Chapter 26: June vs. Trace Part 1
June went through some of the toughest and most intense battles of her life.
The Elite Four were true to their name and had given June the kind of battles that no Gym Leader could've given. It was easy to see how this was the final challenge before achieving the Championship crown. If anything proved you were worthy of the title, it was defeating the Elite Four!
The first battle was against an extremely beautiful woman named Lorelei. She specialized in Ice and Water types with her ace being a Mega-Evolving Slowbro. June had plenty of counters for Ice and Water types with Ray and Cinder being her main players but it had still been a close match.
The second battle was against a huge muscular man named Bruno. He specialized in Fighting-types and his ace was a Mega Evolving Heracross. He was a little easier as June had two Flying-types, an Annihilape and a Magmar with Psychic to exploit their weaknesses but he still gave June a tough fight. For the first time, she got to Mega Evolve Divebomb and the extra power had helped him carry her to victory.
The third battle was against Agatha, an elderly woman whom looked like she should've retired years ago. She specialized in Poison and Ghost-types and her ace was a Mega Evolving Gengar. She was the easiest one to beat since all June had to do was sic her Mega Evolved Scizor on her team and his Steel-typing rendered her Poison-type strategies useless. She'd also used Victoria and Behemoth for back up.
The hardest challenge came in the form of former Johto Champion and Elite Four leader Lance. He specialized in Dragon-types and his ace was a Mega Evolving Charizard X. June used up most of her team just trying to beat him and had even Mega Evolved Leonardo the Blastoise for a super-powered Ice Beam to exploit Lance's team's weakness to Ice. The final battle was between Spyro and Mega Charizard X and thanks to a few Dragon Dances, Spyro had gathered up the strength to win. June felt exhausted after four straight battles in a row with such intense and strong trainers but she was also very pleased with herself for pulling it off.
After getting a well-earned rest, June was now ready for her final challenge. As she expected, Trace had beaten the Elite Four first so he had officially been crowned Kanto's new Champion. But his reign would last depending on this outcome. Would she take his title or would he keep it? They'd soon find out. As June stood outside the final room and breathed in heavily, she began to ask herself some big questions. Should she do this? Would Trace hate her if she defeated him and took his crown before he'd really had a chance to wear it? Did it even feel right for her to do this? She exhaled and came to a decision. She'd come this far, she couldn't back out now.
She strode into the room with Ray on her shoulder. The last room wasn't themed to the Elite Four's chosen type of Pokémon like the other rooms were. This room was neutral in its colours and theme to emphasize the fact that this was where the Champions would battle and they had various types of Pokémon. The arena was huge, the largest June had ever seen, and just as expected she could already see her parents up in the audience waving to her. To her surprise, Ash, Misty, Eric, Veronica and Rachel were here too. They'd decided to come as a surprise for June as they thought she'd appreciate it if her idols were here to watch as well. And to add even more to the surprise, June's extended family was here too. Emerald, Tony, Sapphire, Ashley, Hilda, Satoshi, Shigeru, Annie and Michael were all sitting in the audience alongside Ruby and Hop! Ruby and Hop had secretly called them over the day before June went to face the Elite Four and they'd arrived in time to watch this Champion battle. No way were any of them going to miss this!
Of course Tricia was there too and so was her mother. They'd been there to cheer for Trace and now they could cheer for him as he battled June. Tricia would be cheering for both of them. She spotted June and blew a kiss to her. June kissed at the air as if receiving it. She gazed ahead at the other side of the arena. There was Trace, her best friend and now standing before her as defending Champion. Their journeys had been building up to this moment. Now they'd see how it was going to end.
"You never fail to deliver June." Trace said, his voice full of admiration, "As I made my way through the Elite Four, I expected that you'd be my first opponent to challenge me as Champion. I bet Tricia that you'd be right behind me and get through the Elite Four no sweat! And here you are!"
"I wouldn't say it was no sweat!" June gasped breathlessly, "Those battles nearly wore me down! It's incredible I still have any energy left in me after all that!"
"Oh believe me bud, it was just as hard for me!" Trace chuckled, "Lance especially had me convinced I was sure to lose! But we made it and let's face it, this was how our journey was always going to end: one final battle between you and I."
He whipped out his first Pokéball and held it out as if it was a badge of honour he wanted to show June.
"We maybe friends June, but I am NOT going easy on you!" Trace declared, his voice full of determination, "As Kanto's new Champion, no way will I let you take my title without a fight! I want the same from you. No holding back! Let's make this a battle for the ages!"
"I wouldn't ask for anything less." June agreed, pulling her cap lower to show how serious she was, "I didn't go through this journey just to go out in the most limp-wristed way possible. I'm going to give it my all!"
"Just what I wanna hear!" Trace cried excitedly, "This battle will determine two things: if you're worthy of becoming Champion and if you're also worthy of dating my sister!"
There was a brief pause and then the two teens keeled over in hysterical laughter. Even the members of the audience laughed in response with Tricia shaking her head at her brother.
"Oh I'm so sorry, I just couldn't keep a straight face after that!" Trace chortled, "I couldn't resist, you know?"
"I know." June replied, wiping a tear from her eye, "As is, I hope you don't mind that me and your sister are girlfriends now." she added awkwardly.
"Do I mind? Puh, as if I'd ever mind!" Trace retorted, "If anyone deserves to be my sister's girlfriend, it's you!"
Both June and Tricia smiled in appreciation at the young boy's kind words. Their mother looked from one to the other and smiled too. She was thrilled to see her daughter had found love in this visitor from Galar.
"As a result, I'll try not to beat you too badly." Trace said daringly, "But at the same time, I know Tricia won't want me holding back just because you two are girlfriends now. So let's give Tricia, mom and everyone else watching today a fight to remember!"
"You got it! Let's battle!" June cried eagerly.
The scoreboard flashed into life with one half showing June and her team while the other showed Trace and his team. All eyes were on the two teens as they prepared to battle it out for the Championship title. The atmosphere became so tense that nobody dared to even breathe as if worried they'd disturb the trainers down below.
"This is it babe. Our girl's going for the big one!" Hop whispered.
"I know, and I can't believe it's really happening. Our baby girl's going for the Champion crown!" Ruby whispered back, "Oh it's like me vs. Leon all over again…"
"And now here we are watching our girl fight for the title as you did!" Emerald piped excitedly.
"I wouldn't miss this for the world." Sapphire said happily, "I can't wait to see my niece in action down there. She's going to be incredible."
"You can do it cousin June!" Satoshi, Shigeru and Hilda cheered in unison.
"It's like I'm back in Alola winning my title again." Ash murmured, "What a fight that was! Now let's see if June can pull it off as I did."
"She'll do it no doubt." Misty said supportively, "But Trace won't make it easy on her."
"Go for it you two!" Veronica cheered sweetly and excitedly.
"Give us a fight to remember!" Eric yelled.
"Show us who's Kanto's new Champion handsome!" Rachel cheered down to Trace.
"Good luck out there you two." Tricia said to herself, "My darling brother, my sweet girlfriend, you two will be amazing…"
Ruby noticed how June and Trace were both getting a bunch of cheers from everybody. Would that affect the battle? Trace did have the home advantage but June had been raised by herself and Hop, a Champion and a semi-finalist respectively. Maybe that would put them on even ground. As the battle began, Ruby looked down to her stomach and patted it softly.
"Whether June wins or not, she'll have something to smile about regardless…" she said to herself.
Hop heard her and nodded knowingly. He could already see the look on June's face when they finally told her. The rest of the family was also going to be in for the big surprise as Ruby hadn't told them yet either. They looked back to the arena as June and Trace chose their first Pokémon.
"Ray, let's go!" June yelled, launching her partner Pikachu into the air.
"Jolteon, you're up buddy!" Trace yelled as he threw his first Pokéball.
Both Pokémon took up their positions on the field and stared each other down. The audience observed both opponents and murmured to each other. A Pikachu fighting a Jolteon wasn't exactly an ideal match up as both were Electric-types so their Electric moves wouldn't be ideal to use in this fight. But they also knew that Ray and Jolteon would have other moves at their disposal so the fight could still potentially be interesting to watch. Tricia knew what both Pokémon could do and already had some idea on how this battle would go.
"Why not start with our first Pokémon?" June said with chuckle.
"Our journey did start with a battle between them both so it's only fitting we open up with them." Trace concurred, "Jolteon's certainly not the Eevee you once beat back when we began!"
"Well yeah, because it's helped you become a Champion!" June retorted, "But we're still gonna win! Use Dig!"
Ray dug down into the ground, burrowing so quickly that even an Excadrill wouldn't have been able to dig any faster. But to June's surprise. Trace gave the same command! Jolteon dug down as well and soon both Pokémon were underground. Both trainers waited to see what would happen next. They couldn't begin to imagine what would be going on under the floor right now. After what seemed like a while, both Ray and Jolteon erupted from underground and flung up into the air. They spiralled through the air and crashed down onto their sides with a heavy grunt. Ray and Jolteon stood back up and stared each other down again.
"You really think I didn't see that coming?" Trace sneered, "I knew you'd have Ray use Dig on Jolteon so I taught it to use Dig to avoid him and give it a super-effective move to use against Ray too!"
"You really have grown so smart over the course of our journeys." June said with admiration in her voice, "This will really be an interesting match! Now Ray, use Brick Break!"
Ray charged towards Jolteon with his tail raised up high. He leapt towards the spiky Pokémon but Jolteon dodged the attack, leaving Ray to slam his tail onto the floor. Jolteon then blasted Ray in the face with a Weather Ball attack. There were no weather conditions so for now, it was a Normal Attack but it still had the desired effect. Ray reeled to one side, disoriented by the blow. Then Jolteon used Dig and because Ray was still shaken from the head-on blow from Weather Ball, he didn't recover in time and couldn't dodge the attack. Jolteon erupted from underneath Ray's feet and sent him hurling through the air. Ray crashed down onto the floor but he picked himself back up and sped towards Jolteon with Zippy Zap. Jolteon was fast, but not even it could dodge such a speedy move. It was hit by Ray and sent skidding across the floor. Jolteon winced but quickly recovered and zapped Ray with Thunder. Ray wasn't hurt much but it still made him grimace as he was hit.
Shaking off the damage, Ray retaliated by using Surf next. He threw up his paws and sent a large wave of water whooshing to Jolteon. Misty and her children watched with awe at the Water-type attack being executed before them. Jolteon jumped up over the wave, avoiding getting so much as a single drop of water splashing on it. But now it was airborne, Ray was able to jump up after it and catch it off-guard with a surprise Brick Break. His tail walloped Jolteon in the face and sent it careening to one side. Both Pokémon landed back down on the floor with Ray landing safely while Jolteon crashed onto its side. It managed to stand back up again but it was clear to both June and Trace that this match wasn't going much of anywhere for now. They were too evenly matched and they wanted to keep their aces for later so they both returned them for now. Jolteon went back into its Pokéball and Ray jumped back onto June's shoulder.
"It was for the best really." Ruby acknowledged, "They don't want to wear their best Pokémon out too soon."
"So what will they send out next?" Hop murmured.
"Your brother and girlfriend sure seem even for now." Trace's mother observed, looking to Tricia, "I can see they've spent a lot of time training together."
"They sure have mom." Tricia confirmed, "They know each other well and thus it really is a case of who can outthink the other now…"
The two trainers made their next moves. June sent out Paige while Trace sent out Pidgeot. The ghostly fighter monkey and ace flying bird stared each other down and awaited their trainer's commands. June recoiled at what had happened. Paige was literally the worst choice to go up against Pidgeot! She was weak to Flying types and Pidgeot was half Normal type so her Rage Fist wouldn't work! She was tempted to switch out but despite the bad match-up, it might be best to stick with it for now. Trace would only switch Pidgeot out if she tried to send out Ray again to fend off Pidgeot. Paige would hopefully be able to hold her own regardless of a bad match-up.
"The odds aren't in our favour Paige, but your strength alone should give us a fighting chance." June murmured, "Use Screech!"
Paige screeched loudly at Pidgeot and lowered its Defence. At least now whenever Paige attacked it, it would do more damage than before. Pidgeot winced from the noise but it quickly retaliated by using Air Slash. Pidgeot swiped the air with its wings and bombarded Paige with scything blades of air that felt like they were trying to cut her to pieces. June quickly saw that Trace's Pidgeot was fighting differently to her own as Ace didn't know that move. Paige rubbed herself better and clenched her fists angrily. Despite the super-effective hit, she seemed more irritated than hurt.
"Fight back with Lash Out!" June commanded.
It was the only attack that would do any real damage to Pidgeot as Brick Break wasn't effective and Rage Fist wouldn't do anything. Paige leapt towards Pidgeot with dark energy swirling all around her fists. Unfortunately, it did no good as Pidgeot used Air Slash again and the blades of air pummelled Paige down to the floor. She crashed down and growled in fury. She was getting more agitated by the minute. June felt very anxious. She had to switch out now!
"I know you all too well June." Trace crowed, "Paige is a close distant fighter so not only did I choose Pidgeot because of type-advantage, but it can exploit Paige's other crippling weakness: those that fight from a distance! If she can't get in close enough, then her attacks are useless while Pidgeot keeps a safe distance!"
The crowd were impressed with Trace's strategic thinking.
"The boy's done his homework." Hop murmured, "It's like he's cherry picked his team and trained them to be able to counter June's."
"If anyone can match her blow-for-blow, it's him." Ruby agreed, "He knows her fighting style the best so of course he knows how to counter our girl. It's like that one time I lost to Sapph. She beat me because she was able to do the same thing!"
"I still remember that as if it was yesterday." Sapphire put in, "Still can't believe I actually did it!"
"But June also knows Trace and how he works, so she'll no doubt be able to counter him too." Ash put in, "This match is gonna be such a back-and-forth!"
They watched as June made the only choice she could. She returned Paige to her Pokéball. Trace watched her with steely eyes. He expected her to send Ray back out but to his amazement, June sent out Leonardo instead. It wasn't what he expected but Trace knew all too well what June was planning. Leonardo knew Ice Beam so he could exploit one of Pidgeot's weaknesses and he'd be able to fight from a distance too so he'd be a better match-up for his Flying Pokémon.
"Now we're even with both of us having a long-range fighter!" June declared, "But Pidgeot hasn't got anything super-effective against Leonardo so this fight is mine! Use Ice Beam!"
Leonardo aimed his cannons at Pidgeot and fired his Ice Beam. He'd put it to good use against Lance's team earlier and it was going to help out well against Pidgeot. Or so he thought…
"Melt it with Heat Wave!" Trace commanded.
Pidgeot blew blistering hot air at the oncoming Ice Beam and stopped it dead in its tracks. The Heat Wave was too intense for the Ice Beam to keep going and it evaporated, not even getting close to Pidgeot. June put her hands to her face in astonishment. Tricia had no reaction for she and her mother saw it coming. They'd seen Trace's Pidgeot use Heat Wave already.
"No way, you taught it Heat Wave too?!" June exclaimed.
"Duh. You really think I wouldn't give Pidgeot a means to cover its Ice weakness?" Trace retorted, "I know about your Blastoise's Ice Beam so I also taught it that move accordingly in case I had to go up against it. It's like I said June, I know your every move and can counter accordingly."
It was now June's turn to smirk. She adjusted the beak of her cap and smiled coolly.
"You don't know my EVERY move." she said deviously, "Use Dark Pulse!"
Trace blinked in surprise. June was right, he had no idea Leonardo knew that move! Leonardo aimed his cannons at Pidgeot and blasted it, the dark energy sapping away some of its strength and causing it to flinch. Now Pidgeot couldn't move, Leonardo was able to use Ice Beam successfully. He blasted Pidgeot with the freezing energy beam and Pidgeot collapsed onto the floor, chilled and shivering furiously from the blow. The Silverlock family applauded June for such a well-executed strategy.
"June's really learned from us!" Emerald said excitedly, "That feels like something either of us could've pulled off!"
"Seems her friend's on the back foot now." Tony observed, "Can Pidgeot carry on after that?"
"Looks like it can, but will Trace keep it in play?" Ashley asked aloud, "He might be best switching out."
Miraculously, Trace seemed to have heard Ashley for he suddenly returned Pidgeot to its ball. June imagined it was less because Pidgeot was on the back foot and more he wanted to keep her on her toes by switching out like so. She decided to do the same just to throw Trace off as well. Her friend remained undeterred as he threw his next Pokéball and brought out Venusaur. June sent Paige back into play. At least this was a more favourable match-up as Paige had no weaknesses to Venusaur's two types and Venusaur couldn't learn any attacks Paige was weak against. This match would be won on endurance and power more than anything.
"Now this oughta be interesting. No type-advantages for this match-up." Trace acknowledged, "Shouldn't make the fight any less fun for us! Venusaur, use Energy Ball!"
The frog-like Pokémon opened its mouth and blasted a green energy sphere at Paige. Paige simply used Brick Break to karate chop her way through it and then used Screech to lower Venusaur's Defences. Venusaur remained undeterred and instead retaliated with Sludge Bomb. It bombarded Paige with the exploding mud balls and knocked her backwards. Paige shook off the blows and seemed to be alright…only for her body to flash purple and spasms of pain to shoot through her body. June gasped in horror. Paige had been poisoned! Every last move she made would have to count or else Paige was done for! Luckily she'd lowered Venusaur's Defence earlier so her attacks would do more damage. Paige scampered towards Venusaur and lashed out with Rage Fist. It tried to slow her down with Sludge Bomb but Paige simply jumped out of the way and punched Venusaur with her signature move. The ectoplasmic punch sent Venusaur reeling backwards and it fell down onto its stomach for a brief moment. Trace gritted his teeth. Damn, he'd forgotten that Rage Fist only got stronger the more times Paige took damage! He'd have to try and work on slowing her down and distracting her instead of landing a direct hit.
Paige winced as the poison sapped away more of her strength but despite the damage taken so far, she didn't seem close to fainting. As usual, she was showing tremendous stamina that few Pokémon could hope to match. Maybe she could win this after all? Paige rushed towards Venusaur with another Rage Fist but Venusaur caught her off-guard by using Earth Power. The ground seemed to magically erupt under her feet and she was blasted into the air as a tremendous force of energy punched up into her. Everyone gasped with awe and grimaced from the impact as Paige crashed down onto the floor. The impact had winded her and she was left clutching her back in pain. It seemed she'd hit the floor pretty hard. Trace ordered Venusaur to stand by and give Paige a chance to get up. The Annihilape did manage but she was looking pretty weak. The poison from Sludge Bomb made her feel worse. But she was still refusing to give up. Her muscles bulged as she flexed them and roared furiously. She knew she couldn't go on any longer but she was going out in a blaze of glory!
June ordered one last Rage Fist from Paige. Paige gathered as much ectoplasmic energy into her fist as possible and stampeded towards Venusaur. The Grass/Poison Pokémon stayed where it was and didn't move. It had no chance of dodging anyway. But Trace still had a plan. He ordered Venusaur to use Synthesis to heal itself up. Just as Paige was about to attack, its body glowed green and it began to recover some of its health. It finished just as Paige's Rage Fist slammed down on its head. The impact was so tremendously powerful that the whole stadium seemed to shake. Everyone gasped and grabbed onto their seats. Venusaur lay flat on the floor, its head spinning from the blow. Thanks to Synthesis, it had recovered enough health to survive the hit. Paige panted heavily, feeling worn out as she'd used whatever energy she had left to make this attack really hit. She collapsed on one knee and paused to catch her breath. Then the poison kicked in again and at long last, she had no more energy left. The primate Pokémon collapsed onto the floor and passed out. Finally, a Pokémon had taken the fall in this battle. Everyone babbled amongst each other frantically.
"Well done my boy! What a victory!" Trace's mother cried.
"You really earned it little bro!" Tricia cried.
"After so much back and forth, one finally takes the fall." Ruby acknowledged, "Pity it had to be June."
"I know love, but keep in mind June's still got five Pokémon left and four of them haven't taken any damage yet whereas half of Trace's team has already battled." Hop noted, "So June's in a good spot so far."
"My little niece can do it, you see if she can't!" Emerald insisted, "You'll turn this fight around June, I know you will!" she hollered.
June heard her aunt's cheers and smiled in appreciation. Trace maybe in the lead but her family was still right behind her. June returned Paige to her Pokéball and smiled softly.
"Thank you so much Paige. You were wonderful." she said softly, "I promise your efforts won't go to waste."
She put Paige's ball away and drew out her fourth Pokéball. It was amazing how she was already using her fourth Pokémon in this battle and yet so far, only one Pokémon had been knocked out the whole time. She wondered how Trace's team was faring up. Half of them had already been out and taken damage while the other half was yet to see action. Did that put her in a better spot? Maybe, but she didn't care get overconfident. She was still the only one with a fainted Pokémon so she had to play her cards carefully.
"Cinder, I choose you!" June yelled, throwing the Pokéball.
Her fiery Magmar materialized onto the field and balled her fists. Venusaur stared back weakly at its new opponent. Trace knew that this match wasn't going to go well for him. Cinder easily had the type-advantage but Venusaur's Earth Power covered its Fire weakness. It just depended if Venusaur had the strength to carry on and use it.
"We can still go on!" Trace declared, "Venusaur, use Synthesis to recover some more!"
Venusaur did so. Trace knew that against Cinder, the fight wouldn't last long at all but if he could drag it out at least a little, he could potentially soften her up for his next Pokémon to pick off. Venusaur recovered some of its health but as it did so, Cinder sprang into action immediately with Flamethrower. The duck-billed Pokémon blew flames over Venusaur and the flowery frog cried out as it was blazed by them. Synthesis was still active so it managed to avoid losing too much health from the attack. By the time Cinder was done, Venusaur had managed to hang on with just a bit of health left to spare. As it could launch at least one more attack, Trace commanded it to use Earth Power. Venusaur stomped the ground and Earth Power punched into Cinder, the ground almost splitting in two underneath her feet. The Magmar stumbled over and fell to her knees but she was alright. She shook herself off and June commanded her to use one more Flamethrower. Cinder blew flames at Venusaur once again and the attack was enough to take it down for good. Venusaur fell to the floor and passed out, too weak to fight anymore. Now the results were even.
"Great work June! You really pulled it off!" Ruby cried.
"I'm impressed that Venusaur was still able to put up a fight despite how one-sided it was." Hop said with admiration, "Trace really has trained his Pokémon well, as has June."
"This is getting good!" Emerald said excitedly, "I can hardly keep still with how exciting this match is getting!"
"Now they're even, let's see who can tip the scales and take back the lead." Sapphire murmured.
"Tough luck little brother." Tricia said sympathetically, "But well done to you my love!" she called to June.
"Heh, it must feel weird cheering for both." her mother joked.
"Yeah, pretty much." Tricia said meekly.
Trace returned Venusaur to its Pokéball. He showed no signs of anger or disappointment for he'd expected to lose this match anyway. He looked to the ball softly.
"You did your best buddy. Don't feel too bad." he said kindly, "We'll win this next one…"
Trace exchanged Venusaur's ball for another one.
"I dunno about you June, but I'm having a blast here!" the Kanto boy said gleefully.
"I am too! Battling with you is so much fun!" June said happily.
"Ha! I'm glad to hear it!" Trace said jovially, "Now let's keep having fun!"
He threw his Pokéball. June braced herself, expecting to be up against either Blastoise, Rhydon, Nidoking or Marowak. Surely Trace had brought a Pokémon that could cover Fire-types and all four of them could do just that! But to her amazement, he'd brought Jolteon back out. June blinked heavily. Why Jolteon? True it knew Dig, which was super-effective against Cinder but surely Blastoise, Rhydon, Nidoking or Marowak would've been better choices?
"Say, he's brought Jolteon back out." Ash observed, "What's that kid up to?"
"We'll have to watch and find out handsome." Misty whispered, "That Trace is looking to be as unpredictable as you are in a battle…"
"I'm not sure what your game is Trace, but here we go." June said wearily, "Cinder, use Flamethrower!"
"Use Rain Dance!" Trace commanded at the same time.
Cinder blew a tongue of flames at Jolteon but at the same time, Jolteon began leaping from one foot to the other in a rhythmic dance that caused it to start raining in the arena. The rain sprinkled down and Cinder's Flamethrower was extinguished so much that Jolteon barely even felt it when it hit. Cinder grimaced as she was soaked by the rain. Fire-types like her could never stand it when it rained. June was again impressed by Trace's strategic battle-style. But she was sure Jolteon had another reason to use Rain Dance. She was proven right seconds later as Jolteon launched a Weather Ball attack directly at Cinder. The Magmar cried out as Weather Ball slammed into her and soaked her even more. Because it was raining, it was now a Water-type attack. June found herself flashing back to Celadon Gym and her battle against Erika. Erika's Roserade had done the exact same thing!
"You picked up Erika's Weather Ball strategy!" June exclaimed, "That's so incredible! You actually pulled it off!"
"I know right?!" Trace shrieked ecstatically, "We trained SO hard to get it right and finally, it worked! I can't tell you how happy that's made me! It helped me against Bruno's Onix especially!"
"Oh I can imagine!" June laughed, "Jolteon can now cover its Ground weakness with this combo! But Cinder can fight with more than just fire! Use Psychic!" June ordered.
Cinder held out her hands and grabbed Jolteon with Psychic energy. The spiky Pokémon yelped as it was suddenly picked up and lifted off the floor. Cinder skilfully gestured with her hands, keeping a tight hold on Jolteon with Psychic. Then she pushed forward and launched it across the room. Jolteon crashed into the wall and collapsed onto the floor. It was quickly back up on its feet and it sprinted back towards Cinder. June thought it was about to use Weather Ball again but instead, Jolteon used Thunder. This was a wise move for Thunder's accuracy was perfect when it was raining. Thunder struck down and Cinder wailed loudly as she was zapped. Now she was stunned by the giant thunderbolt, Jolteon dug down into the floor and tunnelled towards her. Cinder was hit as Jolteon erupted from underneath her feet and knocked her down onto her back. Cinder winced in pain and massaged her back. She felt as if she'd been hit by a hammer.
She got back up again and fought back with Psychic. This time, she executed the move differently by sweeping Jolteon with waves of psychic energy. Jolteon cried out and found itself being forced onto its knees as the waves disoriented it. Now it was down, Cinder sprinted quickly towards Jolteon and used Brick Break. Her hand scythed into the side of Jolteon's head and sent it reeling away. The Electric-type Pokémon was left stunned for the moment, its head spinning from the blow. Cinder ran in again and uppercut Jolteon into the air with Brick Break. It was thrown backwards but Jolteon managed to somersault itself into position and fire another attack. It used Weather Ball again but June expected it and ordered Cinder to use Psychic to catch it. Cinder did so, but that didn't help in the end for Jolteon still caught her off-guard with another Thunder. The colossal lightning bolt zapped her and Cinder cried out, dropping the Weather Ball. Jolteon dug down into the floor again and as Cinder tried to shake off the Thunder attack, Jolteon emerged from underneath her again and knocked her flying into the air. She crashed down at June's feet and looked up at her sadly. She clearly wanted to go on but it wasn't possible. She lay down and didn't get back up again. The Magmar was out of the match.
"That's too bad." Tony said sadly, "Cinder was doing so well out there."
"She sure was." Ashley agreed, patting Hilda's shoulder, "But Trace's Jolteon really knew how to use them moves. That kid's a natural!"
"Can cousin June turn this around mum?" Hilda asked worriedly.
"We'll have to wait and see sweetie." Ashley said softly.
"She can do it, we know she can!" Satoshi cried optimistically.
"Go on cuz, show him what you're made of!" Shigeru cheered.
Tony and Emerald couldn't help smiling. Their children were as endlessly optimistic as they were sometimes!
June returned Cinder to her ball and patted it softly.
"You've been amazing Cinder. Thank you so much for carrying me this far." she said kindly.
She looked to Ray and gestured.
"It's time you returned to the battle." she declared.
"Way ahead of ya June!" Ray said eagerly.
He ran onto the battlefield and prepared to attack. The battle was back where it started: their partners duking it out for a win. Trace remained undeterred.
"OK Jolteon, let's see if you can finally break your losing streak against Ray and win for once!" he said eagerly, "Use Dig!"
Jolteon dug down into the floor and tunnelled towards Ray. But June surprised everybody by telling Ray to use Brick Break on the floor. Ray jumped into the air, somersaulted through the air and slammed his tail down on the floor. He was like a sledgehammer smashing through concrete. The impact of Brick Break slamming on the floor was enough to send a shockwave that punched into Jolteon and stopped it from digging any further. Now Jolteon had been stopped, Ray dug down into the floor as well and tunnelled towards it. He crashed into Jolteon and both Pokémon burst up from the floor. Ray laughed as both Pokémon launched upwards and then he spun around and walloped Jolteon with another Brick Break. The attack was so hard that it sent Jolteon careening straight down into the floor. It crashed down heavily and everyone winced, feeling the impact themselves. Even June felt Ray had overdone it a bit. Ray landed perfectly on the floor and waited for Jolteon to retaliate.
Jolteon picked itself up again, but it strained heavily while it did so. It was clear that Jolteon wasn't going to be able to fight for much longer. Trace held out its ball and was about to recall it but Jolteon looked back and shook its head. The message was clear: No, I'm going to see this fight to the end! Trace nodded and put the ball away.
"If you feel you can do it, then let's keep going." he said encouragingly, "It's not looking good, but we might still win this!"
He ordered Jolteon to use Thunder. Rain Dance was almost over so he wanted to make the use of the rain before it finished. Thunder zapped Ray and even though he tried to dodge, it did no good and he was hit anyway. Even if Electric attacks didn't affect him much, it still hurt when Thunder hit him. Taking advantage of the distraction, Jolteon dug into the floor again and tunnelled towards Ray. Ray shook off the damage from Thunder but he wasn't able to react in time and Jolteon ploughed straight up from the floor and into him. Ray was knocked backwards and he crashed down onto his back. Just as he landed, Rain Dance concluded and the arena returned to normal. Jolteon dug into the floor again but Ray recovered and he dug down into the floor as well. Both Pokémon tunnelled through the floor towards one another. June and Trace could barely even imagine what it must be like for them underground like this and racing towards each other. Then the floor shook and both Pokémon erupted from underneath, crying out in unison. It had been a double impact and both were feeling the pain from it. Ray and Jolteon crashed down onto the floor simultaneously and for the moment, neither one could stand back up again. June held her hands close to her heart. Trace balled his fists.
Please! Get back up! June begged in her thoughts.
Get up! You must get up! Trace hissed in his mind.
It looked for the moment as if they might have a tie on their hands. The scoreboard even began a 30 second countdown to give the two a chance to get up again. But as the timer reached zero, neither of them stood up again. There was a chorus of gasps as it settled in what had happened. It was a draw! Neither June nor Trace had expected the battle to end like this!
"Holy Chandelure, Ray and Jolteon are both unable to battle!" June cried.
"I guess we'll never be able to settle that score." Trace murmured, "I really hoped this could be Jolteon's chance to finally beat Ray…"
The crowd looked to one another.
"And here we are, both sides have lost their starters already." Ruby said in amazement, "This really is getting fast and frenetic!"
"They're definitely not giving each other an inch in this battle." Hop agreed, "Both sides are left with only a few Pokémon left. June's got three and Trace has four."
"The question is does that give Trace the advantage and what does he have left to offer?" Emerald said thoughtfully.
"We at least know Trace has a Pidgeot left." Tony observed. "So what are the last three he has?"
"We'll soon find out." Sapphire put in, "I know what Pokémon June has on her team but it remains to be seen what three she has left that she's chosen for this match. We at least know she's got a Blastoise so the other two are still a mystery for now."
"And has she got any that can Mega Evolve?" Ashley added, "Ruby told us she has at least four Pokémon that can Mega Evolve, those being Blastoise, Aerodactyl, Scizor and Pidgeot."
"And does Trace have any Mega Stones himself?" Ash added, "It wouldn't surprise me if he does."
"I'm sure his mom and Tricia know, but I doubt they're telling anyone right now." Misty remarked.
Tricia and her mother looked to each other.
"Do you think Trace can still win this?" her mother asked.
"It depends which Pokémon they've got left to use." Tricia replied, "Trace didn't tell us what Pokémon he was gonna use against June so it's as much a mystery to us as it will be to June. I'm sure I can guess what he plans to use for his ace-up-his-sleeve. As for June well…my girl's always full of surprises."
She looked to her girlfriend with interest. What did June have in store? She couldn't wait to find out. June picked Ray up and carried him back to her spot in the arena while Trace returned Jolteon.
"You fought brilliantly Ray. Thank you very much." June said kindly.
"Anytime June…sorry I couldn't win this one." Ray said apologetically.
"It's OK Ray. You've done enough." June insisted.
"You've been amazing Jolteon. I'm so proud of you." Trace complimented, "Thank you for everything…"
Both trainers turned back and stared each other down.
"We're at the halfway point now. You have three left but I have four. Now we'll see who's remaining team members will turn this battle around for us!" Trace declared.
"I assure you the three I have left are all I need!" June said confidently, "Just you wait and see!"
They both chose their next Pokémon and brought them to the field…
June and Trace maybe best of friends, but neither one's letting up for a minute! It's looking close so far but someone's got to give eventually. Who'll win in the end? Will it be June or Trace? Find out in the second half next time...
Trivia: Trace's team is of course different from the team he actually uses in the Let's Go games because let's face it, his team is anything BUT Champion worthy. I mean come on, who brings a Rapidash and a Vileplume to a Champion battle? So while I kept Jolteon, Pidgeot and Marowak to still make the team his own, I replaced Rapidash, Vileplume and Slowbro with the Kanto starters to give him a more powerful team. And as you can also see, his ace will not be a Mega Evolving Pidgeot this time. No, he's got something MUCH better...
Also his Pokémon have considerably better move sets here, including Jolteon with its Rain Dance/Weather Ball combination to cover Ground-types. And none of them only know three moves either! XD
Oh and Ruby mentioning a time she lost to Sapphire? That's yet again another Plot-Scorbunny in the future. ;)
Ray vs. Jolteon wasn't going to be a draw originally but I decided to make it so to subvert expectations and there didn't seem to be much point in letting either one win in the end.
I also had to reupload this chapter because I made a counting error. I made it out as if both June had Trace had half a team left but no, Trace had four Pokémon left while only June has half a team left. Amazing how I can't fucking count all of a sudden. =P