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Pokemon: Platinum Dreams

Sinnoh League Championship Battle

Kasumi's footsteps echoed as she slowly made her way through the long hallway. Her anxiety caused her to pull at the dress she was wearing, her mother bought her for the occasion. The Pokemon League lasts a full three day weekend. And this was the final day. The final battle, for the championship title. Kasumi knew it wasn't going to be an easy one. Her stomach felt like it was upside down from all the excitement and worries. Worry that she'd choke. That she wouldn't be able to even take out one of the champion's Pokemon. Usually, Kasumi is brimming with confidence before a battle. Not today. Today is a very different case.

She arrives at the entrance to the arena. An usher stands at the door. He smiles at her and without a even a word, opens it for her. Kasumi nods a 'Thank you' to the usher. If she opened her mouth now, she'd probably toss her breakfast. She went through the door and squinted her eyes as the bright lights hit her face. After she covered her face a bit and her vision adjusted, she stared in awe at the arena. Surrounding her were thousands of people in the stands. Cheering and applauding. She had been battling all weekend in the very same arena, but for some reason, now, she felt intimidated. This was huge! She was taking on the Sinnoh League Champion. Kasumi approached her side of the stadium. Some workers run up to her and hook her up with a microphone. After they finish they run back and the platform rises like an elevator. Kasumi's pulse quickens as the moment draws near. The most significant battles of her career up to this point race through her mind in a flash. The platform stops.

A huge, four-sided, monitor activates and shows a well dressed man and woman behind a counter. The man speaks first. "Welcome! One and all, to this year's Sinnoh League Championship battle! We're your announcers, Tom and Mary!" The woman smiles, "Thanks Tom, I'm so excited! I hope we have a great battle today!" She replies. Tom nods, "Of course! All battles are! So let's get this show on the road!" He exclaims. "In the green corner, we have our spirited young challenger, Kasumi!" Tom continued. As he introduced Kasumi, the cameras cut to her. Kasumi smiled and struck a pose, seeing herself on the big screen. The crowd roared with excitement. Mary laughed, "It seems the audience is ready for some action!"

"In the red corner we have the skillful and beautiful, Sinnoh League Champion, Cynthia!!" Mary announced. The crowd's cheers increased dramatically, as Cynthia appeared on the opposite side of the arena. She waved to the audience as they continued to cheer and applaud. Her movements were graceful and confident. It appeared as though Cynthia was used to the attention. Kasumi could feel her palms sweating and her hands trembled a little. "I just can't seem to calm down.." She thought. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply. It seemed to be working.

"Wow! What an applause! Cynthia certainly has many supporters." Tom mentioned. Mary nodded. "Kasumi should have plenty of support out there too. I for one am rooting for both sides!" She added. A few referees appeared around the arena. One walked into the middle of the battlefield, where the traditional Pokeball shaped white line is located. "This will be a full, six-on-six, single battle! Both trainers will be permitted to change Pokemon at any time! Only the Pokemon's held item may be used! One-hit knock out moves are banned! The winner will be decided when one trainer has run out of useable Pokemon!" The referee explained. He made his way to the sidelines once he finished.

"This should be a fun battle. Let's do our best, Kasumi." Cynthia said. Her voice was just as smooth and cool as her countenance. "I won't go easy on you." Kasumi replied. She tried her best to control her voice. She didn't want anyone to know how nervous she felt. "Great! Finally this battle can get under way!" Tom yelled. The crowd applauded. The same referee from before raised both red and green flags, then waved them. "The challenger gets first move! Let the battle BEGIN!!" He exclaimed.

Kasumi awkwardly reached for her first Pokemon. The pokeball almost slipped out of her fingers, but she managed to maintain her grip. She hurled the Pokeball out onto the battlefield. "Moses! I'm counting on you!" Kasumi exclaimed. At the same time, in one graceful motion, Cynthia released her lead Pokemon as well. "Spiritomb! Keep your guard up!" She ordered. Both pokeballs hit the ground and bounced into the air. A red light poured out of each Pokeball revealing the Pokemon within. On Cynthia's side, a Spiritomb. On Kasumi's side, a Lapras. "An interesting match-up, wouldn't you say, Mary?" Tom asked. "Oh yes. This first round, honestly, could go either way." Mary agreed.

"A Spiritomb.. A smart lead considering it has no weakness.Without any water on the field Moses' movements are limited. But Spiritomb isn't very agile itself." Kasumi thought. "Moses! Let's start things off with a Surf!" She yelled. Kasumi's Lapras let out a cry and a large amount of water appeared from under him. The water rushed toward Spiritomb, with Lapras riding the wave. Cynthia grinned. "Spiritomb. Brace yourself." She ordered. "Spiri!!" Spiritomb replied. The tidal wave made a direct hit on it's target and the crowd cheered. Spiritomb cried out in pain. The attack hurt her, but she still had plenty of fight left. "Great job, Moses!" Kasumi yelled. Moses thanked her then set his attention on Spiritomb. "Nice move. My turn." Cynthia said. It was obvious she wasn't worried. "Spiritomb! Use Ominous Wind!" She ordered. Spiritomb immediately did as told. Her body waved, as a sinister, howling wind blew in Lapras' direction. "Moses! Hang in there, hon!" Kasumi cried. Her Lapras was knocked back by the force of the attack. A red aura appeared around Spiritomb, indicating it raised it's stats. "Geez.. on her first try?" Kasumi muttered. Cynthia simply flipped her blonde hair and flashed a smile at Kasumi.

"Ladies and gentlemen! What a great start we just witnessed! Both Pokemon aren't pulling any punches!" Tom exclaimed. The crowd cheered in agreement. "Yes, and Kasumi's got her hands full. Spiritomb's Ominous Wind just raised it's offenses, defenses and speed. Hopefully, for her sake, it doesn't get any more lucky boosts." Mary added. Tom laughed and agreed.

"Raising it's stats one stage isn't too big a problem! Moses, Surf again!" Kasumi ordered. Cynthia chuckled. "Spiritomb, Ominous Wind." She said. Because of Spiritomb's speed boost, it acted first. Another vicious wind howled across the battlefield knocking Kasumi's Lapras back once more. Once again a red aura appeared around it. "What?! No way!!" Kasumi yelled, "How'd it raise it's stats again?!" Moses shook off it's attack and countered with another tidal wave. Spiritomb endured the hit and laughed eerily. "At this rate, Moses won't last long.. even with leftovers.." Kasumi thought.

"This is really something! Spiritomb's on a roll!" Tom exclaimed, after giving the audience the play by play. "Kasumi needs to think of something and fast." Mary added.

"I can't use psychic on it, to lower it's special defense. I'll need to disable it completely.. I hope this works." Kasumi thought. "Moses, Ice Beam, now!!" She yelled. Moses nodded and opened it's mouth. "Spiritomb! Dark Pulse!" Cynthia called out. Spiritomb, even faster now, immediately, let out a dark energy from it's body. The attack headed straight for Moses and made a direct hit. Moses shut it's mouth and flinched, because of the intense pressure. "Crap.." Kasumi muttered. This really wasn't looking good. Cynthia again, issued a command, "Follow up with another Dark Pulse! End it!" Spiritomb did as told. "Moses! Use Surf to dodge and then attack it with Ice Beam!" Kasumi exclaimed. Her Lapras rode the wave to the right, evading the attack. Then opened it's mouth and let loose a frozen beam right at Spiritomb. "Spiriii-!!" The Spiritomb cried out in pain. Then stopped moving completely. "Yes! Great job, Moses!" Kasumi cheered.

The crowd went wild. "Incredible! Spiritomb is frozen solid!" Mary exclaimed. "This could be a problem for Cynthia. How will she get out of this?" she asked. Tom grinned. "Easy, she doesn't!" He replied.

Kasumi smiled. Things were looking up. "Moses, Surf!" She ordered. Lapras cried out and summoned another tidal wave. It headed straight for the frozen Spiritomb. "Return." Cynthia said, while holding a Pokeball in hand. A red beam of light enveloped Spiritomb and it disappeared. Cynthia threw out another Pokemon to take it's place. A Roserade appeared out of it's pokeball, just in time to take the hit for Spiritomb.

"Woah! Ladies and Gentlemen, Cynthia just substituted Spiritomb for Roserade!" Tom exclaimed. "And that Surf attack was not very effective." Mary added. Tom smiled. "Our champion has type advantage now." He stated. "But Lapras is an ice type too. And Roserade won't take a STAB Ice Beam well." Mary reminded him. Kasumi looked up at the scoreboard. The image of Spiritomb on Cynthia's side went dim and an image of Roserade lit up in the slot under it.

"Switching out. That was a smart move!" Kasumi said with a grin. It seemed her nerves were finally calm. Cynthia smiled. "Thank you." She replied. "Enough chit-chat, Moses! Ice Beam now!" Lapras began to open it's mouth again. "Roserade! Energy Ball, please!" Cynthia ordered. Roserade put it's arms together and formed a green ball of energy. The Miracle Seed it held began to glow, giving it more power. Once it fully charged, she aimed and shot at Moses before it could fire Ice Beam. "Laaa!!!!" Moses moaned. It fell to the ground. "Moses!!" Kasumi screamed.

"A super-effective, super-charged Energy Ball! It's gotta be down after that!" Tom yelled, as he rose from he seat. "Tom, sit down. You have to remember that Lapras was on it's last legs after fighting Spiritomb." Mary stated. A referee stood at the center of the stage. He raised the red flag in his right arm. "Lapras is unable to battle! This round goes to the champion! The score is Cynthia, with six pokemon and Kasumi, with five remaining!" The referee went back to his post. "Well, it looks like Kasumi's off to a bad start with the first loss of the battle." Tom said. Mary shook her head. "She may have one Pokemon knocked out, but Cynthia has a frozen Pokemon. And a frozen Pokemon is basically unusable. Unless you count it as fodder." Mary replied. "That's true." Tom agreed.

Kasumi called back her Lapras. Once it was back in it's Pokeball, Kasumi said, "Nice work, hon.. rest easy." She looked at the scoreboard. The image of Lapras on her side had been turned off. Five Pokemon left. This next round had to go in her favor. "Tigger! Stay vigilant!" Kasumi exclaimed, as she tossed a Cherish Ball onto the field. The red ball released a powerful, Arcanine. It barked, then growled at the Roserade in front of it. "Ro..." Roserade muttered nervously. Cynthia's countenance didn't change. She's difficult to read. She just stands there, observing everything. Alot of the audience cheered as Arcanine appeared. It seems to be a popular Pokemon. "Well now, an Arcanine! This should be an easy win!" Tom stated. "Don't be so sure. Cynthia doesn't look the least bit worried." Mary replied.

"Tigger! Flare Blitz! Let's go!" Kasumi yelled. Arcanine barked and shrouded itself in an intense flame. It charged at Roserade in a burning blitz. A red beam of light removed Roserade and it was replaced by the frozen Spiritomb. "Really?!" Kasumi scoffed. Cynthia simply smiled as she watched Arcanine hit Spiritomb, causing the ice to melt. Arcanine was hurt a bit by recoil but was at the ready once again in no time. Spiritomb ate it's Sitrus Berry and laughed eerily. "Wow! Kasumi did exactly as Cynthia wanted! This is really something!" Tom exclaimed. "Oh yes. Anyone would use a fire type attack against a grass type. She really knows what she's doing." Mary replied. "She IS the champ, after all. Who would expect anything less?" Tom added.

"Spiritomb, Ominous Wind!" Cynthia commanded. Spiritomb waved it's body, preparing to release the sinister wind, yet again. "Tigger, use Crunch!" Kasumi ordered. Arcanine barked, then rushed up to Spiritomb. It used it's powerful fangs to chomp on Spiritomb. Spiritomb cried out in pain. A blue aura surrounded it, indicating one of it's stats going down. Tigger released Spiritomb and it attacked with Ominous Wind. The attack knocked Tigger back, but this time, nothing else happened.

"I was a little worried there." Mary said. Tom looked at Mary. "Why?" He asked. "I thought Spiritomb was going to get another stat boost." Mary told him. "Instead Kasumi lowered Spiritomb's defense. Things are looking up for Kasumi." Tom replied. "Good thing for her, a Pokemon's stats return to normal when they're switched out in a battle." Mary added. "Perhaps, Kasumi knew Cynthia would switch from the beginning."

Kasumi smiled. "Tigger. Flare Blitz!" She ordered. Kasumi's Arcanine rushed at Spiritomb, enveloped in a powerful flame. Spiritomb wailed, then fell to the ground. The referee once again went to the center of the field. Holding up a green flag on Kasumi's side, he informed the audience. "Spiritomb is unable to battle! This round goes to the challenger! The score is tied, with five Pokemon remaining on both sides!"