Pokemon Fan Fiction ❯ Rain Dance ❯ Tournament ( Chapter 13 )

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Batoy felt nervous, but for the first time in his life, it wasn’t because he’d done something wrong. This nervousness was not the same as what he’d been used too; it wasn’t that sagging pit in his gut that made him dread taking another step forward. Instead, it was some sort of intense heat in his chest, pleasant and yet not at the same time. It was nervousness combined with excitement and hope that maybe everything was going to be okay in the end.

“Two down, one to go,” he mused to himself as he leaned across a banister separating the stadium stands from the battlefields below. The very size of the incomplete complex was imposing; the show took place in three different locations and yet that didn’t account for even half of the breeding facility’s planned space. The showroom and the obstacle course each took up a gymnasium-sized room while the stadium resembled a high school football field enclosed in an open dome. The stands, crawling up the sides of the dome, were barely enough to hold the 1520 people that filled them. Only a few seats remained open.

The battlefield, itself, was a mixture of different terrains to give almost any Pokemon ground where it could fight at its best potential. A quarter of the field was a pool deep enough so that even a Gyarados could comfortably submerge itself. The other three quarters mimicked a rocky hill, a sandy beach and a grassy plain, each with a border touching the water. Surrounding the whole battlefield was a stone-like heptagonal barrier that stood about a foot off the ground.

Batoy looked beside him. All four of his Pokemon; Jet, Ollie, Manual and Max, stood relaxed and at ease, watching two trainers take their positions on either side of the field. Batoy smiled and turned to watch the first fight of the tournament. On one side stood a woman in her lower twenties dressed in a white smock embroidered a pokeball and glasses. An announcer heralded her entrance. “One the blue side, we have Terra! Coming to us from Kanto, she is a research aide to famed Professor Oak.”

“And on the red side, we have Daniel, a rare trainer from the Fiore region. We look forward to see what curious mix of Pokemon he brings with him!” The dark skinned teenager, dressed in a sleeveless hoodie and cargo pants, bowed politely to Terra, before grinning and holding out a pokeball. He mouthed something that Batoy did not catch before flinging the ball. Landing on the sandy side of the field was a large purple creature covered in horns and spines. The Nidoking gave a loud roar before snapping its massive jaws shut.

Terra pushed up her glasses before calling out a massive dragonfly looking creature. The Yanmega’s red and white wings flapping so quickly, they seemed to vanish from sight. It darted around almost spastically yet always in a manner that kept its head facing the Nidoking. The two Pokemon stared each other down before finally the judge raised his flags. The two Pokemon sped forward into battle.

It was at that moment that a hand rested gently on Batoy’s shoulder. “H-huh?” Batoy stammered and he spun around to see the devilishly sly smile just inches away from him. “W-whoa, hey, Mia,” he said, regaining his lost balance on the railing. “I was kinda worried I wasn’t gonna see you.”

The girl backed up a bit and gave a nonchalant shrug as Elyia popped up out of her windjacket. The Natu chirped, and Jet’s ears twitched. The Quilava looked away from the battle and suddenly twitched as if a bad dream had suddenly come true. Max looked towards him and then towards Elyia, curious to what had caused the sudden change in demeanor in his new friend. ~Chu?~ Jet just shook his head and turned back towards the fight.

“Heh, seems like Jet still has a bit of a chip on his shoulder,” Mia said with a hint of amusement. “Anyways, I just wanted to congratulate you on your first two showings. I didn’t know you were a breeder. You just… don’t seem the type, no offense.”

“None taken, I guess,” Batoy said, looking away from Mia. The Nidoking had since been recalled by Daniel in favor of the much faster Arcanine, who was able to keep up with Yanmega’s speed boosting abilities with its Extreme Speed. The Arcanine exhaled a huge fire blast that soared towards the Yanmega. It missed by just a few precious centimeters only to fizzle out harmlessly once it reached the barrier. The Yanmega retaliated with focused sound waves from its vibrating wings. The Bug Buzz raced towards the Arcanine, kicking up sand as it did, but the Arcanine’s Agility kept it unharmed as it leapt over and away from the attack.

“It’s all thanks to Jet, anyways. He should be the one getting the congratulations.” Batoy knelt down and stroked the Quilava’s back. Jet purred, but continued watching the fight, completely enraptured by the two high-level Pokemon. “It was his determination that got us through the second event. You were watching us?”

“Mmhm, I always enjoyed watching shows. They’re almost like contests, except they show the skills of the breeders and are a measure of how well you take care of your Pokemon. I don’t compete in them, but there’s so much you can learn just from watching.” Mia sighed and looked towards the fight. “I hope Terra wins. She’s really in the zone right now.”

“You know her?”

“Not personally, but I’ve seen her around in Kanto. Sometimes Oak speaks with Sabrina and she comes along. But she doesn’t seem to like fighting too much… or at least, she doesn’t show it. Closet battlers are amusing.”

“She really looks like she’s enjoying herself out there.”

“Yeah, that’s the whole point of battles in the first place. You and your Pokemon have fun fighting others.”

“Yeah…” Batoy mused on the thought for a moment. “Huh… Daniel isn’t smiling… what’s wrong with him?”

Mia sighed. “Daniel’s what you call competitive. He doesn’t fight to have fun, he fights to win. Well, I guess that’s a bit unfair. Winning is fun for him, and losing isn’t. But he fights his hardest all the time and never relaxes. I’ve spoken to him a few times. He likes to keep the biggest, baddest and bulkiest of his Pokemon with him to fight. He’s probably the favorite to win this whole thing, but there are other powerful trainers.”

“I guess it’s a good thing I’m on a separate bracket than him, then…” Batoy said softly, but Mia overheard him.

“You can’t think like that. You have to take challenges head on instead of just hoping they’ll go away. Besides, there could be other tough trainers in your bracket.”

“Y-yeah, sorry.”

There was a shrill shriek as the Yanmega collided into a cleverly fired Fire Blast from the Arcanine and fell smoldering to the ground. Terra’s shoulders sank as the score ticked to 3-2 in Daniel’s favor. She bit her lip and pulled out another ball, summoning a Tauros in the Yanmega’s place. Daniel glanced at the Tauros before recalling the Arcanine and bringing back out Nidoking. The Tauros charged, but the Nidoking stood its ground. The mighty double-edge impacted the Nidoking, but at that very moment, the Nidoking countered, slamming the Tauros into the ground, nearly knocking it out completely.

“So, Batoy, when’re you scheduled to fight? I didn’t look for you.”

Batoy shook himself from the brutal treatment of the Tauros and faced Mia. “Um… oh, I think I’m like… seventeenth to fight. What about you?”

“Twenty-fifth. These fights are going to take all day. I was really hoping that they’d spread out the fights or do some two-on-twos. But ah-well, they did say to reserve a day for it when I signed up.”

The Nidoking had fainted suddenly from a surprise Blizzard from the Tauros, freezing it in a shell of ice. Daniel’s irritation was apparent even from the stands. He sent out Arcanine again, which brought Tauros down with just one hit from its Fire Blast. Terra sighed as she recalled the Tauros and then turned to the judge and raised her hand, signifying her forfeiture. She looked at Daniel and then shook her head. The crowd was silent at the turn of the events, disappointed that the interesting battle had suddenly stopped, but their irritation was aimed more at Daniel than Terra.

Batoy frowned as the announcer declared Daniel the winner. Terra stopped because the fight was no longer fun, and yet Daniel didn’t seem to care. More confusing was the crowd wasn’t even celebrating the victor. He didn’t understand it.

Mia patted his shoulder again. “Well, Batoy, I’m going to head off to talk to Terra and some other people. When it’s your turn, just remember fight your hardest, okay?”

Batoy nodded. “Uh-huh… I will.”

---

The battles went quickly after that, but Batoy watched each one. There were a wide range of skill levels present. So varied were the people that he was certain some trainers had only started. There were kids as young as him, and even younger competing and all of them seemed to have fun. Batoy swallowed. He could only hope that his fight would be as interesting as some of the ones he’d seen.

“Well combatants seventeen and eighteen make their way to the arena at this time,” said a voice over a PA system.

Batoy’s heart jumped a bit and he looked down at his Pokemon and gave them a nervous grin. “W-well, guys. This is it. We just gotta take it one battle at a time and we can get through it.” Everyone nodded, but Ollie who just folded his ears back. Batoy rubbed the Jolteon on his head. “Don’t worry, buddy. You don’t have to fight if you don’t want to.” Ollie pressed against Batoy’s hand and purred in response.

“As our two trainers make their way to the field, we’d like to remind everyone that drawings for door prizes will begin in just thirty minutes, and those with tickets should keep an ear out for their number. Taking his place on the blue side is Batoy from the Hoenn region. He is the stand-in for Gidan Ustan, founder of the Sinnoh Breeding Association, who is sadly unable to be with us today. You can see all of his Pokemon already out of the field.”

“And taking up the red side is Conner from Johto! He has participated in both the Johto and Kanto leagues, and has a fascination with normal-type Pokemon!” Standing across the way was a young man around Batoy’s age with tuffled brown hair and green wristbands and slacks. “Let’s wish our battlers the best of luck!”

Conner waved cheerfully towards Batoy then cupped his hands around his mouth. “Heyo! Good luck to ya, dude! Let’s have a great fight!”

Batoy nodded, and the boy hurled a Pokeball forward. As the flash faded, a pink and white balloon-like rabbit appeared, bouncing on its paws with large bright turquoise eyes. The Wigglytuff huffed itself up than deflated. “Hmm… hey Jet, you wanna start this out?” he asked his friend, and he’d not even finished before the Quilava had dashed on to the field to face off against the Wigglytuff. The judge raised his flags, and the fight commenced.

“Jet, Quick Attack!” Batoy shouted, eager to get the first hit. The faster he could get this battle behind him, the sooner he could calm the raging fire in his gut. “Let’s knock him down fast!” Jet grinned as he kicked himself forward, speeding towards the Wigglytuff. Everything felt great. His body, the sand under his paws, the air as he raced at higher speeds. It was an incredible rush.

“Quick, Wiffly, Defense Curl!” The Wigglytuff started to curl up, a green aura rushing over its body. Jet smirked as the pink Pokemon left a giant white target in its belly, and he almost squealed in pleasure as his body slammed into the Wigglytuff. He felt the balloon Pokemon give way sudden, the momentum from his hit sending its light body flying and skidding into the ground. The Wigglytuff slowly picked itself, gritting its teeth in frustration as its Defense Curl was penetrated. “Are you okay, Wiffly?” Conner asked. The balloon Pokemon nodded.

Batoy smiled in excitement. He knew that Jet was strong, but that hit was more powerful than he’d expected. Maybe they were better than he thought. “Alright, Jet! Awesome job! Now Flame Wheel!” ~Quil!~ Jet’s fire ignited and he rushed forward again, this time surrounded by an aura of flame.

“Wiffly! Dodge and use your Water Pulse!” The Wigglytuff squatted, smirking now before it pushed up on its powerful legs, sending it flying high into the air where its light weight seemed to keep it suspended, and Jet passed underneath. He paused and glanced around before finally seeing the Wigglytuff high above him. An aqua-colored orb began to pulse between its paws as the Wigglytuff slowly lost altitude. Jet speed towards it again, rolling into a ball of fire.

“Wiffly, fire now!” Conner called, and the balloon Pokemon pressed its paws forward, sending the blue orb racing towards Jet. There was a huge explosion of steam as the ball of fire collided with the orb of water, and the Wigglytuff looked around in confusion, unable to see its opponent. ~Tuff… Wiggly?~ But it wasn’t for long when Jet burst from the steam cloud, one of his paws glowing. A pair of wicked-looking claws seemed to grow from the light. ~Quilava!~ he cried as he swiped at the Wigglytuff, knocking it from the air and pouncing on its back, forcing it into the ground in the rock area. He leapt back as the glow from his paw vanished. The Wigglytuff slowly picked itself up.

“Wow… that was a great Crush Claw…” Batoy mused. He’d seen the Zangoose of Hoenn use the move, but never imagined that Jet would know it as well. He grinned. He could only press his advantage. “Alright, Jet! Let’s finish this off! Flame Wheel!” ~Quil!~ Jet sped off again, a smile on his face, and before the Wigglytuff could even finish picking itself off the ground, he collided with it. The Wigglytuff bounced off a few painful rocks before coming to a rest, unmoving. Conner recalled it, said something Batoy couldn’t hear, and pocketed the pokeball.

“Wigglytuff has gone down! What Pokemon will Conner send out to combat Batoy and his Quilava?!” the announcer blared over the PA.

“Hey, your Quilava’s really powerful!” he called across the stadium, and Batoy waved back a thanks. “See if you can beat this guy, though! Go, Treble!” The next Pokemon he sent out greatly resembled the Wigglytuff, but rather than a balloon rabbit, it looked more like a pink fairy. The Clefable did a small dance in the grass area, its wings flapping in anticipation.

“Okay, Jet! Let’s do it the same as before! Quick Attack!” Jet nodded, and raced forward. His heart was beating quickly. He’d never had a fight go so well for him. Max and Ollie both cheered Jet on, while Manual looked around the stadium at all the cheering people. Even though the cheering wasn’t for him, it felt really good. He resolved that he’d get cheers when he fought.

“Alright, Treble, these guys are tough! Let’s stop ‘em in their tracks! Gravity!” ~Clefable!~ The fairy Pokemon raised a finger that suddenly glew with an eerie violet light. Jet raced forward only to suddenly slam into the ground as if some force had slammed its hand down on its back. He groaned as he forced himself to his paws again, but even raising his paw to move resulted in him collapsing back on to the ground.

“Jet? Jet, what’s wrong? You okay, buddy?” Batoy asked, but Jet was too busy attempting to stand to respond.

“Alright, cool, Treble! You know what to do! Metronome!” ~Clefable, Clefable!~ The Clefable raised both of its fingers and began to wag them back and forth. After a few moments, the fingers began to glow green and the Clefable darted forward, dancing and whirling with pink flower petals fluttering about. The flying petals surrounded Jet and sent him tumbling about. The intense gravity forced him down again, and the Clefable twirled closer, its Petal Dance somehow defying the gravity it’d caused.

Batoy bit his lip. There had to be something Jet could use to escape. An idea suddenly came to him. “Jet, Dig!” he called out. The words reached the Quilava’s ears and with a sudden frantic scrambling of his paws, he burrowed down into the ground, narrowly avoiding the Clefable’s second dance. The petals faded away, and the Clefable staggered about, holding its head as its tried to shake off the negative effects of the Petal Dance.

“Focus, Treble!” Conner shouted to his dazed Pokemon. “Try to hear where he’s coming from and dodge!” Treble stopped staggering and closed its eyes, its oversized ears twitching, trying to pick up a hint of what direction Jet’s Dig was coming from. But the confusion slowed its reaction time and the Clefable chirped in surprise and distress when the ground around one of its twin-toed feet suddenly gave in. Treble lost its balance. Jet burst from the ground, ramming his head into the Clefable’s gut.

The gravity immediately pulled Jet painfully back into the ground. He grunted as he watched Treble pull itself up and shake off its confusion. “Treble! Attack now, Focus Punch!” ~Fable!~ The Clefable turned towards Jet, moving into a stance, its paw beginning to glow with a orange light. Jet growled as he tried to pull himself up. If he could just land a light hit on the Clefable, the move would be useless. But the gravity was just too much. His limbs were just not strong enough to fight against it. ~Fable!~ Jet’s eyes went wide as the glow around Treble’s paw changed and it rushed forward. With almost explosive force, the Focus Punch collided with Jet head on, and the Quilava squealed in pain as the force of the punch sent him soaring into the rock-side of the field.

A part of his mind wanted to just give up and rest, but Jet shook the thought away. He wasn’t going to give up just yet. He forced himself to rise up and suddenly became aware that the gravity was much lighter here. A smirk etched its way across his muzzle as a plan formed in his mind.

Conner grinned. His luck was turning around. “Alright, Treble! Good job! Let’s finish him off with Meteor Mash!” The Clefable nodded and charged, its paw alight with a cosmic glow. It covered ground quickly, but the rocks began to slow it down. Jet crouched, waiting for the pink Pokemon to arrive. When it appeared and pulled its paw back, Jet suddenly shot forward in his Quick Attack and impacted the Clefable in the gut again.

~F-Fable?!~ Treble called out in surprise as the glow disappeared from its paw and it fell back against a particularly large rock.

Batoy cheered silently for Jet. He’d been busy trying to come up with something that would help out his partner, but his ideas had fallen flat. But now that Jet could move again, he could bring it all together. “Okay, Jet! Flame Wheel!” ~Lava!~ Jet purred as he dashed forward, his fiery aura surrounding him again as he began rolling. The Flame Wheel slammed into Treble with enough force to crack the rock it laid against.

~Fable!~ the Clefable cried as it fell to the ground. It tried to pick itself up again, but Jet’s Flame Wheel came back for a second go. When Treble hit the ground again, it had already fainted. ~F-Fable….~ it whimpered before it was recalled by Conner. The boy bit his lip. “Darnit… that thing’s really good… Guess I gotta use my last resort!” He pulled out a blue pokeball with red etchings; a greatball. “Alright, go, Etchings!”

The ground trembled at the great weight of the Pokemon that materialized, and Jet’s eyes widened and his body began quivering that the massive behemoth that stood before him. Its coloration resembled the Wigglytuff’s; with an off-white fur on the belly and bear-like face and dark blue fur everywhere else. ~Lax~ it roared with a deep rumbling voice before yawning. “Hey, Etchings, after this fight, I have a big treat planned for you!” The Pokemon’s ears perked and its relaxed face turned serious.

“What is that…?” Batoy muttered as the Snorlax took a heavy step forward. Jet cast a nervous look backwards, and Batoy steeled himself. If Jet was nervous, this wasn’t good. They had to be cautious. “Alright, Jet! Let’s take him down at fast as possible! Flame Wheel!” ~Quil!~ Jet rushed forward, but the feeling of his body impacting the Snorlax was much different and much more distressing. The Snorlax didn’t bulge a bit and Jet was sent flying when his own momentum was repelled. He pushed himself back up and barked at Batoy in near panic. ~Quil, Quilava!~

“Hah, it looks like you’re not going get past my Snorlax’s Thick Fat! Etchings, Mega Punch!”

The Snorlax rushed forward in a waddling gait. It was by no means fast, but Jet still shrunk away from it. “Jet, dodge it! Quick Attack!” The Snorlax swung, but the punch was deftly avoided by the Quilava who sprang away. Jet turned back to attack, but the Quick Attack was just too weak of an attack, and Jet was too light. He was repelled just like before.

“Etchings! Body Slam it before it can get away!” The Snorlax, with some magical feat of agility, hefted its enormous weight into the air.

~Q-Quil?~ Jet whimpered as his body shook. He felt incredibly powerless. “Jet! What’re you doing? Get out of there! Dig!” The Quilava shook himself out of his stupor and immediately dug underground, and not a moment too late. He’d only just gotten underground when he felt the ground around him quiver violently from the Snorlax’s landing. Perhaps he should stay underground until he could come up with a plan…

“Alright, we have them where we want them. Etchings, Earthquake!” ~Lax!~ The Snorlax leapt again, but this time landed with both paws planting straight into the ground. A shockwave spread across the battlefield, scattering sand, rocks and even the water, and Batoy even felt his legs quiver. The shaking slowed, and the battlefield was still.

“J-Jet?” Batoy said hushed, and the three Pokemon beside him began to look around. The crowds hushed as everyone waited. Only after a few minutes, the ground in the plains area of the battlefield began to break, and Jet heaved his body out. He glared at the Snorlax with intense dislike before his legs gave out and he collapsed on the ground.

“After a double-power Earthquake, Batoy’s Quilava has finally gone down! Will this be the start of an impressive comeback?” piped the PA.

Batoy jogged to the field and scooped up Jet and held him close. He could feel the fire-type trembling, not from pain, but from fury and embarrassment. “Come on, Jet,” Batoy said, but Jet didn’t respond. “Don’t be like that. You took out two really good Pokemon all by yourself. You did a great job.” ~Quil~ Jet snipped, folding his paws. Batoy sighed as he reached his other Pokemon. “Alright, guys, anyone want to take a shot?”

Ollie glanced at the Snorlax and then at Jet and shook his head, and Manual pretended not to hear, staring at the crowd which had begun cheering. Perhaps it’d be best if he got his cheers at another point in time. But Max raised his paw and began bouncing on his paws. “Really? You think you can take him down?” The Raichu grinned and then dashed onto the battlefield to take his position. “Good luck, Max!” Jet turned away from the fight. It was pointless. If he couldn’t do it, none of them could.

“That’s a pretty frail-looking Raichu you have, dude,” Conner said with a smirk. “Etchings, go flatten it! Body Slam!” The Snorlax hefted itself up and threw itself at Max, but the Raichu smiled and leapt backwards. The Snorlax impacted the ground hard in front of the electric mouse who reached over and patted the bear on the back of the head. Conner blanched. “Wow… that Raichu’s agile… Etchings, Mega Punch!”

But that attack, too, was just too slow to hit the Raichu, who sidestepped it. Max’s tail began to glow green and he wrapped it between the Snorlax’s paws. ~Lax?!~ the Snorlax yelped in surprise as it stumbled and crashed onto the ground. The Grass Knot faded away. Max rushed forward, his paws sparking with lightning and at an incredible pace, began jabbing at the Snorlax’s side with Thunderpunches. With each hit, the Snorlax grunted as he tried to swipe away the small rodent so he could rise.

“C’mon, Etchings! You can get that thing! Flamethrower!”

The Snorlax inhaled and flames began to lick its maw. Batoy called out a warning. “Max, watch out!” The Raichu looked up and, recognizing the danger, leapt backwards three steps, the area he had been standing blackening as fire rushed from the Snorlax’s mouth. Max smirked again as he held his paws out, gathering the crimson energy for his Focus Blast. Etchings tilted his head, but the orb of concentrated energy sailed through the waves of flames without losing any momentum and slammed into the Snorlax’s head. The massive creature shook and fell back, unmoving.

There was a bit of stunned silence before the crowd erupted into cheers. Batoy, Ollie and Manual rushed to the field, while Jet turned in time to see Etchings recalled. He felt the fires along his back ignite as he watched Batoy pick up and cradle Max, hugging him tightly. As the announced Batoy as the winner of the match, Jet found himself wishing that they’d all just given up. And the fires on his back extinguished as he felt his jealousy turn into guilt.