AUTHOR'S NOTE: Greetings, readers! Here is chapter 21 of the continuing adventures of Tristan, Hillary, and Pikachu as they continue their journey through the Orange Islands. Drake from the anime makes another appearance in this chapter. Now you might think this is just like the Pokémon episode, "Enter the Dragonite," but it isn't quite. It has other twists. Please feel free to read and review.

TEASER: Tristan continues his full battle against Drake, the leader of the Orange Crew. But things get really tough when Drake sends out his most powerful Pokémon, Dragonite!

Chapter 21: THE FINAL CHALLENGE, PART 2

(Music Cue: Mpvie Title 1998 (The Start of Counterattack))

Last time, Tristan and his friends arrived on Pummelo Island where Tristan faced off against Drake, the leader of the Orange Crew in a full six-on-six match. But when Gengar used a Night Shade attack and Pidgeot countered with its newly-learned Hyper Beam, an explosion occurred. Now, Tristan, Drake, and the entire stadium eagerly wait in anticipation to see which Pokémon has triumphed.

"The dust still hasn't settled after Night Shade and Hyper Beam collided with a vengeance," said the announcer. "But in a moment, we'll see which one of our competitors survived the blast."

The dust soon cleared, and unbelievable thought it seemed, both Pidgeot and Gengar were on their feet, but were panting wearily.

"Incredible!" said the announcer. "Both Pidgeot and Gengar are up! But how much longer can these two stand?"

But at that instant, both Pokémon collapsed to the ground. The explosion created by the two attacks was too much for them to take.

"Gengar, Pidgeot: Both are unable to battle!" declared the referee as he raised both green and red flags in the air.

(Music Cue: The Moon Stone)

The crowd roared in excitement.

"It's a double knockout!" boomed the announcer. "Both Pokémon have been eliminated from this competition!"

"Gengar, return," said Drake as he returned Gengar back to its Pokéball. He then held the Pokéball close to him. "Good job. You've earned a good rest."

"Pidgeot, return!" called Tristan as he returned Pidgeot to its Pokéball. Then he held his Pokéball close to him. "Thank you, Pidgeot. You battled really hard. I won't let this all go to waste."

"There will be a timeout for the field change," said the referee to both Tristan and Drake.

"In the Orange League competition, when three of either Trainer's Pokémon are rendered unable to battle, the field is changed," explained the announcer.

As he spoke, the rocky terrain with the watery pool disappeared into the ground.

Tristan came back to Pikachu and Hillary. He wiped the sweat from his brow.

"Hey, Tristan," said Hillary. "I have water for you." She handed him his canteen full of ice-cold water.

"Thanks, sis," replied Tristan. He took a few sips. "Ah, that feels good."

"Don't forget that in the heat of battle, you need to stay hydrated," reminded Hillary.

Tristan promised. Then he turned to Pikachu. "Are you ready to help me out, pal?"

Pikachu eagerly nodded. It was always willing to help him win any battle, especially ones that are important.

"All right, now I'm ready," said Tristan.

"Remember...I'm rooting for you," reminded Hillary.

"Thanks, sis, I'll do my best."

The timeout passed by five minutes later, and Tristan and Drake took their positions on opposite sides of the battlefield.

"The new field is moving into place," said the announcer. "This time, the two competitors will be fighting on a battleground composed of sandy terrain."

As he spoke, the sand field rose up to ground level.

Seconds later, a bell rang to signal the start of the second half.

(Music Cue: Rocket Powered Disaster)

"I choose you...Venusaur!" called Drake as he threw a Pokéball.

A Venusaur emerged from the white light that shot out of the Pokéball. It looked very strong.

"Drake sends out Venusaur, who's won many a battle here in the past," said the announcer.

Pidgeot would be a good matchup against Venusaur, but Pidgeot's out of the match, thought Tristan. Oh, well. I'll have to go with Charizard instead. "Charizard, go!" he shouted as he threw a Pokéball.

Tristan's Charizard emerged from the white light that shot out of the ball. It was ready to battle.

"Charizard, that Venusaur looks pretty strong," advised Tristan. "Don't let your guard down."

Charizard nodded. It knew that when Tristan advised it, he meant it, especially in difficult battles.

"Venusaur, SolarBeam now," instructed Drake.

Venusaur began to absorb energy from the sun into the flower on its back.

SolarBeam? Why now? thought Tristan.

"Drake orders a SolarBeam attack from Venusaur," said the announcer.

"Tristan, maybe you can stop it while it's still absorbing energy!" called Hillary.

Hillary's right, thought Tristan. SolarBeam takes time to charge up. Now's my chance to strike first. "Charizard, Flamethrower attack!" he shouted.

Quickly, Charizard shot a hot flame from its mouth at Venusaur. Sure enough, Flamethrower scored a direct it on it.

"Charizard takes this opportunity to score a direct hit on Venusaur with Flamethrower," said the announcer.

Unfortunately, while Charizard kept hitting Venusaur with Flamethrower, Venusaur had absorbed enough energy to attack.

"Venusaur, SolarBeam...now!" commanded Drake.

Venusaur launched a bright and powerful SolarBeam from the flower on its back. It was not only successful in pushing Charizard's Flamethrower back, but it scored a direct hit on it.

"Charizard!" cried Hillary.

Pikachu was worried, too.

"Wow!" boomed the announcer. "SolarBeam knocks Charizard for a loop!"

"Don't give up, Charizard!" encouraged Tristan.

Despite being pushed back, it managed to straighten itself out and recovered in the air.

"Charizard is back in the game!" said the announcer. "What moves will these two Pokémon use next?"

"Venusaur, Vine Whip!" ordered Drake.

Venusaur shot multiple vines in Charizard's direction.

"Charizard, use your Flamethrower to stop those vines!" commanded Tristan.

Chairzard shot a powerful Flamethrower from its mouth at Venusaur's Vine Whip.

The vines were a strong defense, but Charizard's managed to push its Flamethrower attack through the vines and right to Venusaur.

"All right, Charizard, finish it off with Slash attack!" ordered Tristan.

Charizard flew toward Venusaur and used its sharp claws to deal a devastating blow to Venusaur.

"Talk about sharp!" boomed the announcer. "Flamethrower right into a close-range Slash attack!"

Venusaur collapsed on the ground, knocked out from the damage.

"Venusaur is unable to battle!" declared the referee, raising his green flag in Tristan's direction.

"The challenger has now defeated four of Drake's six Pokémon," said the announcer. "This Trainer's strength is something that we haven't seen in a long time."

Drake returned Venusaur to its Pokéball and held the Pokéball close. "You were great, Venusaur," he said. He put the Pokéball away and took out another one. "Now I choose Electabuzz!" He threw the ball.

A yellow humanoid Pokémon emerged from the white light that shot out of it. It had a lightning bolt in the center of its body.

"Drake chooses Electabuzz as his fifth Pokémon," said the announcer. "Let's see how Tristan responds."

"Charizard may have taken a beating from Venusaur, but it's still going strong," said Hillary. "If Tristan keeps this up, he could win this match."

Hillary's got a point there, thought Tristan. Charizard may be staying strong, but it's already been through a difficult battle with Venusaur. Well, I'll just see his Venusaur and raise him with my own. "Charizard, return!" called Tristan as he returned Charizard to its Pokéball. He then put it away, took out another Pokéball and threw it. "Venusaur, I choose you!"

(Music Cue: Raid!)

Tristan's Venusaur emerged from the white light that shot out of it.

"Tristan chooses his own Venusaur," said the announcer.

Venusaur should be able to resist Electabuzz's Electric attacks, thought Tristan. But that doesn't mean that Electabuzz is going to be easy to defeat.

"Electabuzz, Thunderbolt attack!" commanded Drake.

Electabuzz shot a yellow bolt of electricity from the antennae on its head straight at Venusaur, scoring a hit on it. However, Venusaur just stood there as if nothing was happening. After the attack, Venusaur shook it all off.

"Sure enough, Venusaur resists the shock," said the announcer. "Tristan's strategy is working perfectly."

"Razor Leaf now!" ordered Tristan.

Vewnusaur shot a powerful barrage of leaves at Electabuzz, scoring serious hits on it.

"That Venusaur of yours is strong, Tristan,"said Drake. "But don't think that we'll give up that easily. Electabuzz, ThunderPunch!"

Electabuzz charged at Venusaur with electricity sizzling from its right fist.

ThunderPunch struck Venusaur hard and sent it flying backwards, but it managed to land neatly on its feet.

"Electabuzz strikes back using ThunderPunch!" boomed the announcer.

"Hang on, Venusaur," said Tristan. "Hit it with Leech Seed!"

Venusaur shot a brown seed from the flower on its back.

The seed struck Electabuzz and sprouted leaves and vines, shocking and weakening Electabuzz with each passing second.

"All right!" said Hillary. "Electabuzz is getting weaker!"

"All right, Venusaur, finish it off with a Tackle attack!" commanded Tristan.

Venusaur charged at Electabuzz and struck it full force, sending it flying.

"Electabuzz gets hit hard by a Tackle attack from Venusaur!" boomed the announcer.

Electabuzz collapsed on the ground on its back, knocked out.

"Electabuzz is unable to battle!" declared the referee.

(Music Cue: Ash's Decision to Fight (both parts)

"You heard it, fans!" said the announcer. "The challenger has defeated five of Drake's six Pokémon. But as we've seen Drake do before, his strongest Pokémon will be coming up next!"

Sure enough, Drake took the Pokéball of the necklace hanging around his neck and pushed the button.

"I think we all know what that Pokémon will be," said Hillary to herself.

Drake held his Pokéball close and said, "All right, Dragonite, it's just you and me now. I choose you!" He threw the Pokéball.

A tall draconic bipedal Pokémon with orange skin and wings emerged from the white light that shot out of it. It looked strong compared to Drake's Venusaur.

"I was afraid he'd do that," said Tristan to himself.

"Drake's last Pokémon is the legendary Dragonite," said the announcer. "Once Dragonite goes down, the battle will be over."

Tristan's never faced a Dragonite in battle before, thought Hillary nervously. I sure hope he knows what he's up against.

"Let's see what Dexter has to say," said Tristan as he scanned Dragonite with his Pokédex.

"Dragonite, the Dragon Pokémon," identified Dexter. "This extremely rare and highly intelligent type is able to fly faster than any known Pokémon."

This Dragonite might be more powerful than Lance's Dragonite, thought Tristan. We'll have to work as a team to win this battle. "Stay alert, Venusaur," he advised. "There's no telling what Dragonite can do."

Venusaur nodded. It knew it was at a serious disadvantage against Dragonite, but it was up to the challenge.

"You can do it, Tristan!" cheered Hillary. "I believe in you!"

Tristan nodded. He needed those words of encouragement. "Venusaur, Razor Leaf attack!" he commanded.

(Music Cue: The Copy Pokémon Awaken (as heard in "Hour of the Houndour"))

Venusaur shot a flurry of razor-sharp leaves at Dragonite.

"Dragonite, Water Gun!" instructed Drake.

Dragonite shot a blast of water from its mouth at Venusaur's Razor Leaf, successfully keeping it at bay.

"Venusaur, Sleep Powder attack!" ordered Tristan.

Venusaur emitted a silvery powder from the flower on its back.

"You know what to do, Dragonite!" ordered Drake.

Dragonite furiously flapped its wings and successfully blew Venusaur's Sleep Powder away.

"Dragonite blows Venusaur's Sleep Powder away!" said the announcer. "Dragonite looks far from tired!"

Tristan gasped in shock.

"Go, Dragonite!" shouted Drake. "Finish Venusaur off with Ice Beam now!"

"Quick, Venusaur, use your SolarBeam attack, full blast!" ordered Tristan.

Venusaur quickly charged up as much sunlight as it could and shot its most powerful SolarBeam at Dragonite.

Dragonite quickly launched an icy-cold beam of energy to try and block Venusaur's SolarBeam.

Both Pokémon tried pushing each other's attacks back and forth over and over, but the force of the two attacks created a huge explosion.

Tristan and Pikachu covered their faces from the smoke that followed.

"SolarBeam and Ice Beam collide with a vengeance!" said the announcer. "The question is: which Pokémon will emerge as the victor?"

The smoke and dust cleared a moment later with both Venusaur and Dragonite panting for air.

Unfortunately, Venusaur had taken too much damage from its earlier battle with Electabuzz and collapsed on the ground, knocked out.

"Venusaur is unable to battle!" declared the referee as he raised his red flag in Drake's direction.

"Venusaur is down and out!" said the announcer. "Despite the damage from that massive explosion, Dragonite manages to hold on."

"Venusaur, return!" called Tristan as he returned it to its Pokéball. He then held the Pokéball close to him. "Thanks, Venusaur. You were awesome. You deserve a good rest." He then put the Pokéball away, took out another one, and threw it. "Charizard, go!"

(Music Cue: A Fight! Real vs. Copy Pokémon (as heard in "Hello, Pummelo"))

Charizard emerged from the white light that shot out of the ball.

"Tristan sends Charizard for a repeat performance," said the announcer. "But will it have enough firepower to soar Tristan to victory or will it be too tuckered after that battle with Venusaur?"

"I know you're tired, but I need your help, Charizard," said Tristan. "We can do it together."

Charizard nodded. It didn't care how tired it got as long as it helped its friends.

"Charizard, Flamethrower attack!" shouted Tristan.

Charizard shot a hot flame from its mouth at Dragonite.

"Dragonite, Water Gun!" commanded Drake.

Dragonite shot a powerful stream of water from its mouth. It not only put out Charizard's Flamethrower, but scored an effective hit on it as well.

"Dragonite's Water Gun hits hard!" said the announcer.

"Don't give up, Charizard!" encouraged Tristan. "Fly up into the air!"

Charizard flapped its huge wings and quickly flew high into the sky.

"After it, Dragonite!" ordered Drake.

Dragonite took off running, then it instantly changed to an upward direction at remarkable speed.

"That Dragonite's fast!" gasped Hillary.

"Shoot it down with Flamethrower!" commanded Tristan.

Charizard shot another hot flame from its mouth at Dragonite, but no matter how much it tried to hit it, Dragonite swerved out of the way of its attacks.

"Dragonite, use Ice Beam," instructed Drake.

Dragonite shot an icy-cold beam of energy at Charizard; however, Charizard dodged the attacks with ease, despite its battle with Drake's Venusaur.

"Charizard, Slash attack!" ordered Tristan.

Quickly, Charizard used its sharp claws on its forearms to attack, scoring a hit on Dragonite before it had time to dodge.

"Quick, Charizard, now's our chance to grab it!" commanded Tristan.

Charizard quickly grabbed Dragonite and started going down.

"Okay, give it your best toss, Charizard!" ordered Tristan.

Charizard accelerated the descent to the ground with Dragonite clutched in its grip.

"Yeah!" said Hillary. "If Charizard can give Dragonite enough damage, Tristan wins!"

"Charizard and Dragonite are going down fast!" said the announcer.

Sure enough, both Pokémon hit the ground hard, causing a cloud of dust to form.

"This battle is nothing short of epic!" boomed the announcer. "Both Charizard and Dragonite are down! Who will get up first?"

Charizard appeared out of the dust just as it began to clear up.

Dragonite showed up a few seconds later.

"No way!" gasped Hillary. "Dragonite can't keep going after that!"

Both were panting for air after the difficult battle.

"Both Pokémon are back on their feet!" said the announcer. "Despite the fact that Charizard has had a few tough bouts with Venusaur, this Pokémon simply refuses to give in!"

"Charizard, Dragon Rage!" ordered Tristan.

(Music Cue: Opening 1997-1998 (M01B))

The flame on Charizard's tail grew and grew. And then it shot a powerful hot flame that was much hotter than Flamethrower out of its mouth at Dragonite.

"Use your Dragon Rage, too, Dragonite!" instructed Drake.

Dragonite shot an equally powerful flame from its mouth at Charizard's Dragon Rage.

Sure enough, both attacks collided and created a massive explosion that blanketed the battlefield with dust and smoke.

Tristan and Pikachu shielded their faces from the blast.

"Both Dragon Rage attacks hit home and both Pokémon feel the full force of the blast," said the announcer.

A moment later, Charizard and Dragonite appeared out of the dust.

"Charizard and Dragonite appear to be exhausted and running out of strength!" said the announcer. "This match could be over at any moment."

Charizard and Dragonite stared at one another, panting for air as they did.

Unfortunately, Charizard's battle with Venusaur tired it out too much and it collapsed on the ground from the damage of the Dragon Rage explosion.

"Charizard is unable to battle!" declared the referee as he raised his red flag in Drake's direction.

"Charizard is down and out!" said the announcer. "But despite the fact that Dragonite defeated it, it appears to show signs of fatigue."

"Charizard, return!" said Tristan as he returned Charizard to its Pokéball. He then held it close. "Thanks, Charizard. You wore Dragonite down. Now let's work together as a team and win this." He then took out a Pokéball and threw it. "Blastoise, I choose you!"

(Music Cue: Kanto Champion Battle (as heard in "Riddle Me This"))

Blastoise emerged from the white light that shot out of the Pokéball.

"Tristan sends out his Blastoise," said the announcer. "It looks fresh and ready for action. What an opportunity for the challenger."

"Blastoise, Hydro Pump attack!" ordered Tristan.

Blastoise quickly shot two powerful blasts of water from its cannons.

"Fly, Dragonite!" commanded Drake.

Dragonite quickly flew up in the air despite the damage it took, but one stray blast of water struck it, albeit slightly.

"Blastoise, Ice Beam!" shouted Tristan.

Blastoise fired an ice-cold beam of energy from its mouth at Dragonite, and scored a super-effective hit on it.

"Ice Beam scores big time!" said the announcer.

"Go, Dragonite, Thunder attack!" ordered Drake.

Dragonite shot a powerful bolt of electricity at Blastoise.

"Blastoise, Withdraw!" instructed Tristan.

Blastoise shot its head and limbs inside its shell just before Dragonite's Thunder struck it full force.

"This could be the end for Blastoise as Dragonite's Thunder attack deals heavy damage," said the announcer.

Sure enough, Blastoise did take damage, but it was not enough to knock it out as its head and limbs appeared again.

"Fans, this is one tough Blastoise," said the announcer. "Despite its weakness to Electric attacks, this Pokémon simply refuses to give up."

"All right, Blastoise, it's now or never," said Tristan. "Finish it off with Ice Beam!"

"Go, Dragonite, Hyper Beam!" shouted Drake.

Blastoise shot another ice-cold beam of energy from its mouth at Dragonite while at the same time, Dragonite launched a powerful bright yellow beam at Blastoise.

The two Pokémon pushed their attacks back and forth, over and over.

"Blastoise, full power now!" yelled Tristan.

Blastoise increased the power of its Ice Beam and started to push it back toward Dragonite.

"Turn it up, Dragonite!" ordered Drake.

Dragonite increased the power of its Hyper Beam.

Hyper Beam and Ice Beam were so powerful that both attacks collided, creating a massive explosion that was much more powerful than the last two were.

Blastoise and Dragonite were both caught in the explosion and braced themselves.

"This is turning out to be an explosive battle!" said the announcer. "We could be seeing the final act in this match!"

Several tense moments later, the explosion cleared up, and Blastoise and Dragonite appeared out of the dust and smoke from the explosion.

Blastoise and Dragonite stared at one another, panting wearily.

Dragonite was starting to show signs of fatigue from all the battles from Tristan's Pokémon.

But Blastoise had taken too much damage from Dragonite's Thunder to keep going, and it collapsed and fainted.

"Blastoise is unable to battle!" declared the referee.

Hillary was shocked, but Tristan wasn't. He knew that Dragonite would be tough to beat, even though his Pokémon had given it a real challenge.

"Dragonite proves what a brawny battler it is," said the announcer. "Although three of Tristan's Pokémon have been defeated by Dragonite, it is really getting exhausted out there."

Tristan returned Blastoise to its Pokéball and held it close to him. "Great job, Blastoise," he said. "Thanks to you, I know just what to do to defeat Dragonite." He turned to Pikachu. "All right, pal," he said. "It's up to you now. Are you ready to win?"

Pikachu eagerly nodded. It ran in front of Tristan onto the battlefield.

(Music Cue: Gym 2 1997-1998 (as heard in "Enter the Dragonite"))

"Let's do it, Pikachu!" he shouted.

Pikachu charged toward Dragonite, who was still trying to recover from all the battles it had against Tristan's Pokémon.

However, Dragonite's Hyper Beam had left it vulnerable to an attack.

"Pikachu charges toward a defenseless Dragonite," said the announcer. "Will this be the challenger's big chance?"

"Pikachu, grab on to Dragonite and use Thunder attack!" ordered Tristan.

Pikachu jumped on top of Dragonite's head and hung on to its antennae despite Dragonite trying to shake it off. The electricity sizzled from its cheeks and before Dragonite could react, Pikachu unleashed a full-power Thunder attack at close range, giving it heavy damage and lighting up the entire stadium.

"Pikachu's tremendous Thunder attack scores a direct hit," said the announcer.

Dragonite eventually shook Pikachu off after the damage it received; however, Pikachu managed to stand up.

Both Pokémon stared at one another and panted for air; Dragonite for all the battles and damage it took, and Pikachu for all the electricity it used.

Seconds passed by. The audience was on the edge of their seats waiting to see what would happen next.

Eventually, Dragonite slowly collapsed on the ground from the damage and fainted, much to Tristan and Drake's shock.

"Dragonite is unable to battle," declared the referee and raised the green flag in Tristan's direction. "The winner of this competition is Tristan!"

(Music Cue: I Got a Victory Badge! (as heard in "Viva Las Lapras"))

The crowd roared in excitement as Hillary smiled on the bench behind the battlefield.

"He does it!" boomed the announcer. "After a fierce battle and staying in the challenge after the cancelled Pokémon League competition, Tristan emerges victorious against the Orange Crew champion and earns the admiration of the crowd!"

Tristan ran to his exhausted Pikachu and gently held it in his arms. "Thank you so much, Pikachu," he said. "You and the rest of the team...we all did it together."

Pikachu smiled at Tristan. It was very happy for him and was glad it could help him out.

Tristan smiled back.

Drake returned Dragonite to its Pokéball and held it close to him. "Dragonite, I'm very proud of you."

A few moments later, Tristan stood proudly on top of the podium with all of his Pokémon as Drake handed the Winner's Trophy to him and the crowd continued roaring with excitement.

Hillary proudly watched from the bench.

"Congratulations, Tristan," said Drake. "You deserve to win. You're a great Pokémon Trainer."

"Thank you for a great battle, Drake," replied Tristan. "My Pokémon deserve the credit. I couldn't have done it without them...and all my friends and family, too."

Drake saw Hillary proudly waving to him and Tristan. He then smiled.

Tristan had his picture taken with all of his Pokémon on the podium.

Then they had their footprints engraved in stone at the Palace of Victory, which also stored his picture.

And so, with the help and support of his Pokémon, his friends, and family, Tristan wins the Full Battle, the Winner's Trophy, and his rightful place in the Orange League Hall of Fame. What else will he, Hillary, and Pikachu win? You can use your imagination, but you have to stay tuned!

► TO BE CONTINUED