Our heroes have arrived in Fabber Town, sight of Orihime's next competition and where she plans to win her third star medal. With only a few days before the competition begins, they're going to get ready for the big show.
"Are you going to use Meowstic, Orihime, or are you still planning to use Roserade?" Ichigo asked.
"I'm still going to go with Roserade. I want Meowstic to get an idea of what's going to happen." Orihime said. "I still need to figure out what kind of special talent that Meowstic has." Orihime seemed sure and ready to go. As they were walking through the town, Rukia spotted the sign for a building.
"Check it out." Rukia said. "They actually have a battle club here."
"A battle club in Kalos?" Chad questioned.
"Sounds like fun. Let's check it out." Ichigo said. They all went inside to check the place out. When they went in, they saw a battle going on.
"Lycanroc, let's use Accelrock!" They all saw a Midnight Form Lycanroc attack the opponent by smashing right into a Mightyena and knocked it out.
"Mightyena is unable to battle!" The referee said.
"No way! Check out who Lycanroc's trainer is!" Rukia said. They all looked and they were a little surprised to see who it was.
"Kugo!" Ichigo said. When he heard his name, he looked and spotted the group with him being just as surprised to see them.
Pokemon
No time to question my moves
I stick to the path that I choose
Me and my friends are gonna do it right
You'll never see us runaway from a fight
To be a master is my dream
All I have to do is believe
(I believe)
I'm on a master quest
(Master quest)
I'm on my way to victory
I can be a champion if I just believe
I'm on a master quest
(Master quest)
I want the whole world to see
(I believe)
I'm gonna be the very best
Cause all I have to do is believe in me
Pokemon!
(Ichigo's voice): Clubbing the Battle
"Isn't this a surprise." Kugo said as he walked over to them.
"Hey, Kugo. It's been a while." Ichigo said.
"It really has been. What brings you guys here?" Kugo asked.
"We're in town because I'm going to compete in Pokemon Talent Star." Orihime said.
"Since it's not for a while, we thought we check this place out." Ichigo said. "We had no idea that you were here."
"I'm just getting some practice before my next gym battle." Kugo said. "It also gives me time to practice with my new Lycanroc here."
"Lycanroc."
"Since you're here, Ichigo, how about a battle?" Kugo asked. "The point of this place is to have battles with different kinds of trainers that have different kinds of pokemon."
"Sure. I'm always up for a battle." Ichigo said.
"How about we have a three round battle?" Kugo said. "The one who gets two wins out of three will be the winner."
"Sounds good to me." Ichigo said. When they agreed on what kind of battle they were going to have, the two of them took their positions to have this battle. Ichigo's friends stayed back to watch this battle unfold.
"I wonder how much stronger Kugo's gotten since we last saw him." Orihime said.
"We'll find out soon enough." Rukia said.
"Let's get this party started. Let's go, Hakamo-o!" Kugo said as he called out his first choice.
"Hak!" Seeing that pokemon was a surprise to Ichigo and the others.
"Hakamo-o?! That's got to mean his Jangmo-o evolved!" Rukia said. "Be careful, Ichigo! That's a tough pokemon! It's a fighting-type as well as a dragon-type."
"If its' a fighting-type, I know just the pokemon to use. Frillish, you're up!" Ichigo said.
"Frillish!"
"Frillish... You really think that floating water balloon can really beat my Hakamo-o." Kugo said. "This shouldn't take long. Hakamo-o, Iron Tail!" Hakamo-o coated its tail in iron as it charged at Frillish. Hakamo-o smashed its tail agianst Frillish and did a little hard damage.
"Ouch. That looked like it hurt." Orihime said.
"But steel-type moves don't do much damage against water-types." Chad said.
"I think that shows just how powerful Hakamo-o is." Rukia said.
"Frillish, Water Pulse!" Ichigo said. Frillish formed the attack and launched it at Hakamo-o.
"Now use X-Scissor!" Kugo said. Hakamo-o used its claws and slashed in an x-shape. The attack completely countered Water Pulse. "Now use Dragon Tail!" Hakamo-o went at Frillish with dragon energy surrounding its tail. It smashed its tail against Frillish and sent him flying into the wall. Frillish was taken out from that one hit.
"Frillish is unable to battle! Hakamo-o is the winner!" The referee said.
"Looks like I get the first win." Kugo said as he returned Hakamo-o to its pokeball. Frillish was sent back to its pokeball too, but Ichigo wasn't going to give up the battle just yet. "Now for our second battle. Let's go, Rhydon!"
"Rhy!"
"Check out that Rhydon!" Chad said.
"That's one large pokemon." Orihime said.
"Rhydon's a rock-type. I can't afford another loss if I want to win this." Ichigo said as he pulled out his next choice. "Okay, Scraggy! You're up!"
"Scraggy!"
"It's a fighting-type this time. Smart, but that doesn't mean you're going to win that easily." Kugo said. "Rhydon, show them what I mean by using Horn Attack!" Rhydon had energy flow into its horn and charged right at Scraggy.
"Scraggy, jump!" Ichigo said. Scraggy jumped in the air and jumped right on Rhydon. "Now use Brick Break!" Scraggy smashed its arm against Rhydon and did some damage.
"Shake it off!" Kugo said. Rhydon tried flailing itself around to try and shake Scraggy off, but Scraggy was holding on as tight as it could. Scraggy kept adjusting itself to hold on, but it grabbed Rhydon's horn. When it did, Rhydon started spinning its horn like a drill with Scraggy being flown off. "Now use Bulldoze!" Rhydon was emitted in energy and smashed itself against Scraggy.
"Scraggy, are you okay?!" Ichigo said. Scraggy was able to get back up and kept the battle going.
"Not bad, but I don't care if you have the type advantage." Kugo said. "The Elite Four and the champion wouldn't let something like stop them. I won't either."
"You really admire them, don't you. I don't blame you. Kariya and Shusuke did appear to be really strong." Ichigo said.
"Hold on! Are you saying you actually met two of the Elite Four?!" Kugoa said with astonishment.
"We sure did." Orihime said.
"They were both pretty strong." Ichigo said. "What about you, Kugo? Have you ever met any of them."
"Not personally met them, but I did see the champion." Kugo said.
"The champion?!" Ichigo said with all of them shocked to hear that Kugo might have actually seen.
"I sure did. Kisuke Urahara..." Kugo said as he remembered it all well. It was back when he was younger and was seeing a live battle with Kisuke in it. As he watched in the stands, he saw how Kisuke and his Salamence beat their opponent. IT was surely a sight to behold. "Seeing him battle is what inspired me to become a trainer. Even when it seemed like he was going to lose, he pushed through and soon became the champion. That's why I've made it my goal to push through whatever comes my way for when I battle him myself. That's why I'm not going to lose. Each victory I get brings me one step closer."
"Wow. I've got to admit that does sound good." Ichigo said.
"Back to battle. Rhydon, let's take another step with Mega Punch!" Kugo said. Rhydon had energy form around its fist and went to attack Scraggy again.
"Dodge it!" Ichigo said. Scraggy was able to jump out of the way and avoided Rhydon's attack. "Now use Focus Blast!" Scraggy focused the attack and blasted Rhydon right in the face. That blast knocked Rhydon down and knocked Rhydon out.
"Rhydon is unable to battle! Scraggy is the winner!" The referee said. Scraggy held its head up high as it was most proud of itself.
"Great work, Scraggy." Ichigo said as he brought Scraggy back.
"Come back, Rhydon." Kugo said as he brought Rhydon back in its pokeball. "That's to be expected. I know what I'm aiming for isn't easy, but I'll get there. I just have to expect a few defeats. Well, we're tied with it being one to one. This next battle will decide it."
"I'm ready, Kugo." Ichigo said. "Here's the last pokemon I'm using. Let's go, Gliscore!"
"Gliscore!"
"You got yourself a Gliscore. Pretty cool." Kugo said. "Let's see how you do against this pokemon. Let's go, Lycanroc!"
"Lycanroc!"
"It's that Lycanroc. From what I saw earlier, Lycanroc is pretty tough. We'll have to end this quickly." Ichigo said. "Gliscore, Steel Wing!" Gliscore flew at Lycanroc. Lycanroc didn't even try to block the attack and took the full force of it. Ichigo and the others thought that was rather strange.
"Use Counter!" Kugo said. Lycanroc had energy flow through it. It smashed its paw against Gliscore and sent Gliscore flying all the way to the wall and crashed into it.
"Gliscore!" Ichigo called in concern. Gliscore took some damage, but was still able to keep battling.
"What was that?!" Orihime said.
"Counter is a move that takes the damage taken by a physical attack and sends it back with twice the power." Rukia said. "Another hit like that and this battle could be over."
"Since we can't use physical attacks carelessly, we'll just have to take a different route. Gliscore, Stone Edge!" Ichigo said. Gliscore jumped off the wall and smashed its claw against the ground and caused rocks to shoot out. Lycanroc crossed its arms and was able to block the attack.
"Lycanroc, Accelrock!" Kugo said. Lycanroc surrounded itself in dazzling white energy and charged right at Gliscore.
"Dodge it, Gliscore!" Ichigo said.
"Don't let it escape! Use Crunch!" Kugo said. Gliscore jumped up and avoided Accelrock, but Lycanroc crunched down on Gliscore's tail and kept it from going anywhere while damage was being dealt.
"You can't hold Gliscore down. Use Screech!" Ichigo said. Gliscore screeched right in Lycanroc's ear and caused Lycanroc to let go.
"You're not going anywhere! Rock Throw!" Kugo said. Lycanroc generated some rocks and tossed them at Gliscore. Gliscore was taking some damage. Gliscore wasn't going to last much longer at this rate and Ichigo can see that.
"We need to end this fast. The only attack that could work will be countered by Counter." Ichigo said. "We'll have to go for broke. Gliscore, Steel Wing!"
"Here it comes! Get ready to use Counter!" Kugo said. Gliscore flew right at Lycanroc and smashed against Lycanroc. Lycanroc used counter and smashed its paws against Gliscore. The collision of power caused a small explosion to go off. Both pokemon were pushed back. They were exhausted through the whole battle that they both ended up collapsing.
"Both pokemon are unable to battle! This battle ends in a draw!" The referee said.
"It's a draw..." Rukia said.
"I guess that means they're both equally strong." Orihime said. They both brought their pokemon back to their pokeballs. With the battle over, the two of them shook hands.
"Pretty good, Ichigo. You appear even stronger than the last time I saw you." Kugo said.
"Thanks. You're a tough trainer yourself, Kugo." Ichigo said.
"Well, I'm heading out." Kugo said. "Good luck in your competition, Orihime." He said before he left the place.
"Kugo's gotten stronger." Chad said.
"He sure has. His desire to one day battle the champion is what's driving him to do that." Rukia said.
"Well, I'm doing the same. That day will come for me too. Right, Absol?" Ichigo said.
"Absol."
"Seeing that battle has me pumped too." Orihime said as she's getting a little excited. "I can't wait for the competition to begin. I can't wait to see who I might be going against."
After meeting up with one of his rivals, Ichigo and his friends are more excited about upcoming battles. Getting fired up for her upcoming competition, it's only a matter of time until Orihime sees who she is up against.
...
The Competition
People were getting ready for the upcoming competition. At the receptionist, one young trainer was making her way to the desk.
"Excuse me. I like to register." The receptionist looked to see a young girl with blonde hair held back with a black hairband wearing a flowery pink kimono. Who is this young girl?
To Be Continued...
Pokemon Question: Okay, future trainers. The answer to the last question is...Spectrier. Spectrier desires solitude and peace so much that it could actually absorb people's souls. Here's the next question. What ice-type has icy fangs that is as hard as steel?
