Revised.
Chapter 10
"Blake-kun!" A feminine voice called out, a silhouette dressed in a bright pink kimono moving through the thick forest in search of the small boy she had lost track of a few minutes ago.
"Yumi-nee-chan! I'm over here!" A small, childish voice shouted, giving away his location. The female turned around, beginning to move in the direction of the voice. After a quick power walk, the girl entered a small clearing in the woods, finding a small boy with spiky black hair dressed in a silver kimono.
He was small in comparison to the wooden structure he stood in front of, staring at the Ilex Forest Shrine. Seated on top the Shrine was a small purple, dragon type Pokemon that.
"Blake-kun. I've told you not to run off like that at least a hundred times." She said, approaching the boy.
"Sorry, Ryuu-chan ran off this way and I chased after him. I found him on top of this thing." The boy explained sheepishly before pointing at the Shrine. "What is it Yumi-nee-chan?"
"This is the Ilex Forest Shrine. It was built to honor the Forest Guardian during the Old Days." The girl explained as she lifted the small purple Pokemon off of the Shrine, placing it in the arms of the boy who happily accepted it.
"Who's the Forest Guardian?"
"A Legendary Pokemon that was said to be living in this forest, protecting the Pokemon that lived here during the Dark Days. In a way, this Shrine has a lot to do with you." She continued, glancing down at the small child beside her, giving him a soft smile.
"It does?"
"Yes. When you're older we'll explain everything to you. But for now, just spend time with Ryuu and stay healthy." She said, getting a wide smile from the boy who gave her an energetic nod.
"Yes Yumi-nee-chan!"
"Come on, let's get back to Ecruteak City."
"Do you think Nozomi will make some more of that fried fish?" He asked as the girl led him along the pathway by the hand.
"You really liked her fish didn't you?" She asked in return, getting a nod in return. "I'm sure she will."
"Hooray!" He cheered before the cheerful scene shattered with a huge crack of thunder and a flash of light.
4/27/0046/Morning
Ilex Forest
Blake awoke with a fright, his upper body jerking upward which result in his forehead meeting with Shari's. Shari yelled in pain, holding her forehead while Blake took a moment to calm his breathing, unaffected by the pain on his head.
"It's about time you woke up." Grace commented, zipping up her backpack.
"W-Where are we?" Blake asked in a rather strained voice, looking at his surroundings through his blurry vision.
"Ilex Forest." Grace answered calmly. Blake took a few moments to clear up his vision by blinking and rubbing his eyes before the thick canopy above became clear and defined in his eyes.
'That dream again.' Blake noted as the memories of the day before returned to him.
"Are you feeling better now sleepy head?" Shari asked as she held her head, receiving a nod from Blake along with a rather unconcerned apology for bumping heads.
Blake rose to his feet, taking a few breaths of air, taking in the scent of the forest before he let out a deep sigh.
"Come on, Goldenrod City is waiting for us." Blake said, grabbing his backpack from the ground which he slung over his shoulders.
"To Goldenrod City!" Shari shouted, pointing north, the direction they would be traveling in.
Route 34-Afternoon
The group had finally gotten out of Ilex Forest and in record time too. Getting used to daylight was first thing, but the second thing was the hundreds of trainers that filled up this Route battling each other since the Goldenrod Battle Dome would be hosting matches tomorrow night. Everyone was preparing to face off with their next Battle Circuit opponent.
Unlike the route he had taken traveling from Violet City to Azalea Town, Blake took note of the large road that would lead them directly to Goldenrod City. Roads were rather rare across the Pokemon world as many people still traveled on foot. The luxury of having a car was something only successful people could enjoy, commoners would have to settle with remaining physically fit by riding a bicycle everywhere or walking.
"Whoa, so many people to battle." Blake said, as the detached Larvitar's Poke-ball from his belt.
"Sorry Blake, but if you plan to get a match for tomorrow night, you'll need to get to Goldenrod today." Shari said, pulling him along by his jacket collar.
Goldenrod City-Night
Goldenrod City, the mecha of the Johto Region. The city itself held almost a quarter of the the population of the Johto Region and it was also one of the largest tourist attractions for Johto. Tall skyscrapers stood at the center of the town, the buildings beginning to decrease in height as you moved farther away from the heard of the city. During the day the city was quite a sight to behold, but once the sun went down was when Goldenrod City showed its true colors.
Neon lights decorated the streets, advertising restaurants, clubs, any kind of hangout spot to unwind after a hard day of work. It was gorgeous sight. On the west side of town was a huge seaport, the second largest one in Johto. This seaport became the sight where foreign trainers were often challenged by the trainers of Goldenrod City in a feeble attempt to make sure that all foreign trainers understood that this was their stomping ground.
Resting comfortable on the east side of the city was largest Battle Dome belonging to the Johto Circuit that possessed a slight castle theme to it with the four keeps it had at the edges of the building. This Battle Dome could fit over ten thousand people in it, more than any other Dome in Johto, it was also the location of the Rookie Kings. It was also recognized as one of the two Battle Domes that was often used for special competitions because the four small Domes it had branching off from the Main Dome. The only other Battle Dome to have something like this was the Blackthorn Battle Dome.
Battle Dome
Grace and Blake burst through the front doors, surprising the Nurse Joy who had been seated behind her desk, quietly reading a magazine to pass time before closing.
"Good evening, can I help you?" She asked politely, shutting the magazine to focus on the two trainers that had approached her desk. Blake and Grace were clearly struggling to speak now that they had completed their sprint through Goldenrod City, trying to calm their breathing.
"A match." Blake muttered in between gasps for air.
"Okay, I'll need your name and license." She replied, peering over the counter the two of them. Blake pulled out his Pokedex while Grace fished a small plastic card out of her backpack.
Nurse Joy entered their names, waiting to see where the two of them would be placed in the match order for tomorrow.
"Alright, Blake you will be match number six. Grace...you're the main event." She exclaimed the last part before she did a double take, comparing the picture of Grace on her computer to the actual Grace. 'No way, its Grace!'
"Thank you." Grace said quietly as she and Blake accepted the items that had given to Nurse Joy earlier.
"Good luck tomorrow night." Nurse Joy said, waving to the two of them until they left the Battle Dome, leaving Nurse Joy to give a sigh of defeat. "What a day to forget my autograph board back at home."
4/28/0046/Night
Goldenrod Battle Dome
Blake quietly walked out into the stadium, looking up at the stands that were packed out once again for the main event of the night. The only thing that could bring in such a huge crowd beside a Title match was a battle at the IBF level or higher.
The fans were already loud. Just the anticipation of the main event made them cheer for anyone so long as the battle was ended in a decisive manner.
"And here comes match number six. In the blue box, we have an R-Class trainer who goes by the name of Blake with a one hundred percent win ratio with one match!" The announcer declared, waiting a moment to see if the crowd to catch on the fact that Blake only had one match. "In the red box, we have another R-Class trainer named Ronald with a record of nine matches, six wins and three losses."
"Ronald, we had better see you in the Rookie Kings!" Some on the fans called out to the other teen in the red box. Blake could only conclude that Ronald must have been battling in Goldenrod City the entire time for the fans to know his name.
"Trainers, Clash!" The ref shouted as Blake and Ronald made their choices. Both of them threw their Poke-ball's onto the field which rushed toward each other, sparks flying out in all directions on contact. Both of the sphere's bounced back from each other, opening up to release a Poliwhirl on Blake's side of the field and a Machop for Ronald.
"Battle begin!" The ref shouted, silencing the crowd completely.
"Poliwhirl, use Water Gun!" Blake called out, starting the battle with the initial attack.
"Poli-whirl!" It shouted, firing a strong jet of water at Machop from the center of the swirl on its stomach. Machop stood in place, crossing its arms in front of its torso to block the attack. But even with the strong guard it had created for itself, Machop still found itself being pressed backward by the strength of the Water Gun.
"Machop, move out of the path of that Water Gun and then attack with Karate Chop!" Ronald shouted, watching as the small fighting type Pokemon jumped to the side to step out of the blast of Water Gun before it began to sprint toward Poliwhirl while raising its left arm.
"Poliwhirl, engage with Pound!" Blake called out. Poliwhirl ended its usage of Water Gun and raised its to arms into an orthodox stance, waiting for Machop's first strike. Noticing that Poliwhirl was waiting for it to attack as it approached, Machop changed its attacking angle, using a horizontal chop as opposed to the vertical one it would normally use.
Poliwhirl blocked the attack with its forearm, but it was knocked off balance by the raw power Machop possessed in its small body, leaving it open for Machop to follow up.
"Low Kick!" Ronald shouted as he spotted the opening for them to land a strong hit. Machop dropped down low and preformed a sweep kick, easily removing Poliwhirl's legs from under it. On instinct alone, Poliwhirl extended one arm as it fell, using that to stop its fall before it transitioned into a cartwheel to put itself back on its feet, no harm done from the attack.
"Get it Poliwhirl!" Blake hollered. Poliwhirl lashed out Machop with three harsh blows to its body, leaving the small fighting type to clutch where it had been hit before Poliwhirl sent it stumbling backward from a solid hit to the head.
"Machop!" Ronald exclaimed as Machop reoriented itself by shaking its head before glaring at Poliwhirl. "Nice, try Karate Chop again!"
"Poliwhirl, catch Machop's wrist when it attacks." Blake said, watching as Machop approached Poliwhirl a second time with Karate Chop, although this time it used a vertical chop as its first attack. Grabbing Machop's wrist, Poliwhirl successfully stopped its attack, but as Blake observed the two, he could see that their arms were trembling. Machop was trying to force its attack in anyway. "Poliwhirl, attack with Water Gun!"
If Machop was physically stronger than Poliwhirl, then they would use Poliwhirl's advantages as best they could. Machop had no time to react as Poliwhirl unleashed a close range Water Gun that sent it flying away. The fighting type Pokemon rolled as it hit the ground in a desperate attempt to reduce the damage that was done from the attack.
"Finish it with Bubblebeam!" Blake commanded while Machop was struggling to return to its feet.
"Poliwhirl!" It shouted before it fired a horde of sparkling bubbles at Machop, the continuous attack wiping out the remainder of Machop's help which effectively ended the battle.
"Nice Poliwhirl." Blake said to the water type Pokemon as it hit its chest repeatedly while the ref checked out Machop who hadn't moved at all after taking the Bubblebeam attack.
"Poliwhirl is unable to battle, the winner is Poliwhirl and Blake." The ref said, raising Blake's flag as a sign that he had won the match. The crowd began to cheer, watching as Blake motioned for Poliwhirl to follow him out of the stadium, one arm raised in victory.
"Well you've been waiting for it folks and now its finally going to start. Tonight's main event!" The announcer declared, starting a chant for Grace. "She came as a last minute entry, but Grace, one of out trainers in the IBF, has returned to Johto after battling in both Kanto and Hoenn."
The chant of Grace's name only increased in volume as the dark haired girl into the stadium, briskly walking to the red box as she was introduced. She had a huge following in Johto as many people recognized her as the rival of the Johto Champion Meegan J. Once she was in her spot, Grace began to shuffle from one foot to the other, struggling to decide what Pokemon would be best to use for this important.
"Tonight is Grace's battle to become an SS-Class trainer with a prefect record of seventy nine matches and seventy nine wins. But her opponent is no pushover. Tonight we'll be hosting another trainer that in the IBF, a girl from Hoenn that goes by the name of Kelly. Her record consists of sixty seven matches, sixty four wins and three losses. This is sure to be an interesting match!"
The ref rose his flags, the signal for both trainers to prepare for the Clash.
"This will be a three on three Pokemon battle. Trainers, are you ready?" The ref asked, receiving a nod from both of the girls as the selected a Poke-ball. "Clash!"
Blake stood alone near the bottom level of the stands which was the closest to the battle, staring intently at Grace. There was a lot he could learn from her, especially in a Clash. Grace her Poke-ball a simply toss on to the field, although Blake could clearly see that she had placed a fast counterclockwise spin on it as it flew toward Kelly's who had thrown a fast, straight forward pitch.
Just before the two spheres made contact Grace's swerved out of the path of Kelly's to avoid taking a direct hit before slamming it into the side which effectively turned this into a one sided Clash. Kelly bit her bottom lip as Poke-ball was sent flying, proof that she had clearly lost in this Clash as her now damaged Beedrill took shape on the field.
On Grace's end of the field stood a proud Electabuzz who charged up a bit of electricity in between the two antenna on its head to show that it was read to battle.
"Battle begin!" The ref shouted, dropping the flags to to start the match.
Blake shrugged. This was an easy finish if Grace at the type advantage.
"Electabuzz, use Thunderbolt!" Grace shouted. Electabuzz gave a shout as it charged up a large quantity of electricity in its body before it fired it straight up into the air.
"Beedrill, dodge it!" Kelly ordered as the bolt of electricity made an arc in the air, turning down toward Beedrill. The bug type Pokemon remained silent, unable to move from all of the damage it had sustained during the Clash. Beedrill disappeared inside of the yellow light produced Thunderbolt when it, the powerful attack wiping out the rest of its health.
Beedrill dropped to he ground, its eyes replaced with black swirls that matched the color of its charred body.
"Beedrill is unable to battle. Match continue!" The ref declared, getting a huge uproar from the crowd at how quickly Grace had knocked out the first Pokemon. Kelly quietly returned Beedrill to its Poke-ball, thanking the Pokemon for its effort before selecting her next Pokemon.
"Vigeroth, let's go!" Kelly shouted, releasing her second Pokemon onto the field. "Start off with Slash."
"Electabuzz, dodge it and use Focus Blast!" Grace ordered as Vigeroth rushed across the field, closing in on Electabuzz. The normal type began to swing its arms vigorously at Electabuzz, aiming to tear it apart with its sharps claws, but with Electabuzz's high speed, it continued to evade the attacks with ease.
After a few moments, Electabuzz jumped backward while clapping its hands together to created faded white orb with a blue core for its Focus Blast attack.
"Vigeroth, don't give it time to charge that move!" Kelly shouted, ordering Vigeroth to continue its high paced assault. Despite Vigeroth's efforts, Electabuzz continued to dodge its attacks while charging to the Focus Blast until the attack was fully prepared. Taking the orb in one hand, Electabuzz thrusted it forward at Vigeroth, aiming for its face. But Vigeroth ducked beneath attack.
Taking this opportunity, Vigeroth threw its arm upward, landing a huge upward Slash attack on Electabuzz's torso which forced the electric type to stumble back from the unexpected hit as the Focus Blast collapsed from its loss of concentration.
"Alright Vigeroth! Now follow up with Brick Break!" Kelly shouted now that Electabuzz was completely open for a finisher."
"Electabuzz, use Thunder Wave!" Grace said quickly as Vigeroth dashed in at her Pokemon.
Electabuzz launched a blind Thunder Wave out in all directions, sending the electrical current through the ground. As Vigeroth stepped into the range of the Thunder Wave, and electrical cage rose up from the ground it, halting the normal type in its path.
"Vigeroth, move!" Kelly shouted, but it was too late. The electrical cage closed up around Vigeroth, placing a paralysis on it.
"Electabuzz, attack with Fire Punch!" Grace shouted, preforming he punching motion herself as Electabuzz began to move toward Electabuzz who was unable to move at this moment. Electabuzz raised its right hand which became engulfed in flames before it hammered away Vigeroth with to dwindle its health down to nothing before Electabuzz when in for the finisher. "Now finish it with Focus Blast!"
"Come on Vigeroth, dodge it!" Kelly hollered at her Pokemon, hoping that it would willfully break free of the paralysis for a few moments as Electabuzz charged up the sphere once more. Electabuzz took the Focus Blast in one hand once again which it proceeded to slam into Vigeroth's torso. There was a moment of silence followed by a flash of light before Vigeroth could be seen sailing through the air.
The normal type Pokemon hit the ground rolled a few times before it came a stop, revealing that a pair of black swirls had taken the place of its eyes.
"Vigeroth is unable to battle." The ref said after checking the Pokemon, the crowd cheering for another victory for Grace. "Match continue!"
"Just as the predictions said folks, Grace has gone this far into the battle with out losing a single Pokemon. Let's see if she can continue her winning streak with Electabuzz." The announcer said as Kelly returned Vigeroth before making her final choice.
"Kadabra, you're my last hope so let's do this!" She said, throwing the Poke-ball into the air to release her final Pokemon.
"Kadabra." It said, pointing toward Electabuzz with its spoon.
'Let's go one full offense mode now!' Grace said to herself. "Electabuzz, start of with Fire Punch!"
"Kadabra, counter with Psycho Cut." Kelly ordered as Electabuzz closed in on Kadabra, reeling its fist back throw a haymaker at Kadabra. Kadabra quickly swung its small spoon in a horizontal arc in front of it, cutting through the air with ease which created a distorted space in front of it.
Electabuzz threw it hand into the blurry area, its hand disappearing in the hazy space. Then combination of the two attacks exploded, creating a thick cloud of black smoke around the two Pokemon. The cloud billowed for a few moments before Kadabra emerged from the smoke, taking flight about the field using psychic energy.
"Kadabra, use Psychic!" Kelly shouted when she could see that her partner had taken no damage from the explosion. The black smoke was parted immediately by Kadabra who's eyes had become a dark blue. In the center of the smoke, Electabuzz could be seen by the fans in the highest seats being forced down to the ground from the pressure of the Psychic attack.
Grace still couldn't see what was taking place, but she could assume that Kadabra was targeting Electabuzz with its Psychic.
"Electabuzz, use Thunderbolt!" Grace shouted, the command reaching her partner who began to charge up electricity in its antenna.
"Kadabra, use Psycho Cut again!" Kelly shouted, watching as her psychic type Pokemon swung its spoon in a vertical arc this time. But unlike the first time, a pink crescent was fired from the distorted space don toward Electabuzz.
Electabuzz, on the other hand, fired one single large bolt of electricity up toward Kadabra which hit the Psycho Cut, stopping it in its tracks.
"Full power!" Grace shouted, throwing her fist into the air, a smile creeping onto her face.
"Be-Be!" Electabuzz shouted, increasing the power of its attack which in turn increased the size of the Thunderbolt, blowing away what remained of the smoke.
'Damn, if that Thunderbolt hits it'll finish off Kadabra, but the only other option to is to let go of Electabuzz and I don't like that idea either.' Kelly said to herself, trying to make a quick decision. The sight of the Psycho Cut being pushed backward toward Electabuzz hastened her decision. "Kadabra, let go of Electabuzz and use Psychic to divert the Thunderbolt!"
The movements were quick. Kadabra released its hold on Electabuzz just as the Psycho Cut broke down, giving the Thunderbolt clear passage toward Kadabra. Kadabra then focused on the approaching Thunderbolt, knocking the attack to its left just in time to avoid taking in kind of damage.
"Electabuzz, Fire Punch!" Grace called out.
Kadabra let out a sigh of relief once it had successfully diverted the Thunderbolt attack, only for it to draw a sharp breath when it heard a shout from its trainer Kelly. Electabuzz was in mid air next to its, its fist in the position to land a powerful hook. Kadabra only had a moment to look at the attack out of the corner of its eyes before Electabuzz drilled its fist into Kadabra's jaw.
The psychic type Pokemon was sent sailing to the ground where it rolled a few times, losing its spoon in the process, but it still wasn't finished yet. Slowly trying to return to its feet, Kadabra showed will that earned quite a few cheers from the fans before Grace decided that it was time to end it.
"Electabuzz, end this with Thunderbolt!"
Electabuzz unleashed a volley of electrical bolts that flew out in all directions before heading toward its intended target. The weakened Kadabra.
"Kadabra, look out!" Kelly shouted.
"Kadabra!" The Pokemon roared as it was hit by numerous electrical blasts that wiped out what remained of its health. Kadabra finally collapsed from this attack, unable to continue battling from the massive hits it had taken.
"Kadabra is unable to battle. The winner is Grace in the red box!" The ref shouted, raising the red flag. The spectators burst into cheers for Grace's victory, shouting for her to continue her IBF conquest and head straight for the World stage.
Kelly rushed onto the field to check on her downed Pokemon, gently lifting up its torso to see how it was doing. "Even though you lost Kadabra, you did an amazing job."
Kelly returned her Pokemon to its Poke-ball, giving Grace a wave before she left the stadium.
"There it is people. Little Miss Grace has won yet another match, becoming an SS-Class trainer. Will she make the top of the IBF?" The announcer asked, looking down at the field where Grace was quickly approached by a news reporter that would be putting together a story to improve Grace's popularity.
"So Grace, after tonight's performance, everyone here can see that you could definitely aim to become a World class trainer. What's your next goal at this very moment?" The reporter asked, silencing the loud crowd.
"Well right now, I'm planning on entering the IBF Tourney. From there I was going to win the whole thing and go on to take the IBF Title!" She said into the microphone with great enthusiasm causing an uproar in the stands.
"And what are your thoughts on the Johto Champion Meejan J. In her most recent match she declared that she will be heading up to the IBF as well."
"Meejan J. She's a strong trainer, I'll give her that. I can tell she's going to enter the IBF Tourney as well just to battle against me. During that tournament we'll settle the score to see who's the real Johto representative. But until then, I'll be leading Johto back to the World stage!" Grace replied, taking the microphone from the reporter as she was speaking.
"Thank you Grace. Congratulations on becoming an SS-Class trainer and we all wish you luck in the IBF Tourney. All of Johto will be backing you up." The reporter said as he took back his microphone from Grace who only gave him a grin.
"Isn't that right folks!" The announcer shouted from his box, getting shouts of agreement from the crowd.
Grace looked up at the fans that were screaming her name, giving them a V for victory along with her Electabuzz.
Grace found Blake waiting in the lobby with his headphones. As she returned to the corridors of the Battle Dome, Grace was hounded by dozens of people that wanted to get autographs and pictures, so it took her quite some time to get back to the lobby.
"What was all that at the end of the battle?" Blake asked as he removed his headphones, wondering what could cause her personality to change so drastically.
"Sorry. Whenever I have a good battle I start acting like this until my nerves cool down." She replied with a nervous laugh. Blake took a moment to think about before he shrugged. He simply concluded that Grace was weird.
"Let's get going." Blake said as he rose up from his seat. He could really use some sleep right now.
"I hope you two aren't going on a date. We've got work to do." The one voice Blake didn't want to hear called out to him. Turning around, the duo found Shari standing behind them with her hands on her hips.
"What ever it is, can we do it tomorrow?" Blake asked as Shari latched onto both of their arms, beginning to drag them out of the Battle Dome.
"Nope!" She said a little too cheerfully. Blake glared at her, although she remained unaffected by his menacing stare. "Team Rocket doesn't work during the day."
Please Review. What did you think of Grace and Blake's battle? Give me any thoughts on it please.
And I'd also like to give thanks to Radioblue2 for the first three Pokemon Team. I'm actually glad I got one so early because that meant this senario wasn't set up by me for Grace to win, I actually had to think about it. The Rookie Kings Tournament and the IBF Tourney I'll needing a few more teams if anyone has any they'd like to give.
IBF - Inter-Regional Battle Federation