A/N: ALRIGHT FOLKS, LET'S GET COOKING. It's almost all battles for some time now, and my dumb ass decided they should all be 6v6, so they're gonna take a while, especially as I want them to be as big as possible now that everyone's at the top of their game. I'm still on track to keep up with my Friday release schedule, but bear with me for a while while I get through these very intense battles. But y'all don't really care about that, you want to see this tournament really get going. Enjoy the chapter!
Now that there were only sixteen trainers left, us remaining competitors found ourselves with a lot more time on our hands, and if anyone would suggest we use that time to relax, we each would have laughed in their faces. The buzzing excitement that had filled the Rose of the Rondelands Hotel had reached a manic level so high that it was hardly fun anymore. The first wave of battles began the next day, and though my battle was scheduled on the next, I found my heart pounding uncomfortably as I watched each other match of the top sixteen from the dugout seats of Rose Stadium.
Two battles from each bracket were decided that day. The first was Hop's battle, early in the morning. I had recognized the trainer, remembering a short battle with her early on in the season. I distinctly remember her having a Minncino but neither it nor its evolution showed up in the battle. It was a pretty vicious back and forth, all things considered, but Hop stayed cool, calm, and collected, and after his first knockout, an incredible Body Press by Dubwool against the girl's Mawile, he slowly started to pick up a lead that she just couldn't compete with. After the dust settled, he had won handily, knocking out six Pokémon compared to her three.
"I really was hopin' to pull ahead and fight you again in the tournament sometime," she said to me as we congratulated the both of them after the battle. "That Bewear of yours and I have unfinished business."
"Hey, name a time and place after the tournament and we'll go all-out," I said with a grin as Dubwool nudged against me fondly.
The other battle was a bit more stressful on my part, as not only was it Marnie's match, but whoever won this one would battle either Victor or me in the next round. Though Marnie may have stumbled a bit in the Fat Fletchling, she performed well under pressure, as always, and though her opponent came at her from all sorts of angles, she managed to win in a tough finish, six knockouts to four. As I pulled her into a tight hug after the match, she loosened up, slumping heavily into me.
"You alright?" I asked.
"Yeah," she groaned. "These battles are gonna take a lot outta you, though. Fair warnin'. Now don't worry 'bout me. I better see you in my next match, okay?"
"Deal," I laughed, but I felt my heart wrench up. Whichever Dixon she faced next was in for a really tough battle.
Since Hop and Marnie were both so exhausted after their matches, we chose to grab some takeout as a group rather than stick around for the Gym Leaders' battles that afternoon. We watched them on the screen in Marnie's hotel room. Leon easily blew past Bea, who was only able to knock out his Haxorus and Seismitoad. Charizard didn't even appear in the battle. The other battle had Piers upsetting Opal, winning six knockouts to five. Marnie screamed in excitement before turning beet red and slipping under her covers in embarrassment, nuzzling up against me, which naturally made us laugh for a good ten minutes. We chatted amicably into the night before Victor and Hop both left. I made to leave too, but Marnie held me back at the doorway. She gave me a quick kiss and I stepped out of the doorway and into the hall.
"You're gonna win," she said simply.
"I dunno," I shrugged. "Victor's gotten a lot better."
"I don't think you'd be able to live with yourself if he beat you," she replied with a smirk.
"Okay, you're right. Just don't get too mad at me when I trounce him and turn right around to trounce you too."
Marnie laughed and rolled her eyes. "Gloria, I love you, but that is not how it's going to pan out."
"You'll just have to see for yourself—wait, hold on, what did you just say?" I asked suddenly.
Marnie's eyes burst out of her skull, and she turned beet red again. "Nothing!" she cried aloud and slammed the door in my face. I took a step back, reeling. Had I heard her correctly just then? A blossoming feeling started to well up in my chest. I stood there in the hallway, blinking for a minute before the doorknob clicked and inched open again slowly. Marnie's sheepish smile slowly appeared, her eyes looking on the floor. "Sorry," she mumbled. "Rude of me to slam the door on you…"
"I, er, I can't say I was focused on that bit," I said breathily.
"It's not like you or I said anything else just then," she said, laughing nervously, still not making eye contact.
"No, I don't think that actually happened," I argued with a nervous laugh of my own, feeling that blossoming feeling start to grow more. Marnie took a moment before opening the door fully again, composing herself and looking at me. Her face was again emotionless, but her eyes were laser focused on mine, and she didn't say anything else. I giggled, unable to stop myself. "I think you said something after I said I'd trounce you? I might, I might be mishearing, but my ears are pretty good…"
"Okay, yeah. Fine," Marnie said, her voice hardening a bit. "Kinda slipped out there, didn't mean it to, but yeah. I said it. It's out there. And there's nothin' I can—"
I didn't let her finish, electing instead to grab her by the arm and pull her into me, wrapping my own arms tight around her and kissing her deeply. She fell into me, relieved, and when I finally pulled away, she smiled. "Does that mean you…"
I blushed and giggled again. "I dunno. Never really, er, thought about it so much. Don't look into it."
"Oh, right," she said quickly. "You don't have to, er, say it back, it's dumb, I know, I wasn't plannin' on tellin' you for—"
"I love you, too," I said, kissing her again. Her heart was pounding against my own, the two beating chaotically, out of sync for the moment but as we pulled away, I could feel them slowing down to the same even tempo. I looked at her again, surprised to see a surprising amount of relief in her expression. "You felt this way since…?"
"Probably Spikemuth," Marnie said weakly.
"And you were planning on telling me…"
"Probably never."
"And aren't you glad you did, even if it did slip out?" I teased.
"Don't get snarky," she muttered. "I can take it back."
"You literally just said you couldn't—"
"Shut up, Gloria."
"I love you, Marnie."
She blushed, doing her best but utterly failing to hide a sheepish smile. "I…love you too, now get out of here before you piss me off anymore," she said, and with one last kiss, she shut her door, much more softly this time.
The entire night was a blissful blur. I must have gotten some sleep, because the fierce buzzing of my hotel alarm clock blasted me out of it. After quickly spraying some antiperspirant over my torso and pulling on my challenger outfit on over my head, I rushed out the door, just in time to see Victor heading to the elevators. I jogged over to him to say hello.
"G'morning," he said meekly. He looked nervous, sort of like he did when he, Hop, and I first picked out our Partner Pokémon months ago.
"Don't tell me you're nervous about this," I teased.
"I think Marnie texted me something about letting her be the one to knock you out of the tournament 'or else,'" he said.
"You should, she's terrifying sometimes," I sighed breathily.
"You seem to really love that," he said, rolling his eyes.
I beamed. "I do."
He blinked; a bit confused by my excitement. "Well, you're definitely the favorite in this battle but just know I'm not going to make it easy for you."
"I'll believe it when I see it," I teased, The door opened and Victor and I stepped inside to join Hop and Marnie, who were on their way downstairs themselves. I tucked myself in between the two and grabbed Marnie's hand tightly, and Marnie grinned widely.
"Somethin' up with you two?" Victor asked, his eyes narrowing.
"Wouldn't you like to know," Marnie shot back, though her usual iciness was too warm to sting.
"I imagine it's between the two of them," Hop snorted, elbowing Victor. The two of them chuckled, but Marnie and I didn't pay them any mind.
The doors let out shortly after and we found ourselves again in the lobby of the Hotel. At the far end was a large breakfast area, where the remaining challengers were gathering, grabbing food before the first set of matches for the day. They were all clumped together in groups, some surrounding other trainers, some surrounding gym leaders. The only one out was Bede, who sat in a corner, eating calmly by his lonesome. He looked over at us as we made our way in but quickly turned his shoulder away.
"What a creep," Hop said. "I hope he loses his battle today and gets out of this tournament for good." Before any of us could say anything, the rest of the trainers in the area noticed us, and quickly made their way over to wish us good luck or tell us who they were cheering for. Marnie, usually one to shy away from groups, surprisingly stood right by my side, her hand firmly grasping mine. A few trainers noticed it, and a couple of them even snickered, until Nessa walked into the room alongside…
"Sonia?" Hop asked, flabbergasted. "How the hell'd they let you in?"
"A woman has her ways," Sonia winked.
"More like the security'll do anything for an autograph," Nessa added, wrapping an arm around Sonia, who giggled.
"Things are starting to make a lot more sense now," Victor whispered to me, watching the two of them interact.
"Vic, Sonia was miles outta your league regardless of which team she was playin' for," I whispered back. He sneered and then walked off to the buffet where the breakfast was being served.
"Anyway, don't take it poorly when I say I'm probably going to be cheering for Victor," Sonia said with a smirk. "Us research buddies gotta stick together."
"I can't believe you'd let me down like this," I replied sarcastically, with a dramatic flourish to boot.
"Well, I'm cheering for whoever wins anyway, so win-win for me. Hey Nessa, you think you could get me into the lower decks with the competitors and press?"
"Are you just with me for my connections?" Nessa accused playfully. They continued flirting unambiguously, not paying attention to the rest of us at all, so Hop, Marnie, and I quickly grabbed a couple pastries to go. Our battle was first on the docket, and we were already running late.
An hour and a half later, and I found myself watching the stadium fill up with people from the edge of the competitor's tunnel. I could just barely make out the tiny figure of Victor at the far end of the pitch, across nearly two hundred yards of turf surrounded by maybe a hundred thousand seats that may not all be occupied right now, but certainly would be by the end of the tournament, if not the end of the day. Next to me were a pair of Pokémon League officials, but also Marnie and a few other trainers. I knew that Hop and Sonia had elected to stand by Victor before we took the pitch. Marnie held my hand tightly; she hadn't let it go since we left the hotel unless it was absolutely necessary. I felt a billion Butterfree in my stomach, pushing upwards into my chest, nerves turning into nausea.
"You ready?" one of the officials asked. I held up Sneasel's Pokéball, but I couldn't say a word, for fear of vomit coming out instead. The official turned to a walkie talkie in his hand and muttered some words. Marnie gave my hand a squeeze before letting go of it. She leaned over to give me a kiss on the cheek.
"Remember, I don't date losers," she said. I glanced at her just in time to see her snicker. "I'll have to make an exception though," she added quickly. "Because if Vic won't do it, I will." She gave me another kiss, this one on the lips.
"Thanks," I whispered, feeling the nerves bubbling higher. Suddenly, a string of blinding lights erupted in front of me, paired with a dull roar that seemed miles away. As if in slow motion, everyone in the room turned to look at me. I looked back at Marnie, who rolled her eyes and gave me a shove forward.
"Get out there and kick his arse," she said with a grunt.
I stumbled at first, working my way into a slow, then a steady jog. The movement finally began to clear my head and my stomach, and the pressure building in my head slowly began to decrease once I was out on the stadium proper. I was still shaking with anticipation, but I was feeling it becoming ever so much more manageable, like dunking my head into the ocean and feeling the sting of the cold water lose its sharpness over time.
The stadium was about two-thirds full, but it already had more people than any of my matches thus far combined. People and Pokémon alike packed the lower levels of the stands. I could see big posterboards waving, with messages in letters too small and far away to read. For a moment, I wondered whether they were cheering for me or Victor. To the right of me, and all the way up at the top of the stadium, was a massive screen flipping between shots taken from Rotom-cams whizzing around the whole stadium. There was even a flash of Mum, smiling and waving. She was sitting next to Hop's Mum, and the two of them were screaming along with the rest of the crowd.
As I finally stepped onto the pitch, the screen changed to a split-screen of Victor and me, and two long graphics appeared at the top and bottom of the screen. The graphics contained the picture on our Trainer ID and six circles, which would be filled in once members of our team appeared in the battle.
The pitch itself was similar to Kabu's gym; made of a springy, likely flame-resistant turf, cut low enough to the ground that I could see through it and into the mixture of rubber and dirt that it was sitting on. It was completely empty, no terrain or objects. I knew from years of watching league matches that many trainers would create their own terrain in-battle, but Victor and I certainly wouldn't get any head starts if that was our plan.
"Well, here we are," Victor said as we met up in the center of the pitch, next to the referee.
"Here we are," I said, extending my hand. "Don't get too mad when I wipe the floor with you."
"We'll see about that," he replied with a smirk as he shook my hand. The referee nodded at the two of us and without another word, we each split off for our starting position. Victor took to the North, I took to the south, and the ref took to the sky, floating on an Aegislash not too dissimilar to Leon's, which zipped around the pitch with surprising speed. As we made our way to the ends of the pitch, the crowd's cries reached their zenith, but despite their frenzy, they sounded like they were a mile away, and upon turning around and facing Victor again, I had almost completely tuned them out.
"Challenger Gloria! Are you ready?" The referee yelled, his voice booming over the speaker system. I held my Pokéball in the air. The crowd, impossibly, grew louder.
"Challenger Victor! Are you ready?" Victor did the same. His face was so far away, but I could see a stern, focused look upon his face. I might have been the favorite in this matchup, but he wasn't going to give me an easy win, I could already tell. Dynamax mists began to swirl around the edge of the pitch, and I felt the telltale jolt of my armband telling me I had that up my sleeve for this battle.
"Begin!"
Victor and I hurled our Pokéballs up to the sky, and as they arced in the air, complete silence fell over the entire stadium. As if in slow-motion, I racked my brain, thinking of what Victor's plan was, and whether I made the right choice in which Pokémon I sent out first.
There were two flashes of light as the Pokéballs opened, and Sneasel appeared opposite Victor's Slowking. Its pinkish-purple body loomed, dwarfing Sneasel easily, but I grinned just the same.
"Sneasel! Ice Shard and hook to the right!" I cried. "Wear it down until you can find an opening!" Sneasel instantly sped off to her right, sending sharp spears of ice at Slowking at breathtaking speed. They each crashed into Slowking as she sped around him.
"Flamethrower! Circle left!" Victor called quickly. With surprising speed, Slowking turned around, breathing a jet of fire that quickly encircled it, lashing out to not only melt the ice before it could reach it but also licking Sneasel with the flames. She screeched and reeled back, and I took a step back and growled. I didn't know this thing could learn fire-type moves!
Victor grinned at me. "Flamethrower again!" he cried.
"Change of tactics – Icicle Crash!" I cried out. Sneasel skidded to a halt and then shot straight at Slowking. Misjudging her direction, Slowking blasted a fireball wide and to Sneasel's right, and before it could course correct, Sneasel leaped into the air, directly over Slowking's hazy purple crown. She raised her right claw and three spikes, much larger than the ones she would summon for an Ice Shard, materialized out of nothing, and with a furious swipe down, she sent them crashing into Slowking's head. Sneasel then perched gingerly on Slowking's shoulder and kicked off, sending Slowking tumbling and sending her easily out of harm's reach again.
"While it's still down!" I roared. "Shadow Claw!"
"Get up, send a sludge bomb up!" Victor cried. Sneasel burst towards Slowking again, baring her sharp claws. As she did, Slowking twisted around, ignoring her entirely, and just as she was about to attack, let out a terrible belch. A poisonous orb of goop shot straight up into the sky, not anywhere near Sneasel. I blinked, wondering what was on Victor's mind. But then it came to me as the orb arced up and became to come back down.
"Sneasel! Lay off!" I cried, but it was far too late. Sneasel reached Slowking and slashed out, her claws taking on a ghostly energy. Slowking grunted wildly as the attack connected and was immediately knocked out. Sneasel never got a chance to celebrate though, as the goop splattered all over the both of them, causing her to stumble backwards, slashing at her face to rub the poisonous goop out of her fur and eyes.
"Slowking is unable to battle!" the referee shouted. The audience lit up with excitement, but I didn't feel like joining in. Sneasel was shaking her head as she limbered over to me, and I could see that there was a particularly shaky way that she was stepping that told me it was worse than I thought. Sneasel may have been able to take out Slowking, but my carelessness had gotten her poisoned. Sneasel looked at me confidently. She'd be able to go a few more rounds, but the longer I had her battling, the weaker she'd become. At best, she was a liability in this battle; I'd have to find a way to use her sparingly.
"Go! Arcanine!" Victor cried.
"Shit," I muttered under my breath. I knew Arcanine was coming eventually, but I had been hoping to build up a larger lead before he did. I had a couple Pokémon who I knew could handle the firepower, but Sneasel definitely wasn't one of them, even if she were operating at full health. I grabbed Flygon's Pokéball.
"Sneasel, return!" I called, returning her to her Pokéball and releasing Flygon. But before Flygon had even begun to materialize on the battlefield, Victor was on the attack.
"Outrage!" Victor cried, and Arcanine sprang into action, its fur glowing violet with the same energy I knew to be Dragon energy. Just as Flygon had appeared, Arcanine rushed into him, knocking him into the air before he could catch his bearings with a powerful check.
"Flygon!" I called out. Flygon was rattled, but quickly came to, flapping into the air and looking at me for direction. "Earthquake!"
Flygon landed twenty feet away from Arcanine, who was still running wildly in any direction he could consider. The second Flygon's claws touched down, it snapped its head to attention and charged. Flygon faced him bravely and roared, causing the ground all around the two Pokémon to shake. The shaking grew in intensity as Arcanine charged, so much so that I could feel it all the way from my end of the pitch. Arcanine stumbled for a quick moment, but would not stop, barreling into Flygon again, even harder than the first time. Flygon slumped to the ground and slowly picked himself up. Arcanine was not supercharged with Dragon energy, and quickly zeroed in on Flygon again, this time going in for the final blow.
"Earthquake!" I cried again, but it was to no avail. Arcanine crashed into Flygon, and as he did, the dragon energy finally dispersed all around him. The giant dog was shaky as well, and now that the dragon aura had left it, I could see that at least Flygon had managed to weaken it greatly. Unfortunately, it was not enough, and after three immensely powerful attacks that hit for super-effective damage, Flygon lay on the ground next to Arcanine, not able to get up.
"Flygon is unable to battle!" The referee said, and any vocal response I could have made was drowned out by a collective gasp from the entire stadium. Flygon may not have been the Pokémon most people knew me for, but to see him knocked out so quickly was a shock to everyone. Even Victor, who by all other accounts was looking quite pleased with himself, was not hiding his surprise.
Arcanine merely looked over at me hazily. The attack was well-known among trainers to be one of the strongest moves a Pokémon could learn, and even the finest-trained Pokémon would not be able to handle the fatigue of using it often. As Arcanine tried to make heads and tails of its surroundings, I had a brilliant, if not dangerous idea.
"Way to go, Flygon," I whispered, returning him to his ball. "I made a rough call, but you did your best. We've got enough to take him down now, thanks to you. Alright, eye for an eye then, let's finish this, Sneasel! Shadow Claw!"
I hurled Sneasel's Pokéball back out, and Sneasel hit the ground running. Even through her poisoned state, I could tell that she was on a mission.
"Extreme Speed!" Victor cried, and Arcanine snapped immediately to attention and charged at Sneasel, crashing into her again before she could lift a claw. The power, shock, and poison clearly became too much for her, and she crumpled. Arcanine slowed to a halt twenty feet from me and shook its head. I watched the clarity slip back into its eyes and it let out a jovial bark, taunting me for my arrogance, then trotted back to Victor's side of the pitch.
"Sneasel is unable to battle!" the ref shouted, and I quickly returned Sneasel again. I was now down two to one, and one of those two, Flygon, had been my best answer to Arcanine by a long shot. Of course, Victor would have prepared for that. Stupid, I told myself.
"Don't worry, Sneasel, I'll make it up to you soon enough," I whispered to her as I returned her to her ball. I grabbed at my third Pokéball, frowning at my brother. "Alright, try to pull that one on me again, I dare you!" I yelled at him, throwing Boltund's ball out.
Victor wasted no time accepting the challenge. "Flare Blitz!" he called out.
"Wild Charge!" I cried.
The two dogs howled and rushed at each other, giving it their all. As she ran, Boltund began to emit showers of yellow sparks, flying off her wildly. Arcanine, meanwhile, was doing the same but with sparks of red, eventually igniting its entire body into a massive fireball. They ran at each other and collided in a blast of fire and electricity, kicking up a huge cloud of smoke, silencing the crowd. As the smoke slowly started to clear, I felt my heart stop, as well as the hearts of the rest of the stadium. Eventually, the clouds were thin enough to make out two bodies, one of them standing over the other. The standing dog howled valiantly, a howl I knew to be—
"Arcanine is unable to battle!" the ref roared as Boltund raced around the pitch excitedly. She looked fresh-faced, as if Arcanine hadn't even been able to hit her. She zipped past me with another bark and skidded to a halt a quarter of the way towards Victor, standing ready for whatever Pokémon he would call out next.
I also stood at the ready, with my hand hovering over Bewear's Pokéball. It was a bold move bringing Boltund out so early; I was depending on her for whenever Victor would send out Butterfree or Intelleon. I knew Victor wouldn't be foolish enough to send out either with Boltund ready to strike, so I knew I had to find a good opening to switch her out, so she'd be ready for his aces.
"Shiftry! Let's go!" Victor cried. I let my hand stay near Bewear's Pokéball, but I decided to leave Boltund in for a bit longer. That Shiftry was fast, and I knew a good way to slow it down.
"Nuzzle!" I cried.
"Fake out!" Victor countered, and I watched, frustrated, as Shiftry easily juked to the side, throwing Boltund off-guard, and then smacking her in the jaw before bounding away before Boltund could even make her attack.
"Not gonna work twice!" I taunted. "Nuzzle again!"
"Sucker Punch!" Victor replied. I growled again as Shiftry slipped a powerful hit in before Boltund could get her hit in, but fortunately this time her concentration did break. I watched as a jolt of electricity transfer from Boltund to Shiftry. Shiftry seized up in paralysis and I pumped my fist in celebration.
"Sucker Punch again!" Victor cried, but I raised Boltund's Pokéball up and returned her. With nothing to punch, Shiftry just stood, a bit confused.
"Rest up, girl," I told Boltund as she was returned. "I know I'm going to need you in a bit." And then I finally grabbed Bewear's Pokéball and tossed it out.
Victor's face whitened – he knew the type matchup was bad for him. Bewear could take anything Shiftry could throw at him, and he could also hit hard enough that anyone he could sneakily send out would take a serious amount of damage. I glanced down and saw his hand twitch next to one of his Pokéballs. Victor was known for surprising tactics, but maybe I could surprise him this time.
"Let's go Bewear!" I shouted, and Victor's arm moved. I had only a quarter of a second to guess who he had to handle Bewear's hardest hits, but I knew one thing for sure: Victor's plan for dealing with heavy hitters was the same thing every single time. Admittedly, I only had taught Bewear this move as a backup for dealing with his Intelleon, but I think it would do just fine here. "Thunder Punch!" I roared.
Bewear rushed to where Shiftry was disappearing from the field in a red flash and raised his fist, now crackling with lightning energy, bringing it down with as much force as he could muster on the newly forming shape that took its place. "No!" Victor cried, as he realized what was going on far too late, and after an intense crackle of thunder, Bewear stood over Butterfree, who was immediately knocked out.
"Butterfree is unable to battle!" the ref cried, and the crowd roared. I jumped in my position, screaming praise at Bewear, who turned around slowly and smiled at me.
"Alright, I'll give you this, that was a good read," Victor said. There was disappointment in his voice, but I could tell it was aimed more at himself than it was to me. "But you want to duke it out? Fine with me! Let's go, Urshifu!"
Immediately, I tensed up. Butterfree would have been an easy knockout, but Urshifu certainly wouldn't be. Urshifu materialized in front of Bewear and immediately took his battle stance, his two feet firmly on the ground and arms up, ready to strike. Bewear spread his legs out as well, perking his ears up and waiting for my command.
"Close Combat!" Victor roared.
"Stay centered!" I replied, as Urshifu leaped towards Bewear. "Counter!"
Urshifu was so fast, sending strikes from every angle. For each blow Bewear could deflect, there was one that would hit him head on, and it was clear that this single round of blows had done some serious damage to him. But fortunately, it wasn't enough to completely knock him out, and when Urshifu finally took a step back to regroup, Bewear seized his chance and threw his massive paw directly into Urshifu's chest in a single, powerful blow that seemed to hit just as hard, if not harder than all of Urshifu's hits combined. Urshifu skidded back, teetered a bit, but stood steadfast. Bewear was breathing heavily but was nowhere near done yet. And fortunately, I knew just the move that could keep him going.
"Bewear, Drain Punch!" I cried.
"Sucker Punch, then Close Combat again!"
Bewear leapt towards Urshifu, fist glowing with an orange aura, but before he could, Urshifu managed to land a solid uppercut on him. But Bewear soldiered through and still connected on this hit as well, and when he pulled his paw back, I saw that same Orange Aura pulling Urshifu's own vitality from its stomach. It was almost enough to knock out the Pokémon, but Urshifu, in one last desperate attempt, threw himself at Bewear with everything he had.
"Flail!" I cried, and instead of making the effort to block any blows, Bewear instead threw his arms out in every direction he could. For just a second, he looked almost like a Stufful again, wildly swinging and hoping for a solid hit, and after a few misses, he managed to swing directly into Urshifu's head, and with a thud that I could feel in my bones, knocked Urshifu clean off its feet and onto the ground. Urshifu tensed up, trying to scramble up, but Bewear's other arm swung down, and with another thud, Urshifu crumpled again. It was a bit gruesome, but when Bewear pulled himself back up, panting heavily but still very much able to go another swing, the entire stadium, myself included, erupted in cheers so loud they drowned out the official call by the ref. Suddenly, Victor's early lead had completely reversed.
Victor, now down to two Pokémon, grabbed at a Pokéball, as if unsure he truly wanted to go for it, then nodded, throwing it out anyway. Out popped Shiftry again, a pained face on its wooden features but otherwise still full of fight. It held itself at the ready, waiting for Bewear to Strike.
Knowing that Shiftry had plenty of tricks up its sleeve, I knew it would be foolish to get in too close without taking precaution. So as Victor roared for an Air slash, I quickly recalled Bewear as well, swapping him for Rapidash, who, outside of her mane looking a little frazzled after the attack, was easily ready to go toe-to-toe.
"Dazzling Gleam into a Megahorn!" I called out.
"Sucker Punch!" Victor wailed, but the burst of light paired with Shiftry's own paralysis left it stunned, wide open for back-to-back powerful attacks. Rapidash let out a powerful, illuminating light and then charged headfirst into it, and just as the light dulled, I saw her collide headfirst into Shiftry, sending him flying back towards Victor. It bounced once as it hit the turf again, and then skidded to a halt at his feet.
"Shiftry is unable to battle!" the referee yelled. The audience roared, but quickly fell to a hush. I looked over at Victor, who already had his Pokéball at the ready, letting himself be engulfed in swirling clouds of Dynamax Energy. I gulped. He may have been down to his last Pokémon, but I knew that Intelleon of all Pokémon would not go down easily. Fortunately, I told myself, I had already gotten rid of his Gigantamax option before it even had the chance. For a moment, I held Rapidash's ball up as well, but then thought better of it. It wouldn't be the first time Rapidash had taken on a Dynamaxed Pokémon without Dynamaxing herself, and I'd rather save that extra firepower for Boltund, who could make much better use of it if I needed it to.
"Get ready for this!" Victor cried, tossing the ball up into the air.
"Dazzling Gleam!" I cried, but as Intelleon grew into the sky, the light of the attack seemed off. Inteleon didn't seem to grow at all, only his tail did, and he then scurried up his own tail somehow, straight up into the air, where he perched high above any point where Rapidash could do any long-lasting damage. He then peered over, holding a long ray of water in his hands like a harpoon, waiting for his chance to strike.
"You…I cannot believe you…" I sputtered.
"G-Max Hydrosnipe!" Victor roared.
"You gotta get him out of his tower!" I cried to Rapidash. "Use Stomp at the base of it!" Rapidash rushed forward, only to be immediately pounded with a deluge of water from Inteleon's attack. She broke through, miraculously, but even after a sturdy whack to his tail, Inteleon stayed safely out of reach.
"Hydrosnipe again!"
"Agility!" I cried. "Get out of the way!" But it was too late. Rapidash just made to run away only to be hit dead on by another powerful blast of water, sending her neighing and sputtering all the way back to me. I had a feeling that she wouldn't be able to battle much longer, if at all, so I guess I had to go with Plan B. For Boltund.
"Rapidash, return!" I ordered, raising her Pokéball up into the air. With a weak whinny, she allowed herself to be recalled. "You did your best," I told her as I clipped the ball back onto my belt. I then grabbed at Boltund's ball and immediately pressed it against my wrist.
The Dynamax energy overflowed, and I could feel Boltund's energy fuse with it, crackling and sparkling like wildfire. I heaved it outwards with only one order. "Bring the thunder!"
Boltund burst into the stadium at full size and howled. As she did, black clouds formed above the two, sparking with lightning. Inteleon brought his hands over, forming another powerful jet of water and shooting it straight at her, but Boltund's size was enough to keep her moving forward, and with another bark, the clouds erupted, sending an immense bolt of lightning into her and lighting her up in a pale yellow as she charged into Inteleon. The second she made contact, there was a terrible burst of thunder and Inteleon began to shrink back down to his original size. When it all cleared, I saw that despite everything, he was still standing, now surrounded by a wave of electrified turf. He looked back to Victor, who nodded, defeated. Victor raised a Pokéball and returned Inteleon. He knew that even if Inteleon could beat Boltund, he'd still have to contend with Bewear, Rapidash, and Cinderace, the last of which hadn't even had a chance to stretch his legs.
"Challenger Victor has forfeited! Challenger Gloria moves on to the final round!"
As Boltund shrunk in size, I rushed forward, running straight to my brother. He, meanwhile, slowly walked across the pitch, his head hung low but not too low. I reached my arms out to him but was immediately bowled over by Boltund.
"Ah! Ha ha, down!" I laughed, trying to push the excited dog off of me. "Yes, Boltund, I'm very proud of you too, okay, okay!"
Finally, I managed to push her off me and she went zooming around the pitch, clearly still amped up from the battle. I looked up to see Victor standing over me, his arm outstretched. I took his hand in mine and he pulled me back up to my feet.
"Bang-up job, Gloria," he said once I was back up, shaking my hand the whole while.
I pulled him right into a tight hug. "Really made me put in the work this time, when did you get so good at battling?" I asked.
Victor laughed. "Learned it from you and Hop," he replied, pulling out of the hug. "And that regimen on the Isle of Armor certainly didn't hurt."
"Maybe I should check that place out," I said. Boltund trotted over to me, and I returned her to her ball.
"You don't need it," Victor said, "but I bet Mustard would love to have a battle once all this is done and over with." We both looked out to the audience, all screaming with their approval of the battle. We waved to all of them, and Victor headed off to his entryway. I took a step after him, but he stopped me. "I think Marnie might want to congratulate you instead," he said, pointing behind me. I turned over and saw her standing in the tunnel I had walked out of. I couldn't make out any of her features but by body language alone, it looked like she was about to sprint out and grab me and drag me away with her no matter what.
"Fair point," I replied.
"See you at the hotel," Victor said. "I'm wiped. And don't feel bad if I root for Marnie. Blood's thicker than water an' all that, I guess, but she is the number one—"
"Alright, I get it, shut up," I said. I gave him a quick shove and then jogged over to Marnie.
A/N: Sorry, Victor. You may *technically* be a protagonist, but not in this fic. Try again next time. It's Gloria v. Marnie next time. And after they just had such a cute lil heart to heart, too. Ah well. "All's Fair," as they say. See you next week!
NEXT WEEK: LOVE AND HATRED
