The Kanto Journals: A Pokemon Crossover

Chapter 52: One Too Few

"Welcome to Pokémon Village," the receptionist at the lobby of the entrance to Indigo Plateau greeted Arndolfr. "I need your identification so I could check you in, please."

Arndolfr had decided to skip the opening ceremony of this year's Pokémon League in order to double his efforts of finding a Pokémon that will fill his sixth slot in his party. He spent the past several hours roaming the periphery of Indigo Plateau, but all he had encountered are either those that are not battle-ready, or were too fierce for Arndolfr to catch. For now, he had to register with only five Pokémon. It was only a good thing that he was able to obtain a copy of the Pokémon League Trainers' Book and learned that he only needed three Pokémon at a time for the four preliminary rounds before he would be able to battle his way to the Indigo Stadium.

"Here," Arndolfr said, giving his Pokédex to the receptionist.

"I believe this is your first time to join the Pokémon League?" the receptionist asked.

"It sure is," Arndolfr answered casually, watching the receptionist insert his Pokédex to the computer and type a few things on the keyboard.

"Well, that's it," the receptionist then said, giving back Arndolfr's Pokédex to him. "For the first four rounds, you shall have to win four battles in a row, one each for the four battlefields: rock, grass, water, and ice. Please press the button in front of you so we can determine which battlefield you shall be battling on first."

Arndolfr followed the receptionist's instructions and soon found out that he'll be battling at the Ice Battlefield first.

"Splendid," the receptionist chirped. "I've also matched you to your first opponent, and you have been matched with a trainer named Tristan. He already had three wins, and if he wins this round, he shall automatically be qualified to battle in the Indigo Stadium. I wish you all the luck, and I must also advise you to hurry up, because your match will be up next."

"Thank you very much, I'll get going then," Arndolfr replied with a flat tone.

Arriving at the Ice Battlefield, Arndolfr saw that his opponent had already been waiting on the other side of the battlefield. The battlefield itself was completely covered in ice. Without further ado, the announcer finally announced the start of the battle.

"And now, the start of the first battle on the Ice Battlefield!" the announcer's voice blared through the large stadium. "On the green side is an Indigo favorite, Tristan Lannister from New Frond City! And on the red side is newcomer Arndolfr Crane from Twinleaf Town!"

"Hey there, man!" Tristan called from the other side of the battlefield. "Since you're a newcomer, I'll probably go easy on you. It'll be a shame if I defeat all your Pokémon with just my first."

"By all means, don't hold back," Arndolfr retaliated. "We are standing on the same ground, after all... or should I say, the same ice."

"Let us now begin the match!" the referee announced.

"Okay now, Rhydon, I choose you!" Tristan belted as he threw a Pokéball towards the battlefield where a Rhydon emerged.

"A Rock-type? I should have known," Arndolfr chuckled, taking Legolas' Pokéball from his pocket. "Well my answer to that is pretty obvious. Blossom your way to the battlefield, Legolas!"

Legolas landed gracefully on the icy battlefield with the help of his countless vines.

"You should know very well that Grass-types would slow down on ice!" Tristan taunted Arndolfr. "We'll just have to use that to our advantage! Rhydon, Horn Drill, and don't miss!"

"We won't really need to move at all, thank you very much!" Arndolfr taunted back. "SolarBeam, Legolas!"

To the whole stadium's surprise, Legolas' SolarBeam immediately made its mark on Rhydon's chest with the help of his Power Herb. Rhydon was then seen on the far side of the battlefield unconscious.