Blunt Trauma

Rivalries don't have to be a mutual hate between two trainers. The need to become better than the other doesn't need to involve butting heads in all situations. People seek rivals to help themselves become stronger through constant competition.

At least that was what I felt during this conversation with Blue before our big match. We bumped into each other before we were called up to the stage. Near the in-stadium Pokemon Center we met up.

"It's still quite unfortunate that we have to fight in the semifinals," Blue reiterated his discontent.

"But it's not something entirely in our control but luck," Red answered.

"Yeah and speaking of luck," Blue came down from his nostalgic ride from before being a trainer. "I hear that you lucked out with Emily."

"Lucked out?" Red dumbly repeated.

Blue snickered. "Did you asked her out on a date?" he rephrased the question.

"Why do you ask?" Red asked disconcerted.

Blue sighed. "It's because I heard from the trainers that were in the lounge saw you meet up with her after the match. They overheard you asking her on a date. I'm not sure if that's true or not-"

"It's true," Red feverishly interjected. "

Blue uncomfortably shifted to the side. "I'm not one to prod into other people's relationships but I believe it would have been better to ask after the tournament, or at the very least you should had asked her far away from anyone."

Red raised an eyebrow. "I can't help but ask why?"

"Word might get out that Emily sandbagged the match to let you win and continue," Blue voiced his concerns. "If you two are together than people will start to think that she wanted to help her lover by taking the lost."

Red paused to consider the situation. "But she didn't do anything to make it seem as if she went easy on me," Red remarked, considering how difficult she made it to break past her defenses.

"That last moment in the match," Blue rejoined with a serious tone. His unwavering stare made Red realize he was serious of the potential scandal. "It's impossible to believe that such fire that can bypass the Flash Fire ability could exist for the onlookers. Foul play may be called into play."

Red uneasily shrugged. "I'll deal with the crowd if that comes to light," Red asserted. "For now, you set your mind on dealing with those miracle flames."

Blue pulled back, sticking his hands into his khaki pants. "I just wanted to give you a heads up," he genuinely said, taking a short step backwards. "And don't worry about me. I've seen those brilliant flames before and they burn even more furiously now. I needed to change my strategy to deal with that. You just worry about yourself."

"I will deal with what you throw at me," Red proudly claimed.

"Don't go easy on me as you did on your girlfriend," Blue retorted.

Red groaned. "She's not even my girlfriend. I just asked her on the date and I wasn't even going soft on her."

"Cut the chit chatter and let's get this started," Blue cut his rival. He walked off acting calm.

Red kept in the sigh. Is that really what people will start to think? I can't have a scandal this early in my career, he moaned. Peeling himself off the concrete wall, Red took the path to the arena. Red walked slower than usual to his destination. His sluggish ascension up the stairs allowed his to ponder on his ordeal. He thought critically of strategies and tactics.

Blue has the advantage due to me using the same six Pokemon throughout the tournament, Red tried to understand his weaknesses. Focusing on just training my six Pokemon has proven to help me tremendously but everyone can now plan ahead to deal with every single one. Blue must have devised a plan to counter most of them which should be something I should expect. The first match-up will be the most important to decide if I get a good or bad match-up because after that he will use Pokemon that have the advantage over the one I already sent out.

The opening appeared before him in a matter of seconds. He couldn't stop and think know. The crowd was already cheering for Blue's entrance. There were cameras positioned in the hallway to notify the announcer of the upcoming trainers. He pressed forward, devising his opening strategy for the battle.

His appearance was received with enthusiasm but it was considerably less than the reaction to Blue's. He wasn't deterred and entered the trainer's box, confident smile aimed at Blue, who smugly smiled, brushed his spiky hair and toyed with a Pokeball with his free left hand.

The screen behind Blue switched over to his profile. His picture was ripped from his trainer license, looking as cocky as ever. Six plain Pokeballs appeared next to Blue's face. Red looked past the screen to see the sun was getting ready to set.

"I'm sure as hell I'm ready to fight this kid," Blue rudely answered the referee's procedural question.

Red pulled together his retort as the ref switched over to his field, wiping of the sweat of his brow. "I'm a kid who's ready to show this boy whose boss." His cocky smile faltered when Blue hushed a laugh.

"Then begin!"

"Gabite, standby for battle!"

"This round is ours, Skarmory!"

A silver-gray avian Pokemon menacingly stood on Blue's side. Red without a doubt determined that it was a steel-type despite never seen nor heard of it. It was cladded in steel plating from head to claws and even its sharp wings were made of steel. The bird moved without difficulty with minimal metal clanking relaying to Red the metal was light weight.

Gabite's eye glinted. Whether it was from the polished metal or a mischievous glint, Red could not tell but he could see he was revved up.

-"Such shiny feathers,"- Gabite gasped elated. "I must have one bite. One bite just to feel it between my teeth."-

Skarmory folded his wingspan, sounding like a pair of knives scraping across each other. –"My metal wings are not ones that are easily damaged,"- Skarmory retorted in a pompous attitude. –"Where I was raised, the conditions were extreme. Even my nest was a prickly thorn bush that jabbed into our sides as chicks. It continuously scratched at our skins, eventually hardening our skins into this iron-like state."-

-"Metal wings,"- Gabite licked his chops, aggravating Skarmory further.

"Here's something your weak too," Blue determinedly said, rudely pointing at his rival. "Skarmory set up a layer of Spikes!"

Red elicited the events from Navel Rock in his mind. Leer used the same tactic to wear me down, Red cringed at his ignorance of such strategies. I only have two Pokemon capable of avoiding the spikes but the rest can't stop from taking the extra damage.

"Stop him from setting them up! Flamethrower, Gabite!"

-"You can't stop me!"- Skarmory scowled, jumping into the air, elegantly gliding above Gabite's side of the field. He twirled around, evading the shot, and sprinkled his foe with glowing metallic red spikes. The spikes sunk into the ground to lay in wait for their surprise attack.

"Set up a second layer," Blue called out.

"Please, Gabite hit him!"

Gabite stood in place, afraid of activating the spikes if he stepped on one, and kept a patient look for once. He let Skarmory rapidly spin around in midair to fire another set of spikes. His patience was rewarded with a clear shot as the bird was stuck in mid spin. His Flamethrower took Skarmory out of his setup and sent him spiraling out of control. He crashed close to Blue, metal scraping across the sharp rocks.

-"At least you're packing power in place of stupidity,"- Skarmory scoffed, climbing back on his two bird feet. Scorch marks littered his stretched wings.

"We're not done with exploiting your weakness, yet," Blue proclaimed.

"Is that really all you got? Just layering Spikes is your big plan to defeat me," Red retorted. "I'm hurt and disappointed in you. It's going to take more than that to beat me, Blue."

"I'm the one who should be disappointed," Blue answered with a mocking tone. "If you think that's all I have planned for you, then prepare to be blown out of this ring. Autotomize, now!"

"Burning Claw if he gets too close," Red fell back to a safe technique, observing close to see through Blue's plan.

-"I'll start with these feathers,"- Skarmory declared his move. The burned metal feathers fell from their slots, clattering on the ground. A thinner set of wings replaced the used ones, making him lighter than before the transformation.

Skarmory's change in speed and agility was displayed when Gabite finally released his third Flamethrower. He jumped to his left side, landing on his left claw on which he did a rapid spin to scatter more spikes across Red's side.

"Nothing is stopping you now from using Stealth Rocks," Blue encouraged.

Skarmory took flight, launching several Stealth Rocks that landed behind Gabite, who recently learned the purpose of the mystical rocks.

-"I won't let you hurt my friends with magic rocks!"- Gabite defended.

-"But I've already got away with it,"- Skarmory trilled, his hubris getting the better of him as got caught in a Flamethrower.

"All you got is Flamethrower?" Blue asked annoyed. "We're not afraid to use variety. Drill Peck, Skarmory!"

Skarmory felt most of his life drain from the Flamethrower, but he was determined to fight back. He sprung on Gabite, curved beak glowing white and extended. He spun his body like a drill, drilling directly into Gabite's chest. The corkscrew drove Gabite onto his back, falling into the spike trap.

"Metal Sound to disorient him long enough for you to heal back with Roost!" Blue figured.

"Don't hear the sound, go underground!" Red yelled.

Gabite dove straight down as Skarmory screeched with help of his wings grinding against each other. The horrid noise was impossible to escape. Gabite popped out of the ground faster than a Diglet could poke its head out. He bellowed incoherent yells, smacking his head in a futile attempt to rid of the ringing in his head.

Blue forced down the urge to smack his face. "You do realize that sound travels better through solid matter than matter in its gas form?" he scolded Red's ignorance.

-"It works better for me!"- Skarmory happily chirped in, falling back to his side. –"He's going to be in daze state for a longer period of time."- He used Roost with peace in mind that he was safe.

"Gabite!" he tried to call his Pokemon's attention to no avail. "If only I knew about that beforehand, then I wouldn't let you go underground."

-"Please make it stop,"- Gabite wailed, suffering from his tinnitus, stumbling about like a drunken fool. Skarmory took his sweet time in recovering with Roost.

Red smacked his mind around to think of a solution it was when it struck him. When I was younger, I got annoying ringing in my ears after a kid in my class crashed two cymbals close to my face. The ringing lasted throughout the day until his mother helped him with simple treatment!

"Gabite! Place your claws at your side of your head! Trust me. It will help you with your ringing problem," Red hollered.

-"If it helps,"- Gabite caught his trainer's words and did so by placing his claw on his two appendages. –"Now what?"-

What is he up to? Blue asked himself, feeling slightly troubled.

"Now, tap repeatedly on your side until it goes away," Red said next.

Gabite did so without questions as the ringing grew louder. The tapping reduced the maddening buzzing after each tap until it was reduced to faint ring. The tenth tap dispelled the ringing for good, making Gabite jump for joy.

"Now Earthquake!"

"Fly, Skarmory!"

Canceling his Roost was not an instant trick since doing so will have some negative repercussions, but the delay to cancel was a second too late. Gabite came back down to the ground with an Earthquake that rocked the dirt Skarmory was resting on.

"Trap with him Sand Tomb," Red defiantly commanded right after Gabite's move.

Skarmory had exceptional physical defense but he still felt the Earthquake rattle him to his core. His Roost helped him recover most of his health but it wasn't going to help him if he kept getting caught in his foe's attacks. The Sand Tomb was irritating to say the least as it kept him from flying off now.

"Finish him off with Burning Claw!"

"We won't go down like this," Blue proclaimed, not believing that Red just turned the tide against him. He was still on the offensive. "Swift!"

Gabite made a bee line to Skarmory with no Flamethrower to make his approach safer. Multiple yellow stars struck him, exploding into golden sparks. Gabite pushed through to reach the staggering Skarmory, who tried to fly away but the Sand Tomb struck him down, filling his eyes with grains of sand. Gabite pounced into the heart of the Sand Tomb, clamping his teeth into Skarmory right wing. The metallic bird violently quaked, attempting to throw off the insatiable reptile off him.

-This…is just too hard to for my teeth,- Gabite whined, a single tear falling from his left eye. He did the next best thing his teeth liked which was to let a Flamethrower passed through them. The searing hot flames soothed the ache and burned the Skarmory's wing, sending him into a wild frenzy.

-"I've done my part,"- Skarmory whimpered in pain. His body was outlined in a burning blue aura. His health was failing him and he needed to do one last ditch effort to make his mark.

"Gabite, get out of there!" Red urgently shouted, knowing the early signs of a Brave Bird.

"I understand. Give it your all!" Blue accepted the fate of this match, but not without commending his Pokemon for his hard work.

With Blue's blessing, Skamory pushed forward. He ignored the Sand Tomb, ignored the burning sensation in his wings and he ignored cries from the crowd. He tackled the receding Gabite, taking him along the ride towards the rigged field. They both crashed into the Spikes with an explosion.

The cameras zoomed into the dark cloud, capturing the two forms sprawled on the ground, broadcasting to the stage the outcome of such reckless move. Skarmory was without a doubt incapacitated for the rest of the match. Gabite rolled on his side in pain as Spikes poked him from under.

"Stand right there," Red directed Gabite to Spike-less zone of the field.

-"I want to get rid of these stupid spikes,"- Gabite grumbled, taking his spot.

"The first round goes to Red Ketchum! Trainer Blue, please return your Pokemon!" the ref announced, the microphone clipped to his collar transmitted his verdict to the speakers placed around the stadium.

Blue switched out his Skarmory in a clam manner and sent out his next Pokemon.

A new Pokemon that Red never faced appeared. Short in stature as it barely was two feet tall but was up to Gabite's height thanks to its ability to float giving Red the assumption that it was a psychic-type. The rounded, pink Pokemon share some similarities to a drinking bird. It had a relatively flat bill with big, round eyes and legs being simple ovoid growths on its sides. It looked like an amateur 3-D render made by a student barely getting into the art.

"Porygon2, set up Trick Room," Blue swiftly ordered.

Red caught a glimpse of purple light. He realized that Porygon2 was holding a lavender gem on its back, being held in place by its blue tail. It was definitely not part of the Pokemon since Gabite instantly felt the presence of the odd gem. A held item approved the Pokemon League was on Porygon2 for reasons unknown to him but he had to figure out fast.

"Dragon Rush, Gabite and try to knock away that purple stone," Red added.

-"I want it for me!"- Gabite roared, irradiating his unbroken resolve.

-"Initializing Trick !"- Porygon2 chirped in robotic androgynous voice. His round eyes repeatedly flashed blue as he booted up the program in his system.

Gabite ran to charge up his Dragon Rush. The attack fully immersed itself once Gabite reached Porygon2. He slammed into the Virtual Pokemon, sending it spiraling out of control into the ground. Gabite quickly recovered and scanned the ground for the strange gem. He was slightly annoyed to see it still being held by Porygon2. He decided to charge back in and take it by force but his body felt unbelievably sluggish.

Gabite looked around in confusion. Translucent blue rectangle walls were raised around battle field. The walls appeared for a second before becoming invisible as if they weren't even there.

"So this Trick Room really does slow Pokemon down?" Red asked intrigued by the odd dimension it created.

"Slower Pokemon are faster in this dimension and vice versa," Blue coolly explained. "It takes a while to get used the change in speed but my Porygon has no problems with it. Tri Attack."

Porygon2 acted quicker than before, almost seeming like an entirely new Pokemon. It instantly created three golf ball-sized spheres each representing a different element being; blue for ice, red for fire, and yellow for electricity. The three orbs connected with each other a pure, white beam to create a triangle. The Tri Beam was fired from Porygon2's round beak, colliding with the stupefied dragon.

-"It burns and its cold at the same time!"- Gabite bawled, his mind turning into mush under the inexplicable circumstances. The Tri Attack left a nasty burn mark in the place it struck.

Gabite has been burned so physical attacks are going to do less damage, Red vindicated his next turn.

"Dragon Pulse right back," Red instructed.

Gabite's chest stung as he chucked a straight Dragon Pulse quick enough to catch the small Porygon2. He collapsed to his knees wheezing and cowering.

-"Health is down to sixty percent!"- beeped Porygon2 like an annoying popup ad.

"Gabite is nearly done," Blue reckoned. "Use Recover. Heal back to full."

"We can't let this happen. Gabite, Dragon Rage," Red rigidly ordered.

Gabite briefly answered by collapsing onto the ground.

"Gabite is unable to battle!" declared the judge.

Red hastily returned Gabite, glimpsing at Porygon2's glowing form, and sent out his next Pokemon he had prepared for this occasion.

On Pidgeot's release, two things happened almost simultaneously. The Trick Room walls shortly reappeared as if to remind everyone it was still in play. The second thing was the Stealth Rocks jabbing into Pidgeot in the sky. Porygon2 also took a brief moment to analyze its new challenger.

-"I-knew we would be facing these Stealth Rocks soon,"- Pidgeot huffed, not letting himself fall into the pit of Spikes. –"It's a good thing we are now prepared for this."-

"I've been taken advantage off by these tactics before," Red decreed, flinging his arm to his side in defiance. "We won't dance to your melody no more!"

"Geez, being a little melodramatic," Blue teased, not in the least a bit concerned.

"Remove the entry hazards with Defog!" Red shouted next.

Blue's expression lit up. Defog is the only other move besides Rapid Spin that can successfully remove all these hazards in one single move! Blue thought alarmed. I can't let Skarmory's work go to waste.

"Don't miss this, Porygon 2! Zap Cannon!" Blue felt urgency for the first time in this battle. His dumbfounded face was something Red wished he could relish in the moment but Porygon2's actions commanded his full attention.

Porygon2 conjured up a translucent yellow orb that seemed ordinary. The orb rapidly filled up with electricity. The amount of energy the orb effortlessly contained astounded Red as he compared the potential energy greater than Pikachu's Thunder attack. It was a huge relief for Red when the attack was finally released and it was slow enough for Pidgeot to grow accustomed to the environment and effectively dodge it.

Avoiding the Zap Cannon, Pidgeot flew over his side of the field. Pidgeot's wings were outlined in light blue. The outline disappeared as Pidgeot flapped his wings to send out light blue crescents straight down. The blue outline reappeared on Pidgeot's wings and he fired another set of energy blades. The Defog pounded the ground, breaking up the dirt and blowing out the Spikes, losing their red glow, along with the Stealth Rocks out of the battlefield.

Red had the biggest grin on plastered on his face. "I'm sure hope that wasn't your only chance of winning this battle," Red sneered, relishing in the fact that he made a fool out of rival.

"I'm sure as hell not finished here!" Blue forcefully bellowed. "I was just trying to make things flow easier as to not have my Pokemon exert themselves too much before the grand finals. It just means this match will drag on longer."

-"I'm surely not going to get an explanation for this weird…atmosphere?"- Pidgeot confronted the strange dimension. The weird sensation of being sluggish was very new to him and surreal. It's like one of my dreams where I'm being chase and I try to hardest to fly away. No matter how hard I flap, I hardly move, Pidgeot grasped the similarities.

"Thunder Bolt!"

"Dart Pierce!"

-"Booting Thunder !"- Porygon2 buzzed, electrifying the easy target being Pidgeot.

Pidgeot tolerated the shock, swooping down to instantly disappear. His combo fooled Porygon2, missing the Tri Attack and struck him from behind. Porygon2 was whacked into the ground bouncing back up like a rubber bouncy ball. Pidgeot graciously landed near Red, tossing Red a rock with his talons.

-"It looked quite important,"- Pidgeot causally commented.

Red caught it with nimble reflexes. Opening his gloved hand, the purple gem glinted in his hand. It smooth exterior was flawless meaning either Pidgeot was gentle with it or it was incredibly tough to withstand Pidgeot's crushing grip. Red smirked, congratulating Pidgeot for his keen thinking.

"What's this exactly, Blue?" Red held the oval rock.

"How did you get that?" Blue puffed.

Porygon2 was shock as well, displaying emotion. –"Eviolite is gone! Defense and Special Defense lowered by fifty percent!"- shouted Porygon2 alarmed.

"Its purpose was to raise Porygon's defenses by fifty percent," Blue admitted his strategy. "Porygon has excellent defenses and tacked to it is a boost, you have monstrous defensive wall." Blue uncomfortably watched Red toy with it in his hands. "Give it to the ref since it's out of bounds. I'm not totally helpless without it."

Red shrugged, calling the referee's attention. He pitched the Eviolite at him, missing by a couple of feet to his embarrassment. The judge jogged to the item, blowing his whistle once he held it in his hand. He motioned for the trainers to continue the battle.

"Time's running out. Psyshock!"

"Air Cutter then fly in with a Steel Wing."

Air Cutter disrupted the Pyshock attempt, freeing Pidgeot. He dove down to repay Porygon2 for all that damage with a Steel Wing. The blow was received with minimal resistance now that it lost its impressive buff.

-"Health dropping below forty percent!"- Porygon2 blared. –"And Trick Room will,"- The walls shattered into blue dust, sparkling for a moment before being carried by the wind. –"Soon end,"- Porygon2 slowly finished. –"Margin of error was ninety-five percent but will be increasing it to ninety-eight for future calculations!"-

"We got this now. Brave Bird him into oblivion!" Red exclaimed.

Blue merely pondered on his next tactic. "Lock On, Porygon. We can't miss our next one."

Lights flashed in Porygon2's eyes as he pinpointed his target's pattern. The playing field appeared a grid and Pidgeot was simply a red dot in the simulation. His state didn't save him from a Brave Bird to the face. The full brunt of the attack launched Porygon2 to the edge of the field.

-"Health reserves dropping to critical levels,"- Porygon2 warned.

"Then get him with your next Zap Cannon!" Blue ordered.

Porygon2 fired his unreliable attack. Pidgeot flew towards it and evaded it at the last second only to be shocked by the sharp turn the orb did. The Zap Cannon relentlessly followed Pidgeot. He used ever maneuver in his arsenal to avoid it but the Zap Cannon kept up, keeping a steady acceleration while Pidgeot faltered. The Zap Cannon struck, letting loose a massive explosion in the sky. The blast ended with Pidgeot falling to his demise. Charred and shocked, Pidgeot crashed with no signs of getting up.

The judge made his call and Red swiftly recalled him before Porygon2 could use Recover.

Your attacks are hard hitting so I'll need to use you know, Red rationalized his decision.

"Flamethrower!"

Charizard just appeared and he jumped to his task. Porygon2 entered his state of recuperating health. The Pokemon sounded like a rogue program going haywire after Charizard scorched it with his Flamethrower. It fainted soon after its last beep.

"That was excellent, Charizard!" Red exclaimed.

-"It was literally almost nothing,"- Charizard said, puffing a ring of smoke from his nostrils.

Sending you out now means he will have to use him, Red thought out Blue's plan. I won't switch. He will just switch into his counter for Pikachu.

"You should have seen this a mile away," Blue proclaimed, throwing his Pokeball into the air.

Charizard kept his mean look as his lab partner Blastoise materialized on the field. Neither spoke nor moved in their place and kept direct eye contact.

Blastoise shifted his weight to keep his balance. –"Your spirit burns strong unlike last time we fought,"- Blastoise broke the silence.

-"I was held back by my emotions. I've overcome it so I can come back to give you the match we wished to have,"- Charizard spoke, letting the feelings of shame turn into pride.

-"The promise we made when we were just Pokemon in Professor Oak's lab,"- he reminisced.-"To one day face each other on the battlefield for high stakes."-

-"And that time has come now!"- Charizard exclaimed.

"We're fired up, now," Red excitedly proclaimed. "Hit us with your best shot!"

"Try and escape this! Surf!" Blue challenged.

Blastoise summoned a large wave of water and skillfully rode it towards Charizard. The flying Pokemon simply escaped into the skies.

He must know that Surf is easily avoidable with Charizard. He must have figured…

"Charizard, shroud yourself with Smokescreen!"

Charizard filled the ground with the suffocating black cloud, engulfing Blastoise who missed. He entered it, hiding from view from the cameras.

"Don't act so cowardly," Blue provoked. "Rapid Spin the smoke away."

"Now Charizard. Earthquake!" Red shouted, sensing Blastoise's whirling aura.

The smoke was slowly blown aside by Blastoise, revealing himself for a brief moment. Charizard attack him by dropping down with his full weight, sending the shockwaves from Earthquake directly into the steel-like shell. He ceased Blastoise's Rapid Spin in one fell swoop. Smoke twirled around them like a torrent, fueling Charizard's instincts to let loose, which he did, with a close range Flamethrower without fear of retaliation. Blastoise was face down and his cannons couldn't aim backwards.

Blue clenched his teeth once the smoke cleared. "Use Shellshock to get out of there fast. Don't go down by one simple stomp!"

-"I better not get too nauseted after this,"- Blastoise grumbled.

A cloak made out of water formed around Blastoise similar to an Aqua Jet. Charizard didn't let up and continued to sear Blastoise's back. A sudden spin threw him off his back. He continued to spin, falling back to recuperate with Blue. He was like a spinning top made entirely out of water.

"Charizard, go after them and Mega Punch!"

-"Avoiding the water won't be easy,"- Charizard muttered, flying low to the ground.

Blastoise hopped out of his Shellshock form, skillfully landing in front of his trainer, splashing water in all directions.

"You did that on purpose," Blue chided, protecting his hair from getting wet. "Well, hurry up and use Skull Bash."

Blastoise tucked on his dense head back into his shell. Still standing, he took the Mega Punch right into his gut, verbally moaning in pain. Charizard tore at Blastoise's shell in needless fury. He skipped a slash, swearing he could feel the armor harden before assaulting him anew.

-"You're calling me chicken and you decide to hide as well. Hypocrite much?"- he rebuked at his friend.

Red realized this was a set up. "Get out of there as soon as you can." he rapidly ordered.

-"It's too late!"- Blastoise clamored, popping out of his shell. He drove himself forward, head butting Charizard right into his gut with the strength that Charizard swore it belonged to a semi-truck.

Blue commended Blastoise for his patience. "How does it feel to fall for one of our traps?" he sneered. "That Rapid Spin prediction in the smoke was admittedly pretty good. You have seen it before so I should expected you use it to your advantage."

"And you did something besides catch Charizard off guard," Red remarked, feeling sorry for his Charizard clutching his tender gut. "I vaguely recall that it also raises the user's defense."

"I have no recollection of such thing," Blue shrugged, obviously lying.

"I'm sticking to my gut-"

-"Oh god!"- Charizard groaned from the ill expression.

"To believe you raised your defense. Apologies Charizard but please attack with Dragon Pulse," Red kindly asked.

-"Seeing you in this same state will make me feel better,"- Charizard said attacking.

"Hydro Pump."

The armor did little to absorb the impact of the Dragon Pulse. The cannons on Blastoise's back finally revealed themselves for the first time. Pressurized water was aimed at his fiery foe who countered with his Dragon-type attack. The blue flames did some buffering but the Hydro Pump swamped Charizard.

"Charizard!" Red exclaimed.

This is what I should have expected. Charizard barely has any moves to touch Blastoise and even less thanks to his boost in defense, Red berated himself over Charizard's limp body.

"I'm sorry Charizard. I'll switch you out for a better candidate," Red profusely apologized.

-"Don't be,"- Charizard snickered. He climbed back onto his feet. –"I don't intend to bail out on my friend from a great match. And I definitely don't intend to bail out on you Red."-

-"I wouldn't have it any other way,"- Blastoise chimed in.

-"Plus we still have that one thing to do major damage,"- Charizard coyly said, winking at his partner.

-"Those flames form hell,"- Blastoise coined his phrase for Blast Burn.

Charizard shook his head. –"Something else."-

Red collected his disoriented self. Growing conscious of the crowd around him, praying he didn't look as pathetic as he sounded in his head. "I got it Charizard. You have my word that I won't fail you."

Blue was unusually quiet and observant.

"Go for it! Solar Beam!" he bellowed.

"Solar Beam? Without a Sunny day or a Power Herb to make the process instant," Blue ridiculed Red's shortsightedness. "Go in with an Aqua Jet and Aqua Tail combo."

Charizard lifted his head high towards the sky. Energy swelled up in his throat as time passed. He spat it out the moment Blastoise was within range on his Aqua Jet. The Spitfire came in contact with Blastoise's face, setting him off course and plowing into the ground.

"It was a half-assed trap!" Blue disbelievingly shouted. He cursed himself with every swear word he could conjure up.

"Take it to the skies!" Red exclaimed.

"Hydro Pump him out of the sky!" Blue demanded.

Blastoise struggled to get back onto his feet. He raised his cannon to take aim. A Dragon Rage forced him back into his crater.

Charizard was high above his foe under the fading yet burning sun. Blastoise was on the ground, stunned. The cameras were focused on him. The stage was set. Charizard wanted to test his full power. Show it to the world.

"Blast Burn!" he called out.

Fire erupted from Charizard's body, flowing straight down like a flaming waterfall onto the helpless turtle.

Blue objectively pointed at the Blast Burn and shouted, "Hydro Cannon!"

Red's ears pricked, not able to believe what he heard. His eyes couldn't believe what they were seeing as well. Even his aura sense couldn't fathom what was going on.

Blastoise's exterior took on harsh blue glow. Water erupted from Blastoise like a geyser. The water illuminated the ground with its own flashing white light trapped in it. It collided with the lively flames with water bursting with Blastoise's aura. The mix ended as normal water and fire does, by turning into gas. The sizzling sound of the collision resonated through the stadium, filling it to the brim with fog.

That was the attack…the water version of Charizard's Blast Burn, Red figured, shaken by the thought. An aura based attack that takes on the form of water. Blastoise's sentiment could be felt in that water. Calm, determined and…joy?

The steam rolled out of the stadium at a lethargic pace but it picked up the pace once the stadium fans kicked to push it out. The film crew scrambled to capture the outcome. The screens depicted hazy figures. It was until the workers thought to clean the foggy lenses that the clear picture was revealed.

Red was in a state of shock and failed to sense the two fading auras. With his own eyes he discerned that his Charizard was in a better state than Blastoise despite having his Blaze ability active. Blastoise was lying on his shell back, exhausted. Charizard was standing close to him.

My Charizard had to use his technique repeatedly without rest, but it seems Blastoise hasn't had the same extreme training. After one Hydro Cannon and he's on the ground trying to take a nap. It seems they recently learned the technique and hoped to use it as a last ditch effort, Red scrutinized the site.

Blue continuously shouted for his Pokemon to get up. "Shellshock! Water Pulse! Rapid Spin! Hell, try a water gun! Just get out of there, Blastoise! You're in trouble!"

-"You're not going anywhere until we have a chat,"- Charizard decreed. –"And to make sure you don't go anywhere."- Charizard hopped onto his friend's underside, putting nearly two hundred pounds on him.

Blastoise followed through with one of Blue's wishes. A Water Gun squirt slight stronger than what comes from a garden hose splattered across Charizard's chest. He responded with a raw punch to the bruising face of Blastoise.

-"We also made a bet in that lab,"- Charizard brought up. –"I will like my prize now."-

Blastoise crudely coughed. –"But I'm still in the battle. I won't comply until you put me out of commission for good. I won't give up on my trainer just like you."-

Charizard admired his tenacity. He needed to comply with the agreement. –"You were an excellent opponent. One of my hardest challenges to date,"- he praised.

-"Am I supposed to be touched?"- he snorted.

-"Yes since I will end it in the same humiliating way I did when we first fought,"- Charizard deviously grinned.

-"If that's the case then I just have to say it was excellent fight,"- Blastoise lastly said.

Charizard breathed out as did Blastoise at the same time. The Blaze boosted Ember burned Blastoise's face. Charizard staggered backwards, falling off Blastoise's body onto the ground. The Bubbles that exploded in his eyes irritated it with its soap.

He triumphantly walked back to his trainer. Not looking back, he could smell the referee approach Blastoise body. As if he the disappearance of the Torrent ability wasn't enough for judge to make his call. The judgment was swiftly made and Charizard got the praised he earned from the crowd. He imagine a good portion of the crowd were pretty sour with his victory since Blue's Blastoise was a favorite of the fans.

"That conversation was quite interesting," Red greeted his pleased Charizard. "You'll have to tell afterwards what you two chatted. We are just half way through this battle."

-"I know we haven't won yet,"- Charizard said, turning around to face his next opponent.