A/N: Good afternoon. Sorry for the lengthy wait. I will try and have the next chapter done very soon. More at the bottom, so I don't spoil anything :)
Pokemon Journey: Indigo League
Chapter 26: Conference Finals
"Come on in Brandon," his mom says.
They are currently in a small water park with his parents. They decided to have some fun after his victory against Zoe. The four of them are in the pool, swimming and just enjoying themselves. Brandon, on the other hand, is sitting on a lawn chair, thinking about his matches tomorrow.
"I can't," Brandon says, trying to think of a strategy for Kyle.
"You will have plenty of time to think about your match tomorrow," his mom says again. She is leaning on the side of the pool. "The cruise is almost over. Time to be a kid and have some fun."
"But…" Brandon says before being splashed in the face by his mom.
"But what honey?" His mom says, grinning and sticking her tongue out at him.
Brandon wipes the water from his face before returning the grin. He takes off his shirt and grabs his Pokeballs. He quickly summons his team.
"Tomorrow, we will be battling Kyle," Brandon says. "But tonight, let's just have some fun."
His team shouts in joy as they scatter. Wartortle joins Brandon as they both jump into the pool. Joltik goes around the pool, offering his assistance. Nidorina, not seeing a place to train, sits down and naps. Tangela curls up in the sunset, enjoying the warmth.
"Good idea," Ava says, releasing Omanyte, Umbreon and Growlithe. Omanyte is fascinated with his surroundings and begins to explore, under the watchful eye of Umbreon. Growlithe is excited, running around the deck, playing with little kids.
"My turn," Saul says, summoning Mantyke, Pikipek and Yungoos. Mantyke dives into the pool, enjoying the refreshing water. Pikipek lands on a branch, folding her arms and begins to doze off. Yungoos stays near the pool, looking for scraps of food to eat. He was soon given some food from passengers and was content, sitting by the pool to eat.
"You guys have some cool Pokemon," Fred says, watching his son's friend's Pokemon.
"Thank you," Saul and Ava said in unison.
"Enough Pokemon talk," Lisa says, splashing them. "Time for fun!"
Laughter fills the air, as time flies by with the group having fun. First, they hit a beach ball around each other. Wartortle and Mantyke joins in on the fun. Next, they have a chicken fight, with Brandon teaming up with his dad vs Ava and his mom. They swapped teams and players as everyone had a turn. Lastly, before the pool closed for the night, they sat in the hot tub to relax.
They wound up in Fred and Lisa's room to top off the night with hot chocolate and marshmallows.
"Thank you for this evening," Saul says, taking a marshmallow and popping it into his mouth. Beside him, Yungoos eats nearly a full bag.
"Any time," Lisa says warmly, also popping a marshmallow into her mouth. "We needed an evening like that."
"Same," Ava says.
"Everything alright?" Brandon asks, a little worried.
"Oh, we're fine," Lisa replies.
"But with both of our kids out traveling, it's tough, you know?" Fred says.
"Sorry dad," Brandon says apologetically.
"Oh, no need to apologize," Fred responds quickly. "We're extremely happy and proud of both you and Kelly."
"Guess we aren't still used to the silence yet," Lisa says with a soft smile. "That's why we like trips like this."
"Is that why you guys bought tickets?" Brandon asks, just realizing the reason.
"Yeah," Lisa answers, finishing her cup of hot chocolate.
"It was fun to get to spend time with you two," Brandon says, getting up to give them a hug. "Actually, get to spend time with everyone. I didn't realize how traveling can be challenging. It's awesome that I have friends and family to lean on."
"You can call us, or Kelly, any time," Lisa reassures him. She gets up and gathers the mugs up and places them in the sink. "All we want from you is to enjoy yourself."
"So far, I am," Brandon says, nodding towards Ava and Saul.
"Glad to hear it," Lisa says. "Now, young man, you need sleep for your match tomorrow. Good night."
"Good night," Brandon, Ava and Saul reply, before leaving the room. They said good night to each before going to their own rooms for the night.
" Welcome to the conference finals," John pumps up the crowd. "We only have 16 trainers left. Who will make it through to tomorrow's battles? Stay tuned!"
Brandon leans his head against the wall, sitting on a bench. He closes his eyes, trying to control his breathing. He still has trouble with crowds though he's getting a little better.
He's against Kyle, a trainer from Galar. A trainer who made it to two leagues. A trainer who is more experienced than him. A trainer who he already lost to earlier. A trainer whom he has a disadvantage against. Does he have what it takes to beat him? Can he beat him?
"Trainer Brandon?" A voice interrupts his thoughts. He feels a nudge before turning his head to the person. "That's your cue."
Brandon blinks, before looking down into the light. He gets up, hearing John's voice ( "His opponent is Brandon Adams, a trainer from Pallet Town. We've seen how creative Brandon can be, so let's see what he has in store for us today!") and he walks onto the field to a thunderous round of applause.
Brandon gulps, trying to get his nerves under control. He counts to ten before walking to the middle of the field.
"This will be an official tournament battle between Kyle Anderson, from Motostoke and Brandon Adams from Pallet Town. This will be a full 6v6 single format battle…" John says before seeing Kyle shaking his head. Kyle holds up 4 fingers on each hand. John nods. "Sorry, that will be a 4v4 single elimination format battle. Both trainers can freely substitute. We will be doing a coin flip to see who has the first reveal and first move. Kyle, heads or tails?"
Brandon looks at Kyle in surprise as Kyle shouts out. "Heads."
"We have been calling it Rotom Camera but we have been correct. It's Drone Rotom," John updates the crowd as Drone Rotom zooms in on the coin flip. It lands on heads. Drone Rotom focuses on Kyle.
"First reveal!" Kyle yells, priming a Pokeball already.
" Kyle chooses the first reveal, which means Brandon has the first move," John informs the crowd. "Battlers, are you ready?"
Brandon and Kyle nod before going to their respective sides.
" Begin!" the ref shouts, holding up two flags.
"Nickit, let's go!" Kyle shouts, summoning a red fox Pokemon. Brandon takes out his dex to scan it.
" Nickit, the fox Pokemon. Dark type. Aided by the soft pads on its feet, it silently raids the food stores of other Pokémon. It survives off its ill-gotten gains." The dex calls out.
"Interesting Pokemon," Brandon remarks, putting away his dex. He pulls out a pokeball and summons his partner.
"Joltik, I need your help!" Brandon shouts, summoning the tiny yellow spider Pokemon. "Start off with a string shot!"
"Nickit, dodge it!" Kyle counters.
Joltik unleashes a string shot towards Nickit who was able to dodge it, though it didn't need to. String shot barely made it.
"Good. Now, hone claws!" Kyle shouts an order out.
Nickit begins to extend his claws, sharpening them.
"Joltik, use electroweb!" Brandon calls out.
Joltik fires off a small web from his mouth, aiming for Nickit. Nickit tries to dodge it but the web contains Nickit, dealing damage when it hits the web. Nickit begins to panic, trying to free himself.
"Nickit, relax," Kyle calls out, hoping to calm his new Pokemon. "Use dig to get out!"
"What?" Brandon exclaims loudly, caught off guard. He looks at Joltik, trying to determine if he should switch him out. Finally, he made a decision.
"Joltik, use string shot on yourself and wrap yourself up!" Brandon orders his Pokemon.
Joltik wraps himself up, like how a spider would wrap up it's food just as Nickit emerges from the ground, right underneath Joltik. Instead of hitting Joltik, the fox Pokemon hits the string shot web. The web breaks with the impact but Joltik doesn't suffer any damage from the attack.
"Impressive," Kyle shouts across to Brandon. "Nickit, use hone claws again!"
"Joltik, use shockwave!" Brandon instructs his Pokemon.
Joltik sends a shock wave towards Nickit, who is sharpening its claws. Shock wave hits Nickit, dealing some damage to it.
"Nickit, use quick attack!" Kyle shouts.
Brandon realizes this was an opening. "Joltik, wait until Nickit hits you, then use string shot!"
Nickit comes blasting at Joltik before slamming into the spider Pokemon, dealing a moderate amount of damage. Joltik wobbles but still fires off a string shot and immobilizing Nickit.
"Great! Now, use shock wave!" Brandon yells.
Joltik, however, opens his mouth and bites Nickit, who cries out in pain before fainting. Brandon blinks as the crowd roars.
"What an exciting match," John shouts. "Joltik knocks out Nickit with bug bite. Who will Kyle send out next?"
"Nickit, you did well. Return," Kyle says, returning his downed partner. He pulls out another Pokeball. "Scyther, let's go!"
Out of the ball came a green looking mantis Pokemon with blades for hands. Brandon, once again, pulls out his dex to scan the new Pokemon.
"Scyther, the mantis Pokemon. Bug/Flying type. As Scyther fights more and more battles, its scythes become sharper and sharper. With a single slice, Scyther can fell a massive tree," the dex chimes back.
"Joltik, can you still battle?" Brandon asks, noticing that Joltik is swaying a little as he stands there.
"Joltik," Joltik nods, a look of determination crosses his face.
"Joltik vs Scyther!" John cries out. "Who will win this match up?"
"Scyther, use double team!" Kyle orders.
"Joltik has taken alot of damage so I need to avoid any close combat fighting for now," Brandon thinks to himself, as Scyther makes 4 copies of itself. "Joltik, use shockwave!"
Joltik sends out a wave of electricity hitting 2 copies. He quickly sends out another wave, evaporating the remaining two copies, leaving the spider pokemon confused.
"Now Scyther! Use wing attack!" Kyle shouts out.
"Behind you Joltik!" Brandon shouts but it's too late.
Scyther appears behind Joltik, hitting him with a wing attack and dealt alot of damage. However, Joltik stands up on very shaky legs, glaring at Scyther.
" Talk about fighting spirit," John shouts excitedly. The crowd are on their feet, cheering on Joltik. "Looks like Joltik has became a fan favorite. Will Brandon keep him in the match or will he sub him out?"
Brandon immediately pulls out Joltik's Pokeball, however, Joltik shakes his head. "Joltik, I appreciate that you want to keep battling but you are in no condition to."
"Jolt!" Joltik cries out, facing Scyther, though he can barely stand.
"Joltik doesn't want to leave the battle but Brandon wants to switch him out. How will this play out?" John asks the crowd. Everyone, including Kyle, are watching this interaction.
"Do you think Brandon will take Joltik out?" Saul whispers to the others.
"He has too," Ava points out. "Joltik can barely stand. He's in no condition to battle."
"Yet, if Brandon switches, Joltik might not forgive Brandon," Lisa whispers.
"Brandon has a choice to make," Fred says. "Joltik's health or Joltik's obedience."
"I don't envy his choice," Saul remarks, as Brandon makes his decision.
"Joltik, I know you want to keep battling but you are in no condition to battle. Return!" Brandon calls out, recalling the spider Pokemon. Joltik sent him a glare as he vanished into the ball. Brandon can see that Kyle gives him a supportive nod. Brandon sighs, knowing he might have caused a rift between him and Joltik as he unclips another Pokeball.
"Wartortle, it's go time!" Brandon shouts.
Wartortle appears on the field. Scyther buzzes around his side of the field, waiting for Kyle to issue an attack.
"Scyther, use double team!" Kyle shouts.
"Wartortle, use rapid gun to get rid of the copies!" Brandon quickly counters.
Scyther begins to make copies of himself as Wartortle tucks himself into his shell and shoots water out as he spins. The speed of which Wartortle is able to cut down the copies surprises Kyle momentarily.
"Great job Wartortle!" Brandon praises his partner. "Now, use water pulse!"
"Scyther, dodge it and use night slash!" Kyle counters.
Wartortle unleashes a series of water rings, aiming for Scyther, who manages to dodge them before going in for a direct attack.
Brandon lets a small smile cross his lips before just nodding to Wartortle. Wartortle understood what Brandon's strategy is here. Just as Scyther brought his blades down, Wartortle spins around, letting the blades hit his shell. It still hurt but his shell lessened the damage. In fluid movement, Wartortle grabs one of Scyther's arms and judo style throws it over his shoulder, smashing it on the ground, much to Kyle's surprise again.
"Not bad," Kyle calls out. "Scyther, use your quick attack now!"
"Wartortle, let Scyther hit you, then use your tail to trip Scyther!" Brandon calls out.
Scyther is able to beat his wings at a rather fast pace and smashes into Wartortle before falling down again.
"Now! Use ice punch!" Brandon immediately calls out.
With Scyther down, Wartortle's fist turns to ice as he smashes into Scyther, who cries out in pain.
Brandon notices that Wartortle seems a little banged up as well after that quick attack but Brandon couldn't understand why. Kyle, noticing Bradon's look, decided to take advantage of it.
"Scyther, quick attack again!" Kyle shouts.
"Wartortle, dodge it!" Brandon cries out.
Scyther moves with incredible speed, smashing into Wartortle, causing the turtle Pokemon to cry out in pain again, just as a blue aura encircles him. Brandon blinks, not understanding what just happened.
"Scyther, watch out for Wartortle's water attacks. They will hit harder now!" Kyle cautions his partner. "On the flip side, he should be close to fainting. Let's go on the offensive and end this. Use night slash!"
"Wartortle, think you can take one more hit?" Brandon asks his starter. Wartortle shakes his head. "In that case, use water pulse but aim it just above Scyther."
Wartortle aims right above Scyther's wings but Scyther is faster at dodging before hitting Wartortle with a night slash, defeating him.
"Wartortle, you battled hard. Thank you. Take a good rest," Brandon says, recalling his starter Pokemon.
"Scyther scores the knockout on Wartortle but really, that was a close battle!" John says, hyping up the crowd, who are roaring with applause for Scyther. "Who will Brandon bring out next?"
"That was a close match," Fred observes. "It really could have gone either way."
"Agreed. How will Brandon handle it?" Lisa wonders, looking at her son, holding another Pokeball in his hand.
"Tangela, I need your help!" Brandon shouts, bringing out his vine Pokemon.
"Scyther, can you still battle?" Kyle asks the Mantis Pokemon. Receiving a nod, Kyle quickly issued his next command. "Use double team!"
"Tangela, use growth!" Brandon shouts.
Scyther began making four copies of himself as Tangela grew a little in size.
"Scyther, use wing attack!" Kyle orders from the sidelines.
All four copies surround Tangela and begin to strike the vine Pokemon with their wings, dealing major damage, though it looks like it's dealing more damage as Tangela quickly uses his vines as a makeshift shield, trying to deflect damage.
"Tangela, roll around!" Brandon shouts, trying to give himself time to come up with a better strategy. He notices that certain moves seem to be doing more damage than others, something that seems to be confusing him. But right now, he needs to think of a way to counteract Scyther.
Tangela tucks his feet into his vines and begins to roll around. The strategy seems to be working as the four copies are trying to hit the rolling vine ball but to no avail. Suddenly, a vine snaps out of the ball, destroying one copy. Couple of seconds later, another vine snaps out with another copy destroyed. Two more vines snap out, destroying the last two copies but the real Scyther isn't anywhere to be seen. Brandon looks up in time to see Scyther coming down for another wing attack.
"Tangela, use Bind!" Brandon yells.
Scyther comes down hard on Tangela, dealing massive amount of damage before vines encircle one of Scyther's blades, locking it in place.
"Great job. Now use mega drain!" Brandon cries out.
Tangela begins to drain Scyther's energy and refilling his own, while Scyther struggles against the bind.
"Tangela, don't let up! Keep using mega drain!" Brandon shouts.
Scyther tries to break free as Tangela draws more of Scyther's energy before Scyther faints, much to the crowd's delight.
"Tangela finally is able to defeat Scyther. Who will Kyle send out next?" John asks the crowd.
"Scyther, thank you. Take a good rest," Kyle says, recalling the Mantis Pokemon. He pulls out another ball. "Greedent, let's go."
A squirrel Pokemon pops out, a Pokemon Brandon is famailar with.
"Tangela, be careful. Greedent is a strong Pokemon. Use stun spore!" Brandon commands.
"Greedent, let's get to work. Use belly drum!" Kyle shouts.
Tangela shakes his vines, releasing an orange powder around him. In the other corner, Greedent begins to drum on his belly, giving him an attack boost.
"Greedent, use earthquake!" Kyle shouts.
"Tangela, hold firm. Once you see an opening, use Bind!" Brandon shouts.
Greedent jumps up and down, causing the ground (and ship) to quake, throwing Tangela down on the ground. The crowd also felt the earthquake, some being thrown from their seats.
"That's some attack," Brandon mutters to himself, wide eyed. "Tangela, you alright?"
Tangela gets up slowly, trying to shake the attack off. Both Tangela and Brandon notice that the battlefield now has a huge crack in it, along with small spider fissures.
"We need to be wary of that move," Brandon shouts towards Tangela. "Good news is that Greedent loses some of its health using belly drum. So if we can get a couple of good hits in, we can knock him out."
Just then, sirens can be heard throughout the ship, causing everyone to look around in confusion. John answers a phone, his face going white. He begins to speak to everyone.
"My apologies but we need to cancel the tournament," John says, his voice cracking. "If everyone can make their way to the nearest life boats please. Quick but in an orderly fashion."
He barely finished his sentence before something smashed into the boat, causing it to rock. Instantly, everyone began screaming and panicking, trying to be the first out of the room.
Brandon looks at Kyle, then back to his friends and family before joining them. They manage to meet up with John, who is headed to top deck.
"John, what's going on?" Brandon asks, as the group jogs onto the deck.
"That!" John replies, pointing out to the ocean.
"GYARADOS!"
Team Listings:
Brandon Adams:
Wartortle - Male, Torrent ability. Knows Water Pulse, Ice Punch, Withdraw, Rapid Spin
Tangela - Male, Leaf Guard ability. Knows Bind, Stun Spore, Mega Drain, Growth
Nidorina – Poison Point ability. Knows Growl, Poison Sting, Double Kick, Fury Swipes
Joltik – Male, Compound Eyes ability. Knows: Shockwave, Electroweb, String Shot, Bug Bite
Ava Mcarthur:
Umbreon - Female. Run Away ability. Knows growl , Quick Attack, Double Kick, Snarl
Omanyte - Male. Weak Armor ability. Knows: Withdraw, Constrict
Growlithe – Female. Flash Fire. Knows: Ember, Bite
Saul Raymond:
Yungoos – Male. Unknown Ability. Knows Tackle, Sand attack, Leer
Pikipek – Female (Shiny). Unknown Ability. Knows Peck, Growl
Mantyke – Female. Unknown Ability. Unknown moves
A/N: There are a couple of things I want to note in this chapter. First, is the interaction between Joltik and Brandon. It may seem uncharacteristic of Joltik right now but all I can say right now, there will be a storyline for it :) Second, I went back and forth with the ending. A part of me wanted to finish the tournament but a part of me wanted to get Ava and Saul into the action. So I decided to go with that option. Another general note, I will be picking up the pace. When I first started writing this story, I didn't want to move too fast but I also didn't want to drag the time between badges. 26 chapters and 2 badges only seems like it's moving pretty slow. Anyways, hope you guys enjoyed this chapter!