Bab 53: Red Sun
He entered the room and heard the roar of thunder and the sizzle of a powerful rainstorm. He was confused by the scenery since he witnessed this earlier but instead of the vast ocean, they were in a room. He looked around until he heard a feminine voice on the other side of the blinding rain.
"So you must be the second challenger, then?" the feminine voice asked Yoake. The rain slowly clears after hearing the feminine voice, revealing the arena to the trainer. The arena is just your typical Pokemon battle arena, just a court-like area where two Pokemon will fight. He looked at the distance and saw the specialist on the other side.
She was a redhead with messy short hair. Wearing a fine black tux showing a bleeding red vest and a purely white long sleeve that stretches over her cuffs, and a black necktie. Her arms were covered in black gloves while her skirt reached up to her knees which was continued by her black leggings and finally, black high heels.Yoake looked at her and saw some resemblance to Maxie, but she has a darker skin while having darker lips, she was Maxie's daughter.
"I assume you're the specialist that I'll challenge, huh?" Yoake asked her.
"Indeed. My name is Amber. an MP of the Hoenn parliament. I'm a part-time specialist at the gym since I've been more focused on politics for the past few years." She said as she walked around pacing from left to right. She has a combination of Galarian and Hoenn accent, it's as if she's been in those two countries for a very long time, being in both to the point where she combined her two accents into one.
"And you are Mister Yoake Katsuragi, son of Trevor Katsuragi. It is quite the honor to meet a Katsuragi." She said as she stopped and bowed her head for a moment as a sign of respect. Yoake was confused by this as he has never been bowed down before and the fact that she knows his father is, he was getting suspicious.
"You know my father?" He asked her as he demanded an answer.
"Very. He's a close friend of mine. A smart yet problematic trainer if you asked my opinion about him. Without him, I wouldn't be able to enter the parliament. That's why I kept a keen regard on the Katsuragi household. I am in debt with your finest gratitudes." She explained to the curious trainer.
"However, for our battle, I'll be setting aside those regards and I'll treat you like any challenger I ever faced." Amber said in a confident smile as she prepared to take out a Pokeball.
"So my father is into politics, huh?" Yoake snickered as he prepared for the upcoming battle between them.
"He always has. But you'll learn more about it when you get older. I always keep out politics in my fights, even if I am the political structure myself." She continued.
"Ahh Politics. A lovecraftian horror that is far but not as horrifying as war." He said as he described politics. He takes out a Pokeball, realizing that she might be using the storm earlier, he'll be using Urshifu to take advantage of this bizarre scenery of the battle arena.
"Shall we?" She provoked the trainer into the battle by revealing that she only has 4 Pokeballs under her belt.
Yoake took a deep breath as he calmed himself. He was having troubles throughout the entire day, from Leaf near death experience, to capturing Zapdos to having fun with Ren to this, a battle that will award him the Magma badge. He remembers Leaf's teachings, finding one's serenity is the key in opening a troubling door. He closed his eyes as he remembered the girl he met many years ago. Her smile, that damn smile, is a burning fuel for him to continue on in life. He opened his eyes and looked at his scarf, touching it as he remembered the warmth he embraced many years ago.
"Let's go." He draws in the battle between them as the two trainers on different sides shout in synchrony.
"BATTLE, SET! POKEMON, GO!"
"Urshifu, let's go!"
"Turtonator, show your true strength!"
The two throw their Pokemon onto the arena, Urshifu prepares its stance as it looks at this bizarre Pokemon. Both Yoake and Urshifu have never seen this Pokemon before, a dragon-like Pokemon with spikes on its shield and its head but there is one thing he knows, this is a fire-type Pokemon. He wanted to know more about this Pokemon but since he's here for the battle not to discover, he shook his curiosity off and began to think of some strategies as he observes this Pokemon's fighting style.
Amber smirked as she flick of her fingers, the powerful rain reemerges. Blinding and deafening the arena with its cold blue sky and thundering noise. Like earlier, he was confused by the scenery of the battle field, thinking that Amber would just be an easy opponent, he didn't think much about her tactics.
"Urshifu, Surging Strike!"
"Turtonator, Iron Defense."
The Wushu Pokemon charged towards the Blast Turtle Pokemon with its arms reading to give critical blows. Urshifu tries to concentrate its full strength but the distracting rain interrupts that concentration as Turtantor's stood firm while receiving deadly swings. It took him two swings yet none of them were critical hits and Turtanor shrugged it off like it was nothing.
'High Defense huh.' Yoake realized that he's dealing with a Pokemon that can withstand strong deadly physical blows, so he decided that'll be using King instead.
"Urshifu, return! King, you'll take care of this." He said as he withdrew Urshifu back to its Pokeball and threw in King the Nidoking. He trained King to be a special attacker as an alternative for Urshifu's physical attacks.
"Turtonator, use Dragon Pulse."
As soon as King entered the arena, he felt the raging storm distracting him from any form of defense as he saw Turtanator throw a purple shining orb at him with a raging fury. He tried to dodge it but with the mud from the ground, he was stuck. He was hit by the overwhelming power from the Dragon Pulse.
"Are you alright?" Yoake asked King with full concern. He shook his head as he tried to ignore the pain he just felt, looked at his trainer and smiled, assuring him that he was fine.
"Alright then. Retaliate with Earth Power. "
"Turtonator, strike him down with Dragon Pulse."
King lifts its knee as it prepares for a powerful stomp that will shatter the ground. It took some time as the Turtonator formed another purple orb. King finally releases his knee and stomps the ground with full force. The tremor from the ground combined with the roaring thunder of the blinding rain, the sound it created felt like a lovecraftian titan's scream as if something horrifying was about to appear.
Turtonator felt the ground below him slowly getting lowered as he saw the cracks on his foot getting bigger and bigger. A hole was formed from those cracks and it was getting bigger at an alarming rate, Turtonator tried to jump out from it but like what King felt earlier, the ground was grabbing his feet, never letting him go as he was slowly getting eaten by the hole.
He fainted as soon as he fell to the hole. Yoake smirked as he defeated Amber's first out of four Pokemon with ease. Amber withdraws Turtantor as she prepares her second Pokemon. She realized that Yoake might know her strategies but instead of pointing it out and acknowledging it, she decided to tease him with her strategies.
"Impressive. Usually trainers who can't easily identify what Pokemon have a stronger defense to their special defense often have a long time dealing with my Turtonor but it seems you quickly found out." She was impressed by the traner's sudden change of Pokemon but she sees this as nothing more than a game for him.
"But by Katsuragi standards, you should've seen the bigger picture." She teased him as she intensed the rain as she continued the battle. She understands the Katsuragi style of fighting as she battled Trevor very often. She then threw her next Pokemon and to Yoake's surprise, it was a Rotom Heat.
King looked at the floating Pokemon with awe. Realizing that King has no chance of battling Rotom and adding the fact it's an electric-type, he's worried about Urshifu. Realizing that he was trapped by Rotom's typing, he looked at Claudine and gave her the nod.
"King, you did a great job. I'll let Claudine handle this." He said as he brought King back to his Pokeball and allowed Claudine to take his place instead.
"Using Battle Bond as plan B, hm?" Amber smirked after seeing the trainer fall into her trap.
"I always have something under my sleeves." Yoake tried to taunt as a means to hide his true intentions. He knows that Battle Bond is his only trump card, he may have trained Urshifu and King but with the current situation, he has to use it.
"Arrogance. It runs in the Katsuragi family… Rotom use Volt switch."
She was relieved that his father's trait is passed down to him but there is one thing that was odd to her. The girl earlier has the same arrogance when battling and she was starting to think that she may have been related to Yoake or it's just a coincidence. With her command, Rotom Heat quickly formed an electric ball and threw it to Claudine.
Claudine and Yoake connect once more as the electric ball is heading towards her. She transforms to her Battle Bond form and immediately uses her shield to block the electroball. The ball landed on the shield, dispersing into flashes of lightning. But with the rain soaking her body, the current flows through her body, paralyzing her as an aftermath.
"What? How?" Yoake was baffled after seeing Claudine being paralyzed by a move that doesn't even do paralysis. Amber realized that the boy actually has no idea what he was doing, thinking that this arena is the same as the other. Failing to understand how important the rain is in the battle.
"Your father should've known why. I can give you a hint, the arena itself." Amber taunted him. She knows how the rain changes the arena and having full control of it would guarantee success in the long run.
As she brings back Rotom to its Pokeball, she throws her next Pokemon into the battlefield. She throws in a Marowak but there was something odd about it, it has a darker skin tone compared to the regular one and its club has green flames on both ends, it was a double-edged club. Claudine fixed her to stance to a middle guard as she knows how vulnerable the state of her position is.
"I've always wanted to see a duel between Pokemons." Amber stated as the two prepared their guard.
Yoake scrambles as he tries to find a Paralyze Heal on his bag leaving Claudine very vulnerable. Marowak begins to spin its bone club until the flames' light forms a green circle, continuously spinning as Marowak slowly walks toward Claudine. The embrace Pokemon backs away with full caution as she has never been in a duel before. She may have used her sword against a lot of enemies but none of them hold a sacred weapon such as the sword.
Claudine takes her time as she feels the paralysis continues to flow through her, thinking on when and how to strike as the intimidation from Marowak's spinning club is too problematic for her. Despite how blinding the dark blue atmosphere created by the rain, the green light penetrates it and continues to taunt Claudine even further.
Claudine swings her sword at Marowak and its bone club immediately blocks it. The two begin their duel as one tries to hit the other but their swords parry. Marowak, being smaller to Claudine, decided to use her offensive stance while Claudine, who was still being paralyzed from Rotom's Volt Switch, tries to be defensive while she waits for her trainer to heal her.
"Hold on Claudine." Yoake tells his Pokemon as he continues to find the paralyze heals.
Marowak jumped from the ground and managed to land a hit on Claudine with its club's flames. Her left shoulder was burnt by this but she holds firm, parrying every swing as she patiently waits for the correct time to swing and turn the tides for her favor.
'There you are.' Yoake finally found his remaining Paralyze heal. He grabbed it and was about to throw it to Claudine but he realized something.
'The rain. It's blinding Claudine.' Yoake remembered their battle against Zapdos earlier and saw how Claudine struggled in a non-flat and distracting environment. The rain, like earlier, was interrupting Claudine's precision to have better judgment on attacking.
'And everybody else.' Yoake then remembered Urshifu and King also having issues dealing against the disturbance from the environment causing them to lose focus on their battle, which in turn, made them vulnerable.
'I have to remove the rain.' Yoake thought. He then recollects Zapdos' way of battle earlier and he immediately has a plan. He takes out his newly captured Zapdos and looks at it.
Claudine fell to the ground with utter disgrace, she didn't faint but being defeated by a small Marowak while managing to fight Zapdos is something dishonorable for her. Marowak stopped its spinning club and made a small chuckle. Claudine rises up once more as she doesn't want to get humiliated by a small Pokemon but her trainer has another plan.
"Claudine, return!" Yoake said. Claudine then teleported back to her original spot, deforming back to its regular form as Yoake threw Zapdos in the arena.
The electric Pokemon cried out as it was ready to release its rage. Marowak immediately spins its club, waiting for Zapdos' move. Amber quickly took notice of Yoake's decision and immediately called him out about it.
"Zapdos. So you're one of those trainers then? I remember a trainer in Hoenn where they managed to capture a Regirock, thinking that they're immediately the godly trainer. Poor fella, he used that thing on a Water-type gym." Amber made a small chuckle as she remembered the story that was told to her from the water-type specialist from Hoenn.
"Nope. Zapdos, use Hurricane and blow the rain away!" Yoake smirks as he knows that he'll not be using Zapdos as a means to battle Amber but as a means to support the team.
Zapdos spreads its wings and begins to create a small hurricane that sucks out the rain from the arena. The rain was engulfed by the hurricane and it was enough for Yoake to buy enough time to give Claudine the paralyze heals.
"Impressive." Amber said as she was impressed by the Electric Pokemon's creation. The rain stopped and everything was clear, the mud was still there but without the rain, his Pokemon could fully concentrate and use their strength at full force.
"Great job Zapdos, return and Urshifu, end this."
He brings back Zapdos to its ball as soon as possible and throws in Urshifu to finally defeat Marowak knowing that he has to deal with Amber's rotom and her last Pokemon.
"Rapid strike!"
"Shadow Bone"
Marowak steadies its club as it empowers its flames. It begins to spin once more and charges towards Urshifu. The Wushu Pokemon takes a keen eye on the club and stands still as he patiently waits for Marowak to fall for his trap. Bone Keeper Pokemon was about to land a hit on Urshifu with its club but the Wushu Pokemon kicked off Marowak's club and began to punch its stomach. It took 3 critical hits and Marowak finally fainted.
"Impressive, but not very profounding." Amber said as she brings back Marowak to its Pokeball and throws in Rotom for her third Pokemon.
Amber looked at the hurricane and decided that it would be her Pokemon's main priority. Knowing that if the rain returns, she could just simply beat him once more by blinding and distracting his Pokemon.
"Urshifu, Rapidstrike!"
"Electro Ball on that Hurricane!"
Amber pointed the hurricane to Rotom as its main target. The Wushu Pokemon quickly took notice and immediately struck Rotom down. The plasma Pokemon didn't falter to the Wushu's hits as it manages to launch an Electro ball and hits the hurricane, disrupting it and slowly scatters the rain once more. Rotom fainted as a result.
Leaving Amber with her only last Pokemon.
The rain continued and it blinded the arena. Yoake clenched his fist as he knows that he's in a troubling position. He looked at the Wushu Pokemon with a confident smile, thinking that her last Pokemon is her ace, and he is ready to face her toughest Pokemon.
Amber took a deep breath as she readied their final battle.
"You know, you remind me of the girl earlier. Is she a relative of yours?" Amber asked in curiosity.
"No. Why?" Yoake asked her after denying the question. He knows that she was referring to Ren and he was curious as to why she drew that conclusion.
"Well, you both have the same facial features, mannerism and battle style. I assume you two are siblings or something." She explained. For her, it was odd that Ren has a White and Blue dynamic of attire while Yoake has a Black and Red combination. Two combinations that are known to be polar opposite to one another.
"Hah. I already have 1 shitty annoying sister. Having 2 would be a pain in the ass." Yoake rolled his eyes. Deep down, he would be happy to have Ren as a sister. Having the same ideals, love for Pokemon and wanting to compete very often. If he could, he'll more likely to trade his sister Yugure for Ren.
"I see." Amber replied to the trainer's explanation.
There was a small silence in the room, no talk nor noise between the two. Only the rain fills the silent void in the arena. Yoake was weirded out by Amber's silence, never letting his and Urshifu's guard down as they patiently waited for Amber's next move. All of a sudden, they heard a giggle, it was Amber. From that giggle, she begins to laugh. She laughed for a small moment until she stopped. Yoake felt a sweat slowly dripping from his forehead as he was nervous by Amber's sudden change of emotion.
"Battle Bond. Such a poor excuse for your poor mishaps." Amber mocked the trainer.
"I'll SHow you the real Bond!" She shouted as she threw her last Pokemon into the arena. It's a Blaziken. She then reveals a Mega stone in her ring, pressing it as she mega evolved Blaziken.
"Oh no…" Yoake muttered. He was speechless after seeing Amber's ace, being the fast and heavy hitting Blaziken, mega evolves. He knows how fast these Blazikens are. He used one in one of the local virtual tournaments a year ago and because of its speed boost, he managed to win in that competition.
"Feel the power of the red sun of Hoenn! Blaziken, use Double Kick!"
"Urshifu, Block it with Rapid Strike!"
Blaziken jumped towards Urshifu and threw in a kick to Urshifu but the Wushu Pokemon blocked it with its arm. The first kick failed as the Blaze-Pokemon's right arm landed on the ground after failing to land a hit but it immediately spun and kicked Urshifu once more, landing a blow and pushed Urshifu backwards. The Wushu Pokemon didn't hesitate and fought back by landing triple strikes.
"Grr. Use Thunder Punch!"
"Urshifu, use Rapid Strike again!"
With the rain blinding Urshifu, It looks around as it tries to find Blaziken, who recently disappeared from the dark blue sky, it readies its guard as it patiently waits for Blaziken. It heard a spark at the distance he couldn't tell where it came from. Blaziken appeared and punched Urshifu with its bolting arms. Urshifu fell to the ground, fainting with just one hit.
"What!?" Yoake's eyes widened as he saw the Wushu Pokemon fall so easily. He knows how fast Blazikens are but this one is so strong that it quickly annihilated Urshifu with one single punch.
"You did a great job, Urshifu." He honored the fainted Pokemon as he brought it back to its Pokeball. He then takes out King to the arena.
"See. Mega Evolution is still strong. I was very shocked to see Kanto fell from grace by accepting Dynamaxing. Don't you guys used to love Mega Evolution?" Amber asked the trainer.
"I don't know…" Yoake was dumbfounded by Amber's question. He doesn't know why the sudden shift. All he heard was for innovation but other than that, there was none. Amber realized why and answered her own question.
"Greed. I can see why." Amber coldly answered herself. Her tone felt like she is familiar with this, was there something in Hoenn that is similar to this as well.
"King, Use Earth Power!"
"Blaziken, Use Flare Blitz!"
King stomped the ground while Blaziken charged towards him. Jumping off the ground once more as it dodges the shattering floor and lands a powerful hit in King's chest. The Drill Pokemon fainted as soon as it entered the arena. Yoake cowered in fear as he realized that he had no match against Blaziken and Claudien took notice of this.
She tapped his shoulder as a sign of comfort, he looked at her and saw a smile on her face. Assuring him that it will be alright. He nearly lost his confidence but with Claudine, he decided he'll bring this battle to a closure.
"King, you have done well. Return." He said as he brought the back King to its Pokeball and looked at Claudine. The embrace Pokemon teleported to the arena and reformed back to her Battle Bond form.
"En garde. Blaziken, use Flare Blitz once more."
"Block it with your shield and use Psycho cut!"
Blaziken lunges at Claudine with its feet ready to kick her while Claudine prepares her shield. She managed to block the kick with her full might, she was being pushed by the sheer force that Blaziken has but she holds firm. Blaziken stopped and tried to kick her once more but instead of blocking it, she tumbled to her left, trying to get away from Blaziken. Blaziken follows her and stomps the ground but she jumps with her sword ready to attack.
She swings her sword to the Blaze Pokemon. Knocking it back the side, however, it wasn't enough to faint it. Blaziken runs toward her and begins to spin as it tries to hit Claudine with its dangerous kicks but she manages to block one and stops it from spinning any further. She then teleports above Blaziken and swings her sword once more to finally put an end to this fight.
Blaziken fell to the ground as it fainted after receiving blows by blow from Claudine's sword. Yoake won the magma badge.
"You did a great job today Blaziken, you can rest now." Amber honored the Blaze Pokemon as she brought it back to its Pokeball. She places the pokeball back to her belt and snaps her finger, stopping the rain as a whole. Claudine teleported back to Yoake and deformed to her original form.
"Here you go." Amber said as she handed him the Magma badge.
"Thanks." He thanked her after receiving the badge.
"Well, it's unsurpising that I lost to a Katsuragi, twice, perhaps, but I guess it's just delaying the inevitable." She stated.
"Say Hi to your father and mother for me. I still have their gift from their wedding." She told the trainer.
"I will."
-
After receiving the badge, the two left the room and headed to the lobby, where Ren was patiently waiting for them. She congratulated them for winning and they're now even in terms of badge counts, the only badge left is the 8th one, where the two will battle it out at the Viridian City gym.
They headed to the Pokemon center and healed their Pokemon. They also booked their ticket for the next ship that will be heading to the Pallet Port. They didn't hesitate as the boat was about to leave in 45 minutes. As soon as they got their Pokemon back, they headed to the port, got their tickets, boarded the boat and patiently waited for it to set sail.
It felt like a happy ending was in their reach, the two accomplished the challenges and the only thing left is for them to duel against one another. They assured themselves that they will support each other no matter the outcome. However, they patiently wait for the boat to leave. A mysterious hooded man boarded the ship and with him was a suitcase. He headed to the core of the ship and left the suitcase there, and he immediately left the ship for health reasons.
The ship left at 6 pm and they were a few minutes away from the Pallet Port.
With their adventure about to reach its closure, Ren felt that this is the best time to actually reveal herself to Yoake. She tapped Yoake's shoulder as she wanted to say something to him but she felt like it had to be private.
"Hey, can we go to the deck? I feel sick here." Ren asked Yoake.
"Sure." Yoake said. He agreed as he was also getting sick in the cabin. The two stood and left their seats as they headed to the deck. Claudine saw this and decided to follow them, thinking that Ren was about to confess their love, she stalked them with a small smile on her face. Gengar also follows her as he thought of the same thing.
The two were on the boat's deck, the bright skyline of Pallet City shines the voidly night and it was getting closer. The two felt the breeze of the wind passing through them and looked at the scenery with serenity. Ren leans her body to the guard rail while Yoake was a meter away from her.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" Ren described the scenery as she looked at the horizon.
"Yeah. It sure does."
Meanwhile, the guard Poochyenas on the ship smelled a bomb nearby. It immediately alerted the guard.
"What is it boy?" The guard asked the poochyena.
"He said that he smelled a bomb on this ship." The rotom explained to the guard.
"What? How did it manage to slip through security? Shit. Alert the others and prepare for evacuation." The guard told the rotom.
"Tell me where it is?" He asked Poochyena. It didn't hesitate to begin to investigate where the bomb is and to be detonated as soon as possible.
Meanwhile, the two trainers continued to look at the scenery. Ren turned around and looked at Yoake with a small smile. At a distance, Claudine shrieked in fanaticism as she waited for Ren to confess.
"Yoake, would you believe me if we're related in some way?" Ren asked the black trainer. Yoake, who wasn't looking at Ren but at the horizon, focusing his stare at the far end.
"We're Pokemon trainers Ren. Of course we're related because of that." Yoake answered her question.
"Yeah but you know, blood related or something?"
"Haha. Don't be silly Ren, we're not rela-"
Yoake mistaken Ren's assumption as a joke and looked at her and then, he remembered the trauma many days ago, the trauma that he thought that he finally removed. With the wind coming from behind, it blew Ren's long hair and created an illusion that her hair was shorter than usual. Her body blocks the light from the Pallet City and the black void surrounds her body. That look. That Damn look.
"What's the matter?" A concerned Ren asked Yoake.
Claudine quickly noticed the familiar look that Ren gives. The night. Both Yoake and Claudine remembered the trauma and the pain from the bullet many days ago. Yoake begins to see the man who shot him many days ago, forgetting that the person in front of him is Ren. Claudine remained speechless as she watches everything unfold.
"Stand back! Get away from me!" Yoake cried in disgust.
"What? What's wrong?" A shocked Ren asked him once more. She wants to connect to her family once more but unbeknownst to her, her only connection sees her as the monster that nearly killed them. She tried to go closer, trying to comfort Yoake but he was backing off.
"I said STAND BACK!!"
"You're him…" He said as he finally sees the monster that was lurking and seducing him to join Team Rocket, the Commander.
Meanwhile, the guard managed to find the bomb, it was the suitcase. They heard a tick, as if the bomb was ready to explode.
"Him? No! I'm your sister-"
The confused white trainer tries to explain as she is not aware that the disguise revealed itself by accident, the mask was gone, so is the hat that hides her hair, so is her dark clothes, her so-called white clean attire was hampered by the darkness void and giving the revelation the wrong intentions.
but it was too late as the bomb from the suitcase exploded. and from that both the White trainer and Black trainer saw the world but nothing as Black and White as everything around them was shattered to the ground.
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone