214 A summer's breeze amdist buring blossom trees

Large plumes of smoke continued to billow out of Typhlosion's mouth as he stared at Samurott. His black eyes mirrored the abyss, blank, almost without consciousness. His mane of fire flared in a rhythmic, nearly heartbeat-like fashion, with each subsequent one getting larger and larger.

"Battle… Begin!"

"Use searing crash!" Alex said plainly, waving his hand across the air.

"Counter with muddy water!" Blossom said, traces of anxiety appearing on her face. No sign of happiness apparent. For she knew the seriousness of this battle. The previous one was an appetiser; the pokemon before her now was in a different league of its own. It towered at a mighty 3 meters, with tremendous amounts of muscle bulging, ready to crush anything in its path. And currently, such a brutal machine was pointed in her direction.

"Kill her! Kill it!" Trix growled, almost seeing red from rage crushed the piece of wood in her hand as if it was made of styrofoam. Her uncle continued to watch the battle; a hint of interest was evident in his gaze as he observed the armoured Samurott.

BOOM!

Blue and brown fused together instantly as two tidal waves collided, causing an explosion of steam to converge in the middle before expanding and engulfing the battlefield, only contained by the dome-like barrier. Like a recently shaken snow globe, nothing could be seen inside.

"Use blast burn," Alex continued, his tone getting more and more even with every subsequent command.

"Use aqua veil and surf," blossom retaliated.

Flashes of colour dotted the hazing battlefield as the pokemon within launched their moves.

Suddenly the steam cleared in an instant, followed by a massive explosion as a pillar of fire tore through it.

Samurott was blasted straight up, pieces of armour falling off his body like dry mud revealing shockingly severe burns. Yet the water that clung to his body quickly flooded the injury, relieving the twisted expression forming and settling instead for a frown.

"Use flare blitz," a cold voice commanded.

"Use protect!" Blossom chirped loudly, no longer capable of appearing calm.

Alex raised a hand towards the falling Samurott as if attempting to catch it before aggressively clenching his hand, covering it completely.

At that moment, the fire around Typhlosion's body exploded with so much force that it caused the battlefield to shake, the ground to split, and the air to tear before launching into the sky like a rocket. The surroundings seemed to catch on fire as the two collided. Then, like a flashlight in the dark, it suddenly blinded everyone, causing them to avert their gaze.

There was a brief pause where nothing could be heard, only the sound of two objects hitting the floor heavily echoed into the ears of the audience.

"Sa-Samurott is unable to battle, Typhlosion is the winner!"

Whoosh, the blue flag shot into the air alongside the spontaneous and shocked cheers of the crowd.

[I can't seem to believe it. Samurott so cleanly wiped out Feraligatr just a moment ago, and yet, that same Pokémon now lays face down in a ditch in the blink of an eye. Who can make sense of this?] James commented.

Elesa nodded, {it is indeed quite the reversal, but Alex did almost become champion of a region, we have to give credit where credit is-}

ROOOAAAAR!!

A vast sonic boom exploded out of Typhlosion's mouth as he roared towards the sky, his fiery mane now covering most of his body.

{I-incredible! Look-look, the fire almost covers his body as if mimicking armour.} Elesa said as she squirmed in her seat from surprise.

Alex gazed at blossom's shocked expression and smiled calmly, "you're not the only one who has tricks up their sleeve. What was it you said before? Ah yes, let me see what emotions you show when that belief escapes your body and reality sets in. And I must say, the results are quite satisfactory," Alex said with a vicious grin.

Blossom's absent gaze was fixated on her fainted ace, covered in varying degrees of burns.

'Utter defeat. Why is there such a gap in strength between his Pokémon? What a monstrous being,' she thought to herself before the image of a rocket-propelled scizor came to mind. 'What a bunch of vicious beasts, all of them emerging this year," *sigh* she looked up at Typhlosion, who seemed to be growing more and more powerful with every passing breath.

She turned to look at the Referee and raised her hand, "I forfeit the match," she said loudly and clearly, no hint of the previous turmoil apparent. A refreshed smile graced her face as if unperturbed by the ramifications of her words.

BOOM!

The crowd exploded with noise, clearly incapable of accepting such a result.

"What?! How can she quit like that? Where's the fight? Where's the blood pumping final struggle?"

"How annoying! Here I was expecting another bombshell, yet she just gave upon experiencing a setback. So this tournament really does root out the weak-willed, huh?"

The sharp words inflicted by the spectators like sharks to flesh didn't seem to faze the girl. On the contrary, a hint of mockery emerged in her eyes as she stared at them.

"And here I thought you would at least struggle longer," Alex said, his face returning to its graceful one, not a hint of viciousness apparent as if it was all but a hallucination.

"I am no fool. Strategy can only take you so far when faced with such a disparity in strength. I have accepted my fate. Samurott was my best chance against your typhlosion. Now that you have beaten him, type advantage or not, I cannot effectively resist. I would only be putting my Pokémon through needless pain. Unlike that Harry guy from before, I am not blind nor a moron." Blossom said honestly as she recalled her Pokémon.