Act I: X Marks the Spot

Stricker threw the great ball between them with an effortless side-handed toss and assumed a statued demeanor.

“Electrode. Begin.”
“Alright” X addressed Creep. “He asked for it. Let's show him what we've got.”

X touched his thumb to the keystone set in the button of the Ultra Ball that had just been returned to him. His Bannette glowed an eerie purple as its extremities began to warp and bulge. At the end of each hand a zipper appeared and peeled open, allowing the claws of something sinister contained within to protrude. Another zipper split the pokemon in half at its midsection revealing more of the creature. Creep rattled menacingly, ready to fight.

Stricker's Electrode emitted a glossy sheen. A coat of faint light that seemed to stick to the pokemon.

“Tear him apart!” called X, pressing his pokemon into action. At this Creep dashed forward, lashing out at his opponent. The Electrode winced in pain as the Banette left a formidable gash across its form.

“Xatu. Switch.” Stricker spoke.

Electrode retreated to it's owner's belt and as he did, the fog of light passed itself on to the entering Xatu.

“Doesn't matter! Lay into it too!”

Creep turned to his new opponent to rake a handful of claws across its body, sending the Xatu sprawling. The attack was so vicious X was surprised to see the bird rise, but it did so as fluidly and unemotionally as it had done anything else. X was almost convinced the pokemon could behold the apocalypse without as much as a shrug.

Stricker's body moved with an almost imperceptible “Hmph.” X only noticed this as it was in stark contrast to the lack of emotion, or motion, the man had displayed since the onset of the contest. He may as well have been the embodiment of his Xatu.

“Go Camerupt.”

As the Camerupt set foot on the stage, it began to radiate light. Its hair grew thick and shaggy as the twin volcanoes on its back grew together into one formation, oozing uncontained magma. The pokemon whooped at the release of energy.

“Alright buddy. We let's shut him down.” X coached his pokemon. Creep responded by discharging a pulse of electricity, which struck his opponent and dissipated, much to X's disappointment.

“Wait, no. No it's ground-type!”

The Camerupt responded with the distinct five-armed blast that signaled the most infamous attack of the fire-type arsenal. As the attack collided with the rag-doll pokemon, Creep let out a shrill exhalation of a rattle and was thrown to the floor.

“What? You... No! Creep!” X shouted in hurt frustration. “Alright. You want it that way? You've got it.” X returned his defeated friend to his side and produced a new pokeball. From it he released a Gengar.

“Alright Haze. This one likes fire. Let's burn him up.”

The Gengar threw her hands forward with a malevolent gleam in her eyes summoning sinister flames to lick at her foe's body. Haze relished in the attack for a moment before she stopped, looking taken aback. Instead of inflicting pain and anguish like Haze was used to, the ghost fire danced lightly around her intended victim, repelled by the veil of light that surrounded it.

“Again.” Stricker commanded.
“Oh Haze, no!” X cried, knowing what was coming next.

The Camerupt burst with full force once again, punishing the Gengar for her trainer's haste. As X returned the second of his casualties, he tried to collect himself.

“Damnit! Okay. I need to play it safer than that.” X admonished himself. “Jingles!” he then called to the lynchpin of his team as he released his diminutive Klefki onto the battlefield.

“Cave.” Stricker spoke, keeping his eyes set on the battlefield as his Crobat descended and his Camerupt was retrieved.

“Fine. We'll deal with this first. Let's hit him and see what he's got!” X ordered.
“Confuse Ray.”

Jingles drew an energy from the Crobat that was nearly impossible to see in the dark of the gym. As he flung the solid black at his foe, however, he was struck by a sickening ray of prismatic light. The Crobat shrugged off the fairy's attack and Jingles was now left teetering and wobbling awkwardly as he tried to hold himself in place.

“You're alright! Just hit it again!” X reassured.
“Switch.” Stricker commanded as he flicked a pokeball from his belt.

The whole maneuver was astonishingly well timed. The Crobat struck Jingles and pulled a near instant u-turn to retreat in practically the same instant, leaving the Electrode that emerged from Stricker's incoming pokeball to take the Klefki's next attack. The Electrode seemed seriously worn down by the damage it had sustained thus far in the fight.

“Keep at it buddy!” X encouraged his Klefki.
“Thunder Wave.”

The Electrode dutifully pulsed electricity and Jingles seized without a chance to react, then fell to the ground. Hard.

“Aw shit! Come on Jingles! You need to pull through!”

But the Klefki remained helpless on the floor while the Electrode re-energized the field of light that continued to pass between each of Stricker's pokemon.

“Switch for Cave.” Stricker ordered.

With flawless finesse as the Crobat had done before it, the Electrode rolled forward in a crackling charge to strike Jingles before executing a perfect switch just in time for the Crobat that had again descended from the ceiling to take its place. All the while, Jingles lay motionless while it watched the exchange.

“Aw, F- Damn it! Come on!” X exclaimed. He was watching the battle slip through his fingers. His Klefki was disabled and couldn't gain any ground in the fight. What little progress he made seemed to be whisked away every time Stricker switched to a new pokemon and what infuriated X the most was was how the man didn't even seem to care. It was like machinery doing its job. There was no joy when he did well and any time he was in danger the machine just shifted gears and continued moving.

“Just- Jingles! You have to do SOMETHING!” X raged in frustration.

For a moment, Jingles seemed to come to. He struggled to lift himself enough to face the oncoming Crobat and loosed a pulse of electricity upon his aggressor that caused its body to stiffen. Stricker lifted an eyebrow.

“Switch for Xatu.”

The maneuver was not executed with the same measure of finesse, but the Crobat pulled it of nonetheless. As it retreated from yet another hit landed on the Klefki, Stricker's Xatu moved forward to take its place.

“Well, yeah! Hey, that's something!” X remarked. “You take a break.” He returned the battered Klefki to its pokeball and in his place, released an Espeon. “Prism, take care of Jingles!” The Espeon closed her eyes as she focused, then opened them wide, causing tiny pinpoints of light to burst from her and fill the room. The effect twinkled like a star field, conferring a cosmic majesty about the clash contained within it.

“Wish.” Stricker spoke plainly. His Xatu also closed its eyes before releasing as many new points of light. X's Espeon then chimed a hum that rang the room like a bell, resonating with the pokeballs on X's belt, particularly the one containing Jingles. The Xatu took the opportunity presented to it by Prism focusing on her Heal Bell to land a psychic strike.

“Yeah, you can stay.” X allowed Prism as she broadcast her emotion. She stared intently across the field at the foe that had wronged her. All at once the starfield collapsed back in on the two pokemon that had created it, revitalizing them both. Prism lashed out with her own blow of psychic force.

“Switch.”

The Xatu bolted towards Prism, but was caught partway there by the crushing force of its opponent's mind. It strained against the invisible attack, but seemed as though it would fall to Prism's will for a hanging moment. The moment passed and the once again injured Xatu brought its strike upon its foe before retreating behind the mega-evolved Camerupt behind it.

“Hit it hard Prism!”
“Fire Blast.”



The Camerupt once more focused its full power in flames and projected it forth. Prism deftly side stepped the passing heat wave and followed it up with the force of her will. The wave visibly struck the Camerupt within the haze of light that clung to it and while the pokemon grunted with the hit, it was clear that much of the attack had been absorbed.

“Keep hitting it Prism!”
“Again.”

Prism pushed another attack forward. The Camerupt fired again. This time its shot found its mark. The blast passed through Prism's attack barely hindered and bore down on her with an unstoppable force like that of a train. X had trained his Espeon to be resilient, and as he looked on he hoped she would stand through the attack, but he resigned his hope when the flames cleared.

“Fine.” X said deadpan. “Let's see if you can power through this.” He released Plasm, his Jellicent, and she floated heavy in the air.
“Electrode.” Stricker announced the moment the Jellicent emerged.
“DAMN you!” X vented. “Fine. Let's do it this way then. Confuse him!”

As the Electrode again recharged its light field, Plasm doused it in a prismatic spray of light. The orb had already been injured, but the uncoordinated wobble in its motion was new.

“Yeah! Now's your chance Jingles!” X called as he swapped his pokemon. “Fix yourself up!”
“Electrode. Focus.” Stricker coached. “Switch for Xatu”

X was fairly certain that had been the most his opponent had spoken at once this whole fight. Jingles moved toward his foe to steal its vitality for himself. The Electrode's erratic motion smoothed out as it began to crackle. The Klefki tried to outmaneuver, but was caught short by the charging Electrode. As it retreated to be replaced by Stricker's Xatu, Jingles fell to the floor.

“Ok...” X released his Jellicent again. “Think you can hold out against a whole team?” Plasm looked ready to try. “Ok, then finish this one off.”
“Wish.”

The Xatu closed its eyes despite the oncoming attack, then produced its star field once more before being engulfed in a spray of searing hot water.

“Electrode.” Stricker summoned his pokemon back to the battlefield. “Thunderbolt.”
“You're going to have to confuse it to have a chance!”

A powerful bolt of lighting arced between the Electrode and Plasm. The typing of the attack made the hit particularly potent and the Jellicent reeled, but persevered. Plasm then retaliated by spraying the Electrode with another ray of sickening light. As if following a beacon, the sparkling light that filled the gym collapsed in on the battered Electrode and washed away most of the damage it had sustained.

“Recover while it's confused, Plasm!”
“Electrode. Focus. Thunderbolt.”

Maintaining its composure, the Electrode discharged another arc as though nothing was wrong. The attack burned Plasm out of the air before she ever had a chance to act. X returned her, knowing fully where this fight was going.

“Just do what you can, Flicker.” He said as he released his Chandelure.
“Switch.”

X's last pokemon was struck by the maneuver X was now well familiar with and the ghostly flames with which she had intended to burn the Electrode now licked at the light around Stricker's Camerupt. Flicker maintained the purple fire, trying to wear the haze down and ultimately the pokemon it protected.

“Finish it.”

At its owner's command the Camerupt gave a great yawp and the ground beneath X's Chandelure burst. The spray of hot earth finished both Flicker and the fight.
As X returned his pokemon he reflected on what had just transpired. He was defeated. That fact was indisputable, and on its own meant he had not been as ready to take on the pokemon league as he had thought. This match had not simply imparted knowledge however. It had raised questions, one of which stood out clearly from the rest. Who was this Stricker? X looked up to address the man.

“Well? Are you satisfied?”

Stricker broke his stoic manner as the woman raced to speak with him.

"I'm sure Marcus will lead the others to the rescue," Stricker answered knowingly. "I've sent the gym leader Olivia to help them."

Stricker turned to his opponent.

"Mr. Bonham!" he started, the volume of his voice infinitely louder, "I must say, that was a hell of a battle."

He retrieved another hard candy from his pocket, unwrapping the sucker and putting it in his mouth.

"I can tell you have a real bond with your Pokemon. Your Banette is most impressive."

Stricker looked at both trainers now.

"Now that both of you have arrived, I suppose now I should tell you why you're here."

Stricker paused, and was silent for an unnerving amount of time.

Finally, he smiled. "I'd like to offer you both a job."

Roxy crossed her arms, "Am I not already working with you?"

What misfortune would X cause if he helped this man to possess a legendary pokemon? What would he miss if he didn't go? What better way was there to test himself? Ultimately temptation won the young trainer over.

"You think they work on people too?" He asked with a pale face as he moved to accompany Stricker.

Despite his growing wooziness, or perhaps because of it, X snickered under his breath as he recounted to himself the thought of the man calling him Bonham.