Alola, trainers! By the time I'm writing this, there'll be just a month until Scarlet & Violet come out! I'm super excited for it, especially with the open world aspect! And I'm not gonna let certain content creators bring my excitement down.
But even more exciting than that probably, I'm also writing this when the Master 8 Finals are about to start in the anime. It looks to be really exciting, so I hope all goes well with that. I haven't been the biggest fan of the series considering its wasted potential, but I do enjoy it for what it is.
So now, it's time for the Alola League to heat up! We're in the semifinals, with the matches being between Erika and Gladion, and Calvin and Trent! There's a lot riding on these matches, so I'm bringing my A-game with what's produced! Let's get right into it!
POKÉMON SUN & MOON
THE CHALLENGE OF A LIFETIME
"R-Raaaahhhh…" Incineroar moaned out upon the table as Nurse Joy and a Blissey were massaging her, while Calvin watched from afar alongside Araquanid, Toucannon, Togedemaru, Mimi, and Marowak.
"Is she gonna be okay?" the Ketchum boy asked of the practitioner, getting her attention.
"Oh, she'll be fine!" she assured in response, "But I do think she'll need to rest for the day tomorrow," she advised on, "She took a lot of damage in that battle from what I saw," she recalled.
"Rawrrr…" the Heel Pokémon groaned out dejectedly. Her trainer smiled.
"Don't worry, Incineroar," he reassured, getting her attention, "Just get the rest you need," he insisted of her. His other Pokémon voiced out in agreement, making the Heel Pokémon crack a small grin. The Pokémon Center wasn't terribly busy that evening. Considering that the Lanakila Conference was down to the final four competitors, it was only natural that not too many needed to visit. Sitting in the lobby alongside Primarina, Lycanroc, and Rotom was Erika, who waved her feet back and forth impatiently.
"What's taking him so long?" she wondered aloud out of concern.
"Calvin'zzz team did through a lot, zzt," her Pokédex buzzed out.
"I know that!" she retorted, "I just hope none of them got seriously hurt..." she said, clenching her fists. At that moment, she saw the sliding doors open to reveal her twin brother being walked out with Joy and her Blissey, holding a Poké Ball in his right hand. He perked up upon spotting his twin sister.
"Erika?" he uttered in surprise, seeing her get up and jog over to him alongside her Pokémon and Pokédex, "What are you still doing here?" he asked in confusion.
"I had to rebuild my team a little for tomorrow's match against Gladion," his sister answered, sheepishly rubbing the back of her head, "Pyrrha's Pokémon were really tough for a lot of us…" she admitted, "But I also stayed to make things were okay on your end, too," she mentioned, "How's everyone doing?" she asked.
"They'll all be fine," Joy affirmed in response.
"Bliss!" the Happiness Pokémon chimed in gleefully.
"Well, Incineroar's still sore from today, so she's gonna be taking a breather," Calvin confirmed as he held out the Poké Ball in his hand, "I bet she really wanted a chance to battle Trent tomorrow…" he presumed, giving off a small smile, "Guess I'm gonna be rearranging my team a little, too," he concluded, putting the spherical container he had away.
"Heh," Erika chuckled, "Knowing how well you did today, I'm sure your new team's gonna be awesome!" she affirmed confidently. The two of them then bumped fists, smiling all the while. Elsewhere in the complex of the stadium grounds, Gladion was at a video phone booth alongside Silvally.
"She's doing well?" he inquired, talking with his little sister.
"Mm-hmm!" she answered over the line, "She's started eating and drinking, but she still needs help when it comes to moving around," she explained, "Miss Wicke was going to get in contact with someone who's apparently had experience with being fused to a Pokémon," she mentioned on.
"Wait, there's someone like that?" Gladion inquired, followed by letting out a laugh, "You really do care about her, don't you?" he assumed.
"Well… of course I do…" Lillie responded, "Even after everything that's happened… she's still our mother…" she pointed out.
"Yeah…" her brother agreed.
"We're definitely going to see your battle tomorrow against Erika!" she confirmed excitedly, "I hope you both do your best!" she added.
"Hm," Gladion chuckled, "So that's your way of saying you'll be rooting for both of us, huh?" he assumed, causing his sister to blush with embarrassment, "Thanks, Lillie," he said in gratitude, "We'll both do our best," he vowed. He then ended the call after a wave goodbye, putting the receiver back. Taking a deep breath, he looked up at the starry sky above.
'I haven't really gotten the chance to battle Erika before…' he noted to himself, balling his hands into fists, 'Tomorrow's going to be interesting,' he mentioned inwardly, giving off a grin.
OPENING
Insert "Rise Above" by Rainych
Opens with the sun dawning over Mount Lanakila. In spite of its freezing air, Calvin and Erika stand firm alongside their full teams of Pokémon as the wind rushes by. Near the base of the mountain is the site of what will be Alola's first ever Pokémon League, where Kukui stands with an excited grin on his face.
A rainbow of flower petals washes over the logo as we cut to Calvin lamenting on the boardwalk of the Seafolk Village, sitting alone and wondering if he can really take on the rest of the island challenge. At the same time, Erika is lying on her bed upon her side, thinking about the exact same thing. They both clench their fists determinedly, ready to see things through.
We cut to Calvin flying aboard a Charizard, while Erika's aboard a Pelipper. They fly throughout each of Alola's islands, smiling all the while. They see Ilima, Lana, Kiawe, Mallow, Sophocles, Acerola, Mina, Hala, Olivia, Nanu, and Hapu along the way as they arrive at the Pokémon League.
There, they're greeted by their parents and their big sister, who encourage them as they enter through the doors into the stadium. Inside, they find Hau, Pyrrha, Paige, Trent, and Gladion there. Others like Ryuki, Plumeria, and even Guzma are present. The Ketchum twins both grin excitedly, prepared to engage in some amazing battles.
The scene changes to Calvin commanding his Toucannon to use Beak Blast to take down a Machoke, while Erika has her Lurantis use X-Scissor to down an opponent's Bisharp. Hau's Decidueye goes up against Gladion and Silvally. The Synthetic Pokémon evades his foe's arrow quills before landing a powerful Fire-type Multi-Attack. Decidueye endures it, while Hau prepares a green Z-Crystal with a symbol similar to his partner, cracking a smirk.
We cut to Paige revealing a Key Stone around her neck as she uses it to Mega Evolve her Blaziken, who speeds out to attack Pyrrha's Typhlosion with a Blaze Kick. He counters by using Flamethrower. In the meantime, Trent commands his Alolan Ninetales to use Blizzard on Ryuki's Turtonator. The Blast Turtle Pokémon endures the freezing winds, unleashing a Flamethrower that appears to engulf his foe.
Calvin and Erika are then facing off, with Incineroar and Primarina battling for them. The two collide via a Flare Blitz/Aqua Jet, resulting in a powerful blast. As it clears, we witness Lycanroc slamming his clenched paws against the ground for a Stone Edge aimed to take down Araquanid. However, the Water Bubble Pokémon blasts the incoming stone pillars apart with Liquidation. Oricorio in her Baile Style comes out to unleash the searing fireball of a Revelation Dance toward Toucannon, who endures the attack and retaliates with Hyper Voice.
As the dust settles, we see Lurantis enduring Trop Kicks from Tsareena, gathering sunlight to unleash a Solar Blade onto the Fruit Pokémon. Mimi comes out from the dust, unleashing Shadow Claws onto Starbright, who endures them. She then strikes back with a Meteor Mash, merely busting the costume of the Disguise Pokémon as she chases after her opponent. Finally, we have Marowak using Shadow Bone to bash the incoming icicles of Sandslash, who dives down at him with an Iron Head.
The dust clears again, revealing the Ketchum twins staring at each other confidently with their teams. They're prepared for whatever else is ahead for them as they stand outside the stadium as the sun sets…
END OPENING
The Bright Side
"When you look at the Lanakila Conference's Final Four, you can't help but wonder who's the best equipped out of all of them," Argenta noted over the broadcast of the ONBS Network in the afternoon.
"Right now, signs point to Trent as the most capable considering his almost overwhelming victory over Ryuki in the quarterfinals," Thorton pointed out, "By my estimates, when Ryuki was brought down to his final Pokémon, Trent's team had a ninety to ninety-eight percent chance of winning, despite him losing two members towards the end…" he explained.
"Well, you're good with numbers as always, Thorton!" Dahlia remarked, "Though I'm curious to see what the Ketchum twins do…" she admitted to her fellow Frontier Brains, "Both of them went through a lot last night, especially with Calvin's Marowak managing to beat a Mega Evolved Blaziken!" she mentioned excitedly.
"That was impressive," Darach agreed, "Do keep in mind, Gladion has a team with quite the punch, especially with how his Porygon-Z took complete control of the match against Hau before its defeat," he told his colleagues.
"And while she hasn't shown much aptitude in terms of finesse, I can attest that Erika is a capable battler," Thorton added, "As to how she'll do against Gladion today…" he continued.
"We're gonna find that out real soon!" Dahlia chimed in with a big grin, "Stay tuned for the opening song number by the one and only Maximizers, straight from Galar!" she insisted of the audience.
"The Maximizers, huh?" Leslie said as she and her parents passed by the video board broadcasting as they were making their way to Manalo Stadium, "You know about them, Dad?" she inquired of Ash, getting his attention.
"Uh, sorta…" he responded, sheepishly scratching his right cheek, "They're actually a Pokémon band led by one of Galar's gym leaders," he told his eldest daughter.
"Whoa, really?" she questioned, "Hmm…" she hummed out, folding her arms underneath her chest, "I guess I never really thought about Galar stuff all that much…" she admitted.
"Yo, Ketchums!" a familiar voice called out, belonging to Rumi as she waved to the family, getting their attentions. They saw her standing alongside Sunset, Pyrrha, and Bea.
"Hi there, Rumi!" Mirajane greeted with a wave of her own.
"I'm surprised you're still here…" Ash admitted as they approached.
"Eh, figured we'd watch the rest of this whole thing," the Rabbit Quirk user responded with a shrug, "Besides, the little bunny's next season isn't for a while…" she mentioned, patting her daughter's head.
"Mom, please…" she pleaded, blushing with embarrassment.
"We passed Sawyer and Lisanna earlier," Sunset chimed in, "I think we're gonna go and sit with them," she told the Ketchum family.
"Great!" Ash exclaimed, "I say the more the merrier!" he declared proudly.
"Peekah!" Pikachu squeaked in agreement. Leslie smiled, but then took notice of something. Roaming near some vending machines was a short, chubby rodent Pokémon. She had short, stubby arms and feet, a pair of pink circular cheek pouches, a very tiny nose, two almond-shaped ears with a single fur tuft under each, and a primary body color separating two areas of fur that covered the arms, ears, cheeks, and eyes, and zigzagged inward towards her face, stopping at the waist line. These fur patches formed pockets that she could store seeds in. On the back of her body was a pattern resembling a Pikachu's tail that extended from the bottom half of her fur. Her body was a creamy yellow in color, and her eyes were circular and black with large white pupils. The fur on the left side of her body was black, and on the right side, it was brown. A single bucktooth could be seen protruding from her smiling mouth.
"Morrr…" she moaned as she hopped up and down, trying to get a candy bar that was inside of the vending machine. Leslie walked over.
"Hey there," she greeted, getting the rodent Pokémon's attention, "Want me to get you something?" she offered. The hamster-like Pokémon's eyes sparkled.
"Peh, pekko!" she responded as she nodded her head.
"What's goin' on over there?" Rumi wondered upon noticing, causing everyone to turn and see Leslie holding up the rodent Pokémon, allowing her to pick which snack item she wanted.
"Oh, it's a Morpeko," Bea noted.
"Morpeko?" Pyrrha repeated in confusion.
"Yeah," the gym leader responded with a nod, "She's a Pokémon found in Galar," she pointed out, "I hear they're really difficult for one to raise, especially given their huge appetites," she mentioned.
"A Pokémon that small's got a huge appetite?" her mother inquired, arching an eyebrow. They watched as Leslie selected an icon on the vending machine's keypad, allowing for a candy bar to drop down into the bin. She pulled it out, handing it off to Morpeko.
"There you go," she affirmed, giggling as the Two-Sided Pokémon smiled.
"I should've known you'd run off here!" a voice called out, getting the group's attention as they saw another figure making her way over. They turned to see a slim young girl with emerald-green eyes, dark-black hair, and very pale skin. Her hair was mostly short and flat, matching her head's shape. At the back of her neck, her hair became thinner and formed two pointed ends. She had a peculiar hairstyle, with three right frontal bangs reaching her right eye's top; a partially shaved front left and back, illustrating three sharp lower teeth and four interlocked claws respectively; two small weakly inward-curved horns of hair with centermost horns larger on each of left and right; and below, messy twintails which separated into two locks at her ears' top, one small and neck reaching and one large and shoulder reaching, and terminated in bends toward her neck's back. Each set of horns and twintails was secured with a crimson ribbon.
For clothing, she wore an outfit that seemed to be a mix of a tough and cute style. It consisted of a studded black leather Gothic jacket—waist length with knuckle-length sleeves—featuring a long outward folded collar extending to the breasts' lowest point with six curved edges each containing one circular silver stud on their center; instantly below the collar at the right, five vertically joined diamond-shaped silver studs reaching the jacket's lower end; at each of the jacket's lower left and right, one black decorative bow supported by a black strap with its compact edges remodeled into small simple silver crowns with three outward facing edges; and, on the sleeves, from the jacket's to the sleeves' lower end altitudes, a descending pattern of one short vertical silver line and one sideways diamond-shaped silver stud, ceasing at the fourth line's end; underneath the jacket, a pink fabric mini-dress which assumed a heart shape at the top, appropriating both breasts, whose hem ended in eight equally wide inverted semicircles, with one inverted triangular hole cut above each upper vertex; and at her feet, matching black leather high-heeled boots, each with a pointed silver heel, a pink sole, a diagonally upward-pointing toe, a raised cuff, and a black strap amidst the foot region decorated with three equidistant studs, one on each of the far left and right sides, and one at its center. She also carried a small crimson leather backpack which matched her hair ribbons, with two shoulder straps, a silver bow with a crimson center modeled after the jacket's bows at the top, and a black diamond at the lower center, touched on each of its sides by crimson straps containing two circular silver studs each, with each stud on the center of one black leather circle underneath the straps. For accessories, she wore a black leather choker around her neck with a frontal silver ring suspended by a small vertical bar of silver, with the ring possessing three equidistant outward spikes, along with a small diamond-shaped crimson piercing on her left ear, false eyelashes, and black matte nail polish.
"You ran out of snacks and went to go find more, huh?" she presumed of the Two-Sided Pokémon, putting her hands onto her hips crossly.
"Peh koh…" she responded sheepishly, rubbing the back of her head.
"It's the first time I've gotten to see a Pokémon like this," Leslie noted, getting the girl's attention, "You're her trainer?" she assumed.
"Yeah," the gothic girl confirmed in reply as she walked over, "Name's Marnie," she introduced, picking Morpeko up into her arms, "Here, I oughta' give you some change fer the fare…" she insisted, reaching into her jacket pocket.
"Oh, that's okay," the Unova Champion Master assured to her surprise, "I just wanted to help out is all," she noted with a shrug. The girl blinked twice, but then gave off a tiny smile.
"Thanks," she said gratefully, followed by widening her eyes in surprise, "Stab, is that Ash Ketchum over there?!" she exclaimed in question, getting the attentions of those standing off nearby.
"Oh yeah, that's my dad," Leslie pointed out as a response.
"Your pa?!" Marnie yelped, making the white-haired woman giggle.
"I'm Leslie by the way," she introduced, holding her right hand out, "I get the feeling we'll be meeting each other again real soon," she confirmed with a smile.
"Yeah, right on…" the gothic girl replied, accepting the handshake firmly, "Well, see ya 'round," she remarked in farewell, heading off.
"Pehkoh!" Morpeko squeaked as she waved.
"She seems like a nice girl," Mirajane noted upon approaching.
"I feel like I've met her somewhere before…" her husband admitted, putting his right hand onto his chin in deep thought.
"Ladies and gentlemen, please help us greet our esteemed guest for tonight's opening ceremony, Pokémon League Federation Chairman Rose Johnston!" a P.A. announcer requested before the crowd inside Manalo Stadium started cheering.
"Oh shoot, we're gonna miss the opening!" Pyrrha yelped, hurrying off.
"Hey, wait a sec!" Sunset called out, running after her daughter. Rumi laughed, following them alongside Bea. That left the Ketchum family as they smiled to each other, heading inside. In the locker room, Erika sat upon her bench and rolled a Poké Ball in her hands, taking a deep breath to calm herself.
"Are you okay, zzt?" Rotom asked out of concern, getting her attention.
"Oh, yeah…" she responded, "It's just… it's only four of us now…" she pointed out, looking to see her brother, Gladion, and Trent in the room as well, readying themselves for what lied ahead, "Whether or not I end up making it to the finals…" she continued, "I'm going to do my best with my team," she vowed.
"Then I better go and cheer you on, zzt!" her Pokédex decided as it floated off, "Good luck, Erika!" it called out before leaving the room, making her smile.
"Everyone, thank you for coming!" Rose's voice greeted from the TV, getting her attention as she looked over to see him on the screen, standing on the turf field alongside Oleana, "After we started our battles in this expansive and amazing stadium earlier this week, I was very pleased to see how well the quarterfinals went yesterday!" he affirmed happily, "Seeing full battles between trainers vying for Alola's top spot is nothing short of amazing!" he proclaimed on, "And before we begin today's matches, we have a little surprise for you all!" he confirmed, "Introducing Galar's very own Dark-type gym leader, Piers Rachton, and his band, the Maximizers!" he yelled as fireworks went off. At the center of the field popped up several figures, veiled by a fog that spread around. Stepping forward was a slim, tired-looking young man with pallid skin.
His droopy eyes were cyan-colored and he wore blue-gray eyeshadow around them. He had angular black eyebrows. There were lines in between his eyes, which was probably due to the fact that he was constantly furrowing his eyebrows. He had long, spiky, black-and-white hair that covers one side of his face and was tied in three ponytails. His ponytail had an alternating striped pattern. He donned a black and magenta shorts jumpsuit with a cropped white jacket on top that had magenta diagonal stripes on the torso area and spikes on the wrist area. He wore a thumbless black glove on his right hand and was wearing a collar similar to Marnie's, only with a gray band. He donned a metal wristband and a white glove on his left hand, and a belt with Poké Balls hanging from it. His shoes were gray with spikes pointing backward on the back of two bands around his shins. Under the shoes were black socks that connected to the bands. The heels of these shoes were a darker gray and shaped as skulls. The toes of the shoe were the same color. He held a microphone upon a skull-shaped stand.
"Nice to meet ya, Alola Region…" he greeted, "Today, we're gonna give you one hell of a song number…" he proclaimed. Standing alongside him were four Pokémon.
Two of them were bipedal and lizard-like. They had purple-colored bodies and black eyes with white sclera. Both forms also had four spikes on the back, four spikes on each wrist, and a crescent-shaped body part with seven spikes on the waist.
The former had a slouched posture. He had a yellow underbelly, and yellow stripes on his legs, as well as yellow accents on his back, palms, and soles. He also has a yellow electric frill that extended from his snout to his neck. Two additional electric spikes protruded from his back. He had four horns: two smaller ones above his eyes, and two larger ones on the sides of his head. Six organs protruded from his chest.
The latter had an upright posture, with his neck standing tall. He had a light blue underbelly, as well as light blue stripes on his legs, and light blue accents on his back, palms, and soles. He had a large fin-like horn in front of his face, and two smaller horns on the sides of his head. His two light blue electric frills ran from the base of his larger horn, and down to his neck. Four organs protruded from his chest.
There was also a bipedal Pokémon resembling a gorilla. His body consisted mostly of shades of brown: light, tan brown on his forehead, chest, abs, and extremities; dark brown on his nose and triangular ears, as well as under his eyes; and medium, mud-like brown across the rest of his body, including his thick arms and legs. His mouth, the tip of his nose, and his irises were orange, and his sclera were white. Each of his upper arms had tan marks resembling bow-ties or butterflies, and he had two, diamond-shaped, tan marks running down his spine. The first, and larger, of the two marks began around his shoulder blades, and the second, and smaller, mark begins below his ribcage. He had a thick bush of green, leaf-like hair on his head, which cascaded down his back; on his forehead, a single, vine-like hair, which closely resembled a music note, fell between his eyes and curled at the end, which sat to his nose's left side. On his hips on either side, he had green, belt-like adornments resembling four leaves in a row. Similar adornments with two leaf-like parts sat on each of his shoulders near the clavicles; these adornments appeared to be part of his hair. On each of his wrists, he had cuffs that resembled leafy crowns, with the peaks of the crown facing his hands.
He had a bass drum that seemed to be crafted from a tree stump, with several thick branch stumps protruding from it, which form both the legs of the bass drum as well as mid and high toms. He also had a pair of drumsticks that he pulled out from his leafy cuffs. As he drummed, there was one more figure that came forward, standing alongside Piers.
It was a black-and-white, bipedal Pokémon. His head sat forward of his body on a long, thick neck; he had a pointed snout like a badger, with his long tongue that frequently hung out of his mouth. He had a thicker coat of gray fur around his forearms and lower legs, as well as around his back, and most of his chest like a vest. The Galarian gym leader cleared his throat.
"Let's get these semifinals started, everybody!" he yelled into the microphone, earning excited cheers from the crowd.
"What a way to start things off, huh?" Mirajane noted with a giggle as Piers started singing with his band of Pokémon.
"Yeah," her husband agreed, "Now that I think about it, that girl we ran into with the Morpeko was actually Piers' sister," he recalled, "She said her brother's one of the gym leaders she knows," he mentioned.
"Whoa, really?" Hau inquired as he leaned over slightly, "That's so cool, Uncle Ash!" he complimented, "You pretty much know everyone!" he pointed out.
"Won't be long now before the battles get started," Lisanna noted.
"It's down to Erika, Gladion, Calvin, and Trent…" Sawyer listed off, "Wonder who'll win…" he said.
"Who cares!" Rumi exclaimed to his surprise, "I just wanna see some killer fights!" she yelled out.
"Mother, please…" Bea pleaded, blushing in embarrassment as Sunset and Pyrrha giggled a little.
'Good luck, you two…' Leslie remarked inwardly as she looked down at the field, with Jangmo-o crawling up onto her lap as Rotom floated over, 'After tonight, it might come down to you both…' she noted to herself.
X
"Welcome back to the Alola League Lanakila Conference on ONBS!" Jim exclaimed into the microphone, with his voice echoing through the TV in the hospital room of Lusamine as she and her daughter watched on intently, "Tonight begins what's likely to be one of the most epic semifinals in Pokémon League history, especially with it being the first semifinal round for Alola's first-ever champion!" he mentioned excitedly.
"We've got quite a few heavyweight competitors tonight!" Tom chimed in as upon the screen, images of the four trainers competing appeared, "Between the Mega Evolution slayer Calvin and the sweeping team of Trent, it's still anyone's game!" he pointed out.
"Let's not forget the two competitors who'll be kicking off these semifinals tonight!" the play-by-play commentator added. Inside Manalo Stadium, the rumbling of the cheering crowd was heard by Erika, who stood in the tunnel, about to head out. If she wasn't nervous the first time she went out there, she was now. She could even hear people cheering her name, along with Gladion's. With a deep breath, she stepped out into the open, flinching as the spotlights came down onto her. "Having battled her way through many challenges up to this point and still persevering, we have Erika Ketchum!" Jim introduced, with the crowd erupting into a flurry of cheers.
"You got this, Erika!" Pyrrha and Hau exclaimed from the stands.
"Jah, mohh!" Jangmo-o chirped excitedly. Emerging from the other tunnel was Gladion, who seemed to be really calm given the circumstances.
"And coming onto the field now is Gladion Aether, the trainer whose aptitude in battle has earned him the right to make it up to these semifinals!" Jim mentioned loudly through the loudspeakers. Both trainers made their way up to the center of the field, meeting with Dan.
"Trainers, congratulations on making it this far!" he complimented, "This will be a six-on-six full battle with substitutions allowed!" he confirmed to the pair as they stared each other down, "When all of one side's Pokémon are unable to continue, the battle will be over!" he explained on, "Furthermore, when three of one side's Pokémon are unable to continue, there will be a brief intermission," he added, "Now you may both take your positions and select your Pokémon!" he declared to the pair.
"Gladion," Erika said, getting her opponent's attention, "I'm not planning on losing today, you hear?" she affirmed with a smirk.
"I could say the same to you…" he retorted as he cracked a grin. The two of them then made their way to their respective positions on the field.
"Both of these trainers have a lot of options in terms of Pokémon," Jim noted over the broadcast, "Notably, we've seen Erika rely a lot on pure power in some matches," he mentioned.
"As for Gladion's, his team's a bit more well-rounded," Tom pointed out, "Most of them seem to be geared towards speed as a priority," he added, "Getting that first move is crucial, especially on a stage like this," he told those listening. Both trainers prepared their first Poké Balls, with Erika readying a regular one, while Gladion had a Friend Ball in his right hand. Both of them enlarged the spherical containers with a press of their buttons, rearing their arms back.
"Lucario, go!" the blonde-haired boy called out as he threw the Friend Ball.
"You're up, Magmar!" the Ketchum girl exclaimed, firing her Poké Ball. The two containers popped open, with their respective lights spilling forth onto the ground. They shaped into form and dissipated, revealing both the Aura Pokémon and the Spitfire Pokémon respectively.
"Rah!" the former yipped, taking a ready stance.
"MAGGGGG!" the latter bellowed as he released a steady stream of fire from his lips up into the sky. Both Pokémon's images appeared upon the big screen beside their respective trainers.
"We're kicking off this first match of the semifinals with Lucario up against Magmar!" Jim noted through the loudspeakers, "Who will win?!" he wondered excitedly. Dan raised his right arm.
"Let the battle… BEGIN!" he exclaimed, swinging his arm down.
"Lucario, Aura Sphere!" Gladion commanded. The Aura Pokémon prepped a sphere of blue energy in between his forepaws, rearing it back before firing it forward.
"Lava Plume!" Erika ordered, enticing Magmar to have scarlet flames burst out from his body, colliding with the incoming energy sphere in a powerful blast.
"And we start off with a bang as Lucario's Aura Sphere is thwarted by a well-timed Lava Plume from Magmar!" Jim exclaimed into the microphone.
"Now Fire Punch!" the Ketchum girl commanded, pumping her right fist forward. The Spitfire Pokémon's right arm became engulfed in flames as he rushed out at his opponent, clenching his fist tightly.
"Dodge and use Dragon Pulse!" Gladion yelled in instruction. Flipping back, Lucario evaded his foe's fist, followed by readying a multicolored energy around his forepaws. He fired it out in the shape of a dragon's head, engulfing his foe in a powerful blast.
"Magmar!" Erika cried out.
"Oh, and Lucario deals the first blow with a strong Dragon Pulse!" Jim noted over the broadcast, "Seems Gladion made sure that his partner had some different moves in store in case trouble started brewing…" he mentioned.
"It makes sense, considering Lucario's not exactly accustomed to dealing with Fire-types…" Tom added.
"Lucario, use Aura Sphere!" the former enforcer ordered, swinging his right hand out. The Aura Pokémon readied yet another sphere of blue energy upon his forepaws, rearing it back.
"Quick, Clear Smog!" Erika called out. Perking up, Magmar took a deep breath, expelling a greyish smog from his lips that veiled the immediate area. It didn't affect his opponent, but it did obscure his vision a little.
"Calm down and concentrate," his trainer advised.
"Rah," he responded, closing his eyes. The appendages at his eyes lifted up as he made himself aware of his surroundings, trying to determine where his foe would be coming from. It then perked up. "Rah!" he yipped.
"Good! Now fire!" Gladion instructed. Lucario launched the energy sphere in his hands, having it careen through the smog, blowing it away before it managed to strike Magmar squarely in the stomach, resulting in another blast of black smoke.
"Magmar, no!" Erika exclaimed in shock.
"Oh man, Magmar's really taking a beating…" Hau noted worriedly.
"You'd think that taking Lucario's sight out of the equation would help…" Pyrrha chimed in, quite surprised.
"That wouldn't help…" Leslie said, getting the attentions of the two former trial-goers, "Lucario can sense aura, so he'd be able to keep track of Magmar no matter what," she told them.
"Yeah," her father confirmed, "If Erika wants to beat him, she'll have to have Magmar do it head on…" he pointed out.
"You okay, Magmar?" his youngest daughter asked of the Spitfire Pokémon back upon the field, who stood back up and shook his head to regain his composure.
"Marr!" he responded, blowing out a few puffs of fire from his lips.
'Lucario's definitely tough…' his trainer noted to herself, 'so the best thing we can do is land some super effective hits,' she affirmed inwardly, clenching her fists, 'And I know just how to do that, guaranteed!' she added through her thoughts.
"Magmar, Sunny Day!" she called out.
"MAGGGGGGGGGGGGG!" the Spitfire Pokémon bellowed up into the night sky. It brightened as if the sun had come out, causing Gladion and Lucario to flinch in surprise.
"That won't stop us!" the former enforcer declared, "Flash Cannon!" he commanded. Holding his forepaws forward, the Aura Pokémon had a white mass of light form in front of them. He then unleashed a white-and-light-blue beam that seared toward his opponent.
"Counter it with Fire Punch!" Erika yelled. Magmar engulfed both of his fists in fire, thrusting them out to counter the beam. He slid back only inches as he endured the ray's force, with it dissipating just moments later. However, a bluish aura flowed down his body in the aftermath.
"Incredible!" Jim exclaimed through the loudspeakers, "Magmar's Fire Punch does away with Lucario's Flash Cannon!" he pointed out.
"It did lower his special defense in the process though…" Tom added.
"Now Lava Plume!" Erika commanded, enticing the Spitfire Pokémon to release an inferno of scarlet flames from his body, set to wash over his foe.
"Aura Sphere!" Gladion ordered, thrusting his left arm forward. Lucario prepped another blue orb of energy upon his forepaws, firing it out. It collided with the incoming inferno, resulting in a blast of smoke. The flames washed through however, crashing into the Aura Pokémon as he yelped with pain, getting blown back.
"And Lucario's Aura Sphere isn't enough to do away with Magmar's Lava Plume!" Jim noted into the microphone, "That Sunny Day's sure come in clutch!" he mentioned excitedly.
"Alright, let's wrap this up!" the Ketchum girl insisted, pumping her fists forward, "Use Fire Punch!" she yelled out.
"Magg!" the Spitfire Pokémon responded, engulfing his arms in orange flames before he charged forward. His opponent stood back up, gritting his teeth.
"Lucario, Dragon Pulse!" his trainer commanded. The Aura Pokémon held his forepaws out again, prepping a multicolored mass of light upon them. His foe closed in, lunging at him. Unfortunately, he was too late as Lucario fired off a multicolored beam in the shape of a dragon's head, which completely engulfed him before imploding.
"Magmar!" Erika cried out, bracing herself from the ensuing smoke. As it slowly started to clear, it revealed that the Aura Pokémon was still standing in front of Gladion. Meanwhile, Magmar lied upon the ground, groaning with pain as swirls were in his eyes. Dan jogged over to assess his condition, raising his left arm.
"Magmar is unable to battle!" he announced after a moment. The crowd cheered as the Spitfire Pokémon's image upon the big screens was greyed out.
"And Magmar falls first!" Jim pointed out over the broadcast, "Even with his type advantage, he ended up being no match for Lucario's variety of powerful attacks!" he mentioned thoroughly.
"Darn…" Hau muttered from the stands. The harsh sunlight-like luminosity above faded away afterwards as well. Back on the field, Erika pulled out her fallen partner's Poké Ball.
"Return, Magmar," she said, recalling him to the spherical container in a beam of red light, "You did your best out there," she affirmed with a smile, "We'll handle the rest from here," she promised. As she put the Poké Ball away, she couldn't help but notice Gladion holding his Friend Ball out.
"Lucario, come back," he instructed, recalling the Aura Pokémon to the spherical container in a beam of red light.
"Oh, so Gladion decides to swap Lucario out for the time being!" Jim noted through the loudspeakers curiously.
"I'd guess that after taking that Lava Plume from Magmar, he's not exactly in the best shape," Tom presumed. The Ketchum girl was somewhat surprised, but decided to shake it off as she readied a new Poké Ball.
"You're up, Drifblim!" she called out, enlarging the spherical container with a press of its button before tossing it forward. It popped open, and its light formed in midair, dissipating to reveal the Blimp Pokémon.
"Blimmmm!" he squeaked out excitedly, twirling about. His image appeared upon the big screen underneath his fallen teammate's.
"And Erika chooses to use Drifblim next!" Jim exclaimed into the microphone, "How's Gladion going to counter?!" he wondered loudly. The former enforcer readied a Dusk Ball in his right hand.
"Go!" he yelled, throwing it forward. It popped open, and its purple light formed upon the ground, dissipating to reveal Silvally. Its eyes, spikes, drives and fin membrane were all green.
"Silvally already?" Calvin said in surprise from the locker room.
"Why so early?" Trent wondered aloud.
"Gladion decides to rely on Silvally, a Pokémon that ultimately helped him persevere through the last round against Hau!" Jim told the audience over the broadcast as the Synthetic Pokémon's image appeared upon the big screen.
"Seems like he's not gonna rely on Silvally as a last resort tonight," Tom mentioned. Erika was still a bit surprised. But not just because of the Synthetic Pokémon's appearance.
'Wasn't his Poké Ball different?' she inquired through her thoughts, trying to remember.
"Blim?" Drifblim squeaked, getting her attention as she perked up.
"Right, can't worry about that right now…" she affirmed, clenching her fists, "Start things off with Shadow Ball!" she commanded. The Blimp Pokémon prepared a purple-and-black ball of energy upon his arms, firing it forward.
"Dodge and use Night Slash!" Gladion instructed. Silvally rushed forward, evading the incoming energy orb as it flew past it and struck the ground in a burst of dust. The claws of its insectoid front legs glowed a bright purple as it lunged for its foe.
"Watch out!" Erika yelled. Her partner was quick to evade the swipes of the Synthetic Pokémon, floating upwards. However, the former enforcer smirked.
"Flamethrower!" he ordered, much to the Ketchum girl's shock as her eyes widened. Opening its mouth, Silvally released a spray of orange fire up toward its opponent, who wound up struck as he cried out in pain.
"Drifblim, no!" his trainer screamed. Even the crowd was shocked.
"Unreal!" Jim exclaimed through the loudspeakers, "Not only does Silvally have a super effective Night Slash to use, but also a powerful Flamethrower!" he pointed out, "Just what can't this Pokémon do?!" he wondered loudly.
"This is nuts…" Hau noted in panic from the stands as he grimaced.
"I can't believe Silvally's so strong…" Pyrrha admitted, quite surprised herself.
"Hmm…" Leslie hummed in thought, putting her left hand onto her chin.
"What'zzz wrong, Leslie?" Rotom asked as it floated beside her.
"I get the feeling that this is all just a trick on Gladion's part…" she admitted in response to its surprise.
"Hang in there, Drifblim!" Erika yelled from the field, "Use Acrobatics!" she commanded. Perking up, the Blimp Pokémon broke free from the flames striking him. He cloaked his body in a sky blue light, zipping down rapidly toward his target.
"Dodge and use Grass Knot!" the former enforcer instructed. Silvally leapt aside to evade its foe, followed by making its eyes glow a bright green. Green-glowing vines then suddenly emerged from the ground, catching Drifblim by his arms and slamming him down onto the turf.
"Drifblim!" his trainer cried out.
"And now Silvally lands a Grass Knot to ground Drifblim!" Jim exclaimed through the loudspeakers.
"Flamethrower!" Gladion ordered. Flames billowed within the Synthetic Pokémon's mouth. Erika grimaced, but then blinked in realization.
"Dodge with Phantom Force!" she called out. Her partner's eyes jolted open upon hearing her instructions, followed by taking on a determined expression. A purple portal appeared beneath his body, allowing him to sink into and avoid the flames shot his way.
"Be careful!" Gladion immediately advised of Silvally, who looked around the turf field for a sign of its foe. Another portal appeared beside it, with the Blimp Pokémon emerging. He smacked his opponent hard with his arms, sending him tumbling back across the field in a flurry of dust.
"Phantom Force lands!" Jim yelled into the microphone, "With his narrow escape, Drifblim lands a great blow onto Silvally!" he pointed out excitedly. Erika still had an anxious expression upon her face. She had her suspicions about the Synthetic Pokémon up to this point. And as the dust settled, they were confirmed. Standing up was none other than Zoroark.
"Hahhh…" he exhaled, giving off a smirk.
"What?!" Hau exclaimed in disbelief from the stands.
"So Silvally was actually Zoroark all along?" Pyrrha inquired, blinking rapidly.
"Quite a clever trick," Bea commented, "It explains why Silvally seemed to have such an odd change in its moves…" she mentioned, "because it wasn't actually Silvally…" she concluded.
"That'zzz Zoroark'zzz Illusion ability for you, zzt…" Rotom buzzed out.
"What a shock!" Jim yelped over the broadcast as Silvally's image upon the big screens was changed to the Illusion Fox Pokémon, "Silvally turns out to be Zoroark, discovered after taking a direct hit from Drifblim's Phantom Force!" he told the audience.
"I figured something was up!" Erika pointed out, "The Poké Ball you use for Silvally's different!" she recalled.
"Heh," Gladion chuckled, "But even so, you couldn't be too sure, could you?" he inferred, making her grimace, "Now let's settle this!" he insisted, "Zoroark, Night Daze!" he commanded. The Illusion Fox Pokémon's body became surrounded by a crimson aura as his eyes glowed light blue. The aura around his arms grew thicker as he raised them up, bringing them down hard onto the ground. A pink-and-crimson-glowing force field erupted from the impact, expanding outward. The Ketchum girl widened her eyes.
"Quick, Drifblim!" she called out, getting the Blimp Pokémon's attention, "Come back!" she exclaimed, returning him to his Poké Ball in a beam of red light just before the force field reached him.
"Wait, she's switching?" Calvin inquired from the locker room. The crowd was murmuring in surprise at the move. In the meantime, Erika herself sighed with relief.
"If I let you take that, we'd probably be down two-zip…" she admitted, shrinking the spherical container with a press of its button, "Sorry about that…" she apologized as she put the Poké Ball away, readying a new one.
"Erika makes a last-second decision to switch Drifblim out," Jim noted through the loudspeakers, "Who'll she rely on now, folks?" he inquired. The Ketchum girl reared her right arm back.
"Let's go, Lurantis!" she called out, flinging the Poké Ball in her hand forward. It burst open, and its light formed upon the ground, dissipating to reveal the Bloom Sickle Pokémon.
"Lurrahhh!" she exclaimed, swiping at the air with her scythe-like arms. Her image appeared upon the big screens beside her trainer.
"Lurantis takes Drifblim's place, and she looks raring to go!" Jim pointed out into the microphone.
"She looks really fired up tonight," Mirajane curiously noted.
"After losing yesterday, she must really wanna redeem herself," Ash inferred in response, folding his arms over his chest.
"Peekah, pika!" Pikachu squeaked out excitedly.
"Rrrr…" Zoroark growled, taking a ready stance.
"So this is how you're planning to counter me?" Gladion assumed, giving off a small grin.
"Heh," Erika chuckled, "You should know by now, Gladion…" she began, clenching her fists determinedly, "we're always going with the flow!" she affirmed with a smile.
X
"Lurrraaahhhnnn…" Lurantis hissed.
"Rrrrr…" Zoroark growled again, glaring back at his foe.
"The matchup here is pretty interesting as neither Zoroark nor Lurantis have an inherit advantage in terms of type," Jim explained over the broadcast.
"That being said, we have seen Zoroark use Flamethrower, and Lurantis has used X-Scissor in prior battles," Tom mentioned thoroughly, "I think this is going to come down to who's ultimately stronger in these circumstances," he added.
"Zoroark, Night Slash!" Gladion ordered. The Illusion Fox Pokémon had his claws glow a bright purple and sharpen as he rushed forward in an instant.
"Counter with X-Scissor!" Erika instructed. Lurantis readied her scythe-like arms, making them glow a yellowish-green before swiping down in an x-shaped pattern, blocking off her opponent as a flurry of sparks burst out between them. They hopped back from each other, glaring all the while.
"Grass Knot!" the former enforcer commanded.
"Petal Blizzard!" the Ketchum girl ordered. Making his eyes glow a bright green, Zoroark had several vines uproot from the turf field, wrapping around the Bloom Sickle Pokémon's legs and pulling her down. However, she had a torrent of pink flower petals swirl around her body, tearing through the vines to the disbelief of her foe.
"Lurrr… AAAHHHHHH!" she screeched, swinging her arms to bombard him with the flower petals, making him grimace as he gritted his teeth.
"Hang in there!" his trainer cried out, "Use Flamethrower!" he ordered, pumping his right fist forward. Flames billowed within the Illusion Fox Pokémon's mouth before he unleashed a steady stream of fire, incinerating the remainder of the flower petals coming his way. At that moment, Lurantis charged in.
"X-Scissor!" Erika commanded. With her scythe-like arms glowing a bright yellowish-green again, the Bloom Sickle Pokémon swiped in an x-shaped pattern onto her foe, blowing him back as he tumbled along the turf field.
"Lurahhh!" she exclaimed afterward, still eager to battle as puffs of steam left her nostrils.
"Lurantis' X-Scissor packs a wallop onto Zoroark!" Jim yelled through the loudspeakers, "Looks like Zoroark's in a tight spot!" he pointed out.
"Atta' way, Lurantis!" Hau cheered from the stands.
"Yeah, go!" Pyrrha yelled.
"Jah, jahng moh!" Jangmo-o chirped excitedly.
"Zoroark, Night Daze!" Gladion commanded. Once more, the Illusion Fox Pokémon's body became surrounded by a crimson aura as his eyes glowed light blue. The aura around his arms grew thicker as he raised them up, bringing them down hard onto the ground. A pink-and-crimson-glowing force field erupted from the impact, expanding outward.
"Counter with Petal Blizzard!" Erika called out, enticing Lurantis to make a torrent of pink flower petals appear around herself, swinging her scythe-like arms forward to have them fly out and strike the force field, holding it back.
"Now Night Slash!" the former enforcer ordered. With his claws glowing a bright purple and sharpening, Zoroark dashed forward in an instant, swiping past the Bloom Sickle Pokémon.
"Lurrahh…!" she grunted out, stumbling back slightly with a grimace.
"Lurantis!" her trainer cried out.
"Night Slash, from above!" Gladion instructed. Pivoting around and leaping up, the Illusion Fox Pokémon kept his claws glowing as he dove toward his foe.
"X-Scissor!" Erika commanded. Lurantis turned around, making her scythe-like arms glow a yellowish-green as she threw them up in an x-shaped pattern, blocking off her opponent's attempted slash as he jumped away.
"Looks like things aren't what they seem, folks!" Jim remarked through the loudspeakers, "Zoroark's still kicking as he barrages Lurantis with some quick Night Slashes!" he pointed out excitedly.
"Now Grass Knot!" Gladion ordered, pumping his left fist back. The Illusion Fox Pokémon made his eyes flash a bright green. Vines uprooted from the ground again, wrapping around Lurantis' legs, preventing her from moving as she tried to wriggle herself free.
"Stay calm!" her trainer advised, "Use Petal Blizzard to break free!" she instructed.
"Lurah!" the Bloom Sickle Pokémon responded, having a torrent of pink flower petals appear around her once more. However, Gladion smirked.
"Night Daze!" he commanded. A crimson aura shrouded Zoroark's arms as his eyes glowed blue once more. The aura thickened around his arms as he swung them up, slamming them down hard against the ground. A pink-and-crimson-glowing force field erupted, expanding outward. It crashed into Lurantis before she could free herself, blowing away her petals while also ripping the vines entrapping her as she fell to the ground upon her back, sliding to a stop before her trainer.
"Lurantis!" she exclaimed in panic.
"Uh oh!" Jim yelped into the microphone, "Looks like Erika's about to go down two-nothing if she doesn't find a way to have Lurantis turn the tide!" he pointed out to the crowd.
'What should we do?!' the Ketchum girl wondered inwardly, 'If Zoroark lands a Flamethrower or gets us trapped again, we're in trouble for sure!' she pointed out, 'Should I switch again?' she inquired of herself, only to look at her partner as she stood back up tall, 'No, I can't do that when Lurantis is putting in so much effort…' she noted inwardly, 'Besides, that's just what Gladion would want to get a better idea of the rest of my team…' she mentioned to herself.
"Lurantis, Sunny Day!" she instructed.
"LURRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!" the Bloom Sickle Pokémon screeched up into the night sky. It suddenly brightened again as if the sun had come out.
"ZZZunny Day?" Rotom buzzed out, "But why now, zzt?" it questioned, quite confused.
"Not sure…" Leslie admitted in response.
"Zoroark, Flamethrower!" Gladion commanded, sticking his right hand out. Rearing his head back, the Illusion Fox Pokémon unleashed a spray of orange fire out toward his foe. The flames were quite large, completely engulfing Lurantis.
"AH!" most of those in the crowd gasped in panic.
"Zoroark's Flamethrower washes right over Lurantis, having been boosted by her Sunny Day!" Jim noted loudly over the broadcast, "Just what was Erika thinking?!" he wondered somewhat harshly.
"Solar Blade!" the Ketchum girl commanded, causing Gladion to gasp lightly out of shock. From within the flames, the Bloom Sickle Pokémon was preparing a golden mass of light in her arms, lifting it up over her head. She then put her right arm up to it, making it shape into a tall blade that went high into the air.
"Rah?!" Zoroark yelped out.
"GOOOO!" Erika yelled, swinging her right arm down.
"LURRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Lurantis screeched, throwing the blade of light onto her foe, resulting in a powerful blast that engulfed the entire field in smoke. Both trainers braced themselves, opening their eyes to see what had happened. As the smoke settled, it revealed both Pokémon still standing. However, Zoroark was the first to fall onto his knees and then his stomach. At that same moment though, his opponent also toppled over upon her back. Dan ran over to assess their conditions.
"Both Zoroark and Lurantis are unable to battle!" he confirmed, holding both of his arms up. The crowd cheered wildly. Both Pokémon's images upon the big screens were greyed out.
"Incredible!" Jim exclaimed through the loudspeakers, "Both Zoroark and Lurantis fall, making it a two-one score in favor of Gladion!" he pointed out excitedly. Back on the field, the former enforcer returned his fallen partner to his Dusk Ball in a beam of red light.
"You did well," he affirmed with a small smile, putting the spherical container away. Meanwhile, Erika walked over to Lurantis as she sat up, sighing sadly.
"Hey, don't do that," her trainer insisted, getting her attention, "You did great," she stated, "We'll carry your will to win the rest of the way," she promised, holding out the Bloom Sickle Pokémon's Poké Ball, "Now take a good long rest," she insisted, returning her partner to the spherical container in a beam of red light. She then walked back over to her position on the field, taking on a serious expression.
"Now Erika is down to her Drifblim and four other Pokémon," Jim pointed out into the microphone, "Who will she choose next?" he wondered aloud. The Ketchum girl readied yet a Heavy Ball in her right hand, pressing its button to enlarge it. She then reeled her arm back.
"Sandslash, let's go!" she yelled, firing the spherical container up into the air. It burst open as its light shot down onto the turf field, shaping into form and dissipating to reveal the Alolan Mouse Pokémon.
"San, slahh!" he exclaimed, swiping at the air with his claws.
"Erika decides to select Sandslash, the Pokémon that paved the way to her victory in the third round!" Jim noted over the broadcast, "How will Gladion respond?!" he inquired loudly. The former enforcer had a Great Ball prepared.
"Go, Crobat!" he called out, throwing the spherical container up into the air. As it opened up, its light formed and dissipated to reveal the Bat Pokémon, who glided about up above.
"Crobat?" Erika uttered in confusion.
"Why'zzz Gladion using Crobat?" Rotom wondered aloud from the stands, "He still hazzz Lucario, doesn't he?" it questioned on.
"I get the feeling that's not his main plan…" Leslie admitted, narrowing her eyes a little.
"So the next match of this semifinal battle pits Crobat against Sandslash!" Jim pointed out through the loudspeakers, "I can't wait to see what'll unfold!" he added excitedly.
'I doubt Gladion would just choose Crobat to throw me off…' Erika noted to herself, 'He's got a plan for sure…' she affirmed inwardly.
"Be ready for anything, Sandslash!" she warned of her partner.
"Slahh!" he responded, taking a ready stance.
"Hm," Gladion huffed, "Crobat, Steel Wing!" he ordered with a swing of his right arm. The Bat Pokémon had his wings glow a silvery white as he dove down toward his opponent.
"Sandslash, use Hail!" Erika instructed.
"SLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!" the Alolan Mouse Pokémon screeched into the night sky. The brightness from the luminosity earlier faded as dark clouds appeared overhead. Bits of hail and snow started falling from it. They struck Crobat, who winced. However, he persevered as he swiped at his foe, making him slide back a few feet.
"Sandslash takes a direct hit from Crobat's Steel Wing, but manages to set up the Hail in exchange!" Jim noted into the microphone.
"Now Iron Head!" Erika commanded, sticking her right hand out. The Alolan Mouse Pokémon enveloped himself in a whitish light, lunging out instantaneously. His opponent widened his eyes before he wound up struck head on by his foe, being sent tumbling back through midair.
"Crobat!" Gladion called out, seeing his partner barely manage to regain his balance in midair, shaking his head.
"Crohhh!" he responded.
"Nice one, Eri!" Hau cried out from the stands.
"That's Sandslash's Slush Rush ability, right?" Pyrrha presumed.
"Correct, zzt!" Rotom buzzed in reply, "When it'zzz hailing, he'zzz a lot faster!" it pointed out.
"Now Stone Edge!" Erika ordered. The Alolan Mouse Pokémon slammed his claws against the ground, causing light blue stone pillars to erect, trailing towards his opponent.
"Dodge and use Air Slash!" Gladion instructed quickly. Flapping his wings, Crobat made them glow a bright blue as he evaded the incoming pillars. He then folded his wings before swinging them out to unleash a flurry of shuriken-like blades of air. They struck Sandslash, who struggled to endure them as he found himself pushed back, even as he held his arms up.
"Hang in there, Sandslash!" Erika called out, "Use Icicle Crash!" she commanded.
"Slahh!" the Alolan Mouse Pokémon responded. But as he took a step forward, he suddenly flinched with pain, much to his trainer's surprise.
"Uh oh!" Jim yelped through the loudspeakers, "Looks to me like that Air Slash managed to make Sandslash flinch!" he noted aloud.
"Heh," Gladion chuckled, "Now Heat Wave!" he ordered, sticking his left hand out.
"Wait, what?!" Erika exclaimed in disbelief. Crobat's wings glowed a bright orange as he started flapping them mightily. An orange gust of heated air rushed out, washing over the Alolan Mouse Pokémon as he winced.
"Oh my goodness!" Jim exclaimed over the broadcast, "Crobat pulls off a surprise Heat Wave, which is really effective against someone like Sandslash!" he pointed out.
"Hang in there!" the Ketchum girl insisted of her partner, though he was struggling to withstand the superheated air. All the while, his foe was continuing to flap his wings, even as the hail continued to pelt him.
"Crobat, Air Slash!" Gladion commanded. Making his wings go from orange to blue, the Bat Pokémon flapped them mightily to release yet another flurry of shuriken-like discs of air down at his opponent.
"Block it off with Stone Edge!" Erika quickly instructed. With a grunt, Sandslash managed to slam his claws against the ground, making light blue stone pillars emerge in front of himself to block off the incoming air discs. Gladion grimaced with frustration, while the Ketchum girl sighed with relief. "Now use Icicle Crash!" she ordered. Leaping up over the stone pillars, the Alolan Mouse Pokémon opened his mouth to expel a freezing chill of wind up into the air. Clumps of ice started to form, becoming sharp icicles that were shot towards his opponent.
"Use Steel Wing!" Gladion yelled out. Crobat had his wings shine a silvery-white again, swiping at and shattering the incoming icicles with ease.
"Sandslash, Iron Head!" Erika commanded, enticing the Alolan Mouse Pokémon to engulf himself in a whitish light once again before lunging out at his foe. He collided head on with him, blowing him back yet again. However, he managed to regain his balance, shaking his head.
"Crobat, Heat Wave!" his trainer ordered. The Bat Pokémon had his wings glow orange, flapping them mightily to release another superheated gust of air onto his foe, making him wince as he braced himself.
"Stone Edge!" the Ketchum girl yelled out.
"SAAAAANNNN… SLAAAAHHHH!" Sandslash bellowed, slamming his claws against the ground once more. Light blue rock pillars shot up from the turf, trailing up to Crobat. He didn't even have a chance to dodge as he was struck, falling down onto the ground hard.
"Crobat!" Gladion exclaimed. Dan ran over to assess the Bat Pokémon's condition, seeing the swirls in his eyes. He then raised his right arm.
"Crobat is unable to battle!" he confirmed. The crowd cheered as the Bat Pokémon's image upon the big screen was greyed out.
"And Crobat falls, giving Erika a key win as she and her team knot the score two-to-two!" Jim pointed out over the broadcast.
"Still, I think Crobat did his job in the end," Tom chimed in, "Landing two super effective Heat Waves is probably devastating to a Pokémon like Sandslash," he pointed out.
"Sann… sann…" the Alolan Mouse Pokémon breathed out tiredly as he winced.
"Sandslash…" his trainer uttered worriedly. Meanwhile, Gladion returned his fainted partner to his Great Ball in a beam of red light.
"Thanks for all your hard work," he said gratefully, putting the spherical container away.
"Now who'll Gladion call upon next?" Jim wondered aloud through the loudspeakers. Erika narrowed her eyes. She knew that her opponent seemingly had specific Poké Balls for each Pokémon he brought out. But she was having remembering which ones were from where.
'Aside from wondering who he'll use next, I should probably give Sandslash some rest…' she admitted to herself, grabbing her partner's Heavy Ball. However, he took notice.
"San!" he exclaimed in refusal, causing her to perk up in surprise, "San, slah!" he squeaked, sharpening his claws against each other.
"You wanna keep going, huh?" his trainer guessed, giving off a small smile before putting the spherical container she had away, "Okay then," she said, clenching her fists determinedly.
"So Erika's not switching, huh?" Calvin noted from the locker room.
"That might be her downfall…" Trent pointed out to his surprise, "Did you notice?" he inquired of his rival, "Gladion showed his hand earlier," he told him, "When he brought out Zoroark earlier when he was disguised as Silvally, he showed just what type it was going to be for the battle," he explained. Hearing that, the Ketchum boy gasped in realization, shooting up from his seat.
"His eyes and those fins…!" he remembered.
"Yeah…" his rival confirmed with a nod. Back on the field, the former enforcer readied a Heal Ball in his right hand, enlarging it with a press of its button. He reared his arm back.
"Go, Porygon-Z!" he called out, throwing it forward. It burst open, and its light formed in midair upon shooting out, dissipating to reveal the Virtual Pokémon.
"Zeezeezee!" it buzzed as its arms and tail twitched a little.
"Porygon-Z…" Erika uttered, grimacing as she recalled how difficult it was for her cousin to defeat the Virtual Pokémon yesterday. She and her team were about to experience an uphill challenge for sure…
X
"And the famous Porygon-Z makes its return in this semifinal battle!" Jim exclaimed into the microphone as the Virtual Pokémon's image appeared upon the big screen. Hau shivered in his seat in the stands.
"Oh man…" he said, "Eri's gonna be in a lot of trouble if she can't take that guy down quick…" he pointed out worriedly.
"Don't worry, she'll be fine," Pyrrha assured, getting his attention, "I know she'll think of something," she affirmed confidently, causing her mother to crack a smile toward her. The clouds above had clear as the hail and snow ceased.
"Porygon-Z was extremely instrumental to Gladion's victory over Hau last night," Tom noted through the loudspeakers, "That said, Erika now has the advantage of knowing about Porygon-Z and its capabilities," he mentioned.
"We'll have to see what she does to try and get an early edge!" Jim pointed out.
"Sandslash, Hail again!" Erika yelled to her partner.
"Sann!" he responded, looking up to the sky above, "SLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" he screeched out. The dark clouds returned, with hail and snow falling down, pelting his opponent.
"Zeezee…" it buzzed unnervingly as its body twitched.
"Lock-On," its trainer instructed, much to the Ketchum girl's surprise. The Virtual Pokémon's eyes shined a bright before it released a red ring of light that shrunk as it reached Sandslash, turning into a target upon his chest.
"Slahh?" he uttered in confusion.
"Don't worry about it!" Erika insisted, getting his attention, "Use Icicle Crash!" she commanded. The Alolan Mouse Pokémon expelled a cold air from his mouth up into the sky. Clumps of ice started to form, shaping into icicles that shot down towards his opponent.
"Dodge and use Zap Cannon!" Gladion called out. Porygon-Z zipped forward, evading the incoming icicles with ease. It then prepared a yellow orb of electricity with a black-and-white center at the tip of its bill, firing it out at its foe.
"Watch out!" the Ketchum girl yelled, enticing Sandslash to dive out of the way. However, the orb of electricity veered over and struck him at the target upon his chest a powerful blast. "Sandslash!" his trainer screamed. The smoke settled, revealing her partner standing up slowly as electricity sparked around his body. "Oh man…" she muttered out, gritting her teeth.
"That's what happens when a Pokémon uses Lock-On, you know," Gladion chimed in, getting her attention, "An attack used afterward won't miss," he stated, "And Zap Cannon always paralyzes an opponent when it strikes," he mentioned, looking over to the Alolan Mouse Pokémon as its body sparked with electricity again, "Porygon-Z, Tri Attack!" he commanded.
"Zeezeezee!" the Virtual Pokémon buzzed as it prepped orbs of orange, yellow, and blue energy upon the tips of its arms and tail. It fired off beams of fire, electricity, and ice all at once, heading for its opponent.
"Quick, dodge it!" Erika yelled to her partner. He tried to move, but the electricity sparked around his body again, causing him to stop as he winced. The rays then struck him in a fierce blast, blowing him back. "Sandslash, no!" his trainer screamed.
"Sandslash gets rocked by a Tri Attack after winding up paralyzed from Porygon-Z's Zap Cannon!" Jim noted over the broadcast, "Once again, Gladion's ever-changing move composition really sells home just how much of a force he and his team are!" he affirmed. The smoke settled, revealing the Alolan Mouse Pokémon pushing himself back up onto his feet.
"Sandslash, are you okay?" she inquired her partner.
"Slahhh…!" he squeaked in response, determinedly readying his claws, even as he winced from the electricity sparking around him.
"You really don't give up, do you?" Gladion inferred, letting off a grin, "Tri Attack!" he commanded again. Porygon-Z prepped another trio of orbs in front of itself, firing off beams of fire, electricity, and ice to its foe.
"Block it with Stone Edge!" Erika instructed. Sandslash slammed his claws against the ground, making light blue stone pillars erect from the earth, blocking off the incoming rays as they struck in a fierce blast. "Now Iron Head!" his trainer commanded, thrusting her right fist out. From the smoke, the Alolan Mouse Pokémon shot out, engulfed in a whitish light. He slammed into his foe, making its eyes widen as it flew back.
"We're not done yet!" the former enforcer declared, "Use Signal Beam!" he ordered. However, Porygon-Z wasn't moving, much to his surprise.
"Oh, it seems like Porygon-Z wound up flinching from that last Iron Head!" Jim pointed out through the loudspeakers, "Is Sandslash going to turn this battle around on its head?!" he wondered excitedly.
"Sandslash, Icicle Crash!" Erika commanded. The Alolan Mouse Pokémon expelled a cold air from his mouth up into the sky, forming clumps of ice. They shaped into icicles, which shot down and bombarded his foe, sending him crashing onto the ground.
"Alright!" Hau exclaimed from the stands.
"Sandslash might win this one for Erika!" Pyrrha noted excitedly. However, everyone else watched on with bated breath. It was too soon to tell. The Virtual Pokémon rose back up from the ground, its body twitching wildly.
"Zeezee!" it buzzed out.
"Yeah, we're not done just yet!" its trainer declared, "Signal Beam!" he ordered. A pink mass of light formed at the tip of Porygon-Z's bill.
"Sandslash, use Iron Head!" Erika commanded again. The Alolan Mouse Pokémon was ready to charge forward. But suddenly, yellow sparks of electricity crackled around his body again, making him wince as he stopped. His trainer gasped.
"Got you," Gladion remarked. Porygon-Z fired off a streaky pink beam of light, with multiple blue shapes surrounding it. The beam struck Sandslash square in the chest, making him slide back as he winced. Once it subsided, he started stumbling about dizzily.
"Sandslash?!" Erika exclaimed in panic.
"Uh oh!" Jim yelped into the microphone, "Looks like that Signal Beam resulted in Sandslash getting confused!" he pointed out.
"Finish him off with Zap Cannon!" Gladion commanded, thrusting his right fist out. The Virtual Pokémon readied another yellow orb of electricity with a black-and-white center at the tip of its bill. Erika grimaced.
"Sandslash, you gotta move!" she cried out. Unfortunately, the Alolan Mouse Pokémon was too confused to hear her voice. Porygon-Z fired the electric orb, striking him in a powerful burst of dust and smoke. It was slow to settle, revealing Sandslash lying upon the turf with swirls in his eyes. The hail ceased as Dan ran over to assess his condition.
"Sandslash is unable to battle!" he confirmed, raising his left arm up. The crowd cheered, while the Alolan Mouse Pokémon's image upon the big screens was greyed out.
"And Sandslash ends up falling, putting Erika down to just three Pokémon!" Jim noted over the broadcast.
"One of them happening to be Drifblim, who took a good amount of damage earlier from Zoroark," Tom mentioned. On the field, the Ketchum girl was evidently frustrated. She took a deep breath through her nose to calm herself, pulling out her fainted partner's Heavy Ball.
"Thanks for your hard work, Sandslash," she said with gratitude, "Take a good long rest," she insisted, returning him to the spherical container in a beam of red light. She then looked over to her opponent, who had Porygon-Z floating beside him.
'What should I do now?' she wondered inwardly, clenching her fists.
X
"Well, this is certainly becoming an exciting battle," Wicke commented, sitting in Lusamine's hospital room along with Lillie, Milo, and Selene as they were watching the intermission report on the ONBS channel, "Who are you all rooting for?" she wondered curiously.
"Uh, not really anyone when it comes to me…" Milo admitted, "Although… I wouldn't mind seeing Erika get to the finals…" he confessed on.
"You just admitted you're against the president's son," Selene bluntly pointed out to his surprise.
"N-No, I didn't!" he stammered out.
"You want Erika to win," his fellow employee mentioned.
"I-I just said I wouldn't mind seeing her in the finals!" he argued with a stutter, "I really wouldn't care who wins here!" he admitted, while both Wicke and Lillie giggled. Lusamine gave off a little smile herself. She then glanced over to her daughter.
"Who would you want to win, Lillie?" she asked, getting her attention.
"Oh… well…" she tried to reply, rubbing the back of her head sheepishly, "I guess I'm in the same boat as Milo…" she admitted, "Gladion's my big brother…" she noted, "but Erika's my best friend…" she confessed, "It's hard for me to really root for one over the other…" she added, giggling a little. Her mother glanced down for a moment.
"Your father…" she began, causing Lillie to perk up, "he used to be a serious battler like your brother is…" she pointed out, "When I first met him, he was on the cusp of completing the island challenge like Gladion and those others…" she told her daughter, "only to stop when he met me," she recalled.
"Really?" Lillie inquired. Lusamine nodded.
"I suppose it's how I started becoming so obsessed with beauty in this world…" she admitted as she looked up for a moment, "because the day we met, he told me that I was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen…" she remembered, tearing up a little.
"Mother…" her daughter uttered out in surprise.
"With that brief intermission over, it's time to continue the first match of the semifinals between Gladion Aether and Erika Ketchum!" Jim's voice chimed in, getting their attentions as they looked back to the TV, seeing that the match was about to continue, "Seems as if Gladion's going to stick with Porygon-Z for the second half of this match!" he mentioned. Back in Manalo Stadium, the Virtual Pokémon buzzed about wildly, its body twitching with excitement and eagerness.
"Porygon-Z's scary strong…" Hau noted from the stands, gulping a little, "What's Eri gonna do about it?" he wondered worriedly.
"Sandslash did manage to deal a lot of damage…" Pyrrha pointed out, "I guess it'll all depend on what Pokémon Erika decides to go for next…" she added, folding her arms over her chest. On the field, the Ketchum girl readied a Poké Ball in her right hand, enlarging it with a press of its button.
"Let's go, Lycanroc!" she called out, tossing it forward. As it popped open, the light that shot out formed upon the turf, dissipating to reveal the Wolf Pokémon.
"Rahk!" he barked. His image appeared upon the big screens, while the crowd murmured with excitement.
"Lycanroc enters the battle, leaving Erika with just one Pokémon left to be revealed!" Jim noted over the broadcast, "Will he be able to defeat the notorious Porygon-Z?!" he wondered aloud.
"You may continue the battle!" Dan confirmed, swinging his right arm down as a signal.
"Howl!" Erika instructed immediately.
"RAAAHHHHHHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Lycanroc howled up into the sky, making a reddish-orange aura flow up his body.
"Increasing your attack power right away, huh?" Gladion noted, "Tri Attack!" he commanded, swinging his left hand forward.
"Zeezeezee!" Porygon-Z buzzed, prepping a trio of energy orbs in front of itself once again, firing off beams of fire, electricity, and ice respectively.
"Stone Edge!" Erika ordered. Lycanroc slammed his clenched front paws against the ground, causing light blue stone pillars to erect, blocking off the incoming rays as they struck in an explosion of grey smoke.
"Nice!" Calvin cheered from the locker room.
"Erika deploys the same strategy she used with Sandslash earlier, blocking off Porygon-Z's Tri Attack with ease thanks to Lycanroc's Stone Edge!" Jim pointed out through the loudspeakers.
"Howl again!" the Ketchum girl called out.
"RAAAHHHHHHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" the Wolf Pokémon howled up into the night sky. Once more, a reddish-orange aura flowed up his body.
"So she's increasing Lycanroc's attack power to try and take out Porygon-Z in one blow?" Mirajane presumed from the stands.
"Looks that way…" her husband replied.
"Peekah…" Pikachu squeaked out.
"Now Stone Edge!" Erika commanded. The Wolf Pokémon slammed his clenched paws against the turf again, making several light blue stone pillars erect as they trailed towards his foe.
"Dodge and use Lock-On!" Gladion advised. Porygon-Z weaved its way around the incoming pillars with ease, making its eyes glow a bright red before releasing a red ring of light. It shrunk as it approached Lycanroc, attaching to chest as he gasped in surprise.
"Agh, not again…!" his trainer grumbled out of frustration.
"Porygon-Z's landed yet another Lock-On upon Lycanroc!" Jim noted into the microphone, "What move'll be the one to hit him next?!" he inquired loudly.
"Zap Cannon!" Gladion ordered, thrusting his right fist out. At the tip of its bill, the Virtual Pokémon prepared a yellow orb of electricity with a black-and-white center.
"Block it off with Stone Edge!" Erika instructed. Again, the Wolf Pokémon slammed his clenched paws against the ground to make light blue stone pillars erect just before the orb was fired. It collided with the stones in a powerful blast of grey smoke. "Now Crunch!" the Ketchum girl commanded. Leaping through the smoke, Lycanroc had his teeth glow a bright white and sharpen. He caught his foe in his grasp almost immediately, not letting go as he landed down.
"Lycanroc catches Porygon-Z by surprise with Crunch, keeping it from moving!" Jim exclaimed over the broadcast, "Is this where Porygon-Z falls…?!" he wondered on. However, Gladion cracked a smirk.
"Zap Cannon!" he commanded. The Virtual Pokémon prepped another orb of yellow electricity upon the tip of its bill with a black-and-white center. It fired it off aimlessly, as it seemed to be heading off to the side.
'Why fire a Zap Cannon when he know he'd miss at that angle…?' Erika wondered inwardly, only to widen her eyes in realization, 'Unless…!' she exclaimed through her thoughts. However, it was too late. The electric orb veered back around. Lycanroc had no time to react as he was struck at the target upon his chest, being zapped fiercely.
"RRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHKKKKKKKKK!" he wailed with agony, while also releasing Porygon-Z from his mouth as it floated back up into the air.
"Lycanroc, no!" Erika screamed.
"When a Pokémon uses Lock-On, the next attack is guaranteed to hit," Gladion pointed out like he did earlier. As the zapping settled, Lycanroc staggered slightly, wincing as electricity sparked around his body. "Porygon-Z, Signal Beam!" the former enforcer ordered. The Virtual Pokémon prepped a pink mass of energy at the tip of its bill. The Ketchum girl grimaced. If she didn't do something soon, she'd be back to square one in terms of having a plan. What would she do?
ENDING
Insert "Who Are You?" by PELICAN FANCLUB
Opens at Aether Paradise as Lillie is with her bedridden mother, sleeping by her side. In her dreams, she's imagining becoming a Pokémon Trainer herself, journeying through regions with her Pokémon by her side. She starts running along the pathway, excitedly smiling all the while.
Throughout her journey in her dream, she comes across many great things. She encounters amazing Pokémon, strong trainers to battle, and memorable sights. Her Pokémon of choice is a Clefairy which she happily lifts in her hands.
All of a sudden, the area around them darkens as a shadow looms over them. Lillie looks up in horror to see a giant version of Lusamine engulfed by Nihilego overhead. She cowers in fright momentarily, but then notices a bright light shining up above.
It turns out to be Solgaleo, who comes down with Calvin and Erika aboard. They both offer their hands to Lillie, who happily accepts them as she climbs onto the Sunne Pokémon. They hurry off, avoiding the giant rocks Lusamine chucks their way. One is about to strike, but it's destroyed as Gladion appears aboard Silvally, slashing it apart.
Together, they lunge up to attack the Aether Foundation president, engulfing her in a shining, golden light. Lillie opens her eyes, lifting her head. She finds her mother awake in bed, giving her a weak, yet thankful smile.
Lillie smiles back, gripping her hand tightly. As Wicke wanders in to check on them, they turn on the TV as the Alola League is starting. Lillie giggles at the sight of the Ketchum twins in battle once again, happy that they're seeing their dreams through…
END ENDING
And that begins Erika and Gladion's semifinal match! Quite a start, huh? In terms of how I outlined it, Erika was supposed to take the early advantage, but I felt like that was a little too easy for her. Giving her a bit of a challenge really helps put things into perspective as to what she and her brother are pitting themselves up against.
Anyways, I just finished this chapter draft at the start of the Ash/Leon battle in Pokémon: Journeys! Looking forward to seeing how that goes as we close out another era of the anime. That's all from me for now! Here's a summary to hold you over until next time!
SUMMARY
Erika's battle against Gladion continues with power against power! Down to her final three Pokémon, can she pull off a seemingly improbable victory here?!
END SUMMARY
Thanks for reading, everyone! See you next time!