035 [video/action]

[failures]

[The feed starts with a great view of the interior of the Blackthorn City gym. Two figures stand in the battle arena. One of them should be recognizable to most Johto travelers: it's Clair, the gym leader and Dragon type specialist. The other is a man some residents may have seen on the network: spiky brown hair and goatee and an apparent fondness for orange. It's none other than Larry Butz! And it seems like this is going to be a very important gym battle by what Clair's saying.]

Congratulations, Larry Butz. You've finally made it to the final gym in the Johto League. I must warn you, this isn't going to be easy. I pride myself in being one of the very best Dragon trainers in all of Johto.

[On the other side of the arena, Larry grins.]

I wouldn't want it any other way. Let's do this!

[Clair responds with a smile herself. Although that smile is partly because she's amused by the stuipidly happy look on Larry's face. Wow, do people really get this excited over gym battles?]

Good. Let us begin.




[The battle begins with Larry sending out his starter Pokemon, Wobbuffet. Clair sends out her Kingdra. Clair doesn't waste any time with an order.]

Kingdra, hit him fast with a Dragon Pulse!

[A bright green orb forms in front of Kingdra's snout, and quickly hurtles right in Wobbuffet's direction. Larry isn't going to let that attack hit though.]

Wobbuffet, block it with a Mirror Coat!

Wobba Wobba!




[Wobbuffet glows with a reflective substance and the orb instantly bounces right off of him, sending it right back where it came from. Before Kingdra can get out of the way, it connects, and boy does it hit hard. It sends the Kingdra flying past Clair and into the wall behind her.

Well, that's one win for Larry!

The second battle is Larry's Dragonair versus Clair's Gyarados. There are several exchanges of attacks and dodges before the Gyarados has Dragonair completely surrounded. Before falling into a powerful attack, Larry pulls out his trump card.]

You shouldn't have done that, 'cause it's gonna hurt really bad now. Dragonair, Thunderbolt!




[Dragonair's horn grows charged with electricity before bolts shoot off in all directions, hitting the Gyarados dead on. With a double weakness to Electric, Gyarados goes down.

Clair's down to one Pokemon, but it's also her strongest. The final battle is Larry's Lapras Gourdy versus Clair's Dragonite. It looks to be an even match with the two Pokemon unleashing attack after attack, block after block. Despite his limited mobility, Gourdy doesn't seem to be having too much trouble fending off of the speedier Dragonite. However, Gourdy, and Larry included, are taken off guard by a sudden Dragon Rush attack. The Dragonite ends up on Gourdy's spiny shell.]




There's no escaping now. Hyper Beam!!

Waaaugh! Gourdy, quick! Get him off!

[But there's not enough time. Before Gourdy can knock the Dragonite off, he takes a direct hit from the Hyper Beam. It's curtains for Gourdy after that.

Larry decides to send Dragonair back out. It's dragon versus dragon in a battle to the end! The two dragons tussle before Dragonite is recharged. With the two Pokemon on the opposite ends of the arena, it ends up with a battle of Hyper Beams.]

Dragonite, again! Hyper Beam!

You too, Dragonair! Hyper Beam! Show 'em who's got the best beam!!

[Each Pokemon shoots off its Hyper Beam, and the two connect in the middle. The beams stay steady for a few moments, but suddenly Dragonair's starts to overtake Dragonite's!]

N-No! Dragonite, fight back!

[But it's futile at this point. Within moments, Dragonair's Hyper Beam completely overtakes Dragonite's and hits it dead in the midsection. Dragonite falls to the ground.]

Get up, Dragonite! This isn't over yet!

[Dragonite tries to stand back up, but its body won't have any of it. It collapses.

And with that, Larry has won. The referee confirms this.]

With all of her Pokemon knocked out, Clair is unable to battle. Larry wins!!

This is...! Impossible! There's no way I could lose!

[She points to Larry, who's barely paying attention to her and celebrating with his Pokemon. He knew the leader would get like this, so he's taking it with stride.]

You must take the Dragon User's Challenge before I'll truly acknowledge that you have the talent to deserve a badge from me.

[Larry shrugs, then nods. There's no way he's going to argue with Clair of all people. Besides, there's just something about that ice queen personality of hers that he's always liked.]

I'm on it. Which way's the Dragon's Den then?

[Clair storms off toward the exit, almost annoyed that Larry didn't react to her tantrum the way she wanted him to. Before he follows suit, Larry grins and flashes a thumbs up at whoever is holding the camera. With a final shot of him chasing after Clair shouting, "Hey, wait up! Why can't I just get you lunch or something?! That worked with Whitney...!", the feed ends.]

[A couple hours later, Larry appears on the screen, holding up his badge case with a shiny new Rising Badge in it. It's a complete set! He's grinning bigger than ever.]



You guys! I did it! I finally did it! I got all the Johto badges! You know what that means, right? It's Kanto time, baby! Ohhh man, me and the gang have been looking forward to this for months. We're gonna take Kanto by storm!

[27 year olds getting ridiculously excited by nostalgic video game locations, everyone.]

Comments

[usedsuitup]

Larry, I request the highest of fives!

That was amazing, you were so awesome!

[failures]

[And Barney gets exactly what he wants: a really high five!]

Thanks, man. And thanks for watching too! Clair did really good even though my guys were a little higher leveled. That's why they're gym leaders, though.

[usedsuitup]

No problem. I could barely take my eyes off the battle.

[And mostly Clair because let's be honest, it's Barney.]

[failures]

It's hard to believe I'm already done with the Johto League. 'course I coulda done it a lot faster... [Internal sobbing at people getting all the badges in mere months.] But at least we can finally see Kanto now, right?

[usedsuitup]

Yeah, well, there were other things to do, you know.

But yeah, we can totally get on that. I've heard good things about this Saffron City or Celadon City.

[video]

[snapandscoot]

[[Emmy, having recently defeated Clair herself, watches the battle with a smile. Fond memories!]]

She's still making everyone do that silly challenge to get the badge, is she? I'm not surprised!

[[It was an excellent battle, though; this fellow is obviously quite a good trainer, despite his casual attitude.]]

You fought really well! Especially your Dragonair; what strength!

[video]

[failures]

Yeah, I guess she's like Whitney. No matter how many times she loses, it's still a huge shocker to her or something. You kinda gotta expect to lose when you're a Gym Leader.

[Dragonair was close by, and she cries happily when she hears Emmy over the 'Gear.]

Thanks! Heh, Dragonair says thanks too.

[video]

[snapandscoot]

Perhaps being a professional loser grates on you after a while! It must take a very specific kind of person to be able to tolerate it.

[[Obviously Whitney and Clair could use a few more points in that department...]]

My battle with Clair actually inspired me to obtain a Dratini! She's only fresh out of her egg, but I can already tell she's going to be powerful! They're quite a fascinating species.

[[Not to mention adorable when they fully evolve!]]

Speaking of your Pokemon, can I ask about your Lapras? They aren't usually that colour, are they?

[video]

[failures]

Good point. I bet they get their fair share of wins themselves though. Not everyone's got the right strategy right off the bat.

Dratini's a great choice for Dragons. Well, it was kinda the only one I knew really well when I got my own, but you can't go wrong with what you know. I'm just kinda surprised Dragonair hasn't gotten around to evolving yet!

[Not that he minds; she's obviously proven she can handle things without being a Dragonite. And to Emmy's question, he grins a little. Emmy's just activated his bragging mode.]

They sure aren't. Gourdy's a special case, I guess. I found him over in Cianwood with a pod of other Lapras. I was just as surprised to see a different colored one.

[video]

[snapandscoot]

Oh, I'm sure she will when she's ready! Some of my Pokemon have delayed their evolution considerably; my Kirl-sorry, my Gallade simply refused to keep training until I worked out that I was able to evolve him in a different manner! He's a stubborn little thing.

[[So gentlemanly, though! It's like having her own personal knight, really.]]

Your Lapras is so beautiful; I love that shade of purple! I'm actually really glad I found you because I've been wanting to ask someone about...

[[....and behind her, a glittering green Beedrill pokes his head in curiously.]]

...well, this fellow. I've never seen a green bee before.

video~

[conduit]

Ah! Congratulations! I haven't had one gym battle despite being here for a year and a half but it's quite a magnificent achievement to get all eight! Very few have done it since I arrived here~! [ HAVE A GOLD STAR, LARRY. ]

video

[failures]

Thanks! It too me two years to get all eight but hey, slow and steady wins the race, right?

[Although what she said makes him curious...] Not one for the gym battles?

video

[conduit]

Of course! The true victor is the one that doesn't strain because he took things at his own pace~~! [ She giggles and looks into the camera with a bright smile. ]

No, no! That's not it! I love battling~! It's just, I'm rather lazy~! I was going to challenge the gym at Violet, but my traveling partner was ahead of me and wanted to move on, and I wanted to challenge that one first. Unfortunately, we were separated and I never really saw him until I rushed to his bedside in Goldenrod because he fell ill. After a little while, he disappeared so I've been trying to find the motivation to start my own journey but now I own a house and I'm just way too comfortable here! I'm worried about who will upkeep it and everything while I'm gone!

[ If you managed to get past that ramble, you win a gold star Larry! Rangiku is completely animated (and in her own little world) while telling this story. ]

video

[failures]

[Wow, that was...quite a story. Larry paid attention the whole time though, because hey, gotta be nice to pretty women.]

Well that sucks. But actually having a house here sounds nice. I've been in hotels and inns the entire time.

video

[conduit]

It is nice~! It means my pokémon don't have to be stored in that awful computer anymore~! Now, I just leave them at home and let them relax~! I usually allow other people to stay at my house~! You're welcome to if you ever show up to Goldenrod~!

video

[islandshore]

[Have some applause, Larry, as Riku leans back against the edge of a volcano. Or what looks to be a volcano. There's some lava flowing, hmm... Definitely not Johto.]

Not too shabby. I'll give you points for creativity, especially the way you threw that Dragon Pulse right back at her Kingdra.

video

[failures]

[Wow, applause and praise from one of the known tough trainers. Talk about awesome!]

Hey, thanks! Wobbuffet's way of battling taught me it's okay to not throw out the first move sometimes.

[Riku's location does garner some interest too.]

Where are you, anyway?

[He would guess Mt. Mortar but he's been there and there isn't a volcano there...]

video

[islandshore]

Well, if you get too ahead of yourself, it leaves you wide open to surprise attacks. Patience definitely helps in battles.

[He grins and crosses his arms.]

Anyway, I'm at Cinnabar right now. Trying to track down some fire types for the Training Center. Gotta have more than just Flare if I'm gonna run a solid business.

video

[failures]

Yeah. I think that kinda happened when Clair's Dragonite took me and Gourdy by surprise.

[He snaps his fingers.]

Oh yeah, Cinnabar did have a volcano, didn't it?

[And while Riku's brought up the Training Center...]

Where is the Training Center based again? I'd like to check you guys out when I finally get to Kanto.

video

[islandshore]

Yeah. And apparently an eruption totaled the town that used to be there. Now all that's left is a Pokémon Center, the beach, and a construction site.

[Shudder.]

As for the Training Center, it's smack dab in the middle of Celadon City, next to the Breeding Center.

video

[itsudemoissho]

That was pretty awesome. [Wow, now he actually wanted to try his best with Gym Battles.] Congratulations.

video

[failures]

Hey, thanks! Are you doing the badge thing too?

[He forgot to ask that before since he was kinda dealing with being sick.]

video

[itsudemoissho]

Yeah. [Slightly awkward.] Though I'm still training for Violet... but I hope to challenge it soon.

video

[failures]

Violet... [He looks off thoughtfully. What is this feeling? Nostalgia.] Man, that was forever ago for me. I still remember feeling cheated 'cause the first gym leader was so powerful all the sudden.

[But enough about him.] How's the training going?

video

[itsudemoissho]

Yeah, I've heard they're pretty tough from the start. [Good thing he heard that before trying, huh?]

I think I'll be able to challenge the Gym around next week if this goes up. My Feraligatr is in pretty good shape.