Thanks for all the support on my Patreo-n so far! 3 advanced chapters at /xlucqs. I also posted the first chapter of another story I have been working on.

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  William

  Lochness - Swampert(ACE)

  Leviathan - Gyarados

  Juggernaut - Palafin

  Vortex - Starmie

  Riptide - Froakie

  Britney - Toxapex

  Raiden - Eelektross

  Valkyrie - Skarmory(RIDE)

  Support:

  Taddy - Politoed - Rain Dance

  Grace - Lapras - Rain Dance

  Lance

  Ignis - Charizard

  Aether - Dragonite(ACE)

  Raptor - Aerodactyl

  Nimbus - Altaria

  Eos - Dragonite(RIDE)

  "Ignis, get rid of this rain—use Sunny Day!" Lance said. Charizard roared, and for a short moment William could spot the glint of the blinding Sun through the rainy clouds. But that was all it was—a short moment. Just as quickly as the sun appeared it had disappeared once again.

  Taddy and Grace were at a safe distance—constantly keeping the rain up. Without it, he was sure he would lose.

  Lance looked up, growling at the rain. He looked towards Charizard to try again, but just like the last time, it failed.

  "Juggernaut, throw Britney!" His Palafin grabbed his Toxapex, stretching its shoulder and arm backwards as it threw Britney like a Major League Baseball pitcher.

  "Baneful Bunker!" Britney turned into a living ball of a poison spiked fortress as it accelerated through the air at an astonishing speed.

  SWOOSH

  Charizard's wings flapped through the air, moving to the side, narrowly missing one of the spikes on Britney's shell, but in the next moment—

  Juggernaut appeared, using the attack as a screen to launch an Aqua Jet directly into Charizard. He was slammed backwards.

  "Ignis, use Slash!"

  Charizard roared, slashing Palafin and creating three large cuts in the center of its chest. Juggernaut was sent flying back down to the waters.

  "Ancient Power, Raptor!" Lance commanded. Tactically, he was losing due to the rain and the disadvantage in numbers—but his Pokemon made up for it by being strong.

  "Dodge it, go underwater!" William said, seeing the large rock make its way towards all of them.

  "Ignis, Blast Burn! Nimbus and Raptor, Flamethrower!" Three separate streams of fire exploded onto the surface of the water. William's eyes widened.

  Shit, he's trying to overheat the water!

  "Leviathan, Blizzard!"

  "Cotten guard Nimbus!" Lance roared. The protective cloud-like substance surrounding Altaria immediately began to grow thicker and more pronounced.

  And then a chilly, overwhelming blizzard swept through the battlefield. Lance, who had remained mostly stationary atop his Dragonite—giving out orders like a general atop his horse, barely flinched as frost started forming on his cape.

  Altaria's protective clouds, along with its boosts, shielded it from the icy weather—while Charizard ignited an expertly controlled flame around Aerodactyl to protect it from the ice.

  Despite the inherent weakness to Ice across his team—aside from Charizard—, it was almost as if he had prepared for this a million times. He remained unaffected—throughout the entire fight, he hadn't shown a single sign of fear or anxiety. He had not even moved from his Pokemon ride.

  It was the kind of confidence that came from someone who knew he was strong and was almost certain of victory.

  I'm going to change that look on your face, William thought, clenching his fists.

  "Ignis, Thunder Punch!" Charizard set off like a ballistic missile, heading straight towards Leviathan. William wasn't sure if Leviathan could survive it.

  "Hydro Pump!" William roared.

  The Charizard spun and dodged in something akin to a barrel roll. It maneuvered through the air like a seasoned pilot, its fists radiating lightning.

  "Britney, protect Leviathan! Baneful Bunker!" William called.

  "Go through with it!" Lance shouted.

  The Charizard slammed into Britney with a fist of supercharged lightning. Britney flinched, but managed to stay strong.

  "Now, Seismic Toss."

  It grabbed Toxapex, ignoring the poison that took effect, and pulled it close to its chest as it flew upwards.

  "Venoshock!" William called, but the Charizard had already flown upward, ignoring any form of struggle and attack Britney managed to produce.

  And then it began its descent. It slowly picked up speed, turning into a warhead. The air warped around his body—the Charizard spinning and spinning, gaining speed and inertia, until—

  "Throw it!" Lance called to his Charizard. He then turned to Aerodactyl. "Raptor, Giga Impact."

  William knew what was going to happen, but he was powerless to stop it. He could only watch in horror.

  Utilising its momentum from flying downwards at an astonishing speed, Charizard threw Britney with all of its strength, sending her straight toward the path of Aerodactyl, who had turned into a great ball of energy charging upwards.

  "Protect!" William called.

  Britney did all in her power to defend herself, but the built-up momentum combined with the Giga Impact shattered both layers of defence—the Protect and the Shell—leaving Britney to fall into the water, defeated.

  William wordlessly watched as his tank was defeated with a single attack. This was truly the difference and strength between his and Lance's Pokemon.

  William withdrew her before she could land.

  "Nimbus, use Sing."

  William opened his mouth, ready to command his Pokemon to dodge, but the words immediately died in his throat as he realised the attack wasn't meant for him—it was meant for his own Pokemon.

  He was replacing Poison with Sleep.

  A soft bed produced by the cotton-like material from the Nimbus caught the two Pokemon before they could fall into the water. They lay motionless, snoring away without any of the poison Britney had worked so hard to give them.

  "Eos, Tailwind!" Lance called to the Dragonite he rode on. A quick current of wind enveloped his Pokemon and spun around them.

  William bit his lip. As long as Altaria was alive, it would continue to support both Charizard and Aerodactyl. I need to take care of it.

  "Leviathan, Juggernaut—use Hydro Pump! Target Altaria!" Two powerful blasts of water erupted from the mouths of his attackers. Beams of water surged throughout the air, carrying the blunt damage one would expect from a cannonball.

  Altaria floated in the air, dodging both attacks with a grace William had never seen before.

  "Vortex, Psychic—now!" Vortex let out an inhuman cry, surrounding itself in a pink psychic aura. A moment later, Altaria was engulfed in it as well. It wrapped around her and stuck to her like a shadow.

  "Lock her in place!" William shouted. "Now, Raiden—use Thunder!"

  "Eos, stop that creature!" Lance barked. The Dragonite let out a Hyper Beam—not as strong as the one fired by the other Dragonite before, but still dangerously powerful.

  "Juggernaut, use Aqua Jet—block that attack!" William pointed toward the incoming Hyper Beam. With an invigorated manner, Juggernaut let out a confident cry, jumping out of the ocean and surrounding itself in a protective layer of water as it launched upwards to meet the attack.

  CRACKLE.

  The sky suddenly exploded with lightning—gray clouds forming from above—and a moment later, a great bolt from above struck the immobilized Altaria. It was left smoking, wings limp as it flailed helplessly towards the ocean.

  "Leviathan—constrict it with your body!"

  Leviathan jumped out of the water with surprising speed for its size—grabbing the Alteria as it fell, crawling and curling across the unprotected parts of Altaria in an attempt to choke her out.

  "Wake up!" Lance screamed, and almost as if they had heard his call, both the Charizard and the Aerodactyl woke up from their slumber— no longer affected by any poison.

  "Thunder Wave, Leviathan! Paralyse the Altaria!" William commanded. He then turned to the rest of his team. "You guys, protect Leviathan!"

  The Charizard and Aerodactyl swept in without delay. Their wings flapped with a renewed and restored energy—both of them letting out inhuman shrills as bloodlust radiated from their bodies.

  A massive wave of fire swept across the battlefield, causing the air to shimmer and dance from side to side. William felt the temperature from up above where he stayed flying on Valkyrie.

  Vortex and Raiden both retreated underwater, while Juggernaut—driven by pride—met the attack with one of his own. Vortex and Raiden both emerged a moment later, sending out attacks of their own.

  The blanket of heat obscuring William's vision finally cleared, and this time, he noticed it immediately.

  Aerodactyl had vanished again. With Tailwind still active, it had practically glided across the ocean under the cover of Charizard's fiery diversion.

  William's eyes darted around—then he saw it. The ancient Pokemon was heading straight for Leviathan, who still had the struggling Altaria trapped in its grasp.

  It was closing in fast. Its jaws opened wide, preparing a Thunder Fang. If Altaria managed to live here and Leviathan succumbed, then it would be a 3v3, and he would no longer have the advantage in numbers—and he would no longer have any chance of winning.

  William had only a moment to act.

  Across from them, red, pink, and yellow energies circled around each other, battling against the incoming blasts of fireballs and dragon pulses and air attacks.

  "Raiden!" he called to his Pokemon. Eelektross turned to look at him. "Use Thunder!" William said, pointing at Leviathan.

  Raiden gave him a confused look. William nodded, his face neutral.

  In an effort to take out Altaria and Aerodactyl, he would sacrifice his own Pokemon.

  Just as Aerodactyl closed in on the pair, a great zigzag of yellow shot down from the heavens. William covered his eyes as the lightning struck with a blinding light and shattering sound.

  A moment later, the lightning struck.

  The thunder roared loudly, seizing everyone's attention on the battlefield. All eyes turned toward the rising smoke, slowly dissipating into the wind.

  Altaria— fainted.

  Leviathan—fainted.

  Aerodactyl—conscious. Unharmed from the attack. He had gotten out of the way just before the attack had hit.

  William frowned, withdrawing Leviathan back into his Poké Ball. "I'm sorry, buddy. It had to be done." he said quietly to the ball.

  Lance withdrew his Pokemon as well.

  It was now 2v3.

  Aerodactyl circled back around, cutting his Pokemon off in a pincer-like attack.

  "Vortex, you take Aerodactyl. Juggernaut, you take Charizard. Raiden, support them both." William said.

  "Raptor, use Ancient Power!"

  "Vortex, use Psychic! Crush up the rocks and throw them back!"

  A massive rock immediately hurled its way towards Vortex. However, it was surrounded in a pink energy, and its momentum slowly halted until it came to a complete stop. That pink energy slowly crushed it into miniature pieces before being thrown back towards the fossil Pokemon.

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  The rocks swung in perfected arcs, attacking from each and every different angle. Aerodactyl was caught off guard—too busy flying forward—and it paid for it. It was hit with a dozen flying rocks, causing it to screech out in pain.

  "Psybeam!" William said.

  "Get in close!" Lance called. Both of their attention was now on the current fight. In the distance Juggernaut and Charizard were locked in a battle of their own.

  Utilising its incredible speed—combined with Tailwind—, Aerodactyl closed the distance almost immediately. Its jagged but sharp razor-like teeth—which had gained a yellow hue of lightning—dug into Vortex.

  The jaws pierced skin, digging deeper and deeper—but in the next moment, Raiden appeared, firing off a Thunderbolt from its mouth which caused Aerodactyl to separate from its supposed prey.

  "Well done!" William said in approval. But in the next moment, Juggernaut let out a pained scream from across the battlefield, and Raiden's attention was brought elsewhere.

  They were losing the 1v1s—of course they were, it was an Elite Four level trainer, but thankfully Raiden was alive and well to provide support when each of his teammates began to struggle.

  Although not his strongest Pokemon he was certainly one of the most valuable pieces on the board— especially since all of Lance's Pokemon had the distinct Flying type, so all attacks would either deal neutral or super effective damage depending on the Pokemon attacked.

  The fight continued, but no matter what Vortex did, Aerodactyl was simply too fast for Vortex to hit him. Aerodactyl closed in again, but instead of trying to prevent it, he let it happen.

  A Thunder Fang was the move of choice once again, but this time, there was something to prevent it.

  "Protect!" William called. "Then Confuse Ray!"

  The jaws bit down on the protective barrier—like a knife scratching against glass—and although it slightly cracked, it managed to remain steady. Next, a small ray of light left the red core of Vortex and swirled itself around Aerodactyl. His eyes turned into spirals, and the Pokemon began to grow dizzy.

  "Raptor, get out of there!" In its defence the Pokemon tried, but it was too confused. Its senses were all over the place—with no bearings around its surroundings to fly away.

  A way to counter a fast physical attacker was to simply make them unable to attack at all.

  "Vortex, use Psychic, send him to the bottom of the ocean!" William shouted, taking advantage of the confusion.

  "Raptor!" Lance's voice boomed across the battlefield. It wasn't a desperate cry for help—it was closer to a command to snap out of the confusion and get it together.

  But no matter how hard it tried, it couldn't.

  Aerodactyl struggled, clawing and slashing at Starmie as a pink, psychic energy surrounded it. It was sent upwards—like a ragdoll—then sent flying back down, crashing into the ocean. The ocean weakened the psychic connection, but Vortex remained steady, concentrating all of its power as it pushed Aerodactyl further and further down into the ocean.

  It never emerged. Lance withdrew it.

  Just as Starmie was beginning to recover—its body filled with scratches, slashes, and bite marks—Charizard glided slightly above the ocean floor, arriving at a terrifying speed.

  "Dragon Rush!" It surrounded itself in a powerful blue energy, using its speed and momentum to slam into Starmie with invigorating power.

  "Fuck!" William spat out. Starmie floated on the ocean floor, unconscious. The battle with Aerodactyl had brought it to its last legs.

  2v1.

  William looked out to the distance for a moment. Beams and explosions echoed where Lochness and Aether were battling. William looked worried. Lance didn't. He needed to end this quickly and use his numbers advantage to take care of Lance's Ace.

  The battle had lasted a while, yet still the Charizard remained just as powerful and energetic as he had been at the beginning.

  Juggernaut stood on the surface of the water, his arms mimicking that of an orthodox boxing style—while Raiden remained half-submerged in the ocean to the side, ready to support just as he had been doing.

  They had the numbers and the type advantage—but the Charizard more than made up for it in individual strength.

  Charizard flew high into the sky. "Dragon Pulse! Target the strong one!" Lance said.

  "Dodge it! Use Swift Raiden!"

  A collection of small golden stars shot out of Raiden's mouth. In the Pokemon games, the move Swift never missed, and in real life, it translated to the shooting stars locking onto their target and following them like homing missiles. They wouldn't disappear until they were destroyed or they hit the opponent. That was the beauty in this move.

  Charizard flew rapidly, twisting and twirling its body in all different kinds of directions as it struggled to get rid of the stars. No matter where he went, they stayed on his trail.

  "Ignis, use Flamethrower to destroy the stars."

  Charizard opened its mouth, ready to shoot a big stream of fire, but it was at that moment that Juggernaut appeared, firing off a point-blank Jet Punch from behind—sending the lizard Pokemon directly into the stars.

  "Press the attack!" William shouted. Juggernaut pounced, but in the next moment, he was forced to retreat as a great wave of flames, hotter than anything he had ever felt—even from far away—erupted from Charizard.

  He was surrounded in a great orange aura—a second layer of energy which rested on his skin. Blaze.

  Throughout the fight, Charizard's fire-type moves lacked any warranted attention due to the rain. However due to STAB and it most likely being what the Pokemon was comfortable with using—it was used despite this fact.

  However, with Blaze now active, they had turned into hot, molten flames—which William was now cautious about. It was a type of Fire which could truly burn albeit the conditions.

  "Fire Blast!" The words were accompanied by a great roar followed by a detonation of fire from its mouth. It came in the shape of something that resembled a star—like a stick man figure, only each of these points were as wide as building pillars. The fire was so hot it burned the water before the raindrops even touched it.

  The attack seared through the air, targeted at Juggernaut. Juggernaut dived below, the attack missing him by a hair's breadth.

  Another advantage of the water.

  Juggernaut emerged, jumping out of the water with his fist held upwards in a Superman pose, intent on punching Charizard.

  Charizard shot out another stream of flames, which propelled it backwards and burned Juggernaut.

  That's the problem, William thought. Charizard is now relying on its special attack and mastery of fire to keep Juggernaut at bay.

  It was the same way Vortex and Aerodactyl had clashed—physical versus special attack. He needed to think of something fast.

  Since Blaze was active, it would only take a couple of hits for Charizard to faint. That's why he was staying at range, he was cautious about moving in close.

  William's mind naturally leaned towards a plan where Juggernaut would finish Charizard off—mainly due to Juggernaut's role as a brawler and his high attack stat. However, that necessarily didn't need to be the case. With Juggernaut now being Charizard's full attention, Raiden could take advantage of that.

  Both Juggernaut and Charizard reset their positions, staring at each other intently. Raiden circled from the side, seemingly out of both of their minds.

  "Blast Burn!" called Lance.

  "Use Waterfall, Juggernaut!"

  Juggernaut nodded, more than happy to meet the attack head-on.

  Water formed all around him like a shield, and he rushed forward in a posture which looked like he was running while a rugby ball was tucked in between his arms.

  Fire and water clashed—steam rising up from the intersection. It was the battle of two Pokemon who wanted to prove they were stronger than the other—a battle of wills.

  But at that moment, Charizard seemed to forget about William's other Pokemon.

  He gave a non-verbal nod to Raiden to avoid attracting any attention—he was an intelligent Pokemon, and he knew what to do.

  Rock Slide!

  Just as the words left his mind, out of thin air from above, a landslide of rocks emerged above the Charizard.

  Below, Charizard and Palafin clashed. Juggernaut tried to push forward, but the fire was too hot. Its skin burned as the water protecting it evaporated into steam. However, despite being forced back, Juggernaut still continued to fight—pushing against the fire with all of its might, giving Raiden the opening he needed.

  "Ignis, above you! Dodge!" Lance said, noticing the falling rocks. Charizard didn't—either consciously or not, it ignored its trainer's commands in favour of proving himself the stronger one in the fight.

  The pride comes before the fall, quite literally.

  Fire continued to burn with an ever increasing intensity until the rocks slammed down with a resounding force all over Charizard's body, halting its attack. Each rock seemed to bring it down further and further, the creature which had valued itself on pride had now bowed and lowered its head as the rocks continued to smash and break on its back.

  And then, it ceased. Both Juggernaut and Charizard lay motionless, both out for the count. Juggernaut had lasted on just long enough before allowing itself to succumb to the burns. It had fainted from them— but it didn't look serious. He would be fine in his pokeball until he allowed him to properly recover at a stolen healing station in Team Aqua base.

  They were withdrawn simultaneously.

  Okay, William thought. I still have Raiden. Now all I need to do is make my way towards Lochness and help him—

  Just then, Dragonite— the one who had gone off with Swampert—appeared, flying slightly above sea level with its wings. It looked slightly damaged—with a few cuts and bruises and dried up ice and mud—but other than that, completely fine.

  Just then all of his hope had been smashed to pieces. The strongest piece on the board had arrived, and William had nothing to take him down with.

  "Lochness…" William said wistfully, memories running through his mind. He looked in the distance— towards where they battled. Silence.

  He had lost, but that wasn't what hurt him. What broke his heart was he would never see his friend—his partner—again. It was the last time he would see most of his Pokemon. All of them had given it their all— he couldn't fault them for anything.

  William was going to die. Even if he surrendered, he wouldn't put it past Lance to go through with his threats. Especially after causing him this much trouble and bringing it down to the wire.

  But William would never surrender, for that was a coward's way out. He would sooner die with his pride intact and unbroken. If was going to die—leaving all of his ambition behind—then let him leave at least with his pride. He would leave going out fighting.

  "You guys ready?" he asked Raiden and Valkyrie. Two support Pokemon ready to support him and fight to the last breath. If Shelly's Pokemon were smart they would leave and return back to their owner.

  Shelly. Wallace. Team Aqua. Neptune Shipping. He had plans, so many plans that would never come into fruition. William chuckled to himself—for a man of so many plans he didn't anticipate this one. Reality dawned on him that this was the last mistake he would make and the last one he would learn from.

  After that it would go to black—it would go to nothing.

  His last stand. Against overwhelming odds. Against the prospect of death. For some reason William seemed…calm, like a quiet wave in the ocean.

  Not in an accepting way—just in a way where the concept of it didn't scare him.

  William had already died once—he knew what it was like. His first death was ordinary. His second would be anything but.

  He took a deep breath, preparing to fight, but then…

  From behind, Lochness appeared like a folklore. Battered and bruised beyond comprehension, he somehow remained upright. He was surrounded in a light blue aura—a sign that Torrent was active. He grabbed Dragonite from behind, putting him in a chokehold.

  Williams' survival instincts instantly kicked in.

  "Zap Cannon! Now, Raiden!" William screamed.

  Eelektross roared, slithering through the waves—renewed with energy matching that of its owner. It opened its mouth wide, gathering large amounts of electric energy as the air hummed like a generator turning on and powering up.

  "Protect, Aether!"

  "Crush the barrier with Earthquake!"

  Lochness mightily trembled, crushing the protective barrier—which had lost its effectiveness due to constant overuse—in its grip.

  The bolt of lightning condensed and shrunk, layering foundations of fleeting thunder on top of each other. It compressed into tiny sizzling layers in the shape of a small ball holding unimaginable power.

  "NOW!"

  The small ball of lightning was released from the gaping jaws of Raiden. It zoomed through the air, hitting Dragonite directly in its stomach before exploding into a bomb of pure lightning—like an expanding spider web.

  The attack consumed both of them in its entirety. William shielded his eyes, watching through small concentrated slits as cracks of lightning exploded and sparkled against the surface of the water and danced in the air.

  For a moment, William worried for Lochness despite his immunity to electric type attacks.

  When it had finally cleared, in the center of it all remained two smoking bodies. One of them had been harmed by the attack neutrally and paralysed, while the other was immune to the attack altogether because of its typing.

  Lochness still remained behind Dragonite, trying to choke it out. The Dragonite crackled with electricity as it struggled to move.

  However, the wave of paralysis soon passed, and the beast was unleashed.

  "Dragon Rush!" Lance commanded.

  The Dragonite roared with anger, eyes burning with intense concentration and fury. From behind, it utilised its strength to easily escape Lochness's grasp and tackled him into the water.

  "Dive below, retreat!"

  Lochness dived into the water, escaping the wrath of Dragonite. It surfaced a moment later, beside Raiden.

  Both of his Pokemon were on their last legs, so to speak. Raiden wouldn't survive an attack from Dragonite, while Lochness was below 30% health—probably 10%.

  But Torrent was active, and so was the rain, and so was the glaring weakness which plagued dragon and flying type Pokemon.

  "Raiden, use Thunder! Maximum output!" William shouted.

  Sparks flashed in the sky, and great bolts of lightning began to fall from the heavens like judgement from Zeus. Raiden poured absolutely everything he had into the attack.

  The bolts steamed the ocean below, causing stray lightning to move toward Lochness and Raiden—only to harmlessly dissipate against their bodies.

  Dragonite weaved through the chaos, shimmying through little pockets of open space, but then—

  A timely tick of paralysis.

  A beam of ice from Lochness. x4 effective.

  The Dragonite stayed standing.

  "Hurricane!" Lance ordered.

  "Retreat below!" William said almost instantly. In the rain, this attack was bound to hit.

  His two Pokemon dove beneath the water—safe. The same couldn't be said for him though.

  A great wind formed and swept through the battlefield.

  Valkyrie, his bird Pokemon, was made entirely of steel and weighed upwards of 50 kilograms—yet despite this, the wind was so fierce that Skarmory was thrashed about as if it weighed half a kilogram, spinning wildly like a destroyed jet. William held on for dear life, feeling the wind threaten to separate him from his ride.

  As his Pokemon struggled to regain its bearings near the ocean floor, William let go with one hand and dug that hand into the water palm upwards. In a quick motion he then thrust it outside of the water.

  It was a signal.

  Finally, Valkyrie managed to regain its bearings. "Skar!" it cried.

  It steadied itself just before the water clipped its wings and then soared upwards.

  Upwards—just like the towering mountain of water that abruptly surged into the sky, with Lochness standing proudly atop it, riding the wave like a surfer.

  It was similar to the move that had trapped Altaria before, only this time, instead of using the wave as a prison of ice, it was being used as a launchpad—carrying Lochness high into the sky, closing the gap between him and Dragonite in an instant.

  Lochness rose at incredible speed—boosted by Torrent and his expert control over water energy—, appearing right in front of Dragonite within a second.

  "No!" For the first time since the battle began, Lance showed visible concern.

  He ordered his second Dragonite to assist—but a perfectly timed flash of thunder from Raiden sent it reeling backward. Raiden relaxed its body, exhausted from the constant use of attacks.

  William didn't know why it had taken Lance so long to use his second Dragonite. Maybe it was pride—like he believed himself above needing to get directly involved. William had held back to avoid drawing too much attention—any more than he already had— to himself and to stay safely out of the fight. The countless near-death experiences had hammered that lesson in.

  But now Lance was suffering for it. William had once held the strength in numbers, and Lance had willingly chosen not to use his full team—simply because he was sitting on one of his soldiers.

  Again, pride came before the fall. But for Lance to fall, Lochness first needed to rise.

  A cold ice energy wrapped itself around Lochness's right fist, shimmering over bones, muscles, tendons, and joints. The wave carried him forward and upward, and with the momentum behind him, he swung his bright iced fist containing all of the determination and strength of him and William combined.

  Dragonite roared as it met the attack head-on with one of its own. Outrage. Its body glowed a deep, burning blue as the Dragonite went in for a punch as well.

  BOOM

  The world remained silent, waiting for the outcome. The towering wave that had carried Lochness upwards vanished.

  Two Pokemon remained.

  Lochness was the first to fall—not in defeat, but quite literally—as, without the wave to support him, he plummeted back into the ocean. He landed on the seafloor, looking up at Dragonite, who hovered above, swaying weakly from side to side, its tiny wings flapping just enough to keep it aloft.

  And then, it stopped.

  Dragonite fainted.

  Lochness broke eye contact with the falling dragon—its body withdrawn into a pokeball mid-drop—and looked toward William.

  They shared a smile.

  Then Lochness collapsed.

  It had ended.

  Lance was the first to speak, "Even with your numbers advantage, and you're rain— I must give you credit for how well you have fought. Your Pokemon completely trust you, they are strong and work well together. You have my respect."

  William didn't say anything.

  "However, I still have the Pokemon I ride on. Eos. You have lost. Your electric Pokemon is weak and exhausted. Your Skarmory isn't suited for battle." he explained.

  "Out of respect for fighting this much and this well—I implore you to give up. Give up and I won't track your boat you tried so hard to protect. Give up and I will ensure that when you are arrested, your Pokemon will not be wasted in their pokeballs and be given to respectful and kind and powerful trainers."

  The ultimatum hung in the air.

  "Heh." William laughed. "Tell me, do you really think I would surrender? Why do you think I have been fighting so desperately this whole time? No matter the outcome, surrender was never an option."

  "Very well." Lance said. Eos—as he called it—tensed its muscles.

  He prepared the Dragonite he rode on to battle, but in that moment, Taddy and Grace, Shelly's Pokemon, who he had been given as merely support Pokemon appeared by his side.

  Williams' eyes widened. He turned to Lance.

  "Now it is 4v1. Do you still like them odds?" William asked with a smile.

  Lance narrowed his eyes, probably now just realising it was these two Pokemon who had kept up the rain and been responsible for the constant downpour in the past however long they had been fighting.

  He let out a deep breath. "Ok. Let's call it a stalemate. If we fight again—when we fight again, I won't make the same mistake of not bringing my entire team. And you best be prepared, because I will destroy you—no matter how many Pokemon you bring."

  And in a visual William never expected, William saw the back of Lance—William saw him retreating. The only two outcomes he had expected from this fight was death or retreating himself, never the one in front of him right now.

  But now that the danger had gone, he felt awfully grateful he was alive. And now that he was alive, he needed to get back to business. Time and money and power awaited for no one, no matter how many near death experiences you go for.

  William had a call to make—to the person he believed betrayed him and caused this entire mess.

  AN: So there is the fight, let me know how it was. I used a lot of war-like imagery as that's how I picture Lance: like an army general commanding his Pokemon. It was also like a war for William because of the life and death stakes.

  This battle was also one of Pride. Lance's pride directly harmed his chances of winning due to him being so confident, while Williams' pride forced him to continue fighting no matter the odds. Both of them were influenced by their pride—but Williams helped him whereas Lance's directly hurt him.