"You're challenging him now?" Asked Iris in shock.
"Awesome." Barry said excited, but in a quiet tone.
"You've beaten elite 4 members to make it this far. Now I'll just have to prove that I'm better than you." Paul said with certainty. Tyler was a little taken aback at how straightforward Paul was. Nether the less, he still wanted to get the training in, so he was all for it.
"Okay Paul, I accept." Paul nodded in appreciation as they stepped away from each other and Brock volunteered to officiate.
"So it's a battle between Tyler and Paul." Said Tracey.
"Can't wait!" Said Barry, who chose to stick around and watch.
Paul explained the rules. "It's a three on three battle. No substitutions are allowed. Whoever takes the most victories will be the winner." He said.
"Fine with me." Tyler agreed.
"Alright. Battle begin!" Brock called.
"Ursuring, standby for battle." Paul's first choice was the hibernator Pokémon. The brown bear raised its arms and roared when it appeared.
"Go Lapras!" Tyler went with the water Pokémon that helped him win against Bertha.
Use slash
Ursuring roared and ran forth swinging its claws.
Use ice beam at its feet
The transport Pokémon fired a blue beam of ice down towards the ground. It started to freeze the ground as Ursuring lost its footing and slipped onto its back.
Now hydro pump
Lapras followed up with a powerful water attack. Ursuring got to its feet and stood strong as the water washed over it.
Use focus blast
Ursuring put its hands together and formed a blue sphere of energy.
Dodge it
The normal type threw the focus blast but was too slow as Lapras swiftly moved to the side to avoid it.
"What?! How is it moving so fast?" Said a surprised Paul.
"How can Lapras be that fast?" Asked Iris in shock.
"Look at the ground!" Tracey pointed.
Paul stood in shock. The frozen ground had affected more than Ursuring. That ice beam had frozen part of the field. Lapras was able to move around more freely now that the battlefield was covered in ice.
Use body slam
Lapras quickly slid along the field and slammed into Ursuring with its own body.
Hammer arm on the ground
Ursuring slammed both arms down into the field and broke up the icy surface, hindering Lapras from moving so fast.
Now bulk up
Ursuring power intensified as it powered up both its attack and defence.
Surf
Lapras summoned a wave of water, directed at the normal type.
Slash now
Ursuring use the claws on both hands to slash down the surf as it approached.
Now focus blast
The bear formed another ball of fighting energy.
Hydro pump
Lapras open its mouth and blasted a torrent of water as Ursuring threw the focus blast. The two attacks collided in the middle of the field, but the focus blast was eventually overpowered and was pushed back by the water as Ursuring was struck by both attacks.
Hammer arm
Paul had Ursuring use its strongest attack to try to wrap things up.
Ice beam
Before Ursuring had made contact, the ice Pokémon hit it with a cold beam at close range. Ursuring was hit in the chest and was toppled over by the attack.
"Ursuring is unable to battle, the winner is Lapras." Brock called.
"Alright!" Cheered Tyler's friends.
"Wow. That Lapras sure is something." Barry said impressed.
"Great job Lapras!" Tyler rushed forth and hugged the big water type. Paul retuned Ursuring and grabbed another pokeball without a word.
"Froslass, standby for battle!" Paul's next Pokémon was an ice type, stepping up to battle the trainer from Blackthorn.
"Return Lapras, and thanks." Tyler said as he returned his winning pokemon to its ball. "Go Zweilous!"
Tyler chose the two headed dragon as his second Pokémon.
"Uh-oh. Zweilous is at a disadvantage against an ice type." Iris shuttered.
"Oh, a Froslass." May said as she brought out her pokedex. "Froslass, the snow land Pokémon and the evolved form of Snorunt. It freezes foes with an icy breath nearly -60 degrees Fahrenheit. What seems to be its body is actually hollow."
"Let's just see how Tyler deals with an ice Pokémon as a dragon type trainer." Tracey said.
Use hail
Froslass started by summoning dark storm clouds overhead. Pellets of ice began to rain from the sky.
Flamethrower
Both of the dragon's head shot fire from their mouths. The flames missed their mark as Froslass disappeared just before it got hit.
"What? Where'd it go?" Tyler looked around for the ice Pokémon.
Ice shard
A medium sized ice ball was hurled towards Zweilous from the left side. It was struck by the super effective move but was able to get up without a problem.
"Argh. Where's it coming from?" Wondered Tyler.
Ice beam
Another ray of cold came for Zweilous
Dragon pulse
Zweilous countered with a dragon sphere at the ice beam. An explosion of smoke was created upon collision. Through the darkness the ice beam continued on and struck Zweilous in the face.
"Zweilous's been hit again. Ice moves are just too powerful on dragon types." Said Iris with worry.
"Not only that, but Tyler can't even fight back it he can't see Froslass." Said May.
"That's Froslass's ability snow cloak. It raises evasiveness during a hail storm." Tracey elaborated.
Zweilous was being pelted by the hail as it continued to fall. Tyler looked on to the field that was still clouded in smoke. He couldn't see the field, but he couldn't see Froslass either so what was the difference?
"Wait, I think I've got an idea." He said to himself.
Use ice shard
Another ball of ice flew at the twin headed dragon. Tyler was ready for it this time.
Counter with flamethrower
Zweilous fired back with a stream of flames. It blasted through the ice and continued on to where it came from. A cry was heard when the fire made its mark.
"Wait it hit?" Asked May.
"Yep, he got him. Way to go!" Cheered Iris.
Froslass finally showed itself after getting hit by the fire. It was weakly floating in the air, covered in scorch marks.
Use crunch
Zweilous jumped onto the attack ran ran after the ice type, bearing teeth. Froslass was hit with a consecutive, effective attack.
Finish with dragon rush
Zweilous's body was enveloped by dragon energy and ran towards Froslass.
Dodge it
The ice Pokémon floated to the side to avoid the attack.
Now, ice beam
Froslass formed a light, blue ball in front of its mouth that fired three smaller beams of ice towards the hostile Pokémon. Zweilous suffered a direct hit and fell in exhaustion.
"Zweilous is unable to battle, Froslass is the winner!" Brock announced.
"Froslass return." Paul recalled the weak Pokémon for some rest.
"Zweilous, are you okay?" Tyler asked as he knelt down to the dragon. Zweilous slowly got up, turned a head and licked Tyler's face, saying that it was fine.
Haha. You did well. Now return for some rest." He returned Zweilous to the ball and looked up at Paul, waiting to see what his next Pokémon was going to be.
"So that's a loss for Tyler." Said May.
"Zweilous was just outmatched by the type advantage." Said Iris as she looked on.
"Still, I can't believe Tyler lost." Said May.
"So now they've both won one." Said Tracey.
"This next one decides it." Said Iris.
"Go Metagross!" Tyler's final choice was his iron leg Pokémon.
"Torterra, standby for battle!" Paul chose his starter as his third Pokémon.
"Uagh, Torterra." Said Brock in awe. He didn't expect that.
"What kind of Pokémon is Torterra?" Iris leaned over to May. She brought out her pokedex again.
"Torterra, the continent Pokémon and the evolved form of Grotle. Small Pokémon occasionally gather on its unmoving back to begin building their nests." It said.
Metagross iron head
The steel Pokémon charged forth with a silver lowing body. Paul didn't give Torterra any commands as it blocked Tyler's attack on its own.
Giga drain
Three green energy strings grew out from the spikes on Torterra's back and wrapped themselves around Metagross. Paul had picked his opportunity and used this move while Metagross was close up.
Use hammer arm
Metagross brought up its leg that was glowing red, and smashed it down on Torterra's head into the battlefield.
Now psychic
Metagross's eyes went into a blue glow and telekinetically lifted Torterra's face off the ground and threw it back and crashed to the ground.
Use stone edge
Torterra got up fairly fast and sent a barrage of stones over at Metagross.
Meteor mash
Metagross rose a silver encoated leg and smashed the rocks into dust with one swing.
Use meteor mash again
The iron leg Pokémon continued on to Torterra with its attack.
Crunch let's go
Torterra hung on through the pain from the attack and retaliated and sunk its jaw across the face of Metagross.
"That's not good." Tyler started to sweat.
"Uh oh, that was a super effective move." Said Tracey with concern.
"Metagross better be careful." May looked on.
Now giga drain
Torterra started to sap away at Metagross's energy again.
Psychic
Metagross tried to life Torterra away, out of range of the giga drain. Torterra tried to hold on but the front of its body started to lift up.
Frenzy plant
Torterra smacked its front legs back to the ground as several large vines shot out from underground. Two of them lifter Metagross into the air while another one smacked it on the underbelly and sent it back down into the ground. Metagross kicked up a lot of dirt upon colliding with the field. Torterra took its time to recharge while no one could see. Everyone looked on as the dust cleared and Metagross was still on its feet.
Alright! Hammer arm
Metagross brought its legs up and quickly floated over to Torterra.
Use crunch
Metagross swung its leg forward as Torterra jumped forth with its jaw. They were caught in a stalemate between hammer arm and crunch, neither side willing to let up.
Psychic
Metagross focused its powers and threw Torterra up in the air again
Frenzy plant
Torterra somehow managed to land on its feet. It landed with a loud crash as giant, wild vines shot up out of the ground again. One by one they smacked into Metagross with powerful force. After a beating from the strongest grass attack, Metagross wobbled and its legs gave out from under it.
Brock made the decision. "Metagross is unable to battle, Torterra is the winner and victory goes to Paul!"
Paul recalled his Pokémon and put the ball in his pocket with a satisfied smirk on his face. Tyler did a quick check on Metagross to see if it was okay. After a nod of approval from his Pokémon he returned to its ball for some rest.
"Thanks for all your hard work." He said to it. He stood up to face Paul as he walked up with an expressionless look on his face.
"It was a good battle." He said.
Tyler agreed with a head shake. "It sure was. You're really strong. I can't wait to see what you can do in the tournament."
Paul nodded back at him. "After watching you battle, I can't wait to see what your brother can do." Paul said with closed eyes and a smile on his face. He looked over at Brock and the rest of his friends, then turned and walked away. The sun was just starting to set so Paul was probably going home.
"Paul's gotten even better." Brock walked up to Tyler and watched Paul leave.
"He sure is strong." Tracey said.
"Then I'll just have to work harder." Tyler said looking at the ground. He was in deep thought. "Just because I bean an elite 4 member, doesn't mean it's over. I need to keep working to become stronger." He said with conviction.
"That's the spirit. Take the mistakes you made in that battle, and learn from them." Brock advised.
"Guess you're right." Said Tyler looking up. "I guess it's true what they say." Brock looked over to him for an answer.
"There's always room for improvement." He said to him.
"Hey Tyler?" Tyler and Brock looked back to May when she was talking to them.
"Did he say he's facing Jamie in the next round?" She asked.
"Yeah, he is." He nodded.
"Well if Paul beat you, can Jamie beat Paul?" She wondered.
"I don't know. Paul doesn't seem like the kind of person that's going to go down that easily." Tracey said.
"I haven't seen Jamie battle that much, so I don't know how good he really is." Said Iris.
"Well I just hope Jamie is as good as he claims to be." They all turned to Brock. He looked back to where Paul had walked away. "Or else he won't survive the fourth round.
Well, there you have it. Tyler's first loss. shocking isn't it? Or not. You decide.
Tyler may have proven to be strong. But remember that Paul is no pushover. We'll see how the other Blackthorn city brother fares later.
Anyway hope you enjoyed the chapter. Please review and merry Christmas, or if you prefer, happy holidays!