Episode 257: Showdown in the Battle Arena!
On the very same night, Sora, Kairi, Brendan, Lisia, Pikachu, and Angel stepped inside the Pokémon Center shortly after arriving in town. They all saw it was going to he some tough competition.
"Man, this place is packed," Sora said.
"Pikachu," Pikachu said.
"There's got to be more Coordinators here than I thought," Kairi said.
"Eevee," Angel said.
Kairi looked around and she saw what looked like is a humanoid, bipedal Pokémon that resembles a yoga practitioner. It has a gray body with red and yellow adornments. A red headpiece with three bulb-like extensions covers the upper portion of its head: one on top and one on either side. Its large, focused eyes are slightly covered by the headpiece, and its red lips seem to be in a rounded or puckered position. Its legs appear to be covered with puffy, red pants that have a large yellow spot on the knees and yellow bands next to the hips. This Pokémon is known as Medicham. With her is a young woman wearing what looks like a yellow and blue belly dancer outfit. She has dark red hair and blue eyes. She wore black ballet shoes. Medicham was using its psychic powers to lift itself in the air.
"Wow, she's floating in the air while meditating," Kairi said as she took out her Rotom Phone and scanned it.
Medicham, the Meditate Pokémon
The evolved form of Meditite
Type: Fighting/Psychic
Medicham is able to harness psychic power through yoga. Being at one with nature, it can make itself vanish completely.
"Amazing," Kairi said.
Suddenly, just about everything around Medicham was starting to float around, much to everyone's dismay and surprise.
"Hey, what's going on?" Sora asked as his necklace starts floating up as well. "No, not my necklace!" Pikachu floats up in the air.
"Pika!" Pikachu cried.
"Eevee!" Angel also cried.
"Angel, no!" Kairi gasped.
"Medicham," the young woman said. Medicham opened her eyes and ceased her psychic energy. Sora caught both Pikachu and his necklace as Kairi caught Angel in her arms.
"Gotcha, Pikachu," Sora said.
"Glad you're okay, Angel," Kairi said.
"My most sincere apologies. My Medicham unconsciously unleashed a burst of psychic energy. Obviously, she needs more training," the young woman said.
"Medicham," Medicham said, bowing her head.
"It wasn't your fault. It could happen to anybody," Sora said.
"On the plus side, no one was hurt," Brendan said.
"Glad you're so forgiving. Anyway, my name is Grace, and this is my partner, Medicham," Grace introduced.
"Medicham," Medicham bowed her head.
"I'm Sora, and this is my partner, Pikachu," Sora introduced.
"Pika," Pikachu said.
"My name's Kairi, and this Eevee is my partner, Angel," Kairi introduced.
"Eevee," Angel said.
"I'm Brendan."
"And I'm Lisia."
Grace looked right at Lisia.
"Wait, you're the Contest Idol, aren't you?" Grace asked.
"Yeah," Lisia said. Grace then bursts out in laughter.
"I can't believe I'm in the presence of a Contest Idol, and I didn't know it! It's too much!" Grace said, accidentally smacking Sora and knocking him right on Brendan.
"She's got quite an arm," Brendan said in a daze.
"She could try out for a professional baseball team if she wanted to," Sora said. Grace realized what she did.
"Oops, looks like I went and done it again. Sorry about that," Grace apologized.
"No harm, no foul," Sora said as Grace helped him up.
A little later, Grace invited the group to dinner in the mess hall as they fill her in with their past adventures. When the topic of May was brought up, Grace knew who exactly that was. She bursts into laughter once again.
"Oh, I had no idea you're all friends of May! I'm so embarrassed!" Grace said, laughing.
"Don't be. Just how do you know May to begin with?" Brendan asked.
"I met May in that one Pokemon Contest. She was having some doubts about not being able to win, but I told her that it's not the Coordinator who has the experience who wins the Contest, and sometimes, it's just luck. What I told her that above all else, she can never really win unless you use the power of your Pokemon completely," Grace said.
"That's some good advice, Grace. Just how many ribbons do you have so far?" Sora asked.
"I have these," Grace said, showing them her three Contest Ribbons.
"Wow, three already," Kairi said.
"I'm planning on winning a fourth if I win the Fallarbor Contest, but I know it's not going to be easy," Grace said.
"I know how that feels, Grace," Sora said. Grace just looked right at Sora. "I'm not a Coordinator, but I feel what you're saying. I battled my share of Gym Leaders back in Kanto and Johto, and none of them were pushovers. Even Roxanne, Brawly, and Wattson gave me a run for my money. Same thing as Noland in the battle Factory."
"Pikachu," Pikachu said.
"But I didn't give up," Sora said.
"No, you didn't," a new voice spoke. They saw Scott walking up to the group, holding up a coffee mug. "I had a feeling I would see you here soon."
"Hey, Scott," Sora greeted.
"Hey yourself. And you look like you're doing well for yourself since the last time I saw you," Scott said.
"Yeah, things have been pretty busy," Sora said, not wanting to tell him too much about the Heartless, the Nobodies, the Unversed, Zell, Vanitas, or Organization XIII.
"I don't doubt it one little bit. I was about to call you to tell you that Greta's expecting you, but seeing you has saved me the trouble in doing so," Scott said.
"That's great to hear, Scott. I'm going to give everything I got to Greta, so she'll have to he ready," Sora said.
"Oh, I know she'll be doing the same thing, Sora. Greta will accepting your battle tomorrow morning, so you better be ready," Scott said.
"I will," Sora said.
"Pika," Pikachu said.
As Scott took his leave, Sora knew he was right to tell him to be ready, and that's what he was going to do.
After thinking long and hard, Sora has made up his mind on whom to use. Sora exchanged Zigzagoon, Nosepass and Wingull for Aerodactyl, Mr. Mime and Butterfree since both are the right choices against Greta's Fighting-type Pokémon. Sora took out two of his Pokéballs and tossed them in the air.
"Butterfree, Aerodactyl, Mr. Mime, go!" Sora called out. His two Pokémon emerged from inside to train hard for his battle against Greta. "Okay, guys, we got some serious work to do, so the battle we're gonna enter isn't going to be easy, so we're gonna give it everything we've got! Are you ready?"
"Mime!" Mr. Mime said.
"Ree!" Butterfree chirped.
"Glad to hear it," Sora said. "Now, let's do this thing!" Sora and his Pokémon started to train hard for the battle against Greta right until they gotten sleepy.
Grace was doing her own practicing, using Medicham's Ice Punch and Psychic combo.
On the very next morning, Sora and Pikachu got up early to get started. He wanted every edge he can get to battle Greta, so Sora has trained Butterfree, Mr. Mime, and Aerodactyl hard right until it was time for breakfast. After breakfast, Sora, Kairi, Brendan, Lisia, Pikachu, and Angel have arrived to the Battle Arena. It was modeled after a dojo.
"This has to be it," Brendan said.
"Maybe one of us has to knock on the door," Lisia suggested.
"Might as well let them know we're here," Sora said. He knocked on the door. "Hello in there." Just then, the door opened and a black belt stepped out of the Battle Arena.
"What do you want?" The black belt asked.
"I'm here to challenge the Battle Tycoon Greta to a battle to earn a Frontier Symbol," Sora said.
"And what is your name?" The black belt requested.
"My name is Sora Ketchum and I'm from Pallet Town," Sora said.
"Sora Ketchum. Yes, you are expected. You may enter," the black belt said. He leads the group inside the Battle Arena, so they looked around to see statues of Fighting-type Pokémon.
"Looks suitable for Fighting-types since it looks like a dojo," Lisia said.
"Because it is a dojo. Greta has always had a passion when it comes to training Fighting-type Pokémon. She received her teachings on the training of Fighting-types from Brawly of Dewford Island, and Master Chuck in Cianwood City," the black belt explained.
"Wow, she knew Chuck," Sora said in his thoughts. The group then stopped.
"Wait here. I will inform her of her arrival," the black belt said, walking on ahead.
Over to the training grounds, several students, both male and female, along with Pokémon, which consists of Machop, Mankey, Tyrogue, Mankey, Meditite, Makuhita, Breloom, and a new kind of Pokémon.
It is a bipedal, chicken-like Pokémon. Most of Combusken's upper body is yellow, while most of the lower body is orange. An orange, pointed design adorns the center of its waist at the dividing line of the two colors. It has orange eyes and a short, wide beak. There is a feather crest on top of its head with three orange points. Its tail is short and pointed. It has three, sharp claws at the ends of its long arms, and scaly, gray legs with well-developed thighs covered in shaggy feathers. This Pokémon is Combusken.
She is medium height, slim girl. She has short blonde hair inna bob with a fringe and big blue eyes. She wears a sky blue Lycra jumpsuit underneath her robe, which is short and black with cerise pink edges. On her feet she wears cerise pink trainers with white toe caps and white laces.
"Remember, all of you, to be strong, you must have discipline and control. It applies not only to you, but it applies to your Pokémon as well. If you expect your Pokémon to be strong, then you must set an example and work alongside them. And I will remind you all that there are no short cuts when it comes to training your Pokémon," the girl instructed.
"Yes, Mistress Greta," the students said. Just then, the black belt from earlier have arrived to Greta.
"Excuse the interruption, Mistress Greta, but I have come to inform you that the challenger has arrived and he is awaiting for you to arrive," the black belt reported. Greta smiled.
"Good. Bring him to the battlefield. This will be a good learning experience for the students," Greta said.
"Yes, Mistress Greta," the black belt said, setting off to find Sora. Greta turned to her students.
"Students, a challenger has arrived to the Battle Arena and I expect all of you to pay attention when you witness the battle," Greta said.
"Yes, Mistress Greta," the students said.
Over to the group, the black belt has arrived to tell him.
"She has requested that you follow me. The battlefield is just this way," the black belt said.
"Okay," Sora said as he and his friends followed him once again to the battlefield. They arrived to see Scott, Greta, and the students arriving.
"You must be Sora Ketchum, correct?" Greta asked.
"Yes," Sora confirmed. "I came here to challenge you to a battle."
"As Arena Tycoon, I accept your challenge. Spin the wheel!" Greta said.
"Spin the wheel?" Sora asked. The floor next to the battlefield opened up and a wheel appeared, but there are dots on three sets of colors. The green sets has one dot, the red sets has two, and the yellow sets has three.
"Here is how it works, Sora. You spin the wheel and whatever the arrow is pointing to is the number of Pokémon we can use in battle. To simplify, if it lands on a 1, then it'll be one-on-one. If it lands on a 2, then two-on-two. And if it lands on a 3, then it's a three-on-three," Greta explained.
"That sounds simple enough," Sora said.
"I'm glad you think so. Spin the wheel," Greta said. Sora pulled the lever and the wheel starts spinning around and around. Sora was getting anxious as the wheel was slowing down. The wheel stopped spinning as it points to a 3. "It's a 3. We're going to be using three Pokémon each, and here are the ones I will be using." She took out her Pokéballs and threw them. "Heracross, Medicham, and Hariyama!" Her Pokéballs opened up as a Medicham and a male Heracross lands on their feet. Her third Pokémon made quite a loud stomp upon emerging from inside.
With Medicham and Heracross is a large, bulky Pokémon that is modeled after a sumo wrestler. It has narrow eyes and rounded ears. On its head is a short, triangular crest. Dark blue hair grows across the tops of its eyes, around the head crest, and extends down its back to form a long ponytail. The upper half of its body is cream-colored, while the lower half is dark blue. Yellow extensions encircle its waist, resembling a skirt. There is a small, orange half-circle marking in the center of its torso just above the skirt. The Pokémon has large hands with three fingers and small, two-toed feet. Both its hands and feet are orange.
"Whoa," Sora said, taking out his Rotom Phone to get information.
Hariyama, the Arm Thrust Pokémon
The evolved form of Makuhita
Type: Fighting
Hariyama stomps on the ground to build up power in its large, bulky body. Its large hands can send a 10-ton truck flying just one slap.
"A 10-ton truck with just one slap?! Wow, to think, Makuhita can evolve into such a powerhouse," Sora said, amazed.
"Now that you have seen my Pokémon, it is your turn to show me yours," Greta said.
"Okay," Sora said, taking out his Pokéballs. "You asked for it." He threw the Pokéballs. "Butterfree, Mr. Mime, and Aerodactyl!" His three chosen Pokémon came on out to battle.
"So a Mr. Mime, an Aerodactyl, and a Butterfree. I like how you think, Sora. But let me warn you, even with Psychic, Fairy, and Flying-types, you won't find it easy," Greta said.
"Oh, I know. I'm ready for anything you can throw at me," Sora said.
"You got spirit, and that deserves respect," Greta said. The referee arrived and took his place.
"The battle between the Arena Tycoon Greta and the challenger Sora Ketchum from Pallet Town is about to begin! As the wheel has selected, each Trainer will be using three Pokémon each! Only the challenger is allowed to make substitutions during the battle! The battle will be over when all three of either Trainer's Pokémon are unable to continue battling! Choose and begin!" The referee announced. Greta turned to her Heracross.
"You will be first, Heracross," Greta said.
"Cross," Heracross said, entering the battlefield.
"It looks like Greta's using Heracross, so might as well make it bug vs bug," Sora said, turning to Butterfree. "You're going first, Butterfree." Butterfree nodded and flew in the battlefield. Brendan moved his Rotom Phone to scan Sora's Butterfree for information.
Butterfree, the Butterfly Pokémon
The evolved form of Metapod
Type: Bug/Flying
It loves the nectar of flowers and can locate flower patches that have even tiny amounts of pollen.
He then moved it to scan the other Pokémon.
Heracross, the Singlehorn Pokémon
Type: Bug/Fighting
Heracross loves the taste of tree saps that comes from certain trees in forests. It can use its horn to lift up its opponent under its belly, then give it a good throw.
"Sora clearly has the edge. Butterfree's a Flying-type Pokémon, so he's got the advantage over Heracross," Brendan said, putting his Rotom Phone away.
"True, Butterfree is a good choice to use against Heracross, but you heard what Greta just said. Sora isn't going to find it easy even with a type advantage in his favor. And it looks like Sora is about to find out why that is," Scott said.
"Okay, Butterfree! Start things up with a Silver Wind!" Sora ordered. Butterfree flapped his wings and it sends out a silver powdery wind right at Heracross.
"Dodge it, Heracross!" Greta called out. Heracross avoids Butterfree's Silver Wind, much to Sora's surprise.
"Heracross just dodged that Silver Wind?!" Sora gasped.
"I warned you," Greta said. "Heracross! Use your Focus Punch!" Heracross builds up his focus and lands a fast punch onto Butterfree. Butterfree started fall right towards the ground, but regained his balance.
"Butterfree! Use Bug Buzz!" Sora ordered. Heracross was struck by the soundwave of Butterfree's fast flapping of his wings. "Okay, Butterfree, use Psychic!" Butterfree uses Psychic to lift up Heracross in the air.
"Way to go, Sora!" Kairi cheered.
"Sora made a wise choice by selecting Butterfree for this. Not only Butterfree is a Flying-type, but it knows at least one Psychic-type move. And that's going to help him out; at least for now," Scott said.
"Heracross! Use Megahorn!" Greta ordered. Heracross rushed at Butterfree with a Megahorn to land a hit.
"Butterfree! Dodge and use Air Slash!" Sora ordered. Butterfree dodged Heracross's attack and unleashed an Air Slash, sending it right to the Singlehorn Pokémon. Heracross is struck by the powerful air attack and sent flying in the air. "Use Psychic to finish Heracross off!" Butterfree catches Heracross with his Psychic and sends him down. Heracross then ends up being knocked out.
Heracross is unable to battle! Butterfree wins!" The referee announced. Greta called Heracross back inside.
"Good effort, Heracross. You have earned a good, long rest," Greta said. She turned to her Hariyama next. "All right, Hariyama, it's your turn."
"Hari," Hariyama said, stepping in the battlefield.
"Butterfree, you still good to go?" Sora asked.
"Ree," Butterfree nodded.
"I'm right beside you, Butterfree! Use Psychic!" Sora ordered. Butterfree got ready to use Psychic.
"Detect!" Greta ordered. Hariyama simply dodged and Butterfree missed his mark.
"Hariyama just dodged Butterfree's Psychic?!" Lisia gasped.
"Detect comes in handy when dealing with Psychic-types or Pokémon that can use Psychic-type moves. Greta's not a pushover," Scott said.
"Hariyama! Use Heavy Slam!" Greta ordered. Hariyama jumped and started to fall like a meteorite.
"Doesn't Heavy Slam deal damage depending on the Pokémon's weight?" Brendan asked.
"Yes!" Kairi and Lisia answered in unison.
"Dodge it, Butterfree!" Sora called out. Butterfree tried to dodge, but Hariyama came too fast for Butterfree to avoid Hariyama's attack, so it deals a huge amount of damage on the Butterfly Pokémon. Hariyama got up and everyone sees Butterfree flattened like he was a pancake.
"Butterfree is unable to battle! Hariyama wins!" The referee announced. Sora called Butterfree back inside and smiled.
"You did your best, Butterfree. You've earned yourself a good rest," Sora said. He turned to Mr. Mime. "Okay, Mr. Mime, you're up."
"Mime, Mr. Mime, Mime," Mr. Mime said, stepping in. Brendan took out his Rotom Phone to scan Sora's Mr. Mime.
Mr. Mime, the Barrier Pokémon
The evolved form of Mime Jr
Type: Psychic/Fairy
Mr. Mime uses pantomime that can create invisible but solid walls. The invisible walls are used to protect Mr. Mime from attackers.
"Wow, Mr. Mime is such a neat Pokémon," Brendan said.
"Hariyama! Use Arm Thrust!" Greta ordered. Hariyama moved in to give Mr. Mime an open hand thrust.
"Dodge it, Mr. Mime!" Sora called out. Mr. Mime dodged Hariyama's Arm Thrusts just by moving around. Hariyama tried to land a hit, but Mr. Mime's movements were just too slick for the Arm Thrust Pokémon to catch up.
"What's going on?" Lisia asked.
"Yeah, why is Mr. Mime just dodging like that?" Brendan asked.
"Sora's Mr. Mime must have gotten some tips from Mimey," Kairi said.
"Mimey?" Lisia asked.
"He's Sora's mom's Mr. Mime. He knew that Pokémon for a long time, but I have to admit, it's amazing," Kairi said.
Hariyama was starting to sweat from the constant Arm Thrusts it was doing.
"Okay, Mr. Mime! Use Mega Punch!" Sora ordered. Mr. Mime jumped and lands a powerful punch onto Hariyama's belly.
"I get what you're doing, Sora. You're trying to tire out my Hariyama, but my Hariyama's not so easily tired because of the amounts of training I've been giving her. Hariyama! Use Arm Thrust again!" Greta ordered. Hariyama moved one of its hands forward to land a hit.
"Mr. Mime! Use Reflect!" Sora ordered. Mr. Mime forms a wall of glass-like energy in front of his hands, shielding him from Hariyama's Arm Thrust.
"Again!" Greta ordered.
"Mr. Mime! Use Reflect again!" Sora ordered. Mr. Mime has made some more glass-like walls, blocking Hariyama's attack. The more Hariyama tried to land a hit on Mr. Mime, the more difficult it's gotten since Mr. Mime kept using Reflect until she was trapped in Mr. Mime's Reflect.
"You see that? Hariyama's trapped!" Lisia exclaimed.
"Wow, I never seen Reflect used like that before. Nicely done, since it's going to be difficult for Hariyama to use Detect when trapped or even move around," Scott said.
"Hariyama, try to get out of there!" Greta called out.
"Okay, Mr. Mime! Use Psychic!" Sora ordered. Mr. Mime uses Psychic to lift up Hariyama in the air and slammed her down on the ground, hard. Hariyama was then knocked out.
"Hariyama is unable to battle! Mr. Mime wins!" The referee announced.
"Now Greta's down to one Pokémon left," Brendan said.
"Yeah, but that Medicham isn't going to be easy to beat, I can bet my sunglasses on that. I have a feeling she's been saving her Medicham for last for this special occasion," Scott said. Greta called Hariyama back inside as Medicham entered the battlefield, ready to battle.
"Medicham," Medicham said.
"Okay, Mr. Mime, that Medicham isn't going to make it easy for you, so be on your toes," Sora said.
"Medicham! Use High Jump Kick!" Greta ordered. Medicham jumped in the air and comes right towards Mr. Mime.
"Use Reflect!" Sora ordered. Mr. Mime forms Reflect with his hands in an attempt to block Medicham's attack, but the Meditate Pokémon broke through Mr. Mime's Reflect like it was glass and lands a fast and successful kick before Sora could tell him to dodge. Mr. Mime is sent flying right at Sora, so he catches the Barrier Pokémon before he could hit a hit. "I got you!"
"Mr. Mime is unable to battle! Medicham wins!" The referee announced. Sora called back Mr. Mime and he turned to Aerodacyl.
"It's all up to you, Aerodactyl," Sora said. Aerodactyl flew in the battlefield, ready to battle against Medicham.
"Well, Aerodactyl is Sora's last chance to turn it around," Brendan said.
"But I am wondering how hard Greta is going to push," Kairi said.
"Okay, Aerodactyl! Get ready for anything Medicham has," Sora said.
"Medicham! Use Ice Punch!" Greta ordered. Medicham heads right for Aerodactyl with an Ice Punch.
"Dodge it!" Sora called out. Aerodactyl dodged Medicham's Ice Punch.
"Ice Punch must be how Greta deals with Flying-type Pokémon, just like Heavy Slam deals with Fairy-types," Kairi said.
"Eevee," Angel said.
"That's exactly right, Kairi. Greta's not going to go down this easily," Scott said.
"Aerodactyl! Use Wing Attack!" Sora ordered. Aerodactyl flew right at Medicham with a Wing Attack.
"Dodge and use Ice Punch!" Greta ordered. Medicham dodged Aerodactyl's wings and lands an Ice Punch onto Aerodactyl. "Use Ice Punch again!"
"Use Dragon Claw!" Sora ordered. Aerodactyl swings a Dragon Claw and successfully blocked Medicham's Ice Punch. "Wing Attack!" Aerodactyl bats Medicham with a Wing Attack.
"Use High Jump Kick!" Greta ordered. Medicham jumped in the air and comes down at Aerodactyl with one of its knees forward.
"Dodge it, Aerodactyl!" Sora called out. Aerodactyl successfully dodged Medicham's High Jump Kick, and Medicham has taken some heavy damage.
"Medicham!" Greta exclaimed.
"Use Hyper Beam!" Sora ordered. Aerodactyl fired a Hyper Beam, landing a hit onto Medicham, dealing some heavy damage. Medicham was knocked out from Aerodactyl's Hyper Beam.
"Medicham is unable to battle! Aerodactyl wins! The winner of the battle is the challenger!" The referee announced. Greta called Medicham back and she smiled.
"That was impressive, Sora. I can see why you're a Pokémon League Champion. And so, I want to give you this as proof of your victory. The Guts Symbol," Greta said, taking out a gold symbol for Sora. Two L-blocks pointing in opposite ends. Sora took the Guts Symbol and he placed it next to the Knowledge Symbol.
"Thanks a lot, Greta. And I can see why you're a Frontier Brain. It was a fun battle," Sora said. Sora and Greta both shook hands.
"I enjoyed it, too. In the future, I would like to have a battle again with you," Greta said.
"I'd like that, too," Sora said.
Now Sora has won his second Frontier Symbol, right now what's next is Kairi's upcoming Contest and Sora's fourth Hoenn Gym battle. And it shall come along soon.