Chapter 59 - Fancy Orange Juice


The fifteen minutes were up faster than Yurie had thought they would be. The backroom was quiet the whole time while the coordinators made sure that their Pokémon were healthy. Yurie planned on using Aggron in the Top 4, and she had to give him a lot of healing items to keep his health up.

Akane came through the door, holding onto a clipboard. Once she had everyone's attention, she spoke. "Alright, so we've entered the Top 4. That means we only have three battles left, but I should warn you about something. The matches, up to this point have been pretty close. If, for whatever reason, either of these two battles end in a tie, both of those coordinators will be eliminated. It's worth mentioning."

They all nodded.

"Good. Now, our first battle in the semi-final round will be Omori and Yurie. Good luck to you," she said before leaving the room.

"You and me?" Omori wondered. "Too bad it couldn't be in the finals. Our romance deserves the biggest stage with the most spectators. Nonetheless, I guess that the semi-finals will do."

"You talk so much," Yurie said with a groan. "Let's just go out there and get this over with." She looked at Michika, who had been facing away from everyone. She wanted to call for her attention, but she didn't want to break her focus, so she instead walked out into the hallway.

"Our first semi-final battle is between Little Miss Yurie and the Goldenrod Playboy, Omori! As most of you may know, these two have had an up and down romance since they met in Saffron City! It was love at first sight but rumors state that they have since split! Will this battle between them in the Kanto Grand Festival, of all places, spark that romance once again?" Lilian shouted into the microphone.

Yurie sighed and then shot a glare at Omori. "I'm going to finish this today."

Omori snapped his fingers and then winked. "You're a star because of me, baby."

They walked to their sides of the field and both drew out their Poké Balls, ready to start when Lilian gave them the go.

The crowd was wild for the battle. They loved the idea of a romance budding on stage, most of them unaware of the truth. They quickly quieted down and waited for it to start.

"Begin!"

"Yurie, besides myself, you're the biggest threat in this festival. I have to treat our battle as such. Come and take your crowns, Meganium and Kingdra!"

Omori's signature Meganium materialized next to a Pokémon that was usually bound to the sea. It balanced on its tail, looking angrily at Yurie. She was aware of its strength from Omori's first appeal, but she wasn't going to let that scare her.

"We won't hold back either!" she exclaimed. "Go, Shuppet and Aggron!"

The two Pokémon emerged and posed, and the timer started its countdown. As soon as Yurie noticed, she lifted her arm, and started the mega evolution process.

"Don't let them!" Omori yelled while running his fingers through his hair. "Meganium, use Earthquake!"

Meganium lifted his front legs and slammed them into the stage. The entire dome started to rumble, and had Aggron been using an attack, surely Omori's strategy would have worked. However, mega evolution wasn't the kind of thing that could have been suddenly put to a stop, and soon, the energy exploded from Aggron, revealing his powerful form.

"Wait, what?!" Omori yelled. "Fine then, we'll switch up our strategies! Dragon Dance and Sunny Day! Show them your beauty!"

Meganium looked straight up before launching a ball of light into the air. It exploded and bathed the stage in sudden artificial light. Meanwhile, Kingdra started her dance, causing red arcane energy to swirl around her. It looked like a tornado, and mixing with the color of the light, it amazed the crowd. When it finally disappeared, Omori and his Pokémon posed, and the crowd cheered and clapped loudly.

"A beautiful set-up, but we're not phased," Yurie exclaimed. "Aggron, use Iron Head! Shuppet, try Shadow Ball! Hit them hard!"

Omori snapped his fingers and winked. "I don't think so, darling! Solar Beam and Flash Cannon!"

Aggron charged, his head lowered and glowing with energy. And Shuppet swirled around while unleashing a single ball of ghostly power. Omori's Pokémon responded in kind with two strong blasts of solar and luster light. Aggron was held back by Meganium's attack while Shadow Ball and Flash Cannon were relatively equal, imploding against one another.

"And now, follow with Petal Blizzard, Meganium! Show them the beauty of disaster!"

Meganium howled and stretched out his neck. Petals emerged around her and fell from the giant flower before she shot them all forward in a storm of pink. They encircled and sliced into both Shuppet and Aggron, who were unable to hear any of Yurie's commands from inside the hecticness.

"Alright, Kindra! It's your turn to shine like the star you are! Draco Meteor!"

It was one of the attacks that Yurie feared most. She knew that taking a blow from it meant fainting, and she wasn't going to allow it to happen.

"Phantom Force!" she yelled at the top of her lungs, hoping that Shuppet and Aggron would be able to hear her.

Kingdra sucked in air and puffed out her chest. There was a purple glow that emanated from her body before she launched all of the energy that she built up. It soared through the air and then exploded, and the energy rained down onto the field like hellfire. The petals from before were wiped away, but whether or not Shuppet and Aggron were there to take the hits was still unknown. When the dust and energy from the attack finally faded away, Yurie's Pokémon were nowhere to be found.

Yurie snapped her fingers and sighed with relief. "That's the way! Now, Rock Slide from the phantom zone!"

A tear ripped itself into existence above the stage, and Yurie's Pokémon emerged. Aggron roared while generating rocks around his body. He dropped them directly above Omori's Pokémon, who were too surprised to think of a strategy to deal with the attack. When Shuppet and Aggron came back to the ground, they retreated to Yurie's side of the field, leaving Omori speechless.

"I-I-" he stammered. "Solar Beam!"

It didn't take Meganium very long to do her attack. Rock Slide wasn't going to finish her off, and Omori knew that much. The rocks exploded off of her while she blasted the beam down the field.

"Protect!" Yurie ordered.

Aggron stepped in front of Shuppet and generated the blue forcefield. Although Solar Beam was strong and swift, it stood no chance against the impenetrable Protect.

Omori shook. "Fine! Block this! Draco Meteor!"

"I don't think so! Dazzling Gleam!"

Kingdra tried to store energy once again, but Shuppet floated forward while letting out a loud and continuous screech. The light that she suddenly generated was too bright for the Dragon-type, and Kingdra was forced to stop while she withstood the Fairy-type strike.

Logan looked up at the points and furrowed his brow. "Everytime that Omori tries to attack with Kingdra, he loses substantial points. What's up? I get that he'll lose points, but ten points seems like a lot."

"I think it's because he used Dragon Dance, which raises speed and also the power of close-range attacks," Reina answered. "But so far, he's only tried long-distance attacks with Kingdra, and not just that, but he's been missing or failing miserably. Even though he looks calm and collected and hot, he's choking, I think. Poor guy."

"Iron Head!" Yurie ordered while Omori tried to figure out a counter-measure.

Aggron barreled down the field, his head lowered. He collided with Meganium directly, knocking her off balance.

"F-Flash Cannon!" Omori shouted. He had started to panic, and he could feel beads of sweat coming off of his forehead. It only made him more nervous, because if the cameras caught him sweating, his fans were sure to notice.

"Dodge it!" Yurie ordered.

Kingdra looked back at Omori, unsure if her trainer was thinking straight. Then, she followed the command and launched a silver blast from her snout. Shuppet, who had ample enough time to get around it, easily floated out of the way and prepared for Yurie's follow-up command.

Yurie punched the air. "Thunderbolt!"

Shuppet charged electricity in her horn before unleashing it forward. She had good control of it, and in less than a second, Kingdra took the hit, letting out a pained howl.

Omori's Pokémon were weakened, but they hadn't fainted just yet. They fell into one another, both exhausted and breathing heavily.

"Give them a shower of Shadow Balls!" Yurie ordered, her directions relentless.

Shuppet continued her forward motion and chanted, generating dark energy around her ghostly body. She dropped dozens of smaller orbs from around her, pelting Meganium and Kingdra repeatedly.

"What do I do? What do I do?" Omori repeated to himself. "I'm supposed to be a star, but I'm being treated like a chump!"

He then felt the heat of the stage slowly waft away as the light from Meganium's Sunny Day dissipated.

"N-no!"

"Here's our chance to finish this!" Yurie exclaimed. "Makeshift Wild Charge!"

"Makeshift Wild Charge?" Yuta wondered. "Her naming conventions have gotten better, but still. What?"

Shuppet once again let sparks fly from her horn. It zapped into Aggron, damaging him, but also fueling his neck attack. He charged as white energy exploded from his back. Just as Yurie had ordered, the combination of Thunderbolt and Double-Edge became a makeshift Wild Charge.

"I-I don't think so! Solar Beam!" Omori ordered.

It was going to take Meganium a lot more time to do his attack, but he was going to fight for his trainer until he was forced to stop. The flower around his neck started to glow, and he waited for Aggron to come at him. The Steel-type charged with no regard for his own safety, and unfortunately for Omori, Meganium wasn't fast enough. He launched the beam at the last second, but there wasn't enough power to stop Aggron. The two crashed, sending up smoke into the air.

When it faded, Aggron backed away, and Meganium was left still standing. The both of them breathed heavily though. Kingdra looked on at her partner, amazed by his resilience.

But then, the buzzer sounded, and everyone in the dome stopped cheering as the battle came to a sudden stop.

"And we have a winner! Little Miss Yurie knocks out the Goldenrod Playboy, Almighty Omori!" Lilian declared. Yurie still had roughly twenty-five points, while Omori was left with zero.

"That was rough," Seshiru said.

"I'd say that Omori deserves to be humbled, but maybe Yurie overdid it," Logan said. But then, after a few seconds of thought, he shrugged. "Competition is competition."

Omori looked up at the screen in disbelief. If he lost, he saw himself losing because of his lack of battling ability. Maybe his Pokémon would have fainted. Or maybe he would have been close to winning, but the timer would have gone off, and he would have lost by a point or two. He didn't see himself losing by having his points hit zero. It was the least likely option. It was impossible. When the spotlight left him in the dark, he felt like it all went quiet.

He slowly made his way back to the locker room to sit down. He didn't talk to Rory or Michika, and he didn't feel like leaving to join the crowd yet. He didn't want that kind of attention. He was only one battle away from super stardom, but he lost it. He put his hands together and held his head down low.

"Orange juice?" Yurie said from behind.

He was brought out of his spell, and he slowly turned around. Yurie was holding two paper cups in her hands.

"It's fancy," she added. "I figured we can toast to a great battle."

"Great battle?" Omori wondered. "You eliminated all of my points. We couldn't even go the full five minutes. You call that a great battle?"

Yurie motioned towards the screen where highlights of their battle were being shown. Omori looked at it. He saw his Pokémon and how passionate they were about the battle. He saw the effort that Meganium and Kingdra put forth.

"The crowd really loves you. And I don't think it's just because of your looks," she said. "I mean, there's a fair share of that, but still. They can see how much care you've put into your Pokémon. They can see the connection that you share. They admire you because of that. You should be happy with any battle, win or lose."

Omori slowly took the paper cup. "But I'm a failure."

"No, you're not. You made it to the semi-finals of the biggest contest in Kanto. Don't undersell yourself," Yurie said. "Kanpai."

She lightly knocked the paper cups together and then took a drink. Omori raised it slightly before nodding.

"Kanpai."

"Imamura Michika, Rory Cook, you're up!"

Yurie turned back to wish her friend good luck, but Michika had already left the room.

She slowly walked down the hallway, listening to the cheers of the crowd. She thought back to her year as a coordinator. She had lost more contests than she had won. A couple of times, she couldn't even make it to the battle round, and when she did, she would choke. If she made it to the finals of any contest, something would take over, and she found herself unable to give commands.

But she couldn't fail now. She made a promise to Yurie that she'd make it to the finals, and they would share a battle. Yurie kept up on her end of the bargain, and now it was Michika's turn.

She had battled with Rory before, and she knew that the boy from Galar was not to be underestimated. He had formerly competed in leagues, and his Pokémon were powerhouses.

They took their positions and prepared for the signal. After Lilian finished setting up the final match of the Top 4, she shouted, "Begin!"

Michika tossed her two Poké Balls forward. The Ivysaur that she battled against Yurie with appeared alongside her Absol, which she had used frequently in Hoenn.

"Grimmsnarl and Togetic, let's do this!" Rory shouted, throwing his balls into the air.

His two Pokémon emerged, and they couldn't be any different from one another. One of them was large and covered in thick black hair. He had an evil look in his eyes. And the other was cute with a round body and floated using tiny wings.

"Don't get the wrong idea," Rory said. "I may specialize in Fairy-types, but my Pokémon are no pushovers."

Michika nodded. "I don't underestimate anyone." She lifted her arm, revealing a small thread bracelet with a grey marble fastened in the middle. "Absol, let's mega evolve!"

Everyone looked on in shock. No one, not even the judges or Yurie's friends, knew that she was capable of performing mega evolution. Absol was engulfed in the same energy from the prior battle, and when it finally exploded off of her, she took her new form. Her horn was shaped differently, and her claws were longer and more menacing. She was now equipped with wings, and some of her white fur had grown.

Rory laughed. "The competition this year is intense, but nothing excites me more than powerful Pokémon! Let's go! Grimmsarl, use Bulk Up! Togetic, Play Rough!"

Togetic flew forward while forming a ball of pink energy in her small arms. Grimmsnarl stayed behind and roared, sending out chakra swirling from his body. The thick hair that surrounded him bulged like muscles, and he seemingly grew in size.

"Grassy Glide! Future Sight!" Michika commanded.

Ivysaur's legs started to glow light green, and she glided across the stage as though she were skating. When Togetic got within range, she tossed the pink ball at the ground, but Ivysaur was much faster than anticipated. She made it past the pink smoke and then leaped into the air, tackling Togetic directly. The attack didn't do much, but it was enough to make Togetic retreat.

And while all of that had been happening, Absol was looking into the future and generating an attack with psychic energy. When she finished, she lowered her body, and prepared for Michika's next direction.

"Psycho Cut!" she shouted.

Absol concentrated psychic energy in her horn before leaping into the air. She twisted her neck quickly, shooting a blast of telekinetic powers downward.

"Grimmsnarl!" Rory yelled.

The larger Pokémon got in the way of Togetic and stood still, taking the psychic blast without flinching. The energy faded away, and Grimmsnarl started to laugh to himself.

"Hammer Arm! Go!"

Grimmsnarl roared while chakra made its way from his arm. He ran forward one his tiny legs and then swung out, hoping to pummel Absol into the ground.

"Into the air!" Michika directed.

Absol's newly developed wings flapped, allowing her to soar into the air and avoid Grimmsnarl's strike with ease.

"And Ivysaur, use Magical Leaf!"

Ivysaur slid forward across the stage, and a green aura emitted from her, materializing into the shape of a thin but sharp leaf. She shot it forward, knocking the beefy Grimmsnarl back a few feet.

"Continue!" Michika shouted while pointing into the air. "Razor Wind!"

Absol's wings flapped even faster, and she had used the attack many times before, but this time, it was different. Instead of the energy blasting from her horn, she instead used her wings, sending a cluster of energy at the stage.

"Defensive Return!" Rory commanded.

It was Togetic's turn to play defense. She twirled and got in front of her partner while unleashing a blast fueled by her friendship with Rory into the air. Razor Wind wasn't strong enough, and ended up being reflected, ricocheting into the ground and causing a small explosion.

Grimmsnarl felt an odd presence and looked up, noticing a cloud of psychic energy forming above them. He dove and dragged Togetic to the ground before electric shocks made of telekinetic energy zapped into his back, effectively doing nothing. He slowly stood back up and chortled. Michika's Future Sight had failed.

"I've never seen a team so defensively strong like this before!" Lilian declared. "Rory and his Pokémon make an almost perfect group!"

Michika looked up at the points. She had won out when it came to the offensive tug-of-war that they played a little bit early, but because of Rory's impeccable defensive strategy, he had inched ahead by a few points.

"But we can't win without striking! Togetic, use Double-Edge! Grimmsnarl, False Surrender!"

"We'll attack back! Night Slash and Skull Bash! Hit them hard!"

Absol charged dark energy in her claws and then raced over the field, meeting with Togetic in the middle. The two were relatively even in power, and through the self-destructive attack that Togetic used, they were forced to break apart quickly.

Ivysaur and Grimmsnarl ran at one another. Ivysaur was hoping that she could simply brute force her way into a victory, but before she could strike, Grimmsnarl suddenly stopped running. Ivysaur was taken aback by the sudden apparent surrender, but before she could figure out what had happened, Grimmsnarl whipped out with his long hair, sending Ivysaur backward.

Absol looked at her partner in distress, and Rory knew that it was his time to take advantage of the situation.

"Return!" he shouted.

Togetic once again thought of her bond with her trainer and then exploded with energy, forcing Absol to the ground.

"This is our battle to win, mate!" Rory exclaimed. "Return and Hammer Arm combination!"

Togetic floated backward and generated her power. She landed on Grimmsnarl's arm, and the power of her love for Rory and his chakra formed, creating a beautiful mix of red and blue around Grimmsnarl's body. He started to run forward, preparing to swing and finish the battle.

"Douse the field with Sludge Bomb!" Michika commanded.

If there was any attack that Michika's Pokémon could do that would scare Rory's Pokémon, it was Sludge Bomb. Ivysaur heaved, leaped into the air while doing a backroll, and then launched a mass of purple gunk at the stage. It exploded and then rained down onto the field, getting both Rory's Pokémon wet. They screeched as it stung into their bodies and forced them to recoil slightly. Grimmsnarl had no choice but to stop his attack.

"And now Michika is showing off her own defensive techniques! She's not finished yet!" Lilian yelled.

"Absol, show them the power of a mega evolved Pokémon! Use your strongest Razor Wind!"

Absol stayed above the field and focused her energy on her wings. Rory's Pokémon didn't have enough time to recover from the previous sludge attack, and when Razor Wind's energy hit the ground, it caused an explosion that covered Rory's half of the field.

Absol slowly floated towards the ground and landed on the opposite side of the smoke, right in front of Rory. She posed, taking the spotlight and shooting her opponent a cocky look.

"That should have done it," Michika muttered.

Rory grinned back at Absol. "We're finished. Play Rough and Spirit Break!"

A ball of pink energy emerged from the smoke and exploded over Absol's body. Dust was kicked up into the air, and Absol disappeared.

"No!" Michika shouted.

Then, it was Grimmsnarl's turn. He skated across the field as pink energy extended from his fingertips. He reached into the smoke, and what followed was a blood-curdling cry from Absol. Everyone watched on in horror as Grimmsnarl broke Absol's spirit, and when the pink dust finally faded away, Absol collapsed. The energy of the mega stone faded, and she returned back to her original form.

"No. No," Michika muttered. She looked up at her points which had been cut in half. She only had ten points left, and Rory was left with around twenty-five. The timer left them with one minute. "No." She slowly lifted her Poké Ball and withdrew Absol. "No. I'm sorry, Yurie."

Ivysaur looked back at her trainer, noticing that she had her head down. "Ivy! Ivysaur!"

Michika didn't move.

"Ivy-saur!" she cried out once again. She was engulfed in a white and blue light that had become familiar to any trainer in the dome. Ivysaur's body shifted and grew, and within a few moments, she almost tripled in size, becoming a massive Venusaur.

"Whoa," Logan muttered.

Michika looked up at her Pokémon as she took the new form. A smile crept over her face, and she took in a deep breath. "Thanks. Let's not give up until the end!"

"Saur!"

"You can do it, Michika!" Yurie shouted in the backroom as loud as she could.

"Make it rain Sludge Bomb!" Michika commanded.

Venusaur was now much stronger, although seemingly slow. She began to shoot the sludge from her back continuously, creating a small mist of poison that rained down onto the field.

"And Magical Leaf!" she added.

"Saur!" the Grass-type roared. The mysterious green energy swirled around her body again, picking up some of the poisonous particles. Then, it sliced through the mist as it shot down the field, connecting directly with Rory's Pokémon.

"Ten seconds!" Lilian shouted.

"Then we'll finish this!" Rory exclaimed. "Return and Hammer Arm!"

"Grassy Glide! Give it everything you've got!"

Rory's two Pokémon charged at Venusaur. Surely, they would have been more powerful than her, but she didn't care. Her will to win and take her trainer and friends to the finals was stronger than any other Pokémon's in the festival.

They collided, sending an explosion across the field that cleared out the purple mist. It didn't take very long, but the smoke soon cleared, revealing that all three Pokémon were still standing. Michika and Rory both wanted to make another command, but it would have been in vain.

The buzzer sounded, ending the match.

The lights went out. Everyone became quiet. Michika and Rory were left in pure darkness while they waited. Every second felt like an eternity until finally, the results were displayed on the screen.

"We've hit the time limit, and the results of this battle will be decided by remaining. Moving onto the final round to face off with Kawahara Yurie is-"

Michika couldn't bring herself to look. However, she didn't need to.

"Imamura Michika!"


AUTHOR'S NOTES:

Well then! Next chapter, we'll get into the final battle in the Kanto Grand Festival. Bound to be a dramatic one.

REVIEWS:

pokemonking0924 - "Omori is a bit too overconfident and full of himself, hope he loses to Yurie and gets an ego check (plus those fan girls are starting to get on my nerves too)." - Well, there ya go!

SceptileBlade - "Good battle between Reina and Yurie. I'm happy that Yurie won and I hope she takes the whole thing." - It's looking like it's likely! She's made it a lot farther than she did last year.

CrescentApple - "It was so great reading Aggron on action again after almost year in haitus. And it was not disappointing reading him power his way thrpugh two opponents at once, even after taking all that damage! I think Yurie has a shot at winning this thing. Omori vs Kitty was fun and unexpected. She is a really really strong trainer despite her car puns that I find hilarious. Logan's reactions are still an oddity to me, that he was willing to punch her just for making cat puns haha." - Things original reactions that I had for Logan were a lot more violent. Haha