Chapter 70: Preliminary Rounds
~Third POV~
[Kanto Region, Indigo Plateau – Court Field No.18]
A sleek, blue Pokémon with a dolphin-like head and powerful tusks materialized onto the field. Donphan gave a high-pitched cry, its eyes fixated on Pikachu, "DONPHAN!!! Dol!!! Donphan!!"
Azure surveyed his opponent's choice as he thought carefully, hearing the beat of his own heart, 'Donphan, a Ground-type. It had the type advantage. But Type Advantage alone isn't gonna stop us.'
Azure commanded swiftly, yelling, "Pikachu, Trailblaze, let's go!"
*Zooom*
Pikachu shot forward, a blur of yellow, leaving a shimmering trail in its wake. At that moment, Pikachu's body glowed a green hue of aura and red as it boosted its Speed Stat, landing a hit on Dolphan.
The Donphan flinched as it doubled back from the unexpected Grass-type move. It made Tyler wary as he yelled, "Donphan, Rapid Spin!"
*Swooosh*
Donphan's eyes widened as it curled into a ball and began to roll rapidly in Pikachu's direction. However, Azure commanded calmly, "Pikachu! Surf!"
Tyler's eyes widened in alarm, hearing that. Pikachu summoned a powerful wave of water heading straight to the charging Donphan.
*SPLASH*
Taking the hit, Tyler flinched as his Donphan was attacked quickly, countering, "Tch. Donphan! Earthquake!"
*RMBL*
Stomping its four legs down, cracks began to form directed at Pikachu. Azure smirked as he said calmly, "Pikachu. Use Fly."
*Swooosh*
Tyler's eyes widened as Pikachu was now high above the air. Its body was veiled in Flying Type energy, supporting it, taking the form of balloons as Donphan blinked in surprise. But Azure took his shot as he yelled, "Now! Use Flying Press!"
*Swooosh*
Pikachu quickly dived bombed down, arms wide open, at Donphan. It then becomes outlined in white energy and dives into the Donphan without hesitation.
*BOOOM*
A large booming sound was heard alerting Tyler of the danger as he commanded, "Shit! The girl didn't say anything about that rodent flying! Quick Dolphan Rollout!"
*Rmbl*
Donphan quickly turned into a ball and began to use Rollout to attack Pikachu. Azure's Pikachu landed safely away after landing the attack, seeing that Donphan began its Rollout as he calmly observes the situation.
Azure waited patiently as the attack came, as he countered, "Now! Protect!"
*CLANG*
Stopping the Rollout with a Protect as the transparent barrier blocked the attack. Tyler's eyes narrowed as he thought cautiously, 'The hell is he thinking. Using Protect to block Rollout, he knows that Rodent doesn't have any physical attacks that would – '
But his thoughts were cut off as Azure yelled, "Icicle Crash!"
*Wooosh*
Pikachu releases a wind with light blue sparkles from its mouth into the air. Then, small clumps of ice form in the wind and grow longer and larger, forming into sharp icicles. The icicles then rain down on the opponent.
*CRASH*
Donphan was hit by the ice-type move, managing to pierce through its tough armor. Donphan cried out in pain, its body convulsing. It fought against the ice, but it was too strong thanks to Pikachu's Light Ball.
With a final shudder, the icicles stopped, and Donphan fell limp, its eyes swirling in unconsciousness. The referee announced, waving his flag, "Donphan is unable to battle! Pikachu wins!"
A wave of relief washed over Azure. He had won the first round, but the battle was far from over.
Tyler, visibly frustrated, returned Donphan to its Poké Ball. Pulling out another Poké Ball, he said defiantly, "Fine, you got lucky. But this time, this match will be in my favor. Tyranitar, let's go!"
*Pop*
Azure's eyes widened, hearing that name, and the materialized Pokémon looming before him and Pikachu. A giant, rock-like Pokémon with hardened armor and menacing red eyes materialized onto the field.
Tyranitar let out a deafening roar. This was a Rock/Dark-type, which meant Pikachu would struggle against it unless something was done. Not only that, Azure noticed something off as he thought confused, 'Wait… where's its usual Sand Stream ability unless… it has the Unnerve Hidden Ability? Not only that…'
[Tyranitar (M) Lv.60 Armor Pokémon]
Azure used [Observe] to check its level as he mentally thought calmly, 'It's at an equal level to my Pikachu…'
His eyes narrowed as he viewed Pikachu's defiant expression. Seeing this, he remained calm as Tyler trash-talked, "Oh? Keeping that little mouse out instead of your dragon, huh? We'll make this quick."
Azure adjusted his cap, not bothering to answer as the Referee spoke, "Start!"
With a determined look on his face, Tyler chuckled as he commanded, "Heh. This will be easy, rookie. Tyranitar – "
Before Tyranitar could have the chance to attack, Azure's voice cut out his opponent's command, "Agile Style. Iron Tail."
*SHINNG*
*CLANG*
In a flash, Pikachu zoomed, unleashing a powerful Iron Tail, leaving a literal gash mark over Tyler's Tryanitar's armor. It recoiled in pain, growling at the Pikachu as Tyler yelled, "Shit! Quick use Rock Tomb!"
*RMBL*
Stomping the ground, several pillars of rock emerged from the ground. Pikachu was caught in the attack, but Azure countered, "Magnet Rise!"
*Zzzz*
Pikachu's body becomes surrounded in yellow energy, and it raises itself off the ground, much to Tyler and the crowd's shock. Azure yelled, "Pikachu, run up into the air with Agility!"
*Zooom*
Pikachu was quick to heed Azure's command as it broke free of the Rock Tomb and flew high into the air using Magnet Rise, a move that the user levitates using electrically generated magnetism. Tyler bit his lips as he thought cautiously in disbelief, 'What the hell! That girl mentioned that his Pokémon would be tough with his Dragonite, Gengar, or Arcanine. But what the hell did she not mention this Pikachu is the biggest threat!'
He gritted his teeth and yelled, "Tyranitar, use Rock Slide!"
*RMBL*
Tyranitar creates white sparkles in a ring above its head, turning into rocks with white outlines along the creases. It then throws the rocks at the opponent.
Azure, noticing this command calmly, "Strong Style. Discharge."
*Zzzzz*
Sounds of electricity were being condensed as Pikachu charged up. Just as the rocks were edging closer to it, Pikachu unleashed Discharge along with its cry, "Pikaaaa… CHU!!!"
*Zzzzzz*
Pikachu releases multiple bolts of yellow electricity from its cheeks at the nearby targets around it. Those targets are the rocks from the Rock Slide exploding, and Tyranitar taking the full brunt of Pikachu's attacks.
Tyranitar recoiled from the pain it was suffering from Pikachu's Discharge. Tyler sweated, increasingly getting worried as he thought, 'The hell! Discharge shouldn't be this strong to make my Tyranitar recoil in pain. Usually, its body can't be harmed by any sort of attack, but somehow this brat is managing to harm my Tyranitar. And I can't use any of its Ground Type Moves while that rodent is flying in the air… damn it!'
Clenching his fist, Tyler made a bold move by yelling, "Hyper Beam!"
Tyranitar's eyes widened as it concentrated energy in its mouth, as Azure noticed the incoming attack. Yet, he remained calm as he countered, "Perfect! Agile Style Zippy Zap to close in and use Thunder Punch to upper cut its jaws, Pikachu!"
*ZOOOOM*
Turning into a blur of yellow, Pikachu zipped away, instantly startling Tyler of the threat. Pikachu zoomed in already at Tyranitar, charging its Hyper Beam. Tyler couldn't have time to process or react as he thought, 'That move and that speed… It's almost like Extreme Speed but – '
*SMASH*
*BOOOOM*
The result was simple, as Pikachu, using the Agile Style of Zippy Zap, managed to mimic a move like Arcanine and Dragonite's Extreme Speed. In a blur, Pikachu attacks the Tyranitar underneath its jaws with bursts of electricity at high speeds and punches it with Thunder Punch just as it finishes charging up Hyper Beam in its mouth.
*SMASH*
At the most critical point, where Tyranitar almost finished charging up, it was forced to close the energy in its mouth. And as a result, exploded in its mouth, resulting in an explosion along with a critical hit, managing to hit Tyranitar the most damage.
*THUD*
Tyranitar fainted and fell to the ground with a loud thud. The referee yelled as he waved his flags in a loud tone, "Tyranitar is unable to battle! Pikachu wins! And with that, Azure Sky is the Winner!"
The crowd erupted in cheers. Azure had won his first preliminary battle at the Indigo Plateau.
He had overcome the odds and his opponent, with the help of his trusted Pikachu. Azure rushed over to Pikachu and gave him a big hug in a proud tone, "We did it, Pikachu! We're one step closer!"
Tyler walked up to Azure with a look of disbelief on his face. He asked in a reluctant tone, "I can't believe I lost to some kid from Kanto."
Azure smiled and extended his hand to Tyler. Being a good sportsman, he replied, "It was a good battle, Tyler. I learned a lot from you."
Tyler hesitantly shook Azure's hand. He sighed as he congratulated him, "Yeah, it was a good battle. Good luck in the rest of the tournament."
Azure smiled and walked off the battlefield with Pikachu on his shoulder. He knew that the road ahead would be tough, but he was ready.
He had his Pokémon by his side, and together, they would conquer the Indigo Plateau. But not only that, though, because despite his performance, he managed to attract attention from the crowd as rumors spread about the match.
"Hey, did you know that Pikachu could use Fly?"
"No way! He beat Tyler in a previous final in the eighth Pokémon League tournament!"
"Yeah, who knew that little mouse could beat such a beast?"
"No kidding, especially since that Electric Type could fly."
"And the kid didn't even need to send his second Pokémon either…"
"But he isn't the first, though…"
"Yeah, those kids from Pallet Town."
Rumors began to circulate through the Indigo Plateau about other trainers equally talented at speed running the preliminary rounds. Other trainers from Pallet Town began to circulate rumors about challenging strong opponents.
Blue Oak. Fire Red. Leaf Green.
Those three were also the ones who won with only one Pokémon being used throughout the preliminary rounds. During the following rounds, there were no limits; everything was decided in fierce battles.
New foes are met, each just as strong as the others. There are even trainers from other regions, seasoned trainers, and current gym leaders. As the rounds continued their course, excitement was at its peak, and emotions ran high.
Finally, Azure reached his final round of the preliminary B Block. He needed to win one more battle as his eyes narrowed at his opponent as he thought bitterly, 'Well fuck… I recall in the manga that Red, Blue, and Green respectively won in their A, C, and D Blocks, making it to the semi-finals. But Prof. Oak also entered as Mr. O with his Flying-type Pokémon team…'
In the B Block, facing off against Azure was Mr. O, a secret identity that Prof. Oak uses to enter the Pokémon Tournament as he chuckled, seeing Azure as he thought, 'Heh. I didn't expect to see this young man again. To think I'll be facing him and the unusual moves he taught his Pokémon. But I'm afraid this young man has ridden his adventure for the last time.'
Staring at Mr. O, Azure sighed as he gripped his Poke Ball as the referee said, "Start!"
Azure grinned as he had to face the final hurdle of Prof. Oak as he thought excitedly, 'I'm battling fucking Prof. Oak! Even with his team of Flying Types… I'll win!'