I decided to let Shido lead against Sidney. Sidney himself started out with the all-familiar Mightyena. Shido trained a lot, and an X-Scissor took out over half of Mightyena's HP. This is starting out good. Mightyena countered with a Take Down, but it didn't really deal much damage. Another X-Scissor had quickly taken out Mightyena, and Sidney was down one Pokémon already.
Next he sent out Absol, who almost went down to an X-Scissor, but barely lived. This time again, he used Aerial Ace, but Shido managed to stay up despite the strong attack. He had very little health left, but I knew he would pull through the next round. The second X-Scissor had again taken out another of Sidney's Pokémon, and Sidney grew to level 53!
Sidney sent out his Sharpedo now. I saw the look in Shido's eyes, he wouldn't accept being called back when he has the advantage, even though he's tired. I decided to let him stay and use Leaf Storm. It was so effective, it took out Sharpedo in one hit! I'm glad I trusted Shido.
Now he sent out his Shiftry. Was it time to switch out Shido? But before I knew it, I had already called out another X-Scissor. Shido rapidly took out Shiftry! Shido is in such great shape today! I decided to let him stay for the last of Sidney's Pokémon, Cacturne! Shido used another X-Scissor, but to no effect. Cacturne defended himself with Spikey Shield and Shido hurt himself slightly. But Cacturne can't keep that up twice, so let's try again! It proved effective, and Cacturne was quickly taken out.
Shido had defeated Sidney by himself. Wow. That's all I can say. He was tired, but pulled through and took out three more Pokémon, what more can a trainer wish of his Pokémon?!
I quickly nursed Shido back to full health and went on to the next Elite Four member, Phoebe.
This time, I put Casimira in the lead. I felt confident in her ability to deal with Ghost type Pokémon.
Casimira mega evolved as soon as she came out of her Poké Ball, and used Swords Dance. Dusclops used Shadow Punch, but didn't deal much damage at all. I decided to push my luck, and do another Swords Dance to be sure, I think Phoebe would retaliate with another Shadow Punch, or ineffective attack. It turns out I was right, another Shadow Punch had landed on Casimira, but it dealt again very little damage.
It was time for offense, and a Night Slash quickly took out Dusclops.
Sableye was next, and I couldn't use Night Slash or Psycho Cut, so I went with Stone Edge, however Sableye used Fake Out and Absol flinched. Another attempt proved succesfull, and Sableye was taken out in one hit.
Dusknoir came out next, and Casimira was under pressure. However, she pulled through and landed a perfect Night Slash, taking out Dusknoir in one hit!
She's doing really well, just like Shido!
Phoebe's iconic Pokémon came out now - Banette. Another Night Slash landed perfectly and took her out too. Casimira is on a whole other level now.
Phoebe's last Pokémon now came out, her last Banette. Another Night Slash did the trick, and Banette fainted.
We were victorious again. And rather easily too!
My Pokémon, they've trained so hard and became so strong.
Glacia of the Elite Four was next. I decided Akira's Fire Fang would be great on Glacia's first Pokémon, Glalie, so I put Akira in the lead this time.
As expected, Glacia sent out Glalie first. His Ice Shard landed on Akira, but she shrugged it off easily. Akira's Fire Fang almost did half of Glalie's HP damage too.
Another Fire Fang almost took down Glalie, but he was still able to fight. The second Ice Shard hit Akira, but like the last she didn't look hurt at all.
Glacia restored Glalie's HP with a Full Restore, but the next Fire Fang had burned Glalie. Glalie's next Ice Shard hit a bad spot on Akira, it looked to deal more damage than normal, but Akira's next Fire Fang was enough to finally take out Glalie.
Glacia's next Pokémon was Froslass, the Ghost/Ice type. Froslass used Confuse Ray on Akira, who then hurt herself.
It was a good time to switch out Akira, who was now below half HP. She's fought well and deserves a rest.
I sent out Scylla, whose Crunch would deal massive damage on Froslass. Once Scylla entered the battle, Froslass used Blizzard and dealt a lot of damage to Scylla, but Scylla had seen better, and her next Crunch took out Froslass! A one hit KO!
Glacia then sent out another Froslass, who also got knocked out by Scylla's Crunch. Now, Glacia sent out her iconic Pokémon: Walrein. Scylla's Earthquake did a little damage, but the bulky Walrein endured it well. Walrein used Sheer Cold to instantly deep freeze Scylla, but Scylla evaded the attack!
Scylla then attacked with Crunch which did good damage on Walrein, I'm sure he felt that!
But alas, Walrein's Sheer Cold hit Scylla, and she was knocked out.
Then I'm sure Shido will do well. He was in good shape anyway! A brilliant Leaf Storm took out what remained of Walrein's HP, and Shido grew to level 54!
Now Glacia sent out Glalie, a tough opponent for Shido. He used Dark Pulse, but only dealt little damage since he recently used Leaf Storm.
Glalie responded with Hail, which pelted on Shido, damaging him a little. Shido's X-Scissor managed to take Glalie's HP down to half, but Glalie's Freeze Dry severely hurt Shido. He was not going to win this fight at this rate. I decided to switch him out to be safe. I was certain Casimira could finish the job on Glalie. Glalie used Freeze-Dry on Casimira, and slightly damaged her, and the hail was pelting on her too. But a Psycho-Cut did great damage on Glalie, and his HP got severely low.
Glacia restored Glalie's HP, but Akira's Stone Edge almost took out Glalie instantly. The next Psycho-Cut did it, and Glalie fainted.
We had defeated the third of the Elite Four! We had our revenge! Yes, we have certainly grown - and a lot too!
After having been in cold temperatures for so long, the fiery bridge behind Glacia's chamber nearly burned my skin. It warmed me up a little too well. I decided to give Scylla the lead for the next battle to come. I'm not sure what to expect, so I'm sure Scylla will adapt well.
Awaiting me in the next chamber was a fierce and stern looking man. He introduced himself as Drake, the Dragon Master.
He opened up with an Altaria. Most of Scylla's move are ineffective on her. I decided to go with Crunch, which dealt more damage than I expected and lowered Altaria's defence. However, a Cotton Guard quickly negated that effort, and Altaria's defence rose sharply.
I decided to go with Surf, but that dealt little damage too. Altaria's Moonblast severely hurt Scylla. She wouldn't be able to keep this up for much longer.
A last-ditch effort Cruch almost took out the remainder of Altaria's HP, but it was not enough.
It's time to sent out the latest member of our group: Valruna.
Her Dark Pulse did little damage on Altaria after Drake restored her health with a Full Restore. Another Dark Pulse did another bit of damage, and Altaria was now below half HP. She used Cotton Guard to raise her defence.
Another Dark Pulse almost took out Altaria, and she retaliated with a fierce Moonblast, but it didn't even deal half of Valruna's HP. The last Dark Pulse was enough to take Altaria out. Drake was now one Pokémon down too.
His next Pokémon was Kingdra. who's yawn lulled Valruna to sleep after she used Fly. I was unable to wake her up, and Kingdra used another Ice Beam and dealt severe damage to Valruna. I decided to switch her out for Casimira. She took heavy damage from another Ice Beam. Her Night Slash was almost enough to take out Kingdra, but he still had enough energy to use Surf, taking out Casimira.
I've now sent out Akira. Drake restored Kingdra's health with a Full Restore, and Akira used Crunch which dealt a good bit of damage. Another Crunch almost took out Kingdra, who now used Yawn again! I decided not to risk it and switched Akira out for Shido.
Kingdra again used Yawn, and Shido was already looking drowsy. I decided to switch him out again too and put Akira back into battle.
Kingdra used Yawn yet again, so I followed the same routine once more. Kingdra now used Surf, but Shido hardly seemed to care. Shido used Dark Pulse and took Kingdra out! Akira had gained enough experience to reach level 53 from this too!
Drake's next Pokémon was Flygon. I'm sure he sent him out against Shido for a reason... I decided to attack Flygon with a Leaf Storm that took out most of Flygon's HP at once. Flygon used Screech, harshly lowering Shido's defences. However, another Leaf Blade proved enough to defeat Flygon.
Drake's iconic Pokémon, Salamence now entered the battle. I knew Shido wouldn't last long against Salamence, so I switched him out for the asleep Valruna in an attempt to wake her up. Salamence used Dragon Rush, but missed, luckily. I urged Valruna to wake up, but to no effect. Salamence used Dragon Rush and defeated Valruna.
I sent out Akira to fight against Salamence now. Salamence's Dragon Rush dealt a lot of damage, nearly taking out half of Akira's HP. But Akira's Crunch was more effective against Salamence, who lost more than half his HP from that attack. Salamence used another Dragon Rush, but Akira dodged it well, and she used Crunch in return. It almost took out Salamence, but he still had enough energy to battle.
Another Dragon Rush nearly took out Akira, but she could still pull off a Crunch on Salamence. They were equal in strength indeed.
Shido had gained enough experience from this to hit level 55!
Now, Drake sent out his last Pokémon, Flygon. Akira wasn't going to last much longer, I hoped she could weaken Flygon enough for Shido to finish the job. Her Crunch hit hard, and Flygon nearly lost half of his HP. Akira then fainted from Flygon's Earthquake. It was now up to Shido, we were both on our last Pokémon.
Shido used another brilliant Leaf Storm, and it was enough to take out Flygon!
We had won!
We defeated the last of the Elite Four!
Words can't express the pride I feel of my Pokémon. They pulled through, it was hard, but they managed, and it is thanks to them that we can now face the Pokémon Champion!
I nursed my Pokémon back to full health as we prepared for the next fight.
Behind Drake's room was a steel bridge that stretched over a seemingly infinite depth. I hardly dared look down, but as I did I could find nothing there. On the far side, two massive doors slowly opened, and up the stairs the Champion awaited me.
It was Steven?! Steven is the Hoenn League champion! Well, even though he's a Champion, I was sure I was in for a tough fight.
Steven first sent out Skarmory to fight against my Scylla. Her Crunch had hit Skarmory, but it hardly seemed enough. Skarmory then used Toxic and badly poisoned Scylla. I knew she couldn't fight long, so I told her to use Surf, which dealt a lot more damage to Skarmory. Skarmory then used Spikes, so now I'll be at another disadvantage when I switch my Pokémon. However, another Surf was enough to take Skarmory out!
Steven was now down one Pokémon, and he now sent out his Armaldo.
Scylla used a brilliant Earthquake, but it dealt only little damage, and Armaldo's X-Scissor was enough to defeat Scylla.
It was time for Shido to take to battle, but immediately he was hurt by the Spikes.
He again used an amazing Leaf Storm, and took out Armaldo in one hit!
Now Steven sent out his Cradily, and Shido used Leaf Blade, which nearly dealt half of Cradily's health in damage. Cradily used Confuse Ray, and I, still not a fan of my odds, decided to switch Shido out for Akira. Cradily used Sludge Bomb and dealt a lot of damage to Akira, and poisoned her too!
Akira's Fire Fang did not deal much damage to Cradily at all, and Giga Drain healed Cradily right back up. It was strong enough to defeat Akira too.
I now sent out Casimira, who Mega Evolved when she came out of her Poké Ball. She then used Swords Dance and raised her attack sharply. Cradily used Giga Drain again and took out a large portion of Casimira's health.
Casimira used Night Slash and took out most of Cradily's health, but Cradily healed back up with another Giga Drain, and took out Casimira in the process.
Things were not looking well. Shido's Dark Pulse almost took out Cradily, but it wasn't enough. Cradily's Sludge Bomb also severely damaged Shido. Steven restored Cradily's health with a full restore, and Shido's Dark Pulse damaged Cradily slightly once more. What a fearsome Pokémon. I decided to risk another Leaf Storm, which critally hit and almost took out Cradily!
Cradily now used Ancient Power and took Shido out. It was now up to Valruna to finish Cradily off. Steven, however, used another Full Restore, and Cradily was back on full health.
Valruna used Dark Pulse, which critically hit but still dealt little damage. She then used Fly which dealt a little damage. Cradily used Confuse Ray, but Valruna being my last Pokémon meant I couldn't switch her out! Valruna was confused, but still used Fly. In the air, however, she hurt herself in her confusion, and Cradily could use Ancient Power to deal massive damage to Valruna. I asked Valruna to use Air Slash, but alas she hit herself again in her confusion. Cradily hit Valruna with Ancient Power and took her out. Steven had defeated me.
Still, we made it all the way to the Champion. My team tried their hardest for me, and that's all I can ask of them. We will need to train up more before we can take on Steven, I know that now.