Your Tragic Smile: Gladion x Reader

29 - Second to Last Battle, Sun Versus Gladion!

In my head, I chanted encougingly for both. I could bear to choose one or the other, so why not cheer for both?

"Battle me, I won't take no for an answer." Gladion calls across the battle platform.

Sun rolls his eyes, "How lame. I'm gonna win, and then you won't have my sister!"

Wow. That got a little too personal, for a simple pokemon battle tournament, but whatever, I'm not complaining, even though I'm the sister in question. It'll be quite amusing to see them fight over me, though it's changed my perspective a bit.

I want Gladion to win.

Sun decides to attack first, "Yungoos, start by using Tackle!"

"Umbreon, dodge it with Quick Attack." Gladion commands.

The battle goes on like this, but soon Gladion's Umbreon lands a Dark Pulse, bringing my brother Yungoos down to almost zero. But Sun isn't finished, he's not one to give up at all.

"Last Resort!"

"Woa! Last Resort is an attack that can only be used when all other moves have been attempted in the battle, and it's extremely powerful!" The announcers shouts.

It hits Umbreon, who stumbles backward from the impact, and unfortunately faints.

"And that's Gladion's first Pokémon down, folks!"

I grit my teeth and furrow my eyebrows, following Gladion every movement, wondering what his next step in action will be.

He returns his Umbreon silently, then throws out Crobat, "Attack while the opponent is weak! Go, Crobat, and use Astonish!"

"The attack, while not that impressive nor strong, was just enough for Yungoos to faint." Says the announcer, who continues enthusiastically, "Now, Sun has only one Pokémon left, and Gladion still has two!"

"You can do this, Litten!" Sun exclaims, and tosses out his fire type starter. "Use Ember!"

"The move hits Crobat, but it's still standing with just over half of its health!" The announcer says.

'You can do this, Gladion!' I think to myself, intently focusing on the television screen.

"Crobat, Poison Fang." Gladion commands, not letting any frustration show.

Sun quickly responds with, "Dodge, and use Ember again, Litten!"

The announcer says, "The Ember hits Crobat, who faints, and Gladion brings out his next Pokémon, Lycanrock! It's one-on-one, folks! The tension is quickly rising between the two trainers!"

"Lycanrock, show us your crimson glare." Gladion growls as she reluctantly tosses out his last Pokémon, midnight form Lycanrock. "Use Stone Edge."

"Wow! Gladion lands an impressive super effective move, and Litten is struggling to stand up again!" Shouts the announcer. It's true. Sun's Litten is twitching as it shakily returns to its feet, hissing like the cat it is at heart.

My brother can tell he's backed up to a corner, but he's got guts, as I said, and isn't one to usually give up easily, ever. Sun is frowning, deep in thought, but I can tell he's frantically trying to come up with a way to get him out of this tricky situation. "Litten," Sun says, determined, "I..." he doesn't finish, as his red and black striped cat turns its head to look back at him, then begins to glow a familiar blue.

Everyone in the crowd witnessing, including me watching from tv, gasp in utter surprise as Sun's Litten enlarges before our eyes, evolving into a Torracat.

The announcer goes absolutely berserk, and screeches into his microphone with passion and fiery energy, "Sun's Torracat has evolved!! How will this turn the events?!"

Sun's eyes are wide, then he suddenly grins, "We've got this! Use a Flamethrower with all that you've got!"

Gladion's reaction is hardly noticeable, but you can just tell that he's slightly worried, but not yet defeated.

The flame shot from the fire cat's open mouth engulfed Gladion's Lycanrock, leaving the audience stunned by the powerful move. After the fire and dust fades away, you can see Lycanrock, completely fine, as he was shielded behind one of his previous rocks he'd used in a Stone Edge earlier.

Gladion smirks, and shoots out a hand, "Good. Now, Rock Slide!"

Large stones harshly tumble down from thin air onto Torracat, leaving no room to evade the fatal attack. I hold my breath, eager for the results.

The camera focuses on Kahuna Hala, who declares, "Sun's last Pokémon is down, meaning Gladion is the winner!"

Sun's panic-stricken face and tight fists tell me I may have to deal with him later, but for now, I jump up violently in my chair and cheer, pumping my fists in the air.

Wait.

My arms drop to my sides, and horror fills my stomach. I would have to face Gladion in a battle now, and give it my all. How will I do this without... I don't know, offending Gladion? No, this is just another Pokémon battle, I should stop overthinking it.

But as my name is called up for the final round, the round that will decide the tournament's winner, I can't help with swallow back guilt and dread as I cautiously step out of my tent, Pokeballs in hand.

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Word count: 1446 words