Alola readers! Brav is here for a very short turnaround.
So as of yesterday, my novelization of Pokemon Violet has officially been launched! A Life You Will Remember is now live! A day early (in reality, just a few hours since I figured why not give the new story a unique and rare publishing date on Leap Day and can't walk back on what I said in the previous AN)
Uva Academy is renowned throughout the Paldea region for its rigorous curriculum and unorthodox study assignments. And it was lifelong dream of twins Florian and Juliana to attend and follow in their parents' footsteps. With a grueling circuit of Paldea League gyms, monstrous Titans, a gang of renegade students and meeting a mysterious dragon pokemon from the future; they'll quickly find the life of an Uva student is seldom ever mundane. The classwork is just the easy part. Novelization of Pokemon Violet.
The summary is slightly shorter due to character limitations, but I'm very excited to kickstart that one off as this one winds down to the final chapters! It is going to be similar to this story with the exception of it being told in the present rather than the way here were we see it from the lens of Lillie's diary that has a lot more entries that it should. Pretty sure this one's thick as a college textbook if it's got this much written in. So if you've liked this story, I'm hoping you'll like my next project! It will take place in the same universe as A Hui Hou Kākou as well as fellow stories in the same universe of Brendan's Journey, Into the Storm & Sinnoh's Heir by their respective authors. Do expect there to be a crossover at some point. As always, favorites, follows and especially reviews are much appreciated!
Now back to the other story we're all here for. The battle against the final Elite Four member, Hala is about to begin!
One last battle Elio. Then you're the champion of Alola.
One last battle. Elio exhaled, quietly tapping his foot and keeping himself preoccupied with his lingering thoughts.
His body was exhausted and his mind felt drained. The first three battles had been grueling, back to back to back in taking everything he had. All his limbs felt heavy, moving them took a much more considerable amount of effort with aches and pains all in his joints. He couldn't imagine the strain it was taking on his pokemon, even when they came back from the healing machine with clean bills of health and ready to go for the next round.
We're almost there. He thought to himself, while cradling his hat in his hands. Sweat beaded his brow, a byproduct of the adrenaline rush that was coming from having to constantly be on his toes to guide his team and strategize through these battles.
Elio wiped his head and slipped the cap back on just as the attendant was coming to check on him. He gave a nod that he was ready and prepared to jog back out. The last of the Elite Four stood before him, the kahuna of Melemele Island and Hau's grandfather. Elio knew from the stories of old that Hala Kealoha was among the fiercest and most powerful trainers in the region. What he had battled back on his grand trial all those months ago was just a small taste with younger and less experienced pokemon.
Now from word of mouth by the other Elites, Elio knew that he was about to go up against the man's full fledged fury.
Time to face the music again.
Instead of the usual loud cheering from the stands where nobody at all had vacated, Elio was greeted with a respectful applause as he jogged back out onto the court and headed straight for Kukui.
"Well cousin, we're on the final stretch here! You ready to jump kick start this?"
He leaned forward, just enough for the microphone to catch his voice. Eyes drifted back to the final fist torch that was still holding a flickering flame. "Yes sir. I'm good to go!"
"That's what I like to hear! Alright, let's bring in our fourth and last of the Elite Four!" The crowd got into it again, cheering even louder in a growing volume. "He's my longtime mentor and a dear friend, give it up for the Kahuna of Melemele Island! Hala Kealoha!"
They heard the cheering dwindle back down to a respectful applause as Hala emerged from the tunnel as projectors in front gave a bit of a grandeur appearance by belching white smoke.
"HO-AH!" The crowd chanted in unison, nearly making Elio flinch by the abrupt shout. Many slammed their feet in the stands that banged and echoed across the stadium's interior.
Hala was in his traditional alolan garb, wearing a brightly yellow colored robe and that same blue shirt that strained on top of his portly belly. His hair was neatly combed and tied back, but the intimidating demeanor that Elio had seen when he first saw the man was not as intimidating this time around. Something still made him feel a bit uneasy.
Or maybe that it's that I battled Hala once before? Might as well forget that, he's probably a whole different beast when facing his pro team.
Hala shook Kukui's hand and then Elio's.
"I must say that I am very proud to see you here. Figured it was only a matter of time."
"Thanks Kahuna."
"I must agree with young Olivia while we were watching your battles." Hala's deep buttery voice felt like it was making the entire mountain rumble. "You are no longer the little keiki that we've seen travel across all of Alola. You triumphing the Island Challenge alongside my grandson has been nothing short of kupanaha. Regardless of the outcome, your accomplishments will be recorded and celebrated through all of Alola's history as long as it is here."
"Yes sir."
"Though somehow," Hala's face twisted into a knowing smirk. "I don't think you are quite content with where you are now."
No I am not.
"I sense it within your uhane. Your desire to keep going to the top, to the throne of Alola's Pokemon League as its champion. The three others before me have failed to stop you and now it is my duty to ensure that it is earned!"
Elio nodded numbly, feeling the strength and power behind Hala's conviction. Right away he could tell that this was going to be the most difficult battle of them all.
Suddenly maybe I should not have saved him for the last fight.
"Woo! Tension in here is about to make a big explosion!" Kukui chimed in. "I love it! Let's get this battle underway!"
Elio felt his heartbeat starting to pound in his head as he took his side of the court. Hala was a little slower, ambling over with a lot less urgency in his step. It was not that he didn't care, the man's gait carried enough respect that things would commence on his terms.
The referee flew above them at the mid court on top of his metang to again meticulously explain the rules. Elio was listening in, taking a moment to glance up at the upper suites and the stands full of people still cheering and waiting for the battle to begin.
I wonder if Lillie's up there? She has to be. He thought to himself.
"Trainer Elio," the referee repeated, snapping the boy out of his daydreaming. Him, Hala and Kukui were looking at him with a little concern. "Do you accept the terms of the battle?"
"Yes. Yes I do." The boy chided himself for getting distracted at the worst time. Now is not the time to be thinking about Lillie. Not when my run for the Champion of Alola is this close to being mine. He wondered if the referee had slipped in some other rule he wasn't sure about and just happened to not be paying attention.
"Very good! Trainers, send out your pokemon and let the battle begin!"
"Right on!" Elio took out Bravo's ball and tossed it up. Upon activation, he came face to face with Hala who was in the middle of calling out his own pokemon that was named Mysterio.
A bird?! The creature was less than half the size of Bravo, standing firmly erect with long red clawed arms stretched up high. A pattern of green and white feathers adorned its back shaped reminiscent of a cape while the chest and upper legs of the pokemon were the same white color. Its face looked to be concealed by a colorful teal and red mask with a plume of burnt orange feathers that flowed from the back of its head.
Elio had never seen that kind of pokemon before, looking down at his 'Dex in the few seconds it took before the battle's signal to start would buzz.
"Hawlucha. Wrestling pokemon. It overwhelms larger and stronger opponents with quick moves, but sometimes it showboats for too long when it uses its special move and gets itself into a pinch. Hawlucha is a fighting and flying type. Additional information is available upon capturing this pokemon."
"Quick huh? Well we'll see about if it can keep up!" Elio raised a hand as the buzzer was heard. "Bravo tailwind!"
Hala only chuckled as Bravo quickly flapped his wings in place, summoning a breeze at their backs and amplifying their speed.
"One shot, let's take him out! Brave bird!"
"Mysterio, swords dance." Hala commanded softly. Bravo had charged forward, quickly enveloping himself in a fiery aura as he shot towards Mysterio like a missile. The hawlucha narrowed its eyes and then swiftly jumped aside, summoning several large illusory blades to circle himself. A rising stat followed to show that the pokemon's physical attack had gone up sharply. Bravo turned around, launching into a second brave bird, but this time he was going against his own tailwind. Slightly slower this time around, Mysterio had little trouble dodging, jumping up and spreading his winged cape to catch the winds and drift him backwards.
Elio was almost mesmerized by his movements, they were simple and the haughty manner the smaller pokemon carried itself almost gave it a sense of elegance.
Bravo sped underneath and Elio suspected that Hala was going to order an attack. At his command, the eagle pokemon vanished into an upwards loop for an aerial ace. While that happened, Mysterio's arms curled into fists and he lunged down as they became infused with poison. It had been just a little too late as Bravo's attack hit in the blink of an eye a moment later. Mysterio hissed in protest, knocked off balance in midair. However, like before, he had spread his elaborate feather cape to catch the tailwinds for a slowed and safe descent.
Elio knew that it might be hard to catch this one off guard if it was this deft on its feet and Hala had taken a shot at him straightaway.
"Karate chop!"
"Look out!" Elio cried as Mysterio jumped up and lunged again with an outstretched talon, "Here it comes!"
Bravo countered the attack with a steel wing, flying over quickly to meet it. The two attacks collided as they struggled to overpower the other. Elio was surprised to see the hawlucha keeping up with Bravo despite its smaller size.
The bigger pokemon won out eventually, but the steel wing did little damage. Mysterio opened its cape again, allowing the tailwind's breeze to again carry it back. As he glided to close the distance to Bravo, Elio's heart skipped a beat when he had twisted in midair, now facing Bravo going against the tailwind. He angled his feet and burst forward, raising them above his body.
Hi jump kick. "Bravo look out!"
Bravo had been flying against the tailwind as well, seeing Mysterio suddenly change directions and use it to propel himself back over. The smaller hawlucha hit him in the chest, sending him tumbling back where he had to flap his wings to regain stable control. Mysterio then landed on the ground, jumping back up again and streamlining his body with his claws in fists again.
The poison jab hit seconds after the initial hi jump kick, knocking Bravo down to the ground. Elio was worried that it might've done him in until he saw the eagle's wings quickly spread again. Bravo was already starting to breathe heavily from having to withstand an attack boosted hi jump kick and a poison jab. If he didn't act, then Hala would get an early lead that could prove disastrous. His luck seemed to take a turn for the worse when Bravo shuddered in midflight from the iridescent sheen of oily poison that had spread across his body.
Dammit. Elio considered his options while cursing himself on getting too confident right out the bat for trying to gain the lead with a type advantageous pokemon. Not good when Bravo was the only pokemon he had with moves that were super effective against fighting types. Hala had six of them and Elio knew that Bravo would only last so long now that he was poisoned.
Hala's used my own tailwind against me. I should've known he'd have lighter and quicker fighting types in his team.
What can I do?
"Aerial ace!"
"Oh?" Hala's eyebrow raised in curiosity at that. Bravo vanished, going into a loop and slashing at Mysterio. The hawlucha took a lot more damage and jumped aside to avoid a follow up attack. More of those illusory swords surrounded it in another completed swords dance.
Another successful attack and Bravo might be done for.
"Mysterio, poison jab!" Hala commanded, forming a fist with his free hand. He shot forward with his outstretched fists to hit Bravo again, forcing the eagle to quickly gain altitude. The tailwind was beginning to push him forward and actively shorten the distance. Mysterio lunged as Bravo slowed past and missed just being out of arm's reach. He spread his feather cape and took off after him.
Just as the tailwind finally petered out. With less of a draft, Mysterio was a slower and much easier target.
He heard Hala grunt in annoyance. "You're compromised friend, use flying press!"
"Now's your chance!" Elio yelled. "Dodge into aerial ace!"
Bravo shuddered as the poison's corrosiveness bit off another chunk of his health, but he was able to loop up and around. At the same time, Mysterio's jump was nearly to Bravo's height as he had descended down. Spreading his wings, he had angled himself so that his drop would come with his target looking up directly into the lights that shined down on the court. Moving into the shadow would only see the hawlucha up above using its own signature attack in a coup de grace.
But Bravo was quick to use aerial ace a second time to dart out from underneath, just as Mysterio was forced to spread its feet wide to remain balanced. He glanced around, turning his red and green masked head in time to see Bravo cawing loudly and delivering a finishing final blow of his own. The aerial ace was timed right on target and he flew in front of his trainer as Mysterio swayed on the far end of the court for a second and collapsed on his back.
"Mysterio is unable to battle further! Bravo is the winner! Six on five, Elio in favor!"
One down. Elio sighed, but was far from relieved. His best attacking pokemon against fighting types was on borrowed time with the poisoning from Mysterio's poison jab. He'd have to be careful from here on.
Let's just hope that the rest of Hala's pokemon aren't as fast.
The Melemele kahuna was returning his pokemon, pocketing the ball and drawing another. "Elbiali, I have need of your assistance!"
Elio saw a large lucario emerge from within the poke ball and land on his feet, hands curled into fists and leveled at Bravo.
Though Elio could tell Bravo still wanted to remain in and fight until he was no longer able, he had a hunch that the bird was going to be needed later.
I hate the fact he's poisoned. Now that means I'll have to be more careful when I use him in this battle. Elio grimly thought to himself as he returned Bravo to his ball and used up one of his switches.
Second pokemon choice in hand, he tossed her out. "Let's go Nani!" She landed and eyed Elbiali softly while keeping her usual cool composure. The lucario slowly shifted his stance, holding one fist out and the other close as a means of a guard. In contrast to the one he faced with Gladion, Hala's came off far more regimented.
"Very well, I shall begin." Hala said when Elio didn't make a move yet. "Dragon pulse!"
Elbiali thrust his hands out and formed a sphere with his hands. Instead of an aura sphere, it quickly dissolved into a focused beam of purple and green draconic energy. Nani had seconds to react, firing off a dragon pulse of her own. The two attacks collided, combusting into an explosion that blanketed the court. As she searched for any signs of movement, Elbiali appeared out of the dust screen nearly in her blind spot and swung a glowing fist. Nani twisted away as she was slugged in the jaw by the power-up punch. The lucario flipped over her wide serpentine tail, firing back an aura sphere to counter her dragon pulse.
She immediately sharpened her tail fins and kept it close, eyes darting everywhere to see where Elbiali might strike back next, even with the dust beginning to clear.
"Nani, scald to your left!"
Without hesitation, she obeyed her trainer in twisting her head and sprayed a wide stream of boiling hot water. The dissipation of the dust was now replaced by hot steam. Elio heard it strike Elbiali though, finding that an extra pair of eyes helped out.
That lucario can see with its aura, so it's not blind at all in this.
"Aura sphere!"
Alright time to actually take advantage of this for once! Elio thought with a splitting grin. "Nani, get ready and use a mirror coat!"
The aura sphere was shot from the cover of the fading steam caused by the scald. Nani stood erect, bracing herself for the inevitable hit which occurred seconds later. She was blown back, taking quite a bit of damage from the powerful attack before her entire body began to glow a radiant white. With a shrill cry, she launched a flashing wave that went back, too fast for Elbiali to dodge. The lucario had still made the attempt anyways, but was quickly overwhelmed and had to cross its arms to shield his eyes.
Hala stood rigid as the blast of wind rippled at his robe and watched his lucario spin into the ground and tumbled to a halt.
"Elbiali is unable to battle further! Nani is the winner! Six on four! Elio in favor!"
"Good job Nani!" Elio said to her, earning a coo in return. "I'm glad that gamble paid off!"
No time to rest. Here comes whatever is next up.
"Manning, I need of your assistance!" Hala was already throwing his next pokemon out, a black and white furred lemur that wore a pale green headpiece on top of its head. Elio saw that the fruit gourd in its hand matched the helmet it was wearing. Markings were set on its shoulders and knees as it hunched over in a three-point stance that allowed it ready to spring forward in a matter of moments.
Interesting. Elio brought out his 'Dex to scan the new pokemon. "Passimian. Teamwork pokemon. They form groups of twenty individuals with matching leaf patterns to identify themselves amongst one another. The one capable of throwing hard shell berries the farthest is the boss of the troop. Passimian is a fighting type. Additional information is available upon capturing this pokemon."
"Are you ready?" Hala asked him. Elio nodded, prompting both trainers to go into their attacks. Manning was the quicker one of the two, punching the gourd it carried and throwing up and out, a fistful of seeds that quickly arced down and began to pick up speed. Nani's eyes were automatically drawn to it and she blasted up a dragon pulse that intercepted and destroyed most of them. Several rained down still and she had to swiftly slither through with several exploding all around.
Elio saw Manning lunge forward and sprint into a double-edge attack, realizing Nani getting distracted had been Hala's plan.
"Nani no! Look out!" But it was too late. Manning lowered his shoulder, the hit pushing Nani into the air. She contorted her body in a delayed reaction and an attempt to strike back. A dragon pulse from her missed the mark as Manning jumped to the side and shovel threw another fistful of seeds from the gourd.
Nani cried out as she was hit yet again from the seed bomb explosions in midair and it threw her to the ground where she lay uncoiled.
"Nani is unable to battle further! Manning is the winner! Five on four, Elio in favor!"
On his side of the court, Elio tried his best not to keep the color draining from his face. Hala had been just on his heels and the strength of his pokemon was among the most powerful he had faced thus far. Manning hadn't been out for long and he effortlessly took Nani out of Elio's lineup without as much of a sweat.
Without much of an idea of what else to do, he thought and brought out Akela. Maybe he could work something out to where he could return the favor to knock Manning out quickly.
"Oh, how intriguing." Hala commented, seeing Elio's next choice of pokemon. He spoke quietly to his own. "Do stay on your guard Manning. He's up to something for sure."
Manning nodded in agreement, launching ahead from his three point stance in a surprise burst of speed. Akela extended a paw, successfully executing a taunt before the passimian hit him with a fusillade of blows that he had no chance to successfully defend against. However it built up all the damage that Akela needed to use a counter at the same time as Manning's defensive stat drops had flared up. With a loud snarl, he struck back with the paws slamming into the other pokemon's back, knocking him down.
Akela didn't wait to see if his foe was staying on the ground and slammed it with his paws to create a stone edge. Elio looked from side to side, not seeing Manning anywhere through the rows of spiky stones.
The hell did he go? His eyes darted up above where he finally saw the lemur pokemon jumping above on the stone. The close combat from earlier had to have taken a big chunk of Akela's health down and he knew that the counter strategy he had in mind was only going to work once. Not exactly the most ideal thing when Hala still had three more pokemon that had yet to even see the battle. Not only that, but he was starting to believe that Hala wasn't really keen on one set strategy.
Elio shook his head. No way Hala's an Elite Four member on sheer might alone.
Akela kept himself off the ground, jumping from stone pillar to pillar as he and Manning traded rock slide and seed bomb attacks. The other had swift reflexes to dodge and neither one had a clean shot. Several of the stone edge pillars began to disintegrate from the other attacks. They were running out of cover.
Manning used an arm as he jumped behind one to swing around just as quickly.
"Akela, rock slide!" Elio shouted desperately. If he connected on an attack, he might be down just as many pokemon as his opponent. Akela was fast enough to initiate a rolling wave of rocks that tumbled into Manning's path as he accelerated towards him. At his current speed, he only had been hit a couple of times, visibly flinching and straining to stand.
Elio was surprised to see a stat flare rise around him afterwards. Manning's speed had just increased.
Does it have steadfast? A glance at his Dex showed him that a passimian wasn't normally able to have that ability. It did have one called receiver.
Inherits the ability of a defeated ally. He thought to himself. Elbiali must've had steadfast as his own which got passed down when Manning was brought in.
The slight increase in speed might've been enough to give Manning the edge again. He got back into his three point stance and jumped forward in another double-edge.
"Stone edge again!" The idea he had was to create more for cover versus going directly for the knockout. He suspected Hala was using double edge to keep it close.
"Now sucker punch! He's going in for another attack!"
Akela was starting to grow even more tired, just finishing the stone edge that zigzagged multiple new stone pillars and then having to quickly find a rocketing Manning to swing a dark fist. His attack connected first, slightly putting him off course before he adjusted and barreled into Akela's side. The lycanroc yelped and crashed through one of the stones, shattering it into fragments.
"Finish it!" Hala thrust an arm out. "Seed bomb!"
Come on Akela, GET UP! Elio could only watch helplessly as Akela was just too slow in being able to roll on his feet with another cluster of explosive seed bombs battered him from all directions. Akela howled in agony, limping forward and growling in anger as he tried to initiate another attack. Manning relaxed his stance, watching his foe intently before he had summarily fainted on the ground.
"Akela is incapable of battling further! Manning is the winner! Four on four!"
Shit shit shit. Elio felt that same creeping sensation of a scenario of losing was back in his head. Hala had kept up, being more efficient with a single pokemon of his able to score both knockouts. Then his very first one poisoned a third. Like Mysterio; Manning was also elusive enough to flit and dart around his pokemon's attacks and take advantage in the blink of an eye.
He returned Akela back to his ball, slipping it on his left next to Nani's.
It's almost like he's wanting me to draw Bravo back out. Tailwind would absolutely help, but what if there's other fighting types he has that are too fast and I'll need it to keep up?
"Maybe," Elio took out Arclight's ball. With a sigh, he held it up and casually tossed her out on the field. "Maybe we need to just have a little bit of an aerial advantage."
"Ah, you're battling with quite a different team that when I last saw you on your Melemele grand trial! The experiences and adventures you've had with these new pokemon must be truly kupanaha."
"Yeah. Yeah it has. I've learned a lot on my travels about pokemon, what it means to be a trainer and what it means to be kama'aina." Saying the native word for being one of Alola brought a hint of a smile to the elder kahuna's weathered features. "In a way, I feel like you were right. This is where I was meant to be."
"I will not confirm that I was right." Hala told him, putting a thoughtful hand to his chin. "I saw a keiki who needed some guidance and a fresh start from a place that upset him. A way to move forward."
He gestured to Elio as Arclight and Manning studied one another. "What you have done with what little push I gave for you is your credit for the taking. That and Hau's and Lillie's and all those others that aided you along your quest."
"Right."
"Now, how about we give the tapu a worthy battle befitting of the Pokemon League here?"
Sounds good to me. Let's get it.
The referee got a nod from Hala as a cue to sound the buzzer again and the match resumed. Manning flung another barrage of seed bombs that Arclight moved to dodge, though this time they detonated in midair causing bright flashes of light that were incredibly distracting. Elio saw the tactic before in a different way back when he had taken Nani out. Manning was already on the move, sidestepping the bug buzz that she had to give out to block the few seed bombs that had nearly gotten through. Arclight quickly readied and fired a thunderbolt just as Manning was about to reach her, scoring a hit. Though the attack was brief, it had been enough to finally deplete the last of Manning's health and he lost bodily control into his double-edge, stumbling over and crashing into the floor.
"Manning is unable to battle further! Arclight is the winner! Four on three! Elio in favor!"
"Haha! Now that's what I like to see in you! Keeping up pace well! Now let's see how you fare against Spitz!"
The next pokemon Hala had sent out after returning Manning was a tall muscular pokemon with a dark blue body and a very familiar black and white swirling pattern on its belly. Like many of Hala's pokemon, it assumed a very similar stance of holding up two meaty white fists in front, one closer to its body than the other in a mix of guarding and attacking.
"Poliwrath. Wow." Despite the stakes, Elio was fascinated at seeing a familiar pokemon that could be found in Kanto. Poliwrath were extremely rare in the wild unlike their pre-evolutions, only typically seen in the care of trainers. Nevertheless, he flipped open the 'Dex to see its data.
"Poliwrath. Tadpole pokemon. It is the evolved form of poliwhirl and one of the final evolved forms of poliwag. This pokemon is often used to teach children to swim using the breaststroke. The reason it's so proficient at swimming is due to its near-zero body fat percentage, yet it prefers to spend most of its time on land. It can pulverize boulders to dust in a single punch. Poliwrath is a water and fighting type. Additional information is available upon capturing this pokemon."
Hala made an amused chuckle as he got ready to resume the battle. "I see that look on your face of why I've chosen a type disadvantage. Old Hala certainly knows what he's doing."
And my guess is that it's only going to get harder from here. Buzzer to start, Elio launched into his attack. If he's going to present a type disadvantage right off the get-go, I'm gonna take what I'm given. "Thunderbolt!"
Hala's eyes flashed as Arclight charged up and fired. It had taken a few moments longer and Elio wondered if he should've used a charge beforehand to store up for one that increased power.
"Dynamic punch around!" Spitz's own eyes narrowed and he jumped up into a spin while holding out a fist. His rotation appeared to block the bolt of electricity sent at it, but ended up missing Arclight as a result.
"Now, use hypnosis!"
Arclight was about to move again when Spitz's belly pattern began to glow and spin in place. He was facing Elio when commencing the attack, forcing the boy to tear his eyes away from the sight to avoid any drowsing at all. Arclight was far less lucky. Her own eyes felt heavy lidded and they slid shut as she settled down onto the floor. Her wings folded in and she curled her insect legs up as if taking a regular nap.
"Arclight!" Elio yelled, trying to see if it would rouse her. "Wake up!"
So far in his journey, he'd been lucky enough to avoid his pokemon getting inflicted with the sleep condition. Unlike poisoning or being burned or paralyzed; sleep more or less rendered a pokemon incapable of action. Pokemon that were put to sleep by hypnosis or powders were said to be in a nap deep enough that being struck by direct attacks wouldn't be enough to wake them. They'd only shake it off on their body's own terms.
Elio cursed, now seeing that a normally nimble and evasive Arclight was more or less a sitting ducklett. Looking back at Hala and Spitz, they were making no move to attack.
Why?
He got his answer a moment later.
"Belly drum!" With a proud bellow, the poliwrath pounded his swirl pattern with both its fists and he saw a huge growth stat flare surrounding him. Bigger and more powerful than any other he had seen. Another curse to himself, knowing that belly drum was going to fully elevate the pokemon's physical attack to the highest possible it could attain while in battle.
Another blow was going to do serious damage, even if it wasn't effective.
"Arclight wake up!" Elio cried. "Hurry!" Yet his pleas were in vain. She continued to doze off without as much as a care otherwise.
So that's why Hala had put her to sleep. He thought grimly. He wouldn't have had a chance to do a longer stat boosting attack like that if we were constantly on him. On the other side, Spitz had sprinted forward and lashed a fist out with the top of Arclight's shell. She was knocked over, flipping end over end before landing on her back to slam into the corner as if she were a hockey puck. To his dismay, Arclight was still asleep even as the drain punch had began to sap a portion of her own health to heal Spitz again.
Belly drum wasn't without a drawback aside from the long time it took to complete either. The move had cut drastically into his health and energy. If the move user weren't careful, they'd find themselves being taken down before having a chance to make use of the maximized physical attack boost.
Elio was confident that Arclight would've been able to finish Spitz off if he had known about a belly drum, but now that she was asleep with no signs of waking up and being hit by a drain punch, he wasn't sure. Hala was pretty sharp in being able to cover the weakness and minimize the time Spitz's health had been cut. He was still showing signs of fatigue though. Drain punch hadn't fully healed him in spite of the maxed attack.
Spitz readied another drain punch that would likely fully heal him if it connected. He was in mid-lunge when Elio had made another call out to Arclight. She finally began to stir before her yellow eyes snapped open.
While it would take a couple of seconds to launch an electric attack which she didn't have, she made the last resort decision. Spitz' hand only met air and then it bounced off the wall when Arclight had used her legs to quickly dig a hole and tunnel underground.
Elio was pretty sure the crowd was sighing with relief with him when she had escaped. The reprieve was temporary as she would have to emerge eventually.
Hala knew that too. "Prepare a focus punch Spitz." The poliwrath nodded and immediately drew its fist back, keeping the other free hand in front as a defensive guard.
He didn't have to wait long. Arclight moved underneath as he did and exploded out of the ground. Before she could hit him, he threw the punch down which ended up canceling her attack and she hissed in protest. While she was still partially stuck in the tunnel she dug out, Spitz was already following it up with a drain punch.
Though she had taken a good amount of damage from the focus punch, she hadn't been idle either. Elio knew she had been using the time spent underground to build up an electrical charge.
Arclight waited for a second until Spitz threw it before zipping up and out of the hole, quickly spinning her body around. The poliwrath was just as quick in rolling on his back and blasting himself upwards in a rush of silvery water.
"Discharge! Everything you got!"
She launched it just at the same time Spitz reached her with the waterfall attack trailing behind. The mixture of water sprayed everywhere along with crisscrossing bright yellow lightning arcs that combusted in an explosion that deafened and blinded everyone. Spitz's heavier weight tossed him onto the ground where his limp body ragdolled upon impact. Elio saw that he was out.
Arclight appeared at the same time above, the explosion throwing her outwards as she spiraled into the Ward shield above the highest set of stands before plummeting down and crashing on her back.
Both pokemon were out of the fight.
"Spitz and Arclight are both unable to continue fighting!" The referee declared. "Three on two, Elio in favor!"
Elio quickly returned Arclight, having to cross over to the edge of the court for the recall beam to tag and suck her back inside her ball. "Thank you girl. Mahalo."
"Mahalo Spitz." Hala placed his back in his robe. "We will fight on."
He glanced back at Elio. "Only two more pokemon left. I will warn you now that these are some of my most experienced partners and we are not going to slow or stop for anyone."
"Noted. You said you're not holding back, don't do it now."
"Hmm." Hala's face shifted in amusement. "Ever since Hau was a boy, he's wanted to see what it was like to see me in battle going all out. I know he's watching up there earnestly. He's about to see it as are you. I hope and I know you're ʻaʻole makaʻu."
He held up another poke ball with a worn top half, faded to a duller red shade which made Elio wonder if it was an older model.
"Nakano, I have need of your assistance!"
The poke ball opened to reveal a crustacean like creature that was covered in pale white fur. Bits of its underlying purple shell could be seen in a few gaps. It scuttled from side to side on thin legs. Both pincers were as wide as tree trunks and Elio knew that getting hit by one of those was going to be painful.
Time to check the 'Dex.
"Crabominable. Wooly crab pokemon. It is the final evolved form of crabrawler. It just throws punches indiscriminately, but in times of desperation, it can lop them off and shoot them at foes like rockets. Crabominable is a fighting and ice type. Additional information is available upon capturing this pokemon."
"Nakano is the father of the crabrawler you faced in your Melemele grand trial."
"Then I'll go two to zip against the family." Elio summoned his next pokemon. "Let's go Strongside!" Upon taking the court, his fire cat hunched down in a pouncing stance to start. Nakano growled softly, bashing its pincer fists together to create puffs of ice particles.
"We'll start this off with flamethrower!" Elio wanted to go right for the kill as Strongside fired a stream of flames from his belt. Nakano scuttled to the side, his lateral movement being a lot quicker than forward or backwards. As Strongside rotated to adjust his aim, Nakano burst forward holding one pincer fist in front.
"Ice punch!"
Ice punch? Why? Elio was a little confused as Nakano pressed his advance, using a forward fist that was quickly encased in crystalline ice. He swung it as the flamethrower passed over, grunting from the pain.
Strongside's flamethrower finally started to weaken, but Nakano had effectively blocked the majority of the damage while plowing ahead. With its free fist behind him, he cocked it and hit forward in a power-up-punch that hardly fazed Elio's starter. Strongside shook it off, but Elio was a little surprised at how much damage it had dealt. The power-up-punch had given a rising stat flare to Nakano's physical attack.
"Iron fist." Hala said as if reading his mind. "The ability gives all punching moves a little extra bit of power! A little extra meaning to the Alolan Punch!"
Though he wanted to groan out loud at the joke and focus on the battle, Elio couldn't help the laugh. Neither did the crowd.
The battle continued. Now that they were up close, it had been much more of a brawl. Both sides used their fighting moves, knowing that they were going to be super effective against the other. Nakano's power-up-punch connected a second time and Elio groused under his breath seeing the attack rise again. He couldn't overlook that.
It wasn't without cost though. Strongside was able to knock it over for a few seconds with a flame charge, followed by a double kick. When he moved in for a blaze kick right after; Nakano had swung again with both its large pincers and it was thanks to his speed increased reflexes he was able to slide underneath the hammer of a dizzy punch.
Yet it was still a stalemate. Nakano was good at keeping Strongside away by snapping more power-up-punches. Elio had him stay away in case one did end up hitting, as it would raise his attack even more and he suspected Hala was using it as a means to wear him down and then go for something big.
He tried a flamethrower, but got the same result of Nakano using an ice punch as a sort of glove to part the stream of fire and minimize the damage. Before he could follow on it in another attack, Strongside quickly retreated out of arm's reach which make the feint rather pointless. He just needed a way to possibly get Nakano to overextend its pincers so he could get an attack in.
Actually I think I got an idea. "Strongside, double blaze kick from overhead!"
His pokemon looked a little confused, but did as he instructed. Jumping up, he flew down towards Nakano with his feet starting to catch fire to deliver the two successive kicks. Nakano automatically backed up, raising its pincer fists to guard himself.
"Iron defense!" Hala barked out.
Strongside's first kick came down in an overhead heel crush as Nakano's body flashed with a metallic sheen and caused a sharp stat flare to go up. As he swung his leg with the second one, it pushed Nakano back, but not far enough that he swung both fists in a combo jab. One was ice and the other was covered in a silver veil of water. Crabhammer.
"Shit!" Elio couldn't believe it as he called out to his pokemon and heard nothing. To his dismay, he saw that the ice punch had been successful in freezing his pokemon solid.
Oh come on! Now?!
"And I believe it's time to wrap this up." Hala said as he held up his zenith ring. Elio's blood ran cold as the Melemele kahuna slotted in the copper colored fightinium-Z. He executed a series of moves, crossing his arms and lashing out with his own hands in a barrage of punches. "Zenith move unleash! Channel dynamic punch into All-Out Pummeling!"
"Strongside, you need to get out!" Elio shouted, hoping that his pokemon encased in the sheets of ice were able to hear him. Every second started to instill more panic as Hala fully empowered Nakano way faster than he expected. "Flame charge! Hurry!"
Strongside's frozen state had him on one foot and the other up above, so even if he did break out, he would have to regain his balance and that might take just a moment. It was a moment that could do him in from a fully powered Z-move.
Come on. Come on! Elio couldn't do anything but will that his pokemon was able to snap out of it.
Hala threw his fist forward with Nakano mirroring his trainer and Elio knew the fusillade of gigantic fists was going to come like a swarm of angry beedrill.
Strongside's belt began to glow and he saw the ice start to melt.
"Yes!"
With a roar of defiance, Strongside had used his arms to push outward and shatter his icy prison. He landed on the ground just as the first of the all-out pummeling had changed their course to the moving target.
Using the flame charge to rush ahead, he dodged the first several before a couple had struck him, knocking him to his knees. Strongside quickly scrambled onto his feet as Nakano finished the barrage and launched one final strike straight at him. The time it took for him to recover was all it needed to hit, but instead of a head-on, it had been a glancing blow.
It was still enough to knock him down and send him careening into the ground where he lay unmoving.
"Strongside!" Elio cried. "Please don't be out."
The referee hovered over and was about to declare him incapable, when Strongside shuddered as he snarled in anger, willing himself to stand.
"Yes!" He felt a little bit of concern that the Z-move had caused some grievous injury as well as expecting his starter pokemon to collapse at any second. How in the hell did he survive that?
And then he saw it. Hala noticed it as well at the same time.
Strongside's first blaze kick had burned Nakano, effectively halving his attack power.
"Ah, some deja vu." The kahuna half chuckled, clearly impressed at Strongside's resilience. "I suppose old Hala's lost a bit of a step."
Elio almost had to laugh at that himself. It had been the same scenario where Strongside was just a tiny Litten and had burned the crabrawler in his battle against Hala as his Melemele Grand Trial. I can see the similarity for sure.
"Strongside," he breathed, seeing his starter glance back at him. "Are you okay? You good to go?"
The heel pokemon was weary, panting heavily and sporting several patches of ripped fur and bruises. But he shifted his stance and faced down Nakano again, nodding to retain focus.
"Okay." Elio nodded to the referee. "We're good."
The buzzer sounded again and both pokemon leapt into combat. Elio was pretty sure that Strongside's notable resilience would be for naught if he got hit by another fighting type move or that crabhammer. If he could keep Hala from using it.
"Flamethrower!" Strongside may have been greatly exhausted by having to barely hang on from a fighting type Z-move, but the power behind his flamethrower told his trainer that he was very much still in the bout. Thanks for not letting me down buddy. We're almost there.
As he expected, Nakano used the opportunity to push forward himself with the ice punch, though the gap between them was much wider than previously before. As the stream weakened; Strongside stopped at his trainer's command and launched into a furious darkest lariat. Now moving faster than before, he spun to Nakano's left and waited until the wooly crab scuttled to counter his movement.
Perfect! "Now!" Strongside sped right in, hammering with his arms to Nakano's blind spot. The fur was slick and he almost hit it in a glancing blow that would've left him open to a retaliatory attack. It produced immediate results, with the wooly crab growling in protest as the hit buckled the legs, caused it to pitch forward and use its pincers to brace itself from toppling. Darkest lariat ignored the previous iron defense and Elio was ready to finish it off with a special fire move.
"Let's finish this buddy! Overheat!"
Strongside roared loudly as Nakano picked itself up and rotated around again. Hala's hands clenched into fists. He wasn't going down without having one last shot. "Dynamic punch!"
Nakano threw his left pincer fist forward, causing an audible snapping sound as the entire arm had been dismembered off. Just like how the 'Dex had entailed, the enclosed fist launched itself towards Strongside just as he was about to launch his overheat attack. The tad bit of hesitation was what saved him in the end, seeing something coming his way and jumping to the side. The gigantic pincer fist flew harmlessly by, missing him by a mere foot.
With one final roar of triumph, he unleashed the overheat, quickly enveloping the other side and giving Nakano almost no time to dodge or form its ice punch with the lone arm to try and block it. Hala and Elio saw the crab's shadow before the blinding fiery energy beam swallowed it whole and bathed the court in a blistering heat that probably singed the hair off his arms. Elio grunted in discomfort, feeling the coolness of the mountain's high altitude air vanish for just a few moments. His eyes squeezed shut.
As the indescribable noise finally wound down, Elio slowly opened his eyes and blinked. Strongside was in front of him, glancing back at his trainer with a bit of concern.
"I-I'm okay buddy." Elio managed a weak smile and flashed him a thumbs up. His pokemon stared at him perplexed before trying to imitate the gesture. "I'm good."
Nakano was definitely not good. The wooly crab's fur had been severely singed as it lay on its stomach in the middle court. Judging by the way its lone arm was attached, Elio had to guess that Hala was going to do a last resort dynamic punch before he was just completely overpowered by the overheat. It had been so blinding that it was impossible for Elio to tell of Strongside's special attack experiencing a harsh downwards stat flare.
The referee waved his hands. "Nakano is incapable of battling! Strongside is the winner! Three on one! Elio has chance to clinch the match upon knockout!"
Clinch the match. On knockout. One more pokemon. Elio whispered to himself and heard the crowd start to cheer again. For hours of loud screaming, cheering and encouraging him to win, he would've thought that they would have tired long ago like him in shouting commands.
He was dead wrong.
"EL-IO! EL-IO! EL-IO!" The chants slowly merged again with thousands in the stands on their feet. Nobody was leaving or wanting to miss any piece of the action.
Tune it out. You're not champion yet.
"EL-IO! EL-IO!"
Tune. It. Out. Elio loved the fanfare, but he couldn't deny the confidence that was starting to grow. Hala's final pokemon against three of his, albeit two worn down. His heavy hitter Lochagos had yet to enter the battle and somehow he figured it was going to come down to him to win it all.
Strongside flexed his arms at hearing the crowd, which appeared to excite them even more. They were on the cusp of victory. One more slot on Hala's side with an empty pokemon render and no more switch icons due to him being on his final pokemon.
He had to think strategically.
Strongside and Bravo to weaken. Lochagos to hopefully hang on enough to finish what they'd start. And hopefully it's not like some fairy and fighting type. If it knew a ranged move of anything Lochagos was weak to, he was sure he'd be as good as done.
"Ah how kupanaha in having to go all out just like the days of my youth!" Hala's belly shook as he rumbled with laughter. "It's been a while since this has happened and I am enjoying every moment possible!"
He clutched his final pokemon's ball to his chest while returning Nakano, also taking the dismembered limb with it as well. "It all comes down to this. For the match, for everything you've worked so hard for. Kazuhiro! We have need of your assistance!"
The kahuna tossed the ball onto the court, revealing a grizzled and sinewy hariyama that shook the entire floor as his feet planted down behind bulging rolls of solid muscle. Elio tried not to think about the flips in his stomach every time it took a step while eyeing Strongside. His pokemon's showboating immediately stopped upon seeing his foe on the other side and turned serious.
Okay try not to think about how easily Kazuhiro can knock out Strongside like this. Let's get as much damage as we can in beforehand. Burn maybe.
"Let's go Strongside, we're not stopping until it's done!" His pokemon snarled in agreement, immediately launching into a flamethrower and flame charge combo. The spewed jet of fire scorched Kazuhiro and forced him back, but the pokemon's large bulk prevented it from falling over. As it ended, the heel pokemon rushed ahead cloaked in more flames to hit him.
"Fake out." Just as Strongside had reached his foe, Kazuhiro thrust its beefy hands outwards, hitting him on the chest and causing him to stumble back.
"Use whirlwind!" Strongside was still recovering from the flinch stun when Kazuhiro spun its hands, moving with such an intense force that it had actually sent a swirling gust that hit Strongside and propelled him back. The fire cat yelped in surprise, hurtling through the air and quickly disappearing in a flash of light to be forced back inside his ball.
Another active poke ball suddenly triggered and Elio was greeted by Bravo spreading his wings and glaring at his opponent. He still had that oily sheen on his feathers, the still-corrosive effects of the poison from Mysterio in effect.
Elio saw that it hadn't affected the two switches he had remaining, but didn't like how Bravo was up next to face Kazuhiro. Though the hariyama was arguably slower than any pokemon he had, there was no telling how handy a tailwind was going to benefit a fully healthy Lochagos.
"Bravo return!" The boy gritted his teeth seeing that he had to waste one of the switches for something like that. "Strongside, back in!"
Now there had been a silver lining in Strongside being thrown back into his ball. The special attack stat drop that he had when he first used overheat had been nullified and back to its normal level. So the move at its full power was an option, it had just cost him his second voluntary switch.
However the fire moves didn't seem to be doing much damage.
"Strongside, flame charge and double blaze kick!" Again, the same thing. Kazuhiro was too slow to strike back, but the big pokemon seemed to shrug it off without any struggle at all.
Does it have a thick fat ability?
Strongside had jumped to the side from an oncoming focus punch, but in doing so he had stumbled and lost his balance. He was already rolling on his feet to get back up.
But it was too late.
Hala called for an attack known as brine and Elio watched Kazuhiro form a ball of water in its hands before tossing it up in Strongside's direction. Upon reaching the apex of its height, it burst and rained down droplets the size of buckets in the entirety of the vicinity. Strongside snarled in fury as he was battered by the super effective attack. His limbs lashed out in a desperate attempt to get free before succumbing to his mounting exhaustion.
"Strongside is incapable of battling! Kazuhiro is the winner! Two on one, Elio has the potential to clinch the match by knockout!"
He breathed out slowly, still feeling the uneasiness of possibly losing.
No. We'll talk about losing when we've lost. We've come this far.
With nothing else to say, he chose Bravo as his next pokemon and the round immediately started.
"Bravo use brave bird!" He wanted to get as much damage in as he could before resorting to Lochagos if he had to.
The bird screeched as he took to the sky, gaining altitude before entering a dive and picking up speed and power as he went. Kazuhiro narrowed his eyes as did his trainer.
Elio knew right away they were planning something.
"Use whirlwind!"
"Dammit, Bravo break it off now!"
It was too late. Kazuhiro spun his hands to launch another swirling gust that ensnared Bravo and blew him back all the way to Elio's side and pushing him against his will to continue flying straight.
Bravo was sucked into his ball and Elio felt Lochagos' activate, springing the kommo-o on the field.
Enough with these damn surprises. If Hala wants to go now, then I'm all for it.
"Use clanging scales!" Lochagos had to shake off the surprise that he was being thrust right into battle straightaway and immediately vibrated his gauntlets to smash together. Kazuhiro hunched down, still taking very little damage before he threw a weak ring of electricity towards Lochagos.
Thunder wave. "Lochagos, repulse now!" Elio shouted. His dragon threw up his gauntlets in time to bounce it away and to Elio's delight right back at the attacker.
"Oh thank fuck." He breathed a sigh of relief as Kazuhiro stiffened and tried to fight through the paralysis when it surrounded him. "Time to attack now."
At his command, Lochagos stamped the ground in an earthquake that battered his foe relentlessly, but still Kazuhiro did not look any worse for wear.
The hell is this thing made of? He didn't have time to ponder before Hala called for a facade. Elio groaned under his breath hearing it. Facade; an attack that deals massive damage when the user is burned, paralyzed or poisoned. And he just gave him the ammo he needed to take advantage of that.
Luckily, Kazuhiro was still sluggishly slow to execute the attack and lash his hands out, so Lochagos was able to put up a protect to keep it from hitting. What Elio was not expecting was for him to suddenly whip up another thunder wave and send it through with the perfect timing as the protect expired.
"NO!" He shouted. Lochagos cried out in distress as the paralysis quickly spread across his body, flickering weak static arcs. His movements slowed and he realized that Kazuhiro's own speed hadn't been cut as much. Lochagos was slower.
Nononono! Shit! Fuck! Fuck! Elio was starting to go into full panic mode. Bravo on the ropes and Lochagos slower. He was dead in the water.
His mind worked as fast as it could when Kazuhiro attacked with another facade. Lochagos made to dodge, but the hariyama's own paralysis had flickered to life and stopped his attack well before landing.
I have to do it and switch out. I HAVE to get Bravo back out for a tailwind. He might not last long, but I need to either get him weakened enough so that a flying Z-move can take him out or get Lochagos to go faster.
Elio's breathing increased and his heart was thumping in his ears at a pace that nearly matched automatic gunfire. His hands shook as he took Lochagos' ball and he nearly lost grip trying to activate its recall feature.
"Lochagos…return!" Okay, breathe. Relax. He thumbed Bravo's ball and sent him out. You have a plan. It's not a good one, but it's the one we're gonna stick to.
Elio saw the final switch icon dim out and it dawned on him that his plan had just as much of a chance of failing as it did succeeding.
Now with his last swap had been used up, that meant he couldn't use another to exchange Bravo out for Lochagos once he set up the tailwind. Bravo would have to faint in order for it to happen. And Hala could just wait the tailwind to peter out before going for a knockout…then Lochagos wouldn't get any of the benefits and still be paralyzed when he was needed.
Shit. Shitshitshitshit. Elio wanted to scream at himself for messing up even more.
"Ah and now it is time to wrap this up!" Hala boomed loudly. "Belly drum Kazuhiro!"
"Oh no." Even more despair crept in as he saw Kazuhiro begin to slam his stomach with his large hands. The big stat flare came a second later, but caused his pokemon to feel fatigued. He had his hands on his knees and strained to continue standing.
Dammit. Belly drum means that Bravo is gone in a single hit. I can't go with tailwind too early, but if I wait I might not get it at all.
"Aerial ace!" Elio figured it was time to roll the dice to see what happened. Bravo looped up and struck Kazuhiro, sending the tired hariyama on one knee. He tried to attack in response, but the paralysis flickered on his body and canceled the attack yet again.
"Maybe I can go for the win right here." He said to himself before realizing that he should cast the tailwind anyway as a backup. "Bravo, use tailwind and then finish this with brave bird! Give it everything you got!"
Hala growled under his breath, seeing Bravo whip his wings to cast the breeze before he moved to rise in the sky and dive down in another one. Kazuhiro managed to break through some of the paralysis to toss a whirlwind, but Bravo's sharp reflexes saw the attack coming with a lot better warning and he banked to the left to avoid it . He shuddered as the poison took some more of his energy, but still didn't go down while remaining on a constant vector.
He's putting it all on the line.
"Drain punch!"
Kazuhiro's eyes narrowed and he balled a fist, throwing it up as soon as Bravo had been milliseconds away from hitting. With two huge forces went against one another and it was Kazuhiro's that won out. Bravo immediately went limp as the punch hit right before his brave bird could fully barge into Kazuhiro's stout frame. He hit the ground headfirst and rolled into the wall with a loud crash and an explosion of drifting dark feathers.
"Bravo!"
"Bravo is unable to continue battling! Kazuhiro is the winner! It is now one on one with the victor of this round clinching the match!"
Despite the mounting panic he was having, Elio tried his best to keep on his brave face and soldier on. All his other pokemon were down, but they had gotten him this far and it was up to him and Lochagos.
Win. Or go home.
"Lochagos, let's go. It's up to you now!" Elio brought out his final pokemon. He grimaced at the lingering paralysis, but kept a firm gaze at the only pokemon standing between them and victory. He'd rather have it this way anyway. In this scenario, it was better to fight paralyzed than on an invisible clock where the poison would slowly be wearing him down regardless if he avoided hits.
Lochagos rumbled and glanced back at his trainer. Elio did his best to look in control and give him a reassuring nod.
"We got this."
And on a bit of a timer too. The tailwind at our backs won't be forever.
Kazuhiro's drain punch that took out Bravo had healed it a considerable amount. Lochagos went on the attack, using scale shot at a distance. The hariyama put its hands out to punch them as they approached, hitting the first and second ones, but the third and fourth were aimed a little lower and bypassed his palms. A lucky fifth one hit when its paralysis flared up and it couldn't block it in time.
Lochagos' own paralysis canceled his follow up earthquake and gave Kazuhiro enough time to lunge forward in a drain punch. A protect was cast in time, but them being close meant another attack was bound to come if Lochagos couldn't counter it. Scale shot had lowered his defense and raised his speed, so getting hit was going to cause him to take more damage than normal.
"Lochagos use-"
"Facade!" No!
Kazuhiro's hands glowed a bright white before he fiercely palmed them into Lochagos' midsection with enough force to create a shockwave that rippled across the court. With a roar, the massive dragon went down, rolling back on his feet just a couple of seconds later and stumbled in a disoriented manner.
"Again!"
"Bulldoze!" Thankfully the tailwind still up meant the hariyama would be working against it and maybe be just slow enough. Lochagos shook his head in a frustrated growl. His quickly done stomp was weak and the bulldoze didn't do as much damage. But he just needed it to reduce Kazuhiro's speed long enough so that he could recover and stand again.
As soon as he saw the stat flare of his speed dropping and Kazuhiro's advance slowed, Elio grabbed the fightinium-Z in his hand and slotted it into his ring. The device powered to life and he hoped to anyone, the RNG gods or the tapu that Lochagos' paralysis wouldn't interrupt the execution of his zenith move.
He performed the fighting type dance as quickly as he could, punching straight ahead and holding it for as long as he could. The transfer of zenith energy surrounding Lochagos gave him a little bit of relief upon a successful activation.
"Z move unleash! Channel sky uppercut into an all-out pummeling!" Elio's voice felt hoarse and wavered from yelling so much and he tried his best to steady his breathing as the kommo'o commenced the superpowerful move.
Kazuhiro knew that this move was going to finally take it down and it sprinted forward, rapidly dwindling the gap between them with his big hands ready and poised for a drain punch that might be enough to either knock Lochagos out or survive the onslaught.
Either way, it was all or nothing as Bravo's tailwind began to fade.
Lochagos' roar emanated from the center of his radiant glowing form when he unleashed a furious salvo of punches in the same manner as Nakano had done. In contrast to Strongside; Kazuhiro was far less evasive and only managed to dodge the first hand before the rest swarmed all over without giving as much of a chance to evade or fight back. The hariyama growled in defiance and to everyone's surprise, had managed to push itself upright as the last of the glowing punches had faded away. For a second he looked ready for another round.
Lochagos didn't seem to think so.
Elio put his fingers and thumbs together in a finishing touch pose.
"Boom."
Lochagos launched the final strike of the zenith move, one final comet of an attack that hit Kazuhiro as it weakly swung its own fists in a vain attempt to fight on. He vanished in a flash of light that quickly faded while everyone was learning forward in anticipation for the verdict.
There's no way he could've withstood that. No way. At least that's what he was going to convince himself.
Kazuhiro was on one knee, much farther back than when they last saw him. He shuddered and trembled while pushing up on his knee to stand. With a grunt, he raised his arms up to face Lochagos, who narrowed his own eyes and prepared for another face off.
"No way." Elio's own thoughts manifested the same as the crowd's.
The referee was about to signal the match to be resumed when Kazuhiro let out an earth rattling groan and toppled forward, face first into the court.
He did not get up again.
Stunned, the referee blinked out of his stupor and waved his hands atop the metang. "Kazuhiro is unable to battle further! Lochagos is…the winner! This clinches the match's victory to Elio Northstar!"
Elio heard those words echo in his head as the crowd broke into earsplitting cheers that resonated all around the stadium. His mouth hung open as it slowly dawned on him that this meant he had finally defeated all of the Elite Four.
I…I can't believe. Fucking can't believe this! No way this is happening! I was on the ropes! On the verge of losing! My plan wasn't concrete and I won?!
Elio decided that he just had to accept the win and move on. There would be time to go back and break down the stuff he did wrong to further improve his game.
But now was not that time. Now was a time for celebration. And the crowd was back with it, his name chants uniting quicker and louder than ever before. He glanced down from whistles and yells as he spread his arms to drink up all of it. This was the time for the showboating. After all, not every trainer got to the peak of the mountain like him.
Elio held the pose, knowing that there was definitely going to be a picture worthy shot surfacing sooner than later. He broke the seriousness when he saw that Lochagos was trying to copy his pose and laughed out loud.
"Come here!" Elio grinned from ear to ear and embraced his gigantic dragon. Lochagos growled in agreement as trainer and Pokémon bumped fists. "I'm so goddamn proud of you! You and the rest of this team!"
He scratched him under his scales to earn a delighted rumble and took out his ball. "You're the greatest ever! We finally did it. The Elite Four have all been defeated!"
Lochagos happily went back inside his ball as Elio recalled him. "Take a good long rest. You've more than earned it!"
He heard both Hala and Professor Kukui clapping their hands as they made their way over to him. Hala had recalled Kazuhiro back into his ball as the two older men stood opposite him.
"Well done my boy!" The Melemele kahuna extended his hand out for a shake, which Elio enthusiastically did. He then let out a surprised laugh when he hugged him and put a gentle weathered hand on Elio's back to give an encouraging pat. "Your Alolan uhane burns hot as a blast burn, as our good professor here might say! And I believe it's time for the formalities!"
Still hardly believing that the champion of Alola was now his, Elio turned along with the rest of the crowd to see the poliwag extinguish the final flame and show that all of the Elite Four had been cleared.
"Oh yeah! Woo!" Professor Kukui was all smiles as Hala accepted Elio's pokemon to fully heal them. "Look at you! You had that future sight in you all along to become the Pokemon Champion of the Alola region!"
"Y-yeah." Elio's smile was infectious as he barely could hold in his excitement. All of that hard work was finally paying off. "It's…I'm still kind of in disbelief that it's over. Kahuna, thank you for the best battle I've had. You and the rest of the Elites! I'm proud to be your champion!"
The crowd's cheers continued until Kukui cleared his throat in the microphone. Elio saw him chuckle softly and shook his head.
"Unfortunately Elio…you're not the champion yet."
That had given him pause and he looked at the professor with barely concealed surprise. Hala chuckled and handed Elio back his six poke balls.
"Wouldn't it be nice if it was ma'alahi?" He put his hands on his hips as Elio started to not like the feeling of where this was going.
"The truth is, there's one more person you gotta battle and beat if you want that title. With one final hurrah for your island challenge! A special tribute as you and the newly established Pokemon League embark on a new path."
Okay…so enough with the whole drawing out for effect. Who is it?
Kukui paced to the other side of the court, stopping with his back turned and then pivoted around. It took him precisely three seconds to figure out exactly what was going on.
"And of course that trainer…is none other than me!"
Surprise! Elio isn't quite the champion yet! He's got one more battle to go! And that's gonna have to wait until next time!
Also be sure to check out A Life You Will Remember that has also been posted just earlier! Do check it out, your support and feedback are always appreciated here, there or both in between!
Translations:
Keiki - Child
Kupanaha - Incredible/Amazing
Uhane - Soul
ʻAʻole makaʻu - Unafraid
Ma'Alahi - Simple/Easy
Ka Makaka Maika'i - The Good Fight
As always, mahalo for reading and reviewing. You give my writing purpose!
Brav