Chapter 75 – Ring of Fire
May and I, along with our Pokemon, continued to enjoy our stay at the Big Riddle Inn on Cinnibar Island for the next few days. Martin seemed really psyched up about the Sumo tournament coming up, but wouldn't tell us why. May was still uninterested in competing, but I was anxious to, and did some extra training with Tauros for the 2 days before the competition. Our Pokemon were enjoying their stay on the island, as well. Flamefox and Amber remained close, as did Redfur and Fiona, but Firestorm and Inferno seemed particularly more affectionate to each other than usual. May and I had also noticed lately that Vaporeon and Jolteon had taken a great liking to each other, as well.
The day finally came for the big Pokemon Sumo tournament. It was held at the Cinni Bar and Grille, an establishment run by Martin's cousins. May and I, along with our Pokemon, accompanied Martin to the outdoor patio, where he was greeted by his relatives and we were given a great table with a perfect view of where the competition would be. Blaine joined us, as well, donned in his wig, fake mustache and beard disguise, which he kept off while we were at his hotel, except when he was dealing with other guests. The 4 Vulpixes were with us, as well – Flamefox, Amber, Tails, and Blaine's Vulpix. They seemed to be enjoying each other's company, and I think Tails and her parents were just happy to be together again. We had arrived early, before a lot of the other trainers, and we sat at the table, and looked over to where the tournament would take place, but instead of the usual painted out battlefield, there was only a ring painted on the ground. I asked, "Is that ring the battlefield?" Martin answered, "Yep! This isn't like an ordinary Pokemon battle. The idea is, the 2 Pokemon wrestle with each other inside that ring, and whoever gets pushed out of the ring first wins! No special attacks are allowed – it's a match of all brute strength!" May said, "That's certainly different." I said, "Well, I've been training Tauros a lot the past couple days, and I think we have a real chance!" Martin said, "Don't get too overly confident. The trainers who participate in this all have heavy hitters, and they do this type of wrestling on a regular basis. I'm talking big Pokemon, like Snorlax and Nidokings." I replied, "Well, I'm not really overly concerned with winning this match, I'm just in it for the extra experience for Tauros. But I still think he's got a pretty good shot at it." Martin said, "Okay." We ordered dinner, which was some very tasty island cuisine, and soon other trainers began to arrive. There were some pretty tough looking Pokemon – Nidoking, Snorlax, Venusaur, Blastoise, Golem, Hitmonchan, and lots of others. The people in charge began to light tiki torches along the patio, indicating that the tournament would begin in half an hour. The names of all the trainers who were competing were collected during dinner, and would be randomly selected. The first two trainers would be picked, and they would battle their Pokemon until someone won. The winner would then battle the next trainer picked, and so on, until only one champion was left at the end. The time finally came, and the emcee stepped up to the podium. The patio was packed, and a lot of people had to stand. The emcee said, "Welcome everyone to the annual Cinnibar Island Sumo Pokemon tournament! We have trainers from all over Kanto ready to prove their Pokemon is the strongest! The excitement will get under way in just a few moments, and will go on well into the evening! The winner will receive this beautiful trophy, and a year's supply of Pokemon chow." On a table nearby was a trophy with a golden flame on top, and a certificate for the free food. "The first 2 trainers will be Scott and Spencer! Please release your Pokemon inside the ring!" The 2 trainers walked out to the battle field. One released a Nidoqueen, the other a Kangaskahn. The announcer said, "Let the battle begin!" Each trainer ordered their Pokemon to tackle. They pushed at each other, each trying to get the upper hand. The Kangaskahn finally shoved the Nidoqueen to the ground. She still fought, but Kangaskahn proved to be much stronger, and finally pushed the Nidoqueen completely out of the ring! "Nidoqueen is completely outside of the ring! Kangaskahn wins!" the announcer exclaimed. This really was some tough competition! But I was convinced Tauros could win this, especially the way he battled Ryan's Ursaring back in the Johto League. The Kangaskahn remained undefeated into the next round, against a Venusaur. But next, a Blastoise entered the ring, and took down Kangaskahn! After that, a Poliwrath took out the Blastoise. Then I heard, "Our next trainer will be Joseph!" I stood up from our table and May said, "Good luck, Joe!" Martin said, "Just do your best!" and Blaine said, "Knock 'em dead!" I released Tauros into the ring. I ordered, "Tauros, tackle!" The Poliwrath's trainer ordered the same. Poliwrath grabbed Tauros by the horns, stopping him in his tracks, but Tauros effectively flipped the Poliwrath out of the ring by quickly turning his head! "Wow! That was amazing! Joe and his Tauros are off to an excellent start!" the announcer exclaimed. The next trainer had a Nidoking. However, it was not very well trained, and all I had to do was order, "Tauros, take down!" and he charged at the Nidoking, hit it in the center of it's belly, and knocked it straight back out of the ring with one hit! "That's 2 for 2! This Tauros is tough!" the announcer exclaimed. A Machamp entered the ring next. He, too, grabbed Tauros by the horns mid-charge, but didn't flip quite so easily like the Poliwrath. "Don't give up, Tauros! You can do it!" I shouted in encouragement. The Machamp trainer shouted the same encouragement to his Pokemon, but Tauros began pushing at the Machamp, and its feet slowly dragged across the ground, until it, too, was pushed out of the ring! "Outstanding!" the announcer exclaimed. May and the others were cheering for us. I petted Tauros and said, "Good work, buddy! You're doing great!" He mooed contentedly. He was a fighter in his heart, and was really enjoying this. Next up was a Golem, and it was tough. It stopped Tauros mid-charge, too, and actually began pushing him out of the ring, but Tauros pushed his feet against the ground, pushing his hooves as hard against the ground as he could, while he wildly whipped his 3 tails around. The Golem held Tauros' horns with its hands. Tauros pushed as hard as he could against the ground with his rear hooves, and managed to get his front hooves onto the Golem. The Golem momentarily let got to try to grab Tauros' front legs – big mistake! Tauros kicked the Golem, hard, with his front hooves, causing it to roll clear out of the ring! "Tauros is going on undefeated!" the announcer shouted, as the audience cheered, particularly May, Martin, and Blaine. I scratched under Tauros' horns and said, "Keep it up! You're doing a bang up job, buddy!" Then the emcee announced, "The next challenger will be… Martin, the cousin of our own restaurant owner and nephew of Blaine!" Martin stood up as everyone cheered, and Blaine said, "Good luck!" Martin walked out to the battle field and said, "Good luck, Joe. You'll need it!" I said, "Good luck to you, too, Martin", wondering what he meant by "you'll need it". He tossed his pokeball out and shouted, "Go, Rhydon!" It was a Rhydon, all right, but it was gigantic, at least as big as a Snorlax! I asked, "Where did you find it?" He answered, "In the Orange Islands. There's an island with giant Rhydons. I was fortunate enough to catch this one." Even Tauros looked nervous. I told Tauros, "You've done really good, buddy. But I don't want to force you to battle that! If you want to quit, I don't have a problem with that." He shook his head. He was all fired up and ready to take on this giant Rhydon! I said, "Okay, Tauros. Use take down!" Tauros charged at the giant Rhydon, but it stopped him in his tracks, grabbing him by the horns! He pushed as hard as he could, but the Rhydon wouldn't budge. Tauros again pressed his hooves as hard to the ground as he could, wildly whipping about his 3 tails, but this time, he was gradually being pushed out of the ring. His hooves scraped against the ground, pushing dirt, but he continued to push against Rhydon as hard as he could. It was no use. Rhydon gradually pushed Tauros right out of the ring! "After quite a long winning streak, Tauros has finally thrown in the towel. Rhydon is the new current champion!" the announcer exclaimed. I ran over to Tauros, who stood, all hot and out of breath. I petted and hugged him, saying, "You did excellent out there, Tauros! You gave it your all, even against such overwhelming odds! I couldn't ask for a better friend!" He smiled and mooed loudly, as I clutched his furry mane with my arms. May walked up to us and said, "I'm sorry, Joe. But hey, you guys held out for a long time." I said, "Yeah. Oh well, he was battling for a long time. If he battled Martin's Rhydon first, he'd have won!" We walked Tauros back to our table, where I gave him some special Pokemon treats, and he happily whipped his tails about. Meanwhile, Martin's Rhydon was kicking major butt. It took out a Hitmonchan in one shot, a Scyther, a Charizard, and another Machamp and Nidoking. We all cheered him on. But then there was a turning point. A trainer entered with a Snorlax. Up until now, Martin's huge Rhydon towered over the competition. This time, they were the same height! The orders were given – "Tackle!" The 2 mammoth Pokemon crashed together in the center of the ring! Rhydon attempted to pin the Snorlax down to the ground, but Snorlax was not giving in. They continued to push against each other, until Snorlax managed to get the upper hand and shoved Rhydon to the ground. "Rhydon!" Martin shouted. Snorlax then body slammed Rhydon before it could stand up, and finally, when Rhydon attempted to use take down, it bounced right off Snorlax's big belly and out of the ring! "After yet another impressive display of strength, Rhydon is out, and Snorlax is the current champion!" the announcer shouted as the crowd cheered. Martin ran over to Rhydon, who was sitting on the ground, dazed. "Good work, Rhydon! You held out for a long time!" Martin said, as he patted his huge Rhydon on the head. Then he recalled it. I said, "I'm sorry, Martin. I really thought you'd win." He replied, "Ah, it's no big deal. There's always next year." He rejoined us at the table, and we watched the competition for the duration. Snorlax held out for a long time, too, but finally fell asleep on it's trainer, disqualifying it. The big winner of the night ended up being a trainer with a Dragonite which was most impressive! Afterwards, I took Tauros to the Pokemon Center for a checkup. Nurse Joy said, "Your Tauros has a very strong constitution. He should be fine after a good night's rest." I said, "Thanks." She said the same about Martin's Rhydon. Afterwards, May and I, and Martin, along with our Pokemon, headed for the beach near the Big Riddle Inn, where they were having a party with a big bonfire. It was a lot of fun. The Pokemon enjoyed it, too. We watched while Flamefox and Amber nuzzled each other in the moonlight, as did Redfur and Fiona. Again, Firestorm and Inferno seemed much more affectionate towards each other than usual, and Vaporeon and Jolteon also seemed to be developing a close bond. I rode Tauros along the beach by moonlight, while May rode Fierymane. Later on, we all returned to the hotel to get some sleep.
The next day, we had our last breakfast at the Big Riddle Inn. Martin asked, "So where are you heading next?" I answered, "Viridian City. I heard that the gym there has finally reopened and I'm ready to go back and challenge the leader." Martin seemed concerned, and said, "Look, Joe, the Viridian gym leader is a really shady character. I personally don't trust him. There are plenty of other gyms out there." I said, "I know. But my Pokemon and I have been through a lot together! I think we can handle him." Martin still didn't seem too happy, but Blaine said, "I know you'll do great! You're a tough trainer! I'm sure you'll win your 8th badge and go on to win the League championship! And after that, I know you'll make a tough gym leader!" I said, "Thanks Blaine! That means a lot to me coming from you." He replied, "And I meant every word of it." After breakfast, we headed for the harbor and prepared to board the cruise ship. Tails said goodbye to her parents, and they gave each other farewell licks. Martin said, "Goodbye, and good luck. I'll see you guys again soon." Blaine said, "If you're ever on Cinnibar Island again, stop by and visit. I'll make sure you get the best rooms at the hotel!" We thanked him and boarded the ship, accompanied by our Pokemon. We'd return to the mainland and from there, our destination would be Viridian City!