A/N: I own a copy of at least one game from every Generation, but that's about it.
Chip Skarmory's commentary will be denoted by a "*" at the beginning and the end. (Example: *Oh, it's Magmar!*)
Crowd reactions will be BOLDED AND UNDERLINED
*Ladies and gentlemen, I cannot tell you how excited I have been for this match-up, and needless to say it is not disappointing! After some titanic entrances by our competitors, the first members of their team have taken the ring! Representing Steven Stone as his first competitor is Armaldo, the dual Rock-Bug type Pokemon. And on Lance's side making its professional debut is his Haxorus, one of the rare Pure Dragon types out there. I have to say, folks, this is the matchup that I have been waiting months for, as well as the rest of the Pokemon battling community. After such a long time, it is finally here! Lance versus Steven Stone!*
"Armaldo, go in for the Tackle!" Steven shouted. Though Steven Stone was a suave and cool individual in regular settings and in boardroom meetings discussing the future of Devon Corp, when out on the battlefield his mannerisms were like that of a man who had drank a gallon of energy drinks right before the match. A man who was just now feeling the caffeine overload.
His trusty Pokemon nodded, and began charging towards Haxorus. From his position on his platform, Lance's stern expression didn't change.
"Haxorus, Counter the Tackle and give it a Reversal." He said coolly. His voice had barely risen above standard speaking volume, and yet Haxorus heard it clearly. The Axe Jaw Pokemon squatted down, and as soon as Armaldo got within striking distance it leaped. It grabbed Armaldo by one of its arms, and began to swing Armaldo around like it was a discus before releasing Armaldo's arm and causing Steven's Pokemon to go careening into the turnbuckle in the corner of the ring. Armaldo managed to void taking a serious shot to the chest on impact, but the sound was loud enough to draw an audible pop from the crowd.
"OH!"
*That's kicking it old-school, ladies and gentlemen! Haxorus counters the Armaldo Tackle attempt with an old fashioned Reversal! That was a nasty-looking Irish whip there! Though Armaldo appears to have shaken it off almost immediately, and is back on its feet!*
"Don't be aggressive!" Trodaire shouted up at Steven. "Haxorus is faster than Armaldo!" The Orrean felt sweat forming on the base of his neck.
Lance's cold expression remained unchanged. "Haxorus, use Slash." He said. The Dragon nodded, and with a wild battle cry it began lunging at Armaldo, brandishing claws that could turn a person into ribbons if it wasn't careful. Each and every time, Armaldo managed to dodge the Slash outright or just barely take any damage from glancing blows. C'mon, you overgrown lizard… Steven thought desperately. Show me the back. Show me your back…
And in that moment, it happened. Haxorus, in its youthful eagerness to cut Armaldo in two, lunged too far with one strike and shifted too much of its weight to one side of its body. It stumbled over, and for a brief moment it was exposed. Steven saw the opportunity.
"Armaldo, Take Down!"
The Bug-Rock Pokemon barreled directly into Haxorus' chest.
*Ohhh, what a spear by Armaldo! Capitalizing on the missed Slash by Haxorus to chain it into a brutal Take Down and-wait, what's Armaldo doing? Waitwaitwaitwait-OH MY ARCEUS ON HIGH!*
"HRRRRRR-AAAAHHHHHHHH!"
Armaldo didn't give Haxorus the opportunity to get back on its feet. For as soon as it had finished the Take Down, Armaldo had stood over its fallen foe, bent over and wrapped its arms around Haxorus' waist. Then, with a roar, it had thrown itself over backwards and flipped Haxorus over its head. It was stupidly exaggerating to say that Armaldo had performed the greatest Seismic Toss suplex in the history of Seismic Tosses, but it would not be exaggerating to say that it had come close.
*I-I don't believe what I just saw! What a Seismic Toss, modified into a suplex! Armaldo is back on its feet for another round, but Haxorus is still rolling around on the ground in pain! That's what happens when all two hundred-some pounds of you come crashing face-first into the mat. And listen to this crowd! It's gone SILENT.*
It was true, there was a hushed shock over the crowd. No one could believe what they had just seen. The first blow had been struck, and it had been against Lance? A critical hit and now Steven was ahead of the game? The hushed murmuring began to grow into confused muttering, then excited chatter, before it broke out into full-on cheering.
SABRINA
"Look at Clair!" Misty shrieked over the roar of the crowd, pointing across the ring to the area where the Dragon Clan was sitting. Grandmaster Arach and the Dragon Council were all sitting there with passive expressions on their face (one could even say Arach looked slightly amused), but Clair was sitting in the middle of them like someone had doused her in ice-cold water and then slapped her right across the face. Which is to say, she looked pissed.
Sabrina was too busy screaming and cheering to say anything back, but she had to admit that that was worth it to see that smug confidence on Clair's face completely wiped off.
"Armaldo doesn't think this is a game!" Misty shouted. "He thinks it's a damned fight!"
Lance's expression was stone-cold.
"Haxorus, you're stronger than this." He said. "Get back up on your feet and show them that." Somehow, his seemingly soft voice cut through the white noise of the crowd perfectly. The golden Dragon nodded, and then swiftly leapt back to its feet. Lance smirked. "That's what I like to see. Now Dual Chop on Armaldo."
Haxorus' movements were silky and smooth, like an Ekans in the grass. Then, with the swiftness of a Swellow hunting Magikarp, it lunged. The first strike Armaldo managed to divert a little bit, taking the brunt of the hit on the shoulder. The second strike caught it right under the chin. It was sent staggering backwards, and Haxorus finished the sequence with an absolutely brutal Take Down.
*Ohhh, what a counter by Haxorus! Just because you get a lucky strike on one of Lance's Pokemon doesn't mean that you're the victor yet! Haxorus is Lance's youngest Pokemon, and here it is proving it's more than capable of hanging with the big dogs! Wow, what a hit!*
The crowd roared again. Lance had them back on his side. Steven felt sweat beginning to form on the back of his neck, as he began to formulate the best strategy next.
"Armaldo, get back on your feet buddy!" He shouted. His partner heard the command, and with an impressive display of resiliency got right back up. "Now show it that you slug harder! Get it with a Seismic Toss!"
Armaldo sprinted as fast as its legs could carry it towards Haxorus, whose ready stance indicated that it was not about to fall for the same trick twice. Neither would Lance.
"Get ready with the counter, Haxorus." He said.
Then, at the last second Steven shouted again.
"Strength!" He yelled.
Armaldo screeched to a stop, skidding forward towards Haxorus even though it had stopped moving its legs. This worked in Armaldo's favor, however, as it carried this momentum into its next move: Strength, modified into a brutal clothesline.
*Gaaaahhhh! Haxorus goes down again! And once again Armaldo is standing on top of and grappling with the golden Dragon. It's taking a few defensive attacks, nothing to stagger it backwards though, and…uh oh! Armaldo's got Haxorus on its shoulders! It's carrying the Dragon like a fireman over its shoulders! Is it coming? Is it coming?*
Steven felt another burst of adrenaline coming on. This was Armaldo's favorite thing to do in the gym.
"Bring it down! Seismic Toss!" He shouted. Armaldo let out a roar, and tossed Haxorus over its shoulders like a sack of potatoes.
*BOOM! Armaldo finishes with the brutal Seismic Toss! And Haxorus landed hard on its back, and is writhing in pain on the ground. Uh oh, Armaldo is taking a couple of steps backwards! I think we all know what this means, so Lance you'd better get your Pokemon back up on its feet or else-*
Armaldo ran back towards its fallen foe, and with a leap landed hard on top of its younger opponent, leading with its elbow.
*BODY SLAM! BODY SLAM! This crowd is going bananas! What a blistering sequence of moves from Armaldo, and if I didn't know any better, I'd say that Haxorus doesn't have much left in it! What will the Champion do to turn the tables back in his favor?*
"Don't let it get comfortable. Haxorus, show why you're my Dragon. Superpower, go."
Haxorus managed to climb back to its feet. Breathing heavily, it eyed Armaldo with annoyed eyes. It then took a deep breath, and with a cry of anger stomped on the ground hard. Once. Twice, three times. On the third stomp, it lunged towards Armaldo with superhuman speed and reflexes to tackle the Bug/Rock type head on. This being a flying tackle from at least ten to fifteen feet away, the crowd reacted appropriately. Which is to say, they went bonkers. Haxorus was glowing with a hazy light, a hazy light that was no doubt influencing its attack power. It proceeded to punch and stomp on the downed Pokemon below it, and all Armaldo could do was cover its head and jerk and twist out of the way so as to avoid getting knocked the heck out. Steven was sweating, and could almost feel his Pokemon's pain. All Armaldo needed to do was hang on 'till that Superpower wore off, and then…
*Haxorus is giving Armaldo a BEATING out there folks! The Dragon is doing everything short of trying to beat its opponent to death with its own hands, but Armaldo's still showing signs of struggling out there! No one has made it through one of Haxorus' Superpower-ed beatdowns before! This could be the end for Armaldo, and Steven would be down one to one of the greatest trainers of all time!*
"C'mon, hang in there big boy!" Trodaire shouted from the corner of the ring. He watched the two referees, one a human to make the calls and the other a fully-grown Machamp (both in the zebra stripe shirts) to separate the fighters. Haxorus was continuing to beat down Armaldo into the mat, and it looked like the Machamp was about to pull them apart and declare it a Haxorus win by way of technical knockout. But then the miracle happened.
The hazy aura surrounding Haxorus completely disappeared, and with that aura seemed to go the rest of Haxorus' strength. It staggered backwards away from Armaldo, its hands on its knees.
*Oh boy, the Superpower has left the building and Haxorus is spent! But that won't really mean much as long as Armaldo-ARMALDO'S BACK ON ITS FEET! Armaldo's back on its feet, and RUNS HAXORUS OVER WITH THE TAKE DOWN! It's lying on top of Haxorus now with the cover and the referee Machamp is pulling it away. The main referee is there to judge the situation and-*
"Haxorus is unable to battle!" The referee shouted.
*TKO! TKO for Armaldo! Steven Stone has gotten the first strike on Lance and this crowd is-wait a second, listen to the crowd!*
"STE-VEN STONE!"
"STE-VEN STONE!"
"STE-VEN STONE!"
*They're cheering for Steven Stone! They're coming around to the underdog's side! Wow, what a start to this match! Lance is drawing his next Pokemon, who's it gonna be?"*
"Take to the skies, Salamence." Lance said calmly. Trodaire noticed that there was a slightly frustrated look on the Dragon master's face, but knew that that wasn't enough to get him worried. There was a flash of light as Lance's Pokeball exploded, and a large and ornery-looking blue Dragon stepped out and let out a proud roar.
*There's Salamence! Lance's Salamence is one of the slower Pokemon you'll see, but if you mention that to its face you're going to get a megaton of Dragon Rage in your face. It is SCARY strong! Wait, what's Steven doing?*
"Take a breather, Armaldo! Return!" Steven shouted, calling back his Pokemon. He threw another Pokeball. "Go, Excadrill!"
There was a flash of light, and the mole-like Pokemon leapt out and gave a prideful holler. Lance raised an eyebrow.
"You have wings, Salamence. Use them. Fly."
Salamence nodded, and with a powerful flap of its wings took to the air. The sight of such a large creature hovering above was enough to get the crowd going berserk. Trodaire was intimidated. A being as cumbersome looking as a Salamence should not be allowed to fly. That was just cheating physics!
"Let's not waste any time, Salamence. Flamethrower." Lance said. From its vantage point in the sky, Salamence began spitting arrows of fire down at the mat towards Excadrill.
*Incoming, ladies and gentlemen! Salamence is trying to burn Excadrill from afar with Flamethrower! Is it getting hot in here, or is it just me?*
Excadrill rolled out of the way of one Flamethrower, and then weaved in and out of the rest with a panicked expression on its face. This was not what it had signed up for, and Steven knew it.
"Keep dodging, Excadrill! It has to come down sometime!" Steven shouted. To his shock, Lance smirked.
"Does it? Well, Salamence, let's oblige Mr. Stone. From the sky, use Take Down."
With a giddy roar, Salamence charged downwards with the intention of spearing Excadrill into the mat. The Steel-type was standing down on the ground, waiting for its foe to come, when it made an incredibly risky (and stupid) decision. It jumped. It jumped in a way that Salamence's momentum carried it under the now-airborne Excadrill, and when the mole-like creature was pulled back down by gravity, it had the Arceus-given fortune of landing directly on Salamence's back. Like it was riding a Rapidash. It proceeded to dig its claws into the side of the beast. Hard.
"Shake it off, Salamence." Lance said. Trodaire noted a trace of worry in the Dragon Master's voice. Salamence yelped and spit out flame in anger, and nosedived again. This was an ill-thought plan, for it proceeded to smash itself into the ground instead. As it lay on the ground, Excadrill began launching a flurry of punches and bites and scratches to the thing it was stupid enough to ride on. Presently, Salamence came to, and with a roar lashed its tail onto its back in an effort to squash Excadrill. The little mole-like creature scurried away and clamped itself onto Salamence's underbelly, and the gigantic tail smacked nothing but its master. Salamence reared back in pain, and Excadrill took this opportunity to gut-punch the creature a few times for good measure.
"Get it off, Salamence!" Lance shouted. This was the first time that Trodaire had heard the Dragon Master raise his voice, and felt a trill of excitement in his chest. They were getting to him.
*I don't believe what I'm seeing here, folks! Excadrill has latched onto Salamence like a Joltik and is not content with beating the Dragon up itself! It's letting Salamence do the heavy lifting for it! Ooo, Salamence just smacked itself in the face with its tail in its confusion! That's gotta hurt!*
"Keep pounding away, Excadrill!" Steven shouted, as Salamence took to the air once again to get this infernal creature off of it. Once again, Excadrill latched onto the creature's back, proceeding to punch and bite as much as it could. Enraged, Salamence once again tried the old "divebomb and catch the little thing in the collateral" routine. Because this had worked so well the first time, you see. And again, the result was identical to the beginning. Only this time, Excadril timed a jump so that when Salamence slammed into the ground, it was sent springboarding into the air like a Flying Pokemon itself. Excadrill got about fifteen feet into the air, before gravity once again called it back home. However, as it fell, it repositioned itself in midair so that it was spinning in midair like a drill. Faster, faster, faster…
*AAAHHHH! Drill Run by Excadrill! And the mighty Salamence has fallen! Steven is up three to one against Lance! Listen to this crowd!*
"THIS IS AWESOME!"
"THIS IS AWESOME!"
"STE-VEN STONE! STE-VEN STONE!"
Trodaire wasn't paying any attention to the crowd. Neither was Steven. They were both staring at Lance, who had a devilish smirk on his face. In his hand was a Pokeball. He smiled. It was not a nice smile. It was the smile of a man who enjoyed picking the wings off of flies. It was a cold, ruthless, confident smile. A smile born of a lifetime of winning countless battles and building a near-unstoppable reputation as one of if not the greatest trainers of all time. It sent shivers down Steven's back and made Trodaire Phoenix's blood run cold. This was it. All of their hocus-pocus and trickery and training to create a new form of battling were being put on trial right here. The show was over. And somehow, they had the horrible feeling that Lance was about to shut out the lights on it all.
"This has been a heck of a fight, Steven." He said. "You've obviously been doing your homework on how to battle my Haxorus and Salamence, so I'll give you that. Who'd have thought that I'd be two down and you haven't lost a single one yet? That's better than a storybook. But at the end of the day, you know that those are practically cheap parlor tricks that let you get the upper hand. But this one…" He was spinning the Pokeball on his fingertip, and the torrent of camera flashes in the audience meant that all knew the power that was inside. That and the absolutely ecstatic screaming. "This is not a Pokemon that can be beaten by flimsy little game-planning and luck."
"But you already knew that, didn't you? You've been dreading the moment I grabbed this off of my belt since the beginning of this battle. I'd wager you've been dreading it since you heard that you had to face me in the tournament. You can conceivably topple Salamence, you can outwrestle Armaldo, but this is the one that keeps you up at night. I can't blame you. He's kind of a big deal."
"BRING THE KING!"
"BRING THE KING!"
"BRING THE KING!"
"They know it too." Lance said of the crowd. "This old friend of mine is going to show to all of us whether you're truly better than me…or whether your luck has just run out. It's been a blast, but I think you and I know for better or for worse that this all ends here. Right now. Are you ready to go one last round with the Dragon Master and his champion?"
He threw the Pokeball to center stage, and it exploded in a flash of light.
"GO, DRAGONITE!"