So I got no reaction for last chapter, a bit dissapointing but oh well. The chapter of this week will finally conclude the Poketopia tournament arc. I didn't intend it this way way, but I think this chapter wounded up being the biggest chapter of this story thus far.
After this chapter there is one last chapter and we will have caught up with what I had written before I started writting World of Elestia. So if my writting style change after the next chapter you'll know why.
Also sorry for not updating again last week but this chapter took a lot longer to edit than I expected. So I hope you will enjoy and see you next time.
Paradox second match had been nothing to write home about. her opponent wasn't really weak, but compared to Wigglytuff's Guild it was rather easy and Paradox advanced to the final. Now she had to face Croagunk, he was the whole reason why they had entered this tournament she couldn't fail now!
She looked at Luna who had a dejected look on her face. ''Are you okay Luna?''
The Zoroark looked at her with a guilty expression. ''I'm sorry I lost against Croagunk! I want to become a gym leader and yet I'm not even able to win when it's really count.''
The Braixen put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. ''Don't worry about it, I'm sure you will become stronger than you are now and become a great gym leader one day. And don't worry about Croagunk I'll wipe that smirk off of his face when I wreck his entire team.'' Paradox said with her best confident smile.
''So what Pokemon are you gonna take for this match?'' The voice of Elliot suddenly ask from behind them.
''Well I though about it and I think the best choice would be Noelle and Ivy.'' Both Luna and Elliot raised an eyebrow at that.
''Why them specifically?'' Elliot asked and Luna nodded showing she wanted to know just as much.
''Well Kadabra was a very dangerous opponenet that beated two Pokemon on his own. So I'll definetly need the power of a ghost type to deal with him. And Ivy would be very useful for his Muk.'' She replied.
''So you're choosing base on the only two Pokemon we have seen in action? He has a whole team of six you know.'' Elliot said with a frown on his face.
''Wait what was the rest of his team by the way? I don't remember seeing them which is weird since usually the whole team of Pokemon stand behind the trainer during the match.'' Paradox said with a curious frown.
''Are you kidding? Obviously we saw his Pokemon there were... I mean there was a...'' For the life of him Elliot couldn't remember a single member of Croagunk team apart from Kadabra and Muk. ''Weird I was sure I had seen his Pokemon team behind him, but now that I try to picture them I can't see anything.''
Luna cocked her head at them. ''Weird how could you forget so easily? There was a ?%$"*$%'' Both the Luxio and the Braixen puth their hands and paws on their ears and screamed in pain. Luna stopped talking and looked at them with concern. ''What's wrong?! You suddenly started screaming for no reason!''
''Didn't you hear that sound?! It almost felt like my skull would split open!'' Elliot exclaimed with a wince.
Luna looked confused and then something click in her head. ''The Kadabra! He must have done something to your memories and since I'm a dark type he couldn't do anything to me! When I tried to make you remember his psychic lock on your memories fought against you!''
Paradox growled at that. ''That damn cheater! He's trying to hide his team so we won't be able to come up with a strategy! Is there away to fix this?''
Luna shook her head. ''There is no way to fix it that I know of. But it should vanish on it's own after two or three days.''
''But by that time it will be arleady too late, the match is only in half an hour!'' Paradox said with a snarl.
''There's another thing, you said you wanted to use Noelle but the only way I managed to use her in the last match was because of my illusion. She really doesn't deal well with crowds.'' Just as she said that Maple walked into the room and Paradox looked at her with a gleam in her eyes that made the fox a little bit nervous.
''Maple you were able to create an illusion with your cursing power right? Could you do something so Noelle can fight for us?'' The Ninetales looked confused but after a while she responded.
''If you mean if I can make an illusion like Luna the answer is no. What I do is not illusions but transformations, completely different things. I really was a male when I was using my persona.'' Paradox blushed at the implications. She wondered if she could test that claim later on- she shook her head that wasn't the time to think of that! Her face turned even redder than before.
Maple looked at the Braixen in concern. ''Paradox are you alright? Do you have a fever?''
''Nope! It's nothing!'' She said loudly before quickly walking out of the room the other people in the room looked at each other in confusion.
Paradox came back a few minutes later when she had calmed down with a new plan in mind. Luna felt concerned when Paradox looked at her with a grin. ''Paradox? Why are you looking at me like that?''
''I was thinking about what you said. And you're right using Noelle is too risky. But I have another Pokemon in mind.'' She said with a wide smirk.
''Oh? And who is that Pokemon?'' Luna asked curiously.
Paradox smirk became even wider. ''The Pokemon I want on my team... Is you Luna.'' It took the Zoroark a few seconds to process her words.
''W-what?!'' Luna asked in shock. She must have heard things, right?
As if to responded to her question Paradox started talking again. ''You heard me right, I want you on my team.''
Luna spluttered in indignation. ''I'm a trainer! You can't just use me in battle!'' The Zoroark protested.
''Aww, come on Luna you would be perfect to counter Kadabra he wouldn't even be able to touch you with his psychic ability!'' Paradox exclaimed while pouting toward Luna
''B-but what if people think I won't make a good trainer if they realised I'm not really human?'' The Zoroark asked nervously.
Paradox rolled her eyes.''Oh come on Luna we're in Poketopia! I'm pretty sure Wigglytuff is a true Pokemon too and he's one of the most respected trainer of the entire city! Maybe the people of Johto are stupid enough to think Pokemon can't train other Pokemon but the people of this city know it's complete crap!''
Luna sighed in defeat. ''I guess you're right and I do want to get some revenge on that Kadabra for beating Snowbell and Eve.''
''Great then let's beat that psycopath!'' Paradox said with a savage grin on her face.
Paradox and Luna had thought of a strategy. Since Croagunk had so kindly hidden the Pokemon he would use for this match they decided to hide Luna and Ivy with Luna's illusion. A lot of Pokemon in the crowd were confused when Paradox appeared to arrive with only four Pokemon but the Braixen only smirked as she walked to her side of the battlefield.
Croagunk for his part laughed at her. ''What is this? You only have four Pokemon in a six vs six battle? This will be a piece of cake! Kadabra I choose you!'' The Psychic type teleported into the field and glared at Paradox threateningly.
The Braixen smirked. ''Luna I choose you!'' Much to the surprise of everyone a Zoroark appeared as if from nowhere and took a defensive stance in front of the Kadabra all the while glaring at him.
''Kadabra return you won't be able to beat her!'' Croagunk yelled but Paradox and Luna smirked.
''Luna use Mean Look!'' Zororark gave the psychic type a menacing look that stopped him in his track.
''Incredible! Team Paradox has stopped Kadabra from switching of teammate, forcing team Croagunk to fight at a huge disadvantage!'' The announcer yelled and Crogunk began to curse angrily under his breath.
''Now Luna! Use Night Slash!'' The Zoroark claw glowed with dark energy and she ran toward the Kadabra before trying to deliver a slash with her claws.
''Kadabra teleport!'' Coragunk yelled angrily. Just before Luna could hit him, the psychic type disappeared and reappeared farther away on the other side of the battlefield.
Paradox growled in annoyance. ''Fine then! Luna use Foul Play!''
The Zororark grinned. ''Alright let's see you dodge this!'' She was enveloped in a dark energy and sprinted toward the Kadabra as fast as she could but just as she was about to hit him he teleported again. But much to their surprise instead of reappearing on the other end like earlier he appeared just behind her.
''Alright Kadabra use Tri Attack!'' The Psychic type formed three balls, one was of fire the other was a ball of ice and the last one was electricity. Luna yelped in pain when the three elemental balls hit her without mercy.
''Luna! Are you alright?!'' Paradox asked with concern in her voice. In reponse the dark type clutched her arm and winced.
''I think he inflicted burn on me.'' She responded in a pained voice.
''That's not good that could put us at disadvanatage, let's think of a good strategy to beat him, I know, use Nasty Plot!'' The Zoroark opened her mind to the darker side of her brain and ideas on how to hurt the Kadabra began to flood her brain and then a plan began to form in her mind and she felt her special power grow greatly as she put the plan into motion.
She enveloped herself in dark energy again and ran toward the Kadabra. Croagunk laughed at this. ''Have you learned nothing from earlier you stupid girl? Kadabra use Teleport!'' The psychic type dissapeared just in time once again and reappeared behind her, but this time she was ready for him.
''Kadabra use-'' Croagunk started but was immediatly cutted off by Luna.
''Night Daze!'' The Zoroark yelled before A shockwave of dark energy escaped her body and assaulted the psychic type behind her who reeled at the attack before falling on the ground.
''Kadabra no!'' Croagunk yelled in shock that his Pokemon had been beaten so easily.
''Kadabra is unable to battle! The first round go to team Paradox!'' Loudred yelled and the crowd of Pokemon cheered in response. Croagunk growled angrily as Chansey dragged his Pokemon away.
''Let's see you handle this then, Muk I choose you!'' The Pokemon made of sludge made his way into the battlefield and Luna was just as disgusted as the first time at the sight of him.
''Muk use Sludge!'' Croagunk yelled, The poison type took a part of his own body and threw it in the direction of the Zoroark.
''Luna! Dodge and then use Mean Look!'' The dark type jumped away just in time to not be hit by the disgusting projectile and then glared at the Muk with a look that promised pain.
''Why would they use this again? Zoroark doesn't have an advantage toward Muk.'' The Croagunk question was answered with Paradox's next command.
''Luna use Baton Pass!'' Luna left the battlefiled and stood beside Paradox and then Paradox pointed toward Elliot's Espeon. ''Ivy I choose you!''
Croagunk snarled at the new development. ''So you think you're clever, huh? You found a way to have an advantage two times in a row, but your lucky streak end here! Muk use Dark Pulse!'' Surprising everyone the Muk let out a wave of dark energy and the poor Espeon winced and grunted painfully as it dug into her mind and assaulted her.
''Ivy are you okay?!'' Paradox asked with a frown. The Espeon eyes flashed blue as she glared toward the poison type.
''I'm fine but this pile of sludge will regret doing this to me!'' She took the Muk ina psychic grip and proceeded to savagely slammed him on the ground over and over again each time it did a wet slap as he slammed head first into the ground. Groacunk could do nothing but stare in shock as his Pokemon was beaten to pulp.
Ivy continued to slam him even when it was obvious the Muk had enough. Chansey came into the field and glared at the Espeon. ''Stop right there! Or I will be forced to disqualify you from the match!'' Ivy huffed indignantly but she released the sludge Pokemon from her grasp. Chansey looked at the unconscious monstrosity in disgust before calling Alolan Raichu so he could transport it without touching it.
Croagunk gritted his teeth. ''You think you're better than me right? You filthy human! I will show you that Pokemon doesn't need your kind! Croconaw I choose you!'' A large blue Crocodile walked into the battlefield and glared menacingly toward Ivy. ''Croconaw use Crunch!''
The water type opened it's wide maw with razor sharp teeth and bited down on the poor Eeveelution with devastating result. Espeon screamed in pain before she fell unconscious in the massive maw of the Pokemon. ''How is he so strong?!'' Paradox asked in shock and Croagunk cackled in response.
''My Pokemon has the Sheer Force ability which stop him from causing secondary effects with his offensive attacks. But in exchange his attacks become much more powerful!'' Paradox growled at that.
After Chansey took Ivy with her Paradox was about to select a Pokemon but she was interupted by Luna. ''I want to fight again.''
Paradox looked at her incrediously. ''Are you sure? You're still burned and you have been in a battle not that long ago.''
Luna nodded with a determined frown. ''I have to help you as much as possible. It's my fault I wasn't able to beat him in the semi-finals I want to make up for it.'' Paradox wanted to say she had nothing to make up, for but looking at the resolve in the eyes of the Zoroark she knew she wouldn't be able to change her mind.
''Very well, Luna I choose you!'' The dark type leapt into battle with a confident smirk. ''Alright use Night Daze!'' Paradox commaned, the illusion fox Pokemon sent a shockwave of dark energy toward the water type but much to her surprise he leapt in the air evading the attack completely and countered her with a Water Gun attack.
The attack did hurt her but at the same time it kind of lessened the pain of her burn. Seeing this Paradox mirked and as the Croconaw landed on the ground she issued her next command. ''Luna use Night Slash!'' The Zoroark's claws glowed with dark energy and she swiped at the Zoroark with shocking speed.
The water type yelled out in pain and decided to counter her with another bite that made Luna flinched in pain. She managed to tear herself away from the viscious Pokemon and she was left panting with a tired expression on her face. Paradox knew she wouldn't last for much longer so she decided to put everything in a last attack.
''Luna use Facade!'' Luna hopped pretending to be in distress. The Croconaw seeing this tried to take advantage of the situation and ran toward her with his maw wide open. But Croagunk saw this and his eyes widened.
''No don't go there! It's a trap!'' But his warning fell on deaf her when the water type was closed enough Luna smirked and attacked him with an attack that had double in power because of her burn. The Croconaw fell on the ground with a dazed look and the Zoroark began to laugh.
''Take that you overgrown lizard!'' She lifted her arm in the air in victory but then she developed a tired look on her face and without any warning fell on the ground with her eyes close.
''Luna! Are you okay?!'' But to Paradox relief Luna was snoring faintly it seemed like the fight had taken a lot out of her.
''Both Pokemon have fainted! But team Paradox still has the advanatage with four usable Pokemon while team Croagunk only have three! Can team Paradox keep the advantage? Or will team Croagunk manage to turn the table?!'' Coragunk muttered curses under his breath as he glared toward the loud announcer.
Pretty soon Chansey and her assistant Raichu came on the field. Chansey took Luna while Raichu levitated Croconaw. The next Pokemon Croagunk chose kind of surprised Paradox because it didn't really fit with the whole 'evil team' shtick they had going on. ''Lopunny I choose you!''
A tall rabbit hopped into the arena she had what looked like wool around her arm and on her long ears and she was wearing a sort of bracelet on her right arm that glittered in the sun. Paradox had heard that Lopunny were considered one of the most attractive species of Pokemon even among humans. Now that she saw one she could see why, she still thought Maple looked better though.
She knew who she would chose for this fight. ''Luke! I choose you!'' The Lucario grinned and put a eye patch with a pokeball symbol on his left eye which confused Paradox. ''Luke why do you cover your eyes? Did something happen? And where did you find that?''
''I asked Nurse Joy for it and she gave it to me for free! As for why I'm putting it on it's for containing my overwhelming power!'' He exclaimed loudly with a dramatic flourish.
Paradox sweatdropped, she didn't know what game Luke was playing at but she hoped it wouldn't hurt their chances of victory. Shaking her head she smiled at him. ''Nevermind, let's just win this fight Luke.''
The Lucario nodded and confidently made his way into the field. ''I don't really like hitting a girl but I'm not gonna lose here!''
The Lopunny gaved him a flat stare. ''And I don't like hitting a baby straight out of the egg, but cest la vie.''
Luke blushed at her remark. ''I'm not a baby!'' He andrily yelled at her and she smirked in response.
''Oh? And how old are you?'' Luke lowered his head and muttered something under his breath. ''I didn't hear you.''
''I'm about a month old okay?!'' He said with an embarassed blush on his face. The Lopunny smirked at him.
''See you're just a baby, you might look older because you evolved but at the end of the day you're barely at the start of your life.''
Luke growled in response. ''It doesn't matter that I'm young! Because my mother is the best trainer around and made me much stronger than you!''
The Lopunny chuckled in response. ''Then prove it.''
The Lucario grinned visciously. ''With pleasure, Aura Sphere!'' Luke threw an orb of aura toward tha rabbit Pokemon. But much to his surprise she jumped in the air kicked the orb backed to him.
''Jump Kick!'' The Aura Sphere connected with the Lucario and sent him tumbling on the ground.
''Luke can you continue?'' Paradox asked and Luke gave her a confident grin along with a thumbs up.
''I can take her even without removing the seal on my power!'' Paradox looked at him in confusion, what seal was he talking about? This was just a eye patch the nurse had given him.
''Oh? So you're saying you're not fighting with your all? Let's change that shall we? Croagunk do it!'' The frog Pokemon smirked evily before he touched a bracelet on his arm. Once ha touched it, it started to glow brightly and the bracelet on the Lopunny started to shine with the same light.
Then the rabbit was enveloped in a light and she started to change slightly her brown fur became a bit darker, most of her legs turned black with a few patches of brown, her large eyebrows turned into something that looked like a butterfly and her ears became thinner as if the wool on it was used to tie them up.
Luke gawked at the transformed Pokemon. ''W-what happened to you?! Did you evolved? But this seem different somehow.''
The Lopunny grinned at him. ''This is called a mega evolution only certain Pokemon are able to do it and they can only do it with a special stone and a key crest held by a Pokemon trainer. You pretended like you held back some of your power. Well if that's the case then show it to me otherwise you will lose very quickly against my ultimate form!''
With blinding speed Lopunny charged toward him and proceeded to deliver a quick sucession of punch and a kick that sent him flying before he crashed painfully on the ground. ''S-she's a lot stronger than before! How am I going to beat that?'' But just as he started to lose hope the voice of his mother reached his ears.
''Luke! She's too fast fo you but we can turn this to our advantage next time she attack use Counter!'' Just after saying that Lopuuny was on him again and delivered a swift kick that made him winced in pain but as soon as the attack was done he returned it to her with double the damage making her stumble and almost made her lost her footing. ''Luke don't give her a chance to recover, hit her as much as you can!''
Following his mother's order the Lucario punched the Lopunny but something felt strange. It felt as if he became more powerful after hitting her and then realisation dawned on him. He tried to hit the bunny again but she jumped away and glared at him after landing farther away.
''I think I just learned Power-Up Punch!'' Paradox grinned at that.
''Great! Then use it as much as you can and try to raise your power to it's limit we will need everything we can get to beat her!'' Paradox exclaimed.
Luke grinned at that. ''Fine then, I will unleash all my power at once! You better fear me you poor mortals!'' Both Paradox and Lopunny sweatdropped at the Lucario words. Luke began to charge but the Lopunny smirked and jumped away from him.
''What's the point of having a move that make you stronger if you can't even hit me?'' The rabbit Pokemon asked with a cocky smirk. ''In fact I don't even have to move to keep you at bay look at this! Double Team!'' The rabbit Pokemon created dozens of copies of herself.
But at this the Lucario smirked before charging at a specific Lopunny and hitting her with another Power-Up Punch. The Lopunny was sent tumbling on the ground and the other copies all disappeared. ''Did you forget that I can see aura? It was childplay seeing the real you. But don't worry I can understand my great power overwhelmed your mind and you weren't thinking clearly.''
His spech was interupted by a kick in the legs that made him fall down. ''You talk too much.'' The rabbit said with a smirk before jumping in the air and prepared herself to kick him.
''Luke dodge this!'' The voice of Paradox said to him and he quickly rolled away. The Lopunny missed her target and fell on the ground painfully. ''Quick while she's down use Aura Sphere!'' Paradox yelled and Luke immediatly created a giant orb of aura and threw it at the rabbit Pokemon on the ground.
But she was quick enough to dodge the attack and charged toward him. ''I grow tire of you Lucario, so let's finish this with a High Jump Kick!'' The Lopunny jumped higher than she ever had before and as she fell down she prepared herself to kick Luke with a devastating attack. But Paradox smirked.
''Alright! Use that move Maple taught you!'' The Lucario nodded before a wall of energy appeared before him.
''Protect!'' Luke yelled before a shiled of energu appeared in front of him.
The rabbit Pokemon eyes widened at that. ''Oh no...'' She crashed into the shield and hurted herself badly as she fell on the ground. She tried to quickly rise up and run away but Paradox didn't give her the chance.
''Luke let's finish this! Use Force Palm!'' The bipedal canine's fist became enveloped in a blue aura and he delivered a powerful hit that had become even more powerful thanks to his earlier Power-Up Punches. The impact created a small crater on the ground and the Lopunny groaned in pain before she let her head fall down on the ground and closed her eyes.
She was suddenly enveloped in a bright light and when it was gone she had returned to her normal form.
''Spectacular! Team Paradox managed to beat a mega evolved Pokemon without losing any Pokemon from their team!'' The crowd cheered wildly and began to chant Luke's name. Luke for his part looked around in wonder as everyone cheered for him. He had always wanted to be strong because that's what Pokemon do. But now he wanted to become the strongest so he could always have people and Pokemon cheering for him like this more often.
''Luke do you want to take a break?'' Paradox asked him but the blue canine shook his head.
''I'm ready for whatever that punk send!'' He responded with a confident grin.
Croagunk turned toward his team and pointed toward a yellow Pokemon with black stripes. ''Electabuzz I choose you!'' The electric type strolled into the field with a menacing grin.
''Don't think just because you beated Lopunny that mean you can beat all of us, even with her mega evolution I'm much stronger than her!'' He exlaimed proudly.
''Electabuzz use Quick Attack to get closer!'' The electric type grinned before he dissapeared in a dust of cloud much to the surprise of Luke Electabuzz appeared right behind him. ''Now use Brick Break.''
The Lucario tried to blocked the attack but it was too late. Luke felt a powerful hit on his face and he was sent tumbling on theground before he knew what was happening his vision started to go black. ''I guess... I was a lot more tired than I thought...''
''Lucario is unable to battle the round goes to Team Croagunk!'' The announcer yelled loudly. Paradox looked sadly at Luke as he was dragged away. She should have known he was too weak to continue despite his protests. She needed to be more observant of her Pokemon in the future.
''Vivi are you up for this?'' The Sylveon nodded with a determined smirk. ''Then let's go, Vivi I choose you!''
The fairy type gracefully hopped into the battlefiled. Electabuzz looked at the Eeveelution with a unimpressed expression. ''A Sylveon? Shouldn't you be somewhere helping a girl win a beauty contest or something? A battle is no place for your kind.'' The pink Pokemon growled angrily at him, she would show him to not underestimate her!
''Vivi use Fairy Wind!'' Just as commanded the Eeveelution created a gust of glittering wind. As the wind hurled around him Electabuzz suddenly felt like he was young again and he was in the arms of his late mother. But then reality crashed down around him and sent him tubling on the ground.
Fairy type attacks were kind of special, instead of inflicting pain they instead give a Pokemon a piece of paradise. Some people say that's even more cruel than regular attacks, because after tasting heaven there's nothing more harsh than returning to reality.
The electric type growled angrily toward the Sylveon. ''I hate fairy type! Only psycopaths could play with our minds like this!''
Vivi smirked at him. ''If you want to give up I wouldn't blame you.'' She said in a teasing tone.
''Screw that! There's no way I'm being beaten by something that look like it came out from a five years old girl's dream! Take this Thunder Punch!'' Vivi managed to dodge the punch, but much to her surprise his second fist also began to crackled with electricity and he punched her in the guts sending her crashing painfully on the ground.
''Vivi! Can you continue?!'' Paradox asked with a worried expression.
The Eeveelution lifted herself from the ground with a confident smirk. ''It will take much more than a little electricity to take me down!''
Croagunk smirked at that. ''Oh yeah? Then let's see you handle this! Electabuzz use Hyper Beam!''
Paradox eyes widened at this. ''Vivi! Dodge with Quick Attack!'' Before the powerful beam could reach her the Sylveon disappeared in a cloud of dust and slammed on the side of the electric type. But much to their dismay after making contact Vivi was surrounded by sparks of electricty that made her wince and slowed down her movement.
''Eheheh, I have the static ability so now you are paralyzed after making contact with me'' Electabuzz said with a grin before hitting the Eeveelution with another Thunder Punch.
''Ohhh! This one looked like it hurt! Will Sylveon be able to win or is she fated to lose this round?'' Loudred asked in a excited tone.
Electabuzz ran toward Vivi with electricity on his fist. Paradox growled but then an idea entered her mind and she smirked.
''Vivi use Facade!'' The Sylveon began to hop around which confused Electabuzz a great deal and then she slammed into him with a powerful tackle. That sent him skidding on the ground and the Electabuzz was barely left standing after the attack.
''Argh not this damn move again! Electabuzz finish her with Thunderbolt!'' Croagunk commanded and the electric Pokemon smirked.
''With pleasure.'' And with that he sent a bolt of lightning toward the Sylveon. She tried to dodge the attack but the paralysis made her too slow and she cried out as electricity coursed throught her entire body.
''Vivi!'' Paradox yelled in concern. The Eeveelution was panting on the ground barely hanging on her consciousness. ''Vivi if you're able move finish this with Fairy Wind!'' Paradox exclaimed. Sulveon nodded and lifted herself from the grassy field.
''Oh I don't think so.'' Electabuzz said with a growl before charging at her. But the Sylveon felt something powerful emanating from her from out of nowhere and a image of the moon appeared in her mind. Instead of Fairy Wind she formed a pink ball of energy and hurled it toward electric Pokemon just as he was about to reach her.
Electabuzz didn't have the time to do anything before the orb hit him with full force and sent him to the ground completely unconscious. The Sylveon meanwhile was panting heavily and the last shred of consciousness left her as her body hit the ground.
''Both Sylveon and Electabuzz are unable to battle! Team Croagunk have only one Pokemon left will they be able to win against Paradox's last two?!'' Loudred asked with a grin and the crowd cheered in excitement.
Croagunk was the first to make a move once the Pokemon on the field had been moved to the Pokemon Center. ''Trevenant I choose you!'' What came into the battlefield was the stuff of nightmare it was a big tree that walked on four roots and had one giant glowjng eyes that glared angrily at Paradox.
Paradox hated ghost Pokemon and to have one that mimic trees. Something that had always made her feel safe in her childhood was so wrong in so many level. Trees were supposed to protect and give a home to many Pokemon but this monstrosity looked anything but safe.
Since this Pokemon was obviously a grass and ghost type she knew who she would select for this match. ''Maple I choose-''
But before she could finish her sentence Splash jumped in front of her and into the battlefield. ''Wait! Let me go first!''
Paradox looked at the Marill incrediously. ''Why? You know you have a type disadvantage right?'' She asked with a frown on her face.
The water mouse nodded in reply. ''I know but Maple is your trump card right? Then we need to make sure she win this. I'll soften up Trevenant and then Maple will only have to finish the job.''
Paradox looked at her with an unsure expression. ''You're asking me to use you as a sacrificial pawn? I don't really like this, this sound like something a bad trainer would do.'' Paradox said with a grimace.
But Splash shook her head. ''I'm the one who suggested it and beside you're the best trainer I know. Normally I wouldn't suggest something like this, but right now we can't afford to lose. Many lives depend on our victory so let me make in sort we can win this for sure.''
Paradox sighed but after a brief moment of hesitation she resolved herself and nodded. ''Alright, Splash I choose you!'' The Marill ran into the battlefiled and hissed at the elder tree Pokemon.
Croagunk snarled as he looked at the Marill. ''Are you underestimating me?! Do you really think this water rat can win against Trevenant? I will crush your Pokemon like the vermin she is!'' Both Paradox and Splash growled at the frog Pokemon words.
''Splash use Bubble Beam!'' The water type let out a stream of bubbles from her mouth and they exploded against the Trevenant but it didn't seemed to affect it that much.
''Ah! Your attack barely even scratched my Pokemon! Trevenant use Wood Hammer!'' Croagunk said with a smirk on his face.
''Counter it with Aqua Tail!'' The Braixen yelled. The two attacks collided clearing a shockwave in the process. Loudred almost lost his microphone with all the shockwave it created. The knockback sent Trevenant hammer high in the sky leaving him wide open for a counterattack.
''Splash use Tackle!'' Paradox commanded, but instead of doing a normal tackle attack. The Marill began to rougly bumb into the Trevenant and jumped from branches to branches leaving bruises and scratches everywhere.
Paradox looked as the Marill played around the Trevenant in confusion. ''What are you doing?'' But to her surprise despite the fact that Splash looked like she was only playing around with her foe, it still looked like it did a decent amount of damage to the elder tree Pokemon.
''I think I just learned Rough Play!'' The water mouse yelled excitedly. And Paradox grinned finally understanding what was happening.
''Learning a fairy move won't help you at all! Trevenant use Horn Leech!'' Croagung yelled with a growl. The ghost and grass type's horn began to glow and Splash felt like something had zapped her energy. Much to Paradox's chagrin it looked like Trevenant had healed a lot of the damage he had substained.
''Alright now use Shadow Claw!'' Croagunk yelled and the elder tree Pokemon produced a claw made of super natural energy before charging at the water mouse.
''Counter it with Aqua Tail!'' Once again the two attacks collided and created a shockwave in the stadium. ''Alright! Now use Rough Play again!'' Unfortunately Trevenant had prepared for it this time and the haunted tree vanished into the ground.
Splash looked around in shock and she didn't see her foe anywhere. ''What happened?'' She asked in confusion but suddenly she was hit by Trevenant as he emerged back from the shadows. And she was sent tumbling on the ground.
''Eheheheh, that was Phantom Force did you liked it?'' Croagunk asked smugly from where he stood. ''Alright let's finish this, Trevenant use Wood Hammer!''
''Counter With Aqua Tail!'' Paradox yelled the two attacks collided just like earlier but Splash was a lot more tired than earlier thanks to the damage she received. Thus the Wood hammer broke throught her attack and sent her crashing on the ground creating a small crater where she had landed.
''Splash are you okay?!'' Paradox asked but she got no response as the Marill laid still on the ground only her chest was moving as she breathed.
''Marill is unable to battle! The round goes to team Croagunk!'' Paradox sighed in disappointment before turning to her Ninetales with a determined smile.
''Look like it's just me and you Maple let's win this tournament.'' The fox Pokemon nodded before she walked into the battlefield with an elegant gait in her steps.
''And Team Paradox send Ninetales as their last Pokemon will they be able to win? Or is Trevenant just too strong?!'' Loudred asked in the microphone.
''Maple let's not give them any chance throw a Flamethrower.'' Paradox said with a determined frown.
The Trevenant screamed in pain as a stream of fire hit him and left burned marks all over his body. Croagunk scoffed. ''Don't get cocky just because you have a type advantage, Trevenant use Phantom Force!'' Just like earlier the elder tree Pokemon vanished into the ground but this time Paradox smirked.
''Maple use Protect!'' Croagunk eyes widened as the Ninetales created a shield in front of her and the Trevenant harmlessly slammed against it as he emerged from the ground. ''Alright now use Flamethrower again!''
But Croagunk had another plan. ''Use Phantom Force to get away!'' The ghost and grass type vanished once again and reappeared further away. ''Okay now let's heal yourself by using Ingrain!'' The tree Pokemon planted his roots into the soil and began to heal himself, they could see the burn marks vanishing with their naked eyes.
But Paradox smirked at this. ''That was a big mistake on your part, you just made Trevenant an easy target. Maple use Fire Blast!'' Maple sent a huge ball of flames toward the Trevenant and it exploded on contact making him yelled out in pain.
''Trevenant are you alright?! Use Leech Seed on them!'' As seeds attached themselves to Maple and began to drain her life force the fox Pokemon didn't look worried.
''Sorry Croagunk but even with that your Pokemon can't heal fast enough, Maple use another Fire Blast!'' The Ninetales sent another ball of flames that created a giant cloud of dust as it exploded against the ghost and grass type. When the smoke cleared Trevenant was still standing thanks to his planted roots but it was clear to anyone that the Pokemon was unconscious.
''Trevenant is unable to battle! Team Paradox are the victors of the entire tournament!'' Loudred yelled and the crowd began to cheer and clapped loudly.
''Paradox! Paradox! Paradox! Paradox!'' The Braixen felt overwhelmed as every pokemon in the stadium began to chanted her name. It felt really good to be admired for something else than being the daughter of Celebi she had won their aproval with her own tactics and her Pokemon's strenght.
Croagunk snarled angrily as everyone cheered for the one who had ruined his entire plan. And then he had enough he yelled loudly above the sound of the crowd. ''I call for a battle of the trainers!'' The crowd went silent as they process what the frog Pokemon had just said.
Loudred looked at him nervously. ''Are you sure? You know if you lose you will lose a huge amount of seeds right?''
The poison and fighting type growled in response. ''I don't care about money this is personal now and there's no way I'm losing this!''
The announcer sighed before turning toward the crowd. ''Alright a battle of the trainers has been requested, the two trainers will fight each other!'' At this the crowd went wild and began to cheer loudly.
''What?! That's completely unfair I'm a honorary Pokemon!'' Paradox yelled indignantly.
At this the Loudred shook his head. ''It's not unfair, because Croagunk is a honorary Pokemon too.'' At this Paradox gawked toward Croagunk, if he used to be human how could he turn against them like this?! The frog Pokemon gave a unreadable expression toward the Braixen.
''That explain why he was so easy to beat that day in the dark alley.'' Maple said, yes it did explained that but it didn't explained everything else, why would a human want to kill other humans? What could lead to such a thing?
Paradox gulped as she was forced to go into the battlefield. Maple growled and was about to attack Croagunk to protect her loved one. But Paradox shook her head at the Ninetales. ''If you attack him we'll be called cheaters and he'll win the match by default. That's probably exactly what he want.'' Maple lashed her tails around angrily but didn't say anything in response.
Croagunk snickered once the Braixen was close enough to hear him. ''You thought you could ruin my plans? Too bad there's no way a honorary Pokemon who don't even know any moves can win against me.''
Paradox growled at him. ''I won't let you kill all those innocent people!''
Croagunk laughed mirthlessly. ''Innocent? Innocent?! There's nothing innocent about humans they ruin everything they touch! Do you know why this is the only city made by Pokemon? Because all the other ones were taken over by humans! The ancient civilisation of Alola used to be a huge Pokemon utopia even grander than this one. But then those acursed Ultra Beasts destroyed everything and humans gleefully took over and rebuilt over the ruins while the Pokemon were recovering, all the while pretending they just 'happened' to discover the land! It's only a matter of time before they do the same thing to Poketopia!''
''I don't know about any of this.'' Paradox admited with a frown. ''But why do you take it so personally? I would understand if an Alolan Pokemon would be angry but you're a human why did you turn against your own species?''
Croagunk snarled in response. ''I renounced to my humanity a long time ago. I was an orphan and do you know what my supposed adoptive parent did to me? They made me work on a farm for them! At first it wasn't so bad I was willing to work hard to be accepted by them. But then one day I injured myself and had to go to the hospital. You know what they did? They left me there to rot and left me with a cripling debt I could never repay! They pretended to care for me but all they wanted was a willing slave that they disgarded when he wasn't useful anymore! I don't want anything to do with this rotten species!''
Paradox had nothing to say to this, she had heard some messed up stuff before but abandoning your own injured child? That was a new low and for a moment Paradox shared Croagung hatred for humanity. But then she remembered all the people she met in her journey thus far. Elliot despite the fact he had turned on her had still helped her and it was clear he at least tolerate her despite the fact their morales had collided, Marie the gym leader who had been kind all her life until her death, The young girl of Goldenrod City who had cried for her Minun as if she had lost a member of her own family and every Nurse Joy who had healed her Pokemon and gave her a place to rest with a smile.
''Humanity is not as bad as you make it out to be. There's bad humans sure but there also bad Pokemon every species have their own darkness to bear. If I ever met your adoptive parents I would punch them in the face myself. but you can't kill thousands of innocent people because of what they did!'' Paradox yelled at him.
The Croagunk growled at her. ''Shut up Human scum! I don't care about your sentimentality! It's not as if I'm trying to kill all of humanity. I'm generous enough to keep most of them alive, I will only wish for the death of humans who dared enter this sacred city! They have no rights to parade themselves around and pretend like they're Pokemon!''
Paradox raised an eyebrow at this. ''Um no offense but... Aren't you doing the same thing?'' Croagunk screamed at her and tried to punch her in the face but the Braixen was quick enough to jumped away.
''Shut up you stupid human! You don't understand anything! Sludge Bomb!'' Paradox screamed as the ball of poison hit her and the poison began to dig at her fur and skin. It was just as painful as the first time.
Once she recovered from the hit she growled angrily and charged at the frog Pokemon before punching him in the face. But the frog laughed at that. ''Hahaha! You think you can beat me by fighting like a human? This is a lost cause you should give up right now I barely felt anything!'' She responded by growling and kicking him in his stomach. ''Is that it? I feel sorry for you I will end your mysery! Sludge Bomb!'' This time the Braixen managed to jump away from the pile of sludge just in time before it reached her position and it sizzled on the grass where she had been standing.
''You laugh at me but you only know one attack yourself!'' She taunted at him.
Croagunk clenched his jaw at this. ''It's not my fault! I asked for the permanent transformation like this Grovyle has. But these stupid scientists refused my request saying I would regret it! As if I ever wanted to be human again! So I stole one of their experiment called a Technical Machine. But unfortunately as soon as I used it, it broke apart and the scientists won't make any more until they learn to make them without breaking them after their first use. But this move alone will be more than enough to deal with you! Sludge Bomb!''
Paradox didn't know how it happened but it was as if she was possessed by her own instincts without any reason to. She picked the stick sticking out of her tail and pointed it toward the ball of poison. And suddenly it stopped in mid air and went straight toward Croagunk.
The frog Pokemon grunted in pain as his own attack was sent back at him in pain and then he began to scream in rage. ''Impossible! You haven't even been a Pokemon for a week! A normal human isn't suppose to know any move this soon!'' He yelled angrily
At this Paradox smirked. ''I'm not a normal human, I'm the daughter of Celebi.'' And with that she pointed her stick toward Croagunk and lifted him in the air before slamming his head on the ground with a loud thud. The Croagunk stay still on the ground and closed his eyes before muttering under his breath.
''Human scum...'' And then he felt his consciousness slipping away until he stood completely still. The sound of breathing was the only indication he was still alive.
''Amazing! Team Paradox has won the battle of the trainers and won first place for the tournament!'' Loudred yelled in his microphone and the crowd all clapped in response. Paradox let herself fall on the ground and sighed in relief. She had won by pure luck but at least the city was safe.
''And now give a big round of applause for the team that made Paradox win this tournament!'' Much to her surprise it seemed like her Pokemon had arleady recovered and were now walking toward her with huge smiles on their face. ''Since they have won a Battle of the trainers Team Paradox has won a staggering ten thousand seeds!'' The crowd cheered and Paradox eyes widened in shock. She didn't know the value of a seed but it sounded like a lot. ''Not only that but as promised lady Jirachi will realised their wishes!''
Just as he said that a very small yellow and white Pokemon floated toward them it would have been a sight to behold if the Pokemon in question wasn't snoring loudly. The same Greninja from earlier ran toward her. ''Miss Jirachi it's your time to realise wishes now!'' The Greninja said and the legendary Pokemon opened her eyes in confusion and looked around before her eyes rested on Paradox's group.
''Oh right the wishes! So what wish do you want me to grant?'' Paradox opened her mouth but suddenly she was shoved rougly on the ground by a snarling Croagunk.
''I wish that every honorary Pokemon in Poketopia except me die!'' Paradox looked in horror, surely Jirachi wouldn't grant this right?!
''Wish granted.'' Jirachi responded with a neutral expression before, The wish tags on her head began to glow with power.
Croagunk cakled as he watched dozens of pokemon in the crowd turn to dust. The real pokemon in the crowd screamed in horror as they watched the honorary Pokemon die in front of them. But Croagunk didn't blame them they probably didn't know any better. They grew up beliveving humans weren't so bad, but he knew the truth and he knew he had done this city a great service.
But before he could celebrate his victory a powerful cry came from the legendary bird Ho-Oh. The legendary phoenix flew toward him and tried to blast him with a powerful attack of fire. ''Why are you attacking me?! I liberated your city from the filthy humans!'' Instead of responding Ho-Oh sent another blast of fire toward him.
But before it could touch him something jumped in front of him and his eyes widened in horror as he saw Trevenant turn to ask before his eyes. ''Trevenant no!'' Screaming in rage he tried to attack the legendary phoenix but a familiar Pokemon stopped him.
''Kadabra let me go!'' Croagung yelled loudly.
The Psychic type shook his head. ''If you stay here you will die, the rest of our team will occupy Ho-Oh while we run away.'' Croagunk could do nothing as Kadabra dragged him away in his psychic grip. His loyals Pokemon tried to stop Ho-Oh but ultimately they were all engulfed in flames. Croagunk cry of anguish could be heard in the entire city.
Croagunk didn't know how but somehow they had managed to escaped and were now living on a deserted island close to Poketopia. It's been a month since the tournament and they should have probably tried to run further away from the city. But they had no means to cross the sea and neither of them could swim long enough to reach any other islands.
This day had gone much like the others thus far, go search for food and water, cook and glance warily toward Poketopia in case Ho-Oh decide to finish them off before going to sleep. But that night something, very wrong happened. A massive armada of warships appeared on the horizon. And without warning began to fire at Poketopia.
''Why are they attacking the city?!'' Croagunk asked in horror. Kadabra closed his eyes and retrieved some information from the minds of the humans aboard the ships.
''They're mercenaries, a rich lady had family living here when she learned every humans died she thought the Pokemon of the city had decided to commit genocide and now she hired these mercenaries to get revenge. Croagunk you need to stay here I will try to save as many Pokemon as I can.''
''Kadabra no! Don't leave me alone!'' But the Kadabra had already teleported away. Croagunk could only watch in silent horror as the Poketopia's makeshift buildings all began to catch fire. He could faintly hear the sound of Pokemon screams in the distance. Then a squadron of planes appeared and headed straight toward the city.
Croagunk screamed when he saw them dropping bombs and the explosions engulfed the entire city. ''Kadabra no!'' The ships had stopped firing and now there was only dead silence. Croagunk could only started sobbing as the reality of the situation settled in. The humans had once again taken everything from him... No this time it was entirely his entire fault. If he hadn't killed those humans this misunderstanding would have never happened.
For the first time Croagunk hatred wasn't aimed toward humanity but toward himself...
Paradox watched in horror as Jirachi seemed to grant Croagunk wish. But then the frog Pokemon dropped on the ground and began sobbing uncontrollably. ''What did you do?!'' She asked to Jirachi in shock.
''He wanted to kill the honorary Pokemon. So I crafted a world in his head where that scenario happened and as you probably guessed it didn't go as he thought it would. You don't want the humans dead anymore do you Croagunk?''
The poison and fighting type whimpered. ''No I don't! I'm sorry, I'm so sorry.'' The frog Pokemon gave himself a hug and began rocking back and forth. Jirachi turned toward her Greninja assistant.
''I think you should take him to Nurse Joy I think I traumatized him a little bit. But then again maybe it was for the best. Giving him a fear of killing people isn't really a bad thing in my opinion.'' The Greninja nodded before taking the frog away.
''I'm sorry for the interuption, now I will be able to grant the wish to the Pokemon who really deserve it.'' She said while smilling at Paradox.
''So my wish can be anything?'' The Braixen asked curiously.
Jirachi nodded. ''Yes, but as you can see I don't really grant evil wish despite what some rumors say. I just try to change the mind of evil people when I have the chance like I did for Croagunk. But as long as your wish won't hurt people I should be able to grant it, Oh one more thing I don't bring back people from the dead, sorry. Bringing loved ones might seem like a good idea but trust me it isnt. I did it once and the person in question couldn't handle living in the mortal realm after getting a taste of heaven, it wasn't pretty to see.'' Paradox nodded, it wasn't what she was going to wish for anyway.
''My wish is... Right now families are torn apart because they see romantic relationship between humans and Pokemon as something wrong. I saw two children who had to hide who their parents really were so they wouldn't lose them. And people who love a Pokemon are sent to prison for no good reason. I wish for the law to change and that humanity finally see that Pokemon are just as sapient as they are.''
Jirachi nodded but she had a frown on her face. ''That's a tall order and that's not a change I can do immediatly wihout major consequences. You might have to fight for that wish to come true are you certain that's what you wish for?''
Maple interupted her at this. ''If she has to fight for it how is this granting a wish?'' The fox Pokemon asked incrediously.
''Because it will give her more chances than she normally would have to acomplish her goal. But she will still have to fight for her wish to become true. This is a major change we're talking about I can't just change it instantly with a snap of my fingers. If I did something like this I would break apart the string of fate and you have no idea how mad Arceus would be at me.''
''I don't get it, what's so important about fate? What would be so wrong about events just going at random?'' Paradox asked curiously.
''Fate is something that guide humans and Pokemon whether they know it or not. A person without fate will lose all motivation to do anything and will start to lose all will to live. Humans have a word for it, they call it depression. Sometime we are able to reconnect them to their fate but when we don't, it lead to a very sad ending most of the time.''
''So what you're saying is that if we don't do it this way we might wind up in a world full of depressed people?'' Maple asked in shock and the wish maker nodded in response. ''I think it still kind of suck that Paradox has to work even more to get her wish.'' But at this the Braixen put a reassuring hand on the Ninetales.
''It's going to be alright Maple, I wanted to do this for a while but if I have a even better chance at this with Jirachi's help then that's all I need.'' She said with a determined expression.
''So you want me to grant you wish?'' Paradox nodded and the teal tags of Jirachi glowed with a green light once gain. ''It is done the strings of fate has been stacked in your favor. But that doesn't mean it's going to be easy. Changing three millenia of beliefs is not going to happen overnight.'' Then she turned toward Maple. ''Okay so now what do you wish for?''
Maple looked at her in confusion. ''I get a wish too?''
Jirachi cocked her head at this. ''Didn't I say that? every members of your team get a wish not just the trainer.'' The Pokemon in the group looked at each other in surprise before they all cheered happily.
''Okay, I think I know what I want to wish for.'' Maple said with a smile as she look at Paradox from the corner of her eyes. ''Before we arrived in Poketopia we were on a shipwreck and we lost many things. Among those things is a Time Flute that allow Paradox to talk to her mother. I wish that Paradox get the Time Flute back.''
The Braixen looked at Maple in shock. ''Do you really want to waste your wish on me? You could have anything you ever wanted!'' Paradox protested at her.
But the Ninetales shook her head in response. ''Making you happy is all I need.'' The Braixen eyes began to water at this. What did she do to deserve someone as wonderful as Maple in her life?
''Very well, I will grant you your wish'' But much to Paradox surprised instead of just giving her the flute Jirachi gave her a soggy wet bag but inside the bag it was ful of unused Pokeballs, potions and money that probably got all ruined by the water and finally the Time Flute itself.
''You gave all of our stuff back?'' Maple asked in shock and Jirachi shrugged nonchalantly.
''It would have been more complicated to just take the flute from the bag. So why bother when you can make the wish even better with less effort?'' She said with a smiled on her face.
''Thank you lady Jirachi.'' Maple said with a bow and the wish maker waved at her dismissively.
''Now it's your turn.'' The legendary said while pointing toward Splash.
''I guess it would be too much to wish for world peace?'' The water mouse asked with a sheepish expression.
''Unfortunately the only way to achieve that would be if I killed everyone, but I guess that not what you wanted.'' Jirachi said with a raised eyebrow.
At this the Marill shook her head furiously. ''No1 Of course not! Well... Since that's out of the question, I wish for all of us to live very long and happy lives!'' Jirachi rubbed her chin thoughtfully but then nodded before moving the strings of fate around.
''And done, now it's your turn Sylveon.'' Jirachi said as she turned toward Vivi.
The Sylveon seemed thoughtful. ''Me and my sisters used to live on a breeding ranch it was a good place to live with plenty of food and we had a lot of fun while 'breeding''' She said the last part with a large blush on her face. ''But we wanted to have an adventure and the owner did not want to let three female Eevee go when they could be used to make more Eevee. I wish there was a breeding ranch where Pokemon could come and go as they please.'' Jirachi nodded thoughtfully.
''And done, it might take a while for your wish to come true, but it will happen. Now you're the last one Lucario.''
Luke smiled confidently. ''I want to become the strongest Lucario in the world!'' He said with a large grin on his face. Jirachi chuckled at that, truth by told it was a pretty standard wish for Pokemon, especially male ones.
''Very well but if you want to achieve that dream you will need these.'' With that Jirachi gave Luke a rock and a crest. The Lucario looked at it in confusion before he finally recognised it.
''Wait isn't that the thing Lopunny had?!'' He asked in shock and Jirachi nodded in confirmation.
''This is called a Lucarionite and the other bracelet is a key crest you must wear the stone while your trainer has the key crest and you will be able to mega evolve. But be careful it might be a while before you master your mega evolution.'' Luke looked like he was a kid at the candy store as he jumped around in joy.
''Thank you for everything Jirachi.'' Paradox said with a grateful smile.
The wishmaker shook her head. ''It's nothing I promised to grant wish to the winners after all, now if you excuse me all these wish granting has left me very tired.'' The legendary Pokemon closed her eyes and began to snore loudly. Everyone sweatdropped at how quickly she fell asleep.
Finally the tournament was over. Paradox reunited with Elliot and Luna who congratulated her on her victory. After all the excitement the group decided to take tomorrow off. They still had until next summer to complete the gym challenge, it wasn't like they were really pressed for time.
But Paradox had other plans other than just relaxing and she smiled as she watched the Time Flute that was back in her hands. She would need her mother help tomorrow, after all Maple used her wish for her it was only fair that she did something nice in return...