"There’s no way you can win…"
╔══════ B l a k e - T a y l o r ══════╗
Guardian of Mewtwo
Location: Just south of Hearthome City | Mood: Calm & Collected
• • •
Evening was approaching its emergence, as the orange sun began to set on the horizon. The sky itself was a cascade of colours- red, yellow, white... and so much more if one cared to look deeper into the ever-changing art of the sky. The warm air was comforting, and through the day it had been sunny and calm, meaning overall the setting was a pleasant one. Hearthome city was about to host a marvellous festival, no doubt this kind of weather as such was both fitting and appreciated. Stalls were set up all over the place, selling small merchandise to scrumptious foods. People from all over- Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, and even lands were many haven’t even heard of, all came to celebrate Pokémon, and how much they meant to them, as well as have a joyous occasion to add to previous happy memories.
However, due south of Hearthome, on Route 212, a battle was about to begin. The area was close enough to the city, you could see the lights reflected upon the darkening sky, and hear the loud bustling crowds exploring the area. The ground was dusty, and nearby there was a large jagged rock that was large enough to be considered a miniature-mountain, and jutted out the ground like a spike. The ground was dusty, and worn from so much travel having recently been done upon it, and natural dirt ‘path’ had been cut through because of this, with trails of fresh green grass either side.
“Fine... I agree to your terms. It’ll be fun battling you, anyway! Ready when you are!” a young boys voice chirped. It was a typical youngster character, really- at a guess, only aged around 13, perhaps fourteen. This trainer had a determined and youthful look in his eye, and wore a trendy pale blue T-shirt, Red shorts, a backwards baseball cap, and a pair of worn but still stylish sneakers. He certainly had a spring in his step, and look rather confident about the battle that was about to ensue. He gripped his first Pokéball, going into what could only be described as a battle stance.
The other figure, on the other hand, was almost a stark polar opposite. A tall boy, a few years older than his opponent for sure- seventeen, to be precise. Dressed in a trench coat with its sleeves seemingly cut off in an awkward yet fitting design, with matching trousers and surprisingly hardy looking jackboots, he seemed to be the kind which easily enough could blend into a crowd at a moments notice... fashion-wise, anyway. The clothing’s colour on the most part matched his hair colour- jet black. The hairstyle was short, but decent.
But some things weren’t very right about this person. Like the way he kept quiet... it was most unsettling for the young trainer, whom had agreed to battle him. The eerie quiet that surrounded this person almost made his skin crawl, as if he were going to attack him at any moment. And his eyes... they did not help ease this thought. The boys eyes were a shade of dark purple, as if they were made out of some hellishly dark amethyst gem. But not only that, but the stare he gave out with them- it was as cold as ice, yet burning. Burning with inner conflict... burning with hidden, pure, hate; ready to burst forth at any given moment. It was if he were looking into his very soul, and was disgusted by what he saw within it.
“Well... before we start, we’ve got to give introductions... its only polite!” the boy continued, finally breaking the silence so thick it could of been cut with a knife. He wanted to make his opponent speak, because at the moment he seemed more like an evil gargoyle, than a human being. “My name is John Tezaki... and you best remember it, because I’m going to be a Pokémon master!” he yelled, raising a fist in the air triumphantly, sporting a standard heroes pose.
The silent figure didn’t even break his gaze in the slightest. By any means, he obviously wasn’t impressed by this boy’s bravado. “I... am Blake Taylor.” He spoke calmly, slowly reaching into one of his trench coats pockets, and taking out a Pokéball. “You have agreed to my terms... lets begin. Single battle... one on one, no switching. Use your strongest Pokémon, or you won’t stand a chance.”
The boy named john nodded with a slight grimace. This guy... he didn’t know how to truly explain it, but he was intimidating somehow. But he was sure he could beat him... he had his friends on his side, right? Friendship trumps everything!
“Alright then, so be it! Go, Hitmochan!” John cried loudly, throwing the capsule which contained his strongest Pokémon onto the field of what would now be a battle. In a flash of white light, a brown humanoid figure appeared, with what seemed to be a pair of boxing gloves for fists. It was a Hitmochan, a fighting type Pokémon, and it appeared to be as excited about this battle as its trainer, with a fiery determination bursting forth from it relentlessly.
Blake lowered his head, which seemed to actually intensify the cold aura which surrounded him- if that were even possible. He used a Hitmochan? So be it... he could use Metagross, but that would be far too easy. No... Another one of his Pokémon needed a good ‘warm up’, anyway., so he would use that. This child was far too peppy... it annoyed him. He would teach him proper respect... the hard way.
“I choose... Aggron.” Blake spoke firmly, casually tossing the Pokéball in his hand onto the field. It clicked open, and in a familiar flash of white light a large creature was unleashed unto the fight. Aggron was a combination of Rock and Steel type, and matched his typing perfectly by being incredibly large- well over triple the size of an average grown man. His silvery grey armour shined in the evenings coloured light, and the “Iron Armour” Pokémon’s eyes radiated a great joy. But this joy was hardly innocent- it was a lust for battle, pure and simple. Aggron was without a doubt going to enjoy every second of this fight, no matter what.
John found himself literally taking a step back- this guy’s Aggron was massive! He flipped open his standard issue Pokédex, and within seconds a picture of Aggron was brought up on screen, as well as a complication of data to access. But... the size information- if it was accurate, then this Aggron was almost twice the size of a normal one! Was that even possible, or more so natural?! He had heard that sometimes Pokémon grow and excel themselves when exposed to love and care... but frankly, he seriously doubted that was this particular persons method.
Even though he was off put, he managed to force on a grin. It was a bit childish and cheesy, but the boy still radiated a playful confidence, even in the face of what some may call a titan. To john, this was Goliath, and he was David. He would win, no matter what.
“That’s a fine looking Pokémon you got there... Aggron, right? Well, you know what they say- the bigger they are, the harder they fall! Alright Hitmochan, let’s do this!”
Hitmochan seemed spurred on even more by his trainer’s enthusiasm and cliché but still heartfelt pep talk, and began beating its fists together eagerly, ready to begin. “Hitmo!” it cried shrilly.
Blake peered at it, and his trainer. This boy had big words, and a lot of courage... but there’s a fine, almost non-existent line between bravery, and foolishness. This boy seemed to of crossed it, unfortunately for him. “You make the first move.” Blake replied, crossing his arms and closing his eyes. This stance was natural to him... it allowed him to think better and clearer, as well as been more in tune with his surroundings. By blocking off the sense of sight, he was immune to intimidating looks and illusions- but he could still tell his opponents movements and actions through sound and intuition. However, the more important reason why he did it was less tactical- at least, on the outside. By doing this, he could silently taunt his opponent, causing them to slip up and make brash decisions he could take advantage of. And by the looks of it, John was falling for this psychological warfare pretty badly. The boy’s seemingly happy-go-lucky grin changed to a scowl, and he found himself shaking a fist at his somewhat rude opponent.
“Oi! We’re meant to be battling here, not napping!” he shouted angrily, a small vein popping up on his forehead. However, Blake didn’t move, nor speak. He just kept silent, in that same position- waiting. “Argh! Fine then... Hitmochan, use Mega punch!”
“Hitmo... “ the fighting Pokémon began to mutter, nodding at his masters order. Hitmochan sprang forward, seemingly leaping right in front of Aggron. But neither Blake, nor Aggron did anything. The trainer kept his eyes shut, whilst the giant Pokémon stood there, peering at his opponent curiously. Hitmochan spared no time to let them act anyway, and quickly prepped a punch. His fish began to shine a bright light yellow, as he got ready to launch a powerful mega punch right into Aggron’s steely gut.
“-Chan!”
The fist flew forward like a bullet, and smashed into Aggron’s stomach. The impact was strong enough to cause a slight ripple of air, which made the grass around quiver and dance, as if excited over the battle at hand. Aggron didn’t wince nor show any real signs of pain however, but was only knocked back around 2 inches. Being not only a steel and rock type, but weighing well over 800 pounds meant Aggron was a great absorber of damage, and was certainly a hard Pokémon to budge.
Hitmochan and his trainer cursed under their breath in unison, and stepped back out of intuition. But still, Blake gave no orders- but merely stood there, waiting for something. This infuriated John to absolutely no end.
“Damn it, battle! It’s nice you want to be the future Pokémon master’s punching bag, but it’d be even better if you actually did something, you know?” the young boy criticized, trying to come off as superior by using a somewhat phoney and put-on voice. “Hitmochan, use fire punch!”
Hitmochan nodded, and went forward yet again. His left fist erupted into a blaze of fury, and he swung that punch directly into Aggron’s side, with all the passion he could muster.
A Fire type attack... let’s see how Aggron copes. Blake thought curiously, wondering how a steel type would cope with being directly hit with an element it was weak to. Of course, being part rock type meant that Aggron could still soak up a rather large portion of it, but the critical injury would only be partially softened. Either way, this attack would be a test of Aggron’s defences, for sure.
Hitmochan landed a direct hit, and John grinned. Even if he could tell that Hitmochan had given it his all, and by the looks of Aggron’s face he was definitely feeling the attack, for sure.
Aggron was certainly feeling pain, as the large Pokémon’s face clenched up. The fire licked his armour, and stung badly. However... he was far from put off. After a couple of seconds, he was back to his sturdy form and self again, only now on his face was a contorted grin, as if mocking Hitmochan’s failure of an attack.
“Wh-What?! He’s still standing after that?! What gives!” John cried. Hitmochan felt a bead of cold sweat trickle down the side of his face. These attacks were wearing him out, and Aggron hadn’t done anything- literally.
“Prepare yourself... I’m about to attack.”
John stiffened up- what was this? His opponent was telling him... That he was about to attack? But... that was an idiots move! By telling him he was going to attack, then wouldn’t that give him the hindsight to dodge it and generally avoid his aggression in the first place? That strategy made no sense whatsoever.
“Unless...”
He was trying to make John paranoid. Yeah, that had to be it! If he made him overly cautious, then he’d go on the defensive... which means that Aggron was taking more damage than he letting on, and was close to falling! John chuckled, pleased with himself for not falling for his opponents mere mind games. Nothing would stop this Pokémon master! Nothing!
“Hitmochan, don’t take his bluff! Use Mach punch!” the young trainer cried out, pointing a finger directly at Aggron, signalling to attack.
“Hit!”
The noble fighting type went forward into battle once more, with agility far superior to previous attacks. Mach punch always went first, and was a very quick manoeuvre in general.
Blake opened his eyes just a little, and took in the sight of the opponent moving closer...
Fool.
“Aggron, raise your hands.”
Aggron obeyed, and with a low, thunderous growl lifted his arms and hands up. The Steel Pokémon’s right palm took the brunt of Hitmochan’s Mach punch, and in an angry outburst Hitmochan went on to punch Aggron’s other, right palm too. They were in a deadlock.
“Now... grip.”
“Agg...”
Aggron began tightening his grip around Hitmochan’s fists, completely capturing them within his hands. In short, Hitmochan wasn’t going to go anywhere. But not only was this a tight hold... but the force wouldn’t stop. Slowly but surely, Aggron was beginning to crush the bones in the enemy Pokémon’s hands, with a grip more powerful than any hydraulic yet invented- and what’s more, Aggron was enjoying it.
Hitmochan jolted into a cry of pain, but managed to suppress it shortly after, maintaining what dignity he could. John on the other hand was panicking, and wide-eyed in fear. This was a bad situation to be in, to say the least. “You...” he started, only to be interrupted by a quick reply that made his blood curdle in his very veins.
“Aggron, Hyper beam.”
The giant tyrant of a Pokémon chuckled darkly, mocking Hitmochan’s terrified face. The fighting type was struggling frantically to escape, but to no avail. And at this close proximity, this attack was going to devastating.
Aggron opened his jaws slowly, an orange light building up within his mouth. The beam charged, the light brightening the look of sheer satisfaction in Aggron’s eyes. John looked on in horror, whilst Blake showed no remorse- no pity, whatsoever. This was the way battles were, after all- brutal.
The attack was sudden. The power radiating from the blast was immense, like any other standard Hyper beam attack; and it completely engulfed Hitmochan, who had no chance of escape its wrath. After a few seconds, Hitmochan was no longer visible- only the stream of pure, untapped energy which made up the painful beam. Aggron released his grip, and soon after closed his jaws. The attack was over, and now it was time to see the results.
Hitmochan lay on the ground, lifeless and limp. Burns, cuts and singes covered its body- in short, it was in seriously critical condition, and furthermore would need treatment as soon as possible. John ran to his best friend’s side, dropping to his knees, feeling the stinging of his eyes as tears began to well up. He had never seen any Pokémon- let alone his friend, hurt this bad.
Blake pressed a button on his Pokéball, and returned Aggron without another word.
“I have won... as expected. Now, hand over the winnings.” He spoke clearly and coldly as he walked up to John, lording over him like some kind of shadowy tower or spire.
“But...” John started, staring at his Hitmochan’s condition in disbelief. “How...”
“You lost because your Pokémon was weak, and so are you. It is balance... order, that drives our world and all things within it. Including battling. In order to have the powerful, we must have the pathetic to even it out. You, are the latter.”
Blake’s deceptively wise words held no disrespect- but no comfort, or warmth, either. It was as if the sounds themselves were made of emotionless stone.
“You agreed to the terms of the battle. Hand over all your money as promised, and do it quickly. I will not let you leave here until you do so, and if your Hitmochan does not get treatment soon he will surely die.”
John slammed a fist into the ground. He hated this b*****d... but he was right. And he had a feeling he wasn’t bluffing about not letting him go, either- he knew this ‘Blake’s’ type. He was heartless- Hitmochan’s pain... his death, would not weigh heavily on his conscience in the slightest.
“Fine... here! Take it and leave. I hope it brings you the foulest of luck, anyway" he scowled, tossing Blake a small brown bag, full of odd varying coins and notes, which he caught with a free hand. Blake quickly put the money in the front section of his backpack, and with that turned to leave, headed into the precisely north direction of Hearthome city square.
Now with this funding, he could pay for a hotel room for the next few days. He would rest here, and search the festival setting for battles. It was strange... he always hated crowded places with a passion- he truly did. But for some reason, he found himself drawn to this place. However, he put it down to curiosity for items and powerful trainers to test himself against. What else could there be, after all?
• • • 
"...So why are you even trying?"
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