Chapter 37 - A Twist of Fate! Grinder vs. Silver!
"So, my friend...it's come to this." Silver said. "Don't think that just because we're friends, that I'm going to go easy on you!"
"I wouldn't have it any other way!" I declared.
"So, this battle is between Grinder of Blackthorn City, and Silver of Sootopolis!" the referee said. (Author's Note: Sorry for all the awkward and random changes. They're just minor details, though.) "Each Trainer will use three Pokemon, and battle until one Trainer has no more Pokemon remaining! Are both Trainers ready?"
"Yes!" we both declared.
"Now, to decide a field..." the referee said.
We took a look at the large LED screen. It spun around the four fields, and stopped at a rock field.
"And now, begin the battle!" the referee said.
"All right, Drake, let's go!" I said, releasing the Dragonite from its Poke Ball.
"Pinsir, shine!" Silver said, releasing it from its Poke Ball.
"And, the first battle is between Pinsir and Dragonite!" the MC said. "An interesting choice for Silver, whose Pokemon not only fares badly on the terrain, but loses in type advantage to his opponent! Perhaps we'll see the reasoning in Silver's choice as the battle progresses!"
"Dragonite, let's make this quick! Flamethrower!" I said.
"Pinsir, counterattack with Stone Edge!" Silver responded.
Drake let loose a burst of flames that sped towards Pinsir. However, Pinsir dodged it by charging directly forward. It looked like it was going to hit the rock in front of it, but it reared its head down and miraculously split the rock with its horns. Moreover, the sheer force Pinsir put into crushing the rock caused it to speed towards the sky and inevitably, Drake. It struck Drake, sending it crashing to the ground.
"Ugh!" I grunted as Silver grinned.
"And it seems Pinsir is actually using the terrain to its advantage, preying on Dragonite's Rock-type weakness to bring it out of the sky!" the MC said.
"Follow it up with X-Scissor!" Silver said.
Dragonite struggled to get up, but as it did, Pinsir's X-Scissor knocked it down again.
"Now, Seismic Toss!" Silver said.
"Drake, Flamethrower!" I commanded.
Pinsir charged in, but Drake managed to score a direct hit, sending Pinsir flying back.
"Pinsir, use Revenge!" Silver commanded.
Pinsir then began to glow red. It charged in, ignoring Drake's Flamethrower, and slammed into Drake, causing it a fair bit of damage.
"It seems that this Pinsir is braving all the attacks thrown at it easily, and hammering Grinder's Dragonite with its powerful attacks!" the MC said.
"Drake, Thunderbolt!" I said.
"Pinsir, Stone Edge!" Silver responded.
Drake released a bolt of lightning that struck Pinsir. However, it took the attack with impunity, and smashed into a nearby rock, sending it hurtling towards Drake. It struck it dead-on.
"Drake! No!" I yelled.
Drake fell to the ground, knocked out. However, at the same time, Pinsir also fell over, knocked out.
"Both Pokemon are unable to battle!" the referee declared.
The crowd fell silent. I gritted my teeth. This wasn't going to be an easy battle.
"And in a brutal display of power, both Pokemon have been knocked out!" the MC said. "It seems this battle has been dead even to the point where neither Trainer can gain any ground!"
"Dammit!" I grunted, whipping out Drake's Poke Ball. "It's all right, my friend, you did your best."
Silver returned his Pinsir to its Poke Ball. "You did extremely well, my friend."
"OK, Crobat, storm the field!" I said, releasing it from its Poke Ball.
"Omastar, I need your assistance!" Silver said, releasing it from its Poke Ball.
"And the next battle is between Grinder's Crobat and Silver's Omastar!" the MC said. "It seems that Silver has type advantage this time, but as seen many times today, type advantage has little effect on the outcome of the battle!"
"Omastar, use Ancientpower!" Silver commanded.
"Crobat, dodge and use Cross Poison!" I said.
Omastar began to glow a bright white, and collected the glow into a ball of energy that it fired at Crobat. Crobat got out of the way, however, and began to fly closer to Omastar. Its wings began to glow purple, and it released an X-shaped wave that struck Omastar, sending it reeling back.
"Omastar, use Hydro Pump!" Silver said.
"Crobat, dodge, then use Brave Bird!" I said.
Omastar let loose a giant stream of water, but Crobat easily dodged using its inept speed, and then rammed straight into Omastar at full speed, sending it flying back.
"All right, Omastar, use Spike Cannon!" Silver said.
"Dodge it, Crobat!" I said.
Omastar fired a bunch of spikes at Crobat. Crobat attempted to dodge, but was eventually struck by a spike. From there, it was struck by a couple more spikes.
"Dammit!" I yelled.
"And it seems that Crobat couldn't dodge them all, folks, as Spike Cannon lands a solid hit on Crobat!" the MC declared.
"Retaliate with Cross Poison!" I said.
"Now, Omastar, Hydro Pump!" Silver said.
"Dodge it, Crobat!" I said.
Both Pokemon unleashed their attacks. They both struck dead-on, and lo and behold, both Pokemon were knocked out.
"Both Pokemon are unable to battle!" the referee said.
A drop of sweat trickled down my face. We were dead even. Neither of us were getting anywhere in this battle.
"And not once, but twice!" the MC said. "It seems that this battle has become a dead-even war of attrition, with neither side gaining any ground!"
"Crobat, return." I said as Crobat was called back to its Poke Ball.
"Omastar, return." Silver said as he returned Omastar to its Poke Ball.
"All right, Granite, I'm depending on you!" I said, releasing the Golem from its Poke Ball.
"Tauros, do or die!" Silver said, releasing it from its Poke Ball.
"Now, it's down to the wire as both Trainers are down to just one Pokemon each! Grinder has chosen his Golem, a wise choice for the terrain. Meanwhile, Silver has chosen his Tauros, also a good choice for such rough terrain!" the MC said.
"Granite, use Rollout!" I commanded.
"Tauros, Protect!" Silver said.
Granite sped towards Silver's Tauros, smashing through a boulder in the process. However, Tauros guarded itself by creating a green barrier around itself. Tauros used the barrier to repel Granite, causing it to stumble backward.
"Granite, Rock Blast!" I commanded.
"Block it, Tauros!" Silver said.
Granite began to spin again, this time in place, and began shooting the rubble of the destroyed boulder towards Tauros. Tauros responded by lowering its head, using its horns to bear the brunt of the attack. It couldn't very well dodge at this close a range.
"Now, Tauros, counterattack!" Silver yelled. "Giga Impact!"
Tauros shook off the rocks, then surrounded itself with a ball of orange energy. It then sped towards Granite.
"Granite, Defense Curl!" I commanded.
Granite withdrew into itself as the attack struck it, sending it flying. It crashed into a nearby rock.
"Damn it, I'm not going to lose!" I growled. "Granite, use Earthquake!"
"Tauros, you use Earthquake, too!" Silver commanded.
Both Pokemon struck the ground, causing immense shock waves of equal intensity to begin flying towards each other. As the two shockwaves met, something strange happened. They didn't stop; they continued to fly towards their respective targets. Both Pokemon were struck hard. Hard enough to be knocked out.
"Both Pokemon are unable to battle! This match is ruled to be a draw!" the referee said.
"..." I was in utter disbelief. I didn't win. I didn't lose. I fought Silver as hard as I could, but I still couldn't get anywhere against him. We were dead equal. "Return, Granite." I said, returning my defeated Golem to its Poke Ball. "You fought hard, my friend. Take a nice, long rest now..."
"Return, Tauros." Silver said. "Great job...you did your best." He then approached me. "Grinder...you were amazing."
"This is the first time I've ever come up dead even against someone." I said. "It seems you and I are evenly matched."
"Indeed. Great match." he said, extending his hand. I shook it, and the crowd burst into applause and cheer.
"A truly great match from two truly great Trainers!" the MC said. "This will be a hard match to top in terms of pure skill!"
The MC continued jabbering on while Silver and I exited the field. As we did, we were greeted by Dawn and another Trainer.
"You guys both did great!" Dawn said. "Congratulations to the both of you!"
"Thanks, Dawn." I said, smiling. "Good luck out there, all right?"
"Kick some ass." Silver said, grinning.
"I will, trust me." Dawn said. She then proceeded to the field, followed by a slow-walking Trainer, while Silver and I scrambled back to our seats.
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OK, so, if this is any indication, my laptop is working again! I'm really happy, because I can continue working on Eclipse Version, and more importantly, I can get my stories updated again!
I apologize for this inconvenience. I know I haven't updated in a while, so I'm going to try and write 38 and get my story back up to speed again.
Thank you for your continued support!
~The Don