As the Canterlot Tournament to test everypony's battling skills continues, the current match between two Trottingham ponies is about to come to an end. And after that, it shall be Rainbow Dash and Limestone Pie's match.
"Vikavolt! Vice Grip!" A pegasus commanded.
"Vika!" The Levitate Pokemon had grabbed its opposing Pokemon, which was a Sandlash, using its big strong jaws as it slammed the Mouse Pokemon down on the ground, causing it to faint.
"Sand...slash..."
"Not my Sandslash!" The opposing unicorn pony gasped.
"Sandslash is unable to battle! Vikavolt wins! Which means the victor is Raincharm!" announced the referee.
And with that, this matchup had come to an end. Meaning it can segway into the next battle. Rainbow vs Limestone. Two ponies who are very close to Pinkie Pie. Speaking of which, the pink pony was feeling heavily conflicted now.
"Who do I root for?! My sister or my friend?!" Pinkie curled up into a ball, unable to decide.
"Limestone, huh? I wonder how much she and Tyranitar have bonded." Ash wondered. He was the one to help her catch the Armor Pokemon back at the Rock Farm.
"Pika."
"Wait!" Pinkie shot up. "Does that mean my entire family is somewhere in the crowd?!" She scanned the seats, searching for any more of her family members. But there wasn't a single sign of any of them. It was just Limestone.
Speaking of Limestone, she had made her way out into the stadium first with Rainbow Dash following behind. Both trainers went over to their sides, standing opposite from each other.
"You're one of Pinkie Pie's friends, right?" Limestone said. "Better not disappoint. I came all the way from my home to take part in this."
"Disappoint?" Rainbow squinted her eyes. "You're gonna be blown away by what me and my Pokemon can do." Rainbow Dash held out her Poke Ball.
"Both trainers. Please send out your Pokemon."
"Get em, Tyranitar!" As expected, Limestone's Pokemon, her only Pokemon and her ace was none other than the Armour Pokemon.
"TYRANITAR!"
"A Tyranintar?!" That definitely surprised Rainbow Dash. "Okay then...Out you come! Altaria!" For Rainbow Dash, Altaria was the choice for this battle.
"Taria!"
"Alright, Altaria! Tyranitar's a tough Pokemon to get through. So keep your cool, okay?"
"Altaria." The Humming Pokemon nodded.
"I'll just cheer for both of them. Good luck you two!" Pinkie Pie blew some trumpets.
"Battle start!"
"Get a load of this! Use Disarming Voice! And keep it there" Rainbow attacked first.
"Al!" The Humming Pokemon opened her mouth, releasing a beam of purple hearts with a charming cry packed behind it. Tyranitar was being pummeled by the Fairy-Type move as Altaria was still echoing at the Armour Pokemon.
"Ty!" Tyranitar flinched from the attack as she had
"Thought somepony would go for some Fairy nonsense against my Tyranitar. Use Hyper Beam!"
"Ranitar!" Starting off strong, Tyranitar stomped her feet on the ground, causing a mini-earthquake that shook the stadium. Due to a Tyranitar being a naturally bulky Pokemon, even super-effective moves won't take it down so easily as she powered through the Disarming Voice.
She opened her mouth wide as a rupturing beam of energy had appeared. As always, Hyper Beam proved to be the go-to move to have if you want to dish out some major damage.
And major damage it dished. Once Tyranitar fired the beam from her mouth, it overpowered the Disarming Voice with ease, turning it into dust.
"Alta?!" Altaria's eyes widened as they gazed upon the mighty Hyper Beam. Before Rainbow Dash could do anything, the Humming Pokemon had been engulfed by the devastating Normal-Type move. What followed was an instant explosion of energy that startled everypony due to how loud and impactful it was.
"Ah! Altaria!" Rainbow Dash's jaw dropped.
Altaria fell out of the smoke, tumbling on the ground. She was still standing but Hyper Beam really left a mark on her. This gave Rainbow Dash a huge handicap. And the battle had just started.
"Tari..." Altaria flew back up into the air, looking tattered and shabby.
"What an impact! Tyranitar's already dealt major damage in one attack!" said the Announcer.
"Didn't see that one coming did ya? Don't worry. There's more where that came from! Tyranitar! Thunder Fang!" Limestone's way of battling was simple. Overwhelm her opponent with deadly moves, not allowing the opponent to rest for even a minute. That way of battling really worked well with Tyranitar's rampaging nature.
"Rani!" The Armor Pokemon opened her mouth wide once more, this time, running towards her opponent as her teeth gained purple volts of electricity.
"Look out, Altaria! Fly higher up!" Altaria spread her wings out, soaring higher into the air as she had avoided the deadly bite that Tyranitar had.
"Hyper Beam one more time!" Altaria's flight couldn't help her against a Pokemon such as Tyranitar who is strong against Flying-Types. Once again, Hyper Beam was being utilized.
"Quick, Altaria! Use Ice Beam!" Rainbow Dash realized that if the move hit a second time, it would've been over. So she decided to freeze the Armor Pokemon instead.
Both Pokemon charged might beams in their gaping mouths. But only one can be stronger. As the two ranged attacks were fired, they collided, entering a beam struggle.
It was strikingly clear that Hyper Beam was the superior move as it was easily breaking through Ice Beam. Altaria was being pushed back by the overwhelming force of Hyper Beam as she couldn't keep Ice Beam up for long. And Rainbow Dash knew that from what she could see.
"Not good...Fly away, Altaria!"
"Altaria!" By closing her mouth, the Humming Pokemon had stopped using Ice Beam as she zipped herself to the side, avoiding Hyper Beam.
However, the size of Hyper Beam had managed to hit her one of her cotton wings, causing the Dragon-Flying-Type to flinch a bit.
"Use Stone Edge!" Limestone's aggressive battle style continued. The Armor Pokemon summoned crystal rocks around her body as they shot forward towards the opposing Pokemon.
"Dodge it!" With haste, Altaria did her very best to avoid these incoming stones. But, due to Hyper Beam damaging her wing, she was having trouble evading these super-effective moves. As such, some of the stones hit her wings, causing Altaria to be shot out of the sky.
"Ria!" The Humming Pokemon winced as she fell down in a spiral.
"Altaria, no!" Rainbow Dash bellowed.
"Finish it! Use Hyper Beam!" Limestone was aiming to put an end to this right now. She did have a job to get back at the farm after all.
"Limestone's not letting her rest one bit!" Fluttershy squeaked.
"She really doesn't want Rainbow Dash to gain the upper hand..." Ash was sweating a bit.
"Pika..."
"That's Limestone for ya." Pinkie Pie nodded.
With Hyper Beam being fired straight towards Altaria, it looked like it would be the end right here. But Rainbow Dash wasn't about to let that happen.
"Altaria! Use Dragon Pulse on the ground!"
"Altaria!" A risky move that could end up damaging Altaria herself. By firing a dragon-shaped shock wave from her mouth, the Humming Pokemon had catapulted herself into the air, avoiding Hyper Beam by the skin of her non-existent teeth.
"Yes! Now! Ice Beam!" Rainbow Dash found her opportunity. If there was a time to strike it was now while Hyper Beam was fading away, leaving Tyranitar wide open. The Dragon-Flying-Type let a chilling Ice Beam out of her mouth as it flashed right at Armor Pokemon.
"Dodge it!" But it was too late. Ice Beam hit its mark. And as such, the attack froze Tyranitar in place.
"Oh! What a turn! After taking a pretty harsh beating, Altaria has managed to freeze Tyranitar in place!"
Finally, Altaria was no longer being overwhelmed. That was aggressive. Both Rainbow Dash and her Pokemon breathed a sigh of relief. But it wasn't over yet. They still had to defeat Tyranitar.
"Alright. Let's turn the tables, Altaria! Use Dragon Pulse!"
"I don't think so." Limestone smirked. "Hyper Beam!"
Unfortunately, being frozen in ice isn't enough to hold a Pokemon as calamitous as Tyranitar. The ice shattered instantly as a raging beam of energy raced forward. "Tyranitar!"
Both Dragon Pulse and Hyper Beam had clashed, entering yet another beam struggle. However, Dragon Pulse proved to be much more effective than Ice Beam and Disarming Voice. While it still wasn't enough to stop Hyper Beam, it was capable of holding it back.
"Al...Taria!"
"Hang in there, Altaria!"
"Breakthrough it, Tyranitar!"
"A second struggle! This time Altaria's proving to hold her own much better!"
"Hyper Beam's too dynamic!" Fluttershy gasped. "Altaria can't keep it up forever!"
"How's she gonna beat something like that?" Sweetie Belle wondered.
Dragon Pulse was starting to dwindle in power. Same with Hyper Beam, only it dwindled at a much slower rate. Rainbow realized that this wouldn't work at all. If Altaria kept on clashing beams with Tyranitar, she would lose every single time. So a decision had been made.
"Altaria! Fly around and Disarming Voice!" Altaria had exited the beam struggle, propelling herself to the side once more. This time, since Hyper Beam had dwindled from the struggle, it wasn't wide enough to chip her wings a second time, giving her the freedom of flying without any damage.
The Humming Pokemon had done what Rainbow Dash told her to do. By flying around the battlefield, she let out a shower of Disarming Voices from all sides instead of just one.
"TY! RAN!" It proved to be an effective method. One Disarming Voice wasn't enough to fight against Tyranitar. But multiple were, actually. The Armor Pokemon was slowly being overwhelmed by these constant volleys of sound waves.
"Tyranitar! Use Hyper Beam to destroy them all!" Limestone ordered. The Armor Pokemon was prepared to blow every single Disarming Voice away.
"Keep flying across the battlefield!" Altaria didn't stop for a second. Even when Tyranitar shelled out Hyper Beam which destroyed any incoming Disarming Voices, she was able to elude the Normal-Type move. But not for long.
"You can't run from Hyper Beam forever! Chase her down!"
Now, a chase had begun. Altaria had a new objective. Avoiding Hyper Beam. If her wing hadn't been damaged, it would've been easier to avoid it, but now, Altaria will have to get creative with her dodging.
The sight of a beam chasing down a flying creature was something to behold, really. Everypony was taking it in as they had no idea if Altaria would be able to elude this or if Tyranitar would eventually catch up to her with Hyper Beam.
"Spin around!" Altaria had covered herself with her fluffy wings, spiralling about whilst avoiding the attack. This worked, somewhat, as her spinning helped in evading Hyper Beam with Tyranitar trying to maintain her focus.
This evading tactic from Rainbow Dash was proving to be a bit effective. Hyper Beam was slowly weakening over time. But it still wasn't enough. Limestone really knew how to put the pressure on somepony.
"What do I do...Altaria can't keep evading forever..." Rainbow Dash growled, thinking to herself. "Gotta think...think!"
The tension was really building, putting Rainbow Dash and Altaria in a stressful situation. She looked over at Tyranitar's Hyper Beam, seeing that its range is so great that it was even capable of breaking through the clouds themselves without any signs of stopping.
That's when it hit Rainbow Dash. The clouds. It was a bold attempt, but something had to work in order to fight back against Tyranitar.
"Altaria! Hide in the clouds!"
"Tari!" Following Rainbow Dash's order, the Humming Pokemon had done what she used to do when she was still a Swablu. Concealing herself in the clouds. She covered herself once more in order to make this work.
"Oh! Altaria's decided to hide in the clouds themselves! What will Tyranitar do?!"
"Hiding won't save you! Blow the clouds away Tyranitar!"
"TYRA!" Tyranitar had changed the direction of Hyper Beam once more, this time, attacking the clouds themselves.
Altaria closed her eyes as she could hear the violent sounds of Hyper Beam echoing through the skies themselves. The crowd looked up to see the fluffy clouds being obliterated into nothing by Tyranitar's power.
"All those clouds! Gone! So much for weather duty next week..." The pegasus announcer sighed.
"Come on...where is she?" Limestone grumbled. This was proving to be a bit tricky. Altaria's disguise was proving to be effective. After all, she did trick Rainbow Dash by camouflaging as a tiny cloud when they first met.
With each cloud being destroyed, Rainbow Dash held her breath in, waiting for the right opportunity to strike. Hyper Beam was slowly losing power, decreasing in size. Not only that, but Tyranitar was even getting exhausted from the constant Hyper Beams. Even a Pokemon as powerful as her needs to exhibit huge amounts of power to perform Hyper Beam.
"Hang in there, Altaria."
Altaria had snuck into other clouds without being noticed. Due to Hyper Beam blocking out the sky, it was fairly easy for the Humming Pokemon to disguise herself.
"Ty...Ran." Hyper Beam finally came to an end, leaving Tyranitar exhausted as her mouth had steam coming out. "Ranitar."
"Tyranitar! You okay?!"
"Wide open! Altaria! Dragon Pulse!" Rainbow Dash raised her hoof up, causing Altaria to finally strike.
The Humming Pokemon had revealed herself from the clouds, completely untouched by Hyper Beam. Returning the favour to Tyranitar, a dragon-shaped shockwave had been unleashed.
"Dodge it, Tyranitar!"
"Ty!" Tyranitar attempted to dodge, but she couldn't avoid it due to her being a bit exhausted from using Hyper Beam. And that led to Altaria gained the upper hand.
Dragon Pulse hit its mark, blowing the Armor Pokemon back. "Yes! Now freeze Tyranitar with Ice Beam!"
"Knock her out the sky! Stone Edge!"
Two attacks were fired at the exact same time. One from above and one from below. The crystals from stone edge raced upwards whilst Ice Beam zoomed downwards. The chilling beam made direct contact with the stones, causing both moves to cancel each other out.
"Dragon Pulse!" The Dragon-Type move flew through the smoke that was left behind from Stone Edge and Ice Beam as the sight of a Dragon's face about to bite on Tyranitar was envisioned.
"Tyranitar! Block it!"
"Ty!" Tyranitar put her arms up, shielding herself from the might of Dragon Pulse. Once it hit, Tyranitar was finally showing signs of falling.
"If we can just get that Altaria out of the sky and to us, it'll be game over! Stone Edge!" Limestone realized that Altaria's height advantage was only delaying the inevitable, according to her. Yet again more crystal stones were sent directly towards the Humming Pokemon in order to bring her to ground level.
"Then, in that case, we'll just head further down ourselves!" A risky move on Rainbow Dash's part. Altaria had directed herself to the ground instead of heading higher up in the sky. But it ended up being a good call on Altaria's part. The crystals from Stone Edge had missed since it was Altaria herself who brought herself down.
"Use Disarming Voice!" With haste, Altaria had let loose a charming cry that consumed Tyranitar's whole body.
"This is getting close! Altaria's managed to put Tyranitar on equal footing! I can hardly contain myself!" The announcer bit his hoof.
"Oh! Is it enough though?!" Fluttershy gulped as she held Pikachu, panicking.
"P-Pika!"
"Not yet. Tyranitar's known as the Armor Pokemon for a reason." Ash replied.
"Then, we'll come to you! Thunder Fang!"
"Ran!" The Armor Pokemon had finally decided to get up close and personal with the Humming Pokemon, who was now lower on the ground due to Rainbow Dash's command.
"Now's our chance! Altaria, cover Tyranitar's eyes with your wings!"
"Al!" Yet again, Altaria had utilized something she used to do when she was still a Swablu. When Tyranitar got close, Altaria had flown over her, avoiding the Armor Pokemon's thunderous bite.
Now that they were both in front of each other, Altaria had covered Tyranitar's eyes with her fluffy cotton wings, blocking the Rock-Dark-Type's vision.
"Tyran?!"
"Oh! Altaria's blocked Tyranitar's vision, throwing her off focus!"
"Shake her off, Tyranitar!"
"Tar! Ranitar!" Tyranitar shook her body around, flailing frantically, all in order to shake Altaria off.
"Don't let go of Tyranitar! Use Disarming Voice repeatedly!" Altaria made sure to keep her wings glued on Tyranitar's eyes. While she kept doing that, enchanting cries were unleashed upon the Armor Pokemon. Over and over again, Tyranitar was being hit by continuous Fairy-Type moves.
"This is getting ridiculous! Tyranitar! Let's get this over with already! Hyper Beam on the ground!" Similar to what Altaria did with Dragon Pulse, Tyranitar was going for an identical tactic.
By firing the mighty beam of energy down on the ground, a violent outburst filled with hyper energy had emerged. This explosion had managed to affect both Tyranitar and Altaria by sending them both flying into the air due to burst of energy. Rainbow Dash used her wings to fly back from the explosion while Limestone just ran. The referee gulped as he ducked for cover, not wanting to get caught up in this.
As both Pokemon were sent into the air, Altaria had been forced off Tyranitar thanks to Hyper Beam. As they were both airborne, the two Pokemon were on the verge of fainting. Tyranitar's own Hyper Beam had managed to deal massive damage to herself as well.
"Let's finish this! Dragon Pulse! Up close!"
"Alta!" Altaria got up close to Tyranitar's face, charging up one final Dragon Pulse.
"Ah! Tyranitar! Use Thunder Fang quick!" Tyranitar let out one final attempt as well. Since Altaria was close to her, a vicious Thunder Fang had made contact with Altaria's wings, making her cry in pain.
"Ta!" Altaria cringed as Tyranitra's sharp fangs had dug into her along with volts electricity running through. Altaria knew that this one Thunder Fang is what will bring her down. But she's taking Tyranitar with her. With a final burst of power, Dragon Pulse had been unleashed right in Tyranitar's face.
Up in the sky, a blue explosion could be seen, mostly due to Dragon Pulse making contact. As the smoke cleared, out of it came the Armor Pokemon herself.
HItting the ground and causing a bit of a rumble, Tyranitar had finally given out. Fainting in the process.
"Ty..."
Dragon Pulse is what sealed the deal. But it wasn't just her. Altaria had given out too. She fell from above like a feather, falling right after Tyranitar and failing after her as well.
"Alta..."
The referee looked over to see that both Pokemon had fainted. However only one fainted first. And that was Tyranitar.
"Tyranitar is unable to battle! Altaria wins! Which means the victor is Rainbow Dash!"
After an aggressive match, it had finally come to an end. And the crowd's roaring cheers made it clear that this match was the most heart-pounding one yet.
"Alright!" Rainbow Dash raised both her hooves up in the air. "Altaria! You rocked!" She picked up her fluffy friend, feeling proud of her for holding her own.
"Ria..." Altaria looked up at Rainbow Dash, giving her trainer a nice warm hug thanks to her soft wings.
"Ugh. Bummer." Limestone turned her head, scoffing. "Tyranitar. Good job anyway. You came super close." Limestone held out her Poke Ball.
"Tyran." Tyranitar got up, picking up her trainer out of compassion. Like Altaria, the Armor Pokemon had locked her trainer in a tight hug, keeping her there. "Ranitar!
"Ow! Okay! Knock it off Tyranitar!" Limestone growled, kicking her hooves about.
"Limestone!" Rainbow Dash called for her name. "That was a great battle!"
"Altaria."
"Hmph. Yeah well...You did great too. I could've won if Tyranitar didn't faint first." Limestone scoffed. Although, she wasn't wrong about that. Both Pokemon proved that they were capable of taking each other out, making them equals in a sense.
"Such great sportsmareship!" Pinkie Pie teared up. "You both did great!"
"Limestone's really improved fast ever since we gave her Tyranitar, huh?" Ash smiled.
"Pikachu!"
"I'm out of here. Got a farm to watch over after all." Limestone had already decided to leave the tournament. Not point in staying if she's out of it. "Good luck."
"Thanks!"
"Altaria!"
With that matchup done, a few more shall play out between four more ponies. And after that, it shall be Adagio's time to shine. Her opponent will be another pony from Canterlot.
"Ah! Out of snacks?!" Sonata gasped as she looked into her bucket of popcorn. "Urgh! I'll be right back."
"Don't buy too much. You already got some in my hair." Aria shook some popcorn out of her mane that was caused by Sonata's exciting movements.
Sonata stood up, eager to grab something else to eat as she left the roaring crowd. Heading out from the stadium, she looked at her hoof, giving it a slight scratch. "Eugh. Looks like my skin's falling off." She chuckled.
The snacks were located right near the waiting room featuring a variety of options that cater to both ponies and even Pokemon. Her choice of food was wavering towards popcorn once more but those cupcakes look promising as she was drooling with her face pressed on the glass where the food was being contained.
But for once, her attention was focused on food.
Instead, from the corner of her eye, she noticed her other sister. Her older sister. Much older than Aria. Adagio herself.
"Adagio?" Sonata removed her face from the glass, leaving a face-print there. "Adagio!" The young pony ran over to her older sister, grabbing her attention.
Adagio could recognize that voice from anywhere. She turned her head to spot her always excited and cheery younger sister approach her. "Hm? Sonata?"
"You're here too? Are you here to see the tournament with us?!" Sonata squeed. "I knew you'd come around eventually!" She placed her hoof around Adagio's neck whilst having a wide grin on her face.
"Ugh..." Adagio groaned, pushing Sonata back. "No. I'm taking part in this tournament."
"You are?" Sonata gasped. "Oh! That's great! I can't wait for your turn."
"Yeah sure." Adagio turned her head away from Sonata.
"But uh, the waiting room's right there silly. Where are you going?"
"I like spending time away from the ponies if you don't mind. Secluded areas are more of my taste at the moment. Keyword being 'moment.'.
"Oh... I never took you for that type. Say, if you're in this tournament, which Pokemon do you have? You still got that Kricke...Kri..." Sonata was struggling to remember Kricketot's name.
"Kricketot!" Speaking of Kricketot, out came the Cricket Pokemon from Adagio's mane, greeting Sonata.
"Ah, there it is! It's still so cute! Sonata gushed at the Bug-Type.
"Tot!" Kricketot hopped from Adagio's mane and into Sonata's instead. It wasn't as fluffy and huge as Adagio's but it was smooth instead.
One thing that travelled through Sonata's ears was the very familiar song that she and her sisters sang once during their time in the other world parallel to this. Kricketot still kept that device from BIG.Co. That song's been playing on repeat constantly since it's a song that Adagio forgot.
"I remember this song! This sure does bring back memories!" Sonata moved her head from left to right, jamming along with Kricketot. Both of them were really feeling it.
Adagio face-hoofed herself, annoyed that these two were getting along so well. But it also made her a bit happy since she was spending time with somepony that she really cared for along with a Pokemon that she somewhat tolerates.
Kricketot over the past few weeks has slowly started to gain affection from Adagio. It's not much but it's there.
"Don't you have a tournament to keep on watching?" Adagio asked.
"Oh, right! But are you really gonna battle with something this cute?" Sonata looked up at the Cricket Pokemon.
"Of course not. I've got a stronger Pokemon at my disposal. Just watch. This tournament is mine."
"Okay. Whatever you say. Sorry, little guy. Gotta go now." Sonata said her goodbye to the Cricket Pokemon.
"Krick!" Kricketot gave Sonata a pat on the head before hopping back into Adagio's oversized hair.
"But uh, Adagio. When are you gonna come and stay with us in Ponyville?"
Words that Adagio didn't wish to hear. She didn't want to associate herself with Ponyville or anything related to friendship in any way possible. Thus, she didn't answer Sonata's question. But she did say these final words before leaving. "Tell Aria to cheer me on as well."
"A-Alright. I will!" Sonata waved goodbye to Adagio who just simply walked away, not looking back. The young pony felt a bit down that Adagio was still being distant from her. But it wasn't so bad, according to Sonata. She did get to spend some time with her older sister after so long and listen to some sweet nostalgic tunes. She continued her food hunt before heading back to the tournament.
The 1st week of the Canterlot tournament nears its end with the first round matchups passing by with time. Some battles take longer than others while some only last around 2 or 3 minutes. The test to see how far the ponies have come in skill proceeds as the journey continues.
Chapter 226 End.