Chapter no.378 Austin Vs Sabrina part 2

Austin stood on one end of the battlefield, his feet firmly planted on the ground as he reached for the red and white sphere at his waist. With a confident grin, he pulled out the PokeBall and gave it a firm toss into the air.
As the ball soared through the air, it burst open with a bright flash of light, revealing a Wartortle. The water-type Pokémon was small and compact, with a round head and a shell that covered its back. Its skin was a dark blue color, and it had large, bright eyes that seemed to sparkle in the light.
As Wartortle materialized on the field, he threw his black glasses into the air.
Wartortle did a combination of spins, flips, and twists that showcased his agility and flexibility. He started by spinning on one hand, his legs kicking out to the side in a wide arc. Then, he lifted his legs up and twisted his body, flipping onto his back and landing on his shoulders.
From there, he kicked his legs up again, this time crossing them over his head before swinging them back down to the ground. He spun around on his back, his arms flailing wildly before using his momentum to push himself back up onto his feet in a graceful, fluid motion.
The whole move was performed with precision and fluidity, each motion blending seamlessly into the next. As he finished, Wartortle landed back on his feet, his glasses landing perfectly on his face.
" Quite the energetic pokemon, you have." Sabrina muttered, her tone monotonous. "You may have the first move."
"I will." Austin asserted.
" Rain Dance."
The entire thing barely took more than a single second, a testament to his personal training, considering that it took him several seconds to perform the same when Austin had caught him.
With a fierce determination in its eyes, Wartortle stomped its feet on the ground as his tail glowed bright summoning a powerful rainstorm. Dark clouds gathered overhead, and raindrops began to fall heavily, drenching the battlefield.
Sabrina countered by having Solrock use Calm mind as the pokemon's body exploded out with psychic aura.
" Water pulse !" Austin ordered as he didn't want to use any combo Moves that could be linked back to him if Erika's family is adamant in catting up.
One moment, the water pulse was headed straight at Solrock. The other—Solrock was behind Wartortle, between the water attack and the psychic pokemon.
Even without Austin's commands, Wartortle chose to counter the attack.
Without further delay, Wartortle's cheeks bulged as he send a second pulse, the latter slamming into the former in an explosion, wetting the entire arena.
Austin's eyes narrowed as he tried to figure out Sabrina's play.
How did Solrock shift Wartortle between itself and the water pulse?
"That was not agility." He muttered.
" With his black glasses and the dark type aura. A foreign psychic move would not work on him so quickly."
"Of course it won't." Sabrina drawled, the serene smile returning to her youthful disposition.
Very well, if long-ranged attacks won't do, then I'll have to get close.
He decided. "Use aqua jet."
Wartortle enveloped himself with water, before shooting up towards Solrock, who seemed completely unfazed by it all. The full force of Aqua jet came soaring towards Solrock, a single hit being more than enough to deliver a near-fatal blow to the pokémon.
Sabrina smiled.
In less than a single second, Solrock began to spin, as great streams of fire erupted all over its self, emanating blinding light, one that sent Wartortle cringing as his glasses protected him from the bright flares.
And that was all it took.
Wartortle founds himself aiming for the floor instead, with Solrock, once again, behind him, belching out a powerful fire-spin right onto him. Before the trainer or his pokémon could comprehend what had happened, Wartortle was enveloped in a funnel of flames, before nose-diving into the floor with a large explosion.
Solrock stopped spinning, staring down at its opponent, with its squinted eyes and seemingly-bored expression.
"Wartortle," Austin yelled out in worry. "Are you all right, buddy?"
The water pokémon lifted his claw up in the air, the dents and bruises on his shell visibly distinct, before grunting out defiantly.
The stupid know-it-all might have been speedy, but that didn't mean that he would be defeated so easily.
Austin chuckled. "That wasn't a slight on you, my friend. I was just being worried."
Wartortle grunted again. His trainer was a worry-wart.
"However," said trainer wasn't done speaking. "I think your abilities would be better served elsewhere. I need you to return." Saying so, his trainer lifted up his pokeball, pressing the red button.
Wartortle sighed. Well, at the very least, he would get another chance to battle today. He gave a withering glare at the floating psychic-type once again, before the red light dematerialised him, returning him to his pokeball.
" Looks like you're not playing around, Sabrina."
The Saffron gym was one of the toughest gyms out there, even for someone going by the normal route instead of elevating his trainer status via… unconventional means.
So yes, he was screwed since Sabrina was using her full skills of an Elite four in this fight.
But then… When had something like that ever stopped him?
And Austin chose his next pokémon. " Hey, Sabrina; can I ask you a favour ?"
Sabrina narrowed her eyes at Austin.
" Hey, it isn't anything weird or kinky."
" Speak."
" Can you like, cover Charmleon's image from our onlookers ?"
" Sure."
" Thanks then, I choose you, Charmeleon!"
The black dragon stood on his hind limbs, his maw lifted up into the air, as he snorted out a thin bluish flame as a declaration of his own power. Of course, Charmeleon hardly needed to do so, considering his unusual physiological features. Even as a second-stage pokémon, he stood head and shoulders equal to the height most average Charizards out there. Apparently, whatever must have kept his growth hindered had been… removed, allowing Chameleon to quickly reach a more than respective height, enough to send most opponents cowering with relative ease.
"An unusual pokémon." Sabrina commented from her spot. "I am yet to decide if not seeing the future of this battle was a good decision or a bad one."
"Do you often see the future of your battles?" Austin prodded out of curiosity. Being able to see the future was a supreme advantage. That was for sure.
"More often than I would like," the Saffron gym leader answered with relative nonchalance. "You should quell your thoughts Ash Ketchum. I can't see the outcomes of your bloody suicide mission with Team Rocket.
I only see the ultimate outcome of my future battles, if only to see if the trainer is worth my time or not."
"I… see." Austin answered as Pikachu looked confused as he tapped Lucario's feet and asked pointed at Sabrina as he wanted Lucario to explain what Sabrina ment.
"Interestingly enough, I did not look into the future for this battle. For someone with so less experience, you have certainly moved up in our world, Ash Ketchum, enough for the League to start noticing you, and the... team you have been known to cultivate."
Almost instantly, Cynthia's words replayed into his mind. He had the attention of the legendary deities of their world. People found him interesting.
Interesting people stuck on people's minds.
"I'm flattered." Austin answered. "I will try not to disappoint you."
Sabrina just smiled back at him in return. "Let us return to the battle."
....
[ Omake Paragraph ]
If the domestication of Oddish and Miltank created civilization, the domestication of Steelix created empires. Wars in the Bronze Age, before pokeballs and most domestic pokemon, were fought with weapons: spears, shields, javelins, and chariots pulled by Ponyta. For a time crawling behind trained Onix was a common tactic to avoid ranged attacks, similar to more recent modes of trench warfare. Onix, however, could not move easily in the grasslands and flood plains where many wars were fought, and their thin joints rendered them vulnerable targets, so their effectiveness was limited; they could not protect many men, and the valuable Onix were themselves often slain.
And then came the Iron Age, which is often dated not from the use of iron tools, but from the application of metal coats to Onix, creating the first Steelix. Larger, stronger, and most importantly, sturdier than their predecessors, not only could a hundred men advance behind them (if the old historians are to be believed), but they could break a chariot with a single thrash of their tail, and spears bounced off them like thrown rocks. Armies declined and became abandoned outright for a time, for the only thing which could beat a Steelix was another Steelix, and a community's military power became based on access to Onix caves and iron.
Thus human battles were replaced by pokemon battles. Centuries later, great upheavals occurred as the first grass and water pokemon were domesticated and a tactical revolution swept the world. Steelix, despite their strong physical defenses, were slain in war and abandoned in peace. The modern population of Steelix descends not from the Steelix champions of the Iron Age, but from wild Onix fashioning coats of their own from scrap metal to protect themselves from predators; ancient Steelix are known only from ruins.