A few hours later, we're back in the stadium for the battle round. And with so many coordinators cleared out, and Ursula in the second phase, she gets to bring us into the backstage area.
It's not that exciting for me, having already been there in Solaceon Town, but Lucas seems amused by the whole experience. "Is it always this lively?"
"Not exactly," Ursula answers, watching the same thing he is. "We certainly know each other, but not to this extent…"
She's referring to what I'm mentally calling the twerpfest. Almost everyone here is a twerp, a twerp-rival, a twerp-associate, or mortal enemy of twerps everywhere. Ash, May, and Brock, are walking around with Zoey and Dawn, introducing them to all these Hoenn coordinators that they apparently know.
I'm getting some names, at least. The lady with the Lanturn is called Grace, and she battled May in Fallarbor Town. I knew Drew was May's rival, but I didn't realize he was so accomplished, having been runner-up in the Hoenn Grand Festival. To Robert, actually who really is Wallace 2.0. He even has a poncy accent.
The Azumarill using soccer mom is Savannah, she is indeed a mom, and she has some backstory with May that I droned out. She was pretty boring compared to the Cacturne man, Harley, who's apparently got beef with May.
He tried to trick her into doing badly multiple times, but failed, predictably enough, though his attempts were still enough to earn May's ire. Personally, I think she shouldn't have been so trusting, especially of a guy who dresses as suspiciously as Harley does, but that's just me.
After they do the rounds, it's our turn. I'm shaking super hard, trying to contain my laughter as Dawn and Ash introduce Jessilina to May. She's absolutely as clueless as the rest of them. Kinda feel bad for Jessie, though. With so many twerps in the second round, it's gonna be really hard for her to win.
Luckily, they go to Nando before our trio, which gives me time to calm down, as May asks for a quick folk tune from him, which Nando happily obliges.
Finally, they come over to us, Dawn seemingly taking the lead.
"And this is Luna, who you've already met." My face twists a bit when she reminds May that I have a Glaceon too, and that I'm Ash's rival, considering how recent events have gone, but I still give the Hoenn coordinator a handshake.
Next in line is Lucas, who has history, but not in the negative kind.
Well, not for him, at least. "Wow!" May says. "If you've known Dawn for such a long time, you must have a bunch of stories about her!"
Dawn is waving her hands in front of her face like she's trying to land a plane, to try and make sure Lucas says silent, but everyone else is leaning in beggingly, and he succumbs to the pressure. "Well, if she ever visits you in Hoenn, make sure to keep her away from any Plusle and Minun."
"Why those two?" I ask, finding myself intrigued as well.
"There was an incident at our school in Twinleaf Town," Lucas remembers with a wry smile, "where Dawn chased around the school Plusle and Minun, and then grabbed them a bit too hard. They had her looking like a science experiment for the day."
Said science experiment is eager to get off the topic, all but dragging May to the next person in line. Dawn pauses awkwardly in her introduction, though. "Finally, this is…" I can see her struggling in how to explain Ursula to May. Rival might be very kind, considering some of the insults exchanged between them, mostly coming from one side in particular.
"Ursula. Charmed," my friend says curtly, not offering anything else.
You know, I thought Ursula was going to apologize to Dawn when she, you know, changed. It seems that apology isn't forthcoming though, considering she's giving her the cold shoulder now, which is only a slight improvement from before.
I quickly intervene. "Good luck, May. I'm rooting for you to win, you know."
Dawn and Ursula both have betrayed looks on their faces. May is surprised, in contrast. "Why is that?"
One because I'm not picking a side while they're both right next to me, and two… "Glaceon girls gotta stick together, am I right?"
She smiles at that, and I congratulate myself for getting out of that pickle unscathed. We'll see if it happens again because of how the battle stage shook out.
I give the contest organizers a lot of flack, because I feel like they're being disingenuous, saying everything is random and such when they're clearly making a decision to engage the crowd and the viewership on television, but they know what they're doing with this. This battle of the regions has everyone amped up, even more so that they first time double performances in Hearthome.
First up is Robert, the darling of Hoenn, against Emily, with her stoner Weezing. Everyone wants to see his Milotic in action, but again Robert keeps us waiting, sending out an Altaria instead.
Galarian Weezing, with being part-fairy, actually is one of the best counters to Dragon-types you can find. This might be more interesting than I originally thought.
Emily bursts into action as soon as the timer starts counting down. "Strange Steam!" Weezing sends out a cloud of that funky mist Altaria's way.
"Dragon Breath!" It seems Robert has no idea how this Weezing is different from normal one. His Pokémon is forced to ungracefully dive down out of there when Dragon Breath fails to do anything, lest it breathe more Strange Steam in. First blood to Emily, plus quite a bit extra, as Robert's points take a hit from a failed move.
"Thunderbolt!" she calls for next, not letting up the pressure. Weezing charges up with electricity, blasting a lightning bolt at Altaria.
"Acrobatics!" I didn't realize it, but with a levitater and a flier, this is also a Sky Battle. Altaria graceful dodges the move, evening out the point total a little.
"Strange Steam again!" Emily calls, realizing the wide range of the move isn't so easily dodged, and that Robert's last counter failed.
He has a new one on the fly, though. "Use Moonblast on the Pool!" Altraia sends the move straight down; when it explodes a giant plume of water intercepts all of the Strange Steam, and now their points are even.
Hmm. Something about what he just did… Ah, I lost it. Anyways, Emily is trying again. "Will-O-Wisp!"
Weezing brings forth three ghostly wisps to circle around it, before launching them at Altaria.
"You too, Altaria!" Robert commands. His Pokémon does the same, and both of them trade burns, and an equal amount of points.
Not really, though. "Refresh!" Altaria can cure itself.
"Thunderbolt!"
"Roost!"
Emily tries to take advantage of Altaria's refresh, but Robert has his Pokémon land on the ground, and now Thunderbolt is being shrugged off with ease. He loses a smidge of points, but Emily loses more for looking bad.
"Play Rough!" Weezing charges in, apparently done with staying at range.
"Fire Spin!" And promptly gets caught in a vortex of fire, draining Emily's points every second Weezing is stuck in there taking damage. Time is running out on her, too.
"Sludge Bomb in the pool," she finally orders, taking inspiration from what Robert did earlier, enlisting the water to help her. Unfortunately, her opponent has other ideas.
"Ice Beam!" As soon as the trajectory of the Sludge Bomb is revealed, Altaria swoops down and freezes that part of the pool into a patch of ice. As a result, there's no water to put out this Fire Spin, and the last few seconds tick away.
One for Hoenn. Robert's as good as advertised. He took that early misstep in stride, and recovered extremely well.
"He's going to be tough to beat," Lucas says, as Robert waves to the crowd.
"No kidding," I agree nodding towards Zoey and Grace, who are shaking hands before heading up the tunnel. "I don't envy those two. Even a victory means you're against him next."
"Robert isn't Wallace," Ursula insists to us. "He can be beaten." She doesn't elaborate on that point.
"A good mentality to have," Nando praises her. "Contest battles are indeed ripe for upsets,"
Over on the other side, Ash and friends are having their own conversation. "Who do you think is going to win between those two?" he's asking.
Both May and Dawn start hyping up the coordinators from their respective region. Brock seems thoughtful. "Lumineon against Lanturn is heavily in the favor of Lanturn, though."
"We're not going to see many fish Pokémon in the battle stage," Ursula confides to us. A bit too loudly, because the twerps are looking our way. The current trio, to be more specific.
"Why not?" Ash questions, though Ursula is quite reluctant to give her potential opponents any info. There are too many people for that to work, though.
"Because," Drew states, from the pillar he's leaning on while twirling a rose. "You might have a Pokémon stuck in the water, unable to punish someone showing off above it. You really need to be practiced with your Pokémon to pull it off."
Sounds like a problem a double battle would fix, with one partner always above water to prevent that. For now, as predicted, neither Zoey nor Grace send out their fish. It's Glameow for Zoey, against a Medicham for Grace.
Brave, to send out a cat for a water battle. Glameow is going to need all of its quickness, because one flying knee from Medicham's meaty thigh will have it seeing stars for a week at least.
I think Zoey would always want to begin with Fake Out, for free damage and a free point deduction for her opponents, but you can't really have Glameow run across the water in this situation.
Something Medicham is happy to take advantage of. "Meditate!" It gets in a yoga pose and closes its eyes, but I can see a matching smirk on Zoey and Glameow.
"Snatch!" A dark claw swipes through Medicham, stealing all that power for Glameow. And a few points, too.
"Iron Tail!" Glameow bashes the water, sending a tidal wave Medicham's way.
"Ice Punch!" Medicham lashes out with a powerful frozen fist, meeting the attack and stopping it cold, costing Zoey some points. "Now Brick Break!" Medicham starts shattering the frozen wave, sending chunks of ice flying back at Glameow.
Now I understand what I missed in the last battle. Even though these two aren't Water-types, they're still utilizing the pool! I gotta remember that.
Glameow is a bit too nimble, though, and it costs Grace a few more of her points. "Shock Wave!" Zoey orders, sending an unavoidable arc of blue lightning Medicham's way.
They don't seem to have anything to dodge or counter it with, and have to stomach the hit, and the loss of points. It's pretty clear already that long range combat is in the favor of Zoey. Medicham leaps into the air, to try and make it to the other side.
Even Medicham's incredible leg power isn't enough to make it. "Water Pulse!" Zoey orders, noticing what the rest of us do, trying to get Medicham to fall in the water.
Glameow needs help creating it, but there's a whole pool right there, and eventually, the cat flings a ball of water at Medicham.
"Psychic!" That's exactly what they needed. The ball of water becomes a slide with Medicham's power, letting it slip straight onto Glameow's land, very impressively, too. Zoey's only a little ahead, now.
Glameow's speed is its only saving grace, (heh) allowing it to dodge and duck dn twist away from the barrage of punches and kicks Medicham is sending its way. We're more than halfway through the five minutes, and it seems inevitable that something painful is going to land.
It ends up being Ice Punch, directly on Glameow's springy tail, freezing it straight to the floor. The cat yelps in vain, trying to pull itself free.
"Now for the finish!" Grace yells. "Hi Jump Kick!" Medicham flies in, one knee raised, straight at Glameow's chin.
Does Zoey have anything? I would not be as calm as she is right now! "Assist!"
Assist?! Are we playing the odds? Glameow's paw glows white for a second, and out comes…
Mud Slap from her Shellos. Straight into Medicham's face. That powerful knee misses its target five inches to the right, and everyone in the arena winces as Medicham clutches at it, in severe pain.
"Shadow Claw!" Defenseless, Medicham can do nothing against Glameow raking it with the super-effective attack. There's thirty-odd seconds left, but it's taken too much damage to continue.
Credit to her for having an emergency plan, but that was this close to going the other way. There are no pushovers around here.
Well, except for Jessie, perhaps, who's up next against May. If Jessie was participating in contests in Hoenn, I'm sure they matched up many times.
May's got a Wartortle, weirdly enough, as her Water-type. Jessie is running it back with Yanmega, which I agree with. Even if James's Carnivine has the type advantage, this thing seemed insanely strong.
Hopefully, James and Meowth gave her the rundown on what this beast of a Pokémon can do.
Jessie likes to attack, and Yanmega seems aligned with that, at least. "Air Slash!" she shouts, to get things started.
"Rock Tomb!" Wartortle builds a rock wall in front of it, but Air Slash blasts it into pieces. Rock shards shower Wartortle, and May's points take a hit first.
Everyone in the room is shocked. "What was that?" Ash asks loudly.
Brock explains to them what Lucas and I already seem to know. "Tinted Lens?" I ask rhetorically.
"Seems that way," he agrees with me. "There's really no defense that May can put up to withstand these attacks."
Nobody's out there to tell May that, unfortunately, Her Wartortle is getting battered even as it uses Iron Defense, by a Silver Wind.
She knows that this can't continue. 'Wartortle, use Water Pulse!" It fires a ball of water at the large dragonfly, but Jessie's on a roll.
"Bug Buzz!"
It appears that they did tell what move Yanmega used at the end of her appeal. The powerful sound waves shred through Water Pulse with ease, forcing Wartortle to turtle (double heh) and cover its ears.
"Ahahahahaha! You're making this too easy!" Jessie proclaims after a good cackle. I can see May grit her teeth on screen.
"Ice Spinner!" This is some sort of Rapid Spin variation, I assume, by the way Wartortle covers itself in ice and throws itself like a top at Yanmega. It's a bit too easy for their very mobile opponent to simply flit out of the way.
May and Wartortle's points are in the bin. Jessie's circle is pristine, by comparison. Wartortle dives into the water to avoid another Silver Wind, and it's looking pretty terrible, I'm not gonna lie.
"Come out, come out, wherever you are?" Jessie sing-songs. "Yanmega, suss out that sniveling sucker with Sonic Boom!" Yanmega fires crescent shaped shockwaves into the pool, forcing Wartortle to scramble around in the water rather ungracefully, precious seconds ticking away, seconds that May needs to make a comeback.
Only thing is, as dominant as Jessie is right now, she's kind of lost sight of the contest. As we established before, now is a perfect opportunity for her to show off Yanmega while Wartortle is stuck in the pool, drain away the rest of May's points and wrap this up.
She wants to knock this twerp out. The allure of beating May in a Pokémon battle is too much.
Yanmega continues to fish for that knockout blow, but it's starting to labor as it's using its attacks. I notice why, seeing something I did during the Sky Battle tournament, and nudge my friends. "Yanmega is way closer to the water level than when this started."
They don't seem convinced. "How can it be getting fatigued? It hasn't taken any damage!" Ursula asks.
"Look closer every time an attack hits the water," I insist. They do, and realization crosses Lucas's face.
"The spray from the water," he says. "It's getting on Yanmega's wings, which are already delicate to begin with, and bogging it down. It needs its wings for all its attacks, too."
Yanmega's getting to the point where all it will be able to do is stay aloft. May's face has gone from extremely concerned to bright, like the lightbulb just went off in her brain.
"Air Slash!" Jessie orders, though she's visibly confused when Yanmega doesn't use the move. "Yanmega, what's wrong? I said to use Air Slash!"
While she's trying to figure this out, May's taking the opportunity. Wartortle leaps back onto land from the water. There's not a lot of time left, so May really needs to make these last few attacks count.
She goes for the big one. "Hydro Pump!" Wartortle might not have cannons for two streams of water like Blastoise, but it certainly can fire off one massive hose of water, straight at, Yanmega, whose legs are skimming the water.
Jessie finally understands what's going on. Yanmega can only use one move without its wings, it seems. "Ancient Power!"
The two attacks collide, Yanmega's sheer power the only thing evening the odds. A neutral explosion doesn't do May any favors, but Warortle digs deep, summoning that extra reserve of power when going gets touch, and the torrent of water from its mouth doubles out of nowhere, sending the Ancient Power flying right back at Yanmega.
I have absolutely, positively, no doubt that if there were not a psychic barrier here, that Jessie would have been caught up in this Hydro Pump, as well as hitting James and Meowth, wherever they are, and washed all of them straight into the sky. As it were, it's another Team Rocket masterclass, in snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.
She really had May on the ropes, though. Team Rocket will always entertain, even if their end product leaves something to be desired.
Nando also always strives to entertain, and he's up against Corey from the Hoenn region, the rare non-twerp who used his Surf Linoone in his appeal. He sends out a Wailmer this time, apparently not having listened to what we were warning about using Pokémon confined to the water.
Doubly bold, considering Nando showed off his Raichu in the appeals. As it were, he's still not out of the woods, because Nando is finally going to let Sprigatito shine.
How the cutest Pokémon ever plans to cross the pool if needed, I don't know. But we'll soon find out.
Nando leads with Baby-Doll Eyes, but even Sprigatito can't charm the enemy when it's mostly underwater. Corey sets up a Rain Dance with his Wailmer. The grass cat doesn't flinch probably due to its typing, but a much bigger deluge is headed its way.
"Water Spout!" Ursula and I exchange glances, knowing firsthand how dangerous this move is, from our time at sea.
Synthesis, the main healing move of Grass-types, isn't going to cut it with this dark cloud overhead. Nando is forced to use something else. "Grassy Terrain!"
A wave of life spreads on the arena. Grass starts shooting up from the ground, though it doesn't seem to impact the pool. Seaweed is harder to grow than grass, I guess. Sprigatito gets drenched, and wobbles, as Nando's points take a big hit, dropping down by a third, but his grass cat starts absorbing energy from the earth, finding its feet.
There's nothing stopping him from using it again, which Corey does. Walimer sucks in a bunch of water in preparation for the move.
"Grassy Glide!" So fast I can hardly see it, Sprigatito sprints forward, with the terrain propelling it somehow, slamming its noggin right into Wailmer, and bouncing into the water.
The resulting Water Spout is rather pathetic, and Corey's points drop even further to Nando. Spigatito can swim, thankfully, as it heads back to land.
It's slow going though, and there's danger in the water. "Body Slam!" Wailmer isn't quite as menacing as a Sharpedo, or Harley's Huntail, but its big belly can certainly send Sprigatito several feet under. It leaps into the air to slam down.
Nando's command has me scratching my head, as Sprigatito glows with a strange light. "Nature Power!"
"Nature Power changes effect depending on where it's used," Lucas educates me.
"So what is it in water?" Ursula asks him. He shrugs, pointing at the screen.
It's Surf. Of course it is. I need to get Bellossom started on Nature Power. We don't need it to be a full attack, but this may be the way she can get from one location to the other while in a pool like this. Assuming I can coax her into the water in the first place.
Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.
For now, Sprigatito rides the wave right out of danger, and Wailmer's belly flop is exactly that.
Nando has this guy dancing to his tune. He and Sprigatitio go for Nature Power again, and while Corey thinks he's faced with another Surf again, and commands his Wailmer to go for Zen Headbutt, he gets an Energy Ball in the face again, since Sprigatitio is back on the Grassy Terrain.
Wailmer's forced to submerge itself for avoid further assaults, but that just gives time for Sprigatito to enchant the crowd with how cute it is.
I've never seen someone's points be drained to zero, barring a knockout, but Nando has pulled it off. So many strong coordinators in this competition. I have no idea who's gonna win. The powers that be must be raking the money in, with how quality this has been.
"The tournament organizers and the Lake Valor community must be jumping for joy," Lucas says, as if reading my mind.
"Why the Lake Valor people?" I ask, not understanding. The tournament is in Pastoria, as I'm reminded of every day when we walk over here.
"The Grand Festival is going to be held on the shores of Lake Valor," Ursula informs me. "They're rapidly expanding the stadium there as we speak."
Great. That's the culmination of the contest season, and therefore even bigger than this one. I'll be commuting from Sunyshore or Veilstone, probably.
Let's hope Charmeleon has evolved by then. And I've gotten over my fear of flying on Pokémon back.
My bad memories of that are cut into by Harley leaning over our shoulders, eavesdropping onto our conversation. "They won't be too happy when they see how much better Hoenn coordinators are than Sinnoh, though. I wou;dn't be surprised if the top four are all from the better region."
Is he trying to mind game us? Two can play at that. "Well, one won't be you, at least. We're not losing to some idiot in a Cacturne costume," I fire back.
He's not doing a good job hiding his emotions when I disparage him. One more insult to seal the deal, then. "I dunno what's worse. Your outfit, or the Pokémon it's based on."
Harley has no chance to reply, considering he's next up. I throw a wink Ursula's way, to which she smiles, as she makes her way to the arena as well.
Lucas seems utterly confused by the whole display. "What do you have against Cacturne?"
Oh, you sweet, innocent, good-hearted boy. "Nothing," I say, leaning back with my hands behind my head, proud of what I've just done. "Making sure Masquerain has a free win, that's all."
Sadly, Harley doesn't take the bait I laid for him to send out the Cacturne he surely has, instead opting for a Banette instead. Fair enough, considering dude is well versed in dirty tricks.
It's kind of funny how he based his whole team around Pokémon with scary faces. For now, Banette is the one who's backing up when he sees Masquerain. Shame it's before the battle, so it doesn't cost him any points.
Banette is not one of these Ghost-types that levitate around, which is good, because stuffed dolls, even reanimated ones, certainly should not be able to swim. I'm going to assume, like Nando, Harley also has a way to deal with the water battlefield if needed, though.
It's Ursula who opens her mouth first, but Banette's shadow comes racing towards Masquerain, even through the water, one second in.
"Up!" she says hastily, canceling whatever attack she had in mind in favor of avoiding the Shadow Sneak. "Now, Bubblebeam!" she orders, safely out of range.
"Shadow Ball!" Harley calls, shredding the stream of bubbles and costing her points. Masquerain drops several feet in the air to dodge, at least.
"Air Slash!" Two blades of wind are sent Banette's way, to account for one being destroyed.
Which necessitates a different counter from Harley. "Phantom Force!" Banette vanishes into thin air, and while that miss Ursula loses a few points, she's got time to show off while Banette's in the nether realm.
All that work they put in perfecting their ice sculpting is finally coming into play. Masquerain fires a Water Pulse straight into the psychic barrier letting it rebound into the shape of a seashell, and freezes it with Icy Wind. A few Air Slashes later, to add grooves to the shell, and they've managed to create a Clamperl sculpture. The announcer is going gaga over it.
Before they can put in the pearl, they're slammed into from above. While Banette does go into a free fall afterwards, the Ghost-type prevents itself from falling into the water by using Psychic on its own body.
Innovative, but now Banette is an easy target. "Air Slash!"
"Disable!"
Ursula's getting a firsthand version of what I experienced against Fantina; how annoying a Ghost-Pokémon can be. A flash of light stops the second Air Slash from coming out, and Banette gets out of there relatively safely, only being hit with the one.
Their points are neck and neck as we hit the halfway point. At some point, someones going to have to separate themselves.
"Shadow Ball!"
"Acrobatics into Signal Beam!"
"Phantom Force!"
Masquerain has to do several midair twists and turns to dodge the barrage of incoming Shadow Balls, but she eventually gets an opening to exchange fire with Signal Beam, which Banette promptly vanishes to avoid.
Ursula decides against showing off again. "Sticky Web!" She lays a trap for Banette, spreading the threads of glue on her own side of the field. Moments later, it triggers.
Lucas and I fistbump sideways. "She must have realized that he would only want to change locations, rather than attack again!" he cheers.
Harley's got a nasty sneer on his face as his points start to dip due to Banette's struggles. "You must think you're so clever. Banette, do it!"
His Pokémon lifts an arm as best it can, with sticky string coating it. For several seconds nothing happens.
Ursula's expression is extremely suspicious. The glow around Masquerain for Disable fades which means Air Slash is usable again, but something catches her eye that we cant see. "Look out!" she screeches.
I jump as thunder sounds and a wicked bolt of electricity is dropped onto Masquerain's head. If Ursula had been even a second slower in noticing, it would have been curtains. As it is, the force of the move sends Masquerain into a tailspin.
He really had that under wraps the whole time! What a sneaky guy. There's enough time for this not to be a hail mary, either. The Thunder electrifies the pool, and Harley's taking advantage. "Poltergeist!"
Everyone's eyes widen except for me, as Banette shapes the electrified water into a bunch of nightmarish looking weapons, all from its ghostly power.
As the weathervane of the announcer has completely swung the other way, gushing over Banette's incredible display, Ursula's already springing into action, even as her points are taking a hit. "Air Slash!"
Banette throws a Poltergeist to destroy it, but Ursula's not aiming at the ghost doll. She's using the pool sending a splash of electrified water into the air.
"Now Icy Wind!" Masquerain dodges another two Poltergeists to freeze the water into crystals mid air.
"Finally, Gust!" It's not the most exciting display, but as we were taught, when you start messing with Poltergeist, the move will backfire.
And having your own attack explode in your face is not a good thing, especially when it causes your Pokémon to lose its concentration. Suddenly, this very impressive move is a total disaster, as Poltergeist after Poltergeist blows up in a chain reaction.
Harley and Banette were in the lead, but they can book their flight back home now. This match is Ursula's.
If Dawn can win her upcoming match against Savannah, we'll get a match between the two of them, the first time since way back in Floaroma Town. In a contest at least. There was a tag battle in Hearthome, but that wasn't exactly a one-vs-one.
Ursula comes back to the waiting room, looking as pleased as a cat. "Well done," we both tell her.
"It was, wasn't it? I just knew he'd try and swap to our side-"
"Alright, it's only the first round, don't get carried away," I interrupt her. Even after her transformation, Ursula is still a showoff, and proud as anyone I've ever met. But she did apologize to me, which means she's not too proud to issue one. Hopefully Dawn pulls through so a confrontation is forced, like what happened between us.
I was wondering whatever happened to Dawn's Togepi, considering I haven't seen it since I've been here. It's a Togetic now, so she doesn't have to carry it around all day. Wonder what moves it actually knows. Togepi was a baby, to the point that you wouldn't battle or train with it at all.
It's going against another fairy, with Savannah sticking with the Azumarill she used in the appeals. Belly Drum Azumarill is very scary, unless you're packing a Ferrothorn or something similar.
"Togetic, Baby-Doll Eyes!" Dawn commands, taking the first move. Azumaril staggers back as Togetic's eyes glow pink.
Savannah counters with a powerful Water Gun, chasing Togetic as it flies around the arena. It's not particularly aerodynamic or quick, so they're inevitably going to get hit.
Dawn takes it in stride. "Thunder Wave!" she says, even as her points drop. Togetic's weak electric charge travels through the Water Gun at the speed of light, zapping Azumarill.
Togetic is already practicing for its final form, I see. All any Togekiss needs to know is Thunder Wave and Air Slash, and it's ready to wreak havoc on.
"Into the pool and use Waterfall!" Despite the paralysis, Azumarill leaps in the water and surges upwards, thrusted upwards by water like fire would lift a rocket.
"Sweet Kiss!" Togetic blows hearts into Azumarill's face, causing the enemy Pokémon to wobble in confusion. I feel dirty watching this, as Azumarill crashes back into the pool.
"LIfe Dew!" Dawn takes full advantage, as Togetic imbues the spray of water with energy, spreading the glowing droplets to every corner of the arena.
Does this thing even know any attacks? That question is answered when Azumarill shakes off the confusion to try and Mega Punch, which is promptly met by an Ancient Power.
Not sure this is really in the contest-spirit for showing off your Pokémon, but it is Dawn and Togetic's first ever contest battle together. I can't really blame them for not having mastered several stunning contest combos as of yet.
They try to put some flair into it, with Metronome, but it only costs them points, as Savannah at least gets to show off her Azumarill's Ice Spinner against the Metronome Razor Leaf. Being paralyzed and having a time limit don't go well together, though, and she eventually bows out even before the clock hits zero, seeing how much her Azumarill is struggling.
Togetic is well on its way to being a complete menace, it seems. Dawn's quest for redemption continues.
"Are you ever going to apologize to her?" I whisper to Ursula. "We've been around each other for days now."
"Yes," she replies shortly.
"Today?" I follow up, seeing Ursula's seems to be content taking her time with this.
"I said I will," she says with a warning tone that's telling me to drop the subject. "When and where is none of your business."
Ok then… I don't know why she's so grumpy, but I know better than to poke the bear, and turn my attention back to the action.
I'm surprised Ash has been this patient, considered he's always raring to go for a Pokémon battle. Maybe the contest is calming him down some.
Not that it's going to last, considering his opponent, wild rodeo Randy from Solaceon Town, who loves to get down and dirty. This should be fast-paced and exciting.
"Buizel, I choose you!"
"Yahoo! Quagsire, git 'em!"
Two Water-types for the first time. Biggest question is; does this Quagsire have Water Absorb?
"Use Aqua Jet!"
"Quagsire, Liquidation!"
The two Pokémon smack into each other several times, but Quagsire's dopey smile remains wide the entire time, even though all the speed and momentum is on Buizel's side. It is not feeling anything about these attacks.
I really don't know if Ash realizes what's going on, but he does notice his points going down with each collision. He calls Buizel off, and his Pokémon retreats to the safety of their ground.
Outside of Water-type attacks, I'm pretty sure Buizel's movepool consists of Sonic Boom, Quick Attack, Agility and Iron Tail. They are really going to have to get creative.
There is one major advantage they have, though. "Quagsire, give 'em a taste of yer Mud Bomb!"
"Buizel, Agility!" On a good day, Buizel should be able to swim and run rings around Quagsire, in the pool and on the ground.
Ash accepts Buizel being hit by a few explosive pellets of mud and his points going down to two-thirds to really exacerbate that fact. Buizel sprints out of the way of the next spray of Mud Bombs with ease.
He fist pumps as Randy finally loses a few points. "Awesome! Now use Aqua Jet!"
Uh…did he not notice Quagsire's Water Absorb ability in action? Randy is happy to meet him head on. Literally.
"Use Headbutt!" Quagsire dives into the water, swimming at a far more leisurely pace, especially compared to Buizel's high speed.
"Stop!" Ash shouts, as Buizel gets near. The flotation sack around its neck acts like car brakes, and Buizel screeches to a complete halt. "Iron Tail!"
When Quagsire lunges in, head forward, Buizel flips up and slams down on the enemy Pokémon's head with Iron Tail, catapulting Buizel into the sky in one motion.
Ash fist pumps as Randy's points take a big hit. "Now use Sonic Boom, from up there!" Quagsire is hit repeatedly by the barrage of shock waves coming its way.
"Alright, that's enough!" Randy says. "Use Recover!"
Quagsire lounges in the pool, belly up, as Buizel zips back to Ash's side of the battlefield. It glows brightly healing up whatever minor damage it has taken so far.
"Use Water Pulse!" Ash orders.
"You tryin' ta help us?" Randy says, lifting up his wide-brimmed cowboy hat so he can see better what's going on,
"No!" Ash replies with a grin. A moment later we see why, when Water Pulse explodes underneath Quagsire's body, the ensuing blast of water sending it flying.
Randy glances at the scoreboard, and sees his points are lower than Ash's with only two minutes remaining. "Time to stop playing around! Quagsire, back in the pool and use Muddy Water!"
Intentionally obscuring yourself. That's a strategy that contest experts would not recommend. The pool water starts to turn brown, before a giant wave, identical to Surf other than the color, heads Buizel's way.
"Iron Tail!" Ash calls for, with confidence. Buizel steps up to split the wave in half, as I've seen before, but this time, it doesn't work. All the mud in there makes it significantly tougher to cut through, and Buizel's swamped.
He's fine, as a Water-type, but now Ash is behind in points. He doesn't seem confident about sending Buizel into the water to confront Quagsire when he can't see what's going on. But he knows what to do.
"If they want to hide, that's our chance to show you your stuff, Buizel! Use-
"Earthquake!"
Whatever they were planning, it's interrupted by the whole battlefield shaking. Buizel trips over his own feet and is sent to the ground heavily whenever he tries to stand upright. Quagsire must be at the bottom of the pool, jumping up and down.
Ash's points are suffering as a result, and Randy goes in for the final blow. "We're gonna make sure you can't run anywhere this time! Ice Beam!" Quagsire leaps out of the pool and sends a freezing ray straight at Buizel.
There's a glint in Ash's eye as he thrusts one finger out. "Now's our chance! Use Aqua Jet!" Buizel surrounds itself in water before rocketing forwards. Straight into the path of Ice Beam.
It looks crazy, but the most subtle movement of Buizel's propeller tail veers them a touch downwards, enough to graze the bottom of the Ice Beam. Right before contact, Buizel starts spinning its body rapidly.
Those subtle adjustments mean that Ice Beam doesn't stop Buizel cold. Instead, Aqua Jet turns into a frozen spinning drill of pure speed and power.
"Yes! Give them a taste of that Ice Aqua Jet!"
Not the most creative name, but I'll let it slide, since it's so effective, smashing into Qugsire, and sending the enemy Pokémon careening backwards in a heap. Randy had about half of his points, but they're drained almost all the way to zero, after that incredible display, making Ash and Buizel the resounding winners.
This was not copied or inspired from me, because I hear Dawn on the other side of the room saying she worked on that move with Buizel, but it needed Ash's touch as a trainer to perfect.
Ash is still the biggest enigma ever to me. On one hand, I'm sure he still doesn't know Quagsire can have Water Absorb, but on the other, he can pull off things like that.
Time will tell how far the biggest mystery in the Pokémon world will go. In this contest and in general. The last battle of the day is between Drew and Ryoma the samurai. Like the first one, it ends up being a Sky Battle between Drew's Flygon, and a Scyhter on the other side.
Ryoma is not one for waiting around. "X-Scissor!" Scyther flies in, slashing away with its massive blade arms. Flygon's a much bigger target than its predecessor, Vibrava, but that doesn't necessarily make it easier to hit.
Drew almost appears to have his eyes closed, smelling his rose nonchalantly. Scyther overextends in its enthusiasm to get a hit in, and Drew's eyes finally pop open. "Sandstorm!"
Scyther does not appreciate the cyclones of sand sent its way. It has to eat a couple of mouthfuls before its coordinator can come up with a response. "Razor Wind!"
I will admit, it's kinda cool to see Scyther's two mini tornadoes absorb the Sandstorm, to create its own. The display brings the points level, before Sychter starts slicing through the dust devils to send blades of wind and sand at Flygon.
Unfortunately, the desert Dragon is used to that. Drew knows it, too. "Steel Wing!" Flygon heads straight for its opposite, smashing through each sandy Razor Wind with its now reinforced wings.
Ryoma loses about a quarter of his points in total, once Flygon connects, but he still has more to show. "Close Combat!"
Neither Drew nor Flygon nor anyone in the audience expects the surprise, Fighting-type move. Flygon's suddenly getting pounded by Scyther's claws, which are like a whirlwind, with how ferociously it's attacking with no regard to its own safety. Steel Wing is no defense against it, and as Drew's points drop, he's forced to yell out to Flygon to disengage.
"Fly away!"
"After it!"
Scyther is hot on Flygon's heels as the dragon tries to get away. It appears to be a touch faster as well, making up the ground even though it was slower off the blocks.
"Straight into the air, Flygon!" Drew orders. His Pokémon soars upwards at his voice. Scyther does the same, furiously beating its wings to gain height.
"Sunny Day!"
"Night Slash!"
Flygon pauses at the apex of the arena to put a ball of hanging light next to itself. Scyther brings its arm all the way back, seemingly for a free hit on Flygon, but it falters.
Is it blinded by the flare of the sun? Sure seems so.
It's almost as if it's paralyzed, suspended in the air, unable to see anything around it. Especially the Fire Blast that Drew and Flygon are sending its way.
The sun boosted attack sends Scyther straight into the pool, and though the water is a respite from the flames, Scyther, like Yanmega, has thin wings that need to be dry. One more attack, and Iron Tail, from Drew and Flygon, is enough to win them the battle.
Where does that leave us? Three from Hoenn, four from Sinnoh, and Ash. Most of the heaviest hitters are still around, too. And I think it's anyone's contest to take.
One more day to settle things, then.