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-Your POV-
I slowly walk up the stairs, and then step into place. I look across the large wooden platform and see a beaming Hau. Hau chose Rowlet, right? So that means I should choose...
Hau tosses out his pokemon first, "Go! Dartrix!"
"I won't lose!" I grit my teeth.
"All right! This is gonna be great!" Hau smiles, appearing carefree, "And my Rowlet evolved into Dartix too!"
"Nice, but wait till you see this!" I raise my arm and throw one of the Pokemon balls out.
The bubbly blue seal pops out, "Poplio!"
"Y-you chose a water type to battle me?" Hau stutters, confused.
"Yep," I nod, confident in my Poplio's skills.
Hala looks between Hau and me, and loudly announces, "Battle, begin!"
Hau attacks first, "Dartrix, use Magical Leaf!"
"Wow! The super-effective attack connects and deals massive damage on (Y/N)'s Poplio, a water type, but Poplio withstands the hit!!" The announcer cries into his microphone.
"Now it's my turn," I smirk, "Use Soak, Poplio!"
Hau's owl is drenched in a load of water from Poplio. The announcer blinks, "Hold up for a moment, folks! The move Soak, while doesn't harm the foe, changes the opponent's type to Water!"
Hau frowns, "Well, I can still attack using grass moves. Use Magical Leaf again!"
The dozens of glowing leaves smash into Poplio, who collapses after the second super-effective attack.
"Oh no! (Y/N)'s first pokemon has fainted!" The announcer shouts.
I throw out my second Pokemon, "Here we go! Now, my Galar Champion Leafeon!" The leaf fox pops out of its Pokeball and takes a battle stance, "Use Razor Leaf!"
Leafeon pounces on Hau's Dartix without any hesitation and slashes using her leaf-like features.
"(Y/N)'s tactic is revealed! After using Soak, a grass-type move will be super effective against Hau's Dartix. Dartix is struggling to stand! What will Hau do?" The announcer says.
"Dartix!" Hau frantically calls out to his Pokemon, who is twitching as it shakily stands.
"Leafeon, use Iron Tail to smack it down," I command, and Leafeon does just as I said.
"How ruthless! (Y/N) shows no mercy!" The announcer screams, "And that's it! Dartix is down!"
Hala puts a hand up, "The winner of this match is (Y/N)!" The crowd goes absolutely silent, then cheers so loud, I cover my ears. Another disadvantage that I made use of. I've made it to the second round!
*Time Skip*
I get comfortable in my folding chair again, then click on the tv, which turns on to the next battle. Hala declares, "Round one, battle three! Gladion versus... what's this?"
The announcer whispers something into Hala's ear on tiptoes, and Hala nods in response.
"While Gladion's opponent was going to be a Team Skull grunt, the contestant has been replaced by Guzma, the leader of Team Skull!"
I jump violently from my chair as the slumped figure of a white-haired man walks onto the screen. Guzma's face drips with venom as he steps up to his place across from Gladion.
Guzma calls over to Gladion, "This is revenge for leaving, kid!" He tosses out his Golosipod, known as his ace Pokémon. "I only brought this one, it ain't gonna take more to beat back a nuisance like you!"
My fists are tightly clenched. I want to punch the screen with Guzma's face on it, then march out of there to punch his real face, but I restrain myself and reluctantly sit back down, teeth grinding together.
Hala outstretched his arms and declared, "Now, Gladion versus Guzma! The battle may begin!"
"Battle me." Gladion snarls, "I won't take no for an answer." He tosses out an Ultra Ball, which reveals his Umbreon.
"Alright," Guzma grumbles, "You go first."
"With pleasure. Umbreon, use Night Slash."
Umbreon diligently leaps forward, paws outstretched, ready to strike. It never gets the chance.
Guzma calls out to the Golisopod, "Dodge it and use an Aqua Jet."
"The powerful blast of water slams into Umbreon, dealing some massive damage!" The announcer screams into his mic, overly enthusiastic.
"Umbreon, Dark Pulse."
The blackish-purple waves of pure darkness slam into Golisopod without a hitch.
Guzma frowns, "Use X-scissor!"
The powerful bug-type move slashes Umbreon, quickly bringing its health to a dreaded zero. Gladion's glare intensifies, as one of his three Pokemon is unfortunately already knocked out. Gladion silently returns his Umbreon, then tosses out his Crobat. "What a shame. Go, Crobat."
"Gladion's next Pokemon is a Crobat! Without a sound, Crobat flies swiftly toward its prey and sinks its fangs into the nape of its target's neck, or so the rumor has it. This Pokemon is not something to take lightly! What will the outcome be?" The announcer says.
"Crobat, use Poison Fang!" Gladion says, gripping his wrist tightly.
Crobat swiftly and silently soars towards Guzma's Golisopod, but before to can make it about five feet from the armored Pokemon, Guzmas shoots out a hand, "Rock Tomb!"
Rocks appear from the open air and slam down on the battleground, causing dust to rise in the air, clouding the vision of the camera.
I frown. What happened?
The announcer's voice can be heard from the television, saying, "That Rock-type move was super effective to his Crobat, Gladion's in real trouble!"
It was true. As the dust cleared, all that could be seen was Gladion returning his Crobat and bringing out his last Pokemon. His best Pokemon, a midnight form Lycanroc. The same Lycanrock that saved me all those days ago when I first met Gladion, and he warded away some Team Skull grunts.
"Down to yer last one, eh? What'd I tell ya?" Guzma chuckles menacingly to himself, but I don't lose hope.
Gladion harshly throws his Pokeball in the air, "Lycanroc, show us your crimson glare. Let's go!"
I giggle to myself. Is this what Lillie had meant by catchphrases they made up as children? Speaking of Lillie... I wonder if she arrived yet. She probably did, and was in the crowd watching the battle between her older brother and the leader of Team Skull.
-Gladion's POV-
I look down at my Lycanroc, who stands ready for battle. It's my turn to attack now, and I'm down to my last Pokemon. I have to play this out well, or I'm doomed. "Stone Edge. Now." I command to my Pokemon, who swiftly follows my orders, landing a powerful hit on my opponent.
Ignoring the announcer's narration, I see Guzma as he tells Golisopod to attack. "Use Cut!"
I don't give him a second to watch the attacks effet the battle. "Lycanrock, dodge immediately and use Counter."
Lycanroc evades the attack and lands a punch in the opposing Pokemon's gut; my glare matching the one of my midnight form Lycanroc.
I catch a glimpse of my sister in the crowd and flinch. I often find it difficult to battle with my sister watching me, as when we were younger, she told me that I was slightly scary when battling. I slowly inhale to steady myself. It didn't matter what Lillie thought of me at the moment. My main focus was defeating my current foe.
Guzma scoffs, "Golisopod, use Take Down."
Golisopod slams itself into my Pokemon, dealing plenty of damage to both my Pokemon and itself.
I hold up my wrist, showing of my Z-ring, then begin to chant, using my Z-move motions, "Ha! The blue moon Z-power washes over us and the crumbling world then seals it up! Now! Get ready! Use Continental Crush!" Light flows between my Pokemon and me, causing the crowd to gasp.
Lycanroc summons chunks of dirt and rock to form a massive cluster above it's head, big enough to be seen above the tree tops, then mercilessly slams it down on Guzma's Golisopod. There was no chance of it surviving a hit like that.
I had won!
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Word count: 1327 words