Beyond the Adventure - A Pokémon Story

Chapter 7: Onward! pt4

        As I admire the man standing before me, he looks down with a furrowed brow.  He does not speak, but look upon us with a hint of intrigue.  Koichi motions toward the arena in the middle of the gym.  “We have several trainers here,” he says, pointing to his team.  “All trainers here will use one Pokémon.  Beat them all, and you will face me.  Defeat me and you will win a fantastic prize, and our respect.”

        I look at Darius, who gives me a nod.  “You can do this,” he says.  “This will be good training for you.”

        Koichi and Bruno turn and walk around the arena to the back of the gym.  As we step toward the arena, I go through my mind to remember the moves Brawny has.  I know he has Cross Chop, where he attacks with a four-armed karate chop, and that really massive punch that knocked Jasmine’s Steelix silly; Dynamic Punch, I think it is called.  However, that is all I know, and a sense of dread washes over me as I realize I may fail Brawny here for not knowing his moves better.  I need to get better at battling so when the need arises, I can help protect him and my other Pokémon.  I still do not enjoy battling and dislike it as a sport, but this journey has made me realize its importance.

        I step into the arena and the first trainer steps in on the opposite side.  He withdraws a Pokéball from his gi and points at me.  “My name is Hideki of Hoenn,” he says, “and I’ll be your first opponent.”  He throws the Pokéball and out pops a fat orange-ish Pokémon that looks like a sumo wrestler with very large hands.  “Go, Hariyama!”

        I reach for Brawny’s dented Great Ball and slowly pull it out.  I take a deep breath.  I feel my heart pound.  It is here where I will truly learn of Brawny’s capabilities.  I will do my best, and I know Brawny will do his.  Win or lose, I do this for him, for my mother, for Liz, for Darius, and most of all, for my father!  “Go Brawny!” I shout, throwing his ball.

        Brawny comes out and flexes his four arms.  Hideki wastes no time, giving Hariyama its first order.  “Hariyama, use Sand Attack!”

        Hariyama thrusts his massive hand forward, sending a cloud of sand at Brawny.  Brawny covers his eyes with all four arms, blocking the sand from getting into his eyes.  Hariyama then runs toward Brawny, taking advantage of the momentary blindness.

        “Close Combat!” Hideki commands.  Hariyama slams into Brawny’s ribs with both hands and pushes Brawny back with all his weight.

        “Brawny, use Cross Chop!” I shout.  Brawny brings all four arms down upon Hariyama’s head.  Hariyama hits the ground, rolls back, and gets back to his feet.

        “Force Palm!” Hideki commands.  Hariyama starts thrusting his hands as he walks toward Brawny.  The thrusts get stronger as he gets closer to Brawny.  Brawny reaches out and grabs one of Hariyama’s hands before it hits, pulls Hariyama toward him, and picks him up with his two lower hands.  Brawny pounds Hariyama’s head with his upper two fists, then spins around and slams Hariyama into the ground.  Hariyama does not move.

        “No way!” Hideki shouts, pulling Hariyama into his ball.  Hideki clenches his fist around the ball and growls, but gives me a courteous bow and steps out of the arena.  Another fighter enters the arena.

        “My name is Aaron, from Unova,” the next guy says.  “Let’s do this!  Go Sawk!”  Aaron tosses a ball into the air and a slender blue Pokémon wearing a gi made of leaves pops out.

        “Brawny, use Cross Chop!” I command, feeling nervous fighting these Pokémon I have never seen.  Brawny charges the blue Pokémon and attacks it with all four arms.

        “Counter!” Aaron says.  Sawk sidesteps Brawny’s attack, grabs an arm, and flips him around, throwing him into the ground.  Sawk then does a quick jab to Brawny’s face.  Brawny growls in pain, but grabs Sawk’s leg and swings him over himself, slamming him into the floor face-first.  Sawk spins around and lands a whirl kick to Brawny’s face, causing Brawny to let him go.  Sawk takes a defensive stance while Brawny stands back up.