Pokémon Heroes of Johto

The Golden Days

"Go, Umbre!!" I commanded, releasing my chosen partner. Umbre growled determinedly, staring Gold down as he awaited the arrival of his opponent.
"Let's go, Dodri!!" Gold called as he released his Dodrio. Gold and I, along with our Pokémon, came to the middle of the field. The crowds murmured in confusion as they watched the monitors.
"Best of luck, Gold. This'll be our first battle against each other." I stated softly, a hint of a smile on my face.
"Yeah.... may the best trainer win!" Gold exclaimed with a grin as he took my outstretched hand to shake. We took our respective sides on the battlefield, and the crowd cheered us on for good sportsmanship. That's what it was to them anyways. To us, it was just two friends, wishing each other luck on an upcoming challenge. Nothing more, nothing less.
"Ready, Umbre?" I asked my Umbreon as it got into a stance. He nodded at me, a serious look in his eyes. "Okay, Dark Pulse!!" I commanded loudly. Umbre pushed forward in a matter of seconds, launching a beam of purplish black aura at Dodri. Dodri avoided the attack, sprinting towards Umbre with just as much speed.
"Dodri, use Drill Peck!!" Gold commanded. Dodri's beaks seem to spin rapidly as it tried to jab Umbre with them. Umbre dodged each attack gracefully, staring into Dodri's six eyes to see which of the three heads would attack next. I could feel Umbre and I getting into sync as I began to see through his eyes.
"Psychic, go!!" I commanded with a swish of my arm for emphasis. Umbre planted his paws on the ground firmly, his eyes flashing a sky blue as a psychic wave shot out at Dodri. Dodri recoiled, shivering in pain.
"Hang in there, Dodri!! Use Tri Attack!!" Gold ordered. Unlike Drill Peck, Tri Attack is three attacks all at once, so Umbre couldn't predict a direction and was hit by the fire, ice, and electrical attack.
"Umbre!! You're alright, don't worry! Shadow Ball, go!!" I ordered. Umbre shook off the pain, launching a ball of shadowy aura. It missed.
Just as planned.
"Come on Fire, you know that Ghost type moves don't affect Dodri! You're supposed to give me your best! Like this, Dodri, Fury Attack!" Gold commanded. I smirked, he didn't see past the attack. Foolish boy, why else would I intentionally miss if I didn't have a-
"Last Resort!!" just as Dodri's Fury Attack was about to make contact, a flash of blinding light engulfed it, blasting it away as the yellow rings on Umbre's body irradiated the flash of white. The referee called that Dodrio was no longer able to battle. One down, two to go.
Gold returned Dodri, smiling nervously at me as he plucked out another Pokéball.
"Go, Rodri!!" Gold called, releasing... a Nidorino? When had he caught that Pokémon?
"Umbre, think you can go on?" I asked, earning a determined nod. "Okay then, Shadow Ball!!" I ordered. The attack landed, but Nidorino stood his ground, taking the damage no matter how much it hurt.
"Rodri, Double Kick!!" Gold ordered. Rodri sprinted forward, leaping into the air and landing to powerful kicks into Umbre's side. Umbre's eyes widened in pain as he was thrown back into a wall at blinding speed. Once again, the referee called that Umbreon was down and out.
I returned him silently, a sad smile on my face. The look changed to one of determination as I turned back to Gold. He wanted to play rough? Then let's play!
"Rina, let's go!!" I called, releasing my Nidorina.
"Wow, folks!! This is a once in a life time opportunity! Nidorina versus Nidorino!! The battle of genders commences!!" the announcer cheered.
"Rodri, Poison Sting!!" Gold commanded.
"Rina, Sludge Bomb!!" I ordered. The two poison attacks canceled each other out, leaving Rina and Rodri in a stare down.
"Double Kick!!" Gold and I called in unison. Once again, the attacks canceled each other out as their back legs clashed together. Rodri jumped over Rina, gazing back at her sharply. Rina and I smirked, an idea connecting in our hearts.
"Rina, Crunch, go!!" I called out. Rina and I moved in almost complete sync, lunging forward together. Rina chomped down hard on Rodri's neck while it was still in the air, doing a mid air flip and slamming him into the field for extra damage.
"Rodri, get up, quick!! Use Horn Attack!!" Rodri jabbed the horn on its muzzle at Rina's belly, throwing her up in the air.
"Rina, Dig!!" I ordered. Rina flipped around so she wouldn't land on her back, and instead dug into the ground swiftly. She came out from underneath Rodri, the super effective move throwing him up. Nidorino was unable to battle now.
Rina bounded happily to my side, high-fiving me with her front paw. I thought it was really great how strong she had become, even though she was one of the last Pokémon I ever caught, she was really tough. Rina had grown pretty strong in a short amount of time, thanks to all her hard work. We turned to face Gold as he pulled out another Pokéball. I knew who it would be. I've been waiting for this day. I stood tall, motioning Rina back to the battlefield.
"Maggie, it's all on you now!!" Gold called out. Meganium. I knew he'd choose her. I still remember when we started off.... little Chikorita.... and Cyndaquil too. Now they were fully evolved into Meganium and Typhlosion. And now, it was finally time for me to battle the perfect pare of Gold and Meganium.
"Rina, let's keep it going, okay? Crunch, go!!" I commanded. Rina nodded, shooting forward with her jaw gaped. I could see the determination in those twin pares of golden eyes that Meganium and Gold shared. I felt my heart race in my chest as anticipation built up.
"Not so fast, Fire!! Maggie, stop it with Grass Knot!" Gold called. Just as Rina gained in, a literal Grass Knot tripped her, causing her to fall on he face. Gold laughed victoriously, causing me to wonder when he had gotten so competitive. I guess the Pokémon League just does that to you, huh? Rina shakily pushed herself up, glaring at Maggie as she did so. Maggie began to close in on Rina. I chuckled
Bad mistake.
"Rina, Sludge Bomb!!" I ordered. Maggie didn't have time to dodge, and was consumed by the poison attack. Gold's eyes widened as he gasped in surprise. I mentally cheered as I stared on proudly. But the battle wasn't over yet.
"Maggie!! Hang in there, Maggie!! Sunny Day!!" Gold ordered. Meganium's antennas began to glow, and all of a sudden, the sun's rays beamed down on the battlefield.
Sunny Day... a move that intensifies the sun's rays and makes a certain two-turn move hit in one. And I had a feeling that Maggie just happened to know that move.
"Rina, quick!! Jump back and use Dig!!" I called out.
"Solar Beam, Maggie!!" Gold ordered just as Rina jumped back. The beam of light hit Rina directly, knocking her into a wall. I didn't need a referee to tell me she couldn't battle, though he did it anyway.
Thanks ref...
I rushed to Rina's side, holding the small blue Pokémon in my arms as she slowly regained consciousness. I smiled softly at her as her ruby red eyes stared into my own. I could see that Rina thought she had failed me. Rina had always been an over achiever, so I understood why she thought that.
"That was great, Rina. Don't worry, we're gonna win this!" I assured her. Rina nodded slowly, still experiencing the pains of battle. I returned her to her Pokéball, as the crowds began to cheer and clap. They were cheering.... for us? I smiled shyly up at them, realizing all the monitors were on me. I smirked, plucking my last Pokéball off my belt. The strategy Gold used.... using Sunny Day to quicken the pase of Solar Beam was clever. But there was one thing Gold didn't account for. My next Pokémon!
"Typhlo, let's do it!!" I cried out. Typhlosion appeared from his Pokéball, his red eyes flashing open as he glared at Meganium. Typhlo roared out, igniting the flame on its neck as it did so. We closed our eyes softly, taking in the warmth of the sun. I flashed Gold a smirk, earning a look of shock and confusion in return. "Typhlo, Flamethrower, go!!" I commanded.
Within seconds, Maggie was engulfed in Typhlo's flames. The attack was far more powerful than usual.
"What the?! how did that Flamethrower get so.... so strong?!" Gold asked in shock.
"You see, Gold, you used Sunny Day to amplify Maggie's Solar Beam, but you forgot about one crucial detail. Sunny Day boosts the power of fire type moves. That gives us the strategic advantage!! Flamethrower, one more time!!" I called.
"Counter with Hyper Beam!!" Gold cried out. I had to admit, I was a little thrown off. I had no idea Meganium could learn Hyper Beam. The two powerful attacks clashed, causing a huge explosion. I had to shield my eyes and nose with my arms and turn away so I wouldn't breath in debris. When it finally cleared up, Maggie and Typhlo were quite aways apart from where they had last been standing. As they stood there panting and staring at each other, I could see there were bruises all over their bodies. The explosion probably caused a lot of damage. From all I've learned about Pokémon battles on my journey, I knew that the next attack would probably end the match. But Maggie just used Hyper Beam, so it couldn't move for a while.
"This is it, Typhlo. I want you to poor your heart into this last attack! Full power, Earthquake!!" I cried out. Typhlo threw his head back and let out a loud cry that echoed through the whole stadium. He lifted his right paw high. Suddenly, he bent forward, slamming his paw into the ground so hard, if he were human, it would've broke his wrist. The battlefield began to shake, and in a few seconds, huge chunks of the earth knocked into Maggie mercilessly.
"Maggie!!" Gold called as the dust and debris cleared, the referee calling out my victory.
Gold ran to Maggie's side, sitting the large green Pokémon up a bit. "You okay, Maggie?" Gold asked gently. Maggie gave a short nod, but looked down in disappointment. "It's okay, Maggie, you were great. Besides.... we made it in as one of the final four. That's good enough for me." Gold comforted softly.
He hadn't noticed Typhlo and I standing over him for a while. When he did, I smiled softly, reaching out a hand to pull him up. Gold smiled shyly, taking my offered hand. Typhlo helped Maggie up at the same time, and as they finally got to their feet, the crowds began to cheer. There was clapping and whistling as we stared up at them. I glanced at Gold from the corner of my eye as we continued to hold hands and wave up at the crowd. I could see the joy and relief in his golden eyes. I smiled softly as I began to reminisce.
Gold and I have been together from the very beginning of our journey. We knew each other like the back of our own hands. We shared the strong bond of a brother and sister. The bond I shared with my real brother..... Red. I didn't understand at first, why I looked into Gold's eyes and I saw him.... I saw Red. Now I do. It's because Gold and I share the same bond I share with Red. It's as if Red is..... watching over me through Gold somehow.
I stared up at the crowds one last time as I contemplated this.
My journey seemed to be coming to a close when I first arrived at Indigo Plateau, but now I realize....

This is only the beginning.