Chapter 25: The Hugel City Contest Begins
"Well, since our contest is in the evening, why don't you get that Gym battle out of the way?" Candace suggested the next morning. She was sitting on her bed, brushing Eevee's fur.
Daniel looked up. "Yeah, sounds good," he said. Candace grinned. Tori was sitting on her bed, writing in some sort of journal. She heard a tap and looked out the window to her left. Aron was out on as scaffolding, staring at her.
"K-Kyle!" she screamed.
"I know!" he shouted back from the other room. The other two sighed and tried to ignore it, getting used to the fact that this sort of thing happened nearly every day. There were just too many trouble-making Pokemon to keep in line.
"Question…" Daniel said.
"Shoot," Candace replied, watching Kyle reaching for Aron from the balcony.
"His Pokeball, Kyle! Use his Pokeball!" Daniel shouted. "I don't want them scraping you off the pavement with a spatula!"
"Oh," Kyle said, and called Aron back. Daniel sighed.
"Anyway, have you two even registered for the contest yet?" he asked.
After a brief period of panic, scrambling around and sprinting out of the hotel, the trainers found themselves back at the contest hall to register for the contest. They were in luck; entrants were still being accepted. The girls let out a sigh of relief and began to make their final decision about who they would be using.
"Let's see…Lacey will probably be using Kirlia and Duke is definitely using Gallade. Katya might use Furret or Chikorita or….damn, what else does she have? Well Randall uses Dark-types and Tori's gonna use Beautifly. Who's the best choice? Larvitar maybe…but he's too slow to go up against those Psychic-types. Hm…well I'll definitely use Larvitar for the preliminary round then," Candace thought as she debated which Pokemon to enter.
"Hm, I'm running out of ideas for the appeal round. I know I'll use Beautifly for round two, but who should I use for the preliminary round?" Tori whispered.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu exclaimed. She looked down and Kyle's Pikachu was at her side.
"Did you want to participate in the contest, Pikachu?" she asked.
"Pika!" he cheered. She smiled.
"Kyle?" she asked.
"Yeah?" he asked, walking over to her.
"Can…" she began.
"Can…" he echoed, waiting for her to finish.
"I don't know who to use for the preliminary round, and, well, Pikachu is really cute and well, he really wants to…um…" she stuttered. Kyle laughed.
"Of course you can borrow him!" Kyle exclaimed. Tori blushed and smiled.
"Here you go," Candace said, handing in her paperwork to the receptionist.
"Who are you using?" Tori asked.
"It's a surprise," Candace said with a smile.
"Same here," Tori said with a nod.
"Well we've got some major time to kill now," Candace said as they exited the building. "Wanna head over to the Gym now?"
"I don't see why not," Daniel replied, so they did. And when they got there, they saw Hawk standing outside, trying to shoo away a Chatot.
"Problem?" Candace asked. Hawk looked at them.
"Do you remember how I said I hate referees?" Hawk asked.
"Yea…" Candace replied.
"Well this is why…THIS IS WHY I HATE REFEREES!" Hawk shouted as the Chatot flew away.
"...I don't get it. It was just a Chatot…" Kyle said, staring off into the direction it flew in.
"Just a Chatot? Look. Due to budget cuts, the Serrano Pokemon League couldn't afford to assign me a referee, so they assigned me a Chatot. They thought it would make more sense to assign me the Chatot because I'm 'that bird guy.' WELL THINK AGAIN, ASSHOLES! Chatot is such an obnoxious little Pokemon…I mean, don't get me wrong…I love all bird Pokemon…EXCEPT CHATOT!" Hawk ranted.
"So…is now a bad time?" Daniel asked.
"No, let's just go get this over with," Hawk muttered. The two walked inside and positioned themselves. The others took their seats in the stands.
"So what do you think he's going to do?" Kyle asked Candace as Hawk went over the rules.
The girl shrugged. "No idea," she admitted. "He's got no type advantage here. In fact, his strongest Pokemon has a disadvantage, with Ground against Flying."
"So what's he going to do?" Tori asked.
"Dunno," Candace answered. "He might try to bull through with Gabite and Skarmory, or he could improvise something with Totodile...I mean he does have Ice Fang…" She broke off as Hawk sent out Staraptor. Daniel responded by sending out Totodile, his face tight. The Water-type flexed theatrically, preening in the ring. "I guess he's going to improvise. This won't be an easy match for him. He'll have to push his Pokemon harder than ever before."
"Why do you think that?" Kyle asked.
"He's strong, and I don't mean to disparage him, but he's been…well, kind of skimping on training," Candace replied. "The opponents have been getting stronger. He has too, but not as quickly. He just had a massive head start on them."
"Certainly glad you don't have any Electric-types," Hawk said, relieved.
"Well, I'll have to figure something out," Daniel said. "Totodile, use Ice Fang!" Totodile bounced – literally – into action, blasting bolts of ice energy across the ring and nearly clipping Hawk with one of them.
However, while he nearly hit the Gym leader, he completely missed the Gym leader's Pokemon. "I swear, I'm getting him fitted for glasses," Daniel muttered, ordering another Ice Fang as Staraptor took flight. This attack was no more effective than the last, but Daniel's eyes narrowed and a quiet smile flickered across his face.
"He just came up with something," Kyle announced. "I know that look."
"Totodile, get a big Water Gun ready," Daniel said casually as Staraptor flung it's wings back, before thrusting them forward, sending a massive gust of wind blasting across the ring that nearly blew Totodile off his feet. The Water-type's cheeks bulged comically, and he inflated, his stomach ballooning out. "Now douse the place. Everything." Totodile released a massive amount of water, and within seconds, the entire Gym was dripping.
"Why on earth would he do that?" Kyle asked, wiping water out of his eyes.
"No idea," Candace answered, blowing a strand of wet hair off her face. "Doubt that he knows either."
"Brave Bird!" Hawk shouted, and Staraptor dove, tucking in its wings and diving straight at Totodile.
"Remember the Ice Punch move we learned?" Daniel shouted to his Pokemon. Totodile nodded and spat icy energy onto his fist, winding up. When the two Pokemon were only a few feet apart, Totodile jumped, but not directly at Staraptor. He instead jumped to the side, punching the flaming Flying-type in the head and taking a glancing blow from the attack that still sent him skidding across the flooded ring on his back. Digging his claws into the water, Totodile flipped onto his feet, as Staraptor floundered for a moment, before standing up and taking flight again.
"Well, as cool as that was," Candace began as Totodile dodged another Gust, "that would only work once. Hawk's not stupid; he won't fall for it again." Totodile fired off a Water Gun that was easily blasted back by Staraptor, catching the Big Jaw Pokemon with his own attack and sending him splashing across the ring.
"Then what's he planning?" Kyle demanded. "He normally doesn't mess around this long!"
Candace's eyes widened. "Maybe that's it," she whispered.
"What?" Kyle asked. "What's it?"
"He doesn't have a plan," Candace said slowly as Totodile struggled to his feet and fired off another Water Gun.
"Oh, this can't end well," Kyle mumbled. "Bad things happen when he improvises. Like that time back in Rioja City when he -"
"Let's just watch the battle, huh?" Candace sighed.
"Protect," Hawk ordered, as a Water Gun split cleanly around the protective sphere that Staraptor summoned. "Now use Brave Bird again!"
"Totodile…" Daniel said. "Use…" he hesitated, and it was too late. Staraptor collided at full speed with Totodile, plowing the Water-type into the floor of the arena. "TOTODILE!" Daniel shouted, wide-eyed. A pair of glowing blue flippers reached out of the crater, and Daniel's eyes bugged out. "No way…" A glowing figure stood from where Totodile had fallen, and Daniel grinned.
"What is that?" Candace asked, fumbling for her Pokedex. Kyle had his out first.
"Croconaw, the Big Jaw Pokemon: It opens its huge jaws wide when attacking. If it loses any fangs while biting, they grow back in. There are always forty-eight fangs lining its mouth," The Dex rattled off. The two siblings stared at Daniel's newly evolved Pokemon. Gone was the tiny, playful-looking Pokemon. In its place was a significantly larger, meaner-looking Pokemon with bigger fangs and larger spines on its back.
"Hell. Yes," Daniel said quietly. "Croconaw, let's see what you got. Give me an Ice Fang on the water!"
Croconaw grunted, and sent a massive bolt of ice energy into the water that was still dripping down the walls and onto the floor, freezing it solid. Within moments, the interior of the Gym was covered in sheets of ice, and their breath immediately began fogging up. "Nicely done, buddy. Think you can extend it?"
Croconaw slammed his flippers onto the ice, before biting down on it. Hawk's eyes bulged. His mouth was hanging open, as it had since Totodile had started evolving, and Staraptor squawked. Hawk shook himself. "Dodge it!"
A pillar of ice shot out from one of the walls, nearly hitting Staraptor who fluttered out of the way. Another column of ice fired from the opposite wall, and Staraptor dodged again.
"Keep it up, Croconaw," Daniel encouraged, and his Water-type pumped more energy into the attack. Two, then three pillars of ice sprouted, bracketing Staraptor.
"He's forcing him down," Kyle said, as more of the ice columns blocked off the upper reaches of the Gym. "He's taken away Hawk's maneuverability. This'll be over soon."
"You've got him!" Daniel shouted. "NOW!" Out of two of the ice beams that had already been made, another set grew, trapping the Predator Pokemon in a cage of thin ice. "Good. Now finish it. Ice Punch!"
There was a rumble, and an icy fist slammed through several of the beams, taking the ice cage with it and slamming Staraptor into the ground. The Flying-type slumped, unconscious.
"Staraptor is unable to battle! Croconaw wins this round! CHAAAA!" a Chatot called. They looked up and saw the Chatot from before roosting on one of the perches.
"I told you to get the hell out of here!" Hawk shouted. The Chatot squawked and ruffled its feathers.
"LOSER!" it screeched. "LOSER LOSER!"
Hawk muttered to himself and looked back at Daniel. "You may have taken out one, but you've still got the other two of my most powerful-"
"Yeah, yeah, they're each your most powerful Pokemon, I know," Daniel said impatiently. "Get on with it!"
Hawk's eye twitched. "Pidgeot?" He asked in a sickly-sweet voice. "Would you mind coming out here please?" Pidgeot appeared, looking around the Gym with no small amount of surprise, before looking to Hawk for orders. "Him," Hawk said, pointing at Croconaw. "Out. Now." Pidgeot shot forward using Steel Wing and caught Croconaw under the chin, ripping him clear off the ice with a choked "Grk!" sound and slamming him against the icy wall. "Smash up some of that ice, while you're at it," Hawk ordered. Using the same ice that Croconaw had created minutes before as a weapon, Pidgeot slammed the Water-type around the Gym, sending ice shards clattering to the floor. Daniel didn't react.
"Daniel…" Candace said quietly. "Why aren't you stopping this?"
"Croconaw can't take much more," Kyle said, as more ice shattered. Daniel still hadn't moved, staring straight ahead.
"Daniel," Candace said. The boy didn't react. "DANIEL!"
"Do it now, Croconaw," Daniel said softly. "Crunch." Croconaw seized the Flying-type by the neck, even as he was shoved through another ice pillar. Fangs glowing, Croconaw bit down on Pidgeot's wing, rolling his head violently. Pidgeot screamed, losing control and slamming into the ground.
The Flying-type rolled over painfully, staggering to its feet and gingerly walking over to Hawk. Croconaw didn't move, and Daniel silently recalled his Pokemon. "I'm sorry," he said, not meeting anyone's eyes. "I should have ended it." Candace saw him rub his fingers over the scarred Pokeball before reaching for the silver one next to it. "Skarmory, you're up."
"Going to sacrifice another one of your Pokemon to take out mine?" Hawk asked bitterly. "I thought better of you."
"Shut it," Daniel said. "I ask more of Croconaw because I know he can take it. That's the worst I've ever let him get hurt, and I'll die before I let it happen again." He sent out Skarmory. "Croconaw's down hard," he said. "I'm hoping you can clean this up." The Steel Bird Pokemon screamed at Hawk and spread his wings wide, before taking flight.
"Take him down, Pidgeot," Hawk said, his face no longer showing any signs of joy. "Try to be a little less rough, but don't hold back too much."
"Steel Wing!" the two trainers shouted, and with glowing wings, the Pokemon clashed, sending shockwaves across the Gym that crumbled more of the ice.
For several minutes, the two Pokemon attacked and countered, neither able to get a decisive hit. A Fury Attack here, an Air Cutter there, all whilst attacking and defending with Steel Wing, but nothing that would knock the opponent out of the fight. The two Pokemon were too evenly matched, leaving them in a deadlock.
"So now what?" Hawk asked as the two Flying-types clashed again.
"Skarmory, break off," Daniel ordered. "Work up some speed." Skarmory moved too fast to see, seemingly vanishing in midair.
"Please," Hawk scoffed. "Pidgeot can reach almost Mach Two." The Bird Pokemon in question was hovering, looking for Skarmory.
"Yeah, if they accelerate enough in a straight line," Daniel retorted. "Can they do that moving in a circle from a virtual dead stop?" Hawk gaped at him, and Daniel nodded as the ice shards on the ground began to rattle and the wind picked up. "That's why I expect my Pokemon to be able to take punishment. I know they're capable of dishing it out." The debris on the floor began to move, and Hawk's eyes widened.
"What attack is this?" He asked.
"Skarmory's speed," Daniel replied. An ice shard zipped by his face, and the boy touched a hand to his cheek, seeing blood on it. Nodding silently, he wiped his hand on his pants and continued. "You might want to get down. You're likely to get killed out here."
"What about you?" Hawk asked as he curled up.
Daniel didn't reply as the wind increased, the loose ice funneling around the room. Pidgeot seemed to be in the eye of the storm, with the spectators, trainers, and Chatot shielding their faces from the blasting wind and flying shrapnel. The wind force continued to grow, until Daniel finally looked at Pidgeot and nodded.
The ice storm that had previously clung to the edges of the Gym suddenly collapsed, swirling inwards and slamming into Pidgeot with the force of a hurricane. Daniel turned away, and Candace spotted a glistening line running down his face, but was it was from the wind?
The last of the ice clattered to the ground, and Skarmory and Pidgeot began to fall. Candace gasped, but Skarmory's wings tilted, and with the other Bird Pokemon on his back, he glided the length of the Gym, stumbling to a halt and letting Pidgeot slide gently to the floor, before collapsing into his own trainer's arms.
"Easy, Skarmory," Daniel whispered as his Steel-type's feathers jabbed into his hands. "Rest easy, pal." Holding a handful of Berries to Skarmory's beak, Daniel let the Pokemon gulp them down, before returning him to his Pokeball.
Silently, Hawk sent out Dodrio.
Daniel reached for his final Pokeball. "Gabite. Come on out." The Dragon-type entered the ring, and Daniel frowned. "This one won't be easy, old friend." Daniel's partner shrugged. "We've got two down." Gabite snarled at him, and Daniel nodded. "I know. It wasn't…it won't happen again." Gabite nodded once, and Daniel seemed to relax.
"Did he just…" Kyle trailed off.
"Not justify his actions? Tell his Pokemon that he regretted what he did and that it won't happen again?" Candace finished. "Yeah, I think so."
"Dodrio, use Double Team," Hawk ordered. The Triple Bird Pokemon multiplied as it had with Kyle, and Daniel shook his head.
"Won't work here," Daniel rasped.
"Why not?" Hawk asked, as they charged, using Quick Attack.
"First," Daniel said, as Gabite dodged the first head's attack on one Dodrio and slammed the other two heads together, popping the illusion, "Gabite's fast enough to keep up. Second…" Gabite leaped clear over a cluster of Dodrio and slammed another into the ground. It didn't vanish, as it was the real Dodrio. "We can tell which one is the real Dodrio."
"How?" Kyle and Hawk demanded simultaneously. Kyle did so at much higher volume.
Daniel shook his head slowly. "Tch. Can't believe you can't figure it out." He exhaled theatrically, his breath fogging up. "Bird Pokemon are so keen-eyed, and yet you can't see what's literally right in front of you? Disappointing."
Candace facepalmed. "The real Dodrio's breath still fogs up. The fake ones don't breathe, so the fog gives the real one away!" she whispered to Kyle, and the younger boy grinned.
"Nice, Daniel!" Kyle shouted.
"Oh, it doesn't matter," Hawk said defiantly. "Dodrio! Use Tri Attack!" The same red triangle that had taken out Mime Jr. the previous day formed on the beaks of each Dodrio.
"Gabite, use Sandstorm." A wall of sand kicked up, absorbing one of the triangles. A fraction of a second later, another batch of sand flared, blocking another attack. Within ten seconds, the attacks had all been expended and Gabite was unharmed. Daniel cocked his head at Hawk. "You know, that attack simultaneously burns, freezes, and electrocutes. Since Gabite's a Ground-type only two of the three would have been effective. But one of those really could have hurt, had it landed. Twelve of them launched at once? That would have put Gabite in the hospital."
Daniel paused a moment. "I haven't been put in a corner like this for quite a while. I guess we're fighting rough." He looked back at his partner. "Gabite. Sandstorm the place."
The sand flared again, this time moving out. The Dodrio, seeing what was coming, dashed to get away, but were quickly swallowed by the sand and knocked to the ground. Daniel nodded approvingly and continued his commands. "Now use Dragonbreath. Turn the arena into a parking lot." Gabite exhaled a long blast of superheated air, turning the sand to glass. The last of the fake Dodrios popped under the intense heat, and the real one staggered to its feet, weaving unsteadily.
The disorientation might have had something to do with the block of glass that was stuck to and weighing down the center head. It also might have had something to do with the Dragon Claw that Gabite swung into the left head without even waiting for a command from Daniel, knocking the Triple Bird Pokemon flying into the wall. On the other hand, it might have had something to do with the Dodrio then being pulled off the wall and thrown across the Gym by Gabite, only to be met by the same Dragon-type winding up. The Cave Pokemon thrust one arm out, effectively clotheslining Dodrio and knocking it flat on its back, out cold.
"Dodrio is unable to battle," Chatot said chirped. "The challenger wins."
"That was a rough battle, kid," Hawk said, trying to ignore the Chatot. "You were pretty vicious, but you earned the Talon Badge, I suppose."
"I'm not sure I deserve it," Daniel admitted. "Not after what I put Croconaw through with Staraptor."
"Take it," Hawk said quietly. "Pushing your Pokemon is part of growing too. Yes, you went overboard. Yes, you pushed your Pokemon a little more than you should have. But you realize there's a problem. You will not let this happen again. End of angst." He pressed the badge into Daniel's hand and walked away after recalling Dodrio.
"CHAAA! Hey, you're a pretty!" Chatot squawked.
"Chatot, go home!" Hawk called angrily. "I'm sorry, but could you all please leave now? I have some things to take care of…"
"Yeah, no problem," Daniel said, gathering the others.
"We've still got quite a bit of time left," Candace said, once outside.
"True, what now?" Kyle asked.
"Don't know, but first…" Candace trailed off before knocking Daniel upside the head.
"OW!" he shouted. "What was that for?"
"What the hell is the matter with you? I can't believe how you battled today! You are the craziest son of a bitch I've ever met. Were you trying to get you or your Pokemon killed?" she demanded.
"Hey, look, I'm sorry!" he exclaimed, so she hit him again.
"DON'T APPOLOGIZE TO ME! APPOLOGIZE TO CROCONAW!" she shouted.
"Uh," Tori began as she restrained Candace. "Maybe we could go train a bit…so we'll be completely ready for the contest tonight!"
Candace calmed down a little and agreed to go but quickly shot a mean glance back at Daniel.
"Just don't tire yourselves out," Daniel said nervously, rubbing his head.
"Don't worry," the girls said and took off to find the nearest open area to train in. They spent a few hours there until it was finally time to get ready for the contest. They headed back to the hotel, slipped into their dresses and made their way to the Contest Hall. The boys took a seat in the audience and the girls headed to the coordinator's lounge where Lacey greeted them and led them to one of the sofas in front of the TV screen. Emma was making her welcoming speech and the girls sat down with Lacey to watch. Duke walked in and, without saying anything, took a seat in the sofa adjacent to theirs. Katya came in shortly after and took a seat beside him, then fiddled with her hair.
Tori and Candace patiently watched as all of the coordinators made their appeals. It would take some time because there were a lot of people and the two girls registered late, so they would probably be taking the stage last. There were a lot of good appeals, but only a certain few that the girls were looking forward to watching.
The first was Lacey and her Mawile:
"Mawile, use Shadow Ball!" Lacey commanded. Mawile opened the toothy, jaw-like horns on her head and fired a Shadow Ball straight up. "And now Ice Beam!"
"MAH!" Mawile exclaimed as it shot a light blue beam of icy energy from its jaw-like horns. This energy surrounded the Shadow Ball and transformed it into a solid ball of ice, so it began to fall straight down.
"Good, now use Iron Head," Lacey said. Mawile grinned and sprang straight up, the jaw-like horns glowing bright white, and smashed the ball with them. Tiny, shimmering bits of ice scattered and rained down over the arena as Mawile landed gracefully on the ground. The audience was dazzled by the simple, but stunning combination. "Now for the finale, use Flash Cannon!"
Mawile opened up her horns once more and a bright, silver orb formed within it. Then a bright, silver beam shot from it, straight up into the sky. Mawile held it for some time, showing off her power as the beam of energy glimmered in the moonlight, and then bowed when she was done.
"Not that I'd expect anything less from Lacey, but I'd like to commemorate all of the training that went into teaching it all those moves that most Mawile don't learn without being taught! I believe that Iron Head was the only one that a Mawile can learn naturally," Contesta praised.
"And unlike other Mawile, this one doesn't appear to be all bark and no bite. That Flash Cannon was intense!" Nurse Joy added.
"A remarkable appeal from a remarkable Pokemon and its remarkable coordinator!" Mr. Sukizo concluded. Kyle sighed at the overuse of the word 'remarkable.'
Next in line was Randall and his Mismagius' performance:
"Mismagius, let's go!" Randall exclaimed, sending out a Ghost-type Pokemon who popped out in mid-air and hovered over her trainer who was wearing a standard black and white tuxedo for the event.
"This really is a special contest folks!" Emma announced. "You may or may not know this, but Randall is the Midnight City Gym Leader! We're about to witness some amazing power, but will it win him the contest?"
"A Gym Leader?" Duke sneered. Katya giggled.
"Try not to shit your pants," Candace muttered.
"What was that?" Duke asked.
"Huh? I didn't say anything," Candace replied, smiling.
"Mismagius, use Power Gem," Randall ordered. Mismagius nodded and the middle orb on her body began to glow orange, forming a yellow ball of energy which was fired upwards, followed by four more. They were slightly smaller and they surrounded it up in the air.
"Hey, wait a minute…Isn't Mismagius a Ghost-type?" Kyle asked. "But I thought he used Dark-types…"
"Yes," Daniel replied. "But it's probably mastered a few Dark-type moves. Besides, there's no set rule that forces a Gym Leader to have only Pokemon of their preferred type. It's customary, but not mandatory."
"Oh," Kyle said, looking forward.
"Now use Psywave!" Randall added. Mismagius became outlined in bright blue energy and five tentacle-like beams of Psychic energy snaked out and clung to the Power Gems, holding them in place above the arena. Then the orbs on her body began to glow dark black.
"Maag?" Mismagius asked.
"Yup! Dark Pulse," Randal said. Dark purple beams outlined in black shot from the orbs on her body. There were five branches: four single beams and one terrifyingly large one. Everyone watching gasped; the size wasn't even what made it so frightening, it was the shape. It consisted of dozens of beams, intertwined with each other to form a dragon's face.
"I didn't even know you can do that with Dark Pulse!" Duke exclaimed with a mix of shock, slight anger, and maybe even a little jealousy.
"It's massive!" Katya added, wide-eyed with fear. Lacey looked at the two and smiled while Candace rolled her eyes.
"That's the Pokemon League for ya," Lacey said. The two looked at her.
"Yeah, well power isn't everything in a contest!" Duke barked.
"It is if you can channel it correctly," Lacey corrected, looking back to the screen in time to see the four individual beams piercing through the four outer Power Gems, leaving one floating in the middle of four explosions of fireworks. The dragon face shot straight up for the final Power Gem, opening its jaw and slamming it down around the Power Gem, creating a huge explosion with a big, beautiful lavender-colored firework.
"Wow! Who'd of thought a Gym Leader could do that?" Emma exclaimed.
"Oh Emma, be nice," Lacey thought to herself and turned to Duke. "See?" she said.
Back in the audience, Mime Jr. was in awe and trembling slightly. Something about the Ghost Pokemon scared him and he didn't understand why. As if she sensed his uneasiness, she turned and glanced at him with a wicked grin. He shuddered and buried his face into Kyle's chest.
"Mime Jr.?" Kyle asked closing his arms tightly around his partner Pokemon.
"Still think you're ready to battle him?" Daniel asked. "Good luck doing it without your Pokemon. Even they know that they're out of their league at this point. Don't worry, we'll keep up the hard work and we'll get there someday."
"You think we're that far away?" Kyle asked sadly.
Daniel snorted. "At my best, I couldn't hope for more than delaying getting my head handed to me for more than a few minutes. And that's if he was fighting at half strength."
Randall called his Ghost-type back and walked off the stage.
And next up was Duke, with his Drifblim:
"Drifblim, use Rain Dance!" Duke ordered. The Drifblim raised its arms and it began to drizzle, but Drifblim concentrated and it became a total downpour, creating a small layer of water on the stage. It then drifted downwards as Duke told it to use Protect. A blue sphere formed around it and it began to spin in place, just above the large puddle of water. Water splashed up and whirled around with it, spreading out and lightly splashing whoever was close enough. The way the water moved around the sphere really was a pretty sight, and the crowd was pleased.
"Blim," Drifblim chanted as it came to a gradual stop and the sphere faded.
"Awesome, now use Sunny Day! Then Flash!" Duke exclaimed. Drifblim raised its arms and the weather became sunny. The Blimp Pokemon then lit up with Flash and shined brightly in the sunlight, until it faded and the sky became dark once again.
And lastly, it was Katya and her Jumpluff's turn:
"Use Splash!" Katya exclaimed. Her Jumpluff hopped up and down slightly, cheering happily.
"Aww, how cute!" Emma commented.
"So that's what Splash is for!" Kyle realized.
"What? Shitty contest appeals?" Daniel asked with a grin.
"Now use Bounce!" Katya added. The small hops became bigger and bigger until Jumpluff was bouncing high up into the air, having the time of its life.
"Does anyone else here want to punt that thing?" Daniel asked. Kyle immediately raised his hand and the people within hearing distance turned to glare at them.
"But it's so round...and puntable..." Daniel said. The people glaring at him glared harder for a moment then looked back to the contest.
"Aaaand Double Team!" Katya added. With each bounce, another Jumpluff appeared and bounced along too, all at the same pace and height. Pretty soon, there were five Jumpluff bouncing around. Then Katya told them all to use Attract and each one winked at a random point in the audience and pink hearts were released from their bodies, drifting into the audience and making everyone fall in love with this adorable Pokemon.
"Is that even a good appeal?" Kyle asked. Daniel pointed at the judges, who had fallen in love with the Jumpluff too. "I guess so," he muttered.
"Pluff!" Jumpluff cheered as they began to twirl and landed softly. The fakes disappeared and the real one curtsied for the audience, who went wild over how adorable the appeal was.
"I swear, those things are evil," Daniel said.
"Evil? Come again?" Kyle asked.
"Look at its eyes," Daniel said. "It's plotting, I swear."
There were many other appeals in between, but finally, it was Candace's turn. She made her way to the stage and took out a Pokeball.
"Larvitar, let's see how you do," she said, sending out her little garbage disposal.
"Well now…I certainly wasn't expecting that," Daniel said.
"Larvitar? For the preliminary round? And just what can he do? Is she crazy?" Kyle asked.
"Larvitar, use Dig!" Candace ordered. Larvitar dug underground and popped up repeatedly until there were around fifteen holes scattered around the arena.
"Tar!" he said, popping out for the final time.
"Good, now use Sandstorm!" she said. Larvitar stood over the nearest hole and dropped his arms into it.
"Why would she create a sandstorm in an underground tunnel? You can't even see it!" Katya said.
"Oopsie," Duke said, smiling.
"Now use Earth Power!" Candace shouted. Larvitar raised his arms and the ground began to shake. As lava erupted, geysers of sand shot up from the holes in a star-like formation around him. The lava merely added to the effect, appearing as glowing yellow cracks in the blast of sand.
"Creative," Lacey said. "Although I was sort of expecting a bit more…"
"I had no idea that Larvitar had the mental capacity to calculate the distance between the holes and make them so perfectly spaced apart," Kyle said with a sigh.
"Think she planted food down there to mark where he needed to come up?" Daniel joked. Kyle laughed.
"Not done yet," Candace whispered with a smile. "Rock Slide!"
Larvitar raised his arms and began to glow blue. A few moments later, a boulder navigated its way into the arena through the opening in the roof. It was also outlined in blue, so it was obviously Larvitar's doing. As it came down, he opened his mouth and Candace cocked her head. He snapped his jaw shut and the boulder shattered. He got a mouthful of rock bits, so he just ate them. Candace smacked her forehead.
"What incredible jaw power!" Contesta commented.
"I would not want that thing to bite me!" Nurse Joy said with an uncomfortable smile.
"But it's pretty remarkable!" Mr. Sukizo added.
"Not exactly what I was planning, but it'll do," Candace muttered as she called Larvitar back.
"And this brings us to our final entrant, Tori!" Emma announced, as Candace left and Tori took the stage. Tori took out a Pokeball and sent it out. She decided to try something; she wanted to make a good appeal without the use of ball seals, so she didn't put any on Pikachu's ball. She figured that Pokemon don't need the ball seal to look fantastic and coordinators that do need them shouldn't be coordinators.
"Pika!" Kyle's Pikachu exclaimed.
"Pikachu, use Quick Attack!" Tori ordered, and Pikachu sped around the outskirts arena. "Now use Double Team!" she whispered. Pikachu slowed and had apparently multiplied while he was running because there were several Pikachu surrounding the ring by the time he came to a complete stop.
"She taught Pikachu Double Team!" Kyle exclaimed. "SO COOL!"
"Now use Thunder!" Tori ordered.
"PIKA-CHUUU!" the fake Pikachu exclaimed, firing powerful thunderbolts up into the sky. The real Pikachu was a part of the border too, but he remained still and ready until he suddenly darted to the middle of the arena. The Thunder came down and struck him in the center of the ring. He began to glow for a moment before becoming completely surrounded by golden electricity, the black outline of his body could be seen within it. He dashed forward, speeding around the ring to destroy the fakes. When he was finished he leapt up and somersaulted in mid-air before giving a final Thunderbolt, and then landed gracefully on the ground, small sparks discharging along his body.
"That was Volt Tackle, everyone! It appears that Pikachu has just learned it!" Emma announced.
"DOUBLE TEAM AND VOLT TACKLE? TORI, YOU'RE AMAZING!" Kyle shouted, full of excitement.
Tori called Pikachu back, curtsied, and left the stage. Emma looked to the judges and they nodded.
"Alright, folks!" Emma exclaimed. "The judges have made their final decisions! Stay tuned because you won't want to miss this!"