Author's Note:
Here it is, the second top eight battle and I went back and forth on which of these to show. Did I want to showcase the big challenge rival again or explore one of my more favourite characters in Sakura. In the end, I decided to go with the one which would give May a chance to be the focus. Obviously, that does means this is a May-centric chapter. It's also heavily inspired by one of the actual league battles. I've tried to make Morrison more of a challenge. How you might ask, well just wait, and see. After finishing all the other battles, I do want to say that this is my least favourite of this league (there's always one). I am also releasing this a day early because I've got quite a lot on tomorrow (the day this is released) so I didn't want to have it slip my mind. Without much else to say, don't forget to vote in the poll and with that, let's begin
Chapter Ninety-Five: Emerald Conference - Top eight: Friendship
May took a deep breath as she sat in the stand overlooking the field. To her side, she noticed her brother and Walley with a couple empty seats between them, having some sort discussion. They each had their Ralts out, but she was too far away to make out what they were saying to each other.
"Our two finalists are ready and waiting on the field so let's find out more about who'll be battling today!" An announcer echoed. "Hailing from the town of Littleroot, he's proven to be a prodigy in his own right! The son of Hoenn's regional professor, it's Brendan Birch!"
Turning to the field, she tightened her fist over her heart as it stretched. Brendan walked out with a Pokéball in hand and head down. Despite the crowd cheering, he didn't even give them a passing glance. She couldn't help but frown at his slightly slouched demeanour.
"And his opponent is also a first timer in the league scene!" The announcer continued. "His loud and boisterous personality has truly brought a different kind of energy to his previous battles! Represent the town of Verdanturf, it's Morrison Masamune!"
The crowd roared in applause as she watched the orange haired boy walk out of the wing towards the field. Despite him waving to the crowd like in his previous battles, soaking in the attention, she couldn't help but notice the subtle anguish on his face. As both stood on opposite sides of the field, she couldn't help but feel like neither wanted to be there. The crowd likely felt it too as they settled down rather quickly.
"It's bound to be a non-stop action-packed battle between mind and heart in the Ruby stadium! With both fighting for the final top four spot!" The announcer tried to keep the high spirit atmosphere going. "With the first half taking place on a rock-field, we'll hand it over to the ref for the rules of this pending battle!"
"This will be a six-on-six full battle, where both sides have registered their teams prior to arriving today," he explained, "we're not imposing a time limit and both sides will be able to substitute throughout. We'll take a fifth teen minute intermission when the first side loses three Pokémon. This'll be when we switch over the fields! With the coin toss, it's been decided Morrison shall reveal his Pokémon first to begin with!"
The plain field in between them opened and slid away from sight. With a brown dusted rock field, not too different from the Rustboro gym raising up into place. She sunk her teeth down into her bottom lip as both boys held out a Pokéball in hand.
"You're up Steelix!" He shouted as he tossed his Pokéball. Bursting open over the air, a large metal snake appeared, forcing the device back into the boys hand.
The long, serpentine Pokémon had a silvery-grey body which shimmered under the bright sun, made up of rock-like sections. Three of these sections had long, rock-spikes coming out of them on either side. With a massive head, mainly made up of his large jaw with sets of large square teeth, shown as he let out a loud cry. Along the bottom jaw were two pairs of ridges. Several small, square lumps covered the underside of his lower jaw. His eye-sockets were slightly deep-set, and the eyes themself were red. Staring into the large, towering Pokémon, she pulled out her Pokédex:
Steelix, The Iron Snake Pokémon. The final evolved form of Onix. Steelix live even further underground after evolving. This Pokémon is known to dig toward the earth's core, reaching a depth of over six-tenths of a mile underground
"Morrison has chosen Steelix!" The announcer explained, "a perfect opener for this rock field! Now to see how Brendan will respond?"
Holding his arm out, a red light flashed out of the Pokéball in his hand. "You're up, Swampert!"
Seeing his starter materialise on the field, she frowned. Thinking to herself, "why would he go with his starter this early? Yes, he has the type advantage, but he's also normally saved until nearer the end. What is Brendan planning?"
Seeing the two Pokémon stand off against each other, she really didn't know how this would play out. As a trainer, she believes in her childhood friend but given the sheer size of their opponent. She remembered Ash talking about his Snorlax with raw unadulterated power. Is Steelix the same?
"Swampert verses Steelix!" The ref declared. "Let the battle begin!"
Brendan verses Morrison: Round One
She winced as the iron snake Pokémon lifted his tail up and crashed it down onto the floor. The entire field seemed to shake as Swampert dropped onto all for limbs to balance himself out. Morrison's steel ground type let out loud cries and continued to power through with the earthquake.
"If that's not working try earth power!" The orange haired boy shouted before turning away, squeezing his eyes shut.
Letting out another roar, he slammed the tail down on the floor once more. Cracks formed under Swampert with an orange glow.
"Ride it and get some height!" Brendan countered.
Burying both hands into the ground either side, a rock platform was made loose. Some sort of fiery magma erupted beneath him.
The mud fish Pokémon went flying from the blow, protected by his self-made surfboard. Leaping off as the earth power ended, he went flying up to the head.
Opening his mouth, Steelix's teeth foamed with dark type energy. Diving down to crunch down on Brendan's starter.
A jet of water shot out and into the iron snakes mouth. Closing his mouth, he winced and Swampert's fists glew an orangey-brown colour. Crashing into his face, he delivered a couple of punches. Grabbing onto the ridges over his face, he used them to swing and get on top of his opponent.
"Get it off, Steelix!" Morrison shouted.
Shaking his head about, the water ground type held on. Being frown back and forth, he managed to keep his position on his opponent's head.
"Make it quick, Swampert!" Brendan shouted.
Closing his eyes, his body glew with ground type energy. As Steelix came to a stop, catching his breath, the mud fish stomped down hard. Delivering an earthquake direct to the metal titans head. The iron snake went crashing down onto the floor from the blow.
Jumping off before the thud, his arms glew with fighting type energy. Spinning on his dive down, he delivered a double hammer arm onto his head.
A cloud of dust blew up around them but settled fairly quickly. The water ground type walking off back to Brendan's side.
"Steelix is unable to battle!" The ref declared. "Making the winners of this round Brendan and his Swampert!"
She stared down to the field as Swampert walked back towards her childhood friend. A flickered upon her lips as the red light engulfed the fallen iron snake and recalled him off the field. She couldn't help but pull her brows together as she chewed on her inner cheek.
"That was... quick-" she uttered.
"That's what she said." Glancing to the side, she saw the two boys giggling at the immature joke, but she truly couldn't be sure which said it.
"Brat-" She muttered under her breath, rolling her eyes. "I mean, Brendan really quick beat Steelix. And why did he start with Swampert."
"Well, he targeted the head... remember Taillow back in the Rustboro gym?" he asked. "By targeting the weak point, he sped up the battle. And if I were to guess, he went with Swampert to get an early lead. As his strongest Pokémon, they know each other the best and can take an early lead."
"It sounds risky-" she muttered. "If he falls early or gets tired out then the later parts can be pretty dangerous."
"Maybe but they also seem to have a problem with the match ups from what you said-" he replied, "I bet this was part of his strategy because Swampert would be best able to handle himself. Let himself settle into the flow of battle. Dad always mentioned how important controlling the flow of battle."
"Brendan and Swampert take an early lead!" The announcer declared. "So, let's see who'll be Morrison's second Pokémon?!"
"Go Gliscor!" Morrison shouted, tossing his second Pokéball. In a flash of light, his second Pokémon materialised on the floor.
She gasped at the sight of the bluish-purple vampire bat-like Pokémon, partially clad in an insect-like carapace. The legs had two toes and a slightly darker circular colouration on the underside, viewable since he didn't exactly stand on them. Instead standing on the tail which had two barbs, giving his tail the resemblance of a vampire's fangs. His arms were red with thin striations and were completely detached from the back wings, and each ended with large pincers, snapping in a threatening manner. The ears had discernible, red, chambered ear insides, and its eyes were yellow. Opening his mouth with a joyful malice-filled grin, she counted six visible fangs. His waist, like the arms, are red and striated. Blinking. It took her a second to realise the body as a whole resembled an open mouth, with the pointed protrusions coming from its upper torso resembling fangs. She could only imagine seeing this thing appearing from the dark depths of a cave. Pulling out her Pokédex, she scanned the scary looking Pokémon:
Gliscor, The Poison Fang Pokémon. The final evolved form of Gligar. It glides soundlessly on pitch-black wings and sinks sharp fangs into the throat of its prey. It takes on a look of satisfaction once it has entirely drained its prey of blood
"That sure is one scary Pokémon," she muttered.
"It's a weird choice." Max mused. "Type wise, Swampert has the advantage still but being able to fly should give him a unique advantage."
Giving a nod to the explanation, she turned back to the field. Clasping her hands together, she silently thought words of encouragement.
"Swampert verses Gliscor!" The ref declared. "Let the battle begin!"
Brendan verses Morrison: Round Two
She watched as the flying scorpion used his tail as a launching spring. With great speed, he flung high into the air. She had to crank her head back to see him high over the stadium. With glowing claws, he thrusted them down, raining down a series of pin missiles over his opponent.
Swampert smashed both arms down onto the ground, breaking a chunk of earth. Holding it over his head, it acted as a shield.
The bug type projectiles crashed onto the ground, but the starter remained in place. Unaffected by the barrage thanks to his shield.
As the last one settled down, the mud fish Pokémon spun. Holding his rock out, he launched it up with great strength.
Diving down with arms in front of him, the vampire-bat crossed his claws over with a bug type shield. Crashing through the rock, he picked up speed.
Taking a deep breath, he launched a jet of water up. It burst off the x-scissor shield, skimming off the top as he slipped underneath.
Crashing into the floor in front of him, the water ground type delivered a swift double ice punch. The thick spring tail swept to the side, knocking him off balance as the part flying type stood up. Bringing his claws down in a slash, Swampert caught them as a battle of strength started.
Opening his mouth, his fangs opened and burst in flames. Biting down on the shoulder of his opponent, it helped him overpower the starter.
Using the moment to free himself, his claws glew with toxic poison. Pushing forward, he continued to jab him one time after another.
Taking the blow by blow, his fists tightened and coated in ice. After a hit to the left, he brought the right fist and delivered a powerful punch. The duo continued the close combat between the two attacks. Neither side seemed to get the better of the other.
Biting onto her thump, she nervously watched the fight. Her stomach turned as she waited for some sign of a victor.
Gliscor seemed to be the first to retreat, using his tail to spring up once more. As he took off, the mud fish grabbed onto the tail with his ice-hand.
This time he hardly seemed to get even half the distance as both Pokémon went flying. While Swampert pulled himself up onto his back.
Swirling around in the air, a flying type aura radiated over his body. Holding onto his shoulders, Brendan's starter refused to get shaken off.
It was difficult to make out what was happened until a massive hydro pump shot down. Gliscor crashed into the ground as Swampert used the force to keep somewhat airborne. Ending his powerful blast, his fists coated in ice once more.
Summersaulting in his fall. He crashed onto the vampire-bat throwing up a cloud of dust. She winced from the heavy thud.
As the dust settled, she noticed Swampert walking back to Brendan's side. He had a purple mark over his face and seemed slouched whilst panting heavily, leaving the poison fang Pokémon behind him, flat out on the ground with swirls in his eyes.
"Gliscor is unable to battle!" The ref declared. "Making the winners of this round Brendan and his Swampert!"
With a loud cheer, she jumped out of her seat. Her first launched high in the air. Hearing the slight chuckle to her side, she mareepishly sat down and glared to her little brother. Letting out a low breath, she hung her head slightly as her cheeks tingled with embarrassment.
"That's two for two for the Professor's son!" The announcer declared. "Could this prodigy truly make a clear sweep of his first full league battle?!"
Controlling her breathing, she felt her heart settle within her chest. Glancing up, she caught sight of Morrison holding the device in his hand which contained his fallen Gliscor. A slight shiver travelled down her spin at the thought of the scary Pokémon.
"You need to choose your next Pokémon immediately!" The ref commanded.
The orange haired boy stood, visibly shaking as his tightened knuckles turned white. Swallowing hard, she clasped her hands together.
"By default, Morrison is declared to be-"
"Hold it!" Brendan interrupted. "You gotta give him a little more time! Morrison snap out of it!"
"Yeah... but-" he stuttered.
"We both know you can battle better than this!" Brendan declared. "Why are you just giving up?!"
"Who asked you?" he cried.
"If that's how you feel then you might as well quit right now!" He put his foot down.
"No way!" He cried out.
"You've got Pokémon who depend on you and battle for you!" He locked eyes with the orange-haired boy. "But right now, your acting like you don't even care about them! After all the hard work to get here, every badge they earnt for you! Your just throwing away all of their hard work!"
"I do so care!" He cried.
"Then prove it!" He commanded, holding his arms out, with Swampert taking up another stance. "Face us now like we know you can!"
"Look out because I'm baaaaaaaack!" He yelled as his head turned to the sky. Pulling a Pokéball out, he narrowed his gaze on Brendan. "You want it? We'll give you a battle man!"
"Yeah!" He smiled widely. "That's the spirit!"
"It looks like Morrison is really into the battle now!" Max beamed.
"It doesn't matter!" She dismissed.
"Time to rock and roll!" Morrison declared. "Swampert, come on out!"
In a flash of light, the second water ground type appeared opposite Brendan's. Despite being the same size, it was clear Morrison's held itself taller as the poison from the previous battle took its toll. Biting down on her inner cheek, she felt each thump of her heart against her chest.
"Swampert verses Swampert!" The ref declared. "Let the battle begin!"
Brendan verses Morrison: Round Three
With a deep breath, each of the Pokémon launched out a jet of water from their mouths. The two hydro pumps clashed and battled against each other, evening out and filling the slightly caved in field with the liquid. Each ended the blast seeing them evenly matched.
Morrison's moved first as the hands tightened into fists. Running over the field, they glew with fighting type energy.
While Brendan's let out an ear-bursting screech. Wincing from the sound, she covered her eyes to try and protect herself up in the audience stand.
Peaking back down as the noise stopped, she noticed Morrison's starter swing. His rock smash sailed over the head as the other Swampert ducked.
Spinning to the side, he watched the fellow water ground type stumble. Moving in stride, the orange-haired boys turned and pounced.
Move by move, Brendan's slipped out as his opposing mud fish Pokémon tried to land the hit. It seemed like some sort of dance between the duo.
"If he won't sit still, make him!" Morrison commanded. "Earthquake!"
Letting up with his rock smash hands, he smashed the large appendages down. The water in the field rocked back and forth as Brendan's starter winced.
"All or nothing Swampert!" Brendan shouted.
He closed his eyes as a reddish-orange outline radiated of his body. Shaking in his solace from the powerful earthquake beneath him.
"Now finish this!" Morrison hollered.
Leaping forward, his whole arms glew with fighting type energy. The double hammer arms crashed down onto this back with a thud.
Unable to breath, everything seemed to stand still as time stopped. Moments later, Brendan's starter delivered an upper cut and sent their opponent flying, landing on his back with an equally heavy thud. Falling face first into the shallow water, she blinked in surprise at the sight in front of her.
"Both Swampert are unable to battle!" The ref declared. "Since Morrison has lost three of his Pokémon, we'll take a fifthteen minute intermission!"
Her mouth dropped slightly as both boys recalled their water ground starters. Walking off the field, she watched the plain-basic outline cover the rock field as it lowered under the stadium. The last few moments played over in her head as her brows pulled together.
"Wha what just happened?" she stuttered.
"That was genius!" Max declared. "Using screech to soften him up, he had Swampert use his last bit of strength on counter."
"Counter?" she muttered, pulling out her Pokédex:
Counter: This move has the user return double the power from the last attack taken to their opponent.
"He knew Swampert was on a timer with the poison, so he went with a risky strategy," Walleye explained, "like he said... all or nothing."
"But he would've already moved onto the top four already!" Max shrugged. "If he didn't say that to Morrison, that is."
"But he said that because right now... winning isn't his top priority," she uttered, sinking into her seat, "he just wants to have fun with his friend."
As people left to stretch their legs, get some food, or even use the restroom, she sat silently in her seat. Memories of Brendan and Morrison competing in friend competitions during the league running through her head. She wished she could have a friend like that. Sure, she's got Serena whose almost like an older sister at this point and Ash but with their different goals, they haven't really been competing.
She's been so focused on getting a boyfriend, she missed just having a friend. Of course, she's also got her Pokémon but that's not the same sort of relationship. Hell, without either Ash or Serena, she couldn't understand them properly. The closest she might get is Sakura but after how she treated her back in Rustboro... a sickening feeling bubbled in her stomach as she remembered the interactions around that contest.
May couldn't be sure how long she spent mulling it over. Only the cheers from the audience drew her out of her thoughts and back to the stadium.
"And we're back folks!" The commentator announced as both trainers walked back out onto the field. With a large water field appearing between them, which seemed to be a thick set of trees with luscious green leaves. "The second half of this top eight match will take place on a forest field! Brendan shall pick first!"
"Shiftry, you're up!" He shouted, with his wicked Pokémon materialising on the green field.
"And Brendan picks Shiftry to open up this second half!" The announcer declared. "A perfect pick for this sort of field! Now who'll be his opponent?"
"Then I'll go with Arcanine!" Morrison declared, tossing his device into the air.
In a flash of light, a quadrupedal canine with an orange pelt marked by jagged black stripes appeared in front of him. He had diamond-shaped ears which were beige on the inside, black eyes; a round black nose, and two pointed teeth protruding from the upper making up his face. A low growl seemed pretty intimidating. His head, muzzle, and chest were covered by shaggy beige fur, except for two oval sections around the eyes and ears. Long tufts of fur grew behind the elbows and ankles. The underside seemed to be black, and he had a billowing, beige tail that's bent in the middle.
Smiling at the sight, she couldn't help but feel this one was slightly friendlier. Maybe it's because of how the other members of Morrison's team has been so far but other than the growling, which even her Mightyena's done before, he seems playful. She pulled out her Pokédex to scan the new Pokémon:
Arcanine, The legendary Pokémon. The final evolved form of Growlithe. Arcanine is known for its high speed. It is said to be capable of running over six-thousand-two-hundred miles in a single day and night. The fire that blazes wildly within this Pokémon's body is its source of power
"Arcanine are known as very loyal and powerful Pokémon!" Max beamed. "Brendan's truly at the disadvantage this time!"
Frowning at her brother's declaration, she turned back to the field. She couldn't help but feel her stomach turn as the ref held both arms up.
"Shiftry verses Arcanine!" The ref declared. "Let the battle begin!"
Brendan verses Morrison: Round Four
She watched the two Pokémon each charge into the tree-covered forest. Spinning to the screen on the opposite side of the stand, she watched the screen as the grass dark type lept from one branch to another. Blending into the dark greens and browns with impressive speed.
It cut to a shot of Arcanine as his body burned with fire. Brushing past the greenery, spreading the fire from his flame wheels.
Smoke bellowed out of the actual field with bits of fire appearing. Her eyes widened as she saw the field turn to compliment Morrison instead of Morrison.
Turning back to the screen, she saw Shiftry launch down a barrage of seeds. Exploding on the ground below his tree, it knocked Arcanine off balance.
Crashing on his side, the fire canine crashed into a burning tree. Brendan's voice echoed, "we need to stop it spreading! Hurricane!"
Watching the screen, she saw the wicked Pokémon dive down to the ground. Spinning in his fall, his body glew with flying type energy.
A powerful wind whipped up around him, blowing the flames back. The damaged trees were also knocked back slightly.
Arcanine tackled through the blast, and both went one of the mostly-ash trunks. Biting down on his opponent, he swung his head and sent him flying.
Flames erupted over his body once more. Turning on a heel, he charged towards the dark grass type.
Pushing himself up from the toss, he spun on the spot. A series of leaves and ash came up covering him from sight.
Crashing through the leaf tornado, Arcanine landed on the other side. His opponent no-where to be seen.
"They must be using the other half of the forest!" Morrison exclaimed. "Let's take care of it with flamethrower!"
Letting out a loud cry, he turned to the un-burnt half of the forest. A large stream of flames shot out of his mouth, bathing the trees in flames.
A blur came from the side and Shiftry sucker punched the side of his head. Knocking it sideways, he stopped the flamethrower. Using the momentary pause, his fan-hands glew with dark type energy. He unleashed a series of night slashes onto the legendary Pokémon.
Stomping his foot down, flames erupted over his body. Charging forward into the burning forest, he took the wicked Pokémon in his flare blitz.
"Explosion!" Brendan shouted.
Next thing she knew, an explosion took place near the centre of the field. Blowing the burning trees down and leaving it as nothing but an ash-covered field, the fire type crashed into the far wall, being blown. While Shiftry laid motionless in the field.
Her breath held while her eyes lingered on the pure fire type. The ref even moved closed to investigate.
Nearly two minutes of silence passed before he struggled back to his feet. With a limp in his stride, he slowly walked back over to Morrison.
"Shiftry is unable to battle!" The ref declared, retaking his place on the centre-edge of the field. "Making Morrison and his Arcanine the winners!"
She closed her eyes and let out a low sigh as Brendan recalled his second fallen Pokémon. He might still have the numbers advantage, but this was not how she imagined the second half going. Everything she knew about battling just left her with more questions right now.
"Why did he use explosion?" she asked, mostly to herself. "Shiftry might've-"
"I think it was limited options," Max answered. "Swampert might be his best fire counter but obviously he's not an option. Being in a bad type match up would've led Morrison into a false sense of security. Letting him get close enough for the move to work."
"But it didn't-" She sighed.
"Arcanine are fast, I bet he kicked up into extreme speed or something the second he heard Brendan's command," Max replied, "he still got the edge of the blast, but it would've been much worse if he was at the heart. It was a calculated risk... or at least that's how I see it."
"So now he's completely out of options?" she asked.
"Not really... you saw that limp," he replied, "it'll severely hinder his mobility in the future rounds. This will be Brendan's chance to finish it."
"And if Morrison switches?" she asked.
"He might as well retire Arcanine-" he replied, "remember what Brock said. A Pokémon in battle is likely to keep going even if injured. The adrenaline is still present and can help push them further. If he lets him rest for a round or two, its likely Arcanine will succumb to the bit of the blast which did hit him."
Biting down on her bottom lip, she turned back to the field. Catched the flash of light, she noticed the familiar looking fossil Pokémon from Ash's battle against Roxanne back in his first Hoenn gym. "That must be the Anorith who he got when I got Lileep," she thought to herself. Pulling out her dex for a refresher:
Armaldo, The Plate Pokémon. The final evolved form of Anorith. Armaldo's tough armor makes all attacks bounce off. This Pokémon's two enormous claws can be freely extended or contracted. They have the power to punch right through a steel slab
Putting the device back down, she couldn't help but nervously bite her inner cheek and clasp her hands together. Watching both Pokémon move into position on the destroyed ash-covered field. She truly couldn't be sure which of these two held the advantage right now and it wasn't helping.
"Armaldo verses Arcanine!" The ref declared. "Let the battle begin!"
Brendan verses Morrison: Round Five
She watched as Armaldo stomped his foot down on the ground. Massive rocks spiked up from the ground in a weird sort of pattern with one directly in front of the part bug type. Blocking a stream of flames, diverting them to either side of the reincarnated fossil.
Looking to the fire type, he started running. Not nearly as fast as before but flames erupted over his body. He lept over the closest stealth rock.
Raising both arms up, he grabbed the legendary Pokémon. Skidding back over the field, he grabbed the canine and tossed him to the side.
With a swivel of the head, he shot out a jet of water. Crashing the water jet directly into Arcanine's face.
Sparks jumped off his fangs, electrifying the water gun. Shooting up the fossils move, Armaldo came to a stomp with static consuming his body.
Pushing up from the ground, Morrison's Pokémon shook his body. Radiating with pink-fairy type energy, he charged into the electrified fossil. Whipping his head and front paws around, he let loose in the rough play. Knocking the rock-bug type back across the field.
His claws glew white and raised. Gritting his teeth through the assault, he struggled to counter with his crush claw.
"Aim for the back left leg!" Brendan shouted.
The fully-evolved fossil brought his claw down onto said spot. Arcanine howled out in pain, jerking back from the assault.
Using the opening, he spat out a blob of mud. Covering the fire types face, Armaldo crossed both arms over his chest. A series of rocks orbited around his body. Thrusting both of his scythe-arms out, they shot forward and struck the legendary Pokémon.
Knocking him back over the field, he landed in a pile of ash. Blowing it everywhere, swirls replaced his eyes.
Static overtook the rock-bug type, causing him to kneel over. Panting heavily as the ref raised one of his arms.
"Arcanine is unable to battle!" The ref declared. "Making Brendan and his Armaldo the winner's!"
She watched with a small smile as both trainers recalled their Pokémon. A low sigh of relief escaped her lips as she slouched back in her seat.
"Told you that Armaldo would win!" Max noted, in his matter-of-fact tone. "But getting paralyzed... it might restrict his use in future battles. He only got the upper hand this time because of Arcanine's previous injury. It's no surprise he recalled him. Those stealth rocks will also prove troublesome though."
"Stealth rocks?" she questions.
"It's the first thing Armaldo did," he replied, "it's a technique known as entry hazards. It creates trouble for any opposing Pokémon upon entering the battle but it's far from the only one. Some bugs can limit movements with sticky webs and some poison types can inflict the toxins upon entering."
"So, he'll have an advantage?" she asked.
"More like he'll get the first hit off, but it depends on the type match up with rock type-"
Their attention was drawn back to the field as Morrison's next Pokémon materialised on the field. One she knew quite well from Ash having one himself. A sturdy looking Metang floated in front of him with a stoic expression on the robotic face. The rocks lifted up and bashed into the iron titan before bouncing off and replanting themselves back in the field.
"-a steel type, for example, not really effected by them." Max finished his thought. "But that does make me think Morrison has one other weakness in his line-up today. His first three Pokémon were all part ground type and now were seeing a second steel type."
"Why is that a problem?" she asked.
"Shared typing means shared weaknesses," he explained, "its why type specialist work specifically on countering such weaknesses but something tells me he hasn't done quite the same amount of work to do it effectively."
Smiling at his words, she turned back just in time to see Brendan's electric canine materialise on the field. Her mind flashed back to the instances of Ash's steel psychic type being shocked and losing control. While she knew it wasn't a common thing shared among the species... she couldn't help but worry. With a deep breath, she calmed her nerves and pulled out the Pokédex, not seeing one since Ash's Mauville gym battle:
Manectric, The Discharge Pokémon. The final evolved form of Electrike. Manectric discharges strong electricity from its mane. The mane is used for collecting electricity in the atmosphere. Loyal to a fault, they won't shock any humans who has earnt their trust
"And with neither side having an advantage in terms of type we're left wonder who'll win?!" The announcer hyped. "Will Morrison's Metang pull off an impressive victory or will Manectric short-circuit his chances?! Only one way to find out so stay tuned to this action-packed battle!"
Leaning forward in her seat, she kept her eyes focused on the impending battle. Both Pokémon stared at each other with hardened expressions.
"Manectric verses Metang!" The ref declared. "Let the battle begin!"
Brendan verses Morrison: Round Six
She gasped at the roar of thunder as a massive bolt of lightning shot out of Brendan's canine. It ripped across the field towards the pseudo. A wave of ESP consumed the lightning bolt. Forcing it up into the sky. Lighting up the sky with an ear-bursting boom, harmlessly dispersing into the sky.
Shooting across the field with impressive speed. The metal titan delivered a swift barrage of punches with the silver-covered arms.
He cried out in pain from the bullet punch, electricity sparked over his body. Engulfing both Pokémon with the discharge creating and electric dome.
Using the momentary pause, he opened his mouth and shot out a stream of flames. Burning up the pseudo-legendary, knocking him further away.
Shooting back across the field, he turned and took off into the air. The flames blew off his body. A ring of electricity surrounded the metal titan.
Coming to a halt mid-air, he turned to face the canine, who was regaining his footing, shaking his fur. With a loud bark, bolts of electricity shot up and the middle-staged pseudo dived down into the oncoming storm. A ball of ESP formed in front of the face spike.
Weaving left and right between the thunderbolts. Morrison's Pokémon closed in on the discharge Pokémon.
Turning on a heel, he tried to run but the built-up momentum meant he was just too slow. Taking the zen headbutt in the side, the two Pokémon went flying.
Crashing into the wall of the stadium, one of the metal arms clutched into the scruff. Swinging around, he was frown back onto the field, hitting a rock-spike.
Holding both metal arms out in front of the face. A silver ball formed, shooting out a massive beam of steel type energy. It struck the downed canine.
As the reminiscence ended, it revealed him lying on his stomach. Swirls replacing his eyes with his fur messed up from the blast.
"Manectric is unable to battle!" The ref declared. "Making Morrison and his Metang the winner's!"
She felt her bottom lip tremble at the sight of the red light engulf the electric canine. Air struggled to enter her body as she watched the steel psychic type fly back over to his trainer to celebrate the victory. A sickening pool bubbled in the pit of her stomach as she covered her mouth with her hands.
"Man... that Metang was strong-" Walley uttered. "Like to a scary level."
"Well, they are classed as pseudo-legendary for a reason." Max reminded. "But I wouldn't want to be Morrison right now."
"Why?" she asked, turning to her brother.
"He wasn't exactly invested in the last match... like letting Manectric work while he studied the responses," he explained, "I think he wanted to see how Metang fought. If Manectric won, great but he revealed his battle style and he still holds the number advantages thanks to Swampert."
"It's not exactly nice for Manectric," Walley muttered.
"Maybe not but look at Brendan right now-" She glanced down to the field to see him where he whispered something to the device in his hand before swiftly switching it with another on his belt. "He's not exactly looking concerned, and he's already got his next Pokéball ready."
"Your turn, Dusclops!" He shouted, holding his device out.
In a flash of light, a roundish-grey humanoid Pokémon with two stubby legs stood on the field. The body appeared to be segmented which overlapped. A single red eye and three tooth-like projects made up the face. With two wispy, light-grey growths coming out of the shoulders and one on top of the head. Light-grey hands floated in front of the body but lacking physical arms. She pulled out her Pokédex and scanned the creepy looking Pokémon:
Dusclops, The Beckon Pokémon. An evolved form of Duskull. There are rumours that peeking inside its bandage-wrapped body will cause one to get pulled in through the gaps between the bandages, never to return. While staring into the red eye shall cause you nightmares
"See... I bet this Dusclops is the perfect counter to Metang." Max smiled.
"How so?" she asked.
"Remember how Ash's Duskull fights?" he asked. "Using tricks and traps to hinder his opponent. It'll be difficult for someone like Morrison, who seems pretty much offensive first, to counter it. If Metang showed a more defensive style, like his steel type suggested, I think he would've gone back to Armaldo instead."
"Why Armaldo?" Walley asked.
"More of a power head-to-head fighter and able to wear him down even if not win-" Max replied, "but against a speedy flying fighter... he needs a wall."
"So Dusclops will be the next to fall to Metang?" Morrison asked with bombastic laugh. "Thanks for snapping me out of it earlier, Bren but your gonna wish that you hadn't! Isn't that, right?!"
"Met Metang!"
"We'll see about that, Morrison." He smirked.
Both Pokémon moved into their positions as bite down on her inner cheek. While she wanted to believe her brother's analysis of the battle, it's a little hard to think anything positive. He already said Armaldo's at a disadvantage because of his paralysis and he just lost the last round.
"Dusclops verses Metang!" The ref declared. "Let the battle begin!"
Brendan verses Morrison: Round Seven
Almost instantly, she watched the steel psychic type launch high into the air. A powerful night shade shot through the space they previous occupied, hitting one of the stealth rock pillars instead. Her eyes shot up to see the pseudo-legendary diving down with another zen headbutt like before.
Dusclops hands clapped together, and a wave of ESP radiated out. Her breath stuck in her throat as a heavy thud echoed over the field.
Metang struggled up, having crashed straight into the field. With the metal arms sticking in the ground to push up, she pulled out her dex:
Gravity: A field of ESP makes it difficult for flying or levitating Pokémon to stay airborne within the affected area
Looking back up from her device, she saw a red circle hit the steel psychic type. Causing the opponent to pause for just a moment.
"Now Metang's trapped with mean look!" The announcer declared. "Question is, will Morrison be able to turn this round?!"
Vibrating on the spot with the metal arms still planted. The ground shook violently as the singular red eye winced from the counter.
Slapping both hands together, they spread apart revealing blue fire balls. Thrusting the padded hands out, the will-o-wisps went flying and struck the steel psychic type. Bursting into flames, it caused the bulldoze to end. In the blink of an eye, a shadow shot underneath Morrison's titan.
Bursting up from the ground, his two hands caught fire from the burning body. Slowly, he punched the iron claw Pokémon, knocking them from the ground.
"Told you Brendan knew what he was doing." Max's matter-of-fact voice chimed. "Metang's trapped by mean look and his movement is limited by gravity."
Skidding across the floor, the steel psychic type grunted. Eyes glew and a shield of ESP formed around his body.
A red beam shot out of the single eye and struck the middle-stage pseudo. The psychic failed and faded, leaving Metang alone on the ground.
Both steel-arms laid out in front of him, and a silver ball formed like before. It shot out as Dusclops fired his own night shade. The two moves collided in the centre between the two Pokémon, but the flash canon easily pushed it back. Hitting the ghost stomach, a cloud of smoke covered his body.
"Oh no," she uttered.
A shadow zoomed out across the floor and behind the iron claw Pokémon. Looking unaffected from the blast, Dusclops popped up behind his opponent.
"Dusclops is a lot bulkier than Duskull-" Max chimed in. "Metang might have more fire power, but it won't do much against that sort of bulk."
Purple ghost type energy radiated off and created a massive wall. Energy appendages stuck out and struck the burning metal opponent.
"Hex and will-o-wisp..." she uttered. "One of the same combination's Ash used before."
Everything went silent as thirty seconds, give or take passed. The hex faded as Dusclops slowly waked back over to Brendan. Metang was revealed still on fire, lying on the ground with swirls replacing the robotic arms. It took a second before the audience erupted in applause.
"Metang is unable to battle!" The ref declared. "Making the winners of the round Brendan and his Dusclops!"
She jumped up from her seat with a joyful cheer, luckily it got drowned out by the other cheers from the audience. Just one more Pokémon left to go, and he's still got three. No matter the condition of Armaldo, Dusclops still looks new, and he hasn't shown his sixth Pokémon yet. The corners of her lips flicked up into a smirk, but she quickly forced it back down. Refocusing on the field, she took a deep breath to calm herself down.
"Told you Brendan would win." Her brother bragged. "At this point in the battle, I doubt any surprises remain."
"Alright, clever clogs." She rolled her eyes.
While they are certainly closer since embarking on this journey, his know-it-all attitude can still be annoying. Looking back to the field, she couldn't care less right now thanks to the current position. She couldn't stop the feeling of joy stretching her heart at the thought of Brendan achieving his goal.
"Go Girafarig!" Morrison shouted, tossing his final Pokéball into the air.
A cloven-hooved, quadrupedal Pokémon with a long neck materialised on the field. There was a white blaze on the muzzle, which ended in a round, pink nose above the mouth. Two ossicones with bulbous tips stuck out of the head. The front half of the body was yellow with brown spots, with the back half being the reverse, although looking closer, she saw the brown section seemed more like a quarter of the body. Many pink, triangular spikes ran along her back. Ending in a brown ball on the end of the short, pointed tail... squinting, she noticed what looked like a face on the end. She pulled out her Pokédex:
Girafarig, The Long Neck Pokémon. Girafarig's rear head contains a tiny brain that is too small for thinking. However, the rear head doesn't need to sleep, so it can keep watch over its surroundings twenty-four hours a day.
"Aww, that's actually kinda cute." She smiled at Morrison's last Pokémon, shaking off the stealth rocks hit.
"Maybe but I think this'll be pretty quick for Brendan now-" Max interjected.
"How come?" she asked.
"Girafarig aren't exactly known for being powerhouses," he replied, "and being a psychic type means both Dusclops and Armaldo have an advantage."
"But it's also part normal type," Walley added, "which means the hex combo won't work this time."
"True." he nodded. "I just don't get why he'd save this Pokémon for last? Usually filling a more supporter role, it would've been better early on."
She couldn't help but wonder if that was the plan but due to his issues fighting a friend, he didn't consider it. If that's the case, then could this battle have gone differently? Would Morrison of lead and defeated Brendan already? He's certainly got the strength as some of his other Pokémon demonstrated.
"Dusclops verses Girafarig!" The ref declared. "Let the battle begin!"
Brendan verses Morrison: Round Eight
She watched closely as a shadow ball formed in front of Girafarig's face. Flying across the field, neither Brendan or his Dusclops tried to counter it. Raising his hand, he took the blow head on. It imploded into a light field of smoke, hardly touching the pure ghost type.
"Guess we'll need to boost up the power!" Morrison laughed. "Agility and nasty plot."
Kicking off from her starting position, piles of ash blew up as she stormed over the field. A blue outline radiated over her body as she sped up.
"Will-o-wisp!" Brendan commanded.
Slapping his hands together, a series of blew fire balls formed as they spread back. Thrusting each hand forward, he sent them flying over the field.
Hitting the ground and erupting into small fires. Girafarig kept one step ahead, leaping and outmanuvering the status inducing move.
A shadow ball flew from her face as she ran around the back of the ghost. Striking his back, he stumbled forward from the blast.
"Just like that!" Morrison cheered, throwing his fist into the air. "We've still in this! Let's show 'em what we're made off!"
Turning on a heel, she charged straight towards the ghost type. A ball of ESP formed in front of her head, bursting open to create a power barrier around her.
Sinking into the ground, a shadow zoomed away across the floor. Dusclops popped up to the side of the normal psychic type. His hand straightened out and he brick breaked into her side. Sending his opponent skidding across the ground as her hooves left dust blowing up into the air.
Using another shadow sneak, he sped across the field once more. Popping up behind her with burning fists. Her tail snapped out and engulfed one fist.
It hardly seemed to affect her as the second one crashed into her side. Forcing the back half to let go as she stumbled to the side.
"Girafarig!" Morrison cried.
A wall of dark type energy radiated out from Brendan's beckon Pokémon. Creating a shield between them, energy burst out and struck Morrison's Pokémon.
Crying out in pain, she stumbled back from the payback. Tripping over her back foot, she nearly fell over as the onslaught continued to hit her. Letting out a loud cry which seemed timed with Morrison's, her body glew bright white. The payback faded as Dusclops stepped back, while her body changed shape.
As the glowing faded, she took in the sight of the newly evolved Pokémon. She stood at easily double the height with the main body, let alone the increased neck length. Her body was now primarily orange with a long, brown neck and topside, yellow underside with lower legs, and black cloven hooves. The head was covered by the previous tail-head, giving a space-helmet appearance. The tail-head had two large yellow eyes and sharp white teeth with four ossicone-like antennae on top. Four orange spots were on the front of the neck, and several dark brown spots circled around where the neck met body. A row of eight dark brown and yellow spikes running down the spine. While the main head had a yellow blaze on top, two yellow ossicones with bulbous tips, white eyes with long black eyelashes and irises, pink upper eyelids, dark brown spots around her eyes and a round pink nose. She used her dex once more:
Farigiraf, The long neck Pokémon. The final evolved form of Girafarig. Now that the brain waves from the head and tail are synced up, the psychic power of this Pokémon is ten times stronger than his pre-evolution
"Heh?" She turned to see a rare look of surprise on her brother's face.
"You, okay?" she asked.
"I-I've never seen this Pokémon before-" he uttered, unable to tear his eyes from the field. "I-I don't know what's gonna happen next."
"You don't?" Walley asked.
"Oh, something you don't know-" She emphasised the second to last word. She glanced up to the sky. "Weird, I didn't expect to have a blizzard today."
"This could give Morrison the turn around which he needs-" Max uttered, unbothered by her sarcastic jab. "Especially with the boosts prior to evolution."
Her eyes widened at the realisation of the battle and turned back in time to see another pink beam of ESP shoot out of the space helmet, but it wasn't like psybeam or any move she's previously seen. Ripping across the field, it blew the ash away before hitting the bulky ghost.
Both hands raised up to block the attack, but it wasn't enough. Blown back over the field, he scrapped across the floor. Landing on his stomach, he struggled.
A series of shadow balls launched out of the space helmet as the long neck Pokémon entered a charge. Each one crashed down onto the ghost.
Stopping just before him, she swung her head down. Crunching down with the outer head, she swept him up.
Using the momentum to swing her body, she tossed the cyclops high into the air. Another twin beam followed behind.
Exploding mid-air, the bulky ghost fell back down onto the floor. Landing on his back, a swirl replaced his singular red eye.
"Dusclops is unable to battle!" The ref declared. "Making the winner's Morrison and his newly evolved Farigiraf!"
She sunk back into her seat as her head hung low. Looking at the metal floor beneath her, she felt a sickening pool in the pit of her stomach. Just a short time back, she felt like the match was won but right now... shaking her head, she chanced a glance to her side.
"Man... this isn't good for Brendan!" Max uttered. "It's hard to know what's Farigiraf's base power and what it got from the nasty plots set up."
"He can still win?" she asked.
"Hard to say-" he uttered. "If he plays his cards right. Maybe use Armaldo to figure this opponent out and-"
A flash of light on the field revealed Brendan's next Pokémon. Her eyes widened as she felt the sickening pool in her stomach bubble. What seemed like certain victory now feels like any but. Close on the ground, facing off against the very tall Pokémon... was his pure normal type.
"What?!" Max gasped. "Why? What could he possibly be thinking? A Linoone?"
She couldn't bring herself to respond to her brothers outburst, sinking further into her seat. He's always been the more experienced in league battles and the better strategist out of the two of them. She wished she could believe Brendan could pull this off but given the current situation-
Shaking her head, she looked up and rested her eyes on her childhood friend. A warm fuzz embraced her heart with his determined stare.
"He can do this," she whispered mostly due herself, blocking out her brother's voice. A skill she mastered years prior.
Both normal types stood on the field, facing off against each other. It sort of reminded her of the times she saw Ash's Pikachu in battle, since he tends to be on the smaller side of the match ups. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath to calm herself down.
"Linoone verses Farigiraf!" The ref declared. "Let the battle begin!"
Brendan verses Morrison: Round Nine
She held her breath as another twin beam shot out of the space-helmet. It struck the ground where Linoone stood and exploded into a cloud of smoke. Her eyes widened but as it cleared, the pure normal type was no-where to be seen.
Quickly scanning the field, she noticed him charging over the field. Zigging side to side with each stride to confuse his opponents aim.
Skidding underneath the long neck Pokémon, his fur stuck up. A series of pin missiles shot up and struck her underbelly.
Crying out in pain, she began stomping her feet around. Dust blew up but Brendan's normal type shot out with his impressive speed.
"All that power is useless if you can't hit us." Brendan smirked.
Calming herself down, she fired of more twin beams in quick succession. Spraying over the field in a series of smaller explosions.
"Do you really think those weak moves will stop us now?" Morrison asked with his booming voice. "Let 'em have it!"
She let out a massive cry and fired out another Psybeam. Hitting the floor where Linoone stood, she continued to drag it over the ground towards the opponent. It blew chunks of earth and ash away as Brendan's rushing Pokémon bolted away in a large radius around her.
"Extreme speed!" Brendan shouted.
Turning on a heel, he disappeared from sight. Less than a second later, he crashed into her chest, but some sort of psychic wall took the impact.
Frowning as the pure normal flopped down, taking a kick from the long neck Pokémon. She pull out her Pokédex for what exactly that was:
Armor tail: This ability protects the user from priority moves
"Hahaha, that's what I'm talking about!" Morrison laughed. "I don't what you did but keep it up bud!"
She shook her head as let out another battle cry. Sparks jumped off her head, shooting out a condensed beam of electricity.
Zooming off from his spot. Linoone started using the stealth rock-pillars to provide some cover from the onslaught of long-ranged attacks.
"Well... if that won't work, we're gonna need some other approach," Brendan explained, "Linoone, hit and way. Focus on your tail."
Shooting off once more, he shot underneath the long neck Pokémon. His tail seemed to brush up against the long legs as he used his speed to keep out of the firing line. Repeating the process, she couldn't help but frown as he didn't seem to be... winning. Could he be trying to tire her out?
Focusing back on the field, she noticed him stopping right in front of psychic normal type. A low growl barked from the rodent Pokémon.
"Pin missile and get in close!" Brendan shouted.
Leaping up into the air, he spun around and shot out a barrage of bug type projectiles. Striking the oncoming twin beam, it held it back for a brief second.
Scurrying underneath the blast, he made a direct charge. With claws glowing white and extending, he lept and slashed the front legs of his opponent.
Skidding to a stop behind her, she stumbled forward. Her face hit the ground as she grunted from the blow, struggling to stand back up.
Turning on a heel, he shot back and crashed into the long neck Pokémon. Tackling onto her side with a pink outline surrounding his body. Using his tail, claws, and teeth, he mercilessly beat down on the larger opponent. Knocking the rest of her body down, a cloud of dust blew up covering both from sight.
Another twin beam shot up into the sky in a whacked out pattered. With a cry of pain, she held her breath, unable to identify which Pokémon it belonged to.
As the dusted settled, she let out a sigh of relief, slouching back into her seat. Brendan's pure normal type scurried off his opponent, back to his trainer.
"Farigiraf is unable to battle!" The ref declared. "Meaning Brendan will be the trainer moving onto the next round."
Standing up from her seat, she wanted to do nothing more than rush down and meet him out of the trainer's tunnel. Glancing down to the field, however, she noticed him walking out to Morrison as he cradled his Farigiraf's head. Holding a handout, the orange haired boy recalled his fallen Pokémon before accepting and being pulled up to his feet. The two friends embraced each other in a hug as the crowd cheered once more.
"And we get to see a strong show of sportsmen ship from today's battlers to end out the top eight matches!" The commentator announced. "Now if you'd look towards our screens, we can reveal the match ups for the top four matches!"
Her head looked up as the screen revealed the next match ups. Ash held the first battle in the morning against Sakura. With Brendan facing Katie in the second battle in the afternoon. Her mouth went dry as she remembered the dominance the older girl showed during her own battles so far.
"Man... can't Brendan catch a break?" she uttered to herself.
Looking down to the field, she noticed the two friends walking out down the same trainer's tunnel. Frowning, she knew better than trying to insert herself between them. Shaking her head, she turned to her brother and followed the two boys out through the stadium.
Thanks for reading... Please Favourite, Follow and Review. Also, feel free to ask any questions through PM, I will answer them all, although don't expect too big of spoilers. Don't forget to vote in the polls. I really appreciate the support. Thank you and see ya next time...