Eli dashed out onto the battlefield anxiously, wading through the puddle of trainers that had flooded Eli's position by the newly released pairings. Eli knew he would face the trainer who had faced Isaac, and that he was confident that his Pokemon could swiftly counter any attack that he or she threw their way. As Eli darted through the hallways, he observed all of the possible options and tactics he could use against Muk. He was anticipating that he would fight Muk, as it is the Pokemon his opponent used in his last battle. Out of all the options Eli could think of, he decided on using Bulbasaur. Even though all of its grass attacks would have a lesser effect, it could stay away from the dreaded poision that could hinder Bulbasaur's fighting skills the whole battle. Finally, Eli came upon the correct battle field, where a large crowd stood in anticipation of the fight to come. Standing on the other side of the battlefield was a girl, probably no older than 17, who had a commanding presence on the battlefield. She had long, straightened hair than went down to her mid back. Her agile body looked like the one possessed by an elite athlete. Eli jogged out onto the field, with hundreds, possibly thousands of fans chanting his name. He guessed that he had made a name for himself in the first battle. When he reached his perch on the battle platform, he waved at the crowd, and directed his full attention to the referee, who explained the rules with utmost clarification.
"Hello trainers! In this match, Eli against Jessica, each trainer will be allowed to use one Pokemon only. When that Pokemon is unable to battle, the other team wins. Good luck to both of you," recounted the referee, who was anticipating an exciting match.
"I'll move first," cried out Jessica in a mellow, intimidating voice. "Muk, come on out to battle!" The sides of the Pokeball ruptured, and the purple blob sprung out of the small, red and white orb. It expanded to the size of a dishwasher before stopping. Wherever the Pokemon crawled across the grassy field, it left a trail of noxious gasses and sludge, which could impair future attacks.
"Just what I was expecting," remarked Eli. "Syntha, I choose you!" The huggable green dinosaur pranced out onto the field, drawing off the grass to give it an advantage. Eli knew that he would have to use attacks from distance in order to beat this Muk. However, Eli was assured that the Muk would not be able to keep up with the remarkable speed of Bulbasaur. The largest problem troubling Eli was the grime that Muk was leaving behind. Eli saw that the gasses and poison was killing the grass behind it. Leech seed may not be effective in this fight. Eli started off with his first move. "Syntha, use growth! Continue to use it until Muk can come and get you!" Bulbasaur slowly began to collect energy from the sun as its bulb on its back pulsated with energy. Eli's plan was simple: if he could raise the special attack stat of Bulbasaur high enough, he could negate the type disadvantage between Muk and Bulbasaur. However, Muk did not take its time to get over to Bulbasaur, thanks to the command from Jessica.
"Muk, charge up a sludge bomb, now!" The blob of goop vomited a sludge of poison near Bulbasaur, but he was able to dodge it just in time. Surrounding grass that had been hit by the attack turned black, and the sight struck fear into Eli's heart. He knew he had to cook up a plan to eliminate the Muk quickly, because Bulbasaur may not be able to withstand too many of those sludge bombs. Bulbasaur was now far away from Muk, so Eli set up his next attack.
"Syntha, use growth again," commanded Eli. Bulbasuar began to leech energy from the sun, and his special attack stat skyrocketed again. Eli needed more time. He knew what Jessica was going to do next, and he dreaded giving a command that could be the end of Bulbasaur. Memories rushed back of the battle with Voltair for the second badge, when he lost Diglett because of a faulty strategy. However, He stuck with his plan, because he needed to do this for both his Pokemon and himself. It was a try or die situation. Muk's devastating attacks would aid it, and would most likely be the end of Bulbasaur if no strategy was thought out. On the other hand, giving the risky strategy a shot gave a glimmer of hope for Bulbasaur and Eli, who both wanted to win the tournament. A loss now would spell disaster for later rounds, as Eli would have a weaker strength of schedule. Jessica broke the silence.
"Muk, use sludge bomb!" The purple blob launched another volley of blobs towards Bulbasuar. Eli stood strong, and gave no commands. He trusted Bulbasaur's special defense enough to continue to let him gain special attack. Bulbasaur's pulsating bulb was struck by the glob of poison, and Bulbasaur was then glued to the ground with the substance. Eli shuddered as Muk approached the defenseless dinosaur. It lurched closer and closer, with the helpless Bulbasaur squirming and slithering to attempt to get untangled from the sludge the encompassed his small, green body. With Muk sliming closer to Bulbasuar, Eli attempted the last step on his plan.
"Syntha, you have to charge up an energy ball, now!" Eli knew the potential consequences of using this. Energy ball needs sunlight to work, and the attack may not be able to work at all. However, sunlight could be absorbed and it could burn the sludge, along with Bulbasaur. There seemed to be no easy out. However, a faint light began to shine through the cloak of sludge, and the sludge exploded under the immense pressure. The purple coat of the sludge had warmed up the bulb on Bulbasaur's back, so this energy ball, along with all of the extra special attack boosts, could be powerful enough to beat this Muk. A small, fluorescent green orb began to originate in Bulbasaur's mouth. It glowed brighter and brighter, while growing larger with every foot Muk advanced. Finally, Eli gave the word to fire and the orb blasted into Muk. It was absorbed into his sludge-filled self and the whole audience gasped. Jessica capitalized on the moment of panic, and gave out another command.
"Muk, finish this battle! Use strength!" Muk raised its blobby arms before its attack came grinding to a halt. Muk's eyes widended, and it suddenly exploded from the power of the energy ball. Jessica recognized that the battle was over and recaptured her Muk into its Pokeball. She went up and shook Eli's hand, congratulating him on the match. The referee gave the final decision, in favor of Eli. Eli then receded into the confines of the trainer's lounge, where he promptly rehealed his Pokemon. Due to the fact that the next 3 rounds were power-matched, there would be a two hour layover where the trainers could prepare while the tournament committee worked the tournament out. Eli lay down on the couch in the lounge, and his eyes began to grow heavy. He was reawaken to a taunting voice, to which Eli cursed under his breath, before opening his eyes.