Pokémon: Master of the Rain Team

Day 58 in Kanto. Cloudy.

Today was the semifinal round of the Indigo Plateau Conference. There were only two matches: Group A in the morning and Group B in the afternoon.

Each group’s final match would decide who reached tomorrow’s finals. Since Reiji was in Group B, his match was in the afternoon, so he finally got to sleep in. There was no need to head over early.

He slept past ten, then got up, washed, fed his Pokémon, and went to the main cafeteria for lunch. The cafeteria would keep providing free food and lodging until the Indigo Plateau Conference ended, and even eliminated contestants could still collect meals with their competitor passes.

While he ate lunch with Eevee, plenty of people noticed him and came over to say hello. Even if he lost today, he was already a top-four contestant. Strong Trainers earned respect.

Of course, there were always haters too. They just did not say anything to his face, and Reiji did not care. People could run their mouths if they wanted.

After lunch, he took Eevee to the main stadium. Group A’s semifinal was already over, and unsurprisingly, Reggie had won.

Reggie’s opponent had been Assunta, the Trainer who had placed third in the anime. This time, she might still end up third. That would depend on the third-place match tomorrow.

Reiji’s own opponent was Tommy. Yesterday, that little brat’s Kangaskhan had flattened the opponent’s team. It would have been harder for him not to advance.

Reiji went to the competitors’ lounge and rested there for a while. At two in the afternoon, the semifinal began, and the announcer called him in.

”Please welcome Contestant Tommy from Kanto and Contestant Reiji from the Orange Archipelago! One is a rookie who only became a Trainer two months ago, and the other is the biggest dark horse of this tournament. Which of them will take this semifinal?”

”Tommy! Tommy! Tommy!”

”Reiji! Reiji!”

When the two entered, Tommy’s cheers were clearly louder. He was a local Kanto Trainer, while Reiji was from somewhere else. If an outsider won the championship, wouldn’t that make Kanto look weak?

But matches were not won by chanting in the stands. Tommy had become Kanto’s last hope, since neither Reiji nor Reggie was from Kanto.

”Hey! Didn’t expect to see me again, did you?” Tommy stood on his platform and waved at Reiji, shouting extra loud as if afraid Reiji would not recognize him.

”Yeah, yeah. We meet again, brat.” Reiji sounded so half-hearted it was almost insulting, and one sentence was enough to make Tommy grit his teeth.

”Damn it, I’m your opponent! Can you at least take me seriously?” Tommy snapped, his fists clenched.

”Can we start already?” Reiji scratched his ear. Kids really were noisy. He just wanted the referee to begin.

”This Group B semifinal will take place on a standard battlefield. Each contestant may use six Pokémon. Contestants, take your positions and send out your first Pokémon.”

”Go, Snorlax!”

”Go, Butterfree!”

”It’s Snorlax against Butterfree! How will this matchup play out?”

”Snorlax, huh?” Reiji looked at the huge Pokémon and wondered whether it had Thick Fat or Immunity.

A Pokémon with Immunity could not be poisoned or badly poisoned. If it already had poison or bad poison and gained the Ability, the status would be cleared.

Thick Fat was also a strong defensive Ability. It reduce the damage taken from fire and ice moves.

Both were excellent defensive Abilities. If it had Immunity, Butterfree’s Poison Powder would be useless. If it had Thick Fat, Ice and Fire type moves would hit much weaker.

Luckily, Snorlax was slower than Butterfree. That made things easier.

”Butterfree, Stun Spore.”

”Snorlax, Belly Drum.”

”What?” Reiji watched Snorlax take a deep breath and spend half of its HP to use Belly Drum, sharply raising its Attack.

Then Tommy shouted again.

”Snorlax, Rest!”

Snorlax began to snore. The Stun Spore it had just inhaled lost effect as its paralyzed body returned to normal, though it fell asleep in the process.

”So that’s how you’re playing it.” Reiji found it interesting and called out, ”Butterfree, use Stun Spore again.”

”Snorlax, Sleep Talk!”

”Butterfree, Poison Powder.”

”Free!” Butterfree scattered a thick cloud of Stun Spore over Snorlax, then shook a cloud of purple Poison Powder from its wings.

Snorlax inhaled both powders. Sleep Talk was interrupted as its body twitched in its sleep from paralysis, but there was no sign of poison.

”Heh. My Snorlax can’t be poisoned,” Tommy said proudly. This Snorlax was one he had carefully picked.

Thick Fat gave better resistance to Ice and Fire, but Immunity blocked poison. For a bulky Pokémon like Snorlax, not having to worry about being worn down by poison was huge.

”If it has Immunity, then we’ll bind it instead. Butterfree, String Shot and Electroweb.”

Immunity made things more annoying, but it did not make Snorlax unbeatable.

”Snorlax, Sleep Talk!”

”Snor… Snor…” Snorlax was still asleep and even blew a bubble from its mouth. The bubble grew larger and drifted toward Butterfree.

Yawn.

Butterfree dodged the large blue bubble easily, then dropped an Electroweb from the air. The web covered Snorlax, trapping it while sending electricity through its body.

”Snor…” Snorlax was shocked in its sleep, but it did not wake up. Even after Electroweb ended, it kept snoring.

”Butterfree, keep it pinned down with String Shot.”

”Free!” This time, Butterfree did not use Electroweb. It spat silk into a net and wrapped it around Snorlax on the ground.

”Butterfree, use Quiver Dance. Keep going.”

Not good.

Tommy knew what Quiver Dance was now after attending school back home. He immediately shouted, ”Sleep Talk!”

”Snor… Snor…” Snorlax struggled inside the silk, trying to get up, then dropped heavily back onto the ground.

”Body Slam?” Reiji blinked. The move had technically come out, but it had not really done anything. He ignored it and let Butterfree keep using Quiver Dance.

Butterfree completed four Quiver Dances before Snorlax used Sleep Talk again. This time it got Crunch and bit through the String Shot net, finally waking up.

”Butterfree, Sleep Powder.”

”Free!” Butterfree was hovering right above Snorlax. The moment Snorlax opened its eyes, it scattered Sleep Powder. Snorlax still could not break free quickly, and the powder put it right back to sleep.

”Butterfree, Giga Drain.”

Giga Drain was a special move with 75 power. It absorbed nutrients from the target, dealing damage and restoring half that damage as HP.

With four Quiver Dances behind it, Butterfree pushed the move’s power to terrifying levels. It was enough to drain Snorlax dry.

”Free!” Butterfree wrapped Snorlax in silk and used Giga Drain. Green energy flowed out of Snorlax and into Butterfree, restoring the HP Butterfree had spent.

”Snorlax!” Tommy watched Snorlax grow weaker and immediately raised its Poké Ball to recall it.

But Reiji was not about to let him waste such a good chance.

”Butterfree, block the recall beam.”

”Free!” Butterfree flew between Tommy and Snorlax, using its body to block the red light from the Poké Ball. Tommy could not recall Snorlax.

That was allowed. If a Trainer’s recall beam missed or could not reach the Pokémon, the recall failed. Butterfree was only interfering with the beam. It was not against the rules.

”Damn it, it won’t come back!” No matter how Tommy aimed, Butterfree kept blocking the red light while scattering more Sleep Powder and draining Snorlax’s HP.

With Speed at +4, Butterfree was far faster now. Its compound eyes gave it a wide field of view, so blocking the recall beam was easy.

Snorlax never woke up again. Paralyzed, asleep, and trapped, it finally fainted after Butterfree drained away its HP with Giga Drain.

”Damn it, Snorlax.” At the referee’s signal, Tommy recalled Snorlax. Seeing it thinner inside the Poké Ball while Butterfree burped in the air, he sent out his Flying-type Pokémon.

”Go, Pidgeot!”

”Snorlax is out! It never got a real chance to fight after Butterfree trapped it with String Shot. Contestant Tommy’s second Pokémon is… Pidgeot!”

”Pidge!” Pidgeot appeared and immediately fixed its eyes on Butterfree. They were natural predator and prey.

”Butterfree against Pidgeot… It can still fight.” Reiji thought it over. Butterfree had four boosts to Speed, Special Attack, and Special Defense. It was worth trying.

”Pidgeot, use Agility and close in. Steel Wing!”

”It’s coming in hard.” Reiji smiled. The last battle must have frustrated Tommy badly, so of course he wanted to hit back. ”Butterfree, Double Team.”

”Pidge!” Pidgeot was fast, and Agility brought it close to Butterfree’s speed.

But Butterfree was still quicker. Before Pidgeot reached it, Butterfree split into eight copies and surrounded Pidgeot.

”Butterfree, Stun Spore.”

”Pidgeot, Hurricane!”

”Pidge!” Pidgeot beat its wings hard, blowing away the Stun Spore and exposing Butterfree’s real body at the same time.

”Butterfree, Protect.”

”Free!” Butterfree had just used Stun Spore and no longer had time to dodge, so it used Protect to take the hit.

”Pidge!” Pidgeot slammed into the barrier. Its head spun for a moment, and it shook itself in midair.

”Butterfree, now! Bug Buzz!”

”Free!” Butterfree opened its mouth and released a sharp, grating sound, like nails scraping across a blackboard. At that distance, only two or three meters apart, Pidgeot took the full force of it.

”Pidge!” Pidgeot could not stand the sound. It spiraled toward the ground.

”Butterfree, Electroweb!”

”Pidgeot, Protect!” Tommy saw Pidgeot losing balance as it fell, with Electroweb coming from above, and could only order Protect.

”Pidge!” Pidgeot cried out, and Bug Buzz stopped. It quickly fixed its flight posture and used Protect to break through Electroweb, rising back into the air.

”Butterfree, Bug Buzz.”

”Free!” As Pidgeot charged again, Butterfree used the same sound attack. Protect could block Electroweb, but it could not block sound.

Pidgeot was shaken down again. Protect did not last forever, and although the electricity from Electroweb had faded, the silk net remained. It caught Pidgeot as it landed.

”Butterfree, good chance. Electroweb again!”

”Pidgeot, fly up and use Sky Attack!”

”Pidge!” There was not much silk on Pidgeot, and it forced itself into the air. It crashed into the next Electroweb, enduring the shock as it pulled away from Butterfree’s attack range.

One Electroweb was not enough to stop it. Pidgeot began accelerating through the air, faster and faster. Heat from its high-speed flight melted the silk clinging to its body, freeing it completely. Its sharp eyes locked onto Butterfree.

”Butterfree, Hurricane.”

Reiji wanted Hurricane to stop Sky Attack, but it did not work.

The charging Pidgeot tore through the wind. Reiji could only have Butterfree stack Electrowebs in front of itself.

”Butterfree, Electroweb first, then use Confusion to protect yourself.”

”Free!” Butterfree knew this would be the final clash. It spat several Electrowebs in a row, throwing them toward the oncoming Pidgeot.

Pidgeot ignored them and committed fully to the charge. It became a blue streak in the air and shot straight through Butterfree. The collision exploded in midair, and Butterfree dropped from the smoke, unconscious.

Pidgeot circled wide and landed back on Tommy’s side of the field. Its body was covered in String Shot nets.

”Butterfree is unable to battle. Contestant Reiji, please recall Butterfree.”

”Come back, Butterfree.” Reiji recalled it and quietly comforted it, telling it to rest well. Then he took out a new Poké Ball and threw it.

”Go, Pelipper.”

”It’s Pelipper! Contestant Reiji is using this Flying-type Pokémon for the first time! Can it defeat the brave and fearless Pidge—huh? Something’s wrong. Pidgeot looks uncomfortable. Is it under a status condition?”

The announcer stopped halfway, and the crowd followed his gaze.

Pidgeot had cleared away the String Shot, but its whole body was twitching. It had been paralyzed. Those last Electrowebs had not been useless after all.

”Damn it, paralysis.” Tommy recalled Pidgeot. A paralyzed Pidgeot was not worth keeping in the air. Its speed was reduced, and it might crash at any moment.

”Contestant Tommy has chosen to recall Pidgeot. Both contestants, please send out your next Pokémon together. Contestant Reiji will move first.”

[End of chapter]

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