At the End of the Line: The Final Chapter

Welcome back to Kanto News.
In our last story, the Sevii Islands have had a surge of tourists over the last few days as the Pokemon Indigo Leauge Champion, Red, has been doing a series of battles at the Trainer Tower in order to promote the new league which starts in several days time. His tour has been very successful and the numbers for the league have doubled since last years. However, no one seems to have been able to defeat him yet.
"I don't know what is going on."
"Is it true you have several secret new Pokemon?"
"Yeah, it is true. But I am saving those guys for a special someone to see if they can take down my new secret weapon."
Here Red is battling an old childhood friend from Pallet Town, Blue, in a double battle. Blue lost to Red in an official championship battle last month and lost again today…
The Pokemon Centre was abuzz with people. Half of them were having their defeated Pokemon healed following a failed battle against Red. The others were staring at the TV, watching the scenes of the champion's Pokemon knocking out Pokemon after Pokemon before showing the double battle between Red and Blue. Charizard and Zapdos had easily taken down his Moltres and Venusaur using a combination of Fire, Electric and Flying attacks. Everyone watched in awe as Zapdos brought Moltres down with a Drill Peck and Charizard managed to throw Venusaur across the entire field and fire a Flamethrower.
Sitting grouchily in the corner of the PokeCentre was Leaf. She looked up at the screen as Charizard knocked Blue's Arcanine back with a Dragon Claw and let out a growl. It had been two months since the faithful battle that left the Indigo Plateau stadium in ruins along with dreams of being a league champion. Following her defeat, Leaf fled to the Sevii Islands and started a new journey. She too had captured three new Pokemon and had been steadily training her original team to perfection. After hearing rumours of Red's presence in the area, Leaf had rushed to the nearest Pokemon Centres to see if this was true. Now, she was hiding behind a pot plant at the Seven Island Pokemon Centre, staring at the screen and considering her next move. She had seen Blue's league battle and it had been appalling. He only managed to knock out one member of Red's team and Moltres had barely grazed Zapdos before being knocked out. So why was he being allowed to re-battle him? It was plain unfair. If Blue could have another shot, why couldn't she? With that thought in mind Leaf stood up and began to walk through the centre. Everyone began to look at her and mutter. Her hair was a mess and her clothes were dirty and ripped and she reeked off a mix of sweat and mud. Her personal hygiene had gone down a bit while she had been in seclusion and Leaf blushed slightly but kept her head up and marched out of the Pokemon. By chance, a Charizard appeared overhead and began to fly towards the Trainer Tower. Leaf instantly recognized the creature and knew who it belonged to and sent out Blastoise as she raced towards the beach.
"Come on Blastoise." She croaked. "It is time to get our revenge." Blastoise let out a roar and waddled forwards and dived into the water. He surfaced and Leaf leapt onto his thick brown shell and they moved forwards. As they went, Leaf noticed that Charizard was looking down at them as if he was intentionally trying to lure them to Red. She smiled up at the Flame Pokemon who let out a roar and fired a jet of flame into the sky. Blastoise counter by releasing jets of water from his legs and they shot forwards and Leaf grabbed onto one of the cannons to prevent herself from falling off. Charizard chased after them, forcing flames from his tail to increase his speed. Leaf whooped and cheered in delight: it was the happiest she had been in weeks. But her joy was short lived. Blastoise reached the end of the ocean route and couldn't stop himself. Leaf screamed as her starter shot out of the water and skidded across the sandy beach towards a wooden hut near some rocks. The oversized turtle smashed into one of the wooden walls and Leaf was flung across the room and landed on a coffee table. She looked around just as her rival clambered out of a shower in the corner of the hut, covering his lower body with a towel.
"Jesus Leaf." Red exclaimed. Leaf couldn't stop herself giggling and blushing and she looked away.
"I am guessing you sent your flying lizard to look for me?" Red smirked as he looked for his clothes.
"I had a feeling you'd be in the area and looking for a rematch so I sent Charizard out to look for you."
"How did you know I wanted a rematch?" Leaf asked, turning on her heels.
"The only reason I re-battled Blue was because I knew you'd find out and want a rematch as well." Red pulled his shirt over his head and looked at Leaf. "I haven't had a decent battle in months. Only three trainers had made it through the Elite Four and I have knocked back everyone of them. I want to re-battle you Leaf and I know you want to as well." The two stared into each others eyes and Leaf could tell he was being sincere.
"It is true I want another battle, but only on one condition."
"Which is?"
"It is a three-on-three battle and we can only Pokemon we have caught recently." She said, smirking. "We'll battle in one hour on this beach." Red grinned deviously.
"Of course I'll battle you, but you do know I have a secret weapon." He said. Leaf smiled and leant over so her lips were right next to his ears.
"What makes you think I don't have one of own?" And she laughed and turned and walked away. Blastoise got up and brushed the broken wood of him and followed Leaf. Red watched her go before calling Charizard down to block the hole while he got changed.

An hour later the battle began.
A crowd gathered around the field, pushing and shoving each other to get a good view. Screens had been put up showing scenes from their last battle, as well as shots from Red's previous battles that week: Alakazam using Psychic to send a Surf back to a Starmie and than using Energy Ball, Raticate running and using Flame Wheel on a Tangela, Butterfree using Silver Wind on a Parasect, dodging a Giga Drain and then using Aerial Ace. Leaf was rather annoyed by this. The league was forcing him on everyone as if he was the greatest trainer who every existed. But Leaf wasn't going to let him win. She had spent the past hour training with her Pokemon as well as fixing herself up. Now she stood at one end of the beach with clean clothes and now foul smells around her. Red stood at the other end, waving to members of the crowd and winking to several fan girls who screamed loudly. Several television cameras flashed in his direction and Leaf scoffed.
"Come on Red, this isn't some press conference." Leaf growled.
"Sorry." He huffed and turned back to her.
"You can go first." Leaf said. Red nodded and pulled out an Ultra Ball.
"Piloswine, I choose you!" He exclaimed. From the ball a brown mammoth like Pokemon appeared. He had short white tusks and shaggy brown fur that covered his eyes but a pink pig-like nose poked out through the fur.
"Donphan, come on out!" Leaf cried and she through an Ultra Ball onto the field as well. A large light grey elephant came out of the ball. Thick black hide stretched across the top of his body, his trunk and covered part of his stumpy legs. He also had white tusks that seemed longer than Piloswine's.
"Piloswine use Headbutt." Red exclaimed.
"Donphan use your tusks to defend and then use Earthquake." Leaf cried. Piloswine charged forwards to attack but Donphan stood his ground and used his tusks to push him back and then his eyes glowed brown and the sandy field shook. Piloswine wobbled and fell over, his left side buried in sand.
"Piloswine use Earth Power." Red growled.
"Donphan use Giga Impact." Leaf called. Yellow light emitted from the tufts over Piloswine's eyes and yellow light came from underneath Donphan and the elephant and a lot of sand was blasted into the air. But Donphan was rather unfazed and as orange energy burst from his trunks and covered the Pokemon and his fell towards Piloswine, spinning around in a purple sphere. Red gasped as Donphan smashed into the ground and blasted Piloswine towards him, landing at his feet. Donphan lay perfectly still on the beach as he recharged from the attack.
"Piloswine use Ice Beam." Red said with glee. Piloswine opened his mouth and fired several pale blue beams. Donphan moaned slightly as it was hit and some people in the crowd clapped and cheered.
"Nice job, now try AncientPower." Red said enthusiastically.
"You can win this one Donphan! Use Thunder Fang on the rocks." Leaf said. Red cursed as Piloswine used the sand to make the rocks and fired them at Donphan. But the elephant fired a long range Thunder Fang that blasted the rocks apart and then hit Piloswine but had no effect.
"Piloswine try another Headbutt!" Red cried.
"Donphan counter with Giga Impact!" Leaf cried. Both Pokemon charged forwards, Donphan hidden by the energy he had summoned. They collided in the centre of the beach and the energy from Donphan's attack blasted both of them backwards and sent send flying into the crowd. As the dust cleared, there was a bit of a crater in the middle of the field and Donphan had been covered with sand and was undetectable.
"Piloswine use your nose to sniff it out and then user Ice Beam!" Red yelled. Piloswine moved around the field, sniffing with its powerful nose. Leaf sighed and stared at her watch, waiting for it to hurry up. Then, the mini mammoth fired the beams towards a pile of sand. The sand froze and Red smiled but than Donphan rose up from alongside, shaking his body and tail.
"Piloswine use Ice Beam again!" Red exclaimed.
"Donphan finish this with Fissure." Leaf said confidently. Piloswine ran forwards and fired more beams but Donphan easily dodged them and then stood up on his hind legs. Red swore as Donphan stomped the ground and a large crack appeared, sucking in the sand and Piloswine as well. Piloswine let out a cry as it instantly fainted and was sucked back inside its Ultra Ball.
"Nice going Leaf, but let's see how you handle against Heracross!" Red boomed as he sent out a large blue beetle with thick arms and a distinctive large horn. "Now Heracross, use Close Combat!"
"Donphan use Thunder Fang." Leaf said, examining the new Pokemon. The two Pokemon ran towards each other. Donphan reached Heracross and bit down on the bug's middle, releasing bolts of electricity. Heracross yelled out before beginning to kick and punch Donphan and even whacked him with his horn. The elephant couldn't take this and collapsed onto his side.
"Nice try Donphan." Leaf said sweetly as she brought him back. The crowd let out a cheer at Red's win and Leaf scoffed grumpily. "Azumarill, lets bring them down!" Out of the Ultra Ball came a water type with a large oval shaped body that was yellow at the top, white at the bottom with white circles over the yellow. She had yellow feet and arms and a spring like tail with a yellow orb on the end. Stars appeared and flashed around her, making the crowd ooh and aah.
"Isn't that meant to be blue not yellow?" Red asked, eyebrows raised.
"Well isn't it obvious it's shiny?" Leaf scoffed and Red flushed.
"Heracross use Megahorn." He yelled.
"Azumarill use Body Slam!" Leaf cried. Azumarill leapt into the air using her tail. Heracross remained where he was but his horn began to glow white. Azumarill began to fall with an inflated stomach and it seemed the attack would hit but the Aqua Rabbit was hit by the glowing horn and was tossed into the air and fell backwards and smashed into Leaf, causing Red and the crowd to laugh.
"That was excellent Heracross, now use a Shadow Claw!" Red called joyously.
"Azumarill use Hydro Pump." Leaf yelled as she brushed sand off her hat. Heracross ran forwards over the crater with his left arm that was glowing a ghostly black colour. He reached Azumarill and swiped but the Aqua Rabbit jumped back and fired a large jet of water that blasted Heracross into the crater and filled up the hole. The Single Horn Pokemon thrashed about in the water and Red pulled out an Ultra Ball, tempting to replace him with it and knock out the rest of Leaf's Pokemon. But he decided against it as Heracross rested against the side of the crater. Azumarill decided to jump into the water and circled the area, glaring at Heracross as she went.
"Heracross use Bug Bite!" Red commanded.
"Azumarill use Aqua Tail." Leaf ordered. Heracross suddenly pushed himself away from the edge and jumped into the air. Azumarill gasped and quickly stuck her tail out. Heracross bit down onto the yellow orb and caused Azumarill to shake but she managed to perform the attack and blasted Heracross backwards with blue waves generated from the orb. Heracross cried out as he smashed into a barrier stopping the crowd coming onto the field.
"Heracross used Megahorn!" Red screamed.
"Azumarill use Hydro Pump." Leaf bellowed. Heracross pulled himself away from the barricade and ran forwards with a glowing horn. But Azumarill jumped out of the pool so she was on the opposite side of Heracross and began to fire the jet of water. Heracross leant forwards and his horn absorbed the blow and sent water across the field but Azumarill wouldn't back down and continued to fire. Leaf smiled as Heracross struggled to move around the field and Azumarill just moved in the opposite direction. However, Azumarill ran out of water and Heracross quickly leapt across the field and jabbed her in the stomach, blasting her backwards.
"Heracross finish this Close Combat!" Red yelled.
"Azumarill, use Superpower!" Leaf cried with a smile. Red gasped as Azumarill stood up and generated a large red ball of energy that was double her height and width. Heracross stared at it but ran forwards anyway as Azumarill prepared to fire it. Everyone in and around the field froze and time seemed to slow down as Heracross jumped into the air the second Azumarill released the giant ball of energy. There were collective gasps and shocked expressions as Heracross punched the ball of energy and it exploded. There was an explosion and time unfroze as everyone was blasted by red shockwaves. The barriers were all destroyed and waves were generated away from the field. Sand surrounded everything and it was a minute before it died down, revealing both Pokemon unconscious and half buried in sand. The two trainers brought their Pokemon back and looked up at each other. Red just smiled and pulled out a Master Ball.
"Want to know who this is?" He asked with a sneer.
"Sure, why not." Leaf said sweetly as she pulled out her own Master Ball. The crowd ooohed at this as Red stared dumbstruck at hers before shaking his head.
"I don't care who you've caught, I am still going to win." He boomed and threw the Master Ball onto the field. Blue light emerged from it and the crowd gasped as a legendary Pokemon emerged. Suicune is one of the legendary beasts, three hard to catch legendaries from the Johto Region. Suicune appears to be wolf like, with a blue coat and white underside with white markings along its side. There was a large purple cape emitting from its head along with a spectacular head crest and two long thin white tails that seemed to be blowing in the wrong direction. A strange northern breeze started as soon as Suicune was fully formed. It looked over at its trainer and nodded before staring patiently at Leaf. Red looked at her as well to get her reaction and she just chuckled.
"This will be easier than I thought." She said and quickly threw her Master Ball. A yellow glow came from hers along with sparks of electricity. Above the field the clouds suddenly began to form over the field and turn a dark grey as Raikou, another one of the legendary beasts that looked very tiger like. It was mainly yellow with a white underside as well. Black markings covered its sides and legs. There was a purple cloud like cape on its back and a thin pale blue tail with a star marking on the end. Raikou's head was a mixture of colours: white, yellow, black and pale blue. It also had two long fangs covering his bottom face. Raikou let out a loud roar and thunder sounded above, scaring several members of the crowd. Suicune, however, remained perfectly calm and practically ignored the new addition to the field.
"Ok Suicune, use Tailwind." Red said peacefully.
"Raikou use Rain Dance." Leaf said, agitated by Red's calmness. But her anger turned to surprise as Suicune's Tailwind cause her hat to fly of. Red burst into laughter as Raikou sent sparks into the darkening clouds and it began to rain heavily, instantly turning the light brown sand dark and wet. Leaf put her hat back on and gave Red the finger as they prepared for their next attacks.
"Suicune use Hydro Pump." Red said, stifling his laughter.
"Raikou use Thunder!" Leaf roared in delight. But as Raikou started to glow, Suicune suddenly sped away from its spot and the powerful burst of Thunder smashed into the remains of Red's hut. Suicune then appeared behind Raikou and released the powerful jet of water that forced the Thunder Pokemon into the crater.
"Ok Suicune use Waterfall." Red grinned.
"Raikou use Discharge." Leaf said with determination. Suicune shut its eyes and water appeared around it and stretched out towards Raikou and it then charged through the water and slammed into its opponent. This was what Leaf had been hoping for and as the two Pokemon rolled over the field, Raikou suddenly numerous bolts of electricity, blasting Suicune off and it rolled towards the ocean.
"Suicune use Blizzard." Red called before coughing from the storm happening around him.
"Raikou use Extrasensory." Leaf called. Suicune quickly fired a snowstorm from its mouth but Raikou easily dodged and a rock behind Leaf became covered in ice. Raikou then glared at Suicune with deep pink eyes and Suicune began to howl with pain as it was attacked by an invisible source.
"Suicune fight back with Waterfall!" Red screamed.
"Raikou try another Thunder." Leaf said, dancing on the spot. Suicune summoned another Waterfall and blasted towards Raikou who was waiting. As Suicune struck Raikou balanced himself so it didn't move backwards and then fired the powerful bolt of electricity. Suicune was hit in its head crest and flew backwards towards the water but Red wasn't fazed and Leaf saw why a moment later as Suicune's paws touched the water and it stayed afloat.
"I guess you didn't know that Suicune can walk on water." Red called out, smiling.
"Well… er… um… er… oh shut up!" Leaf huffed and Red laughed again.
"Ok Suicune, use Blizzard."
"Raikou use Extrasensory again." Suicune quickly fired the snowstorm and Raikou attempted to dodge but was hit square on and quickly froze and glided down the beach towards the water but hit a rock and stopped.
"Suicune use Hydro Pump." Red said gleefully.
"Raikou use a Discharge if you can!" Leaf pleaded. Suicune walked towards the frozen Raikou and fired the powerful jet of water. Suddenly, the ice block glowed yellow and then was blasted apart but several bolts of electricity. Several hit Suicune and the Aurora Pokemon was sent flying backwards and crashed into several rocks. Raikou shook itself clean of the moisture and looked up as the rain began to stop.
"Suicune use Blizzard one more time!" Red yelled.
"Raikou use Rain Dance again." Leaf said nervously. The two trainers ran down so they were closer to the Pokemon and the crowd followed. Suicune nestled on the rocks and fired the icy attack as Raikou prepared to send the sparks. Raikou was struck by the snowstorm as the miniature lightning bolts flew up and rain struck the battle once again. There was silence amongst the humans as Suicune and Raikou stared at each. Raikou suddenly moved and jumped onto some rocks on the opposite side of the ocean passage to Suicune. Red and Leaf looked at each other as they recognised what Zapdos and Articuno had done just before their battle had ended and they both knew they had reached the end of the line.
"Its been nice battling you." Red said.
"Same here, especially when I won." Leaf said and they both smirked before turning back to their ever serious Pokemon. The two beasts looked at the trainers with impatient looks: they wanted the fight to end.
"Suicune use Hydro Pump." Red said softly.
"Raikou use Thunder." Leaf said and quickly grasped Red's hand. The two Pokemon let out collective roars and fired their attacks. They met in the middle and the Hydro Pump was blasted apart by the Thunder, merging with the ocean to form a huge wave of water. Red and Leaf closed their eyes as their crowd screamed and fled and they let the wave wash over them. The two were knocked backwards and they toppled down into the crater. The crater filled halfway and Red had to get up out the water, coughing and spluttering. He looked and saw Leaf thrashing around underwater and quickly pulled her out. She spat a large amount of water into his face and gave her a look and she blushed before standing up. Red quickly followed her and they both looked towards their Pokemon and gasped. Both were standing perfectly still as if they hadn't just been hit by any attacks. On a closer inspection, both Pokemon were soaking wet and seemed to have sparks emitting from them. But both Pokemon were staring determinedly at each other, neither moving a muscle. Then, it ended with a slip of a paw. Leaf's jaw dropped as Raikou collapsed and slipped into the water, cross eyed. Suicune then let out a sigh and flopped down as well. Leaf pulled herself together and brought back her Pokemon and looked to Red as he brought back Suicune and she noticed that the clouds were beginning to part.
"Well, at least it wasn't as destructive as our last one." Leaf said and Red chuckled.
"It was good to have a decent battle for once." The two then stared at each other for several minutes, not saying a word.
"I am going to head home to Pallet Town for a while. I might do the Trainer Tower in a few weeks if I feel like it." Leaf said and quickly blinked to dismiss the tears that were starting to form.
"Well, I guess this is goodbye then." Red said nervously. "For now at least." Leaf smiled and released Blastoise into the water. Red brought out Charizard and the two starters stared at each other and shook hands. The trainers grinned and looked at each other and shook hands as well. Leaf looked at Red who smiled at her once again and she couldn't contain herself any longer and she kissed her rival on the lips.
"Blastoise/Charizard*." The two starters exclaimed as the two trainers embraced and continued to kiss for several more minutes. Leaf then stood backwards and smiled.
"Goodbye Red, I hope to see you around sometime." She said and walked towards the water. Blastoise nodded at Charizard and began to move, Leaf jumping onto his back and the two set off. Red was gobsmacked and looked up at Charizard.
"Did you know she liked me?" He said. Charizard looked down at his trainer, rolled his eyes and hit him on the head. Red moaned and glared at Charizard before walking over to the remains of his hut.
"Jeez, next she'll be telling me one of my Pokemon can talk somehow."


Several hours later, over in the homeland of Suicune and Raikou, a young girl was staring at the television in the lounge of her small cottage, watching a news story about Red and Leaf's battle and how it had disrupted the weather. The girl, Crystal, Kris for short, had blue-green hair that she had styled so she appeared to have upside down pigtails. She was wearing a long sleeved white jacket with red cuffs, a red shirt and long pants that were yellow on the front and dark green on the sides and back. Her white, red and green trainers were next to the sofa as she didn't want to get the sofa dirty as she cheered for Leaf. There was a knock on the door and Kris turned around, straightening her simple black glasses and she stared at her mother, who looked like a taller version of her daughter, except she was wearing a white robe and had a bandanna wrapped around her head.
"I was just a bit too excited." Kris said, blushing, and she sat back down.
"I keep telling you to enter in the Johto League." Her mother said with a sigh.
"I don't think I'd be good enough!" Kris whinged. Her mother looked at her with a grumpy expression.
"I thought the exact same thing when I started my journey. But I managed to pull through and Hooty and I became champions only three months after beginning." She said with pride and looked over towards her championship trophy that was in the middle of her six PokeBalls. "If I managed to do it, so can you!" Kris grabbed the pamphlet she had received that advertised the three starter Pokemon available to trainers without one and looked back at her mother.
"Ok, I'll do it if I can get that one in the middle." Kris said and pointed at a green Pokemon that looked like a cross between a dinosaur and puppy to her. Her mother nodded and patted her daughter on the head before sitting next to her and turning the volume up as they watched the scene of the tidal wave unfolding. But Kris ignored the battle unfolding and began to dream about her own journey.
She was going to reach the top, no matter how long it took.

* Finally!

Well, there you go. The saga of Red vs Leaf is now over. :) And, as you can tell by the extra bit at the end, the sequel (Gold vs Kris) will come around after I have finished my next big Pokemon series: Galactic. Feel free to review if you have any views or suggestions for the next one and thank you all for reading this.