DISCLAIMER:- I do not own Pokemon or any of their characters portrayed herein. I only own characters that have not been seen either in games or in the anime
MESSAGE TO READERS:- Still reading this, huh? Well, I cannot say that it makes me displeased. I've been working on a couple more chapters as well, just trying to iron out a few creases in the plot before I go manic on posting chapters. This chapter will essentially wrap up Misty Vs. Paul and then we can get on with some actual plot development rather than just battles. Thank you to all who have currently reviewed. I've taken some advice and will incorporate more of a storyline in the next couple of chapters, before we finally get to Jonathyn's next match. So, grab yourself a lemonade, kick back and enjoy!!!
THE LEAGUE OF CHAMPIONS
CHAPTER 5: MARSHTOMP FIGHTS BACK! GO, MISTY, GO!
I stared onto the battlefield. This was Misty's last chance to pull off a huge victory over Paul. Even though Paul's Electabuzz had the upper hand against her last Pokemon, Marshtomp was the perfect Pokemon to stop it in it's tracks. I could sense Paul's frustration. His strategy had now turned against him. After all, any respectful Pokemon Trainer knows that Ground Types are completely immune to electric attacks. Paul's frown had now turned into what reminded me of a growling Poochyena. His teeth were clenched together, his fist almost shaking in rage. However, Misty seemed to have regained her composure ever since she had placed Marshtomp on the field. Brock watched with even more interest than me, considering the mud-fish Pokemon used to belong to him. And I could tell just by looking at it that he had trained it incredibly well.
"Electabuzz," Paul frowned, almost acting in complete confusion. "Use Thunder on Marshtomp." Being that the Rain Dance that Misty's Luvdisc had performed in the previous part of the bout, the Electric Pokemon's attack struck Marshtomp with one hundred per cent accuracy. However, Marshtomp's body simply sent the electric attack rebounding off it into the water. Misty grinned at this.
"That's not going to work this time," Misty chuckled. "Use Mud Shot!" she yelled passionately. Marshtomp took a deep breath, before spitting out a barrage of large lumps of mud straight at Electabuzz. They flew through the air like bullets.
"Dodge it!" Paul begged, but it was no use. Stood on a platform with almost nowhere to go, the Mud Shot collided viciously with the face of Paul's Electabuzz. It was hurled backwards into the water. "Electabuzz, use Quick Attack," Paul ordered. With a sudden burst of energy, using it's legs to propel itself through the water, Electabuzz darted through the water and approached Marshtomp at a high speed. "Just keep on going…" Paul murmered.
"Swim away from it," Misty shouted, as Marshtomp immediately obeyed, jetting away from Electabuzz, but somehow Electabuzz appeared right in front of it.
"STOP!" Paul called. In an instant, Electabuzz stopped just inches away from Marshtomp. "Brick Break," Paul called again. Electabuzz raised it's hand, before swiping hard at Marshtomp…
"Protect!" Misty shouted, as a blue aura suddenly engulfed Marshtomp just as Electabuzz's Brick Break hit. Electabuzz continued to try and force the attack through Marshtomp's barrier, but it was no use. Electabuzz rose to the surface for air, leaping out of the water and scrambling back onto one of the platforms. Marshtomp remained in the water for the time being. By now, the Rain Dance's effect on the weather had worn off. Now the sun was shining brightly. Electabuzz looked completely exhausted, whereas Marshtomp still seemed to be in a fairly reasonable state. "Now, Mud Shot!" Misty shouted, repeating the earlier attack. Marshtomp launched another array of muddy lumps at Electabuzz.
"Use Quick Attack to dodge it," Paul suddenly grinned, changing his tone of voice. With a burst of speed, Electabuzz leapt away from the platform onto another one that had now floated a little closer than before. "Get behind it and use Thunder Punch!" he ordered. Electabuzz did indeed manage to get behind Marshtomp, who was still firing it's Mud Shot. The punch connected, knocking Marshtomp's head sideways. The Mud Shot had ended, but Marshtomp was ready to retaliate.
"Close range attacks will do you no good either. Use Mud Shot!" Misty called once more. From point blank range, Marshtomp fired. The attack sent Electabuzz flying back, crashing into the podium on which his trainer was stood. "And that's the end of that!" Misty smiled uncontrollably. Electabuzz had a dazed look in it's eyes.
"Electabuzz is unable to battle. Marshtomp wins!" the match official declared. The crowd roared, as did I.
"Way to go, Misty!" I shouted in delight.
"Hold on…" Brock murmered in a rather concerned voice.
"What's the matter?" I asked, now concerned just because Brock sounded concerned.
"Electabuzz's Thunder Punch may not be effective against a Ground Type," Brock frowned. "But it still has an ability called Static. That means that any time that a Pokemon comes into physical contact with it, there is a chance that it might become paralysed by it."
"But how? Marshtomp is a Ground Type…" I argued.
"It's also a Water type. Perhaps the two types just cancelled each other out," he replied. "You see the sparks coming from Marshtomp?" I looked over, noticing a small spark of static electricity fly from Marshtomp. I simply nodded to Brock. "That's the usual sign that Static has affected it," he confirmed. Misty had also noticed this and the look on her face showed that of uneasiness. Marshtomp looked as though it was also struggling. It had no climbed out of the water and was resting on one of the buoyant platforms. By now, Paul had returned Electabuzz to it's Poke Ball, seemingly cursing it to some extent. Paul now appeared to be in deep thought. He only had seconds to spare, when he finally reached for his third and final Pokemon…
"It's a long shot… but it's the best chance that I have," he whispered to himself. "I select Torterra!" he shouted, as a giant, bulky ankylosaur-like monster with a tree growing out of it's back. "Tor-Tor!" it boomed with a deep voice. The creature was so large, that it barely managed to fit on one of the floating platforms. The platform seemed to sink significantly under the weight of the giant Pokemon. Misty suddenly began to laugh. "What are you laughing about now?" Paul sneered.
"Do you really think you can win with a giant Pokemon like that?" she asked provocatively. "It can't even move! As soon as I knock it into the water, it'll all be over."
"You fail to see the advantage that I truly have here," Paul smirked. "Not only do I now have a dual type advantage against you, but your Marshtomp has been paralysed by Electabuzz. So let's see you try and dodge this. Torterra, Leaf Storm!" he pointed a Marshtomp. Torterra's tree on it's back started to glow a lime green, before a sudden blast of natural power was shot straight at Marshtomp.
"Get out of the way!" Misty screamed in horror, as the powerful attack approached Marshtomp. With a huge amount of effort, Marshtomp was able to roll over and drop helplessly into the water. The Leaf Storm flew past where Marshtomp was sat and slammed into the podium on which Misty was stood. The resulting explosion knocked Misty off her stand and crashing to the ground below. Some members of the crowd gasped, as Misty lay motionless.
"Misty! No!" Brock yelled in shock. I pushed my way through the crowd and ran down to Misty's side. Several officials had gathered around her, but I had shoved them out of the way as well. I picked her up by the back of her head.
"Misty, can you hear me?" I whimpered. She did not say a word. "Misty?" I asked again, waiting desperately for an answer. But nothing happened. I felt a tear drop forming in the corner of my eye, but I quickly wiped it away. A shadow loomed over me, where I saw a Meganium smiling above me. I gave it a confused look.
"Use Aromatherapy," I heard a female voice say to her Pokemon. With that, pulses of energy began to flow through the air. I could feel it travel down my arms and into Misty. The Meganium continued to smile, as though uplifting everyone's mood about the whole situation. I heard a weak grunt, my eyes quickly turned back to Misty, who was now twitching a little. Her eyes slowly opened.
"Huh? What?" she burbled. "What happened?"
"That Leaf Storm knocked you out," the Meganium's owner quickly replied. "But Meganium here healed you." Misty looked up at the young girl. She was wearing rather a short pair of leg shorts, whilst sporting a baseball cap as well as a yellow and black striped baseball shirt. It reminded me of the Electabuzz Baseball Team colours. "Having trouble putting a name to my face?" she giggled as Misty's still bewildered and semi-conscious expression showed signs of improvement.
"Thank you, Casey," Misty smiled. My eyes suddenly widened… Casey. This girl was Casey. Could this be my next opponent? This kind and caring girl would be the next person that I would have to beat? Groggily, Misty got up to her feet, although I still couldn't take my eyes off of my foe. "Sorry I can't catch up at the moment. I've got a battle to win," Misty smiled. All three of us looked over towards Paul, who was slightly obscured from view by his Torterra. He showed no sign of concern. His heartless attitude made my blood boil. Paul simply waited, not even acknowledging that he had almost caused a serious injury. Misty's Marshtomp had now managed to climb out of the water and back onto one of the platforms, but it looked like it's stamina had been reduced to almost nothing thanks to it's paralysis. As Misty re-ascended the podium, we returned to our seats. Casey was sat quite literally right in front of me. I couldn't believe all that time my next combatant was just inches away from me! The official moved a little closer to Misty, talking compassionately.
"Are you going to be alright to continue?" he asked politely, yet somewhat sternly. Misty nodded, although still a little weak. Her eyes were fixated on the battlefield. "Then let the battle continue!" he shouted.
"Marshtomp, Dive!" Misty shouted. Marshtomp dropped back into the water and swam as fast as it could, despite it's poor condition, towards Torterra.
"Use Giga Drain," Paul ordered. A torrent of green light wafted into the water and headed straight for Marshtomp, Marshtomp quickly dodged it on it's own, before leaping out of the water and slamming into Torterra. The platform on which Torterra was stood rocked a little, but in some way it still managed to maintain a standing base without toppling into the water. Marshtomp landed back in the water with a splash.
"Get underneath the platform that Torterra is on, then use Muddy Water," Misty shouted. Marshtomp, looking rather tired was able to launch the Muddy Water attack. The azure blue water of the battlefield now turned into a murky brown. Marshtomp had camouflaged itself in the water. At the same time, waves rocked the pontoon yet again. Torterra slipped and slid a little, but alas it still managed to hang on without falling into the gloomy depths.
"Not bad," Paul seemed to appreciate Misty's tactics a little more than usual. "Torterra, hit it with Giga Drain." Another gleaming green light raced into the water and suddenly turned red. Marshtomp flew out of the water, groaning in pain. Finally, it drops back down onto one of the platforms. It looks completely drained, but it's will to win keeps it's fighting spirit still burning. Misty looks on in disbelief. She knows now that she is in trouble. "Come on," Paul grinned once again. "It was obvious that your Marshtomp was still hiding under my Torterra." Misty sighed. He was right. But she shook away the negative thoughts and contemplated another plan.
"All right," she huffed. "This is it. Marshtomp, aim a Mud Shot at the pontoon that Torterra is stood on!" she pointed with a flurry of adrenaline. But Marshtomp could barely move. Slowly, it prepared the attack…
"Use Giga Drain again!" Paul called. Torterra launched it's attack pretty much straight away, but Marshtomp once again dodged by dropping into the water, before firing another shower of mud at the pontoon. It rocked and then tilted well over sixty degrees. With a huge splash, Torterra fell into the murky water. Marshtomp fell in as well near to the position where it had fired the Mud Shot.
"Yes! There's no way that your Torterra can survive now!" Misty squealed, delighted that now she had the upper hand.
"Think again," Paul grinned. Misty suddenly froze. "Frenzy Plant!" he called into the marshy water. All of a sudden, several giant, spiky roots emerged from the water. Marshtomp was flung from the water. Using some of the other plants, Torterra lifted itself from the water. Drops of mud and water fell from the vegetation on it's back. The roots continued to slam Marshtomp relentlessly. "End it!" he shouted. With one more mighty swing, the roots sandwiched Marshtomp between them. The mud fish Pokemon dropped lifelessly into the water, before floating back up to the surface almost unconscious. It lay motionless in the water.
"Marshtomp can no longer battle. The winner of this match is Paul!" the official confirmed. The crowd roared, yet I felt something inside me sink. I didn't want Paul to win, but for Misty to come so close and then lose the way she did almost made me want to cry with rage. But I held it back. Misty called back her Marshtomp, as did Paul with his Torterra. He turned his back on Misty…
"Good effort," he congratulated, half-heartedly. "But you'll have to do much better than that next time," he grinned to himself, before walking away into the darkness of the tunnel. Misty stared at Marshtomp's Poke Ball, completely ignoring what Paul had to say to her.
"You did great, Marshtomp. Thank you," she gratefully confided within her Pokemon. With a dejected look, she too descended the podium and headed into the tunnel. I got out of my seat quickly and headed down toward her. Brock followed me with the same intention as I. I also noticed that Casey had decided to follow me as well. Something that I did not really approve of, but would tolerate for now. We soon reached the tunnel, pushing our way past several people who simply wanted to get a soda or something to get there. Misty had slumped against the wall half-way down and was on the brink of bursting into tears.
"Hey, Misty." I smiled, trying to be as warm and comforting as possible. "You did great out there. That was a great match." Brock and Casey bobbed their heads in agreement.
"What does it matter?" Misty sobbed. "He really is a better trainer. I feel as though I've lost all my pride as a Gym Leader."
"Relax," Brock smiled. "Defeat doesn't make you a bad trainer. Look at it this way, you took him to the limit. He could have lost that battle at any minute. At the end of the battle, he was the winner. But that doesn't mean he's the better trainer."
"Brock," Misty sighed. "I appreciate what you're trying to say, I really do. But I don't want to hear it. I just want to be left alone for a while." She slunk away down the rest of the tunnel until she was gone from view. Casey and Brock looked at each other and shrugged a little.
"She must be taking it pretty hard," Casey said as she shook her head. "I'll catch up with her later. I'm going to go and train with my Pokemon for the next round."
"Really?" I grinned slyly, coming up with an idea. "Do you know who you're facing?"
"Don't try and throw a fast ball on me," her tone of voice suddenly changed. "I know that you're my opponent in the next round." I was quite taken aback by this sudden outburst. As was Brock.
"Fine," I snorted. "Do what you like. I've got some business to take care of. What are you going to do, Brock?"
"I'm going on the pull!" Brock quipped instantly. "Did you see some of the chicks in the stands? They were stunning! I'm going to try my luck."
"You don't change, do you?" Casey chuckles.
"Good luck with that," I too let out a small laugh, visualising the events of yesterday when that Croagunk appeared and Poison Jabbed it's trainer in the gut before dragging him away after flirting with that waitress. "I'd better go," I turned around quickly, walking at a fast pace down the tunnel.
"We'll catch up later," Brock called to me, although I ignored. My walk had now turned into a run… I was determined to catch up with Misty.
TO BE CONTINUED
Next Time: A Lot…
Harley comes between Jonathyn and Misty yet again. Two of Jonathyn's Pokemon don't seem to get along very well. And when Misty and Jonathyn finally do get a moment to themselves, they are disturbed once again by… a Beedrill Massacre!?!?!?