Ch.18 – The Final Tournament
Get Ready League, Here Comes Pokemaster Lina!
Lina's schedule was all in all much regulated. She was woken up at five thirty in the morning by Luna to work out in their private gym. Her routine started with half an hour on the treadmill going 20 mph, followed by 500 punches/kicks to the punching bag. Afterwards came bench pressing 80 pounds fifteen times. To finish it, Lina was forced to do fifty push-ups on her fingertips and fifty full sit-ups. Then, after breakfast, she would go over to Prof. Oak's lab to help feed the pokemon. By the time she was finished, it was time for lunch, which she made and ate at home. Once the lunch dishes were washed, Lina would go to Luna's workplace to help wash dishes there. Upon coming home with Luna, Lina was to train with her Pokemon until dinner was prepared. After dinner, she would take a bath and then go straight to sleep.
Gourry was free to do whatever he pleased, but he ended up following Lina around, doing what she did, until Luna felt that he was close enough to the family to help out. She sent him off to buy groceries, fish every other day, and run random errands. He ate most meals with Lina, and also took a bath after dinner (separately of course). As for Luna, she supervised Lina's workout to make sure she didn't cheat, until she set off to work. After returning, she would cook a marvelous but small dinner before taking a shower herself. In case you didn't figure it out, they all had a bathroom to themselves.
Needless to say, when the tournament finally rolled around, Lina was more than just ready; she was ready to win. The day before she was due to leave, Luna allowed Lina to take the whole day off. Half of that day was taken to sleep in, then eat ravenously. After stretching her sore muscles, Lina went with Gourry to visit all of her old friends, first and foremost her brother. They chatted for a little while before going to Prof. Oak's to feed the late Pokemon lunch. As she monitored the Fire Pokemon area, she noted that Grithe was no longer there. Sighing, she remarked to the newborn Growlithe on her lap that she would have liked to see if he had improved. Lina and Gourry stayed there until sunset, when they headed home. Lina packed her cape again before dinner. After the post-meal bath, Lina slept fitfully as did Luna and Gourry.
The next morning, she set out bright and early with her pokemon to the Indigo Plateau. Gourry accompanied her upon Pyro's back as they flew across the land. They reached their destination three days ahead of the regular rush using this method. Lina immediately checked into the Pokemon Center and called home to tell Luna she had arrived safely, as promised. Gourry followed her to the registration desk the next day, where she showed her first Master badge along with her Pokedex as her credentials. After she pushed the deciding button, Lina learned that her first battle would be with Vrumagan on the Ice field. She groaned at the memory, but it made her confident that she would win easily.
The day of her first match, Lina was in a lets-get-it-over-with kind of mood. She did her morning stretches, ate her breakfast quickly, checked on her pokemon, and then left at the appropriate time for her match. The crowd politely cheered as both trainers were introduced, most not knowing either of them, but still eager to see a good battle. Lina glanced at the crowd, and shrugged, deciding to put on a show for them. For this goal, she chose a team of fire Pokemon, as that was her specialty. Vrumagan chose to start with Dewgong, who could slide along the surface of the ice as fluently as in the water.
As soon as the referee allowed them to begin, Vrumagan had Dewgong use Ice Beam. Speaking in the language of Charizards, Lina told him to yawn in a way that breathed a Flamethrower towards the beam. A few scattered ooh's and aah's spread throughout the crowd as the flames completely melted the attack and scorched the sender (Dewgong). Meanwhile the announcer commented on Lina's use of 'words'.
"It seems that this talented young lady can control her Charizard's movements just by repeating its name! Remarkable!" When the attack left Dewgong charred, he added, "Ooh, that had to hurt. What's this? The referee has declared Dewgong unable to battle! Charizard wins with a T.K.O.! Unbelievable!"
Lina chuckled slightly to herself as she stroked her cheek a little. She thought to herself, "I guess that was a bit of an overkill. Hehe, whoops." She called out to Pyro, "(Pyro! Let's give these guys a show! Tone it down a bit. Not enough to get hurt badly, just to get the crowd going.)"
Pyro nodded in consent as Vrumagan chose his second Pokemon, Jynx. The announcer once again commented, "It's a bit hard to hear, but it seems to me that another little conversation went on between Lina and her Charizard. I wonder what they could be talking about. Well, time to get the next bout underway! Vrumagan chooses Jynx while Lina sticks with her Charizard!" At Lina's perfected Flaming Tornado, he added, "Well there's something you don't see every day- a moving column of fire! I don't think Jynx can dodge it- no, it was enveloped by the pillar. Can it stay up? …It doesn't look like it – Yes, the referee has deemed Jynx unable to battle. That's two TKO's for Charizard!" At this, the crowd erupts in cheers; Lina smiles wanly – instead of turning it down, she ended up turning up the power. Ah wells, the crowd still seemed to like it.
Vrumagan's last pokemon was a Cloyster. Lina grinned evilly as she relayed her instructions to Pyro. He roared his affirmative and charged.
"Now it's Cloyster vs. Charizard! Charizard is rushing in for a…judo body slam?!" The crowd gasped in surprise as Charizard powered his Rage attack (tail fire increases dramatically) grabbed Cloyster and bent his back so that he slammed him into the ground behind him. This inevitably allowed Cloyster to be barbequed by Charizard's life flame, at the tip of his tail. Charizard then turned and gave him a point-blank Flamethrower. Cloyster was declared unable to battle. Charizard had won Lina her first match with a three-in-a-row T.K.O. The crowd erupted in loud screams of applause and cheers for their new favorite trainer. Lina grinned and did a modest Peace sign. She returned Pyro to his pokeball, and blew the stadium a kiss before exiting. The announcer ended with, "Well, that was one quick but great battle! Lina Inverse wins by a landslide! We will be taking a short intermission before the next ice battle goes underway."
Lina clicked her tongue with slight annoyance. That had been way too easy. With her sister's training behind her, would she have any competition at all here? Having been seated in the sidelines watching, Gourry now commended Lina on winning her first match so easily. Smirking, Lina flipped her hair behind her shoulder and responded that it was a "piece of cake". To which Gourry looked left and right trying to find an actual "piece of cake". Lina laughed and suggested that they go have a mid morning victory snack. Gourry seconded this notion. Back at the field, Vrumagan slowly returned his Cloyster and stalked out silently.
Lina's next battle was on the grass field. She knew that Pyro could easily command this field, but decided to choose Archie for a slight change of face. Her opponent was a girl, by the name of Martina Zoana Mel Navratilova. Her first pokemon was Slowbro. She started the match by using a powerful Water Gun, which Lina responded to by having Growlithe back up, go on his hind quarters, and drink the spray of water. Afterwards, he licked his lips to enhance the effect. A light laugh spread throughout the stadium. Embarrassed, Martina attacked with Confusion, but her Slowbro ended up getting a touch of Amnesia. Archie took this chance to use a Fireball. As it circled around, Slowbro was caught off guard as it connected with its back. It would take more than that to take out this Slowbro, but Lina wasn't finished yet. Archie attacked with Flare Arrow, followed by a Mega Brand channeled through the ground. Toasted, Slowbro teetered, and fell over, blowing out one last puff of smoke.
Martina's next choice was Tentacruel which may not have been the best choice considering the field, but it was well able to move around. Tentacruel started things off with a Hydro Pump. At just the right moment, Lina barked an order and Archie ran towards Tentacruel along the stream of water. At point-blank, he used a devastating Fire Blast attack. Tentacruel was barely able to stand after that. Archie put some distance in between them before turning and using Agility and then Take Down. Archie won this match.
Her final pokemon was Marowak. Lina grinned. She told Archie to do what he had done the last time they had faced a Marowak – Follow your canine instincts. Archie crouched down low and wagged his tail in anticipation. Martina didn't seem to realize the major fault in her choice, however, so she had Marowak use Bonemarang. Archie ran, jumped, and caught it in his teeth. Upon landing, he ran to a corner, dug a hole, placed the bone inside, and covered it up before happily returning to battle. Marowak sweated, and the crowd cheered. Defenseless now, Marowak could do nothing to stop Arcanine from roasting him with Flame Wheel. The battle had ended; Lina was once again the winner with a one pokemon T.K.O. three times in a row. Again, Lina repeated her end battle peace sign, blown kiss, return pokemon and turn to leave. And once again, the crowd erupted in cheers.
Lina's third match was on the water field battling Gravos, an extremely bizarre man in Lina's opinion. Gravos' first pokemon was Poliwrath. To show that she didn't only have fire pokemon, Lina chose Gyarados. The battle commenced, with Poliwrath using Double Slap. Gyarados returned the favor with his tail which smacked Poliwrath straight into the wall, allowing him to slither into the water. Gyarados finished him with a Hyper Beam, and that was the end of Poliwrath for the time being.
Gravos' next pokemon was a Machoke. Gyarados bit him down on his head, shook his head vigorously with Machoke still in his jaws, threw him up sky high, and then finishing him with a Hydro Pump. The second bout was over quickly.
His final pokemon was Primeape. Lina didn't give him the time of day, having Gyarados simply finish him with a well placed Dragon Rage, which was a spectacular sight all its own. Lina was once again declared the winner with three one-pokemon TKO's.
Lina's final match of the preliminaries was on the ground battlefield with Halciform. Halciform chose Dugtrio as his first pokemon. Lina decided to go with her Sandslash. Dugtrio's first move was Dig. Lina commanded Sandslash to follow Dugtrio through the same hole. A lot of digging went on, a few pokemon squabbles were heard, before both broke the surface with a scratched up Sandslash carrying a fainted Dugtrio on its back.
Halciform's next pokemon was Golem; Lina stuck with Sandslash. Golem used Magnitude, but Sandslash jumped high into the air, avoiding all damage in the process. He used a Dust Tornado upon his return, enveloping Golem in it completely. As it dissipated, Golem spun around a few times, still going with the flow of it. After regaining his senses, Golem used Earthquake, for which Sandslash once again jumped away from danger. This time, he used Fissure as he hit the ground; Golem was caught in the middle. Sandslash then scampered towards him and used a Slash attack in his face. The rock pokemon fell over from the force of the attack, unconscious.
His final pokemon was a beautiful Vulpix. For once, Lina eyed her opponent's pokemon with interest. She called out a compliment to the Vulpix, saying that she had a beautiful coat. Vulpix made a sound that resembled a purr of happiness. Speaking in Vulpix, Lina told her that she didn't want to hurt her beautiful coat, so if she gave up and refused to fight now, she'd give Vulpix a nice glossy grooming session. Being a vain pokemon at heart, Vulpix complied, against her master's wishes, and sat back, wagging her tail fitfully. Lina nodded and told the referee that Vulpix was no longer willing to fight. Seeing her laid back expression, the referee deemed it as such, declaring Lina the winner.
This time, after she was declared the winner, Lina jumped over the railing onto the field. On the way towards Vulpix, she stroked Sandslash's head before recalling him to his pokeball. When she reached Vulpix, she bent down and outstretched her hand. Vulpix scurried up the length of her arm, and licked Lina's cheek. Lina smiled and pet Vulpix's head as she began to walk out. Halciform called out to her, asking where she thought she was going with his Rubia. Lina turned to wink at him. "Just a little brushing. I'll return her, if you follow me."
After Lina's promised grooming, a very happy Vulpix returned to her trainer. That night, Lina had a celebration dinner with Gourry and Luna at a buffet. After feeding her pokemon, Lina slept fitfully, ready for her fifth match. Battling with her for the role of the top eight finalists was a teenager by the name of Joy Rock. Idly, Lina wondered how strong someone would be in the finals. Well, she'd see.
Joyrock's first pokemon was Alakazam; Lina's was Charizard. Alakazam started with a Psychic attack. Pyro countered with a strong whirlwind tornado that threw off the waves as well as envelope his opponent. However, Alakazam managed to teleport out and unleash a Tri beam attack. Pyro flew to dodge this and attacked with Flamethrower. Alakazam teleported away, onto Pyro's back. This caught Pyro slightly off guard, but he reacted quickly by turning his head and headbutting Alakazam hard. This caught Alakazam unawares as well, shown in the way that his eyes made swirls. Pyro took this chance to buck Alakazam off, and then clutch him in his arms for a Seismic Toss. When Alakazam made a crushing impact to the ground, followed by a complete roasting via Flamethrower, he didn't stand a chance. Alakazam was down for the count.
The next pokemon chosen was Golduck, who immediately used Hydro Pump. Once again, the water was guzzled down at a remarkable pace. While Golduck was surprised, Pyro flew into fourth gear to tackle Golduck while fueling an extremely large ball of fire that surrounded his whole body, and now Golduck's as well. When Pyro bit down on Golduck's side and threw him into the wall on the other side of the field, Golduck fainted.
His third pokemon was Mr. Mime. Pyro used a Fireball split which swooped around its target, and then split into dozens of little fireballs to launch a flurry of them at the target. Mr. Mime, preparing his Reflect screen in front of him, was not prepared for the surprise ambush. As he turned to block it, Pyro flew into the sky, and so disappearing from Mr. Mime's view once the attack had stopped and he turned around. Not knowing much else to do, Mr. Mime trapped himself inside a Barrier cube. Taking a deep breath, Pyro began to spiral down before releasing a Flamethrower. As the force of wind was going against him, Pyro became engulfed in flames, making him resemble a meteor as he crashed into Mr. Mime's barrier, destroying it in the process and sinking both of them into the ground. Getting off, Pyro revealed a collapsed Mr. Mime.
Joyrock chose Machamp who dodged Pyro's instant Flamethrower as if it were nothing. Something within Lina stirred, making her feel a bit more anxious than usual, but she ignored it to the best of her ability. Taking a deep calming breath, she commanded, "PYRO! FIRE GEYSER NOW! FINISH HIM IN ONE ATTACK!" After releasing several pillars of fire wherever Machamp had been, concentrating on that part, Pyro fulfilled every part of Lina's command. Machamp had fainted.
The next to last pokemon for Joyrock was Wigglytuff. Lina sweated, but calmly told Pyro to take to the skies again, high enough for Wigglytuff's song to not reach him. When Pyro did as he was told, Wigglytuff found herself alone on the field, way beyond reach of her opponent. And so, she decided to start singing, however, Pyro's huge fireball kept her from making everyone fall asleep. Wigglytuff blinked through her charcoaled features. Piping mad, she waggled a furious arm at the flying monstrosity (in her view). This was met by a Flare Arrow – A Flamethrower broken up into several small "arrows" or streaks of fire. Wigglytuff barely managed to dodge the first few, and so was caught on a bad foot with the second flurry. Not wanting to be hurt anymore, Wigglytuff waved a white flag of surrender and jumped into its trainer's arms. Lina breathed an unconscious sigh of relief.
Joyrock's final Pokemon was Clefable; an audible gasp spread throughout the crowd. In an undertone, Lina commented, "Tch. That's nothing. I have access to a whole family of Clefables and Clefairies." Clefable attacked first with Metronome, which happened to be a Double Team attack, which wasn't really an attack at all. Unfortunately, by lifting into the air a little bit and using a downward Fireball Split, he easily knocked the real one out of the loop and destroyed the copies. This Clefable was resilient though, so it stood up and used Metronome again. This time, it imitated a Vine Whip attack. Pyro grabbed hold of both vines, and used them to catapult Clefable sky high. Then, Pyro raced after it, held it in its arms, and did a Seismic Toss. And yet, Clefable still stood up, but more slowly this time. She wearily used Metronome again, which ended up being a Self-Destruct. After the smoke cleared, Clefable was knocked out cold, while Pyro was slightly dirty, but easily standing. Lina was declared the winner!
The announcer did his end of the battle commenting, "And Lina Inverse wins by another landslide! Amazing! By just using her Charizard, she has won her first official battle without breaking a sweat!"
Lina responded softly, "That's what you think, but I'll let you keep thinking that." Lina grinned as she returned Pyro to his pokeball before leaving an overly excited crowd.
A/N: *Yawn* I think I'll stop here for this chapter. Look forward to the next one!