Chapter 76:
Bamboozled
Location: Battle Tree
"So, Roto. Who you facing today?"
I was busy looking at the matchups. It's worth mentioning that they get shuffled so there is no way of knowing who you're fighting until most of the matches are finished. Multiple happened yesterday, sixteen. Therefore, four were held at a time. That's why I caught the end of Hau's match with Cynthia yesterday.
"Hey!" I shouted. "I'm battling Grimsley!"
"Woah! Roto! You didn't stand a chance againzzt him lazzt time! Lizzten Elliott. Zzt zzt. That izz about to change!"
"I wouldn't be so sure." Grimsley walked towards us. "Or maybe. Who knows? Leave it up to chance."
I looked back at the matchup. "It's a single battle again, three Pokémon. Yeah, I know my team!"
Eventually, the time came for me and Grimsley to battle it out. I was shaking a little bit; this guy had really shown me who was boss last time. But I'm stronger now.
"Hello," Grimsley said. "Pick a hand. Which one has the red ball?"
"Right," I said.
Grimsley showed me his right palm. It was blue. "Nice try. That's luck for you. Now, what do you say you give it all you got? Doesn't matter much anyway; life is all about taking risks!"
Elliott Vs. Grimsley
"First up, Scrafty!" Grimsley shouted, sending out a Fighting Type.
"And I choose Toucannon!" I replied.
"Toucannon! Roto! It'zz been a while! And good timing to; it'zz againzzt a Fighting Type!"
"Ready?" Toucannon's beak started heating up.
"Use Head Smash Scrafty!" Scrafty rammed into Toucannon with all its might. It knocked it out in one fell swoop.
"No!" I shouted.
"Unlucky," Grimsley said, just as Scrafty became burned.
"I planned that!" I said. "You didn't expect me to have that, did you? Whose unlucky now?" I needed to watch my words; I was a Pokémon down now. "Okay Hariyama, go!" Out came my own Fighting Type. "Fake Out!" Hariyama clapped in front of Scrafty, making it flinch.
"Use High Jump Kick!" Scrafty jumped forward and hit Hariyama. Thankfully it wasn't super strong because of the burn effect.
"Close Combat!" Hariyama punched and kicked at Scrafty multiple times. It was down.
"Clever, very clever. Next up, Bisharp!" It was the Pokémon I had fought already.
"Return," I said.
"WHAT?! ROTO? You have a clear advantage!"
I knew, but so did Bisharp. The Close Combat could have been taken advantage of. "Go Incineroar!" Out came my Fire Type and…
Bisharp didn't move.
"What?" I said.
"I was about to use Metal Burst," Grimsley said. "I was hoping that it would survive the Close Combat so that Metal Burst would work. I suppose I am unlucky."
I nodded. "Use Darkest Lariat!" Incineroar span into Bisharp for very little damage.
"Metal Burst!" Bisharp fired a metal ball at Incineroar for… very little damage.
"And now, Cross Chop!" Incineroar crossed its arms and chopped at Bisharp. It was defeated.
"Thank you Bisharp," Grimsley said, recalling it. "Okay, I think it might be time to bring in the brute force! One Pokemon left, and it's Tyranitar!" Out came a large-green Pokémon with a spiky back and huge tail.
Tyranitar (バンギラス)
#249
Rock/Dark Type
Armor Pokémon
6'07" (2 m)
445.3 lbs (202 kg)
This Pokémon is a mobile disaster, leaving mountains crumbled and houses destroyed in its wake.
Larvitar -Lv 30- Pupitar -Lv 55- Tyranitar
"Looks strong," I said. Upon entering, a sandstorm appeared. "Now what?"
"Sand Stream. Roto. When a Pokémon with the Ability, i.e. Tyranitar, enterzz, a sandstorm appearzz!"
"It's about to get stronger!" Grimsley said. He revealed that he had a Mega Stone on him. He pressed it. "This is my first time Mega Evolving, so let's see if it can come down to chance and win this!" With that, I saw Mega Tyranitar. Its body was much spikier.
Mega Tyranitar (メガ バンギラス)
#249
Rock/Dark Type
Armor Pokémon
8'02" (2.5 m)
562.2 lbs (255 kg)
Due to the colossal power poured into it, this Pokémon's back split right open. Its destructive instincts are the only thing keeping it moving.
Larvitar -Lv 30- Pupitar -Lv 55- Tyranitar -Mega Evolve- Mega Tyranitar
"It'zz even strong now! Roto!"
"Now Tyranitar, Stone Edge!" Mega Tyranitar fired sharp stones at Incineroar. It was defeated in one fell swoop.
"Thanks," I said. "This is it! Go Hariyama!" At least Hariyama had the advantage. "Fake Out!" Hariyama clapped in front of Mega Tyranitar. It flinched it. Of course, it did very little though and it didn't matter too much as Mega Tyranitar was faster.
"Use Earthquake!" Mega Tyranitar made the ground shake… but Hariyama jumped just in time! It missed!
"Great! Now that Grimsley is out of luck…" Me and Hariyama put our hands out in front, and punched the air. "Let's show him! ALL OUT PUMMELING!" As Hariyama fell from the air, it punched Mega Tyranitar. This caused an explosion. When the dust cleared, Mega Tyranitar was defeated!
"You took a chance, and it paid off…"
"Thanks," I told Grimsley shaking his hand.
"That was a match?" Walking up to us was Red. He seemed… disappointed. "Yeah, I was watching it."
"And?" I said. "What do you think? I won!"
"With gimmicks," Red replied.
"Gimmickzz? Roto? What are you talking about? Zzt zzt."
Red looked out. "Z-Moves. Mega Evolution. I didn't use them on my journey, and I became Champion. It's brute force if you ask me. There isn't any thrill."
"No thrill?" I asked. "Z-Moves have helped me get out of sticky situations! It was part of the reason I was able to save Alola!"
"Guzma did tell me," Red replied. "He has just lost by the way, but he told me about the time you refused to use Z-Moves to fight. And you still won. Maybe you should stop relying on gimmicks to win. And that goes for you to Grimsley. You like chance so much? Stop putting it in your favour like that."
"I will battle however I like!" I said as Red walked away.
"Enough," Grimsley replied. "But you are right. As long as you don't break the rules, you battle how you please. I battle with luck, you battle with Z-Moves. Now, let's get to the bottom of the Battle Tree."
At the bottom, I had a sit down and think about what Red said.
"Oh, don't let him get to you. Roto. He juzzt didn't have the luxury."
"I know," I said. "Though if he's so critical of these gimmicks, why is he letting us use them?"
"And why didn't my gimmick win?" It was Brendan. "Yeah. Ethan made good work of us. We're out of the picture."
"Sorry to hear that," I said. "Well, if you have nothing else to do, could you come with me please?"
"Sure," Brendan said. "Why?"
Location: Alter of the Moone
"Wicke!" I said when we arrived. "I've brought a new helper!"
Brendan looked around at the magnificent sculpture. "Look at this," he said. "All this as a tribute to Lunala."
"Okay," said Wicke. "This is your subject." She showed us a Pokémon that looked like a weird mix between a rocket ship and bamboo. "We call it UB-04 Blaster."
Celesteela (テッカグヤ)
#397
Steel/Flying Type
Launch Pokémon
30'02" (9.2 m)
2204.4 lbs (999.9 kg)
One kind of Ultra Beast. Witnesses have seen it burn down a forest by expelling gas from its two arms.
Ultra Beast.
"Expel gas?" I said. "Does that mean that it fa-"
"Don't be so childish!" Wicke said.
"Look at that weight though," Brendan replied. "It's heavier than Groudon!"
I sent out Lunala. It roared and an Ultra Wormhole opened up. "Ready?"
Wicke sent out Solgaleo which Brendan jumped on. "Okay!" Brendan shouted. "Let's show this bamboo who's boss!" With Wicke giving instructions, we flew in.
Location: Ultra Warp Ride
We flew through Ultra Space, taking in the rings.
"You know!" Brendan said. "I've been to space before, but Ultra Space is on a whole new level!"
"That one!" I shouted as we saw a white portal and went in.
Location: Ultra Crater
We found ourselves in an area with multiple craters, big and small. There were what looked like large metals pipes jutting in and out of the rocks.
"It's like we're on the moon," I said.
"Roto. I think the Apollo izzz arriving then!" We saw a Celesteela in the air. It blasted in our general direction, stopping before us.
"It's up to you," I told Brendan, giving him some Beast Balls.
"Gotcha!" Brendan replied.
At that moment, Celesteela slowly descended to the ground. It put its right arm out.
"That's your cue," I told Brendan.
"Okay!" he said. "Time to catch ourselves an Ultra Beast!"
Brendan Vs. Celesteela
"I choose you Dusknoir!" Brendan shouted. Celesteela started with Seed Bomb, firing some exploding seeds at Dusknoir. "Now use Thunder Punch!" Dusknoir's fist started sparking and it punched Celesteela. Additionally, it paralyzed! "Now use Shadow Punch!" Dusknoir punched the ground, causing its shadow to stretch out and punch Celesteela who couldn't move the next turn. "Now Beast Ball, go!" Brendan through the Beast Ball and Celesteela went inside… and stayed inside!
"Great!" I said. "Now, let's get back." We saw a bunch of Celesteela coming this way. "AND LET'S GET BACK NOW!"
Location: Altar of the Moone
After giving the Ultra Beast to Wicke, me and Brendan had a talk about Red.
"What is his deal?" I said.
"I dunno," Brendan replied. "All I know is that he wanted to come over here and… well bring this." He opened a Pokéball and sent out a pink Pokémon with gold rings on its ears.
"What is that?" I asked.
"It's called Hoopa," Brendan said. "It's a Mythical Pokémon that has the power to create rings that can lead to other places. Want a demonstration?" Hoopa made a ring that led us to…
Location: Battle Tree
"Back here!" I said. "Now let's get some rest."
"Hold on." It was Red.
"Oh look," I said. "If it isn't Mr. I don't like us using our own mechanics."
"Okay, okay," Red said. "Listen. I will be a bit more lenient to them if, Brendan, you promised me. May I please use Hoopa?"
Brendan nodded, recalled Hoopa and gave Hoopa's Pokéball to Red. "Take good care of it."
"I'll need the Prison Bottle to."
"Woah," Brendan said, holding onto his Bag. "What are you playing at?"
"What are you talking about? Roto?"
Brendan sighed, and took it out. It was long and pink with a white-ring shape on the bottom. "The Prison Bottle is what keeps Hoopa's power confined. If the Prison Bottle were to be opened, then Hoopa's true power would be unleashed, and that would be very dangerous. It's only to be used in very desperate needs. But since I know what we have faced the last few days… I'm only trusting Red with this because he is the greatest Trainer in the world. This is not a toy." He handed it over.
"It's in good hands," said Red. "I will also keep quiet about my opinions on your… mechanics. I can't say I agree with them, but I hope you will forgive me."
"We do," I said. "Now, I need to get ready for tomorrow's match!"
Rotom's Move Dex!
Today, we beat Grimzzley'zz Dark Type Pokémon! Roto! So let'zz look at a Dark Type move!
Nasty Plot! Zzt zzt!
Nasty Plot raizzezz the uzzerzz Sp. Attack by quite a bit! That'zz it.
Pokémon that can learn Nasty Plot include Ninetales (both forms), Houndoom and Salazzzzle!
I wonder what Nasty Plotzz Team Rainbow Rocket izz up to…