Episode #89: A Three Way Battle!

The Sinnoh League had finally begun and all the trainers that were left proceeded to the main hall to find out where they stood. Rain didn't know the rules, but all he knew was he was within a group of himself and two others. He looked up at the top and saw Kodou and Tsurugi in separate groups. He looked around and saw that Ketsui was also in another group, while he, Marley and another competitor, named Dawson, were all in the same group.

"Okay, I'm in my group, so now what do I do?" Rain asked.

"Well," Manny said opening his rulebook. "According to this rulebook here. In the battle rounds, there will be three trainers formed like a triangle. Each trainer battles the one next to each other going left. So for example, you will be battling Marley, then Dawson will be battling Marley, and you would be battling Dawson. They keep battling until one trainer gets two wins. After that, the battle ends and the one with two wins first moves on.”

"So one person won't be able to battle the other, right?" Rain said.

"Yep. It seems complicated, but you'll find out soon enough how it works."

Rain wondered how strong Marley and Dawson were. He knew of Marley's strong Arcanine, but what about Dawson's Pokémon? He hoped that he went through with all of his might, no matter what was thrown at him. Rain heard his division being called as he went out to the center field, while the others headed to their seats in the main stadium.

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The battle rounds went off with a bang. Some trainers already moved on, while some were still battling. Rain, Marley and Dawson were all waiting to see who was fighting against who. It turned out that it would go in this order:

Rain vs. Marley, Marley vs. Dawson and Dawson vs. Rain.

This way, everyone would get at least one chance in battle. Once that was passed, if there was no winner by then, they would have another pair of battles in this same manner until a winner was decided. Rain and Marley both made it to the center stage to battle.

"Ladies and Gentlemen!" the announcer, who was hidden in his box somewhere in the stands said. "The first round of the I division will now begin! To start things off, we have Rain, hailing from Twinleaf Town, with Marley, hailing from Pastoria City! The roulette above will decide who will send out who first!"

The roulette on the scoreboard near the top spun around flashing red and green lights. Rain was on the green side while Marley was on the red side. The lights stopped on Rain's color, signaling him to go first.

"Okay," Rain thought. "I'm first now...I got to remember who she uses..."

Rain took out a Poké Ball and hoped for the best.

"Go, Drifblim!"

Rain sent out his Drifblim, simply floating around while it waited for Marley's next Pokémon. She smiled as Rain knew what was next.

"Go, Arcanine!" Marley said.

She sent out her Arcanine, who let out a mighty roar that spooked even Drifblim, who wasn't all that spooked that much. The official, the same one who let Rain into the arena, was in charge of all the matches, and he was ready to start the match.

"Begin!"

"Arcanine, use Fire Fang!" Marley said.

"Dodge it!" Rain ordered.

Arcanine charged forward with its mouth engulfed in fire, while Drifblim moved out of the way. However, try as it might, it got hit, and spun around in response. It shook itself to knock the dizziness out of it.

"Use Ominous Wind!" Rain ordered.

Drifblim spun around and struck Arcanine with an Ominous wind. Arcanine attempted to hold her footing and merely barked the wind away. Rain was amazed at its power.

"Go, Arcanine!" Marley said. "Use Flare Blitz!"

Arcanine set herself on fire and shot towards Drifblim, striking it hard.

"Constrict!" Rain ordered.

Drifblim constricted its arms around Arcanine as it attempts to squeeze the life out of her.

"Flare Blitz!" Marley ordered.

Arcanine set itself on fire and burned Drifblim, forcing it to fly off of its opponent. Arcanine smiled as she prepared for another attack.

"Flamethrower!" Marley ordered.

Arcanine shot a Flamethrower attack at Drifblim as it was hit hard. Drifblim shook itself off, but it was growing weaker with every attack.

"Drifblim, use Gust!" Rain ordered.

Drifblim spun around and shot the fire attack away. It shot some of the fire at Arcanine, and while it had no effect, it seemed to be pushing Arcanine back as well.

"I have to beat this Arcanine somehow!" Rain thought. "But how?!"

Rain noticed that Arcanine was wearing out a little. Rain remembered when the Fire Fang attack caused Drifblim to spin around and get somewhat dizzy.

"Wait, I got it!"

"Arcanine, use Fire Fang!" Marley ordered.

Arcanine's mouth became engulfed in fire as it charged towards Drifblim, who prepared to do what Rain told it to do.

"Drifblim, let it bite you and spin around the moment the attack hits!" Rain ordered.

"What's he up to?" Marley asked. "Arcanine is too heavy for that!"

Arcanine hit Drifblim with a Fire Fang attack, but once it happened, Drifblim began to spin around and brought Arcanine with it.

"How is this possible!" Marley said in shock.

"This is incredible!" the announcer said. "Drifblim is spinning Arcanine around! Weight does not matter at this point."

"Shoot it!" Rain ordered.

Drifblim spun so fast that it launched Arcanine to Marley's side as it slammed against the wall. Marley covered herself as the wall was almost shattered due to the force of the attack. Arcanine eventually fell, unable to battle.

"Arcanine is unable to battle!" the official said. "Drifblim is the winner! The victory goes to Rain of Twinleaf Town!"

Rain cheered in Victory while Marley was a little disappointed. Rain hopped onto his Drifblim as it spun around happily, steadily increasing speed.

"Drifblim!" Rain laughed. "Stop spinning!"

Rain stopped as he pat his Pokémon on the back. He looked over at Marley, who was congratulating her Arcanine on a job well done.

"Sorry that you lost," Rain said. "I hope you get at least another win."

"Yeah," she said, albeit a little depressed. "Me too."

Rain knew she was a little upset at her loss, but he had faith in her. The two went their separate ways while the next battle between Dawson and Marley was ready to go in another five minutes.

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Rain was watching Marley and Dawson's battle go underway, while waiting for his next battle to continue. He just needed one more win, but in response, he feared that he would destroy Marley's chance of ever getting any info on Shaymin. Rain soon heard his friends call out to him as they walked over to him.

"That was an amazing battle!" Manny said. "I must say, you're pretty clever!"

"Yeah, I got it from when Drifblim spun the first time," Rain said.

"So, how did you get Drifblim to spin Arcanine like that?"

Rain felt it was odd to explain something like that, but Donovan knew how he did it.

"I know how," he said. "You used the Fire Fang as momentum to get Drifblim to spin while keeping her in the air, right?"

"I....I guess," Rain said.

He heard the battle end, but unfortunately, Dawson won the battle. He looked up to see Dawson waving to his fans in victory. The young, blond-haired boy in the red shirt and blue jeans walked off while Marley was left disappointed, and crushed as well. Rain only hoped to win the Sinnoh League and beat Cynthia in order to obtain information on Shaymin.

"I better go out there," Rain said.

He went outside to battle while Manny walked off on his own. Donovan and Jessica both wondered where he was going.

"Where are you off to?" Donovan asked.

"I just want to see what Marley is up to," he said. "I'll meet you in the stands later."

He headed off without another word while Donovan just shrugged it off. Manny was off looking for Marley, who seemed devastated that she lost this early, and knew there was no way that she was going on ahead. He soon saw her walking by and noticed him in the distance.

"Hey, Marley," Manny said.

She just walked off and ignored him.

"What's up?" Manny asked.

She stopped short.

"How can you ask me such a simple question?!" she asked. Manny wondered what she meant by that. "I just lost the league and that's all you can say?"

Manny seemed to know why she was so upset.

"I'm sure there's another way to---" Manny began, until...

"There isn't okay?!" Marley cried. "My dreams are over! The only chance I had to find Shaymin was shot down by those two jerks! And they don't even care about what happened to my family!"

"Her family? Something must have happened."

Marley continued to cry while Manny tried to think of a reason why Marley was acting like this.

"You won't fail," Manny said. "Rain will get the information for you!"

Marley looked behind her as she saw Manny trying to help her out.

"As long as Rain wins the Sinnoh League and defeats Cynthia...then he'll have all the information to tell you. You just have to trust in him. After all...he's your friend, isn't he?"

Marley wiped her tears away and walked over to Manny to have him comfort her.

"Why are you helping me out?" Marley asked.

"Because Rain wants to help as well," Manny replied. "And if he wants to assist you, then so do I. So tell me...what happened to you that you need Shaymin's assistance?"

They both heard the announcement over the intercom about Rain and Dawson's battle and hoped that Rain won over him. They went to the stands to watch him battle, but both of them were willing to discuss Marley's problem after their battle. On the field, Rain was on the green side, while Dawson was on the red side, waiting to battle.

"Welcome to what may be the final battle of the I division. We have Rain from Twinleaf Town, facing off against Dawson from Canalave City! The roulette will now decide who goes first!"

The roulette spun around and eventually landed on Dawson's color. Dawson smiled, knowing that he would defeat Rain no matter what Pokémon he had.

"Very well," he said. "Go, Magmortar!"

He sent out a large, bipedal, salamander-like Pokémon with a flame patterned body and flame-like shoulders. Its face had a fat forehead that almost went over its eyes and large, pink lips. Its arms were clawed, but looked like cannons on the palms. Dawson smiled while he waited for his opponent's Pokémon.

"Go, Luxio!" Rain said.

Rain sent out Luxio, who roared happily as it leapt out of its Poké Ball. Donovan and Jessica were surprised to see him go with Luxio of all Pokémon when he had better team members in his arsenal.

"Begin!" the official said.

"Discharge, Luxio!" Rain ordered.

Luxio let loose a Discharge attack, but it didn't seem to be affecting Magmortar at all. Magmortar shook it off while Luxio was stunned at its power.

"Magmortar, use Smokescreen!" Dawson ordered.

Magmortar exhaled smoke as it covered the entire field with it, making Luxio cough a little.

"He's not going to go easy on me," Rain thought. "He wants to take me out right here, right now!"

Rain didn't want him to get the upper hand this early, so he decided to use the smoke to his advantage.

"Move around!" Rain ordered.

Luxio moved around while Magmortar could see him perfectly.

"Fire a Hyper Beam!" Dawson ordered.

"Move right!" Rain ordered.

Magmortar fired a yellowish-white beam, while Luxio dodged, but was thrown by the shockwave that followed. Luxio fell to the ground while the smoke cleared, leaving Magmortar to lift Luxio up.

"Luxio, Iron Tail!" Rain ordered.

Luxio swung his glowing tail, but Magmortar caught it and held onto it. It smiled, while Rain and Luxio were both a bit nervous.

"Lava Plume!" Dawson ordered.

Magmortar let go of Luxio's tail and shot a stream of lava at his face, sending it back, burning a lot. Luxio tried to get up, but he fell down in pain. Luxio wasn't knocked out yet, but he was severely burned.

"Luxio, don't lose!" Rain said. "We have to help Marley out!"

"You're not winning anything!" Dawson said. "End that poor Luxio's misery with Fire Blast!"

Magmortar pointed its cannons at Luxio while it slowly attempted to get up. It began to glow a little as it seemed to be increasing in power. Luxio fired a Discharge without a command, and it seemed to be affecting Magmortar, but not much.

"What happened?" Rain said to himself.

"Donovan?" Jessica asked, wondering if he had the answer.

"That seems to be it's Rivalry ability," Donovan said. "This is the first time I've ever seen his Pokémon use these."

"Abilities?"

"They're special powers that they use when they're weak. Rivalry raises Luxio's attack when it's faced with a Pokémon of the same gender. If his opponent is the opposite gender, though, his power weakens."

"I see," she said.

Luxio smiled as he managed knock Magmortar back a little, but even he knew it wasn't going to be enough.

"Not so strong now, huh?" Dawson said.

Suddenly, Luxio began to glow a familiar white glow. Rain was amazed that his time finally came.

"What's going on?!" Dawson asked.

"Luxray!" Rain thought.

He began to change his form. His mane was growing larger, his body began to grow more fur, and his tail became longer. Soon his transformation was complete; Luxio was now a Luxray!

"LUXRAY!!!!" the Pokémon roared.

Rain was amazed that he finally got his Luxio to evolve at last. He smiled and prepared to go on ahead.

"Don't let it fool you!" Dawson said to Magmortar. "Use Fire Blast!"

Magmortar fired the Fire Blast attack, but Luxray simply roared it away. Dawson and Magmortar were surprised, but Rain was pleased.

"Luxray, use Discharge!" Rain ordered.

Luxray fired a Discharge attack, shocking Magmortar much harder than before. It stepped back while it prepared for another attack, but Luxray was charging forward already!

"Luxray, use Thunder Fang!"

Luxray's mouth began to surge with electricity as it bit down on Magmortar, shocking it hard as it screeched in pain. Magmortar fell down, unable to battle.

"Magmortar is unable to battle!" the official said, "Luxrayis the winner! The victory goes to Rain of Twinleaf Town!"

"In an unusual turn of events, Luxio...er, I mean, Luxray, managed to defeat Magmortar! Rain will be the first of few to move on to the Victory Tournament tomorrow!"

Rain cheered, while Luxray tackled him as it licked him constantly. Rain laughed, trying to get him to stop licking him like a dog.

"I'm glad that Rain won," Jessica said.

"Me too," Donovan replied.

Rain finally made it to the Victory Tournament, but he knew the battles would get harder, and the stakes would get higher. He was ready for it, though.

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Rain was in the lobby, petting his newly evolved Luxray with his personal brush, which he seemed to like. Marley eventually came over to see him, but she didn't know what to say. Manny was there as well, leaving him to think that this concerned her loss over him and Dawson.

"Rain," she said.

"Let me guess," Rain replied. "You want me to help you find out about Shaymin."

Marley was amazed that he knew so much about what she told Manny.

"I knew this would happen eventually, so I wanted to make sure it was all right with you...it is okay with you...isn't it?"

Marley was a little nervous, but she slowly nodded in response.

"Thank you," Marley said. "Congratulations on your Luxray, though."

"Thanks," Rain replied. "I'm amazed that he finally evolved. Now I just need Kirlia to evolve and I'll have a complete set."

"I hope you decide on what you'll evolve it into."

Rain and Luxray both felt an odd presence nearby, leaving them to turn around and see a much larger Luxray nearby, towering over both of them. Rain jumped out of his seat, while Luxray jumped into his arms, in a bit of a comedic way. Someone laughed a familiar laugh, and it was none other than Tsurugi the samurai!

"Jealous that I have a bigger Luxray than you?" he asked.

"Not really," Rain replied.

"Well, good luck training it. I'll see you in battle!"

Tsurugi walked off while Rain set Luxray down, resting himself from the amount of weight placed on his arms. They both laughed while they enjoy the rest of the day while they could. For tomorrow, the Victory Tournament would begin with the top sixteen. Rain only hoped to make it as far as he could, since his failure could mean a missed opportunity to face Cynthia.


To Be Continued!