There was a good response to the last chapter. Thankfully I seem to have handled the Battle Club sufficiently. That's a good thing as we're going to be there for at least three more "episodes" and perhaps four even. This is for reasons that will be established in this chapter.
Hope you enjoy it – quite a few new moves are going to be learnt here.
Pokémon Indigo League
Episode 10: The Club Battle Tournament Begins
"Mankey!" Ash shouted out to his fighting type Pokémon "You'll have to jump for this one!"
He threw a red coloured clay disc into the air. Mankey sprang into the air and broke the disc apart with a Scratch attack.
"Nice going!" Ash cheered his Pokémon "Alright, Pikachu! Heads up!"
He threw another disc into the air and Pikachu eagerly jumped after it. The little electric type Pokémon twisted in mid-air and swung his lightning bolt shaped tail with everything that he had. The disc shattered with the blow.
"Well, well," said Don George coming over to them "It looks like your Pikachu has just begun perfecting the Slam attack."
"Really?" asked Ash "That's so cool Pikachu! You learned a new move!"
"Pika Pikachu!" replied his starter Pokémon happily.
"How about you, Mankey? Are you ready to learn a new move?"
"Man!" replied Mankey, eagerly.
"Okay," said Ash, throwing another disc "Let's see what you've got!"
Mankey jumped up into the air and this time instead of swiping at the disc with his paw, he struck it with a downwards blow with the side of his opened hand.
"That's Karate Chop." announced Don George "That's a pretty strong move that can sometimes land critical blows."
"This is great!" said Ash "Two of my Pokémon have learned new moves, and we've only been training here for a day!"
Don George nodded and said "The Battle Club is the perfect place for Pokémon to learn and perfect new moves, as well as practice increasing their power, defences and speed. Let's leave these two to perfect their new moves and see how the others are doing."
Ash followed Don George out of the room. Behind them, Pikachu used his tail to pick up a clay disc and threw it for Mankey to strike down with Karate Chop. Mankey then took another disc and threw it for Pikachu to break apart with Slam.
In the next room, Ritchie was busy training with his Charmander, Pikachu and Poliwag. Along one side of the room, there was a display of wooden scenery depicting a hill, a tree, two large boulders and a group of white flowers. From behind each of these, a target would spring out at random, and the Pokémon had to hit them before they disappeared. This was to help Pokémon with the timing of their attacks as well as their aim.
Ritchie's Charmander was practicing using Ember, his Pikachu with Thunder Wave and his Poliwag with Water Gun. Every time one of the Pokémon landed a blow, a bell would sound and the machine in the corner tallied up the total score by each Pokémon. On the machine there was a set of red lights, a set of yellow lights and a set of blue lights. Every time Charmander scored a hit, a red light would light up. Every time Pikachu scored a hit, a yellow light would light up and every time Poliwag scored a hit, a blue light would light up.
"How's it going?" asked Ash.
"Their aim is definitely improving." replied Ritchie "And they're all getting much quicker at responding as well."
A target went up and Charmander scored the hit.
"Wow," said Ash "That was fast."
"It certainly was," agreed Ritchie "Poliwag's the one who's winning the game, though."
"And who has won the most games?" asked Don George.
"That would be Pikachu," said Ritchie "He's won four games. Charmander has won three. If he wins this game, it'll be the first win for Poliwag."
"So Poliwag is finally catching up to your other Pokémon." said Don George "That's good to see. You'll be challenging Brock in no time."
"I hope so," replied Ritchie "We've got to get a lot more training in first though. I want Poliwag to be able to handle the whole battle, but the other three need to be able to hold their own, just in case."
Another target went up and this time it was Poliwag who scored the hit.
Ash and Don George left Ritchie to it.
In the next room Robyn was overseeing her Bulbasaur, Nidoran and Ash's Nidoran as they bounded along on a treadmill. As opposed to the ones set at a slight uphill climb that they were all using yesterday, this treadmill was a special one that featured a small hurdle. Every time it came around, the Pokémon were expected to jump over it, something that they were now doing very well at.
Robyn herself was not just standing and watching. She had changed into a pair of black shorts and a red t-shirt and was jogging along on a treadmill near to the Pokémon.
"Come on, Ketchum!" she shouted to him "Get jogging!"
"Maybe later," replied Ash "I'm going to check on Pidgeotto and Butterfree."
Ash and Don George came to the room containing the aerial agility course where Ash's Butterfree and Pidgeotto were once again in the company of Robyn's Butterfree and Ritchie's Beedrill as they all practiced their aerial acrobat skills as they swerved, swooped, dived and looped through the many different hoops that were either hanging from the ceiling or were mounted on the walls of the room.
Pidgeotto and Beedrill seemed to be locked in some kind of race. The two Butterfree, on the other hand, appeared to be content with flying along side by side at a more sedate pace.
"You guys doing okay?" Ash called out to them.
Each Pokémon cried back enthusiastically.
So far the time spent in the Pewter City Battle Club had been hugely worth it. All of the Pokémon seemed to be getting faster, stronger and more agile, with better reflexes. Each Pokémon was clearly enjoying each activity that it engaged in, each relishing the chance to improve upon their strengths and learn new skills.
Robyn entered the room, a white towel wrapped around her shoulders and a bottle of fresh water in her hand.
"Wow. Those guys are really getting good," she said, referring to the flying Pokémon racing around through the loops above them.
"Yeah, they are." replied Ash "I wonder how Misty is getting on down at the pool."
They went down to the pool room where Misty was training with her water type Pokémon.
Misty was wearing a two piece swim suit, red in colour but with white stripes on the sides. She was in the larger pool with her Pokémon, guiding her Magikarp around the pool as her Staryu and Poliwag swam around in circles, each taking turns to try and strike the other while the other did its best to dodge.
Sparring like this, both of those Pokémon had already learned a new move. Staryu had perfected the Swift attack, whereas Poliwag had come to utilise its tail for the Double Slap attack.
Magikarp, sadly, was failing to keep up. The Fish Pokémon knew only Splash and Tackle, with Splash being a completely useless move that was incapable of doing anything at all. According to Misty, that was all Magikarp would ever learn unless it evolved, and that did not seem like something the water type appeared to be set to do at any point in the near future.
Misty trained Magikarp intensely every chance she got. She loved all water Pokémon, but unless it evolved there was little to no chance of Magikarp ever becoming a powerful asset to her team of water types.
Ritchie suddenly came running into the room, clutching a piece of rolled up paper and called out "Hey, guys! Did you see this poster?"
"No," replied Ash "What does it say?"
Ritchie unrolled the poster and read out "Don George and the Pewter City Battle Club are proud to present The Club Battle Tournament. This tournament is for newer trainers who are eager to experience tournament battling. Entry requires a minimum of one Pokémon, but there is no limit on how many you use throughout the tournament. To sign up, please see the reception desk."
"Wow," exclaimed Misty "That sounds so cool."
"I'm entering." stated Ash.
"Me too." agreed Robyn "I wonder if there's a prize?"
Ritchie examined the poster and read out "First prize it a gift pack containing essential items for trainers, including five Great Balls, six Revives, ten Full Heals and ten Super Potions."
"Sounds good," commented Misty "I'm in."
"Same here," said Ritchie "Come on, let's sign up."
They all collected their Pokémon from the various rooms and then headed over to the reception desk.
"Excuse me," said Ash to the woman sitting behind the desk "We're here to sign up for the Club Battle Tournament."
"You're in luck," replied the woman "We have five places left to fill before the tournament begins this afternoon."
"It starts this afternoon?" asked Robyn in surprise.
"It certainly does," replied the woman "Sixteen trainers will battle it out this afternoon, with the eight winners having their next battles tomorrow morning. The four winners of those battles will have their next battle tomorrow afternoon, with the final taking place the following morning."
"Oh man," exclaimed Ash "We gotta go practice some more!"
He turned to hurry off, but the woman called out "Hold on! I need to know which Pokémon you plan on entering with."
Although there would only be four rounds of one-on-one battles, Ash chose to register all five of his Pokémon so that he was free to pick and choose which one he wanted to use in which situation.
Robyn registered all three of her Pokémon and Ritchie registered all four of his. Misty contemplated not including Magikarp in her line up, but in the end she registered it anyway, figuring that this would be as good a chance as any to try and make some form of improvement to its battle prowess.
Just as they were leaving the reception room, the main doors to the building opened and a voice called out "Oi, you. Reception lady. I wanna register for the tournament this afternoon."
The group turned around and saw that the trainer who had just entered was Damian.
The receptionist was clearly not impressed by his referring to her in such a way, but registered him anyway.
"I thought that this tournament was going to be for beginning trainers." Misty said quietly.
"Not necessarily," said Don George, who had just come up behind them "While most of those participating will be newer trainers, there will be some more experienced trainers there as well. They're permitted to enter so long as they use weaker Pokémon, perhaps ones that they've only just caught and begun to train. I would imagine that Damian would want to make use of his Charmander after what he considered to be a poor performance from it against Assunta yesterday. And he may well have other newer Pokémon to enter with as well."
"He'll be a tough opponent," observed Robyn "Especially with that Charmander on his side."
Ash frowned. He didn't like his chances against Damian. He'd have to figure out which of his Pokémon would put up the best fight if he and Damian were to ever meet in battle.
That afternoon the tournament began. Instead of taking place on one of the indoor battlefields which were regularly used by trainers, this tournament was taking place in an outdoor arena located at the rear of the battle club. The battlefield at the centre was a plain dirt area with the usual white markings in place.
On the south side of the battlefield, and to the west and east end, there were many seats rising up on five levels. All of these seats were full, and it appeared as if everyone in Pewter City and the surrounding area had gathered there to watch the battles that would take place there. The north side was home to a gigantic screen where the scoreboard and close up shots of the battle would appear. Below that was a table with seats for two match commentators to sit at.
Both seats were currently empty.
Ash, Misty, Robyn and Ritchie were all gathered with the other trainers to the right of the commentators' table. Ash was disappointed to find that Gary had apparently decided to not bother with entering the tournament. They might have been rivals, but Ash would have liked to have seen what Pokémon Gary had caught since their last encounter.
All around the battlefield there stood cameramen with their cameras, accompanied by audio technicians holding boom microphones. Apparently this was going to be broadcast on television.
Ash wondered if his mother would be watching.
"Ladies and gentlemen!" came the unmistakable voice of Don George.
Ash turned and saw that the commentators' seats had been filled.
"Allow me," Don George continued "to welcome you all to the Pewter City Club Battle Tournament. My name is Don George and I will be commentating for this tournament. And I am here with Brock, the leader of the Pewter City Gym who has kindly consented to join us here today!"
"Thank you!" came Brock's voice "It's a pleasure to be here to observe some of the new talent coming through. I'm sure that today we will get a glimpse of just some of the great trainers of tomorrow in action!"
A huge cheer went up from the crowd as the audience made their appreciation of their local Gym Leader known.
Don George picked up the thread, "Today's tournament will begin with sixteen trainers facing off against one another for the right to compete in the top eight rounds which will take place tomorrow morning. If you would like to direct your attention to the screen above us, the matchups for this first round are about to be announced."
All eyes turned to the large screen where the faces of each of the participating trainers were shown. A computer then randomly switched the pictures around before moving them into pairs.
"Okay then," announced Don George "It looks like our first battle will be Ash versus Travis."
"I'm up first." muttered Ash as he took his eyes off of the scoreboard and looked over at the real Travis, who was a boy slightly older than him and was wearing an outfit that would suit a fisherman.
"Next," continued Don George "We will have Calvin against Warren, followed by Misty against Marty."
Misty glanced over to her opponent who for some inexplicable reason was dressed as a sailor.
"What the-?" she wondered aloud, though only so the other three could hear her.
"The fourth battle will see Lewis battling A.J. with the fifth battle featuring Ritchie against Rita."
Ritchie turned to look at his opponent, a girl in a girl guides costume.
"The sixth battle will be Damian against Clark…"
Damian didn't even acknowledge his opponent, a small boy who was dressed in his school uniform, apparently having come directly from there to compete.
"The seventh battle will see Giles battling Becky. And the eighth and final battle of the round will see Robyn face off against Molly."
"I'm last up," said Robyn, turning to look as Molly, a girl with brown hair and who wore an orange blouse with a red ribbon and a green skirt.
"Now, will the first two trainers please make their way onto the battlefield." said Brock.
The other three wished Ash luck as he and Travis both made their way onto the battlefield.
A male referee in an orange shirt met them and directed them to take their positions on different sides of the battlefield, with Ash being classed as the red trainer and Travis as the green trainer.
Once both were in position, the referee announced "This battle is about to begin. Will both trainers please send out the Pokémon that they wish to battle with?"
Ash took out a pokéball and threw it, calling out "Nidoran, I choose you!"
On the opposite side of the battlefield, Travis too threw out a pokéball with a shout of "Krabby, you're up!"
Both pokéballs snapped open and the two Pokémon appeared on the battlefield.
Krabby was a small, crab like Pokémon with a red body and claws, and a cream coloured underside and legs.
On the side lines, Robyn took out her Pokédex in order to find out more about Ash and Nidoran's opponent.
Krabby, the River Crab Pokémon. They live on sandy beaches in burrows that they dig themselves. Krabby can grow back its pincers should they ever break off in battle. The pincers are powerful weapons, and are also used by Krabby for balance.
"So Ash has chosen to go for Nidoran while Travis has gone for Krabby. Two interesting choices, don't you think Brock?" asked Don George.
"Very interesting," agreed Brock "Neither Pokémon has any particular advantage over the other in terms of type, so this battle will be all about the skill of battle."
"If we could all turn our attention to the screen where the coin flip will determine which trainer gets to go first…" said Don George.
On the screen a large golden coin with an image of a Magikarp on the front and a pokéball on the back appeared on a black backdrop. The coin flipped and landed with the image of the Magikarp facing upwards. At the same time, the black backdrop turned red.
"There it is," said Don George "The red trainer gets the first move."
"Are both trainers ready?" asked the referee.
Ash and Travis both nodded.
"Begin!"
Ash wasted no time in getting things started "Alright Nidoran, use Horn Attack."
Nidoran reared up onto his hind legs and cried out as the horn on his head took on a white glow and elongated. Then Nidoran landed back down on all fours and charged towards Krabby.
Travis was more than prepared for this however and he called out for a counter move.
"Krabby, use Bubble."
From its mouth Krabby spat a stream of bubbles that spread out across the battlefield in a wide arc.
Nidoran tried to stop itself from charging into the flurry of bubbles, but was quickly surrounded by them. The Poison Pin Pokémon slipped and crashed to the ground where the bubbles enveloped it quickly, hiding it from view.
"That was a good first move by Travis and his Krabby," commented Brock "Ash and Nidoran went for a full scale physical blow, and Krabby's Bubble attack was able to put a complete stop to it."
Some of the bubbles popped out of existence, revealing both of Nidoran's long ears.
"Now Krabby, use Vicegrip." ordered Travis.
Krabby jumped towards Nidoran and trapped one of its ears in one of its sharp pincers.
Nidoran gave a yelp of pain and began frantically trying to throw Krabby off by flailing about wildly, popping most of the remaining bubbles in the process.
"Uh oh!" said Misty "That's not good for Ash. Vicegrip is a pretty strong move and Nidoran shaking about like that can only be doing more harm than good."
"Ash will think of a way to get Krabby to let go." said Robyn confidently.
"Nidoran!" Ash called out to his Pokémon "Use Tackle!"
Nidoran stopped flailing about and instead put his full force into a sudden sideways movement that delivered a heavy blow to Krabby. The River Crab Pokémon was slightly stunned by the blow and its hold on Nidoran's ear slipped a little but it did not let go.
However it was more than enough for Ash to call out his next move.
"Nidoran, jump up and use Double Kick!"
The poison type Pokémon put a great effort into jumping above Krabby. Then, once the water type Pokémon was directly below it, Nidoran swung his back legs violently landing first one and then two kicks to Krabby's shell-covered body.
Krabby relinquished its hold on Nidoran and scuttled away from it, reeling from the double blow.
"That was quite a surprising turn there by Ash," observed Don George.
"Yes, Nidoran managed to not only throw off Krabby but also do some heavy damage at the same time." added Brock "This may have just changed the flow of this battle completely."
"Oh man, that was such a cool move!" said Ritchie excitedly.
Misty, Robyn and Pikachu all nodded in agreement, their eyes not leaving the battlefield.
"Alright," said Ash eagerly "Nidoran, use Poison Sting!"
Nidoran turned its back to its opponent and then reared up on its hind legs. On its back the collection of ten spikes all took on a nasty purple glow. From this a flurry of small purple needles were suddenly released.
"Krabby protect yourself with Harden!" shouted Travis.
Krabby crossed its pincers in front of itself as though bracing itself against the oncoming attack. At the same time its body took on a very slight glow.
The collection of purple needles slammed into Krabby. The water type Pokémon did well to resist the blow, but the fact that it was clearly pushed back a couple of inches by the attack was a clear indication of the force that hit it.
"Krabby!" Travis shouted worriedly to his Pokémon "You okay?"
Krabby raised its two pincers and gave a defiant cry. This cry however quickly became one of pain as a crackle of purple energy shot across its body. Krabby slumped onto the ground, breathing heavily.
"And Krabby has been poisoned by Nidoran's Poison Sting!" announced Don George "That will really tip the balance heavily in Ash's favour."
"We're not beaten yet!" shouted Travis "Krabby use Bubble again!"
Krabby pushed itself to stand up and spat a wave of bubbles at Nidoran, but Ash was more than ready.
"Use Poison Sting one more time!"
Once again Nidoran turned its back to the opposing Pokémon and shot a flurry of purple needles from the spikes on its back.
The needles shot through the bubbles, popping each one as they themselves burst from the impact.
Another crackle of purple energy coursed through Krabby's body as the effects of the poisoning weakened it still further.
"Now use Horn Attack!" ordered Ash.
Horn once again surrounded by a white glow, Nidoran charged towards Krabby who by this point was simply too weak to defend itself, despite calls from its trainer to use Harden.
Nidoran delivered its blow to Krabby and the water type Pokémon was thrown back. It crashed to the ground several feet away and did not get back up.
The referee raised his flags and announced "Krabby is unable to battle. Nidoran wins. Ash will continue on to the next round!"
Cheers went out across the stadium as Nidoran turned and jumped up into Ash's arms for a hug. Opposite them a dejected Travis recalled Krabby to its pokéball and then walked off of the battlefield.
"I think that we can all agree that that was a stellar performance from both trainers in this first battle." said Don George.
"Absolutely," agreed Brock "One trainer lost, but both should be proud of the fight that their respective Pokémon put up. I hope that the second battle will be just as exciting."
"Will the next two trainers please step onto the battlefield?" said Don George.
"Wow, Ash that was amazing!" exclaimed Robyn as Ash and Nidoran joined her and the others on the side-lines.
"Thanks," said Ash "That Krabby was a tough opponent, but I knew that Nidoran would come through for me."
He patted Nidoran on the head and the small poison type Pokémon practically purred with affection.
There was the sound of someone chuckling nearby and they all turned to see that it was Damian.
"If you've got something to say then say it!" demanded Ash.
Damian smirked at him and said "It ain't nothin' really. Just that if ya found that weak li'l Krabby to be tough then you oughta jus' drop outta this tournament righ' now. Cuz there ain't no way you're gettin' to the final round with that kinda performance."
"What?" asked Ash heatedly, but a hand on each shoulder stopped him.
"Cool it Ash." said Misty.
"Yeah," agreed Robyn "Rising to his bait is just what he wants."
"Pika." said Pikachu by way of agreement.
"Nido." put in Nidoran.
Damian chuckled again and turned away.
"That jerk." muttered Ash.
"Just ignore him." said Misty.
"Ash, you'd better pay attention to this battle." said Ritchie in an attempt to divert Ash's attention elsewhere "Whoever wins will be the person that you face in the next round."
"Yeah," agreed Ash turning towards the battlefield "You're right."
Out on the battlefield Calvin and Warren had taken up their positions, Calvin at the red end and Warren at the green end.
The referee again called for both trainers to send out their Pokémon.
Calvin, a small boy in blue shorts, a white t-shirt and a blue baseball cap chose a Spearow, a Pokémon that Ash was by now more than familiar with. Warren however sent out a Pokémon that Ash had seen before, but only in battles that he had seen on television, as well as in a couple of books. He took out his Pokédex to find out more.
Raticate, the Rat Pokémon, is the evolved form of Rattata. It uses its whiskers for balance. Raticate can gnaw on anything using its tough fangs, even concrete buildings. If attacked it stands up on its hind legs, bears its teeth and hisses intimidatingly at the opponent.
"Sounds like a tough opponent." stated Ritchie.
"I gotta say my money is on that one." added Robyn.
The coin flip allowed the green side to go first.
"Raticate, use Quick Attack!" ordered Warren without preamble.
Raticate, a large, light brown, rat-like Pokémon hissed and charged across the battlefield, leaving a silvery white trail behind it.
Calvin called out to his Spearow "Use Double Team!"
With a cry, Spearow flew up and its body shifted rapidly and a series of several other Spearow appeared. Raticate shot straight at one of these and it vanished. The other fakes and the real one flew about, hiding the real one from view.
"Now use Fury Attack." said Calvin.
The real Spearow and its doubles all dive-bombed onto Raticate and began to inflict repeated pecks on Raticate's body, although only the real one was actually doing any damage.
"Feel out the real one and use Hyper Fang." ordered Warren.
Raticate stood its ground, bracing itself against the repeated blows being inflicted upon it. Then, quite suddenly, it turned and lunged at one of the Spearow.
All of the others disappeared as the real Spearow was caught between Raticate's large teeth. It flailed about, trying to break free, but Raticate's jaws were too strong and the Rat Pokémon simply bit down harder.
After a few moments Spearow stopped moving.
Raticate opened its mouth wide and the flying type Pokémon fell to the floor.
The referee raised his flags and announced "Spearow is unable to battle. Raticate wins. That means that Warren will be advancing to the next round."
"That was so quick." commented Misty as the crowd in the stadium broke out into cheers.
"Yikes." said Ritchie.
"Yeah." agreed Ash, looking worried.
"There you have it folks," said Don George "The second battle is over, and in record time to boot. Okay, will the next two trainers please step onto the battlefield?"
"That's me." said Misty, stepping forwards.
"Good luck." said Ash.
Misty quickly took up her position in the red corner as her opponent, Marty, took up his position opposite her.
"I wonder what her opponent's Pokémon will be." Robyn pondered aloud.
"We'll soon find out." said Ash.
"Trainers, choose your Pokémon!" the referee called out.
Misty took out a pokéball and kissed the top of it before throwing it out onto the battlefield. Surprisingly it was Magikarp.
"What the-?" exclaimed Ritchie.
"Why go with Magikarp?" asked Robyn "She didn't even want to register it in the tournament in the first place."
"She's trying to train it up though," said Ash "Maybe she's just using it now because if she gets knocked out now it won't matter. Doing so later would just be an insult to any other Pokémon she uses."
Misty's opponent, Marty, threw out a pokéball of his own and his choice of Pokémon appeared on the battlefield. It was a jellyfish-like creature, with a large blue body, with two large red crystals on either side of its body, and one in the middle at the front. It had two small eyes and was balancing itself on two brown-grey coloured tentacles.
"That's a Tentacool." said Robyn "They're meant to be dangerous." she looked to Ash and Ritchie "Do you remember summer last year when we couldn't go down to the beach and swim?"
"Yeah," said Ash "It was because of a bunch of Tentacool, right?"
Robyn nodded and said "For some reason they swarmed together and came much closer to land than is normal. When they're in the water, you usually don't know that they're there until you get stung by one."
Ash took out his Pokédex.
Tentacool, the Jellyfish Pokémon. Tentacool usually drift along in the sea, and deliver poisonous stings to any potential prey that swims by. They often poison fishermen who catch them by mistake, and have been known to sting careless swimmers. Ninety nine percent of its body is made up of water.
"So it's a water type and a poison type," said Ash, lowering his Pokédex and looking back out onto the battlefield "I wonder how well Magikarp will do against it."
The coin flip determined that Marty would get the first move, and he wasted no time in calling out "Alright, Tentacool! Let's see a Water Gun attack!"
From below its blue body, Tentacool shot a jet of water that rocketed over the battlefield and drenched Magikarp.
It looked like it had been a powerful blow, but Magikarp simply flopped about lamely on the ground, almost looking as if it had been completely unaffected by the attack, even though it must have been.
"Magikarp seems to have shrugged that attack off completely." observed Don George.
"Though we could be wrong." added Brock "It can be hard to tell with Magikarp.
"And that's how you take an attack!" said Misty confidently "Okay Magikarp, now use Tackle!"
Magikarp seemed to put a bit more effort into its flopping about and struggled across the battlefield towards Tentacool.
Marty was ready though and called out "Tentacool, use Constrict."
Once Magikarp came within reach of it, Tentacool reached out with its two tentacles, wrapped them around Magikarp and began to squeeze.
"That's not good." said Ash.
"Magikarp's attack was stopped completely." said Robyn.
Misty seemed unperturbed, however, and simply called out "Magikarp keep trying to use Tackle."
"Keep Constricting it Tentacool." ordered Marty.
Tentacool kept its tentacles wrapped firmly around Magikarp and continued to squeeze as Magikarp flopped about trying to attack.
"And there seems to be a problem with Misty's battling style," observed Don George "Her Magikarp seems to be incapable of doing anything at all at the moment."
"With only Tackle and Splash in its arsenal, any Magikarp would find this situation tricky." added Brock.
"Nothing's working." said Ritchie.
"It's not over yet." said Ash "Magikarp can still do something. It just needs to get into the right position."
Magikarp was still flopping about, with Tentacool refusing to let go.
"Come on Magikarp!" Misty shouted encouragingly "You can do it!"
And miraculously, it did.
Magikarp's tail hit the ground at just the right angle and with just the right amount of force to give Tentacool a violent shove. The Jellyfish Pokémon overbalanced and toppled into its back. Its tentacles flipped upwards and loosened their grip on Magikarp, launching the Fish Pokémon into the air.
"Unbelievable!" shouted Don George "Magikarp has successfully worked itself free of Tentacool's grasp and taken to the air!"
"I don't think any of us saw that coming." added Brock.
"That's perfect Magikarp!" Misty shouted "Now use Tackle!"
Using its tail to twist its body in the air, Magikarp turned so that it was facing downwards and plummeted towards Tentacool, who moments later got a face full of red scales.
"Keep going like we practiced!" shouted Misty.
With seemingly renewed vigour, Magikarp thrashed its tail down hard against the ground in order to become airborne again. Then it once again crashed down on top of Tentacool before repeating the process again.
"Whoa!" exclaimed Ash and Ritchie together.
"I didn't think Magikarp had that in it." said Robyn.
"Clearly Misty has trained her Magikarp well," said Don George "That's four consecutive Tackle attacks in a row… now it's five… six…"
"Marty had better think up something quick before his Tentacool gets hammered into the ground." observed Brock.
A seventh Tackle attack landed on Tentacool, followed by an eighth before Marty managed to pull himself together and call out "Poison Sting, Tentacool!"
As Magikarp went airborne again, Tentacool twisted itself around and shot a series of purple needles from its tentacles at Magikarp.
The poisonous needles hit their mark and Magikarp was thrown away from Tentacool.
"And there it is," said Brock "the counter strike."
"Has Magikarp been poisoned though?" asked Don George.
Magikarp was once again flopping about seemingly aimlessly on the ground. Apart from a slight bruise where the poisonous attack had landed, Magikarp appeared to be fine.
"It seems that Magikarp's scales were able to protect it from that side effect." said Brock.
"One cannot help but wonder just what Misty plans on doing now that her Magikarp is no longer close enough to Tentacool to make good use of its Tackle attack" said Don George.
"Tentacool, use Water Gun." ordered Marty.
Once again Tentacool shot a powerful spray of water towards Magikarp.
"Dodge it!" ordered Misty.
Magikarp managed to flop out of the way of the attack, causing it to splash harmlessly onto the dirt battlefield, leaving a patch of mud.
"Tentacool, try a Poison Sting!" shouted Marty.
Tentacool raised its tentacles and shot another collection of purple needles at Magikarp.
Misty had a plan in mind though and called out "Magikarp, get into the mud and use Splash!"
Magikarp flopped its body into the muddy patch of ground and began to flop about with extra vigour.
Although the Splash attack was famous worldwide for doing absolutely nothing at all, in this case it produced a surprising and highly useful side effect.
As its body flailed about uselessly, it did manage to kick up a lot of the mud. Tentacool's Poison Sting attack collided with this mud and effectively neutralised.
"And would you look at that!" exclaimed Don George "By making use of a change in the surface of the battlefield, Misty and her Magikarp have been able to turn a completely useless move into an effective counter for Tentacool's Poison Sting attack!"
"Now that's strategy!" said Robyn, clearly impressed.
"Wow," said Ash "Trust a water type specialist to bring out a Magikarp's true power."
The entire stadium watched as the cycle repeated itself once again before their eyes. In an attempt to get back at Magikarp, Marty had his Tentacool use Water Gun. Misty had her Magikarp dodge again, resulting in more mud. Marty called for a Poison Sting attack, but Magikarp blocked the attack but Splashing about in the mud again.
"Of course!" exclaimed Ash "I get it now."
"Care to explain it to the rest of us?" asked Ritchie.
"Misty knows that her Magikarp is only so good so long as it is close enough to Tentacool to land a Tackle attack. But she also knows that it is too slow to get close enough on its own, so she is trying to make Marty have Tentacool move in closer by making both Water Gun and Poison Sting ineffective."
"But Marty won't send his Tentacool in closer as he knows that it'll mean that Magikarp can actually attack." said Robyn.
"Then it's just a matter of who's patience lasts the longest." said Ritchie.
Ash nodded in agreement and said "Either Marty will get fed up and order Tentacool to use Constrict, which with leave it open to attack from Magikarp, or Misty will give up and send Magikarp in to use Tackle, at which point Tentacool will probably finish it."
Misty was clearly enjoying herself as her Magikarp did an excellent job of dodging Tentacool's Water Gun and blocking Tentacool's Poison Sting, so there clearly was only going to be one outcome.
With two of Tentacool's attacks being rendered completely useless by Magikarp's antics, it wasn't long before Marty gave in and decided to just hope that using Constrict would pay off before Magikarp could get in a Tackle attack.
However, it was not to be. Whereas Magikarp's body allowed it to be perfectly at home wallowing about in the soaking wet mud, Tentacool's tentacles, capable of allowing it to swim in the sea or crawl across dry land simply slipped out from beneath it in the mud, causing the water and poison type Pokémon to fall face down into the mud.
Misty saw her chance and she took it.
"Alright Magikarp, it's time to end this! Use Tackle now!"
The mud allowing it to hold itself upright, Magikarp swished its tail from side to side. The slippery surface allowed Magikarp to speed up greatly, and it collided heavily with Tentacool, who was knocked clear out of the muddy patch of ground and landed on its back on top of the dirt.
"Tentacool is unable to battle, Magikarp wins." announced the referee, raising his flags "The trainer going through to tomorrow's round is Misty."
With an excited cheer, Misty ran out onto the battlefield, where she picked up her Magikarp and hugged it tightly to her.
She returned to the side lines where her friends congratulated her on her win as Don George called for the next two trainers to come out onto the battlefield.
Of the two new trainers, Lewis was dressed in a straw hat, string vest and blue shorts. A.J. had spikey green hair and was wearing an orange and black shirt.
The fourth battle did not take long. Lewis and his Paras put in a good effort, but despite suffering from a paralysis caused by Paras' Stun Spore attack, A.J's Sandshrew managed to get in a game changing move.
"Sandshrew!" shouted A.J. "Use Fissure!"
Sandshrew jumped up into the air and then dived towards the ground. It drove its right paw deep into the ground and a jagged line of light shot out ahead of it. From this line the battlefield literally tore apart, creating a massive fissure in the ground.
Paras disappeared into the Fissure and was completely lost from view.
After a few moments of silence, the referee approached the fissure to look in. One of the cameramen followed him. On the large screen an image showed the inside of the fissure. Paras was lying on a rocky ledge at least twenty feet below completely out of it.
The referee raised his flags and announced "Paras is unable to battle, Sandshrew wins. A.J. advances to the next round."
"And we're going to take a short break here in order to allow the battlefield to be put back together." announced Don George.
"Well that was terrifying." stated Robyn.
"You think that was terrifying?" asked Misty "I'm the one who has to face him in the next round!"
"Sandshrew is a ground type Pokémon though." said Ash "Your Staryu or Poliwag should handle it with ease, so long as you can strike it first."
"Knowing that you are a water type trainer might make him choose to not use Sandshrew at all." added Robyn.
The battlefield was quickly put right by the tournament officials, and then Ritchie and his opponent were called out onto the battlefield.
"Trainers send out your Pokémon." said the referee.
Ritchie took a pokéball and called out "Beedrill, let's go."
Opposite him Rita, still in her girl guides costume, took out a pokéball and threw it, calling out "Squirtle, you're up!"
The small blue Tiny Turtle Pokémon appeared opposite Ritchie's Beedrill.
"That'll be a tricky opponent." said Misty.
"I wonder who will win." said Ash.
And if you wonder too, then you will have to wait until next time, when the exciting Club Battle Tournament will continue…
Okay, so it might be cruel to leave it there, but four of the first round battles seems like enough to be getting on with for now.
I hope you've enjoyed the tournament so far. It was great fun righting Ash and Nidoran's battle against Travis and his Krabby, and so was Misty and Magikarp's battle against Marty and his Tentacool.
Before anyone decides to point it out, yes I am well aware that Raticate is usually referred to as "The Mouse Pokémon" as opposed to "The Rat Pokémon" however in Generations 1 and 2 it actually was called "The Rat Pokémon" along with Rattata. This was changed for both of them in Generation three, making them "Mouse Pokémon" along with Pikachu, Raichu, Sandshrew and Sandslash. I don't know why they changed it, they just did. And I don't know why Sandshrew and Sandslash are called Mouse Pokémon, as they are clearly not based on mice but armadillos and pangolins. I can't justify it, and nor can anyone else, but I don't make the rules!
Also I must apologise. Before now I said that Pikachu would not learn a new move for a while and that Slam would belong to Ritchie's Pikachu. However the idea for this little tournament did not exist then and in planning it, it became necessary for Pikachu to have the move. And anyway, it was Take Down that was planned for Ritchie's Pikachu, not Slam, so my mistake!