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-Your POV-
Yawning, I wake with the Alolan sun streaming down between the slightly parted (f/c) curtains. I shove off the bed covers and (favorite Pokemon) plushies that are scattered around the small room. I quickly put on my outfit for today, excited for the second, and last, round of the Full Power Tournament. Two battles left.
I open the door and sit down on a bar stool at the counter, where Gladion is making breakfast. "Good morning!" I chirp happily.
He nods in response, avoiding eye contact.
"Something wrong?" I tilt my head and frown.
"Well, if I win my battle against your brother, Sun, then my next battle will be against you." He mumbles, looking away as he pops several golden waffles out of the toaster.
"Aw, you worried about beating me? I won't make it that easy." I tease with a grin.
"Tch." He scoffs.
"Wow, haven't heard that in a while," I laugh. "But, you should be looking forward to it!" I assure him.
"But-"
"But what? That amulet thingy?" I interrupt. "Just think of me as a rival you have to beat, right after Sun, of course. And you have your catchphrase, 'I won't take no for an answer.' Right?"
He shrugs and hands me a plate stacked high with steaming waffles, drizzled with shimmering Combee honey. "Sure, it's fine to enjoy battling..." Gladion sighs, "But that brat, Sun, he should just give it up already. You know he can't beat me. He'll just get his weak Pokémon hurt for no reason."
"I don't know what to say. While my brother isn't the most experienced trainer, he's not exactly weak. But I have full confidence that you'll win." I give him a closed-eyed smile, and his gaze subtly softens. Gladion sits down on the stool next to me and begins to eat his plate of waffles, and I start to eat as well. "Oh wow! This is sooo good, Gladion!"
"What do you mean, I didn't even do much." Gladion says as he puts a forkful in his mouth.
"Well, it's better than what I can make, only a bit of curry!" I sweat drop but smile in satisfaction as I take another bite, savoring the waffles taste. "Alolan food is the absolute best! No, your food is the best! I wish I could eat it forever."
Gladion's face begins to redden, and I blink, then cringe.
"Ah, that sounded a little weird didn't it. My bad, my bad." I laugh awkwardly.
"No, it's fine," Gladion grumbles and stands to put his now empty plate in the sink, "Grab your stuff, we're going."
"Alright," I say, returning my cheerful expression.
"Good, then let's go."
*Time Skip*
"The final round has begun!" Hala announced, his arms wide as if he were a Bewear about to hug its victim. "The first match is Sun against Gladion!"
Cheers rose through the crowd as the Alolan sun beat down on everyone's backs. I wove through the crowd, grinning in anticipation as I slip into my tent and quickly click on the television in time to see my brother, Sun, and Gladion step into place, both with determined frowns on their faces as they gripped their Pokeballs in wait while Hala explained the rules once more.
"Battle, start!" Hala shouts, and the two boys whip into action, throwing out their first Pokemon.
The announcer explains the first pokemon, which is: "Gladion's first pokemon is an Umbreon! And Sun's first Pokemon is a Yungoos, who he must've caught after his last battle, which was very close. Who will win? Keep watching to find out!"
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