The crowd erupted into cheers, as Ellie, Lucas and Harry finally found their seats, just in time for the grand beginning ceremony. A touch of the mic roared over the stadium, then the announcer's cheery voice shouted,
"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Hoenn Elite League! Here we will be seeing the best of Hoenn's trainers go up against each other, all in the efforts to face the Elite Four, and the Champion. And, speaking of the champion, I have him right here commentating with me."
"Wait, the Champion is up there with him?", Ellie asked in pure shock that the Champion would be here for an event like this. Lucas and Harry were eagerly awaiting the voice of the Champion to beckon through the arena, but first, the announcer called out,
"Ladies and gentlemen, make some noise for the Hoenn Champion of five years, Wally!"
The crowd erupted into cheer, Lucas and Harry joining in with the cheers. Ellie even whistled and clapped, something she hadn't anticipated she would do, but she was so caught up in the atmosphere that she didn't care. Wally's face could be seen from the commentator's booth just behind the VIP stand, and he seemed so unprepared for the massive uproar he caused with just his sheer presence.
"That will never be strange to me.", Wally murmured through the mic, "But, its always nice to hear you all cheer for me. So, who's ready to watch these fights?"
The crowd once again roared and the commentator quickly responded,
"Well, I certainly am! So, can you give us a rundown of the matches that will play out?"
"Of course I can. Now, all of these matches will be fought using three Pokemon, and on a rocky battlefield. Now, for the fighters, the first match will between gym leader and an unfamiliar face to most, but a good friend who filled in an empty slot. Your first match will be Wallace vs Zinnia!"
Wallace and Zinnia's faces both showed up on the screen, and the crowd was completely gobsmacked that Zinnia would appear in the tournament. Lucas and Harry were included in this group, but it seemed that Ellie had no idea who Zinnia even was.
"Um, who is that person?", she said, pointing to Zinnia. Lucas looked around with shock and asked,
"Really, no idea who Zinnia is?"
"No, sorry."
"Well, she summoned Rayquaza during the Team Magma and Aqua Crisis a few years ago. You remember that, right?"
"Yeah of course, and she's the one who's battling today."
"Yeah, she must be strong.", Harry added.
"Guess there's only one way to find out to find out.", Lucas said as he turned his eyes to the battlefield, and saw the two contestants walking out of their respective areas. Zinnia looked completely out of place in the stadium, with her ragged cape, and a strange band that wrapped around her leg three times. It appeared to have some sort of strange stone at the end of it, that radiated energy just from being there. None of them knew what it was just yet though, and waited to see if it had any impact on the battle.
Meanwhile, Wallace walked out, dressed in much more lavish clothing than Zinnia. White trousers, purple and turquoise top, and turquoise hair. She walked much more stylishly than Zinnia did, who walked wildly as closer to an animal than a human.
"You could not put two more opposite trainers against each other, huh?", Harry added as he watched them approach the platforms and get ready to battle.
"Yeah, they're like night and day.", Ellie said, "Let's just hope they bring that opposite energy to the battle."
Now, Wally's voice thundered around the stadium once again, shouting to the audience,
"Now, lets get excited for this battle!"
The crowd went wild once again, with the referee stepping up to the rocky battlefield, touching their mic and declaring,
"This match will be three on three. Substitutions are allowed and whoever's Pokemon is last standing will win! Now, choose your first Pokemon!"
"Tyrantrum, let's show them our power!, Zinnia shouted as she tossed her Pokeball, then a giant dinosaur popped out of the Pokeball roaring loudly. Lucas hadn't seen such an imposing Pokemon before, and instantly took out the Pokedex and scanned the Pokemon.
Tyrantrum, The Despot Pokemon.
A single bite of Tyrantrum's massive jaws will demolish a car. This Pokémon was the king of the ancient world.
"King of the ancient world? Guess being in an ancient tribe will make you seek the strongest from ancient times.", Lucas thought as he looked through the Pokedex entry, then back at the battle at hand.
"Go, Ludicolo!", Wallace shouted as she twisted and threw out an Aqua Ball, popping open and revealing the Ludicolo contained inside. Now, this was a Pokemon that Lucas was familiar with. A classic Pokemon for the annual Ever Grande Conference, and a staple of Wallace's team.
"Ludicolo should have the advantage here. Ludicolo is resistant to both Rock and Dragon.", Ellie commented as she watched the Pokemon get ready to battle, and Harry responded,
"You're right. But, I'd bet that Tyrantrum's jaws and strength are gonna hurt regardless of what type you are."
Either way, they were all invested in the match, even before an attack had been thrown. Then, the referee raised the flags and struck down, yelling,
"Battle, begin!"
"Ludicolo, get dancing with Rain Dance!", Wallace yelled out as her first command, and Ludicolo started to dance all over the battlefield, creating clouds of rain above the battlefield. The rocky battlefield suddenly became much more slippy from the rain, but Ludicolo seemed to be doing just fine in the rain, slipping and sliding around the battlefield.
"Tyrantrum, Stone Edge!"
Tryrantrum roared and swung up its tail, striking down onto the earth. Spikes of stone emerged from the ground, heading straight towards where Ludicolo was. But, all Ludicolo had to do was simply slip away, suddenly gaining an increase in speed.
"It's moving so quickly. That Stone Edge has no chance of hitting!", Lucas exclaimed as Ludicolo made a fool of Tyrantrum just by moving so elegantly around it. Then, a familiar voice appeared from behind the trio,
"Swift Swim. Doubles a Pokemon speed in rain. Quite smart, really."
"Seijo!", Lucas exclaimed as he looked behind, "You got done with those fans pretty quickly, I'm assuming."
"Yeah, didn't take a while.", Seijo said as he glanced over to Harry, "And, I see you brought someone with you."
"Sorry, if it caused you any bother.", Harry said with an awkward smile. Seijo just simply smiled and responded,
"There's no problem, as long as you're enjoying the match. Speaking of, things look like they're heating up on the battlefield."
Lucas turned around to find Ludicolo jumping from the final Stone Edge, Tyrantrum being simply unable to sustain the attack for long. Then, Wallace called out to Ludicolo,
"Hydro Pump, lets go!"
Ludicolo spun as it unleashed heavy streams of water from its hands, directed towards the giant dinosaur. Tyrantrum groaned in pain as it struck its torso, eventually Ludicolo stopping the attack and dancing back to centre field. Zinnia saw that Tyrantrum wasn't going to do great against Ludicolo, with their difference in speed, and knew that she'd need something to even it up.
"Tyrantrum, return!"
The dinosaur turned around as it was sucked back into the Pokeball, and Zinnia made her next choice for her Pokemon. She held two Pokeballs in her hand, looking at each then finally making her decision. She put one Pokeball into her pocket and yelled,
"Goodra, time to battle!"
Zinnia tossed the Pokeball out, and Goodra popped out, taking firm footing in the rain and making a loud cry. Ellie scanned it this time, with Lucas peering over her shoulder to read whatever it said.
Goodra, The Dragon Pokemon.
Sometimes it misunderstands instructions and appears dazed or bewildered. Many Trainers don't mind, finding this behaviour to be adorable.
It did look adorable, but it had to be a good battler as well if it was needed on Zinnia's team. And, as Ellie scrolled down further, she found one of its special abilities to work in the rain.
"Maybe that's why she brought it out.", Ellie thought as her eyes glanced from the rain clouds raining down to the two combatants below. The referee called for the fight to continue and Zinnia made the first move,
"Goodra, Dragon Pulse!"
Goodra let off a beam of purple energy, with a head at the end that snapped its way through the air. Then, Wallace quickly retaliated with an attack of their own,
"Ludicolo, Hydro Pump!"
Ludicolo shot water out of its hands towards the Dragon Pulse, but the Dragon Pulse ate away at the Hydro Pump with relative ease and Ludicolo found itself getting struck with a powerful Dragon Pulse. It fell to the rocks around but got back up without much worry. Ludicolo then started slipping around, ready for the next command from Wallace,
"Ludicolo, Ice Beam!"
Ludicolo took some of the rain from in the air and it froze into a long beam of ice, that propelled through the air at amazing speed. It slammed into Goodra's torso, causing it to fall to the rocks from its sheer power of it. Especially with the type disadvantage, it felt like a million icy daggers. And, Goodra felt the space around its body freeze up as the ice solidified and froze Goodra solid. It was unable to move and Ludicolo immediately pressed on for another attack, Wallace commanding,
"Charge up Solar Beam, Ludicolo!"
Ludicolo charged sunlight through the rainclouds, while the rain dripped through the block of ice, coming into contact with Goodra's skin. The water that came into contact with Goodra's skin reacted with the goo and melted away the ice. Goodra was now well again and Zinnia called out,
"Now, Thunder while the rain is still out!"
Wallace immediately feared the attack and yelled,
"Just release the Solar Beam, now!"
Ludicolo tipped its hat and fired a powerful beam towards Goodra, while a dangerous thundercloud formed above Ludicolo. The Thunder struck down on Ludicolo with devastating accuracy, as the Solar Beam drove Goodra to the rocks. Ludicolo fainted on impact with the Thunder, while Goodra got up from the Solar Beam. Zinnia thought Goodra would be okay, but as soon as it took one step, it fell to one knee and fainted.
"Goodra! Ludicolo! Both are unable to battle!"
The audience cheered after an incredible first round of fighting, with both trainers and Pokemon really giving it their all. Zinnia and Wallace returned their Pokemon back to their Pokeballs, giving their thanks and selecting their next Pokemon.
"Tyrantrum, come back out!"
"Crawdaunt, lets do this!"
The two Pokemon hopped out of the Pokeball's, Crawdaunt rapidly closing its pincers and Tyrantrum letting out a mighty roar. They were both ready to battle, and the audience waited with intense anticipation.