Chương 174: Chapter 167

The Honchkrow was a wraith, a spectre of Sam's inevitable defeat. Darkness stuck to its feathers like tar, and energy drifted off its body like ash as it lifted itself back into the air and curved around to land before Xavier. Trevenant, with a long gash in the bark on his chest, disappeared into red light. As Sam slowly clipped his Pokéball back to his belt, he spoke the sole question that entered his mind.

"Why?"

"Why, what?" Xavier repeated.

"Do you mean why do this? Why send out Honchkrow? Or why Honchkrow might want revenge?" Settling down in front of its trainer, the Honchkrow brought its wings in just to leer at Sam. The weight of its red gaze stabbed into him, and its expression was filled with such malicious intent that its look wouldn't have been out of place on a malevolent spirit.

"Your Trevenant was the one to call Honchkrow to Route 43's forest," Xavier said, his voice without emotion.

"Honchkrow came because he owed Trevenant. Trevenant once brought him a berry to help with a broken wing. So, with Trevenant's call, he answered, and he thought he would do something—actually achieve something —but all he got was... nothing. Nothing happened. All of that fanfare, and he was just forgotten. All of the other Pokémon might have been fine with it, but him? It ate away at him. He didn't even get a thanks."

"I'm sorry," Sam said softly. The Honchkrow tilted its hat to obscure its eyes, letting its expression disappear into shade.

"Yeah. He knows. But it's just..." Xavier clenched his fists.

"Is it wrong to want to feel important for once?" His gaze turned to the field, and the way he gritted his teeth made Sam's chest twist. However, that sight only lasted for a second, and Xavier's stare returned to Sam as he waited for the battle to resume. They still had the rest of the fight to get through. Alright. Think, Sam, think! How do we counter a Pokémon with crazy strong moves? Trevenant can take a punishment, but Trevenant is— He exhaled. Trevenant was unconscious.

Honchkrow had taken him out in a single hit. Destiny Bond is too obvious. Gengar and Mismagius are too vulnerable. Typhlosion and Drakloak are both injured, but Annihilape might be skilled enough. Except, he's trained to take many hits, not single, super effective criticals. He could likely keep himself up, but a single attack is barely going to do anything to enhance his Rage Fist. Yet, weighing his options, Sam still chose Annihilape, but it wasn't for his Pokémon's strength.

On the field before him, the hulking ape Pokémon let out a grunt as he appeared. Annihilape brought his head back to glare at the Honchkrow, and his growing rage made his hair rise and fade into smoky wisps.

"Curse," Sam ordered. To handle Honchkrow, his only options were to either avoid its attacks or limit the time it could spend on the field. As a clawed shadow formed over Annihilape's hand, he let jagged fingers dig into his chest, and he was immediately struck by the pain of his own Curse. Honchkrow was forced to pull up and back, choosing to stop itself before it could swoop down for another hit.

For all of the intent it had to land another Night Slash, getting close to Annihilape while under the effects of Curse would be too much of a risk.

"Tailwind," Xavier ordered instead. As wind began to blow out from behind the Honchkrow, the speed of its flight rapidly picked up. Below, Annihilape had to take a moment just to stabilize after the self-inflicted damage from Curse. The Honchkrow's conjured winds were harsh, but they carried the Honchkrow along at almost twice the speed it had before. However, there was a wobble to its path and a strain in its wings—the Curse was eating at it, but Xavier didn't let it last that long.

Honchkrow had already taken out one Pokémon. With its victory, and now also with its Tailwind set up, the bird was recalled off the field. So Curse did make him return Honchkrow. Good. It won't be under the effects of Curse when it's next sent out, but it's at least no longer actively threatening us. I'll pretend that helps. We don't need to deal with it just yet, but we actually managed to get Xavier to lose a bit of his momentum. We need to claim that for ourselves before he can regain it, except...

Sam bit the inside of his cheek. Honchkrow might have been gone, but the threat that it carried was still there. Though he wouldn't need to worry about it right now, it could still come back at any time. He also still had to worry about basically every other Pokémon on Xavier's team. He was yet to secure any knock-outs. In no way was this an easy match. As much as Sam wanted to laugh again, to show once more that this battle was fun, he couldn't. Not after that.

With Trevenant's faint, Xavier had firmly established his ground. Sam knew he would need to search for every possible opening and order his Pokémon perfectly if he wanted to win. Replacing Honchkrow was Xavier's Noctowl, and it appeared already flying in the air. Its wings caught the Honchkrow's ongoing Tailwind, and that constant gust let it race ahead with great speed, the force following it even as it turned and changed directions.

"Foresight. Air Slash," Xavier ordered.

"Rock Slide, Annihilape!" Sam shouted in return. Eyes flashed. Noctowl identified Annihilape. His Ghost Type would be useless defensively—and now Noctowl knew exactly where to aim as it flapped its wings for an Air Slash. Terrifyingly, this move came out without making even a single sound. As the attack was composed of the air itself, it was almost invisible, only barely present through the white-tinted arcs of the blades hurtling toward where Annihilape stood.

Quickly, Annihilape shoved his arms into the ground, tearing up the field before him. Dirt, compressed into stone with Rock Type energy, hurtled upwards toward both the attack and his foe. Noctowl easily avoided the Rock Slide, but the hurtling stones disrupted its Air Slash. Then, Sam had to make a decision.

"Return," he said, trying not to let any of his nerves creep into his voice. He'd had victories in the first two matchups of this fight, but his team had taken great sacrifices to achieve them. Poliwrath was burned, its physical potential greatly reduced, and Yanmega was now both injured and paralyzed. However, in exchange, Typhlosion had become heavily injured, and Drakloak was nearly exhausted. Simply put, if he wanted to win, Sam couldn't afford another trade like that.

Instead, as he sent out his next Pokémon, cackles rang out, and Mismagius let shadows erupt from behind her. An almost mocking grin crossed her face, and Noctowl's eyes reflexively flashed for another Foresight.

"Confuse Ray. Night Shade. Will-O-Wisp," Sam ordered. The order of attacks almost felt nonsensical, but Mismagius knew what plan Sam meant. Her arms twisted around her; she spun to release her moves. A surprise beam of illusions shot out to strike the flying Noctowl between the eyes, and darkness pulsed to surround her in a sphere. Then, like hornets leaving their nest, her flames broke through the shade to race toward where the Noctowl was still in flight.

"Whirlwind," Xavier ordered. With a flap of its wings and a burst of wind, Mismagius's flames all dissipated at once.

"Hyper Beam," he said next.

"Hyper Beam!?" Sam repeated, barely able to believe his ears. He roared for Mismagius to get out of there, and her mass of shadows flicked back as she rushed to escape across the field. Distance would not provide cover, but it would provide time to react. And, she had a slight bit of saving grace: Noctowl was confused. But that wasn't true. Though her Confuse Ray had landed, Noctowl tracked her straight through her illusions; its Foresight let it ignore most attempts at evasion.

Thus, with perfect aim, Noctowl let the wind blow it higher into the sky, and a sphere of light formed in front of its pair of bent wings. As it fell back, the glow of Noctowl's move was almost blinding, but Sam could at least call for one thing:"Power Gem!" The two lasers struck. Completely and utterly, the Hyper Beam consumed Mismagius's Power Gem laser. Her ongoing Night Shade was burned away, and the power of Noctowl's move made her cry out in pain. But she wasn't the only one hit.

Her Power Gem managed to pierce through. Though it had been consumed by the Hyper Beam, it also stabbed through like a needle entering a straw. So, like how the Hyper Beam had struck her, her Power Gem stabbed right into the Noctowl's chest. A coarse hoot left its throat, and it was clear the super effective attack had hurt.

When the light of that Hyper Beam faded away, Mismagius was still up, breathing heavily and majorly wounded, the gemstone on her chest glinting in the field's light as if to threaten another Power Gem laser attack. But Noctowl was still conscious, too. As much as Sam wanted to call for Mismagius to heal here, he couldn't order a Pain Split after that. Noctowl was too injured for the healing to be worth it.

Using it now would see little benefit, and all it would do was give the Noctowl an opening to finish Mismagius off. At least, there was a bright side to this situation—the Tailwind petered out. Right now, Mismagius was faster. Sam had a chance. But instead, the Noctowl just disappeared in a flash of light as Xavier returned his Pokémon.

"No!" Sam didn't realize he had shouted in an outburst until long after it had left his throat. If he had just called for a Mean Look, Noctowl wouldn't have escaped. Instead, using that move had never even entered his mind because he hadn't deemed it necessary. No, that's not true, Sam realized. I never had a chance to use it because barely any time passed. Xavier never gave Mismagius the freedom she needed to use more than one attack.

"Donphan," Xavier said as he chose his next Pokémon. His voice was flat and even, and it betrayed nothing but confidence.

"Ice Shard."

"Ice Shard?" Sam repeated. It was an unfortunate, surprise move. Shadow Sneak wouldn't have worked; Ice Shard caught both Sam and Mismagius off guard. This completely healthy Donphan should have been the perfect chance for her to heal with Pain Split. Instead, a shard of ice formed in front of Donphan's tusks, and before Mismagius could realize what was going on, the ice shot out with blinding speed to strike her in the chest.

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. After the Noctowl's Hyper Beam, that was enough. The chip damage finished off Mismagius, and Sam's team suffered the second knockout of the fight. And we're the only side with fainted Pokémon. He didn't miss that he was down two while Xavier still had his entire team. Sam was losing. Badly. For every inch he'd managed to pry away, Xavier had carved himself a foot.

Not one Pokémon on Xavier's team was a pushover, and Sam was struggling to think of a way to recover his position. Breathing out, he was forced to take a moment to center himself, using the same strategy to calm down that had worked so many times before in the past. He couldn't let this match get to his head, no matter how much Xavier felt like a towering figure in his mind. Across from him, that same trainer was completely silent. Xavier was a giant. A mountain-sized wall to cross and overcome.

But yet, Sam had already climbed a mountain once before, and Xavier's icy attitude was nothing compared to that peak's bone-chilling winds.

"Alright. Enough of that! No getting stuck in a spiral! No getting consumed by defeat!" Sam brought up his hands to slap the sides of his face.

"Xavier! You've made some great calls in your favor, but that doesn't mean much! This isn't my battle to lose! It's your battle to win!" Xavier blinked.

"That's not—""Yeah, I know," Sam said flatly.

"I was trying to imply that you still have to fight to win instead of just carrying yourself to victory, but, well..." For some reason, he swore he could hear Redi laugh. Still, he knew how to handle this Donphan. He just needed to take this moment to calm himself and choose the right strategy. His smile returning, one of his Pokémon made their second appearance. Annihilape once again hit the field.

His Pokémon's breathing was heavier due to the self-inflicted damage of Curse, but out of every Pokémon on Xavier's team, his Donphan was the one Sam knew how to counter the most. And, with Annihilape's appearance, both Pokémon stared off. There was an edge to their gaze, not quite hostility, but definitely a desire to fight. Oh, yeah. They had a standoff in Azalea's Pokémon Center, didn't they? Dramatically, Sam pointed forward in the same moment he heard Xavier give a command.

"Defense Curl. Rollout," Xavier ordered. But Sam knew those orders had just sealed his victory.

"Bulk Up," he said. Clearly, Xavier had figured out how Rage Fist functioned. Sam had tried to keep its uses subtle, but it was like Xavier had dissected every moment. He had his Donphan roll in rapid circles around Annihilape to build speed and power. It didn't bother to use its move the usual way, where it would have attacked with increasing force multiple times in a row.

Xavier was either doing that to avoid the strength increase of Rage Fist, or he was just waiting for Rollout to hit its peak before striking, anyway. No matter what his reasoning was, both Pokémon had time to build themselves up. Pulling itself tight, the Donphan was a tire that left deeper and deeper grooves in the dirt. Annihilape, meanwhile, stayed in one place and watched. His eyes flicked around to track his opponent as he controlled his breathing and allowed his blood to begin to pump.

Finally, Donphan was moving fast enough that it was almost kicking up a sandstorm into the air. A veritable sand tornado formed around Annihilape, and then Donphan leaped—"Drain Punch!" Sam yelled. With a deafening crash, Annihilape's fist slammed against the spinning wheel that was Donphan, and though his hand ground against the Pokémon's attack, the ongoing spin did not halt. What did halt was the Rollout's forward momentum. Donphan tried to dig into him, but Annihilape's ongoing punch fought against that.

Then, slowly, red energy leeched off Donphan's body and into Annihilape's arm. With every drop that sank into him, his arm grew in size and strength, and a certain vitality returned to his face. Eventually, he finished his punch. The sheer force of that follow-through launched Donphan back. Its Rollout interrupted, it slid across the field, breathing heavily and shaking as though it could barely stand. Though he had not secured a faint, Annihilape looked better than ever before.

He was even still standing in that same spot he had stood when first sent out. Enhancing Drain Punch with Bulk Up meant the drain he inflicted was enough to practically restore all of his health. This was the combination that made an Annihilape so dangerous. Rage Fist was a finisher, not a primary attack. Every hit an Annihilape sustained built their rage to be unleashed in a finale, and Drain Punch gave them the healing needed to last as long as they could.

"So how do you like that, Xavier?!" Sam shouted.

"Pretty great, right?" Sam was smiling again. He couldn't hold back the pride he felt for his Pokémon. Honestly, he hadn't known if this would work; Drain Punch had only been partially functional back when they had left the Ilex Forest. Annihilape had practiced it over the few weeks they had spent there, but his focus had been on Ghost Type moves. Drain Punch was very much a last-minute development, and it was Annihilape's very final surprise.

I wanted to save at least one move for Redi, but at least we're revealing it against Xavier and not anyone else. But this means Annihilape has shown off everything he knows. Other than a few basic strategies, he doesn't have any secrets past this. Out of everyone here, Sam felt as though he was the most tired. His Pokémon were fighting, but they were used to exhaustion. He wanted to win, and the stress was getting to him.

Knowing that Drain Punch had landed so well helped a lot, and he and Annihilape waited for Xavier's response— But all they got in return was a sigh.

"Donphan, just... Finish it with Fissure."

"What," Sam said flatly. Annihilape lunged, trying to reach where Donphan had landed on the other side of the field before it could use this move. However, his Drain Punch had simply knocked the Donphan too far back. The heavy Pokémon in front of Xavier reared up on its hind legs only to slam down with its full weight. The impact sent a deep crack shooting out toward Annihilape. The field opened up beneath him. It caught him off guard; he had misjudged the length of his jump.

He fell into that opening, and then the two sides of the field slammed shut. Then, silence. A tense air. Worry. The truth sank in: Fissure had hit, and, notably, Fissure was a one-hit K. O. move.

"... You've never used that before," Sam said quietly.

"I've never needed to. I was saving it for a moment like this," Xavier said. Donphan let its legs slam into the ground again, but this time, it wasn't to attack. A pillar of earth broke through the floor to bring the fainted Annihilape back to the surface. The Pokémon did not get up. Sam had no words. He watched his unconscious team member lie on the ground, remaining there without even the smallest hint of motion to him. The referee's face was tense yet blank—Annihilape didn't look like he was breathing.

But Sam wasn't worried. He could tell his Pokémon was okay, just fainted. After all, Annihilape's breathing tended to be incredibly light, and there were times he didn't breathe at all when he slept. Ever so slowly, and regardless of his fainted Pokémon still on the field, Sam felt the corners of his mouth twist up. Before he knew it, a laugh escaped his throat. After that, another. And then, another. Soon, Sam was laughing so much harder than he ever expected.

"This is a great battle! Your Pokémon are crazy strong!" He had to clutch his stomach as he returned Annihilape, and he honestly wasn't sure why he kept cackling. The audience mumbled, worried, and he could only imagine what they must have been witnessing. Likely, they were watching a trainer with churning shadows underneath him, laughing madly at the scene in which his Pokémon had fainted. Picturing that image just made him laugh harder, and Xavier scowled.

"Why?" Xavier snapped out.

"Why act like this?"

"Because," Sam breathed, hardly believing what he was doing, himself, "I've been waiting all season for this. For a real battle. A proper one. One that I've been wanting to have since the very beginning, and one that's forcing us to bash ourselves against a true wall!" Everyone will know our team's strength now. Sam's heart was racing for so many different reasons. He was on the edge, on a cliff, and he could feel his blood pumping through his veins.

For all of the times he'd been panicked in the past, for all of the times he'd been so worried, this was unquestionably the worst position he and his team had ever been in. But they still had a chance. His Pokémon could still win.

"Gengar!" Sam roared, breaking through his laughter with a smile.

"Hypnosis!"

"Rollout!" Xavier shouted for a counter. Donphan hopped up to tuck itself back into a wheel, and it hid its eyes while hurtling across the field right toward where Gengar lingered in the air. However, Gengar's smile was as bright as Sam's, and he zipped down to meet Donphan's charge. This powerful Rock Type move was a powerful Rock Type move, but that was only so if it had time to build momentum.

Gengar was not a strong, physical Pokémon, but he could at least take this bare minimum hit, and he let his arms phase into the Donphan's sides to see the Pokémon come to a sudden halt. Donphan slid, genuinely shocked at the unexpected stall, and it looked up in obvious surprise. Gengar was right there, waiting for it, prepared for this moment that he had set up. With a single Hypnosis, Donphan's eyes rolled back into its head, and Xavier wasn't able to return his Pokémon.

This time around, Sam actually remembered to call for a Mean Look, and Donphan was stuck, defenseless, as Gengar laughed around it and bounced in the air and ate away at its dreams.

"Donphan is unable to battle!" the referee called out after only a quick use of Dream Eater.

"Trainer Xavier, send out your next Pokémon!"

"That's our first K. O.," Sam said, still smiling.

"So what?" Xavier snapped.

"So, we're about to clean up!" Sam replied. Yanmega came out. Sam wasn't sure why. What Xavier didn't realize was that while Sam's other team members had practiced the attack more, Gengar had figured out Hex first. Deep purple flames washed out of his arms in a fan, and though a Bug Buzz disrupted most of them, Hex was practically Gengar's secret weapon.

He didn't need the entire wisp to land, only their embers, and the second those spectral flakes landed on the Yanmega, it jerked around as they joined in with its paralysis to course right through it. It fainted there.

"Yanmega is unable to battle!" the referee announced next.

"Trainer Xavier, send out your next Pokémon!"

"Get at least one more, alright, Gengar?" Sam asked. Gengar's answer came alongside a cheerful laugh. Xavier, gritting his teeth, practically tore his next Pokéball away from his belt. His Noctowl appeared here, and that Pokémon was practically the perfect counter to Gengar. Between its Foresight, Normal Type, and Insomnia ability, most of what Gengar could do would be shut down. But Gengar would never allow himself to be taken out without a fight.

He let himself fall onto the field, and his feet entered his own shadow. Like riding on a pair of roller skates, he slid back, laughing, even as the Noctowl chased him with silent blades of wind that sliced off its wings.

"Hyper Beam! No, Psychic!" Xavier was getting frustrated.

"Shadow Ball!" Sam ordered.

"Why?!" Xavier shouted. Tiny balls of darkness appeared in Gengar's hands, and he tossed them up. However, all this Ghost Type move did was splash harmlessly against the Normal Type's feathers. Regardless, Gengar laughed and laughed and laughed, and Noctowl was led on a merry chase around the entire field. Its attacks were ineffectual against the sheer agility he was displaying, and his own attacks seemed to do nothing but make it mad.

"Psychic!" Xavier shouted, his voice low and demanding. Finally, Noctowl caught up, and a Psychic Type glow utterly encased Gengar. He squirmed in its grip; this move was super effective. The telekinetic grab brought him off the floor and into the air, where the Noctowl almost seemed to delight in his pain. But, even through the move, Gengar's smile returned, and he looked right at his opponent.

"There you go, Gengar," Sam said quietly. Noctowl wasn't prepared for Gengar to suddenly spit acid through the gaps in his teeth. Rather than drop Gengar, the Noctowl squeezed in reflex, and the Psychic Type attack finished off Sam's Poison Type Pokémon. However, Gengar's Acid Spray left Noctowl screeching. The move had gotten into its eyes and was eating away at its special defense.

"Drakloak!" Sam yelled, his pair of Dragon Types appearing right above the Noctowl.

"Do it!" Dreepy's screams of delight were wonderful to hear. Though tired, Drakloak could still attack, and she sent her brother rocketing toward their opponent, with Dragon Type energy utterly encasing him. The Noctowl looked up too late. Dreepy and his Dragon Pulse smashed right into its chest. There, the referee shouted those expected words one more time.

"Noctowl is unable to battle!" he announced, his voice carrying throughout the arena.

"Trainer Xavier, please send out your next Pokémon!" Silently, Xavier returned his Noctowl. That was three of his Pokémon fainted in such an incredibly short period of time. The audience was roaring. Their cheers pierced through the air. Sam was honestly surprised when he realized that he hadn't noticed them until now.

"You... Even after all this time, you're fighting like this. Why?" Xavier asked.

"Because my Pokémon are my friends. Because I don't let my friends down. Because I want to help people, and because you're my friend, Xavier." Xavier sent out his Poliwrath, and there was an exchange. Sam hardly paid attention. He watched the other trainer's face even as Xavier called for moves, but ultimately, another Hex caught it. Typhlosion had sacrificed a lot to make sure Poliwrath was burned. And then, Xavier only had two Pokémon left. His Honchkrow, and then one more.

He looked over the field and over Sam's Pokémon. Dreepy sent him a loud, happy squeak, proud of his participation, but Drakloak looked to be on the verge of passing out.

"Night Slash." Xavier's order was solemn, and his Honchkrow appeared as a shadow that sliced straight through Drakloak. Its attack was delivered with incredible ferocity. Drakloak simply did not have the energy to dodge. She fell from the Honchkrow swiping its wing straight through her body. Dreepy grabbed his sister to try to save her before she fell out of the air, but Sam managed to return them both before they slammed into the floor. The battle was left just like that, with Sam and Xavier facing off.

The only Pokémon remaining on Sam's team was Typhlosion, and she was injured enough to be in range of her Blaze. For all of his successes, for all of his small victories, he was still in the worst position he'd ever been in his life. His entire team was unconscious save for one, and his final team member was on the verge of passing out. But yet, he smiled. And Xavier asked again:"Why?"

"Because I believe in you, and because I believe in my team," Sam answered.

"And because I believe we're going to win this battle, I'll say this:"Typhlosion, use Blast Burn." As she appeared, her flames had never been brighter. Her will to battle had never been so intense. Atop the edge of the arena itself, the brazier with Ho-Oh's flames burned, and for a brief moment, it was almost like Typhlosion's purple light threatened to put them out. She breathed, and her fire breathed. A volcano erupted from her back.

"Night Slash! Now!" Xavier screamed. His Honchkrow dove right into her heat. Its wing smashed into her chest. That should have finished her off, but Typhlosion refused to fall here.

"LET'S DO THIS!" Sam roared.

"Get back, Honchkrow!" Xavier yelled in a complete panic. No longer so confident, the crow Pokémon squawked and tried its best to get away. Typhlosion's dark flames consumed her, and she became an apparition that controlled the flood of fire that followed in her wake. Briefly, the Honchkrow disappeared. Barriers flashed around the field as fire consumed every visible space. When they faded, all that was left was heat.

Typhlosion stood, barely conscious, and the Honchkrow was left twitching, smoking, and otherwise unmoving. It had fainted.

"Honchkrow is unable to battle," the referee called out for one last time.

"Trainer Xavier, send out your next Pokémon!" He only had one left. Xavier was utterly silent as he returned his Honchkrow, and he solemnly clipped his Pokémon's ball back to his belt. Typhlosion had the barest amount of stamina left, and she was continuing to stand through sheer willpower alone. Blast Burn had taken practically everything out of her, and the sheer amount of energy used in that move meant she needed to take time to recover. As it stood, even a gentle breeze could finish her off.

Given that Xavier had one more team member, the fate of this match boiled down to whether or not he sent it out. Waiting, tense, Sam held his breath. The arena seemed to go still.

"You did it. I can't believe... You actually did it," Xavier mumbled.

"You told me to use my final Pokémon, and I—" He laughed. He laughed again. For a while, he didn't stop laughing. Xavier's reaction was one completely unlike him, and he looked almost as manic as Sam had felt before. His cackles echoed around the arena like a ghost's, and people in the crowd started to mutter out of worry. His laughter lasted for long enough that Typhlosion had time to recharge.

"Trainer Xavier!" the referee shouted.

"Send out your next Pokémon!"

"I will!" Xavier said as he wiped an eye.

"I just... I need a moment." He took one last breath in, and he grabbed a new Pokéball. The Pokémon contained within then appeared on the field. Upon laying their eyes on it, the audience broke out into even more mutters, but these mutters were sourced solely from confusion. Other than Xavier, Sam was the only person here who recognized the species. There, on the field, a small Pokémon with a pale body wrapped in an egg's shell stood before Typhlosion.

Defiant, it tried to punch to prove that it was ready, but doing so only made it fall onto its stomach.

"You're kidding me," Sam said to himself. Xavier ignored him, and he silently watched his Pokémon rock back and forth as it struggled to return to its feet.

"... Trainer Xavier," the referee said slowly, "What is this Pokémon?" When Xavier spoke, he gave his answer singularly and confidently.

"Togepi," he said. And Sam knew there was no way that Xavier would win their battle.