Episode #23: The Final Battle! (Part 1)

Shaymin’s flower had been the cause of many legends, one of which revolved around the mysterious power of the Gracidea flower. Mr. Muto wanted to achieve that power so he could exact his revenge on Rain and Jessica, who both ruined his life forever. Shaymin was knocked out as numerous guards took her to a mysterious machine in a dark room. The machine in question was a platform with laser beams to absorb the power of her Gracidea, making her weak and useless. That is to say…unable to turn into her Sky Forme.

“Mr. Muto,” one of the guards said. “The machine is set and we’re prepared to get things going.”

Shinsei smiled as he went over to Shaymin, who just looked at him in fear.

“Your power will be mine,” Shinsei said. “Mark my words! Start the machine up!”

The guards nodded as they prepared to jump-start the machine. Shaymin couldn’t move and had nowhere to go. The lasers began to zap her as she screamed in pain. Mr. Muto smiled maniacally as he watched Shaymin suffer greatly.

Back in the main arena, Rain and his Pokémon were having a discussion with his Pokemon in the back of the stands in an open area where they could go in and out easily. He was prepared to give them a pep talk and make them feel ready for what would appear to be their last battle for a while.

“All right,” Rain said, “our battle is about to begin. As you know, Shinsei Muto has a mission to capture Shaymin and use her power. If this tournament ends up with us being victorious, we must do what we can to make sure his plan stops immediately. Not to mention that Kent won’t postpone our match because of what he’s doing. In fact, even though he saved Shaymin, I doubt he has any idea of the severity of the situation. Are we clear?”

They all responded in their usual Pokémon language as they all prepared to go at it.

“Alright, lets get out there and kick some butt!”

They all cheered in response. Kent was waiting on the main arena for his opponent to show up. Two minutes remained until the battle began, but he wasn’t going to let him win via disqualification. Rain immediately came forward with his whole team back in their Poké Balls.

“I hope you’re ready, Kent!” Rain said.

Kent just glared at him as they prepared to battle. Mr. Muto was nowhere to be found, however. They soon heard a cracking sound of a megaphone nearby. The arena was apparently strewn with megaphones in various places for actual shows here.

“Attention battlers,” Mr. Muto said. “Due to personal reasons, I cannot attend to judge this match.”

Rain gasped in shock, knowing exactly what was going on.

“You two must battle on your own, and I expect the best…from both of you!”

Rain was treading on thin ice at this point. He attempted to run off the stage, but Kent immediately stopped him.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Kent asked.

“Shinsei has Shaymin captive and they're draining her power!” Rain replied in a worried tone. “We have to help her!”

“And let him get suspicious?”

Rain knew he had a point there. Leaving to go after Shinsei would make him realize that he's going to go after him, but what would he do about Shaymin then?

“Jessica,” Rain said. “Go find Shinsei and stop him!”

Jessica was worried about encountering him again, but she knew that she no longer has a reason to fear him. She nodded as she ran off in response. Kent just smiled, knowing that he made a much smarter choice.

“I hope you're ready!” Kent said.

The two took out their first Poké Balls as they prepared to get to work. Rain decided to send out first, and he knew exactly who to choose.

“Go, Weavile!” Rain said

Rain sent his Weavile out to battle, leaving Rain to give out a big smile.

“He's grown to be my strongest so far!” Rain said.

Kent wasn’t bothered by that. In fact, he knew he could take care of him.

“Are you mad that I abandoned you?" Rain thought, reminiscing about when they first met. "Well, I wanted to see if you were willing to come back to me. I needed to gain your trust, and the fact that you risked your life trying to find me was proof enough that you wanted me as your Trainer."

Sneasel's eyes opened once more as he realized the truth in his words. Rain gave him his hand to shake, but Sneasel swiped at it. Rain cringed, until he realized that Sneasel was merely shaking it instead. Sneasel laughed while Rain laughed with him.

"Welcome to the team, buddy!" Rain said.

“Let's show them how a real team works!” Rain said.

“Wea, weavile!” Weavile responded.

“Go, Lucario!” Kent said.

Kent sent out his Lucario as they both prepared to battle. Without anyone to tell them to begin, they began on their own, or at least, Kent did first.

“Lucario, use Aura Sphere!” Kent ordered.

“Dodge it!” Rain said.

Lucario fired an Aura Sphere that Weavile managed to dodge with ease. He rushed towards Lucario as he prepared to strike.

“Metal Claw!” Rain ordered.

Weavile struck Lucario with a Metal Claw, dealing a lot of damage to Lucario.

“Force Palm!” Kent ordered.

Lucario placed his palm on Weavile's belly and unleashed a powerful force that struck Weavile back and onto the ground.

“We're not going to lose that easily!” Rain said. “Beat Up!”

Weavile powered up a dark ball in his hand and charged after Lucario.

“Force Palm once more!” Kent ordered.

The two Pokémon's attacks hit each other and knocked each other back. Both attacks were equally as powerful as each other's and made them weaker than they were before.

“Weavile, use Ice Beam!” Rain ordered.

Weavile fired an Ice Beam that struck Lucario around the stomach, freezing him so that his arms are sticking out.

“Dark Pulse!” Rain ordered.

Weavile fired a Dark Pulse attack that shot towards Lucario and hit  him in the stomach. He fell to the ground, unable to battle. Kent was amazed that Lucario was knocked out so easily, but Rain knew he was stronger.

“You're not going to celebrate too early, are you?” Kent asked.

“Not me,” Rain replied.

“Very well. Go, Arbok!”

He sent his Arbok out to deal with Weavile. He was a large cobra-like Pokémon with a face-like pattern on his large hood. He stuck his tongue out like the snake that he was and made Weavile smile.

“Let's go, Weavile!” Rain said. “Dark Pulse!”

Weavile fired a Dark Pulse as it shot towards Arbok. Kent smiled as he prepared to get to work.

“Dodge and use Fire Fang!” Kent ordered.

Arbok easily dodged as he slithered towards Weavile with his fangs flaring with fire. He bit down on Weavile and burned him easily. He screamed in pain as he tried to get him off.

“Iron Tail!” Kent ordered.

Arbok swung his tail around and struck him with an Iron Tail, letting go as he sent him across. As soon as he stopped, Weavile was immediately unable to battle. Rain called him back as he prepared to send out his next Pokémon.

“Go, Gallade!” Rain said.

Gallade immediately came out as he assumed his battling position.

“Let's show them how to fight, Gallade!” Rain said.

“Gal!” he replied.

Rain remembered how he caught him as well. Since then, these two had been a force to be reckoned with.

"Hey there, little guy," Rain said, still far enough from it. "Mind if I take a look?"

Ralts could always sense who was bad enough to lie and who was good enough to tell the truth, and Rain was obviously telling the truth. He nodded in response as Rain went even closer to it, looking at all the flowers piled up on here.

"You lost someone here, didn't you?" Rain asked. Ralts nodded in response. "I heard of this incident from my friend, Donovan. The thought of humans destroying an innocent habitat. It’s just so…”

Ralts was about to cry at his sudden anger, but Rain saw this and tried to hold off his anger.

"I'm sorry, Ralts," Rain said. "It was just so tragic...I know you hate anger, I understand that. I just wish they'd stop all of this...do you have any family?"

Ralts pointed to the flowerbed, telling him that whoever was resting under there was his family.

"I see," Rain said.

He felt so sorry for the little Ralts, losing his family and being chased by some "hunter." He wanted to at least get someone to care for him.

"Hey, Ralts," Rain asked. "Want to come with me?"

Ralts looked up at him and wondered what he meant by that.

"You must be lonely without any family to take care of you. Trust me, I have such good friends by my side. Do you want to, Ralts?"

“And I'm so glad he did,” Rain thought. “Gallade, use Psycho Cut!”

Gallade fired a Psycho Cut attack that hit Arbok hard, dealing a lot of damage. Kent growled in anger as he prepared to strike back.

“Arbok, Gunk Shot!” Kent ordered.

Arbok shook the gunk in his mouth and hacked it at Gallade, striking him hard as he tried to shake off the gross attack.

“Iron Tail!” Kent ordered.

Arbok slithered towards him and prepared to strike with an Iron Tail attack, but Gallade jumped back and prepared to strike again.

“Psycho Cut once more!”

Gallade fired a Psycho Cut attack that hit Arbok hard once again, knocking him out almost immediately. Kent was amazed at how strong Rain truly was.

“I'm not afraid of you!” Rain said.

“You think you're so great, huh?!” Kent asked. “Well you're not! You're just a kid, end of story!”

“We'll see about that.”

“Fine! Go, Meganium!”

He sent his Meganium out, leaving Rain a little surprised, since he recently battled one under Roy's command.

“I, too, have a strong Meganium under my wing,” Kent said, “and I'm sure you'll have trouble with her!”

“Well let's get on with it!” Rain said. “Gallade, use Psycho Cut!”

“Meganium, use Protect!” Kent ordered.

Meganium used a Protect Shield to block the Psycho Cut attack. Rain wasn't going to let her get away with evading an attack.

“Teleport!” Rain ordered.

Gallade used a Teleport attack that made him jump from one area to another, making Meganium look around with her long neck.

“Sunny Day!” Kent ordered.

Meganium used a Sunny Day attack to launch a red sphere in the sky to unleash intense brightness on the battlefield. Rain covered himself, but Kent wasn't phased.

“With Sunny Day comes...” Rain said to himself, knowing what will come next. “I won’t let you! Close Combat!”

Gallade fired numerous punches that hit Meganium hard as she stood her ground. She was trained to take these hits, which made Kent smile.

“SolarBeam!” Kent ordered.

“Teleport!” Rain ordered.

Meganium fired the beam, being much quicker than Gallade's teleport. He knocked him towards the stands as he just lay there, unable to battle. Rain recalled him as he prepared to figure out another way to beat Kent's Meganium.

“Let's try this,” Rain said. “Go, Drapion!”

Rain sent his Drapion out as he clicked his claws quickly, preparing to battle.

“I had almost forgotten how feisty you were back then,” Rain thought.

They suddenly heard someone calling for them in a Pokémon-like language. Rain and the others all turned to see a familiar Pokémon running towards them.

"Wait," Rain said. "Skorupi?!"

Skorupi charged after them and dive bombed into Rain, knocking him down and accidentally knocking an empty Poké Ball from his belt. Skorupi poked it as the ball engulfed him inside. Everyone was surprised that Skorupi was willing to go inside the ball, just as it pinged to confirm the capture. Rain picked it up and looked at it in confusion.

"I guess I got myself a Skorupi!" Rain said.

"Well, you were overdue for a capture," Manny said.

"Good work," Jessica added.

"He'll be a fine member," Donovan added as well.

“You always came out of your ball to attack me,” Rain thought. “Not only did you mature since then when you evolved, but you've become a strong asset to my team!”

“You won't be able to stop me!” Kent said. “Meganium, use SolarBeam!”

Meganium fired another SolarBeam that struck Drapion, but due to typing, it had little effect.

“Use Cross Poison!” Rain ordered.

Drapion charged forward and hit Meganium with a Cross Poison attack. Kent was amazed at how good he had become. Nothing would phase him now.

“I will not let you beat me!” Kent said. “You hear me!”

“We'll see about that, Kent!”

This battle was already heating up and neither trainer was giving up. They were both on equal level, but it would be his great memories of how his Pokémon got him here that will make him prevail, but could he actually win?


To Be Continued!