Episode 8: Antonio vs. Kieran
The Nocedas passed their assignment with flying colours, and all thanks to Carmine helping them find a good place to observe Alolan Vulpix. The teacher was well impressed with the photos and videos the two had taken of the Ice-type Pokémon, even giving them double points for getting photos and videos of Alolan Ninetales alongside them. The fact they'd filmed a whole family in their natural habitat and displaying natural behaviour made it all the better and the teacher had no qualms about giving Salma and Antonio top marks and a clean pass. They admitted they had help, but the teacher didn't mind as the assignment didn't say anything about getting outside help. He passed the news on to Carmine's class and Carmine's teacher complimented her on her kindness towards the Nocedas. The Kitakami girl only smiled primly, glad the two were appreciative of her help.
The three met up again in the Central Plaza to talk about what had occurred.
"I really appreciate the shout-out you two." Carmine said kindly, "Really, I wasn't asking for anything in return, but I appreciate it."
"You helped us pass the assignment, I think it's fair we acknowledged your help in that." Salma said softly, "We weren't gonna take all the credit."
"Nah, that's against the Noceda family's nature to take credit for other's achievements." Antonio muttered, "We believe firmly in credit where credit is due."
"And so you should." Carmine agreed, "Nobody gets anywhere by pretending to be a big shot despite having to leech off of others for success."
"Too right." Salma muttered, "I wouldn't have become a Champion ranked student if I acted like that."
"You sure wouldn't." Carmine concurred, "Say, if you've got a minute, how's about me and you have another battle?" the Blueberry Academy student asked eagerly, "This time, we'll make it six-on-six and I can show you my full team!"
"Really?" Salma said in exasperation, "It wasn't that long since the last battle we had! Can't it wait?"
"Not taking no for an answer." Carmine said firmly, "Battle me now or I'll pester you until you do!"
"What about me?" Antonio asked curiously, feeling left out.
"You don't have to join in this time if you don't want to." Carmine offered, "I just want your sister."
"You can't have me, I already have a girlfriend." Salma retorted.
"THAT'S NOT WHAT I MEANT YOU BOZO!" Carmine snapped, blushing bright red.
"Sure you didn't." Salma sneered, "You can go and do something else if you want Toni." she offered, smiling kindly to her brother, "You're not as into battles as me, so you don't have to join in this time. Why don't you see if Lacey's available for another date…" she suggested, winking at him.
Antonio blushed shyly and giggled nervously.
"S-sure s-sis, I'll do that. Y-you and Carmine have fun now." the Paldean boy said meekly.
He walked off towards the Costal Biome, looking for Lacey. As soon as he left, Carmine raised an eyebrow with intrigue.
"Date, huh?" she purred, "Is your brother cosying up with Lacey perchance? I'm surprised she didn't mention it last time we chatted…"
"They're not exactly an item YET, but I'm hoping they will be." Salma said wistfully, "I think they'll make a cute couple."
"Just pray he never meets her dad." Carmine said to herself more than anyone, "Enough talk now, let's battle!"
As the two prepared to battle again, Antonio was walking through the Coastal Biome. He wondered where to start looking first. Should he go to the Costal Plaza or look in her favourite picnic spot where he'd had tea with her the other day? He imagined she would be in either of those places. Or maybe she wasn't in the Terarium at all and was in class? If he had to, he'd ask where Lacey was. But to his relief, he spotted her. She was at her picnic spot again. Had she had another battle and was winding down afterwards? Or was she just relaxing? Antonio approached her, doing his best to keep calm and to not feel nervous. He didn't have to be shy around Lacey. She liked him and didn't mind his company. Lacey had just poured some tea for herself and her Excadrill as he arrived. Lacey looked up and her kind face lit up with pleasure.
"Oh hello Antonio." she said cheerfully, "What brings you here?"
"H-hi Lacey." Antonio said bashfully. He coughed nosily and tried to talk as normally as he could.
"Uh, Salma and Carmine are having a practice battle together, just the two of them, so I came here to occupy myself." he explained, "I…I came here to see you again." he added, blushing.
"Me?" Lacey said, sounding surprised, "Why me?"
"Do I need a reason?" Antonio said, incredulous that Lacey felt the need to ask him that, "I really like you and I wanted to see how you were doing. Isn't that what friends do?" he added indignantly.
"OK, calm down, I was just curious." Lacey said hastily, "I think that's sweet of you. While you're here, do feel free to have some tea if you like."
"Sure thing, I'm OK with that." Antonio said appreciatively.
He sat down beside Lacey and politely waited for her to fill his cup with tea. Lacey's Excadrill looked to Antonio and waved politely to him. Antonio waved back. It never failed to amuse him that this same Excadrill was an absolute menace on the battlefield, and yet off the battlefield he was as friendly and approachable as Lacey herself. Trainers and Pokémon often shared traits with one another and these two were no exceptions.
"How did your assignment go?" Lacey inquired, sipping some of her tea.
"We passed, thanks to Carmine believe it or not!" Antonio said as if it still surprised him to acknowledge that, "She did make us battle for her help first, but me and Salma won and she showed us where Alolan Vulpix lived. We got a bonus by seeing Alolan Ninetales as well!"
"I'm so jealous!" Lacey squealed excitedly, "Alolan Vulpix are SOOOOOOOOO cute! I would've loved an assignment like that myself!"
"Maybe someday, you will get it." Antonio suggested, "But that's not all. My Braixen evolved into a Delphox!" he announced.
"She evolved?" Lacey said in astonishment, "That's wonderful! May I see her?"
"Oh…another time maybe." Antonio said hastily, "I swapped her out for my Armarouge so she could rest from the earlier fight with Carmine."
"That's OK. I look forward to seeing her." Lacey said eagerly, "I bet she's very cute!"
"Not just cute, she's beautiful." Antonio said with admiration as he picked up his cup and sipped his tea, "And so strong too. I should show you what she can…"
"Lacey!"
The two teens leapt out of their chairs in shock as an all too familiar voice called out to them. Antonio thought his heart was going to stop as Kieran appeared seemingly from nowhere and marched towards him and Lacey. Lacey stood to attention with her hands clasped together and her back straight. She cleared her throat.
"Y-y-yes Champion Kieran?" she asked politely.
Kieran glowered at the Elite Four member with eyes that were full of irritation and impatience. His eyes swept over the whole scene before him: the picnic table, the parasol, the tea set, Excadrill lazing on a cushion and most curious of all, Antonio being present. What was he doing here? He dismissed him for now and glared at Lacey with a Basilisk stare. She tried not to look scared, but Antonio could see it in her eyes that she was terrified.
"I see…it seems we have a lot of time on our hands." Kieran sneered, his voice dripping with sarcasm, "Time to goof off and shoot the breeze."
"K-Kieran, I assure you, i-it's not what you…" Lacey began.
"I placed VERY strict rules in the League Club that all members are to devote their time to training and battling!" Kieran interrupted, "At what point did I say that lazing about was allowed? If you can't commit to the rules, then you can say goodbye to your position Lacey!"
"Kieran please, I've been training and practicing very, very hard!" Lacey pleaded, "But you must understand that it's important to take breaks in-between! You can't just work us into the ground with no rest like this, you're going to cause irreparable damage to everybody in the club!"
"Who's in charge around here?" Kieran snapped angrily, "Who's the reigning BB League Champion? Who conquered the Elite Four with ease and claimed the top spot? ME! That's who! I run this place and what I say goes, so I don't want to see you goofing off having silly tea parties with your boyfriend again!"
"Now wait just a minute!" Lacey shouted, "Antonio is NOT my boyfriend, he's just a friend! And the way you're treating me is just NOT right! If my daddy was here, he'd show you what for!"
"Shut it." Kieran growled, "Your daddy would be no match for me. You better do as I say Lacey, otherwise I may have to…remove those little distractions from the equation." he said menacingly.
Lacey recoiled. The threat was clear enough. If she didn't comply, then Kieran would have her tea set and any other personal belongings of her's destroyed. Swallowing heavily, Lacey had no choice but to accept defeat. She bowed down solemnly.
"Y-yes Champion." she mumbled.
Kieran nodded, satisfied with the outcome of their conversation. He turned around and stalked off. As he left, Lacey held her head in her hands and began to cry. Antonio could only stand there feeling helpless. He hated seeing Lacey look so upset and wanted to do something about it. He was sure he was digging himself his own grave by doing this, but he wasn't going to stand by and let Kieran get away with treating his love like this. He had to be taught a lesson! Antonio ran forward and cupped his hands around his mouth.
"HEY, YOU!" he shouted to him.
Kieran stopped walking and turned around, his face full of confusion.
"What do YOU want?" he said irritably.
"I think you owe Lacey an apology!" Antonio demanded, "I'm not letting you treat her like dirt, pendejo! So you march right back here and apologize to Lacey!"
Lacey stopped crying and looked up in amazement. Antonio was actually standing up for her? He was either very brave or very foolish. Either way, she was touched by the gesture. Why couldn't all boys be is nice as him? Kieran scoffed.
"I don't owe slackers like her anything." he dismissed, "Why don't you mind your own business and stay out of this?"
"Because I'm not letting you get away with being a jerk to Lacey like that!" Antonio yelled, "If you won't apologize, then I'll MAKE you apologize! Battle me now! If I win, you apologize to Lacey!"
Kieran snorted with laughter as if Antonio had told him the funniest joke he'd ever heard in his life. In his mind, Antonio was nothing more than a joke, so a demand to battle him may as well have been one. His face quickly fell back to its usual grim expression.
"I don't want Salma's weakling brother. I only want her." the Champion muttered, "You're not worth a damn. Stick to battling wild Sentrets, cause that's all you're good for."
Antonio refused to back down.
"Oh, what's the matter?" he taunted, "Scared you'll lose?"
"Antonio, no!" Lacey cried, horrified at Antonio's taunt. She was sure Kieran was going to kill him for that!
The Champion flinched as if the question had literally stung him. He was still for a few seconds. Then suddenly, he turned around and shot a death gaze at Antonio. The Paldean teen gulped. Even he began to feel he'd pushed his luck a bit.
"You. Me. Costal Plaza. Right now." Kieran said coldly.
"Oh, y-y-you accept?" Antonio stammered, "Well then, prepare to be dethroned!"
He was trying to sound tough and ready for action, but secretly he was already regretting his decision. Why was he being so stupid?! He couldn't possibly hope to win against Kieran! He couldn't even beat any of Blueberry Academy's students without being alongside Salma! Lacey grabbed Antonio by the shoulders and looked him hard in the eyes. Her own eyes were full of fear for her friend.
"Antonio, please! Don't go through with this!" she begged, "It's not worth suffering Kieran's wrath for my sake! Please think about what you're doing!"
"I am Lacey." Antonio insisted, taking her hands into his own, "And I want to do this. Somebody needs to teach Kieran some manners, and if it has to be me, then let it!"
He followed Kieran up to the Costal Plaza so they could have their battle. Lacey followed him anxiously. She was sure that Antonio was about to get obliterated. The two opponents took their places in the arena and prepared to battle. As they did, several League Club members looked up and gathered into the plaza to see what was happening. They were astonished to see their Champion was battling somebody. Antonio gulped, trying to ignore his pounding heart. He wouldn't lose! He wasn't going to let Kieran bully Lacey or anyone else anymore! He would beat him! As hopeless as it seemed, he was sure he could find a way to take him down. Kieran drew out two Pokéballs. He had a look of complete disinterest on his face. In his eyes, this whole thing was nothing more than a waste of time.
"Let's just get this over with." the BB League Champion grumbled, "Dragonite, Politoed, crush him!"
He threw both Pokéballs and both Dragonite and Politoed emerged from within. Antonio blinked heavily, unable to believe what he was seeing. Kieran had a Dragonite now?! He'd grown a lot since Kitakami to have a Pokémon as powerful as that in his arsenal! He'd never seen a Politoed before, but he guessed it was related to Poliwag given the use of "Poli" in its name. Was that his replacement for Poliwrath? He remembered Kieran using that last time he and Salma had battled. He was given an example of Politoed's power as its very presence suddenly caused it to start raining. Its ability was Drizzle and it caused rain to appear when the Pokémon was sent out into battle. Antonio was soaked in an instant, but he didn't let the rain bother him. He drew out his first two Pokéballs.
"A Dragon-type and a Water-type." he acknowledged, "I have the perfect counters! Meowscarada and Tinkaton, spring into action!"
His two strongest Pokémon took the field and braced themselves for action. Meowscarada hissed viciously and Tinkaton raised her hammer menacingly. Kieran didn't even flinch. Sure those two Pokémon were the right-types to counter his own, but that didn't mean Antonio was going to win. He had the posture and confidence of someone who held all the cards and knew they had this match won.
"Let's make this quick!" Antonio said hotly, "Meowscarada, use Flower Trick on Politoed! Tinkaton, use Play Rough on Dragonite!"
The magician cat and Hammersmith fairy sprang into action. Meowscarada sent exploding flowers raining down towards Politoed and Tinkaton pounced on Dragonite, her hammer raised and ready to smash him to pieces. Kieran regarded Antonio's moves with nothing more than indifference as he made his own move.
"Dragonite, Extreme Speed! Politoed, Ice Beam!" he commanded.
Dragonite dodged Tinkaton's Play Rough attack by zooming out of the way, moving so fast that he was nothing more than a blur. Politoed blasted the Flower Trick bombs with Ice Beam, freezing them solid before they could get anywhere near the toad Pokémon. Antonio recoiled, impressed at how quickly Kieran's Pokémon had carried out his commands and countered his moves. Dragonite was still zooming around the field with Extreme Speed. He eventually took aim and barged into Tinkaton, knocking her off her feet. Luckily, her half-Steel typing stopped Extreme Speed from doing a lot of damage, but it had the effect Kieran needed. Now Tinkaton was stunned, Politoed was able to land a hit on her with Weather Ball. The toad Pokémon blasted the hammer Pokémon with a giant watery sphere that sent her flying backwards. Meowscarada sprinted in and tried to retaliate with Thunder Punch. She was just about to punch Politoed until Dragonite intervened and swept her off her feet with Hurricane. Antonio watched in horror as his starter Pokémon was blown away by the terrible winds. Hurricane was a powerful move that had perfect accuracy in the rain, hence why Kieran paired Dragonite up with Politoed. Politoed's rain made it so Dragonite could strike with perfect accuracy. Meowscarada crashed down heavily onto the floor, nearly completely wiped out by the attack. Kieran wasted no time making another move, ordering Dragonite to slam Meowscarada with Breaking Swipe. The Dragon/Flying Pokémon whooshed towards Meowscarada and aimed a powerful tail swipe at her. If it hit, Meowscarada's attack would be weakened. But Tinkaton jumped in Dragonite's way and blocked the attack with her hammer. Breaking Swipe was useless on her as Fairy types were immune to Dragon attacks. Tinkaton then followed up by using Brutal Swing. She walloped Dragonite hard with her hammer and sent him reeling backwards. He recovered quickly and blew her away with Hurricane.
Meanwhile, Politoed bounced towards Meowscarada and blasted her with Ice Beam. The feline magician winced as she was hit by the biting cold beam. Luckily, she was able to withstand the attack and she sprang back into action with Acrobatics. Meowscarada somersaulted numerous times through the air and then kicked Politoed. Then she followed up with a powerful Thunder Punch. Her electrified fist slammed hard into Politoed's belly and knocked him down onto his back. Antonio cheered, happy and also amazed he'd managed to land those hits. But Meowscarada's success was very short-lived as Dragonite suddenly barged into her again with Extreme Speed. Meowscarada was thrown down onto the floor, grunting from the impact. Tinkaton jumped in, trying to defend her friend, but Politoed jumped up in to the air and slammed down on the ground, surprising Antonio as he hit Tinkaton with Earth Power. Tinkaton was thrown backwards and she crashed down onto her back, dropping her hammer. Meowscarada growled furiously and launched herself at Dragonite, her claws bared as she prepared to slice into him with Night Slash. That proved to be a fatal mistake for Dragonite merely used Hurricane to blow her back and send her flying towards Politoed. Politoed blasted Meowscarada with Ice Beam and that double combo attack was enough to knock her out completely. Antonio was down one Pokémon with another looking very fatigued while Kieran's two Pokémon had barely gotten a scratch. He was rapidly beginning to see why he was the current BB League Champion. His Pokémon had clever strategies and moves to make use of and they could take a hit and keep going. The poor boy really was in over his head. He returned Meowscarada to her Pokéball.
"OK, that didn't work. Maybe this will instead!" he cried, throwing his next ball.
He'd chosen Gliscor, one of only two catches he'd made whilst in Kitakami. Kieran sniffed. He also owned a Gliscor and seeing Antonio use it felt like a personal offence to him. It was like Antonio was mocking him by daring to use a Pokémon he himself owned.
"You really think a Gliscor will save you in this battle?" Kieran jeered, "I couldn't beat your sister with my own back in Kitakami, so what makes you think yours stands any real chance?"
"The fact that I train my Pokémon with love and care, not anger and hunger for power!" Antonio shot back, "Gliscor, use Stone Edge on Dragonite!"
Gliscor hurled a bunch of sharp rocks towards Dragonite. Lacey clapped her hands together hopefully. Dragonite was weak to Rock attacks, so that was a good move to use. But Dragonite once again proved to be near untouchable as he dodged the attack with Extreme Speed. Tinkaton tried to make things trickier by using Rock Slide. Now Dragonite had two lots of Rock attacks to avoid. It looked as if both attacks were going to miss, but Dragonite mistimed a charge and got bombarded by Rock Slide. He fell to the floor but he managed to land gracefully, managing to avoid crashing down. Now he was grounded, Gliscor rushed in and struck Dragonite with Acrobatics. He landed several hits, but Dragonite was barely even fazed by the attack. Dragonite retaliated by using Breaking Swipe. Just as Gliscor glided towards him, Dragonite walloped him with his tail and knocked him aside. Politoed then struck by using Ice Beam on Gliscor while he was down. Gliscor wailed in anguish as Ice Beam chilled him to the bone. As a Flying/Ground type, he had a double weakness to ice attacks. That was more than enough to take out the Fang Scorpion Pokémon. Tinkaton put her hands to her mouth in shock, horrified that her teammate had gone down. Antonio was equally as worried. Two Pokémon down already and Kieran's were still fighting fit! There was no way he could win this fight now! Antonio returned Gliscor to his Pokéball and blanked out for a moment. What was he even doing here? What was he hoping to achieve by challenging Kieran like this? He knew he was no match for him, yet he was doing this anyway! And for what, just to stand up for Lacey? He doubted Lacey would be losing as badly as he was now. Antonio was snapped out of his thoughts as his opponent suddenly shouted at him.
"You are worthless and you're not fit to carry a Pokéball!" Kieran ranted, his eyes narrowed to pinpricks of fury, "Your sister should be embarrassed to be related to you! Now hurry up and make your move, BECAUSE YOU'VE WASTED ENOUGH OF MY TIME ALREADY!"
Antonio gritted his teeth furiously. How dare Kieran say that to him! Nobody ever said that about him and Salma and got away with it! He wasn't going to quit now, he would teach that brat a lesson he'd never forget!
"My sister is very proud of me!" Antonio shot back furiously, "And I'll continue to make her proud! No matter what happens, I'll see you defeated Kieran!"
He threw his next Pokéball and out came Farigiraf. The Psychic/Normal Pokémon pawed at the floor with her hooves and lowered her head, ready to make a move. Kieran scoffed, regarding Farigiraf as yet another insult to him. In his eyes, Antonio was taking him so not seriously that he thought a Pokémon like Farigiraf would make for a worthy opponent.
"When are you going to offer me a real challenge?" Kieran retorted.
"This IS the real challenge!" Antonio shot back, "Farigiraf, use Dazzling Gleam!"
The giraffe Pokémon conjured up blinding fairy lights that struck both Dragonite and Politoed simultaneously and made them recoil. For Dragonite, it was more painful to his Fairy-type weakness. Now both opponents were blinded, Antonio exploited their momentary distraction by having Farigiraf use Thunderbolt on Politoed and Tinkaton use Play Rough on Dragonite. Tinkaton pounced on Dragonite and walloped him soundly with her hammer and fists while Farigiraf blasted Politoed with a jolt of lightning. Despite the double onslaught, only Politoed ended up fainting after the attacks were over. Dragonite was still standing despite the beating he'd taken. Lacey put her hands to her mouth in astonishment. She couldn't believe her eyes. Even Antonio looked shocked. He'd finally managed to knock out one of Kieran's Pokémon! Kieran looked thrown by this too, taking a moment to let it sink in what had just happened. He returned Politoed to his Pokéball.
"Wowzers…" he muttered. It had been a while since anyone had heard him say his old catchphrase.
"See, I told you this is the real challenge!" Antonio crowed, "Not looking so tough now, are ya?!"
"You've practically exhausted over half your team just taking down ONE Pokémon." Kieran retorted, "You're not even close to having it won, especially not when I have THIS Pokémon!"
He threw his next ball and brought out another Pokémon Antonio didn't recognize. It was Porygon-Z, the fully evolved form of Porygon and one of the few manmade Pokémon out there in the world. Porygon-Z was pink and blue in colour and looked like some strange robotic duck. Antonio whipped out his Pokédex.
"What in the name of Area Zero is that?!" he exclaimed.
The Pokédex answered:
Porygon-Z: The Virtual Pokémon. A Normal-type. Its programming was modified to enable it to operate in other dimensions. This did not work as planned.
"Be careful Antonio!" Lacey warned, "That's one of Kieran's strongest Pokémon! It'll mow through your team effortlessly!"
"It doesn't look that tough." Antonio said haughtily, "But Kieran wouldn't use it if it wasn't strong, so I guess appearances are deceptive in this case."
He looked to Tinkaton and Farigiraf.
"Let's keep up the pressure!" he cried, "Tinkaton, use Play Rough on Dragonite again! Farigiraf, Twin Beam on Porygon-Z!"
Tinkaton pounced towards Dragonite, hammer in hand and ready to Play Rough with him again while Farigiraf blasted at Porygon-Z with two psychic beams. Neither attack hit home as Dragonite dodged with Extreme Speed and Porygon-Z used Psychic to stop Farigiraf's attack. Dragonite then tried to slam into Tinkaton with Extreme Speed, only for some kind of protective barrier to stop him from hitting home. Kieran recoiled, confused over what had just happened.
"That's Farigiraf's ability, Armor Tail." Antonio explained, "As long as she's on the field, quick moves like Extreme Speed won't work on her or her allies."
"Thanks for informing me." Kieran said sarcastically, "Now I know whom to take out first! Porygon-Z, Hyper Beam on Farigiraf!" he commanded.
"HYPER BEAM?!" Antonio shrieked with worry.
Porygon-Z fired a huge orange beam from its blue beak at the giraffe Pokémon. Hyper Beam was powerful enough as it was, but this one seemed even more so. It was like Hyper Beam but with double the power. Antonio and Lacey had to look away as it was too bright to see. Farigiraf was completely helpless to do anything as Hyper Beam struck and completely obliterated her. She was unconscious before she even hit the ground. Tinkaton stared incredulously at what had happened. Even she seemed unable to believe how powerful that was. It was a miracle the Costal Plaza arena hadn't been destroyed as well. The Hyper Beam had been so large and bright that Salma and Carmine had seen it too. They were currently battling using Ceruledge, Palafin, Morpeko and Scrafty respectively but had stopped the fight to see what was happening.
"Santa Maria, what was that?!" Salma exclaimed.
"A really big Hyper Beam." Carmine acknowledged, "And I think I know whose it was…"
She called off the fight and returned her Pokémon so she could dash off to the Costal Biome and see what was going on. Salma followed with Ceruledge and Palafin sprinting after her.
Back at Costal Plaza, Antonio returned Farigiraf to her ball, his mind in a daze over what he'd just witnessed. Kieran smirked at him.
"How'd that feel? Overwhelming, I hope!" he jeered, "Porygon-Z has power to spare, especially thanks to its Adaptability ability!"
"Huh?" Antonio asked in confusion.
"Adaptability powers up moves of the same-type." Lacey explained, "Porygon-Z's Hyper Beams are super-powered because of it! Nearly any Pokémon that gets hit by it is guaranteed to go down!"
"What the hell did have I gotten myself into?" Antonio exclaimed in disbelief, "I really thought I could take on the Champion with power like that?!"
"And now you're paying for your stupidity." Kieran taunted, "Maybe if you weren't so devoted to your girlfriend, you'd have a brain cell or two to spare. Hopefully by the time I'm done with you, you'll know better than to be a distraction to members of my club and stay out of their business."
"I'm no distraction!" Antonio shot back, "I'm Lacey's friend, something you used to find value in before you went off the deep end! At least friends give me something valuable to fight for! What do YOU have to fight for that's valuable?!"
"The title of being the strongest!" Kieran spat as if the answer were obvious, "I was weak and pathetic back before I met you and Salma, now I'm on top of the academy and everyone respects me! I didn't get that by being weak and pathetic like you are!"
"The only think weak and pathetic around here is your attitude, and I'm gonna change it!" Antonio declared, throwing his next Pokéball.
He'd sent out Armarouge next. Luckily, he'd chosen his time right for the rain from Politoed's earlier Drizzle ability had worn off and the weather returned to normal. The rain wouldn't weaken Armarouge's Armor Cannon attack. Antonio knew what he had to do next. Porygon-Z was currently immobilized thanks to the drawback of Hyper Beam. It couldn't move, thus leaving it quite literally a sitting duck given its visual resemblance to one. He would gang up on Porygon-Z and take it down. Armarouge took aim with Armor Cannon and fired while Tinkaton jumped into the air and raised her hammer high for a powerful Gigaton Hammer strike. But Antonio was so laser-focused on Porygon-Z that he'd neglected Dragonite, and that was the ultimate spanner thrown into the works. Dragonite flew in front of Tinkaton and blocked her attack with Breaking Swipe. His tail and her hammer slammed into each other and knocked each other back. Armarouge still successfully landed a hit on Porygon-Z, hitting the Normal-type Pokémon with a powerful fiery cannon ball. It didn't take out Porygon-Z, but it did do a lot of damage to it. Antonio was certain that it would go down after another hit. He ordered Armarouge to use another Armor Cannon on Porygon-Z. He knew he was taking risks here as Armarouge's Defences went down and down the more he used the attack, but it would be worth it if it meant taking it down. Armarouge took aim…and screamed in pain as all of a sudden, Dragonite zapped him with a colossal Thunder attack. Despite the rain being gone, Dragonite's Thunder hit home and the fire knight Pokémon was brought down to his knees, wincing in pain. His lowered defences only meant he'd taken more damage than usual. This proved to be costly for Porygon-Z, who was now able to move again, blasted at Armarouge with Shadow Ball. Armarouge was struck and thrown onto his back. He passed out instantly from the blow. Antonio now had an exhausted Tinkaton and one Pokémon left to use. He drew out his last Pokéball.
"OK…it's up to my last two Pokémon! Gotta make it count!" he cried, throwing the ball.
His last Pokémon was Lokix. The grasshopper Pokémon didn't impress Kieran at all. He knew that something like that posed no real threat to any of his Pokémon. But he soon saw Antonio had something else in mind. The Paldean boy had decided now was the perfect time to bring out his last resort. He knew he needed the extra power and he needed it now. He took out his Tera Orb and activated it.
"Tinkaton, let your power shine!" Antonio cried out.
His orb filled with Terastal energy and he tossed it to Tinkaton. The Fairy/Steel Pokémon was coated in crystalline armour and she dropped the Steel typing for her Tera Type was Fairy. She let out a menacing cry and raised her hammer high, ready to pound her enemies into the dirt. Lacey admired the beautiful scene before her.
"Wow, that Terastilized Tinkaton looks so cute!" she exclaimed.
She also saw Antonio's plan. With a Tera-boosted Play Rough, Tinkaton would surely have the power necessary to take down Dragonite! She also knew the rest of Kieran's team and knew Tinkaton would be able to hold her own against two of them. But Kieran had other plans. He drew out his own Tera Orb.
"Two can play at that game now." he crowed, "Dragonite, take your opponent down with extreme prejudice!"
His orb activated and he threw it to his Dragonite. The dragon Pokémon was coated in crystalline armour too, but to Antonio's dismay, his Tera Type was Normal. He'd completely changed typings and thus would no longer be weak to Fairy attacks. His plan was going out the window. But he was determined to give it a good try regardless.
"Tinkaton will still have the power to take down Dragonite and Porygon-Z!" Antonio declared, "Tinkaton, use Play Rough on Dragonite! Lokix, use Axe Kick on Porygon-Z!"
Tinkaton pounced on Dragonite. Her crystalline armour sparkling marvellously as her Tera power activated. Even with Dragonite's typing changed, a Tera-boosted Play Rough was going to do massive damage regardless. Lokix used his back legs to propel himself towards Porygon-Z, moving in a neat arch through the air and he aimed his heel forwards. Kieran wasn't intimidated by the moves. He instead commanded Dragonite to use Extreme Speed and Porygon-Z to use Hyper Beam. Lokix was coming in quickly, so quickly that there was no way he could dodge the attack. But Porygon-Z was too slow to charge up Hyper Beam so the grasshopper Pokémon didn't have to worry about that. He landed his attack first, slamming a powerful downwards kick on Porygon-Z that nearly knocked its head off. Meanwhile, Dragonite zoomed towards Tinkaton, his own crystal armour sparkling like a sea of diamonds as he launched a Tera-boosted Extreme Speed. The upside between him and Tinkaton's attacks was that Extreme Speed made him much faster, so he was able to strike first. Tinkaton had lost her half Steel-typing, meaning she'd lost her resistance to Normal attacks. Extreme Speed ended up doing much more damage than it would've done. But Tinkaton wasn't going down that easily. She hurled backwards from the blow but swung her hammer into the floor, propelling herself back up towards Dragonite. She was able to hit with Play Rough despite the earlier attack. She pummelled Dragonite furiously, still doing massive damage despite it not being super-effective. Antonio clenched his fists with anticipation. Please let this work! Tinkaton hit Dragonite one last time and knocked him down to the floor. Lokix knocked Porygon-Z flying with Axe Kick. Both Pokémon crashed down together…but they didn't pass out. Incredibly, they were still able to get back up and keep on fighting! Kieran laughed mockingly.
"You really thought you'd turn things around?" he sneered, "Even if you did beat these two, you still have the other half of my team to deal with, and considering you couldn't handle THIS half, you're far from ready to face the rest of them! Dragonite, Extreme Speed, Porygon-Z, Hyper Beam!"
His Pokémon launched their attacks…but to Antonio and Lacey's surprise, their targets had changed. Dragonite sped straight into Lokix, knocking the Bug/Dark Pokémon off his feet and Porygon-Z aimed at Tinkaton. This had been Kieran's plan from the start. Now Dragonite was keeping Lokix occupied, he couldn't attack Porygon-Z and Tinkaton wouldn't be fast enough to stop it from charging up its Hyper Beam. Lokix frantically scratched at Dragonite with X-Scissor to try and make him let go, but the Terastilized Pokémon refused to give in. Porygon-Z charged up Hyper Beam and blasted at Tinkaton. The Hammersmith Pokémon held up her hammer in a feeble attempt to try and defend herself. The orange energy beam swept over her and her huge hammer offered a little resistance, but not enough. Eventually, it was blown out of her hands and Tinkaton was given the full force of Hyper Beam. It was enough to finally take her down. Meanwhile, Lokix had finally managed to scramble free of Dragonite's grip and slash at him multiple times with X-Scissor. It was a foolish attempt to do anything as Dragonite merely finished him off with Hurricane. The Bug/Dark Pokémon was blown away by the terrible winds and he crashed down beside Tinkaton. Both Pokémon lay unconscious on the floor with Tinkaton's crystal coating dissolving away. It was over. Kieran was victorious, and with only one Pokémon down. Antonio returned Tinkaton and Lokix, then fell to his knees in horror and dismay. Despite his best efforts, it had all been for naught. Kieran had wasted him. It had been nothing more than a fool's errand to try and challenge him at all. He wailed in anguish and pounded at the floor. His eyes streamed with tears. Kieran returned Dragonite and Porygon-Z to their balls and he huffed. His face showed no signs that he'd actually enjoyed this battle or felt any real pleasure in his victory. If anything, he looked bored as if the whole thing had been a waste of time.
"That was hardly worth my time or effort." Kieran dismissed, "The only regret I have is accepting this stupid challenge in the first place. Next time you offer a challenge, Antonio Noceda, ask someone who's weak enough for you to handle!"
"That's enough Kieran!" Lacey scolded, "You've made your point, OK?! Putting Antonio down for his defeat is just NOT right, and it's certainly not kind! There's zero need to be such an arrogant blowhard about winning!"
"For someone who's not your boyfriend, you seem awfully sad that he lost." Kieran retorted.
"Of course I'm sad that he lost!" Lacey snapped angrily, "He was bravely willing to stand up for me and was willing to put his foot down in regards to your appalling behaviour! Unlike you, he battled with honour, bravery and respect and he was willing to fight for a noble cause! That to me makes him the REAL winner of this match!"
Antonio looked up and stared with admiration at Lacey. Even in defeat, she was still willing to stand up for him. In spite of everything, he couldn't help but smile. Kieran rolled his eyes as if Lacey had told him the dumbest thing he'd ever heard.
"How you ever became a member of the Elite Four with such idiotic beliefs is beyond me." he muttered, "I'm not wasting anymore of my precious time with you weaklings. As far as I'm concerned, you two deserve each other!"
He turned and walked away. But he didn't get far as he heard a pair of voices calling out.
"Antonio!"
"Kiki? What's going on here?"
It was Salma and Carmine. They'd made it to the Costal Plaza and had run up to the arena. They saw Antonio on his knees with Lacey kneeling beside him for comfort and Kieran on the opposite side of the arena. It didn't take long for them to piece together what had happened. Salma ran over to her brother, unable to believe what she was seeing.
"Toni, did you just battle Kieran?!" she shrieked, "What the hell were you thinking?!"
"Please, don't be hard on him." Lacey vouched for Antonio, "Kieran was threatening me and he just wanted to stand up for me."
"It was still a bad idea!" Carmine cried in exasperation, "He didn't have a hope against my brother, and now look what he's done to himself!"
"You hush, he doesn't need you rubbing it in Carmine." Salma snarled.
Antonio looked up to his sister, his eyes still soaked with tears. He hugged her sadly.
"I'm so sorry Salma! I couldn't beat him! I tried so hard but I couldn't win!" he sobbed.
"Ssshhh, it's OK hermanita." Salma said gently, "I'm sure you gave it your all."
Kieran approached the siblings, his yellow eyes focused on Salma. Salma looked back up at him. The former friends were here again, staring face-to-face with tensions raised and that familiar burning desire to battle boiling inside them. Salma stood up and stared Kieran straight in the eye.
"OK Kieran, you've gone too far!" Salma growled, "You threatened me, you treat your League Club members like dirt and you've made my brother cry! To hell with this BB League stuff, you and I are gonna battle right here right now to settle this matter!" she declared furiously.
Antonio tried so hard, but it was a hopeless battle. Kieran was never going to lose to him. He's already showing why he's the new Champion of Blueberry Academy and Antonio's really suffered his wrath! Can Salma pay him back? Find out next time...
Trivia: Kieran's Reason You Suck Speech to Antonio is lifted almost word-for-word from a similar speech Kaiba gives to Joey in the Battle for the Bronze three parter in the original Yu-Gi-Oh! anime. I can just REALLY imagine Kieran saying something like that to a weak opponent and thought it suited his current power-hungry phase he goes through in The Indigo Disk.
Antonio's explanation for how Armor Tail works is my idea on how the ability would work in the anime universe. Priority moves don't really exist in the anime, hence I worded it as "speed moves don't work". If we're using anime logic, I imagine that's how Armor Tail would be depicted.
Also, Kieran's Porygon-Z is depicted here as knowing Psychic, which isn't true to the games. All I can ask is WHY? Porygon-Z can learn Psychic! It can shoo off Fighting-types, which are its only weakness! Why WOULDN'T you teach a Porygon-Z Psychic?! So in this universe, his Porygon-Z knows Psychic instead of Ice Beam while the rest of its moves are the same as in the game: Hyper Beam, Thunderbolt and Shadow Ball.
And believe it or not, Kieran's Dragonite Terastilizing into a Normal-type is NOT something I made up! Yes, it's actually a thing in the games! Don't ask how, places like Serebii and Bulbapedia found that out. I guess they dug into the game's files or something. Naturally, we don't see it in the games because he always Terastilizes his Hydrapple.