Chapter 75: Finals (1)
~Third POV~
[Kanto Region, Indigo Plateau, Stadium – Audience Stand]
Over the PA system, the crowd is informed that the second semi-final match starts with Red and Blue standing on the stadium battlefield. Sitting in the stands were Azure with Green, Prof. Oak, and Bill.
Green returned after having made a secret call to Silver; she was okay. Arriving with the group, Green sat next to Azure, as she asked curiously about his opinion on who was winning between Red and Blue, "Say, Azure, now that you're in the finals, who do you think would be your final opponent in the Finals?"
Hearing this, Azure stated in a confident tone, obviously surprising his group, "Red. He made a promise that we'll battle on the grand stage. And as a stubborn kid, he won't go down here."
Prof. Oak, hearing such confidence, defended his grandson like a grandfather would in a confident tone, "Oh? And do you think my grandson isn't strong enough to face you in the finals, young man?"
Azure shook his head with Pikachu on his lap and Eevee being cuddled by Green, rubbing her belly as he said calmly, "No. Blue is a strong trainer, but ultimately, it'll come down to their Pokémon's emotions and fighting spirit. Just how much they're willing to win."
Prof. Oak didn't say much but ultimately nodded as they looked at the match between Red and Blue, choosing only 3 Pokémon for this semi-final match. Bill, on the other hand, got curious as he asked Azure, "Say, Sky, right? Why do you name your moves Agile and Strong Style?"
Hearing this, it drew Prof. Oak and Green to eye Azure. Azure, hearing this casually, replied as he said shamelessly, "Easy. They're a type of martial arts for Pokémon to use. Agile Style increases the priority speed of a move but lowers its power in the process. Strong Style is the opposite, as it lowers priority for exchange in power. I name them out as my Pokémon perfects its style."
The trio groups eyes widened, hearing this. But before they could ask more, the Pokémon Battle between Red and Blue began.
/////
[Kanto Region, Indigo Plateau, Stadium]
At the Pokémon League tournament held at the Indigo Plateau, the rivals Red and Blue begin their heavily anticipated match to decide the League Champion for the year's competition.
A simultaneous drop of their Poké Balls marks the start of the fight, revealing Blue's Charizard and Red's Saur, Green and Bill lamenting Red's obvious type disadvantage, "Dang the luck! Dang it!! Grass vs Fire!"
Blue chuckles to himself, taunting Red for leading with a Grass type as he orders, "Grass? I take it you were betting I'd lead with a water-type Pokémon. Well, Red, when you bet… sometimes you lose! Fire Spin!"
*Charrr*
Unleashing a torrent of flames from Fire Spin, which Saur is barely able to dodge as Blue continued the pressure, "You won't slip out of this! Fire Punch!"
*Ssss*
*Boof*
As Charizard lunges in for a follow-up Fire Punch, Saur surprises it with a burst of Poison Powder, leaving Blue shocked as Red warns him about getting overconfident, "Careful, Blue! Don't get cocky! Now, while it's wobbly, Venusaur, Razor Leaf!!"
*Shhh*
*Shhh*
*Pop*
Red follows with a Razor Leaf, which Blue is forced to physically assist his addled Charizard in dodging, before Red switches for Poli to continue as he ordered quickly, "Poliwrath! Mega Punch!"
*Pop*
Blue, seeing this, immediately recalled his Charizard as he switched to Machamp using his arms to block Poli's Mega Punch as Red exclaimed, "What –?! Legs are free!! Mega Kick Poliwrath!"
*Grrng*
However, Poli's movements were caught by the four arms of Machamp as the two Pokémon began to grapple with each other, Blue inviting Red to a head-on match. Both grinned, eager to have this match.
/////
[Kanto Region, Indigo Plateau, Stadium – Audience Stand]
From the stands, Bill mutters in a stunned tone, "I can't take much more o' this…"
Prof. Oak, however, laughed, crossing his arms happily, "Hohoho…"
Green observed the match as she took a glance at Azure as she faintly listened, "If I were Red in his position, the next best course… Hypnosis."
Through the PA system, the announcers spoke out during the match, "Has this Semi-Final match ever seen a wrestling match like this?!"
Bill from the stands clinched his fists as he exclaimed in a worried tone for Red, "Oh no! This is supposed to be Poliwrath's greatest strength – and it's gettin' beat!!"
Green, however, saw the swirls on Poliwrath begin to move as she blinked, impressed by Azure's deduction, 'Predicting to use Hypnosis in this situation, huh? I wonder just how much thinking ahead you are when you battle Red?'
/////
[Kanto Region, Indigo Plateau, Stadium]
Just as the match between the two reaches its peak, Red ordered, "Now! Hypnosis!"
The swirls on Poli's body began to spin as Machamp was too close, so it couldn't avoid it as it slowly closed its eyes, falling asleep. Blue eyes narrowed as Red added, "Now! Rain Dance!"
*Pew*
Shooting a small ball of water into the air, the arena began to change. Raindrops began to appear on the battlefield with Machamp fast asleep as Blue tries to wake Machamp up, "Now isn't the time to sleep, Machamp! Wake up!"
However, Machamp fell asleep still as Red commanded, "Now! Dynamic Punch!"
*Shiii*
A ball of light forms around Poli's fist as it charges the opponent, fist raised. It then strikes the Machamp, causing a burst of light above its head, shocking Superpower Pokémon as its eyes began to swirl, getting confused.
*SMASH*
*THUD*
The arena floor cracks and breaks under the pressure, and Blue frowns to himself, seeing the situation. He recalled his fainted Machamp as he thought cautiously, 'He managed to beat my Machamp. His Poliwrath's level must be high to pull that off, and not only that… he set up Rain Dance so I can't send Charizard with 50% of his Fire Moves weakened. Then…'
Hurling his next Poke Ball, Blue called out, "Take out the weather! Golduck!"
*Pop*
Materializing out of the Poke Ball, Golduck appeared. And when it did, its ability Cloud Nine activated as the Gem on its forehead shone.
Instantly, the effects of Rain Dance vanished as Red thought confused, 'The heck? Did Rain Dance end? Is this Golduck's ability?'
Pushing those thoughts away, Red focused on the battle against Blue as he ordered, "Get in close and use Mega Punch!"
*Swoosh*
Lunging forward ahead, Blue commanded, "Use Psychic!"
*Shiii*
Golduck raised its hand and unleashed a wave of psychic energy, capturing the Poliwrath in its tracks. Flailing around helplessly, caught by Psychic Blue, ordered, "Finish it with Psy Beam!"
*PEW*
Unleashing a concentrated beam of psychic energy, Poliwrath recoiled from the pain. And waving its hand down, Poliwrath was forcibly slammed into the air, hitting the ceiling and then the ground hard, as it fainted from the Psychic-type moves.
Red recalled his Poli as he thanked him in a grateful tone, "Thanks, Poli. You've set us up our path. Now! Go! Pika!"
*Pop*
Forcing Red to make his choice by sending in Pika. Figuring Red assumes that a smaller target is the better choice. Blue spoke confidently, "It'll be the same, Red, no matter what you try! Use –"
*Zooom*
Blue eyes widened as Red smirked and commanded, "Zippy Zap!"
*SMASH*
Instantly, Pika zig-zagged across the field, landing a critical hit on Blue's Golduck while doing super effective damage. In that moment, his eyes widened as Golduck fainted as he thought, recalling his Pokémon, 'How… That's Azure's Pikachu moves. When did Red learned how to teach his Pokémon his moves… not only that…'
It was when Blue noticed a Light Ball around Pika's neck that it clicked in his head. He smirked as he hurled his last Poke Ball, "I see… you've learned to use Held Items and managed to find a Light Ball for your Pikachu. But I won't go down that easily, Red! Go! Charizard!"
*Pop*
Materializing Charizard appeared, looking prepared for battle. Blue orders, "Charizard! Fire Blast!"
*Fssss*
He calls out Fire Blast, restricting Red's movement and launching Pikachu on a column of super-heated air as Blue explains, "With Fire Blast, this not only prevents the trainer himself from moving… but flings his Pokémon up in a blast of heat!"
*SMASH*
Pika is unable to stop himself from slamming into the ceiling. The fire ended as Pika crashed into the ground, and the Fire Blast faded away.
Red down to his final Pokémon grinned as he spoke happily, "Pika's down. Now it's all on you, Saur! Let's do this!"
*Pop*
Red switches in Saur to the shock and horror of the crowd, even the announcer admonishing Red for the disastrous decision, "It's as if Red is mocking Blue's use of Charizard! But his first use of Venusaur was a disaster! What is he thinking?!"
/////
[Kanto Region, Indigo Plateau, Stadium – Audience Stand]
From the audience stand, Green gasped, not understanding Red's plan, "You've gotta be kidding."
Bill yelled, agreeing with the situation Red placed himself in as Oak and Azure remained silent at the scene, "He's surrounded by fire, an' what's the dummy do?! And this time the dang fool did it on purpose!"
Prof. Oak examined the scene as he noticed Red plan in a stunned tone, thought, 'What in the… so that's how you're gonna win Red! Brilliant!'
Azure also noticed, using his meta knowledge, seeing Red's trap as he slightly frowned, pondering to himself, 'He made his trap using his Pokémon team lasting effects. This type of planning is certainly a league above mine. I wonder if I'm good enough to defeat Fire Red…'
/////
[Kanto Region, Indigo Plateau, Stadium]
Returning to the battle, Blue recognizes the meaning of the switch, understanding that he wants to finish the match with the two Pokémon his grandfather gave him, as he said confidently, "Ah, I get it, Red. You want us both to finish the match with the Pokémon my Grandfather originally gave us. That is so very, very you… Choosing sentiment over victory! Charizard – "
Blue's laughter ended as they both attacked, Saur attempting to use Vine Whip to bind up Charizard. Blue began to chastise him, until a dark rain cloud inside the building caught his attention, "Hey, what's that rain cloud doing inside?!"
*RUMMMBLE*
Azure from the audience smirked as he proclaimed for Bill, Green, and Oak to hear with his arms crossed, "Red just won the match."
Their eyes widened hearing this as Red explains that his choice to use Saur's vines was calculated in a calm tone, "That Blue is a Thunder Cloud! Heh. You didn't think I was dumb enough to use Saur against Charizard, did you? The superheated water droplets from Poli's condensed into a cloud… that's been charged with lightning by Pika's electric energy! And when that energy builds up enough to strike…"
*KRAK*
Suddenly, the lightning from the cloud strikes down onto Saur's vine, functioning as a lightning rod, causing immense damage to Charizard as Red finishes his explanation, "It'll strike that vine!!"
With Saur's vine acting as a lightning rod, Charizard is not only trapped but severely shocked by the combination attack of Red's three closest Pokémon as Blue orders, "It's a lightning rod!! Charizard, blast it away!"
Red proudly informs Blue that the only reason this was possible in a smug tone, "These three Pokémon and I have been through a lot together!! We know each other!! But you don't understand the power of our Bonds!"
*KRAK*
*BLAMMMM*
A loud explosion echoes in the arena. The crowd stares at the stage in anticipation as the fog lifts, revealing Blue and Charizard still standing. The announcer begins to call out the winner, "And the winner is… Bl-"
But Blue's Charizard suddenly falls faint from the attack. But from Red's side, it showed Venasuar a green hue of light as it used Synthesis to restore some health, with Red grinning as the announcer yells out, "No! The winner of the Semi-Finals round is Fire Red of Pallet Town!! He'll proceed to the finals against Azure Sky to determine who'll be the Pokémon League Ninth Champion!"
Red, barely standing, is declared the winner, the crowd roaring as he thanks his Pokémon in a calm tone, rubbing Venasaur's head, "We did it! After everything we've been through together, we finally made it to the finals! Now we just have one last opponent to face, ain't that right, guys!"
Red's Pokémon all cried out happily, agreeing with their Trainer's words. Red adjusts his cap, eyeing Azure from the stands as the two stare down, as they thought excitedly, 'Finally, the promise will be fulfilled! It's time to see which one of us is the very best like no one ever was!!'
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A/N: Here's your extra Chapter for the 100PS!