And it's time for the fourth and final chapter of the day, which will feature Owen's top 32 battle, and Ariel will begin to stir things up. Last chapter, Krookodile and Heatmor won Owen's top 128 and 64 battles respectively, but those two will be taking a break, because I need to focus on the other members of Owen's team. Now, let's get going!
Owen's team for battle
Snivy, (f), level 29, Tackle, Leech Seed, Grass Pledge, Vine Whip, Leaf Tornado*, Leaf Blade*
Empoleon, (m), level 39, Water Pledge, Drill Peck, Metal Claw, Whirlpool, Bide*, Brine*
Druddigon, (f), level 43, Dragon Claw, Earthquake, Crunch, Revenge
"Are you three ready?" Owen inquired while looking at the three Pokemon he'd be using for battle. Snivy, Empoleon, and Druddigon all cheered excitedly while the others were sitting on the couch in the living room. Heatmor and Krookodile looked concerned, remembering what Owen said to them, but he waved them off. The teen then walked up to the deck outside his bedroom, and he sat down at the table, which was where his parents were sitting with Charizard.
"You've done very well so far," Owen's father complimented while petting Snivy, who had scampered across the table and over to Owen's parents.
"Thanks. We're just doing the best we can," Owen replied, referring to his Pokemon. Empoleon and Druddigon nodded in agreement with their trainer's statement, causing Owen to laugh.
"Owen…" the aforementioned teen's mother started before taking a deep breath. "Your father and I have something very important to tell you." The middle-aged couple held hands, and Owen's father continued.
"We feel you're old enough to know this, and it has been weighing on our minds for the past year or so."
"Guys, I've gotta go to my battle. Would you mind telling me later? Thanks!" Owen shouted as he got up and ran down the stairs and out of the house while the five other teens and his battling Pokemon followed after him. The parents gave each other concerned looks before sighing and looking out at the sunset.
000
"Welcome to the top 32 of the Unova League! Today, we have two fierce competitors, so let's get this going! Our first trainer is Vivian!" A girl with black hair walked out of the left end of the battlefield and stopped once she reached her trainer box. "And our second trainer is Owen!" Owen, Snivy, and Charizard waved to the crowd before stopping once they reached their trainer box.
"This will be a three versus three battle between Vivian and Owen! Neither trainer may substitute his or her Pokemon! Furthermore, once all Pokemon on one side are unable to battle, the battle is over! Trainers, choose your first Pokemon!"
"Xatu, get out there!"
"Empoleon, it's your time to shine!"
"This battle will be between Xatu and Empoleon! Begin!"
"Empoleon, use Drill Peck!" Owen shouted. Empoleon quickly started to spin like a drill, and his beak began to glow white before extending. Then, he flew towards the psychic and flying type at a blistering speed, but Vivian and her Xatu countered the attack with ease.
"Xatu, stop Empoleon in his tracks with Psychic!" A thin blue line of energy appeared around Empoleon, and he stopped spinning instantly. The large penguin was lifted high into the air by Xatu, whose eyes had turned bright blue.
"Break through by using Brine!" Empoleon formed a large ball of water in his mouth and fired it at Xatu. The strange green bird had to break his concentration to try and dodge the attack, but he was too slow. The ball of water exploded on contact, and Xatu was sent rolling back to Vivian, who had an impressed look on her face.
"Strike back with Shadow Ball, Xatu!" Xatu hopped back up and created a ball of purple energy in-between his two wings before throwing it at Empoleon, who grinned once he heard the command. The water and steel type sprinted forward while his flippers were extended out to his sides, prompting Owen to issue a rather obvious counter attack.
"Use Metal Claw to slash through it!" Empoleon grew three long silver claws at the end of his flippers, and he slashed through the Shadow Ball with ease. He continued running across the battlefield and slashed Xatu across the chest with both of his flippers, sending the green bird flying back to Vivian's side.
"Xatu, Peck!"
"Let's show 'em your Drill Peck, Empoleon!" As Xatu got back up, his beak began to glow white and he charged at Empoleon. The blue penguin began to spin like a drill while his beak turned white and extended, and he zipped towards Xatu. The two attacks collided, and Empoleon prevailed with little effort. Xatu crashed into the wall behind Vivian while his eyes were shut, and he fell on the ground face first.
"Xatu is unable to battle! Vivian, choose your next Pokemon!"
"Thanks, Xatu. Throh, get out there!" As Xatu's picture on the scoreboard turned black, Throh's picture appeared underneath it in the second spot on Vivian's lineup. The bulky red Pokemon wore a robe, and looked like a slower, yet stronger version of Sawk.
"This battle will be between Empoleon and Throh! Begin!"
"Throh, use Sweep Kick!" Throh nodded at his trainer and charged towards Empoleon with a look of rage in his eyes. The red Pokemon put his arms forward and squeezed hisn hands multiple times as if he was waiting to grab Empoleon, who waited for a command from Owen.
"Keep it at a distance with Bubblebeam!" Empoleon nodded and his beak turned blue as he fired a steady stream of high velocity bubbles at Throh. Despite the power behind the attack, Throh continued running towards Empoleon, which wowed the crowd.
"Charge through it and use Seismic Toss!" After Throh reached Empoleon, he wrapped his arms around the water and steel type before springing at least thirty feet into the air. The two then pointed their heads towards the ground and started spinning like a drill, which resulted in Empoleon slamming his head against the ground while Throh made his way back to Vivian.
"Empoleon, are you okay?" Owen asked worriedly as the fully evolved water starter struggled to get up. Empoleon nodded to his trainer without looking, which was a good enough response for Owen. "Good. Use Drill Peck!" Empoleon took the shape of a drill again while his beak turned white, which made him look like a spinning bullet of white light.
"Throh, use Revenge!" Vivian ordered before Empoleon could hit her fighting type Pokemon. Throh nodded and his body was surrounded by spiraling red energy. As Empoleon hit the heavy fighting type, Throh countered with a vicious punch to Empoleon's face, which sent him soaring through the air. Once he crashed against the ground, Empoleon was face down and barely moving.
"Empoleon!" Owen shouted to his downed Pokemon. Empoleon slowly got back on his feet, but he was hunched over and breathing heavily while bruises were all over his body.
"Finish this with Seismic Toss!" In the blink of an eye, Owen watched as Throh grabbed Empoleon and jumped into the air. The two then pointed their heads towards the ground and started spinning like a drill before hitting the ground, causing a cloud of dust to shoot up around Empoleon. Once the dust settled, the referee saw that Empoleon's eyes were closed and he hadn't moved a muscle.
"This is gonna be a tough matchup for Owen. He has to beat Throh right here if he wants any shot at advancing," Rebecca told the others, who all nodded in agreement.
"Empoleon is unable to battle! Owen, choose your next Pokemon!"
"Nice job out there, Empoleon. Snivy, take the field!" Owen said to his Unova starter. Once Snivy ran onto the field, Empoleon's picture turned black and Snivy's occupied the second spot on Owen's lineup.
"This battle will be between Throh and Snivy! Begin!"
"Throh, start off by using Sweep Kick!" Throh slowly charged towards Snivy, who narrowed her eyes as the large red Pokemon came closer. As Throh dropped to the ground and tried kicking her legs out from underneath her, Snivy heard Owen's voice pierce through the screaming crowd.
"Dodge it and use Vine Whip, Snivy!" Snivy jumped and did a backflip to stylishly avoid the fighting type attack, and then she began slapping Throh with two vines that shot out of her neck. The slow Pokemon put his arms up in front of his face in an attempt to lessen the damage being dealt, but it didn't help in the slightest.
"Throh, grab Snivy's vines and pull her towards you! Then strike with Brick Break!" After moving his arms away from his face, Throh snatched both of Snivy's vines with his left hand, and he yanked her towards him while his fist began to glow bright white. Throh then punched Snivy in the face with a wicked Brick Break, which sent her rolling over to Owen and Charizard, who both cheered for her to get up.
"Hang in there, Snivy! Use Grass Pledge!" Snivy's stomach began to glow bright green as she nodded at her trainer, and then she slammed her stubby right arm against the ground. In the blink of an eye, a column of green energy shot up and engulfed Throh, causing him to cry out in pain before dropping to one knee.
"Throh, Superpower!" Throh suddenly got back on both of his feet while his body turned bright red, and he charged towards Snivy. Before she could do anything, Snivy was checked by Throh, and she flew into the wall behind Owen, which cracked due to the force of the impact. Snivy slowly got back up and made her way onto the battlefield with a noticeable limp, but she refused to give up.
"Snivy, get in close!" Owen commanded. Snivy obeyed and ran towards Throh, who was panting in exhaustion. Charizard watched as the speedy grass snake ran in a circle around Throh at a blistering speed, causing the fighting type to become dizzy after trying to locate Snivy.
"Throh, snap out of it!" Vivian shouted to the powerful Pokemon. Throh, however, fell on the ground and held his head in pain while trying to rid himself of the dizziness.
"Now use a spinning Leaf Blade!" Owen shouted. Snivy suddenly appeared in the air above Throh and began spinning like a wheel while her tail was glowing bright green, and she slammed it over Throh's head, knocking the larger Pokemon instantly.
"Wow, Snivy's gotten way faster since she started training for the league. That's incredible," Fate said aloud.
"Throh is unable to battle! Vivian, choose your last Pokemon!" Snivy let out a sigh of happiness due to the exhausting battle ending, but her good mode was destroyed when she heard Vivian speak up while throwing her third and final Pokeball.
"Thanks, Throh. Salamence, get out there!" Snivy's jaw hit the ground when she saw the large blue dragon with red wings land in front of Vivian, who gave Owen a cocky wink. Salamence's picture occupied the third and final spot of Vivian's team as Throh's turned black, and the referee looked at both sides with his arms in the air.
"This battle will be between Salamence and Snivy! Begin!"
"Salamence, use Dragon Rush!" Vivian shouted to the pseudo legendary. Salamence let out a ferocious roar before taking to the air. Charizard looked over at Owen with a grim expression on his face, which caused Owen to look over at Snivy worriedly. Salamence let out another roar before a blue dragon head of energy appeared around his body, and he crashed down towards Snivy.
"Snivy, grab onto Salamence with your vines and then use Leech Seed!" Snivy jumped as high as she could, causing Salamence to miss her attack. Then, Snivy wrapped her vines around Salamence's wings, causing the dragon and flying type to flail in an attempt to hurl Snivy off her body. Snivy took the opportunity to hit Salamence with a Leech Seed, which zapped the dragon type and restored some of Snivy's health.
"That's going to pay off later!" Orange exclaimed.
"Shake Snivy off and use Flamethrower!" Salamence began to fly around the wall of the battlefield before finally shaking Snivy off. The fully evolved dragon then turned and released a wave of fire that engulfed Snivy, who cried bloody murder. Once the fire ceased, Snivy somehow managed to keep standing, despite having little energy.
"Hang in there, Snivy! Use Leaf Blade!"
"Dragon Rush!" Vivian shouted over Owen. Salamence turned around and covered herself in blue energy, and a dragon head appeared. She then slammed into Snivy, who was sent flying through the air. Before she could hit the ground, Charizard zipped forward and caught her on his back.
"Snivy is unable to battle! Owen, choose your last Pokemon!"
"Awesome job, Snivy. Druddigon, let's do this thing!" Owen told his starter before throwing his third and final Pokeball. Druddigon stood on Owen's half of the battlefield and roared powerfully once she saw Salamence, who roared right back. Druddigon's picture appeared on the scoreboard in the third spot on Owen's team while Snivy's turned black, and the referee stepped forward.
"Salamence, use Flamethrower!" Vivian shouted while pointing at Druddigon. Salamence began flying in the air and shot a wave of fire out of her mouth and towards Druddigon. The rough skinned dragon smirked at the incoming attack, and acted once she heard Owen give a command.
"Dodge it and use Dragon Claw, Druddigon!" Druddigon rolled to her right and charged towards Salamence while her claws began glowing light blue. The flightless dragon leaped into the air and slashed Salamence's chest, causing the flying and dragon type to fall to the ground as she roared in pain.
"Salamence, strike back with your own Dragon Claw!" Vivian shouted, seeing that Druddigon was still close enough to attack. Salamence shot up from the ground and her claws began to glow blue as she went to slash Druddigon. Owen quickly issued a clever counter attack after seeing Salamence lunge forward, and he prayed it would pay off.
"Hurry! Use Revenge!" Druddigon's body was covered in red energy, and she took the brunt of the super effective attack before landing a nasty right hook that knocked Salamence onto her back.
"I've had enough of this! Salamence, use Dragon Rush!" As Salamence got back on her feet, a blue dragon head made of energy appeared in front of her body. Druddigon had made her way back to Owen's half of the battlefield when that happened, and she took an athletic stance in order to counter the incoming super effective attack.
"Druddigon, use Earthquake as a spring!" Druddigon slammed her foot on the ground as Salamence zipped across the battlefield, and a large pillar of rocks shot up from the ground and sent Druddigon flying through the air. "Now use Crunch on Salamence's wings!" Because Vivian was so awed by Owen's cunning evasion, she allowed Druddigon to land on Salamence's back, which brought the Hoenn dragon to the ground. Druddigon then bit both of her opponent's wings before hopping off Salamence's back and running to Owen.
"That was genius," Brooklyn commented, still in shock of Owen's abstract thinking.
"You can say that again. I don't think any of us could think of a counter like that even if we had ten minutes to think about it," CJ stated.
"You can't take us out of the sky! Salamence, fly!" Vivian barked. Salamence attempted to get off the ground, but her wings were bitten so badly that she wasn't able to fly.
"It looks like we can," Owen mocked with a sly grin. "Earthquake!" Druddigon didn't hesitate as she punched the ground with her right fist, causing the stadium to shake before a column of rocks appeared from the ground and hit Salamence in the chin, sending her flying into the air.
"Salamence, use Dragon Rush!"
"Druddigon, use Dragon Claw!" Owen demanded as Salamence fell towards Druddigon. Druddigon's claws began to glow blue, and she sprung into the air while a blue dragon head of energy surrounded Salamence's body. The two attacks collided, but Druddigon prevailed thanks to Salamence begin fatigued from the Leech Seed Snivy landed. The dragon and flying type was then slashed across the chest and sent rolling across the battlefield. Once she stopped, her eyes were closed, prompting Druddigon to run over to Owen and hug him tightly.
"Salamence is unable to battle! That means Owen will be moving on to the top 16!"
"You did it, Druddigon! We're going to the top 16!"
And Owen has reached the top 16 for the fifth year in a row! Now is when the battles really start getting intense, people! Now I know I said Ariel was going to be appearing this chapter, but she will NOT appear during the league. But don't worry, she's going to finally make her debut once the Unova League ends ;) Till next time, peace out.
1) What do you think Owen's parents wanted to tell him?
Next Chapter: Begin the Full Battles!: Now that the full battles are beginning, Owen faces a daunting road, filled with rivals, if he wants to reach the championship. Now that he's in his first league battle with a rival, can Owen advance to the quarterfinals? Or will this rival not be fazed by his tricks?