Chapter 43 – Dangerous Waters
The following morning, I went down to the hotel cafeteria by myself - Flamefox and Firestorm were my only company as I ate. I wasn't really that hungry, since we had all eaten so much the previous evening with my parents. May's parents were supposed to come sometime today. Anyway, I was feeling a little down, and a little battle-weary, so I wanted a little time by myself, away from everyone. Soon, May came along. "You were up really early" she said to me. "I couldn't sleep" I told her. She asked, "How come?" I replied, "I guess I'm just getting a little tired of battling all the time. There's so much pressure every day from the audience and the media. All these qualifying battles, and cameras on us, newspeople wanting interviews – I don't know. I guess I just didn't expect it to be like this. It all feels so hyped! I felt more at ease battling random trainers along my journey, or getting into wild battles. But here, there's just so much more at stake!" May said, "Yeah, I know. But please don't give up, Joe! You're doing great! Only 2 more fields and then you'll be in your final qualifying battles to face the Elite 4!" I said, "Thanks, May! Don't worry, I'm not giving up! I didn't come all this way to give up just because I'm feeling a little down! After all, I have my dreams to fulfil!" Then I said to her, "If I haven't told you lately, you're doing fantastic, yourself! I thought you did even better yesterday in the Ice Field than you did in the Water Field!" She replied, "Thanks!" Martin soon showed up and said, "So this is where the 2 of you disappeared to! Is everything okay?" May answered, "Yeah, Joe was just a little down from all the battling and the pressure of the media coverage surrounding the finals." Martin looked at me and said, "You think you have it bad? Try being a recluse when you've discovered a new Pokemon and every Pokemon researcher wants to study the area where you found it, especially when that area is where you live!" I said, "I'm sorry. That must be rough!" He said, "Yeah, but its all necessary if Sneasels are ever going to be included in the worldwide Pokedex. When any new Pokemon is discovered, it takes years of research before all their attacks, speed, strength, weaknesses, type, and so forth, can be known. I have a feeling it'll be a few years yet before Sneasels can be used in official tournaments." Then he said to me, "Now stop being down! The Pokemon League Finals are supposed to be fun for trainers like you! I'm sure Flamefox and Firestorm are happy to be here, and ready to win battles for you!" I knew he was right! Flamefox and Firestorm were both so anxious to battle, and I knew they were battling for me! I said, "I'm not down anymore. How could I stay down when I have such good friends like you guys?" With that, I felt my appetite increase, and had a bit more to eat, as did May and Martin.
After we finished eating, May asked, "Where is Trevor?" Martin said, "He took Rapidash out for a ride. They'll be back later." I said, "I hope he's back in time for my battle in the Water Field this afternoon!" May said, "I don't think he'd miss it!" Then we saw a man and a woman approaching us and May shouted, "Mom, Dad!" and ran over, accompanied by Amber and Redfur, to hug them! Martin and I walked over, with Firestorm walking next to us, and Flamefox sat on my head. May said, "Mom, Dad, these are my friends, Joe and Martin." I said, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. And Mrs. Redfield" and I shook hands with them. Martin did likewise. Mrs. Redfield said, "May has told us so much about you, Joe! Thank you for watching out for her during her journey." Her father said, "I hope you've been keeping up with your martial arts, young lady." I said, "Oh, believe me, she has! In fact, I think she's watched out for me more than I've watched out for her!" Mrs. Redfield then asked Martin, "So, you're a friend of May's, too?" He shyly replied, "Yeah. A friend." May said to him, "They're my parents, Martin! They won't bite! Come out of your shell, for goodness sake!" Mrs. Redfield said, "Yes, any friend of my daughter's is a friend of ours!" Martin warmed up to her a little, but was still pretty evasive. Soon, Trevor came along, and May introduced him, as well, saying, "Trevor knows some martial arts, too! He and I took down a faction of Team Rocket back in Mahogany Town!" Mr. Redfield said, "That's what I like to hear! Good job uncovering that Team Rocket plot! I was so proud of May when I heard about that incident on the news!" May asked, "That was on the news?" Mrs. Redfield said, "Yeah. You're considered a local hero back in town! Everyone's expecting you to win big here at the Finals!" May said, "Oh, great! No pressure!" We all laughed, and started to head for the Water Field. We met my parents there.
Soon, it was time for my battle! Once again, May, Trevor, and Martin joined me down in the arena, along with Flamefox, Firestorm, Redfur, Amber, and Persian. My opponent today was no one I'd ever met before. Her name was Diane. She was not bad looking, with blond hair. The announcer soon came on. "The green trainer, popular newcomer from Crimson Town, Joseph Ehlle, will battle against the red trainer, Diane Saitama from Goldenrod City!" I heard him say, over the cheering of the crowd. May's and my parents sat together in the first row of the stadium. Suddenly I heard this cheering, as if from cheerleaders! Sure enough, I looked across the battlefield to see cheerleaders! And they were cheering for Diane! She brought her own cheering section! "Now that's a bit pretentious" I commented to my friends. May said, "Yeah. Who does she think she is, anyway?" The referee said, "Let the battle begin!" The Water Field was like a pond, but with little islands in the middle, and land surrounding it, of course, so that you could also use non-water types. Diane tossed out her first pokeball, shouting, "Go, Golbat!" The ball released the evolved form of Zubat. I responded, "Flamefox, I choose you!", and my Vulpix jumped into the arena from my battle platform. "Are you sure it's wise to use Flamefox in the Water Field?" May asked. I said, "Why not? He can swim!" Martin said to her, "I think Flamefox is the perfect choice! Golbat's a flying type, which Flamefox is strong against! Plus, since Vulpixes have no external flames, it doesn't hurt them to get into water! Water only hurts them if it comes from the attack of another Pokemon." Then he said to me, "Good choice, Joe!" Diane ordered, "Golbat, use gust!" Golbat flapped his wings, creating a strong gust of wind, directed at Flamefox, blowing him back! "Flamefox, try a flamethrower!" I shouted. He launched the flames, but the gust just blew it back towards him! I definitely needed a better strategy! "Flamefox, use dig!" I ordered. My Vulpix burrowed quickly underground. Golbat discontinued the gust attack. He flew around for a while, unsure where Flamefox would pop up. Suddenly, Flamefox burst through the ground under Golbat, and Flamefox head-butted him in the air! Golbat was knocked down, but got back up! Golbat fell down, but was airborne again in a second. Diane ordered, "Golbat, use supersonic!" Golbat emitted a high pitched sound, and Flamefox became confused. "Oh no! Flamefox!" I shouted. She said, "Good, Golbat! Now use take down!" I commanded, "Flamefox, use your agility!" He heard my command and started to run, but tripped over his own feet in confusion! Golbat quickly flew at Flamefox and hit him, knocking him to his side! He stood back up, and I ordered, "Flamefox, try a flamethrower!" He launched the fiery attack, but was still confused, and Golbat easily evaded the attack, taking full advantage of Flamefox's confused state. Diane said, "Good work, Golbat! Now hit him with a wing attack!" as her cheering section continued to root for her. Golbat frantically flapped his wings, and sent powerful g-forces at Flamefox, which hit him and sent him crashing to the ground on his back. I shouted, "Hang in there, Flamefox! Use endure!" Diane responded, "Golbat, use swift!" Golbat sent several stars flying at Flamefox, which hit him, but he held his ground! This battle was getting intense! As he took the hits, I could see alertness returning to his eyes. Diane shouted, "Let's finish this with a mega-drain!" I ordered, "Flamefox, use fire spin!" Flamefox's body glowed, and his eyes grew bright white as he launched the tornado of flames from his mouth. The fiery funnel wrapped around Golbat before he could even attack! Once the flames dispersed, Golbat hung in mid-air for a second, all charred and burned. Then he let out a puff of smoke from his mouth, before falling into the water below with a splash! "Golbat!" Diane shouted. The referee said, "The red trainer's Golbat is no longer able to battle! This round goes to the green trainer!" On the scoreboard, one light went out under Diane's picture, as I ran down to the field, shouting, "Great job, Flamefox!" He ran to me and leapt into my arms, and licked my face. I carried him back up to the top of my battle platform to a cheering audience! Diane recalled her Golbat as the announcer said, "It looks like Golbat couldn't take the heat!" I gave Flamefox some potion and some treats. Amber came up to lick his face. Diane shouted, "For my next Pokemon, I choose Starmie!" and released the purple, jeweled starfish into the water as her cheering section continued rooting for her. I responded, "Go, Vaporeon!" and released her into the water. "Starmie, let's start things off with a thunderbolt attack!" Diane ordered. "Whoa! It would seem Lapras isn't the only Pokemon that can learn electric attacks!" I thought to myself. I then shouted, "Vaporeon, get out of the water and use haze!" She leapt out of the water and onto one of the little islands, where she surrounded herself in a fog bank! Starmie launched the electric attack at the fog bank. Vaporeon leapt out of the fog bank, and onto one of the other small islands, unharmed! "Ha! You'll need to do better than that!" I shouted. She responded, "Starmie, use tackle!" Starmie came spinning across the arena, like a throwing star, and hit Vaporeon, slamming her back into the water. She leapt back up onto the small island and, as Starmie circled around to come at her once more, I shouted, "Vaporeon, use aurora beam!" Vaporeon shot a beam of energy from her mouth, which hit the attacking Starmie, knocking her into the water. Starmie shot back up into the air from the water, and Diane ordered, "Starmie, use flash!" There was a blinding flash of light, which lowered Vaporeon's accuracy. "Now tackle her again, Starmie!" Diane shouted. Starmie came spinning at Vaporeon once again, and hit her, knocking her into the water again. She circled round and hit her again! I wasn't sure how much more she could take. As Starmie circled round to attack once more, when Starmie was just feet away from Vaporeon, I shouted, "Use bubble beam! Aim for her crystal!" She shot a steady stream of bubbles at Starmie, holding her in place a mere 2 feet away from her. The bubbles were exploding on Starmie's red crystal! "Keep it up, girl!" I shouted to her in encouragement. She kept up the bubblebeam, holding Starmie in place, and soon, the crystal began to shatter from the constant barrage of exploding bubbles! "Vaporeon, stop!" I ordered. She discontinued her attack, and Starmie fell into the water, floating face up, with her red crystal broken and flickering. "Starmie is no longer able to battle! This round goes to the green trainer!" the referee exclaimed. I ran down to Vaporeon, shouting, "Great work, girl!" and she ran to me and leapt into my arms! She was a bit more to hold, being almost as big as me, but I held and hugged her as she licked my face. Another light went out under Diane's picture on the scoreboard as she recalled Starmie, and the announcer said, "If newcomer Joseph Ehlle wins this next round, he continues with his winning streak!" Diane's cheering section continued shouting their support for her, despite her 2 losses, and she said, "Don't be too sure about winning, kid! For my final Pokemon, I choose Tentacruel!" and she released the large jellyfish-like Pokemon into the water. I replied, "I choose Gyarados!" and threw his pokeball, releasing him into the water. May asked me, "Are you sure it's wise to use Gyarados? He's never battled before!" I said, "Neither did Onix, but look how great he did! Besides, Gyarados did great in our training session yesterday. He's tough!" Diane ordered, "Tentacruel, use wrap!" Her Tentacruel proceeded to wrap up Gyarados with his large tentacles. As Gyarados was being crushed by Tentacruel's grip, I shouted, "Gyarados, use thrash!" He began thrashing around, but Tentacruel did not loosen his grip, which actually worked in my favor – in his thrashings, Gyarados proceeded to slam Tentacruel against the sides of the pool, against the islands in the pool, and against the ground next to the pool. All of this took it's toll on Tentacruel, who finally loosened his grip on Gyarados. "Tentacruel, use acid!" Diane shouted. "Gyarados, evade it!" I yelled. Tentacruel launched his poison acid at Gyarados, and he dove under water, so the attack missed him! Then he shot up from the water, right in front of Tentacruel, and I shouted, "Gyarados, use hyper beam!" It was a fatal hit as Gyarados launched the powerful beam of energy from his mouth, a mere 4 feet away from Tentacruel. Tentacruel fell onto the land, knocked out from the attack! The referee shouted, "Tentacruel is no longer able to battle! The winner of this battle is Joseph Ehlle, the green trainer!" The crowds cheered as the last light went out under Diane's picture on the scoreboard, and she recalled Tentacruel. I ran over to Gyarados, accompanied by Flamefox, Firestorm, and Vaporeon, and he put his head down to me. I said to him, "Good job! I knew I could count on you!" as I stroked the side of his large, intimidating head. May ran over with Amber and Redfur and asked, "Is it okay for us to come up to him?" I said, "Sure! He was nasty when we first encountered him, but he's been under my influence for a couple days." She said, "You really do have a way with Pokemon!" Trevor and Martin walked over, as well, along with Persian. Diane walked over to shake my hand and said, "You were a worthy opponent! Good luck!" I replied, "Thank you!" After she left, May's and my parents came down to congratulate me. The press came down, as well, to photograph me with Flamefox, Firestorm, Vaporeon, and my friends and their Pokemon, all standing in front of Gyarados. This time, May held Martin by the sleeve of his shirt to make him be in the picture. "I'll make sure your father gets a copy!" May said. "Thanks a lot!" he replied.
That evening, May, Trevor, Martin and I had dinner with May's and my parents. May's father said, "You did most excellent in your battle today in the Grass Field, May!" My father said, "So did you, Joe, in the Water Field". May's mother said, "What if the 2 of you end up facing each other?" My mother said, "Don't worry them that way! Let them cross that bridge when they come to it." I said, "Excuse me" and left the table at the restaurant to go outside, with Flamefox and Firestorm. May came outside to find me sitting outside on a bench, with Flamefox in my lap. She asked, "You sure left in a hurry. What's the matter?" I said, "Your mother is right! If we both keep up at the rate we are, we will very likely have to battle each other!" She said, "If you're worried about us battling our Vulpixes against each other, don't worry. I'll keep my promise not to." I said, "It's not that. This could be the battle to decide who goes on to battle the Elite Four. How will it affect our friendship if either of us wins?" She said, "It won't affect our friendship. We're both strong trainers, as you've pointed out to me many times before, and we should each understand that there can only be one winner. We shouldn't feel contempt for that person, we should wish them good luck! To do otherwise would make us no better then Ryan." I said, "Of course I wouldn't feel contempt for you if you won, May. But how would you feel about me?" She took my hand and said, "I'd feel that you're my best friend and that you won the right to battle the Elite Four fair and square. I'd wish you the best of luck, knowing that you can win!" I said, "Thanks, May! I feel the same way about you." She then said, "Now come on. Our parents are probably wondering what happened." I said, "Yeah, let's go. I'm still hungry." With that, we went back inside the restaurant and enjoyed the rest of our meal together.