Rayquaza45: It's time, readers! The real fights of the Battle Spirits Tournament are beginning! Alright so, sorry to do this, but there is a minimum review limit on this chapter. Of course, you will find out what it is at the end of this chapter, so remember to review! Everyone!
Congratulations to "Zombrya", your suggestion of Leaf having a Froslass will be taken into the story. Not now, but later.
Disclaimer: I do not own pokemon or any aspect of it!
Chapter 9: The Top 16! The Real Battles Begin!
The massive cheering crowd sitting in the seats high above the battle field on the 45th floor of the Battle Tower field where Ash was fighting made it difficult for him to think clearly. There was a small podium above the field for the referee. There was also a big TV screen on the wall high above one side of the field which was meant for people far away from the field who would need to keep up with what was going on.
The field had a very high roof, given for flying pokemon as well as a small section made of water, for water-type pokemon.
Wallace suddenly appeared on the TV screen, eliciting cheers from the crowd and deafening screams from fangirls scattered around the seats. He was wearing an outfit similar to the one he wore in the Sinnoh region Wallace cup and he was standing on a stage surrounded by a black curtain. Soon after the cheering ended, he spoke up.
"Welcome, one and all, to the true beginning of the Battle Spirits Tournament." He said. "As the official hos-"
A can of lemonade suddenly beamed Wallace in the head, appearing to have been thrown at him from somewhere off camera. "ONE OF the official hosts!" A loud voice boomed, having likely been amplified by a microphone.
"Yes, yes, ONE of the official hosts of this tournament and the host of the round of 16, I now declare the tournament open!" Wallace said. "The matches are now to begin."
Up in the stands; Gary, Leaf, Dawn, May, Brendan and Brock were sitting together and talking.
"So where's Lucas' battle?" May asked.
"Ugh." Gary mumbled as quietly as possible.
"He's fighting on the 46th floor." Brendan said.
Back on the field, the referee took the microphone and started talking. "Will the green trainer, Ash Ketchum approach the field?"
Ash approached the trainers square at the edge of the field with Pikachu on his shoulder.
"Will the red trainer approach the field?" The referee asked.
Ash's opponent was a tall and muscular boy, slightly older than himself wearing ripped jeans, a light-blue t-shirt and black shoes. He approached the field and stood tall.
"Now, are both trainers ready for battle?" The referee asked.
"You know it!"
"Yeah!"
"Both trainers are to release their pokemon now!" The referee shouted.
"Come on out!" Ash shouted as he threw his pokeballs into the air.
"Fight with me!" The kid shouted as he released his pokemon at the same time.
On Ash's side came out Snorlax and Glalie while his opponent had released a Kabutops and a Bastiodon.
"Bastiodon is part steel-type. This may be a challenge." The kid thought, looking at Ash's Glalie.
Ash started looking at his opponent's Kabutops. "A rock type may be hard to fight against with Glaile." He thought.
"The name's Milton." The kid told Ash.
"I'm Ash Ketchum." Ash cheerfully responded.
"Alright, trainers!" The referee started. "There will be no substitutions. Let the battle begin!"
"Snorlax, use hyper beam on Kabutops!" Ash shouted. "And Glalie, use ice beam on Bastiodon!"
Snorlax opened its arms wide open and started collecting orange-colored energy within its mouth. After collecting for several seconds and finally having enough accumulated energy, it opened its mouth and released a powerful orange beam at Kabutops.
At the same time, Ash's Glalie charged up a light blue ball in between the horns on its head and fired a light blue beam at Bastiodon.
"Bastiodon! Iron defense!" Milton shouted. "Kabutops, get around the hyper beam and use night slash on Snorlax!"
"Bast!" The shield pokemon said as the outline of its head started to glow light blue and a white shine went down its face. The ice beam from Glalie continued to hit dead-on but seemingly failed to inflict any significant damage.
At the same time, Kabutops ran it's hardest to evade Snorlax's hyper beam. After getting close enough to the sleepy pokemon, Kabutop's right sickle began to glow purple as the dome pokemon wound its arm back and prepared to strike!
"Snorlax, use protect!" Ash commanded.
"Snor!" The sleepy pokemon yawned as its body tensed up and flashed bright, taking no damage from Kabutop's attack. Snorlax now stood face to face with the dome pokemon.
"Glalie! Use ice beam again on Bastiodon!" Ash commanded. "Snorlax, use mega punch on Kabutops!"
"Snor!" The sleepy pokemon yelled as it obeyed its trainers command, winding up its now-glowing hand and aiming for Kabutops.
"Glalie!" The face pokemon said as it launched another ice beam at the shield pokemon.
"Both of you dodge the attacks!" Milton ordered.
Bastiodon managed to run away from the ice beam's area of impact and create significant distance between itself and the other battlers.
But the dome pokemon, Kabutops, was not as fortunate. Kabutops jumped backwards in order to dodge Snorlax's punch but remembering its training, the sleepy pokemon managed to hit the dome pokemon with its attack from a different angle, sending it flying back.
"Kabutops, no!" Milton shouted. "Bastiodon, use iron head on Snorlax!"
"Bast!" The shield pokemon shouted as it charged towards Snorlax, its body began to glow in a white shine as it approached its opponent.
"Snorlax! Hyper beam!" Ash shouted.
"Snor!" The sleepy pokemon yawned as it collected energy in its mouth and fired a yellowish-orange beam at the charging Bastiodon. The explosion between the two attacks covered the field in a great deal of dust. Even the cameras couldn't see what was happening. After several moments, the dust cleared. Bastiodon was panting heavily, having taken some damage while Snorlax was quite tired.
"Glalie! Get in there and use ice beam on Bastiodon!" Ash ordered.
"Glalie!" The face pokemon said as it fired an ice beam on the struggling-to-move shield pokemon.
"Kabutops, cancel it out with ancient power!" Milton yelled.
"Kabutops!" The dome pokemon said as it covered its body in a white glow and formed the glow into a white ball and fired it to cancel out the ice beam sent by Glalie, creating yet another cloud of dust.
Up in the seats, the gang immersed themselves in discussion.
"Nobody seems to be getting an edge." Brendan observed.
"They've still got a ways to go before one of them wins." Brock said. "It can go either way at this point."
"No way. Ash's got this in the bag." Leaf thought.
Back on the battlefield, Glalie and Snorlax stood side by side while Kabutops and the injured Bastiodon stared them down from across the field.
"Snorlax, use mega punch on Kabutops!" Ash yelled. "Glalie, use ice beam on Bastiodon."
"Kabutops, use endure!" Milton ordered. "Bastiodon, dodge it!"
"Kabutops!" The dome pokemon yelled out as it put itself in a defensive pose and took Snorlax's attack head-on.
"Bastttt!" The shield pokemon screamed as it was unable to dodge Glalie's ice beam in time and was hit by the powerful move, encasing it in a block of ice, unable to move.
"Bastiodon, no!" Milton yelled in agony.
"Snorlax, use mega punch on Kabutops again!" Ash commanded.
"Kabutops, aqua jet!" Milton told his pokemon.
"Kabutops!" The dome pokemon said as it encased its body in water and shot itself like a rocket towards Snorlax's face, knocking the sleepy pokemon backwards.
"End it with night slash, Kabutops!" Milton ordered.
"Glalie, use headbutt!" Ash told it.
"Glalie!" The face pokemon said as it charged towards Kabutops and hit it in the head with its whole body, knocking it off balance and allowing Snorlax to get up.
"Now then, Snorlax use hyper beam!" Ash yelled. "And Glalie, use headbutt!"
"Kabutops, you have to get out of the way!" Milton worriedly told his pokemon.
"Kabutops!" The dome pokemon said as is managed to dodge Glalie's headbutt, sending the face pokemon reeling to the left. But Snorlax managed to shoot down Kabutops with its powerful hyper beam, pushing it far down into the crumbling ground.
"Kabutops, can you get up?" Milton asked the seriously injured pokemon.
"Ka…." The dome pokemon said as it struggled to get up, standing for a few seconds "…butops." the pokemon said as it fell in defeat.
"Kabutops is unable to battle." The referee declared. "The red trainer has only one pokemon left."
It was true. Milton only had his frozen Bastiodon left to battle with. But having been encased in ice, he may as well forfeit, of course, he didn't.
"Kabutops, return!" Milton shouted. "Thank you for working so hard, Kabutops."
"You've raised Kabutops pretty well, Milton." Ash complemented.
"Thanks, Ash." He responded. "Bastiodon, break free from the ice!"
A few moments passed while everyone waited for Bastiodon to break out of its ice prison, but no luck.
"Snorlax, use hyper beam to break it out of the ice." Ash told it.
"Snor!" The sleepy pokemon yawned as it fired a yellowish-orange beam at the ice block which had encased Bastiodon. The powerful beam broke the ice and freed the shield pokemon, but had also inflicted serious injury. Bastiodon attempted to get to its feet, but fainted.
"No!" Milton shouted. "Bastiodon!"
"Bastiodon is unable to battle. The red trainer is out of pokemon." The referee declared. "Victory to the green trainer, Ash Ketchum. The green trainer will be the one to proceed to the top 8 round."
After congratulating Milton on a well fought battle, Ash went to the stands to greet his friends.
"Hey guys." He said, looking around and realizing someone was missing and someone had appeared. "Lucas?"
"Hi, Ash." Lucas politely replied.
"When did you get here?" Ash asked.
"Right around the time that Glalie froze Bastiodon." He explained. "I won my match pretty easily."
"This guy must be pretty good." Ash thought.
"Congratulations." Lucas said.
"You too." Ash said.
"Dawn and Brendan are fighting each other." May reminded him.
"Their match is starting up next." Brock said.
Leaf still hadn't spoke to Ash since yesterday. He made no attempt to reconcile with her either. Both seemed to think that some time apart would do well for them. Both of them still had to struggle not to do anything, thinking that if they did, the situation could get even worse. Though Leaf felt somewhat better after talking to May, Ash hadn't spoken to anyone about the date.
Back on the field, the referee started up the next battle.
"Will the green trainer please enter the arena?" The called out.
Heeding the call, Dawn emerged from the preparation room and entered the field. With Piplup by her side, she put on a confident grin.
"Will the red trainer now enter the arena?" The referee called out once again.
Brendan Birch approached the field, his shoulders held back, head held high and eyes staring all around in a deep manner.
"Now, are both trainers ready for battle?" The referee asked.
"Yeah!"
"Definitely!"
"Both trainers are to release their pokemon now!" The referee shouted.
"Come on out!"
"Fight along side me!"
On Dawn's side came out Mamoswine and Pachirisu. Her central reason for using the elesquirrel was Brendan's comment a few days ago. It was when he referred to Pachirisu as 'pitiful' when acting out his part of Leaf's plan which involved him holding on to Pikachu with the excuse being that he needed a powerful electric pokemon.
On Brendan's side came out Shiftry and Rhyperior. The wicked pokemon, Shiftry, had helped Brendan break several Battle Tower records while the drill pokemon, Rhyperior, was his strongest pokemon, second only to his starter pokemon, Swampert.
"Alright, trainers!" The referee started. "There will be no substitutions. Let the battle begin!"
"Rhyperior, use hammer arm on Pachirisu!" Brendan ordered. "Shiftry, hang back."
"Mamoswine, get past Rhyperior fast!" Dan told it. "Pachirisu, stop his hammer arm with super fang!"
"Mamo!" The twin tusk pokemon shouted as it followed its trainers order and ran past Rhyperior as fast as it could with speed usually used in contests.
"Pa!" The elesquirrel pokemon said as it jumped up and opened its mouth widely, its teeth began to glow as it latched on to Rhyperior's attacking arm as the drill pokemon looked back at Mamoswine.
"Rhy?" The confused drill pokemon said, looking at the little pokemon grabbing on to its hand with its mouth. Rhyperior comically tried to shake it off to no avail.
"Mamoswine, use hidden power and aim for Rhyperior's legs." Dawn yelled.
"Mamoswine!" The twin tusk pokemon said as it unleashed a barrage of white sparks from its body and aimed them at the legs of the drill pokemon. The sparks fizzled out against the legs of the large pokemon, who seemingly felt nothing from the attack.
"You didn't really think you were gonna hurt Rhyperior like that, did you?" Brendan sarcastically asked.
Up in the stands, Ash and the rest of the group were engaged in watching the battle between their two friends. A loss meant the one of the two couldn't go on.
"Why's Brendan keeping Shiftry back and only attacking with Rhyperior?" Leaf asked out loud.
"Maybe it's all part of a strategy?" Brock suggested.
"You're wrong. He's not planning any strategy." May flatly said.
"What?" All of them asked at the same time.
"Brendan's trying to show off by defeating both of Dawn's pokemon at the same time with only one pokemon of his own." May revealed.
"He can't really think that that's gonna work!" Ash exclaimed.
May sighed. "I wouldn't be surprised if it did work."
"Are you serious?" Gary asked.
"Brendan's a trainer who focuses a lot on the power of his pokemon." May revealed
"But this has gotta be against the rules." Ash tried to reason.
"I don't think so." Leaf said. "A trainer fights with one pokemon and asks the other to wait on the sidelines. No rules against it."
"Dawn's gonna have a lot of trouble with him." May thought.
Back on the battlefield, Brendan decided to go all out against Dawn's pokemon and end the battle quickly.
"Rhyperior, hammer arm Pachirisu into the ground!" He shouted.
"Rhyperior!" The drill pokemon shouted as its hand started to glow red, with Pachirisu on it. Raising its hand once more, it slammed it down into the ground with massive force in the blink of an eye, seriously injuring Pachirisu.
"Pachirisu, get out of there!" Dawn worriedly shouted. "Mamoswine, use ice shard!"
"Mamo!" The twin tusk pokemon shouted as it fired a glowing ball of ice at Rhyperior, allowing the injured Pachirisu to get away.
"Rhy!" The drill pokemon yelled in agony, ice-type moves being amongst its weaknesses.
"Rhyperior, charge down Mamoswine!" Brendan yelled. Following the orders of its trainer, Rhyperior used its bulky arms to block the incoming attacks and ran towards the attacking Mamoswine. Staring down the twin tusk pokemon, Rhyperior continued to block the ice shards.
"Now Rhyperior, use rock wrecker!" Brendan shouted.
"Rhyperior!" The drill pokemon shouted as small stones came out of the holes on its hand and formed a much larger rock which was glowing. Rhyperior threw the rock at the twin tusk pokemon, pushing it back and injuring it severely.
"Mamoswine!" Dawn yelled, worrying for her injured pokemon.
"Get ready to finish it off when you can!" Brendan told his pokemon.
"What's Brendan doing?" Ash asked out loud.
"After rock wrecker, Rhyperior needs to recharge." Brock explained. "When it is finished recharging, it's gonna go finish off Mamoswine."
"Come on Dawn!" Gary shouted for his girlfriend.
"Pachirisu, attack Rhyperior with super fang!" Dawn commanded.
"Pachi pachi!" The elesquirrel pokemon repeated as it once again approached the drill pokemon. Reaching its much taller opponent. Pachirisu's fangs began to glow as they started to bite into Rhyperior's back.
"Rhy!" The drill pokemon yelled, currently unable to shake off its attacker like before.
"I was hoping I wouldn't have to do this." Brendan thought. "Shiftry, get in there and attack!"
"Shift!" The wicked pokemon excitedly shouted as it ran to its partner, happy to have been put into the battle at last.
"Shiftry, get Pachirisu off Rhyperior with brick break!" Brendan told it.
"Shif!" It yelled as its arm started glowing white and karate chopped Pachirisu right off Rhyperior's back.
"Pa!" The elesquirrel pokemon said as the wicked pokemons attack caused it to fall off Rhyperior's back and on to the ground.
"Shiftry, finish it off with razor leaf!" Brendan shouted.
"Shiftry!" The wicked pokemon shouted as razor sharp leaves came from its back and attacked the injured Pachirisu, knocking it unconscious.
"Pachirisu is unable to battle." The referee declared. "The green trainer only has one pokemon left to fight with."
"Dawn's in serious trouble!" Ash shouted from the stands.
"It's not over yet." Leaf calmly said. "Not by a long shot."
"Both Rhyperior and Shiftry are weak against ice-type moves." Gary revealed. "If Dawn plays it right, she can still win."
"Pachirisu! Return" Dawn said as she held out the pokeball to call back the injured elesquirrel pokemon. "You take a nice rest."
"Mamo!" The twin tusk pokemon shouted as it unleashed a barrage of ice shards at its opponents, a variation of its normal attack method with this move. It was visibly angry at its opponents for their brutality with its partner.
"Mamoswine, what are you doing?" Dawn shouted.
"Rhy!" "Shift!" The pokemon yelled in pain as they reeled from the attacks.
"Rhyperior, charge down Mamoswine!" Brendan shouted. "Shiftry, follow behind!"
"Rhyperior!" The drill pokemon said as it once again charged down Mamoswine, protecting itself as much as possible by blocking the ice shards with its very bulky arms.
"Mamoswine, if you're gonna do that, run to another corner, but keep firing your attack!" Dawn told it.
"Mamo!" The twin tusk pokemon said as it moved backwards around the field, continuing to fire ice shards at the opponents who kept up their pursuit.
"What's Dawn planning?" May asked.
"She must be trying to lure Shiftry out of hiding." Gary suggested.
After a few more minutes of chasing, Dawn realized that Brendan was too skilled to allow his pokemon to fall into such an obvious trap. However, before Dawn could get it together, Mamoswine made a fatal error.
"Mamooooo!" The twin tusk pokemon said as it fell down, having tripped itself up by walking backwards for so long. Now on the ground, it was at the mercy of Rhyperior, who had just caught up with it.
"Rhyperior! Finish it off with rock wrecker!" Brendan shouted.
"Rhyperior!" The drill pokemon shouted as it gathered more rocks from the holes in its arms and formed a larger rock with it threw at Mamoswine, knocking it out and ending the battle.
"Mamoswine is unable to battle. The green trainer is out of pokemon." The referee declared. "Victory to the red trainer, Brendan Birch. The red trainer will be the one to proceed to the top 8 round."
"I can't believe this is happening." Dawn thought to herself.
"Return!" Brendan said, holding out his pokeballs and recalling his pokemon. "You guys did great."
Back in the stands, Brendan rejoined the group sans Leaf, who had gone for her battle which was next. Brendan sat down while Dawn took another seat, far above the rest of the gang.
"Hey guys." Brendan said as he saw the group sitting together.
Ash glared right at Brendan after he sat down next to him. "Hey, Brendan, don't you think you were too rough?" Ash said.
"Rough?" Brendan sarcastically asked. "It's a battle, do what you can to win."
"Yeah bu-"
"It's not like I cheated, right?"
Ash started grumbling. "I know you didn't cheat, but don't you think there was some unnecessary brutality?"
"That's just how I fight!" Brendan shrugged.
Gary did his best to ignore Ash and Brendan and their continuing argument. Instead, he looked up and over at Dawn who stared out at the battlefield, her hands on her cheeks looking to be just inches away from crying. As he looked up at the girl who was normally so cheerful and fun, he felt powerless that he couldn't do anything.
Back on the field, the referee started up the next battle.
"Will the green trainer please enter the arena?" The called out.
Leaf came out of the preparation room and entered the field.
"Will the red trainer now enter the arena?" The referee called out once again.
Leaf's opponent was a girl slightly roughly the same age as herself. Heeding the call, she entered the arena and stared down Leaf from across the field.
"Now, are both trainers ready for battle?" The referee asked.
"Yes!"
"Absolutely!"
"Both trainers are to release their pokemon now!" The referee shouted.
"Come out!"
"Fight for me!"
On Leaf's side, out came her Dusknoir and a Leafeon. She had previously battled with her Dusknoir in the final preliminary round against a Typhlosion belonging to another trainer. This would be the first time her Leafeon was seen in the tournament.
Leaf's opponent released a Kingler and an Ariados.
"My name's Tamara." Leaf's opponent told her. "What's yours?"
"It's Leaf." She responded.
"Alright, trainers!" The referee started. "There will be no substitutions. Let the battle begin!"
"Dusknoir, use shadow punch on Ariados!" Leaf told it. "Leafeon, attack Kingler with razor leaf."
"Dusk!" The gripper pokemon shouted as it floated on over to Ariados and unleashed a punch in the air, creating a fist of shadow aimed for the long leg pokemon.
"Ariados, jump to dodge!" Tamara ordered. "Kingler, use harden!"
"Ariados!" The long leg pokemon said as it used all four of its legs to jump high up into the air, evading Dusknoir's attack.
"King!" The pincer pokemon said as its body was quickly covered in a white shine. Leafeon's attack struck Kingler head-on and left it injured, even after the defensive move had dissipated.
"Now Ariados, use string shot on Dusknoir!" Tamara shouted.
"Ariados." The long leg pokemon said as it opened its mouth and unleashed a long string-like substance from it that enveloped Dusknoir, sticking it firmly to the ground despite its lack of legs.
"Leafeon, get Dusknoir out of there with bullet seed!" Leaf commanded.
"Leaf!" The verdant pokemon yelled as it unleashed a barrage of orangeish-yellow seeds from its mouth at the strings covering Dusknoir. But before the gripper pokemon was freed, Ariados jumped in the path of the bullet seed.
"Ariados block the bullet seeds from freeing Dusknoir!" Tamara shouted. "Kingler, use crab hammer!"
Up in the seats, the gang engaged in conversation about the battle.
"She's using Ariados as a shield!" Ash shouted.
"Personally, I'd have used a move like iron defense before trying anything like that." Brendan said. "Without extra defense, Ariados is gonna have a problem later on."
"But Kingler's defensively stronger, so why didn't she try using it instead of Ariados?" Ash asked.
"Probably because Kingler is still a water type and Leafeon's bullet seed could hurt it, even with defensive moves being used." Brock explained. "Remember what happened with the razor leaf?"
Meanwhile, Gary continued to look at Dawn from afar, upset that it looked like there was nothing he could do.
Back on the battlefield, Ariados prevented Leafeon's bullet seed from freeing Dusknoir. On its trainer's orders, Kingler tried to attack Leafeon with crab hammer but the verdant pokemon kept dodging all of Kingler's attacks while Ariados didn't move.
"Leafeon, back up!" Leaf shouted.
"Go after it, Kingler!" Tamara shouted.
Having backed up from Kingler, who was still approaching, and having him in plain sight, Leaf initiated her attack.
"Leafeon, use bullet seed." Leaf ordered.
"Leaf!" The verdant pokemon shouted as it unleashed another barrage of tiny orangeish-yellow seeds at the approaching pincer pokemon, who failed to defend itself in time and took the attack directly.
"Kinnnng!" The pincer pokemon shouted in pain.
"Now, it's time Leafeon!" Leaf shouted. "Use hyper beam!"
"Leafeon!" The verdant pokemon shouted as it shot a powerful orange beam of energy at the pincer pokemon who was still recovering from the bullet seed attack.
"Kingler!" The pincer pokemon shouted as the powerful hyper beam hit it with great force and sent it flying into the air and crashing into the other side of the field. After the crash, Kingler was revealed to have been knocked unconscious.
"No!" Tamara shouted. "Kingler!"
"Kingler is unable to battle." The referee declared. "The red trainer has only one pokemon left."
"Thank you, Kingler." Tamara said as she called back her unconscious pokemon back into its pokeball. "You take a nice long rest."
"It's not over yet!" Leaf said to her opponent.
"You're right about that!" Tamara responded. "Ariados, use psychic!"
"Ariados!" The long leg pokemon said as its eyes started to glow bright green. It the gained control of Leafeon, lifting its body into the air and shaking it all around, before smashing it into the ground once.
"Leafeon, break out of it!" Leaf shouted.
"Leaf!" The verdant pokemon said as it shook itself wildly, and managed to break out of Ariados' control.
"Ariados! Use string shot!" Tamara shouted.
"Dodge it, Leafeon!" Leaf shouted. "Then use last resort!"
"Leaf!" The verdant pokemon shouted as it jumped up in the air, evading Ariados' attack and preparing to launch its own. Last resort was an attack that could only be used successfully if the user had already used the other moves it knew at the time. Leafeon's attack came down from the air like a speeding bullet, knocking Ariados away and freeing Dusknoir of the string shot.
"Dusk!" The gripper pokemon shouted as it was freed.
"Dusknoir, you're free!" Leaf shouted. "Use shadow punch!"
"Dusknoir!" The gripper pokemon shouted as it punched the air, creating a large purple shadow of a fist which punched Ariados square in the face.
"Ariados!" Tamara yelled.
"Leafeon, use hyper beam!" Leaf ordered.
"Dodge it with agility, Ariados!" Tamara shouted.
"Ar!" The long leg pokemon shouted as it ran around the field faster than ever, dodging Leafeon's hyper beam and leaving it and Dusknoir to frantically look around the field in order to get a lock on it.
"Dusknoir, use pursuit!" Leaf told it. "Use it to seek out Ariados!"
"Dusk!" The gripper pokemon shouted as it became a blur, and chased Ariados around the field. Before it was able to catch up with it, Ariados turned around.
"Use psychic!" Tamara shouted.
"Ariados!" The long leg pokemon shouted as its eye began to glow bright green and it took control of Dusknoir's body. Being a ghost-type pokemon, Dusknoir had a natural weakness against psychic-type moves.
"Leafeon, use bullet seed and help Dusknoir!" Leaf shouted.
"Leaf!" The verdant pokemon shouted as it unleashed many tiny orangeish-yellow seeds at Ariados, causing it to lose focus and release Dusknoir from its hold.
"Finish it off with hyper beam, Leafeon!" Leaf told it. "Dusknoir, you use shadow punch!"
"Leafeon!" "Dusknoir!" The pokemon shouted as they blasted the injured Ariados with their powerful attacks. Ariados was immediately knocked unconscious.
"Ariados is unable to battle! The red trainer is out of pokemon!" The referee declared. "Victory to the green trainer, Leaf Green. The green trainer will be the one to move on to the top 8 round."
"Return!" Leaf called, holding out her pokeballs which called back her pokemon. "Thank you Dusknoir. And Leafeon. You guys take it easy for now."
Leaf returned to the stands just as May was leaving to go to the preparation room. Everyone congratulated her on the victory. She noticed Dawn sitting far away from everyone else and asked her doubts straight up.
"Is Dawn…?" Leaf asked.
"She's really kinda depressed right now." May whispered. "Let's not draw attention to it."
"Congrats Leaf, I'll see you later." Gary got up and said.
"Where are you going?" Leaf asked.
"My match is on the 46th floor, this is the 45th." Gary explained. "You guys stay here."
"But we cou-"
"Just stay here." He asked, subtly pointing his elbow in the direction of the depressed blue-haired coordinator. "For now."
"Alright."
Leaf decided to sit next to Ash, deciding that their situation would get better if they start little by little.
"Hey, Ash."
After several minutes had passed, the referee started up the next battle.
"Will the green trainer please enter the arena?" The referee called out.
May came out of the preparation room and entered the field.
"Will the red trainer now enter the arena?" The referee called out once again.
May's opponent was a boy, slightly younger than herself dressed in ninja gear. Heeding the call, he entered the arena and stared down Leaf from across the field.
"Now, are both trainers ready for battle?" The referee asked.
"Yeah!"
"You know it!"
"Both trainers are to release their pokemon now!" The referee shouted.
"Come on out!"
"It's time!"
On May's side came out her Beautifly and Wartortle. Neither had been used in the tournament till this point.
The boy released a Beedrill and a Miltank. While the Beedrill seemed hyper, buzzing all around the field, his Miltank appeared to be very lazy, constantly yawning.
"Alright, trainers!" The referee started. "There will be no substitutions. Let the battle begin!"
"Beautifly, use aerial ace on Beedrill!" May shouted.
"Beautifly!" The butterfly pokemon said as its body was covered in a white shine as it came down, ready to hit Beedrill.
"Get out of the way, Beedrill!" The boy shouted. "And then attack with poison sting."
"Bee!" The spear pokemon said as it managed to dodge Beautifly's aerial ace and got behind it. "Beeee!" It said as it shot numerous purple needle-like shots at Beautifly.
"Beautifly!" May shouted as she saw her pokemon take several hits. "Wartortle, help Beautifly with ice beam!"
"Wartortle!" The turtle pokemon said as it unleashed a light blue-colored beam at the spear pokemon, hitting it directly.
"Miltank, get in there and use rollout!" The boy shouted.
"Miiil!" The milk cow pokemon lazily said as it lay down on the field, stretching its arms, refusing to work.
"What are you thinking?" The boy shouted at the top of his voice. "I need you to fight!"
"Milt!" It said once again as it turned on its stomach to lie down.
"Miltank refuses to battle!" The referee shouted. "Red trainer, recall your pokemon!"
"Refuses to battle?" Brendan asked out loud.
"Why would it refuse to battle right off the bat?" Brock wondered.
"All the better for May." Leaf added.
"I know how he feels." Ash thought.
"Why, Miltank?" The boy sadly said as he recalled the milk cow pokemon back into its pokeball. "It's up to you, Beedrill!"
"Wartortle, use ice beam!" May commanded. "Beautifly, use aerial ace!"
"Beedrill, dodge them and use poison sting!" The boy shouted.
"Bee!" The spear pokemon said as it narrowly avoided being hit by both Beautifly's aerial ace and Wartortle's ice beam. Raising its needle hands, it began launching a barrage of purple needle-like shots at its opponents.
"Beautifly, try to blow it back with silver wind!" May told it.
"Beauuu!" The butterfly pokemon said as it flapped its wings and a wind with silver crescents in it were released. But it wasn't enough to stop the powerful poison sting attack which hit the butterfly pokemon and its partner directly.
"Beautifly! Wartortle!" May shouted. "Shake it off and go!"
"Beedrill, use twin needle on Beautifly!" The boy shouted.
"Bee!" The spear pokemon said as it stuck out its needle-like hands and pierced Beautifly with them.
"Wartortle, attack with ice beam!" May ordered.
"War!" The turtle pokemon said as it prepared to fire its ice beam attack on the spear pokemon which had knocked down its partner. Creating a clear-blue sphere in its mouth, Wartortle fired it off as a beam and shot it at Beedrill, severely injuring it.
"Beedrill, get up!" The boy shouted as his injured pokemon struggle to find the strength to get back in the air. May's Wartortle, meanwhile, started dancing around, agitating Beedrill, who rose up to prove himself.
"Beedrill, get in close and use poison sting." The boy cried.
"Beautifly use silver wind on Beedrill and Wartortle use rapid spin!" May called.
Beedrill flew forward and prepared to use its purple stinger to shoot at Beautifly. The butterfly pokemon replied by flapping its wings quickly and sending out an elegant white wind that spun the bee around in circles while the turtle pokemon jumped into the air and then into its shell. Using the silver wind attack to propel itself at a speed it had never reached before, Wartortle's rapid spin attack smashed into Beedrill head-on. The spear pokemon was smashed into the ground fast than one could blink.
"Beedrill, no!" The boy shouted.
"Beedrill is unable to battle. The red trainer is out of pokemon." The referee declared. "Victory to the green trainer, May. The green trainer will be the one to move on to the top 8 round."
At the same time as May's battle started, a battle was beginning on the 46th floor, where trainers fight in the round of 16 simultaneously to the trainers on the 45th floor.
Gary Oak, grandson of pokemon expert Professor Samuel Oak, sat on a bench in the red preparation room with his palms on his knees and his head somewhat low. His girlfriend, yes girlfriend, had been uncharacteristically silent since she lost to the guy he'd been rooming with. She didn't even come to the floor with him to see his match, having stayed on the 45th floor.
After a few minutes in the red preparation room, the light above the door started to glow, telling him that it was not time for him to come out and battle.
Rayquaza45: So Dawn lost to Brendan and faded into silence. May's opponent had a pokemon that refused to battle. Gary's battle is now taking place. Will he keep his cool, or will his thoughts on his girlfriend get the better of him?
Next time: Chapter 10: When Gary met 'Dee-Dee'!
Ever wondered how Gary and Dawn got together? Or even why? Wanna know if Gary makes it to the final eight? Meet the minimum review limit of 60 total and find out! So remember to get me to 60 reviews or chapter 10 will be late. Considering the number of people who have this on story alert, getting to 60 reviews should be nothing!
Till next time, readers!