Lance’s head snapped up as the doors to his chamber swung open, and he immediately stopped fiddling with his pokeballs, so that he could greet the challenger. It was quite the surprise for him that anyone had made it all the way to his chamber, given the fact that he had four elites on hand to crush the dreams of all who dared come to challenge him. It was rare that anyone made it past the first two elite four members, let alone all four, without having taken serious damage, or without approaching Lance, believing, absolutely, that they could dethrone him.
Lance had crushed the dreams of countless trainers who had made it this far. He’d seen it all; tears, tantrums, sweet crooning to fainted pokemon, and, on rare occasions, those who graciously accepted defeat.
He turned around, eagerly anticipating how this challenger would react to being crushed. “So, you’ve made it this far. Four battles, all of them, full six-on-sixes. You and your pokemon must be exhausted.”
“We can handle one more battle,” the challenger said coolly, “We came here for one reason, and one reason only. We both know what that reason is.”
“Very well,” Lance replied, “Pick a spot on the battlefield, and we’ll get this show on the road.”
The challenger nodded, proceeding to the left side of the battlefield for the match. He’d been on the left side for the entirety of his challenges here, for no reason other than it simply felt right. He’d won, up until now, on the left side of the battlefield anyway. Won using just his Incineroar and Dugtrio. Several of his opponents before now, had mocked him for only carrying two pokemon in his party. Mock all they like, the challenger thought, for using just those two had gotten him this far. Further than most trainers could ever even dream of getting.
“I’m ready,” the challenger said affirmatively, “I’ll let you have the first move.”
“In that case, Altaria, you’ll go up first,” Lance ordered, sending the fluffy bird pokemon out. It appeared momentarily, materialising on the battlefield with a shrill cry.
“Go, Incineroar!” the challenger answered, and the wrestler cat materialised opposite the fluffy bird. This was it. The final challenge. If he got out of this, and won, he’d finally be a real pokemon master...
“Altaria, begin with dragon dance,” Lance instructed, and the pokemon began to glow, as it flew around the battlefield.
“Incineroar, go straight for a flamethrower!” the challenger instructed.
The wrestler cat launched a big tongue of fire at the fluffy bird pokemon, knocking it straight out of the air.
“Nicely done,” Lance praised, “But we can do better than that, you know. Altaria, use twister!”
“Incineroar, dodge, and use flamethrower again!”
The order was obeyed without question. Incineroar hurried to launch another tongue of fire at Altaria, but it fizzled out as it collided with the twister, leaving neither pokemon with a successful blow.
“You’ve got to be able to do better than that, if you’re really hoping to beat me,” Lance cackled, “Altaria, use dragon pulse!”
The fluffy bird pokemon shot out an enormous, pulsing indigo blast, which steadily gained speed as it hurtled towards the opposing Incineroar.
The challenger didn’t order a single a command. Incineroar stood firmly on his side of the battlefield, showing absolutely no fear, even with the blast just metres from him. Altaria flew gaily about, eagerly anticipating the next move.
Incineroar, along with the challenger, waited until the dragon pulse was just inches away from the wrestler cat pokemon. And then...
“Incineroar, use darkest lariat!”
The pokemon became cloaked in dark energy, as it began to spin. Lance ordered Altaria to go toward it and fire off another twister, only for the pokemon to suddenly take off and spin through it. It emerged from the blast mere moments later, spinning into Altaria before landing gracefully, while the bird crashed to the ground.
Lance smirked at the display, impressed by the challenger’s skills, as he returned his fainted pokemon. “It’s clear that you’ve earned your spot here,” he praised, “But don’t get cocky, boy. You have five more pokemon of mine, left to defeat.”
“I’m well aware of that,” the challenger answered curtly, “But, you must know that I’m only packing two pokemon here. Just my Incineroar, and my Dugtrio.”
Lance shook his head. “Interesting strategy, I must say,” he commented, fingers brushing over the next pokeball on his belt, “We’ll see how far it takes you, in your battle against me. Now, go, Dragonite!”
The next few battles went by without many problems for the challenger and his Incineroar. All three of Lance’s dragonites were soon defeated with swift blows from the enormous wrestler cat. But not before they managed to land some blows of their own...
Next, Lance sent out his shiny Gyarados. One hydro pump later, and Incineroar was down. The challenger had but one pokemon left, to carry his dream of becoming the Johto champion.
“Oh my,” Lance cackled, “Your only remaining pokemon is a ground type, and yet, you have my Gyarados, and my Charizard left to defeat. How do you plan to wurmple your way out of this?”
“Isn’t it obvious?” the challenger scoffed, “Forget type match-ups. I’m just gonna have to do my best with what I’ve got. It’s what I’ve done up until now.”
“Very well,” Lance replied, “We’ll see if that will be enough for you to claim my title.”
The challenger sent out Dugtrio, and immediately upon entry, Lance ordered his Gyarados to hit it with another hydro pump. The creature took the cold jet of water head on, unable to get out of the way in time.
The challenger had nothing but ground type moves on his Dugtrio... But just ground type moves would have to do. He had no other options, and he was not prepared to give in now, when Incineroar had taken so much for his sake.
“Dugtrio, use earthquake!”
The enormous water type didn’t even try to dodge the hit. Lance knew that Gyarados was more than capable of tanking it, given how ineffective the attack was against his species. But the dragon still cried out a little, at the small hit.
“Gyarados, use aqua jet!”
The pokemon cloaked itself in a veil of water and charged at Dugtrio head on, huge fangs bared.
“Quick, Dugtrio, use dig!”
The pokemon managed to burrow down into the ground just in the nick of time...
“After it, Gyarados!”
“Dugtrio, come back up, and use earthquake again!”
The challenger’s orders didn’t quite come fast enough. Gyarados speed down the hole like a rocket, smacking into Dugtrio before it even had the chance to surface. The ground type was thrown to the back of the stadium, crashing pitifully into the wall.
Before the challenger could even ask his pokemon if it was still ok to battle, Lance gave his next command; hydro pump, again. Dugtrio took yet another jet of water, heads smacking against the ground as it fell, while Gyarados coiled itself gracefully on the other side of the battlefield.
“Are you calling it quits yet?” Lance enquired, gazing down at the Dugtrio.
“Not until I know that it’s over,” the challenger said quietly. Dugtrio had taken huge amounts of damage already. One more hit, and it would be down for sure, if it could even still get up now. He’d come this far, and it seemed that all of his hard work was going to fall to pieces, right in front of him...
But miraculously, Dugtrio got up again. It too wasn’t ready to give in just yet.
The challenger nodded at his pokemon, ready to fight again. “We’re still going. Dugtrio, use sand tomb!”
Within seconds, Gyarados was trapped in a swirling sandstorm, which got in its eyes, and grazed its scales. Lance ordered it to use hydro pump, to clear the sand, and it blasted through a section of the sand, but more soon filled its place.
“Earthquake again, Dugtrio!”
The pokemon did as it was told, shredding the earth below the Gyarados with a series of enormous bangs. The water dragon pokemon took the attack, full force, as the sand in the sand tomb continued to pelt it.
The challenger continued to spam earthquake, as Lance tried to help Gyarados free itself from its sandy torture chamber. Nothing he did worked.
Eventually, Gyarados was down and out, leaving just Charizard to deal with. One sand tomb, and some earthquakes later, and it was over.
The challenger returned his Dugtrio, as Lance did the same for his Charizard. It was over. Lance, the great champion of Johto, the great dragon master, had been vanquished at the hands of this challenger.
“Well,” Lance began, “I suppose, this is the part where I’m supposed to say, ‘congratulations’, and take you through to hall of fame, isn’t it?”
“It is indeed,” the challenger answered, smiling. He was Johto’s champion now...
Lance had crushed the dreams of countless trainers who had made it this far. He’d seen it all; tears, tantrums, sweet crooning to fainted pokemon, and, on rare occasions, those who graciously accepted defeat.
He turned around, eagerly anticipating how this challenger would react to being crushed. “So, you’ve made it this far. Four battles, all of them, full six-on-sixes. You and your pokemon must be exhausted.”
“We can handle one more battle,” the challenger said coolly, “We came here for one reason, and one reason only. We both know what that reason is.”
“Very well,” Lance replied, “Pick a spot on the battlefield, and we’ll get this show on the road.”
The challenger nodded, proceeding to the left side of the battlefield for the match. He’d been on the left side for the entirety of his challenges here, for no reason other than it simply felt right. He’d won, up until now, on the left side of the battlefield anyway. Won using just his Incineroar and Dugtrio. Several of his opponents before now, had mocked him for only carrying two pokemon in his party. Mock all they like, the challenger thought, for using just those two had gotten him this far. Further than most trainers could ever even dream of getting.
“I’m ready,” the challenger said affirmatively, “I’ll let you have the first move.”
“In that case, Altaria, you’ll go up first,” Lance ordered, sending the fluffy bird pokemon out. It appeared momentarily, materialising on the battlefield with a shrill cry.
“Go, Incineroar!” the challenger answered, and the wrestler cat materialised opposite the fluffy bird. This was it. The final challenge. If he got out of this, and won, he’d finally be a real pokemon master...
“Altaria, begin with dragon dance,” Lance instructed, and the pokemon began to glow, as it flew around the battlefield.
“Incineroar, go straight for a flamethrower!” the challenger instructed.
The wrestler cat launched a big tongue of fire at the fluffy bird pokemon, knocking it straight out of the air.
“Nicely done,” Lance praised, “But we can do better than that, you know. Altaria, use twister!”
“Incineroar, dodge, and use flamethrower again!”
The order was obeyed without question. Incineroar hurried to launch another tongue of fire at Altaria, but it fizzled out as it collided with the twister, leaving neither pokemon with a successful blow.
“You’ve got to be able to do better than that, if you’re really hoping to beat me,” Lance cackled, “Altaria, use dragon pulse!”
The fluffy bird pokemon shot out an enormous, pulsing indigo blast, which steadily gained speed as it hurtled towards the opposing Incineroar.
The challenger didn’t order a single a command. Incineroar stood firmly on his side of the battlefield, showing absolutely no fear, even with the blast just metres from him. Altaria flew gaily about, eagerly anticipating the next move.
Incineroar, along with the challenger, waited until the dragon pulse was just inches away from the wrestler cat pokemon. And then...
“Incineroar, use darkest lariat!”
The pokemon became cloaked in dark energy, as it began to spin. Lance ordered Altaria to go toward it and fire off another twister, only for the pokemon to suddenly take off and spin through it. It emerged from the blast mere moments later, spinning into Altaria before landing gracefully, while the bird crashed to the ground.
Lance smirked at the display, impressed by the challenger’s skills, as he returned his fainted pokemon. “It’s clear that you’ve earned your spot here,” he praised, “But don’t get cocky, boy. You have five more pokemon of mine, left to defeat.”
“I’m well aware of that,” the challenger answered curtly, “But, you must know that I’m only packing two pokemon here. Just my Incineroar, and my Dugtrio.”
Lance shook his head. “Interesting strategy, I must say,” he commented, fingers brushing over the next pokeball on his belt, “We’ll see how far it takes you, in your battle against me. Now, go, Dragonite!”
The next few battles went by without many problems for the challenger and his Incineroar. All three of Lance’s dragonites were soon defeated with swift blows from the enormous wrestler cat. But not before they managed to land some blows of their own...
Next, Lance sent out his shiny Gyarados. One hydro pump later, and Incineroar was down. The challenger had but one pokemon left, to carry his dream of becoming the Johto champion.
“Oh my,” Lance cackled, “Your only remaining pokemon is a ground type, and yet, you have my Gyarados, and my Charizard left to defeat. How do you plan to wurmple your way out of this?”
“Isn’t it obvious?” the challenger scoffed, “Forget type match-ups. I’m just gonna have to do my best with what I’ve got. It’s what I’ve done up until now.”
“Very well,” Lance replied, “We’ll see if that will be enough for you to claim my title.”
The challenger sent out Dugtrio, and immediately upon entry, Lance ordered his Gyarados to hit it with another hydro pump. The creature took the cold jet of water head on, unable to get out of the way in time.
The challenger had nothing but ground type moves on his Dugtrio... But just ground type moves would have to do. He had no other options, and he was not prepared to give in now, when Incineroar had taken so much for his sake.
“Dugtrio, use earthquake!”
The enormous water type didn’t even try to dodge the hit. Lance knew that Gyarados was more than capable of tanking it, given how ineffective the attack was against his species. But the dragon still cried out a little, at the small hit.
“Gyarados, use aqua jet!”
The pokemon cloaked itself in a veil of water and charged at Dugtrio head on, huge fangs bared.
“Quick, Dugtrio, use dig!”
The pokemon managed to burrow down into the ground just in the nick of time...
“After it, Gyarados!”
“Dugtrio, come back up, and use earthquake again!”
The challenger’s orders didn’t quite come fast enough. Gyarados speed down the hole like a rocket, smacking into Dugtrio before it even had the chance to surface. The ground type was thrown to the back of the stadium, crashing pitifully into the wall.
Before the challenger could even ask his pokemon if it was still ok to battle, Lance gave his next command; hydro pump, again. Dugtrio took yet another jet of water, heads smacking against the ground as it fell, while Gyarados coiled itself gracefully on the other side of the battlefield.
“Are you calling it quits yet?” Lance enquired, gazing down at the Dugtrio.
“Not until I know that it’s over,” the challenger said quietly. Dugtrio had taken huge amounts of damage already. One more hit, and it would be down for sure, if it could even still get up now. He’d come this far, and it seemed that all of his hard work was going to fall to pieces, right in front of him...
But miraculously, Dugtrio got up again. It too wasn’t ready to give in just yet.
The challenger nodded at his pokemon, ready to fight again. “We’re still going. Dugtrio, use sand tomb!”
Within seconds, Gyarados was trapped in a swirling sandstorm, which got in its eyes, and grazed its scales. Lance ordered it to use hydro pump, to clear the sand, and it blasted through a section of the sand, but more soon filled its place.
“Earthquake again, Dugtrio!”
The pokemon did as it was told, shredding the earth below the Gyarados with a series of enormous bangs. The water dragon pokemon took the attack, full force, as the sand in the sand tomb continued to pelt it.
The challenger continued to spam earthquake, as Lance tried to help Gyarados free itself from its sandy torture chamber. Nothing he did worked.
Eventually, Gyarados was down and out, leaving just Charizard to deal with. One sand tomb, and some earthquakes later, and it was over.
The challenger returned his Dugtrio, as Lance did the same for his Charizard. It was over. Lance, the great champion of Johto, the great dragon master, had been vanquished at the hands of this challenger.
“Well,” Lance began, “I suppose, this is the part where I’m supposed to say, ‘congratulations’, and take you through to hall of fame, isn’t it?”
“It is indeed,” the challenger answered, smiling. He was Johto’s champion now...
