Pokemon Ascendance: Origins of Holon

38

"Alright, everything is ready so all you have to do is hop on and go to the Totem Pokemon," Sophocles said. Elsie nodded to the trial captain, before turning her attention back to the mechanical Vikavolt, which looked like it was going to take off at any moment. She took a deep breath before stepping onto the flying machine. The moment she was on, the ceiling began to open and as if on cue, the mechanical Vikavolt began floating upward.

'I guess this is going to be a sky battle of some sort. If that's the case then I don't see how the Totem Pokemon will be anything other than Vikavolt.'

As if confirming her prediction, a loud buzzing noise could be heard from where she was. Elsie looked up just in time to see a large Vikavolt flying towards them.

"So I was right. Rotom, what do you know about Vikavolt?"

"Vikavolt, the Stag Beetle Pokemon. An electric and bug type. Vikavolt is like a fortress that zooms through the forest, firing a beam of electricity from its mouth. Its huge jaws control the electricity it blasts out. Vikavolt is adept at acrobatic flying maneuvers like tailspin and sharp turns. It can fly at high speeds even as it weaves its way through the complicated tangle of branches in the forest."

Elsie nodded in thanks before she found herself narrowly dodging a Thunderbolt fired from the Totem Vikavolt.

'Okay... flying type moves are out because this is an electric type and there's no possible way to use ground type moves from all the way up here so looks like I'll be taking advantage of the other bug weaknesses.' she thought as she pulled out Lucien's pokeball.

"Lucien, I'm counting on you for this."

The Arcanine appeared on a platform next to Elsie, embers already sparking in his mouth.

"Alright, the moment the Vikavolt is within reach, hit it with a Flamethrower," Elsie instructed.

Lucien nodded, readying his stance. Upon seeing the Arcanine, the Vikavolt flew upwards.

'Looks like it's either trying to flee or make sure that Lucien's fire can reach it. If that's the case then...'

She chased after it, using the controls of the mechanical Vikavolt, making sure she didn't lose sight of her target.

"Lucien, when you're ready use Flamethrower, but aim it right above the Totem Pokemon," Elsie said to her pokemon.

The Arcanine nodded. The moment the opportunity showed itself, he used Flamethrower. The Totem Vikavolt flew upwards in an attempt to avoid it but due to where Lucien aimed, it took a direct hit on its wings.

'Figured it would try to fly up again to avoid attacks.'

The Totem Pokemon wobbled in mid-air for a few seconds, as if it was trying to regain its balance.

"With that burn on its wings, Vikavolt won't be able to maneuver as fast as it would like to so I'm sure we can end this right now."

She placed the Firium Z onto her ring and it began glowing brightly.

"Lucien, use Inferno Overdrive!"

Lucien howled as a giant ball of fire began forming above them. With a flick of his head, Lucien sent the Inferno Overdrive straight toward the burned Totem Pokemon. Like last time, Vikavolt attempted to fly out of the way but at this point, it was too late. Once the final attack landed and the smoke cleared, the Totem Pokemon barely had enough energy to remain airborne. The Vikavolt nodded its head as if it was acknowledging Elsie's strength before fleeing.

The moment the Vikavolt flew off, Elsie heard Sophocles' voice coming from somewhere on the machine she was riding.

"Looks like you beat Totem Vikavolt. Come on down and you can be on your way to your next trial."

"Alright then. I'll see you in a few-" Elsie cut herself off when she felt the mechanical Vikavolt rattle unexpectantly, making sounds similar to when a car is out of gas. "U-Uh..."

"W-What's wrong!?"

"I think the machine is starting to lose power. The Charjabug must be exhausted."

"T-Then you gotta hurry and land. Before you end up falling from up there!"

Elsie quickly nodded and returned Lucien to his pokeball before making her way down to the Observatory. But it wasn't long until the machine started rattling again. Suddenly the lights turned off.

'Uh oh.'

For a split second Elsie began to panic, knowing that she, the Charjabug, and the mechanical Vikavolt were now falling from the sky, but she quickly remembered a handful of her team.

"Ico, use Leafage to slow down the machine! Prism and Sapphire, you two get the Charjabug out and get them to safety!"

The moment her three flying pokemon were out, Elsie held on, bracing herself for a rough landing. Feeling the speed of the fall slow down told her that Ico's Leafage was indeed helping. The fleeting figures of her other two pokemon had put her a little at ease, especially upon seeing the little Charjabug on them.

'All I gotta do is hold on for a bit longer...'

Elsie squeezed her eyes shut, preparing for the rough landing. She only dared to open her eyes when she heard a familiar cry.

"Blu!"

"Sapphire?"

Elsie opened one eye just to see a streak of blue light shooting toward her. It was quickly growing in size. But no doubt Sapphire's cry came from that blue light.

'Could it be?'

The light came behind her and Elsie felt something grab a hold of her hoodie, lifting her away from the metal Vikavolt. Looking over her shoulder, Elsie saw that it was an Altaria that was carrying her.

"S-Sapphire?"

"Taria." The dragon and flying type seemed to have smiled before bringing her trainer to the solid ground of the Observatory. Moments later, the metal Vikavolt landed as well, but with a few dents and scratches. Ico joined Elsie at her side trying to catch his breath.

"I-Is everyone alright!?" Sophocles asked, rushing over to the group.

"Yeah. A little shaken up but otherwise, we're fine." Elsie said. "Guess the mechanical Vikavolt takes up a bit more energy from the Charjabug."

"Y-Yeah. I-I thought for sure this time nothing was gonna go wrong but it ended up being worse than before."

Elsie then stood up and faced the captain with a reassuring smile. "Hey, the air battle was a pretty good idea. All you have to do is tweak the machine to where it's taking less energy to fly. And if you want, maybe one day I can come back and test out your trial again."

Sophocles looked at her with wide eyes. "R-really? You'd do that."

Elsie nodded. "If I can become a pokemon trainer then you can make a trial you can be proud of."