Pokemon: Arceus' Champion

All that could be heard in the dead of the night was the drone of rain, as every single person and pokemon slumbered in the house, Pokemon Center, greenhouse, and stable. The sole exception was the singular bipedal canine that was sitting in the middle of the arena, meditating intently instead of sleeping.

Lucario had been doing this for several hours now, having long since been substituting sleep for meditation to increase his training. Plus, it wouldn't do for Lucario to sleep when he was waiting on someone.

"..."

"Its about time." Lucario said as he sensed the fluctuation of space, accompanied by the aura of the one he had been expecting.

"So you say." Came the retort within Lucario's mind, from Mewtwo.

Lucario slowly rose to his feet while Mewtwo descended to the ground from where he had been floating in air, so that the two were looking at one another eye to eye.

"You never did tell me why you suddenly wanted to start training with me." Lucario stated as his aura pulsed slightly, preparing for battle.

"..."

Mewtwo was silent for a moment, as if contemplating his answer, before producing two spheres that Lucario immediately recognized.

"Mega Stones?"

"Indeed. Both of which, somehow, are synchronized to myself."

"So you have TWO Mega Evolutions?" Lucario asked irritably.

"Yes. And I have been learning how to access them on my own without the need for assistance from a Keystone or partner. The only issue with doing so is that the backlash is significantly stronger."

"So our training is to lessen the backlash?" Lucario asked quizzically.

"Not at all. It is to increase my familiarity with this one." Mewtwo answered, sending the Mega Stone with blue stripes closer to Lucario for scrutiny.

"The stone that I used back against Gengar significantly raises my psychic abilities, while this stone exchanges my psychic abilities for physical prowess. As such, I wish to increase my experience using such fighting styles in case they are ever needed."

As he said that, Mewtwo's body began to shimmer as he changed shape. And when the Transform was complete, there was a second Lucario standing across from him.

"I see... So that's how it is." Lucario as he looked Mewtwo up and down, before taking a battle stance.

For a moment neither moved as they analyzed the other, searching for openings. And then...

*BOOM!*

They both used Extreme Speed and Meteor Mash at the same exact moment, clashing right in the middle of the arena as they created a shockwave that buffeted the entire stadium.

***

"There it is!" Dawn cried out happily as we crested a hill, only to be greeted by an awe inspiring sight.

It was currently late afternoon and we were well on our way to Saffron city on our bikes once more with Lucario running beside us, intending to reach it before it got dark. And we managed to do so, as we crested the hill to see the city sprawled out below us with the many skyscrapers gleaming in the orange sunset.

"It looks so beautiful..." May uttered in awe as we stopped briefly to admire the view.

"Saffron is the largest city in all of Kanto!" Misty declared proudly.

"Its also the most technologically advanced thanks to Silph co headquarters being here. Apparently there's also even plans to connect it to Johto through an high-speed railway that'll run through Celadon city, Viridian city, Cherrygrove city, Goldenrod city, Olivine city, Ecruteak city, Blackthorn city, Pewter city, and then Cerulean city in a large loop. Its considered to be the largest multi-regional project to date." I added as I looked the information up on my Rotom phone.

"Amazing..." Joy said as we took another minute to admire the city, before we continued on our way to it. We still needed to check in to the Pokemon Center and register to battle Sabrina after all.

Or so we thought...

"There's the checkpoint up ahead!" I told the girls as we approached the city, but as we arrived we found someone waiting for us.

"Ace Ketchum?" Asked a girl dressed in what looked like a modified gi, one that was blue with gold cuffs and a belt.

"Yeah, that's me." I answered while looking her over. At first glance she just looked like a pretty girl with an emotionless expression, but I could also feel an otherworldly aura about her.

"I was sent here to collect you by Gym Leader Sabrina. She wishes to meet with you and your traveling companions as soon as possible."

"Really?" I asked, admittedly a little surprised that Sabrina wanted us now, and not at least in the morning.

"Indeed. She says that she cannot wait since tomorrow will be the battle between Red Ketchum and Champion Lance, for which she and the rest of the Gym Leaders of Kanto and Johto will be present." The girl answered.

"Ah, that makes sense." I said in realization, before the girl produced a pokeball that opened to reveal a Drowzee.

"The Gym please, Drowzee."

"Drowzeeeeeeee."

There was a brief surge of psychic power, before all of us were suddenly Teleported right into the Saffron city Gym.

"Hello Ace." Came a voice I had heard MANY times in what could be considered dreams, but never in real life.

"Hey Sabrina. Thanks for the invite." I said while turning to face the psychic girl, who was staring at me with an emotionless expression. Even her otherworldly aura was subdued, despite dwarfing the aura of the girl who brought us here, showing her incredible control over her emotions.

"I have foreseen this day a long time ago." Sabrina replied dryly, before turning to lead us further into the Gym.

"Uh Ace, are we really going to battle her right now?" Dawn whispered to me as we made to follow her.

"Looks like it. No choice really if she needs to go to the Indigo Plateau tomorrow, unless we want to spend time waiting until she can come back. Which, 'if' Red wins then she may have to stay for a few days for the change in administration."

"Indeed. I foresee that it will be several days before I could return to Safrron, and I am aware that Ace intends to complete his circuit as soon as possible." Sabrina stated without looking back, right as we approached a pair of large double doors that promptly opened themselves.

"Woah..." Chloe uttered as we stepped into the Saffron city Gym proper, and the arena spread out before us.

"Oh yeah, this is your first time actually being inside a Gym, isn't it?" I asked her while also admiring the Gym itself.

Though all the lights overhead were on, it wasn't bright inside since they were all purple, casting an eerie glow over the entire arena. Meanwhile there were numerous large boulders and pillars of stone scattered throughout the arena, most of which had chains anchoring them to the ground for some reason.

"Yeah, it is..." Chloe said as we walked further inside.

"I actually just had it remodeled." Sabrina said suddenly, surprising me.

"Really?"

"Yes. I had it remodeled based on an idea YOU gave me." She clarified, piquing my interest as she made her way to her side of the arena.

"I don't care who battles me first, but I intend to battle Ace last." Sabrina declared as she produced an entire string of pokeballs that floated in the air around her by her psychic powers.

"I'll go first!" May declared as she stepped forward eagerly.

"Very well." Sabrina said, before something I had NOT been expecting happened.

"""!!!"""

The girls, Lucario and I all became alert as our bodies suddenly felt weightless, before we all suddenly began to float upwards in the air along with the large boulders and pillars spaced around the arena. I could feel the rest of the girls clinging to me in a rush before we all started to drift apart, while I realized something.

"So THAT'S what the chains are for!" I declared as they were all held in place by the same chains I noticed earlier.

"Indeed. With your commision for a training facility from Silph to increase gravity, I wondered if the process might be reversed. And so, I commissioned a remodel of my Gym from them. You will all be the first challengers who will expereince battling in zero gravity." Sabrina explained as she too rose up in the air. But her ascent was controlled as a thin layer of green psychic power coated her entire body.

"I see..." I uttered as I realized the increased difficulty of this particular Gym.

Normally the Gyms are modeled in a way to give the Leader who runs them the greatest advantage, with the biggest example being the Cerulean city Gym that was basically a massive pool with floating platforms for their water pokemon. Sabina had adopted a similar idea to create an arena that gave her own pokemon the greatest advantage since they could use their psychic powers to move in all directions, while challengers would have to try and adapt in some way.

"I'll need to modify my attack plan..." I muttered while pulling out my pokedex, and switching through my pokemon meticulously. Something I needed to do anyways, since I hadn't planned on battling Sabrina tonight.

As I was putting my team together, Sabrina casually sent out one of her own pokeballs to face May with a flick of her psychic power.

"To start, I will choose you, Hypno."

"Hypno...."

I eyed the hypnotic pokemon warily since they were known for causing problems, and even pulled out my pokedex to see what it had to say about it.

~~~

Hypno- the Hypnosis pokemon

Type- Psychic

The evolved form of Drowzee, this pokemon always holds a pendulum in it's hand that can lull opponents into a deep state of hypnosis. It always polishes the pendulum to keep it shiny when not hunting for prey. This pokemon has the Insomnia and Forewarn abilities.

~~~

"Interesting..." I murmured as I read the information, though I found the part about Hypno looking for 'prey' to be mildly sus.

"Battles in my Gym are slightly different than in others." Sabrina said as May deliberated which pokemon to send out herself.

"How so?" May asked, her tone wary. After all, whatever Sabrina was about to say could influence which pokemon she used.

"While I use only one pokemon myself for these battles, I allow my challengers to use up to three in order to level the playing field. Just keep that in mind."

"..."

"May..." I said in a tone of warning as I felt her anger increasing.

"She's looking down on us!" May declared indignantly.

"Actually, she's not. If she doesn't make the rules like this, then NO ONE would ever be able to actually get through her Gym." I explained to her, while also pulling out my Rotom phone yet again. "Statistically, Sabrina is THE biggest hurdle that any trainer going the Kanto League has to overcome. Not only does she use her actual pokemon for every battle, but her psychic powers also make her borderline impossible to beat through mind reading, foresight, and the telepathic connection she shares with her pokemon."

I could practically feel May frowning as I read off the summary of Sabrina on the League homepage, which honestly made Sabrina a far more difficult opponent to beat than I was. Even if I could communicate with my pokemon through non-verbal means, or somewhat predict what a person intended to do through their aura/mind reading, I still couldn't use something like foresight like she could. Not to mention that Sabrina was far more proficient in reading the minds of others than I was.

"Fine then..." May admitted begrudgingly, before she pulled something out of her bag. "If Sabrina is such a tough opponent, then I might as well film this!"

I blinked when May held out a drone that was folded up to be put away, but that wasn't what surprised me. Incredibly, the drone had an aura to it that matched my phone.

"A Rotom drone?" I asked curiously, recalling how Iono used some during her and May's battle aboard the SS. Anne.

"Yep! I looked into getting one as soon as possible after seeing that Iono used them!" May declared as the Rotom inside the drone woke up, and immediately began to fly around her as it started recording.

"And now to actually start the battle! Shuppet, let's go!"

"Shuppet~!" Wailed the ghostly pokemon that May had caught back in Lavender town, who floated effortlessly in the zero gravity.

"That's the major drawback of Sabrina's new zero-gravity arena, as most ghost type pokemon are capable of effortlessly floating regardless of gravity." I explained to Joy and Chloe as Shuppet and Hypno stared each other down.

"The battle between Gym Leader Sabrina and challenger May may now begin!"

"Shuppet, use Astonish!" May immediately cried out the second the battle started. And while the move itself was actually pretty weak, it did its job as Hypno's aura flinched in alarm from the sudden attack, disrupting it's own psychic energies.

"Now, use Will-O-Wisp! May continued, apparently determined to keep up the momentum as several ghostly balls of blue flame appeared around Shuppet, before bombarding the still stunned Hypno. Not only did the move deal some fire tye damage to Hypno, but it also ensured that it was burned by the flames to weaken and continuously take damage unless it is actually healed.

"An interesting tactic..." Sabrina muttered to May in a small voice, while I noticed the edge of her mouth curl upwards just ever so slightly, before she returned to her deadpan expression.

"I don't understand, what is May trying to do?" Chloe quietly asked me in confusion, tightening her hold on my arm.

"She's trying to turn this into a battle of attrition." I answered, as Hypno collected itself enough to use Hypnosis.

I immediately closed my eyes while also using my hands to cover both Chloe and Joy's, but, unfortunately for May, Shuppet caught the full blast as it fell asleep.

"Shuuu..."

"Shuuu..."

"Shuuu..."

The soft sound of Shuppet snoring could be heard as it drifted peacefully in the air, asleep.

"Wake up Shuppet!" May cried out, her tone full of urgency.

"Hypno..."

We looked back up at Hypno just in time to see the pokemon brandish it's pendant, even as it winced from the burns it had received earlier, before unleashing a powerful psychic beam from it that assaulted Shuppet relentlessly.

"Shuppet!" May cried out worriedly as her pokemon was buffeted by the unrelentling Psybeam attack, before Hypno used it again, and then again.

"!!!"

After the third time though, Shuppet finally woke up just in time to dodge the fourth attack.

"Yes! Now Shuppet, use Curse!" May cried out, right as Hypno began to use Hypnosis yet again.

Neither pokemon managed to avoid getting hit as they were assauted by both attacks, With Hypno taking the Curse right before Shuppet fell asleep once more, this time while on the verge of being defeated.

"Shuppet, return!" May declared as she recalled her Shuppet, before reaching for another pokeball.

"Why did May call Shuppet back?" Chloe asked me curiously.

"Because it did its job, and it was about to be defeated. There's no point leaving it in the battle other than to buy some time."

"I thought May wanted a battle of attrition though?"

"She does, but not at the expense of Shuppet's health. Before it fell asleep, Shuppet managed to use Curse on Hypno. Not only does Curse severely drain the user's energy when used, but it also makes it so that the target's energy will also constantly be drained as well. Now Hypno will be subjected to both Curse and the burns from Will-O-Wisp."

"GO, UMBREON!"

"BREEEE!"

"!!!"

May's Umbreon cried out as it appeared, before suddenly flailing about as it struggled to remain upright in the lack of gravity.

"I see... Use attacks that will slowly drain Hypno of it's health and energy, before switching out to a dark type pokemon that will be immune to it's psychic types attacks." Sabrina said, stating May's plan for everyone to hear.

"And even if Umbreon somehow loses, I still have Shuppet and one more pokemon!" May declared victoriously, right as Hypno suddenly shot forward to slam it's head into Umbreon. HARD.

"Then Hypno and I shall have to hurry." Sabrina stated, her eyes glowing with an intense green light.

"We won't let you! Umbreon, use Snarl!"

"BREON!"

At May's command, Umbreon let loose a vicious cry imbuned with dark type energies that assaulted Hypno, sending it reeling while also lowering it's psychic powers. Adding on the damage from it's burns, and the lingering effects of Curse, Hypno was very close to being defeated.

"Now finish this with Dark Pulse!"

"Umbreon!"

Umbreon cried out as it unleashed a powerful torrent of dark type energy from it's mouth, which bombarded Hypno with enough force that it was rendered unconscious.

"Hypno is unable to battle. May wins with her Umbreon."

"YES!" May declared happily as she celebrated her win, before recalling Umbreon to it's pokeball so it wasn't just flailing around still.

"Very well done." Sabrina said to May from across the arena, a hint of amusement in her aura before it vanished. "Here is your new Marsh Badge."

May literally snatched up the Badge as it appeared in front of her, before tucking it away into a pocket as she tried to figure out how to move now that she was no longer battling.

"Here, let me try." I said while channeling my psychic powers, pulling her towards us slowly.

"I'll go next!" Misty declared once May was back with us, and I conjured a small aura wall for her to kick off of as she floated forward.

"Misty Williams... Daughter of Hudson Williams and a water specialist if I recall." Sabrina said as Misty floated awkwardly in place.

"That's right!" Misty declared as she pulled out her pokeball.

"I have a special pokemon for you. Slowbro."

As Sabrina stated the name of her pokemon, the second of the pokeballs floating around her opened to release said pokemon for battle.

"Slooooooooooooowbroooooooooooooo..."

"Interesting..." I muttered while pulling out my pokedex once more.

~~~

Slowbro- the Hermit Crab pokemon

Type- water/psychic

This pokemon evolved from a Slowpoke when a Shellder bit it's tail and refused to let go due to the tasty ooze coming from it. Because of this, Slowbro is forced to swim for prey since it can no longer use the tail for fishing. When the Shellder bites down harder, it inspires Slowbro to use its psychic powers, but if the Shellder falls off it reverts back to being a Slowpoke. This pokemon has the Oblivious and Own Tempo abilities.

~~~

"Nothing new..." I muttered after reading the description of Slowbro, recalling all of this information from professor Oak's lessons. After all, Slowbro and Slowking were unique amongst pokemon as the only ones known to unevolve if the Shellder were to ever detach from their tail/head. As such, they were a couple of the pokemon we spent the most time learning about.

This was my first time seeing on in person though.

And true to how 'slow' their species was said to be, Slowbro didn't use it's psychic powers to keep itself stable in the lack of gravity. Instead, it just floated about aimlessly with an dopey look in it's eyes.

"A water/psychic type, huh?" Misty asked with a smirk. "Then how about a water/DARK type! GO SHARPEDO!"

"SHARRRRRRRR!"

Misty's Sharpedo, which had evolved from the little Carvanha I had given to her on the day we met, hissed as it appeared in the arena opposite Slowbro.

"Interesting... But you DO realize that zero gravity is nothing like water, correct?" Sabrina pointed out as the battle started.

"Who said it was? AQUA JET!"

At Misty's command, Sharpedo expelled water from it's backside to launch itself forward at Slowbro like a literal torpedo.

"Now, USE NIGHT SLASH!" She commanded, and all four of Sharpedo's blade-like fins radiated darkness as it closed in on Slowbro, who had yet to do anything.

"..."

Slowbrow didn't even react as it was assaulted by the blades of darkness, and Sharpedo flew right by it before trying to turn about for another attack.

"Humph! AGAIN!" Misty ordered, and Sharpedo shot water out it's backside once more as it shot at Slowbro.

"!!!"

Right at the last second, when it seemed as if Slowbro was going to be attacked again, it suddenly moved as it blasted Sharpedo with an attack of pure fighting type energy.

*CRASH!*

Sharpedo was blasted clear across the arena as it was hit by the Focus Blast, right into one of the floating boulders.

"Sharpedo!" Misty cried out worriedly.

"Broooooooooo...."

Before Sharpedo could recover, Slowbro suddenly Teleported so that it was right next to Sharpedo, one of it's hands closed into a fist as it slugged Sharpedo with it's full strength.

*BOOM!*

Sharpedo was launched at the ground like a meteor as it was hit by the Drain Punch, while Slowbro rcovered it's energy from when it was hit by the earlier Night Slash.

"Sharpedo is unable to battle."

"No way...." I heard Misty utter in disbelief, before she recalled her pokemon back to it's pokeball. I had to say that I agreed.

Now the question was, which pokemon would she choose now?

"You're up Starmie!" Misty declared, sending out what I knew to be her strongest pokemon.

"Well this aught to be interesting..." I muttered as the Mysterious pokemon appeared in mid-air.

"Why is that?" Joy asked this time.

"Because, some professors believe that Staryu and Starmie come from outer space, and we're currently in a room that replicates that." Chloe answered for me. And sure enough, Starmie looked as if it were right at home as it floated in place without shifting in the slightest.

"Starmie, Minimize and then Rapid Spin!"

"ME!"

The purple starfish began to rpidly spin in place, even as it's body began to compress on itself, before shooting like a throwing star at Slowbro.

*Bang!*

*Bang!*

*Bang!*

Over and over again Starmie hit Slowbro with Rapid Spin, and then moved away before it could react. Not that it was hard to do.

But then, Slowbro used Teleport once more to move to another section of the arena, while also using Psychic to send several floating chunks of rock that were unchained right at Starmie.

"Me!"

"Me!"

"Me!"

Starmie however just ricocheted off of them like a purple pinball as it came right at Slowbro.

"THUNDER!"

"STAR!"

From the jewel in it's core, Starmie launched a powerful bolt of lightning right at Slowbro that lit up the entire arena.

*KER-KRACK!*

Slowbro was struck by the Thunder with no chance to escape, leaving it instantly unconscious as it just floated there.

"Slowbro is unable to battle! Misty wins with Starmie!"

"Yes!" Misty exclaimed while pumping her fist, obviously happy to have beaten Slowbro with Starmie.

"Excellently done, and noted for the future." Sabrina said while looking at Starmie with interest. I also made a mental note to tell professor Oak about this battle when I talked to him next. Even if it was nothing, it was still interesting to see how Starmie moved in space-like conditions.

"Here is your Marsh Badge." Sabrina said as said Badge appeared right in front of Misty like it had May.

"Nice!" Misty exclaimed as she accepted the Badge, and Starmie came back to her side like it was nothing.

She then recalled Starmie to it's pokeball while I concentrated and pulled her back to us like I had May earlier, before Dawn this time floated forward.

"My turn!" Dawn declared as she held up her first pokeball.

"Indeed." Sabrina stated plainly, before her third pokeball this time opened to reveal her next pokemon.

"Jyyyyyyynx~!"

"Oh, one of them." I said as I looked over Sabrina's third pokemon, one of the weirdest pokemon in my opinion since it was basically just an odd-looking woman.

"Jynx huh? Well how about this! Litwick!"

"Lit~wick~!"

This time a small Candle appeared in mid-air before Jynx, accompanied by a few flickering ghostly flames.

"Oh? This should be interesting since Litwick is both a ghost and fire type, while Jynx is an ice/psychic type." I commented while glancing between the two pokemon.

"Litwick, use Inferno!" Dawn immediately commanded her pokemon.

"LitWIIIIIIIIIIIICK!"

With the candle wick atop it's head turning in a roaring fire, Litwick directed said fire at Jynx right as a shimmering wall of light appeared in front of her.

"Grrr..." Dawn groaned as Flitwick's flames did nothing in the face of Jynx's Protect.

Immediately afterwards, Jynx used her psychic power to control the various rocks around us to try and use them to bombard Litwick since it would be weak to them. Being a ghost though, which was strong against psychic type attacks on top of that, Litwick was unfazed as it simply turned intagible to allow the rocks to pass right through it.

"Now use Shadow Ball Barrage!" Dawn commanded Litwick.

"Oh?" I murmured with a smirk in recognition.

"WICK!"

Litwick then proceeded to barrage Jynx with dozens of Shadow Balls that bounced harmlessly off of Jynx's Protect.

"Tch."

"You'll have to do better than that if you want to get through Jynx's defenses." Sabrina told Dawn in a passive voice.

"..."

I could feel the frustration in Dawn as her little Litwick was unable to properly fight back against Jynx, despite having the the better typing twice over. But it was nothing compared to the frustration radiating from Litwick itself as it glared at Jynx. As far as I was aware, this was the first high-stakes battle Dawn has used Litwick for.

"""!!!"""

Suddenly, Litwick lit up even more than usual as it's entire body began to glow, doubling in size while also seemingly growing a pair of arms.

"LAMPEEEEEEEEEEENT!"

As the light died down the newly evolved Lampent wailed hauntingly while directing a dirty look at Jynx, it's aura now several times stronger than before while the blue flame within cast an eerie glow over the entire arena.

"Awesome! Lampent, use Inferno!" Dawn immediately commanded, and Lampent did just that as it blasted Jynx with a devestating burst of flames

*Crack-!*

The Protect, which had defended Jynx from the previous Inferno and numerous Shadow Ball attacks before now, cracked ominously before shattering in the face of Lampent's new might.

"JYYYYYYNX!"

Jynx wailed as she was assaulted by the flames, which looked to me as if they burned her on top of dealing severe fire type damage.

Instantly, Jynx whipped up a Blizzard around herself that not only subdued the flames, but also seemingly lessened her burn before she directed said Blizzard at Lampent.

"Hurry Lampent, use Hex!" Dawn quickly ordered, obviously trying to maintain the momentum as Lampent attacked Jynx with the ghost type move this time.

The effect was immediate as Jynx, not only weak to ghost type moves, but also suffering from a burn, took MASSIVE damage from this attack before she collapsed like a puppet with it's strings cut.

"Jynx is unable to battle. Dawn and Lampent win."

"YES~!" Dawn immediately cheered as their victory was announced, while Lampent floated over to her to celebrate as well.

"Well done Dawn." I also congratulated them, while Misty and the others chimed in as well. I also looked over Dawn's Lampent, which, if I recalled right, evolve into Chandelure with a Dusk stone.

I contemplated offering one of mine to Dawn since I won a couple from the tournament, and only needed one for Honedge after it evolved in Doublade. The only other pokemon that would need a Dusk stone that I knew of were Misdreavus and Murkrow, neither of which I had.

And even if I did manage to acquire either of them in the future, it would be pretty easy for me to get more Dusk stones with all of the money I had at my disposal.

I looked back up from my thoughts as Dawn returned to us, while being guided by Lampent, before she recalled it to it's pokeball.

"Look Ace!" Dawn stated excitedly as she held up her new Marsh Badge for me to see.

"Nice. Now its my turn." I stated, having already set up my team to face to Sabrina. And as I moved myself forward via psychic powers, I noticed Sabrina's aura spike uncharacteristically in excitement.