Chapter 16
Arc, Steven, Drake and the other, lesser-known trainers watched the TV
screen intently,
as the 2nd battle inside the stadium came to a close. Lysander had won
the first round with
his partner, Rhyhorn, flattening Emeralds Bellsprout. The battle, which
had just been
decided, saw Errol winning against Helena using his Heracross to beat
her Camerupt. The
crowd progressively got more excited, and the arena flooring was now
littered with burn
marks and craters, meaning the following two matches were going to
prove more
complicated. The commentator appeared on screen to announce the next
fight.
"That was an INCREDIBLE battle," he cried, "so lets see if our next
bout will prove just
as exciting. Now, welcome Jake and George. The audience applauded once
more as the
two trainers emerged from the tunnel on the sidelines of the arena.
Both walked to their
respective ends of the field, and waited for their mark. The stadium
displays shone up a
series of numbers, from 10 counting down. Upon one, the commentator
shouted 'go'
enthusiastically and the battle began.
Setijin sat in the waiting room, occasionally glancing up at the small
television suspended
in the corner of the room, showing him the most dramatic parts of the
battle. He sat
resting his elbows on his knees on a wooden bench, Polo sitting
opposite him, nursing her
pokéball. Setijin wiped his face with his hands, and removed a pokéball
from his belt. His
red bomber jacket was hung up on a coat peg on the wall behind him,
watching over his
bag below. He held the ball tight before looking back up at the screen
to watch the battle.
George's Beedrill shot around the battlefield with agility while Jake's
Machop planted
itself right in the center, attempting to watch the bug pokémons path.
The dust of the
floor started to whip into a trail behind the bee, making tracking it
easier. Beedrill's speed
continued to increase, his rapid movements often making him no more
than a blur,
hovering over the dents and bumps on the floor. The dust trail was
flung high into the sky
as the blur banked at the limits of the arena, angling its path right
at Machop. The
concentration almost flamed in his eyes, focusing straight ahead,
bounding forward with
his arm outstretched, his hand clenched tightly, as he forced himself
down from the air,
successfully connecting with the incoming Beedrill.
Machop fell back to the floor on all fours, as Beedrill hurtled
backwards from the force
of the blow, skidding messily across the floor. Its long glass like
wings fluttered gently to
a stop, the announcer confirming Jake as the winner. Both pokémon were
withdrawn,
Jake waving his fists in the air to the beat of the crowd while George
returned to the
tunnel dejectedly, with tears forming in his eyes.
Back inside the waiting room, upon George and Jake's return, Setijin
and Polo rose to
their feet, Setijin more reluctantly than his opponent. Both walked
side by side towards
the tunnel opening, awaiting instructions. Polo closed her parasol and
held the fabric end
in her silk-gloved hands, while Setijin violently clasped his right
hand around his
pokéball, small beads of sweat trailing down his forehead, weaving
around his eyes. His
damp hair sagged lightly as the commentator shouted:
"And our final first round battle: young Setijin versus Madame Polo!"
Cheers for the two
rang around the stands of the stadium as the pair emerged and traveled
to their sides. Polo
seemed plainly calm and unfazed by the attention, while Setijin quite
plainly was. Similar
to the fashion with the last pair, the countdown initiated, the crowds
imitating its
messages.
"Ten...Nine...Eight...Seven..." The fiery floodlights seemed to burn
Setijin, trembling
from the pressure, slowly scuffing his feet on the desert like floor.
With each preceding
number, his grip on his pokéball grew fiercer and fiercer. He closed
his eyes in an attempt
to concentrate.
"Six, five, four," he thought to himself.
"Three...two...one..." the spectators paused. For the half a second in
between 1 and go,
the world fell silent for Setijin. The crisp, cold air seemed to
blister, the moons aura
throbbed, while sitting high above the city, the soothing breeze taking
its time to shuffle
the yellow dust at his feet, and the people around him inhaling in slow
motion, before
erupting with, "GO!" Setijin's heart short-circuited.
"Now's your time to shine Setijin," Arc said quietly, sitting up to get
a clearer view of the
screen. Drake too appeared to show interest, leaning forwards, gently
sipping his mug of
hot coffee while admiring the huge screen.
"I wonder which pokémon he'll use," Steven asked, half turning his head
to face Arc. Arc
shrugged undecidedly.
"Well, I'm sure he'll know not to use Medicham this early on. From what
I've heard, its
an unpredictable pokémon, but with awesome power at its disposal."
"There must be a lot of pressure on his shoulders right now. But he
doesn't seem like the
person who wouldn't have though something like this through...this will
be quite a
battle," Steven analyzed.
"The boy may be good, but so is Madame Polo. She may be young, but she
has a wide
range of powerful pokémon at her disposal. She will be no pushover!"
Drake interjected.
"But you're right; this will be some battle."
"Quiet," Arc hushed, "It's started."
Setijin threw his pokéball high into the air, climbing up and up before
showering his
Nincanda down onto the pitch. Polo unleashed her pokémon, a large,
rounded elephant
type creature.
"Donphan," it grumbled. In comparison to Nincanda, it was particularly
large. The spec
of enthusiasm that festered inside Setijin very quickly dispersed
itself, as Polo called her
first orders.
"Donphan, use defense curl!" Donphan hopped lightly into the air,
rapidly cuddling itself
into a tight ball, dropping heavily back to the floor, kicking up the
dirt and dust around it
much like a ripple of water. Setijin attempted to shake off his nerves.
"Nincanda...uh, use fury cutter!" he stumbled. Nincanda leapt towards
the ground
pokémon, slashing its back with its small claw. It hopped back to the
ground as Polo
continued.
"Donphan, use rollout!" she called, her Donphan slamming its curled
trunk into the floor,
knocking it forward, still in the shape of a ball. The first blow sent
Nincanda reeling
backwards, even though the attack was still at its weakest. The crowd
cheered once more
as Donphan rolled back and around, gearing up for a second shot. The
fear and doubt in
Setijin exploded upon watching his Nincanda recoil from the first
attack. He stood,
jammed tightly to the spot, staring intensely at the hurtling Elephant,
Nincanda edging
backwards slowly awaiting command.
"Nin...canda?" it whimpered, Setijin still frozen. The noise of the
audience hummed
incessantly as Donphan rolled ever closer. Picking up speed, it clipped
a small upturned
rock of ground kicked up from one of the previous battles, sending it
just off course,
narrowly missing Nincanda's left flank. The thud upon landing shattered
Setijin's
comatose state and drafted him back into reality.
"Agility!" he cried, Nincanda hissing its name before bolting off
around the arena. The
arena cheered wildly as Donphan's rolling grew ever faster, Nincanda
always darting
swiftly out of harms way at the last second. The harder and faster
Donphan attacked, the
further across the arena Nincanda darted.
"Keep going at him Donphan!" Polo called. Donphan banked again, aiming
straight for
Nincanda. The bug zipped away once again, leaving Donphan to drive
straight into
another rock, this one much larger than the first. The huge gray ball
was flung high into
the air, shimmering in the beating reign of the floodlights, its path
curling gently in the
wind, leaning it directly at Nincanda's new spot in the stadium. The
bug sat unawares,
fatigued from its fleeing. It turned to see Donphan descending rapidly,
right above it, the
build of the ground pokémon shadowing the ground beneath it like thick
cloud.
"Nincanda!" Setijin cried, "Harden!" Nincanda winced, as the shadow
grew larger, very
quickly coating itself in a thick skin, just as Donphan landed. The
thud was almighty,
causing the entire field to shiver, Donphan bouncing off and continuing
his rollout.
Nincanda lay exhausted, lucky to survive the brunt of the attack. It
whimpered, still
unable to pick itself up. Leaning itself gently to one side, it saw
Setijin, looking back
anxiously, before smiling calmly, his face somehow renewing the bugs
will. With this,
Nincanda weakly wobbled back up off the ground, and buzzed its name,
Setijin clapping
him on, along with the rest of the stadium. "Great work buddy. Ok,
agility again, but this
time, stay close. The closer you are, the harder it'll be for him to
turn back towards you!"
"Nincanda!" it squealed, hopping back into the center of the arena,
making sure to align
himself with Donphan. The Elephant bellowed as it rolled itself back
into a ball and
charged once more. Surely enough, Nincanda evaded the attack, and
reappeared no more
that 3 foot to the left of his starting point. He flipped to look the
other way, to watch
Donphan attempt to turn back around, the speed of the attack forcing
him to bank around
the entire field before being in a position to charge again. Nincanda
awaited for the
second attack, evaded once more, and flung itself above Donphan, 'Fury
Cutting' it on
descent. A handful more attacks, and a flurry of more Fury Cuts,
Donphan was ordered to
a halt by its master. Both pokémon looked weary, Donphan much more than
before.
"Donphan, use earthquake!" Polo instructed. Donphan blasted itself into
the air with its
trunk, and crumpled into a ball yet again, this time aiming to land
exactly where he
launched. Donphan floated higher and higher, leaving Setijin and
Nincanda helpless back
on the ground.
"I have no idea what to do..." Setijin whispered to himself. He looked
back at the field,
still clueless with how to handle the situation. Donphan began its
descent, spiraling
towards the ground faster and faster. The stadium had fallen silent,
the only sound left
coming from the slipstream of air trailing behind the ground pokémon.
"Nincanda!" it wailed, sweeping forward, hovering just a little way
above the ground in
between its leaps and bounds, until it sat directly beneath the
plummeting Donphan. It
leaned back, and concentrated, a small tornado of dust smoothly picking
up around him.
It then opened its eyes wide, summoning the winds, heaving the dust and
debris up into
Donphan, pelting him away, disrupting his attack, and knocking him back
towards the
edge of the arena. The winds reached their crescendo, and gathered
itself back down,
lightly showering Nincanda. As the winds soothed more and more,
Nincanda began to
glow with newfound strength, its claws sinisterly shining sharp, its
skin toughened and
shimmering in the moonlight, and its reflexes even more honed and
focused than before.
As Donphan landed, Nincanda sped forward to deliver one final Fury
Cutter. The violent
slice scraped and grazed the plating on the back, cracking it like dry
mud, Donphan
wailing before collapsing into a heap.
"And the winner is...Setijin and his Nincanda!" the announcer shouted.
Polo returned her
Donphan while Setijin ran to his Nincanda, sweeping it up in his arms
and squeezing it
fondly, if a little hard. He cheered, both him and his pokémon now
beaming, as the crowd
grew ever more excited, cheering him vigorously.
Arc, Steven and the others bar Drake stood up out of their seat,
applauding Setijin's
triumph. Drake coughed before intervening once more.
"Don't forget, the lad still has 2 more rounds to go before he's won
anything."
"Come on Drake. You've got to admit, that was one impressive match!"
Arc smiled.
Drake reluctantly agreed. "Aye, you do have a point. Can't say his
nerves did much for
him, but once he got going, that was quite a show. I look forward to
seeing how he does
next round." With this, Drake too stood up and began applauding along
with the others,
the glow of the stadium emanating through the floor to ceiling windows
of the room.
Setijin sat in the waiting room, by his coat and bag as before,
victoriously holding
Nincanda's pokéball high. The room was empty, the previous battlers now
in amongst the
crowd awaiting the confirmation of their next matches. The dramatic
voice of the
announcer started to ring down the tunnel, Setijin pocketing the ball,
donning his bomber
jacket again, and picking up his back, slinging it over one shoulder.
He then listened
carefully to the commentator outside.
"That was some night, wasn't it ladies and gentlemen? Well, tomorrow,
we've got a
whole lot more action to look forward to! We'll be starting with the
Semi final match
between Lysander of Rustboro, against Errol of Lavaridge. Then, we'll
finish with the
battle of Jake of Oldale, and last rounds victor, Setijin of Fortree!
See you again
tomorrow folks!" Setijin walked towards the exit, pausing and looking
up at the ceiling.
"How on earth have I gotten so deep in so little time?" he said to
himself, flicking the
lights off behind him as he left.
Arc, Steven, Drake and the other, lesser-known trainers watched the TV
screen intently,
as the 2nd battle inside the stadium came to a close. Lysander had won
the first round with
his partner, Rhyhorn, flattening Emeralds Bellsprout. The battle, which
had just been
decided, saw Errol winning against Helena using his Heracross to beat
her Camerupt. The
crowd progressively got more excited, and the arena flooring was now
littered with burn
marks and craters, meaning the following two matches were going to
prove more
complicated. The commentator appeared on screen to announce the next
fight.
"That was an INCREDIBLE battle," he cried, "so lets see if our next
bout will prove just
as exciting. Now, welcome Jake and George. The audience applauded once
more as the
two trainers emerged from the tunnel on the sidelines of the arena.
Both walked to their
respective ends of the field, and waited for their mark. The stadium
displays shone up a
series of numbers, from 10 counting down. Upon one, the commentator
shouted 'go'
enthusiastically and the battle began.
Setijin sat in the waiting room, occasionally glancing up at the small
television suspended
in the corner of the room, showing him the most dramatic parts of the
battle. He sat
resting his elbows on his knees on a wooden bench, Polo sitting
opposite him, nursing her
pokéball. Setijin wiped his face with his hands, and removed a pokéball
from his belt. His
red bomber jacket was hung up on a coat peg on the wall behind him,
watching over his
bag below. He held the ball tight before looking back up at the screen
to watch the battle.
George's Beedrill shot around the battlefield with agility while Jake's
Machop planted
itself right in the center, attempting to watch the bug pokémons path.
The dust of the
floor started to whip into a trail behind the bee, making tracking it
easier. Beedrill's speed
continued to increase, his rapid movements often making him no more
than a blur,
hovering over the dents and bumps on the floor. The dust trail was
flung high into the sky
as the blur banked at the limits of the arena, angling its path right
at Machop. The
concentration almost flamed in his eyes, focusing straight ahead,
bounding forward with
his arm outstretched, his hand clenched tightly, as he forced himself
down from the air,
successfully connecting with the incoming Beedrill.
Machop fell back to the floor on all fours, as Beedrill hurtled
backwards from the force
of the blow, skidding messily across the floor. Its long glass like
wings fluttered gently to
a stop, the announcer confirming Jake as the winner. Both pokémon were
withdrawn,
Jake waving his fists in the air to the beat of the crowd while George
returned to the
tunnel dejectedly, with tears forming in his eyes.
Back inside the waiting room, upon George and Jake's return, Setijin
and Polo rose to
their feet, Setijin more reluctantly than his opponent. Both walked
side by side towards
the tunnel opening, awaiting instructions. Polo closed her parasol and
held the fabric end
in her silk-gloved hands, while Setijin violently clasped his right
hand around his
pokéball, small beads of sweat trailing down his forehead, weaving
around his eyes. His
damp hair sagged lightly as the commentator shouted:
"And our final first round battle: young Setijin versus Madame Polo!"
Cheers for the two
rang around the stands of the stadium as the pair emerged and traveled
to their sides. Polo
seemed plainly calm and unfazed by the attention, while Setijin quite
plainly was. Similar
to the fashion with the last pair, the countdown initiated, the crowds
imitating its
messages.
"Ten...Nine...Eight...Seven..." The fiery floodlights seemed to burn
Setijin, trembling
from the pressure, slowly scuffing his feet on the desert like floor.
With each preceding
number, his grip on his pokéball grew fiercer and fiercer. He closed
his eyes in an attempt
to concentrate.
"Six, five, four," he thought to himself.
"Three...two...one..." the spectators paused. For the half a second in
between 1 and go,
the world fell silent for Setijin. The crisp, cold air seemed to
blister, the moons aura
throbbed, while sitting high above the city, the soothing breeze taking
its time to shuffle
the yellow dust at his feet, and the people around him inhaling in slow
motion, before
erupting with, "GO!" Setijin's heart short-circuited.
"Now's your time to shine Setijin," Arc said quietly, sitting up to get
a clearer view of the
screen. Drake too appeared to show interest, leaning forwards, gently
sipping his mug of
hot coffee while admiring the huge screen.
"I wonder which pokémon he'll use," Steven asked, half turning his head
to face Arc. Arc
shrugged undecidedly.
"Well, I'm sure he'll know not to use Medicham this early on. From what
I've heard, its
an unpredictable pokémon, but with awesome power at its disposal."
"There must be a lot of pressure on his shoulders right now. But he
doesn't seem like the
person who wouldn't have though something like this through...this will
be quite a
battle," Steven analyzed.
"The boy may be good, but so is Madame Polo. She may be young, but she
has a wide
range of powerful pokémon at her disposal. She will be no pushover!"
Drake interjected.
"But you're right; this will be some battle."
"Quiet," Arc hushed, "It's started."
Setijin threw his pokéball high into the air, climbing up and up before
showering his
Nincanda down onto the pitch. Polo unleashed her pokémon, a large,
rounded elephant
type creature.
"Donphan," it grumbled. In comparison to Nincanda, it was particularly
large. The spec
of enthusiasm that festered inside Setijin very quickly dispersed
itself, as Polo called her
first orders.
"Donphan, use defense curl!" Donphan hopped lightly into the air,
rapidly cuddling itself
into a tight ball, dropping heavily back to the floor, kicking up the
dirt and dust around it
much like a ripple of water. Setijin attempted to shake off his nerves.
"Nincanda...uh, use fury cutter!" he stumbled. Nincanda leapt towards
the ground
pokémon, slashing its back with its small claw. It hopped back to the
ground as Polo
continued.
"Donphan, use rollout!" she called, her Donphan slamming its curled
trunk into the floor,
knocking it forward, still in the shape of a ball. The first blow sent
Nincanda reeling
backwards, even though the attack was still at its weakest. The crowd
cheered once more
as Donphan rolled back and around, gearing up for a second shot. The
fear and doubt in
Setijin exploded upon watching his Nincanda recoil from the first
attack. He stood,
jammed tightly to the spot, staring intensely at the hurtling Elephant,
Nincanda edging
backwards slowly awaiting command.
"Nin...canda?" it whimpered, Setijin still frozen. The noise of the
audience hummed
incessantly as Donphan rolled ever closer. Picking up speed, it clipped
a small upturned
rock of ground kicked up from one of the previous battles, sending it
just off course,
narrowly missing Nincanda's left flank. The thud upon landing shattered
Setijin's
comatose state and drafted him back into reality.
"Agility!" he cried, Nincanda hissing its name before bolting off
around the arena. The
arena cheered wildly as Donphan's rolling grew ever faster, Nincanda
always darting
swiftly out of harms way at the last second. The harder and faster
Donphan attacked, the
further across the arena Nincanda darted.
"Keep going at him Donphan!" Polo called. Donphan banked again, aiming
straight for
Nincanda. The bug zipped away once again, leaving Donphan to drive
straight into
another rock, this one much larger than the first. The huge gray ball
was flung high into
the air, shimmering in the beating reign of the floodlights, its path
curling gently in the
wind, leaning it directly at Nincanda's new spot in the stadium. The
bug sat unawares,
fatigued from its fleeing. It turned to see Donphan descending rapidly,
right above it, the
build of the ground pokémon shadowing the ground beneath it like thick
cloud.
"Nincanda!" Setijin cried, "Harden!" Nincanda winced, as the shadow
grew larger, very
quickly coating itself in a thick skin, just as Donphan landed. The
thud was almighty,
causing the entire field to shiver, Donphan bouncing off and continuing
his rollout.
Nincanda lay exhausted, lucky to survive the brunt of the attack. It
whimpered, still
unable to pick itself up. Leaning itself gently to one side, it saw
Setijin, looking back
anxiously, before smiling calmly, his face somehow renewing the bugs
will. With this,
Nincanda weakly wobbled back up off the ground, and buzzed its name,
Setijin clapping
him on, along with the rest of the stadium. "Great work buddy. Ok,
agility again, but this
time, stay close. The closer you are, the harder it'll be for him to
turn back towards you!"
"Nincanda!" it squealed, hopping back into the center of the arena,
making sure to align
himself with Donphan. The Elephant bellowed as it rolled itself back
into a ball and
charged once more. Surely enough, Nincanda evaded the attack, and
reappeared no more
that 3 foot to the left of his starting point. He flipped to look the
other way, to watch
Donphan attempt to turn back around, the speed of the attack forcing
him to bank around
the entire field before being in a position to charge again. Nincanda
awaited for the
second attack, evaded once more, and flung itself above Donphan, 'Fury
Cutting' it on
descent. A handful more attacks, and a flurry of more Fury Cuts,
Donphan was ordered to
a halt by its master. Both pokémon looked weary, Donphan much more than
before.
"Donphan, use earthquake!" Polo instructed. Donphan blasted itself into
the air with its
trunk, and crumpled into a ball yet again, this time aiming to land
exactly where he
launched. Donphan floated higher and higher, leaving Setijin and
Nincanda helpless back
on the ground.
"I have no idea what to do..." Setijin whispered to himself. He looked
back at the field,
still clueless with how to handle the situation. Donphan began its
descent, spiraling
towards the ground faster and faster. The stadium had fallen silent,
the only sound left
coming from the slipstream of air trailing behind the ground pokémon.
"Nincanda!" it wailed, sweeping forward, hovering just a little way
above the ground in
between its leaps and bounds, until it sat directly beneath the
plummeting Donphan. It
leaned back, and concentrated, a small tornado of dust smoothly picking
up around him.
It then opened its eyes wide, summoning the winds, heaving the dust and
debris up into
Donphan, pelting him away, disrupting his attack, and knocking him back
towards the
edge of the arena. The winds reached their crescendo, and gathered
itself back down,
lightly showering Nincanda. As the winds soothed more and more,
Nincanda began to
glow with newfound strength, its claws sinisterly shining sharp, its
skin toughened and
shimmering in the moonlight, and its reflexes even more honed and
focused than before.
As Donphan landed, Nincanda sped forward to deliver one final Fury
Cutter. The violent
slice scraped and grazed the plating on the back, cracking it like dry
mud, Donphan
wailing before collapsing into a heap.
"And the winner is...Setijin and his Nincanda!" the announcer shouted.
Polo returned her
Donphan while Setijin ran to his Nincanda, sweeping it up in his arms
and squeezing it
fondly, if a little hard. He cheered, both him and his pokémon now
beaming, as the crowd
grew ever more excited, cheering him vigorously.
Arc, Steven and the others bar Drake stood up out of their seat,
applauding Setijin's
triumph. Drake coughed before intervening once more.
"Don't forget, the lad still has 2 more rounds to go before he's won
anything."
"Come on Drake. You've got to admit, that was one impressive match!"
Arc smiled.
Drake reluctantly agreed. "Aye, you do have a point. Can't say his
nerves did much for
him, but once he got going, that was quite a show. I look forward to
seeing how he does
next round." With this, Drake too stood up and began applauding along
with the others,
the glow of the stadium emanating through the floor to ceiling windows
of the room.
Setijin sat in the waiting room, by his coat and bag as before,
victoriously holding
Nincanda's pokéball high. The room was empty, the previous battlers now
in amongst the
crowd awaiting the confirmation of their next matches. The dramatic
voice of the
announcer started to ring down the tunnel, Setijin pocketing the ball,
donning his bomber
jacket again, and picking up his back, slinging it over one shoulder.
He then listened
carefully to the commentator outside.
"That was some night, wasn't it ladies and gentlemen? Well, tomorrow,
we've got a
whole lot more action to look forward to! We'll be starting with the
Semi final match
between Lysander of Rustboro, against Errol of Lavaridge. Then, we'll
finish with the
battle of Jake of Oldale, and last rounds victor, Setijin of Fortree!
See you again
tomorrow folks!" Setijin walked towards the exit, pausing and looking
up at the ceiling.
"How on earth have I gotten so deep in so little time?" he said to
himself, flicking the
lights off behind him as he left.