Man... tears almost come into ones eyes when one thinks of how this has unfortunately gone
So I'm afraid this is not the norm for now. I have exams in three weeks which (not exaggerating in the slightest here) literally make or break my future, they're that important. As a result, starting tomorrow I will of course be revising EXTREMELY heavily for them, and won't really have much time for anything as intensive as this.
I've been working on and (largely) off on this chapter ever since my last one was posted. Granted it was one of my longest chapters ever ANYHOW, but it has been really hard redoing this one... I'm no PMJ or CH, but this is definitely up there with the longest stuff I will ever write, that's for sure. Whilst I'm not changing the way the battles go, it would be naive to say I won't edit them at all... and that takes time. Adding detail to these (sorely lacking) fights is difficult, and something that took an awful lot of time up.
So yeah, don't expect another chapter in the next like month or anything, but it would be wrong of me not to give you SOMETHING now that I've finished a bit. So here, take on chapter 3 (which is now apparently 5232 words long - given my old "6 page" mindset that is really something):
Chapter 3 – Reunion at the Pine City Gym!
“OK Ralts, wrap this fight up with Magical Leaf!”
Ralts animated several of the fallen pine needles on the ground to strike at her foe. The opponent was another trainer’s Sentret, who had been already heavily weakened by Ralts’s powerful confusion attack. The brown animal, down on its paws, was unable to avoid the chasing leaves. Cleanly struck by the sharp attack, it was thrust backwards, rolling several times on the ground before coming to a painful halt next to the tall pine trees with several quills protruding from its round body. There was no getting up after that.
“Well done Calum!” Ryan shouted, pleased to see his friend win the fight. Calum’s opponent, a young child with bright blue shorts and a yellow t-shirt, went up to him and shook his hand after returning his pokémon.
“Wow, you’re so strong!” he exclaimed. “I couldn’t compete at all… hey, have you been to the Pine City Gym? Someone like you could do really well there I think.”
Calum was quick to answer. “We’re on our way to Pine City just now actually. There’s a gym there? Great… good place to start in this league I suppose!” With a look of shrewd determination, Calum locked eyes with Ryan, silently asking if he was ready for the test. Seeing the look of confidence on his partner’s face, Ryan thrust his fist towards the sky in excitement. Clearly the two of them shared one important trait; they both relished the challenge of competition. Calum especially couldn’t wait to get started on this new one.
The youngster wasn’t finished, however. “Wait, how many pokémon do you have?” he asked. “The gym battles are always three against three… it looks like you only have two with you! If that’s the case, you’ll have to get another one first!”
“Oh…” Calum said, his murky green shifting momentarily to the ground in disappointment. “Well, thanks for the heads up! See you around kid!”
As Calum and Ryan walked towards Pine City, the youngster’s words played over in both of their minds. Both were happy with the pokémon with they had at the time, but Calum knew that to complete his journey they would need more...
“Looks like we need to catch a few more pokémon before we can make a challenge anywhere, doesn’t it Calum?” Ryan said, his feet dragging along the crumbly ground underfoot. Calum, seeing the frustration in his partner’s motions, looked at him empathetically in an attempt to lift his mood.
“Don’t worry Ryan! We’ll get more pokémon as we go along! You’ll see!”
Ryan looked up with a wry smile on his face. “Of course we will. It’s just… I like the two I have – I didn’t want to raise any more for a while.”
“Well…” Calum started, his thoughts changing as he mulled over that thought. He was quickly interrupted, however.
“Hey, but, since we have to anyhow, why don’t we get a start on the catching just now!? We need to catch at least one more each before we can challenge the gym after all – let’s go find some!”
“Sure…” Calum wasn’t in the mood to argue. Gathering his items together, he ran out with Ryan into the surrounding woodlands.
Before long, Calum and Ryan found themselves in the middle of a winding forest path. Towering pine trees blocking all sunlight with their imposing figure on their left, a large stream flowing gently on their right, and nothing but a dirt path ahead and behind them… it was safe to say that civilisation was nowhere to be found. The atmosphere was as far removed from the nearby city as could be. The only sounds for miles around were the quiet rush of water, the occasional squeak of a Rattata rummaging for food in the undergrowth, and the territorial cries of the Pidgey flocks as they sought to make themselves heard to the surrounding Spearow. Looking down at the crystalline water, Calum saw several Goldeen leisurely making their way upstream, their tail fins billowing out elegantly behind them. Tired from walking for so long, Ryan suggested the pair stop by the water to rest. Calum chuckled under his breath at his comrade’s lack of stamina, but agreed all the same. The two set up a picnic and relaxed in the shade.
Of course, this was the perfect place to find pokémon, and it wasn’t long before a pair appeared in amongst the trees. A small red puppy dog with broad black stripes on his back was playing amicably with an equally small red fox with several curled tails and a vivid clump of matted fur on her head. They appeared to be having a lot of fun chasing each other around the trees, practising their agility skills. The fox then noticed Ryan when she was chasing the dog, and cautiously made her way over to him. Ryan, busy eating a donut, didn’t take any notice of the sounds behind him. Before she was noticed, the daring fox had managed to get right up to Ryan. She was in the process of sniffing his bag for food when the puppy came and tackled her. A loud thud was heard as the two began play fighting in the middle of the path!
“Wait, what was that?” Ryan asked, a quizzical look on his face.
Calum turned around to see what the cause of the disturbance was. “There, behind us!” he said softly. “A Vulpix and a Growlithe!”
Upon hearing their names, the fox and puppy stopped fighting and turned towards Ryan and Calum. They looked at each other for a moment, and then stared back at the trainers intently. It was as if they were waiting for a fight… or food, one of the two.
“It doesn’t look like they want to fight separately Ryan… what do you say? Shall we take them as a team?” Calum was looking tensely towards the wild pokémon, not quite sure what they could do as a team.
“OK, we can catch one each! I call dibs on Vulpix though; it’s so cute!”
“Ha, I thought you’d say that. I prefer Growlithe anyhow,” Calum remarked, with a smirk on his face. “Take the stage Eevee!”
“Let’s go Pichu!”
The two pokémon came out with a flash of red light, as usual. Eevee looked at the wild opposition, calm as ever; Pichu simply bounced up and down on the spot, happy to be out of the poké ball, and happier still to be out in the woods. Seeing the pokémon come out, Growlithe knew that free food was not on the menu anymore. He charged towards Eevee, looking to get the first attack in.
“Hmm… Growlithe is definitely confident,” Calum noted, resting his chin on his hand. “Eevee, take it on with Tackle!”
The two dogs collided head-on, causing them both to recoil slightly. Upon seeing her friend getting tackled like that. Vulpix quickly decided that pacifism would get nowhere, launching small balls of fire from her mouth at Pichu!
“Watch out, she’s using Ember!” Ryan yelled. “Pichu, get out of the way and use Quick Attack!”
Pichu artfully evaded the small flames, and then leapt forwards with a sharp burst of speed that caught Vulpix right in its side! She rolled across the floor before landing on her feet. This time she looked angry…
“Pichu, Eevee, double Quick Attack!” the trainers cried in unison. Their pokémon charged rapidly at their respective quarries, wanting to quickly end the battle if possible. Vulpix had other ideas however; her eyes glowed a purpley-pink, and both Eevee and Pichu were slowed to a crawl!
Ryan stepped back in bewilderment, unsure of the severity of the situation at hand. “What gives?” he asked. “Why have they stopped?”
“It’s Imprison!” Calum remarked, raising his left hand to his forehead in exasperation. “It shuts down attacks that both the opposition and the user know. Rather handy move that… we should watch out for Quick Attack ourselves now.”
“No need to worry! I’ll slow that Vulpix down with Thunder Wave; go Pichu!”
Pichu launched a weak pulse of static electricity at Vulpix. Caught up in the mental state caused by her Imprison attack, she didn’t see the pulse coming, and was hit head on by the wave of energy. Whilst no damage was inflicted, she was clearly in pain... paralysis had taken hold! In the middle of all this, Growlithe and Eevee were racing around one another, each trying to lay a Bite or a Tackle into the other one. Growlithe had spotted what was done to Vulpix, and he charged straight towards Pichu! Fully concentrated on keeping her vulpine quarry at bay, the little mouse wasn’t expecting such a sudden attack from Growlithe. The sly pup’s Bite attack scored a direct hit on Pichu, severely weakening her. However, Growlithe howled in pain after the attack. The unsuspecting dog had become the second victim of Pichu’s painful residual electricity, and he had ground to a halt, paralysed on the spot!
“Oh yes, what a stroke of luck! Ryan, let’s catch these pokémon now before they recover and launch fire moves at us again!” Not needing to be told twice, Ryan quickly threw a poké ball at Vulpix in an attempt to catch her. Calum quickly followed suit, throwing his poké ball directly at the ailing Growlithe.
Both poké balls shook vigorously, clearly showing that neither pokémon wanted to be captured. They shook five times on the ground before finally resting… it appeared that the paralysed fire pokémon couldn’t break free of their new containers, and eventually gave up and accepted their fate.
“Wow, this is strange… does this world somehow KNOW what pokémon I like most or something? All of the pokémon I have so far are favourites…” Calum wondered as he walked over to claim his new Growlithe.
“All RIGHT! Another new pokémon, YES!” Ryan shouted at the top of his voice, hopping around wildly in excitement. Despite being a little worse for wear, his Pichu was jumping up and down as well, clearly overjoyed at having a new friend to play with.
Calum was quick to bring him back down to reality, tapping the overzealous teen on the shoulder. “Don’t get too excited yet Ryan. We need get these two healed and take on the Pine City Gym after all!” Ryan, coming to his senses again after the emotional rush of another capture, nodded sheepishly in agreement. Calum sent out his Ralts, who looked at him quizzically through her slender green locks. “OK Ralts, remember where the Pine City Pokémon Centre is?” Having been there a few hours ago, she nodded. “Can you Teleport us there?” Again, she nodded. The horn on her head started to glow again, and she caused the group to warp back to the pokémon centre, ready for their pokémon to be recovered.
“If you’re looking for the gym leader, he’s in the large green building at the city’s North side. He’s tough, but your pokémon are in top shape, so you should be fine. Good luck!”
“Thanks Joy; we’ll come back with the badge and more pokémon for you to heal!” Calum gave the omnipresent nurse a quick thumbs-up for her assistance and ran in the direction she said the gym was in.
When he arrived at the oriental-styled gym, an assistant at the door showed him inside. He was told that a battle was currently underway, and that he would be watching this first before talking to the gym leader. Upon entering the battle arena, he walked onto a plain wooden floor serving as the battlefield. Four pillars supported the ceiling from the corners of the room. The walls were painted in a vivid shade of purple. The colour was so intense, you couldn’t look at it for very long without feeling ill. Almost like a toxin...
Ryan was already inside, battling the leader. His pokémon were healed faster than Calum’s, so he left without him to make sure both of them got a challenge in. Things were looking bad though… he was down to his last pokémon, Pichu. The leader still had a pokémon in reserve, and he wasn’t looking bad with what he had out either. He had a small purple scorpion creature out, with tiny pincers on its tail. The pincers were seeped in a vile-looking green substance, which Calum suspected was probably the cause of Ryan’s predicament.
“Skorupi, attack with Poison Sting!” The little arachnid shot a barrage of tiny purple needles at Pichu, who was unable to evade much of the lethal spine storm. The savage burst knocked her down to the cold floor unceremoniously. She looked tired… and low in morale. Desperate to get his pokémon back into the fight, Ryan called out to her.
“Pichu, hang in there please!” he cried, arms flailing wildly. “You can do it! I believe in you!” Pichu struggled back to her feet, looking at her trainer with tears in her eyes. To think that he was so confident in her abilities, despite the situation… her body began to crackle with electricity, and a bright white light suddenly surrounded her! “What the… what’s happening!” Ryan gasped, knowing nothing about what was happening to his Pichu.
The next thing he knew, his Pichu was no longer the same small mouse. Although still small, she was significantly larger than before. Her ears were almost purely yellow now, as was her tail. The tail also had a significant fork at the end of its lightning bolt shape… almost as if a bite had been taken out of it. Her cheeks had changed colour too – they were now a vivid red, and crackling with energy. She growled softly at her opposition, “Pikachu…”
Calum looked at the new mouse on the battlefield, stunned at the speed of its evolution. “Ryan, your Pichu was so moved by your plea that she evolved for you! She’s now a Pikachu, and looking better than ever!”
Ryan thrust his fist towards the ceiling in delight. “Alright, now I can win for sure! Go Pikachu!” He called eagerly to his new partner. “Use Quick Attack and wipe the floor with that bug!”
It was clear from the next move that Pikachu had gained a LOT of power from evolving when it did. It charged at Skorupi from all angles with such blinding pace that nobody could keep up with it… least of all Skorupi, who collapsed under the strain of taking so many hits in quick succession.
“Well, wasn’t that impressive?” the leader remarked, glancing at Ryan with mild concern in his eyes. “Your Pikachu clearly loves you a lot. Nevertheless, it won’t win this fight… I can’t let it! Go, Grimer!”
A bright purple amorphous puddle appeared on the leader’s side of the battlefield. It slowly rose out of the ground, its body forever flowing downward due to gravity. Two pudgy arms emerged from the side of the obscure being, dripping vile purple liquid all over the floor. A large, toothless mouth appeared in the middle of the shapeless blob, transforming itself into a devilish smile. Narrowed eyes materialised on its forehead when it detected Ryan’s Pikachu. The occult creature knew what had to be done, and waited patiently for its orders.
Ryan looked at the Grimer in confusion. “What is that thing...” he whispered, not even sure of where to start. “Oh well, it doesn’t matter! Pikachu, use Quick Attack like before!”
Calum gasped, knowing exactly what this entailed. “Ryan, wait! That won’t-”
But he was too late. Pikachu had already begun a familiar rapid charge towards the calm Grimer, who didn’t move an inch to get out of the way. It hardly had to, however; as Pikachu collided head on with the toxic body of her opponent, it stretched elastically. When the mouse’s energy was fully expended, Grimer’s body snapped back into place, and poor Pikachu bounced right off of it! She let a small yelp out as the recoil caused her to roll several feet along the ground in shock – she wasn’t expecting that to happen.
“Whoa…” Ryan’s eyes widened in shock. He wasn’t sure what to think after that failed attack. “That Grimer is strange! Pikachu, use Thundershock on it then! That ought to work…”
The gym leader had other ideas, however. “Grimer, use Acid Armor! Melt away from that electric attack!”
Grimer dissolved into the ground, slipping cleanly away from the incoming electrical jolt. Pikachu looked around, eyes widening as fear and confusion set in. She couldn’t discern where her opponent disappeared to, and she didn’t like it one bit. Even its smell had gone... it was as if it had evaporated! Grimer knew exactly what it was doing though; it solidified behind Pikachu, striking the unsuspecting pokémon with a full-blooded Pound in the back!
“Pikachu, no!”
Pikachu cried in pain as it was floored by the brutal surprise attack. As she struggled to get up, the gym leader raised his hand to issue his final command.
“Finish this game off! Use Sludge!”
Grimer twisted its filthy body and hurled a toxic piece of its hand at the downed Pikachu, who was nailed on the head by the venomous gunk. She was knocked out cold this time… there was no recovery once she was shot by Sludge!
“Pikachu…” Ryan whispered, visibly shaking as he returned the fainted mouse. “I’m sorry… I never thought you would be bounced back by attacking it. I guess I have a lot still to learn…”
“You do, but you put up a good fight. It’s been a while since anyone took me to the last pokémon…”
The gym leader walked over to shake hands with Ryan and congratulate him for a good battle. His attention then turned to Calum, and his smile grew wider.
“Well well… I was wondering when you would get here! Are you with this boy then Calum?” The gym leader looked buoyant upon seeing Calum – he clearly knew him from somewhere.
“Yes, I am,” Calum replied, frowning slightly. He looked at the man in front of him, memories buzzing from the sense of déjà-vu. “Who are you again? You look familiar, but…”
“Forgotten me already man?” The leader turned his head in disappointment. “I hoped you’d remember the name of the 10th best trainer in the UK. Guess not…”
Calum stepped back in awe. “NOW I remember! You’re Matt! You were at the tournament with Gregor and me! THAT’S how you got here… we were all transported together then?”
Pleased to hear his name at last, Matt spoke. “It appears so. We all seem to have been given roles in this world, and my role is to play as the Gym Leader of Pine City! And now, I guess you’ve come to challenge me, correct?”
“You’d better believe it Matt!” Calum quickly answered, his eyes ablaze with passion. “I’m not going down to you – I’m the best in the UK and I’ll be the best here too!”
Matt sneered. “Is that so? Well, let me test your credentials for that title, hm? The rules will be the same as for little Ryan here – three against three, in a singles format. Whoever has a pokémon standing at the end of the match wins.” He delicately placed his pokémon onto a large pearl-white healing machine propped against the back wall of the gym, like the one at Willow’s laboratory. “I had to heal my pokémon first of course. Can’t give you such an advantage to begin with after all, can we?”
Calum was having none of it. “Enough small talk Matt, let’s get this started!” The young man stood open-stanced, confidently holding his opening poké ball in his outstretched hand.
“Ha, if you say so,” Matt answered, a note of sarcasm in his voice. Matching Calum, his leading pokémon’s container was gripped tightly in his capable hand. “I’ll lead with Skorupi, go!”
Matt’s scorpion pokémon came back out into the battlefield, fresh and ready to fight.
“I hoped you’d make my first pokémon choice easy,” Calum whispered softly, glad to have an early advantage. “Growlithe, take to the stage!”
The loyal puppy lived up to its name, audibly growling at his opponent upon leaving his poké ball. The violet scorpion took a couple of paces back, apprehensive about facing the rowdy fire type head-on.
“Clever…” Matt remarked respectfully, closing his eyes. “You haven’t lost your touch at all have you? Sending out a pokémon to counter mine right from the start… nothing less that expected from you Calum! But don’t think you will have the final edge in this fight! Skorupi, Acupressure!”
In an effort to calm its nerves, Skorupi softly stuck the pincers on its tail right into the middle of its back, triggering a relaxation effect. Growlithe looked bemused as the little scorpion simply sat in the middle of the battlefield, totally oblivious of the world around it. Unsure as to what attribute the move had affected, Calum opened his pokédex to check it out. “Skorupi has a two-stage increase in Special Defense power,” the robotic voice said monotonously. “Additionally, its special ability is Sniper. Be careful of taking Critical Hits.”
“Great…” Calum thought aloud. “Just what I need. Growlithe, use Bite!”
Growlithe charged swiftly towards Skorupi as it was removing the pincers from its back. It couldn’t move out of the eager puppy’s way in time, and was struck cleanly with the powerful dark attack launched by the dog. It winced as powerful jaws worked their way through its thin carapace and into much more sensitive tissue. Eventually Growlithe let the dazed arachnid out of his grasp, awaiting fresh instructions.
“Well played Calum,” Matt said, with complacency in his voice. “You used the time I took charging up to attack - not bad! However, now that Ember is of little use to you and Growlithe, you shouldn’t pose much of a threat. Skorupi, Poison Sting! Take it down!”
“Watch out Growlithe! Use Agility!”
Skorupi arced its tail above its head and began firing poisonous purple spines at Growlithe, like it had done to Pichu. Unlike the little mouse however, Growlithe was more than ready for it, darting out of the way with impressive speed. Every time Skorupi shot at Growlithe, he would effortlessly jump out of the way. Quickly growing annoyed by this, Skorupi decided to ignore its trainer’s command charge at Growlithe instead. Matt shouted in disgust.
“Skorupi, no! Get back here!”
“Looks like your pokémon is getting annoyed Matt,” Calum taunted, smiling maliciously. “No wonder too, with the rubbish aim it has! Anyways, Growlithe, can you use Flame Wheel yet?”
Finding a second to pause as the slower scorpion attempted to catch him, Growlithe looked at his trainer blankly, clearly not understanding the order. Calum groaned, holding his head in his hands in disbelief.
“Uhh… well, cloak your body in fire and tackle that Skorupi! That’s how you use Flame Wheel!”
Growlithe, jumping out of the way of the enraged Skorupi, gave Calum a slightly bemused look. After a couple of seconds however, it looked like a light bulb was turned on in his head as he finally understood what was expected of him. He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, covering himself in flickering flames. As he worked, Skorupi saw him at a standstill, and took the opportunity to guarantee a hit. Finally content with his hazy cloak, the fiery puppy turned to face the incoming pincer pokémon and raced towards him at full speed.
The resulting clash was rather spectacular. Both pokémon recoiled sharply and crashed to the ground. Skorupi was clearly much worse off though… it appeared to be in a LOT of pain – embers were visible on its skin. Growlithe winced slightly as it got up, but gradually shook whatever was hurting him off and awaited further instructions.
“Skorupi… it’s burned,” Matt whispered resentfully. “It can’t battle for much longer; it probably won’t ever get another attack in on that Growlithe. Ugh, I’ll return it, conceding this battle... I won’t allow Skorupi to get hurt more than it already is.”
“All right, go Calum! One down, two to go!”
Ryan, who had quietly been taking in all the moves used in that fight, cheered when Skorupi was returned back to the poké ball. Calum closed his eyes for a brief second, sharing his comrade’s pain.
“I understand that Matt… it’s a good thing for your bug.”
Matt stared savagely at Calum as he clutched the next poké ball in his hand. “Well, it’s a bad thing for your Growlithe! Go Grimer!”
Matt’s vile purple sludge creature was sent out, ready to take on Growlithe. The boisterous puppy stared it down, growling intensely. Calum’s stood up tight, slightly concerned now that the enigmatic sludge pokémon had made its appearance. He didn’t let on to Growlithe that he wasn’t as confident, however...
“We can take him, too! Growlithe, charge at it using Flame Wheel!”
“Ha, as expected!” Matt laughed menacingly, knowing exactly what to do. “Grimer, Acid Armor!”
Growlithe once again cloaked itself in flames and shot towards Grimer. Fully prepared for such an assault, Grimer sneered and began to melt into the floor! The filthy creature had almost completely vanished by the time Calum’s pooch made contact, rendering the normally devastating assault near-useless. To make matters worse, Grimer was nowhere to be seen!
“Oh no…” Calum thought, exasperation sinking in. His mind was racing back and forth, desperately trying to come up with a solution to the predicament he now found himself in. “Where is that pile of sludge!? Growlithe, try to flush it out using Ember around the room!”
In a desperate attempt to track his foe down before things got out of hand, Growlithe opened his mouth and carpeted the whole room with small balls of fire for several seconds. To Calum’s dismay, the move failed to do anything other than wear his dog out from having to exhale continuously.
Matt laughed at the futile efforts of his rival. HE knew where his pokémon was, and thought it best to show his hand and take control again. “Time to reveal yourself Grimer! Sludge!”
“Growlithe, no!”
Calum’s futile call came much too late for his poor hound, however. Grimer appeared unexpectedly to the left of the beast, hurling a piece of its foul body at him. It cleanly struck the side of the dog, sticking to his matted fur. He lay crumpled on the floor in discomfort as the detritus seeped through his skin. Seeing his attack land, Grimer smiled briefly before once again vanishing in a plume of fetid green smog.
“Better call it back Calum, it looks like it got poisoned,” Matt pointed out, as he watched the pooch whine in agony as it writhed along the floor.
“Man, that sludge is more powerful than it looks,” Calum said despondently, his eyes rooted firmly to the ground as he quickly returned the ailing Growlithe. He stood in this position for a good two minutes, considering his next move with utmost care. “OK, who to send out now… well, I guess now is as good a time as ever to play my trump card! Go Ralts!”
Ralts came out of her poké ball, looking around for her opponent. When she couldn’t find one, she looked at Calum with a confused look on her face.
“Ralts, be careful! The enemy is a Grimer, and the nasty bugger is hiding using Acid Armor! Can you trace its location by using its emotions?”
Without a word, Ralts’s horn glowed, searching for all emotional energy around it. The emotive pokémon quickly identified a hostile force on her right-hand side, and turned to face that direction.
“All right, I knew you could do it!” Calum exclaimed, thrilled to see progress being made in his favour. “Bring it to the surface with Confusion!”
Ralts gathered her psychic powers briefly. Before it had even had the chance to consider a move, she forced the hostile sludge pokémon back into clear view with a powerful telekinetic force. It’s eyes looked vacant; it was hardly able to take the damage caused by the effective attack!
“Gah, Grimer won’t last at this rate,” Matt said, with the same resentment in his voice as when he was forced to return Skorupi. “Grimer, let’s try Minimize!”
Grimer shook off its fatigue and shrank to about a tenth of its former size. It could barely even be seen now! Ralts was confused; she knew where the target was, but she couldn’t see it. Panic setting in, she turned to Calum for support. He wasn’t concerned, however; he knew his pokémon was more than capable of winning this fight despite the recent occurrence.
“Hang in there Ralts! You can find it – just rely on your abilities! Oh, and surround Grimer with Double Team while you’re at it.”
Ralts stood still momentarily, concerned that Calum was putting a little bit TOO much faith in her powers. Despite her tense state however, she trusted his judgement nevertheless. She cast the illusionary copies of herself around the general area that hostile emotive force emanated from, surrounding it on all sides.
“Don’t think we can’t find you now Calum!” Matt announced, almost mocking his opponent’s attempts to confound him. “Grimer, use Sludge in as many directions as possible!”
Tiny compressed clumps of waste were flung from the centre of the arena in many different directions at once, causing several of the illusionary copies of Ralts to fade. She had to act fast to avoid being hit on numerous occasions. It was clear that this strategy wasn’t working this time round. For the first time in this match-up, Calum looked truly concerned. However, it didn’t take him long to come up with an idea to turn it around.
“Ralts don’t give up! Find your target with Magical Leaf, then strike the finishing blow with Confusion!”
Matt stood, speechless. “No! Grimer!”
Unfortunately for Grimer, it was much too late. As it was busy trying to find the real Ralts, she was creating arcane autumn leaves with her psychic powers. The strange foliage hunted down Grimer without fail, striking it cleanly despite its minute size. Even though that shot wasn’t effective, it told Ralts where to fire her psychic energy... information she used with brutal consequences. One full-blooded Confusion later, her toxic foe lay cross-eyed and motionless on the floor. Back at its proper size, it was clear that it wasn’t getting up any time soon... Ralts’s powerful psychic attacks were just too much for it to handle.
“All right Calum! Only one more left to go! Trounce this guy for me too!”
Ryan jumped for joy when Grimer was downed for good. He was delighted for his friend, who was now one pokémon away from victory. Matt, now contemplating the possibility that he could lose, was far less zealous with his remarks though.
“Argh… as always Calum, you’re proficient at this. Good to see!” he called his pokémon back, looking down at the ground as he did so. “It’s not like I didn’t expect this, however. And I KNEW you’d be packing a psychic type somehow.” He smiled. “So… I prepared this little one especially for you… take THIS one on! GO!”
Matt launched his last poké ball into the arena. When it opened up, what came out left Calum and Ryan in shock…
