It came as little surprise that Brendan won that match though there was no more combos used which told me that he hadn't figured out a few of the others I had such as the grass flying type move combo or the steel electric type combo. Floyd had looked like he had eaten several lemons but left the arena without much fuss and it was now time for him and May to duke it out for third and fourth place while Gregory and Brendan went at it for first. It was bound to be an interesting result regardless.-
Obviously there was a two hour break for healing and stamina recovery before these matches but that was an easy period to endure as if anything it just hyped up the crowd even more. "Who do you all think will win it all, Brendan or Gregory?" I asked interested in knowing what these experts thought. "Hard to say for certain since both sides are pretty close in terms of power but I'd guess Normans boy might pull through if he can get off another trick or two." Sidney said thoughtfully.-
"We think" "Gregory is a better choice." Tate and Liza said disagreeing with the elite four member. "As the father of one side I'll abstain from commenting." Norman said and everyone chuckled since he had effectively said his answer anyways. Obviously as Brendans father he hoped that his son would be the one to bring home the glory. "As Sidney said it really is hard to definitively say with how close in power both sides are but I believe Gregory may have a slightly better chance with how much endurance his team has." Glacia said and even I had to agree that that was a good point.-
While Brendans team was by no means weaker than Gregory's it was spec'd for speed and power rather than the ability to take hits and deal them out like Gregory's. In a flat face off like we will no doubt see since Gregory now knows about those combo moves Brendans team had an innate disadvantage even with the royal Machamp. "Personally I want Gregory to win since the egg would fit his style perfectly while Brendans style is less optimal for it. Not bad mind you just not the perfect match." I said honestly.-
"Aye Tyranitar have plenty of stopping power but fall behind in speed in most cases which clashes with the lads current style a little." Watson said agreeing with me. "Either way that eggs got a bright future ahead of it regardless of who gets it." Drake said in the closest thing to praise he's said so far. None here disagreed with him either as unless one of the trainers died or the pokemon itself did both trainers were clearly talented enough to take it to grand heights. After the break we got the third and fourth place deciding match between Floyd and May started.-
May ripped a page out of Brendans book and played shutdown with Floyd though as she sent out her Tropius and Luxray before hitting his pokemon with poison powder and thunder wave. After that she barraged his team and the replacements ruthlessly. The match was much closer than it was between Floyd and Brendan but not drastically as May got half of her pokemon knocked out compared to his whole team. Finally it was time for Brendan and Gregory to go at it and the two trainers themselves seemed almost as excited for the battle as the crowd.-
Gregory actually suggested that since it was the final match that they should go by gym challenge standard which meant no holds barred. Brendan was clearly caught off guard by the suggestion but agreed and even I got serious in watching as things got dangerous. Full on clashes at this level rarely ended without serious injury to both sides and I was preparing myself for needing to rescue one of the pokemon should an attack prove fatal in nature. The battle started and Gregory sent out his Walrein and Aggron while Brendan sent out his Sceptile and Golem with a frown at the bad match up.-
Things started off with a pop as Gregory took a page out of Brendans book and used surf followed by sheer cold from the aggron and Walrein respectively. The surf did pretty much nothing to Brendans Sceptile nor Gregory's Walrein but the follow up sheer cold was devastating for Brendan as the water covering his pokemon froze and immediately sent them into shock. "Ouch, was sort of hoping he wasn't going to use that combo set due to how lethal it could be." I said wincing at the show. "I can understand why, that combo effectively simulates what would happen if you were to fall overboard in the arctic seas."-
"If those pokemon don't get treatment immediately they run a serious risk of frostbite or even death." Glacia said seriously and as an ice type specialist she very much knew what she was talking about. Both the ref and Brendan understood this as well and called it there for those two pokemon who were rushed to the nearest Joy clan member for treatment. "Oh damn he's pissed now, lets hope he doesn't do anything stupid as a result." I said seriously when I saw Brendan go stone faced towards Gregory.-
You didn't need aura to know that the guy was brewing a cold fury that meant his reservation on lethal measures just went out the window. Gregory brought this on himself though as he used arguably one of the most vicious combo moves possible right off the bat. Brendan sent out his Gyarados and Pidgeot before commanding them into the sky. Gregory looked unconcerned at first but after several uses of rain dance and dragon dance by the Gyarados that changed. What came next was a dual use of twister by both the Gyarados and Pidgeot followed by thunder that turned the massive move made rainstorm into a hurricane that threatened even those in the stands.-
Winona, Steven and I all sent out a flying pokemon to play defensive and protect the crowd from the dangerous parts. Winona sent out her Altaria, Steven sent out his Skarmory and I sent out Rune. The Altaria and Skarmory kept the winds contained to the arena while Rune ate any stray electricity with his conduit innate ability. This makeshift hurricane was not good news for Gregory at all as both his Aggron and Walrein were effectively treated as helpless ragdolls and battered into unconsciousness as Brendans pokemon kept the storm active.-
Once they stopped we three with our pokemon out dispersed all the residual effects of the storm. "This is your first and only warning! Endanger the crowd again and you'll be disqualified!" I used my roar ability to yell down at Brendan who looked around before sagging ashamed at going so far in his anger. Look I understand going all out when you were mad but that was dangerous for a whole lot of innocent people and not acceptable behavior for a tournament. Gregory's own combo move was nearly as serious because killing another's pokemon in a battle was heavily frowned on and that combo was very easily used to accomplish that.