It's time for the conclusion of the Castelia City Contest! Will Owen and his aggressive style prevail? Or will Brooklyn and her graceful Pokemon? Let's find out!
Owen's team
Snivy, (f), level 10, Tackle, Leer, Absorb, Vine Whip
Tranquill, (f), level 19, Tackle, Growl, Gust, Quick Attack
Blitzle, (m), level 15, Quick Attack, Shock Wave
Sawk, (m), level 26, Brick Break, Bulk Up, Mega Punch, Blaze Kick
Heatmor, (m), level 20, Flame Burst, Tackle, Hone Claws, Flame Wheel
"So you're a coordinator now?"
"No, Mom. I figured I'd give it a try this one time, and it's actually pretty fun," Owen responded while rolling his eyes dramatically. He had called his parents as a part of a deal they had settled on after the teen had ran away for nearly half a year, which he felt was more than fair. After all, he was an only child. "And my Pokemon are pretty excited about it too," he said with a grin while turning to look at Sawk. "Oh! You haven't even met them," Owen said aloud as he face palmed in embarrassment. "Everyone, come over here and meet my mom."
Snivy sat on her trainer's lap, while Tranquil appeared in the bottom left corner of the screen. Blitzle popped up in the bottom right, and Heatmor and Sawk stood behind Owen's left and right respectively. All five Pokemon greeted the middle-aged women, who laughed at the energetic nature of the group.
"It looks like you have quite the team. Make sure you all keep Owen out of trouble!" Owen's mother joked. The Pokemon nodded at the order before Owen's mother spoke again. "Good luck in the championship, honey. You're father and I will be watching and cheering for you."
"Oh yeah. Where is Dad?" Owen quizzed curiously.
"He's out at Professor Oak's making sure your Pokemon aren't fighting. You know how Swellow likes instigating things."
"Yeah, he's an idiot. Well, I've gotta get some sleep. I'll call you when I wake up tomorrow." With that, Owen ended the video chat before yawning and stretching his arms over his head. He turned and saw his five Pokemon laughing at a story Tranquill was telling. He was happy to see the creatures getting along so well. Although his other teams got along, there always seemed to be at least two Pokemon that didn't get along. In Kanto, Wartortle originally didn't like anyone. Johto: Electabuzz felt the same way. Hoenn: Swellow was willing to let Sceptile get kidnapped because of their hatred. Sinnoh: Garchomp and Infernape didn't see eye to eye.
The Pokemon on his current team had vastly different personalities, which seemed to be why they got along so well. The teen yawned again and fell on his bed in his own room in the Pokemon Center. The five Pokemon looked over at the trainer, deciding they should also go to sleep. In a matter of minutes, everyone was asleep.
000
Sawk opened his eyes and looked around the room. Owen was still asleep, and so were all of the other Pokemon. The blue Pokemon then peaked through the window, seeing the pitch black night sky. Tiptoeing past the sleeping bodies on the ground, Sawk made his way to the door and opened it. After walking down the hallway, Sawk arrived at his destination: the practice battlefield behind the Pokemon Center. He went through a quick warmup before walking over to a set of dummies that he could hit.
(Switch POV)
"This one looks good," Sawk noted while taking a dummy that had an athletic physique from a rack made of four metal bars. The non-living creation would provide a suitable opponent for the powerful fighting type. Sawk placed the mannequin on the opposite side of the battlefield and walked back over to the rack that contained the plastic figures. There, he found a remote device that would turn the mannequin on, and it would fight on its own. Sawk pushed the button after tightening his robe, and he darted back to the battlefield.
The mannequin sprinted towards Sawk before firing an array of punches at the karate Pokemon. Sawk took a boxing stance and managed to avoid each punch with ease. He then reared his right fist back while it began to glow a bright white, and he struck the human-like device powerfully. The mannequin was sent flying across the battlefield, so Sawk ran after it. Looking down at the motionless device, Sawk noticed a gigantic hole in the mannequin's chest, causing him to sigh.
"Those things can fight?" a voice asked, causing Sawk to jump in shock.
Turning defensively, Sawk realized the voice belonged to Heatmor. The fire type appeared to be panting slightly, which made Sawk realize that he had been training too.
"How long have you been out here?" the fighting type quizzed while putting the mannequin back where he found it. Heatmor made his way to Sawk and began inspecting the selection of opponents.
"I don't know. Maybe three hours?" Heatmor assumed while looking up at the night sky.
"Seriously? This has to be the first time you've woken up this early," Sawk replied in shock. Knowing that he wasn't the only one that would have nightly practices was strange, but seemed promising.
"No. I'm usually up earlier, but I slept a little late this time," the fire type replied. "I need to practice more for this contest thing, though." Heatmor turned his back to Sawk and began inspecting the battlefield. He had only visited the Pokemon Center a few times over the past couple of years. Before, there had never been a battlefield. But things changed all the time, which appeared to bother him.
"You do know we're not doing another one of these things?" Sawk asked with a bit of disappointment. The idea of contests was promising, and they were something that intrigued him. "Why are you even out here?" he asked, realizing the question came off as a bit hostile.
"I need to get stronger," Heatmor answered coldly, turning his head around. Sawk looked into Heatmor's right eye (the only one that was visible at the angle) and saw a fire burning.
"Wow, this kid has a better work ethic and drive than me. This is the kind of partner I want to have for tomorrow," Sawk thought. "I wonder why, though."
000
"Let's give a warm welcome to Owen!" Julia shouted. Sawk stop by the teen's side confidently. This was the moment he had been waiting for, and he was finally there. Looking to his left, he exchanged nods with Heatmor, the Pokemon he picked to be his partner. Heatmor was ecstatic when Sawk had asked him to perform, and the two practiced the entire night. Though Heatmor struggled mightily to keep up with Sawk's frenetic pace, the fighting type was impressed by Heatmor's determination to become stronger.
"Alright, guys, return." Owen zapped the two Pokemon back to their Pokeballs before releasing a deep breath. CJ and Fate had wished him the best of luck, and so did his parents. He was nervous. Even though he had competed in crowds exponentially larger than the one he would soon meet, a sense of unfamiliarity kept him from feeling calm.
"Vy-Snivy," Snivy told her trainer, sensing his nervousness. Owen turned his head slightly to see Snivy smiling at him. Owen smiled back at the Pokemon while patting her head thankfully.
"You're right, Snivy. Let's go out there and have some fun!"
With that, Owen ran onto the stage while waving at the crowd. Snivy used her vines to wave at the crowd, which seemed to win over the fans. As the boy stood in his trainer box, he locked eyes with Brooklyn, who had been introduced first. She had a cocky grin plastered on her face, making Owen angry.
"You know you don't belong here, Owen," Brooklyn said from across the stage. Somehow, not a single person in the arena heard the insult except for Owen. The boy shrugged his shoulders, masking the building rage.
"Welcome to the championship round of the Castelia City Contest! My name is Julia, and I'll be the hostess today," the woman announced to the audience. "In what has been a stellar opening contest, we have finally arrived at the last round of the contest! Both coordinators have shown a knack for creativity and composure so far, and I expect nothing less today! Competitors, this round will have the same rules as the semifinals. Do you understand?"
Both Owen and Brooklyn nodded in response, prompting Julia to continue speaking.
"Okay. Bring out your Pokemon!"
"Dewott, Smoochum, take the stage!" Brooklyn shouted while flinging the two Pokeballs towards Owen. The two Pokemon standing on Brooklyn's half of the battlefield looked at Owen confidently in an attempt to unnerve the boy. Owen, however, didn't notice the two looks he had received because he had been taking two Pokeballs off his Pokebelt.
"Sawk, Heatmor, let's give them a show!" Owen cried. The two Pokeballs he had thrown opened and the two aforementioned Pokemon shot out of the red and white spherical devices. The crowd began to roar at a deafening pitch once all four Pokemon appeared on the battlefield. Julia looked at both sides before her left arm shot forward.
"Begin!"
"Dewott, use Water Pulse on the ground in front of Sawk! Smoochum, use Icy Wind right after!" Brooklyn started. As soon as her Pokemon heard the commands, they were off to the races. Dewott generated a ball of aquatic energy and jumped before hurling the powerful attack towards Sawk. Smoochum, meanwhile, waited patiently to obey her order.
"Sawk, jump in the air! When you land, run towards Dewott and use Brick Break! Heatmor, use Hone Claws and wait to attack!" Owen countered. Sawk sprung twenty feet in the air just before the Water Pulse crashed, and Heatmor began to grow glowing white claws. Brooklyn smirked after hearing Owen's orders, and she snapped her fingers. With that, Smoochum released a freezing gust of wind mixed with snow, freezing the wet ground.
When Sawk landed, he slipped and landed face first while also rolling his right ankle. The blue fighting type let out a cry of pain while striking the ground in pain. Owen looked at the scoreboard and saw he had lost a sixth of his points to the predictable combo, causing the teen to bite his bottom lip.
"Perfect! Smoochum, use Confusion on Sawk while he's down! Dewott, use Aqua Jet to keep Heatmor from helping Sawk!" Snapping out of his mindless thinking, Owen watched as Dewott turned into a speeding bullet of water while Smoochum fired a red beam of energy towards Sawk. Thinking fast on his feet, Owen was able to counter his opponents' attacks.
"Heatmor, use Flame Wheel and hit Dewott! Sawk, use Blaze Kick to melt the ground and then use Mega Punch on Smoochum!" Owen yelled over the audience. Heatmor let out a high pitched grunt while being engulfed in fire, and Sawk's foot turned ablaze. The fighting type planted his fiery foot on the ice, melting the slippery surface instantly. He then spun away from the Confusion like a ballerina, dropping Brooklyn down to a third of her points. Heatmor, meanwhile, sped towards the incoming water type. Dewott noticed Sawk had made his way to Smoochum, so he turned around and sped towards the fighting type. Heatmor broke out of the Flame Wheel in confusion, soon realizing Dewott had fled to protect Smoochum.
"Smoochum, duck! Dewott, strike Sawk with a Razor Shell!" Smoochum's eyes shot wide open in terror as she watched Sawk's glowing white fist speed towards her. The ice and psychic type jumped back, evading the powerful normal type attack. Then, Dewott landed in front of Sawk and slashed him across the chest with both scalchops. Owen watched as Sawk skidded across the battlefield while Heatmor looked over at the fighting type in concern.
"Sawk, are you okay?" Owen asked the hurt Pokemon. Sawk got back up on his feet after a bit of trouble, and he clenched his ankle immediately. Before Owen could say anything about the injury, Sawk waved him off. "Okay. Use Blaze Kick and slam your foot on the ground! Then use Bulk Up! Heatmor, use Flame Burst on Dewott!" Sawk slammed his non-injured foot on the ground while it was covered in fire, causing a flame to engulf Sawk. Bulk Up was then used, and the fire began to glow red. Then, Heatmor shot a powerful bullet of fire towards Dewott after Sawk's combo in an attempt to defend Sawk.
The raging fire surrounding Sawk's body wowed the crowd, and even managed to drop Brooklyn's points another third, giving Owen a commanding lead.
"Dewott, use Water Pulse on the ground to block Flame Burst! Then use Aqua Jet on Sawk!" Owen watched in horror as Dewott's Water Pulse overpowered Heatmor's Flame Burst, and it managed to strike the fire type. Heatmor was sent rolling into the wall behind Owen, and he watched as Dewott slammed into Sawk, putting out the extravagant fire while also launching Sawk against the back wall.
Owen's points were lowered to half of his starting total, but he refused to look at the screen.
"Use Aqua Jet again!" Brooklyn shouted. Dewott nodded at his trainer's words before launching towards Sawk at a furious speed. Owen looked over to see Sawk standing, albeit barely. Without hesitation, Owen attempted to stop the incoming water type attack.
"Here it is, Sawk! Use Brick Break on Dewott! Heatmor, use shoot yourself in the air with fire!" Heatmor released a massive amount of fire from his mouth, and he was propelled upwards. He then looked down to see Sawk's glowing white fists collide with Dewott's head. The two moves were locked in a stalemate, but Brooklyn came up with a way to end the duel.
"Smoochum, push Dewott forward with Psychic!" Smoochum's eyes flashed light blue, and a slim line of light blue energy surrounded the water bullet. In a matter of nanoseconds, Sawk was crushed by the supercharged attack, and he smacked against the wall again.
"Sawk!" Owen cried, turning his attention to the barely conscious fighting type. Heatmor landed right next to Brooklyn after his random flight, and he intently watched the situation unfold. He jumped in fright, turning to face Brooklyn, who began yelling to Dewott.
"Dewott, use Razor Shell until Sawk faints! Smoochum, use Confusion on Sawk!"
Immediately after hearing the girl's commands, Heatmor watched as everything went into slow-motion. A demonic anger surged through his veins in an instant, and he began to feel his body become hotter. He couldn't help but notice that his vision was becoming blurrier with each passing millisecond, causing the fire type to breathe nervously. As Dewott slowly reached for his scalchop, Heatmor's instincts took over, and he lost consciousness.
The crowd gasped as Heatmor disappeared from sight, and Dewott was flung back to the other side of the battlefield. Everyone in the went silent. Owen exchanged a glance with Sawk, who looked relieved about not being attacked. He was a bit confused, however, about Heatmor vanishing from the battlefield.
Suddenly, a cloud of dust shot up. The dust was short-lived, thanks to the air vents located at the inner roof of the arena. Everyone gasped as Heatmor became visible. Owen looked at the recently caught Pokemon in terror. Never before had he seen a Pokemon look so satanic.
The holes on Heatmor's wrists were releasing steady amounts of fire, while his tail did the same. The normally brown colored parts of Heatmor's body had turned bright red, while the yellow parts of his body turned pure black. Heatmor turned to Sawk and began walking slowly. Not a noise was made, nor did anyone move. Sawk stared at the fire type wide-eyed as Heatmor moved closer and closer.
Heatmor's claws jutted forward, causing everyone to gasp for a second time. Sawk shut his eyes in fear, but after not feeling anything, he opened his eyes to see Heatmor extending a hand. Sawk allowed a thankful smile to crack through his solemn exterior, and Heatmor walked the fighting type back to Owen. Once Heatmor helped Sawk lean against the wall, he made eye contact with Owen.
The fire type's eyes had turned a fiery orange. He then turned to face Dewott and Smoochum, both of whom were watching in fear. Julia looked over to the judges, who signaled for her to continue the battle, so she did.
"Please continue the battle!"
Meanwhile, in the coordinator room...
"CJ, what's wrong with Heatmor?" Fate questioned timidly. Angel, Hez, Leaf, and Wotter all stared at the Pokemon in terror while CJ tried to think of any possible explanations.
"That has to be a special ability," the fifteen year old started. He began rubbing his chin while racking his brain for the answer he desired while Fate searched through her Pokedex. "That's Blaze." Fate jumped back in shock to hear CJ's answer.
"What!? I checked the Pokedex and it didn't list that as one of Heatmor's abilities!" Fate shrieked.
"That's strange. But if that's not Blaze, then what the hell is it?"
Back on the battlefield...
"HEEEEE!" Heatmor roared. Following the roar was a wave of fire shooting out of tail and wrists that managed to hit the roof and side walls of the battlefield. The entire crowd began screaming in horror as Heatmor began to run around at light speed.
"Heatmor, please stop!" Owen shouted to the Pokemon that was barely visible due to his lightning quick speed. The trainer's pleas were met with another high pitched roar, which echoed throughout the stadium. "Heatmor!" Owen yelled again.
"Owen, what the hell is your Heatmor doing!?" Brooklyn screeched from the other side of the battlefield while withdrawing her two Pokemon. "Stop him!"
"I don't know how!" Owen shouted back in terror. Brooklyn noticed the fear in her opponent's voice, confirming that he was being serious.
"Sawk!" the fighting type grunted while slowly pushing himself off the ground. Owen's head whipped back to see Sawk walking onto the battlefield in an attempt to stop Heatmor's rampage.
"MOORR!" the fire type shouted at the top of his lungs while releasing an enormous wave of fire from his mouth, tail, and wrists.
The crowd that had been watching up to that point began sprinting out of their seats and out the arena, leaving just Owen, Sawk, Snivy, Brooklyn, Julia, the judges, and Heatmor.
"Sawk!" Sawk yelled to Heatmor, who was punching the ground furiously. The fire type's head shot up, and his eyes locked onto Sawk. Slowly, the fighting type began to walk over to the enraged Pokemon, assuring Heatmor that he'd be fine.
(Switch POV)
"Heatmor, listen to me!" Sawk ordered. The deafening roars from Heatmor stopped, and the unrecognizable Pokemon stared at Sawk. "I'm fine. See? Dewott and Smoochum didn't hurt me," Sawk told Heatmor in a hushed tone as he inched towards the highly dangerous Pokemon.
"NO! I SAW YOU WERE BARELY MOVING!"
Sawk took a few steps back while Heatmor screamed, fearing that the fire type would accidentally hurt him. "But it's okay now. You just need to calm down. Everything's alright." Sawk continued moving closer to Heatmor, who looked scared of his own power. Almost immediately after dropping to his knees, Heatmor returned to his original appearance.
(Switch POV)
"Heatmor!" Owen shouted as he ran to the Pokemon's side. "Are you okay, buddy? What happened?" Owen asked. The fire type looked around at the arena in fear before turning to face Owen, who had a relieved look on his face. "I'm just happy you two are okay," Owen said to Heatmor and Sawk as he hugged the two Pokemon. Heatmor looked down at the ground, not aware of what had just happened.
"Owen, we're sorry to say this, but you've been disqualified from the Castelia City Contest. Brooklyn, we present you with the Castelia Ribbon," the judge with a red suit told the girl. Brooklyn happily took the small piece of gold before looking over at Owen and his three other Pokemon. Snivy sat on the teen's shoulder while Owen held Heatmor and Sawk close to his chest.
"Thank you," the blonde said while bowing. She then left the battlefield, not looking back at her opponent.
Owen slowly let go of Heatmor and Sawk before leaving the battlefield and withdrawing the two Pokemon. On his walk to the coordinator room, his mind replayed Heatmor scaring off everyone that had come to watch the finals. He ran his hands through his dark brown hair and let out a sigh of relief. At least his Pokemon were okay.
000
"Why are we at the dock?" Fate asked as she, Owen, and CJ sat on a bench that allowed them to see the incoming and leaving boats.
"Well, the Castelia City gym is closed for the next week or so, and Owen can get his third badge in Virbank City, which requires us to sail," CJ answered as if were an adult talking to their child.
"Last call for the S.S Anne! Destination: Vermillion City, where a tournament is being held for trainers!" a man shouted from a large boat to the right of the group. Owen shot up instantly after hearing that the S.S Anne was returning to Vermillion, which was one of his favorite cities in Kanto.
"Let's go on the S.S Anne!" Owen told CJ and Fate. The teen turned and bolted towards the enormous ship, forcing CJ and Fate to follow after.
"What about your gym battle?" Fate asked from afar.
"Who cares? I'm gonna compete in that tournament!"
End scene. Well, Owen lost in the C.C.C championship because of Heatmor's meltdown getting him disqualified. Anyways, the group will now be heading to Vermillion City, where Owen will compete in a tournament while also meeting his second rival. Owen will also be faced with a huge decision that could impact his chance at winning the Unova League! Till next time, peace out.
1) What happened to Heatmor? (It's not an ability, so be creative!)
2) Are you surprised Sawk and Heatmor wake up during the night to train? Why?
3) What do you think will happen during the Vermillion City Tournament?
Next Chapter: The Birth of a Fierce Rivalry!