End of the Tournament

"Ladies and gentlemen! Thank you all for coming today! It has been an exciting tournament and an even bigger success, however there can only be one winner!" Nurse Joy announced excitedly.

The tournament indeed was a big success with the crowd having nearly 1,000 people all sitting in anticipation, vendors were trying to sell them snacks and drinks.

Overall the atmosphere of the tournament was nice even after the Gyarados incident and Shuichi swore he even spotted a cameraman with a reporter from the local news station.

"Now without further ado, let's welcome our two finalists!" The crowd went wild with cheering upon hearing these words, Shuichi and Paul were about to go up to the battlefield however Nurse Joy still wasn't done with her announcements.

"Before we begin the finals, I have received word from the president of the League Competition Committee!" Nurse Joy announced, shocking everyone in the audience including Shuichi.

('What could it be? Are they going to make this a more common event?') Shuichi speculated inside as others in the audience also speculated. 

Nurse Joy waited for things to calm down a little before continuing. "Mr. Goodshow has quite thoroughly enjoyed today's event and was happy that the tournament exceeded all expectations, so in his good mood he's decided to double the prize pool!"

The crowd cheered loudly upon hearing this, at first the prize pool seemed a little low for an audience this big and Mr. Goodshow apparently also thought so.

('So first place is now ₽7,200 and second place is ₽3,600') Shuichi quickly calculated in his head, ₽3,600 allow him to watch Dawn and make it to Oreburgh while replenishing all his food stocks.

₽7,200 however allowed him to with even more breathing room and a slight buffer, it was also an opportunity if he found another 'faulty' TM he wanted to buy.

Thinking of the prize got Shuichi even more fired up than he already was, slowly he started to emit a small pressure to those around him.

"Now without further ado, let's welcome our two finalists! Nurse Joy said as the crowd cheered, Nurse Joy made way for the referee who took over the proceeding calling forth Paul and Shuichi.

Shuichi didn't know he was emitting this pressure and thus he walked up with it, to those in the audience it felt like an excited fire-type was going to fight, especially with his wild red hair.

The audience's anticipation seemed to reach a maximum! Paul on the other hand felt like he was going against a storm, he frowned hard and was about to say something when the referee gave them the signal.

Shuichi felt more focused than ever and he knew which Pokémon to lead with, "Eevee, get ready!" he threw Eevee's Pokéball as Paul yelled out "Ninjask, get ready for battle!"

Eevee and Ninjask appeared on the field, both had also heard the announcement and also felt Shuichi's slight pressure, Eevee seemed to go with it as Ninjask felt a little off but not enough to notice it.

Paul didn't expect Eevee right from the start, why send out your strongest right from the start? "Agility!" Paul decided to still go on with his strategy.

"Swift!" Shuichi had a plan and was going to execute it, Swift held a slight homing effect however with Ninjask's speed it wouldn't be of much use.

Ninjask's body glowed white as Eevee sent forth stars, Ninjask easily dodged the stars as they slowly turned towards Ninjask again.

"Keep using Swift!" Shuichi had a plan however it would take some energy to pull it off, Eevee kept flicking his tail as more and more stars came out.

Paul still had no idea what Shuichi was planning, however he couldn't just sit still and wait "Fury Cutter!" seeing Ninjask was fast enough he went on the offensive.

Ninjask closed in with a flash and began its assault with its now glowing red claws, Eevee trusted Shuichi completely and kept using Swift as much as possible even through the damage.

At first it seemed like Eevee was getting beaten up, however on the third hit a change happened, a random star hit Ninjask causing it to freeze up for a moment.

('All that training on Swift finally paid off.') Shuichi had Eevee train Swift as much as possible in the last two days, he didn't know about Ninjask however Swift was Eevee's strongest move.

Paul suddenly realised that Eevee's stars roamed the field like a comet show, Ninjask couldn't move like it wanted due to all the stars acting like a minefield!

"Ninjask, get out of there!" Paul suddenly said as he saw the stars moving towards Eevee and Ninjask.

('Looks like Paul realised it, however it's too late.') Shuichi thought as the stars now had slowly begun to circle around Ninjask and Eevee.

"Protect!" Shuichi yelled and a green dome appeared on the field, inside the dome were Eevee, Ninjask and a storm of stars that was moving towards Ninjask.

Ninjask tried to escape only to slam into the dome of Protect, it was now trapped and a storm of stars slammed into it as a result a small explosion rang out in the dome.

The inside of the dome turned into a smoke ball as dust and debris was sent flying by the impact.

The dome dropped and the smoke cleared to see an unconscious Ninjask and a tired Eevee still standing. The strategy was tiring and Eevee didn't come out unscathed however Ninjask was down.

Eevee was happy as his emotions showed, Eevee had long since trusted Shuichi and now that trust paid off again.

"Ninjask is unable to battle! Trainer Paul, send out your next Pokémon!" The referee declared and the crowd went wild, they had never seen such a display of strategy. 

It felt very much like a contest move mixed with a battle strategy, Paul on the other hand only sneered. "You sacrificed your best Pokémon to take an early lead? Did I overestimate you?"

Shuichi only smiled; he wasn't going to let Paul taunt him into believing he made a poor choice, Eevee getting tired was the plan.

Not seeing a reaction made Paul frown a little. Was he still missing something? "Elekid, standby for battle!" Paul decided to throw out Elekid, his own ace, to clean up Eevee.

Elekid came out and looked at Eevee, Shuichi could feel a slight bit of contempt from the Pokémon as if it was insulted that it had to fight this half-beaten Eevee.

Just as the referee gave the signal to begin, Shuichi pulled out Eevee's Pokéball "I'm switching Eevee out!" he declared, Paul suddenly remembered they each had one switch.

The crowd also remembered that switching was indeed an option as they all realised Shuichi's plan and they began to cheer loudly once more.

This was indeed Shuichi's plan, lead with Eevee and get an early knockout. Shuichi knew Paul well enough by now that he would either lead Ninjask or Chimchar.

Eevee would be able to take either Pokémon on with Chimchar being best case scenario, reality wasn't best case as Paul led Ninjask.

Shuichi made a energy heavy move in the beginning and was going to switch to let Eevee recover as much stamina as he could while saving him for last.

('Still think you overestimated me Paul?') Shuichi smiled as he took out another Pokéball. "Combusken, get ready!" Shuichi decided on Combusken next.

Paul could switch out his Elekid however all he had left was Chimchar and that wouldn't work, Combusken overpowered Chimchar normally.

Paul's every move was getting read, this was the second time he was facing Shuichi and every time it felt like Shuichi had known his battle style for years.

('Is this guy really a beginner?') Even Paul was beginning to doubt that Shuichi wasn't some hidden expert trainer.

No, Shuichi wasn't a beginner, at least not in the general sense. Except that no-one would even think he already had lived a whole life of strategy with real soldiers.

Combusken hit the field and Shuichi wasn't going to let Paul fight from a distance, "Flame Charge!" Combusken was ready and determined to win, a red-yellow flame engulfed her as she ran towards Elekid.

Thunder would take too long and Paul wasn't confident in a close up fight with a fighting type, "Protect!" He decided to use his own Protect.

A green dome appeared as Elekid crossed its arms, Combusken ran straight into the dome and bounced back slightly back.

When Combusken retreated a little and shook her head slightly, it didn't do much damage, just some slight dizziness.

('It's fine, damage would've been nice but now the speed boost comes in play.') Flame Charge would still give the speed boost even if Protect was used and now Combusken was even faster.

"Flame Charge again!" The second the shield dropped Combusken ran in again this time noticeably faster, Protect was a tiring move and Combusken was only going to get faster.

"Elekid, Return!" Paul decided on his own switch as Combusken ran straight through the outline where Elekid was, "Chimchar, get ready for battle!" Paul had no other option.

He didn't want Elekid to gas itself out already with Protect and be at a disadvantage in close combat, Chimchar had to slow down Combusken one way or another.

Chimchar appeared on the field and Paul immediately ordered "Dig!" Before Shuichi could give Combusken a chance to act.

('So that's how you want to play it? Fine.') Shuichi wasn't impressed. "Combusken, get ready!" Combusken nodded and she seemed to be on edge for something.

Combusken waited for Chimchar, suddenly she felt the earth shift under her. "Guard underneath you!" Shuichi also noted it and quickly jumped in with the order.

Combusken crossed her arms as Chimchar came up for an uppercut only to hit Combusken's guard, it didn't knock her away like intended and now Chimchar was out of position.

"What!" Paul didn't expect that Combusken wouldn't even be knocked back a little, Shuichi smiled, all that training for Combusken in the last two days was for guarding.

"Double Kick!" Shuichi capitalised and Combusken readily agreed both legs glowed white as kicked once then roundhouse kicked again. The second kick sent Chimchar flying.

"Chase with Shadow Claw!" Shuichi wasn't going to let Paul off easy and Combusken quickly caught up with the speed boosts from Flame Charge.

A dark claw shaped shadow covered Combusken's claw as she swiped at Chimchar slamming it into the ground. Chimchar laid unconscious on the ground.

"Chimchar is unable to battle! Trainer Paul, send out your last Pokémon!" The referee came down with the hammer, the crowd was speechless.

What should've been a close match turned into a one sided beat down, however Shuichi knew differently that the match was far from over.

Guarding a move was not something that would ignore damage, Combusken was more hurt than she was showing. 

Paul on the other hand seemed to be too busy berating Chimchar to even notice Combusken's damage.

"Elekid, standby for battle!" Elekid came out again and even though it was only for a short moment it managed to catch its breath.

Elekid also knew of the situation by now and didn't have any contempt anymore as it only had anticipation and aggression on its mind.

As soon as the referee gave the signal Shuichi had Combusken charge in with Flame Charge again, "Thunder!" Paul gave out an unorthodox command as Elekid began to charge electricity.

Thunder would take a while to charge for Elekid when it wasn't hit with an electric attack, Combusken slammed into Elekid due to the sheer difference in speed.

Elekid got up again clearly hurt, however Combusken suddenly froze up as sparks appeared on her body. Shuichi frowned and Paul seemed surprised as well.

('She's paralysed? Could it be Static?') Shuichi guessed, Static was an ability that could trigger when the user came in contact with the opponent.

Paralysis was an annoying status condition, the Pokémon's muscles would freeze up randomly and even make movement much more difficult than it already was.

Paul, seeing his chance, decided to go on the offensive, "Thunder!" Elekid charged up once more and Shuichi knew he had to interfere. 

"Flame Charge!" Combusken tried to conjure up another red-yellow flame to charge with however due to the paralysis it had a difficult time even moving.

Elekid finished charging and fired off a strong Thunder at Combusken who couldn't dodge due to the paralysis and Combusken fell unconscious on the ground.

"Combusken is unable to battle! Trainer Shuichi, send out your next Pokémon!" The referee shouted and the crowd cheered at the match that was suddenly much closer than initially thought.

Shuichi recalled Combusken, "I'm proud of you girl, take a nice long rest and leave the rest to us." he said to the Pokéball as he grabbed the next one.

('I have to stall for more time') Shuichi decided Eevee could still use rest time, "Clamperl, get ready!" Clamperl was sent out and Paul seemed to think it was only a matter of time for him to win.

"Thunderpunch!" Paul was merciless and Elekid charged in with its arm full of electricity, "Whirlpool!" Shuichi countered with a quick Whirlpool.

Clamperl conjured a big whirlpool and threw it at Elekid who had no chance to dodge so it used its Thunder Punch to punch through the whirlpool. 

Elekid slid back a few steps however Shuichi saw his chance ripe. "Water Gun!" Shuichi ordered and Clamperl agreed, shooting out a stream of water straight at Elekid.

"Dodge it!" Paul quickly said as Elekid jumped out of the way, "Now use Thunder Punch again!" Elekid now was closer to Clamperl so it ran at him again with an arm of electricity.

Having no more time for a Whirlpool Shuichi decided to defend instead. "Iron Defense!" he said and Clamperl retreated in his shell and set up a light blue sheen.

The Thunder Punch came down hard on Clamperl but it held on tight due to the Iron Defense, "Keep using Thunder Punch!" Paul decided to let Elekid hammer away.

('I can't let it hammer away, but Clamperl doesn't have a close range-') Shuichi's brain was analysing the situation at a million miles and suddenly remembered a move he's nearly forgotten about.

As Elekid got ready for another swing Shuichi suddenly said "Clamp!" Clamp wasn't a move he used often however in situations like these there was no better move.

Clamperl suddenly opened up like a bear trap and clamped down hard at Elekid who roared out in pain, "Clamp as hard as you can! Don't let go!" Shuichi encouraged and Clamperl's emotions got riled up and didn't let loose.

"Thunder!" Paul yelled as Elekid grit its teeth and gathered power for a Thunder, sparks slowly appeared and every second felt like agony however a flash of light shot out and Clamperl was directly hit with the Thunder.

"Clamperl is unable to battle! Trainer Shuichi, send out your last Pokémon!" Seeing Clamperl unconscious on the ground made the referee declare it as unable to battle.

The crowd cheered even louder, the match was suddenly a close one again as Paul managed to come back from the brink.

Shuichi recalled Clamperl, "Well done, leave the rest to Eevee." Shuichi wasn't Paul and wouldn't berate Clamperl, he's done his best and that was enough.

Eevee appeared again in a flash and although wasn't rested fully but was breathing a lot more stable than he was after the Ninjask fight.

Elekid on the other hand was barely standing and was breathing hard, it clearly was in bad shape. 

Paul looked at Shuichi and Shuichi looked back, although Paul's attitude was bad his training skills and battling skills were nothing to scoff at.

Paul on the other hand respected strong trainers and Shuichi was definitely a strong trainer, much better than that child Ash.

"Swift!" "Thunder!" They both decided to fire off a long ranged attack and both Pokémon made their moves.

Eevee sent out stars with his tail as Elekid charged up electricity, the stars impacted Elekid however due to the electrical field around it the stars' damage was impacted.

"Protect!" Seeing that Elekid was close to firing off Shuichi made the defensive move, the green shield came up just in time for the blast of electricity and protected Eevee completely.

"Now! Quick Attack!" As the shield dropped and Elekid was breathing raggedly Shuichi decided to attack, Eevee was also breathing hard as Protect sapped a bit of stamina.

"Counter with Brick Break!" Paul still had Brick Break left and decided to use it for a counter, it would come down to this.

Eevee charged forwards as Elekid got ready with a karate chop from above, both Pokémon impacted each other as Eevee tackled Elekid body and Elekid came down hard at Eevee's back.

Both Pokémon froze when the attacks collided with their opponents, Shuichi could feel both Pokémon's desperation to cling on and not fall unconscious.

The crowd held their breath in anticipation, the referee got ready as he could see both Pokémon were at their limit and Shuichi and Paul could only wait to see who would fall first.

Suddenly a change happened, Elekid's arm slid off Eevee's back and fell forwards into the ground unconscious with Eevee barely hanging on.

"Elekid is unable to battle! Trainer Shuichi is the winner!" The referee cut the silence and the crowd erupted in a loud cheer.

Shuichi cheered as well and his pressure that he radiated for the entire battle was all gone, he felt more exhausted now than he had ever been. But not exhausted enough to run to Eevee.

Shuichi ran towards Eevee as he hugged the fox-like Pokémon "Well done Eevee! I'm extremely proud of you!" Shuichi was ecstatic. Eevee relaxed and quickly fell unconscious, but Shuichi could feel it echo his own emotions before he fell unconscious.

"Look at you smiling, it's as if you yourself had won this tournament." Somewhere in the crowd an inconspicuous man looked at his partner next to him.

"Shut it, can't a father feel proud for his own son?" His partner still wore a stupid smile on his face as he replied. 

"Really Enki, I thought you were looking for Team Galactic, and here I was doing my job." The inconspicuous man was of course Looker.

"How often do I have to tell you not to use my name!" Enki quickly replied, however he still couldn't wipe the smile off his face. 

He really was a proud father as he saw from start to finish how Shuichi outplayed his opponent and came out the victor.

Paul recalled Elekid as he looked at Shuichi hugging Eevee, he didn't like to lose, it meant that he wasn't strong enough. Shuichi had outplayed him from the start so it meant that he had to step up his own game as well.

Paul couldn't leave yet as Nurse Joy came up for the ending ceremony, plus Shuichi's and Paul's Pokémon were taken by Chansey for urgent care as they all pushed themselves.

"This match certainly didn't disappoint as it was full of exciting moments, don't you all agree?" Nurse Joy asked the crowd who all yelled a collective 'Yeah!'

Nurse Joy smiled clearly loving every moment of this "But as I said before, there can only be one winner and now we have that winner!" The crowd cheered hard.

"However!" Nurse Joy suddenly calmed down the crowd and having their attention she continued, "We technically still have one more match!" She shocked the audience, was there another match?

Even Shuichi in all the excitement didn't know what she was talking about, "We still have to decide the third place!" Nurse Joy was a little speechless, did everyone really forget about the other two?

('Oh right! Nando and Barry still need to decide the third place') Shuichi had completely forgotten about them still needing to decide third place.

Usually in tournament formats the third place is played before the finals however in this case both their Pokémon were weak due to previous battles.

"Now normally we would schedule this match tomorrow so that their Pokémon can rest, however we've asked both the trainers and they have agreed to a special one-on-one match!"

The crowd cheered again and those who were just coming down from the finals were excited again at the prospect of this match.

Shuichi was interested in the battle, Barry would send out a Staravia while Nando would send out… wait which one would he send out? Nando hadn't even shown his third Pokémon!

Nando and Barry suddenly came forward to the battlefield, the tournament wasn't over and they would be the closing act.

The referee gave them the signal and both sent out their Pokémon, "You're up Staravia!" "Kricketot, please." 

Barry sent out his Staravia which quickly took flight, Nando on the other hand released a Kricketot.

Kricketot was a red bipedal insectoid Pokémon. It has a pair of black, curled antennae attached to a deep red part of its head, and its mouth is similar. Its eyes are black with white pupils. It has a pale yellow collar around its neck.

The audience was a little stunned at the sudden reveal, a slight depressed air hung around them. It was clear who the winner was going to be.

('Is Kricketot not battle ready? I beg to disagree') Shuichi could feel more than the audience, he felt Kricketot's confidence and determination. This was clearly not going to be an easy win.

Barry didn't seem to think so as he immediately went on the offensive, "Staravia, Quick Attack!" Staravia dive bombed straight towards Kricketot.

Nando only smiled and remained calm, "Uproar, please." Kricketot replied by rubbing its antennae together to create a loud sound with soundwaves shooting towards Staravia.

Staravia was directly hit by the soundwaves which caused it to deviate course and dive straight into the ground. 

The crowd began cheering at the sudden close match again, Nando really wasn't one you could underestimate. 

('More sounds, why am I not surprised?') Shuichi grinned a little seeing Kricketot make a racket. If it wasn't for Roselia, one would assume Kricketot would be Nando's icon.

"Staravia! Snap out of it! Use Sand Attack to break that Uproar!" If there was one thing Barry could do it was yell and be loud, his own voice overpowered the Uproar and Staravia heard him.

Staravia smacked its wing into the ground throwing a cloud of sand Kricketot's way, the sand caused it to stop its sound.

"Now Wing Attack!" Barry quickly capitalised and gave Staravia the order, Staravia quickly flapped its wings to build up speed and charged at Kricketot.

"Dodge, please" Nando calmly instructed Kricketot to dodge, however the species weren't exactly made for quick manoeuvres so it still got clipped by the Wing Attack.

Kricketot was thrown away and just as the referee was ready to make a decision Kricketot began glowing. The crowd audibly gasped and everyone was surprised.

Shuichi on the other hand frowned a little, this was the third time he's seen an evolution and every time a massive spike in emotions is what kicked it off.

('Again? Is a massive spike of emotions the key to evolving?') Shuichi felt like he had just uncovered a hidden truth about evolution, if this was the case then could evolution be manually triggered?

Kricketot was indeed evolving, it grew a lot taller, its small hands elongated into long thin arms. Once the white glow disappeared Kricketune now stood there all proud of its evolution.

Kricketune was still mainly a red colour and on its head are two antennae that bend down and get thinner at the round sections. It has a darker red nose and a black moustache.

It also has two black wings. It has three black spots and a light yellow stripe going down that closely resembles a violin.

"That's certainly surprising, now Uproar please," Nando commented seeing the evolution, he went on the offensive immediately.

Kricketune now crossed its thin long arms across its chest to produce an even louder melody than before, it was clear this attack was a lot stronger than first.

"Sand Attack again!" Barry tried to repeat his past strategy of throwing sand in Kricketune's face however it quickly became clear that Kricketune didn't need its antennae anymore for the Uproar.

Kricketune ignored the sand and continued playing along, Staravia was helpless as it was getting battered by the soundwaves.

('The only way to stop Kricketune is to charge forwards with a Quick Attack or Wing Attack.') Shuichi thought as the match was slowly moving in Nando's favour.

Barry also realised the plan "Quick Attack through the sounds!" Staravia charged at Kricketune through the sound waves leaving behind a white streak.

"Intercept with a Fury Cutter, please." Nando was still there although he didn't say much because there wasn't a reason to interfere.

Although it couldn't use Fury Cutter as a Kricketot it could as a Kricketune, there were a few such cases where Pokémon would automatically learn a new move upon evolution.

Kricketune's uproar stopped and its arms glowed red as Staravia was closing in quickly, both Pokémon clashed and kept moving.

Staravia landed on the ground and Kricketune was still in its stance, this looked very familiar to how the last match ended.

This one however ended much quicker with Kricketune going down, the damage it took before evolving and the energy from the evolution itself were no laughing matter.

"Kricketune is unable to battle! Trainer Barry is the winner!" The referee declared Barry the winner, it was unfortunate for Nando however he didn't seem to be bothered by the loss.

('Nando's too much of a people pleaser to strive for success,') In Shuichi's experience, people had to be selfish in order to succeed. It was also a reason why he didn't travel with Ash anymore.

The crowd cheered loudly at the close match that was even filled with an evolution, this tournament really did exceed all expectations.

Nurse Joy took centre stage again as she announced. "And with that we have our third place settled! I would like to welcome all the winners for their prizes!"

Nurse Joy called forth Nando, Barry, Paul and Shuichi for the prize ceremony. It was a simple ceremony where the person got called up and they received their prize.

The money was transferred to their preferred device and the crowd cheered for each of them, normally the first place would receive the most cheers but with Nando being there it skewed it a bit.

Shuichi received ₽7,200 for the first place prize along with a standing ovation from the crowd. It was an exciting time as he was first in the local tournament.

('However, this was only a local tournament, this wasn't the Lily of the Valley Conference.') Shuichi didn't lose sight of the real grand tournament, in fact he still needed to get his first gym badge.

It was all in due time, but first he would celebrate with his Pokémon and then he would stay for a few days to watch the Jubilife Contest!