Naruto: Johto Journeys
Chapter 30: Rising through the Ranks
"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!
Indigo Plateau-Pokemon Grand Festival Stadium
Yesterday had indeed been a hectic one. Two hundred and seventy Pokemon trainers had taken part in one of the greatest challenges on the planet. The Grand Festival. Coorindators were required to go across the Kanto-Johto continent to enter this final contest by collecting five ribbons upon winning five Pokemon Contests. From two hundred and seventy trainers, only sixty-four had the potential to move on to the second segment of the Appeal Rounds. From those sixty-four, that number had been cut directly in half so that only thirty-two coordinators had the ability to move on to the Battle Rounds.
These Battle Rounds had coordinators face off against one another. Only one Pokemon could be chosen for the Battle Rounds and you would have to stick with that Pokemon for the rest of the tournament. With five minutes on the clock, each coordinator had to fight their opponents while also trying to knock down the opposing coordinator's points to a lower amount than theirs, preferably to zero. A win could be registered in many different ways. These ways are as follows: By knocking the opponent's Pokemon unconscious, by having more points than the opponent by the time the five minutes were up and finally, by reducing all of the opponent's points to zero before time was up.
Now the stage for the Battle Round had been set and the first match was decided.
The sun shone brightly in the sky as the second day of the Pokemon Grand Festival began within the Indigo Plateau. The excitement of the audience and the tension within the stadium were paramount. On the battlefield stood the two combatants who were nervous and had their bodies pumping adrenalin through them.
"Welcome to another exciting day here at the Indigo Plateau! Yesterday we had our two segment Appeal Round to decide who would be the top thirty-two to take on the exciting, thrill-making Battle Rounds!" Anko exclaimed. "It was a grueling task for both coordinators to make it this far and also for our judges to have to choose who out of those stellar competitors would make it this far. It was a close one for all performances folks, but now it's time to get these battles underway! The first battle of the Grand Festival, Chouji Akimichi and Ino Yamanaka!"
The crowd broke out into cheers and applause as the two young coordinators stood on opposite sides of the battlefield. Both were fidgeting in their spots as they looked at each other.
'Geez what are the chances I'd fight one of my best friends?' Ino thought as she clutched her Poke Ball tightly in her hands. 'I mean, never in a million years would I have thought I'd be take on Chouji in a contest battle. I know I can't hold back, but it's just...it's Chouji.'
'What am I gonna do? Ino's one of my best friends. She, Shikamaru and I played together all the time when we were kids, we supported each other, laughed with each other, we ate chips and watched clouds...but now...I have to fight her?' Chouji gulped as he squeezed the Poke Ball in his hands. 'By Arceus, why did it have to be like this?'
"Remember you two..." Anko's voice echoed through the speakers. "...this is an elimination type of battle rounds just like in all contests only this time it's double or nothin'. You either give it your all or you home. You lose, you lose. You win, you win. There's no two ways about it. If it's a tie, you do rock, paper scissors to see who goes on ahead. Unfair in some perspectives, but those are the rules. Now let's this show on the road! Let's get five minutes on the clock!"
The large screens around the stadium all lit up as they were activated. On the screen it showed the profile images of both Ino and Chouji and a smaller box was placed beneath their images which would be filled with the image of the Pokemon they would choose to fight with. Below both boxes was a golden ring which would represent the point gauge. If either ring made it to zero, it would be game over for that person.
The timer showed the golden image of the five minute countdown, 5:00.
"And now...let the first round of the Battle Rounds begin!" Anko yelled as she threw her hand into the air. With that, both Chouji and Ino seemed to wake up from their trance like states. They both gulped before shakily raising their hands.
"Go, Sunflora!"
"Butterfree, I choose you!"
In twin flashes of white light, the Poke Balls popped open and the two coordinators' respective Pokemon took to the stage. The walking sunflower faced off against the purple butterfly of a Pokemon.
"Sunflooooora!"
"Free Free!"
Both Pokemon gained surprised when they realized they were facing off against each other. They glanced back at their trainers and saw that their trainers were in similar states.
"I must say, this may be a battle of will and overcoming feelings rather than a Pokemon battle." Mr. Pokemon commented.
"What makes you say that?" Deidara asked.
"Iruka-san had allowed me to visit the Trainer Academy in New Bark Town at one time. I saw a trio that stuck by each other no matter what and they were quite an eye-catching threesome because I could see just how much those three could achieve as long as they stuck together. Chouji Akimichi, Shikamaru Nara and Ino Yamanaka. Two of which are standing before us. It may be difficult to battle against a close friend. I mean just look at their expressions."
The three other judges looked at Ino and Chouji and frowned when they saw the look of internal conflict in their eyes.
"It may be cruel to do so, but in the end...you cannot let personal feelings stop you. The Pokemon League Silver Conference Victory Tournament has friends fighting against each other all the time, why should the Grand Festival be any different?" Tsunade spoke.
"Ino...what should we do?" Chouji asked with nervousness in his tone. Ino bit her lip before she shut her eyes and shook her head from side to side. Her eyes snapped open to reveal their hardened look.
"We fight!" Chouji took a step back in surprise at what the platinum blonde girl said.
"Wh-What? But Ino we're friends, we trained with each other, we..."
"Don't make this harder than it already is, Chouji!" Ino shouted. "Yes, we've traveled, we've trained, we've laughed, cried and talked together! But we've come too far, we've worked too hard to let us stop here! Personal feelings..." Ino clenched her hands into fists. "...personal feelings mean nothing to me right now!"
Chouji's eyes widened and Butterfree flapped its wings nervously.
"Ino...how can you...how can you say that?!"
"SHUT THE HELL UP!" Ino clenched her fists even tighter. "YOU EITHER FIGHT ME OR YOU DON'T! EITHER WAY CHOUJI, I WILL MAKE SURE THAT YOU LOSE! Your problem is that you've always been too soft-hearted Chouji! When you capture Pokemon you only dealt the minimum amount of damage and you've only never held back when it was during an Appeal Round because you knew that you didn't have to fight! Well open your eyes, the world isn't going to let you fight like a pussy! So get your shit together and battle me! FIGHT WITH SOME ARCEUS DAMNED PRIDE!"
The audience and judges stared at the duo on the field. One minute had already passed on the clock, the battle hadn't even started and yet...no one was complaining.
"Ino..."
Ino sighed as she watched her rotund friend fidget once more. 'I'm sorry Chouji...but you pushed me to do this.' Ino gritted her teeth in rage before she took a deep breath in. "OI FATASS! FIGHT YOU CHUBBY EXCUSE FOR A TRAINER!"
The crowd and judges all gaped in shock at the words that came out of the blonde's mouth.
Chouji's body flinched and he bowed his head, shadows obscuring his eyes.
"Ino...did you just call me...fat?"
"Damn right I did you big fat turd! Whatcha gonna do about it? Gonna cry like the fatass you are?" Ino smirked as she saw Chouji trembling with restrained anger. "Your bag of chips ain't gonna help you now and by the way remember that barbeque pork flavoured one that went missing three months ago?"
"You didn't?"
"Oh I did...and they were de-lic-ious." She put emphasis on each syllable on her final word before grinning toothily as she saw Chouji's head snap up, anime flames burning in his eyes.
"INOOOOOO! I'LL KICK YOUR ASS!"
'That's right Chouji, gimme all you got.' Ino laughed in delight as she saw her friend ready to fight. "So you wanna fight now? Alright, then let's go!"
"And I'm not fat, I'm big-boned!" Chouji added. "Alright Butterfree, let's do this! Aerial Ace!"
Butterfree's red eyes gained a hardened look as it nodded. With a rapid flutter of its wings, the Bug/Flying-type took off into the air and performed a loop-de-loop to build up momentum before flying towards Sunflora with amazing speed. A trail of white marking its movement.
"There we go, that's the Chouji I know and love." Ino clapped her hands for her rotund friend. "But I'm not letting you win that easily. Sunflora blind Butterfree with Sunny Day!"
"Sun!" The Sun Pokemon looked to the sky and the evolved form of Sunkern released a loud cry. The light of the sun seemed to intensify and then the sun's rays shone throughout the stadium. Butterfree's eyes squinted lightly, but it kept flying straight at Sunflora.
"You forget Ino, Butterfree has the ability Compound Eyes which allows its accuracy to increase by thirty percent! Keep that Aerial Ace going, Butterfree!" The Butterfly Pokemon continued to speed towards its opponent, but then Ino countered once more.
"Nuh uh, Chouji-kun." She teased. "Sunflora, use Ingrain to root yourself to the ground so you won't be carried off by the momentum,then grab it and go into a suplex!"
"Huh?!" Chouji's eyes widened when he saw brown roots grow from Sunflora's feet, rooting the Pokemon to the ground. Sunflora then took a stance similar to that of a sumo wrestler's, a look of concentration on its face. Sunflora grunted in pain as Butterfree crashed into its body, one eighth of the blonde girl's points going down as a result, but a small amount of Chouji's went down as well due to his inability to use Aerial Ace at its fullest. Another small amount went down when Ingrain allowed Sunflora to gain nutrients from the earth and regain a bit of health. The final bit went down as Sunflora leaned its rooted body backwards, grabbing Butterfree's head tightly with its leaves, and slammed Butterfree harshly into the ground as it performed the suplex move. In total, Chouji ended up losing a bit more than one quarter of his points.
"And Ino Yamanaka uses Butterfree's own powerful Aerial Ace attack against it by using Ingrain and wrestling in one. Quite a spectacle from a Pokemon that has no hands!" Anko yelled. "Looks like those leaves are used for more than just collecting sunlight, huh guys?" The audience nodded in agreement with their announcer.
Butterfree flapped its wings lightly as Sunflora held it down on the ground, the Sun Pokemon's health being replenished by Ingrain.
"Smart move, Ino. But you're not holding me down that easily." Chouji said. "Use Psybeam on the ground Butterfree to push yourself up!"
A flash of red shone in Butterfree's eyes before the shine brightened, swirling to life as a myriad of colour. "Free!" A powerful blast of rainbow coloured energy shot forth from the compound eyes of the Butterfly Pokemon, producing the recoil needed to push Butterfree's grounded form off of the ground and into the air, freeing it from Sunflora's grasp.
Butterfree flapped its wings furiously and Ino's points went down a bit as Sunflora was struck by the blast wave of the Psybeam attack.
"And Butterfree uses the recoil of the Psybeam attack to escape the grasp of Sunflora!" Anko exclaimed. "What an intelligent move by Chouji!"
"Now Butterfree, Psychic attack!" Butterfree's eyes shone a brilliant blue before directing its telekinetic attack at Sunflora.
"Sunflora, use Leaf Storm as a shield!" Sunflora's body was then surrounded by an aura of green before it raised its leaf-like arms into the air. Sunflora reared back its arms and brought them forward and soon both leaves and the petals surrounding its head launched themselves forward, replicating at a rapid pace before impacting with the telekinetic blast of Butterfree.
Chouji gritted his teeth as he saw his attack being held off by the storm of leaves, scattering them everywhere. "Crap, I can't see anything through those leaves! Butterfree scatter the leaves with another Psychic attack and then use Psybeam!"
Butterfree did as it was commanded and the leaves parted to reveal a straight path, but suddenly another wave of leaves and petals launched itself through the air. Butterfree released a cry of pain as the leaves sliced into its skin, thin slashes marring the purple Pokemon's body. A few had even managed to tear through the membrane of the Butterfly Pokemon's wings, inhibiting its flight capabilities.
"And with a Leaf Storm counter strike, Ino Yamanaka has put herself into the lead!" Anko informed the viewers as the rings on the screens showed Ino with only a little more than half her points while Chouji was nearing the margin that would leave him with only twenty five percent of his points. "But how will Chouji fare now that his Butterfree's wings have been pierced through?!"
The Leaf Storm attack kept going towards Butterfree, the Bug/Flying-type barrel rolling, diving and rising in a flurry of motion to keep itself from being harmed. Ino's point went down to just below its halfway mark as a result of her attack showing off Butterfree's surprising agility and speed.
"Butterfree, Psybeam!" However, Butterfree's follow up Psybeam attack tore through the leaves and petals. Ino's eyes widened as she saw the rainbow coloured blast rocket towards her Pokemon.
"Sunflora, dodge it!" However, the attack moved much too quickly to be avoided. and Sunflora was hit in the body. The explosion that followed uprooted Sunflora's Ingrain-ed form and sent it soaring through the air. Ino turned and watched as her points rocketed to just below the halfway mark, Chouji being ahead of her by only a marginal amount.
Sunflora rolled on the ground, recovering quickly. Butterfree quickly bore down upon the Grass-type Pokemon, the trail of white behind it marking its use of Aerial Ace. Sunflora's form was struck by the super-effective move and Ino's point rocketed all the way down to one-eighth.
"Now circle around and go in for another Aerial Ace!" Chouji commanded. Butterfree nodded and performed a loop-de-loop before diving back down towards the Grass-type.
"Sunflora, Ingrain and suplex combo again!"
Chouji grinned toothily. "Gotcha!"
Ino's eyes widened at Chouji's exclamation. "What?!" She looked to see Butterfree's rapidly moving form had spread out its wings, halting its movements indefinitely. The glowing eyes of the Butterfly Pokemon stared at Sunflora and the telekinetic shockwave lashed out.
"Psychic attack!"
"FREEEEE!" The attack rammed into Sunflora's rooted form with tremendous force and sent Sunflora skidding backwards, the roots ripping themselves from Sunflora's feet. Sunflora flipped in the air and landed on its feet, but suddenly a blast of rainbow coloured energy zoomed towards it. The Psybeam attack was already halfway towards Sunflora and with her Pokemon on bended knee there wouldn't be enough time to command a dodge attempt.
As the sun's light shone in the sky..."Wait...that's it! SUNFLORA, USE SOLARBEAM!"
Chouji's eyes widened. "What? But she wouldn't have enough time to charge...oh shit." Chouji glanced up at the sky and noticed the sun's rays were still extremely harsh. The Sunny Day attack was still in effect. The rotund coordinator had no time to usher forth a retreat command, nor a dodge. Sunflora's petals took in the sun's rays at a rapid rate and the face of the Sun Pokemon shone with a bright white light.
"SUUUUUNFLORAAAA!" The Sun Pokemon unleashed the powerful Grass-type move at the incoming Psybeam attack, tearing through it like it was made of wet paper. Butterfree's eyes widened as its Psychic-type attack was overwhelmed by the Grass-type move. The Bug/Flying-type Pokemon was completely overwhelmed by the attack and was sent careening through the air as the attack continued to plow against its body.
Butterfree's airborne form sailed through the skies before the attack was completed, arcing at it peak before falling to earth. Butterfree crashed into the ground and Chouji's eyes widened as he saw his Pokemon was twitching, unable to move. Burns from the solar based attack covered its purple body with red and a line of blood flowed from its damaged skull.
"Butterfree!" Chouji ran up to his Pokemon and watched as it gave him a sad smile.
"Freeee Freeee." The Butterfly Pokemon fell into unconsciousness.
"Winner by knock out! Ino Yamanaka has defeated Chouji Akimichi!" Anko yelled into her microphone. The went into a storm of claps and cheers.
"You...did really well buddy." Chouji scooped up his Pokemon in his arms and cradled its body. The sound of approaching footsteps and the shadow covering his body notified him of Ino now standing in front of him.
"You were really good Chouji. I swear if I hadn't realized Sunny Day was still in effect I would have lost to that Psybeam of yours." Ino said. Chouji chuckled dryly.
"But you did anyway."
"Come on Chouji, don't be like that. You know I would have continued to support you if you were the one that won." Chouji nodded and raised his head to Ino, tear trailing from his eyes.
"Yeah...that's true."
"Come on you big boned badass, get up!" Ino laughed as she held out her hand. Chouji wiped the tears from his eyes. He adjusted Butterfree in his left arm while grabbing Ino's hand with his right and he was hoisted to his feet. The judges and audience members all smiled at the show of good sportsmanship between the two friends.
"A well fought battle. It kept me on the edge of my seat." Deidara said. "You kids are gonna go places if this is what the first round is like."
"I agree with Deidara-san." Shizune smiled. "By the way, I have some Full Restores and Revives here to heal your Pokemon with." The two coordinators walked up to the judges and had the nurse heal their Pokemon back to full health.
"Thank you, Shizune-san." They bowed to the nurse in thanks before returning them to their Poke Balls.
"Quite an exhilarating battle you two. I would have sworn Chouji-kun would have won with that final Psybeam attack, but your quick mind really came into play Ino when you realized that Solarbeam would have easily overcome that attack. However, a question."
"What would that be, Mr. Pokemon?" Ino asked.
"You used Leaf Storm three times in that battle and the effect of Leaf Storm is that it lowers a Pokemon's Special Attack for every time it is used and so your Grass-type attacks shouldn't have had such an impact. So tell me, what it is that made your Solarbeam so powerful in the end?" Mr. Pokemon asked.
"I'll answer that." Tsunade spoke as she glanced at Ino. "Your Sunflora has the ability Solar Power, doesn't it?"
Ino nodded. "Yeah, how did you..."
"Solarbeam is an attack that takes in the sun's rays and channels it into a powerful beam that would tear through many an attack. Sunny Day hastens the process, but Solar Power increases the attack strength of a Pokemon by a great amount after every round of a battle within the sunshine." Tsunade explained. "The fact that your Leaf Storm attacks were able to hold such amazing strength is the reason why it wouldn't have mattered if your Special Attack stat was lowered. You still would have had the advantage in strength, however your Sunflora was obviously lower on health since Solar Power also weakens a Pokemon after every turn. Ingrain was probably the only thing that kept your going for such a long time."
"Flower power is not to be underestimated it seems." Anko joked, earning a laugh or two from the crowd.
"And so the first match is concluded. Ino Yamanaka is the first competitor to move on through the Battle Rounds, but let's give a hand for both coordinators for the stellar performance today!" Both coordinators bowed to their viewers before walking off of the arena floor.
"And then there were thirty-one." Anko muttered as she glanced down at the Battle Round sheet in her hands. "With our first match setting a very high bar for the other competitors to match, the second round will now begin with Sasame Fuuma taking on one of our younger competitors, little youngster Joey!"
Sasame and Jimmy walked out onto the stage and both held out their Poke Balls before sending them out onto the field as their images were registered on the screen.
"Go, Clefairy!"
"Rattata go!"
Everyone's eyes widened at Jimmy when they saw what Pokemon he sent out. The purple rat gnashed its teeth together in a mildly intimidating manner.
"Ummm...are you sure about that?" Sasame asked.
"My Rattata is in the top class of Rattata, nothing can stop it!"
'Crazy brat.' Anko thought. "Alright if you're so confident. Continue the match!"
"Alright Rattata let's show them what we can do! Super Fang!" Rattata raced towards Clefairy with its mouth open wide to bite down on Clefairy. The Fairy Pokemon looked back at its trainer with a questionable look on its face.
"Just finish it quickly." Sasame said with a lazy wave of her hand. The Fairy Pokemon nodded before raising its fists. The fists glowed with white light and with a loud battlecry, Clefairy performed one Mega Punch on the ground, shaking it tremendously. Rattata's small form skidded on the ground before going into a roll as it went forward with the momentum. Just as it reached Clefairy's position, it was sent flying right back at Joey as the second Mega Punch impacted with its face.
The Rattata's teeth chipped from the powerful punch and it lay unconscious at its trainer's feet.
"And as expected, Sasame is the winner!" Anko yelled. A round of applause was given out of pity for the young boy as he cried for his swift defeat. Sasame and Joey walked off the arena floor with their Pokemon and the matches continued.
Tojoh Falls- ROOT Base
Kurt grumbled as he continued to fumble with the mechanics of the GS Ball he was currently in the process of making. Truth be told, he didn't want to do this. He didn't want to work for a madman who wanted nothing but the power to control the Pokemon who could travel through time for nothing but his own selfish, yet still unknown to him, reasons. Not to mention he couldn't back away from it all for two reasons. One was that they held his granddaughter practically as a hostage as they threatened to kill her if he didn't comply. The second was that he was under constant surveillance. Four regular grunts as guards while ten of the organization's top scientists helped him with the construction of the GS Ball. His movements were always watched underneath their gazes and so his original plan to put any sort of 'tweaks' was ruined.
Wearing a pair of powerful glasses and watching through a large magnifying glass, he continued to create the bottom silver half of the GS Ball, the part that converted a Pokemon into its energy form as it was being returned.
The elevator doors that led to the laboratory area then released a ding. Kurt stopped working for a moment due to the distraction and glanced over his shoulder, frowning when he saw the violet eyed leader of his captors.
"Nagato-san." He greeted the red haired man with distaste.
"Don't speak to Leader-sama that way!" One of the grunts yelled, raising his baton in the air. He paused however when he saw Nagato look at him and shook his head. The grunt nodded and placed down the weapon. The grunt and the scientists then bowed to their leader.
"Leader-sama." They greeted. Nagato nodded to them before fixating his eyes on Kurt.
"So, my guest...how goes the GS Ball's construction?"
"Well due to your little helpers, it's going faster than I'd hoped." Kurt snarled. "Though I will admit they do know what they're doing, but they're complete amateurs. You need some new help in your Poke Ball making department since a few of them didn't even know what the hell they were doing."
"Explain."
One has butter fingers apparently because he gave me a metal plated sheet used in regular Poke Balls instead of the gold and silver infused titanium ones I had to make by myself to create your little Master Ball copy. Then another one had dropped the particle converter required to convert Pokemon's molecules from solid shape to pure energy, on the ground and nearly broke it. And a third one actually broke the nano-fold mechanism and didn't know how to repair it. By the way genius, in case you don't know, that's the part responsible for making Poke Balls capable of shrinking and growing in size with the push of the centre button." Kurt snapped at one of the ROOT scientists causing her to flinch at the old man's tone.
"Is that so?" Nagato asked with a wary gaze. The three scientists all turned away from their leader with dejected looks on their faces. "Well then, I guess I really should replace the help in this place. Most of my more qualified staff had been arrested during the Goldenrod City incident when Izuna Uchiha got involved."
"Hmph, excuses. You evil doers could never appreciate Poke Ball engineering like I do." Kurt huffed. His harsh gaze then softened when he saw Nagato watching him blankly, a small touch pad in his hands. "Can...Can I see her?"
Nagato raised the touch pad in his hands and flipped it around to show the elderly man the screen. On it, it showed his granddaughter, Maisy, playing with Shibi Aburame, the gym leader of Azalea Town. Kurt had been watched by Nagato himself when he was forced to lie to Shibi and tell him that he wouldn't be home for a long time because he had to go to the Sevii Islands to pick up some of the rarer types of Apricots for his Poke Ball making. Shibi had agreed immediately and Kurt was now left with only being able to watch as his granddaughter was stuck in a blissful state of unawareness of his and her situations.
Kurt stroked the screen as the hidden cameras zoomed in on Maisy's smiling face.
"You do anything to her and Shibi and I don't care if I have this shock collar on my neck and that I'm surrounded by stronger people in this room, I WILL scrap this GS Ball even if I have to die. The only reason I'm still working for you and doing this is for Maisy, am I clear?!"
"Crystal." Nagato replied. "But in the end, we still have abilities of getting what we want. Should you die, there's always the cloning process."
Kurt's eyes widened. "C-C-Cloning?"
"Danzo had quite the number of experiments going on during the thirty years prior to his vanishing act." Nagato informed his captive. "Before that wretched brat, Minato Namikaze, had put an end to the schemes in Kanto we had the project to create the world's most powerful Pokemon bred from the DNA of a Mew's tailbone we found in the heart of the South American jungles."
"And it worked?!"
"Aye...that it did. But at a price of having to lock away that power in the deepest caverns of the Kanto region due to the clone's uncontrollable power. Cloning Mew was nothing short of genius so cloning a pitiful human like yourself with implanted memories and the mindset of an obedient Growlithe would be considered child's play in comparison." Nagato grinned widely like a maniac, his violet eyes seemed to shine with a light of insanity as they poked through his long red locks.
"You have no other options of surrender nor would suicide work. You're a smart man Kurt...you know you've lost. This is checkmate for you." Kurt's form trembled as he stared into the manic eyes of the leader of ROOT. "Now get back to work."
Nagato turned around, adjusting the collar of his black jacket and then headed back for the elevator. Kurt's knees nearly gave away from how much his legs were trembling.
Selling Slowpoke Tails on the Black Market. Taking over Goldenrod City. Forcing evolution of Pokemon. Legendary Pokemon capturing made possible. Finding actual Mew DNA. Cloning.
To Kurt...ROOT was truly a hell on earth. And he just made a deal with the devil.
Indigo Plateau- Grand Festival Stadium
A pair of trainers walked alongside their Pokemon, stopping as they stood in front of the entrance to the Grand Festival stadium.
"Alright, so we're finally here." The first member of the duo grinned toothily, placing his hands behind his head in a
"This is a waste of time." The second member of the pair gritted his teeth in annoyance. His companion frowned at that.
"Oh don't be like that. This is the Battle Rounds at least, I mean even if they are contest battles they are still quite fun to watch. Plus we got friends here who need us to cheer them on."
"Still a waste of time..." The young man sighed as he saw his Pokemon giving him a blank look. He sighed. "Fine...but only until the Battle Rounds are over. After that, we're heading back to training."
"Atta boy, teme."
"Shut up, dobe."
Naruto and Sasuke walked alongside Typhlosion and Feraligatr as they entered the Indigo Plateau's Grand Festival stadium complex. They looked around the main entrance hall, Naruto and Typhlosion being more open with their feelings of awe at how bright and large the room was. The foursome walked through the large room, avoiding people and Pokemon alike as they made their way through the crowds of both species. The two high level trainers stood at the front desk where a Blissey was standing by.
"Excuse me, can you tell us where the Coordinator's viewing room is?" Naruto asked the evolved form of Chansey. A few trainers, Pokemon and the Blissey itself all watched Naruto with perplexed looks. He was actually making a conversation with a Pokemon?
The Blissey decided to humour the young boy and spoke. "Bliss Blissey Bliss Blissey Bliss Bliss."
"Ah, classified information to keep out any crazed fans." Naruto nodded in understanding. Blissey's eyes widened in shock.
"Bliss Blissey?"
"What do you mean? Of course I can understand you." Naruto replied and Blissey immediately gained a shine of admiration in its dark eyes. The few amount of trainers and Pokemon soon began to increase as they watched Naruto and Blissey talk with each other.
"Blissey Blissey."
"Nah, I'm not special. I just actually try to make sure I can communicate better with my Pokemon. It helps now that I have universal understanding of any and all Pokemon...except for Legendary ones." He muttered under his breath. Blissey spoke once more and Naruto scratched his cheek in embarrassment.
"Oh, you're too kind, Blissey." Sasuke, Feraligatr and Typhlosion glanced around as they began to take notice of the growing crowd.
"Oi, dobe! Hurry it up. Stop flirting with the Pokemon and ask Blissey where the stands are!"
"Teme! I'm not flirting with anyone, I have a girlfriends you know, unlike you you stuck up prick!"
"Just shut up and get us to the stands, you ignoramus!"
Naruto and Sasuke growled at each other before huffing and turning away from each other. The blonde turned back to Blissey, glancing back once more at Sasuke with an annoyed expression.
"Stupid teme and his stupid comments. I'm not flirting with a Pokemon, that's cross-speciation shit." Naruto glanced up and looked at Blissey who viewed him with a confused expression.
"Bliss?"
"No, nothing's wrong. Anyway, can you direct my...friend...here and I to the stands." Blissey nodded and then began to make wild exaggerated motions with its stubby arms and Naruto nodded every once in a while.
"Alright, thank you. Typhlosion, thank the nice Blissey."
"Typhlo!" The Volcano Pokemon gave a friendly wave to the healing Pokemon. Blissey bowed in response.
"Alright, Blissey said we walk straight down that hall and make a left to climb the stairs. The stadium's nearly completely packed so we'll be taking some of the seats in the higher areas, but she said the screens would give us a good enough view of what's going on even if we have trouble seeing it. Right?" Naruto turned back to the pink and white Pokemon which nodded in confirmation.
"Right so...ummm Sasuke?" Naruto blinked in confusion when he saw the large crowd of people standing around the four of them.
"What dobe?"
"Who are these people and why are they staring at us?" The crowd of people and Pokemon flinched as they were being called out on staring and quickly ducked their heads and walked away to whatever it was they had planned on doing, dispersing very quickly.
"They were staring at you dumbass. Not everyone can hold a conversation with a Pokemon as easily as you can."
"But you can talk with Feraligatr just fine." Naruto said with a tilt of his head.
"But that's it. YOU on the other hand...talk with every single one. Now come on, let's go."
"Alright."
Naruto, Sasuke, Typhlosion and Feraligatr followed the Blissey's directions and eventually came out to the stands and edge their ways over the feet of people, glancing around and uttering apologies every time they stepped on someone's toes as they were seated. When they finally made it to the empty seats, they sat down. Naruto smirked inwardly with victory as he realized the viewing range wasn't too far away that what stood on the arena floor wasn't too tiny to be hard to see.
"Awesome, we got some pretty good seats here, huh teme?"
"Hn." Sasuke replied with a grunt.
The two trainers and their Pokemon watched down at the stadium floor as Anko spoke to catch their attention.
Hikari, Mai, Sora, Sakura, Hinata and Ino won their respective matches against the coordinators they were required to face and thus they had moved up through the ranks of the Battle Rounds. Though the platinum blonde girl was still a bit guilty over beating one of her best friends and making him sit in the stands, Ino had seen that he and Shikamaru were sitting together in the stands and were still cheering her on...or at least Chouji was. Shikamaru was snoring away like the lazy ass he was.
"And so that puts an end to these first quick battles of the Battle Rounds of our beloved Grand Festival. With this, our remaining eight competitors move on to the quarter-finals. Your quarter-finalists are Ino Yamanaka and her Sunflora, Hikari Nonaka and Flareon, Sora Yasuharu and his Ninetails, Mai Shiranui and her Scizor, Sasame Fuuma and Clefairy, Sakura Haruno and Meganium, Hinata Hyuga and Espeon, and finally, Diana Prince and her Togetic!"
"Good job on getting far, sweetie." Mr. Pokemon directed a smile at Stephanie. The young seventeen year old coordinator gave a smile back to the elderly judge and waved at him.
"Thanks Oji-chan."
"Yes that's right folks, Diana Prince is the granddaughter of our own Dexter Prince, a.k.a, Mr. Pokemon." Anko introduced the teenager to the audience whose eyes were now glued to the girl.
Diana stood at about five feet and six inches with a lightly tanned skin colour. She had straight, jet black hair that reached just below her shoulder-blades with a curvaceous figure that was much better than those of girls her age. Her eyes were a brilliant blue. She wore a white long sleeved shirt beneath a black sweater vest, a pair of long black pants and a pair of gray tennis shoes. On her face were a pair of blue framed glasses.
The crowd clapped for Stephanie as she bowed to her audience and blew them a few kisses here and there.
"And now for the first battle of the quarter-finals!" Anko spoke into her microphone. "Now our first battle for the quarter-finals shall be between two of our remaining eight titans. From the list in my hands, chosen by random selection of course, our next to two competitors for the Battle Rounds are Sora Yasuharu and Mai Shiranui!"
The two respective coordinators nodded and took their places at either end of the arena floor while the other coordinators walked off to the viewing room to watch and also await their turns to fight.
Sora and Mai looked to the screens as their images appeared in a blink, the images of Ninetails and Pidgeot placed beneath their own images. The yellow rings that represented their points flickered to life and the five minutes prepared to begin its countdown on the timer.
"Sora, you ready for this?" Mai asked with a confident flip of her ponytail.
"You bet." The brown haired boy grinned widely. "And speaking of bets, you remember ours right?"
Mai got a tinge of pink on her cheeks as she remember their bet. It was basically a cocky way of asking her out on a date...at least that's how Mai and anyone of the female persuasion would have seen it. "Y-Yeah, I remember. You're paying if I win though!"
"Back at ya! Now let's go!"
Anko smirked as she looked between both trainers. "And now the first match of the Kanto-Johto Grand Festival quarter-finals will begin! Sora Yasuharu and Mai Shiranui, let the battle begin!"
"Steel Wing!"
"Iron Tail!"
Both trainers had already had their Poke Balls airborne before the first second had passed. In flashes of white light, Sora's Ninetails and Mai's Pidgeot materialized and were already making their way towards their respective opponents. Ninetails's tails shone brilliantly as Pidgeot's wings did the same. The Fox Pokemon leaped into the air, flipping numerous time as Pidgeot went into a loop-de-loop. When both Pokemon completed their acts of building up momentum, Steel Wing and Iron Tail clashed violently.
A small shockwave erupted from the point of contact and formed a ring of dust below them.
"And the battle starts of with a ear shattering clang as Iron Tail and Steel Wing meet each other in midair!" Anko announced. The two Pokemon grunted as they pushed against one another in an attempt to overpower each other. Eventually, they pushed apart, Pidgeot flapping its wings furiously to steady itself while Ninetails skidded along the ground.
"Alright, use Will-O-Wisp!" Ghostly blue fireballs formed at the tips of the Fox Pokemon's tails before they were hurled at Pidgeot. The Bird Pokemon screeched in pain as the ghostly blue fireballs impacted with its chest. The feathers burned away and fluttered to the ground to show a painful looking burn on the underlying chest flesh. Mai's points dropped by one sixteenth.
"Use Aerial Ace, Pidgeot!" Mai ordered. Pidgeot grunted as the burn status afflicted its form, but it powered through. With a powerful flap of its wings the Bird Pokemon rocketed into the air and went into a loop-de-loop. As it reached the peak of its loop-de-loop it went downwards in a sweeping curve, a trail of white marking its path.
"Ninetails, attack with Flamethrower!" Sora commanded. The red eyed Fox Pokemon nodded and took a deep inhalation, its chest expanding slightly, before exhaling with a loud cry. A large tongue of orange-yellow flame burst forth from the canine Pokemon's jaws and rocketed towards the Bird Pokemon, however, just before the attack struck Pidgeot...it vanished.
Ninetails and Sora's eyes widened, glancing around every which way for the Normal/Flying-type Pokemon. Sora's points dropped by one sixteenth as his attack had missed.
"And in a brilliant show of speed, Pidgeot has somehow vanished from our sights in the middle of performing an Aerial Ace attack! Where did the hell did that Bird Pokemon go?!" Anko exclaimed. The Fox Pokemon and its brunette trainer continued to glance around. Suddenly, the wind picked up slightly and the red eyed Pokemon's ears twitched.
Time seemed to slow down as Ninetails shifted its gaze to the left, eyes widening as Pidgeot seemed to reappear out of nowhere.
"PIDGEOT!" The Bird Pokemon crashed harshly into Ninetails's side. The Fox Pokemon rolled on the ground from the force of the blow and Sora's points took a big hit, going down to the quarter mark.
"Aerial Ace again!" Pidgeot performed its loop-de-loop and flew towards it opponent once more. Ninetails was busy rising to its feet and was too slow in making a move to avoid the strike. Pidgeot's sharp eyes blazed with battle lust as it appeared in front of the Fox Pokemon as it forcefully struck Ninetails in the chest with its sharp beak. The pale coloured fur was now stained with red as blood flowed freely from the wound.
"Now grab it with your talons and sent it skyward!" Pidgeot seemed to flip in midair as it pushed Ninetails away, but as it was arching its body, the talons of the Bird Pokemon snatched Ninetails's forelimbs. The lower limbs of the Normal/Flying-type gripped Ninetails tightly before Pidgeot flapped its wing. With a loud cry Pidgeot threw Ninetails into the air.
"Use Aerial Ace for a speed boost to meet it up there before knocking it back down with Steel Wing!" Mai commanded. Pidgeot's form vanished from view as it used the speed of its Aerial Ace attack to zip through the skies.
"Spin the air and knock it back with Iron Tail!" As Pidgeot had reappeared next to Ninetails, the Fox Pokemon had rotated rapidly, tails shining like silver.
"NINE!" The Fox Pokemon crashed the iron hard tails against the side of Pidgeot and sent it tumbling through the air and Mai's points dropped by a considerable amount as her attack was repelled, the yellow bar going down to just below the quarter mark.
"Don't let up! Steel Wing again!" Mai commanded. Pidgeot nodded as it spread its wings and rushed at Ninetails once more. The wings of the Bird Pokemon shone like steel before they crashed into the Fox Pokemon with terrific force. Ninetails released a yelp of pain as it was sent downwards to meet ground zero.
"Hang tough Ninetails and counter with Flamethrower!" Sora ordered. Ninetails's red eyes glowed with power as it managed to rotate its falling body and launch a powerful blast of yellow-orange flame from its maw. The Bird Pokemon released a cry in pain as the blast struck its chest and sent it racing through the air. "Now flip and use Iron Tail to soften your fall!"
"Ninetails!" The Fox Pokemon went into a series of front flips as it neared the ground before slamming its nine glowing tails against the ground, creating a small crater. Sora glanced to the side and looked at the screen. Mai's points were down by a little bit more than half while he had lost exactly seventy five percent of his own.
"Aerial Ace attack!" Mai commanded. Pidgeot panted as it recovered from the powerful Flamethrower attack, but with determination blazing in its beady eyes, the Bird Pokemon vanished in a flicker of movement. A rapid streak of dust marked its path, but this time Ninetails was prepared for it as its senses were now on high alert.
"We won't fall for the same trick twice! Ninetails, focus on the wind patterns with your fur and use your precognitive abilities to avoid the attacks!" Sora commanded. Pidgeot went down for an attack, but Ninetails leaped over it before backflipping to avoid the rotating Steel Wing. As soon as Ninetails landed it went into a crouch to duck beneath the follow up and then lashed out with its tails, wrapping them around Pidgeot's wings before slamming the Bird Pokemon harshly into the ground.
Pidgeot unfurled its wings with great force and freed itself from the furry bindings before kicking out with its talons. Ninetails avoided each and every strike and began to continue the graceful dance. Mai gripped her long brown hair in frustration as she continued to watch her Pokemon's myriad of attacks being avoided. She released a stifled cry of even greater frustration when she looked at the screen and saw her points were now equal with Sora's and then it dropped just a bit lower than that when Pidgeot's latest attack was avoided.
"And it looks like Mai's Pidgeot is constantly trying to score a blow!" Anko announced. "However, the psychic abilities of the Fox Pokemon coupled with its amazing agility, reflexes and enhanced senses have proven to be greater than even Pidgeot's stellar speed! Now Sora Yasuharu is in the lead with Mai having only just a little under a quarter of her points remaining!"
"Pidgeot, use Aerial Ace again!" Mai commanded.
Sora waved his finger from side to side at the busty girl's command. "Nuh uh uh. Ninetails, Flamethrower!" Ninetails released a burst of flame from its jaws as Pidgeot raced towards it, but Mai smirked.
"You think you've won haven't you?" Sora's and Ninetails's eyes widened when they saw the devilish smirk on Mai's face. "Pidgeot, flap your wings and part those flames and then go in with a Steel Wing!"
Sora's eyes widened when he saw Pidegot flap its wings forcefully, generating the winds that bordered on hurricane status. The high speed winds parted the flames and reduced them to mere embers and suddenly Ninetails found it being greeted by a face full of steel hard feathers. A resounding crack was heard as Ninetails's nose was now bent at an unnatural angle, blood seeping from its left nostril. However, before Pidgeot could circle around for another strike, Ninetails had lashed out with its tails and wrapped them around Pidgeot's legs.
The Fox Pokemon slammed Pidgeot into the ground before going full on canine on the feathered Pokemon. Claws slashed through feathers while sharp teeth bit through the flesh and bruised the bone on the left wing. Pidgeot released a cry of pain and began to roll on the ground, trying to get the canine off of its body.
"Fly into the air and body slam it!" Mai ordered. Pidgeot quickly went into the air, using its unbitten wing to push it upwards to a suitable height before falling to earth. Ninetails yelped in pain as it landed on the ground first and the weight of Pidgeot crushing its body slightly. Ninetails was quickly pushed off and both bleeding Pokemon attacked each other. A Steel Wing slapped Ninetails against its side, but the Fox Pokemon quickly retaliated with a Flamethrower. Pidgeot cried out in pain from the force of the attack, but quickly recovered and vanished from view before reappearing at Ninetails's left side and dug its beak into the left forelimb, ripping through muscle tissue. It didn't help when Pidgeot had spun with its strike and when it pushed away, had raked its talons along the same limb and left three large gashes that trailed down the thigh muscle from the puncture wound.
Ninetails rolled along the ground, spots of blood dotting the brown earth. The Fox Pokemon rose to its feet, raising the damaged left forelimb in the air so as to apply pressure on it.
"Alright let's finish this, Hyper Beam!" Mai ordered. Pidgeot nodded and quickly hovered in the air, though at a much lower altitude due to being hurt, having a damaged left wing and still being affected by Will-O-Wisp's burn affliction. However, that mattered very little to Mai and her Pokemon as said Pokemon charged up its attack. Golden yellow energy swirled to life within its open beak and condensed into a compact sphere.
"PIDEGOOOOOOOOO!" The Hyper Beam raced forth from Pidegot's mouth, bearing down on the unmoving Ninetails. Sora looked to the side and looked at the screen where he saw he had one sixteenth of his points left and Mai had half that, one thirty-second points remaining.
"Sorry Mai-san, but it's over." Sora gave a sheepish grin at his fellow brunette. "Ninetails...use Psychic." Ninetails's crimson eyes shone with an electric blue colour as it activated its telekinetic abilities. The Fox Pokemon looked at the beam of golden energy and suddenly it became outlined by an aura of blue psychic energy. The most powerful Normal-type attack was stopped in its tracks and was then dispersed as mere energy particles.
Mai's points drifted all the way to the zero mark and a loud horn blew through the stadium speakers.
"AN AMAZING BATTLE FOLKS! SORA'S TRUMP CARD STOPPED MAI'S OWN COLD AND THUS GAVE HIM THE WIN AND SO HE IS OUR FIRST SEMI-FINALIST! WINNER BY POINT REDUCTION, SORA YASUHARU AND HIS NINETAILS!" Anko cheered with her exaggerated tone of voice. Ninetails and Pidgeot were immediately returned to their Poke Balls and were taken in by Shizune who had her portable Pokemon Healing machine alongside her.
I mean how else would the Pokemon heal so quickly between rounds? Plus despite being a non-profit organization the Pokemon Centres seemed to have quite a lot of funds and did quite well. Just saying.
"I'm sorry Pidgeot, guess I wasn't good enough." Mai muttered to her Bird Pokemon's ball. She then looked up when she saw Sora walking towards her with a small smile on his face.
"Not good enough? I would beg to differ." Sora spoke. "I'd bet almost anything to say that you were no doubt one of the best opponents I've ever had. Not even Hinata-san's Espeon would have been able to put up that good of a physical fight with Ninetails."
"Thanks Sora-kun and speaking of bets...looks like you won."
"So it seems...Mai-chan." Sora chuckled as he saw his friend's face turn red with embarrassment at the use of the suffix.
"B-B-But that's only if I..."
"I don't need rules from a bet to tell me what I can call my best friend by." Mai's eyes widened at Sora's words before nodding, tears lining her eyes.
"You idiot. Just shut up and let's go back to the viewing area." Mai and Sora laughed lightly as they left the arena. The audience's cheering and applause appearing to have been blocked out by them as they smiled at each other.
"By the way I do eat a lot." Mai sweatdropped at Sora's remark.
'Damn it.'
When the pair of brunettes had left the arena floor she glanced down at the tournament layout in her hands and nodded in understanding.
"With the amazing first round of our quarter-finals coming to a close with Sora Yasuharu being the victor over Mai Shiranui, we move on to our second quarter-final match of the Grand Festival Battle Rounds!" Ankle glanced down at the tournament layout sheet in her hands and nodded to herself. She glanced back up at the audience and grinned toothily. "So without further ado I present to you wonderful viewers the next two combatants, Sasame Fuuma and Sakura Haruno!"
The crowd broke out into a storm of applause and cheers. In the stands, Naruto and Sasuke leaned forward as their interest in the battle rounds grew as they heard the name of their pink haired comrade being called out.
"Awesome! So Sakura-chan is going to fight next. How do you think this will play out, teme?" Naruto turned to his rival. Sasuke released a scoff.
"That's not even worthy of being a question, dobe." Sasuke replied as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Sakura is no doubt going to battle with her Meganium, her ace Pokemon. The Fuuma girl is going to crash and burn."
Naruto chuckled at his best friend's response. "I guess that's true, but from the way you talk about it it seems like you have a great deal of confidence in Sakua-chan, neh, teme?"
Sasuke's eyes narrowed, "What are you implying?"
"That you like Sakura-chan of course." The blonde have a large grin at the dark haired Uchiha and that grin grew even broader as the son of two gym leaders was reduced to mere sputters and nonsensical sounds.
"I'll kill you, dobe!"
"I don't hear you denying it."
"Hn. Believe what you want, the point is that this match isn't even worth watching since we both know Sakura is the obvious victor." Naruto rolled his eyes at Sasuke's attempt to change the topic of the conversation back to its original one, but he decided to just go with it. The blonde had a lot of time to continue teasing the black haired boy after the Grand Festival.
"I concur. Sakura-chan has fought against much stronger opponents with Meganium so I'll have no doubt that she'll be the one to walk off that arena with victory in tow...however, that Sasame girl isn't exactly going to lay down and take a loss just like that."
"How would you know?"
"Sasame Fuuma was beaten by Hina-chan during the contest in Goldenrod City and her Clefairy was really tough back then and since she's made it to the Grand Festival, I think it would be safe to say she's improved greatly." Naruto grinned like a Ninetails as he watched as Sasame and Sakura began to walk out onto the arena floor, taking their respective places on their ends of the battlefield.
Sasame and Sakura looked at each other from their respective positions and both smirked.
"Don't cry when I kick your ass, Sakura-san." Sasame spoke with a confident tone.
"You're a strong opponent, Sasame. Don't disappoint me."
"Sh-Shut up. Your complimenting me on my skills doesn't make me happy at all, idiot!" The tsundere girl replied width a slight stutter. Sakura chuckled in amusement at her orange haired friend but immediately became serious as Anko's voice was heard.
"Five minutes are on the clock girls so let's get this ball rollin'! The second match with Sasame Fuuma and Sakura Haruno may begin!"
Both girls responded quickly to Anko's declaration and their Poke Balls were enlarged with the press of a button.
"Go Clefairy!"
"Let's go Meganium!"
The capturing devices were tossed into the air and opened with a pop as twin flashes of white light emerged onto the battlefield. The lights twisted and morphed into their respective shapes before solidifying and gaining colour.
"Clefairy!" The Fairy Pokemon cried out as it clenched its clawed hands.
"Mega!" The Herb Pokemon stomped its feet on the ground to show its readiness to battle.
"Shake things up with Earthquake!" Sakura ordered. The golden eyed Grass-type nodded and reared up into its hind legs, bending its forelimbs, before succumbing to gravity and smashing said forelimbs back down on the ground.
The entirety of the stadium shook as the vibrational forces of Earthquake rocked the earth. Everyone, including the judges and Anko, were forced to try and steady themselves.
"A-A-A-And M-M-Meganium s-s-starts off with an earth sh-shaking Ear-Ear-Earthquake attack!" Anko's speech was a bit distorted due to the vibrations.
When the powerful Ground-type move had ceased its effects, Sasame looked up and smirked as she saw her Clefairy had done the common action of leaping into the air to avoid the attack, the Normal-type's wings were fluttering ever so slightly to aid in keeping it aloft.
Sakura's points dropped by one eighth as a result of her missed attack.
"Alright Clefairy, fall towards Meganium and hit it with Mega Punch!" Sasame commanded. Clefairy immediately stopped flapping its tiny wings and dropped down from the skies, flipping a bit to build momentum. It then ceased its multiple front flips before drawing back it's tiny fists which were now shining with white light.
"Clefaaaaai-ry!"
"Dig your feet into the ground, Meganium!" The evolved form of Cleffa slammed its right fist against the side of Meganium's head, sending the saurian Pokemon's head snapping to the left. The second fist then impacted with the other side of Meganium head to make it face the other side.
Meganium grunted it pain, shaking its head from side to side to rid itself of the slight dizziness it felt from the attack. A line of blood fell from the burst area of the saurian Pokemon's lips.
Sakura's points dropped down to just below one quarter, but to Sasame's surprise, her own points had dropped as well, dropping all the way to just below one eighth.
"Oi, why did I lose points?!" The orange haired girl's surprise was evident.
"Your strike was well placed Sasame, however look at Meganium's position." Sakura replied, her green eyes glancing at the ground.
"The...ground?" Sasame's eyes followed her opponent's directions and then widened when she realized that Meganium hadn't even budged from its original position. She had ended up making her opponent's Pokemon look good by showcasing Meganium's defense and endurance.
"You seem to understand now. You've drawn first blood, now it's my turn. Meganium use Petal Dance!" Meganium nodded at its trainer's commanded and then twisted its body from side to side as the petals surrounding its neck flew through the air at Clefairy.
Clefairy cried out in pain as the sharp petals sliced into its flesh, lines of crimson marring its pink skin. Clefairy rolled on the ground before righting itself and dug its claws into the ground to stop its skidding form.
"Megaaaaaaaa!" The Herb Pokemon's attacks didn't let up, but this time Clefairy had enough time to enact evasive maneuvers. Leaping, flipping, twisting and rotating, the Fairy Pokemon had begun to avoid the storm of pink and white petals that constantly regenerated and were used as projectiles from Meganium's neck.
However, that wasn't to say that Clefairy wasn't capable of getting throug completely unscathed either. The Petal Dance attack was much too numerous to evade completely and so blood flowed from the scratches and cuts that came with the Petal Dance making contact with Clefairy's skin.
Both combatants points were alternating in dropping down with Sakura just past the halfway mark while Sasame was at the halfway mark exactly, this showing that the brown eyed girl was the one in the lead.
Clefairy was barely given any breathing room and so it had ended up being struck in the chest with the full force of the third round of Petal Dance. The Fairy Pokemon coughed as the petals had struck harshly against its body and sent it flying back, but that gave Sasame enough of an opening to make her move.
"Use Protect!" She ordered. Clefairy quickly landed on its feet and crossed its arms in front of itself. A green aura of energy outlined its small frame before it raced outwards to form a relatively large dome. The emerald colored shield took the attack head on and the petals merely fluttered the ground as a result of impacting with the dome.
Sakura's points took a big hit as they were dropped to the three quarters mark and soon the storm of foliage soon came to an end as Meganium's form was revealed. The signs of fatigue were shown as the Herb Pokemon was panting and was lightly covered in sweat, not to mention that its eyes were now swirls to show that it was in a state of confusion. The long necked Pokemon teetered slightly, but even in its confused state it managed to stay rooted to its original spot.
"Alright it's confused now, Clefairy!" Sasame grinned with glee. "Now use Metrenome!" Clefairy nodded and wiggled its index claws from side to side, a blue colour outlining said claws.
"Clefairy Clefairy Clefairy Clefai-ry!" The Normal-type sang its name before stopping. Suddenly Clefairy's form became covered with golden light. A great deal of its body's damaged tissue began to close and vanish as if they weren't there.
"And Sasame uses Meganium's confusion status to take advantage of the time it takes to perform a Metrenome attack. Judging from the effects, it seems Clefairy has gotten a Recover move as it's randomly selected move." Anko informed.
"Great. Attack with Mega Punch!" Sasame ordered. Clefairy dig its feet into the ground and pushed off with a great deal of force, speeding towards the Herb Pokemon. With glowing white fists, the Fairy Pokemon lashed out at Meganium's body, striking the Herb Pokemon in the chest causing its upper body to rise slightly off of the ground. Clefairy then struck with an uppercut that sent Meganium's head snapping upwards as it was struck in the chin.
"Now flap your wings to gain some altitude and go for a hammer blow!" Sasame thrust her fist outwards for emphasis. "Go! Meteor Mash!"
Clefairy's wings fluttered as it hovered over the opposing Grass-type's head before raising both of its stubby arms over its head. Streaks of multi-coloured light trailed from the raised fists before they were brought down with a loud battle cry.
"Alright Meganium, bite its legs!" Sakura commanded. Meganium lagged slightly as it snapped out of its confusion, but managed to respond quickly enough to carry out its trainer's command. The Herb Pokemon's long neck snaked around the hammer blow that was Meteor Mash and Sasame and Clefairy watched it shock as the dinosaur-like Pokemon veered its head downwards and opened its mouth. The blunt teeth of the herbivorous Pokemon clamped down tightly on Clefairy's legs.
The audience winced as the cracking of bones echoed through the air, followed by the screams of pain of Clefairy as it's legs were bitten.
"Now swing it down and use Body Slam!" The green skinned Pokemon nodded and with a muffled cry it gripped Clefairy's legs even tighter before raising the Fairy Pokemon into the air and slamming it harshly into the brown earth.
The arena floor cracked slightly from the force of the swing and cracked even further as Meganium reared up on its back legs and slammed its forelimbs down on the grounded Pokemon.
Clefairy grunted in pain and shivered a bit as the paralysis effect of Body Slam settled in.
Sakura and Sasame quickly took a glance at the screens and watched their points. Sakura had a little more than a sliver remaining while Sasame had one sixteenth of her points remaining. Twenty seconds were left on the clock.
"Finish this Meganium...Earthquake!" Sakura ordered. Sasame's eyes widened as she watched her opponent's Pokemon rear up on its hind legs. The action appeared to happen in slow motion and Sasame could only watch as her prized Pokemon was sent into blissful unconsciousness after a few seconds once the vibrations of the powerful attack racked its body.
Her points decreased to zero and her Pokemon unconscious, Sasame hadn't even registered her body falling to its knees.
"Winner by point reduction and knock-out!" Anko exclaimed. "Sakura Haruno is our second semi-finalist as she steals victory from Sasame Fuuma as her Meganium's Earthquake defeats Clefairy!"
Sasame frowned, a shaky breath escaping her body as she rose to her feet and went towards her unconscious Clefairy. The audience's cheers and claps were nothing but white noise as she picked up her Pokemon.
"You were really tough, Sasame-san." Sakura said as she walked towards her bruised Grass-type, leaning its against it so as to help give it some support.
"I don't need your pity." Sasame replied. A fierce look came across her face and her lips curled into a snarl. "You may have won this one, but next time we meet each other in a contest I'm going to best you! You hear me?!"
Sakura's green eyes widened and her surprised look was quickly replaced with laughs. Sasame's eyes widened.
"O-Oi! Don't laugh at me! I'm being serious you bitch!" Sakura wiped away a tear as she shook her head.
"No, no, sorry it's just that I can't believe how strong you are." Sakura said. Sasame gave the rosette a confused look.
"Huh?"
A soft smile formed on the green eyed coordinator's face. "You're very strong willed and a strong trainer. If it was me that lost I would have been crying my eyes out, but you...you Sasame-san, just bounced back and you were still so fierce. I really wish that I could be like you in that way."
Sasame watched Sakura with a look of disbelief. "B-But I'm not strong at all...I'm just...I lost though."
"True, but I must admit that you were no doubt one of the toughest fight I ever fought with Meganium. It's only because of those other battles that I was able to have an edge." The image of Sapphire and her Venusaur appeared in her mind. "Meganium's battle experience is greater than your Clefairy's and I'm sure if it wasn't for that I would have lost." Sakura spoke without a hint of deceit in her voice.
Sasame looked in awe at her former opponent and smiled, glancing down at the ground. "Thank you, Sakura-san."
The two girls walked off of the arena stage and Sakura gave a wave to the crowd as they continued to cheer for her and Sasame for a match well fought.
In the stands, Naruto was standing up in his seat and cheering rather loudly. "Yeah way to go Sakura-chan! Yatta!"
"Dobe sit down, you're attracting unwanted attention...again." Sasuke said as he grabbed the hem of Naruto's orange vest. The dark haired Uchiha pulled Naruto down and the crowd members who were staring oddly at the teenage blonde continued to do so before turning back to the arena floor.
"Awww man, you're such a buzzkill teme." Naruto pouted. "I mean, they did a really good job, Sakura and Meganium. Ain't that right buddy?" The Volcano Pokemon sitting next to Naruto nodded.
"Typhlosion Ty."
"Yeah she did well, but like is said, it was a given that she would win." Sasuke spoke. "That's no excuse to act like an idiot on your case, to act even more like an idiot."
Naruto narrowed his eyes at Sasuke before shifting his gaze beyond the dark haired boy. "How can you put up with this guy, Feraligatr?"
The Big Jaw Pokemon wisely remained silent and turned away from the blonde earning a sweatdrop from the other three members of the group.
"He's hiding something." Naruto muttered.
"Don't corrupt my Pokemon with your narrow mindedness, dobe!"
"So judges, what do you think of these battles so far?" Anko asked as she turned to the judges table.
"Explosively awesome! These quarter-final rounds are no doubt worth the wait of watching the first twenty four matches that came before them." Deidara said.
"And do all of you share Deidara-san's views?" Anko asked glancing at the other three judges.
"Yup." Was the simple and unanimous reply.
"So who's next? Ino Yamanaka, Hinata Hyuga, my granddaughter, Diana, and Hikari Nonanka are the remaining four quarter-finalists so that means we have only two more matches left."
Anko looked down at her sheet, "The third battle for the quarter-finals is to take place between Hikari Nonaka and Ino Yamanaka so that means that our final match will be between your granddaughter, Diana Prince and Hinata Hyuga." Anko informed Mr. Pokemon and by extension, the audience.
"Let's see how Ino and Hikari fare and Anko...please refrain from pulling a panty flash like you did during the Appeal Rounds." Tsuna die said with a sweatdrop. The purple haired announcer stuck her tongue out with a teasing wink.
"Not gonna promise you that, Tsunade-san." Anko then cleared her throat and tapped her headset to make sure the mic was still in an operable state. "Alright folks, now for the third quarter-finals match! The blonde beauty that is Ino Yamanaka and her opponent, your favourite blue and white striped panty wearing combatant, Hikari Nonaka!"
The crowd had cheered loudly for Ino, but the cheering suddenly grew to levels of causing deafness as Hikari made her way onto the stage as well, a look of annoyance on her face.
"Every single time. Why Arceus, why?" The blue haired woman muttered with anime tears flowing from her eyes.
"You really got it tough, huh?" Ino asked with a sweatdrop. Hikari merely nodded her head.
"Don't worry, I'll be sure to kick your ass in a way that it doesn't result in your skirt flying up and revealing your panties to the world."
Hikari's eyes narrowed at that. "Like hell I'm losing and even more like hell is that situation going to happen for the third time."
Ino smirked and nodded. "Then come at me bro." Hikari ran across to her end of the arena floor and reached into her pocket and took out her Poke Ball, Ino doing the same.
The screen around the stadium blinked with light before the images of Ino and Hikari appeared. Beneath their images, the rings that represented their points filled themselves with yellow pixels and the timer set itself to five minutes once more.
"Let's go! Ino Yamanaka versus Hikari Nonaka, let the battle begin!" Anko exclaimed. The two girls tossed their respective Pokemon capturing devices at the arena. In a flash of white light both of their Pokemon emerged on the battlefield.
"Sunflora, go!"
"I choose you, Flareon!"
The Grass-type and the Fire-type Pokemon stood before each other, ready to battle.
"Hikari sends out her Fire-type evolution of Eevee, the raging firebrand that is Flareon, while Ino has her dreaded Sun Pokemon, Sunflora! Type advantage is on Hikari's side, will Ino pull this off?"
"Not any time soon." Hikari answered the rhetorical question. "Alright Flareon, heat things up and use Flamethrower!"
"Dodge it!" Ino ordered. Sunflora did as its trainer said and laid down on the ground, avoiding the tongue of flame. A bit if Hikari's points went down because of the missed attack, but a flash of red and yellow marked the high speed movement of Flareon.
Sunflora and Ino watched in shock as Flareon's form just seemed to materialize out if thin air before impacting with Sunflora's body. However, as Sunflora was struck by the attack, Ino smirked.
"Gotcha." She said with a sly wink. Hikari's eyes widened as she glanced at Sunflora and saw the Grass-type's feet were embedded in the arena floor, dark brown roots branching out from them and digging deeply into the ground.
'Ingrain!' The blue haired woman thought. Ino then chuckled.
"Alright, let's go Sunflora! Suplex time!" Sunflora nodded stiffly before wrapping its leaves around Flareon's body and the dark eyed Pokemon could only gasp in shock as it was lifted overhead. Flareon released a cry of pain as it was harshly slammed into the ground, its body bent at a painful arch position.
"Oh and once again Ino has pulled off her Ingrain-Suplex combo that she had first used against Chouji Akimichi!" Anko yelled into her microphone headset. "And with that, Hikari Nonaka's points take a big hit for even though Ino was hit by that Quick Attack from earlier, the counter attack more than made up for it!"
Hikari cursed as she saw that Anko was indeed correct. Her points were now below the one quarter mark and Ino's was at the one sixteenth.
"Now toss Flareon away and use Sunny Day to go into a Solarbeam!" Hikari watched as her Fire-type was tossed into the air. She squinted as the sun's rays shone brightly, becoming harsher due to Sunflora's Sunny Day. However, her dark eyes were now focused on the Sun Pokemon as its sunflower-shaped head shone with the golden rays of the sun.
"Suuuuuuunflora!" The Sun Pokemon unleashed the absorbed sunlight in the form of a powerful golden blast of solar energy. However, Hikari would not have her Pokemon being taken down by it.
"Flareon, right yourself in the air and counter with Fire Blast!" The Eeveelution complied with its trainer's orders. Ino's points went down by a small amount as Flareon flipped in midair to right itself before the Fire-type inhaled deeply. A massive blast of fire was shot from its open maw before the fireball exploded outwards to create a five-pointed star shaped blast. The Fire Blast attack clashed with Solarbeam and a massive explosion occurred.
Ino gritted her teeth as she saw her points drop past the quarter mark due to her failed Sunny Day-Solarbeam combo. And now, she looked to see Flareon land deftly on its feet, she had to deal with a super powered Fire-type since Sunny Day enhanced the power of Fire-type moves. Her only saving grace was Solarbeam since Petal Dance would surely end her when Sunflora would begin to experience the fatigue and become confused.
"Alright Flareon, use Flamethrower and then run through it with Quick Attack for a self-induced Flash Fire ability!" Hikari ordered. A massive blast of flame shot into the air from Flareon's mouth. Flareon leaped into the air, a streak of colour marking its path as it used Quick Attack, and raced through the fiery attack. The flame's seemed to coat Flareon's body, melding with its fur and soon the Flame Pokemon was now literally on fire.
"Use Flamethrower to direct yourself at Sunflora!" Hikari ordered. Flareon spun in the air and faced the opposite direction before shooting forth a Flamethrower attack that sent it rocketing through the air towards Sunflora.
"Use Solarbeam!" Ino commanded, pointing at the airborne Fire-type. The Grass-type nodded and fired off a quickly charged Solarbeam.
"Clash it with your Flamethrower!" The Fire-type move was now directed at the incoming Solarbeam attack, however because Solarbeam had built up a greater amount of momentum when it passed through the air, it wasn't even worth to be called a power struggle as the Solarbeam quickly overpowered the Flamethrower attack and nailed the flaming body of Flareon.
Flareon crashed onto the ground, but quickly rolled with the fall to get back onto its feet.
"Quick Attack now!" Flareon sped across the battlefield and crashed into Sunflora's much slower form. Sunflora released a cry of pain as its Ingrain-ed form was now being burned by the flaming tackle. "Follow up with Flamethrower!"
"Sunflora knock it in the chin!" Sunflora quickly lashed out with both curled leaves, acting as if they were fists. Flareon's blazing attack was diverted, but only by a minor amount. The entire left side of Sunflora's face was caught in the attack and the Sun Pokemon released a cry of agonizing pain as the super effective move struck home.
Sunflora panted as it drew in some energy through Ingrain, but the damage had been done and the Grass-type now had blackened parts of its once golden face and a few of its petals had been burned away.
"Now while its in close proximity, use Solarbeam!" The Sun Pokemon gained the solar energy needed and fired off the powerful Grass-type move, striking the Flame Pokemon in the chest. Flareon was sent flying through the air and as it fell to earth, a storm of petals began to form around Sunflora's body.
"Petal Dance!" The storm of petals and leaves flew through the air as Sunflora sent forth the mass of foliage. Flareon grunted as the Grass-type move struck its body, cutting the red-orange skin where it wasn't covered in fur. The Petal Dance attack continued and Hikari quickly acted to prevent her Pokemon from being damaged further.
"Fire Blast!" The Sunny Day enhanced attack raced forth through the air, burning away the leaves and petals, but it was actually those leaves and petals that saved the day for Ino and Sunflora as the fires had actually been dispersed by burning them. Sunflora was sweating profusely from the heat of the Fire Blast attack when it had come only a few inches from striking it. The Sun Pokemon then stood bit straighter as its Ingrain attack continued to supply it with nutrients and rejuvenated its body, even replacing the burned off petals and replacing some of its burned tissue with fresh green tissue.
Sunflora continued its Petal Dance attack and Flareon countered with Fire Blast each time.
Both coordinators looked to see their points were now practically equal as they had reached both arrived at the three-quarter way mark. Flareon continued to dodge the Petal Dance petals and leaves, burning any that nearly got to it with a quick Flamethrower attack. Ino gritted her teeth and watched as her Pokemon continued to send burst after burst of petals at the Flame Pokemon, but then came to a halt. Sunflora's eyes were swirls and its body was teetering like a Spinda's. Sunflora was confused due to fatigue.
"Now Flareon, Quick Attack. Uproot that weed!" Hikari commanded.
"FLARE!" The Flame Pokemon cried out as it sped towards Sunflora. Sunflora couldn't even make a counterattack before its adversary slammed into its body. Sunflora's rooted body bent backwards with the force and Flareon went with the flow. Baring its fangs, the Flame Pokemon bit down on Sunflora's stalk of a body and went into a forward roll to flip over Sunflora's body and used the momentum to literally rip Sunflora out of the ground and toss it through the air.
Ino's eyes widened as she saw her Pokemon tossed to the ground like a ragdoll. Ino looked up at the sky and her eyes widened when she saw the sun's rays were noticeably beginning to dim. Her Sunny Day time had run out.
"Seems your Solarbeam can't save you this time, Ino." Hikari smirked. "Sorry, but it looks like this is as far as you go, Ino."
"Sunflora, Petal Dance!" Sunflora grunted and managed to overcome its confusion and sent a single wave of yellow petals at Flareon. However, the evolution of Eevee rolled to the side and avoided the attack.
"IT'S TOO LATE FOR YOU INO!" Hikari yelled. "FLAREON, FIRE BLAST! FULL FORCE!"
"FLAAAAAAAAREON!" Flareon inhaled deeply and sent forth the raging ball of flame. The spheroid exploded outwards to become a gargantuan five pointed star and the attack literally scorched the earth beneath it as it streaked towards Sunflora.
"SUNFLORA NO!" Ino cried out to her Pokemon, but it was too late. A massive explosion occurred and Sunflora was now trapped in a massive burst of flame. The dust cloud dispersed and Sunflora's body was shown to be still standing, leaves crossed in front of its body in a defensive stance.
"Impossible, it's still standing?" Hikari gasped. The audience was in silence as they looked at the Sun Pokemon and Ino walked towards her Pokemon, her sky blue eyes wide with shock.
"S-S-Sunflora...she's...she's..." Ino held her hands to her mouth and broke down into tears as she saw her Pokemon was actually unconscious, but still stood strong.
"Hikari Nonaka is the winner of this third round of the quarter-finals as her Flareon's Fire Blast did the job. However, to all of those at home watching this on the television, listening on the radio and everyone here in the stands, please give a rowdy set of applause to an amazing Grass-type Pokemon. Even after being hit with a Fire Blast, one of the most powerful Fire-type moves, Sunflora's unconscious form still remains standing. Even burned and blackened, this Pokemon is something that coordinators and league trainers alike should respect. Let's hear it for Ino Yamanaka and her Sunflora!"
The audience members and the judges all rose from their seats and have a large round of applause for Sunflora. Nurse Shizune of the Indigo Plateau quickly applied a Revive and Full Restores to put Sunflora back into a stable condition. A commercial break was then given to allow Nurse Shizune to go to the Pokemon Centre and heal Ino's Sunflora and Hikari's Flareon to full health, along with all the other Pokemon that fought earlier in the quarter-finals.
The group of coordinators and Shikamaru all stood beside Ino as she sat in one of the arm chairs within the Pokemon Centre.
"Oi, Ino, it's troublesome to be depressed over this." Shikamaru said. "Besides they said Sunflora would make a full recovery by the end of tomorrow."
"Yeah." Chouji nodded in agreement with his best friend. "Don't worry Ino."
Ino remained silent and the group frowned deeply as the blonde looked like she had just suffered a mental collapse. Her shining eyes were now dull and in a certain light, she appeared to look very tired and older than how she normally looked. Hikari fidgeted before going in front of Ino, dropping to her knees and clutching Ino's hands with her own.
"I'm sorry, I went too far saying for Flareon to go full force with that Fire Blast attack." Hikari's eyes lined with tears of regret and bowed her head to Ino. "Forgive me, Ino."
Ino's lack of response made Hikari look like she was ready to break down into tears. Silence reigned supreme within the Pokemon Centre, but it was quickly interrupted by the sound of the automatic doors sliding open and then closed. The group, sines Ino, turned and their eyes widened when they saw who had walked through the doors.
"Hey guys!" Naruto waved energetically beside Typhlosion. Feraligatr and Sasuke merely gave nods of acknowledgement. Meganium and Espeon, who were standing beside their respective trainers, ran up to their fellow Pokemon with looks of great happiness.
"ESPE-ON!"
"MEGA MEG!"
The two female Pokemon tackled Typhlosion and Feraligatr to the ground before they were gently pushed off.
"Ty Typhlosion."
"Gatr."
The two league qualifiers smirked at the reunion before they set their eyes on the group of Coordinators.
"Naruto-kun, what are you doing here?" Hinata asked. Naruto gave a look of mock hurt.
"Hina-chan that sounds so mean. Can't a guy come see his girlfriend when she's going to fight in the Grand Festival Battle Rounds?" Hinata poked her index fingers together.
"W-W-Well yes, but...I mean...you and Sasuke-san said you weren't coming so..."
"Well I was going to surprise you and Sakura-chan after the Battle Rounds were over, but then we saw everyone come here after Sunflora got badly damaged." Naruto replied. The whisker marked blonde turned his head and glanced down at Hikari who still hadn't let go of the unresponsive Ino's hands. Sasuke followed his rival to Ino's side. The two trainers looked down at the dull eyed blonde before sighing.
"She's got it bad." Naruto said. "Oi, Ino!"
"Oi, Yamanaka...get up." Sasuke spoke with a monotone.
Ino didn't reply. Hikari then looked up when she felt both Naruto and Sasuke rest their hands on her shoulders.
"Can you excuse us for a moment?" Sasuke spoke. Hikari nodded slowly and rose to her feet before backing away. Naruto and Sasuke looked at each other before looking down at Ino.
"Ino, we know it's hard to see your Pokemon get beaten up as badly as it did." Naruto started. "Your Pokemon doesn't want to disappoint you and if losing that contest battle and she comes out of that healing machine to see you like this because of her loss...then you've failed as a trainer."
Ino's body visibly flinched and she looked up at Naruto and Sasuke. The two League qualifiers met her gaze.
"What...did you say?" The platinum blonde asked. Naruto and Sasuke continued to watch her as her eyes gained the light of anger and frustration. "My Pokemon was burned to the point that it couldn't even move! You can't expect me to not feel this way! Besides I highly doubt any of you here have felt the same way that I am feeling right now!"
Naruto and Sasuke's eyes narrowed at that. "Actually...we have. Sakura-chan and Hina-chan have also felt the way you've felt."
Ino's eyes widened at that.
"Naruto-kun!" Hinata exclaimed.
"Naruto, don't bring those situations up! Those situations aren't the same!"
"The dobe's right." Everyone's eyes shifted to Sasuke.
"Sasuke-kun don't agree with..."
"Yamanaka, your Pokemon have stayed by your side since day one. That Sunflora is the result of all the hard work and dedication you put into training it to become as strong as she is. You become depressed over one loss like that and you don't have the right to be a trainer to your Pokemon. Your Pokemon was put in a near-death situation, but so have ours. We question our abilities from then, but we've bounced back because we know we can't sulk over it. Typhlosion, Feraligatr, Meganium, Espeon...they've all been through situations that your Sunflora has been through. Fighting opponents with type advantages, fighting opponents so strong you can't help but know that no matter how hard you fight with your Pokemon losing will be the end result no matter how hard you fight." Sasuke paused before looking over to the healing machine where Sunflora's Poke Ball sat.
"But in the end, losing and finding yourself and your Pokemon in these types of situations is what makes us stronger." Naruto continued from Sasuke's explanation. "Pokemon are tough creatures, they were meant to be able to take on the damage that comes with living in such a world, but they always bounced back. Sunflora took a full power Fire Blast, but she remained standing...it stood strong for you, Ino."
"For...me?" Ino questioned. Naruto nodded.
"Yes. Sunflora remained standing for you, she took that Fire Blast with the hope that her health wouldn't hit zero and that it could continue fighting, to make her trainer happy and to make you a Grand Festival Champion! That kind of dedication towards a trainer is very rare to find in even the most heavily trained Pokemon, Ino. Be proud of your Pokemon, be proud of yourself...stand strong like Sunflora did."
"But it's my fault that..."
"Yamanaka, there is no one to blame. Your opponents are not to blame, you are not to blame, Sunflora is not to blame. The world is just the way it is. You lose and you win. You could fight and fight as hard as you want and even then there will always be a person out there who can defeat you..." Sasuke paused as the image of his elder brother came to mind, "...but you keep fighting. We may be being repetitive when we tell you this, but it's for you to understand what we're saying. Don't sulk over your Pokemon losing and thinking 'what if'...Arceus knows how much we've done that."
Sasuke and Naruto looked at the shocked face of Ino before they turned away and went to walk outside.
"Oi, where are you two going?!" Ino shouted.
"To take our seats of course." Naruto grinned like a cheshire cat. "Hina-chan's battle with Diana Prince is next so we're staying to watch it and the rest of the matches. Good luck Hina-chan!" Hinata merely nodded to her boyfriend as he and Sasuke walked outside with Typhlosion and Feraligatr trailing behind them.
Numerous pairs of eyes continued to watch the retreating backs of the two Silver Conference competitors. Ino being the one who was the last to turn away. She then looked down at the ground with a weak smile on her face.
'They're right. I can't stay like this knowing Sunflora would feel just as much pain as I would when she sees me again.' Ino raised her head and looked to her friends that surrounded her.
"Ino, I'm really sorry for what those two said to you, I'll talk to them and..." Hinata and Sakura looked at their blonde friend with wide eyes when they saw she was beaming up at them.
"It's fine. I needed that. You got a keeper there Hinata and I think that was the first time I ever heard Sasuke-kun talk that much in his entire life." She then turned to Hikari and held her hand in her own, patting it with the other gently.
"Hikari-san, you're very strong. You deserve your win and so I'm not angry. I lost and you won, that's the way the world goes round. So don't beat yourself up over doing what did to win. A lot of Pokemon have fought battles of this scale and I'm sure Tsunade-sama and Deidara-sama have experienced the same and I'd be pretty pathetic if I was the only one who would wallow in self-pity and lose my confidence as a trainer." Ino smiled at her former opponent. "I'm really glad I got to battle you, Hikari-san."
"R-Really? Are you sure you're okay Ino?"
"Yeah I am...but please...can you just give me some time alone. I just want to wait until Sunflora gets better." Ino looked at the rest of her group of friends with a forced smile. "Please."
Sasame, Sakura, Hinata, Sora, Mai, and Hikari all complied with her wishes and they left the Pokemon Centre. Chouji and Shikamaru remained behind and sat in the chairs on either side of her.
"You troublesome woman, like hell we're going to leave you behind after all this."
"Yeah Ino. Want some chips to help you feel better? They're barbeque." He shook the bag in front of Ino. The platinum blonde immediately wrapped her arms around her two best friends' necks and pulled them close to her, a smile on her face and tears running down it as well.
"You idiots...you're the best." Ino sniffled. "Thank you so much you guys. For everything." Shikamaru released a tired sigh, but smirked in the end along with Chouji.
"No problem."
"And we're back from our extended commercial break. On the first note, Judge Nurse Shizune Ino Yamanaka's Sunflora will be making a full recovery!" The audience clapped at that and the three other judges all gave sighs of relief while Shizune merely smiled. "Now the second note is that this is the final battle of our quarter-finals Battle Rounds! And what a show stopper we have for you people today!"
Anko grinned widely as she gave a dramatic pause, "As your final clash of the quarter-finals and of the day, we bring you the clash of two female titans, the battle between two girls who will rock your Grand Festival world, Hinata Hyuga and Diana Prince!"
The crowd went into an uproar as the two teenage girls walked out onto the arena floor and stood facing one another. The blue-black haired Hyuga faced her ebony haired adversary. The fires of determination blazed in both pairs of eyes as they reached into their pockets and pulled out their Poke Balls. The screens flashed with colour as the images of both female coordinators appeared. The rings that represented their points appeared beneath their images and the clock blinked as the five minutes were clocked in to be counted down.
"Alright, we've got five minutes on the clock and the combatants are ready to rumble! So let's roll out!" Anko yelled as the horn blared over the loud speakers to signify the start of the match. Both girls responded immediately and sent their Poke Balls skyward.
"Espeon, you're up!"
"Go Feraligatr!" Diana called out.
The Sun Pokemon and Big Jaw Pokemon both appeared in front of their respective trainers in flashes of white light. The red eyes of the reptilian Pokemon stared into the violet eyes of the opposing feline-like one.
"Hinata goes with her Espeon and Diana has her Feraligatr do her fighting for her!" Anko announced.
Hinata's eyes widened. What were the odds that she would face off against a Pokemon knew practically everything about. It seems fighting alongside Sasuke proved to have its perks after all.
"Feraligatr, use Hydro Pump!" Feraligatr inhaled deeply, its chest bulging out before it released a massive torrent of water at the Sun Pokemon.
"Espeon, use Psychic to control the water and use Shadow Ball!" Espeon's violet eyes shone with an electric blue light as its telekinetic abilities came into the play. The water blast made from Hydro Pump became outlined with the same colour energy and the water suddenly swirled around Espeon like a serpent. Diana's points dropped by one eighth. The water attack was then shattered apart by the powerful Psychic-type move and then the violet furred Pokemon opened its jaws. A large blob of shadow energy swirled to life before it was fired off at a rapid pace.
"Hang tough Feraligatr! Counter with Superpower!" The Big Jaw Pokemon grunted when it crossed its arms in front of its body to take on the Shadow Ball attack. Feraligatr skidded backwards from the force of the attack, but it suddenly became outlined with an orange-brown coloured aura. The Big Jaw Pokemon dropped down onto all-fours and suddenly it began to move quickly across the arena.
"Seems the Pokedex is true. Feraligatr does move faster on all-fours." Hinata bit her lip. "Attack with Psychic!"
A blast of telekinetic energy shot forth from the red orb in the centre of Espeon's forehead, but the Water-type Pokemon's speed allowed it to avoid the attack with ease.
"Don't let up!" Hinata commanded. Feraligatr zigged and zagged across the battlefield, avoiding the Psychic attacks. 'Remember what Naruto-kun said...in a situation like this, the dodging pattern is usually a zig-zag motion and when the opponent reaches within striking distance they go for the shortest distance by moving in a straight line to reach closer to you and in that time...you strike.'
"And Espeon bombardes Feraligatr with numerous Psychic attacks! However, Feraligatr's speed on all four limbs in enough to overcome the swift telekinetic strikes! Hinata better do something soon cause she's losing points like they're water from a tap!"
Hinata gritted her teeth as she watched her attacks being continuously avoided. Her points dropped to the halfway mark by the time Hinata's situation played out in the way she knew it would. Feraligatr had done as Hinata predicted as Feraligatr then reared up onto its hind legs as soon as it was within striking distance. The Water-type Pokemon went in for a close range strike, raising its claws overhead to crash them down on Espeon's skull. However, before Feraligatr could attack with Superpower, Hinata smirked.
"Espeon, now! Psychic attack!" Hinata cried out. Diana's and Feraligatr's eyes widened as Espeon's eyes flashed with electric blue light.
"ESPE!" The Psychic-type let loose the burst of telekinetic energy and Feraligatr grunted as it was struck in the diaphragm sending it flying through the air. Diana's points dropped to just below the quarter mark.
"Don't let up! Use Hydro Pump!" The Big Jaw Pokemon backflipped and dug its claws into the dirt, tearing trenches due to the friction in order to slow its motion. When it stopped it reacted quicker than Hinata would have anticipated and the torrent of raging water slammed into Espeon's body with terrific force. Espeon rolled along the ground before shaking itself like a Poochyena to rid itself of the water.
"Now use Superpower!" Diana commanded. Feraligatr ran on all-fours to rapidly close the distance between itself and Espeon.
"Shadow Ball!" Numerous blobs of shadow shot through the air towards Feraligatr, but the Water-type avoided them all...or so it thought. "Use Psychic and bring them back!"
"What?!" Diana exclaimed. The Shadow Ball barrage suddenly halted in midair as Feraligatr went to strike its opponent but suddenly shut its eyes in pain and it grunted as the Ghost-type attacks exploded against its back. "Use Superpower and hit that Espeon! Now!"
Feraligatr's eyes snapped open and with renewed vigour, the blue scales reptile released a roar before slamming its hands down on Espeon with enough force to crack the ground beneath it.
"Now use Crunch!" True to its name, the Big Jaw Pokemon opened its massive jaws to reveal just how large they were. The sharp teeth glinted in the light before they crunched down on Espeon's body. The teeth tore through flesh and Espeon released a cry of pain as Feraligatr's harsh toothy grip remained strong on its left forelimb.
"Espeon, use Psychic on the lower jaw to free yourself and break those teeth with Iron Tail!" Hinata ordered. Espeon's eyes glowed with power and with some effort on its part, the Psychic-type Pokemon freed its bleeding limb from the jaws of its adversary. With its body free, Espeon spun in midair to build up momentum. Its two tails shone with silver light and with a cry of effort, Espeon swung them harshly against the side of Feraligatr's face, cracking and breaking teeth. Feraligatr stumbled to the side and quickly spun around, its tail engulfed it water.
"Aqua Tail!" Feraligatr's watery tail slammed into the side of Espeon's body and the Eeveelution skidded to the side from the force. Feraligatr rubbed its jaws with a groan of pain. Though the teeth grew back immediately after being lost, the pain to the jaw bone itself lingered.
"Jump into the air and use Shadow Ball!"
"Counter with Hydro Pump!"
Espeon leaped into the air and fired off a dark orb from its maw. Feraligatr opened its jaws at the angle that the Ghost-type move was approaching its form and quickly fired off the Hydro Pump to deal with it. The two attacks struggled for dominance as Shadow Ball pushed against the Hydro Pump, but Hydro Pump was beginning to gain an edge before the small explosion occurred. Water droplets and wisps of shadow were scattered everywhere before the two Pokemon rushed each other to go for an exchange of blows at close combat range.
An Iron Tail from Espeon went for Feraligatr's skull but the Big Jaw Pokemon crossed its arms and blocked the strike before uncrossing them harshly and pushed Espeon back. The Psychic-type Pokemon flipped in the air, but Feraligatr's larger form lashed out and grabbed Espeon by the bleeding, bitten forelimb which elicited a cry of pain from the Sun Pokemon. Gripping it a bit tighter, Feraligatr swung Espeon into the ground harshly by using Superpower, but Espeon quickly fired off a Shadow Ball at Feraligatr's stomach. The Pokemon coughed up some spittle as the air was driven from its lungs by being struck in the diaphragm. Feraligatr's grip loosened and Espeon landed on the ground, wincing as it landed on its left side where its damaged forelimb was located.
Rising steadily to its feet, Espeon took advantage of Feraligatr's momentary lack of air and released a Psychic attack to the chest sending Feraligatr skidding backwards before leaping into the air and front flipping. Espeon's tails shone with silver light before they were slammed down atop Feraligatr's skull. Using the momentum of its attack, Espeon went into a backflip before twisting to swing its tails around for a second Iron Tail attack. However, Feraligatr spun around as well and countered with an Aqua Tail.
The Iron Tail and Aqua Tail attacks clashed for dominanace and due to Feraligatr's higher attack power and physical strength, it overcame Espeon's attack and went with the momentum of the tail swing to spin around once more and this time, make true bodily contact with its Aqua Tail. The Water-type move swept Espeon through the air like a wave would to a piece of driftwood.
"Steady yourself in the air and then use Psybeam!" Espeon nodded and quickly righted itself in the air. A rainbow coloured blast of energy ejected itself from the crimson gem on Espeon's forehead and it sped through the air towards Feraligatr.
"Feraligatr can't be bothered by such a weak Psychic-type move. Wash it away with Hydro Pump!" Feraligatr opened its mouth to unleash the Hydro Pump attack and Diana smirked confidently. Hinata gritted her teeth as she watched the incoming pressurized water blast.
'If you can't go through it...go around it.' She thought as she caught herself having an epiphany. "Espeon, branch it off with Psychic to strike from multiple points!" Hinata ordered.
The audience, judges, Anko and Diana all gave Hinata surprised looks. "WHAT?!"
Espeon nodded and then using its telekinetic powers, the Psychic-type Pokemon split apart its Psybeam attack into eight smaller, separate beams of energy. The attacks swirled around the Hydro Pump attack before they crashed into Feraligatr's body simultaneously and caused the Water-type's Hydro Pump attack to veer off-course.
The Sun Pokemon landed on the ground but fell due to not using all four of its legs for stability since its left forelimb was damaged earlier by the Crunch attack. Espeon panted while Feraligatr did the same. Both Pokemon stared at one another and growled at each other.
"Espeon use Shadow Ball!"
"Feraligatr, Aqua Tail!"
Both Pokemon obeyed their female trainers but before they could attack a loud honking sound filled the stadium. The two coordinators looked up at the screens and saw the timer had hit zero.
"Time's up!" Anko yelled out. "Five minutes have passed and damn were those five minutes awesome! That battle was extremely intense and both of you are badasses in your own right, but...it seems that Hinata Hyuga is the greater of you two badasses! Hinata Hyuga was at the one sixteenth mark, but that Psybeam maneuver of hers pushed Diana Prince's point down to the one sixty-fourth mark and thus giving her the lead. Congratulations to our final semi-finalist, Hinata Hyuga!"
Diana petted her Feraligatr on its head. "You did really well out there." She complimented her Pokemon before looking up to see Hinata petting her Espeon for a job well done. "But it seems she was better."
"Diana." Said ebony haired girl looked up to see her grandfather walked towards her. Mr. Pokemon smiled at his granddaughter and her Feraligatr.
"Sorry for not winning the round Oji-sama. I really tried my best, but guess Hinata was better." Diana frowned. "I guess I can't meet the expectations people have of me upon knowing my last name is Prince."
"You performed admirably Diana." Mr. Pokemon spoke with a serious tone. "No doubt you earned your spot here in the Battle Rounds and now that you say that...I guess I understand what Hinata Hyuga was talking about earlier regarding who her father is and how she could never be her own person because of the expectations other people have for her due to her name. I'm sorry if I indirectly put a lot of pressure on you and placed weight on your shoulders. You are you, Diana. You may have lost but then that just means you can learn to improve from them. I'm proud of you, Diana."
"Thank Oji-sama." Diana smiled broadly at her grandfather before hugging him.
Hinata turned to the stands and her pale lavender eyes scanned the stands before looking directly at her father. The brown haired gym leader of Saffron City watched his daughter with a calculating gaze as she watched him with a determined gaze.
Hinata's eyes widened however when she saw the nod of approval from the Hyuga patriarch, but she still saw the judgemental look in his eyes. He acknowledged her improvement, that much was said from the nod, but it was also shown from his eyes that he expected much more from her.
'You want more, I'll show you more, Otou-sama. I'll show you just how strong Espeon and I really are! I won't give up and I won't run away.' Hinata thought with her fierce eyes directed at Hiashi. The Kanto gym leader merely closed his eyes and turned his head away from her.
"And so that concludes our quarter-finals rounds today folks! Tomorrow we will start the third and final day of our beloved Indigo Plateau Grand Festival by going to the semi-final rounds which will feature our top four coordinators. Sakura Haruno, Sora Yasuharu, Hikari Nonaka and Hinata Hyuga! Who will be our next Grand Festival Champion?! Find out tomorrow because that's all folks!"
(A/N: Ugh that took FOREVER to write. You would not believe how utterly exhausted I feel mentally from writing this thing. Contest battles are so hard to make. Battles are battles which I excel in, but there's just something about contest battles that make me have to think more for some reason. Well hope you enjoyed the battles and the fact that Naruto and Sasuke had arrived to see their two favourite girls take on the Grand Festival.
The next chapter will feature your Semi-final battles and the Finals. And when it's all over, Hinata and Naruto are going to be together when Hinata goes to meet her father who is ready to decide her fate. How will this all play out? Find out next time in the next exciting chapter of Naruto: Johto Journeys, Chapter 31: Bringing down the House.
P.S-I watched the four episodes of Pokemon: The Origins! It is so incredibly awesome! I gurantee you that it is waaay better than the current Unova saga series, if it was made into an actual series than just a short OVA thing I'm sure it would have blown the entire series we watched as kids out of the water. Red is such a badass and I highly recommend for any Pokemon fan to watch it. The battles are short due to the time constraints and the fact that it's a mini-series but it's very awesome. Enjoy it, I command you!)
Pokedex: Seen-178
Caught-108
Character Bio: Dexter Prince a.k.a Mr. Pokemon
Eye Colour: Black
Hair Colour: Black turned Gray
About: Dexter Prince was once the greatest researcher to have ever graced the world of Pokemon. His knowledge on the anything Pokemon, whether it be evolution or the moves it will come to know upon growing stronger, he knew it all. Because of his great mind he became known throughout the world as Mr. Pokemon. Dexter was great friends with Hiruzen Sarutobi, creator of the Pokedex. In fact it was because of Dexter that Sarutobi had made his technological encyclopedia and named it after his friend, the Pokemon Dexter, the Pokedex. After many years of being a researcher, Mr. Pokemon retired from the field and began to take up the hobby of simply watching Pokemon. This hobby of his was what brought about the inception of the project that would later come to be known as the Pokemon Coordinator's Challenge, the Grand Festival. The project earned him even greater fame and fortune, fortune which he had mostly given away to aid other professors such as Iruka, Birch, Rowan, Juniper and many others. His name will forever be known throughout the world as one of the greatest people to ever come into existence. His favourite Pokemon is said to be a Bidoof from the Sinnoh region simply because it creeps everyone else out. I mean...it's Bidoof for cryin' out loud!
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)
Wigglytuff(Male)
Ninetails(Female)
Raichu/Pika(Male)
Akatsuchi's Team:
Golem(Male)
Steelix(Male)
Sudowoodo(Male)
Crobat(Female)