Karl
Karl
"Dear Darren,
I'm sorry for replying after such a long time, but I just
needed some time to think... Eevy and I have arrived in
Bokui City already... Why do cities have such weird names?
Anyway, if the training on your Island helped, I'll be able
to defeat this next Gym! Yes, I'm going to try challenging
another Gym! From the information I've read in Eevy's
Pokemon Guide, Karl specializes in Water Pokemon, just like
Ocean, so I'm going to use as much electric moves as
possible... Why do they like Water Pokemon so much? But the
thing I don't understand, is that it says in the Pokemon
Guide at Karl's information 'one Pokemon is immune to
electricity '... Don't all Pokemon hate electricity?
Anyway, wish me luck! And... Tell Brian I said 'hi', okay?
- Sashi"
Sashi hit the send button, and the e-mail was sent. She logged out, turned off the computer, and got up.
"Are you ready?" Eevy asked.
"I think I am..." Sashi said.
"And you?" Eevy asked Espeon. "Are you ready too?"
"I hope I am..." Espeon nodded.
"That's good to hear..."
"Can you fully understand Pokemon now, or not?" Sashi asked.
"Well I can understand most of what Pokemon are saying, but sometimes I still can't... The thing about Pokemon language, is that Pokemon don't use exact words, but only their name or part of it... That's the tricky part..." Eevy smiled. "But it's going fine so far..."
"Okay..." Sashi smiled back.
Ten days had passed since Brian had left, and life has been rough for them. Eevy had to make one ham-sandwich less (Sashi didn't seem to mind when Eevy forgot), and especially Espeon had it hard, now that she was separated from Umbreon. She wasn't able to fall asleep for several nights. Instead, she went to a quiet spot, to be alone and look up at the sky full of stars. But not since a few nights ago. Since Sashi was about to get in a fight with another Gym leader, Espeon had put her full concentration in helping Sashi train, if necessary. And now, the day had finally arrived. A new Gym battle lay ahead, and she had to do her best to win that next badge for Sashi. No matter how much she missed Umbreon, she had to realize he wasn't here anymore, and there were other things to worry about.
"Well there's no point in standing here..." Sashi said, and walked to the counter of the Pokemon Center. "Are my Pokemon back to health?" Sashi asked.
"Just this second..." Nurse Joy said.
"I have a question..." Sashi said.
"Go ahead and ask..." Nurse Joy smiled.
"Ever since I came to Valicia City, every Nurse joy I met has been very nice to me..." Sashi said. "How come you Joy are?"
"My little sister in Valicia City sent me, along with the rest of our sisters a mail telling not to be afraid of you..." Nurse Joy replied.
"Sisters?" Sashi asked confused.
"Yeah, the Joy family..." Nurse Joy said, and brought out a picture with a lot of Nurse Joy on it.
"..." Sashi was speechless.
"That's me..." Nurse Joy said, pointing at one of the Joy on the picture.
"I didn't know there were so many of you..."
"We're a family of 12 sisters, and I'm the oldest..." Nurse Joy said.
"That's... great..." Sashi weakly laughed.
"Oh, your Pokemon..." Nurse Joy gasped, and looked behind her. "Back to health, as promised..."
"Thanks..." Sashi said, and grabbed her Pokeballs. She put them back on her belt, and smiled. "Now I'm really ready..."
"Let's go..." Espeon said.
The three walked out of the Pokemon Center, and looked around.
"I thought I saw the Gym that way..." Eevy said, pointing to her right.
"If you say so..." Sashi replied, and the three started walking. And, as Eevy had said, the Gym was there. They stepped in, and walked ahead in the darkness. Suddenly, when they had walked some distance, lights went on, blinding them for a second. They shielded their eyes with their arms, until they got used to the light.
"Who's there?" someone asked from above, and the three looked up. Up a stair was a man, dressed in nothing but a white T-shirt and a pair of blue underwear... He was hairy all over.
"Are you Karl?" Sashi asked.
"I happen to be, yeah?" Karl replied.
"Ehh..." Sashi was silent. Karl looked down, and gasped.
"Oops, I am not dressed yet..." Karl said, and then yawned. "I just got out of bed..."
"Aha..." Sashi said.
"Gimme just a sec, and I'll be down..." Karl said, disappearing.
"Aha..." Sashi said again.
A while Later, Karl appeared downstairs, fully dressed.
"Sorry about that..." Karl said.
"It's okay..." Sashi replied.
"Now I see you are not human?" Karl said.
"You got that right..." Sashi replied.
"Doesn't matter..." Karl said.
"Now do we fight or not?" Sashi asked.
"Of course..." Karl said. "Follow me..."
Sashi and Eevy followed Karl to a big room with a battle field. It had a big swimming pool in the middle.
"A swimming pool... Figures..." Sashi said.
Karl walked over to one side as Sashi walked to the other.
"Now if only the referee was here..." Karl said. Suddenly, a door opened next to the battle field, and a bearded man walked out. "Ah! There you are!" Karl said.
"I'm sorry..." the referee said, dressed in a white T-shirt and his blue underwear.
"What is it with people appearing in T-shirts and underwear?" Sashi asked.
"Sorry..." the referee said, and went back into the room he came out of. A while later, he was fully dressed. "Sorry..." he said again.
"Doesn't matter... I made the same mistake..." Karl chuckled.
"Can we begin now?" Sashi asked impatient.
"Of course..." Karl replied.
"This Gym battle will be between..."
"Sashi..." Sashi said.
"Sashi and Karl! Each trainer can use as many Pokemon as possible! As long as it stays with the maximum six! There is no time limit! Let the match begin!" the referee said, holding up a flag, and then waving it down fast.
"All right! I choose you, Azumarill!" Karl called, and threw a Pokeball into the air. A moment later, a big, round and blue Pokemon appeared in the field. It had big ears, and a long, curvy tail with a big blue ball at the end.
"Azumarill..." Azumarill [Water type] said.
"Then I choose Espeon!" Sashi said, and Espeon walked onto the battle field. "Let's see what you've got!"
"All right! Azumarill! Use Double-Edge!" Karl called. Azumarill nodded, and ran over to Espeon, and suddenly made a small jump.
"Watch out Espeon!" Sashi called, and Espeon tried to dodge, but failed. Azumarill hit Espeon with its full body weight. Espeon cried out in pain as well as Azumarill.
"Wait a second... Why is Azumarill also in pain?" Eevy asked.
"Because the Pokemon who uses Double-edge receives 33% of the damage inflicted on the opponent..." Sashi explained.
"Then why use it if it only hurts yourself too?"
"Because the attack itself is pretty strong depending on the power of the Pokemon..." Sashi growled. What if that Double-Edge attack was too powerful for Espeon? Sashi sighed in relief when Espeon wasn't hurt badly.
"That was rough, but do you think you can still take her?" Sashi asked.
"With all the strength I have..." Espeon replied.
"All right then, use Psybeam!" Sashi called, and Espeon's eyes glowed bright. Later, her mouth opened wide, and a beam of white light - the same color of her eyes - shot at Azumarill. It was too fast for Azumarill to dodge, and it hit her hard.
"You can take that easily, Azumarill!" Karl called. "Just focus!"
"Azumarill nodded, and closed her eyes as the white light surrounded her body.
"What's she doing?" Eevy asked.
"I don't know..." Sashi said. She didn't like this.
"A-ZU" Azumarill said, and suddenly the Psybeam disappeared.
"Great work, Azumarill!" Karl said.
"What in the..."
"Azumarill! Use Surf attack!" Karl said suddenly.
"Azuuuuuu!" Azumarill said, and opened her mouth wide. Suddenly, a big wave of water came out of it, directed at Espeon.
"Now I've got her!" Karl smiled.
"Oh no you haven't! Espeon! Use Quick Attack!" Sashi said, and before the wave of water hit Espeon, she disappeared, running past the water right against Azumarill!
"What speed!" Karl said as Azumarill got hit by Espeon.
"And finish it with another Psybeam!" Sashi said, and once again, Espeon's eyes lit up, and a beam of white energy hit Azumarill.
"No!" Karl said, as he watched his Pokemon fall down on the ground.
"Awesome!" Sashi cried, and Espeon smiled. "Great work!"
"Thanks..." Espeon said.
"Azumarill can not fight anymore! Espeon is this round's winner!" the referee said.
"Good work, little lady..." Karl said as Azumarill returned into her Pokeball.
"Is he talking about me or Sashi?" Espeon thought.
"But she won't defeat my next Pokemon!" Karl said, and brought up a second Pokeball.
"Okay, that answered my question..." Espeon thought.
"Go, Golduck!" Karl said, and he threw the Pokeball into the air. Then a Pokemon came out of it, and landed on the battle field.
"Golduck!" Golduck [Water type] appeared. He was a big, blue duck with a long tail.
"I don't see why Espeon can't defeat this Pokemon too..." Sashi said.
"Because that little fight with Azumarill got her tired..." Karl smiled.
Sashi looked down at Espeon. Okay, she was breathing in harder now, but that was normal after a fight.
"Is he right, Espeon? Are you tired?" Sashi asked.
"Just warmed up..." Espeon said, turned her head, and winked.
"Okay..." Sashi smiled.
"Not gonna change Pokemon?" Karl asked.
"Not yet..." Sashi said.
"All right, this battle will be between Espeon and Golduck! Begin!" the referee said.
"Golduck! Use Disable!" Karl said, and Golduck's eyes glowed. Then Espeon was hit with a wave of energy. This wave didn't do any damage at all.
"Disable?" Eevy asked surprised.
"I don't know... I've never seen this attack before..." Sashi said.
"What should I do?" Espeon asked.
"Well, from the looks of it, it didn't do anything... So attack Golduck with another Psybeam attack!" Sashi said.
"Okay!" Espeon said... but nothing happened.
"I thought I told you to use Psybeam again..." Sashi said.
Karl was smiling.
"Don't you know what Disable does?" he asked.
"No?"
"It disables the move used last by the Pokemon for some time..." Karl said.
"So that means...?" Eevy asked confused.
"The Pokemon can not use this attack..." Karl said.
"Uh-oh..." Eevy said.
"Indeed... Psybeam is Espeon's strongest attack..." Sashi said.
"How about Return?" Espeon asked.
"You could try..." Sashi said. "Espeon! Use Return!"
"Right!" Espeon said, and ran to Golduck. But for same reason, it didn't do much.
"Why is it having almost no effect?" Sashi asked.
"Pretty smart, using the Return attack... But it won't work on Golduck... I've raised its Defense to its maximum by giving it lots of Iron..." Karl said.
"Iron?" Eevy asked.
"Yeah, it raises a Pokemon's Defense..." Sashi said.
"They can do that?" Eevy gasped.
"Unfortunately... Yes..." Sashi said.
"So... Golduck! Use Fury Swipes!" Karl said, and Golduck nodded. He jumped forwards, and began slashing its claws at Espeon. He hit her one time... Two times... Three times... Four times... The he stopped.
"Oh no! Espeon!" Sashi called. "Are you alright?!"
"I'm... Fine... Don't worry... About me..." Espeon said, getting up.
"Your Pokemon is a tough one..." Karl said.
"And she'll win too!" Sashi said. "Espeon! Use another Return attack!"
"Foolish little lady... Haven't you seen how much damage it inflicted the last time?" Karl laughed.
"Well this time she's putting all her strength in it!" Sashi replied. Espeon hit Golduck with all she had, and in the end, Golduck sunk through his knees.
"This can't be happening!" Karl cried. Golduck fainted.
"Golduck can not fight anymo-" the referee said, when as well Espeon fell down on the ground. "Wha..." the referee said, shaking his head. "Correction! Both Pokemon can not fight anymore! There is no winner in this round! It's a draw!" the referee said.
"Espeon!" Sashi cried, running over to her friend.
"Did I win?" Espeon said weakly.
"You sure did..." Sashi smiled.
"Great..." Espeon said, and then blacked out.
"You did better than I imagined..." Sashi said, and carried Espeon off the field. She lay her down next to her bag, and faced Karl again. "Well well, Karl... I'm one Pokemon down, while you are two..."
"Wipe that smile off your face, lady... It's not over yet!" Karl said. "Now I'm going to use a Pokemon who is considered the most beautiful of all Pokemon!"
"I wonder who..." Eevy thought.
"Go, Milotic!" Karl said, and threw a Pokeball in the air. Later, a large snake like Pokemon appeared in the water. It had two long antennas sticking out of its head, and it had a long blue tail. It is hard to explain what exactly the things are that are on her body.
"Milotic?" Eevy asked. "I've never heard of this Pokemon before..."
"Me either..." Sashi said.
"Milotic is one of the most difficult Pokemon to get..." Karl said. "You have to catch a Feebas, and even then you have to do exactly the right things to make it evolve into a Milotic, because you have to max out its beauty status... First you have to plant a Pamtre Berry until you get 4 berries, and then make Pokeblocks out of them. When you have given them to Feebas, you need to give it some more Blue Pokeblocks to raise its beauty to the maximum... Then, train it one level, and it evolves into a Milotic..." Karl finished.
"Aha..." Sashi said. "And why are you telling us that?"
"Well you hadn't heard about a Milotic before, so I thought I'd give you some information..." Karl smiled.
"Well thanks... Anyway... I choose you! Dragonair!" Sashi said, and threw Dragonair's Pokeball in the air. A second later, Dragonair appeared in the water as well.
"So it's Dragonair against Milotic?" Karl asked, and Sashi nodded. "Foolish girl..."
"Why?"
"Nothing... You'll find out soon enough..." Karl smiled.
Sashi didn't like this. It was as if Karl knew he would win this round... But how? Could Milotic have a move powerful enough to take Dragonair down? She had to think ahead a few moves. What if Dragonair was taken down by Milotic? All she would have left then were Vulpix and Kirlia. Kirlia was not powerful enough to hold on even one attack, and because all Karl's Pokemon were Water Pokemon, Vulpix wouldn't stand a chance either. As if reading Sashi's mind, Eevy moved closer to Sashi, and 'hugged' her, saying out loud;
"You can do it!"
But in the mean time, she was slipping a Pokeball into her hand, unnoticed by Karl and the referee. Eevy then walked back, as if nothing had happened. Sashi - who didn't know which Pokemon Eevy had given - looked back, and then smiled. She mouthed the word 'thanks', and turned around again.
"I don't know what you're up to, but Dragonair will fight with all she has!" Sashi said. "Dragonair! Use Thunderbolt!"
"Yikes!" Karl said, and Dragonair jumped out of the water for a second (if she stayed in, she too would be hit by the electricity, because of the water), as her eyes began to glow. Suddenly, an electric bolt was fired at Milotic, and it hit her hard. Milotic cried out in pain as the electric attack ran through her body. But a moment later, Dragonair stopped her attack, and Milotic was still standing... Well, as much 'standing' as a snake-like creature can. It seemed only half of Milotic's strength had gone down. Dragonair then jumped back into the water.
"I knew she would stand up against an electric attack..." Karl smiled.
"Crap!"
"And now the thing why it was foolish to use a Dragon Pokemon against Milotic..." Karl said.
"Why especially a Dragon Pokemon?" Sashi asked confused. Suddenly, she gasped. "Could she have an attack which is Super effective against Dragon Types?"
"Precisely..." Karl said. "Milotic! Use Ice Beam!"
"Oh no!" Dragonair cried as Milotic shot a beam of ice out of her mouth, hitting Dragonair. Dragonair cried out in pain, as the part of the swimming pool around Dragonair got frozen. Surprisingly, Dragonair survived the attack, but she was trapped in the prison of ice.
"Dragonair!" Sashi called.
"I-i-i'm... f-f-f-fine..." Dragonair barely said.
"If the last Thunderbolt got half of Milotic's strength down, then another should finish her off!" Sashi said.
"Crap, I never thought Dragonair would survive that Ice Beam attack..." Karl growled.
"Dragonair! Use another Thunderbolt!" Sashi called, and at first, Dragonair didn't seem to do anything. But after a few seconds of silence, Dragonair's eyes glowed again, and another bolt of electricity was shot at Milotic. Milotic closed her eyes tight again, when she felt the pain of electricity; the thing water Pokemon hate most. But this time, Milotic didn't survive the attack. And it's a good thing Dragonair was surrounded by ice all over, because that stopped the electricity from reaching her. Milotic fainted.
"Awww..." Karl moaned. "Great work..."
"Milotic can not fight anymore! The winner of this round is Dragonair!" the referee said.
"Awesome Dragonair!" Sashi cried. "With only one Pokemon down for me against three Pokemon down for Karl, we'll sure win this match!"
Suddenly, Karl started laughing.
"I didn't know losing could was so funny..." Sashi said.
"Who says I'm losing?" Karl said.
"Well it seems pretty obvious..." Sashi said. "I have three Pokemon left, and you are three Pokemon down!"
"Well then there's a big surprise waiting for you..." Karl said, and grabbed a fourth Pokeball. "I choose you, Lantern!" Karl said, and threw the Pokeball into the air. Later, a big blue Pokemon appeared in the water, with two yellow balls hanging down a blue antenna.
"Looks like a normal Water Pokemon to me..." Sashi said. "Dragonair? Do you think you are still up to it?"
Dragonair looked back at Sashi, and nodded slowly. She may be trapped in the ice, but she could still fight.
"All right! Dragonair! Use Thunderbolt again!" Sashi called, and Dragonair complied. Her eyes glowed, and later, a bolt of electricity shot at Lantern. Lantern didn't even do the slightest effort of dodging the bolt. Instead, it jumped out of the water into the air, and caught the bolt with its body.
"What's it doing? Is it deliberately trying to lose?" Sashi grinned, but her grin faded when nothing happened to Lantern. "What's going on?"
"Do you know what type Lantern is?" Karl asked Sashi.
"Ehh... Water, right?"
"Right... But Lantern has a second type..."
"A second type?" Sashi gasped.
"Each Pokemon can contain one or two types.. Lantern happens to contain the types Water and Electric..." Karl smiled.
"Then the Thunderbolt attack didn't do any harm..." Sashi groaned.
"Not exactly... Thanks to Lantern's ability 'Volt Absorb', Lantern receives power when it is hit by electricity... Which means she gets healed by it..." Karl smiled.
"Crap!" Sashi said.
"And the best thing about Lantern, is that she can use Electric attacks too! Lantern! Use Spark!" Karl said, and Lantern's balls started to light up, and later, a bolt of electricity was shot at Dragonair.
"Now electricity may not do much to a Dragon type, but Milotic has taken most of its strength down with the Ice Beam attack, so it should be enough..." Karl said, and indeed, Dragonair fainted.
"Dragonair!" Sashi cried.
"Dragonair can not fight anymore! Lantern is the winner!"
"Do Lantern have any weakness?" Sashi gasped.
"Only Grass and Ground attacks..." Karl said.
"And I don't have any of those..." Sashi said under her breath. Then she remembered the Pokeball she was given by Eevy. Time to find out which Pokemon she had to use. "Okay! I choose you!" Sashi said, and threw the Pokeball into the air, and later, a black Pokemon with yellow rings over its body appeared.
"Umbro?" Sashi finished.
"Umbreon!" Umbro said.
"You've given me Umbro?" Sashi whispered to Eevy.
"I knew you wouldn't know about Lantern... I did some research about Karl, and found out he uses a Lantern, a Pokemon that could absorb electricity..." Eevy whispered back. "Then, without having any Ground or Grass Pokemon, I knew we had to use a different type..."
"Thanks!" Sashi whispered, and turned around again.
"This round will be between Lantern and Umbreon! Begin!" the referee said.
"All right, Umbro! Use Faint Attack!"
Umbro glowed with a dark aura that surrounded his body, and then he jumped forwards with great speed, which was unable to be seen by the eye. It hit Lantern once, but didn't take her down. A possibility was that it's because Lantern was in the water, and not on solid ground. The moment Umbro finished his attack, he jumped off Lantern, back on the ground. The aura was gone.
"It takes more than that to take out my Lantern!" Karl said. "Lantern! Use Supersonic!"
"Supersonic!" Sashi heard Lantern call, and not only her eyes glowed, but the balls at the end of her antenna's too. Suddenly, something was shot at Umbro.
"Umbro! Dodge!" Sashi called.
"On it!" Umbro said, and jumped out of the way.
"Uh-oh..." Karl said.
"And finish it off with another Faint Attack!" Sashi said.
"With pleasure!" Umbro said, and started glowing again.
"Lantern! Return!" Karl said, and he aimed his Pokeball at Lantern. She got sucked back into her Pokeball.
"What the..." Sashi said, and Umbro stopped glowing. "You giving up?"
"I have only called back my Pokemon... That does not mean I give up..." Karl said, calmly. "I'm just switching Pokemon! Go, Poliwrath!" Karl said, and threw a fifth Pokeball in the air. Later, a Pokemon came out.
"Poliwrath..." Poliwrath said. He was a big, round and blue Pokemon, with white gloves.
"Why change?" Sashi asked.
"Because of the type advantage..." Eevy said.
"What type advantage? Isn't he a normal water type?" Sashi asked.
"No... He's a Water/Fighting type..." Eevy said.
"And what's so bad about that?"
"Fight attacks are very effective on Dark types..." Eevy said.
"I see..." Sashi said.
"Which is why I learned Umbro the Psychic attack..." Eevy whispered in Sashi's ear, so that Karl didn't hear. Sashi smiled.
"What are you smiling about?" Karl asked.
"Nothing..." Sashi quickly said, and hid her smile, only for it to return a second later.
"Poliwrath! Use Brick Break!" Karl said.
Poliwrath moved as fast as Umbro had during his Faint Attack; the one which was unable to be seen by the eye. In a second he was in front of Umbro, as he pulled is arm back.
"Poli!" Poliwrath said, as he hit Umbro hard once. "Poli!" he said again, as he hit him a second time. "Wrath!" he said, and hit Umbro one more time, knocking him backwards.
"No Umbro!" Sashi gasped as she saw Umbro down on the ground.
"Don't worry..." Eevy said, placing a hand on Sashi's shoulder. "He's taken lot worse before..."
And Eevy was right. A second later, Umbro got up, shook his head, and smiled.
"Like that is going to take me down!" he said.
"That's the way!" Eevy smiled.
Sashi looked down at her hand. Eevy had done it again! She had slipped another Pokeball in her hands. Just in case Umbro might lose, she had a back-up plan.
"So I see my Poliwrath couldn't take your Umbreon down in one attack..." Karl said.
"That's right, but he will do that with your Poliwrath!" Sashi said.
"And how were you able to do that?" Karl asked, laughing.
"Umbro! Use Psychic!" Sashi called.
"Oh shit!" Karl cried as Umbro's eyes glowed bright. Later, his body glowed as well. Then, a big wave of psychic energy was shot at Poliwrath.
"Poliwrath! Dive underwater!" Karl said, and Poliwrath did. He escaped being hit by the Psychic attack just in time, as the waves shot over him.
"He missed!" Sashi gasped.
"Hey no fair!" Eevy said.
"Heheh..." Karl laughed.
"Umbro! You okay?" Sashi asked.
"Fine.. Just... a bit tired..." Umbro said.
"Poliwrath!" Karl called, and Poliwrath appeared above water. Use another Brick Break attack!"
"Poli!" Poliwrath said, and appeared in front of Umbro.
"This does not look good..." he was able to say before Poliwrath started punching three times.
"Oh no..." Eevy said as she watched her Pokemon getting beaten up by the water/fighting type.
"Umbreon can not fight anymore! The winner of this round is Poliwrath!" the referee called when Poliwrath stopped punching Umbro. Umbro was lying on the ground, not moving.
"You've done great! Return!" Sashi said, and aimed Umbro's Pokeball at Umbro. He disappeared back into his Pokeball.
"Which one are you gonna use now?" Karl smiled.
"This one!" Sashi called, and threw the second Pokeball Eevy had given her in the air. It opened, and a blue Pokemon appeared with a blue finned tail.
"Vapora?" Sashi asked.
"Vaporeon..." Vapora said, saying the usual thing she said when she was called out. Sashi looked back at Eevy. "Why a water type against water types?" she whispered.
"Because then they don't have a type advantage..." Eevy whispered back, smiling.
"Yeah, until he brings out Lantern again..." Sashi whispered back again. Eevy was silent.
"Crap..." Eevy whispered.
"But for now it's good, thanks..." Sashi whispered.
"This round will be between Vaporeon and Poliwrath! Begin!" the referee said.
"All right, Vapora! Use Return!" Sashi called. Return was one of the normal attacks besides Quick attack Vapora had.
"Poliwrath! Dodge it before-" Karl said, but Vapora was already on Poliwrath, taking him down under water. "Poliwrath!" Karl cried worried. Seconds passed as the two Water Pokemon battled under water.
"You can do it Vapora!" Sashi called.
"Hold on, Poliwrath!" Karl called.
Then, suddenly, Poliwrath was kicked out of the swimming pool so hard, he hit the ceiling, and then fell down again. But Vapora was waiting there, and hit him back against the ceiling with her tail. He then fell on the ground, not moving.
"Oh!" Karl gasped.
"Poliwrath can not fight anymore! The winner of this round is Vaporeon!" the referee said.
"You did it!" Sashi cried happily.
"That was a wonderful job you did, Poliwrath..." Karl said, and called him back into his Pokeball. "But now the fun really begins!"
"I thought it would..." Sashi replied.
"Go Lantern!" Karl called, and threw Lantern's Pokeball into the air. Later, the familiar Pokemon with the two balls hanging down its antennas appeared. Wasting no time, Karl immediately attacked. "Use Spark!"
Lantern's balls glowed bright, as well as her eyes, and a second later, electricity was shot at Vapora. Vapora jumped out of the water, just in time as the electricity hit it.
"You missed!" Sashi smiled.
"But I don't mind..." Karl smiled. "Not at all..."
Sashi was confused. Why was he smiling? Then she looked at the swimming pool. Lantern was still using her Spark attack... on the water! Water conducts electricity! And because of her ability, Lantern was recharging herself!
"What in the..." Sashi said, when Lantern stopped her attack. She was now fully recharged.
"This is not fair!" Eevy growled.
"I don't know any rule against it..." Karl replied.
Eevy shut her mouth.
"Doesn't matter..." Sashi said. "Vapora! Use Return again!"
"Vaporeon!" Vapora said, and threw herself at Lantern.
"Lantern! Use Thunder Wave!" Karl said, and Lantern's balls lit up the second Vapora hit her, and it shot sparks of electricity over Vapora's body.
"What's going on?!" Sashi gasped.
"She's paralyzing Vapora!" Eevy gasped.
"Which means?"
"Vapora may not attack when you want to..." Eevy explained.
"This is bad!" Sashi said.
"Good!" Karl smiled.
"Wait... Vapora's still trying to use her Return attack, isn't she?" Sashi said.
"Yes... The first attack before or after paralysis still hits its target..." Eevy nodded.
"Okay..." Sashi said as Vapora returned from her attack. "You okay?"
"I feel... weird..." Vapora replied.
"You think you can fight?"
"I'll try..."
"Okay... Use Quick Attack!" Sashi said.
"Smart move! Because she is paralyzed, she can not attack first, but that rule doesn't apply to Quick Attack! This attack always goes first!" Eevy smiled.
Vapora didn't move.
"If that paralysis wasn't holding her back!" Eevy growled.
"Lantern! Use Spark!" Karl said, and Lantern hit Vapora with electricity. Because she was on the ground, Lantern couldn't recharge herself. And because Vaporeon have a lot of defense, Vapora survived the Spark attack. Less than half her power was down.
"Tough one, ain't she?" Karl said.
"Very tough..." Sashi agreed. "Vapora! Use Quick Attack! And please let the attack work!" Sashi said. Vapora didn't seem to comply, but suddenly, she got up, and ran hard towards Lantern. She jumped into the air, and landed hard on Lantern's head. They both went down int he water.
"Great work!" Sashi smiled.
"Yeah, thanks a lot!" Karl laughed.
"Huh?" Sashi replied confused.
"Lantern! Use Spark!" Karl said, and a moment later, light came out of the pool.
"Oh no..." Sashi said.
"Vaporeon normally have a lot of defense, but that doesn't apply when their bodies are surrounded by water!" Karl said.
Because Vapora's body was surrounded by water, the Spark attack hit her harder then normal. It took her out. Vapora floated up, until she appeared above the water.
"Vaporeon can not fight anymore! Lantern is the winner!" the referee said.
"Oh no..." Sashi and Eevy both said.
"Does this mean you're out of Pokemon?" Karl asked.
"No of course she's not..."
"Huh?" Sashi asked confused, looking down. "Espeon?"
"Yes..." Espeon said.
"What did you mean?" Sashi asked.
"About you not being out of Pokemon?" Espeon asked, and Sashi nodded. "Well you still have me, right?"
"I thought you were down?"
"I was, but I've had plenty of time recovering..." Espeon smiled. "And I'm ready to fight again!"
"Thank you Espeon... Use Psybeam!" Sashi called, and Espeon shot out her Psybeam attack with the speed of light. She didn't even give Lantern the chance to defend, or to notice she was under attack. It hit her by surprise, and took all the remaining strength she had left. She crashed into the edge of the pool.
"What in the..." Karl said. There was a big silence, and lots of smoke. When the smoke cleared, Lantern didn't move.
"Ehh... Lantern can not fight anymore! The winner of this match is the challenger, Sashi!" the referee said.
"Yay!" Sashi and Eevy cried, and hugged each other.
"That was great work..." Karl said, and called Lantern back into her Pokeball. "Same goes for you!" he said to Sashi.
"Thanks..." Sashi replied.
"You really have earned this badge..." Karl said, walking around the swimming pool to Sashi. Sashi grabbed the badge Karl gave her, and smiled.
"Thanks..." she said again.
"Now go and leave me alone..." Karl said. "I'm sure you have a journey to continue..."
"That's right... Thanks again!" Sashi said, and turned around. Eevy followed her as Sashi walked out of the Gym
In the Pokemon Center, Sashi gave Nurse Joy her wounded and tired Pokemon, and Eevy gave hers.
"So how'd the match go?" Nurse Joy asked. Sashi showed Nurse Joy her Pool badge. "That's great!" Nurse Joy smiled.
"It sure is..." Sashi said.
"Sashi?" someone asked form behind the two. Sashi turned around, and saw a girl. She was dressed in a white T-shirt, with a blue pair of pants. Something like Sashi used to wear. Sashi recognized the girl immediately.
"Audry?"
To be continued...
12 done... Next; number 13... Now if I were superstitious, I would think 13 was a number of bad luck... But bad luck won't stop me! *Evil laugh*
Sashi: ^ ^'
E-mail me at [email protected]
Sashi: Bye!
I'm sorry for replying after such a long time, but I just
needed some time to think... Eevy and I have arrived in
Bokui City already... Why do cities have such weird names?
Anyway, if the training on your Island helped, I'll be able
to defeat this next Gym! Yes, I'm going to try challenging
another Gym! From the information I've read in Eevy's
Pokemon Guide, Karl specializes in Water Pokemon, just like
Ocean, so I'm going to use as much electric moves as
possible... Why do they like Water Pokemon so much? But the
thing I don't understand, is that it says in the Pokemon
Guide at Karl's information 'one Pokemon is immune to
electricity '... Don't all Pokemon hate electricity?
Anyway, wish me luck! And... Tell Brian I said 'hi', okay?
- Sashi"
Sashi hit the send button, and the e-mail was sent. She logged out, turned off the computer, and got up.
"Are you ready?" Eevy asked.
"I think I am..." Sashi said.
"And you?" Eevy asked Espeon. "Are you ready too?"
"I hope I am..." Espeon nodded.
"That's good to hear..."
"Can you fully understand Pokemon now, or not?" Sashi asked.
"Well I can understand most of what Pokemon are saying, but sometimes I still can't... The thing about Pokemon language, is that Pokemon don't use exact words, but only their name or part of it... That's the tricky part..." Eevy smiled. "But it's going fine so far..."
"Okay..." Sashi smiled back.
Ten days had passed since Brian had left, and life has been rough for them. Eevy had to make one ham-sandwich less (Sashi didn't seem to mind when Eevy forgot), and especially Espeon had it hard, now that she was separated from Umbreon. She wasn't able to fall asleep for several nights. Instead, she went to a quiet spot, to be alone and look up at the sky full of stars. But not since a few nights ago. Since Sashi was about to get in a fight with another Gym leader, Espeon had put her full concentration in helping Sashi train, if necessary. And now, the day had finally arrived. A new Gym battle lay ahead, and she had to do her best to win that next badge for Sashi. No matter how much she missed Umbreon, she had to realize he wasn't here anymore, and there were other things to worry about.
"Well there's no point in standing here..." Sashi said, and walked to the counter of the Pokemon Center. "Are my Pokemon back to health?" Sashi asked.
"Just this second..." Nurse Joy said.
"I have a question..." Sashi said.
"Go ahead and ask..." Nurse Joy smiled.
"Ever since I came to Valicia City, every Nurse joy I met has been very nice to me..." Sashi said. "How come you Joy are?"
"My little sister in Valicia City sent me, along with the rest of our sisters a mail telling not to be afraid of you..." Nurse Joy replied.
"Sisters?" Sashi asked confused.
"Yeah, the Joy family..." Nurse Joy said, and brought out a picture with a lot of Nurse Joy on it.
"..." Sashi was speechless.
"That's me..." Nurse Joy said, pointing at one of the Joy on the picture.
"I didn't know there were so many of you..."
"We're a family of 12 sisters, and I'm the oldest..." Nurse Joy said.
"That's... great..." Sashi weakly laughed.
"Oh, your Pokemon..." Nurse Joy gasped, and looked behind her. "Back to health, as promised..."
"Thanks..." Sashi said, and grabbed her Pokeballs. She put them back on her belt, and smiled. "Now I'm really ready..."
"Let's go..." Espeon said.
The three walked out of the Pokemon Center, and looked around.
"I thought I saw the Gym that way..." Eevy said, pointing to her right.
"If you say so..." Sashi replied, and the three started walking. And, as Eevy had said, the Gym was there. They stepped in, and walked ahead in the darkness. Suddenly, when they had walked some distance, lights went on, blinding them for a second. They shielded their eyes with their arms, until they got used to the light.
"Who's there?" someone asked from above, and the three looked up. Up a stair was a man, dressed in nothing but a white T-shirt and a pair of blue underwear... He was hairy all over.
"Are you Karl?" Sashi asked.
"I happen to be, yeah?" Karl replied.
"Ehh..." Sashi was silent. Karl looked down, and gasped.
"Oops, I am not dressed yet..." Karl said, and then yawned. "I just got out of bed..."
"Aha..." Sashi said.
"Gimme just a sec, and I'll be down..." Karl said, disappearing.
"Aha..." Sashi said again.
A while Later, Karl appeared downstairs, fully dressed.
"Sorry about that..." Karl said.
"It's okay..." Sashi replied.
"Now I see you are not human?" Karl said.
"You got that right..." Sashi replied.
"Doesn't matter..." Karl said.
"Now do we fight or not?" Sashi asked.
"Of course..." Karl said. "Follow me..."
Sashi and Eevy followed Karl to a big room with a battle field. It had a big swimming pool in the middle.
"A swimming pool... Figures..." Sashi said.
Karl walked over to one side as Sashi walked to the other.
"Now if only the referee was here..." Karl said. Suddenly, a door opened next to the battle field, and a bearded man walked out. "Ah! There you are!" Karl said.
"I'm sorry..." the referee said, dressed in a white T-shirt and his blue underwear.
"What is it with people appearing in T-shirts and underwear?" Sashi asked.
"Sorry..." the referee said, and went back into the room he came out of. A while later, he was fully dressed. "Sorry..." he said again.
"Doesn't matter... I made the same mistake..." Karl chuckled.
"Can we begin now?" Sashi asked impatient.
"Of course..." Karl replied.
"This Gym battle will be between..."
"Sashi..." Sashi said.
"Sashi and Karl! Each trainer can use as many Pokemon as possible! As long as it stays with the maximum six! There is no time limit! Let the match begin!" the referee said, holding up a flag, and then waving it down fast.
"All right! I choose you, Azumarill!" Karl called, and threw a Pokeball into the air. A moment later, a big, round and blue Pokemon appeared in the field. It had big ears, and a long, curvy tail with a big blue ball at the end.
"Azumarill..." Azumarill [Water type] said.
"Then I choose Espeon!" Sashi said, and Espeon walked onto the battle field. "Let's see what you've got!"
"All right! Azumarill! Use Double-Edge!" Karl called. Azumarill nodded, and ran over to Espeon, and suddenly made a small jump.
"Watch out Espeon!" Sashi called, and Espeon tried to dodge, but failed. Azumarill hit Espeon with its full body weight. Espeon cried out in pain as well as Azumarill.
"Wait a second... Why is Azumarill also in pain?" Eevy asked.
"Because the Pokemon who uses Double-edge receives 33% of the damage inflicted on the opponent..." Sashi explained.
"Then why use it if it only hurts yourself too?"
"Because the attack itself is pretty strong depending on the power of the Pokemon..." Sashi growled. What if that Double-Edge attack was too powerful for Espeon? Sashi sighed in relief when Espeon wasn't hurt badly.
"That was rough, but do you think you can still take her?" Sashi asked.
"With all the strength I have..." Espeon replied.
"All right then, use Psybeam!" Sashi called, and Espeon's eyes glowed bright. Later, her mouth opened wide, and a beam of white light - the same color of her eyes - shot at Azumarill. It was too fast for Azumarill to dodge, and it hit her hard.
"You can take that easily, Azumarill!" Karl called. "Just focus!"
"Azumarill nodded, and closed her eyes as the white light surrounded her body.
"What's she doing?" Eevy asked.
"I don't know..." Sashi said. She didn't like this.
"A-ZU" Azumarill said, and suddenly the Psybeam disappeared.
"Great work, Azumarill!" Karl said.
"What in the..."
"Azumarill! Use Surf attack!" Karl said suddenly.
"Azuuuuuu!" Azumarill said, and opened her mouth wide. Suddenly, a big wave of water came out of it, directed at Espeon.
"Now I've got her!" Karl smiled.
"Oh no you haven't! Espeon! Use Quick Attack!" Sashi said, and before the wave of water hit Espeon, she disappeared, running past the water right against Azumarill!
"What speed!" Karl said as Azumarill got hit by Espeon.
"And finish it with another Psybeam!" Sashi said, and once again, Espeon's eyes lit up, and a beam of white energy hit Azumarill.
"No!" Karl said, as he watched his Pokemon fall down on the ground.
"Awesome!" Sashi cried, and Espeon smiled. "Great work!"
"Thanks..." Espeon said.
"Azumarill can not fight anymore! Espeon is this round's winner!" the referee said.
"Good work, little lady..." Karl said as Azumarill returned into her Pokeball.
"Is he talking about me or Sashi?" Espeon thought.
"But she won't defeat my next Pokemon!" Karl said, and brought up a second Pokeball.
"Okay, that answered my question..." Espeon thought.
"Go, Golduck!" Karl said, and he threw the Pokeball into the air. Then a Pokemon came out of it, and landed on the battle field.
"Golduck!" Golduck [Water type] appeared. He was a big, blue duck with a long tail.
"I don't see why Espeon can't defeat this Pokemon too..." Sashi said.
"Because that little fight with Azumarill got her tired..." Karl smiled.
Sashi looked down at Espeon. Okay, she was breathing in harder now, but that was normal after a fight.
"Is he right, Espeon? Are you tired?" Sashi asked.
"Just warmed up..." Espeon said, turned her head, and winked.
"Okay..." Sashi smiled.
"Not gonna change Pokemon?" Karl asked.
"Not yet..." Sashi said.
"All right, this battle will be between Espeon and Golduck! Begin!" the referee said.
"Golduck! Use Disable!" Karl said, and Golduck's eyes glowed. Then Espeon was hit with a wave of energy. This wave didn't do any damage at all.
"Disable?" Eevy asked surprised.
"I don't know... I've never seen this attack before..." Sashi said.
"What should I do?" Espeon asked.
"Well, from the looks of it, it didn't do anything... So attack Golduck with another Psybeam attack!" Sashi said.
"Okay!" Espeon said... but nothing happened.
"I thought I told you to use Psybeam again..." Sashi said.
Karl was smiling.
"Don't you know what Disable does?" he asked.
"No?"
"It disables the move used last by the Pokemon for some time..." Karl said.
"So that means...?" Eevy asked confused.
"The Pokemon can not use this attack..." Karl said.
"Uh-oh..." Eevy said.
"Indeed... Psybeam is Espeon's strongest attack..." Sashi said.
"How about Return?" Espeon asked.
"You could try..." Sashi said. "Espeon! Use Return!"
"Right!" Espeon said, and ran to Golduck. But for same reason, it didn't do much.
"Why is it having almost no effect?" Sashi asked.
"Pretty smart, using the Return attack... But it won't work on Golduck... I've raised its Defense to its maximum by giving it lots of Iron..." Karl said.
"Iron?" Eevy asked.
"Yeah, it raises a Pokemon's Defense..." Sashi said.
"They can do that?" Eevy gasped.
"Unfortunately... Yes..." Sashi said.
"So... Golduck! Use Fury Swipes!" Karl said, and Golduck nodded. He jumped forwards, and began slashing its claws at Espeon. He hit her one time... Two times... Three times... Four times... The he stopped.
"Oh no! Espeon!" Sashi called. "Are you alright?!"
"I'm... Fine... Don't worry... About me..." Espeon said, getting up.
"Your Pokemon is a tough one..." Karl said.
"And she'll win too!" Sashi said. "Espeon! Use another Return attack!"
"Foolish little lady... Haven't you seen how much damage it inflicted the last time?" Karl laughed.
"Well this time she's putting all her strength in it!" Sashi replied. Espeon hit Golduck with all she had, and in the end, Golduck sunk through his knees.
"This can't be happening!" Karl cried. Golduck fainted.
"Golduck can not fight anymo-" the referee said, when as well Espeon fell down on the ground. "Wha..." the referee said, shaking his head. "Correction! Both Pokemon can not fight anymore! There is no winner in this round! It's a draw!" the referee said.
"Espeon!" Sashi cried, running over to her friend.
"Did I win?" Espeon said weakly.
"You sure did..." Sashi smiled.
"Great..." Espeon said, and then blacked out.
"You did better than I imagined..." Sashi said, and carried Espeon off the field. She lay her down next to her bag, and faced Karl again. "Well well, Karl... I'm one Pokemon down, while you are two..."
"Wipe that smile off your face, lady... It's not over yet!" Karl said. "Now I'm going to use a Pokemon who is considered the most beautiful of all Pokemon!"
"I wonder who..." Eevy thought.
"Go, Milotic!" Karl said, and threw a Pokeball in the air. Later, a large snake like Pokemon appeared in the water. It had two long antennas sticking out of its head, and it had a long blue tail. It is hard to explain what exactly the things are that are on her body.
"Milotic?" Eevy asked. "I've never heard of this Pokemon before..."
"Me either..." Sashi said.
"Milotic is one of the most difficult Pokemon to get..." Karl said. "You have to catch a Feebas, and even then you have to do exactly the right things to make it evolve into a Milotic, because you have to max out its beauty status... First you have to plant a Pamtre Berry until you get 4 berries, and then make Pokeblocks out of them. When you have given them to Feebas, you need to give it some more Blue Pokeblocks to raise its beauty to the maximum... Then, train it one level, and it evolves into a Milotic..." Karl finished.
"Aha..." Sashi said. "And why are you telling us that?"
"Well you hadn't heard about a Milotic before, so I thought I'd give you some information..." Karl smiled.
"Well thanks... Anyway... I choose you! Dragonair!" Sashi said, and threw Dragonair's Pokeball in the air. A second later, Dragonair appeared in the water as well.
"So it's Dragonair against Milotic?" Karl asked, and Sashi nodded. "Foolish girl..."
"Why?"
"Nothing... You'll find out soon enough..." Karl smiled.
Sashi didn't like this. It was as if Karl knew he would win this round... But how? Could Milotic have a move powerful enough to take Dragonair down? She had to think ahead a few moves. What if Dragonair was taken down by Milotic? All she would have left then were Vulpix and Kirlia. Kirlia was not powerful enough to hold on even one attack, and because all Karl's Pokemon were Water Pokemon, Vulpix wouldn't stand a chance either. As if reading Sashi's mind, Eevy moved closer to Sashi, and 'hugged' her, saying out loud;
"You can do it!"
But in the mean time, she was slipping a Pokeball into her hand, unnoticed by Karl and the referee. Eevy then walked back, as if nothing had happened. Sashi - who didn't know which Pokemon Eevy had given - looked back, and then smiled. She mouthed the word 'thanks', and turned around again.
"I don't know what you're up to, but Dragonair will fight with all she has!" Sashi said. "Dragonair! Use Thunderbolt!"
"Yikes!" Karl said, and Dragonair jumped out of the water for a second (if she stayed in, she too would be hit by the electricity, because of the water), as her eyes began to glow. Suddenly, an electric bolt was fired at Milotic, and it hit her hard. Milotic cried out in pain as the electric attack ran through her body. But a moment later, Dragonair stopped her attack, and Milotic was still standing... Well, as much 'standing' as a snake-like creature can. It seemed only half of Milotic's strength had gone down. Dragonair then jumped back into the water.
"I knew she would stand up against an electric attack..." Karl smiled.
"Crap!"
"And now the thing why it was foolish to use a Dragon Pokemon against Milotic..." Karl said.
"Why especially a Dragon Pokemon?" Sashi asked confused. Suddenly, she gasped. "Could she have an attack which is Super effective against Dragon Types?"
"Precisely..." Karl said. "Milotic! Use Ice Beam!"
"Oh no!" Dragonair cried as Milotic shot a beam of ice out of her mouth, hitting Dragonair. Dragonair cried out in pain, as the part of the swimming pool around Dragonair got frozen. Surprisingly, Dragonair survived the attack, but she was trapped in the prison of ice.
"Dragonair!" Sashi called.
"I-i-i'm... f-f-f-fine..." Dragonair barely said.
"If the last Thunderbolt got half of Milotic's strength down, then another should finish her off!" Sashi said.
"Crap, I never thought Dragonair would survive that Ice Beam attack..." Karl growled.
"Dragonair! Use another Thunderbolt!" Sashi called, and at first, Dragonair didn't seem to do anything. But after a few seconds of silence, Dragonair's eyes glowed again, and another bolt of electricity was shot at Milotic. Milotic closed her eyes tight again, when she felt the pain of electricity; the thing water Pokemon hate most. But this time, Milotic didn't survive the attack. And it's a good thing Dragonair was surrounded by ice all over, because that stopped the electricity from reaching her. Milotic fainted.
"Awww..." Karl moaned. "Great work..."
"Milotic can not fight anymore! The winner of this round is Dragonair!" the referee said.
"Awesome Dragonair!" Sashi cried. "With only one Pokemon down for me against three Pokemon down for Karl, we'll sure win this match!"
Suddenly, Karl started laughing.
"I didn't know losing could was so funny..." Sashi said.
"Who says I'm losing?" Karl said.
"Well it seems pretty obvious..." Sashi said. "I have three Pokemon left, and you are three Pokemon down!"
"Well then there's a big surprise waiting for you..." Karl said, and grabbed a fourth Pokeball. "I choose you, Lantern!" Karl said, and threw the Pokeball into the air. Later, a big blue Pokemon appeared in the water, with two yellow balls hanging down a blue antenna.
"Looks like a normal Water Pokemon to me..." Sashi said. "Dragonair? Do you think you are still up to it?"
Dragonair looked back at Sashi, and nodded slowly. She may be trapped in the ice, but she could still fight.
"All right! Dragonair! Use Thunderbolt again!" Sashi called, and Dragonair complied. Her eyes glowed, and later, a bolt of electricity shot at Lantern. Lantern didn't even do the slightest effort of dodging the bolt. Instead, it jumped out of the water into the air, and caught the bolt with its body.
"What's it doing? Is it deliberately trying to lose?" Sashi grinned, but her grin faded when nothing happened to Lantern. "What's going on?"
"Do you know what type Lantern is?" Karl asked Sashi.
"Ehh... Water, right?"
"Right... But Lantern has a second type..."
"A second type?" Sashi gasped.
"Each Pokemon can contain one or two types.. Lantern happens to contain the types Water and Electric..." Karl smiled.
"Then the Thunderbolt attack didn't do any harm..." Sashi groaned.
"Not exactly... Thanks to Lantern's ability 'Volt Absorb', Lantern receives power when it is hit by electricity... Which means she gets healed by it..." Karl smiled.
"Crap!" Sashi said.
"And the best thing about Lantern, is that she can use Electric attacks too! Lantern! Use Spark!" Karl said, and Lantern's balls started to light up, and later, a bolt of electricity was shot at Dragonair.
"Now electricity may not do much to a Dragon type, but Milotic has taken most of its strength down with the Ice Beam attack, so it should be enough..." Karl said, and indeed, Dragonair fainted.
"Dragonair!" Sashi cried.
"Dragonair can not fight anymore! Lantern is the winner!"
"Do Lantern have any weakness?" Sashi gasped.
"Only Grass and Ground attacks..." Karl said.
"And I don't have any of those..." Sashi said under her breath. Then she remembered the Pokeball she was given by Eevy. Time to find out which Pokemon she had to use. "Okay! I choose you!" Sashi said, and threw the Pokeball into the air, and later, a black Pokemon with yellow rings over its body appeared.
"Umbro?" Sashi finished.
"Umbreon!" Umbro said.
"You've given me Umbro?" Sashi whispered to Eevy.
"I knew you wouldn't know about Lantern... I did some research about Karl, and found out he uses a Lantern, a Pokemon that could absorb electricity..." Eevy whispered back. "Then, without having any Ground or Grass Pokemon, I knew we had to use a different type..."
"Thanks!" Sashi whispered, and turned around again.
"This round will be between Lantern and Umbreon! Begin!" the referee said.
"All right, Umbro! Use Faint Attack!"
Umbro glowed with a dark aura that surrounded his body, and then he jumped forwards with great speed, which was unable to be seen by the eye. It hit Lantern once, but didn't take her down. A possibility was that it's because Lantern was in the water, and not on solid ground. The moment Umbro finished his attack, he jumped off Lantern, back on the ground. The aura was gone.
"It takes more than that to take out my Lantern!" Karl said. "Lantern! Use Supersonic!"
"Supersonic!" Sashi heard Lantern call, and not only her eyes glowed, but the balls at the end of her antenna's too. Suddenly, something was shot at Umbro.
"Umbro! Dodge!" Sashi called.
"On it!" Umbro said, and jumped out of the way.
"Uh-oh..." Karl said.
"And finish it off with another Faint Attack!" Sashi said.
"With pleasure!" Umbro said, and started glowing again.
"Lantern! Return!" Karl said, and he aimed his Pokeball at Lantern. She got sucked back into her Pokeball.
"What the..." Sashi said, and Umbro stopped glowing. "You giving up?"
"I have only called back my Pokemon... That does not mean I give up..." Karl said, calmly. "I'm just switching Pokemon! Go, Poliwrath!" Karl said, and threw a fifth Pokeball in the air. Later, a Pokemon came out.
"Poliwrath..." Poliwrath said. He was a big, round and blue Pokemon, with white gloves.
"Why change?" Sashi asked.
"Because of the type advantage..." Eevy said.
"What type advantage? Isn't he a normal water type?" Sashi asked.
"No... He's a Water/Fighting type..." Eevy said.
"And what's so bad about that?"
"Fight attacks are very effective on Dark types..." Eevy said.
"I see..." Sashi said.
"Which is why I learned Umbro the Psychic attack..." Eevy whispered in Sashi's ear, so that Karl didn't hear. Sashi smiled.
"What are you smiling about?" Karl asked.
"Nothing..." Sashi quickly said, and hid her smile, only for it to return a second later.
"Poliwrath! Use Brick Break!" Karl said.
Poliwrath moved as fast as Umbro had during his Faint Attack; the one which was unable to be seen by the eye. In a second he was in front of Umbro, as he pulled is arm back.
"Poli!" Poliwrath said, as he hit Umbro hard once. "Poli!" he said again, as he hit him a second time. "Wrath!" he said, and hit Umbro one more time, knocking him backwards.
"No Umbro!" Sashi gasped as she saw Umbro down on the ground.
"Don't worry..." Eevy said, placing a hand on Sashi's shoulder. "He's taken lot worse before..."
And Eevy was right. A second later, Umbro got up, shook his head, and smiled.
"Like that is going to take me down!" he said.
"That's the way!" Eevy smiled.
Sashi looked down at her hand. Eevy had done it again! She had slipped another Pokeball in her hands. Just in case Umbro might lose, she had a back-up plan.
"So I see my Poliwrath couldn't take your Umbreon down in one attack..." Karl said.
"That's right, but he will do that with your Poliwrath!" Sashi said.
"And how were you able to do that?" Karl asked, laughing.
"Umbro! Use Psychic!" Sashi called.
"Oh shit!" Karl cried as Umbro's eyes glowed bright. Later, his body glowed as well. Then, a big wave of psychic energy was shot at Poliwrath.
"Poliwrath! Dive underwater!" Karl said, and Poliwrath did. He escaped being hit by the Psychic attack just in time, as the waves shot over him.
"He missed!" Sashi gasped.
"Hey no fair!" Eevy said.
"Heheh..." Karl laughed.
"Umbro! You okay?" Sashi asked.
"Fine.. Just... a bit tired..." Umbro said.
"Poliwrath!" Karl called, and Poliwrath appeared above water. Use another Brick Break attack!"
"Poli!" Poliwrath said, and appeared in front of Umbro.
"This does not look good..." he was able to say before Poliwrath started punching three times.
"Oh no..." Eevy said as she watched her Pokemon getting beaten up by the water/fighting type.
"Umbreon can not fight anymore! The winner of this round is Poliwrath!" the referee called when Poliwrath stopped punching Umbro. Umbro was lying on the ground, not moving.
"You've done great! Return!" Sashi said, and aimed Umbro's Pokeball at Umbro. He disappeared back into his Pokeball.
"Which one are you gonna use now?" Karl smiled.
"This one!" Sashi called, and threw the second Pokeball Eevy had given her in the air. It opened, and a blue Pokemon appeared with a blue finned tail.
"Vapora?" Sashi asked.
"Vaporeon..." Vapora said, saying the usual thing she said when she was called out. Sashi looked back at Eevy. "Why a water type against water types?" she whispered.
"Because then they don't have a type advantage..." Eevy whispered back, smiling.
"Yeah, until he brings out Lantern again..." Sashi whispered back again. Eevy was silent.
"Crap..." Eevy whispered.
"But for now it's good, thanks..." Sashi whispered.
"This round will be between Vaporeon and Poliwrath! Begin!" the referee said.
"All right, Vapora! Use Return!" Sashi called. Return was one of the normal attacks besides Quick attack Vapora had.
"Poliwrath! Dodge it before-" Karl said, but Vapora was already on Poliwrath, taking him down under water. "Poliwrath!" Karl cried worried. Seconds passed as the two Water Pokemon battled under water.
"You can do it Vapora!" Sashi called.
"Hold on, Poliwrath!" Karl called.
Then, suddenly, Poliwrath was kicked out of the swimming pool so hard, he hit the ceiling, and then fell down again. But Vapora was waiting there, and hit him back against the ceiling with her tail. He then fell on the ground, not moving.
"Oh!" Karl gasped.
"Poliwrath can not fight anymore! The winner of this round is Vaporeon!" the referee said.
"You did it!" Sashi cried happily.
"That was a wonderful job you did, Poliwrath..." Karl said, and called him back into his Pokeball. "But now the fun really begins!"
"I thought it would..." Sashi replied.
"Go Lantern!" Karl called, and threw Lantern's Pokeball into the air. Later, the familiar Pokemon with the two balls hanging down its antennas appeared. Wasting no time, Karl immediately attacked. "Use Spark!"
Lantern's balls glowed bright, as well as her eyes, and a second later, electricity was shot at Vapora. Vapora jumped out of the water, just in time as the electricity hit it.
"You missed!" Sashi smiled.
"But I don't mind..." Karl smiled. "Not at all..."
Sashi was confused. Why was he smiling? Then she looked at the swimming pool. Lantern was still using her Spark attack... on the water! Water conducts electricity! And because of her ability, Lantern was recharging herself!
"What in the..." Sashi said, when Lantern stopped her attack. She was now fully recharged.
"This is not fair!" Eevy growled.
"I don't know any rule against it..." Karl replied.
Eevy shut her mouth.
"Doesn't matter..." Sashi said. "Vapora! Use Return again!"
"Vaporeon!" Vapora said, and threw herself at Lantern.
"Lantern! Use Thunder Wave!" Karl said, and Lantern's balls lit up the second Vapora hit her, and it shot sparks of electricity over Vapora's body.
"What's going on?!" Sashi gasped.
"She's paralyzing Vapora!" Eevy gasped.
"Which means?"
"Vapora may not attack when you want to..." Eevy explained.
"This is bad!" Sashi said.
"Good!" Karl smiled.
"Wait... Vapora's still trying to use her Return attack, isn't she?" Sashi said.
"Yes... The first attack before or after paralysis still hits its target..." Eevy nodded.
"Okay..." Sashi said as Vapora returned from her attack. "You okay?"
"I feel... weird..." Vapora replied.
"You think you can fight?"
"I'll try..."
"Okay... Use Quick Attack!" Sashi said.
"Smart move! Because she is paralyzed, she can not attack first, but that rule doesn't apply to Quick Attack! This attack always goes first!" Eevy smiled.
Vapora didn't move.
"If that paralysis wasn't holding her back!" Eevy growled.
"Lantern! Use Spark!" Karl said, and Lantern hit Vapora with electricity. Because she was on the ground, Lantern couldn't recharge herself. And because Vaporeon have a lot of defense, Vapora survived the Spark attack. Less than half her power was down.
"Tough one, ain't she?" Karl said.
"Very tough..." Sashi agreed. "Vapora! Use Quick Attack! And please let the attack work!" Sashi said. Vapora didn't seem to comply, but suddenly, she got up, and ran hard towards Lantern. She jumped into the air, and landed hard on Lantern's head. They both went down int he water.
"Great work!" Sashi smiled.
"Yeah, thanks a lot!" Karl laughed.
"Huh?" Sashi replied confused.
"Lantern! Use Spark!" Karl said, and a moment later, light came out of the pool.
"Oh no..." Sashi said.
"Vaporeon normally have a lot of defense, but that doesn't apply when their bodies are surrounded by water!" Karl said.
Because Vapora's body was surrounded by water, the Spark attack hit her harder then normal. It took her out. Vapora floated up, until she appeared above the water.
"Vaporeon can not fight anymore! Lantern is the winner!" the referee said.
"Oh no..." Sashi and Eevy both said.
"Does this mean you're out of Pokemon?" Karl asked.
"No of course she's not..."
"Huh?" Sashi asked confused, looking down. "Espeon?"
"Yes..." Espeon said.
"What did you mean?" Sashi asked.
"About you not being out of Pokemon?" Espeon asked, and Sashi nodded. "Well you still have me, right?"
"I thought you were down?"
"I was, but I've had plenty of time recovering..." Espeon smiled. "And I'm ready to fight again!"
"Thank you Espeon... Use Psybeam!" Sashi called, and Espeon shot out her Psybeam attack with the speed of light. She didn't even give Lantern the chance to defend, or to notice she was under attack. It hit her by surprise, and took all the remaining strength she had left. She crashed into the edge of the pool.
"What in the..." Karl said. There was a big silence, and lots of smoke. When the smoke cleared, Lantern didn't move.
"Ehh... Lantern can not fight anymore! The winner of this match is the challenger, Sashi!" the referee said.
"Yay!" Sashi and Eevy cried, and hugged each other.
"That was great work..." Karl said, and called Lantern back into her Pokeball. "Same goes for you!" he said to Sashi.
"Thanks..." Sashi replied.
"You really have earned this badge..." Karl said, walking around the swimming pool to Sashi. Sashi grabbed the badge Karl gave her, and smiled.
"Thanks..." she said again.
"Now go and leave me alone..." Karl said. "I'm sure you have a journey to continue..."
"That's right... Thanks again!" Sashi said, and turned around. Eevy followed her as Sashi walked out of the Gym
In the Pokemon Center, Sashi gave Nurse Joy her wounded and tired Pokemon, and Eevy gave hers.
"So how'd the match go?" Nurse Joy asked. Sashi showed Nurse Joy her Pool badge. "That's great!" Nurse Joy smiled.
"It sure is..." Sashi said.
"Sashi?" someone asked form behind the two. Sashi turned around, and saw a girl. She was dressed in a white T-shirt, with a blue pair of pants. Something like Sashi used to wear. Sashi recognized the girl immediately.
"Audry?"
To be continued...
12 done... Next; number 13... Now if I were superstitious, I would think 13 was a number of bad luck... But bad luck won't stop me! *Evil laugh*
Sashi: ^ ^'
E-mail me at [email protected]
Sashi: Bye!