Celestial City: Meeting Point

By: Theodore Leung

TheoLeung@Sprint.ca

Sam stood there, watching the Pokémon battle unfold. Her two Pokémon, Hydra and Spark, also watched, both with interest as the two Sandslashes fought, both hacking at each other with their sharp claws.

"Sandslash, Slash attack!" one of the trainers commanded, a youngster, who looks inexperienced. The Sandslash obeyed, rushing into the fray.

"Slasher, 1-2-3 Combo!" the other commanded. This trainer was about Sam’s age, wearing black shorts and a white vest over his red T-shirt. He wore sunglasses over his eyes, but his brown hair flailed in the wind.

"Hey, does that trainer look familiar?" Sam asked her two Pokémon. Hydra shrugged, not recognizing the trainer what so ever.

"He does look kind of familiar," Spark mused, but ignored it as the two Sandslashes reached each other. The first Sandslash did as his master commanded, slashing at the opponent. The other evaded, ducking low. The first one panicked, his swipe hitting air. The second grinned as much as it can, then slammed his right claw into the opponent. He followed up with a left slash, then a right uppercut, sending the other rolling back to his trainer.

"Oh, rats!" the youngster said, recalling his Pokémon. "Uh…" he said sullenly, running his hand down the Pokéballs on his belt.

"Give it up kid," the other said. "My Sandslash just wiped out four of your Pokémon."

"Yeah…I guess you’re right…" the youngster replied, removing his hand over his Pokéballs. "Good match though. I needed the training." He nodded, taking a step back and filtering through the crowd that has accumulated through the battle.

"Any other challengers?" the champion asked, his gaze sifting through the crowd.

"I’ll challenge you," Sam said, taking a step into the circle of people. Spark and Hydra followed, each taking a position by her side.

"Hmm…" he mused, examining Sam from head to toe, then her Pokémon. "Slasher, return," he commanded. His Sandslash gave the trainer a questioning glance, but obeyed, walking to the side of his master. "One-on-one, your Squirtle versus my Graveler," he suggested. Sam looked down at her turtle Pokémon, silently asking if he would agree to that. Hydra, in responses, glanced over at Spark, who nodded his approval. Hydra in turn nodded as well, walking in front of Sam.

"Whenever you’re ready my friend," Sam told her opponent calmly. He nodded, taking his Pokéball and opening it, the massive Graveler appearing in a bright flash. He towered over his opponent, the shadow engulfing the turtle.

"At least I got the type advantage," Hydra said, though trembling to just how easily this hunk of rock can crush him. The ‘hunk of rock’ grunted, examined the Squirtle, then the other Pokémon nearby, surprised at seeing Spark. Hydra wondered what the Graveler was thinking, looking at Spark. The Growlithe only ‘shrugged’, telling Hydra to focus on the battle.

"Let’s begin!" the other trainer said. "Graveler, tackle attack!"

"Hydra…"

* * * * * *

"Flamethrower!" Ryna yelled out, Flare unleashing the fury of flames at the opposing Flareon.

"Flamethrower it back, Klik!" Des commanded, his Flareon also unleashing a torrent of firepower. The storm pillars smashed into each other in fiery display of lights, before dissipating into the surrounding air. "Evenly matched, interesting," Des mused. "Klik, bite!" Klik pounced at his opponent.

"Flare, move it!" Ryna commanded, Flare trying to run but failed. Klik lay on top of Flare, pinning her to the ground, savagely biting at her fur. She yelped in pain as Klik’s teeth sank into her flesh.

"Flare, kick him!" Charles yelled out, holding back at ripping Klik apart. Flare thrust her hind legs into the midsection of Klik, sending him sprawling backwards, howling in pain. Both simultaneously got to their feet. Flare licked one of her wounds on her front leg, but kept a sharp eye on Klik, who was circling around her like a vulture, slowly.

"Klik, tackle!" Des ordered, the Flareon charging headfirst at Flare.

"Flare…"

* * * * * *

"Water Gun!" Sam yelled out, the Squirtle obeying. The high-pressured jet stream of H2O blasted forward, but didn’t stop the Graveler, who was now rolling towards Hydra, the rock type’s body parts retracted against his hard shell.

"Move it!" Spark yelled out, Hydra definitely taking that advice and leaping out of the way just a second before the Graveler was where he used to be. The water type fired off another stream of water, but again, it didn’t faze the Graveler.

"Rock Throw!" Sam’s opponent commanded, the Graveler appearing from his rock hide, ripping a piece of ground out of the, well, ground, and tossing it towards the direction of the Squirtle.

"Withdraw!" Sam yelled out, Hydra taking his turn into hiding himself. The massive boulder slammed into him, sending him flying through the air and back into the ground, upside-down, spinning in his own shell.

"Again!" Graveler’s trainer ordered. Another piece of ground was ripped out.

"Hydra, get up!" Sam pleaded, hoping to arose her friend. Nothing seemed to happen, as the might of the Graveler tossed the next piece of ground at Hydra.

"Yeah!" Hydra shouted, appearing from his shell, and rolling over, the rock narrowly missing him. He fired his water gun at the Graveler who was taken by surprise at the quick recovery of the Squirtle. The Graveler had no time to defend himself, and took the full blow of the water, knocking him over. The rock type tried in a futile attempt to get up, but was too weakened by the attack to do anything.

"Interesting," the trainer said, recalling his Graveler to his Pokéball. "Can you come with me?" he asked, surprising his opponents. The three exchanged glances nervously.

"What for?" Sam asked. He never answered, only started to walk away, his Sandslash following behind. Sam again exchanged glances with her Pokémon, then ran to catch up with her opponent.

* * * * * *

Flare leaped back, avoiding another close encounter with her counterpart in this sci-fi arena. Klik grinned, finally facing off with a worthy adversary of his species.

"Klik, Fire Blast," Des commanded, calm despite the tension of the battle. Klik nodded, about to unleash the most powerful fire attack known.

Except Nova Arc is more powerful, and this.

"Flare, Hell Fire!" Ryna yelled out. Des lost his composure, starting to break a sweat with this new, unknown attack. Flare leaped high into the sky, Klik firing his attack at the now airborne target.

Flare, now overflowing with powered, let out a fierce cry, her eyes crimson with power. A barrier of sheer fire surrounded her, possibly with enough power to melt even the strongest of all metals.

"What the?!" Klik exclaimed, taking a step back, his Fire Blast bouncing off the barrier like rubber ball.

"Flare, let him have it!" Charles shouted. Flare nodded, though hardly noticeable through the ‘flames of hell’. She let out another hellish cry, then brought her power down onto the opposing Flareon. He never had time to react, the time it took for Flare to impact was less then a second.

"Klik!" Des shouted, panicking. The energy ball engulfed the Flareon, then, nothing, just a ball of fire sitting in the middle of the arena.

A column of fire blasted out of the ball like a geyser set on high. It slammed into the ceiling, small chips falling to the ground. Another hellish cry of fury echoed through the room, then nothing, the geyser of fire stopping. After a few seconds, Flare stood there, cool and calm, though breathing hard. She looked up, everyone’s gaze following hers. Klik fell to the floor with a loud and echoing thud, the imprint of his body was clearly noticeable in the ceiling.

"Klik!" Des shouted, running over and embracing the Flareon. "You okay?" he asked, the Flareon weakly nodding. Klik sighed, recalling the Pokémon to his ball, then standing up. "Good match," Des commented. He tossed something at Ryna, who caught the item expertly. "It’s the Research Badge," Des told Ryna. The badge resembled a ‘X’ shape made up of a microscope and a magnifying glass.

"Good match," Ryna agreed, nodding. "We should try again one day," she said, smiling. The Pallet Town trainer turned around, but was stopped by Des.

"But I want something from you," he said, dropping a canister to the ground. The little canister soon started to emit gas.

"Wha?!" Lin exclaimed, taking a step back, but it didn’t matter, soon the gas was upon everyone except for Des, each falling asleep.

"I want your Flareon," Des said, smirking.

"No…" Ryna muttered, before falling to the effects of the sleeping gas.

* * * * * *

"This is my house," the trainer told Sam, opening the door to the small two-floor building on one of the smaller streets in this town. "Come in, please," he said.

"But why?" Sam asked, though not refusing the request and entered. The interior was quite furnished, though nothing to fancy. All the basic essentials to a house. The trainer closed the door.

"Because," the trainer said, taking off his sunglasses.

"I knew he looked familiar!" Spark exclaimed.

Tim smiled, folding his glasses and placing them on a table nearby. "It’s been a while," he told Sam, walking into the kitchen. "Coke?" he asked, opening the fridge.

"Okay, thanks," Sam replied, catching the cold beverage that Tim tossed. The can opened with a hiss, much like any other carbonated drink. Sam downed half of its contents in one gulp. "Well, someone was thirsty," Tim commented, smiling. Sam giggled.

"Yeah, it has been a while," Sam said, sighing. "You live around here?" she asked. Tim sighed.

"Sort of," he replied, a bit depressed. Sam gave him a questionable look.

* * * * * *

Spark and Hydra looked around the house, specifically the living room. The room seemed to be most Pokémon related, since there were training tools and Pokémon food and stuff everywhere, though neatly organized.

"Who’s this Tim person?" Hydra asked, glancing around.

"Just say we ran into him at Mt. Moon," Spark replied, his gaze finally settling onto a picture that hung on a wall. "Look at this," he told his water type friend. Hydra followed his gaze and landed on an astounding piece of art.

"Woah…" Hydra muttered, seeing the picture.

Within the picture frame was a coloured picture of a Moltres. The bird of fire stretched his wings high and mightily, within his storm of fire that the bird created. The two Pokémon stared at it, admiring the work and time taken into this figure.

"Enjoying yourselves?" Slasher asked, breaking the trance of both Pokémon. They stared at the Sandslash, who was smiling.

"Where did you get that picture?" Hydra asked, pointing towards the picture. Slasher giggled.

"Tim drew it," he replied.

"He DREW it?!" both Pokémon exclaimed, utterly taken aback by that fact.

"Who was his model?" Spark asked, trying to find a lie in this fact.

"Just say, Tim has his sources," Slasher replied, smiling. "Hungry?" he asked, making the other Pokémon’s stomach rumble. "I’ll take that as a yes," he replied, walking over to the feed corner, where Rocky, now a Graveler, was indulging himself. He looked up at the new comrades.

"Hey, nice to see you again, Spark," he said, Spark nodding his agreement. "Your friend there is good," he said next. "Hydra is it?"

"Yep," the Squirtle replied, not intimidated by the size of the ‘rock’ anymore. "You fight well despite being at a disadvantage."

"I’ve been trained to take water hits," Rocky replied, downing some more Pokémon food. Hydra smiled, also beginning to chow on some food. Soon, the foursome was indulging in the food laid out to them.

* * * * * *

"Where’s Ryna?" Tim asked, finishing the last of his Coke. Sam panicked slightly, and it was good thing she finished her coke already, or she may have spit some out at the moment.

"Crap, I forget, I was suppose to meet her at the Gym!" she exclaimed. She leaped from the chair and headed for the door. "Can I leave my Pokémon here for now?" she asked. Tim nodded, and followed her.

"I’ll go with you," he replied, getting his shoes on.

"You don’t have to," Sam replied, getting her own shoes on.

"I insist," he said, stopping Sam from arguing any longer. "Slasher! Rocky! Hold the fort down! Sam and I are going out for a bit," Tim told his Pokémon. The friendly but strong acknowledgements were heard, and the two trainers left for the gym.

* * * * * *

"Ryna?!" Sam shouted, her yell echoing through the gym. Nothing replied. "Where could she be?" Sam asked Tim, only to get a shrug as an answer. The two soon ended up in arena of the gym, and were shocked with what they saw.

"Ryna?!" both exclaimed, running over to her unconscious body. Charles and Lin were also down, but Flare was no where to be seen.

"Where’s Flare!?" Sam shouted, looking around quickly.

"Who?" Tim asked, but not caring for an answer, just picking Ryna up. "Come on, we’ll get them back to my house, then get the details from there." Sam, still panicking, but nodded lifting Lin and Charles.

"I hope Flare is okay…" she whispered.

* * * * * *

Ryna slowly opened her eyes, used a few seconds to gain her thoughts, then shot up like she was just awakened by a loud, squeaky alarm clock.

"Flare?!" she yelled out, surprising everyone. Sam and Tim ran over, calming her down. "Where’s Flare?!" Ryna asked, afraid and worried. She looked around, realizing the surroundings weren’t the same.

"I couldn’t find her at the gym," Sam said sadly.

"No!" Ryna exclaimed, slamming her fist into the sofa she lay on. "No…" she whimpered.

"Who took her?" Charles asked, calmly, but clutching his fist. Ryna sighed, seeing how this would affect her Charmander. Lin jumped onto the couch, also wondering about the information, as was all the other Pokémon.

"Des took her…" she whispered.

<Fin>