Chapter 26 - A Long Awaited Battle
When we reached the beaches of Olivine, I recalled Vaporeon to let her rest, and released Flamefox and Firestorm from their pokeballs to walk with me. We walked into town and as we were walking, I saw May in the park, sitting on a bench with her Quilava. "Hey there!" I shouted. May turned around. "Well, you finally made it! What took you so long? I thought you were going to Cianwood and then coming right back?" she asked me. I responded, "Well, it was a tough battle, and Scyther and Jolteon needed time to rest afterwards, so I took a day off. We met Bill, the famous Pokemon researcher, and found out my Vaporeon was his at one time. He introduced us to her family." She said, "How cool! What a small world! So, how did you do at Cianwood Gym?" I answered, "See for yourself!" and showed off my Storm Badge. "Cool! Check mine out!" she responded, showing me her Mineral Badge. I then asked her, "So, you waited for me to come back?" She said, "Yeah. We never did have our battle you know! Do you think you're up to it?" I answered her, "We just got back. Maybe I should bring my Pokemon to the Pokemon center first..." She said, "Well, if you don't feel up to it, you could just admit my superiority." To that, I replied, "No way! You want a battle, you've got one!" She said, "That's more like it! Let's do it!" We walked into an open grassy area of the park. "Okay, first up, I choose Quilava!" May said. I really wanted to use Vaporeon for this battle, but I knew she was still tired from the long swim. "I choose Tauros!" I responded, and released my big buffalo from his pokeball. "Quilava, use rollout!" she commanded. I told Tauros, "Use horn attack!" Quilava rolled up into a ball and quickly rolled at Tauros, as Tauros charged at Quilava. They met with a crash, and Tauros' horns sent Quilava flying backwards into the air! He crashed to the ground on his back. "Quilava, no!" May shouted. "Excellent, Tauros!" I yelled. May knelt by her Quilava and asked him, "Are you okay?" He stood back up, ready to battle. "He's resilient" I observed. She said, "Quilava, try a flamethrower." I commanded, "Tauros, use take down!" Quilava launched his flame attack, and Tauros charged right through it! Even I was impressed! He proceeded to charge towards Quilava. "Quilava, look out!" May shouted, but to no avail - Tauros clobbered her Quilava, and he again crashed to the ground. I thought this was it for sure! May ran over to her Quilava again. "Quilava!" she shouted, as he lay on the ground, not moving. "I think it's safe to say we won this round, Tauros!" I said excitedly, jumping up and down. All of a sudden, Quilava began to glow! I stopped jumping and my jaw dropped. "It can't be..." I began to say. Her Quilava increased in size, and when he stopped glowing, he had fully evolved into Typhlosion! "You can still beat him, Tauros! Use take down!" I commanded, in an encouraging tone. May commanded, "Typhlosion, use fire punch!" As Tauros charged, Typhlosion made a fist of flames, and punched in Tauros' direction. The impact sent Tauros flying backwards to the ground! "Tauros!" I shouted. "Now use flame wheel!" May shouted. Typhlosion released fire from his mouth that formed a wheel shape and rolled quickly at Tauros! "Get out of there, Tauros!" I shouted, but it struck him, and he was officially knocked out! "Tauros, return! Not bad, May!" I said, as I recalled Tauros to his pokeball. "Thanks! You're pretty tough, yourself!" she answered back. I still wanted to hold back Vaporeon. "Firestorm, you're up! Looks like it's fire versus fire!" I said. My Ninetales and her Typhlosion stared each other down. "Typhlosion, use rollout!" she commanded. "Firestorm, use dig!" I shouted. As Typhlosion rolled at Firestorm, my Ninetales burrowed under the ground. Typhlosion kept rolling around, but Firestorm remained underground. "What's the matter? Is your Ninetales afraid?" May mockingly asked me. I answered her, "You'll see!" As Typhlosion rolled, Firestorm felt where he was from the vibrations under the ground. Suddenly, as Typhlosion passed over him, Firestorm shot up from the ground in a fury of dirt, and struck Typhlosion hard! He flew up high, into the air, then crashed to the ground! He was finally defeated! "Good job, Firestorm!" I shouted, and I hugged him. "Typhlosion, return! Good effort, my friend!" May said, recalling her Pokemon. Then she said, "Get ready for Pokemon #2! Go, Blastoise!" I couldn't believe my eyes! I knew Firestorm didn't stand a chance against a strong water type like that! "Firestorm, you better sit this one out! I choose you, Jolteon!" I said, releasing my electric dog from his pokeball. "Blastoise, water gun!" May immediately ordered. Her large, turtle-like Pokemon shot heavy streams of water from the 2 huge water cannons on his back, which pinned Jolteon against a tree! "Jolteon!" I yelled. May was proving herself to be the most formiddable trainer I'd battled so far! After the water gun ceased, Jolteon fell to the ground, but landed on all fours! "Jolteon, thunderbolt!" I yelled. Jolteon launched lightning from his spiky fur and hit the Blastoise! It was a direct hit, but Blastoise still stood! "Blastoise, use body slam!" May ordered. "Jolteon, avoid it with your agility!" I responded. Jolteon quickly moved out of the way as Blastoise jumped at him, and Blastoise hit the ground! He stood back up, a little dazed. "Are you okay, Blastoise?" May yelled to him. "Blaaaast..." he said, putting his hand on his head, then lowering it back to his side. "Jolteon, try thunder!" I yelled. Jolteon took in lightning from the sky and launched it at Blastoise, but he jumped out of the way just in time. "Blastoise, use hyper beam!" May ordered. "What?" I loudly asked, surprised. Blastoise shot a bright beam of powerful energy from his mouth, which hit Jolteon, and he crashed to the ground, defeated! "Jolteon, return!" I shouted. "Great! Jolteon was my best chance! Now what?" I thought to myself. It was a long shot, but I had a plan. "Firestorm, go! Use headbutt!" I yelled. "Blastoise, use water gun!" May shouted. But she forgot one very important fact - after a Pokemon uses hyper beam, they can't attack for one turn, because it takes so much energy! Firestorm leapt full speed at Blastoise and it was a point blank hit! Ninetales knocked out Blastoise! "Blastoise, return!" May said, recalling him. "Awesome job, Firestorm! You're a real powerhouse!" I said to him. May then said, "Next up, I choose Raichu!" and released the large electric mouse. "Firestrom, be careful! Use fire blast!" I ordered. Firestorm launched the "t" shape of flames at Raichu. "Avoid it with your agility, Raichu!" she yelled. Her Raichu was quick, and avoided being hit. "I know! Use your dig again, Firestorm!" I commanded. He burrowed under the ground again. Raichu just stood there. "You know what to do, Raichu!" May said. I didn't like the sound of this. Firestorm shot up from the ground underneath Raichu, and both of them were temporarliy airborne. "Now, Raichu!" May shouted. While they were both in the air, and Firestorm couldn't run away, Raichu used thunder! Firestorm took a direct hit! Raichu landed on his feet, and Firestorm crashed to the ground, unconscious! "Firestorm!" I yelled, and ran over to pick him up. I carried him off to the side. "Good work, Raichu!" May exclaimed, hugging him. I caressed Firestorm and said, "I know you did your best!" Then I shouted, "Go, Scyther!" and released him from his pokeball. He was all rested up, ready for battle! "Use fury cutter, Scyther!" I shouted. May yelled, "Watch out, Raichu! Use your agility!" I yelled, "Use your agility to keep up with him, Scyther!" They were both fast! But Firestorm's attack had weakened Raichu, and my Scyther was fully rested, so he had the advantage! Scyther finally caught up with Raichu, and attacked him full force! Raichu was defeated! "Raichu, return!" May shouted, recalling him to his pokeball. I exclaimed, "Way to go, Scyther!" and we high fived, my hand and his scythe! Then May said, "Go, Pidgeot!" and released her large bird from his pokeball. "Use fly!" she commanded. "You do the same, Scyther!" I yelled. They both flew at each other, giving and taking hits, but neither one was making any headway. "Use wing attack, Pidgeot!" May commanded. "Scyther, use slash!" I responded. Pidgeot flapped his wings, and sent powerful g-forces at Scyther, which impacted him. He took the hits, which slowed him down, but he gradually progressed towards Pidgeot, and got close enough to attack. His slash was a critical hit, and knocked Pidgeot from the sky! "Pidgeot, return!" May yelled. Then she said, "Go, Golem!" and released the large rock-type from his pokeball. Scyther was getting tired, but I felt he could do it. "Use wing attack, Scyther!" I shouted. He furiously flapped his wings. "Golem, use defense curl!" May yelled. Golem increased his defense, and the impacts of Scyther's wing attacks were barely felt. Scyther was getting tired. "Now use rock throw!" May ordered. Golem began throwing large rocks at Scyther. "Use your agility to avoid them, Scyther!" I shouted. He tried, but it was no good. He was just too tired, and he took a boulder directly to the chest. He crashed to the ground, defeated. "Scyther, return!" I shouted. Only 2 Pokemon left. I had no choice. "Vaporeon, go!" I shouted, and released her from her pokeball. "I know you're still tired, Vaporeon, but I know you can win this for me! Use hydro-pump!" May yelled, "Watch out, Golem!" But it was no good. Vaporeon's strong water attack hit the slow Golem, and he was severely weakened. May shouted, "Use self destruct!" Golem began to glow. "Vaporeon, watch out!" I yelled. Then there was a blinding flash of light and a loud explosion. Golem fell to the ground, knocked out, as did Vaporeon. "Vaporeon, return!" I said, recalling her to her pokeball. May did the same with Golem. I turned to Flamefox, my last Pokemon standing, and said, "This last battle is up to you. Do your best, my friend!" Then May said, "I was hoping I wouldn't have to do this. I only caught this Pokemon recently, and haven't trained her well yet. But here goes! Go, Amber!" The pokeball was airborne and when I saw the Pokemon it released, I said, "No way!" Standing before us was a Vulpix, with a cute little pink bow in her hair. "Amber, I know I haven't had you for long, but I believe in you! Do your best!" I was literally stunned. She commanded, "Use your quick attack!" I just stood there and watched as her Vulpix charged at mine. I was very hesitant. Finally, I tearfully shouted, "Flamefox, return!" May's Vulpix stopped in her tracks and looked at me, Flamefox looked at me, and May looked at me. "What are you doing?" she asked. "I can't go through with this! I forfeit!" I said, with my head down, tears rolling down my eyes. She said, "You can't quit now! Not when we're so close to the end of our battle!" I replied, "I can't stand to see our Vulpixes hurting each other!" as I wiped away my tears with my sleeve. She said, "It's just a trainer battle! They'll be fine afterwards. We'll just take them to the Pokemon center and they'll be as good as new!" I said, "It hurts me to see a Vulpix get hurt, even if it's not mine. I feel a very close bond to Vulpixes. And mine is so much more experienced than yours, that I'm afraid he'll really hurt her." I fell to the ground on my knees and looked down. I never felt this way before! May ran over to me and put her hand on my shoulder. "It's okay, Joe. We'll end the battle as a draw, okay? How does that sound?" I pulled myself together and said, "No, no, that wouldn't be fair to you. You're right! They'll be fine after the battle. We really should finish it, after all the work our other Pokemon put into it." She said, "Are you sure?" I answered, "Yeah. Let's do it!" So it was Vulpix versus Vulpix! "Amber, use your quick attack!" May again ordered. "Flamefox, use your's, too!" I commanded. They ran at each other and kept striking each other with quick attacks. "Amber, use confuse ray!" May shouted. She did so, and Flamefox became confused. "Try to shake it off, little guy!" I yelled. "Cool! Now use ember!" May ordered. Amber shot out the small fire attack, which hit Flamefox, but didn't do much damage. He remained confused. "Hit him with quick attack now, Amber!" May commanded. Flamefox took the hits, and couldn't defend himself because of his confusion. However, after one last hit, he shook off his confusion! I felt really awful about it, but I shouted, "Flamefox, use flamethrower!" He launched the strong fire attack at Amber, and I felt terrible as I watched her become engulfed by the flames. "Flamefox, stop!" I shouted. He did so, and Amber collapsed to the ground. "Amber!" May shouted, and ran to her Vulpix. "I'm so sorry, May!" I said to her, as my eyes watered up again. She picked up her Vulpix and said, "That's okay, Joe. Amber will be fine, I promise you. Let's take all of our Pokemon to the Pokemon Center right now!" I said to Flamefox, "We won, buddy." I didn't have the heart to say "Good job."
After a visit to the Pokemon Center, all of our Pokemon were perfectly fine. May and I sat on the park bench while Amber and Flamefox played together in the grass, along with our other Pokemon. She said to me, "See? Good as new!" I replied, "Yeah, I know. I'm sorry I got so upset before. I don't know what came over me." She said, "That's okay. You really care about Pokemon, especially Vulpixes. I understand." I then said, "You know, you really surprised me with your Blastoise! I never saw that hyper beam coming!" She said, "Your Ninetales is capable of learning that attack, you know! I can help you teach him if you want!" I said, "I think I'd like that." I then asked her, "Do you think you'll be here long, or are you anxious to get to Cianwood?" She said, "I think I can hang around for a little while." I said, "Good. It's nice to have company once in a while." She agreed, and we watched our Pokemon play in the park.