Chapter 27 - Hitachi Buckwheat Noodles - Part 2
Seshiru and Logan made it to B block's locker room as Yurie's battle was getting set. Logan peeked his head through to try to find Maleah or Sora. The boy with the white clothes was sitting down on a bench with his head down. Logan wasn't sure if he was sleeping. As he approached him, someone tugged on his arm. Logan turned around to find Maleah.
She hadn't changed much. She still wore an Alolan print dress that went halfway down her thigh, and her curly hair was tied into a ponytail, and she was smiling.
"I'm glad you could make it!" she said.
"I was honestly surprised to see you here!" he responded. "How was your battle?"
Maleah grinned. "I'll win by any means necessary! It was easy!"
Logan was delighted to see his friend. He smiled back at her before they focused on the television where Yurie was making her entrance.
"This Round 1 battle in the B block is between Sophia Jones from Unova and Kawahara Yurie from Hoenn!" the referee announced.
Sophia was a few years older than Yurie. She was slender with fair skin and blonde hair that was tied into a ponytail. She wore a pink skirt with black leggings underneath and a white hoodie with matching sneakers.
"Squirtle, Minun, let's go!" Yurie yelled while throwing her Poké Balls forward. Squirtle and Minun both emerged and they did a quick pose as though they were in a contest.
Sophia grinned. "A bit smal, don't you think? Weezing! Dracovish! C'mon out!"
On Sophia's side appeared two large Pokémon. One was purple and floated in the air as gas emitted from its body. The other one had a light blue head, seemingly fish-like, but its body was made up of a green and red tail which was cut off at where a body was supposed to be.
"Begin!"
"Weezing, start with Rain Dance!"
Before Yurie could give her commands, Weezing floated backwards. He roared before spitting a ball of energy into the air. The ball exploded, creating artificial clouds, and within moments, it started to rain down on the field.
"Now Dracovish, use Waterfall!"
Dracovish let out a shriek and then started to run forward. Aquatic energy exploded off the front of his face, and he charged with his head lowered.
"Squirtle, block it with Withdraw!" Yurie instructed.
"Squirtle!" he responded. He ran forward, leapt into the air, and then sunk into his shell. Dracovish connected directly, sending Yurie's Pokémon backwards. But once Squirtle emerged, he appeared safe.
"Thunder!" Sophia shouted.
Weezing, staying safely in the back, sucked in air. His body suddenly shrunk in on itself while he released a burst of electric energy from his body. It was a controlled electric attack, something that Yurie had not seen before.
"Minun, take it!"
Minun flipped forward and got in front of Squirtle. She took the attack directly, and once it was over, she fell down to one leg. While it was one of the strongest electric attacks possible, Minun appeared fueled with anger.
"How is Weezing able to direct Thunder so well?" Yurie asked out loud.
Sophia grinned and then crossed her arms. "Thunder won't miss when it's raining. I thought you would have known that with the Pokémon you chose."
Yurie smiled. "Well, in that case. Use Thunder and Water Pulse!"
Squirtle helped Minun to stand back up and then the two used their attacks, directing them for Weezing. Dracovish was fast though, and it jumped in the way, taking both of the attacks.
She's been protecting Weezing and keeping him in the back, Yurie thought. What's she up to?
"Dracovish, use Bulldoze!"
Dracovish, after recovering from the previous attacks, stood back up. It tried to straighten its body before jumping up. When he hit the ground, the field began to shake. The force of the jump started to rip up the ground. Stones and pieces of earth lifted from the field, creating a new environment for the field.
"Be careful of the ground! Squirtle, use Rapid Spin on Weezing!" Yurie ordered.
Squirtle ran up one of the pieces of earth that stuck out from the ground. When he was in the air, he withdrew into his shell before spinning rapidly like a top. He shot across the air straight towards Weezing, but Dracovish was quick to respond. It jumped into the air, taking the blow directly.
"Iron Tail!" Yurie yelled.
Squirtle quickly emerged from his shell, but he continued to spin. His tail, now filled with energy smashed Dracovish square in the jaw.
Sophia snapped her fingers and pointed forward. "Psychic Fangs!"
Before Squirtle could get away, Dracovish snapped forward. It crunched its jaws down onto Squirtle's tail, and the Water-type screeched.
"Use Thunder, Weezing!"
Dracovish hurled Squirtle into the air, and then Weezing used his attack. With Minun not in close enough range to defend, Squirtle took the full brunt of the attack. His body lit up with electric sparks in the middle of the air before falling back to the ground with a hard thud.
"Squirtle is unable to battle!" the referee declared. He held his flag up, which was soaked from the artificial rain.
Yurie had to be fast. She lifted her Poké Ball and withdrew Squirtle before focusing back on Minun. "Thunder!"
"Counter with your own Thunder!"
Minun and Weezing both used their electric attacks. The energy clashed in the middle of the field, and the two Pokémon held out as much as they could, testing their strength against one another.
"Psychic Fangs!" Sophia commanded.
Dracovish ran across the messy field as carefully as it could. It leapt into the air as purple energy exploded from its mouth.
"Double Team!" Yurie instructed.
Minun quickly stopped her attack, and then focused, multiplying into two dozen different copies of herself. She circled around the field, leaving Dracovish and Weezing in a dizzied state.
"We won't miss!" Sophia declared. "Weezing, use Thunder! Seek out the real one!"
"Weez," the Pokémon wheezed as it prepared to use his attack once more. He exploded with energy, sending a lightning strike across the field. But to Sophia's surprise, it went straight towards Dracovish. The electric shocks raced through the Fossil Pokémon's body, and Sophia looked up at the jumbotron, finding that the real Minun had attached herself to Dracovish's head.
"Stop!" Sophia ordered.
Weezing, slightly confused, stopped using his attack. Minun fell off of Dracovish's head, landing on her feet. She took a few steps back, her energy drastically drained, and then she looked up. Dracovish wobbled back and forth, and then, to everyone's surprise, it fell backwards.
"Dracovish is unable to battle!"
It was now down to Weezing and Minun, and the rain suddenly stopped. Weezing looked back at Sophia, seemingly terrified to battle.
"We'll be okay! Will-O-Wisp!" Sophia instructed.
"Double Team! Watch your feet!"
Weezing released a small flame from his mouth. It swirled through the air directly for Minun, but the Electric-type was fast. Once again, she started to multiply and circle around the field.
Weezing, now panicked, started to release more and more flames from his body. He span around in circles while unleashing the flames, taking out a lot of the Minun clones one by one. It didn't take long for him to stop, and he started to breathe heavily before floating to the ground.
"Weezing? Are you okay?" Sophia asked.
I feel bad for taking advantage of a panicked Pokémon, but we gotta win, Yurie thought. "Finish this with Thunder!"
"Mi," her Pokémon said while raising her arms. Then, she unleashed a powerful surge of electricity from her body. "Nun!"
The electric energy connected with the tired Weezing, zapping the Poison-type relentlessly. He wheezed from pain, and when Minun stopped her attack, Weezing didn't bother to get back up.
"Weezing is unable to battle!" the referee declared. "Yurie and her team are the winners!"
"Yes!" Yurie said while running forward. She struggled to get over the rocks, but Minun met with her, and the two danced around on the field.
"She did it!" Logan said in the back room. He and Seshiru all exchanged highfives.
Sora slowly stood up and watched the replays. He took in a deep breath and cracked his neck. "I'm next."
"This Round 1 battle in the B block is between Fujiwara Sora from Cherrygrove City and Grant Soarin from New Bark Town!" the referee announced. "This will be the last match of Round 1!"
Sora's opponent was a boy who appeared to be a year older. He had lightly tanned skin and dyed purple hair. Unlike Sora, who was dressed very simply, Grant had a very distinct fashion style. He wore a brown pilot's cap with goggles on top, a light blue t-shirt with a Pokémon design on the front, black cargo shorts, hiking boots, and a camouflage backpack. Around his neck hung a necklace with a pendant shaped like a drill.
"Go, Noctowl and Krokorok!" Grant yelled while releasing his two Pokémon. One was a bird Pokémon who landed on the ground and tilted its head in a semicircle. The other was reptilian in appearance. It was brown with various black stripes around its body.
Sora raised his hands and then closed his eyes. He threw his two Poké Balls into the air, and in an instance, both of his Pokémon appeared. One appeared similar to the Meganium that Omori owned, but it was smaller and yellow in color. The other was a blue reptilian Pokémon that stood well over all of the other Pokémon on the field.
"Begin!"
"Krokorok, get in the ground with Dig! Noctowl, start with Double Team!"
Krokorok quickly dove into the ground, creating a hole, but within moments he was gone. Noctowl began to multiply, and he circled around the field.
Sora and his Pokémon didn't seem to be bothered though. The trainer kept his eyes closed as he gave his command. "Bayleef, use Vine Whip."
His Grass-type Pokémon looked around the field before shooting two vines from her neck to form a horizontal line. Within seconds, the real Noctowl was caught, getting clotheslined by one of the vines.
"And now Feraligatr, Earthquake," Sora ordered. He was still keeping his eyes closed, but everyone could tell he was focused on the battle.
His larger Pokémon jumped into the air and smashed his massive legs down onto the field. The ground shook, and once the force of the attack reached Grant's side of the field, Krokorok burst forth, screeching with pain.
"Psychic!" Grant yelled.
Noctowl, who was recovering from the previous Vine Whip, quickly flew into the air. His eyes started to glow with a tint of purple, and then Bayleef was lifted off of the ground. She looked around as she lost all control of her body before Noctowl blasted her backwards.
"Vine Whip," Sora said calmly.
Before Bayleef hit the ground, she stuck out her vines, which allowed her to slowly let herself back down. She sighed with relief as she landed safely on the ground.
"Razor Leaf. Hydro Pump."
Bayleef ran forward to stand next to Feraligatr before the two released their attacks.
"Grab Krokorok, and use Double Team!" Grant commanded.
Noctowl dove downwards and picked up Krokorok before the two turned into clones, narrowly avoiding the two attacks.
"Now, Brick Break and Mirror Move!"
Both of Grant's Pokémon flew into the air. Noctowl let go of Krokorok and threw him towards Sora's Pokémon. Then, he flapped his wings, and leaves similar to that of Bayleef's emerged before being shot at Feraligatr.
"Feraligatr, use Dragon Tail."
Feraligatr quickly moved in front of Bayleef, and he swung his body around. Arcane energy exploded from his tail, and it connected with both Krokorok and the leaves, knocking both of them backwards.
"Ice Punch."
"Gator!" the Pokémon called out. He raised his arm into the air, and it started to crystalize with ice energy.
"Noctowl, use Aerial Ace!"
"Ancient Power, Bayleef."
Noctowl attempted to use his attack on Feraligatr to put a stop the Ice-type attack, but Bayleef was too quick. She roared as she focused her energy, and rocks formed with a blue aura shot into the air. Noctowl was pelted in the face directly with them before he crashed into the ground.
And then it was Feraligatr's turn. He bounded across the field and jabbed, hitting Krokorok directly in the chest. The Ground-type was flung backwards, landed on the pile of rocks that Bayleef had created. Grant's Pokémon both looked at each other, exhausted from the fight.
"Get up!" Grant yelled. "C'mon! You can do it!"
"I'm sorry," Sora mumbled. He opened his eyes. "Hydro Pump!"
Feraligatr hissed and roared once more before unleashing the insanely powerful blast of water from his mouth. It connected with Krokorok and Noctowl, sending them both into the air before they landed in a heap on the ground in front of Grant. He looked on in horror as the referee made his call.
"Both Krokorok and Noctowl are unable to battle! Sora is the winner!"
"Are you okay?" Grant asked his Pokémon while he held them in his arms. After they replied, he returned them back to their Poké Balls and then slowly walked towards the hallway where Sora was waiting.
"I'm sorry," Sora said calmly. "I didn't think it would have been that brutal. Sometimes, I get carried away."
Grant scratched the back of his head. "It's okay, dude! Next time, we'll go all out, and we won't lose. I was saving my best Pokémon, Excadrill, for the final round, but had I known I'd be fighting someone as strong as you, I would have used him." Grant stuck out his hand. "To another battle!"
Sora smiled, but his deadpan expression meant that his eyes remained cold. "Sounds fun."
Now that all of the matches had finished, it was lunchtime. The judges were making up the new brackets for the A and B blocks, and the match-ups would be announced soon. All of the trainers collected, and Yurie took note that Omori was missing. Although she had wanted Logan to win, she was slightly disappointed that her rival left without saying goodbye, even if he was a pain in the neck.
"Attention all trainers!" Kasumi said while entering into the backroom. "We'll begin Round 2 in a matter of moments. Please take a look at the bracket and go to the locker room that we've assigned you to!"
On the television behind her appeared the two brackets. In the A block was Maleah taking on a boy that Yurie recognized from the Lavender Town contest, and Logan was settle to battle against Sora. The B block had Yurie and Seshiru taking on opponents that were new to them.
Seshiru stood up. "Good luck, everyone. We all can't make it to the next round, but let's do our best."
Logan looked at Sora. "I'm excited for our battle!"
Sora nodded. "Me too."
The group divided and then went to their separate locker rooms while the audience came back from their own rest, and Round 2 commenced.
"This Round 2 battle in the A block is between Maleah Kalani from Alola and Rory Cook from Galar!" the referee said while holding up his two flags.
While Logan, Seshiru, and Yurie were vaguely familiar with Rory from the contest in Lavender, Maleah was not. He was a couple of years older than Maleah, and he was slightly intimidating. He had tan skin, long black hair that was tied into a ponytail, his ears pierced, black clothing including wristbands, jacket, and shoes, and tight blue jeans with a chain hanging at the side. But despite his intimidating appearance, he had a smile on his face which seemed to have been caused by a small Pokémon made of a pink cloud wanting to play with him.
"Not now, Swirlix," he said through laughs. He looked at Maleah before drawing out two Poké Balls. "We won't lose!"
"We'll see," Maleah snapped back. "Go, Persian! Go, Vikavolt!" In front of her appeared Persian, which Logan and the group had met, and a Bug-type Pokémon that floated in the air. It crackled with electric energy as it snapped its pinsirs repeatedly.
"Granbull and Morgrem, let's do it!" Rory yelled. He threw his Poké Balls into the air, and his two Pokémon emerged on his side of the field. One was tall, pink, and had a large underbite while the other was smaller and lanky. It had long hair that hid its devious expression.
"Begin!"
"Night Slash! Crunch! Go!" Maleah commanded.
"Here they come," Rory said. "Headbutt and False Surrender!"
All four of the Pokémon rushed forward. Persian and Granbull met in the middle of the field before crashing into one another. Vikavolt attempted to use his attack, but then Morgrem suddenly stopped before bowing down. Vikavolt hesitated for a moment before Morgrem snapped forward, kicking Vikavolt into the air. Persian, taken aback by Morgrem's trick, let up for a moment, allowing Granbull to power through with his headbutt.
Both of Maleah's Pokémon looked at each other before shaking off the attacks and then waiting for Maleah's orders.
"Double Thunderbolt!" she instructed.
The two Alolan Pokémon took in deep breaths before exploding with electric energy.
"Use a defensive Stone Edge!" Rory commanded.
Morgrem retreated to get behind Granbull while the Fairy-type dug his feet into the ground. Five stones emerged from the field and surrounded Rory's Pokémon, keeping them safe from the electric shocks.
"And now, Dark Pulse!"
Morgrem jumped out from the rocky shield before he threw a ball of black energy at the ground. It exploded once it reached the field and then turned into a black wave.
"No problem!" Maleah said. "Power Gem!"
The grey Persian jumped into the air and shot a blue beam of light from her forehead. It connected with the wave of darkness before slicing it down the middle.
"Break their shield, Vikavolt! Use Hyper Beam!" Maleah commanded.
Vikavolt flew into the air, and in between his pinsirs formed a ball of yellow light. He then unleashed the ball forward, turning it into a beam of extraordinary power. It destroyed what was left of the dark wave and then connected with the stones, turning them into rubble. Both Morgrem and Granbull were tossed backwards.
"Vikavolt can't attack for awhile, so it's up to you!" Maleah said. "Iron Tail! Cut them down!"
Persian meowed before running forward. She straightened out her tail and turned it into a rod of metallic energy.
"Fire Fang!"
Just as Sophia had her Dracovish do before with Squitle's Iron Tail, Granbull caught Persian's attack in his mouth. Persian hissed as Granbull unleashed flames from his maw, which crept up and damaged the Dark-type.
"Morgrem, use Shadow Claw!"
Morgrem jumped up and showed off his claws as he prepared to attack, but Maleah had a counter measure prepared.
"Thunderbolt!"
While still in Granbull's hold, Persian unleashed her electric attack. The sparks went through both Granbull and Morgrem, putting their attacks to rest.
"And now, we'll finish this with Bug Buzz!" Maleah yelled.
Vikavolt had recharged, and he flew through the air as fast as he could. Once he was above the three other Pokémon, he released dark green energy from his wings. The energy exploded on Persian, Granbull, and Morgrem, sending them all flying across the field. All three of their bodies were left limp, leaving the referee to make his call.
"Persian is unable to battle, but so is Granbull and Morgrem, which leaves Vikavolt!" he announced. "Maleah is the victor!"
Rory's shoulders slumped before he returned both of his Pokémon and then walked towards the hallway.
Maleah lifted her Poké Balls and withdrew her Pokémon. She looked down at Persian's Poké Ball and sighed. "I'm sorry."
Logan and Sora watched from the television in the backroom. Logan was in shock at Maleah's methods. She was going to win at any cost, even if it meant her own Pokémon taking a sacrifice. He looked at Sora, who appeared unphased by the strategy. Logan then remembered how unrelenting Sora was too.
The rivals that he had made in Kanto were no one to underestimate.
AUTHOR'S NOTES:
So, Yurie and Sora moved along to Round 2. We also got our first Round 2 battle with Maleah picking up the win. I wanted to showcase Sora's hidden potential in his battle (so his match was a bit short). He'll be facing Logan next, and it's looking like it'll be a challenge for our main character.
Thanks to The Imprisoned of Hell for Sophia Jones, pokemonking0924 for Grant Soarin, and CrescentApple for Rory Cook.
Quick reminder to please vote on the poll that's on my profile if you haven't!
Also, Maleah's full name is a reference to another character of mine… Who might it be?
REVIEWS:
SudiptoDam19 - "I like how in the end, Omori just disappeared from being humilated by his loss. Looking forward for how Omori reacts when our protagonists meet him next. I also like how Charmander battled this time. He obviously increased his confidence which is good news for Logan." - They'll be meeting sooner than later! And Charmander is improving, but still needs work.
wisdom-jewel - "The battlers are great as usual. I do wonder when Omari would learn that Yurie would never be interested in him. And Logan has a point where it isn't his decision on what Yurie does since she has her own agency. It would be interesting if somebody told Yurie to use Omari's technique against him. Like, use the media that Yurie broke up with him due to him being too obsessive to the point she didn't feel comfortable at all." - I actually haven't decided how she's going to handle him yet, so I might take that into consideration.
CrescentApple - "The double battles still good. Like the fancy team work. Omori's loss was needed to peg him down. Dunno if it worked. Who knows. Charmander did fantastic for his... first victory, this is. Just realized you gave Logan nearly every fire starter in each region he has been to, except Hoenn. Haha" - Funnily enough, Blaziken is my third favorite Pokemon, so I considered giving it to Logan, but I'm trying to give him Pokemon that I don't absolutely love. (The exception is Flygon and Electabuzz, of course)
pokemonking0924 - "Omori is just as much as a obnoxious snob as ever, Logan is starting to see this coordinator for the attention seeking jerk he is. Especially since Omori thinks that Yurie is a prize and that he wants Logan to stay away from his female friends since according to Omori Logan is a playboy with all those girls around him. But if anyone is a playboy its Omori with all his fans what he probably only care about looking good in front of them meanwhile Logan cares deeply for his friends. Glad to see everyone's favorite Unova boy take that jerk down, but something tells me Omori won't take this loss lying down and might start some bad rumors about Logan just like he started those rumors about he and Yurie are dating." - I'm loving this reaction to Omori. Now I have to figure out a way to make him a likeable jerk. Haha