บท 435: EPISODE 106: It all Comes Down to This!*

It all comes down to this. Logan triumphed over Lucas, triumphed over Aaron, the bug type specialist. Logan triumphed over Bertha, the ground type master. He triumphed against the fire specialist, Flint, and also the Psychic master, Lucian. It all comes down to this, Champion Cynthia against League Victor Logan. A three against three match.

"Torterra! I choose you!" Lucas sent out his starter Pokemon. Everyone yelled and cheered for him.

"Gastrodon, come forth! Let's give them a good time, shall we?"

"You bet, Ms. Cynthia. I'm ready to win!"

"I see, a champ in the making whose proud. Let's see if all your failure against me will become a success after all! It all comes down to this, let this battle begin!"

The crowd cheered and shouted for both Logan and Cynthia's name.

"Alright, begin with Leaf Storm!"

"Counter with Whirlpool!"

<Gas!>Gastrodon swirled a huge mass of water, making it twirl like a water sprout as all the leaves heading towards the foe is sent straight back to the user with additional water. Logan did not see that coming as his Pokemon is hit with a powerful array of water. The attack was proceeded with Blizzard, a move that flinched the hell out of Torterra and Logan as he couldn't command.

"This battle won't be settled that easily! Earthquake, go!"

<Tor! Torterra!>Torterra stomped the ground, making the whole battlefield shake and tremble before it. Gastradon couldn't hole firm to the ground, it was affected by the powerful Earthquake move. It made Gastrodon flinch for one move and this is where Logan used this as an opportunity, commanding Torterra to use Seed Bomb.

Seed Bomb plus Earthquake, that was a combination that stunned me but seeing Cynthia's Gastrodon still standing stunned me too. Being a victor of the Pokemon League is already a great achievement, and it'll be fine with me if he lost against the strongest trainer of them all.

"Gastrodon, Skitter Smack!" Cynthia countered. The move, so strong, super effective against grass but Logan has some tricks up his sleeves.

"Torterra, Frenzy Plant! Go now!"

Roots emerged from the ground and wrapped Gastrodon before it launched the attack on Torterra. The roots then tossed Gastrodon high into the sky and upon landing, a whole ton of damage was dealt. This surprised me as hope was restored. It was the champion's side to lose a Pokemon first, leaving Cynthia with two while Logan with three.

"Not a bad start, I must say. Now, Milotic, I choose you!"

"A Milotic? Ah! I remember the moment I battled Wallace. This battle's gonna be great! Alright, let this battle continue, use Frenzy Plant right now!"

"That's not worth it against Milotic!" Cynthia forewarned.

Milotic launched to the sky by flapping its tail on the ground. The crowd cheered for Milotic as it smacked the roots into pieces with the powerful tail. Cynthia followed it up with, "Breaking Swipe!" a devastating dragon move that went for Torterra's head.

It's like Dragon Tail but eight times stronger, making Torterra faint in an instant. This makes things similar to each other as two Pokemon remain on both sides. Even Steven, that is.

"So strong... You did a great job Torterra, return to your Pokeball. Come out, Luxray!"

"Luxray? So that's his next Pokemon." chuckled Cynthia on her mind as she switched Pokemon, sending back Milotic and releasing her utmost powerful Pokemon, Garchomp!

"Okay, the time's now! Luxray use--" Logan was intervened, he couldn't cope up with what happened.

<Gar!>Garchomp was able to attack before Logan even finished his statements. Fissure, that was the attack used against Luxray. Fissure, I've heard about that move before. It's a one-hit knock out attack, dealing a ton of damage to any Pokemon, no matter how strong, no matter how fierce. Garchomp stabbed the attack and there, the floor erupted and Luxray was affected.

"Luxray is unable to battle! Logan, please send out your last Pokemon!" the referee instructed. From my screen, I can see Logan all sweaty. it's obvious he's scared of the move as I am scared of him losing. This is the battle in which he dreamed of winning. Will he be able to defeat Cynthia or will everything else turn up to be like before? A defeat. At least he still has his first trophy, the Sinnoh Conference trophy for being the league victor. Cheered, yes, Dawn and Lucas cheered for Logan as I did the same in hopes of lifting his spirit.

"I'm down to one Pokemon, it's time to make the right choice! Pelipper, you're up!" Logan tossed out his last Pokemon, a superb idea, canceling out the move, Fissure since Pelipper can fly.

"So, you wanna take this battle to a whole new level? Or in this case, a new atmosphere? Then so be it." Cynthia gave a giggle and commanded her Garchomp to fly to the sky, leveled with Pelipper. Her words lowered Logan's self-esteem.

"Pelipper, Hydro Pump!"

"Garchomp, dodge the attack!"

<Gar! Garchomp!>Garchomp dodged swiftly and immediately. "Now, continue with slash!" commanded, Cynthia.

"Bite the claw!" once in for all, Logan was able to deal damage against the foe. Upon being bitten on the claw, Pelipper nudged and tossed the foe back to the ground. I intensified my cheer, knowing he is on a verge of defeating Garchomp!

"Now, strike there, with Hydro Pump!" another excellent and super effective move against Garchomp's part type, ground. The Hydro Pump splattered unto Garchomp's face but yet, after the attack, Garchomp was still seen standing but bearing a hundred scars. This increased Logan's self-esteem.

"Garchomp, Draco Meteor!"

<Garchomp! Gar!>Garchomp yelled, commanding the skies to fall as large chunks of rocks dashed towards Pelipper, giving it tension and stress as it glided throughout only to dodge the chunk of rocks.

As luck wouldn't have it, Pelipper was hit by a stone in the head. Because of this, Pelipper halted its flight as more came fell upon its head until it finally fell to the ground. Now, the winner was obvious as the dust settled, Cynthia was still the proclaimed champion and her title would live on forevermore.

I was disappointed but I learned to accept Logan's defeat as he did too. Looks like there's still room for him to become the ultimate champion. One day, I'm sure he'll be one with the right set of skills and determination.

"The winner of the match is Cynthia! Until now, she reigns as champion!" proclaimed the referee.

"There is still room for improvement. I look forward to meeting you again, and who knows? Maybe during our rematch, you would finally be able to defeat me."

"I'm looking forward to it too, Ms. Cynthia! When we meet again, you'll see me as a champion and soon, I'll be the champion of Sinnoh too!"

"High spirit, you have. I'm expecting that!"

There, they shook each other's hands as both gave the crowd one hell of a show. In the end, they yelled their names. Even in defeat, Logan obtained a whole ton of admirers throughout the stadium. His journey to become a Pokemon Master continues as his first trophy symbolizes his first victory, a step forward to success. The Pokemon League has come to an end and surprisingly, my journey here too! A new chapter awaits me as a region somewhere out there is coming closer!