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

Chapter 61: Till Destiny Do Us Part...

Now, the tournament was truly starting. The 128 people who had joined now dwindled to only 32 trainers remaining. And, in the midst, there was Lucas, Ellie, Harry, Charles, Alex and Bubble, all part of the top 32. And, now, they were each being assigned to their matches.

Lucas, Ellie, Bubble and Harry each got assigned against strangers. However, Alex was picked to be against Charles. Charles smirked as his and Alex's names were called to fight tomorrow. He expected Alex's face to turn to fear as Charles' previous opponents had when they were put against him. But, surprisingly, Alex looked excited to face off against Charles. He looked down at the child standing next to him and said,

"Good luck, kid. Hope Garchomp can carry you through."

Alex then walked out of the hall where every trainer had gathered, leaving an embarrassed Charles standing in the centre of the room under the glare of everyone in the room. The child stomped the floor angrily and rushed out of the building in the opposite direction of Alex. Lucas looked at Charles and commented discretely to Ellie,

"Something tells me he didn't like that."

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Now, came the match that both competitors had been eagerly awaiting since the start of the tournament. Alex had been conducting some research on Garchomp and figured out a strategy that was meant to maximize his Pokemon's abilities so that he could stand up to the brute strength of Garchomp. Meanwhile, Charles had been idle except for the occasional Pokemon he would crush with Garchomp to make him even more confident about the battle the following day. He already knew Garchomp was the strongest Pokemon, and able to trump any individual Pokemon in the tournament. So, when I say he was confident, I mean he couldn't stand the thought of anything other than destroying Alex.

Alex stretched his limbs as he stood awaiting Charles' entrance, keeping a cool demeanour about him at all times. That was part of his strategy, to not be overwhelmed by Garchomp's intimidating nature and utterly monstrous strength. He knew that Charles was banking on Garchomp winning the entire thing with just its power. So, he could just beat Garchomp with the advantage of it being a three-on-one. Then, what did Charles have left?

But, Charles was certain that Garchomp could win the entirety of the tournament. It was the strongest, the best. As long as Charles didn't do anything stupid and Garchomp never gave up, then the shortcut to the Pokemon League would be his, easily. He grabbed Garchomp's Pokeball as he stepped up to the podium with a giant smile on his face. The battlefield rose from the ground as the ground beneath the referee's feet began to ascend with the platform. Then, they found that the battlefield was completely barren of any life, made purely just out of dirt and rock.

"Garchomp will have an amazing time with these sort of conditions!", Charles thought as he tossed his Pokemon onto the battlefield without hesitation. Alex raised his Pokeball to his chest, took a breath then chucked the Pokeball into the centre of the battlefield.

"Haunter, I choose you!"

The ghostly apparition appeared from the Pokeball, sticking out its tongue playfully at Garchomp. Alex smiled as Haunter got ready to fight. The referee looked to both ends of the battlefield and then declared loudly,

"Battle begin!"

"Garchomp, Dragon Claw!"

Garchomp's sturdy claws sliced through the air as they became illuminated with raw power. Then, Garchomp sped its way across the battlefield towards Haunter. But, both Alex and Haunter kept their cool against Garchomp, while Alex thought about the best way to deal with Garchomp currently. Then, Alex yelled out,