"EVERYONE MUST EVACUATE, FOR THEIR OWN SAFETY!"
"BY ORDER OF THE LEAGUE, ALL OF THE SPECTATORS ARE TO VACATE TO STADIUM!"
"But I paid for these seats..."
"I wanted to see the battle..."
"Char char, Charmander..."
Grumbles from people and pokemon alike could barely be heard over the rumble of the thousands of feet, and the yelling of the League officials as they hearded each and every one of them out of the stadium.
"And if you look down below, you can see tens of thousands of people and pokemon vacating the stadium after the order was given by the Elite Four, though they do so reluctantly. In the stadium itself though, you can see Red Ketchum and his first challenger as Champion, Blue Oak, circling one another as they prepare to battle.
Of the hundred thousand people that had been watching them before, only a select few had been allowed to stay and spectate the battle. Among them was professor Oak, the Gym Leaders, Elite Four, and the Champions from other regions as they stood together on the sidelines of the arena.
"Why did you have the people leave?" Iris asked curiously as she glanced around the empty stands, while Red and Blue continued circling each other like a pair of predators awaiting the slightest opening.
"For their safety." Professor Oak answered, before he stepped forward. "This will be a six on six battle, no limit on substitutions. Begin!"
"..."
Despite the battle being offiially started, neither Red nor Blue made any immediate movements as they continued circling one another, paying no heed to the official positions they were supposed to be standing in either.
"And what about us?" Iris barely whispered next. "Why did you have us stay?"
"Because..." Professor Oak said as he called out two of his own pokemon, Dragonite and Mr. Mime. "I want you all to witness a battle between two REAL pokemon masters."
"PIDGEOT!"
"BLASTOISE!"
"DOUBLE TEAM!"
"HYDRO PUMP!"
"GEOOOO!"
"BLAST!"
At the command of their trainers, Red's Blastoise fired a powerful blast of water from it's cannons that hit Blue's Pidgeot dead on, only the Pidgeot faded into nothing as an illusionary copy.
"Geo!"
"Geo!"
"Geo!"
"Geo!"
The Champions watched in awe as tens, dozens, and then HUNDREDS of illusionary Pidgeots filled the air above the arena. It was far more than any pokemon they had ever heard being able to create in one go.
"Destroy them all." Red commanded his Blastoise casually, seemingly undaunted by the sheer number of copies in the air before him.
"Blast!"
Bastoise roared in response as it fired Hydro Pump continuously. Not just within the arena, but also hitting the stands to carve great gouges out of the metal, stone and plastic as it blasted illusion after illusion.
"I have to give it to Blue..." Red murmured to himsefl wryly. "Not even I can see through which is the real Pidgeot."
"Air Slash." Blue suddenly declared from the other side, and Red watched as each and every one of the hundreds of Pidgeots instantly bombarded Blastoise with hundreds of razor-sharp blades of air from every direction.
"Blastoise, use Hydro Bomb!"
"Blast..."
Despite the constantly barrage of bladed attacks it was enduring, Blastoise responded to Red's command by creating a small pressurized sphere of water between it's two cannons.
"TOISE!"
Blastoise then launched the sphere of water straight up into the air without aiming at any of the Pidgeot illusions.
"NOW!" Red yelled, and all hell broke loose.
The small sphere of water suddenly exploded outwards to envelop almost every single Pidgeot in the arena all at once, including the original as the copies quickly began to fade.
"Now turn it into whirlpool!" Red continued excitedly, and Blastoise did just that.
The giant mass of water, instead of descending to the ground like it should have, instead began to spin counter-clockwise at high speed, with Pidgeot trapped inside.
"Pidgeot, use Hurricane!" Blue commanded his pokemon, who promptly began to spin rapidly against the Whirlpool.
"Don't let it take control Blastoise." Red cautioned, though his warning was fruitless as Pidgeot successfully managed to counter and then cancel the Whirlpool, freeing itself as thousands of gallons of water cascaded down onto the stadium.
"Give us some cover, Mr. Mime." Professor Oak casually ordered, and his pokemon quickly placed several walls around all of them that were spectating before they could be crushed by the falling water.
"Woah..." Iris uttered in awe as they were all suddenly surrounded by water, before it began to drain away. But the battle wasn't over just yet.
"Now use Hurricane again, this time on Blastoise!" Blue hurriedly ordered, and once more Pidgeot began to spin at high speed to create a cyclone of powerful winds.
*CREEEEEE!*
*SHEEEEEER!*
*CRUNCH!*
The powerful gales proceeded to rip apart the stadium as chairs, support beams, and even walling were ripped away from the foundation itself to be picked up by the cyclone, while Blastoise itself was helpless to resist the pull as well.
"Blast!"
Even as it roared in defiance, Blastoise was lifted up and sucked into the cyclone with the rest of the debris.
"Now use Aerial Ace!" Blue ordered his Pidgeot, who began to barrage Blastoise with one attack after another from within the cyclone. Even as the debris that had been picked up also continuously assaulted it.
And through it all, Red was silent as he waited for some unknown factor.
"..."
"NOW! HYDRO CANNON!"
"BLAST!"
*KABOOM!*
At the split second when Pidgeot went back in for another Aerial Ace, Blastoise unleashed a devestatingly powerful blast of water from it's cannons, one that blasted Pidgeot out of the cyclone, even THROUGH the stands of the stadium itself, and into the mountside beyond.
*CRASH!*
The stunned silence that followed the feat was punctuated only by the crashing descent of one of the obsidian pillars as it fell to the stands below, shattering to send chunks of sharpened stone flying in every direction. And once the cyclone that had been powered by Pidgeot also died down, Blastoise came crashing down as well, battered and bruised, but still ready and able to fight.
"Go and check on Pidgeot, Dragonite." Professor Oak told his ace pokemon.
"Dro!" Dragonite barked in response, before immediately launching out of the hole Mr. Mime made in the box that was protecting them.
Though the Champions couldn't see it, the people who had been evacuated from the stadium, and had watched the battle on the big screen outside, now watched as Dragonite flew to investigate the crater that now existed in the side of the mountain, where it then pulled out an unconscious Pidgeot.
"Pidgeot is unable to battle!" Professor Oak declared as Dragonite dropped the unconscious pokemon onto the ground in the arena.
"Tch."
Blue clicked his tongue irritably as he recalled his pokemon, before automatically reaching for his next pokeball.
"Well done Blastoise." Red complimented his own pokemon, before recalling it and reaching for his next pokeball as well.
"Ninetails!"
"You're up, Raichu!"
While Red's long-time trusted partner of Raichu appeared on one side of the arena, an elegant fox-like pokemon with golden fur appeared on the other, her nine tails swaying elegantly behind her as she focused on Raichu.
"Oh~? One of the elusive Kantonian Ninetails?" Professor Kukui muttered as he examined Ninetails curiously.
"It's so beautiful..." Iris uttered in awe.
"Indeed. But I would not recommend getting too close, or touching her at all, Ninetails are known to curse who earn their ire, even if all you did was touch one of their tails." Professor Oak warned her cautiously, even as the next round began.
"NIIIIIIINE!"
"RAIIIIIIIIIII!"
Both pokemon started out strong as they attacked the other, with Ninetails utilizing nine Flamethrowers, one from each of her tails, but controlled and condensed to needle point as she whipped them about to melt and set fire to anything and everything around her.
Raichu meanwhile was using and maintaining the most powerful Discharge any of them had ever seen, working both offense and defense as bolts of electricity struck everything around it, including Ninetails' Flamethrower attacks while also forcing her to use some of her attacks for defense.
The scene was like something out of an apocalyptic movie as fire met lightning with explosive results, setting everything around them ablaze or just flat out destroying it.
"Volt Tackle!" Red cried out eventually, prompting Raichu to use it's strongest move as it charged Ninetails.
"Greet it with a Fire Blast." Blue retaliated, prompting his Ninetails to summon a veritable storm of fire with her tails right as Raichu charged her.
*WHOOOOOOOOOSH!*
A fire storm engulfed Raichu and an entire section of the arena that left even the Champions covering their faces from the bright and intense blaze, despite Mr. Mime's barriers that were covering all of them.
Despite the powerful attack, Raichu continued on through the blaze directly until it came out right in front of Ninetails, slamming right into her face with a full-powered Volt Tackle.
*KER-KRACK!*
Thunder roared as bolts of lightning arced and struck everything around Ninetails, mostly Ninetails herself as she flew back into the wall, and crumpled to the ground without moving.
"Rai....." Raichu uttered victoriously, before it collapsed as well.
"Both Raichu and Ninetails are unable to battle!" Professor Oak declared, to the shock of everyone else who had been watching the battle.
"Have you ever seen one of Red's pokemon go down?" Cynthia quietly asked Steven.
"Nope." He replied as both Red and Blue recalled their Raichu and Ninetails respectively.
"The score is now two to one, in Red's favor." Professor Oak continued, even as both trainers reached for their next pokeball.
By this point the stadium was burning around them thanks to Ninetails' Flamethrower and Fire Blast, the latter of which left an entire section of the stands still glowing as they melted into slag.
"I choose you, Venusar!"
"Go Exeggutor!"
...
"Venusaur is unable to battle."
...
"Exeggutor is unable to battle."
...
"Nidoking is unable to battle."
...
"Umbreon is unable to battle."
...
"..."
Blue was seething in anger as he recalled his Umbreon, the fifth of his pokemon to fall in battle against Red's, while Red had only lost his Venusaur and Raichu. But all was not lost yet, as Blue still had his most powerful pokemon to use.
"Don't let me down, BLASTOISE!"
"BLAAAAAAAAST!"
As soon as the massive turtle appeared in the arena, Blue reached into one of his pockets and withdrew a pendant that shimmered in the light. And in response to the pendant, Blastoise was covered in a shell of light as it underwent mega Evolution.
"Oh? I suppose I should try that out for myself." Red commented wryly as he held up the Keystone he had just received earlier from Lance, which was embedded into a bracer on his forearm.
"I choose you, CHARIZARD!"
"CHAAAAAAAAAAAAAR!"
Charizard roared as it entered the arena, before facing the greatest opponent it had ever faced in its life.
"Now lets Mega Evolve!"
"CHAR!"
Activating his own Keystone, Red's Charizard was enveloped in a shell of light as well that shattered a moment later to reveal its new form, black scales with a blue underside.
As soon as both pokemon had finished their respective Mega Evolutions, Charizard rushed Blastoise in a draconic Flame Charge, while Blastoise fired off a powerful blast of concentrated water from the singular cannon on it's back.
"So hot!" Iris exclaimed, despite the barriers that were still protecting them from the effects of the battle.
"Amazing..." Cynthia uttered as Charizard's mere presence bolstered the flames that were still raging from the battle between Ninetails and Raichu, while Blastoise's Hydro Pump blasted a hole through the stadium wall where it connected, doing just as much as Red's Blastoise's Hydro Cannon on top of smothering the flames near it.
"CHAR!" Charizard roared as it impacted Blastoise, creating a wave of flames that washed over the water type and it's general area, glassing any of the dirt and sand that happened to be near them at the same time.
Blastoise however, appeared completely unfazed as water exploded from the cannons atop it's hands, blasting Charizard right into the stadium walls before it followed with a tidal wave courtesy of Surf.
The entire arena flooded from the massive wave conjured by Blastoise, smothering even more fires while also filling in the fissures created by Blue's Nidoking earlier before flowing out of the stadium into the surrounding area.
"CHAAAAAAAAAR!"
Charizard roared as it emerged from the Surf with a powerful flap of it's wings, creating a downdraft so powerful that it cleared the water around it before it bombarded Blastoise with numerous powerful fire type attacks that rapidly evaporated the water around them, filling the air with scalding hot steam.
"Normally the outcome of a battle between a fire and water type would be obvious, but I can't see who even has the advantage between these two..." Steven muttered to himself as he watched the ongoing battle.
"That's because these two have battled relentlessly for their entire lives." Profesor Oak stated solemly, even as Charizard used Fire Spin to engulf Blastoise in a seemingly unending inferno, while Blastoise shot out one powerful Hydro Pump after another from within right at Charizard.
"From the moment Red and Blue chose their starters, they battled one another. Then again, and again, and again. Over and over they battled one another throughout their respective journeys, learning more and more about the other as they fought to defeat each other. I'd even readily say no one knows either of them as well as they know one another."
Even as professor Oak said that, Blastoise hit Charizard with a particularly nasty Hydro Cannon, one powerful enough that the fire type starter was blasted through the stadium just like Pidgeot had been earlier, and into the nearby mountainside.
Unlike Pidgeot though, that move was not enough to take Charizard out of the fight as it reappeared in the air over the stadium, before diving down at Blastoise in a powerful Flare Blitz.
*KABOOOOOOOM!*
The entire arena shuddered as Charizard hit Blastoise, doing more than a little damage to itself in the process. But it wasn't finished yet.
Immediately aftterwards, Charizard bombarded Blastoise with Blast Burn.
Not just Blastoise, but everything around it was razed by the vicious bombardment of powerful flames that instantly melted or vaporized everything they touched. The only exception was Blastoise, who immediately took advantage of the momentary lull from the drain of using Blast Burn.
"BLASTOISE!"
With a roar, Blastoise hit Charizard directly with the most powerful Hydro Cannon yet that blasted a hole through the stadium, and INTO the mountain beyond. Not even forming a crater, but a massive hole that bore directly into the middle of the mountain itself.
"Dragonite, check on Charizard please." Professor Oak asked his ace, who readily flew off to do just that. Then, just like he had after the end of the first round, Dragonite returned while carrying the unconscious figure of Charizard, who had even reverted back to it's base form now that it had lost.
"Charizard is unable to battle!" Professor Oak declared.
"BLAAAAAAAAAAAAST!" Blastoise roared victoriously while Blue watched on impassively, before the fomer collapsed to the ground, also unconscious.
"Blastoise is unable to battle! Blue is out of usable pokemon, and therefor Red Ketchum wins!" Professor Oak declared, leaving those who had been able to watch the battle stunned.
"No way.... Red lost THREE pokemon against Blue?!"
"And two of them were even his strongest!"
Such comments could be heard as Red and Blue both recalled their starters.
"You did really well Charizard." Red whispered to his pokeball.
"Finally..." Blue muttered, having FINALLY managed to bring down Red's damned Charizard. But with three more pokemon still standing, he couldn't consider this anything other than a complete defeat.
Without a single word after recalling Blastoise, Blue turned to leave now that he had lost yet again to Red.
"Blue, wait!" Red suddenly called, grabbing him by the shoulder.
"What?" Blue demanded, not wanting to deal with Red more than absolutely necessary. But what he saw when he turned around was a completely serious look on Red's face.
"I need to talk to you about some things." Red told him seriously.
"There's nothing to talk about." Blue sneered as he tried to shake Red's hand off, but the other man just gripped him tighter.
"Yes there is."
"Listen to him son." Professor Oak as he too approached them, needing help from Dragonite while he was at it due to how much damage had been done to the stadium.
"And what exactly is so important?" Blue asked his father impatiently.
"How about the end of the world?"
"!?!"
That got Blue's attention as his expression sharpened intently.
"Are you serious, or just exaggerating?" Blue asked.
"As serious as the man who tried to put a bullet into your son's skull."
"!!!"
Whatever Blue had been expecting his father to say, it certainly wasn't THAT.
"Tell me everything, NOW." Blue demanded in a low voice, prompting a LONG discussion between him, Red, professor Oak, and the other Champions.
By the end of it Blue found himself sitting in a shocked silence as his mind raced through everything he had learned. But the most surprising thing, was that he found himself seriously contemplating accepting Red's offer. The offer to join his Elite Four as their captain.
***
Even as the hours passed, and the horizon began to glow with the rapidly approaching morning, I found myself unable to even contemplate sleep as I continued replaying the battle between Red and Blue in my head, over and over again. It had felt less like a battle between rival trainers, and a contest of strength between gods.
I can confidently say that the only ones I've seen use more power than Red and Blue's pokemon fell into the Legendary category, and even then a part of me felt as if either of the og pokemon masters could hold their own against the literal gods if the need ever arose.
Even as sleep eluded me I laid there in bed, replaying the battle in my mind, until I noticed my bedside clock said it was almost six. Having had enough of just laying in bed, I threw the covers off of my naked body and crawled out from the pile of entangled limbs.
It was time to get to work.