Vermillion City Tournament Pt. 3

Eventually the third round ended and the fourth began. The competition got stiffer as the more talented trainers in the groups sent the less talented ones packing. Vali's opponent for the fourth round was a rather skilled girl with a Fearow and a Poliwhirl. Vali won by the skin of her teeth and Celina's stubbornness to not lose against a Fearow. The fifth round was easier as Vali ended up paired with a girl that used a Weepinbell and Gloom.

The sixth round saw Vali facing a ten year old by the name of Amelia Walker from Pacifidlog Town in Hoenn. Amelia had golden blonde hair and kind bright blue eyes that reminded Vali of the Cerulean Bay. She had earned quite a bit of attention in the previous rounds due to her use of an Eevee and a shiny Corsola. Amelia offered Vali a kind smile, "Call me Amy, I heard through the grape-vine you're trying to become a fire-type master. I'm trying to become a water-type master."

"Call me Vali," Vali replied with a light grin, "It seems like this battle will be fun,"

Amy nodded with a laugh, "Yeah."

They called out their first pokemon which ended up being Balto for her and Eevee for Amy. Vali called out, "Hide and Seek!"

Balto immediately disappeared into the ground and Amy said, "You sure do love that move."

"It's useful," Vali shrugged lightly.

Eevee's ear twitched as a concentrated look appeared on it's face. Eevee jumped up just before Balto launched himself from the ground and Amy called out, "Eevee, Swift!"

"Balto, Ember to block it as best you can then Iron Tail," Vali called out in return.

Glowing stars met coal-like projectiles causing a mini-explosion sending both pokemon flying back. Balto took off towards Eevee as soon as he landed and attempted to hit it with an Iron Tail only for Eevee to dodge using Quick Attack. Balto disappeared into the ground with Dig earning a low growl of annoyance from Eevee. Amy frowned, "Eevee, listen for Growlithe and use Swift when he reappears followed by Captivate."

"Balto," Vali murmured, "Confuse Eevee as best you can,"

The ground underneath Eevee vibrated causing it to jump up and charge up Swift before pausing when Balto didn't appear underneath her. Eevee landed and the ground vibrated again causing Eevee to jump up. Yet again, Balto didn't appear from the ground. From the hole behind where Eevee was standing, Balto's head appeared and he released an Ember attack before disappearing back into the ground. Eevee let out a yip of pain as it was hit by the flaming projectiles before swinging around with a growl only to pause in confusion at not seeing Balto. Balto continued this action for a bit all the while creating more holes in the ground. Eventually, the ground became unstable beneath Eevee and it fell inside as dust was thrown up. The sounds of an intense fight sounded from the cloud and when it dissipated both pokemon were barely standing. Balto and Eevee both stepped forward before fainting earning surprised cheers from the crowd. Vali returned Balto as the Referee called out, "Trainers release your next pokemon."

"Good job, Balto. Thank you for your help," Balto's pokeball warmed in her grip and Vali took out Celina's pokeball, "Come out and battle with my, my friend!" Celina appeared as Amy released a shiny Corsola earning surprised gasps, "Well, you don't see that every day,"

Considering how rare Corsola were and add in the rarity of the shiny gene, Amy had one rare pokemon. Amy smiled as she called out, "Corsola, let's start off with Ancient Power."

"Celina into the air," Vali tried to think of a possible move-set that this Corsola might have which was a bit difficult considering how rare they were, "Use Swift and Gust as much as possible,"

Celina trilled before shooting into the sky. Corsola began flinging rocks up at Celina who used Swift to break them up and Gust to send them back down earning a squeak from the Corsola. Corsola was surprisingly nimble and managed to dodge the Gust powered rocks heading towards it. Celina used Swift once the rocks were gone as well as Gust to add a bit more power to the glowing stars. The stars slammed into Corsola earning a squeal of pain as it was sent flying, but it managed to use Bubble Beam to stop the assault by making Celina dodge. Amy called out, "Corsola, use Recover."

Mentally cursing, Vali called out, "Celina use Swift! Don't let that Corsola use Recover!"

One of the things she was going to look at were healing moves her pokemon could use, it would be useful in situations like this. Corsola glowed a bit as Recover began healing it before the healing energy was cut off by Swift slamming into it. Celina dove in as Corsola tried to steady itself from the Swift that had hit it and her pokemon slammed into the water and rock-type with Steel Wing powered by Aerial Ace. Amy grimaced as Corsola was sent flying, "Corsola, Bubble Beam."

Corsola shot the beam of bubble towards Celina who dodged the attack before hitting her opponent with another Steel Wing and Aerial Ace combo that sent Corsola slamming into the ground. Celina used Gust to clear away the dirt cloud that had gotten kicked up to reveal Corsola still standing. The determined shiny pokemon used Ancient Power again prompting Celina to use her Swift/Gust combination again. Corsola used the time she had been given to use Recover for as long as she could. Celina trilled as she kept on the assault from before. Corsola managed to score a lucky hit with Bubble Beam only to be knocked out by Celina's Quick Attack.

Celina landed before Vali looking a bit exhausted, but proud of herself. Gently scratching her breast feathers, Vali murmured, "Good job, Celina. You definitely deserve the pampering I'm going to give you."

Celina puffed up a bit and Vali smiled as she returned her before moving to shake hands with Amy. The other trainer let out a soft laugh, "That was a fun battle even if we lost."

"Definitely," Vali agreed with a smile as they shook hands, "Where on earth did you get that shiny Corsola?"

Amy smirked, "If we end up meeting during the League Conference, I might tell you."

Shrugging with a small laugh, "Guess that seems fair."

By the seventh round, only four girls were left. Vali ended up facing against a psychic type trainer that had a Drowzee and a Exeggcute. Drowzee beat Pikachu, but ended up knocked out by Smaug who quickly decimated the Exeggcute. Vali took her pokemon to the healing area where she watched Zaria get beaten by a rather hyperactive blonde with a Voltorb and a spider-like pokemon called Joltik. Zaria shook hands with the kid before heading towards the healing area where she said, "Be careful of her, that Joltik..."

"Don't worry, I'm not planning on losing," Vali managed to figure out that Joltik was an electric and bug-type which was an odd combination.

Zaria nodded and headed off to go get her pokemon healed.

The hyperactive blonde was called Electra Donalds and was from Unova. She grinned at Vali as she called out an Magnemite, "This is going to be so much fun!"

"Yeah," Vali sent out Smaug, "Smaug, like with the Elder,"

Smaug immediately released thick clouds of smoke earning a pout from Electra, "That isn't very nice."

"I'd rather avoid straining my pokemon too much especially since I really want to win," Vali replied as Smaug darted into the clouds with a slight grin.

"Magnemite, use Supersonic when you can," Electra called out earning a slight growl from Vali.

"Not very nice of you either," Vali said earning a slight grin in reply.

Smaug kept up the smoke clouds as the battle continued with occasional sounds of pain and the shrieks that made up Supersonic. Vali grimaced as she listened to the battle before smiling as Smaug let the clouds of smoke dissipate to reveal Magnemite unconscious on the ground. Electra sighed as she returned Magnemite, "That wasn't very fun, but I guess not all battles can be. Come on out, Lucy!"

Electra's pokemon turned out to be a Mareep that blinked sleepily as it appeared. Smaug blinked at the sheep before shrugging as he released more clouds of smoke. Vali called out, "Smaug try to avoid touching it for the same reason as not touching Pikachu during a practice battle."

"Use Thunder Wave, Lucy," Electra called out with a slight grin, "Try to hit it with Cotton Spore as well!"

Small yellow streaks appeared among the smoke clouds as Lucy the Mareep baa'd and Smaug let out a snarl. A huge gout of fire occurred and was followed by a cry of pain from Lucy the Mareep. Vali pulled out her pokedex and checked Smaug's entry to see that yes, Smaug knew Flamethrower now. She was going to have him teach Balto that move as soon as possible though she did wonder if he'd been practicing his fire attacks in secret since only those with a strong inner flame could use that move. The cloud of smoke dissipated to reveal an unconscious and burned Lucy the Mareep. upon seeing Smaug flinch as sparks of electricity ran over his scales, she returned him before moving to shake hands with Electra, "Thanks for the good battle."

"Same. I hope we can battle again sometime," Electra grinned at her before they moved towards the healing area.

Vali looked at the opponent she'd be facing and grimaced a little. Sharrah Yuniki was a fifteen year old from Unova with blonde hair and green eyes. She had swept the competition from her division with a Braixen and a Zweilous. Based on what she had seen of the older girl's battles, she would be hard pressed to win. Did that deter her from trying, no, but it worried her a little. The Braixen wasn't too bad, but the Zweilous was a monster that would take a lot of cunning to defeat which meant she would need to utilize her Slytherin side to the max. For this battle, Vali was having Pikachu and Balto be her pokemon. From what the announcer had said over the TV, Zweilous was a dark and dragon-type. Normally, she wouldn't be too worried as dark-types weren't that rare even in Kanto thanks to their closeness to Johto and pokemon deciding to migrate between regions. A dual dark and dragon-type on the other hand was not something she expected to deal with especially since Unova like every region tended to avoid talking about their native dragon-types. Whether it was to have an element of surprise during wars or something along those lines, she didn't know, but it was very annoying.

Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves as she stepped into her trainer box, Vali looked at her opponent, "Hello."

"Hello," Sharrah greeted her with a small smile, "You did pretty good,"

"So did you," Vali palmed Balto's pokeball.

"Trainers are you ready?" The referee called out earning nods, "Trainers release your pokemon!"

"Come out and battle with me, my friend!" Vali called out as she released Balto while Sharrah released her Braixen, "Balto, hide and seek! We can't take any chances,"

Balto disappeared into the ground immediately. Sharrah hummed softly, "Braixen, Lucky Chant and Light Screen."

Mentally grimacing as Braixen began humming with her head tilted towards the sky and moving her paws around as Light Screen formed, Vali called out, "Hit as hard as you can!"

Balto shot out of the ground behind Braixen and slammed an Iron Tail into the Light Screen which rippled as it passed through. Braixen barely stumbled only to cry out as Balto latched onto her with Fire Fang. Balto hung onto Braixen's arm for as long as possible before detaching as the fox-like pokemon swung him upwards. Balto sent Ember at her before disappearing back into the hole he'd come out of. Sharrah looked interested, "Quite the quick pokemon you have there, he didn't need many instructions either," Vali nodded lightly, "Braixen, Echoed Voice into the hole."

Braixen made it's way towards the hole Balto had dug and let out a humming tone into hole that echoed through the air. Balto popped up moments later with a whine and shook his head. Braixen sent an Ember attack towards Balto. Balto didn't even try to dodge it and the flames of the attack seemed to be absorbed into his fur. Balto retaliated with his own Ember attack that Braixen dodged for the most part before he used Dig again. Braixen went to use Echoed Voice again only to get an Ember to the face followed by a brutal Iron Tail. Braixen stumbled back a bit allowing Balto to continue his onslaught. Braixen sent Balto flying with a Fire Punch. The attack didn't do anything other than power Balto up though which would be very useful later on. Balto disappeared into the ground again as Vali called out, "Keep it up, Balto."

If they could keep Braixen off balance, they had a good chance to win this battle. Sharrah began to frown as her pokemon looked more than a little annoyed and beat up, "So your puppy has Flash Fire for an ability, that makes things interesting. Braixen, Toxic into the holes."

Inwardly cursing a bit at the poison type move, Vali called out, "Hit that fox before it can do that, Balto!'

Balto shot out of the hole just as Braixen began releasing a ball of toxins and slammed his tail into Braixen. Braixen cried out as it's Light Screen finally shattered while Vali grimaced slightly. Even if Toxic hadn't gotten into his mouth, it was on Balto's fur and would probably seep in soon. He was definitely going to need a rather long bath after she got him healed up. Balto turned and spat Ember at his coat covering himself in the flame-like coals. She realized he was attempting to burn away the poison before it had a chance to seep into his fur. Smiling a bit at his intelligence, "Balto, keep it up."

The battle continued in a similar fashion before Balto managed to get in a lucky hit with his Iron Tail which knocked out Braixen. Balto shuddered as a purple aura covered his body and she grimaced realizing that Braixen had managed to poison him. They were a on a time limit now, but they could do this. Balto gave her a determined look as Sharrah released her Zweilous who roared as it appeared, "I hope you realize that this battle is far from over."

"Ditto," Vali replied with a slight smile, "Balto, Hide and Seek with a bit extra please,"

Balto glanced at her and she gestured to the sun that was going to set pretty soon. Balto barked and disappeared into one of his previously dug holes. A minor golden glow appeared within the tunnel earning a confused look from Sharrah. Hopefully, Morning Sun bought them a bit more time. Sharrah called out, "Zweilous, Dragon Breath into the tunnels as strong as you can."

The two headed dragon stumbled over to the holes Balto had dug near where it was standing before sticking it's head inside and releasing a burst of what looked like greenish blue flames into the tunnels. Balto was quickly to dart out as the flames race out of the tunnels, but he didn't let that stop him even if the attack had managed to scorch him a bit. He darted towards the heads still releasing the flames into the tunnels and slammed an Iron Tail into them. Zweilous reared with a roared and attempted to bite Balto. Balto used Iron Tail to leap off the dragon-type before sending Ember towards it. Balto dug a whole new tunnel and Vali murmured, "Dig underneath it and collapse the tunnel, we need to trap it."

While it might be hard to hear her over the crowd, Vali didn't doubt that Balto had heard her. Zweilous shifted as it's two heads twisted around only to slam into each other pissing the pokemon off. Zweilous' two heads began snapping at one another earning a low sigh from it's trainer who began shouting at it to stop, "Stop fighting you-"

Zweilous let out a shriek of surprise as the ground underneath it caved in. Balto reappeared only to stiffen as a purple aura covered his body. He stumbled slightly panting softly and Vali took out his pokeball, "That's enough, Balto. You've done your part, but I'll call you out again if it's needed," Balto nodded and she returned him before releasing Pikachu, "Pikachu, we're facing a dual dragon and dark-type," Pikachu's eyes widened, "Balto already won the first part, but he ended up poisoned. While he hasn't fainted, I would prefer not stressing him out any further at the moment," Pikachu nodded and looked at the dragon that was attempting to get out of the hole it had found itself in, "Let's win this," Pikachu's cheeks sparked as he glared at the dragon, "Electric Terrain then Electro Ball and Thunder Shock. Avoid getting in close if you can, but if you have to, use Iron Tail or Thunder Punch."

Pikachu began releasing large amounts of electricity into the ground which caused it to take on a yellowing gold aura. Sharrah stared at Pikachu in shock, "A Pikachu with Electric Terrain?"

"Yeah, I got pretty lucky," Vali grinned slightly as Pikachu began using Electro Ball of Zweilous, "I wouldn't change my pokemon for anything in the world. They have their quirks, but that just makes me love them,"

Pikachu shot her a slight smile before refocusing on the match. For a pokemon that hadn't really wanted her as a trainer, he'd changed a lot since they first met. She would need to ask him if he wanted to evolve after this match was over. Refocusing on the match, Vali watched as Pikachu pretty much took control of the match and reigned electrical hell down on the dragon and dark-type. With Zweilous pretty much trapped, it didn't have many opportunities to fight back especially since Pikachu was ensuring it couldn't get out of the hole Balto had trapped it in. It spammed Dragon Breath which Pikachu was able to dodge either by jumping over the flames or disappearing into the ground with Dig. Soon enough, Zweilous couldn't take anymore and passed out as Pikachu panted heavily showing just how exhausted he was. Sharrah returned Zweilous as Pikachu raced over to her and the Referee called out, "Winner Valkyrie Potter of Pallet Town and Pikachu."

Pikachu practically collapsed in her arms and she gently picked him up, "You did a very good job, Pikachu," Pikachu tiredly nuzzled her, "I have a question for you. Do you want to evolve into a Raichu?" Pikachu jolted and looked at her with wide eyes, "Not right now, but when you've reached your limit as a Pikachu." Pikachu nodded and she smiled, "Then I'll make sure I get a Thunder stone."

Vali returned Pikachu before shaking hands with Sharrah, "That was a nice battle kid. I didn't expect to lose. That trick with collapsing the tunnels your pokemon made, when did you think of it?"

"I just made it up. I knew that since Zweilous was a dragon-type even if it was only half of it's typing, we wouldn't be able to beat it straight up," Vali explained as she shook Sharrah's hand, "I knew that it was a bit too strong for us at our current skill level, so I just focused on figuring out what I could do that wouldn't put my pokemon in unneeded danger,"

"It was a pretty good plan despite being made on the fly," Sharrah said as they let go, "Thanks for the battle, Kid. I needed my ass to get kicked with how cocky I've been lately,"