Both trainers stood in their positions, ready to give everything they had to win. A huge battle—the battle for Ash's seventh badge—was about to begin. A battle that would take him one step closer to his dream.
"The rules of the match are simple! This will be a 3 vs 3 battle. The first trainer to knock out all three of the opponent's Pokémon wins! You may begin!" the referee announced.
The battle had started.
"This battle is going to be exciting, I can feel it! Go, Magmortar!" Blaine said.
From his Poké Ball emerged an intimidating Magmortar, a powerful Fire-type Pokémon and the evolved form of Magmar.
"A Magmortar? As expected from a Gym Leader," I smiled.
"These are the big leagues, kid. Don't expect to face a Magmar at this stage!" Blaine said.
The previous Gyms had been tough, but nothing compared to the last two. The final two Gym Leaders had the strongest Pokémon and were allowed to use their best ones in battle. Any trainer who couldn't overcome these last two Gyms wouldn't even be qualified to set foot in the Pokémon League.
"I know, and that's why we won't lose! Wartortle, I choose you!" I said.
Wartortle came out onto the battlefield, ready to show the results of its training.
Wartortle fixed its gaze on Magmortar, its expression turning serious. It knew this battle wasn't going to be easy.
"The pre-evolved form of Blastoise? At this point you should have already evolved your Pokémon," Blaine said.
Blaine's first impression of Ash had been very good, but having a Wartortle at this stage… let's just say it wasn't ideal.
"Don't judge us before you know our strength! Wartortle, use Rapid Spin!" I said.
Wartortle quickly retreated into its shell.
"Dodge it and use Flamethrower!" Blaine ordered.
But to his surprise, Wartortle's move wasn't aimed at his Magmortar. It simply spun around on itself.
"Damn it, it just wanted to boost its speed! Magmortar, blow it away with Flamethrower!" Blaine exclaimed.
Magmortar aimed its huge cannon at Wartortle and a powerful torrent of raging flames shot toward it.
"Dodge it and use Hydro Pump!" I shouted.
With its speed boosted, Wartortle's agility had increased significantly, letting it dodge the attack easily. Then it opened its mouth and a powerful jet of water slammed straight into Magmortar, pushing it back.
"Not bad, but it's not enough! Magmortar, use Sunny Day!" Blaine said.
Magmortar nodded and a small orb of light shot out from its cannons, rising high like a miniature sun.
"Shit!" I muttered.
I thought it might have Sunny Day, but I didn't expect it to use it so soon.
"Wartortle, use Rapid Spin again!" I called out.
Wartortle prepared to do the same as before, but…
"Use Solar Beam! Let's see if it can dodge this!" Blaine exclaimed.
A powerful greenish beam shot out from one of Magmortar's cannons.
"Dodge it!" I said.
Wartortle tried to dodge, but Blaine was smarter. He waited for the exact moment Wartortle retreated into its shell before launching the Solar Beam, so Wartortle couldn't dodge in time and was hit.
"Wartortle!" I cried.
Wartortle lay on the ground, panting from exhaustion and badly hurt. But that exhaustion was nothing to it. The worst part was the huge humiliation it felt. It had trained so hard! Wartortle wanted to use this battle to show Ash how much it had improved, to make him proud of its progress, but… why couldn't it? Why was it still so weak even after everything it had gone through to reach this level? Should it give up? Quit? See the disappointed look on Ash's face and know he thought it was a weakling? NO, NEVER!
"It's time to end this," Blaine said.
Magmortar slowly approached Wartortle, ready to finish it off.
"No, return Wart—! Huh?" I said.
I tried to recall Wartortle to its Poké Ball, but…
"WARTORTLE!" Wartortle roared.
It would never give up to anyone. It would be strong—the strongest, stronger than anyone—and it would prove it to everyone! It would make Ash proud of it!
With renewed determination, it roared to the skies as if declaring: I will never give up! And as if the heavens themselves answered its declaration, a bright light completely enveloped it.
The light distorted Wartortle's body, gradually changing its shape.
"It's evolving!" Celeste and Roxanne exclaimed from the stands.
Ash, Blaine, Pikachu, and even Magmortar himself were shocked. It evolved at the most critical moment? What is this, a manga?
The light soon faded, but what now stood where Wartortle had been was no longer Wartortle, but…
"BLASTOISE!" Blastoise roared powerfully.
[ATTENTION: Blastoise wants to learn the move Hydro Cannon, but it already has 5 moves and cannot learn more! Do you want to replace one of its moves with Hydro Cannon?]
Replace it with Water Pulse!
I know its Mega Evolution works perfectly with this move, but for now I have no way to obtain Mega Evolution.
"Well done, Blastoise!" I exclaimed.
Wartortle had finally evolved into Blastoise, an extremely defensive Pokémon but also a strong attacker!
[Water Pulse has been replaced by Hydro Cannon! The host is reminded that when the move limit increases, it can relearn previously forgotten moves!]
Is that a new function?
[More like an update]
On the battlefield, Blastoise's imposing figure stood in front of Magmortar. The small Wartortle was no longer small and had grown to match Magmortar's height. Two powerful-looking Pokémon faced each other, but Blastoise was determined to win.
"Magmortar, back off and use Solar Beam again!" Blaine said.
Magmortar moved several meters away from Blastoise as fast as it could and raised its cannon, ready to fire another powerful Solar Beam.
"Blastoise, let's end this," I said with a confident smile.
"Blastoise!" Blastoise nodded.
"Use Hydro Cannon!" I shouted.
The two cannons on Blastoise's back aimed directly at Magmortar.
Solar Beam and Hydro Cannon were fired at the same time. When the two attacks collided, the shockwave created by the clash sent a powerful gust of wind that made everyone step back—except Celeste and Roxanne.
A powerful energy beam and a massive jet of water with tremendous force struggled to overpower each other.
"More power, Magmortar!" Blaine shouted.
"Show them we're the best! Come on, Blastoise!" I said.
Both attacks increased in power, but… how could this be all of Blastoise's strength? As Wartortle, it couldn't show the full results of its training earlier due to its limited power, but now as Blastoise its strength had undergone a radical change. It was no longer that small Wartortle that had to struggle so much. It was now an imposing Blastoise capable of destroying anything in its path.
Both attacks seemed evenly matched, but that was only an illusion. Soon, Blastoise's attack began to gain the upper hand. Water, a devastating force of nature—when calm it is still and peaceful, but when water gets angry, it strikes with devastating force. Right now, the water was angry. The enormous force of the water overwhelmed Magmortar's attack and slammed into it, sending it flying and knocking it out in a single hit.
"This is the result of our training!" I said.
"Pika pi!" Pikachu nodded.
"BLASTOISE!" Blastoise roared.
It had won. From being on the verge of losing to turning the tables and finally winning, Blastoise was proud.
"Magmortar is unable to battle! The victory goes to Blastoise!" the referee announced.
Surprised, Blaine recalled his Magmortar and sent out the next one.
"Not bad. I really shouldn't have underestimated you. After so many years of battling, I still make the same mistake…" Blaine sighed.
But then he fixed his gaze on Ash.
"But it won't happen again! Go, Arcanine!" Blaine exclaimed.
Arcanine came out onto the battlefield. Its majestic stance and imposing figure intimidated any opponent just by looking at it.
Seeing Arcanine, I decided to recall Blastoise to its Poké Ball so it could rest, mainly for two reasons: it had taken several heavy hits from Magmortar and then used Hydro Cannon, which in real life leaves the Pokémon defenseless for a few moments. That's why Blaine was able to send out his Arcanine so quickly.
"Pika pi?" Pikachu asked.
"No, I need you for the grand finale," I said.
"Pika pi!" Pikachu nodded.
That sounded great—weaken the last and strongest Pokémon. Wasn't that simply the best?
After seeing Pikachu nod, I fixed my gaze on Arcanine and considered my options. The logical choice would be to send out Onix. After all, with its Water-type attacks it could handle Arcanine perfectly, but there was a problem: this Onix moved very slowly on land. In water it was quite fast compared to its normal form, but on land it was the same or even slower, and Arcanine was a very fast Pokémon, so it wouldn't let us land hits. But then… should I use Mew or Lopunny? That would be logical, but I had decided to use Floette.
Yes, Floette is slow and its Fairy-type attacks aren't very effective against Arcanine, but Floette has several advantages, like its small size and a large number of useful moves that allow for various combinations. Plus, I barely have any battle experience with Floette, and the battle against Gary barely counted since it was knocked out in one hit. But… what if I fight a trainer who takes things seriously and isn't as arrogant as Gary? That's exactly what I want to test.
"Floette, I choose you!" I exclaimed.
Floette came out onto the battlefield, holding its small flower and looking at its imposing opponent without flinching in the slightest.
"Another pre-evolved form and a Fairy-type on top of that? This kid… what the hell is he thinking? How could he have won 6 badges with these Pokémon?" Blaine thought.
Poor Blaine, who had no idea of this Floette's enormous strength, thought Ash was still a novice who didn't even bother to evolve his Pokémon and couldn't understand how he had managed to win 6 badges. Was it possible that he was hiding something he hadn't shown yet?
"I know what you're thinking, but once again, you're underestimating us," I smiled.
"Fine, then I'll take this seriously. Arcanine, use Extreme Speed!" Blaine said.
A priority move and a powerful one. With this attack he should be able to knock out that delicate-looking little Floette.
Arcanine glowed with a dazzling light, ready to attack at a speed invisible to the human eye.
"Use Protect and counter with Moon Blast!" I exclaimed.
"Flo!" Floette said.
With a speed that surprised even Blaine, Floette protected itself from Arcanine's attack and immediately afterward, a sphere resembling a moon that shone with white light slammed directly into Arcanine, which didn't even have time to react before being sent flying.
"Are you okay, Arcanine?" Blaine asked.
"Arca!" Arcanine nodded.
The attack had done a bit of damage, but it could still stand perfectly.
"Do you still think we're weak?" I asked curiously.
"I admit it, that Floette… doesn't seem like a Floette at all. Just its reaction speed and power… are extraordinary, almost like it's another Pokémon disguised as a delicate Floette. But… we won't give up!" Blaine exclaimed.