Pokémon Eclipse

by moviemaster8510

Chapter 32 – Four Trainers Enter

“BEGIN!”

Gladion was first to grab his Poké Ball, flicking it out and releasing the Pokémon inside. “Go, Umbreon!”

Quickly forming from the white energy of the Poké Ball was a Pokémon that looked remarkably similar to a large Eevee, though its fur was pitch black, even under the spotlight, and it had yellow rings on its shoulders, flanks, head, as well as around its tail and ears. It’s bright-red eyes were very unnerving to both Alice and Sam.

Regardless, they both sent out their Pokémon at the same time. “Go, Noibat!” Alice shouted.

“Let’s go, Fomantis!” Sam cried out.

Both Pokémon emerged from their Poké Balls at the same time, staring down Gladion’s Umbreon.

Kaj lobbed her Luxury Ball up and caught it with a fast-swinging arm. “Time to shine, Rông!”

Gladion turned his body to face the spot where Kaj’s first ball opened, unsure what would be inside. Appearing from the bright, unusually sparkling light that spilled out was a large four-legged dragonfly-like creature with a khaki body, two pairs of green, flat, diamond-shaped wings with black edges, and another pair on the back of its tail. Gladion settled down, knowing exactly what it was.

“What is that thing?” Fluttershy asked. “And by that I mean both of those Pokémon that I don’t know about.”

“Hold on, Fluttershy.” Starlight held up and pulled Alice’s Pokédex open, scanning the Umbreon first. “I’m trying to get a read on them.”

“Umbreon,” the Pokédex spoke, “the Moonlight Pokémon. With its black fur, it blends into the darkness. It bides its time, and when prey appears, this Pokémon goes for its throat, and then eats it.” She then scanned the other creature. “Vibrava, the Vibration Pokémon. Rather than using its underdeveloped wings for flight, it rubs them together, producing ultrasonic waves to attack its enemies.”

What also struck the ponies as odd was the white scarf that was lovingly wrapped around the Vibrava’s neck and a large gold band clasped to the base of its tail.

“What do you think those are for?” Rainbow Dash wondered aloud. “She does know this isn’t one of her Pokémon Contests, right?”

“I don’t think that’s the only reason.” Starlight couldn’t help but find the Vibrava’s fashion interesting, staring at both accessories that it wore.

“And the Pokémon are out!” The announcer called. “Who will draw first blood?”

“Blood?” Both Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash squawked nervously.

“It’s okay,” Starlight assured them. “I’m sure its just a figure of speech.”

“I sure hope so.” Fluttershy pushed herself back into her seat.

Kaj pointed out to Alice’s Noibat. “Okay, Rông, dazzle the Noibat with Dragon Breath!”

With a hard blow, a comet of dark-blue smoke shot out of the Vibrava’s mouth and struck Noibat in the face, grounding it as it failed to fend off the assault. The crowd gasped as the smoke that bounced off Noibat’s face spread out in five perfectly spaced lines, forming a star.

“While it’s down,” Gladion ordered, “Umbreon, hit Noibat with Confuse Ray!”

The ring on Umbreon’s forehead began to glow with a swirling array of hot colors, and with a stamping of its two paws, it sent out three spinning gyrating rings that each hit Noibat in the head just as Rông’s attack came to an end.

Alice breathed in through her teeth as she watched her Noibat flail its arms about to try and fly, only for it to stumble forward and fall on its face, many in the crowd unable to stifle their awed “ohs.”

“That’s okay!” Alice shouted to Noibat as it stood back up. “Hit them all with Air Cutter!”

Noibat let out several labored flaps of its wings, managing to fly high in the air while swaying to and fro. Focusing itself on its targets, Noibat began to throw its arms about wildly, launching several windy blades from its wings while quickly losing altitude. Many of the blades soared to the crowd, and while many who were in the path of them instinctively ducked or covered their faces, they instantly shattered before they could pass outside the arena, the spot where they broke glowing bright with an octagonal-pattern, leaving the spectators unharmed.

The blades that stayed in the arena mostly hit the ground in random spots, but several of them managed to hit Umbreon and Rông. Sam’s Fomantis only had two come its way, and it nimbly sidestepped to avoid both, slashing its arms out as a celebratory show of its speed.

The announcer began to laugh. “To all our first-time spectators, we’ve protected you and your fellow audience members with a special attack-nullifying barrier! Any attacks that would reach you will be walled off, so you can continue enjoying the battle without fear of injury!”

“Ugh, lame!” Rainbow Dash put a single hoof beside her mouth to carry the sound.

“Rainbow!” Starlight hissed.

“What? We never have to do that for any of our Wonderbolt shows! Besides, dodging clouds and lightning is fun! It builds character!”

“I don’t think that’s what people came here to do.”

Rainbow Dash slunk back into her seat, crossing her arms in disappointment.

Sam spied as Umbreon was still shaking the effects of Noibat’s attack out of its head. “Now’s your chance! Fomantis, hit Umbreon with Fury Cutter!”

Fomantis raced out to the right at Gladion’s Umbreon. Just as it fully came to, Fomantis fell to its knees and slid beneath it, pushing up with its left arm and delivering a slash with its right, throwing it off its paws and down to its side at the edge of the arena.

“And Fomantis with the expertly placed strike!” the announcer roared. “What an upset!”

“Wouldn’t exactly call it that, but okay?” Fomantis quickly bounded back to Sam. “Good work, girl.” Fomantis squealed with delight as it threw its arms out, looking forward to another go.

“Alright, Rông!” Kaj threw a pointed finger out to Umbreon. “Use U-Turn!”

Gladion watched intently as the Vibrava sped up to his Pokémon, gasping suddenly to see Vibrava’s scarf glowing bright. He couldn’t even think to tell his Pokémon to dodge. Vibrava rammed into Umbreon, creating a sudden explosion of bright, silver glitter that practically lit the arena like a disco ball with the spotlight hitting it.

Gladion saw Umbreon slide to its feet from the cloud. “What is this?”

“Just because I’m fashionable doesn’t mean I’m dumb,” Kaj exclaimed to him. “That scarf Rông is wearing is crafted using fibers made from Silver Powder.”

“Silver…?” Gladion instantly understood, and he smiled as a show of being genuinely impressed.

Rông then dove up from out of the cloud, arcing back to form a perfect loop back to its trainer. Kaj removed two Luxury Balls from her belt, holding one up with the button facing straight up where Rông’s face was headed. With just a foot between them, the red beam from the ball shot up and connected with the Vibrava, instantly turning to energy that was safely sucked inside.

“Your turn, Kreigen!” In that moment, Kaj threw out her other Poké Ball, and emerging from it was a large metallic bird with red wings like blades and a shark-like head with a fin protruding from the top of it, which seemed to be wrapped at its base in a bronze band adorned with a single light-blue gem on its left side.

“What the heck is that now?” Starlight fired up Alice’s Pokédex on Rainbow Dash’s query. “It’s awesome looking!”

“Skarmory,” the Pokédex said, “ the Armor Bird Pokémon. Its metal body is sturdy, but it does rust rather easily. So on rainy days, this Pokémon prefers to stay put in its nest.”

“Yeah, that’s…” Starlight slowly and warmly smiled. “…certainly pretty awesome.”

“You’re not getting out of this that easily!” Gladion shouted. “Umbreon! Hit the Skarmory with Feint Attack!”

His Umbreon began to charge forward, a dark purple tail forming from and around its head. With a leap, it suddenly appeared in front of Kreigen, kicking it in the face with its back right paw.

Alice gasped as she saw Noibat finally shake itself out of its daze. “Good work, Noibat! Hit ‘em with Air Cutter!”

With much more controlled flaps of its wings, Noibat took flight and hovered above the arena, throwing its wings harder to create a flurry of windy blades, none of which were going to come close to the stands.

With the exception of a half-dozen or so, the blades rained down on all three other Pokémon, their trainers also crouching down to avoid any that would come down on them.

As the onslaught began to peter out, Sam saw as Umbreon was still arched, unsure how many more attacks would hit it. “Quick, Fomantis, get Umbreon with another Fury Cutter!”

Fomantis ran out, weaving around the odd stray blade of air leftover on its way to its target. Winding both arms in, it leapt up, headed right to the left side of the Umbreon’s stomach. The Umbreon opened its eyes at the sound of Fomantis’s shout of exertion, unable to defend itself as Fomantis’s leaf arms thrust it off the arena to tumble limply to the floor.

Gladion let out a small huff through his nostrils as he removed his Pokémon’s ball from his belt. An electronic chime rung out throughout the stadium, and the audience all looked up to see a four-pronged star suddenly appear next to Sam’s name and picture on the four monitors hung above the speakers.

“And Sam has the first takedown of the match!” The announcer's exhilarated voice brought the croud to cheers. “But don’t get too cocky, Sam, because you still have eight more Pokémon to face!”

Gladion aimed his Ultra Ball at his Umbreon. “You did you best. Rest up, now.”

The red beam from the ball brought his Pokémon back inside, and Gladion quickly swapped out the ball for another one of similar color. “Go, Lycanroc!”

Gladion’s Lycanroc, a bipedal wolf with red and white fur, emerged from the ball with louder screams and shouts from the audience.

“Oh, wow!” Fluttershy poked Starlight on the shoulder. “Do you think that’s what Rockruff will evolve into?”

“Let me see…” Starlight readied the Pokédex.

“Lycanroc,” the device spoke up, “the Wolf Pokémon. The more intimidating the opponent it faces, the more this Pokémon's blood boils. It will attack with no regard for its own safety.”

“That sounds pretty intense,” Starlight responded, “but if it’s anything like Rockruff, then it will be a Rock-type, meaning Fomantis will be strong against it.”

Sam pulled out a ball from his belt, aiming it at Fomantis. “Fomantis, return!”

The trainers all gasped as they turned just quick enough to see an also stunned Fomantis get returned into its ball by the red beam from the Poké Ball.

Sam didn’t appear to flinch or regret his decisions as he put Fomantis’s ball away and tossed out another. “You got this, Salandit!”

Sam’s lizard broke out at the ball, looking rather surprised to find itself standing face-to-face against Gladion’s next Pokémon.

“And what a– …n interesting strategy from Sam!” The announcer himself was nearly at a loss for words. “Not only did he bring out a Pokémon with a serious type-disadvantage to Gladion’s Lycanroc, but he also cost himself a turn! Is this where his lead starts to crumble?”

“Certainly hope not…” Sam spread his legs and shifted down in concentration.

Gladion’s frown shifted down subtly, marking a sense of severe disappointment. “Lycanroc, use Rock Slide!”

With a crouch, Lycanroc bounded up high into the air, its claws glowing slightly as it hugged its arms in. Throwing them out, several small stones were flung from its fingers that enlarged into boulders, shocking the ponies in their seats immensely.

Sam and Salandit looked intently at the rocks as they fell down at them, the latter purring uncomfortably. “You got this, girl. Just concentrate, plan your course, and follow it.”

The first of the rocks fell down on Noibat and Skarmory, grounding them as each stone bounced and broke off of their bodies, crumbling to sand once they hit the floor. Salandit began to trace a line of the falling rocks with its snout before arcing into a lunge. The first rock hit the ground, and Salandit zipped to the right, letting two more boulders to its left fall, crack, and wither in an instant. Several more boulders came down at virtually incalculable patterns, but Salandit continued to weave about them, not letting a single part of it touch any of its body. When the attack had ended, Salandit was now out in the middle of the arena for the trainers and their Pokémon to see.

“Nice moves!” Kaj gave the Salandit a thumbs up. “I think we can agree that Lycanroc is a huge problem for us. Kreigen, use Metal Claw!”

With a point at the red wolf, Kreigen sent itself up on its sharp wings before swooping down with it talons held up. Lycanroc braced itself as the Skarmory’s claws gripped at its arms, the push sending the points piercing an inch into its chest.

Alice huffed uncomfortably to hear Lycanroc’s loud whine. “Noibat, get the Skarmory with Bite!”

Noibat screeched with pleasure, swooping down to gain speed and turning ninety degrees to fit its mouth around Kreigen’s neck, forcing both to the floor and relinquishing the grip on Lycanroc.

Both Gladion and his Pokémon stared at the lone Salandit still in the middle of the ring. “You’ve been doing quite well so far, Sam. Prism would never allow it to come to this. Lycanroc, use Stone Edge!”

Lycanroc fell to a kneel, punching its arm into the ground. A line of rocky spikes began jutting up in a line straight at Salandit, Sam knowing it would not be able to step aside in time. “Salandit, dod–”

Salandit was already high up in the air from its quick-witted hop, allowing the spikes to safely pass beneath and around it and landing down on the closest spike underneath before hopping back to the ground to the right of the wall, obscuring its view to where Noibat and Kreigen still were.

“Sam’s Salandit has not only avoided one, but two highly dangerous attacks from Gladion’s Lycanroc!” The announcer shouted. “Just how could things get any better for them?”

“Just y’all wait!” Sam crossed his wrists over his face, his Z-Ring bursting aglow and prompting Salandit to mimic its trainer.

“OOH!? And he has a Z-Ring?” The announcer and the crowd grew ecstatic. “Now things are really going to heat up in here!”

“Damn right.” Sam put his arms down and crossed them back down, and with his Salandit, they fanned their arms up before reaching up with his left arm with his right hand on the elbow, finishing by throwing his arm down and pointing to where Kreigen and Noibat would be.

The audience gasped in awe as Sam’s Z-Power shot from his back and arced around to enter into Salandit, and with the last of it, the aura of the icon on the Z-Ring shot out from Sam’s Pokémon, leaving Sam to just declare the attack.

“Sam!” Gladion shouted. “Are you really going to use your Z-Move here? Right now?”

“It’s like you said,” Sam responded in a hushed tone, “it’s me against everyone in here. I have this power, and I intend to use it. Now go, Salandit! Take out Kreigen with Inferno Overdrive!”

Noibat let go of Kaj’s Skarmory as they both looked to the wall left from the Lycanroc’s Stone Edge, seeing a bright sphere of fire forming between the spikes and growing larger by the second. Noibat immediately flew high up to the level of the speakers, leaving Kreigen behind.

Salandit shot its flame ball out, obliterating the part of the wall the attack flew through. Kreigen squawked as it tried to jump high to avoid it, only for the fireball to hit it dead center and carry it to the edge of the arena. The people on that side already blocked their faces with their arms as the fireball collided into the forcefield surrounding them, blasting hot air and a bright blinding light into them. The fires quickly raced around the arena forming a twenty-foot wall of fire that quickly surrounded the arena and washed the other nearby spectators in intense warmth and light.

As the flames reached the ponies, Lady, and Comfey, the crowd around them erupted into a chorus of “whoas” and “ooos” as they too felt the heat.

“Yes!” Rainbow Dash cheered. “I take it all back! These guys know how to put on an awesome show!”

With the spread of the fire, the flames quickly died down, revealing Kreigen still pinned to the forcefield wall as it just began to slide down to the floor. Kaj took a fearful step back to see Kreigen finally fall and crumple to the ground. A second star appeared beside Sam’s picture and name high above.

“Wahow!” The announcer sounded as if it were laughing. “Sam is on a roll with his second takedown of the match while the other trainers haven’t gotten one! Raise your game, all others!”

Sam, despite the slightly panicked look on Kaj’s face as she returned Kreigen to its ball, smiled proudly at Salandit as it turned back to get its praises. “Nice shot, girl!”

As Salandit hopped up in celebration, Kaj looked to the front of Kreigen’s ball. “Don’t worry, pal, that was a really strong attack. You did so good.”

Alice glanced up to Noibat, who was still high up and out of harm’s way, and then back to Salandit who continued to gloat in the center of the arena. “Noibat, take on Salandit with Aerial Ace!”

With a flap of its wings, Noibat shot down in a nosedive over the still unaware Salandit.

“Salandit, watch out!” Despite Sam’s warning, it was too late.

Noibat flipped around and put its right foot out, thrusting it into Salandit’s back and slamming its stomach to the floor.

“And such brilliant coordination from Noibat!” the announcer shouted. “Turns out Salandit isn’t as untouchable as we thought!”

Seeing the pained expression on its face, Noibat hopped off of Salandit and leaned down to its face, warbling with concern. Salandit let out a cackle like a rattle, giving its fighting partner an assuring smirk.

Kaj put Kreigen’s ball back into her belt and reached for another, tossing it out. “Time for your encore, Rông!”

The Vibrava appeared from the ball and took its place in its corner, slightly surprised at its sudden change in surroundings.

Lycanroc looked back to its trainer, who clenched his fists. “Let’s finally finish something. Lycanroc, use Rock Slide!”

Lycanroc charged to the little bit of its Stone Edge wall that remained, and with a single punch, the pieces of it went flying in all directions. Both Noibat and Salandit were swept away by several pieces of rock, while Rông was struck twice in the face and left wing, forcing it down low to the ground to avoid more debris.

Once the rock had dissolved into sand and cleared off the arena floor, Salandit managed to roll to its feet and spotted Noibat closer to Alice in her corner, fainted and sprawled out. A yellow star now appeared beside Gladion’s name and picture on the monitors.

“And now the first of Alice’s Pokémon has bitten the dust!” The announcer exclaimed. “Sam is now the only trainer to still have all three of their Pokémon in fighting condition.”

“Thanks for the reminder,” Alice hissed. “Nice job, Noibat. You can rest now.”

Pulling its ball out, Alice retutned Noibat inside of it, placing it back onto her belt and taking out another. “You’re up, Mudbray!”

Tossing the ball out, her Mudbray leapt out of it and landed in its corner, looking out at the hundreds of people watching and cheering with sudden anxiety.

“Don’t worry about them!” Alice called out. “You have two Pokémon here who you can take out in an instant. Get ready for it.”

Focusing on the Lycanroc and Salandit, Mudbray began to appear serious as it ran its front hoof along the floor, ready to charge.

Gladion’s eyes widened, realizing the danger his Pokémon was suddenly in. “Lycanroc, hit Mudbray with Stone Edge!

Lycanroc punched the floor, shooting out another wall of rock that came straight at Mudbray. Salandit, still in the center of the arena, quickly hopped back out of the crossfire as the wall passed by it. Mudbray whined in fear as its legs froze up, letting itself get flung into the air by the jutting stone spikes.

Sam watched as Mudbray hit the ground on its side, getting itself back up. As he reeled his arm back to declare an attack on it, he clenched his fists as he struggled against the decision. Finally he pointed out at Kaj and Rông, surprising them both.

“Salandit, hit him with Dragon Rage!”

“What?!” The ponies all shouted at once.

Salandit spat a deep-blue aura from its mouth which struck the Vibrava in the upper chest and thrust it back closer to its trainer, warbling through the pain.

“Sam…” He turned to listen to his sister. “You do know what I plan to do, right?”

He nodded. “Rông hasn’t been taking enough hits, and right now, I’m focusing on knocking Kaj and Gladion out.”

“Hey!” Kaj shouted. “No fair singling me out!”

“Just go ahead and do your worst,” Gladion stoically responded. “We’re ready for it.”

After a few moments of reflection, Alice nodded in uneasy approval at her brother’s decision.

“You’re going to have to literally hold your horses, Alice!” Kaj pointed at Lycanroc. “Rông, use Bulldoze!”

“Huh?!” Sam and Alice both shouted.

“It knows that move?” Alice questioned.

As if to respond, Vibrava sped forward toward Lycanroc while flying as low to the ground as it comfortably could. Its wings began to blow a thick mixture of dust and mud that flowed in a wave at Lycanroc and swamped it. With a hard bank to the right, Vibrava blasted more mud out over the arena, were it hardened into a single, but elegant wave-shaped clump before speeding on toward Salandit.

“Salandit, dodge it!”

Salandit waggled its body, waiting for the perfect time to move, and just as Vibrava came close, Salandit leapt to its left. Rông was quick to respond, drifting midair to steer right, the mud and dirt sweeping into Salandit and forming another muddy wave sculpture.

As Salandit struggled to break free from the mud, Rông went full speed at Mudbray, who stood still and awaited for a strategy from its trainer.

“Mudbray,” Alice commanded, “charge through it!”

“Huh?” The announcer squealed. “Did I hear that right?”

Mudbray galloped as fast as it could at the approaching Vibrava, its mud wave forming beneath it. Tucking its head in, Mudbray shot forward even harder as Rông pulled up and launched its mud tsunami at Mudbray. Though it was struck, Mudbray was able to break through the wave before it could harden, leaving a similar structure in its wake minus the tunnel that it had created. Alice pumped her fist proudly.

“And it worked!” the announcer shouted. “Mudbray is free and ready for action.”

Salandit finally managed to push itself out from its mud wave statue while Lycanroc chipped away its pieces from its claws. Kaj couldn’t help but pout and throw her arms down to see that neither Pokémon had fainted.

“Looks like we get to finish the job, Mudbray!” Alice pointed forward at Gladion. “Now, you use Bulldoze!”

With Mudbray standing at the edge of the arena between Alice and Sam, Mudbray ran ahead, Salandit standing directly in its path. With a screech, Salandit tried to run back toward Sam, only for mud to splash violently out from beneath its hooves and strike it back to its trainer, where it finally laid down with no visible intention of getting back up.

The splashing mud also formed its own wave that looked to engulf Rông and Gladion’s Lycanroc. Rông, without even waiting for Kaj’s instruction, fluttered upward to let the wave pass beneath it. The Lycanroc could only find a single spot where it could run through to escape: a hole along the left edge of the arena where the wave began to crest. It sprinted at its opening on all fours, but the wave suddenly began to collapse, the sheet of mud slamming down on Lycanroc before it could come close to reaching safety.

The mud hardened before it could reach Gladion and Kaj and sweep them away, the attack leaving nearly half the arena covered in an earthy-brown expanse of dirt. Gladion turned to his Lycanroc, finding it half-buried underneath and showing no sign of movement. At once, two stars appeared beside Alice’s picture and name on the screens.

“Incredible!” The announcer roared. “With assistance from Kaj, Alice was able to simultaneously take out Gladion’s Lycanroc and Sam’s Salandit! While Sam still has two Pokémon at the ready, Gladion is now down to his last one! Just what will it be?”

Gladion smirked as he returned his Lycanroc to his ball, surprising both Sam and Alice. “You’ve been doing pretty well so far, haven’t you two? Though to be fair, if I were using Pokémon from my own party, this match would be long over by now. Now, I’ll need to see if you can handle one of them!”

Gladion tossed an Ultra Ball out, and from it, Silvally emerged with its head spines and fishtail membrane a bright blue. The crowd began going wild with the exception of the ponies, who now looked fearful at what the others would have to face.

“Alrighty then!” the announcer shouted at the top of his lungs. “Gladion decided to bring his ace monster Silvally with him after all! This match finally got exciting.”

Kaj showed another pout to the speakers above her. “Sheesh, implying it wasn’t exciting before.”

“Kaj,” Alice shouted, “be very careful around that thing! That is his strongest Pokémon.”

“Yep,” Sam breathed out, taking out Salandit’s ball and returning it inside.

“Rainbow Dash?” Fluttershy asked. “Why is Silvally suddenly blue?”

“I don’t know!” Rainbow Dash now also couldn’t help but be disconcerted about Silvally’s appearance. “I always thought it was black!”

“It was a light brown when we first saw it.” Starlight looked intently at Gladion’s Pokémon. “What is with that thing?”

Sam took out Fomantis’s ball from his belt and threw it out into the arena. “Fomantis, you’re back in it!”

Fomantis emerged from Sam’s ball as it faced two new Pokémon and an old one with eagerness.

“And Fomantis back in action!” The announcer was now panting, having expended most of his voice in the last couple of bouts. “It may be strong against Water-types, but it will take more than a couple of Razor Leafs to take down Gladion’s ultimate beast!”

Gladion bowed his head down, keeping most of his face obscured with his hair. “I don’t know what Kaj could have in store for me,” he spoke to himself, “but both of Sam and Alice’s last two Pokémon will be easy for my Silvally, and both of the ones they have now have already been hit at least once. Now, which to take out first…”

“Nothing like a good old fashioned staredown to get the blood pumping!” The announcer’s joke brought laughter among the crowd, raising the pressure on Gladion’s next move.

“Silvally, Multi Attack on the Mudbray!”

Mudbray squawked in fear as it saw Silvally’s spines, tailfin, and talons began to glow. With a reel back of its body, Silvally sprinted out, drops and globs of water flying off its glowing body parts. Mudbray tried to back away, only to fall onto its butt. Silvally, recognizing this, slowed itself down and slashed at the air between them, producing three blades of water that flew out at Mudbray and struck it in the chest. Mudbray yelped loudly as it slid back to Alice, who caught it before it could slide off the edge of the arena.

“Mudbray!” Alice shouted. “Are you alright?”

With a moan, Mudbray passed out onto the floor, Alice no longer able to hold it up. A second star appeared beside Gladion’s picture and name on the screens.

“And now it’s Alice who’s down to her final Pokémon!” the announcer exclaimed. “Kaj and Sam are still in this fight, but Kaj still hasn’t been able to make a single takedown this entire match!”

Alice called her Pokémon back with her Poké Ball, quickly replacing it with her third and last, holding it to await the next turn.

“Rông!” Kaj shouted. “Hit the Fomantis with Aerial Ace!”

The Vibrava quickly soared out at Sam’s Pokémon, striking it with both of its two right legs as it turned back around to its trainer.

Sam winced, throwing his arm to Gladion and Silvally. “Fomantis, use Leaf Blade!”

Fomantis ran to Silvally, its arms held out and ready to intercept it from any direction. Silvally widened its stance as it prepared to dodge the attack. It crept to its right, leading Fomantis there, only to leap far out of its path to safety. Fomantis let out a huff as it used the lean of its turn to jump, shooting right at Silvally’s direction. Still maintaining its footing, Silvally could only let Fomantis’s green-glowing slash knock it off its feet to its side, making the audience, including the ponies and their Pokémon, cheer and applaud.

“Nice, Sam.” Alice threw out her last ball with confidence. “Go, Rockruff!”

Alice’s stone puppy popped out from the Poké Ball, and despite the fierce opposition it now faced, it loudly growled excitedly at as many of the three Pokémon as it could in a single breath. Fomantis and Silvally returned to their trainers, the former panting in exhaustion.

“Poor runt,” Gladion breathed. “Silvally, Multi-Attack on Rockruff.”

Silvally ran out again, more water trailing off of its body as Rockruff spied its moves. Unlike with Mudbray, it showed no signs of letting up.

Alice hissed through her teeth. “Rockruff, dodge it!”

With a rake of its claw, Silvally tried to get Rockruff from the side, only for it to suddenly leap forward and let both Silvally and its swinging talon pass it.

“And nice moves from Rockruff!” the announcer shouted with a gravellier voice.

Kaj noticed as the three other Pokémon were all off to Sam and Alice’s sides. “This is it, Rông, I can taste victory already! Let’s end this with Bulldoze!”

Leading her pointed arm toward Fomantis, the Vibrava followed her intended path as Starlight watched on in awe, her eyes and mouth open wide.

Pinkie Pie couldn’t help but notice this. “Starlight? Are you having an ice-cream brain freeze and didn’t offer me some?”

“No,” Starlight breathed. “Kaj is going in for the win here. Fomantis is already on the ropes, and Rockruff may not survive such a strong Ground-type attack. If Alice’s Pokémon gets knocked out, the game's over!”

Rông banked hard to the right, the buzzing of its wings along its turn creating a large wave that threatened to engulf the entire half of the arena where Silvally, Fomantis, and Rockruff stood.

“Wait!” Rainbow Dash leaned onto the ledge and turned to face Starlight. “If she gets two knockouts here, then they all get two knockouts. Wouldn’t that be a tie?”

“In terms of knockouts, sure, but Kaj would win on the count of having the most Pokémon left at the end of the round.”

“Oh, shoot, you’re right! She still hasn’t brought her last one out yet! She may really have this!”

The wave crashed down to the floor and onto the three Pokémon, partially burying them in fast-drying mud. Sam and Alice gasped as they found their Pokémon stuck in the dirt. Silvally easily broke itself out, backing up to observe if the remaining Pokémon would be so lucky. Sam grunted to see that Fomantis showed no struggle in trying to break out, breathing slowly out as it fainted.

Kaj looked up to the closest screen to see a star appear by her picture and name, giggling happily with what she was now certain was an instant victory. She then heard a dull crackling sound from where Rockruff stood, and with a hard yank, Rockruff freed itself and slowly crawled back up on all fours, shocking both Kaj and Gladion.

With a single yip back to Alice, each member of the audience quickly joined in with clapping before it erupted back into cheers.

“Nice one, Rockruff!” Fluttershy’s sudden burst of volume forced the ponies near her to shift away, as well as several people behind her.

“And Rockruff is still in this race!” The announcer shouted with a noticeable rise in enthusiasm. “This match isn’t quite over!”

“It sure isn’t!” Alice crossed her wrists over her face, sparking her Z-Ring and the Normalium Z inside it to life as she continued her motions.

“And now it’s Alice’s turn to use her Z-Power! Will she try and finish off Silvally, or go after Kaj’s Vibrava?”

Alice formed her arms into a Z, allowing her Z-Power to shoot out of her and flow into her Rockruff, who purred with the warmth of the energy tingling inside of it.

“Sorry, Kaj,” Alice said to her, “but my Rockruff has a bone to pick with Rông. Now go get ‘em, boy. Take out the Vibrava with Breakneck Blitz!”

Rockruff shot out at its target with a hot tail trailing around it from the front, blasting Alice with leftover Bulldoze dirt from its initial leap.

Kaj looked genuinely terrified. “Rông!”

The Vibrava fluttered its wings as hard as it could to fly up, but with a well-aimed jump from Rockruff, Rông was brutally tackled out of the air and thrown down to the ground off the arena. Rockruff continued to push Rông forward as they landed on the ground and slid into the wall, the Vibrava getting pinned into it upon reaching it. With a gurgled screech, Rông slumped down and fainted, unable to fight any longer. Alice let out a chuckle as she looked up and saw a third star appear by her name.

“And Alice has now taken the lead!” The announcer yelled. “After just holding on by the skin of its teeth, Rockruff has managed to take out Kaj’s Vibrava! But it’s not over yet, folks! Kaj and Sam both still have one last perfectly healthy Pokémon to their names, and something tells me that we still have a ways to go!”

“I certainly hope not.” Sam took out Fomantis’s Poké Ball and returned it from the mud, swapping it with his last Pokémon’s ball. “This is it, Honedge. Let’s make it count!”

Honedge soared out of the ball and spun into place, ready to face its last opponents.

Meanwhile, Kaj returned Rông into its Luxury Ball with tears in her eyes. “Don’t worry,” she silently wept. “You did your best, and you were great!” Wiping her eyes and letting in a calming sniff, she put Rông’s ball back and took out her last one, throwing it out into the center of the arena. “Get ready for the grand finale, Mohuku!”

Leaping out from the energy bursting from its ball was a green raptor-like creature with a red underside that went from its lower jaw to its belly. It had three long leaf-like blades extended on the outer side of its forearms, as well as a long thicker leaf like a ponytail draped down to its lower back where a twin-leafed tail poked out. Much like her other two Pokémon, this one also wore a pair of accessories: a light-green marble with a red-and-dark-green swirl inside hung from a small black metal chain around its neck, along with a bright-red bandana wrapped around its left hand like a fingerless glove. Between its two yellow eyes was a large, ragged scar shaded darker than the rest of its skin.

“Wow, all of Kaj’s Pokémon look rad!” Starlight was already scanning it with Alice’s Pokédex.

“Grovyle,” it said, “the Wood Gecko Pokémon. Its strongly developed thigh muscles give it astounding agility and jumping performance.”

“Wood Gecko?” Starlight wondered aloud. “Looks like Rockruff is still in big trouble. Unless…”

“Unless what?” A prolonged lack of an answer forced Fluttershy to look back and observe what Starlight was predicting.

Gladion turned to Kaj and her final Pokémon. “You haven’t done too bad yourself. While I still probably won’t tune in to your contests, you have my respect and my blessing as a trainer.” Kaj gasped and then smiled, nodding in appreciation. “However... you still chose to challenge me before the match, and I cannot refuse a challenge. Well then, challenge accepted!”

Gladion crossed his wrists, sparking alight his own Z-Ring with a greenish-yellow Z-Crystal with an insect icon inside of it.

“Unbelievable!” The announcer was virtually shrieking now. “Now Gladion is using his Z-Power on Kaj! How much more do you think she and her Pokémon can take?!”

“Not much more…” After Gladion threw his arms down and crossed them out, he took a step back with his right foot and swung his arms up from the right with his hands smoothly curved downward. He then swung his left arm to his left side and swung his right arm in a wide scooping motion, holding his arm back up to the left.

Z-Power shot out from him and entered into Silvally, who roared as the power coursed through him.

Sam and Honedge turned to Alice, who looked back to him with a subtle begging expression as he realized what he would do.

“Sorry. Hondege...” Sam held his arm up, ready to call his finishing attack onto his sister’s Rockruff. He then threw his arm to the right where Silvally stood, shocking her. “Shadow Sneak!”

Honedge thrust the tip of its blade to the ground and shot its shadow out to race toward Silvally. Once the shadow reached beneath Silvally’s stomach, it shot up and struck it. Silvally groaned uncomfortably as it held its ground, but refused to be lifted up by the attack until it finally ended.

“Nice try, Sam,” Gladion shouted, “but this one is mine! Now go, Silvally! Take out her Grovyle with Savage Spin-Out!”

Silvally opened its mouth wide and shot a heavy stream of silky webbing that sprayed onto Mohuku until its entire body was covered. Snapping its sticky rope with its teeth and holding the end in its mouth, Silvally ran to the center of the ring and began to twirl its head and neck, slinging the Grovyle up and riding it against the forcefield as it revolved around the arena, smashing into each corner as Silvally continue to spin.

The ponies’ eyes and heads followed Mohuku’s path as it continued slamming against the energy wall. “That’s a carnival ride I wouldn’t want to go on!” Pinkie Pie shouted.

Finally, Silvally yanked hard on the string and let go, sending the Grovyle back to it over Kaj’s head. Leaping up, it reeled its glowing talon back and swung at the incoming web ball, slicing it open and freeing an unconscious Mohuku inside. Sam and Alice gasped at the sight.

Silvally landed nimbly on its feet while the Grovyle hit the ground hard and rolled back to Kaj. As it slowed to a stop, Mohuku's eyes shot open as it rolled onto a single knee, further supporting itself on its right fist, the audience shouting in surprise.

“What?” Gladion huffed. “But how–” He then noticed as the bandana on Grovyle’s hand began to glow bright before it withered away as if it were ash. “A Focus Sash?” The ponies could only sit dumbfounded over what they could only define as brilliant strategizing.

Kaj looked confidently to Gladion while Mohuku stood up to face Silvally. “I told you that I was going to be the one to take you out. I’m not the type to break promises to my fans.”

Gladion gasped at the term she bestowed on him, but it didn’t matter. He grinned with the sheer respect that he now had for her. “You can certainly try.”

“I certainly will! Mohuku! Take out his Silvally with Leaf Blade!”

Mohuku sprinted out at Silvally, who was already panting with exhaustion following his Z-Move. As it turned to face the encroaching Grovyle, it simply closed its eyes and let Mohuku run the three leaves on its right arm through its side and follow through to stop in an elegant pose. With trembling legs, Silvally looked back to the Grovyle in reservation before its eyes rolled back into its head and it fell over to its side, passed out.

Kaj looked up at the screen as the crowd suddenly became hushed, watching as a second star appeared by her name and face. “Holy shit!”

“Rockruff, use Leer!” Kaj shot her head back down on Alice’s declaration, only able to see as the flash from Rockruff’s eyes slowly died down as Honedge shuddered back from the glare it received.

“Alice…” Kaj’s voice still trembled in excitement. “Why did you…”

“And that’s it folks!” With the booming voice of the announcer shattering the silence, the trainers and their Pokémon left standing looked up at the speakers and screens. “Gladion is out of usable Pokémon, so this match is officially over! In third place with two knockouts and one remaining Pokémon with 1 HP is Kaj!”

With her recent display of brilliance, Kaj received thunderous roars and cheers, especially from her numerous fans in the stands. Despite the low placement, Kaj nonetheless eagerly waved and smiled to everyone she could.

“In second place with two knockouts and one Pokémon with full HP is Sam Brier!”

The applause and shouts weren’t as wild, but Sam was still more than happy to receive them as he waved out to the audience.

“And the winner of todays match with three knockouts is… Alice Brier!”

Alice giggled to hear the crowd begin cheering for her as loudly as they did for Kaj, and even with their deafening screams, she could hear Rockruff happily barking at her. Opening her arms up, she let her rock puppy leap up into her embrace as she cradled it in her left arm and waving to the audience with her right.

“Wow!” Rainbow Dash clapped her hooves together with her friends. “That was awesome. I kind of want to stay here all night!” She suddenly received a scolding glance from Starlight for seemingly forgetting their priorities. “I know, I know! I’m just saying…”

Alice then looked to see Sam, Gladion, Mohuku, and Kaj all applauding her as well, Honedge clanging its scabbard against its blade. Alice then turned to Kaj and gave her a thumbs up and nod of respect. Kaj nodded back, happy to have received support from the superior trainer.

The clerk at the front desk handed Alice her trainer ID card back . “Congratulations on your win. Your two Battle Points have been added to your account.”

“Thank you.” As Alice put her card back into her wallet, Kaj put the finishing touches on the signature of a Luxury Ball with a silver marker.

She handed the ball to the clerk who clasped it to her chest like it was made of gold. “Be sure that your daughter catches a very special Pokémon with that!”

“I will!” The clerk placed it in her purse that hung from a hook under the counter. “You’re an angel. And such a wonderful battle.”

“Are we almost done?” Gladion growled from the other side of the counter with an uncomfortable Sam and the equally unnerved ponies.

Surrounding the front desk with no gap to escape through were dozens of fans with posters, Poké Balls, and other paraphernalia they wanted Kaj to sign. She giggled with a blush as she held her marker up, hoping not to hold up her new friends any longer.

By the time the group left, the sun was already a cool shade of orange, and the purple tint of evening was just creeping in. Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash couldn’t help but groan in disappointment.

“I’m sorry for holding you up!” Kaj walked ahead bowed to them. “I should have just asked you to leave if I was holding you up.”

“Don’t sweat it,” Gladion said. “We probably wouldn’t have made it to Konikoni City even if we chose not to battle.” He then looked Kaj in the eyes. “We’ll probably need a place to stay tonight. If it’s all the same to you, we can stay at the Hano Grand Resort.”

“Huh?” Sam and Alice shouted in unison.

“No way!” Kaj couldn’t help but leap with joy. “I’m staying there too!”

“Gladion,” Alice said, “that’s really nice of you, but you shouldn’t spend that kind of money on us.”

“Frankly, for me,” Gladion explained, “it’s a drop in the bucket from my account. I don’t mind it either. After what I put you through last Tuesday, you deserve nothing less. But first, I think I can speak for everyone when I say we could use some dinner. There’s a nice restaurant inside the resort. Again, my treat… unless, of course, you have something else in mind.”

Sam picked his head up, a wonderful thought coming into his head. “Gladion, was that a supermarket we passed on the way here?”

“…Yes?”

“And are there picnic areas on the beach?”

“Yes. There are also grills for rent as well. Why? Were you suggesting you cook for us?”

Sam smiled, knowing he may have not won the battle, but he was certainly going to become another champion of something else that night.

Comments

[KyleeTheShinyStealer]

That was a really intense battle! I seriously enjoyed reading that. Now I really wanna do some art for it. Hmmm...