How's it going, everybody? Last chapter, Owen and Brooklyn performed in the Castelia City Contest and stunned the crowd with their incredible performances. Also, Pidove evolved at the end of Owen's routine! Now, the remaining coordinators will perform, and the participants in the battle rounds will be announced.
Owen's team
Snivy, (f), level 10, Tackle, Leer, Absorb, Vine Whip
Tranquill, (f), level 19, Tackle, Growl, Gust, Quick Attack
Blitzle, (m), level 13, Quick Attack, Shock Wave
Sawk, (m), level 26, Brick Break, Bulk Up, Mega Punch, Blaze Kick
Heatmor, (m), level 18, Flame Burst, Tackle, Hone Claws, Flame Wheel
"Leaf, use Vine Whip to slice up the Razor Leaf attack!" CJ commanded while pointing at the leaves flying towards the audience. Two vines shot out from the sides of the bulb on Leaf's back. In a matter of seconds, all of the leaves had been completely slashed through, leaving the crowd staring at the small bits of leaves raining over the battlefield.
"He looks like a natural out there," Owen opined while watching his friend's performance.
"He sure is," Fate whispered to herself while gazing at the TV while it was showing a closeup of CJ's face. The girl began to blush and looked down in an attempt to hide her face from the others.
"Let's finish this up by using Vine Whip to grab the leaves! Then spin and let go of them!" Leaf sprinted towards the small pieces of leaves and used Vine Whip to catch the falling bits of green. After grabbing every piece, Leaf began spinning as fast as he could while releasing the leaves by his sides. A tornado of leaves began to build up around Leaf, causing CJ to grin. "Now fire Solarbeam straight through the top!" Once Leaf was fully encapsulated in his Razor Leaf attack a gigantic beam of yellow light shot straight through the top of the combination move.
"Whoaaa!" the crowd roared at the beauty of the move.
"Leaf Volcano: Our signature combo!" CJ screamed while striking a pose. The bits of leaves continued falling from the ground as CJ and Leaf walked off of the stage after receiving glowing reviews for Leaf Volcano, and Fate could only stare in awe. Owen and CJ, both of whom had never heard of a contest until they arrived in Unova, had just given two of the most incredible performances she had seen. Then there was Brooklyn, who did even better.
"Damn! I didn't think anybody would be this good! Stupid Owen. He just happens to be a really good coordinator and trainer. Damnit!"
"Fate, are you okay?"
Fate shook out of her mental rant to see CJ standing in front of her with a sheepish grin on his face. The girl instantly blushed at the embarrassing situation before nodding her head violently, causing CJ to laugh.
"Good, because you just got called to the stage," CJ said with a wink.
"O-okay…." Fate stammered. She turned to Hez, who had a confident demeanor, but that didn't calm Fate down. The girl slowly moved towards the hall that led to the stage, but she turned to look back at her two companions. They both gave her a thumbs up, which began to calm the teenage girl down, albeit slightly.
"Swam!" Hez grunted excitedly while looking over at Fate. The girl smiled at her first Pokemon and withdrew the Swampert to his Pokeball. She then took a deep breath and made her way to the stage.
"She's so done," Brooklyn whispered to CJ.
"I'm not too sure about that," he replied. "I think she's got something in store for us."
"I doubt it," Destiny spat as she joined in on the conversation. CJ looked over at the attractive girl, trying not to be distracted by her looks. However, thanks to his teenage hormones, he began to salivate over Destiny. The girl giggled in response and looked over at Brooklyn.
The blonde paid no attention to the two older teens, and was arguing with Owen about something stupid. Destiny rolled her eyes at the stupidity of the arguing fourteen year olds, and she shifted her attention to the TV. Fate was holding Hez's Pokeball in front of her face just like Owen had done, which Destiny noticed instantly.
"Hez, it's time to steal the show!" Fate cried while chucking the water and ground type's Pokeball forward. Hez exploded from his Pokeball while throwing a powerful wave of water straight in the air. "Hez, use… uh…" Before Fate could finish, the water crashed on top of Hez, causing the audience to gasp slightly. Fate took a quick glimpse at the judges to see they were all shaking their heads in disappointment, causing the girl to panic.
"Swam-Swampert," Hez hissed at Fate in an attempt to help his trainer regain her focus. The plan completely backfired, however, and Fate began to pant rapidly.
Meanwhile, Owen and CJ looked on in horror while Destiny smirked at Fate's struggling. Brooklyn didn't make a facial gesture and continued staring at the TV as if she were trying to find the solution to Fate's problem.
"Come on, Fate!" Owen shouted, drawing unwanted attention from every other coordinator and Pokemon in the room. The teenage boy sweat dropped immediately, but he was caught off guard by what happened next.
"You can do it, Fate!" CJ screamed as he ran towards the tunnel that connected the coordinator area and stage. "Don't give in! We believe in you!" he shrieked at the top of his lungs.
Out on stage, Fate looked around at the crowd that was beginning to boo her. She began to sweat nervously before seeing Julia preparing to walk on stage. Suddenly, a voice echoed into her ear. As soon as she heard the cheering, her head shot up powerfully.
"That's CJ! And I think I hear Owen screaming about a man-eating Zubat… whatever. I can do this!"
"Hez, use Hydro Pump on the stage!" Fate exclaimed. Hez beamed at his trainer and released a powerful blast of water from his mouth. "Now use Ice Beam to make the stage a skating rink!" Hez shot a quick burst of light blue energy that turned part of the stage to ice, and he began to skate around while firing Ice Beam attacks on the ground.
The crowd quickly changed from an angry mob to a captivated audience that was cheering for Fate's shocking comeback, and the judges were struck with impressed looks. Even though Fate had nearly broken down, she refused to quit and that would earn her bonus points with the judges.
"Make an ice ramp and spin off the jump!" Fate ordered. Hez happily obliged and began building a large jump made of ice as he continued skating around the icy stage. The mudfish Pokemon then made his way towards the jump with a fierce look of determination. As Hez jumped Fate snapped her fingers, causing the Hoenn starter to spin like a top while he was flying through the air.
"Wow! That's awesome!" Owen shouted while watching Hez continue his furious spinning.
"Now use quick bursts of Ice Beam!" the girl commanded. The audience quickly hid under their seats in fear of being hit by the powerful ice type attack. Thankfully for them and Fate, Hez had pinpoint accuracy and continued hitting the center of the stage, causing an ice sculpture to appear. Once Hez stopped the Ice Beam he landed on the ground gracefully and skated towards Fate.
"Pert!" Hez cheered as he grabbed Fate and began to spin on the ice with his trainer.
The crowd began to clap for the girl and her Pokemon, but a sudden hush fell over the arena when the judges made their way on to the stage. Fate looked at the three adults nervously until she saw them look up at the eight foot tall ice sculpture in the middle of the stage. None of the three judges made a sound, and their jaws dropped when they stared at the beauty of the ice sculpture.
The breathtaking sculpture was a gigantic version of Fate holding Hez's Pokeball in front of her face, just like she had done at the start of her routine.
A sudden explosion of cheers echoed throughout the enormous stadium, which prompted Fate to curtsey while Hez bowed to the cheering people.
"That was a great rebound from a shaky start. Well done," the man in the red suit told Fate with a smile.
"The sculpture is absolutely remarkable!" the man in the middle shouted.
"An ice sculpture being made in your coordinating debut is magnificent! I've never seen anything like it!" Nurse Joy yelled over the cheers. Fate thanked the three judges along with Hez before being helped off of the ice covered stage. As she made her way through the tunnel, Fate was met by Snivy. The grass snake used both of the vines coming out of her neck to give a congratulatory pat on the back to Fate and Hez.
"Thanks, Snivy! We heard you guys cheering for us, and we really appreciate it," Fate told the quiet grass type after hugging Hez for his masterful performance, The girl then walked into the trainer room with Hez while Snivy bolted towards Owen and climbed up his shoulder.
"An ice based performance is a pretty gutsy call, but it was worth the risk. Nice job," Brooklyn complimented genuinely.
"Yeah, way to go, Fate! You and Hez were awesome out their," Owen told his friend.
"You really know how to put on a show, Flores," CJ remarked while addressing Fate by her last name jokingly. The girl grinned at CJ, but Destiny stepped in-between the two.
"I'm going to make that performance look like a five year old's once I got called up," Destiny proclaimed while raising her chin dominantly. Hez stared at the girl before having to restrain Fate, who was trying to rip Destiny's head off.
"Come on! Let me at her!" the fiery teen barked. Hez refused to listen to his trainer and waited for Destiny to walk away from the area. The fifteen year old girl gave Fate a devilish look before putting her arm around CJ and whisking him away.
"We'll let you cool off for a while, Fate!" Destiny sang while walking away with CJ, who didn't seem to mind being with Destiny. Fate continued watching the fifteen year old boy's actions and noticed that he actually enjoyed being around Destiny, sending her into a blind rage.
Thankfully, Hez was still holding Fate and was more than strong enough to keep the enraged girl from escaping.
"Well, I guess that went well," Owen commented sarcastically.
Fate's head whipped around, and Owen received the most intimidating look on the face of the Earth, causing him to slink away. Fate then let out a deep breath, and Hez released his trainer, who happened to be alone with Brooklyn.
"I'm going to go prepare for the battle rounds. I'll see you around," Brooklyn told Fate before turning to walk out of the stadium located in the middle of the city.
"Wait, Brooklyn! Aren't you going to wait to see the official results?" Fate quizzed.
Brooklyn laughed lightly before shaking her head. "I have no doubt in my mind that I advanced, and CJ definitely did too. But if Owen somehow makes it, I want to be ready so that I can crush him!" With that, the blonde walked out of the arena.
Slowly, Owen walked back towards Fate as he withdrew all of his Pokemon except for Snivy. The grass snake sat comfortably on Owen's shoulder, which gave her a much better view of what was happening in the area. Then, Snivy felt an evil presence appear in the room. She began to look around casually before turning her attention to the ground when Owen took a catcher's position. Standing in front of Snivy was her arch enemy, Angel. Even though they had only known each other for a month prior to being picked as starters, the two expressed a hatred for the other.
"Hey, Angel," Owen greeted the fire pig. Snivy looked at Owen angrily, but the boy couldn't see Snivy's face because he was too preoccupied with his talking to Angel. "Are you ready to perform in this contest?" Owen asked as if he was talking to a child. Snivy cringed at the disgusting tone Owen was speaking with. Had he been talking to any other Pokemon on the planet like that, she wouldn't have a problem. But because it was to Angel, Snivy was angered by Owen's friendliness.
"First of all, we're not totally sure we made it to the battle rounds. Secondly, I'm not sure who I'm using if I do get there," Fate told Owen, causing Angel to frown in frustration. Had she been the one to pick her trainer, Angel would be duking it out in gym battles with Owen. But of course Fate had to pick her. Even worse, Owen picked Snivy. For a brief period of time, Angel believed she still had a chance at joining Owen's team, but those were all squashed at the Daycare center. Had she left Fate after defeating Snivy, Angel would've gone against her number one rule: never leave your comrades behind.
"Destiny Jennings please report to the stage for the last performance of the appeal rounds!"
Angel watched as Destiny walked towards the tunnel with a Pokeball in her hand, which was most likely her Snivy's. The fire pig then looked up at Fate, who was scowling. Owen, on the other hand, was mesmerized by the teen.
Destiny arrived on stage in the blink of an eye, and she waved to the crowd. With that, she threw her Pokeball high in the air.
"Servine, action!" A bipedal snake appeared in front of Destiny. It had the same color scheme as Snivy, except its stubby arms were moved slightly closer to its chest. There were also two leaves on the top of its tail, and there was a yellow collar-like object around his neck.
"I guess that's Snivy's evolution," Owen noted while staring at the television screen.
"Servine, generate an Energy Ball and throw it forwards!" Servine's stubby arms moved towards his chest, and a small green sphere appeared. The attack began to grow rapidly, and Servine chucked it forward. "Now sprint in front of it and use Leaf Blade to hit a home run!"
Servine suddenly disappeared, causing everyone in the arena to gasp at the speed of the Pokemon. He then reappeared while his tail was glowing green, and Servine smashed the Energy Ball far away into the crowd.
"Now use Leaf Tornado to bring it back!" Destiny ordered. Servine let out a powerful grunt as a swirling vortex of leaves appeared around and above his tail. The grass snake then caught the Energy Ball before it could hit the crowd and waited for Destiny's next command. "Servine, let the Leaf Tornado leave your tail and hit the Energy Ball with Leaf Blade!"
"That's not going to work," CJ said aloud as he walked back to Owen and Fate. The two looked over at him and then back at the TV, hoping he was correct.
With incredible skill, Servine released the tornado from his tail, and it began to slowly rise in the air. Then, Servine used Vine Whip to launch himself above and into the tornado while his tail was glowing green. With a mighty swing of his tail, Servine smacked the Energy Ball, and it blew up instantly. The air was filled with smoke and Servine was thrown to the ground due to the force of the attack.
"Yes! She screwed up!" Fate cheered, causing the other coordinators to look at her like she was a psychopath.
Destiny stood in her place with a shocked expression. Destiny watched as her Servine made his way back to her with a look of anger on his face. He and Destiny had practiced the combination so many times before and had it down to a tee. Why did they screw up?
"Even though the last portion of the performance didn't work too well, the beauty of Leaf Tornado and Energy Ball was unmatched. Well done," the man in the red suit told Destiny and her Servine.
"The power Servine displayed by catching the Energy Ball and releasing Leaf Tornado into the air was remarkable!" the man in the middle exclaimed.
"You and Servine both did a great job showcasing an excellent understanding of combinations. And regarding the ending, I must give you credit for taking such a risk in your first contest," Nurse Joy told the fifteen year old.
The three nods from the judges prompted Destiny to walk back to the coordinator room, and a huge smirk stretched from ear to ear. Servine looked incredibly relieved after hearing the words of the judges, as there was still a slim chance that they'd make it to the battle rounds.
"What!? Why didn't they disqualify her?" Fate screamed in frustration.
"Her performance up to that point was really good, so their decision is understandable," CJ explained. He turned to see a terrifying look from Fate, which made him back away from the girl.
"If she makes it over me, I'm going to be angry. And when I'm angry, no one gets to have fun," the girl murmured to Owen and CJ, which made them run to the back of the room.
As they did, Destiny walked back into the room. The two girls locked eyes for a split second before Destiny broke it by walking to the back of the room to find CJ.
Fate looked down at Angel, who was also staring at Destiny. The fire type then looked up at Fate before nodding at her.
000
"First of all, I'd like to thank all of the competitors for performing in front of our wonderful crowd today! You were all incredible, and we couldn't have asked for a better group today. Now it's time to present the four coordinators moving on to the battle rounds!" Julia shouted as she looked at the enormous jumbo-tron at the top of the north end of the stadium.
All thirty coordinators that had performed were standing on the stage, and were hoping their picture would be displayed.
"After a dazzling performance, our top scoring coordinator is Brooklyn Moore!" Julia announced as Brooklyn's picture was displayed on the jumbo-tron. The blonde haired girl didn't celebrate at the feat, and waited to see who her opponents would be.
"Our next coordinator narrowly missed first place. His performance showed grace, power, and beauty all at the same time. He is… Owen Plateau!" Julia roared. The crowd applauded wildly, and Brooklyn turned to her left in shock. Owen noticed the blonde looking his way, but refused to engage. He then grinned at CJ, and the two bumped fists in a celebratory fashion.
"This coordinator incredible composure despite competing in their first contest," Julia started.
Fate tapped Owen and CJ and pointed to herself while nodding at the description Julia was providing. The two boys agreed and turned their attention back to Julia. "Facing Owen in the semifinals, give a hand for Cody Johnson!"
Fate's jaw hit the ground, and she watched as CJ began to laugh while throwing his hands in the air. She then looked over at Destiny, and the girl gave her an arrogant smirk. Fate turned her head away from the girl that unnerved her.
"For our last contestant, the judges overlooked the rough portion of her performance. There were many positives with the performance, and she showed a great level of confidence. Facing Brooklyn in the second battle of the semifinals will be Fate Candice Flores!"
Owen and CJ turned and congratulated the girl that was breathing a sigh of relief, while the crowd applauded the decision. The group of three then looked up at the gigantic board and stared in amazement. They has all advanced, and Destiny didn't, which caused Fate to laugh.
"Tomorrow will be the semifinals and championship rounds of the contest, so make sure to get your tickets before they're sold out!" Julia shouted to the crowd. After the host finished a drawn-out speech for the coordinators that didn't make it, Owen, Fate, and CJ made their way back to the Pokemon Center.
"I can't believe we all made it!" Fate exclaimed while putting her arms around the two boys as they entered the Pokemon Center. "I have to start practicing! There's no way I can just stumble up there and beat Brooklyn!" Fate shouted as she ran to the training grounds at the back of the Pokemon Center.
"Are you going to train?" Owen asked CJ as he sat down at a booth in the dining hall. The older boy shook his head in response while looking at the menu. "Good, I don't want to either."
"Who do you think you're going to use?" CJ asked while letting Leaf and Wotter out of their Pokeballs. "These are the only two I have besides this egg," CJ said while showing Owen the egg he had received from the Daycare Center. "so you already know who I'm using."
"I haven't given it much thought. I think I'll use Heatmor and Blitzle," Owen responded while releasing his five Pokemon from their Pokeballs just like CJ had done. "Then again, I'd actually have to practice if I want to use Heatmor," Owen noted while looking at the abnormally skinny fire type. "And I don't think he's in battling shape either."
After hearing that, Heatmor shot up from his dinner and gave his trainer an offended look.
"I didn't mean to hurt your feelings, Heatmor. I just don't think it'd be good for you to perform given how skinny you are," Owen told the anteater Pokemon. Heatmor exhaled a large burst of fire, causing Owen to jump back from the determined Pokemon. "Okay okay okay! You and Blitzle can battle for me tomorrow. I'm just going to have to go over the rules with you guys."
"You're not going over any combination ideas with them?" CJ quizzed in shock.
Owen shook his head.
"Why not? That seems like a pretty risky move."
"I have enough confidence in these two," Owen answered while pointing to Blitzle and Heatmor. "I know they'll pull of whatever I ask them to do." Both Blitzle and Heatmor beamed at the compliment, which caused Owen and CJ to laugh.
"Well, good luck tomorrow. May the best man win," CJ said while extending his hand.
"Right. Good luck," Owen replied while shaking CJ's hand. There was a moment of silence at the table, and the two boys exchanged looks before bolting from the table and heading to the practice battlefields.
And that's a wrap! Next chapter will be the semis and finals of the C.C.C, and I'm looking forward to the chaos that will ensue in the three battles. The first of the semis will pit Owen against CJ in, what should be, an all-out slugfest. Following that will be Brooklyn and Fate, which will have a much more contest-like feel as opposed to the battle oriented matchup of Owen and CJ. Till next time, peace out.
1) Which battle are you looking forward to (Owen vs CJ or Brooklyn and Fate)? Why?
2) Do you think Destiny should've made it to the battle rounds over Fate?
3) Give your in-depth prediction of each match (or just say who you think will win each battle)!
Next Chapter: Rumble for the Ribbon