VICTORY IS MINE!

Well, do I have news for you! Two nights ago, when I couldn’t sleep, I decided to try the Elite Four, just for the hell of it. And I won! Umbreon was amazing! But to start from the beginning….

I have been suffering from a sinus infection since Tuesday. And so, I’ve been stuck in my bed for a few days. For most of Thursday, I was so weak that I could do nothing but sleep and watch TV, but finally, that night, I felt a little better. Not well enough to venture out of bed, but well enough to continue my training. I decided that I would once again attempt to battle the Elite Four. The first attempt went much like my previous encounters. Umbreon, Rapidash, and Lugia took care of the first three leaders, but then I reached Karen. And her Houndoom kicked my butt! So, I since I had saved before entering the League, I restarted my DS and decided to try it one final time. And this time, it went a little differently.

The first battle got off to a good start. Umbreon took care of Will’s psychic Pokémon with ease. The added bonus that he is invulnerable to psychic moves was rather nice as well. Anyways, that battle was finished with little difficulty and I continued on to face Koga. This battle didn’t start out as well thanks to my ignorance to swap Umbreon out of the first position so that Rapidash would be first in my party. But no matter, Umbreon took care of Koga’s Ariados easily enough and I wasted no time switching him out for Rapidash for the rest of the battle which went along without much trouble. I cursed myself when I once again forgot to switch Rapidash out for Lugia to begin my next battle with Bruno, but I simply switched him out at the beginning of the battle and that battle as well continued with little difficulty.

And then it was time to face Karen. I was still unsure how to go about facing that Houndoom of hers but I was feeling confident and so I carried on. Now I am a little fuzzy on the beginning of the battle. I believe I began with my Pikachu against her Umbreon. But Pikachu’s defense is still pathetic and so, even with the help of an X Defend, Pikachu fell to Umbreon and I switched him out for Dragonair. I healed Pikachu so that I could use him later on in the battle and Dragonair quickly took care of Umbreon. Karen brought out Gengar and I decided to bring Pikachu out once more. I used the last of my X Defends and hoped for the best. I was very pleased with the way Pikachu handled Gengar and it was time to face Houndoom.

Gathering my wits, I called back Pikachu and sent Dragonair out to face the fire dog. But even with a type advantage, Dragonair fell to Houndoom’s Flamethrower, the move that single-handedly brought down my entire team on previous attempts. I sent out Lugia, but he too fell to the flames. I could feel the edges of dread creeping into my thoughts as I sent out Umbreon. But then, something wonderful happened. Umbreon withstood the flames. In fact, they barely singed him! I sent Umbreon underground, hoping to use the advantage of his Dig move to catch Houndoom off his guard. And it worked! I could feel the confidence return, it surged through my veins and filled me with the knowledge that this was it. I was going to emerge victorious.

Three moves later and Houndoom was down for the count and Karen sent out Vileplume. I found myself thinking “Too easy” as I sent Rapidash charging into battle, flames flying. I could visualize Karen’s resolve wavering as she sent out her final Pokémon. I debated for a moment on calling Rapidash and sending Pikachu out once again, but this fight was Epona’s. Murkrow didn’t stand a chance.

As Karen congratulated me on my victory and sent me to face Lance, I could feel the power coursing through my veins. Now, granted, that might have been my blood pressure going haywire as my body began to feel the full force of my sinus infection, but nevertheless! I was ready to face Lance. I couldn’t stop. I knew victory would be mine this day…er well night.

I smiled as Lance’s Gyarados emerged on the screen and Pikachu leapt into battle. One Thunderbolt later and Gyarados was defeated and I called Pikachu back as Lance sent out the first of his seemingly unending team of Dragonites. I decided to go with Umbreon. His exceptional display of prowess in the previous battle that I wanted to see what he could do when pitted against a dragon. I wasn’t disappointed. The wins didn’t come as quickly as they had in the past, but it was sort of a display of the “slow and steady” proverb. Umbreon withstood everything Lance threw at us and steadily brought the enemy’s HP lower and lower. I have to say, it was rather predictable when Lance would use one Full Restore for each of his Pokémon, but I couldn’t really complain as I used practically an entire Pokémart’s worth of Hyper Potions, Full Restores, Lemonades, Soda Pops, and Fresh Waters. Not to mention the three Max Elixirs and four Elixirs…it was a LONG battle.

I couldn’t stop the mantra of “I’m so close I can feel it” that began seeping into my thoughts as Dragonite after Dragonite fell to Umbreon’s dark powers. When the last of the Dragonites had been defeated, I was feeling extremely pleased with myself. Umbreon decimated Lance’s Aerodactyl and finally Charizard. As the victory music began, I was speechless. I couldn’t believe I had won. I watched the cut scenes and credits in complete and utter shock. I was still in shock as I stepped onto the decks of the S.S. Anne and began the journey to Kanto.

I finally had to call it a night at that point as my body was screaming its torment at me. Today I went to Vermillion and Saffron city and got two new badges to add to my Trainer Card. Tomorrow I plan to tackle the Celadon and Cerulean Gyms. Well, I think that about covers it. Tomorrow I travel to GameStop to pick up Black. I can’t wait to dive into the newest region and see what Game Freak has brought us this time! Until next time!