Episode 4 Part 2
You are about to read the story of a Pokémon-themed reality game show that could take place in the real world. The entire story is a work of parody protected under the First Amendment and all events are entirely fictional. In several cases, the names of famous people or technology involved with Nintendo or The Pokémon Company may be used.
"Welcome back, viewers, to The Amazing Pokémon Journey! Thank you for tuning in to watch the conclusion to this incredible two-part event. I'm Bill from Nintendo, your host for the evening. For those of you just joining us, allow me to fill you in on all of the events which brought us to this point. We still have three teams remaining in this challenge. In the previous episode, we held an immunity challenge, where our teams created and modeled custom Pokémon Trainer clothing right on this very spot. Team One, thanks to some creative work by Trainer Blue, won the immunity challenge and guaranteed themselves a spot in the finals. Now, with two teams left and only one more spot left in the finals we're moving immediately into tonight's elimination challenge, and let me say I think that tonight's challenge will be the hardest that we have ever placed on these teams. I hope you're all ready."
As the teams continued their mental preparation, Bill continued to address the home audience as the television cameras gazed all over the brightly lit Eiffel Tower, "Prism Tower, used as the location for the Lumiose City Gym, has been taken over by a criminal group known only as Team Flare. They are holding the Gym's Leader, the ingenious inventor Clemont as well as his little sister Bonnie, against their will at the very top of the Gym. Since Team One has earned immunity they will not be participating in tonight's challenge, and that means that it is up to Team Two and Team Five to complete the challenge and save the Gym from Team Flare."
Trainer Black clenched his fist as he heard Bill set the scene for their challenge. He was ready for whatever the show had in store for them.
Bill stood behind his podium and gave the teams their final instructions, "Each team will take separate elevators into the Gym. Once you reach the first tier of the tower, you will be presented with a clearly marked path that you must follow in order to progress through this challenge. Along the way you will encounter Team Flare Grunts who will challenge you to Pokémon Battles, and you MUST accept every trainer's challenge you are presented with. All battles will remain one on one, and it is up to you to choose which of your team will battle each Team Flare Grunt. Chose wisely, because if a member of Team Flare defeats you, your teammate will have to battle them next, and you will lose precious time replaying the trainer battle from the beginning. You are not allowed to bypass any trainers as you ascend the tower. Team Flare Grunts will attack with high level Pokémon, but you are allowed to use any Pokémon you have previously captured against them, regardless of level."
Trainer Gold nodded his head. He had worked for a long time trying to capture all of the legendary Pokémon he could while playing the Delta Episode on the flight over to Paris. He was as ready as he was ever going to be.
"Secondly, the judges have decided to make this challenge a bit more interesting. For this challenge, you all will be granted access to the Pokémon Bank. Now, as I said earlier, there is no Pokémon Safari here in Lumiose City, but there is a Pokémon Center. Nurse Joy is hiding somewhere in the Tower, trying to keep her Center on lock down and out of the hands of Team Flare. If you have other Pokémon from earlier game titles stored in the Pokémon Bank, you may use them for this challenge. We have equipped Prism Tower's Pokémon Center with WiFi, which will provide internet access for your New Nintendo 3DS XL units. If you can reach the Pokémon Center, you all will be granted access to the Pokémon Bank for as long as you remain inside of it. You need to decide for yourselves if you want to use that option or not, but remember, it will cost precious time for you to use the Pokémon Bank, so when you do find Prism Tower's Pokémon Center, spend your time there wisely. You never know if the opposing team will spring ahead of you."
This revelation was a very big deal. Previously, all of the teams had been kept at an equal standing in their game progress. However, since it was clear that most of the remaining teams had already completed the main game, at this point the only game content they hadn't completed were a few minor side quests and some legendary hunting. By allowing the teams to access the Pokémon Bank, they theoretically could allow the trainers to use many of the Pokémon that they've been training throughout their entire lives. This was an enormous wild card, and it meant there was no possible way to predict who would win.
Bill took a deep breath and said these final words, "In the end, only one team will be able to reach the top of the tower to rescue Clemont and Bonnie. Team Two and Team Five, please line up at the starting line and wait for the signal to begin your ascent up the tower. I cannot stress this enough, you must use your best Pokémon if you want any chance of winning this challenge."
The two teams in danger of elimination walked over to the starting line, and waited for Bill to begin his countdown.
Over at Team Five, Trainer Black nodded at Trainer White and said, "Don't worry honey, we got this."
On Team Two's side of the line, Trainer Gold lowered his hood. He wanted to hear Bill shout his countdown as clearly as he could.
As soon as the teams were ready Bill began his countdown, "Five, four, three, two, one…go!"
As Bill shouted the word "go", a horn blasted out and a huge burst of confetti filled up the sky. The two teams participating in the elimination challenge headed straight into their designated elevators as they were lifted to the first tier of the tower.
In Team Two's elevator, Trainer Gold decided to talk strategy with Trainer Silver.
"We're dealing with Team Flare," he began, "That means we're going to be dealing with a lot of fire-type Pokémon. Have you got a good water type?"
Trainer Silver shook her head and said, "No, not on my latest save. I did have a Frokie as my starter Pokémon when I played through Pokémon Y last year, and it's pretty powerful even without the ability to Mega Evolve it, but I don't think I'll be able to use it until we make it to the Pokémon Center. Thankfully, I know for a fact it is in the Pokémon Bank, I transferred it before the competition started just in case it would be needed."
Gold was nervous by this revelation and asked, "Have you got any Pokémon strong against fire-types?"
Trainer Silver nodded and said, "I do have a Lotad loaded up with water attacks, but as a grass-type it would be weak against fire attacks. Hopefully its water attacks are powerful enough to take out my opponent's Pokémon before they have the chance to make their first attack."
The doors opened and the two teams found themselves on opposite ends of the tower's first tier. Their designated routes were clearly marked on the walls and floor so they would not interfere with each other's path.
Within no time, each team encountered their first Team Flare Grunt. Trainer White had chosen a water-type as her starter, and was more than willing to accept the first battle. Since Trainer Gold knew his partner did not have a good water-type of her own, he chose to accept his team's first battle challenge.
The first Team Flare Grunts went down quickly against the seasoned trainers, and both teams continued on their designated path. When Team Two reached the second Team Flare Grunt on their path, Trainer Gold once again offered to battle, concerned that his partner did not have a Pokémon of a type that would be strong against him. However, this Grunt did not attack Gold with a fire-type, it attacked him with a water-type!
Trainer Silver looked at her partner's screen and said, "What the hell? That's not a fire-type. What's going on here?"
The Team Flare Grunt responded, "Team Flare has come prepared with every kind of Pokémon to battle with, you must also be prepared for everything we will have in store for you."
Trainer Silver looked over at Gold and said, "That's it, I'm not going to be useless in this competition. I'm taking the next battle."
Trainer Gold knew better than to argue with Silver when she had her mind made up, so he nodded as he defeated the Team Flare Grunt he was battling.
On the other side of the tower, the members of Team Five both had a pretty diverse, albeit lower leveled, Pokémon team on their side. To be fair to each other, they had decided to alternate players for each battle they encountered so neither of them would get fatigued by a non-stop series of battles.
Back at Team Two's side of the tower, Team Two's competitive nature was getting the best of them. After Trainer Silver insisted she take the next battle, she did, only to find herself battling against a Team Flare Grunt armed with fire-type Pokémon, their worst fear. The rules clearly stated that they were not allowed to change who was battling once a battle began unless that trainer was defeated, so Team Two was literally stuck where they were until Trainer Silver could either win the battle, or lose trying. Without a water-type on her side, either outcome could happen.
As Team Two's battle slowly raged on, Team Five cleared out the final Team Flare Grunt from the first tier of the tower, pulling themselves ahead of Team Two, and taking the lead in the challenge. As they came to the end of their designated path, an elevator opened its door, beckoning them to enter.
As the members of Team Five came up to the elevator, Trainer Black asked his partner how well she remembered Bill's instructions, "What was that line that Bill said? Along the path you will follow a preselected route to an elevator which will take you up to the next tier? Do you think we are supposed to take this?"
Trainer White replied, "Well you've been here before, where do we go?"
Trainer Black responded, "The only way up from this tier is by one of these elevators. We have to take it."
Both members of Team Five entered the elevator, and waited patiently for the elevator's automatic door to close. Once closed, the elevator quickly lifted the members of Team Five up to the second tier of the Eiffel Tower. As the elevator beeped, the doors opened, and the two trainers saw that the Eiffel Tower's second tier had been transformed into a nearly exact replica of a Pokémon Center in the video games. The show's art team really went all out in dressing this area like a real-world Pokémon Center would look. There was even a robotic Chansey standing behind Nurse Joy's desk, right next to an incubation tank.
Nurse Joy looked at the Trainers and said, "Welcome to our little Pokémon Center. I see that you've been able to clear the first tier of the tower, and you are welcome to rest here for as long as you wish until you are able to resume your journey."
Trainer Black pulled out his New Nintendo 3DS XL and opened it up. When the system's screens clicked on, he was pleased to see that his device was registering a clear internet connection. He went into his 3DS system's main menu, and selected the Pokémon Bank application.
Thankfully, Pokémon Bank and its sister program the Poké Transporter were some of the applications that the show's technical experts had foreseen to install on all of the Pokémon Trainers 3DS systems before they were handed out at the start of the show. By choosing to have the programs preinstalled on their systems, it saved Trainer Black some time having to download it off the Nintendo eShop himself.
Once he selected it, the Pokémon Bank booted up in no time, and after giving the 3DS his credentials, it logged into Trainer Black's Nintendo Network account,
When she saw that Trainer Black had no problem logging in, White looked over at Nurse Joy and said, "I thought Nintendo Network accounts were system locked."
Nurse Joy shook her head and said, "We made an exception for this competition."
As Trainer Black started to select the Pokémon he wanted to transfer to his game from his older titles, the members of Team Two walked into the Pokémon Center. Trainer Black was unfazed by their arrival and simply continued with his work.
Trainer Gold looked at Trainer Silver and said, "We're here, let's get your Frokie and go as quickly as we can."
As Trainer Silver opened up her New Nintendo 3DS XL to log into the Pokémon Bank, Trainer Black continued plugging away at picking his team. Silver logged in quickly, and once she loaded up her online boxes, she selected her Frokie, brought it into her active game save, and pushed X to save her changes. Within no time the Frokie transferred to her New Nintendo 3DS XL, and Silver exited out of the Pokémon Bank.
Trainer Silver closed her New Nintendo 3DS XL and said, "I've got it, we're done here."
Trainer Gold nodded and said, "Okay, let's go."
The members of Team Two walked out of the center in full view of Trainer White and Trainer Black. However, Trainer Black was still not finished with all of his work.
Trainer White motioned to her partner and said, "Black? Shouldn't we get going too?"
Trainer Black shook his head and said, "Hold on, I'm still organizing my team, and now I just got a Celebi."
As Team Two walked out of the Pokemon Center, Trainer Silver turned to her partner and said, "Okay I've got my Frokie, I'm taking this next battle."
Trainer Silver pulled out her New Nintendo 3DS XL and challenged the next Team Flare Grunt they encountered to a battle. As the battle loaded up, The Grunt predictably sent out a powerful fire-type. However, Trainer Silver's Frokie was not in her team's lineup. While she had added it to her game, in her haste to exit the Pokémon Center as soon as possible, she forgot to visit a Pokémon Center in her game and transfer the Frokie out of one of the Pokémon Center's PC Boxes. Once again, Team Two was stuck in a long and difficult battle.
Back at the Pokémon Center, Trainer Black pushed X to save his changes, and his 3DS began to transfer his selected Pokémon from the Pokémon Bank into his game save. However, they were not leaving yet, he started up his copy of Pokémon Alpha Sapphire, loaded his save game, and took his character into the closest in-game Pokémon Center he could find so he could change his lineup. He was not going to make the same mistake Trainer Silver did.
Trainer Silver was finally able to defeat the first Team Flare Grunt on Tier 2, but there were still several battles left for them on the tier. Trainer Gold decided he would take on the next Grunt, so Silver could use the time he spent in battle to organize her team. This was not seen as a violation of the game rules, as Silver no longer needed to access the Pokémon Bank.
Back at the Pokémon Center, Trainer Black was finally done with his work. He closed up his New Nintendo 3DS XL, and nodded at Trainer White.
He looked over at Nurse Joy and said, "Thank you so much, stay safe."
Nurse Joy nodded back at Team Five and said, "Thank you, come back any time."
Trainer Gold made quick work of the second Grunt on Tier-2, increasing Team Two's lead over Team Five. Encouraged by Trainer Gold's success, Trainer Silver decided to take the next battle, with her Frokie finally in her team lineup.
Within no time, Team Two came across another Team Flare Grunt, and Trainer Silver pulled out her 3DS to battle him. To the surprise of everybody, the Team Flare Grunt they encountered didn't pull out a fire-type, and instead pulled out a high level psychic-type. The worst part of this was that Trainer Silver had no dark-type on her team, even though Trainer Gold did! This battle was going to take a while.
Over at Team Five, Trainer Black's newest team was an absolute knock-out machine. His Pokémon were so fast their attacks were hitting first almost every time, and he was KOing every Pokémon the Team Flare Grunts were sending after him in just one hit. While Team Two remained stuck battling the third Team Flare Grunt on Tier-2, Team Five quickly made up their lost ground, and quickly defeated the first two Team Flare Grunts they encountered.
Trainer Silver's Frokie was able to finally defeat the third Grunt they encountered, but at around the same time they defeated that Grunt, Team Five overtook their position and was not slowing down in any way. Before Team Two had made it to the fourth Team Flare Grunt, Trainer Black's incredible Pokémon Team had made quick work of the final Grunt in their way on Tier-2.
As Team Two began their battle against their fourth Grunt, the members of Team Five came up to a pretty normal looking elevator located at the center of the tier. Trainer Black had seen this before, and he knew that the elevator went straight up to the tower's observation deck, just below the exposed observation cage. They would be very high up, and Black knew that his partner had a terrible fear of heights.
Trainer Black turned to White and said, "I know this elevator goes straight up to the top of the tower. I know you're afraid of heights but I need you to go with me, I can't do this without you."
Black held out his hand and White gripped it tightly as he escorted her into the elevator. As the doors closed and the elevator started to lift higher and higher into the sky, White could barely keep her own eyes open. Noticing she was starting to become faint, Trainer Black grabbed his partner and held her close, covering her eyes with his hand.
Within no time the elevator reached its destination and the doors opened up to show the tower's glass-enclosed observation deck. The deck was so high into the sky you could see nearly all of Paris from it, and even with the dark night sky surrounding them, the lights of the city burned so brightly they might as well have been looking at it during the day.
Trainer Black slowly removed his hand from Trainer White's eyes and said, "Open your eyes, honey."
Trainer White opened her eyes and saw the beautiful sights before them, "We made it honey, we're at the top!"
Trainer Black, being intimately familiar with the tower's design, shook his head and said, "Not yet, we still have to climb those stairs."
Suddenly a strange voice called out to the members of Team Five, and said, "Not so fast!"
The two trainers looked over to where the voice was coming from. A giant figure, shrouded in darkness, started to descend the spiral staircase linking the glass-enclosed observation area with the very top tier of the tower.
As the figure exited the staircase, he walked into the light, and the members of Team Five got their first good look at their opponent. He was dressed very fashionably, with expensive clothing only a man of incredible wealth could afford. He had bright orange hair, and a great big orange beard. There was no mistaking him now, it was Lysandre, the mysterious leader of Team Flare.
Lysandre looked at the two trainers and chuckled loudly just before he said, "If you two want to reach the top of Prism Tower, you're going to have to defeat me!"
Trainer White looked at her partner, still feeling the effects of her vertigo, and said, "Honey, I don't think I can battle him in my condition. I'm feeling really sick."
Black nodded, and pulled out his own New Nintendo 3DS XL and said, "Don't worry honey, he's mine."
Trainer Black loaded up the battle program and selected Rayquaza, one of the highest level Pokémon he had on his team. He had defeated Lysandre in Pokémon X a year earlier, and he was ready to battle him once more if it meant he would get the chance to give Trainer White the wedding she deserved.
The battle wasn't even close. At no time did Trainer Black even take his eyes off his 3DS system's screen, he was focused, driven, and motivated in a way that he had never felt before. Lysandre didn't stand a chance, and he was defeated by Trainer Black in a matter of minutes.
As the battle ended, Lysandre closed his 3DS and said, "I have been defeated, truly I have underestimated you both. I will tell my men to evacuate the tower immediately. Congratulations, what you seek is up those stairs."
Lysandre entered the elevator and left the observation deck. The spiral staircase leading to the top of the tower was now unobstructed. Trainer Black looked at his partner and took her hand. White accepted it, and together they climbed the spiral staircase to find Clemont and Bonnie.
After climbing the stairs together, Black looked around at the beautiful sight of Paris below. At night the city is lit up in a way that simply cannot be described in words, and having reached the top together, the two partners couldn't take their eyes off the beautiful sight.
Trainer Black looked over at his partner, who was unknowingly crushing his hand with all her strength. Trainer White's overwhelming fear of heights had put the romantic moment aside in her mind, and the only thing that she could think of was the competition ahead of them.
White looked over at her partner and asked, "Are we at the top?"
Trainer Black nodded and said, "This is it, this is the top of the Tower."
White looked around, and after not seeing Team Two there, looked over at Clemont and asked, "Are we the first?"
Bonnie looked over at Team Five and nodded, "That's right! You defeated Lysandre, and you're the first to reach the top of the tower. Because of that you are both going to the finals! Congratulations!"
Clemont looked at Team Five, smiled, and said, "Thank you for rescuing me and my sister. However, your battle is not yet over tonight. If you want to earn the Voltage Badge, you're going to have to defeat me. If you can defeat me and earn the badge, you will win a five-thousand dollar bonus prize."
Trainer Black looked at his partner and said, "I got this, honey."
Black stepped forward, pulled out his New Nintendo 3DS XL, and said the single word, "Battle."
Trainer White decided to go and sit with Bonnie as she waited patiently for the battle's outcome. She walked over to the little girl and sat next to her, hoping that the love of her life would be able to win this challenge.
Meanwhile, Team Two was still battling the final member of Team Flare on the second tier. Suddenly, their opponent forfeited their battle and closed his 3DS.
Trainer Gold looked at him with puzzlement and asked, "What's going on?"
The Team Flare Grunt shook his head and said, "I'm very sorry to tell you this but I've just received word that Team Five has made it to the top of Prism Tower first. Because of that, I'm afraid you have been eliminated."
The hope in Team Two's hearts plummeted as they heard those words.
The Grunt held out his hand to the two trainers and said, "I have to escort you two back to the base of the tower. You will be allowed to keep all of the prizes you have earned during this competition, as well as your New Nintendo 3DS XL systems, but your Pokémon Journey has ended."
Meanwhile, Team Five's battle with Clemont was starting to heat up, so Trainer Black decided to pull out his ace in the hole.
Trainer White could see the battle's progress on a television monitor the producers installed at the top of the tower and when she saw Trainer Black's newest Pokémon take the field she was shocked by what she saw, "Black, that's a Mewtwo, where did you capture a Mewtwo?"
Black turned to his fiancée and said, "I captured it in Pokémon X last year, and I've had it in the Pokémon Bank since. I figured now was the perfect time to bring it out. He's a psychic-type and can heal himself, I've got this in the bag."
Trainer Black was correct, Clemont's high-level electric-type Pokémon were no match for his Mewtwo, and Clemont was defeated in no time.
With his final Pokémon defeated, Clemont closed his New Nintendo 3DS XL and said, "For defeating Team Flare and freeing Prism Tower from their control, I hereby award you with a guaranteed spot in the finals, and you both will be continuing in this competition. For defeating me, in my own gym I might add, I hereby award you the Voltage Badge and bequeath a prize of five thousand dollars. Congratulations."
Clemont presented the Voltage Badge to Trainer Black, and pinned it right on his newly designed jacket. Trainer Black nodded at Clemont and shook his hand.
Meanwhile, the recently eliminated Team Two had just been escorted into the interview booth, where they could give their final thoughts on the competition before they headed home.
Trainer Gold was the first to speak his honest thoughts, "This competition has changed me in a way I didn't think was possible. It actually made me see my opposition as people. Whenever I've competed in a major event, I've always focused strictly on winning, and I've never stopped to simply enjoy myself or get to know the people I was competing against before. That's changed."
Trainer Gold turned to Trainer Silver and gave her a hug, "Thank you for being such a great person."
Silver blushed.
After the producers asked the team what was next for them, Silver responded by saying, "What's next for us? We're competing in the Pokémon World Championships in Boston, MA later this year! Look out, world, we're coming!"
By the time Team Two concluded their interview, the members of Team Five finished descending Prism Tower and rejoined Team One at the stage area.
Bill looked pleased as the two remaining teams stood in front of his podium to receive their final instructions, "I see two teams left in front of me and one final challenge to determine who is truly the very best like no one ever was. However, that won't be determined today, and that won't be determined here. For your final challenge, you're going to visit the city that was the inspiration for the setting to Pokémon Black and Pokémon White, we're headed to New York, New York! That's right Teams, we've got one more land to visit, Unova. Pack your bags, Trainers, we have a challenge in store that I can assure you that none of you could possibly be prepared for."
The two remaining teams cheered loudly at Bill's announcement. White turned over to Black and gave him a big kiss. They didn't know if they were going to win, but this challenge had brought out the best in both of them.
Stay tuned for next week, where we will be broadcasting our final episode LIVE from New York City, and determine just which team is the very best like no one ever was. I hope you'll watch us then, because I will be joined by a very special co-host! See you next time on The Amazing Pokémon Journey! I'm Bill from Nintendo, take care everyone.