To Be All I Can Be Part5 By: EmeraldDragon The referee stood at the head of the room addressing the 64 competitors in the tournament. He had already explained the basic rules of conduct and was beginning to explain how this tournament was going to work. "For this tournament you may not bring any thing except your pokemon into the stadium. Nurse Joy will be on hand in case of injury. If your pokemon uses a move without orders then you will be disqualified. You must choose the pokemon you will use before entering the stadium. If it is a three on three battle then, you may only enter with three pokemon, not all six. The way this tournament will be formatted is this: In the first match will be a six on six. As you advance you will use one less pokemon per match. The last two trainers in the tournament will have a one on one battle for the prize. Are there any questions?" One boy raised his hand. "Yes?" "What is the prize?" "The prize varies depending on rank, but all non-placing participants will receive a five item grab-bag." A girl raised her hand. "Yes?" "What do you mean a 'grab-bag'?" "I mean that it will be five randomly chosen item. It could be any thing from an empty pokeball to a new pokedex, to a new pokemon, to an evolution stone. Are there any other questions?" The room was silent. "Good. You all received a copy of the battle schedule. You must check in at least fifteen minutes before your time or you will be disqualified. Good luck to everyone." Janelle got up and started to look for Phil when some one tapped her on the shoulder. She turned to see a handsome 12-year-old boy with dark hair and dark eyes. "Are you Janelle Ketchem?" The crowd went silent. Then the room was filled with rustle of paper as the competitors checked when they would be battling her. This was followed by groans of frustration and sighs of relief. "Yes." She said blushing at the attention of the crowd. "My name is Jason and I'll be your competition tomorrow." "It's nice to meet you. I hope we have a good fight." They shook hands just as Phil walked up. "Come on Janelle, I got a room." He said stiffly. "OK, See you tomorrow Jason." They walked in silence towards the hotel. Once most of the crowd had dissipated. Phil started talking again. "You shouldn't talk to people you don't know, Janelle." "There were plenty of people around. Besides, Arcanine wouldn't let any thing happen to me. Would ya girl?" Janelle ruffled the fur of her fiery companion. "It's still not a good idea." Phil said in a scolding voice. "What's eating you?" "I don't know. I guess it's just that the only room I could get only had one bed." "So we'll share." "That's not very appropriate." "We've shared a bed before." "Yeah, when we were 2!!" "So?" Phil could see this was going nowhere. ************************************************************** When they entered the room the phone was ringing. Phil picked it up. "Hello…Yes sir…She's right here." He took the receiver from his ear. "Janelle it's your dad." She took the phone from him. "Hi Daddy. I've been meaning to call but I've been so busy." "I know what you mean sweety. We were just wondering how you were doing." "I have 4 badges and I'm competing in a tournament starting tomorrow." "That's great. How many pokemon do you have?" "16." "That's wonderful. I'll tell your mom that your fine and good luck in the tournament tomorrow." "Thanks Daddy, bye-bye." "Bye sweety." Janelle replaced the phone and took out Ponyta's pokeball. "What are you doing?" Phil asked. "Arcanine and Ponyta are both fire types. For this tournament I need a well balanced team, so I'm going to switch Ponyta for one of my other pokemon." "Which one?" "I'm not sure." "What about one of the Eevees, you could evolve it the way you needed." "I already have Arcanine, Raichu, and Articuno." "Hum…Hey, what about the Dratini." "You think it will be strong enough?" "There's only one way to find out." ********************************************************** "There are some 2000 fans here today!" The announcer's voice boomed over the cheering crowd. Janelle and Arcanine stood on the arena level of the stadium, waiting for the announcer to introduce her before exiting the corridor. It was early, only ten till eight by the clock on the wall; this would be the first battle of the day and the tournament. The announcer continued to speak from his vantage point. "One of the most notable people here today is Ash Ketchum, the pokemon master for 15 years strait. What, may you ask, brings the great pokemon master to this humble tournament? That's simple. The only person to be a threat to his title in all 15 years, on the green side, let's hear it for…Janelle Ketchum!" With a deep breath Janelle exited the corridor into the bright, artificial lights of the stadium. The crowd roared as she and Arcanine entered the trainer's box and it lifted them six feet off the ground. Janelle waved and bowed to the crowd as the announcer introduced Jason. When Jason stepped into the red trainer's box the crowd applauded again, but not quite as loud. "This will be a six on six battle, no time limit. BEGIN!" "Staryu, I choose you!" "Go Raichu, Thunder!" "Staryu reflect!" Raichu curled into a ball, it's electric cheek pooches sparking. On the other side of the field a star shaped pokemon created a red domed shield around its body. "RRAAAAIIII…CCHHUUUUUU!" Raichu's attack collided with the shield popping and crackling. Staryu slide a little but kept up its shield, but not for long. Staryu could no longer hold up the shield and was consumed in electricity. Raichu was only able to hold his attack slightly longer then staryu, quickly letting it down after meeting it's target. "Staryu Spinning Tackle!" "Raichu Agility!" Staryu jumped up and went spinning towards Raichu. Raichu countered by moving around the arena so fast it became visible only for quick moments that he chose. Staryu darted at Raichu every time he appeared, only to tackle a wall or trainer's box. After tackling 10 non-opponent items, Staryu was out of the match. "Staryu Return! I choose you Graveler! Dig!" "Raichu Retune! Go Articuno, Ice Beam!" The crowd gasped and cooed in awe as her beautiful ice blue bird took to the sky. The living boulder of an opponent disappeared into the soil of the arena. From her high vantage point Articuno could predict where her competition was to appear and started her attack accordingly. When Graveler next emerged on the arena it was in cased in ice and unable to battle. "Return Graveler! I Choose You Magneton! Sonic Boom!" "Articuno Return! Go Sandslash, Fury Swipes!" Sandslash leaped from its pokeball ready to descend on its hapless victim. Just when Sandslash was going to cut in to its adversary the air around Magneton began to bend and move across the arena. Sandslash was thrown back into Janelle's trainer box, knocking her off balance. Before Janelle had time to steady herself she was hit with Magnetons' attack. There was a flash of purple, then red, then white. When she got her scenes back, she saw Arcanine had taken the full force of the attack for her. Looking out to the arena she saw Magneton laying on the ground unconscious deep slash marks all over its metallic body. Sandslash stood over its competitor crying its name triumphantly. The two trainers stared at the scene and then at each other before recalling their pokemon. "I Choose You Metapod! Harden!" "Go Dratini, Slam!" Janelle felt dizzy as she throw out her pokeball and grabbed on to Arcanine for support. Metapod gave off a soft green glow as it hardened its shell. Janelle's dragon crawled right up to it, spun around, and slammed it in to a wall. "Metapod Tackle!" "Dratini, Dragon Rage!" Metapod jumped into the air, only to be shot down by a volley of blue flames. "Return Metapod! I Choose You Porygon, Tackle!" "Dratini Return! Go Bulbasaur, Razor Leaf!" Every movement Janelle made caused her head to spin. Her vision was going in and out. She felt her grip on Arcanine's fur loosen then release. Everything went black and the ground left her feet. She could hear the gasps of the crowd and a surprised cry from Arcanine. She felt a tugging at her shirt, then the soft earth of the arena floor. She could see fuzzy images of people over her just moments before the blackness consumed her. ************************************************************** "OOOOHHH" Janelle moaned as she woke, "What happened? I fell like I've been run over by a herd of Rapidash." Phil was sitting next to her with Dratini in his lap. "You were hit with Magneton's Sonic Boom. Arcanine Jumped in front of you and took most of the attack, but you were still hit hard enough to slowly knock you out. You lost your balance and fell from the trainer's box. Luckily Arcanine caught you by the front of your shirt and set you on the ground." "How long have I been out?" Phil checked his watch "About eleven hours." "Where are my mom and dad?" "Well…when you passed out, you lost the match for leaving without finishing. But Jason forfeited saying you would have bet him any way. The chairmen told your dad that they weren't allowed to talk to you until after the tournament, for fear that he mite say something that would give you an unfair advantage." "So when is my next fight?" "Tomorrow at 2." *********************************************************** The green platform rose under her feet. This was to be a five-pokemon battle. Janelle had chosen to keep Arcanine in her pokeball for the remainder of the tournament, as not to show her hand. Her opponent was a tall blond girl of about fifteen; the announcer had called her Brittany. Brittany clinched her first pokeball. "Go Bellsprout! Vine Whip!" "Arcanine, Go, Flame Thrower!" The tiny weed shot vines from its mouth to snare Arcanine. The enormous firedog shot a volley of flames that brought its attacker to an abrupt halt. "Bellsprout Poison it!" Before Janelle could give an order the tiny plant shot a cloud of purple poison powder a round Arcanine, then promptly fainted. "Bellsprout return. OK Tangela Constrict it!" "Arcanine use your Ember!" The pokemon that Brittany called out was nothing more then a mass of vines with feet and eyes. Hundreds of vines shot from its body, incasing Arcanine and squeezing the breath from her body. All was silent for a moment. The referee started to declare Arcanine out of the match, when suddenly Tangela's vines started to sizzle and pop. From under the vines came a crimson glow. "Hold on Tangela!" Brittany ordered. It was not enough. Moments later Arcanine burst form the vines in a cloud of smoke and fire howling victoriously. "Now Arcanine, before it recovers, Dragon Rage!" Arcanine took a deep breath and spat out the funnel of blue fire that dratini had used yesterday. When the smoke cleared Tangela lay still. "Tangela Return. Now I'll use my powerhouse pokemon. I choose you Venusaur use your Solar Beam!" "Arcanine, Agility and Flame Thrower!" Arcanine seemed to wince before darting around the arena faster then human eyes could see. Venusaur stood perfectly still. Flames would seemingly shoot out of nowhere and collide with the giant plant pokemon. 'This is bad!' Janelle thought 'It must have out grown its type disadvantage' "Arcanine Bite!" Arcanine suddenly appeared. With jaws open wide, teeth glittering in the sun, Arcanine made a deadly leap for Venusaur's throat. Venusaur gave a triumphant battle cry and released a golden beam of light. The Solar Beam hit Arcanine squarely in the chest, sending her on a one-way flight into the wall. "Arcanine Return! Go Articuno, Blizzard!" "Venusaur, Sleep Powder!" Before Venusaur could carry out the order it was caught up in a virtual tundra of ice and snow. When the snow cleared Venusaur had taken a trip to la la land. "Venusaur Return! Vileplume Go, Petal Dance!" "Articuno, Whirl Wind!" The gigantic flower began to spin around, shooting razor edged petal into the air. With a few flaps of it's mighty wings, Articuno created a tornado that picked up Vileplume and its attack. The tornado dropped its victim into the stands. Brittany looked distressed; she only had one pokemon left, and from the look on her face it wasn't very strong. "Exeggcute, You're my last hope, Barrage!" Egg shaped pokemon leaped from the pokeball and began to throw themselves at Articuno. "Articuno use your Ice Beam on them individually!" Janelle's suspicions were quickly confirmed. The eggs froze instantly; the match was over. ********************************************************* Janelle lay on her stomach watching the news coverage of the tournament. All her pokemon except Arcanine sat with her. She had brought them out to keep her company, but Arcanine was so embarrassed about being beaten by a plant her refused to come out. From out in the hall Phil called for her to open the door, she quickly complied. Phil handed her some Chinese takeout, a can of gold paint, and tins of pokemon food. "What did you want the paint for any way Janelle?" He asked as he set his takeout on the dresser. "I've noticed that all pokeball are alike." "So?" "So…I'm going to paint the colored part of all my pokeball gold." "Are you afraid of losing them?" "No. It's just a precautionary measure." Janelle brought Arcanine out to eat then began to paint her pokeballs. "What are you watching?" "Your just full of questions aren't you?" She teased, "I'm watching the tournament." "Checking to see what the compaction is using." "Yap." "Who are you going to use tomorrow?" "Arcanine, Articuno, and Raichu for sure. But I haven't decided how to fill the last slot." "How so?" "It depends on how you look at it. If I took Sandslash, I would be taking the strongest of the three, but he wouldn't have any type advantages that the other three didn't have. If I take Dratini, I'll get the one with the most type advantages, but at the price of experience and my personal lack of knowledge about him. Bulbasaur is in the same boat as Sandslash; strong and reliable but no type advantages." Janelle put down the last pokeball to dry and began to eat her food. "I can't help you there." As if on cue Dratini crawled into her lap. "Tini ini drat dratini." "I'm glad you're enthusiastic about battling, but I'm not sure your strong enough." "Dratini tini tini dra dratini!" Janelle sighed as she looked into those big sea blue eyes. "OK you win. We'll see what you got." *********************************************************** "Welcome pokemon fans to round three of this pokemon tournament! Our competitors this time are Janelle Ketchem and Ryan Smith. You both know the rules so let's BEGIN!" "GO Jolteon! Thundershock!" "GO Raichu, Quick Attack!" Jolteon shot short shocks (say that three times fast) at Raichu, who neatly dodged them. Raichu slammed into Jolteon, sending it on a short tumble. "Now Raichu use your Hyper Beam!" "Jolteon get in there and knock it off balance with Double Kick!" Ryan said in a concerned voice. Raichu put it's little paws out in front of it and began to form a ball of fire and electricity. Jolteon darted towards it's opponent, leapt into the air, and was smitten down by the Hyper Beam. Jolteon smashed into the arena wall. The stadium was silently waiting for the referee's call, when Jolteon slowly began to climb to its feet. "Jolteon! Thunder while it's still weak!" "Raichu use your Thunder also!" "Joooooolteeeeeeeoooooooooooonnn!!!" "RRRaaaaiiiiiiichuuuuuuu!!!" The two Thunder Attacks collided in an explosion on light and sound. When the dust of the arena had cleared both pokemon lay unconscious. "Jolteon Return! Go Vaporeon Water Gun!" "Return Raichu! Go Articuno Ice Beam!" The two attacks met in the middle. To no ones surprise Vaporeon's Water Gun froze on contact, then carried the Ice Beam right to it's target. "Vaporeon Return! Go Flareon!" "Good job Articuno! Go Arcanine!" Arcanine stared down at its pint size opponent. "Flareon Quick Attack!" The tiny fire fox charged it's sizeable opponent. With minimal effort Arcanine knocked it aside. "Arcanine Body Slam!" Arcanine pounced onto its tiny adversary, ending the round. "Flareon return!" "Return Arcanine!" The two trainers stared at each other. "You're my last hope go Eevee! Tackle!" "Go Dratini! Thunder Wave!" Before Eevee could react to the order Dratini gave it a quick shock to its nervous system, paralyzing it. "Now Dratini Finish it with Dragon Rage!" Dratini let loose a volley of blue flames that ended the battle. *************************************************************** Janelle dropped her four pokeballs over the pokecenter counter before returning to the table where Phil sat. She slumped into the chair and began to pick at her meal. "You look disappointed, what's wrong?" Phil asked between bites. "Well…it's just that after that Jolteon, I expected a hard battle. But the other three pokemon went down almost without a fight." Phil looked at her silently for a moment before speaking. "You know Janelle, it isn't uncommon for trainers, especially young ones, to copy the method of the current PokemonMaster." "What do you mean?" "I mean that your dad is famous for using his Pikachu." "But he had a jolteon not a pikachu." "True but jolteons and pikachus are both electric types." "What are you getting at?" "The highest honor in pokemon training is to be a master. If one person can achieve that honor in one way, who is to say that another person can't achieve it by coping that method." "I think I understand. So when is my next battle?" "This after noon. Who are you going to use?" "My strongest I guess." ****************************************************************** Sun light blinded Janelle as she entered the stadium. The grass crunched under her feet as she walked to the trainer's box. She looked across the field as the box began to rise. The opposing trainer's box was still on the ground and empty, in fact she couldn't see the other trainer at all. The announcer, indeed the whole stadium, seemed at a loss for words. "Trainer Mike Johnson please report to the stadium." Boomed the announcer in to the silence. The stadium went quiet again. The sounds of people whispering in the announcer's booth seemed to echo. "I have just received word that Mike Johnson has forfeited on the grounds of…" his voice simple trailed off. "Janelle wins by forfeit." The announcer said in a stupefied voice. The platform beneath Janelle's feet descended to ground level and she exited the stadium fuming. *************************************************************** Janelle lay on her stomach across the hotel bed. Arcanine lay beside her, while the other pokemon played on the floor. The T.V. played coverage of the tournament. "In Pokemon News today a trainer, who wishes to remain anonymous, forfeited a match against Janelle Ketchum…" The sound of the door opening broke into her thoughts. Phil stepped into the room with a smile on his face a three new pokeballs in his hand. "Sorry I missed your battle today, but I just couldn't resist catching some new pokemon and I…what's wrong didn't your battle go while?" "It didn't GO at all! The guy forfeited!" "Why are you so worried? You just got a free leg up." He said as he sat next to her on the bed. "It's not that that worries me. It's the WHY that worries me" "What about it?" "People always give up to me just because my last name is Ketchum." "A lot of people expect a lot of you." Phil sighed. Janelle seemed to notice the pokeballs for the first time. "What'd ya catch?" She said cheerily. Phil looked at his hand as he had just noticed them too. "Oh, yah. I got a Taurus, a Snubull, and Miltank." "That's great. I need to go catch some new pokemon after the tournament." "So who are you going to use in the last battle?" "I'm not sure to tell you the truth." "You don't want to use Arcanine?" Arcanine lifted her head in response. "It's not that I don't want to use her…it's just everyone expects me to. If my opponent has been watching the coverage of the tournament they would know I use her more then any other." "That's a good point. How about Articuno." "Maybe." ****************************************************************** As the platform beneath her feet reached skyward Janelle clutched her single poke ball. Across the way a petite girl with short, curly, black hair gazed calmly back at her. "Welcome fans to the final battle of the Vermillion City Tournament. Competing in this battle are trainers Janelle Ketchem and Raven Ivy. These two famous trainers are facing each other for the grand prize. So let the battle begin!!!" "Go Gyarados, Hyper Beam!" "Articuno Go, Blizzard!" Gyarados' head cocked back then shot forward releasing a golden fire like beam of light. Articuno dodged, but not quick enough to miss the end of her wing. The ice bird faltered but catch herself and sent a flurry of ice and snow at huge dragon. Gyarados screamed as the blast of cold engulfed him. "Articuno, Arctic Blast!" Articuno's body began to glow beep blue. "Gyarados, use your Bubble Beam while it's guard is down." Gyarados shot a thick cone of softball size bubbles at it's gleaming adversary. What happened next was anyone's guess. Articuno released a wind so full of snow that it covered the battle level of the stadium in a blinding blizzard. Janelle caught something round and hard in the gut, and from the sounds of the crowd they were flying everywhere. When the snow finally cleared the two pokemon lay still on the ground. The two trainers looked at each other then back at the pokemon. The moments till a tied was declared ticked by, then just as the ref moved to call the end of the battle Articuno stirred "Articuno" it she cried weakly. In a rush of adrenalin Janelle leapt to the 6' to the ground and ran to her precious bird. "That's my girl, that's my girl!!" Janelle praised as she scooped her baby bird's head into her arms. For the first time Janelle realized how truly young she was. Only standing a few inches taller then herself now, the bird would someday be 12' maybe taller. She had had to make two trips to Vermillion for the tournament. "We can heal your pokemon now." a smiling Nurse Joy brought Janelle back to reality. Janelle gave Articuno another stroke on her soft head before leaving her to the care of Nurse Joy and her Chancy. For the first time since the end of the battle Janelle looked around the arena. It was covered in a thick layer of snow, slowly melting in the autumn sun. Randomly protruding from the snow were frozen bubbles. Her suddenly became aware of the cheering crowd around her. With a polite wave she headed for the stadium exit, only to meet Raven. They stared at each other in a tense moment that ever the crowed in the upper most section of the stands could sense. "Good Battle." Janelle said in a voice so warm that it surprised her competitor. They shook hands and left the stadium together.