"Altaria, let's show everyone how strong we've become!"
The cloud pokemon emerged from her pokeball. The instant Cynthia recognised it to be a shiny variant, I could tell that her full focus was on the battle. Even as a distinguished Champion, the the feeling of seeing a shiny pokemon stayed the same.
"Roserade, we'll show Elaine why we're the Champions."
As the flower pokemon emerged from her pokeball, the tension was tangible. She emerged with a serene grace, her strength clear for everyone to see. This caught the attention of both Arcanine and Empoleon who both sat up, getting a clear view of Roserade.
"Alright, Altaria, start with dragon pulse!"
Elaine started the battle with an intensity that I didn't expect from her. Quickly, the dragon pokemon moved into action, firing a beam of multicoloured energy. Roserade swiftly evaded the attack, moving as if she still had another level. I could tell Cynthia was feeling out her opponent, judging how seriously she should take the battle.
"Altaria, use sing!"
Roserade easily evaded the slow move, jumping into the air to move out of the way.
"Now! Dragon pulse!"
With nowhere to dodge, the flower pokemon was hit directly by the powerful dragon move. She landed on the grassy floor gently, looking a little more serious. I could tell this caught Cynthia's attention and she wanted nothing more than to hold nothing back.
"Sludge bomb, Roserade."
As the flower pokemon manifested a huge mess of sludge, she launched the attack multiple times. Altaria was able to evade the first attack easily, but the successive moves were becoming more difficult to dodge.
"Now power whip!"
Roserade jumped into the air, attacking with an extended vine like arm, connecting with the move. Altaria fell to the ground but quickly returned to the skies, ready to battle. I could see that Elaine wasn't going to lose so easily but she was battling against one of history's best trainers.
"Again, use sludge bomb."
Once more, the flower pokemon initiated the process again. I could clearly see what Cynthia was doing but before Altaria was pressured in any way, she countered with a powerful hurricane attack. The rapid winds easily overpowered the poison attack, sweeping up Roserade.
As the winds dissipated high in the air, Roserade was left to fall from the skies. Within seconds, Elaine had already reversed the desperate situation she was in, Cynthia now on the back foot.
"Altaria, use moonblast!"
"Use power whip to counter!"
While in the air, the flower pokemon shifted her body as Altaria launched her attack. In one swift motion, Roserade had pulled herself out of the way, evading the move fairly easy. Now, the grass pokemon was in control of her descent but I had a feeling Elaine wouldn't let up.
"Dragon pulse, Altaria, then use sing!"
Elaine seemed to be well in her flow, controlling the battle easily. As I looked closely at her, I could see that she was moving with more confidence which was rubbing off on the battle. Altaria was not only able to keep pace with Roserade, but was currently dominating the fight.
"Dazzling gleam, Roserade, then leaf storm!"
All of a sudden, a blinding flash engulfed the flower pokemon all the way in the sky. As the light died down, the dragon attack had been countered. The moment Roserade landed on the grassy floor, she sprung forward, a storm of razor sharp leaves ready at her say.
"Counter with hurricane!"
The two powerful moves collided, causing an intense rush of air that nearly swept me off my feet. Neither pokemon was letting up the attack, maintaining their incredible power. I could see that Roserade's insane stamina was starting to show as Altaria faltered for a moment, the flower pokemon striking with a direct power whip.
In a heap, the cloud pokemon fell to the floor. From the sidelines, I could see how much Elaine was giving in to this battle. She wasn't going to accept defeat, even with all of the odds stacked against her.
Across the field, Cynthia had been fairly quiet for most of the battle. She only spoke to call out her next moves, but I could see in her eyes that she was analysing Elaine from how she reacted to the battle. Roserade looked tired but could clearly keep going, unlike her opponent.
Just as Dawn stepped up to make a call, Elaine spoke up, "Altaria, we're not done here, we have so much more to give! Now, mega evolve!"
As her trainer called out, the cloud pokemon became engulfed in a bright white light. There were flashes of yellow and pink, the light dying down after a moment. Altaria had emerged in her mega form, shiny mega form at that, and looked ready to battle once again.
I could see that Elaine's perseverance was rubbing off on her pokemon, neither of the two willing to give an inch. This was a side of her I hadn't seen before. I had always known that she was a strong trainer but even this was a surprise. The determination in Altaria's eyes mirrored her trainers, the two looking over the grassy field.
This whole process had definitely caught the attention of the other two. Both Cynthia and Roserade had their eyes fixed on their opponent. They knew how powerful a trainer needed to be in order to harness the power of mega evolution. The bond between trainer and pokemon needed to be damn near unbreakable to unlock the true strength of mega evolution. It was simple, the stronger the bond, the stronger the pokemon and trainer.
Now, it was becoming clear to me. I could see that Elaine wanted to show us all that she was more than capable of taking on missions like us. I had to admit, I was impressed with what I was seeing, but the real test was yet to begin.
"Dazzling gleam, Roserade."
There was a bright flash of light, the dragon able to defend itself with its soft clouds. But this left an opening for their opponent. The flower pokemon leapt into the air with great poise, firing multiple sludge bomb attacks.
Without hesitation, Elaine called out, "Altaria, we're using the move. Spiral dragon pulse!"
Quickly, the dragon pokemon responded, spinning in the air as she fired the multicoloured beam of energy. As the bombs of sludge collided with the intuitive dragon attack, they exploded with multicoloured fire before disintegrating in the air.
Altaria continued the assault, her opponent unable to evade the attack while in the air. The dragon attack connected, Roserade falling to the ground in a heap. She quickly returned to her feet, showing that she still had much more to give. Both Arcanine and Empoleon were cheering for the two pokemon on the sidelines, though I had a feeling I knew who they were supporting.
"Hmph, Roserade, this is it now, leaf storm!"
The flower pokemon moved quickly, covering the grassy floor in no time. She sprang into the air, firing her powerful attack.
"Hurricane to counter!"
Quickly, the dragon pokemon made its move. With her newfound strength, she was able to conjure a huge windstorm, the two attacks colliding at center field. Once again, I had to keep my feet planted, the air rushing by at gale speeds.
"Now power whip!"
Roserade seemed to have found an opening, striking among the chaos. Altaria grunted as one hit landed successfully, followed by another. Eventually, the gale winds had calmed down and I could clearly see what was going on.
Both pokemon were falling from the skies high above the grassy floor. Quickly, the cloud pokemon was able to regain control of itself, flying toward the ground at blistering speed.
"Power whip straight down Roserade!"
"Altaria, moonblast, straight up!"
The flower pokemon was plummeting at tremendous speeds, its attack growing in strength with every passing second. But, the dragon pokemon had been collecting energy during this time, launching a massive moonblast attack.
There was a loud explosion as the two collided, but Roserade kept pushing through. She was cutting through the fairy attack, but not easily. Altaria wasn't holding anything back, letting her full power show.
As Roserade descended, there was another huge explosion. Both pokemon fell out of the sky, fainting at the same time. They had knocked each other out with their final moves, each giving it their all.
Dawn called the result, Cynthia and Elaine recalling their pokemon. The two exchanged words out of hearing range but I had a feeling I knew what the Champion was saying.
"That sure was a good battle, I didn't know you had it in you Elaine." The blunette was elated with the result, clearly happy that her new friend had progressed so quickly.
Elaine didn't say much in response, I could tell that she wanted to prove something to us. And that she did.
"We should get ready for Snowpoint City. That's the only way we can get to Stark Mountain. If that's where Heatran is, then that's where Team Galactic will be."
Dawn and I were already clear on the plan and once we filled Elaine in, the two of them left to resupply. Cynthia called me over to her and as I turned I could see that she was making her way over to the town's ruins. I knew that it must have been something important so I wasted no time.