A/N: Forgot to add: Friday's chapter will be up a little later than normal. See you then!
14: The Tournament – First Round – I
Pikachu
I woke up on Monday morning with an overwhelming surge of excitement.
Yes, I knew we weren't battling today but just the thought that tournament was finally starting, I couldn't get over it. I didn't even complain when the alarm woke everyone up or that Espeon and Mew were being extremely loud this morning or even how hot it was in the room.
The others were just as excited as I was and it took all of my willpower not to send out random electric shocks around the room. I've short-circuited many rooms in my time and I didn't want to damage this one, too. When one gets lectured by Red, it sort of stays with you. He gets scary when he's angry.
Anyway, when we went to the first floor to meet the others a half hour before noon, my ears twitched when I heard a voice far more distinct than all the others I heard just outside of the lobby doors. If that was who I think it was, then this day just got even better!
From my perch on Red's shoulder, I watched the doors open and once we stepped outside, Blue turned around and he grinned at us. "Took you long enough, you slowpoke," he taunted and a hand gently slapped the back of his head. "Ow! Gramps!"
"Be nice, Blue." I smiled brightly as soon as I saw Professor Oak. He was shorter and had a few more white hairs than I remembered but he smiled all the same. He didn't have his white lab coat on that hid his red polo shirt and khaki pants and a pair of glasses hung from his shirt collar. I suppose with age, it was natural to lose a little sight. "Look at you, Red! You've grown even taller since last I saw you!" he hugged Red and I gratefully accepted the chin scratches he gave me. "And you're just as cute as ever, Pikachu."
"You bet your ass I am," I said even if they couldn't understand me. I saw him reach into his pocket and pulled out a small treat.
"Brought this from home, I know you like these a lot."
"Gramps, you spoil that yellow rat too much," Blue chastised as I gratefully accepted the pokepuff treat.
"Pikachu is cute, you jerk!" came a feminine voice. I gaped when I saw Leaf wave at us from behind the professor, her brown eyes narrowed at Blue in annoyance before she turned them to Red and I. The first thought I had was that it was strange not to see her in her favorite outfit after so long and she adjusted her green hat a little to see us better. "Long time, no see!"
"When did you get here?" Red blurted. He was just as startled as I was to see her here of all places.
"If you had come with me to pick up Gramps, you would have known then but no, you had to ditch me," Blue complained.
"Thus, ditching me, too," Leaf accused and suddenly hugged Red. "It's been forever! Why don't you ever come to see me?"
Red patted her back to satisfy her enough to make her let go. "Because you're never home," he answered truthfully.
She laughed. "True, I guess. At least you text me back, that's always good."
"Wait, he texts you back? He leaves me on read!" Blue whined.
I smiled as I watched their interactions. It felt good to have the old gang back together again and as I looked between them all, I heard the doors of the hotel open once again. Red glanced at White as she came down the stairs with Ethan, Black, Nate, Rosa and Brendan. White peered at Leaf curiously and if I hadn't known any better, she seemed to look cautious.
Ethan jumped the last few steps, grinning as he greeting, "Hey, Prof! I didn't know you were here!"
"Literally told you like a thousand times he was here," Blue told him with a roll of his eyes.
"What about me?" Leaf whined.
"What about you?"
Leaf huffed and then turned away from him to face the newcomers. "Hi, everyone! I'm Leaf! I just flew in with Professor Oak a few days ago."
Brendan was staring at Professor Oak with wide, star-struck eyes. "I didn't think I'd meet you like, ever," he said. His face turned pink from embarrassment as we all looked at him. "I—I mean, I love your work, Professor and I've read all of your papers!"
Professor Oak seemed impressed and replied, "You have? They aren't exactly easy reads."
I was also amazed by Brendan. Red had tried to read some of the professor's work a long time ago but it didn't take a genius to know that it had all gone way over his head. The fact that Brendan had understood everything that was written in those essays and various reports of the professor's studies suggested to me that he was a very intelligent young man and if he somehow retired from pokemon training, he could probably easily get a job related to pokemon science.
"Yeah. Professor Birch had some reports laying around in his lab so I read them when he let me."
"You're competing in the tournament too, right?" Leaf asked as she looked at him when he nodded. "Strong and smart, I like that." She turned around with a little wink as Brendan's face turned a bright red.
I rolled my eyes. Leaf was just the same as ever.
"I—um, thanks?"
"Don't give into her antics, she'll just keep going if you let her," Blue advised.
Brendan's face flushed again and Black stepped forward. "I'm Black, this is my sister, White," he said to save our flustered friend. "That over there is Rosa and Nate."
"And you've already met Ethan, so now that introductions are over, let's go before we're late for the first day," Blue said.
"I want to see the opening ceremony!" Leaf exclaimed and smiled as she linked her arms with Blue and Red on either side of her, pulling them alongside her. "Remember when I had to drag you two out of the safari center? Just like old times, am I right?"
Blue was scowling but he made no move to pull free. "No!"
I glanced back to see White's eyes glaring daggers into Leaf's back. All I could sense was jealousy radiating from her. I prayed for Leaf's safety if they were somehow alone together.
I got off of Red and walked next to Professor Oak instead and tapped his foot before I jumped onto his shoulder. He had mentioned the last time we saw him that he was getting too old for me to suddenly jump onto his shoulder like I did to everyone else so I decided to start warning him with those taps. He didn't seem to mind and even paused briefly to let me get comfortable.
From this new position, not only would I be able to better keep an eye on the three Kanto trainers that were up ahead, I would probably be able to get a few more treats from the old man. I snickered when I saw Leaf pull the two boys with her with ease as she had always done, practically running to the stadium in her own excitement and ignored Blue's loud objections and my own trainer's annoyed face.
"Are you okay, White?" I heard Rosa ask from behind us.
I looked over my shoulder again.
White was still scowling and she mumbled, "I'm fine."
"She's just jealous Red got taken away by someone else," Black said and skillfully avoided her impending smack to his head, grinning the whole time.
Her face turned pink immediately. "He's not my boyfriend!" she snapped.
"I never said that!"
Rosa gasped and exclaimed, "He's your boyfriend?!"
She turned around to face her so fast, I thought she would trip over her own feet. "No!" she cried.
"Blue told me he saw them making out a couple weeks ago," Black informed them.
"This is news to me," Nate said.
Ethan looked shocked and kept looking between Red and White. After opening and closing his mouth a few times, he whined, "You're telling me that mister lives on a cold ass mountain way far away from civilization has a girlfriend but I can't even get a phone number?"
"No!" White snapped.
Brendan was grinning beside Black, who gave his twin a victorious smirk. "Then what are you two?" he asked.
"We're just friends! He's not my boyfriend and we didn't make out, okay?!"
I wanted to laugh so hard with the others that laughed at her and I tried to restrain myself from doing so when I saw Professor Oak glance at me. He, too, had a smile on his face and whispered to me, "Let's just pretend we didn't hear a thing, eh?"
I snorted, knowing that I wasn't going to pretend. I was going to remember this whole conversation for a very long time.
-x-
As the stadium got closer, I noticed how many more security guards were placed around the entrances. I was glad that the director had taken the threat of the Shadow Triad seriously and wondered since people were being allowed in if anyone had even found anything going on. Hopefully nothing would happen and we would have a great time, but knowing our luck I knew it would be anything but that.
The screams of the crowd caused us all to pause when we reached it and I jumped from Professor Oak back to my trainer when we had finally caught up and stopped at the side entrance. "Too bad we can't join you guys in those box things," Leaf said as she scratched my head. "I want an awesome view like that, too!"
"We already have nice seats that the League so generously provided us and Red's mother," Professor Oak told her.
"Yeah, don't be picky because you couldn't get past Agatha," Blue taunted and grinned as Leaf scowled at him.
"Ghosts scare me!" she retorted.
"Me too, I don't like ghost-types," Nate said and shuddered a little.
She motioned both hands towards him theatrically. "See, I'm not the only one!" She looked at Nate. "We're best friends now."
Nate looked startled. "B-best friends?"
"Let's go, Leaf," Professor Oak said. He took out two tickets from his pocket as he headed for the front gates to the stadium.
Leaf jogged after him and then turned to look at us and gave her signature wink before she disappeared around the corner with the professor.
"Your friend is… something," Brendan said after a brief moment of blissful silence.
"She's a crackhead," Blue replied with a roll of his eyes.
"I think she's fun!" Rosa said and smiled. Then she turned to the door and the guard opened it up for us.
Red lagged behind a little on purpose to wait for White as the others went ahead and went straight for the staircase except for Nate, who took a different direction, running off to a different door that revealed a set of stairs that went down. The rest of their voices were loud and excited, echoing through the hall above the muffled cries of the fans outside.
We waited on the steps for her and when she finally decided to start climbing the steps, she seemed surprised we were still there. "Oh, hey. I thought you were already with the others," she said.
I got off of Red's shoulder and waited for them both on the last step. White seemed a little upset, though I wasn't sure if it was because she was tired or if it was because of the other's teasing from the walk.
Red's eyes softened slightly, noticing it as well. "Are you okay?" he asked.
She nodded. "I'm fine. Just tired, I guess."
He didn't seem convinced but nodded anyway.
Once she caught up to us, she asked curiously, "So, how long have you known them?"
He clearly had no idea who she meant and glanced at her with a face that plainly asked what she was talking about.
She chuckled. "The professor and your friend, I mean."
"Oh." I rolled my eyes at my trainer. Sometimes I wonder how in the world we've survived in the world for so long. "I've known Blue, Leaf and Professor Oak all my life. Blue's sister, Daisy, is a few years older than us, so we were the only kids in Pallet Town and we were close."
"Huh. I didn't know Blue had a sister. What's Pallet Town like?" she asked curiously.
"Tiny. Everyone knows everyone."
"That sounds like Nuvema Town. That's where I'm from—it's a tiny little town south of Striaton City."
As she talked about her hometown, I noticed how slow they were walking up the stairs and how invested Red actually was into the conversation, even pointing out the similarities between the two towns. I began to wonder if they just wanted time to themselves when they took a step every few seconds and when I heard a wave of cheers from outside the hall, I scowled. O.G.A.D. be damned right now, I wanted to see a battle for the first time in months!
Frustrated that they were taking their sweet time going up the last four steps of the second staircase, I whined, "Hurry up! You two can flirt later! I want to actually watch the matches instead of hanging out in the hall!"
Red and White turned their heads when they heard me. Whether or not they understood me, I didn't know but Red rose a brow and White started to laugh. "I think he's getting impatient," she told him and jogged up the last few steps. "Best not let everyone else wait on us, too."
"Finally. Slowpokes," I mumbled under my breath and followed them down a short hall towards a closed door.
As soon they opened it, the quiet, echoed hall burst to life, the screams of excited fans hit us all at once and I gawked at the sight. There was enough leg room between both rows of seats for someone to practically lay down but that wasn't what I had been astounded by. The plexiglass safety barrier at the edge reached just above Red's hips and had three panels with gaps between them that were enough room for me to squeeze my head through to stare out at the stands.
From this spot, I could see almost all of the seats in the entire stadium other than the ones directly above us. I was amazed just by how many people were here! There were easily thousands of people and pokemon here and many of them held signs or souvenirs of their favorite competitor of the day. I tried to see if I could find Professor Oak and Leaf somewhere in the crowd, though I doubted I would be able to with this many people.
"I didn't think there would be this many people," Brendan said as he leaned forward on the barrier to curiously look out at the stands.
"You're gonna get your head stuck, Pikachu," I heard Ethan warn from behind me.
I pulled my head back and stuck my tongue out at him instead. I wasn't going to get stuck!
"It's called a world tournament for a reason," White told Brendan as she sat down in one of the ten seats.
"You have to admit there a lot more people this year than last," Rosa stated.
"There's more champions competing this year, so of course there's going to be a lot more people," Blue said and took a seat as well.
I ignored the humans for the moment and looked directly across the stadium at the other box. I could see that Lance was sitting beside Cynthia with Steven, Alder, Diantha and Wallace also there. I had no idea where the other champions were other than Nate and Dawn, as they were both the first to battle.
Red took the seat at the edge of the first row as fireworks suddenly went off around the top of the stadium and loud music started playing from speakers. The sudden noise startled me and I jumped straight into Red's lap and remained there as the screens around the stadium started playing footage from various battles.
"Hello and welcome to the first day of the Champion's Circuit here at the Driftveil City Stadium!" a voice suddenly over the speakers, followed by several cheers. I grinned as the screen showed a green-haired trainer and Brendan's father. "Who will join Wally, who triumphed over all other trainers in the Trainer's Circuit, and Norman, the victor of the Gym Leader Circuit?"
"I didn't know your dad actually won," I heard White say as the screen showed the two trainers accepting their trophies.
Ethan looked at Brendan with a smile and said, "That's awesome! I'm just glad he beat Claire!"
"He's tough, you know," Brendan bragged. "Even if it was only by one point, though."
"Eighteen region champions compete against each other for the top spot for everyone to find out just who exactly is the World Champion! Will Champion Cynthia be able to hold onto her title another year?" The screen showed an intense scene from a match against Lance and herself with two dragon-types I hadn't seen before, but they both seemed ferocious as they fought tooth and claw until ultimately, Lance's teammate was knocked out and Cynthia was declared the winner.
The door suddenly opened and I turned my head behind when I saw Calem and Serena enter, both of them panting as if they had sprinted all the way here. "You guys don't mind if we join you, right? We tried sitting with the others but they're so boring," Calem complained.
"So we ran away when we saw you guys come and told them we were gonna join you," Serena added as she caught her breath.
Ethan laughed. "Lance is usually a boring guy," he said as the two Kalos champions sat down. "All he talks about sometimes is just how his cape was handed down to him from his family generations ago and blah, blah, blah."
Calem laughed. "I'm glad we got away then."
"I thought he wouldn't stop talking to us about it," Serena said.
"Welcome to the club," Blue replied. He seemed to be practically ignoring the rest of us, his eyes fixed on the field.
The screen changed to all of the trainer's pictures on the screen again until it changed to just Dawn and Nate and a giant V.S. between them. "Today's first match is Champion Dawn of Sinnoh versus Champion Nate of Unova!" the announcer interrupted as the music died down. "Let us welcome both competitors to the field!"
I watched Nate and Dawn both enter the field on opposite sides until they stopped just inside of a painted box on the ground. Nate grinned at Dawn, all of his nerves seemingly gone and he took one of his pokeballs into a hand. Dawn smirked at him, a pokeball already in her own hand.
A woman's voice a little quieter but just as enthusiastic as the first one then said, "This will be a full six-versus-six battle. Switches are allowed, held items are allowed. No other items are permitted. Champions, please send out your first pokemon!"
Nate tossed out his pokeball first. "Let's go, Darmanitan!" he shouted. His pokemon appeared and let out a loud roar, the flames sprouting high just above his eyes. I noticed it was wearing a necklace with a medium-sized pinkish orb attached to it. I already knew it was a life orb; it was a risky item to hold during a battle but it definitely had its benefits.
Dawn threw hers out next, "Go, Staraptor!" A flying-type slightly smaller than Pidgeot came out with a shrill cry and landed on the ground and eyed his opponent and held his head up high in a challenging way. I couldn't see anything it could be holding and I wondered if maybe he wasn't holding anything at all. No one in my team held any items and we did just fine without them.
A hush fell over the crowd as we all waited in anticipation for the referee to allow them to begin. It felt like a lifetime until the first announcer suddenly shouted, "You may begin!"
"Darmanitan, use Work Up!" Nate immediately commanded. Darmanitan let out a shout as he increased his stats, puffing out his chest to prove a point.
At the same time Dawn said, "Use Agility, Staraptor!" Staraptor jumped into the air so smoothly, I forgot for a moment he had even been on the ground in the beginning.
Nate looked up and nodded at Darmanitan. "Fire Punch!"
Staraptor closed his wings in a rapid dive to avoid the attack and snapped them back open, although he was surprised when Darmanitan had quickly lunged back into the air and slammed a fire-coated fist into him.
"Champion Nate lands the first attack! Will Champion Dawn be able to retaliate?" the first announcer interrupted and I scowled to myself. This was why Red preferred to battle far out of the public eye; commentators were annoying, especially in matches as large as this.
Dawn looked up at Staraptor and I knew she was completely ignoring the voice from the intercom as well. "Brave Bird!"
"Dodge this, you overgrown monkey!" I heard Staraptor taunt when his body took on a bright glow as he dove straight for Darmanitan.
"Meet it with Flare Blitz!" Nate said.
"I am no monkey, I am Darmanitan!" Darmanitan retorted to Staraptor. Fire shot up bright from his brows and he ran forward to meet Staraptor in the middle of the field.
The two met each other in a sudden explosion that caused a cheer to erupt even as the smoke cleared and neither pokemon even seemed winded. Even from our spot high up in the stadium, I could see the fire in both trainers eyes, clearly thrilled to have met a strong opponent.
"Both attacks are strong moves that most trainers tend to avoid due to the recoil, but it seems like they aren't even hurt!" the first announcer shouted. I decided to call him One and the other commentator Two.
Staraptor shot back into the air to get away from another Fire Punch although Darmanitan jumped back into the air to attack again. Dawn suddenly smirked and I knew she and Staraptor wouldn't be surprised by Nate's trick again. "Now, Staraptor! Close Combat!"
Nate's eyes widened. "Darmanitan, get away!" he shouted, although it was too late.
Staraptor pummeled Darmanitan in the air in quick succession and the last hit sent him flying back into the ground, skidding into the ground and flying past his trainer.
Blue whistled from behind me, clearly impressed but Rosa sighed loudly with a mumbled, "I told him not to do that more than once."
"What a rush! Will Darmanitan be able to recover from this?" Two asked.
Darmanitan got up and although he was panting and had a shallow cut beside his right brow from Staraptors talons, he kept on grinning and jumped back into the fight. "Nate told us that our opponents will be difficult. I'm glad you're our first step to winning this competition!" he said to Staraptor.
The flying-type scoffed. "You mean you are our first step, since we will win!" he replied and fanned his wings to take to the air again.
"Keep Staraptor grounded, Darmanitan! Psychic!" Nate yelled.
"Psychic?!" I exclaimed. I had expected Darmanitan to be a pure fire-type, had I been wrong?
Dawn seemed just as surprised as I felt and as Staraptor was dragged back down and slammed into the ground, she shook her head to herself. "Staraptor! Use Roost!"
"Don't let him, Darmanitan! Stone Edge!"
Staraptor struggled to avoid the attacks now, panting as he narrowly dodged another spike of rock shooting up at him. He managed to get a Roost off as he flew up higher and then flapped his wings powerfully a few times followed by a strong wind that suddenly started to pick up with Tailwind. He was hit with another Fire Punch at this time but with a wince, he remained standing.
"That is one stubborn bird," Blue stated.
"She's setting up for her next pokemon," Calem noted. "Smart."
"It looks like Staraptor is on his last legs! What will Champion Dawn do next?" One cried, followed by the cheers.
Staraptor and Dawn ignored the voices and she commanded, "Rain Dance!"
Nate frowned a little, not enjoying where she was going with her plans. "Knock it out, Darmanitan! Fire Punch one last time!" he shouted.
With one last Fire Punch, Staraptor was finally down and the dark clouds began to build over the stadium with a sudden downpour of rain. Luckily, the stadiums seats were covered, clearly already prepared for the weather changes any pokemon would possibly be used.
"Staraptor has fainted! Darmanitan has won the first bout, but will Champion Nate and Darmanitan be able to continue in this rain?" One asked.
Dawn recalled Staraptor and something changed in her face that made my eyes widen a little bit. She had that same look as Red did when they grew serious and a frown had replaced her overconfident smirk. She quietly thanked Staraptor as she clipped his pokeball onto her belt and pulled out the next one and said, "We got this. Empoleon, go!"
The announcers immediately started to gush over Empoleon, the tall and proud water-type as he held his head high, not unlike Serperior did around us. "Champion Dawn has sent out her famous Empoleon!" Two said. "Rumor has it that this was the pokemon that took down the legendary pokemon, Giratina!"
I saw Nate grow nervous, although Darmanitan didn't share that nervousness as he grinned. "Another challenger!" he said. He huffed when Empoleon didn't reply. "Ah, I see. Stoic as all can be!"
Dawn didn't give them a chance to attack when she commanded just after Darmanitan stopped talking, "Hydro Pump!"
It took me by surprise as Empoleon immediately attacked not even two seconds out of his pokeball, the powerful attack slamming into Darmanitan with such force that I winced for the fire-type. I've been hit by Hydro Pump one too many times before, Blastoise's attacks were nothing to ignore and Empoleon seemed just as strong as him.
One and Two both let out awed noises until One said, "Empoleon didn't give Darmanitan a chance to attack!"
When Darmanitan didn't get up, Nate recalled him before the announcers could even say that he had fainted. He then took out his next pokemon. "Go, Serperior!"
Nate's Serperior was a little longer than White's and just like his Darmanitan, she also had an item—a small, yellow seed that was tucked into her body where the collar of her leaves met. The two majestic pokemon stared each other down silently, both waiting for the other to do something.
Nate finally made the first move. "Leech Seed!"
Serperior used her tail to fling tiny, glowing seeds at Empoleon but with quick evasiveness, he dodged as transparent swords clashed in front of him and disappeared just as quickly. Swords Dance, my mind supplied.
"Stealth Rock next!" Dawn commanded. I had to give it to her: she was good and Empoleon nimbly dodged another Leech Seed as the rocks appeared on Nate's side of the field and just like the Swords Dance, they faded away.
"Try it one more time, Serperior! Leech—!" Nate started but Dawn was quicker.
"Drill Peck, Empoleon!" Dawn commanded.
Rosa let out a frustrated noise. "I told him—gah! Never mind!" she said. She made it sound like she was helping him learn new strategies that weren't sticking and perhaps I wasn't wrong when Black gave her a sympathetic look.
Empoleon's beak started to glow a bright white and I wondered if he had ever gotten sick from suddenly spinning that fast. A blur of blue and black shot straight for Serperior and I gaped when she was slammed into the ground, breaking it upon impact. While she wasn't immediately knocked out, I saw her get up as her body glowed a soft green—a sign that Overgrow was in effect already.
Rosa's eyes were wide with shock and I heard her stutter, "W-what? Already?"
"What's wrong?" Serena asked. "Empoleon used a move that a grass-type is weak against, right?"
"Yeah, but when we battle, it always takes me forever to take her down even when I use Emboar!" she exclaimed.
White bobbed her head up and down. "I have trouble against his Serperior, and Dawn is taking care of her like it's nothing!"
I kept watching the match and watched as Nate called for a Leaf Tornado to get Empoleon away and although it hit him, Empoleon used Aqua Jet to get back up into her face for another Drill Peck as if he hadn't been hit by the grass-type move at all. I gulped quietly as he stood over Serperior after the dust cleared, victorious in just a few moves.
Maybe I shouldn't have been so confident that we would win this tournament. Watching Empoleon take someone he was naturally weak to so easily forced me to re-think that we were the strongest trainers in the world. Maybe we needed to rethink our training regimen.
Nate stared at his fallen teammate in shock as the Rain Dance finally faded and gave way to the afternoon sun once more. He recalled Serperior back into her pokeball after a moment and muttered something to it before he clipped it back to his belt. "Champion Dawn has taken out Serperior in just a few moves! Is this what a trainer capable of taking down a legendary is truly made of?" One suddenly shouted.
"Uh-oh, he's in trouble," Black muttered, leaning forward a little in his seat.
"How come?" Ethan asked curiously.
"Empoleon is also a steel-type." He rose his pokedex to show us he had scanned Empoleon already. "Most of his team have weaknesses to basically everything Empoleon is and after seeing that, I don't think he'll make much of a dent against the rest of her team if Empoleon is like this."
"He managed to take down Staraptor, though," Rosa said confidently. "I think he'll be able to beat Empoleon!" I noticed how she mentioned only the pokemon and not the trainer and looked at Nate as he unclipped his third pokeball.
"He's basically screwed is what you're all saying," Blue told them.
Black nodded. "Yep."
Red smirked ever so slightly at White. I knew that was for the bet they had made before.
"Shut up, Red," she mumbled, much to the others confusion and Serena's timid, "But he didn't say anything?"
I watched as Nate threw his pokeball, completely unaware to the conversation. "Go, Bouffalant!" he said confidently. "We can do this!"
The four-legged pokemon appeared with a snort of pain from the Stealth Rock but it didn't seem to slow him down as he stared at Empoleon and tossed his head. "You seem strong," he mentioned passively.
Empoleon seemed to finally react and smirked a little. "I'm not letting you hinder our progress in this tournament," he answered calmly.
Dawn stuck her arm forward towards Bouffalant. "Aqua Jet!" she shouted. Empoleon lunged forward just as fast as before and a blur of blue water shot straight for the normal-type.
Bouffalant remained where he was and stood his ground. When Empoleon was close enough, he suddenly lowered his head and allowed Empoleon to crash into him but with a loud yell, he tossed his head up to fling Empoleon into the air.
It caught both Dawn and Empoleon by surprise and Nate shouted, "Head Charge!"
I was surprised as well when Bouffalant lunged up into the air and as if a wind had encircled him, he crashed into the water-type with his powerful horns before he had time to correct himself and protect himself. Empoleon let out a pained cry when he was the one sent crashing to the ground.
As Bouffalant landed on all four hooves, the announcers both exclaimed, "Has Champion Nate been holding back on us?"
Nate looked proud as Bouffalant tossed his head when Empoleon struggled to get up, the excitement having never left his eyes and he gave Dawn a smile. "We aren't through yet." He glanced at his pokemon. "Give it all you've got, Bouffalant."
Dawn straightened herself as Empoleon returned to his spot in front of her, a slight sching noise coming from him as he moved both arms on either side of him. She smiled back at Nate before she glanced at her pokemon. "You good, Empoleon?"
Empoleon gave her a quiet nod.
Nate pointed forward towards Empoleon and shouted, "Head Charge, Bouffalant!"
"Dodge it, Empoleon!" Dawn directed. As Bouffalant's attack missed and Empoleon spun around to face the normal-type, I saw Dawn give her pokemon a nod. "Hydro Pump!"
Bouffalant was too slow to avoid it and while he had been initially slammed by it, he dug his hooves into the ground and started to take a few steps forward. He was gritting his teeth in effort from the sheer power and when the water suddenly increased in strength, I gaped.
That was no Hydro Pump, not anymore. That Hydro Pump looked like a child's play thing compared to this! I've seen very few pokemon including Blastoise use the strongest water-type move and it was always a sight to behold.
"Hydro Cannon!" Dawn cried.
Within the span of a few seconds, the water finally overtook Bouffalant with a powerful rush of sound. The crash from Bouffalant hitting the ground just beside the stands—which were smartly put high above the arena itself to avoid any injuries to the spectators—to the cheering from the fans were all going on at the same time. When the water cleared, I watched as Bouffalant panted on the ground before he took his time to get back up on shaky hooves.
Bouffalant staggered back in front of Nate and as Empoleon suffered the after effects of using Hydro Cannon. Nate was grinning like a maniac and Dawn looked a little pale at the sight. Confidently, he said, "Revenge."
"Empoleon—!"
Suddenly Bouffalant sprinted at Empoleon and slammed both horns into him, sending him flying straight into the wall below the stands like he weighed nothing.
"What a counter attack! While risky, Revenge does have its benefits!" One shouted above all the noise.
Dawn didn't seem as worried as I'd thought. Both she and Nate were staring at the crash site where Empoleon had been thrown in tense silence, waiting for either Empoleon to step out or the dust to clear. When they saw something I couldn't from my spot, I saw Nate's eyes widen and it was Dawn's turn to grin. "Empoleon, use Brine!" she suddenly cried.
"Bouffalant!" A torrent of water rushed for Bouffalant and hit him in his side when he tried to jump away, finally knocking him out.
Empoleon walked out of the dust that had risen from where he'd fallen and while he was glowing with Torrent, he flexed his claws, ready for the next opponent.
I heard Blue let out a whistle. "That Empoleon is a tank," he stated as Bouffalant was recalled.
"How did Empoleon not faint after that?" Brendan asked, his eyes wide with awe.
Calem leaned forward with interest and replied, "Who knows, but she's really strong."
"With only three pokemon left, what will Champion Nate send out next?" Two called out.
I watched as he sent out his fourth pokemon and flicked my ears as he made a strong rumbling noise, as if rocks were being dragged against each other. I tilted my head. That pokemon seemed old, almost as old as Aerodactyl was. Was he another fossil pokemon?
"Champion Nate has sent out Carracosta! Will Carracosta's jaws be able to defeat Empoleon?" One asked.
Carracosta sized Empoleon up as the latter let out a long breath and took another deep one in, trying to quickly catch his breath before the next battle began.
When I heard Nate and Dawn both yelling a move at their teammates, I felt a strange tingle in my mind, not unlike Espeon when she would telepathically communicate with us. Red seemed to have felt it as well and scratched my ears as we heard Mew say, "We can't find anything. No one else has come into the stadium and no one here seems to be, I dunno, ninjas."
Then why would they tell him to stay away? I heard Red's thought ask. I was ashamed that it took me a few seconds to figure out what he meant. The Shadow Triad. While I really didn't want to worry about them when I was watching a really good match, I guess it couldn't be helped.
"Maybe they were bluffing?" I suggested.
Red was quiet, his face impassive as his thoughts answered, I don't think so. Something likely happened if they aren't here.
I jumped when the ground shook violently with Earthquake and we both looked back at the field, seeing that Empoleon had finally fallen and crashed hard into the ground with a groan. "Whoa, Nate finally took him down!"
"Mewtwo and I will keep an eye out. If we see anything, you'll be the first to know." Mew suddenly giggled. "Unless we squish their brains!"
Please don't do that.
"You're no fun, Red." I could just hear her pout and she cut the connection off, leaving us to our own thoughts once more.
I tapped my chin as Dawn grabbed Empoleon's pokeball and returned him. What were those two teams planning, anyway? If it was world domination, I had a feeling more than just Red and the Unova twins had experience stopping that.
Dawn sent out her third pokemon. "Leafeon, let's finish this off!" she cried.
When the eevee-lution appeared, I suddenly wanted to know how many other evolutions there were. Espeon only chose, well, Espeon to learn how to have Red understand her and eventually the rest of the team. She could've picked Umbreon or the other three with the stones, but I was startled to learn that there was a grass-type eevee. How many other types were there?
Leafeon gracefully landed on the ground, her tail flicking. The closer I looked, the sharper her tail seemed, too. I wouldn't want to get hit by that lest I wanted a new scar.
Nate seemed to have cursed under his breath and took Carracosta's pokeball and returned him, though he tossed another one out just as quickly. "Go, Beartic!" he said.
"It looks like Champion Nate has decided to switch Carracosta out for Beartic!" One shouted.
Beartic was large, more than double Leafeon's petite size, and let out a challenging roar. I saw his breath as though he was in cold weather, though it faded away as he looked down at Leafeon. "I do not think you are worthy of me, little one," he said, his voice deep and yet his tone sounded more worried than mocking. My tail twitched slightly with confusion. Was he actually worried he would hurt someone during a battle? I mean, it wasn't uncommon, but that usually happened to trainers and their pokemon when they are far more inexperienced.
Leafeon tilted her head but she let out a chuckle, her own voice warm and kind when she replied, "You don't need to worry about me, big guy. I've taken down many froslass, glalie and abomasnow in my time."
Beartic laughed. "Do not say I didn't warn you!"
Nate said shortly after, "Beartic, use Icicle Crash!"
Leafeon patiently watched as giant icicles formed from Beartic's breath and continued to watch when they were sent flying towards her. She waited until they were close to her and I watched her use Swords Dance. I wondered if Nate could also see the Swords Dance but I wouldn't have been surprised if he couldn't since the icicles were large enough to hide her. Leafeon suddenly jumped up when one almost hit her and landed on top of the next one that had been flung in her direction.
Beartic looked around for her when the icicles disappeared along with her and then finally looked up as Dawn shouted, "Double Kick!"
As graceful as a cat, Leafeon came crashing down onto Beartic with her paws striking his back twice. Beartic let out a pained noise as he was sent into the ground and he glanced back as Leafeon landed on the ground with a miniscule smile. "That one was a freebie. I was merely testing you!" he said.
She seemed to raise a brow but didn't reply, instead running right at him with her tail suddenly straightening when Dawn said, "Leaf Blade!"
"Use Blizzard!" Nate shouted.
Beartic took in a deep breath and a powerful gust of wind and ice was shot towards Leafeon, instantly forcing her to divert her path to avoid being hit. She ducked under another Blizzard and dodged an Ice Punch when she was close. I could see her smirk even from here, clearly having fun toying with the larger pokemon.
I snickered a little to myself as I watched. Being small does have its advantages, especially when paired up against an opponent much larger than yourself.
Leafeon finally struck Beartic with Leaf Blade and when she had jumped away, I noticed little seeds sprouting over Beartic's arm. That close, no one could have avoided a Leech Seed. While Beartic was distracted trying to get Leech Seed off, she took in a breath and the leaves on her body shined brightly and whatever clouds that had been in the sky suddenly disappeared and the sun beat down on them with Sunny Day.
Nate frowned a little as Beartic backed off a bit, avoiding another Leaf Blade. "Use Hail! Get rid of the Sun—"
"Leafeon, stop them! Solar Blade!" Dawn interrupted.
Leafeon glowed with the power and with Sunny Day, she didn't need to wait for it to finish charging as she sprinted to Beartic with unbelievable speed and a glowing sword appeared out of nowhere. It hit Beartic hard enough to break his concentration and he yelped in shock, hitting the ground one more time.
She jumped away from another Ice Punch and I saw the Leech Seed giving her more energy while sapping what little Beartic had left. "You shouldn't judge someone by their size, big guy," she told him before she finished him off with a final Double Kick, successfully knocking him out.
Cheers erupted and Two exclaimed, "Incredible! Not only did Champion Dawn's Leafeon take down Champion Nate's Beartic, but they did it without taking a single hit!"
I noticed Blue was watching with amazement and then he glanced at Red and I. "I think we've found our match," he said when Nate recalled Beartic.
"Hey, Nate still has two pokemon left, he can do this!" Rosa said.
White rose a brow as she leaned back in her seat. "Carracosta's extremely weak to grass-types and so is Krookodile. I dunno if he's going to make it past this round," she said.
I glanced back onto the field when Nate sent out what I assumed to be Krookodile. I noticed it was also wearing a life orb around its neck and I had a feeling it wasn't going to work out as well for Krookodile like it had for Darmanitan. I saw that his claws took on a dark glow and it faded, leaving his claws sharper than before. I knew he had used Hone Claws even before I heard the command from Nate.
Krookodile then rushed forward, faster than Beartic had been. "Fire Fang!" Nate shouted.
Leafeon managed to avoid the first snap of his jaws but when he caught her back leg with the second, she let out a pained yip before being flung hard into the ground. I noticed that her leg was burned from where she had been hit and Nate grinned when he saw it as well.
"Krookodile has managed to land the first hit against Leafeon!" Two cried, followed by cheers. I heard a voice cheer below us for Nate suddenly, followed by a chorus of Dawn and Nate shortly after.
The Sunny Day faded and Leafeon danced away from a mean-looking Crunch. She then jumped above Krookodile and I noticed her tail taking on that sharp look again. "Leaf Blade, Leafeon!" Dawn shouted.
Krookodile looked up and jumped to meet her in the air, his fangs igniting with Fire Fang once more. Nate looked surprised when Leafeon landed on the top of Krookodile's nose and she smirked at Krookodile. "Nice try, but your teams air tricks don't work on us anymore," she said before she jumped off and used Leaf Blade from behind him.
The attack hit him hard and when he hit the ground, dust and dirt flew into the air, shrouding his form for a few seconds until it cleared. Krookodile didn't get up from the ground, fainted and Nate recalled him with a forced smile. "Give it your all, Carracosta!" he shouted, sending Carracosta back out one last time.
I knew there was no way Carracosta would win, so I watched as Blue got to his feet with a stretch. "I hope Diantha's tough like Dawn is," he said and grinned as he looked out to the field.
After seeing this match between Dawn and Nate, I honestly hoped Serena would also give us a challenge like this. Speaking of which, the Kalos trainer was in awe of the battle, watching as Carracosta put up a fight against Leafeon. "Dawn's really, really good," she said when Carracosta finally fell and Dawn was declared the winner.
Calem glanced up at Blue with a small smirk. "You got your hands full with Diantha; she's tougher than she looks," he bragged.
"Hah! Just watch me, I'm going to beat her." He looked at Red and Ethan. "You guys root for me or I'll have your hides."
Ethan snorted. "I hope Diantha beats you just so I have a chance at fighting Red!" he said and smiled as Blue scowled at him.
"That's assuming you and Red actually beat Serena and Calem," Brendan noted and laughed as Ethan rolled his eyes.
Blue walked out soon while Nate and Dawn both left the field, one happy and the other disappointed. I noticed the screen flashing with highlights from the match while the field was rapidly repaired as humans and pokemon ran around like their lives depended on it—just how exactly they were able to, I had no idea. I just assumed it was technology.
As the field started to look like it had before Nate and Dawn's battle, One said, "What an incredible first match that was! Give it up for Champion Dawn for advancing to the next round!" After the cheers and applause were over, the screen changed to Blue and Diantha's pictures. "Our next match of the day is between Champion Diantha of Kalos versus Champion Blue of Kanto!"
Nate suddenly slammed the door open and came inside with a pout. He flopped into a seat next to his sister and said, "You know, I could've won. I'd say I was pretty close to knocking out Leafeon."
"Keep telling yourself that, buddy," Black said and laughed at the glare he received.
"I did warn you not to—" Rosa tried to say.
Nate interrupted her with, "I know I screwed up! Don't need to lecture me about it."
Her eyes softened and she patted the top of his head. "Hey, it'll be okay. How much you wanna bet all of us are going to be out, too?"
Nate just grumbled under his breath unhappily.
When the field looked like nothing had happened just ten minutes prior—even the wall looked brand new—I heard One begin to speak again. "Please join me in welcoming Champion Diantha and Champion Blue!"
Blue strode out confidently with all his glory and his natural smirk on his face. Arceus, sometimes I just wanted to Thunderbolt him when he looked like that. He stopped where Nate had stood and stared at Diantha as she also stopped walking where Dawn had been. I noticed she was wearing a necklace with a tiny gem embedded into a gold pendant, much like the stones both Serena and Calem wore around their wrists. The keystone glimmered a little, almost like it had a mind of its own and sensed that they were going into battle.
"Just like before, this is a six-versus-six battle. Switches are allowed and held items are allowed. No other items are permitted. Please send out your first pokemon," Two said, the thrill of the last battle having already left her voice in anticipation for this one.
I already knew which pokemon Blue was going to send out and grinned as he shouted, "Jolteon, go!" The electric eevee-lution appeared with a bark and his fur took on a few sparks before they quickly faded.
From the other side, Diantha yelled, "Hawlucha, let's battle!" Hawlucha appeared with a loud cry of her own before she bounced back and forth on her legs and held up her winged arms close to her face, clearly ready to battle.
Just like before, a hush fell over everyone until One shouted, "Begin!"
"Jolteon, use Agility!" Blue called instantly. Jolteon's fur seemed to have change ever so slightly, allowing him to move faster.
"Hawlucha! Use Swords Dance!" Diantha said. I tried not to roll my eyes. Swords Dance really was a popular move around here, wasn't it?
Blue didn't give her a chance to call out an attack. "Thunderbolt!"
Jolteon's fur bristled with energy until sparks shot out of him and towards Hawlucha. My eyes widened when I saw it, too. The last time I had seen Jolteon battle, his Thunderbolt wasn't nearly that strong. Now it looked like a Thunder! Arceus, I wished we had battled each other on the beach way back when. I didn't even want to know what Ethan's team was like now.
Hawlucha jumped away but yelled when she was struck by the second one. I stared in surprise when Hawlucha fainted in one hit and I saw the others also gaping in their own shock. "Since when has Blue been that strong?" Ethan demanded Red and I.
Red shrugged as if he didn't care but I knew better. I glanced up at my trainer and immediately sensed his excitement and a familiar look in his face when he looked at Blue. He wanted to battle his rival now that he had seen just a taste of his strength and I knew some of that brushed on me when I felt a few sparks leave my cheeks.
One and Two seemed to be at a loss for words. "Oh my! That has to be the quickest knock-out this tournament will see! Champion Blue leads six to five! How will Champion Diantha recover from this unfortunate event?" One shouted.
I could see Blue's confident face struggle to keep his arrogance in check. Some things never changed—he enjoyed defeating others if only he could brag that he did. Granted, he had it under control most days now. He used to be so much worse when he was ten and would always brag to us which gym leader he had defeated before us by the time we would arrive in whatever town we came across next.
Diantha pulled out her second pokeball, ignoring the announcers. "Tyrantrum, go!" she shouted.
With a loud roar, the giant pokemon appeared and Jolteon looked up at it with a smirk. "Finally, a challenge!" he said. Was the 'like trainer, like starter' statement true? Jolteon had definitely picked up a few of Blue's traits.
Tyrantrum snorted at him, unimpressed. "You're too small to be making that statement," he said. Oh, great, another pokemon that thinks its size meant something.
"Tyrantrum, use Crunch!" Diantha commanded.
While Jolteon was nowhere near as graceful as Leafeon, he did pretty good to avoid the giant jaws of the ancient pokemon a few times until he was finally caught around his middle and he let out a pained noise and used Double Kick to get out of his hold.
He limped as he landed in front of Blue and scowled at the larger pokemon. Blue gritted his teeth together in thought as Jolteon used another Double Kick to keep the larger pokemon away. He wordlessly grabbed his pokeball and recalled Jolteon.
"What's this? Jolteon is still standing but Blue has chosen to return it!" Two shouted amongst the cheers. "Who will Blue choose next?"
I smiled a little as Blue narrowed his eyes and knew he was finally getting serious as he pulled out his next pokeball. I'm pretty sure Jolteon could've taken on Tyrantrum but whatever Blue was thinking he was at least planning ahead. "Go, Machamp!" he shouted. He tossed the pokeball and Machamp came out with all four fists slamming into each other to show he was ready to fight before he parted them and got into a defensive stance.
"It's Machamp!"
Machamp stood its guard as he eyed Tyrantrum with a challenging look that seemed to only infuriate the supposedly extinct pokemon. He suddenly chuckled. "I look forward to our bout!" he said.
Tyrantrum let out a growl. "Your little friend couldn't handle my power, what makes you think you can?"
Machamp frowned right back at him. "In case you didn't know, you didn't knock him out."
"He was too afraid to face me! He ran like a coward!" Tyrantrum laughed.
I looked between the two pokemon and saw Machamp narrow his eyes. He didn't like it when others insulted his teammates—I have been on the receiving end once or twice after making fun of Jolteon as well.
"Machamp, use Bulk Up!" Blue commanded and soon Machamp seemed to look stronger and his skin seemed to harden a little, raising his attack and defense.
Diantha smiled up at her pokemon. "Tyrantrum, you got this. Head Smash!" I watched as Tyrantrum ran towards Machamp, his head taking on that same look Bouffalant had.
Blue quickly countered with, "Dynamic Punch!"
There was no avoiding the punch or the Head Smash but Machamp seemed like he wouldn't even want to avoid it if he could. He still looked furious and they came barreling at each other, neither of them intending to avoid the other's attack. There was a burst of wind from the shockwave of impact, though Machamp was smirking whereas Tyrantrum had been stopped in his place. With one fist, Machamp had stopped the charging ancient pokemon and pulled away after a couple seconds.
Tyrantrum stumbled back a few steps and flailed his little arms; Dynamic Punch had successfully confused him. Blue smirked as Diantha looked startled, trying to get Tyrantrum to snap out of his confusion.
"It looks like Tyrantrum is confused while Machamp looks like it took no damage at all!" Two's voice said amongst the crowd's loud noises.
"Machamp, take this chance and use Focus Energy," Blue told Machamp.
Machamp nodded and concentrated, a bit of light coming but it left shortly, leaving him to hop back and forth in anticipation as Tyrantrum continued to thrash around in his confusion.
"Tyrantrum, listen to me! You're just confused!" Diantha said desperately, trying to soothe her pokemon. "Use Dragon Claw!" No such luck; the attack hit himself and Tyrantrum stumbled backwards again, though focus started to return to his eyes and he shook his head to finish clearing the confusion faster.
"Machamp, now's our chance! Use Seismic Toss!"
Machamp ran at the Tyrantrum just as his focus completely returned. He rushed forward just like before with Dragon Claw, however, Machamp avoided the attack. He grabbed his thick, heavy tail with all four arms and took a deep breath before he jumped into the air. I gaped as Machamp dragged the larger pokemon with him and then spun in two full circles before slamming the unfortunate dinosaur into the ground, breaking the newly fixed ground.
As Tyrantrum struggled to get up, Machamp fell to the ground from above him, his top two fists glowing slightly. "Dual Chop!"
"Tyrantrum, Ancient Power!" Diantha cried.
Machamp fell hard and fast, slamming said fists into Tyrantrum just as the rocks appeared at his sides and were thrown at the fighting-type. With a loud noise, rocks shot out at the field and both trainers on the field shielded their eyes as dust enveloped them. I saw Tyrantrum's silhouette get up and looked around, trying to find Machamp, wherever he had hidden himself in the dust cloud.
"Now, Machamp!" Blue shouted as the dust finally started to settle.
Machamp shot forward with the second half of Dual Chop. Tyrantrum didn't even make a noise as it fell and when the dirt cloud was finally cleared, I saw that he wasn't getting up.
Machamp stood victoriously over him, scoffing at the larger pokemon. "Don't insult my teammates again," he demanded just before Tyrantrum disappeared into his pokeball.
"That has got to be the strongest Machamp we have ever seen!" Two exclaimed, surprised.
"I can't believe he stopped a Head Smash just like that!" One replied.
I chuckled since I already knew that Machamp was extremely strong. If he could beat Snorlax in an arm wrestle over the last sitrus berry, he was most certainly one of the physically strongest pokemon out there.
Diantha paused a moment, clearly trying to decide which pokemon to use. She smiled as she reached for her third pokeball. "Gardevoir, my star!" she said.
I saw the pokemon appeared in a flurry of white and green before she turned to face Machamp, giving the slightest nod towards him. "I saw what happened with Tyrantrum. Please excuse his temper," she said calmly.
Machamp huffed. "When we see him next, I want an apology from him," he told her as he got back in front of Blue.
She gave him another nod. "I will ensure it happens."
Then I noticed the gem that was around her neck and I watched as Diantha placed her hand over her key stone. "Gardevoir, mega evolve!" she said.
Gardevoir rose both arms to her own gem and her body was suddenly enveloped in an array of color. It only took a few seconds, but watching her body shift from her final evolved state to one beyond that was amazing and I knew I wasn't the only one admiring the sight—half the stadium had gone quiet with the sight they hadn't seen before. When the glow faded, Gardevoir looked similar to before and even from my spot in Red's lap, I could sense her sudden increase in power.
Blue was staring at the newly mega-evolved Gardevoir with amazement until he suddenly grinned, his teeth flashing as he said, "This is where the fun begins."