Pokémon Forums Story: Victory Road Chapter 3

Arlo enters the Third Elite Four chamber. He enters a grand room filled with relics of ancient past. There are various exhibits detailing many fossils, one of a root, one of a claw, and one that resembles a skull, but the most fascinating piece has to be the Amber. With its entrancing orange hue, it lures Arlo to take a closer glance at it.

“Fascinating, isn’t it?” Said a woman’s voice. “That piece of Amber predates most of my fossil collection here, it is by far the jewel of my collection.”

Arlo looks behind him to see a mature and composed woman, she has blonde hair and wears a brown vest with a beige shirt with brown cargo pants. “My apologies, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Makoto Kurusu, but you may call me Makoto. I am the third member of the Elite Four and specialize in Rock type Pokémon, but that is simply due to circumstances. Follow me to the arena, I can give you a detailed tour after our battle.”

Arlo follows the lady to the next room and finds a grand arena fit for the ancients. “The rules are simple but may throw you off guard, this is a single battle, and you may use only 5 Pokémon, you may not use any special evolutions or enhanced moves. You may also not use any healing items as well, this shall be a test of skill. Is that understood?” Makoto looks towards Arlo for a response.

“Loud and clear!” Arlo responds.

“That is reassuring, we may begin when we have both assumed position.”

They both take their places, Arlo looks eager to battle and waits for Makoto to make the first move. Makoto remains in thought. This trainer could have the most powerful Pokémon in the region but may treat them like tools, thought Makoto, I don’t want to test how strong his pawns are I want to see if he has truly developed a bond with his Pokémon. If he doesn’t show me that then he will not make it past Gerald, Makoto thought.

Makoto remains calm and composed and sends out an Omastar, her first Pokémon. Arlo then sends out Serperior, Makoto takes notice to its unusual color scheme.

“It seems you also have a collection of your own, you will have to show me it in detail some other time, but for now let us battle.”

Arlo nodded “Ok Serperior, let’s do this!”

Serperior starts by charging forward “Omastar, use Shell Smash” Omastar obeys and preforms the move “Serperior, use Leaf Storm!” which greatly damages Omastar but not enough to take him out. “Serperior, don’t let your guard down and follow up.”

“As expected, Omastar, use Blizzard” Serperior partially anticipated it and took some of the hit but did not come out unscathed “Serperior, now’s your chance to use Giga Drain!” and with that Omastar succumbed and was knocked out.

“Omastar, return” Arlo expected her to recall Omastar to his Pokeball but rather she sent him to the bench behind her, for him to watch. She then sent out a Tyrantrum, which let out a mighty roar. This forced Serperior into its Pokéball and forced out Lucario.

Arlo was thrown off a bit but managed to bounce back. Besides, he could still exploit a weakness. “Lucario, be careful of Earthquake.” He gave a warning to Lucario “Go, use Close Combat!”. Lucario ran forward and executed the move, hurting Tyrantrum but not close enough. Lucario was vulnerable, and Tyrantrum was ready to follow up with Earthquake. This caught Lucario off guard and knocked him out.

“Lucario, return!” Arlo called. He is down one Pokémon but is lucky he still has Serperior. “Go Serperior!” Without a second thought, he commanded “Serperior, use Leaf Storm” without anticipating much defense.

“Tyrantrum, use Ice Fang” which knocked back Serperior enough to mitigate the hit keeping Tyrantrum in the battle. This rattled Arlo a bit but not enough to make him fall flat on his back, just meant that a little bit more will be needed. “Serperior, use Leaf Smack!” Arlo said with haste. Makoto found it unusual that Arlo made such a common error but brushed it off as a nervous panic. “Tyrantrum, use Ice Fang” Makoto said as Tyrantrum charged forward, but as he made the move Serperior moved to the side and smacked Tyrantrum away with Vine Whip, finishing the job.

“Clever choice of words, Tyrantrum come back.” And with that Tyrantrum made its way to the bench. Arlo decided it may be wise to pull back and change things up, considering Serperior has a major advantage but is vulnerable “Serperior come back, go Duraludon!”

Makoto thought for a moment, but after a few seconds chose to send out Bastiodon. Arlo knew this would be a tough match, they both have roughly the same weaknesses and they both can exploit them equally, the only edge Arlo has is Bastiodon is weaker to it than Duraldon. It was set in stone for Arlo.

“Duraldon, time to shine! Use Focus Energy!” Arlo yelled, getting both him and his partner pumped up. Duraldon began charging up a move.

What an interesting trainer this is, he has potential, but he is still going to have to prove himself Makoto thought. “Bastiodon, use Metal Sound!” Bastiodon followed and hit Duraldon, but Duraldon was unphased by this and without a moment to spare unleashed a Hyper Beam so strong that it nearly Knocked Out Bastiodon. He was nearly crippled and was holding on with sturdy.

Arlo could take a guess as to what may happen next, and rather than let the opponent deal some chip damage he might as well finish it off “Duraldon, finish it off with Earthquake” and with that Duraldon understood and dealt the finishing blow. This had been the most in sync Arlo has been with Duraldon, rather than simply commanding Duraldon he allowed Duraldon to act on its own when necessary, putting his trust in his partner.

“Splendid trainer! There is no point in continuing further, we can end it here. I have seen what I have wanted to see. No point in testing you further when you have passed with flying colors!” Said Makoto. “I see the fire burning in you and your Pokémon, you are no ordinary Pokémon Trainer. No, you have a bond between your Pokémon that differentiates you from a Pokémon Trainer. You do not battle for yourself, no you battle alongside your Pokémon as a friend not a master. You have what it takes to move on and challenge the Champion!” Makoto ponders for a moment and thinks about the Champion. Perhaps you can show him what he has forgotten, she thought, this boy has learned what you have failed to realize.