"Go, Aggron!"
Mark's second Pokémon towers over Shaw's Hitmonchan. Hitmonchan stands its ground though and stays prepared to fight.
"Fire Punch," Shaw says.
"Heavy Slam," Mark counters.
Hitmonchan moves in with its flaming fists, ready to strike. Aggron charges forward with incredible force behind it. Hitmonchan jabs to hit Aggron in the chest. Fire bursts out from Hitmonchan's fist and covers Aggron's torso. Aggron isn't the slightest bit fazed by this. It continues charging on and slams into Hitmonchan. Hitmonchan tries protecting itself but there is nothing it can do. It is flung across the battlefield to land in a heap.
"Get up, you can still fight!" Shaw shouts.
Hitmonchan lies in the dirt and struggles to move. Shaw shouts more encouragement at his Pokémon, but Mark stops him by holding up an arm. Mark points to his Battle Gear and Shaw checks his own. Hitmonchan has lost.
"He said I had no respect for Pokémon in battle, yet he tried to push his own Pokémon too far," I seethe.
"This is what the Battle Gear is for," Lancelot says, "It prevents needless suffering for a Pokémon clearly defeated."
"Go, Throh," Shaw shouts.
"Earthquake," Mark says calmly.
Aggron jumps and slams back down. The entire stadium shakes, disrupting the lunches of a number of spectators. Throh stands firm, clenching its fists and enduring the quake while the battlefield crumbles around it. The path between the two Pokémon now looks near impossible to cross. More agile Pokémon than the ones currently out could navigate it, but Throh and Aggron are stranded. This is bad news for Shaw as Throh will likely rely solely on attacking its opponent directly.
I look over to Shaw. He has balled his fists and is visibly gritting his teeth. That reaction seems to confirm my suspicions. He had a plan until Mark finished off the battlefield. Now, he needs to rethink quickly.
"Never give up, never give in," Shaw shouts, "Throw the rubble at Aggron to get through."
Throh jumps over a small crack in front of it and grabs a large rock that is obscuring the battlefield. It lifts the rock and tosses it at Aggron. Mark does not respond. He just watches and smirks and the rock bounces off Aggron's hard outer body without so much as scratching it.
"Earthquake," Mark says simply. He looks like he's in total control of the battle now.
Throh has to throw itself to the side as a crack opens up in the ground between its legs. Rubble flies up and strikes Throh, knocking it down. There is no way Throh can get close. Aggron can just keep ripping up the battlefield and slowly wearing it down. Shaw is fighting a losing battle.
"Switch!" I jump up and shout at Shaw.
He likely can't hear me, but if he can then he's too stubborn to take my advice. Shaw and Throh persist in trying to get in close to Aggron. Every time they do, Mark does the same thing and knocks them back with another powerful Earthquake. Throh has taken a lot of damage, a lot more than I would have thought it could. In the end, it can only take so much and slumps to defeat.
Shaw is down to his final Pokémon and has to take out an Aggron that he has struggled to even hit and something else he hasn't even seen yet. I pray that he has something capable of navigating what remains of the battlefield as he picks his final Poké Ball. If he doesn't, then the conclusion of this battle will be a slow and painful one.
"Go, Hitmonlee!"
That will do.
"Double Kick," Shaw orders.
"Earthquake," Mark says yet again.
"I would hate to be the guy who has to repair the battlefield for tomorrow," Elin says.
Hitmonlee runs at Aggron, jumping over cracks and rubble with ease. As the ground shakes, Hitmonlee launches itself into the air and bounces off rocks to make its way across the ruined battlefield. Aggron remains calm as Hitmonlee finally reaches it. Aggron raises its arms to shield its body and the first kick is blocked. The second kick smacks Aggron directly in the face and sends the metal monster stumbling backwards.
"Heavy Slam," Mark says, sending Aggron on the offensive.
"Close Combat," Shaw counters.
Aggron charges at Hitmonlee, pounding craters into the ground with every step. Hitmonlee stretches out its arms and grabs hold of Aggron's hands. Hitmonlee lifts its feet off the ground and starts kicking at Aggron's body as it continues charging while inadvertently carrying its target. Aggron struggles to stop itself and tries to shake Hitmonlee loose. This earns it another kick to the face.
"Keep it up," Shaw calls encouragingly.
A few more well struck blows later and Aggron is finally toppled. Hitmonlee has to quickly release its grip and jump away to avoid being crushed. Aggron groans as it lies helplessly on the floor. The referee declares it defeated and Mark can put it out of its misery by returning it. I want Shaw to win even more now. The prospect of having to fight that Aggron is terrifying.
"Go, Espeon," Mark says.
My heart sinks. Mark has been calm the whole time. He's been working towards this moment when he can just clean up what's left of Shaw's team. Shaw doesn't look any less determined, but it might take more than determination to overcome this obstacle.
"Hitmonlee, High-Jump Kick," Shaw says.
"Psychic," Mark responds.
Hitmonlee runs up and jumps into the air. It stretches a leg out ready to kick Espeon. Espeon's eyes glow and the same glow appears around Hitmonlee's body. Hitmonlee is flung to the side and crashes to the ground.
"Crush it," Mark says.
Espeon's eyes glow again. This time, the glow appears around various large pieces of loose rubble. The rocks rise into the air and float above where Hitmonlee lies before crashing down on it.
I am definitely being treated unfairly with the whole Status Psycho thing. Everyone else is just as brutal.
"Break out with Close Combat," Shaw shouts, hoping to be heard beneath the pile of rocks.
A rock shatters and Hitmonlee's leg emerges from behind it. Another splits open and Hitmonlee forces its way out before the pile of rubble collapses completely. I am impressed that Hitmonlee is still standing at this point.
"End this, Psychic," Mark says coldly.
Once again, Espeon's eyes glow and Hitmonlee rises into the air. It flails about wildly as it floats out of reach of solid ground. Suddenly, it clutches its head in pain and screams. This is the true nature of a powerful Psychic attack, one of the deadliest moves possible. Somehow, Hitmonlee hangs on. It refuses to give in. Shaw and his Pokémon are in perfect sync. They both remain defiant until the very end. He wasn't pushing Hitmonchan too far before, they both believed that they could go on.
Espeon cries out and looks more determined. It is focusing itself and strengthening its attack. Hitmonlee's screams fill the stadium and silence the crowd. The shrieks break Espeon's focus and end the attack. Hitmonlee falls to the floor and lands on its feet. Its head hangs low. It has withstood a powerful Psychic attack and remains standing. Everyone in the stadium gets to their feet to applaud as Hitmonlee finally passes out.
"The winner, and final semi-finalist, is Mark Young!" the announcer declares.
The big screen shows the semi-final fixtures. I am against Thomas tomorrow and then Flourette and Mark battle the day after. The scale of things starts to dawn on me. This is big. This is the biggest thing in my life. I am now in with a realistic shout of being the best Pokémon trainer in the world, but achieving that couldn't be any more difficult. From here on out the battles will use all six of the Pokémon in our rosters. I have no idea how I'm going to get past Thomas and if I somehow manage to then I'd have to go up against the winner of a battle between two people who seem almost unstoppable. I have come too far to give up now. I am not going to let myself fall when I've got this close. The thoughts are daunting but they drive me on.
After a handshake, Mark and Shaw return to the tunnel and the stands of the stadium start to empty. Those of us in the VIP area, apart from Lancelot, head down to the trainers' room to meet with the others and get the bus back to the hotel. Rhianne arrives there around the same time as us.
"What happened, are you alright?" I ask her. She looks a little uneasy and confused.
"Yeah, I'm not sure what happened but I'm fine," she says, "I was following Lancelot and then… I don't know. I woke up. That's all I can remember."
"That's odd, does the nurse not know what happened?" Elin asks.
"She couldn't find anything wrong, I guess whatever it was passed," Rhianne shrugs.
"Well, as long as you're fine," I say, "What about Robin?"
"Boo!"
I jump and quickly turn around to see Robin stood directly behind me. I place my hand on my chest and slow down my breathing. Robin chuckles at my reaction, earning him the most menacing glare I can come up with.
"Gutted," he says, "Well rested, but gutted. That said, it was an awesome battle. You did see it, right?"
"Of course I did," I say, "and now I want to battle that Mega Mawile of yours."
"About that," Robin laughs, "I have no idea how I did that."
With everyone gathered, we head back to the hotel. I split off from the others when we return. I have to prepare for my battle with Thomas tomorrow. I need a strategy. More importantly, I need to settle on my sixth Pokémon. I still want to use Crobat, but it seems unlikely that it will be able to battle.
The woman working on reception calls to me as I walk past. "Miss Wexler, could I have a moment?"
"Sure," I say and walk over to the desk.
"You have received a Pokémon transfer from your father," the woman says.
"Oh, he sent Muk already?" I ask.
"Yes, could you please confirm your Trainer ID to complete the transfer?" she asks.
I pull my Trainer License card from my pocket and hand it over. The woman types the appropriate details into her computer before handing it back. She asks me to wait a moment while she goes to collect my Pokémon for me.
"Thank you," I say as the woman hands me a Poké Ball.
Now that I have Muk earlier than planned, I change my course. I turn to head back outside instead of to my room. As usual, the hotel's gardens are quiet. The perfect place to interact with my Pokémon. I go to the area with the fountain. Shaw had used it as his training location but will likely not have much use for it anymore.
"Go, Muk," I say and hold out the Poké Ball.
The purple sludge Pokémon appears and quickly realises it doesn't have an opponent to fight. It turns around to see me and its face lights up. Stretching its arms out, Muk rushes forward to hug me. I don't have chance to get away and end up being tackled to the ground. Muk oozes over my lower body and wraps its arms around my upper body. I have experience of this from growing up, but it doesn't make it any less painful. Muk's toxic body is dissolving holes in my clothes and burning the skin it comes into contact with.
"Please, Muk," I beg, "It's nice to see you too, but please get off."
Reluctantly, Muk slides off my body. I lie on the ground and breathe deeply. I need chance to recover. My skin is screaming. I am just thankful the hug was low down. Had it been any higher then I might have inhaled something that would have meant I wouldn't be able to battle tomorrow. I remember being ill as a child for a week after breathing in Muk's odour. That had almost caused my parents to split up.
I drag myself up and over to the fountain. I sit on the edge and cup water in my hands to soak my skin. It eases the pain and I sigh in relief. Having recovered from Muk's love, I let Crobat out. This is where the decision is made. Crobat sits on the ground again with the same miserable look as the past few days.
I kneel down in front of it and reach for the bandaged wing. Carefully, I untie the knots and let the bandages drop to the ground. Crobat holds up its wing and looks at it. The tear is still there. The healing has only closed a small part of it and then left the rest split. There is a visible scar running parallel to the tear. I hadn't noticed that during the battle. The injury is worse than I had known.
"I'm sorry," I say and try to hold back my tears as I touch Crobat's wing.
Crobat's wing smacks my hand and I move it away. Crobat then beats its wings and takes to the sky. I look up to watch it rise and circle around the area. The tears don't stop, but my mouth twists to a smile.
Then, my smile quickly fades as Crobat plummets.