Well, time to get back to work on this! I am kind of excited for this chapter. Because we get Poochyena vs. Mightyena! Let's see how it goes. I hope to be uploading far more frequently than the last two times. Surprisingly, being in a school environment helps me write. I guess it's because there's nothing to distract me. So hooray for that? As usual, I do not own Pokemon, yada yada yada. I'm just gonna say it here, Damien and Karek have finished lunch at this point and are back at the contest hall. Here we go.
Damien, back in his contest attire, watched as Elizabeth took down her opponent with her Gulpin. And so he was up next. Damien walked out to the battlefield, Poochyena's Pokeball in his hand.
"Alright everybody, it's time for our last battle of the semi-finals round!" Cherrienne announced. "On my left is Kevin, and on my right, Damien! You know the drill, there are five minutes on the clock, and, begin!"
"Mightyena, let's tear up the place!" Kevin shouted as he threw out his Pokeball. It opened with a flash of lightning as his Mightyena spewed forth.
"Alright Poochyena, it's your time to shine!" Damein shouted, tossing out the Pokeball that contained the aforementioned creature. He knew he had to focus more on combinations instead of just battle.
"Mightyena, use Crunch!" Kevin called.
"Jump and use Howl!" Damien called. Poochyena jumped onto her evolved form and howled loudly, the move doubling her attack but more importantly making her seem like the larger threat. "Now use Thunder Fang!" Poochyena's teeth sparked with electric power, and the previous use of Howl caused them to gleam razor sharp. Damien was happy with the resulting effect.
"Poochyena easily dodges Mightyena's crunch, and Howl combined with Thunder Fang make for a frightening combination!" Cherrienne announced. Kevin's points dropped.
"You're not the only one with a cool move!" Kevin said. "Mightyena, use Ice Fang!" Mightyena twisted around blindingly fast and struck Poochyena with the Ice-type move.
"Mightyena retaliates with a speedy Ice Fang!" Cherrienne called. Damien's points dropped slightly.
"Keep it up and launch that pup into the air!" Kevin called.
"Roll up and fall to the ground!" Damien called. Poochyena complied, Mightyena's teeth missing it by millimeters. "Now use Tackle straight up!" Poochyena launched herself right into the bottom of her evolved form's jaw, causing it to yelp.
"And Poochyena dodges Mightyena's attack to deliver a devastating tackle from below!" Cherrienne announced. Kevin's points dropped below three quarter's full.
"Mightyena, Snarl!" Kevin yelled. Mightyena dropped down right in front of Poochyena's face and snarled loudly, a burst of Dark-type energy blasting Poochyena backwards. Damien saw his points drop below Kevin's.
"Poochyena, Bite and Thunder Fang!" Damien ordered. He had an idea. Poochyena stood up from the attack, her teeth flaring with Dark-type power before they were swathed in electricity. The two attacks combined, forming pitch-black lightning.
"What the?" Kevin said before Poochyena bit down on Mightyena with intense force.
"And Poochyena bites down with a combination of Bite and Thunder Fang, the two moves becoming one!" Cherrienne said. "Kevin's going to lose a lot of points!" And indeed he did, as his points now dipped below half, almost to a quarter.
"Mightyena, Crunch and Ice Fang, back to back!" Kevin growled. Mightyena snapped it's teeth wildly, switching between the Ice and Dark-type moves incredibly quickly.
"Poochyena, dodge!" Damien called.
"Mightyena goes on the offensive, and all Poochyena can do is dodge the ferocious attack!" Cherrienne announced. Damien watched as his points drained. Mightyena kept biting and Poochyena kept doding, but Damien knew she'd tire out before too long. He had to put an end to it quickly.
"Poochyena, let's-" But Damien was interrupted when Poochyena started glowing white. Everyone stopped as Poochyena, now a white outline, grew larger. Damien knew what was happening. Poochyena was evolving. He watched as her hair and tail grew longer, her hair splitting into two strands that went all the way down her back. When the glowing stopped, a full-fledged Mightyena stood proud before her opponent. She snarled loudly, a familiar burst of Dark-type power slamming into Kevin's Mightyena. She had learned Snarl.
"Would you look at that!" Cherrienne announced. "Poochyena evolved into Mightyena right before our eyes and learned Snarl!" Kevin's points dipped a little lower, now just around equal to Damien's.
"Mightyena, let's show them what it takes to be cool!" Kevin called. "Use Ice Fang!" Kevin's Mightyena's teeth froze over as it bit at Damien's Mightyena.
"Mightyena, push it back with Snarl!" Damien called. Mightyena snarled once again, the wave of Dark-type energy strong enough to push back her opponent. "Thunder Fang!" Mightyena's teeth crackled with electricity as she bit down onto the other Mightyena. Damien saw the electricity travel all through her opponent's body, and he smiled. Mightyena had gotten off a paralysis. "Now use Tackle!" Mightyena repeatedly slammed herself into Kevin's Mightyena.
"Damien's Mightyena keeps landing blow after blow on Kevin's Mightyena!" Cherrienne announced, and Kevin's points dropped further. "If this keeps up, he'll be out of points!"
"Mightyena, use Howl!" Kevin called.
"Mightyena, you use Howl yourself!" Damien said. Both Mightyena stopped what they were doing and howled loudly.
"Time!" Cherrienne called. Everything stopped.
"And the coordinator moving on to the next round is… Damien!" Cherrienne said as the crowd roared. Damien recalled his newly evolved Mightyena. "Great job girl. You were awesome." He saw Kevin coming over to him.
"Nice work." Kevin said as he returned his own Mightyena to it's Pokeball. "Well you're moving on to the finals. Good luck. I hear the girl that made it there is pretty tough."
"Thanks." Damien said. He was surprised how welcoming all the coordinators had been so far. Not one had gotten mad when he won, like he'd thought they would. Well, there was Kinimono, but she just stared instead of getting angry. Damien still wondered about that. The two of them turned around and walked into the waiting room.
"Here we are, the final match of the Nimbasa City Pokemon Contest!" Cherrienne announced as the crowd cheered. "We've seen some spectacular matches, brilliant moves, and outstanding performances! And now, it all comes to head as we find out which of these two coordinators will be taking home the Nimbasa City Ribbon!" She held it up for everyone to see again. "Speaking of, who are the two talented coordinators who've made it this far? Let's introduce them! On my right we have Elizabeth! Having participated in three contests prior and already having one ribbon, she's quite experienced!" Elizabeth walked out onto the stage as the crowd roared their approval. "On my left is Damien! A surprise to be sure, but this contest debut has proven himself to be very skilled indeed, making it all the way to the finals!" Damien walked out to the stage on the opposite side of Elizabeth. "Which of these two will emerge victorious? Well, we'll have our answer because there are five minutes on the clock! Begin!"
"Ivysaur, it's your time to shine!" Damien said, tossing Ivysaur from his Pokeball onto the field.
"Espeon, dazzle them!" Elizabeth called as the Psychic-type appeared onto the field in a shower of light.
"Ivysaur, use Seed Bomb!" Damien called. Ivysaur shot out a number of explosive seeds from the flower on his back.
"Espeon, counter that with Swift!" Elizabeth said. Espeon jumped and waved its tail as a familiar array of stars shot into Ivysaur's Seed Bomb, exploding in a dazzling shower of sparkles. "Now, use Quick Attack!"
"Ivysaur, Take Down!" Damien ordered. The two pokemon charged towards each other, clashing in the middle of the stage.
"This battle is already off to a heated beginning as Ivysaur's Seed Bomb is countered by Espeon's Swift! Now the two clash head-to-head with Quick Attack and Take Down!" Cherrienne announced. Damien saw his points drop by a quarter and Elizabeth's by only a sliver.
"Now, Sleep Powder!" Damien called. Ivysaur released a thick green powder from his flower.
"Espeon, back off and use Confusion!" Elizabeth called. Espeon sped away with Quick attack from the powder as her eyes glowed blue with psychic power. The powder glowed as well, swirling in on itself before disappearing in an array of sparkles.
Damien clenched his teeth. Elizabeth was very skilled. "Ivysaur, Seed Bomb once more!"
"Espeon, Psybeam!" The gem on Espeon's head shone brightly as a colorful beam shot forth, demolishing Ivysaur's Seed Bomb. Damien saw his points dip to below half while Elizabeth's remained where they were.
"Alright Ivysaur, use Poison Powder all over the field!" Damien called, hoping for a similar effect as to what had occurred when he fought the waiter earlier in the day. Ivysaur delivered as a purple powder covered the whole field.
"Damien has completely hidden Ivysaur in this thick powder, and Espeon can't see a thing!" Cherrienne called as Elizabeth's points dropped to a little less than three-quarters full.
"Hmph." Elizabeth said. "If you think that can stop us, think again. "Espeon, Confusion once more!"
"Ivysaur, Seed Bomb!"
The purple powder swirled onto itself the same way as Sleep Powder earlier, shrinking in on itself to reveal Ivysaur's location, as well as where his attack was coming from. Unfortunately it was too late, as Seed Bomb slammed into Espeon while it dealt with Poison Powder.
"Elizabeth easily counters Poison Powder but falls right into Damien's trap as Espeon is damaged by Seed Bomb!" Cherrienne announced as Elizabeth's points fell slightly.
Damien hadn't intended for it to be a trap but he'd take what he got. "Ivysaur, Take Down!"
"Espeon, Confusion!" Ivysaur charged forward, but Espeon's eyes glowed once more, and Ivysaur was lifted into the air. "Send him back, and then use Psybeam!" Ivysaur slammed against the wall of the stage before Espeon's Psybeam rammed into him, dealing major damage.
"Ivysaur, get up!" Damien called, and Ivysaur got to his feet. "Now, use Seed Bomb and Poison Powder together!" Ivysaur used both those moves, Poison Powder swirling around Seed Bomb.
"Swift, then Quick Attack!" Elizabeth called. Espeon dodged the combined attack and struck with Swift, then ran inside it with Quick Attack, causing the stars to orbit around Espeon. Damien saw that his points were below a quarter, almost gone, while Elizabeth's healthily remained around half.
"Ivysaur, use Take Down!" Damien called. Ivysaur sped across the stage to meet Espeon, and the two collided once more. When the smoke cleared, three buzzers sounded as the judges tables each had a red X on them. Ivysaur had fainted.
"Ivysaur is unable to battle, and that means the winner is Elizabeth!" Cherrienne announced. Damien stood there for a moment. Then he walked over to Ivysaur.
"I'm sorry buddy." He said as Ivysaur opened his eyes. "I failed you." Damien could feel his eyes stinging. He would not cry. Not in front of everyone. Not on TV.
"Ivysaur…" Ivysaur said. He reached out a vine and wrapped it around Damien's hand. Damien smiled faintly. "Well, time to get in the ball, I guess." He returned Ivysaur to his Pokeball. He looked up and saw Elizabeth standing nearby, having returned her Espeon.
"Good job." Damien told her. "You earned it." Then he walked away into the changing room.
He didn't watch them give Elizabeth her ribbon, he got changed as soon as he could and walked out of the contest hall. Karek joined him, both of them silent as they got on the train back to Anville Town. When the train pulled into the station, Damien hurried to his house, ignoring karek who had called out to him. He opened the front door and ran right into his room where he started breathing heavily. He knew he was about to tear up. He heard one of his Pokeballs open. Ivysaur, no doubt. The feeling was confirmed when he felt Ivysaur's vine wrap around his wrist.
"I failed Ivysaur." Damien said without looking at the grass-type. "I failed. At the moment where it counted most, I failed. Just like always." Just like how he could never beat Drayden. Like how he'd been unable to help Liara when she'd dislocated her hip, like how he couldn't even help Karek get out of Anville Town. He was a failure who could never succeed when he needed to. He knew that getting upset after he'd made it so far was childish, but it just hurt so much after years of never being able to be good enough. It was the tipping point. So he finally let himself break. He cried into the night, falling asleep in his clothing. Ivysaur never said anything, but his vine never left Damien's wrist until he fell asleep. At this point, he used his vines to change Damien into a set of pajamas, being gentle so as not to wake him up from his well-deserved rest. After he'd tucked Damien in, he opened the door and snuck downstairs. He walked out the front door. He had a mission.
Well. Ivysaur is on the move. That'll be interesting to write in the next chapter. Anyways, normally here I'd give a character's team and such, as I've been doing for some time. But during this chapter we had a team change, so I wanted to demonstrate that. When a team change happens, I won't go over the entire team again. I'll just go over the changed members. So let's go over Mightyena.
Mightyena
Trainer: Damien Soulcaster
Ability: Quick Feet
Level: 18
Moves: Thunder Fang, Howl, Tackle, Snarl
When a team change happens, that's how I'll list things. I won't go over items and natures, and I'll only go over the changed Pokemon themselves, no one else. Also, once I get all the teams fully listed, I won't list them down here anymore, and will only do team changes. The teams I have left are Anna, Marcus, and Elizabeth, as everyone else has been covered so far. Those are the last three who will have lasting significance in the story, so I'll only do those three. At least, so far. When another trainer with that status appears, I'll list them too, but that shouldn't happen for a bit.
