Hey there. I'm on vacation at the moment, so this will probably be the only chapter I can get up, unless I can get another done today. So, this chapter will feature one of the group members battling a rival. Then, next chapter will be about Owen taking on Drayden. Then, Fate will be competing in another contest, so I've got a lot of writing to do. And when I get home - in about five days - I'll aim to finish the story in two, maybe three weeks.
Owen's team
Snivy, (f), level 26, Tackle, Leech Seed, Grass Pledge, Vine Whip, Leaf Tornado*, Leaf Blade*
Heatmor, (m), level 38, Flame Burst, Tackle, Hone Claws, Flame Wheel, Fury Swipes*, Fire Pledge*
Krookodile, (m), level 42, Bite, Dig, Dragon Claw, Bulldoze, Hyper Beam*, Stone Edge*
Druddigon, (f), level 37, Dragon Claw, Earthquake, Crunch, Revenge
Muk, (m), level 37, Sludge, Body Slam, Protect, Poison Jab
Empoleon, (m), level 36, Water Pledge, Drill Peck, Metal Claw, Whirlpool, Bide*, Brine*
With Professor Juniper
Puff, (f), level 32, Dynamic Punch, Sing, Rollout, Pound, DoubleSlap*
Unfezant, (f), level 32, Detect, Air Cutter, Gust, Quick Attack, Aerial Ace*
Zebstrika, (m), level 30, Quick Attack, Shock Wave, Thunder Wave, Flame Charge
After leaving Icirrus City and crossing through the disgusting marsh area, the group of traveling trainers walked down the road filled with ongoing battles. Seeing all of the action made Owen want to get to his gym battle even more than before, and his antsy mood was bothering everyone.
"Calm down. All we have to do is get through Tubeline Bridge, and we'll be in Opelucid City for your gym battle," CJ told the younger boy. Owen didn't listen to CJ and continued to fiddle with his belt and look at his six Pokeballs.
"Seriously. You still have to wait a couple of days to battle anyway," Fate muttered. Owen and Snivy scowled at the comment until they reached the Tubeline Bridge, where they saw a familiar pair of faces.
"Blake?" Owen asked when he saw the boy and an Arcanine by his side.
"Owen, what's up?" he asked. "How's the badge hunt going?
"I've got six, but I'm going to get my seventh in Opelucid City," Owen replied with a smile. "Hey, why don't we battle? We could use the practice," Owen said while pointing to himself and Snivy.
"That'd be awesome! What do you say, Arcanine? Are you up for the challenge?" Blake inquired while looking at his starter. The evolved Pokemon barked in response while wagging his tail, so both Owen and Blake took ten steps back. "How does three versus three sound?" Owen gave a thumbs up, prompting Rebecca to step forwards and act as the referee.
"This will be a three versus three battle between Owen and Blake! There will be no substitutions! Choose your first Pokemon!" Rebecca ordered while looking at both trainers.
"Golurk, go!"
"Empoleon, I choose you!"
"This battle will be between Empoleon and Golurk! Begin!"
"Golurk, use Shadow Punch!" Blake commanded while throwing his right fist forward. Golurk also threw its arm forward just like Blake had done, and a shadowy fist zipped through the air and towards Empoleon.
"Dodge it and counter with Bubblebeam, Empoleon!" Owen countered. Empoleon jumped to his right and avoided the ghost type attack, which stuck Owen and knocked him down. While he was getting up, Owen saw Empoleon's beak glow blue and he released a flurry of bubbles. Golurk was pelted by the super effective attack, but the large statue didn't show any signs of being injured.
"Let's use a super effective attack ourselves, Golurk! Earth Power!" Golurk slammed its foot on the ground and a series of flames shot up from the ground. Eventually, Empoleon was hit by the ground type attack and flew several dozen feet in the air.
"Now's our chance, Empoleon! Use Drill Peck!" Owen ordered. A bright grin appeared on Empoleon's face, and he began to spin like a drill while his body began to glow white. Then, he crashed down and slammed into Golurk's chest, knocking the manmade Pokemon on its back.
"Golurk, take to the skies and use Shadow Ball!" Much to everyone's surprise, Golurk's feet released a powerful burst of fire and it took into the air like a rocket. Then, Golurk generated and fired a large ball of purple energy at Empoleon, who looked ready to counter the attack.
"Use Metal Claw to slash through it!" Three long silver claws appeared on the ends of Empoleon's flippers, and he used them to slash through the Shadow Ball attack.
"Use Shadow Punch one more time, Golurk!" Golurk punched there air in front of its body and sent a large shadowy fist towards his penguin opponent, but Empoleon dodged the attack with ease.
"Wrap this up with Water Pledge!" Owen shouted emphatically. Empoleon's stomach began to glow bright blue, and he slammed his flipper on the ground. As soon as Golurk landed on the ground, a column of water shot up and clobbered the ground and dark type. Once the water type attack ceased everyone watched as Golurk collapsed.
"Golurk is unable to battle! Blake, choose your next Pokemon!"
"Thanks for the hard work, Golurk. Flygon, let's do this!" Owen stared as the powerful dragon type appeared in the air and landed in front of Blake. He had always wanted to own a Flygon of his own, but Owen never encountered a Trapinch or Vibrava whilst traveling through the Hoenn region.
"This battle will be between Empoleon and Flygon! Begin!"
"Empoleon, use Brine!" Owen yelled. Empoleon quickly shot a ball of water at Flygon, but the flying Pokemon managed to narrowly evade the attack.
"Let's counter with Fire Blast!" Blake shouted. Flygon reared her head back and shot a star shaped flame at Empoleon. Then, she flew behind the powerful fire type attack, but Owen and Empoleon weren't able to see her.
"Use Bubblebeam to go through the Fire Blast!" The bulky penguin released dozens of bubbles in an attempt to extinguish the Fire Blast attack. Much to his and Owen's dismay, Flygon flew through the smoke after the two attacks collided, giving Blake and his second Pokemon an opportunity to deal a devastating attack.
"Now strike with Dragon Tail!"
"Block it with Metal Claw!" While Flygon's tail began to glow turquoise Empoleon's flippers grew three metallic claws and threw them forwards in an attempt to keep Flygon's Dragon Tail from landing.
"Dodge it and use Earthquake!" Blake shouted, drawing Owen's attention. The fourteen year old turned back to Flygon and Empoleon only to see the dragon and ground type spin away from the Metal Claw while slamming her tail against Empoleon's head. Then, Flygon slammed her two feet against the ground, causing the ground to shake. Suddenly, a column of dirt shot up and hit Empoleon on the back, sending him flying into the air.
"Empoleon!" Owen shouted while watching the water and steel type fly through the air limply.
"Flygon, wrap this up with Fire Blast!" Blake roared. Flygon flew above Empoleon, and she released a star shaped flame from her mouth. The wicked fire slammed into Empoleon and exploded on contact, sending him crashing into the ground, which cracked under his immense weight.
"Empoleon is unable to battle! Owen, choose your next Pokemon!" Rebecca announced after seeing Empoleon's eyes were shut tight.
"Way to go, buddy. Druddigon, come on out!" Owen exclaimed while throwing his second Pokeball into the air. Druddigon appeared just in front of Owen, and she let out a vicious roar while glaring at Flygon. Blake's dragon type growled at the rough skinned Pokemon standing in front of Owen, but she stopped when Rebecca spoke up.
"This battle will be between Druddigon and Flygon! Begin!"
"Flygon, use Earthquake!" Flygon zipped towards the ground and slammed her tail against the ground, causing a tremor to occur. Owen lost his balance for a split second, but recovered and shouted a counterattack for Druddigon.
"Druddigon, take the attack head-on and use Revenge!" Druddigon began to glow red before he was hit in the chin by the column of dirt that shot up from the ground, and she was hurled into the air. Flygon then flew after Druddigon, but the latter of the two slammed her glowing red fist over Flygon's head, slamming her into the ground. Druddigon landed on her feet powerfully while Flygon took to the air, and both Pokemon locked eyes.
"Use Fire Blast!" Blake shouted. Flygon reared her head back and launched a star shaped flame towards Druddigon, who looked back at Owen and waited for him to issue a counter move.
"Dodge it and use Dragon Claw!" Owen instructed. Druddigon turned back around and sprung into the air while her claws began to glow bright blue. Flygon and Blake both gasped in shock before Druddigon landed a savage Dragon Claw attack, which was super effective.
"Hang in there, Flygon! Use Bite!" Blake ordered while his dragon type recovered from the powerful attack. Flygon regained control of her flight pattern, and she zipped over to Druddigon and bit her on the arm, causing the bulkier of the two dragons to roar in pain while punching Flygon in the head repeatedly. Flygon, however, refused to release her grip on Druddigon's arm.
"Bite Flygon right back!" Druddigon heard Owen scream. The red faced dragon chomped down on her opponent's head, causing Flygon to shriek in pain.
"Gon!" Flygon continued to screech, and both Pokemon stopped biting each other immediately. After they made their ways back to their respective trainers, Druddigon and Flygon turned back to Owen and Blake. Both trainers looked back at their Pokemon before looking at each other, knowing that the two dragon types were nearing exhaustion.
"Dragon Claw!"
"Dragon Tail!" Druddigon began charging towards Flygon while her claws were glowing light blue, and Flygon zipped through the air while her tail was glowing turquoise. Druddigon leaped forwards and swung her right arm while Flygon threw her tail at Druddigon. The two Pokemon struck each other powerfully, sending both dragon types flying back to their trainers.
"Both Pokemon are unable to battle! Choose your last Pokemon!" Rebecca announced while looking at both Owen and Blake after Druddigon and Flygon had fainted.
"Nice job out there, Flygon. You really pulled through. Arcanine, this is it!" Blake told the fire type that was standing by his side. Arcanine ran forward while wagging his tail before roaring powerfully.
"That was an awesome first battle, Druddigon," Owen said to Druddigon's Pokeball with a smile. After he clipped it back onto his belt, Owen looked at Snivy, who was sitting on his shoulder. The grass snake looked back at her trainer and nodded confidently while preparing to hop off, prompting Owen to scream, "Snivy, it's all up to you!" Snivy jumped off Owen's shoulder while doing a front flip, and she landed gracefully.
"Why did he do that? He could've picked Krookodile or Muk," Fate criticized while watching Snivy and Arcanine lock eyes.
"Those would've been way better picks, but Owen seems confident that Snivy can win. Look," CJ top Fate. The younger girl looked at Owen and saw the confident look on his face, but she saw an equally confident look on both Blake's and Arcanine's faces.
"This battle will be between Snivy and Arcanine! Begin!" Rebecca yelled.
"Arcanine, start this off quickly and use Extremespeed!" Blake shouted while pointing at Snivy. Arcanine nodded at his trainer's words and bolted towards Snivy while being covered in blinding white light.
"Trip Arcanine with Vine Whip, Snivy!" Owen countered. Snivy tried swiping Arcanine's legs out with the two vines from her neck, but Arcanine jumped over the attempted tactic. Then, he slammed his head against Snivy's sending her rolling back to Owen with a pained expression on her face.
"Now use Flamethrower, Arcanine!" Before Snivy could get back up she was incinerated by the super effective fire type attack. Owen, Fate, CJ, and Rebecca watched as Snivy slowly got back onto her feet, clearly hurt by the two previous attacks from Arcanine. Despite this, she charged towards Arcanine, who waited patiently for Blake to give him another command.
"Leaf Blade!" Owen roared while punching the air with his fist. Snivy jumped and began to spin like a wheel, and her tail began to glow light green. The attack landed, but it did little, if any damage. Arcanine simply shook his head to rid any slight amount of pain, and he roared at Snivy, causing her to fall over in fear.
"Use Flame Burst!"
"Dodge it!" Just before the Flame Burst attack could hit her, Snivy used the two vines from her neck to launch her into the air, but it didn't stop Blake and his Arcanine from attacking again.
"Flamethrower!" Blake shouted while pointing at Snivy as if he was targeting her.
"Canine!" Arcanine roared while releasing a wave of red-fire. Snivy and Owen could only watch as the fire type attack made its way towards them. Then, Snivy was hit by the attack directly, causing her to drop to the ground with her eyes closed. Owen ran over to the downed Pokemon's side and zapped her back into her Pokeball.
"Snivy is unable to battle! Blake is the winner!"
"Great job, Arcanine! You were awesome out there!" Blake told his starter while patting him on the head. Arcanine beamed and licked his trainer happily until Owen walked over with a smile on his face.
"Nice battle." He extended his hand out, and Blake took it.
"You too. I hope we battle at the league," he replied. Owen nodded, and Blake began to walk away from Opelucid City with his Arcanine by his side. After he disappeared, Owen, Fate, CJ, and Rebecca decided to head towards Opelucid City. The four talked about Owen's upcoming gym battle and Fate's contest. Both the trainer and coordinator were confident they'd be able to win their respective battle and contest. Their sights, however, were set on the ultimate goals.
Winning the Unova League and Grand Festival.
There ya have it. Owen lost to Blake, but will be looking to rebound against Drayden next chapter. Till then, peace out.
Next Chapter: Dueling the Dragon Master
Chapter 45: Grand Festival, Here I Come
Chapter 46: Taming the Beast Within
*Chapter 47: Recognizing Romance
*Chapter 48: High Tide Part 1
*Chapter 49: High Tide Part 2
#Chapter 50: Appealing to the Judges
#Chapter 51: A Poisonous Pair