Chapter 36

The match started immediately. "Charizard, seismic toss!"

Charizard flew at Empoleon and picked it up. Tsubaki took a second to analyze the situation. "Break free with drill peck!"

The Pokémon began swirling around, drilling itself into Charizard. The dragon Pokémon released Empoleon immediately, roaring angrily.

"Dragon claw!" Ishi called out.

Charizard's hand glowed as it clawed into Empoleon, dropping the bird Pokemon's HP. Tsubaki thought of a counter.

"Steel wing!"

Empoleon's wing glowed a steely color as it hit away Charizards hand, then charged over at him, hitting him with a solid hit to the gut. Charizard roared in fury, looking over at Ishi.

"Dragon rage!" Ishi screamed, punching the air.

"Counter with water pulse!" Tsubaki returned fire.

Both attacks colliding, the combination of moves cancelling each other out. Tsubaki and Ishi stared each other down.

"You're pretty good," complimented Ishi.

Tsubaki blushed. "You too, but this battle is mine. Use surf!"

"Try to cancel it with flame charge!"

Charizard's body set on fire as it fly into the large body of water. I heard sizzling sounds as the water and fire fought against each other. The next time we saw Charizard, he'd fainted.

"No way!" exclaimed Ishi. "Charizard's so strong though!"

"Yes," Tsubaki acknowledged. "But Empoleon's a bility, torrent, power's up its water moves and that's going to effect Charizard greatly."

Ishi sighed. "I can't believe I let a girl beat me. At least it's you, Tsubaki."

She blushed, adjusting her glasses. She returned Empoleon and exited the field. Ishi did as well.

"Better luck next time, bro," said Angel to Ishi.

Ishi nodded and turned his attention to the next battle. I did as well. The final fight. Servine Vs. Wartortle. Miku Vs. Kohaku.

Kohaku started without hesitation. "Leaf storm!"

Servine stirred up a tornado of glowing leaves, shooting out at Wartortle. Without command, Wartortle knew to dodge, but was hit by a few stray leaves.

"Our turn!" Miku called with a wink. "Rapid spin! Go!"

Wartortle sucked itself into its shell, beginning to spin speedily, aiming for Servine. The move managed to hit twice, but Servine dodged all the other strikes.

"Leaf blade!" Kohaku called.

Servine plowed straight into Wartortle, knocking him over. Miku panicked as Servine started to drain its HP.

"Use ice beam!" Miku called worriedly.

Wartortle obeyed, trying to freeze Servine over. Now it was Kohaku who was in trouble as Wartortle's HP dropped.

"Tackle her Wartortle!" he shouted.

"Tackle right back!" commanded Miku.

Both Pokémon slammed into each other like sumo wrestlers, trying to knock each other over. Neither of them seemed to be able to get the upper hand.

"Go Kohaku!" Tsubaki cheered. Ishi smiled and laughed at Tsubaki. I had to admit, she did look kind of funny getting so pumped up.

Akako examined the field. "Not sure why, but I think Miku will win."

I looked up at him. "Really? Kohaku has the advantage though."

Akako laughed. "Advantages mean nothing to a good trainer. We need to learn to tackle anything."

I nodded and turned back to the field, both Pokémon still duking it out. I held my breath, waiting for someone to take control of the battle.

"Ice beam once more!" Miku cried.

Kohaku screamed, "Leaf storm!"

The next scene was beautiful. Leaves froze over, falling from the sky. Both attacks were equally strong and elegant. The deciding factor would be how much HP the Pokémon still had left.

Both Pokémon stood facing each other, breathing heavily and waiting for its opponent to fall over. What happened shocked me. Both Pokémon fell over at the exact same time.

Everyone's eyes widened in surprise, looking over at the judge.

Miku asked awkwardly, "Who wins?"

Marci shook her head. "Neither of you."

"Why?!" called out Kohaku.

"Neither of you won," noted Marci. "Which means you both lose. This will also make the tournament easier to go through. If one of you would've one, someone would've had an extra battle next round, so this evens the matches out nicely."

Miku bowed her head in defeat and Kohaku sighed. He walked off the field with Miku, comforting her. I saw him blush as she leaned on him.

Marci soon drew up a new set of matches. "Here's the next round!"

Kokoa Vs. Akako

Ichigo Vs. Tsubaki

I was up against Tsubaki? I'd have to be careful. She isn't only a brilliant hacker, she's highly knowledged on Pokémon as well. This should be a fun match.

Tsubaki extended her hand to me. "Best of luck."

I took her hand and shook it. "Same to you."

Then we went silent as Kokoa and Akako went on stage. Akako smiled and waved at me. "Make sure to cheer for me!"

Kokoa snorted. "Don't root for Aka-baka! I'm your best friend! Cheer for me!"

"Oh brother," I sighed. This would be a fun match indeed.

Kokoa called out Ginger, not waiting for Marci to begin the match. Akako did as well, readying his Grovyle. It was apparent that neither of them wanted t lose and I didn't want to see either of them lose either. I remained neutral, not really cheering for either. No matter the outcome, they'd make it a good match.

Marci stared at them intently, obviously curious about how the match would go. She could tell that they were both powerful trainers. The look in their eyes said it all. I just hoped they didn't kill each other. Then, the match began...