CHAPTER 12
REDEMPTION
'Well,' said Kamon, 'nobody's perfect.'
'I know, but couldn't I lose after I beat him?'
I didn't need, or want, a response form Kamon at that moment. Kamon, I guess, knew that. He did not reply to me.
It was then when I realized two things, both of which may have been true. The first was that Sabrina said that it was my destiny to lose in Gehta. Who it was against, she didn't say. Rex may have been that person. The second thing I realized was that maybe I was supposed to lose to Rex, in order to protect me from some greater danger, like losing against the Master of the Prime League. Maybe someone was trying to make me quit now so I wouldn't have to lose later.
I decided that I had to battle Rex again, as soon as possible.
'Shouldn't you try to level up your Pokémon more?' Kamon questioned.
'No way,' I replied. 'I know I can beat him with the Pokémon I have now, without making them stronger.'
'All right...' Kamon said.
I went back to Rex's stadium, and re-challenged him to a match.
'You,' Rex said, 'really want to fight me again?'
'It's not really a "want" as much as it is a "must," ' I responded. 'Now, I want you to choose your Pokémon first.'
'Suits me fine,' said Rex. 'Go Xatu.'
'Tyranitar, come out and use Spikes!' I commanded. I was going to make sure that Xatu wasn't going to get recalled.
'Xatu, Steel Wing attack,' Rex said. The purple Psychic Pokémon dove at Tyranitar, wings stiff. His outstretched wings slammed into Tyranitar, doing mediocre damage. Tyranitar came back with Crunch.
'Now, follow up with Rock Slide!' I instructed.
'Agility,' Rex yelled. Xatu attempted to dodge all of the boulders that were sent his way, but failed. The rocks smashed into him, knocking him to the ground. Xatu got back up and attacked my Pokémon again. 'Xatu, another Steel Wing!' The attack did less than well, and Tyranitar easily knocked out Xatu with Slam. 'Well, you managed to knock out one Pokémon with pretty good success. But let's try this one: Fearow, attack Tyranitar with Hyper Beam!'
'Endure,' I said. Tyranitar stuck her hands out, catching the gold Hyper Beam. She then used Mega Punch, reversing the beam on Fearow. He took serious damage, but retaliated with Sky Attack, nearly knocking Tyranitar out.
'Okay, Fearow, you can do this. Steel Wing!'
'Cheap,' I retorted. Tyranitar fell to the ground, unconscious. 'Come back. Ho-oh, go! Use Sacred Fire!' Flames reigned over Fearow, causing a high amount of damage. Rex's Fearow tried to hit me with Drill Peck, but Ho-oh avoided the attack. 'Now, finish Fearow off with Wing Attack!' Fearow was slapped by Ho-oh's wings, and fainted.
'Gyarados, go! Use Rain Dance!' Rex commanded. Gyarados caused it to rain in the stadium, in a pathetic attempt to hinder my Ho-oh's abilities.
How pathetic.
'Ho-oh, Thunder,' I said. It was all too easy. With one thunderclap and a strike of lightning, Gyarados was knocked out. A one-hit K.O.
'Unbelievable,' Rex said. 'Unbelievable! Gyarados, you can rest. I'll choose Gligar as my next Pokémon, go!'
'You,' I replied, 'are just trying to use the same Pokémon you did against me the first time in an attempt to defeat me again.'
'Who says you don't repeat the same techniques over and over?'
'Who says I do? And anyway, I learn from my mistakes.'
'I didn't make any, so I don't need to make any adjustments. Now, you are stalling. Let's get on with this. Gligar, Rock Slide!' Rex said. Rocks crashed down on Ho-oh, but it survived.
'Ho-oh, Sunny Day!' I commanded. The rain went away and sunlight leaked into the amphitheater. Gligar used Rock Slide again. I told Ho-oh to use Solarbeam, but it didn't do half as much damage as I thought it would. I guess it was because Gligar was not only Ground but also Flying-type, thus lowering Solarbeam's damage to a state of mediocrity.
'Gligar,' Rex started, 'use Rock Slide. That'll teach this...trainer (whatever his name is) to try to use legendary Pokémon against me.' And with that, Ho-oh was out of the fight.
Ho-oh dematerialized into the Master Ball. I sent out Lugia (using a legendary Pokémon on purpose) next. The silvery Pokémon appeared in the stadium in a flash of red light. I told Lugia to use Blizzard (which would do four times the normal amount of damage, since Gligar is both Ground-and-Flying types). Of course, Gligar was knocked out.
'Lucky. Gligar, return, and Jumpluff, go! Use your Hyper Beam!'
'Lugia, attack with Hyper Beam, too!' I shouted. I knew that Lugia was more powerful than Jumpluff. So Lugia's Hyper Beam overpowered Jumpluff's Hyper Beam, making both beams strike Rex's Grass Pokémon. He was, slowly, losing.
'Jumpluff, Giga Drain,' said Rex.
'Don't josh me like that,' I said. 'You know that attack will do nothing. Lugia, Dragonbreath.' Small blue flames poured from Lugia's maw, knocking Jumpluff out. Rex only had one Pokémon left, Delibird. I still had Heracross, Feraligatr, and Ampharos left.
'Delibird, go! Blizzard!' Hail struck Lugia, freezing it.
I sighed. 'Well, now I only have three Pokémon left. The hardest thing to do is choosing which Pokémon to beat you with,' I taunted. I recalled Lugia.
'You,' Rex said, 'can shut the hell up. I don't want to hear anything from you.'
'You won't,' I replied, 'once I beat you and leave. Ampharos, go! Use Thunder!' Lightning seared Delibird's feathers, and caused a lot of damage. It wouldn't be long until I had Rex's digital badge.
'Delibird, another Blizzard!' Rex shouted.
'In another sad attempt to freeze my Pokémon?' I questioned. Rex didn't respond. The Ice-type attack did little. Ampharos used Thunderbolt, but it did not quite knock out Delibird, allowing him to attack once again. Of course, Rex told him to use Blizzard, but it missed.
I had won. The winning attack was a simple Thundershock. Very simple. Rex was forced to not only call back his last Pokémon, but also give me a well-deserved badge.
'I told you,' I said to Kamon later on, 'that I could win.' Kamon did nothing but smile and shake his head.
* * *
I finally figured out why Kamon did not want to battle. He was depressed, I think. He wanted to battle, but he could lose. He did not want to lose. Like me, he was afraid of losing. What I realized was that the only cure for the illness was to battle again. That was why I had to battle Rex again. That was why I had to fight in Gehta.
That was why Kamon would have to battle, eventually.