Hi everyone, I literally cannot believe it! You guys all smashed it with the reviews, and now we've broken through another hundred marker which is just awesome. Thank you all so much, especially those of you who reviewed the last chapter. I can't believe the support that this story gets : )
We are so close to Hoenn now, just a few more chapters to go : )
Please remember that Pokemon is not owned by me and I hope you enjoy this chapter : )
Misty Vs Tallulah
Team Rocket slowly pulled themselves out of their hiding place.
Ash and Misty had exited the room much more abruptly than Team Rocket had expected, forcing them to hide quickly or else be detected.
But they had witnessed the whole thing.
"Did you guys see that?" James asked.
"What? You mean that blonde girl that was drooling over the thought of water pokemon just like the Twerpette always does?" Jessie scoffed nastily.
"In a way, yes" James nodded, "I specifically meant the Totodile she was carrying. I was thinking perhaps when we take Pikachu we can take the Totodile too".
Jessie and Meowth both thought it over.
"Well, I guess Totodile aren't pokemon you see everyday, so the Boss might be pleased if we give him one" Meowth admitted James might have a point.
"And if he doesn't want it, then we can have it instead" Jessie smiled brightly.
"Okay, then it's settled" James grinned.
Now all they needed was for the two twerps to return with Pikachu.
They weren't going to know what had hit them.
It took Ash and Misty ten minutes to make the trip to the ship's Pokemon Centre, get their pokemon passed through the Restoration Machine, and return to the battle arena they'd met Tallulah in.
Considering just how long the distance the ship's Pokemon Centre was from the battle arena, Ash was fairly certain they must have broken some kind of record.
He didn't begrudge Misty her excitement though.
She had been forced to put up with him in this almost hyper state on dozens of occasions, so it was only fair she got to do it to him once in a while.
They returned to the battle arena, signed back in with the facility's manager, and saw Tallulah sitting in one of the stands that lined the room.
The golden haired girl looked up, saw that they'd returned, and immediately leapt to her feet.
"Yay! You're back" she trilled, "I'm so excited for this battle".
"Me too" Misty beamed.
Ash shook his head fondly.
It was nice to see that other trainers had such a love for the thrill of the pokemon battle as he did.
"You girls get onto one of the fields, and I'll watch you from the stands" he said, "And good luck to both of you".
"Thanks" Misty and Tallulah said together.
The two water type fanatics then turned to each other, each girl wearing a broad smile.
"Let's do our best and make all water type pokemon proud" Tallulah smiled.
"Of course" Misty giggled, "How many pokemon do you want to use?"
"Is three on three good for you?" Tallulah asked.
"Sounds perfect" Misty accepted.
The girls anxiously waited for one of the fields to become available, and as soon as one did, they hurried over and claimed it. They informed the referee of their decision to hold a three on three battle, and he tossed a coin to see who'd go first.
"Heads!" Misty called it in the air.
"Tails!" Tallulah said at the same time.
The coin landed on head.
"Alright!" Misty cheered, "I get the first move!"
"Ladies, call out your pokemon" the referee called.
"Okay Staryu, you're up!" Misty called.
With the toss of a pokeball, Staryu materialised on the field before Misty.
Immediately, Tallulah gasped in awe.
"Oh my!" she squealed giddily, "Your Staryu's jewel is enchanting! How did you get it to sparkle like that?"
"Staryu is one of my favourite pokemon, so I polish it at least three times a week" Misty replied.
It wasn't like she was even bragging.
She really did do that.
Ash couldn't help but allow a groan to slip his lips.
He had just had an intense Deja vu moment back to the Orange Islands when this exact same thing had happened.
"You did a great job Misty, but now it's my turn" Tallulah giggled, holding up a pokeball, "Go Pearl!"
As the battlefield was filled with a red light, Misty wondered what type of pokemon she was going to have to face.
That was the trouble with nicknaming pokemon.
You never knew until it materialised exactly what it was you'd be facing.
Pearl was revealed to be an extremely healthy Shellder.
"Shellder!" Pearl's tongue flicked about eagerly.
Misty blinked.
She'd never seen a Shellder look so thirsty for battle before.
"Cutie!" she cooed in adoration, "Your Shellder's shell looks great, and her eyes are so bright. Sometimes if a Shellder isn't raised properly they can look a little... well, unintelligent, but you're looks really smart".
"I'm glad you think so!" Tallulah beamed at the praise.
"Excuse me!" a curt voice called over to them.
Looking over towards the stands, the girls saw an irritated Ash scowling at them.
"Are you two ever going to battle, or are you going to just stand around all day complimenting each others' pokemon?" he asked bluntly.
"Alright, alright!" Misty waved his words away, "Always so impatient. Right Staryu, let's start this with your Bubblebeam!"
"Hi-Yah!" Staryu began rotating, whilst thick streams of bubbles poured out from the tips of its five points.
The bubbles barrelled towards Pearl.
"Pearl! Deflect those bubbles with Icicle Spear!" Tallulah called.
"Shell!" Shellder's shell began glowing with an icy blue aura, before several dozen lethally sharp icicles were fired in Staryu's direction.
As they passed, the icicles punctured the bubbles, stopping them from hitting Pearl,
"Ooh!" Misty gushed, "What a cool way of defending your Shellder! She's pretty good, but so are we! Staryu, dodge with Rapid Spin, then use Swift!"
Staryu became a blur it was spinning so fast.
It easily dodged out of the icicles' path, and once it felt safe, Staryu stopped spinning, and let loose its Swift attack.
"Shellder!" Pearl cried out in pain as dozens of tiny golden stars hit her in the face.
"Stay calm Pearl!" Tallulah cried, "Withdraw!"
Pearl quickly retracted into her shell.
Misty growled in frustration.
Hitting Pearl whilst she was hidden in her shell was going to be tricky.
"Staryu! Wait for her to come out, then use your fastest Double Edge!" Misty instructed.
"Hi-Yah!" Staryu cried its understanding.
"Pearl, don't come out!" Tallulah yelled to her pokemon.
Unfortunately, a Shellder's hearing was always compromised whilst inside its shell. It was because their shells were formed out of a material so thick that even sound couldn't penetrate it very well.
Pearl heard her trainer's muffled yells, but all she heard was the words 'come out' - and so that's exactly what she did.
"Shellder!" she said as her shell opened.
"Now Staryu!" Misty seized her chance.
"No Pearl!" Tallulah cried in dismay, "I said don't come out!"
Pearl gasped, and tried to retract back into her shell, but already it was too late.
Staryu, using the full power of Double Edge, slammed into Pearl head on. One of its points got lodged in the opening of Pearl's shell, preventing it from closing.
"Finish it with your Swift attack!" Misty commanded.
"Hi-Yah!" Staryu generated hundreds of tiny stars from the jewel at its centre, and with no means of defending herself, Pearl squealed in pain as the attack hit its mark.
"No! Pearl!" Tallulah gasped.
Staryu's attack ended, and tugging its point loose, backed away as Pearl the Shellder collapsed to the ground in pain.
"Shellder is unable to battle" the referee called, "The first round goes to Misty and her Staryu!"
"Yay! Great work Staryu!" Misty cheered.
"Good going you two! Keep up the good work!" Ash called from the stands.
"Pearl, you were great, now return and rest up" Tallulah said dejectedly.
Pearl dematerialised off of the battlefield.
"Well done Misty" Tallulah smiled at her new friend, "But you won't be beating my next pokemon. Go Brooklyn!"
Misty wondered what type of pokemon this Brooklyn was, but quickly received her answer.
Brooklyn was an Octillery.
And from the looks of it, a really powerful one.
Brooklyn waved her orange tentacles around in a somewhat mesmerising way.
"Oh look at that" Misty trilled, "Brooklyn looks like she's dancing!"
"That's because Brooklyn simply adores music, so I play it to her all the time" Tallulah explained happily, "I think it helps her let out her inner beauty".
"Oh it does, it does!" Misty heartily agreed.
In the stands, Ash could help but roll his eyes and shake his head.
Those two were like peas from a pod.
"I think a Johto beauty like your Brooklyn deserves to face another pokemon first discovered in Johto, so return Staryu! And come on out Corsola!" Misty cheered.
Staryu was quickly replaced by Misty's Corsola.
"Corsola" Corsola looked happy to be battling again, "Sola!"
"Oh what a cutie!" Tallulah squealed in delight, "You're super lucky to have such a pretty pink pokemon Misty!"
"Cor?" Corsola blinked in confusion, before smiling, "Sola!"
Whoever this new girl was, Corsola already liked her.
"I know I am" Misty agreed, "So I do my best to take care of Corsola in the way she deserves. Plus I think she likes you".
"Cor" Corsola nodded.
"Really!" Tallulah cooed, "Aw! I really like you too"
"Corsola" Corsola laughed happily.
"Since I went first last time, you can have the first move this time Tallulah" Misty offered.
"Thanks, but you might end up regretting that" Tallulah winked, "Brooklyn, use Psybeam!"
Brooklyn's eyes glowed in a multitude of rainbow colours, before she fired a beam of energy from her eyes so fast that Corsola simply didn't have time to dodge it.
"Cor!" Corsola squealed in pain.
"Corsola! Oh no!" Misty cried in alarm.
The attack ended, but it was only the start of Misty's troubles.
Although the attack had only done minimal damage to Misty's Corsola, it did have an unfortunately side-effect.
"Sola" Corsola wobbled about aimlessly, seemingly out of control, "Cor! Corsola!"
"Corsola? You okay?" Misty called in concern.
"Sola!" Corsola took no notice of her trainer. She simply continued flailing about hopelessly.
Misty sighed in dismay.
That Psybeam had confused her poor Corsola, and now the poor thing had no idea which way was up and which was down.
"Great work Brooklyn!" Tallulah cheered her pokemon on, "Now whilst she's confused, hit Corsola with your Water Gun!"
"Corsola! Try and snap out of it!" Misty tried desperately.
"Sola! Sola!" Corsola still failed to acknowledge her trainer's words.
"Octillery!" Brooklyn cried, firing at jet of water at Corsola.
"No! Corsola!" Misty cried.
The Water Gun hit Corsola directly in the face, sending the little pink pokemon sprawling backwards across the field.
"Sola?" Corsola blinked, snapping out of her confusion, "SOLA!"
She cried out in pain as Brooklyn kept up her watery assault. Although Corsola's water typing prevented her rock typing's weakness against water attacks, it still wasn't pleasant being hit directly in the face after all.
"Ha! Way to go Brooklyn! We've got this one!" Tallulah prematurely cheered.
"Not yet you don't" Misty smirked, "Corsola! Recover!"
"Corsola!" Corsola's entire body lit up with a dazzling white light, and soon enough she was almost back to full strength.
"Whoa, that was some Recover" Tallulah marvelled in awe, "Your Corsola's awesome Misty".
"Thanks, and your Octillery is pretty tough too" Misty replied.
"Oh you're about to see how tough Brooklyn can be" Tallulah winked, "Constrict!"
"Dodge it Corsola!" Misty cried desperately.
Corsola managed to leap out of the way of one of Brooklyn's extending tentacles, but unfortunately her efforts were in vain. Brooklyn simply snagged her with another one and began squeezing her tightly.
"Corsola!" Corsola squeaked in pain.
"Oh no, poor Corsola!" Misty cried in panic.
"Great work Brooklyn, now use Aurora Beam!" Tallulah ordered.
"Octillery!" Brooklyn cried as once again, her eyes lit up with a ghostly light, only this time they were with all the colours of a beautiful aurora.
At such close range, Corsola's struggles were pointless. The Aurora Beam hit her and engulfed her entire body.
"CORSOLA!" Corsola shrieked in pain.
Misty, forced to shield her eyes from the intense light of Brooklyn's attack, hoped that her pokemon would dig deep and hold on.
Her hopes were in vain however.
No sooner had the light died down was Corsola's prone form revealed.
She was unconscious.
"Corsola is unable to battle" the referee announced, "Which means that this round goes to Tallulah and her Octillery".
"Hooray Brooklyn!" Tallulah rushed forwards to hug her pokemon, "You brought things back around for us!"
"Oct!" Brooklyn looked proud of herself.
"Poor Corsola" Misty lamented, hugging her own pokemon to her chest, "Are you alright?"
"Cor..." Corsola managed a weak smile.
"I'm so glad" Misty smiled sadly, "I'm sorry we lost. It was all my fault".
"Corsola" Corsola shook her head gently.
"Well, either way, you just return for now" Misty said, returning Corsola to her pokeball, "You need a nice long rest".
"I'm sticking with Brooklyn for now Misty!" Tallulah announced.
Now that they'd got their stride going, Tallulah was counting on Brooklyn to take them all the way to victory.
Misty on the other hand was not so keen for that to happen.
"That's fine with me" Misty grinned, a glint in her eye, "I think it's time you came back out Staryu!"
"Hi-Yah!" Staryu cried as it materialised on the field for the second time.
"Staryu! Hit Brooklyn with your Swift attack!" Misty yelled, wasting no time in getting down to business.
"Hi-Yah!" Staryu generated tiny stars from its jewel that hurtled towards Brooklyn.
"Brooklyn, deflect them with Bubblebeam!" Tallulah instructed.
Misty growled and frowned in annoyance.
That trick Tallulah kept pulling by deflecting her attacks was clever, but it was starting to become a nuisance.
Fortunately, Misty had a plan on how to deal with that.
"Keep up your Swift and then use Double Edge!" Misty ordered.
Staryu continued to generate more and more exploding stars, then barrelled towards Brooklyn the Octillery to hit her with its Double Edge.
Brooklyn easily deflected the Swift attack, but couldn't escape the Double Edge.
"Octillery!" she cried in pain as she was sent hurtling backwards.
The spinning starfish pokemon continued pummelling her with its attack.
"Brooklyn, stop Staryu in its tracks with your Constrict" Tallulah said, keeping her cool, knowing that losing it in a battle could mean the loss of victory.
"Llery!" Brooklyn snagged Staryu in her tentacles, ending the Double Edge.
"If that's how you want to play it then fine" Misty smirked, throwing Tallulah off, "Staryu, Rapid Spin!"
"Oh no, not that!" Tallulah gasped, unable to believe just how easily she'd fallen into a trap.
Misty sure was one incredible trainer.
Of that Tallulah had no doubt.
"Octillery!" Brooklyn cried out in alarm as Staryu spun so fast her tentacles were helplessly bound around it, dragging poor Brooklyn along with it.
Faster and faster the duo of water types spun.
Both Misty and Tallulah watched them intensely, knowing that this would probably be the move that ended it for one of their pokemon.
Brooklyn tugged desperately hard on her tentacles, but it was no use. She was completed entangled and helpless to free herself.
"Hi-Yah!" Staryu cried as it suddenly stopped spinning.
"Octillery!" Brooklyn gasped in alarm as their momentum sent the pair of them crashing to the ground.
Groaning, and aching all over her orange body, Brooklyn tried to pull herself up.
But it was no use.
She just couldn't continue.
"Octillery is unable to battle, which means... huh?!" the referee cut himself off.
The reason why soon became apparent.
From the position where it was standing, Staryu sagged on its lower points weakly, its crimson jewel flashing ominously.
"Oh no! That means that Staryu doesn't have any energy left to fight!" Misty gasped.
Seconds later, she was proven right.
Staryu keeled over, and did not get back up.
"Err... I guess this means that both Octillery and Staryu are unable to battle, meaning this match ends in a draw" the referee said, "The next two pokemon will be the final battle. Whoever wins this one takes the match".
Staryu and Brooklyn were both returned by their respective trainers.
"Alright Politoed, let's go!" Misty cheered, throwing another pokeball.
"Politoed! Politoed!" Politoed materialised on the field and immediately started clapping his hands together.
"Aw, such a happy one" Tallulah sighed dreamily, "Hi there Politoed!"
"Poli?" Politoed blinked up at her in confusion.
"This is Tallulah, a new friend Politoed" Misty informed her green and yellow pokemon, "But right now we're battling her, so give it your all".
"Politoed!" Politoed nodded, growing serious.
"Get in there Marina!" Tallulah cried.
Marina the Totodile leapt out of her trainer's arms and happily bounded onto the field. It was more than a little obvious that Tallulah's signature pokemon was eager to get in on some of the action.
"Begin!" the referee ordered.
"Marina, use Ice Beam!" Tallulah yelled.
"Toto!" Marina's jaw lit up with a bright light, before a blue beam of frigid energy was sent through the air towards Politoed.
"Dodge it Politoed!" Misty yelled.
"Poli!" Politoed effortlessly leapt out of the blue beam's path, leaving it to hit the ground where he'd been standing.
The spot iced over, but Politoed remained untouched.
"Nice dodge Politoed" Misty praised her pokemon, "Now use Bubble!"
"Politoed!" Politoed's mouth filled with bubbles which he directed towards Marina.
"Ice Beam again" Tallulah calmly ordered.
Marina fired her Ice Beam again, and the wintery energy hit Politoed's Bubble attack head on.
The end result was a set of frozen bubbles falling to the ground like lead balloons.
Misty couldn't help but smile.
"Hey, that was a pretty awesome way from Marina to defend herself" Misty complimented, "But it won't stop this! Politoed, Mega Punch!"
Politoed charged towards Marina, powering up his fist - ready to strike her...
Unfortunately for Politoed however, he would never get to land that hit.
He was barely an inch away from striking Marina... when something happened that not one of them was expecting.
And there's other one down : )
So, I hope that Misty and Tallulah seemed pretty evenly matched in this chapter. I don't want Misty to be unreasonably higher in skill than her, at least not at this point. I want Tallulah to be a decent rival for her after all : ) Than, when Misty is much stronger than Tallulah, it'll hopefully show just how far Misty has come as a trainer whilst in Hoenn.
Anyway, it's time for us to start the game : )
Firstly, congratulations to – Reppad98, Sesshoru, MrPosbi, Re Lupa, Kitsunells, Lykos, MerlockVonBaron, Kagedoragon, Nipunkhan, Azure Dragon of the East, Ryuryu77, Darknatsu-Anbu, SPeCTeR-117, FireEmblemMaster101, Jeet Granger, RHatch89, Yugi The Godfather Of Games, Legoboy20, DragonMack, DT-THUNDER, Magic135, Kurakuma, Mewmaster89, MidnightStorm022, Oliver W.K Twist, JJKTH, Fluffy24, Animereader-Watcher, EC-Direwolf, TRAINER RUSS, Teddi 8347, Jamesharold13, Disruptor, Breakawayfan, UltimateCCC, OmniDragon10, Pokemon Trainer Tom, LovingGinger30, Fog Repair Ship Akashi, and Infernoinside - the correct answer was indeed Meganium.
Better luck next time too - QUEENSPELLER67, who thought it was Roserade : )
WHO's THAT POKEMON?
This pokemon was once a puppet that became possessed by dark energy, turning it into a living creature. It generates energy by sticking pins in its own body in order to create evil curses. This pokemon had evolved once, and with a mega stone, is capable of it again.
And there we are : )
Thank you once again to everyone that reviewed the last chapter and this story in general, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter.
Until the next time, keep on reading : )