Chapter 19: The Great Club Battle Finale
"Beat him for us," Shelly said to Dani as she left for the battlefield. She did not like that Trip, and she really wanted him to go down.
Dani noticed how confident Trip appeared. She was not as angry as her sister, but she still thought he could use a lesson in humility. "Good luck," she said. 'You beat my sisters, but I'm not planning on let you beat me."
Trip stared at her across the field. "There are three of you? We'll see if at least one of you has some talent. Go Seperior!"
Dani taught the large snake was quite impressive. However, he would be no match for her Charizard. "Luke, you're up!" She tossed a Pokeball in the air and released her fire and flying type. "Start off with Flame Burst!"
"Dodge that," Trip said swiftly. "Then use Dragon Tail."
Luke sucked in air and then released it in a large ball of fire. The grass type slithered out of the way just in time. He ended up near the Charizard, his tail turned to him. His tail glowed bright blue before he used it to strike Luke in the side.
Dani was not bothered that Trip had the first hit, for she knew she would have the last. "Luke, Smokescreen!" A thick fog filled the air, making it hard to see. "Now Wing Attack!"
Movement could be seen through the smoke, and a second later the Seperior cried out. Luke landed right in front of Dani where she could see him.
"Pretty clever," said Trip, "but it will take more than that to take down my Seperior. Frenzy Plant!"
Dani could see nothing as Seperior acted. Luke tensed as he waited for the attack. Then leaf filled vines appeared from the ground and hit the Charizard, causing him to growl.
"Alright, time for Dragon Rage!" said Dani.
Luke took a deep breath as he gathered a ball of energy in his hands. Then the energy sprang forth in a blinding light. The force of the attack caused Seperior to almost fall over, and it also cleared the last of the smoke.
"Quick, use Wrap!" said Trip.
Serperior struck out his tail. He wrapped it around Luke and squeezed him. His grip made it hard for the Charizard to move.
Dani grit her teeth as she wondered how to get out of this. Then she got an idea. "Stay calm, Luke. Use Flame Burst!"
"Quick, get out of there!"
Seperior unwrapped himself from Luke and started to slither away. However, he was not quick enough to avoid the ball of fire. The force of the attack sent him flying to the ground. He struggled to get back up, his eyes blazing.
Trip smirked. "Good. You can still battle. Use Dragon Tail!"
"Wing Attack!"
The two Pokemon moved towards each other, Serperior slithering and Luke flying. The attacks struck on the same time. Both Pokemon appeared tired, but the grass type was obviously more wiped.
"Energy Ball!" Trip called.
"Dragon Rage!" Dani countered.
The Pokemon gathered the attacks and threw their energy at the same time, causing a great explosion that blocked the view of the action. When the smoke cleared, Luke was still standing and Serperior had fainted.
"Serperior is unable to battle," said the referee. "Luke is the winner, and victory goes to Dani!"
"Great job, Luke," Dani said with a small smile. "I knew you could do it."
"Serperior, return," Trip said, holding out a Pokeball. He looked across the field at his opponent, his expression unreadable. "Not bad. At least one of you has some talent." And then he turned and exited the stadium.
Dani nodded at Trip as she watched him leave. She would take that as a compliment. She retuned Luke to his own Pokeball and then headed back to her friends, where she received many congratulations.
"You're up next," May said to Gary.
"Good luck against Paul," Shelly said, not sounding pleased.
Gary's eyes darkened. "Thanks." He took a deep breath before walking onto the battlefield. Paul already stood on the other side, waiting for the battle to begin.
"Gogoat, you're up!" Gary said, kissing his Pokeball before releasing his grass type. After all the long walks he had taken with him, he knew the Gogoat was itching for some action.
"Zorua," Paul said. A black fox appeared in front of him. This was the same Pokemon he had used in the past two rounds of the tournament. "Shadow Ball!"
"Seed Bomb," Gary said.
"Dodge that!"
Zorua opened her mouth and formed a dark ball of energy. Gogoat was not quick enough to dodge the move. Te dark type, however, darted out of the way of the seeds that were headed her way.
"Alright, use Vine Whip," said Gary.
"Dodge and use Dark Pulse."
Gogoat extended his vines and brought them down in front of him. Once again, Zorua was able to move out of the way of the attack. Then purple waves came out of her body, striking her opponent. Gary grit is teeth. He knew he had to think of something to turn this battle around quickly.
Paul smirked. "Had enough yet? Zorua, Night Daze!"
Gary knew this attack took some time to complete. This was his chance. "Gogoat, Takedown!"
Zorua's eyes glowed blue as she raised her paws in the air. At the same time, Gogoat ran towards her. Just when he was about to reach her, she slammed her paws on the ground, creating a wave of energy that ripped forward around the entire battlefield. Gogoat grunted as he pushed forward, slamming into the fox.
Gary felt slight relief. At least his opponent had taken some damage. However, he did not know if his own Pokemon could take much more. "Now Seed Bomb!"
"Hyper Voice!"
Gogoat sent out another barrage of seeds. Zorua stood her ground, opened her mouth, and lot out a high pitched shriek that caused even Gary to cover his ears. Both Pokemon were clearly affected by the respective moves.
"Takedown!" Gary called. He had to use his best attack if he wanted to win.
"Shadow Ball after you're hit!"
Gogoat panted as he raced forward. He succeeded in ramming into the Zorua, but as she fell back, she blasted him with her Shadow Ball. The Gogoat fell to his side and did not get up again.
"Gogoat is unable to battle," said the referee. "Zorua is the winner, and the victor is Paul!"
"Thanks for the battle, Gogoat," Gary said with a sad smile as he returned him to his Pokeball. He narrowed his eyes at Paul. He did not like the way he pushed his Pokemon. With a huff, he returned to the rest of the group.
"Good try out there," Dani said as he approached.
"Too bad you couldn't win it," May added. Shelly nodded beside her.
"You'll have to beat him for me," Gary said to Dani. The finals were the following day, so they had the night off.
Dani nodded. "I'll do my best. For now, let's all get some rest."
Everyone readily agreed.
That evening, the group enjoyed a meal together. Dani sat across from May and next to Gary at the end of the table. She was mostly silent as she thought about her battle with Paul the following day.
"Are you nervous?" May asked, breaking her from her thoughts.
"Yeah, a little bit," Dani admitted. "I've beat him once in the past, and I don't know if I can do it again."
"Which Pokemon will be using?"
"I'm thinking about going with Luke."
May smiled. "Then you'll do just fine. Your Charizard is very strong. Paul will probably use that Zorua again, so you'll know what's coming."
She nodded. "I guess so." Paul must have caught that Zorua recently. She was impressed with how strong she was already. She thought of something else as she nibbled on her food. "We ran into Drew the other day. We got him to slow down and rest with us for a day. I even got him up in the air on his Flygon."
May looked at her in surprise. "Really? I've never gotten him to stay in one place for long. He must really like you." She was smiling, but her eyes were sad and almost... regretful? Jealous?
Dani knew she had to fix this. "It's not like that. I'm just good at reading people. I think Drew's a lot easier to deal with than you think. Just stay calm and don't back down. If you want to spend time with him, just say so. I think he might be waiting for you to ask."
May blushed and glanced down at her plate. "You think so?"
Dani smiled at her. "Sure. Give it a shot."
She smiled back at her shyly. "Thanks, Dani."
"Hey, May!" Shelly called from the other side of the table. "Where are you going after this?"
"Oh, I'm going to Nimbassa City for the Pokemon Contest," May said.
"So are we. You should come with us."
Max turned to Gabri beside him and grinned. "Yeah, that sounds fun. I could use some company other than my sister."
May rolled her eyes but then smiled at Shelly. "Sure. If we're all heading in the same direction, why not?"
Everyone else nodded their approval. So it was set. The planned to leave the day after the Club Battle tournament ended. Soon, it was time for bed. Dani fell asleep with dreams of Paul and Pokemon battles.
Dani and Paul stood across from each other on the battlefield. The girl tuned out the sound of the cheering crowd. This battle meant more to her than winning a tournament. Though part of her knew she shouldn't care, she wanted to win her opponent's respect. She also hoped to teach him that there was more to Pokemon than strength.
"Go, Luke!" she said, tossing a Pokeball in the air. The Charizard roared as he landed in front of her.
Paul smirked as he took out his own Pokeball. "It seems you've learned something about Pokemon evolution." He released his Zorua as expected.
His words made Dani realize something. "And it seems like you've learned that there's more to winning battles than evolution and size." After all, he had used Zorua to beat Gary's evolved Gogoat.
Paul frowned but did not respond. "Zorua, use Dark Pulse!"
"Luke, Wing Attack!"
As Zorua extended her tentacles of energy, Luke took to the sky and dodged the attack. He then swooped down to attack with his wing. "Shadow Ball!" Paul called. Just after she was hit, Zorua shot a ball of dark energy at her opponent. Luke grunted as he landed on the ground.
Something about the way Paul battled rubbed Dani the wrong way. "You know, Zorua must be tired after battling the entire tournament. You shouldn't push her so hard. She needs a break."
"I don't need you to teach me about Pokemon battles," Paul growled. "Hyper Voice!" Luke and Dani both covered their ears as a high pitched sound filled the stadium. "Now Night Daze."
"Use Dragon Rage!" Dani shouted above the noise.
The Pokemon prepared their attacks at the same time. Zorua finished first, slamming her paws on the ground to produce ripples on the battlefield. Luke released his energy just before he was struck.
Dani had to admire the spirit of the Zorua. She almost pitied her for having to put up with Paul. "Luke, fly up and use Flame Burst!"
"Dark Pulse!"
Luke leapt into the air. He managed to swerve out of the way of Zorua's attack until he was right above her. He then blasted her with a giant fire ball, causing her to whimper.
Dani wanted to end this before Zorua got too hurt. "Luke, Fire Fang!"
"Stand your ground and use Night Daze."
Dani widened her eyes. Was he really going to risk his Pokemon getting hurt at this point just to win the battle? "You're pushing her too hard!"
"That's none of your business!"
Dani held her breath, hoping everything would turn out alright. Luke's tooth glowed as he ran forward. Zorua tensed, but instead of preparing her own attack, she leapt out of the way.
Paul appeared startled, but a second later he narrowed his eyes at his Pokemon. "I said Night Daze!"
"She doesn't think there's enough time!" Dani grit her teeth when she realized her opponent would not listen to her. She watched Zorua should a Shadow Ball at Luke, hitting her target. It was time to end this. "Flame Burst!"
"Use Hyper Voice!"
Luke took to the air once again. Zorua stared up at him. She looked at her trainer once before returning her gaze to the Charizard. She made no move to dodge or attack. Then Luke's fire struck, and she was blown across the field. Luke landed on the ground, and the smoke cleared to show that the dark type had fainted.
"Zorua is unable to battle," the referee said. "Luke is the winner, and victory goes to Dani from Ecruteak City!"
"We did it," Dani said, nearly in disbelief. Then she ran forward and embraced her Charizard. "You were amazing, Luke." He roared in agreement. When she pulled away, she noticed Paul mumble something as he returned his Zorua to her Pokeball. Then he made his way over to her.
"Congratulations," he said. "You're not as bad as I thought."
Dani blinked in surprise when he extended his hand to her. Maybe he was being polite because of the crowd, but she did not care. She smiled as she shook his hand. "Thanks, Paul. You battled well too."
He grunted in response. Before he could drop her hand, Don Georges was there, and he lifted both of their hands into the air. "Give it up for our finalists and a great battle!"
Paul seemed somewhat awkward with the applause that followed, and when Dani smiled at him, he looked away. He started for the exit as soon as he was free.
Dani did not have time to worry about him, for she was handed the even Feather Driftveil Wing set. She held it up as she stood on a podium with Luke behind her.
"Congratulations, Dani," the announcer said. "May we have a few words about your victory?"
Dani was not usually comfortable with the attention, but winning had put her in a good mood. "It was all thanks to Luke and my other Pokemon," she said. "They were great, and we're going to continue to work hard!" She caught the eyes of her friends in the audience and gave them a smile. She was glad when she finally had the chance to get back to them.
"Dani! You were amazing!" Gary said. Before she could respond, he pulled her into a hug.
She was surprised, but it felt good, so she hugged him back. "Thanks, Gary."
"That was a great battle," May said.
"Totally," said Max.
"It was good to see you beat Paul," Shelly said with a smile.
"Congratulations," said Gabri. Then something caught her eye. It was Trip leaving the stadium! "I'll be right back."
She was out of there before anyone could protest. She walked quickly and managed to grad onto Trip's sleeve before he exited. He looked back at her and stopped. "Gabri?" he said in surprise.
Now that she had his attention, Gabri was not quite sure what she wanted to say. She decided to go with the first thing that came to her mind. "Did you watch the battle?"
"Yes. Your sister is not bad. You could learn a thing or two from her."
"And then we can battle again?"
He paused before giving her something in between a smile and a smirk. "Sure. See you later, Gabri."
The girl was not sure why she was acting this way around him, and she did not care. With a smile, she turned and walked back to her sisters and friends. They had a victory to celebrate!
