Battle Subway and Chase

"Ka!"

Beneath the darkness of the earth, a train traveled between the tunnels, wheels and rails bursting into blinding sparks as they bit into each other.

"Bang, bang, bang, bang," a fierce Pokémon battle was taking place in the train that was moving forward.

"Marill, Liquidation."

The beautiful boy in the black coat stood at one end of the battlefield and decisively gave the command to attack towards his Pokémon.

"No good!"

The opposing trainer immediately revealed a panicked expression after hearing his words.

In front of him, a stocky Krookodile was already gasping for air, with scars all over its black and red body.

"Krookodile, there's no way out, use Thrash once at full power!"

"Ow!"

Commanded by the trainer, Krookodile, whose stamina was already in the wind, braced its sturdy body for the last time and roared loudly.

Its small, glittering eyes, hidden under its black skin, burst out with a fierce color.

Sharp, sharp claws were also wrapped in a layer of dominating energy.

After that, Krookodile carried a terrifying aura of defiance, and without hesitation, rushed forward to meet the raging current.

"Lu!"

Vaguely, Krookodile heard Marill's voice.

"Ow!"

In the next moment, roaring, it slammed its sharp claws on top of the current wrapped by Marill.

"Boom!"

"Clang-!!!"

Two dull sounds also resounded between the subway cars, one after the other.

The first sound was the sound of Marill's fist coming into contact with Krookodile's skin after she had blasted her fist on top of his chest.

The latter sound was the sound of Krookodile's body colliding with the steel of the subway car as he flew backwards under Marill's tremendous force and smashed into the steel wall.

"Lu..."

After defeating Krookodile, Marill also landed on top of the sparring ground, panting uncontrollably.

This enemy's strength was good.

The opposing trainer was also a veteran of the sparring subway, and his strength in every aspect was not something that could be compared to a third-rate trainer from the side of the road.

"...Hey."

After seeing Krookodile's downfall, the opposing trainer also accepted his defeat and sighed with a helpless face.

Today was a day when he had run into a tough opponent.

"It's been a while since we've met a trainer who can win twenty consecutive matches against each other."

He retrieved the Krookodile, which had lost its ability to fight, and walked over to Aisha, saying, "You're very good, and so is your Pokémon."

"I'm flattered."

The beautiful boy in the black overcoat - the same Aisha who had dived headfirst into the sparring subway to begin the challenge after exiting the Nimbasa Gym - smiled in response to this trainer's praise and said, "It's all this boy's doing."

He looked over to Marill.

"Lu!"

Feeling Instructor Ai's line of sight, Marill, who took the opportunity to rest for a while and regain some strength, also revealed a healthy smile and responded with a thumbs up.

"Ha~"

The opposing trainer was amused by Aisha and Marill's interaction.

"You guys have such a great bond, no wonder you're so powerful."

His praise was from the heart.

This beautiful boy in front of him was a ruthless person who had single-handedly made his way within the singles mode battle subway, and had survived twenty round battles simply by using a single Marill.

Even now, that one Marill is still not showing any fatigue...

What kind of monster is this?

"The captain should be waiting for you within the next compartment, go for it!" He patted Aisha's shoulder, revealing a smile of unparalleled enthusiasm, saying, "It's been a while since the carriage captain has met such a formidable challenger, and his strength is not the same as us guys, so he can surely satisfy you."

"Good."

Aisha also smiled politely.

He was embarrassed not to smile in the face of such an enthusiastic person.

"Let's go, Marill."

Greeting Marill, Aisha also crossed over that one trainer and walked towards the next carriage.

He had already won twenty consecutive victories within this ordinary train.

Although there were many entertainment facilities within Nimbasa City that could be used for recreation, as an Iron-blooded Trainer, Aicha had already won twenty consecutive victories.

However, as an Iron-blooded trainer, Aisha and his battle-hardened Pokémon had first set their sights on the Battle Subway, a famous Pokémon Battle Facility - within the Battle Subway, there were eight subway trains, and each of them had different battle modes, with the same two battle levels of Normal Train and Super Train.

The normal train challenge is divided into three rounds of seven matches.

This means that if you want to complete a normal train challenge, you need to face twenty-one battles.

The enemy of the twenty-first battle was the captain of the sparring subway - Ingo or Emmet.

"Hoo~"

Standing before the door of the twenty-first car, Aisha also revealed an excited smile.

It was also said earlier that the trainers who fought against the subway were exceedingly strong.

Even Marill, the twenty in one battle was under a lot of pressure.

Of course, one person and one pet still won in a row all the way.

"Awesome..."

"Lu!"

Aisha and Marill revealed a smile together.

The former had found a place to exercise her Pokémon.

The latter, on the other hand, had gotten so immersed within the intense battle that she couldn't help herself.

"Ka!"

The gate opened, and one person and one pet entered the final compartment.

"Wah-!!!"

The sound of the subway moving as it crossed a carriage also reached Aisha's ears.

Listening to the sound, there was almost time for one more match, and this subway train would arrive at the station...

"Welcome, challenger!"

A handsome young man wearing a fashionable black coat with a captain's hat on his head also extended his hand in a dashing manner, smiled at Aisha and Marill who had entered this carriage, and said, "Thank you very much for traveling on the Battle Subway this day, I am the owner of the battle car, my name is Ingo!"

"You have completed twenty consecutive victories, however, it will depend on how far you can proceed in the end!"

"Ah, I see."

Ingo locked eyes with Aisha.

There was no need to make things so clear about trainers, and eye-to-eye was the signal for a sparring match.

"Chandelure, go!"

"Marill, it's up to you."

Ingo threw a Poké ball, and a crystal chandelier Pokémon appeared on the battlefield, opposite Marill, who had defeated twenty enemies and advanced all the way to the present.

"Chandelure, Flamethrower!"

"Marill, Aqua Jet."

Hot flames erupted from between the candle flame of the chandelier, while Marill, who was entangled in the current, rushed out of the attack of flames in a single breath and crashed on top of the crystal chandelier's lamp bead.

"That fast?"

Ingo was startled.

Even if it was a precautionary type move, it was unusual to be this fast.

Especially with this much power...

"Chandelure, Fire Spin."

Ingo, worthy of being a veteran trainer, immediately gave an effective decision.

"Woo~"

Chandelure started Rapid Spin, and flames in a circular stance surrounded its body, spreading out in all directions.

"Aqua Ring, Marill, protect yourself!"

Between the flames, Marill summoned the Aqua Ring, which could restore its own strength, under Aisha's command.

"Throttle-!!!"

The collision of water and fire caused white steam to fill the carriage, and the sound of "sizzle" filled the ears of the two trainers.

A shadow ball took advantage of the fact that both sight and hearing were affected, and came speeding in, hitting Marill, who was wrapped in Aqua Ring.

However, it was just a substitute.

The real Marill had run underneath Chandelure under the cover of the vapor, and a shot of Liquidation attacked its light bead.

"Chandelure, towards the bottom, Fire Blast!"

Ingo spotted the sneaking Marill just in time.

Chandelure deflected in the nick of time and spat out a ball of extremely hot flames directly below it.

"Oooh~"

"Lu!"

The voices of the two Pokémon overlapped.

In the end, the Aqua Ring-wrapped Marill resisted Chandelure's Fire Blast head-on, and blasted its fist on top of its crystal-clear lamp bead wrapped in a ball of spectral fire.

"Lu..."

Marill, who had more than a few bruises on its body, also landed on top of the ground, looking up and spitting out a string of foamy rays that blocked Chandelure's path.

"Not bad, Marill."

Aisha, from the back, gave a word of praise for Marill's sense of autonomous combat.

"Tsk."

Taking a general look at Chandelure's status, Ingo's expression also became a bit more serious.

"A strong enemy indeed."

Unfortunately, that Fire Blast didn't burn Marill.

If such a terrifying psychical attcker had received a burn, then the pressure on himself and Chandelure could have plummeted by one point.

"Energy Ball!"

"No need to dodge anymore, Marill, full power Aqua Tail!"

While Ingo was still preparing to utilize some attribute-control moves to weaken Marill's stamina, Aisha, who knew his Pokémon's virtues, waved his hand and declared the end of the battle in a domineering manner.

"What?"

Ingo was shocked.

At this time, Marill then kicked its feet, and the entire Pokémon shot out like a rocket, rushing towards Chandelure without mercy.

"Boom!"

Energy Ball struck Marill, and the energy that restrained the water attribute caused it to show some pain.

However, the pain was followed by a confident smile.

Chandelure had no time to dodge, and with a pair of yellow eyes, it watched as Marill's tail, wrapped in a stream of water, carried a terrifying power and struck its face.

After that, its vision went black...

"Oooh~"

Chandelure lost its ability to fight after leaving a weak chirp.

"Lu..."

Marill floated its feet a bit and landed on top of the ground.

Apparently, even it was a bit unable to hold on after the intense wheel battle.

Aisha could also see Marill's exhaustion, and only then did she give the order to strike with all her strength - when it really ran out of energy, the possibility of it flipping over would be too great.

So, Marill did not let Aisha down.

Exploding at full power, it collected the bloodied Chandelure in one breath.

"Hard work."

Aisha quickly walked into the field and picked it up.

"Lu~"

Marill just revealed a satisfied smile.

It, felt its progress.

"..."

On the opposite side, Ingo retracted Chandelure in silence.

"Fantastic!"

He raised his head and flashed a smile at Aisha, saying, "It's fantastic, it's an honor to be able to fight against an excellent trainer like you."

"I'm so happy."

"Me too."

Aisha smiled and stepped forward as the two shook hands.

"Congratulations on clearing a column of Battle Subway."

"We have other types of Battle Subways over here, if your excellency is still interested, you might as well challenge them." Ingo was very enthusiastic, saying, "If your excellency chooses a doubles match, I and my brother, who is also the other captain - Emmet - are your opponents."

"Uh-huh."

Aisha did not refuse.

Anyway, his goal itself was to thoroughly exercise his Pokémon through the high-intensity matches against Metro.

"Coincidentally, my Pokémon also need some sufficiently intense sparring matches to get them to step up to a higher platform."

"Your excellency, such praise is truly flattering."

Ingo also bowed gracefully and said, "I wonder how many sparring matches your excellency is prepared to challenge the subway."

"I have seven Pokémon to work out besides Marill."

Ingo: "..."

The captain's eyes popped.

"Seven?"

"Uh-huh."

Aisha stroked Marill's head and smiled broadly.

Indeed, excluding the out-of-theory Caterpie, Chien-Pao that was used as a weapon, and Ralts that wasn't born, Aisha's normal combat power was eight Pokémon.

It coincidentally corresponded to the eight trains of the Battle Subway...

Isn't that a coincidence?

Sure enough, the Battle Subway was an excellent place to brush up on experience.

Love it!

"My goal is to clear the normal subway eight times, using a Pokémon each time separately, I wonder if there are any problems with this operation."

"No, there isn't."

After a brief moment of shock, Ingo also immediately revealed a smile filled with wariness.

"Your choice is truly admirable."

"That's right." Not knowing exactly what things he had brainstormed to himself, Ingo also clenched his fists and said, "Only by fighting against the strong can I become stronger myself, and I also need to continue practicing until the day I climb to the top!"

"No."

Aisha then added with a smile.

"Even when you've reached the top, you can't slack off."

"Leared, Instructor Ai."

Ingo pronounced Aisha's title.

Apparently, he was also aware of the identity of this one challenger.

"You know me?"

"Instructor Ai well at least needs to have some self-awareness of being a celebrity." Ingo spread his hands with a helpless face and said, "The matter of you being Elesa's guest has already spread within this circle in Nimbasa City, and I don't know how many trainers and fan girls are waiting to see, your real face."

"Ah..."

Aisha also smiled awkwardly.

"My cyborg brother also has a great deal of admiration for you, and if Instructor Ai passes the Doubles Train sometime, he should be very happy as well."

"You two brothers are really affectionate."

Having heard Ingo repeatedly mention his brother, Aisha's expression was also quite sanguine.

Looking at Ingo, he could visualize the white-clothed young man whose appearance was not much different from Ingo's, with a smile flowing above his face at all times.

If, there were no accidents, these two brothers should become the best partners in the Unova region.

Unfortunately... a bizarre accident completely severed the bond between the two brothers.

Yes, the future Ingo, most likely left this time and space.

He appeared on the land called Hisui, lost all his memories, forgot about his Pokémon and his brother, and passed through the decades aimlessly like a ghost. Even though he was already graying at the temples, he still cherished this train conductor's uniform and hat, and, after gradually regaining some of his memories, he dedicated himself to bringing back the Pokémon Battle Mode, which was similar to the Battle Subway, in the Hisui area.

However, at that time he... may never return to the time and space that was originally his.

The plot of Pokémon Legends: Arceus is also incoherent.

Aisha doesn't know where Ingo ends up.

He also didn't know if Emmet had vomited his blood in search of his missing big brother after Ingo had left the Unova region.

"Ka-!!!"

The vibration and mechanical sound of the train interrupted Aisha's thoughts.

He looked up and realized the train had arrived at the station.

"The journey of this train has come to a successful end." Ingo saluted once again and stood before the door, saying, "If said challenger still has the will to challenge, please take a new train, there are still quite a few new trains within the train terminal, waiting for your challenge."

"Good."

Aisha walked out of this common train with Ingo.

He retrieved Marill, who was already a bit off her feet, and threw a new Poké ball, and the energized Charmeleon appeared on top of the platform.

"Roar!"

The stocky Charmeleon wore a confident expression.

Marill could still pass the level solo, the Charmeleon, whose strength was above it, could naturally do it with ease.

"The Pokémon for this challenge is this child."

"Good~ if it's still a singles challenge, please go that way!"

Aisha and Charmeleon also walked towards the new train with their heads held high.

A smile appeared above the former's face.

This challenge was more than just honing his Pokémon.

Such a high-intensity, continuous sparring match was also a test for Aisha.

"It's almost time to challenge, the limits of one's command..."

He had a premonition that after experiencing this test against the Metro Total Domination, he and his Pokémon would be able to accomplish a leap in strength.

...

Outside the city, a blue shadow swept across the main road.

"Kyurem, I'm coming!"

Within the pony's eyes flashed a determined battle intent.