Cinderella could hardly contain her excitement and nervousness as she waited at the entrance of the Pokémon battle arena. She and her Pokémon had the blue corner for their spot. They could hear the announcer talking outside to announce the beginning of the finals.
Her Pokémon had finished their warmups and meditation. Ariel and Bella were waiting while Rex and Mikey continued to warm up. Rose was standing at her side, fidgeting a lot. She looked to be very nervous. This was going to be her first battle in the Pokémon League, but she still wasn't used to offensive combat. Valiant noticed this.
"Are you nervous, Rose?" he asked.
Rose nodded. "A little..."
"It's alright." said Valiant, "I felt the same way before my first Pokémon League battle."
"Really?" said Rose, surprised, "Did you win?"
Valiant chuckled. "Of course not. That was many years ago when I was a Riolu. I've come a long way since then."
Just then, they heard the announcer. "NOW, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, HERE ARE OUR FINALISTS! IN THE BLUE CORNER, SHE'S BEAUTIFUL, MYSTERIOUS, AND UNSTOPPABLE! OUR FIRST FEMALE FINALIST EVER, IT'S THE MASKED MAIDEN!"
The crowd cheered as Cinderella stepped out into the arena of the Colosseum. Rose and Valiant stood by her sides as Ariel, Rex, Mikey, and Bella walked in behind them. Cinderella felt her heart beating faster as she started to get a little nervous. Valiant comforted her with a paw on her shoulder and a smile.
"AND IN THE RED CORNER, HE'S A MASTER OF POKÉMON AND THE BATTLEFIELD, OUR UNDEFEATED CHAMPION OF FOUR YEARS! THE CROWN PRINCE HIMSELF, IT'S HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS, PRINCE PHILIP!"
The crowd cheered again as a young man in a royal black uniform and capette came out from the entrance of the red corner. At his side, he had an Umbreon with the blue riband of the Order of the Aurum. Behind him, a Sceptile, an Escavalier, a Gallade, a shiny Rapidash, and a shiny Dragonite walked behind with the same ribands.
Then Cinderella saw her opponent's face and her heart fluttered.
Standing in the red corner was her friend, Philip.
That Philip? That handsome, kind man she had been meeting with all these years was the prince?
She looked into Philip's eyes across the field. He looked to be just as surprised to see her. As the Masked Maiden, that was. Cinderella was very pleased about the truth behind her friend's identity, but at the same time, she was nervous. She was going to have to defeat him to win, and his Pokémon were strong and well-trained.
"WILL THE MASK MAIDEN BECOME OUR FIRST FEMALE CHAMPION EVER?" called the announcer, "OR WILL OUR CROWN PRINCE BE ABLE TO DEFEND HIS TITLE FOR THE FIFTH YEAR IN A ROW? THERE'S ONLY ONE WAY TO FIND OUT, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! TRAINERS, SHAKE HANDS!"
Cinderella and Philip walked up to each other. She held out her hand. Normally, the opposing trainers would shake hands before a match. When Philip took her hand though, he brought it to his lips and kissed the back of her hand. This caused a stir within the audience.
Cinderella felt her cheeks blush. She was used to be greeted with a kiss on the hand, but this one was different. Her heart was pounding in her chest, almost like it was ready to burst. But at the same time, she felt warm and happy inside. Something that didn't happen when other men greeted her this way.
It took a moment for Cinderella to find her voice.
"Your Pokémon look well-trained and cared for, Your Highness," she said, "I wish you the best of luck in our battle."
"Thank you, my Lady," said Philip, "I am honored by your kindness and praise. I also wish you the best of luck."
With their little "handshake" done, Cinderella and Philip returned to their sides of the arena.
"SEND OUT THE FIRST POKÉMON!"
"Go, Drake!" Philip called.
"Let's go, Absol!" Cinderella called.
Mikey and Drake the Sceptile stepped forward onto the field. Cinderella could tell that Drake had been trained well. He had bright green scales and leaves, clear eyes, well-toned muscles, and sharp claws. The two Pokémon nodded to each other in respect.
"LET THE BATTLE BEGIN!"
Philip made the first move. "X-Scissor! Now!"
Drake's arms glowed a light blue as he crossed his arms.
"Absol, Double Team!" Cinderella called.
At once, Mikey charged forward and a hundred copies of him appeared. They all gathered in a chain and ran in a circle around Drake. Philip and his Pokémon stared in surprise.
The announcer continued to commentate on the battle with his megaphone and Loudred.
"MY, MY! PRINCE PHILIP'S SCEPTILE IS TRYING TO USE A BUG-TYPE MOVE ON A DARK-TYPE AND THERE ARE TOO MANY TARGETS ON THE FIELD! THE MASKED MAIDEN AND HER ABSOL ARE NOT GIVING THEM AN INCH! HOW WILL HIS MAJESTY HANDLE THIS?"
"Drake, you have to concentrate!" Philip called, "Don't attack until you find the real one!"
"Absol, use Ice Beam!" called Cinderella.
In sync, Mikey and all the Double Team copies turned at Drake and fired two dozen beams of freezing wind at Drake.
"Quick!" yelled Philip, "Block them!"
Drake worked as fast as he could, deflecting the beams of ice with his X-Scissor attack.
"OHH, LOOK AT THAT! THIS ABSOL KNOWS AN ICE-TYPE MOVE! SCEPTILE'S GOING TO BE IN BIG TROUBLE IF IT DOESN'T FIND THE REAL POKÉMON! ALL THOSE ABSOL ARE ATTACKING SCEPTILE LIKE IT'S A WILD HORDE! IT'S FIGHTING MAD KEEPING THOSE BEAMS AT BAY, SWINGING WILDLY- OOO! A DIRECT HIT FROM ABSOL AND NOW ONE OF SCEPTILE'S ARMS IS FROZEN SOLID! THAT WAS SUPER-EFFECTIVE, BUT SCEPTILE'S STILL HOLDING STRONG!"
"Absol, use Night Slash!" Cinderella called.
"Keep moving and use Leaf Storm!" Philip called to Drake.
Mikey's claws seeped a purple mist as he ran at Drake. At the same time, Drake's tail unleashed a gust of leaves all around him. The gale of leaves blew at all the Double Team copies and knocked the real Mikey back a little bit.
"SCEPTILE'S LEAF STORM HAS ENDED ABSOL'S DOUBLE TEAM! IT'S GETTING BATTERED OUT THERE! NO ONE IN THIS MATCH IS GIVING ANYONE AN EDGE, BUT NO ONE'S GIVING IN EITHER!"
"Absol, counter it with Razor Wind!" Cinderella called.
Mikey's head horn glowed white as he swung his head, sending out a white crescent blade of wind. The blade cut through the gale of leaves, neutralizing the Leaf Storm attack.
"Good job, Absol!" called Cinderella, "Now, Flamethrower!"
Letting out a battle cry, Mikey opened mouth and a stream of flames shot out at Drake.
"Hold out your arm and use Detect!" shouted Philip.
Drake's eyes glowed light blue. At the last second, Drake leapt up. The flames hit the arm that was frozen and it immediately thawed out. Cinderella and Mikey stared in disbelief.
"OH, LOOK AT THAT! SCEPTILE DODGED THE MOVE WITH DETECT BUT ALSO USED IT TO UNFREEZE ITS ARM! SMART THINKING ON HIS MAJESTY'S BEHALF! WHAT KIND OF DEVELOPMENTS CAN WE EXPECT TO SEE NEXT?"
"Good job, Drake!" said Philip, "Now use Leaf Blade!"
Now fully free to move, Drake's arm leaves glowed light green and form into two long blades. He then leapt into the air, aiming for Mikey.
"Absol, Ice Beam!" Cinderella cried.
Again, Mikey opened his mouth and fired another Ice Beam. Drake couldn't dodge or stop in midair. He was hit square in the chest by Mikey's Ice Beam. He flipped end over end as he crashed into the field.
"OOO, A BIG HIT! THAT DEALT SOME MASSIVE DAMAGE!"
"Drake!" gasped Philip, "Are you alright?"
Drake nodded, and within seconds was back on his feet. The two Pokémon leered at each other, digging their claws into the ground. It was now a showdown.
"Absol, Megahorn!"
"Drake, X-Scissor!"
Both Mikey's horn and Drake's arm leaves glowed and grew twice their size. The two let out battle cries as they charged at each other head-on.
"BOTH POKÉMON ARE CHARGING AT EACH OTHER WITH SUPER-EFFECTIVE MOVES! WHO'S GOING TO BE THE ONE TO STRIKE FIRST?"
There was an explosion of dust as the two Pokémon's attacks collided. Cinderella and Philip watched anxiously, wondering who was still standing. The cloud of dust cleared. Mikey was still standing all battered, but Drake was only up for a few seconds before he collapsed on the field, out cold.
"SCEPTILE IS UNABLE TO BATTLE! ABSOL'S THE WINNER!"
The audience cheered and applauded. A Bisharp and a Machoke carried Drake off the field and over to an awaiting Pokémon nurse and her Chansey. Philip patted him on the shoulder as they carried him by him.
"You gave it all you had, Drake." said Philip, "You take a good rest, now."
"SEND OUT THE NEXT POKÉMON!" called the announcer.
Philip ushered another Pokémon out. "Keven, let's go!"
Keven the Escavalier hovered forward and swung his lance-like arms. Cinderella was a little worried. She never fought against an Escavalier before, but she knew they were a Bug- and Steel-type Pokémon with strong physical attacks and endurance. Mikey stayed strong as he sized up his new opponent.
Philip moved first again. "Keven, use Sword Dance!"
Keven's lance arms glowed a light blue and he crossed them and performed a frenetic dance. As he did so, his body glowed red.
"ESCAVALIER HAS RAISED IT'S ATTACK GREATLY! HOW WILL THAT HELP HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS IN THIS HEATED BATTLE?"
"Absol, Perish Song!" called Cinderella.
Mikey vocalized a baritone pitch as crimson soundwaves raced from his mouth at Keven.
"What?!" gasped Philip.
"OH MY! ABSOL JUST USED PERISH SONG! THIS BATTLE IS GOING TO END VERY QUICKLY FOR BOTH POKÉMON! BUT WHO'S GOING TO STAND OUT LONGER THAN THE OTHER?"
"Absol, use Future Sight!" Cinderella cried.
Mikey concentrated as his horn and eyes glowed blue. Blue balls of psychic energy flew from his body and into the sky where three wormholes swallowed them. Just as quickly as they appeared, the wormholes disappeared.
Next to Cinderella's side, something in the red corner caught Rose's eye.
For some reason, Alex started bobbing his tail from side to side in a rhythm-like motion. It strangely reminded her of a swinging pendulum on a grandfather clock. She couldn't figure out what he was doing, and she didn't understand him. She decided to keep an eye on him for now.
"Alright, use Twineedle!" Philip shouted.
Keven's lances glow bright blue and he charged towards Mikey with them. One by one, the lances hit Mikey, knocking him back. Mikey was now very weak, struggling to his feet.
"Absol!" gasped Cinderella, "Can you still go on?!"
Despite the super-effective damage, Mikey forced himself to his feet. He let out a cry to show he was still willing to fight.
"A SUPER-EFFECTIVE HIT! ABSOL BARELY HOLDS ON!"
"Good, Absol! Way to hang in there!" said Cinderella, "Now Flamethrower!"
Mikey opened his mouth and fired a stream of flames at Keven.
"Charge into it and use Iron Head!" called Philip.
Keven's body became surrounded by a silver aura as he charged directly at the stream of fire. His body cut through the flames and he slammed into Mikey, who instantly recoiled in pain.
"Good," said Philip, "Finish it with Fell Stringer!"
One of Keven's lances glowed with a dark aura as he stabbed at Mikey. He was instantly knocked back and fell into the field. Keven's body glowed red as a stat of his suddenly rose. Mikey tried to get up, but couldn't move.
"ABSOL IS UNABLE TO BATTLE! ESCAVALIER IS THE WINNER!"
The crowd cheered as two Bisharp picked up Mikey and carried him off the field. Cinderella gently kissed Mikey and petted his fur. As she did, the audience let out a great gasp. Keven suddenly fell from the air and groaned in pain. He started to radiate with a dark aura. Then within seconds, he laid on the field, fainted.
"ESCAVALIER IS SUDDENLY UNABLE TO BATTLE! IT'S NOW A DRAW!"
Another Machoke came forward and carried Keven off the field. Philip gave Keven an approving nod.
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Up in the stepfamily's box, Patricia and her mother stared in bewilderment.
"What just happened?" asked Patricia.
"Of course." said Sabrina, "The Masked Maiden's plan was to take out Prince Philip's Escavalier with Perish Song. Being a Dark-type Pokémon against a Bug- and Steel-type, Absol couldn't overpower it with the moves it had, so the Masked Maiden had to sacrifice it to defeat Escavalier."
"What a waste..." said the Stepmother, "Taking out your own Pokémon to defeat another..."
***********************************************************************
"TRAINERS! SEND OUT THE NEXT POKÉMON!"
Charizard nuzzled Cinderella's hair, brimming with fighting spirit. She smiled.
"Go, Charizard!"
Rex flew out onto the field. He spread his wings and roared in a show of strength. Philip smiled.
"A Charizard, huh?" said Philip, "Two can play that game. Clair, go!"
The Dragonite flew forward. Both Pokémon smirked at each other. Both they and their trainers knew this was going to become a sky battle.
"WELL, NOW THIS IS MATCH, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! IT SEEMS THAT WE ARE GOING TO BE HAVING A SKY BATTLE IN THE COLOSSEUM TODAY! BOTH CORNERS STILL HAVE A CHANCE TO WIN THIS, BUT WE STILL CAN'T PREDICT THE OUTCOME OF THE BATTLE! WHO'S GOING TO TAKE THE TITLE AND THE GLORY?"
"Clair, Dragon Rush!"
"Charizard, Dragon Claw!"
With loud battle cries, the two Pokémon flew at each other. Rex's hands became surrounded in a light green, claw-shaped energy. Streams of a bright blue and shadowy aura formed around Clair, covering most of her body. Rex's claws made full contact with Clair as she slammed into him. There was an explosion of dust as the two attacks hit at the same time. The Pokémon recoiled back but continued their attack. The two continued to slug it out, but neither could land another blow.
All the while, Rose saw that Alex was still bobbing his tail, not paying attention to the battle. She was very curious about why he was doing that. In fact, he had been doing it right after...
And then, Rose understood.
She urgently pawed at Cinderella's dress. "Cinderella, Alex is timing the Future Sight! He's going to help Clair dodge it!"
"What?!" gasped Cinderella.
At that moment, Alex called to Philip. "Umbreon!" ("Philip! It's coming!")
Philip nodded and called up to Clair, "Heads up, Clair! Here it comes!"
"Charizard, Smokescreen! Now!" Cinderella cried.
Clair flew towards Rex as three wormholes appeared up in the sky. Rex quickly breathed out a thick cloud of smoke. Using the smoke as a veil, Rex seized Clair in his arms, attempting to hold her still.
However, Philip remained calm and called out, "Clair, Twister!"
Clair flapped her wings rapidly, kicking up a tornado of wind which blew the smoke away.
"HERE COMES THAT FUTURE SIGHT, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!" called the announcer.
Suddenly, several balls of psychic energy shot out from the wormholes. Rex and Clair wrestled in midair as they both tried to put the other in line of the attack. But neither could overpower the other and both Pokémon were hit by the Future Sight with an explosion of smoke. The audience gasped and screamed as the two crashed to the ground on their sides of the field.
"AND ABSOL'S FUTURE SIGHT HAS KNOCKED BOTH CHARIZARD AND DRAGONITE RIGHT OUT OF THE SKY! THAT IS A VERY UNFORTUNATE THING FOR BOTH POKÉMON!"
"Charizard! Are you okay?!" cried Cinderella.
Rex nodded with a chuff. "That was nothing..."
"You alright, Clair?" said Philip.
Clair replied with a nod.
With that, both Rex and Clair got up like they were never even hit. The everyone in the audience cheered as the two flew back into the air.
"THE TWO ARE BACK ON THEIR FEET AND IN THE AIR! WELL DONE TO BOTH TRAINERS AND THEIR POKÉMON! WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN NEXT?"
"Well, that didn't go quite as we planned." Philip said to himself, "Oh, well. No use crying over spilled milk. She's a pretty good trainer. I can see how she made it to the finals."
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Up in the stepfamily's box, Patricia and Sabrina were watching the battle in utter astonishment.
"Gosh, I thought for sure both Pokémon were down for sure," said Sabrina.
"They were lucky," said Patricia as she popped a lemon drop in her mouth.
The Pokémon were having their conversion.
"So the Prince's plan was to hit Charizard with Absol's own Future Sight," said Emerald, "The Masked Maiden somehow found that out and tried to stop it, but I guess they both got hit."
"I didn't know that moves like Twister could be used in defense." said Berry, "That's amazing."
"I bet Charizard's going to win." said Buttons.
"No, it's going to be Dragonite!" said Jewel.
***********************************************************************
The battle continued on the field.
"Clair, use Thunder Punch!" shouted Philip.
Clair's fist sparked with electricity before she charged for Rex. Cinderella remained calm.
"Dodge it and use Shadow Claw!" Cinderella called.
Just before Clair got to Rex, he nosedived out of danger. The evasive move caught her completely off-guard. A second later, Rex appeared directly behind her, his claws surrounded by a dark-purple claw-shaped aura.
"What?!" exclaimed Philip, "Clair, behind you!"
His warning came two seconds, too late. By the time Clair turned around, Rex hit her square in the chest with his Shadow Claw move. However, she swung out her fist and her Electric Punch hit Rex in the side. Both Pokémon tumbled backwards in the air but didn't fall again.
"OUCH! THAT'S GOT TO HURT!" said the Announcer, an obvious cringe in his tone of voice, "CHARIZARD'S SHADOW CLAW DID SOME MASSIVE DAMAGE, BUT DRAGONITE'S THUNDER PUNCH WAS SUPER-EFFECTIVE!"
By now, Rex was barely hanging on. He stubbornly glared back at Clair, filled with determination. Suddenly, Rex's body started to glow with an orange-yellow aura of fire. His eyes glowed red as he growled.
The crowd gasped and chattered in bewilderment. Even the announcer was surprised.
"WHAT? WHAT IS THIS, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN? SOMETHING SEEMS TO BE UP WITH THE MASKED MAIDEN'S CHARIZARD!"
"What's going on?" asked Cinderella.
"It's Charizard's ability, Blaze." said Valiant, "When it's weak or tired, it increases the power of Charizard's Fire-type moves."
Cinderella didn't even know Charizard had that ability. She knew she had to use power if she wanted to defeat Philip. Philip also recognized the ability and knew he also had to act fast and powerful.
"Charizard! Blast Burn!"
"Clair! Hyper Beam!"
The moves happened simultaneously.
Rex roared as his body was engulfed in orange-yellow flames. Clair reared back as an orange ball formed in front of her mouth. Rex punched the ground. A fissure raced across the field towards Clair as she fired a beam of light towards Rex. Rex braced himself against the powerful beam as the ground under Clair erupted into a column of rock and fire.
Fire and raging winds ravished around the battlefield in a massive explosion. Cinderella screamed as she and Philip struggled to stand their ground. Several people and Pokémon in the stands also screamed as the wind whipped around the Colosseum.
When the dust and smoke cleared, Rex and Clair were on the ground, weakened and battered. The two only stood for a moment before they both collapsed onto their stomachs.
They didn't move.
"DRAGONITE AND CHARIZARD ARE UNABLE TO BATTLE! IT'S ANOTHER DRAW!"
The crowd applauded. Pokémon on both sides of the field carried Rex and Clair off for treatment. Cinderella comforted Rex, who was clearly upset about being taken down.
"Don't worry, Rex," she whispered, "You were amazing out there."
"If you say so..." Rex moaned.
Cinderella looked back at Philip.
Philip nodded at Clair.
"You gave it all you had, Clair." he said, "I'm proud of you."
Clair nodded with a weak smile.
Cinderella and Rose watched from the blue corner.
He certainly didn't become the Champion for anything. Philip and his Pokémon had a combat style much like the wind—fierce yet enchanting, beautiful, and precise. His wit and skill were unbelievable. He used unorthodox methods to counter and use his opponent's moves to his advantage. He even worked with his Pokémon on and off the field.
As she looked at Philip, she felt that same feeling she felt when he kissed her hand. She couldn't fathom what that feeling was.
"Cinderella," said Rose, "If Philip can't talk to Pokémon like you can, how does he work so well with his Pokémon like that?"
Cinderella smiled. "Philip can sense what his Pokémon are thinking and feeling. He knows them well and what they can do and not do. It's something every good trainer knows."
In the red corner, Philip looked back at the Masked Maiden.
He could hardly believe that this beautiful, kind-hearted girl was also a great Pokémon trainer. Not only were her Pokémon well-trained and fit, but she was also very vigilant and clever. She talked to her Pokémon, she praised and encouraged them. If something went wrong or not her way, she adapted to the situation and countered it however she could. She was even willing to take risks and gambles.
Philip hadn't met anyone who impressed him in battle as much as she did. He felt feelings of respect and adoration for her. And yet, he still had that strange feeling that he knew her. But how and why?
Cinderella and Philip had to put their thoughts aside for now.
They had the battle to finish.