#107 Hitmonchan
Hitmonchan, the punching Pokémon. Hitmonchan is said to possess the spirit of a boxer who had been working toward a world championship. This Pokémon has an indomitable spirit and will never give up in the face of adversity – Nurse Evergreen.
After lunch, it was time for Dominic Whitewater to challenge the Dojo Master. Nurse Isabelle sat cross-legged on the side-lines, cradling Raichu to her chest and absentmindedly rubbed Raichu's soft tummy. Both girls watched tensely as Dominic appeared on the field with his Machoke.
Isabelle had met the Dojo Master before. He was a good man; he believed in honest, fair fights. Because Dom had one fighting Pokémon, he would only use one too. His Hitmonchan was already on the field, stretching and warming up. The punching Pokémon was fast and had a rather strong defence. This could get tricky.
Slowly, the hall filled with trainers which had been fighting in another room. The Machop and his trainer sat down next to Izzy. The trainer gave Isabelle a wide grin and thumbs up. Machop, however, looked in awe at Raichu like a blind man seeing the world for the first time. He rushed away and returned not long later with a powerful battery for Raichu to suck on. The little guy seemed to be totally over Wartortle.
Raichu seemed unsure what to think of this attention so Isabelle stroked her cheeks soothingly as the bell sounded, signalling the match was about to begin. Dominic approached the Master, bowed to him, and shook his hand. Then both returned to their Pokémon.
The fight was rather interesting to watch. It was similar to a human boxing match Izzy had seen once. Machoke stayed mostly on the defensive and only sometimes lashed out to punch Hitmonchan. Hitmonchan, being lighter and faster, darted around Machoke, trying to find an opening in that tough defence.
Dominic's tactic seemed to be to preserve Machoke's strength, knowing that following would only unnecessarily cost energy. Instead, he had him wait and observe, dodge where needed, until an opening could be found.
Like this, the fight went on for quite a long time. Both Pokémon were tiring. The trainers were nearly losing their voice from shouting hints and pointers at their Pokémon.
At one point, Hitmonchan hit Machoke so hard in the leg he caused a cut. The super strength Pokémon groaned and stumbled. The audience gasped as one and Raichu sparked in shock, hurting Izzy a little. However, she would not be scared off by some sparks and hushed Raichu, rubbing her chubby, soft little body until the orange rodent calmed down. It would not do to have Raichu dash into the ring. This is a fight Dominic would have to win without his starter.
With an injured leg, Machoke was able to move even less. However, his rage had been ignited. The moment Hitmonchan let down his guard, Machoke hit hard and fast. He struck the Pokémon so hard, he fell over and did not move anymore.
"Hitmonchan is unable to battle. Machoke wins! The victory goes to the challenger, Dominic Whitewater!"
Isabelle shouted the formulaic lines along with the referee in joy. Raichu leapt out of her arms to check on Machoke and Isabelle dashed for Dominic. Right now, she did not care he was sweaty or hot. He had won a tough fight and she was super proud of him for it.
In front of the entire audience, Isabelle kissed Dominic deeply. As some cheered for them, he dipped her back in a theatrical, knight-gets-the-princess kiss.
The Dojo Master laughed and shook Dom's hand, congratulating him on the victory. Together, they discussed some strategy while Izzy tended to the cut on Machoke's leg, cleaning it with a potion she had on hand. Poor Machoke seemed a bit bashful with all this attention but he sure deserved it.