Jason and Kristine stood within a hallway of Richland Port's pokemon stadium. It was the day of their first-round match, and they were scheduled on the kickoff day of Power Duo 60. They were to be battling in the fifth of eight matches, running each hour on the hour all day.
They spent the previous day training with all of their pokemon, priming everyone, including Magikarp, for tag battle scenarios. They've registered all of their pokemon for the tournament and registered their pokemon for the round one match.
Jason leaned back against the wall with his arms crossed while Kristine paced back and forth.
"We got this," Kristine reassured herself. "We got this."
"We got this," Jason remained confident.
Kristine stopped and looked at Jason. "Surely you're nervous too."
"I'd be lying if I said I wasn't," Jason replied. "This is our first ever tournament match. But at least we're doing this as a team."
Kristine smiled. "Right. We totally got this!"
"Hey," Jason added and stood straight. "We play just like we practiced, and we will win."
"Gotcha," Kristine nodded.
An events coordinator soon walked into the hallway and approached Jason and Kristine. She had blonde hair tied in a ponytail. She wore all black, and she appeared to have an earpiece for communication purposes.
"They're just getting started," the woman said. "Once the PA announcer calls your names, step right out."
Both Jason and Kristine nodded at the woman.
"Good luck out there!" the woman smiled as she walked away.
A moment later, Jason heard what he thought were thousands of cheering fans in the stadium.
"That sounds like a lot of people out there," Jason spoke nervously.
"The stadium's not packed if that makes you feel any better," Kristine spoke calmly.
"Doesn't take away that there's at least a few thousand watching us, if not more," Jason continued. "And no one knows who we really are."
"Simple solution," Kristine smiled. "Pretend they don't exist."
"Pretend they don't exist," Jason muttered. "Got it."
"And now, our fifth match is underway!" the PA announcer could be clearly heard.
"That's us," Kristine said before she inhaled and exhaled deeply.
"Ben and Haley have been struggling to maintain a foothold in the Duo Circuits since they started to appear four months ago. Can they break through the first round this time and go way beyond? Your bug pokemon specialists and bug catcher partners, Ben and Haley!"
Jason and Kristine heard a round of cheers and applause from the audience.
"It sounds like they have quite a bit of support," Jason noted.
"I'm assuming everyone here does to one degree or another," Kristine added. "These are east coast natives. Some of them have been competing not just in this tournament but several others for quite some time. We, on the other hand, are a couple of no-name trainers as far as everyone is concerned."
Jason faced the entrance to the battlefield with fiery determination. "Until today."
Kristine smirked. "Until today."
"Ladies and Gentlemen, turn your attention to the other side," the PA announcer continued. "Straight from the mountain regions of Inventum are a pair of twins who got into the Power Duo by a stroke of luck! Do they have what it takes to compete far away from home? Newcomers to the tournament, Jason and Kristine Kyar!"
"Let's do it!" Kristine spoke. She and Jason each took a deep breath before proceeding into the battlefield.
They quickly found themselves surrounded by thousands of spectators occupying the lower bowl. Some of them whistled and clapped, while others booed.
"Any trainer deserves a fair shot!" yelled one spectator within earshot of the twins. "Let's see if you can do it!"
"Go back to the mountains!" yelled a more close-minded fan. "The coast is for real trainers!"
"What the heck does he mean by that?" Jason began to look in that spectator's direction.
"Don't," Kristine quickly and sternly spoke. "Ignore him."
"Right," Jason took another deep breath to calm down.
They approached the center of the field, where Ben and Haley awaited them. They both wore ballcaps with the sigil of a beedrill front and center. Ben appeared to be in his late teens and wore a white t-shirt and baggy shorts. Haley appeared to be two years younger than Ben, had short, red hair, and had freckles on her cheeks. She wore a green tank top with olive green baggy cargo shorts.
The twins could hear chants from at least a dozen fans of Ben and Haley to their left, all wearing the same ballcaps.
"Go Ben and Haley! Go Team Sting!" the group chanted.
Jason and Kristine stood within feet of Ben and Haley.
"Hi!" Haley greeted. "Welcome to Richland Port!"
"Thanks!" Kristine responded. "So what's Team Sting?"
"It's a club for bug pokemon enthusiasts," Ben responded. "We have chapters up and down the east coast. If you or anyone you know loves bug pokemon, send them our way!"
"Noted," Jason acknowledged.
The referee approached the two teams.
"This is a tag battle match with two starting pokemon and two reserve pokemon for each side," the referee informed. "The battle is continuous when one pokemon goes down. It is over when the reserves of one side are completely depleted. I want a good, clean match from all of you. Are we clear?"
"Got it!" everyone complied at the same time.
"Ben and Haley make the first calls," the referee continued. "Jason and Kristine make the first moves."
The referee then walked away, taking a position at his box within the center edge of the battlefield.
"Good luck!" Kristine waved as she and Jason began to depart.
"Yeah, you too!" Haley waved back.
"Well, they seem really nice," Kristine nearly muttered to Jason.
"They seem like nice people," Jason replied. "And I like nice people, but it's almost as if they don't care if they win or lose."
"You really think so?" Kristine looked at Jason.
Jason nodded. "They tried to recruit us to their club."
"Well, you may be right," Kristine took position alongside her brother and faced Ben and Haley on the far side of the field. "I want to win, just like you do, bro!"
Jason looked around to see cheering fans surrounding him. He had to do what Kristine mentioned a few moments ago and pretend they didn't exist. So he closed his eyes, zoning out everyone around him. He reopened them with determination. The only people he could see were Kristine and Ben, and Haley on the other side. He was ready to win.
"Let's do this!" Jason spoke with confidence.
"Let the battle begin!" the referee declared.
"Scyther, let's go!" Ben called forth Scyther.
"Fly, fly, Butterfree!" Haley called forth Butterfree.
Jason and Kristine looked at each other and gave a single nod. They then faced their opponents.
"Let's go, Swellow!" Jason summoned.
"Showtime, Fletchinder!" Kristine brought out Fletchinder.
"Swellow!" Swellow hopped forward.
"Fletch!" Fletchinder did the same.
"To the sky!" the twins called at the same time.
Both Swellow and Fletchinder soared into the open sky.
"Jason and Kristine start by sending their flying pokemon high in the sky," the PA announcer spoke. "It's like they planned for this!"
"Scyther, use Agility and get up there!" Ben commanded.
"Stay behind Scyther, Butterfree!" Haley added.
Scyther used his wings and speed to guide himself towards Swellow and Fletchinder while Butterfree was in tow.
"Jason, if you keep Fletchinder protected, we can knock Scyther and Butterfree out like no one's business!" Kristine said.
"Do it!" Jason knew what she was talking about.
"Fletchinder, use Razor Wind!" Kristine commanded.
"Fletch!" Fletchinder began flapping his wings, charging up a powerful attack.
"Scyther, use Fury Cutter on Fletchinder!" Ben yelled.
"Scyther!" Scyther flew right at Fletchinder.
"Swellow, intercept with Quick Attack!" Jason responded.
Swellow dove down on Scyther, striking him before he could reach Fletchinder. Scyther began freefalling back to the floor.
"Butterfree, Psybeam!" Haley yelled.
Butterfree emitted telekinetic energy from her eyes, intending to hit Swellow.
"Dodge it!" Jason yelled.
Swellow swerved away from Butterfree's Psybeam.
"Use Butterfree to drop Sleep Powder on them!" Ben suggested to Haley.
"Right!" Haley agreed. "Butterfree, use Sleep Powder on Fletchinder and Swellow!"
"Free!" Butterfree flapped her wings, projecting a bluish spore towards Swellow and Fletchinder.
"Supersonic! Give me all you got!" Jason commanded.
"Swellow!" Swellow began to emit a supersonic blast. It was so powerful that it blew apart Sleep Powder. The attack sent Butterfree in a daze as she tumbled down to the ground.
"Scyther, use Quick Attack!" Ben issued.
Scyther began to charge up to Fletchinder once more.
"Intercept!" Jason yelled.
"No need!" Kristine spoke. "Fletchinder, unleash Razor Wind!"
"Fletchinder!" Fletchinder unleashed a powerful wind of kinetic energy at Butterfree and Scyther. The wind not only struck them, but it also overpowered them, slamming them back on the ground in a matter of seconds.
"Wing Attack!" the twins followed up at the same time.
Swellow and Fletchinder dove down on Scyther and Butterfree with glowing wings, striking them head-on. Both Pokemon tumbled over and over, suffering a direct super-effective hit. It became clear that they were both down and out, unable to continue.
"Both Scyther and Butterfree are unable to battle!" the referee declared.
"A double knockout!" the PA announcer briefed. "What an amazing display of teamwork by Jason and Kristine!"
"Good job, sis!" Jason threw his closed fist in the air, celebrating from the sense of accomplishment.
"That was awesome!" Kristine cheered.
"It was," Jason agreed. "But we're not out of this yet!"
Ben and Haley looked at each other briefly. They then pulled out their final pokeballs and brought forth their reserves.
"Ariados, turn this around!" Ben yelled.
"You too, Dustox!" Haley added.
"Ar! Ariados!" the large spider pokemon hissed.
"Dustox!" the giant moth pokemon greeted.
"Dustox, use Poison Powder on Swellow and Fletchinder!" Haley commanded.
"Ariados, use Shadow Sneak on Fletchinder!" Ben added.
"Dodge it!" Kristine yelled.
"You can't," Jason spoke.
"What do you mean?" Kristine asked.
As Dustox unleashed a purple mist high in the air, Ariados projected a shadow of herself. The shadow placed itself directly underneath Fletchinder before pouncing with dark energy. Fletchinder was struck by the sudden and subtle move right in the sky and came tumbling down.
"Fletchinder!" Kristine yelled. "Recover and use Ember on Ariados!"
"Fletch!" Fletchinder managed to regain control and stopped himself from crashing to the ground. He then spat out a ball of flame at Ariados.
"We'll end this here and now!" Jason spoke. "Swellow, through Poison Powder!"
"Swellow!" Swellow flew right through Dustox's Poison Powder.
"You're triggering Swellow's special ability, Guts," Kristine said to Jason.
"Swellow can take the hit," Jason crossed his arms with determination. "She's tough. She can do it."
He looked right at Swellow. "Aerial Ace on Ariados! Let's go!"
Fletchinder's Ember struck Ariados. The bug pokemon had a tough time enduring the attack and struggled to get up. When Swellow swooped down with a powerful aerial attack, that sent Ariados flying across the battlefield. She landed right before Ben and Haley, unable to get up.
"No! Ariados!" Ben placed both hands over his forehead in disbelief.
"Ariados is unable to battle!" the referee declared.
"Dustox, Silver Wind!" Haley ordered.
"Dustox!" Dustox flapped his wings, projecting a silvery wind right at Swellow.
"Dodge it!" Jason commanded.
"Swellow!" Swellow flew straight into the air, avoiding Silver Wind.
"Ember, Fletchinder!" Kristine called.
Fletchinder fired another ball of flame, this time directed at Dustox.
"Light Screen!" Haley yelled.
Dustox projected a screen in front of himself that deflected the brunt of the attack.
"Quick Attack, Swellow!" Jason issued.
"Wing Attack, Fletchinder!" Kristine added.
Swellow and Fletchinder charged at Dustox from two different directions. Dustox looked around, seeing that he was unable to avoid the onslaught. He was struck by Fletchinder, soaring high into the air, before being hit by Swellow's Quick Attack. Dustox then hit the ground forcefully, unable to continue.
"Dustox is unable to battle!" the referee declared. "Jason and Kristine are the winners!"
"Jason and Kristine can sweep just like that!" the PA announcer even seemed surprised. "Another tough break for Ben and Haley! Folks, we have another pair of twins we should be keeping an eye on here!"
"Alright!" Kristine cheered.
"Yeah!" Jason held his fists in the air.
The two then approached each other and gave one another a high five.
"Return, Dustox…" Haley recalled Dustox before letting out a sigh.
"Out in the first round again!" Ben looked down briefly. He looked over at Haley with confidence. "One day, Haley!"
Haley smiled, remaining upbeat. "One day!"
"Let's hand it to these two," Ben looked at Jason and Kristine. "No one beat us as they did. They're a force to be reckoned with."
Take a look at that, Yenela Kreea sat at the scorer's table towards the center of the floor, right behind the referee. These kids come out of nowhere and handle Team Sting like it's routine practice. It looks like I have something interesting to report, after all.
As dusk settled in, the twins were in their room at the pokemon center. They sat side by side on the couch, watching the Inventum Pokemon Sports Network.
"Day One of the Power Duo 60 has come to a close," Tom, the anchorman, announced as he jumped right into the subject. "While the Donnovan Twins, who are the heavy favorites to win it all, play tomorrow, we do have some great highlights to cover today."
The screen switched to the very stadium Jason and Kristine battled in.
"We're going to be on TV," Kristine was certain.
"The way we played today, we have to be," Jason added.
"The first match had the Willis Sisters against swim team partners Rey and Lezel. Weepinbell and Luxio were able to sweep it for the sisters, taking down all four water pokemon on Rey and Lezel's side!"
The twins saw the highlights of the match.
"They made short work of that team," Jason noted.
"They're siblings too," Kristine added.
"They had Weepinbell just paralyze everyone while Luxio zapped them," Jason mentioned.
The highlights covered the second and third matches. The twins thought they would get their fifteen seconds of fame as the anchorman briefly ran down the highlights match by match.
Then, after the fourth match, Tom skipped to the sixth match.
"Hey, what gives?" Jason stood right up with his hands out in frustration.
Kristine crossed her arms, clearly annoyed. "That's not cool."
"Probably because we're just two kids from the mountains," Jason shook his head.
"Why would they discriminate against us like that?" Kristine looked at Jason.
Jason shrugged. "Because we came out of nowhere and swept a local team, I guess."
"Water pokemon conservationists Joe and Brie managed to pull it off and move on to the second round," Tom continued.
"Those are our next opponents," Kristine said. "He didn't even mention us."
Jason sat back down in a frustrated mood.
Tom went on to cover the last two matches of the night. The twins were so fed up that they didn't even pay attention to the highlights.
"Folks, in case you're wondering why we skipped the highlights of the fifth battle, well, we saved it for last," Tom added. A picture then appeared to his right, displaying a still image of Jason and Kristine exchanging high fives following their victory against Ben and Haley.
The twins ate their own words and calmed down.
"Oh," Jason loosened his stance.
"Well then," Kristine did the same.
"Enter Jason and Kristine Kyar, a pair of twins from Mountain Spring, deep within the mountain regions of Inventum, just south of the Cheron Forest and not too far from Fort Lexing," Tom continued. "They filled in for a team that had to drop out for personal issues. No one knew who they were, or where they came from, until today."
The screen cut to highlights of Jason and Kristine's match.
"The Kyar Twins played Ben and Haley, well-esteemed members of Team Sting," Tom continued. "The match starts with Jason's Swellow and Kristine's Fletchinder against Ben's Scyther and Haley's Butterfree. The initial confrontation lasted mere minutes, with Swellow and Fletchinder knocking out Scyther and Butterfree at the same time with good coordination and teamwork."
The twins saw their battle unfold and how quick it was to score the first two knockouts.
"Ben and Haley responded with Ariados and Dustox," Tom added. "The Kyar Twins stuck with Swellow and Fletchinder on the field and ended the match promptly after taking out Ariados and then Dustox."
"We really nailed it, didn't we?" Kristine turned to Jason.
"All that practice really paid off," Jason replied.
"Our very own Yenela Kreea interviewed Ben and Haley after the match to get their insights on the battle," Tom continued. "Here is what they have to say."
The screen switched over to Yenela standing beside Ben and Haley, holding a microphone.
"Ben and Haley, you guys have another first-round exit here in the Power Duo," Yenela started. "What do you believe you need to do to get further into future tournaments?"
Yenela pointed the microphone to Ben and Haley. They both couldn't muster an initial response. They shrugged before chuckling.
"I just think we ran across an adamant team this time around," Haley responded.
"Yeah," Ben added with a nod, impressed with Haley's word choice. "An adamant team. We had some tough breaks in the past, not winning close matches. We were working on our ability to close out, but our opponents gave us the most one-sided defeat ever this time around. This is a new breed of tag battle partners, and honestly, I think the top teams in this tournament will be on a run for their money if they face Jason and Kristine."
Haley nodded. "I'll agree with that."
"So you commend your opponents?" Yenela asked.
"Absolutely!" Ben responded.
"They were nice too," Haley added. "Never mind what they say about mountain trainers versus east coast trainers. They were outstanding."
"Ben, Haley, thanks for sharing your insights," Yenela closed. "This is Yenela Kreea, reporting from Richland Stadium."
"Yenela will be covering the entire tournament," Tom stated. "The Kyar Twins' next match is against water pokemon conservationists Joe and Brie. You can catch that on the extranet during day three of Power Duo 60. Up next: Richland's very own twins Dan and Dave kick off tomorrow's round of matches. What are they doing differently to prepare? Stay tuned to find out!"
"We were on IPSN," Kristine was in near disbelief. She faced Jason excitedly. "We were on IPSN, Jason!" Kristine briefly hugged Jason.
Jason hugged his sister back. "Then we'd best get comfortable because it's the first of many appearances."
The twins spent the next day preparing for the next round. As the other half of the first-round contestants competed, Jason and Kristine trained and researched.
"Joe and Brie…" Kristine searched through the extranet in the afternoon, with Jason right behind her.
"All of their pokemon are rescued," Jason read. "They have six pokemon registered each."
"And they're all water types," Kristine added.
"Then we use Jolteon and Pikachu," Jason suggested.
"A fair assumption," Kristine acknowledged. "Except Joe has Quagsire, which is a ground and water type. Ground types are immune to electric attacks."
"Is Quagsire the only such pokemon?"
Kristine observed the rest of Joe's pokemon. "Poliwhirl, Prinplup, Seel, Krabby, Psyduck. Yeah."
"Then we should stick to Jolteon and Pikachu," Jason maintained his stance. "I say we keep Kirlia and Espeon as reserves. I don't think we need to switch it up because Joe may or may not use Quagsire. There's still three other Pokemon who are weak to electric attacks."
"You make a sound point," Kristine replied. "So, what do you think about tomorrow's match?"
Jason smirked. "Let's play the way we did in the first round, and we got this."
The next afternoon, Jason and Kristine stood in the hallway leading into the battlefield. Jason stretched his arms and legs while Kristine hopped vertically, warming up for the next battle.
"Should be almost three o'clock," Jason mentioned.
"We got this," Kristine spoke, motivating herself as well as her brother. "We got this."
"Ladies and gentlemen, the third match of the day!" the PA announcer addressed a crowd of over 10,000 people. The cheering and rumbling seemed louder than the other day, the twins thought.
"New fans, perhaps?" Kristine stood in place.
"Maybe," Jason replied. "Or maybe this is when things get more interesting."
"On one side of the field, you have Richland Port's favorite water pokemon conservationists, Joe and Brie!"
The fans cheered for the arrival of Joe and Brie.
"Or maybe they just love Joe and Brie," Kristine added. "They helped save over several hundred water pokemon combined in their careers."
"On the other end," the announcer continued.
"Here we go," Kristine spoke before taking a deep breath.
"They've come from the mountains to the coast, showing Richland Port they are capable trainers. Was it a fluke, or are they for real? Twins Jason and Kristine Kyar!"
"Let's do it!" Jason got pumped up.
The twins walked out onto the battle floor. There, they saw an adult man and woman standing at the center of the field. Joe had brown spiky hair and glasses and wore a navy t-shirt and baggy cargo shorts of the same color. Brie also wore glasses and had short darker brown hair. She wore a navy blue tank top, as well as the same type of pants as Joe.
While approaching Joe and Brie, Jason and Kristine were met by boos from the audience.
Kristine smiled. "Jason, we're villains."
"From the mountains to the coast, threatening to win it all," Jason lightly laughed.
The twins stood face to face with Joe and Brie.
"Team Tranquility wrote a cute little blog entry about how you saved Machop in Darklight Cavern," Brie spoke in a kalosian accent. "And he's registered in Kristine's lineup, is he not?"
"He is," Kristine confirmed. "Been researching us, huh?"
Joe nodded. "You came out of nowhere. In some people's perspectives, you literally came out of nowhere."
"But we did not," Jason spoke up. "We shed blood, sweat, and tears getting through the Nappalchan Mountains to get to where we are."
Joe smiled. "I don't doubt it one bit. We would love to see more of that kind of resolve in our workforce. Truly."
"Now, our pokemon crave competition," Brie added. "Let us dance, shall we?"
The referee walked over. "Let's make this a clean match," he spoke. "Joe and Brie will make the first calls. Jason and Kristine will make the first moves."
Everyone acknowledged the rules and took to their positions.
"The battle may begin!" the referee declared a moment later.
"Go, Poliwhirl!" Joe threw out his first Pokeball.
"Go, Slowbro!" Brie did the same.
"Poliwhirl!" the rounded water pokemon with arms and legs greeted. His stomach had a hypnotic spiral line inside a while center.
"Slowbro," Slowbro slowly greeted. The pink creature stood up and had another pokemon attached to the back of its tail. It was often taught in children's books that a slowpoke evolved into slowbro when a shellder bites its tail. Slowpoke would then take a more capable form, while the entire body of shellder would evolve as well.
"Time to zap 'em," Jason said to Kristine.
They both primed their pokeballs.
"Jolteon, let's go!" Jason brought forth Jolteon.
"Pikachu, showtime!" Kristine summoned Pikachu.
"Jolt!" Jolteon barked.
"Pika pika!" Pikachu greeted.
"Focus on Slowbro!" Jason suggested.
Kristine nodded.
"Thunder Shock Slowbro!" the twins commanded at the same time.
Jolteon and Pikachu both emitted electric energy at Slowbro.
"Disable Jolteon!" Brie called.
"Slowbro!" Slowbro emitted a blue glow around his body. Jolteon's Thunder Shock suddenly evaporated, and his body also glowed blue.
"Bubblebeam to shield Slowbro, let's go!" Joe quickly called.
"Poliwhirl!" Poliwhirl shot out a powerful stream of bubbles that met Pikachu's Thunder Shock head-on. Thunder Shock exploded into electrical currents.
"A well-played defense by Joe and Brie to start the match!" the announcer spoke.
"Jolteon, Thunder Fang on Slowbro!" Jason followed up.
"Quick Attack, Pikachu!" Kristine added.
"Let's close in on 'em!" Jason yelled.
Jolteon and Pikachu charged towards Poliwhirl and Slowbro.
"Use Confusion on Jolteon!" Brie commanded Slowbro.
"Slowbro," Slowbro's eyes glowed.
Jolteon was soon thrown into the air through Slowbro's telekinesis.
"Pin Missile, now!" Jason ordered.
"Pikachu, Electro Ball on Slowbro!" Kristine quickly issued.
"Bubble Beam on Pikachu!" Joe responded.
Jolteon fired a volley of pins from his coat, aimed right at Slowbro.
"Slam him down, quickly!" Brie issued.
Slowbro used psychic energy to slam Jolteon back to the ground, but Jolteon's volley of pins struck him seconds later, and so did Pikachu's Electro Ball. Pikachu's attack alone flipped Slowbro over once before slamming to the ground on his stomach.
Meanwhile, Poliwhirl's Bubblebeam came straight at Pikachu.
"Double Team!" Kristine yelled.
Pikachu projected multiple copies of himself. Bubblebeam went right through several of them, a clear sign that Pikachu himself managed to escape.
"Poliwhirl, use Body Slam on Jolteon!" Joe commanded.
"Poliwhirl!" Poliwhirl ran at Jolteon.
Jolteon got up, dazed and confused.
"Ah, great," Jason noticed, speaking sarcastically. "Jolteon's confused."
"We'll cover for him!" Kristine responded. "Pikachu, Quick Attack on Poliwhirl!"
"Pika pika pika!" Pikachu ran as fast as he could at Poliwhirl.
Jolteon could not regain his awareness in time for Poliwhirl to jump up into the air, preparing for a powerful Body Slam attack. Just then, Pikachu blindsided him in midair. Poliwhirl slammed to the ground and rolled over, slow to get back up.
"A great call by Kristine to get Pikachu to protect Jolteon!" the PA announcer spoke.
"Thunder Shock!" Kristine followed up.
Pikachu emitted a bolt of electric energy at Poliwhirl.
"Slowbro, Disable!" Brie yelled.
Suddenly, Pikachu's Thunder Shock evaporated, adverting the potentially significant impact on Poliwhirl.
"Water Pulse on Jolteon!" Brie followed up.
"Poliwhirl, get Pikachu away from Jolteon!" Joe yelled. "Use Double Slap!"
Poliwhirl closed in on Pikachu, throwing rapid slaps while Pikachu dodged left and right.
"Double Team!" Kristine called.
While Pikachu created false copies of himself, Slowbro spat out a stream of water that morphed into a whirlpool, and it came straight for Jolteon.
Poliwhirl managed to slap all of Pikachu's copies rapidly. Just then, Pikachu was running toward Jolteon.
"Electro Ball Water Pulse!" Kristine commanded.
"Pika-chu!" Pikachu hurled a ball of electric energy from his tail, striking the whirlpool head-on. The bolt exploded with the whirlpool, sending a mist of rain across much of the field.
"A spectacular display!" the PA announcer commended. "Kristine and Pikachu are doing everything they can to protect Jolteon!"
Jolteon finally came to his senses.
"Poliwhirl, Bubblebeam!" Joe issued.
"Pin Missile, Jolteon!" Jason responded.
"Pikachu, run right through and Quick Attack Slowbro!" Kristine followed up with her calls.
Jolteon's pins struck and popped the incoming Bubblebeam.
"Now charge in with Thunder Fang!" Jason followed up.
Jolteon charged at Poliwhirl. At the same time, just as Pikachu closed in on Slowbro, Brie let out a smirk.
"Disable, Slowbro!" she called.
Pikachu was suddenly stopped in his tracks. Slowbro effectively disabled his attack through telekinetic energy.
"Now Confusion!" Brie followed up.
"Electro Ball!" Kristine quickly yelled.
Just as Pikachu hovered into the air, he quickly flipped forward and fired off Electro Ball, striking Slowbro head-on. Meanwhile, Jolteon closed in on Poliwhirl, who was unable to dodge Thunder Fang.
Slowbro was sent flying back from Electro Ball as Pikachu landed on the ground safely. Jolteon grabbed Poliwhirl's arm, zapping him with powerful electric currents. Slowbro fell on his back, unable to get up, while Poliwhirl fell onto his knees and then on his stomach.
"Both Poliwhirl and Slowbro are unable to battle!" the referee declared.
"Alright!" Kristine cheered.
"Excellent job, Kristine!" Jason commended his sister. "That was awesome."
Kristine smiled. "I try."
"A double K.O.!" the announcer seemed surprised, just like everyone else.
A round of boos could be heard around the stadium. Yenela stood there, at the scorer's table, observing the twins.
Round one wasn't just a fluke, she thought. These kids are for real. And I think they'll make a great story if they can make it far. I don't want to get too far ahead of myself, but if I can make Inventum remember these kids, then that'll make me one of the most valued reporters around. Gosh, I hope they don't screw this match up.
"They're tough," Joe said to Brie.
"You got that right," Brie primed her second pokeball.
Joe did the same. "Alright. Prinplup, let's go!"
"You too, Lombre!" Brie yelled.
"Prinplup!" the penguin pokemon crossed his arms and stared down Jolteon and Pikachu.
"Lombre!" the jolly water and grass pokemon with a lily on its head greeted.
"Bubblebeam!" Joe and Brie called at the same time.
Prinplup and Lombre both fired off Bubblebeam at Jolteon and Pikachu.
"Pin Missile the bubbles!" Jason responded.
"Thunder Shock the bubbles, Pikachu!" Kristine added.
Jolteon and Pikachu managed to stop and explode the bubbles with their attacks.
"Close in with Fury Swipes, Lombre!" Brie followed up.
"Go in with Fury Attack, Prinplup!" Joe added.
Prinplup and Lombre charged at Jolteon and Pikachu.
"Thunder Fang on Prinplup, Jolteon!" Jason yelled.
"Quick Attack on Lombre, Pikachu!" Kristine added.
Jolteon and Pikachu charged at Prinplup and Lombre head-on. They managed to stop Prinplup and Lombre's attacks. As Jolteon grabbed Prinplup's arm with electric energy, Pikachu ran at Lombre and struck his stomach using Quick Attack.
"Now, Thunder Shock!" Jason followed up.
"Electro Ball Lombre!" Kristine commanded.
Jolteon emitted electric energy at close quarters, zapping Prinplup. Pikachu fired off Electro Ball at Lombre, striking him and sending him flying back.
Prinplup fell to the ground, unable to get up.
"Prinplup is unable to battle!" the referee declared.
"We got this!" Jason yelled. "Let's finish this!"
Lombre was slow to get up.
"Pikachu, Thunder Shock!" Kristine yelled.
"You too, Jolteon!" Jason added.
Both Jolteon and Pikachu zapped Lombre into submission. He fell to the ground, unable to continue.
"Lombre is unable to continue!" the referee announced. "Jason and Kristine are the winners!"
"Heck yeah!" Kristine cheered. She and Jason walked over to each other and exchanged a high five.
The audience erupted into another round of boos.
"Unbelievable!" the announcer addressed. "Jason and Kristine have yet to have a pokemon go down in the tournament! Once they took the momentum, it went quickly downhill for Joe and Brie! These twins may be serious contenders, after all!"
"Bingo," Yenela saw an opportunity to capitalize on the twins. She turned to her cameraman. "Let's catch 'em before they leave."
Jason and Kristine winded down at the green room of the stadium after their victory.
"You were excellent out there, having Pikachu protect Jolteon like that," Jason complimented.
"Gotta protect my bro and his Jolteon," Kristine smiled. "You guys can take out anyone."
"Wonder who we get to play next," Jason contemplated.
"It's either the archaeologists or the two goth girls, right?" Kristine recalled.
"Something like that," Jason said. "They're in the next match. Wanna go check them out?"
Kristine shrugged. "Might as well."
The twins walked out of the green room, only to be met by a female reporter with blonde hair and glasses and a cameraman standing right behind her.
"Yenela Kreea, IPSN reporter," Yenela introduced herself. "Can I have a moment of your time?"
"Uh," Jason was caught off guard.
"Sure!" Kristine immediately responded.
"Good," Yenela smiled and stood by the twins. "Get us all in there, Marco," she told the cameraman.
"You're in focus," Marco responded. "Okay, ready, and rolling."
"I managed to catch up to Jason and Kristine Kyar as they were leaving the stadium," Yenela started. "Jason and Kristine, you've traveled from a small town called Mountain Spring, in the middle of the mountain regions of Inventum. You're both trainers, getting the Mystic and Tranquility badges before trekking through the Nappalchan Mountains. Would it be fair for fans to say that you came out of nowhere for the Power Duo?"
"I guess if you're a fan of the Power Duo and closely follow some of the regular teams," Kristine initially replied. "In a sense, we came out of nowhere."
"But we didn't," Jason spoke up.
Kristine nodded in agreement.
"The Nappalchan Mountains are 825 miles long," Jason continued. "We've trained so hard and worked so hard just to get through them. I almost died, and I would have if it weren't for my sister and all of our pokemon."
Kristine blushed at that moment.
"It's true," Jason continued. "Kristine played amazing today. It's attributed to our hard work and effort getting from the mountains to the coast, and it's great to see it all pay off."
"That's some profound insight, Jason," Yenela was taken back. "What are your thoughts on the competition so far?"
"It's interesting, to say the least," Jason spoke.
"As in?" Yenela asked.
"We've played against type specialists," Jason elaborated. "Our opponents knew very well how to play with that."
"And I think that's something Jason and I could both respect," Kristine added.
"You've made short work of your opponents, and yet you show respect for them," Yenela mentioned.
"Why not?" Jason shrugged. "Whether it's a close battle or a one-sided one, I'll always respect my opponents."
"Same here," Kristine added. "We were taught good sportsmanship, and it stuck to us like glue in our travels."
"Very mature comments coming from the both of you," Yenela remarked. "I think the fans here will at least appreciate that. Thank you for your time."
"Yeah, no problem!" Kristine smiled.
"And there you have it, folks," Yenela closed. "From the mountains to the coast, here are Jason and Kristine Kyar. They're here, and they're serious about winning it all. This is Yenela Kreea, reporting from Richland Stadium."
"And that's a wrap," Marco said.
"That's going to be great!" Yenela spoke. She shook Jason and Kristine's hands. "Thank you very much for the interview."
"Sure thing," Jason replied.
"Just do me a favor and make it to the finals!" Yenela added before taking off with her cameraman.
"Jason," Kristine spoke. "We're going to be on TV."
"I'm not sure what to think of that," Jason responded. "You think I did well?"
"You spoke with passion," Kristine answered.
"Whatever the fans think, we didn't come out of nowhere," Jason spoke. "We're trainers in the Inventum League, just like everyone else in the tournament. We just don't live on the coast."
"Absolutely," Kristine smiled and nodded. "Shall we watch the next battle?"
"For sure!" Jason replied.
The two proceeded onto the atrium, where they could spectate the next game without attracting too much attention. They both knew, however, that would change by nightfall, for better or for worse.
