Chapter 41 – A Rocky Start
I awoke around 2a.m. from the light being turned on. I groggily asked, "What's going on?"as I sat up, and Flamefox woke up next to me. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to wake you up" Martin said, as he took off his leather jacket and hat. Then May awoke, along with Amber and Redfur, sat up in her bed, and asked him, "Are you just getting in?" Martin replied, "Yeah, sorry! My meeting with the Elite Four went late." I asked, "Why do I have the feeling it was more a late night out partying than a meeting?" Martin cracked a smile, and said, "You wouldn't be entirely off!" Then I asked, "So what did you guys talk about?" He said, "Sorry, I can't discuss it with you guys, since you're competitors. Just official stuff, that's all. You kids wouldn't understand, anyway." With that, he shut off the light, got into the top bunk from me and lay down to sleep, with Kat and Slash. I also lay back down, and Flamefox cuddled next to me. Firestorm, independent fox that he is, slept curled up by himself on the floor, as usual. I wondered what it would be like some day, when I'm a gym leader, to just "hang out" with the Elite Four. I fell back to sleep contentedly to the sound of my Vulpix's breathing, and the warmth of his body as he lay next to me.
We were awake the next morning by 9a.m. and had some breakfast. May and I were both paged to the lobby for phone calls. Mine was from my parents! They wished me luck, and said the entire town was gathering at Crimson Pokemon Academy to watch the Johto League Finals on a big screen TV in the school gym. They wished me luck, and said they would be rooting for me! May got a similar call from her parents. After I took my call, I saw Ryan standing in the lobby behind me. "Aww, a call from Mommy and Daddy! Isn't that sweet?" he tauntingly asked me. I replied, "So what's it to you? They wanted to wish me luck!" He said, "You're gonna need it against me! I'm gonna cream you!" I said, "We'll just see about that!" He walked off then, acting all high and mighty. Martin said, "I really hope you beat that annoying little brat." I replied, "I'll do my best. But I think he's all talk. He sure wasn't much of a challenge the last time we battled". Martin replied, "Well, that was a long time ago. He's probably a stronger trainer by now! But don't worry – with my coaching, you'll beat him!"
It wasn't long before 1:00 rolled around, and May and I needed to be at our designated fields in half an hour. Before we headed off, I said to her, "Good luck!" She replied, "You, too!" and we shook hands. Amber and Flamefox nuzzled with each other before they parted ways. May agreed to let Martin hold onto Redfur for her since she couldn't use him in battle. So, May and Trevor headed for the Water Field, while Martin and I headed for the Rock Field. The stadium was filled, and the crowds were cheering as other trainers were battling. There was some pretty stiff competition! When 1:30 came, I was ready! Flamefox, Firestorm, and I entered the arena, followed by Martin, Redfur, and Martin's Persian. "The green trainer is Joseph Ehlle, a newcomer from Crimson Town in outer Johto! The red trainer is Ryan Mendelson, a newcomer from New Bark Town!" I heard the announcer say. I was a bit nervous with all the news cameras filming the events, not to mention the hundreds of people cheering. There were platforms on either side of the arena, from which the trainers commanded their Pokemon. Martin and I, along with our Pokemon climbed up the stairs to the top of the platform, where Martin sat with Redfur and Persian in the deluxe seat provided for him. I watched Ryan climb up the stairs to his platform, as well. There was a huge scoreboard in the middle of the stadium. On either side were pictures of the 2 competing trainers. My picture was the green trainer, on the right, and Ryan's was the red trainer, on the left. There were 3 squares underneath each of our pictures, all lit up, indicating the number of Pokemon we each had remaining. One light went out each time one of our Pokemon was no longer able to battle. Once all 3 of your lights were out, you had officially lost the match. As they were readying to begin the match, Redfur leapt out of Martin's lap, ran over to the stairs, and stood there, wagging his tail. "What is it, Redfur?" I asked. To my shock, May, Amber and Trevor were walking up the stairs! "Surprise!" she said to me when she reached the platform. Flamefox ran over to Amber to nuzzle her. I replied, "Yeah, I'm surprised! What are you doing here? You're match starts the same time as mine!" She answered, "Well, it did. Unfortunately, the trainer I was supposed to battle, Erik, decided to do some intense last minute training with his Pokemon. He was tackled in the chest by his Nidorino, and his Voltorb self-destructed in his face!" I said, "Ouch! Is he going to be okay?" She answered, "Yeah, but he's got several broken ribs, plus poison from Nidorino's horn, as well as a few burns. Sufficient to say, he's not gonna be able to battle this year. They had to find me a new opponent, and my match at the water field has been moved to 3:00. So, I was able to come here and cheer you on, after all!" I said, "Well, I'm glad you're here!" She said, "So am I! Good luck!" Trevor said, "Good luck, Joe!" May and Trevor walked over to Martin, and sat down in chairs next to him. May sat with Amber and Redfur. The referee waved his red and green flags, and said, "The match will now begin!" Ryan shouted, "Hey, remember my Teddiursa that your Vulpix defeated so easily in our last battle?" I shouted back, "Yeah!" and looked at Flamefox, indicating for him to get ready to jump in there! Ryan tossed out his first pokeball into the rock field, and it opened, releasing an Ursaring! My jaw dropped, and I looked at Flamefox and shook my head. "Not this time, Flamefox. Tauros, I choose you!" I shouted, and tossed his pokeball into the rock field. He materialized from the white light of the pokeball, and stood there, staring down the Ursaring! Martin warned me, "Be careful, Joe! Ursaring could know hyper beam!" I said, "Thanks for the warning, Martin!" Then I shouted, "Tauros, use horn attack!" As he charged at the large grizzly bear, Ryan shouted, "Ursaring, use take down and stop him!" The two of them met with a crash! Ursaring had Tauros by the horns! Tauros was still standing, pushing against him with all his might, but Ursaring was doing the same! They just kept pushing at each other. Tauros could not loosen Ursaring's grip on his horns, but he wasn't giving in, either. They just kept pushing at each other for what seemed like an eternity, neither side conceding an inch! The announcer said, "This is an amazing sight! Both of these strong Pokemon have strong grips on each other, yet neither one is shows any signs of losing endurance!" I could see sweatdrops on the side of Tauros' head as he continued pushing against Ursaring, who still had a strong grip on his horns. But Ursaring was also showing signs of stress. I was wondering just how much more either of them could take. All of a sudden, Ursaring managed to flip Tauros by the horns, briefly into the air, and then he crashed to the ground! "Tauros!" I shouted. He grunted, then stood back up, looking as menacing as the day we captured him! I commanded, "Good job, Tauros. Now use earthquake!" He reared up on his hind legs, and crashed his front hooves to the ground, creating a fissure underneath Ursaring, which he fell into! "Ursaring!" Ryan shouted. Ursaring climbed out of the fissure, and stood back up on level ground. "All right, Ursaring! Let's show him who's the stronger Pokemon! Use take down again!" As he ran at Tauros, I shouted, "Use your take down, too!" Once again, they crashed into each other, and once again, Ursaring had Tauros by the horns! "Not again!" May said. The announcer shouted, "This is astounding! Ursaring has once again taken this bull by the horns! The question is, how much more can either of them take of this intense wrestling match?" Just as before, they pushed against each other. Tauros steadied himself with his hooves as Ursaring pushed against him, and Ursaring did the same with his feet. They both showed a lot more signs of stress this time, because they had both taken hits! But their endurance held, and Tauros didn't back down. Neither did Ursaring. Suddenly, I could see that Ursaring was about to try to flip Tauros again! I shouted, "Hang in there, Tauros! He's going to try flipping you again! Don't let him!" Ursaring kept trying, but only succeeded in turning Tauros' head. Tauros wasn't about to let Ursaring flip him again! Ursaring seemed to be trying to think of a way to flip Tauros, and tightened his grip on Tauros' horns so that it was even stronger! I shouted, "Now, Tauros!" With that, Tauros sharply turned his head and flipped Ursaring into the air, and this time, Ursaring crashed to the ground! "No!" Ryan shouted. Before Ursaring could stand back up, I shouted, "Use body slam!" Tauros ran at Ursaring before he could react, and slammed his large body against him! Ursaring fell back to the ground, and did not stand back up. "Ursaring, stand up! Stand up!" Ryan shouted from his platform. The referee announced, "Ursaring is no longer able to battle! The first victory goes to the green trainer!" and held up his green flag. On the scoreboard, Ryan's first light went out! The crowd was cheering loudly. "Congratulations, Joe!" May shouted, and Martin and Trevor both said, "Good job!" The annonucer said, "After a long, drawn out match, Ursaring finally conceded defeat to Joe's Tauros! What a strong willed bull!" Ryan recalled Ursaring to his pokeball. I ran down the stairs to greet Tauros, who weakly walked over to me with a limp. I scratched under his horns and said, "You did a fine job, Tauros! I'm very proud of you!" and hugged his furry mane. He "mooed" loudly, full of pride. Then I said, "You deserve to rest now" and I recalled him to his pokeball, then ran back up to the platform. Ryan shouted, "Not bad. But I'm not through with you yet! Go Sandslash!" and he threw out his second pokeball, releasing the evolved version of Sandshrew. I responded, "Go, Fearow!" and tossed out the pokeball, which released Fearow in flight. Martin said, "Good choice, Joe! Fearow has an advantage over Sandslash! You really know what you're doing!" Ryan shouted, "Sandslash, use sand attack!" Sandslash started spinning around on the ground, stirring up dust. "Ryan's Sandslash is creating quite a blinding storm of dirt and stones. How will Joe's Fearow react to this?" the announcer asked. I commanded, "Fearow, use your whirlwind and blow it away!" Fearow flapped his wings and blew the sandstorm open so he could see Sandslash! "Good work, Fearow! Now use drill peck!" Fearow flew down at Sandslash and hit him with a volley of pecks from his sharp beak, knocking him down! I said, "Good, now do a fly attack!" As Fearow flew down at Sandslash, Ryan shouted, "Sandslash, use poison sting!" Fearow hit Sandslash with the fly attack, but at the same time, Sandslash successfully poisoned my Fearow! "Fearow!" I shouted, as he crashed to the ground. Sandslash stood back up, and so did Fearow, but the poison was taking it's toll on him. "Sandslash, use rollout!" Ryan shouted. Sandslash rolled at my Fearow, and I ordered him, "Fly out of there, Fearow!" He took to his wings and managed to get off the ground and avoid the attack. As he rolled, I shouted, "Fearow, use another drill peck!" He flew down at the rolling Sandslash and hit him several times with his beak, forcing him to stop rolling and lay in his place. Ryan commanded, "Sandslash, use dig!" Sandslash quickly burrowed under ground. "Fearow, fly up as high as you can!" I ordered. He tried, but was so weakened by the poison, he couldn't move very fast, and before he could get high enough, Sandslash shot up from the ground and actually hit Fearow in the air! I watched as Fearow fell to the ground. "Joe, recall Fearow! He doesn't stand a chance!" May said. I replied, "No. I'm not giving up on him yet." Fearow stood up on the ground and faced down Sandslash. "Fearow, use leer!" I shouted. Fearow glared at Sandslash, which distracted him, lowering his defense. "Now hit him with toxic!" I ordered. Fearow spat out some black sludge which hit Sandslash, knocking him onto his back. The announcer said, "Now both Pokemon are poisoned! How much longer can either of them hold out?" Sandslash stood back up again and Ryan ordered, "Use metal claw!" Sandslash ran at my grounded Fearow, and hit him, hard! Fearow fell onto his side, but weakly stood back up. I ordered, "Use fury attack!" As weak as he was, he attacked Sandslash. Both of them were getting pretty worn out. Ryan commanded, "Sandslash, use slash!" Sandslash attacked my Fearow, slashing at him with his claws. Fearow crashed to the ground. This looked like the end! As Fearow weakly attempted to stand up, Ryan shouted, "Finish it! Use rollout!" Sandslash rolled at my Fearow as quickly as he could, and just as I was about to recall him, Sandslash stopped, unrolled, and lay flat on the ground! The poison had knocked him out! "No! It's not fair!" Ryan shouted. The referee yelled, "Sandslash is no longer able to battle! The second victory goes to the green trainer, Joseph Ehlle!" The announcer shouted, "What a close match! Ryan almost had this round, but Fearow's toxic attack was just too powerful for his Sandslash!" On the scoreboard, a second light went out under Ryan's picture! Ryan recalled Sandslash, and May, Martin and Trevor congratulated me once again. I ran down to Fearow. "You did great, Fearow! Thanks!" I said to him. He nodded his head, then collapsed. I caught him in my arms before his head hit the ground. "Oh, Fearow. I promise you, right after my final round, I'll get you to a Pokemon center!" I said, and I shot some antidote into his mouth before I returned him to his ball. The announcer said, "And now the final round. Ryan only has one useable Pokemon left! Joe still has 3, but 2 of them are on the verge of defeat. There's no telling how this round will end!" Ryan said, "I'll tell you how it's gonna end! With a victory for me! Go, Electrabuzz!" he shouted, releasing the large yellow and black electric Pokemon. Electrabuzz yelled out his call. Martin said, "Electrabuzz is a powerful electric type, Joe. Flamefox, Firestorm, Jolteon, and especially Vaporeon would have an extremely difficult time defeating him. And Tauros and Fearow are in no shape to take him on. I don't know how to advise you except to be careful!" May said, "He did a Pokemon switch, and I think he has an ace up his sleeve." I replied, "That's right." Ryan taunted, "So, which of your wimpy Pokemon is gonna take on my powerful Electrabuzz?" I replied, "This one! Pokeball, go!" I threw the ball of the Pokemon I had switched for, and it released my Onix! Martin's jaw dropped! "An Onix? When did you catch that?" he asked. I answered, "In the Union Cave." He said, "Wow, catching him must have almost killed you!" I answered, "You have no idea!" Ryan looked completely taken off guard. Then he ordered, "Electrabuzz, use flash!" There was a blinding flash of light, which lowered the accuracy of my Onix. I ordered, "Onix, use tackle!" Onix flung his large, rock hard body at the much smaller Electrabuzz, but his attack missed. "Electrabuzz, use psychic!" That took me by surprise! His Elektrabuzz knew a psychic attack! "Onix, use dig!" I shouted. The large rock snake burrowed underground and the psychic attack missed! Then he shot up, exploding from the ground underneath Electrabuzz! Electrabuzz came crashing down to the ground, and did not stand back up! "Electrabuzz is no longer able to battle! This winner of this match is Joseph Ehlle from Crimson Town!" All of the lights underneath Ryan's picture were out, and then his side of the scoreboard disappeared, so that only my half showed, and the other half read "Congratulations!" The crowds were cheering as the announcer shouted, "Newcomer Joseph Ehlle has won the match!" May ran over to hug me, and Martin and Trevor were both cheering for me. I high fived my fire foxes, as well, before we all went down to the field to see Onix. I told Onix, "Excellent work! Great job on your first battle!" I petted the rocky body of this Onix, who once tried to kill me, and had now helped me to win my first official League Final battle. Of course, Tauros almost killed me when we first met, too, and now we were best friends! Ryan recalled his Electrabuzz and walked over to me. I said to him, "Good battle!" and put out my hand to shake. He closed his eyes, stuck his head in the air and walked past me, and said, "Hmmph!" He walked right into Trevor, who looked down at him and said, "Now that's not very sprotsman like." Then he took him by the arm, and dragged him back over to me, forcing him to shake my hand. "That's more like it!" Trevor said. Afterwards, Ryan just looked at him, and ran away. The news cameras and reporters all came down to film me and my friends in front of Onix, and I let out Tauros and Fearow, as well, so they could be in the picture and on the news. Tauros was able to stand, but Fearow was still weak and I helped to prop him up. Shy Martin hid behind Onix, so as not to be on TV! Afterwards, I recalled all 3 Pokemon that had battled into their pokeballs and we headed for the Pokemon center. While Nurse Joy treated them, I got a phone call. It was my parents. "We saw you on TV! You did great!" my Dad said. My Mom said, "We are so proud of you! We're going to try to come to the Stadium to see some of your battles in person!" I said, "Thanks, Mom and Dad." May said, "You did excellent, Joe. I hope I do just as well!" I told her, "You will! You and I are both strong trainers." I went back to the desk, where Nurse Joy had my pokeballs. She said, "You did a great job winning your first battle. Your Onix is in top shape. Tauros was in pretty rough shape, but he'll be fine after a day or 2 of rest. Your Fearow, however, was in really bad shape. I recommend you let him have at least a few days rest before you battle him again." I said, "I understand." With my first battle over with, I had to head to the registration building to find out what my next field would be and who my next competitor would be. After that, we'd be off to the water field to cheer May on in her first League Final battle!