This was it. The atmosphere in Ginodi Stadium was intense as Orange and Violet stood across from each other on opposite sides of the battlefield. In the stands sat Red and Maggie, eagerly awaiting the action to start. The final match, as they had all learned, was to be a full battle- six-on-six. Orange had also sent Shockey back to his house in Talpel Town, as he wanted to use nothing but the Pokémon he had traveled with for this battle. The crowd's cheering and roaring was deafening, and only the sound of the announcer could drown them out.
"Ladies and gentlemen, here we are- the final round!" the announcer exclaimed. "Competing for the title of Pokémon League Champion here and now are Orange McPixel and Violet Scramble, both from the town of Talpel. And I'm sure you don't want to suffer through another second of my pointless chattering, so let's let this match get underway!"
"This will be a full six-on-six battle between Violet Scramble of Talpel Town, and Orange McPixel, also of Talpel Town," the referee stated. "The winner of this match will be named the Tanko region's Pokémon League champion. And begin!"
As he said this, Orange and Violet simultaneously prepared Poké Balls. After staring each other down for a few seconds, they threw the balls.
"Flutters!" called Violet.
"A!" yelled Orange.
Simultaneously, the Poké Balls burst open. Violet's ball unleashed her Butterfree, while Orange's Normal/Normal-type was sent out on the opposite end of the field.
"Violet will be starting with her Butterfree," the announcer reported, "while Orange is commencing with A. An interesting choice for Mr. McPixel, for sure- A's got a lot of speed going for it, but not much else."
"Flutters, go!" Violet shouted. "Tackle attack!"
"Freeeh!" replied Flutters as it took off, zooming across the field towards A.
"A, go for the Hydro Pump!" ordered Orange.
A squealed loudly as a high-pressure torrent of water was expelled from the front of its body with great force. Though Flutters struggled valiantly against the aquatic onslaught, it was knocked out of the air in the end. Though it hit the ground hard, it rose back into the air with relative ease.
"A's Hydro Pump stops Butterfree's Tackle from ever happening!" the announcer exclaimed. "Orange must have trained this A well if any of its attacks are actually fending off an oncoming enemy."
"Let's make it double trouble for her, A!" grinned Orange. "Transform!"
A replied by squealing loud and long as its body glowed, promptly making the transformation. When the glow faded, there were now two Butterfree facing each other.
"The original is always the best!" Violet stated. "Flutters, Psybeam!"
"We'll use Psybeam, too!" Orange called.
"Freeeeeeh!" exclaimed Flutters as it and A unleashed identical beams of rainbow energy from their eyes. The attacks met in the center of the battlefield, where they cancelled each other out.
"Butterfree and A each try a Psybeam, but after Transform, it looks as though they're evenly matched," reported the announcer.
"Nice try, Orange," smirked Violet. "But A still can't overpower Flutters, they're evenly matched."
"I wouldn't be so sure," Orange shot back. "A! Stun Spore!"
Even in its Butterfree form, A squealed as it flapped its wings hard, unleashing a golden dust. Before Violet could open her mouth to order Flutters to use Whirlwind, the paralyzing powder settled on Flutters and took its effect. It now looked as though the real Butterfree had to make an extra effort just to stay in the air.
"A! Tackle attack!" Orange exclaimed.
"Flutters, Harden!" Violet called out desperately.
"Freeeh… Freeeh…" groaned Flutters as it tried to harden its body, but A was too quick now, and slammed the Bug/Flying-type it was posing as to the ground. Though Flutters was not knocked out, it couldn't seem to rise much higher than five inches into the air.
"Let's wrap this up," smirked Orange. "Psybeam!"
"Flutters, use your Psybeam, too!" Violet shouted.
This time, however, the firing of Psybeams was not simultaneous. A's Psybeam was launched first and flew faster than Flutters's. Moreover, A's Psybeam cut right through Flutters's Psybeam as though it were extremely strange butter. Once the attack hit, Flutters gave it up and collapsed to the ground.
"Butterfree is unable to battle!" declared the referee, raising one flag in Orange's direction. "A is the winner!"
"Orange is off to a good start," Red remarked as Violet withdrew Flutters.
"Yeah," nodded Maggie. "Of course, Violet would know her own Butterfree, so she very likely knows what to do to get the best of A now."
"Ooh, yeah," Red replied. "This should be interesting."
"Go! Tombstone!" Violet shouted as the ball she had just thrown burst open to reveal the Spirit Pokémon.
"Violet has chosen an h Poké as her second Pokémon," the announcer stated. "Being a Poison-type, h Poké won't have it easy should A pull off another Psybeam, but Violet must have something in mind."
"Indeed she does," Violet murmured to herself, smirking. "Tombstone, HM02!"
"A, Sleep Powder now!" Orange ordered.
A flapped its wings, but its squealing was already sounding weaker, its eyes gaining a dull, listless look as Tombstone appeared to be doing absolutely nothing.
Maggie shuddered. "Ooh… HM02 is a creepy move," she murmured. "You could never see it coming, and h Poké can be very quiet…" At this, Red put his arm around Maggie, and that alone seemed to calm her down somewhat.
"Come on, A!" Orange called encouragingly. "Give it a Psybeam!"
"Tombstone, Thunderbolt!" Violet commanded.
"Po-ké!" bellowed Tombstone as the h Poké unleashed a dazzling bolt of lightning from its body, lighting up the false Butterfree. As the attack ceased, A glowed as it resumed its normal form and collapsed to the ground.
"A cannot continue!" ruled the referee, raising the green flag in Violet's direction. "h Poké wins it!"
"And Violet pulls off a victory against A with an eerily powerful HM02 attack, washed down with a piping hot Thunderbolt!" the announcer declared. "Now Orange and Violet are each down by one Pokémon."
"OK, Nidoking!" Orange shouted, another Poké Ball already flying out of his hand. "Let's go!"
In a flash of light, the spiky purple form of Orange's Nidoking materialized. The Drill Pokémon roared loudly, and stomped the ground at the sight of its fellow Poison-type.
"Nidoking?" Red said, sounding highly surprised. "But Violet taught Tombstone Psychic! This isn't a good matchup for Nidoking at all."
"Tombstone, Psychic attack!" commanded Violet.
"Nidoking, Aurora Beam!" Orange yelled.
As Tombstone let off a pulsing wave of pale blue light, Nidoking roared, a rainbow-colored ray of light bursting forth from its horn. The two different lights met in the center of the battlefield, each attack cancelling the other out.
"Now use your Thunderbolt attack, Nidoking!" Orange shouted.
"Tombstone, Night Shade!" Violet ordered.
Nidoking roared loudly as it unleashed a powerful blast of electricity from its body. Tombstone, meanwhile, let fly a similar energy bolt, though this one was black in color. The two attacks connected at the center of the battlefield, though unlike Psychic and Aurora Beam, this resulted in a large explosion. Both trainers, plus the crowd, watched anxiously as the dust settled…
The referee held up both flags. "Nidoking and h Poké are both unable to battle!" he declared.
"A draw!" the announcer exclaimed, sounding quite surprised. "That explosion took them both out, and in one hit each, too! My Mew, those attacks had to have been powerful in order to create that kind of explosion!"
"Don't worry, Tombstone," Violet said quietly to the Poké Ball into which she had just withdrawn her Ghost/Poison-type. "You did great."
"I'm proud of you, Nidoking," Orange said to Nidoking's Poké Ball once he had withdrawn the Poison/Ground-type.
"This battle's getting intense," smiled Maggie. "I'm pretty excited."
"Same here," nodded Red. "I wonder what they'll use next."
Red did not have to wonder for much longer, for at that moment, Violet and Orange each threw a new Poké Ball, Orange's unleashing his .4, while Violet's ball sent forth her Weezing.
"And now we have .4 vs. Weezing," the announcer reported. "If their teammates thus far are any indication, this is sure to be an intense match!"
".4! Dragon Rage now!" Orange ordered.
"Skulls, Mimic it!" Violet commanded.
"Weezing weez," groaned Skulls as the skull-and-crossbones on the larger head flashed with a bright light briefly. As .4 fired off a brilliant blast of blue flame, the Weezing fired off an identical blast from the mouth of its larger head. The Dragon-type moves collided in the center of the battlefield, causing a minor explosion.
"Now, Skulls! Use Sludge!" Violet shouted.
".4, TM05!" Orange called.
Gibbering excitedly, .4 zipped forward, pulling up just as Skulls's Sludge attack soared beneath it. At that same moment, the Pokémaniac-type turned invisible.
"Skulls, Dragon Rage!" Violet said. "You're bound to hit it eventually!"
"Don't count on it, Vi!" grinned Orange. "TM28!"
"EEEEEEEEEE HEE HEE HEE HEE!" .4 giggled shrilly as an explosion from right behind Skulls sent the Weezing flying. .4 rematerialized at that point, and it was doing loop-de-loops in its excitement.
"OK, .4!" Orange exclaimed. "Hyper Beam!"
"Skulls, SmokeScreen!" commanded Violet.
.4 unleashed an intense beam of pure destructive force from its entire body, the bright yellow beam cutting right through the thick, black clouds of smoke Violet's Weezing was emitting. "Weeeez!" came a sudden exclamation from within the smoke, eliciting a collective gasp from the crowd. The smoke cleared out around then, revealing that while the Hyper Beam had hit Skulls dead-on, the move wasn't nearly enough to topple the Poison-type.
"Hah!" cackled Violet. "That's the defense of a Weezing for you! Let's do this, Skulls! Thunderbolt now!"
"Weezing WEEEEEZ!" bellowed Skulls as its entire body crackled with electricity, then fired off a single devastating lightning bolt. As .4 was struck, the Caffeine Pokémon loudly gibbered its displeasure before the gibbering gave way to groaning. .4 fell to the ground at that point, and made no effort to move further.
".4 is unable to battle!" the referee declared. "Weezing wins!"
"After surviving an intense Hyper Beam, Weezing makes a brilliant comeback in the form of Thunderbolt, and takes out Orange's .4!" the announcer said as Orange called .4 back to its ball. "It managed to take that Hyper Beam like a champ, but Weezing's starting to look worn down," he added. He was right- while Skulls had survived the Hyper Beam, it was by no means unscathed.
"Alright, let's go, Flareon!" Orange exclaimed as he threw another Poké Ball.
"Ooh, a Flareon?" grinned Maggie. "I approve."
"I figured you would," smiled Red. "Still," he added, starting to look a little worried, "I'm not sure that was the wisest idea…"
"Flamethrower!" Orange ordered.
"Skulls, Smog attack!" Violet yelled.
"Weezing," groaned Skulls as thick clouds of dark, poisonous gas sprayed forth from its pores. The oncoming Flamethrower reacted with this gas, causing the air to explode back at Flareon.
"Yep," Red nodded. "Had a feeling."
"OK, Skulls, use your Dragon Rage!" Violet commanded.
"Flareon, Quick Attack now!" ordered Orange.
"Flaaaare!" shouted Flareon as it took off running, gaining speed with every second. It was able to dash out of the Dragon Rage's path with ease before it jumped up and slammed into Skulls, sending the Weezing crashing to the ground. Flareon was now standing atop the Weezing, hindering its efforts to get back into the air.
"Now use your Flamethrower attack!" Orange ordered.
"Flaaaaare!" Flareon yelled again as it unleashed another stream of flames from its mouth. This time, Skulls had no time to prepare any smog as a countermeasure, nor did Violet have the time to command it to do so. Instead, the Weezing took the Fire move heads-on, and when it concluded, Flareon got off of Skulls… but Skulls still didn't move.
"Weezing is unable to battle!" the referee announced. "Flareon wins!
"Weezing had a clever little way of dealing with Fire moves," the announcer remarked, "but in the end, Flareon found a way around it. And now, it seems that both Orange and Violet are down by half their teams. What Pokémon will Violet choose now?"
"I choose Migraine!" Violet yelled as a Poké Ball was flung from her hand. In a flash of light, her Golduck materialized, looking ready for action.
"Type advantage isn't everything, Flareon!" Orange exclaimed with confidence. "Swift attack!"
"Migraine, Submission!" ordered Violet.
Migraine took a running start, and then lunged. It took the star-shaped rays Flareon was launching in the face; undeterred, the Golduck proceeded to wrestle Flareon to the ground.
"I would not wanna be that Flareon right now!" the announcer stated. "It looks like Golduck's gaining the upper hand, and we haven't even seen any Water moves out of it yet!"
"Then let's give them a Water move," grinned Violet. "Hydro Pump attack!"
"GolDUUUUUUUUCK!" bellowed Migraine as it opened its beak wide, and unleashed a high-pressure stream of water from within. Orange could only watch in horror as his Flareon was subjected to the powerful move. Once it was over, the referee's ruling came as no surprise to anyone.
"Flareon is unable to battle!" he announced. "Golduck is victorious!"
"Flareon, return," sighed Orange, holding out the Poké Ball which was currently sucking the Fire-type inside. "You were great," he whispered as he reattached the ball to his belt. Then, he selected another Poké Ball and tossed it. "Fearow! Let's go!" he exclaimed.
In a flash of light, Orange's Fearow appeared, flying high and screeching loudly as it looked down at Golduck.
"Migraine, shoot it down with your Hydro Pump!" ordered Violet.
"Fearow, Agility!" Orange commanded.
"Fea! Row! Fea! Row!" Fearow cawed as it swooped, dove, and swerved in midair, evading every single blast of water that came its way, gaining speed the whole time.
"Now, Fearow, Take Down attack!" yelled Orange.
"Feeeeearooooow!" screeched Fearow as it dove down, ramming Migraine at high speeds before either Golduck or Trainer had a chance to react. Migraine fell to the ground, but got up almost immediately.
"Migraine, use your Confusion attack!" ordered Violet.
"Razor Wind!" Orange bellowed.
The large brown bird flapped its impressive wings, sending a gust of vicious, cutting wind flying at Migraine. The Golduck, however, held its ground as it launched a beam of blue light from the ruby in its forehead. Fearow screeched as the Psychic-type move struck one of its wings, but it did not fall out of the air.
"Finish it! Fly attack now!" Orange called out.
"Rooooooooooooooooooowww!" Fearow cawed loudly as it rose high into the air, only to descend even faster, crashing into Migraine with incredible speed.
"Migraine!" Violet called as her Golduck fell to the ground again. This time, however, the Water-type stayed down.
"Golduck is incapable of battling further," the referee reported. "Fearow is the winner!"
"They're down to what, two Pokémon each now?" Maggie asked Red, though her eyes were glued to the action. Red couldn't say he blamed her.
"Sounds about right," Red replied as Violet withdrew her Golduck.
"Awesome job, Fearow!" Orange grinned, congratulating the Normal/Flying-type.
"It ain't over until it's over, Orange," smirked Violet as she threw another Poké Ball. "Go! Skelefly!"
In a flash of light, the screeching, cawing skeletal beast that was Violet's Aerodactyl Skeleton Missingno. materialized.
"Violet's fifth Pokémon is a Missingno.!" the announcer declared. "In Aerodactyl Skeleton Form, Missingno. is completely unpredictable. There's no telling what moves it'll use! In fact, I couldn't even tell you what type it is right now! Could be Rock and Ground, could be Poison, could be Normal and Flying, could be anything!"
"Fearow, Take Down now!" ordered Orange.
"Skelefly, Defense Curl!" commanded Violet.
The Missingno. immediately pulled its bony body into a very loose approximation of a sphere, but it was sufficient to make the oncoming Fearow bounce off with seemingly no ill effects.
"Now use your Flamethrower attack!" yelled Violet.
"Dodge it and use Peck!" commanded Orange.
Skelefly opened its mouth and let fly a searing stream of fire, which Fearow swiftly rose above before diving down at the Missingno., striking it with its long, cruelly pointed beak. This caused Skelefly to fall several feet, but it was flapping its wings once more within seconds, not nearly ready to go down just yet.
"Skelefly, use Double-Edge!" Violet ordered.
"Fearow, use your Take Down!" commanded Orange.
The avian adversaries were off, each one streaking towards the other. As they collided in midair, they started to fall as a result of the impact. As they hit the ground, they shakily rose back into the air, though not quite as high as before.
"Fearow and Missingno. are looking tuckered out," observed the announcer. "I'm not sure how much longer either one of them is gonna hold on!"
"Finish it!" Violet yelled. "Flamethrower!"
"Mirror Move!" Orange commanded.
"Mirror Move?" repeated Red, sounding fairly surprised. "OK, I knew .4 learned Hyper Beam, I knew Migraine learned Hydro Pump, I knew Fearow learned Agility, and I knew Skelefly learned Double-Edge… but since when does Orange's Fearow know Mirror Move?"
As Skelefly unleashed a powerful stream of fire from its mouth, a small, mirror-like portal opened up in front of Fearow, and an identical stream of fire erupted from it. As the two Fire moves connected, there was yet another explosion, and this time, both combatants could be seen getting thrown back, falling to the ground, and not even bothering to get back up.
"Neither Missingno. nor Fearow can continue!" the referee stated, holding up both flags at once.
The crowd started murmuring amongst themselves as both Pokémon were withdrawn- those that were keeping count now knew that both Orange and Violet were down to their very last Pokémon.
"Now this is getting even more exciting!" squealed Maggie, as both she and Red looked on.
"I'll say," Red agreed. "Especially as I think I know just which two Pokémon are the ones that are gonna be facing off against each other."
"This is it, Vi," grinned Orange, a Poké Ball already in his hand, enlarged and ready to be thrown. "The last round. I should've known it would come to this."
"Yeah, same here," nodded Violet, as she too had a Poké Ball at the ready. "Well, good luck, Orange. If you hold back even a little bit, I won't forgive you."
"The same goes for you," replied Orange. "Let's both give this all we got."
"GO!" they shouted simultaneously as they threw their Poké Balls. From Violet's ball emerged Chompy, and Orange's ball produced his Q. It reminded the two of them of when they had first got Bellsprout and 44Hy from Professor Redwood, how they had had a brief battle in his laboratory before being somewhat distracted by Red's sudden appearance outside.
"Violet's last Pokémon is Victreebel, and Orange's sixth Pokémon is a Q!" the announcer reported. "Type advantages can go either way with these two, so this is sure to be an exciting and unpredictable battle!"
"Let's go, Q! Headbutt attack now!" ordered Orange.
"Kyuuuuuu," sang Q as it zoomed forward.
"Chompy, dodge it and use Vine Whip!" commanded Violet.
Chompy screeched loudly as it leapt into the air, evading the Headbutt completely. Then, it slammed Q with its long, brown vine, sending it crashing to the ground.
"Q, now try your Disable attack!" Orange called as the Deep Sea Pokémon unsteadily rose back into the air. Almost immediately, a pink glow came over Q's cube-shaped body, and a similar glow formed in the Victreebel's eyes.
"Very nice, Orange," smirked Violet. "But you seem to be forgetting one crucial detail- Vine Whip isn't Chompy's only move anymore! Chompy, Razor Leaf!"
"Confusion!" cackled Orange.
"Kyuuuuu," sang Q as it fired off a ray of blue energy at the same time the Victreebel started swinging its leaves around, launching numerous razor-sharp leaves at the Water/Psychic-type. The Confusion easily overpowered the Razor Leaf, and struck Chompy, eliciting pained screeching from the Victreebel.
"Chompy! Acid attack!" Violet ordered.
"Q, go for Ice Beam!" yelled Orange.
The attacks went flying simultaneously- Chompy's Acid and Q's Ice Beam held each other at bay, before the combatants ceased their attacks.
"Chompy, try your Stun Spore!" called Violet.
"Q! Water Gun!" Orange shouted.
Chompy lifted its largest leaf off its mouth, and sprayed a golden dust in Q's direction. Q, however, forced the spores to stop by spraying them with a stream of water.
"Chompy, use Wrap!" commanded Violet.
"Fight back with Double Kick!" Orange bellowed.
The Victreebel hopped forward as Q floated right at it. A pair of feet had emerged from Q's body, and it was spinning around, ready to strike the Flycatcher Pokémon. Instead, Chompy merely allowed the end of its vine to get caught on one of Q's feet, and the Deep Sea Pokémon wound up wrapping itself up in Chompy's vine.
"No! Q! Get out of there!" Orange exclaimed.
"No use!" cackled Violet. "Wrap it harder, Chompy!"
"Victreebel is attacking relentlessly, and Q can't move!" the announcer stated. "This match is truly getting intense!"
"Now, Chompy, Slam attack!" Violet ordered.
"Q, Headbutt it!" Orange yelled.
Chompy swiftly unfurled its vine, slamming Q to the ground hard. The Deep Sea Pokémon, however, not to be deterred, rose back up and charged, hitting the Victreebel head-on.
"Let's finish this!" Orange exclaimed. "Confusion!"
"Chompy, let's give them a SolarBeam!" Violet commanded.
Slowly, light began to gather on the Victreebel's largest leaf as Q unleashed a blast of pale blue energy. Though Chompy reeled from the attack, it maintained its focus, and once the light coming off its leaf was so dazzling that nobody could look directly at it, Chompy lifted the leaf so it faced straight up, and a beam of concentrated solar energy was launched, just as Q unleashed another Confusion attack. The two attacks collided in midair, and the two Pokémon were clearly straining to make their attack overpower the other one.
"Come on, Chompy!" pleaded Violet. "Turn up the juice!"
"Maximum power, Q!" commanded Orange.
The two combatants strained to power up their attacks, and as the tension mounted, there came a sudden explosion from the center of the battlefield- the largest one yet. A huge cloud of dust blasted in all directions, forcing everyone in the stands to cover their faces. Red and Maggie did this too, though still each removed a hand from their face so they could hold hands as they tried to see what was happening- the air was still thick with dust. For a few moments the dust started to settle at an agonizingly slow pace. Then, as Red could start to make out vague outlines, the referee spoke up loud and clear.
"Victreebel and Q are both unable to battle!" he announced as the crowd could start to see this for themselves; there lay Chompy and Q, both of them charred and smoking from the intense explosion, neither of them moving. "I declare this match to be a draw!"
"Oh my Mew, it's a draw!" the announcer exclaimed as the crowd erupted with cheers and screams. "This has happened only once before in the entire history of Ginodi Plateau, and it means that both Violet Scramble and Orange McPixel are now Pokémon League Champions!"
"All right!" Red cheered as he and Maggie stood up. The dust had finally settled, and a Pokémon League official was walking onto the battlefield. Orange and Violet both walked towards him as he produced a large, gold trophy which had the appearance of a Poké Ball on a pedestal.
"Orange McPixel and Violet Scramble, it gives me great pleasure to officially declare you both to be Pokémon League champions," he stated as he handed the trophy to them. Violet and Orange each grasped a handle as they grinned at each other. At this, Red and Maggie turned to grin at each other. They embraced, and then their lips met.
"You know, Vi," smiled Orange as the crowd cheered for the both of them. "When I pictured becoming League Champion, I always pictured the scene with just me becoming Champion."
"Orange-" began Violet.
"Oh, believe me…" Orange interrupted as he moved in and started to kiss Violet, who reciprocated this kiss enthusiastically. As they broke apart, Orange finished, with a grin on his face; "Shutting up."
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THE END