Hey everyone, I'm back with an update after almost a month of inactivity. I apologize for the delay, but the truth is, I had a myriad of things more important than this. Finishing my final year of college, getting ready for commissioning, laptop broke, etc. Now, that it is winding down a little, I was able to squeeze in time to get a chapter out. So let's get to it.
Last Time: Ash and the gang arrived to the main stadium of the Indigo Plateau to learn about the second event of the tournament. The event is a joint team effort in which four trainers are paired together and battle against other teams in round robin rotations to earn points. One hundred points are required for the team to pass the event, but in the end only two people from the teams can move to the next round and the only ones who can have to earn the most points for the team. The first match was started with Ritchie Busch for Team KAHB going against Gage Alous for Team Phoenix.
Bold- PA Systems/Message Bulletins
Bold Italic- Radio/TV/Pokedex Descriptions
Italic-Thoughts/Letters/Flashbacks
Sparky and Samurott were glaring at each other after they took their positions on the battlefield, waiting for their trainers to give their first commands. From the look of it, Sparky had the advantage with his type over Samurott, but that meant nothing if it was in sync with its trainer.
"Sparky, use Thunderbolt!" Ritchie shouted.
"Samurott, use Protect!" Gage countered.
Sparky's cheeks sparked as the electricity flowed through his body and he gave a loud cry as a large yellow lightning bolt shot forth at Samurott. Samurott was already on the defensive as a large green dome materialized in front of him just as the lightning was about to hit him. The bolt bisected as it hit the dome and shot off into the air, leaving Samurott intact. The barrier surrounding Samurott dropped and Gage gave his next call.
"Samurott, use Ice Beam on the ground!"
"Sparky, use Quick Attack to stop it!" Ritchie yelled.
Samurott opened his mouth and a light blue ball of power began to grow inside. As Samurott was generating the attack, Sparky made his move. He got on all fours and a white light surrounded him briefly before he shot at Samurott like a bullet. He was instantly upon Samurott and jumped up headfirst, colliding right under his chin. The lightning fast tackle made Samuruott's mouth slam shut as it hit him, successfully disrupting his attack.
"Now use Double Team!" Ritchie yelled.
Sparky jumped away from Samurott as he swiped at him and smirked before giving a flicker. One copy of Sparky after another began to pop into existence until there were was ten of them surrounding Samurott. When Samurott was surrounded, Sparky and all of his copies began to run in a circle around it in an attempt to confuse him. While Sparky and Ritchie were implementing their key strategy, Gage and Samurott were preparing to counter back with theirs.
"Samurott, use Water Pledge!" Gage cried.
Samurott raised his front foot up and brought it down with a hard stomp. The second his foot touched the ground, the field gave a light tremor. A geyser of water burst from the ground in between the Sparky and his copies. When the first geyser separated Sparky and his clones, more geysers began to shoot up and hit the copies one after the next, dispersing them. The last geyser burst from the ground under Sparky and sent him high into the air, leaving him vulnerable.
"Use Razor Shell, now!" Gage shouted.
Samurott brought one of his arms up and drew a seamitar from one of the epaulets on his other arm. The seamitar began to glow a dark blue as it extended out further and Samurott shot at Sparky as he plummeted to the ground. Samurott swung his seamitar up at Sparky and watched as it raked across Sparky's back. Sparky gave a loud yelp as the sharp blade slashed into his back and scrunched his face up in concentration as he somersaulted and landed in a kneeling position behind Samurott. Samurott turned around and sheathed the seamitar before glaring back at Sparky who ran to the opposite end of the field to give himself space.
"Use Aqua Jet!" Gage hollered.
"Sparky, get ready to counter on my signal!" Ritchie shouted.
Samurott crouched and sprung forward and his body was covered in a spiraling veil of water as he darted for Sparky. Sparky showed no fear as Samurott came at him with the powerful attack. Normally a small pokémon of his caliber would be petrified, but Sparky was a veteran. He merely smirked as he got ready to attack back.
"Use Electro Ball!" Ritchie yelled.
Sparky jumped high in the air and over Samurott who soared beneath him. As he leapt over Samurott, a large golden ball of electricity began to spark to life on the tip of his tail. The ball continued to grow until it was just about Sparky's size and he twisted in midair to line up his shot on Samurott. When he located the large pokémon, Sparky twisted the lower half of his body and used his momentum to hurl the electric ball. The air buzzed as the ball of electricity flew at Samurott. The Electro Ball crashed into Samurott, making him go rigid as he let out a cry of pain. Sparky landed on the ground and had a triumphant smirk on his face after successfully hitting Samurott with his attack.
"Samurott, use Hyrdo Cannon!" Gage bellowed.
"Sparky, dodge and use Thunderbolt!" Ritchie shouted.
Samurott had opened his mouth and fired a spiraling blast of water at Sparky. The high pressure attack bolted for Sparky who quickly jumped to the side to avoid it. The pressure of the attack was so strong it almost knocked Sparky off balance despite having dodged it. Sparky's cheeks sparked once more and his body glowed yellow as the electricity coursed through his body. He released another large bolt of lightning and watched it fly at Samurott.
"Samurott, use Protect!" Gage cried.
Samurott turned around just in time to summon the green dome once again. Just like before, the lightning bolt split in two, but this time the two bolts struck the ground and a loud clap of thunder followed as the field burst open in two spots. Two thick clouds of dust covered the field after the lightning struck it, concealing both Sparky and Samurott. The two pokémon were aware of each other's location and were ready to intercept each other.
"Samurott, use Megahorn!" Gage shouted.
"Sparky, intercept with Iron Tail!" Ritchie yelled.
Sparky got on all fours and diverted his power to his tail and felt it become heavy as it was coated in iron. He dashed towards the center of the field and did not have to worry about finding Samurott as he would be there. He kept his eyes narrowed to keep himself from being blinded by any dust particles hovering in the air. As he reached the center, he had to do a wild jump to the right to avoid the stab from Samurott's horn. Samurott turned his gaze down towards Sparky and lunged again. This time, Sparky was prepared. Sparky swung his tail around and met Samurott's horn with a hard clang. The dust cleared and revealed the two of them in their deadlock.
The crowd roared loudly as they saw the deadlock between Samurott and Sparky. By the sound of it, it appeared that many of them were cheering for Sparky as he managed to block the attack and was now struggling for power.
"Don't let up, Sparky!" Ritchie yelled.
"Give it all you've got, Samurott!" Gage shouted.
Samurott and Sparky did not let up on each other as they continued to put as much power as they could into their attacks to overpower the other. Given Sparky's size disadvantage, he was losing more energy as he tried to fend off Samurott and he would not be able to hold out much longer.
"Sparky, break off and swing!" Ritchie hollered.
Sparky gave a growl as he spun into Samurott's horn, pushing it off to the side and allowing it to bury itself into the ground. He then jumped up and did a twist, slamming his tail into Samurott's cheek. Samurott winced in pain as he pulled his horn from the ground and skidded away from Sparky.
"Use Megahorn one more time!" Gage roared.
"Sparky, use Grass Knot!" Ritchie countered.
Samurott's horn glowed white with power before he ran at Sparky. However, Ritchie and Sparky were already prepared with their counter. Sparky's eyes flashed green for a moment before two, thick blades of grass burst from the ground and latched around Samurott's leg. Samurott was caught by surprise and tripped, landing on the ground with a hard thud.
"Finish it with Volt Tackle!" Ritchie shouted.
Sparky shot at Samurott and was covered in a thick, yellow veil of electricity as he continued his run. He quickly closed the gap between himself and Samurott and gave a loud cry as he smashed headfirst into the much taller pokémon. There was a loud boom as the attack hit Samurott and a clap of thunder echoed around the stadium. A thick cloud of dust covered the arena, but began to disperse. When the cloud of dust vanished, it revealed Sparky standing upright with crossed arms and Samurott lying on the ground with closed eyes, defeated. Sparky gave a wince as the recoil hit him, but smirked as he lowered his arms and rested his paws on his hips.
"Samurott is unable to battle! The first round victory goes to Ritchie Busch and Sparky!" The referee said as he raised the green flag towards Ritchie.
The crowd exploded with cheers to which Ritchie and Sparky acknowledge with waves. Sparky thumped his chest and flexed as the euphoria hit him full force. On the other side of the field, Gage returned Samurott to his ball and smiled down at it after praising him for a good fight. He attached the ball back to his belt and pulled out his final pokémon for the two on two battle. The ball expanded in his hand and he tossed it onto the field. This is when he would turn the tables on Ritchie.
"Give it your best shot!" Gage cried as he tossed the ball into the field.
The ball opened with a snap and a white glow emerged and began to take shape in the center of the field. The glow faded and in its place stood a Lucario, standing tall and defiant. Sparky and Lucario's eyes met and they sent each other a glare.
"Lucario, use Extremespeed!" Gage yelled.
"Sparky, dodge and use Thunderbolt!" Ritchie shouted.
Lucario crouched down and pushed off with his foot, vanishing upon doing so. He moved so fast that he was invisible and impossible to find. By the time Lucario was in sight, he was in front of Sparky, bringing his knee up into his stomach.
Sparky's eyes widened in pain and his mouth opened up in a silent cry as the wind was knocked out of him. As Sparky was sent airborne from Lucario's attack, he flipped to try and collect himself before lining up his attack. Sparky fought through the pain and he started to generate all the electricity he could. His body started to glow yellow as the electricity continued to build until he gave a loud cry and released it in the form of a massive bolt of lightning.
"Lucario, dodge and use Bullet Punch!" Gage hollered.
Lucario jumped away from the incoming bolt and dodged it as it struck the ground, dispersing with a loud clap of thunder following behind. Sparky landed on the ground not too far away and Lucario made his move. He shot at Sparky with his fists glowing dark red as power flooded through them. Once he got within striking distance, Lucario started to deliver one lightning fast punch after another. Sparky was barely able to keep track of the punches and managed to dodge the first couple, but ended up getting hit again and again after doing so. The final punch hit Sparky across his cheek and sent him bouncing across the concrete ground. He came to a stop and gingerly stood back up.
After pushing himself to his feet, Sparky wiped his nose with his paw and sent another glare at Lucario who looked surprised that he was still able to stand after that assault. Sparky smirked and held out his hand giving a 'bring it on' gesture with it. The taunt got the reaction he was looking for as Lucario snarled at him, clearly upset with it.
"Lucario, focus! Don't let him mess with you!" Gage ordered. "Use Bone Rush!"
"Sparky, hang in there!" Ritchie cheered. "Use Iron Tail!"
Lucario clapped his hands together and pulled them apart. As he pulled his hands apart, a large, green bone of energy appeared until it was almost half the size of Lucario. Lucario twirled the green bone-like staff in his paws and charged at Sparky. Meanwhile, Sparky's tail became coated in the strong iron once again before dashing forward to intercept Lucario.
Lucario and Sparky met in the center of the field and each of them swung. There was a loud clang as iron met bone. They broke away and swung again and again. With each swing, a loud clang would reverberate around the stadium, eliciting cheers from the spectators. Sparky and Lucario met in another deadlock with their attacks. Sparky pushed Lucario back and managed to deflect another blow from his Bone Rush before jumping up to flip over him. As he somersaulted over Lucario, his tail slammed on top of Lucario's crown. The stunning blow made Lucario stumbled away, giving Sparky time for a follow-up.
"Sparky, use Thunder!" Ritchie yelled.
Sparky's fists clenched as he channeled whatever energy he could. His cheeks began to crackle with electricity and blue sparks discharged from them. His eyes snapped opened and he gave a loud cry as a massive bolt of lightning darted at Lucario and struck him in the back. Lucario gave a loud howl as the electricity pulsed through his body, shocking him. When the attack ended, Sparky slumped forward as he struggled to stay standing and Lucario sunk to a knee as he tried to shake off the pain.
Lucario was the first to recover as he stood up slowly, still trembling from the aftershock of Sparky's attack. He wheeled around and leveled Sparky with a furious look. He twirled the bone in his hand again and ran at Sparky to finish him off. Sparky stood upright and continued to fight his exhaustion as he tried to anticipate Lucario's movements. Lucario was quickly towering above Sparky and swung low at him. Sparky easily jumped over the bone, but that's what Lucario had been hoping for. He spun around, bringing the giant bone-like staff up and swinging it like a baseball bat. There was a loud thump as the bone slammed hard into Sparky's stomach.
Sparky gave a loud wheeze as the bone smashed into his stomach, knocking whatever breath and energy he had in him. The hit carried him until he was thrown from the bone and landed on his back near Ritchie's feet. Sparky winced as he tried to take a deep breath and sit up, but the bruising on his stomach was making it near impossible. He craned his neck to see Lucario twirling the bone again before walking towards him slowly. Sparky wanted to continue fighting, but as he sat up, his vision went dark and he fell back into blissful unconsciousness.
"Sparky is unable to battle! The second round victory goes to Gage Alous and Lucario!" The referee declared.
The crowd erupted into another series of cheers for the outstanding performance from the two pokémon that fought. The standing ovation continued until Sparky was carried off the field by Ritchie who set up his bag to act like a makeshift pillow. Sparky stirred and his eyes cracked open and looked up at Ritchie. Ritchie only smiled at his old friend and gently ruffled his hair.
"Good job, buddy," Ritchie said as he stood up and plucked the ball holding his last pokémon. "Take it easy for now. I'll wrap this up."
Sparky only nodded before drifting off to sleep again. When Sparky returned to his slumber, Ritchie turned around and enlarged the Poké Ball in his hand and gripped it tightly. His free fingers pinched the bill of his hat as he adjusted it. He said nothing as he threw his ball into the field. The ball opened with a snap and a large form began to take shape. When the glow vanished and revealed the pokémon, the crowd came to life once again. It was well known to every trainer and pokémon fan and the fact that it was now in the fight made the crowd even livelier than before. The pokémon's eyes opened and its wings spread wide, creating a gust of wind. A loud roar filled the stadium as the pokémon looked at its opponent.
"Burn baby, burn!" Ritchie grinned.
Back in the spectating area, Ash was surprised to see who Ritchie brought to the field and a knowing smirk came to his lips. He saw this pokémon only a couple of times, the last time being when he was in the Whirl Islands. The little Charmeleon was not so little anymore as he had now evolved to his third and final evolution. His ears rang as the Charizard roared loudly again and sent a stream of fire into the air to show its excitement for battle.
"Let's see how far Zippo has come," Ash mused as he crossed his arms.
On the field, Ritchie and Gage were ready for the final round as they had a brief stare down.
"Lucario, stay strong! Use Aura Sphere!" Gage shouted.
"Zippo, send it back with Wing Attack!" Ritchie yelled.
Lucario held his paws apart and a large, blue ball of rotating energy formed between them. He brought his arms back and gave a hard thrust, shooting the ball at Zippo who watched it come closer and closer. When the ball was near Zippo, his wings began to glow white with power and then gave a hard flap, smacking the sphere and sending it back at Lucario. The Aura Sphere shot back at Lucario like a bullet and he barely avoided it as he jumped away. The Aura Sphere hit the spot where Lucario was standing moments before and created a small crater in the ground.
"Zippo, use Earthquake!" Ritchie shouted.
"Lucario, jump and use Force Palm!" Gage countered.
Zippo raised his leg and brought it down on the stadium ground hard just as Lucario jumped up. The tremor pulsed through the battlefield and caved in the spots that took damage from the previous round. Missing his target, Zippo looked up to find Lucario and got ready to engage once again.
"Now use Flamethrower!" Ritchie cried.
Zippo opened his mouth and fire began to build inside of it. A second later, a large stream of searing flames shot up at Lucario. The blistering flames were so hot everyone could see the heat coming from the fire as it soared through the air. Lucario, being airborne, had no way of maneuvering around the flames and did the next best thing. He crossed his arms and shielded his face as the flames engulfed him. Lucario emitted a loud cry of pain as the scorching heat burned him. He fell out of the flames and landed on the ground, baring his teeth in pain and trying to fight through it as best he could.
"Zippo, use Slash!" Ritchie shouted.
"Lucario, dodge and use Force Palm again!" Gage hollered.
Zippo's wings shifted as he prepared to glide across the arena and his claws started to glow white as they elongated. He soared at Lucario with his claws back and gave one slash, but Lucario ducked under it. He brought his next set of claws down in a slash, but Lucario evaded them as well. Lucario ducked inside Zippo's guard and pressed his palm against Zippo's stomach. At first nothing happened, but then a blast of energy managed to make Zippo stumble back in surprise before he turned to look at Lucario with a furious glare.
"Zippo, take to the sky!" Ritchie yelled.
Zippo's wings expanded out and he gave a couple of hard flaps and was soaring above the field almost instantly. He looked down at the field and kept his gaze on Lucario as he waited for Ritchie to give his next command.
"Now use Aerial Ace!" Ritchie cried.
Zippo's body was outlined in a white veil as he tilted his wings and began to dive towards the ground. He was so fast that he was upon Lucario within a second. The speed caught Lucario off guard as Zippo was suddenly in front of him and he had no time to dodge. Zippo's skulls collided with Lucario's stomach, knocking the wind out of him before sending him airborne and over him. Lucario flipped through the air and landed hard on the ground, face first.
Lucario, stunned and still recovering from the hard hit, pushed himself up shakily. His body trembled as he got to his feet and he turned around to see Zippo soaring around the field. He saw Zippo suddenly bank left and shoot towards him again. This time he was ready.
"Lucario, jump on him!" Gage shouted.
Lucario bent back and narrowly dodged Zippo's Aerial Ace. His eyes locked with Zippo's and he saw a look of irritation flash through them. Lucario's paws shot up and gripped Zippo's leg and he was carried into the air. As he soared high into the air with Zippo, Lucario struggled to pull himself up to Zippo's back. Zippo's quick maneuvers were not helping as it was making his grip wane.
"Zippo, shake him off!" Ritchie yelled.
"Lucario, hang on tight and use Brick Break!" Gage shouted.
Zippo began to do wild moves to shake Lucario off, ranging from loops, to spirals and hard turns, but it was proving to be useless. Lucario managed to pull himself up to Zippo's back and brought one of his hands up as he kept a tight grip with the other. His paw began to glow white with power and he was about to give a chop, but was delayed when Zippo turned to fly upside down. Lucario was hanging on by a thread as he tried to get a hit on Zippo, but it was proving to be difficult. It only got worse as Zippo suddenly shot up in a loop, finally shaking him off. Lucario lost his grip and was now flipping over Zippo. Not wanting to miss the chance, Lucario gave a wild chop and managed to strike the joint between Zippo's left wing and back.
Lucario fell to the ground and landed hard, rolling across it and coming to a stop near Gage's feet. Zippo fared no better than Lucario after getting struck by the Brick Break. The hit on his joint had all but disabled his wing and caused him to spiral to the ground out of control. There was a thunderous crash as Zippo landed on the field, kicking up a large dust cloud. Lucario was the first to get to his feet after Zippo landed and he kept his eyes on the dust cloud as it vanished. Zippo was standing up and looked ready for more.
"Lucario, use Aura Sphere!" Gage hollered.
"Zippo, send it back with Dragon Tail!" Ritchie countered.
Lucario's hands generated another rotating ball of energy between them and he gave a hard thrust. The spinning ball soared at Zippo who was getting ready to send back the attack like he did earlier. The tip of Zippo's tail glowed a light blue and it slowly spread of the entirety of it. Zippo's tail was now glowing a light blue as the power surged through it and he gave a hard swing. The game baseball ran through the heads of all the spectators as they watched Zippo's tail smash into the ball and send it right back at Lucario.
"Lucario, send it back with Bone Rush!" Gage bellowed.
Lucario pulled his paws apart and the large, green bone materialized in his hands. He gave the bone a quick twirl and swung at the Aura Sphere. Just like Zippo, he successfully sent the rotating ball of energy back at him. The counter surprised Ritchie and Zippo, but they were ready to intercept it once again. Zippo swung again and sent the ball at Lucario. Back and forth the rotating ball of energy went, with no possible end in sight.
Wanting to end the fight and put his team on the board with points, Ritchie's mind raced as he thought of a way to make this work. Zippo and Lucario would just keep sending it back at this rate, but the only way he would be able to score a hit was to distract Lucario with a ranged attack. The way he saw it, he would get a hit one way or another on Lucario.
"Zippo, use Flamethrower!" Ritchie shouted.
Zippo's tail smashed into the rotating ball one last time and sent it back, but he quickly canceled his Dragon Tail and turned to face Lucario as he opened his mouth. He took a deep breath and fired a stream of searing flames at him. Lucario, caught by surprise with the two attacks coming at him did the next best thing. Having nowhere to go, Lucario began to twirl the bone-like staff in his hands as fast as he could. The ball of energy smashed into the bone, but stayed in place as Lucario continued to twirl the bone. The Flamethrower soon engulfed Lucario and the Aura Sphere.
Lucario gave a loud cry of pain and was doing the best he could to hold the Aura Sphere back from hitting him and diverting as much of the Flamethrower as possible. In the end, if proved to be futile. The power was simply too much for Lucario as the heat forced him to stop spinning the bone and the Aura Sphere made contact with his chest just as the Flamethrower ended. A couple of seconds passed as the Aura Sphere hit Lucario's chest before exploding in a loud bang and launching him back. There was a loud thud as Lucario landed spread eagle on the ground. When he didn't stir, Zippo crossed his arms with a triumphant smirk and spouted a flame into the air.
"Lucario is unable to battle! Gage Alous is out of usable pokémon! The victor of the first match goes to Ritchie Busch of Team KAHB!" The referee announced.
The stadium exploded into cheers at the call of the match. The noise that filled the area was so loud Ritchie was barely able to hear himself give a whoop of excitement before running onto the field and wrapping Zippo in a hug. He was proud of his team for helping him secure the first win of the second even and earn points for him and his team.
"Nice job, Zippo! You were awesome!" Ritchie praised as he pulled out his ball.
He gave Zippo one last pat on the back before returning him to the ball and clipping it to his belt. Ritchie looked to the other side of the field and saw Gage kneeling beside his Lucario who was now sitting upright. He walked over to Gage to thank him and Lucario for the battle as it was one of the most intense ones he had in a while. When he came to a stop in front of Gage, the trainer and his Lucario looked up at him with some surprise.
"That was a heck of a fight you two put up," Ritchie said as he held his hand out. "I had a blast battling you."
"Thanks." Gage smiled back as he shook his hand. "Great counter! Let's battle again sometime!"
"I'll be looking forward to it."
Ritchie bid Gage farewell and walked off the field and to the spectating area where Ash, Paul and Barry greeted him with smirks and claps on the back. He said he would put them on the board first and he went through with his promise. Once Gage and his Lucario were off the field, Charles Goodshow walked on and was clapping enthusiastically. His face had nothing but excitement after seeing that battle and he was no doubt eager to see more after that spectacle. The lively energy that Charles was exuding only added fuel to the stadium's fire.
"Now that's what I call a great kickoff to the second event!" Charles beamed. "Now, we will have another match coming up shortly. The field will be changed before the next match which calls for a short five minute intermission."
The crowd gave another roar of applause as Charles said that and his grin only seemed to stretch further across his face.
"Let's take a look at the leaderboard quick before we head to the intermission!" Charles said as he turned to the jumbotron.
The team names appeared on the screen and each team had five individual boxes. There was a box for each member and one for the total points that were accumulated. On the top of the list was Team KAHB in first with the rest of the teams tied for second, but that would quickly change as the event got into full swing within the next couple of days. For Team KAHB, two boxes had numbers in them and that was Ritchie's as well as the box of accumulated points. Ritchie had two points and that went into the total amount of points his team had. Since he won his battle with only one pokémon remaining, he only received two points.
"Congratulations to Team KAHB for putting numbers on the board first!" Charles said as he turned back to face the sea of fans. "Let's hear a round of applause for our first battlers Ritchie Busch and Gage Alous!"
The jumbotron suddenly changed to two separate cameras and captured Ritchie and Gage with their teammates. The two of them waved as the cheers hit them again and had large grins on their faces.
"We'll take a quick intermission and come back with more battles to follow!" Charles said again before walking off the field.
Bumper music began to fill the stadium as fans got up to stretch and use the restrooms and make a trip to the shops and concession stands. The trainers decided to do the same before the next match started and began to flood through the tunnels to the concourse. Team Phoenix was standing at the entrance to the tunnel that led to the concourse. Jason had called them together as he wanted to have a brief conversation with them. He waited for them to be alone before he turned to his teammates. He crossed his arms and looked at Gage. Not liking the look Jason was giving him Gage crossed his arms and gave an even stare back at him.
"We need to have a talk," Jason said as he leaned against the wall.
"Well, we're listening," Jeffery replied.
"We need to pull it together here and give it all we've got. I don't want this team to fall behind and be on the losing edge. I want to show these people what we can do."
"When you say we, do you mean you?" Gage challenged.
Jason turned his attention back to Gage when he said that. He may be hotheaded and seem self-centered, but he truly did want success for his team.
"No, I don't," Jason replied. "I'm just saying that we need to straighten out our flaws and help each other to get to the top of the game by winning as many matches as we can. The sooner we get ahead the better off we will be."
"Why's that?" Jeffery asked.
"Think about it, Jeff. If we fall behind on points too soon, we will be operating under constant pressure and crunch time to win. We can easily stop that just by winning early matches," Jake answered as he stuck his hands in his pockets.
"Precisely." Jason nodded.
The four of them fell silent for a moment before Jason pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a sigh. Although his team was tied with the rest since Team KAHB won the match against them, he wasn't too concerned yet, but he had no idea when they would be up for another battle for points. All he knew was that now that they lost the first round, they would slowly fall behind as there would be teams that would win and pull ahead of them.
"Look, the reality of it is this. Since Gage lost the first round, we lost the jumpstart for contention," Jason said with a sigh.
"Well excuse me, Captain Phoenix," Gage replied with an eye roll.
"I'm not dissing you. I'm just telling you all the way I see the situation now. Now although all the teams will get all one hundred points, we have to remember that only two of us will make it to the next round and that all revolves around who earns the most points for the team."
"Yeah, you're right." Jake nodded.
"So like I said, I'm not mad. I'm just saying we need to step up our game. Not just for the team's sake, but for our own as well because it all falls on which of us will be the two to earn the most points. Gage, you shot yourself in the foot there with the loss, but you still have time to turn it around," Jason explained.
Gage grumbled something, but Jason ignored it. Jason looked around at his team again and gave a nod before turning to walk away. He looked over his shoulder to leave some parting words.
"Let's turn it around," Jason said. "Get some grub and let's watch some battles. It'll give us time to analyze the competition and try to find possible holes in their strategies."
With that, Jason walked down the tunnel and disappeared from view as he walked into the crowd of people. Jeffery said nothing and followed after Jason to get something to eat, leaving Jake and Gage alone. The two of them stood there with Jason's words circling their heads.
"Hey, don't feel down, okay?" Jake said as he put a hand on Gage's shoulder. "You did awesome out there, you just caught a bad break."
"Yeah," Gage replied.
"I'm going to get something to drink. Do you want anything?"
"I'll take a water."
"One water coming right up."
Jake walked down the tunnel to the concourse and disappeared. Gage leaned against the wall and thought about what Jason said. He did not want his road to end here in the second event and he would not let Jason or any of his teammates beat him in points. If anyone was going to make it to the next event, it would be him.
That's the chapter everybody. I hope you all enjoyed it and that you are waiting for more. Now, I will be busy this summer with a job and an internship, but I will write when I get the time. Check out the statements and story shout outs below. So until next time, see ya'll later. -Captain
OCs featured in this chapter
Gage Alous: (The Keeper of Worlds)(Last appearance chapter 27)
Jason Phoenix: (Trentavious Phoenix)(Last appearance chapter 20)
Jake Washington: (Nobel Six)(Last appearance chapter 10)
Jeffery Gibbs: (I Am Alex Mercer Also A Brony)
Statements:
1.) Don't forget about the character popularity poll for the story here. You can find it on my profile page. So go and vote for your favorite characters!
Story Shout Outs:
"The Pokemon World League" by The Fan Fiction Writer (recently updated 3/7/2014)
"The World of Pokemon" by Jexo (recently updated 4/21/2014)
"Pokemon Red and Blue: Tony's Journey" by Coli Chibi (recently updated 5/9/2014)
