For her Top 16 match, Summer faced off against Rai. In a rematch of the two Electric types, Lightning came out on top and propelled her Trainer into the Top 8. But now, Summer's biggest match will be against her first rival, Weldon. Unsure of what to think, she ran into a teenager named Stanley, who wants her to go easy on Weldon. Will Summer throw the match?

Chapter 53: The Battle of First Rivals

"What do you mean 'throw the match'?!" I angrily responded. "I'm not going to do that!"

Stanley smirked, as if he was expecting my response, and crossed his arms. "Why not? You don't have a shot at winning this tournament. Besides...I thought you care about him…"

I made a confused face, which overshadowed my anger at his comments. "Look. I don't care if I win or lose the Indigo League. But I'm not going to go easy on Weldon. I know him, and he doesn't want that."

The teenager's face slowly formed an evil grin as he listened to my refusal. He slid back about fifteen feet and eagerly grabbed a Pokéball from his belt. "Looks like I can finally implement my plan after all. Charizard, Slash!"

His Fire type flew out of the ball and roared, albeit reluctanly, extending his right claw.

"Lightning, Thunderbolt!" I shouted, stunned by his reckless actions.

She attacked Charizard with a lightning bolt, but he easily dodged and struck her. She yelped in pain and tumbled backwards, struggling to stand. He then flew back to his Trainer.

"Come on Summer," Stanley taunted. "For a Top 8 Trainer, you're terrible!"

I gritted my teeth and clenched Blaze's Pokéball. Lightning slowly rose to her feet and tried to protect me, but she struggled to walk.

What do I do? Battle or run away?

He saw my distressed expression and laughed. "Charizard, Slash once more."

Charizard hesitated, but obeyed his Trainer's orders. I barely dodged his claws, which almost ripped my shirt, and awkwardly fell to the ground. As he roared and charged again, I tried to stand and run away, but my left ankle gave a sharp pang. I gasped and clutched my foot, ignoring the danger approaching. Then I heard a Pokéball open by itself and Charizard roaring with surprise. I looked up and saw Blaze with his fists on fire, angry at Stanley and Charizard. My Pokémon's left side slowly turned purple, most likely from the contact with the Slash. To my surprise, the Kanto Fire type was more startled than hurt.

Stanley was about to issue another command when several footsteps approached our location. He returned his Pokémon and commented, "You should consider yourself lucky, but Weldon will finish the job." He then smirked and said in a mocking tone, "Good luck, Summer."

He ran away from the park, just as Enoch and Mac entered. Blaze then winced in pain and clutched his left side.

"Are you okay, Summer?" Enoch asked, concerned.

Trying to ignore the pain, I muttered, "Someone...attacked us…"

The Trainer surveyed the damage and growled, "I don't believe it…" He then looked at his friend. "Mac. We need to get them to the Pokémon Center, fast!"

"You got it, Enoch!"

I returned my Pokémon, and Enoch and Mac carried me there. Several nurses helped Blaze and Lightning in the emergency room while the head nurse, Nurse Iris, tended to my ankle in her room. Luckily, it wasn't broken, but I had to get it wrapped and iced.

After she retied her long, light purple hair, she gave me a pair of wooden crutches and said, "I'll let the League know about your injury. You should rest your ankle. Do you want to continue in the tournament, Summer?"

Without hesitation, I firmly responded, "I should rest my ankle, but this battle's pretty important. Is there a way I can still battle?"

"The League can provide you a chair so you can rest while issuing commands. They can also delay the date for a day."

A nurse came in and whispered something to Nurse Iris. She thanked her and said, "Summer. I have some good news and bad news. Lightning's injuries are not severe, and she'll be ready for the battle. Blaze, on the other hand, is developing a bruise on his left side. I don't think he should battle."

I was crestfallen. "Thanks for the update, Nurse Iris. Can I see how they're doing?"

Nurse Iris nodded and I followed them to the recovery room. Luckily, the crutches were easy to use and took a lot of weight off my injured ankle. When I entered the light blue room, I saw Lightning and Blaze lying on two white stretchers. After the swinging doors closed, they looked up and were really worried.

"Summer, are you okay?" Lightning asked. The nurses healed the scratch marks well, and she was able to stand up without any difficulty.

I smiled. "I'm fine, Lightning. Just a sprained ankle." I then looked at my starter, who was disappointed. "How about you, Blaze?"

He sighed. "They told you about my injuries?"

I slowly nodded. "What do you want to do, Blaze?"

He carefully sat up, ignoring the pain. "I want to battle, I really do. But…"

"But what…?"

"I don't want to worry you and the team about my battling capabilities."

"Blaze…" Lightning mumbled.

I looked at Nurse Iris with determination. "If I let Blaze battle only when the rest of my team can't, will he be okay?"

She thought about this and replied, "As long as you're okay with forfeiting the match if he takes too much damage, I think it should be fine."

Blaze sighed with relief. I bowed and said, "Thank you. I will keep that in mind."

I returned Blaze and limped out of the room with Lightning following close behind.

"Summer!" Ariel worriedly gasped when she saw us. She ran over and said, "Enoch and Mac told me what happened! How's your ankle and your Pokémon?"

I bravely smiled. "Just sprained. Lightning's fine, but Blaze can only battle last."

Enoch and Mac came over, the former angrier than I've seen him.

"Summer, who did this to you?" Enoch fiercely asked.

"His name is Stanley-"

"That monster!" He roared, startling all of us.

Mac grabbed onto his friend's left arm. "Enoch! What's gotten into you?!"

He took a deep breath and regained his composure. "Sorry, everyone. We should sit down before I say anything else."

We made our way to the lobby couches, and once I laid down with my left ankle resting on a yellow pillow, Enoch told us about Stanley.

Stanley made it back to his hotel room without any security noticing.

"Where did you run off to?" Weldon asked. He was sitting on his bed looking at his Pokégear.

The teen sneered, "Nowhere important."

His younger brother looked back to his device and muttered, "If I choose Graveler first, then she might use-"

"Why are you strategizing against a weak opponent?" Stanley carelessly remarked as he took off his hoodie.

Weldon looked up, slightly angry. "Hey, Summer's a good Trainer! She's the first one who beat me in a battle."

"But that was back when you were a newb. Besides, I don't think you need to worry about her."

"What are you talking about?" Suddenly, Weldon's Pokégear rang.

As he answered the call, Stanley adjusted the collar of his white buttoned shirt, slyly smiling at the result of his actions. When his brother finished, he innocently asked, "Who was that?"

Weldon was confused. "It was someone from the League. He said my match is postponed until Monday afternoon."

"Hm… I wonder why…"

Weldon put his Pokégear on the side table. "I hope nothing bad happened."

Stanley falsely wished with a soft smile, "I hope so too…"

"What!" Mac exclaimed. "You mean this Stanley guy defeated you and Alakazam before you started on your journey?"

Enoch leaned forward and clutched his hands. "Yeah…that was back when Alakazam was a Kadabra. Stanley challenged me to a battle, right before I began. He was unusually strong, defeating Kadabra with his Charmeleon with just a Slash. I was crushed, but it was his words that broke me. 'You call yourself a Trainer? You're not worth anyone's time,' he said. Because of that, it took me a while to gain the courage to go on my journey."

He looked up and said, "If I went on my journey back then, I wouldn't have met you, Mac, or received the confidence to travel again."

Mac comforted Enoch. "It's okay, Enoch. Thanks, for supporting me too."

Stanley's such a jerk. Ruining others to benefit himself… But did Weldon play a role in this?

Nurse Iris walked over and bowed. "Sorry for the interruption. Summer, I talked to the Pokémon League Association and they agreed to move your battle against Weldon on Monday at 2pm."

"That's fine. Thank you, Nurse Iris."

After she left, Ariel asked, "What do we do now?"

I looked at her. "Just rest and train. And hope for the best."

A few days later...

My ankle was feeling a lot better, but I still needed the crutches to get around. I told the other members of my team about our new strategy. Everyone agreed to do the best they could to help Blaze against Weldon, but I knew the result of the match depended on my actions.

As I entered the stadium's lobby, I remembered two of the rules for the full battles: no substitutions and lineups must be decided before the match. Luckily, I thought about it during my extra day off and knew who to start with. After I let the receptionist know, I hobbled to the north side of the stadium and happily sat down on a bench in the locker room.

As I adjusted the ankle wrap, I wondered about Weldon. Weldon...my first rival… He was a jerk back then, only caring about winning. But he has good strategies, like when we battled on the S.S. Anne. However, he started to change during our adventure at Pokémon Tower. He began to see how caring for Pokémon was important, and be helped me quite a bit with the Team Rocket incident. When he asked for my help during the Princess Festival, he genuinely wanted it. But now...I don't know what to think of him anymore…

Summer Scorcher, please make your way to the red battlefield.

I grabbed my crutches and moved into the corresponding tunnel. When I entered the arena, the roar of the crowd almost caused me to fall. A wooden chair awaited me and I slowly sat down. As I put the crutches to my left, another roar of applause greeted Weldon. I looked at his face and saw him turning pale. I couldn't tell him his step-brother attacked me, so I smiled forcefully. He slightly recovered and entered the south Trainer's box.

The referee walked into his box and shouted, "The junior division match between Summer from Littleroot Town and Weldon from Pallet Town will now begin. Because of the pre-registered team lineup, there will no be substitutions. The field type and move choice will now be chosen."

We all looked at the television screen and saw the arrows land on the rock field and a red slice.

"The battle will be on the rock field and Summer will have the first move."

As the field changed and the shield went up, I clutched the Pokéball that will be thrown first. Finally, our awaited rematch.

"Trainers, choose your first Pokémon!"

"Go, Flower!" I shouted.

Weldon grabbed his Pokéball. "Go Electabuzz!"

The two Pokémon landed in between the rocks and glared at each other.

That must be Weldon's sixth Pokémon. I know he's going to be harder than Rai's.

"Battle begin!"

"Flower, Razor Leaf!" I commanded.

As she unleashed a flurry of leaves, Weldon smiled. "Electabuzz, use Swift!"

The stars easily pushed back the leaves and hit Flower in the face. She eagerly braced the impact and luckily didn't take much damage.

"Electabuzz, Thunder Punch!" Weldon shouted.

The Electric type jumped up and charged his right fist with yellow energy.

"Flower, Sludge Bomb!"

She launched a large ball of sludge at her attacker, but to our surprise, Weldon commanded, "Hit it back!"

Electabuzz waited for the Sludge Bomb to come closer then punched it with all of his might, the electricity spreading through the sludge. The combined move then hurled Flower, who could nothing but withstand it. She began to pant while Electabuzz was still raring to go.

Weldon would definitely know the strengths and weaknesses of an Ivysaur. Maybe we can use his knowledge against him.

"Flower, ready for a strategy?"

She nodded. "Of course, Summer."

"Okay, use Razor Leaf!"

Weldon was suspicious but countered, "Electabuzz, dodge and use Mega Kick!"

The Pokémon leaped over the Razor Leaf and thrust his right leg forward. I smiled, making my rival slightly nervous.

"Sleep Powder!"

Flower vigorously shook her bud, releasing white spores that lightly touched the Electric Pokémon's skin. He immediately fell asleep and Flower was able to easily dodge his falling body.

Weldon gritted his teeth. "Electabuzz, wake up!"

"Now, Flower! Sludge Bomb!"

She charged her attack and launched it at the sleeping Pokémon, easily making contact. As he flew into the air from the explosion, he woke up and landed firmly on his feet.

That was fast…

"Good," Weldon said, relieved. "Thunder!"

A small dark storm cloud formed over Flower as Electabuzz slowly filled it with electricity.

I need to do something! Even if Flower faints, she's helping him out.

"Flower, Leech Seed!"

She knew what would happen and quickly aimed her bud at Electabuzz. As she launched the seed, the lightning struck, immediately knocking her out. Thankfully, Electabuzz was so focused on the Thunder attack that the seed made contact, absorbing some of his energy.

"Flower is unable to battle! Electabuzz wins!"

"Thanks, Flower," I said as I returned her.

As I took out my next Pokéball, Weldon smirked as he waited for my second Pokémon.

"Go, Rocky!"

Once he saw the Rock Snake Pokémon tower over him, his smile quickly disappeared. "Nice choice, Summer. After all, the majority of my team is weak to Rock."

That's what I'm counting on.

"Battle begin!"

I smiled back and said, "All right, Rocky, let's do as much as we can! Iron Tail!"

The Onix roared and charged his tail with silver energy.

"Electabuzz, dodge!"

The Electric type tried to leap towards the right, but the Leech Seed cause him to wince in pain and slowed his movement. The Iron Tail crashed onto Electabuzz's head and created a cloud of dust. Once it cleared, Electabuzz was facedown, unable to move.

"Electabuzz is unable to battle! Rocky wins!"

"That was a lot quicker than I thought…" I murmured.

Rocky heard my comment. "I think my attack hit harder than usual, Summer."

"Oh, it was a critical hit. That makes sense now."

Weldon returned Electabuzz and sighed. "I have to keep going until I can use him. Go, Arcanine!"

His Fire type leaped out of his Pokéball and roared. However, the tactic didn't faze Rocky and instead, he just glared at his next opponent.

"Battle begin!"

"Rocky, use Rock Throw!"

He nodded and hurled a large boulder at the Legendary Pokémon.

Weldon grinned. "Arcanine, dodge with Extremespeed!"

Arcanine chuckled and ran so fast, he became a blur of orange.

This is much faster than any attack I've seen!

Arcanine took advantage of my passiveness and slammed into Rocky's body. Despite the type disadvantage, the Rock type slightly slid back.

"Great job, Arcanine," Weldon praised. "Now, Extremespeed once more!"

I need to stop that speed!"Rocky, Iron Tail on the ground!"

He understood the strategy and slammed his silver tail into the field, breaking off some pieces of rock and covering the air with more dust. Although the Fire type avoided the Iron Tail, he couldn't escape the cloud and stopped moving.

Weldon chuckled at my strategy. "An all too common strategy, Summer. Arcanine, sense Rocky and use Hyper Beam!"

His Pokémon howled and I saw a ball of dark crackling energy appear from my right.

"Rocky, Rock Throw!"

He nodded and quickly hurled another boulder at his opponent. Arcanine yelped in pain and canceled the attack. Weldon growled as the cloud disappeared once more.

Seeing Arcanine was getting tired, I shouted, "Rocky, Rock Throw one more time!"

"Quick, Arcanine, Fire Blast!"

Rocky threw another boulder as Arcanine unleashed the iconic five-pointed fiery sign. The two moves clashed, but the boulder prevailed and combined with the Fire type attack to form a makeshift meteor. The attack slammed into Arcanine and he crashed into the wall on Weldon's left.

The referee observed Arcanine's condition. "Arcanine is unable to battle! Rocky wins!"

I happily sighed with relief amid the cheers. Rocky began to pant, and I knew this round might be his last.

Weldon returned Arcanine and happily said, "Finally. Now's the time to dominate! Go, Gyarados!"

The Water type roared once he landed on the battlefield. The two tall Pokémon growled at each other, with Gyarados trying to inch over his taller opponent.

"Battle begin!"

"Rocky, Rock Throw!"

As Rocky threw the boulder, Weldon shouted, "Gyarados, crush that rock with Bite!"

The Atrocious Pokémon opened his mouth wide and destroyed the attack into little pieces. This shocked everyone, especially Rocky. He became nervous to attack Gyarados, making Weldon grin with excitement.

That Intimidate Ability's so aggravating… I need to think of something else.

"Dragonbreath!"

"Dragon Rage!"

The green and red flames collided in front of us, but the Dragonbreath eventually prevailed and scorched Gyarados' face. He winced in pain but continued to face Rocky with determination.

Weldon laughed. "The drawbacks of Dragon Rage. Oh well. Time to be serious. Gyarados, Surf!"

The Water type howled and created a wave of water despite the lack of it around us.

"Quick, Rocky, Iron Tail!"

Knowing he couldn't survive this attack, he slammed his tail down as hard as he could, splitting the wave in half and causing Gyarados some damage. However, the water crashed into the east and west walls and rebounded, covering Rocky's body. He painfully roared and collapsed onto the field, unable to move.

"Rocky is unable to battle! Gyarados wins!"

"You did really well, Rocky," I praised as I returned him.

As I grabbed my next Pokéball, Weldon smiled. "Exactly what I expect from my first rival. Show me what else you got, Summer!"

"You better show me the same, Weldon!" I replied trying to hide my worry. Now the hardest part of the battle started when I called out my next Pokémon. It wasn't about the Pokémon, but about our friendship.

Pokémon: Blaze (Blaziken, male): Brave Nature, moves: Fire Punch, Double Kick, Flamethrower, Blaze Kick; Sky Uppercut- learning

Errol (Noctowl, male): Rash Nature, moves: Psychic, Confusion, Hypnosis, Peck

Swirls (Poliwhirl, female): Relaxed Nature, moves: Water Pulse, Hypnosis, Water Gun, Ice Punch

Lightning (Pikachu, female): Adamant Nature, moves: Thunderbolt, Quick Attack, Iron Tail, Thunder Punch

Flower (Ivysaur, female): Gentle Nature, moves: Sludge Bomb, Leech Seed, Razor Leaf, Sleep Powder

Rocky (Onix, male): Lonely Nature, moves: Rock Throw, Crunch, Dragonbreath, Iron Tail

Questions for the Chapter:

What do you think of Stanley's tactics?

Will Summer be forced to battle with Blaze?