Round 2

Charmeleon and Eevee stood face to face against the Charizard, its stature towering over them. The battlefield was covered in fallen rocks and debris, the cave emptied, and the Pokémon already retreated to safety.

The Charizard roared, its monstrous cry reaching the ears of its opponents. They flinched in its presence but didn't falter. Charmeleon charged forwards, his claws digging into the earth with each stride, Eevee following closely behind.

They darted off in different directions, confusing the beast. It staggered backward, eyes scanning the battlefield for whoever might pop up first. The Charizard swished its tail, the force catching Eevee off guard, the unexpected blow causing her to fly into the wall.

Charmeleon gritted his fangs, leaping towards the Charizard with a Metal Claw. His deadly weapons scraped into the back of the beast, and pools of crimson flooded out of the gaps. The beast flailed around the field, its tail flying wildly. Charmeleon landed on the battlefield, turning to see the damage he had caused.

The room grew hotter, a bright orange light forming within his opponent. The Charizard planted its feet into the ground, its head held higher. Charmeleon turned towards the beast, his own tail swishing as he gathered as much heat as possible.

The tension was high, the two dragons staring each other down as they readied their attacks.

Eevee slowly got up from where she had been tossed, her head bobbing slightly as she tried to keep her consciousness. Charizard turned towards the helpless creature, releasing a blast of fire in her direction. Charmeleon's attack faltered in shock. He tried to rush over, to somehow help her, but...

It was too late.

The flame crashed into Eevee, the crackling flames just wouldn't stop even as she cried in pain. Charizard grew closer and closer, its flamethrower unrelenting.

"Eevee, hang in there! Help will arrive soon!" She heard a familiar voice, the sound of her old trainer reaching her ears. She gritted her teeth, her paws digging into the scorched soil as she fought against the attack.

Charmeleon charged at Charizard once more, his legs coiled back as he pushed off the ground, mini debris lying in his wake. His claws turned into metal once more, and his gaze filled with bloodlust. Charizard's eyes panned over to their new attacker, finally canceling the flamethrower.

Eevee fell to the ground, covered in burns as she passed out from the pain. Charmeleon and Charizard clashed against each other. Their claws were about to collide.

"Kabutops! Use Aqua Jet!"

A gush of water hit the side of the beast, an attack so powerful it caused it to stagger from the pain, trying to regain balance. Anger bubbled from within the creature, finally reaching a breaking point as it let out a blood-chilling roar across the battlefield, its wings high and claws bared, ready to attack whoever joined the battle.

Charmeleon landed on his feet, looking in surprise to see who'd joined the fray.

"Jeez—you know, if you wanted to go and fight it so badly..." A soft murmur came from the tunnel up ahead, a young boy fitting his gloves on his hands and another throwing his scarf back. Khalid and I were now joining the battle, our Pokéballs held tight in our hands and Zorua on my shoulder, all three of us with smug grins plastered on our faces.

"You could've at least waited for us, you know?"

Khalid looked at the beast, its gaze now on us with bloodlust in her eyes.

"Guess we made the big girl mad," he commented, tossing his Pokéball into the air.

"Wait, that's a girl?" I exclaimed, a bit shocked.

"You seriously couldn't tell—?"

Lairon appeared from its ball, ready to face the beast head-on, letting out a mighty cry despite the size difference.

"Why a steel type?" I pondered, looking over in disbelief at his actions despite preaching to me mere days ago.

Khalid rolled his eyes and turned to his Pokémon with a smug smile on his face. "Just watch."

The Charizard held her head back, getting ready for another attack. My eyes caught this, and I quickly turned to my Pokémon, "Kabutops! Aqua Jet!"

In the heat of the moment, I turned to Khalid, my hands clenched into fists. "I'll go check on Eevee!" I declared, running off to the other side. Khalid nodded and turned his attention to the battle.

"Alright Lairon, let's show 'em why steel types are superior!" he shouted. Lairon nodded and got into position.

"Use Rock Slide!"

Lairon raised its head to the sky in a mighty roar, loose rocks starting to fall from the already unstable terrain, landing on Charizard in the commotion. The onslaught was too much to bear, the creature trying to brace itself after every stone.

Kabutops charged in through a jet of water, Charizard's gaze catching onto its attack. Her tail swept the earth in hopes of catching him with the dug-up debris. Kabutops stopped its attack mid-flight, its feet digging into the ground to change course before dashing off once more.

"Eevee, are you alright?" I asked as I ran up to the creature, holding her body in my arms. My brows furrowed at the sight of it, my question answering itself.

"Shit, shit, shit!" I muttered

 to myself as I took in the severity of her condition. I turned to Khalid, shouting across the cave.

"Hey Khalid, we need to run! Eevee needs a center right now!"

Khalid nodded to my words.

"I think that's the best, to be honest—" He murmured his gaze fixed on the Charizard who brushed off their attacks like nothing "I don't think we can beat this thing either…"

"But really? Running from this thing again!?"

"What to do, what to do…" I repeated to myself over and over trying to come up with something, at this rate she'll die before we get to the center!

Zoura licked her wounds, a soft whimper coming from her as she watched on.

I grit my teeth and stand up, Zorua looking up towards me.

"There's only one option…" I murmured.

Kabutops hits the beast from the side, the steam seeping from its heated scales. Charizard's mouth flew open in a silent scream, saliva spewing from the hard blow to the ribs. 

Kabutops kept pushing against the beast, its body slammed down by its tail mere moments later.

Charmeleon rushed out at the sight, its body soon collapsing from its battle earlier. A red light shot out towards Kabutops, its body soon disappearing. I rested my hand on Charmeleon's shoulder, and he looked towards me, a bit confused but after a while he nodded, returning to his ball.

"Khalid! We're leaving!" I shouted, running towards the exit. 

"Right!" He shouted back, following close behind me, Lairon watching his back.

The beast got more and more upset, stomping against the ground in rage, the whole cave starting to shake and crack under its weight.

"Earthquake?! Here? Is it serious??" I shouted, running as fast as I could.

"We need to hurry, move!" Khalid shouts.

"I know, I know!!" I kept running, my gaze soon falling to a Pokeball I had in my hands, my eyebrows furrowed in thought.

______________________________________________

I let out a guttural groan the minute we were out of there, my hands dug into the soil, the tall grass seeping through my fingers.

"We're alive!" I declared, tossing the grass up into the sky and lying back into the patch of grass.

Khalid looked down at me, his hands on his hip with a slight scowl.

"What, what is it?" I muttered, giving him a scowl of my own.

"Nothing…" He sighed, leaning back, "This just doesn't feel like a win."

I looked at him in disbelief, "Are you kidding me? This is def a win!" My arms shot up in the air, I could feel the adrenaline seeping out my body with each passing moment, a soft smile forming on my face once more.

"We got what we came for, and my Pokemon are all in one piece." I turned to him, my voice getting a bit softer.

"That's a win in my book…"

Khalid took a moment and nodded, a small smile on his face, one hand remained on his hip, looking back at me.

"Yeah, you're right." He agreed, Zorua walking up to lick my face. Causing me to laugh softly. 

"I'm glad you're okay too, girl." I smiled, petting her on the head.