Battle to the End!
"Alright then," said Syndey, who apparently would also be the referee of Evelyn and my double battle against the Castelia City gym leader, Burgh.
"This will be a double battle," continued Syndney, "where the challengers and chmapions of the Castelia Battle Tournament, Kyle and Evelyn, choose one Pokemon each to battle against two of Burgh's Pokemon. Burgh, are you ready?"
Burgh nodded.
"Kyle and Evelyn, are you ready?"
I looked to Evelyn, my heart racing. She looked at me back. For a moment, we held our gazes, then nodded.
"Alright then," shouted Sydney, "battle...begin!"
As the battle started, Brian and Zach went to a snack shop to grab some snacks.
"I hope we won't miss anything," said Zach as he paid for their refreshments.
"Don't worry!" said Brian. "Those two will make sure to have a battle that will hold out long enough that we won't have missed a thing!"
As the two friends turned to go back to the main stage, they noticed a familiar duo of fiends sneaking around on the side.
"Is that..." Brian started.
"Team Plasma!" shouted Zach.
The evil duo looked at each other, smirked, and ran through the many vendor stalls and hurried deep into the crowded city.
Zach and Brian looked to each other and nodded.
"Let's go!"
"Herdier, I choose you!"
"Munna, let's go!"
As we sent out our Pokemon, I couldn't help but wonder why Evelyn had chosen Munna tto battle. Sure, it was a strong Pokemon, but wouldn't Monferno have been a better option, since Fire types were strong against Bug types? Plus, Psychic types were weak to Bug types, so what could she have been planning?
"Leavanny, Whirlipede, let's roll!" shouted Burgh with exaggeration.
Out came two Bug pokemon I had never seen before, and the baffled expression on Evelyn's face told me they were new to her as well.
"Leavanny, the Nurturing Pokemon, and the evolved form of Swadloon. Leavanny loves to make clothes for smaller Pokemon, cutting up leaves with its arms and sewing then together with sticky silk from its mouth."
"Whirlipede, the Curlipede Pokemon, and the evolved form of Venipede. Covered in a sturdy shell, Whirlipede doesn't move much unless it's attacked. Then it leaps into action, spinning at high velocity and smashing into the attacker."
These two sure seemed like a tough duo! I was just hoping we'd do well and beat them!
Munna made the first move and used Psywave on Whirlipede, which it would've hit if not for Leavanny jumping in front and using Protect.
Aggrivated, Whirlipede jumped and spun in the air, then came down on Munna with incredible speed with a really powerful Steam Roller. Munna definitely took some damage!
With the Whirlipede very close to it, Herdier leaped and used Crunch to damage it, butright before making contact, Leavanny used String Shot and tied Herdier up, not allowing it to carry out its attacks. Whirlipede then used Poison Tail and slammed Herdier into the air, damaging it also.
With both our Pokemon hurt, Leavanny used Razor Leaf and damaged our Pokemon even more! Our Pokemon weren't in good condition all because of that Leavanny stopping them from attacking! How were we going to win?
As Brian and Zach sprinted through the crowd, they finally saw Team Plasma, panting for air and exhausted.
"There you are, you punks!" shouted Zach. "What are you doing, trying to ruin the tournament?"
"Not quite," said Becky. "All we wanted... was YOU TWO!"
Suddenly, a circle of Team Plasma members closed in on Zach and Brian.
"You led us into a trap!" shouted Brian.
"Oh, we didn't notice!" snapped Barry with a hinto of sarcasm. "Now, hand over your Pokemon or else."
"Never!" shouted Zach.
"Fine," said Becky. "We'll take them ourselves. Then... we'll get rid of you!"
"Yeah right," said Brian. "Pignite, Watchog, I choose you!"
"I'll help too!" said Zach. "Dewott, Tranquill, let's go!"
"Oh, yeah?" said Becky, exasperated, "Pichu, Oddish, let's go!"
"Right!" exclaimed Barry. "Magby, Venipede, come on!"
"This'll be easy," said Zach with confidence.
"I'm glad you said that!" shouted Barry. "Energy release, activate!"
Suddenly, a burst of energy appeared from devices that the surrounding Team Plasma members held, and they moved to Becky and Barry's Pokemon. They were surrounded with blue light, and when the light diappeared, new Pokemon stood in the places of the old Pokemon.
"Gloom, the Weed Pokemon, and the evolved form of Oddish. Gloom doesn't always smell terrible- when it feels safe and relaxed, its aroma fades. However, its nectar usually carries an awful stench."
"Magmar, the Spitfire Pokemon, and the evolved form of Magby. When Magmar releases bursts of flames during a battle, any nearby plant life is in danger of catching fire."
"Pikachu, the Electric Mouse Pokemon, and the evolved form of Pichu. The red pouches on Pikachu's cheeks store up electricity while it sleeps. It often delivers a zap when encountering something unfamiliar."
"And that's a Whirlipede," gasped Zach.
"WHA..." started a befuddled Brian.
"The energy release gave our Pokemon the strength to finally evolve!" cackled Becky. "Try to beat us now!"
"Wait a second," gasped Evelyn as we continued our battle. "The reason we can't attack Whirlipede is because Leavanny is defending it!"
"Then let's get rid of it!" I agreed.
Munna used Psywave on Leavanny. but it jumped high into the air. Calculating its position, Herdier also leaped and used Take Down on Leavanny, scoring a direct hit and knocking it down!
And that gave Munna the chance to put Leavanny to sleep with Hypnosis. It worked!
Munna moved in closer to use Psybeam on Leavanny, but seconds before it did, Leavanny woke up and attacked Munna to use Bug Bite. Both moves seemed to make contact, but it looked like...
"Leavanny is unable to battle!" shouted Sydney. "Munna is the winner!"
"Awesome, Munna!" I shouted to the Pokemon.
"Mu, mu!" it responded.
"Herdier, you were awesome!" said Evelyn to my Pokemon.
"Dier, Herdier!" barked back the Pokemon.
"I must admit," said Burgh, "your Pokemon have a lot of power! They are strong and fast, and probably also very good partners!"
Now, it was a two on one battle, and we had the advantage. But then again, the defensive one was Leavanny, and now we were up against a strong offense.
Whirlipede rolled in on Herdier and used Steam Roller, and the attack hit straight on! But while that was happeninig, Munna shot a Psybeam and hit the Pokemon with strong contact!
Herdier managed to get up from the attack and used Bite, and Munna leaped in to use Psywave. But Whirlipede got up and used Poison Tail to knock both our Pokemon away!
Our Pokemon were very tired, and at this point, they needed to fnish off Whirlipede to win the battle.
Whirlipede used Poison Sting on Munna, who dodged swiftly, and that was when I realized something: Whirlipede was mainly using its tail to give its strongest Poison attacks! So if the tail was occupied, then we could beat Burgh!
I told Evelyn to have Munna distract Whirlipede in the front with Psybeam, which Whirlipede blocked with its tail. That was when Herdier leaped from behind and used Bite on the tail! This was perfect!
Now that Whirlipede had problems using its tail with Herdier clinging onto it, Munna took the opportunity and used Psybeam to attack the Pokemon, and it worked!
"Whirlipede is unable to battle, so the winners are Herdier and Munna, which means that the victory goes to the challengers, Kyle and Evelyn!"
"Yes!" I said, high-fiving Evelyn.
I ran to Herdier, who jumped onto me and started to lick my face. Munna was nudging Evelyn, who laughed.
Burgh approached us and said,"You two were smart to find out my Whirlipede's weakness and use it agsinst it! I am proud to declare that you two successfully defeated me, so I would like to hand you these!"
He handed us both the Insect Badge.
"Thanks!" Evelyn and I said in unison.
While we were chatting, a man ran to Burgh and said, "Sir! Team Plasma is attacking Trainers here in Castelia City! There are a lot of them, and we can use your help!"
Burgh nodded and said, "Right. Kyle, Evelyn, would you mid coming with me?"
We nodded and sprinted to the location with Burgh.
Brian, Zach, and their Pokemon were getting all beaten up by Team Plasma and their Pokemon, until Burgh and Leavanny tied the circle up, only to reveal that there were still two members who were attacking our friends!
"Team Plasma!" Evelyn shouted, calling out all her Pokemon to battle them.
"Let them go!" I exclaimed as I sent out all my Pokemon as well.
Barry rolled his eyes and said,"Fight us!"
As Burgh took care of the others, we unleashed all our Pokemon's moves on them.
"Servine, Leaf Tornado!"
"Monferno, Flame Wheel!"
"Herdier, Take Down!"
"Munna, Psybeam!"
"Gabite, Dragon Rage!"
"Axew, Dual Chop!"
"And Sewaddle, Razor Leaf!"
All our Pokemon unleashed their strongest moves and hurdled them towards Becky, Barry, and their Pokemon, who were blasted into the air and hurdled out of sight.
After having been thanked by Burgh, we patched Brian, Zach, and their Pokemon up, and Evelyn and I discussed our next path.
"I was thinking we go to Nimbassa City!" I said.
"Hmm..." said Evelyn. "Never heard of it!"
"Never heard of it?!" I exclaimed. "It's one of the most famous cities in Unova!"
"That's right!" agreed Zach. "Plus, my next Musical will be there!"
"Then that's settled!" said Evelyn.
Then, I asked Brian, "Where are you headed next, Brian?"
He looked to me and said, "Professor Juniper and I have to go back to Nacrene City to research the fossils there."
"Cool!" I said.
As we bid Brian farewell, Zach, Evelyn, and I made our way to the gateway that would lead to Nimbassa City. The future looked bright, and hopefully, our path to success would get easier from here. But of course, we could only dream!