Episode Forty-Eight
Last time, Amanda competed in her first ever Pokemon League match, doing so on the grass field. The first battle saw Amanda's Arcanine go against John's Vileplume, which Arcanine ended up winning. Beedrill came out next, and made good use of its stingers to score a knockout over Arcanine. Then, it was Pikachu's turn to battle, and thanks to some powerful electric attacks, Beedrill's batteries were quickly drained. The final Pokemon in John's lineup was Aerodactyl, who made good use of its rock typing to send Pikachu to the showers. Blastoise was the final Pokemon to come out, and gave Aerodactyl some quick showers to send Amanda to the second round of the tournament. Will she be able to have the same luck? We're about to find out as her run continues.
As our heroes made their way back to the lobby of the main building, the thrill and excitement of Amanda's first Pokemon League win was still fresh in her mind.
"I still can't believe we managed to pull that off, Pikachu." She said.
"Don't let that get to your head, though." Said Michael. "It's only going to get tougher from here."
"Michael's right." Said Michelle. "The further you go in the tournament, the harder the competition is."
"I wonder which field you two will be battling on next." Said Mark.
"That's what we're about to find out right now." Said Michelle. Once they arrived back at the reception area, they were given a warm greeting.
"Congratulations to both of you on your victories today." Said the receptionist.
"Thank you very much." Said Michael.
"How do our round two opponents get decided?" Amanda wondered.
"Just wait right here for a moment and you'll find out." Said the receptionist. She quickly disappeared into a different room.
"I wonder what she's getting." Said Michelle.
"I guess we're about to see." Said Mark. The receptionist returned a couple of minutes later with a large circular drum.
"What's that for?" Amanda asked.
"This drum has the names of all the trainers that won their first round matches." Said the receptionist. "You pull out a slip from here, and whichever name you pull out is who your opponent will be in the second round."
"That seems simple enough." Said Michelle.
"You pull first, Michael." Said Amanda.
"Oh no, I insist you do it." Said Michael. "Ladies first, after all."
"That's very considerate." Said Mark. Amanda closed her eyes and dug deep into the drum. After reaching around for a few seconds, she finally pulled out a slip of paper that had a blue color on it. The text was written in white.
"The blue color on the paper means that you'll be on the water field for your next match." Said the receptionist. She had a look at the text that was on the paper.
"It says B-6." She said. She typed the information into the computer screen and a picture of Amanda's next opponent popped up. The trainer in the photo was wearing a bright red shirt, a black skirt and silver flip flop sandals.
"Well, now I know who my opponent is." Said Michelle.
"Her name is Karen." Said the receptionist. "She's a pretty good trainer, too."
"I guess she'll be pretty tough to beat, then." Said Amanda. "But I know we can win no matter how tough the opponent is." Michael drew a slip next. His paper had C-4 written on it, and the color on it was a bright white.
"I have the ice field for my next battle." He said. "Let's hope it'll be more competitive than the first one was, though."
"Okay, Amanda, your match tomorrow starts at three o'clock." Said the receptionist. "Michael, yours starts at five."
"Got it." Michael said. That evening, the four of them went to check out some of the other activities that were happening around the Pokemon League village. On the way, they started discussing Amanda's next match.
"I kind of thought the reception lady would've hinted at any kind of type my opponent may use." Said Amanda.
"I don't think they're allowed to give that information." Said Michael.
"Why not?" asked Amanda.
"Probably because they don't want to give other trainers an unfair advantage." Said Mark.
"That would seem like a valid reason to me." Said Michael.
"Now, considering the type of terrain you'll be battling on, suppose your opponent were to use water types." Said Michelle. "How would you counter that?"
"That's easy." Said Amanda. "I'd use both Weepinbell and Pikachu."
"Those are both great choices for a water battle, but you should probably use a water Pokemon yourself." Said Mark.
"I do have Blastoise with me, so I could use him." Said Amanda.
"That wouldn't be a bad option, but I think you should have more than one water type with you just in case." Said Michelle.
"Do you have any water Pokemon other than Blastoise?" asked Michael.
"I do have some other ones back at the professor's lab." Said Amanda. "I have Goldeen, Horsea, Seadra and Magikarp."
"I have to recommend that you not bring Magikarp with you to that battle." Said Michelle.
"I would have to agree." Said Michael. "All Magikarp is good for is flopping around. You do have a few other good options, though." They soon arrived at the part of the village where carnival type games were all set up for League participants to try their luck at.
"Ready to play some of the games, Pikachu?" Amanda asked.
"Pika!" Pikachu cried, which meant 'I'm ready!' The two of them started to bounce off excitedly, but Michelle stopped them.
"Phone call first, then we can do some of the games." She said. They went over to a block of video hones, and Amanda used one of them to place a call to Professor Oak. The professor was about to sit down to eat when he heard his phone ring.
"People need to learn not to call me during meal times." He grumbled. Nonetheless, he picked up the phone.
"Hello there, professor!" Amanda cried.
"Pika!" Pikachu exclaimed, which meant 'Hi!'
"Elekid!" the baby Elekid cried.
"Hello, Amanda, Pikachu and Elekid." Said Oak. "How are you all doing?"
"We're doing just fine, professor." Said Amanda. "I won my first match earlier today!"
"I heard about that, Amanda. That's excellent news." Said Professor Oak.
"Thanks, Professor." Said Amanda. "I'm already looking forward to my next match."
"I know you are, but don't get too overconfident." Said Oak. "Trainer often fall victim to overexcitement and then don't do as well as they should. I don't want that to happen to you. Just make sure you keep doing your best."
"I will, Professor." Said Amanda. "By the way, would it be possible to switch out my Pokemon team for the next match?"
"Of course, my dear." Said Oak. "Which of your Pokemon would you like to swap?"
"I'm battling on the water field for the next match, so I'm wondering if I can have Goldeen with me." Said Amanda. "I'll send Kadabra your way."
"I think Goldeen's a fine choice for a water battle." Said Oak. He grabbed Goldeen's Poke Ball and put it on his end of the teleporter. Likewise, Amanda placed Kadabra's ball on her end, and within a few seconds, both balls were switched.
"Goldeen's here, Professor. Thank you very much." Said Amanda.
"No problem at all, my dear." Said Oak. "I have to go or else my dinner's going to get cold. Good luck out there!" He hung up the phone, and now Amanda was feeling even more excited.
"We're glad to have you with us, Goldeen." She said as she placed the ball on her waist.
"I don't think I've ever seen you use Goldeen in a battle." Said Michelle. "Let's hope it can perform well for you."
"Goldeen are known to be fast swimmers." Said Mark. "I think it'll be fine." Amanda's stomach started to growl.
"My appetite would also be fine if we ate something." She said.
"Good idea." Said Michael. "I'm getting hungry myself." They found plenty of food vendors and got their dinner from one of them. Since everything was free for competing trainers, they didn't have to worry about paying. All of them shared a cheese pizza and they each had a small salad to satisfy themselves for the rest of the evening. Pikachu looked out at all the other action that was happening in front of them.
"Pika?!" he asked, which meant 'Can we check out some of the games now?' Amanda smiled.
"Yes, we can look at the games." She said. The first game they checked out was a basketball shooting game where they had to make a certain amount of baskets within a sixty second time limit. Amanda, Michael and mark all failed, but Michelle put on a spectacular display and won herself an Eevee plush.
"Eevee!" Eevee squealed happily. She pointed at the toy and gave Michelle a thumbs up.
"I'm glad you like it, Eevee." Said Michelle. The next game they looked at was a ring toss game.
"I don't ever remember playing ring toss before." Said Amanda. Mark pointed out a specific prize he wanted.
"They have a handheld game console here." He said. "Maybe I can win that."
"Just try your best." Said Michael. Unfortunately for Mark, he failed on all his attempts and couldn't win the prize. He was a bit disappointed, but Amanda gave him some reassurance.
"You can't win all the time at games, just like I don't always win all my Pokemon battles." She said.
"That's certainly an interesting analogy." Said Mark. They decided to try a few more games, but none of the group members were successful on any of them.
"Well, that was a bit disappointing." Said Amanda.
"At least I have my Eevee doll, though." Said Michelle.
"That's certainly better than nothing." Said Michael.
"By the way, Michelle, how were so good at the basketball game?" Mark wondered curiously.
"My dad used to take me to some basketball games when I was little, and I studied the shooting mechanics of each player." Said Michelle. "That's how I was able to do so well."
"You'd make for a terrific basketball player." Said Amanda. As they continued walking back, they heard the sound of a Rhydon charging toward them.
"What in the world?!" Mark cried. Right beside Rhydon was a Vaporeon, who ran up to Eevee and gave her a playful lick.
"These Pokemon look a bit familiar." Said Amanda. "It's almost like I've seen them before."
"That's because you did see them before." Stated a voice from behind them. The group turned around, and much to their surprise, it was Cassie and Gina!
"Hey there, you guys!" cried Amanda. She ran up to the two girls and hugged both of them. "It's so great to see both of you again!"
"What are you both doing here?" Michelle asked.
"We saw Amanda's battle earlier on television back home, so we thought we'd com up here and surprise both of you." Said Gina.
"That's great." Said Mark. "How did you get here so fast, though?"
"We flew here on my sister's Pidgeot." Said Cassie. "It's a really strong flyer."
"Just who exactly are these people?" Michael asked.
"Oh, you haven't met them yet." Said Amanda. "These two are our friends Cassie and Gina."
"We met them near Cinnabar Island during the Christmas holiday last year." Said Mark. Michael stuck his hand out and greeted them.
"It's a pleasure to meet both of you." He said.
"Are you competing in the tournament too?" Cassie asked him.
"He certainly is." Said Amanda. "We both have a match tomorrow."
"That's part of the reason why we came up here." Said Gina. "Cassie wanted to see you battle in person."
"Well then, you should be in for a real treat tomorrow for my match on the water field." Said Amanda. Cassie and Gina recalled their Pokemon, and with the group now increased to six people, they all started to make their way towards the cabins.
"So Cassie, how have things been for you since the last time we saw you?" asked Michelle.
"It's been going well." Said Cassie. "Ever since I got that Vaporeon, I've been wanting to become a trainer myself."
"That's a great goal to have." Said Amanda. "Being a trainer isn't as easy as it looks, though."
"What do you mean?" Cassie wondered.
"First off, you have to make sure your Pokemon are in top shape at all times." Said Michelle. "You have to feed them daily, and you also have to make sure that they're always in good condition."
"That's exactly what I've been doing with Vaporeon." Said Cassie. "I've been giving it a bath every single day, and she absolutely loves that."
"I would hope so considering that it's a water type." Said Michael. Once they arrived back at the cabins, they went into the one where Amanda, Michael, Mark and Michelle were all staying in.
"This looks completely different from where Gina and I live." Said Cassie.
"All the trainers that are competing get to stay here for the duration of the tournament." Gina explained.
"Do you think that could be me one of these days?" Cassie asked.
"We'll just have to see." Said Gina. All six of them went to bed early that night so that they would be well rested for what lay ahead of them. The next morning, Amanda woke up with a bright smile on her face.
"Another match day today, Pikachu." Said Amanda. "How are you feeling about it?"
"Pikachu!" Pikachu chirped, which meant 'I'm feeling great!'
"Amanda, Gina has a little something for you." Said Cassie.
"She does?" Amanda wondered. Gina stood in front of Amanda's bed and showed her the surprise.
"Since you're battling in a water themed arena today, I thought I'd make you a special skirt for you to wear for the match." She said. The skirt was a shade of cascade blue and had some water droplets stitched onto the front and back.
"This is so pretty." Said Amanda. She changed into the skirt, along with a bright yellow shirt to match. "What do you think, Pikachu?"
"Pika." Pikachu answered, which meant 'You look lovely.'
"Thanks, buddy." Said Amanda. Since she had plenty of time before her match started, she decided to spend the morning doing some training sessions with her team.
"That's a really smart idea." Said Michelle. "This way, her lineup will be ready to do whatever they're told." After a filling lunch, it was time to head to the stadium for the match.
"The water field looks so cool!" Cassie cried upon their arrival. "Do you think we'll get to see any water Pokemon during this match, Gina?"
"I hope we do." Said Gina. "Water Pokemon are some of the best ones out there." In the locker room, Amanda looked at Pikachu.
"Now that the first match jitters are past us, let's really do our best today." She said. "The announcer's voice then came on.
"Welcome to this second round match of competition here on the water field. We have two terrific battlers today who are anxious to get out there and show off their skills, so let's not waste any time. Trainers, please enter the arena!"
"Let's do it." Said Amanda. She got up from her spot and made her way into the stadium.
"And here come the competitors now." Said the announcer. "In the green corner is Amanda Cooper of Fuchsia City. Amanda had a thrilling victory in her round one match on the grass field yesterday after her Blastoise took down the mighty Aerodactyl. And now, coming into the stadium and lining up in the red corner is Karen Brewster of Cerulean City." Both trainers went to the center of the field to shake hands and wish each other good luck. After lining back up in their respective spots, the referee raised both flags.
"Begin the battle now!" he cried.
"Kingler, I choose you!" Karen yelled as she threw one of her Poke Balls. A large, crustacean Pokemon that resembled a crab appeared in a blaze of white light. The Pokemon also had a strong shell on the outside of its body, featuring a red upper half and a light tan lower half. Amanda took out her Pokedex to find out more about the Pokemon.
"Kingler, the pincer Pokemon. Kingler has an enormous, oversized claw, which it waves in the air in order to communicate with others."
"That Kingler looks so cool!" Cassie cried.
"Looks can be deceiving." Said Gina. "See how big those claws and pincers are? That means it's been trained very well." On the sidelines, Mark and Michelle were a bit concerned themselves.
"That Kingler doesn't look like it'll be easy to beat." Said Michelle. "Do you think Amanda can somehow defeat it?"
"I think so, but it might take some teamwork to do that." Said Mark. Amanda took a deep breath before pulling off a Poke Ball off the waist of her new skirt.
"I choose you, Goldeen!" she cried. She threw the ball and the beautiful white piscine Pokemon appeared in a flash.
"Well, it looks like we're starting this match with a battle between two water types. Karen is starting off the battle with Kingler while Amanda has chosen a Goldeen. Let's see how this water battle unfolds." Said the announcer.
"Let's go, Kingler! Bubble attack now!" Karen ordered. Kingler shot a stream of bubbles from its mouth.
"Dodge it, Goldeen! Agility now!" Amanda cried. Goldeen swam swiftly and quickly to avoid the bubbles. Each time Kingler aimed in one spot, Goldeen would quickly move over to the other side. Michelle was surprised.
"For Goldeen's first battle, it seems to be holding its own right now." She said.
"True, but don't forget that the match just started." Said Mark.
"Goldeen's fast. Time to get on the more aggressive side." Said Karen. "Kingler, full power Bubble now!" Kingler shot more powerful bubbles out, but Goldeen continued to move quickly.
"I'm not going to let that fish win this easily." Said Karen. "Kingler, cover both sides! Make sure Goldeen doesn't have any room to move!" Kingler shot even more bubbles out of his mouth in an effort to stop Goldeen. Amanda had a counter of her own, however.
"Goldeen, move over to the middle of the pool!" Amanda ordered. "The bubbles can't hit you there!" Goldeen swiftly swam over to the only unguarded side.
"Nice try, but you're not getting off the hook." Said Karen. "Bubble Beam attack!" Kingler launched a more powerful barrage of bubbles, and this time, there was no escaping the move. Goldeen got hit hard and was sent flying into the air.
"Ah!" Amanda cried.
"Looks like Goldeen finally ran out of space and now it's just circling around in the air." Said the announcer.
"Goldeen looks like it's in some trouble." Said Michelle.
"I hope Amanda has some tricks up her sleeve." Said Cassie.
"I'm sure she does." Said Gina. "Otherwise, she wouldn't be here."
"Goldeen, drop down on top of Kingler and use your Peck attack." Said Amanda. Goldeen flew down quickly onto Kingler's head and gave it a hard peck, making Kingler wince in pain.
"Kingler!" cried Karen. Kingler was tough, though, and was still able to fight.
"I've got to get Goldeen out of here and I know exactly how to do it." Said Karen. "Okay Kingler, time for the Guillotine!" Amanda was horrified now.
"Guillotine?!" she cried.
"Guillotine isn't one of the most accurate attacks, but it's a straight knockout if it hits." Said Michelle.
"That's bad news for Goldeen, then." Said Mark. Kingler rammed towards the small fish and used its claws to try and strike. Soon, it found itself on the other side.
"That should do it." Said Karen. Unfortunately for her, Goldeen wasn't damaged at all.
"Excuse me?!" Karen cried.
"That was great jumping, Goldeen!" Amanda cried.
"Looks like Amanda pulled off another ace." Said Michelle. "Right as Guillotine was about to strike, Goldeen jumped high into the air just long enough to dodge the move before dropping pack into the pool."
"That was so awesome to see." Said Cassie. Gina silently agreed.
"Use Waterfall!" Amanda ordered. Goldeen sent a blast of water right at Kingler, doing a good chunk of damage to it.
"Come on, Kingler, hang in there." Said Karen. "Stomp that fish." Kingler raised one of his legs and used it to stomp down on Goldeen.
"Quick, Goldeen, try to squeeze out of there." Said Amanda. Kingler had a firm grip on Goldeen, though. Or at least, that was what he thought, as Goldeen managed to somehow roll out of harm's way right as Kingler lifted his leg.
"Horn Drill!" Amanda ordered. Goldeen used the power of her horn to drill right onto the top of Kingler's head. The attack was very powerful and left Kingler in a lot of pain.
"Oh no!" cried Karen. "Kingler, if you can still battle, try for Body Slam." Fortunately for Karen, Kingler was still able to fight and slammed his huge body onto Goldeen. However, because of Goldeen's small size, she was able to easily flop out of harm's way despite having taken some damage.
"Nice work, Goldeen." Said Amanda. "Now, go for Supersonic!" Goldeen shot blue circles from its horn.
"Kingler, don't look directly at those!" Karen cried. Kingler tried to dive into the pool to avoid the move, but he wasn't fast enough and got hit by the circles. He then found himself swimming up to Goldeen and giving it a hug.
"This is cute. Kingler and Goldeen appear to be sharing a moment with each other." Said Michelle.
"I thought those two were supposed to be battling each other, not be each other's friend." Said Mark.
"What just happened?" asked Cassie.
"Goldeen's Supersonic attack made Kingler confused and now it thinks Goldeen is his friend." Gina explained.
"Kingler! This is no time to be giving hugs!" Karen ordered. Use your ViceGrip!" Kingler tried to perform the attack, but the confusion effect made it do damage to itself.
"Why is Kingler doing that?" Cassie wondered.
"That's another effect of Supersonic." Said Gina.
"Finish it off, Goldeen! Horn Attack!" cried Amanda. Goldeen attacked Kingler repeatedly with her horn until the large Pokemon had fainted. The referee raised the green flag.
"Kingler has been defeated. Goldeen is the winner!" he cried.
"Simply amazing! In her first ever match, Goldeen showed a spectacular display of speed and power, both of which are keys to success at this level of competition. Now Karen has just two Pokemon left." Said the announcer. Karen recalled Kingler to his ball.
"You did well, now take five." She said.
"That was great, Goldeen!" cried Amanda. Goldeen happily jumped out of the pool and into the air in celebration, and when she landed, she began to glow a bright white.
"No way!" Cassie cried.
"Goldeen's starting to evolve." Gina observed. When the glow disappeared, Goldeen had become a bit bigger and its color was very different.
"In a stunning turn of events, the intensity of that first battle has resulted in Goldeen evolving into Seaking." Said the announcer. Amanda quickly took out her Pokedex again to find out about her new Pokemon.
"Seaking, the goldfish Pokemon. Seaking are known to be powerful swimmers and are capable of swimming up waterfalls as well as river currents."
"So it has more power than it did as a Goldeen." Said Amanda. "That's pretty awesome."
"Seaking!" her new Pokemon cried in agreement. Karen grabbed another Poke Ball from her waist and tossed it.
"I choose you, Psyduck!" The bright yellow colored duck Pokemon appeared in the pool in a blaze of white light.
"Karen has chosen a Psyduck for her second Pokemon." Said the announcer. "Seaking remains in for Amanda. Can the additional power give Amanda a two score lead or will the combination of Psyduck's water and psychic abilities help even the score?"
"Seaking, let's start this round with a Water Gun attack!" Amanda ordered. Seaking shot a stream of water right at Psyduck's body.
"Psyduck, block it with your Counter attack!" Karen ordered. Right as Seaking's move was about to strike, Psyduck held his hand up and sent it directly back at him with double the power. Seaking didn't even get a chance to react as the attack struck hard and the fish Pokemon was sent upwards before landing in the pool again.
"Wow, that Psyduck has certainly been trained well." Said Mark.
"It definitely knows how to listen to instructions a lot better than my own Psyduck." Said Michelle. Right on cue, a flash of light emerged from one of her Poke Balls and her Psyduck appeared.
"Psyduck!" it cried happily.
"You get back in your ball, mister!" Michelle yelled and quickly recalled him.
"I didn't know Psyduck could counter moves like that." Said Cassie. "I thought it was only a water type."
"It is, but it's also capable of using psychic attacks." Said Gina. "Karen has more options open to her because of that."
"Okay now, Psyduck, Confusion attack!" Karen ordered. Psyduck's eyes started to glow a bright blue.
"Horn Attack, Seaking, and quickly!" Amanda cried. Seaking started charging at Psyduck with its horn stuck out, but before the move could land, it suddenly found itself being bounced up and down like a ball.
"What's Psyduck doing to Seaking?" asked Cassie.
"That's the power of Confusion." Said Gina. "Psyduck's using the psychic portion of its power to control what Seaking does." Seaking continued bouncing up and down at Psyduck's command.
"You can let go now, Psyduck." Said Karen. Psyduck released Seaking from control and sent it splashing into the pool head first.
"Please be okay, Seaking." Said Amanda. Seaking emerged from the water safely, but it was officially knocked out. The referee raised the red flag.
"Seaking cannot continue. Psyduck is the winner!" he cried.
"An incredible display of psychic power from Psyduck has blown Seaking out of this match and now both trainers have two Pokemon left to play with." Said the announcer.
"Seaking, return!" exclaimed Amanda. The fish was absorbed back into its ball via red light.
"For your first battle, you did well. I'm very proud of you." Said Amanda. She put Seaking's ball away and grabbed another one.
"Weepinbell, I choose you!" she cried. She tossed the ball and the small plant Pokemon appeared.
"Amanda has chosen Weepinbell for her second Pokemon. It may look small, but size doesn't always matter here." Said the announcer.
"I hope Weepinbell has enough of an advantage to win this." Said Mark.
"Weepinbell may be strong against water types, but remember that Psyduck can use psychic attacks, and that could be bad news for Amanda." Said Michelle.
"Weepinbell, use your Razor Leaf attack!" Amanda ordered. Weepinbell shot dark green leaves at Psyduck.
"Disable." Karen said calmly. Psyduck's eyes glowed again, stopping the leaves in their tracks and causing them to get shredded up.
"Psyduck's abilities sure are something." Said Gina.
"They're incredible." Said Cassie.
"Try a Vine Whip attack!" Amanda ordered. Weepinbell shot green vines from its body, but each time the vines got near, Psyduck used his psychic power to send them in the opposite direction.
"Now Psyduck's playing mind games with Weepinbell." Said Mark.
"Amanda better think of a way to shut that down." Said Michelle. Weepinbell kept lashing its vines out, but Psyduck kept countering, resulting in a stalemate.
"Weepinbell's getting a bit antsy out there, and for good reason." Said the announcer. "No matter what it tries, Psyduck just seems to have the grass type's number."
"Gina, what does it mean to have a Pokemon's number?" asked Cassie.
"It means that whatever Weepinbell does, Psyduck has a way to outsmart it." Said Gina. "In other words, it's always a step or two ahead." Amanda was starting to feel a little frustrated herself.
"There just has to be a way." She said to herself. Just then, an idea popped into her mind.
"That's it!" she cried. "Psyduck's power has been coming through his eyes. But he won't be able to use his power if he can't see out of them. Weepinbell, spray a dose of Poison Powder directly into Psyduck's eyes!" Weepinbell aimed carefully, and shot out the purple powder so fast that Psyduck couldn't react to it.
"Psyduck, use Scratch to try and get that powder out." Said Karen. Psyduck scratched as hard as he could, but there was too much poison in front of his eyes.
"Vine Whip time!" Amanda cried. Weepinbell shot his vines out and wrapped them tightly around the neck of the now distracted Psyduck. Weepinbell flung the water type around in the air while still keeping a firm grip on the water type's neck.
"Psyduck!" cried Karen.
"What a unique strategy by miss Cooper to stop Psyduck and now Weepinbell has poor Psyduck by the vine." Said the announcer.
"Throw him now!" Amanda ordered. Weepinbell tossed the helpless Psyduck down into the pool and knocked him out. The referee looked over carefully before raising the green flag.
"Psyduck is unable to battle. Weepinbell is the winner!" he cried.
"Looks like it's back to the bathtub for Psyduck, leaving Karen with just one Pokémon left." Said the announcer.
"Psyduck, return." Said Karen. The water type was sent back into his ball via red light.
"Good job, now take a rest." She said and she put Psyduck's ball away. She reached for another and tossed it.
"Tentacruel, it's your time to shine!" she cried. The fully evolved version of Tentacool appeared in the pool and gave Weepinbell an intimidating look, which slightly frightened Amanda.
"This could be problematic." Said Michelle.
"How do you figure that?" asked Mark.
"Tentacruel has the traits of both a water type as well as a poison type." Said Michelle. "Poison types have a tendency to get the upper hand on grass Pokemon, which means bad news for Weepinbell." The referee glanced at both trainers as well as both Pokemon before shouting "Begin!"
"Let's go, Weepinbell! Razor Leaf!" Amanda cried out. Weepinbell shot more leaves out, but they only deflected off of Tentacruel's big body and scattered into the corner.
"Why didn't that work?" Cassie wondered. "That attack should've done a lot of damage to Tentacruel."
"You're right, but you have to keep in mind that it's also part poison, so that played a factor into the attack being essentially negated."
"Tentacruel, Poison Sting attack now!" Karen ordered. Tentacruel opened up one of its tentacles and shot powerful poison needles at Weepinbell. The needles hit the small grass type repeatedly, leaving it in a severely weakened state.
"That can't be a good thing." Said Michelle.
"Weepinbell, try using Stun Spore!" Amanda ordered. Weepinbell shot gold powder out of his bulb and aimed it at the large Pokemon. The powder slowly started to take effect.
"Yes! It's working!" Amanda cried. Karen let out a laugh in response.
"You silly kid." She said. "Tentacruel, under the water now!" Tentacruel managed to dive in before the attack could take full effect, and when it came back up, it looked perfectly healthy.
"You thought you could paralyze my Tentacruel with a basic attack like that, huh?" Karen taunted. "Too bad it doesn't work if you dive into the water to wash it off!" Amanda shook her head in disbelief.
"You weren't kidding when you said it was only going to be harder." Said Mark.
"Amanda's really going to need to try and think outside the box now." Said Michelle.
"Come on, Weepinbell, try to sap Tentacruel's energy with a Mega Drain attack." Said Amanda. Weepinbell spread its leaves out and shot green energy at Tentacruel in an attempt to weaken it.
"Tenta?" Tentacruel asked. It looked around itself and started to feel the green light on its body. It started to move a bit more slowly in the water.
"Keep it up, Weepinbell." Said Amanda.
"Wrap attack time." Said Karen. Tentacruel grabbed Weepinbell with another tentacle and wrapped it tightly.
"Weepinbell!" Amanda cried.
"Weepinbell's trying its hardest to get out of that tight hold, but Tentacruel doesn't want to let go." Said the announcer.
"Can Weepinbell still win?" Cassie asked.
"I'm not too sure, but we can only hope." Said Cassie. Weepinbell tried several times to squeeze out, but Tentacruel wouldn't budge. The grass type even started to cry a little bit.
"I'd be crying too if someone squeezed me tight like that and wouldn't release their grip." Said Michelle.
"Tentacruel, let go." Said Karen. Tentacruel finally stopped its wrap attack and dropped Weepinbell into the pool.
"Now, blow it away with Blizzard." Karen ordered. Tentacruel blew up a gust of strong ice pellets, the force of which resulted in Weepinbell being sent out of the pool and onto the ground in front of the wall behind Amanda. She ran to see if her Pokemon was okay, but when Weepinbell tried to get up, it collapsed and fainted. The referee raised the red flag.
"Weepinbell is out of the battle. Tentacruel is the winner!" he shouted.
"Looks like all of that ice completely froze Weepinbell and both trainers now have one Pokemon left." Said the announcer.
"Where did that Blizzard attack come from?" asked Cassie.
"Sometimes Pokemon can learn moves that don't match their type, which helps for coverage." Said Cassie. "Although, I don't think Amanda quite expected a surprise like that." Amanda took out Weepinbell's ball and recalled the grass type.
"That was a great try." She said. "Well, Pikachu, it's all up to you now. Get out there and do your best." Pikachu jumped off his trainer's shoulder and stared at Tentacruel from the trainer box.
"Amanda has selected a Pikachu for her final Pokemon." Said the announcer. "Can this little mouse's electricity power it to a win? Let's see."
"That's a great move." Said Gina. "Pikachu has a huge advantage over Tentacruel."
"Begin the final round now!" the referee yelled.
"Pikachu, use your Thunderbolt!" Amanda ordered. Pikachu unleashed a powerful electric bolt at the large water Pokemon.
"Barrier." Karen calmly instructed. Tentacruel put up a reflective shield around itself to deflect the attack, leaving Pikachu stunned.
"If electricity won't hit, maybe this will." Said Amanda. "Swift attack now!" Pikachu shot yellow stars from its body right at Tentacruel.
"Send those away with reflect." Said Karen. Tentacruel put up another shield, but the stars went right through it and hit the water type hard.
"Huh?" Karen wondered.
"Well, I guess somebody forgot that Swift attack always hits the target regardless of whatever defense it tries putting up." Said Amanda.
"Whatever." Said Karen. "Tentacruel, go for Supersonic." Tentacruel shot blue circles out of its head, and while Pikachu moved quickly to try and avoid them he still got hit by them.
"Try another Thunderbolt attack." Said Amanda. Pikachu launched the attack, but instead of firing towards his target, he fired the attack everywhere else, including towards Amanda, who had to jump out of the way.
"Hey! I'm not your opponent!" she cried.
"What's with Pikachu?" Cassie wondered.
"It's been hit with confusion and now it think it's battling Amanda when he's supposed to be battling Tentacruel." Said Gina.
"Come on, Pikachu, try to shake it off!" Amanda cried. Pikachu sat down for a second, shook his head, and tried launching another Thunderbolt. This time, it went where it was supposed to, which made Amanda smile.
"The confusion appears to have worn off and now Pikachu is back to his normal self." Said the announcer. Amanda then noticed the white steps that were in the pool and got an idea.
"Pikachu can't swim, but he can definitely run." She said. "Pikachu, jump onto each of those platforms to get on top of Tentacruel!" Pikachu moved quickly across and jumped with all of his strength onto the water type.
"Have fun trying to protect this." Said Amanda. "Thunder Wave!" Pikachu let out a wave of yellow electricity, completely paralyzing Tentacruel and leaving it immobilized.
"Tentacruel, no!" Karen cried. The referee raised the green flag before another command could be given.
"The match is over! Tentacruel is out and Pikachu wins it! The winner is the green trainer, Amanda Cooper!" The screen once again read CONGRATULATIONS below Amanda's picture.
"And that's it, folks! Amanda has once again scored herself a dramatic victory to make it to the third round!" the announcer cried. Pikachu ran back to Amanda and the two embraced in a hug.
"Yay! Amanda did it!" cried Cassie.
"I knew she could." Said Gina. Michelle and Mark came up to her.
"That was another fantastic match." Said Michelle. "Pikachu really came through in the clutch for you."
"That's why Pikachu's the best." Said Amanda. Karen recalled Tentacruel and walked up to Amanda.
"It's been an honor to battle you." She said. "You're a great Pokemon trainer."
"So are you, Karen." Said Amanda. The two trainers hugged each other before Karen left the stadium. Well, Amanda now has two wins under her belt, but can she make it three in a row? Find out in her third round match, which will be coming up in the next episode!
TO BE CONTINUED
Amanda's Party: Pikachu, Fearow, Blastoise, Weepinbell, Arcanine, Seaking
Michelle's Party: Eevee, Electabuzz, Doduo, Psyduck, Ponyta, Charmander
Mark's Party: Bulbasaur, Charmander, Jolteon, Gastly, Lapras, Nidorino
Amanda's Spare Pokemon At Oak's Lab: Rattata, Gengar, Magikarp, Butterfree, Zubat, Venonat, Tentacruel, Pidgeotto, Dratini, Clefairy, Scyther, Flareon, Nidoran Male, Rhyhorn, Kadabra, Dragonair, Snorlax, Machamp, Horsea, Seadra, Electrode
Michelle's Spare Pokemon At Oak's Lab: Gengar, Sandshrew, Nidoran Female, Poliwhirl, Tangela, Chansey, Shellder