Chapter 31
"Attention participants in the IBF Tourney, your eighteen hour time limit for the first day has come to end. Please report back to the stadium with in two hours." Blake's match recorder said, causing Blake to sigh as he dropped to the ground, taking this time to catch his breath.
"What's my record?" Blake said out loud, waiting for a reply from the match recorder.
"Blake, one hundred and fourteen wins, five losses."
At first the battles were no trouble at all for Blake, he was taking down trainers left and right with ease, racking up fifty wins within the first four hours. But starting there everyone seemed to withdraw into Meteor Falls, trying to hold onto the win streak they had made.
Blake was among the few who continued to battle out in the open, accepting every challenge that came to him. But taking on so many battles back fired on Blake when all the built up damage to Absol, Shelgon and Poliwrath caused all three to be knocked out one after another.
Starting there, Blake had to fight hard for each of his wins while making sure Gallade, Quilava and Tyranitar avoiding taking any unnecessary hits. Quilava and Gallade fell in battle eventually, leaving Blake to battle with Tyranitar alone. The duo barely made it to the time limit, but Blake was definitely satisfied with the record they had made for the first day.
9/19/0046/Sunrise
Meteor Falls Battle Dome
Lobby
"Mornin' Blake, how'd you do yesterday?" Matt asked, approaching Blake who was seated near the window of the lobby, observing the dark skies that were quickly beginning to brighten up.
"114 – 5." Blake replied without looking toward Matt.
"Argh, you beat me. 106-5." Matt said, snapping his fingers. "Oh yeah, did you look at the commentary yesterday?"
"No, why would I?"
"Well it's an easy to find out which trainers you should look out for in the competition. Anyway, they were talking about you last night!" Matt said, pointing at Blake who raised an eyebrow.
'Why would they be talking about me?' Blake asked himself, glancing at Matt who took a seat beside him. "What'd they say?"
"They keep calling you a rookie, but they do think you're talented and capable of lot with some more experience." Matt explained, shrinking all their arguments down to one sentence. "I even heard some of the veterans talking about you."
Blake looked around the lobby for the first time since he returned yesterday, taking note of all the older trainers that were chatting amongst themselves, occasionally looking and motioning toward him.
"This means you'll be considered a threat by everyone for the rest of the tournament Blake so I hope you're ready." Matt said.
Stadium
"Welcome back trainers, how was your time in Meteor Falls?" Titus asked with a smile, looking down at the crowd of trainers that were far more interested in seeing the results of the first day. "So let's see who's moving on the second day of the tournament."
Turning around, Titus raised one hand toward the enormous monitor that was mounted on the wall of the stadium that began to display the trainers that had moved on to the next day.
The first four trainers that appeared on the list were the four Regional Champs of the Battle Circuit, the four trainers that were predicted to lead in the IBF Tourney. All four had won over two hundred matches, and kept their losses below five.
The next trainer to appear on the list as number five was Griffen, who also succeeded in winning more than two hundred matches with five losses.
Number nine was Grace, who had won a hundred and eighty nine matches with four losses. Blake could hear the girl give a shout of joy for making it in the top ten.
After a short wait, Blake found his name next to number thirty nine, gaining a smirk from him.
Number fifty two was Matt, who threw his arms up in the air proudly when he saw his name before giving Blake a high five.
"And there you have it." Titus said as the last trainer appeared on the board. "The trainers that have advanced on will now see their match-ups for Day 2 of the IBF Tourney."
Titus pointed toward the board, watching the hundred faces on the board gather into a large stack before they were sorted, displaying the first set of match ups. Blake wasn't worried about his opponent; he was far more interested in keeping track of Griffen, Grace, Matt and the Regional Champions.
By the looks of it, if Blake won all his matches he wouldn't be facing off with any of the trainers he had marked, but that didn't mean none of his opponents wouldn't be worthy opponents.
"Alright trainers, are ready to begin?" Titus asked.
A chant started among the participants that eventually got the crowd going as well.
"Alright then, let's get this started with the first match of the day. These will be two on two battles so come in with your game face on and your best Pokemon out!" Titus shouted, directing all the trainers to leave the Stadium. "The first match will start in two hours so prepare yourselves."
"Let's do this!" Matt shouted as he followed Blake out the Stadium, entering the corridors where they found a room to rest in until the wait was over.
"Can you believe the match ups for this year?" Donny exclaimed, getting several understanding nods from his fellow critics.
"I know, if all four Regional Champ win all their second round match ups they'll all be in the third round together." Jeff explained. "This has never happened before. Normally during the second round the Regional Champs eliminate each other and then the remaining one normally goes on to win the whole thing."
"But this time it looks like all four of them will be competing with each other right down to the end." James said.
"And right on topic for tonight, which Regional Champ is the strongest."
"Personally I believe Malachi Summers from Hoenn is the strongest. I mean, just look at his performance as Regional Champ since he took the title. He's had a number of impressive matches with some strong opponents and he's demonstrated skills that could become world class." Franky explained.
"No, no. Meegan J from Johto. She's got a well rounded team, and a battling style that can allow her use almost any advantage that comes her way. It's rare to find a trainer that can battle and make the best of any situation." Jeff said, throwing in his two cents.
"What about Beck Langings from Kanto. He's pretty good with a full powerhouse team and that destructive style, anyone who battles him is sure for tough match." Donny said.
"But he's also incredibly reckless. The losses on his records are all results of bad decisions in battle."
"Still, the destructive force of his team makes him deadly even if he'd down to one Pokemon."
"Yeah, like the time he challenged Karson Moe, the Sinnoh Champ. He somehow turned around the match with just his Scizor. Beck is most definitely a dangerous trainer once he's backed into a corner."
"Karson Moe deserves some credit too considering he held his own against Beck in that battle. But to be honest, if Beck could remain calm during all his battles, he could easily become a World class trainer, maybe even a champion."
"Alright, alright. We can all agree that the Regional Champs this year are all amazing, but what's really surprising me is the number of trainers that can actually compete with the strength of these Regional Champs."
"Like uh, this girl Grace from Johto. Meegan J acknowledged her as a rival so she must be strong, and looking back at her round one matches she had nothing but one-sided, flashy matches where her opponent was completely under her control."
"There's also this guy. His name is Griffen and he's from Hoenn. It's unbelievable. If there's anyone in the tournament that could beat a Regional Champ, it's this guy. And the best part, we have some mystery with him since we haven't seen more than three of his Pokemon in battle in his entire Battle Circuit career."
"There's a few other trainers, but these two stand out the most at the moment."
"I'm sure we'll see a lot of great battle, but now I can't wait to see who makes it to the Top 16."
9/19/0046/Noon
Stadium
"Match 14 of Day 2 will now commence." The ref shouted, raising both of the flags he held into the air. "The battle between Blake of Johto and Kayla of Sinnoh will be a two on two battle. Trainers, Clash."
Blake had already checked out Kayla's profile to see what kind of challenge she might present to him. She was SS-Class trainer, with a record that was approaching one hundred matches which meant she had a ton of experience and a trap or two to use as an ace.
Selecting Poliwrath's Poke-ball, Blake waited for the signal from Kayla that she was ready as well. The two gave their Poke-balls a hard toss toward the center of the field, Blake's beginning to spin in a clockwise direction while Kayla's appeared to be what was a normal throw.
'Hmm?' Blake said, watching as the Poke-ball's neared each. Just before they met a circular pulse blew out in all directions from Kayla's Poke-ball. The two met in an explosion of sparks, Blake staring in awe as Poliwrath's Poke-ball was sent flying backward a considerable distance before it open, releasing Blake's now damaged Poliwrath.
On the other side of the field, Blake could see Kayla wearing a smirk as her unharmed Staraptor appeared on the field, giving a call of its name before glaring at its prey.
'Damn, this match up sucks.' Blake muttered mentally, glaring over the girl who only smiled in return.
"Whoa, we're already seeing some big moves already to start this battle." One of the announcers exclaimed. "If I'm correct that was a Power Ball Kayla just used right."
"Yep. At first this move was highly inaccurate because most trainers would give it a boost right after the ball left their hand, but to get ready of that weakness, trainers now use the boost just before the Poke-balls meet, and you can see the result of going against a Power Ball."
"Things aren't looking to good for Blake. After losing the Clash, his Poliwrath has the type disadvantage as well so I wonder if he'll be able to turn things around after such a bad start."
"Match begin!" The ref shouted as the crowd became silent.
"Staraptor, use Aerial Ace!" Kayla ordered, pointing toward Blake's bruise covered Poliwrath.
The bird squawked before taking flight, making a quick loop in the air as a wind tunnel formed around it.
"Poliwrath, counter with Ice Punch." Blake said quickly. Following Blake's command, Poliwrath raised its right hand which became surrounded in an icy wind before charging toward Staraptor.
"Po-li!" Poliwrath shouted as it drove its fist toward Staraptor, its fist meeting with the wind tunnel surrounding the bird. Blake smirked, watching Poliwrath knock Staraptor off course without taking any damage from the Aerial Ace attack.
Continuing past Poliwrath, Staraptor circled around it before rushing in a second a time, once again getting knocked away by Ice Punch.
'Alright, we've blocked off Aerial Ace so we shouldn't have to much to worry about.' Blake said, preparing to go on offense.
"Staraptor, use Brave Bird!" Kayla said, throwing another move into the mix.
"Star-raptor!" The bird cried out as it ascended high into the air, a blue aura enveloping its body. Coming to a halt way above the battle field, Staraptor spread its wings wide before diving bombing Poliwrath, the blue aura being replaced by flames.
'Brave Bird. If that hits Poliwrath this battle will be over and Poliwrath can barely move to begin.' Blake said mentally, making quick observations. "Poliwrath, get it with Water Pulse first, then keeping Ice Punch ready for a last second counter."
"Poliwrath!" It said, firing a large sphere of clear water at the approaching Staraptor, the orb of water successfully putting out the flames, leaving Staraptor vulnerable for Poliwrath's next attack.
"Staraptor!" The bird yelled, the a blue aura erupting around its body as it fell toward Poliwrath.
'What?' Blake exclaimed as Poliwrath threw its fist at Staraptor. There was an explosion, thick black smoke covering a small area on the left side of the field before Poliwrath came flying out of the smoke, landing on its back a few feet in front of Blake. "Poliwrath!"
The Water type Pokemon remained silent, a pair of swirls replacing it eyes.
"Poliwrath is unable to battle, Staraptor wins!" The ref shouted, raising the blue flag for Kayla who was more focused on checking her Staraptor who was still in the smoke that was slowly clearing away.
"Star." The bird Pokemon muttered as it stood on the ground, its wings folded. Several blue electrical sparks could be seen around Staraptor, the drawback of using Brave Bird not to mention Blake could see some ice shards piercing through its wings. This was his change to even the playing field.
"Match continue!" The ref said, motioning to Blake who returned Poliwrath to its Poke-ball before selecting his next Pokemon for the battle.
'Have to work quick.' Blake said, giving the Poke-ball a toss onto the field, releasing Quilava. The Fire type gave a small growl, igniting the flames on its head and bottom, the sign that it was ready to battle. "Quilava, start off with the Pyro Quick Attack!"
"Quilava!" It shouted, racing toward Staraptor who couldn't take flight at the moment. The red dome of heat formed around Quilava, leaving a streak behind it as it closed on Staraptor, landing a harsh hit to the bird Pokemon's body, burning a large portion of its feathers.
"Staraptor, get into the air!" Kayla shouted, motioning for the bird to fly.
"Don't let it get away, use Lava Plume!" Blake roared, Quilava opening its mouth to release the pool of scarlet flames on the bird that had spread its wings.
Staraptor disappeared inside the flames as Quilava held the attack for a few seconds. During this time Kayla could hear the squawks of her Pokemon that couldn't seem to escape the flames.
"That's enough Quilava." Blake said, ending Quilava's attack to reveal a burnt Staraptor resting on the ground, both its eyes replaced with swirls.
"Staraptor is unable to battle, Quilava is the winner." The ref said, raising Blake's flag this time.
Blake remained silent, watching Kayla return Starpator to its Poke-ball. Now Blake was at a real disadvantage. He was down to his last Pokemon and Kayla could now chose the Pokemon that would have an advantage over Quilava to make this an easy win.
'This could get bad.' Blake mumbled, preparing for the worst.
"Hippowdon, let's go!" Kayla said, releasing the large Pokemon onto the field.
"Hippowdon!" It roared, stamping its feet before observing Quilava who gave it a dark glare.
'Damn.' Blake said, tempted to say it out loud but he wasn't willing to break his composure.
"Match continue!" The ref said.
"Quilava, get it with Lava Plume!" Blake said quickly, pointing toward Hippowdon. Kayla watched as the small Fire type Pokemon unleashed a torrent of flames on her Hippowdon, but she wasn't worried. Hippowdon roared, whipping up a small sandstorm around itself that blew away the flames from Quilava.
Quilava cut off its attack, staring at the small sandstorm that had easily blew away its attack. Hippowdon roared again and the sandstorm disappeared, revealing the unharmed Pokemon.
"Good luck getting past Hippowdon's Sand Stream defense." Kayla called out to Blake who only glared at the Ground type Pokemon. "Now get them with Rock Tomb!"
Hippowdon began to stamp on the field with its two front feet before chunks of the earth rose from the ground, being flung at Quilava by an unseen force.
"Quilava, use Quick Attack to dodge them!" Blake ordered. Quilava jumped to its left, avoiding the first hit, a white streak trailing behind it as it raced around the field avoiding the Rock Tomb attack.
"More Hippowdon!" Kayla shouted. Hippowdon's stomping became more frequent as did the number of stones that was being launched at Quilava, Blake being forced to drop to the ground to avoid being hit by a stray rock.
"Look out Quilava!" Blake shouted, seeing his partner get caught in a tight spot where if it stopped moving it would get hit and if it continued moving it would get hit. Noticing the attack coming from its right, Quilava came to a skidding halt, barely avoiding it before it was hit from behind, sending it to the ground with a thud.
The rocks began to rain down on Quilava who grunted with each hit, trying not to get blown away. Seeing the damage beginning to pile up on Quilava, Blake was forced down to his trump card with Quilava.
"Quilava, use the Scarlet Shield!" He shouted for his partner who snorted before falling down onto all fours, the flames being produced by its body doubling in size.
Kayla took note of how fuzzy Quilava had become in her vision, but Hippowdon's attacks appeared to still be hitting Quilava. Blake smirked, having a better view of Quilava allowed him to see that that Scarlet Shield was doing its job blocking out Hippowdon's Rock Tomb.
"Now use the shield to transition into a Pyro Quick Attack!" Blake ordered. Quilava burst forward, racing toward Hippowdon who could barely make out the blurry image that was Quilava.
"Keep an eye on it Hippowdon!" Kayla shouted to her partner who grunted in response, trying to follow Quilava's now accelerated movements. The Fire type Pokemon raced to its left, quickly escaping Hippowdon's eye sight before attacking from its side, landing a hit to its stomach.
Hippowdon remained firm, striking up another sandstorm that send Quilava reeling, the Scarlet Shield protecting it from taking any damage, but Blake could clearly see the drawbacks for using the shield already. Quilava was panting and struggling to remain standing on all fours. The damage from the Rock Tomb and the stamina loss from using the Scarlet Shield was taking its toll already.
"Hippowdon, use Stone Edge this time and take it down!" Kayla said, becoming annoyed at how long Quilava was lasting against Hippodown despite the type disadvantage.
"Quilava, use the Pyro Quick Attack this time and make a straight charge for Hippowdon." Blake commanded as Hippowdon prepared its attack.
Instead of the usual brown chunks of the earth that Hippowdon had been using for Rock Tomb, some gray and black rocks rose up from the ground around Hippowdon in a circle, each of them being fired at Quilava.
"Quilava!" Blake shouted when the first rock from the Stone Edge attack hit passed right through Quilava's outer heat shield and hit the Fire type dead on, sending it skidding backward on its hind legs. The hit wasn't major, but if was enough for Blake to realize that blocking Stone Edge wasn't an option. "Dodge until the attack ends, then use Lava Plume."
Quilava was quick enough to get back in a groove to avoid the rest of the Stone Edge attack, but the Lava Plume was just another failure at trying to break through Hippowdon's Sand Stream.
"Alright Quilava, hold off for a bit." Blake said, ordering his partner to back away from Hippowdon.
"Use Rock Tomb again!" Kayla shouted, seeking to end the match now that Blake and Quilava appeared to be giving up.
"Dodge it Quilava!" Blake said, but before the Fire type could even move it found itself surrounded by floating rocks that then rushed in at it, closing up around Quilava. "Quilava."
Blake could tell if he couldn't think of something fast the match and his IBF Tourney would end here.
"Use the Scarlet Shield one more time!" Blake called to his trapped Pokemon that he could no longer see. There was a bright flash after a few moments which Blake guessed was Quilava attempting to defend itself, but then everything went quiet again. "Quilava, just use the Scarlet Shield!"
"Typhlosion !" A much deeper voice called out as the rocks were blow outward, revealing a very angry looking Typhlosion with the flames on its neck at least twice the size it normal should be, walking toward Hippowdon on its hind legs.
"No way." Blake exclaimed in a whisper. "It evolved."
"It evolved." Kayla said as well, a bit shocked at first before her composure returned as well. "But that doesn't matter, get with Stone Edge again Hippowdon!"
"Typhlosion , are you ready?" Blake asked the newly evolved Fire type who gave him a nod before roaring at Hippowdon, its flames growing in size momentarily. "Then start off with the Pyro Quick Attack to dodge and then attack."
Typholsion's speed wasn't as high as when it was a Quilava, but it enough to avoid the Stone Edge attack properly before diving in toward Hippowdon, landing a hit to its side once again, but this time Typhlosion released a large burst of heat as it came into contact with Hippowdon which sent the Pokemon sliding across the field on its side.
"Now use Lava Plume." Blake said, watching Typhlosion release a large blast of flames toward Hippowdon who once again blocked it out with its Sand Stream defense.
'Unless we get pass that defense this whole match will remain how it is right now.' Blake stated, looking a for a quick way to get through the Sand Stream. There was the direct approach which could possibly put a large amount of damage on Typhlosion , or to attack it from above and get inside the Sand Stream.
"Hippowdon, use Rock Tomb. Attack with everything you've got!" Kayla ordered, waiting to see how Blake would handle this one.
"Typhlosion , use Lava Plume and send all those rocks back at them." Blake said.
"Typho!" It roared, launching a large fire attack across the field which halted Hippowdon's Rock Tomb attack and sent it hurtling toward user.
"Hippowdon, use Sandstorm to knock away all the rocks and Lava Plume." Kayla ordered, using the move that Blake had been waiting for.
"Alright Typhlosion , use Lava Plume to get yourself up into the air over the Sand Storm. Then cut off the Lava Plume and use the Scarlet Shield!" Blake ordered, watching Typhlosion get started with the list he had given it.
Typhlosion was soaring high in the skies over the stadium in just a few moments, looking down at its target who was busy blocking out the attacks that had been redirected at it. Cutting off the Lava Plume to begin its descend, Typhlosion fell right down into the middle of the sand cyclone, heading straight toward Hippowdon.
Blake watched as Typhlosion disappeared inside of the Sandstorm that had picked up the Rock Tomb attack. As Typhlosion neared Hippowdon, Blake could see a bulge in the cyclone that traveled straight toward the bottom where a huge cloud of dust burst of the base of the cyclone.
The cyclone disappeared in an instant, revealing Typhlosion who was standing on top of a downed Hippowdon, looking up at the falling debris. Leaping off of Hippowdon's back, Typhlosion avoided the falling rocks, leaving all of them to fall on Hippowdon.
"Hippowdon!" Kayla shouted as her Pokemon disappeared under the pile of stones. After a few moments, the ref stepped onto the field to check on Hippowdon, finding its head sticking out of the pile with a pair of swirls replacing its eyes.
The ref came over to Hippowdon to inspect if before raising the red flag.
"Hippowdon is unable to battle, Blake and Typhlosion are the winner." The ref shouted as the stands erupted with cheers for Blake over his come back victory and for Typhlosion 's evolution during the battle.
"That was quite a match. I wasn't expecting him to turn it around at the end but he pulled it off." The announcers exclaimed.
"Blake will advance to Day 3 of the second round of the IBF Tourney."
Down in the stadium, Blake approached his partner on the field who wasn't standing too far from Hippowdon and Kayla who was checking her Pokemon.
"You're pretty good." Blake said, approaching Kayla who looked toward him.
"You're not to bad yourself." She replied, returning Hippowdon to its Poke-ball. After placing the Poke-ball back on her belt, Kayla noticed Blake's outstretched hand, waiting for a hand shake.
"Good match." He said as she accepted his handshake.
Once the two separated and turned to exit the stadium through the way they entered, Blake glanced at his Typhlosion that was walking beside him. Catching Blake's stare, it smirked, letting out a snort. Returning the smirk, Blake bumped fists with the Pokemon as they disappeared into the corridors of the stadium, leaving the fans that were chanting their names.
"Nice Typhlosion ."
Changing Rooms
"Wow, I can't believe your Quilava evolved during the battle!" Grace exclaimed, practically tackling Blake the moment he entered the room.
The room also had about ten other trainers that were nervously waiting for their match number to be called, and Grace parading over Blake's victory wasn't any help at all to their mood.
"That was a good battle Blake." A new voice said, gaining Blake attention. Seated in the corner of the room none other than Griffen, who had already won his match for the day.
"What do you want?" Blake asked.
"I just came to congratulate you on your victory and for the evolution of your Quilava." Griffen began. "I was hoping that little squirt would evolve so that it would be a better challenge for my Magmortar when we have our match."
"You know Griffen Blake?" Grace asked, receiving a nod from Blake. "You sure have gotten popular."
"How do you know Griffen?" Blake asked in return.
"All the strong trainers know each other. Duh." She said, receiving a glare from Blake.
"Grace from Johto. I can't wait to have a match with you." Griffen said as he rose from seat, walking across the room toward the window where everyone gave him confused glances as he climbed out the window.
"Are all the strong trainers' freaks?" Blake mumbled under his breath.
"Yup." Grace said, giving him a small grin. "Now come on, I met someone you should meet."
"Hmm?" Blake said as Grace led him out the room.
After moving through the long maze of corridors, Grace and Blake came to a stop outside another changing room where a few trainers must've been waiting for their match number to be called.
"His name is Roy, he's from Kanto I think." Grace said as they entered the room. "Anyway, you'll be surprised what you see."
As Blake followed her in, he was surprised to find a black and gray wolf suddenly jump at him, knocking him to floor where it began to sniff his face as if it were searching for something.
"Mightyena, don't do that to people!" A voice called out at the Pokemon who flinched before jumping off of Blake. Sitting up, Blake spotted the trainer of Mightyena who was currently scolding his Pokemon. "Sorry about that."
"It's alright." Blake said, accepting his hand to help him to his feet.
"Let's go." He said, leading Grace, Blake and his Mightyena back out into the hallway, shutting the door behind them. "So you're Blake right?"
Blake gave him a nod as a response.
"Well my name's Roy, I'm pleased to finally get to meet the King." Roy said, giving Blake a hand shake while Blake glanced at Grace.
"Does he have one too?" Blake asked plainly, receiving a nod from Grace before directing a glare at Roy as a greeting.
"Did I, do something wrong?" Roy asked, looking at Grace.
"He does that to everyone. Don't worry, he's not angry or anything." Grace explained with a chuckle.
"So what do you want?" Blake asked.
"Well I thought you might know more about a Crest than I do." Roy began before Blake interrupted him.
"Sorry, but I am just as clueless as you are. The only thing I'm sure about is that this thing," Blake motioned to his wrist where his Crest would normally appear. "Has me meeting a bunch of freaks on a daily basis."
"Blake, don't be such a downer. I'm sure something decent will come out of having a Crest soon." Grace said, attempting to comfort him.
"What's his problem, so far having a Crest has been pretty cool for me." Roy asked Grace.
"Well at first he wasn't exactly happy about us kidnapping him, and then since we got to Hoenn it's been nothing but trouble for him." Grace replied.
"Like what?"
"Well first there was that Absol that led him to Mt Pyre where Blake said the Hoenn Commissioner tried to drown him, and then while he was in Slateport City he and this family was attacked by a Dark Crest so…yeah." Grace said, taking a moment to breathe.
"Boy that does sound pretty stressful." Roy noted.
"Forget the stress, all this stuff is just getting in the way of my Battle Circuit conquest." Blake cut in.
"But Blake, I'm pretty sure our Crests are more important than the Battle Circuit." Roy said, trying to reason with Blake.
"If someone can prove to me that these things really do have some kind of importance, then I'll focus on it. But until then, if that time ever comes, the Battle Circuit is my first priority." Blake said, turning away from Grace and Roy, heading down the hall in search of one of the rooms where a Nurse Joy was stationed.
"He's normally nicer than that, but he's been training for the IBF Tourney for a couple of months so I guess that's his only focus right now." Grace explained for Roy who gave Blake one last skeptical look. "Plus, I know more about the Crests that Blake does and I'd be more than happy to explain anything you need to know."
"Ludicolo, wrap it up with Ice Beam!" Matt shouted, pointing toward the Swellow that was beginning to take flight again.
"Swellow, use Aerial Ace to dodge and then go in for the attack!" Swellow's trainer shouted. The bird began to ascend, narrowly avoiding the Ice Beam from Ludicolo before making a quick loop where a wind tunnel formed around it.
Swellow squawked as it raced toward Ludicolo who seemed unfazed by the approaching super effective hit.
"Ludicolo, use Hydro Pump and then follow up with Ice Beam!" Matt ordered.
"Ludi!" Ludicolo shouted before its voice became gargled by the powerful stream of water that was being ejected from its mouth.
Although the wind tunnel around Swellow blocked out the water, the speed it was moving at was halved by the power of the water pushing against it.
"Swellow, look out!" Its trainer shouted when Ludicolo transitioned to the Ice Beam, freezing the stream of water straight to Swellow, the bird becoming captured in a block of ice.
"Now end it with Drain Punch!" Matt said, giving Ludicolo the order that should put this battle to an end.
Ludicolo took off in a slow run around the frozen water to Swellow who was stuck in the ice. Once its right hand gained a whitish glow, Ludicolo drove it into the ice, easily breaking through it and landing a harsh blow to Swellow's torso.
"Swellow!" The bird cried out as it was forcefully pushed out the other side of the ice block it had been trapped in. Landing on the field with a thud, Swellow's eyes became replaced with black swirls, signaling the end of the battle.
"Swellow is unable to battle!" The ref said after a short check. "Matt and Ludicolo are the winners!"
"Alright!" Matt shouted, joining his Ludicolo on the field where the two of them proceeded to perform their victory dance. 'How do you like that Blake? I pulled off a win with a disadvantage too.'
After seeing Blake pull off a win over a Hippowdon with his Typhlosion , Matt had decided to compete with Blake in other ways until the two of them actually met in battle, and right now, that meant trying to win their battles in a display strength and power that outshined the other.
9/20/0046/Morning
Stadium
The whole gang had advanced to Day 3 without any problems. Roy proved to a trainer that was worthy of Blake's attention when his Mightyena easily defeated both of his opponents Pokemon without breaking a sweat.
Grace had battled and won like it was any other day, not receiving much attention from Blake who was far more focused on the two trainers he had come to recognize as serious threats.
The first and foremost was Griffen. Although he was ranked beneath the Regional Champs, Blake believed Griffen was far stronger than any of them. His style was direct and powerful, and explosive. The three Pokemon Griffen had revealed so far, a Magmortar, a Cacturne and a Flygon, were all powerful and capable of following the somewhat strange orders Griffen would occasionally give.
The second one was Beck Langings from Kanto. He was a reckless, brash and destructive. His whole style emphasized power and nothing more. He had no strategy when battling, he'd simply launch his Pokemon in danger and rely solely on the strength they possess. Blake believed Beck's style was ideal, if only he took some time to think before giving his Pokemon orders.
The other two Regional Champs, Karson Moe and Malichi Summers, were worthy of Blake's respect as well, but neither of their battling styles truly interested him.
The remainder of the IBF Tourney was sure to be interesting, and Blake couldn't wait to face off against all the strong trainers that continued to appear as his travels continued.
Part 31. Blake continues his IBF conquest, claiming another victory in the tournament that puts him one step closer to the IBF Title. So what did you thinks of Blake's match up. Was it overrated, having Quilava struggle so much and then evolve? Tell me what you think.