Chapter 18

Arc shuffled along the row of seats, sitting down in the space to the left of Drake, Steven

still compressed next to the 'expansive' fan next to him. Arc leaned across to grab a

packet of fries, sitting back comfortably in his chair.

"So, having fun guys?" he asked. Drake nodded while Steven bolted forwards,

desperately shaking his head.

"This seats are just so much more atmospheric," Drake explained.

"Help…me…" whimpered Steven. Drake slapped him on the back laughing heartily,

pushing him back into his seat with a burger still in its paper wrapper. The trio halted as

the crowd rose to its feet, cheering on Lysander and Errol whom had entered the arena.

"And here are our first competitors for tonight's leg: young Lysander and the mighty

Errol, battling it out for a place in the final round. The pair split from the tunnel, taking

their positions as before. The countdown in the stadium roared into momentum once

more, both trainers releasing their pokémon as it finished, letting the battle get underway.

Setijin packed his jacket and other spare gear into his bag, slotting all his pokéballs but

one into their respective holsters. As he finished sorting, he slumped his bag up against

the wall, admiring the pokéball that held Gyarados.

"Just one more fight for you buddy," he whispered solemnly as the action started to get

louder outside. He made his way over to the tunnel to watch the match as Jake entered the

waiting room from the back.

"Good game out there?" he asked, his voice bland and slightly husky, probably due to the

extensive exercise over the years, stretching his lungs to their limits.

"It seems to be," Setijin quietly responded. Jake proceeded to unpack his things, putting

away his cycling helmet and donning a short black jacket, which hung just a little way

above his shorts. He held out one pokéball, gently tossing it into the air, and snatching it

back, closing his bag.

"Ready for our match?" he continued, almost sinisterly. "I've been training my pokémon

all day, so you best be ready!" Setijin smiled weakly back at him, turning back to the

stadium pitch.

"Poochyena, sand attack!" Lysander shouted to his pokémon. The dark dog sprinted

forward, skidding sharply to one side, hacking up a shower of sand and dust into the eyes

of Errol's Sandshrew. With the sand still hanging in the air, Sandshrew started to spin,

whisking the dust into a small storm, battering Poochyena back. The faster Poochyena

attacked, the harder the storm hailed down onto him, stunning his agile state for long

enough to allow Sandshrew to burrow underground. The gusts around he filed faded and

the storm subsided, Poochyena whipping its face from side to side, shaking the sand from

his eyes and snout. It looked around for its opponent, only for Sandshrew to burst out

from the ground below. Both pokémon hurtled high into the sky, the early afternoon sun

glowing down onto them, guiding both back to the floor. Where Sandshrew gracefully

landed with a soft thud, Poochyena hurtled, howling in pain. As he returned to earth, the

crowd roared, Sandshrew crowned the winner.

"What a tremendous bout that was!" cried the commentator vigorously. The large display

screens depicted pixilated, pokémon animations, specifically a pair of Pikachu cheering

with a flurry of confetti, and sets of pompoms. Applause echoed all around, the two

trainers returning to the waiting room.

As they entered, both Setijin and Jake clapped them back. The contestants shook hands,

each carrying their pokémon lovingly. At the far end of the room trailed in a group of

stadium officials and journalist crews, the former informing Errol of the final match, the

latter taking flurries of pictures, attempting to barge through to ask a series of questions.

Setijin and Jake paced up to the tunnel exit, awaiting instruction. Their names finally

called, and the audience cheering yet again, they left, anxiously approaching the center of

the arena.

"Now, put your hands together for the talented trainers of our final match today, tri-

athlete on a world-competitive level, Jake, and fiery new trainer, Setijin. Both trainers,

take your places!" upon reaching their destination, the countdown began once more, the

recital getting louder and louder, until the stadium bellowed, 'Go!'

"Its on, its on its on!" Lucia shouted, sitting on her bed in front of the television with a

towel wrapped around her. Remembering Winona's instruction earlier, she shrugged the

confusion off, and watched the screen intently. Quietly in the background sound of the

island, a far off shatter of glass could be heard. Lucia thought no more of it and continued

to observe.

Winona charged out of the pokémon center, leaning to sharply turn the corner of the

building, Pelipper hopping behind her as the Rocket member leapt out of a small window,

fitted 2 meters off the ground. He ran a short way before turning and releasing a

pokémon; his own: a Numel.

"Numel, Ember!" he ordered, his obedient pokémon waddling forwards, firing a cluster

of tiny flames at Winona and Pelipper. Upon her command, Pelipper summoned a sheet

of energy at its feet, dragging it upwards, smothering the fire as if to wipe it away. With

this, it unleashed a concentrated pistol of water at the camel. The attack drenched the

Numel, only to have it shake it off. Winona's expression grew all the more worried, as

the water appeared to have little or no effect on her opponent.

"Leave me and team rocket alone. You're only going to get you and your pokémon

destroyed," the man grunted. Winona stepped forward, her stance strong and persistent.

"Not a chance," she replied, with a hint of excitement on her voice, as the battle

continued.

Jake and Setijin's pokéballs hurtled towards the center of the arena. From Setijin's ball

emerged his towering Gyarados, resting uncomfortably on the dry floor. From Jake's ball

burst a small flower shaped pokémon with a green, stem like body, and its head yellow

and out of proportion. Its eyes were squinted, and a large cheeky smile spread across its

face.

"Sunflora!" it squealed.

"Gyarados," Setijin began, "Bubblebeam!" Gyarados reared its head and wailed

viciously, heaving a torrent of bubbles from its mouth. The attack swarmed the flower,

but seemed to have no effect on it. It wriggled free, and screamed, the suns rays growing

more intense, beating down heavily on the stadium. Sunflora writhed in delight at the

newfound heat, while Gyarados appeared to swelter, growing tired.

"Okay Sunflora, now use Ingrain!" Jake called. The grass pokémon leapt backwards,

digging its roots into the ground. As it stood, the roots grew and glowed with energy,

which steadily fed back into it. Gyarados shuffled its gigantic body forward and lunged

with a bite attack. Already exhausted from the heat, it fell short, simply slamming its chin

into the ground a few feet in front of Sunflora.

"Not good, not good," Setijin muttered to himself. "Gyarados! Fall back and get ready to

surf!" Gyarados slithered back, pulling its head back up into the air, straining as the

ground beneath him rumbled. Jake leant forward with one hand cupped around his

mouth.

"Solar beam it, now!" he cried, Sunflora leaning its head back, staring straight at the

beast. Its giggled as the sunlight gathered in front of it, compressing into a colorful

spectrum, before exploding towards Gyarados. The beam slapped Gyarados straight in

the face, sending him reeling backwards. It hit the floor with a tremendous boom, sending

the spectators wild.

"Oh, and it seems that the sun is getting the better of young Setijin's Gyarados!" the

commentator relayed enthusiastically. His excitement seemed to slur his words into a

stream of cheers and cries. "Gyarados really needs to find a way to level out the playing

field, but it doesn't look like Sunflora is going to give him a chance!" Gyarados whined

as it dragged itself back up. It panted deeply in discomfort, Setijin watching it with

shame.

"Why am I putting you through this?" he whispered. Gyarados remained transfixed on

the Sunflora, which still seemed to be enjoying itself, dancing from side to side like a

toddler.

"Sunflora," Jake started, "use Solar Beam one more time. This time, mean it!"

"Numel, Headbutt that bird!" the rocket member called. The camel lunged towards

Pelipper, missing by no more than a feather.

"Why won't water affect it?" she pondered desperately. As the two pokémon continued

to attack and evade each other, she gazed up at the clear skies, the sun blurred by its own

heat. She smiled with satisfaction.

"Ember it again!" the rocket called.

"Pelipper, use rain dance!" The bird cooed its name, before flapping messily off the

ground. It shuddered and shook in an odd sequence, summoning thick cloud

instantaneously above, thunder rumbling from the epicenter, and tiny droplets of rain

starting to cascade down on them. Numel's fires fizzled out in mid air, Pelipper taking in

the rain, and firing it back at the rockets pokémon. It attempted to endure the stream, but

soon crumpled to the floor, the rocket returning it. Pelipper landed by Winona's side as

she approached her foe.

"You will only get so far!" wailed, hurling a tiny nutshell shaped item to the floor,

disappearing in a cloud of smoke.

"I hate when people do that," Winona coughed, backing away, turning to jog back to the

hotel.

Sunflora's face throbbed with light, as it prepared for one final attack. Gyarados howled,

looking up at the rain clouds sweeping impossibly fast across the sky. The air darkened,

the clouds suppressing the suns majesty, Sunflora's aura steadily dissipating, Gyarados

wriggling in the fresh moisture. The crowd gasped at the dramatic change of events, both

trainers crying out 'what?', Setijin with more joy that Jake.

"Gyarados, surf!" Setijin ordered, Gyarados roaring as a thick wall of water dramatically

spluttered out from the ground behind it in an arc shape, curling at the peak much like a

tidal wave, the tips extending past even Gyarados' height, before crashing down on the

field. Gyarados seemed refreshed from the torrent, Sunflora taking the brunt of the attack,

her roots keeping her stuck to the spot. She squirmed in pain, ripping her roots from the

drenched ground, unleashing her weakened solar beam. The blast was much thinner than

before, sporting a much less attractive array of color, Gyarados extending its neck and

unleashing a stream of pure power upon Setijin's command:

"Hyper Beam!" he cried, the red, twisting and spiraling helix of might smothering

Sunflora's assault, annihilating the ground in front of it, firing it backwards out of the

pitch markings and over the sponsor boards circling the field. The thick rock flooring was

left upturned, disheveled and burnt as Gyarados withdrew its attack, curling back down

into a snake like twist, Setijin fisting the air triumphantly.

"And in an incredible turn of events, Gyarados appears to have won this battle!" the

announcer screamed. The seats of the stadium shuddered under the tremendous noise,

rattling all around it. Sunflora's roots, dangling over the side of the boards shriveled up,

Jake returning it to its ball.

"Yeah!" Setijin ecstatically cheered, Gyarados howling gleefully as well. The pair

received a standing ovation, Winona's rain still hammering down on Ever Grande.

Winona wearily entered her room, and lunged herself onto her bed, only twisting slightly

to listen to Lucia.

"You missed the whole thing!" she explained. "Gyarados was getting obliterated when it

suddenly started raining. Then everything went Setijin's way!" Winona bolted up, and

watched the replays on screen. She grinned at the sight of her rain starting to fall on the

arena.

"Well at least I was of some use," she chuckled. Lucia looked at her in confusion.

"What exactly happened out there?" she asked.