Day 2
"WELCOME, LADIES AND GENTLEMAN, TO THE SIXTH ANNUAL POKEMON LEAGUE INVITATIONAL TOURNAMENT! WE'VE GOT SOME GREAT FIRST ROUND ACTION LINED UP FOR YOU TODAY! SO, GRAB THE SNACKS, TAKE YOUR SEATS, AND LET'S GET READY TO BATTLE!"
The coliseum was already packed with people. They were all cheering and talking so loud that the announcer could hardly be heard. I was sitting in the tenth row center, right on the middle of the arena. A perfect place to see the battles, not to mention scan the pokemon used to find any illegals. I had the feeling I had the Elite Four to thank for the great seats. A loud gong rang and the entire arena slowly grew silent. The national anthem was sung beautifully by Misty Ketchum herself. Then Jennifer said a few words. Finally, Ash stood up and made his way to the center of the arena, a large hat in hand.
"As always, the match ups in this tournament will be made by luck of the draw. Names were drawn two at a time from this very hat and the matches were made. Mr. Announcer, would you please introduce the first two competitors!" The crowd let out a short, but very loud cheer as the tournament was now officially underway.
"I'D BE GLAD TO, ASH. THE FIRST TWO COMPETITORS ARE…YVONNE DANIELS OF JUMBALIA TOWN AND KYOSAN LEE OF VIRIDIAN CITY! YVONNE AND KYOSAN, COME ON DOWN TO THE FIGHTING ARENA!" The crowd of trainers and spectators cheered and jeered as the first two trainers made their way to their own ends of the arena. "FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO DON'T KNOW THE RULES OF THE INVITATIONAL, A COIN TOSS WILL BE HELD TO SEE WHO THROWS THE FIRST POKEBALL. YOU WILL FIGHT UNTIL ALL YOUR POKEMON ARE ELIMINATED. IF A POKEMON IS CALLED BACK IT IS CONSIDERED ELIMINATED AND CAN'T BE USED AGAIN UNTIL THE NEXT MATCH. GOOD LUCK TO EVERYONE. BEGIN!"
"Yay, woo hoo! Go get'er, Kyosan!" Fox, Rachel, and Leo all cheered their friend from the stands. Kyosan won the coin toss, so Yvonne had to choose her pokemon first.
"Doduo, I call you!" the Cajun girl said as she threw her pokeball, releasing the two-headed bird.
Kyosan brushed the hair out of his eyes as he chose his first pokemon. "Persian, attack!" he said, releasing his cat pokemon.
"Doduo, drill peck!"
"Persian, dodge it and use Fury Swipes!"
The two-headed bird ran at Persian, ready to peck it. Persian jumped gracefully out of the way and laid into the bird with its claws. Doduo fainted quickly.
"Doduo, return!" Yvonne recalled her pokemon.
"Good job, Persian." Kyosan said to his pokemon as they waited for their next opponent.
"Electrode, I call you!" Yvonne said, releasing the blaster ball pokemon.
"Alright, Persian, one more time, Fury Swipes!" Persian lay down on the ground. "Perrrrrsian." It purred contentedly. "Persian, get up!"
Yvonne laughed. "Not trained too good, is 'e, m'sieur? Electrode, tackle it!" The red and white ball blaster ball began rolling quickly at Persian.
"Peerrrrr…" it said happily as it saw the big ball rolling towards it.
"Persian, look out!" Kyosan said. His cat pokemon jumped at the ball and began batting it around like a toy, confusing it.
"Electrode, thundershock!" Yvonne called, but her pokemon was too confused from being knocked about. It started to glow.
"Persian, return!" Kyosan quickly called back his pokemon right before the electric pokemon self destructed, fainting itself.
Yvonne called back her fainted pokemon and chose her next one. "Go, Victreebel!" she said, releasing the vicious plant pokemon.
Kyosan easily made his next choice. "Arcanine, go!" he said, releasing his fire wolf.
"Oh no! Quick Victreebel, wrap it up!" The plant pokemon extended its vines to bind Arcanine. It even held the fire pokemon's mouth shut.
"Get out of it, Arcanine, you can do it!" The fire pokemon pulled against its bindings, it's muscles rippling under its orange fur, but it couldn't get free.
"Finish it, Victreebel, use Solarbeam!" Victreebel began to glow as it absorbed the bright morning light pouring through the massive skylights.
"Arcanine, quick, Take Down!" Suddenly, the great fire wolf lunged forward at Victreebel.
"Bel?" it said, just before Arcanine laid into it and sent it flying back. It's vines came undone and Arcanine was free.
"Now, finish it with flamethrower!"
"Arrrr!" the fire pokemon roared as it released its powerful fire attack, fainting the plant pokemon.
"Return, Victreebel." Yvonne said.
"Great job, Arcanine." Kyosan said, happily petting his first pokemon.
"Well, ami, let's see how you handle dis one, Charmeleon, burn him!" Her fire lizard was released from its pokeball.
"Arcanine, tackle it!" Kyosan said, his pokemon jumping instantly into battle. The fire wolf ran at the little lizard.
Just before Arcanine reached it's target Yvonne yelled out "Slash it!" Charmeleon swung around and laid Arcanine out with one swipe of its sharp, powerful claws. Arcanine staggered, confused by the blow. "Now, rage attack!" Yvonne called happily. Charmeleon's tail flame grew brighter as it's strength increased. It leapt at Arcanine, slashing and flaming it.
"Arcanine, return!" Kyosan called back his beaten pokemon. Charmeleon stood there, the rage still upon him, ready for his next opponent. "Golduck, attack!" Kyosan released his water pokemon.
Charmeleon rushed its new enemy. "Charmeleon, no!" Yvonne said, but it wouldn't listen, the rage had taken it over.
"Golduck, hydro pump!" Kyosan ordered the water attack. A powerful blast of water erupted out of the duck's beak, soaking the fire pokemon. It stood there, steam rising off it's skin. Then, just for good measure, Golduck ran at the fire lizard and knocked it down with a hard tail whip.
"Charmeleon, return!" Yvonne said. She was down to two pokemon. "Abra, get him!" she said, releasing her psychic pokemon.
"Aaaabraaaaa…" the little pokemon said, apparently asleep.
"Alright, Golduck, use the fury swipes." Golduck lunged at its opponent.
"Abra, teleport!" Yvonne said, calling the only move Abra knew. The psychic pokemon vanished into thin air.
Golduck stopped dead in its tracks. He stood for a moment with his eyes closed, meditating. Suddenly, Golduck swung around with its claws. Abra materialized behind Golduck just in time to get a hard slash across the face, fainting it.
"Oh, Abra, return." Yvonne recalled her Abra and threw out her last pokemon.
"Geo-geodude!" the rock pokemon said as it emerged from its pokeball.
"Geodude, rock throw!" Yvonne ordered. Geodude began throwing rocks at Golduck. It managed to dodge most of them, but one big one conked it in the head, confusing it. Yvonne leapt for joy. "Now, Geodude, use de seismic toss!" Geodude rushed forward and grabbed the confused duck and hurled it high into the air.
"Golduck, return!" Kyosan called back his pokemon.
"Tres magnifique, Geodude!" Yvonne said to her pokemon.
Kyosan chose his next pokemon. "Venusaur, attack!" Kyosan said, releasing his plant pokemon.
"Venusaur!" Yvonne said as she saw the large plant pokemon emerge.
"Saurrrr." It growled at Geodude.
"Venusaur, vine whip!" Kyosan ordered.
"Geodude, try to dodge and use earthquake." Geodude tried to dodge Venusaur's vines, but they were too quick. The rock pokemon quickly fainted from the blows.
"Merde." Yvonne said as she recalled her pokemon.
"AND KYOSAN LEE IS THE WINNER!" the announcer blasted over the cheering crowd.
"All right! Way to go, Kyosan!" Leo tried to yell to his friend over the crowd.
I nodded to myself. It had been a spectacular battle, Kyosan was a wonderful trainer. And the best part was that all their pokemon were legal, so far anyway. Which meant I didn't have to miss the next match.
"NOW, FOR OUR NEXT BATTLE WE HAVE DARYLL AIKEN OF VANILLAVILLE VERSUS EVAN EVOLVEON OF CENTEREACH TOWN!"
"Hey, Evan, that's you!" Mike Heinz said. "Get down there, dude, and show them what trainers from Centereach Town can do!"
"Good luck, Evan!" Rich yelled to his friend as he made his way down the aisle and headed for the floor.
Evan won the coin toss, so Daryl chose his first pokemon.
"Golbat, it's show time!" Daryl said, releasing the large mouthed bat.
Evan chose his pokemon. "Go, Jolteon!" he said.
"Golbat, supersonic!" The bat released its supersonic attack, confusing Jolteon right away.
"Hang in there, Jolteon, use thunder shock!" Jolteon shook it's head clear just in time for Golbat to slap it to the ground with its wing attack.
"Jooooolllt!" the electric cat said angrily, blasting Golbat with its electric attack, fainting it.
"Golbat, return! Go, Sandshrew!" The little mouse pokemon emerged from its pokeball.
"Jolteon, pin missile!" Evan ordered. Jolteon fired its spines, but they had little effect.
"Sandshrew, slash it!" The little ground type rushed at Jolteon, slashing it and knocking it around.
"Jolteon, double kick!" The electric pokemon used the last of its strength to haul off and kick Sandshrew square on the chin with both hind legs, then it collapsed from the beating.
Sandshrew rolled away into a ball then bounced back to its feet.
"Jolteon, return! Vaporeon, attack!" The electric cat was swapped for the water cat.
"Uh-oh. Sandshrew, dig!" The little ground type burrowed through the stone floor of the arena.
"Vaporeon, aim your hydro pump directly at that hole!"
"Vapooooooorrrrrr!" the water pokemon called as it launched its attack, flooding the tunnels with water.
"Zhrew, zhrew!" Sandshrew yelled in pain as it exploded up from under the floor, a geyser of water propelling it into the air.
"Now, tackle it, Vaporeon!" Vaporeon slammed into the rock hard pokemon, knocking it senseless.
"Return, Sandshrew! Go, Clefairy!" The timid little fairy pokemon emerged from its pokeball.
"Vaporeon, put it down quick, Ice Beam!" Vaporeon fired its freezing beam. Clefairy was frozen solid.
"Clefairy, return! Go, Venonat!" The little purple haired bug pokemon emerged from the pokeball. "Psybeam, Venonat!" Venonat launched its psychic attack. It was weak, but enough to confuse the water pokemon. "Now, tackle it!" The purple fuzzball flew at Vaporeon over and over, knocking the water pokemon about and confusing it even more.
"Vaporeon, return! Go, Flareon!" Evan's fire cat emerged from the pokeball. "Quick attack!" The fire pokemon leapt into the air and tackled Venonat to the ground. "Now, use fire spin!" Flareon encircled the fallen bug with a ring of fire. It couldn't escape.
"Venonat, return! Let's go Venomoth! Psybeam attack!" The evolved form of Venonat fried Flareon's mind with its psybeam attack. "Now, sleep powder!" The massive moth fluttered over the confused Flareon, showering it with dust from its wings. It fell asleep instantly.
"Flareon, return! All right, bug boy, let's see how you handle this! Go, Stingeon!" The pokeball opened, releasing the strangest looking bug pokemon anyone had ever seen.
"What the heck is that?" I said, leaning forward in my seat. "Dexter, analyze." I pointed the interface at the bug pokemon, sure it would be illegal.
"Stingeon. An insect pokemon. Accidentally created in the Oak lab, this bug evolution of Eevee has the looks and attacks of several bug type pokemon."
There was no warning on the screen, so this pokemon was perfectly legal. I sat back, ready to enjoy watching this new pokemon in action. Its body had fuzzy purple fur like a Venonat, the wings and eyes of a Butterfree, a Beedrill stinger on its tail, a Weedle stinger on its head, and the horn-like antennae of a Venomoth.
"Alright, Stingeon, tackle it!" The bug Eevee flapped its wings and rose into the air. It flew right at Venomoth, but it was able to dodge the attack.
"Venomoth, sleep powder!" Venomoth flew up high and showered Stingeon with the blue dust, but it had no effect!
"OK, Stingeon, let's finish this! Venom Beam!" Stingeon hovered in the air, pointing its tail and head stingers at Venomoth. Suddenly, its eyes began to glow red as a beam shot out of both stingers, hitting Venomoth dead center. It fell to the ground, badly poisoned.
"Venomoth, return!"
Stingeon fluttered to the ground. Apparently the venom beam took a lot out of it. "Stingeon, return!" Evan said, proud of his pokemon.
Daryl chose his final pokemon. "Squirtle, attack!" The pokeball opened, releasing the tiny turtle.
"This is perfect. Go, Jungleon!"
I prepared the interface once again, eager to learn about this 'Jungleon.'
The ball opened, releasing the new pokemon. It looked like another Eevee evolution. It had short, light green fur that looked like moss growing on its body. It had a mane of thick green foliage around its shoulders. Its tail was long and vine-like, with a rather sharp looking leaf on the tip. I scanned it with the interface.
"Jungleon. A grass pokemon. Created in the same accident that created Stingeon, this grass type Eevee evolution has a wide variety of powerful grass type attacks."
This one was legal as well, so I had nothing to worry about. Daryl, on the other hand, was not so lucky.
"Uh…Squirtle, tackle it!" The tiny turtle rushed at Jungleon.
"Jungleon, razor whip!" The grass pokemon swung around and slashed Squirtle in the face with the leaf on its tail. "Now, leech seed!" Jungleon spit a seed out of its mouth. The seed instantly opened up into vines that wrapped around Squirtle and held it tight, sapping the energy from it.
"Ohhh…Squirtle, return!" Daryl called back his last pokemon.
Evan had won.
"AND THE WINNER IS EVAN EVOLVEON OF CENTEREACH TOWN!"
"Way to go, Eevee boy, that's the way to do it!" Ant cheered for his friend as he took his pokemon to be healed.
"NOW, HOW DO YOU LIKE THAT, FOLKS? ONLY TWO MATCHES INTO THE TOURNAMENT AND ALREADY WE'VE SEEN SOME SPECTACULAR BATTLES AND TWO NEW POKEMON! LET'S KEEP THIS PARTY GOING. THE NEXT MATCH IS JOE O'DELL FROM JADE CITY VERSUS DAVID WHITLEY OF FUCHSIA CITY! YOU TWO COME ON DOWN!"
I got up and headed for the arena. I saw Joe going to his side of the arena. He was an elderly gentleman, proudly dressed in an Irish kilt and costume. The ref was waiting on the both of us.
"Call it in the air." He said to me, flipping a coin from the Celadon Game Corner Casino.
"Heads." I said.
"Tails, Whitley throws out the first pokemon. Let's go!" The whistle blew and the match was on.
I had no idea what this guy might have, so, when in doubt I choose my best. "Charizard, I choose you!" I said, releasing my starter pokemon.
"Chaaarrrr!" it roared, ready for battle.
"Ach, boyo, that' wus a mestake if oi've ever seen one. Shellder, soak this big flamin' braggart!" The old Irishman released his clam pokemon.
I recognized his amateurish strategy, but I remembered Ash's instructions on how to perform in the tournament.
"Shellder, give't a water gun!" The clam pokemon fired its water attack. It weakened Charizard, but my pokemon out leveled his Shellder. It was too strong to be fainted that easily.
"Charizard…" I said, thinking on how not to over do it. "Scratch it." Charizard was puzzled for a moment. I hadn't given it such a weak command since it had evolved into Charmeleon. Still, it obeyed and gently scratched the Shellder. Still, it was enough to faint the weak pokemon.
"Ach, Shellder, retuirn! So, ye want ta play rough now, do ye? Foine by me. Wartortle, hose 'im!" The turtle pokemon emerged from its pokeball. "Give it a hydro pump, Wartortle!" The water pokemon launched its powerful water attack. It was enough to put out a fire type.
"Charizard, return. Venusaur, I choose you!" I released my plant pokemon to face Joe's water type.
"Wartortle, skull bash now!" Wartortle lowered its head and charged at Venusaur.
"Venusaur, razor leaf!"
"Saur!" it growled as it sprayed hundreds of leaves. Wartortle ran headlong into the leaves, fainting instantly.
"Wartortle, retuirn. Aye, sur'n ye've got some foine pokemon there, lad, but let's see yuir plant pokemon top this! Go, Vulpix!" The little six tailed fire fox emerged from the pokeball. Again, this amateur was playing by type and paying no mind to the pokemons' levels. I could have easily defeated it, even with my plant type, but I was ordered to play it low.
"Venusaur, solarbeam!" Venusaur took time to soak up the sun's rays pouring through the skylights. This gave Joe the opportunity he needed.
"Vulpix, burn'im like 'e was las' years yule log!" Vulpix fired its flamethrower attack, which I must admit was much stronger than I had expected. It didn't faint Venusaur, but it was severely weakened.
"Venusaur, fire the solarbeam!" With the last of its strength my pokemon fired its ultimate grass attack, fainting Vulpix. Joe recalled his fainted pokemon, and I recalled my weakened Venusaur. I looked across at Joe and saw that he seemed to be getting a little nervous, even though he still had three pokemon left. "Perhaps he has some illegals he's afraid to have to use." I said to myself as we both chose our next pokemon.
"Go, Pikachu, fry this bloody wanker one good time, eh!" His pokeball opened, releasing the little electric rodent.
"Pika, pikachu!" it said, and if I didn't know better I'd swear it said it in an Irish accent.
I chose my next pokemon. "Blastoise, attack!" I said, releasing my massive turtle pokemon.
"Pikachu, thunder!" the old man barked immediately. His Pikachu fired its most powerful electric attack, which was actually strong enough to faint my Blastoise straight away.
"Blastoise, return. Go…" I hesitated for a moment, not sure if I should call Muddogg or not. Finally, I decided what the heck, there had already been two new pokemon here today, why not include my own? "Go, Muddogg!" My mud pokemon emerged, ready for battle. I could hear pokedexes all over the coliseum pinging as trainers tried to find out what my pokemon was.
"Mmmmud! Muddogg, mud!" it barked at Pikachu, who was looking a little weak after its last attack.
"OK, Muddogg, mudslinger!" Muddogg began hurling globs of mud at Pikachu. The quick pokemon was able to dodge them all.
"A'right, Pikachu, one more time, thunder!" Again, the little electric pokemon powered up and fired its electrical attack. However, it didn't faze Muddogg.
"Whut in'a bloody 'ell is this, then!" Joe said, unable to believe that Muddogg was unaffected by Pikachu's most powerful attack.
"OK, Muddogg, use bogdown!" Muddogg gathered itself up into a large ball of mud and hurled itself at Pikachu, burying and fainting it.
"Pikachu, retuirn blast ye!" Joe said, highly irritated, even though he still had two pokemon left. "Tha's it, I forfeit!" the old Irishman said as he turned and started toward the pokemon healing stations.
As the announcer declared me the winner I just knew this guy must have a couple of illegals he was too scared to use. Why else would he quit a match with two more pokemon left? I discreetly aimed the interface at Joe's pokeballs. "Dexter, can you tell me what he's got inside those pokeballs?"
"Scanning. A Caterpie at level three and a Kakuna at level eight."
I smiled and breathed a sigh of relief. "No wonder he didn't want to continue." I said to myself as I went to heal my pokemon, quickly before the next match started.
Up on the rooftop some very bad people were planning some very bad things.
"Did you see that? That was that guy who beat us in the Unknown Dungeon!" Jessie said to her partner, a huge vain popping out on her forehead as she remembered their last defeat.
James, however, was much more calm. "Don't worry, Jessie. We'll get our revenge soon enough, but for now we have to stick to the plan."
Jessie moved away from the skylight. "(sigh) You're right, James. How are things going?"
James smiled wickedly, lightly sniffing at his rose. "Right on schedule. Cassidy and Butch are out rounding up every Rocket and Rocket wannabe in the tri-city area. Plus, the children have successfully infiltrated the tournament. When they give us the signal that all is ready inside, we attack."
Jessie laid back on the roof and smiled. "James, I love you when you're bad. Hahahahahahaha…" The two laughed on the rooftop, thinking about all the trouble they would be causing soon.
There was a malfunction with the machines at the pokemon center. Only one machine was working, and there was a long line for that one. Those who had battled were restoring their pokemon and those who hadn't battled yet were making sure their pokemon were fighting fit before it was their turn.
I was in line behind a man in a long dark blue coat. At first I thought he was just another trainer, but then I took a second look at him. It was Robby "the Wrecker" Maximillion.
"Robby! How have you been, man?"
My gym leader friend turned around and smiled when he saw who it was. "David! Man, I'm doing great! How are you? It's been awhile."
I nodded. "Yeah, I can't believe it's been almost a year now since I beat you for the Bio Badge. Are you still the gym leader in Bio City?"
Robby nodded, a smug grin on his face. "You know it, and still one of the toughest trainers in the League. They've even asked me to consider a place in the Elite Four when one of them retires, but I don't think I will."
"Why not?" I said in surprise. "You're more than good enough for it."
Robby's grin grew into a full smile. "I know, but those four are the best the League's ever had, especially Ash. I'll be dead and in my grave before that guy gives up training."
Some commotion at the front of the line drew our attention. Nurse Joy was trying to tell us all something over the griping of the people up front. "Attention, please! I'm afraid we won't be able to repair our other revitalization machines today, and we've only got one working at the moment. If you'd like you can leave your pokemon with us and we'll call you when they've been healed."
Some of the younger, more naive trainers readily agreed, but Robby and I knew better.
"Forget that." Robby said. "I've got hyper potions and elixirs with me in my pack. I'll restore them myself. I'm not leaving my babies alone, especially with Team Rocket on the loose again. Did you hear about that?" I nodded. "You think they'd attack Indigo Plateau itself?"
I looked around at all the pokemon, many of them rare and powerful ones, and in some cases new ones. I looked back at my friend and grinned. "Is their motto ridiculous?"
I bought some hyper potions, elixirs, and revives at the pokemart and got my pokemon back up to perfect health. I got back to my seat just in time to hear them call for the next match.
"THE NEXT BATTLE WILL BE LAUREN CHARLESTON OF MARIGOLD PLAINS VERSUS VANCE LEE OF CINNABAR ISLAND! LAUREN, VANCE, COME ON DOWN!"
I heard some loud boos against Vance coming from a group of trainers across the arena from me. It looked like Kyosan was with the booers. I pointed the interface at them to bring up who they were. Rachel L., Leo Katsumara, Kyosan Lee, and Fox Lee, Vance's very own little sister. She was booing loudest of the group.
"Wow." I said. "Talk about your sibling rivalries."
Vance lost the coin toss, so he threw out the first pokemon. "Nidorino, attack!" A large, powerful, and mean looking Nidorino emerged from the pokeball.
At the other end of the arena I could see Lauren looking very nervous. Still, she chose her pokemon well. "Slowpoke, go get'em!" she said nervously, releasing her slow water pokemon. "Water gun!" she ordered.
"Nidorino, tackle that worthless lump!" Vance barked. Nidorino charged at Slowpoke.
Finally, the slow pokemon fired its water attack. Nidorino ran through the water like it wasn't there. Slowpoke was sent flying over Lauren's head and out of the ring.
"Nidorino, return!" Vance ordered, calling back his pokemon, a very confident move. Perhaps over confident.
Lauren quickly recalled her injured Slowpoke and chose her next pokemon. "Ekans, go!" she said nervously.
I heard Vance let out a sharp 'HA' before he chose his next pokemon. "Graveller, attack!" he said, releasing his rock pokemon.
"Quick, Ekans, wrap!" Lauren said, seeking to get the upper hand this time.
"E-kansss!" her snake pokemon hissed as it wrapped around Graveller and squeezed as hard as it could. It had no effect.
"Graveller, crush that little worm!" Vance ordered. Graveller tucked under its arms and legs and began rolling around on the floor, crushing Ekans repeatedly until the poor pokemon fell off, fainted.
"No, Ekans return." Lauren said.
Vance began yelling at his Graveller. "How dare you let such a weak pokemon even get near you, you worthless pebble! Extra training for you tonight, now get back in this pokeball!" he yelled, returning Graveller to its pokeball.
Lauren chose her next pokemon sadly, afraid it was going to get hurt like the others did. "Magneton, it's your turn." Lauren said, releasing the electric steel ball pokemon.
"This is too easy!" Vance shouted. "Onix, smash that hunk of scrap metal!" he said, releasing the huge rock snake. "Take down now!" The giant rock pokemon lunged at the little electric one.
Lauren stood frozen, not sure what to do. "Uh, Magneton…uh…Explosion!" she finally shouted. Just as Onix was about to flatten it, the three little orbs let out a powerful explosion, fainting itself in the process. However, when the dust and smoke cleared, Onix stood there, apparently unharmed by the blast. Everyone in the arena was amazed.
"Well, that was rather pointless, wasn't it? Onix, return!" Vance said cockily as he made a show of recalling his healthy pokemon once again.
"Magneton…return." Lauren said. She looked at the three pokemon she had left. She didn't look like she really wanted to send any of them into battle.
"Oh, come on!" Vance shouted at her from across the arena. "Don't quit, at least lose with a little dignity, for God's sake!"
The look of sorrow on Lauren's face slowly blossomed into rage. "You think you're so good, don't you?" the young trainer shouted in a cracked voice. "Well, let's see you handle this!" Suddenly, she threw out all three of her remaining pokeballs, in obvious violation of the rules, but she must have figured she was going to lose anyway and just didn't want to give Vance the satisfaction of beating her.
The three pokeballs opened, releasing a Charmander, a Nidorina, and an Alakazam. The ref called for the bell, then a surprising thing happened…
Vance chose his next pokemon.
"Don't think you're getting off that easy, little girl! Arcanine, sic'em!" His pokeball opened, releasing the fiercest looking Arcanine I've ever seen. "Take them out, Arcanine! Every flipping one of them!" The Arcanine leapt into the three on one battle, snarling and snapping at them all.
"Fight back, guys!" Lauren called to her pokemon, tears running down her face. "Don't let that bully push you around!" Charmander fired its flamethrower and Nidorina launched its horn attack. Alakazam used its psybeam.
Amazingly, Arcanine was able to dodge all three of the attacks. It quickly fainted Charmander with a single swipe of its massive paw. It then tackled Nidorina, sending her crashing into the guard wall. Finally, it flamethrowered Alakazam into unconsciousness. The entire arena was speechless.
Vance called back his Arcanine. "Try again when you learn how to train pokemon, loser." He said as he walked away.
"THE WINNER, BY DISQUALIFICATION," the announcer put extra emphasis on why Vance was being announced the winner, "VANCE LEE."
Before he left the arena, Vance walked over and faced Fox and her group. He pointed right at her, then strutted back to his seat.
Lauren sadly recalled her pokemon and walked to the pokemon center, her head slumped down in defeat.
"Y'know," I said to myself, "I really hate that guy."
Way up in the nosebleed section of the arena, two crafty little minds were hard at work.
"Wow, did you see that, Larissa? That guy is good!"
"No, Ross." Larissa corrected her partner. "That guy is bad."
Ross smiled. "Yeah, just what we've been looking for."
All in attendance were still shocked at what they had seen as the tournament broke for lunch. I left the arena and made a beeline for the nearest Chik-Fil-A. I sat at an empty table and was about to sink my teeth into a piping hot chicken tender when the interface began beeping. I opened it. "Yes?"
"David," Ash's voice came over the line. "We need to see you in the boardroom immediately."
I sighed and looked at my food. "Can't it wait?" I asked, praying for a yes.
"That's not what immediately means, is it now, Mr. Whitley?" Gary's voice cut in.
"Fine, I'm on my way." I said, closing the interface. I shoved three of the six tenders in my mouth and put the rest in the bag with the waffle fries, picked up my drink, and hurried upstairs to the boardroom.
"I can't believe he would do something like that!" Fox Lee exclaimed. "That worthless, arrogant, egotistical, son of a-"
"Rattatta!" her pokemon shouted in anger.
Fox's opinion piece regarding her brother was cut short by Leo. "Fox, look, we all know what Vance is. I feel just as sorry for that girl as anybody, but there's nothing we can do about it now."
Kyosan nodded in agreement. "He's right, Fox. What we need to focus on now is the goal ahead of us."
Fox cut her green eyes at Kyosan. "Don't patronize me, Kyosan. I know what my goal is: to drop kick Vance's jerk ass all the way back to Cinnabar!"
Bill Nguyen came over holding a massive foot long sub and sat down with Fox and the group. "Man, did you guys see that guy Vance? Now, there's a trainer who knows how to lay the smack down! If I wasn't gonna win this thing I'd put sure money on him!"
Fox gave Bill a look that could burn a hole through a masterball, then she got up and stormed off, her Rattatta riding on her shoulder.
"What? What'd I say?" Bill said, his mouth full of teriyaki chicken.
Leo and Kyosan got up and followed after Fox. Rachel stood up. "Boy, do you know just how to say the wrong thing at the wrong time." She said, taking off after the others.
Bill watched them leave. "He could definitely beat those four." He said, taking another bite of his sandwich.
"The revitalization machines were what?"
Gary nodded solemnly. "Sabotaged. Someone wanted all those pokemon in one place. We've postponed the rest of today's matches and set up extra security around the pokemon center."
Slate whirled around in his swivel chair. "Now, what group of losers do we know that would want a lot of pokemon, especially rare and powerful ones, gathered in one place?"
"Rockets." We all said at once.
"Bingo." Slate said, tossing one of his own pokeballs up and down over his head.
"Alright," I said, beginning to pace back and forth. "Apparently the Rockets do plan to attack, and this sabotage is a pretty good sign that they are already here…"
"Or have someone working for them on the inside." Gary said.
"Vance Lee?" I said.
Ash nodded. "We don't have any proof of a Team Rocket connection. He comes from a well off family of very powerful trainers from Cinnabar Island."
"Varrick and Leyana Lee, yes I've heard of them." I said. "Both of them pokemon masters, both of them former Pokemon League Champions. If Vance wanted money he could go to his folks, and if he wanted rare or powerful pokemon he'd probably rather go out and catch them himself than steal them."
"Well, I don't know if it's Vance," Slate said, "but whoever it was it would have to be someone with mad technical skills. Whoever hacked the revs knew their way around that type of machinery."
"Still, he's our prime suspect." Misty said. "Heck, he's our only suspect, especially since his match with that poor girl."
"Well, I'll keep an eye on him." I said.
"See that you do." Gary said. "He's had a history of…violent behavior."
I nodded solemnly, my hand unconsciously moving to my belt of pokeballs. "I can handle it." I said, walking out of the office.
Since the rest of the day's matches had been postponed until the pokemon center could get their "technical difficulties" worked out, the League had set up a sort of trainer's bazaar. Local trainers and breeders had set up booths and demonstrations to sell their respective wares and to share their knowledge of pokemon. Without a doubt the most popular of these attractions was the Stone Acres Breeding exhibit, run by Brock Stone himself. A huge group of people gathered around for the pokemon show. He showcased some of his prize winning thorough breds, including his world famous Vulpix.
When the show was over the crowd dispersed and Brock went to have a seat and rest a bit. Then he noticed someone from across the room coming towards him. She was about his age, but she still possessed the tomboyishness of her youth. She rolled up the sleeves of her oversized sweater as she got closer to Brock. For a moment they just stared at each other.
"Hello, Heather." Brock said. "It's been a long time, hasn't it?"
Heather nodded and smiled a small smile of remembrance. "It's been a very long time, Brock." She said. "Ever since I had to go back to my gym. How have you been?"
Brock nodded and ran his fingers through his hair. "I've done pretty well for myself." He said, indicating his breeder business. "I have a wonderful wife and five lovely children."
Heather smiled. "And every one of them following in your footsteps."
Brock smiled widely, the pride he had for his two sons; Flint Jr., the Pewter City Gym leader, and Slate of the Elite Four. Then his smile faded. "I wish I could have done it all with you." He said, taking the hand of his old flame.
Heather put her hand over his. "No you don't, Brock, and the truth is neither do I. You're happy with you life, and I'm happy with mine. Let's not waste our time together wishing things could have been different. Let's just enjoy the way things are now."
Brock nodded, knowing deep down that he felt the same way.
"So!" Heather said happily, trying to lighten the somber mood. "How are the other little Stones doing, huh?"
"Team Rocket to Team Shuttle, come in Shuttles!" James said into the radio.
"THIS IS TEAM SHUTTLE. GO AHEAD TEAM ROCKET." A young girl's voice said over the radio.
"How goes the plan?" James asked.
"RIGHT ON SCHEDULE. THE POKEMON CENTER IS CLOSED DOWN FOR THE NIGHT TO MAKE REPAIRS AND ALL THE POKEBALLS LEFT THERE ARE UNDER HEAVY GUARD."
"Excellent, keep me posted. Team Rocket out." James said, closing the radio with a smirk.
Jessie smacked James in the back of the head. "James, do you mind explaining to me how increased security is good for the plan?"
James smiled and put his arms around his wife and partner. "Because, my dear, now we have them standing on their toes. It will make it that much easier to push them down."
The two villains smiled an evil smile that the normally beautiful rays of the setting sun somehow only made more sinister.