Naruto: Johto Journeys
Chapter 27: The Fifth Ribbon
"Pokemon" Normal speech
'Pokemon' Normal thoughts
"Pokemon" Pokemon that can talk
"Pokemon" Flashbacks
"Pokemon" Pokedex speech
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto and I don't own Pokemon. I do however, own this laptop and this story and NONE OF YOU CAN HAVE IT!
Ecruteak City-Kimono Girls Studio
"HELLO TO YOU LUCKY FANS! HOW'RE WE DOIN' THIS FINE MORNING?!"
The deafening roars of the crowd showed that the people of Ecruteak, and the people who decided to journey to Ecruteak to view the ongoing contest, were ready to see some action. Anko smiled and waved at the people who had gathered within the rather spacious studio. In the back, cameras and lights had been arranged in order to aid in making the contest more enjoyable and viewable for the people who were sitting on their asses at home and watching the contest from there.
"GOOD TO HEAR!" Anko yelled into her microphone. She then cleared her throat and adjusted her vocal volume to a MUCH lower one. "Well folks, today is the day of the Ecruteak City Pokemon Contest. As tribute to the ancient city of our fair region of Johto, this contest has required our Pokemon contest candidates to dress for the occasion and thus, they are all required to sport kimonos. Boys and girls, try to keep the nosebleeds and fainting to a minimum, neh?"
A bit of laughter sounded through the studio.
"And now without further ado, I welcome our three judges!" Anko pointed to her right where the three judges sat at the edge of the studio's dancing stage. "You all are well acquainted with our judges. Miss Tsunade Senju from Celadon City has managed to find another gap in her busy schedule to judge one of these contests. Thank you coming once more, Tsunade-san!"
"It's a pleasure, Anko." Tsunade smiled. "I hope to see some stellar performances from these brats."
"Deidara, our current Pokemon Grand Festival Champion!" Deidara stood up and bowed as Anko gestured to him.
"Art is an explosion! KATSU!" Deidara gave a thumbs up to the audience and good majority of the fangirls of the blonde coordinator fainted with hearts in their eyes.
"And finally, Ecruteak's resident Nurse Shizune!" Shizune bowed her head and smiled at the audience.
"Everyone do their best. Remember that there are no losers in this competition." Shizune said.
Anko nodded to the judges before turning back to the audience. "And before we begin, a small dance routine from the Kimono Girls!"
The audience whooped and clapped. The lights shut off, drowning the area in darkness. Suddenly, the ones that hung above the stage flashed on and the Kimono Girls stood at the ready. The girls were placed into two rows of five. The ones wearing the garb depicting Ho-oh's image stood in the front row, while the one's bearing the image of Lugia stood in the back row.
The music began to play and the audience's cheers died down as the girls rose up from their kneeling positions and began to dance.
Hinata and Sakura sat on the seats provided for contestants and watched the Kimono Girls as they did their dancing. While the other competitors watched the girls with amazement, and most of the males watching with blushes on their faces as they took in their beauty, Hinata and Sakura were watching the ten girls with hidden contempt.
Sakura and Hinata then leaned closely to each other so that their words were able to meet only their ears.
"How dare they show their faces here." Sakura muttered.
"You'd think after sending us to take on Lugia and Ho-oh that they would actually be ashamed of sending children to take on Legendary Pokemon and not show their faces here." Hinata replied.
"Of course, this is ignoring the fact that Naruto and Sasuke-kun are the 'Chosen Ones', or so they say they are." Pika nodded in confirmation. The Electric Mouse Pokemon of the pinkette remembered the battle very clearly.
"Pika Pikachu Chu." Sakura smirked as she glanced up at the Pokemon that sat atop her head.
"Espeon." The Sun Pokemon shuddered as it remembered the horrendous battle against the Diving Pokemon. Hinata patted her Pokemon's head. The two Pokemon and their trainers then glanced back at the television screen. The cheers and applause that followed the return of their attention to the screen showed that the Kimono Girls' dance had run its course. The ten girls all bowed before their audience before leaving off the stage.
Hinata and Sakura looked at each other and then to the backstage entrance where they saw their fellow coordinators crowding around the door. The door opened to reveal the Kimono Girls as they walked through the small crowd. Compliments and claps filled the air and the Kimono Girls smiled at the young trainers and their Pokemon.
"Thank you all for your praises. I wish you all the best of luck." One of the Lugia followers said. The ten then left through the exit, but failed to notice the two new additions to their line. The door closed behind them and after assuring that no one would do the same...
"OI!" Sakura called out.
"PIKA PIKA!"
The Kimono Girls turned and looked at the young girls before them.
"Ah, the compatriots of the Chosen Ones." A Ho-oh girl nodded to the two. "What may we help you two with?"
"You nearly got us killed." Hinata said with an icy glare directed at the girls.
"I do not follow." The same girl raised an eyebrow at Hinata's statement. "Please clarify."
"We went with Naruto-kun and Sasuke to help them with their battles against Lugia and Ho-oh. I went with Sasuke and Sakura-san when with Naruto-kun, but even though they were Legendary Pokemon, we thought they were only supposed to assist in their awakening!" Hinata growled.
"You never told us or THEM for that matter, that they would be battling Ho-oh and Lugia!" Sakura added her own two cents. "Are you at all sane?! How do you expect Naruto and Sasuke-kun to have taken down such powerful Pokemon by themselves. Not even with each of us helping them were they able to lay a scratch on them."
"It was the ancient custom that when the Lord of the Sky and the Beast of the Sea were to return to our world that they were to do battle with their respective Chosen trainers. Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha were those chosen." A Lugia follower replied.
"The prophecy does not speak of the Chosen Ones dying in their battles with the two anyway. It was revealed that when the Lord of the Sky and Beast of the Sea awaken, they will also allow for the return of the Time Traveler." Another Lugia follower added.
"Yeah, we know of the plans ROOT has for awakening Celebi, but that is no excuse for letting a prophecy guide you against your better judgement in which you send two thirteen year old boys to take on the might of Legendary Pokemon." Hinata and Sakura glared at the Kimono Girls. Espeon's eyes took on a bright blue colour as its psychic powers surfaced. Pika's cheek sacs released sparks of electricity, its eyes narrowing in contempt towards the legendary Pokemon worshippers.
"If you are aware, then you know they will do what must be done. The boys will not back down despite having suffered defeat at the hands of Ho-oh and Lugia. They are our only hope against the threat and if you wish to help then you will also do the same and help take down ROOT when the time comes."
Hinata and Sakura looked with shock at the older females. The Kimono Girls looked at each other before sighing and turning away. The ten girls walked away from Hinata and Sakura.
"They really have such faith in this prophecy crap, don't they?" Sakura asked. Hinata nodded before glaring at their retreating backs.
"Bitches." Hinata spat out before heading back inside. Sakura followed after.
As the two girls entered the backstage once more, they looked at the screen that showed the stage.
"Hey, isn't that..."
"Sora?"
The two girls looked to see the spiky brown haired boy wearing a gold and royal blue men's kimono. Beside him, his fully grown Ninetails was showing amazing pyrokinetic prowess as it launched a low powered Fire Spin and mixed it in with Will-O-Wisp. The small violet balls of flame mixed in with the twister of fire from various directions and revolved around the fire twister. The constant revolutions allowed for the ring made by Fire Spin to compress inwards and form a sphere. The Will-O-Wisp flames then continued their path of revolution and soon everyone was gazing at a fiery version of the structure of an atom surrounded by electrons.
"And there you have it folks. Young Sora Yasuharu and his talented Ninetails have managed to put into play amazing feats of pyrokinetics and have constructed a miniature version of the Dalton Model of the structure of the atom. This clever display is no joke, now let's hear the opinions of our judges." Anko spoke into her microphone. The camera turned to the judges who continued to stare in awe at the fire ball.
"I'm speechless. Not only is it scientifically accurate, but the timed revolutions of the Will-O-Wisp flames is obviously not an easy feat, even for a Ninetails which is said to have extreme telekinetic and pyrokinetic prowess. I applaud you, Sora." Tsunade said with a light clapping of her hands.
"This is a blazing form of art. IT'S A BANG! JOB WELL DONE!" Deidara whooped.
"As a medical expert, I was required to study all forms of the science fields, Chemistry, Biology and Physics. Physics went into detail of the atomic structure and I am pleased to say that this a stellar job, Sora-kun." Shizune said, her eyes still wide with awe.
Sora and Ninetails looked at each other with wide grins before bowing to the clapping and cheering crowd before Ninetails dispelled the fiery atomic structure and the two headed backstage. Sora and Ninetails entered through the door and he was suddenly pulled aside. Ninetails looked with confusion as it watched its trainer get pulled aside and walked after the brown haired boy before seeing Hinata and Sakura.
Pika and Espeon gave simultaneous cries of greeting towards both Sora and Ninetails.
"Oh, Hinata-san, Sakura-san! Pleasure seeing you both here." Sora said with a toothy grin, clasping his hands behind his head in nonchalant manner.
"Sora, how did you get here?!" Sakura exclaimed with surprise. Sora's blue eyes blinked in confusion before glancing down at Ninetails. The Fire-type and its trainer turned back to the girls.
"We walked."
The two girls face-faulted and sweatdropped at the answer.
"Baka." Sakura muttered.
"So did you manage to catch my performance?" Sora asked.
"Yup, and just in time too. We were this close to missing it." Sakura said as she raised her hand, holding her thumb and index finger a few centimetres apart.
"I didn't take you as one for science though, Sora-san." Hinata chirped. "Your atomic structure display was very unique, I never would have thought to do something like that."
"Thanks, Hinata-san. Ninetails and I put in a lot of hours into trying to get the correct speeds needed to compress the Fire Spin and make the Will-O-Wisp flames stay in their specific revolution pathways. I'll tell you, the failures were pretty spectacular. I think I almost lost my eyebrows one time." Sora laughed.
"Well, I must say your training paid off then." Hinata smiled at her fellow coordinator.
"Peon Esp."
"Pika Pikachu."
Ninetails bowed in thanks at receiving the compliments from its fellow Pokemon.
"And that was Mai Shiranui and her Tangela everybody!" The three stopped their conversations and saw a young brown haired girl with a Tangela walking off stage, bowing to the audience once more. Mai was wearing a red kimono with silver linings on the cuffs.
"And now with Mai's performance being over, it's time for our next competitor. Give it up for Sakura Haruno and her Pikachu!"
"Guess that's me. Wish me luck guys." Sakura said as she and Pika took off. Sora and Hinata waved back to her, Espeon and Ninetails giving their own cries of support as well.
Sakura and Pika appeared out of the backstage area and waved to the audience. Sakura spun on the toes of her sandals so that everyone got a glimpse of her kimono. It was a pretty red kimono with pink swirls decorating it and had a large white circle emblazoned on the back. Sakura then stopped spinning and suddenly a blur of gold raced around her form. Electricity sparked from the blur of gold, its speed making it appear as a simple ring.
The golden electricity sparked and the accumulation of negative charge made it so that Sakura's hair was now rising upwards. The golden electricity then continued to brighten and the golden electricity combined with the green of Sakura's eyes making it appear like a mixture of gold and emerald colours. Her hair then began to catch the light of the electricity and hair appeared to turn golden.
"This power level..." Anko stared in awe.
"IT'S OVER NINE THOUSAAAAAND!" Deidara screamed as he clutched his head, his eyes wide with amazement just like the rest of the audience.
The electricity then began to coat Sakura in a golden aura of electricity.
"Amazing, Sakura Haruno is being surrounded by the electricity generated by what would obviously be her Pikachu! But she is completely unharmed! This is the epitome of an Electric-type's ability to control its power output. To make this power so unbelievably amazing and yet not be able to harm the trainer, Sakura has shown that she has the utmost trust and faith in her Pokemon while also showing off her Pikachu's electrical abilities!" Anko explained.
"Pika, use Iron Tail." Sakura stated. Pika's tail began to shine like silver and Pika's tail suddenly attracted the electricity around its trainer like a lightning rod would. Pika then leaped into the air and flipped, the electricity now surrounding Pika as it spun towards the ground. The black eyed rodent then completed its final flip and allowed the tip of its tail to touch down on the wooden stage.
The burst of light and electricity that happened was almost blinding and many of the people in the crowd had to cover their eyes. When the light died down, Pika stood, balancing on its tail and with a simple circle of burnt wood marking its collision with the stage, a low intensity aura of voltage surrounded Pika and people watched the Electric-type as if it were the messiah.
"Now that...ended with a bang." Deidara stated as he clapped like a little kid who got their favourite toy for Christmas.
"The amount of time it must have taken to perform this...I can only imagine." Tsunade added.
"I agree, Tsunade-san. The control and power it must have taken to bring this amazing display of Pikachu's abilities to life, it's nothing short of phenomenal." Shizune said.
"Seems we've got gold stars for Sakura Haruno and her Pikachu. An amazing display Sakura, really it is." Anko said with her expression still portraying that of shock and awe.
"Thank you." Sakura and Pika bowed to the audience as said audience began to clap and cheer for the pinkette.
The trainer and Pokemon jogged off stage and Sakura was suddenly met with claps and cheers from her fellow coordinators.
"That was amazing, Sakura!" Sora said as he bounced up and down. "There was lightning everywhere and your hair stood up in the hair like you were some sort of super golden haired person of unbelievable power! I wouldn't have been surprised if you started shooting energy beams from your hands!"
"And Butterfree and I have to match that?!" Hinata exclaimed with a nervous look. "Think we can match that?" She asked as she turned to her Espeon.
The Sun Pokemon merely twitched its ears and tail nervously. "Espeon Esp."
"And now it's time for our final performance by Hinata Hyuga!" Anko's voice sounded through the speaker systems. Hinata patted her face and steeled her nerves.
"Alright...let's do this!"
Espeon sat itself down before giving a nod towards it trainer. Sora, Sakura, Pikachu and Ninetails looked confused as they watched the Psychic Pokemon resting on its haunches.
"You aren't going to use Espeon, Hinata-san?" Sora asked in confusion. Hinata shook her head.
"No. I thought it would be time to get one of other Pokemon a time in the spotlight." Hinata replied.
"Well diversity is good I guess." Sakura shrugged.
"Good luck, Hinata-san." Sora said with a thumbs up.
"You better get through with this match or else I won't be able to take you on in the battle rounds." Sakura encouraged her friend with a challenging grin. Hinata glanced back at Sakura and gave a nod.
Determination flashed across her face and the young Hyuga exited through the backstage door. The two then jogged onto the stage and Hinata did a little twirl to show off her kimono. The kimono was a very dark blue. Made of white felt material, the design of the trunk of a tree rose up from the hem of the kimono, going up to just below her chest area and splitting apart into multiple branches that extended to her shoulders. A few of the branches had also decorated her sleeves.
Hinata then tossed her Poke Ball into the air and in a flash of light accompanied by large amount of clouds due to the seal tag on the Poke Ball's red half, her Pokemon came into view.
"TOGE TOGEKIIISS!" Togekiss cried out with a cute smile on its face. The clouds parted from the winds generated by the unfurling of the Jubilee Pokemon's wings.
"This is gonna take a lot of luck." Hinata muttered, biting her lip in nervousness. She then looked at her Flying/Normal-type Pokemon before nodding to it. Togekiss gave a wink to its trainer as if to say everything would be alright.
"Toge." The Jubilee Pokemon nodded firmly and Hinata smirked, nodding back to it.
"Alright, Togekiss! Use Metrenome!" Togekiss's eyes shone a bright blue and it raised its wings to the sky. The tips of the wings became outlined in an aura of blue energy, waving the wings side to side.
"And Hinata takes a risky chance to show off Togekiss by using Metrenome. With so many moves for a Pokemon to use, Hinata may better hope she gets a move she knows she can use, otherwise it could spell disaster for her!" Anko announced. The audience and judges all sat on the edge of their seats as they watched Togekiss waving its wings from side to side, waiting to see what move the Pokemon would use.
Hinata then watched as Togekiss stopped and then Togekiss released a cry.
"TOGEEEEKISS!" The Jubilee Pokemon's body then began to glow with red, yellow and blue energies. The energies then flew off of Togekiss's body and condensed into spheres of their respective colours. The red sphere was coated in crimson flames, the yellow orb had bright yellow sparks of electricity bleeding off of it and the blue sphere released a cloud of frost from its surface.
"AND IT LOOKS LIKE TOGEKISS HAS SUCCESSFULLY PULLED OFF A TRI-ATTACK! WITH THIS MOVE, A POKEMON IS CAPABLE OF ATTACKING WITH THE POWERS OF FIRE, ELECTRICITY AND ICE! BUT HOW HINATA WILL FOLLOW UP IS WHAT WILL DETERMINE IF SHE WILL MOVE ON TO THE SECOND ROUND!" Anko exclaimed.
"TOGEKISS, ANCIENTPOWER!" Togekiss nodded and then its eyes shone with power once more and everyone watched as Togekiss took a hold of the earth beneath the stage and suddenly a great deal of dirt and rock burst out of the stage surface and then began to attach itself to the Tri-Attack's elemental spheres. The rock coated spheres then began to glow with their respective colours.
"Now use Fly and knock around the spheres! Keep your coordination at its highest, Togekiss!" Hinata ordered. Togekiss flapped its wings harshly and to the eyes of all that watched the Flying/Normal-type, it seemed as if Togekiss just flapped its wings and vanished, moving too fast for the naked eye to see. Suddenly the rock encased Tri-Attacks began to rocket through the air, bouncing off each other and the invisible force that was Togekiss.
"Togekiss is moving much too fast for myself, the judges and the audience to even see! It appears as if the Tri-Attacks are moving on their own accord and now we have our own makeshift laser light show! Such amazing precision strikes and I must admit that it must take a great deal of prediction in order to meet the spheres at their angles of trajectory!"
"Now knock them all into each other!" Hinata ordered. Togekiss heard its trainer and after knocking aside the rock encased, electric orb, Togekiss sped off and hit the fire sphere and ice sphere. The three elemental strikes flew at their respective angles, but in the end, they met at a single point. A small, yet loud explosion formed as they shattered apart leaving a mixture of flame, electricity and ice hovering in the air in a beautiful and colourful accumulation of elemental powers.
"ANOTHER BANG OF AN ENDING! HINATA HYUGA, YOU ARE OFFICIALLY MY FAVOURITE PERSON BECAUSE YOU MADE AN EXPLOSION WITH YOUR DISPLAY!" Deidara exclaimed with stars in his visible blue eye. "I bow to the master." Deidara made exaggerated bowing motions and Hinata blushed at the praise she received from the Grand Festival champion.
"A beautiful usage of Tri-Attack." Tsunade said with a smile, but that quickly disappeared as a serious expression formed on her face, her brown eyes staring intently at the young girl. "You kept us on the edge of our seats when you used Metrenome and I applaud your showman's spirit, but I would suggest to not use Metrenome in a contest. There are too many attacks to take into consideration and if you happen to not get a move you can use to your advantage, things WILL end badly. However, in the end your performance was stellar. A prodigious idea to use Ancientpower to contain the power of the Tri-Attack spheres and allow Togekiss to bat them around as it used Fly. I applaud you, Hinata and Togekiss. Well done."
"I will be sure to take your advice, Tsunade-sama." Hinata bowed to the former Grand Festival champion with a look of gratitude.
"Hinata, I can't begin to describe the amazement I felt when I saw you perform with Togekiss. From your profile in other contests, you usually tend to use your Butterfree or Espeon, but seeing your use of Togekiss was a welcome change as it shows you are a very diverse trainer. A lot of coordinators stay within a comfort zone, and by that, I mean they use a single, or in your case, two, specific Pokemon when in a contest. It's good to see you get out of that and broaden your scope, Hinata. Nicely done." The Shizune of Ecruteak City rose to her feet and gave Hinata and Togekiss a standing ovation.
The audience clapped and cheers. A few of the bolder males and even a few girls, gave wolf whistles and cries of affection to the young coordinator. Hinata blushed at the praise before bowing to the audience. Togekiss gave a salute with its wing before it followed Hinata off the stage.
"Great job, Hinata-san." Sora clapped for his fellow coordinator. Ninetails yipped and breathed out a heart made of fire to show that it loved the performance.
"Thank you, Sora and Ninetails." Hinata said with a small smile. "It still didn't hold a candle to Sakura-san's performance though in my opinion."
"Are you kidding?!" Sakura exclaimed. "I made some flashy lightning, but you made a whole new category of awesome when you went out there, Hinata. You definitely brought your A-game. Togekiss, up top!" She called out, raising her hand high.
Togekiss smiled broadly and gave Sakura a high-five with its wing.
"Espeon Espeon Esp Peon Peon!" Espeon tackled its teammate and held on to the floating Pokemon and displayed its feeling of pride towards Togekiss being its friend and team member, and the epicness of the performance.
"Pi Pikachu!" Pika gave a makeshift thumbs-up with one of its four digits and winked at the winged Pokemon. Togekiss blushed as both Pokemon complimented it and gave a bashful look in exchange.
An hour later, a time which was taken to repair the stage due to Hinata's Togekiss using Ancientpower, the coordinators were now lined up on the stage with their appeal round Pokemon standing beside them. Espeon had returned to its Poke Ball as a precautionary measure when Hinata took to the stage and stood beside her Togekiss. Hinata observed the competition. Everyone had done a great job at showing off their Pokemon so the once shy Hyuga once again began to feel that former shyness.
This was one of the few contests left in the region and since the Grand Festival was only two weeks from now, Hinata would have to do her best to take the win and get that fifth ribbon. She and Sakura both had four and both knew that they would do whatever it took to get that fifth ribbon...even if it meant taking the other down.
"You all have been a wonderful and patient audience so far, so as a reward, we will now reveal who will move on to the battle portion of the Ecruteak City Pokemon Contest." Anko reached into her cleavage, bending over slightly in order to do so, an act which resulted in many a nosebleed, Anko received the small envelope. She tore open the top with her rather sharp canine teeth before taking out the slip of paper inside.
"And so the coordinators who will move on to the battle portion of the contest will be..." Anko paused for dramatic effect. The audience shifted in their seats and the coordinators themselves fidgeted from their anxiety.
'Come on, just get it over with.' Sakura thought.
"Mai Shiranui, Hinata Hyuga, Sakura Haruno, Sora Yasuharu, Satoshi Taijiri and Ken Sugimori!" Anko announced. "Everyone else who didn't get in, better luck next time, but know that the judges thought you all did splendidly as well!"
The competitors who weren't called began to trudge off of the stage with downcast looks and took seats that were prepared for them in the front row of the audience, while the remaining six stood on the stage, still staring at Anko.
"Now for the battle portion, due to Ecruteak City being an ancient city, they are not exactly one of the most technologically advanced cities due to their strict rules of tradition. The Kimono Girls Studio is therefore unequipped with any form of technology except for electricity and indoor plumbing. So, in order to make up for this, the battle rounds will still be on a five minute time limit, but..." Anko put an emphasis upon the 'b' word, "...when the five minutes are up, should a Pokemon not be unconscious by the end of the time, the judges themselves will decide the winner of the matches. Are we clear?"
The six competitors nodded.
"Now these matches have been decided at random. The first match will be between Mai Shiranui and Sora Yasuharu. The rest of you will proceed backstage while Sora and Mai remain here on the stage."
Sora smiled at Hinata and Sakura as they wished him good luck.
Backstage
Hinata and Sakura took their seats on the benches, turning their attention to the screen that showed them what was occurring on the main stage. However, before either of the girls could get themselves comfortable, a ringing sound was heard. Hinata and Sakura looked to see the ringing was coming from Hinata's wrist
The pale eyed trainer peeled back the long sleeves of her kimono to reveal the ringing device. Her pale purple Poketch was ringing.
"Hmm?" She blinked in confusion before opening out the Poketch. She began walking off to the side so that the loud volume coming from the t.v screen wouldn't prevent her from hearing who was calling her.
"Hello?" She spoke into the receiver.
"Hey, Hina-chan!" Came the boisterous reply of one blonde haired Pokemon trainer.
"Naruto-kun!" Hinata's face brightened as she heard the young Uzumaki's voice on the other end.
"I kept my promise and I watched your match. You did a great job, you and Sakura-chan."
"Thank you, Naruto-kun. So have you reached the Pokemon League yet?"
"Yeah, Sasuke-teme and I reached there yesterday just before nightfall. We already signed up and the teme and I are gonna start after the contest is over."
"Well that's interesting. Sasuke is watching too?" Hinata asked.
"Yup. Though he's a bastard, he's nothing but a big ol' softy on the insi-OW! DAMN IT! WHY'D YOU HIT ME FOR, TEME?!" Hinata giggled as she heard her new boyfriend's interaction with his rival.
"So...that Sora kid is going up first, right? I'll bet you'll kick his ass if you battle him and anyone else who gets in your way."
"Your faith in me is appreciated, Naruto-kun."
"It's what I do." Naruto replied. "Well, good luck. I'm rooting for you, Hina-chan, but Typhlosion needs food."
"Ok, bye Naruto-kun."
"See ya, Hina-chan."
Hinata hung up before turning around, her smiling face turning into one of confusion as she bumped into somone. Confusion quickly became fear when she saw who it was she had bumped into.
"Sooooo...that your new boyfriend on the Poketch?" Sakura asked, waggling her eyebrows as a sly smirk adorned her face.
"Sakura-saaaan!" Hinata whined.
And the post-relationship occurrence teasing began.
Main Stage- Sora v.s Mai
Mai was, to be honest, a very pretty girl. She had lightly tanned skin and long brown hair that was tied into an extremely long ponytail that reached all the way to the middle of her back. She had dark brown eyes and wore a simple pink and red kimono. However, the large piece of clothing did nothing to hide her obviously large chest.
'Those things are massive!' Sora thought, his blue eyes widening. He then began to feel a tingle as his blood flew south to a certain area and he was quick to glance up at the ceiling and calm himself. 'Nope. Not happening here, not now...not while there are cameras and people around.'
"Alright, let's start this contest battle! Remember you must show off your Pokemon as well as do a good job battling!" Anko yelled into the mic. Sora and Mai reached into their kimonos and pulled out a Poke Ball each.
"Go, Yanmega!"
"I choose you, Ninetails!"
The evolved form of Yanma hovered above the air, shifting from one spot to the other at a rapid pace. The evolved form of Vulpix stared at its opponent and stamped down on the sturdy, wooden stage.
"AND START THE CLOCK!"
"NINETAILS, START OFF WITH QUICK ATTACK!" The evolved form of Vulpix took off at a high speed, leaving a trail of colour behind it from how fast it took off. Yanmega grunted in pain as the fox shoulder tackled it in the face. The Bug/Flying-type flapped its wings rapidly and recovered.
"NOW FIRE SPIN!" A spiral of flame swirled through the air, but Yanmega vanished in a blur of speed as its Speed Boost ability came into play.
"Get behind Ninetails and use Ancientpower!" Mai told her Pokemon. Sora's eyes widened as he saw how quickly Yanmega moved and knew that Ninetails obviously wouldn't have enough time to turn around counter, so he did the next best thing.
"Ninetails, use Will-O-Wisp!"
Yanmega reappeared behind Ninetails and the Ogre Darner Pokemon's eyes shone with a crimson light. It raised its jointed limbs and rocks burst out from beneath the stage, tearing holes in the wooden surface as they hovered there.
"OH COME ON, WE JUST FIXED THAT!" People in the audience sweatdropped at the maintenance crew, but gave them looks of pity.
"YAN!" Yanmega directed the stones at the Fire-type and the super effective move struck home, greatly weakening it as it was covered in bruises. However, just before it was struck, the tips of Ninetails's tails ignited and nine spheres of violet flame formed. The flaming spheroids exploded against Yanmega's body, burning it badly and inflicting a burn status upon its body.
"Ninetails, get up!" Sora ordered. The Fox Pokemon gritted its teeth as it shakily rose to its feet. Ancientpower was an extremely power Rock-type move so it was no surprise that Ninetails was already on the ropes after being struck only once.
"Use Quick Attack!"
"Yanmega, dodge and use Air Slash!"
"Meet it with Quick Attack!"
Yanmega vanished as a blur once more, however this time it moved even faster due to Speed Boost. When it reappeared behind Ninetails, its eyes shone with power, but before the attack could commence, the Bug/Flying-type was met with a powerful strike to the thorax.
"Good job. Now use Fire Spin!" The nine tailed Pokemon released a tongue of red-orange flame from its jaws. Yanmega released a cry of pain as the flames spiraled into it, trapping it in a vortex of burning oxygen.
"Now follow up with Flamethrower and use Quick Attack to run through it so you can get a Flash Fire supercharge!" A burst of flame flew through the air, but before it could even strike the Ogre Darner Pokemon, the Fox Pokemon ran through it, encasing its body in flame. Due to Ninetails's Flash Fire ability, the Fox Pokemon's strength was enhanced and then it curled into a ball so as to build momentum.
"NINE...TAILS!" The Fox Pokemon crashed into Yanmega's body and sent it careening through the air. Due to still being entrapped in Fire Spin, it was unable to move. Yanmega then released another groan of pain as Will-O-Wisp's burn effect kicked in.
"NOW FINISH IT! FLAMETHROWER ONE MORE TIME!"
The burst of fire crashed into Yanmega's body and formed a small cloud of dust, dirt and embers when it collided with the stage's surface. "It's over." Sora smirked, however his eyes widened when he saw Yanmega sitting on the ground, wincing as its burn status affected it, but the green shield that surrounded its body made Sora and Ninetails stare with shock.
"No...No way. It managed to use Protect...even after all of that?" Sora muttered. Mai chuckled.
"Sorry, Sora, you were very close and I admit, it was by pure luck that Yanmega was able to get that Protect up in time before your Flamethrower hit it."
"Nine Nintails Tails Nine!" The Fox Pokemon growled in rage before taking off with a Quick Attack towards Yanmega.
"What? NINETAILS NO!" Mai chuckled as she flipped her hair with a confident smirk. Speed Boost increased Yanmega's speed every time two moves were used in a battle. Given the amount of moves used, Yanmega's speed would far outclass Ninetails's and so...
"Latch onto Ninetails and spiral upwards!" Yanmega surprised both Ninetails and Sora as it didn't even form a blur when it moved. It appeared like it has teleported.
'So fast!' Sora thought as Yanmega grabbed onto the Fire-type and Sora's eyes widened as he watched his Pokemon being carried up into the air.
"BUG BUZZ ATTACK!" Mai commanded. Yanmega's wings then began to vibrate against each other and a high frequency sound wave was released.
"NIIIIIIINE!" Ninetails released a cry of pain as blood began to leak from its ears.
"Looks like your little puppy is going to need a hearing aid after this." Mai said with a smirk. "Now Yanmega, throw it down and follow up with a cross Air Slash and launch an Ancientpower at the centre!"
"YAN YAN!" Yanmega flipped in the air and threw Ninetail towards ground zero and flapped its wings harshly. Two arcs of pressurized air were launched simultaneously to form an X-shape. Yanmega then held its legs together and the earth from its previous usage of Ancientpower began to gather into a sturdy orb of rock. The spheroid of earth was then fired at the point of intersection between the Air Slash attacks.
"Ninetails!" Sora cried out to his falling Pokemon. However, the ringing in Ninetails's ears prevented it from hearing and so the Fox Pokemon met the ground with a harsh impact. The combination of Air Slash and Ancientpower also met the Fox Pokemon and a small indentation formed from the force of the collision. Ninetails coughed up a mouthful of blood as the attack caused a great degree of internal damage.
Ninetails struggled to keep its eyes opened as Yanmega lowered itself and hovered over its damaged body.
"Nine...tails." The Fox Pokemon's crimson eyes disappeared from view as it fell into unconsciousness and fainted from the pain.
"And the battle is over!" Anko announced. "An amazing combination of moves from both coordinators and it seems that Mai Shiranui will be moving onto the next..."
"Actually, Anko-san...neither competitor will be moving on in this battle section." Deidara said as he rose from his seat. As he said that, Mai, Anko and everyone else turned to see Yanmega was also lying on the ground, unconscious.
"What? Why is my Yanmega..."
"Ninetails's Will-O-Wisp was still active and even though your strategy was to utilize the Speed Boost ability for Yanmega, you forgot that that time was what allowed for Will-O-Wisp to whittle away at Yanmega's health." Tsunade spoke up this time.
"Sora and Mai, you both performed admirably in order to overcome one another and I must say that you all pulled out some very interesting moves. Mai, your use of Bug Buzz to disorient Ninetails and combine Air Slash with Ancienpower was very good and Sora, the way you had Ninetails use its own Flamethrower attack in order to take advantage of the Flash Fire ability was very clever of you. Both of you did very well, but I'm afraid that neither of you will move on in this contest battle section." Shizune explained with a frown. "I'm sorry."
"Damn it, so close." Mai gritted her teeth before turning to glare at Sora. However, her gaze softened when she saw the boy hugging his Ninetails. The boy ignored the blood that stained his kimono, but merely smiled softly as he stroked the unconscious Pokemon's fur.
"You did a good job, Ninetails." Sora whispered to it. He then took out the Poke Ball and Ninetails's form glowed red before it was converted to energy and returned to its ball. Shizune walked out from behind the judges table and took the Poke Balls from both him and Mai.
"I will heal your Pokemon for you. In the mean time, go take a seat in the audience please." Shizune told the two coordinators with a gentle smile on her face. Both coordinators nodded and left the stage.
Mai shifted nervously as she walked beside Sora.
"Ummm, hey..."
"You don't have to apologize."
Mai blushed in embarrassment at being called out, looking down at the ground.
"Battles, even if they are contest battles or regular ones, there's always going to be some kind of damage done. Blood will tend to fall now and then." Sora said to the young, yet surprisingly busty, girl.
"I know. I've seen my share of blood shed in a Pokemon battle, but I just thought I had to because you looked really bad when you were holding your Ninetails."
"Mah, he's my first Pokemon. I can't help BUT feel for 'im." Sora chuckled. "Besides, there's no point in there being any hard feelings between now. I mean, come on, we BOTH got knocked out because of the tie in our fight."
"Good point." Mai giggled. "So, we're good."
"Yup!" Sora grinned toothily.
"WELL WITH THAT EXCITING FIRST MATCH TO KICK OFF THIS BATTLE SEGMENT, IT IS NOW TIME FOR THE SECOND MATCH! HINATA HYUGA VERSUS KEN SUGIMORI!" The crowd went into a storm of applause.
"Oh, Hinata-san's going up first!" Sora exclaimed.
"You know her?" Mai asked.
"Yup, I fought her friend, Sakura-san as well as Hinata-san in the Goldenrod City contest. Though she may look shy, I guarantee you that she's a ferocious competitor." Sora said with confidence. Mai looked at the brown haired boy before turning to the stage as they watched Ken Sugimori and Hinata walk onto the stage.
Hinata and Ken stared each other down. The older man gave a chuckle as he took out a Poke Ball and spun it on his finger.
"It's nice to see such young people take part in these sort of events. Pokemon surely have become popular after all these years and though I fancy myself as a person who would take part in gym battles, I always think it would be best to walk outside of your element. These contests seem fun, so don't let me down, neh Hinata-san?"
"As you wish, Ken-san." Hinata said with a determined look on her face.
"Are both coordinators ready?"
Ken smiled innocently while Hinata gave an icy glare at her opponent.
"START THE CLOCK AND BEGIN!"
Both coordinators took out their Poke Balls and tossed them into the air.
"GO!"
Hinata's Poke Ball popped open and out came her Nidoqueen. The Drill Pokemon gave a growl, pounding its fists together and it got ready to fight and stared at the materializing opponent that stood before it. When the white light died down, what stood there was a Pokemon not many would expect to see in a Pokemon contest.
"Ditto." The purple blob of a Pokemon squeaked out. Its gelatinous form twisted and jiggled as it moved around its half of the stage.
"With Hinata having chosen her Nidoqueen to take the stage, Ken replies with having his Ditto fight the battle. This is quite a surprise in my opinion as not a lot of contest coordinators have competed with a Ditto, and those that have, have never done well. Let's see if Mr. Sugimori can prove us wrong."
"Ditto's transforming ability allows it to rearrange its molecules and take on the likeliness of any Pokemon it has faced or is currently facing. Just for the sake of having fun, Ditto, transform into Hinata-san's Nidoqueen if you please." Ditto obeyed Ken's command and Ditto's gelatinous form twisted and swirled before it became a violet coloured replica of the Drill Pokemon.
"Ditto...Ditto..Ditto...Nitto..Nitdo...Nido" The audience watched with fascination as Ditto's squeaky, high pitched voice became deeper and more akin to that of Nidoqueen's. With that, an exact replica of Nidoqueen stood before all.
Ditto smirked as it got into the exact same stance as Hinata's Nidoqueen, mocking the girl and her Pokemon.
"Begin!" Anko exclaimed.
"NIDOQUEEN, EARTHQUAKE!" Hinata commanded. She wanted this to be over and done with, to be end quickly...and there was no way in hell she would let someone else mock her Pokemon by taking on its appearance and move set.
The shockwave caused the entire Kimono Girls Studio to tremble, however everyone watched with amazement as Ditto had countered with its own Earthquake attack. The clashing seismic waves dispelled one another and so the trembling was soon nothing more than a mild shake.
"USE DOUBLE KICK!"
"Ditto, dodge them. Wrap your arms around its neck and perform a choke slam."
Nidoqueen ran towards it opponent and leaped into the air, aiming to strike its clone with a powerful kick to the face, but Ditto twisted at the hips and slammed its arms against the inner thigh of Nidoqueen. This action diverted the kick and Nidoqueen found its leg trapped in a newly made hole in the studio stage.
Everyone then watched in amazement as the cloned Nidoqueen's arms extended like they were made of rubber, wrapping themselves around Nidoqueen's neck. Ditto then hurled Nidoqueen over its head and pulled Nidoqueen downwards, slamming it into the ground. Nidoqueen released a roar of pain before being dragged along the stage towards Ditto as the rubbery arms retracted.
"Use Ice Beam to freeze its arms and then crush them with Double Kick!" Nidoqueen nodded and opened its jaws. A jagged beam of blue energy went over Ditto's arms and the Nidoqueen clone found its arms completely frozen in blue ice. Nidoqueen then swung its legs upwards, crashing them against the frozen limbs and they shattered apart as shards of ice.
"Now Ice Beam again!" Ken watched as the blue beam of icy energy tore through the air.
"Dodge to the right and then form a spike with Ice Beam!" Ditto's flexible body flowed around the Ice Beam attack before aiming its own blue energy beam at the ground. A seven foot tall spike of ice formed before Ditto wrenched it from the ground.
"Now hurl it!" Ken ordered. Hinata watched in amazement as Ditto threw the ice weapon with amazing accuracy and precision.
"Nidoqueen, shatter it with Double Kick and then use Earthquake!"
"Counter it with your own Earthquake!"
Hinata's Nidoqueen jumped released a powerful roundhouse kick that broke apart the icicle spike before twirling in the air like a ballerina. It then landed in a kneeling position, its fist meeting the stage surface with amazing force. The seismic forces raced across the wooden stage only for Ditto to counter with its own Earthquake. The conflicting waves nullified themselves, but suddenly Ditto found Nidoqueen in its face.
"Double Kick!" Hinata ordered. Nidoqueen lashed out with a kick to the side before spinning and crashing an upward sweeping kick to the chin.
"Extend your legs, Ditto! Double Kick right back!" Ditto's legs extended and crashed into Nidoqueen's chest, sending the Drill Pokemon back.
"Grab on and freeze Ditto's body with Ice Beam!"
"Don't let it by wrapping yourself around its body!"
Nidoqueen pulled Ditto towards it and readied to fire an Ice Beam attack, however, Ditto's body became serpentine-like and it wrapped itself around Nidoqueen's body, binding its arms and legs before snaking its way to stare into the face of Nidoqueen.
"Now Ditto, finish this! Slam Nidoqueen's body onto the ground and use Earthquake!" Ken commanded. Ditto nodded and then pushed forward. Nidoqueen and Hinata's eyes widened. The Drill Pokemon tilted backwards, about to meet the wooden surface.
'If Nidoqueen touches the ground, Ditto will take advantage of Nidoqueen's immobile state and the Earthquake will knock out Nidoqueen.' Hinata thought. 'No, not happening!' Hinata looked at her falling Pokemon's body and her eyes widened as she caught sight of a mistake Ken had made.
"Nidoqueen use your tail to regain your balance!"
"WHAT?!" Ken's eyes widened. He had completely forgotten about the rear appendage on Nidoqueen's body and so the female Pokemon pushed itself back upright and suddenly Nidoqueen's body glowed with an orange-brown aura.
"NOW USE SUPERPOWER!"
Ditto's eyes widened when the aura exploded outwards, forcing the gelatinous Pokemon to release its captive opponent as it was knocked back.
"TIME!"
The audience all released gasps as they realized that five minutes had passed.
"The time limit has been reached and now that the battle is over, it's time for the judges to decide who will move on to the finals." Anko said. "I know a lot of you were on the edge of your seats, I was too, but rules are rules. So judges, who wins this fight?" Anko turned to the three judges.
Deidara, Tsunade and Shizune huddled around each other and loud whispers were heard from the three of them. The three then separated and nodded to the two coordinators.
"It was a good battle that both of you did. Ken, your ability to use Ditto's flexible body and use Hinata's own moves against her is very good, however because of the fact that Ditto is a Pokemon that copies the move set of the Pokemon it transforms into, you would therefore be unable to show off Ditto's own uniqueness. Hinata your comeback with the surprise use of Superpower, as well as using that freeze and crush combo with the Ice Beam and Double Kick was very clever, but as Ken has revealed, your Earthquake use could use some work as it is very simple to counter by simple using seismic waves that act in the opposite direction of your own and thus you lost quite a deal of points for that." Shizune explained.
"However, Hinata..." Deidara spoke this time, "...you did an explosive job to show that despite Nidoqueen being a heavyweight Pokemon, you were able to train it to act quickly and have superb reaction time. This was a great quality to show off for your Nidoqueen, so Ken...I am sorry to say that you have lost."
"Hinata Hyuga, you win." Tsunade said with a smirk.
"THE JUDGES HAVE DECIDED IT! HINATA HYUGA AND NIDOQUEEN MOVE ON TO THE FINAL ROUND OF THE ECRUTEAK CITY POKEMON CONTEST!" Anko then walked up to Ken who had recalled Ditto. "Sugimori-san, you put up quite a good fight. How are you feeling after having just lost to a teenage girl?"
"You know, when you put it like that, you make me feel old as well as inadquate, Anko-san." Ken said with a sweatdrop. "Besides that however, I don't really feel disappointed. After all, I was merely doing this because I thought it would be fun to do a contest, and it is. Plus, like you said earlier, Ditto's are rarely ever used in contests and I think the judges are wrong where they say I didn't show off Ditto's own unique traits. Ditto's ability stems from that it is capable of transforming its molecular structure into that of a Pokemon before it, simply through mere sight. Only the legendary Pokemon, Mew, is said to possess an ability like that and not to mention that even when Ditto turned into Nidoqueen, I had Ditto utilize its flexible body to perform moves that not many would think to use."
"So you think the judges were unfair to say you lost?"
"No. I'm saying they are unfair towards the opinion of how one is able to use a Ditto." Ken said as he looked at the judges. "I take my loss with my head held high, but all Pokemon have their strengths and I am honestly thinking the judges failed to see the strength in Ditto's abilities. Anyway, it's nearly dinner time and my wife is making ramen so I'll take my leave."
Everyone sweatdropped as they watched Ken walk through the crowd and out the doors.
"Well judges, after hearing Ken's comments..." Anko didn't even have time to state her question when Tsunade spoke.
"Everyone is entitled to their opinion, Anko. Don't expect everyone to have a dramatic reaction every time they speak out against our opinion as to who wins and loses. Now, let's move on to the next match of the semi-finals, neh?"
"Yes, Tsunade-sama." Anko replied. "Will Sakura Haruno and Satoshi Taijiri come to the stage?"
Hinata and Nidoqueen went backstage and crossed paths with Sakura, giving her pat on the shoulder, "Do you best, Sakura-san."
"I'll win, don't worry." The pinkette replied.
Satoshi stood on his side of the studio stage, fiddling with the Poke Ball in his pocket. Sakura watched the young man as he took out the Poke Ball and tossed it up and down in his hand.
"Sakura Haruno versus Satoshi Taijiri!" Anko yelled into the microphone. "THE CLOCK HAS STARTED AND LET THE BATTLE BEGIN!"
Sakura and Satoshi tossed their Poke Balls skyward and they opened simultaneously.
"MEGANIUM!" The saurian Pokemon stomped its front legs with a determined look on its face, ready to fight.
"Poli Poliwaaaag!" The Tadpole Pokemon rolled along the ground before bouncing cutely from side to side.
"Awwwww!" Was the simultaneous sound made by all, except for Sakura and Meganium. Sakura's eye twitched as she looked at the much smaller Pokemon.
'You've got to be kidding me. My Meganium could literally flatten that thing, does this guy even know what he's doing?' Sakura asked.
"Alright Meganium, let's crush this guy!"
"AHHH!" Everyone blinked in confusion as they saw Satoshi was the one cowering when Meganium began to charge.
"Why are you screaming?!" Sakura asked, waving her arms expressively.
"You said you were going to crush ME, not Poliwag!" Satoshi exclaimed.
"I didn't mean it literally!" Sakura said as she sighed.
"Oh. Well in that case, Poliwag use Mud Bomb!" Poliwag's little pink mouth suddenly expanded large and everyone watched in amazement as the young Pokemon's body bloated heavily. A giant glob of mud was then fired from the Pokemon's mouth.
"Meganium, duck under it!" Meganium did as commanded, but its eyes widened when it saw Poliwag rolling towards it.
"Use your tail to vault into the air and attack with Mud Bomb again!" Poliwag immediately stuck out its tail and enacted a downward force, pushing it into the air so that it was now eye level with the Grass-type Pokemon. The Water-type's body bloated once more and the Mud Bomb flew forth with amazing speed and impacted with Meganium's body.
"Nice shot, Poliwag."
"Oh yes, the pain of having a tiny Pokemon hit my gargantuan Meganium. I'm sure Meganium would be down for the count." Sakura said, her tone dripping with sarcasm.
"Hahaha! My Pokemon is much too powerful for you then!" Satoshi grinned.
'Does...does he not understand sarcasm at all? First he takes things too literally and now he has a lack of understand sarcasm? What the hell is up with this guy?' The pinkette thought. "Alrighty then, Meganium use Petal Dance!"
Meganium nodded and then it sent forth the large petals that surrounded its neck. The petals quickly regenerated as they were continuously fired from Meganium's neck.
"Poliwag use Belly Drum to protect yourself and then dodge them!" The Tadpole Pokemon curled into a ball as its defensive capabilities rose before it bounced around like a rubber ball, avoiding the numerous petals that flew through the air. However, the petals began to increase in number at a rapid rate and soon Poliwag was now obscured from Satoshi's view.
"Poliwag, spin on your back and use Hydro Pump to scatter the petals!" Satoshi commanded. Poliwag released a cry of pain though as it was struck by a few of the petals, cutting apart its blue coloured skin and leaving bloody lines along its body. However, as one knocked Poliwag on its back, the Tadpole Pokemon spun around like a top. A powerful blast of pressurized water then launched itself from Poliwag's mouth and due to the rotation of its body, the audience watched as the Hydro Pump became a myriad of water whips that batted away at every single petal that came its way.
"BODY SLAM!" Came Sakura's voice. Satoshi's eyes widened as he saw a blur of green move through the storm of petals and then leaped into the air. Poliwag couldn't stop spinning because of its slippery skin preventing it from gaining any friction and the saurian Pokemon came down from above, its own petals mixing in with the Petal Dance to prevent it from being seen.
"MEG!" Meganium slammed down on the smaller Pokemon with destructive force and Poliwag released a painful yelp of pain as Meganium's forelimb crashed down on it, bearing the full weight of Meganium upon making contact. However, due to using Hydro Pump, the water had met Meganium's limb and managed to reduce the force of the crash and Poliwag managed to rise to its feet once more as it wriggled its way out from beneath its opponent.
"Alright! Way to stand strong, Poliwag!" Satoshi grinned at the Tadpole Pokemon. Sakura gritted her teeth as she watched her Pokemon swaying, the confusion effect of using Petal Dance beginning to affect it.
"Damn it, Meganium snap out of it!"
"Now while it's confused, use Mud Bomb and Hydro Pump!" Poliwag took a deep breath and sent forth the blob of mud, Hydro Pump following directly after it. The mud and water fused with each other to form a swirling blast of brown water.
"Light Screen!" Sakura yelled. Meganium stumbled from its confusion, but a golden barrier surrounded the Grass-type just in time and managed to weaken the attack, but the blast still broke through and crashed into Meganium's body. Meganium released a cry of pain as it was sent skidding along the ground.
"Meganium, snap out of it!" The golden eyed Grass-type rose to its feet before seeing Poliwag in its face.
"Mud Bomb!" The orb of mud slammed into Meganium, knocking it back down. Meganium reacted however, lashing out with its legs and kicked away the Tadpole Pokemon. The Herb Pokemon rubbed the mud out of its eyes and then got back up before tromping back over to the wounded Poliwag with a snarl on its face as it snapped out of its confusion.
The snarl of Meganium's face eerily matched Sakura's own as Satoshi and Poliwag stared back at their opponents.
"Meganium, Body Slam!" Meganium charged forth with a look of rage and slammed into Poliwag with full force. The Tadpole Pokemon was no match for the gargantuan Herb Pokemon and then fell unconscious at Satoshi's feet.
"Poliwag!" Satoshi cried out as he scooped up his little Pokemon.
"And winner by knock out with thirty seconds to spare, Meganium and Sakura Haruno!" The crowd clapped and cheered for the pinkette as Satoshi walked up to her with his fainted Pokemon.
"Good match." He smiled at the young girl. Sakura shook the man's hand and nodded back to him.
"You too. I must admit, you are quite a good coordinator and trainer to use Hydro Pump like that and have a Pokemon that's not even fully evolved be able to last as long as it did against Meganium." Sakura complimented.
"Thank you, Sakura. Well, since I'm out of the running, might as well watch in the crowd. Good luck against Hinata."
"Thanks."
After Shizune healed the green eyed girl's Pokemon, Anko announced there was going to be a short intermission given for the two coordinators to rest up as they waited backstage.
"So, guess it's down to the both of us." Sakura said as she looked at her friend.
"Yup." The pale eyed girl replied simply.
"Just know that I won't hold back. You may be one of my good friends, Hinata, but that doesn't mean I won't do what it takes to win."
Hinata smiled at her pink haired friend and nodded.
"May the best coordinator win..." Hinata held out her hand and Sakura shook it, "...which is me."
Sakura gained a shocked look on her face as she saw the challenging look in Hinata's eyes. It seemed spending all that time around Naruto really brought out her competitive side and damn was competitive Hinata confident.
"As if. I'm gonna wipe that smirk right off your face."
"As Naruto-kun would say, Sakura-san...bring it!"
"And with that, the semi-final rounds of the Ecruteak Pokemon contest have come to a close. The finals are now between these two teenage titans! Hinata Hyuga and her Nidoqueen against Sakura Haruno and her Meganium! Type advantage may be on Sakura's side, but with Nidoqueen knowing Ice Beam, it could still be anyone's game!"
Hinata and Sakura faced each other on the stage that the repair crew had fixed for the third time that day. Despite the studio's stage being very durable, it was at this time where the Pokemon Coordination Board would probably being rethinking their idea to host the contest there. Hindsight is 20-20 after all.
Nidoqueen gave a roar as it pounded its fists against each other and got ready for a fight. Meganium did the same, stamping its forelimbs on the ground in a menacing display, much like how a Diplodicus would when facing an Allosaurus.
"Are both coordinators ready?" Hinata and Sakura nodded in reply. Anko then raised her hand.
"We've got five minutes on the clock! LET THE FINAL MATCH BEGIN!" Anko brought her hand down in a chopping motion.
"EARTHQUAKE!"
The simultaneous command filled the air and the audience immediately latched onto the closest things they could find to stabilize themselves as the seismic waves rushed through the studio stage. The two conflicting forces crashed into one another, each one trying to overpower the other, but in the end the massive waves of seismic activity died down to mere trembles as they cancelled each other out.
"Meganium, charge forward and use Body Slam!"
"Stop it in its tracks with Ice Beam!"
Nidoqueen released a jagged beam of blue energy that froze over the ground and anchored the Herb Pokemon the stage.
"Ice Beam again!" The super effective move headed for the Grass-type, but Sakura smirked as she watched it.
"Petal Dance, defensive formation!"
"WHAT?!" Everyone watched in shock as Meganium swung its neck around and the petals around its neck flew off. The numerous petals continued to build up until a massive wall of fauna formed. The Ice-type attack clashed with the pink and white petals and soon a massive ice wall stood erect in front of Meganium.
The Drill Pokemon snarled before charging forward.
"Use Superpower to enhance your strength and crash through the wall with Double Kick!" Nidoqueen's body became encased in an aura of orange-brown energy, its muscles tightening beneath its armour-like skin. The Drill Pokemon's heavy body caused the stage to tremble as it charged before it leaped and performed a double roundhouse kick that shattered the ice wall into apart into large shards. The kicks continued forward and formed a small cloud of frost as the ice was shattered, but Hinata and Nidoqueen watched in shock as they saw Meganium was not behind the wall.
"Meganium, now!" Nidoqueen turned just in time to see one of the giant shards that made up the ice wall had been kicked at it. Nidoqueen raised its arms, but the force of the object's collision still forced Nidoqueen backwards. "Follow it up with Body Slam!"
"MEGA!" The Herb Pokemon charged forward and then leaped before crashing down on the Drill Pokemon. Nidoqueen released a cry as white hot pain racked through its body. "Now use Earthquake!"
"Don't let it! Kick it off with Double Kick!" Nidoqueen's body reacted quickly and the bipedal Pokemon planted its feet beneath Meganium's stomach and pushed it off with amazing force. Meganium flew into the air, crashing against the ceiling of the studio before falling back down only to receive the second kick to its face as Nidoqueen met its adversary.
"Now follow it up with Ice Beam!"
"Roll out of the way and use Petal Dance!"
Nidoqueen opened its beaked jaws and an orb of ice blue energy accumulated before being fired off in the form of a jagged beam. The golden eyed dinosaur of a Pokemon did as its trainer commanded and rolled out of the way. Using the momentum from the roll, Meganium climbed back to its feet before sending forth a flurry of pink and white petals at Nidoqueen.
"Freeze them with Ice Beam!" Nidoqueen went to use the Ice-type move, but suddenly its body froze in place when it experienced what felt like electrical shocks running up and down its spine.
'Oh no, Body Slam paralyzed it!' The pale eyed Hyuga gaped in shock and she could only watch as her Pokemon was bombarded with a storm of petals. Nidoqueen managed to partially get over its paralysis and raise its arms to protect its face and upper body. Its armoured skin protected it from most of the damage but it still hurt like hell.
"MEGANIUM!" The Herb Pokemon gave a final cry of effort as it put a lot of power into its third round of petals. The Petal Dance attack swirled into a twister of pink and white and crashed against Nidoqueen's arms. The Drill Pokemon held its own, skidding back a bit, but in the end, Meganium's attack broke through its guard and sent it to the ground.
Nidoqueen growled as it rose back up and smirked when it saw Meganium beginning to teeter from the confusion effect.
"And the battle is definitely a heated one here in Ecruteak City! With both trainers trading blows like its no tomorrow, a momentary ceasefire has been made now that Nidoqueen is paralyzed by an earlier Body Slam by Sakura's meganium, but the Drill Pokemon has managed to endure Petal Dance long enough to have Meganium become confused as a result of the continuous string off attacks!" Anko spoke with excitement. "With three minutes gone, two minutes are left on the clock! Who will take the win and the Ecruteak City ribbon?!"
Both female coordinators mentally answered the question, 'I WILL!'
"Nidoqueen Ice Beam!"
"Meganium, use Light Screen to protect yourself and then try to dodge!" A golden shield of energy formed in front of Meganium and the Herb Pokemon the attempted to dodge, but the Ice Beam caught its left back leg causing it to literally slip up.
"Don't give up! Take advantage of the impact and use Earthquake!"
"Avoid it! Jump into the air with your tail!"
Nidoqueen nodded and slammed its tail down on the ground in order to send itself airborne. All watched in awe as the Drill Pokemon took to the air and avoided the seismic waves that rocked the stage.
"Now crash down with Superpower!"
"Kick it, Meganium! KICK IT HARD!"
A very unorthodox move came from the Herb Pokemon as the super powered Ground/Posion-type headed for its Grass-type opponent, but its eyes widened when Meganium's grounded form lay on its back. The ice encased limb then bent and was let loose with explosive force just as Nidoqueen's fist impacted with Meganium's face.
Meganium's kick met with enough force to shatter the ice around its leg and free its now numb limb, but the Grass-type was now met with a bruised cheek and a split lip. A small trail blood oozed from its skull as well due to the impact it made with the wooden floor. Nidoqueen felt its ribs creak from the blow and the wind was knocked out of its body. A glob of blood shot from out of its jaws, staining its beak and the ground from the internal damage. Nidoqueen rolled on the ground before coming to a stop at Hinata's feet.
"Nidoqueen..."
"Meganium..."
"GET UP!"
Both Pokemon rose to their feet, their legs shaking in an effort to support their body weight.
"Now form ice spikes with Ice Beam and kick them at Meganium!"
"Use Earthquake to shatter those spikes before they can be used!"
The seismic waves broke apart the icicles formed by Nidoqueen's Ice Beam.
"Use Superpower and punch the ground to stop the Earthquake waves!" Hinata ordered. Nidoqueen's Superpower enhanced fist met the stage with terrific force and sent out waves of force that met those of Earthquake's. "Now charge!"
"Meet it with Body Slam!"
Both heavy weight Pokemon crashed against each other causing a small shock wave to form. The two Pokemon pushed against one another in an effort to overpower the other.
"ONE MINUTE!" Anko warned the two trainers and their Pokemon. Meganium and Nidoqueen quickly separated from one another.
"Ice Beam!"
"Petal Dance!"
The two moves clashed against one another. The wave of petals froze over from Ice Beam, but the sheer number of petals was able to keep up with the pace of Ice Beam's freezing rate and prevent the Ice-type move from moving beyond the collision point. However, by the time Meganium became confused, Nidoqueen had already used up all the energy needed for it use Ice Beam.
"THIRTY SECONDS!"
Meganium crashed its forelimbs down on the ground as it used an Earthquake attack, but Nidoqueen responded by leaping into the air through the use of its tail. The confused Meganium teetered to the side, tripping on its tired limbs purposely and hurting itself, however it was well worth it as the Double Kick that met its previous location created two new large cracks in the stage. Nidoqueen quickly spun and crashed its tail against Meganium's down form, but Meganium took advantage of its long neck and bit down hard on the fleshy tail on Nidoqueen.
Blood touched the herbivore's tongue as it bit down harder. Nidoqueen began to kick at Meganium's head in an effort to get the Herb Pokemon to let go, but to no avail.
Meganium's eyes flashed with power as a green glow covered its body. With Overgrow active, Meganium gained the power needed to actually pick up Nidoqueen and hurl it through the air by the tail. Nidoqueen crashed onto the ground with amazing force, but rolled into a kneeling position. Nidoqueen's body pulsed with power as it activated Superpower and dug its claws into the stage to charge. Meganium's glowing form stared at Nidoqueen and the green aura increased in size as Meganium reared up on its back legs just as the Drill Pokemon rushed forth.
"FRENZY-"
"TIME!"
The audience was in silence as they watched the surprised looks on both coordinators faces and their Pokemon.
Anko clutched her microphone to her chest as she released the breath she didn't even realize she was holding. "Judges, what's the verdict?"
The three judges suddenly had the cameras on them and they couldn't even utter a word as they were staring at the two Pokemon with amazement.
"I'm...I'm sorry, Anko-san, but this explosive performance, this amazing show of skill and power from both Pokemon...I can't decide who wins. There is no winner, I just can't decide. My mind may literally explode if I think of a way to try and choose a winner." Deidara said.
"In all my years of being a Pokemon Contest judge and even during my years as a coordinator, I rarely ever experienced the kind of feeling where I am on the edge of my seat, biting my nails, etc. After watching these two, I can honestly say...I agree with Deidara on this. I cannot decide a winner based because both trainers showed off their Pokemon exceedingly well and with a performance like this, I really hope I get to see these two compete in the Grand Festival two weeks from now."
Anko nodded at the two blondes before turning to Shizune.
The black haired nurse rose from her seat and looked over the audience, her fellow judges and the two competitors and their Pokemon. Three words left her mouth and it was those three words that made many gape in shock.
"It's a tie!"
"A TIE?!" Hinata and Sakura exclaimed.
"MEGA?!"
"GRRROAR?!"
Nidoqueen and Meganium also voiced their shock as they looked at the dark haired nurse. Shizune, Deidara and Tsunade all moved out from behind the judges table and Deidara held the Ecruteak City contest ribbon which was had dark violet and navy blue ribbon strands tied into a neat bow which was held together by a golden pin in the shape of a pair of wings.
"It's the only logical way." Tsuande explained. "Though these are very rare incidents, ties have occurred in the past and Deidara and I speak from experience, however back then, the ties were settled with a flip of a coin. The times have changed and rules have exempted a tie rule within the books because a tie hadn't occurred in such a long time."
"Because of these rule changes and the fact that we only have one ribbon, we are in a bit of a dilemma." Deidara said.
"I think I can help with that." Mai said as she rose up from her place in the crowd. Mai took out a Poke Ball and tossed it into the air revealing a regular Yanma. "Yanma, Air Cutter!"
"Yan Yan!" The Bug/Flying-type flapped its wings and sent a small burst of pressurized air that sliced through the ribbon and its casing neatly. The casing and the ribbon feel apart as two completely equal halves. The audience and judges gaped in shock at the sudden move and then Sakura and Hinata picked up their respective halves on the Ecruteak Ribbon.
"Well...that's one way to end that. You're a regular Solomon, aren't you Mai?" Sakura chuckled. Mai blushed before she turned to the audience, pointing at them.
"ALL OF YOU ARE WITNESSES!" Mai exclaimed.
"I guess, both of them got their ribbons." Deidara shrugged. "Couldn't have thought of a better way to that though."
"Got a point there." Tsunade and Shizune said.
"Well everyone, it seems with a little help from Mai Shiranui and her Yanma, both winners of the Ecruteak City Contest, Sakura Haruno and Hinata Hyuga have just gained their fifth and final ribbons! They are now eligibile to enter the Grand Festival which takes place two weeks from now at the Indigo Plateau!"
"The Indigo Plateau? But isn't the Pokemon League going to take place there, wouldn't the contest activities get in the way?" Sakura asked.
"Nope. Remember, the Johto-Kanto Silver Conference Victory Tournament is THREE MONTHS from now. The Grand Festival is only two weeks from now so everything is alright." Tsunade explained.
"IT'S GONNA BE A BANG!" Deidara grinned as he pumped his fist into the air. "You two girls better bring your A-games as I expect both of you all to bring even more explosive fights and appeals for Tsunade-senpai and I to see."
Hinata and Sakura grinned at each other and at their Pokemon. Finally, after so long...after a whole year of traveling and training and competing in so many different contests, they finally got their fifth ribbon. And now the Grand Festival was within arm's reach.
And now all that's left for one of them to do...is to win it.
(A/N: Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Yes, I took cameo appearances for Satoshi Taijiri, creator of Pokemon, and Ken Sugimori, the man who created the designs for the creatures we now have as everyday parts of our lives in video game form. They look like how they look in real life so that was why I didn't put a physical description of them. As for why Satoshi acted the way he did, there was a description saying that Satoshi had said that he was diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome which is a social interaction inhibiting condition. And also, we have another character cameo of Mai Shiranui.
With the fifth ribbon being a tie and given half and half to Sakura and Hinata, an idea I got after watching over the Terracota Town contest where Ash's Sceptile fought May's Blaziken and they tied, the two are now ready to head for the Grand Festival. Who will win?
Next chapter will be a two week time skip in which the Grand Festival is ready to start. Soon, I can get the contest stuff over and done with and then we can turn back to our dynamic duo, Naruto and Typhlosion, nd the start of the Pokemon League. So stay tuned for my next exciting chapter of Naruto: Johto Journeys, Chaper 28: The Grand Festival!
Hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Remember to please review, review, review!)
Pokedex: Seen-169
Caught-102
Character Bio: Sapphire
Eye Colour: Blue
Hair Colour: Blue
About: Sapphire is one of three children of Nagato and Konan, twin sister to Ruby and older sister to Wallace. She was born twelve seconds after her twin and as such, she is the middle child of the three children. Due to Nagato being the leader of ROOT, Sapphire was made an admin in the ROOT organization at an early age alongside her siblings and was given her first Pokemon, a Bulbasaur. She is a very kind person towards her family and she is much more willing to speak her mind towards ROOT executives, even her father. She is also very teasing towards her siblings. She is extremely protective of her twin sister and little brother. She was very distraught when Konan, her mother, passed away and so she was very adamant in joining the Project Time Travel plan Nagato had made in order to bring her back. She is a very skilled trainer and with her Bulbasaur now a fully evolved Venusaur she is an even more deadly force among ROOT agents than she was before.
Naruto's Team:
Typhlosion(Male)
Pidgeot(Male)
Heracross(Male)
Quagsire(Female)
Amphoros(Female)
Dragonair(Female)
Hinata's Team:
Espeon (Female)
Butterfree(Female)
Nidoqueen(Female)
Jumpluff(Female)
Lapras(Male)
Togekiss(Male)
Sasuke's Team:
Feraligatr(Male)
Sneasel(Male)
Gengar(Male)
Rapidash(Female)
Red Gyarados(Male)
Rhydon(Male)
Sakura's Team:
Meganium(Female)
Azumarill(Female)
Porygon2(No Gender)
Jigglypuff(Male)
Vulpix(Female)
Pikachu/Pika(Male)
Akatsuchi's Team:
Golem(Male)
Steelix(Male)
Sudowoodo(Male)
Crobat(Female)