“O dear,” Nurse Joy said when she saw me. “Why do you have this little boy? Isn’t he supposed to be with his parents?”
“I found him on Route 31,” I lied. “Just check him over, and we’ll be on our way.”
“I’m afraid not,” she said. “This boy will be going to the Cherrygrove City orphanage where he belongs.”
“No he won’t,” I said. “I’m taking him with me, and that’s all there is to it. He’s only three months old. I can take care of him. Please, just check him over.”
“Fine,” she said. “But don’t tell anybody that I let you do this. My medical profession would be ruined.” She took the little me into the back room for about five minutes. She came back out.
“Is there anything wrong,” I asked her.
“Nope,” she said cheerfully. “He’s very healthy. Now get out of here before I get fired.” I quickly ran out of the PokeCenter. I got on Route 32, and about five trainers came up to me and wanted to battle.
“No,” I said firmly. “How about I battle one of you just to show you my power?” They all agreed, and a hiker came forward to battle me.
“How about a one-on-one battle,” the hiker asked. “Go, Geodude. Destroy his pokemon!”
“Go, Puff,” I said as my strongest Dragonite came out of his teal pokeball in a flash of teal light. “Use Hyper Blast and get this over with.” Puff sent a small beam of power at the Geodude. About an inch from the rock-hard pokemon, the beam exploded into a massive beam that was more than a normal hyper beam.
“D*****,” the hiker cursed under his breath. “Geodude, return. Go on your way.” With the little me snuggled safely in my arms, asleep, I went off to Union Cave, where we would hopefully hide from Lance.
We reached Union Cave, and we explored it deeply. When the little me woke up, he started to cry, and I really couldn’t figure out why.
“Why are you crying,” I ask him, trying to get him to stop. I saw a hiker that had some MooMoo Milk and was eating his lunch. I snuck up behind, him and grabbed the can right from underneath his hand. I gave it to the little me, and he stopped crying and started drinking.
“This is gonna put me through h***,” I said. “But, I have to get out of this cave sometime. So let’s get out of here.” I ran out of Union Cave, with me in my arms. But something caught my eye. There was something shining in the bushes. I went over there to inspect it. However, Lance popped out of the bushes, holding his lance.
“Give him to me,” Lance said. “I mean, give you to me. I mean, give me the baby.”
“No,” I said. “We will fight this if we have to.” With my katana in one hand, and little me in the other, I charged towards Lance. We clashed for a few minutes, when he took my legs out from underneath me. I threw the baby up in the air, and I was on the ground. The three-month old me was hurtling towards Lance. He was going to kill the three-month me…
- End of Chapter Two -
The Dragon Master III: Chapter Three

I had to do something before Lance succeeded in killing me. I called my wings and took off. Lance threw his lance. The baby and his lance were hurtling towards each other, the lance sure to win. Only a little bit farther. Inches from the lance, I grabbed the three-month old me and took off for Goldenrod City. I was safe…for now. I landed on top of the Goldenrod City Radio Tower. I pulled the cell phone out of my cloak that Will had given me. I dialed his number. It rang three times.
“Hello,” I heard Will’s voice say. “This is Will, the first of the Elite four.”
“Thank God,” I said. “Will, it’s Bob. I have the little me, and I almost failed. Lance almost killed him.”
“Bob,” Will said. “I’ve been checking all of the newspapers from around that date, and there’s something that you have to do.”
“What is it,” I asked.
“I was reading the paper from that day,” Will said, “and this is what it said: ‘Mysterious Teal-cloaked man defeats major crime boss, while saving three-month old girl at Cerulean Cape.’”
“Great,” I said sarcastically. “What time?”
“Can you be there tomorrow at 4:00 P.M.,” Will asked. A thought entered my head. “Bob? Did you hear that? Bob? Are you even there?”
“Yeah,” I said. “I’ll take the Magnet Train.”
“I hate to break it to you, Bob,” Will said. “But there’s no Magnet Train built yet.”
“I’ll just take the S.S. Fast Ship,” I said. “It only takes about five minutes.”
“That’s not built yet, either,” Will said. “The only way that you can get between Kanto and Johto is the S.S. Anne. Plus, it will take you a day. What time is it there?”
“It’s about noon,” I said.
“You’d better hurry,” Will said. “The next one doesn’t leave for another week.”
“Thanks for the information,” I said. “I’ll call you later.” I hung up the phone, called my wings, and took off for Olivine City.
When I got there, I headed directly for the dock. I was walking on, when the guard stopped me.
“Excuse me, sir,” the guard said. “You can’t enter here without a pass.” I handed over my pass.
“Is that okay,” I asked impatiently. Back in 2004, I was the Pokemon League Champion, and I didn’t have to worry about this stuff.
“Um,” the guard said. “This pass is for the S.S. Fast Ship, which doesn’t exist. Also, it said that it was issued in the year 2002. That’s 14 years from now.”
“Very good,” I said. “You can add.” I grabbed my pass from him. I was going to have to sneak on board. After the guard left, I ran up the ramp as fast as possible before he saw me. Luckily, he didn’t. I was walking to see if I could find an empty room. I snuck into a room and closed the door behind me. I saw that there was somebody in the room.
“What are you doing here,” Lorelei asked me. “Isn’t someone trying to kill Bob?”
“Yeah,” I said. “And I’m working on that. I just have to get to Cerulean Cape and soon as possible.”
“Okay,” Lorelei said. “But how did you get on board?”
“Uh,” I said. “I snuck in, to tell you the truth. I ran up the ramp when he wasn’t looking.”
“It feels like I know you,” Lorelei said. “Not when I met you from the orphanage, but some other time.”
“You’re most likely right,” I said. “I know where you met me, too. But you wouldn’t believe me. Not for a second.”
“Try me,” Lorelei said.
“Okay,” I said. “The thing is-” CRASH! The ship tilted sideways. Lorelei and I were whacked against the wall. I, however, held the little me tight against my chest to protect him.
“What just happened,” Lorelei asked me. We were standing on the wall, as it seemed that the ship is sideways.
“I think that we were just hit by something,” I said. My cell phone rang in my pocket.
“Bob,” Will said as I answered the phone. “Be ready for this. The S.S. Anne will sink.”
“You think,” I asked sarcastically. “We were just hit, and now Lorelei and I are standing on the freaking wall! As for the baby, he’s still asleep. How fast will we sink?”
“You have two hours,” Will said. “After that, you’re done for. And why is Lorelei in the room with you?”
“She’s heading back to Kanto after dropping off her son at the orphanage,” I said. “Where did you find this?”
“An old newspaper,” Will said. “It says here that nobody died, thanks to a mysterious stranger in a teal cloak.”
“Great,” I said. “How many lives did I save?”
“Well,” Will said. “There are 500 people on the boat. About five minutes after the ship was hit, 498 of the passengers make it to the lifeboats. You and the little you are the only ones that don’t make it to the lifeboats. Get moving, Bob. You don’t have much time.”
“Right,” I said as I hung up the phone. “Thanks for this little bit of information.” I hung up the cell phone and shoved it in my cloak.
“Who was that,” Lorelei asked, her eyes alive with fear.
“Um,” I said. “One of my contacts. He’s helping me save Bob. Given the status of the ship, it will sink in two hours.” Lorelei put her hands to her mouth.
“We have to get out of here,” Lorelei said. “Whatever you do, just save Bob.”
“Yes,” I said. “Anything. Let’s just get out of here.” Being on the wall furthest from the door, I had to jump to reach the door. I pulled it open, and lifted Lorelei out. I handed her Bob, and climbed out myself. We ran through the sideways corridor, looking in each door for any people. There were none.
“What are you doing,” Lorelei asked me.
“Nothing,” I said. “Get to the lifeboats. Now. Don’t worry about Bob and me, I’ll take care of him.” I ran down the hallway, when I felt the ship shift downwards. There was no one left on the ship besides mini-me and me. I had to get out of here, and fast. I sprinted down the corridor, looking for an exit. The three-month old me started to cry because it was getting dark in here. I heard the intercom turn on.
“Hello, Bob,” came Lance’s voice over the intercom. “I am the reason that this ship is sinking. However, I am already off the ship. It’s just you and that little version of you. You’ll both be down in your watery graves. Goodbye.” The intercom clicked off.
“D***** you, Lance,” I cursed. In my rage, I sent a Hyper Beam at the intercom on the wall. That was my first mistake. As the intercom was on the outside wall, water rushed in to meet the baby and me. My next mistake was running into a room that I had no idea what was in there. There was a laptop on the desk, which was on top of a nuclear warhead. I turned on the laptop. A clock appeared. It started to count down from thirty seconds.
“30…29…28…27…26,” the computer beeped. I ran out of the room as fast as I could, while sticking a breathing apparatus in the baby’s mouth. I had to get out of there. The numbers were now being broadcasted over the intercom.
“Holy s***,” I said.
“10…9…8…7…6,” the computer said. I fought my way through the current that was coming into the ship. “5…4…3.” I was swimming as fast as I could, with my wings to propel me. “2…1.” Then, there was silence. That is, until a huge explosion sounded behind us, blowing us into oblivion. Though the baby’s mouth was open, I heard no crying. I myself was yelling, though no sound was coming out. I couldn’t hold on anymore, and I passed out.
When I woke up, I realized that I was on an island, and the little me was fine, content playing with some sand. Not really playing, he was just messing around in it with his toes.
“Where the h*** are we,” I asked to nobody in particular. The little me looked at me questioningly. “I forgot that I’m traveling with someone that can’t talk.” I picked up the little me, and I pulled out my PokeGear. While I was waiting for it to turn on, I looked around. There were three other islands that I could see. I wondered where in Johto or Kanto that I could be.
“You are located in The Whirl Islands,” my PokeGear beeped. “These four islands are said to be the home of a silver-winged creature unknown. However, only a few people have said ever to see it. The only reason that this theory is accepted is because that a silver feather has been found at every scene.” I suddenly remembered something from a while ago. A man in Pewter City had once given me a silver feather. I pulled it out of my backpack, and I stared at it for some time. The three-month old me started to grab for it, so I gave it to him. That entertained him for a while. As I had nowhere to go, I put my PokeGear my in my cloak and entered the cave. It was quite dark in there, but a flash of light came up real fast. A wild pokemon had used flash, and then it ran away. I walked in there for some time, before I came to some water.
“Scarlet, surf,” I said as my red Gyarados popped out of his teal pokeball in a flash of teal light. I hopped on, and we were surfing downstream. Through where we were going, I didn’t know. We came to a waterfall, and Scarlet looked confused.
“Gaoysh,” Scarlet said as it looked to me for instructions.
“Scarlet,” I said. “Use your waterfall, but carefully.” Gently, we descended down the tall waterfall. Once we reached the bottom, I returned Scarlet, and we entered a cave. All that was in there was a large pool of water. Suddenly, bubbles arose from the depths of the water. A whirlpool formed. White light appeared, blurry under the water. An enormous pokemon drifted out of the water, and looked at the silver feather that the little me was holding. It looked at it, and then it screamed what seemed like a scream of rage. It was powering something in its mouth. I dodged out of the way right when it shot an aeroblast at me. I returned fire with a Hyper Blast right in its face. I pulled out my PokeDex to see what it was.
“Lugia,” my PokeDex beeped. “The Dive pokemon. This pokemon is said to lie at the bottom of the sea, in a deserted cave, because it cannot hold in all of its power.”
‘That can’t be good,” I said as I dodged another aeroblast. I didn’t seem to like the Hyper Blast that I had sent into its face. It appeared that its eyes were almost red. I thought that I had enough problems. I was wrong.
“Give me the baby,” Lance said as he entered the cave with Lugia, the baby, and me in there.
“Could you pick a better time,” I asked angrily. “Because I’m kinda preoccupied.” I sent a twister at the wild Lugia.
“No,” Lance said. “Right now is perfect.” He lunged at me, his hands outstretched. I dodged him, and he fell in the pool of water inside the cave.
“Bye, Lance,” I said as I took the silver feather that the little me had, and I gave it to Lance. I ran out of the mini-cave, with the little me in my arms. The Lugia fired another aeroblast, this time at Lance. Evidently, the one that possessed one of Lugia’s feathers, that was the person that had to give it back.
“Get back here, Bob,” Lance yelled at me. “I’m not finished trying to kill you yet!”
“That’s nice,” I said. I looked at my PokeGear to see the time. It was 3:30! I had to get to Cerulean Cape in a half-hour! “Why does this s*** have to happen to me?” I let out Flare, my Charizard, in a flash of teal light from his teal pokeball.
“CHAR,” Flare yelled.
“Uh-huh,” I said to Flare. “I know that it’s dark in here, but you have to dig us out. Dig, now!” Flare flew his way over to a wall of the cave. With his claws, he started to dig through the rock. After about five minutes, we were out of the Whirl Islands, and we were flying at breakneck speed to Cerulean Cape.
We landed in Cerulean City, without causing many people to stare at us. There was only about five or six people that even noticed that we were here.
“Flare, return,” I said as I held out Flare’s pokeball. I thin teal beam of light hit Flare, and he went back into his teal pokeball. I sprinted as fast as I could to Cerulean Cape. I looked desperately around for Misty. I asked around, but nobody said that they had seen her. I sat down on a bench, when I saw three little girls running by. One had blue hair, another had blonde, and the last one had pink. Was it really them?
“Violet, Lily, Daisy,” I yelled out. The three of them stopped running and ran over to me.
“Who are you,” Lily asked.
“Are you mean,” Daisy asked.
“Are you gonna kidnap us, mister,” Violet asked.
“My name is Bob,” I said. “And no, I’m not mean, and no I don’t want to kidnap you. I was wondering if you felt guilty leaving your sister here all alone?”
“Uh-oh,” Violet said. “How did you know?”
“I have my ways,” I said. “Anyway, I won’t tell your parents, if you tell me where she is.” They seemed to hesitate about telling me or not.
“Okay,” Daisy spoke up at last. “Go all the way to the end of the cape, and then take a left. She’ll be on the bench.” With that, they ran off for home. I., with the little me in my arms, ran off to find the three-month old Misty.
I had no trouble getting there, and just like Misty’s sisters had said, she was right there on the bench, crying. I picked her up, but somebody caught my eye. It was Giovanni. He was with four or five other men. One looked like it could’ve been his father. And my grandfather. It looked like three of them were all stroking guns.
“D*****, you, Giovanni,” I cursed under my breath. With two three-month old children in my arms, I really couldn’t do anything about it. But I had to do something. So I hid mini-Bob and mini-Misty under the dock, where nobody would find them. I had to do something, and fast.
“So do you know what to do, Giovanni,” the elderly one asked. I was right underneath of them, so I could hear every word.
“Yes, father,” Giovanni replied.
“Just hope that his girlfriend doesn’t show up, Carl,” another of the men said. Judging by his hand movement, he was talking to my grandfather.
“Shut the h*** up, Lenny,” Giovanni said. “She went off to be one of the Elite Four. I’ll probably never see her again.”
“Yeah,” the one they called ‘Lenny’ said. “But you knocked her up. She can’t do anything while she’s pregnant.”
“She had the baby three months ago, Lenny,” Giovanni said.
“And you gave it to the Cherrygrove City orphanage, right,” the fifth member said.
“Well,” Giovanni said before he trailed off.
“Well, what did you do with him,” my grandfather asked.
“This guy, about sixteen, said that somebody was trying to kill him,” Giovanni said. “And he offered to protect him until the psycho was caught.”
“And you believed him,” Lenny asked. “You’re dumber than you look!”
“That guy came,” Giovanni said. “And he possessed some kind of superhuman power. Luckily, Lorelei’s Lapras blew him away with its Blizzard.”
“Enough of this,” my grandfather said. “Let’s get down to business. Now, we hold up all of these people for their cash and jewelry. We run off and we head for Viridian City. Do you all have your guns?”
“Yeah, Boss,” the other four said.
“Let’s do this thing,” my grandfather said. The five of them turned to the crowd at the cape and pulled out their guns.
“Holy s***,” somebody yelled.
“They’ve got guns,” another bystander yelled.
“Yes,” my grandfather said. “Hopefully, we won’t have to use them if you would all be cooperative and just give us all of your cash and jewels, we will leave you peacefully.” I had to make my move, and fast. I called my wings, and I sent a Hyper Beam where they were standing. The five of them flew all over the cape, and I shot up through the hole that I had made. I landed aside from the hole and I faced them.
“Um…could you just give me your guns and you five can go to prison,” I asked politely. All that I got back was bullets zooming by me. They did not have good aim. I dodged all of the bullets while all of the hostages ran away to Cerulean City. Soon, they were all out of bullets. Everyone except Giovanni, who was just standing there with a blank look on his face.
“What the h*** do you think that you’re doing, son,” my grandfather asked Giovanni. “Shoot him!” Instead of shooting at me, Giovanni dropped his gun and took off towards Cerulean City, like everybody else did.
“What should we do, boss,” Lenny asked my grandfather.
“Get him,” my grandfather yelled. The three remaining men all ran at me. I jump kicked one of them in the face, knocking him out. I then used Hyper Blast on the second one, who shot back and broke the bench behind him.
“I’m gonna kill you,” the last one said.
“That’s what they all say,” I said. “Boy, people in 1988 are sure whacked up. This is like the tenth time that I’ve been attacked.” He came at me, while I used his momentum against him, and smashed him in the nose. That knocked him out and gave him a broken nose.
“Who are you,” my grandfather asked.
“I’m kinda related to you,” I said. “But not by choice.” I then swung my fist as hard I could towards his face, but I stopped short about an inch. He then just fainted, his eyes rolling back into his head. I heard a whistle blow.
“Stop right where you are, mister,” Officer Jenny yelled as she ran at me with a pair of handcuffs. I held up my hands. But I had to get to the little me before Lance could get to him. Time was running out…
- End of Chapter Three -
The Dragon Master III: Chapter Four

“You are under arrest for having something to do with the Italian mafia,” Officer Jenny said as she pulled out her handcuffs.
“D*****,” I said. “My day could not get any better.” Officer Jenny pulled out her gun.
“Stop right there,” she yelled. She started firing her pistol. I started to back flip away from her towards the hole that I had created earlier. She kept on firing, and I kept on back flipping into the hole. I fell through, and landed on my feet underneath the dock. I ran towards where I had left the three-month olds. They were right where I had left them.
“Come on,” I said as I picked them up. “Let’s go back to Cerulean City.” I called my wings, and I flew off towards Cerulean City. I had no idea where to go. So I went to the Gym. I busted through the door, and whom I assumed were Misty’s parents. I had never met them before, as they died in a car accident when Misty was about ten years old.
“Where did you find our little Misty,” Misty’s mom came towards me asking. Her mother was quite beautiful, and now I know where Misty had gotten her beauty. Her mother was about five-feet-six, with long red hair and green eyes. Her father on the other hand, had bright blonde hair, along with a set of ocean blue eyes. Just like Misty’s eyes, I thought to myself.
“Come on, son,” Misty’s father said. “How did you find our little girl?”
“Well, Mr. Waterflower,” I said. “I found her at Cerulean Cape, right after some of the mafia started to shoot up the place.”
“How can we ever thank you for finding her,” Mrs. Waterflower asked.
“No need,” I said. “Just forget that you ever saw me.”
“Why is that,” Mr. Waterflower asked.
“I have my reasons,” I replied. Mrs. Waterflower, however, was interested in the baby that I had held in my arms.
“And who is this,” Mrs. Waterflower asked, tickling the little me’s stomach. “Surely he’s not your…your…son?”
“Um…no,” I said, while doing some quick thinking. “He’s not my son. He’s actually my…my…brother! Yes, he’s my little brother. But I have to go. Please, don’t tell anybody that you saw me. I would be in your debt.” And with that, I ran out the door. Unfortunately, an Officer Jenny was standing right outside the door, with her back to it. I almost ran into her in my haste. She was talking to another officer.
“Put posters up of this mysterious stranger in a teal cloak,” Officer Jenny said. “I want him in jail as soon as possible.” I snuck away from her and back behind the wall of the Gym. “He is said to be carrying a three-month old baby boy.” I was hiding behind the wall, waiting for the two officers to get out of there.
“Yes, Ma’am,” the other officer said. “Right away, Ma’am.” The two officers walked their separate ways. I needed to find some allies instead of more enemies. Quickly, without anyone noticing, I ran out of town and I was on my way to Saffron City. I had to find Sabrina…and fast.
When I arrived in Saffron City, it had appeared to change since I had been there in 2004. I quickly ran to them Gym. As usual, there were those annoying teleporting pads everywhere. Luckily, there was one path that led to Sabrina without nay trainers challenging you. I jumped on one pad, and then another, I was teleporting all over the Gym. Soon, I reached the chamber where the Gym Leader stood. But it wasn’t Sabrina. Instead of a young girl with green hair and with a face that showed no expression, I found an older man with a kind and warming face.
“Hello,” the man said in a kind voice. “What can I do for you and the baby that you are carrying? Would you like to battle for a badge?”
“Um…no,” I said. “I need to see Sabrina.”
“Sabrina,” the man said. “Why would you want to see a five year old girl?”
“I need her to help me,” I said. “Unless you can read minds.”
“Well it happens to be that I can,” the man said. “Come here and kneel. I will put my hands on your temples, and I will see what you need to have seen.” I did as he said, but when he touched my temples, I felt an odd sensation all over my body. It was not a good feeling; it was one of apprehension and fear. I did not like it. After about five minutes, the man staggered away for some reason.
“What is it,” I asked him.
“Your life is very complicated,” the man said. “But, I saw something in your future that is very bad. The loss of a loved one.”
“Yes, I know,” I said. “But I’m more worried if you believe me.”
“Do I believe that you’re from the future,” the man said. It wasn’t a question. “Or that that baby is you when you were three months old? Or that the brother that you had in your adopted family is trying to kill that baby? That a Pokemon Master brought him back from the dead? Which part?”
“Um,” I said. “All of them.”
“I don’t know what I believe anymore,” he said. “But I do know that I can help you in some way. You were brought back here by a Mysticman, right?”
“Yeah,” I said. “His name was Will.”
“Will’s father and I are very good friends,” the man said. “After you finish your quest here, tell him that you wish to go back to the future. Other than that, you have no way of getting back to your girlfriend; even though you promised that you would.”
“Thank you,” I said. “You are very gener-” BOOM! An explosion rang through our ears. Lance was standing was standing there, in a hole that he had created in the wall.
“Hey, Bob,” Lance said with a devilish smile on his face. “Should we fight first, and then you give me the baby; or shall we just save us both some time and give him to me now? Then again, I have all the time in the world.”
“Go to h***,” I told him.
“I’ve been there already, and it’s really not much fun,” Lance said. “You know, with all the flames and s***. I think that I got sunburn while I was down there.” I called my wings, and I flew over his head and out of the Gym, blasting out the walls with a Hyper Beam. I flew out of the Gym, and a Hyper Beam narrowly missed me. I looked where it had come from, and I saw two figures in teal tumbling off a cliff.
“What the h***,” I asked myself. But I had no time to think about that, as Lance tackled me from behind. The baby flew out of my arms, and started to fall to the ground. I threw Lance off me, and flew straight down towards the baby. If he hit the ground, he would die. I was shooting down, Lance right behind me. He was about to hit, when I grabbed him, and swooped up as fast as possible. Lance collided straight to the ground, while I flew away as fast as possible towards anywhere that Lance wasn’t. I just flew as fast as I could, without thinking of the consequences. I had nowhere else to go, anyway. I would just fly as fast as I could towards wherever I was going.
It ended up that I went to Cinnabar Island. With the little me in my arms, sleeping contently, I landed behind the Gym. But I had to find Will’s father. That was my number two priority. My first was keeping me alive. I entered a phone booth, and I opened the address book. I tried to find Will’s last name, but then I realized that I didn’t even know his last name. What kind of a League Champion am I? I don’t even know my own first of the Elite Four’s name. I had to go for it. I walked into Blaine’s Gym. Two male twin trainers stopped me before I could enter.
“You can only enter here,” one of them said.
“If you can beat us and control your fear,” the other said.
“Our fire pokemon are the best,” the first one said.
“Can you stand up to the test,” the second one continued.
“If you can’t, you’ll get a beating,” the first twin said.
“We twins aren’t for greeting,” the second twin said.
“So challenge us to see our master, Blaine,” the first one said.
“If you lose, you’ll be in for lots of pain,” the other twin rhymed.
“So let me get this straight,” I said changing positions for the baby so he didn’t wake up. “I have to beat you two in order to see Blaine.”
“Why, yes, of course,” the first one said.
“Can you beat my fire horse,” the other one asked. He let out a Rapidash, the fastest of land pokemon.
“And what is your other pokemon,” I asked.
“My brother’s pokemon is not like mine,” the twin with the Rapidash said.
“For my Macargo is absolutely fine,” the other twin yelled, as he let out his fire/rock pokemon.
“A two-on-two battle we request,” the Rapidash trainer said.
“To find out who is the best,” the Macargo trainer said.
“So two pokemon you must send out,” the Rapidash twin said.
“Choose two to fight this bout,” the Macargo trainer said.
“Okay,” I said. “I choose you, Puff! Scarlet, you battle, too! Puff, take on that Rapidash! Scarlet, you take on that Macargo!” As my red Gyarados and my most powerful Dragonite erupted from their teal pokeballs in a flash of teal light, the battle began.
“Rapidash, use Fire Spin,” the Rapidash trainer said.
“Macargo, use Rock Slide before he can win,” the Macargo trainer shouted.
“Puff, use Thunder to stop the Fire Spin attack,” I shouted. “Scarlet, use Ice Beam to knock those rocks away!” According to my orders, Scarlet shot pelts of ice at every rock. Puff exploded with electricity, counteracting the fire that Rapidash was spitting at Puff.
“Macargo, use the biggest Flamethrower that you know,” one of the twins said.
“Rapidash, Stomp that Dragonite, and end this show,” the other twin rhymed.
“Puff, Scarlet, counter with Hyper Blast,” I commanded at my pokemon. They each opened their mouth wide, and a thin beam, no larger than a penny’s width shot out of their mouths. When they came within an inch of Macargo and Rapidash, however, the tiny beams erupted into huge blasts that hit both of the two pokemon that were owned by the twins. A bright light and fire exploded everywhere, leaving the twins, the baby, and me unable to see our pokemon. When everything cleared, Puff and Scarlet were still standing, though kind of burned. The Rapidash and Macargo, however, were lying on the ground, fainted.
“Oh my God, he beat us,” the Rapidash trainer exclaimed.
“Now I wonder ‘Did he cheat us,’” the Macargo trainer said.
“I think that he beat us fair and square,” the first trainer continued.
“To see Master Blaine, follow the path there,” the second trainer concluded. The two twins bowed, parted, and gave me room to go and see Blaine.
“Puff, Scarlet, good job,” I said. “Now you deserve a good rest. Return.” I held out a pokeball in each hand, a teal beam of light came forth from both of them, enveloped both Scarlet and Puff, and two of my dragon pokemon were sucked back into their pokeballs. I walked through the path that the twins had created for me. It was quite dark where I was going, so I didn’t know where to go. The baby in my arms was fidgeting. I calmed him down, right when a set of lights popped on. There Blaine was, sitting on a chair in the middle of the room.
“Hello my young friend,” Blaine said. He looked strange young. It looked like he was in his mid-thirties. Plus, I had never realized the strangeness of seeing him alive again.
“*mumblemumble*,” I said indistinctively.
“What was that,” Blaine said. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.” I dropped my jaw and almost the baby. I pulled myself back together, and asked him the question that I tried to ask before.
“Um…is there a young boy named Will on this island,” I asked. Then I realized how stupid that sounded.
“Um…there has to be,” Blaine said. “I reckon that there’s about fifteen of them.” Just then, thankfully, my cell phone rang.
“Bob,” Will gasped. “What the h*** happened? The paper that had a story about you catching the crime boss said that you caught five of them. Just now, it changed to four! What the h*** is going on there?”
“Giovanni got away,” I said. “Will, what was your dad’s name?”
“It was Tony Marchello,” Will said. “Why do you ask?”
“I just needed to know, thanks,” I said as I hung up. I turned my attention back to Blaine. “I’m sorry about that. Now, back to my question. Is there a man named Tony Marchello on this island?”
“Not that I believe,” Blaine said. “Here, check this directory.” He handed me a thick book. I quickly flipped to the ‘M’s.
“Marchello, Marchello,” I said to myself.
“Um,” Blaine said. “This directory is kinda weird. It goes by the first name. You had better check in the ‘T’s section.”
“Who designed this,” I asked.
“Actually,” Blaine said. “I did. Now, do you see any Tony Marchello?”
“No,” I said. “Thanks for your time.” I walked past the twins, both giving me an odd look at the baby in my arms. I went and sat down on the steps of the Gym, and thought what I needed to do. I snapped my fingers. I just had an idea. I pulled out my cell phone and dialed Will’s number.
“Will, the first of the Elite Four speaking,” Will said into the phone.
“Will, where did you live as a child,” I hurriedly asked.
“I lived in Indigo Plateau,” Will said. “You know, the city right in front of the Palace of the Elite Four?”
“Great,” I said. “I’ll talk to you later.” He started to say something, but I closed my phone and stuck it back inside of my cloak. Shifting the baby in my arms, I called my wings and flew off towards Indigo Plateau. It was rather an uneventful flight, and I landed on the outskirts of the largest city in the world. There was a guard guarding the gate, and I walked past him as fast as possible. The reason that I did that was because of the wanted poster with my face on it. I was back being a fugitive. I had almost forgotten what it was like not to be able to show your face.
“Hey,” the guard yelled. “Come back here young man!” I started to run away, but he put his hand on my shoulder and stopped me from going anywhere. He was quite muscular. He could have easily been Bruno’s older and stronger brother.
“What do you want,” I asked calmly. He gave me a weird look, and continued to talk.
“Do you have some ID, young man,” the guard asked. “Because if you can’t prove who you are, then I’ll have to throw you in the slammer. It’s the Leaders of the Elite Four’s policy.” I quickly got out my wallet and gave him my driver’s license.
“Here you go, sir,” I said. I winced, hoping that he wouldn’t notice the date of birth.
“Well,” the guard said. “It sure does look like you. I can’t argue with that. But it says here that you were born three weeks ago. What is with that?”
“Um,” I said, not knowing what to say. I silently asked God to help me think of something.
“Are you gonna tell me, kid,” the guard asked. Right after that, I said the first thing that popped into my head.
“It’s a typo,” I said. “The reason that I’m here is to change it to my real birth date.”
“Okay,” the guard said. “I guess that that clears that up. You’re free to go.” He gave me my driver’s license, and walked away, his muscles putting his shirt to the breaking point. I ran as fast as I could to the nearest phone booth. I quickly looked up the name Tony Marchello.
“Found it,” I said to myself. “He lives at The Palace of the Elite Four, Room #4!” Will’s father was the Leader of the Elite Four! This was getting quite weird. Regardless of where he lived, I had to talk to him. I walked into the PokeCenter, and I healed my dragon pokemon. While I was waiting, I went and I sat down by a beautiful young woman, about my age. I shifted the little me, so he wouldn’t wake up, and I could be a little bit more comfortable.
“Oh, that is such a cute baby,” the beautiful young woman said. “How did he end up with you?”
“He’s my little brother,” I lied.
“How old is he,” she queried me.
“Three weeks old,” I said.
“My, and he’s away from his mother,” the beautiful young woman exclaimed. “What’s his name?”
“His name is really Robert,” I said. “But so is mine. So he is Robbie, and I’m Bob.”
“Why would your parents do that,” she wondered out loud.
“Actually,” I said. “We’re both adopted. And our genetic parents just happened to name us both Robert, so it’s just a coincidence.”
“Really,” she asked.
“Yeah,” I said. “But enough about me, what about you? What’s your name, even?”
“Well,” she said, not even feeling uncomfortable. “My name is Josie Flargini.” My stomach felt like it exploded.
“F-F-Fl-Flargini,” I asked, stuttering.
“Uh, yeah,” Josie said. “Is there anything wrong with that?” Thoughts were exploding in my head.
“No,” I said quickly. I wondered, could she be related to John Flargini in any way?
“Now for the reason that I am here,” she said. “Well, I was told that I had to go here to give up my son for adoption. Yes, I do have a son, but I cannot take care of him. So I am giving him up for adoption. I know what you’re thinking: ‘How can she be a mother when she’s only sixteen?’”
“No, actually,” I said. “My mother was only eighteen when she gave birth to me.”
“Was she married,” Josie asked. “Because I’m not. My parents really don’t want me to be married. They say that I’m too young. Of course, my boyfriend didn’t even stay for the delivery. He just split.”
“I’m sorry,” I said solemnly. “But, no, she wasn’t and isn’t married. But, her boyfriend stayed through the birth and still claims me as his son.”
“You’re so lucky,” Josie said. “My son won’t ever know me. His name is John.” My mouth dropped. I quickly closed it, though. She didn’t even notice. “Evidently, they are going to send to the Lavender Town orphanage. I’ll most likely never see him again.” With that, she broke down in tears. Shifting “Robbie,” I put my arm around her to comfort her.
“It’s okay, Josie,” I said. “It’s all gonna be all right. Come on, Josie.” She looked me in the eyes, her blue green eyes sparkling. Her eyes were just like mine, I thought.
“I just met you,” Josie said with tears in her beautiful eyes. “And you already are a good friend.”
“It’s nothing,” I said. She put her head back on my shoulder, and silent tears just flowed out of her eyes. We sat there for some time, until it turned dark outside. Nurse Joy walked up to the both of us.
“You two will have to go to a room for the night,” Nurse Joy said. “It will be curfew time soon.”
“Okay,” I said. I was about to get up; when I noticed that Josie had fallen asleep. Without disturbing her that much, I handed “Robbie” to Nurse Joy, and I picked up Josie. With Nurse Joy leading us to our room, we entered it. I laid Josie down one of the beds, while Nurse Joy put “Robbie” to bed. I took the other bed, laid down, and I fell asleep.
I woke up at about 8 o’clock in the clock in the morning, and Josie woke up at about eight-thirty.
“Good morning,” she said as she walked out of her room. “Did you sleep well?”
“Why, good morning to you, too, Josie,” I said. “And I trust that we both slept well.”
“Yep,” Josie said. “So, where are you two cuties going today?”
“I need to talk to Tony Marchello,” I said. “And since he’s the Leader of the Elite Four, I guess that I will have to beat the Elite Four first. You’re welcome to come along for the ride if you want.”
“Sure,” Josie said. “My parents kicked me out of the house after I had John, so I would love to come with you.” We got all of our stuff together, and we went to the Palace of the Elite Four. There were no challengers waiting, so I showed the guard my eight Johto badges, and he let me in. Josie, “Robbie,” and I walked through the doors, to the first of the Elite Four…my mother…Lorelei Shepardson…
- End of Chapter Four -
The Dragon Master III: Chapter Five

I walked up to Lorelei, with Josie up in the crowd, holding “Robbie”. She looked very shocked when she saw me.
“What are you doing here,” Lorelei asked me. “Where’s my son?”
“For now,” I said, “He is in the best of care. But, I have to battle you. I must talk to the Leader of the Elite Four. The only way to get to him is to go through you. I’m sorry, Lorelei, but I must defeat you now.”
“Very well,” Lorelei said. “But I must warn you, I’m better than I look.” There was a mist of ice, and a sparkly light blue cloak covered her.
“If you want to play it that way,” I said. My eyes glowed teal, and a teal cloak covered me. Both of our hoods covered our heads. We simultaneously removed them. There were many gasps from the crowd. I even heard Josie gasp.
“You never told me that you were a Pokemon Master,” Lorelei said, though she had a toneless voice. “And a Dragon Master at that.”
“Let’s go,” I said. “I have to talk to Marchello.”
“And why is that,” Lorelei said, an ice-blue pokeball clutched in her fist, the same color of her cloak.
“It’s to help your son,” I said. “But as the first of the Elite Four, you must use all of your power against me.”
“I know,” Lorelei said. “Go Dewgong! Get ready for a thunder type.” Her sea lion pokemon popped out of its ice-blue pokeball in a flash of ice-blue light.
“Go Scarlet,” I yelled, as my red Gyarados came out of its teal pokeball in a flash of teal light.
“Are you ready,” Lorelei asked. “Because I have to use all of my power against you.”
“The real question is, Lorelei,” I replied, “Are you ready? Scarlet, use your Flamethrower!”
“Dewgong,” Lorelei yelled. “Block with Surf!” The water that came from Dewgong doused out the fire.
“Argh,” I said to myself. How could I damage it? Alas, I didn’t have time to figure that out. Lorelei was attacking again.
“Dewgong,” Lorelei yelled. “Attack with Ice Beam!” A beam of pure blue energy shot from her pokemon. I had to think fast, otherwise Scarlet would get hit.
“Scarlet, Surf,” I yelled. I finally had a plan. It was going to work, too. The two attacks collided, leaving a wall of ice separating the two pokemon. The crowd that was on my side of the arena could see what I was planning, while the other half of the crowd was left in wonder. The people in the crowd that couldn’t see were asking questions.
“What’s he doing?”
“Do you think he’ll win?”
“He is a Dragon Master, after all.”
“Yeah, and that’s weak against ice.”
“But where did he get that Red Gyarados?”
“I wish I knew. That’s sure an unnatural pokemon.”
“Dewgong, head butt,” I heard Lorelei yell from the other side of the wall. Good, I thought. My plan was working. Now all I had to do was wait for some cracks to appear in the ice wall. Yes, I thought, there were some.
“Scarlet,” I yelled. “Hyper Blast, now!” A thin beam of white light shot from Scarlet’s mouth. Right when it reached the wall, Dewgong came barreling though the ice, ramming into the Hyper Blast. At impact, the attack erupted, blowing Dewgong back and breaking the wall that was behind Lorelei.
“Dewgong, no,” she yelled as a thin beam a ice blue light escaped from Dewgong’s pokeball and called it back in. Her mouth was open in shock. I was just standing there, with my arms folded, not even looking surprised. The people in the crowd started to talk again.
“He knocked out her Dewgong.”
“He’s pretty good.”
“That’s enough,” Lorelei yelled. “Now you will lose. Go, Cloyster!” Her bivalve pokemon shot out of its ice blue pokeball in a flash of teal light. I had to find some way to defeat it.
“Scarlet, use Ice Beam,” I yelled.
“Cloyster, Withdraw,” Lorelei yelled. Before the Ice Beam could hit it, Cloyster tucked back into its shell and just absorbed the attack.
“How is that possible,” I exclaimed.
“Easy,” Lorelei said. “Cloyster, Spike Cannon!” Hundreds of thousands of spikes shot directly at Scarlet. They all nailed him before I could do anything. Scarlet was struggling to stay conscious.
“Scarlet, try to stay conscious and use Flamethrower,” I commanded my red Gyarados. Before it could do anything, however, Cloyster struck again.
“Cloyster, use your Blizzard and finish him off,” Lorelei yelled. Cloyster opened its shell wide, and loads of ice flew out of it. They all surrounded Scarlet, and when it cleared, Scarlet was frozen solid in a block of ice.
“Outrage,” I said as my fists erupted in teal flames. I started to get Scarlet out of there. When he was completely out, I recalled him with a thin line of teal energy from his pokeball.
“You have only four pokemon left,” Lorelei said softly. I then remembered that this was a five-on-five battle. I had to choose wisely. Wait, I thought, Flare is strong against ice!
“Go, Flare,” I yelled as my Charizard erupted from its teal pokeball in a flash of teal light.
“You made a bad move,” Lorelei said. “Cloyster, Surf!” I’m an idiot, I thought. I had no other choice.
“Flare, Earthquake,” I commanded. Flare slammed both of his fists onto the ground just right to make the tidal wave of water split in two. They both missed him, and the crowd and Lorelei were both shocked.
“Impressive,” Lorelei said. “You just might beat our leader. Anyway, Cloyster, Ice Beam!” Once again, a beam of ice shot out of Cloyster’s shell and was headed directly for Flare.
“Flare, Fly,” I commanded. Flare flew up high and dodged the Ice Beam with ease. “Now, Flare, use your Dragonbreath!” Flare shot a mini-flamethrower from the sky, but only from the dragon element. Cloyster was trying to hop away, but with the handicap of having a shell, it was impossible. The Dragonbreath hit him full and he was near fainting.
“Cloyster, try using your Withdraw,” Lorelei said as she tried to save her water/ice pokemon.
“Flare, you can’t hurt it with elemental attacks,” I yelled at him. “Hold out your fists in front of you, Fly down at super-high speed, and use Earthquake!” According to my orders, Flare flew down as fast as he could and just nailed the ground as hard as he possibly could. It had felt like the entire stadium was falling apart.
Everybody was holding his or her breath, waiting to see if Cloyster was still conscious or not. Finally, Cloyster opened its shell, and it had fainted. I let out a sigh of relief, the crowd cheered, and Flare let out a victory Flamethower. Lorelei, however, looked disappointed as she recalled her Cloyster. Relentlessly, she pulled out another pokeball and threw it out on the stadium.
“Go, Slowking,” she yelled. As a different evolution of Slowpoke appeared, Flare looked kind of scared.
“It’s okay, Flare,” I reassured him. “Use Dragonbreath!” Flare opened his mouth wide, and a dragon attack came out. It hit Slowking full blast, but it seemed that it didn’t even affect him.
“Slow…king,” Slowking said, not even acting damaged.
“Slowking, Disable,” Lorelei yelled. With a blast of psychic energy, Flare was fully paralyzed.
“CHARIZA-” Flare yelled before he was cut off by the Disable attack.
“Now, recall him, or face the consequences,” Lorelei said. I looked into Flare’s eyes, and he told me without words that he wouldn’t give up. If he wanted to continue, I thought in my mind.
“Never,” I yelled back.
“It’s your choice,” Lorelei said in a tone of finality. “Slowking, Psychic!” The psychic energy was so powerful, I could see it. It was usually supposed to be invisible. I could see the pain in Flare’s eyes. I couldn’t bear it. I had to do something-
“STOP,” I yelled. Immediately, Slowking dropped Flare and stopped attacking. I ran up to Flare to make sure that he was all right.
“Flare, are you okay,” I said as I kneeled at his side. I heard him grunt in a tone of unsatisfaction.
“Char,” he said weakly. It had meant that he was mad that I had stopped the battle.
“Flare, please don’t be angry,” I pleaded with my Charizard. “It was just for the best for you. You did awesomely. Does a nice, long rest sound good?” Flare nodded his head, and I returned him to his pokeball. With a teal beam of light, Flare was called back into his pokeball. I looked at Lorelei with no mercy. I would have to send out the big guns pretty soon.
“Do you concede,” Lorelei asked me with her hands on her hips. She looked at me, waiting for my answer. I grabbed a pokeball from out of my cloak.
“Go, Dragonight,” I yelled as one of my Dragonites came out of its teal pokeball in a flash of teal light.
“Whatever,” Lorelei said. “It’s your funeral. Slowking, Ice Beam!”
“Dragonight, melt that ice with Flamethrower,” I shouted. The fire and ice zoomed closer and closer together. When they finally hit, it was fire that overwhelmed the ice and it happened to burn Slowking.
“Slowking, Psychic,” Lorelei yelled. It started to send the psychic waves towards Dragonight.
“Dragonight, counterattack with Thunder,” I retaliated. The Thunder shattered the Psychic and the psychic waves ceased. The electricity went fast towards Slowking. With Slowking being slow, it was hit fully with the Thunder attack. Slowking fell to the ground, struggled to get up, and collapsed once more.
“No, Slowking,” Lorelei yelled as the crowd cheered. It had seemed that they were now on my side, rooting for me to win.
“Good job, Dragonight,” I said as he held his head up high and released a Hyper Beam into the sky.
“I choose you, Jynx,” Lorelei yelled as yet another psychic type came out in a flash of ice blue light.
“Dragonight, watch out for its ice attacks, okay,” I told Dragonight. He nodded. “Ice is weak to fire, so use your Flamethrower!” At my command, Dragonight inhaled once, and then he let out a burst of flame. Jynx, being surprisingly fast, dodged the Flamethrower.
“Jynx, use your PsyBlizzard,” Lorelei commanded.
“What the h*** is a PsyBlizzard,” I wondered out loud. But my question was soon to be answered. And I would not like it. Jynx blew so much ice at Dragonight, that it was very hard to dodge it. Instinctively, Dragonight flew up high, expecting the Blizzard to miss. Alas, Jynx glowed purple, and the Blizzard followed Dragonight! The attack was speeding up, and it eventually caught up with Dragonight. It hit him from behind and covered his wings. He couldn’t fly, and he fell back to earth with a crash. I ran over to him, and his eyes were closed. He had fainted.
“Had enough yet,” Lorelei asked.
“Dragonight, return,” I told my pokemon. I then turned to Lorelei. “I will beat you. I still have two pokemon left. And I choose you, Aeroy!” My ancient rock/flying Aerodactyl came out in a flash of teal light, ready for battle.
“AERO,” Aeroy yelled, ready to use whatever attack that I commanded.
“Aerodactyls are supposed to be extinct,” Lorelei gasped. “How on earth did you come to possess one?”
“Let’s just say that they’re not extinct,” I said. “Aeroy, Ancientpower!” The rocks started to fly. They were all swirling around Jynx. I had Jynx right where I wanted it.
“Jynx, do something,” Lorelei pleaded. But Jynx couldn’t do anything. If it moved a single muscle, even to attack, it would be hit.
“Aeroy, Fire Blast,” I commanded. If there was one thing that I had learned from my experiences in this arena, it’s that these rocks do not mix well with fire. Aeroy let out a star of flame, heading right for Jynx. When it reached Jynx, there was a huge explosion, Aeroy flew up high, and only Jynx was hurt. After all of the dust had cleared, Jynx was lying there, on the ground. Lorelei returned Jynx with a thin ice blue beam of light form its pokeball.
“You’ve seen the power of this pokemon before,” Lorelei said, with tears in her eyes. “Then, it was working with you. Now, it shall be working against you! Go, Lapras!” Her huge, water/ice transport pokemon came out of its pokeball and landed on the ground with a thud.
“Oh, s***,” I said. “I completely forgot about Lapras.”
“‘Oh, s***’ is right,” Lorelei said. “Now you shall see the true power of ice pokemon! Lapras, Icy Wind!” Lapras started to blow. I wrapped my cloak around me for warmth, though it was summer, and the sun was shining. Aeroy was also getting cold.
“Aeroy, Fire Blast to melt that wind,” I yelled. Aeroy complied, but when the star of fire escaped from his mouth, mixed with the Icy Wind, it froze solid into ice itself! The ice kept on coming, then it turned into a full-scale blizzard! Aeroy finally just collapsed on the ground, expelling smoke from the leftover Fire Blast as he did so. Now, the crowd was cheering for Lorelei!
“Way to go, Lorelei!”
“You’re the freaking bomb!”
“Only one more, Lorelei!” And she was just standing there, smiling at everything that had happened. I returned Aeroy with a thin teal beam of light.
“I still have one more pokemon, Lorelei,” I said. “Unfortunately for you, he is my strongest.” The smile faded slightly from her face.
“Whatever it is, it can’t stand up to Lapras,” Lorelei retorted, though the smile was still fading.
“Go, Puff,” I yelled, though the crowd was laughing at me. I would show them. I would show them all.
“With a name like Puff, it will lose for sure,” Lorelei said. Quietly, I started to recite something that I had only said once before: when I had got Puff in the first place.
“Puff the magic Dragonite,” I recited softly, “lives in its ball. Then I will let it out and Hyper Blast I call!” After I shouted the last part of the poem, Puff inhaled I little bit, and then he released a thin beam of energy, smaller than that of a pokeball’s. It was headed directly for Lapras, but since it was out of water, Lapras couldn’t move at all! One inch from the Lapras, the thin beam erupted into a full-scale blast! It was at least ten times larger than a Hyper Beam, and about twenty times more powerful.
“LAPRA-” Lapras screamed before it took too much damage, and immediately fainted.
“NO,” I heard Lorelei yell. When the dust had cleared, only Puff was left conscious, though taking a little bit of damage from the feedback. Lorelei fell to her knees, and called back her fainted pokemon. I walked up to her, and she stood up.
“Are you okay,” I asked her, as I saw a tear in her eye. Instead of standing up and just walking away, she stood up slowly and put her arms around me.
“Take care of Bob,” she said, crying on my shoulder. She stood there, and would not let go until I promised her that I would.
“I will, Lorelei,” I said. It sounded weird calling her “Lorelei,” as I had just gotten used to calling her “mom.”
“Do you promise,” she asked me, with tears in hers eyes. I could tell because my cloak was getting very wet.
“I promise,” I said. Then I added something so soft, that she couldn’t even hear me. “I love you, mom.” We then parted and went our separate ways. She went back to the palace, and I went back to the PokeCenter, where I met up with Josie.
“You won,” she yelled, and threw her arms around me without squashing “Robbie.” She then handed the baby to me, and I just thought about how I had defeated Lorelei that easy at the end. This was her first battle as the first of the Elite Four. And I had beaten my own mother.
“I gotta go to bed,” I said. “I have to get up and fight Bruno tomorrow.” I went to bed, and I set “Robbie” down in the crib that Nurse Joy had supplied for me. I lied down on my bed, and I turned off the lights. Josie came in, and she sat down beside me.
“Are you okay,” Josie asked. I just continued to stare up at the ceiling. She looked in my eyes, and I looked back into hers. We both lent it, and we kissed. Than I remembered that this was not my time, and I couldn’t stay here, so I pulled away.
“Josie, I can’t do this,” I said. She looked at me with reproachful eyes.
“Why not,” Josie asked.
“Because I already have a girlfriend,” I replied.
“And why isn’t she here with you,” she asked, persisting.
“I had to leave her behind,” I said. “I also promised her that I would come back. I always go through with my promises. Always.”
“I wish that my guy was that sweet,” Josie said. “But I respect that, so I won’t ever do anything that could jeopardize your relationship with your girlfriend.”
“Thanks, Josie,” I said. “Now, let’s get some sleep.” She went and got on her bed, and I went on my separate bed. Tomorrow I had to fight Bruno. But, I can’t beat the Leader of the Elite Four, or I’ll be the League Champion, and then I’ll change the course of history. Tomorrow is another day…
- End of Chapter Five -

The Dragon Master III: Chapter Six

When I woke up the next morning, the first thing that I saw in the PokeCenter was Lorelei. She was sitting at one of the tables, drinking some coffee. As I walked up to her, she smiled, and I sat down across from her.
“How’s Bob,” Lorelei asked.
“He’s fine,” I said. “I’ll get him back to the orphanage in a week, just as I promised. Though I have to do this first.”
“I completely understand,” Lorelei said. “That was a good battle yesterday. You could become the League Champion.” I kind of shuddered at that thought.
“That’s the last thing that I want to do,” I said. “I just need to talk to Tony Marchello.”
“Do you know him,” Lorelei asked. I looked away for about ten seconds, and then I looked back to Lorelei.
“I have some…connections with him,” I replied. “But that doesn’t explain why you’re here.”
“The reason that I’m here,” Lorelei started, “is to make sure that you’re okay with the fact that your next opponent is seven-feet, 250 pounds.”
“I’m not scared of Bruno,” I said. “He gives me no reason to be scared of him.”
“Ah,” Lorelei said. “But if you happen to tie, then you and Bruno have to go face-to-face; no pokemon. Only hand-to-hand combat. What do you think about that? And he’s no pushover. But then again, neither are you. Just make sure not to get caught against his Machamp. Do you have any clue what its weaknesses are?”
“Yeah,” I said. “Flying and Psychic. As I have no Psychic, I will have to use Flare and Fly.”
“Your Charizard could be useful to you in this battle,” she suggested. “But with your ‘Hyper Blast,’ that should take him out, no problem.”
“You think so,” I asked.
“Not since Bruno was watching yesterday’s battle between us,” Lorelei said. “Now, he’s gonna be ready for it. And Hyper Blast won’t even affect Agatha’s ghost pokemon. It’s gonna be a long road for you. But don’t worry, because it’s a fun one.” I heard a gong sound and the intercom started to talk.
“Will the challenger please meet in the arena for his match with Bruno, the Master of Fighting,” the loudspeaker said.
“I guess that I had better go, Lorelei,” I said. “See you around.” I got up, called my cloak, collected my pokemon from Nurse Joy, and walked towards the stadium. I was greeted by cheers from the crowd. Numerous thoughts were zooming in and out of my head, all of them wondering how I was going to defeat Master Bruno. He was standing there, with his maroon cloak, with no shirt, showing off his bulging muscles.
“Hello, Master Bruno,” I greeted him, holding out my hand to him. But, I had to extend it far over my head.
“It’s good to meet a decent challenger for once,” Bruno said as he took my hand and shook it slightly.
“Shall we battle, then,” I asked. “Because I want to get it over with.”
“You will once you experience all the pain that I put you through,” Bruno said with a sarcastic smile. “Let’s begin!” With that, we went to the opposite sides of the field, and threw his hood down from his head. We stared at each other, each of us trying to decide what pokemon to choose.
“Go, Hitmontop,” Bruno yelled, as one of the three different Tyrouge evolutions came out of its maroon pokeball in a flash of maroon light. Hitmontop balanced on the spike on its head, and immediately started to spin around for show.
“Go, Aeroy,” I yelled, as my Aeroydactyl came out of its teal pokeball in a flash of teal light.
“Hitmontop, use Rapid Spin,” Bruno yelled.
“Aeroy, Fly,” I yelled as Aeroy flew up high. Hitmontop’s attack missed, leaving him spinning into a wall, damaging him a little bit. Aeroy was coming down at top speed, ready to ram into Hitmontop.
“Hitmontop, Detect,” Bruno shouted at hit fighting-type pokemon. A maroon mist covered Hitmontop. When Aeroy came down, he just ricocheted right off the mist and went careening into the arena wall, taking lots of damage with him.
“Argh,” I yelled. “Aeroy, attack with Hyper Blast!” Aeroy shot out a thin beam from its mouth, heading directly at Hitmontop.
“Hitmontop, Detect,” Bruno ordered again. His Hitmontop, However, was trying with all its might to create the mist again, but it had seemed that he had run out of energy.
“Bruno,” I yelled, as the Hyper Blast came ever closer to Hitmontop. “You can’t use Detect twice in a row. That’s just a rule.”
“Argh,” Bruno yelled, as the beam of energy came straight for the Hitmontop. Right when it reached the enemy pokemon, the beam erupted into a powerful attack. Immediately, the Hitmontop was knocked out and blasted back into the wall.
“Good job, Aeroy,” I congratulated my Aerodactyl as Bruno looked at his fainted Hitmontop while he held out its pokeball.
“Hitmontop, return,” he said as a maroon beam of light shot out of the maroon pokeball and encased the fainted Hitmontop. “Go, Hitmonchan!” His next Tyrouge evolution came out of its maroon pokeball in a flash of maroon light. It threw a couple of lighting fast jabs into the air, and then it prepared for battle.
“Come on, Aeroy,” I said. “Let’s beat this pokemon down to the ground.” Aeroy was ready to go and he was beckoning all of his energy to him.
“I think not,” Bruno said, with his macho muscles bulging. “Hitmonchan, Triple Bullet Punch!” I didn’t get a chance to counterattack. One second, Hitmonchan was there, ready to start fighting. The next, he was gone, and attacking Aeroy.
“Aeroy, Fire Blast,” I yelled. With the Hitmonchan still punching away at him, Aeroy let loose a star of fire that narrowly missed Hitmonchan. However, it did some good as the Hitmonchan backed off.
“Now Hitmonchan,” Bruno yelled. “Elemental Punch!” Obedient to his master’s command, both of Hitmonchan’s fists glowed white. He was combining every single one of the eighteen elements and attacking Aeroy with them all!
“Aeroy, look out,” I yelled. But it was too late. Hitmonchan was nailing Aeroy with punches, connecting every single one. And Aeroy was just taking it, not dishing out any.
“Keep it up,” Bruno yelled. “Don’t let it get away!” Aeroy was going to get knocked out. There was only one thing that I could do to stop that.
“Aeroy, Roar,” I yelled. Aeroy let loose one of the loudest Roars that I ad ever heard. At that time, Hitmonchan blurred into maroon energy. That energy zoomed back into its maroon pokeball, leaving Aeroy safe.
“What kind of attack was that,” Bruno yelled, as he tried to send out Hitmonchan again. Unfortunately for him, Hitmonchan wouldn’t come out because the Roar scared him away.
“Good job, Aeroy,” I said. “Keep it up.”
“Go, Onix,” Bruno yelled. My stomach plummeted. There was no way that Aeroy could beat that thing. But I had to take a chance.
“Aeroy, Steel Wing,” I yelled. This was my only chance at beating that Onix. Aeroy took flight, and his wings glowed a steel kind of color. Aeroy’s wings struck Onix. The attack was so powerful, that Aeroy was almost thrown off balance because of it.
“Onix,” Bruno yelled. “Sandstorm!” All of the loose sand on the field rose up and started to swirl around the two battling pokemon.
“Aeroy,” I yelled. “Use Ancientpower!” At my command, the rocks started to fly along with the sand. I could hear screams of pain from both Aeroy and Onix. It wasn’t the Sandstorm that was hurting them; it was the Ancientpower. When the Sandstorm had subsided, both rock pokemon were lying there on the ground, both of them knocked out. There were gasps from the crowd louder than that of when I had battled Lorelei. Bruno was standing there, with his mouth wide open.
“How is this possible,” Bruno wondered out loud. “Onix return!” A thin beam of maroon shot out and consumed Onix, while bringing it back into its pokeball. I, however, ran up to my fainted pokemon.
“Aeroy, are you okay,” I asked. Aeroy looked at me with tired eyes, and then moved a little bit.
“Aero…” Aeroy said with a weak voice.
“You did a good job,” I said. “You deserve this. Return.” A thin beam of teal light shot out of Aeroy’s teal pokeball and recalled him inside of it.
“Are you ready,” Bruno asked. “Ready or not, go Hitmonlee!” The third evolution of Tyrouge came out in a flash of maroon light. The bipedal pokemon did a flash of kicks to try to intimidate me.
“Go, Flare,” I yelled, as my Charizard came out from its teal pokeball in a flash of teal light.
“Impressive,” Bruno said. “Anyway, Hitmonlee, use your Hi Jump Kick!” Hitmonlee jumped into the air, and prepared to kick Flare silly. I had to find some way to get Flare away from that attack.
“Flare, Fly,” I commanded my Charizard. Flare flew up high, and flew past Hitmonlee. Hitmonlee was stranded in the air, and he looked kind of worried, as did his master.
“Get out of there, Hitmonlee,” Bruno desperately cried to his pokemon. Hitmonlee was panicking, as there was no way that he could get down any faster.
“Flare, now,” I yelled. Flare came down hard on Hitmonlee, slamming him into the ground. Hitmonlee jumped up, with dirt and scratches on him, but other than that, he was in perfect condition.
“Ha, beat that,” Bruno said.
“D*****, there has to be some way to beat that Hitmonlee,” I cursed. A light bulb popped on in my head. I knew what to do! “Flare, Earthquake!” Flare took both of his fists, and slammed them onto the ground. Hitmonlee was shaking, losing his balance. My plan was working.
“NO,” Bruno yelled. He knew what was coming.
“Flare, Dragonbreath,” I yelled. Flare threw that dragon attack out there, paralyzing enemy Hitmonlee. “Now, use Fly!” Flare flew up high, and he came down hard on Hitmonlee, pinning him to the ground. Flare did a back flip away from him, and stood there, waiting for something to happen. Hitmonlee did not get back up.
“I know when my pokemon is too injured to continue to battle,” Bruno admitted. “Hitmonlee, return.” A thin beam of maroon light shot out of its pokeball and encased Hitmonlee, bringing him back into his pokeball.
“Do you concede,” I asked.
“NEVER,” Bruno yelled. “Go Hitmonchan!” Once again, Bruno’s punchy pokemon came out, ready to fight once again that Aeroy had been knocked out.
“Hitmonchan, hitmon,” Hitmonchan said. He was throwing out lightning fast punches, showing off his superior ability. I had to get the upper-edge on this one.
“Flare, Flamethrower,” I yelled. Flare let out a burst of flame, completely consuming Hitmonchan. When Hitmonchan was released from the attack, both Bruno and I saw that Hitmonchan had been burned.
“Hitmonchan, use your Thunderpunch,” Bruno yelled at his now burned pokemon. Hitmonchan’s fist started to crackle with electricity, and then he charged at Flare. After some dodging, Flare was hit with the electric attack.
“Flare, no,” I yelled at him. Though Flare wasn’t about to give up. Flare picked up enemy Hitmonchan by the wrists and flung him over to the side of the arena. With a crash, Hitmonchan hit the side of the arena and fell to the ground.
“Hitmonchan, get up,” Bruno ordered in a tough guy voice. Hitmonchan struggled to get up to his feet.
“Flare, Earthquake,” I yelled. Hitmonchan finally got to his feet, though still a little shaky. Simultaneous with my command, Flare pounded the ground with both of his feet. As Hitmonchan had a shaky base, if any at all, he crashed right back to the ground.
“Hitmonchan, get up now,” Bruno yelled desperately at his bipedal pokemon. Hitmonchan was working to get up again.
“Flare, Dragonbreath now,” I yelled. “Finish him off!” Flare let out a huge dragonbreath, headed directly for Hitmonchan. It barreled him over, knocked not just the wind out of him, but knocking him out along with it. Bruno only had one pokemon left.
“Hitmonchan, return,” Bruno said in a solemn tone. In a beam a narrow maroon light, Hitmonchan was sucked back into its maroon pokeball. I was wondering what pokemon he had left. Maybe it was a Primape or a Heracross.
“Are you ready to give up,” I asked the Master of Fighting.
“I don’t give up,” Bruno said, with his hood raised over his head. “GO, MACHAMP!” He threw his hood down, and a maroon pokeball out on the field. The evolved form of Machoke, Machamp had four arms instead of two. This is not going to be good, I thought.
“MACHAMP,” Machamp yelled in fury now that his fighting brethren had fallen. His fists were flailing rapidly in the air; sounding like the air itself was shattering.
“Oh, s***,” I cursed. “Flare, start off with Fly!” Flare flew into the sky, hoping to get an aerial attack off on Machamp.
“Machamp, Rock Slide,” Bruno yelled. Machamp started to throw huge chunks of rocks in the air. The rocks were all above Flare, and he was trying to dodge them all. Flare was swerving this way, and then the other, but nothing seemed to help. With Flare’s 4x weakness to rock, if even one hit, it could and would hurt Flare.
“CHAR-” Flare yelled, as one of the larger rocks hit him in his right wing, while another of the big rocks hit him in his left. With the weight of the rocks on both sides, Flare was falling down towards the earth, rocks nailing him everywhere.
“Flare, no,” I yelled at my Charizard as he crashed back to the earth with a dull thud, with all of the rocks above him falling on him. Flare was buried under about six feet of rock, and he wasn’t moving. Though his tail was just barely outside of the pile of rocks, and I aimed, and recalled him in a thin beam of teal light.
“Are you ready to concede yet,” Bruno said in a tone of indistinctness. I looked at him with fury in my eyes, angry at Flare’s fate. Something had to be done to stop that Machamp. And I think I knew what could…
“Go, Dragonight,” I yelled, as one of my Dragonites emerged from its teal pokeball in a flash of teal light. “Use Thunder!” Electricity exploded from Dragonight, more than ten thousand volts headed directly towards Machamp.
“Machamp, use Earthquake to ground out that Thunder,” Bruno commanded his heavily muscled fighting pokemon. The two attacks collided, and the Earthquake canceled out the Thunder that was traveling along the ground. The Thunder, however, stopped the Earthquake in its tracks, and both attacks ceased to exist.
“Dragonight, Wing Attack,” I yelled. This had to do a lot of damage, I thought. Dragonight flew off the ground about two feet, and then charged directly at Machamp, who was ready for the attack.
“Machamp, get ready to use Strength,” Bruno shouted. Dragonight, being a Dragonite, the fastest flying pokemon in existence, got to Machamp in about three seconds. Machamp, however, grabbed Dragonight to stop the attack, rolled across his back, and flung Dragonight into the wall of the arena, breaking it so badly, that the crowd above had to move. Dragonight was struggling to get up, but Machamp was advancing on it rapidly, ready to beat the living crap out of it.
“Dragonight,” I yelled. “Get up and use Outrage!” According to my orders, Dragonight got to his feet, and his fists went up in a teal fire. He was waiting for Machamp to come close enough to start pounding on it.
“Machamp, Dynamic Punch that Dragonite to h***,” Bruno bellowed at his Machamp. Now both Dragonight and Machamp were charging at each other, Dragonight’s fists in a teal fire, while Machamp’s were glowing maroon. It was Dragonight that struck first, though he wouldn’t strike again. Even though Dragonight got a good punch off, it still wasn’t good enough to knock Machamp out. A fist with teal flames nailed Machamp in the face, though both of Machamp’s fists punched Dragonight in the stomach. Not just dealing him a lot of damage, but confusing him. While Dragonight was stumbling around, confused, Machamp was recovering from the attack.
“Dragonight, try Hyper Blast,” I desperately cried out to him. Instead, Dragonight rammed into the wall, getting his head stuck in it.
“Machamp, Mega Kick,” Bruno yelled at his battling pokemon. Machamp ran up to Dragonight, and kicked him in the stomach, finally knocking him out.
“Dragonight, return,” I said, accepting his fate. With a teal beam of light from its pokeball, Dragonight was recalled.
“You do realize that you only have two pokemon left,” Bruno stated. “But remember, I’m ready for both of them.” He had a wicked smile on his face. I had no idea of what he was up to. Between now and when I knew him in the future; he had changed. Like flip sides of a coin. Alas, I had no time to dwell on this, as I had to choose between Dragon, Scarlet, and Puff. I had picked my pokemon.
“Go, Dragon,” I yelled, as my second Dragonite appeared from its teal pokeball in a flash of teal light.
“Machamp, Cross Chop,” Bruno screamed at his pokemon. Machamp ran forward; ready to capture Dragon in a powerful, double flat palmed fighting technique. I had one chance to defeat this pokemon right now.
“Dragon,” I commanded softly, so that it could only carry to my pokemon. “Elemental Imbalance!” As Machamp raged forward, ready to knock out Dragon, Dragon closed its eyes and started to meditate. Bruno looked confused, not knowing what was going on.
“What the h*** is going on here,” Bruno swore, his pokemon still charging. Inches from nailing Dragon with a powerful move, Dragon turned into pure fighting energy and struck Machamp with a powerful blast.
“Yes,” I shouted, as Dragon went back to his usual form, with Machamp just lying on the ground. However, I spoke too soon. Machamp got up, and he was angry.
“Rock Slide,” Bruno yelled. Machamp started to pick up rocks and fling them at Dragon. Dragon wasn’t paying attention, and did not notice the rocks being thrown at him.
“Dragon,” I yelled. “Watch out!” Just as Dragon turned his head, the rocks came. They pounded him in the face, the body, the wings, and everything else, without stopping. Soon, Dragon was lying on the ground, unconscious.
“Hoo Hah,” Bruno shouted in victory of Dragon. He was acting so arrogant, that he probably forgot that he still had to face one other pokemon.
“Dragon, return,” I solemnly said to my pokemon as a thin beam of teal light engulfed him, swallowing him back into his pokeball. I shouted my last pokemon to the arena. “GO, PUFF!” I threw my last hope, my last chance of talking to Marchello, and my last opportunity of defeating Lance once and for all, out on that field to battle Machamp. Puff exploded from his pokeball so powerfully that he almost broke it.
“Let’s make this quick,” Bruno said conceitedly. “Machamp, Hyper Beam!”
“I’m afraid that not even Machamp can stand up to a Dragonite’s Hyper Blast,” I countered. “Puff, you know what to do.” I folded my arms and waited for something to happen. Machamp shot a large beam out of his palms, while Puff shot a thin beam from its mouth. They were on a colliding course, each racing towards the other attack. When they were about to collide, they both hit each other and winked out. I had expected the Hyper Blast to utterly destroy not just the Hyper Beam, but the Machamp as well. I didn’t expect this.
“Huh,” Bruno and I both said together. I had to find a way to defeat him. I would have to use an attack that I really didn’t want to use.
“Puff, Energy Ball: Psychic,” I yelled, as Puff shot a dark purple ball of energy from its mouth. It happened to be of the Psychic element. I didn’t know how this was possible, but Puff was the only one that could do it. The ball of energy hit Machamp full on, but using his muscles, he back flipped up from it, though severely damaged. Machamp was quite shaky on his feet, and I assumed that one more attack would do it.
“Machamp, Fissure,” Bruno commanded, with his Machamp sending a zigzagging line in the ground heading directly for Puff. I knew what would knock Machamp out for good. Machamp had been battling four out of my five pokemon, you know.
“Puff, Extremespeed,” I roared at my dragon pokemon. In a flash, Puff was gone. The next second, all everybody could see was Machamp rammed into the wall, finally knocked out.
“I know when I’ve lost,” Bruno muttered. Even though he about a foot taller than me, I felt that he looked up to me as he recalled his fainted Machamp. I, however, ran up and jumped in Puff’s arms. We both felt that this was one of our greatest achievements, better than even being Pokemon League Champion, being one step closer to defeating Lance for good. I walked out of the stadium, when Josie caught up with me and jumped around me.
“You won,” Josie exclaimed, holding “Robbie” in the other arm that wasn’t around my shoulder. “You were amazing, too! I just couldn’t believe it. What was going through your mind? Where did your pokemon learn all those nifty attacks? Tell me everything!”
“I would like too, Josie, I really would,” I said. “But I have to go to bed, and get a good night’s sleep. I have to fight Agatha, tomorrow, you know.”
“Yeah,” Josie said, sounding kind of disappointed. “Just become the Pokemon League Champion, and I’ll be happy!” She had grown not just attached to me, but also “Robbie.” I was afraid that it would crush her when I left without a reason or a trace.
We walked back to the PokeCenter where we were staying, put “Robbie” in his crib, and I got into bed, lying there and thinking about what I had ahead of me tomorrow. It’s amazing how many enemies you can get from just being Pokemon League Champion when you’re just sixteen years old. Agatha, being one of my enemies. I just didn’t know what to do anymore. I guess the only thing that I could do was take it one day at a time…
- End of Chapter Six -

The Dragon Master III: Chapter Seven

I woke up the next morning, realizing my next opponent was the reason that I am here. If it weren’t for Agatha, the Ghost Master, and the third of the Elite Four at this point in time, Lance would still be dead, and I wouldn’t be here trying to defeat her so I can talk to Tony Marchello, the Leader of the Elite Four. I was lying in bed for about ten minutes when Josie opened the door.
“Bob,” she asked. “Are you awake?”
“I am now,” I replied, getting out of bed and materializing a teal cutoff T-shirt along with some teal pants, finally adding my cloak. “What’s the matter?”
“Um…there’s someone to see you,” Josie said, looking uncomfortable. I looked at Josie with a peculiar expression. What’s going on, I thought.
“Okay, I’ll go and see them, then,” I said. I walked out into the PokeCenter, and it was tremendously busy with people. How was I supposed to know who I was supposed to see?
“Over here,” a hoarse voice said. It was a little man, not a midget, just old and hunched over. He was wearing a forest cloak, so that I couldn’t see his face.
“Um…okay,” I said and I walked over to him. He looked at me, or at least I though he did. I couldn’t tell with that cloak on. There was a certain familiar quality about this man. Though I couldn’t quite put my finger on it.
“Sit,” the man said, pointing to a table. I sat down on the bench, and he sat down opposite me. “I know why you are here.” I looked at him, dumbfounded. What was he talking about?
“If you’re so sure about why I’m here, then why don’t you tell me,” I asked. “Because I’m not really sure anymore.” I could hear the man sigh, and then he continued to talk.
“You are here to defeat the Evil One,” the man continued. “But I believe that you call him by a different name…Lance.” The man shuddered.
“Yes, Lance is evil,” I said. “But he’s not the Evil One.” The man looked at me inquisitively.
“How do you know if he is the Evil One or not,” the man asked. “You don’t know who his father is…”
“You’re right,” I admitted. “I don’t. But I do know Delilah, and she’s good enough to cancel out any evil.”
“Or so you thought,” the strange man whispered. “Lance is evil enough to be considered a threat, is he not?”
“Of course he’s a threat,” I said. What was he getting at, I asked myself.
“What I am getting at,” the man said. My jaw dropped. “Yes, I read your thoughts. But we don’t have time for that. What I am getting at is that I can help you defeat Lance. I know how to defeat him. It is the same as defeating any other Evil One.”
“How do I know that I can trust you,” I asked him. “I don’t even know who you are.”
“Once the Evil One has been disposed of,” the strange man said. “That is when you shall know who I am and see my face. Do we have a deal?” He held out his hand to me. I hesitated. I wasn’t sure if this could actually make defeating Lance, or “The Evil One,” as that man had called him, actually go any faster. I then realized that I didn’t have a choice.
“Fine,” I said, as I took his hand and shook it. Though I couldn’t see his face, I knew that he was smiling. Why he was though, I didn’t know.
“Excellent,” the man said. “As you were running out of time. right about now.” The loudspeaker sounded.
“Would the challenger please proceed to the arena to face Agatha, the Ghost Master and third of the Elite Four,” the loudspeaker sounded.
“I’ll see you in the arena,” the man said. I watched him walk out of the PokeCenter and into the crowd. I didn’t want to lose sight of him. But I blinked, and he was gone.
“What did he want,” Josie asked as she snuck up behind me. I kind of jumped, which made her look oddly at me. “Are you okay?”
“Yes, Josie, I’m fine,” I said. “But I have to get to the stadium to beat Agatha.” without letting her say another word, I ran out of the PokeCenter and to the arena, where I would become one step closer to defeating Lance, evidently “The Evil One.”
I walked into the stadium, and everybody stopped talking. You could literally drop a pin, and everybody would notice. I called my teal cloak, letting it drape around me. Agatha was already standing there, her light lavender cloak sweeping around her in the wind. My eyes glowed silver, all because of my rage. If it weren’t for her, I wouldn’t even be here, fighting Lance, for she raised him from the dead, forcing me to fight him once more. I heard numerous gasps from the crowd, all of them astonished at my silver eyes. But they did not know how powerful I was. I had only shown them a fraction of my power, as any more, and I would be considered dangerous. Agatha was looking at me in fear, not knowing what to do. Finally, someone broke the silence.
“Are you ready to battle, then,” Agatha asked. “Or are you not through intimidating me?” I softly chuckled, not knowing that I was looking crazy, with my eyes still silver, and me laughing softly.
“Yes, I’m ready,” I replied as I stopped laughing. “Now, send out your first pokemon.” I was getting kind of scared, as none of my pokemon were that good against ghost pokemon.
“Good,” Agatha replied. “Go, Gengar!” Agatha threw out a pokeball, light lavender in color, with her being a Ghost Master. In a blast of light lavender energy, her fully evolved ghost/poison type pokemon came out of its pokeball, its eyes flashing evilly. Gengar was smiling devilishly, looking forward to the battle.
“I choose you,” I called. “Flare!” I had figured that with Gengar’s poison type, Earthquake would work well.
“Gengar, use Thunder,” Agatha yelled. This surprised me. With over ten thousand volts of energy blasting their way to Flare, I froze. I didn’t know what to do. But, I had to do something, otherwise Flare would get shocked.
“Flare, Fly,” I yelled. Flare flew up high, dodging the electric attack. Agatha swore, angry at the missed attempt. Flare came down fast, charging at Gengar.
“Gengar,” Agatha yelled. “Transparency!” With that command, Gengar’s form faded, leaving a Gengar that you could see through. Flare came through to attack, but went right though Gengar! Flare landed on his feet, behind Gengar.
“Flare, Earthquake,” I yelled, using my only chance against Gengar. Agatha, however, commanded nothing. Her Gengar didn’t move as well. Flare took both of his fists high into the air, and then he slammed them down hard on the ground. The people in the stands, as well as the announcer, felt the quake that was created by Flare. The Gengar, however, was unaffected. I did not know what to do. Physical attacks wouldn’t work on Gengar. I had to attack with special based attacks. And I think I knew what to use.
“Gengar,” Agatha yelled. “Night Shade!” The moon blocked out the sun, and Gengar prepared to use one of its most powerful ghost attacks. I, on the other hand, knew how to stop it.
“Flare, Sunny Day,” I shouted. With that, the moon moved out of the way of the sun, rendering Gengar’s attack useless. “Now, Flare, Flamethrower!” Flare inhaled deeply, and then he let out a burst of flame, hotter than that of on the sun itself. The flames engulfed Gengar, serving three purposes: it damaged Gengar greatly, burned Gengar slightly, and destroyed the transparency action that was previously used.
“No, Gengar, use Ice Punch,” Agatha screamed in panic. I knew how I was going to defeat that Gengar.
“Flare,” I commanded. “Earthquake!” Gengar sprinted at Flare with its icy fist, not seeing the attack that would soon take place. Flare shoved his fists into the ground as hard as he could, sending a wave through the ground and straight to Gengar. Gengar was damaged heavily by its weakness, and it fell over, knocked out. The crowd cheered madly. I calmed down, now that I had demolished her first pokemon, and my eyes turned back to normal with a blink.
“Gengar, return,” Agatha quietly said as a thin beam of light lavender light shot out, engulfed Gengar, and brought it back into its pokeball. She seemed to be thinking carefully about her next move. I could see it in her eyes. Then, she appeared to have come up with a decision.
“Flare, be ready for anything,” I cautioned my Charizard.
“Go, Misdreavus,” Agatha yelled out, releasing the only pure ghost type pokemon known to exist. Misdreavus exploded out of the light lavender pokeball in a flash of light lavender light, ready to go for battle.
“Flare, Dragonbreath,” I shouted at my pokemon. Flare let out a powerful dragon technique, engulfing Misdreavus. When Misdreavus was released, it had not seemed to be damaged at all.
“Misdreavus,” Agatha yelled. “Mean Look!” Misdreavus stared at Flare, looking him dead in the eye.
“What the h***,” I exclaimed, not sure what Agatha was doing. Agatha continued with her strategy, smiling fiendishly.
“Misdreavus,” Agatha screamed at her pokemon. “Perish Song!” At her command, Misdreavus started to sing. The song was a haunting melody, carrying to Flare.
“What does that do,” I screamed at my opponent. She just looked at me, and then she started to explain.
“In precisely three minutes,” Agatha explained as her Misdreavus stopped singing, “both Misdreavus and your Charizard will faint.”
“Not if I can help it,” I said. “Flare return!” I held out Flare’s teal pokeball, expecting a thin beam of teal light to fly out of it and return Flare to its pokeball. But nothing happened. I couldn’t figure out why. Flare wouldn’t come back to his pokeball.
“Ha ha ha ha ha ha,” Agatha burst out laughing. “Because of Mean Look, you can’t return him as long as Misdreavus is out of its pokeball, conscious.” She then burst out in laughter again. The crowd was in awe for about ten seconds, and then, they also burst into laughter. I had to show them all.
“Flare, mix Flamethrower and Dragonbreath into one attack,” I yelled. “Then launch it, and follow up with an Earthquake!” Flare somehow followed my orders, and everybody stopped laughing. Flare let out a mix of fire and dragon energy, it sailing towards Misdreavus. He then pounded the ground with his fists, all three attacks zooming towards the enemy.
“You’ll never get your Charizard free from Mean Look,” Agatha exclaimed, still laughing. I looked at her in hate. I knew what my only chance was.
“Flare, follow up with Fly,” I screamed. Flare launched himself in the air, and dived back down towards Misdreavus. The three barreling attacks nailed Misdreavus one after the other, taking it to the point of fainting. However, Misdreavus remained consciousness. Flare came down right after the attacks hit Misdreavus, and slammed it into the ground. Misdreavus blinked once, and then it fainted. I fumbled with Flare’s pokeball, trying to get him returned.
“D***** you,” Agatha cursed aloud. I continued to fumble around with Flare’s pokeball, finally getting it into my hands.
“Flare, return,” I shouted in panic. A thin beam of teal light shot out of the pokeball that usually contains Flare. Flare waited for the beam of light to come and engulf it, when he just fell over. The three minutes was up. The beam of light consumed Flare, and brought him back into his pokeball, fainted.
“I told you,” Agatha said, shaking her head at me. “I told you that ghost pokemon were nearly undefeatable. But you didn’t believe me.” I looked at her, wondering how she could think this. I was still winning.
“The keyword there is ‘nearly,’” I said. “You’re still not beating me. And you won’t. Send out your pokemon.”
“So be it,” Agatha said, grabbing a pokeball out of her cloak. “Go, Umbreon!” I was amazed. How could she use an Umbreon? She was a Ghost Master. Umbreon was a dark pokemon.
“What the h***, Agatha,” I swore. “You can’t use that. That Umbreon is a dark type, not a ghost type.”
“As long as he knows a ghost move, he is perfectly legal,” Agatha reached down and scratched Umbreon behind its ears. “So, now it’s your turn to pick a pokemon.” I thought carefully about this. Any wrong move, and I was beaten.
“Go, Scarlet,” I yelled, throwing out a teal pokeball on the field. The ball exploded in a flash of teal light, releasing my red Gyarados out onto the field. “Scarlet, Surf!” Water rose up from behind Scarlet, and it all rushed towards Umbreon.
“Umbreon, Shadow Ball,” Agatha yelled at her battling pokemon. Umbreon’s eyes turned light lavender, and it opened up its mouth. From its mouth shot out a ball darker than Umbreon’s fur. The Shadow Ball split the Surf in two, both halves missing the intended target.
“D***** that Umbreon,” I cursed loudly. “Scarlet, Ice Beam, now!” Scarlet opened its mouth and let loose a beam of ice, headed directly at Umbreon faster than a car.
“Umbreon, do something,” Agatha pleaded with her pokemon. Umbreon, however, didn’t know what to do, so the Ice Beam hit it full on, ramming the dark type pokemon into the wall.
“Outrage,” I called. Scarlet’s eyes turned teal, and it blew teal fire at the Umbreon, still lying on the ground. Umbreon screamed in pain, but then it got right back up again.
“Umbreon, Toxic,” Agatha yelled. It looked like Umbreon had just spit at Scarlet, but then I realized that the saliva was pure poison. Scarlet would faint soon.
“Scarlet, use Rage,” Scarlet’s eyes went from teal to red faster than anything that you’ve ever seen. Scarlet rampaged towards Umbreon, getting ready to attack. Scarlet hit Umbreon head on, ramming Umbreon into the wall once more. Scarlet hit Umbreon with his tail repeatedly, and then he let out an unordered Hyper Blast. After the brutal beating, Umbreon just lay there on the ground, unmoving.
“NO,” Agatha yelled. “How can this be? How can you have defeated Umbreon?” I just smirked at her, waiting for her to send out her next pokemon.
“Are you ready,” I asked her silently. She looked at me in hatred, obviously thinking of what pokemon that she would use next. She only had two choices.
“Go, Crobat,” Agatha yelled, throwing out a light lavender pokeball onto the field. It exploded into the form of a huge Crobat, larger than the average size for one. This one, however, looked different than the one shown in my teal PokeDex; it looked like it had been beefed up with steroids.
“Scarlet, blast it from the sky with Ice Beam,” I yelled. Scarlet was about to let loose a beam of ice, when Agatha ordered Crobat to attack.
“Crobat, Confuse Ray,” she ordered. Crobat’s eyes turned blacker than black, staring into Scarlet. Scarlet let out a powerful Ice Beam, and it curved right back and hit Scarlet. Scarlet was badly damaged.
“Scarlet, pull yourself out of it,” I commanded. I didn’t know what to do. Scarlet was on the verge of fainting. “Flamethrower!” Scarlet sent out a flurry of flames, and they engulfed Crobat with ease. When Crobat was released from the attack, it appeared to only be slightly damaged.
“Crobat,” Agatha ordered the final blow. “Giga Drain!” Crobat swooped down on Scarlet, and started to suck out all the energy from him, restoring his health back to full. There was nothing I could do to save Scarlet. All I could do was just stand here while Scarlet was getting knocked out. After about ten seconds, Scarlet dropped to the ground, knocked out, while Crobat zoomed around in the skies, brimming with energy.
“Scarlet, return,” I said, shooting a thin beam of teal light out of Scarlet’s pokeball, swallowing him up and bringing him back into his pokeball. I had to think of something to defeat that Crobat.
“Nice job, Crobat,” Agatha congratulated her pokemon. “Now get ready for his next one.” I had to make a wise decision, otherwise I would just waste a pokemon that could be useful against her other one. I had it!
“I choose you, Dragon,” I roared, letting its teal pokeball fly out onto the field. The ball exploded in a flash of teal light, releasing Dragon from its pokeball.
“DRAAAAAA,” Dragon cried, letting Crobat know that it shouldn’t mess with him. Crobat looked unimpressed, not showing any emotion. Dragon looked enraged at something. At what, I had no idea. Dragon was looking up towards the top row of the arena. I followed his line of sight, and met with a teal cloaked figure with his arms folded. The figure saw me looking at him, held up his middle finger at me, and ran out of the stadium.
“D*****, Lance,” I cursed underneath my breath. “You little b******.” My mind was drifting, and Agatha saw that. She used that to her advantage.
“Crobat, Wing Attack,” Agatha yelled at her pokemon. Crobat zoomed forward incredibly fast, but Dragon was quicker. Dragonite was the fastest flying pokemon in existence after all.
“Dragon,” I commanded. “Thunder Drill!” The horn on Dragon’s head started to spin and cackle with electricity. Dragon charged at Crobat, Crobat coming at full speed. One of their attacks would succeed, but the other one would fail. Crobat and Dragon were coming ever so closer, and they finally collided. There was a huge explosion of electricity, as Dragon had followed up with a Thunder after contact. His horn, however, was still boring into Crobat’s body, Crobat trying not to give in to the immense pain. Crobat could not keep it up, so Crobat just stopped fighting back. The crowd gasped.
“Oh my God, it’s a One Hit Knock Out!”
“I didn’t think that the challenger could beat Crobat, Pokemon Master or not!”
“This ‘Dragon Master’ created all these attacks? Whoa, he’s good.”
“He may have beaten Gengar, Misdreavus, Umbreon and Crobat, but let’s see if he’s a match for her last pokemon.”
“Crobat, return,” Agatha said, recalling her fainted poison pokemon with a light lavender beam of light. “I didn’t want it to come down to this, but go Gengar!” Agatha opened a pokeball, releasing a bunch of light lavender energy. This energy transformed into yet another Gengar, except this one looked like it was a higher level.
“Dragon, Hailstorm,” I shouted at my Dragonite. Dragon summoned a storm to help him win. Hail came down from the clouds, all of them striking Gengar. But Gengar still had a smirk on its face. It didn’t even look cold.
“Gengar, Metronome,” Agatha said. Gengar moved its fingers to use Metronome. Then, Gengar stopped. It’s fingers stopped moving. Gengar looked up into the sky, and the clouds that Dragon had formed were swirling. Gengar was using Twister! The tornado came down powerfully, making my cloak swirl around me. The dragon attack came down and sucked up Dragon, and then throwing him out into the wall, breaking it.
“Dragon, no,” I yelled at my fallen companion. I pulled his pokeball out of my cloak and returned him to it. I had to think. I only had two more pokemon to use. The crowd was talking again. I could hear every single one of them.
“This is getting close.”
“Do you think he’ll win? Agatha’s Gengar is practically unbeatable.”
“Come on, Bob, you can do it.” That voice sounded so familiar. I whipped around, and I realized that it was Josie, sitting right behind me in the stands.
“Josie,” I asked. “How did you get there? Your seat was way up there at the top.” She shifted “Robbie” and looked at me.
“I couldn’t see,” she explained. “Plus, you looked like you need some help. That Gengar may be powerful, but its speed is pitiful. If you can outrun it, there’s a good chance that you can damage it greatly. Do you get what I’m saying?”
“Uh…not really,” I admitted. She slapped her free hand to her forehead and looked at me like I was some kind of idiot.
“Okay, use Aeroy first,” she said. “Then follow up with Puff if it doesn’t work.” I decided that she was right. But if I didn’t hurry, I would be disqualified anyway.
“Go Aeroy,” I shouted, releasing my Aerodactyl in a flash of teal light. “Now, use Rock Bomb!” Aeroy started spitting huge rocks at Gengar. Upon contact, they exploded, showering Gengar in a flurry of exploding rocks. When all the dust had cleared, Gengar was left standing, waiting from orders from Agatha.
“Gengar, use Ultra Drain,” Gengar’s master shouted at it. Gengar’s eyes glowed green, and a beam of green light shot at Aeroy. Aeroy was immediately drained of tons of energy, all of that energy transferred to Gengar. Aeroy looked weak. He looked very weak.
“Aeroy, Tremors,” I shouted. Aeroy rammed down on the ground repeatedly, making tons of earthquakes. Gengar was rattled, while being damaged greatly. Aeroy just need a couple more attacks to knock it out. Aeroy however, was running out of energy fast, so I had to strike again before she did.
“Gengar, Thunderpunch,” Agatha yelled at her pokemon to attack. Gengar charged forward, with its fist charged with electricity. Gengar swung repeatedly at Aeroy, finally connecting one in Aeroy’s chest. Aeroy howled out in pain from its weakness. Gengar then followed up with a Thunderbolt, frying Aeroy to a crisp. Aeroy collapsed to the ground, not getting back up. In anguish, I recalled Aeroy back to his pokeball.
“Aeroy, return,” I said. Willingly, Aeroy was sucked back into his pokeball. I only had one choice now, and I knew who it was going to be. I pulled a pokeball off my belt.
“Why don’t you just give up now,” Agatha asked. “You evidently can’t beat Gengar.” I started back at her, looking at how short she was compared to me. I was letting her beat me? No, I had to rise above this.
“You’re my last hope, Puff,” I said. “So go out there and make me proud!” I whipped his pokeball out onto the field, it erupted into a flash of teal light, and Puff was left standing there, ready to show what he was made of.
“Another Dragonite,” Agatha asked suspiciously. “There has to be some kind of rule permitting you to have more than one pokemon that is the same species.”
“No, I checked,” I said. “But you and your Gengar had better be ready for a good beating. Mostly because Puff and I have been together for six years. We’ve trained in all kinds of towns, and against all kinds of different trainers. We are faithful to each other, and that will never change. Now, are you ready to continue?” She looked at me, speechless.
“Yes, I am ready,” she said, getting over her speechlessness. “And so is Gengar. Gengar, use Metronome!” Once again, Gengar used Metronome. Everybody in the stadium held his or her breath, waiting to see which attack would Gengar would come up with.
“GEN…GAR,” Gengar shouted, releasing a huge ball of electricity at Puff. Gengar had pulled off a Zap Cannon. If that hit Puff, he would be paralyzed and unable to battle any longer. I had to do something.
“Puff, Fly,” Puff took off, letting the Zap Cannon pass harmlessly by him. Puff came down and rammed Gengar into the ground, damaging Gengar greatly because of his low defense.
“Gengar, Ice Punch it while its in close,” Agatha yelled at her pokemon, which was being crushed by Puff. An icy fist was rammed into Puff’s stomach, forcing him to get off Gengar. Puff was damaged greatly by that attack, as he had a 4x weakness to ice. Puff and Gengar were staring it down, each waiting for the other to attack. It was Puff that was to attack first.
“Puff, Icy Wind,” I shouted at Puff. Gengar ran forwards to use another Ice Punch. Puff used his weather-controlling abilities to create a wind that not only caused damage, but it stopped Gengar from advancing any closer. Gengar was driving its legs as fast as it could possibly go, but I wasn’t gaining any ground. In fact, it was losing ground.
“Gengar, do something,” Agatha pleaded with her ghost pokemon. I had to finish it now; otherwise I wouldn’t be able to beat it at all.
“Puff, Energy Ball: Ghost,” I shouted. Puff called energy to his mouth, a light lavender in color. All this time, Puff’s Icy Wind was still going. Puff stopped the Icy Wind, as he needed to save his energy for his Energy Ball. Gengar ran forward, still in its Ice Punch attack. They were twenty yards apart. If either of them took any more damage, they would faint. They were fifteen yards apart. Puff’s Energy Ball was bigger than a basketball. Gengar was still charging. Ten yards apart. Gengar called his other fist to perform a mighty double-fisted Ice Punch on Puff. Five yards apart. Puff’s attack was larger than ten feet in diameter. Four feet. Three feet. Two feet. One foot.
“PUFF, NOW,” I shouted. There was a huge explosion of light lavender energy and ice shards. Everybody in the arena shielded his or her eyes because it was so bright. Dust flew everywhere, making it impossible to see anything that was going on in the arena.
“GENGAR,” Agatha yelled, hoping that she had finally beat me. I called a twister to suck up all the dust. When it had all cleared, we saw that Gengar was lying there on the ground, fainted, while Puff was still standing, a little wobbly maybe, but standing all the same.
“THE CHALLENGER HAS WON,” the announcer finally said. At hearing that, Puff smiled, and then fainted, falling face first on the ground. I ran out onto the field to see if my pokemon was all right.
“Puff, are you okay,” I asked. Puff opened his eyes weakly, and then he grunted. I understood him perfectly, though.
“You just want to rest,” I asked. He nodded his head. “Okay. You deserve it. You were awesome, Puff. I couldn’t have asked for a better pokemon than you. Return.” A thin beam of light escaped from Puff’s pokeball, bringing him back into it to rest. I put his pokeball in my cloak, and walked out of the stadium, amid all the cheering going on. Josie caught up with me outside.
“I never knew that anyone could be that good,” she gasped. “How long did it take you to come to that level?” I looked at her exasperatedly, and smiled weakly.
“Six whole years,” I said. “And my, they’ve gone by so fast. It feels like I haven’t accomplished anything at all. But yet, I’ve done a lot in a short period of time.” I motioned to take “Robbie” from Josie. She handed him to me, and I looked at him. He really bore no resemblance to me. Even though he was me, I must’ve changed a lot in sixteen years.
Josie and I made it to the PokeCenter. She went straight to bed, but I stayed up, sitting on top of the roof of the PokeCenter. I was thinking about what I had done, and what I will be doing in the future.
“You’re so lucky,” I said to “Robbie.” “You don’t to worry about a single thing until you’re ten. Boy, I miss those times. But, it couldn’t have lasted forever, and I had to move on. Savor these moments, because you’ll wish that you had them back when you’re doing what I’m doing now. Saving the world…again. It’s amazing how many times I have been called to service the League in the short time that I’ve been alive. I’ve experienced many things in my life, some of them great, some of them bad. But remember, always think about others first. And care about your pokemon. They care about you, too. Always treat them with the same respect that you would treat Delilah with. Cherish the moments you have with not only your pokemon, but your friends and family. For just like that, they’re gone.” I snapped my fingers once. “Yeah, Bob, you’ll have a lot of fun in the next sixteen years. Never feel like you’re second best to anyone else. For you are hope in a hopeless world. You were, are, and forever shall be a hero to these people.” I noticed then that “Robbie” was asleep. I went back into the PokeCenter to put him back in his bed. After I had done that, I came out onto the roof again. And I just sat there; looking at the stars and thinking about lots of things. The thing that I was thinking about most was Misty and how I missed her.
I sat up on that roof for a long time that night. Just thinking about how I was almost done with my quest. Once I beat Marchello tomorrow, I would finally get some allies to kill Lance…once and for all. And then I could go back to the future, and hug and kiss Misty once again. Oh, how I missed her…
- End of Chapter Seven -

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 h*** 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.
“D*** you, Marchello,” I swore at him. “D*** 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 -

The Dragon Master III: Chapter Nine

When the bright light had faded, and the remaining dust had cleared, everybody in the stadium looked upon the scene of the two pokemon. Feraligatr was lying unconscious on the ground, knocked out. But nobody was cheering. The announcer up in the box looked stumped, not knowing what to say. For Puff was also unconscious, lying on the ground. It was a tie. Neither of us had won, which could only mean one thing. And that thing was…
“A hand-to-hand combat battle,” Marchello explained. “The Dragon Master and I shall fight, no pokemon. Whichever one of us flees or lies unconscious, will lose, and the other one shall win! Nice job, Feraligatr, return.” With a thin beam of light, Feraligatr was returned to his pokeball to rest.
“You did good, Puff,” I congratulated my pokemon. “You did your part. Now it’s my turn to do mine…” I recalled Puff back into his pokeball, and put my pokeballs within my cloak. Simultaneously, Marchello and I removed our cloaks with one hand, and dropped them on the floor. My eyes glowed teal, and my clothes changed. I became dressed in a teal cut-off T-shirt, some sweatpants, and a pair of teal fingerless fighting gloves. On my feet I wore a thin teal shoe, which hardly did anything for them.
“LET THE BATTLE BEGIN,” roared the announcer, and the crowd cheered. I sprinted as fast as I possibly could towards Marchello, and he did the same to me. Inches from him, I jumped up in the air, and kicked him in the back. He fell face first on the ground, but flipped back up immediately with his hands. We then went into several rounds of punching, kicking and parrying. Neither of us got a hit of on the other. I had to retreat. I back flipped away from him, and pulled the Elemental Medallion out of my shirt.
“Sunny Day,” I yelled, forcing the sun to shine brightly. “Grass Shard of the Elemental Medallion, Solarbeam!” On my command, a beam of pure grass energy shot out of the Grass Shard, nailing Marchello in the chest. I had to strike again, without warning.
“What the h*** is that,” Marchello gasped, getting up from the position that he was in after he was hit.
“Ice Shard of the Elemental Medallion, Blizzard,” I commanded. Ice flew out of the Shard on command, heading towards Marchello. I put the Medallion back inside my shirt, and followed suit.
“What sorcery is this,” Tony asked in rage. Red-hot sparks flew out of his hand, melting the ice, and turning it into water.
“One of a kind,” I replied. I called my teal katana to my hands, and he called a weapon of his own. He called a black katana, blacker than even Ash’s katana. Our curved swords clashed, creating a whole bunch of noise. Neither of us was paying attention, as both of us were fixed on the other one.
“WHO THE H*** IS THAT MANIAC ON TOP OF THE ARENA,” the announcer shouted in wonder. Both Tony and I stopped fighting to look at who was standing on top of the arena. I heard a soft chuckling that was awfully familiar…
“Hello, once again, Bob,” Lance said while he was standing on the top of the arena. “It has been a long time, hasn’t it? I’ve let you go along your own little pathetic business for too long. But now, it’s time for the miniature you to die.” He faced directly where Josie and “Robbie” were standing in the crowd. He generated his lance; I called my wings, and took off for Josie. Lance threw his lance directly for Josie and “Robbie.” The lance was traveling faster than I was, and I was farther away in the first place. I was ten feet from Josie and “Robbie.”
“Josie, look out,” I called, and she looked at me. She saw the lance headed for “Robbie,” so she turned her back towards the lance. The lance hit her directly in her back, and she fell over, still protecting the baby. Lance saw the mistake he had made, so he flew off somewhere. I went up to Josie, and looked her in the eyes.
“Bob,” Josie said weakly. There was a puddle of blood seeping its way around her, and she didn’t even notice. But she still knew that she was going to die.
“Josie, please don’t die,” I pleaded with her. She looked at me, and stroked my cheek.
“Before I go,” she said. “Let me tell you who John’s father is. I’m not sure if this will matter to you or not. I met him at Viridian City High School. His name was Giovanni…” My heart felt like it stopped. But hers really did.
A small crowd gathered around the body of Josie and me. They all looked so sad, though none of them knew her at all. I picked up her body in one arm, and “Robbie” in the other.
“Please get out of my way,” I asked quietly. The crowd parted leaving way for me to pass through. I was thinking heavily about her last words. Giovanni was John Flargini’s father. Giovanni was my father. I had killed my half-brother. After I had killed Lance, I had made a vow to myself: Never kill my own flesh and blood. I had broken that vow without even knowing it.
An ambulance took me to Viridian City, where Josie was going to be buried, as that was where her parents lived. I was thinking about was Josie had said. She had said that Giovanni was the father of John. That would mean that he and I were half-brothers. The more I thought about it, the more I thought about how unlikely that was. But I had to find out for myself.
Josie was left at the funeral home, while I went in search of her parents, to tell them the news. I finally found them, well, I found their house. I walked up to the door, and rang the doorbell. A woman in her mid-forties came out of the house and looked at me.
“May I help you, young man,” she asked. She didn’t know. She didn’t even know that her only child was dead. I knew that Josie was an only child because she told me.
“There is some bad news,” I said. She immediately gasped.
“Did my husband die on the job,” she asked.
“No, and why would he,” I asked her.
“My husband is a cop,” she explained. “But, please, tell me what you know. Better yet, come in and I will make you coffee.” I followed her in, and she led me to a couch. I sat down, wondering how I was going to explain this to her. She poured me a cup of coffee and sat in the chair opposite me.
“Mrs. Flargini, I presume,” I assumed, hoping that I wasn’t wrong.
“Yes,” she said. “Is the thing that you have to say difficult?” My stomach sank even lower, if that was possible.
“It’s about your daughter,” I said, “Josie-”
“Is she pregnant again,” Mrs. Flargini asked exasperatedly. “She was always the one to go sleeping around. And I’m supposing that you’re the father of this one. That baby in your arms must be my grandson.” I looked at her in awe. Now I wondered if she would even care.
“No,” I said. “On all three accounts. Number one, Josie is not pregnant. Number two, her and I only knew each other for five days, and I already have a girlfriend. And number three, this is not your grandson, John. This is my little brother, and your grandson is an orphan in Lavender Town.”
“Well, then what’s the matter, dear boy,” she asked, sounding like she was sorry that she had accused me of some thing that I did not do.
“Josie is dead,” I said. Mrs. Flargini clapped her hands to her mouth in shock. She acted like she wouldn’t even believe it. she came to terms with it, and asked me the question that I wished she would not.
“How,” she asked, with her hands still over her mouth.
“She was murdered accidentally,” I explained. “If you were watching the Pokemon Finals yesterday, you would have seen me battling the Leader of the Elite Four. However, a murderous psycho, whom I regret to say that I know, tried to kill the baby that is in my arms. The baby was with her at the time. She shielded the baby from the lance that was thrown at her, dieing to save an innocent life…” I broke off, choking up. I wiped my eyes on my cloak, and got up.
“Oh my God,” she said. “Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God. Josie died to save a baby?” I nodded my head.
“The funeral will be tomorrow,” I told her. “At the funeral home down the street. Nine o’clock tomorrow morning. She would have loved it if you and your husband would be there. One of the last things that she said to me was: ‘My parents never did accept my baby and me. So they kicked me out of the house. I just wanted to know if they love me…’” I called my cloak, and walked out the door. However, the door opened, and the man I assumed who was Josie’s father stepped through the door,
“Are you the a****** that got my daughter pregnant,” he asked in rage. I simply turned to his crying wife who was still sitting on the chair.
“I’ll let your wife explain to you,” I said coldly. I brushed passed him and walked out the door, headed for the PokeCenter.
The next morning it rained, simply because I wanted it to. I was in a sad mood that day. I was thinking about all the death that I had experienced in my life, and I realized that Josie was one of the best friends I ever knew. There were many people there, though the only ones that I knew were Josie’s parents. The service went on, and when it was done, everybody left immediately. I, however, stayed where I was, until I walked up to the casket.
“I’ll never be able to repay you, Josie,” I spoke. “You have your life for me. I cannot thank you enough. Though I just wish that there had been some other way…” I generated a teal rose from my hand, and placed it on top of the casket. At the same moment, I noticed another hand reaching out, placing an identical rose on the casket, except that it was brown in color. I looked up, and found myself staring into the dark mask of a man in a brown hooded cloak, mostly likely a Ground Master.
“I never thought that our paths would meet more than once,” Giovanni said, removing his hood.
“Tell me one thing,” I said, ignoring his statement. “Did you have a child with this woman?” He looked at me, not expecting that.
“Well, we did,” he admitted. “Though I didn’t stick around during the pregnancy nor the delivery.” I looked at him with the utmost hatred.
“You cheated on Lorelei,” I said, rage obvious from my voice. “You fooled around behind her back. She trusted you. But you betrayed her.”
“What are you gonna do about it,” he asked, cocky.
“Get out of my sight,” I said, as my eyes turned silver. “I don’t ever want to see you ever again as long as I live, you son of a b****.” He backed away, and then walked out of the cemetery.
“You handled that well,” said a voice behind me. My eyes turned back to normal. I whipped around, and saw who was standing there. It was the old man that I had met in the PokeCenter right before my match with Agatha.
“Who are you,” I asked. I had completely forgot about him. I still was craving to know who he was, and what he wanted with me.
“Once The Evil One is defeated, then you shall see my face and know my name,” he explained. “Until that time, my identity remains a complete secret to you and the rest of the world.” I looked at him, still thinking about our deal.
“What do I need to do to defeat Lance,” I asked him. He paced for a little bit, and then he finally told me something.
“Use the Psychic Shard,” he explained. “That will give you the power to locate him with your mind.” I grabbed the Medallion out of my cloak, and concentrated on the Psychic Shard.
“Psychic Shard of the Elemental Medallion,” I chanted. “Lend me your power locate Lance!” Immediately, my mind felt like it was being sucked out. Through my mind’s eye, I was seeing many things, for the Psychic Shard was looking all over through Kanto and Johto for Lance. When the rushing stopped, it was a picture of Lance being airborne, and headed for the Palace of the Elite Four.
“Go now,” the odd man said, and I took flight towards the Palace of the Elite Four. I ran past the security guards, without them noticing. I went to the room that belonged to Tony Marchello. I entered the room, and Lance was standing there, with his lance, and Marchello was creating a time portal for him.
“NO,” I cried. “However, Lance had already jumped through it, and the portal closed. “Send me to the exact time and place that you sent him! NOW!” With a snap of his fingers, a portal appeared, and I dived through it, not sure where I was going.
When I came out of the portal, I could see Saffron City off the cliff that I was on. I suddenly had a feeling of déjà vu again.
“DIE NOW,” Lance yelled, running at me from behind. He tackled me, forcing both of us off the cliff. I then realized that Lance and I were the two figures that I had seen falling off the cliff when I was last in Saffron City. I heard an explosion, and that was Lance and I escaping from the Gym with a Hyper Blast provided by me.
“I NEVER GIVE UP,” I shouted back, kicking him in the stomach and calling my wings. Lance fell to the ground, and I landed near him. He called his lance, and I called my teal katana. We were circling around each other, ready to fight. I had a huge disadvantage as I was holding a baby in one of my arms, while he could use both freely.
“No matter how hard I try,” Lance said. “You always win. It’s time for that to change.” I looked at him with a smirk on my face.
“No it won’t, and it will always remain that way,” I replied. In rage, he ran towards me, lance ready to strike. He stabbed, and I blocked with my katana. I swiped, and he parried with his lance. This went on for some time, until he called his wings and flew high in the sky.
“Catch me if you can,” Lance teased, flying higher each second. I called my wings and tore after him. He took a sharp turn down into the trees, me following closely behind him. I then noticed where he was flying. He was headed directly for a portal, and standing next to the portal was a man wearing a deep purple cloak covered in moons and stars. It was a time portal. Lance was traveling somewhere in time, and I had to follow him. Lance went right into the portal, but I had to kill this Mysticman first. My eyes turned bright silver, and a ball of silver energy formed in my hand. I whipped it at the Mysticman, killing him on impact.
“Now to kill you,” I yelled in rage at Lance. He merely laughed and continued flying through the portal. I followed him, not knowing where, or more importantly, when we were going. I just flew through the portal. Only having experienced this two times before, I felt a sensation traveling through my body like I had before. I continued to fly blindly into the abyss of time…
- End of Chapter Nine -

The Dragon Master III: Chapter Ten

I came out of the time portal, and landed on my feet. I gathered around my surroundings, and tried to figure out when I was. I then got a look at Lance flying towards what seemed like Indigo Plateau.
“You’ll never get me now,” Lance laughed, flying full-speed towards the Palace of the Elite Four.
“Don’t say things that aren’t true,” I corrected him. I took flight once more, speeding after my arch-nemesis. I shot a Hyper Blast at Lance, narrowly missing him. He fired a Dragon Rage back at me, and I had to barrel roll out of the way. After twenty minutes of confusing fighting, Lance made it to the Palace, with me right on his tail. I looked at the calendar by the door, and it said that it was August 7, 2004. That was the day after the day that I had left in the first place! Lance charged into the door of my room, but he didn’t care about the baby any more.
“Stay back,” he said, calling his lance, grabbing Misty and holding her hostage. She looked at me in fright.
“Bob,” Misty said to me fearfully. “What is going on here?” I didn’t know how to respond to her. I could usually tell her anything.
“Just stay calm,” I said. “Because it’s one h*** of a long story.” Lance tightened the grip on her.
“It’s a lose-lose situation, Bob,” Lance pointed out. “You make a move, I kill her. You let me go, I kill you. What’s it gonna be?” He had finally crossed the border from evil to insane.
“Bob, don’t worry about me,” Misty said pleadingly. “Just save the world by saving yourself. Kill him!” I always listened to Misty. Always. But this time, I decided not to.
“No,” I said. “A life without you wouldn’t be living at all. Lance, hit me with your best shot.” I spread my arms apart and closed my eyes. Immediately, Lance dropped Misty and headed for me, lance headed directly for my heart. At the last second, I ducked, using my legs to propel Lance through the wall. I followed the hole he had made, and found him lying out on the grass. He got up and flew towards what seemed to be Goldenrod City, the most populated city in all of Johto and Kanto.
“You will never defeat me,” Lance yelled in insane rage. He shot Dragon Rage out of his feet to make him go faster. I followed suit, throwing off my cloak and taking flight. Lance got way ahead of me, and I lost him.
“Look, it’s the Pokemon League Champion!” People on the street were yelling.
“Can I have your autograph?”
“Oh my God, it’s him! It’s really him!” I landed away from the crowd of people, though they came storming towards me. I looked all over for Lance, ready to kill him at first sight. I saw a figure on top of the Goldenrod City Radio Tower, in a sweeping teal cloak, and he was holding his hands up to the sky. A teal ball mass of energy started to form in his hands, getting bigger and bigger, not stopping in its growth.
“S***,” I yelled, taking off for the top of the tower. My eyes turned silver, and I started to form a silver ball of energy in my hands, powerful enough to kill a Mysticman.
“I WILL REMAIN SUPREME,” Lance yelled over the sound of all the energy. “I WILL BE THE GREATEST POKEMON MASTER ALIVE! I WILL-”
“Shut the h*** up and fight me like a man,” I yelled, cutting him off, and throwing the silver ball of energy at Lance, the ball of energy only about a foot in diameter. Lance retaliated by throwing his teal ball of energy at my silver one, his being over one hundred feet in diameter. The two masses of energy collided, the silver one sucked into the teal one. All of a sudden, the teal one erupted and exploded into nothingness. The masses of energy canceled each other out.
“How the h*** did that happen,” Lance asked in both confusion and fury. I landed on the top of the tower, ten feet away from him, and looked him in the eye. Both of us had our cloaks on, and were staring each other down.
“It’s time to end this,” I said. “Too many innocent people have been slain for your corrupt purpose, Lance. You shall be the final one.” I snapped my fingers, and a tornado appeared above us. Lance and I undid the fastening on our cloaks at the same time, forcing them to be pulled up into the twister that I had created. The tornado ceased, and each of us called our weapons of choice. I called my teal katana, but I was surprised to see that the hilt of my sword had turned silver. I dismissed it, as Lance was calling his weapon of choice, his lance, like his name. We ran at each other, stabbing and blocking, slicing and parrying.
“He who lives by the sword,” Lance grunted, keeping his balance and keeping up the fight. “Dies by the sword.” I looked at him and smirked, jumping over him so I ended up behind him. Lance whipped around, and we continued fighting.
“Then He who lives by the lance,” I said. “Must die by the lance.” I caught his lance in an upswing with my katana, bringing the tip of the lance to his heart, not piercing anything. I did a roundhouse kick, using the butt end of the lance as a nail, and my foot as a hammer. The lance traveled right through Lance’s heart, and I just stood there, with him choking a little bit. He fell over, blood leaking from his chest. He looked me in the eyes, and I did him.
“You know,” Lance choked, blood starting to dribble out of his mouth. “When we were young, I saved your life. If it had not been for me choosing you for Delilah to adopt, you would be living out on the streets.” He coughed, spitting out more blood.
“Yes, you were good back then,” I admitted. “And I respected you. But somewhere along the line, you became power hungry. Because of that, you became evil. Pure evil. I doubt that there is anybody on this earth more evil than you. And I am glad that you’ll die soon. Because then, you won’t be my responsibility any more. I won’t have to stop you from taking over the League or the world. Sure, you may have saved my life, but how many people have you killed over the years? How many were you close to? How many was I closed to? You have crossed the line between evil and insane, Lance. you started that trek when you killed Delilah. Now, this is her final revenge.” I sliced the tip of my katana across Lance’s neck, killing him instantly. I turned around, ready to go back to the Palace of the Elite Four, when I was stopped by an old woman in a light lavender cloak. Agatha.
“So, you’ve foiled Lance three times,” she said, looked at Lance’s body with no regret. “And now I suppose that you want to finish me off. I guess that would be only fair, but before you do, let me tell you one thing.” I looked at her cautiously, not sure what was going on.
“What are you up to,” I asked her, but she just ignored, me and continued to talk to me.
“The one thing that I have to say to you is,” Agatha said, “I will fight back, and I will take you down with me.” She called a ghostly blade, and charged at me. I tried to block with my katana, but the two weapons just went right through one another.
“What the h***,” I asked in confusion, backing away from her.
“That’s right,” she said. “Your katana cannot even affect me.” I had to think fast. I looked at her, and back flipped away.
“Outrage,” I said, as my fists broke out in teal flames. I charged towards Agatha, and punched the flat of her ghostly blade, knocking it out of her hands. I continued to punch at her, each of my shots hitting her. She couldn’t fight back, and I would kill her soon. She only had one chance to take me down. I called my katana, and forced it through her chest.
“Destiny Bond,” Agatha screamed directly before my weapon impaled her. She fell down, a pool of blood surrounding her. But there was a circle of shadow around my feet, and I knew what was coming. There was a sharp pain in my chest, and blood started to drip out of it. I fell down, my eyes adverting to a short, old man wearing a forest cloak. I felt my mind slip away from consciousness…
“Will he be okay?”
“I’m not sure that we were able to bring him back. His body went into shock after I found him. All that we can do now is wait.”
“Bob, please wake up. For the love of God, wake up.” I recognized that voice. It was Misty’s. My eyes opened up immediately. I shot up in a sitting position, but went back right away due to pain in my chest.
“He’s alive,” Misty screamed, throwing her arms around my neck. I felt some pain, and I started to tug at her sleeve.
“Uh…Misty,” I choked, not able to get much air. “Could you please let go of me?” Right away, she let go, but I could still she the urge in her eyes to hug me. I looked to the other side of me, and I saw Erika, along with the strange man that I had met back in time in the PokeCenter.
“Ah, you do remember me,” the man said. “I have been waiting sixteen years for this, and now I finally get to meet Bob Shepardson. Please let me introduce myself. I am Robert Shepardson. I believe that you know my daughter, Lorelei, as she is your mother, therefore making me your grandfather.” He removed the hood of his forest cloak, and my jaw dropped. It was my grandfather! He had saved my life! Lorelei walked in the door, and gasped at the sight of her father.
“Dad,” she asked in bewilderment. “Mom told me that you were dead!” He smiled, and looked at her.
“Actually,” he said. “I was just presumed dead overseas. But I am here to see my grandson, and I have waited sixteen years for this moment. But I suppose that I could spend some time with my only daughter.” Him and Lorelei walked out the door, and he was two feet shorter than she was.
“If you guys don’t mind,” I said. “I would like to get some rest.” Everybody walked out but Misty, whom I kissed first, and then she walked out.
I woke up the next morning, and Will prepared a portal for me to take “Robbie” back to his original time: one week after I had taken him. I went through the portal, and came out at the Cherrygrove City Orphanage. I went up to the receptionist with the baby in my arms.
“Um, hello, I would like to put this baby up for adoption,” I said.
“Well, are you the father,” the receptionist asked.
“No,” I said. “But I am here in place of the parents. They couldn’t be here at the moment. Hey, why did you think I was the father?”
“You and him look exactly alike,” she commented.
“Um…right,” I said. “Anyway, the parents names are Giovanni and Lorelei.”
“Okay,” she said, typing away on her typewriter. “Now, if you would just give me the baby, I’ll put him back with the others, and you can go. But, just out of curiosity, what relation are you to this baby or their parents?”
“The mother and I are just really good friends,” I half-lied. “Other than that, no relation.” She took the baby out of my arms, and I couldn’t help feeling sorry, because it had to spend two years in a complete hellhole.
“Okay, one last thing, and then you can go,” the receptionist said, coming back. “What is his name?”
“His name is Robert Shepardson,” I said.
“Okay, you can go now,” she said, smiling. “And we’ll take care of Robert.”
“Please call him Bob,” I said, making sure that my name wouldn’t change to Robert or anything. “And could you please call the mother at 555-3471. Tell her that her son has arrived, and he is in the best of condition. Also, please tell her that Bob sends his gratitude.”
“Sure,” she said. “But will he ever know his parents?”
“He will find out on his own,” I said. “And from his father. But don’t tell him anything.”
“Sure thing,” she said. “And thank you for choosing Cherrygrove City Orphanage.”
“Good luck, Bob,” I said, strolling out, and leaving the year 1988 without a trace. I walked back into the portal and to my own year. Will patted me on the back, but I just continued and walked out the door.
I took a stroll out to the Masters’ Cemetery. I went way in back, and looked at Lance’s grave, since his body had been replaced there once more.
“This time, Lance,” I said to nobody in particular. “Stay dead.” I walked back into the main cemetery, where many other Masters were buried. I stopped by John Flargini’s grave, as I had him relocated, since he was indeed my half-brother. I walked over to the gate, took off my cloak, called my wings, and flew to New Bark Town, for only one reason.
I landed in the cemetery, calling my cloak. I walked through the numerous gravestones, and I finally found the one that I was looking for. This grave had only been here for two years, and I have only visited it once. It was Delilah’s. I generated a teal rose from my hand, and placed it on the grave, as the first one was long gone. I then fell to my knees, and said nothing.
“Bob,” a voice asked questioningly behind me. I knew who it was, but I didn’t make a sound. It was Misty. I heard her move closer to me, and she knelt down beside me, putting her arms around me.
“Hey, Misty,” I said. I was focusing on the headstone, reading the date of her death: August 1st, 2002. That was the day that this all started. I still needed closure from that. Though I wasn’t sure if I would ever have closure from that particular death.
“How long are you going to stay there, Bob,” Misty asked, her arms still tight around me.
“I think that I’m done,” I lied, though I got up anyway. Misty followed suit, and we walked out of the cemetery, and I flew back towards Indigo Plateau, holding Misty in my arms. I didn’t want to let her go. I would never let her go.
I went onto a cliff that overlooked the water, with just Misty and me. I had my teal cloak on with my hood up. I was expecting somebody else, though. Hopefully, they would show up. I heard footsteps behind me, though I did not turn around. I knew that it was Giovanni, the father of both John Flargini and me.
“Hello, Giovanni,” I said coldly. He stopped in his tracks, and I felt the stare of him.
“Would it kill you to call me ‘Dad’ for once,” he asked angrily. I scoffed. He was never my father.
“You are not my father,” I told him. I turned around slowly, removing my hood as I did so. “We have discussed this many times. But now, we have something different to talk about.”
“And what would that be,” Giovanni asked, kind of nervous.
“You cheating on Lorelei,” I said. Misty gasped. “Not only did you cheat on her, but you also fathered another son during that same time when you were with Lorelei, and she was pregnant with me. You never saw that son, nor will you ever…for he is dead. His name was John Flargini. More commonly known as Mysticman John Flargini. Because of this, I am imposing a penalty on you. Your Gym in Viridian City shall be taken away from you, and given to the woman that once loved you: Lorelei Shepardson.
“You have no proof,” Giovanni said. I just stood there, smirking at my so-called “father.” I pulled out a tape recorder that I had hidden in my cloak at Josie’s funeral.
“Actually, you told me yourself,” I said. “But you did not know that you were actually talking to me.” I pressed “Play” on the tape recorder, and a voice that sounded like Giovanni’s sixteen years ago.
“Tell me one thing. Did you have a child with this woman?”
“Well, we did. Though I didn’t stick around during the pregnancy nor the delivery.”
“You cheated on Lorelei. You fooled around behind her back. She trusted you. But you betrayed her.”
“What are you gonna do about it?”
“Stop,” Giovanni cried. “Yes, I admit it. But now, I have the utmost regret about that incident. I’m very sorry to both you and Lorelei.”
“You d*** well better be,” said a voice from behind him. It was Lorelei. He whipped around, and she slapped him as hard as she could with her hand. She had slapped him so hard, he fell to the ground.
“Yes, as for your punishment,” I continued, though as nothing had happened, and Giovanni wasn’t lying on the ground. “Your Gym in Viridian City shall be removed from your custody, and given to Lorelei, one of the victims of this. There were four victims of this incident, Giovanni, Lorelei, Josie and John Flargini, whom now are both dead, and lastly, me. Lorelei, do you accept the Gym as your own?”
“With the utmost pleasure,” she said, looking at Giovanni with hatred. she turned to me. “But what did John Flargini have to do with this? And who is Josie Flargini?”
“She was the ‘other’ woman,” I said. “I met her in the past, though she had no idea that she was the ‘other’ woman. She was killed by Lance at the Championship battle between Tony Marchello and I. I’m sure that you remember that, Lorelei.”
“Yes I do,” she said. “And John Flargini was their son.”
“Yes, Mom,” I said. She nearly broke into tears, and she came over to hug me. I hugged her back, and she let go after about a minute.
“Well,” she said. “I guess that I’m moving to Viridian City.”
“Yeah, and send all of the underlings of Giovanni away, unless they decide to become your ice underlings,” I said.
“Thank you so much,” she said, hugging me one last time, and walking off to get ready. She kicked Giovanni in the crotch one last time, and said, “Hopefully, that will make you sterile, so you can’t do this to anybody ever again.” She walked off to the Palace of the Elite Four, and she disappeared. Giovanni got up slowly, and also walked away.
“You did the right thing,” Misty reassured me, because I wasn’t sure. I walked over to the edge of the cliff overlooking the water. Misty held on to my arm tight.
“I am not a leader of men,” I said, shaking my head.
“Whether you know it or not, you are,” Misty said. “You will continue to be, and everybody will always look at you like a leader. You know that, too.” I turned and smiled at my girlfriend, and I kissed her on the lips gently. Something caught my vision out of the corner of my eye. It was a man in a black cloak, charging at the both of us. He had a Pikachu on his shoulder. It was Ash. But he was angry; he was full of rage. He drew his black katana, and I drew my teal one with a silver hilt. I pushed Misty to safety, while Ash charged at me.
“What the h*** are you doing, Ash,” I asked in bewilderment, as our swords started to clash.
“I love Misty,” Ash yelled. “And I will do anything to have her.” He sliced at my neck, though I blocked it with my own sword.
“Ash, you don’t want to do this,” I warned him.
“Yes I do,” he said. “I will kill you for her!”
“No you won’t,” I cried. Our swords hit, and they each flew in a different direction. Ash backed away, as he had no weapon. Neither did I, so we would have to battle hand-to-hand.
“DARK THUNDER,” Ash yelled, sending a black bolt of lightening at me. I back flipped away from it, the electric/dark attack missing me.
“Fighting Shard of the Elemental Medallion,” I cried. “Cross Chop!” My body glowed maroon, though my eyes were still silver. I ran forward, and my hands preformed a Cross Chop on Ash, though it missed. I retreated, and we were back in a fighting position.
“Shadow Blast,” Ash yelled.
“Hyper Blast,” I shouted. Two equal beams of energy shot out, one white, and one dark. Right when they reached each other, they each exploded into a huge ball of energy. The impact of the blast forced me to dig my boots into the ground, and Ash did the same.
“Dark Night,” Ash yelled, forcing the moon to cover the sun, creating an artificial night.
“Hidden Power: Dragon,” I shouted. Miniscule balls of teal energy zoomed around my head in a circle, going faster and getting bigger as they went.
“Hidden Power: Dark,” Ash yelled. Balls of black energy went around his head, exactly like me, save they were black. When the Hidden Powers were fully charged, they both fired. Ash got nailed by one of mine in his chest, and he hit me in the shoulder, causing it to burn a little bit.
“We have to stop this, Ash,” I pleaded, holding my shoulder to stop the bleeding.
“Over my dead body,” he said. “Electric Shadow!” A ball of black energy crackling with electricity shot from his hand, headed directly for me. I jumped out of the way, though I heard somebody scream behind me. It was Misty!
“Misty,” I shouted, watching her fall off the cliff. She had been hit by Ash’s attack. I threw off my cloak, and jumped off the edge to save her. She was unconscious. I called my wings, and I flapped them to make me go faster. She was going to die on those jagged rocks if I didn’t get there in time. I had to save her. Inches from the rocks, I grabbed her, and leveled out as fast as I could. Misty came to, and she looked at me in the eyes.
“Bob, you saved me,” she said. I flew back up onto the cliff, where I saw Brock keeping Ash at bay. Ash was gripped tightly in Brock’s stone body, out cold.
“What the h*** happened,” Brock asked me. I degenerated my wings, and looked at Brock.
“Ash went insane,” I replied. “He tried to kill me to get Misty. He said ‘If I can’t have her, nobody can.’”
“Ash has loved Misty for some time, you know,” Brock said, looking at his friend in his arms. “Before any of us met you, as a matter in fact. But he couldn’t tell her. I urged him to, but he never did, until all of it built up into anger for you.”
“I had no idea,” I said softly. “Let’s take these two back into the Palace, and let’s put Ash in the Pysch Ward for now.” Brock nodded, and we walked in the building that I called home.
I laid Misty down on a bed in the hospital wing, and Brock put Ash on a bed on a bed in a padded room in the Psych Ward. The doctor came in, took a look at Misty, and came back out.
“She’s going to be all right,” the doctor said. I breathed a sigh of relief. “Ash, on the other hand, is suffering from depression. He tells me that it tears him up to see you with her. This is just a case of heartbreak. You and him will have to work it out.” At that moment, Ash came out of the room, and looked me in the eye.
“I should’ve never done that,” he apologized. “I’ll leave you two alone. But remember this, Bob. If you mistreat her in any way, I will kill you.”
“Ash, you know that I am deeply in love with Misty,” I said. “I would do anything to protect her. I jumped off a cliff to save her today. I think that that shows you my love for her.”
“Yeah, according to you,” Ash said. He brushed past me and walked from the room. I went into Misty’s room, and she was sitting up, waiting for me to come in.
“Bob, what is going on with Ash,” she asked me. I sadly looked her in the eyes, and sat down on the edge of her bed.
“Ash loves you,” I said, not knowing what to say or do next. “He may love you, but I love you a thousand times more than anybody ever could.” I leaned down and kissed her on the lips.
“Ash loves me,” Misty asked. “For how long?”
“Long before that fateful day when I met you,” I said, doing my best to look her in the eyes, though she was looking down at the ground.
“Ash never did know when to say anything,” she said scornfully. “I did love him, too. But not anymore. He had his chance. Now and forever, I love you.” We kissed again.
“Let’s go,” I suggested. She got up, and so did I. We walked out onto the cliff that we had experienced that battle on not too long ago. We sat down on the edge, and watched the ocean. There was a beautiful sunset there, and we just sat there, staring at it.
“Bob, I love you,” Misty said, leaning in to me. I looked at those ocean blue eyes of hers, and I started to lean in too.
“I love you, Misty,” I said. “I will never stop loving you. You are the sun in my sky. You are my reason for waking up in the morning. You are the only thing that matters to me. The only thing.” We kissed, and the both of us felt complete. When we were done, she leaned against my shoulder, and I looked up into the sky. The clouds were beautiful, mixing in the red and the pink and the orange of the sunset. I felt the wind breeze across us, and knew that we were not alone. There was a presence that I had felt ever since Delilah died. I had a feeling that it was her.
I wasn’t sure what was in Misty’s and my future, but I knew that we would face it together, as we had faced many things together. We sat there for a long time, in silence, not saying anything to each other. What we were doing was enough; just sitting there with one another. I couldn’t think of anything that I would like more than just being with Misty for the rest of my life.
I looked into her eyes, and she into mine. Our faces slowly went towards each other, getting closer to one another. Our lips touched gently, and I knew that she was my true love. I couldn’t explain it, but she was the one for me. I felt her hand slip into mine, and our fingers intertwined.
In the distance, as we kissed, the sun started to change. The sun was flaring out in different colors than normal. It started to glow teal and blue, as a sign that Misty and I were meant to be together. Forever.
- End of Chapter Ten -
- End of The Dragon Master III -