Chapter 16: A Tough Fight!
As Bulbasaur used Sunny Day, the sun's rays became even harsher than before. What was surprising was that the time taken to use Sunny Day by Bulbasaur was a lot less than the time taken by Bellsprout.
Alan, who saw this, did not sit quietly; he too asked Eve to get ready for the fight, "use Agility; we will be needing all your speed in this match."
As a small light surrounded Eve, she kept using Agility to boost her speed for the upcoming battle.
Alan did not have a single plan in his mind on how he would win this; he knew he was not the smartest when it came to making strategies. He was already exploring the best fighting style that suited him the most.
'Take things as they come,' he told himself as he prepared himself for the upcoming fight.
"Bulbasaur, use Razor Leaf," said Leaf and Bulbasaur lowered his body before releasing several sharp leaves towards Eve.
"Eve use dig."
As soon as he saw the leaves coming their way, he had Eve go underground to avoid the attack.
"Eevee, stay underground and use Work Up; we are going to use Iron tail after that," said Alan, giving instructions to Eve.
Leaf was surprised by how Alan was using Work Up below the ground to avoid getting interrupted up above.
"Bulb, you too use Work Up and be ready for the Iron Tail," said Leaf as she looked around the field for any signs of an Eevee.
"Use Work Up again," said Alan.
"You too, Bulbasaur, use Work..."
Before she could even complete her sentence, the ground under Bulbasaur crumbled as Eve appeared out of the hole with her tail shining in white light.
She spun in the air before she struck the surprised Bulbasaur in the face.
*Bang*
With a muffled sound, Bulbasaur was dragged along the ground after facing the full brunt of an Iron Tail.
"Don't let it rest; follow this up with a dig," said Alan as he shamelessly played with his words, almost making Leaf trip on her feet.
Who tells their pokemon to follow up but then asks them to use a move to run away?
"Bulbasaur, be prepared, don't let it catch you off guard this time," said Leaf as she looked hatefully at Alan.
He had asked his Eevee to use Work Up, making her believe him, and she followed it by using Work Up.
But who knew it was just a word game, and the second her Bulbasaur used Work Up, Eve popped up from the ground with an already charged Iron Tail.
"Eve use Work Up," said Alan, but this time Leaf did not follow in his steps but instead watched out for any possible ambushed from underground.
Alan gave a satisfying smile before speaking again, "use work up."
Leaf flinched as she heard Alan's words.
She was stuck between the two options; she could either use work up too, which could lead to another Iron Tail, or wait, which will lead to her opponent getting a boost in its attack power.
Instead of getting frustrated, she took a deep breath and calmed her mind. It was no use getting agitated as it would just help her opponent.
Both of them waited for the opponent to make a move, and as the atmosphere became tense, the ground between Bulbasaur again split open; however, Leaf was prepared this time.
"Use Vine Whip to jump up," she said, and two vines came out of Bulbasaur's head, and it struck them on the ground to jump up into the air.
"Use Leech Seed," said Leaf and Bulbasaur blasted a tiny seed out of its bud straight towards the hole.
Eve was already out; her ambush was unsuccessful this time.
"Eve, above you," said Alan as he saw Eve look around for her opponent, but it was too late as a Leech Seed hit her.
"Dammit," said Alan as he saw Eve covered in thin grassroots.
Leech Seed was a move that covered its opponent in small roots draining away opponents' energy at random times, transferring it to the user.
As she felt the effects of Leech Seed, Eve suddenly collapsed on the ground as its energy was drained away.
"Bulbasaur, use Razor Leaf," she did not waste such an opening and immediately called out her next attack.
"Eve counter it with Shadow Ball," said Alan and Eve hurriedly formed a weak Shadow Ball, which blocked most of the attack for her, but she still took the brunt from almost half of it while also being dragged back by the explosion.
"I am not as easy as the others," said Leaf as Bulbasaur landed back on the ground.
"Eve, use Agility," said Alan while ignoring Leaf's words.
"Bulbasaur, use Growth," said Leaf, using the harsh sunlight to power up her attacks.
As Alan saw Bulbasaur use another move that boosted its special attack, he could not help wonder about it.
'Bulbasaur should mostly have physical attacks at its levels unless she has a strong TM she is preparing for or maybe...?'
As he thought about some of the possible outcomes, he heard Eve's voice.
[Let's do things our way, this does not suit my or your style]
He smiled and nodded his head as he decided to take a direct approach this time, which suited him the most.
They had been working on their physical aspects a lot during this one month; it was time to use that to their advantage.
"Get close to it."
Eve ran towards Bulbasaur at her fastest speed as soon as he said that.
"Use Bullet seed and stop her in her tracks."
Bulbasaur opened its mouth and started firing seeds at Eve, who was getting closer to it every second.
Eve looked straight at the five seeds coming towards her, and just as they were about to hit her, she showed the results of her training combined with her hidden ability. As she was running, she immediately ducked down, bringing her body as close to the ground as possible, and the seeds just flew above her. She had dodged the attack at the last second.
During the whole time, she did not stop moving and made her way towards Bulbasaur.
"Use Iron Tail..."
"Bulbasaur, use Protect," said Leaf as she saw Eve close in on them. She could not let the flow of battle go into Alan's hand, and the safest way to take no damage was to use Protect.
"...on the ground," Alan changed his command mid-way and Eve, who was used to his unpredictability, followed it without an error.
She struck the ground with her strongest Iron Tail, and it cracked before pieces of rocks flew into the air.
"Send those rocks flying at the Bulbasaur," said Alan and Eve started swinging her tail, sending all the rocks towards her opponent. However, all those were blocked by the shield that had appeared in front of it.
Alan did not mind it one bit and followed up with his next move, "use Shadow Ball."
It was not an effective move against a pokemon like Bulbasaur, but it was never used for it to be effective.
As the Eve fired off a Shadow Ball, Leaf asked Bulbasaur to counter it with Razor Leaf.
*Bang*
A small explosion as the two moves clashed, but Eve had once again closed in on Bulbasaur.
"Use Iron Tail," said Alan as he got excited, but then his face contorted.
[Huh?]
"Dammit."
Leech Seed showed its effects and again drained some energy from Eve, leaving her helpless and rendering her Iron Tail useless.
As Leaf saw what was going on, she sighed in relief and immediately got hold of the opening, "use Vine Whip to grab it and throw it into the air."
"Eve, dodge," shouted Alan, but it was too late as Eve, who had suddenly lost some of her energy, could not react in time.
Bulbasaur wrapped Eve in its vines and flung her as high as possible.
"Now, Solar Beam," said Leaf with pure joy as she could see her victory in front of her eyes.
"How is it possible?" yelled Alan as there was no way a Bulbasaur could use Solar Beam at such a low level unless...
"...Unless it is an Innate skill."
It was said that pokemons, when born, have a skill they are most skilled at, and it could vary from one pokemon to another. Sometimes an Innate talent would be something the pokemon would get at higher levels, while many times, it would be something from its successive evolutions.
One could predict the potential of an egg from its parent but not the Innate skill a Pokemon would have.
It would be stronger than normal moves; the rate at which the pokemon would master it would be faster than any of its skills. The skill sometimes represented what a pokemon was most talented at.
If a pokemon had a skill: Quick Attack as its innate skill, it would mean that the pokemon was exceptionally talented in speed than the rest of its kind. By how much? It would depend on the grade of its potential.
As Alan saw Bulbasaur charge a Solar Beam, he knew it was an innate skill.
The worst thing was that Sunny Day used in the beginning was now helping Bulbasaur charge the beam at a speed faster than average. It would take around ten seconds before it could fire the beam.
The only drawback to this was that Bulbasaur being weak, would not move after using this attack as it would drain away all its energy, but Leaf was ready to gamble with that; after all, what could Alan possibly do while Eve was mid-air?
Those looking at the match showed different kinds of expressions.
Prof. Oak was happy, and so was everyone else from Kanto. On the other hand, Alex, Ellie, Devon and Lisa showed worried expressions while Cynthia clenched her fists tightly as she looked at Leaf, who was already celebrating her victory.
Steven looked at Alan and gave a small smile which unexpectedly was caught by Prof. Caroline.
'Huh? Does that brat has anything else he could use?'
As Bulbasaur finally charged the Solar Beam, Leaf could not hold her excitement as she yelled at the top of her lungs, "Fire!!"
*Sigh*
Alan gave a long sigh as he looked at Leaf, "I did not want to use it yet; I was saving this up for them."
He could have used Protect within the eight seconds, but it would not be enough as Eve would still take a considerable amount of damage.
"Eve...," his lips parted as Alan gave his command, and under the stunned expression of everyone, Bulbasaur suddenly flew upwards, making the Solar Beam miss Eve by a landslide.
*Bang*
And just as mysteriously as he flew up, he was smashed back down on the ground. Eve, still high in the air, did a few backflips and landed back on the ground.
"How is it possible?" this time, it was Leaf who asked this question as she could not wrap her head around what had happened.
"Innate skill: The strongest skill that a pokemon will have and will master faster than any other. It is also a skill that sometimes represents the talent of a pokemon in certain areas," this was the answer Alan got when he saw Eve's Innate skill and searched about it on pokenet; he gave the exact definition to Leaf.
"But does not explain how it has a diff..." spoke Leaf when she stopped as she came to a realization. She looked at Eve and saw her opponent's pokemon in a different light this time.
"Now shall we continue?" said Alan as he looked at Eve, "use Psychic."
Eve's eyes glowed purple as she raised the Bulbasaur high into the air before bringing it towards her at a fast speed.
"Iron Tail," said Alan as the Bulbasaur flew closer to them.
[Payback time]
Eve jumped up and swung her tail which was glowing in light straight at her opponent, sending it flying into the ground.
"Use Psychic one more time," said Alan, a hint of relief in his voice.
Eve once again raised the Bulbasaur high into the air before making it fly towards her and once again hit it with an Iron Tail.
[This is for that Leech Seed]
*Bang*
It once again flew of before landing near Leaf who stood there with an dazed expression. The whole time she did not make any command or specifically she could not since Bulbasaur had used all of its strength in the last Solar Beam and was now nothing more than a sitting duck (or a sitting Psyduck?), waiting to be thrashed.
As the referee saw how Bulbasaur was no longer getting up, he walked to the stage and declared the winner.
"Bulbasaur is unable to battle, Eevee is the winner. The victory goes to Alan Salvador of Elian Region."
"LESS GOOO," said Steven as he threw a fist at Alan from where he was.
Alan looked at Steven as a smile formed on his face, 'its good to have a friend like you,' he thought as he too raised his fist at him and they both did an imaginary fist bump.
Alan then walked towards Eve who was barely holding onto herself. he kneeled down and raised her in his arms.
[That was a good fight, I almost thought we lost]
"What can I say? You are the strongest so it was obvious," replied Alan and Eve gave a satisfied smile before he walked away towards the small Pokemon centre made for treating pokemons.
The staff immediately helped him and Eve, they gave her the best potions and Alan could see her injuries healing up rapidly. But the main issue was not the injuries but the energy lose.
Just like Bulbasaur, the amount of energy Eve needed to use her Innate skill was more than normal. Using it thrice had drained her of all her energy but there was already a solution for it.
"Eve use Rest, it will help you recover faster," he said before he sat beside her and Eve closed her eyes, surrounded by pink light, using Rest.
[Ding: Pokegram Notification.
Cynthia: Congratulations on your win, I did not know you were keeping such a big secret, was it for me?
Alan: How else was I supposed to have a chance to beat you? Now I lost the surprise factor.
Cynthia: Make sure you still do your best.
Alan: Bet!]
[Ding: Pokegram Notification.
Sabrina: Congratulations on your win!
Alan: Thanks, Good luck to you as well for your match.]
It was a tough fight, but just as exciting. The top 4 were already clear to everyone and it was going to be an very exciting battle for the top three.
*************
Author note: Let me know if you like the fight!
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Alan_demonic
Alan_demonic .......
Another one!
Cue the meme in comment section.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone