Flygon was wiped. Once the battle had ended Flygon fell back and sat down on the field, as it barely had the strength to stand anymore. Tyler ran over to his dragon to congratulate it on its performance.
"Way to go Flygon!" He cheered as he laughed. "We did it!"
"Rraaarrh." Cheered the exhausted dragon type.
"Well, he did it. Tyler won his way into the fourth round." Said Brock. They were all standing and clapping in appreciation for the fantastic battle they just witnessed.
"So Ash and Tyler are both in the top 32!" Said Max excitedly.
"Yeah. But from here on in, it's only going to get tougher." Said Gary returning his hands to his pockets.
"That's the way I like it." Ash said. He couldn't wait for the fourth round.
"Hey. Where are you going?" Asked Kate as she saw Jamie get up and start walking away.
"I've got work to do." He said as he left the stands. She got up with him and the two started walking through the halls of the building.
"What did you think of his battle?" She asked trying to make conversation.
"He's good." Jamie said simply as he fumbled around with his phone. He was hitting buttons and looked like he may have been setting himself a reminder for something. "His Pokémon have gotten stronger. Even stronger than I realised. He's prepared for this tournament more than most people."
"Are you?" She asked.
"That's what I'm trying to do." He said, looking up and putting his phone back in his pocket. "Round 4 is coming up soon and I have to be ready." Jamie than started to walk down the hall again.
"I'll come with you! It's not like I have anything better to do." Said Kate as she ran after him. Kurt had left the stands as well. He just shrugged to himself with a look of indifference and followed them.
Dragonair thunder
A long, blue looking like snake shot electric beams across the field and zapped a white furred animal with an odd black horn.
Absol, use razor wind
The disaster Pokémon surrounded its self with wind currents that began to be absorbed in its horn. With a flick of the head, Absol shot several sharp crescents over at Dragonair.
Hyper beam
With ease Dragonair moved to the right to dodge the attack, and from the blue orb under its chin, it fired an orange beam of pure energy. Absol was engulfed in the blast and collapsed on the battlefield.
"Absol is unable to battle. Dragonair is the winner, and victory goes to Claire of the Blackthorn city gym!"
"Hah! I knew Clair would win it!" Tyler cheered.
"She looks as powerful as I remember." Said Iris.
"And as gorgeous to!" Said Brock, admiring the dragon gym leader. He yelled cheers out to her on the field as he waved his arms around dramatically from the front row.
"There goes Brock again. Going gaga over a pretty girl." Sighed May.
"I'm going to go congratulate her in person." Said Tyler as he left his place in the stands.
"Since Clair's here, why don't we go and say hi?" Suggested Ash as he thought of the idea.
"Sounds good!" Yelled Brock as he bolted. Iris wanted to say hi again and left with him to. But May stopped Ash before he could go to.
"Ash wait! I saw earlier that Morrison, from Hoenn, is battling today."
"Really?! Morrison's here?" Asked Ash excitedly.
"Yeah, that sounds like a great idea. We should totally watch his battle." Said Max agreeing with his sister.
"Yeah." Said Ash returning to his seat. Ash, Misty and the others stayed in the front row waiting for the next battle. Except Gary, who probably left to get something to eat and Tyler, Brock and Iris who went to go see Clair.
"Why are we still here? None of these matches are of any interest to me." Exasperatedly said a man at the the bleachers. The two of them were at the back of the stands, looking down onto the battle field. One of them was a 6" man wearing a black suit and a red bowtie. He had medium length blue hair that was neatly combed to the side. The other was a slightly taller, familiar individual who had a victory earlier over Palmer. The two of them had already passed on to round 4 and were watching another battle scheduled that day.
"Man you are such a stick in the mud. Why can't you just lighten up and enjoy yourself?"
"My idea of enjoying myself is not standing up here with you in the nosebleed section, watching two low caliber trainers who haven't shown to be worth my time."
"Why not Joe? Aren't you any interested in this guy?" The two of them looked down and saw a short, red headed kid on the battlefield.
"That is Buck correct? Isn't he the younger brother of Flint, of the elite 4?" Joe asked.
"He is. Time to see if battling runs in the family."
"That's ridicules. You can't expect him to be a good battler just because they're connected by blood." Joe said with a unimpressed look on his face. "You should know. Your brother was knocked out in the first round."
"Yeah. I kind of feel bad for him." He said with a thoughtful look.
"Well if you're done wasting my time, I'm going to go back to the hotel. Unless your plan is to stay here as a fan 'Nitro' as you like to be called." Joe said closing his eyes and a condescending shake of his head.
"It is and I do." Nitro replied. Joe then sighed and walked off while Nitro turned back to the battle.
*You act like such a child. And yet, you of all people managed to make it this far.* Joe calmly thought to himself as he exited the stadium.
"Clair! It's been such a long time since I've had the privilege to bask in your beauty. You could have the magnificence of a crimson rose and a warm summer breeze multiplied by the power of your dragons, and only then would it even begin to compare with you… Aaaarrrrhhhhhh!" Brock cried as he was once again struck by Toxicroak.
"Just like… Toxicroak's... poison jab… is like.. none, other…" He said before he got dragged off.
"Clair. Congratulations on your win." Said Tyler as he stepped up to her. Clair was somewhat of a role model for him as she taught him and Jamie all they knew about dragon type Pokémon, aside from their own experience in the field.
"Yeah. That battle was awesome." Said Iris.
"Thank you. I feel as though we have to keep winning now that Lance is gone." She said.
"Yeah I know. I can't believe he's out." Tyler said.
"Well because he is, the pride of Blackthorn city now weighs on you, me and your brother."
"Come to think of it… I haven't seen him all day." Tyler thought to himself.
"We did. He was in the stands watching your battle." Brock said as he recovered.
"He was?" Asked Tyler.
"Mm-hm. But he left right after that." Iris answered.
"Huh. I'm surprised. I didn't even watch his." Tyler laughed a little to himself.
"It was very impressive. And he had to take down a Hydriegon in order to win." Clair told him.
"Mmm. He must've gotten even stronger since I last saw him." Tyler thought.
"Wish I could've seen it." Sighed Iris.
"I've certainly been impressed from what I've seen from him so far." Commented Brock.
"Now Tyler, I may be a gym leader. But you and your brother have grown into quite powerful trainers over the years. Although I wouldn't have admitted it, I knew the day you two were accepted into the dragon's den before me, you would gain power and strength that would someday surpass even mine. That would be proven when the two of you both earned the rising badge from me." Clair said.
"Uh-ha." Tyler nodded wondering where she was going with this. Clair continued and put a hand on his shoulder.
"I told you the day you beat the gym that you had rightfully earned the Blackthorn gym badge, and to always wear it with pride as you carried on into the future."
"Yes, and I have Clair." He promised.
"Well just like a certified trainer of the Blackthorn gym, I want to to carry yourself with pride as a dragon trainer from Blackthorn city and wear that pride through stiff competition in the rounds to come." She said.
"You got it Clair." He said with a nod and a smile.
"Then Lance has nothing to worry about. The world will still know how supreme Blackthorn city is." Clair assured him.
At this point Brock noticed the clock and the wall.
"Well it's getting late. We should go back to the Pokémon centre. I'm sure your Pokémon need the rest." Brock suggested to Tyler.
"Yeah. Good idea." He agreed. He, Iris and Brock left the stadium and headed back for dinner.
"Good for Morrison. I'm glad he won." Said Max, satisfied with the battle.
"Yeah. Too bad he ran off before he could talk to him." Said Ash.
"Well he's still in the tournament. You'll see him around for sure." Assured May.
"Besides, with that hot-headed attitude he's got, it shouldn't be too hard to find him." Said Max.
"Like someone else we know." Misty slyly implied to Ash who just grunted in response, causing Max and Dawn to giggle a bit.
"Now that I think about it, Morrison did like to sleep outside." May remembered. This got some confused looks from Dawn, Misty and Tracey.
"He always had a hammock up in the top of a tree." Max Explained.
"Yeah. He says it's because it's pretty cool, and likes being surrounded by all the wild Pokémon." Ash said. He fondly remembered the loud screaming ginger.
"The two of them had a real competitive streak going." May retorted. She, Ash, Max, Misty, Tracey and Dawn were on their way back to the Pokémon centre after a day of great battles. Their old friend and rival Morrison had won his battle and was moving on to round 4, along with Ash, Jamie and Tyler, among others. It was just starting to get dark out and they saw Jamie walking out the Pokémon centre doors.
"Hey Jamie. Where are you off to?" Questioned Tracey as they passed by.
"I just got a text from Tyler. He said Clair has something to tell me."
"Clair? I know Tyler went off to see her. I think they're still in the stadium." Tracey said.
"Okay, thanks." Jamie said and went to move past them.
"Did you see Tyler's battle today? It was awesome the way it turned out." Ash said all pumped up.
"I did. Although I'm not sure about the gamble he made keeping Charmeleon in there. It was pretty close." Jamie slightly winced.
"True, but a win is a win and he earned it no doubt." Said Max.
"And I'm sure the crowd enjoyed the tension and suspense of Charmeleon battling Salamence." Tracey Said.
"Well I can't argue with that." Jamie admitted.
"Hey it's not like you never battle with a type disadvantage. Like with Bisharp and Gallade." Commented Misty.
"Hey. That's all Bisharp's decision, not mine." Jamie put a hand up defending himself.
"But it's things like that that make battling so awesome!" Cheered Ash with spirit.
"For sure." Agreed May.
"Well I should probably go find him." Jamie said as he started off.
"We'll see you at the party right?" Asked Ash with a thumbs-up.
"I'll see you later." Jamie waved as he walked off.
"So it's just you two and Tyler this time." Realised Max.
"Yeah. Brock and Dawn both lost." Said Tracey.
"Sorry Dawn." May said to her.
"That's okay, I'm fine. No need to worry." Winked the blunette.
"Alright! We've worked really hard to get this far so tonight we're going to eat up a storm!" Cheered Ash and Pikachu.