Chapter 45 – Down to the Wire!
Indigo Stadium! I couldn't believe we'd gotten this far! Here, it would be decided who would qualify to battle the Elite Four this year! I also couldn't believe that my competitor for this battle would be none other than the first junior trainer I ever battled, Billy. The last time we battled, I was just starting out on my Pokemon journey from Professor Elm's lab in New Bark Town. Vaporeon was still an Eevee, and a disobedient Eevee at that, choosing to forfeit the battle in order to seek out a swimming hole! But she had come a long way, and as Vaporeon, was very loyal to me! I was determined to show this kid that I had grown significantly as a trainer since our last battle! But first, it was May's turn to battle! For once, her battle was earlier than mine. And to add to the irony, it turned out that May would be battling Jane, the trainer I had battled outside Goldenrod City! The previous day, at the registration building, we had each fished for Magikarps in a small pool inside the building, each of which had numbers on the side. The number on the Magikarp matched the number of the trainer we'd be battling.
Anyway, Martin, Trevor, and I, along with Flamefox, Firestorm, Amber, Inferno, and Redfur accompanied May inside the Indigo Stadium arena. The large torch burned brightly, between 2 flags with pokeballs on them, overlooking the stadium. I said, "Good luck, May! We'll be rooting for you!" She said, "Thanks, Joe!" as she and Amber walked out onto their side of the battlefield. The rest of us sat on a bench against the wall. Unlike the elemental-themed fields, the Indigo Stadium battlefield was a level dirt floor. The seats in the stadium were packed, as always, and the crowd cheered as the announcer said, "The green trainer, May Redfield, the popular newcomer from Violet City, will battle the red trainer, Jane Leighton, from Goldenrod City, another popular newcomer, each for their fifth victory in the Pokemon League Finals! Only one can win, and there is a lot at stake!" Jane said, "I hope you're ready!" May responded, "Oh, I'm ready! The question is, are you?" The referee raised the red and green flags, and said, "Let the battle begin!" Jane shouted, "Go Skarmory!" as she tossed his pokeball into the air and he materialized in flight! May shouted, "Go, Amber!" and her pink-bowed Vulpix entered the battle! "Skarmory use steel wing!" Jane ordered. May responded, "Amber, use dig!" Amber quickly burrowed underground, and Skarmory's attack completely missed her! Skarmory circled around to try attacking again, and May shouted, "Do it, Amber!" With that, Amber shot up from the ground in a fury of dirt and leapt in the air, directly in front of the on-coming Skarmory! She launched a powerful flamethrower attack that hit him point blank! Amber daintily landed perfectly on all fours, but Skarmory took her attack hard, and the toasted steel bird crashed to the ground, defeated! The referee said, "Skarmory is unable to battle! This round goes to the green trainer!" as he raised the green flag, and one light went out under Jane's picture on the scoreboard. The crowd went wild as May shouted, "Way to go Amber!" and Amber leapt into her arms for a hug. The announcer said, "I guess Skarmory couldn't take the heat!" as Jane recalled her fainted Skarmory. We all congratulated May, impressed with Amber's one hit KO! Then, Jane tossed out her second pokeball as she shouted, "Go Lickitung!" The long-tongued pink reptile materialized from the pokeball. May, in turn, tossed out her second pokeball, shouting, "Go, Raichu!" The yellow-orange electric mouse materialized on the battlefield. Jane ordered, "Lickitung, use lick!" May said, "Raichu, evade it with your agility!" Raichu kept dodging the long tongue, until Jane shouted, "Use wrap!" Then, Lickitung managed to wrap his large tongue around Raichu! Martin shouted, "May, quick, before paralysis sets in, have Raichu use an electric attack!" She said, "Right! Raichu, thunderbolt, now!" The wrapped-up Raichu let go a powerful thunderbolt, severely shocking Lickitung! Lickitung released his grip on Raichu and fell over, knocked out! However, Raichu was now paralyzed from Lickitung's saliva. "Both Pokemon are no longer able to battle!" the referee said. One light went out under each of their pictures on the scoreboard and each trainer recalled her Pokemon. "That was amazing!" the announcer said, as the audience cheered. "I'm sorry about Raichu" I said to May. She replied, "Thanks. He'll be fine. I'll give him some paralyze heal after the battle." Then Jane said, "For my final Pokemon, I choose Miltank!" and released the large, pink cow from her pokeball. May responded, "In that case, I choose Fierymane!" and released her Ponyta. "It's horse versus cow!" the announcer exclaimed. "Miltank, use rollout!" Jane ordered. May shouted, "Fierymane, use stomp!" Miltank came rolling quickly at Fierymane! Fierymane attempted to stomp at the rolling cow with her front hooves, but instead she took a hit and fell sideways! "Fierymane!" May shouted. Miltank circled around, still rolling, and came at Fierymane again, hitting her before she could even stand back up! This looked really bad! "Fierymane, use flamethrower!" May shouted in desperation. Her fire horse shot a stream of flames from her mouth at the rolling Miltank, but she just rolled right through the attack! Fierymane was getting beaten to a pulp! I shouted, "May, recall her! Rollout gets stronger each time it hits, and Fierymane can't take much more!" May looked at me and said, "Amber can't take hits like that, and Raichu is in no condition to battle! I'm not giving up yet!" Then she turned to Fierymane and shouted, "Hang in there, Fierymane! Don't give up! I believe in you! I know you can do it!" Fierymane raised her head to look at May, and then weakly stood back up. Jane shouted, "Let's finish it, Miltank!" As Miltank came rolling at Fierymane once more, the fire horse began glowing! The audience gasped! The announcer said, "It looks like… it looks like Ponyta is evolving!" The glowing Ponyta increased in size, a horn grew out of her head, and soon, the glowing ceased, and there stood a beautiful Rapidash, mane and tail flames burning brightly! She whinnied, and reared up on her hind legs, then crashed her front hooves down onto the rolling Miltank, pinning her to the ground! Jane gasped! Then May shouted, "Fierymane, hit her with a body slam!" The fire horse jumped in the air, and slammed belly down onto Miltank, who did not get back up afterwards! The referee said, "Miltank is unable to battle! The victory goes to the green trainer!" The audience cheered loudly as the last light went out under Jane's picture. The announcer said, "A last minute evolution saved the day for this promising young Pokemon trainer from Violet City!" Jane recalled Miltank as May, Trevor, Martin and I, along with our Pokemon, ran to see May's newly evolved Rapidash! May walked up to her and asked, "Fierymane?" The Rapidash walked up to her and licked her face! May hugged her, saying, "Thanks, Fierymane!" Trevor said, "She's beautiful, May! You raised her well! I couldn't have done better, myself!" Fierymane nudged May onto her back, along with Amber. Confetti fell from the crowd as we all stood there, and the cameras showed up for pictures and news footage. Jane walked over to us and said, "Congratulations, May! You were a great battler!" May said, "You were, too! Good luck!" and they shook hands. Then Jane said to me, "Hold onto her, Joe! A girl like that doesn't come along every day!" and she winked at me. With a sweatdrop on the side of my head, I said, "Thanks." After that, Jane left the stadium. May's parents came down to congratulate her, too, along with mine.
I accompanied May to the Pokemon center after the battle and she had her Pokemon examined. Raichu was fine, and Fierymane and Amber were in excellent shape. We decided to have a ride with our Pokemon before my battle. I rode Tauros, Martin rode Arcanine, and May and Trevor each rode their Rapidashes. Trevor's Rapidash seemed to be awfully smitten with Fierymane! Before, while she was a Ponyta, they seemed like just friends, but now, he was eyeing her much differently. I suppose it was only fate that when we opened our gym / breeding center years later, those 2 Rapidashes became mates. Anyway, we had fun riding our Pokemon, taking a little break from battling to enjoy the local scenery. We rode along the beach nearby and in a nice open area surrounded by woods.
The time soon came for my first Indigo Stadium battle. We returned to the Pokemon Village on our Pokemon, and re-entered the Stadium. Billy saw me and walked over. He said, "I sure hope your Pokemon are more obedient than the last time we met, or this is gonna be a really short battle!" I said, "You'll see! My Pokemon are all very loyal to me!" He replied, "I sure hope so! Good luck, and may the best trainer win!" As he walked away, May said, "He seems tough, but not as much of a jerk as Ryan. At least he wished you luck." I said, "We're gonna show him! In fact, I'm gonna make sure I use Vaporeon in this battle, just so he can see how loyal she is to me now!" The announcer said, "The trainers are now taking their positions on the field! This is both trainers' 5th battle! Whichever one wins will go on to the final qualifying battle tomorrow, where they can use up to six Pokemon!" Each of us stood to our side of the field, and I stood with Flamefox, Firestorm, and Inferno. This time, May, Amber, and Redfur sat on the bench with Trevor and Martin. She said, "Good luck, Joe!" I replied, "Thanks!" The referee shouted, "Let the battle begin!" Billy said, "I choose Victreebell!" and released the large green and yellow plant-like Pokemon from it's pokeball. I said, "Flamefox, you're up again!" My Vulpix entered the battlefield. "Victreebell, use razor leaf!" Billy ordered. The large plant shot out several spinning leaves. "Flamefox, use flamethrower! Burn up those leaves!" His eyes glowed bright white as he shot out a stream of flames from his mouth, incinerating the leaves. Then I shouted, "Now use fire spin!" His entire body glowed brightly and his eyes glowed an even brighter white as he launched the tornado of flames from his mouth! The flames wrapped up Victreebell, and once they dispersed, the charred plant-type fell over! "Victreebell is unable to battle! This round goes to the green trainer!" and raised a green flag! The audience cheered as one light went out under Billy's picture, and the announcer said, "Looks like a bad Pokemon choice on the part of the red trainer!" I shouted, "Excellent job, Flamefox!" as he ran up to me and leapt into my arms for a hug! Billy recalled Victreebell and said, "Touching! But I'm just getting started!" Then he took out his second pokeball and shouted, "Go, Feraligatr!" The large, blue and white crocodile materialized onto the field. Then he said to me, "As you can see, my Totodile grew up!" I took out my second pokeball and shouted, "Go, Jolteon!", releasing my electric dog. He responded, "A Jolteon, huh? As I recall, you're the one who told me type advantage isn't everything!" I replied, "Maybe not, but it's still an advantage!" Then I ordered, "Jolteon, start things off with a thunderbolt!" Billy responded, "Feraligatr, use dig!" His large crocodile quickly burrowed under the ground as Jolteon launched the attack, and he completely missed Feraligatr! I said, "Be careful, Jolteon! Use agility to try to avoid getting hit when he pops up!" Jolteon moved back and forth in a blur, attempting to avoid the attack. But Billy was good! "Now Feraligatr!" he shouted, and the large, blue crocodile shot up right underneath Jolteon, sending both airborne! Then Feraligatr hit Jolteon with a slash, sending him careening across the battle field! "Jolteon!" I shouted, as he lay there on his back. He then turned sideways, and stood back up. "Jolteon, use sand attack!" I ordered, in an attempt to lower Feraligatr's accuracy. Jolteon began to send dirt and dust flying at Feraligatr, to which Billy responded, "Use hydro pump!" Feraligatr shot out a strong, torrential stream of water from his mouth, which dissipated the dirt and dust, and pinned Jolteon to the wall! When the attack ceased, Jolteon fell to the ground, but weakly stood back up. Then Billy ordered, "Two can play the accuracy lowering game! Feraligatr, use mud slap!" The crocodile began thrusting mud at Jolteon! "Jolteon, watch out!" I shouted, but I was too late! He had mud slapped into his eyes. He blindly circled around. "Try to shake it off, Jolteon!" I shouted. Billy then shouted, "Feraligatr, use take down!" Feraligatr ran at Jolteon, and he couldn't see him coming! As he was just feet away from Jolteon, I shouted, "Jolteon, you're just gonna have to trust me! Use thunder, now!" He took in lightning from the sky just as Feraligatr reached him, and it was a direct hit! Severely shocked, Ferilagatr fell over, swirly eyed and defeated! "No!" Billy shouted. The referee said, "Feraligatr is unable to battle! This round goes to the green trainer!" Another light went out under Billy's picture, as the audience cheered and the announcer said, "That was a close battle!" Billy recalled Feraligatr, and May and I ran over to Jolteon with a wet towel to wipe the mud out of his eyes. "You did great, boy!" I told him and then gave him a hug, before I returned him to his pokeball. Then Billy said, "I saved the best for last! Go, Charizard!" and the giant, orange, winged, fire-breathing reptile materialized! I responded, "It's up to you, Vaporeon!" and released her from her pokeball. Then I said to Billy, "As you can see, my Eevee has grown up, too!" He said, "She'll be running from this battle when she sees this – Charizard, use fire blast!" He shot out a large, "t"-shape of flames at her. "Vaporeon, watch it!" I shouted. She leapt out of the way. He shot another at her, and another, all of which she managed to leap out of the way of. Then I shouted, "Vaporeon, use water gun!" She shot a stream of water at Charizard, but it didn't even faze him! "My Charizard is strong!" Billy said. Then he said, "Charizard, use earthquake!" Charizard stomped his feet onto the ground, opening up a fissure in the ground, which Vaporeon fell into! "Vaporeon!" I shouted. She climbed out of the fissure, still willing to battle. "Let's try something stronger – use hydro pump!" I ordered. She shot an even stronger stream of water from her mouth at the flying Charizard, but he remained unfazed! "Charizard, use your wing attack!" Billy ordered. Charizard flapped his large wings and sent powerful g-forces at Vaporeon, which sent her flying backwards and pinned her to the wall! She fell to the ground, but stood back up. This was going badly! Then, I had an inspiration! "Vaporeon, use haze!" I shouted. She created a fog bank around herself, and couldn't be seen! "Charizard, launch a flamethrower into that fog!" Billy ordered. As the fog bank got bigger, Charizard shot his flames into it. May said, "Joe, I know she's a water type, but even she can't take this much heat!" I said, "I know what I'm doing! You'll see in a second!" The fog bank got bigger and bigger, and Charizard flew above it, continuing his flamethrower. Soon, he began to descend so that he was just above the fog bank. "Now, Vaporeon! Whirlpool!" Charizard was now low enough that Vaporeon leapt over his back from behind him, and shot a whirlpool of water from her mouth above him, effectively wrapping him up in water! The water, and Charizard, all fell to the ground with a large splash and a thud! Vaporeon landed on all fours, and before Charizard could stand back up, I commanded, "Vaporeon, use bubblebeam!" She shot a stream of bubbles at Charizard, all of which exploded upon impacting him! He let out one final roar, then fell over, onto his side! "Charizard, no! Get up!" Billy shouted. The referee said, "Charizard is no longer able to battle! Victory goes to the green trainer!" and he held up the green flag. The last light went out under Billy's picture as the audience loudly cheered, and Billy recalled his Charizard. I ran to Vaporeon and said, "Good work, girl! You've really come a long way!" and I gave her a hug. Confetti came down from everywhere as the announcer exclaimed, "Joseph Ehlle from Crimson Town will go onto the final qualifying battle tomorrow!" Billy walked over to me and said, "You did good! You really have gotten better since our last battle." I replied, "Hey, you were some pretty stiff competition, yourself!" He said, "Thanks! Good luck in your final battle!" I said, "Thanks!" and we shook hands. He left, and I was soon joined by May, Trevor, and Martin, along with the Pokemon for the usual pictures and media coverage.
When we left the stadium, May said to me, "Well, it looks like it's down to you and me." I replied, "Yeah." She said, "And don't think that I'm gonna go easy on you just because you're a friend!" I responded, "Of course not! But I won't go easy on you, either!" She said, "Good! Let's make it a battle to remember!" Then I said, "But no battling Flamefox versus Amber." She said, "Of course not! I always keep my promises." With that, we returned to the Pokemon Village, along with our Pokemon, and after I had mine checked out at the Pokemon Center, we met everyone else for dinner. We decided to take it easy for the evening, because tomorrow, we would have our most important battle yet!