Chapter 64- Oak (Complete)

When Mewtwo fought, he fought hard. He tore apart the coliseum with nothing but psychic power to defeat the Pokémon that encircled him. I scowled as Garchomp approached with the speed of a jet and was tossed aside with similar speed. Where the fuck was Dragapult?

It was as I asked the question that the ghost appeared, tearing itself right out of Garchomp’s shadow as the Pokémon was tossed aside, taking advantage of the element of surprise to crush Mewtwo in its ghostly aura. The legendary psychic just smiled, as though it was saying, "come at me." The Pokémon got the message instantly.

Igneel ripped himself out of the ground, and the sun in the sky multiplied its intensity as Igneel channeled all that energy into his body. He looked like a mini-sun with the flame aura all around him and floating to the ground to join the rest of the Pokémon as they surrounded Mewtwo and began the beatdown. Garchomp went first. It muscled through Mewtwo’s guard, managing to land a hit or two, and when Mewtwo tried to retaliate, Dragonite was there. Igneel moved in whenever there was a second of space, driving great explosive power into each punch and retreating quickly, allowing the other Pokémon to cover him.

The fight was impressive, but as I watched, I could see Mewtwo beginning to adapt even to this. Metagross flashed in the corner of my eyes, and I felt myself appear in the stands with the rest of the team. Hmph. I guess the champions hadn’t been able to direct their Pokémon or even see the battle from that far away. Oak had finally come to, and Dragonite took the field with a ground-shaking roar.

The dragon Pokémon was an expression of Oak’s suppressed rage on the best of days. Today? That rage was nowhere even close to suppressed, and it was clear in how the dragon Pokémon used extreme speed to cover the space between him and Mewtwo and went all out in a glorious offensive. Every limb was surrounded in dark-type aura, and he used it to make the legendary psychic bleed. His claws tore through Mewtwo’s body like a hot knife through butter, and even as Mewtwo healed every injury the second it sustained it, it was clear there had to be some limit.

It suddenly floated backward, out of melee range. Dragonite flew, but this time it flew at Dragonite with similar aggression. When both Pokémon clashed, it was the dragon being sent back to the floor. Lance’s own Dragonite took Oak’s dragon’s place and was similarly sent reeling. The rest of the Pokémon dog-piled on the legendary Pokémon, but this time, as much as they tried, it was futile. It took punch after punch with little effect to deliver its own bone-crushing attacks. When it tossed Dragonite away, the Pokémon was sent flying so far that I could hear it hit the water miles away through Igneel’s ears. The Pokémon returned quickly, but the shift was clear. Cynthia clutched her second ball before sending Lucario out of the Pokéball.

It understood instantly, and the aura Pokémon covered the ground quickly, engaging the psychic in one-on-one combat, easily using its skill to bridge the clear power gap between them. It wasn’t winning, but it was keeping Mewtwo busy. Garchomp stepped back from the battle, and Cynthia clutched her necklace as Garchomp did the same to his.

This was the first time I was witnessing Mega Evolution in person, and it was every bit as awesome as I expected. Garchomp visibly grew before my eyes, and its aura was even more awe-inspiring. The dragon bore down on us with a visible weight. Lance practically ignored it, focused on the battle, and I tried my best to do the same. That was the reason I could spot the change in Mewtwo’s eyes once Garchomp Mega Evolved. It shot out at the dragon, and Garchomp was ready for it.

Its raised knee was blocked with a single fin, but Mewtwo’s tail shot out in the same moment and slammed into Garchomp’s head, sending the Mega Evolved Pokémon reeling. Lucario tried to double back to return to the fight, but Mewtwo quickly showed that he’d been holding back against it in their previous engagement. This time, whatever defense Lucario could raise was crashed through with all the force of a train. Punch one hit the fox fighter right in the noggin. The second punch sent it crashing right into the stands.

"Bring out Gai," Cynthia shouted at me, and I found myself listening without question as Mewtwo began to overwhelm the combination of two Dragonites, one Mega Garchomp, and my Charizard.

When Kommo-o announced his presence on the field, Mewtwo’s smirk grew even bigger. "Can he hold him off with Garchomp for five minutes?" Cynthia asked, and I just nodded at Gai. Three minutes. That was easy.

"Sixth Gate: Gate of Joy," I commanded, and he began to stack up the enhancements. We’d sat down with a calculator to figure out the optimal order for using the enhancements. Some of them were simply multiplicative, while others were exponential in how they improved things. For this particular gate, the last enhancement in the order was belly drum, and when he pounded on his stomach for the first time, the shockwave sent cracks across the arena. Three pounds. That’s how far we could push it before the strain got too much for him and he tired himself out too quickly to be any good in a fight.

The second pound blew away the ceilings and coverings in the arena. The third threatened to demolish the entire thing with only the shockwave. Needless to say, Gai was pumped up and raring to go. Cynthia signaled me to call Igneel back and also messaged Lance to do the same to his Dragonite. As they left the combat, Gai rocketed forward to take their place.

I did my best to keep track, but one thing I noticed in the beginning was that Gai and Lucario were nowhere near the same level when he was supercharged like this. Each punch he released bent the air, and he kept pace with Mega Garchomp with ease as they tore through Mewtwo. He seamlessly joined the dragon as they fought as a unit, unlike all the other pairings we’d seen today. They fought as one, like they’d been fighting together forever. It was clearly Gai’s superior ability to read a fight and fighting styles that allowed him to flow around Garchomp so smoothly.

When our dragons approached, Cynthia walked to both Lance and me, and I watched with shock as she passed us bracelets. The rock in the centre gleamed in the light, leaving no doubts as to what it was. A keystone bracelet. And the larger stones she gave us were clearly Mega Stones. Oak just watched from the corner, fascinated but still keeping one eye on the battle and using Dragonite to run interference whenever an opportunity presented itself. The dragons came toward us, and Igneel turned off his flames as he walked forward and stood before me.

He could sense the Charizardite. He could feel it, and when I placed it on him, his senses exploded. I could smell it, practically reach out and touch it. Mega Evolution. All my eyes could see was Igneel as I reached for my own aura and triggered the keystone I held, ignoring Cynthia’s words of warning. Why did I need warning? No Pokémon trainer shared a deeper bond with their Pokémon than I did.

The bright light built at Igneel’s stomach before traveling across his body and covering him entirely. 

The light built with all the expected oomph and awe, growing in intensity as the evolution progressed further, reaching a crescendo slowly but surely. Mega Dragonite had already appeared, but I couldn't take my eyes off Igneel. This was going to be historic. The light stopped building, and then cracks began to appear in the bubble that had surrounded him. First, a claw emerged, shielded in black skin and covered in blue flames. The second one did the same, and from there, the entire body came into view. Igneel grew, at least two feet in height. His skin darkened, becoming charcoal black. His body became leaner, more physically fit, and blue flames surrounded him from every corner. His tail burned like a bonfire.

The answer to the question arrived quickly: Mega Charizard Y or Mega Charizard X? Obviously, the latter. His fire typing was palpable in the air around us, as if all the moisture in the air was fleeing his presence.

When Lance's Pokémon had mega evolved, there were calming whispers and fears of them lashing out. But with Igneel and me? There was no doubt. My fire drake just nodded at me before shooting straight into the air, blue flames surrounding him all the way. Mewtwo saw it coming, but the shield he tried using to slow down my drake was torn through as if it was made of paper. Gai and Charizard worked together, sending the Psychic reeling and giving Garchomp the space it needed to charge up an attack that eclipsed anything I had ever seen. The Hyper Beam crashed into Mewtwo as both my Pokémon dodged to the side in an unseen signal, pushing him backward, out of the arena and toward the ocean. Igneel's keen eyes could easily make him out. He was unharmed, and he was on his way back. This time he swept right past both my Pokémon and went straight for Garchomp. Mega evolved or not, the Champion-level Pokémon was doing all she could to remain in the fight as Mewtwo directed all his attention towards her. Mega Dragonite wasn't a second too late to help as Lance directed it to take some of the heat off her, and Igneel and Gai both joined in the fray, running interference.

It was because of my focus on the battle that I didn't notice what was going on until it was much too late. A powerful water drill, the same focused laser that had struck Mewtwo, splattered against Mega Garchomp's forehead. Her head snapped back, but she was alright.

Almost simultaneously, we all turned to the Hoenn Champions as they stared at us apologetically. "We've been offered a deal we can scarcely refuse, my friends," Wallace said, lacking his customary flourish. They appeared closer to us in a flash of light. I watched as Cynthia's fury built.

"You betrayed us?" Lance asked, even more shocked than I was. I guess he was the one who had worked with the Hoenn Champions the longest. He probably even considered them to be friends.

"Three mega evolved Pokémon and the most powerful fighting type in the world, and you still haven't made a lasting injury on this Mewtwo," Wallace said, his lips curled, and Steven's words carried censure.

"You betrayed us first. I heard Oak's and Giovanni's words loud and clear. Mewtwo was your weapon. Your fault, and you want us to risk our regions to help clean up your mess? No. Mewtwo has given us an offer we cannot refuse.  The Tournament of Power begins now," he said, and I turned to the legendary psychic, seeing him smile with visible smugness.

"Finally, I get my show," he spoke out, and I watched video cameras appear from virtually every angle, filming and broadcasting.

"The last region left standing survives," he said, and his words flew over Cynthia's head as she focused her energy on the Hoenn Champions and their betrayal. When Mega Garchomp shot after them, Steven's Poké Belt flashed as he released his entire team, and Wallace followed suit.

"You're going to regret this," the pissed-off woman said, cracking her knuckles as Lucario appeared next to her in a flash of red light. When had she sent him back to his ball?

Lance and Oak stared at each other, having some sort of invisible conversation before turning to the Hoenn Pokémon as well. What kind of idiots had I teamed up with?

"Mewtwooooooo," I shouted at the psychic as it began to float upwards. "You're mine," I said as Gai jumped right into the air and launched punches that superheated the air around his fist, doing his best to hit the powerful psychic. Igneel joined him in the skies as he searched and took advantage of whatever openings Gai created.

I sent out Ino as the fight in the skies built up, and she nodded before disappearing in a teleport. As everything had devolved into chaos, I also sent out Kenpachi and Broly, and they remained by my side. I couldn't put it past the Hoenn champions to shoot a bullet through the side of my head when I wasn't paying attention. Mewtwo seemed to be entertaining my supercharged Pokémon as they fought across the skies above the arena.

I received a signal from Ino that everything was ready, and I sent a similar message to Igneel. Suddenly, the approach changed. Gai swept back as Igneel broke the sound barrier for the second time, charging at Mewtwo. This time, the Pokémon could react and matched Igneel's charge with one of his own. They clashed in the skies and sent another shockwave around the arena as the unstoppable force met the immovable object, neither of them giving any ground against the other. Suddenly, Mewtwo was racked by pain and lost concentration. The immovable object moved an inch, and that was all the leverage Igneel needed to send Mewtwo crashing into the ground of the arena. I smiled at a plan coming together as I clicked the button on the remote that had been given to me, and the anti-Mewtwo field formed in a dome around the arena.

Mewtwo just stared at the sky before laughing. "You think I'm trapped in here, with you? Oh brother, you're the one trapped in here with me," he said, visible menace in his voice as he charged right for Kenpachi and Broly. Igneel shot up and ran interference before Kenpachi, surrounded entirely by dark type energy, stepped in to brawl with the powerful psychic on his own terms.

As I watched my team take the fight to Mewtwo, I had to admit that I'd raised monsters. What was the gap between Champion-level Pokémon and my team? Not much, I assured myself as every swipe of Kenpachi's tail carried with it the force and power of an earthquake. As Broly moved at speeds far beyond the sound barrier, he swept through the battlefield, running interference wherever necessary. He'd already crippled Wallace's Walrien with a single pass, moving at speeds too fast for the large Pokémon to even keep track of. As Igneel's flames set the very air around us alight. As Gai pulled on more and more power, every punch creating hurricane-class winds when it didn't hit.

Months ago, Oak had told me that my team was all power and no precision. I had foolishly taken that as criticism. I had tried to change them, but now I realized they were all about power. We brought pure overwhelming power to bear on Mewtwo. Whenever he seemed on the verge of gaining an advantage, Ino was there, her spoon charged with ghost-type energy shaped into a powerful blade. Nothing dealt as much direct damage to the psychic as those few attacks she managed to land. It regenerated quickly, but all regeneration had its limits. I knew that as a fact, so all we had to do was hit it.

Suddenly, Mewtwo jerked away from my team and shot towards Dragapult, where the ghost-type Pokémon floated in the air, maintaining the blackout field that prevented Mewtwo from fully using his psychic abilities. It was a no-brainer that my team moved to run interference. Land-locked as he was, Gai was the first to arrive in the air next to Mewtwo, shot from a stony platform created by a negligent flick of Kenpachi's tail.

The psychic and the fighter stared at each other for a fraction of a second before Mewtwo's forearm blocked a punch destined for his head. The hand broke and healed as Gai unleashed more attacks, pushing Mewtwo towards the ground with their force. If we hadn't denied it the power to teleport, this fight would be going very differently. Mewtwo's aura spiked as it changed its strategy. It didn't bother blocking Gai's next punch, allowing him to turn part of its side to pulp and trading that attack for one of its own. Gai was sent flying, with pain building throughout his chest.

Igneel took advantage of that opening to fall upon Mewtwo with his fiery aura. My eyes struggled to keep track of the battle as Igneel's blue flames threatened to blind me. As I turned my attention to the battle against the Hoenn Champions, I was shocked to find them in better standing than expected. Neither Lance, Sabrina, nor Oak had released more Pokémon, but two mega-evolved Pseudo-legendaries should have been enough to overwhelm them. As I observed the battle, it became clear that Metagross was the differential factor, allowing the fight to drag on. I also noticed that neither Lance nor Oak seemed fully invested in the battle.

I had seen them both fight before, and this was nothing like that. A possible future betrayal by Cynthia? It was likely. If she tired out Garchomp in the fight against the Hoennites, there was a chance Mega Dragonite and Dragonite could gather enough energy to take the powerful Pokémon down. With both Hoenn and Sinnoh gone, only Kanto and Johto would remain.

Oak probably thought that the two of us would be enough to defeat Lance, and Lance probably gave himself good odds against both Oak and me. Betrayal after betrayal. It hurt my head to think about it, so I turned my attention back to the fight against Mewtwo. It had escaped Igneel's attention but was now trapped between Kenpachi and Broly.

The rock-type Pokémon shaped the field around us, hemming and boxing Mewtwo in and taking advantage of its grounded state. If it floated too far upwards, Igneel would land on it, and with the rest of the ground Pokémon running interference with long-range attacks, that situation would be far from preferable.

I released Kisame to stay by my side as Ino reminded me to take care of my protection. My psychic also appeared right behind Mewtwo in that same vein. It swept an arm out to hit her, but she ducked beneath it with contemptuous ease and ran her blade down its side. When it lashed out, she disappeared in the wind. I had thought Broly to be the assassin of the group, but Ino was quickly evolving into that role. Of course, Broly didn't like the idea and similarly appeared out of nowhere to attack Mewtwo with his own power. Things were looking good. We actually had this settled; we just had to make sure nothing changed. We'd be done with this by the time dinner came around, and of course, that was the moment things began to go wrong. Fuck Murphy and fuck his stupid laws.

A/N; Nice place to stop for now eh? Mega Charizard X or Mega Charizard Y? Place your bets.