Here it is, readers! Originally, this was supposed to be a two part battle, but I've decided to just make it one, so sorry about that. Now, get ready for an intense, eighth gym battle! Because I'm so pumped for this, let's just get the chapter started!
P.S: My laptop should be fixed in the next week, so weird spelling errors may be present. For some reason, spellcheck doesn't mark them wrong
Owen's team
Snivy, (f), level 26, Tackle, Leech Seed, Grass Pledge, Vine Whip, Leaf Tornado*, Leaf Blade*
Puff, (f), level 32, Dynamic Punch, Sing, Rollout, Pound, DoubleSlap*
Unfezant, (f), level 32, Detect, Air Cutter, Gust, Quick Attack, Aerial Ace*
Empoleon, (m), level 39, Water Pledge, Drill Peck, Metal Claw, Whirlpool, Bide*, Brine*
Zebstrika, (m), level 33, Quick Attack, Shock Wave, Thunder Wave, Flame Charge, Stomp
Druddigon, (f), level 43, Dragon Claw, Earthquake, Crunch, Revenge
With Professor Juniper
Heatmor, (m), level 41, Flame Burst, Flamethrower, Hone Claws, Flame Wheel, Fury Swipes*, Fire Pledge*
Krookodile, (m), level 45, Bite, Dig, Dragon Claw, Bulldoze, Hyper Beam*, Stone Edge*
Muk, (m), level 40, Sludge, Body Slam, Protect, Poison Jab
Owen walked up to the strange gym with his eyes wide. The gym was made entirely of sand, and it looked like a typical sandcastle. There were three flags on the middle of the gym, the left side, and the right. A moat also surrounded the gym, and a large wooden door was laying on the ground and allowed people to cross over. Snivy sat on Owen's shoulder while he, Fate, CJ, Rebecca, and Brooklyn crossed the drawbridge and walked into the gym. As usual, the group walked through a waiting room and arrived at the sight of the battlefield.
"Wow," Rebecca gasped while looking around at the area. There was arena seating around the battlefield, and an enormous scoreboard was on both long sides of the marked battlefield. The battlefield consisted of two small circles near both trainer boxes and one large square piece of land. The rest was covered with water that seemed to be an abyss, and at least twenty stage lights were shining on the battlefield.
"Good luck, Owen," everyone said as they walked into the stands, which circled around the battlefield, and Owen walked into his trainer box with Snivy by his side.
"Are you here for a gym battle?" the referee asked while standing on his pedestal. Owen nodded, and the man wearing swim trunks spoke into a walkie-talkie. "Marlon, you have a challenger." After a minute passed, a man appeared from the other side of the arena, and was greeted with thousands of cheers from the crowd. He was rather tall and had a muscular build. His skin was tan - presumably from swimming or surfing - and his hair was dark blue. He also wore skin tight pants that were sky blue, and he wore a pair of flip-flops.
"What's goin' on, dude? The name's Marlon, and I'm the leader of the Humilau City gym. What's your name?" Marlon asked while stretching his arms over his head.
"I'm Owen Plateau, and I'm here to win my eighth gym badge!" Owen shouted over the screaming fans. Suddenly, the scoreboards turned on and showed Owen's and Marlon's pictures with three Pokeballs on Owen's side, and three on Marlon's.
"This will be a three versus three gym battle between Owen and Marlon, where only the challenger may substitute Pokemon! Furthermore, once all Pokemon on one side are unable to battle, the battle will be over! Marlon, choose your first Pokemon!" the referee ordered.
"Sweet. Wailord, let's roll with the currents!" Marlon yelled while throwing his first Pokeball. Owen and Snivy stared with their mouths wide open when they saw the colossal Pokemon land in the water. Turning his attention to the Pokeballs on his belt, Owen scratched his chin and tried deciding on his first Pokemon.
"Hmm… Puff, you're up first!" Owen's first Pokeball opened and Puff appeared on the small circle of land nearest the teen and Snivy, and she waved to the cheering audience.
"This battle will be between Puff and Wailord! Begin!"
"Puff, use Rollout!" Puff began to spin like a wheel, and she sped across the small platform while inflating. Then, she hopped over the water and onto the second platform while Wailord remained stationary.
"Make the ground slippery with Ice Beam!" Marlon ordered. Wailord opened his humongous mouth and unleashed a zigzagging beam of light blue energy that froze the middle platform. Puff passed over the frozen ground and began to spin out of control, but Owen acted quickly and kept his Pokemon from wiping out.
"Take to the air and use Dynamic Punch, Puff!" Puff stopped spinning and sprung into the air while her fist was glowing crimson, catching everyone in the arena by surprise. After reaching the peak of her height, Puff fell at a high velocity and punched Wailord as powerfully as she could. The large blue whale cried out in pain while Puff hopped back and fell towards the ground, but Marlon's voice snapped Wailord out of his hurt state.
"Wailord, hang in there and use Waterfall!" Suddenly, Wailord's body began to glow blue and he slammed into Puff headfirst, sending her bouncing across the middle platform and water before stopping on the circular piece of land closest to Owen.
"Are you okay, Puff?" Puff nodded back in response and stood on her feet with a noticeable grimace. "Good. Fight back with Rollout!"
"Don't let them hit you again! Use Hydro Pump, Wailord!" As Puff began to spin and fly across the pieces of land, Wailord shot a high powered blast of water at the normal type. Despite the speed of the water type attack, Owen's quick reactions combined with Puff's obedience caused it to miss, albeit barely.
"Puff, dodge it and use Dynamic Punch!" While rolling, Puff shot into the air and her fist began to glow crimson. Wailord tried shooting another Hydro Pump at the pink puffball, but the normal type slammed her fist against his head, knocking him out instantly. Wailord let out a low groan after being hit on the head, and he dropped to his side, causing a ton of water to fly into the audience and soak the people watching the gym battle.
"Wailord is unable to battle! Marlon, choose your next Pokemon!"
"Thanks, Wailord. Jellicent, it's your turn, bro!" As Wailord's picture turned black on the scoreboard, Jellicent's appeared and occupied the second spot. Owen knew nothing about Jellicent's typing, so he decided to keep Puff in the battle, which caused the referee to shake his head.
"This battle will be between Puff and Jellicent! Begin!"
"Let's keep going and use Rollout!" Owen yelled. Snivy punched the air above her head emphatically while Puff began to roll across the middle piece of land and towards Jellicent, but the celebration was stopped in the blink of an eye.
"Stop it with Hypnosis!" Marlon countered. Jellicent flew down to Puff and released three yellow rings of energy that hit her, causing Fate's former Pokemon to stop rolling, and she skidded across the battlefield face first. "Now use Ice Beam!" Before Owen could say anything he watched Puff get hit by the powerful ice type attack, and she was frozen in a block of ice.
"Puff, break out of the ice with Dynamic Punch!" Owen shouted while punching the air as if he was attacking. Puff didn't move a muscle, allowing Marlon to attack a second time.
"Hydro Pump!" he roared over the boisterous audience. Jellicent began to spin like a screw before releasing a jet stream of water, which crashed through the block of ice and sent Puff off the platform. After a few seconds, she resurfaced and her eyes were closed, indicating Puff was no longer able to battle.
"Puff is unable to battle! Owen, choose your next Pokemon!"
"You did really well, Puff. Zebstrika, I choose you!" After Owen threw his second Pokeball, Zebstrika appeared on the large square in the center of the battlefield. His picture then appeared on the scoreboard, and Puff's went black.
"This battle will be between Zebstrika and Jellicent! Begin!"
"Jellicent, use Night Shade on the water!" Marlon shouted. Jellicent's eyes began to glow purple and a crescent of purple energy appeared. Then, it sped down and hit the water, which temporarily blinded Owen and Zebstrika while Jellicent silently disappeared.
"Keep your eyes closed, Zebstrika!" Owen instructed. Zebstrika did as he was told and opened his eyes after the water stopped falling. He, Owen, and Snivy all looked around for Jellicent before Snivy pointed at the huge jellyfish's body, which was located underwater. "Now use Shock Wave on the water!" Zebstrika slammed his front hooves on the ground and a dancing wave of electricity struck the water, turning it bright yellow.
"Jelli!" Jellicent cried as he shot out from the water while electricity appeared around his large head. The water and ghost type then landed on the platform closest to Marlon, and he began panting while the effects of Shock Wave continued to bother him.
"Now, Zebstrika, use Stomp!" Owen ordered, seeing a small opening to attack. The electric zebra charged across the platform and jumped over to Jellicent, who was still down. Much to his and Owen's dismay, Zebstrika's hooves passed through Jellicent's body, and the water type got back up quickly.
"That doesn't effect Jellicent, little dude. Night Shade!" In a split second, Zebstrika was crushed by a purple crescent of energy, and he landed on the middle platform, which began to rock. Owen and Snivy exchanged quick glances after seeing Jellicent and Zebstrika panting in exhaustion, so Owen issued another command.
"Zebstrika, Shock Wave!" Owen commanded. The four legged zebra's stripes began to glow yellow while electricity danced around his body, prompting Marlon to give Jellicent a command.
"Give it all you've got, Jellicent! Use Hydro Pump!" Jellicent began to spin like a drill before firing a high-powered blast of water towards Zebstrika, and the electric type sent a zigzagging bolt of lightning at the incoming water type attack. The two moves collided and exploded instantly, sending both Pokemon flying into their trainers with their eyes shut tight.
"Both Pokemon are unable to battle! Trainers, choose your last Pokemon!"
"Zebstrika's Shock Wave is really strong," Brooklyn noted while looking down at Owen's friends, who all nodded in agreement.
"I don't think I've ever seen an electrical attack like it," Fate added while watching Owen pull out the fainted Pokemon's Pokeball.
"Way to go, Zebstrika. Thanks for the hard work." Owen zapped Zebstrika back into his Pokeball and watched as the electric type's picture turned black. Sighing, Owen mulled over his choices for his final Pokemon, but he couldn't decide who to use. Sensing her trainer's indecision, Snivy hopped forward and landed on the circular platform in front of Owen. "Snivy, it's all up to you!" Owen informed the grass type, who nodded back to her trainer confidently.
"Carracosta, time for high tide!" A large bipedal turtle appeared on the platform in front of Marlon, and it roared at Snivy. It's skin was aqua blue while its shell was a dark grey. Its arms were incredibly long and its legs were huge. Despite her opponent's size, Snivy wasn't the least bit intimidated.
"This battle will be between Snivy and Carracosta! Begin!"
"Surf across the water and use Ancient Power, Carracosta!" Marlon demanded. The large prehistoric Pokemon zipped across the water like a torpedo and jumped high in the air while three boulders circled around his body. Then, Carracosta threw them towards Snivy, but the grass snake was able to counter the attacks with tactical thinking.
"Snivy, use Leaf Tornado and send those rocks right back! Then use Vine Whip!" A powerful wind began to circulated around Snivy's tail, and then a few hundred leaves appeared and took the shape of a tornado. Snivy carefully pointed her tail at each of the three boulders and caught them before firing all three back at Carracosta, who was knocked into the water as a result.
"Use Aqua Jet to swim through the water and then use Crunch!" Marlon barked. Carracosta hid underwater and began to fly around like a bullet before shooting up behind Snivy. As she turned around, Carracosta bit Snivy's head, causing her to cry out in pain while flailing about. Owen bit his lip while trying to think of how Snivy could escape the attack, but his mind was racing too quickly.
"Sni!" Snivy shrieked in pain while Carracosta began shaking his head around to keep Snivy from being able to break free.
"This doesn't look good," Brooklyn opined while flinching at the sight of Snivy being bitten. "I don't think he can do anything about this."
"Don't worry about it. Owen and Snivy have been in this situation before," Rebecca told Brooklyn while watching Snivy attempt to pry Carracosta's jaws open with a Vine Whip, The idea, however, failed because Carracosta continued shaking his head violently.
"I think this is it," CJ muttered.
"Snivy, use Leech Seed!" Owen shouted suddenly. Everyone watched as a tiny brown sapling spread vines around Carracosta's body in a matter of seconds before a red light appeared and zapped away some of his health. Because the shock was so painful, Carracosta released Snivy, and she fell to the ground in pain.
"Fight through the pain, Carracosta! Use Skull Bash!"
"Snivy, use jump and use Vine Whip to push off Carracosta!" As Carracosta charged forward with his head glowing white, Snivy stood up and the two vines from her neck appeared. Carracosta then lunged at Snivy, but the grass type starter jumped into the air and placed her vines on the turtle's shell. Then, she pushed off the water and ground type, sending her flying into the air while Carracosta landed on the ground.
"Get up, Carracosta!" Marlon shouted to the enormous Pokemon. Carracosta tried pushing himself up, but because he was so heavy, he was unable to do so.
"LEAF BLADE!" Owen roared. Snivy's tail started glowing bright green while she spun like a wheel as quickly as she could. The audience, and even Marlon, gasped as Snivy crashed down and slammed her tail against Carracosta's head, knocking the huge Pokemon out instantly. Carracosta's head smacked against the platform, and his picture turned black.
"Carracosta is unable to battle! That means Owen is the winner!" the referee screamed, amusing the spectators to go ballistic.
"You did it, Snivy!" Owen exclaimed while jumping onto the platform and hugging his unevolved starter. Snivy beamed proudly, and she turned to see Marlon withdrawing his fainted Pokemon.
"Wicked job, little dudes. Because you defeated me, you earned the Wave Badge," Marlon told Owen and Snivy. He handed over a small piece of metal, and Owen anxiously put it in the eighth and final spot of his badge case before cheering excitedly.
"Way to go!" Fate and CJ chanted in unison while Owen made his way off the battlefield while waving to the crowd and Marlon.
"That was an awesome battle. Snivy, you did incredibly," Rebecca told the grass snake, who bowed at the compliment.
"I can't believe you managed to break free of that Crunch. You really are a pretty good trainer," Brooklyn admitted as the group walked out of the gym made of sand.
"Thanks, everybody. Now we can all go to the Grand Festival to watch you two compete!" Owen shouted excitedly while still looking at all eight of his badges along with Snivy. After walking back to the Pokemon Center, the group of five ate dinner and went to sleep. Fate and Brooklyn, however, were wide awake throughout the entire night.
"Hey, Fate. I just want to wish you the best of luck in the Grand Festival," Brooklyn whispered from her bed, which was the top bunk, while Fate's was the bottom.
"Thanks. I know you're going to do really well, so I don't think I need to wish you luck," the Hoenn native whispered back.
"I know we're going to have a rematch. I can't wait to see how strong you've gotten since the Castelia Contest." With that, Brooklyn went to sleep, leaving Fate by herself.
"I can't wait either!"
000
"Here we are; the Unova League," Ariel said coldly while the ship docked at the bay. "Thanks for the ride, captain," she told the sailor sarcastically while walking away with her Blaziken. The two walked towards the five stadiums and looked around to see nobody near them.
"Are you sure it's starting soon? It doesn't look like anyone's here," Blaziken inquired after looking around and seeing nothing but the main stadium.
"It will in ten days. And when it does, I'll make sure he knows who I am."
Now that Owen has finally qualified for the Unova League, it's time to shift gears and begin the Grand Festival! I'm going to try to get the first two rounds up today, so brace yourselves, people! If I don't post a second today, expect it to be up either tomorrow or Sunday. Going back to the end of this chapter, Ariel and her Blaziken have arrived at the Unova League, and are waiting for 'him' to show up. Who is this mysterious male Ariel wants to meet so badly? Till next time, peace out.
1) Should I give a description of the next chapter? (It will only pertain to the upcoming chapter, which would be Appealing to the Judges, if I were to start doing it now)
2) How far do you think Fate will go in the Grand Festival?
3) How far do you think Owen will go in the Unova League?
These chapters are titles for the Grand Festival, which will have a slightly different format than the Unova League, so I'm not giving away which chapter features which round, because that pretty much ruins the entire Grand Festival. BTW, next chapter is the appeal rounds of the G.F
Next Chapter: Appealing to the Judges
#Chapter 49: A Poisonous Pair
#Chapter 50: Unexpected Success
#Chapter 51: Clash of the Rivals
#Chapter 52: From One Tournament to Another