Pokemon Rebellion

Journey up Saga Summit

Armaan had reached the base of the mountain and came upon a fork in the road with many confusing signs. As he was studying the signs, an old man wearing a brown ragged cloak with a staff walked towards his direction. Armaan noticed the man and asked him if he knew which way would take him up to Saga Summit. The man answered, “Well that depends on how fast you want to get up the mountain.” Armaan was puzzled and also impatient and so he urged the man to tell him the quickest way up the mountain. “Well why didn’t you say so! Kids these days… Both paths will lead you to Saga Summit but since you want the fast way take the path to your right.” Answered the old man. Upon hearing the response, Armaan took the path on the right without allowing the old man to finish what he had to say and without thanking him.

As he continued, he came to a wooden bridge that he needed to cross. Before he could set foot on it, a pokemon jumped out of the bush to block the way, it was the tiny muscle pokemon Machop. It stood with its fists raised ready for a battle. Armaan assessed the pokemon’s strength quickly and decided he didn’t need Greninja’s assistance. Machop came flying towards Armaan ready to land it’s mighty karate chop attack. Armaan blocked the attack with his shield and swung his shield back to throw the Machop back slamming it hard against a rock. Machop slowly tried to get back on its feet but Armaan began to walk towards the bridge not wasting anytime. However, his path was impeded again, this time by the much stronger Machoke that popped out from the nearby bush. Machoke came charging in with a mega punch attack and once again Armaan blocked the attack with his shield but this time he was unable to repel the pokemon back. Instead, Machoke grabbed Armaan’s off hand and used ‘Vital Throw’ to send him flying away from the bridge.

After picking himself back up, he realized this was not a fight he could easily win alone, so he grabbed his pokeball and called out Greninja. Greninja and Machoke charged towards one another with Machoke readying a mega punch attack. Greninja dodged the attack with ease then shot an Ice Beam from its mouth freezing the Machoke in solid ice. It then began to rush towards the frozen pokemon ready to land the final strike but before Greninja could do so, a pokemon from the distance slammed the ground, causing a wave of rocks to land a direct hit against Greninja. The pokemon was the final evolution of the Machop line: Machamp.

Machamp readied its four arms for battle and signaled for Armaan and Greninja to both fight him at the same time. Armaan, knowing not to fall for any taunt, waited patiently for the Machamp to strike first. Machamp first used “Bullet Punch'' which allowed it to strike so quickly that Greninja was unable to avoid the preemptive strike. It then came for Armaan with its ‘Cross Chop’ attack. Armaan was preparing to guard himself with his shield but suddenly, his arms froze up and Machamp landed a clean hit.

Armaan got up and was puzzled as to why his shield was unable to block the four armed pokemon’s attack. He remembered that Machamp had an ability known as ‘No Guard’ that prevented any combatants from blocking and made all attacks not miss. Upon realization Armaan got to his feet and told Greninja the new plan of attack. Armaan threw his shield that completely missed Machamp. As Machamp began to charge up for a frontal assault, Greninja quickly used ‘Hydro Pump’ sending a torrent of water at Machamp. Machamp was attempting to power through the attack until Armaan’s shield came flying from behind, knocking him on the back forcing him to lose his footing and take the full brunt of Greninja’s attack.

Armaan and Greninja waited to see the result of their attack. Machamp was still able to get back to its feet and this time it was joined by its comrade: Machoke and Machop. Armaan knew that him and Greninja would need to take on all three of them at once if they wanted to proceed onto the bridge. They stood their ground and remained focused but nothing could have prepared them for what that the muscle trio was going to pull. The trio began to do a fighting dance and strike a pose like a silly group of superheroes. Armaan and Greninja were completely dumbfounded to the point that they lost focus of the fight for a few seconds. In that time, Machamp and Machoke both grabbed the little Machop on each of its arms and with all their might they launched the pokemon with incredible force towards the star-struck duo.

The mighty combination attack landed and both Armaan and Greninja were picking themselves up after the massive hit. They were both enraged and suddenly an aura began to surround the both of them. Armaan began charging full speed with his shield in front while Greninja followed right behind. The triple muscle pokemon got back into position quickly to launch their super attack once more. Machamp and Machoke threw the Machop with all their might and with both its fist heading towards Armaan’s shield. As they clashed, Armaan held his ground but the force from the Machop was pushing him back. Luckily Greninja began pushing Armaan back and with their combined strength and aura, they were able to muscle aside the Machop to the ground. The two then continued their assault by going after the remaining duo. Machoke and Machamp both ready themselves to grab their opponents but Greninja’s had a sudden burst of speed and slipped behind the two pokemon. Now on their blind spot, it fired a powerful ‘Hydro Pump’ attack, blasting the two right up against Armaan’s shield.

After that last attack, the three muscle pokemon all slowly got back up to their feet in unison, and admitted defeat. They congratulated the duo with thumbs up and allowed them to proceed through the bridge. Once again, Armaan rushed through the bridge without acknowledging his opponents.

Shortly after crossing the bridge, Armaan and Greninja were met by a familiar face as they were walking. It was the old man who he had met at the fork on the road. “How did you get past the three muscle pokemon and cross the bridge.” Armaan asked in confusion. “Same as you, I walked!” He replied with confidence. Realizing he wasn’t going to get much more information out of the old man, Armaan prepared to sprint on ahead. “What’s the hurry?” The man asked. “I got to find the trainer who lives up on the top. He’s going to help me save my friends.” He replied in a rush and with a hint of frustration. “You might want to keep your anger in check, or you won’t be able to save anyone.” Again Armaan stopped to think about what this man was babbling on about. That was when Greninja tapped him on the shoulder to help him refocus on their current path. Immediately Armaan shook off the confusion to respond to the old man but as he was about to speak the man had disappeared.

As Armaan and Greninja continued running, they came to a narrow path with a large pokemon blocking their way. The pokemon was none other than the sleeping Snorlax. They attempted to ask the giant to move so they could cross but it continued sleeping. Armaan then began to push the Snorlax and Greninja eventually joined but it would not budge. With their frustration mounting up, Greninja threw multiple water shurikens at the snoring pokemon and eventually it began to wake from its slumber. Unfortunately for the duo, the Snorlax was not in a good mood after having its nap interrupted.

It was clear that they weren’t going to get through without a battle so Greninja immediately readied itself for a fight. Armaan called for Greninja to blast a hydro pump at their target but in an instance the Snorlax dodged the attack and ran up to Greninja at a blistering speed and delivered a thunder punch right to the gut of Greninja. Armaan was flabbergasted, he knew Snorlax was supposed to be one of the slowest pokemon in existence, so how could it have struck at that speed.

Without much time to think, Armaan and Greninja knew they couldn’t overpower this pokemon with conventional attacks. They had to call upon their mysterious power and out of their combined anger, an aura began to emulate from the both of them. Greninja began to engage the enemy with a Night Slash attack but the Snorlax quickly leapt up into the air and then came down for a body slam landing right on top of Greninja. Greninja attempted to get up but Snorlax was way too heavy and began to suffocate him. Armaan got his shield and began smacking it against the blubbery pokemon but Snorlax just sat there unphased. Eventually, Snorlax was fed up with Armaan and it swung its arm to send him falling on the ground.

As Armaan began to gather himself up, his anger was beginning to subside and he could see Greninja struggling to escape. Armaan quickly ran up to the Snorlax and began pushing with all his might. Tears began running down his face as he realized that his anger had gotten his partner into this dilemma. Armaan apologized and promised that he would get Greninja out with all his might. Once again, Snorlax swung its big arm and sent Armaan slamming onto the ground.

Armaan got himself up again and this time he took a breath before running back to the Snorlax. As he let out his breath he noticed a small pink tail poking out behind the Snorlax. Armaan quickly went to where he saw the mysterious pink tail and as he looked behind the Snorlax, he found another pokemon, Slowpoke hiding there. Armaan then realized how Snorlax was able to move at such incredible speed. Slowpoke had been using ‘trick room,’ an attack that makes slow pokemon extremely fast. He then began to get on his knees and ask the Slowpoke to let Greninja free. Slowpoke, sensing Armaan’s change of heart and care for his pokemon, began to use its psychic powers to move Snorlax to allow Greninja to breathe again. After being moved, Snorlax began to take another nap and the Slowpoke slowly walked over and began to join it.

The entrance to Saga Summit was now open but before they continued on their path, Armaan took the time to make sure Greninja was alright. They rested for a short bit and Armaan apologized for getting so hot headed in their journey. He realized that ever since they got split off from Da-wei, Chloe and Zaid, he was blaming himself too much for what had happened and handling things in an unhealthy manner. Greninja appreciated Arman for sharing and the two reforged their conviction to continue on and to not let anger get the best of them.

And so they went through the entrance that was initially blocked off by the sleeping Snorlax. Now they had to climb the mountain in order to get to Saga Summit. Armaan was electing to call Greninja back to his pokeball to rest him for the journey ahead but Greninja declined and wanted to journey up the mountain alongside his trainer. It was a difficult journey up the mountain but after hours of climbing they managed to conquer their challenge.

Once they had finished climbing, they began to walk and were met again by the mysterious man. “How did you get past the Snorlax and up this mountain?” Armaan asked. “Same as you, I climbed!” The man replied. Armaan felt a little annoyed but he took a breath before speaking again, “Thank you for what you said back there. It saved me from losing my partner.” The man’s tone began to change, “Well it's good to know there are still some young punks out there that are willing to listen to their elders. The place you seek is right up ahead.” And Armaan thanked the man this time before storming off ahead.

Finally coming out of the trees and bushes, he and Greninja saw a temple up ahead. He knew that this must have been the place Aumber wanted him to get to. As he approached the temple, an attack came from Armaan’s blind side and Greninja jumped in front to take the attack. Greninja was badly wounded as another attack came but Armaan raised his shield to mitigate the damage. From behind them emerged someone that Armaan had never seen, the lost warrior, Gursehaj alongside the familiar Zoroark.

Armaan had a ton of questions for him but the pressing one was what was he doing here. After narrowly surviving the war, he became free to do whatever he pleased. He wanted power, fame, and glory that he could never get as long as he was part of the Relevant. So when he heard about the trainer up on saga mountain and how he could teach pokemon trainers to tap into their true potential, he knew what he had to do. Gursehaj knew about the rigorous trials that trainers would have to face before reaching the summit. So Gursehaj has waited a long time for someone to complete the trials for him so he could swoop in for the rewards.

After revealing his motives, Gursehaj and his Zoroark were now advancing towards the temple to meet the trainer. Armaan and Greninja attempted to get up but they were both too exhausted from their journey and battles. They could only lie on the floor and watch as someone else took advantage of their hard work.

It was then that the mysterious man walked up to Armaan:

Mystery Man: So is this all you got?

Armaan: Both Greninja and I are exhausted and drained of our energy. We got nothing left.

Mystery Man: Do you really have nothing? Think back to when you started at the bottom of the mountain. Look how far you have come from the battles you faced.

Armaan: But what’s the point of all those battles? Greninja and I fought so hard to get up here only to have someone take everything from us the easy way!

Mystery Man: There will always be people who take the easy way. But my question to you is: are you going to do that as well?

Armaan: It… it was just so much easier in the beginning.

Mystery Man: Beginnings are often easy, you have excitement and hype going for you. So let me ask you this: Do you think that person is more worthy to be trained than you?

Gursehaj and Zoroark had made their way to the entrance of the temple. They both bowed their heads and Gursehaj called out, “We are ready to be trained!” As he finished his sentence, Armaan and Greninja appeared behind them, “Sorry, you are going to have to wait your turn!” Armaan exclaimed with confidence.

The battle began with Armaan and Greninja attempting to strike first but Zoroark used ‘sucker punch’ and struck Greninja in the jaw. As Armaan stopped to check on Greninja, Gursehaj dashed in and kicked Armaan hard to the ground. However after that exchange, the tide of battle took a complete turn. Armaan and Greninja stood side by side and gathered a deep breath in unison. Not wanting to give them a second to rest, Gursehaj and Zoroark both stormed against their target. Zoroark’s claw was blocked by Greninja’s Night Slash, and Gursehaj’s dagger was parried by Armaan’s shield. It looked to be a deadlock but with just a little extra force, Armaan and Greninja easily pushed back both their opponents a fair distance. The strength they acquired was from their battle against the muscle pokemon Machamp.

Realizing brute force wasn’t going to work, Gursehaj called for Zoroark to use Double Team to create mirror images of Zoroark to conceal their attack. Armaan and Greninja seemed completely outnumbered and surrounded but instead of reacting, they both stood still, closed their eyes and began to focus inwardly. After a few seconds, Gursehaj and Zoroark appeared on both their blind sides but in perfect sync, Armaan and Greninja kicked their opponent aside. This skill of patience came from their trials against the immovable Snorlax.

The tables had turned, it was now Gursehaj who was filled with frustration. He couldn’t comprehend where the two were getting the will to fight after their long journey. His negative energy transferred over into his Zoroark causing it to store up the energy and unleash its signature move, Night Daze. As the attack was coming directly at Armaan and Greninja, their heart began to pulse in perfect sync and an aura began to emulate from their body. Armaan stood in front of the Night Daze attack and blocked it perfectly with his shield without taking any damage. Following up with that, Greninja was now holding a water katana in one hand and dashed towards Zoroark for an immediate counterattack. Zoroark, having used all its energy in the last attack was unable to dodge and took the full force of Greninja’s attack. Armaan and Greninja were able to synchronize their energy, thanks to their battle against the three muscle pokemon.

Gursehaj was now down on his knees and Zoroark was unable to battle. Greninja stood before Gursehaj with its water katana waiting for Armaan to give the order. Armaan walked up to the both of them and with a nod to his pokemon, both their powers disappeared as they decided the battle was over. “Next time, do things the right way.” Armaan said. He began to turn his back and make his way towards the temple but Gursehaj was not done. He pulled out a dagger he had hidden in his boot and attempted to eliminate Armaan. As the dagger was about to make contact against Armaan’s back, the mystery man grabbed Gursehaj's arm that held the weapon and with a mighty grip, forced Gursehaj to drop the dagger.

The mystery man began to speak, “I had just about enough of you. You attempted this test fairly before and couldn’t succeed, so now you had to cheat your way. You are not welcome into my temple. Aumber please take care of this trespasser.” Out from the temple appeared Aumber and her pokemon Absol. She held out her katana but Armaan noticed something different about it this time. At the end of the handle was a crystal that he had never seen before. Aumber was activating the crystal which began to glow and transfer all its energy into Absol. “Absol use your Z-move: Black Hole Eclipse.” She called out and an attack of unmeasurable power was unleashed from Absol that knocked both Gursehaj and Zoroark completely unconscious. This was the Z-crystal and Z-move that Armaan had read about in the history books and from what he read only high skilled and disciplined trainers could use such a power. He now understood how strong Aumber really was and how often she held back her powers during their battles.

After the battle was over, the muscle trio pokemon appeared at the summit of the mountain. The Mystery man asked them to take care of the two unconscious intruders and take them back to the base of the mountain. As the pokemon carried Gursehaj and Zoroark away, Armaan and Greninja followed Aumber and the man into the temple. Once they were inside, Armaan and Greninja bowed their heads towards the man who had saved them.

Armaan: Thank you Master Trainer for saving us.

Mystery Man: No need for that. Just call me Rice. I have never been much for titles.

Armaan: Why didn’t you just tell us that you were the master trainer?

Rice: You never asked!

Armaan: I have many questions to ask you!

Aumber: They can wait. Master could you explain what power Armaan and his Greninja possess?

Rice: That is Rice to you too young lady! The power that Armaan and his Greninja are still refining is known as the “Battle Bond.” It has been desired by all trainers, attempted by many, but achieved by few. When both the trainer and pokemon have built a strong relationship over time they are able to achieve a state where they are able to fight as one. It manifests in different ways but it appears with these two, Armaan gains more defensive prowess while Greninja gains speed and a water sword.

Aumber: So how does one obtain such power?

Rice: Straight to the point as always. To be honest I’m not sure, building a bond with a pokemon is something that can’t be forced and has to occur naturally. I know this isn’t the answer you are looking for but that is as much as I can say.

Armaan: Hey Aumber why do you want this power so much anyways? You already have the Z-crystal and that’s plenty powerful!

Aumber: It's not enough…

Armaan: Wait what? What do you mean?

(Not wanting to answer, Aumber leaves the room)

Rice: You have to forgive her, she’s placed a heavy burden on herself.

Armaan: What happened?

Rice: With no adults remaining she took responsibility and became the protector of the village. She was already a fighter before we met and she’s had to defend the village against multiple attacks from ‘The Relevant.’

Armaan: Wait ‘The Relevant’? What would they attack this village for? There is nothing here but innocent children and their pokemon!

Rice: They want to know the location of the meteorite. There is someone who knows where it's hidden.

Armaan: But General Corrin just wants the meteorite to help protect the city! If the people just gave him that information then everything would be alright!

Rice: The meteorite possesses too much power to be placed in the hands of one person. And there is more to General Corrin’s motive for wanting the meteorite. I’m sure you can sense it as well.

Armaan: I… I don’t know what to think.

Rice: Well on a more positive topic, you have done a very fine job raising your Greninja.

Armaan: Thanks! But how could you tell?

Rice: I mean I was the one who left that Froakie for you.

Armaan: Wait, you…

(Aumber comes rushing back in)

Aumber: Armaan we have to go now! Duncan fired out a distress call, there is trouble in the village!

Armaan: Alright I’m coming!

Rice: Best of luck.

Armaan: Wait, how do I master the battle bond?

Rice: You bested the three muscle pokemon, found your way around the immovable Snorlax and defeated an opponent who had every advantage against you. I’m sure you can figure out this battle bond situation too!