Pokémon: Master of the Rain Team

”Damn it.” Tania clenched her fist. Gengar was her strongest partner, and Scyther had taken it down in a trade. How was she supposed to fight from here?

”Come back, Scyther.” Reiji recalled Scyther into its Heal Ball to keep the burn from getting worse. It would still need proper treatment at the Pokémon Center after the match.

Scyther was done for the tournament either way. A full-body burn like that would not heal in two days. Losing one of his stronger Pokémon before the finals hurt, but there was nothing he could do about it.

”Both contestants, send out your next Pokémon.”

”Go, Venusaur!”

”Go, Butterfree!”

”It’s Butterfree against Venusaur! What kind of battle will these two give us?”

Butterfree?

Tania gritted her teeth. She had chosen Venusaur because Reiji used a lot of Water-types. It was meant to test what he would send next.

Instead, he sent out Butterfree, which knew Hurricane. That was a perfect answer to Venusaur.

Damn it. He read me.

It was not exactly a perfect read. Reiji had already expected Scyther to be out after dealing with Gengar. As long as Scyther took Gengar down, it had done its job.

His next Pokémon would be a support pick. He still had Butterfree, Staryu, and Slowpoke available.

Sending Butterfree was partly a scout. Tania was known to have two Grass-types, and Reiji had so many Water-types that a Flying-type support Pokémon made sense. It just happened to hit the matchup perfectly.

”Venusaur, Razor Leaf!”

”Butterfree, Hurricane!”

This was the first command Reiji had given in the match. The moment the crowd heard him speak, they realized the Scyther versus Gengar fight really had used some special tactic.

The two Pokémon attacked at the same time. Venusaur’s Razor Leaf barely got moving before Butterfree’s violent wind blew it apart.

”If Razor Leaf won’t work, use Vine Whip!”

”Saur! Saur!” Venusaur braced itself against the wind, digging all four legs into the ground. A long vine shot out from beneath its flower and whipped toward Butterfree.

Smack.

The hit landed loud and clean. It slapped Hurricane right out of Butterfree, and Butterfree’s face even swelled from the blow.

Venusaur was in trouble now.

”Wow. You really dared to do that.” Reiji broke into a cold sweat at the sound of that slap. Butterfree was about to lose its temper.

”Free! Free!” Butterfree’s red compound eyes went even redder, then lit up blue.

It used Confusion.

”Venusaur, Ingrain!” Tania saw the blue light in Butterfree’s eyes and knew something bad was coming.

”Saur! Saur!” Venusaur’s body started to lift. Thick roots dug into the battlefield, trying to hold it down, but Confusion kept pulling until the ground itself began to crack.

Tania stared. Since when was a Butterfree’s Confusion this strong? It wasn’t even a Psychic-type.

Crack. Crack. Crash.

Butterfree kept lifting. The ground under Venusaur split apart piece by piece until Venusaur and the chunk of battlefield beneath it were torn into the air together.

”Venusaur, use Seed Bomb to break its focus!”

”Saur!” Venusaur swayed in midair, making it hard to aim at Butterfree below, but its flower still flashed and fired glowing seeds down at the battlefield.

The seeds never reached the ground. Blue light wrapped around them and sent them right back.

They slammed into Venusaur and exploded.

Boom, boom, boom.

Smoke filled the air. Venusaur and the broken rock slipped free from Confusion and crashed back down onto the battlefield.

”What incredible psychic power! Is that really coming from a Butterfree?”

Even the announcer sounded shocked. A Butterfree with that much psychic talent was rare.

Butterfree used Hurricane again, blowing away the smoke from the explosion. When it saw Venusaur lying on the ground, it prepared to lift it again and drop another meteor on it.

”Saur!” Venusaur saw the attack coming and used Ingrain again. Its flower began to glow.

Solar Beam.

”Butterfree, Protect!”

”Free!” Butterfree felt the danger too. It let Confusion drop and threw up Protect just as the huge white beam came crashing in.

The Solar Beam faded quickly, and Butterfree came out unharmed.

This won’t work.

Tania thought for a moment, then shouted, ”Venusaur, tie it down with Vine Whip!”

”Saur!” Venusaur sent out several vines, trying to bind Butterfree.

The vines stopped right in front of it, piling up against an invisible wall and unable to move any farther.

Confusion again?

Tania felt her stomach drop. Hurricane already made the matchup bad for Venusaur, and now Butterfree’s Confusion was strong enough to stop Vine Whip head-on. Venusaur had no good way through.

”Venusaur, Roar!”

”Saur!” Venusaur saw Butterfree’s eyes glow blue again and had enough. It roared, forcing Butterfree back into its Poké Ball.

”What?” Reiji had the advantage, but Roar forced the switch anyway. Butterfree returned, and another Poké Ball on his belt opened.

Staryu appeared.

Tania finally had room to breathe. She recalled Venusaur and sent out her third Pokémon.

”Go, Arcanine!”

”Arc!” Arcanine landed on the field, its mane whipping in the wind. It lowered its head and roared at Staryu.

”It was Roar! Contestant Tania forced Butterfree out and switched to Arcanine! Staryu has been hit by Intimidate!”

”Interesting.” Reiji rubbed his chin with a helpless smile. Sending out Arcanine here was basically Tania giving him the same kind of opening she had just taken.

Fine. He would take it.

”Staryu, Gravity.”

A heavy pressure dropped over the battlefield. Arcanine was forced flat against the ground, unable to stand.

”Arcanine, crawl forward.”

”Arc…” Arcanine struggled under the pressure, but it still dragged itself toward Staryu.

”Thunder Wave.”

Reiji used the same Gravity setup as before. Staryu could not use Water Gun well in this position, so he would slow Arcanine down and wear it out.

”Staryu!” Pale-yellow electricity arced from both sides of Staryu’s body and struck Arcanine, paralyzing it.

”Arc!” Arcanine’s legs went weak. With paralysis on top of Gravity, even crawling became difficult, but it kept pushing forward.

”Confuse Ray.”

Staryu’s top point flashed, firing a bright wave of light into Arcanine.

Confuse Ray left the target confused.

”Arcanine, calm down. Stay focused!” Tania saw Arcanine’s eyes redden and quickly called out, trying to stop it from losing control under Gravity.

Arcanine forced itself through the confusion. Reiji was only surprised for a moment before giving the next order.

”Ice Beam.”

Water-type moves were awkward under Gravity, but beam attacks still worked.

Crack. Crack.

Ice spread over Arcanine’s body, but its own heat melted most of it almost right away. It slowed Arcanine a little, but not enough.

”Then use Thunderbolt.”

If Ice Beam was not enough, he would keep shocking it.

Crackle.

”Arc! Arc!” Arcanine howled under the electric blast. Its tongue hung out as it slumped down.

Then it forced itself back up and kept crawling. Staryu answered with another Thunderbolt.

After several rounds, Staryu was starting to wear down too, and Gravity weakened. Arcanine seized the opening, lunged in, and bit down with lightning crackling around its fangs.

”Thunder Fang.” Reiji watched Staryu go down while Arcanine stood there panting.

”Come back, Staryu. You did well.” Reiji recalled it with a sigh, then reached for his fourth Poké Ball.

Staryu losing could not be helped. Holding Gravity meant it could not use Psychic properly.

Without Gravity, though, Arcanine would have reached it much sooner. Staryu would not have lasted long enough to wear Arcanine down.

Arcanine had Extreme Speed, Agility, and better natural speed than Staryu. Running was never an option.

That last Thunder Fang had cracked the gem in Staryu’s center. It was done for the tournament. After treatment, it would have to withdraw. Another Pokémon lost.

”Contestant Reiji has recalled Staryu! Arcanine looks exhausted too. What will Contestant Reiji send out next?”

”Slowpoke, Trick Room.”

”Slow?” Slowpoke saw the huge dog gasping for breath and set Trick Room right away. Without it, there was no way to keep distance.

Tania did not recall Arcanine. With paralysis slowing it down, there was not much point saving it. She would use what it had left to pressure Slowpoke, or at least drain some of its strength.

”Arcanine, Fire Spin!”

Fire Spin?

Reiji did not know what Tania was planning. Maybe she knew Arcanine could not catch Slowpoke and wanted to test its range instead. Either way, Slowpoke resisted Fire-type attacks.

”Slowpoke, Hydro Pump.”

”Slow?” Slowpoke moved out of Fire Spin’s range before the flames could trap it, then appeared beside Arcanine and fired Hydro Pump after Hydro Pump.

”Arcanine, Will-O-Wisp!”

”Arc!” Arcanine summoned ghostly flames. It no longer had the strength to chase, so it dodged as best it could while sending Will-O-Wisp at Slowpoke.

Slowpoke kept shifting away from the flames, firing each time it moved. The two traded attacks, but Arcanine was clearly losing. Trick Room kept Slowpoke one step ahead, and Hydro Pump landed again and again.

At last, Arcanine ran out of strength. One more Hydro Pump knocked it out.

Tania recalled Arcanine and sent out her fourth Pokémon.

”Misdreavus!”

”Dreavus! Dreavus!” Misdreavus appeared on the field, giggling to itself.

”Misdreavus, Mean Look!”

Two black beams shot from Misdreavus’s eyes and locked onto Slowpoke, stopping Reiji from recalling it.

Reiji’s heart sank.

Perish Song was next.

He had misread her. Tania still had another trap ready.

”Slowpoke, keep Trick Room up. Finish this fast. Shadow Ball!”

”Misdreavus, Perish Song!”

”Slow…” Red-black energy rippled around Slowpoke. It understood at once. Its time was limited. If it could not take Misdreavus down quickly, it would fall too.

Misdreavus began to fade, trying to hide, but Slowpoke’s eyes lit up blue. It locked onto Misdreavus and fired a Shadow Ball.

”Mis!” Misdreavus reappeared just as the Shadow Ball flew past, breaking into a cold sweat.

Before it could settle down, the second Shadow Ball was already coming.

Misdreavus kept running, with Shadow Ball after Shadow Ball chasing it across the field. Trick Room gave Slowpoke the timing advantage, so Misdreavus could only dodge.

But it could not dodge forever. One Shadow Ball finally clipped it and knocked it down.

Slowpoke did not stop. With the Perish Song timer closing in, it kept forming Shadow Balls. It moved right up to Misdreavus and fired one point-blank, blasting it away.

”Misdreavus, Protect!”

Protect came late, but it still blocked the most dangerous hit.

Slowpoke moved again and locked onto Misdreavus, giving it no room to breathe. Protect had already been used. This time, there was nothing to stop it.

Misdreavus tried to fight back with its own psychic power, but Slowpoke was an Advanced-tier Pokémon. It could not hold on.

Psychic slammed Misdreavus into the wall below the stands and knocked it out cold.

[End of chapter]

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