Hello and welcome back to another chapter of Pokémon Journey: Livvi's Johto Scrapbook!

Last time, Alicia was victorious in the first round of the Johto League.

Upload Date: 26th July 2022

Chapter 30: Blizzard

Silver Town, Johto

7:10pm, 2nd July 2006

"Once again, congratulations to all three of you for making it through the first round," Gerald said, raising his glass.

He and Holly, as well as Livvi, Alicia and Tessa were all sat around a table in the main restaurant in the hotel. It hadn't even been two hours since the final first round battles had finished, and the elation of victory still filled the minds of the three girls. For now, at least, worries about the second round had been put off.

"There's something about the first round," Tessa said. "Even though you've got through the qualifiers and the group stage, it's like it's still the first hurdle."

"Which only makes it all the more impressive when you remember that." Holly put her glass down and smiled around at them. "You should all be proud of what you've achieved already, no matter what happens."

"No need to worry about me!" Tessa said. "Livvi, though? Well, you know how she'll react when she loses."

"Don't act like I'm guaranteed to lose!"

"Uh-huh."

"What? Nothing else to say?"

Tessa tutted and shook her head. "I mean, if you say you'll win, who am I to doubt you…"

"That's not what I…!"

"Girls! Settle down!" Gerald said, turning his stern gaze between the two of them.

"Come to think of it, won't the two of you be up against each other if you both make it to the third round?" Alicia asked.

"Yeah." Livvi nodded. "That's why I'm definitely going to win my battle tomorrow. Then we can finally settle this, Tessa!"

"Sure!" Tessa grinned. "I'm looking forward to whooping you in front of everyone this time."

"I'll be very disappointed if I see any bad behaviour from either of you that day," Gerald said. "Consider yourselves warned."

"Yes, Dad," Livvi and Tessa chorused.

"In any case, you both need to win your battles tomorrow first," he added. "Don't get complacent."

"On the subject of tomorrow…" Holly turned to Livvi. "Do you want to do presents in the morning, or in the afternoon once the battles are over?"

"Hmm?" Livvi pondered for a second. "I guess it doesn't matter much. Probably better if I focus on training in the morning."

"You'd get distracted for sure," said Tessa.

"Presents in the afternoon then." Gerald quickly moved in before Livvi could retort. "No problem. Hopefully it'll be a little calmer then either way."

"Umm." Alicia looked between the others. "Presents?"

"Oh." Livvi scratched her cheek and glanced away. "Yeah, it's, well, my birthday tomorrow. Guess I should've mentioned that sooner, huh?"

9:06am, 3rd July 2006

It was less than an hour until the first of the second-round battles was supposed to begin. Most competitors were still out in the training arenas, finalising their strategies and putting their pokémon in the right mindset.

"Why did I agree to come with you…?" Tessa said. "I could be training right now."

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Alicia said. "But I really need your help."

The two of them weren't even on the Johto League grounds, rather walking along the main shopping street in Silver Town. It was alive with activity, the spectators killing time looking for souvenirs before the battles started.

"You should be training too," Tessa said. "I know your battle isn't until later, but…"

"It won't take long, I swear!" Alicia turned to her. "I don't have any idea what to get Livvi."

"So, why ask me?"

"Well, you know Livvi better than I do, so I thought…"

"And you couldn't have bothered my parents about it because…?"

Alicia was silent.

"Too afraid, huh?" Tessa said correctly. "I guess I can understand that." She let out a sigh. "Look, I'm happy to give you my opinion, Alicia, but I think you're worrying too much about this."

"Really?"

Tessa gave her a pointed look. "Livvi likes you. She'll be happy with pretty much whatever you pick. I mean, she's still wearing that tacky bracelet she got from James last year, so…"

"I'll keep that in mind," said Alicia. Having the freedom to pick whatever didn't make it easier though. If anything would do then…well, there was an awful lot of 'anything' in the world.

3:43pm, 3rd July 2006

Livvi mused over whether it was easier fighting earlier in the day or later as she stepped out of the south tunnel and into the water arena. She and her team hadn't slouched, so they'd had plenty of time to train. Yet having the impending battle hanging over her all day was no fun either.

At least, she thought as she took her position, it wouldn't be long until it was over now.

"This is a Johto League second round battle between Hana Barnett from Ecruteak City and Olivia Weston from Viridian City. This battle will be fought using a three-on-three single format and will be over when one side has no pokémon left who can battle!"

There were a couple of seconds of charged silence as the referee looked between the two competitors and the crowd settled for the start of the battle.

"Begin!"

The big screen sprang into action as the first two pokémon were sent out: Ferru for Livvi and a dragonair for Hana.

"Use Twister, Seem!" Hana called.

Resting atop one of the many cream-white platforms floating on the surface, Seem the dragonair whipped her tail around, summoning a powerful vortex of wind mixed with draconic energy. As she lowered her tail, the twister ripped up water and raged towards Ferru.

With a quick jump, Ferru moved to the next platform and rolled on landing. The twister followed and he jumped across to a third platform. It rocked dangerously under him as he landed. Keeping his balance, he spun to face Seem. Large tears suddenly appeared in his eyes and a howl of misery emerged from his throat.

If Seem was affected by this pathetic display, she didn't show it. She flicked her tail and sent the twister crashing into the teddiursa, hurling him backwards and splashing into the water below.

"Rain Dance!" Hana said.

Seem let out a loud cry, turning her head to the sky above. Almost immediately, thick black clouds swirled and gathered above the arena. Spectators scrambled for their umbrellas as the first fat raindrops began to fall.

"We need to go on the offensive, Ferru!" Livvi called as the teddiursa pulled himself up onto one of the platforms. "Get as close as you can!"

Ferru shook the water from his fur and nodded. Building up speed, he leapt for the next platform and landed, the sound of it rocking in the water drowned out by the falling rain.

"Intercept them, Seem!" Hana called.

Seem sprang forwards, seeming to glide over both the water surface and the platforms alike. As she drew closer to Ferru, she took a deep breath and spewed a stream of regal blue flames at him.

Ferru narrowly dodged and made a jump for another platform.

"No, Ferru! Use the water as well!"

Ferru lurched to the side to avoid a second attack and then hurled himself into the water and disappeared from sight.

Seem glided over, her eyes scanning the water. A split second later, Ferru erupted from the water behind her and barged into her flank. As she drifted to the side, Ferru lunged in again and slashed hard with his claws.

Seem screamed in pain and spun around just in time to see the teddiursa dive back into the water.

"Two can play at that game!" Hana called. "Into the water, Seem!"

Livvi could only imagine the disappointment of the spectators as Seem slid into the water with barely a sound. With the fight happening underwater and all this rain hammering down, there was barely anything to see at all.

Still, that was nothing compared to her concern. As long as Ferru was underwater, there was no way her instructions could reach him. The battle was out of her hands now.

Beneath the surface of the water, bright lights flashed, casting shadows around the pool. The water itself, calm and serene when the battle had begun, was now churning and violent. Even the rainstorm seemed to have intensified.

There was a distant rumble. An explosion?

Then water sprayed upwards and Livvi caught sight of the bedraggled form of a teddiursa tumbling through the air. There was a heavy thud and a splash as he landed on one of the platforms.

"Teddiursa is unable to battle!" the referee shouted over the noise of the rain. "Dragonair is the winner!"

Okay, don't panic, Livvi thought to herself as she recalled Ferru. This wasn't a great start, but she had an opportunity to even the odds. Her best bet against a dragon type would be…?

She frowned. In this environment, it wouldn't be ideal but still. "Go, Nuban!"

Ferru's picture on the screen had faded to black, now one of the poké ball icons switched to a picture of Nuban as the swinub materialised on the platform closest to Livvi.

"Mist!"

Before Seem and Hana had a chance to react, Nuban emitted a wispy white mist. It spread out around her, licking its way across the surface of the pool and infesting every inch of the arena.

"Dragon Rage!" Hana called.

Seem bobbed in the water and fired a blast of blue flames at Nuban, engulfing her in a draconic fireball. As they dissipated, however, she gave herself a shake and stepped forwards again.

"Freeze everything, Nuban!" Livvi called. Seem could hide in the pool and there'd be very little else they could do as long as that option remained. It was too risky to try charging her. If Nuban fell in the pool, then it was all over.

The rain finally seemed to be thinning as Nuban gave herself a shake and then fired out a freezing blast of air. The temperature in the arena immediately plummeted. The swirling clouds that had been spitting rain suddenly began hurling out sheets of snow. The wind whistled through the stands and whipped across the surface of the pool. In moments, ice started forming on the surface, in patches at first, then joining together to form one giant ice sheet.

"Break through it with Twister!" Hana called.

Seem tore through the thickening ice and shot out into the open. She fixed Nuban with a fierce look and fired a blast of blue flames towards her. The stream of flames rippled as it fought through the swirling blizzard, only for its target to skate away across the ice as effortlessly as a tumbleweed rolling through the desert.

"Come on, Nuban!" Livvi shouted. "We can get that Blizzard blowing harder!"

Nuban spun to face Seem as she slid into the side of one of the platforms. Using it to steady herself, she fired out a chilling blast of air and snow. This time, the full force of the attack was being focused in a single direction: straight at Seem.

The dragonair shrieked as she was pummelled by the unrelenting force, the snow clinging to and dulling the delicate scales lining her body. The chill of the wind cut deeply, sending shivers right down to her normally steady dragon heart.

"We need to outlast them, Seem!" Hana called. "Focus on evading!"

With a nod, Seem tensed herself and pulled to the side, away from the chilling blast of snow. Then she started swirling and twisting elegantly, building speed with each precise movement. She felt the fire in her heart flare up once again as she started weaving around Nuban's attacks.

"Let's get them, Nuban!" Livvi called. "Take Down!"

Nuban fired herself off and started sliding forward across the frozen pool, weaving between platforms and riding the icy sides to shoot over them. At times, it seemed like she was going almost as fast as the dragonair she was speeding towards.

Seem stopped dancing and took a deep breath before spitting a stream of flames at the approaching swinub. Her opponent slid just beneath her angle of fire and kept coming.

Nuban hit another ice ramp and sprang into the air. Seem's draconic flames washed over her back but did nothing to stop her final charge. There was a thud as she hit Seem, followed by a crash as she tumbled down to the icy ground.

An instant later, Nuban slammed to the ground after her, sending a powerful shockwave rippling outwards, cracking the ice in places and blasting Seem back. The dragonair rolled through the snow, sending a white cloud briefly into the air. As the snow settled down on her again, she made no attempt to get up.

"Dragonair is unable to battle!" the referee announced. "Swinub is the winner!"

Through the howling blizzard, Livvi could just make out Seem's icon on the big screen dim to black. Now it was two versus two.

"Thanks, Seem!" Hana called as she withdrew her fallen pokémon. Just as she was about to pull out her next poké ball, however, the referee raised both of his flags.

"We'll be taking a five-minute time out to give spectators, staff and competitors a chance to get some warm clothes to wear!" he called.

Oh yeah. Now that the heat of battle had died down somewhat, Livvi shivered as she felt the cold biting into her. The frozen scene in front of her had made her forget that it was the height of summer outside the stadium. All the spectators in shorts and t-shirts probably weren't thanking her.

Nuban gave her a confused look and snorted at her questioningly.

"Don't worry, Nuban!" Livvi called to her. "We'll be back soon!"

The blizzard had started to die down somewhat by the time the spectators had returned and the referee, now bundled up in a thick coat, scarf and gloves, signalled for the battle to resume.

It still felt much closer to winter than summer as Hana pulled out a poké ball and threw it out. "Go, Growler!"

A growlithe. That was a much more predictable nickname.

Livvi thought she saw the referee visibly wince. Understandable, of course. With a fire type on the field, things might suddenly become a lot more like summer again.

"Fire Blast!"

Growler immediately spat out a powerful blast of flames that separated into five searing jets of fire as they closed in on Nuban. Just before they could slam down to the ground, the swinub shot off over the ice, skidding clear of the intense heat and bouncing off the side of a platform to redirect her towards her opponent.

Both sides were strong against the other. Both sides were weak against the other. In a bout like this, striking hard and fast would be key to victory. Livvi and Nuban couldn't give Growler another chance to use his powerful fire-type attacks.

"Hit them hard with Earthquake!" Livvi called as Nuban sped across the ice towards the growlithe.

"Intercept them with Take Down!" Hana shouted.

Nuban jumped up and then slammed down hard on the icy ground just as Growler bounded into the air for her own attack. Intense vibrations wracked the stadium, with the shockwave focusing down on the arena floor. The ice cracked and platforms rocked as the surface of the pool was shattered into unstable ice floes. Cold water lapped through the gaps.

Landing on one of the platforms, Growler managed to keep her balance and leapt forwards again. She slammed into Nuban, sending both pokémon toppling over another of the platforms. As they both staggered back to their feet, Growler took a deep breath and spat out another five-pronged blast of fire.

The intense heat seared the platform and melted through the remaining ice just beyond it, but Nuban had pulled clear just in time to spare her from the worst of the damage. As she landed on a rapidly melting ice floe, she tensed and propelled herself back into the air. She slammed down onto the side of the platform with as much force as she could muster, sending another seismic wave passing across the arena.

The sudden dip on the platform and the intense shaking threw Growler to the side and she fell with a splash into the water.

"Growler!" Hana yelled.

"Take Down!" Livvi called.

As Growler thrashed around in the water, Nuban regained her balance and leapt out from the platform. Diving with as much force as she could muster, she slammed into the struggling growlithe and, with a mighty splash, both pokémon vanished beneath the surface.

Several long seconds passed before both of them broke the surface again. Both struggled over to separate platforms and hauled themselves out. Nuban looked exhausted, her wet fur clinging tightly to her body. Yet, as she panted and shook herself as best as she could, her opponent staggered and collapsed to the ground.

"Growlithe is unable to battle!" the referee announced. "Swinub is the winner!"

"Great work, Nuban!" Livvi called as Growler's icon on the big screen faded to black. "We've almost got this!"

"We're not done yet!" Hana called as she recalled Growler. She shrugged off her jacket as the summer sun beat down on the battlefield and reached for her final poké ball. "Go, Queen!"

The blob of energy released by the poké ball plunged straight into the water. A split second later, the elegant form of a seaking sprang into the air with a splash before vanishing back into the water.

This was going to be a tough one. Queen would be able to use the pool even more effectively than Seem had. Freezing the pool again was a possible counter, but Livvi knew just from looking that Nuban had nowhere near enough energy left to refreeze the entire arena. Their best bet was to simply stick to attacks with a large radius.

"Use Earthquake!" she called.

Nuban jumped up and slammed down onto her platform, sending yet another shockwave echoing out across the arena. Platforms vibrated and the water stirred menacingly. The remaining ice floes, rapidly melting, ground into each other and sheered off even more ice.

Then, with terrifying speed, a swell rose within the pool. Rising up as a mighty wave, it hung in the air for a brief moment before crashing downwards.

"Whoa!" Livvi exclaimed as a railing emerged from the ground around her and the area she was stood on shot upwards to escape the deluge overrunning the rest of the battlefield.

For a few seconds, all anyone could do was wait as the swirling waters receded back into the pool, leaving platforms scattered both on the surface of the water and on the dry ground surrounding it. Amid the carnage, the small, brown form of a swinub drifted helplessly on the waves.

"Swinub is unable to battle!" the referee announced. "Seaking is the winner!"

Last pokémon each.

Her heart thumping as the adrenaline flowed through her system, Livvi found herself starting to settle quite quickly. Thanks to Nuban, the tide of the battle was in their favour. Now she could choose her last pokémon based on her opponent and not the other way around.

"Evoro, go!"

There was a pop and a burst of light as Evoro materialised on one of the loose platforms bobbing on the pool. He gave himself a shake, his bristly fur standing bolt upright as a loose static charge passed along them.

Across the arena, Hana frowned and bit her lip. A matchup like this meant a final round that was entirely in Livvi's favour. The only consolations she had were that Queen was uninjured from defeating Nuban and that the arena was well-suited to a water type. "Use Surf!" she called.

Still lurking within the depths of the pool, Queen's only response was the sudden swelling of the water. As it bubbled and surged upwards, Evoro watched carefully, his legs already tensed and ready to start moving.

"Try jumping over it!" Livvi called. "Use the other platforms!"

The swell suddenly started crashing down towards Evoro, who immediately sprang into action. He jumped from one platform to the next, climbing the rising wave of water almost to its crest.

There was a sudden rush of red as Queen shot up through the water and slammed into Evoro with her horn. The jolteon yelped in pain and toppled down into the relentless wall of water. A roar echoed around the stadium as the wave crashed against and followed the arena walls around Livvi's half of the field.

Catching sight of something yellow, Livvi shouted, "Evoro! Make sure they don't hit you!"

"It's all or nothing, Queen!" Hana called. "Horn Attack!"

The arena was still in chaos, water from the pool crashing in all directions as the back of the wave collided with the receding front. Amid the turmoil, a streak of red was just visible, rushing through the water. There was a loud splash and a triumphant cry from Queen as she broke the surface, carrying the bedraggled form of a jolteon with her. They rose into the air, as though Queen was holding up her defeated foe to display her victory to the whole crowd.

Then the jolteon's form suddenly melted away like water and vanished, leaving only a stunned silence in its wake.

"Look!" someone shouted.

Down below, Evoro hauled himself out of the water and onto a bobbing platform, staring up as Queen seemed to hang in the air.

"Thunderbolt!" Livvi yelled.

There was a flash of light and a loud crack as the electricity arced outwards. Queen, falling back towards the pool, took the hit directly. The concentrated lightning bolt continued as she tumbled down. She hit the water and, in an instant, Evoro's attack electrified the entire pool.

Evoro lifted his attack and shook the water from his fur. A few remaining bolts of electricity sparked and flitted across the surface of the pool. Then Queen bobbed back up and hung motionless in the water.

Livvi couldn't stop the smile breaking out on her face as she heard the referee announce, "Seaking is unable to battle! Jolteon is the winner! All three of Hana Barnett's pokémon are unable to continue, so the winner of this match is Olivia Weston from Viridian City!"

The crowd erupted in applause. As his platform bobbed across the centre of the pool, Evoro looked around at them all, taking in the cheers as if he were a plant drawing in sunlight. He looked back over at Livvi and grinned.

"I knew I could count on you, Evoro!" Livvi called to him.

They'd made it through the second round. For some reason, the thoughts of the next round didn't come as quickly as last time. For now, at least, Livvi basked in the glow of her victory.

One step further through the Johto League for Livvi.

As a reminder, there's no upload for either story tomorrow. We have Hoenn's next chapter on Thursday and Chapter 31 of Johto Scrapbook on Friday.

As ever, I appreciate any comments you have on this chapter and feel free to join the Discord server.

Until next time!

Team Listings:

Livvi Weston:

Active:

Ferru (Teddiursa): Male. Hardy. Loves to eat. Eats anything. Normal type. Pickup ability. Knows Feint Attack, Slash, Thrash and Fake Tears.

Nuban (Swinub): Female. Calm. Likes to fight. Likes bitter food. Ice-ground type. Oblivious ability. Knows Blizzard, Mist, Take Down and Earthquake.

Evoro (Jolteon): Male. Jolly. Alert to sounds. Likes sweet food. Electric type. Volt Absorb ability. Knows Thunderbolt, Double Team, Double Kick and Quick Attack.

In Reserve:

Barru (Ivysaur): Male. Timid. Highly persistent. Likes sweet food. Grass-poison type. Overgrow ability. Knows Double-Edge, Sludge Bomb, Solar Beam and Leech Seed.

Tavro (Hypno): Male. Quirky. Loves to eat. Eats anything. Psychic type. Forewarn ability. Knows Psychic, Hypnosis, Future Sight and Headbutt.

Litine (Azumarill): Female. Mild. Good endurance. Likes dry food. Water type. Thick Fat ability. Knows Double-Edge, Rain Dance, Hydro Pump and Ice Punch.

Dacino (Cyndaquil): Male. Adamant. Loves to eat. Likes spicy food. Fire type. Blaze ability. Knows Flamethrower, Swift, Flame Wheel and Smokescreen.

Seniry (Magnemite): Genderless. Adamant. A little quick tempered. Likes spicy food. Steel-electric type. Magnet Pull ability. Knows Metal Sound, Spark, Sonic Boom and Supersonic.

Dorru (Nidorina): Female. Quiet. Mischievous. Likes dry food. Poison type. Rivalry ability. Knows Fury Swipes, Double Kick, Poison Sting and Crunch.

Salea (Blissey): Female. Gentle. Somewhat vain. Likes bitter food. Normal type. Natural Cure ability. Knows Softboiled, Psychic, Double-Edge and Egg Bomb.

Cylune (Venomoth): Male. Modest. Proud of its power. Likes dry food. Poison-bug type. Shield Dust ability. Knows Stun Spore, Psychic, Toxic and Silver Wind.

Alicia Law:

Active:

Ruo (Meganium): Male. Naughty. Often dozes off. Likes spicy food. Grass type. Overgrow ability. Knows Body Slam, Synthesis, Solar Beam and Safeguard.

Pari (Dunsparce): Male. Quirky. Likes to thrash about. Eats anything. Normal type. Serene Grace ability. Knows Rollout, Screech, Double-Edge and Dig.

Saffa (Gyarados): Female. Rash. Often lost in thought. Likes dry food. Water-flying type. Intimidate ability. Knows Ice Beam, Hydro Pump, Dragon Dance and Hyper Beam.

Balva (Magcargo): Male. Hasty. A little quick tempered. Likes sweet food. Fire-rock type. Flame Body ability. Knows Protect, Rock Slide, Flamethrower and Body Slam.

Drineb (Snorlax): Male. Adamant. Scatters things often. Likes spicy food. Normal type. Thick Fat ability. Knows Ice Beam, Body Slam, Brick Break and Rollout.

Skarru (Skarmory): Male. Rash. Proud of its power. Likes dry food. Steel-flying type. Sturdy ability. Knows Air Cutter, Steel Wing, Spikes and Metal Sound.