The Trial of Juno Saga [PG-13]

[Neo Emolga]

Chapter 11
The Alter Ego

It was a long march back to Victory City, but things were looking better than when I had left. The three day trek wasn't so bad this time, even though the distance felt greater now that I was much smaller. I felt like I could march even in the middle of the night, but I didn’t want to exhaust myself. Surprisingly, when I had arrived back in Victory City, the place was extremely active, totally unlike before. Excitement for the tournament was fever pitch, and everyone was talking about what they would wish for if they won.

The strange feelings that had hit me when I became Juno were starting to feel natural now. It made me begin to wonder how much thought Randy put into this one Pikachu that I had become. On the outside, sure, Juno was still a Pikachu, but there was so much more about him that just seemed much more... special.

To everyone else, I was simply a stray Pikachu and not someone they knew about. Oddly enough, inside, I was feeling sensations that I'm sure regular Pikachu never feel. I just didn't know how to explain it other than having the sense Juno was dreamed to have powers and abilities a typical Pikachu could only dream of.

It wasn’t hard to find the stadium again, since it loomed over the rest of the city and easily became a permanent part of the city’s skyline. All I could do was just keep walking toward the giant stadium. As the streets were filled with cars and people, it was nice not being called flower-related names not having things thrown at me.

Once I had arrived at the stadium, all I had to do was register at a small desk, but it was quite a shock. Only a tiny handful of names had been on the list, which made me immediately hesitate. My guess was while everyone was excited for the tournament, they were far more interested in just watching it than having the guts to actually enter and risk freedom for a wish.

Nonetheless, I registered my name as “Juno” on the list. The young blond-haired, blue-eyed lady there just looked at me in wonder, blinked twice, and just shrugged. I figured this must have been the first time a Pikachu signed up for this thing.

“It begins tomorrow at 6,” She told me. “You’ll be against Sigon in the Quarter-finals. Remember, you have to be here at 6 or you’re disqualified. Got it?”

She was acting like I was already going to get cold feet and not show up. Was this a usual thing around here? My guess was while these were still Randy's imaginary, made-up people, even they were extremely cautious about challenging him. In any case, I still wanted to go for it. True, part of it was to wash away this dreamland Randy made up. The other part was to remind Randy of Juno. With the way I felt and now sensed things about myself, Juno was special. That and... somehow this sincere and blameless Pikachu was really... really bringing out a much better side of me...

I simply walked away and spent the rest of my day preparing and thinking about how to handle this with the Pokémon I had. I had my Raichu, Weavile, Jolteon, Ariados, and then I came across the fifth Poké Ball I had. The one Black had given me, containing yet another Pokémon born from some aspect of Randy's dreams and imagination. This one, I knew, I had to be careful with. If I used it too early, it might cause unwanted attention in the tournament. I knew... I had to save it for just the right moment.

Other than everything else that was going on, the only trouble I had was finding a place to sleep. I managed to make a decent shelter out of a nearby second-story balcony. The place didn't seem like it had residents, so it would work for now.

Still, I couldn’t believe I would already be in the quarter-finals. On the other hand, Randy had defeated so many people that very few people were brave enough to join. I figured it would only be a matter of time before Randy created his own doomed contestants in this world for the sole purpose of being destined to lose against him. Nonetheless, I told myself not to use any imaginary attacks or the special Pokémon Black gave me until I got to Randy. I didn’t want to cause suspicion, blow my cover, and reveal my secret weapons.

That next day at 6, I got a quick taste of what the beginning rounds were like. Most of them were hosted underground in large, metallic vault-like rooms made to withstand heavy fighting and intense Pokémon battling.

Sigon, the first of the opponents I faced, was a disheveled, dirty, and likely destitute trainer who probably had high hopes, just couldn’t deal with me. The battles were all two Pokémon each, and he just couldn't hang in there. He seemed pretty surprised to be battling with a Pikachu named Juno, but it wasn’t the surprise that made him lose, my Pokémon were still trained better than his, and he still couldn't understand the commands I was giving them. I made short work of his Meowstic, which seemed like it hadn't battled and trained for a long time, and his Swanna, which just seemed to be really unlucky. Jolteon and Ariados, despite being very surprised they now had me as a Pikachu for a trainer, seemed to understand this definitely wasn't reality anymore and it seemed like they were getting used to the wierdness.

But when it came to Sigon, it made me wonder... did Randy dream of this guy to be like this?

“I don’t know who you are, but you’ve made me angry!” Was the last thing Sigon had said to me.

In truth, from what I saw, these other contestants were in no way prepared to deal with Randy. It seemed like this whole tournament was just for Randy's own imagined people to battle among each other only to become Randy's servant in the final round. Truthfully, it did seem like after living a life where he couldn't defeat anyone, he turned the tables around so much so that the total opposite was true now. I sighed, knowing this was no way to become a better trainer.

When Sigon was beaten, that was that. The referee just told me to come back at 7 and that’s when I would be fighting some person by the name of Storm. I just shrugged and walked away, knowing these definitely weren't ordinary humans. It just seemed like no one really cared about these battles and there was no audience besides the strange referees that moderated the whole thing. The only thing the big crowds were here for was to see Randy dominate the tournament winner at the end.

The next battle was no different. Storm ended up being a tough, punk female trainer with a pink Mohawk haircut who had actually bothered to raise her Pokémon diligently, but not enough. She ended up sending out a Greninja that looked like it had been in a bad bar fight and a Skuntank from the inner city slums. I was glad that was over when it was, because the smell from that Skuntank was ungodly. Still, I said nothing and she walked away.

“Your final match will take place at 9 in the evening tomorrow,” The stern referee told me. “There you will be fighting against the one they call ‘Ironclyde.’”

I could easily tell no one was actually using their real name, or at least a name that was anywhere close to reality. Already, I had faced people who I knew deep inside wouldn't have lasted against Randy, and I was already thinking this next guy truly didn't know what he was in for either. It was likely Randy saved the better contestants for when they fought him.

And when the next day had arrived, there were a whole lot of surprises I wasn't expecting...

Ironclyde wasn't the human with a unique call-sign as I was expected. Instead, I had been confronted by an eight-foot humanoid high-tech robot that clearly looked like it was from the future with black armor plating, outlines and lights with cyan-colored neon glows, and glowing blue eyes that made me blink twice and ask if this machine really trained Pokémon. Never in a million years did I see a machine doing that, but then again, in Randy's world, logic didn't have a home here.

Again, if Randy could easily beat an intimidating machine like this, it made him look that much more powerful. I could see where he was going with the whole idea.

And yet here I was, just a lone Pikachu born from imagination like everything else around here, standing before a machine warrior that was all high-tech intimidation. I wasn't sure what was going through its brain, or... CPU, but I figured it very likely didn't think I was a threat. Despite that, the battle was started, and I was really curious to see exactly how a machine would battle Pokémon.

Recommended Listening: Dredd Soundtrack - Lockdown

"Let it begin!" The seemingly normal human referee commanded, shockingly showing no second thought a Pikachu was taking on a mechanical colossus in a Pokémon battle of all things.

"Deploying Absol," Ironclyde stated in a cold, robotic voice.

I then got to witness Ironclyde grab a gray and white Poké Ball in a hidden chamber on its metallic hip, which it prepped for release and then hurled into the metallic arena.

And out of the white and gray Poké Ball came a vicious Absol with the most aggressive attitude ever rubbed off on a Pokémon. I was just hoping he didn’t think I was his opponent. He looked pretty well-trained unlike all the others I had faced in this tournament, with a sharper horn and fierce, white fur. I didn't like looking into his red eyes, either.

I didn’t have any fighting-type Pokémon, so I grabbed the next best thing I had for the situation. I looked over to my left side, slid Raichu’s giant Poké Ball out of the belt, prepped it so it became huge and nearly too big to handle, and hurled it into the arena.

“Go Raichu!” I shouted, using both paws to launch his Poké Ball into the arena like I was shooting for a 3-pointer in basketball.

But of course, Ironclyde didn’t understand a word I said, and he really didn’t know what Pokémon I was bringing out. It almost made me laugh knowing all this intimidating robot could hear was “Pi-Pikachu.” I tried to hold in the laughter. It was quite comical, and I had to admit if anyone was watching this, it would be pretty funny seeing a Pikachu battle a massive robot that had to have been inspired from a sci-fi movie or game Randy knew about.

When Raichu came out of his Poké Ball, he felt something strange and he looked behind to see me. When he saw I was the one who sent him out, it caused him to look at me with a very peculiar look in his eyes.

“What the heck happened?” Raichu asked me. “Where’s Jake?”

I then realized Raichu must have been the only Pokémon I hadn't used in the tournament yet, and was the last one to discover I was no longer human.

“It’s me in disguise!” I told him. “But don’t go telling anyone.”

“How the…?” Raichu asked, still wondering how it was even possible. "Just what is... going... on?"

I figured Raichu hadn't been out of his Poké Ball enough to see the weirdness of Randy's world. Still, after looking around at the strange vault-like fighting arena, seeing the nefarious Absol, and then the hulking metal robot that was the Absol's trainer, he was really beginning to question what was going on.

"This is..." Raichu stated, his jaw nearly dropping, "...what the... heck am I... looking at!?"

"I'll explain later!" I told him, knowing we had a battle we badly needed to win. "We need that Absol taken out! It's still a Pokémon battle!"

Raichu nodded, but I could sense he was baffled none of this was normal in the slightest. In the meantime, it was funny how here I was actually speaking to one of my Pokémon, and he had absolutely no idea what was going on. Despite that, I had a battle to win.

“Use a Brick-Break attack on that Absol!” I told Raichu. “It’s one of his top weaknesses.”

“Come on, Jake, you know I know that!” Raichu replied, playing it out despite how odd this must have looked to him.

“Call me Juno,” I told him with a smug smile. “Gotta keep this a secret.”

And then, Raichu turned around and had advanced on Absol, and Ironclyde had no idea what attack I had just declared nor did he know how to respond to his Absol to work against it. He watched Raichu carefully trying to make the determination, and by the time he realized what was happening, it was too late. Absol was hit with a blazing, bone-cracking punch from Raichu's glowing fist. Despite that attack, Absol got back on its feet and prepared to strike. I knew Pokémon trained like that sure don't go down easy.

"Night Slash," Ironclyde declared.

“Dodge it!” I shouted to Raichu.

And this is where things really got funny. Ironclyde thought I had declared another attack using the language of Pokémon. Absol rushed toward Raichu, and Raichu barely jumped out of the way from Absol’s viciously sharp, black horn. Absol was so into the swing that he stumbled and needed a second to recover.

“Use your Thunderbolt!” I shouted to Raichu.

“Heh, you got it!” Raichu agreed, jumping into the action.

The tip of Raichu’s whip-like tail had struck the ground, he clenched his brown fists, and he had charged up an intense Thunderbolt, lighting up the orange electric mouse like a light bulb. Just when Absol turned around, he saw a massive jet of electricity rip and tear its way to him. Absol was struck painfully as the sharp electricity coursed through his body, and he cried loudly from the agony. Absol stumbled and fell to the ground, moaning from the exhaustion.

“I... can’t… take it anymore…” Absol moaned in pain.

It was so weird understanding everything they were saying. I would never look at Pokémon battling the same way again. Despite that, Ironclyde was just totally indifferent to the way the battle was going, just giving a cold and emotionless stare. It only had one more Pokémon to use, and I really wasn't sure what kind of Pokémon it would be using next. Nonetheless, I was ready for anything.

Ironclyde had already realized it didn’t know what attack it's Pokémon were going to get struck by until it was already too late. I could already imagine the same thing would happen with Randy. For once, things were seemingly hopeful...

Despite that, Ironclyde prepared its next Pokémon to enter the battle. It launched it next night-black Poké Ball into the arena. Now it was looking toward me with a cold, soulless stare that seemed a bit disturbing.

"Deploying Haxorus," Ironclyde confirmed in its cold, hollow voice.

The black Poké Ball struck the ground fiercely, and moments later and after a flash of light, Ironclyde’s Haxorus had emerged ready for combat. I hadn't seen a Haxorus before, and it wasn't pretty. Nearly six feet high, clad in jade and black scales with crimson claws and scythe blades on both sides of his face, this was definitely not a kid-friendly Pokémon. And he sure didn't have a nice attitude either. He looked at the two of us and gave us a dark stare.

“This is all!?” He growled in a low tone, bearing rows and rows of shark-like teeth. "You runts will never be enough to sate by blood thirst!"

Raichu looked to me, and he really didn’t look too happy.

“Maybe YOU should try fighting this guy for once, Juno,” Raichu told me, pushing me a bit into the fighting arena. “See this as a great opportunity to get a firsthand experience seeing what Pokémon battling is like as a Pokémon yourself! Wouldn't be such a bad learning opportunity, you know!”

“Hey, man,” I told him honestly, really not sure about this. “I never once said this was easy, okay? Just give it your best shot.”

That wasn’t the answer he wanted to hear. “Just give it your best shot” meant he had the odds against him and he was going to feel pain because of it. Of course, I never really thought he would complain to me about it.

“Go on!” Raichu urged me with an obviously acted-out smile. “How about you give it a try? Who knows, you might like it!”

And then, Raichu moved far aside leaving me and this burly Haxorus alone on the field. The ultra-violent Haxorus just looked at me with a dark snicker, and then made his advancement. As much as I hated to say it, I was going to have to finish this myself.

"Initiate Earthquake," Ironclyde declared.

This was certainly a rare instance where the trainer himself had become the Pokémon he would fight with. As Haxorus lifted up his clawed foot to rip apart the floor, I just had to embrace the hard reality that it was me who was going to fight this guy and deal with an attack that was, quite frankly... a Pikachu's worst nightmare.

Haxorus’s foot came thrashing down, and the metallic floor began to crack open. All I could think of at the moment was to jump, and jump high. I sprung off the ground, and for a strange moment, I felt like I was effortlessly floating, and everything suddenly went into slow motion. The arena was slashed apart into pieces, and I remained above the chaos untouched. Strangely enough, I had just done something I’ve never, ever seen a Pikachu pull off.

I then focused my energy and burst into flames. I then flew toward Haxorus at mach speed, but it was actually much faster since it felt like we were fighting underwater. I slammed into Haxorus, and energized embers of fury were thrown everywhere, and I landed back on the ground. I didn't think Juno would know such a powerful rendition of Volt Tackle like it was a walk in the park.

I saw for an instant Haxorus was slowly stumbling, trying to get back on its feet. I then began to move much faster, while Haxorus was moving slow like molasses. I must have appeared to be a blur to the others, unable to be seen. I jumped off the ground, jumped off the wall, advanced toward Haxorus, jumped off the wall again right above him, and targeted his head with a vicious Thunder attack, letting it charge forward from my flaring cheeks right into his face. He was still letting loose a loud howl from the last attack, which honestly felt like it was half a minute ago to me but only a split second in actual real time.

I must have been breaking every law of physics and reality I could think of with what Coldblood provided me. But there was something else about this... was this what Juno was really capable of? It was even escalated with the ability to manipulate and redirect the forces of Randy's world and reality to however I wanted to facilitate them. Even so, I never thought it would be to this extreme degree. Things that I thought would be impossible to manipulate were at my fingertips. I could dance around Haxorus at this speed and he wouldn’t even know I was there. But then I began to wonder… was this really Coldblood’s power…

…or really Juno’s own innate potential…?

I stood there suspended in the air just watching Haxorus get his butt whipped by me. I put my foot forward, and I flew down toward his head, and slammed down with a thunderous force. Haxorus took a vicious blow to the head, and felt a shock now being thrown in two completely different directions in split seconds. Once I landed on the broken ground, Haxorus was falling, but before I even let him crash to the ground, I then gathered all the electrical power I could, and I could feel an intense energy gather. A storm of electricity flared from my cheeks, and I looked up and directed the intense electrical carnage at the hopeless Haxorus that was seemingly floating in the air in the form of some higher-powered Thunderbolt attack.

The blazing thunder struck him violently in ways I had never seen before. At first it didn’t do anything much because of a dragon's resistance to electric attacks, but only half a second later the power was too intense for that to even matter. Haxorus was roasted thoroughly, and as he slowly came and fell back toward the ground, landing on his back as I simply back flipped out of the way. Haxorus had crashed down, never expecting to get so wasted in so little time. Only then did everything come back to normal speed. Ironclyde looked like he was ready to lose it.

“How the... heck did you do that!?” Raichu shouted in complete shock, looking at me strangely.

“You'll never guess how…” I told him, looking at the defeated Haxorus.