DISCLAIMER: Don't own Pokemon, do own this story
Right, this is it! The final of the Pokemon World Cup. Who will emerge victorious? Gary Oak or Ash Ketchum? Read on to find out as this tournament draws to a close
Chapter 9: The Pokemon World Cup Final
'...A warm welcome to the Indigo Stadium for the build-up to today's Pokemon World Cup final. A full house has turned up to see who will be crowned world champion. Both players are in the tunnel. preparing for the biggest match of their lives. 15 Pokemon each, the first one to 8 victories wins the Pokemon World Cup. We're live in Pallet Town, in a pub with Ash's friends and family and in the laboratory of the famous Professor Oak, who is, of course, Gary's grandfather, along with other members of Gary's support group...'
Misty and Brock were giving Ash some final words of support before they headed to their seats. 'You can do it Ash. Go out there and win!' said Brock. 'Yeah, it's time to show Gary who's the better Master.' said Misty. Back out in the stadium, the pre-match action was beginning. '...And now, here comes the trophy, the prize which our two finalists are playing for. The flame is burning brightly as the trohpy is placed on a table in between the two player entrance tunnels.' An announcer went onstage. 'Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the final of the 2005 Pokemon World Cup,' he said, 'Today we will decide who is the Pokemon World Champion and who is worthy of the title of a Pokemon Master. And now, please welcome our two finalists, ASH KETCHUM AND GARY OAK!' The crowd cheered as several fireworks went off from a corner of the field. 'A rapturous welcome for these two here today.' The two finalists stood next to the trophy table with the President of the IPA, John Williams, for a photograph, and then everything was cleared for the match to begin.
'THIS IS IT! The match that will decide the 2005 Pokemon World Champion is about to get underway. They each have 15 Pokemon and the first one to 8 victories is the winner of the 2005 Pokemon World Cup. It's about 4pm now and we should have a winner by 7pm tonight, then we go almost immediately into the closing ceremony with the trophy presentation. The ref signals the match to start, and we're away! Gary chooses his Nidoking for his first attempt, whereas Ash goes for Muk. Muk, gaining the first attack, hits Nidoking with a sludge attack. Nidoking gains the advantage with a tackle attack. Signs of nerves from both players here. Muk, with a powerful screech that not only hurts Nidoking's ears, but everyone elses, including mine! Nidoking counter-attacks with a poison sting...which hits Muk direct to the ground. And I'm not surprised, the ref comes up and signals a first round victory for Gary! 1-0 to him now.'
Things didn't improve for Ash. By the half-way break, it was 5-2 to Gary. Just 3 more victories for him would win him the cup. But Ash still had hope that he could pull back from this loss. '5.30pm now, and as the sun sets on this final day of the World Cup, the final is still to be decided. 5-2 to Gary and Ash dosen't seem to be playing as well as he has in previous matches. Anyway, Ash uses Charmeleon, just yesterday he evolved from Charmander, giving him a last-minute boost. Gary plays his Arcanine. Fire vs fire, this should be interesting. Charmeleon onto the attack with a slash attack...ooh, that's gotta hurt. Arcanine leaps up and does a take down attack, pushing Charmeleon to the floor. But he gets back up again and performs a spectacular ember attack, toasting Arcanine. Ash wins his 3rd victory, making it 5-3 to Gary. Don't forget, the player that reaches 8 victories first is the winner and Pokemon World Champion...'
The match continued for another hour and then it came to the crucial final moments of the tournament. '...Ash, coming forward with his Lapras who performs a water gun attack and...takes Sandslash down! The referee comes up to Sandslash and...HOLDS the green flag up. A spectacular performance from these two contestants...it's now 7 victories apiece and it's all down to the 15th and final battle as to who wins the 2005 Pokemon World Cup. It's now 6.35pm and the sun has set on this final day of the tournament. We're about to make history here. Who will join the hall of fame of previous Pokemon World Champions. Will it be Ash or Gary? It's all down to this final battle. Gary goes for a Kingler whilst Ash chooses Pikachu. The ref blows his whistle and Kingler does a bubble attack on Pikachu, which damages it badly. Pikachu performs agility, confusing Kingler...'
The match continued for about 20 minutes and the Pokemon were getting weaker and weaker. 'Hold on in there Pikachu' said Ash, who was feeling the pressure, as was his rival Gary 'Not long to go, Kingler' 'Both contestants feeling the nerves and I'm not surprised...this is the final match of the final of the Pokemon World Cup after all. Kingler, with his claw attack, grips onto Pikachu with immense force, piling on the pressure. Will Pikachu be able to hold on!'
Both players were visibly shaking, trying to get a hold of themselves. It was all simply down to who would fall first. 'I have to say though, whoever wins this match, both players should be very proud of themselves. They have produced a final like no other.' Then all of a sudden, a thought struck Ash. Water conducts electricity. All he had to do was wait for a water attack from Kingler and then he could strike.
'Kingler, bubble attack!' said Gary. 'Now Pikachu, for the tournament, THUNDERSHOCK!' said Ash. 'WOW! The whole stadium lights up and...we wait for the smoke to clear. The ref is ready with flag in hand. The smoke clears and...' The crowd suddenly erupted with a loud cheer. 'THERE IT IS! THE GREEN FLAG! ASH KETCHUM HAS WON THE POKEMON WORLD CUP!' Ash just stood there for a second, wondering what had just happened. Then it sank in...he won the match. The scoreboard lit up and that confirmed everything. Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town was the winner of the Pokemon World Cup, the biggest prize in Pokemon. Misty and Brock ran down the aisle onto the field and hugged him. Finally Ash suddenly erupted... 'YYYYYEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!'
Then Gary walked up to him. 'For the first time I can say I was beaten fair and square' he said, 'Congratulations Ash. You should be proud of yourself!' Meanwhile in the pub in Pallet, everyone was cheering and clapping.
'Well, five weeks on from the start, we now have a champion. Join us in a few minutes for the closing ceremony and trophy presentation!'
So there you have it. Coming up next...Let the celebrations begin!