Pokemon: Arceus' Champion

Chapter 179: Calem Versus Lucas



"CHAAAAAAAAR!"

Calem's Charizard roared challengingly at Bastiodon, who glared back while stamping it's feet on the ground.

"Charizard, use Flamethrower!"

"Bastiodon, use Stone Edge!"

The two pokemon roared as the former took in a deep breath, and the latter reared upon it's hind legs.

*CRASH!*

The entire arena shook as Bastiodon brought it's front legs crashing down, sending a tidal wave of jagged stones across the arena at the same time that Charizard exhaled a powerful blast of fire.

As one would expect, Charizard's flames broke as they clashed against the powerful Stone Edge that charged straight for it.

"Fly Charizard!"

The fire type hurriedly spread it's wings and tried to take flight, but was unable to do so before it got hit by the incoming Stone Edge.

"RAAA!" It cried out from the pain of the impact, even as it was knocked out of the air.

"Now keep it from flying again with Rock Tomb!"

"BAST!"

With a roar of affirmation, Bastiodon slammed one of it's feet down onto the ground to raise several large boulders up into the air, before sending them flying at Charizard.

"Charizard, break them with Metal Claw!"

"Char!"

With it's claws gleaming with metallic energy, Charizard swung them at the incoming boulders with all the rage and strength it could muster, effectively shattering them before they could hit it.

"Now Fly up and use Fire Blast!" Calem ordered, prompting his pokemon to launch itself up into the air above Bastiodon.

"Hold Bastiodon....." Lucas told his pokemon, even as Charizard unleashed a powerful storm of flames at it.

"NOW! USE-"

Whatever Lucas was about to say next was drowned out by the roar of the Fire Blast as the flames engulfed Bastiodon, dealing what was undoubtedly significant damage due to it's steel typing. But then, from within the inferno numerous stones imbued with a mysterious and aAcient Power flew up at Charizard.

"DODGE THEM!" Calem yelled, too late.

"CHAR!"

Charizard roared in pain yet again as it was assaulted by the attack, Ancient Power, and sent crashing to the ground. Where it laid still.

"CHARIZARD IS UNABLE TO BATTLE!"

Calem gritted his teeth as he recalled the pokemon, his second to be taken down.

"You did well. Rest up." He whispered to the pokeball, before grabbing his next one without having to think about it. "It's up to you, Chesnaught!"

"Chesnaught!"

Lucas frowned as he considered leaving Bastiodon in, or subsituting it for a different pokemon.

"Bast!" It suddenly cried out.

"..."

"..."

"Alright then, I'll leave this to you Bastiodon! Iron Defense!"

"Bast!"

With a cry of affirmation, Bastiodon's entire body shimmered as it covered itself in metallic energy, significantly increasing it's defense.

"Chesnaught, dash in and use Rock Smash!"

"Naught!"

"Meet it with a Headbutt!"

"BAAAAAAAST!"

As Chesnaught raced in at it with it's fist cocked back, Bastiodon reared up on it's hind legs while angling it's head downwards to meet the incoming fist.

*CRASH!*

Several people felt their teeth rattle from the force of the impact as Chesnaught's fist met Bastiodon's head, with neither giving ground against the other.

"Heavy Slam!"

"BAST!"

"Hammer Arm!"

"NAUGHT!"

Bastiodon then threw all caution aside as it Slammed it's heavy body into Chesnaught with the intention of doing as much damage as possible, while Chesnaught similarly adopted a stance that robbed it of all of it's speed, and slammed it's fist into Bastiodon's exposed side as hard as it could.

And then they both did it again.

"Amazing... These two pokemon as simply incredible!" Professor Oak exclaimed frm the commentators booth.

"I know! I can't believe that Chesnaught it able to stay standing after taking those hits!" Iris exclaimed.

"Actually Iris, I would say that, while it had dished out a fair amount of damage as well, Bastiodon has taken the most damage in this exchange. After all, it is doubly weak to fighting type moves, just like Charizard was doubly weak to Bastiodon's rock type moves." Professor Oak told her.

And with each clash between the two, his words were showing to be true.

While Bastiodon had been recklessly charging at Chesnaught with it's full weight, Chesnaught had been more precise with it's attacks as it targested Bastiodon's sides, and vunerable underbelly. Soon enough....

*Crash!*

Bastiodon used Take Down on Chesnaught, fell to the ground, and did not get back up.

"BASTIODON IS UNABLE TO BATTLE!"

"You did great Bastiodon." Lucas said after recalling his pokemon, before grabbing the next ball on his belt.

"You're up next, Togekiss!"

"KIIIIIIIISS!"

Calem frowned when he saw what Lucas' next pokemon was, and debated what he should do in response. He could do as Lucas just did, and leave Chesnaught in to do as much damage as possible to Togekiss, or he could swap out to give it some time to rest...

"Chesnaught, return. And now its your turn, Doublade!"

Lucas frowned as Calem's next pokemon appeared, a pair of floating double blades with purple sashes attached to their hilts. And while Lucas knew that he was woefully ignorant of pokemon from other regions aside from Sinnoh, he knew this one was at least a steel type.

But that was fine.

"Togekiss, start with a Flamethrower!"

"Toge!"

Zipping about like a little jet, Togekiss shot up before sending a blast of flames at Doublade.

"Dodge and counter with Flash Cannon!"

Without a single sound, Doublade separated into the two blades to completely avoid Togekiss' Flamethrower. In the same movement they flicked their scabbards off before striking one another as they rejoined over the torrent of flame.

"..."

There was a beat as the dual swords stared down their opponent, who was still in the process of using Flamethrower, before they created a sphere of steel type energy between them in a manner reminiscent of a railgun.

Lucas didn't even have time to warn his pokemon, before the attack was sent straight at it at high speed.

"KISS!"

Togekiss cried as it was hit by the attack, Before it was hit by another, and then another.

"Togekiss, get out of there and use Metronome!"

"Now there's an interesting tactic!" Professor Oak exclaimed as Togekiss started wagging the tips of it's wings back and forth.

"Metronome?" Iris asked.

"Indeed. For anyone who doesn't know it, Metronome is a move that allows the user to use almost any move known by any pokemon, regardless of typing! However, the move it uses is completely random, meaning that it could be one that is ineffective against their opponent, or even detrimental to the user themselves!"

The words were barely out of professor Oak's mouth when Togekiss apparently finished preparing Metronome, and proceeded to use the move Gastric Acid as it spewed stomach acid all over Doublade, who was immune to the attack.

"Case and point." Professor Oak said wryly, as Doublade went in for the kill. (A.N. for the record, I literally closed my eyes and picked a move at random from a list to determine which one Togekiss used, and probably will any time I use Metronome in the future as well. Just so there's no 'plot armor' or anything when using that move.)

"Doublade, use Iron Head!" Calem ordered to finish off Togekiss.

"Get out of there Togekiss!" Lucas commanded, now wishing he had taught Togekiss Baton Pass.

However, fighting Doublade was akin to fighting against two opponents who were completely in sync with one another. So while Togekiss managed to successfully avoid the first couple attacks, one of the blades finally managed to hit it with the tip of it's hilt, stalling it long enough so that the other could hit it as well.

"AND IT LOOKS AS IF TOGEKISS IS UNABLE TO BATTLE!" The referee anounced as Togekiss went limp and fell out of the sky, only to be recalled to it's pokeball before it could hit the ground.

"You did really well out there." Lucas said to it, before looking pointedly at Doublade.

"Take care of this, Froslass!"

"FROSSSSSS!"

"""Ooooh!"""

Several in the arena stands 'oh'ed at the sight of the Froslass, while several more shivered from feeling as if the stadium had dropped a few degrees.

"Froslass, Shadow Ball!"

"Froslass!"

Wasting no time, Froslass, immediately created numerous spheres of ghostly energy before sending them right at Doublade.

"Avoid them Doublade! And then Night Slash!"

The dual blades immediately began darting through the air with high speed and precision as they avoided all of the Shadow Balls, before one found an opening to send a blade of darkness back at her.

"Froslass." She stated while elegantly dodging the attack, before realizing she had fallen into a trap.

Before she could react, a second Night Slash came flying at Froslass from another direction without leaving her any time to escape.

"Froslass!" She cried while recoiling in pain, giving both of the swords time to get on either side of her. The next thing Froslass knew, she was being assaulted on all sides by constant attacks.

"Night Slash!"

"Shadow Claw!"

"Again!"

Over and over Calem gave his Doublade attacks to use, and they obeyed as they brought Froslass down. And all the while, Lucas watched on with a heavy heart as his pokemon was beaten, but he did not try to call her back or swap her out. Instead, when Froslass was on the verge of being defeated, he called out to her.

"Destiny Bond!"

""!?!""

Both Calem and Doublade looked up in alarm at Lucas' order, but it was too late.

Even as the final Night Slash hurtled towards her, Froslass used the move that sealed both her and Doublade's fates.

After taking the attack Froslass fell to the ground, defeated, but she didn't fall alone.

"BOTH FROSLASS AND DOUBLADE ARE UNABLE TO BATTLE!"

"How did that happen?"

"Doublade hadn't even taken a single hit."

"Did Lucas cheat?"

As the result of the battle was announced people in the stands began muttering amongst themselves as they speculated what happened.

"What an interesting tactic from Lucas." Professor Oak said suddenly, drawing their attention back to him as he explained, "What Lucas and Froslass did was use the move Destiny Bond, which ties the user and their attacker together. So when the user, Froslass, is defeated, so too is the opponent who defeated them, Doublade."

As the professor finished explaining what Lucas and Froslass had done, another wave of mutters and discussion filled the stands, this time discussing if they thought it was a decent move or a cruel one. They only stopped talking when Lucas and Calem both threw out their next pokemon.

"I choose you, Goodra!

"You're up again, Garchomp!"

"GOOOOOOOOO!"

"CHOMP!"

"Oh! NOW things are heating up!" Iris exclaimed as she saw the two dragon type pokemon, as a dragon master herself.

"Goodra, use Blizzard!"

"Dig, Garchomp!"

"Goo!"

"Chomp!"

With both pokemon crying in affirmation, the former summoned a powerful blast of ice-cold wind that covered the arena. It was slightly too late though, as Garchomp already dove into the ground and was rushing at it's opponent at high speed.

"Jump up and use Blizzard on the ground!" Calem ordered, already seeing through what Lucas and Garchomp planned to do.

"Goooooodra!"

The slimy pokemon promptly leapt up into the air above the arena, and summoned another blast of icy wind that not only covered the arena with a layer of snow, but also froze much of the ground.

*CRASH!*

Garchomp exploded out from where Goodra had been seconds before, it's entire body shivering from the cold even as it glared up at it's opponent hatefully.

"It can't move in the air Garchomp! Use Dragon Rush!"

"GAAAAAAAAR!"

Roaring it's anger, Garchomp leapt up into the air after Goodra while draconic energy enveloped it's entire body, and it sped up like a rocket.

"Goodra!"

Even as Calem cried out, it was too late for them to do anything as Garchomp hit Goodra with the force of a fighter jet. Not only did it damage Goodra from the dragon type attack, but it also wrapped it's claws around it and controlled it's flight to angle them both back at the ground with Goodra in front of it.

*CRASH!*

The impact shook the entire stadium and created a cloud of dust that obscured what was going on inside, from which only Garchomp could be seen as it leapt back towards Lucas' side of the arena, awaiting his orders. And the second the dust cleared JUST enough that they could see the shape of Goodra moving within, he quickly gave the comand.

"Garchomp, use Dragon Pulse!"

"CHOMP!"

At his command, Garchomp unleashed a powerful wave of draconic power from it's maw that honed in on Goodra without mercy.

Still dazed from being slammed into the ground with such force, Goodra was unable to dodge the attack as it was blasted backwards towards Calem. But it still tried to fight as it slowly rose to it's feet.

"Finish this Garchomp! Dragon Pulse one more time!"

"GAR!"

"Goodra, jump to the side and use Ice Beam!"

"GOODRA!"

The gooey dragon type used the last of it's strength as it jumped to the right and fired a beam of concentrated ice type energy at Garchomp while it was still in the middle of it's own attack.

"Garchomp!" Lucas cried out, but it was too late as Garchomp was hit by the Ice Beam, and immediately completely frozen.

"IF GARCHOMP IS NOT ABLE TO ESCAPE THE ICE IN TEN SECONDS, THEN IT WILL BE CONSIDERED UNABLE TO BATTLE!" The referee declared, adding even more urgency to Lucas' voice as he tried to urge his pokemon to escape the ice.

But his cries were to no avail as the timer counted down, before a buzzer sounded.

"GARCHOMP IS UNABLE TO BATTLE!" The referee declared, making Lucas grit his teeth as he recalled it, and grabbed his final pokemon. Meanwhile Calem was doing the same since Goodra was too tired to keep battling right now. Best to let it recover somewhat in case it was needed later.

"Its all up to you, TORTERRA!"

"TOOOOOOOOOOR!"

The entire arena shook as Torterra appeared, stamping it's feet challengingly after all of it's comrades were defeated.

"This is it! Finish this up, AVALUGG!"

Again, the entire arena shuddered as a massive slab of ice appeared that had four legs and small eyes that glared at Torterra intensely.

"..."

It didn't take a genius to know that Lucas and Torterra were at a disadvantage, but that didn't matter to them.

"Torterra, use Sunny Day!" Lucas immediately commanded. Even if grass type moves were borderline useless against Avalugg, he could still make the environment hostile towards it.

While he was doing that though...

"Avalugg, use Ice Spinner!"

Even as it became unbearably bright and hot in the arena, Avalugg coated it's legs in a layer of ice that made it slip and slide across the ground, before it controlled itself to add a spin.

*CRASH!*

*RUMBLE!*

*BOOM!*

The entire arena was devestated and covered in numerous chunks of ice as Avalugg spun around viciously towards Torterra, who was unable to avoid the attack in any way. So why bother trying to?

"Torterra, use Giga Impact!"

With no hesitation, Torterra charged at Avalugg with every single ounce of it's might brought forth for one powerful attack.

Everyone watching did so with bated breath as Torterra and Avalugg collided, one spinning rapidly despite it's size, and the other charging like a massive battering ram.

*KER-CRASH!*

The collision seemed to make the entire ship shake as both Torterra and Avalugg were blasted backwards, the former falling to the ground with a layer of frost coating it, while the latter flew back and landed on it's side, carving a large trench out of the ground before coming to a halt.

"""..."""

Everyone watched with bated breaths as they waited to see the result of the collision, while Lucas clenched his fist with a growing sense of urgency and hope.

Giga Impact was the same type of move as Hyper Beam, but a physical version of it. Meaning that the pokemon that uses it would be unable to do anything or even move for a short time afterwards.

BUT, if Avalugg took long enough to get to it's feet, then he and Torterra were still in the fight.

"Get up!" Calem urged his Avalugg, knowing they had a very small window of time before Torterra was back on it's feet. And while Avalugg was able to move, it was slow going as it tried to get back onto it's feet.

"Tor..."

With a groan, Torterra also began to move as it tried to regain it's feet after being knocked down and drained from the Giga Impact, increasing both Lucas and Calem's sense of urgency.

"Get up Avalugg!"

"You can do it Torterra!"

"Don't give up now!"

Both trainers began shouting out encouragment to their pokemon as they tried to rise to their feet.

And then, finally....

"Good job Torterra! Now use Body Slam!" Lucas cried out, trying to finish this battle before Calem could have Avalugg use anymoves.

"Avalugg, use Avalanche!" Calem ordered a split second later after Avalugg also got to it's feet.

"TOOOOOOOR!" Torterra roared as it charged at Avalugg.

"LUUUUUUUUUGG!" Avalugg rumbled as it slammed one of it's feet down onto the ground, sending a wave of ice blocks flying at Torterra.

"!!!"

Torterra barely had any time to react, before it was assaulted by the overwhelming attack of ice that came at it from the front.

"TOR!"

"Torterra!" Lucas called out, before his pokemon stopped moving.

""...""

""TORTERRA IS UNABLE TO BATTLE! AVALUGG AND CALEM WIN!"" The referees called out at the same time.

The cheer from that declaration was almost deafening as the battle came to an end, and the first of the two finalists were announced.

***

As everyone else cheered, I looked down at Calem with a wide smile in anticipation.

"Well, looks like I know who I'll be battling in the finals." I said out loud.

"IF you make it to the finals." Brendan said beside me.

"Let's go find out, shall we?" I asked him while holding an arm out, indicating for him to lead the way.

Without another word, the two of us made our way to the arena below while the damage caused by Lucas and Calem's battle was being repaired.


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