Chapter 44- Semifinal 2
Leaving the arena proved to be more challenging than I expected. Mainly because of the line of people that decided to camp at the exit closest to the closest Pokémon center. Arnold seemed seemingly frustrated when we met at the clogged exit. In the end, the security that was on standby had to request backup to crave a path through the excited crowd. That honestly took me aback, but maybe I simply underestimated the popularity of the yearly tournament.
“Damn, I guess I didn’t get what it meant to reach the semifinal,” I hear Arnold Complain.
“Tell me about it. I didn’t even consider it.” I sighed dramatically.
Once the people were calm enough, we were able to quickly explain that we had to go to the center, which thankfully seemed to work. The walk to the Pokemon center was uneventful with the both of us just making small talk when I decided to broach a topic I was curious about.
“So can you explain what happened with your Serperior?” Once I asked him, I saw his shoulders visibly sag. “If you don’t want to talk about it, it’s fine, you know.”
“No, it’s not that. It’s just a bit frustrating. He evolved last night while we were training. And unfortunately, I only have 3 Pokemon so I had to register him. It’s unlucky but nothing would be able to ruin the happiness of his evolution!” By the time he finished his last sentence, he was already bouncing in excitement.
“Yeah, I know what you mean. The feeling after an evolution is potentially unmatched.” I nodded sagely. “I could barely sleep when Nike evolved.”
“Right? And Frank was all nonchalant about it too! Bah! That guy is just an old, jaded guy.” He added in mock indignance. “And like you are one to talk! Where in the world did you get a Dewott? Was it from the professor?”
I couldn’t help but chuckle at that. “Fine I’ll go first but then you will also have to explain that Paldean Tauros.”
Once he agreed to it, we spent our time at the Pokemon Center filling in the blanks we left in our time apart for the sake of the tournament. Also, since he didn’t have any other Pokemon with him, he decided to wait at the Pokemon Center. At first, I considered rushing to the Big Stadium to catch Sera’s match but given the way the stands were packed, I doubted Nana and Pops would have managed to secure a spot for me. In the end, we handed our Pokeball to the nurse at the counter and watched the tournament with other trainers who stayed glued to the screen.
There was a kind of talk show where two people discussed some of the highlights of our match while a poll was kept to side with the opinion on the coming match. It was clear to see that Roy was by far the favorite on this one. Regardless, I shot her a ‘quick good luck’ text. I knew she was probably stressing so I also tried to add a funny sticker to help with that.
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Seraphina sat in the waiting room, waiting for someone to come and call for her. One of the benefits of reaching the semi-final was that at least she had the waiting room for herself. She fiddled with her phone, hoping to drown out the sound of her own voice telling her to doubt herself. Her sponsors were already ecstatic about her placement and even told her that she could forfeit the match without any consequences.
Still, she refused. Mainly due to her own pride, and the object she pursued. Champion Cynthia. A woman who proved to be the strongest trainer in recent history while also fulfilling her own passion for archeology. That meeting changed Sera to her core and was one of the memories she wouldn’t give up for any amount of money. But despite that clearly defined objective and role model, she couldn’t stop her own doubt from surfacing.
Just then, her phone vibrated, and she saw that Nexon texted her. It was a simple message really, but coming from someone who was rapidly becoming one of her closest friends, it did a lot to alleviate the stress she was feeling. That and the sticker of a dancing Riolu made her crack a smile for the first time since his own battle ended. She didn’t even get the time to put her phone back in her pocket that Arnold sent his own text with a GIF of a charging Tauros. This one made her chuckle because of the serious nature of the boy.
Once she started to laugh to herself, she realized that those two texts did a lot more for her stress than all her ruminating until now. She shot them a text to thank them and stood up. She had turned off the TV to avoid stressing herself out even more, so she stood in blissful silence. That silence was broken by herself, the sound of Pokeballs opening reverberating in the room as she released her full team around her.
Luxio and Pyroar were the first to appear as she went to reach for her belt for her two other capsules. As soon as they appeared, their usual bickering started. Ever since he evolved, Pyroar took every opportunity he had to remind Luxio that he now stood taller than her. Sure enough, he stood to his full height, almost as tall as her, and puffed his chest before bringing one paw toward Luxio’s head. The electric type however seemed to be expecting that as a tiny spark flew toward the outstretched paw. It wasn’t enough to hurt him, but enough to make him jump before she let out a pleased yowl.
When she released the Rufflet and Tirtouga, the two of them had the exact same reaction although for completely different reasons. She already expected Tirtouga to move behind her so she released her near her feet while Rufflet immediately took flight to perch himself on her shoulder and rubbed her beak against her cheek.
“Yes, it is now to see you too.” She smiled as she scratched on the base of his collar.
The reaction was immediate as Pyroar and Luxio stopped what they were doing and rushed toward her. Much to Tirtouga’s fright. The little one was still as fearful as the first day she was revived. She was fine around her team, but their rowdiness tended to sometimes make her step back reflexively this time was no exception either.
She disengaged and started to pet her two starters as well, causing a screech of protest from Rufllet. In the end, the feisty guy settled for claiming her head as his spot. And that is how she ended up on the ground under two felines, with a Rufflet on her head and a fossil Pokemon watching from a distance. Amidst laughter, she realized that should someone see the situation they would have so many questions.
After a bit of time and a lot of trying, she managed to get them settled a bit, at least enough for her to be sitting up. With the rest calmed down, Tirtouga must have decided that it was safe enough to come closer and she rested her head on Sera’s thigh. None of the others protested this time, opting to watch in envy as Sera petted her. The sight made her laugh a bit more before she composed herself. Once settled she reached up for Rufflet and placed him on the ground in front of her where her two battlers decided to wait.
“Alright now that everyone calmed down a bit, let me tell you why I released you all. You all know that I was doubting myself and I even considered it when they told me I could forfeit the match. in truth, I considered it until very recently.” That caused a reaction of indignation as all three of them wanted to protest. After all, they already convinced her that she was the strongest trainer funnily enough. “I know, I know, I will give everything I have. That’s why I called you all.”
She took a deep breath and took her time to meet all of their gazes. Luxio seemed the most excited about what was to come. Pyroar seemed ready to burst at the first word from her, while Rufflet simply watched her with determination. Even Tirtouga squirmed from her position next to her. She took another breath.
“I know that a lot of people expect us to lose this match. BUT-” she quickly silenced them with a raised hand. “-I do not intend to give them what they want. If we are going out there it is to do everything we to win. I know you all want to fight Nexon’s team too.” She smirked.
As soon as the name left her mouth their reaction was immediate. The most noticeable was Pyroar since it was hard to ignore the small rise in temperature, while sparks started to dance across Luxio’s fur and Rufflet almost seemed to double in size as he puffed his feathers. All her Pokemon saw the other team they were traveling with as rivals. It was thankfully the healthy type of rivalry, even if she had to step in a few times with Rufflet. Regardless, they all wanted to battle with their friends with all eyes on them.
“That’s the spirit! So, I say we go out there and show that guy what we are made of. What do you say?” the answer she got was a flurry of screams that made the dozing Tirtouga flinch in response. She calmed her down with her hand and spoke once more. “Exactly what I thought. Time to write my own story a la Cynthia. Win or lose we go with all we have!”
After that declaration, she took a few minutes to calm their excitement back down to an acceptable level and hung out with them. Once they were done talking a bit of strategy, she let them do whatever they wanted, which unsurprisingly ended up with her in a pile of furs and feathers. Pyroar took it upon himself to become a backrest while Luxio claimed her other thigh for her head and Rufflet went back to his perch on her head.
She was brought out of her thoughts by the noise of the door sliding open to reveal a Deerling-eyed employee looking at her as if she had grown 2 additional heads. Which honestly was a possibility from the perspective.
A few seconds of awkward silence later, she decided to speak. “Hi?”
That seemed to reboot the system as the employee spoke quickly. “Hi, I was asked to call you for it. I mean the match. I mean it is about to start.”
She chuckled a bit before trying to stand up, which was met with resistance. She rolled her eyes and fished for her phone. “Sorry, can I ask you to take a picture of us?” Both Luxio and Rufflet loved it when they took pictures, and it seemed they weren't willing to let this one slide.
The employee thankfully didn’t mind and after a quick picture, she was freed from her shackles. With two quick flicks of her wrist, she recalled her team and stood back up, making sure that she was still somewhat presentable. Rufflet did a number on her hair but not too much, so she followed the employee, and let herself be affixed with the microphone. Before she even reached the exit, she heard the crowd going at it.
One last deep breath and she was on the field, making her way to the trainer box and doing her best to shut the announcer out. Her opponent also stepped out of the corridor opposite her, somehow sporting a scowl and a smirk at the same time.
“This will be a 1v1 between Seraphina and Roy. Each trainer will have three Pokemon and two switches. Are both trainers ready?” We both nodded silently. “Let the battle begin!”
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“Come out, Pignite.” Roy sent a Pokeball flying.
“Let’s go, Rufflet!” Sera yelled against her better judgment.
The fire type landed on the field and struck his fists together while shooting a burst of embers from his nose, while Rufflet opted for a simple screech before taking to the sky. Sera clutched her already fist as she saw that she was right. He always started with his Pignite. She would have loved to go with Tirtouga but alas, she still didn’t want to fight, and Sera wouldn’t force her.
“Ember.” Roy was the first to speak up.
“Dodge with Tailwind!” she shouted.
Tailwind was a move she hadn’t used yet in the tournament, she kept it in her pocket in case she needed to surprise Nexon if they faced each other, but there was no need to hide it if she lost.
A cloud of ember shot out at a surprising speed toward Rufflet who thankfully was fast enough to whip the air current to his beck and call before the embers reached him. he spread his wings and let the wind carry him out of harm's way. It also had the nice little bonus of blowing the embers off course.
“Now Hone Claws!” the flying type started to rake his claws together, sharpening them with each passage. The fact he managed to do it while keeping a decent speed was the result of their training.
“Tch. Incinerate, stop them.”
Rufflet’s setup was interrupted when a massive sea of flame shot toward him. He did his best to steer out of the way, but the attack was so wide that it managed to still hit him.
Sera winced. “Retaliate with Air Cutter!”
“Rock Tomb. Defend”
The blade of sharpened air all honed onto Pignite, but before they could reach him, he stomped hard on the ground, causing boulders to erupt all around him. Some of the blades managed to slip through but that didn’t seem to phase him one bit. What’s more, once no more blade assaulted him, he stomped one more time, sending the rocks around him straight for Rufflet. Neither the flying type nor his trainer were ready for this move and he took a rock square in the chest which sent him tumbling down. He managed to stabilize his flight just before hitting the ground, but he was still too close to it.
“Flame Charge.”
“Zen Headbutt!” Sera shouted.
It was another one of her trump cards revealed, but she couldn’t let him control the battle. If she couldn’t avoid the hit, she would make sure it didn’t come for free. That was how Rufflet enjoyed his battles. Pignite charged forward, quickly igniting himself in a ball of fire that constantly sped up. With a screech of defiance, psychic energy flared around Rufflet before focusing in front of him as he charged forward.
Both Pokemon rushed for the other. They met in the middle of the arena in a brutal clash that made Sera’s heart jump in her throat. The collision sent out a cloud of dust of smoke that obscured both Pokemon.
“Clear the dust and Aerial Ace!” Sera shouted.
She would at least make sure the fire type wasn’t already down before attacking, but she would let him take back control of the fight. The cloud dispersed, from the center, at least confirming that her Pokemon was still conscious which made her sigh in relief. When she saw that the other Pokemon was also standing she braced for the coming attack but she was denied as a red beam recalled the panting fire type.
“I am switching.” He said as if that wasn’t obvious.
Sera took the time to take a better look at her Pokemon, and what she saw made her sure that he only had a couple of attacks left in him. Still, intended to make them count.
“Refresh the Tailwind” She called hastily before the next Pokemon took form.
She was unsurprised when she saw the small greenish dragon tough the field. The Axew was surprisingly calm as far as dragons went. There were no growls or roars as he touched the field, simply looking around. Once its eyes settled on Rufflet, it emitted a low growl in preparation for the fight.
The wind picked back up and Rufflet surfed its current to gain some altitude back.
“Hone Cla-” she started but stopped herself when she heard what Roy ordered.
“Dragon Dance.” He said with a smirk.
“Stop them with Air Cutter!” She shouted hastily.
Her eyes were still wide at the move. This could be very bad if she let them continue. Dragon Dance was a move that was on the extreme side when it came to the boost it provided. Axew didn’t seem to care one bit for her freak out as it took one step, followed by another in a completely different direction. It was an erratic movement with its tiny arms going for its knees before slamming onto its chest. With each movement it made, draconic TE rose and rose until it was fully visible in a purple and black haze around the not-so-tiny dragon. To make matters worse, the blades of air seemed to not even be a hindrance to it as it simply ignored them and took it head-on.
By the time she ordered Rufflet to use Aerial Ace to take advantage of his stronger physique, it was too late. With something halfway between a roar and a hiss, Axew raised its head to the sky, as if announcing his presence. Immediately after, Rufflet did a first fly-by, his wing slamming onto the exposed belly, and a second one aimed a bit higher to send the opponent flying.
“Dragon Claw.”
That was all she heard before a cloud of dust hid the Pokemon. She called for Rufflet to once more scatter it, hoping against all hope, but when nothing happened, she knew he was out cold. Even before the referee called the bout she reached for her belt and clutched Rufflet’s Pokeball so much that her knuckles turned white.
“Rufflet is unable to battle. You have thirty seconds to send out your next Pokemon.” The referee announced once the dust settled.
She didn’t hesitate as she recalled Rufflet and sent Pyroar out. She wouldn’t give him the chance to use another dragon dance.
“Thank you, big guy,” she murmured to Rufflet’s Pokeball. “Pyroar, Use Noble Roar and Flamethrower!”
The fire type didn’t need more than that and with a lungful of air, a powerful roar shook not only the arena but Axew as well. And before it had the time to recenter himself a torrent of fire washed over it. While it wouldn’t be very effective, it was better to seize the rhythm back. After a few seconds of uninterrupted fire, Pyroar finally let up. What greeted her was the Axew, still standing tall with his arms crossed in front of it, with only a few scales that looked slightly charred.
Roy seemed satisfied with the display as he allowed himself to nod before giving his next order. “Close in and Dragon Claw.”
This time at least, Sera could say that she saw what happened. Reacting was another matter, however. The dragon type moved on his seemingly stubby leg with surprising swiftness and his claws glowed with a greenish tint before extending beyond their normal length and slammed into Pyroar’s flank.
Sera couldn’t help but wince, but she owed it to her Pokemon to do her best. “Thunder Fang!”
She gave the command hoping to at least manage to paralyze the Axew and make it easier for Luxio to finish it off. Unfortunately for her, the electricity-covered fang snapped around thin air as a simple command from Roy caused the Axew to step back and out of harm’s way.
“Headbutt!” she snapped.
Immediately, Pyroar took off running, type energy coalescing around him. This type the dragon type didn’t get the time needed to move out of the way and was instead sent flying backward. Sera didn’t let it go and instead ordered a follow-up Flamethrower.
“Close in and Brick Break. Finish it.”
The stubby dragon once more rushed forward, this time taking care to avoid the gout of flames coming for him. Pyroar tried his best to follow its movement and aim the attack, but ultimately, Flamethrower was still a move that demanded a lot out of him, and he soon ran out of steam. Sensing the opportunity, Axew pounced with its protruding fangs glowing with fighting-type energy. With surprising force, it slammed them onto the panting Pyroar who went down without fanfare.
“Pyroar is unable to battle. You have thirty seconds to send out your next Pokemon.” The referee announced.
Seraphina sighed as she recalled her fainted partner. After a few words of thanks, she sent out her last remaining Pokemon. Strangely enough, where she expected to be discouraged by the outcome, only one objective stuck to her mind. At least knocking one of that guy’s Pokemon out.
Luxio appeared on the field already sparking with electricity and made her presence felt as even the dragon seemed to flinch back as Intimidate made itself known. And Sera wouldn’t let the opening go.
“Use Spark!”
The electric type shot forward, closing the distance between the two of them with Axew only having time to reposition itself. Surprisingly, it wasn’t a position that would facilitate the dodge. But rather, it looked more like…
“Catch it,” Roy spoke up.
She noticed it too late, but Axew seemed indeed like it was preparing to catch the charging Luxio. It anchored itself to the ground and spread its arm, opting to take the collision upfront. Sera watched slack-jawed as the collision occurred and the dragon found itself being slowly pushed backward instead of lying.
Damn it! Dragons are just unfair at that point.
She couldn’t help but curse inwardly. Still, Roy seemed overconfident in the typing, refusing to give any other orders. Seraphina had no such pride. Electric wouldn’t be useful, but she had other means.
“Bite and Slam!” She ordered.
This was a combination they worked out for facing an opponent smaller than Luxio. Granted with this Axew being bigger, the difference wasn’t so significant, but it would still make things a bit harder.
This time Roy responded and ordered another Dragon Claw, causing the extended claws to close in on Luxio. But her little one was a fighter through and through. Darkness bloomed around her fang as she bit the shoulder closer to her. It seemed even the dragon was reaching its limit as this time it didn’t manage to power through the pain to execute its move. With a surprising amount of effort, Luxio tensed and lifted the dragon type before slamming it to the ground.
After the first slam, the Axew tried to stand back. That was a bad call as it just prompted Luxio to repeat the action. Finally, after a third time, the dragon lay unconscious on the ground. Luxio stepped back closer to her without prompting and she allowed herself to relax for a while. That also caused the noise from the crowd to reach her ears and drown her thoughts.
She panned her gaze around, but quickly refocused on the match. It was far from over and she was still losing. Her only option was to quickly finish the Pignite that was running on fumes without Luxio taking too much damage and getting over the unknown third Pokemon. It was still doable.
Her gaze focused on her opponent, and she surprisingly caught a look of hesitation on his face as his hands moved from Pignite’s Pokeball to a Great Ball containing the mystery Pokemon. While he hesitated, Sera saw an opening.
If you want to dilly-dally, that's fine with me.
“Charge!”
She snapped her finger and Luxio’s fur started to spark more intensely than earlier, and the electricity was building up fast. That was something they always worked on when they had time, improving the speed of the move and it was paying dividends.
“Tch!” The microphone picked a clicking tongue and Roy seemed to come to a decision.
Pignite appeared back on the field, still as tired as he was. She saw Roy open his mouth, but she would not let him seize the advantage any more than she did in the beginning. It was time to reveal another result of her training.
“Thunderbolt!” she shouted, and she could imagine the giddiness of Luxio.
They had worked on this move while Pyroar worked on Flamethrower, but Luxio fell short this time. It took her a couple of seconds to build up the electricity need and that was with Charge. That unfortunately was enough time for her opponent to prepare.
“Endure.” He called out with a confident smirk.
She wanted to call off the attack from Luxio, but it was too late. The bolt of electricity shot out with violence toward the fire type that was already braced for impact. The roar of the Thunderbolt deafened her for a while and the flash it generated caused her to blink rapidly. She needed to see what happened. When someone used Endure, they generally had a plan for it, like how Nexon and Skoll combined it with Counter. And using it with a starter could only mean one thing.
As if to prove her right, the air inside the cloud of dust that was raised by the bolt of electricity started to shimmer. It reminded her of the effect they saw on route 4, only more extreme. Then it seemed to burst into flames as tongues of fire licked the air. Then with a squeal-like roar, the dust was pushed back, revealing a panting and crouched Pignite. Yet nothing about his form screamed frail.
The fur pattern that framed his chest seemed to glow with an internal orange light. They were also clearly the source of the distorted air as the heat emanated from them. The eyes of the Pignite were bloodshot as he stared at Luxio. For a moment she even feared that he’d lost control as many fire starters did when Blaze activated. But when he just stared, she realized that it was much worse, and he was at least somewhat in control.
“Incinerate,” Roy called out.
When she saw the fire type inhale deeply, she regretted the fact that she didn’t take Nexon’s offer to use his TM for Protect. Still, it wasn’t over yet. Pignite was on his last leg and even a simple Tackle will knock him out. She wouldn’t dare to have Luxio take this risk, however, since she had a much better option.
“Thunder Shock!”
A small pop of electricity shot forward without any need for any charging time. By now Sera would like to think that they had mastered the move. But unfortunately, it was too late. She didn’t even get to see if the bolt made contact with the fire type as a sea of flame covered her side of the field for a few seconds. She heard Luxio scream in pain but there was nothing she could do as the flame washed over the psychic barrier protecting the trainers and the spectators.
After a few agonizing seconds that felt more like minutes, the flames relented, revealing two prone forms on the arena ground. There was a bit of silence before the crowd went wild once more. She almost didn’t hear the voice of the referee over the cheering.
“Both Pignite and Luxio are unable to battle. Seraphina does not have any Pokemon remaining, the victory goes to Roy!”
She hurriedly recalled her electric type. “Thank you, you were the best.”
She tried her best to ignore the ringing in her ears and decided to at least go and greet her opponent. Only to see that he was already walking back to his entrance.
“Nexon, you were wrong when you said he was rude. He is a jerk.” She couldn’t help but mutter to herself.
She froze as she remembered that microphone she was affixed with but sighed in relief when she noticed that the small indicator was turned off.
Ignoring the jerk, she walked back toward her entrance and forced a smile as she waved at the cheering crowd. At least she would go and meet her friend at the Pokemon Center. She would make sure they at least bought her some Ice cream to soothe the sting of the loss.