Chapter 29: That Attack Looks Familiar…
Eli hopped out of the first battlefield with pure, untouched adrenaline coursing through his veins. He was super excited about his win over Zoe, in which he had a severe type disadvantage. Skipping through the modern hallways towards the trainers' lounge, he realized that he was beginning to develop more of an ego than he had at the beginning of his journey. He came upon the frosted glass doors of the trainers' lounge before meeting up with the rest of the Cobalt Town Crew. Upon sitting in his chair with the rest of the group, he realized the somber looks on everyone's faces. One of the members had lost in the second round. By process of elimination, Eli determined that Isaac had bitten the dust last round. He sat down with the rest of the group before breaking the silence.
"What the hell happened to Isaac?" questioned Eli. The rest of the group avoided Eli's eyes before Atlas took the time to explain the situation.
"Well, Isaac had complete confidence in his battle. His opponent had only used a Mighteyana in the preliminary rounds, so Isaac was planning to sweep him with a Hitmonlee. However, Isaac that unlucky guy, was double-crossed. His opponent sent out Alakazam. Hitmonlee was toast from the beginning. Isaac at least mad a show of it. He almost advanced despite the type disadvantage," finished Atlas, who was distraught at the loss of Isaac in the tournament. He then, however, handed Eli back a Pokeball and a Great Ball. "I think you'll be needing these for your next battle. Don't make that mistake next time," warned Atlas, who then cracked a smile on his despair-riddled face. The three remaining trainers from Cobalt Town, Eli, Atlas, and Sarah, all sat down to look at the brackets. They went over Sarah's matchup first. "Sarah, this round you will be facing number 59 in this matchup," said Atlas. He handed over the manila folder to Sarah, who promptly opened it to view the contents.
"Looks like I'm up against a water type user. She has used three Pokemon so far: Poliwhirl, Crawdaunt, and Ducklett. This should be a breeze if she sticks to schedule. Raichu should blow these fish out of the water. Who is Eli up against, Atlas?"
"Eli will be facing number 59," responded Atlas, who graciously handed the files over to Eli for inspection. Eli observed the contents of the file. This time, he would be up against a trainer who didn't specialize in any particular strategy. She just went with what worked. Smeargle was the last Pokemon that she had remaining after the preliminary rounds where she went 4-1 with a mediocre strength of schedule. Liyanna was her name, according to the file. She was an African-american girl with short blue hair. A tank top rested calmly on her shoulder as her large, white smile painted the rest of the picture. Her Smeargle was a specimen, as it knew only three attacking moves. The moveset applied to the painter was an interesting one consisting of hyper beam, thunder, sheer cold, and sketch. This intimidating moveset struck fear into the heart of Eli. Thunder and sheer cold drove away Zubat and Bulbasaur, but there was no clear way to win with Arcanine either. Scouring the PokeDex, Eli found the move sketch, as it was the only move in this set that he didn't know the effects of. According to the PokeDex, the move permanently copied the moves of another Pokemon to utilize for Smeargle. This strategy would turn any overpowering move into a disadvantage. Eli would have to deviate from his usual strategy for him to advance to the next round. The group then moved on to analyzing Atlas' matchup for the next round.
"This round, I will be up against number 170," uttered Atlas. He swung open the file to observe his own notes that he had taken. "Let's see here… uh-hu, yeah. Alrighty, I should be ready to roll this round. I'm facing this chick named Whitney. She lost all of the Pokemon she normally used in prelims, so now she is stuck using a Miltank. Should be easy going," finished Atlas. The group all wished each other the best of luck before departing towards their designated battlefield, courtesy of the que from the director of the tournament. Eli ducked out of the frosted glass door of the trainers' lounge and into the bustling hallways of the stadium. He dodged fans and media members seeking an interview. Now, Eli was actively trying to size down his ego-which had just recently flared up. He knew that in order to win this round, he must take his opponent as seriously as he had taken Atlas the first time the partners had battled. Finally, Eli walked through the doors, where a roaring crowd cheered his arrival. He stepped onto the platform, where Liyanna was perched on her side of the field. Eli took a moment to observe the battlefield. This domain consisted of a ground riddled with patches of snow and ice. Movement would be impaired for both Pokemon in conditions such as these. Snowy rocks also sprouted amongst the ice, adding shelters for weakened Pokemon. As Eli looked up, he realized that this arena contained a plastic bubble over it to control the temperature. Icy cold temperatures hacked away at all of the people in the arena, but there were still many hardcore fans cheering in the audience. The battle referee began to read out the rules.
"Today, we have a battle in the Sweet 16 between our number-one seed, Eli from Cobalt Town, and our number-four seed, Liyanna from Goldenrod City. Each trainer is allowed the use of only one Pokemon, and the winner will be determined when one trainer's Pokemon is unable to battle. I hope you both are ready, because it is time to begin!" shouted the referee. His remarks drew massive applause from the audience. Liyanna made the first move.
"Picasso, let's go get 'em!" shouted the petite girl. The beagle flew out of his Pokeball and promptly landed with a thud on the battlefield. Eli would need to take advantage of the low stats of Smeargle in order to overcome its massive moveset.
"Screech, I choose you!" screamed Eli. Eli's logic was that since the field would play to a massive disadvantage to Smeargle, Zubat could avoid it by soaring above the battlefield. Now, Eli would just have to avoid the attacks that Smeargle used and he would be golden. However, Liyanaa had a different idea.
"Picasso, use sheer cold, now," shouted Liyanna, who smirked. Even though Eli though Liyanna and Smeargle would be at a disadvantage in this climate, it would actually boost the power of sheer cold even more. Smeragle absorbed the frosty air around him, before charging up a beam of energy in his mouth. The white beam of energy sprang towards Zubat, but Eli drove the attack off course.
"Screech, now dodge it and use confuse ray!" The minute bat dodged the attack and launched a ball of energy towards the beagle. Smeargle hid behind one of the ice-infested rocks on the field, before calling out his custom move. He used his tail to sketch a marvelous drawing of the previous attack onto the rock lying in front of him. He then stared into the drawing, before developing a determined look onto his face. Sketch had worked successfully- Smeargle had adapted the move confuse ray to use for his own bidding. Now, it was Liyanna's turn to command Smeargle.
"Picasso, now use confuse ray! But make sure it doesn't miss!" The dog launched an aurora at Zubat, and the attack hit successfully. Zubat teetered in the air recklessly. This then gave time for Smeargle to charge up a match-ending attack. "Picasso, wipe out this bat. Charge up a hyper beam, now!" shouted Liyanna. Smeargle did so, and Zubat continued to teeter in the air aimlessly. Eli, who suddenly became very nervous, refused to say anything. He needed to wait out the confusion. When the hyper beam was ready to fire, Liyanna refused to pull the trigger on the attack. She wasnted to make the attack have a larger diameter, so that she would not risk having Smeargle sit defenseless for the next turn. Eli winced as Liyanna still refused to give a command. The beam of pure power grew quickly, and it soon encompassed more than the size of Zubat. However, as soon as Liyanna gave the signal to fire out the attack, Zubat miraculously snapped away from his confusion. Eli rejoiced quickly, before shouting out a command.
"Screech, fly straight up!" shouted Eli.
"Picasso, blast the bat with hyper beam!" screeched Liyanna. Both commands were obeyed, and the beam of energy chased Zubat further and further up into the sky. Right before the roof was reached, Zubat pulled away from his flight pattern. The attack smashed into the ceiling, which began to let in sunlight. The ice quickly melted under the pressure of the heat, and a swimming pool was created around Smeargle. Zubat flew towards him at a break-neck pace, smashing into him with an uber powerful wing attack. Smeargle was defenseless against the first attack, and it hindered him greatly. Smeargle hunched over, opening the door for Eli to strike.
"Screech, keep hitting him with wing attacks until he gives in!" shouted Eli. The minute bat's wings acted as clubs as he repeatedly bashed the small beagle deeper into the ground. Finally, Zubat slammed into Smeargle one last time before the painter collapsed lifelessly on the damp ground. Before the referee could make the call, Zubat was engulfed in a white light. The whole crowd gasped, as they were about to see something very remarkable. The contours of the bat began to change, as its wings grew larger, along with its mouth. Fangs sprouted from the open mouth of the beast, and Eli swiped out his PokeDex to enter this monster into his PokeDex. The dual screens of the machine illuminated, and the rote voice began to read out the description of the beast. It read, Golbat. Attacking with its sharp fangs, this Pokémon can drain three hundred cubic centimeters of blood per bite. Eli and the audience shared a cheer, as the referee ruled in Eli's favor. He had punched his ticket to the Elite 8.
End of Chapter 29
