Terror at the Pokemon World Tournament
Chapter Four: The Second Round- Part One
Terror abounds at the Pokemon World Tournament now that Matthais has revealed his true power. Boasting of a possessing the highest level of connection between Pokemon and Trainer, Matthais led his Hydreigon in crushing Georgia's Beartic, and Georgia herself, stealing both their souls in order to increase his own power. With defeating Matthais in a battle being the only way to free the stolen souls, our heroes can only watch in anticipation as the second round match ups are being determined.
"Okay. It's time to decide to match ups for the second round!"
Everyone watched with bated breath as the pictures of the remaining contestants were shuffled around.
"And the results are. . ." the the voice of Freddy said as the pictures paired up and stopped, "Trip vs Dawn, Ash vs Misty, Virgil vs Iris, and Matthais vs Paul!"
"Finally!" Matthias shouted triumphantly, and he pointed at Paul threateningly, "Justice will be served! You're going straight to Hell!" And he left without another word.
Paul just turned away and said, "Like I'm supposed to be afraid of him. . ."
"Uh, don't you think you should?" Cameron asked tentatively.
"Hmmph!" Paul replied.
Cameron clenched a fist, "Well excuse me! Well, when your soul gets stolen-."
"Cameron, calm down!" Virgil said as Riolu and Eevee both were jumping up on Cameron's legs to get him to back off.
"No one's soul is gonna get stolen," Cilan said resolutely.
Trip stepped forward and said, "Paul is going to win. He knows he's better than that punk."
Ash held out his hand towards Paul, "Good luck, Paul. But be careful."
Paul didn't take Ash's hand, and simply turned to the side, "I don't need luck, and I don't need to be careful. You on the other hand. . ."
Ash pouted and folded his arms, "Gosh, I'm just trying to be nice."
"Ash," Misty said gently, "Let's just. . .battle with all our might so. . .that is. . .in case. . ." Misty was clearly very worried about Matthais.
"Hey! No need to worry!" Dawn said as she put a hand on Misty's shoulder, "Let's just focus on the battle right in front of us. If one of us has to deal with Matthais, then we'll deal with him when the time comes."
"Dawn is right," Iris said cheerfully, "Let's just try our hardest and keep moving on!"
"Ax-ew-ew!" Axew cheered.
"I just want Matthais to get what's coming to him," Stephan said darkly as he rubbed his sore back.
Burgundy sat in the corner, with her head in her knees. She looked up slightly, her eyes dark and filled with hate. "That goes double for me. . ." she said.
"And now, for the first battle of round two, Trip vs Dawn!"
The two Trainers stepped out onto the battlefield.
"Go, Mamoswine!" Dawn said as she released her Pokemon.
"Serperior, let's go!" Trip declared as he threw his Pokeball.
Both Pokemon appeared and stared each other down.
"Mamoswine's an Ice-type, so he has the advantage!" Iris said.
"Don't forget Serperior's speed, and Mamoswine is weak to Grass-type moves. So there really is no true advantage. This will be a difficult battle for Dawn," Cilan warned.
"Ready. . .begin!"
"Mamoswine, use Ice Shard!"
Mamoswine fired shards of ice from its mouth.
"Dodge it, Serperior, then use Energy Ball!" Trip commanded.
Serperior dodged it effortlessly and then launched a green ball of plant energy at Mamoswine.
"Counter with Hidden Power!" Dawn shouted.
Mamoswine shot smaller balls of energy at the Energy Ball. However, the Energy Ball plowed through the Hidden Power and scored a direct hit on Mamoswine.
"Mamoswine!" Dawn shouted out in concern.
"Use Wrap!" Trip commanded.
Serperior quickly snaked around Mamoswine and began squeezing him tightly.
"Oh no!" Dawn shouted.
Trip smirked.
"Show him we mean business! Use Ice Fang!" Dawn shouted.
"Quick, use Dragon Tail!" Trip shouted.
Just as Mamoswine was about to bite Serperior's tail with Ice Fang, the tail started to glow a bright blue, and smacked him the face.
"Keep it up, Serperior!" Trip said.
Serperior hit Mamoswine in the face with Dragon Tail over and over again, until finally, the repeated attacks combined with the squeezing of Wrap cause Mamoswine to loose consciousness.
"Mamoswine is unable to battle! Serperior and Trip win!"
Serperior released Mamoswine and slithered back over to Trip. Trip stroked Serperior's head and said, "Good job, Serperior. You showed them your speed and strength."
Dawn rested her head against Mamoswine's side. "It's okay, you did your best. You'll do better next time, you'll see!" she said, and she recalled him into his Pokeball.
"Trip's Serperior was so fast!" Dawn said to the others, "He just dodged and attacked and countered so quickly!"
"I know, Trip and Serperior must have done a lot of training," Ash said, "Especially after he lost to Alder that time."
May put a finger to her chin, "Alder. . .he's the Unova Champion, right?"
"Well with those moves, I'm pretty sure he stands a good chance!" Max said.
Our next battle is Ash vs Misty!
The crowd cheered as the Trainer entered the arena.
"Be careful, Ash! I've gotten stronger since the last time we met!" Misty said with a smile.
"Well then it's a good thing I've gotten stronger too!" Ash replied.
Misty winked as she took out a Pokeball, "Hm. . .we'll see about that! Go, Gyrados!"
"Go, Unfezant!" Ash said.
The two Pokemon were released.
"Why didn't Ash use Snivy or Pikachu? He'd have an advantage," Max said.
"That's Ash's battle style, for you!" Cilan said with a chuckle.
"Pikapi!" Pikachu cheered. Axew, Riolu, and Eevee joined in as well.
"Ready. . .begin!"
"Gyrados, use Flamethrower!" Misty said.
"Dodge it!" Ash cried.
Unfezant flew out of the Flamethrower's path.
"That's why I didn't choose Snivy!" Ash said with a smile.
"Not bad, Ash," Misty said, "But can you dodge this! Use Whirlpool!"
Gyrados formed a whirlpool in its mouth and threw it at the flying Unfezzant.
"Dodge it!" Ash cired.
Unfezant tried to get out of the way, but was caught by the edge and spun around within until she was thrown out and onto the ground.
"Come on, Unfezant! Get up!" Ash urged.
"Alright, now use Hyperbeam!" Misty commanded.
Gyrados built up energy in it's mouth.
"Come on, Unfezant! I know you can do it! Please get up!" Ash begged.
Unfezant slowly opened her eye and craned its neck to see Gyrados charging its Hyper Beam. Just as Gyrados fired it, Unfezant flew up into the air and dodged it.
"Way to go, Unfezant!" Ash cheered.
"Alright, let's try that again! Use Whirlpool"
Gyrados threw another Whirlpool at Unfezant.
Ash stared at it, and then an idea flew into his brain.
"That's it!" he gasped, "Unfezant, use Aerial Ace towards the edge of the Whirlpool!"
"What is Ash doing?" Iris exclaimed.
"I think Ash is having one of his bright ideas!" Cilan said.
"What the heck-?" Trip thought. He tapped Paul on the shoulder, "I think you'd better take a look at this."
Unfezant flew into the Whirlpool, and was soon being twirled around the outer edge, still glowing white from the Aerial Ace.
"What's going on?" Misty thought nervously.
"Alright, Unfezant! Give it a burst of speed!" Ash shouted.
Unfezant flapped its wings a few times, and shot out of the Whirlpool and slammed right into Gyrados. Gyrados was sent rolling across the arena from the direct hit.
"Now do a loop-de-loop, and Aerial Ace one more time!" Ash shouted.
Unfezant flew up towards the roof, pulled into a dive, and screamed down towards Gyrados glowing white. She connected right underneath Gyrados' chin, and knocked it senseless.
"Gyrados is unable to battle! The winner is Unfezant and Ash!"
The crowd went wild as Unfezant landed next to Ash.
"Awesome, Unfezant! Take a good rest," Ash said as he put her back into the Pokeball.
"You did an awesome job, Gyrados. We were so close," Misty said as she drew Gyrados back into the ball. She then turned to Ash and said, "Wow! You really did get stronger! That move was incredible!"
"Thanks Misty! You're Gyrados is strong too. That's why I used Gyrados' Whirlpool to power up Unfezant's Aerial Ace!" Ash said with a smile.
"Well, Ash is a little better than we thought," Trip said.
Paul rolled his eyes, "Hmmph! Please. Misty just got cocky and allowed him to take advantage of Gyrados' whirlpool in a clever way. There's no way I'd ever be that careless."
"I hope you aren't. . ." Trip said.
"What? You think Matthais could beat me?" Paul replied with one eyebrow raised.
"Matthais is not like anything I've ever seen," Trip said with a worried look in his eyes, "And after what he did to Georgia-."
"Are you seriously buying all that stolen soul nonsense?" Paul spat, "All they did was get hit on the head really hard. They're just on comas, their souls weren't stolen That's fairy tale nonsense! And I'll prove it by crushing Matthais. Then I'll win this tournament."
Trip only stared at his angry eyed friend as he bit his lip nervously.
"Next we have Virgil vs Iris!"
As the crowd cheered, Iris smiled and pointed, "Let's do this Axew!"
Axew jumped out of her hair and took a battle stance.
"Glaceon, let's do this!" Virgil said as he released his Pokemon of choice.
"Ready. . . begin!"
"Glaceon, use Ice Beam!"
"Counter with Dragon Rage, Axew!"
The two attacks met at the center and canceled each other out in an explosion.
"Now use Scratch!" Iris said.
Axew ran forward with his claws outstretched.
"Dodge it! Jump!" Virgil said urgently.
Glaceon jumped and dodged the Scratch attack.
"Perfect. . ." Iris said with a smile. Then she shouted, "Axew! Use Giga Impact!"
Axew's body became surrounded in energy. A bright flash of yellow light appeared in front of his face as it looks up towards Glaceon. He then shot himself at Glaceon and an orb of light purple energy with spiraling light yellow streaks around it appeared around Axew's body. He slammed into Glaceon's chest, flinging him into the air where he landed a few feet away.
"What-?! Alright! No more fooling around!" Virgil shouted, looking very determined, "Glaceon, Icy Wind!"
Glaceon was still on the ground, but he lifted his head and released a blast of cold air towards Axew. Axew shouted out in pain as the Icy Wind hit his legs, causing him to fall to his knees.
"Axew!" Iris shouted in concern.
"Now use Blizzard!" Virgil commanded.
Glaceon sent a mighty burst of ice and snow out which washed over Axew, causing him to cry out and hug his body for warmth.
"Finish it with Ice Beam!" Virgil shouted.
Glaceon shot out the freezing laser, which hit Axew square and froze him in a block of ice.
"AXEW!" Iris shouted in horror.
"Oh no, Iris!" Dawn gasped.
"Well I guess it's all over for Axew," Stephan said sadly.
"NO! There's gotta be something they can do!" Cameron said. He grabbed his head band and pulled on it until it stretched a few inches out. He then released it, and it snapped hard around his head. "AH!" Cameron shouted in pain, clutching his rattling skull, "I've got nothing!"
"There is one way she can win."
Everyone turned to see Matthais approaching.
"If she really wants to be a Dragon Master, then she must let her heart become one with Axew's. Then, they would be unstoppable."
"We're not interested in anything you have to say!" Stephan shouted while jumping up and pointing at Matthais.
"Look, believe what you want. All I know is that I know what I'm talking about," Matthais said, "Let's just watch and see what Iris can do. . ."
"Come on Axew, don't give up! You have to break free!" Iris cried desperately.
Axew remained frozen in the ice.
"You can do it, Axew! I believe in you!" Iris shouted, "We've worked so hard, came so far, we can't loose! Not here! Not now!"
Iris put a hand over her heart, "We're in this together, Axew, you and me, together! We can win this together! Just know that I'm here, and that I believe in you! That's what being a Dragon Master is all about!"
Virgil just stood in amazement as Iris spoke to the frozen Dragon-type. He looked at Axew, and gasped in disbelief when he saw cracks forming in the ice.
"You can do it, Axew!" Iris shouted, "Break free! Break free from the ice!"
More crack formed, and from within, Axew's eyes seemed to gain a red tint to them.
"Do it! AXEW!" Iris shouted.
There was a sound like shattering glass as Axew burst worth from the ice with a shout. Axew's eyes were glowing red, and an aura of the same color eminated from him.
"That's Outrage!" Virgil gasped.
"GO NOW!" Iris shouted.
Axew ran forward and unleashed a barrage of scratches, kicks, punches, slaps, and head butts at Glaceon. Already weakened by the Gig Impact, Glaceon was no match for the onslaught, and quickly lost consciousnesses and was left lying slumped against the wall.
"Glaceon is unable to battle! Axew and Iris win!"
The crowd roared the loudest it has ever roared as Iris ran up and scooped Axew up into her arms.
"Axew! You did it! YOU DID IT!"
Axew had managed to avoid getting confused after Outrage this time, and smiled and cheered along with Iris in victory.
"There," Matthais said with a smile, "Now that's the mark of a budding Dragon Master. Their hearts are nearly one. However, she has much more work to do. Perhaps battling her after Paul will be quite interesting."
Ash suddenly jumped up and said, "Hey! Who says you're gonna be fighting her next?!"
"How sweet, you're worried about her," Matthais mused.
"What Ash means," Paul interrupted, "Is that you are going to use to me."
Matthais burst out laughing for the third time that day and left towards the contestant lounge.
Trip stared at the battlefield, "What Iris did. . .it was amazing. . ." he thought. Then he looked at Paul, who walked calmly towards the waiting room for the next contestant. Trip followed after him quickly.
"WOW!" Max shouted, "That was totally awesome!"
Axew stood proudly as Pikachu, Eevee, and Riolu gathered around him, talking excitedly.
Virgil walked in and said, "That battle was amazing, Iris. It was mind blowing how you made that comeback. Absolutely incredible."
"It helps that Axew and I are really close!" Iris said, "We were fighting together. Even though Axew was frozen, I sorta, felt his spirit and I gave him my strength so he could break free!"
Cilan struck a thoughtful pose, "Hmmm. . .Matthais said that a Dragon Master must let his heart become one with their Pokemon."
"It looks like he was right about that. . ." Brock added.
"I wonder if Paul can beat him?" Dawn said nervously.
"We're just gonna have to wait and see," Misty said.
"Hey, where's Trip?" Stephan asked.
"I don't need your 'good lucks' or 'be carefuls'!" Paul said as Trip approached him, "I have enough skill to crush Matthais!"
"But don't you see?" Trip said urgently, "This is bigger than you, or me, or any of us. Matthais took their souls."
"I don't believe that!" Paul spat bitterly.
Trip growled and said, "Grr! Fine! Just listen to this. It's too late for you to become one with your Pokemon like he says, so you just have to give it your all and don't hold back a thing! Hit him with everything you have. Cause if you don't, then I'll have to!"
"Whatever," Paul said as he walked into the arena.
Trip sighed and though to himself, "What a strong Trainer. Headstrong that is. He just won't listen. He's not that bad a guy underneath. But he needs to realize that there's more to Pokemon battles than strength. I learned that lesson when I lost to Alder. If only Paul would learn that lesson too. . ."
"And now it's time for the final battle of round two! We now have Paul vs Matthais!"
There was cheering for Paul mixed with boos for Matthais as both Trainers walked into the arena.
Matthais was wearing his red trench coat again, and it kicked up behind him as he pointed at Paul and said, "Today is the day you pay for your crimes against the Pokemon Race, evil one!"
Paul just gave Matthais a cold, long, hard stare.
And so, the final battle of round two has finally come. Will Paul meet the same fate as Matthais? Will Matthais prophecy of a battle between him and Ash come true? Or will Paul be the one to undo all of Matthais' dark power? Stay tuned!
TO BE CONTINUED. . .