Voice
The ten-year-old trainer stood before the grave, which was perched amidst countless of other graves, old and new, in the small corner of the floor, within the Lavender Pokémon Tower. The air was hauntingly cold, but he paid no heed to it, his eyes dulling as he fixated his gaze on the words that were engraved on the tiny tombstone before him.
His Raticate died.
If only he hadn't gone along with his Pokémon's decision to save a few wild Pokémon that had been captured by some dumb Team Rocket Grunts, Raticate wouldn't have died.
If only he wasn't so stupid and had solely chased after his goal of being strongest, without considering anything else besides that, Raticate wouldn't have died.
Pokémon and people can recognize each other's feelings and grow stronger helping one another. He knew this fact. He knew that Pokémon and people had this kind of ability to do so.
Like Red.
Like his Raticate.
But if it has the potential for failure to come true, there was no reason why he, Green Oak, should even try to seek for this ability.
If emotions and bonds create gaps in his path to the top and cause him to deviate from his goal of being the strongest, there was no reason why he needs it.
Pokémon, they don't need to have any bonds with their trainers.
Because only if he never had any form of bonds with his Pokémon, he wouldn't have hurt so much.
Kill your heart.
"Extreme Speed," He ordered his Arcanine, who stood up, injured from all the cuts and the bruises, blood dripping down his fur. The quadrupled carnivore sped forward with blinding speed, and he sank his canines into the Murkrow's wings, savage yet full of power.
"Fire Fang." And the Dark-type's wing was soon engulfed in a mini vortex of fire. The audience roared with applause, and they stood up, awed by the young boy's battling prowess.
Natural talent was all he needed.
With this match with Karen, one of the Elite Four candidates, he had proven himself once again, that he was someone capable of becoming Kanto's Champion. He ignored the applause, willing himself to refrain from feeling too overjoyed from it, because he knew, the moment he permits himself to feel such emotions, he will be one step further away from his goal.
"Your leadership," Karen said to him as they shook hands with each other at the end of the match. "Is unbearably cold."
He said nothing in return, and quickly released his grip on Karen's hand. He turned around, ready to leave the arena, to prep himself for the quarter-finals that would be held tomorrow.
"An advice from the loser," Karen called out. "Those who ignore the voices of Pokémon will lose the ability to hear it."
He stopped in his tracks, and glanced back towards the lady, sending her a mocking sneer.
"Isn't that the very ability that made you lose to me?" He said.
"Red versus Green! Begin!" The commentator yelled a loud beep that followed prompting him to throw out his first Pokémon out. His opponent did the same, and next they sent out various commands, their Pokémon on par with each other, as they skillfully attacked and defended against each other. The cameras around him were flashing, the shouts and cheers from the audience deafening, all engrossed in the final match of the Championships.
And when Red's Venusaur fell, his Arcanine stood victorious in the first match-up. Green looked up, ready to take in the sight of his rival having a look of shock on his face.
He felt his fingers going numb the moment he saw those pair of red eyes. That very crimson he hated. Eyes that held worry and care towards the fallen.
He gritted his teeth and clenched his fists. His eyes angrily watched his Arcanine who was howling in victory.
"Don't howl," He snapped at the Pokémon. "Don't get excited just because we're winning."
He watched his rival, who was glaring back at him with determination, his red eyes boring into him. Green Oak returned his glare when solemnly telling himself, that he will win this Championship, and prove to everyone that he was the strongest.
He will not let Red get any closer to the top.
Not when Red was everything he had rejected to be.
His red eyes bore into him. The same pair of eyes that he despised. The same pair of eyes who disregarded everything else to achieve his own goal.
"Flamethrower."
Arcanine roared, a tornado of fire shooting out, enveloping Red's Venusaur in flames. The Grass-type emerged, its leaves singeing, yet it was largely unharmed, for it clearly had become much stronger than it was four years ago.
"... Petal Dance."
A whirlwind of petals hurtled towards Arcanine in a flash, the sharp edges of the pink petals ready to strike.
"Fire Fang."
Arcanine instantly obeyed, and he shot off in a straight line, the sheer quickness in the move rendering the petals to be knocked off. The creature was impending upon Venusaur, his fangs coated with flames ready to sink into his prey. And when it did, Venusaur roared in pain and glared straight at Arcanine in the eye.
"... Grab his legs."
"Avoid,"
Vines shot out from Venusaur, accurately coiling themselves around Arcanine's forelimbs and hindlegs tightly. With a monstrous strength, Venusaur lifted his heavy opponent up, ready to slam it down onto the arena ground.
"Fire Blast."
The vines suddenly intertwined, and Venusaur watched in horror, the Fire-type spinning himself to adjust his body to be at the correct angle, his mouth spitting fire. While Red continuously urged him to stop the impending attack, Venusaur struggled to release his vines and negate the attack with a counter, yet the vines were all tangled.
A fireball was released, and the flames morphed into the 大 kanji letter, flying straight towards Venusaur who braced himself for the impact.
And when the smoke died down, a fallen Venusaur laid on the arena ground, defeated. The vines that had been burnt cleanly disintegrated, releasing Arcanine, who landly on the ground firmly with a thud. He howled, instinctively, signaling his own victory, and he glanced at his trainer, who merely smiled in reply. Red then took out his Pokéball, ready to return Venusaur to his Pokéball. Next, Red's took out his next Pokéball, in which Pikachu emerged from it, looking uncomfortable.
Green knew very well that Pikachu would never choose to stay inside it.
Unless Red makes Pikachu go in.
Green sighed, for he wondered how long has it been since his friend had even tried to talk to his Pokémon. How long has he been letting the darkness eat him?
Pikachu turned back to look at his trainer, eyes filled with concern, but Red did not seem to have noticed. Green, on the other hand, recalled Arcanine, switching him out with Pidgeot.
"Flying with Electric...?" Red murmured. "... It's unlike you to use a disadvantaged Pokémon."
"Strange how these words are coming from you," Green remarked. "Pidgeot, Plan C."
The bird squawked in reply, and immediately he used Agility and Tailwind at the same time, boosting his speed. Pidgeot soon sped towards Pikachu in a blur of white, red and yellow, wings arced sharply and glowing with a white light.
"Wild Charge," And Pikachu powered himself with potent electricity, slamming himself straight into Pidgeot with deadly accuracy, negating Wing Attack. Yet Pidgeot did not falter, when he swiftly flew behind Pikachu, sending in an Air Slash that cut Pikachu on the back. The electric mouse hissed, somersaulting up into the air as per Red's commands, and slammed down on the bird's head with an Iron Tail.
"Tch," Green clicked his tongue, before he shouted, "Fly up and use Aerial Ace."
While Pikachu landed on the ground, Pidgeot had already zoomed up into the air, light streaking across his body, knocking Pikachu off balance. Red frowned, knowing that the Flying-type move was impossible to dodge unlike the match with Falkner.
Green, was, after all, his rival.
"Thunderbolt," Red ordered, and Pikachu squeaked a "pika" in reply, his body engulfed in electricity, and a deadly spark of lightning was sent towards Pidgeot's way. The mouse was certain, with this move, he will win. Even if Pidgeot was of the same caliber as he was, Electric was still stronger than that of Flying.
And that was what he thought.
Pidgeot was abruptly recalled back into his Pokéball, and the lightning cut through the air, hitting just the ceiling and the concrete quickly repaired itself.
"Switch," Green said, as his other hand took out another Pokéball. "Arcanine."
And there, the Pokémon emerged, orange and striped, and Arcanine landed onto the platform on all fours, and he roared, his fearsome glare directed straight at Pikachu. The mouse felt his whole body stiffening, his tail trembling, Intimidated. The display of confidence by Arcanine had cut down his Attack power in half.
"Light Screen," Red said, his eyes narrowing. A translucent screen flickered before Pikachu before it vanished in the next second, the move effectively reducing Green's options for their next move. Using any Special attacks would definitely make things tougher.
"Extreme Speed," Green uttered, and in the next second, Arcanine was right next to Pikachu.
"Run," Red said, and in a spark of electricity, the mouse disappeared, appearing in another spot. Yet, Arcanine, with Extreme Speed, kept up toe to toe with Pikachu, his fangs already clamping down onto Pikachu. The mouse tried to run again, the electricity zapping across his body already a maximal output, yet his opponent was still able to keep up.
"Tail Whip," Red said.
The mouse deftly swung his tiny body, while sacrificing his tail to suffer a painful bite by Arcanine, and in exchange, lowered the Fire-type's Defense. Enduring the pain, Pikachu did a somersault and landed on the platform, already suffering considerable damage.
"... Your Arcanine's speed is as ridiculous as ever," Red murmured. "Discharge,"
Pikachu let out a cry, an outrageous amount of electricity building in his body, the lights in the area flickering on and off in response to the unstable electrical charges, almost threatening the bulbs to blow. Green frowned, for getting hit by that move meant a definite loss.
"Trap Pikachu with Flamethrower," He said, and Arcanine growled, a torrent of fire encircling the mouse in an instant. The Gym Leader then prompted his Pokémon to increase the intensity of the flames, and the fire tornado rose high into the air, and Pikachu was soon entrapped within it. The mouse coughed, for the oxygen was getting lesser and lesser by the second. The electricity was slowly leaking out, swirling into the fire. The tornado crackled, fire and electricity on the verge of collapsing onto Pikachu.
"Jump," Red called out, and Pikachu gritted his teeth, his paws generating just the right amount of electricity. He leaped sideways, then to the other side, all the way until he emerged out of the tornado. The burning pain on his back was painful, but Pikachu ignored it as Red commanded him to use Iron Tail.
"Switch," Green said loudly, and Arcanine was about to dissolve back into white light. Yet, mere seconds before he could, Pikachu sped up, landing a clean hit on Arcanine, who yowled in pain, and soon he returned straight to the Pokéball. Green clicked his tongue, annoyed at Pikachu's tenacity, and then he let out his Pidgeot, who soared into the air immediately.
"Thunderbolt," Red immediately commanded, and the streak of lightning rained down, while Pidgeot, whose speed was enhanced by Agility, barely dodged it.
"Mirror Move," And Pidgeot's eyes glowed, and at the next second, a sharp lightning came down, and without any time to react, Pikachu was hit squarely on the back. Though it was an Electric-type move, the voltage was high enough to deal damage to the mouse.
"Feather Dance,"
Pidgeot did a graceful turn, and down feathers wrapped themselves around Pikachu in an instantly, sharply reducing his Attack power once again. Red bit his lower lip, frustrated, for, at this time in point, with Intimidate and now this move, it was quite apparent that Pikachu's attack will be weak. Terribly weak.
"Electro Ball," Red shouted, and an electric energy ball hit Pidgeot right on the wing. The bird cried out in pain, yet the move was insufficient to knock him out.
"Use Hurricane to trap Pikachu," Green said, and everything happened in a blur. Pikachu was instantly caught in the eye of a whirl of strong winds. The mouse then readied his paws, planning to use the same method to escape the entrapment, yet when he looked up, right at the opening of the hurricane, was Pidgeot.
"Hyper Beam," Green commanded.
And a condensed flash of energy shot out, into the eye of the hurricane, and Pikachu received the full brunt of the attack in the next instant. The winds died down, and Pidgeot landed on the ground, victorious, while Pikachu laid unconscious on the ground.
His second win.
Meanwhile, Red simply used his Pokéball, recalling Pikachu back into the capsule, and Green raised his eyebrow at the strange sight. Green watched his friend, his eyes widening when he noticed the painful expression of his rival.
The Gym Leader pursed his lips.
How ironic it is that their roles had been reversed, he remarked in his head. He stared at those crimson eyes that had gone blind, from the trainer's own overpowering love for his Pokémon, those crimson eyes holding the same rejection he had held four years ago.
He wasn't going to let his friend become like him in the past.
He was going to win. At all costs.
"We should be done here," Brendan concluded. After those three had left, they had only been trying to explain more things to the confused (and rather skeptical) Silver and had discussed a few things, while contemplating here and there. Strangely, Lyra did not speak much, only saying bits of her opinion when she needed to, and clearly, there was some tension going on between her and Silver, seeing how she often avoided looking at him. Although only a short half hour had passed and sensing how restless Ethan was starting to get, he thought he should quickly start teaching the enthusiastic Johto boy.
Upon exiting the Meeting Room, Silver and Lyra quickly parted ways, while Ethan, as clueless as ever, didn't seem to have noticed the strained relationship between the two, and was only whistling away in joy at the thought of training.
"Yūki," May called out, and Brendan froze. Talking about strained relationships, he still hasn't talked much with May ever since that day. Even the whole run-in with Licinius' subordinate, he hasn't told it to anyone. He didn't know what was making him hesitate, but he chose to not think about it. He glanced at Ethan, who was already dashing down the corridor excitedly.
"Sorry, later?" He turned to her, giving her an apologetic glance, and he quickly walked away, while all she could do was to stand there solemnly. She clenched her hand tight, and after a few seconds, she looked down the empty corridor, his figure long gone.
She sighed, turning away, in the opposite direction.
Meanwhile, Brendan caught up with Ethan, whose bubbling energy was making it difficult for the older boy to keep up the same pace as him. The two soon ascended to the third floor, and when the elevator doors open, he stepped outside and immediately noticed a familiar face walking down the corridor.
"Steven," Brendan greeted until he saw a few more familiar faces standing behind the trainer. "This is a nostalgic sight," He lightly commented, for behind Steven were Glacia, Sidney, Phoebe, and Drake. This was truly a scene he had missed, for it has been ages since the trainer himself had seen the Hoenn Elite Four together with the former Champion. Ever since he himself defeated Steven and took over the helm.
"Indeed," Glacia answered politely, before she asked, "Are you perhaps going to watch the match too?"
"Match?" Ethan suddenly popped out from behind me. "What match?"
"Hah? Why is that brat with you, Brendan?" Sidney said. He eyed the Johto Champion, his face twisting into a mocking expression.
"I'm not a brat!" Ethan fumed.
"Oh, yes, you are-" Sidney was ready to spit out the usual derogatory remarks, until Phoebe smacked him firmly on the head, causing him to shut up.
"There's a match going on in Training Arena 1," Glacia explained, while Sidney and Ethan were staring daggers at one another. "We should get there quickly before all the seats get taken."
"Who's fighting?" Brendan asked, wondering what kind of match would be so important that the whole Hoenn Elite Four would be so eager to watch.
"Red and Green Oak," Steven answered on behalf of Glacia. Brendan went still, while a strange sensation ran down his spine, and he glanced to his left, surprised by the sight next to him. Ethan's eyes were wide, the golden hue in his irises seemingly glowing, and from the corner of his eye, Brendan could see sparks of electricity zapping out from the boy's body.
Static electricity, huh.
The boy was probably not even thinking about training his powers, so as it seems. Brendan then agreed to go watch the match, while Ethan vigorously nodded his head, and Brendan barely suppressed a chuckle when he noticed how the boy's hair was starting to spike upwards, perhaps due to the electrical charges coursing through his body.
The group soon arrived at the fourth floor, and without further ado, Ethan sped away, while Sidney muttered, annoyed, "See, he's a brat."
Upon entering Training Arena 1, Brendan was surprised at how many people were already standing at the sides, watching the battle that was unfolding before them. A few were discussing among themselves animatedly, many wowing, while others were quietly observing the match. A resounding boom soon grabbed his attention, and Brendan turned to look at the battle. And there they were, standing on the opposite ends, a Blastoise standing firm while a fallen Pidgeot was returned to its Pokéball.
He slowly moved to the sides, while many of the trainers made way for the whole group. Leaning comfortably against the walls, he glued his eyes to the match. Green was taking out another Pokéball, ready to send in his next fighter.
"They're playing five to five. The standard knockout match." Drake said.
"Why five?" Ethan asked, surprised. Usually, battles were carried out in singles, doubles, trios and the full six on six.
"Because Red doesn't have his full team," Brendan answered simply, and Ethan fell silent, his eyes back to the match.
"I heard about the score," Steven said from beside him. "2 to 1, in Green's favor."
Brendan hummed a note in reply, while he watched an Alakazam materializing from a flash of white light. He then glanced at Green, who stood there, his eyes sharp and confident. Blastoise and Alakazam, it was quite the normal matchup, but considering how this was effectively a battle of Champions, he thought otherwise.
"Alakazam, use Psycho Cut," Green commanded. The Psychic-type extended his arms out, the two spoons within his grip vibrating, forming a sharp arc of psychic energy. The two Pokémon then charged towards each other, Alakazam getting dangerously close to the opponent in mere seconds, thanks to his high speed. He shot the psychic move at close range, while a white sheen shone over Blastoise, who took the attack head-on.
"Iron Defense," Steven remarked.
The Water-type emerged, not a scratch on his body, and Red calmly called out, "... Rapid Spin."
Blastoise immediately retracted his limbs into his shell, rotating himself on the spot, his shell colliding heavily into Alakazam.
"Alakazam, Plan A."
The Pokémon grunted in response, its body glowing, and suddenly, multiple walls of Reflect were set up, encasing Blastoise, who momentarily stopped spinning, as the walls closed in, entrapping him further. The audience gasped, recognizing the move to be the very same move that had destroyed many of Green Oak's opponents.
"Using Reflect on the opponent instead," Glacia said to herself. "An interesting tactic."
Blastoise started pounding on the walls, while Alakazam's spoons glowed, sending a Confusion towards the Water-type. Disorientated, his opponent stared blankly and stopped trying to break the walls. Red shouted repeatedly at his Pokémon, in which Brendan noticed how desperate he sounded. Meanwhile, the entire box of Reflect floated up into the air with Telekinesis, and Alakazam followed up with Psycho Cut, shattering the Reflects, and landing a solid impact on Blastoise's front. The Pokémon let out a pained cry, while the audience watched, anticipating whether Blastoise would be able to break free of Telekinesis or be forced to endure two more attacks.
"Protect."
Two protective barriers immediately surrounded Blastoise, and Green narrowed his eyes, knowing that with this move, even if Alakazam was to send any attack towards Blastoise, it would be negated by the barrier.
Yet a smirk was formed on his face, as he prompted Alakazam to shoot two Psycho Cuts, while the audience stared expectantly.
"Disable." And all of a sudden, Protect vanished, and Blastoise widened his eyes in horror, as the two psychic attacks were hurled at him. Blastoise was soon sent flying through the air, and gasps could be heard everywhere in the arena.
"Hydro Pump!" Red yelled, and his Pokémon instantly shot out two vertical streams of water that hit the wall and he stabilized himself midair quickly. He started falling, while Red commanded, "Skull Bash."
Another strong spurt of water sent Blastoise straight towards Alakazam, who seemed surprised that the opponent was able to maneuver himself with his water cannons.
"Don't panic, use Teleport," Green said from behind him, and Alakazam quickly vanished, appearing right behind Blastoise.
"Withdraw," And Blastoise hid back into his shell, saving himself from hitting into the ground with Skull Bash, and he rolled over, barely missing the Psybeam Alakazam shot out.
"Rain Dance," Red said.
The arena started falling drops of water, but the audience was shielded by a transparent screen, protecting them from rain conjured with Rain Dance.
"Turn and attack with Water Pulse."
Blastoise turned, ready to face his opponent and shoot out the very move Red had commanded. Pulsating water was sent over, and Alakazam conjured a Reflect, attempting to protect himself, but thanks to Rain Dance, the water attack broke through, shattering the transparent barrier into smithereens, and the Psychic-type was instantly thrown backward.
"Go in immediately with Skull Bash," Red called out once more.
Alakazam steadied himself, yet the moment he blinked his eyes open, Blastoise barreled over with a Skull Bash, and the two Pokémon flew straight into the walls. A few screams were heard, but the debris harmlessly bounced off the protective screen. Blastoise then emerged from the cloud of dust, landing onto the platform, while Alakazam stumbled forward, his body shining with a bright yellow light, clearly rejuvenating himself with Recover.
"Water Gun," Red commanded. Blastoise immediately aimed his cannon straight at Alakazam, not wasting a second to shoot out gigantic water bullets.
"Kinesis."
One of Alakazam's spoons glowed a purplish light, and at the next moment, the water bullets all harmlessly went past Alakazam, hitting the transparent barrier near the audience.
"Bubble,"
"Psybeam,"
The two attacks clashed, generating a loud clap and suddenly the two Pokémon brushed past each other, while the Res called out his next attack. Green merely stood there, a smirk emerging on his face.
"Bite,"
Blastoise skidded to a stop, before he swerved wildly, his teeth sinking straight Alakazam's arm. The Psychic - type endured the Dark-type attack, while his two spoons glowed right before Blastoise face.
"Confusion," Green smiled, as Blastoise tottered backward, a puzzled look on his face.
Meanwhile, Alazakam had Teleported itself to right behind Blastoise, hurling a burst of Psyshock towards his shell. Blastoise grunted as he was suddenly pushed forward, but otherwise, the attack did nothing much to him nor his hard shell. He shot a glance towards his trainer amidst his dizziness and tried to watch out for his trainer's commands.
Then he saw his eyes.
Eyes that were not of the Red he knew.
Yet, at the next moment, a painful blast of psychic energy was sent straight onto his skull, and at that instant, Blastoise could feel the pain exploded in his body, when another attack him from the front, back, and sides. He couldn't even let out a cry of pain when he felt his heavy body slamming onto the ground with a sonorous thud, clouds of dust around him.
"Oh wow! That was Future Sight!" Phoebe gasped. "He forced Red's Pokémon to stand right at the spot where Alakazam planned for the attack to hit!"
Blastoise heaved, his body was in a sorry state, and he knew he had to get up, he had to, and he knew that Red would be there, encouraging him to stand, like he always had.
"Stand up."
Blastoise felt a chill running down his spine, and from the corner of his eye, he witnessed the cold and lifeless gaze of his trainer, who seemed to have lost his soul, someone who lost his reason.
He knew that his trainer loved Espeon, just like how he loved all of them. He understood the anguish of his trainer, the pain the boy felt, and he empathized with him. Yet, this wasn't how it should turn out.
This boy wasn't the trainer he loves.
He laid there, slumped, and there he closed his eyes, admitting defeat. The crowd cheered, while some gasped in surprise. After this one match, Brendan had gotten the gist of the battle and the two trainers' respective motivations.
"What the hell is he doing?" An agitated voice shouted. "He's much stronger than this!"
Brendan turned to Ethan, who was clenching his fists, his golden eyes glaring at Red, looking frustrated and confused. The Lover sighed, his eyes gazing at the aforementioned trainer.
Emotions and bonds that tie Pokémon and people together made them stronger. Yet, at the same time, the stronger the bond, the more painful it'll be for the trainer when this bond was ever to be forcefully broken. And once the pain is left unchecked, it can drive people to do incomprehensible and irrational things.
In his pain, Red had forgotten his Pokémon. He had closed off his heart, and he had lost sight of them.
He had ignored his Pokémon's voices.
The human heart is most unpredictable.
Indeed, it is.
The score is 3 to 2, in Green's favor.
As Alakazam laid unconscious on the battle arena, Snorlax panted heavily, his huge body wobbling as he ambled backward. His opponent dissolved into a flash of light, which then shot back into the Pokéball Green was holding.
Snorlax tried to even out his breathing, but the strange tension around seemed to prevent him from doing so.
Red wasn't himself.
He didn't understand what was happening. Red's commands didn't flow, and it felt as if he couldn't grab his trainer's words as well as usual. Things didn't feel right.
He tried to concentrate, his sleepiness still trying to take hold of him, but at the next second, his next opponent came out in a flash of white light. He stared at Machamp, a strange feeling of déjà vu fleeting past him.
It needed no words, and the battle commenced, as Green shouted out a command, prompting Machamp to run towards him, his left leg swinging in to deliver a Low Kick.
"Counter with Rollout," Red suddenly said, and Snorlax went stunned for a short second, before he hurriedly rolled himself up, barely negating the Fighting-type attack, and as he rolled past his opponent, he could hear Machamp letting out a pained grunt. He navigated himself, rolling back, ready to damage the opponent.
"Machamp, stop him," Green said, and Machamp stood his ground, his body glowing the faint red light of Focus Energy. Four arms outstretched, muscles flexing, he readied himself to stop the humongous body of Snorlax.
The audience watched with bated breath, as Snorlax picked up speed and soon slammed right into Machamp. A loud screech followed after, Machamp getting pushed back further and further away.
Then he stopped, successfully halting Snorlax's advances, while Green shouted, "Slam it into the ground with Seismic Toss!"
And Snorlax, lying flat on his back, was instantly picked up, his belly fat rolling back and forth when he felt himself being lifted up effortlessly. His world was spinning, and he fought back the urge to vomit out his food when his whole body was tossed up and then somersaulted across the air.
"Dynamic Punch!"
"Giga Impact!"
Machamp's fist glowed red, while Snorlax balanced himself in the air, his body surrounded by a yellow-white energy that spiraled around him. He roared, throwing his body forward, and at that moment, his head connected with Machamps's fist, a resounding snap ringing throughout the arena, and both Pokémon flew back in the opposite directions, Snorlax crashing into the ground, Machamp landing a distance away from his opponent.
"Bulk Up, then Karate Chop" Green commanded, and Machamp was up on his feet, his body boosted in Attack and Defense, and he swiftly cut down a Karate Chop with his hand heavily into Snorlax's belly fat.
"Defense Curl,"
Snorlax, while enduring the pain, curled himself up, as Machamp attacked him again and again with a multitude of Karate Chops and punches. Snorlax curled himself up tighter, knowing that his Hit Points were low and he had to protect himself as much as possible. At this timing, Red would definitely ask him to Rest, and all he needed to do was to await his trainer's command. The Fighting-type then retreated a few steps back, while Green commanded him to attack with a Dual Chop.
Snorlax then heard a battle command from Red, and though confused, he obeyed and Yawned drowsily, the loud sound reverberating throughout the arena. Machamp froze in his tracks, the urge to sleep rising, his eyes closing.
"Focus Energy,"
He immediately snapped himself awake, and rushed in, his arms already swinging down upon Snorlax.
"Body Slam,"
The Pokémon lifted himself up, his legs propelling himself up into the air, barely dodging from Dual Chop, which devastated the concrete. The arena repaired itself quickly, while Snorlax fell, his huge body knocking straight on Machamp. The impact sent cracks extending outwards in the concrete, the self-repairing property of the material unable to catch up.
Murmurs emerged from the audience, many convinced that victory has been decided. Until Snorlax was suddenly lifted up from below, and Red anxiously yelled, "Rollout, no, wait-"
Snorlax finally realized what was wrong.
His body was soon thrown off with Seismic Toss, and as his body flew through the air, Red yelled, "- Rest!"
Red didn't hear his voice.
Too late.
The impact was dealt, and Snorlax laid motionlessly on the ground, his body bruised from all the throws, the punches and he was out cold in mere seconds. The audience at the sides exclaimed, gasped, and was all around shocked at the results. This was a total opposite of the duo's match during the Championships.
The score was 4 to 2, in Green's favor.
Red was losing.
That concludes Chapter 31! Cliffhanger, aye?
Btw, here's a huge notice for all my readers! I will be on hiatus, due to my national exams that are coming up pretty soon (in about less than 4 months) so I will be inactive in writing for some time. My exams end in December, so for those who have been asking about my update schedule, the next Chapter will probably come in between December and the January of next year! Stay tune :)
Cheers,
onetimetrip