So this chapter and the ones that follow will have some more character interactions and developments that are important and will begin to set up future events and story lines. Because of this, battles and other actions scenes are going to take a bit of a backseat. This doesn't mean there won't be action, I just don't want this whole arc to be tedious, it's already enough of a slog as is.
Anyway, enjoy the chapter!
"Are you sure you'll be alright?" Cynthia asked, her niece wiping away some remaining tears from her face.
"Y-Yes." Julia replied. "It's not the first time I've lost and I still did my best, right?"
"Right." Her sister agreed. "Besides, karma will come back to bite Alan soon. Jack's going to whoop him and if by some miracle he makes it past him, either me or Diego will be waiting."
"Right! I almost forgot I battle next!" Diego exclaimed, hurrying into the arena.
"Speaking of which..." Renée continued, turning to the dark haired boy. "Do you think you're ready for that jerk in the next round?"
"I have to be." Jack replied, not missing a beat. "I've made it this far already and I've beaten him before, haven't I?"
"It's been a long time since you've last battled him though, and he's clearly gotten a lot tougher..." Julia added. Jack smiled at his crush with an air of confidence growing within him.
"Well, so have I!" He stated as he followed his best friend into the arena. The ladies turned to follow him inside as Julia looked over at her aunt curiously.
"Hey, Aunt Cynthia, with Jack and Alan being rivals it sort of makes me wonder. Do you have any rivals of your own?"
The Sinnoh champion laughed a bit at the question and smiled at her nieces.
"Of course! I consider the current Kanto champion, Blue, to be among my rivals. The same can be said for Steven Stone, Wallace and Brendan Birch, the three Champions of Hoenn, as well as Iris and Benga of Unova, former Kalos Champion Diantha and Lance of Johto. Then there's Elio, the first Champion of Alola, and the former Champion of Galar, Leon, who I've only managed to beat once."
"That's quite a lot." Renée said in awe, her sister equally as shocked.
"Well when Champions meet trainers that are considered our equal, it's only natural for us to compete against one another. Out of all of my rivals, however, I would say that only one has truly pushed me to my absolute limit. Her name is Gina, the champion of the Edath region."
"Wait, Gina? I thought her name was Gin Roh?" Renée asked.
"Gin Roh?" Verity repeated before breaking out into laughter. "That's a funny name!"
"She uses that name as an alias for her work." Cynthia explained. "Being a pokemon trainer isn't our only occupation, take myself for example. When I'm not battling for the Sinnoh League, I'm an archaeologist. Blue Oak is a researcher, and Gina herself is one of the heads of the International Police."
"So she's helping us take down Dark Star?!" Julia asked, her tone just a tad bit louder than she intended. After the three sighed with relief that nobody seemed to hear them, they finally reached their seats as the battle was just about to begin.
"Yes." Cynthia finally answered, her voice a bit more hushed. "I'll be meeting with her later tonight so that we can discuss our next course of action. But as for our rivalry, she and I have an almost equal amount of wins and losses against one another. Despite her type specialty being Flying, her team of pokemon is quite diverse and cover each other's weaknesses better than one might expect. Despite being so young, around the same age your girls are, she's shockingly good."
"Well she has to be if she's the champion of the Edath region." Renée pondered. "I keep hearing about that region but I've never seen or heard about anything from there. Maybe we should go one day."
"I would highly recommend it!" Cynthia chimed in. "I've been there once or twice and the cultural history there is very deep, it's somewhat similar to the Johto region in that regard. There are also a good number of ancient ruins and archaeological sites that are used to learn about the region's history."
Renée listened in intently at her Aunt's explanation, but the sudden cheering of the crowd seemed to call their attention down to the field.
'I'm proud that you've gotten so far in the tournament sweet pea. I know your next battle is against that boy you like, too. I know it won't be easy for you, both the battle itself and how you must be feeling right now but I know whatever happens you'll do your best. Just know that I'm so proud of you and I'll always be here if you need me. I know my brother and your mother haven't been the best towards you, but after seeing how far you've come, they're coming around and supporting you as well. The three of us are behind you 100% of the way.
Good luck, Uncle Sidney.'
Pandora read the message over and over again, her heart racing fast enough to make her feel like it would burst out of her chest. The battles before this were exhilarating, but now that she had to go up against the boy that she had her eye on, her nerves had decided that now was the time to take over. Despite taking deep breaths to calm herself down, Pandora still found her heart racing as she stepped onto the field. The audience cheering had become a typical sight by now, one that she had become accustomed to. But once she saw Diego on the other side of the field with his usual confident smile, the nervous girl couldn't help but turn away with her face now as red as a Cheri Berry.
Pandora chose to focus her gaze on the field, which was what resembled a pool of water, it's color a murky purplish-brown as a result of the pipes and machinery circling the perimeter. A few clouds of steam billowed out from the tainted water as bubbles formed and popped in other spots. One large platform stood in the middle of the field with three smaller ones surrounding it on either side.
"Up next we have a matchup involving two trainers who have some history with each other!" Dallas began. "Both of the trainers on the field now are from the same graduating class from the esteemed Vermilion City Pokemon Academy, and now they find themselves facing off against one another! I'm sure Juanita would have some sort of sassy comment about this match but for the moment, she's busy conducting an exclusive interview with Kanto Champion Blue at the moment. Stay tuned to watch that interview later tonight! But for now, let's go to the action!"
"Hey, Pandora!" Diego called out, the shy girl let out a gasp as her opponent caught her attention. "I know you're gonna give me one heck of a fight, so do me a favor and hold nothing back. Cool?"
"Y-Yes!" Pandora squeaked.
"For this battle, our two trainers will be on the Murkwater Field!" Dallas continued. "This field is similar to other aquatic fields, but with the added condition that any pokemon that is not poison or steel type that comes in contact with the water will not have a good time. I'd say more, but if these two are able to get this far, they'll have to adapt to the situation and learn more about this field for themselves. Let the battle begin!"
Pandora's first pokemon was an Alakazam, the Psychic pokemon using its power to float down onto one of the platforms closer to Pandora. Facing off against them was Diego's Golduck, with the rambunctious trainer opting to go with a more direct approach and send out his pokemon onto the center platform. Alakazam looked down upon the aquatic pokemon and scoffed as it landed onto the platform, it's weight pushing the platform down into the water just enough for the tainted water to splash onto it with the same happening to Golduck.
"Seems as though we have a battle of the brains to start us off! I'm sure Juanita would prefer more direct combat and make some sort of sassy remark about it if she were here, but hey, more fun for us, right? Let's go to the action!"
"E-Energy Ball!" Pandora called out.
With a firm huff, the Psi pokemon placed its spoon-filled hands in front of it, launching a light-green ball of energy like a rocket at the Duck pokemon. Diego nearly flinched at how fast Pandora took action.
"Ice Beam!" He retaliated. Golduck quickly raised his webbed hands up to the gem on his forehead, sending out the frosty blast at the orb. The two attacks collided, the Ice Beam slowing down the Energy Ball for just a moment before the two exploded in a burst of teal-colored energy.
"Woah, guess you're not pulling any punches!" Diego chuckled. Pandora looked away, unsure how to respond. "Guess that means that we'll just have to- Huh?"
Diego was cut short by the tainted water bubbling all across the field as it began to rise and cover all of the platforms. As the muck came into contact with the two pokemon, Golduck let out a cry of pain as the bubbling liquid seemed to burn into him before receding back down.
"W-What was that about?!" Pandora stuttered.
"Surprise, folks!" Dallas announced. "When I said pokemon that aren't poison or steel type will have an issue, this is what I was talking about! All pokemon will take type-scaling damage from the field as if they were hit by a poison type attack! Poison type pokemon are immune to the field damage and steel types are immune to poison in general. There are other workarounds to this, but I can't say much more as it's best if we let our combatants find that out for themselves! This field effect will occur sporadically our trainers need to be on their toes if they want to react to it accordingly."
"Ah man, Golduck!" Diego groaned.
"Type-scaling, huh..." Jack wondered.
"That sounds scary!" Julia added.
"But why didn't Alakazam get hurt?" Verity wondered.
"Magic Guard." Jack answered, confusing the young girl.
"Magic? Like pulling a Scorbunny out of a hat?"
"No, no." Cynthia chuckled. "Magic Guard is a special ability some pokemon have that makes it so the pokemon only gets hurt by attacks. Normally it only shows when the pokemon with that ability is poisoned or burned. However, skilled trainers pair this ability with an item called a Life Orb to power up their attacks without dealing with the recoil damage that pokemon take with it."
"So how do you think he'll deal with this?" Renée asked. "Both the field and Alakazam."
"Considering his team, I don't think it should actually be too much of a problem." Jack replied. "His Golduck and Raichu are the only ones that take normal damage from poison and his Krookodile resists it. His Charizard wouldn't want to get wet so it'll likely stay airborne and Crobat is part poison itself, so the field wouldn't hurt it. His Sceptile is the only pokemon that would really be hurt by it and I don't think Diego would use it now that he knows this. As for dealing with Alakazam, it looks like the only way to stop it is to completely overpower it."
"He's not exactly in the clear though." Cynthia noted. "His Krookodile resists poison, sure, but the field is also aquatic, so it would likely power up any water moves. There's also the reaction of water and electricity, even if the water is tainted, the pokemon in the water will have an averse reaction to it if they are shocked. This means that even his flying pokemon are not totally immune to the field. However, all of this applies to his opponent as well, if Diego can use the field against her, he can win."
"Shadow Ball!" Pandora exclaimed. Alakazam aimed its spoon at Golduck, allowing the dark energy to gather before launching the orb forward, it moved slowly at first before picking up speed. This time, Diego was more ready for his counterattack.
"Water Pulse!"
Golduck raised his hands to his gem again, a ball of water forming in between them and with a forceful shout, Golduck tossed the ball forward. As soon as the ball came into contact with the murky water, it exploded, the ensuing ripples in the purple pool created a wave that rose in size and ferocity towards the Psi pokemon. The wave did not stop the Shadow Ball however, as it picked up enough speed to burst upon hitting Golduck. The water pokemon let out a yelp in pain before getting knocked off the platform and splashing into the water. The powered up Water Pulse slammed onto Alakazam, forcing it into the water as well.
All was quiet for about five seconds before Golduck leaped out of the water, screaming in pain from the corrupted water. Alakazam slowly rose from the depths, no longer in pain but noticeably breathing heavily as it clutched its side.
"Quick, Golduck, use Hydro Pump!"
"Psychic!"
Golduck stopped screaming for long enough to gather as much of his remaining power to blast out an intense rush of water from his mouth. Just like Water Pulse, this attack absorbed the water of the field as it zoomed towards the Psi pokemon. The psychic pokemon pushed its hands forward and used its attack as a sort of barrier in an attempt to push it back. With a grunt of exasperation and the pain of its side still bothering it, Alakazam began to lose focus and eventually dropped its attack, allowing the Hydro Pump to completely consume it.
Diego breathed a sigh of relief as he watched Alakazam fall into the water again. The water level rose again, reaching Golduck again and putting the Duck pokemon in more agony as the chemicals burned into him.
"Hang on, Golduck." Diego assured. "I'll get you out of there soon. Just-"
"Energy Ball!"
Just as Diego was reaching for Golduck's pokeball to recall him, Pandora's Alakazam rose out of the steaming liquid and launched another attack while Golduck was still reeling. Diego tried calling out to his pokemon to use Ice Beam and defend itself, but was too late as the Grass attack burst upon impact, knocking Golduck back into the liquid poison and allowing it to float to the water's surface, no energy left to battle as the Duck pokemon softly moaned in pain.
"Wow! That surprise attack was just enough for Pandora to get the first down in this matchup! If she can keep up surprises like those then she's a shoe-in for the quarter-finals!" Dallas announced. While his friends looked just a tad bit more concerned for Diego, the young trainer himself had a confident smile as he looked right at Pandora before laughing.
"Ah man!" He said. "I knew you'd be tough, P!" Pandora blushed as she turned away, fiddling with her cube at the praise. "But I think both of us know by now that I'm not the type to get stressed when I'm on the defensive, and that I'm not the underdog for very long!"
With his grin widening, Diego sent out his Crobat as his second pokemon, surprising Verity.
"Wait, I thought poison is weak to psychic?" The little rugrat asked.
"It is." Julia responded, patting her cousin's head. "But Crobat is super fast!"
"Psychic!"
"Cross Poison!"
Alakazam readied its spoons again as Crobat dove towards it, the Bat pokemon flying low and almost gliding along the water as its wings began to turn a more vibrant purple. The toxins within the water joining the attack. Alakazam finally let their attack loose in the form of a large bubble that almost seemed to resemble water infected with chemicals in appearance.
"Dodge it!" Diego yelled. Crobat ascended into the air just a bit and turned 90 degrees to its side, putting himself in a knife-flight formation as it continued to speed towards the Psi pokemon before drawing in close and slashing Alakazam in their injured side with the venom-coated wings. Alakazam collapsed to the ground with its spoons clattering on the platform it lay on, groaning in pain as Crobat cackled softly before flying back over to Diego.
"What amazing aerial mobility!" Dallas praised. "With that one hit, Diego has brought this battle back to an even match!"
Pandora recalled her pokemon with her hand trembling ever so slightly, her eyes shifting from the pokeball over to the field.
'He and his pokemon did that so easily... Can I really do this?' She thought. 'No... No, I can't let myself get like this now! What would Uncle Sidney think? What would my parents think?! ... What would Diego think?'
As Pandora was lost in her thoughts, Diego watched her with his confident grin replaced by a surprisingly soft look of what appeared to be patience and sympathy. After one last deep breath, Pandora sent out her second pokemon. With an almost angelic voice, Milotic dove into the water before popping back up to the surface. Even with the disgusting condition of the water, Milotic herself looked dazzling. One thing that immediately caught Diego's interest was the orange orb that was tied around the forehead of Milotic.
"And Pandora follows up with an absolutely stunning Milotic! Even that nasty sewer water can't stop it from looking so great!" Dallas exclaimed.
"Hmm, now things look interesting." Cynthia hummed. "I own a Milotic myself, and it has served me well in many battles, so I know for certain that Diego could be in for a rough time if he isn't careful."
"What's that thing around its head?" Julia asked.
"It's too hard to see from over here." Her sister replied. "But Pandora's smart, so whatever it is, it's something that's bound to be bad news for D."
"Well it put in work before so let's do it again! Crobat, use Cross Poison!"
"Milotic, hold still." Pandora called out. Diego raised an eyebrow in confusion as he watched his pokemon speed towards the Tender pokemon with the field once again powering up Crobat's attack. As the Bat pokemon drew in close, the orb around Milotic began to glow. A red energy enveloped Milotic before fading and and igniting several points of the aquatic pokemon's body. The water type grunted in pain slightly before getting hit by Crobat's attack, which almost seemed to bounce right off of her.
"Huh?!" Diego gasped. "It's like the attack didn't even do anything!"
"It's because of Milotic's ability." Pandora replied as she shyly brushed some of her hair behind her ear. "My Milotic's ability is Marvel Scale, so if it has a status condition, her defense gets boosted. That's why I had her hold a Flame Orb, so she would get burned and activate the ability. But defense isn't all Milotic can do! Use Ice Beam!"
Crobat's close proximity to the Tender pokemon made it an easy target for the frosty blast, the Bat pokemon audibly cried out in surprise before trying to dodge the attack though still getting struck on its left side.
"What an impressive strategy!" Dallas exclaimed. "A strong defense using Milotic's Marvel Scale and a strong move like Ice Beam to cover Milotic's weaknesses and is also the perfect move for this situation. Strategies like that are ones you can only find among the top sixteen in the region folks!"
Crobat tried to shake off as much of the pain as it could as Milotic cried out in pain again from both the burns it had and the toxic water. Diego smirked to himself as he looked at the opposing team.
"Well, if Milotic is a defensive wall then we'll just have to break that wall down! Put everything you have into this, Crobat! Use Brave Bird!"
Diego's passion reached Crobat, and with a battle cry, it's body began to glow with a blue energy. The aura surrounding it seeped into the air in a manner almost resembling that of a bird's feathers. Crobat's sheer speed assisted it in hitting Milotic right in her serpentine body a fair bit below her head. The aura around the bat burned into the aquatic pokemon's body as it tried pushing straight through Milotic, continuing its shout of power all the while.
"Come on, Crobat, drive right through 'em!"
"Hold firm, Milotic!"
Crobat's aura quickly began to fade and it's voice died down as the Bat pokemon dropped down to the ground in front of Milotic, who looked to be on the verge of collapse as well as she desperately gasped for breath as she looked down at the intense scorch mark on the spot Crobat had impacted.
"Ouch!" Dallas cringed. "Looks like Crobat put just a bit too much into that attack but it just wasn't enough to punch through Milotic's defenses. Pandora's retaken the lead but it doesn't look like she can hold onto it for very long!"
"Recover." Pandora ordered as Diego recalled his pokemon. The young man hummed for a moment and looked at one of his pokeballs before shaking his head.
"Nah, not yet." He said before grabbing a different one and sending out out onto the field. Diego's Raichu stretched as it landed on its platform and looked at the water with disgust.
"Going for the type advantage, smart move!" The announcer commented.
"Hey, Pandora!" Diego suddenly exclaimed, his opponent gasped at the sudden outburst with a blush beginning to burn onto her face. "I know being this far into this tournament can be stressful, especially when you have to go up against a friend. But there's something telling me that you're holding back."
Pandora looked away ever so slightly, though still managing to keep her eyes on the boy she admired.
"Listen, P, I want both of us to have fun with this battle. To me, right now, the tournament doesn't matter. The only thing that does matter to me is having a battle that I can enjoy, and I know that if both of us put one-hundred and ten percent into this battle and have fun doing it, it'll be the best battle ever! So whatever's bugging you, try to forget about it and just have fun!"
Pandora looked down for a moment in silence as she absorbed Diego's words. Upon letting out a deep breath, the young lady looked back up with a smile on her face.
"Right." She said. "I... I'll do my absolute best and I hope you'll do yours as well! But I don't plan on losing! Milotic, use Hydro Pump!"
"Good!" Diego nodded. "Now I just hope you won't be upset when I win! Electro Beam!"
Raichu's tail began to spark with electric power as the tip of its tail began to glow. Milotic unleashed a bursting flood of water from her mouth just as Raichu made a punching motion and unleashed the electric blast from the tip of its tail. The two attacks collided in the air separating the two, for a moment the two attacks appeared to be evenly matched until the electric attack melded into the Hydro Pump. The electric current sped through the water and quickly surged towards Milotic.
"Switch to Protect!" Pandora ordered. The Tender pokemon immediately stopped its attack and erected the energy barrier around itself just as the Electro Beam would have hit its mark. Both the pokemon and her trainer sighed in relief as the attack faded, allowing Milotic to lower the shield.
"Thunder Bolt!"
Before Pandora or her pokemon could react, Diego's Raichu clasped its paws together, forming a ball of electricity that sparked and crackled as it took form. With a shout, Raichu brought his hands forward, launching the ball in the process.
"Protect!" Pandora urged. Milotic set up the barrier again, though it quickly faded as the two watched with horror as the electric attack suddenly began to slow down. Time almost seemed to slow down for a moment as the balled Thunder Bolt suddenly exploded in Milotic's direction, completely enveloping her and Pandora in a bright flash of blinding light.
As the light faded, the sight of Milotic's unconscious form floating on the water filled everyone's eyes.
"WOW!" Dallas exclaimed, leaning back in his seat. "I was just about to praise Pandora and her Milotic for their quick thinking in that transition to blocking that Electro Beam but that Thunder Bolt was absolutely incredible! For Diego and Raichu to master that move enough to completely change it's appearance is awe inspiring!"
"I call that my patented 'Light Grenade'!" Diego proclaimed.
Pandora recalled her pokemon and was about to reach for one of her others when suddenly, she heard a voice reach her from within her mind...
'Put me in...' The voice croaked.
'Are... are you sure?' Pandora replied using her mind as she reached for a Friend Ball that had a Poison type symbol on it.
'Put... me... in the fight!' The voice repeated. Pandora looked just a bit nervous as she tossed the pokeball.
"And Pandora's next option is a Toxicroak! An interesting choice, both pokemon are still fresh and ready to fight!"
Pandora's nerves faded a bit as she saw the Toxic Mouth pokemon look back at her with a firm, yet trusting gaze.
"It worked once, so it'll work again, let's do it again! Thunder Bolt!"
"Dive into the water!" Pandora commanded. Just as Raichu launched its attack, Toxicroak leaped into the dirty water and disappeared from view. The "Thunder Ball" exploded in a less flashy burst, but all remained silent as Toxicroak remained hidden. In a sudden burst, Toxicroak leaped out onto Raichu's platform, startling both the rodent and his trainer.
"Use, Poison Jab!"
With a devious croak, the Toxic Mouth pokemon's clawed fist began to glow as purple as the water it jumped out of and with a mighty punch, Raichu was sent to the ground with the poison pokemon croaking in a tone that sounded like laughter.
"Now follow up with Close Combat!" Toxicroak grabbed Raichu by the fur on the top of his head before launching him upward and high into the air.
"Diego..." Pandora called out. The tan boy looked over at his pokemon zoom skyward before his gaze shifted to his opponent. "There's something you need to know about my Toxicroak. Especially when he uses his Close Combat..."
Diego looked back over at the amphibian pokemon, who now had a deathly glint in his eyes. With an elongated croak of rage, Toxicroak leaped up to Raichu and began pummeling the poor Mouse pokemon.
"He attacks like he's about to explode! Once he gets going there's not much that can really stop him!..."
Raichu couldn't even cry out in pain as the barrage of punches stopped the electric pokemon from even drawing a breath.
"And when he's finally had his fill, he withdraws back over to my side like a passing storm!"
With one final double hammer-fist to Raichu's back, the Mouse pokemon was sent crashing down into the water below as Toxicroak landed back onto the platform in front of Pandora with a triumphant roar.
"That was absolutely incredible, folks!" The announcer continued. "That beatdown has got to be among the top ten best in this whole tournament! Diego's back on the defensive as this battle just seems to get better and better!"
Jack leaned back in his seat as his expression grew more serious, without turning his head to face Renée, he spoke.
"She's still a tad bit shy, but her journey so far has definitely helped her out of her shell and if she's raised her team to be this tough then there's a solid chance you might end up facing her in the quarter-finals."
"I know." Renée replied. "And if she's pulling out some heavy attacks like what we just saw now, then there's no telling what she could do when the stakes are higher. But I have to worry about my match this round before worrying about the next one."
"Do you really think Pandora can beat Diego?" Julia asked.
"I'm still going to root for Diego." Jack assured. "He's my best friend, after all. But Pandora has this newfound confidence and strength in her. I know it's there because her pokemon share that same strength, and it's the same type of strength Diego typically has. I don't know who'll end up winning this battle, but if Diego can manage to pull through, it'll be very close."
Diego himself brought a hand to his chin inquisitively as he recalled his Raichu and looked to be studying the battlefield as he thought about his next move. It took him all of ten seconds before he sent out his Charizard next.
"I gotta say, you got me by surprise just now." Diego admitted. "But now I know not to let you get in close! Use Flamethrower!" The Flame pokemon roared as it sent the searing flame at the frog, both the poison pokemon and his trainers eyes widening as Pandora called for Toxicroak to retreat into the water. The flames reached Toxicroak, but missed by just mere seconds, only managing to sear the back of the amphibian. Charizard growled as he awaited his opponent's eventual emergence.
"Poison Jab!" Pandora commanded.
"Not this time!" Diego retorted. "Charizard, Seismic Toss!"
Toxicroak leaped out of the water with its fist poised and ready to strike, but as his fist sped towards Charizard, it was caught by a sudden clawed hand! Charizard flew upwards, holding onto Toxicroak all the while. Once the two were about thirty feet in the air, Charizard began doing aerial backward loops.
"Woah!" Dallas said, watching the aerial display in front of him. "You don't get to see this often, it almost feels sort of nostalgic!"
After several more loops the Flame pokemon tossed Toxicroak down onto one of the platforms on Pandora's side of the field. The Toxic Mouth pokemon slowly rose back to his feet, his head still spinning after the ride it took.
"Hold steady, Toxicroak, use Gunk Shot!"
With a roar of rising frustration, Toxicroak spat out a black and purple hunk of slime with the force of a cannonball at the airborne pokemon.
"We won't let you land that! Use Air Slash!"
With a flap of his mighty wings, Charizard unleashed a blade of air that sliced clean through the ball of slime. The gunk hung in the air for about a second before exploding in a cloud of black smoke as the blade of air continued on and sliced into Toxicroak. The force of the attack sent the poison brawler to the ground with a choking gasp. With laborious breaths, Toxicroak slowly rose back to his feet and looked up at his attacker.
"And now we'll end it! Raging Flame!"
"Gunk Shot, one more time!"
Charizard's tail flame began to burn crimson and black as the beast roared. Toxicroak matched the battle cry before launching another ball of garbage into the sky. Unale to hold back the power of its flames, Charizard exhaled the dark flames in the form of a stream that would put its Flamethrower to shame. The fire met the Gunk Shot in the air, drying out the toxins and incinerating the attack before continuing on and overtaking Toxicroak, obscuring it from sight completely before the attack ended, leaving the platform singed in soot and ash as Toxicroak groaned weakly on the ground, appearing unable to move.
"And with that absolutely brutal attack, Diego has evened things up again!"
It was now Pandora's turn to think about her next move, taking a bit longer than Diego did as she pondered her options. If one listened closely, they could almost feel the collective confusion of everyone in the arena when Pandora sent out her ace pokemon, Shiftry.
"Well, that is... certainly an interesting option..." Dallas continued.
"What is she thinking?!" Renée questioned aloud.
"Does she not have a pokemon that can beat Charizard?" Julia wondered. Cynthia silently crossed her arms as her gaze on Pandora deepened.
"Uh, P., you sure you want to use Shiftry?" Diego asked.
"Positive. I know what I'm doing, and it'll be all I need to beat you! Shiftry, use Tailwind!" Pandora exclaimed. The Wicked pokemon flapped its fan arms with a shout, the wind around the arena picked up, splashing some of the field's water in Charizard's direction, though the fire pokemon and his trainer remained unimpeded.
"Heh, big whoop, you're still at a disadvantage! Charizard, Flamethrower!"
"Sharpshoot!" Pandora called out.
Charizard was almost taken aback at the sheer speed of his opponent as Shiftry's eyes had a sudden glint in them. The fan blades on the Wicked pokemon's arms glowed black as they swiped at the head of the Flame pokemon. Despite the speed of the attack, however, the overall power seemed to be rather average as Charizard quickly brushed it off and blasted the grass pokemon with a stream of fire strong enough send it right back down onto the center platform.
"Now use Air Slash!"
"Night Slash!"
Shiftry leaped upwards again, its fans now glowing purple as he reached out towards Charizard, only to be met by a flap of the flying pokemon's wings. The force of the slice sent Shiftry right back down again, this time with the Wicked pokemon no longer able to get back up again.
"Amazing! Even with the Tailwind boosting Shiftry's already respectable speed to blistering levels, it just didn't have enough firepower to put Charizard down! Pandora is down to her last pokemon! Can she somehow turn things around? Or will this be another victory for Diego?"
"Why did she do that?" Julia asked. "Now Pandora's the one behind when the battle's almost over!"
"She planned for this." Her aunt replied, her gaze still locked onto Pandora's side of the field. The twins and Verity gave her a confused look while Jack looked at his best friend with a curious look.
"What do you mean?" Renée asked.
"Pandora knew her Shiftry couldn't actually beat Diego's Charizard. All she needed to do was use Tailwind to make her team faster for her last pokemon and do as much damage as she could while Shiftry was still available. She's banking on her last team member being strong enough to end the battle in her favor. But it all depends on what that pokemon is."
The girls returned their eyes to the battlefield with a newfound worry for Diego.
"Well Pandora, looks like this is almost over with!" Diego called out.
"Yes, it is. You're certainly a lot tougher than I expected! But this isn't over yet and... and I want you to know that whatever happens, I... had fun!"
Diego smiled as he heard that, his smile turned into one of excitement as Pandora reached for her last pokeball and activated a Key Stone along with it. His excitement faded a bit as he saw the Mega Glailie float ominously at Pandora's side of the field, freezing some of the water around it.
'Hmph, guess there's no reason to Mega Evolve Charizard here...' Diego thought to himself. "Use Flamethrower!"
"Glailie, Blizzard!"
Glailie's open maw unleashed a wave of frozen air that was carried by the whirlwind still blowing around the field. The murky water froze as it came into contact with the snow and bone-chilling wind. Charizard exhaled a burning breath that cut right through the Blizzard, but fizzled out a bit as the extreme cold snuffed out some of the flames before hitting Glailie. The flames weakened just enough Glailie to shrug off the attack. As the frozen wind reached Charizard, the Flame pokemon cried out as the fire burning on its tail began to dim...
All of the tainted liquid on the field completely froze over, leaving the field with only the platforms and a thick sheet of almost purple ice with an icy haze hanging low to the ground.
"Hang tight, Charizard! We've still got this!"
"Do you?" Pandora asked. "Because Glailie and I have no intention of losing! Use Double-Edge!"
"Flare Blitz!"
Charizard's flame reignited as the draconic pokemon's body engulfed itself in a bright orange flame, Glalie's body began to glow as white as snow before both pokemon charged at each other. Charizard's flames began to burn out as the cold air danced around them. The two pokemon crashed into each other in the center of the field, neither giving an inch as they butted heads. But, as the cold air weakened Charizard's flames, it only seemed to empower the Face pokemon. With the flames around it burning out, Glalie crashed into Charizard with full force, pushing the fire pokemon back to Diego's side and with one final SMASH the two landed onto one of the stone platforms.
With a low moan, Glalie looked down at the fallen form of Charizars, the winged pokemon taking short, pained breaths in its unconscious state.
"Yet again I stand corrected! Pandora and her Glalie have given Diego the cold shoulder and brought him down to his last pokemon!"
Jack sighed as he shook his head. "Now he has a problem..."
"What do you mean?" Verity asked, her older cousins knew full well what the problem now was as they looked over to their companion.
"Diego's last two pokemon are a Krookodile and a Sceptile that he can still Mega Evolve. Both of them are weak to Ice. Sure, they both know attacks that are strong against that type, but Krookodile's Rock Slide might not be strong enough and Sceptile's Focus Blast isn't the most accurate, even though it has the better chance of winning the fight for him. Plus, if he evolves his Sceptile it becomes a Dragon type, making it more weak to Ice. Diego would need an insane amount of luck to win."
"So he's lost then?" Renée asked.
"Not exactly." Jack replied, turning his head to smile at the girls. "If I know anything about Diego, it's that if nothing else, he'll force himself to be lucky!"
Diego felt a bead of cold sweat drip down the back of his neck as he reached for his last eligible pokemon. Upon tossing his pokeball, he activated the Key Stone he wore on his wrist. The Forest pokemon landed on the solid platform, grimacing at the sight of the ice and cool air.
"And Diego's last pokemon is another odd choice, being a Mega Sceptile, of all things. Could he be planning one last all-out assault to get the victory, or is it time to pack it in, folks?" Dallas said.
"If this is your last stand, then this battle is over." Pandora exclaimed.
"Yeah, this battle is over, because we're gonna win! Sceptile, give it all you've got and use Focus Blast!"
"Use Icicle Crash to stop it!"
The seeds on Sceptile's back began to glow as the reptile began charging energy into his left arm before the grass pokemon raised his hand upwards, forming the energy into a ball about twice the size as its head that shined a bright blue. Glalie moaned as the frozen head formed several sharp blades of ice from the air around it, launching them at the opposing Mega pokemon with a look of fury.
"GO!" Diego shouted, urging Sceptile to launch the attack. The sphere colliding with the crystal spikes and shattering them upon impact.
"Fire more Icicles!" Pandora urged.
Following its trainer's orders, Glalie let out another moan before continuously forming and launching more spikes. The assault collided with the Focus Blast, slowing its descent towards Glalie, but not outright stopping it.
'Ah man, that's not good!' Diego thought to himself. 'The Blast will fade before it hits if this keeps up!' He looked at his Sceptile, who was using more energy to keep the attack going.
"Sceptile!" He called out. "Use your tail!"
Sceptile's eyes sharpened as he understood his master's plan. Turning his body around, Sceptile launched the tip of its tail, as if it were a rocket, at the Face pokemon. The tail crashed into Glalie, and while it didn't appear to do any sort of significant damage, it stopped the barrage of icicles for the precious few seconds Sceptile needed to speed up the Focus Blast.
Glalie and Pandora's eyes widened as they watched the Focus Blast grow a little as it descended towards them. Once the Blast made contact with the Ice pokemon, it exploded, releasing even more energy onto the battleground and launching Glalie into the sky in a burst of blue light.
It took a moment for the light to fade, but as it did, the clear sight of Glalie, back in its normal form, falling onto the arena with no energy left to move as it wheezed in disoriented pain as the crowd went wild.
"And that is game, set, and match! Ladies and gentlemen, in what has to be one of the closest matches this announcer has had the pleasure of seeing in this tournament, Diego has managed to earn himself the victory!" Dallas proclaimed. From the audience, Jack let out a breath he didn't even know he was holding as the twins applauded. Diego himself let out a sigh of relief before he began to laugh.
"Whew! That was one hell of a match! It was awesome, Pandora!" He called out to his opponent. The once shy girl recalled her Glalie with disappointment on her face before smiling at the boy.
"Y-Yeah, it was a lot of fun!" The once-shy girl replied.
Diego exited the arena, being met with his friends as per usual.
"You see?" He began. "Told you I'd win!"
"Yeah, barely." Renée stated, getting Diego to give her an annoyed pout.
"Well, your battle's next so I expect you to win so I can beat you next round!" Diego taunted which got Renée to playfully punch him in the shoulder.
"Oh I intend to!"
As the six of them laughed, Diego noticed Pandora exit the arena. The general anxiety she always seemed to have around her was gone, but she still seemed crestfallen.
"Uh, hey." Diego said suddenly. "I think I'm gonna miss your battle, Renée. There's something I think I need to go take care of."
The rest of the group smiled as they watched Diego walk up to the trainer he just defeated before they headed inside.
"Um, hi, Pandora." Diego greeted. "You doin' alright?" The quiet girl looked at him with a polite smile.
"Oh, hi! Y-Yeah, I'll be alright. Just a bit nervous to find out what my parents and uncle thought of that. I should be getting a message from them in a little bit. Why do you ask?"
"Well, I, uh, kind of feel bad about beating you. I know it's a tournament and one of us had to lose, but I felt that I needed to make it up to you. So, how about we go get something to eat. My treat."
With her face now flushed red, Pandora nodded in agreement with a bit too much enthusiasm. Diego took her hand with a smile as the two walked away from the arena.
"For our last battle of the day, we have Renée, who's had a very solid run through this tournament up against Jin, who's been described as one of the more brutish trainers we've seen in this bracket!"
Renée sent out her Arcanine as she observed the field. It resembled a mountaintop with moss covered rocks strewn about the map. The edges of the arena used the same type of projectors as the Mirror Field to give the impression that they were surrounded by steep cliffs. She looked over at the Noivern her opponent sent out before looking at Jin himself.
He was a boy with shoulder-length, spiky blonde hair. He wore a brown jacket over a red shirt and black jeans with brown boots. His red eyes glared daggers into Renée and his sinister looking grin gave him an eerie aura.
Renée returned the glare as the two trainers were about to make their first move...
Diego and Pandora had just gotten their dinner from the hotel and sat outside, watching the sun go down together.
"So what's the deal with your parents?" Diego asked. "Are they, like, super strict?"
"Well... sort of. They didn't originally want me to become a pokemon trainer, or even go to the Academy in the first place." Pandora sighed. "It was my Uncle Sidney's idea to send me over here, you can imagine my mom and dad weren't too happy about that but they didn't try to get me out once I was enrolled which surprised me."
"Good thing they didn't. If they took you out then you wouldn't have met any of us!"
"I... Wouldn't have ended up joining Team Dark Star either..."
"You didn't know what they were up to." Diego said firmly as he placed a gentle hand on Pandora's. "You had your reasons for joining them and I know they weren't bad intentions. You don't have to tell me what those intentions were if you're not comfortable. Even then, you're not with them anymore and now you know what kind of person their boss is. You and the others who were with them are probably gonna be the biggest help in stopping him. You guys are tough, especially you! I just hope you know how tough you are and how tough you can be!"
Pandora remained silent for a moment before hugging Diego's arm and resting her head on his shoulder with a sniffle. The sudden action surprised Diego before he smiled down at the girl.
The sun began to set as the two headed back to the hotel, passing by a large screen broadcasting Renée's battle. As the two noticed it, Diego was hit with a wave of déjà vu as he saw Renée with only her Riolu left, the Emanation pokemon already badly bruised and covered with scorch marks as it tried to catch its breath. Jin still had two pokemon left, one of which being the Weavile he had on the field. The Sharp Claw pokemon charged at Riolu with its arms coated in ice and a look of malice in its eyes.
"Riolu, get away!" Renée called out. The small pokemon tried to jump away from Weavile's grasp, but an injury to its side stopped that from happening, allowing Weavile to grab Riolu, the icy grip instantly chilling the canine's fur.
"You thought you stood a chance? Idiot!" Jin shouted. "You weakling!"
Weavile proceeded to pummel Riolu with a barrage of Ice Punches before tossing the fighting type upwards.
"You don't deserve to be on the same battlefield as me!"
As the frozen form of Riolu fell back down to the ground, Weavile crushed the poor pokemon between its claws, shattering the ice and causing more pain to the Emanation pokemon before tossing him back over to Renée.
"Yeesh!" Dallas cringed. "Even I think that was going a bit too far! But, with no pokemon left to fight on her side. Jin is the winner and will proceed to the quarter-finals!"
"Oh my gosh..." Pandora gasped. "He's... He's the guy you have to face next!"
"Right." Diego nodded, his face becoming serious. "Sorry, I'm going to have to catch you later. I need to go see Renée."
"Of course." Pandora nodded before kissing Diego on the cheek. "Thanks for spending time with me."
With a smile and nod, Diego ran over to the arena...
"I mean... I knew there was a chance I wouldn't win the tournament but he didn't have to be such a jerk!" Renée stated.
"It stinks that both of us had to go down to mean boys like that." Julia huffed.
"Well, some trainers are unfortunately rather blunt and callous." Cynthia sighed, patting her niece on the back as her daughter tried to console her cousin. Jack was about to say something when they had all heard someone call out to them.
"HEEYY!" Diego came rushing over to them, stopping and catching his breath as he arrived. "I... saw what happened."
"Yeah." Renée replied, giving Diego a fake smile. "I guess we won't be battling each other after all."
"Don't give me that." Diego snapped. "He disrespected you! I ought to teach him some manners!"
"I guess we both owe someone some payback." Jack noted. "And they'll be getting it real soon!"
"You guys don't have to pay them back for us." Renée said, smiling at the two boys.
"We know, but we want to." Jack assured.
"My, you boys are sweet." Cynthia giggled. "I suppose it's time we head back to the hotel. I'm sure we're all hungry after a long day, and you two need to prepare for your matches tomorrow."
"Right!" Diego exclaimed, sharing a nod with Jack.
Singularity stepped up onto a large stage with a microphone in his hand. An army of Dark Star grunts in front of him and his team of admins behind him.
"Members of Team Dark Star..." He began. "You have all been patient and hard at work with planning, and that hard work will finally pay off! Tomorrow evening we will begin our attack on the Indigo Plateau. Our target is the Blank Plate, which is confirmed to be in that location. With the Indigo Tournament still underway, we expect there to be heavy resistance, however, with our attack being so late during the tournament, the strongest trainers will have already been weakened. Our field operative, Dakota, who was part of the tournament, has been our benchmark of strength for the rest of you. While he may have failed, we have used the results of his loss to train you all. Your level of strength should be on par with the trainers remaining in the tournament, if not as strong as the Elite Four themselves. While we have reason to believe that there are other powerful trainers such as Elite Four members of other regions, former members, and even Cynthia, the champion of Sinnoh herself, to be in attendance of the tournament, our sheer advantage in numbers and firepower are more than enough to put them all to shame!
However, our mission is not to defeat those trainers. No, we must simply retrieve the Blank Plate and, if possible, take back the Stone Plate as well, as our enemies have gotten to it first! Those of you who will not be joining us, I have provided the Communications team with a list of contacts that you are to get in touch with. Some of them are associates of mine, others are members of groups similar to ours. They have information on the locations of Plates we have not found yet. All you need to do is inform them that I wish to speak with them, and I will talk to them upon our return. You all have your missions, those of you who will be joining us in the attack tomorrow, get your rest, as you will be needing it!"
Dakota gulped as Singularity and the rest of the villainous team dispersed. He would be part of the attack team tomorrow but... ever since he heard about the boss' past actions and his plans for the future, he was beginning to have his doubts. But, if anyone there knew about that he would be a dead man.
Ellis was among the grunts heading to their stations. Just like Dakota, he was also going to be taking part in the raid, though with his true job was to ensure that both Plates stayed secure. One thing he knew for certain though was that the amount of damage that could potentially be done could be immeasurable. This would be especially true, thanks to the large machine he found himself standing in front of.
"Tch." He spat, upset with himself for not finding an opportunity to sabotage the mecha while he still could. As he turned away, he failed to notice that Andromeda was watching him from above, her eyes narrowing in hate as she watched him go...
And that is scene! While the Dark Star attack is coming soon, it will unfortunately be just a few more chapters until that happens, it should be 4 to be exact. Don't worry though, most of them will be short and the next chapter will give us a preview as to what you can expect!
Stay tuned until then!