Within the Arena Akira stood across from Brock and though he didn't know if he could beat him or not, he was still proud of the fact that he had made it to the Semi-Finals. Though since this was his first tournament as well as his first time making it this far in one, Akira decided that he would use Inari within this match. With this thought in mind, Akira reached for the Pokéball that contained his Vulpix.
As Akira was getting ready to call out Inari, he could see that Brock was also getting ready to call out his own Pokémon. Though since this would be the first time that he faced Brock, Akira didn't know what Pokémon the older Tamer would choose to use.
Since Akira was about to find out, he decided not to worry about the Pokémon that Brock would use and just focus on keeping Inari safe throughout the battle.
Akira was the first to throw his Pokéball into the air though Brock was only a second behind him and when both energy masses cleared it revealed what Pokémon the two Tamers had chosen to use. Since Akira already knew what Inari looked like, he focused his attention on the Pokémon that Brock had decided to use which was one that Akira had never seen before.
The creature that was fighting for Brock was one that was made entirely out of rock. This Pokémon was gray in coloring and had two muscular arms attached to it's body and from the member that hung below it, Akira saw that the Pokémon was male.
Like usual, Akira wanted to go straight on the offensive and as such he called out towards Inari. "Inari, use Tackle!" Akira commanded of his Pokémon.
Akira's command sent Inari flashing across the battlefield and though Brock tried to have his Pokémon get out of the way, Inari was much faster than his Pokémon and as such was able to strike his opponent with little effort. Though Inari's attack connected with Brock's Pokémon, it didn't look like it did much damage to the creature.
Now that Akira's attack had finished it was time for Brock to make a move. "Mithros, use Headbutt!" Brock commanded of his Pokémon. The Pokémon that is known as Mithros went soaring towards Inari and from what he was made out of, Akira knew he didn't want Inari to be hit with the full force of Brock's Pokémon.
"Inari get out of the way..." Akira called out to his Pokémon who like his Master didn't want to get hit by the flying boulder and as such was quick to move out of the way and once Inari was clear of the now downed Mithros, Akira called out to Inari once more. "...now Inari follow up with Flamethrower!"
Akira watched as his Pokémon opened up it's mouth and shot out a stream of fire from the furnace that resided within the creatures body. The Flamethrower covered Mithros entire body and lasted for about a minute and when it cleared, Akira saw that the attack had done quite a bit of damage though Mithros was still standing and was ready to continue his battle with Inari.
Once the attack had completely finished, Inari jumped back to stand in front of his Master who started to feel something bubble up within him. Similar to what he felt during his battle with Gary so long ago, Akira felt an energy that connected him to Inari. With this connection Akira could feel that within Inari was an ability that would hopefully turn the tide of this battle and as such Akira decided to use it. "Inari use Petal Dance!"
At the order, Inari was surrounded with purple leaves that were tinged with red. Once Inari was completely surrounded the fire type Pokémon sent the leaves twirling towards Mithros who was in turn surrounded by the leaves as well. As the leaves swirled around Mithros, Akira could see a vortex of flames swirling within the leaves. The attack didn't last very long and when it cleared everyone saw that Mithros was flat on his back though what was strange was that Mithros looked like he had fallen in love with Inari which could be seen from the heart shaped eyes that Mithros had.
Everyone within the Arena knew that Akira and Inari had beaten Brock's Mithros and from the Pokéball held within Brock's hand he must have understood this as well. Within a heartbeat, Mithros was back inside his Pokéball and another one came soaring through the air. When the energy mass cleared it revealed that the Pokémon that Brock had chosen was a humanoid one that was covered in grey skin though the only way Akira was able to tell the gender of the Pokémon was from the slight bulge that was hidden underneath the creatures black briefs.
From the determined expression that was plastered on Brock's face told Akira that the other Tamer was not going to give up on this match without a fight. "Artreyu, use Dual Chop!" Brock commanded of his Pokémon.
With Brock's order his Pokémon went speeding towards Inari and as he did both of his hands started to glow. Akira was stunned by the speed that Artreyu had and as such was too late at ordering Inari to dodge. One hit after the other sent Inari flying backwards and from the crash landing that Inari had only enhanced the damage from Brock's attack.
Thankfully as Inari pushed himself up off the ground, Akira saw that the attack thankfully didn't knock his Pokémon out of the battle. Though as Inari finally got his footing back, Brock once again went on the offensive. "Artreyu, use Seismic Toss!"Brock commanded of his humanoid Pokémon.
Once again Brock's Pokémon came speeding towards Inari though unlike last time around, Akira was able to order Inari to dodge the incoming attack. As Inari was soaring through the air Akira called out to his Pokémon. "Inari, use Flamethrower!"
Just like what Inari did to Mithros, he shot out a stream of flames that engulfed Brock's latest Pokémon. The attack went on until Inari landed back on the ground and once the flames cleared it showed everyone that though Artreyu was still standing the attack had done some damage.
Akira saw that though Inari's attack had damaged Artreyu, it also seemed to enrage the other Pokémon. Knowing that if Inari was hit by another attack from Artreyu that he would no longer be able to continue to battle caused Akira to try and figure out a strategy to keep Inari clear from the other Pokémon. Though this would be a little harder to do than Akira originally thought since Brock sent his Pokémon after Inari once more.
Artreyu once again was ordered to use Dual Chop though with how enraged the other Pokémon was, Akira didn't think that the humanoid Pokémon would stop until he knocked Inari from the fight.
Though the first strike of the Dual Chop missed, Inari was not fast enough to get out of the way of the second swing of Dual Chop. Artreyu's attack sent Inari flying back towards Akira and since Akira already knew that Inari had been knocked out of the battle, he already had Inari's Pokéball in his hand. Now that Inari was safely back inside his home, Akira clipped the Pokéball back on his belt while also unclipping another one.
Now that Akira was ready to call out another of his Pokémon and as the Pokéball went soaring through the air it revealed that Akira had called out Lilith. The moment that Lilith was fully released from the Pokéball, Akira went on the attack. "Lilith use Shadow Ball!" Akira called out to his Shuppet who was eager to do as her Master commanded.
Within a heartbeat after Akira ordered Lilith to attack, a black orb appeared in front of the ghost type Pokémon and once the orb grew twice the size of Lilith it was shot directly at Artreyu.
Seeing the incoming attack caused Brock to try and get his Pokémon out of the way though every dodge only caused the orb to follow after Artreyu and from the shocked look on Brock's face this was something that he wasn't expecting. Akira could tell that Artreyu was getting worn out from the constant dodging which meant that the attack would eventually smash into the humanoid Pokémon.
Moments after this thought flashed through Akira's mind Artreyu did just as Akira predicted and once he did, Lilith's Shadow Orb collided with Artreyu which sent the other Pokémon flying back.
As Artreyu came crashing down to the ground, Akira decided that he would try and ensure that he wouldn't be able to get back up and as such ordered Lilith on the attack once more. "Lilith follow up with Dark Pulse!"
With that order a pitch black wave of energy shot out of Lilith and flooded the Arena. From the cries of pain that echoed around the Arena, Akira knew that Artreyu had taken quite a bit of damage. Though the moment that the attack cleared, Akira could see that Brock's Pokémon was unable to battle. Akira wasn't the only one who saw this and as such he saw that Brock was already recalling Artreyu.
Once Artreyu was safely within his Pokéball the voice of the announcer once again echoed throughout the Arena, signaling the end of the battle as well as Akira's win and his entrance into the finals.
Unlike the last time that Akira had passed into the next rounds, he stayed to watch the next battle though that was partially to the fact that Ash was battling in this round. The battle between Ash and his opponent Tracey was an interesting one and since both of them were on their second Pokémon, the battle could go either way.
Ash was using the familiar Pokémon known as Zeus while Tracey was using the Pokémon that Akira saw him use in his last battle, which Akira was able to learn was called a Scyther. Tracey's Pokémon was one that interesting to say the least and caused Akira to want to get to know the other Tamer so he could learn where he could catch one of these Pokémon for himself.
Though as Ash sent Zeus on the attack once more, Akira decided it was best to focus on the battle between the two Tamers and their Pokémon. Zeus stuck Tracey's Scyther with his glowing tail three separate times which sent the other creature flying though since the Scyther had wings it was able to regain control of it's descent.
Once the Scyther landed back on the ground, Tracey ordered it to go on the attack which caused both it's scythe like arms to start glowing as well as the other Pokémon to go charging after Zeus.
Though before the Scyther could make contact with Zeus it flung out it's arms which sent a blast of concentrated energy spiraling towards Zeus and though Ash tried to have his Pokémon dodge the attack, he was not quick enough in doing so. With this attack that Zeus had taken, he was sent flying back as well as crashing down to the ground. Akira, Ash and everyone else within the Arena waited to see if Zeus would stand up once the dust cleared and once it did they saw that Zeus's prone form.
Seeing that Zeus wasn't getting back up, Akira knew that Ash had lost the battle. Though Akira was saddened that Ash had not won the battle, he was thrilled that he wasn't going to have to battle Ash within the tournament finals.
Now that the Semi-Finals were over, it was time for Akira to get ready to enter the Arena once more.
Author's notes: Thank you for everyone who read this chapter of the Tamer Saga. As always please review or comment with your thoughts on the chapter or the story itself. Until next time!