Chapter 19: Two Steps Backwards
I made my way to the stands and sat down. The next match was about to start. It was Catalyst against Hanna. I had the upmost faith that Hanna could win this, no matter how intimidating Catalyst is.
Hanna and Catalyst came to opposite sides of the arena. The battle was now to begin.
"Let's go Roserade" Hanna said, sending out out her small green Pokemon with three red roses on one hand, and three blue roses on the other.
"Rapidash, you're first" Catalyst said in her icy cold voice as she sent out a tan horse with a single horn and flames all along its spine. This already wasn't looking good for Hanna.
"Rapidash use Sunny Day"
Rapidash let loose a beam of energy into the sky. The whole arena become a lot brighter and significantly hotter.
"Roserade use Toxic!"
Roserade sent out an orb of poison at Rapidash that hit her dead on, causing Rapidash to become badly poisoned. It was only a matter of time now before the poison would take her.
"Rapidash use Flare Blitz!'
Rapidash cloaked herself in flames as she charged right into Roserade. Roserade went down instantly, not putting up much of a fight at all. However, the poison seemed to start taking effect, causing Rapidash some pain.
"Let's go Lopunny!" Hanna said, sending out her brown rabbit Pokemon.
"Rapidash, use Flare Blitz again!"
"Lopunny, use Dizzy Punch!"
Rapidash came charging at Lopunny, cloaked in flames. However, as Rapidash was about to hit Lopunny, Lopunny was able to stop her with a powerful punch. Rapidash got up, slighlty dazed, the poison causing her a bit more discomfort.
"Lopunny use Jump Kick!"
Lopunny jumped up and landed a powerful kick on Rapidash. Rapidash shook it off, still willing to fight.
"Rapidash, use Fire Blast!"
"Lopunny, use Return!"
Rapidash let loose a large amount of flames from her mouth that shot right at Lopunny. Lopunny went right through the flames, taking a lot of damage, and hit Rapidash dead on. As Rapidash tried to get up, the poison finally took full effect, and Rapidash was out for good. Catalyst recalled her.
"Fine then. Go Raichu."
Catalyst sent out a small, brown mouse Pokemon with a long tail and yellow cheeks.
"Lopunny, use another Return!"
"Raichu, Thunderbolt."
As Lopunny tried to tackle Raichu with full force, a giant bolt of electricity came down and hit Lopunny full on. It didn't take long before Lopunny went down and Hanna had to recall her.
"Let's go Froslass!" Hanna said as she sent out her Ice/Ghost Pokemon.
"Raichu, use another Thunderbolt."
"Froslass, Shadow Ball!"
Raichu once again fired a large bolt of electricity, however Froslass was able to break through it with her powerful Shadow Ball attack. Froslass's attack attack hit Raichu dead on. Raichu got back up, not ready to give up the fight just yet.
"Raichu, use Volt Tackle!"
"Froslass, use Blizzard!"
Raichu surrounded himself with electricity and and charged right at Froslass. Right as Raichu was about to make contact, Froslass let loose a powerful blizzard attack from her mouth that completely engulfed Raichu, freezing him, and, thus making him unable to battle. Catalyst recalled her mouse Pokemon. This battle was moving really fast, it seemed weird, somehow.
"Its your turn, come on out Glalie." Catalys said, sending out a large, ball shaped Pokemon that had two horns and kind of resembled a hockey mask. His presence on the field was chilling, somehow, and not just because he was an Ice-type.
"Froslass, attack with Shadow Ball!"
"Glalie, Double Team."
Glalie began to move around in a circle Froslass as many copies seemed to materialze the faster he went. Eventually, it appeared as if there was a circle of Glalies surrounding Froslass. Froslass fired her Shadow Ball attack, completely missing, hitting one of the copies instead.
"Now, use Crunch Glalie."
The real Glalie jumped out from the copies and bit down hard on Froslass. He didn't let go, hanging on and causing Froslass serious damage.
"Froslass, use Wake-Up-Slap!"
Froslass used her free hand began to relentlessly slap at Glalie, trying to get him off of her arm. Eventually, with one final slap, she was able to get Glalie off, but only after she had taken a lot of damage.
"Glalie, use Ice Beam"
"Froslass, use Ice Beam"
Both trainers said it in almost perfect unison. And as such, both Froslass and Glalie fired a powerful beam of ice energy at each other simultaneously. The beams met right in the center, collided into each other, and seemed to stick to each other. Both Pokemon fought for dominance, because the winner of this Ice Beam showdown would remain in battle, and the loser would be out of the match. Both of them were so very badly hurt.
Eventually, one side won, forcing the other Ice Beam back. As the attack landed, the loser, did in fact go down. Hanna recalled her Froslass.
"Fine then... Let's go Togekiss!" Hanna said, sending out her egg-shaped bird Pokemon
"Glalie, Double Team."
Glalie once again began to surround his opponent and create copies of himself, making him very difficult to hit.
"Togekiss, hit him with Magical Leaf!"
Togekiss spun around as several multicolored leaves were produced. As she spun around, the leaves shot in all directions, effectively hitting Glalie and eliminating all of the afterimages. Glalie recoiled in pain.
"Glalie use Ice Beam"
As Glalie bounced back from the attack, he shot another powerful beam of ice energy at Togekiss. It hit her dead on, causing quite a bit of damage, but she was able to shrug it off as if it were nothing.
"Togekiss, use Aura Sphere!"
Togekiss produced a light blue sphere of aura energy in front of her mouth. She fired it and it completely engulfed Glalie. When the attack disappeared, Glalie was down.
It really surprised me, actually. I knew Hanna was a fantastic trainer. Her Roserade, Lopunny, and Froslass were some very powerful Pokemon, which is why I'm surprised they went down so fast. Her Togekiss, though, was definitely a Pokemon that she raised well. An Aura Sphere that powerful had to be the result of long hours of training. It was truly amazing. Made me wonder even more about how well her last two Pokemon would do.
Catalyst, too, seemed to be a very formidable trainer. Her Rapidash took out Roserade very quickly, though it did have a type advantage. And a Raichu that can use Volt Tackle is incredibly powerful indeed. The fact that Glalie was able to beat Froslass in such an intense battle also shows how well her Pokemon are trained, especially that Crunch attack that he was able to make last by never letting go. It mad me think how powerful her other Pokemon were. It was scary, too, because if she wins, then Team Cataclysm could be in complete control, and that would be absolutely very not good.
"Go Floatzel" Catalyst said, sending out an orange weasel Pokemon with what appeared to be a yellow floatation device.
"Togekiss, use Air Slash!"
Togekiss flapped her wings and created sharp blades of air right at Floatzel. They hit him, but he just shook the attack off easily.
"Floatzel, Aqua Jet"
Floatzel became surrounded in a veil of water as he shot right at Togekiss. The attack connected with Togekiss, and caused her to flinch slightly.
"Floatzel, Ice Fang."
"Togekiss, use Metronome!"
Togekiss's wings began to glow blue as she began to move them around. Floatzel opened his mouth and covered it in ice as he began to run at Togekiss. He bit down on Togekiss's wing, sending a powerful freezing sensation into her. As that happened, Togekiss finished her preparation. The next attack that would happen would be incredibly random. What resulted next was pure luck for Hanna. An incredibly powerful beam was shot right at Floatzel, completely engulfing him in it. A powerful Solarbeam attack, especially since Sunny Day was still in effect. Floatzel was down, and Catalyst recalled him.
"Its time I finish this" Catalyst said. "Let's go Haxorus."
The large yellow-green ax-jawed dragon Pokemon materialized. Togekiss was already tired enough from her battles with Glalie and Floatzel. She wouldn't last long this time around. I just knew it.
"Togekiss, use Aura Sphere!"
"Haxorus, Dragon Claw."
Togekiss fired off another ball of pure aura energy, and like last time, it completely engulfed its target, but, Haxorus was able to break through it with only some damage and slash at Togekiss with its powerful claw. Togekiss went down and Hanna recalled her.
"Ok, let's go Vespiquen!" Hanna said as she sent out her queen bee Pokemon.
"Haxorus use Outrage."
Haxorus became surrounded by a red aura and began to charge at Vespiquen.
"Vespiquen, quick, Defend Order!"
Vespiquen's eyes glowed red as what appeared to be countless small insects came and built up a wall in front of her. Haxorus rammed into the wall, effectively protecting Vespiquen from the powerful attack. However, the attack wasn't over just yet. Haxorus rammed into the wall of insects once again, this time, effectively breaking it apart. He resumed charging at Vespiquen.
"Vespiquen, use Attack Order!"
The small insects that remained went speeding towards Haxorus as he charged towards their queen. The insects completely covered Haxorus, dealing a large amount of damage to him, but he still seemed unfazed. Haxorus, covered in the insects, charged right at Vespiquen, knocking her back several feet. Vespiquen, although known for her incredible defense, couldn't stand up to a single hit of Haxorus's raw power. Hanna recalled her.
"Guess its down to just one for me then huh? Well, then let's go Empoleon! We can still win this!" Hanna said as she sent out her large penguin Pokemon.
Although Haxorus was supposed to suffer from confusion after Outrage finished, he didn't seem to. He probably had a Persim Berry on him somewhere, although I didn't see one. Something did seem kind of fishy about this whole battle, seeing as how easily Catalyst was able to take out some of Hanna's Pokemon.
"Haxorus, use Dragon Claw."
"Empoleon, use Flash Cannon!"
As Haxorus charged at Empoleon with a glowing blue claw, Empoleon fired a silver beam that hit Haxorus. Haxorus charged through it, though taking significant damage in the process, and slashed at Empoleon, raking his wings.
"Empoleon, use Hydro Cannon!"
"Haxorus, use Giga Impact."
Empoleon fired a large, powerful blast of water from its beak that hit Haxorus. However, despite the constant, powerful stream, Haxorus came bursting through, covered in a white and orange aura, and tackled Empoleon. Both Pokemon now had serious damage. Both were clearly breathing heavily and exhausted.
Both Pokemon collapsed at the same time. Falling with a powerful thud. The audience went silent. Both trainers recalled their Pokemon. I looked on in disbelief. Catalyst still had one Pokemon left. Hanna had lost this match.
The leader of Team Cataclysm walked off of the field without a word. Hanna fell to her knees. She lost. She got back up and walked off the field to the back.
"Something seemed very off about that match" said a familiar voice behind me. I turned around and saw where it came from.
"Sk-Sklyar? What do you mean?" I asked my asshole of a brother.
"Hanna doesn't lose so easily. She should have easily been able get that Catalyst lady down to her last Pokemon. She didn't even see the Sixth one though" Skylar explained, surprisingly not contradictory or belittling to me.
"That's true..." I said. "And it was really weird how her Haxorus didn't seem to suffer from confusion after using Outrage. Also, I know that Hanna's Roserade wouldn't fall after only one attack, even if it was a Fire-type move."
"Exactly. Something's very wrong here. And that's not just with this Catalyst lady, but all of them. Remember that Master Black guy's Eelektross? It got poisoned with a several poison attacks. That should've done more damage and taken him out at lot faster. Yet, it seemed unaffected by the poison until the very end" Skylar explained.
I thought about it. And I mean, I really thought about it. It was true. Something seemed really off about it. I got up from my seat and walked back below.
"Where are you going? Don't you wanna see how this Red guy battles?" Skylar asked, his sneering tone slightly coming back.
"I'm gonna go see Hanna. See if she's ok. Then I'm gonna investigate about this whole thing." I said as I left the stadium to go back below.
I never actually made it to my sister. I went to find her, but I did get side-tracked. As I went to see Hanna, I came across those familiar coats with the hourglass on the back. Two of them. A blonde girl and a large, bald guy. I decided to tail them, but I'd have to be careful they didn't see me. I stuck to the shadows as I followed them into a room.
The room was large and there were many computer monitors all around with a Cataclysm grunt sitting at each one. The monitors seemed to be looking at the match that was going on, just like the TV monitors in the main waiting area. I glimpsed at one of the monitors and it seemed as if it was focused on one of the Pokemon: A Beedrill. Another monitor was pointed at the other Pokemon: A Vileplume. All the other monitors around the room seemed to show the battle from all sorts of different angles. But that wasn't the weirdest thing of it.
The weirdest thing there was the large machine in the center of the room. It seemed like a large container of some sort. The container had something in it that I had thought was long gone.
Celebi.
The container had Celebi.
"The opponent just Paralyzed Red's Beedrill" one of the grunts said.
"Well then, activate the machine" said another, he was obviously in charge of what was going on down here.
One of the grunts activated the machine. A ray zapped Celebi, and seemed to cause her extreme pain. When it was done, Celebi seemed to have been drained of some her energy. The machine then sent a small beam up through the roof, into the stadium. It was virtually invisible, but, on the monitor, I could see the beam hit Beedrill, and make him healthy again.
"So that's it... no wonder something seemed off.." I thought to myself "They've made this machine to get rid of all status condition by using Celebi's powers in order for them to win easier."
I slipped out of the room without making a sound. I knew I'd have to come back later to get rid of this unfair advantage. I knew telling the authorities wouldn't do much seeing as how they would be focused on trying to get the tournament running smoothly above the underground waiting area. It was too hectic of a time. This seemed to be a good time for them to execute their plans with all the chaos of the tournament overshadowed it.
The room I was in was small and there was no light at all. There was a lot of clutter around the perimeter of the room, from what I could feel, at least. In the center of the room was a chair. And there was something in the chair I could vaguely make out. I got closer and it took the shape of a person, a young woman, in fact. As I got closer, I realized she was tied up and gagged. I slipped behind her.
"Don't worry, I'll get you out" I whispered as I struggled with the ropes. They were bound incredibly tight, I couldn't get them off. I had no choice but to get help.
"Go Ninjask" I whispered as silently as I could "Break these ropes"
Ninjask swooped in, as silent and quick as his namesake, and effortlessly broke through the ropes. I took the girl by her hand and silently slipped out the door with Ninjask right behind us. Luckily, all the Cataclysm grunts were so preoccupied. I pulled the girl along behind me as we slipped out of their control room. As soon as we were out, we ran for it, Ninjask following behind just in case one of them did come after us, never looking back. We stopped running the moment I got tired and knew that some distance had been put between us and that room. I finally looked behind me to see the girl I saved,
Kai. I hadn't seen her since the City. I had just saved her from Team Cataclysm. She looked exhausted, her clothes were tattered, and she was heavily bruised up. The instant I looked back at her, she hugged me and just began to cry. I couldn't imagine what kind of suffering she had gone through while she was being held captive. She just sobbed and sobbed and sobbed as I did my best to comfort her.
As Kai sobbed in my arms, I found my gaze connecting with one of the TV monitors that displayed the match to those waiting underground. On the screen I saw a Beedrill, without a scratch on it, and a Blastoise, completely beaten. Then I heard quite possibly the worst thing I've heard in my life.
"Well folks, its incredible..." Tom's voice boomed from the loudspeaker, across the stadium "It seems that Red just won the entire match using only his Beedrill"
I held onto Kai tighter as she sobbed, still completely unable to stomach everything that had just happened.
A/N: Well here's yet another exciting chapter in the story! The first day has ended, now its time for day two of the Tournament! What will happen, I wonder? With Master Black, Catalyst, and Red all advancing, we still have Lord Diamond, Count Silver, and Lady Sapphire left. Not to mention the ever important battles of Michael, Skylar, and Greg! Day 2 is bound to be action packed! As always, comments are always welcome, I love knowing what you guys think and what I can do better. Also, still need some Gym Leaders, Rivals and E4 members for the prequel, so check it out and PM me if you want to submit something! I hope you guys enjoy this chapter!