Disclaimer: Due to unfortunate events, I have lost my flash drive, which held literally all of my writing. I had this entire chapter done, and I lost it. So, I literally have no time to write it at the moment. But I promised you the chapter, so I'm going to make it. Bear with me if it does not meet expectations. I'm sorry:(

On the bright side, I got pokemon black…it's pretty legit so far. I got a Snivy (evolved now), Panpour, Sawk, Drilbur, and Munna in my party. Pretty fun :D

Chapter 24: The Final Battle Begins—Skylark faces the Champion

"This is it." Skylark thought to himself. "All of this training…led to this single battle…" Skylark's heart beat hard. His stomach turned inside of him with fear. "I can't give into this fear…if I do, I'll lose." He walked out onto the battle field, Bulbasaur on his side. "We will win. If not, I will never battle again…I will not hesitate." Skylark gripped his bracelet.

"LADDDIIIEEESSSS AND GEEEENNNTTTLLEEEMMEEEN!" The announcer man shouted into the eager crowd. Roars of fandom and competition responded. "Are you ready!? All the way from the Hoenn region we have Skylark Declan, a 14 year old trainer who has been battling with his beloved Bulbasaur. They have taken out countless foes, including enemies who had type in their advantage." The crowd roared, acknowledging his great power as a trainer.

"But, ladies and gentlemen, can he defeat the previous champion of the Kanto Tournament? All the way from the Kalos region (yeah, apparently the sixth generation is in this region. Or, that's what Wikipedia said anyway.), we have trainer Miller Bishop, who has entered the competition this year with his Tyrogue, which he used to win last year." As the announcer spoke, Miller walked out onto the stage with Tyrogue following behind. Tyrogue had a menacing look upon his face, determined to beat the enemy into a pulp.

"Now, are we ready to see how this fighting type will hold his ground against this wild grass type trainer?" The announcer asked. Everyone cheered, and Skylark and Miller nodded. "In that case…

3…

2…

1…

LET THE BATTLE BEGIN!"

"Bulbasaur, Leech Seed!" Skylark shouted. Bulbasaur swiftly shot her seeds at the enemy, who, equally as fast, dodged them.

"Tyrogue, Work Up!" Tyrogue spread his knees apart, put one hand on one knee and his other hand on the ground. He concentrated, his body slowly heating up and sweating. He glistened a light red color, showing that his attack and special attack had been boosted.

"Bulbasaur, use your Vine Whip!" Bulbasaur lunged forward and whipped Tyrogue in the side. He was thrown a few feet but maintained his ground.

"Tyrogue, Rapid Spin!" Tyrogue nodded, jumping forward and landing on his hands. With his hands he spun around, quickly hitting Bulbasaur multiple times with his feet. Luckily, the kicks weren't that hard. Tyrogue, after hitting about seven times, jumped backward and prepared for an attack.

"Bulbasaur, let's try using your Bullet Seed!" Bulbasaur hopped back and bent over, opening her bulb and shooting a multitude of bursts of bullets. Tyrogue was hit with three bursts, each hitting directly into his chest and slowly moving him backward. He was gripping the ground with his toes, preventing him from falling over but still not enough to prevent sliding. Finally, the bursts stopped, and Tyrogue prepared to fight again, his body still glowing with red.

"Tyrogue, Blaze Kick!" Miller shouted. Tyrogue nodded as he stood up straight. He stuck his right foot out and then bent it in, positioning it on the other leg (like the yoga exercise). Then, the red on his body moved to his leg, making the rest of his body normal looking and his leg very very red and hot. Then, it burst into flames. Skylark's face showed horror, as did Bulbasaur's face. Bulbasaur watched very nervously as Tyrogue put his foot back down and began to run forward.

"Bulbasaur, Take him Down before he hits!" Bulbasaur nodded and reluctantly ran forward. Not only was she scared of the fire, but the move itself hurt her. Skylark felt bad for it, but he felt it was better than that Blaze Kick. That kick would probably take them out of the tournament. So, Bulbasaur ran forward and smashed straight into Tyrogue, who flinched at the hit. He was thrown backward and onto the ground, where his leg was then extinguished due to lack of use. However, his body soon began to glow red again due to the Work Up. Bulbasaur landed too, her face writhing with pain from the hit.

"Tyrogue, Mach Punch!" Miller shouted. Tyrogue nodded and jumped forward, his fist forming. The punch was thrown straight into Bulbasaur's head, throwing her to the ground and making her face look covered with pain. Tyrogue's punch not only hurt, but the boost from the Work Up added more injury. However, since Bulbasaur was half-poison, fighting moves only do half-damage to her.

"Bulbasaur!" Skylark shouted. The punch hurt her a lot, but she wasn't about to let it take her out. "Bulbasaur! Shake it off and Vine Whip him!" Bulbasaur nodded, whipping violently at the foe in front of her. Tyrogue was smacked around with those whips some, one even smacking the back of his leg and making him fall over. He swiftly jumped up, though.

"Tyrogue, you aren't strong enough! Work Up!" Miller shouted in a strict tone. Tyrogue nodded and took the same stance as before, again pumping up his body and becoming redder and producing more sweat and heat.

"Bulbasaur, while he's working up Take him Down!" Skylark shouted nervously. He didn't want to make Bulbasaur use that move, but he was getting desperate. If Blaze Kick even hit ONCE, he was done for. Especially with Tyrogue becoming even stronger. Bulbasaur swiftly ran forward, Tyrogue still in his pose, but she was stopped.

"Let's try Mach Punch now!" Miller shouted. Tyrogue quickly put his fist out and punched, faster than the previous punch, and threw Bulbasaur backward. Bulbasaur was unable to attack because of the powerful punch. Tyrogue broke his concentrated and hateful look and let out a smile. Miller smiled too.

"Bulbasaur, can you hear me?" Skylark shouted in dismay. Bulbasaur lay there, unmoving, but breathing heavily. Even at half damage, the punch had become much stronger than before. "Bulbasaur, come on! Are you okay? Get up!" Bulbasaur hesitantly got off her side and stood on her four feet. "Bulbasaur! You need energy! Let's Leech Seed Tyrogue!" Bulbasaur opened her bulb and shot out more leech seeds, but they came out faster than usual. They latched straight onto Tyrogue's chest.

"Hahahaha!" Miller laughed. Skylark stopped his deep thinking and looked up at him. "What good is this gonna do?" He taunted. "Tyrogue, let's finish the match! Blaze Kick Bulbasaur!" The crowd roared happily as Tyrogue took his yoga stance from before and had his leg consumed in fire. Tyrogue ran forward and began to spin around as he jumped into the air. Skylark's stomach cringed and churned. He knew it was over. He shut his eyes and tensed up.

The crowd was hushed with silence as the kick was landed. Tyrogue smiled and Miller nearly jumped into the air with happiness. However, the kick…was on the ground. In fact, Tyrogue slowly fell to the ground after landing the hard kick. Bulbasaur stood behind him, her whips wrapped around his other leg, pulling very hard. Skylark opened his eyes to this scene.

This is what happened: Bulbasaur, knowing that the kick was coming, prepared herself for a Take Down. She ran forward, quickly taking action, and watched as Tyrogue fell down upon her. However, she took her whips and wrapped around his normal leg. She ran in between his legs, dodging the fiery leg and getting to the other side. There, she continued running and stopped, positioned where she was behind him and pulling on his leg. Skylark nearly cried from the relief.

"Bu-Bulbasaur! I'm so proud of you!" Skylark shouted. "Now, let's continue this battle! Vine Whip!" Bulbasaur wearily nodded as she swiftly pulled Tyrogue's leg and forced him onto the ground. She turned around and proceeded to whip him unmercifully. It was a critical hit, and Tyrogue lay there with his body still glowing red. Using all of his will power, he stood up and faced Bulbasaur. Tyrogue stumbled a bit, feeling the loss of energy. Bulbasaur felt the rush of energy and stood up a little taller. But it didn't do much to affect the match.

"Tyrogue, what are you doing?" Miller shouted. "We've trained for months! I've taught you all these moves, now use them!" Tyrogue shook his head, getting his thoughts together. Then he nodded. "Now, Tyrogue, let's end this! Another Work Up!" Tyrogue, hesitant for a moment but then responsive, took the position again and pumped up his body, allowing more sweat and heat. He grew almost as red as a tomato, or even as red as Groudon.

"Bulbasaur, he wants to end the battle, so let's hurry up and win!" Skylark shouted. "We can finish him! Use your Vine Whip one last time! We can win this!" Bulbasaur stared at Tyrogue, her eyes now tensed and consumed with competition. Bulbasaur was bent on winning, almost as much as Skylark. Her whips came out of her back as she prepared to attack.

"We got one shot, Tyrogue! Blaze Kick!" Tyrogue again posed and transferred all red to his leg, which then was engulfed in fiery flames. Tyrogue and Bulbasaur, both weary from the battle, ran forward. One more attack would do them in. It all came down to it: Who was going to hit first?

Bulbasaur jumped up, her whips behind her. Tyrogue jumped forward, his fire leg lifted high. They met in the middle. The crowd fell silent. No one cheered, nor did anyone make a noise. Now, Bulbasaur and Tyrogue were on the opposite side of each other, backs turned. Both were silent, their faces grim. Bulbasaur was burned heavily on her left side, showing a near-critical wound. The crowd looked at Tyrogue, who stood straight with his fiery leg still ablaze.

It was extinguished as Tyrogue fell to the ground, his face first, letting out a horrid sound of fainting. The red that once consumed his body disappeared as the power he once held left his body. Tyrogue had fainted.

Bulbasaur had won.

As they both flew into the air at each other, Tyrogue's leg had skimmed Bulbasaur's left side, which is what created that semi-critical burn wound on her side. However, Bulbasaur did it on purpose. She sacrificed her left side in order to win. She had put both her feet on his leg, causing her to lose HP, and pushed it down, preventing him from kicking. From that point, she let her whips fly forward and smash straight into Tyrogue's chest, causing a critical hit. But she continued whipping as well, sealing the fate of the battle once and for all.

Miller was silent. He looked down, his eyes shut.

Skylark could not believe his eyes. It was only half a year ago that he found Bulbasaur wandering in the woods, almost burnt to death. But here, Bulbasaur was willing to burn herself for Skylark. Skylark was moved. He couldn't breathe. The feeling overwhelmed him as Tyrogue was called back into his ball.

Skylark Declan won the Kanto Tournament with Bulbasaur.

"Ladies and gentlemen! I don't believe my eyes!" The announcer shouted. "Bulbasaur has defeated Tyrogue, who belonged to Champion Miller! Miller has been the champion for six years! But now, she has won! Skylark is now the new champion of the Kanto Tour—whoa, wait a minute…"

The crowd stopped cheering as silence fell over the crowd. Skylark, chocked up, looked up and began to notice something peculiar going on. Miller looked up as well and began to see something occur. Grace and Skylark's mom, who were in the stands, noticed something going on as well.

"What?...

….Bulbasaur is evolving!"

To be continued…