Pokémon: Master of the Rain Team

Day 59 in Kanto. Overcast.

The final battle had finally arrived. People started heading to the main stadium early, all waiting for the championship match to begin.

Reiji had already gotten up and eaten breakfast. His Pokémon were eating too. Once today’s match ended, the Indigo Plateau Conference would be over.

For the final, Reiji felt strangely calm. The pressure he had felt last night while analyzing Reggie’s team was gone.

The match was almost here. At this point, all he could do was face it normally. Win or lose, he could not let the pressure shake him. Losing his own rhythm before the battle even started would be the worst possible mistake.

”Eevee, Poliwhirl, Kingler, Rhydon, Gyarados, Pelipper, Forretress, Accelgor, Slowpoke, Butterfree, Farfetch’d, Scyther… everyone.”

Reiji looked at the partners gathered around him, took a deep breath, and raised his voice. ”Today is the final. Let’s give it everything we’ve got, with no regrets.”

Everyone answered with excited cries.

”Vee!” Eevee jumped onto Reiji’s shoulder and rubbed against his cheek. It had been with him for so long now, and it loved the feeling of this big family.

”Poli! Poli!” Poliwhirl flexed its muscles. Everyone was fired up for the last battle.

”Scy.” Scyther came over and bumped fists with Poliwhirl, telling it to win its share too.

”Rhy!” Rhydon still had not fought enough. This time, it was going to enjoy itself properly.

”Gya!” Gyarados was as aggressive as always, roaring to show its excitement.

”For! For!” Forretress spun happily. At first, it had thought it had boarded a shady ship, but now it felt pretty good about things.

”Gor!” Accelgor had also been told it would fight today. It would be its first time on the big stage, and it could hardly wait.

”Slow…” Slowpoke yawned. It was nowhere near as excited as the others and looked as relaxed as ever.

”Free!” Butterfree clung to Reiji and acted spoiled, insisting that it wanted to fight too. It did not want to rest. It wanted to stand beside him.

”All right, all right. You’re in too.” Reiji rubbed Butterfree’s head helplessly. There was no winning against this little one. A few comforting words would be enough for now. It had been hurt by Pidgeot yesterday and still needed proper rest.

”Far!” Farfetch’d lifted Riolu’s paw and raised it with everyone else. Even with a bandage still wrapped around its wing, its fighting spirit was high.

Riolu, though, still felt out of place. It did not know how to face humans and still had not fully joined this family, even with Farfetch’d looking after it these past few days.

”Zap…” Zapdos stood on Tauros’s head and let out a huge yawn. It was a shame it could not fight, and lately it had been sleeping more than usual.

”Dra…” Dratini hid behind Rhydon’s huge body, staring at the wild crowd with watery eyes. It wanted to join in too.

But it was scared. Some of these Pokémon had sharp teeth, some had giant claws, and some carried scythes around like weapons. They all looked terrifying. The little dragon was very, very afraid.

”Everyone, come on. We’re heading out.” Reiji was satisfied with the pre-battle rally. Seeing everyone so fired up gave him more confidence about winning the Indigo Plateau Conference.

Just wait.

At the Indigo Stadium, the announcer’s heated pre-match speech pushed the crowd to its peak. Next came the two finalists’ entrances.

When Reiji reached the competitors’ tunnel, he saw a large group waiting there to cheer him on.

The first one he noticed was Ash, shouting from behind Officer Jenny’s security line.

”Rai-nii, you’ve got this! You have to win the championship!”

”Come on, cutie! Win the championship, and we’ll invite you to Cerulean Gym as our Gym Leader!”

”Hey, sisters, your youngest sister is standing right here!” Misty glared at her three older sisters. Why were they always cheering for outsiders instead of her?

”Relax, Misty.” Daisy covered her mouth and laughed. She had not expected Misty to get jealous.

Brock, Gary, and Delia were there too, all cheering for Reiji.

Gulzar and Travis, who had been eliminated earlier, were also there, waving at him.

Amber sat on Blaine’s shoulders, calling out in her small, sweet voice. Elisia stood beside them with a gentle smile.

Tommy, who had lost yesterday, was standing by the road with his parents. He seemed to be there to cheer Reiji on too, though his face still looked sour. Yesterday’s match had clearly left a mark.

As Reiji neared the tunnel, he even saw the Team Rocket trio. Meowth was sitting on James’s shoulders, waving a tiny cheering flag.

Last of all, Reiji noticed Shun standing quietly by the road. Reiji smiled and gave him a small nod, and Shun nodded back.

Reiji waved goodbye to everyone, then turned into the tunnel and headed straight for the field.

Seeing so many people cheering for him suddenly made the pressure feel real. At some point, he had stopped being the lonely survivor who had washed up on that deserted island.

The dark tunnel gave way to sunlight. Reggie stepped out from the opposite side at almost the same time. Their eyes met across the field, and for a moment, the air between them seemed to spark.

The crowd went wild as both finalists appeared. This was the final match. Everyone would cheer for their favorite Trainer and Pokémon until the winner was decided.

”Here they are! Entering from the left is Contestant Reiji from the Orange Archipelago, the strongest dark horse of this Indigo Plateau Conference! Entering from the right is the veteran trainer from Sinnoh, Contestant Reggie!”

”This year’s Indigo Plateau Conference Champion will be one of these two contestants! Cheer for your favorite Trainer! Cheer for your favorite Pokémon! This is the final battle!”

”Reiji! Reiji! Reiji!”

”Reggie! Reggie! Reggie!”

The sheer noise almost overwhelmed Reiji. This was the biggest stage he had ever stood on.

Even Eevee flattened its ears and shrank against his neck, nervous in front of the packed stadium.

”Eevee, have some confidence. You’re the best.” Reiji smiled and gently patted it.

A photographer caught the moment. After the match, it would probably end up on the front page of some newspaper under a title like The Indigo Dark Horse and His Eevee.

If Reiji won, the title would become The Indigo Champion and His Eevee.

On the trainer platform, Reiji and Reggie faced each other from across the field.

So they had finally met.

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

”Go, Electivire!”

”Go, Gyarados!”

The referee dropped the flag, and both Trainers threw their Poké Balls. Reiji opened with Gyarados, while Reggie opened with Electivire.

”Gyaaa!” Gyarados appeared and unleashed Intimidate without holding back.

”Vire!” Electivire pounded its chest, refusing to back down.

”It’s Gyarados against Electivire! Gyarados has an x4 weakness to Electric-type moves, so this is a terrible matchup for Contestant Reiji. How will he respond?”

Damn. He read me.

It was not that Reiji had no other opening choices. He had considered Forretress too, but Reggie had Drapion, which made Forretress’s hazard setup less useful. That was why Reiji had chosen Gyarados.

And now he had been read.

With this matchup, if he did not want to lose Gyarados immediately, he had to switch.

What will you do?

Reggie relaxed slightly. His prediction had given him the first advantage, which would make the next exchange easier.

Reiji felt pressure facing Reggie, but Reggie felt the same facing him. Reggie knew Reiji had not shown everything yet.

Outside the field, Paul saw his brother take the lead from the first Pokémon and silently hoped Reggie could wipe away his old loss.

”Come back, Gyarados.” Reiji recalled Gyarados. He was not going to force it through such a bad matchup. He took out Rhydon’s Poké Ball and threw it.

”Rhy!” Rhydon appeared, saw its old opponent, and crooked a finger at it in a blatant taunt.

”Vire!” Electivire beat its chest. It wanted revenge badly, but it remembered Reggie’s warning and did not rush in recklessly.

”Contestant Reiji has switched into Rhydon, a much safer choice for this matchup. Now let’s see what Contestant Reggie does. Will he keep Electivire in and challenge Rhydon, or will he switch as well?”

”Come back, Electivire.” Reggie chose to recall Electivire too. Since Reiji had switched, there was no need to act reckless. Switching was the safer play. He threw his second Poké Ball. ”Go, Torterra!”

”It’s Grass-type Torterra! Grass-type moves hit Rhydon for x4 damage. Contestant Reggie has also chosen the safe play. Both contestants are being very careful. How will Contestant Reiji handle Torterra?”

”Rhydon, Swords Dance.”

”Swords Dance?” Reggie frowned. Using Swords Dance with a Pokémon that was not very fast was not exactly wise.

”Torterra, finish it with Frenzy Plant!”

”Terra!” Torterra glowed green and stomped the ground. Thick, thorny vines burst from the earth and stabbed toward Rhydon, wrapping around it tightly.

”Good, Torterra!” Seeing the vines tighten around Rhydon and lash across its body, Reggie immediately followed up. ”Giga Drain!”

But before Torterra could use Giga Drain, the thorny vines wrapped around Rhydon began to wither. Their moisture dried out, and then they caught fire.

”How?” Reggie’s eyes widened. The dense mass of vines had burned to ash in moments. ”That temperature…”

”Nothing impossible about it. Rhydon, Rock Polish. Charge in with Ice Punch.”

”Rhy!” Rhydon had simply heated its body and activated its flame armor. That alone was enough to destroy Frenzy Plant’s vines.

The ground shook under Hanhan’s steps as it charged. More thorny vines tried to emerge, only to be crushed underfoot. Any vine that got close burst into flame before it could touch Rhydon.

Too fast.

Reggie watched Rhydon close the distance. That speed was nothing like a Pokémon with base 40 Speed.

He was not wrong. Hanhan had eaten many Light Stones to lower its weight and on top of that it used Rock Polish.

”Torterra, Leaf Storm!”

”Tor!” Torterra roared, but Frenzy Plant left it unable to move. It could not follow Reggie’s command.

Bad. It can’t move.

Reggie had wanted to take Rhydon down in one shot, but Frenzy Plant had failed completely. It had not trapped Rhydon at all. It could not even get close.

”Torterra, Protect!”

”Rhy!” Rhydon did not care about Protect. It reached Torterra and slammed down with a fist wrapped in bitter cold.

The punch struck the barrier with a blast of air, and frost spread across the entire Protect shield.

Crack. Crack.

The ground under Torterra split apart under the force of the blow, collapsing into a deep crater. Torterra lay inside it, not injured, but definitely not comfortable.

”Giga Drain!”

”Terra!” The three stones on Torterra’s shell glowed green, sending out three bands of green light toward Rhydon to drain its HP.

Rhydon grabbed the bands as they reached it. They wrapped around its arm, but before Torterra could begin draining, Rhydon’s fist burst into flame. Fire roared up and burned all three bands away.

That fire is violent.

Reggie felt the heat himself, with the two Pokémon so close to his platform. The moment Fire Punch flared, the wave of heat reached him.

What was with this Rhydon? Why were Grass-type moves doing nothing? Its body temperature was so high that even Torterra looked uncomfortable.

He decided to test it further.

”Torterra, Leech Seed. Razor Leaf.”

”Terra!” Torterra watched the green bands burn away. It had never faced an opponent like this before, but it did not slow down. It fired Leech Seed at Rhydon, followed by a storm of sharp leaves.

The seeds landed on Rhydon, but the moment they sprouted, they burned. Razor Leaf did not even get close before the leaves ignited and turned to ash.

”Rhy!” Rhydon was not going to just stand there and take attacks. It opened its mouth and fired a stream of flames straight at Torterra.

Flamethrower hit Torterra for x2 damage, so it couldn’t just take the hit. It pulled into its shell and used Withdraw, raising its Defense, but that did nothing against a special move.

[End of chapter]

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