Back with the battle chapter; tried to explain how it all happened and how intense the battle was along with what each trainer was thinking.
This is the first all-out well described battle; and I think it turned out pretty well.
"Gallade, use Shadow Sneak!" Anabel commanded her pokémon telepathically.
Gallade glowed black in colour before vanishing completely, leaving Sceptile without a visible target. Sceptile stopped and looked around in confusion; his eyes failing to lock on to the creepy shadow on the ground moving towards him. Suddenly, Gallade shot up out of the shadow and slashed at Sceptile, knocking him back a couple of feet.
"C'mon Sceptile, while he's close, use Leaf Storm!" Angie ordered, trying to take advantage of the situation.
The bulbs on Sceptile's back started glowing a light green and he immersed himself in a tornado of glowing leaves, before sending it towards Gallade at close-range. Gallade, with little time to react, tossed up its arms to try and defend itself against the attack. Leaves battered Gallade, the impact nearly sending Gallade flying, but he managed to hold his ground. Slowly, the attack died down and revealed a slightly-damaged Gallade along with a tired Sceptile.
"Gallade, how about a Rock Tomb?"
Gallade stomped on the ground, sending through it a small shockwave; all of a sudden, four large rocks shot up surrounding Sceptile, crushing him and sending shockwaves of pain through his body.
"TILE!" Sceptile roared, the excruciating pain from being trapped being too intense to hold out for much longer.
"Ummm, Sceptile! Get out of there with Leaf Blade!" Angie shouted, complete worry taking over.
"Scep-TILE!" Sceptile shouted, the blades on his arm glowing a strong green in colour as he slashed his way through the rocks, shattering them and leaving the floor coated with rubble.
"Now Gallade, use Psychic!"
Gallade's eyes flashed a bright blue and the rubble of the Rock Tomb became surrounded by a blue aura; the rubble started spinning into a vortex and formed a tornado of pebbles and pieces of rock. Gallade thrust its arm forward and the tornado seemed to respond, moving towards Sceptile while growing in intensity.
"Uh-oh…" Angie thought, the tornado instantly instilling fear in her. "This looks exactly like Sceptile's Leaf-"
"That's it!" Angie shouted. "Sceptile, use your Leaf Storm again!"
Sceptile responded affirmatively, the bulbs on his back beginning to glow that familiar bright green colour; leaves started to circle around Sceptile until it resembled a vortex of its very own. Sceptile remained in the center as his tornado grew and grew, until Gallade's rock whirlwind collided into it. The two cyclones exploded, sending pieces of rock and leaves everywhere. Gallade and Sceptile braced for cover, rocks and leaves occasionally battering and bruising them. Eventually, the debris cleared up and revealed a panting, but still standing Gallade, and Sceptile, lying on the floor and about to be Angie's first loss.
"C'mon Sceptile, get up! I gotta show her I can battle too!" Angie shouted, hoping to will Sceptile back into battle…however, Sceptile remained motionless, urging Maron to make a decision.
"Sceptile is unable to bat-"
"Scep…" Sceptile interrupted with a groan, using his arms and all the strength he had to push himself back to his feet. "TILE!" he roared, his body becoming engulfed in a green aura.
"What's that?" asked Angie.
"Your Sceptile's using his Overgrow," Anabel explained, though with a very condescending tone.
"Awesome, now Sceptile, use-"
"Sceptile!" Sceptile shouted, using a hand to wave Angie off. Once Angie was quiet, Sceptile started charging a ball of energy in its hands; a small opaque ball of energy that was turquoise in colour.
"That's…that's Dragon Pulse," Angie exclaimed. "I thought only Dragon-types could learn Dragon Pulse…oh well," Angie shrugged, ecstatic over this new move.
"Gallade, finish this with a Close Combat!" Anabel ordered for the first time with her voice.
Gallade charged towards the revitalized Sceptile, the blades slowly withdrawing into his elbows. Gallade's fists and ankles began to glow with a red aura and Gallade readied a punch, eager to finish this battle once and for all. As Gallade closed to within a couple feet of Sceptile, Sceptile fired the Dragon Pulse attack, which Gallade countered with a punch, causing a large explosion; hiding the two pokémon in a thick blanket of smoke.
"SCEPTILE!" Sceptile shouted, obviously taking a strong hit from Gallade.
"Sceptile, block it with Leaf Blade!" Angie shouted, doing her best not to lose this battle.
Sceptile understood, putting his arms in front of himself and doing his best to block every hit Gallade was sending towards him. The heavy smoke refused to let up and the result of each trainer's commands remained completely hidden from view. Nearly a minute passed before the sounds of punches, kicks and the sheathing of air halted, raising the suspense to a level Angie had not previously felt.
"Don't you guys have like a vacuum or something? How can I battle if I can't see if Ash-my pokémon is okay?" Angie shouted, immediately correcting herself, something Anabel quickly caught on to.
"She couldn't mean Ash Ash, probably just some other guy. Besides, what's she doing here without her own pokémon? Maybe I should show her what a true loss feels like just for that…but what if it is my Ash…I guess I have no choice but to battle," Anabel concluded mentally, the hazy smoke beginning to fade away drawing all of her attention.
The two dark figures in the smoke slowly became more visible and within seconds it was clear that only one pokémon was still on its feet and that once the smoke cleared away, there would be an official victor. The dust finally settled, the first battle was over…and Sceptile lay on the floor, eyes in swirls, with Gallade standing over him, tired and kneeling, but standing nonetheless.
"Sceptile is unable to battle. The winner is Gallade," announced Maron, the red flag in his right hand pointed in Anabel's direction.
Angie sighed; she hoped Sceptile would've been able to at least take out one of Anabel's pokémon, but she was proving to be stronger than she thought.
"Maybe Ash was right; maybe I don't stand a chance," Angie sighed, her doubt growing as she recalled Sceptile to its poké ball.
She said it again, and Anabel heard it loud and clear this time…and apparently he didn't believe that this girl could beat Anabel, Salon Maiden of the Battle Tower. "Does Ash really believe in me that much…or is it that he doesn't believe in her very much…" Quickly trying to find some kind of deep answer in such a small comment was doing nothing for Anabel, and instead she decided to respond to Angie.
"Are we going to battle or what?" Anabel sighed. Secretly, she wanted Angie to continue; maybe she would lead her back to Ash. The mere thought of his name made her cheeks tinge a light pink and she closed her eyes.
"Ash…is it really you?" she whispered to herself, making sure neither Maron nor Angie could have a chance at hearing her.
Angie's face turned red with anger and she snatched the second poké ball off of her belt. "Go Torkoal!" she shouted. Torkoal materialized from the bright white energy released from the ball.
"Gallade, start off with a Shadow Sneak," Anabel commanded mentally, reverting back to her empathetic advantage.
Gallade disappeared into the ground, replaced by a rather large shadowy shape which started to slither towards Torkoal, who watched all of it happen in confusion.
"Um, Torkoal…use your Iron Defense!" ordered Angie after she thought over the situation. To tell the truth, she wasn't used to battling with a defensive pokémon with defensive moves, but it was the only choice she had.
Torkoal's body became outlined in a light blue aura and his limbs tensed up, bracing for impact at any time.
"Pikachu, do you have those Tamato berries all crushed up?" asked Ash, himself separating the red granules of a Razz Berry from the stem on a tree stump near the lake. Seeing a mushy pile of Tamato berry, he stood up and looked around. "Pikachu, can you try and fill this bowl with water?" Pikachu happily nodded.
"Good…everything's going according to plan…I wonder how Angie's doing…?"
"Good job Torkoal, now hit it with your powerful Flamethrower attack!" Angie shouted; ever since Gallade got struck by that burn from Torkoal's Flamethrower, the battle became completely one-sided. Gallade's attacks started doing much less damage to Torkoal and in turn damaged Gallade to the point of near-exhaustion.
Torkoal unleashed a powerful Flamethrower attack towards Gallade, the flames singing the field as it zoomed past.
"Dodge it, then counter with Close Combat!" Anabel ordered.
Gallade prepared to jump, but became engulfed in flames from his burn before he managed to get out of the way. Gallade, being hit simultaneously by his burn as he attempted to dodge the oncoming torrent of fire, became unable to budge and took the attack head-on. Completely engulfed in flames, Gallade collapsed to the ground with a mere cry of its name and swirls in his eyes.
"Gallade is unable to battle. The winner is Torkoal," Maron shouted, sounding somewhat surprised at the result himself. Torkoal released a powerful blast of smoke from its shell to celebrate its victory.
"Thank you Gallade, you were amazing," Anabel smiled, a rare occurrence for her recently, and recalled Gallade to his poké ball. "Not bad for a rookie," Anabel smirked, her delve into Angie's emotions some time ago having apparently revealed her inexperience and slight nervousness. Angie ignored it, completely focused on the match. "I guess it's time for Round 3; go, my friend!" Anabel shouted, tossing a poké ball onto the field which opened to reveal a beautiful and focused Espeon.
"Oh man, it's an Espeon…I love Espeon…and Glaceon and Umbreon…and anything that evolves from Eevee…ugh…why does she have one?" Angie angrily thought, temporarily forgetting about the battle at the mere sight of Espeon; a small battle cry from Torkoal snapped Angie out of her thoughts.
"Nice pokémon, let's give it a proper welcome; Torkoal, use Gyro Ball!" Angie shouted in response.
Torkoal tucked its limbs into its shell and began to spin, the edge of its shell becoming rimmed with a light blue energy. Suddenly, it rocketed towards Espeon; its body only a blur surrounded by thin blue ring of energy.
Anabel channelled her way into Espeon's mind and gave the Sun pokémon its order. "Espeon, stop it with Psychic."
Espeon's eyes glowed a light blue and Torkoal's shell became enveloped in a light blue aura. Torkoal slowed to a stop several metres above the ground; Torkoal untucked its limbs, flailed wildly and began to cry, scared of being trapped in Espeon's powerful psychic attack, but to no avail. Espeon swung its paw forward and sent Torkoal flying at a high speed towards the wall beside Angie.
"Torkoal, use Iron Defense!"
Torkoal's shell hardened until it was nearly impervious to damage before smashing into the wall, protecting Torkoal from any serious damage.
"Now Torkoal, jump and use a Flamethrower attack!"
Torkoal's pushed off the wall and jumped in Espeon's direction while launching a powerful Flamethrower that seemed to scorch the air itself.
"Espeon, Zap Cannon!"
Espeon charged a ball of electricity from the gem in its forehead and fired it towards the oncoming stream of fire. The inferno quickly dispersed as the Zap Cannon charged through it, slamming into Torkoal with full force. Torkoal flew across the room and slammed against the ground right in front of Angie with swirls in his eyes.
"Torkoal, please get up!" Angie pleaded, but Torkoal was completely out of energy and refused to move.
"Torkoal is unable to battle, Espeon is the winner," Maron announced, his right hand pointing the red flag in her direction for a second time. Angie sighed while Anabel patted her Espeon on the head.
"You did great Torkoal, now take a good long rest…" Angie smiled, recalling Torkoal back to its poké ball. She had only one pokémon left, and while it was the pokémon she was most comfortable with, it was also probably not as strong as either of Ash's pokémon. "C'mon out Shinx!" she shouted, tossing Shinx's poké ball; the electric-type growled upon materializing and stared down his opponent.
"A small electric-type pokémon against my Espeon…so déjà vu…" Anabel whispered, her mind replaying her last battle with Ash in her head. Finally, she stepped forward, her eyes blazing with fierce determination and immediately she gave her first order.
"Quick Attack, Espeon!"
Espeon refused to listen and instead took a step back; fear completely overran Espeon and she froze on the spot, too scared to move.
"Nice, huh? It's my Shinx's Intimidate; now it looks like you've got a little fraidy cat," Angie laughed before pointing at Espeon. "Get her with your own Quick Attack!"
Shinx took off towards Espeon, leaving behind only a bright white streak of energy behind him as he ran. Without any time to react, Espeon took the hit square on its side and Espeon was slammed back a couple of feet, but managed to stay on its feet.
"C'mon Espeon, snap out of it, grab Shinx with Psychic!" Anabel pleaded, using her voice instead of her mind.
Espeon shook itself out of its fear and its eyes glowed a light blue and Shinx's body became outlined in a light blue aura before Shinx was launched towards the ceiling at a relatively fast speed. With little time to give an order, Angie could only watch as Shinx smashed into the ceiling and the blue aura disappeared, leaving Shinx to fall towards the ground.
"Shinx, land on your feet!" Angie shouted with genuine concern; never before had Shinx taken such a strong hit.
Shinx's eyes flipped open and immediately Shinx twirled before landing gracefully on the ground.
"Good, now hit 'em with a Spark!" Angie ordered, pointing for added effect.
Shinx growled before charging towards Espeon and shrouding itself within a cloak of blue electricity, leaving behind only blue, crackling, electrified footprints as he ran. Espeon refused to flinch, awaiting the order from her trainer before attempting to counter Shinx's Spark.
"Espeon, let's finish them off! Fire off three Zap Cannons and then control them with Psychic!" Anabel ordered telepathically; flashing Angie a smile as she did so.
Espeon eagerly obeyed; firing off one Zap Cannon after another out of the gem on her forehead. Suddenly, Espeon's eyes glowed a light blue and one by one, the yellow balls of powerful electricity became outlined in a light blue aura and their speed drastically fell until they just floated mid-air. As Shinx continued to charge towards Espeon, Espeon shot one of the Zap Cannons towards Shinx at a blinding speed, maximizing the possible damage Shinx could get hit with. Shinx skipped to the side to avoid the Zap Cannon and as soon as Espeon was sure that it would miss, she fired all three Zap Cannons at herself before bracing for impact. Shinx smashed into Espeon, electricity discharging everywhere as Espeon was flown back but landed on her feet. Unfortunately for Shinx, he was left standing exactly where Espeon was and his eyes widened in fear as he saw the Zap Cannons close in on him.
"Shinx!" Angie shouted, knowing it was too late to dodge.
"SHIIINX!" Shinx shouted as the three Zap Cannons slammed into him at full force, exploding upon impact. Smoke filled the room and a very loud thud echoed along the walls and continuously throughout the battle salon. As soon as the smoke settled, it was clear Shinx was out of the battle; being thrown back against one of the walls with swirls in its eyes.
"Shinx is unable to battle and Espeon is the winner. The battle goes to the Salon Maiden Anabel," Maron announced, finally concluding the epic hard-fought battle. Everyone was surprised it was as close as it was; Angie still lost 3-1 and if Anabel hadn't known Torkoal wasn't her pokémon, maybe she could have been recommended to face the Battle Frontier…later on.
"Great job Shinx; you fought really hard," Angie spoke up, recalling Shinx to its poké ball. Even though Shinx lasted maybe all of a minute and a half; he still managed to hit Espeon and try its hardest…that Espeon was just too strong for him… "Or maybe Shinx was too weak…" Angie shook that thought out of her head; Shinx had just never before been a battler, he was just getting used to it.
"Thanks Espeon, you did great," Anabel happily patted her pokémon on the head before recalling it to its poké ball. "You battled really well, but I don't think you're quite ready," Anabel admitted to Angie; who took the news happily.
"Oh, don't worry about it; I'm just a rook-" Angie's voice was cut off as Maron clamped his hand on her mouth.
"Actually; I just got a text from the Nurse Joy near here," Maron interrupted, saving Angie from exposing her secret. "She said the Gyarados at the lake are rampaging like that one time in Johto; I think you should go see what's going on," Maron explained, his lie covered up by his calm and cool demeanour.
"Oh, excuse me then, I have pokémon to attend to," Anabel appeared to not give it a second thought as she ran off towards the lake. "Why are you lying to me? There's got to be something up…but he does want me to go to the lake…I'll see whatever's going on anyways," Anabel figured out, using her empathetic gift to detect the lie as she had done countless times in the past. Disaster or not, Anabel couldn't help but feel sort of excited.
"For a second, I thought there was a real disaster, it just came out so natural," Angie exclaimed, impressed with Maron's lying ability.
"Ah, it took a long time to work at it, but I'm sure Anabel has no idea," Maron laughed.
Anabel's off to the lake; Angie's soon to follow...after she gets her pokémon healed. And Maron...LOL thinks he can lie to Anabel...but he can't.
Ash, what's he up to? Razz Berries, Tamato Berries, Water? Awesome...
R&R! I didn't spend a long time working and re-editing this chapter just to be snubbed by reviewers!