Part LXIX: The Path to the Final
"Welcome back folks to the first day of the battle rounds of the Grand Festival." Lilian said loudly into her mic as the crowd cheered. "After the appeals, 16 coordinators remain in contention for the Ribbon Cup this year. By the end of today that number will be whittled down to 4."
Misty watched the TV in the waiting room with Mollie by her side. She knew Ash, her mother, and her friends were all in the crowd cheering but she was focused purely on the battles and seeing who advanced to the quarters. Nando was already in the wings waiting to head out while Emily was by the door ready to go and take her position during the introductions of Nando and his opponent. First though, they had to get through Lilian's opening remarks.
"As you know all battles in the Grand Festival will be double battles and unlike the regular Contests, coordinators don't have to register the Pokémon they are going to use first." Lilian continued. "So the combinations and Pokémon can change from round to round keeping everything interesting. As always, a coordinator wins by either having the most points remaining after 5 minutes, as judged by our judges, or by knocking out both of the other coordinator's Pokémon in the time limit to get a Battle Off."
Lilian paused as the crowd got ready and Misty settled into her battle zone. As much as she would like to talk with Mollie during the match, they both knew that they had to focus on the first match and seeing the style of whoever won. Afterward that Misty would have to leave so that she could be ready for her own opening match.
"Alright enough of me, let's meet the first two coordinators." Lilian said as Nando and his opponent walked out of the wings at that cue to take their places. "And let's start the introductions with the coordinator who scored the highest combined score, and highest full appeal, score…"
Misty zoned out of Lilian's introduction as she focused on the upcoming match and which Pokémon Nando would use. Once the over-the-top intros were done, Nando and his opponent brought out their Pokémon with Nando revealing his first new Pokémon, a Jynx, paired with his Sunflora. His opponent, a woman from Hoenn in her second Grand Festival but her first battle stage, faced him with a Probopass and a Parasect.
The match was a good one and Nando's opponent had some decent skills that meant she had a good career ahead of her but in the end she couldn't match Nando and his sound-based style. She landed a few good hits but he dodged more than her and had several successful strikes, along with landing a Sing with Jynx, that put it away, winning on points by a decent margin and advancing to the quarters.
With Nando advancing, Misty left the room without a word to or from Mollie and headed to her wing as Lilian was introducing Emily and her opponent, the coordinator who had scored the second highest on the single move appeal but dropped to 6th after his full appeal. Misty wasn't focused on that as she stood in the wings and prepared to watch Emily's battle.
It was a good and close one from the very start. Emily was using Cottonee and her 6th Pokémon, revealing it to be an Eevee that surprised Misty. She was facing a strong team in Kingdra, a water and dragon fully evolved Pokémon that Misty hadn't seen before, alongside a Duskull.
It looked like Emily had a disadvantage but she showed her improving talent in the match. Emily focused mainly on an evasive strategy using her Pokémon's smaller size and greater speed, along with Eevee's immunity to ghost type moves to her advantage while scoring hits. The only real surprise had been when she had used Dazzling Gleam in the last seconds of the match.
It was close, at least from what Misty could tell, so likely Emily was going with a full area move that would get her points and rely on hitting Kingdra to win it. It did just that and more as it knocked Kingdra out right at the end causing Misty to blink at that. Kingdra had taken a few grass type attacks in the match but it shouldn't have gone down at the normal type move. Odder still, it looked like Duskull had been hit by it as well, along with Eevee but the latter had been expect.
Regardless of the rather surprising ending, it had still knocked out one of her opponent's Pokémon. So while Emily lost points for injuring her own Pokémon, her opponent lost more for losing his Kingdra meaning that Emily won by a small margin.
Misty smiled at her friend as she left, a little shellshocked from how the match had ended but not complaining. She didn't need to say anything to Emily. She had advanced and would face Nando next, which was going to be tough for the young rookie, while Misty had to focus on her own match. They could talk at the end of the day, regardless of what happened in the quarters.
"Alright that was a little surprising but I guess there was a critical hit in one of those grass type moves or something." Lilian was saying to finish the last match as Misty and her opponent walked out as was expected of them. "Anyway the competition must go on and in this match we have a rematch from one of the finals from this season."
Misty was surprised as she looked at the male coordinator opposite her. He was indeed familiar and if what Lilian had said was true then he had to be the coordinator she beat in the Saffron Contest Final. She'd only faced two men in finals this year and one was Ash so this had to be the other.
"We met in Saffron didn't we." Misty said to him. "You're from Hoenn, right?"
"Correct." The guy said with a nod. "Name's Stefano. I know you well though Misty, hard to miss the favorites this year and I've lost to all four of you over the course of the season. Not again. This time I will win."
"We shall see." Misty said with a smile pulling out her Poke Balls, Stefano doing the same a second later in preparation for the battle.
"In this match we have another one of the favorites and the second highest scoring coordinator in the appeals." Lilian said gesturing to Misty. "A coordinator you all know well and who's lengthy achievements I need not repeat. All I have to say is that she's the Prodigy of Sinnoh, from Twinleaf Town, it's Misty!"
The crowd cheered as Misty focused in on her opponent only slightly aware that Lilian hadn't hyped her up more. Course that would come later if she advanced, Misty knew it.
"And facing her for a second time this season." Lilian said gesturing to Stefano. "From Verdanturf Town out in Hoenn and competing in his 3rd Grand Festival as well, it's Stefano. Begin!"
This time Lilian didn't wait for a cheer to begin the battle, she just started it as soon as she was done. Misty and Stefano reacted at almost the same time, sending out their Pokémon and beginning their battle.
"Blastoise, Weavile, come on out!" Stefano yelled.
"Pinsir, Vileplume, spotlight!" Misty said sending out her only unbreakable battling duo and debuting Vileplume for the first time.
Back in the cruise Gloom hadn't hesitated in pointing to the Leaf Stone in Misty's right hand. It had been the choice that Misty had expected Gloom to pick as soon as Gloom said she wanted to evolve. Bellossom was useful and pretty but not the best fighter. Her Gloom had been a fighter since she was an Oddish and wanted to get stronger after her loss to Mollie's Absol so naturally she'd go with the more battle orientated Vileplume. Not that she couldn't have done it as a Bellossom, she easily could have, but Gloom had been set on being a Vileplume.
Plus Erika's Vileplume had been a clear battle Pokémon compared to her Bellossom, which was still good in battle but didn't have that edge that Misty had seen in Vileplume, so that likely played a role her own Vileplume's decision as well. Now it was time for Vileplume to show how much stronger she had become.
"Pinsir Harden." Misty ordered to start out. "Vileplume, behind her and prepare a Solar Beam."
"Stop that with Hydro Pump Blastoise." Stefano ordered. "Add to it with Ice Shard, Weavile."
"Abort and get out of the way but stay close girls." Misty ordered as Pinsir's Harden ended giving the Stag Beetle Pokémon a defensive boost.
Both of her Pokémon leapt out of the way in unison avoiding the Hydro Pump blasted at them, as well as the Ice Shards that came down in an arc onto where they had just been. They rolled away and Misty was already ready for the next move. These two were probably her most in synch Pokémon so it was easy to know what to do.
"Pinsir use Seismic Toss to throw Vileplume at Weavile." Misty ordered. "Vileplume avoid any attack sent at you and hit it with Sleep Powder."
"Weavile defend with Metal Claw when it gets near." Stefano ordered and Weavile's claws instantly turned to steel in preparation for the attack. "Blastoise, use this as a chance to hit that Pinsir with a Rapid Spin."
The next series of events all happened in quick succession. Pinsir activated her fighting type move, grabbed her friend and threw her as fast as she could right at Weavile and only just above the ground so that it was a low throw.
As that was happening Blastoise had leapt forward and withdrawn into its shell spinning really fast as it arced around the battlefield and towards Pinsir. There wasn't much she could do about the spinning water type before it slammed into her side and sent her flying to the side. However Pinsir knew that the hit had been worth it.
Vileplume flew across the battlefield as fast as she could. Weavile tensed, ready to strike the Pokémon that had been hurled at it. At the last possible moment, Vileplume put a foot down and pushed off the ground to launch herself up and flip over the slashing claws of a now surprised Weavile while spinning in the process.
All Weavile could do was look up in shock as Vileplume released a full load of Sleep Powder right into Weavile's face before finishing the spinning flip as she landed behind it, put a hand down to steady herself as she slid a little, looking at Weavile as it collapsed asleep in front of her. Vileplume grinned, she was sure that a Bellossom couldn't do that.
"Pinsir, Harden again as you run towards Weavile and Vileplume." Misty said capitalizing on her sudden advantage. "This will hurt a little, I'm sorry but you need to be there and I know you can tough it out. Vileplume, cover her with Petal Blizzard."
"Brace for it Blastoise, Iron Defense." Stefano said clearly trying to get some defense against the area effecting grass type attack. "Come in Weavile, wake up."
Pinsir took off at a full sprint, using Harden as she ran which was both impressive and looked good, as Vileplume shot out the blizzard of pink petals from her flower to cover her. She took a little damage as she ran but it wasn't that much given her two defensive boosts and type advantage against grass type moves. Blastoise wasn't as lucky as it withdrew into its shell and took the Petal Blizzard, defended a little but still taking a fair bit of damage in the process.
"Vileplume, finish charging for a Solar Beam." Misty ordered as Stephano's points continued to drop. "Pinsir, hit Weavile with X-Scissor."
"Blastoise, stop it with Scald." Stefano ordered. "Aim at Vileplume."
Again Blastoise sent out a blast of water, this time scalding hot and not as intense as the Hydro Pump, right at Vileplume who was still charging and Misty didn't have the time to call for a dodge. Vileplume took the hot water to the face ending her charge and sending her flying back and rolling over but doing only minimal damage thanks to her type.
Meanwhile Pinsir had leapt into the air and activated X-Scissor before coming down on top of a still sleeping Weavile. It didn't wake as the super effective bug type attack slammed into its chest and drove it into the ground with enough force to crack it but it wasn't out yet. Somehow Weavile was still hanging on. Misty planned on rectifying that.
"Vileplume, in front of Pinsir but make sure she has line of sight to Blastoise while you hold it off with Sludge Bomb." Misty said going with Vileplume's new move she picked up shortly after evolving. "Keep that Blastoise busy. Pinsir, Seismic Toss on Weavile. Throw it into Blastoise!"
"Iron Defense again." Stefano ordered gritting his teeth as he was clearly on the back foot in this battle. "Hold on Blastoise."
Instantly Blastoise withdrew into its shell again raising its defense as Vileplume lowered her head and sent out a series of poison sludge balls from her flower, right at Blastoise. As that was happening, and hitting Blastoise in the process, Pinsir grabbed the still sleeping Weavile and activated her Seismic Toss before pivoting on her left foot and hurling it right at Blastoise just as the Sludge Bomb ended.
Weavile regained consciousness in midair and just wailed its name as Blastoise popped out of its shell and stood up to face its foes. There was no time for reaction. Weavile slammed headfirst into its teammate's face and both went down in a tangle of limbs. When the move ended it was clear that both Pokémon had reached their limits as their eyes were swirls and the Xs went off to signal a Battle Off.
"And with a little under a minute left Misty has won by Battle Off and advanced to the quarterfinals." Lilian said as Stefano returned his Pokémon, nodded respectfully at Misty before turning and leaving the stage. "What a combo at the end there am I right? I don't think I've ever seen a Seismic Toss used like that. Who would think of such a thing?"
Misty just smiled as she recalled her own Pokémon and thanked them for the win. She would have celebrated with them if she could but she had to get back to the waiting room to watch the rest of the battles, prepare for her next one later that day and just keep things moving along smoothly. So Misty just turned and left the stage putting her Pokémon away and glad she had advanced, looking forward to the next battle.
"So Gloom chose the Leaf Stone." Erika said as Misty left after her victory and advancement to the quarterfinals. "Somehow I had a feeling she would."
"Huh?" Johanna asked the gym leader to her left who had just commented for the first time. "What do you mean?"
"Oh well when I met Misty, after we had exchanged several messages while Ash was sick and I knew she had a kind heart, I learned that she had a Gloom." Erika said looking to Johanna. "Which happens to be both my starter, best friend and favorite Pokémon. I even based my gym's design off a male gloom's flower."
"Oh that explains why the Celadon Gym looks like that." Yuma said. "I always wondered why you went with such a unique design. I just thought it was because of your type preference."
"That too but I really love my Gloom." Erika said with a smile. "He's my closest friend, we've been together for years, ever since I save him from a Grimer. Anyway, I saw how beautiful Misty's was so after I lost to Ash, I gave Misty a Leaf and a Sun Stone to evolve her Gloom when she was ready to make the choice."
"Clever to provide both for a Pokémon with a branched evolution." Johanna said with a nod. "Let's Gloom decide what to be and not her trainer."
"That's how it should be hence why I gave Misty both." Erika said. "Misty and I have been messaging a bit since she left and a while back she told me Gloom had evolved, she wouldn't say which Stone she had picked. When she invited me to watch the Grand Festival, well the gym is closed now and I have always wanted to see it so I came. I expected to see Gloom's evolved form and I wasn't wrong. Once the appeals ended I was certain it would be a Vileplume."
"Do you think it was the right choice for Misty's Gloom?" Johanna asked. "I know it was Gloom who made the choice but in your expert opinion was that Gloom better suited as a Vileplume or a Bellossom."
"From my assessment of her I agree with her choice." Erika said with a nod. "One look at her showed me that Misty's Gloom was a fighter and protector, especially when you see it with that Pinsir who she shares a close bond with that even I don't understand. Glooms like that often prefer to become a Vileplume when they are ready rather than a Bellossom. Now that's not always the case as each Pokémon is unique but the vast majority prefer it due to strength and remaining a poison type rather than losing it if they decided to become a Bellossom."
"That's right, Bellossom is odd because it loses its poison type upon evolution." Johanna said. "Our family friend Noelle has one and she revealed that fact to me after she returned to Sinnoh a few weeks ago. She lost to Misty in the finals of the Cremini Contest so gave me a full update on Misty that I couldn't get from watching on TV."
"It is the only case I know of." Erika said. "My Bellossom does enjoy battling as much as my Vileplume but she's limited to mostly grass type moves which isn't good in some situations. I think this is the best choice for Misty's Gloom and that battle showed it."
"I think so too." Johanna said as the 4th match ended with the expiration of time and the 5th was about to start. "But I think we should focus now, Mollie is up."
"Agreed." Yuma said as the introductions began. "Let's watch my protégé win her first Grand Festival battle."
Ash was really enjoying the battles so far. They were good and of course Misty winning was always a plus. After her win it was pretty straightforward for the rest of the first round of battles. The only other matches he knew someone in were Mollie's and Kenny's so they were his main focus while discussing with May, Dawn, Iris and occasionally Serena about all the battles but mainly Misty's. Again Cilan was bound and gagged for, as Iris put it, his and their own good.
Mollie had easily won her match using Absol and Arcanine in a win over her opponent's Dewgong and Ledian. She won on points with over half of hers left to under a quarter of her opponent's and advanced to the quarterfinals.
Then had come Kenny. Ash hadn't seen him battle in a few years but he did note that Kenny's style had gotten a lot more aggressive since then. It was still in line with the more elegant Contest style but he was clearly going for the Battle Off with his Floatzel and Sandslash rather than a simple win on points. He got it, knocking out his opponent's Forrtress and Kecleon in the 3rd minute before leaving the battlefield as soon as he had advanced.
After that there was one more match in the opening round that Ash paid a little attention to as he didn't know the coordinators in it before there was a break for lunch. The remaining coordinators would eat where they were so Ash and his friends got lunch in the concession area of the stadium and discussed the matches they'd just watched before a bell sounded and they returned for the first quarterfinal, a matchup between Nando and Emily.
"Welcome back folks, it is time for the quarterfinals to begin." Lilian said as Emily and Nando walked to their spots and the crowd cheered for the next match. "So let's get this started shall we. The first quarterfinal is between one of the favorites this year, the Wandering Bard Nando, and the only rookie remaining in the Grand Festival, the Charming Fairy of Mt. Moon, Emily. Begin!"
"Lopunny, Roserade, sing your song." Nando said calmly sending out his Pokémon as soon as the battle started.
"Mawile, Granbull, fairy lights." Emily said throwing her own Poke Balls out a split second later.
Ash, and everyone else it seemed, were still reeling from the brief introduction the battle began, his focus now shifting fully to the match unfolding before him. He did note that it seemed that Emily had earned a nickname from Lilian, one that suited her. For now though, he settled into the match, focusing fully on it.
"Lopunny, use Focus Blast on Mawile, Roserade, Magical Leaf on Granbull." Nando ordered making the first move.
"Dodge that Focus Blast Mawile and respond with an Icy Wind." Emily ordered. "Granbull we can't dodge that but that doesn't matter, run at Roserade, take it and keep going. This works to our benefit so long as you can get in close to it."
Mawile leapt to the side just as the blast of fighting type power reached it, avoiding the move before opening its maw and sending out a blast of ice type power at Lopunny. Meanwhile Granbull was charging at Roserade as it sent out the odd leaf right at the charging normal type.
Ash watched as Granbull lowered his head and took the attack head on, staggering slightly and putting a paw down on the ground before continuing his charge forward. Emily seemed to be smiling and Ash remembered why, Granbull had an attack just for this.
"Payback." Emily ordered as Granbull closed on a now surprised Roserade that had no room to dodge it.
"Lopunny, Protect." Nando ordered as the Icy Wind reached it seconds later but didn't do anything having protected itself in time. "And await my next order, we have an opening."
Meanwhile Granbull slammed into Roserade as his charge continued, doing double damage with Payback as he had been attacked first. Roserade was thrown back and rolled but this was what Nando was clearly ready for.
"Lopunny, Jump Kick on Granbull." Nando ordered. "Roserade, Bullet Seed on Mawile."
"Mawile, charge at Roserade with Iron Head to protect you from Bullet Seed." Emily ordered as Lopunny leapt at Granbull one leg extended for the fighting type attack. "Granbull, dodge it and let it hurt itself."
It was a good tactic due to how much damage Lopunny would take if it missed but unfortunately it didn't work as Lopunny's Jump Kick slammed into Granbull's chest and Ash winced at that. The only type that was super effective against normal type Pokémon was fighting and Lopunny had just landed a powerful fighting type attack on a normal type.
However to everyone's surprise all Granbull did was stagger back slightly and shake it off with a look of confusion on his face, clearly even he wasn't expecting it to be that ineffective, as Lopunny landed in front of it looked like a rabbit in headlights at the effect of its move. Emily however wasn't going to pass up her sudden advantage.
"Outrage." Emily said and Ash glanced at the clock and realized that with a little under half the time left in the battle, Granbull would finish around the end of the time limit, probably just before if he had to guess, and then become confused, it was decent clock management. "Don't let up on Lopunny."
"Protect." Nando ordered to Lopunny but it failed as Granbull roared and rampaged right into the startled Lopunny.
As the confusion with the Jump Kick and Granbull subsequent pummeling of Lopunny with the powerful but risky dragon type attack was going on, Mawile had been running right at Roserade. It had its maw, now turned to steel, lowered and over its face as the Bullet Seed pinged off it causing some damage and taking points from Emily but not doing too much damage as Mawile closed to within striking distance when both moves ended so it looked like she wouldn't get the hit with Iron Head.
"Play Rough." Emily ordered and Mawile didn't stop running before leaping into Roserade and, well, playing rough with it as Mawile brought Roserade to the ground in the process.
"Send it back with Magical Leaf." Nando ordered Roserade. "Lopunny, Protect again."
Lopunny had taken a round of pounding from the Outrage but was still standing and managed to get the third Protect up in time to withstand the second round of Granbull's attack without taking any damage. It was ineffective now and Emily began to lose points.
At the same time, Roserade got a bouquet hand underneath Mawile and released a Magical Leaf at point blank range right into Mawile's gut. Mawile was sent directly upwards but clearly Emily was ready for this as well. She was a lot more prepared, or at least a lot better at adapting, then Ash had expected.
"Icy Wind." Emily ordered and Mawile opened its maw and blasted out an Icy Wind onto Roserade as it was being thrown back.
The ice type attack blew down and doused Roserade just as it was getting up. It wailed in pain from the super effective attack and fell back to the ground once again though only part of the attack had landed as Mawile was still in the air and missed with the last bit of the wind as it arced back and slammed into the ground, hard. Both Pokémon were still in the battle but slow to stand.
Just then Granbull's Outrage ended, as did Lopunny's Protect, and he began to become confused, staggering around near Lopunny with his eyes crossed. Nando wasn't one to pass up this opening.
"Focus Blast again." Nando ordered.
Lopunny focused and blasted the fighting type move out right into a confused Granbull's face. Granbull was thrown back and hit the ground hard but didn't knock out Granbull which was odd. A second later the buzzer went to signal an end to the match. This was immediately followed by Emily recalling Granbull due to his ongoing confusing as all eyes went straight to the scoreboard.
"And after that epic match the winner is…" Lilian said as she looked up and gasped at the scores that the board displayed. "…Emily."
The crowd was deathly silent as they stared at the points bars on the scoreboard. Both Emily and Nando were below 25% left on their points bars. However it was clear, albeit barely, that Emily had a hair more points than Nando remaining.
"Well there you have it folks." Lilian said to a still quiet crowd. "Our first big upset of the Grand Festival. Emily has defeated Nando and is the first to advance to the semifinal."
"Well done, I see you have learned well this year." Nando said to Emily as he recalled his Pokémon. "You have a good mentor in Misty but she will likely be your next opponent. Best of luck to you going forward, both her and the future."
"Th, thanks." Emily stuttered out just as shocked as the crowed at the result recalling her own Pokémon.
"I look forward to watching the rest of the festival." Nando said with a bow of his head before he turned and left the stage with a light string of his harp.
Ash just watched as Emily blinked for a moment longer before leaving as well, the crowd still not cheering as they processed what had just happened. They were too stunned to do so after that match. Ash just wondered what other upsets might be in store after that match.
However, after Emily's shocking upset of Nando the rest of the quarterfinal matches went as expected. Misty easily won her match using Piplup and Togekiss against a Qwilfish and a Cherrim, winning this time on points, and setting herself up for a semifinal appearance tomorrow against Emily.
After Misty, Mollie quickly won her match, again on points, using Raticate and Scizor against her opponent's Poliwhirl and Lickitung though it was closer than her previous match but still a comfortable margin of points in the end. Yuma was thrilled and proud at Mollie advancing to the semis and was already planning their night as the last quarterfinal began.
Again Kenny went aggressive, this time with two new Pokémon he had in Ampharos and Swalot. However, his opponent had clearly been expecting this and went evasive with her Vigoroth and Jumpluff. While it prevented a Battle Off, Kenny still landed a good few hits and had her playing defense so much that she barely landed any herself so he won on points in the end. With that the semifinals were set.
"Well there you have it, the 4 remaining coordinators are Emily, Misty, Mollie and Kenny." Lilian said as the final match ended and the jumbotron showed the matchups for the semifinals in a smaller bracket that led to the final. "We will resume tomorrow in the late morning with the semifinals and then the finals after lunch were we crown a new Top Coordinator."
The crowd cheered at this. The Grand Festival was coming to an end and this time tomorrow one of the four remaining coordinators would be victorious and lift the Ribbon Cup as a Top Coordinator.
"That is it for today folks and we certainly had a day with the first major upset of the Grand Festival." Lilian continued. "Congratulations to all who competed today and see you tomorrow where we find out who will win the Ribbon Cup. Goodnight."
Lilian finished and turned to chat with the judges as Ash and his friends got up to head back to the Pokémon center and wait for Misty. Emily would no doubt go see her new friend or be alone to get ready for the semifinal, while Yuma had already left to find Mollie for some last-minute advice. That left the entourage here to support Misty. She was the focus and what she said went, they were just here to support her.
As Ash left the stadium he was looking forward to tomorrow and watching Misty continue her path to the Ribbon Cup. This was her year, he knew it, and he was ready to be there with her as the Kanto Grand Festival drew to a close.
"I still can't believe you beat Nando." Mollie said to Emily as they watched Kenny win his quarterfinal and complete the semifinal lineup for tomorrow. "That was one hell of a match."
"I still can't either." Emily said shaking her head at the fact. "And I don't think I would have had Granbull not shrugged off that Jump Kick. That I didn't understand but I was so in the zone that I just instinctively countered."
Since Misty had gotten back all that they had been talking about was Emily's huge upset win over Nando. This only increased when Mollie returned as well to celebrate that all 3 had made it to the semifinals. It had been the upset of the tournament so far without a doubt so they had to talk about it.
"It shouldn't have done that though." Misty said thinking on the moment that likely turned the battle in Emily's favor. "Aren't normal types weak against fighting type moves."
"They are." Emily said a non. "My new friend is an aspiring fighting specialist so he knows that type the best and told me which moves to look out for as I have a few normal types which is why I'm confused. That Jump Kick should have ended Granbull, or at least caused so much damage that one more hit would have taking him out, but it looked like it wasn't even normally effective against Granbull. Also that last Focus Blast should have taken him down at the end and didn't."
"Certainly an oddity." Misty mused thinking on it.
"Do you think it has something to do with the other oddities that have happened this year?" Emily asked her. "Like what we saw in HopHopHop Town, that was Granbull as well."
"Oddities?" Mollie asked.
"Yeah all year there have been strange happenings with several Pokémon." Misty said looking to her green haired friend. "Professor Oak is looking into it and coming up for the Indigo Conference so long as Ash gets to past the preliminaries, which I know he will, so we can ask then."
"Ok but what has been happening?" Mollie asked confused. "I haven't noticed anything."
"It doesn't happen often." Misty said. "We first noticed this almost a year ago when my Togekiss took a dragon type attack from Dawn's Gyarados in our battle at the Cerulean Gym and was unharmed. She took no damage at all."
"Wait, what!" Mollie asked her eyes wide. "That's not possible. No Pokémon is immune to dragon type attacks. Hell, as far as I know, based off Yuma's teachings, the only type resistant is steel."
"But Togekiss is." Misty said. "We saw it and then again when an Azumarill that was bullying a wild Dratini shrugged off a Dragon Rage as if was nothing and we saw that happen at least twice. Ash helped it out and caught him after they bonded but they had to use Thunderbolt to win. Since then there have been a series of odd moments that make no sense and it's not limited to this immunity to dragon type moves."
"It's also seems that some normal types are now weak to more than just fighting type moves." Emily said. "Both my Clefable and Granbull have been struggling against poison and steel type moves. They act like they are super effective whenever they hit them."
"That is odd." Mollie said as she tried to understand this.
"It gets odder." Misty said. "There have also been moves acting oddly though it appears that Dazzling Gleam is the only one, at least that I have seen."
"The normal type move that Emily used in her first battle?" Mollie asked. "Why is that odd?"
"It worked on a ghost type." Misty said causing Mollie's eyes to go wide. "It was how I caught my Spiritomb and I think that Duskull was hit by it in Emily's first battle. So yeah things aren't adding up and now we have a normal type shrugging off a fighting type move as if it is nothing which is even more bizarre then the other things. Professor Oak said he was close and needed Ash's Porygon2 to confirm his theory so he has it right now. We haven't heard from him since but I expect he will have an answer sometime after the Indigo Conference."
"Makes sense." Mollie said after she digested everything she'd been told. "But we shouldn't focus on that."
"No you three shouldn't." Kenny said as he entered the room with a sneer on his face as Lilian began wrapping things up on screen. "You should be focused on watching me win the Grand Festival tomorrow."
"There are still two more matches Kenny." Misty said glaring at him. "And none of us will make it easy for you to win it."
"Good, I'll look even better when I win." Kenny said with a grin. "I'll start with Mollie but after that it's your turn Dee Dee. The rookie has no chance against you even if she did upset Nando."
"Misty, let's go." Mollie said as Misty growled while Emily just stayed silent. "Our mentors will want to talk to us."
"Agreed, we can save this for tomorrow on the battlefield." Misty said calming down a little as she began heading to the exit, Mollie and Emily on her heels. "Then one of us 3 will settle it."
"Oh we will Dee Dee." Kenny taunted as they passed him. "Tomorrow we will decide this and you will see just how good I am for you."
Misty just rolled her eyes as they left leaving Kenny to his own devices. They all had their own things to focus on tonight. There was only one more day left of the Grand Festival and Misty wanted to be ready for it. Tomorrow the Ribbon Cup was going to be decided and this time Misty fully intended on being the one raising it.
"Welcome back to the final day of the Grand Festival folks." Lilian said to kick things off as Misty and Emily walked out of their sides, Misty calm as she could be as she'd been here before but she saw the nerves on her friend's face and smiled at her to try and help. "No need for any more announcements as you all know the deal by now. Instead we are just going to start with the first semifinal."
"No hard feelings Emily, no matter who wins." Misty said simply as she took her spot. "Unlike some, we can still be friends after this."
"Agreed." Emily said with a nod. "I've exceed my wildest dreams by even getting to the battle rounds, let alone the semis, but I'm now within touching distance of the Ribbon Cup and know that the favorites aren't untouchable, I'll give this my all."
"Well you proved yesterday that you can't be overlooked." Misty said with respect in her voice as Emily had more than earned it. "So I won't do that. I'll come at you will all I have."
"As will I." Emily said.
"Ladies, this is what we want, put it all on the battlefield." Lilian said happily at the banter between Misty and Emily before taking over and addressing the crowd as she raised an arm to Misty's side. "This match is the third time these two coordinators have met. First up it is the Prodigy of Sinnoh herself trying to make it to her third straight Grand Festival final and a record setting 17th straight final overall. Give it up for Misty."
The crowd cheered for Misty but she was solely focused on the battle at hand. All she did was pull out her two Poke Balls as she got ready for the upcoming match.
"And facing her, seeking her second stunning upset in as many matches is the surprise of the tournament." Lilian said sweeping and arm to Emily's side while Emily withdrew two Poke Balls. "She beat one of the favorites yesterday in Nando, can she do it again with Misty and secure her spot in the finals in her debut Grand Festival. Give it up for the Charming Fairy of Mt. Moon, it's Emily."
Again the crowds cheered as they got into the first of the semifinals. All Lilian did was grin as she said on word to start it off.
"Begin!"
"Mamoswine, Espeon, spotlight!" Misty said sending her two Pokémon out earing gasps for Espeon and an acknowledgment from Lilian at the appearance of the shiny Pokémon that had become a crowd favorite since Espeon debuted in the Wallace Cup.
"Clefable, Azumarill, fairy lights!" Emily said as she sent her own Pokémon out and the first semifinal official began though Misty was surprised with the choice of Azumarill.
"Mamoswine Ice Shard, swallow it." Misty ordered noting a look of surprise Emily. "Espeon, cover him with Shadow Ball."
"Clefable, Flamethrower, go for Mamoswine like before." Emily countered as Mamoswine created the Ice Shard and then swallowed it forming his ice armor and boosting his ice type powers in the process to the surprise of many watching. "Azumarill, keep Espeon occupied with Blizzard."
As this was happening Espeon sent out a series of Shadow Balls at her opponents. The first struck Clefable who had been focused on getting a Flamethrower off and send the Fairy Pokémon spinning away and forcing her to abort her attack. However, Azumarill got its Blizzard off in time to intercept the Shadow Ball aimed at it and destroy it before powering the attack forward.
"Mamoswine, that won't affect you much so charge into that Blizzard with Take Down." Misty said and instantly Mamoswine took off galloping at Azumarill as Clefable began getting to her feet likely in preparation for another Flamethrower. "Espeon, don't let Clefable get an attack off, hit it with Quick Attack."
"This is what we practiced for." Emily said. "Keep the Blizzard up Azumarill. Clefable, Meteor Mash on Espeon."
Mamoswine charged into the Blizzard at full pelt and seem to vanish in the ice type attack, not an easy task for a Pokémon of his size but if Misty didn't know he was in the Blizzard she would have sworn he wasn't there. That was confirmed a moment later when he slammed into Azumarill at the end sending it flying but not doing as much damage as he could have due to it being water type.
Meanwhile, Clefable had already encased her fist in steel type power as Espeon charged at it at full speed. There wasn't enough time to fully avoid a hit or fully power up the move because of Espeon's speed but she did get the attack off. Clefable's fist collided with Espeon's side at the same time that Espeon's head rammed into Clefable's gut sending both Pokémon flying. Clefable flew backwards while Espeon was launched to the side and rolled over on impact but getting back up quickly.
"Mamoswine, follow that up with Ice Fang." Misty ordered. "Espeon keep Clefable occupied with Psybeam. Don't let that Pokémon switch its focus to Mamoswine."
"Dodge that both of you." Emily countered. "Then hit Mamoswine with Flamethrower Clefable while you use Aqua Ring Azumarill."
Clefable was already up and managed to leap out of the way of Espeon's Psybeam just in time to open her mouth and send a gout of flames at Mamoswine. At the same time, Azumarill used its tail to leap up and over Mamoswine's ice encrusted tusks and away from it.
Thanks to the dodges Misty could only grimace as the flames slammed into Mamoswine's side. It was super effective against him and he bellowed in pain and whirled around to face his attack, Emily grinning at finally landing a Flamethrower on Mamoswine. It was a good move, Misty had to admit and it gave Azumarill the chance to heal up but it left Clefable open to both of Misty's Pokémon as Azumarill was temporarily out of the fight.
Misty could let Azumarill heal up, the purpose of a Contest battle wasn't to knock out your opponents but rather to win on points and look good while you did so. Emily had just given Misty that opening to take away her points and she wasn't going to pass it up.
"Mamoswine, Ice Shard on Clefable." Misty ordered. "Break it up for more effect. Espeon, Psybeam again and at Clefable as well. Let's see her dodge two moves at once."
"Do it Clefable." Emily said encouragingly. "I know you can. Azumarill, Rain Dance as soon as you can."
Mamoswine formed a ball of ice in front of him before he broke it with his tusks and sent it at Clefable at the same time that Azumarill sent a ball of water into the air and suddenly the entire stage was being rained on, as well as both girls. Clefable barely managed to avoid the ice but as she was trying to avoid it Espeon's second Psybeam slammed into her back and sent her sprawling. However, Misty's focus on Clefable had made her forget Azumarill and that it was a water type.
"Azumarill hit Mamoswine with Aqua Tail." Emily said. "Clefable, Sing to Espeon."
"Block that Sing with Attract." Misty ordered Espeon. "Mamoswine…"
Misty didn't finish her order as Azumarill leapt at Mamoswine, its tail now a swirling vortex of water that it slammed into Mamoswine's side. Mamoswine roared in pain as he was thrown sideways, an impressive accomplishment given his weight, and hit the stage on his side before he skidded through the rain creating a furrow on the battlefield. Misty grit her teeth. It was time to bring out the power it seemed.
Thankfully Espeon had winked at Clefable as Clefable began to Sing. As in Chrysanthemum Town, the moves hit and canceled each other out so Espeon avoided falling asleep. Misty smiled. This was it.
"Espeon, back to Mamoswine and onto his back." Misty said as Mamoswine got up with a bellow. "Fire a Shadow Ball at Azumarill to keep it busy. Mamoswine, help Espeon and then use Earthquake just like before."
"Azumarill, Blizzard." Emily ordered. "Clefable, create some camouflage with Flamethrower."
Espeon instantly began running to Mamoswine firing a Shadow Ball at Azumarill catching it in the side in the process for good measure as it was trying to use Blizzard so the hit was a plus. Azumarill was thrown to the ground and couldn't get the move off but Clefable did sending out a weak Flamethrower into the rain to provide some mist that obscured the two Pokémon but it was too little too late. An area attack didn't need to see what it was hitting.
Mamoswine lowered his head so that Espeon could use his tusk, along with Mamoswine's strength, to throw her up into the air, rearing in the process. Then Mamoswine came crashing down as Espeon flipped and twisted in the air as he came down, landing before Espeon landed on his back and hit the ground as he activated Earthquake.
The force of the landing would have shaken the stage even if Mamoswine hadn't have used Earthquake. With it though the whole stage and first level of seats shook as he roared and poured his power into the move as Espeon landed on his back and added her mewl to his roar.
Just as the move ended, the buzzer to signal the end of time went off and the Rain Dance ended. As did the smoke hiding their opponents leaving an interesting sight in its wake. Azumarill, Clefable and Emily were all on the ground but all three got up, albeit slowly. Her Pokémon had withstood it and for the first time Misty hadn't beaten Emily with a Battle Off. No she'd won on points this time.
It was clear before Lilian even announced Misty's win and advancement to the finals that she had won on points. Emily had taken a good chunk from Misty, she had about 30% left but Emily was on about 20% herself so it was clear who had won.
"Well done Emily." Misty congratulated over the cheers of the crowd as she recalled her Pokémon, she would thank them in a bit for getting her into the finals. "You did really well."
"Thanks Misty, that was closer than I expected so I am very happy with it despite the loss." Emily agreed as she recalled her own Pokémon. "Thank you for everything this year. I'll be in the stands supporting you in the final."
"Thank you and see me afterwards for a chat and I have something you might need for you." Misty said surprising Emily. "Later though, when we have the time, we have to get off the stage and the Grand Festival must go on."
Emily just nodded and bowed to Misty who returned it before both girls turned and left the stage. Misty was pleased to see that Mollie was on her side and gave the only person present in the Grand Festival to beat her a warm smile and a nod for luck. Mollie smiled and nodded back as the stage was cleaned up for the second semifinal.
As Misty returned to the waiting room to watch the battle between Mollie and Kenny, she hoped that her friend beat him. Misty would much rather face Mollie in the final, though beating Kenny in it would be sweet and poetic but she'd rather it be pleasant, and she did need to get Mollie back for that loss in Gardenia Town.
Regardless, Misty hurried back to the waiting room. She was in the Grand Festival final and now she was going to watch and find out who she would be facing in it. Whoever it was, it was sure to be a great final.
"What a first semifinal for you there folks." Lilian said as Mollie and Kenny walked out of their sides and prepared to face in each other, Mollie determined to win so that she could face Misty in the finals. "We all expect the second to be just as good as this is the first matchup between pre-Grand Festival Favorites.."
"You're going down." Kenny said simply likely keeping his more scornful words in check to avoid warnings from Lilian and the Committee. "Dee Dee made the final, there's no way I can't let anyone but me beat her for the Ribbon Cup."
"If you want Misty to beat you in the final so badly you will have to beat me first." Mollie said back her annoyance at Kenny outweighing her timidness at being in a Grand Festival semifinal. "Though you didn't strike me as the kinda guy who enjoyed that sorta thing. It doesn't matter though; I am going to come at you with everything and beat you. That spot in finals is mine."
"We shall see." Kenny said with a sneer as hatred filled his eyes at what Mollie had implied. "I've beaten you this year and I will do it again."
"And I've beaten you." Mollie replied. "And I have also beaten Nando and Misty, the latter of whom not only have you have never beaten but has never beaten me and I am the only one here who has beaten her. I am no pushover and you know it. Come at me with everything you got and let's settle this. I'm sorry Misty won't get a chance to beat you because I will beat you first."
"Bring it." Kenny snarled. "It will make my own victory so much better when I knock your Pokémon out."
"That is what we are talking about." Lilian said clearly missing the more unpleasant nature of the exchange. "Two favorites and rivals preparing to do battle with a spot in the finals on the line. And folks, this is a matchup with some history. These two have faced each other twice this year, splitting the matches with a win apiece in them, both times they were finals. That is all you need to know, no need for intros when our coordinators are already ready and rearing to go already. Begin."
"Nidoking, Nidoqueen, on stage!" Mollie said throwing out her coupled Pokémon a little surprised by the lack of intros when the first semifinal had them but not caring, she had a match to win.
"Breloom, Alakazam, , diamond dandruff." Kenny said coolly as he grinned at Mollie's choices, this would be easy for him and he was going to win this by Battle Off just as he had come to prefer this year. "Start this off with Mach Punch and Shadow Ball."
"Nidoking, dodge that Shadow Ball by running at Alakazam and using Mega Horn." Mollie said as the attacks came in. "Nidoqueen, you are going to have to take that because it is too fast but respond with Shadow Claw."
Breloom, due to its move, was the first to reach as it quickly arrived at Nidoqueen and punched her in the chest sending her staggering back a few paces but she responded by creating a set of claws out of shadows and launching it up and catching Breloom under the jaw and causing it to flip backwards.
Meanwhile, Nidoking had charged at the Shadow Ball and then sidestepped it as he was running before he imbued his horn with bug type power as he charged Alakazam. Kenny just smirked; this was just what he wanted.
"Breloom, hit back with Counter." Kenny ordered. "Alakazam, Teleport at the last minute then use Psychic on Nidoking as soon as you reappear."
Before Mollie could react, Breloom closed the gap with Nidoqueen and struck hard and fast sending her back again. Two strong hits would take their toll but they were fighting type moves which weren't that effective on Nidoqueen. Alas the same couldn't be said for the other matchup.
As Nidoking reached Alakazam, the latter vanished as it teleported away. Before Nidoking could correct himself, Alakazam appeared behind him and its spoons glowed blue. A second later Nidoking also glowed blue and was slammed into the ground face first by the super effective move and slid several feet from the hit.
"Nidoking, Earth Power." Mollie said not letting up. "Nidoqueen, force Breloom back with Sludge Wave."
"Breloom retreat from it and dodge as soon as you can." Kenny said. "Alakazam, Teleport again."
While Breloom was able to back up and get out of the way of the wave of purple poison sludge that was sent at it, Alakazam wasn't fast enough. Nidoking hadn't bothered to get up, he'd just looked back at Alakazam and attacked as soon as he knew where the Psi Pokémon was.
The earth around Alakazam's feet erupted and it wailed in pain from the attack. Mollie wasn't going to pass up the sudden loss of focus from the psychic type and executed her special combo for facing that type. Her Nidoking and Nidoqueen had perfected to quickly defeat psychic types when they faced them.
"Nidoking, hit Alakazam with Mega Horn and send it right to Nidoqueen." Mollie said. "Nidoqueen, strike it with Shadow Claw and send it back to Kenny."
"Breloom, hit Nidoking with an Energy Ball." Kenny said as Nidoking charged at Alakazam, his horn glowing. "Alakazam, stop it with Psychic."
Unfortunately for Kenny, Alakazam was still rattled from the Earth Power as it staggered slightly and didn't react in time to defend itself. It took the Mega Horn to the center of its body and it was thrown back and towards Nidoqueen with a wail of pain at the super effective bug type attack. Breloom's energy ball did slam into Nidoking's back and sent him sprawling forward again but the damage was already done to Alakazam.
It flew at Nidoqueen who once again created the claws of shadow on her right hand. Then, as Alakazam reached her, she slashed it in the back. Alakazam was sent upwards and in a tumbling arc across the battlefield to land hard on its back outside the battlefield and next to a now furious Kenny. It's eyes were swirls marking it out of the battle. Despite the brief success for Mollie it was only that, brief.
"Mach Punch into Energy Ball." Kenny ordered Breloom. "Send Nidoking out of the battle."
Nidoking was just getting up when Breloom reached him and punched him hard in the back. The force of the blow sent Nidoking forward and towards Mollie and put him between Breloom and Nidoqueen so Mollie couldn't counter. That was when the second Energy Ball slammed into Nidoking's back and sent him off the battlefield.
Nidoqueen stepped out of the way of her partner as he flew past her, hit the ground and rolled out of the battlefield to lie next to Mollie. She didn't have to look to know that her Pokémon was out. She'd seen his eyes become swirls seconds after the second Energy Ball struck him. It was now a one-on-one match.
"Whole new battle." Kenny said with a near predatory grin. "And I will win this. Mach Punch Breloom."
"Toxic." Mollie said going with a poison inducing attack to slow it down and hit it with something that was super effective, when the poisoning took hold that is.
Alas, the speed of Mach Punch put Breloom in front of Nidoqueen before her attack was off so the move hit where Breloom had been creating a toxic puddle where no Pokémon was. Breloom then punched Nidoqueen for a third time. It still wasn't enough to take her down but it was all adding up and Kenny was ready with his own status attack. Speed would win him this match.
"Stun Spore." He ordered and as Nidoqueen was staggering from the blow and Breloom blasted the orange powder into her face paralyzing her.
"That won't hold us back." Mollie said. "Send it flying with Sludge Wave. Let's see it handle your poison."
Nidoqueen prepared the attack before she howled in pain and spasmed, her body sparking as the paralysis hit her. She couldn't move and Kenny was ready with the coup degras and Breloom was too close to miss nor could Nidoqueen dodge it.
"Energy Ball." Kenny said triumphantly. "Goodbye Mollie, you did better than I expected but Dee Dee is mine, in more ways than one. I couldn't have you beat me."
Mollie just glared daggers at Kenny, all her normal timidness gone with her anger at the Sinnoh boy and his attitude towards Misty. Misty was her friend and rival. She had tried to beat Kenny so that she could be the one to face Misty in the final but Mollie knew that it was over for her. She would join Yuma and the others and cheer as hard as she could for Misty to win. She truly deserved the Ribbon Cup this year.
The Energy Ball slammed into a still spasming Nidoqueen's face and sent her sprawling back to the ground. As soon as her eyes were seen and the swirls there noted, the Xs of the judges went up to signal a Battle Off. Kenny had won with less 30 seconds to spare in the match.
"You may have beaten me Kenny." Mollie said recalling her Pokémon and quietly thanking them. "But Misty won't lose to you, you've ensured that she will crush you as hard as you are crushing on her. Enjoy your defeat, you more than deserve it."
Mollie didn't even care for what Kenny or Lilian had to say after that, nor did she care about sportsmanship when she was facing someone like Kenny, she just turned and left the stage. It wasn't her most gracious moment that had been when she had helped Misty up after accidently blasting her into a wall at the end of their battle. Kenny, however, didn't deserve that kind of respect. She was going to go find Misty, wish her luck and then head to the stands. She had a friend to watch win the Ribbon Cup.
"And Kenny has won by Battle Off securing his spot in the final and further increase his record number of Battle Off victories this year to 20." Lilian said. "He will face Misty after the lunch break to determine the winner of the Kanto Grand Festival and its Ribbon Cup. Stay tuned folks, the Grand Festival is coming to a close. One more match and we will have our latest Top Coordinator."
Misty turned and left the room after watching Mollie lose, heading towards the stage to intercept her, knowing she would as Misty would be on the same side as Mollie had been for the final. The Kanto favorite had put up a valiant effort and had pushed Kenny to the edge but his speed had been the key to his victory in the end. Misty wouldn't let that happen to her. She had her Pokémon that she would use against Kenny ready. It would soon be time to face him at last.
It was the moment that she had been expecting since he confronted her at Ash's party and it was almost at hand. When it came, Misty intended to be the one who came out on top. Soon she would have 5 minutes to beat Kenny and win the Ribbon Cup. First though, she had a friend to comfort before the Kanto Grand Festival came to an end, along with a friendship.
