Pokémon: Midnight Blue

The New Celso

Kylie won her match easily, before her opponent could even figure out what the hell she was doing. The following battle was won by none other than Celso Troark. After the first round was finished and the second round matches were selected, I recieved the schedule for the next day and was not surprised to find that I was paired against Celso.

Upon entering the stadium on the second day, a flood of applause filled the building. The mere sound made my heart race and my blood rush. I had fans. 

The applause continued, though not as mightily, as Celso entered on his side. We walked to the center of the field and shook hands.

"Good luck, Mister Phoenix," Celso said in a confident but genuine manner, "you'll need it."

"Good luck, Mister Troark," I responded equally cockily and sincerely, "Good luck not breaking down crying when I beat you."

"I trust you won't disappoint me after the battle I witnessed yesterday."

"You can bet on it, my friend."

Celso cracked a smile. It seemed to have been a long time since someone had called him a friend. We returned to our respective spots and drew our first Pokéball.

"Go, Cloyster!" Celso seemed to have much more grace to him now.

Unfortunately for him, I had predicted he would open with a Water-type, "Let's go, Raichu!"

"Ice Beam, now!"

It was not unlike Celso to pressure his opponent. Raichu was not given a moment to react and took the chilling attack. It got to its feet just as quickly and waited.

"Use Surf, now!" Celso seemed very enthusiastic.

An enormous wall of water rose from nothing and towered over my Raichu. Cloyster was preparing a powerful attack, and I was worried as to whether or not Raichu would be able to take the hit.

"Raichu, get as close to Cloyster as you can." I whispered.

Raichu charged toward Cloyster as the wave came crashing down on it. Raichu was right next to Cloyster by the time it fully hit the ground.

"Closing the angle of the water to lessen the sting," Celso observed, "Not bad, Mister Phoenix."

"That's not all," I smirked, "Raichu, Thunder now!"

An immense bolt of lightning came crashing down on Cloyster's wave. Cloyster was instantly barbecued and taken out.

"What?" Celso's eyes widened, "What just happened?"

"Science," I explained with my cocky grin, "As powerful an attack as Thunder is, everyone knows it has extremely poor accuracy. But since there's water all over the battlefield, the current is transferred throughout the water. That way, Cloyster takes the attack whether it hits or not. On top of that, the water also amplifies the power of electricity, so Cloyster takes even more damage from the attack. Impressed?"

"Very," Celso smiled back, "But this next round won't be so easy. Go, Arcanine!"

"Raichu, use Dig!"

"Don't let him get away! Fire Blast!"

Arcanine shot an attack at Raichu and just hit the tip of its tail. Raichu dug around for a while and finally charged up out of the ground and slammed against Arcanine's belly. The Legendary Pokémon rose a few inches off the ground upon impact and seemed very hurt.

"Arcanine! Skull Bash!" Celso howled.

Arcanine lowered its head and barreled toward Raichu. Not knowing what to do, Raichu prepared a Thunder attack. Upon Arcanine's impact, Raichu discharged. Raichu endured a severe flay and Arcanine was shocked to a crisp. Raichu soon fell out, followed by its opponent. The odds seemed to be in my favor, but this apparently did not bother Celso at all.

"This isn't over!" he declared confidently, "Go, Venomoth!"

This seemed too easy. I could have summoned Charizard and beaten out Venomoth within a matter of seconds, but it seemed too simple. I decided that if I was gonna do this, I might as well have some fun with it.

"Go, Gengar!" I chuckled.

"Oh, what's this?" Celso seemed surprised at the sight of my Gengar.

"Just a little souvenir from our Lavender Town days. Impressed?"

"Very. Hopefully, your Gengar puts up as good a fight as your Charizard would."

"Oh, trust me," I pulled my hat over my eyes, "It will."

I relaxed as Celso began shouting commands to his Venomoth. Gengar dodged each attack thrown at it, then retaliated with a Hypnosis attack. I smiled. It was all over. Gengar finished off the fight with a Dream Eater attack. As Venomoth squirmed and struggled in agony, Celso watched expecting the worst until the Poison Moth Pokémon finally stilled.

Celso's smile wiped away. He looked up at me with a bitter taste of defeat in his mouth, "Well done, Mister Phoenix. The better man won yet again." Then he walked away, off the battlefield as the crowd cheered for me without saying another word.