A Heated Competition!

As we continued our journey to Driftiveil City, Zach, Evelyn, and I noticed a crowd of people up ahead, right in front of the Driftiveil Drawbridge.

"What do you think is going on?" asked Evelyn, as she headed towards the group.

"Looks like something big!" I exclaimed.

As we made out way through the group, I saw what everyone else had come to watch.

It was a battle between the Unova Champion Alder and another Trainer!

Then, Evelyn gasped as she saw the other Trainer.

"Evelyn," I asked. "Do you know who that is?"

She nodded. "That's Cynthia!"

Zach looked at her, surprised. "You know her?"

Evelyn responded, "Of course I do! She's the champion of Sinnoh!"

"WHAA?!" I exclaimed.

Evelyn then said, "She's also my big sister!"

After I had time to process the fact that Evelyn was related to the Sinnoh region champion, I decided to watch the battle to cool myself down.

Alder sent out a buffalo Pokemon, who looked really big and strong.

"Bouffalant, the Bash Buffalo Pokemon. Though Bouffalant can knock a train off the rails wih the force of its headbutt, it doesn't worry about hurting itself, because its fluffy fuy absorbs he impact."

Cynthia sent out a Pokemon that looked a lot like Gabite. It must have been its evolution!

"Garchomp, the Mach Pokemon, and the evolved form of Gabite. Garchomp can fly faster than the speed of sound. When it assumes a streamlined position for flight, it looks like a flighter jet."

The battle between the champions was off! Garchomp leaped towards Bouffalant with incredible speed and used Dual Chop. Bouffalant intercepted it with the fur on its head, and then used Megahorn to blast it off! Garchomp was knocked into the air, but it retaliated by aiming straight for the ground and using Dig.

Bouffalant, not knowing where its opponent would come out from, started stampeding around. This would make it harder for Garchomp to hit it exactly!

Garchomp managed to leap up from behind Bouffalant, and then sped towards it with Dual Chop. Bouffalant stopped in its tracks and intercepted the move with Headbutt. The power was equal.

But now that it had Bouffalant in its claws, Garchomp used Dragon Rage and blasted its opponent back.

Bouffalant, after having been blasted back a few feet, reacted to that with Hyper Beam, which Garchomp swirled around and dodged. That Pokemon was fast!

Bouffalant was prepared for this and used Head Charge to send it back flying. Although Garchomp had incredible speed. Bouffalant was incredibly strong. This was an even match.

Garchomp glided towards Bouffalant using Dragon Rush at a practically impossible speed, and Bouffalant charged at it with an incredibly powerful Giga Impact! The two collided and stood in place for a few secinds.

Then, Garchomp fell.

"And that...is how its done!" shouted Alder.

After the battle was over, we went with Evelyn to go find Cynthia. Finally, she was spotted eating a Castelia Cone by the drawbridge.

"Hey, sis!" shouted Evelyn, running to her big sister.

"Evy!" exclaimed Cynthia.

The two hugged for a whole minute, taking each other's presence in. Finally, Evelyn said, "That was an incredible battle you had against Alder! Garchomp is looking good!"

She laughed. "Thanks, but I'm kind of disappointed I lost! He's my rival, and although I win sometimes, I also lose!"

Evelyn said, "No matter! I got someone to show you!"

She let Monferno out of its PokeBall.

"That mischevious Chimchar of your's evolved!" gasped Cynthia, as the Pokemon hugged her.

Then, she turned to me and Zach. "Who are your friends?"

Evelyn said, "Cynthia, I'd like you to meet Kyle and Zach!"

We shook hands.

"So," Cynthia said, "you two have been accompanying my sister throughout her journies in Unova?"

Zach nodded. "Yep! Ever since Nuvema Town!"

"I see," she responded. "What are your ambitions, boys? What made you want to go on this journey?"

Zach said, "I want to be a Pokemon Musical Master Performer! So far, I have 3 ribbons!"

Cynthia then said, "I know somebody who was into coordination of Pokemon, like you are. Now, she's a model in the Sinnoh region!"

Evelyn nodded. "Dawn is the absolute best! I watched her in the Grand Festival, where she got runner up after losing by a smidge to her rival, Zoey!"

Cynthia then asked me, "What is your goal here in the Unova region?"

I looked at her and said, "I want to be a Pokemon World Class Champion! I don't want to just be the best, I want to be friends with Pokemon all over the world and share their strength!"

Cynthia laughed. "You sound like someone I once knew!"

Suddenly, Alder came up to Cynthia. "You can't win them all, Cynthia!"

Cynthia rolled her eyes. "I could say the same to you! And don't get too cocky, because the next time around, Garchomp will pulverize Bouffalant!"

Alder smirked. "I'm sure!"

I then said, "Alder, sir, I am a HUGE fan of yours! That battle was AWESOME!"

He laughed. "Thanks, kid! And what's your name?"

"Kyle," I said.

He gasped, and then laughed. "So YOU'RE the Trainer Elesa was telling me about! She says you were one tough cookie! I hope I get to battle you when you are stronger!"

Then he turned to Evelyn. "That must mean that you are Evelyn! Elesa was saying a lot of good stuff about you, too! I hope I battle you as well!"

Then, two Trainers came up to Alder. "Alder, will you battle us?"

Alder looked at them and said, "Why, if it isn't Hilbert and Hilda? A battle? Not now."

"Come on!" Hilbert groaned. "I wanna toughen up so I can beat Elesa!"

"Fine then," said Alder. "Battle these two Trainers here: Evelyn and Kyle."

The two Trainers walked up to us. "Will you two battle us?"

"Yep!" Evelyn said. "Kyle, are yu ready!"

"Let's go!" I exclaimed.

We started our double battle. I sent out Servine and Evelyn sent out Monferno. Hilda used a Dewott and Hilbert used a Pignite.

Pignite used Flame Charge and hurdled towards Servine, but Servine leaped in the air and dodged it. Then, it glided towards its enemy and used Slash, knocking it back.

Meanwhile, Monferno used Mach Punch on Dewott, but Dewott countered with Razor Shell. Dewott then blasted Monferno in the face with Water Gun. It was super effective!

Servine went to cover for Monferno while it stood up and used Vine Whip on Dewott, but Dewott used its scalchops to parry the move. Dewott then came at Servine by using Aqua Jet, and from behind, Pignite used Take Down. Servine was cornered!

But it wouldn't give up! Servine used Leaf Tornado on itself and blasted itself into the air, dodging the attacks! Pignite and Dewott hit each other head on, causing a lot of damage. Monferno used this as an opportunity to use Flame Wheel and knock the opponents back.

After having been blasted into the air by Flame Wheel, Pignite used Flame Charge and sped towards Monferno, hitting it square on! Monferno was pushed back, but it retaliated by using a series of Mach Punches. Pignite countered by using a seriesof Arm Thrusts!

While those two were dueling, Dewott, while in midair, shot a Water Pulse straight at Servine, and Servine countered using Leaf Tornado. The moves were both blasted straight into Dewott, knocking it to the ground.

Dewott stood up, and it suddenly had a blue aura. It was its ability, Torrent! Now, all of Dewott's Water-type moves were strengthened. Dewott hurdled towards Servine using Aqua Jet, blasting it into the air, and then it used Razor Shell to damage it even further.

Meanwhile, Monferno and Pignite were parrying each others attacks, and Monferno blasted Pignite with Flamethrower, distracting it. Then, it used Flame Wheel to knock it straight into Dewott, who had just finished attacking Servine.

Both of the opponents' Pokemon stood up, and our Pokemon used a Flamethrower/Leaf Tornado combo attack and hurdled it straight towards the opponents' Pokemon!

"Dewott is unable to battle!" shouted Alder. "Now, it is Servine and Monferno vs. Pig..."

Suddenly, Pignite started to emanate a blue light. It stood up, and suddenly grew to a massive size. When the light disappeared, a massive, bulky Pokemon stood in front of us.

"ALL RIGHT!" shouted Hilbert. "All that training with Pignite payed off!"

"Emboar, the Mega Fire Pig Pokemon, and the evolved form of Pigite. With the fiery beard that covers its chin, Emboar can set its fists ablaze and throw flaming punches. Its battle moves are speedy and powerful."

Uh-oh. Not only were our Pokemon tired, but now, we had to deal with an Emboar!

Servine used Leaf Tornado, which Emboar disintegrated with Fire Punch. Servine then used Wrap, and it worked! But then, Emboar leaped into the air, slammed Servine off of it and onto the ground, and used Heat Crash on it and finished it off!

"Servine is unable to battle, which means that this battle is betwen Emboar and Monferno!"

"Nice try, Servine," I said as I called back my Pokemon. "You were incredible!"

As I walked towards the crowd to watch from there, Cynthia approached me. "That was an incredible battle! Your Servine was fast AND very strong! It is ok that it lost to Emboar because now, you are even more determined to beat it, and next time you see Hilbert or even Hilda, you'll be stronger for them!"

I nodded. "Thanks, Cynthia!"

She laughed. "No problem! Now, let's watch my little sis!"

It was up to Evelyn. She had to beat Hilbert for us to officially win this battle.

Emboar used Take Down and crashed into Monferno, sending it flying. Monferno got up and retaliated using Flame Wheel. Emboar dodge it by jumping in the air, and then it landed on top of Monerno with Heat Crash!

Monferno used Dig to hide underground, but Emboar used Heat Crash once again on the ground and caused an earthquake and sent Monferno flying out of its tunnels underground. Emboar leaped into the air and used Fire Punch, knocking Monferno onto the ground.

"Monferno is unable to battle, whoch means the winner is..."

Suddenly, Monferno got up and started to glow red. Its ability Blaze kicked in! It leaped towards Emboar with newfound speed using Flame Wheel, knocking it back!

Thn, it used a move it just learned, Close Combat, and knocked Emboar to the ground. Emboar stood up and was still able to battle, but, like Monferno, one more hit would end it and cause us to win this battle.

Monferno leaped at it with Mach Punch, and Emboar used Fire Punch. This move would decide the winner.

The two were knocked back by the strength of each others' moves. They stood, panting.

I looked to Evelyn, who was confident. Then, I looked to Hilbert and Hilda, who would not let us win.

Then, I noticed Emboar cringe. Monferno had hit it in its legs!

But then, I noticed Monferno wince. It was hit in the leg as well! Both of their balances were off!

Both fell.

"Get up! Emboar, you are strong!" shouted Hilbert.

"Monferno, I believe in you! Stand up!"

Both Pokemon struggled to stand up...

And then Monferno fell.

"Monferno is unable to battle, which means the victors of this battle are Hilbert and Hilda!"

The two Trainers cheered. They had absolutely no reason not to. They had an incredible battle against us!

But stll, I couldn't help but wonder if we would've won if Pignite hadn't evolved into Emboar.

As I shook Hilbert's hand, he said, "You and your Servine were incredible! I was so sure you would have beat me if it wasn't for Pignite's evolution!"

I nodded. "Well, next time we meet, I'll win it for sure!"

Hilbert laughed. "Well then, watch out!"

Alder and Cynthia approached us.

"Nice job, sis!" said Cynthia. "You were super close! Monferno really put up a fight in the end!"

She said,"Thanks!"

Alder pulled me aside and said, "Kyle, here's the thing. Although Monferno lasted longer, your Servine took more hits, and it would've made it through the battle if it was quicker! Servine has more potential than Dewott and maybe even Emboar! It just has to be able to dodge moves faster. Understand?"

I nodded.

"You have the potential to beat me someday with that Servine of yours, so I hope you take the challenge soon!"

I exclaimed, "I sure will! I'll see you at the Pokemon League!"

He laughed. "Can't wait!"

I met the champions of both the Sinnoh AND Unova regions, lost a really close battle to two other Trainers, and made new rivals. Now, I had to get my fifth gym badge in Driftiveil City!