Chapter 59:  Get Ready to Rumble (Part A) by Michael Keens/ Exodus  

The occasional drip of water practically echoed through my mind as I lay in bed 
on the eve of my final League match.  
It was coming from the nearby bathroom where Chad had undoubtedly not turned 
off the tap thoroughly, but that wasn’t what was keeping me up.  
The battle of my life was at hand, not just the biggest match I’d face in terms 
of the League but it was against Bryan, if I lost to him here, it would be 
public, and something I might never get over.  
He’d beaten everyone he’d faced, but unfairly, seeing as all of his Pokémon had 
all their stats enhanced through unnatural methods.  
I thought about those he’d beaten throughout the tournament:  An unnamed little 
boy I’d seen challenge Scott and lose in the early days of my journey, next was 
Biggs, an apparent fan of mine who was nearly as enthusiastic as Chad, then was 
Rita, someone from Emily’s old group of spiteful ‘friends’, I wasn’t too guilty 
about her being kicked out of the tournament since I was sure any of my friends 
would have beaten her otherwise, and then Nat’, one of my younger brother’s 
friends, that was a particularly hurtful moment for me since I couldn’t report 
Bryan and have him expelled from the League.  
After that was Brandon, an old bully back at Pokémon Tech and one of the 
reasons Bryan changed from a good friend to possibly my worst enemy, it was the 
only time during the tournament that Bryan showed any support in my battling 
skills to beat Brandon’s partner and an equally nasty person Erin.  
Then came Giselle, one of my close friends from Pokémon Tech, she realised soon 
enough that something was awry, I could tell from the conversation we had that 
she knew Bryan was acting underhanded and that I felt responsible for him being 
here rather than expelling him.  
And finally, Scott, but he was worse off, he got an even more unfair battle, 
because he was suspicious of Scott’s skills and ensured he’d lose by having 
other Rockets kidnap Carrie and wear down his Pokémon’s strength, I not only 
had to beat Bryan for myself, but to win the prize money and help Scott out, 
provided he turned up, it was the only way that Scott would ever forgive me 
after figuring out I was hiding things from him.  
Scott had disappeared despite my feeble attempts to keep him here until after 
my battle, and unfortunately, I didn’t know Scott’s address or that of his 
sponsor, and searching by name might take too long and compromise Casey’s 
life.  
I turned to one side, and thought of my own losses, a wise thing considering 
Bryan might try old tactics against me.  
Our first battle took place immediately after I got my first Pokémon, I’d 
figured a sure win due to type advantage but his Growlithe was stronger than it 
should have been.  
Next was at Pokémon Tech, where Bryan used threats against me to prevent me 
from telling the truth about him, I lost a three-on-three Pokémon Battle in 
front of students that respected and idolised me, though that was unlikely 
now.  
Next, Bryan came posing as my friend, which led to Emily’s kidnapping, and our 
separation due to my lying to her, before that, I’d lost again and gotten put 
down many times, and Emily’s rescue hardly counted as a win since Bryan’s 
Pokémon were tired from the previous battle.  
The following battle between us occurred much later on when Abby was travelling 
with me, I got close but still lost, right before Bryan revealed to me that he 
wanted to first beat me in battle before ever stealing my Pokémon.  
And finally, Bryan went to drastic methods in the end, threatening to lock us 
in an abandoned prison, but the combined force of Pokémon owned by myself, Abby 
and Emily defeated his team and got us out safely, though it came at the price 
of my Vileplume’s individuality.  
I turned to one side, and then back again, all I could think about were my 
losses, I had to be a little more positive, so I instead thought of the battles 
won during my stay in the League.  
My first battle in the Water Field was against my second ever opponent since 
owning a Pokémon, and my swift thinking had trapped an amazing Omastar between 
two pieces of ice so that my Electabuzz could hurl it upwards and shock it.  
My second battle was against my old enemies/ friends in Junior Rocket/ Team 
Junior, thanks to the efforts of myself and my brother, these two siblings had 
reformed, and became better Pokémon Trainers too, I’d gotten in trouble by 
using my Charizard, but since my Kadabra evolved into an Alakazam, it barely 
managed to make up for it against our opponent, a Jynx.  
Next came a girl I’d rather avoid, Danielle, her battling skills got better 
after I’d almost broke her heart by rejecting her, by using my Exeggutor’s 
Barrage attack, the Ice Field became shattered and left her Rapidash totally 
vulnerable to the water below.  
My forth battle was against Sebastian, another bad apple from Emily’s past, and 
with some quick wits and skill, my Magmar had his Electabuzz expend his energy 
before the final attack.  
My fifth match was against an old bully Erin, who had such little regard for me 
when I became trapped in her Tentacruel’s Hydro Pump, but my Pidgeot pulled off 
a great win with a Mirror Move to replicate a powerful Hyper Beam.  
My sixth match sadly was against my good friend Abby, who had tried to sabotage 
the match by having her/ my Butterfree betray me, but I’d convinced it to fight 
with me to achieve Abby’s goal because she surely wouldn’t prevail over Bryan 
with no experience of battling him, her Vulpix was surprised, and defeated by 
one she’d once fought alongside.  
The seventh and latest battle was against Veronica, a childhood friend of 
Rick’s but something of a stranger to me, she’d performed excellently, but the 
finale of our battle resulted in my Vileplume making a great comeback and 
beating both a powerful Meowth and Venomoth and both in part with its newly 
taught Hyper Beam attack.  
And now all that lied ahead was the final battle against Bryan, and my Pokémon 
were in top form, I’d already decided which Pokémon to use, a team of which 
consisted of many different types and had great skills in different 
departments, if we tried hard enough, maybe we could match the power of Bryan’s 
Pokémon and win, for myself, for my friends, and for the honourable trainers 
that had been victim to Bryan’s dishonesty.  
I blinked as I peered to the side and noticed the first rays of sun rise up, no 
point in sleeping now, a few early morning coffees and I’d be raring to go.  

I’d remained at the Rest Stop, a cafe I’d grown accustomed to, the staff now 
knew me by name and occasionally talked to me while I ate or hung out there, 
today it was Dolores, a young friendly girl with shoulder length dark turquoise 
hair, currently working here while studying at a nearby college in health 
care.  
“How’s my champ today?” she smiled, carrying a tray with more coffee plus a fry 
up breakfast to the outside tables.  
“I bet you say that to all the guys...” I muttered.  
“Nah, I use sweetheart and handsome and the like, but you are a genuine champ, 
you’re fighting in the finals unless you’ve forgotten.” she grinned.  
“Thanks, I think I need all the support I can get, its not the match that 
scares me, its the opponent.” I said sadly.  
“So that’s why such a great guy with tons of friends is down, I’ve seen you 
from time to time with such a worried face.”  
“When my friends are with me, they kind of give me strength, the sort with 
which I can overcome anything provided I have my Pokémon with me.  But...”  
“They’re not here right now, and I don’t count...” muttered Dolores.  
“I’m sorry Dolores.” I swiftly apologised, “I didn’t mean it like that, you are 
my friend, and win or lose, I’d like to keep in contact with you and several 
others at this place.”  
“That’d be nice, but do me a favour and win so I can brag about knowing someone 
famous.  I’ll scribble down my number in a sec, just let me serve a couple of 
tables so I don’t risk losing my job...” she winked.  
Dolores went back inside while I stared blankly at a section of the Pokémon 
Village, where many trainers were walking around and preparing to leave 
straight after the ceremony.  

If I’d been paying attention, I’d have seen Emily, hiding away in an alley and 
watching me.  
“Oh Tetsubo, you look so torn up, and so am I, I want to offer my support but 
what with that ultimatum I gave to you, to either be more than friends with me 
or lose that chance forever, I’m afraid that I’ll just make things worse by 
ultimately reminding you of that when you’ve got such an important battle ahead 
of you...  I don’t want to affect your decision for the worse...”  
She turned away and wiped a tear from her eyes as she left.  

After a few minutes, I left my favourite cafe and ended up at the Pokémon 
Centre, where I’d given the most part of my team a good rest for the night, I 
only had a few switches to do with my Pokémon at home, who were certainly at 
full strength, and that required me to call my sponsor Professor Blossom.  
“Um, hiya.” said a different voice, someone not Blossom.  
“Who are you?” I questioned.  
“I’m Maddie, a friend of Blossom’s.” answered the girl with long twisting 
orange hair.  
“And what are you doing there?” I added.  
“Blossom had to leave suddenly, she apologised for not being around to sort out 
your Pokémon, but that’s what I’m here for.”  
“I feel so alone...” I thought sadly before selecting the first Pokémon for 
transport and depositing one of my Pokéballs for transportation to accommodate 
my choice...  

There was only an hour left until my battle, and I hoped I wouldn’t see Bryan 
before it, his cruel words were something I couldn’t afford right now.  
“Tetsubo.” called Chad, from the other side of a crowd.  
I carefully pushed through it to reach him but was bumped and pushed several 
times before I made it to Chad in the centre, soon after the crowd dispersed.  
“You left before I could talk to you.” said Chad.  
“Sorry.” I apologised.  
“No worries, I’m sure you’re a little nervous, hell, I’d be.  So I thought you 
might be interested in unwinding a little by watching the battle for third 
place.”  
“What?”  
“Its not a big thing around here so its not well known, but basically, the 
losers of the last two rounds get to battle for third place on the podium, I 
think it’d do you good to see others battle before the big match.”  
“Might as well...”  

Not too far away, Bryan emerged from one half of the crowd and quietly made his 
way into an alley, “Everything is set.”  
“Is it Lion, or should I say, Bryan?” questioned one of three Rockets, it was 
the Elites, in disguise, and Claus had just spoken.  
“What do you want? I don’t need you clowns or anyone else!” argued Bryan.  
“The Boss had to pull a lot of strings to get hold of the badges that got you 
into this competition, and he wants assurance that you’ll keep your promise.” 
explained Cassie firmly.  
“Don’t worry, everything is fine, my Pokémon have recently had a boost so they 
cannot lose, and all of the money I win here will fund Team Rocket’s newest 
projects.  That is, provided you don’t blow my cover.” explained Bryan.  
“Hence da disguise...” added Cletus, “Y’all ain’t gonna get busted at this late 
stage.”  
“You can have the Rockets bet whatever they need doubled in the local betting 
shops, I’ll even charge for interviews from television and newspaper reporters 
to add to the total, but I have one more request to make.”  
“Uh huh?” questioned all three.  
“I don’t want any interference from you or any of the Rockets, or else all 
deals are off.”  
“Well...” muttered Cassie.  
“I mean it, if I even see a capital ‘R’ in the audience, then I’ll reconsider 
everything!”  
“Don’t worry Bryan, but we have an ultimatum straight from the Boss to give.  
He’s been pretty lenient on you lately even though you’ve failed to bring in 
any valuable Pokémon after he invested so much in your enhanced Pokémon.  He 
said that if you lose today, you will not be authorised into any Team Rocket 
property, in fact, you’ll no longer be a Rocket.”  
“Even though the Rockets are all I have left, you can rest assured that I will 
not lose...”  

We arrived in the audience section of the Indigo Stadium, used previously in 
the fifth round through to the finals, the runner up battle was awaiting its 
competitors, and the final battle would take place half an hour afterwards in 
order for League workers to clean up any damages or mess before then.  
Veronica stood in her place, looking impatient, her opponent Scott had not yet 
shown up.  
“I hope Scott shows up, I know he’s down about his loss and angry at me, but he 
needs to know that I’ll donate the prize money to save his sister if I win.” I 
stated.  
“Doesn’t look good then...” commented Chad.  
“I’m sorry folks, but it doesn’t look like Scott Addison will be showing up, 
the third place winner of the Pokémon League is Veronica Rae by default.”  
Some cheers went up, while murmurs of disappointments could also be heard.  
“Scott...  Please show up before the League ends, the extra goal of saving a 
life was meant to be incentive to help me succeed...” I spoke out.  

Chad and I left, regardless of the match not happening, the time of my battle 
remained the rest, we wound up back at Central Point, where a few people were 
waiting for me.  
“Rick...  Cody...” I smiled lightly, “Carrie, Eve...”  
“’Bout time Tetsu’.” grinned Rick, “I couldn’t let you face your big moment 
without seeing you first and telling you that you’ll be fine and come through 
with flying colours.”  
“I know we’re not that close Mister, but we thought you could do with a pep 
talk.” said Eve nervously.  
“You’re going to win this Tetsubo, I know you are.” added Carrie.  
“I wasn’t sure whether to come or not but as you can see...” shrugged Cody.  
“It means more than you’ll know.” I replied, “I felt like I was going into this 
alone.  Thank you...”  
“Then why are you still down?” questioned Cody.  
“I was hoping to see the Whole gang, but Emily, Scott and Abby have seemingly 
vanished since last night.”  
“Scott I’m not sure about.” sighed Carrie, “Even I haven’t seen him since his 
loss yesterday, and I have no way to contact him, but as for the girls, they’re 
like your closest friends, and it is kind of weird that they’re not around for 
you on such an important day.”  
“I think Emily’s absence has got something to do with what we talked about some 
time back, but Scott and Abby are pretty justified, they came here not for 
glory or wealth, but for higher goals, Abby wanted to make herself known so 
that her parents could find her, and Scott just wanted to save the only family 
he has left.  I wanted to win the League for them and help them out while 
achieving my own goal of proving my skills as a trainer, but I can’t properly 
do that without them here...” I explained glumly.  
“Things will work out Tetsu’, they have to after everything we’ve been 
through.” comforted Rick.  
“’We’ve?” I questioned, “What exactly have You gone through Rick?”  
“I’ll tell you some other time...” he answered, not wanting to explain and 
looked suddenly saddened for the first time I’d seen him this way.  

Meanwhile, I was being watched undetected by Abby, hiding behind a corner of 
Central Point, she turned away and wiped her tears, “You knew how important 
winning the League was to me, you and Flutter, but you betrayed me Tetsubo, I 
don’t think I can forgive you for that...  How dare you say I wouldn’t stand a 
chance in winning, I guess we’ll never know now...”  
With that she crept away so that we never knew she was even there.  

Chad was currently leaning against the doorway of Central Point when someone 
bumped into him.  
“Tetsubo, at last.” panted Danielle, but unable to get past Chad, “Um, excuse 
me?”  
Chad noticed her and deliberately leaned his foot against the doorframe, 
blocking off Danielle even more, “You’re excused.”  
“What are you doing Chad? Why won’t you let me by? Tetsubo needs me!”  
“Danielle, you’re the last thing he needs right now.”  
“Look, I know I promised him I’d return to him once I became as good a trainer 
as he but I had to make an exception, I mean, look at him, he’s so down, he 
needs his soulmate by his side to get him through this.”  
“And I’m sure this soulmate is sorry for not being able to make it.”  
“I’m his soulmate Silly! I’m destined to become a Capture and be there for my 
future love.”  
“Kid, you’re only thirteen!”  
“Fourteen actually, but that’s not the point! Let me through so I can comfort 
my beloved!”  
“I can’t let you Danielle, I don’t know too much about you and Tetsubo but I 
know first hand how enthusiastic girls like you can affect guys by being too 
full on about your feelings.  Tet’s nervous enough about his battle and-”  
“My presence might make things worse, I’m so thoughtless, if Tetsubo constantly 
worries about what I think of him, he might mess up and cost himself the entire 
match.  Thanks for making me see that Mister Chad, I should leave Tetsubo to 
his battle and be there with him in spirit, I’ll wait until after the match to 
be with my dream guy and be there to celebrate when he becomes a winner...”  
Danielle left, speaking out loud further about her plans, while Chad 
exhaled, “I thought she’d never leave...”  
“Would Trainer Tetsubo Capture please report to the east side of the Indigo 
Stadium.” called a female voice...  

We all heard it and all eyes of the group turned to me, I nodded and put on a 
brave face, and then heard everyone’s last words to me before I left.  
“Tetsubo, even though I’m jealous for not making it as far as you, you have my 
full support, I genuinely mean that.” said Cody, “Go make the Capture name 
world famous.”  
“You’re my hero Mister, ever since you saved my Pokémon in Stone Town and then 
that woman you rescued in Ocean Town, don’t ruin that...” pleaded Eve.  
“Your friends will come through for you Tetsubo.” said Carrie, “Its what they 
do, you’re battling for some great causes now so you just have to win, no, you 
Will win.”  
“I know our friendship is fairly new but I’m proud to have you as my rival, 
your friends, family, and the majority of the crowd are on your side, don’t 
forget that.” offered Rick.  
“I’m not really one for all this.” said Chad, patting me hard on the shoulders, 
“I mean, I always figured I’d be the one fighting today, but anyway, go get ‘em 
Champ, Chad the Chosen isn’t going to be the big winner this time...  That 
honour’s going to be yours...  Tetsubo the Triumphant...”  
My eyes rolled a little at Chad’s words but it meant a lot from him, and 
everyone else.  
I stepped out of the circle towards one of the exits and stopped to say my own 
words, words of importance and meaning to express my gratitude and inspire 
confidence in myself and my friends.  
“Thank you all, knowing you’ll be there with me in spirit gives me the greatest 
strength I could ever ask for.  I promise I’ll make you all proud and I’ll go 
beyond my limits to achieve my goal...” I said in a strong tone, before kind of 
ruining it by adding, “Oh, and you’re all invited to the celebratory party in 
two days time at Fuchsia City, spread the word.”  
I took one last look at my friends and their faithful and inspiring expressions 
before smiling the biggest smile I’d done today, and departing.  

It wasn’t long before I reached the tall Indigo Stadium, I’d been inside it 
during the Opening Day Ceremony and for three of my battles, but it felt 
completely different due to the setting, it seemed a lot more daunting than 
ever before as if I was walking into it for the first time.  
I took a deep breath, and charged through the trainer’s entrance before doubt 
could re-enter my mind...  

“... And here he is Folks, the other finalist of this spectacular League, 
Tetsubo Capture.  But before he and his opponent Lion participate in the last 
Pokémon Battle to take place here this year, President Goodshow would like to 
say a few words.”  
He stood on the stairs leading up to the torch, the only place that wasn’t 
bustling with activity from spectators, so many that I couldn’t locate my 
friends at this point.  
“I just want to say that it has been a great year for the Pokémon League, we’ve 
seen even greater talent, action and strength in both trainers and Pokémon than 
ever before.  I want to thank every trainer that has participated for giving it 
their all in their matches and that all of you are special and great for coming 
as far as you have.  Now, let this final match of the tournament be something 
of greatness and one that will never be forgotten!”  
“You hear that ‘Capture? It’ll never be forgotten.” came Bryan’s voice, but not 
shouted across the arena, but closer than that.  
He was on the other side of the arena so that could only mean...  
I checked my clothing but stopped as his words continued, “Stop searching 
‘Capture, I placed a small device on you earlier so that I could communicate 
with you during the match, it wouldn’t be fun if I couldn’t hear every word of 
despair that you utter.”  
“I can just remove it and destroy it you know.” I threatened.  
“And risk making me angry so that I go through with my threats? I don’t think 
you will.  Don’t worry though, I won’t ask you to throw the match or anything, 
you’ve already been thoroughly obedient in not reporting me and I knew you’d 
get this far, so I’ll allow you to fight with everything you have.  Of course, 
you’ll not win, and you’ll forever be known as the trainer that lost to me, the 
trainer that came second, the trainer that no one will remember the name of 
years from now while my name becomes permanently famous.”  
“You know you wouldn’t be here if not for all those unnatural enhancements to 
your Pokémon...” I growled.  
“We’ll never know, will we?...”  
“I won’t hold back Bryan, not now that I’ve come this far, I hope your twisted 
mind realises that.”  
“I wouldn’t want it any other way ‘Capture, its the absolute proof I need of 
how superior a trainer I am.”  
“As everyone knows...” continued the commentator, though we’d blocked out a lot 
of what he said, “This will be a full Pokémon Battle, the trainers may use the 
six Pokémon they’ve brought to the arena, and both trainers can switch Pokémon 
at any time.  The winner will be declared when all six of one trainer’s Pokémon 
are either unconscious or in any way unable to battle.  Trainers will you 
please present your first Pokémon and release them simultaneously onto the 
arena...”  
“Get ready to rumble ‘Capture...” grinned Bryan.  
“Bring it on...” I replied.  

End of Chapter 59A  

Back to Chapter 58B
Chapter 59B
Back to Story List #41 - #60
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