[Best Veteran March/May 2011] A new professor in town - Kanto Adventure PG13

The next part was about to start. Sam ran up and down Steelix's pokeball page, looking at his moves. It looked like Tackle, Rock Throw and Rage were gone. This would be a bit more difficult without them, but he had the three fang attacks now. He'd be fine, he was sure about it. Meanwhile in the competition office, Oak was arguing with an official as Maple sat there with a mocking smile on her face.

"That has to be illegal! His pokemon can't just go and evolve in the middle of a match!" Oak yelled.

"Sir, I'm afraid it absolutly can. You aren't going to be changing that face, therefore, it is fine," the official replied cooly.

"DISQUALIFY HIM!" Oak sceamed.

"He's done nothing wrong..." the official started.

"Yes he HAS!" Oak screamed.

"No. He hasn't. He's perfectly legal in every aspect of the tournament and therefore is perfectly fine to keep battling," the official said.

"But..." Oak started.

"No. You will leave no before I do something about it," the official said, picking up a radio.

"...fine," Oak said, leaving. The official put the radio down.

"Now, ma'am? You need something?" he asked.

"Me? No. I was just here to see how that went," Maple smiled, leaving.

Back on the battle field, Danny was selecting a new pokemon.

"Hm. You've got me on the ropes for right now, haven't you? Well, not for long! Let's do this, Wartortle!" Danny yelled, tossing another pokeball. Out of this one came a turtle-like pokemon. Sam knew from the looks of it that it would be trouble. It was almost certainly a water type.

"You ready?" he asked, a smile on his face once more.

"Yeah. Let's do it!" Sam yelled.

"Let the match BEGIN!" the ref yelled.

"Let's do it, smash down with your tail!" Sam yelled.

"Use Water Gun!" Danny yelled in reply. Steelix slammed down its tail, shaking the arena as a burst of water flew from Wartortle's mouth, hitting it in the face. Steelix fell backwards as Sam scowled a little. Despite its new size, it still wasn't good against water attacks. Still, it would have fallen to the ground before. He knew that this evolution was for the best. Looking over at Wartortle, he noticed that it had fallen over as well, meaning that Steelix had caused a large quake.

"Let's go for it, Rock Tomb!" Sam yelled. Steelix brought its tail down on the ground again, this time kicking up several rocks. Wartortle was caught in them quickly.

"Hm...go! Water Pulse!" Danny yelled.

"Quick, use your tail to smash it!" Sam yelled. Wartortle fired a burst of water straight at Steelix, who flicked its tail, hitting the attack and stopping most of it. Some of it, however, got past the slap and hit Steelix, once again causing damage.

"Shoot. We aren't doing hardly anything...let's go with...hmm...Gyro Ball!" Sam yelled. Steelix started spinning once more, headed straight for Wartortle. This simply gave Danny a confident look.

"Perfect...I was trying to make you do this. Now! Ice Beam!" he yelled. Wartortle fired a beam of what appeared to be ice out of its mouth, covering Steelix quickly. Before Sam knew it, Steelix was frozen cold.

"Shoot..." Sam whispered.

"Let's do this! Use Water Pulse!" Danny yelled. Wartortle fired off another burst of water, hitting Steelix dead on once more. This time, however, the pain seemed to just build up in Steelix. Sam knew that Danny only had so much time to finish Steelix off before it broke out and went on a rampage...but would he do it?

"Come on, fire another!" Danny yelled. Wartortle charged up energy, then fired another burst of water. Sam noticed that this one took slightly longer. Suddenly, he remembered Cloy did the same thing. Water types could only hold so much water on land, so they had a limit to how many water attacks they could use. It would run out before too long...or at least he hoped it would.

Wartortle fired off the burst of water, which crashed into Steelix once more. The ice started to shake this time.

"Now! Water Gun!" Danny yelled. The water attack flew at Steelix. This once caused a slight crack. Suddenly, the crack grew larger, then larger once more...until it was covering the ice. Steelix broke out, furious now.

"Hm...THUNDER FANG!" Sam yelled. Electricity covered Steelix's teeth as he flew forward, nipping Wartortle's arm. It seemed to shock it badly, as Wartortle winced in pain.

"Crap...finish it off! Use Water Pulse!" Danny yelled. Wartortle fired off one last burst of water, which crashed into Steelix. It faltered, then collapsed.

"Damn..." Sam whispered. Steelix had been beaten, and good, too.

"Yeah!" Danny cheered, heartened by his victory.

"Hm...not bad. Not bad at all," Sam whispered. This was getting to be a rather difficult match.

"My next choice..." Sam whispered. He really had to think. Pika would be a good type, but would another pokemon be easier? No, Pika was his best choice, he thought as he pulled out the pokeball.

"Well?" Danny asked, ready to go.

"Pika!" he yelled, throwing out his next pokeball. The small electric mouse appeared, its cheeks already shocking.

"With both trainers ready, let the next round begin!" the ref yelled.

"Let's show it Quick Attack!" Sam yelled.

"Rapid Spin!" Danny replied. Pika flew forward at top speed directly at Wartortle, who was now in its shell spinning. The attacks collided, sending both flying backwards.

"Hm...you've got more power than I expected..." Danny whispered.

"Damn right I do! Now use Thundershock!" Sam yelled. Pika launched off a small jolt of electricity, which Wartortle cringed at the sight of. Danny immediatly barked out a command.

"Use Ice Beam to counter!" he yelled. Wartortle shook its head and fired off a small burst of icy energy. The attacks collided and the beam broke through, hitting Pika on the leg, freezing it in place.

"Shoot..." Sam whispered. Pika was stuck now, and at the mercy of Wartortle and Danny.

"Go, use Rapid Spin!" Danny yelled. Wartortle started spinning at high speed, directly at Pika. For a second, Sam thought this would be trouble, but then realized. This would leave it wide open for attack.

"Go! Thunderbolt!" Sam yelled. Pika charged up some electricity then released it. The burst was powerful. So powerful, in fact, that it broke the ice holding Pika down AND hit Wartortle, causing huge damage in the form of electricity.

"Ouch...nice move there!" Danny yelled over.

"You too! Now, show 'em Pika! Use Thunder Wave!" Sam yelled.

"Haha, not that easy for ya! Use Protect!" Danny yelled. A thin green barrier appeared around Wartortle, protecting it from the quick moving electricity. Sam silently cursed under his breath. He should have seen that one coming.

"Grr...go! Use Thunderbolt!" he yelled, getting annoyed. Pika launched another burst of energy that easily bounced off the barrier.

"That's really getting annoying...how do I break it?" Sam asked himself. Almost as an answer, a voice floated through his mind.

"Isn't it obvious? It can't last forever...just keep going," it said, seeming to laugh.

"Hm..." Sam thought hard. It was obviously the dark side, though it was almost certainly right. He could break it with quick, rapid attacks. It was worth a shot.

"Go! Thundershock, but fire it quickly and in bursts!" Sam yelled. This seemed like a very good strategy. The bursts crashed into the the barrier, breaking it slowly.

"Hm...just like Warren," Danny whispered, remembering that battle. Warren had broken it the same way, but this kid wasn't going to get it so easily.

"Move with the barrier up!" Danny yelled. Wartortle took a step, the barrier still covering him. It wasn't going to break soon and he was going to move while it held.

"Bite it!" Danny yelled. Sam cringed. This wasn't good. Would it finish him off? No. Not yet.

Wartortle flew forward and crunched down on Pika's arm, angering it. Still. It stayed biting. Powerfully. This might be enough...Pika was going to be knocked out. But Sam knew how to stop it!

"Come on, Pika! USE THUNDERBOLT!" Sam yelled. Pika nodded and built up energy, shocking the area around it. Wartortle and Pika were both caught, causing extreme damage to both. They flew backwards, injured.

"Damn...GO! WATER PULSE!" Danny yelled.

"Shoot..." Sam whispered. Pika was injured and without much energy after the big attack. Wartortle fired a burst of water and knocked Pika backwards. Danny got a confident look.

"GO! Keep firing!" he yelled. Wartortle quickly charged another, firing it immediatly. Pika was hit, then again, and again. This continued for about 10 more shots until something happened. Wartortle was unable to fire one!

"Wait...what?!" Danny yelled.

"Its our chance. We have to finish it before he can do anything else! Charge and use everything you've got left for THUNDERBOLT!" Sam yelled. Pika loosed all the energy it had left, causing a huge burst of energy. Both pokemon were caught in the attack, both were injured. When it stopped, however, both were standing. Sam and Danny were both about to command an attack, however, as something happened. Both fell.

"No way...a double knockout in a round like this," Sam whispered.

"A DOUBLE KNOCKOUT!" the ref yelled as the crowd cheered. Sam returned his pokemon. One battle left...it would decide the whole match...but who would he choose. It all depended, now.

OOC: Sorry this took so long. The final battle will be soon...sorry.
 
@Sasuneuchiha - Wow, that sets up an epic finish in the first ever Oak vs Maple battle!

Congratulations Steelix grew to Level 21
Congratulations Pikachu (Pika) grew to Level 31
 
This was it. Sam looked at the noisy crowd. They were going wild now. This was the final match, and he knew that he could not lose anymore. It was time for a victory. Now! He looked over at Danny, who seemed as confident and nervous as he did.

"So, ready?" Sam asked.

"Totally. Hypno!" he yelled, grabbing and throwing a pokeball as fast as he could. Sam watched as the pokeball released a golden bear-like pokemon with a pendulum in its hand.

"Hm...a Hypno. Need to avoid that shiny thing in his hand...hm. Speed'll help a lot now so...Pidg!" Sam yelled, tossing a pokeball of his own. The brown bird appeared, flapping its wings already so it would remain in the air.

"With both trainer having a pokemon out, let the match begin!" the ref yelled, waving two flags.

"Hm...let's do this with Tackle!" Sam yelled. He wanted to see Danny's reaction to a basic move.

"Hm...interesting. Use Headbutt!" he yelled. Hypno ducked its head and charged forward to meet Pidg. Both collided and backed off, though Pidg seemed to take the worst of it. Headbutt was a lot stronger than Tackle, or anything Pidg had. He had to outmaneuver it if he was going to win.

"Hm...very well then. You leave me with no choice but to use this! Twister!" Sam yelled. This was the best way to keep a distance while still doing damage. Pidg flapped its wings, eventually causing a small twister to appear. Hypno seemed to recognize it, then backed away slowly. It knew what was next.

"I won't accept defeat yet! Move it forward Pidg!" Sam yelled. Pidg flapped its wings harder, slowly causing the twister to move, chasing Hypno. He made a vallient effort to escape, but it was all in vain, as Pidg eventually caught it. Hypno was caught in the vortex, causing it to fly in circles as rocks and such objects hit it quickly.

"Great job, Pidg!" Sam cheered. He didn't give his Pidgeotto enough credit. It really was strong!

"Hm...ouch. That's gonna hurt...use Confusion!" Danny yelled, attempting to shrug off the attack. Hypno focused, causing a blue barrier to appear around the pokemon. Sam knew that he didn't have much time. Time to let Pidg use its new move...

"Quickly, use Featherdance!" Sam screamed in reply. Pidg shook its wings quickly, releasing several feathers. The psychic attack headed his way was instead caught by the feathers, which were crushed quickly, falling to the ground in smaller parts than they'd gone up in.

"Hm...that was a nice move..." Danny said quietly so Sam couldn't hear him.

"Now! Use Aerial Ace!" Sam yelled at the top of his lungs. Pidg flew forward at the exposed pokemon, hitting it dead on. Hypno flew backwards towards the edge of the field, obviously injured.

"Hm...very well. There's nothing else I can do. Hypnosis!" Danny yelled.

"Crap..." Sam whispered. He couldn't avoid this one. Hypno started to use the pendulum in his hand. It moved back and forth. Back and forth it moved, lulling Pidg to sleep slowly. Sam almost ended up the same way, before he shook his head. Pidg wasn't so lucky. He was caught in the slow moving object and quickly fell asleep. Danny saw this as his chance.

"Nightmare!" he yelled. Sam silently cursed again. This wasn't good at all. Nightmare did constant damage to a pokemon that was asleep and he was still at the mercy of his opponent's attacks. This was a horrible situation to be in. The only thing that could make it work worse than this setup was if the pokemon he was fighting was Darkrai, the new moon pokemon, but he didn't have time to think about stuff like that. He had to hurry.

"Pidg...get up!" Sam yelled, but nothing happened. pidg was stuck asleep for a while and it was hurting itself due to the horrible dream it was having.

"Come on! Use Confusion to toss it at the ground, then use Headbutt!" Danny yelled. Hypno grabbed Pidg with psychic energy and then charged forward and hit him with its head. Pidg flew backwards towards the edge of the field.

"Come on come ON! Pidg, I can't afford to lose now! This is all I've got! WAKE UP!" Sam yelled, worried now. He wasn't kidding when he said this was all he had. He didn't have anyone to help him, just himself and his pokemon. He had to win! This seemed to do something, as Pidg stirred.

"Shoot...once more! Headbutt!" Danny yelled, wanting to get the most out of this. Hypno flew foward when Pidg shook its head and opened its eyes.

"Great! Use Quick Attack to dodge and Featherdance as you pass it!" Sam yelled. Pidg nodded and flew forward at top speed, dropping feathers over Hypno, confusing it quickly.

"Yes! Now use AERIAL ACE!" Sam yelled. Pidg circled at top speed and flew forward, hitting Hypno dead on. It flew forward and hit the ground, rolling several feet before it stopped, tired from Sam's constant moves.

"Grr...nothing's gonna work. No choice. Poison Gas!" Danny yelled.

"Damn..." Sam said. This wasn't good. That gas poisoned on impact.

The puple gas seaped across the arena and into Pidg's beak. This wasn't good. It had to end, and fast!

"Pidg! We've gotta move! AERIAL ACE!" Sam yelled. Pidg flew forward and crashed into his opponent, knocking it backwards.

"Come on! Make it worse with another poison gas!" Danny yelled.

"Another one...it'll end me immediatly...no. We've gotta get it back to it...but how...of course! Gust!" Sam yelled.

Hypno let out another cloud of poison, but Pidg was ready this time. It flapped its wings and blew the could backwards, making Hypno breathe it in this time. The attack continued, however, making Hypno fall backwards once more. It looked injured and sick as the poison seeped.

"NOW END IT! AERIAL ACE STRAIGHT DOWN!" Sam yelled. Pidg flew forward, crashing into the ground and Hypno at the same time. Hypno looked up, tired, sick and injured. It closed its eyes and the ref waved a flag.

"Its over! The winner is Sam!" he yelled. Danny looked over with what started as a sad look, but then smiled.

"Great job...great job," he said, smiling now.

"You too, Danny. That really was a great battle...but shouldn't you appear a bit more mad for the sake of the camera?" Sam asked.

"Oh yeah...Oak won't be happy if I'm friendly, so...DAMN YOU SARUNO! I will take you next time. But whatever. One of my fellow trainers'll get you...see ya," he said, walking out with a bit of anger in his stride. Sam laughed. That was a pretty good act there. Walking back to the pokecenter, he dropped off his pokemon and sat down. It was just gonna get better now...
 
Warren grinned as he wandered into the lounge, glancing over to the locker room where his bag, and the Water Stone within it, was waiting.

"Warren? Why are you still here?" The adolescent teenager spun around to see Danny standing there, an urgent look on his face.

"Round 2 starts in a few minutes, Warren! You have to get to the main battlefield!" Warren frowned.

"What? I've only just finished my last battle. I literally just picked my Pokemon up from healing." Danny rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, that's cause you move so damn slowly. You got drawn to be first up, so stop standing around and get over there!" Warren growled. Just typical. Not even bothering to thank Danny, he took off, charging down the hallway and nearly knocking over a Nurse Joy who, unsurprisingly, took no notice whatsoever. Poliwhirl would have to wait.




Warren sighed with relief as he charged into the arena, gasping for breath. The referee at the edge of the sandy arena looked pretty ticked off, as did the other trainer - a middle-aged woman with cropped ginger hair. She glanced over to Warren.

"Come on, hurry up!" she called in a tired voice, "We don't have all day." Warren rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, yeah, keep your false teeth in." Stepping up to the side of the arena, Warren nodded to the referee as the woman scowled angrily.

"Alright, I'm here, I'm ready." The referee sighed and glanced up to the commentator's box, giving a quick nod.

"Alright, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, the first battle of the second stage is about to begin!" boomed the commentator's voice. The referee stepped forwards.

"This match will be a three-on-three battle with no time limit, between Warren Simmons of Pallet Town and Lucy Saunders of Cinnabar Island. Trainers, release your first Pokemon!" Warren frowned as he tossed Cubone's Pokeball - that name rung a bell, for some reason. Lucy glanced over, grinning.

"Fine, then. Seel, let's go!" Warren glanced at the Water-type, surprisingly unconcerned. After all, it might have the type advantage, but in this sandy arena, it would struggle to move.

"Alright," the referee shouted, "Begin!" Lucy looked up.

"Seel!" she shouted, "Use Water Sport!" Seel raised itself up on its tail and spouted water from its mouth, spinning. Warren growled as he watched the sandy arena slowly turning into a wet, mushy swamp. Cubone slowly stepped back, wary of getting stuck in the mud. Warren gritted his teeth.

"Alright, use Bone Club, on the sand!" Cubone chuckled, then swept it's bone through the sandy floor, sending a cloud of dust into Seel's eyes. It rolled backwards, shaking it's head angrily., before spraying a quick jet of water up onto it's face. Grinning, it glanced down at Cubone, its eyes cleared.

"Headbutt!"

"Cubone, you too!" The two Pokemon charged and collided hard, but while Seel kept going, Cubone was sent flying back. Seel leapt after it and jabbed again with its horn, catching Cubone in the stomach. Warren gasped. How had it done that? Lucy grinned.

"Don't you know? Seel have horns even harder than diamond, so good luck with a frontal attack." Warren growled. How then? Then he noticed something. Seel had advanced when it attacked and it was now lying on the dry half of the arena, once more incapable of speedy movement.

"Get moving!" Warren shouted, "Bone Club from behind!" Cubone nodded, then darted to the side, advancing on Seel. The struggling mammal slowly turned to face it, but then Cubone darted back, heading round the other way and skidding to halt behind Seel. Before it could turn, Cubone charged and jumped, landing with its feet firmly on each side of Seel's horn and driving it to the ground. Cubone chuckled, then smashed its club down on the vulnerable Seel's back. It squealed angrily and rolled over, forcing Cubone to jump off, though the rodent charged once more, catching Seel with a nasty uppercut that sent it rolling head over tail. Lucy narrowed her eyes.

"Let's try Icy Wind!" Seel drew itself up, then let out a roar, sending a gust of freezing wind flying across the arena. Cubone winced as a sheen of frost coated its helmet, but the effect was worse than just that. The damp half of the sand had frozen solid, providing a slippery surface that Seel could get around on easily. Cubone, meanwhile, was struggling to stay on it's feet. Lucy smiled faintly.

"Advantage, me. Ice Shard!" Seel pulled back and raised its tail, bringing it down on the ice and sending slivers flying into the air. Seel turned and slapped them with its tail again, sending them flying straight at Cubone.

"Headbutt!" Cubone grinned and lowered its head, charging. A shard struck, and then another and another. But they were useless. A few bounced off harmlessly. The others stuck fast into Cubone's protective helmet, quivering ominously. Seel gulped seconds before Cubone smashed into it, the icicles shattering and falling to the ground in fragments. The seal flew back, bruised and scratched, glaring at Cubone. Warren grinned. Time to finish it.

"Bone Club!" Cubone charged forwards as Seel looked up. The seal jabbed with its own horn, but Cubone jumped high, leaping over the attack and landing hard on Seel's back. Cackling, it turned around and, with an irrefutable finality, smashed its club straight into the base of Seel's neck. The enemy let out a long low moan, then collapsed, defeated at last. Lucy sighed angrily, holding out her Pokeball to return Seel.

"Alright, next up is Nidorino!" Warren frowned as the large, pink, spiked monster burst onto the iced arena floor, pawing the ground. Cubone should have an advantage now with typing, but Nidorino would be a lot faster than Seel had been.

"Start with Horn Attack!" Nidorino growled as it took a step back, then leapt forwards into a terrifying charge, horn lowered.

"Spin and Tail Whip!" Cubone nodded as it sped forwards, before twirling gracefully to the side and hooking one of Nidorino's feet with it's spiked tail. Lucy just smiled faintly.

"Do it!" Nidorino dropped its head lower, digging its horn into the ice as it stumbled. Twisting and turning, it quickly spun around before stumbling back to its feet, right behind Cubone.

"Fury Attack!" Before Cubone could respond, Nidorino was jabbing madly, stabbing at everything it could reach with its lethal horn. Warren frowned as Nidorino pulled back to catch its breath.

"Bone Club!" he called and Cubone swung its weapon as Nidorino dodged to the side, though it was still caught with a glancing blow. Angry, Nidorino lunged again, jabbing Cubone in the stomach with Horn Attack. As the rodent stumbled, Lucy laughed gleefully.

"Finish it with Double Kick!" Cubone glanced up in just enough time to see the back foot of a Nidorino boot it high into the air, before a second came crashing down on its head, knocking it out. Warren frowned. That was going to make this substantially harder. He needed something bulky to take the hits. It was an easy choice.

"Victreebel!" he shouted, "Let's battle!" With a threatening screech, the carnivorous plant burst onto the field.

"Peck it!" Lucy shouted and Warren cursed. He'd forgotten that move. Nidorino charged, but Victreebel was ready. Opening its gaping maw, it let out a cloud of blue spores. Nidorino gasped as they settled on it, then stumbled as the Sleep Powder began to work. Victreebl just narrowed its eyes as the charging Nidorino flatered, stumbled, then crashed to the ground, snoring.

"Stockpile!" Warren shouted and Victreebel bent double, hoovering up the sand from the floor of the arena, a large lump forming in its throat that could be used to attack or heal. On the ground, Nidorino stirred, eyes twitching. Warren noticed it.

"Faster!" he called, glancing at Lucy who was simply gritting her teeth. With her Pokémon asleep, there was little she could do. Finally, though, Nidorino's eyes flickered open and it sleepily stood up, taking in the battlefield and the Victreebel which was now scraping the rock under the sand pit. Growling, it leapt once more and Warren grinned.

"Spit up!" he yelled and with a wet squelching sound, Victreebel faced Nidorino and fired what appeared to be a massive ball of sand, saliva and digestive juices. Nidorino squealed as it was thrown back, its body coated in the disgusting slime.

"Now, finish it! Vine Whip!" As Nidorino Struggled to free itself from its sticky prison, Victreebel hopped forwards and wrapped a vine around Nidorino's horn. The pink Pokémon glared at it and immediately began to pull in the opposite direction, locking them into a tug of war. Warren grinned as slowly Victreebel skidded forwards. Nidorino must be pulling with all its might…

"Release it!" At once, Victreebel's grip slackened and Nidorino flew back, straight out of the goo.

"Acid!" Victreebel laughed as Nidorino skidded on the last of the rapidly melting ice, then fired a jet of purple slime at it. Nidorino shuddered under the pain of the corrosive liquid then slowly, unwillingly, sank to the floor and passed out. Lucy growled, returning her second Pokémon and glaring at Victreebel. Warren just smiled. Two against one had to guarantee him the victory, didn't it?

"Jolteon! Pin Missile!" Moving faster than the eye could see, a yellow and white blur leapt from Lucy's final Pokeball, before skidding in a circle in front of Victreebel, sending a flurry of razor sharp needles flying off the new-comer's coat and into Victreebel's skin. The plant shuddered as the pins peppered its skin, but screeched and shook itself madly, sending the spikes falling to the floor. Nevertheless, it was looking hurt.

"Now, Shock Wave! Quick Attack!" The bristled Jolteon barked its assent, then dashed forwards again, zapping Victreebel with a powerful jolt of electricity before barrelling into it and sending the plant flying backwards to land flat on its face. It didn't get up. Warren growled as he returned Victreebel. Time for the last battle.

"Venonat, let's go!" The bug jumped onto the field, facing down the electric fox and the trainers glanced at each other.

"Sludge Bomb!"

"Thundershock!" Both Pokémon launched attacks, but Venonat's landed first, the putrid balls of slime distracting Jolteon and causing it to miss by an inch – hitting the ground at Venonat's feet instead of the bug itself. Venonat flew back as the Thundershock caused a small explosion, but landed on its feet and charged as Jolteon pawed at its face, trying desperately to get the gunk out of its eyes..

"Confusion!" As Venonat charged, it threw forwards a hand wreathed in blue light and Jolteon, caught by the psychic attack, was sent catapulting into the air.

"Leech Life!" As Jolteon landed face first on the ground, Venonat pounced, its teeth sinking into Jolteon and draining its energy.

"Thundershock it!" Before Venonat knew what was happening, powerful electricity was coursing through its body. It had been a big mistake to get up close. Stumbling back, Venonat broke the connection, though a few wreaths of smoke rose from its burnt hair. The bug stared at Jolteon. It stared back.

"Sludge Bomb!"

"Quick Attack!" Jolteon charged, too fast to see, but Venonat grinned. Holding out its hand, it concentrated, then cackled as Jolteon seemingly appeared out of nowhere, floating in front of it, held in place by confusion. Raising its other hand, Venonat began to form another Sludge Bomb attack. Jolteon twisted and squirmed, but it was no good. It was trapped. Venonat gave one last chuckle before smashing the final attack of the match straight into Jolteon's face. It was knocked out before it hit the ground.



Warren grinned as he returned Venonat, the woman, Lucy, giving him a quick courteous nod from the other end before hurrying off. He glanced around, looking up at the crowd, cheering…for him. The end of the Pokémon League was in sight, and Warren was determined to win it!
 
@Izuna - Well done on beating one of Oak's trainers... Maple will be happy :P

Congratulations Pidgeotto (Pidg) grew to Level 28

@Screw The Rules, I Have Green Hair -

Congratulations Cubone grew to Level 21 and learned Bonemerang
Congratulations Victreebel grew to Level 30
Congratulations Venonat grew to Level 22

Draw:
"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN PLEASE DIRECT YOUR ATTENTION TO THE BIG SCREEN FOR THE QUARTER FINAL DRAW OF THE INDIGO PLATEAU POKEMON LEAGUE!"

"Damn it!" cursed Maple, "I'm late! How could I be late for the draw?"

Professor Maple sprinted down the corridor and skidded through the door and nearly slammed into Professor Oak!

'Damn it!' she thought.

Oak gave her an unimpressed look, before returning his attention to the big screen. Normally Maple would have lectured Oak for his rudeness, but she needed to see this draw! She headed over to the railings which overlooked the main hall, leaning on them trying to catch her breath. Looking down she noticed how empty the main hall was, presumably as many of the trainers who had been knocked out had headed home... she remembered the draw for the very first round when the main hall had been rammed and people could barely move there were so many people...

"Interesting draw eh Maple?" came a voice from behind the young professor. Maple spun round to see it was Oak standing behind her. 'Damn it!' Maple thought once again. She hadn't even looked at the draw yet, but she couldn't let Oak know that...

"Aren't they always?" she replied cooly.

"Hmm, I'd have thought this draw would have you more worked up than that..." said Oak coyly, before walking away.

'What is he talking about?' thought Maple, spinning on her heel. She looked up at the big screen and gulped... Oak was right, this was a bad draw for her...

Quarter Final Draw:
Robert (Fuschia City) vs Becky (One Island, Sevii Isles)
Sean (Cinabaar Island) vs Warren (Pallet Town)
Carl (Pewter City) vs Diane (Pallet Town)
Sam (Pallet Town) vs Travis (Pallet Town)
 
Now it was time for one of Sean's last battles in the league, that was, if he could keep up the way he was battling. If not then this would be the last battle of the league, and Sean was taking no excuses, he was giving it his 110%.
The opponent was a boy named Warren, who had just a journey as Sean did. While he looked like an average trainer, his pokemon were way above average, Sean had strong competition. Plus, the audience were on both sides now. Warren had as many fans as Sean so he was popular with the public.
"I'd watch how you're battling if I were you, this battle is gunna be so strong it will force you into next centuary." Warren was right, and this battle was going to be very long as this time, it was a full on, 6 on 6 battle.
"I'll force you into the last millenium. I didn't get here easily, all my trainers got sent away with a sad face, same thing will happen to you." Sean was confident of what he was doing. This battle wasn't getting anywhere with talk, so Warren was willing to show Sean what he was competing with first.
"I'll show you! Don't let me down, Haunter!" Warren sent his Pokemon to the stage. This Pokemon was Haunter, a purple ghost with big eyes and claws that had very sharp nails. Its face was rather scary and just staring at it will cause fright - Sean was anything but frightened right now. Infact, he was so confident of his first choice.
"Come on, Doduo!" Sean had also sent his Pokemon out, which didn't look as scary. Doduo was a Flying-type aswell as a Normal-type, which was useful as any Ghost-type moves used by Haunter would not do anything. However, any Normal-type moves done by Doduo will not affect Haunter either. Warren wasn't stupid, but he wasn't smart either so he was prone to making mistakes.
They had to decide which attack to use first and it was totally important to make a good decision as this could cost them everything they fought for, and only finish in the final 8 and not the winner. Sean wanted to make the first attack.
"I'm gunna start thos off, and show you what you're up against! Doduo, use Peck!" this move was luckily not a Normal-tpyed move, therefore this would do some damage. It was probably one of Doduo's only usable attacks out of all of them. Doduo ran up to Haunter right away across the stage, and then aimed both of its beaks straight out, which had then hit Haunter on its body. This attack was quite strong and Haunter moaned upon being pecked.
"That has to be the most comman Flying-type attack ever! Be original, man!" Warren couldn't help but comment.
"Well I'd like to see what a Ghost can do. Probably next to nothing." Sean hadn't seen a Ghost-type in battle yet and he was keen on seeing what they could do. Warren was willing to show him.
"Fine then, I'll show you. Haunter, use Night Shade!" Sean had seen this attack before as it woudl do the equivalent damage to its level number. However, Warren had acted too fast as he was forgetting something - this was a Ghost-type move. It was too late to hesitate as Haunter became invisible for a couple of seconds, and once it floated over to Doduo, it re-appeared with an attempt to scare Doduo with a ghostly power - it failed. No damage was done here which was a shame for Warren as if he put his mind to it, then it would have worked.
"I forgot!" Warren was so annoyed at how he forgot that Ghost-types move wouldn't work. Sean was in hysterics.
"Hahahaha! I forgot too! Forgot that Doduo wouldn't be affected by them moves!" Sean couldn't stop laughing for a couple of moments. Now it was Sean's turn again.
"I'm gunna go easy on you for now, Doduo, use Growl." Sean thoguth that he had enough time to fit in a spot to weaken Haunter without using any attacks. Growl would lower Haunter's attack power, meaning its attack would not being as strong, making the battle easier for Sean. Doduo opened both beaks, and made a really loud squark that went across the arena and could be heard from outside. Haunter was weakened a bit by this and it felt slightly hurt mentally from this.
"Growl? Be orginal, man." Warren was misunderstanding the point of Sean using such a weak move.
"Well I'm not the one using attacks that aren't even effective." Sean had a point to come back with. This reminded Warren of how bad he was just a moment ago, and he turned angry. This time he knew a move that would be effective, even if it wouldn't do damage.
"It's not gunna happen again so watch it! Haunter, use Spite!" thsi move would do no damage, instead it would take some PP (Power Points) away from the last move Doduo used, which was Growl - which Sean wasn't planning on using in the mean time. Haunter cast some kind of spell on Doduo, causing a dark purple shadow to appear out of it, showing that its mind has been tampered with to lose PP on Growl. Doduo had a headache afterwards, but this didn't stop it from feeling energetic.
"Oh wow... it's not like I was gunna use Growl anyway." Sean was being sarcastic. It was his turn and now he was going back to attacking.
"And now, Doduo, show Haunter who's the scary one. Use Pursuit!" in this situation, Pursuit was the strongest move Doduo had as it was super effective to Haunter as a Dark-typed move. This didn't do so much damage, but it was the best Doduo could do, besides, Sean could get lucky. Doduo looked as if it was tring to hide in the shadown, tring to make Haunter unsuspecting. It was working, as Haunter couldn't see where Doduo was. In just that moment, Doduo came out of the shadows to jump Haunter, causing real shock. The damage from this attack was quite bad, but not enough to be critical.
"If that's your best then this won't take long." Warren was more than confident that he was better and Haunter had better attacks. It all came down to what Warren was going to use then Sean could judge it for himself.
"Now to stir things up a little... use Curse!" this move didn't sound so good to Sean - and it wasn't going to be very good for him either. This move would cast a curse on Doduo, decreasing health each turn - more than poison would decrease. However, there would also be a downside for Warren - this move would take half of Haunter's damage away, and as it had already been attacked twice, this could be a really good thing or a flop. Haunter began to turn white, while also turning Doduo white. This shown that HAunter was casting the curse, and when the glowing faded away, a ghostly sign came floating from Doduo's two heads. It felt really shivvery and scared, although it could stand it, only just. Haunter felt really light headed at losing so much health, Sean could gain an advantage from this.
"So what... I've been through poison like a hundred times. Doduo, use Peck!" this attack was one of the two that could be used, and Sean couldn't be bothered to repeat Pursuit so he went back to using Peck which was also a good attack. Doduo ran across the floor, reaching Haunter and then jabbing its ghostly body with both beaks. The stab felt like a pin in a balloon, but it didn't quite burt Haunter. It would take a bit more damage than that.
"Curse is a lot stronger than poison, you know. Just wait until a couple of turns and you will see how it has affected Doduo." Warren was replying to what Sean said earlier.
"A couple of turns, if you'll last that long!" Sean was still confident he was in the lead, and he was but any strong move by Warren could take it away. It was Warren's turn to fight back.
"I'd like to see you last that long! Haunter, use Payback!" about the first part, Warren was being sarcastic once again. Payback was a move where if an attack was dealt the previous turn then it will do more damage, which was pretty bad for Sean. Haunter floated across the air at a quicker speed, and then struck its ghostly claws to Doduo, using a dark pwoer that made both Doduo's beaks squark out loud. The damage done by Haunter's claws was so horrific, and this time, Doduo was beginning to feel the pain. And with the Curse taking effect, there was even more pain involved. Sean was going to fight back.
"Don't let it scare you! Use Pursuit!" this was only one of the two attacks that Doduo could use, so it was getting a bit repetetive using the same attacks over and over. Nontheless, Doduo rushed off into a shadow so Haunter couldn't see where it was. Haunter kept looking about to see where Doduo was hiding, but in that second, doduo rushed out to jump Haunter. The shock of this power was scaring Haunter, even if it was a ghost itself. Now it was getting to be a close finish.
"Not so easy having a Normal-type against a Ghost-type, is it?" Warren was coming back. It left Sean without words for a moment.
"I wouldn't say it's easy to have a Ghost-type against a Normal-type either." Sean knew that they both were tough to battle with.
"Well it's not hard either. Use Peck!" Sean was ready to let Doduo use another attack. Before Doduo was about to attack, Warren interrupted by giving Haunter a command.
"Quickly, use Sucker Punch!" this attack was pretty much like Quick Attack only in Dark-type and stronger. This move would only take effect if the opponent was using an attack, which Doduo was. Therefore, when Doduo was running up to Haunter, once it was close enough, Haunter quickly took a jump to Doduo, causing a big fright and pushing Doduo to the floor. The damage done was bad, and the battle kept on narrowing down. This was going to be a close ending. Once Doduo got back up and walked over to its spot, it looked very wonky as it's feet were slightly damaged. Sean was ready to try again.
"Try again! Use Peck!" once again, this move was one of the only two that would work. Doduo ran over to Haunter once again, not expecting anything to happen this time. And, Then, Doduo jabbed both of its sharp beacks towards Haunter. Doduo's angry spirit made it a stronger attacker, so this attack was stronger than the others used. And Haunter could feel it as the damage made it moan for a few seconds.
"Ouch, looks like this is going to be a good finish." Warren noticed how this was getting closer to the end and they were both doing extra well.
"Yeah, but I will win." Sean was sure of what he was doing and knew that he was going to win. Warren had another idea, which would make Sean take it back.
"Not after this! Use Lick!" there was one thing Warren was forgetting while taking action, that Lick was a Ghost-type, therefore repeating the same mistake he made before. It was too late to take it back though, as Haunter was travelling through the air and reaching Doduo who was doing nothing but standing still. Haunter reached out its tounge, that then tried to slap Doduo. This didn't work, as its tounge turn translucent when trying to hit Doduo, as Haunter had a ghostly body with ghostly features, therefore its tounge could not hit Doduo. Warren was devastated.
"No!!" Warren regretted taking fast action without thought once again. Now it was time for Sean to win this, atleast it's what it looked like.
"Looks like you blew it there, Warren. doduo, finish Haunter off with Pursuit!" this was Doduo's strongest move it could use so this had every chance to win in Haunter's condition. Doduo ran into the shadows, Haunter tried to seek it out once it noticed that Doduo made a sudden movement. When it was too busy finding Doduo, just then, Doduo came out of the shadows, striking Haunter strong. The pain and shock was too much to bare, so Haunter fell to the ground with crossed eyes, before turning translucent, showing it had ben kncoked out.
"Aw!!" Warren was complaining at his first defeat, but there was nothing he could do exzcept try again on the next Pokemon. Sean was so happy to be closer to winning the quarter finals, but there was mroe to be done.
"Doduo! Return!" Sean quickly returned Doduo as the adreneline was rushing through him, he had kicks to get on with it.
"You seriously messed up here. Return." Warren returned Haunter, feeling disappointed in it. They now had to think of what to use next, and Warren needed to make a strong thought, one that was tougher than a ghost. Could Sean keep up the streak?​
 
@Bulletpoof - Congratulations Doduo grew to Level 23 and learned Uproar

@Screw The Rules, I Have Green Hair - You need to let Bulletproof know your next pokemon to continue the battle. Either post something in the thread or PM him :)

The deadline for the next stage or your battle is Saturday night, if there are any problems with this PM me.
 
OOC: I hope this is okay by Bulletproof - I want to get it done quickly, but I don't want to rush through a big battle like this.

Warren growled as he returned Haunter. His eagerness had cost him that match...but maybe he could use that to his advantage. After all, Sean was just standing there, smirking at him. He thought he'd come up against some stupid idiot who had no idea what he was doing. Time to prove him wrong.

"Let's go, Venonat!" he shouted, throwing his next Pokeball. The bug appeared on the field, facing Doduo. Sean snickered again. Warren gasped.

"Oh, I forgot the type advantage again! Oh no!" Warren sighed out loud, but he was grinning on the inside. Time to lull Sean into a deeper sense of security.

"Use Leech Life!" he shouted and Venonat sprung forwards, biting at Doduo's neck. The bird shook itself and, bending its neck down, plucked Venonat off and threw it across the arena. Warren put on a frown.

"Hmm, I wonder why that didn't work?" Sean rolled his eyes.

"Peck!" Warren smiled now as Doduo jabbed forwards with both beaks. Time to show him what he was made of.

"Confusion!" he shouted quickly and Doduo screeched to a halt as Venonat raised a hand, panting with the effort of holding back the bird.

"Now, Sludge Bomb!" Venonat chuckled as it raised its free hand, a ball of putrid slime forming in it. Doduo struggled, but it was trapped. With one more laugh, Venonat released the Confusion and smashed the Sludge Bomb against Doduo's face. It stumbled back, hacking and coughing.

"Supersonic!" Doduo braced itself, then staggered as confusing sonic waves assaulted its eardrums. Warren grinned. This plan was working - just keep up a constant assault to batter down the bird.

"Poison Powder!" Venonat twirled, and a flurry of powder flew out of its fur, settling on Doduo and setting the bird coughing again. Sean growled.

"Concentrate, Doduo. Fury Attack!" Doduo stopped, still swaying a little, then charged. Whether by luck or by judgement, it caught Venonat a glancing blow then, heartened by its success, struck again and again before finally pulling back. Venonat groaned, slowly standing up and glaring at the dazed, poisoned and beaten up Doduo. Time to finish this.

"Peck it Doduo!"

"Confusion Tackle!" The bird lowered its twin heads and charged, beaks jabbing forwards. Venonat rose into the air, the fired forwards, spinning madly as it shot towards Doduo like a bullet. The two met in the middle of the arena and, with a loud crunch, both were thrown back to land on the sandy floor. Warren glanced down at Venonat as it slowly struggled upright. Doduo wasn't moving. Warren grinned smugly.

"Alright, Venonat! Round 2 to us!"

Sean nodded appreciatively as he recalled Doduo.

"You're cleverer than I gave you credit for, Warren. But your Pokémon simply won't be tough enough to beat my next battler. Let's go, Flareon!" Warren raised an eyebrow as the golden fox appeared onto the field, eliciting a gasp from the crowd. A single shiny Pokémon was an unusual sight, but to see two of them fighting it out?

"Ember!" Warren glanced back to Venonat, but already tiny flames were bombarding it, burning its fur. That Flareon moved fast. Warren growled as Venonat stumbled, already weak from the last battle.

"Poison Powder!"

"Quick Attack!" Flareon dashed forwards, but already Venonat had begun to spin and another cloud of toxic dust was flying off it. Flareon careered into Venonat, knocking it unconscious, but ran into the lethal cloud as it did so. Quickly, it ran out, but coughed a little, purple spores tingeing its breath. Warren grinned, even as he returned Venonat, then threw his next Pokeball, shouting as he did so:

"Cubone, you're next!" With a flash of light, the small helmeted rodent emerged onto the field, nonchalantly tossing its club up and down. Warren grinned.

"Bone Club!"

"Bite!" Cubone dashed forwards, weapon raised, but Flareon was faster. Nimbly side-stepping the swing, it turned its head to clamp its teeth onto Cubone's tail, then flicked to the side to send the rodent tumbling to the ground. It slowly got up again, glaring at Flareon with undisguised contempt.

"Ember, again!" Warren grinned. Time to shine.

"Headbutt!" Cubone lowered its head and charged, the flames striking it dead on but doing little damage thanks to the thick helmet. Taken by surprise, Flareon was caught by a powerful Headbutt and sent rolling head-over-heels.

"Bonemerang!" And before Flareon could right itself, a flying bone, hurled by Cubone, smacked it dead on. Growling, Flareon crawled back to its feet, only to be struck again as the boomerang did what boomerangs do best. Warren chuckled as Flareon gave Cubone a baleful stare.

"Alright, Sand Attack, Flareon!" Warren growled as the fox dashed forwards, then spun, sending a flurry of sand into Cubone's eyes. The change in tactics had taken him by surprise.

"Tail Whip!" Now Flareon looked up Cubone dolefully, gently wagging its bushy tail from side to side. Cubone glanced at Warren with a pang of reluctance.

"Quick Attack!" Cubone glanced round, but was immediately caught full on with the attack, having been caught off guard. It staggered back, winded, then raised its bone angrily. Warren could see the bruises forming, though. Flareon, despite its power was weakening too. The next move could decide this fight.

"Ember!" Flareon drew back, flames flickering in its throat. Everything slowed to a crawl as it spat the ball of fire. Cubone charged, raising its bone. Flareon narrowed its eyes, then dashed forwards in another Quick Attack. With a grunt, Cubone struck the flaming projectile and it exploded harmlessly. Cubone lifted the bone up and began to bring it down, but Flareon got there first, charging in its gut and driving it backwards. Cubone gritted its teeth as it flew back, then swung its bone downwards into Flareon's skull. The fiery fox cried out and stumbled, but its huge momentum carried the pair of fighters right into the wall of the stadium. Cubone and Flareon fell to the ground, both unconscious. Warren let out a sigh, then jumped as a klaxon sounded, followed by the announcer's voice.

"Alright, that double knockout means that one of our competitors has now lost three of his six Pokémon. We'll be taking the opportunity to have a five minute break, so the trainers can relax and reconsider their strategies. Don't go anywhere, people – we'll be right back!"
 
@Screw The Rules - Shame that Bulletproof had to leave, I was looking forward to an RPer versus RPer fight :/ Nice post though :)

Congratulations Venonat grew to Level 24 and can now learn Stun Spore, but Venonat already knows 8 moves! Should a move be forgotten? (reply in OOC thread)

Congratulations Cubone grew to Level 22
 
It was mid afternoon when Sam finally arrived in the main lobby. It had been a bit of a late start for him. With all he'd been through that day, he wanted a break. Instead, he was awaited by a young boy his age.

"You...about time we got paired up..." he said.

"Okay...nice...who the hell are you?" Sam asked.

"Why do you never remember my name?! Am I really that forgettable?!" he yelled.

"Um...sure?" Sam asked.

"Its Travis," he sighed, obviously annoyed.

"Hmm...oh right! You!" Sam said, remembering.

"Yeah...anyway, see you on the field..." he said tiredly.

"Eh, whatever..." Sam said, walking further into the room.

Travis, on the other hand, headed upstairs, for a hotel room. Knocking on a door, a voice echoed from it.

"Come in," it said. Travis obeyed. Inside, Oak was waiting.

"It's finally the time, then..." he said.

"Yeah...but...I'll win," Travis said, almost nervously.

"Yes...you'd better. We can't let him keep wrecking all of the trainers on our side," Oak said.

"Right...Danny's gone...but I won't be next...this is a VITAL draw for us," Travis said.

"Yes...now go and win," Oak said. Travis nodded and left the room.

Meanwhile, Sam was back downstairs looking at the draw. It was as Travis said. They were paired. Several other matches stood out, including Warren's, but nothing major at the moment. Picking up his pokemon, Sam headed off to the arena without a chat.

Inside, thousands of people were cheering, waiting for a match. Travis hadn't arrived, so he decided it was time to plan strategy. He knew Travis had that Sandslash and probably still an Ivysaur of his. Knowing someone like him, he wouldn't have hardly any if any at all when it came to two pokemon of the same type. That wasn't good. It meant he might run into the wrong Pokémon in this battle. Well, it all came down to pure guts, then. He'd just have to wait it out and hope he had what it took to win. Travis entered the arena suddenly, causing the crowd to cheer louder.

"Both trainers, this is a quarter finals battle! 6 on 6, so make this a fair match, begin!" the ref yelled. Sam scowled. This one hadn't even checked if it was the right person. It was time to begin, though. He thought about what pokemon he wanted out first. Umbre wasn't good to send out first, too much of a liability. Pika was the same way if he sent out Sandslash. Cloy was a good choice if not for Ivysaur and Pidg...well, that wasn't a problem. He added Pidg to a mental list and continued. Steelix was dead if Sandslash had any good ground moves and Nine was the same way. As much as he wanted to, though, he couldn't bring himself to use Pidg. He grabbed for Nine's pokeball as Travis grabbed one of his own. He had a smirk on his face, which made Sam second guess himself. He grabbed Pidg's pokeball immediately.

"GO!" he yelled, tossing it.

"Let's do this!" Travis yelled. From both balls emerged a brown bird, Sam's flying while Travis's remained on the ground, holding a stick.

"A Farfetch'd?" Sam asked.

"Way more than you can handle! Aerial Ace!" Travis yelled. Farfetch'd jumped into the air and flew at Pidg. It seemed to have power but god was it slow.

"Use your Quick Attack to get around it!" Sam yelled. Pidg charged then flew under Farfetch'd, striking it once as it passed it.
"Land and use Swords Dance!" Travis yelled. Sam looked on with a confused look. The last attack had failed, so why was he boosting his power? Oh well, free damage.

"Well let's do this! Twister!" Sam yelled. Pidg flapped its wings, picking up the strange other bird and sending it flying backwards towards a wall. Farfetch'd caught itself with its wings, however, and was ready to move.

"Use Slash!" Travis yelled. Sam cringed. This wasn't good at all. That was gonna be a real pain to him. Farfetch'd slashed with the stick, hitting Pidg squarely this time. It flew backwards, obviously in pain. This wasn't good. He was gonna lose really fast if this kept up.

"Hmm...I have no other choice then. Go in with an Aerial Ace!" Sam yelled, not wanting to waste another second.

"You too, use Aerial Ace!" Travis yelled. Both birds flew forward at a high speed, ready to knock the other out. Pidg, however, was faster. It dodged low and struck its opponent from below, hitting it hard.

"Good, I needed that. Return, Pidg," Sam said, pulling out its pokeball and returning it.

"What the hell?!" Travis yelled, angry that Sam had pulled out so early.

"Hey, I knew that thing definitely had power on me. I need something that can take it in speed. Pidg can, but I can't afford to lose him yet...so go, Pika!" Sam yelled, tossing out another pokeball.

Pika emerged, already set for a battle. Its cheeks were shocking already, so it was set for another round.

"Use Slash again!" Travis yelled. Farfetch'd charged forwards, its stick waving rapidly. This was Sam's chance!

"Quick, use Thunder Wave!" Sam yelled. Pika adapted immediately, sending out a burst of electricity that stopped Farfetch'd in its tracks.

"Let's do this, use Thunderbolt!" Sam yelled. Pika jumped into the air and sent out a burst of electricity at Farfetch'd, shocking it severely.

"Ouch, that's gonna hurt but quick, counter with Air Cutter!" Travis yelled in reply. Farfetch'd flapped one wing and what appeared to be sharp air flew from it, hitting Pika several times before disappearing.
"Damn. It can fight long range and close range. Bad combination, but let's go with it! Use Quick Attack!" Sam yelled. Pika ran forward, a white streak following it as it crashed into its opponent dead on.

"Poison Jab!" Travis yelled. Farfetch'd's stick suddenly started to change color and it stabbed forward at Pika, but Sam had expected a move like this one.

"Ready? Quick Attack!" he yelled. Pika charged under the stick and narrowly avoided the attack.

"Let's do this! Slam!" he yelled. Pika lunged forward and tackled its opponent, knocking it backwards.

"Hmm…I'll take your advice and return my pokemon!" Travis yelled, returning his pokemon to its pokeball.

"Well? You gonna make your next move?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, go Diglett!" he yelled. He tossed a pokeball and in a flash of light a small pokemon appeared in the ground.

"A ground type…the jerk. Pika can't use its best attacks, but I'm not gonna let him have me on the ropes! Let's hit it, use Slam!" Sam yelled. Pika lunged forward at its opponent, who simply stared, unafraid of Pika.

"Dig!" Travis yelled. His small pokemon buried under the ground and out of Sam's sight.

"Damn it," Sam whispered. This attack made it untouchable to him…unless…!

"Go! Use Thunderbolt on the ground and fast, Pika!" Sam yelled. Pika leaped up into the air and shocked the ground, breaking apart the dirt. Sure enough, Diglett was there, confused by what happened.

"Go for it with Quick Attack!" Sam yelled. Pika charged, straight out of the air. All the training they'd done with that combo back towards Cerulean had paid off. Pika was perfect out of the air. Diglett was hit hard.

"Humph, it's not worth wasting something good. Return, and go Farfetch'd!" Travis yelled. The small mole disappeared and the familiar brown bird appeared.

"Time to end it, then, Pika. We're gonna have to use everything we've got! Let's use Thunderbolt!" Sam yelled. Pika let out another burst of electricity, and Farfetch'd was hit.

"We're going down…better take it with us! One more Poison Jab!" Travis yelled. Farfetch'd flew forward and stabbed Pika with the purple stick, causing it to flinch in pain. Suddenly, Farfetch'd fell to the ground, knocked out.

"Farfetch'd is defeated!" the ref yelled, waving a flag at Pika.

"Well, Travis? Still so sure I'm weak? I'm going to show you if you do! You're going down right here!" Sam yelled.

"Hmm…I'll give you this. You're strong…but…this is going to me. I can't afford for it not to…" Travis whispered.

"Why? Why do you have to win here?" Sam asked.

"None of your business, now let's go, Sandslash!" Travis yelled, throwing out another pokeball. This time, a large shrew with huge claws appeared. Sam had seen this one before and taken it out with little trouble. Still, Pika had taken damage, that thing looked stronger and he was certain Pika was poisoned.

"Hmm…as much as I want to, return, Pika," Sam said, recalling his pokemon. The electric mouse disappeared into its pokeball as Travis laughed.

"See? You're weak! I'm going to defeat you here and now! Send out your next pokemon!" Travis yelled obnoxiously.

"You haven't got to be rude about it. I'll send out my next pokemon either way. Well, let's do it Cloy!" Sam yelled, tossing another pokeball. The huge oyster-like pokemon appeared, ready for a battle.

"Humph. I'm gonna take it down! Use Crush Claw now, Sandslash!" Travis yelled. Sandslash flew forward and slashed at Cloy with his huge claws, but Sam was expecting such an obvious attack.

"You've really got to learn that I don't fall for simple attacks like that one. Close your shell," Sam said calmly. Cloy's shell snapped shut as the attack connected, doing nothing but perhaps hurting the user of the attack.

"I curse that shell. Curse it!" Travis yelled.

"Curse it all you've want! Use Aurora Beam, Cloy!" Sam yelled. Cloy's shell opened up immediately and a rainbow colored beam. Sandslash was hit and frozen on the spot.

"Damn it…" Travis whispered.

"Think its bad now? Just wait! Use…ugh…" Sam said. His head suddenly felt like it was splitting in two.

"What's wrong? You're acting cool today," the dark presence said, laughing.

"Shut up…I just really need this win…" Sam said angrily. He hated acting like his darker second part. It was getting to be a bit of a pain.

"Eh…whatever, just wanted to offer my support…may I suggest the fact that you can break that ice? Poison Jab ought to be nice, and then follow up with something bit…your opponent won't last long against a tank like this thing long," the dark side said.

"I don't want your advice…even though that's what I planned to do…" Sam whispered.

"Hmm, I'm finally getting to you. Good…" it said, suddenly disappearing. Sam shook his head and he was back on the field.

"Well? You going to attack any time soon or are you going to let me thaw out my pokemon?" Travis asked, obviously angry with Sam's style right here.

"I could be nice and allow option two, or I could have fun and do this! Use Poison Jab on the ice!" Sam yelled. Cloy charged forward, its horn purple. It rushed the ice, striking Sandslash in the stomach before it flew backwards into the ground, rolling several feet.

"Cruel…use Rollout!" Travis yelled. Sandslash started to spin in the shape of a ball, and then flew straight at Cloy, who was basically defenseless.

"Heh…not so fast, now fire Water Pulse!" Sam yelled. Cloy charged up a burst of water, then fired it. Sandslash was hit hard, flying backwards into the ground again.

"That thing's got a perfect mix of power and defense…I'll give you this. You've got a great pokemon right there," Travis said with a touch of annoyance in his voice.

"Thanks, you too," Sam said, smiling.

"Then it's my turn! Crush Claw while it's recovering!" Travis yelled. Sandslash jumped into the air and brought its claw down on the inner body of Cloy. Sam was mildly annoyed by this, as he'd been practicing to avoid the time Cloy needed to recharge after that move. It was similar to the effects of Hyper Beam, though Sam knew this was because it didn't naturally learn this move. It would take a little more practice before he got the use of the move right.

"Hmm, very well then, Travis, I suppose you have forced my hand. Let's do it, Cloy! Icicle Spear, right now!" he yelled. He hated to use this combo because it took up so much energy at once. Cloy fired off five spears straight at Sandslash, who narrowly dodged each one.

"Good, now use Toxic Spikes!" Sam yelled. Cloy fired off a large number of purple spikes across the field. That would restrict Travis's movement for a little while at least. It would stop Sandslash for sure.

"Shoot…" Travis whispered.

"This is the end! Fire, use Water Pulse!" Sam yelled. Cloy fired off another burst of water, hitting Sandslash straight on, knocking it backwards into the spikes and icicles. It skidded to a stop in front of Travis.

"Come on, finish it! Use Crush Claw once more!" Travis yelled. Sam cursed under his breath. Sandslash was going to do the same thing Farfetch'd did. End the fight with a lot of damage taken, but hit once more for a lot of damage. Sandslash charged and hit Cloy dead on, causing it to flinch again, and then fainted immediately.

"That's two down for Travis! Cloyster wins the round!" the ref yelled.

"Though it didn't win by much…" Sam whispered. He knew that this next round was going to be even harder. He had three injured pokemon, one of which was poisoned, all of which had taken serious damage already. Travis had three healthy pokemon, equal in number to his but he also had one slightly injured pokemon. Things were about even right now…

"I choose my next pokemon as…this! Diglett, go!" Travis yelled. The small mole appeared again.

"Hold it!" the ref yelled.

"What is it?" Sam asked, annoyed now.

"We have to switch the field.

"Fine…just make it fast. Return, Cloy," Sam said.

"Right, you too Diglett," Travis said. The refs were just going to switch the field out for one Sam hadn't yet destroyed. It wouldn't last five minutes. Still, this was his rest for the match. What could he do with the current circumstances? What else but improvise? That was the only thing he had going for him, so he sat down in a rest area he found on the field.

OOC: I am the freakin definition of epic xD Also, I finally got word to work again a couple days ago, read my post, hated it, rewrote and I got this...sorry it took so long :( I'll have more up very soon ;)
 
@Izuna - Yay a post! I've been waiting ages for a new one :D A good battle so far :)

Congratulations Pidgeotto (Pidg) grew to Level 29
Congratulations Pikachu (Pika) grew to Level 32
Congratulations Cloyster (Cloy) grew to Level 24

With the change of field, Maple finally had a chance to take a breath and assess what had happened so far in the match. The two trainers looked evenly matched, with Sam probably just in the lead at the moment. A few good rounds for Travis and it could all change though, this match as far from over. Maple looked over a few rows and saw Oak looking concerned, she then turned her attention back to Sam willing him to win...
 
OOC: Part two is here! Part three, with the last two battles will be up tomorrow!

Warren sighed as he sat on one of the benches at the edge of the arena. He was at a disadvantage, and he knew it. Poliwhirl, Victreebel and Elekid were all he had left now, to take out the rest of Sean's team. This battle was undoubtedly the toughest he'd ever had. A bell rung as the crowd began to cheer again, signalling that the match was about to resume.

Warren stood up and moved back over to the battlefield, watching Sean at the other end. He was looking pretty confident. The referee raised both flags, then glanced at Sean.

"As you are leading, you will release your Pokémon first." Sean nodded, then threw his next Pokéball. It burst open, releasing a jet of white light which slowly formed into the shape of a small, blue seahorse. Warren grinned and released his next Pokémon.

"Yeah, like you'll stand a chance against Victreebel!" The plant burst into the arena with a screech, glaring at the small blue seahorse.

"Vine Whip!" Victreebel cackled as it leapt forwards, lashing out wildly with the vine on its head. Horsea rolled to the side then, glaring at Victreebel, exhaled a massive cloud of black smoke. Warren frowned.

"Blow it away, Victreebel!" The plant raised its vine high in the air, then began to twirl it, slowly at first but quickly gaining in speed. The massive cloud that obscured the arena gradually began to drift away as Victreebel's makeshift fan cleared the air. But where was Horsea? Victreebel spun as it heard a chuckle, but was too late to defend against a speedy Bubblebeam that caught it head on and knocked it off its feet. Victreebel slowly pulled itself up, wincing as Horsea glared at it malevolently.

"Again, Horsea!" Sean shouted, "Bubblebeam!" The seahorse complied, firing off a machine-gun-like burst of watery projectiles, but Victreebel was ready. As the bubbles neared it, the plant bent, flipped open its leaf, then caught the bubbles neatly in its mouth. As Horsea cut off the flow of bubbles, confused, Victreebel straightened up, then swallowed noisily, looking refreshed. Warren grinned.

"Plants feed on water, remember? Bubblebeam is useless! Victreebel, show that Horsea your Razor Leaf!" Victreebel leant forwards as it flicked its leaves, sending a barrage of razor-sharp foliage at the seahorse. Horsea winced as the attacked slashed at its hide, but glared defiantly at Victreebel. This fight wasn't over yet.

"Water Gun, all over the arena!" Horsea nodded, then began to spin, firing out a continuous stream of water. Victreebel ducked under a stray jet, then cautiously hopped back as a large pool began to slowly fill the other end of the battlefield. Eventually, it backed up against the edge of the arena, growling as the rising water levels slowly began to cover its lower body. Finally, Horsea slowed to a stop and glared triumphantly at Victreebel, breathing heavily. Warren grinned.

"Quick, it's tired! Vine Whip!" Sean smirked as Victreebel lashed out with its vine. Horsea, faster than the eye could track, dodged to the side, then shot forwards towards the huge plant. Warren gasped, but the seahorse was already upon them and, with a huge leap, it landed squarely on the rim of Victreebel's cavernous mouth.

"Smokescreen!" Horsea grinned, gripping Victreebel's lip with its tail, then swung forwards, smoke spewing into the plant's throat. Hacking and coughing, Victreebel swung round madly, before finally wrapped its vine firmly around Horsea, then sending the irritating fish flying backwards, to land with a soft splash in the water. Victreebel hacked and coughed, still enshrouded in a cloud of smoke as Horsea charged once more, the water giving it a quicker way to move. Making another leap, it flew right up next to Victreebel, before firing an explosive jet of water that sent Victreebel and Horsea both flying back. Warren growled as the plant slowly straightened up, blinking furiously as tears streamed from its eyes. The stinging smoke had as good as blinded it.

"Stockpile!" Victreebel, still blinking, bent down and began to suck up the water. Horsea growled, the charged again.

"Use Bubblebeam!" Horsea changed direction abruptly, beginning to circle Victreebel as it fired off a powerful jet of stinging bubbles. The plant quivered as it took the powerful blows, but kept on hoovering up the water. Warren looked on, his eyes narrowed. Finally, a bubble struck Victreebel across the face and the water splashed into its eyes. Snapping them open, Victreebel screeched in a mixture of joy and pain, sight returning to its cleansed eyes.

"Now, Victreebel! Spit Up!" The plant glared at Horsea and, with one fluid motion, unleashed the giant ball of water and bile that was building up inside of it. The seahorse squealed, but it moved too slowly and the humungous projectile struck it head on. It flew into the air, before landing face down in the water. A few air bubbles trickled out of its mouth, but it didn't move. Warren cheered as the small Pokémon was returned.

"Alright, Victreebel! One down, three to go!" The plant nodded, but it was clearly exhausted. Its chances of beating the next Pokémon were slim, at best. Sean let out a sigh, looking irritated. There was no doubt that he still had the advantage, though.

"Alright, let's go, Exeggcute!" With a flash of light, six pale pink eggs burst onto the field, hanging back t the relatively dry edges of the field. The middle was now filled with water, about two feet deep in the centre. Warren sneered. Exeggcute might have a slight type advantage, but it was unevolved and significantly smaller. He might stand a chance in this next fight.

"Use Sleep Powder!" Victreebel bent, the flipped open its leaf and let out a deep breath, carrying a cloud of blue spores. Most of the eggs jumped to the side, though one of them was caught in the attack, its eyes unwillingly drifting shut.

"Bullet Seed!" The eggs that were still awake leapt to attack, skirting the edges of the pool and firing off a barrage of seeds. Victreebel winced as it was caught in an attack from both sides.

"Now, Hypnosis!" Exeggcute hopped again, landing next to Victreebel, its multiple eyes glowing an odd colour. At the other end of the arena, the sleeping egg was beginning to wake up. Victreebel, however, was falling asleep, thanks to the hypnosis attack.

"Damn it, wake up!" Warren yelled in frustration, but the pitcher plant took no notice. Sean just smirked.

"Finish it – use Barrage!" All at once, the group of eggs leapt at Victreebel, bombarding it from every direction and eventually driving it to the ground. As it slowly tried to struggle upright once more, the sleeping egg's eyes snapped open and, blinking, it hopped forwards, then leapt almost the entire length of the battlefield to barrel squarely into Victreebel's face. The plant let out a long, low moan, then collapsed backwards onto the ground. Warren cursed. Victreebel hadn't managed to even get in a hit before it was taken down. Holding out a Pokéball, he returned the downed plant, then reached towards his belt. Who next? Elekid's attacks wouldn't do much, but neither would Poliwhirl's, and Bullet Seed could destroy the tadpole. It would have to be the electric-type.

"You're next, Elekid!" With a cry, the small electrical Pokémon burst onto the field, flexing its muscles as it glanced from side to side at the Exeggcute.

"Barrage!" Warren growled as the eggs leapt again.

"Quick Attack!" Elekid grunted, then charged forwards, ducking under one of the eggs and skidding to a halt as they fell into a disorganized mess.

"Now, take them out one at a time, Elekid! Low Kick!" The electric-type chuckled as it ran forwards, then drew back its leg and booted one of the eggs squarely in its face. As it flew back, Elekid struck again and again, the confused Exeggcute becoming more and more disoriented from being in six different places at once. Warren grinned as Elekid glanced around at the Exeggcute, slowly backing into the centre of the arena, the water washing around its waist.

"Again, Barrage it!"

"Jump, Elekid!" The small Pokémon leapt high into the air as the eggs flew forwards, sending plumes of water into the air as they splashed into the pool.

"Now, Thundershock!" Elekid grinned, looking down as its ascent slowed, then began to whirl its arms. Bobbing to the surface, Exeggcute just had time to scream before an electrically charged Pokémon flew into the pool, sending a powerful shock through everything else in the pool. Warren winced as a burning smell wafted through the arena, but the flashing sparks eventually died down, revealing five eggs floating upside down in the water. Standing resolutely alone on Sean's side of the arena was the final egg. By being a matter of inches away from Horsea's pool, it had avoided the attack completely and was now growling at the panting Elekid.

"Leech Seed!" Warren groaned as a seed was fired from the cracked top of the egg's shell, flying straight onto Elekid's torso, where it quickly sprouted and spread its vines across the whole of the poor Pokémon's body. Elekid winced as the cruel tendrils dug in, but stepped forwards, clearly angry. Warren gritted his teeth. Time to end this match.

"Swift and Shockwave!" he yelled and Elekid grinned as it fired a burst of golden stars, which floated up and began to circle its head like an eerie halo. Elekid gave Exeggcute one last grin before blasting the stars with a powerful jolt of electricity, sending them flying towards the egg. Exeggcute tried to dodge, but without legs, it was just too slow and it screeched as it was struck again and again, finally rolling over to land flat on its face – defeated. Elekid cackled as it stepped back, reaching down and savagely ripping the vines off its body. Warren gave it an approving nod.

"Only two left now, Elekid…and once we've dealt with this kid, we're through to the semi-finals!"
 
@Screw The Rules, I Have Green Hair - Wow, things are really close between Warren and Sean! Great battle so far!

Congratulations Victreebel grew to Level 31
Congratulations Elekid grew to Level 24
 
"The field is now ready! Both competitors may once again enter the arena," the ref yelled.
"There's my cue. It's time, then. I have to win…right here, right now!" Sam said, encouraging himself. He walked slowly up to the field, where Travis was waiting.
"Ready, Sam? I'm about to take out your entire team with round!" Travis yelled.
"Yeah yeah yeah…all talk, no action," Sam said, laughing.
"Shut up. Prepare to lose it all! Send out your pokemon!" Travis yelled.
"Hmm…there's no point in wasting a healthy pokemon. Better to use Pidg!" Sam yelled. He tossed out the pokeball and the brown bird appeared again. It was injured for sure, but it could hold its own for one more round at least.
"Let's do this then, Slowpoke!" Travis yelled. The pink pokemon appeared, tired looking.
"You really have a weak pokemon like that on your team?" Sam asked, confused. Slowpoke had no really great battle stats. It was just so-so in a few places. It could hold on against ranged attacks fairly easily but its attack abilities and physical defense could use some work. Then again, it probably knew that move…
"We've got to make this fast! Use Aerial Ace, Pidg!" Sam yelled. Pidg quickly flew up into the air, then straight down at Slowpoke. Travis chuckled, and then replied with a move of his own.
"Use Confusion, Slowpoke!" he yelled. The pokemon yawned then it became coated in a blue aura, as did Pidg, who was quickly thrown to the ground.
"And to make sure you can't do anything…Curse!" Travis yelled. Energy seemed to gather around Slowpoke and then moved onto its body and disappeared. Sam scowled, realizing this would raise both Slowpoke's power and defensive abilities. Still, if he remembered correctly, that move wasn't without its price…
"Very well, we have no further choice but to use Quick Attack!" Sam yelled. Pidg flew forward on a straight collision course for Slowpoke, but Travis smiled.
"Don't you know what Curse does? Allow me to show you…Headbutt!" he yelled. Slowpoke charged at top speed towards Pidg, or at least, Sam assumed it was top speed. It was actually moving quite slow, even for a Slowpoke, which was rather odd. The two moves collided and an honestly expected thing happened. Pidg flew backwards straight into the ground.
"Come on, get up!" Sam yelled. Pidg struggled to get up, but eventually pulled itself back into the air. It wasn't going to take another hit, that much was certain. Still, what Slowpoke had done was interesting. It had definitely been moving slower, but was that the cause? Sam was caught between two sides of himself, one wanting to use Pidg to test his theory, the other wanting to return Pidg for later on. Almost as though it wanted to weigh in, the dark side spoke.
"You know you want to test it, so why don't you?" it asked.
"Because I care about my pokemon," Sam said angrily in return.
"Humph…I guess I'll never get you and your pitiful emotions…" it said, fading out.
"Hmm…I've seen this move used before…he meant something by a second effect. Only one way to find out I suppose…Aerial Ace, Pidg!" Sam yelled, back in reality. Pidg flew in, flying left and right, ready to avoid attacks.
"Curse again," Travis yelled. Slowpoke gathered the energy once more and it coated its body right as Pidg hit. It flinched for a second, but nothing after that.
"That attack just keeps getting in my way. Still, defensive power can't make you invincible! Use Quick Attack, then go straight into it!" Sam yelled. Pidg charged at top speed, ready to strike, but Travis was ready.
"Come on! Headbutt again!" he yelled. Sam cringed. The new power would boost it, but something unexpected happened this time. It was moving slower. What could it be? He thought about it for a second then realized what had done it. What else could it have been except for Curse! This was obviously the negative part of the attack. If he wanted to win, this was his only choice.
"Quick! Pidg, dodge right and hit it on the side!" Sam yelled.
"You…you figured it out?!" Travis yelled.
"I had my suspicions earlier in the match, but I wasn't able to confirm them until you used it again…it was all a bluff to make you attack just like you did before," Sam said.
"And I fell for it, too…" Travis whispered.
"Yeah, hook line and sinker! Now, use Aerial Ace from above!" Sam yelled.
"You may have figured out about Curse, but I'm not beat. Your pokemon has already taken considerable damage, so finish it with Water Gun!" Travis yelled. Slowpoke fired a beam of water out at its opponent, who was hit head on and hit the ground, defeated.
"Pidgeotto has been defeated! The winners are Slowpoke and Travis!" the ref yelled, waving a flag at Travis this time.
"Hmm…in the end you did end up getting beaten…but good work, Pidg," Sam said, returning his pokemon.
"Well, you ready to take me seriously?" Travis asked.
"You think I haven't been? I knew you'd be trouble, so that was all part of a backup plan that I devised in the match. True, it cost me a pokemon, but I learned all I needed to about your move. That's what's important," Sam said, smiling.
"You say that now, but you're still going to lose. Return, Slowpoke," Travis said. Sam scowled.
"Why the early return?" Sam asked, confused.
"Because, with my luck you'll send out that Pikachu of yours and that'll spell Slowpoke's end. I can't afford to lose him yet. Instead, I'll let you see one of my better pokemon, so come on out, ALAKAZAM!" Travis yelled. He tossed a pokeball and a huge, yellow pokemon with a spoon in each of its hands appeared.
"Damn it…thing looks dangerous. I've encountered a couple of Kadabra…they were really fun…but these things are a whole other pokemon with a lot more power…damn I don't know if I can beat this thing…" Sam whispered. His fears were taking him. This was the kind of thing he didn't want to run into in the pokemon league.
"Give in to me, then," a voice whispered.
"N…never…" Sam said, trying to get back some confidence.
"Very well…I just wanted to help you out…I'll take you some other time…sometime important…heh…" the voice whispered, disappearing again. Sam was really starting to hate his alternate personality. Maybe a doctor was in order…but first this match.
"Well, you planning to use a pokemon?" Travis asked.
"But of course…hmm…who to use?" Sam asked himself as a reply.
This was difficult. The best option was to try to wear it down, but he needed Pika to take out the Slowpoke. He knew Travis would have at least an Ivysaur waiting for him, so Nine was totally out of the question. Umbre could definitely take this pokemon, but it wasn't time for that. Steelix could do it, but it wasn't the right matchup for him. He'd be better suited to take out Slowpoke if Pika fainted too fast, or Diglett, as his huge body could defend well and Travis's last pokemon would still have a little trouble thanks to the primary type of steel Steelix had. It was settled, then. Cloy was his only choice.
"Go! Cloy!" Sam yelled, sending out the huge oyster pokemon. It was ready to go, but obviously injured after the crush claw attacks it took earlier. Alakazam obviously had higher speed and ranged attack speed and power, meaning trouble for Cloy. Still, this round was important, as obvious as it was that Sam was going to lose it. Cloy didn't have the pure power to take out a pokemon like that, so he would just have to settle for heavy injury!
"Come on, Cloy! Use your Icicle Spear attack!" Sam yelled. Cloy fired off several icicles from within its shell, all of which headed straight for Alakazam. Sam thought it was cornered. Travis simply smiled and said two words.
"Miracle Eye," he said. Sam cringed. He knew what was coming. Alakazam's eyes lit up and it suddenly jumped backwards, dodging the first icicle. It then jumped up, dodging the second and third. The fourth was almost sure to hit it, but it brought its spoon down, finishing off the final move from that attack. Sam was shocked by how quickly it had made his attack useless.
"Hmm…not bad…it dodged or stopped all of my attacks there. Still, I can take you…looks like the field swap got rid of my spikes. Pity, as I'd have taken the day easily with those. Whatever, though. I'll still win! Use Water Pulse, Cloy!" Sam yelled. Cloy charged up, then fired a huge burst of water that was about to hit Alakazam when Travis made his move.
"Use Confusion," he said. Alakazam raised a spoon and the move stopped, covered in a blue aura.
"Ugh…so much power…" Sam whispered. That move was really powerful, yet it had been stopped so easily. Cloy was stuck now, too…
"Fire, then use Psybeam!" Travis yelled. The move slowly started to move backwards, hitting Cloy, who was then hit by a multicolored beam. This wasn't good. It was taking too much damage at too high of a speed.
"We have no choice. Close your shell!" Sam yelled. Cloy's massive shell slammed closed, locking all attacks out.
"Damn…" Travis whispered.
"Heh…that's right. This shell is almost indestructible and I wish you luck getting in it. Cloy's not touchable while it's in there and I think I can find a way to knock your Alakazam out," Sam said.
"Not likely, and don't think you're safe. NOW! Use Psychic to open the shell then fire Psybeam!" Travis yelled. Sam cringed, not expecting him to know how to do that. Cloy was lifted into the air and had its shell pried open, causing huge damage to it. It was then hit by the beam, almost knocking it out.
"Come on, use Aurora Beam!" Sam yelled. Cloy fired a beam, which hit Alakazam head on. It was obviously angered by this, as it lifted a spoon then slammed it down. Cloy followed the motion and was quickly knocked out.
"Crap…" Sam whispered.
"Cloyster is unable to battle!" the ref yelled, pointing a flag at Travis. Travis was smiling and Alakazam had a smirk on its face.
"Pika is the last choice I have right now…" Sam whispered to himself.
"Good work Alakazam, now get in your pokeball and warm up. I'll need your help later," Travis said, smiling.
"Switching again I see…" Sam said.
"You aren't getting any of my strategies down, Sam. I'm going to defeat you yet!" Travis yelled.
"I'm not so sure…" Sam whispered.
"Please pause, as four pokemon have been knocked out, therefore it is time for a field switch," the ref yelled. Sam scowled. They were changing the field so soon in the match, meaning they couldn't afford to have any problems with holes unless the fight was going on. Steelix could cause some trouble, though, so it was all good in Sam's mind. He'd just take a short break to plan out his strategy once more.
OOC: A little shorter in my opinion, but its a post ;) More maple views, please :)
 
@Izuna - Wow, Travis has really got ack into this match! :/ Sam's going to have to think of something fast...#

Congratualtions Pidgeotto (Pidg) grew to Level 30

With another change of field, Maple had another look over toward Oak... only to find the reputable staring right back at her with a huge grin on his face. Maple quickly averted her gaze embarassed. Oak had a reason to be smiling though, Travis had really fought his way back into this match... and that Alakazam of his looked really powerful! Maple could only hope Sam could come up with a great strategy to get back into the match...
 
Warren stared over at Sean, whose hand was flicking nervously between two Pokéballs, as though he didn't know which to pick. On the battlefield, Elekid was panting lightly from its last fight, still in a combative stance. Eventually, Sean grabbed one of his Pokéballs and raised it up.

"Alright, we're near the end, Golbat!" Warren grinned as the large bat swooped onto the field. A flying type should be easy pickings. Still, it had the advantage of flight and that meant it could move a lot faster in a lot more directions than Elekid.

"Confuse Ray!" For a second, Golbat shrunk as it closed its massive mouth, but then it burst open and a multicoloured ray burst out of it, washing over Elekid. Warren gritted his teeth as the beam faded, leaving Elekid wandering about in a daze.

"Concentrate! Use Quick Attack!" Elekid shook his head and tried to dash forwards, but Golbat simply rose smoothly out of the way, chuckling. Diving down behind the small Pokémon, Golbat attacked again, Astonishing Elekid with a surprise attack before smacking it with a brutal Wing Attack. Elekid growled as it fell into the shallower part of the pool, which reached just about up to its waist, but even as it glanced around, its eyes were wild an unfocused.

"Try a Shock Wave!" Elekid whirled its arms, stumbling wildly, and managed to release a bolt of lightning, but the attack shot off in the wrong direction. Warren just grinned, however. As Golbat swooped down to strike once more, the bolt of lightning swerved mid-air and shot back towards the bat.

"Behind you!" Sean yelled and Golbat shot up as the attack barely missed its feet. Soon, it was ducking and diving as the Shock Wave chased it up, down and all around the arena. Warren grinned, but his victory was short lived. Diving down, Golbat landed, tumbling to a halt in the water. The attack followed, nearing its goal, but Golbat leapt at the last second, escaping damage as the electricity sped through the water and the creature standing in it - Elekid. Warren winced as the small Pokémon screamed in pain, but all was not lost. Not just yet. As Elekid slowly struggled to its feet, it shook its head, now free of confusion.

"Alright!" Warren yelled, "Show him Thunder Shock!" Elekid whirled its arms once more and Golbat, tired from its manic flying, was struck by the bolts of yellow lightning. Smoking, it fell into a desperate plummeting spiral and Elekid charged forwards with a powerful Quick Attack. But then, Golbat's eyes snapped open and, stretching its jaws wide, it clamped its four sharp teeth onto the top of Elekid's head, bringing it screeching to a halt. For a second, everything seemed to freeze as the two Pokémon just stood there, looking incredibly ridiculous. Then Elekid let out a deafening screech, running madly back and forth, shaking its arms wildly as Golbat rocked back and forth on its head. Warren growled.

"Shock Wave, Elekid!" Elekid sank to its knees, but gritted its teeth, before screaming out loudly as it released a massive shock, directly into Golbat, which flew high into the air. Elekid turned over, barely able to stand as Golbat peaked, only just conscious.

"Wing Attack!" Golbat began to fall, not even trying to slow itself as it sped nearer and nearer to the helpless Elekid. There was nothing Warren could do as the bat drew nearer, pulled back a wing, and smacked Elekid halfway across the arena before crashing into the ground and throwing up a cloud of dust. Slowly, the dust settled, revealing two unmoving Pokémon - Elekid and Golbat were both unconscious. Warren groaned as he returned Elekid to his Pokéball, watching as Sean did the same with Golbat. Both raised their final Pokéballs together, and threw them to the field.

"Poliwhirl!"

"Arcanine!" Warren grinned as he saw the giant dog appear on the field. It might be bigger and physically tougher, but Poliwhirl was a water type and having half the field as a pool wasn't going to hurt.

"Bubblebeam, Poliwhirl!"

"Agility!" Poliwhirl stepped forwards as it let out a cascade of bubbles, but Arcanine was gone. Seconds later, it reappeared in a completely different spot. Then it disappeared again, and reappeared again, advancing on Poliwhirl, moving too fast to be seen. Arcanine finally skidded to a stop as Poliwhirl let up on its attack, glaring at the large dog, which had been completely unharmed.

"Time for a different tactic, Poliwhirl! Rain Dance!" Poliwhirl grinned as it began to hop from foot to foot, spinning around madly. Sean just raised an eyebrow but, to be fair, Poliwhirl did look pretty ridiculous. Eventually, Poliwhirl finished its mad dance and glared triumphantly at Arcanine. Warren glanced up at the sky. Clouds were rushing closer, but they were still a way off. He glared at Poliwhirl.

"Well that was impressive," he deadpanned. The tadpole just turned and glared at him, clearly affronted. Determined, it jabbed its hand to the sky. Warren looked up again and gasped. Where moments before there had been a clear blue sky, now the air was thick with dark grey clouds and, as Warren watched, the first drop of rain fell straight into Poliwhirl's outstretched hand. Suddenly, the heavens opened and a torrential downpour splashed onto the field. Warren grinned, his hair already plastered to his skull. Poliwhirl was made for these conditions, but Arcanine's fur was soaking up the rain like a sponge, weighing it down.

"Now, Water Gun!" Poliwhirl attacked again, sending a powerful jet of water this time. Arcanine dodged again, but this time a trailing foot was caught in the blast and the giant dog stumbled. Warren grinned. Arcanine was slowing.

"Arcanine, Take Down!" Charging forwards, the giant dog barged into Poliwhirl and threw it backwards. The tadpole stumbled as it landed, but remained upright and jumped back into action, swinging its great gloved hands to smack Arcanine across the face, again and again and again. Eventually, Poliwhirl slowed the attack and drew back, leaving the two adversaries glaring at each other.

"Water Gun again!" But this time, Sean was prepared.

"Overheat!" Poliwhirl released a blast of water, but Arcanine was attacking too, firing an incredible jet of white-hot flame that burst through the tadpole's attack in a burst of steam and struck Poliwhirl dead on, engulfing the water type in a stream of fire. Warren gasped as the attack eventually faded - not only was Poliwhirl badly burnt, but the arena had been baked dry by the heat of the attack. The rain was still falling though, moistening the ground and cooling the tadpole's wounds.

"Bubble, Poliwhirl, spread it everywhere!" Poliwhirl nodded, then sprayed out hundreds of bug, glistening bubbles, forming an almost solid wall which flowed towards Arcanine.

"Fire Wheel, Arcanine!" Warren growled. A powerful attack like that would take Arcanine right through his wall of bubbles.

"Water Sport, Poliwhirl, then Body Slam!" Already wet from the rain, Poliwhirl shot a weak jet of water up in the air, to come splashing back down over its face. Arcanine, meanwhile, leapt into the air and curled into a ball in one fluid motion, coating its fur in flames before rolling forwards with a solid determination.

"Wait for it, Poliwhirl!" Warren shouted as the tadpole moved to begin its attack, "Not until I say!" Arcanine burst through the watery wall, a flaming maelstrom of terror.

"Wait for it!" It sped forwards, leaving a black line behind it where the ground was scorched.

"Wait for it!" He could feel the heat coming from it, even from the edge of the battlefield; he could feel steam rising from his damp hair.

"One more second!" Arcanine was close - too close - now!

"Do it!" Poliwhirl charged, running straight into the oversized Catherine Wheel, gripping the sides with his white gloved hands. Steam erupted into the air, there was a horrible squealing, but what it was, Warren could tell. The spinning seemed to be slowing, but it was hard to tell through the steam and the flames.

"Here we go, Poliwhirl! WATER GUN!" The tadpole yelled and a massive cloud of steam covered the battleground. Warren could see nothing, but he could hear the sound of something falling heavily to the ground. Slowly, the steam dissipated.

"But...how?!" Both Pokémon were still conscious, though Poliwhirl only just - it had fallen to its knees. Sean grinned.

"Arcanine's power is just too much for you. His fire burns to hot for water to put out!" Warren gritted his teeth.

"Well I didn't come this far to lose to some mutt! Poliwhirl! We are not leaving yet!" The tadpole raised its eyes, glaring at Arcanine, with pain evident on its face.

"Come on, runt! We have been through eight gyms, three rivals and five rounds at the Indigo Plateau! You are too tough to be defeated by a dog!" Poliwhirl closed its eyes and for a second, Warren thought it had fainted. But it was just focusing. Gradually, Poliwhirl staggered to its feet and stared balefully at Arcanine. The dog just snorted in response.

"Do it, Arcanine! Overheat!"

"Water Gun!" The two of them were less than a metre apart. In a burst of fire and water, the two of them flew apart, skidding backwards, still standing, still fighting. The jet of fire was slowly but steadily shrinking, as the water gradually began to quench the fire. Sean's eyes widened. Warren grinned.

"Full power!" With one final push, Poliwhirl broke through the jet of flame and smashed the powerful spray of water straight into Arcanine's face, driving it to the ground.

"Alright Poliwhirl, time for your signature move!" Poliwhirl redirected its spray straight down and, with a quick blast, the tadpole shot high into the air. Spinning around, it aimed itself at Arcanine, who was struggling to its feet, and flew down with a powerful Body Slam, straight into the dog's face. Both fell to the ground in a puff of dust. For a second, there was no sign of movement. Then, swaggering like a champion, Poliwhirl burst out of the cloud, head held high. Warren burst out laughing as the dust settled, revealing Arcanine lying unconscious on the ground.

"We did it Poliwhirl! We're two battles away from being champions!" The tadpole glanced up at him and cheered. Warren grinned. Two more battles...two more chances to lose this opportunity. His smile slipped for a second and he looked down at Poliwhirl, still waving happily. Warren grinned again. Yeah, like he was going to lose now!
 
@Amoire of Invincibility - Nice post. Sean took Warren right to the wire! Time for the semi-finals :)

Congratulations Elekid grew to Level 25 and learned Light Screen
Congratulations Poliwhirl grew to Level 31

OOC: Could you post your choice of number in the OOC thread. Then, once Izuna's post is up I will put up the semi-final draw :)
 
"Okay then! The field is ready for the return of both trainers!" the ref yelled. Sam stood and walked over to the field, ready for the next round. With Pika, Steelix, Umbre and Nine left, he couldn't make many mistakes. Travis had his Diglett, Alakazam, Slowpoke and Ivysaur or Venusaur. No matter how he considered it, Sam couldn't find an easy way out of this fight, but it was a challenge, nothing more. He simply had to focus. He stopped, now in his position and Travis stopped on his side.
"Travis. Up until now, I have focused simply on dealing quick damage. Now I focus on but one thing, destroying your team one by one!" Sam yelled.
"Humph. I'd love to see you try, Sam," Travis said mockingly.
"Very well, send out your pokemon then!" Sam yelled.
"Fine, I'll use something you've already seen. Go, Slowpoke!" Travis yelled. The pink pokemon appeared once more, the boosts and falls in its stats gone.
It was a fresh fight. Sam hadn't expected this and now had to plan accordingly. It would be a waste to send out Umbre or Nine. Steelix…well, he needed him against Diglett. It was kind of shameful, but he couldn't take down the small pokemon without the size Steelix had and Slowpoke could beat him. His last option was Pika, who was poisoned. He had to finish fast, then.
"Hmm…I don't want to do this, but you leave me with no choice. Pika, it's your turn!" Sam yelled. The small electric mouse appeared, shocking, but injured at the same time. It was poisoned, but Sam was sure that he could win the fight with speed or other tactics.
"Pika, you aren't going to last long with poisoning. I'm sorry that I have to do this, but I need you to help me take down Slowpoke while you've still got energy. Ready?" Sam asked.
"Pikachu pika pika!" Pika cried, ready to go.
"Okay then. We're starting! Use Thunderbolt, Pika!" Sam yelled. Pika jumped up into the air and fired off a huge jolt of electricity. Travis cringed.
"Ugh…you…you know that won't work, right?" Travis asked, attempting to sound calm.
"You just wish," Sam said mockingly. Travis was trying to stop another burst of this attack, but Sam couldn't afford that. Slowpoke was hit and injured severely. Electric attacks obviously had their desired effect, though Slowpoke didn't immediately faint…
"Humph…you leave me no choice! Shake it up with confusion!" Travis yelled. Sam cursed quietly. This would make the poison spread much faster than he needed it to. Slowpoke easily lifted its foe and shook it about, then tossed it up in the air and Pika hit the ground hard.
"Damn. That's gonna hurt…we have to finish this fast…but how?" Sam asked.
"Worried? You aren't winning, Sam. I learned you don't need Curse to beat you with long range attacks!" Travis said.
"Heh…you know, I'm glad you learned, Travis. Problem is…it's the fact that you think you learned that going to end this. Pika, get up and get ready. We're ending this big. Use Thunder wave to stop it!" Sam yelled. Pika let out a wave of static electricity, instantly freezing Slowpoke.
"And now, Travis, a trick I learned from you. End big when you're going down! Use Thunderbolt on yourself then use SLAM!" Sam yelled. Pika shocked its body and then charged straight at Slowpoke, eventually throwing its weight at full power. Slowpoke fell backwards, knocked out. Pika stood for a second, then fell over. The poison had finally finished it.
"It is a double knockout! Both pokemon are defeated!" the ref yelled.
"Great job Pika. Great job," Sam said, returning his pokemon.
"You too, Slowpoke," Travis said, returning his pokemon as well.
"Hmm…but what to use now, I wonder…" Sam whispered.
"I'll start us off. Go Diglett!" Travis yelled.
"Okay then…go Steelix!" Sam yelled. Both pokemon appeared. The small mole and the giant snake appeared, ready for battle.
"I'll start this off, then. Magnitude, Diglett!" Travis yelled. Diglett disappeared underground and apparently started moving, as quakes started up. This one was weak, but Sam knew that Magnitude had the potential to be stronger than even Earthquake.
"Steelix…go under and find it! Dig!" Sam yelled. Steelix disappeared under ground. A few seconds passed and then Diglett was thrown straight up. Sam scowled at the fact that no one could see its feet even now. Steelix quickly followed, looking angry.
"Go for it with Gyro Ball!" Sam yelled.
"Not so fast! Dig!" Travis yelled. Steelix flew forward as a tornado, but Diglett hit and dug, making it disappear so fast that Steelix couldn't hit it.
"Damn…" Sam whispered. This thing was proving to be troublesome. While Sam was trying to pinpoint its location, Diglett decided to give him a hint in the form of an attack. It flew out of the ground and hit Steelix on the lower part of its head. Steelix cringed then shook it off. Sam took a second to smile at how strong it had gotten. This was short lived, however, as Travis had apparently given a command while he wasn't paying attention. A bunch of mud flew up and hit Steelix head on in the eyes.
"What in the hell…?" Sam said, looking at Diglett. Mud Slap attack…a very handy move in this case. It lowered Steelix's accuracy AND it dealt damage. That wasn't good no matter how you thought about it. Still, there was one other option. Sam didn't like it that much, but it could be fun to try out.
"Steelix, use your tail to smash Diglett!" Sam yelled. Steelix's tail flew out and over Diglett before coming down hard, but Travis had apparently expected this.
"Use Dig!" he yelled. Diglett ducked under the ground, now hidden.
"Damn…how troublesome…" Sam whispered.
"Now Magnitude, Diglett!" Travis yelled. The ground started to shake violently. Sam grabbed his pokedex and looked at its screen. It read "Magnitude: 10."
"Damn it!" Sam yelled to himself, quickly adding a few choice curse words after it. This was the highest level Magnitude could reach, dealing more damage than Earthquake.
"Well? Want to give up or do I have to finish you with this! Use Magnitude once more, Diglett!" Travis yelled. Sam looked at his pokedex then laughed. It read Magnitude: 1.
"That's the problem with that move, Travis. It doesn't ensure high power…not like this! USE ICE FANG!" Sam yelled. Steelix's head flew forward and its teeth turned the air around it icy cold. Diglett was picked up by the fangs and then brutally bitten.
"Diglett, hold on!" Travis yelled.
"It's over, Travis. Use Rock Tomb now, Steelix!" Sam yelled. Steelix slammed the ground with its tail and several rocks popped up around Diglett, crushing it.
"We…did it!" Sam said, smiling. Diglett had been defeated.
"Humph…I've lost four to you…but you can't beat my best two. You've proved that," Travis said, mocking Sam now. "Return, Diglett," he continued.
"Diglett has been defeated!" the ref yelled.
"You return too, Steelix. You deserve a little bit of a rest before you have to fight again," Sam said, returning his pokemon as well.
"Well, you know I'm not letting a healthy pokemon at you since you'll just get rid of the only thing I have left at full power. Instead, go Alakazam!" Travis yelled. The yellow pokemon appeared again, looking ready for a fight.
"Okay then, Travis. Here's a pokemon you've never seen! My very first pokemon, my strongest pokemon and the pokemon that's going to defeat your Alakazam! Go, UMBRE!" Sam yelled. He tossed a pokeball and out came the small black fox-like pokemon.
"You really think that the type advantage will win you this fight? Think again! Use Miracle Eye, Alakazam!" Travis yelled. Sam wondered just what Travis was trying to do here. He knew Miracle Eye was dangerous, as it had stopped four Icicle Spears, but Umbre didn't use attacks like that and Sam was sure Travis knew that…what could he be planning? Only one way to find out!
"Umbre, use Quick Attack!" Sam yelled. Umbre flew forward, a white blur trailing behind it and it headed straight for Alakazam. Sam knew what was going to happen before it even started, though. Alakazam would try to grab it as Sam put his true plan into effect by commanding Iron Tail while spinning. The expected, however, became the impossible as Travis did something Sam hadn't planned.
"Use Psychic!" he yelled.
"Travis, are you psychotic? Psychic attacks don't work on dark typ-…" Sam was cut off by one of the most incredible things he had ever seen. The attack had succeeded, lifting Umbre off the ground.
"Sam, you may think I'm an idiot, but I had all this planned. I knew you'd try to start off with a physical attack, so I let you try to get you off guard. I KNEW that I'd need Miracle Eye's second effect to beat you. What you DIDN'T know is that when I use Miracle Eye, I can hit dark type pokemon with psychic type attacks! Now crush it!" Travis yelled. Sam cringed as Alakazam's focus zeroed in on one area, crushing Umbre's leg.
"Damn it…DAMN IT TO HELL!" Sam yelled. Umbre was almost crippled now and completely at Alakazam's mercy.
"Why don't you just give up? Is it worth watching your pokemon be hurt?" Travis asked.
"He's right…I gi…what the hell?" Sam yelled as Umbre ran over and tackled him.
"Umbreon umbre!" It cried, standing over him.
"Umbre…you're telling me you don't want to give up? That you're fine and won't give up until it's over…?" Sam asked, knowing his pokemon had the will to keep going that he just didn't have. Of all the things he'd learned on this journey so far…this was by far the most important.
"Umbre!" it cried.
"Very well, Umbre. We'll keep going…and we're going to win! Travis! I'm not going down here! This match is mine!" Sam yelled.
"Keep telling yourself that…I'll keep hitting your pokemon with the most powerful of my attacks until you really do taste defeat! Alakazam, use Psybeam!" Travis yelled.
"Umbre, don't let him! Use Quick Attack to get around it!" Sam yelled. Umbre nodded and flew forward, easily dodging the beam and heading straight for Alakazam.
"Now switch to Pursuit!" Sam yelled. Umbre's body was quickly covered in dark energy as it flew forward and tackled Alakazam, knocking it backwards towards its trainer.
"But…how? I crushed its leg!" Travis yelled.
"You underestimate…my pokemons' will to win! Now, use Shadow Ball!" Sam yelled.
"Not so fast! Use Confusion to turn it around!" Travis yelled. Alakazam's spoons turned blue, turning the huge blob of energy around to where it was headed straight for Umbre, but Sam remembered something similar.
"Remember training with James? Let's use what we learned! Use Iron Tail!" Sam yelled. Umbre jumped up into the air and spun, hitting the blob and causing it to fly back at the user of the counter. Alakazam was hit with huge power, knocking it backwards.
"Where…where'd you learn that?!" Travis yelled.
"Training…with a friend! Umbre, let's do this with Pursuit!" Sam yelled.
"Not so fast! Use Confusion to throw it back to its weak trainer, Alakazam!" Travis yelled. Alakazam's spoon turned blue and Umbre was quickly lifted off the ground and tossed backwards towards Sam. It hit and skidded to a stop very quickly.
"Okay then…time to think. I've pulled this strategy all match…I know that its powers are weak over here…but they're incredible over there. Travis trained it so well…to fight close range fighters like you, Umbre…but how to fight it from here…unless I don't have to fight it over here! Umbre, use Psychic, now!" Sam yelled.
"It can use Psychic?!" Travis screamed with a look of pure terror on his face. Umbre demonstrated its powerful ability by lifting Alakazam up from long range, then slamming it into the ground.
"Now let's finish this off! Pursuit one last time!" Sam yelled. Umbre charged quickly, running straight at Alakazam. The darkness quickly coated it as it charged closer and closer. Travis sighed a sigh of defeat. Alakazam was finished here. It was hit and rolled back several feet before halting to a stop, defeated.
"We did it! We did…OH GOD!" Sam yelled. Umbre's leg buckled under its weight. That injury from the match's start was finally acting up.
"Umbre…return. You deserve a long rest for everything you've done. Steelix and Nine will finish this match," Sam said, returning his pokemon.
"Alakazam is defeated!" the ref yelled.
"Okay then…you've pushed me to this extreme. Go…VENUSAUR!" Travis yelled. He tossed the pokeball as Sam cringed. A huge pokemon with a blossoming flower on its back appeared.
Damn it…it looks so strong…can I take it? Sam wondered.
If you give in to me you can a voice in his head said.
How many times do I have to say it before you listen? GET THE HELL OUT! Sam yelled back.
Make me…but whatever…bye it said, mocking him.
"Okay then…Nine can't take it out at full strength…so I'll use Steelix first! GO!" Sam yelled. He tossed a pokeball and the huge steel snake appeared, ready for a fight.
"Humph…start charging," Travis said. A stream of energy started to enter the bulb on Venusaur's back.
"Humph…I don't know what that move is but you aren't using it! Steelix, use Dig!" Sam yelled. Steelix buried under the ground. A few moments later, it came back up and hit Venusaur hard. Sam was sure this did a fair bit of damage as it hit a weak against type and a strong against type, but Venusaur hardly moved.
"Now…FIRE!" Travis yelled. Venusaur had apparently been charging a high powered attack. A huge burst of what appeared to be pure solar energy hit Steelix dead on. Steelix faltered for a second, but managed to hold on.
"Humph…thing's stronger than I thought, but no matter. Let's use Toxic!" Travis yelled. Sam laughed. "What's so funny?!"
"You, Travis. I know that it worked for you earlier, but normally, attacks that are ineffective on pokemon don't' WORK!" Sam yelled.
"So?" Travis asked, obviously still confused.
"You'll see…" Sam said. Venusaur shot a vine forward that hit Steelix head on. Nothing appeared to happen, though.
"The hell?!" Travis yelled.
"You need to break skin for a move like that to work…that's why it failed," Sam explained.
"Oh…damn…" Travis whispered.
"Go for it the right way! Use Fire Fang, Steelix!" Sam yelled. Steelix charged in and tried to bite down on Venusaur, but it was faster than Sam had anticipated. It stepped right just quickly enough to avoid a dangerously powerful attack.
"Go for it with Razor Leaf, at the face!" Travis yelled. Several leaves flew off of Venusaur's back straight at Steelix, who was hit dead on several times with leaves.
"Crap…go in with Ice Fang!" Sam yelled. Steelix's head moved in and it bit down on Venusaur's leg. Travis obviously didn't notice but Venusaur did, it jumped up in pain at the power of the effective move.
"Grr…finish it! Use Take Down!" Travis yelled. Venusaur backed up a step and then charged forward, knocking Steelix to the ground. Sam gasped, as he realized that Steelix had been defeated.
"Venusaur has defeated Steelix!" the ref yelled, waving a flag.
"Return, Steelix. You did a great job…and you slowed it down a little. I'll end this the fast way…GO! Nine!" Sam yelled. He tossed a pokeball and the golden fox appeared.
"Earlier I heard you say that your Umbreon had been defeated in your opinion. Is this true?" the ref asked.
"Yeah…Umbre's beat. This is my final pokemon," Sam confirmed.
"Very well then. May the final battle of this quarter finals round…begin!" the ref yelled.
"We'll start this off fast! Use Safeguard, Nine!" Sam yelled. A green aura surrounded the fox, making it immune to status infections. Travis, however, apparently got that memo.
"Use Toxic!" he yelled. Venusaur's vine flew forward, but bounced off the aura. "What in the hell?! I'm pretty sure that's no steel type."
"It's not, but it won't work. I used Safeguard, which protects me. Now show it with Confuse ray!" Sam yelled. Nine's eyes turned purple and it stared deep into Venusaur's, causing its pupils to dilate.
"Fight against it, use Vine Whip!" Travis yelled. Venusaur sent out a vine, but it didn't do what Travis wanted. It flew back and hit Venusaur in the face. Sam couldn't help but chuckle a little.
"Now, use Will-o-Wisp," he said. Nine opened its mouth and a blue ball of flame flew out, landing on Venusaur, but nothing appeared to happen.
"That was odd…but whatever. We've got to take it down, Nine!" Sam yelled.
"Not so fast…Venusaur, listen to me. Start charging it up again," Travis said. Venusaur shook its head and its eyes were normal. It started to charge the beam. Sam scowled. This hadn't done much other than get it to hit itself once. Still, that beam was going to be trouble. The only reason the first one had been slow was because it was just out. The sun was shining and this one would charge fast. He had to move now!
"Nine, use Flamethrower!" he yelled. Nine charged up then fired a jet of flame from its mouth.
"Not so fast, Sam! Fire!" Travis yelled. Venusaur fired a beam out of its bulb again. It collided with Flamethrower, trying to push it back while Flamethrower fought back against it.
"Mm…COME ON NINE! You've got to do this! Give it everything you've got!" Sam yelled.
"Heh…you act all strong, but you aren't. Crush it now!" Travis yelled. The beam suddenly flew through the flames and crashed into Nine.
"Damn it…it's too strong. We have no other choice now, huh? Firewall!" Sam yelled. Nine spit out some flames that quickly grew into a wall in front of him and Venusaur.
"Hmm…I'd better make your end quick. Charge up again," Travis said. Sam cursed, knowing that Nine would have trouble against another hit from that move.
"Well then, Travis. I'll have to make this quick, use Flamethrower!" Sam yelled. Nine jumped over the wall of flame and shot a burst of flame down at Venusaur. The fire hit Venusaur head on, injuring it.
"Now fire!" Travis yelled. Venusaur replied with a heavy burst of energy. Nine was sent flying into the ground, almost definitely knocked out.
"Nine…NINE! Listen to me! You've got to get up! If you give up now…our dream…it dies! GET UP!" Sam yelled. This couldn't be the end…he couldn't lose here.
"Nine…TAILS!" Nine cried. It slowly got up, angry now.
"If we don't end this right now, though…it's over. You can't take another hit from that Solarbeam and I can't lose here…but how…wait. Firewall's still up…Nine. Step into the flame," Sam said. Nine nodded and walked into the fire. Its body started to heat up and its ability activated.
"Come on, it's over! Fire one more time!" Travis yelled. Venusaur was charging already.
"Come on! Charge up your Flamethrower…boost it to full power, then fire! NOW!" Sam yelled. Both pokemon charged up energy then fired. Fire energy versus Light energy. The moves hit at full power, then pushed back and forth for a little bit.
"Nine…I believe in you! You can win this! GO!" Sam yelled. Nine's body started to glow orange, meaning Flash Fire had reached its highest level. The moves stood at a stalemate for a few seconds, and then Nine broke it. The flame flew down through Solarbeam at full force and crashed into Venusaur. It cried out in pain, then fell to the ground, defeated.
"That's it, then. The winner is…Sam!" the ref yelled. Sam smiled, and then returned Nine. He had done it. He'd won!
"You…you beat me…even now…Sam. I will not forget this…I will defeat you…just you wait. Soon…very soon," Travis said, leaving. Anger coated him.
Now there's an interesting human…so much hate in one body…I like him, the evil personality said.
And I hate you…why don't you just go live in Travis? Sam thought back.
I wish it was that easy…but good job I guess…the voice said.
Thanks, now go away, Sam thought bitterly. The presence faded, and Sam was alone again.
He walked slowly back to the pokecenter, where he dropped off his pokemon.
"It's been a long day…time for some rest," he whispered, heading upstairs to his room.

OOC: Total epicness :)
 
@Izuna - Great post! Congratulations on reaching the Semi-Finals!!! :D

Congratulations Pikachu (Pika) grew to Level 33
Congratulations Umbreon (Umbre) grew to Level 34
Congratulations Steelix grew to Level 23 and can now learn Sandstorm, but already knows 8 moves. Should a move be forgotten? (reply in OOC thread)
Congratulations Ninetales grew to Level 29

As she saw Venusaur fall to the ground, Professor Maple started cheering... along with everyone else in the capacity stadium. Sam had won! She looked over to where Professor Oak had been seated moments ago, only to see an empty chair. He obviously wasn't happy that one of his trainers had been defeated by one of Maple's. Shrugging this off, Maple went back to cheering for Sam and his pokemon!

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"So everythings okay at the lab?" asked Maple.
"Of course, of course everythings fine," replied the smiling man on the screen, "I see your trainers are still doing remakably well?"

"Yes!" said Maple excitedly, "Two trainers in the Semi-Finals! I can't believe it!"

"Well I'm sure its because of all the expert help you gave them Professor."

"Oh Robert," giggled Maple, "Don't be so silly!"

"I'm serious," replied Robert looking at his watch, "But isn't the draw soon?"

"Oh no, I forgot!" cried Maple, "Have to go, keep up the good work at the lab Robert!"

"Goodbye Professor," said Robert chuckling, as he saw Professor Maple turn on her heel and sprinting off in the opposite direction.
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Maple skidded into the main hall, which had emptied considerably since the draw had already been made. Maple breathed a sigh of relief as she looked up at the screen, which was still displaying the Semi-Final draw.

Warren (Pallet Town) vs Peter (Cerulean City)
Diane (Pallet Town) vs Sam (Pallet Town)

Looking at the draw, Maple knew how hard it would be for her two trainers. Peter was considered by many experts to be the outright favourite for the tournament, and Professor Oak would not want Sam to beat his final trainer left in the tournament...
 
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