Ray and Delia took a private elevator down to the trainers' level, where both combatants readied themselves.
The two of them stood together in the elevator and through the hallway, trying to understand what just happened. So, Blue was on their side? Red was off of the island, on his way into the unknown?
Ray turned towards her.
"By the way, the way you fought was, well, awesome."
Her cheeks blushed, and a smile broke through her serious face.
"Thanks."
Suddenly, she planted a kiss on his cheek. Ray's body froze, to Delia's delight.
"For good luck, Raymond. I'll see you later. "
She dashed away, her red hair flowing behind her, and Pikachu needed to shock him out of the stupor.
"Attention, will Ray Ketchum, please report to battle station #2; otherwise, we'll call it a forfeit."
"Oh, no," Ray squeaked as he and Pikachu bolted towards the tunnel.
He ran through the tunnel into a typhoon of fanfare. He didn't even get to hear them announce his name to Ray's disappointment. He always liked hearing that.
Sabrina faced him across the stage. He knew she was a psychic type, so one of his pokemon was automatically unable to stand a chance- his Hitmonlee. He had to make a strategy fast, but he was still thinking of Delia. The kiss burned on his cheek.
He looked down at his tray of champions, trying desperately to pick one to send out.
To his surprise, though, Sabrina had sent out her pokemon already, a deep-purple moth with huge eyes and elegant wings. She had sent out her Venomoth early, or was it a nice gesture? Maybe it was a sign of mercy- like he was too weak to be treated fairly? He smirked, eager to show off his pokemon.
The three-headed mole broke through the ground after being released from its ball.
"Dugtrio versus Venomoth! Both trainers ready?"
The two of them nodded.
"LET THE BATTLE BEGIN!"
Sabrina's commands were barely audible, but Ray noticed a purple powder spray out of its mouth. Poison powder.
"Dugtrio, look out for the poison and use hidden slash!"
The mole dove underground to avoid the flurry of powder. Sabrina and her venomoth searched the ground as the moth hovered slightly above the ground.
In a flash, Dugtrio lunged forward in the spot of Venomoth's shadow. The moth pokemon dove out of the way and drained it with a weird green wave of energy. Giga Drain!
"Sand attack!"
A spray of sand hit Venomoth, hitting its unblinking eyes.
"Use psybeam!"
The moth retaliated with a shot of psychic energy that emanated from its mouth. It barely missed the three-headed mole as it dove underground.
"Another poisonpowder, Venomoth!"
It shot out another poisonpowder, shrouding the field in a cloud of poisonous gas. Even Ray couldn't see where the moth was. He wanted to use a signal trick he learned from a climber near Diglett cave.
He had faith that Dugtrio would pull through. Through the ground and his thin sneakers, he felt Dugtrio emerge and strike.
As the poison dissipated, he saw the giant moth on the ground, a battle-scarred Dugtrio next to it.
"Venomoth is down! Dugtrio wins!"
Ray pumped a fist but gently. It was still too early.
She released her next pokemon, a fuzzy purple pokemon with even bigger red eyes, a Venonat.
"Let the battle begin!"
Pretty soon afterward, with just another hidden fury, her Venonat collapsed in a heap.
This was too easy, Ray theorized. A bead of sweat hit his cheek as he cooked in the spotlights.
She's hiding something. No way it was going to be this easy.
The universe decided that he was right. Sabrina opened her next pokeball and revealed a psychic pokemon like Delia's, only bigger. Her Kadabra towered over Dugtrio. Delia held her breath, and Ray felt a twinge of fear.
"Dugtrio versus Kadabra! Begin!"
Immediately she called out: "Disable!"
A glint of light came from Kadabra's eye.
"Use Dig!"
Yet Dugtrio stood in place, unable to perform the attack! Ray swore under his breath.
"Okay, use Sand Attack!"
By the time Dugtrio sent out a blast of sand, Kadabra had sent out a psychic straight towards Dugtrio. It hit squarely in its faces and sent it sinking into the hole. It didn't even move afterward.
"Dugtrio is down! Kadabra wins!"
He couldn't let his head bow. It's too early. He didn't know who to pick to fight next.
He felt his heartbeat in the tip of his fingers as they gripped the next pokeball.
As the ball cracked open, a massive bird emerged with flapping wings and a shrill cry. Somehow, it knew where it was and what it needed to do; take down that Kadabra.
"Let the battle begin!"
"Pidgeot, sand strike!"
In a mixture of sand attack and quick attack, Pidgeot shot into Kadabra, leaving a stream of sand in its wake. Kadabra wiped the sand off of its face and shot a Psychic blast at the fast-flying bird. Pidgeot swung out of the way and, with Ray's command, powered up its wings and smacked into Kadabra, sending it flying through the air. The psi pokemon hovered to save itself from tumbling onto the ground, and its eyes glowed again.
"Quick attack, Pidgeot!"
The bird landed near Ray with a look of confusion and panic. The move must have been disabled!
Kadabra shot a psybeam straight at Pidgeot, but the bird got engulfed in a bright red ball of energy and disappeared back into its ball. Ray himself dodged the psybeam as it hit the wall behind him and launched another pokeball, unleashing his Scyther as it hissed loudly and bared its fangs.
"Quick slash, now!"
Scyther burst forward, wielding its twin blades against Kadabra. It landed another hit against Kadabra, sending it staggering back. It must have been a critical hit!
Kadabra shot a blast of energy at Scyther, sending it back slightly. Ray let himself smile as he commanded it to strike again. Then he saw Kadabra's eyes glow again.
"Leer, Scyther!"
The bug pokemon's eyes glowed as well, weakening Kadabra's defenses.
This was it, the chance to finish it. Scyther was strong. He would still have five pokemon left, while she had two more. He could do this.
At that moment he heard the booing, he listened to the people calling him a cheater, too. He was the only one who used double moves, but what was the problem with that?
Then he realized where the booing had come.
It was the other trainers; he noticed their hats. They were the ones getting into his head. Everyone else was just cheering, just like they did for Delia.
"Scyther, use Slash one more time!"
It gladly obeyed and struck at Kadabra once more, to the roar of the crowds and the stunned reactions of the announcers. The psi pokemon fell to the ground, unable to keep itself upright. Kadabra was unable to battle.
Ray breathed out loudly. Scyther ran back to his trainer, eager for an ear scratch and a breather. Before the two of them could relax a bit, a bright light emanated from the other side of the arena.
Sabrina had chosen her next champion, and it looked, well, odd. Its joints shined like rubber balls, and it's blue ears looked like clown hair. Its blank eyes stared at him above bright magenta cheeks.
"What in the world is that?!"
Ray scanned the pokemon with his Pokedex.
"Mr. Mime, the barrier pokemon," it replied. "If interrupted while it is miming, it will slap around the offender with its broad hands."
"Well, that didn't help much," Ray gulped.
