Weathering The Storm... (A Pokemon OC Story)

Chapter 35: Crushing Boulders...

Now, Lucas and Seijo stood in the crowd, as guests of the competitor. They watched over the stadium, which was overflowing with people. It wasn't nearly as busy as it was during the Hoenn Elite League. But, it was still very busy compared to what would've been expected by either of them. But, it was more than understandable as there were some very good matches going on. One person was fighting with only trade evolutions and looked confident in doing it. He smashed Roxanne's team into pebbles, and Lucas knew that he was going to be a tough competitor for the Ever Grande Conference.

There were others, like one with a monotype fighting team that used a million varied blows to break through Roxanne's defences, then there was another competitor from overseas who was using exclusively Dark types, using underhanded and dirtier tactics to get their hands on a gym badge. But, one thing that remained true for all of the matches was that Roxanne did not quit at all.

She gave it her all at all times, against any competitor. Didn't matter if she hadn't landed a hit or the opponent hadn't landed a hit, she fought with the same energy all the same. It was admirable, but Lucas also feared that the energy would end up with a loss for Ellie, or another loss for him. There were quite a few of all skill levels that found themselves crumbling under the weight of the boulders that Roxanne would launch at them.

Lucas released both Zorua and Shroomish so that they could watch and gather data for themselves, while Torchic just sat perched on Lucas' shoulder. Although it wasn't the happiest about losing an opportunity to battle again, it did at least understand the reasons for not battling. And, it could focus on its own training for a bit, instead of rushing around battling.

And, the moment that they had been waiting for was finally about to come. Ellie began to walk out of the sides of the stadium, with Roxanne walking out of the opposite end. Ellie still did have some nerves to conquer, and her nervousness only rose as the eyes of everyone in the stadium locked on her. She had thought that she would be better at handling them, but it appeared that she still had some things to overcome. Her eyes combed around the stadium, as the glares gathered on her.

But, then she spotted Lucas and Seijo cheering her on from the crowd. She smiled as she found them looking at her with looks that only inspired hope in her. The nerves weren't completely gone, but she was going to do her best to work her way through it. Then, she stepped up onto the podium, with Mudkip standing by her side, helping to comfort her. Roxanne stepped up as well and looked at Ellie with a glare. Ellie was caught off guard by it, and it looked as if Roxanne was judging her. But, a deep breath made it at least tolerable, as the referee called for them to bring out their first Pokemon.

"Both participants will use two Pokemon! The gym leader is not allowed to make substitutions but the challenger may. Now, Roxanne, please throw out your first Pokemon!"

"Geodude, let's do this!"

Geodude popped from its capsule, pounding the ground with its fists. Ellie opened her Pokedex and scanned Geodude.

Geodude, the Rock Pokemon.

The longer a Geodude lives, the more its edges are chipped and worn away, making it more rounded in appearance. However, this Pokemon's heart will remain hard, craggy, and rough always.

"Right, looks like this is a job for Ralts! Let's show the world what we can do!"

Ralts emerged from the Pokeball, putting its hands together and emitting a purple aura bursting at the seems with psychic power. The referee looked to both sides before yelling out,

"Battle begin!"

"Lets start Ralts! Teleport, then use Pound!"

Ralts disappeared from the battlefield within a blink of an eye, then emerged to Geodude's side. It raised its hand and struck down on Geodude hard, but only managed to chip its surface slightly, before teleporting again and attacking again from the other side. But, Geodude caught on, it swung at Ralts, only for Ralts to teleport away.