-part 2-
Down on the battlefield, both opponents put their full concentration into the battle, ignoring the stadium announcer who seemed to like stating the obvious. Steven made the first command. "Go, Steelix! Hide yourself in a Sandstorm!" The Iron Snake Pokemon promptly obeyed. It straightened up and made as much of itself vertical as it could, then began spinning the rocks on its body, whipping up dirt from the field to create a sandstorm. The sandstorm enveloped it from all sides, so neither the trainers nor its opponent could see it. The sand was quickly making its way toward Crawdaunt as well, threatening to partially blind it.
"You're not gonna fool me that easily!" the undaunted Ash responded. "Crawdaunt, blow the sand away with your Swords Dance!" Crawdaunt pointed both claws out from its body on opposite sides and started spinning rapidly, gradually approaching the area not far in front of it where it had last seen Steelix. The move was successfully blowing back the sand, but it wasn't long before Ash realized that Steelix was no longer where it last was. Instead, all that could be seen was a deep hole. 'Hmmm.' Ash thought, 'it must have used Dig while Crawdaunt was blowing the sand away. Gotta be careful here.' Straining his ears, he heard a rumbling sound from below. Ash knew then what was going to happen. "Crawdaunt, Protect, now!" he cried. The lobster-like Pokemon stopped spinning and drew its claws in front of its body. Criss-crossing them, it concentrated, creating a semi- transparent bubble of whitish light around its body. The rumbling grew louder, and Steelix suddenly thrust itself out of the ground, directly under Crawdaunt. The lobster-like Pokemon was sent flying, but the protective bubble kept it from taking any damage. It landed upright to the right of the platform Ash was standing on, then the bubble popped.
"Great job!" Ash congratulated Crawdaunt. "Now it's our turn to go on the attack! Use your Bubblebeam!" Before Steven could react or Steelix could do anything, Crawdaunt rushed forward and launched a flurry of bubbles from its claws, striking the iron snake and causing serious damage. Steelix cringed as the stream of bubbles connected.
"Don't back down, Steelix!" its trainer urged. "Focus on your strengths and attack right back! Use your Double-Edge!" Steelix coiled its body back as the bubbles were still coming, then sprang at Crawdaunt, using its entire body as a weapon.
"Crawdaunt, quick, use Harden!" Ash countered. The lobster braced itself and strained, its body glinting in the sunlight, showing that its outer shell had stiffened up. That was all it had time to do, though, since Steelix immediately collided with it. Its Harden absorbed the attack somewhat, but not enough to prevent it from being knocked back into the wall behind Ash with terrific force. "Oh, no! Crawdaunt, can you still battle? Please try to get up!" Ash shouted over to the Water/Dark type.
"Get up, Crawdaunt, you can do it!" cheered May from the stands, even though she knew the Pokemon couldn't possibly hear her voice over the crowd.
Misty echoed the cheer, and felt under her seat for what seemed like the millionth time to make sure the present she had brought for Ash was still there in its little box, keeping her eyes on the field the whole time. She hoped Brock and May weren't looking, but like herself, they were probably focused on the battle. If they noticed how often Misty had checked on it, it certainly would have given them grounds to tease her further. She didn't dare glance at them, for fear she might miss something down on the field. She would give Ash the present whether he won or not, but she certainly hoped Ash did win. It was his lifetime dream after all, and it had almost become her dream as well, knowing him for as long as she had. If he did win, the moment would be perfect, Misty thought, for her other surprise - to tell him how she really felt about him. She had kept it in long enough, and a run-in with an old friend from Shamouti Island convinced her to finally do it. She couldn't think about her own reasons for being there anymore though. Ash's battle was more important, to him and to Misty. She wanted him to be happy with all her heart, and would do her best as a member of his cheering section to give him moral support.
Behind Misty sat her longtime friend, Professor Oak, next to Ash's mother, Delia Ketchum. Also in that row were Professors Westwood, Elm, and Birch, all of whom had great respect for Ash as a trainer and were very interested in the outcome of the battle. Misty knew that many other people they had met and befriended on their journey were also in the crowd, including Richie, Gary, Duplica, Luna, Melody, and others. Misty wasn't even the only Gym Leader in attendance. Several Leaders from all three Pokemon Leagues, as well as the Orange Islands, had come to watch. It wasn't every day that the world's best trainer was challenged for his title, after all. Brock didn't know it, but even Professor Ivy was in attendance, although Professor Oak had advised her beforehand to sit somewhere else so as not to disturb the breeder.
Back on the field, the referee was focusing his attention on the downed Crawdaunt and was about to raise his flag, but Crawdaunt managed to struggle to its feet at the last second. "All right! I knew you could do it!" Ash cried.
"Continue the match!" the ref shouted, returning to his position halfway down on a side wall.
"Crawdaunt, Bubblebeam again!" Ash commanded. Steelix was too far away to get in another Double-Edge before Crawdaunt could fire its bubbles, so Ash thought this surely would end the match, considering the damage the last Bubblebeam did.
Steven, however, had other ideas. "Not so fast! Steelix, Earthquake!" he ordered. The Steel/Ground type immediately slammed its body into the ground with incredible force, shaking the entire battlefield. In Crawdaunt's weakened state, it couldn't withstand the vibrations and remain on its feet. The lobster Pokemon fell over on its side, the powerful Earthquake simply proving too much for it to take.
Looking at Crawdaunt's swirly-eyed expression, the ref pointed one flag at it, and raised the other one. "Crawdaunt is unable to battle. The winner is Steven and his Steelix!"
Recalling Crawdaunt to its Pokeball and thanking it, Ash realized that even though most of his Pokemon had type advantages, it was going to take a lot more than just that to beat this veteran, highly skilled trainer. He had been aware of it beforehand, but experiencing it now with his own eyes redoubled his desire to prove himself and defeat the world's best trainer. They each now had one of their Pokemon defeated, and Ash was determined not to let Steven gain the advantage. Deciding on pure power to try and regain the upper hand, Ash chose his next Pokeball from his belt and tossed it out on the field. "I choose you, Charizard!" A couple of months previously, having finally finished its training in the Charicific Valley, Charizard had expressed its desire to rejoin Ash's team permanently. Ash already had a strong all-around Fire-type in Torkoal, but Charizard had seemed to easily accept a split role with Torkoal as Ash's main Fire-type, being sent back to Professor Oak's lab when it was Torkoal's turn to train. One factor in that acceptance seemed to be that once Liza found out about this, she visited Professor Oak's estate regularly with Charla, her Charizard, with whom Ash's Charizard had fallen in love. Charizard had become very happy, since it now had the best of both worlds. It was back with Ash AND it had a regular girlfriend.
The great red dragon-like Fire type emerged from its Pokeball with a roar, and stared down its Steel-type opponent, who had been significantly weakened already by Crawdaunt's Bubblebeam. Steven knew that the field had been set up with underground rocks and boulders to support the Rock-type attacks that some of his Pokemon possessed, but in this case, he wasn't sure if Steelix had enough stamina left to pull off even one Rock Slide. Still, as the current Pokemon League Champion, he wasn't allowed to switch out in this battle, similar to the rule that existed in all Pokemon League Gyms, so he thought he could at least do as much damage as possible before Steelix fainted. On the other side of the field, Ash was feeling fairly confident. Not only was he using one of his strongest Pokemon, it also had a type advantage over the already weakened opponent. Still, having seen his Crawdaunt lose to that Steelix, Ash warned himself not to let his confidence get the best of him.
Between the two trainers and against one wall, the referee crossed his flags in front of him, then pointed them at each Pokemon. "Resume the match!" he shouted.
Down on the battlefield, both opponents put their full concentration into the battle, ignoring the stadium announcer who seemed to like stating the obvious. Steven made the first command. "Go, Steelix! Hide yourself in a Sandstorm!" The Iron Snake Pokemon promptly obeyed. It straightened up and made as much of itself vertical as it could, then began spinning the rocks on its body, whipping up dirt from the field to create a sandstorm. The sandstorm enveloped it from all sides, so neither the trainers nor its opponent could see it. The sand was quickly making its way toward Crawdaunt as well, threatening to partially blind it.
"You're not gonna fool me that easily!" the undaunted Ash responded. "Crawdaunt, blow the sand away with your Swords Dance!" Crawdaunt pointed both claws out from its body on opposite sides and started spinning rapidly, gradually approaching the area not far in front of it where it had last seen Steelix. The move was successfully blowing back the sand, but it wasn't long before Ash realized that Steelix was no longer where it last was. Instead, all that could be seen was a deep hole. 'Hmmm.' Ash thought, 'it must have used Dig while Crawdaunt was blowing the sand away. Gotta be careful here.' Straining his ears, he heard a rumbling sound from below. Ash knew then what was going to happen. "Crawdaunt, Protect, now!" he cried. The lobster-like Pokemon stopped spinning and drew its claws in front of its body. Criss-crossing them, it concentrated, creating a semi- transparent bubble of whitish light around its body. The rumbling grew louder, and Steelix suddenly thrust itself out of the ground, directly under Crawdaunt. The lobster-like Pokemon was sent flying, but the protective bubble kept it from taking any damage. It landed upright to the right of the platform Ash was standing on, then the bubble popped.
"Great job!" Ash congratulated Crawdaunt. "Now it's our turn to go on the attack! Use your Bubblebeam!" Before Steven could react or Steelix could do anything, Crawdaunt rushed forward and launched a flurry of bubbles from its claws, striking the iron snake and causing serious damage. Steelix cringed as the stream of bubbles connected.
"Don't back down, Steelix!" its trainer urged. "Focus on your strengths and attack right back! Use your Double-Edge!" Steelix coiled its body back as the bubbles were still coming, then sprang at Crawdaunt, using its entire body as a weapon.
"Crawdaunt, quick, use Harden!" Ash countered. The lobster braced itself and strained, its body glinting in the sunlight, showing that its outer shell had stiffened up. That was all it had time to do, though, since Steelix immediately collided with it. Its Harden absorbed the attack somewhat, but not enough to prevent it from being knocked back into the wall behind Ash with terrific force. "Oh, no! Crawdaunt, can you still battle? Please try to get up!" Ash shouted over to the Water/Dark type.
"Get up, Crawdaunt, you can do it!" cheered May from the stands, even though she knew the Pokemon couldn't possibly hear her voice over the crowd.
Misty echoed the cheer, and felt under her seat for what seemed like the millionth time to make sure the present she had brought for Ash was still there in its little box, keeping her eyes on the field the whole time. She hoped Brock and May weren't looking, but like herself, they were probably focused on the battle. If they noticed how often Misty had checked on it, it certainly would have given them grounds to tease her further. She didn't dare glance at them, for fear she might miss something down on the field. She would give Ash the present whether he won or not, but she certainly hoped Ash did win. It was his lifetime dream after all, and it had almost become her dream as well, knowing him for as long as she had. If he did win, the moment would be perfect, Misty thought, for her other surprise - to tell him how she really felt about him. She had kept it in long enough, and a run-in with an old friend from Shamouti Island convinced her to finally do it. She couldn't think about her own reasons for being there anymore though. Ash's battle was more important, to him and to Misty. She wanted him to be happy with all her heart, and would do her best as a member of his cheering section to give him moral support.
Behind Misty sat her longtime friend, Professor Oak, next to Ash's mother, Delia Ketchum. Also in that row were Professors Westwood, Elm, and Birch, all of whom had great respect for Ash as a trainer and were very interested in the outcome of the battle. Misty knew that many other people they had met and befriended on their journey were also in the crowd, including Richie, Gary, Duplica, Luna, Melody, and others. Misty wasn't even the only Gym Leader in attendance. Several Leaders from all three Pokemon Leagues, as well as the Orange Islands, had come to watch. It wasn't every day that the world's best trainer was challenged for his title, after all. Brock didn't know it, but even Professor Ivy was in attendance, although Professor Oak had advised her beforehand to sit somewhere else so as not to disturb the breeder.
Back on the field, the referee was focusing his attention on the downed Crawdaunt and was about to raise his flag, but Crawdaunt managed to struggle to its feet at the last second. "All right! I knew you could do it!" Ash cried.
"Continue the match!" the ref shouted, returning to his position halfway down on a side wall.
"Crawdaunt, Bubblebeam again!" Ash commanded. Steelix was too far away to get in another Double-Edge before Crawdaunt could fire its bubbles, so Ash thought this surely would end the match, considering the damage the last Bubblebeam did.
Steven, however, had other ideas. "Not so fast! Steelix, Earthquake!" he ordered. The Steel/Ground type immediately slammed its body into the ground with incredible force, shaking the entire battlefield. In Crawdaunt's weakened state, it couldn't withstand the vibrations and remain on its feet. The lobster Pokemon fell over on its side, the powerful Earthquake simply proving too much for it to take.
Looking at Crawdaunt's swirly-eyed expression, the ref pointed one flag at it, and raised the other one. "Crawdaunt is unable to battle. The winner is Steven and his Steelix!"
Recalling Crawdaunt to its Pokeball and thanking it, Ash realized that even though most of his Pokemon had type advantages, it was going to take a lot more than just that to beat this veteran, highly skilled trainer. He had been aware of it beforehand, but experiencing it now with his own eyes redoubled his desire to prove himself and defeat the world's best trainer. They each now had one of their Pokemon defeated, and Ash was determined not to let Steven gain the advantage. Deciding on pure power to try and regain the upper hand, Ash chose his next Pokeball from his belt and tossed it out on the field. "I choose you, Charizard!" A couple of months previously, having finally finished its training in the Charicific Valley, Charizard had expressed its desire to rejoin Ash's team permanently. Ash already had a strong all-around Fire-type in Torkoal, but Charizard had seemed to easily accept a split role with Torkoal as Ash's main Fire-type, being sent back to Professor Oak's lab when it was Torkoal's turn to train. One factor in that acceptance seemed to be that once Liza found out about this, she visited Professor Oak's estate regularly with Charla, her Charizard, with whom Ash's Charizard had fallen in love. Charizard had become very happy, since it now had the best of both worlds. It was back with Ash AND it had a regular girlfriend.
The great red dragon-like Fire type emerged from its Pokeball with a roar, and stared down its Steel-type opponent, who had been significantly weakened already by Crawdaunt's Bubblebeam. Steven knew that the field had been set up with underground rocks and boulders to support the Rock-type attacks that some of his Pokemon possessed, but in this case, he wasn't sure if Steelix had enough stamina left to pull off even one Rock Slide. Still, as the current Pokemon League Champion, he wasn't allowed to switch out in this battle, similar to the rule that existed in all Pokemon League Gyms, so he thought he could at least do as much damage as possible before Steelix fainted. On the other side of the field, Ash was feeling fairly confident. Not only was he using one of his strongest Pokemon, it also had a type advantage over the already weakened opponent. Still, having seen his Crawdaunt lose to that Steelix, Ash warned himself not to let his confidence get the best of him.
Between the two trainers and against one wall, the referee crossed his flags in front of him, then pointed them at each Pokemon. "Resume the match!" he shouted.