Chapter 43: Indigo League
The gang were nearly at the Indigo Plateau.
"So, Ly," Misty said, "how far do you think you'll get in the Indigo League?"
"Well, um, not sure really. I would like to win it," Lyra said, "but I do know that trying to win the League isn't easy. So I just hope I can at least make it through the Preliminary rounds, I guess."
"You'll be great, big sister," Tomo said.
Lyra smiled and hugged Tomo in gratitude for the encouragement.
Misty and Brock smiled. Yeah, I wouldn't be surprised if you won it, they both thought.
Just then, they approached a large fanfare and people with flags.
"What's going on?" Lyra asked curiously.
"They must be waiting for the Torch Bearer," Misty answered.
"Torch Bearer?" Lyra said, "Oh wait, that's someone who runs to the Indigo League Stadium with a flaming torch and lights up a huge flame that burns during the entire Pokémon League Competition, am I right?"
"That is correct, Ly," Brock said, "and the flame is supposed to be a form of inspiration for the competitors. They also say that the flame is supposed to be of a Moltres."
"Moltres? You mean the Legendary Bird of Fire, Moltres?" Lyra asked.
Brock nodded.
Moltres is a large, avian Pokémon with orange or golden plumage. It has a long, flowing head crest and a billowing tail, both made of flames. Additionally, its wings are also shrouded in fiery plumage. Its straight, pointed beak is brown, as are its anisodactyl feet. It has short talons.
Moltres, the Flame Pokémon.
It is known as the Legendary Bird of Fire, and it is said that its appearance indicates the coming of spring.
Moltres is also known as the Legendary Bird of Kanto.
"What an amazing Pokémon!" Lyra exclaimed happily. "Oh, I wish that I could be the Torch Bearer."
"Excuse me, young lady," said a voice behind her, "but did you say that you want to be a Torch Bearer?"
The gang turned around and saw an old man in a car.
"I'm sorry, but who are you?" Lyra asked the old man.
An Officer Jenny spoke up, "This is the Honorable Charles Goodshow, President of the Pokémon League Torch Committee."
Lyra and the gang greeted Mr. Goodshow.
Lyra walked up to Mr. Goodshow and told him that she would like to be a Torch Bearer.
Mr. Goodshow smiled. "And you shall too," he said. "You have the spirit, kid. And if your friends want to join, they may."
"Well, guys," Lyra looked at them, "what do you say?" she asked.
"I want to run with the torch too," Tomo said excitedly.
"I would like that as well," Misty said happily.
"It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," Brock said with a smile.
So Lyra, Tomo, Misty, and Brock got to run with the torch.
First, Lyra had a run with Pichu and Pikachu.
Then it was Tomo with Growlithe, then Misty with Togepi on her shoulder, and then Brock with Vulpix. Until at last, they reached the stadium.
Brock handed the torch to Mr. Goodshow, who invited the gang to come to the opening ceremony of the Pokémon League the next day.
That evening, Lyra and the gang were at the Pokémon Centre.
Lyra had her Pokémon checked and registered herself for the Pokémon League.
A lot of Pokémon trainers were there too, even Gary.
Poor Nurse Joy was kept very busy.
That night, while everyone was still asleep, Lyra was still awake. She was thinking about everything that she had done on her journey—catching Pokémon, collecting all eight badges, and being to all sorts of places. And now she was facing the Indigo League Tournament.
"This has been such a great journey for me," Lyra whispered to herself quietly.
Then she tried to get some sleep.
The next day, everyone had gathered at the Pokémon Stadium. It was almost time for the opening ceremony of the Indigo League.
The stadium seats were full of people, and trainers who had gotten eight badges were waiting for the tournament to begin.
A runner was just about to place the flame on the cauldron.
But then the flame got snatched out of her hand. It was James from Team Rocket, and Team Rocket wanted the flame of Moltres to sell it for money.
Lyra was cross. "Must Team Rocket always spoil everything?" she said. She had come a long way to get to the Pokémon League, and now Team Rocket was trying to ruin it.
Team Rocket had a big machine, which held a cauldron.
Jessie lit the flame onto the cauldron, and the flame turned into a bigger flame.
"With this flame," Meowth said, "not only will we be rich, but unstoppable." Then the machine got hit by an attack. "Hey, what was that?!" Meowth asked in surprise.
In front of them, they saw Salamence and a Pokémon on its back that Team Rocket recognised instantly—it was Infernape, smirking at them.
The audience was surprised to see a Pokémon on screen, and the camera zoomed in on Lyra, who was behind the Pokémon. "Seriously, Team Rocket, can't you guys give it a rest?" she said. "Salamence, use Steel Wing to destroy the machine that is holding the flame." Salamence flew at incredible speed, instantly destroying the machine's arms, and she grabbed the flame.
Infernape jumped off Salamence's back and landed on Team Rocket's machine with a smirk. "Infernape, use Fire Blast now." Infernape's Fire Blast hit Team Rocket's machine, causing it to explode and sending Team Rocket flying.
The audience was speechless, and so were the Pokémon trainers. Then it erupted into cheers and applause for Lyra and her Pokémon. "Thank you, you two, you were awesome," she said with a smile and returned her Pokémon to their Poké Balls.
Everyone was amazed by what had happened and was also happy that the tournament would now happen.
Mr. Goodshow gave a welcoming speech and declared the Pokémon League open. Lyra was staring at the flame that wasn't damaged during the incident.
Lyra, Pichu, and Pikachu were waiting for her first Indigo League battle to begin in a waiting room.
After the opening ceremonies, Lyra found out that she had to pass through four Preliminary Battles on four unique battlefields: Grass, Water, Ice, and Rock, to qualify for battling inside Indigo Stadium.
Lyra's first battle was going to be on the Water field.
"Since this field is a water field, I will use Vaporeon, Dewgong, and Magneton," Lyra said.
"That's a good idea," Misty said, "those three are a good choice."
Misty understood that she wouldn't be using her powerful Pokémon until the Preliminary Rounds were over.
The screen in the Pokémon Centre, where participants found out who their opponents were, showed that Lyra was against a trainer named Mandi, who was a bit of a magician.
"This guy is... I don't like him," Lyra smiled. "He is going to lose."
Lyra's battle with Mandi wasn't until the afternoon, so Lyra got ready for the battle. She didn't really need to switch because she had her Pokémon with her.
Then she got a call on her Xtransceiver, revealing Professor Oak.
"I wish you luck, Mew, especially since this is your first time in a Pokémon League," Professor Oak said.
"Thanks, Professor," Lyra said.
Julia was at the lab too, and she wished Lyra lots of luck as well. She also said that she would be watching her on TV all the way.
Lyra was ready. She found out that Gary had won his first battle on the Ice field, but Lyra just concentrated on her first battle.
Later on, they met Mandi, but Mandi was a cocky, arrogant trainer, and Lyra didn't like him at all.
"I look forward to beating you in our battle, Lyra," Mandi smirked cockily.
I knew it. This guy is too full of himself. If this guy thinks that he is going to win, then think again, Lyra thought as her eyebrow twitched dangerously.
Soon, it was time for Lyra to battle on the Water field.
"Ready, Ly?" Misty asked.
"You bet, I'm as ready as ever," Lyra replied. "Let's go."
Lyra, Tomo, Misty, and Brock entered the arena together. Lyra took her place on the battlefield, and Tomo, Misty, and Brock took a seat behind Lyra with Pichu and Pikachu.
The battlefield was a water field all right; it was a big pool with platforms. The judge explained the rules about each trainer using three Pokémon and such. He also explained the rules of Pokémon battle losses: if the trainer recalled a Pokémon, or the Pokémon was knocked out, or the Pokémon fell asleep or refused to battle—those four things counted as losses.
Julia and Professor Oak were watching the battle on TV, and all the other residents of Pallet Town were watching too. The residents knew that Lyra and Gary were participating in the Indigo League, so they wanted to watch both of them. Then the battle began.
Mandi sent out his first Pokémon, Exeggutor. Lyra knew that Exeggutor was a Grass- and Psychic-type, so she sent out Vaporeon to battle. The audience and Mandi were shocked by her choice.
Tomo, Misty, and Brock knew why she sent out Vaporeon.
"Okay, Exeggutor, use Egg Bomb," said Mandi. Exeggutor fired multiple egg-shaped balls towards Vaporeon.
"Vaporeon, use Protect," Lyra said. Vaporeon quickly protected herself from the Egg Bomb attack with a shield. "Okay, time for us to counterattack—use Secret Power." Vaporeon blew Flamethrower at Exeggutor, and Exeggutor got hurt.
"Impossible!" Mandi yelled. "Vaporeons can't use Flamethrower!" The audience was thinking the same thing.
"That's true, but my Pokémon like to learn moves that are impossible for them to learn. To be honest, I'm also surprised when they showed their moves to me," Lyra said with a smirk. "Also, my Pokémon aren't at a normal level either. Let me show you."
Mandi didn't expect this. "Quick, Exeggutor, use Hypnosis," he said. Before Exeggutor could use Hypnosis, Lyra commanded Vaporeon to attack with Quick Attack. Vaporeon tackled Exeggutor very hard, and Exeggutor fainted. The audience was shocked by the speed of Vaporeon.
"Wow, just wow," Misty said. "If her Vaporeon is that strong, I wonder what the powerful Pokémon are?"
"Yeah, I agree with you, Misty," Brock said. "Ly's Pokémon are too unpredictable."
"Of course," Tomo said, "big sister has trained and practiced hard for this." Misty and Brock knew that Tomo was right.
Mandi's next Pokémon was a Seadra. Lyra returned her Vaporeon and sent out Dewgong into the water.
"Use Ice Beam," Lyra said. Dewgong shot out a blue blast from her mouth, and it hit Seadra directly at high speed. "We can't let Seadra recover—Iron Tail now!" Dewgong swam towards Seadra and slammed her tail into it, hitting it, and it fainted from the Iron Tail attack.
"WHAT WAS THAT?!!" the announcer said loudly through the microphone. "THAT WAS INCREDIBLE! I'VE NEVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE THIS BEFORE!!" The audience erupted into loud cheers, and the Pokémon trainers who came to see the battle were shocked.
Mandi was shocked and frustrated. He returned his Seadra and sent out his last Pokémon, which was a Golbat. Lyra recalled her Dewgong and sent Magneton into battle. Mandi ordered his Golbat to use Double Team, but Lyra told Magneton to use Discharge, and Magneton's Discharge got rid of the copies and hit the real Golbat. Lyra then said, "Magneton, use Thunder." Magneton fired a thunder attack at Golbat, which shocked it badly, and then Golbat fainted.
"Golbat is unable to battle," the referee said. "Magneton is the winner. And as Lyra Mew Nova has defeated all of Mandi's Pokémon, this match goes to Lyra."
So Lyra won her first Preliminary round. She rubbed Magneton's head. "We did it, Magneton!" she cheered. Magneton was happy with the victory.
Misty, Brock, and Tomo congratulated Lyra for her victory.
"You were amazing, big sister," Tomo said, hugging Lyra.
"Yeah," Brock said, "for your first battle, you really showed them not to mess around when battling you."
"And you knew exactly what to do out there," Misty said.
"Well, I did tell you that I was ready for this," Lyra said with a smile. Tomo, Brock, and Misty nodded in agreement.
For next few days Lyra defeats all her opponents and reach SemiFinals after defeating Richi.
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Thank you for reading!
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