Stand by You Part 4 of 4

Chapter 79: James' Battling Blues

James stood nervously across the area from his opponent with a single Pokeball in his hand.

"I suppose this could be worse", he thought to himself. "I could be facing Ash right now....but no...I have another day before I have to worry about that.....or at I hope I do...I think".

Ash had defeated Iris in a close match between her Dragonite and his Noivern. Despite the tension of the situation, the two were able to quickly make up after their heated battle and now joined their friends in the spectator's box. The winner of this match would determine who would get to face off with Ash tomorrow, during the last day of the tournament. The winner of that match will win the trophy and title of the Indigo League Champion.

"James doesn't look too good out there", Rumika commented. "He looks like he is about to faint".

"He shouldn't be feelin' sick now! Dis is one of most important battles he's ever been in, and he just had a whole two hours to recover from his battle with dat A.J. twerp", said Meowth.

"And besides, we all know that it is the Pokémon doing all the work out there", Lucy added.

"The battle between trainers Cilan and James is about to commence. Cilan, have you decided your Pokémon?" the judge asked.

"Yes. I choose you, Abomasnow!" Cilan declared as he tossed up his Pokeball.

"Then I choose you, Growly!" James announced, releasing his Arcanine.

"This is good. Abomasnow is weak to fire types", said Mondo. "Growly is the perfect opponent for an ice type like that".

"Come on James! Do it for us!" Jessie called. "Show that latte drinking green-top how far you've come!

James spotted her in the audience and waved. She waved back. He didn't notice Cilan launch the first attack.

"Pay attention!" Meowth, Rumika, and Lucy yelled together as a giant ball of ice almost hit Growly. Luckily, Growly had his head in the game and managed to jump out of the way in time to avoid it.

"Right. Growly, flamethrower!" James commanded.

"Arrrrrrrccc!" the Pokémon roared as it unleashed its powerful flame attack.

"Move out of there and keep throwing iceballs", Cilan instructed.

Abomasnow did as he was told, and produced a shield of ice to held block some of the flames.

"I don't know what he was thinking, using Abomasnow. That Pokémon has a lot of weaknesses", said Iris.

"Ew, Axew", said Axew.

"Yeah, you're right. He did spend a lot of time training with him", Iris responded.

"And sometimes type advantages and disadvantages don't really mean much in a battle", said Drew. "It really comes down to the skill of the trainer and the strength of the Pokémon".

"Growly, double team then tackle!" James shouted.

"Don't stop firing until you hit the real one. Aim for all of them", Cilan suggested.

"Sssnnnooooowww!" the Pokémon yelled as it threw heavy chunks of ice at its opponent.

"Dodge them. They are too heavy. If they hit you, it will hurt", James told his Pokémon. "Dodge them no matter what".

"He and that Arcanine sure are in sync", Cilan thought to himself. "If only Abomasnow could trust me the way Growly trusts James, we would be an unstoppable team!"