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[There's no particular fanfare or introduction to the video-- it just opens right up on the battlefield of a Gym that anyone who's battled Claire for the final Johto badge before will recognize as Blackthorn's. It's a cavernous space lined with bubbling canals of lava, lighting up the court in fiery orange.]
[Claire stands proudly at the other end, her Gyarados twining sinuously in front of her-- on the other side, well, the trainer isn't visible, but a tiny yellow blot that (upon being zoomed in on, anyway) proves to be a Pikachu with a little chunk of Eviolite on a cord around her neck is standing before it, glaring it down.]
[The battle begins with a bang, with a tidal-wave of water gushing towards the Pikachu and veritable fireworks-show of crackling, branched lightning exploding across the field in reply. And it goes on from there, the meeting of lava and cold water erupting into clouds of steam that obscure the view of it more often than not, the battle turning into a series of dazzling flashes of light, vibrating booms of impact, and the distant cries (low and rumbling from the Gyarados, high and shrill from the Pikachu) of battling Pokemon.]
[It doesn't last long before the Gyarados goes down and the next players come out.]
[Anyone who had responded to the Heather's video about a week back will recognize the next contender as he enters the fray, standing in the smoke and steam with nostrils flared and rudderlike tail ready to swing: it's Godzilla, the workout enthusiast Croconaw.]
[The Kingdra and Dragonite that will follow their fallen compatriot onto the battlefield are both much bigger than he is, but HE HAS SPENT MONTHS PREPARING FOR THIS AND HE IS READY.]
[He doesn't wait for an introduction, either-- just holds out a pudgy webbed hand to accept the high-five that Hazel the Pikachu offers him (she had to jump to reach) as she scampers back to return to her trainer on the sidelines, and then puffs determinedly and charges in to meet his competitor with a frenzy of Crunches and Slashes, leaping and dodging with a surprising amount of agility for something so... well, pear-shaped.]
[This part of the battle is a lot more visible than the first-- Heather and her Pokemon know better than to use water moves against Dragon-types. ... At least for the sake of doing damage.]
[As the defeated Kingdra is drawn back into its Pokeball in a flash of red light, Zilla pauses to wipe sweat from his brow. It's all very dramatic. Battling in a room full of lava really brings out the perspiration!]
[When another flash, this one white, and a bugling cry signal the release of Claire's final fighter, the Croconaw looks over his shoulder, towards the camera. Which then bobs as its holder (or more accurately, the person who the holder is perched on) nods. Then he turns back to the field. He knows just what to do: which is spray a Hydro Pump straight into the nearest lavaflow and create a pillar of steam, which he then dives into as a mighty Dragon Pulse zaps across the arena to leave a small, smoking crater in the spot he'd previously stood. He does this again-- three, four, FIVE more times, leaping from cloud to cloud for cover and bursting out again, further across the field than before.]
[Until finally, with a flash of ice-coated alligator teeth, he leaps for the Dragonite's throat with Ice Fang.]
[It's a critical hit.]
[The pair topples, and an ear-splitting gong ringing out signals the end of the battle. The crowd-- there's always an audience when Claire the Dragonmaster takes on a challenger-- roars and the camera goes shakily sprinting into the arena through the still-wafting steam.]
[There's a soft glow as the Dragonite, like the Gyarados and Kingdra, is withdrawn-- but it doesn't quite fade, even when the other Pokemon is gone...]
[Claire stands proudly at the other end, her Gyarados twining sinuously in front of her-- on the other side, well, the trainer isn't visible, but a tiny yellow blot that (upon being zoomed in on, anyway) proves to be a Pikachu with a little chunk of Eviolite on a cord around her neck is standing before it, glaring it down.]
[The battle begins with a bang, with a tidal-wave of water gushing towards the Pikachu and veritable fireworks-show of crackling, branched lightning exploding across the field in reply. And it goes on from there, the meeting of lava and cold water erupting into clouds of steam that obscure the view of it more often than not, the battle turning into a series of dazzling flashes of light, vibrating booms of impact, and the distant cries (low and rumbling from the Gyarados, high and shrill from the Pikachu) of battling Pokemon.]
[It doesn't last long before the Gyarados goes down and the next players come out.]
[Anyone who had responded to the Heather's video about a week back will recognize the next contender as he enters the fray, standing in the smoke and steam with nostrils flared and rudderlike tail ready to swing: it's Godzilla, the workout enthusiast Croconaw.]
[The Kingdra and Dragonite that will follow their fallen compatriot onto the battlefield are both much bigger than he is, but HE HAS SPENT MONTHS PREPARING FOR THIS AND HE IS READY.]
[He doesn't wait for an introduction, either-- just holds out a pudgy webbed hand to accept the high-five that Hazel the Pikachu offers him (she had to jump to reach) as she scampers back to return to her trainer on the sidelines, and then puffs determinedly and charges in to meet his competitor with a frenzy of Crunches and Slashes, leaping and dodging with a surprising amount of agility for something so... well, pear-shaped.]
[This part of the battle is a lot more visible than the first-- Heather and her Pokemon know better than to use water moves against Dragon-types. ... At least for the sake of doing damage.]
[As the defeated Kingdra is drawn back into its Pokeball in a flash of red light, Zilla pauses to wipe sweat from his brow. It's all very dramatic. Battling in a room full of lava really brings out the perspiration!]
[When another flash, this one white, and a bugling cry signal the release of Claire's final fighter, the Croconaw looks over his shoulder, towards the camera. Which then bobs as its holder (or more accurately, the person who the holder is perched on) nods. Then he turns back to the field. He knows just what to do: which is spray a Hydro Pump straight into the nearest lavaflow and create a pillar of steam, which he then dives into as a mighty Dragon Pulse zaps across the arena to leave a small, smoking crater in the spot he'd previously stood. He does this again-- three, four, FIVE more times, leaping from cloud to cloud for cover and bursting out again, further across the field than before.]
[Until finally, with a flash of ice-coated alligator teeth, he leaps for the Dragonite's throat with Ice Fang.]
[It's a critical hit.]
[The pair topples, and an ear-splitting gong ringing out signals the end of the battle. The crowd-- there's always an audience when Claire the Dragonmaster takes on a challenger-- roars and the camera goes shakily sprinting into the arena through the still-wafting steam.]
[There's a soft glow as the Dragonite, like the Gyarados and Kingdra, is withdrawn-- but it doesn't quite fade, even when the other Pokemon is gone...]
[GODZILLA has evolved into FERALIGATR!]Yo, this is where I'm at: Blackthorn City
I'm feeling: 
determined
determined75 dirty liars | Did you drop this golden pipe?
