1 May 2012
Read my post The Final Pokémon League for more infomation!
Battling Sandra was the last thing I wanted to do. But I had known all along that it had been inevitable. Sandra would have been too powerful for her other opponents, and at some point, our battle would have had to begin.
And it did so now. As the battlefield doors slid open to reveal crisp sunlight, I saw Sandra waiting on the other side. Walking towards our podiums, we acknowledged the crowd's wild roaring for an amazing battle. I noticed Callum waving from just above Sandra. He pointed at her and made a strange face. That was Callum, always the rebel.
I looked up at the big screen. A full six-on-six battle was the set-up for today's challenge. I had predicted that Sandra would be using Samurott, so Serperior was in my line-up. The rest of her Pokémon would be utterly random - every battle she had faced, she had used different Pokémon, apart from her Samurott.
Personally, I liked random - I had to think harder about my choice of team, and it also helped to train my Pokémon in difficult situations. But random with Sandra was a whole different story.
The referee explained the rules. Healing items were prohibited, we could not switch out Pokémon, but held items were allowed. The referee stepped back and held up his green and red flags. "BEGIN!" he shouted.
Sandra sent out her Pokémon first. "Darmanitan, stand-by for battle!" she shouted, opening up the bout with her flaming, punching ape.
"All right, Simipour, you're up!" I yelled as the blue monkey popped out and waved. "Now let's heat this up with Scald!"
Simipour blasted a concentrated beam of scalding water at Darmanitan.
"Take it," Sandra ordered.
Darmanitan raised his arms to block the attack. The water hit his muscular limbs and instantly evaporated, not dealing any damage at all. "Now Hammer Arm!" Sandra shouted.
Darmanitan leaped towards Simipour and dealt a massive punch to the head. Simipour was sent flying, but managed to stay in.
Hammer Arm lowers the user's Speed! I remembered. That means Darmanitan cannot dodge as well as it could! "Simipour, Crunch!" I ordered.
Simipour opened its mouth wide and jumped at Darmanitan at lightning speed, baring his teeth as much as he could.
"Dodge," Sandra said.
Darmanitan leapt out of harm's way at the last instant, letting Simipour bite the dust. Simipour picked himself up again.
"Darmanitan, Hammer Arm," Sandra ordered.
Darmanitan smashed Simipour again. Simipour fell to the ground, but was not quite defeated. Grinning, I yelled, "Brine, now!"
Simipour summoned a huge amount of water and sent it crashing down on Darmanitan. The ape didn't stand a chance to dodge, but somehow, it survived the onslaught. "Now use Superpower," Sandra ordered.
Just as Simimpour stood up, Darmanitan's body slammed into him and pinned him to the ground. "Hammer Arm," Sandra said.
Darmanitan raised his fist and brought it down onto Simipour. When the dust cleared, it revealed Simipour down and out.
"Simipour is unable to battle!" the referee announced. "The victory goes to Sandra!"
Sandra stayed in concentration mode, unwavering in her stare.
I returned my faithful Water-type. So type advantage won't help me here, I thought. Sandra's Darmanitan seems unfazed by Hammer Arm's extra effect as well. Darmanitan also has a super-high Attack stat - if I can lower it, it may give me an edge. Or I should use a Pokémon with very high Defense?
I finally decided. What better way to fight brawl with brawl? "Mienshao, show your skills!" I shouted as the white, purple and gold Pokémon emerged.
Sandra snorted. "Brawl with brawl?" she scoffed. "My Darmanitan has the highest attack of any Pokémon - nothing can beat it!"
I ignored Sandra's comments, and shouted, "Stone Edge!"
Mienshao summoned a huge amount of sharp-edged stones and flung them at Darmanitan. "Dodge," Sandra ordered.
But she was too late. The attack hit Darmanitan square in the chest. The ape hit the dust. He had fainted.
"Darmanitan is unable to battle! The victory goes to Alec!"
I punched the air. "You did it, Mienshao!" I shouted. Mienshao looked back and smiled.
Samdra angrily returned her Pokémon. Then she picked another Poké-Ball. "Lilligant, don't disappoint me," she said, throwing out her Poké-Ball.
The veretan favourite appeared and settled into a 'lotus attack' position. "Leaf Storm!" Sandra shouted.
Lilligant drew in nature power and unleashed it in a storming fury at Mienshao.
"Use Bounce to dodge!" I ordered.
At the very last moment, Mienshao jumped into the air and let the storm of leaves harmlessly bounce off the wall.
"Now use Aura Sph - WHAT?!" I exclaimed as the Leaf Storm hit Mienshao in the back.
Sandra smiled. "I thought you would do that," she said. "So I developed a counter-attack." She motioned to Lilligant. "Energy Ball," she said.
"Mienshao, Aura Sphere quick!" I yelled.
The two balls of energy crashed into each other and made a huge, hazy cloud.
"Mienshao, Aura Sphere again!" I shouted.
The glowing sphere suddenly broke through the cloud and headed towards Lilligant.
In the split-second available, Sandra's brow creased in thought. Then she said, "Giga Drain on the Aura Sphere."
Lilligant obeyed and drew in the sphere's power until there was nothing left.
"Bounce!" I commanded.
Mienshao flew even higher into the air and used the sun as a shield to prevent Lilligant from seeing him.
"Do it!" I shouted.
Mienshao came down with immense force on top of Lilligant. The flowering Pokémon met the earth. Lilligant had been defeated.
"Lilligant is unable to battle! The victory goes to Alec!" the referee announced.
Two Pokémon down with just Mienshao! I thought. Her next Pokémon will be a piece of cake!
Sandra returned the withering Pokémon. She thought hard before sending out her next Pokémon. "Golurk, stand-by for battle," she said as the huge clockwork creature emerged. "Psychic," she ordered.
Mienshao was enveloped in a strange blue light and raised high into the air. Mienshao tried to escape, but the blue barrier was too strong.
"Now Ice Beam on the ground around you," Sandra commanded.
Golurk began to create a mountain towering above the open roof of the stadium. Golurk was raised up to the same height as Mienshao.
Sandra had me, and she knew it. Grinning, she said, "Ice Beam on Mienshao."
I could only watch as Mienshao was blasted by a freezing beam. Slowly, Mienshao became encased in ice.
"Now bring him in and use DynamicPunch!" Sandra shouted.
Mienshao was reeled in, terrified. Golurk's punch was thrown with such force that the ice broke and Mienshao was sent tumbling down.
"Stone Edge on the ground!" I commanded.
The power of which the Stone Edge was fired slowed Mienshao's descent, and the Kung-fu Pokémon landed lightly on the ground.
"Now Hi Jump Kick on the ice tower!" I shouted.
Mienshao jumped up and power-kicked the tower of ice. It wobbled and fell, making Golurk crash-land on the battle-field.
Unsteadily, Golurk heaved its huge mass back up onto its legs.
"Great, Golurk," Sandra said. "Now use Psychic again."
"Mienshao, Stone Edge!" I shouted.
The Psychic hit first, though, and Mienshao was unable to attack as he was flung into the stadium wall. The dust-cloud cleared and showed a fainted Pokémon.
"Mienshao is unable to battle!" the referee shouted. "The victory goes to Sandra!"
Sandra flicked her long, sky-blue hair and smiled. She looked like a serpent ready to strike at any moment.
I was unnerved by the stare, but tried not to show it. Instead, I kindly returned Mienshao and grabbed another Poké-Ball from my belt, holding it high. "Okay, you're up next, Chandelure!" I shouted as I released the Pokémon that had nearly killed me disguised as a chandelier.
"When will you ever learn." Sandra shook her head in mock disappointment. "That Fire type of yours is as good as dead with my Ground type."
"When will YOU ever learn," I replied, shaking my head. "Chandelure, combine Will-O-Wisp and Psychic!"
Chandelure created two rings of small fires which crossed in the middle. The psychic power from the Psychic spun the rings around him and made an impenetrable shield - unless you would have wanted your Pokémon to get burned.
"CHAAAARGE!" I shouted. The order sounded more like a war cry, but I had wanted it to. And it worked. Golurk stood there, petrified, as Chandelure hurtled towards it.
There was a huge explosion as Chandelure collided with Golurk. Golurk fell to the ground, smoking. Then flames burst up around him. As well as taking damage, Golurk had been burnt.
This attack, as well as the damage Golurk took in its last battle, was too much. Golurk stopped struggling. He was down.
"Golurk is unable to battle!" the referee announced. "The victory goes to Alec!"
I punched the air. "YES!" I shouted. And to think that Chandelure had tried to flatten me this morning!
Sandra returned her Golurk. Then she carefully picked her next Pokémon from her three remaining Poké-Balls. One housed Samurott - I just didn't know which one, and when she would bring him out.
"Zoroark, stand-by for battle!" Sandra shouted as the Monster Fox Pokémon entered the fray. She roared, and the noise ricocheted all round the stadium. People immediately cowered as the frightful sound reached their ears. Performance over, Zoroark lowered her head.
"Start this up with Night Daze!" Sandra shouted.
"Attract, quick!" I yelled.
Zoroark's arms started glowing with red and black energy, and a ball started forming in the middle. The energy from the arms was sucked in bit by bit.
Chandelure, however, endearingly stared at Zoroark. About 12 love hearts appeared and floated towards Zoroark, surrounding her. They closed in and were absorbed by Zoroark's body. Instantly, Zoroark stopped preparing for her attack and jumped to hug Chandelure.
That was what I had been waiting for. If Zoroark landed on one of Chandelure's fires, her soul would be sucked out of her body -
Battle Against Sandra • Opuss № I