Pokemon Fan Fiction ❯ Pokemon Quest ❯ Jacob vs. Clarissa ( Chapter 35 )

Pokemon Quest

 

This wasn't good at all. Swampert was deep down under the water and Cacturne refused to follow. But how could a plant, something that lives off of water, be afraid of it? Granted, Cacturne was a cactus, which meant he didn't get his water from the outside world and simply had it inside of him at all times.

 

Cacturne had a look of shame on his face as Jacob sighed, “Cacturne, it's okay. You don't need to go under the water. We can get Swampert once he resurfaces.”

 

“A good idea, indeed,” Clarissa replied, Jacob now worried, “but I'm afraid Swampert doesn't need to resurface.”

 

The boy would have questioned this further had a large blast of water not emerged from deep down under the pool and hit the cactus hard in the face. Cacturne groaned in pain as Jacob whipped out his Pokeball and shouted, “CACTURNE, RETURN!!!!” the cactus returning to his Pokeball.

 

Lucario had a look of worry as Jacob smiled and said, “Don't worry about it, Lucario. I still have you and the others, right?”

 

While it was certainly true that Cacturne had the advantage over water type Pokemon, he wasn't Jacob's only good fighter. Jacob still had four other allies who could help him in this, including his ever-faithful Lucario. Then again, he also knew that Manectric needed to be saved for Clarissa's other Pokemon.

 

Also, Swampert seemed to have a big advantage under the water. Then Jacob remembered something: Swampert was quite possibly the only Pokemon in Clarissa's arsenal that didn't have an advantage over water attacks.

 

“GO FLOATZEL!!!!” Jacob shouted hurling his Pokeball as the weasel took form and dove under the water.

 

Swampert was preparing to blast Jacob's next ally with another water gun but didn't actually expect the boy to pick a water type Pokemon. As such, the amphibian was unprepared for a direct Aqua Jet to the gut.

 

Swampert flew back a ways, groaning in pain while Floatzel spun her body around, unleashing a Sonic Boom from her tails. Swampert growled angrily upon taking in the fierce blow and charged at Floatzel, determined to turn the battle in his favor.

 

Jacob felt nervous while he simply watched the water from above the surface. The two Pokemon were too deep under water, so neither trainer could see how the battle was going.

 

Clarissa didn't seem nearly as nervous as she simply smiled and said, “That was smart thinking, Jacob. You realized that due to Swampert's ground attributes, he doesn't have an advantage over water attacks.”

 

However, as smart as this move was, it didn't mean Jacob was going to win easily. This was shown when Swampert rammed his fist hard into Floatzel's face, the weasel coughing up a small amount of blood from the force. This attack was known as Hammer Arm and in a pool battle field this was most likely the strongest attack Swampert could use right now.

 

However, Floatzel would not allow herself to be hit by another one, so she ignored the pain and when Swampert rose his fist, this time aiming for her skull, the weasel tilted her head toward the fist. She then proceeded to open up her mouth, catching the fist between her fangs, Swampert crying in pain.

 

As if that wasn't enough, ice started to leak from the fangs as soon, Swampert's entire fist was covered in the solidified liquid. But due to the water around them, Ice Fang had even more of an impact. Soon enough, Swampert's entire body was covered solid ice: all except his face.

 

The amphibian did all he could to move, but it was hopeless. He was a sitting duck while Floatzel delivered a powerful Aqua Jet between Swampert's eyes.

 

Jacob and Clarissa watched the water until they noticed bubbles starting to rise up. The two realized immediately that this meant the battle was over. All was silent now. Who was the winner? Only time would tell.

 

Soon, the bubbles subsided as Swampert's head rose up out of the water, its eyes and mouth open. Jacob let out a sigh as he figured Floatzel must have lost. But before hope had left him, Clarissa smiled and said, “Well, you defeated Swampert. Good job.”

 

Jacob stared at her, dumbfounded. What did she mean? Wasn't Swampert the winner?

 

But then he saw it. Swampert's facial expression may have been one of good health, but it seemed stuck that way. Swampert wasn't even moving and his face didn't change in the slightest. His face may have looked passive, but he was out cold and his face was stuck like that.

 

Floatzel rose up out of the water, smiling at her master as Jacob let down tears of joy. Then, without warning, Floatzel leapt into her master's arms and the two shared a long embrace.

 

“Great job, Floatzel,” he said as he returned the weasel to her Pokeball.

 

Lucario breathed a sigh of relief, Clarissa returning her Swampert and hurling another Pokeball onto one of the platforms. This time the woman had chosen Blastoise.

 

What would Jacob use this time around? Blastoise was a tortoise, meaning she could protect herself against most of his Pokemon. However, unlike Swampert, he had no ground attributes. The boy grinned, figuring now would be a good time to go with Manectric.

 

The wolf stood tall and proud as Blastoise leapt into the water. Unlike Cacturne, Manectric was not afraid of water. The only problem was that it didn't really help much in the long run. Manectric, being a canine, could only swim on the water's surface, meaning he couldn't dive down after Blastoise.

 

“Manectric, be careful,” Jacob said, “Don't make any rash moves. Blastoise could get you from any angle.”

 

Manectric nodded and darted his eyes back and forth. But before he or Jacob could even realize what was going on, Blastoise rose up behind Manectric, striking him in the back with her water cannons. Manectric flew hard into the water, quickly climbing atop another platform before Blastoise could do any more to him.

 

Jacob and Lucario were both worried as the boy gulped. This was clearly going to take some thought as Blastoise's strategy was different from that of Swampert. What truly impressed the boy was that Clarissa didn't even give any commands during all the whole thing. She seemed perfectly confident letting the Pokemon make their own decisions.

 

Unlike last time, Jacob noticed Blastoise rising up beside Manectric and shouted, “TURN AROUND AND GIVE HIM A DOSE OF THUNDER!!!”

 

But before the wolf could turn to his pray, Blastoise hit him hard with another blast from his water cannons. This time, Manectric was father from the platforms, so before he was able to make it to the nearest one, Blastoise swam below him and rammed his skull hard into the wolf's chest, sending him flying high into the air.

 

Manectric landed hard against a nearby platform, gritting his teeth in pain. Just how was this supposed to work? Jacob needed a strategy that would work.

 

To some, it might have made more sense for Manectric to simply hit the water with Thunder. However, Jacob knew that it would only effect the water's surface as this water seemed quite thick.

 

Then it hit Jacob… Thunder would only spread throughout the water's surface. That was it. That was the logic he needed to win.

 

As Blastoise started to rise up from under the water, Jacob grinned shouting, “USE THUNDER ON THE WATER!!!!!”

 

Manectric failed to see the logic behind this plan, but he couldn't disobey his master. He had faith in the boy's decision. As such, he send a powerful bolt of lightning hard into the liquid's surface and soon enough, the electricity spread. Across every inch the lightning spread atop the water's surface. And who should be caught in the chain reaction than Blastoise whose body was soon covered in electricity.

 

The tortoise's eyes went wide as he let out a roar of pain. Soon enough, sparks were flying from his body as his eyes rolled to the back of his head. There was no questioning it. The tortoise had been defeated and was out like a light.

 

Clarissa returned her Blastoise and smiled saying, “That was truly a brilliant last-minute resort, Jacob. You're the first to ever come up with that.”

 

Jacob blushed, rubbing the back of his head. Was he really the only one? It made him wonder how anyone else could have possibly defeated that Blastoise over the past.

 

Clarissa's next Pokemon was a majestic creature of sorts, a penguin to be exact. Her beak was shaped like a crown, the prongs forming what looked like an armored mask over the penguin's face. Her wings were shaped like blades, a bright blue rim around each one.

 

Jacob's eyes sparkled as he said, “I can't believe I'm seeing an Empoleon! I've only seen pictures of such beings! They're even cooler in person!”

 

Clarissa chuckled as Empoleon blushed, posing as to look more impressive. The gym leader sighed and said, “My Empoleon loves being the center of attention. You've given her a reason to like you.”

 

Jacob laughed nervously at the sound of that as Clarissa added, “Don't think she's going to go easy on you just because of a little flattery. Empoleon may like you, but she's also following my orders.”

 

Jacob nodded in understanding. This wasn't exactly a foreign concept to him. And he had to be careful as Empoleon was a dangerous opponent. There weren't very many types that had an advantage over her, let alone standing so much as a fighting chance. Luckily, Empoleon was weak against electric attacks and Manectric was still out and ready for battle.

 

Jacob knew he couldn't just use a direct attack with platforms replacing the regular battlefield. He knew there was only one attack that could hit Empoleon.

 

“MANECTRIC, USE THUNDER!!!” he shouted as the wolf unleashed the devastating attack, but Empoleon leapt towards another platform, the thunder missing its target.

 

Jacob gritted his teeth and thought, `Of course, Empoleon isn't exactly a slow Pokemon. Maybe I should slow it down first.'

 

“Manectric, hit Empoleon with Thunder Wave!” the boy shouted as the wolf unleashed a wave of electricity towards the penguin. But Empoleon dodged to the side with ease, Clarissa grinning.

 

“That was a good strategy,” she said, “You were going to paralyze him with Thunder Wave so he would be unable to dodge the Thunder Attack.”

 

Manectric tried again and again to hit his target, but as he missed with each shot, Empoleon eventually found an opening and held up her fin, which glowed before traveling down Manectric's face. The face cut open as blood started to pour out. This was far more powerful than any other Metal Claw Jacob had seen before.

 

But luckily, Manectric was still standing, seeming to ignore the pain across his face as he unleashed another Thunder Wave. Empoleon was now at point-blank range, therefore she was unable to dodge it this time.

 

Clarissa's eyes went wide as Manectric took this opportunity to leapt onto another platform, unleashing a Thunder Attack that covered the penguin's entire body. Burn marks covered Empoleon as the penguin coughed up smoke, however, unlike Blastoise, the penguin was still standing.

 

Before Manectric could even respond, he took a hard Hydro Pump to the face while his body flew towards Jacob, the boy catching him midway and returning the wolf to his Pokeball. “You did a great job, Manectric,” he said.

 

But now he was worried. Manectric was the best Pokemon the boy had against Clarissa's Pokemon. What was the boy to do now that his best choice was out of the picture?

 

He then remembered his past gym battles. He had faced this situation before. When he fought against Jonathan, he lost Chimchar in the first bout and in the end, he won with the help of his other Pokemon. When battling Marcy, his Cacnea had lost to Pikachu. But when push came to shove, he won the battle with Lucario's help. When facing Kevin's Pokemon, both Cacnea and Floatzel had lost while Lucario was the one who defeated all three of Kevin's partners. In fact, Lucario had contributed greatly to the defeat of almost every gym leader up to this point. Even against Miles' fire type Pokemon, he still stood strong and won.

 

The boy grinned and turned to Lucario asking, “Hey, would you like to teach Empoleon a lesson?”

 

Lucario nodded, a confident smile on his face. There was no way he was going to lose.

 

Besides, this wasn't such a bad choice in the end. Due to her steel attributes, Empoleon was weak against fighting type moves. The only challenge would be hitting her.