Episode 181: Sora's PokéBrawl Challenge
A few hours had passed since Riku had added the Tyranitar of the the late Rasputin the Mad Thief with his team. Most of Riku's other Pokémon were skeptical about this latest addition; Incineroar especially. Riku had assured them that it was okay and his new Tyranitar was only with him by choice.
The group had arrived to the Pokémon Center to have their Pokémon healed up as he was suddenly mobbed by several patrons.
"There he is! It's Sora Ketchum from Pallet Town!" One girl shouted. Many of the patrons then starts to crowd him.
"Guys! Help me out!" Sora pleaded his friends.
"I don't think we can handle it, Sora," Mallow simply said as she laughed.
"Oh, after Kairi and I risked our necks to save you!" Sora snapped at the Grass Type trainer.
"Challenge me into a battle!" A male trainer called out.
"No! Battle me! I'm the strongest in my neighborhood!" Another male trainer shouted.
"As if! Outta my way!" A female trainer called out. "I should have a battle with him!" Two girls grabbed her by the arms.
"You're just saying that because you wanna date him for yourself!" The two girls accused. Kairi's cheeks puffed up with jealousy. Mallow and Lana chuckled nervously.
"Oh my, this isn't going to end very well," Lillie said.
"No it isn't," Naminé agreed.
"Azu, Azu," Azurill chirped. Luckily, Nurse Joy stepped in and clapped her hands to gain everyone's attention.
"Alright, that's enough!" Nurse Joy called out. Everyone stopped what they were doing and they give Sora enough room to breathe. "I know that you are all excited to meet him, but he simply came in here to have his Pokémon checked in! So, please, let me do my job and allow his Pokémon to be checked up or I will be forced to ask you to leave!"
None of them wanted to be told to leave, so they all leave Sora alone. He sighed with relief when Nurse Joy spoke up.
"Thanks for the assist, Nurse Joy," Sora said gratefully.
"It's not a problem. It happens here all the time. Especially with that big event coming up," Nurse Joy explained. Everyone all looked at the nurse.
"Big Event?" Sora asked blinking twice.
"It's known as the PokéBrawl Royale. It's an event that takes place right here in town that is held every year. Trainers from different parts of the world comes down to partake in it. And since you don't seem to know about it, I may assume that you hadn't been asked to partake in it."
"By who?" Sora asked.
"By me," a new voice called out. Everyone all turned to see a tall man wearing a business suite. "My name is Rufus McCreed, and I'm the owner and founder of the PokéBrawl. A pleasure to meet you at last, Sora. May I call you Sora?" He was about to say something when Rufus pats on his back pretty hard. "Great! Anyway, for the last eleven years, I have been inviting famous Pokémon trainers like yourself to partake, but this year I have been having such a hard time finding someone famous to the face of tehe tournament, so I when I heard you were heading for Blackthorn City, I figured you would be come here along the way and I thought to myself 'Hey, why not this kid?' and BOOM! Here you are!"
"That's great. Really," Sora said.
"I know, right? I figured you would say that. So, how about it, Sora? How about you be a part of the tournament. Not gonna take no for an answer. I'm sure lots of people will be coming down from miles away just to get a glimpse of you!" Rufus said.
"Well, I'd like to, but..." Sora said before Rufus cut him off.
"I knew you'd see things my way, Sora!" He said shaking his hand. "Don't you worry your spiky little head about a thing, because your registrations will be taken care of. The tournament takes place tomorrow at 9 AM, so get some sleep and don't be late. Looking forward in seeing you there." He took his leave of the Pokémon Center leaving the group quite shocked by what just happened.
"What was that about?" Kiawe asked.
"I think Sora just got an invitation to partake in a tournament," Riku said.
"So, you think you're going to enter that tournament, Sora?" Naminé asked.
"Judging by how he insisted, I guess I don't have much of a choice, but to be a part of it," Sora said. Sora's Pokédex starts buzzing. He reaches inside of it and pulls it out. He checks to see who was contacting him. "An email? Who is it from?" Sora checked it and his eyes got wide-eyed. "Oh man!"
"What is it, Sora?" Kairi asked.
"It's my mom. She wants me to call her right away," Sora said.
"I'm sure it's just to check up on you," Acerola said.
"That could be it," Sora said. He went over to the picture phone and dialed his home phone number. Delia had answered the phone with a smile on her face.
"Hello there, Sora. It's good to hear from you. Did you get my email?" Delia asked.
"Yes I did. And that's why I'm making contact with you right now," Sora replied.
"I thought you would. I just got off the phone with a man and he just told me that he had just met you in the local Pokémon Center and told me that you're taking part of the PokéBrawl. Is that true?" Delia asked getting all giddy.
"Yeah, it's true. I just find it amazing that he found out my home phone number so fast," Sora said.
"I'm so proud of your, sweetie! It's not everyday that you get to be a part of something so extraordinary as this! Also, I wanna know something. Are you eating okay? You looking thin. Is Kairi taking good care of you?" Delia asked.
"I'm eating fine. And you can ask her yourself, mom," Sora said.
"Maybe I will," Delia said. Sora winced when he blurted that part out.
"Shoot! I didn't mean right this minute!" Sora exclaimed in his thoughts. Sora spoke out oud, "Sure mom. I'll get Kairi to come right over." He turned and gestured to his girlfirend to come right over.
"Hiya Delia. It's been a while to speak with you," Kairi greeted.
"It's good to see you too, Kairi," Delia said happily.
"I'll leave you two to speak alone," Sora said. He takes his leave as his mother and his girlfriend ended up talking to one anohter. Sora could only smile to see how close they are. He could tell Kairi is like a daughter she never had and Delia is like a mother she wished she had.
Once Kairi and Delia had finished talking to each other, she joined Sora, and the Alolan nine for their dinner in the messhall. Sora wondered if he should use the Pokémon with him or should he use some others. He took out his Pokédex and tried to decide which one of his Pokémon he was going to go with. He had plenty of strong Pokémon to choose from. "Hm. Which ones should I go with? Hitmonchan and Hitmonlee would feel at home in the ring. Then again, so would my other Fighting Types. Incineroar would be a good pick, but I might end up copying Riku." Sora thought for a moment. He decided to go with his Kangaskhan, Ursaring, Kommo-o, Heracross, and Primeape in exchange for Meganium, Typhlosion, Tyranitar, and Gyarados.
"Sora, you don't mind if I make some switches on my team, do you?" Kairi asked.
"I don't mind, but why do you need to make some changes? You're not in it," Sora pointed out.
"I know. I just needed to make a few exchanges to cheer you on tomorrow," Kairi said. She accessed Sora's Pokédex and she exchanged Raichu, Abra, and Slugma for Seel, Sunflora, and Hoppip. "There, I'm done." She hands it back to Sora.
After they ate their meal, Sora had stepped out to do some training with Pikachu, Kangaskhan, Ursaring, Kommo-o, Heracross, and Primeape for the upcoming event before he went off for bed.
"Doing great, guys! You guys are going to be a shoe-in for the tournament tomorrow," Sora said.
"Pikia, Pika!" Pikachu said.
Once the training was done, Sora called back his team and went off to bed. The next morning, the group had arrived the battle dome.
"This must be place," Sora said.
"It sure is. I just can't shake this feeling that there's something familiar about it," Riku said.
"Eevee," Eevee said.
Just then a very familiar group had arrived as well. Tai, Kairi, Matt, TK, Sara, Izzy, Mimi, Joe, Davis, Jun, Cody, Yolei, and Ken had arrived to the scene.
"Ketchum!" Tai called out. Sora and his friends all turned to see Tai, Kari, and their friends had arrived.
"Tai!" Sora said.
"Kari!" Kairi said.
"It's been quite a while," Joe said.
"It really has," Illima said.
"What brings you guys here?" Kiawe asked.
"It just turns out that Tai is particpating in the PokéBrawl. How about you, Sora?" Matt asked.
"Yep. I was approached by this Rufus guy yesterday and I was asked to be a part of it," Sora said.
"No kidding? You?" Davis asked.
"It's no surprise with us. And it's no surprise to see so many people had come for Sora," Yolei said. TK turned to face Riku.
"What about you, Riku? Aren't you competing here?" TK asked.
"No. I'm just going to sit this one out. Sora really did a number on my Incineroar since the P-1 Grand Prix," Riku said.
"Too bad, because it would have been loads of fun to watch you two go at it again," Ken said.
So, Ketchum, no matter who wins, may the best trainer win," Tai said.
"You too, Tai," Sora said, shaking his hand.
Not too far, Weevil and Rex cackled wickedly having good fortune smile on them.
"This is great! I am so glad we signed up for this! It's a perfect opportunity to have some payback against Sora!" Weevil said.
"Once we give him such a thrashing, our names will go down in Pokémon history!" Rex said. Both teens chuckles wickedly knowing their chance was coming.
Hiroaki and his crew had been sent to capture the action due to the lack of Ultra Beast activity.
"Everyone all set for this?" Hiroaki asked.
"Everything's good to go, chief," Charlie said.
"Just glad we're here covering this thing," Sakurada said. "It's too bad we didn't cover much of the Indigo Plateau back then. That would have been a blast." Jeremiah was listening to his self-help CD.
"You are the greatest. You are the greatest," the voice on the recording said.
"I am the greatest. I am the greatest," Jeremiah repeated.
"Come on, team. Let's get ready to broadcast it," Hiroaki said. He and his crew had gone inside to broadcast the play-by-play. Nancy had arrived and she had changed from her casual clothes to her journalist outfit. She had been sent to cover the PokéBrawl as part of her job. Not too far, Yugi, Zeraora, Joey, Téa, Tristan, Bakura, Duke, Mai, and Serenity had come to witness the PokéBrawl as well.
Everyone entered the dome and saw what looks like a wrestling ring. Rufus had stepped up with a microphone in his hand and spoke into it.
"Competitors! Welcome! I am your generous host, Rufus McCreed! And I must say that I am thrilled that all of you have decided to come! Now the rules are simple! We will be using the wrestling ring before for our matches! You will be using one Pokémon for each battle and the match will be over when that one Pokémon is unable to battle! And we will be using a style of Pokémon battling known as a Battle Royal!" Rufus announced. Everyone all talked among themselves. "To those of you who are unfamiliar with the Battle Royal, it is a style of Pokémon battling that was introduced from the Alola region, in which four trainers will be battling each other right at the same time! Four of you will battle, but only one will be victorious and press on to the final round!" Sora remembered being told about the Battle Royal before, but this is the first time he was actually battling in one. He looked around and saw the competition he was having.
"Oh boy," Sora said in his thoughts.
"All of you are allowed to use a different Pokémon in each round! And give it everything you've got! The tournament shall take place in one hour! So, everyone take a few moments to freshen up!" Rufus announced.
Sora and Pikachu took another moment to check out the competition and he noticed Weevil and Rex were there.
"What are Weevil and Rex doing here?" Sora asked. Tai had walked up to Sora from behind.
"Hey Ketchum," Tai said. Sora turned to face him. "When we end up facing each other again, just know it won't be the same as the last time."
"I wouldn't have it any other way, Tai," Sora said. They both shook hands promising each other a good rematch. Just then, Yuuko had come up to the two boys.
"Now, this is a sight I wanna see," Yuuko said. Tai was surprised to see his mom in the battle dome.
"Mom? What are you doing here?" Tai asked surprised.
"Your father and I just happen to hear you're taking part of this, so we decided to come and root for you, son," Yuuko said. She sets her attention onto Sora. "And you must be Sora. Been waiting to meet you for a while."
"Nice to meet you, ma'am," Sora said.
"I know all about that triple battle you had with him and how you won. You're quite a trainer. We even watched you during the Indigo Plateau Pokémon League. I would love to have an autograph with you," Yuuko said. "Both me and my husband, that is."
"Where is dad anyway?" Tai asked.
"He's already with your friends," Yuuko answered.
And just then, an adult version of Tai wearing a white buttoned shirt and wearing black pants and black shoes sits with Kari and her friends. Kairi and the Alolan nine were taking their seats meeting him. Kairi had let out Steenee, Seel, Sentret, Sunflora, and Hoppip to root for Sora. Yugi and his friends had noticed the group.
"Hey guys, isn't that Kairi and Riku?" Joey called out, getting their attention.
"Yugi?" Kairi asked.
"Hi Kairi. Haven't see you since the Whirl Islands," Yugi said. "You too, Riku, Naminé."
"Good to see you again, Yugi," Riku said.
"Eevee, vee," Eevee said.
"Azu, Azurill, Azu," Azurill chirped.
"You know this group?" Izzy asked.
"Sure do," Sophocles said.
"As he already said, we met them on the Whirl Islands," Kiawe said.
The two groups had introduced themselves to each other. Tai and Kari's father introduced himself as Susumu and he told them that he and Yuuko had come to support their son. And what timing, Yuuko had taken her eat next to her husband.
"So, is Tai nervous?" Susumo asked.
"Not in the least, honey," Yuuko said. "I don't that word is even in his dictionary." Susumo laughed as he placed his arm around his wife.
"That's my boy!" Susumo said.
Everyone gets settled and the competitors then started to take their places. Sora sttod next to Tai as Weevil and Rex stood close enough to Sora, hoping to wipe him out on the first round. Showing up next to Sora ia a young man with large eyebrows that appear to be large and orange. With him are two Pokémon Sora had never seen before. One is a small, round, red Pokémon. Its short limbs have are identical as they are orange and have 3 digits. It has large eyes with small, dark pupils and a small, grinning mouth with three teeth. In between them, it has an orange mark on its face. It has big, yellow eyebrows and three yellow ovals on its stomach. The other is a red ape-like Pokémon. Its body is rounded and powerfully-built, with large tan colored fists, long forelegs, and short hind legs. It has a wide, toothy, relatively manic-looking grin etched on its face, large round eyes with black pupils, and long flaming eyebrows. Its bared teeth are sharp like fangs. Its upper body is bulkier than its lower body, and it has a stubby, pointed tail. It has three tan ovular patches on its chest, just below its grinning mouth.
"So, you're that Sora Ketchum kid I keep heaqring about, aren't you?" The young man asked.
"Yes I am. Who are you?" Sora asked.
"Just call be Blaze Man. And I'm entering these two in the PokéBrawl; Darumaka and Darmanitan!" The Blaze Man announced. Sora looked at the two Pokémon quite curiosly.
"Darumaka and Marmanitan? Never seen those before," Sora said, taking out his Pokédex to scan them.
Darumaka, the Zen Charm Pokémon
Type: Fire
When its internal fire is burning, it cannot calm down and it runs around. When the fire diminishes, it falls asleep. When it sleeps, it pulls its limbs into its body and its internal fire goes down to 1,100 F.
Darmanitan, the Blazing Pokémon
The evolved form of Darumaka
Type: Fire
Its internal fire burns at 2,500 F, making enough power that it can destroy a dump truck with one punch. When weakened in battle, it transforms into a stone statue. Then it sharpens its mind and fights on mentally. Zen Mode is both a Fire Type and a Psychic Type.
Image on his Pokédex changes to what it is suggested to be its Zen mode. It has a similar torso to its normal form, but with shortened eyebrows, retracted limbs, and is colored blue. It is also brightly colored looking at its arms and legs and near the eyes and has three brightly colored blue dots on its torso.
"Whoa," Sora said, putting his Pokédex away.
"Darumaka and Darmanitan are my two aces. Darumaka may look puny, but he kicks more asses than a Hitmonlee ever could," Blaze Man said. He laughs. "Looking forward to facing you in the ring."
After what feels like an eternity of waiting, the PokéBrawl has officially began. Rufus comes into the ring holding the microphone.
"Ladies and gentlemen! Boys and girls of all ages! Welcome to the greatest show on earth; a show so great, it'll put the circus to shame! And I would like to take this moment to point out that there are some pretty serious trainers in our ranks! Allow me to introduce you to some of the baddest trainers there is!" Rufus announced. The screen displays Blaze Man on it along with Darumaka and Darmanitan. "Coming all the way from Mistralton City in the far-off Unova region, the Blaze Man!" Blaze Man, Darumaka, and Darmanitan roars as the crowd roared along with them. Blaze Man and Darmintan pounds their chests. He raises his hands into the air. "Also, among the trainers in our ranks, from Pallet Town in the neighboring region of Kanto, the champion of the Indigo Plateau Pokémon League, the one and only Kingdom Hearts Sora Ketchum!" The crowd roars as Sora raises his hand in the air nervously.
"Kingdom Hearts? Who came up with that?" Sora asked in his thoughts.
"And now, we begin our Battle Royal tournament! And here are the first battles to be taking place!" Rufus announced. It shows Blaze Man taking on three other trainers, one being a girl and two being boys. The second round has Tai against Weevil and Rex along with a boy that appears to be slightly older than Sora. The third battle has Sora against three boys with one of them wearing a red bandana. One of the other trainers appears to be a girl in glasses with long black hair and is a boy is wearing a red baseball cap. The rest of the tournament had been decided. "Each battle will be a sudden death round! Whoever overcomes their opponents has the right to move onto the next! Now trainers, come out battling until you can't battle no more!" The crowd roars with anticipation. Hiroaki and his crew had began recording the event on live TV. Nancy had taken her place with the press. Over in Pallet Town, Delia and Kairi's grandmother had tuned in to the PokéBrawl as they are joined by Professor Oak, Danny, Cattleya, Terra, Ventus, Aqua, Lea, and Isa. In Porta Vista, Candy, Big Earl, and the rest of the staff are watching the event on TV. Big wore a T-shirt with Sora's face printed on it. "Greetings and salutations to those of you watching us on TV. My name is Rufus McCreed, delieverying the play-by-play of the event. Joining me for the coverage of the event is our special guest. It is my pleasure to present you the man who made all of this possible and had provided this to us! The Masked Royal!" The crowd goes wild as a young muscular man comes to the dome wearing a wrestling outfit; black wrestling tights with a white trim which has three Poke Ball designs on each sides and white knee-high wrestling boots. He also wore a brown elbowband on his right elbow and two matching black wristbands with a white trim on his wrists. To complete the outfit, he wears a red flame designed wrestling mask with green and light blue coloring with blue designs at the back of his mask. Riku had sighed as he knew who it was.
"When did Professor Kukui get here?" Riku asked in his thoughts.
"Pinch me guys, I must be dreaming. Am I seeing who I think I'm seeing?" Joey asked.
"I think we're all seeing it, Joey. It's the Masked Royal. The number one trainer in the Battle Royal in Alola," Sophocles said.
"So, Masked Royal, who among them has your eye?" Rufus asked.
"So many of them has so much promise. But, only one of them is going have to prove who has a little Masked Royal in their spirits!" Masked Royal announced. "But I would like to say to the crowd: Enjoy!" Masked Royal did his signature pose. The crowd roared when did the pose.
"And you heard it here, everyone! Now let the matches begin!" Rufus announced.
Blaze Man took his position as did his other three opponents. Blaze Man had begun by sending in his Darumaka for the first round. His opponents just scoffed.
"Look at that! That cute little thing actually think it stands a chance against us!" One of Blaze Man's male opponents laughed.
"This will be over before he knows what happened," the second male trainer said.
"It looks like the Blaze Man has made his choice for the first round as he is going with his Darumaka. Now what say the others?" Rufus asked. Blaze Man's opponents all took out a Pokéball each.
"Go Marowak!"
"I choose you, Hitmontop!"
"Go Quagsire!"
The Pokéballs open and let out a Hitmontop, a Quagsire, and a Marowak.
"Now that the stage is set, the battle is about to begin. We just need the bell to make it official!" Masked Royal announced. The bell rings as the battle had started.
"Marowak! Use your Bone Rush!" One of the male trainers ordered.
"Hitmontop! Use Your Triple Kick!" Another one of the male opponents ordered.
"Quagsire! Use Your Aqua Tail!" The female trainer ordered.
All three of Darumaka's opponents all come charging towards the zen charm Pokémon. Marowak comes towards it with its bone as Hitmontop spins around to deliever the kick and Quagsire comes at Darumaka with its tail emitting water. Blaze Man wasn't worried about it.
"Darumaka! Dodge them!" Blaze Man called out. Darumaka dodges the attacks liike it was no problem. Hitmontop, Quagsire, and Marowak were shocked to see how fast such a small Pokémon could move so fast.
"What an upset! Darumaka had easily dodged those attacks like it was not a problem! What could Blaze Man could have up his sleeve?!" Rufus exclaimed.
"Darumaka! Use Flare Blitz!" Blaze Man ordered. Darumaka's body becomes surrounded in light blue flames and it shoots like a missile at its opponents, slamming into them. As it fires itself at the opponent, a stream of light blue fire is left behind it. Marowak, Hitmontop, and Quagsire were all knocked out with just one hit. The bell rings to indicate Blaze Man had won.
"Unbelieveable! Darumaka had taken down all three of its opponents without a problem This had be pretty upsetting for those three to lose!" Rufus announced.
"They made the mistake of judging the book by the cover. And that had costed them greatly," Masked Royal announced.
"Wow, taken out by a single attack," Serenity said amazed.
"Propokus. That Darumaka is way stronger than it looks," Izzy said.
"I agree. He had an excellent job of training it to overcome three opponents at once," Illima said.
"I never would thought that pipsqueak could pack so much power," Mai said.
"Tai is up next," Kari said.
"And he'll be up against Weevil, Rex, and that other kid," Kiawe said.
"Round 2 has Tai up against Iron Fist Tony, the brawler of Fighting Types along with the master of insects, Weevil Underwood, and the reptilian Rex Raptor. I wonder how this will go!" Rufus announced.
"My money is going to be on Tai since he looks like he could end this quick," Masked Royal announced.
"Not if we have anything to say about it," Weevil said.
"We may be up against Sora on the first round, but we can hope that he wins the next one after I take out these chumps," Rex stated.
"Wrong, lizard lips! I'm going to mop the floor with these chumps!" Weevil said.
Tony takes out a Pokéball as did Tai, Weevil, and Rex.
"Flame! Go right in!" Tai shouted as Flame roars upon entry.
"I choose my Hitmonchan!" Tony shouted as his Hitmonchan punches the air upon entry.
"Go in for the win, Scizor!" Weevil shouted. The Pokéball opens as his Scizor glares at its opponents.
"Go right in, Croconaw!" Rex shouted. The Pokéball opens and Croconaw snaps the air.
"Tai has chosen his Charizard as Tony had sent out his Hitmonchan, Weevil had sent out Scizor and Rex had sent out Croconaw! This should be an interesting bout!" Rufus announced.
"Take them down, Tai!" Susumo called out.
"You can do it, Tai!" Yuuko added.
The bell rings as the match had begun as the Pokémon had started to move towards each other.
"Hitmonchan! Use your Bullet Punch on that Charizard!" Tony ordered.
"Scizor! You use your Metal Claw!" Weevil ordered.
"Croconaw! Move in with Ice Fang!" Rex ordered.
All of the opposing Pokémon had started to gang up on the single Charizard.
"Okay Flame! Mega Punch on all three of them!" Tai ordered. Flame lands a powerful punch on each of his opponents. Scizor skids back as Hitmonchan and Croconaw lands on the platform on their faces.
"Hitmonchan, Croconaw, and Scizor all had a pretty nasty Mega Punch in the face! That had to hurt because even I felt that from here!" Rufus announced.
"It doesn't look like the trainers are going to take those punches too lightly!" Masked Royal added.
"Croconaw! Slash at that Charizard!" Rex ordered. Croconaw charges right at Flame.
"No you don't, you newt! Scizor! Stop Croconaw with Metal Claw!" Weevil ordered. Scizor came at Croconaw with its claws and sent it right at the ropes and bounced all over the place. Croconaw kept going and headed right for Hitmonchan.
"Hitmonchan! Thunder Punch!" Tony ordered. Hitmonchan gave the crocodile Pokémon a shocking punch on the face and headed for Scizor.
"Scizor! Use your Bullet Punch!" Weevil ordered. Scizor gave Croconaw three punches and fell to the ground.
"Looks like Croconaw is a pretty popular punching bag in the ring!" Masked Royal announced.
"But, I don't think Rex is going to take that with good humor," Rufus added.
"Croconaw Hydro Pump on Scizor!" Rex ordered. Croconaw fired Hydro Pump into the pincer Pokémon.
"Metal Claw on Croconaw!" Weevil ordered. Scizor smacked Croconaw with its pincers. Croconaw and Scizor then focused on each other, forgetting about Flame and Hitmonchan.
"Those two are really going at it! I don't think they're interested in Charizard and Hitmonchan anymore!" Masked Royal announced.
"No they're not, but Hitmonchan sure hasn't lost interest! This'll be Tony's chance to move in for the victory!" Rufus announced.
"Hitmonchan! Thunder Punch!" Tony ordered. Hitmonchan's fist emits electricity again to land a punch on Flame.
"Dodge and use Slash!" Tai ordered. Flame slashes into Hitmonchan. "Now use Mega Punch!" Flame gave Hitmonchan a strong punch and sent him right at Scizor and Croconaw.
"Ouch! I felt that again! Tai's Charizard is doing a serious number on its opponents!" Rufus announced. Scizor and Croconaw had gotten back up while Hitmonchan was knocked out. "Looks like Tony and his Hitmonchan had been eliminated from the tournament!" Tony calls back his Hitmonchan.
"Rex and Weevil are still in this, but only one of them is gonna have to take out Tai if either one of them wants to stay in it!" Masked Royal announced.
"And not to mention, each other!" Rufus announced.
"Tai had taken down one and he has two to go!" Yuuko praised her son.
"Those two don't stand a chance against Tai," Hapu stated.
"What do you mean? That Croconaw is a Water Type Pokémon, so it's an easy matchup," Tristan said.
"Hapu's right. That Charizard is much stronger, even in a Type disadvantage," Kiawe said. "Neither of mine or Sora's are nothing to sneeze at."
"Tai is going to crush Weevil like the slimy bug that he is," Hapu stated.
"I hope they're ready for what's coming," Susumo said.
"Flame! Use Your Flamethrower!" Tai ordered. Flame fired Flamethrower and the attack engulfs his opponents.
"Is it hot in here or is it because of Charizard's Flamethrower?" Rufus asked.
"Tai is really heating things up! I don't think his remaining opponents are in a mood for a barbecue!" Masked Royal announced.
The flames had subsided and both Scizor and Croconaw are laying on the ground, beaten. The bell rings.
"The match is over! Tai wins the battle and he is moving on to the next round!" Rufus announced as the crowd roars. Hiroaki smiled seeing Tai win it. Nancy was pretty impressed by Tai's victory. Weevil and Rex stood there with disbelief.
"Uh, Weevil, tell me we didn't just lose," Rex said in disbelief.
"We just lost!" Weevil stated.
"And Tai wins the battle! I never had any doubts about this young trainer!" Rufus announced. Weevil and Rex staggers by Hiroaki and his camera crew.
"This is all your fault, you incompetent skink!" Weevil hissed. "If you would just lose like you're supposed to, this wouldn't have happened!"
"Me?! You were the one who was supposed to lose, you brain-dead dung beetle!" Rex snapped back.
"Don't take that tone with me, you Jurassic dork!" Weevil snapped back at Rex.
The two sore losers glare at each other with lighting bolting at each other. They push into each other as they kept walking. Nancy had noticed the two trainers. A security guard came up to the two of them.
"Hey! Don't care how bad you wanted to win, keep that sort of attitude outside!" The security guard snapped at them.
"Up next is Sora Ketchum against Lee, Sakura, and Bobby!" Rufus announced. The crowd roared as Sora had entered along with his opponents.
"Judging how everyone is going at it, Sora is the favorite in this bout!" Masked Royal announced.
Back in Porta Vista, the staff all cheer as Sora was up next.
"Sora is on!" Big Earl shouted at the top of his lungs, not caring who hears him outside.
Back in Pallet Town, Ventus was getting excited to see his cousin taking part of it.
"Now the trainers have to choose Pokémon and come out battling!" Rufus announced. Sora takes out his Safari Ball as his opponents all take out a Pokéball.
"Go! Kangaskahn!" Sora shouted. The Safari Ball opens as Kangaskahn enters the ring.
"Go! Machamp!" Lee shouted.
"I choose you, Miltank!" Sakura shouted.
"Go! Typhlosion!" Bobby shouted.
Machamp, Miltank, and Typhlosion all enters the ring. Once the Pokémon had been chosen, the bell rings to start the battle.
"Machamp! Cross Chop!" Lee ordered.
"Miltank! Use your Iron Head!" Sakura ordered.
"Typhlosion! Fire Punch!" Bobby ordered.
All three of Sora's opponents had their Pokémon come right at Kangaskhan. Thinking quick, Sora had an ace up his sleeve.
"Kangaskhan! Seismic Toss! Grab whichever one that gets the closest to you!" Sora called out. Kangaskhan stood her ground as she waited for whichever one reaches Kangaskhan first. Miltank had reached Kangaskhan first and she grabs the milk cow Pokémon and gives her a spin, and batted Machamp and Typhlosion off. Kangaskhan tosses Miltank and she hit the ropes.
"I was not expecting this! Sora's Kangaskhan is using Miltank, not only to keep Typhlosion and Machamp at bay, but also threw its opponent right at the ropes!" Rufus announced.
"When people say something about being on the ropes, I never took quite literally!" Masked Royal announced.
"Way to go, Sora!" Kairi cheered. Togepi, Hoppip, Steenee, Seel, Sentret, and Sunflora cheered along with her. "Show them that you mean business!"
"Machamp! Use Your Cross Chop again!" Lee ordered. Machamp charges towards Kangaskhan again.
"Kangaskhan! Dizzy Punch!" Sora ordered. Kangaskhan gave a punch on Machamp and the superpower Pokémon got dizzy from the punch.
"Typhlosion! Flame Charge!" Bobby ordered.
"Miltank! Use your Rollout!" Sakura ordered.
Typhlosion charges towards Kangaskhan while Miltank rolls into a ball towards her as well.
"All of Sora's opponents seemed to be only interested in taking down Sora and not care that they're battling each other!" Rufus announced.
"What's to be expected? It isn't everyday that a trainer like Sora shows up on their radar. Best bet is to take out the major threat first!" Masked Royal announced.
"Kangaskhan! Dodge them!" Sora ordered. Kangaskhan steps out of the line of fire and heads for the ropes instead. Machamp runs towards Kangaskhan to deal damage to her.
"Machamp! Use your Close Combat!" Lee ordered. Machamp was about to deal damage to Kangaskhan, but she grabs it by one of the legs.
"Kangaskhan! Seismic Toss!" Sora ordered. Kangaskhan jumps in the air and swings her body around before throwing Machamp down. Machamp gets sent flying right at Miltank, knocking them both out.
"There you have it! Sora's Kangaskhan had taken out Machamp and Miltank! Now only Bobby and his Typhlosion are left to oppose Sora and his Kangaskhan!" Rufus announced.
"Looks like Bobby is going to have to do all the heavy lifting to make up for Sakura's and Lee's folly!" Masked Royal announced.
"Fine with me! I can take him down all by myself! Typhlosion! Take down that Kangaskhan with your Break Break!" Bobby ordered. Typhlosion came at the kangaroo Pokémon hoping that it'll be enough to take down Sora.
"Kangaskhan! Comet Punch!" Sora ordered. Kangaskhan gave Typhlosion some fast punches on the volcano Pokémon. "Now wrap it up with your Mega Punch!" Kangaskhan lands a really strong punch on Typhlosion and it went flying towards Bobby's direction, earning a knocking. The bell rings, signaling that the battle is over.
"Sora wins the bout! Sora wins the bout!" Rufus announced. The crowd cheers Sora for his victory as did Kairi and her Pokémon.
"He did it! He did it! He did it!" Kairi cheered as she gave Sunflora and Sentret a hug.
"He came out to the top once again!" Duke said.
"He's even tougher than I remember," Téa added.
"No wonder he's a Pokémon League champion," Mai said.
"Sora and Tai will be in serious competition from that Blaze guy and those two Pokémon," TK said.
"TK is right. That Darumaka is pretty tough, but I think we're going to see how brutal that Darmanitan is," Matt said.
"I agree with Matt. Darumaka is strong, but Darmanitan is stronger since being its evolved form," Illima said.
The tournment raged on as the first round had concluded. Tai and Blaze Man had concluded their battle royal and it was Sora's turn once again. His next opponents are two muscular men with an Electivire and a Magmotar. His other opponent is a man that looks like he could be a pirate since he wore a giant pirate hat.
"Now that it's Sora's turn once again, this time he's up against three pros of the Battle Royal Dome! There is Mr. Electric and his partner Electivire!" Rufus announced. Electvire raises its arms in the air. "The Mad Magmar and his Magmortar!" Magmortar raises its arms the same as Electivire. "And finally Captain Ruthless and his Blastoise!" Blastoise flexes its muscles.
"A Blastoise, an Electivire, and a Magmortar. Those things are brutal," Davis said.
"And I thought that Machamp, Miltank, and Typhlosion were heavy hitters," Cody said.
"Wonder which one Sora is gonna be sending out," Bakura said. Sora made his choice as he threw his Safari Ball.
"Go for it, Kommo-o!" Sora shouted as his Kommo-o makes a rattling sound with his scales upon entry.
"Sora had sent out Kommo-o against those three brusiers! Looks like Fire, Lectric, and Water Type attacks won't do much damage to Kommo-o," Rufus announced.
"It doesn't mean they can't hurt it. Kommo-o will have to stay on its toes to win," Masked Royal announced. The bell rings to begin the battle.
"Electivire! Thunder Punch!" Mr. Electric ordered.
"Magmortar! You use FIre Punch!" Mad Magmar ordered.
"Aar! Blastoise! You use Body Press!" Captain Ruthless ordered.
Electivire came at Kommo-o with its fist emitting electricity while Magmortar's hand emits fire and then, Blastoise came at Kommo-o with its body heading towards him.
"Kommo-o! Use Clanging Scales!" Sora ordered. Komoo-o folds his arms then unfolds them as it lets out a big roar, sending blue shockwaves towards his opponents. Blastoise falls backwards as Electivire and Magmortar covers their ears.
"For a moment there, Electivire, Magmortar, and Blastoise were about to dogpile on Kommo-o, but it looks like it saved itself by using its signature attack!" Rufus announced.
"A close call for Sora's part. Those guys will have to think of something fast!" Masked Royal announced.
"That was great, Kommo-o! Move in with Dragon Claw!" Sora ordered. Kommo-o was about to swipe at his opponents when something stops Komoo-o from going further. It was an Alolan Muk and a Poliwrath.
"What is this? An interference from an outside source?!" Rufus exclaimed.
"That is grounds for disqualification!" Masked Royal announced.
"What are those guys doing?" Kairi asked. "They can't do that!"
"I thought those guys looked familiar. I never thought I would see them here," Riku said.
"Eevee," Eevee said.
"Who are they?" Serenity asked.
"Those guys are known as the Revengers," Sophocles said.
"Revengers?" Duke asked.
"They're Pokémon trainers that breaks all sorts of rules to win. Since they tried to cheat, Sora should automatically win," Kiawe said. The referee steps in and blows his whistle.
"Looks like the ref is stepping in and pulling the plug on this one!" Rufus announced.
"Due to illegal assistance on behalf of Mr. Electric, Mad Magmar, and Captain Ruthless, the battle is over and they are disqualified! Sora automatically wins!" The referee announces. The lights goes out for a brief second and comes back on. Poliwrath, Muk, and an Alolan Golem all come onto the ring.
"It doesn't look like they care about the rules too much," Rufus announced.
"I can expect no less from the Revengers. They would do anything to win; even cheat to get what they want," Masked Royal announced.
"Hey! No fair ganging up on me!" Sora barked.
"We don't care about rules, kid! We aim to win and that's what we're going to do!" Mr. Electric stated.
"So get ready to lose bigtime!" Mad Magmar added.
"Aye mateys!" Captain Ruthless. Poliwrath, Muk, and Golem moved in and grabs Kommo-o by the arms while Electivire, Magmortar and Blastoise gave the scaley Pokémon in the gut. Some of the security guards tried to put a stop to it, but they're blocked by some Megneton. Kommo-o took a few more punches before he broke free from the Pokémon holding him by the arms. Kommo-o grabs poliwrath and slams it down to the Alolan Muk, knocking them both out.
"Way to go, Kommo-o! Sky Uppercut!" Sora ordered. Kommo-o gave the Alolan Golem an uppercut and is sent flying into the air and landed next to Poliwrath and Muk. "Now use Clanging Scales!" Kommo-o folds its arms then unfolds them as it lets out a big roar, sending blue shockwaves towards Electivire, Magmortar, and Blastoise. "Now use Breaking Swipe!" Kommo-o swings his tail right at Blastoise and lands onto Electivire. "Dragon Claw!" Kommo-o swipes his claw at Magmortar, knocking it out. The Revengers were at a total loss. They all call back their fallen Pokémon back.
"We got beaten by some kid?" Mr. Electric asked.
"You haven't seen the last of us, kid!" One of the opther Revengers exclaimed.
"We'll remember this!" Mad Magmar added.
They all ran out of the ring.
"We apologize for that kind of display, ladies and gentlemen. Sora had bested the Revengers and now he is moving on in the semi-finals!" Rufus announced.
Sora, Tai, and Blaze Man had made it so far and only one of them was going to win it. Who will come out at top? More to come in the next chapter.