Pokemon - The Biggest Wish

Chapter 11 - Double Battle Training

Holly and I thanked Brock for the beautiful Badges and bid him a fond farewell as we walked out into Pewter City. A few minutes later, Bonnie, Jamie and Jake ran over from a building far ahead. “Hey!” Jake called.                                                                                                                                          

“I gave the metal to those Scientist guys!” Bonnie boasted. I smiled, showing them my shiny new Badge as they came close.

“Cool! About time you won something!” Jamie teased.

“Tee-hee! I got one too!” Holly crowed, wanting some attention. Bonnie ran over and congratulated Riolu.

“Great job guys!” She praised. I turned to Jake for more serious matters.

“So, could they tell what that material was for?” I asked. Jake put on a sad face and told me that the Scientists were unable to identify the materials properties.

“They said it was very interesting, and that they would catch up with you when they discover something.” Jake explained. After this information was gathered, I decided on our next move.

“Well, this Gym challenge is kind of fun. I think we should continue collecting Badges!” I said, Holly instantly smiling. Everybody seemed to agree, however, I had the feeling that something was wrong with Jamie, but he didn’t speak up.

We were just exiting Mt. Moon when Jamie finally said what was on his mind. “Gah! I’ve had enough!” He roared. “I just want to battle already!”

I grinned and said: “You should’ve just asked!”

We all ran out into the outskirts of Cerulean, the perfect place for a good old fashioned Pokemon Battle! Holly and Jake wanted some action too, whilst Bonnie was fine being a referee, for now, anyway. “How about we team up and have a Double Battle, one Pokemon each?” Jake declared.

“Perfect! I’m with Toby!” Holly announced, bringing frowns to my friend’s faces.

Once we had all got set up, we stood firmly in our places. “Pokemon at the ready!” Bonnie called, taking her role rather seriously. All four of us whipped PokeBalls from our belts and pockets. “Three! Two! One... Let’s Battle!” Bonnie screamed. Almost in unison, we all threw our PokeBalls into the air. What followed was a mass of shouts:         

“Go! Lucario!”

“Get them, Amber!”

“Let’s do it, Raichu!”

“You got this, Piplup!”

Each Pokemon appeared at the same time, showing their pride off as a trophy. I looked over to my left and Holly looked back. We nodded at each other, ready for the challenge. I also noticed that Riolu looked completely stunned. It was obviously because he was seeing his future self in Jake’s Lucario. I averted my attention back to the battle, where Jamie started things off. “Raichu! Use Volt Tackle on Piplup!” He ordered, Raichu immediately responding, charging towards Piplup with electricity swarming around him. I reacted quickly, or rather, Holly acted quickly. “Amber! Protect Piplup!” And with that, Holly’s Dragonite flew to Piplup’s aid, grabbing Raichu by the tail. I was surprised that Amber cared not for her own safety, taking the electric charge and throwing Raichu straight at Lucario. I quickly followed, ordering Piplup to attack. “Piplup! Use BubbleBeam on Lucario!”

But I wasn’t fast enough. Jake reacted first, ordering Lucario to catch Raichu, and then leap over the Bubbles. “Amber, use Draco Meteor!” Holly declared. Her Dragonite looked to the sky, red earring glinting in the sun. Purple light erupted from Amber’s mouth, shooting into the sky.

“Aura Sphere!” Jake called to Lucario.

“Whirlpool!” I quickly responded. Lucario jumped forward, placing Raichu on the ground and shooting a ball of deepest blue Aura from its palms. Halfway on its journey to Amber, the Aura Sphere collided with Piplup’s Whirlpool, causing a small explosion.

 “Thunder!” Jamie called to his Raichu. From the sky, Amber’s Draco Meteors fell at high speeds, aiming for Jamie’s Pokemon. Meanwhile, Lucario was still trapped in the quickly thinning explosion. The Meteors where mere metres away from Raichu when it let its Thunder loose. The Thunder was powerful, but not as powerful as Draco Meteor. With both moves given ridiculous power due to the STABs, the two collided, seeming to flow together for one short moment. “Whirlpool on Lucario!” I called to Piplup. She quickly aimed for Lucario, who had just this moment become visible. Jake had no time to react, his Lucario slammed by Piplup’s Whirlpool. The gushing water took Lucario off his feet and threw him at Raichu. Just as Lucario crashed into Raichu, Amber’s Draco Meteor broke through, smashing into both of the opponent’s Pokemon.

There was a loud “BOOM!” as the Pokemon slammed into the side of Mt. Moon, prompting the loudest groans I had ever heard from Jake and Jamie. “Focus Punch!” Holly called to Amber, just in case they survived the blow. As the dust settled, I saw Lucario on his knees, keeling over in pain. Raichu was nowhere to be seen, however.

“LUCARIO!” Jake roared. “SMACK PIPLUP WITH FORCE PALM, OVER AND OVER!”

Lucario shot through the air, clearing fifty feet in a single bound. “A-Ah! P-Piplup! Use Bide!” I stuttered, barely fast enough. Just before Lucario’s barrage of attacks began, Piplup curled into a ball, a harsh red light appearing around her. I could tell Holly wanted to help, but Amber had become unfocused and had to start again. And then, Lucario smashed away at Piplup, each blow doing more damage than the one before. She desperately held on, enduring the attack for over a minute. I looked up to see the menacing form of Raichu, who had somehow managed to climb to the top of Mt. Moon. “Jump and use Volt Tackle on Piplup, Full Power!” Jamie ordered. Raichu surged with power, took a run up and leaped, Volt Tackle-Sky Diving towards Piplup.

It just wasn’t fair! She was being ganged up on! She would be finished within a matter of seconds and Amber would never make it over in time! Unless...

“Amber! Fly over and use Focus Punch on Lucario! As fast as you can!” Holly ordered. I could see the pain in her eyes; Piplup was in much greater pain than she had ever been. Raichu was mere feet above now, shooting easily, travelling at least 100MPH. “Piplup! Back flip and release Bide!” I desperately called. Amber was close now, swinging her arm around. Piplup launched herself into the air, narrowly missing Lucario’s Force Palm. Amber then slammed her concentrated fist into Lucario’s face, causing a huge explosion and sending him skidding across the grass. The explosion propelled Piplup even further into the air towards Raichu. As the two came to be metres apart, Piplup swung around, releasing all of her stored energy at once. A harsh white light engulfed both Piplup and Raichu, blinding us all very briefly.

When my vision returned, I saw Amber panting with relief, Lucario knocked out by Jake’s feet, and Raichu flying towards the ground. With a loud “CRASH!” Raichu slammed into the earth, causing a massive crater to be formed. But where was Piplup!? I looked to the skies and saw her falling through the air a short distance away. I immediately took off into the Battlefield, running as fast as I possibly could. As she neared the ground, I saw that Piplup was asleep. She had been knocked out when she hit Raichu. I saw the spot she was heading for, and as soon as Piplup’s shadow appeared on the ground, I dived.

I stretched my arms out wide, flying towards the darkened shade of ground. Piplup shot ever closer, until...

I closed my arms around her we slammed into the ground.

Minutes later, everyone was crowded round, declaring that Holly and I had won. “Team Toby wins!” Bonnie called. They asked if I was hurt, if there was anything they could do for Piplup. I just smiled and said:

“Nothing a Full Restore can’t fix!”