Chapter 57 - Fancy Lemon Juice


The first day of the Battle Round had arrived. Now that they weren't solely trying to dazzle the judges with beautiful moves, the trainers had loosened up a little bit with what they were wearing. Yurie chose a red one piece that went down to her thigh, and Michika kept to her usual black top and yellow skirt. Reina overcorrected and was now in blue jeans and a t-shirt. They were hoping that she'd manage to get through the day's rounds so that they could perfect her look in the Top 8. And Omori continued to wear his usual dress clothes, now opting for an emerald-colored vest.

The four arrived at the arena early to stretch and prepare with their Pokémon. Upon walking into the backroom, they were presented with the tournament brackets that would guide the rest of the festival. To Yurie's joy, she wasn't taking on any of her rivals in the Top 16, but to her dismay, she and Michika were in different brackets, meaning that the only way that they would get their battle was if they both, indeed, made it to the finals. They had promised that that was what they were going to do, but it was still a tall order. But Yurie couldn't look too far ahead, because any challenge until the finals could knock her out.

"Today, you're going up against that Takumi boy," Reina said. She pointed across the room at Takumi Ito, who was sitting and playing with his thumbs nervously. He, like Reina, didn't dress up very much, opting to put a nice sports jacket over his usual red t-shirt.

Yurie had battled with him twice now, and she was fairly confident that she could defeat him. However, he was crafty, and he would have gotten this far for a reason. He was bound to be good.

"And my opponent is Daniella Adams-Farnley," Reina exclaimed. She looked around the room for the girl that matched her picture, finding her in the corner, listening to her music.

Yurie vaguely recognized her from her contest in Fuchsia City. She spoke with a Galarian accent and dialect, and Yurie had trouble comprehending everything that she said. But she remembered that she was a nice trainer with humble ambitions.

"Let's do our best today," Reina said after a long pause. "I'm not sure if you've noticed, but if we both move on, then we'll battle tomorrow. I'd be happy to battle my main rival in the Kanto Grand Festival."

Yurie grinned. She didn't know that Reina thought so highly of her. "Well, then! Let's not lose!"

"Welcome one and all to the second day of the Kanto Grand Festival! We've officially entered the Top 16 and are now in the Battle Stage! Today there will be eight battles, and they're sure to be intense!" Lilian announced. "Just like any regular contest, the rules of the battles are the same. Contestants can win by draining the opponents of their points, having more points by the end of five minutes, or by a Battle Off! However, this is the Grand Festival, and we must make things grand! Therefore, all battles will be conducted in the doubles format! Are you ready?"

The crowd cheered.

Lilian nodded. "Let me introduce our judges for today."

The light shone behind her, revealing Akane, two Nurse Joy, the commissioner of contests, and to Seshiru's surprise, Tucker from the Battle Dome.

"Our first battle today will be fan favorite, Kawahara Yurie, taking on a rookie, Ito Takumi! Please welcome them to the stage!"

Yurie and Takumi walked out from behind the curtain and entered the crowd's view. They both waved to the crowd, bowed at one another, and then made their way to their respective trainer's boxes.

"Coordinators, are you set?"

They nodded.

"Begin!"

Yurie held both of her Poké Balls in her hands. She smiled at them before throwing them straight into the air. Materializing on the stage was her Eevee, while the first Pokémon that she ever caught, Masquerain, took to the air.

Takumi was swift, throwing both of his Poké Balls forward. The Haunter that Yurie and Eevee competed against on the Sevii Islands appeared, and next to him was an avian Pokémon with an angry look and jagged beak.

"Fearow, the Beak Pokémon. It shoots itself suddenly high into the sky, then plummets down in one fell swoop to strike its prey," Logan's Pokédex chimed. He felt uncomfortable with scanning Pokémon at big events, but his curiosity was too strong.

The timer began, giving them five minutes to appeal to the judges. Takumi surprised Yurie by making the first order.

"Shadow Ball! Drill Peck!" he ordered.

Haunter formed a ball of shadows in his gangly hands while Fearow blasted down the field, his beak spinning with power.

"Masquerain, use Foresight!" Yurie ordered. "Eevee, dive in with Sizzly Slide!"

Masquerain rejoiced as she was given her first command in what felt like a year. She flew through the air and fluttered, letting a mystical powder rain down. Eevee dashed through the powder, making it go wild as flames engulfed her legs. She slid across the field as though she were skating, and she came into contact with Fearow. The two were even in strength, but then Eevee was hit with the Shadow Ball. It did no damage, as would be expected, but the Normal-type was frightened by the attack and the feeling that came with it. She backed up, and Fearow grinned mischievously.

"Razor Wind!" Takumi commanded.

Fearow started to spin around, creating a quick storm around his body. The wind whipped up and sliced at Eevee, knocking her backward.

"I don't think so!" Yurie yelled. "Ice Beam!"

Masquerain came down from the air and unleashed the jagged beam of ice.

"Icy Wind!" Takumi yelled.

Haunter flew forward, carrying a cold breeze in his hands. He wafted the breeze forward and tried to deflect Masquerain's attack. It lacked the power though, and only served to slow it down.

"Defensive Return!" Takumi shouted.

Before the Ice Beam could strike him, Fearow crossed his wings across his front side. He started to shine with a light pink energy fueled by his bond with Takumi. The ice connected with him, making him squawk and fly back, but ultimately he was fine.

"Neither team has been able to hit a decisive blow, but they're putting on quite the show!" Lilian announced. "What more do they have in store?"

Yurie looked up at the scoreboard. Takumi was ahead on points, but only slightly. She knew that she could pull ahead. She prepared specifically for this battle.

"Fearow, use Drill Run! Haunter, follow with Shadow Punch!" Takumi instructed.

Fearow dove into the ground and started to spin, ripping up the stage as he drilled forward. And Haunter followed close behind, raising his ghostly fist for a strong jab.

"Eevee, I need a wall of Baddy Bad!" Yurie yelled.

"Baddy Bad?" Logan wondered.

"Looks like she's been doing some secret training of her own," Seshiru commented.

Eevee lunged forward while darkness engulfed her. She shot out a wave of black across the field, forming a defensive wall between her and Takumi's Pokémon. Fearow hit the wall first, and he ricocheted off of it. Haunter was more lucky, being able to phase through the wall.

"Bug Buzz!" Yurie shouted as soon as she saw Haunter's eyes.

Masquerain was much quicker and more experienced than Haunter. She dove while fluttering her four wings, generating dark green energy. As though hundreds of bugs had entered the stadium, the noise of her attack radiated off of the acoustics. Haunter was blasted by the energy and knocked back towards Fearow.

"We have to finish this," Yurie muttered. "Eevee, it's time for your Glitzy Glow and Veevee Volley combination!"

Eevee started to glow with purple kinetic energy. It intensified and then focused, becoming a ball of light. She leaped into the air and bounced it around, giving it more energy from the Normal-type attack. When it had almost quintupled in size, she launched it downward. The psychic and normal energy mixed and washed over Fearow and Haunter. The powder from Masquerain's Foresight allowed Haunter to feel the full effects of the attack, and both of Takumi's Pokémon were forced to the other side of the field.

Takumi watched on as his Pokémon managed to get back to their feet. He intended to make a command, but he was interrupted by a buzzer. He looked up, realizing that his points had unfortunately been drained by Yurie's creative attack combination.

"Through building a defensive strategy with Baddy Bad and because of Yurie's forward thinking with Foresight into the eventual Veevee Volley, the judges have made their decision!" Lilian announced. "Your winner of the first Topo 16 battle is Little Miss Yurie!"

The lights shone down on Yurie, and the crowd cheered for her. She waved to them, not quite sure where to look. She fixed her gaze on the other side of the stage, where Takumi was standing with his worn out Pokémon. She continued to wave at the crowd while she slowly walked over to the other side. The spotlight was now on both coordinators.

"That was wonderful! You're a great coordinator, Takumi," Yurie said.

Takumi perked up, and he smiled before bowing. "Thank you, Kawahara."

Yurie wasn't so used to everyone being so polite to her. "No need for that. Do your best next year! Let's battle again sometime!"

Takumi looked at Yurie and then nodded. "I'll do what I can!"


The matches were chosen at random, and Reina was left to wait with no idea when her match would come. Both Omori and Michika competed before her, managing to get through their battles with relative ease. And to the displeasure of one particular audience member, the girl who went by Kitty was set to move onto the Top 8 where she'd be battling with Omori. All battles but the last one wrapped up, leaving only Reina and Dana's match left. Whoever won would battle Yurie the next day, and they were both determined to get to that position.

They walked down the hallway together, and now their differences couldn't be anymore clear. Reina was a nervous wreck who dressed in regular clothes. Dana was full of confidence and dressed like a punk kid from Galar. She hadn't even bothered to change out of her Obstagoons t-shirt. She had braided and pulled her dark brown brown hair back into a ponytail. She was ready for war. And Reina wasn't sure if she could handle the pressure.

"Our next and final battle of the evening is sure to be interesting!" Lilian exclaimed. "Both of these trainers are in their rookie year, and they both debuted in a Fuchsia City contest. They were unable to compete against one another at that time, but we'll now get to see what it would have looked like! Please put your hands together for the hometown girl, Reina, and the punk rock beauty, Dana!"

"Beauty?" Dana wondered while the two waited behind the curtain. She looked at Reina and sighed. When she noticed that Reina was panicking, she reached out and put her hand on her shoulder. "Try not to panic, mate. It won't be fun if we're not relaxed."

"I'm sorry," Reina said, her voice shaking. "There's just a lot of pressure."

"We all feel that pressure. We just can't let it get to us. Can't let the judges see it," Dana said. "Let's just do our best. You're friends with Yurie, right?"

This got Reina's attention. "Yeah?"

"In my first contest, she told me that it's not if you lose, it's how you lose. So, even if you get out there and lose, if you put forth one-hundred percent and keep your head up, then you should be nothing if not proud."

Reina took in a deep breath. "I'll do my best!"

"Then let's do this."

The two were finally called to the stage, and they walked to their respective trainer's boxes. The spotlights followed them, and the jumbotron showed off their details and professionally taken pictures. The final battle was set.

"You know the rules, coordinators," Lilian said. "Begin!"

"You're up, Butterfree and Starmie!" Reina yelled while tossing her two Poké Balls forward. The Pokémon that brought her success in the appeals now took to the stage, ready to show off their battling prowess.

"Not bad, mate," Dana said. "Go, Dewott! Go, Sandslash!" Dewott, who made an appearance in Dana's battle with Yurie, and Sandslash, a Pokémon that Logan was only vaguely familiar with, materialized. They both were experts in slicing and dicing, and the way they observed Reina's Pokémon intimidated her.

The timer began, and Reina entered into survival mode. With her heart beating rapidly, she was now ready to battle. "Tailwind and Cosmic Power!"

Reina's Pokémon remained on her side of the field while they did their moves. Butterfree whipped up a strong gust of wind which blew against their backs. It was sure to make their following attacks much faster. And Starmie started to glow with cosmic energy, increasing its shiny sheen, making it stick out.

"Then we have to strike," Dana said. "Aqua Jet and Gyro Ball!"

Dewott cloaked himself with aquatic energy and then bounded forward like a rocket. Sandslash followed in his trail, rolled into a ball and clanged against the stage, making loud banging noises.

"Starmie!" Reina yelled.

Although there was no official command, Starmie knew exactly what Reina wanted it to do. It let the wind from behind take control of its body, and it got in front of Butterfree, taking Dewott's attack directly.

"Butterfree, give Starmie some support!"

Butterfree flew behind Starmie and pressed her body up against her. It was all in preparation for Sandslash, who came barreling down the field next. He collided into Dewott, giving him extra strength for his attack, but it wasn't enough, and the four Pokémon struggled against one another in what could only be described as a pushing contest.

"Hurricane!" Reina commanded, now that all of the Pokémon were within close-range.

"I don't think so! Sandslash, use Throat Chop!"

Before Butterfree could use her powerful attack, Sandslash leaped over Dewott and Starmie. He jabbed, hitting Butterfree below the chin. She stuttered and then hit the ground from the sudden blow.

"Hidden Power!" Dana ordered next.

Dewott quickly broke from his struggle with Starmie and then lifted his arms into the air. He generated an orb of mysterious power in his arms before plunging it into the ground, sending out a shockwave of electricity that washed over Starmie.

"They're pretty good," Logan commented.

"Don't you dare lose, Reina!" Yuta shouted. "We've trained together too hard for you to lose now!"

Reina tried to collect herself. She looked at her Pokémon and their positions on the field. So far she had been utilizing defensive strategies; she'd have to change up her plan moving forward.

"Starmie, Butterfree, take to the skies!"

Her Pokémon let the wind carry them, and they flew into the air, well out of reach from either Dewott or Sandslash, or so they thought.

"Dewott, use Aqua Jet and Razor Shell combo!"

Dewott surrounded himself with aquatic power once more and then rocketed straight upwards. He detached the scalchops from their sheaths and then started to spin, adding more danger to his potential strike.

"Icy Wind!" Reina ordered.

Starmie swirled around while generating ice. The ice froze Dewott solid, putting an immediate stop to his attack.

"And Pollen Puff!" Reina directed once she saw that Starmie's technique worked.

Butterfree fluttered and then targeted Dewott. She formed a ball of dark green energy in front of her mouth and then unleashed it, making it explode once it reached Dewott's frozen body. Dewott fell towards the ground, and it appeared that there was no way that he'd be able to safely land.

"Catch him!" Reina directed.

Butterfree and Starmie worked in tandem and continued to use their techniques to get to Dewott. They swirled around one another, forming a tornado of powder and ice. Butterfree allowed Dewott to land on her back before they safely came to the ground. Dewott, relieved that he didn't just meet a terrible fate, slowly got off of Butterfree and then gave his trainer a nod.

"Amazing!" Lilian shouted into her microphone. "Reina could have allowed Dewott to fall, guaranteeing that she'd knock out half of Dana's remaining points, but she instead opted to save her opponent, albeit with a little bit of flare! Impressive!"

Dana looked up at the points and observed that Reina now had pulled ahead by quite a bit. "It looks like the judges reward good sportsmanship. I greatly appreciate you helping my Dewott. But this battle isn't over, and we won't give up!"

Reina grinned. "I don't want it any other way! It's not if you lose!"

"It's how you lose," Dana finished. "Dewott, use Air Slash! Sandslash, Shadow Claw!"

Dewott stayed behind while waving around his scalchops. He generated a powerful wind from them, sending it down the field. It was a combination attack though, and Sandslash absorbed Dewott's energy into his shadow infested claws. Now with his attack increased, he darted down the field as fast as he could.

"Hurricane and Whirlpool combination strike!" Reina ordered.

Her Pokémon took into the air once again and repeated their motions from before. Only now, they were carrying different auras behind them. Butterfree used the power and momentum from Tailwind, quickly generating her Hurricane strike. And Starmie spun rapidly while shooting water from all of the points on its body. The two attacks mixed and then towered over Sandslash. It would have intimidated any other Pokémon, but Sandslash knew that he needed to look cool and tough for the crowd. He leaped into the whirling hurricane with no hint of fear on his face. There was an explosion of power, and after a loud noise, everything suddenly went silent.

All of the Pokémon froze and stared at one another while the energy rained down onto them, showering them with mysterious sparkles.

Then, the buzzer sounded, and the crowd waited with bated breath. Reina's picture came up onto the screen, and the crowd cheered louder than they had yet. Seeing their hometown girl overcome the odds was enough to bring the crowd alive once again. Reina wanted to fall to her knees. It was only a Top 16 battle, but she felt like she had won the whole thing. She couldn't help but smile before running onto the stage to congratulate her Pokémon.

"With this battle wrapped up, we now have our Top 8!" Lilian announced, bringing everyone's attention to the screen. The tournament bracket appeared, and to no one's surprise, Reina and Yurie were set to battle tomorrow.

Reina looked at the bracket with a determined look on her face. "We're going to beat you, Kawahara-senpai!"


"Kanpai!" the group declared. They all met in Omori's hotel room. He had only invited Michika and Yurie, but they decided to bring everyone else along just in case.

They all took sips from their fancy lemon juice, a celebratory drink for the day's success.

"It looks like I'll be facing Yurie in the semi-finals," Omori said while playing with his bangs. "This tournament has been too easy."

"Don't be too sure," Yurie said. "Reina is strong. She's beaten me before and it might happen again tomorrow."

"Definitely!" Reina exclaimed happily.

Michika nodded and put her arm on Yurie's shoulder. "And Omori has to get past Kitty first. Don't get cocky or you'll get knocked out unexpectedly."

"Whatever," Omori muttered.


AUTHOR'S NOTES:

So, we've moved onto the Top 8. Last year, Yurie only managed to make it to the Top 8 where she was eliminated (although I've repeatedly messed up and claimed that she made it to the semi-finals). For those wondering, the battles from here on will get much more intense/longer (gotta pace myself). Will Yurie be able to get past Reina, or is the hometown girl too fired up? It also looks like Omori will be taking on Kitty and her cat puns in the next chapter.

REVIEWS:

pokemonking0924 - "The appeal rounds were great and I'm glad everyone made it including my OC Kitty. I'm a bit surprised you didn't include her appeal round performances but hopefully her battle rounds will make up for it." - She'll make an appearance in the next chapter. I'm only including performances and battles from key rivals. But Kitty will make an appearance.

The Imprisoned of Hell - "Great chapter as always. Also I'm lovin the Crown Tundra." - I don't have the energy to play Crown Tundra. Maybe I'll start it tonight.

SceptileBlade - "I liked how the one-move appeal poems were haikus. I tend to skim over contest performances, but writing them as poems made me stop and read all of them properly. It was also fun figuring out what moves were being used as it wasn't obvious (in most cases, at least). I enjoyed this chapter a lot." - Maybe I should do them as poems more often. I definitely think that it helped the presentation of it all.

CrescentApple - "For a wild moment I thought Reina was acting shy to psychologically mess with her opponents, just because she acts so different when she's on stage haha." - Nope! She's a genuine nervous wreck!

wisdom-jewel - "I love how you did this. Love the poetry and its connection. It would be fun to see it again but I'm guessing this is the one-time thing." - Since everyone seems to be enjoying it, I might do it again for any other upcoming contests. It'll allow me to be more detailed with battles.