Chapter 44: Semi-Finals & Finals
Lyra was now at the cabin with the others, and Ritchie was with them. Pichu, Pikachu, Sparky, and Growlithe were playing together.
"Wow, that was amazing and awesome, big sister," Tomo said happily, sitting on her lap.
Lyra smiled. "Thanks, Tomo," she said, hugging him.
"Yeah," Misty said, "and congratulations on reaching the second-last round, Ly!" she exclaimed.
"Congratulations," Ritchie said.
"Yeah, congratulations!" Brock said.
"Thanks a lot, guys," Lyra said happily. Then she was jumped on by Pichu and Pikachu. "What's wrong?" Pichu and Pikachu went behind her and tapped onto three PokéBalls.
"Hey!" Lyra said. The PokéBalls opened up, showing Zorua, Minun, and Plusle.
"Plus!"
"Minun!"
"Raf!"
"Pi, Pichu!" "Pi, Pikapi!"
They began to play with the others.
Lyra didn't mind.
"Wow, what Pokémon are they?" Ritchie asked.
"Those are Plusle, Minun, and Zorua," Brock answered. "Plusle is the red one with the plus-sign tail and cheeks, Minun is the blue one with the minus-sign tail and cheeks, and Zorua is the black-and-red fox Pokémon."
"Plusle and Minun are from the Hoenn Region, and Zorua is from the Sinnoh or Unova Region," Misty answered next. "Ly found them in the Kanto Region, though."
"They're so cool," Ritchie said.
"Yeah, and big sis has more from different regions," Tomo said.
"Hey, I just realised, Ly," Misty said,
"you never used your other region Pokémon yet. Why?"
Brock was wondering that too.
"Oh, I'm using them next round," Lyra answered. "I didn't want to use them yet. I decided to use them if I made it past the top 8, and now I'm in the top 4."
"Okay. What Pokémon are you using then?" Ritchie asked.
"I'll be using my Lucario, Milotic, Delcatty, Gabite, Altaria, and Slaking," Lyra said. "It would be interesting and unpredictable. I want to see if my opponent can handle it."
Brock, Misty, and Tomo nodded. They wondered if tomorrow was going to be alright.
Lyra was up against a boy named Ken. Ken sent out Raichu first.
"Rai, Raichu!"
Lyra sent out her Gabite as her first Pokémon.
"Gabite!" it roared.
The audience was surprised, and so was the other trainer; they had never seen a Pokémon like that.
The announcer suddenly answered all their questions, "LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, IT SAYS HERE THAT SHE IS USING A POKÉMON CALLED GABITE, WHICH IS FOUND IN THE SINNOH REGION, AND IT ALSO SAYS THAT SHE'LL BE USING POKÉMON THAT ARE FROM THE HOENN AND SINNOH REGIONS!" he said.
The battle started. Ken told Raichu to use Thunder, and Lyra told Gabite to hit it with Rock Smash. Gabite's Rock Smash hit Raichu quickly, making it faint. Ken was shocked at how quickly she defeated Raichu so easily, but he didn't give up.
Ken returned Raichu and sent out Rhydon.
Lyra recalled Gabite and sent out Lucario.
Ken told Rhydon to use Take Down, and Lyra told Lucario to hit it head-on with Force Palm.
The attacks both collided with each other, sending a blast, and smoke appeared on the battlefield.
Lucario jumped out of the smoke and landed on Lyra's side calmly. The smoke started to clear out, revealing Rhydon, who had fainted.
Ken quickly returned his Rhydon and sent out his third Pokémon, a Gyarados, into the water.
Lyra smiled and returned her Lucario and sent out her third Pokémon, Milotic, against Gyarados.
The audience, mostly the females, loved the Pokémon because of her beauty.
"Gyarados, use Twister," Ken said. Gyarados spun, and a twister was created, heading towards Milotic.
"Milotic, use Aqua Tail," Lyra said. Milotic used Aqua Tail, and it collided with the twister, causing it to burst into water like rain.
Ken was not going to give up. "Gyarados, Dragon Breath!"
"Milotic, Aurora Beam!"
The Dragon Breath and Aurora Beam hit each other again.
"Gyarados/Milotic, use Dragon Tail!" Lyra and Ken shouted at the same time. Milotic's and Gyarados's tails both hit each other like swords.
But Lyra decided to end this. "Use Thunder, full blast!" Milotic launched a powerful Thunder attack and hit Gyarados, causing him to faint.
Ken returned his Gyarados and sent out his Gengar, who was floating in the air.
Lyra returned her Milotic and sent out her Altaria into battle.
"Altaria, use Foresight," Lyra said, and Altaria's Foresight hit Gengar, making it unable to vanish.
Ken cursed the Foresight attack. "Gengar, Shadow Ball!" he commanded.
"Altaria, use Dragon Pulse to counter," Lyra said. Altaria launched a green orb from its mouth, and it collided with the Shadow Ball, making it explode. "Alright, Altaria, use Aerial Ace followed by Steel Wing." Altaria took to the sky and headed towards Gengar. It hit Gengar with Aerial Ace, then turned around and hit it with a Steel Wing attack, sending Gengar crashing into the ground, and it fainted.
"Woah, this battle is intense," Ritchie said from his spot. He was currently sitting with Lyra's friends and little brother.
"Yeah," Misty said, "I'm amazed that guy Ken can take on her Pokémon."
"It's interesting that LY," Brock said, "can sometimes predict what attack the opponent's Pokémon is going to use and counter them."
Ritchie and Misty both nodded.
"Yay!!" Tomo cheered loudly. "Go, big sister, go!!" He cheered with Pichu, Pikachu, Plusle, Minun, Sparky, and Growlithe.
Ken returned his Gengar and looked at the board. "I have to say, Lyra, you are the first to defeat all my four Pokémon quickly without losing a Pokémon."
"Thank you for your compliment, Ken," Lyra said. "I'm having fun, and so are my Pokémon. Now let's see what else you've got." She smiled.
"Okay!" Ken said. "Nidoking, go!" His Nidoking roared when it appeared on the battlefield.
Lyra returned her Altaria. "Moon, lend me your strength!" she said as her purple cat appeared on the battlefield—it was her Delcatty.
The two Pokémon instantly attacked each other. Nidoking used Brick Break while Moon used Iron Tail to hit it head-on.
"Flamethrower," Ken said.
"Quick, Moon, Assist," Lyra said. Moon's Assist attack turned into Hydro Pump, making the Flamethrower turn to steam.
"Hey Brock, what is Assist anyway?" Ritchie asked.
"Assist is a Normal-type move that lets the Pokémon use whatever attack that you have in your party," Brock said. "It's like borrowing the attack of another Pokémon."
"Oh, that's cool," Ritchie exclaimed.
"Yeah," Misty said, "but the problem is that you don't know what attack is coming out of it."
"Nidoking, use Sludge Bomb," Ken said, and Nidoking fired a mud bomb from its mouth, heading towards Moon.
"Moon, use Agility to dodge, then Assist one more time," Lyra said. Moon dodged the Sludge Bomb, then used Assist. The attack turned into a Hyper Beam, hitting Nidoking hard on its stomach and making it faint. "Yes," she cheered, "now one more to go."
Ken returned his Nidoking and brought out his last Pokémon, which was a Blastoise.
"I take it that's your ace?" Lyra asked.
"Yeah, Blastoise is also my starter Pokémon," Ken replied.
"Oh," Lyra returned Delcatty, "I see. Then let's see if he can handle this." She threw the PokéBall. "Slaking, show them your strength!" Her giant gorilla Pokémon roared loudly. "Slaking, use Hammer Arm." Slaking ran to Blastoise and used Hammer Arm.
"Blastoise, counter it with Focus Punch," Ken said quickly. Blastoise hit Hammer Arm with Focus Punch. They were both hitting each other back-to-back; none of them were giving up.
"Okay, Slaking, use Shadow Ball, then follow it up with Thunder." Slaking jumped back and fired a black-and-purple orb from its mouth. It hit Blastoise, weakening it. Then a powerful Thunder hit Blastoise head-on, making him collapse and faint.
The match was over. Lyra became the winner of the second-last round and was now onto the Final Round.
"AND THERE YOU HAVE IT, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! LYRA MEW NOVA HAS MADE IT TO THE FINALS, WHERE SHE'LL BE FACING ANDREW SMITH!" the announcer said. "TOMORROW WE'LL HAVE THE FINAL POKÉMON BATTLE!"
With that being said, Lyra and the gang left the arena to get something to eat. They were eating and chatting about Lyra's final battle until it was night time.
The next morning, the stadium was filled with the audience, and some were trainers who had lost in previous matches, all gathered to watch the final round of the tournament.
"ALRIGHT, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! TODAY WE HAVE OUR FINAL BATTLE OF THE INDIGO LEAGUE!" the announcer said through the microphone, a boy with blonde hair and blue eyes. "FIRST, WE HAVE ANDREW SMITH, WHO IS FROM SAFFRON CITY! HE HAS COME A LONG WAY TO BATTLE IN THIS AND HAS MADE IT TO THE FINAL ROUND!"
Then Lyra walked onto the field. "NEXT, WE HAVE LYRA MEW NOVA FROM PALLET TOWN! SHE IS AN 11-YEAR-OLD GIRL WHO STARTED HER JOURNEY A YEAR AGO AT AGE 10! SHE IS ONE OF THE YOUNGEST EVER TO MAKE IT THIS FAR!" The audience was really excited to see the battle. "NOW LET THE FINAL MATCH BEGIN!" The audience cheered.
"Nidoqueen, go! / Blastoise, show them your strength!" Andrew and Lyra shouted together as they threw their PokéBalls, revealing their Pokémon.
"Nidoqueen, Thunder!" Andrew said.
"Blastoise, Withdraw!" Lyra said. The Thunder hit Blastoise but didn't harm him.
"Focus Blast! / Aura Sphere!" they shouted at the same time, and it caused a huge explosion, making smoke appear everywhere, covering the whole field.
Lyra smirked. "Blastoise, Blizzard, then follow it with Hydro Cannon at close range!" she shouted through the smoke. Blastoise heard this and blew Blizzard from his mouth. Then, when it was at close range, it attacked with Hydro Cannon, hitting Nidoqueen.
The smoke cleared up, showing a standing Blastoise and a fainted Nidoqueen.
"W-what?!" Andrew said in shock. "How did Blastoise see through that smoke?"
"Simple," Lyra answered. "My Pokémon love to have mock battles, which include blasting a lot and creating smoke, so they've been training to see through thick smoke."
The audience was speechless. Not many Pokémon could do that or train to.
"So basically, all my Pokémon can see through smoke like it was nothing to them."
Andrew returned his fainted Nidoqueen and threw out his second Pokémon, which was Tentacruel.
Lyra recalled her Blastoise to call her Venusaur into battle.
Andrew told Tentacruel to use Hyper Beam. Lyra was wondering if that was a dumb move to use Hyper Beam instantly. She shook her head and told Venusaur to use Protect, then Energy Ball, Petal Dance, and Razor Leaf in combination.
Venusaur fired a green orb from its mouth, and then had flower petals and leaves surround it.
The attacks collided. What Andrew thought had vanished did not—the Energy Ball was still going, and it hit Tentacruel directly, making it weak.
Lyra didn't let Tentacruel recover. She commanded Venusaur to attack it with Solar Beam, and the blast of white light hit Tentacruel, making it faint.
"Not bad, Lyra," Andrew said with a smirk. "I think that's enough playing around." He held a PokéBall and threw it. "Go, Ninetales." A golden nine-tailed fox appeared.
Lyra chuckled. "I wonder." She returned her Venusaur. "Beautifly!" Her butterfly Pokémon appeared.
"Let's start, Ninetales—Flamethrower!"
"Beautifly, Protect, then Silver Wind." Beautifly surrounded herself with a green orb, which protected her from the Flamethrower attack. Then her wings flapped, creating a Silver Wind attack. Ninetales was trying her hardest not to get blown away. "Beautifly, Sunny Day." Beautifly launched a bright white orb into the sky, making it brighter.
I know that it also makes Fire-type moves stronger, but it works, Lyra thought.
"Ninetales, Fire Blast now!"
"Beautifly, use Solar Beam, then Aerial Ace." Beautifly and Ninetales' Fire Blast and Solar Beam hit each other, and the place exploded again, making the arena fill with smoke. Beautifly used Aerial Ace and hit Ninetales directly, making her fly out of the smoke and fall onto the ground, knocked out.
Beautifly was flapping her wings in the air.
"AMAZING, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! LYRA HAS JUST TAKEN DOWN THREE OF ANDREW'S POKÉMON LIKE IT WAS NOTHING, AND HER POKÉMON HAVEN'T GOTTEN A SINGLE HIT ON THEM YET!!"
Andrew returned his Ninetales. Lyra is no ordinary Pokémon trainer. Her Pokémon are too powerful to be normal, he sighed. She's one of my toughest opponents so far. Andrew thought and took out his fourth Pokémon, a Machamp.
Lyra returned her Beautifly and called out her fourth Pokémon, Charizard.
Charizard appeared. "Charrr!" A loud roar made the arena shake.
"Charizard, end this—Aerial Ace, then Air Slash," Lyra said.
Andrew didn't have time to tell his Machamp to do anything. Then he realised that her Charizard had already attacked. The Air Slash hit Machamp directly, making Machamp collapse onto the ground. Andrew was amazed by the speed of her Charizard.
Andrew was now down to his last two Pokémon. He wondered if they were strong enough to take her Pokémon. He tossed out Persian next. Lyra called out her Pichu. He wondered why she sent a Pichu into battle.
"Oh yeah, Andrew!" Lyra shouted. "Before you say anything, Pichu and Infernape, along with Pikachu, are my starter Pokémon. But Pichu and Infernape are my two strongest Pokémon, followed by Pikachu."
Andrew's eyes widened, remembering how Pikachu defeated two Pokémon in a flash. How could a little mouse be the strongest? And who was Infernape?
"So I advise you not to underestimate or let your guard down," she smirked. "You might end up like the girl that insulted my Pikachu and got beaten badly. Pichu is the one that taught Pikachu moves—in other words… Pichu is Pikachu's trainer."
The audience and the people watching were stunned, eyes widened, jaws dropped to the floor in disbelief. If Pikachu was trained by Pichu, then how powerful was that Pichu of hers?
Andrew ordered Persian to use Iron Tail, and Lyra told her Pichu to use Iron Tail as well. I wonder how long his Persian can keep up, Lyra thought. Let's test him out.
Andrew had Persian use Slash, and Lyra had her Pichu use Brick Break to counter.
The battle went on for more than 10 minutes. Persian was panting hard, while Pichu was standing there like nothing.
"Persian, use Hyper Beam, full power!" Andrew shouted.
"Pichu, use Charge Beam!" Lyra said. The Hyper Beam fired, and Charge Beam hit each other, causing a massive explosion. "Thunder Punch now!" Pichu appeared out of the smoke and hit Persian, but it was still standing strong.
"Wow~ Not bad," Lyra said. "Not many people can hold up to my Pichu, but then again, I rarely use her in battles."
Somewhere in the Johto Region, Pokémon trainers were watching the Indigo League competition.
"Amazing, that girl's Pichu is so strong and powerful at the same time," a kid said in the crowd.
"Yeah, I'm wondering why it hasn't evolved yet?" a girl asked.
"Pichu is holding an Everstone around its neck," Nurse Joy said, and everyone turned their attention to her for a second.
"Look around Pichu's neck—you'll see a stone hanging around it."
Everyone turned to see Pichu's neck, and Nurse Joy was right—it did have a stone around its neck.
"I see it," another boy said, "but why is she stopping its evolution?"
Nurse Joy shook her head. "My cousin from Viridian City called me and told me a girl named Lyra has a very strong and powerful Pichu," she said.
"Is that her?" a girl asked, pointing to the TV that was showing Lyra now.
Nurse Joy nodded. "Yes, that is her. She asked Lyra why she didn't evolve her Pichu. If it's at a high level, it would be a Raichu right now," she said, remembering the talk.
"Lyra's answer was this: 'It's simple. If Pichu doesn't want to evolve, who am I to force it? Everyone knows that evolving can make a Pokémon stronger—well, that's their opinion. Everyone has different meanings of the word evolution. For me, if my Pokémon doesn't want to, then they won't have to. I will never force them against their own will. It's their own decision to make, not mine.' And no matter what their choice is, we will become stronger together." Lyra said that with a smile. Nurse Joy smiled at everyone.
The trainers were quiet for a while, thinking about her answer, and then turned back to the match on TV.
Pichu was excited to see a Pokémon that could almost stand against her.
"Pi, Pichu, Chu, Pichu!" she said happily, jumping up and down. (Wow, you're almost like the trainers that can stand up against me!)
Lyra chuckled. "Well, can't blame you," she said with a smirk. "Pichu, use Agility, then follow it up with Mach Punch!" Pichu vanished in front of everyone, making them all wonder where Pichu was.
The next thing they realised was that Persian had fainted, with Pichu standing in front of her.
In Johto, the Elite Four and Champion were watching the final match of the Indigo League with shocked faces.
Then a man spoke up. "Unbelievable. Is that strength, speed, and power possible for a Pichu to have?" he asked the others.
"No, it isn't, but we're seeing a Pichu on screen in front of our eyes with that strength, speed, and power in its possession," a woman's voice answered.
Bruno remembered meeting her.
"I've met her in person, along with that Pichu of hers," he spoke up, making the other Elites look at him.
"In the mountains near Pallet Town, I was there training while Lyra was there training her Pokémon for the League." He paused. "I actually had a one-on-one battle against her."
"Really?" another woman asked.
"Who won?"
Bruno chuckled. "You might not believe it, but she won. It was my Hitmonchan vs her Lucario, a Fighting- and Steel-type Pokémon native to the Sinnoh Region."
He laughed at their shocked, jaw-dropped faces. He couldn't blame them—it wasn't every day an Elite Four member's top Pokémon got beaten.
"I'll tell you that she's strong—not just strong, but a smart trainer who analyses her opponent's Pokémon and moves before making a comeback. So I'll advise you not to underestimate or let your guard down if you battle Lyra and her Pokémon," Bruno warned. "She's a dangerous opponent to face."
All the Elites looked at him in pure shock at what he said and thought about it, taking that warning into consideration.
Then a man with spiky red hair and red eyes looked at the screen and listened to what the Elites were talking about. He was watching the match with interest, especially the girl and her Pokémon. They were powerful—she must have trained hard with them.
Andrew tossed out his final Pokémon, which was a Venusaur. "Venusaur is my strongest and starter Pokémon," he said. "And I'm not giving up without a fight!"
"Saurr!" his Venusaur roared in agreement.
Lyra smiled. "Alright, that's the spirit. Then I'd like you to meet my strongest Water-type." She threw a PokéBall onto the field. "Mystic, you're on!" Her beautiful aqua-blue serpent Pokémon appeared.
The audience was stunned—wide eyes and jaws dropped. People watching from Johto, Hoenn, and other regions had never seen a Gyarados of such a rare colour before.
"WELL, THIS IS INTERESTING, FOLKS! A RARE-COLOURED GYARADOS, A WATER AND FLYING TYPE, VS VENUSAUR, A GRASS TYPE! LET'S SEE WHO WILL WIN THE FINAL ROUND!" the announcer said. "BUT JUST REMEMBER THAT LYRA MEW LIGHT STILL HAS ALL HER OTHER FIVE POKÉMON REMAINING, WHILE KEN HAS ONE! NOW LET THE FINAL MATCH BEGIN!"
"Let's start," Andrew said. "Venusaur, use Vine Whip!"
"Mystic, use Safeguard, then follow it up with Flamethrower!" Gyarados surrounded herself with a green shield, and the Vine Whip recoiled. She then fired a Flamethrower towards Venusaur.
"Venusaur, use Protect, then Seed Bomb!" Venusaur protected itself from the Flamethrower attack, then launched a Seed Bomb at Gyarados.
"Mystic, use Aqua Tail to reverse that attack back!" Gyarados's Aqua Tail hit the Seed Bomb back at its owner.
"No, Venusaur!" Andrew shouted in worry. "Venusaur, try a Solar Beam!" Venusaur began to gather sunlight for the attack.
"Mystic, use Dragon Breath to counter."
The attacks collided, making the stadium feel a powerful gust of wind.
The smoke cleared. Venusaur was still standing strong. Gyarados growled at him, and Venusaur didn't seem to back down either.
Venusaur was still standing but was panting hard, while Gyarados wasn't tired much from all the battles. It's now or never! Andrew thought. "Venusaur, use Frenzy Plant, max power!" he shouted.
"Wow. He's going all out," Lyra said. "Then so will we, Mystic. Let's try the move you've completed."
"Grrr!" Mystic nodded.
"Draco Meteor!"
Mystic gathered up energy inside herself.
Venusaur's body glowed green. Wow—Venusaur's ability has been activated. Overgrow. It only activates when the Pokémon is in major damage, Lyra thought.
"Sauurrrr!!" Venusaur roared as vines burst from the ground toward Gyarados.
"Mystic, now release it!" Lyra shouted.
Gyarados launched the glowing orb into the sky, and it exploded into a powerful meteor shower that rained down, destroying the vines. Several meteors hit Venusaur, causing a huge explosion.
When the smoke cleared, Gyarados had a protective barrier around itself. Then everyone looked at Venusaur, who had swirly eyes—he had fainted.
"Venusaur is unable to battle, which means the match goes to Gyarados!" the judge called out. "Lyra has defeated all of Andrew's Pokémon!" Then he raised the red flag. "The match goes to Lyra Mew Light of Pallet Town!"
"AND THERE YOU HAVE IT, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!" the announcer yelled excitedly. "THE FINAL MATCH OF THE INDIGO LEAGUE GOES TO LYRA MEW NOVA FROM PALLET TOWN! THE FIRST TIME IN HISTORY! AN 11-YEAR-OLD GIRL HAS WON THE INDIGO LEAGUE! THE YOUNGEST TO WIN! THIS IS AMAZING, FOLKS!"
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Thank you for reading!
See you in the next chapter ✨
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