by Eji

"The new pokemon league?" Ash asked with a spark of interest in his eyes.

"That’s what the paper says, Ash," Misty replied.

Ash, Misty, and Brock were huddled over a small piece of paper that they had found while traveling down Route 32. The paper, though tattered, had a large image of a gold pokeball on it, with the words "Expert Pokemon League" written on top. According to the notice, the "Expert" League was officially opening up to all pokemon trainers, no matter how experienced (or inexperienced) they were. Ash was jumping up and down, getting very excited about the prospect of getting an expert badge.

"This is so great!" he yelled, almost deafening Brock and Misty, "I can get an expert badge and then Gary will know I’m better than him!!"

Brock crossed his arms and looked at Ash with a raised eyebrow. "Um, Ash, shouldn’t you be more focused on getting the rest of the regular pokemon league badges?" he asked. "I mean, the Expert League is very difficult, especially for people that haven’t even beaten all the regular Gym Leaders yet!"

Ash opened his vest and looked at his 6 badges: boulder, cascade, rainbow, soul, marsh, and thunder. He was feeling a bit too high of himself, and Brock and Misty knew it. Pikachu sighed and made a small, low "pika" of agreement.

"But look Brock, I’ve gotten six badges already! I’m already a really good trainer!" His two friends were instantly reminded of how Ash hadn’t really earned their badges, and they both smirked at him, but remained quiet. Brock thought to himself, maybe he should try an expert match, just to set his big ego back down to earth! He glanced over at Misty and noticed that she must have been thinking the same thing too, because her expression changed as she replied, "well, Ash, maybe you’re right!" She motioned to the paper. "Let’s see, which city is first on the list?"

The list on the flyer was a long one, but the name of the first city triggered something in Brock. It said, in large, bold letters: AKSUM CITY. He knew the name, but stayed silent.

"Aksum City, huh? Sounds easy," Ash said. "Er…" He then stopped and scratched his head. "Do either one of you know where it is?"

Brock opened his universal map and looked carefully down the right side of the large sheet of paper. His finger ran down the page until it rested on a small greenish mound on the map. "It’s here," he said, certainly. Then his head popped up quickly as he looked down the road they were travelling, and then to the map again. "Hey," he said, "this is the same road as the one on the map!" Seeing that Ash and Misty weren’t quite following him, he elaborated, "Aksum City is right down this road!"

"Hah! Then it looks like my lucky day!" Ash said. He tugged at his backpack straps and fixed his hat. Pointing down the road, he stated loudly, "OK! Let’s go!"

The rest of the group sighed (with big sweatdrops on their heads) as they began to follow the little bouncing boy down the path to Aksum City.

*****

After about twenty minutes of walking, the tired trio’s eyes saw a large city on the horizon. Eager to enter it, they began running and slowed to a small stop as they reached the city’s entrance. The large sign facing them clearly read "Aksum City," and as they looked on, their eyes glistened with amazement.

Aksum City was a bustling metropolis, with plants and gardens garnishing the houses and streets. The streets were made of modern looking cobblestone that looked newly shined in the midday sunlight. The buildings themselves were all painted a yellow-tannish color, that, when viewed in the sun, almost appeared to glitter like gold.

"Wow! What a cool city!" Misty cried out, swinging her arms up in excitement.

"Pika-pi!" Pikachu chimed in.

"It’s got to be one of the most beautiful cities I’ve ever seen!" Brock commented, looking at all the splendor around them. Unfortunately, Ash had other things on his mind.

"Yeah, it’s a real nice city," he said, "but where’s the Gym at? I want to check it out before I have my big battle!"

A voice behind them remarked, "So eager to go to Aksum’s Gym, eh, kiddo?"

None of them had realized that someone was behind them, and so the entire group fell over in fright. The figure giggled as she scratched her head. "Sorry about that," she apologized, "but I always like going for the dramatic approach."

They looked up to see a happy young woman looking back down at them. She had a light bronze complexion and ebony black hair, with a long, sleek ponytail that went to her hips. Her eyes were a hypnotizing amber-chestnut color, but they were friendly and wide. Her outfit consisted of a tan shirt with green rings around the short sleeves, a pair of long khaki shorts, a pair of dark olive-green tennis shoes, and most noticeably, a dark green vest with an exaggerated collar. She helped them up.

Ash started in, "Um, nice to meet you, uh-"

"Lana," the girl answered, smiling. She looked at them and noticed Brock’s green vest. Smirking, she said, "you’ve got good taste there." Brock looked down and immediately flushed a pink hue. "Hah-heh, um, thanks!"

She turned and focused her attention on Ash. "So," she said with some interest, "Is that all that brings you travelers here to Aksum City? Just for the Pokemon Gym?"

"Well, yes!" Ash answered triumphantly, "I’m going to get an Expert League badge!"

Lana shook her hand and smiled. "And, I’ll assume you’ve already passed the regular league as well?" At those words, Ash’s grinning face dropped.

"No, but… I thought the rules had changed! It said that you didn’t need any special qualifications to enter the expert league anymore!" A big sweatdrop formed on his head, and he looked down at Pikachu, who just shrugged back.

"No, that’s true," Lana answered, "but I’ll warn you right now, that any extra experience you can get may just save you from embarrassment here." She motioned off to the far corner of the city, "The Gym Leader is no pushover, I can tell you that. No one’s won a badge there yet! Most Expert League hopefuls try getting the other badges first, and then this place last." She shook her head. "But they never win."

Ash wasn’t going to let a bit of intimidating talk get him worried. "That’s no problem, because I’ll be the first person to beat this gym leader!" he said loudly. Lana shrugged and simply replied, "well, I wish you the best of luck, then." She perked up, "but first, why don’t I show you to one of our nicer cafes in this city? I’m sure you guys could use a nice meal."

*****

At the Indemin Adderu Café, the group munched on some scones and tea as Lana told them about the city. The scones were especially delicious, and Pikachu was already starting on its seventh one when Brock piped up.

"Aksum City," he remarked aloud. "Isn’t this city known as the ‘City of the Ark?’ I think I remember reading about it somewhere."

Lana put down her teacup slowly. "Why, yes, it is called that sometimes. This is the city that supposedly once held the Ark, although I’m not sure if it still does."

"The Ark," Brock mused. "You mean the Ark of the Covenant, right? I remember hearing that it held a super-natural power that, in the wrong hands, could lead to catastrophe!" Lana and the others looked at him, interested.

"I’m impressed, Brock," Lana replied, smiling. "I never knew there was someone who was so scholarly!" The others nodded in agreement. Brock just smiled in response, and then secretly praised himself for watching Raiders of the Lost Ark back at the Pewter City movie theater. (*insert writer’s sweatdrop here! ^_^;*)

"Well, I think the Ark still has a large influence on this city, even after its disappearance so long ago," Lana said, taking a sip of her tea. "Unfortunately for the Pokemon League, I don’t think they realized what a mistake it was making this city a Gym Leader site."

Brock looked up from his tea quizzically. "What do you mean by that?"

Lana glanced down for a moment at the swirling brown lines of her drink, and then looked back up at the group. She sighed as she said, "Perhaps I should ‘fill you guys in’ on the story." The others nodded, and she put down her cup. She intertwined her fingers and then rested her head upon them.

"Well, it was like this…

"Back a couple of years ago, an attempt was made to track down the location of the Ark of the Covenant. Some famous archaeologists came here to determine its resting place. They spent several months searching throughout the city, using some dusty old ancient texts and some bronze amulet as a guide.

"Finally, they came upon one untouched area that seemed like the possible site of the Ark. They took a long time, digging, and rummaging, but in the end, they found nothing. I don’t know, though. If you want an opinion from me," she said quietly, leaning forward and pointing to herself, "I think they just stopped because the government refused to keep funding their expedition.

"In any case, they left. When the Pokemon League guys came over here, they saw that whole cleared-out area and must’ve thought to themselves that it was the perfect spot for a Gym." Lana made a disgusted face. "And the officials of this city saw the money the League was offering and agreed to sell them the land for the League’s uses. That was around the time that they were considering creating the Expert League. This place was to be their first Gym location. Once they had constructed the Gym on top of the excavation site, they had a tournament to determine who would be the Gym Leader for the city. All the eligible people signed up and competed, but only one person was skilled enough to win over them all. That person became the new Gym Leader.

"Everything was going fine, and hopeful expert trainers began flocking in to Aksum City to start getting their badges. But, as each one went in, they would come back out, hanging their heads in either shame or disappointment. It turns out the person that won the tournament to be Gym Leader was good. Too good. A couple months had passed, and still no one had beaten the Aksum Leader. Some people began wondering about the Leader. There had been several reports that people had seen the Leader’s eyes shine as they battled, giving off an almost unearthly, artificial glow.

"Then, one day, some Ark historians were passing through the town, and they wanted to see the excavation site that had been discarded so long ago. When they came upon the Gym, their eyes widened in shock. They went to the city’s officials and demanded to know why the land had been built on top of so disrespectfully, but the money in the official’s pockets were answer enough for them. The historians, having researched the Ark for so many years, knew about the consequences of desecrating the holy soil, and they tried to tell Aksum’s citizens about it, but it didn’t faze the people at all." Lana turned to them with a smug face. "But I know better. I have a very strong feeling that the Gym Leader’s power isn’t natural. I mean, sure the person’s gotta be good if they won the tournament, but to be undefeated for years? And the reports of the glowing eyes? I don’t know," she shook her head, "but it doesn’t seem right."

The group was quiet, thinking about the story they had just heard. Lana seemed tired from explaining it, but she looked at them, hoping to hear their thoughts about it. Ash didn’t know what to say- after all, he was really only just a kid, with little ability to reason out such abstract ideas. Misty was overwhelmed by the story, but she seemed to be very interested in it. Pikachu was sitting on the table with a question mark, scratching its head, trying to figure out the secret of the tale.

Meanwhile, Brock was in thoughtful contemplation. He rested his index finger and thumb against his chin, as he usually did when he was deep in thought. Finally, he stopped and looked around at the other people sitting at the table.

"I have a theory about this whole ‘Ark’ thing," he said. He looked at Lana, "You mentioned that the historians had warned people about ‘desecrating’ the holy soil of the excavation site. Well, what if building the Gym did desecrate the soil? Perhaps by doing so, there was a curse of some sort, placed upon whoever had some close type of affiliation with the Gym. And, unfortunately, it seems the Gym Leader must have gotten the curse. I mean, Leaders spend a lot of time in their Gyms, much more than any other person. I should know, anyway."

"That’s a very good theory, Brock!" Lana said, pleased. The last sentence of Brock’s however, triggered a reaction in Lana. "‘I should know’? What do you mean by that?" she asked, curious.

Brock blushed at the interrogation. "Uh, well, I’m a Gym Leader myself. Of Pewter City." Lana’s eyes reflected her interest in this comment.

"Really? I’ve never met anyone other than regular trainers! A Gym Leader! That must mean that you’ve got quite a lot of experience, right?"

"Um, yeah, I suppose I do!" Brock replied, scratching his head. "I’m really not into the battling, though. I care about raising my pokemon more than using them to fight."

"Really," Lana said softly, fascinated. Brock flushed, but then felt a bit odd. Strange, he thought, it almost seems as if she’s comparing me to something… but I don’t know what-

"So," Lana said, distracting Brock’s thoughts, "you guys still want to see the Gym?" Ash, thinking for a moment, looked at her and nodded.

"I don’t care who’s been beaten before," he said firmly, "but I will be the first to beat this Gym Leader and earn the badge… Er, by the way, what badge is it that I’m trying to win?"

Lana paused for a moment, and then opened her vest and revealed a badge, resembling a small pointy sun, glistening in the daylight like a crown jewel. The others held their breath as they saw it.

"The sunfire badge," she replied slowly. "This is the badge of Aksum City." Before they could ask it, Lana said, "No, I didn’t win this. Let’s just say that I took it, even though I don’t deserve it." She winked. "It was too pretty for me to resist! Anyway, I’ll take you guys to the Gym now, if you like. But I can’t go inside. You understand, right?"

If she stole that badge, she probably doesn’t want to go inside for fear of being caught with it, Brock thought. Well, that makes sense.

"Ok, Lana! Let’s go to this Gym!" Ash said, sucking up his pride. Lana nodded her consent, and they got up from the table. As they walked out, Lana left a few bills on the table for the waiter, and Brock looked at her vest. He motioned to the place where she kept the badge.

"So, how were you able to take th-" Brock started to ask. Lana put her finger to Brock’s mouth and winked.

"That’s a story for another day," she said quietly. Brock blushed and then smiled as they exited the café.

*****

They walked down Aksum City’s main street as Pikachu was being given a pep talk by Ash, who was hoping to psyche the little electric mouse up enough to be prepared to battle a seemingly unbeatable foe. Pikachu tried its best to remain as tough as Ash, but it couldn’t help feeling more than a bit worried about facing such a scary opponent.

"We’re here!" Lana said finally, as they crossed a corner. The group looked up and their mouths dropped open. The Gym was huge, and almost appeared to be carved entirely out of a huge slab of reddish earthen stone.

"Wow, what a huge Gym!" Misty murmured. "I’ve never seen any other Gym like it! Cerulean City’s Gym is nothing compared to this!"

The others nodded their agreement, and Lana led them to the huge stone doors. She stopped short and motioned sadly to them. "This is as far as I can go," she said slowly. "I wish you luck, Ash." But there was something in her voice that made Ash feel uncertain whether Lana thought he had much of a chance at all.

Still, he replied with a "thanks," and they waved as Lana left them to their destiny. Brock helped Ash push open the door, which felt like it weighed a ton, and as they went in, Brock felt a strange twinge in his stomach. The lighting inside the Gym was sparse and the walls inside were dark and rocky. The Gym had a very ominous feel, and suddenly, Brock realized why he felt so odd. This Gym, he thought, reminds me… of my gym… back in Pewter City! It feels the same, and yet, there’s something else here that I feel… doesn’t feel right.

They followed the path in the darkened corridor to a pair of double doors that opened with a slow and eerie creak. As they entered, they saw and immense battle area, with white paint indicating the center circles of the ring and the outer boundaries. The stone and metal spectator seats were oddly empty and appeared to have a fine film of dust on them. Brock and Misty dusted them off and sat down as Ash and Pikachu stepped slowly into the middle of the arena. Ash cupped his hands together.

"Hellooooo!" he yelled out, his voice echoing hollowly throughout the huge room. There was no answer for quite a while, and then, without warning, a slab of stone from one of the walls began to slide up and out, forming a doorway and an overhang that caused a very dark shadow to cast itself on the opening. A figure, cloaked in obscurity, stepped through the doorway, but no further, so that it was impossible to see their appearance.

"You. Are you a challenger?" it asked. Its voice was dark and very low, yet somehow familiar to Ash. Shaking off his fears, he stood firm.

"Yes, I am Ash Ketcham from Pallet Town, and I challenge you to a pokemon match!" Pikachu stood by him tentatively, electricity surging off of its cheeks in preparation.

"My, aren’t we brave?" it asked, laughing a gruff low chuckle. "Did our mommies let us come all the way here for a pokemon match?"

"Rrgh, I’m not a child! I am a pokemon trainer, and I will be a pokemon master!" Ash yelled defiantly at the shadow.

"Feh. It doesn’t matter. I know how this battle will end, and nothing you say will change it. Prepare yourself. We shall use four pokemon each, understood?"

"Got it!" Ash replied, searching his belt for the best pokemon he could muster. He couldn’t use Charizard. No, it was to risky to use in this situation, considering that it didn’t obey Ash. Therefore, Ash knew his team would be Pikachu, Pidgeotto, Squirtle, and Bulbasaur.

The shadow’s eyes flared red, and everyone’s faces widened in surprise, including Brock and Misty’s, on the sidelines. The hand drew out a pokeball and whisked it out.

"Your battle aura is strong, boy, but it cannot defeat me! Prepare yourself!" it yelled. "Pokeball, GO!"

"Battle aura?" Ash faltered. He shook his head to concentrate. "Squirtle, I choose you!" Ash called, tossing his pokeball at full force.

Squirtle popped out of Ash’s pokeball, and the Leader’s pokeball exploded open with a lot of force. A Jolteon emerged from it, raising its head to howl a ravenous "JOLT" cry. Squirtle let out an uncertain "Squirtle, squirt?" but tried to remain strong.

"Squirtle, ok, buddy, let’s go!" Ash yelled, extending his index finger. "Water gun attack, now!" Squirtle’s water gun rushed out against the Jolteon, but the Jolteon easily dodged the attack, its spines sticking up in preparation.

"Nice try, boy, but check this out." Jolteon stiffened up in its attack. The Leader’s arm extended from the shadows to command the attack. "Jolteon! Thunder Wave!"

Jolteon let out a huge surge of electric waves that trampled Squirtle. When it was over, Squirtle struggled to move, but couldn’t. The Leader chuckled slowly. "Looks like your Squirtle’s down to its last squirt!"

"Rrgh, Squirtle, return!" Ash reached in his belt and retrieved another ball. "Pidgeotto, I choose you!" he yelled as the bird pokemon flew out from the ball swiftly. Brock slapped his hand against his forehead and called out, "Ash! Flying pokemon are weak against electricity!!"

Ash turned and said, "I know what I’m doing, Brock!" He shifted back and commanded, "Pidgeotto, Gust Attack!" Pidgeotto began flapping its wings violently, causing a tornado of wind to knock Jolteon into the side of the arena. Ash smirked, but then his face drooped when he saw Jolteon get up and shake itself off from the attack.

"You should’ve listened to that spiky-haired friend of yours, boy," the shadow said, "because you’ll regret sending out that bird! Jolteon, Thunder, now!!"

Jolteon’s eyes glowed blue, and a wave of electricity filled the air around him. All at once, thunder and lightning filled the arena, and a massive bolt struck Pidgeotto harshly. The bird shrieked "Pidge-ooottt!!" and then fell with a thump on the floor. Ash called it back, sweat forming on his head. He tried to keep his cool, but was obviously getting very worried about the situation. He grabbed another pokeball.

"Bulbasaur, I choose you!" Bulbasaur flew out from the pokeball and landed with a small thump on the hard floor. "Bulbasaur, Solarbeam, now!" Ash commanded.

"Jolteon, thundershock!" the shadow said. Jolteon tried shocking the small plant pokemon, but Bulbasaur successfully dodged the attack.

"Now, Bulbasaur!" Ash yelled triumphantly. The light gathering on Bulbasaur’s back made his seed glow, and it released with an amazing force, the huge beam shot across the room and knocked the Jolteon out cold. The shadow’s eyes narrowed, and it recalled the pokemon.

"Ah, not bad," it said, its eyes widening and glowing again, "but not good enough! Butterfree, GO."

Brock jumped up. "Butterfree!? But I thought Gym Leaders were supposed to stick with one type of pokemon!" The shadow huffed and replied, "Well, those rules may apply in the regular baby league, but the Expert League’s different!" Brock made a grim look, but returned to his seat. He then gasped, realizing that plant pokemon were weak against bug pokemon. He tried to get up to tell Ash that, but Misty pulled him back down, signaling that Ash didn’t want any interference.

"Butterfree, sleep powder," the Leader said easily. Butterfree glided over Bulbasaur, dropping its powder on the plant. Bulbasaur tried to stay awake, but ultimately fell asleep. The shadow’s eyes widened in excitement. "Now, PSYBEAM!" Butterfree charged up its attack and shot out a thin but dense beam out of its wings. The attack thrust Bulbasaur into the side of the wall. Ash cried out, "Bulbasaur!" and rushed to it, shielding it from further attacks. "Bulbasaur, return!" he called, glancing over at Pikachu, who, by now, was really getting nervous. "Pikachu," Ash said, sweating, "It’s up to you now, buddy."

Pikachu slowly nodded its head and hopped onto the arena. The Butterfree was looking down at it quizzically, and then looked back at its master. "It’s his last pokemon," the shadow said, "finish it." Butterfree nodded and flew out to meet Pikachu.

"Pikachu! Thundershock, quickly!" Ash yelled. Pikachu nodded with a "PIKA!" and cast out a large spray of thunderbolts at Butterfree. The bug was unusually fast, however, and only a few of the shots actually hit him. It shook its head to regain consciousness, and its eyes glowed blue.

"Butterfree, Confusion Attack, NOW!" the shadow commanded. Butterfree began twirling, and it went faster and faster. When it reached its quickest spin, it unleashed a blaze of light and black waves which barraged Pikachu. The mouse fell over and tried to get up, but the confusion squiggles in its eyes indicated that it was useless.

"No! It can’t be!" Ash roared, "You must have cheated somehow! I was supposed to win! ARGH!" His friends in the bleachers sighed to themselves.

"No one likes a poor loser, or a bad trainer, for that matter," the shadow laughed. "Your strategy is pathetic. So, you were doomed before you even started."

That comment really got Ash mad. "Just who are you, anyway?!" he demanded.

The shadow laughed. "Who am I? I really thought you had figured it out. But I supposed I couldn’t expect a mere boy to catch on to who I was." Its eyes flamed slightly. "Fair enough," it said.

The figure stepped out slowly from the shadows, and everyone’s face grew wide in shock. It was Lana, but different somehow. Her face looked cruel, and her eyes were deep red and glowed with some dark force. She made a sneer and stared at them.

Lana?! Brock thought, but if she’s the Gym Leader, then why did she say she didn’t deserve the badge…? Before he could finish figuring out that thought, Lana returned to the shadows of the door’s opening.

"So you’ve lost. Live with it," she said harshly. "I have beaten over 200 opponents in the past several years, and you were hardly an exception."

Brock jumped up. "But Lana, why-"

Her eyes lost their red for a moment, but then flared again. She motioned away. "I have no time for your questions. Leave this Gym." With that, she exited through the darkened doorway, and the slab fell swiftly down, sealing it from anyone else’s access. Brock stayed standing as he crossed his arms in thought. Meanwhile, Ash was stomping the floor and cursing his luck. Misty stood up and grabbed the two of them by their collars.

"Ok, guys, let’s get out of here," she said, hurriedly, "This places gives me the creeps!" They picked up their stuff and Pikachu, and left the Gym, looking for the PokeCenter to spend the night.

*****

That night, the trio was in their beds at the Pokemon Center. Ash and Misty were sound asleep (well actually, Ash was snoring rather loudly), but Brock was awake in his bed, staring up at the ceiling and thinking about the day’s events.

Lana, Brock thought. So she’s the Aksum Gym Leader. I wonder why she just didn’t tell us that in the first place? He closed his eyes to think. Maybe she didn’t want to reveal to us her true position. But why was she so different, so cold? She wasn’t like that earlier in the day. He sat up suddenly. The curse, he thought, that must be what made her personality so different! Perhaps there’s something about the Gym itself that makes her that way.

He quietly got up and put his shoes on. Sneaking out of the room, he grabbed his vest from the doorknob. He looked back at the others before leaving. I have to find out what makes the Gym so different… and why Lana acted the way she did. Determined to find the answer, he crept out of the PokeCenter and started down the avenue to the Aksum Gym.

*****

The night was clear but eerily quiet. Everything was bathed in a dark blue glow, and Brock noticed that everyone must have been sleeping in their beds right about now. He was starting to wonder if perhaps he should go back too, when he came upon the Gym.

The Gym looked a bit different in the dark. He shivered as he noticed that, at night, it resembled a large tomb of some sort. Brock was getting second thoughts about checking out the Gym when suddenly…

"Hey! What’re you doing out so late?" a voice asked him from behind.

"AH!!" Brock freaked out, falling over. He looked back to see who had just scared the crap out of him. It was Lana! She was smiling, and her expression looked the way it had when she had first met them. There was no glow to her eyes anymore, and her face didn’t appear contorted the way it had in the Gym.

"Geez, you scared me!" Brock said, shaking. He got up and dusted off his pants. "You really like doing that, don’t you?!"

"Sorry about that, but it’s a bad habit of mine," Lana answered sheepishly. "But what are you doing out so late?"

"I should ask you the same question," Brock replied. "I was about to check out your Gym." He noticed Lana’s troubled expression.

"I was just leaving the Gym, actually," she said quietly. Her face changed slightly. "I hope your friend Ash wasn’t too upset after the loss yesterday. I hope I didn’t injure his pokemon too badly."

Brock raised his eyebrow in confusion. "Well, he’ll get over it, and his pokemon were healed at the center, so it’s no problem. But, what the heck happened in there?" He stopped, unsure if he had overstepped his boundaries.

Lana sighed. "Well, it turns out that you were more right than you know about that ‘curse’ theory of yours." She sat down at a nearby bench, and Brock sat beside her, eager to rest his feet.

"When the Ark historians had come to this city and discovered the misuse of the Ark’s burial land, they had tried to warn me against being the Gym Leader here. Unfortunately, by the time they had tried to warn me, it was too late. From the first day that I was the Gym Leader of Aksum City, this strange force had been controlling me." She motioned to the Gym. "Outside of the Gym, I’m unaffected by it, but within the Gym, I lose control of my conscious mind." She looked uneasily at him. "It’s almost as if I’m being manipulated by the curse. It’s like my darkest parts of my personality surface and take over my normally-kind nature, and when I begin battling, I can’t stop myself from being so… ruthless." She pointed at her eyes. "I think the glow you see when I battle is an indicator of my curse."

"If there really is a curse, then why don’t you just stay away from the Gym all together? Then you wouldn’t have to worry about the curse!" Brock suggested.

"Well, the other problem with it is that it keeps drawing me to the Gym like a moth to a flame. I can’t resist it, so I can never escape it." She lowered her head. "There’s really nothing I can do," she sighed. Then she looked up at him, hopeful. "But you might be able to help me!"

Brock made a little sweatdrop. "Er, me?" he asked, blushing. "What can I do to help?"

"Well," Lana explained, "the Ark historians did tell me one thing they had found out while translating some ancient texts on the consequences of defiling holy land. They told me that all curses have at least one kind of cure, and that, in my case, my cure had to come from another person.

"They described the ‘savior’ as a kind soul who was well experienced and had a great love for nature, as well as a strong spirit." She then looked into his eyes. "And from listening to you describe yourself, I think that you may be just the person that I have been looking for!"

Brock was a bit confused. He flushed a color of red that was visible even at night "Um, are you sure about this? I mean, I’ve never really been treated as a ‘savior.’ Not to be rude, but this is all a bit weird to me."

Lana looked firmly at him. "But you match the soul’s description perfectly! As a Gym Leader, you have above-average experience, and as a person who cares deeply for his pokemon, you show a love for nature as well!" She put her hand to her chin. "I’m not sure about the ‘spirit,’ but I’m sure it must be a strong one."

"Spirit?"

"Yes. In terms of pokemon battling, everyone has a spirit, a battle aura is what I call it."

Brock thought it over. "Well, what about Misty? She’s a Gym Leader, and she likes pokemon a lot, although she does seem to be a bit greedy about catching them-"

Lana shook her head. "Please, I can’t explain it, but somehow I know that you can help me." She gazed at him with a look of optimism. "I have a theory. If you can beat me in a pokemon match, the curse should be broken and I should be free of it! Please, can you help me?"

Brock thought it over. Lana was one tough Leader, and he wondered if his strategic skills would be enough to beat her, but her sad face and her strong belief in her theory made his face tighten up, and his smile firmed. He nodded his head.

"All right, I’ll do my best to help you," he agreed.

Lana was overjoyed, and she embraced him in a large hug that made him bust out in a pink hue and feel light-headed. "Oh, thank you, Brock! I know you can do it!"

This was a weird situation Brock was in. Never before had someone actually pleaded with him to beat them in a match, and the thought of it made him feel odd, but he knew how important this was to Lana, and he promised himself that he would do his best to help her as he returned the large hug.

After their small display of affection, Lana got up and told Brock quickly, "Well, I think you better get a very good night’s rest for tomorrow’s match!" She frowned sadly, "because I’m not going to be able to stop myself from trying my hardest to beat you."

Brock nodded. "Don’t worry, I understand." He took a deep breath. "You can count on me… I hope."

*****

The following day, when the trio was getting prepared for the day, Brock filled them in on what had happened the night before, and what he was going to attempt to do. Ash made a face, but he realized that Brock was more experienced in battles, so he smiled and assured Brock that he’d be cheering for him on the sidelines. Misty, however, liked to tease a bit more.

"Ah, so you guys hugged, eh?" she teased, causing Brock to blush terribly. "You think you’ll be able to beat your girlfriend?" The answer to that was a big smack on the head. Misty rubbed her head as Brock answered, "augh, s-she’s not my g-girlfriend!" though Ash and Misty wondered whether there was any truth to what he said.

They left the PokeCenter for the Gym, and Brock began thinking up partial strategies for the match, but each time he tried to think, his mind kept asking him, are you really going to be able to do it? Will you really be able to beat a friend… or someone more than a friend? Brock frowned. Aw, great, he thought, even my mind’s teasing me now!

They approached the Aksum City Gym, and opened the heavy doors once more. The Gym was still as dark and gloomy as usual, and when they came to the large arena room, Ash, Misty and Pikachu sat on the stone bleachers.

"Ok, Brock, you can do it!" Misty and Ash cheered, with Pikachu making little "pika-pikachu"s in between. Brock turned and waved as he set down his backpack and prepared his pokemon. Onix, Geodude, Zubat, and Vulpix, he thought. If I use Geodude first, then Jolteon will be next-to-useless against it! He smiled to himself. That sounded like a good plan.

"Lana! Come on out!" he called. "I’m ready!"

The large stone slab on the side opened again, as it had before, but this time, Lana stepped fully out of the shadows to face Brock. Her arms were crossed and there was an evil red glow in her eyes, brighter than the last time.

"So, the ‘savior’ is here, eh?" she mocked. Brock heard Ash and Misty mutter, "savior?" and he gagged a bit, since he had left out that part while telling the story (since it sounded a little corny to two kids). He put out his hands an motioned a "shh!"

Lana grinned evily. "Whatever you say, but let’s just see how ‘good’ you are."

"I will stop that curse," Brock said, determined. "Don’t worry."

Lana laughed, "You’re talking to the wrong girl, Brock. Lana can hear you, but she’s… not in at the moment." Brock saw her eyes flicker for a moment, and then continue to glow red.

Brock’s face went rigid. "Then I’ll stop you," he said.

Lana made an evil smirk and simply replied, "we’ll see." She took out a pokeball. "Same rules as before, four pokemon each! And I shall start with… Jolteon! GO!"

Jolteon appeared from the ball and stood straight, its eyes staring straight through Brock. He grabbed his own pokeball and flung it out.

"Very well," he said, "Geodude, GO!" Geodude flew out with a "Geo, Dude!" and went over to meet up with the Jolteon. Brock cast out his arm and commanded, "Geodude! Defense Curl, now!" Geodude curled up into a ball and glowed for a moment. When it unfurled, its rock coat looked stronger and shinier.

"Ah, the strategy," Lana commented. "Building up defense before the offense? Clever." She then turned to Jolteon. "Jolteon! Thundershock!"

Jolteon sent out its thundershock attack, but the bolts merely made Geodude flinch. Brock crossed his arms triumphantly. "I’m surprised," he said, "don’t you know electric attacks are useless against rock types?"

"But of course," Lana answered, sneering. "Jolteon, Quick Attack, now!"

Jolteon moved so fast that it seemed to almost teleport out of sight. Geodude looked around frantically, when suddenly Jolteon appeared behind Geodude and swiped it from behind. The rock pokemon fell down hard, but was still conscious enough to hear the commands from its trainer.

"Geodude! Hang in there!" Brock yelled frantically, "Quick, Geodude, give it the Seismic Toss!" Geodude struggled up and then grabbed the electric pokemon fiercely. At a high speed, the large rock zoomed up to the highest point of the stadium and then began spinning rapidly as it began crashing down. Ash and Misty got dizzy just watching it twist so quickly. At the last second, Geodude let go of Jolteon and floated out of harm’s way. Jolteon fell into the Gym’s floor with a loud thud. It was out cold.

"Yay!" cheered his small audience.

Lana frowned darkly. "Impressive," she remarked lowly. "But you had better do better with the next one! Jolteon return!" She grabbed the next ball. "Blastoise, GO!"

The huge turtle pokemon came crashing down onto the stadium arena, towering over the smallish Geodude. Brock’s eyes widened. It was almost as if Lana could read his thoughts, because she said smugly, "Haha, I have strategy as well. Meet my strongest water pokemon!" She glanced at Blastoise. "Bubblebeam, NOW!"

The large turtle puffed up its cheeks mightily as it prepared its attack. Then in a huge gust, it blew out millions of bubbles, packed so densely that they formed a powerful beam that shattered the air around them. The blast came so quickly that neither Geodude nor Brock knew what happened. Impacted with the hit, Geodude collapsed to the ground, shaking. Brock ran over to it. His crowd gasped, looking worried.

"Geodude!" His eyes raced up to Lana, who was looking pleased with herself. He frowned and turned back to his downed pokemon. He patted it. "Don’t worry, you’ll be ok. Return, Geodude!" He looked hurt as he got up and reached for another pokemon. "Rrgh, Zubat, GO!!"

The blind bat appeared and made a small screech to announce that it was ready and willing to go. "Ok, Zubat, let’s show her that water isn’t all it’s cracked up to be!" Zubat nodded its small head, and headed out to battle.

Lana laughed. "A Zubat?" she giggled demonically. "You’re going to try to beat my huge Blastoise with a Zubat?! My, you do have guts!"

Brock gritted his teeth. "I’ll show you that size doesn’t matter!" he yelled defiantly. "Zubat, go Supersonic!" Lana’s giddiness had distracted her, and Brock’s Zubat was able to successfully confuse the Blastoise with its ultrasonic sound waves. Blastoise’s eyes were hazed over, and it started hitting itself in the confusion. Lana stopped laughing and realized what happened.

"Blastoise! Snap out of it!" she commanded, but her pokemon was still confused. Brock knew that this small opening of opportunity was the only chance he’d have to defeat her pokemon, so he took advantage of it.

"Zubat! Leech Life!" he cried out. Zubat made a shriek and began gathering Blastoise’s life energy out of his confused body. After a couple seconds of leeching, the Blastoise fell over, exhausted and drained. Lana’s eyes grew furious as she recalled her pokemon.

"You. No one has been so successful before." She made an evil frown. "But this is the last time you’ll be so victorious! Butterfree, GO!" The bug floated down to meet the other flying pokemon. "Butterfree, PSYBEAM!!"

The powerful attack rushed out of Butterfree’s wings and the beam wiped out Zubat, knocking the small pokemon from the air. Brock caught it delicately, and recalled it. Sweat began forming on his forehead. Only two pokemon left for each of us, he thought, so I better be careful! Perhaps… "Vulpix, GO!" Vulpix trotted swiftly onto the arena and looked at Brock.

"Vulpix, I know you can do it," he told the fox pokemon. Vulpix nodded and replied with a "Vulllll, Vul!" Brock turned to Lana’s Butterfree. "Vulpix, Firespin, NOW!" At that same time, Lana yelled, "Butterfree, Psybeam, NOW!" The two attacks were performed at the same exact time. Vulpix charged up its flames, and Butterfree charged up its wing beam, each pokemon’s eyes glowing brightly. Then, all at once, they released their attacks. Vulpix’s Firespin formed a huge fiery tornado that began to engulf the center of the arena, and Butterfree’s Psybeam grew large and began to shoot from the bug’s wings. The fire tornado whisked itself at Butterfree, but the psychic beam shot straight through the flames. Brock gasped, his sweat falling from his face. The beam struck Vulpix head on, flinging the fox to the corner of the room.

"VULPIX!" Brock cried out, running to his pokemon. He knelt by it and picked it up carefully, trying to tend to its injuries. Lana laughed low and hard, but then looked towards her Butterfree. The beam it had released did go through the Firespin attack, but it hadn’t stopped the tornado from moving. The tornado kept its course and engulfed Butterfree in its flames. When it had finally extinguished, the charred bug fell to the ground with a small thump. The room was filled with silence, except for the gasps that had come from Brock’s cheering committee.

"I-it’s a double knock-out!" Misty exclaimed. "I’ve never seen that before!" She grabbed Ash excitedly. "That means each one of them has one pokemon left! Brock might still win!"

"Pika!!" Pikachu exclaimed.

Lana was enraged. "YOU! You’ve managed to beat almost all of my pokemon! I can’t believe it!"

Brock stood up from his Vulpix and turned around slowly. "Yes. That’s right." His eyes were cold and hard, since he was hurt from seeing so many of his treasured pokemon injured by this match. Seeing his Vulpix hurt was the last straw. He wanted the match ended. Now.

"Feh. Well, you may have been lucky, but this last pokemon shall be your undoing!" she yelled out. "Pokeball, GO!"

"I’m ready to end this Lana! Onix, GO!" he yelled back, as he tossed out his remaining pokemon. The huge rock snake unfurled itself with a horrific growl, and Brock crossed his arms in silent thought. He then froze when he saw the last pokemon in her possesion. It was an Onix.

What?! Brock thought, It can’t be! We both have the same pokemon! Ash and Misty looked on in utter surprise, their mouths gaping wide open.

Both Onixes stared at each other dangerously, the same height. Lana and Brock looked at each other in surprise. Lana changed her expression to one of evil and grinned. "I’ve saved the best for last," she remarked, thrusting out her arm to command an attack. "Onix, Body Slam!" she cried out. Her Onix reared back and made a powerful dive at Brock’s Onix. The force of the attack was so great that Brock’s pokemon was flung backwards violently, but it threw Brock back as well. His tossed body hit the side of the rocky arena. Hard.

He collapsed onto the floor, grabbing his side painfully. He struggled to get up, and felt something wet on his forehead. He had fallen into one of the sharper walls, and a trickle of blood had begun to seep down his forehead. He tried to lean his body against his arms to steady himself, but his left arm gave way painfully, and he fell back down. From the sharp surge of pain he felt, he realized that his left arm was probably dislocated.

"Brock!!" his friends cried out from the seats. They looked over to him worriedly, seeing his damages. He shook as he straightened himself and stood up, and he faced Lana angrily. She noticed his injuries and smirked.

"Why don’t you just give up now," she said, snobbishly. "Would you honestly risk your life as well as your pokemon’s for the soul of this girl?"

Brock fought to open his eyes as he held his left arm. "Yes," he said roughly, his throat ragged from the exerted pressure. Lana’s eyes fluttered for a moment, and lost their red glow. Her subconscious mind (which was her, and not the curse) could see what was going on, but could do nothing. He’d risk his life… for me? she thought. She glanced at his body, and noticed that his battle aura had grown larger, an invisible blue flame that grew brighter and stronger with each determined move he made. Incredible, she thought, his strong spirit is just like the one in the myth! Even with all the odds against him, his aura grows stronger!

Then, her eyes lost their natural look and succumbed to the darkness and red glow of the curse. She shrugged and glanced at him in annoyance. "It’s your funeral," she replied. She motioned to Brock’s Onix. "Look at the power of my Onix’s Body Slam," she said triumphantly. "Your Onix looks as bad as you do!"

Brock’s Onix was heavily damaged from the attack, and the deep abrasions on its stone skin proved it. The attack had been too much for it, and he knew it. One more attack would finish it. Brock grew tense as he realized that he couldn’t win this fight. He looked fiercely at the other Onix, and then a spark of inspiration hit him. I have to act quickly, he thought to himself. I feel… light-headed. It must be from my concussion… If I don’t act now, everything will have been for nothing… But there is one thing I can do.

He looked over at Lana and gritted his teeth hard. "Y-you may have a powerful Onix, but there is one move you don’t have," he struggled to say, seeing the images in his eyes begin to double. He turned to Onix, and with a failing glint in his eye, he cried out, "O-ONIX! BIDE, NOW!!!"

Onix began to glow, and Lana’s Onix stared in confusion. Brock’s Onix rose slowly, its eyes turning a bright blue, then faced the other rock pokemon. An incredible aura engulfed Onix, and all at once, it reared up and then crushed the other Onix with the same attack, but with such a high power that the other Onix was thrust several feet into the wall behind it. All was silent afterward. Ash, Misty and Pikachu were stunned.

"What the heck was that?!" Ash exclaimed aloud. He whipped out his Pokedex and flipped it open. Dexter came to life and analyzed the move.

"Unique move, number 01, ‘Bide,’" Dexter stated flatly. "Usually a TM, this attack is rare and is only naturally present in one Onix of its kind, found in Pewter City."

"Pewter City?!" Ash exclaimed, "Dexter must mean Brock’s Onix!"

Dexter continued, "Bide is a special move that takes the power of an attack against the pokemon and pays it back double."

Misty mused, "Double the power?! No wonder Brock’s Onix was able to create such a powerful attack!" They stopped talking for a moment and looked at the arena, which resembled a war-torn battlefield. Brock was shaking terribly, but he managed to make a lopsided smile as he realized he had won the bout.

"I-I did it!" he said in disbelief. "I really did it!" He glanced over at Lana, whose face was emotionless. Her eyes flared a brighter red, so bright that her entire body began to glow a soft reddish hue as well. The glow grew more and more, until the entire stadium was bathed in light, and when everyone was blinded by its brilliance, the light sputtered, and disappeared without a trace.

When it was finally dispersed, Lana opened her eyes, and to everyone’s amazement, they were normal again, happy and wide, with her large amber-brown corneas gazing around the room as if it was their first time doing so. She smiled a great wide, beaming grin, and she looked at her hands, which were, once again, in her own control.

"I can’t believe it!" she yelled out happily, "the curse is really gone! I’m me again! I-I don’t know how I can ever thank you, Brock!" She glanced over at the beaten-up trainer who looked as if he was trying to balance himself upon two thin, wooden legs. He looked at her and smiled as much as he could.

"Lana… I’m so glad it-it worked," he sputtered. "It’s nice to see your happy, smiling face… again-"

That was the last word he could push out. His eyes shut prematurely as he fell slowly to the ground. Lana screamed out and ran over to him, as did Ash, Misty, and Pikachu. She knelt down with them and leaned Brock’s head against her arm.

"Brock? Brock?!" Lana said frantically, trying to get through to him. His eyes fluttered a bit, and he managed to say, "I guess I got hit a b-bit harder than I thought!" He tried to laugh, but ended up wheezing instead. "M-my head… hurts…"

Lana looked at him worriedly. "Don’t worry Brock, everything’ll be ok. There’s a good hospital not very far from the Gym." She motioned to Ash to get the phone that was hanging from the niche in the wall near the entrance. She looked back at Brock and brushed back some of his tousled hair.

"L-lana, I-I-" He couldn’t finish his sentence. His mind felt fuzzy, and all the voices he heard sounded as if they were becoming more and more distant. He closed his eyes. The last thing he heard was Lana’s soft voice.

"Shh," she whispered. "Don’t talk. You’ll be fine."

*****

A day or so later, Brock awoke to find himself in a quaint, white hospital room. The table next to him was brimming over with flowers of various exotic types, and their fragrant perfume filled the enclosed space. He rubbed his eyes and felt the bandage that was on the part of his head where the concussion had occurred. He felt his left arm and noticed that it wasn’t dislocated anymore.

Just a few seconds after he awoke, Ash, Misty and Pikachu entered the room, with a tray of typical hospital food. Seeing that he was awake, they quickly deposited the tray on a nearby desk and rushed over to his bed.

"Brock, buddy, you’re ok!" Ash said, relieved.

"Yeah, we were really worried about you when you had lost consciousness back at the Gym!" Misty remarked, smiling brightly.

"Pikachu, pika-pi!" Pikachu added, nuzzling Brock happily.

"Thanks guys," Brock replied. "I feel a lot better than I did before."

Ash scratched his head. "I gotta admit, you did a really great job of handling your pokemon in that match," he said. "I guess I still have some things to learn about pokemon strategy!"

Brock smiled. "Don’t worry, Ash. You’ll learn." Mentioning the match, Brock perked up. "Hey, where’s Lana?" he asked, hopeful.

Misty shrugged. "Dunno. I guess she left."

Brock slumped in his bed. "Oh," he said quietly. "I guess that makes sense." He looked out the window near his bed and tried to hide his deep disappointment. The others could still see it, though.

"Aww, why so glum, chum?" a voice called out to him. Brock flipped his head over to see the door, and saw Lana standing there, hands crossed behind her back, eyes closed and beaming with cheer. She walked over to his bed. "I’d never just up and leave you, especially after all you’ve done for me!" She smiled elegantly. "I can never express just how grateful I am to you, Brock. But perhaps this is a start." She opened her vest and drew out a gleaming sunfire badge. Opening his hand, she placed it delicately in his palm. He looked down at it.

"A s-sunfire badge?" he asked, confused.

"Well, you did beat me," she replied, giggling. "And just think, you’re the very first person to ever get one!"

"But I’m a Gym Leader too!" he said.

"Well, who says a Gym Leader can’t have other badges too?" she laughed. She motioned to him, "but that’s not the real gift to you."

"It’s not?" he asked.

She shook her head. "Nope! This is!" Before anyone could speak, Lana moved in and gave Brock a large kiss on the lips. Ash covered his face, Pikachu scratched its head, and Misty just watched (because she likes romantic stuff). Brock flew into a total out-and-out red blush, and considering that the kiss lasted a good several seconds (I’m talking in the double-digits, people!), it was quite understandable.

When they stopped, Lana pulled away slowly, revealing a desperately love-struck Brock. She laughed. Brock managed to push out a small "y-you’re welcome!"

"Well, now that I’m free of the curse of the Ark, my life’s totally open to some new experiences!" she said happily. "Perhaps I should try to explore the world and meet other Leaders and trainers!"

Ash, in a rare inspired thought, piped up, "Well, we travel around, why not join us?" He pointed to Brock. "I’m sure Brock here wouldn’t mind!"

Lana thought about it and smiled. "An interesting proposition," she responded, "perhaps I will! I mean, I’ll eventually have to return to the Aksum City Gym, but I could spend a bit of time traveling with you guys!"

This answer almost literally sent Brock through the roof with joy. Lana grinned and Ash and Misty laughed as well. Ash extended his hand and Lana shook it.

"Well, welcome to the group!" Ash said.

"Thanks!" Lana said, winking at Brock. "You won’t regret it!"

Narrator: So Lana has temporarily joined the gang on their pokemon adventures. But this is the point where we have to take a vote!

You decide whether there will be future stories or not!

Email any comments/questions you have to pocket_spidey@hotmail.com

Thanks for reading!