Chapter 37: My Enemy
Kalos Region, Pokémon Academy
"This isn't looking good for that Green boy," Sycamore said aloud for everyone to hear.
"Why's that, Professor? That guy's winning by one Pokémon though," Shauna questioned curiously.
"Well then, Miss Shauna. As well as the rest of my students…" the young professor announced, gripping everybody's attention, including the teachers.
"Does anyone recall the rules set for the Grand League Battles?"
The Fifth Indigo Grand League, otherwise now called The Festival of Champions, had a different set of rules compared to the previous four.
The most significant one being the lack of restriction on how many moves a Pokémon could use. For the first time in the League's history, Trainers could finally go all-out in their battles.
"And then the basic 3v3 for the Round of 16 and Quarterfinals, then 6v6 for the Semifinals and Finals, right?" Calem answered without missing a beat.
"Très bien, Calem!" Sycamore praised.
"But what I mainly want to focus on is the first one, the most important one," Sycamore explained.
"If there are no restrictions on the number of a Pokémon's moves, would that not favour Miss Karen?"
Several murmurs of confusion could be heard from the crowd at the professor's question.
Then, a hand raised upwards to answer the question.
"Because she's a Dark type specialist," Serena answered.
"C'est exact, Serena," Sycamore congratulated, snapping his fingers at the honey blonde.
"Eh? Why?" Shauna once again asked her best friend, growing even more curious.
"Of all the Types in existence, The Dark types are the most difficult to deal with," the honey blonde explained.
"Most of their status moves rely on trickery and deception such as [Memento], which lowered Green's guard at the beginning only for it to bite him back later."
"On the other hand, most of their offensive moves like [Dark Pulse] have an additional effect of a chance to flinch the opponent."
"Meaning…?" Shauna questioned again, not knowing where her friend was getting at.
"4 Dark type moves could be seen as 8 moves if you count the additional effects. So, what happens if there's no limit?" Serena asked her again, conjuring a lightbulb on Shauna's head.
"Oh! Then that would mean…"
Sinnoh, Celestic Town.
"There's no way to strategize ahead with such a large pool of deceptive moves," Cynthia murmured to herself.
"You'd think they would have figured that out since a year ago when the Dark type was recognized as a Type," she sighed.
"Ehhh? But you could handle it Sis," her sister replied indifferently.
Instead, to her surprise, the older woman shook her head is disagreement.
"It would be tough, even for me. What's more, that Karen girl is still young. Who knows what kind of a monster she'll become in the future?" Cynthia observed.
"But…"
Her platinum gray eyes focused on the orange-haired boy and thinking of the raven-haired one.
"Pallet Town… They're the ones I'm looking forward to seeing," Cynthia muttered in anticipation with a smile.
Galar. Postwick Town.
"What a masterful display of Dark moves from that girl!" Leon complimented.
"Hmm… I don't like it though. It feels kinda unfair to that Green guy, y'know?" Hop grumbled in disappointment.
"All's fair in a battle, Hop. It takes real talent and effort to dedicate into a monotype team, something even I can't do," Leon chuckled at his brother's grievance.
"Kekeke…" Umbreon snickered at the opposing Trainer.
{ UMBREON'S PRACTICALLY DARING ITS OPPONENT TO ATTACK! }
Gary switched the Arcanine's Ball for his second one.
{ ARCANINE JUST BARELY AVOIDED GETTING KNOCKED OUT. }
For the first time in the entire Grand League…
{ KARIN'S ON THE OFFENSIVE NOW! }
{ HOW WILL THE YOUNG CHALLENGER FROM PALLET TOWN REACT? }
The boy felt threatened.
The piercing gaze from Karen curiously boiled his blood. For reasons he did not know.
'Something about her pisses me off,' Gary thought, his brows furrowed in his annoyance.
'It's almost like…'
However, the orange-haired boy instead taunted his opponent, all the while planning his next move.
"Yeah, that's Dark types, all right. No wonder everyone hates 'em," he scoffed.
"They finally get recognized as an official Type, and that's the name they ended up with? Not exactly inspiring."
"Well, at least it's better than what some of the Kanto folks call 'em."
Understanding what the boy was hinting at, Karen exuded an intimidating aura.
"Hoh? And pray tell, what do you call them?" the blue-haired teenager asked threateningly, as if daring the young boy to continue.
'How emotional… That cinches it,' Gary mused as he observed her reaction.
Nevertheless, he continued without fear.
"The Evil-type," he answered with a snicker.
"The irony just keeps getting better. Whatever happened to "I'll show you how bright my Pokémon can shine?"
"Are tricks and fakeouts the best they've got?"
Having enough of the boy's ramblings, Karen sighed to herself.
"Then… Would you call a starving lion eating a live herbivore 'cruel' and 'evil' as well?" the teen shot back with that question.
(Note: Animals exist alongside Pokémon. E.g : Pikachu, the Electric Mouse Pokémon)
Gary answered with silence, getting her point.
"Trickery, cowardice, evil," she continued.
"Those are just words we humans arbitrarily assign according to our values."
Gary twitched at the word 'value'.
"Every living being in this world has their own perceptions."
A wounded Murkrow inside its Ball remembered its time feeding through garbage, only to be abused by trash collectors. Assigning them as 'useless and weak vermin that cannot even battle'.
"And yet despite these children merely living in their own worlds with their own principles…"
Houndoom recalled her pack's demise and her abuse at the hands of Karen's father.
"They were hated and rejected."
Umbreon looked back at its past with its former Trainer. An old woman who coddled it when it was an Eevee, only to gaze at it in fear at its evolution.
"Pitch-black body and blood red eyes. Just like a demon!"
Everyone was stunned silent. No one could say anything.
They could not refute it. Ash and Blue could only sit quietly.
The raven-haired boy had his blood-red eyes opened wide at such a revelation. His partner Pikachu began sympathizing with Karen and her Pokémon.
The boy balled up his fists in frustration. Despite somewhat matured after his mother's death, Ash understood Karen's motivations and could see himself in her shoes if he were ever in the teen's position.
Once again, small embers of blue came and went just as quickly from his fists, with no one noticing their short lifespans.
…
…
…
"So?"
A haughty Gary remained unfazed at Karen's statements.
"What's the moral here? 'Don't judge a book by its cover'?" he mockingly asked.
"Aren't you a little too old for stuff like that?"
'You're one to talk,' Ash and Blue thought in unison.
"It's a shame but… being insensitive like this is part of growing up," Karen simply said, not entertaining his provocations.
"Sometimes words just aren't enough."
"People need to be shown the truth."
Karen stood tall, her silvery-blue eyes steeled with burning resolve and unshakeable determination.
"That's why… I'll fight."
"Alongside these Pokémon that everyone hates."
"For these Pokémon who humans call 'Evil'."
"I'll reach the top and show everyone just how strong they can be."
"Then, maybe, when people think of Dark types, they won't think of 'Evil'."
"Instead, they'll think of the strength it takes to persevere against all the odds."
Gary narrowed his cold green eyes towards Karen in irritation.
'So, she wants to change how the world thinks about Dark types,' he mused.
'Or, to put it another way...'
'For the sake of her Pokémon... She's willing to go against the whole world and everything it believes in.'
Gary could not help but scoff in realization. Realization of why the Dark type specialist rubbed him the wrong way.
'As if it couldn't be any clearer…'
…
"Well, I'm gonna be a Pokémon Master! And Pikachu here is gonna be my ace!"
"…I met a Cubone shortly after you left."
"Rocket killed his mother and were gonna sell their skulls for money."
"I don't give up until it's over!"
…
'In a way… She's like him.'
Gary took a glance at the glass of the spectator room.
And saw his rival, Ash Ketchum, staring back at him.
'I can't stand either of 'em.'
"Ha! This is why women like you are nothing but trouble!" he shot back at Karen with a sly smile.
"They just won't stop talking!"
With that, Gary finally sent out his second Pokémon.
'You're the one who started it, nitwit. Also listen to her, jerk,' Blue thought, deadpanned in her head.
From the Ball, emerged a yellow humanoid Pokémon with two spoons:
Alakazam.
"!" Karen was surprised at Gary's choice.
And she was not the only one.
{ OH, WHAT'S THIS?! }
{ GREEN HAS HAD PLENTY OF TIME TO THINK OVER WHICH POKEMON TO USE IN THIS BATTLE. }
{ SO WHY HAS HE CHOSEN ALAKAZAM? }
{ WHAT COULD GREEN BE THINKING? AREN'T PSYCHIC TYPES WEAK AGAINST DARK TYPES? }
The audience at the stadium chattered and murmured, not knowing what the orange-haired boy was thinking.
Including those from Pokémon Academy.
"It's official. That dude's insane," Calem affirmed, flabbergasted at Gary's choice.
"And popular too…" Trevor commented, noticing almost all the girls in the halls infatuated by the young boy.
"Meh. Red's a lot cuter," Serena huffed, crossing her arms in exasperation at the notion that Gary was better looking than her sweetheart.
The honey blonde's attention drifted towards the Dark type specialist. After hearing her little speech, she felt sympathy for the misunderstood Dark types.
'She reminds me a lot of Red,' she thought with a slight blush after catching herself thinking about the raven-haired boy.
But the girl's 11-year-old mind immediately went haywire after putting a girl and her childhood friend together in a sentence.
'…Does Red like older girls?' was the conclusion she came to.
Back at the spectator room, most of the competitors were trying to make sense of Gary's choice of Pokémon.
"What a little twerp," Agatha huffed in annoyance towards her rival's grandson.
{ WHAT DO YOU MAKE OF THIS, PROFESSOR? }
"Well first, as for why Psychic types do not affect Dark type, it's due to the substances Dark type Pokémon secrete from their bodies prevent Psychic moves from affecting them," Oak explained, sipping his tea once again.
"Not only that, but they also emit a special AURA that disrupts telekinesis, making their moves super effective against Psychics."
Ash then started to notice something about Umbreon after Alakazam was sent out. Not knowing that his eyes were flaring red slightly.
'Is it just me or is there something around that guy?' he pondered after being unnaturally aware of an obsidian black energy around the ink-black Pokémon, however, it faded quickly.
"Additionally, Green is facing a Curse-powered Umbreon."
{ HMM... EITHER WAY, GREEN WOULDN'T HAVE PUT ALAKAZAM IN HIS TEAM WITHOUT A GOOD REASON. }
"Oh, you're not approaching? Isn't Alazakam's selling points its Speed and Special Attack?" Karen goaded.
"Well, in that case… We're taking the lead ourselves!"
"[Pursuit]!"
The grinning Umbreon then hastily made its way towards the easy Psychic prey.
"[Psychic]!" Gary commanded instantly.
A purple energy emitted from the two spoons of Alakazam and connected with each other, forming a crescent.
The Psychic type then shot the purple crescent towards the Dark one, slicing a boulder on its way.
Unfortunately, all it served was to phase through a snickering Umbreon, not even affecting the Moonlight Pokémon.
With a final dash, [Pursuit] landed on Alazakam's face, pulverizing a boulder behind it as well.
{ OUCH! THAT PSYCHIC ATTACK DIDN'T EVEN SLOW UMBREON DOWN! }
{ …WHA?! }
Umbreon's grin faltered as it realized it was being pulled to the air…
By Alakazam's [Psychic].
The Psi Pokémon had redirected [Pursuit] to land on the boulder behind it instead, thus avoiding super effective damage against it.
"Ehhhh?! That's [Psychic]!" Blue cried out in exasperation.
{ UMBREON IS CAUGHT BY ALAKAZAM'S ATTACK! HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE?! }
"Like you said, Alakazam has a ton of Special Attack," Gary explained, his posture unflinching as he had already planned for such a situation.
"Even for Dark types, there's a limit to those telekinesis-disrupting secretions of yours. All I gotta do is have Alakazam analyze it and pump out as much anti-disruption Psychic waves as he can!"
'Analyze?' Karen thought, noticing the hint to why Umbreon was being affected.
'…I see. A Psychic type move that analyses Dark type secretion and identifying it: …'
'[Miracle Eye]!'
Alakazam's eyes were now augmented with lilac magic circles, allowing him to identify Umbreon.
With a sly grin, Gary started his counterattack.
"Enjoy the ride! Alakazam, toss it around the field!" he called out, his Pokémon obliged.
With a wave of its spoons, the Psi Pokémon began crashing the Moonlight Pokémon into the rocky terrain.
"That's harsh!" Blue gasped in shock.
"He ain't done yet!" Ash said aloud, seeing Alakazam continue to fling Umbreon around like a ragdoll.
Ground. Rocks. Dirt.
The ink-black Pokémon's body found itself smashed into all of them. The bruises started to accumulate more and more.
{ ALAKAZAM IS TOTALLY DOMINATING THE BATTLEFIELD! }
{ THIS IS WHY YOU DON'T MESS WITH PSYCHIC TYPES, FOLKS! }
{ UMBREON'S NOT SMILING ANYMORE! }
Finally, Umbreon floated into the air.
"Finish it! Slam it into the ground!" Gary ordered.
But before Umbreon could reach the bottom, it shredded the Psychic waves binding its body. The sinister smile exposing its razor-sharp teeth appeared again.
"[Feint Attack]," Karen coolly commanded.
The teen had been waiting for an opening and Umbreon picked up on its Trainer's thoughts. An opening where Alakazam lowered his guard for a moment.
Using its bushy tail, Umbreon delivered an enormous blow towards Alakazam.
[Feint Attack] + Momentum from falling.
However, the Psi Pokémon was well-trained by Gary. It had managed to barely dodge the super effective move.
Unfortunately, its spoons were not so lucky as they had been snapped cleaned off.
Using [Psychic] on itself, Alakazam retreated hastily.
{ ALAKAZAM MANAGES TO DODGE RIGHT AT THE LAST MINUTE! }
{ UMBREON HAS FORCED ITS WAY OUT OF THE ONSLAUGHT! }
{ BUT IT TOOK A LOT OF DAMAGE BACK THERE. THIS CAN STILL GO EITHER WAY! }
A grinning Umbreon hissed victoriously at its escape, not even fazed by the damage done by [Psychic].
'That damn thing waited until it was right above to strike...' Gary mused in annoyance.
"Tch. Alakazam, Plan B," Gary clicked his tongue while proceeding with his next strategy.
Hearing this, Alakazam flew into the air to get vantage point.
{ LOOKS LIKE THIS IS TURNING INTO A LONG-RANGE BATTLE! }
{ ALAKAZAM'S USING [PSYCHIC] TO LEVITATE ABOVE THE GROUND! }
Karen was not undeterred and commanded Umbreon without any delay.
"Umbreon, fire off multiple [Shadow Balls] at it!"
"[Light Screen]!" Gary called out.
Multiple layers of [Light Screen] manifested to block [Shadow Balls] as even one would seal Alakazam's fate.
The Psi Pokémon then sent the stray ones into bubbles of warped space.
[Light Screen] began cracking, unable to withstand the barrage of [Shadow Balls].
{ AMAZING! ALAKAZAM BLOCKED THE SHADOW BALLS. }
{ AND NOW IT'S READY TO COUNTERATTACK! }
But before Alakazam could begin, Umbreon had leapt towards it, destroying [Light Screen] completely in the process.
"Finish it, [Sucker Punch]!" Karen cried out her finisher.
With a blow so loud that it echoed sickeningly in the stadium as well as the footage from the camera recording the match, Umbreon had finally grasped victory.
{ THE [SHADOW BALLS] WERE JUST A DISTRACTION! UMBREON LEAPS IN FOR A DIRECT ATTACK! }
{ ALAKAZAM IS GOING DOWN! }
Karen smiled in satisfaction after gaining a win against the arrogant boy while said arrogant boy, although knowing the outcome, did not expect it to come so soon as his green eyes widened in bewilderment at [Sucker Punch]'s devastation.
While going down, a barely conscious Alakazam tried to use [Psychic] on itself again to lessen the fall damage.
"Screw the safe landing! Go with Plan A! [Reflect]!" Gary ordered coldly.
Alakazam then aborted its previous action and instead used multiple [Reflect] on Umbreon, boxing it up in a cube of [Reflects].
'He made a cage out of [Reflect]?!' Karen mused in surprise at the boy's creativity.
With that, Alakazam fell to the ground.
{ ALAKAZAM IS UNABLE TO BATTLE! }
"That Green…! He let 'im faint to get in one last attack..." Ash said, slightly vexed at how Gary treated his Pokémon.
"Next!"
Instantly, the orange-haired Trainer recalled the Psi Pokémon back into its Ball while simultaneously sending out his third: Rhydon.
{ GREEN DOESN'T EVEN FLINCH! HIS LAST POKÉMON IS RHYDON! }
The stone plated giant then made its way below the trapped Umbreon.
"Break out, Umbreon!" Karen cried out.
"Just as we planned, Rhydon! [Stealth Rock]!" Gary called out in a hurry, not wanting to get any timings according to his plans wrong.
Rhydon then slammed the battlefield, creating pointed rocks flew upwards from the ground.
With a Curse-strengthened paw, Umbreon broke out of its prison.
Crack!
However, the pointed rocks were now making their way towards the falling Moonlight Pokémon.
{ UMBREON'S OUT OF ITS CAGE! }
{ BUT NOW IT'S FALLING RIGHT TOWARD THE FLOATING JAGGED STONES! }
"Rhydon, [Horn Drill]!" Gary ordered.
Unable to stop the pointed rocks from hitting Umbreon, Karen issued her command.
"Umbreon, [Curse]!"
The muscles of the ink-black Pokémon intensified further, boosting its Attack and Defense higher.
{ WHOA! WHAT'S THIS? }
[Stealth Rock] was now practically bouncing off Umbreon's hardened hide due to 2 boosts of Defense from [Curse].
{ UMBREON'S USING CURSE TO BOOST ITS DEFENSE AND POWER THROUGH THE ROCKS! }
{ BUT RHYDON'S WAITING WITH AN ATTACK DIRECTLY BELOW IT! }
Kalos Region, Pokemon Academy
The crowd went wild with adrenaline from such an amazing display of battle prowess from the two Trainers.
"That's so cool! Using [Reflects] as a trap is awesome!" Calem gushed uncontrollably; the boy was heavily enamoured with Gary's clever uses of Pokémon moves.
"Geez, now my boyfriend's in love with a guy," Shauna said with a deadpanned tone.
While many were praising Gary's battle techniques, Serena noticed something familiar about the current state of battle.
'Isn't this just a repeat of Red's last Prelim match?' the girl pondered after remembering Pikachu's descent towards Nidoking's [Horn Drill].
'This guy… He's basically showing Red what would happen if he were the opponent that match!'
The thought of that made Serena seethed in anger.
'Just you wait, Green. Red's gonna beat you!'
Meanwhile, an oblivious Ash was enjoying the battle alongside Pikachu, Espeon and Blue before sneezing.
"Achoo! …Is someone talking about me?" Ash wondered.
Gary was now fixated on the trajectory of Umbreon's fall and confirmed 100% that [Horn Drill] was going to hit.
'[Horn Drill]'s a powerful move, but it's easy to see coming and avoid.'
'But if you're falling through the air, you can't dodge.'
'Red's win at Prelims was a fluke. I'll show what would've happened if he didn't have ridiculous amounts of luck!'
Umbreon was struggling to move away from impeding doom thanks to [Stealth Rock].
'It's too busy dealing with the Stealth Rocks to manoeuvre itself.'
'It can power up with [Curse] all it wants...'
'This is gonna be a one-hit KO!'
A smirking Rhydon now waited for its victim to fall on its horn.
…
…
'Did you really think I'd fall for such a cheap trick?'
"Now's our chance, Umbreon!" Karen cried out, her smile matching the menacing demeanour of her Pokémon.
As Umbreon came closer, it began spraying a liquid from its body towards Rhydon's face. More specifically, its eyes.
'Rhydon's focusing intently without blinking!' the blue-haired Trainer thought.
'In such a situation, you have no choice but to keep your eyes open!'
Splash!
The liquid got into the stone-clad giant's eyes.
'Rhydon's eyes?!' Gary panicked in his thoughts.
Blue jolted up from her seat in astonishment.
"No way! That's…" Blue cried aloud, remembering the PokéDex entry about Umbreon.
"The poisonous sweat from the Dex entry?!" Ash finished her train of thought, just as astonished as his friend.
The veteran Trainers and Elite Four were stunned and incredibly impressed at Karen's usage of Umbreon's sweat.
Oak was similarly amazed by the Dark type specialist's ingenuity.
'It's not a move so much as a part of the Pokémon's biology...' he mused in his thoughts.
'I've never seen a trainer utilize it in battle like this!'
Now, Umbreon began its final attack upon the blinded Rhydon, its twisted smile warped even further in sweet victory.
Muscle strength from [Curse] + Gravitational acceleration =
Maximum power [Sucker Punch].
Suddenly, …
A warped bubble of space appeared in front of the falling Umbreon.
And a [Shadow Ball] came shooting onto its face, stopping its attack.
Blam!
'Wha?! Where did that attack come from?!' Karen pondered in a panic as she was taken aback by such a turn of events.
The entire world watching shared her surprise.
Except one.
"Well, well. Would you look at that."
Rhydon, now recovered slightly, primed [Horn Drill] to Umbreon's stomach.
The green eyes exuded the confidence of a victor.
"Now's our chance!"
It was a one-hit KO.
Umbreon coughed up blood from its punctured stomach. And came tumbling down onto the ground.
{ I-IT... }
{ IT'S A DIRECT HIT FROM [HORN DRILL]! }
Gary smirked at the Umbreon that got onto his nerves.
{ UMBREON IS UNAB— }
But to his surprise…
{ NO, WAIT! }
{IT'S STILL STANDING! }
"Wha—" Gary gasped in surprise.
Umbreon staggered, trying its best to stand.
The Moonlight Pokémon still retaining a weak bloody grin while gasping desperately for air and sweating profusely.
Its pierced stomach still dripping with fresh blood from the aftermath of [Horn Drill].
"…That's enough, Umbreon," Karen said gently to her Pokémon.
"You did a great job."
With a gentle praise from Karen, Umbreon's eyes glazed tiredly.
With a last satisfied smile, Umbreon finally went down.
{ UM… UMBREON HAS FAINTED! }
The cheers from the audience were deafening as they were amazed by such an amazing battle from Umbreon.
{ UMBREON'S GIVEN ALL THREE OF GREEN'S POKÉMON A RUN FOR THEIR MONEY. }
{ BUT IT'S FINALLY BEEN TAKEN OUT! }
While Rhydon cleaned his eyes off the poisonous sweat, Gary glanced at the satisfied expression of Umbreon.
The orange-haired boy, upon seeing that, darkened his expression and felt irked by it.
Recalling Umbreon into its Ball, Karen whispered her gratitude towards her second Pokémon. Her hand visibly shaking from worry.
'Thank goodness… The bleeding stopped.'
"You truly gave your all in this battle, my friend."
"Thank you."
"Karen messed up," Agatha sighed and began hypothesizing.
"Those warps in space Alakazam conjured didn't just disappear."
"It must have been part of his plan."
"That move sent [Shadow Ball] via a psychic blast several minutes forward in time... [Future Sight]."
"First, Alakazam used the Reflect cage to fix Umbreon in place directly above where [Future Sight] would hit."
"Then Rhydon moved to the designated place and used [Stealth Rock] to cause extra damage and slow its descent."
"Finally, Future Sight came in to stop its fall just long enough for Rhydon to hit it with [Horn Drill]."
A foolproof plan.
Every competitor in the room listened intently at the elderly woman's explanation and were in disbelief.
At how an 11-year-old boy could plan such an elaborate scheme that bested that of an Elite Four candidate.
"So, setting up the [Reflect] cage before Alakazam fainted was a backup plan in case it couldn't defeat Umbreon on its own," Lorelei conjectured.
"That's got to hurt Karin's pride, getting beaten by a Psychic type," Bruno chimed in, feeling a little bad for the Dark type specialist.
"If the aim was psychological pressure, that would be devastating."
"That may be it..." Lance replied, narrowing his eyes at Gary quizzically.
"But I feel like he's trying to make a point."
Then, suddenly, Gary started talking. It was his turn to give a speech.
"I caught this guy back when it was still a Rhyhorn."
Everyone fell silent at the boy's curious statements.
The competitors. The audience. Pokémon Academy.
The viewers watching the match.
All curious as to what Gary was conveying.
"Those things are so dumb they can only focus on one thing at a time."
Ash and Blue listened with full attention, not knowing where their friend was going with this. Pikachu and Espeon as well.
"But I found one in the Safari Zone that was smart enough to get up on two legs to reach high-up food."
"Then, I caught a bunch of Abra and picked out the one with the best Nature and potential* to evolve, too, thanks to the Dex."
(*Potential = Individual Values)
"…What are trying to say?" Karen finally asked.
"That there's no touching history between me and my Pokémon," Gary explained.
"I chose them for their fighting prowess and strength, nothing more."
"Not like yours. I'm sure they 'did their best', but they still lost."
Gary then began snickering at Karen.
"Do you get it?"
"All that crap about changing people's minds about Dark type Pokémon has blinded you to the truth!"
"Your past, your friendship, none of those matters! You're just drunk on your own meaningless sob story!"
"All that matters is just plain, simple power!"
Hearing such a declaration, the Elite Four glared at the boy, angered at his words. Not only that, but most Trainers were provoked by what Gary had said.
"Yup. I don't like this kid," Leon said with an uncharacteristic frown.
"Oh? Someone ought to discipline that mouth…" Cynthia uttered, repulsed by his words.
"He really gets on my nerves!" Serena exploded in unbridled rage.
While many were enraged by Gary's declaration, Ash and Blue widened their eyes at him, recalling his previous words towards them.
...
"Is this your so-called 'very best'?"
"These are the consequences of your bonds."
"I've got no use for a Pokémon who can't battle."
"My value will be… Power."
...
A silent Karen then summoned her last Pokémon.
{ KARIN'S DOWN TO HER LAST POKÉMON! }
{IT'S HER TEAM'S ACE - HOUNDOOM! }
The horned canine stared down at the opposing Rhydon, but not before noticing the aftermath of the previous battles.
A lone ruffled feather. As well as a splatter of blood.
And that was all Houndoom needed to know.
She growled silently before howling towards the skies. For those who came before her.
"AROOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
The jet-black canine's howls sent shivers down everyone's spines.
But Gary stood his ground. Completely firm on his stance as well as his beliefs.
His green eyes narrowed towards the beast defiantly.
Houndoom took a step closer.
And for the first time, Karen spoke with blazing fury.
The horned canine's eyes glimmered menacingly towards Gary with pure murderous rage.
"You think our friendship means nothing?"
'As I thought…'
"We'll soon see which one of us is right."
'This woman / boy is…'
Chapter 37: My Enemy
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