Episode 52: Crackle of the cannon
During dinner, Niko listened to his friends and his mother recount their impressions of his battle with Hunter. Warren was, by far, the most boisterous one, waving his arms wildly to express his points. Niko found it all incredibly entertaining, watching with amusement as Warren and Sydney talked about how Serperior threw Haxorus around.
"She really wanted to do that." Niko said. "During those couple of hours before our battle, we worked on moves. That's how I knew Rampardos had learned head smash—he didn't know it last time. And Serperior purposefully threw Staraptor around to show me her new method of attacking, which I figured could work."
"Well, it did, and you kicked ass Niko." Warren said. "Who do you think you'll battle with tomorrow?"
"I don't know. I'd like to offer it up to them again, if I can." Niko said. As of now, they had no idea that he had defeated Hunter, and part of him couldn't wait to tell them. "But This match might be more important than Hunter's."
"Right, you've never made it past this point." Charlotte replied with a nod from Niko. "You got this."
"I hope so. What do you know about this 'Dan' guy?"
"Well, in the battle we saw, he used a Samurott for sure." Warren said, looking to the others for confirmation, and for other types of Pokémon.
"I think we saw a Metagross, too." Sydney said. "I'd never seen one of those before—it looks terrifying!"
"They can be, but not terribly difficult to beat if you can get around the psychic moves." Niko said. Come to think of it—he had no way of doing that, since none of his Pokémon were dark type. And his only ghost type—Lampent—was still tired from her two battles, and likely not ready to take on a Metagross from a seasoned trainer.
After dinner, Niko grabbed the bag of reserve Pokémon—which now included his Unova Pokémon—that his mother had brought him and placed them in the field outside the Vertress Stadium. He also sent out the full team that had defeated Hunter.
"So," Niko began, looking at all of them. The only Pokémon not present was Eelektross, which Niko hoped to bring back from Professor Juniper to add to his newly enlarged pack of reserve Pokémon. "We won."
His Pokémon's eyes widened as they all cheered. Some of them ran up to the exhausted team of Pokémon and embraced them. Venusaur gave his nod of approval to Serperior, Feraligatr, and Prinplup before turning to Niko and smiling. Niko returned the smile.
"Our next match is the quarterfinals. That's where we've lost in the past three Pokémon Leagues. Most of you remember those matches against Elliot, Melinda, and Hunter. Well, now we're against some guy named Dan. All I know about him is that he had a Samurott and a Metagross. So…I'm opening it up to you all—who wants to fight this time?"
Sceptile was the first to step forward. It had been some time since he battled alongside his trainer. Next, Aggron excitedly ran forward to hug Niko before offering his help. Then Yanmega and Magneton—two of Niko's older Pokémon—also joined in.
"So that leaves two. Magmortar, would you like to? You've never participated in a league match." Niko said. The Blast Pokémon looked at his trainer and nodded decisively. It dawned on Niko that he had hardly spent time with his Magmortar, even when he had caught it as a Magmar. "And…one left. Boldore." Niko said, turning to the Ore Pokémon. "Let's go."
Boldore nodded, ready to fight as well.
"You've got a new move you want to show off, too. A couple new moves, actually." He then turned to his newest team. "Alright guys, let's see what you're capable of now!"
"Welcome to the third day of the Vertress City Pokémon League!" Colton Goodshow announced into his microphone, which emanated throughout the entire main stadium. "Today is a big day! We will be conducting our quarterfinal and semifinal rounds! By the end of the day, only two trainers will remain! And now, with our first exciting match of the day, we have Niko from Pallet Town versus Dan from Striaton City!"
Niko looked across the battlefield—now a forested battlefield—to catch a glimpse of his opponent. Dan was a man of average height and, like Niko, sported facial hair. The difference was that his was an established beard, and Niko's was wiry and shorter, which gave off a more rugged look. The referee explained the rules of the match once more before allowing Niko and Dan to release their first Pokémon.
The battlefield was a new sight to Niko. It was a forested one this time There was a clear path between him and Dan, with trees lining each side, and was dense enough to look like a real forest. He could only imagine how difficult it would be for the audience members on both sides to see what was happening in real time. He also believed that, by the end of this battle, the forest would be decimated.
"Darmanitan, go!" Dan eventually shouted.
"Boldore, I choose you!" Niko called out. "Use stealth rock!" Niko shouted. The Ore Pokémon quickly summoned sharp, pointed rocks from underneath the ground and threw them across the field, eventually surrounding Darmanitan. Nothing in particular happened, at least until Dan switched out.
"Darmanitan, hammer arm!" Dan commanded. The Darmanitan, a red primate Pokémon with two flare emitting from above its eyes, and with arms longer than its legs, charged forward at Boldore, who remained completely still. The Blazing Pokémon's arms were now glowing bright white when it leapt through the air to land on Boldore.
"Rock slide!" Niko shouted, and a pile of rocks came from above Darmanitan and quickly brought it hurtling into the ground. "Stone edge!"
Boldore slammed his legs onto the ground, resulting in pointed blue rocks erupting from under the ground, eventually hitting Darmanitan and launching it through the air. The Blazing Pokémon landed on the ground several yards away. Suddenly, it began to glow a white color, confusing Niko.
"What the—?" Niko asked aloud. Darmanitan was now a stone! Instead of its red body, it was stone cold blue. Instead of the flares emitting from its eyebrows, there were ordinary yellow eyebrows above its unmoving eyes. Instead of its long arms, a pair of hands now rest on its body, with one on each side.
"Darmanitan, use psychic!" Dan commanded. The Blazing Pokémon's eyes began to glow as Boldore found himself rising into the air, and being around into a nearby tree trunk with enough force to break it. "Now, hammer arm!"
The stone Darmanitan leapt into the air, both hands glowing white, before it landed on Boldore, who once more brought down a rock slide to keep Darmanitan away.
"Boldore, stone edge!" Niko shouted. Once again, Boldore forced pointed blue stones to erupt from the ground, hitting Darmanitan and launching it into the air. "Finish it off with smack down!"
Boldore conjured a golden sphere with a tiny, pointed rock in the middle, and shot it towards Darmanitan, bringing the Blazing Pokémon down to the ground far faster than it normally would have. Darmanitan crashed into the ground, kicking up dust around it.
"Darmanitan is unable to battle, Boldore is the winner! Dan will now send out his second Pokémon!" The referee declared.
"Return." He said. "Krookodile, I choose you!" He shouted, summoning a massive black and red, bipedal crocodile with eyes that looked like black glasses sitting at the top of its enormously long snout. Just as Krookodile appeared on the field, the pointed stones from stealth rock reappeared and dug into its sides. "Use earthquake!"
"Boldore, smack down on the field!" Niko shouted. Bemused, Boldore agreed, and tiled his head to the ground before using the attack, which inadvertently launched him into the air and evading the earthquake. "Well done!" He shouted happily.
"No way…" Warren said. "Where did he learn that?"
Boldore landed back on the ground and immediately used stone edge, which Krookodile dodged before charging towards it, claws glowing a bright purple color. It slashed at Boldore with dragon claw, successfully landing the attack, before opening its mouth wide and crunching down on the Ore Pokémon's hard exterior. To this, Boldore certainly felt pain, which was unlike anything it had felt before.
"EARTHQUAKE!" Dan shouted. Krookodile, who was still biting down on Boldore, shook the earth underneath them, causing the trees around them to rustle violently. Krookodile then let go, letting Boldore fall backwards onto the ground in defeat.
"Boldore is unable to battle, Krookodile is the winner! Niko will send out his second Pokémon!" The referee declared.
"Boldore, great job buddy. You impress me as always. Sceptile, I choose you!" He shouted, summoning the Forest Pokémon. "Leaf blade!"
The arm-blades originating from Sceptile's wrists began to extend and glow a pure green color as he charged forward, towards his opponent. Krookodile was prepared with his own dragon claw, and the went at it, throwing their arms and claws at one another, and parrying each other masterfully. It reminded Niko of when his Sceptile first evolved to take on Wally's Gallade. Eventually, like Serperior, Sceptile managed to hit Krookodile in the side of the body, knocking it to the ground.
"Earthquake!" Dan commanded. Krookodile aggressively shook the ground around it, trying to knock Sceptile off of his feet as well.
"Jump into the trees!" Niko said. Sceptile obliged, leaping up to a nearby branch and proceeding to jump to subsequent ones after that, trying to not remain in one spot for the duration of the earthquake. "Now, get back down and use leaf storm!"
Sceptile landed on the ground once more, turned to Krookodile, and spun around to unleash a powerful jet of leaves from his long, palm branch-shaped tail at Krookodile, who managed to stand its ground for the duration of the attack. Seeing this, Sceptile spun back around and dashed at the Intimidation Pokémon to strike with leaf blade instead. Krookodile was ready, and retaliated with dragon claw, bringing them back to square one.
Niko had to think about his next step. It seemed like, despite Sceptile having an edge, the match seemed to be coming to a draw. If he wanted to do something crazy, now was the time.
"Sceptile, fall back!" Niko shouted. The forest Pokémon slashed at Krookodile once more before leaping into the air, high above his opponent, and somersaulting over him to run back towards Niko. "We're going to finish Krookodile…now."
Sceptile, knowing exactly what his trainer was alluding to, nodded.
"Use frenzy plant!" Niko shouted, thrusting a hand into the air. Sceptile turned to Krookodile. Niko noticed the Forest Pokémon's yellow nodules on its back began to illuminate. Sceptile cried out, and massive roots shot up from under the ground, all heading towards Krookodile. The dozen or so long, spiked roots slapped at the Intimidation Pokémon, who attempted to retaliate with dragon claw and earthquake, but failed in both attempts. Niko watched as Sceptile, now exhausted, collapsed onto a single knee, while Krookodile collapsed face-forwards.
"Krookodile is unable to battle, Sceptile is the winner!" The referee declared. "Dan will now use his third Pokémon!"
"Return. Well done. Simisage, you're up!" Dan shouted, sending out a short, green primate with a long tuft of green fur pointing upwards between its two ovular-shaped ears.
"Sceptile, return." Niko said, exchanging pokéballs of his own. "Yanmega, you're up!"
"Simisage, acrobatics!" Dan shouted. Simisage then leapt into action, gracefully leaping across the field—through the trees—towards its opponent.
"Double team!" Niko shouted. Yanmega generated duplicates of himself to confuse Simisage. "Now, bug buzz!" To which the Ogre Darner Pokémon emitted a painfully loud sound from his body. Simisage, bothered by the sound, lost its balance and fell out of the tree. "Now, air slash!
Yanmega's wing tips started to glow before he shot out a single blade of air at Simisage, successfully hitting the Thorn Monkey Pokémon, who was pushed backwards from the force of the attack.
"Rock tomb!" Dan shouted. Simisage got back up—albeit slowly—and summoned rocks from the ground towards Yanmega, who used double team to skillfully dodge each one before using another bug buzz to keep the primate Pokémon down. "Bullet seed!"
"Block it with air slash!" Niko shouted. Yanmega obliged again. "Now, bug buzz!" For the third time, Yanmega emitted a horrible sound, forcing Simisage to drop to the ground, unable to move.
"Simisage is unable to battle, Yanmega is the winner! Dan will now use his fourth Pokémon!" The referee declared.
"Lapras, let's go!" Dan shouted, sending out a familiar-looking Pokémon to Niko. "Use ice beam!"
"Double team, Yanmega!" Niko commanded. The Ogre Darner Pokémon duplicated himself several times before Lapras unleashed a stream of ice. "Now, ancientpower!"
"Protect!" Dan called out. A protective sphere generated around the Transport Pokémon, blocking the ancientpower from hitting. "Now, hydro pump!" Lapras, moving faster than Niko expected, unleashed a jet of water that brought down every duplicate of Yanmega before hitting the real one.
"Bug buzz!" Niko shouted. Once more, Yanmega emitted a terrible sound that made Lapras wince, but nevertheless retaliate with an ice beam that hit the Ogre Darner Pokémon's wing, successfully knocking it out of the sky. "Yanmega!"
"Hydro pump!" Dan commanded, thrusting his own hand forward. Lapras blasted Yanmega with a huge blast of high-speed water, dragging the bug type backwards before hitting a tree trunk. Niko tried issuing a move for Yanmega to use, but the Ogre Darner Pokémon wasn't responding.
"Yanmega is unable to battle, Lapras is the winner! Niko will now use his fourth Pokémon!" The referee declared.
"So far, Niko doesn't seem to be doing so bad." Warren commented. "He's lost two, and Dan's lost three."
"True. But it isn't like it'll get easier, right?" Charlotte muttered.
"Do you not think he can do it?"
"No! I totally believe he can. It's just…not easy, you know?" Charlotte said defensively.
"Aggron, let's go!" Niko shouted, summoning the Iron Armor Pokémon. "Use autotomize!" Aggron began to illuminate, albeit briefly, before waiting for Niko again. "Now, iron head!"
Everyone watched in amazement as Aggron rushed across the forested field, much faster than he usually was. Surprised as well, Dan found himself taken off guard, and instinctively asked Lapras to use protect to block the attack. It worked, and Aggron was pushed back from the force of the impact with the protective shield.
"Hydro pump!" Dan shouted.
"Dodge, and use autotomize!" Niko commanded. Using his newfound speed, Aggron moved out of the way of the high-pressure jet of water before lightening himself once more. "Iron tail!"
"Hydro pump!" Dan commanded. The Transport Pokémon used the move again, trying to stop Aggron, but the Iron Armor Pokémon managed to evade a second time and spin around, slamming his heavy, powerful tail into the side of Lapras, knocking it around.
"Iron head!" Niko shouted. Aggron then lowered his head and pushed against Lapras' side, dragging the Transport Pokémon through the forest.
"HYDRO PUMP!" Dan shouted for a third time. This time, it worked—Aggron was hit on the top of the head and pushed into the ground, pressed down by the water. Once the attack was finished, Aggron simply lay there, unable to move for a moment before slowly getting back up. "Finish it off with brine." Dan said plainly. Lapras opened its maw and unleashed a jet of salty water at Aggron's head, bringing the Iron Armor Pokémon to the ground again, this time in defeat.
"Aggron is unable to battle, Lapras is the winner!" The referee announced. "Niko will now use his fifth Pokémon!"
"Aggron, return. You did well, buddy." He said, exchanging pokéballs. "Magneton, I'm counting on you!" He said, throwing out a pokéball containing his trusty magnet trio. "It's been awhile, buddy. Let's do this." Magneton turned to Niko and nodded fiercely. "Let's start off with a thunderbolt!"
"Lapras, protect!" Dan shouted. The Transport Pokémon managed to once more block an attack, this time a bolt of lightning emanating from Magneton. "Now bulldoze!"
"What the…?" Niko asked. Lapras slammed its front flippers onto the ground, causing vibrations under the earth to come to the surface. Trees collapsed in the wake of the attack, and Magneton looked to be severely hurt from it. "Magneton! Are you alright?"
Wincing, the Magnet Pokémon nodded.
"Alright then, if that's how you want to play this. Magneton, use magnet bomb!"
Magneton conjured several light blue steel-like orbs and launched them all at Lapras, berating the Transport Pokémon. Niko then commanded a thunderbolt, which successfully hit this time and temporarily stunned Lapras.
"Now's our chance, Magneton! Use zap cannon!" Niko commanded, thrusting his hand forward. A sphere of electricity appeared in front of the Magnet Pokémon, ever growing as it added electricity to the attack. Eventually, it got large enough that it looked like it was exhausting Magneton of his electric abilities. "LAUNCH IT!"
A massive crackling sound rang through the stadium as the zap cannon shot. A beam of electric energy crossed the field and struck the paralyzed Lapras and resulted in an explosion that lasted for several seconds. It took some time for the smoke to clear before Niko, Magneton, Dan, and the entire stadium could see the result.
"Lapras is unable to battle, Magneton is the winner! Dan will now use his fifth Pokémon!" The referee declared.
"Return, Lapras." Dan said, looking a little frustrated. "Metagross, let's go!" He shouted, summoning a familiar-looking, four-legged Pokémon made entirely of iron.
"Return, Magneton." Niko also said, exchanging pokéballs. "Magmortar, you're up!"
"You're kidding…" Niko heard Dan mutter. "Metagross, use psychic!"
"Magmortar, sunny day!" Niko shouted. Just before Metagross' psychic abilities engulfed his Pokémon, Magmortar lifted his arm-cannons to the sky and brightened the field. Niko smirked—he now believed that he might win this battle. Before that, though, Magmortar was thrown around the forested battlefield without mercy. Niko waited, though—he knew the Blast Pokémon had more in him then was immediately clear. Once Metagross let go of Magmortar, Niko shouted for him to use flamethrower. Out of one of his arms, Magmortar unleashed a jet of orange flames across the field towards Metagross, who attempted to repel it with hammer arm, but failed to effectively block the attack.
"Meteor mash!" Dan shouted. The Iron Leg Pokémon charged across the field, ripping up grass behind it.
"Flamethrower! Slow it down!" Niko commanded. Magmortar brought up both hands and shot out jets of fire from them and managed to successfully slow down the Metagross enough that the attack lost all of its momentum. "Now, fire punch!"
Magmortar's arm lit up in flames as he charged at Metagross. The fire punch and meteor mash collided, resulting in a small shock wave emanating from the point of impact.
"Psychic!"
"Flamethrower!" Niko shouted. Just as Magmortar lifted his other arm and sprayed flames at Metagross' underbelly, the Iron Leg Pokémon's eyes started glowing, resulting in Magmortar being lifted up and thrown backwards, the flames still emitting from his arm.
"Agility, and then hammer arm!" Dan commanded. Metagross burst forward, all four legs glowing a bright white as it collided with Magmortar, slamming each iron leg into the Blast Pokémon and slamming him into the ground. "Now, meteor mash!"
"Lava plume!" Niko called out. Magmortar dizzily shot out magma from his arm, hitting Metagross in the face and knocking it backwards. "Finish it off with fire punch!" Magmortar's arm-cannon lit up in flames as he thrust it forward, punching Metagross' underbelly and sending it flying towards his trainer. Metagross collapsed onto the grass several feet from Dan with a massive thud.
"Metagross is unable to battle, Magmortar is the winner! Dan will now send out his sixth and final Pokémon!" The referee declared.
"Metagross, return." Dan said, looking frustrated now. Niko knew that frustration quite well. "Samurott, you're up!" He shouted, summoning a blue, sea-lion like Pokémon. It had two pairs of pointed teeth, one in the upper jaw and another in the lower jaw. Long, white whiskers extended from its snout and head. On the back of its head was a large, rounded beige helmet-like shell with spikes and a spear-like, pointed protrusion in the front. A dull bluish gray seashell-like carapace covered its underbelly, and its limbs are covered with beige, sectioned bracer-like coverings that appeared to be made of seashells.
"Magmortar, return." Niko said. "Sceptile, let's go!"
"Guys…I think Niko's gonna win this one." Warren said in shock. Niko's mother nodded as well.
"Hmm…" Dan said audibly enough for Niko to hear. "Samurott, megahorn!"
"Sceptile, leaf storm!" Niko shouted. The Forest Pokémon turned around and unleashed a vortex of leaves at his new opponent. Samurott charged forward nonetheless, it's spear glowing bright white. It seemed to ignore the leaf storm as it slashed at Sceptile, knocking the grass type to the side and collapsing onto the ground. "Leaf blade!"
Sceptile lurched around in time to block Samurott's next move—razor shell. The two engaged in a quick sword-fighting match, neither gaining the high ground for some time. However, Niko noticed Sceptile getting tired—its battle with Krookodile had clearly exhausted it.
"Don't give up, Sceptile! Keep going!" Niko said, understanding that Samurott, who was making its debut, was more likely to win against Sceptile. Nevertheless, Niko wanted his Pokémon to do as much damage to this new Pokémon as he possibly could, to make it easier for the others to finish it off. "You got this! Use bullet seed!"
Sceptile, while holding his leaf blade, opened his mouth and pelted Samurott with bullet seeds, knocking it backwards and onto the ground.
"Now, leaf storm!" Niko shouted. Sceptile whipped around and hit Samurott with the vortex of leaves once more.
"Aqua jet!" Dan shouted. Samurott quickly got back up and lunged at its opponent, its body encased in blue water as it did so. It hit Sceptile in the back, knocking the Forest Pokémon onto his face. "Megahorn!"
"Sceptile, get up! Quick!" Niko called out, but it was too late. Sceptile was far too exhausted, and Samurott was an unusually agile Pokémon, slashing its seashell spear at Sceptile's back. Samurott then backed off to wait for Sceptile to get back up. He did, albeit slowly, and turned to Samurott before using bullet seed successfully, and then falling forward in defeat.
"Sceptile is unable to battle, Samurott is the winner! Niko will now send out his next Pokémon!"
"It's all up to Magneton now…" Warren said, looking over at the scoreboard displayed on a monitor that showed Niko's last two Pokémon—Magmortar and Magneton—still in the battle, and Dan's Samurott on the other side.
"So…he can definitely win this." Charlotte said with a smirk.
"Magneton, you're up!" Niko shouted. "Hey, buddy, it's all down to you now. Think you can pull this one off?" Once more, Magneton turned to Niko and nodded with its top magnet. Each of its three eyes stared at him with a determination he hadn't seen in a while. "Good. Let's win this. Magneton, thunderbolt!"
"Samurott, aqua jet!" Dan shouted, thrusting his hand out. The Formidable Pokémon charged forward, dodging the thunderbolt and aiming to strike Magneton.
That was a mistake…Niko thought to himself. "Wait, buddy…" Niko whispered. Magneton floated above the ground, not moving. "THUNDERBOLT!"
As soon as Samurott struck Magneton, the thunderbolt reacted with the water from aqua jet and created a massive explosion, launching both Pokémon in opposite directions. Magneton was thrust into the ground, and Samurott was sent hurtling high into the air before landing on the other end of the field.
Just as Niko thought, Magneton quickly got back up, hardly fazed from the attack and, without Niko's help, conjured a second sphere of electricity in front of him. Niko saw Dan's eyes widen, and heard him frantically yell at Samurott to get back up. Just as the Formidable Pokémon did, Magneton unleashed the zap cannon, and a crackle of lightning sounded throughout the stadium again. A jet of electricity fired off across the forested battlefield, hitting Samurott and resulting in a second explosion.
As soon as the smoke settled, Samurott stumbled forward, smiling at Magneton as it collapsed onto the grass under it.
"Samurott is unable to battle, Magneton is the winner! And the victory goes to Niko from Pallet Town!" The referee declared.
Niko—not as surprised as he thought—looked at an overly exhausted Magneton with pride. He walked over and embraced the Magnet Pokémon from behind.
"We're going to the semifinals, Magneton." Niko said. "We've never done that before, and it's because of you. You, and the others who fought, but mostly you." He didn't feel tears emitting from Magneton, like he did with Prinplup after beating Hunter, but he did hear a weird crackling sound emitting from the Magnet Pokémon that hurt his ears a little.
"YOU DID IT!" Warren shouted, running up to Niko and embracing him tightly. "You've finally made it past the quarterfinals!"
"Your friends would be very proud of you." Niko's mother said as she walked up to him. "And so would your father."
"I hope they are." Niko said, returning his mother's hug. "Just like I'm proud of my Pokémon."
"They really did kick ass." Sydney said with a bright grin. "And…I think your friend Elliot is up now!"
Niko looked up to see a nearby monitor playing Elliot's match against a trainer from Opelucid City. There, his Emboar was battling a Stoutland and, by the looks of it, was winning. Niko continued to watch the match from the stands with his friends. In the end, Elliot won, also proceeding to the semifinals. It then occurred to Niko that he might very well have to face his other rival soon.
The next match was the woman Niko managed to notice on the a few other occasions—the one with the Infernape, Harmony. He caught parts of her match, as he was in the Pokémon Center during that one, healing up his Pokémon. He noticed she had a Slaking and a Cradily as well. In the end, she managed to win her match by only losing three Pokémon. In his match, Elliot had lost four.
"Alright, folks!" Colton Goodshow said around noon. "We have our final four! Please give a round of applause for Elliot, Harmony, Saria, and Niko!"
All four semifinalists stood on the field, destroyed during Saria's battle, and listened to the crowd cheering around them. Niko turned to each of them—one of them would be his next opponent.
"Now, we will determine who your next opponent will be! If everyone will look up to the screen above, we will show you the two pairings for the semifinal matches that will begin in four hours' time!"
Niko watched as his profile flipped over and randomly shifted around with the other three before flipping back again. This time, he wasn't surprised at all. Saria and Harmony would battle first.
Then him and Elliot.
"Best of luck, Niko." Elliot said, turning to his rival and friend. Niko returned the resulting handshake.
"Yeah, I'm looking forward to it." Niko said with a smile.
Author's Note: Hope everyone is having a good thanksgiving, if you live in America that is. If I get everything done on time, this season will finish up tomorrow, so stay tuned!
