Chapter 33:

Off to the Tower

Location: Mistralton City

Today it was time to head to Celestial Tower to meet Skyla and get some last-minute training in. First up, I swapped a Pokémon. Remembering that Celestial Tower has Ghost Types, I let Gothorita sit back for this one in favour of Tranquill, who could get me back to Mistralton City with the Fly move.

"Okay fellas, let's hit the road!" I said.

Location: Route 7

Route 7. Also known as the "plank route," it's best known for its very tall grass that's hard to walk through. It wasn't like the usual tall grass; its extra long and extra thick. To save people from going through, wooden planks were built over them. One problem though; they're not easy to balance on.

I stepped on the wood and wobbled about. I put my arms out to keep myself from plummeting into the grass below.

About halfway to the end, I slipped and fell on my arm. "Great," I thought to myself, deciding I might as well walk the rest of the way. I tell you; it isn't easy. It's not like I had a machete to cut my way through either. You might think "Why not have Pansear use Cut?" Well, Mistralton City has a Move Deleter so I got rid of it. Cut is a terrible move anyway and there are no more big trees.

Before I knew it, a Deerling jumped out from the grass. This one had a brown back.

"Tranquill, go!" I yelled. "Use Fly!" Tranquill flew into the air. Doing this helped it avoid Deerling's Jump Kick. This was particularly great as Jump Kick is a move that does damage to the user if it misses. Deerling kept going and crashed onto the floor. "Do it Tranquill!" Tranquill flew down into Deerling. It was a Critical Hit; Deerling was down!

"You still got it!" I said. Tranquill looked at me and pointed its wing up. Either that was its version of a high five, or something else. I didn't know. What I did know was that Tranquill was starting to get surrounded by a familiar glow. Tranquill started to shine brighter and brighter. When it had finished, Tranquill had evolved into something bigger! It had two beautiful red plumes by its side.

Unfezant (ケンホロー)

027

Normal/Flying Type

Proud Pokémon

3'11" (1.2 m)

63.9 lbs (29 kg)

Males swing their head plumage to threaten opponents. The females' flying abilities surpass those of the males.

Pidove -Lv 21- Tranquill -Lv 32- Unfezant

"Well, I suppose falling in the grass wasn't a bad idea, even if it was unintentional! But I want to get out of here. Come on."

I recalled Unfezant and forced myself through the miniature jungle.

Getting out was a lot of weight off my shoulders. Err, a lot of grass taken away around me? Case in point, I was out!

"Hey!" A blue haired man wearing an orange and black tracksuit noticed me.

"It's not as bad as you think in there," I said, putting my thumb over my shoulder to the grass.

"You could do with some training. Have you heard of Rotation Battles?"

Oh, had I heard of them. Key word being heard. And at that, the only thing I knew was that Charles despised them.

"Yes, but I want to see what they're like!"

"So be it!" he said. "Let's start!"

Hilbert Vs. Ace Trainer Elmer

"Liepard, Watchog, Swoobat! Come on out!" Elmer sent out his three Pokémon. Interestingly, he put them in a position where Liepard was at the front.

"Unfezant, Pansear, Scraggy! You're up!" I replied. As my three were sent out, I asked what next.

"Well, Unfezant is first in the party. It's the current primary Pokémon, so move it forward!" Unfezant did just that.

"Okay Unfezant, use Air Cutter!" Instead of the usual streaks, Unfezant fired a single strike through the air at Liepard. Liepard flinched. "Air Slash?! Two new moves and an evolution today, nice Unfezant! Okay, let's do it again!"

"Nope! Rotate!" All Pokémon followed each other in a circle, and Watchog went in front. It took the Air Slash. "Watchog, Super Fang!" Watchog bit down on Unfezant's wing.

"Let's try that to. Rotate! Scraggy, go first and use Brick Break!"

"Not so fast!" Wilber said. "Rotate! Swoobat, Air Slash!" Swoobat went forward and fired a streak through the air at Scraggy. It hit for a lot. Scraggy then used Brick Break, but it wasn't effective at all. "Air Slash again!" Swoobat used it once more, fainting Scraggy. Pansear went first.

"This is hard. Can you do this Pansear?" Pansear put its thumb up. It jumped up and did a handstand. It kept jumping over to Swoobat like a gymnast.

"Well, I think Pansear is learning Acrobatics. It's a move that does more damage if the user is holding nothing." Pansear jumped into Pansear and kicked it for lots of damage. "Okay Swoobat, Air Slash again!" Swoobat fired through the air, but it missed Pansaer.

"Switch! You now Unfezant!" Unfezant went first. "Use Quick Attack!" Unfezant darted forward. It hit Swoobat, dealing the final blow. Watchog went first. "Okay, use Fly!" Unfezant flew up and dodged a Crunch from Watchog. It then flew down and hit it, knocking out Watchog.

"Liepard, let's finish this." Liepard went forward as I sent Pansear forward. "Liepard, Assurance!" Liepard rammed into Pansear.

"Flame Burst!" Pansear fired the exploding flame at Liepard. I was hoping that the explosion would catch Watchog to, but it didn't.

"Liepard, Assurance again!" Liepard hit Pansear once more with the Dark Type move. Pansear fainted.

"Unfezant, it's up to you. Air Slash!" Unfezant came forward and fired the streak at Liepard. It fainted and Watchog came forward. "Another Air Slash!" Disaster; this one missed!

"Watchog, Crunch!" Watchog bit Unfezant on the wing again. This one Crit. Unfezant was down.

"I didn't like that," I said, as Elmer healed my Pokémon.

"That's fine. It's not for everyone. But its fun to try new battle styles isn't it!"

Not when you ignore the advice of Charles it isn't.

The Celestial Tower got closer and closer to the point where it was just a straight path towards it with the dreaded tall grass on either side.

"Easy peasy Leppa squeazy!" I said. I wanted to just get over there, but someone just HAD to be hiding in the tall grass didn't they.

"The perfect disguise!" A Youngster said. "I'm training to become a ninja! What do you think?"

Hilbert Vs. Youngster Parker

"Palpitoad, go!" Parker shouted.

"I choose Scraggy!" I yelled. "Okay, use Brick Break!" Scraggy chopped Palpitoad on the head. Palpitoad took a few steps back.

"Palpitoad, Muddy Water!" Palpitoad made a large wave of brown water that swamped Scraggy. Scraggy's Accuracy fell.

"Use Brick Break again!" I yelled. Scraggy went in for another chop, but it missed.

"Now use Mud Shot!" Paliptoad fired a line of mud at Scraggy. Its Speed fell. "Another Muddy Water!" Another brown wave hit Scraggy, and it barely survived.

"Scraggy, Payback!" Scraggy had a black outline surrounding it. It then jumped at Paliptoad. It hit, and Palpitoad was down!

"Nice one Palpitoad. Okay Shelmet, I choose you!" Harper sent out a Pokémon in a grey shell. It had a red mouth in a kissing formation.

Shelmet (チョボマキ)

122

Bug Type

Snail Pokémon

1'04" (0.4 m)

17 lbs (7.7 kg)

It evolved when bathed in an electric-like energy along with Karrablast. The reason is still unknown.

"Scraggy, Chip Away!" Scraggy went for an attack, but it missed.

"Mega Drain!" Shelmet shot a beam at Scraggy, dealing the final blow.

"Nice one Scraggy. Okay, next is Pansear!" Pansear leapt onto the scene. "Use Acrobatics!" Scraggy backflipped and cartwheeled into Shelmet. It survived because its shell gave it good Defense.

"Use Struggle Bug!" Shelmet resisted, then attacked Pansear, lowering its Special Attack.

"Use Flame Burst!" Scraggy fired a flame at Shelmet. It exploded, and the Bug Type was finished.

"Seems I'm down to my last Pokémon. Okay, let's go from small Bug Type to large Bug Type! I choose Scolipede!" Parker sent out a long, red Pokémon with multiple legs. It towered up above both of us, the sunlight gleaming on its two large horns.

Scolipede (ペンドラー)

051

Bug/Poison Type

Megapede Pokémon

8'02" (2.5 m)

442 lbs (200.5 kg)

Highly aggressive, it uses the claws near its neck to dig into its opponents and poison them.

Venipede -Lv 22- Whirlipede -Lv 30- Scolipede

"Use Poison Tail!" Scolipede's tail started to glow. Then, it whacked Pansear. It was finished.

"Good job my friend," I said. "Okay Unfezant, let's finish this!" Unfezant flew onto the scene.

"Scolipede, Poison Tail!" Scolipede hit Unfezant with its tail. Unfezant was poisoned in the process.

"Air Slash!" I yelled as Unfezant fired a slice of air at Scolipede.

"Venoshock!" Scolipede fired a poisonous liquid at Unfezant. It dealt a lot of damage.

"That was strong!" I yelled.

"That's because Venoshock is mega strong if it is used on a poisoned target. Striking from the shadows, like a ninja!"

"Unfezant, Air Slash!" One more slice through the air hit Scolipede for a Critical Hit. Scolipede was finished.

"I will now vanish, like a ninja!" Parker ran off back into the grass. I then heard a tripping sound. "Ow! Did anyone hear me? Ignore me, I'm a ninja!"

Finally, I had reached the entrance to Celestial Tower. Was I to go up that night? The short answer was no. I had done quite the trek today and wasn't ready to walk through a cemetery in the dark.

"Let's take a rest here," I said.

I can see why Charles hates Rotation Battles! But seriously, today I made good progress. I'll be climbing the Tower tomorrow; me and the team need to take it easy. I hope Skyla and the Pokémon are okay though.