Two days later, we were halfway to the next town, Aura Town. The gym there was a Water Gym. I was fully prepared. Kamon still had no interests in battling.
The street we were walking on was about ten to fifteen feet wide. On either side of us was a grassy field, with bushes lining the street. The terrain around us was almost completely flat. As we were walking, two trainers walked past us. One was a boy, and the other a girl. The boy had brown hair spiked up in the front with black hair and pants. He wore an olive green vest and had a silver earring in his left ear. He was wearing gloves, and I noticed two other oddities; two belts of Pokémon, which grabbed my attention right away, and a dragon wing necklace encased in crystal.
The girl had about shoulder-length pink hair, with a pink tank top and black pants. Must love the color pink, I thought. She, on the other hand, only had one belt of Pokémon. I was interested in battling with her. She appeared the less experienced of the two, anyway. I approached the boy to see why he could carry twelve Pokémon and I couldn't.
'Hey,' I said, 'what's up with the twelve Pokémon?'
The trainer turned around and said, 'Who, me?' I looked around to see if any other trainers were around with twelve Pokémon that I would be talking to.
'Well, yeah. You're the only trainer here with twelve Pokémon,' I responded.
'If you want to know,' he said, 'there is a device that allows you to carry twelve Pokémon. It's useful for gym leaders who have more than one team, or travelers who need a battling team and a team for Flying, Cutting stuff down, Surfing, et cetera. Or, if you're like me…' He grinned. 'You have two battling teams just for the sake of having two.'
I turned to Kamon to see if he knew about this device. He shrugged his shoulders.
The boy glanced at me, and then at Kamon. 'The name's Dart. What's yours?'
I turned back to the trainer. 'My name is Drew. And my friend here is Kamon.' I turned to the girl. 'Who's she?'
'I'm Kaylei,' she said. She extended her hand. I met it, and we shook. 'Nice to meet you.'
'Ditto. So, you care to show me how…skilled both of your teams are? I'll take on whichever one you want.' The boy picked the team on his left side, and sent out his first Pokémon; it was a Rhydon. 'Too easy,' I said. 'Feraligatr, go! Surf, now!'
'Rhydon, Protect, and follow it up with a Thunder attack!' Dart commanded. His Rhydon crossed his arms, deflecting the Water attack. He then unleashed a lightning bolt upon Feraligatr, doing massive damage.
'Wasn't expecting that attack,' I remarked. 'Feraligatr, Blizzard.' My Feraligatr opened its jaws wide, and from it came a flurry of snow and ice. Rhydon suffered tremendous damage, but was still able to battle. 'Feraligatr, Hydro Pump.'
'Rhydon, Dig,' Dart said. He was quite confident with his Pokémon, I noticed. The rocky rhino dug its way underground, dodging my Pokémon's attack. Rhydon then burst out of the ground, ramming into my Feraligatr. That attack wasn't as severe as Thunder was, however.
'Feraligatr, Earthquake, now!' I cried. It was a battle not necessarily of the better Pokémon; instead, it was a battle of wit. His Rhydon could use a variety of attacks, canceling out my type-advantage. I knew that I would have to battle the same way to beat him. Otherwise, the battle was already lost. And I don't lose.
Feraligatr slammed its body onto the earth, causing a tremor. The ground split and then formed back together again around Rhydon's feet. Rhydon collapsed to the ground. He appeared to be defeated.
'Rhydon,' Dart started, 'Horn Drill!' Rhydon slowly got back up, and then charged at my Feraligatr, its metal horn spinning. Feraligatr was struck in the stomach, instant K.O. I was slightly shocked that my Pokémon went down first.
'Come back,' I said. 'Go, Ho-oh!' I threw a Master Ball at the opposing Pokémon, and from it emerged the seven-colored Fire Pokémon, Ho-oh. 'Ho-oh, Giga Drain attack, now!' Ho-oh sucked the remaining life out of Dart's Rhydon, forcing him to switch Pokémon.
'Come back, Rhydon,' Dart said, putting away the Pokéball that contained his Rhydon. 'Now, go Kabutops, let's go! A Rock Slide attack!' A Kabutops is hard to come by; I've only seen a few in all of my adventures.
Kabutops spun around, making boulders fly out toward my Ho-oh. The attack did a lot of damage, but I was certain that my Ho-oh would come out victorious in this one.
'Ho-oh, another Giga Drain,' I said. Quadruple damage with a reviving bonus? Couldn't get any better than that! I watched as Ho-oh continued to drain the life out of Dart's Pokémon. Kabutops, however, retaliated with another Rock Slide, damaging Ho-oh further. At this rate, Ho-oh would K.O. Kabutops, but would still be down to nearly nothing for health. I decided to take more drastic measures. 'Ho-oh,' I said, 'Solarbeam, now!' I knew that it would take two turns for Ho-oh to use that attack, but I figured, what the heck? Might as well take my chances. Ho-oh charged up the Grass attack while Kabutops pounded away at my Pokémon's health. Ho-oh suddenly unleashed the beam of sunlight, instantly knocking out Kabutops. Dart recalled his Pokémon, and then sent out his next battler.
'Magneton, come out and use Thunderbolt to finish off Ho-oh!' Dart shouted. As soon as my Pokémon went down, Dart grinned and Kaylei cheered. Damn cheerleaders, I thought.
'Come back, Ho-oh,. All right, Tyranitar, go! Fire Blast attack!' My Tyranitar blasted flames at Magneton, doing major damage and nearly knocking him out.
'Before you go down, at least use Thunder Wave!' Dart said. At first I didn't think much of it; Thunder Wave doesn't do any damage. However, it quickly occurred to me that if I can't attack, Magneton could still remain out. This is gonna suck, I thought. Tyranitar couldn't move on her next turn, allowing Magneton to attack again. 'Perfect,' said Dart. 'My plan is going perfectly. Magneton, Thunder, now!' A sheet of lightning crashed down upon Tyranitar, but it did little; Tyranitar has the strongest defense of any Pokémon on my team.
'Come on, Tyranitar,' I said, 'use an Earthquake!' Tyranitar managed to stomp on the ground, splitting the earth underneath Magneton. The attack knocked him out easily, and Dart switched Pokémon again. I switched too; I didn't want Tyranitar out if he's paralyzed. 'Lugia, go!'
'Houndoom, go!' Dart said. Dear God, not another Houndoom, I thought. 'Whoa, you have both Lugia and Ho-oh!? Amazing. Houndoom, Crunch!'
'No way. Detect, and then Hydro Pump, Lugia,' I commanded. Lugia stuck out its wings, deflecting the Dark attack, and then blasted Houndoom with water.
'Houndoom, another Crunch.' I let Lugia get hit, knowing that a Surf would K.O. Houndoom anyway. He'd then be left with only two Pokémon, and I would have three, not counting the paralyzed Tyranitar. I then commanded Lugia to finish off Houndoom with a Surf; the attack of course knocked Houndoom out as I had thought. Dart readied his next Pokémon. 'Scizor, let's rock! Swords Dance attack, now!' Scizor spun around as swords danced around his head.
'Lugia, Aeroblast,' I said. Lugia blasted white glowing energy at Scizor, but he quickly moved out of the way. 'Dang it. Lugia, another Aeroblast.' Lugia repeated the attack, but it failed again.
'Ha, you will never hit my Scizor! He's too fast! Scizor, Steel Wings, now!' Dart shouted.
As Dart's Scizor zoomed toward my Lugia, I shouted 'Lugia, behind you!' Lugia whipped around in time to witness the bug-like Pokémon flying at him. Lugia blasted Scizor with an Aeroblast, making him crash into the earth below. Leave the flying to my Lugia, I thought. Scizor got right back up, however, and then proceeded in attacking Lugia again; this time with a Hyper Beam. Scizor put his claws together and charged up golden energy between them. He then unleashed a blast of energy at Lugia, doing massive damage. As Scizor was recovering from the attack, Lugia retaliated with a Fire Blast, knocking Scizor out.
'All too easy,' I said. Dart winced, and then sent out his final Pokémon.
'Venusaur, go! Your Body Slam!' he shouted. Venusaur charged at Lugia, but he flew out of the way, and then turned around and used Psychic. Venusaur was injured, but not injured enough to quit battling. Venusaur also turned around and attempted to attack Lugia with a Giga Drain. The attack did next to nothing, and my Lugia finished Venusaur off with my command.
'Final attack, Lugia. Make this your final attack. Aeroblast!' I commanded. Lugia blasted a white beam at Venusaur, knocking him out as I had predicted. No way was Venusaur going to live through a Psychic and an Aeroblast; both attacks were super-effective and they did extra damage because they are the same type as Lugia, Psychic and Flying.
'I can't believe I lost…' Dart muttered gloomily. 'I guess I never stood a chance against Lugia, huh?'
'I guess not. Lugia, return,' I replied. Kamon then stepped up to Dart.
'I want to see your second team,' he said. 'In battle.' I looked at Kamon in wonder. Kamon had refused to battle this entire time. It was like seeing Clark Kent become Superman in front of you; you couldn't believe your eyes.
'I accept your challenge,' Dart said. 'Should I send out a Pokémon first, or will you?'
'I'll send it out first,' Kamon said. 'Typhlosion, go!' For the first time since we started out, I saw Kamon use a Pokémon in battle. The fiery Pokémon roared, and the flames on its neck and back ignited.
'Espeon, attack!' Dart said, 'with a Psychic!' Dart's purple evolution of Eevee glowed blue for a second, and then made Typhlosion get knocked back with a flash of light. Kamon told his Typhlosion to attack Espeon with Flamethrower, but Espeon blocked it with Detect.
'Typhlosion, again,' Kamon said. Typhlosion repeated the Fire-type attack, but this time it struck Espeon and did severe damage.
'Espeon, Return,' Dart said. At first I thought, Why is he calling back his Espeon now?Both Pokémon have only been hit once, and they both stand an equal chance of winning. But from the look on Kamon's face when he heard the command I soon figured out what the command was: an attack. In order for an Eevee to evolve into Espeon, it must like the trainer a lot. The attack Return does more damage the more your Pokémon like you. So, Return is guaranteed to do a lot of damage if an Espeon performs it.
Dart's Espeon charged at Typhlosion and then rammed into him, doing a hell of a lot more damage than I had predicted. It didn't look good for Typhlosion.
'Typhlosion, your Return!' Kamon commanded. I glanced at Kamon; he seemed confident in his Typhlosion. I didn't think that his Pokémon knew that attack. I decided, however, to stay silent and watch; it was Kamon's battle after all, not mine. Typhlosion rammed into Espeon, knocking her back and surprisingly doing more damage to her than she did to Typhlosion; Typhlosion must've liked Kamon a lot more than Espeon liked Dart.
'Espeon, finish Typhlosion with another Psychic!' Espeon repeated her Psychic-type attack, knocking out Typhlosion.
'Come back, and go Umbreon! Faint Attack, now!' Kamon threw another Ultra Ball onto the concrete street, unleashing his only Dark Pokémon. This wasn't any Dark Pokémon, however. This Dark-type Pokémon was the alter-evolution of Eevee.
Umbreon disappeared from sight for a second, but then reappeared behind Espeon, striking her down and knocking her out. Dart recalled his Pokémon, and then sent out a Jolteon.
'What is this, the all-Eevee evolution team?' Kamon questioned sarcastically.
'Of course not,' Dart said, 'I just happen to like both Jolteon and Espeon. Now, Jolteon, Double Kick!' Jolteon turned around and kicked Umbreon with his two hind legs. It was super-effective, but it still did little damage.
'Umbreon, Confuse Ray!' Kamon commanded. Umbreon confused Jolteon with a flash of light.
'Jolteon, Thunder!' Dart shouted. Jolteon attempted an attack, but hurt itself in confusion. 'Okay, try Pin Missile!' I knew that Jolteon's Pin Missile and Double Kick were super-effective against Umbreon. Pin Missile hit Umbreon, doing even less than Double Kick, but poisoning Umbreon. Umbreon retaliated with a Shadow Ball; at Kamon's command, of course. 'Jolteon, Thunderbolt!' said Dart. Jolteon once again hurt itself in its confusion. At once, though, it snapped out of it. 'Good job. Thunder, now!' Jolteon unleashed a bolt of electricity down upon Umbreon, severely damaging her.
'Umbreon, finish Jolteon off with a Hyper Beam!' Kamon commanded. Umbreon opened its mouth, gathering gold energy in it. She then blasted Jolteon with a huge gold beam, instantly knocking him out.
'Return,' Dart said. A red beam of light swallowed up his Jolteon. 'Go, Tauros!' Dart threw another Pokéball into the road; this time, out of the glittering white light emerged the Normal-type Pokémon, Tauros. I have only seen the bull-like creature a few times before. Mostly in the Safari Zone in Fuschia City. I had caught one, but I have never taken it out to battle. I knew that Tauros could learn a lot of elemental attacks, such as Fire Blast or Blizzard. This battle was going to be interesting.
'Umbreon, Psychic attack, now!' Kamon commanded.
'Tauros, Double-Team, and then a Horn Drill!' said Dart. Tauros easily dodged the attack by making clones of itself, and then rammed into Kamon's Dark evolution of Eevee, knocking him out.
'Come back Umbreon, and go Delibird! Attack it with Drill Peck!' Kamon yelled. Bad mistake, I thought. After Delibird bore its beak into Tauros's side, Tauros retaliated with a Thunder, nearly knocking out Delibird in one hit. 'Holy crap! Delibird, Ice Beam, now!' Kamon's Delibird flew in the air, and then shot a small ice-crystal ray at Tauros, doing mediocre damage.
'Tauros, finish Delibird off with Thunderbolt!' Dart commanded. Electric sparks surrounded Tauros's body. He suddenly channeled them to Delibird, instantly knocking him out.
'I can't believe that! Delibird, come back. You must be one hell of a trainer, Dart. Not many people can knock my Pokémon out this easily,' said Kamon.
'You battle a lot?' Dart asked.
'Of course. I'm a gym leader,' Kamon replied.
'Really? Interesting. But enough talking. More fighting. Send out your next Pokémon!'
'Fine then. You asked for it. Entei, go!' Kamon threw out a Master Ball, unveiling his shiny legendary Fire Pokémon. 'Entei, Fire Blast!' Entei nodded, and then unleashed a huge wall of flames upon Tauros.
I was highly surprised, because the last time Kamon and I fought he could barely control his Entei. Now he obeyed his every command. Kamon must've been through more training than I thought he had. There would be no way he could lose.
'Shiny Pokémon or not, or even a legendary Pokémon or not, you'll still fall to Tauros! Surf attack, now, Tauros!' Tauros created a wave and water, and made it rush over Entei, greatly damaging him.
'Entei, Flamethrower!' Kamon said. Fire poured from Entei's mouth and engulfed the bullish Pokémon. Tauros was burnt, and nearly knocked out, I figured. 'Extreme Speed, Entei!' Entei charged at Tauros at full speed, ramming into him and knocking him out. 'You were saying…?' Kamon jeered.
'Ha, you'll see. It won't matter. Tauros, come back. Octillary, let's go. Hydro Pump!' Dart exclaimed. A large amount of water surged from the snout of Octillary and hit Entei.
'Entei, Hyper Beam attack, now!' said Kamon. Entei blasted a golden beam of light energy at Octillary, doing a lot of damage. Not enough to K.O. him, however.
'Octillary, Octazooka!' Dart said. A ball of ink and water hit Entei, lowering his accuracy and his health. Entei counter-attacked Octillary with a Stomp, making Octillary flinch.
'All right, Entei, Skull Bash attack, now!' Entei lowered his head to attack. As he did, Octillary used a Surf, nearly making Entei faint. Entei then charged at the octopus, and rammed into him with his head. Octillary responded with a Psybeam, confusing Entei. 'Come on, Entei! Just knock him out! Another Hyper Beam should do it!' Entei tried to attack, but was nearly finished off when he hurt himself in his confusion.
'Finish his legendary Pokémon off, Octillary,' Dart said, 'with a Hyper Beam of your own!' Neither Kamon nor I could do anything but watch as Entei was taken down by Octillary's attack. 'So much for being a shiny legendary Pokémon.' Dart chuckled.
'I'll make you eat those words! Corsola, go! Psychic attack to knock-out Octillary,' Kamon said. His Water Pokémon attacked with the telepathic attack, making Octillary get knocked out.
'Return, Octillary. Magmar, go! Use Psychic!' Dart exclaimed. The fiery Pokémon was surrounded with a blue aurora. In a sudden flash of light, Corsola took damage. Corsola came back with a Hydro Pump, but it missed. Magmar attacked with a Thunder Punch, doing major damage.
'Corsola, another Hydro Pump,' Kamon said. Magmar was severely injured by the blast of water. He attacked with another Psychic, making Corsola take some more damage, but still not knocked out. 'Corsola, finish Magmar off with Surf!' That last Water-type attack was enough to make Magmar faint, and to make Dart switch Pokémon.
'Heracross, go! Cross-Chop attack!' Dart commanded. A Pokémon just like the one I owned came out, and raised its hands over its head. He then karate-chopped Corsola with both hands, nearly knocking her out.
'Corsola, Psychic!' Kamon said.
'Heracross, Detect!' Dart said. Heracross blocked the attack, and then knocked out Corsola with Mega Horn. 'Yes! Only one more Pokémon left!'
'It's all I need,' Kamon said. 'Corsola, return. Golem, come out! Use Earthquake!' The rocky Pokémon pounded on the ground, making a tremor under Heracross's feet.
'Heracross, Counter!' Dart said. Heracross reversed all of the damage Golem did in double, plus it was super-effective. Golem was instantly knocked out; Kamon had lost. He sat there in silence for a while, until he recalled his Pokémon.
'Well, I suppose you won this one fair-and-square, huh?' he said.
'I did, didn't I? Well, it was a good match, Gym Leader Kamon,' Dart said. I wasn't sure if Dart was mocking Kamon or not when he called him a gym leader. Kamon and Dart shook hands. 'Well, I guess I should be going. Maybe I'll see you two again sometime.'
'Possibly,' I said. Kaylei waved good-bye to both of us and then traveled off with Dart. 'Hey, man,' I said to Kamon, 'don't get discouraged. You haven't battled in a long time, maybe you're just a little rusty.'
'I'm fine,' Kamon responded. He didn't look fine. 'You know what, Drew? I might join you in your little quest. Might, mind you. I don't feel like fighting the gym leaders. I'll fight the leader of this league, though. If they let me, that is…'
'Who'll deny the Pokémon Master the chance to fight someone?' I said sarcastically.
'That's right,' he said. We continued on our way to Aura Town, and the next gym. Maybe Kamon would change his mind and battle with me. Only the future could tell.