Castelia City Battle Tournament!

"Castelia City!" I shouted, running with my partner Servine to the crowded city up ahead.

"Oh...yeah!" agreed Zach, following me alongside Evelyn.

"I'm gonna win my next gym badge!" said Evelyn, joy clouding her eyes.

"Me too!" I said.

"That next ribbon is mine!"exclaimed Zach.


As we walked towards the city, we saw a booth right in front of the Pokemon Center. We rushed there and saw that there was going to be a battle tournament, and the winner would get to battle Castelia City's very own Gym Leader!

"I'm in!" I said.

"Me too!" said Evelyn.

"I'm not going to lose to either of you!" exclaimed Zach.

"Wow," said Barry, signing up for the battle contest. "This should be interesting! The twerps are going to be battling!"

"If they're battling," started Becky, "then so am I! I need to beat them once and for all!"

"Welcome," started the MC, "to Castelia City's annual Battle Tournament. I'm Sydney, and I'll be your host for today's marvelous event! 32 Trainers from our very own Unova region will be battling it out to become the champion of the tournament! Plus, the winner gets a trophy AND gets to battle the Castelia Gym Leader, Burgh, and possibly even get a Gym Badge from him on the spot!"

Suddenly, a stranger walked onto the stage. "That's right! You'll be battling none other than moi, the chic, the fashionable, Burgh, user of the elegant Bug-types!"

So that's the Gym Leader? Well, I was ready for him!

Looking around in the crowd, I saw a familiar face. It was none other than...

"Brian!" shouted Zach, running over to our best friend.

Evelyn and I followed. We all exchanged information about our journey here, the ups and downs, and whatnot.

"So," asked Evelyn. "Where's Professor Juniper?"

"She's back at Nuvema Town," said Brian. "I got a break from being her assistant, so I'm gonna battle here!"

"Nice!" I said. "I'm so glad you're here!"

Then, a familiar voice shouted out to me saying, "KYLE!"

I turned and saw Colin.

"You're battling here too?" I asked.

"Of course," he said. "I'm going to meet YOU in the finals, and this time, I'll win!"

"We'll see!"

Suddenly, Sydney started to talk over the microphone. "Now, folks, here are our matchups:

#1: Andy vs. Evelyn

#2: Tim vs. Jack

#3: Brian vs. Will

#4: Jenna vs. Liam

#5:Zach vs. Jake

#6:Ian vs. Colin

#7: David vs. Barrium (Barry)

#8: Rebecca (Becky) vs. Dante

#9: Kevin vs. Josephina

#10: Caitlyn vs. Missy

#11: Kyle vs. Andre

#12: Jackson vs. Iris

#13:Mara vs. Gary

#14: Kate vs. Miranda

#15: Patrick vs. Asa

#16: Tyler vs. Jacolby

This battle tournament was just about to begin!


The first round was a breeze. Using Gible, I beat Andre's Patrat. Evelyn and Munna destroyed Andy, Zach and Dewott wrecked Jake, Colin and Watchog wiped out Colin, and Brian and his new Pokemon, Panpour, defeated Will. Two other people, Barrium and Rebecca, showed a lot of spunk.

Then, Sydney came with the matchups for round 2:

#1: Evelyn vs. Jack

#2: Brian vs. Jenna

#3: Colin vs. Gary

#4: Kyle vs. Miranda

#5: Zach vs. Patrick

#6: Barrium vs. Iris

#7: Becky vs. Missy

#8: Tim vs. Jacolby

Evelyn and Sewaddle had the first battle. Using their tactic of blinding their opponent with String Shot, they defeated Jack and his partner.

Next was Brian and Watchog. They had a sly Hypnosis technique and defeated their opponent.

After that, Colin used his Sigilyph and used his special, and annoying if I may say, Psybeam/Air Cutter tactic and obliterated their opponent.

Now was my turn. Miranda decided to start off the battle by using a Pokemon known as a Sandile, so I chose my trusty Gible.

Sandile and Gibel both started the battle off by using clashing Sand Tombs, trapping each other in their own individual sandstorms. Gible decided to use Dragon Rage and totally blow up the tomb surrounding it, and then used Bite attack on the Sandile, who countered by also using a Bite attack. This match seemed to be pretty even!

Then, Sandile used Dig and his underground. This may have seemed bad, but Gible had the uncanny ability to sense underground movement, so predicting when and where Sandile would come out, Gible used Dragon Rage, and it worked!

Sandile was knocked into the air, and Gible used Bite attack and threw it down with its teeth. That match was over; point, moi.

Zach and his Pidove were battling untill all of a sudden, his Pidove evolved into a Tranquill.

"Tranquill, the Wild Pigeon Pokemon, and the evolved form of Pidove. Tranquill can always find its way back home, whether to its nest deep in the forest or to its Trainer's side. It's said that when these Pokemon nest together, peace surrounds the area."

That evolution gave Zach the edge, and he won as well.


After all the matches were over, Sydney came on stage and said, "These were some amazing matches! Now, its time for the next matchups:

#1: Brian vs. Jacolby

#2: Kyle vs. Colin

#3: Evelyn vs. Barrium

#4: Zach vs. Rebecca

I was battling Colin! I was hoping that my battle with him could've been later, but still...

"It's barely been a week," said Colin, "and now I have the chance to destroy you! This time, you'll be defeated!"

"We'll see..."


In the battle between Brian and Jacolby, Brian and his Panpour once again beat their opponent, mainly because of the fact the opponent was a Pansear and Fire was weak to Water.

Now, it was between me and Colin. Whoever won would go up against Brian in the semifinals. I've never battled Brian before, so hopefully, it would be me moving on.

I started off with Gible, mainly because Colin wasn't a big fan of it in our last battle.

What do you know, Colin decided to use Sigilyph, the Pokemon that had defeated Gible in our last battle. Colin knew that Sigilyph would intimidate Gible, but what he didn't know was that this time, we were more pumped than the last!

Gible staretd off by using Sand Tomb, but Sigilyph used Air Cutter to obliterate the move. Then, it used Psybeam and blew Gible into the air, then attempting to use Air Cutter.

This seemed familiar, because that was the strategy he used last time against Gible to beat it!

Knowing that, Gible used Bite on the Air Cutter, and it actually caught it! How was beyond me, but as long as it worked, I was fine. Gible tossed the Air Cutter back at Sigilyph as if it were a frisbee, and the surprised Sigilyph had no time to recat. Then, Gible used Bite on its opponent and tossed it to the ground.

Despite that, Sigilyph got up and used Psybeam on Gible, who decided used Dragon Rage to counter it. Last time that happened, Gible lost the duel. This time, however, Gible didn't take as much damage, so it just had to win.

The "duel of the blasts" continued on for a few more seconds, until Gible, with adrenaline surging in its veins, gave one last push and blasted both its Dragon Rage and the Psybeam back at Sigilyph. That battle was over!

"Kyle," said Colin. "I underestimated your Gible once again, and looked what happened to me! I'm sorry that I didn't keep my promise and defeat you, but next time, I will uphold my end of our rivalry!"

"Ok," I said. "I'll be ready!"


The battle between Evelyn and Barrium was a tough one, but in the end, Evelyn and Monferno defeated Barrium's Magby. Zach and Rebecca had similar results, Zach's Tranquill prevailing over Rebecca's Oddish.

"Now," started Sydney. "Let's see who will be battling in the semifinals:

#1: Brian vs. Kyle

#2: Evelyn vs. Zach

I didn't realize until I saw the matchups that all four of us had made it to the semifinals! This was turning out to be just like our tournament back in Nuvema Town, except Evelyn and I switched opponents.

As I made my way to the battlefield, I looked at Brian, who nodded back at me. This was going to be an all out battle was what was his nod told me. Boy, I hoped he was right!

"Servine," I shouted, "I choose you!"

Servine came out of its PokeBall, pumped for the battle ahead.

"Pignite, help me out!" said Brian.

He sent out a Pokemon I'd never seen before, but I was guessing that it was once his Tepig.

"Pignite, the Fire Pig Pokemon, and the evolved form of Tepig. 'Food is fuel'- for Pignite, that common phrase is a bit more literal. When it eats, its interal fire is stoked, which increases its power and speed."

Pignite did not seem like a pushover at all, but Servine and I just had to push through to make it to the finals, and then... to Burgh!

Pignite started it off with a strong Tackle attack, but Servine dodge it and used Vine Whip and grabbed Pignite.

Just then, Pignite unleashed its burning hot Ember attack and burned Servine's vines. Then, it used Flame Charge on Servine and knocked it back. Servine tried to use Leaf Tornado and blast Pignite away, but Pignite dodged it like it was in slow-motion. Flame Charge didn't just damage Servine, it increased Pignite's speed!

It used Flame Charge on Servine again, damaging it once more and increasing its own speed. Servine was really fast, but after having taken two strong Fire moves and having had an opponent who increased its speed twice, it could in no way match the speed of Pignite.

There had to be a way to defeat Pignite by using its own speed against it, but how?

Then, it clicked. Just when Servine had attempted to use Vine Whip, in a way it dodged it, but Brian told it which moves to use before listening to what moves I would use. He was going too fast for his own good!

Servine used Tackle and aimed straight for Pignite and missed (as intended), but just before Servine attempted to make contact, I called out for a Leaf Tornado, so when Pignite missed and Brian tried to make its Pokemon go faster by using Flame Charge, Brian didn't have time to compute that there was a Leaf Tornado hurdling towards Pignite. And guess what... it hit!

Pignite was blasted into the air, giving Servine enough time to use Vine Whip on Pignite, reel it in to itself, have Servine use Wrap and tie itself on its opponent, and then use Leaf Tornado to blast it! It was perfect!

Pignite was blasted back, but, struggling, still got up, and went in for a Flame Charge. Despite the damage it had taken, it was still fast and still strong! Servine wouldn't make it!

Only a matter of time before it made contact...

A few feet before it reached Servine, Pignite stopped in its tracks and fell face down on the floor. It used all its remaining energy in the Flame Charge and used it all, not even reaching Servine!

I won! I truly won!


Before we left to watch the next match, Brian and I high-fived each other for the awesome match we had had just now. As he looked at me, I couldn't help but notice sadness in his eyes. I looked to him and said, "You were awesome Brian! Just slow down a bit! Next time we battle, you better take time to think 'cause although I want to win, I WANT you to beat me."

He looked at me, understandingly, and said, "When did you become so wise?"

I laughed and said, "I've always had it in me!"

We both laughed together and headed to watch the match between Zach and Evelyn. Evelyn was using Sewaddle and Zach was using Purrloin. Purrloin was about to leap in for the finish against a worn-out Sewaddle when all of a sudden, a blue light shone around Sewaddle. It was evolving! Out came a rounder, more shielded Pokemon.

"Swadloon, the Leaf-Wrapped Pokemon, and the evolved form of Sewaddle. When many Swadloon live in a forest, the plants grow strong and healthu. These Pokemon eat fallen leaves and give off nutrients that enrich the soil."

Just when Purrloin was about to strike, the newly evolved Swadloon used Razor Leaf and knocked Purrloin back into the air, and then jumped and used Bug Bite, a super-effective move on a Dark type. The match was over, and Evelyn won!

Sydney returned to the stage and announced, "This has been a day full of excitement, joy, struggle, disappointment, etc., but now comes the time we have all been waiting for: the final round of the annual Castelia Battle Tournament. The two tough Trainers competing today are none other than... Kyle and Evelyn!"


"Axew, I choose you!"

"Gible, come on out!"

The final battle could have ended up being Servine vs. Monferno, but I felt that this time, the battle should be between the two Pokemon who were equally raised and equally strong!

Axew started the battle by using Dual Chop on Gible, but Gible grabbed the Dual Chop with its teeth and threw it into the air, then used Dragon Rage.

The airborne Axew also used Dragon Rage, parrying its opponents moves. The two moves didn't end up damaging anyone because of their equal strength.

Gible then attempted to use Bite, but Axew also used Bite, both of them trying to place their jaws over their opponent and damage them. That didn't seem to work.

Then, Axew and Gible both used Dragon Rage and blasted each other into the air. Were these two twins or what?

Both Pokemon got up, damaged by each others blast. Gible used Sand Tomb on Axew, but Axew sliced it up with Dual Chop. Then, Axew jumped in for a Bite attack, while Gible tried to use Take Down, a newly learned mive, to deflect it, but ended up getting bitten by Axew. The first serious blow had been delivered!

While Gible was down, Axew had the opportunity to defeat Gible once and for all by using an ultra-powered Dragon Rage. It hit Gible directly! Gible was now surrounded by the move!

"Gible, no!" I shouted.

Inside the Dragon Rage, a blue light shone. From that light, a blast deflected the Dragon Rage and hit Axew square on. From the light came a new Pokemon, so that must mean the Gible had evolved!

"Gabite, the Cave Pokemon, and the evolved form of Gible. While digging to expand its nest, Gabite sometimes finds sparkly gems that then become part of its hoard."

"What kind of Dragon type evolves that quickly?" I wondered, knowing Dragon types evolved much later than your typical Pokemon.

Evelyn shouted from across the battlefield, "Gible is the fastest Dragon type to evolve, only at Level 24, while others get to evolve at around Level 35!"

If Gabite was Level 24, then my other Pokemon must have been above that!

Whatever, I thought. That was not important right now. What mattered was that I beat Evelyn!

Gabite used Dragon Rage on Axew, who jumped and used Dragon Rage back, hitting Gabite square on.

Although it had just evolved, Gabite seemed tired from its battle. Axew, on the other hand, had taken only one hit, but it did seem about as tired as Gabite.

It was time for the final moves. Gabite used Take Down, while Axew used Dual Chop. The two made contact, and of course, a cloud of dust just CONVENIENTLY appeared. When the cloud disappeared, both Pokemon stood, panting. Just when I thought I had won...

Both Axew and Gabite fell to the floor. The battle was a draw?!

Sydney, our MC, looked confused. She then went to the microphone and said, "It seems that both Pokemon are unable to battle, so this battle is a draw! I guess you guys both get trophies for winning, but who gets to battle Burgh in a one-on-one? I'm starting to..."

Burgh then appeared on stage and grabbed the microphone. "Easy, my dearest Sydney. I'll just have to battle them both in a double battle!"

Evelyn and I looked to each other. Did we want to do this?

We both nodded, knowing we had the same answer, and said in unison, "Deal!"