Chapter 9: An Indoor Battle
"Now Croconaw, use Water Gun!" Trent yelled out to his pokemon. The alligator pokemon bloated his cheeks before releasing a powerful water attack on Donphan.
"Dodge, and use Take Down!" Ash yelled.
Donphan leapt to the side just as the Water Gun was about to hit and charged at Croconaw who broke off his attack.
"Dodge and use Bite," Trent ordered. Croconaw stood his ground as Donphan got closer. Then, just as Donphan was about to make contact with Croconaw, Croconaw leapt up right onto Donphan's back and snapped his jaw over Donphan's right ear. Donphan bellowed out in pain as he ran around, trying to smash Croconaw against the walls.
"Donphan, Roll Out!" Ash yelled out. Donphan jumped in teh air and curled into a ball, Croconaw letting go as Donphan rolled away form him, only to turn about at the pole and roll right toward Croconaw again.
"Croconaw," Trent said. "Run toward the fire enginge and slide."
("I hear you,") Croconaw siad as he began running toward the fire engine, Donphan catching up quickly. Just as Donphan was about to roll over Croconaw, Croconaw slid forward under the fire truck and sliding out onto the other side. Donphan, however, couldn't stop rolling as he rolled straight toward the firetruck. Just as he was about to hit the truck, a geen barrier was thrown up between Donphan and the truck. Donphan hit the barrier and his attack had ended, throwing him off his feet and onto his back.
"Croconaw, up and over," Trent ordered. "And then use Slash!" Croconaw smirked before aiming a blast of Water Gun directly upon the ground, instantly shooting him up into the air as he shot over the firetruck. His claws sharpened up as he descended on Donphan who ws struggling to get up.
"Quick Donphan! Use Defense Curl!" Donphan curled himself up again, but Trent had quickly changed strategy.
"Change of plans, Croconaw. Use Brick Break and then Slash!" Using his other paw, Croconaw smashed down hard upon Donphan with enough force that it actually knocked him out from his Defense Curl. Then, with his other paw, Croconaw swiped at Donphan's exposed underbelly, leaving a nice gash of his clawmarks in them. "Now Water Pulse!"
Croconaw bloated up his cheeks again before releasing another wave of water at Donphan. Only difference was, this stream of water had a bit of a pinkish glow to it as it made contact. "Donphan!" Ash cried out as Donphan hit the ground and bounced onto his stomach. Donphan then got up and opened his eyes, revealing a pink glow within them.
"That's not good," Brock said. "Donphan's confused."
"Donphan!" Ash yelled out. "Come on. Shake it off, buddy."
("Clear your mind and focus!") Pikachu yelled out. However, Donphan seemed to zoned out as he began charging at the firetruck, only ending up hitting another green barrier to protect the engine from being damaged. Donphan got up and bellowed again, scraping a paw upon the ground, getting ready to attack the fire engine again.
"Well I think it's high time to wrap this up," Trent said. "Croconaw, use Seismic Toss!
("Donphan!") Pikachu yelled again, this time being Donphan's main attraction as he looked straight at Pikachu, still confused. ("Oh crap!") Pikachu thought. ("I think I just became Donphan's next target.")
As he finished his thoughts, Donphan began charging at him, curling into a ball and using Roll Out toward Pikachu.
"Pikachu!" Ash cried out before running to save his best friend. Ash practically leapt and scooped up Pikachu in his arms just as Donphan reached them. Brock, Harley, and even Trent looked on in surprise by Ash's courageous and bold move to save Pikachu, taking his place as Ash was hit hard by Donphan'a Roll Out, flying into the air and hitting the wall high up above ground.
("Ash!") Pikachu cried out as Ash began to fall, being rescued by Brock and Harley just before he could hit the ground.
"Hey, you all right?" Brock asked.
"A little," Ash said weakly. "I can't breathe much."
"What in the world possessed you to do that?" Harley asked outragingly. "You must have a death wish."
At this time, Donphan had stopped his Roll Out attack and looked around in confusion, the pink glow in his eyes fading. ("Huh? What happened?") The next thing Donphan knew, the entire room seemed to have completely flipped before darkness overcame him.
("Sorry I was a little late using my attack there,") Croconaw said as he gave a sigh of relief.
"Why?" Trent asked, receiving quizzical looks from Ash, Brock, and Harley. "Why did you risk your life for your Pikachu for? Why did you take the hit and receive all the injuries instead of him?"
"Let me ask you something, Trent," Ash said. "You're a firefighter, right?"
"I am," Trent said. "You put your life on the line saving people from burning buildings. I put my life on the line protecting my pokemon because they're more than just creatures used to be battled, they're my friends. And I'd go as far as I have to to make sure that they stay protected. That's why."
Trent stared in shock at Ash as he said this, clearly pondering his words over while, Ash stared at him, never blinking. Brock and Harley just looked between the two as silence occurred for several minutes before Trent spoke.
"You know, you're absolutely right. We all put our lives on the line to protect the people and pokemon that live in this world. And we all do different things to protect. Ash, I want to apologize for my abrupt behavior. When I get too into things, I become hotheaded and act completely irrational."
"It's all right," Ash said. "I have to admit, I get hotheaded at times too. Then I get irrational as well."
"I see," Trent said with a half-hearted chuckle. "Well then, how about we finish this battle rationally?"
"Sounds good to me," Ash said, having a coughing fit before throwing out his last pokeball. "All *cough* right. Come on out! * cough*"
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"Hey!" Dawn said as she followed May and Soledad into the museum. "Where'd she go? She must be pretty fast."
"You don't think she forfeited, do you?" May asked.
"Far from it," Soledad said. "She's using the advantage of the indoors to try and take me down. At all times, I have to be on guard." The three remained silent as they looked about the room, hoping to see Tara's Wigglytuff, but to no avail did they see it.
From the corners of the shadows, to which any of them couldn't see, stood Tara, watching as her opponent searched around for her and her Wigglytuff. She smirked, feeling victorious that she would win the battle. "Now Wigglytuff, use Dynamic Punch!"
Hearing Tara's voice, Soledad, May, and Dawn loked around more quickly, expecting to see her Wigglytuff pop out of hiding. However, they looked every which way but in one general direction: up. Down from the ceiling came Wigglytuff, her paw glowing as she came down upon Butterfree who was smashed hard into the ground, catching the attention of the three females.
"Butterfree!" Soledad cried out as Butterfree crashed into the ground. Wigglytuff jumped off and landed on her feet as Butterfree struggled to get back up. Wigglytuff ran forward again and leapt into the air, crshing down on Butterfree's head, smashing it into the ground. Dawn gasped while May stood there, shocked as Butterfree lied there unconscious.
"Well," Tara said from where she was. "Looks like I win this round."
"I just underestimated you, that's all," Soledad said, returning her pokemon. "Now the real battle begins. Go Pidgeot!"
"A Pidgeot, huh?" Tara said. "This is going to be an even easier battle than I thought. All right, Wigglytuff. Double Team."
Wigglytuff immediately sent out copies of herself and filled the room with at least twenty or so of her. Soledad looked around, wondering which one was teh real Wigglytuff.
"All right then," she siad. "If that's how you want to play. Pidgeot, Quick Attack!" Pidgeot began flying around the room, gaining speed before descending upon all the Wigglytuff, passing through each one of the copies. Passing through the last Wigglytuff, Pidgeot stopped his attack and looked around, spotting no other Wigglytuff in the room as far as he could see.
"It's gone!" May said. "Where'd it go?"
("Hard to hit what keeps disappearing, eh?") came Wigglytuff's voice from the next room over.
"It's coming from that room!" Dawn said, pointing toward the room Wigglytuff's voice came out from.
("I'll find you no matter what!") Pidgeot said as he flew into the next room, the girls right behind him. Into the next room, they went from being in the history exhibit into the painting exhibit.
"Wow!" Dawn marveled. "Look at all these paintings! The artists that made them must have been really artistic!"
"Was that supposed to be a joke?" May asked.
"Where is she?" Soledad wondered, observing the room. "There are so many paintings that her Wigglytuff could blend in with. So which painting would she blend in with most?"
Soledad continued observing the room. There were many paintings hanging on the wall. There were small frames, medium frames, and then there were really huge paintings. And one of those huge paintings had a Wigglytuff in them. "Aha! Pidgeot, use Gust!"
Pidgeot began flapping his wings, creating a powerful gust in the room, targeting the Wigglytuff in front of the painting, or so he thought as the painting fell off, landing flat on the ground, the Wigglytuff being trapped underneath.
"That was the wrong Wigglytuff!" May said.
"So then where's the real one?" Dawn asked.
"I goofed," Soledad said as the real Wigglytuff leapt up behind Pidgeot.
"Now use Slam," Tara's voice came. The Wigglytuff thrust her body downward upon Pidgeot, smashing him hard into the ground before leaping off. "Now use Sing!"
"Quick!" May yelled. "Cover your ears!" All three did so just in time as Wigglytuff began singing, putting Pidgeot to sleep.
"Pidgeot, use Razor Wind!" Soledad yelled, but to no avail did it work.
"Finish this up with Dynamic Punch," Tara said. Wigglytuff's paw glowed as she ran forward, punching Pidgeot hard in the face, knocking him back against the wall. Swirly eyes formed on Pidgeot, indicating that he was down and out.
"Pidgeot!" Soledad cried.
"Whoa!" Dawn said. "I can't believe she managed to take down two of Soledad's pokemon. And she's still on her second pokemon."
"She really knows a trainer when she sees one," May said as Soledad returned Pidgeot.
"Well I have to admit," Soledad said. "You're better than I expected."
"Thank you," Tara said, coming out from her hiding spot. "You're not that bad yourself, but what you lack is the ability to observe with a better eye."
"I still have one pokemon left to beat you with," Soledad said. "So maybe I can try with him."
"Well let's see how well you fare," Tara said.
"Go, my friend!" Soledad yelled, throwing out her last pokeball as it opened up, releasing the pokemon from inside.
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"Vileplume, use Magical Leaf!" the Vileplume's trainer yelled. The Vileplume released a couple of leaves aimed at Rosie the Eevee who dodged them by leaping and spinning in between them.
"Now use Growl!" Heather ordered. Rosie landed and growled rather furiously, causing Vileplume to flinch, giving Heather a chance to attack. "Quick, while it's distracted. Bite!" Rosie rushed forward and bit at one of Vileplume's arms, causing Vileplume to flail her arm around, trying to shake Rosie off. Rosie, getting dizzy from being flailed around so much, released her grip and landed back some right before back flipping high into the air, landing back on top of the book shelf. "Way to go! Now use Iron Tail!"
Rosie leapt off the book shelf as her tail began to glow, diving toward Vileplume, but Vileplume's trainer was ready for this. "I was hoping you'd pull that trick again," she said with a smirk. "Vileplume, Petal Dance!" Vileplume began dancing around, releasing petals from her large petal flower head as they all flew toward Rosie.
"Well too bad," Heather said. "Because I expected you to attack me."
"What?" Heather's opponent said surprised as the attacks hit Rosie, only to have Rosie disappear. "Where'd she go?"
"Now finish this up with Shadow Ball!" Heather said. Vileplume looked around panickly, wondering where the attack would strike from. Nothing could be seen except for rows and rows of books. And in between two books was an Eevee's head with a Shadow Ball in its mouth. The attack was released and hit Vileplume dead on, causing some major damage.
"Vileplume!" the girl cried out as the Vileplume was knocked off from the table it stood upon.
"Now use Iron Tail again!" Heather commanded. Rosie leapt out from her spot, her tail glowing as she she made contact with Vileplume.
"Vileplume, use Stun Spore," the girl ordered. Vileplume was seen getting up and preparing to launch its attack, but Rosie quickly fired up a Shadow Ball and fired it right at the middle where the petals connected, causing one huge explosion.
Once everything was cleared up, Vileplume was seen on the ground, swirls in its eyes. The Vilplume's trainer just looked on in disappointment and defeat. "No, Vileplume."
"You did your best," Heather said. "Good job!"
"Thanks," the girl said, returning her pokemon.
"All right all you people," Heather said, turning her attention to the crowd. "Battle's over. Nothing more to see here for today." People started to disperse from the area, vacating the library to continue on with their everyday lives while others began walking around the place, searchign for a good book to read.
"That was an exceellent battle," Conway commented. "Not once did you switch out your pokemon. I'm impressed."
"Thank you," Heather said. "I'm Heather Styles by the way. Nice to meet you."
"I'm Conway," Conway said. "And these are my friends. Tracy and Drew."
"Hi there," Tracy said with a wave of his hand.
"A pleasure," Drew said. "I've never seen a pink Eevee before. Have you dyed her or something?"
"Yup," Heather said. "I'm definitely into pink. And I just thought it'd look cute to an Eevee like Rosie."
"And I'm guessing that's the reason you named your Eevee that, right?" Conway guessed.
"You're good," Heather said.
"Hate to break conversation, but I'm going to go ahead and see how Soledad did," Drew said. "No doubt she won."
"Oh yeah," Tracy said. "And I wonder how Ash has done."
"Ash?" Heather asked. "You don't mean Ash Ketchum, do you?"
"How do you know him?" Tracy asked.
"I watched him compete against Drake on Pummelo," Heather said. "I originate from the Orange Islands."
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("So I take it that you're a contest battler, am I not correct?") Brian asked, making conversation with Buneary. Buneary stopped sniffing some flowers to look over at him.
('I am,") she said. ("But how did you know that?")
("Ben's a Pokemon Breeder,") Brian said. ("And I'm his top pokemon. He taught me how to tell what pokemon does what in their life and how strong or weak they are by taking note of what they look like and what kind of attacks they have.")
("That's interesting,") Buneary said intrigued. ("So just how could you tell I'm a contest battler?")
("By the way your fur and fluff are well groomed,") Brian said. ("You must have a trainer who cares for you a lot.")
("She does,") Buneary said. ("She cares about me and my team very much.")
("That's always wonderful to know,") Brian said. ("And if you don't mind me saying, I think you look radiantly beautiful.")
("Thank you,") Buneary said, blushing. ("But you must understand, Brian. I'm already taken by someone else.")
("And that much I can understand,") Brian said. ("It's that Pikachu, isn't it? The one with the huge scar across his body?")
("Yeah,") Buneary said, sighing rather depressingly.
("I can tell he's a fearsome warrior in battle,") Brain said. ("Though you can't see it, he's strong. I can see it in his arms and legs. And I hate to poke my nose and annoy you with this, but exactly how did he get that scar? Did you two have some kind of fallout?")
("Brian,") Buneary said irritably. ("I understand that you're only concerned with us, but there is such a thing as pushing it too far.")
("You're right,") Brian said. ("Sorry for pushing. Curiosity does that sometimes.")
("It's fine,") Buneary reassured him with a smile.
("Say,") Brian said. ("I think I heard that there's a cave somewhere nearby in the mountains. Did you, I don't know, want to explore together?")
("Sure!") Buneary said, catching up with Brian before the two of them walked for the caves. As they left the flowerfields, they passed by Machop talking to a Sunflora. Buneary let him know where she was going and he was fine with it. As they walked off, Machop watched after them until they were out of sight. Then, after staring in the same place for a little while longer, he walked off, a smirk forming upon his face.
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Grotle and Alf continued after Staravia, running at a brisk pace to get to where Staravia said there was trouble. ("We're almost there,") he said a few minutes later. ("It's right over this hill.") Trudging up the hill, Grotle and Alf stopped and looked down below to see Staravia flying down to where there was a group of pokemon gathered in front of a familiar looking Chimchar who looked like he was ready to take them all on.
("Oh good grief!") Grotle said, rolling his eyes. ("Here we go again.")
("You know that Chimchar?") Alf asked.
("Unfortunately,") Grotle said. ("He's on my team. Come on. We better go and stop him from getting into any more trouble.") The two quickly made their way down to the bottom of the hill, quickly making their way over to the scene. ("What have you done this time, Chimchar?")
("I haven't done anything, yet,") Chimchar growled, glaring at the group of pokemon before him. ("I was just walking around and they suddenly showed up claiming that I was on thier turf and told me to beat it.")
("And then he got into a fight with us,") said the Tyrogue that stood before them, seeming to be the leader of the group.
("Is this true?") Grotle asked Chimchar.
("No,") Chimchar growled. ("Then I got smart with them and insulted them and now they're the ones wanting to pick a fight.")
("Such a liar,") theTyrouge said.
("All right,") Grotle said irritably. ("i'm sorry if my friend caused any trouble. We'll just turn around and leave and let you all be.")
("No can do, shell brain,") the Tyrogue said. ("He insulted us and now he's going to pay. If you get in our way, we'll take you down just as well.")
("You can try,") Alf said.
("Alf!") Grotle yelled, causing Alf to flinch.
("Sorry,") Alf said guiltily. ("I got worked up.")
("Enough talk,") the Tyrogue said. ("Boys, let's take them.") With those words, Tyrouge's gang charged forward, ready to make a scene.
("You always have to make a mess of things, don't you?") Grotle asked.
("Only when it's the others who make trouble first,") Chimchar said as be burst into flames, becoming a wheel of fire as he spun right into the group of oncoming pokemon.
("Guess we have to do things the old fashion way, huh?") Alf asked.
("Guess so,") Grotle said, releasing a fury of Razor Leaves, making contact with a few other pokemon.
("I'm not one to battle, but I will do what I must,") Alf said, releasing an electric attack, zapping a few more pokemon. The Tyrogue frowned, not very happy about the outcome of the battle as Chimchar returned to Grotle and Alf's side. All teh pokemon who were beaten down got up again.
("Come on,") Grotle said. ("There's no point in fighting. We're clearly more stronger than you are.")
("There's every reason to fight,") the Tyrogue said. ("You invaded our turf and had a friend of yours insult us. We won't back down until we get even.") Tyrouge's gang were up now and beginning to charge once more. Grotle, Alf, and Chimchar all got ready to attack again as the pokemon charged. Suddenly, before anything else could happen, a beam of light shot forth in between the two groups, ceasing everyone from doing anything further.
("Enough of your senseless fighting!") someone said. ("There's no point in any of this. And if any of you have a problem, you can take it up with me.")