<h4>Chapter 15: The Rookie Tournament Finals (Edited)</h4>


    After the battle finished, Axel got the following notification,


    ----


    Ding!


    Nidoran has started to learn Quick attack (20%)


    Ding!


    Nidoran''s Bite has progressed to (20%)


    Ding!


    Nidoran''s has gained 5 EVs on agility


    Ding!


    Nidoran''s attack increased to E++


    ----


    Axel and Nidoran got off the stage, with Shedinja in his shadow. He went to Nurse Joy to get Nidoran checked up. The nurse said that it would take about an hour for Nidoran to healpletely.


    Axel just went to the 1st Floor of the Pokemon center to get some coffee. He didn''t bother to see other''s battles. He could just see the battle video in the cafe. He thought to give himself some well-deserved rest after the battle. Though Nidoran was the one who fought, the pressure to win for Axel was high.


    Axel started seeing local news on the cafe''sputer. He found out that, the day after tomorrow was the day when the Auction would open.


    ''If I win this tournament, I will have enough money to participate in the auction'', he thought.


    He nned to buy some of the food ingredients for Nidoran to make some nutritious food. The ingredients he found in the wild were all substitutes that were mentioned in the recipe. Its effect was lower than the ingredients found in the Pokemart. He nned to buy that first and would buy something from the auction, with the money left, if he got lucky.


    Very soon it was around 5 pm. As he was doing research, he dozed off at the coffee table in the cafe. He slept for 4 straight hours!!. The next round started at 6 pm. He went to look at his opponent and found out that it was Mariana. This would be a troublesome opponent for Nidoran.


    Mariana''s Pokemon was Shandshrew. It was a ground-type Pokemon and Nidoran is weak against ground type. That Shandshrew also knew ground-type moves making theing battle very difficult.


    Axel went to the Pokemon center to collect Nidoran and started nning for this battle. His battle was the first one. There were only 4 participants left now. After he wins this, he would qualify for the final round.


    ###


    "Ladies and gentlemen, we are now in the Semifinals. The first battle will be Axel ze taking on Mariana Stougt. Will Axel''s Nidoran prevail against Mariana''s Shandshrew? We will have to see. But no matter the result, we all know that it will be an exciting battle. Anyments from the Judges?", the host asked.


    "It will be very difficult for Axel to win this battle. Shandshrew is ground-type Pokemon that is strong against Nidoran, which is a poison type. It also knows ground-type moves like ''Dig'' and ''Sand attack''. Axel has to be careful in this battle. What do you say Mr. Koga? You are a poison type gym leader. Any insight on this battle before we begin?", the mayor said.


    "This is a Rookie battle and the Pokemons are all beginner Pokemons. When Pokemons are in the beginner stage, it is hard for them to resist the attacks to which they are weak. Axel''s Nidoran is a young Pokemon. As per my expertise, it must be around 3-4 months old. So, it will a difficult battle for Axel", Mr. Koga said thinking for some time.


    "So the odds are high against Axel. But we will have to see. Let''s wee the contestant to the battle stage.", the host concluded.


    Huge cheers wereing from the spectators. The semi-finals were here. The 2 contestants went up to the stage. Shedinja was still in Axel''s shadow. Mr. Koga was watching Axel intently.


    "Go Nidoran!!"


    "Go Sandsh".


    The two participants send out their Pokemons.


    "Huh?"


    Instead of fighting Sandshrew, it was Sandsh. It had evolved. Oh, my Arceus. Axel was surprised. For the 3rd time in a day, Axel got something he had not expected. 1st the notification of Shedinja training. Then knowing that he was selected to participate and now this. The battle got from hard to near-freaking impossible.


    When the judges were favoring Mariana, they were being modest. When the Pokemons are in their beginner stage, it was very rare to defeat those Pokemon that they are weak against. And now, Sandshrew had evolved making Nidoran''s fight even harder.


    Sandsh was now a ''umon Pokemon'' it had ranked up from ''beginner Pokemon'' to ''umon'' as it was in its final evolution.


    "You didn''t expect that did you Axel? I will surely win this fight", eximed Mariana.


    "Sandsh use ''Buldoge.''"


    It stomped on the ground making the ground shake. This made Nidoran''s speed reduce slightly. ''Buldoge'' was basically a miniature version of ''Earthquake''. It did little damage but reduce the speed stat.


    "Nidoran ''Focus energy''".


    Nidoran closed its eyes and started to Focus.


    "Sandsh, ram it down with ''Rollout''". Sandsh started rolling at a high speed.


    "Nidoran!! Now!" Axel shouted.


    Nidoran used ''Chip tackle''. Dodging the ''Rollout'' it used ''Tackle''. But unfortunately, Sandsh dodged it, but Nidoran used ''Poison sting'' on Sandsh when ''Tackle'' didn''t connect.


    Fortunately, Sandsh got poisoned.


    "Yes!", Axel murmured.


    He wanted Sandsh to get poisoned at the start of the battle so that it would be easy for him. It was going to be a long fight. That is what they nned to fight Sandshrew before.


    "Sandsh use ''Sand tomb'', now"


    "Sand... sh" it said.


    A huge raging stand storm engulfed Nidoran.


    "Nidoran, try to get out quickly", Axel shouted worriedly.


    Nidoran got out after some time but it was badly hurt. It had cuts and bruises all over its body. Red marks of blood could be seen on its body.


    Everyone thought that Nidoran would be out of the battle after another critical hit. ''Sand tomb'' was a ground type move which is super effective against Nidoran.


    "Sandsh now finish up with ''Dig''", Mariana gave her final order thinking that it will be the end.


    "Nidoran use ''Focus energy'' and ''Rest''" Axel said. This is the newbo that they had been working on in the forest. Nidoran would ''Rest'' but notpletely that it would be distracted in a fight. It would also use ''Focus energy'' to observe its surrounding.


    ''Rest'' cause it to sleep and recover while ''Focus energy'' leads it to focus. It was an extremely difficultbo. Nidoran had not mastered it.


    Sandsh jumped and dug the hole and went underground. Nidoran closed its eyes. After some time Sandsh came out from the ground just the right side of Nidoran. Nidoran tried to dodge it but it was hit. But Nidoran didn''t give up. It continued to close its eyes. Sandsh immediately went inside the hole again and came out to attack its opponent.


    This time Nidoran dodged it sessfully. Sandsh again used ''Dig'' and this time it was a critical hit. Sandsh''s spike on its back struck Nidoran''s stomach. Nidoran jumped from the impact and crashed to the ground..


    "Nidoooo..."


    "Nidoran! No.. Are you ok?", Axel asked worriedly.


    Everyone thought that this was the end. Even the referee was going up on the stage. But Nidoran didn''t give up.


    "Nido... Nidorann", it roared top of its lungs.


    Mariana was surprised. She didn''t think that Nidoran would still be standing up.


    "Sandsh use ''Dig'' again" she said. Sandsh tried to jump but it fell down. The poison inside its body had taken effect. Due to using ''Dig'' and speeding underground, the poison had already affected the majority parts of its body. Mariana realizing this, instructed Sandsh to use ''Fury swipes''.


    Axel told Nidoran to dodge and use tackle. It did and used tackle but it didn''t affect Sandsh much. Sandsh''s defense was very high at base 110. Due to all the pressure, Axelpletely forgot about it. Then something extraordinary urred.


    Nidoran then did the most amazing thing. It roared and a purple liquid came out of its mouth. This was not ''Venom drench''. This was a concentrated andpact purple liquid that flew and struck Sandsh in the face when it was going to use ''Fury swipes''. It had a very bad smell and it was purple. It was a ''Sludge Bomb''.


    ''Sludge Bomb'' connected Sandsh right in its face and a mini-explosion came out of it. Sandsh was heavily affected by it and was thrown out multiple meters back.


    Dust flew out of the ground. When the dust cleared, Sandsh had already fainted. They miraculously won the fight.


    After seeing that it had won the fight, Nidoran also closed its eyes and fainted. Everyone was out of their seats. The crowd was out of their seats, and the judges were standing with their jaws dropped. Nidoran and Axel had done next to an impossible task. They had won the fight.


    The respect in the eyes of the crowd and the judges could be clearly seen. Even though fighting at a disadvantage, even though fighting a Pokemon who was fully evolved and ranked ahead of itself, Nidoran took this sweet victory.


    There wasplete silence for a few seconds in the stadium. No one spoke, not even the host. Then it started. It started with a roaring crowd chanting Nidoran''s name.


    "Nidoran.. Nidoran... Nidoran" the crowd was chanting without any stop.


    "Papa, now I also want a Nidoran", a childish voice said from the crowd.


    "That Nidoran is Powerful. This trainer has a very bright future. Maybe he can one day be a Champion."


    "I wish to see Nidoran fight in the finals. But I guess it is very injured to do so."


    4 Nurses came running with 2 stretchers and they immediately took both of the Pokemons to the hospital. Nidoran had me hurt very badly, especially in the stomach area with Sandsh spikes.


    "It is a well-deserved victory for you. I don''t feel bad about it. Hope you will win the finals too. Goodbye Axel ze" said Mariana and then left the stage.


    "Hmm.. This Nidoran is interesting. Is he the one?" said Mr. Koga in a small tone.


    Axel was hurriedly walking into the Pokemon center waiting for Nurse Joy to say something.


    In the stadium.


    "Ladies and Gentlemen, we have sad news for you. Unfortunately, Nidoran couldn''t battle tomorrow for the finals as it is very injured. So this uing match will be the finals. Let the battle begin", said the host.


    Nidoran was injured heavily, and it would take 3-4 days for it to be healed perfectly. Axel already had no hope to fight in the finals but he was worried about Nidoran. Thank Arceus that he didn''t have anysting injury.


    The finals concluded and a participant name Gina won the Rookie tournament. Axel had already said that he would want the prize from Mr. Koga as he was poison-type gym master. He said that he will take the prize tomorrow. Mr. Koga didn''t have any problems with it. 500k Pokedors had been credited to his Pokecard. He just went to the 2nd floor of the Pokemon Center and tried to sleep.


    This was the day when the people of Gringey City remembered Nidoran''s name.