Jolteon froze in its tracks, acutely aware that it had virtually zero chance of defeating its foe. Its master remained emotionless, as though he knew my every move in advance. Jolteon bristled up even more, shrinking back on its haunches. Kabrakan is part ground-type, so electric attacks do absolutely no damage to it. Hell yeah, I thought as it wound up its stubby arms as though it were going to throw a pitch. Nothing flew from Golem’s hand, but the attack began. Huge sections of the rocky arena floor began rumbling, shaking off the thin layer of sand covering them. With an unbelievable cacophony, the boulders, each nearly six feet across, tore themselves from the ground in a wave of earth. They rocketed twenty feet up in succession, like a giant whiplash. One bludgeoned Jolteon’s lupine body on the way up, which now lay crawling on the sands of the arena. The monoliths crashed back to the field after they reached the peak of their flight, several of them crushing Jolteon beneath their unbearable weight. After the last deafening impact rocked the stadium, there was a second of silence before the crowd erupted once again into joyous cheering and chanting.

Nagoya hastily recalled his broken Jolteon, its fallen body sparking uncontrollably. He plucked his final Pokeball from the podium and tossed it to the battlefield. Out of the brilliant flash emerged a six-foot tall serpentine form. The lithe creature resembled a monstrous purple cobra, complete with a pseudo-face pattern on the underside of its hood. Nagoya’s final Pokemon was an Arbok. It wrapped its thick coils upon itself and flicked its tongue at Kabrakan. Tough luck, Wolf, I gloated silently. It would seem your Arbok is deathly vulnerable to Golem as well. Good night.
“Neil!” Heather called to me. “Finish it!” she cried. “It’s in the bag!” I smiled at her.
“This one’s for you, love.”

Blue Wolf looked for his commanding officer, Fox, in the stands. He saw him standing in an aisle several sections over, looking impatient. “Let’s do this,” Nagoya snarled. “Payback time, you bastard.” He paused for a moment and looked at his hands. Clenching them tight, he brought his gaze back to Stryker, far across the stadium. “I paid my dues, worked my ass off, but they let a rookie take the prize. ‘Arctic Chill’ was mine.”

My former comrade shouted something to his flag-bearer, who raised it high and swung it in wide arcs. Jack did the same with our battle-worn flag while Heather smiled for the Jumbotron screen. Kabrakan remained motionless, staring down its quarry. The Arbok nervously bobbed its head forward and back, flicking its forked tongue in the humid air. The rain had stopped, but the sky was still overcast. The stadium was still for one brief moment, the crowd anticipating the next attack. Banners and signs waved throughout the stands.

The final act had begun. Tech reopened the visual channel by hacking into a panel on the side of the platform. On my small HUD screen, Nagoya gave a rapid command into his microphone. Down on the field, Arbok spread its hood wide and seemed ready to strike. It was time to finish this war. “Kabrakan,” I began, “be careful. He can’t dent you, so take your time and crush him when you get a chance.” Arbok and Golem stared each other down with similar, hateful eyes. Nagoya made the first move. His snake reared back, then spit a vile dose of poison directly into the face of my Pokemon. Kabrakan struggled to wipe the amber fluid out of its eyes, but its arms were far too short. It writhed in frustration, then tucked in its limbs and began rolling furiously, blindly around the arena trying both to clear its vision and flatten the serpent. Arbok followed closely behind it, apparently trying to avoid a fatal blow. Heather cried out in displeasure, seeing the Pokemon she’d just given me suffer in its first tournament battle.

Kabrakan abruptly changed directions, startling the snake and moving quickly back toward my combat platform. Heather and Jack stepped back a few feet as the living boulder rumbled onward. Arbok slithered in its wake, but didn’t follow up its attack. My Golem rolled to a stop about fifteen feet in front of me, its sight still impaired. Deep drumbeats resounded through the air, matching my heart. Nagoya’s Pokemon circled once more around mine, then stopped. Kabrakan stood like a mountain between Arbok and myself, an imposing, invincible fortress. Arbok reared it head once more…

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