Chapter 9: Change
"What is this pokémon, Mr. Astolfo?" She asked, string at the tiny little pokémon in the person's hands. It looked like a shark-like pokémon, only it had two tiny hind limbs to stand upon. The entirety of its body had a bright blue shade. Its jaws were so large, that she couldn't help but wonder if it would topple over should it open its haws while standing.
"This, my dear Miss Shirona, is a Gible." Her favourite professor beamed at her. "You know of my clan, right?"
"Yes, the Wataru. You told me that." The little girl laughed, holding her palm on her lips. "Astolfo Wataru, what an odd name."
The man snorted. "Well, Astolfo isn't really my true name, per se. It's just a name I have taken to leave my old self back at my clan village." The man paused. This wasn't a time to be nostalgic about his own past. "However, this Gible, is-"
The twelve-year-old snorted again.
"Anything funny?" Astolfo asked, raising his eyebrows.
"Nah—thing of that sort." Cynthia continued despite her giggles, "It's just a funny name. Gible!"
The little land-shark pokémon gave an annoyed bark at that.
Cynthia giggled again at its antics.
Astolfo looked halfway amused. "Well, that it is, but it is a dragon species, and grows up into a mighty dragon, one that is known as Garchomp."
Cynthia's eyes widened as large as saucers. "Garchomp? Like the one you have?"
The man nodded. Garchomp were, in general, one of the most powerful of all dragon kind, their might almost unparalleled except by the likes of Salamence of Hoenn, and the beast known as Hydreigon in the far reaches of Unova. "Yes, and more. This Gible, my dear, is very special. His colour, if you notice, is a very bright shade of blue, a contrast to most Gible who have a more subdued version of that shade. This is what… you might know as Shiny."
"A shiny pokémon?" The twelve-year-old princess of the Shirona name, looked at him in awe. "This is really a shiny pokémon?"
"Yes, it is, and that is why, I wish for you to have it." He paused, "as your starter."
"A… shiny dragon, as my starter?"
"If you agree to a condition."
Cynthia raised her eyebrows, trying to look intimidating like only a twelve-year-old could. "Which is?"
"You will never tame another dragon in your life."
Cynthia Shirona, the princess to the Shirona fortune, was the youngest Champion of the Sinnoh region, a title she had claimed at a mere age of sixteen, just four years after she began her life as a trainer. She had kept her promise to the man she once knew as Mr. Astolfo, a man she never managed to land her eyes on after that day, a man who had given her, the pokémon who would go ahead to become one of the most feared of his kind in Sinnoh.
My shiny Garchomp.
True to her word, she had gone ahead to capture several pokémon during her life as a trainer, and trained them to the level that they became powerful in their own way, though never had she cast aspersions on her starter, nor had she broken her promise to acquire more dragon-type pokémon.
And now she was the Champion, a title that, until very recently, belonged to Brenden, the reigning Champion of Sinnoh for the last ten years. A month ago, just after the Indigo League had come to an end, she had challenged the Champion to a six-on-six battle, after her victory against the Sinnoh Elite four.
"Empoleon is unable to battle. The winner, is Garchomp!"
And her life had never really been the same since that day.
The first two weeks had been a lot of congratulations from all over the world, though she had figured a slight amount of… disdain from the Kanto Champion Lance, not that it wasn't hard to discern that. A single meet with the Kanto Champion, and it had been clear that Lance didn't really have high expectations of her.
And not without due reason.
Then, the second step of the Kanto-Hoenn exchange came to be. The St. Anne cruise ship, which was returning from Alola, would stop at Sinnoh for around six hours, and it was requested that the Sinnoh Champion, along with some of the Elite Four, be a part of the trip, considering that a lot of trainers from Sinnoh were going to be participating in the Tournament event that was to be held when everyone was finally aboard. Cynthia had happily climbed aboard, but when it came to the Elite Four, the reaction was just as irritating as she had anticipated it to be.
"You are the new Champion, and it's only been days. Please enjoy the trip. The Elite Four will be able to manage Sinnoh just fine, in your absence…."
She could have sworn that each of the Elite Four wanted to finish that line with a single word.
Airhead.
"Lady Shirona?"
Cynthia let out a long-suffering sigh. Apparently, being the Champion wasn't as fun as she had anticipated it to be. While she did acquire the position of the Head of Defense in the Sinnoh region, her… age became her biggest liability. The Champion were assisted by various servants and assistants, and said servants just had to be one of those kind who thought that the sixteen-year-old needed directions for everything in her life.
"Yes, Miranda?" Cynthia replied with her practiced, fake smile. Come to think of it, she had been using the smile consistently since she began battling against the Elite Four of Sinnoh.
"You have been in your room all day, Lady Shirona. It would do you good to get out and enjoy the cruise as it is." Miranda replied in a no-nonsense tone.
Right. After all, sitting in the balcony, watching the waves, isn't part of the Cruise.
"I am perfectly happy sitting here in the balcony."
"But my lady, there are so many people out there. You could go to the deck and meet new people from the other regions. A champion needs to be popular both in her own region and beyond."
Right, I knew I should have gotten a book on 'Living as a Champion 101'.
Cynthia felt her Pokenav vibrate, as she pulled it out of her pocket.
9 challenges from Ace trainers.
4 challenges from Elite Four.
She sighed. Yes Cynthia, you are so popular. So popular that already the Elite Four want an attempt to get rid of you.
The maid-servant stared at the indecisive Champion for a while, before sighing inwardly. "You could always go and try out the ice-cream flavours. I'm told that the one on the deck has quite the collection."
Now that, grabbed Cynthia's attention. "I guess… it wouldn't be too bad to get myself an ice-cream right now. I've been here for the whole day anyway."
"Very sharp, my lady." The maid-servant muttered. "If you please?"
With an absent look on her face, the newest Sinnoh Champion sped past the servant, leaving the room empty for her.
Back on the deck, the third and final rounds of the Eliminations were going on. Ash Ketchum found himself standing, this time as the Blue Trainer, staring ahead at his opponent for the day, a brown-haired female from Viridian City. Said trainer, Amelia, was apparently one of the best trainers in Viridian, and was trying for the Indigo League the second time round. She had tried her luck at the League the previous year, and gotten eliminated in the Top-32 battle, against an opponent who then got defeated in the semi-finals. Needless to say, Amelia had a lot of training under her belt and defeating her wouldn't be easy.
Well, no point complaining when you have a job to do. Ash thought demurely. "I choose you, Pidgeotto."
The flash of red left his pokeball, as the avian soared up into the sky, before gaining a comfortable altitude from where she stared down at the opponent, her dark eyes literally challenging the girl to try defeat her with her pokémon.
"A Pidgeotto, huh? Well, my pokémon couldn't have asked for any better." Amelia smirked. "Go, Fearow."
The beak pokémon materialised in front of Ash, its brownish shades and long, pointy wings spread wide, as it took to air. Ash noticed a sudden glow in its eyes as it stared at Pidgeotto, who also had a sudden tinge of red in her own.
Of course. Fearow and Pidgeotto are antagonistic to each other by nature. How did I even forget? Ash glanced back at Amelia, who had a not-so-subtle grin on her face. Very well, you want a battle? You have it.
"Pidgeotto, this is a matter of your own honour." Ash claimed, surprising Pidgeotto who looked down at Ash with something… strange in her eyes. Her trainer had never really considered things like honour or pride before this. Ash was obsessed with training, and growing stronger, both for himself and his team. It suited Pidgeotto just fine, though the fact that her trainer cared about her own personal honour did increase his value by several notches in her mind.
The avian let out a war cry as she swooped down to glide in front of the Fearow, who spread her wings even higher and further, showing her whose territory it was.
Pidgeotto gave the Fearow a thin glare. I'll show this half-baked crane whose territory it is.
"Get closer and use peck, Pidgeotto!" Ash commanded.
Amelia smirked. "As if. Fearow, fly towards Pidgeotto, use swift."
The two avians seemed to be getting closer and closer towards a head-on collision.
"Use pursuit." Amelia commanded, as Fearow's eyes glowed dangerously.
Ash frowned. Either Amelia was dangerously confident of Fearow's ability to defeat Pidgeotto, or… she is simply underestimating the competition. "Use Pursuit as well."
Now, no one's going anywhere. He decided. "Dodge, and go with the drill. Use Aerial Ace."
"Use Aerial Ace as well."
The two avians soared up towards the heavens, and came down upon each other, like two airborne missiles as their beaks snapped on each other, before the two pushed back, and repeated the previous movement over and over again.
"Pidgeotto, use Steel wing."
"Fearow, show them a real Steel wing."
The two avians clashed against each other, all over again, their wings, each tensed up to match the intensity and sheer power of steel, landed upon the other. It seemed like Amelia was more of a reactive-aggressive player, making sure that Fearow mirror Pidgeotto's every single attack, playing upon Fearow's sheer size would contribute to her momentum more than Pidgeotto, who happened to be considerably smaller.
"Alright, let's finish this. Use steel wing, one more time." Ash yelled.
"Get closer." Amelia commanded, surprising Ash. The moment they were close enough, Amelia yelled, "Use Hyper beam!"
Shit! Ash cursed, "Pidgeotto, use double-team, now."
"What?" Amelia yelled in surprise. Unfortunately, the hyper beam was now ready, and despite Fearow's attempts, having several dozens of illusory avians flying towards Fearow at high speeds didn't make it a good situation for hyper beam to have any effective use.
"Steel-wing, full power!"
"Fearow, use mirror move, now!" Amelia yelled, as Ash stood flabbergasted. Pidgeotto slammed into Fearow, as mirror move activated, returning back the same move back to Pidgeotto, and using her own momentum against her. The two avians felt the raw power of steel wing shock their innards, as partial paralysis of their bodies took place, making the two avians fall towards the ground.
"Pidgeotto!" Ash cried, as he raised his pokeball and returned her quickly before she fell. Fearow however, wasn't so lucky, and slammed into the ground before Amelia could return it into her pokeball.
"Fearow is unable to battle." The referee declared. "Blue Trainer, will you continue with your pokémon?"
Ash shook his head. Even if there was a chance that Pidgeotto would have something left in her to continue battling, she was already wounded. There was no point releasing her once again.
"Red trainer, choose your next pokémon." The referee continued in his monotone.
Amelia glared at the man darkly. "I am going to, anyway." With a scowl, she threw another pokeball to the ground. "Go, Charmeleon."
Ash scowled.
Cynthia stood amongst the audience the psychic-based water-droplet-shaped earrings she had started wearing upon becoming Champion serving their purpose. Apparently, it was customary for a defeated Champion to have a certain… psychic-based jewellery forged for the next Champion on their ascension. These… jewellery were specially crafted to create a form of psychic barrier between the wearer and their surroundings, making it quite difficult to recognize them, unless they were looking too closely or already knew the wearer on a personal level. These artefacts allowed the Champions to freely travel in near anonymity all over the region, without provoking public excitement in the masses. Needless to say, they were dead useful for missions that required a certain level of secrecy and camouflage.
Ash Ketchum. That was the trainer's name. Over the last two matches, he had displayed a ruthless efficiency in battle, something Cynthia knew all too well. Despite her… rather indecisive nature over other things, she had a one-track mind, and employed tunnel vision when it came to battling, something that she was beginning to realize that this young man also had within him.
"Interesting." She muttered.
"Blue Trainer, please choose your pokémon, or be disqualified." The referee rebuked at Ash, considering that the trainer from Pallet was blankly staring at the pokémon in front of him.
On hearing the man's words, Ash scowled, as he unlocked a pokeball from his belt, before releasing the pokémon within. "I choose you, Poliwhirl."
Poliwhirl bounced upon the ground, drawling his name out, as he stared at the evolved form of Charmander.
"Poliwhirl versus Charmeleon," the referee uttered, "begin!"
"Flamethrower!" Amelia commanded.
"Jump," Ash returned, as Poliwhirl jumped off the ground, his powerful hind limbs supplying him more than enough momentum to leave the ground, escaping Charmeleon's flamethrower completely. "—and use bubble beam."
The plan worked perfectly, as Charmeleon who was still dousing the ground with his constant flow of flames, stood completely vulnerable to the bubble-beam attack from above, hitting the fire lizard right in the face, banishing him on the gr0und.
Ash however, wasn't done yet. "Follow up with Earthquake."
Poliwhirl, according to his instructions, dropped down to the ground, and used his entire weight to induce powerful seismic waves on the podium, as the earthquake move scored a point against Charmeleon, who was still on the ground.
"Charmeleon, get up and use Fire Blast!"
"Water pulse!" Ash bellowed, as the powerful opposite elemental moves crashed into each other, creating a viable smokescreen between them, something Ash knew how to use for his benefit perfectly. It was something that he had come up with in the last few days.
"Poliwhirl, I know you are fast on water. But on land, you are at a disadvantage. So, we need to get you a move that would allow you to trick an opponent in a land fight.
Poliwhirl was only too happy to carry it out. He was a trickster by nature, and his trainer truly spoiled him that way.
Ash held out a magnetic disc in front of him. "This… is the TM for Double-team, and I got it specifically for you. I need you to practice this move as much as you can, enough that you can get it done in a second's thought, much like you can do with ice beam. When you are done, we will get you started on your trickster technique."
Poliwhirl had a shit-eating grin on his large face.
"Poliwhirl," Ash yelled in the smoke, "do your technique, and go ahead with a double-slap!"
Amelia scoffed. What was this trainer thinking? "Charmeleon, use Fire blast straight ahead on Poliwhirl."
From within the smoke, Charmeleon spotted the figure of Poliwhirl jumping across the smoke-covered podium, his fist raised at him. The flames on his tail burned brighter, as Charmeleon took a couple of seconds, before letting out an extremely powerful Fire blast, which slammed into Poliwhirl-
And traversed through him.
Amelia shrieked in surprise. "Charmeleon, look out-"
"Now!" Ash yelled, as a powerful Ice beam shot from the opposite end, striking at Charmeleon from the back, freezing half of his body effectively.
"Only one shot, Poliwhirl." Ash exclaimed, knowing that Poliwhirl wouldn't be able to last longer after using a power-consuming move like ice beam. "Use double slap, full power!"
Poliwhirl let out a guttural gurgle from his throat as he jumped off the ground, before slamming into a trapped Charmeleon with both hands, as the powerful punches struck him hard, slamming him down to the ground.
"Water pulse!" Ash continued, his face devoid of emotion. "Again!"
The first water-pulse hit Charmeleon head-on once again, throwing him towards the psychic barrier, while the latter hit him in the abdomen, sending him completely unconscious.
Silence pervaded all around the podium for five seconds.
"That…." Amelia replied, "-was brutal." She looked up towards Ash. "You sure you don't have any impulsive vendetta against my Charmeleon, Ash?"
"Uh…. No." Ash replied uncertainly. He wasn't sure what had come over him for a second, but either way, a win was a win.
"Charmeleon is unable to battle. Poliwhirl wins." The referee declared. "Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town moves to the Top-32."
Cheers ran abound, and between the crowds, a certain blonde-haired female smiled.
Back in his room.
"Alright, guys. I'm going to get Lairon out from his pokeball. Please be good to him, alright?" Ash requested, as all of his pokémon stood in the room, waiting for him to release their newest member.
"Alright," He took a breath. "Go, Lairon."
With a powerful stomp onto the floor, Lairon stood, his head upward as he let out a grunt, drawling his name out rather exuberantly.
"Right," Ash took a step forward, "Lairon, my name is Ash, and from now onwards, I am going to be your new trainer."
Apparently, Lairon had other things in mind, as he decided to ignore Ash's comments and pull his head downwards, before starting ahead on a tackle. He had just crossed two steps when two extremely strong hands held him back from coming any further. Letting out a groan, Lairon looked up, and found Ash still a few feet away, and standing between him and his apparently new trainer was a hulking Rhydon, his two large paws holding Lairon's own protrusions back, making the steel-type unable to move.
With exaggerated slowness, Rhydon gurgled his own name, before shaking his head.
Lairon looked away, as he ceased his attempts to tackle Ash.
Never, never let it be said that the lack of speech ever prevented Rhydon from getting his point across. Then again, it helped that he only had a couple of items in his list of expressions. Most of the rest was solved by a powerful horn attack or worse, an earthquake.
"Thank you, Rhydon." Ash commented, slightly amused at the exchange of information between the two large, rock-types. "So, Lairon, your previous trainer Morrison traded you to me yesterday, and so, I'd like to be your trainer."
Lairon gave a grunt. Was this human a little addled? He had just mentioned that Morrison had traded him. Didn't that make things clear?
Ash chuckled at Lairon's expression. "Let me try that again. I know that officially, you are now my pokémon. However, I didn't defeat you in battle, nor proved my superiority to you in any way. But as you can see, my Rhydon is very powerful, and he only recently evolved from being a rhyhorn. If you decide to follow my commands and train with the rest of my family, I promise that I'll make you into the strongest Aggron possible."
Lairon raised his head at the final comment. Like most types, he too wanted to grow powerful, and among ground-types, the one with the most power was the ruler of the herd. So, it was obvious that following the new trainer's commands was a good way to go. Not that he had any better alternatives available.
"I'm also told that you love to battle." Ash continued.
Lairon grunted in agreement.
"Would you join my team, if I told you, I'd make you battle until you are tired, every single day?"
Lairon decided then and there. Fuck Morrison. He loved his new trainer.
"Al right, Bagon, that's enough. You got your ice-cream now let me have mine." Ash chided his starter, not that it had any effect, since Bagon tried another jump, this time managing to bite off half the cone from Ash's hand, making his trainer look at him with mock-anger.
The trainer from Pallet and his starter had come walking to the deck to spend some time together, and had discovered, much to Ash's horror, about Bagon's undying love for ice-cream. It had only been thirty seconds, and the little monster had gulped down two entire buckets of ice-cream.
Three hundred and seventy pokedollars. In thirty seconds.
"That, is beyond you, it seems." Ash scowled, as Bagon gurgled in happiness, having had its favourite meal on the planet. "How on earth did you-"
"That's one cute Bagon you have."
Ash looked up at the source of the feminine voice, and found himself staring at a black-clad blonde-haired girl, of around his own age. Said person was staring at the little monster with interest in her eyes.
"Yes, and a murder on my pocket." Ash scowled.
"Well dragons are pretty high-maintenance." The girl answered, her smile still on her face. "Everything gets paid back at the end, though."
"Saying from experience?"
"You might say so." Cynthia tilted her head, before kneeling down and caressing Bagon in the head, as the monster looked like he was about to dissolve into mush.
"Whoa, that's impressive," Ash returned, surprised at Bagon's reaction. "Bagon isn't exactly the most trusting to strangers."
Cynthia gave a lop-sided smirk. "It's all from experience."
"I'm Ash," Ash took a step forward, as he reached out with his hand.
"Shirona," Cynthia replied, shaking it. "Nice to make your acquaintance."
"Are you also participating in the tournament?"
Cynthia frowned. "As much as I would like, not really. I'm here with the League Envoys from Sinnoh. I do like battling, but when do we always get what we want?"
"I guess…" Ash replied, his eyes slightly nostalgic.
"So, where are you from?"
"I'm from Pallet Town. It's here in Kanto region."
"Pallet Town." Cynthia repeated. "Isn't that where Professor Samuel Oak resides in?"
"You know Professor Oak?" Ash asked, flabbergasted. He had been surprised when he had found that Harrison knew Oak, but for someone from as far away as Sinnoh to do the same… it was surprising.
"Of course." Cynthia replied, "Professor Rowan of Sinnoh does a lot of collaborative research work with him. Besides, his contribution to the development of the modern Pokeball literally changed the world, didn't it?"
That was true. Prior to Oak's invention, pokeballs used to be custom made from certain woods, and were highly expensive, and at the same time, built for specific pokémon only. It was only because of Oak's discovery of the concept of folded space, did mass production of pokeballs actually begin.
Ash nodded in agreement. "My mom works as Professor Oak's assistant. I've known the professor all my life. He was the one who gave me Bagon, my starter."
"Ah," Cynthia realized, "I was wondering why a Kanto trainer would have a Bagon, which are found only in Hoenn, and even then, quite rare."
Bagon puffed his chest up with pride, causing Cynthia to giggle at his antics.
"Please do not encourage him." Ash pleaded.
"Are you trying for the Indigo league then?" Cynthia asked, changing the conversation.
"Yeah, I started off a month ago."
"A month?" Cynthia raised her eyebrows. "Then you must have had some serious training done in a while. Your pokémon hardly appear newbies."
Ash looked a tad embarrassed. "Well, I'm trying to cut short the training and have some fun too."
Cynthia chuckled. "That's true as well." She paused as she looked up wistfully. "Though I can understand the innate joy of getting one's pokémon to grow powerful."
"Joy." Ash repeated, a little of nostalgia seeping into his voice. He hadn't really thought of pokémon training as joyful. He only wanted them to grow stronger.
"You don't agree?" Cynthia asked, interested.
"I just… I train my pokémon because they have their own goals to attain. Bagon for example, wants to become a mighty Salamence and scour the eyes someday. My Poliwhirl… he was a little trickster as a Poliwag, and I guess he just wants to learn more ways of pulling tricks, than showering me with water gun every time I released him."
Cynthia snorted at that.
"And you have a shiny Pidgeotto, too, no?"
"Eheheh!" Ash chuckled lightly. "You noticed that?"
Cynthia didn't reply.
"Well, Pidgeotto has her own range of issues to deal with, and so do all of my pokémon. I just… want them to achieve their own goals on the path of becoming stronger as a team."
"And what about your own?"
Ash smiled. A simple, honest smile. "I am just hoping to discover my own purpose while helping my team achieve theirs."
Cynthia opened her mouth, then closed it. Whatever she had expected of Ash to say, this, definitely, was not it. The person talking to her, was completely unlike the person who had just thrashed an opponent a while ago at the tournament.
"That's…." Cynthia didn't know what to say.
"It's kind of lame, I know." Ash looked away, staring at the heavens where Pidgeotto was soaring in the sky. Her injuries from the tournament had been healed and Ash had let her out to enjoy.
Cynthia glanced at the interesting young man in front of her, trying to place why he felt slightly… familiar, though she couldn't make the connection. "Hey, would you like to have an ice-cream?"
Ash looked back in surprise, opening his mouth to express his thoughts, but the offer, had apparently been a limited-period one, since Cynthia had already shifted to the next individual.
Said individual being the monster of a baby dragon who looked upbeat at the mention of ice-cream.
"So Bagon," Cynthia addressed the little monster, "Would you like to have some ice-cream?"
Ash face-palmed.
With the end of the Elimination rounds, the real event of the Clubsplosion was finally in place, as thirty-two trainers had been able to defeat their opponents and made it, this far, into the tournament. The speed and sheer effectiveness with which the entire deck had been literally rearranged overnight left Ash gaping in wonder. The four podiums were gone, and in their place, was a single, large, elevated platform, with two separate podiums for the trainers to stand on either end of the large platform, which would be used as the battleground from now on. Even the outer periphery had been modified, now enlarged to incorporate space for a larger audience, now that the number of participants was merely thirty-two, and it would grow lesser by the hour.
"So, Ash, ready for the main deal?" Harrison slapped his back jovially, underestimating his own strength as Ash nearly fell down face-first.
"Yeah, I was, until that fatal attack on my backbone." Ash scowled, rubbing his back absently, much to Harrison's snorting.
The two were gazing at the list of participants for the Top-32 battles. Ash was going to face a certain Casey, a girl from Johto, who, in appeared was obsessed with striped pokémon. Casey had an Electabuzz, a Chikorita, and a Beedrill. It says that her Electabuzz was able to defeat most of her opponents single-handedly."
"Must be one hell of an Electabuzz." Harrison whistled. "Electabuzz are fairly powerful pokémon, you know. Their evolutions are almost the pinnacle of electric-type."
Of course they would be. Ash scowled inwardly, as his eyes scanned down the list of names for Harrison, "you are… fighting Ethan, from Ecruteak City. He has a… Gastly, a Kadabra and a Growlithe? That's a rather solid team, Harrison."
"Well, not everyone gets to battle weaklings." Harrison mocked in what Ash recognized as Paul's mannerisms. "Some of us have to battle real opponents out there."
"Of course." Ash drawled. "Though if you are fighting Kadabra, I suggest you something that has an adverse effect on the senses. Kadabra are especially vulnerable to anything of that sort."
"You are awfully knowledgeable about psychic pokémon for a rookie, you know that?" Harrison replied bleakly.
"Blame my mom."
"One would think you'd have started off with a psychic as your starter. I mean, I know you have Metang but still-"
"Yeah," Ash replied in a light tone. "I am almost surprised that my mom didn't get me one of her dear psychic types as a starter, back then."
"Excuse me," a male voice came from behind him, pushing a hand towards the list as the person continued, "can you please let-Ash?"
"Ritchie?" Ash realized, turning around to face the trainer, the first person he had had a pokémon battle with. "You are on this ship, too?"
"Yeah…" Ritchie drawled, as if it was obvious. "How come I didn't notice you all this while?"
"Ash has a habit of vanishing away to his room after his matches." Harrison put in, smirking. "The poor guy doesn't have enough time to even watch my own battles."
"That was just one match, and you know that." Ash retorted, before turning to Ritchie. "Ignore what he says. He's Harrison by the way."
Harrison tilted his head in recognition.
"You guys are travelling together?"
Ash and Harrison looked at each other, as if verifying the truth behind that statement. "Something like that."
Ritchie snorted.
"Well, I plan to get off after the tournament is over, and maybe go to Celadon." Ash emphasized.
"And you?" Ritchie asked.
"I'm gonna travel as long as possible." Harrison replied dreamily.
Ritchie snorted again. "Then that makes the two of us."
"Right, you guys have enough badges in hand, and can travel for fun as long as you like." Ash murmured.
"Don't be like that, Ash. You are the one with the great ambitions, not me." Harrison teased.
"Of course." Ash drawled.
"The next match is between Ash and Casey." The commentator briefed everyone. Now that the main battles were taking place, the rules had been altered to a considerable extent. For one, the matches were all going to be a three-on-three instead of a two-on-two match. "Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town of Kanto vs Casey from Cherrygrove city of Johto."
The battle platform in front of them was a rock-type, littered with rock fragments and fallen stones all around, a perfect ground for a rock-type to battle on.
"This is going to be a three-on-three pokémon battle. Rotations are allowed." The referee declared, before raising the red flag. "Red trainer, release your pokémon."
Ash, who was standing on the Red podium, plucked out his first choice for the match, and yelled, "I choose you, Metang!"
"And Ash Ketchum has chosen Metang, the iron claw pokémon. So far in the tournament, this pokémon has won every single battle. How will Casey deal with Metang's abilities?" The commentary went on.
"Go, Beedril." Casey, who was wearing a yellow shirt with black stripes, and a similar-patterned hat, and holding a whip in her hand, yelled.
"And Casey has chosen Beedril, the poison bee pokémon." The commentator went on. "Is Casey expecting to take advantage of the bug typing?"
Beedrill huh? So she's relying on her type advantage. On the other hand, psychic-types hold an advantage over poison types. Quite the combination. Ash thought inwardly. "All right, Metang. Use Supersensory."
Metang closed its eyes and flooded psy waves radially outward, the waves spreading throughout the platform.
Good. This will aid us.
"Beedrill, use fury attack and twineedle."
The classic attack. Ash thought demurely. "Harden, and use horn attack."
Metang shone for a second as its bone density reached alarmingly high values, before using its psychic power to create momentum for a powerful horn attack. Just as expected, Beedril's stingers slammed against Metang's horn, both trying to drill into the other.
"Now, bullet punch." Ash commanded.
"Beedrill, get out of-"
It was too late. Using its appendages on either side, Metang slammed powerful punches into Beedrill's gut, both punches occurring within the span of two seconds, making the bee pokémon screech in pain.
"Thunder punch, full power!"
Metang roared with a mechanical noise, its right appendage glowing, electricity running all over it, as it slammed its claw into Beedrill's abdomen once again, making the bug-type slam into the ground, disoriented.
"Beedrill is unable to battle. The winner is Metang." The referee announced.
"And Metang continues its unbeatable streak. But will it go on against Casey's next pokémon?" The commentary ran.
"Beedril, return." Casey scowled. "You won't be able to defeat my next pokémon. Go, Electabuzz."
The pokémon in front of Ash was a bipedal feline, though it stood on its powerful hind limbs, and its entire body was striped with black shades on its yellow fur. The two protruding horns on its head were discharging electricity.
"This is becoming monotonous." Ash uttered with a frown. He was getting tired of beating the pump out of electric-types using his Rhydon. "I want to finish this quickly, Metang. Deal with it."
Casey raised an eyebrow at her opponent's casual display of arrogance. "Electabuzz, let's show him what you are capable of. Use thunderbolt."
"Psychic," Ash commanded, his emotionless expression returning. "Deflect that bolt back to Electabuzz."
Just as Ash commanded, Metang deflected the bolt of electricity back to Electabuzz, who watched as the entire power of its own attack came raging towards it.
"Use the thunderbolt to fuel your own thunder punch!" Ash went on, as Metang flew towards Electabuzz, creating a powerful thunder-punch as it slammed its appendage towards Electabuzz.
"Take the hit." Casey replied with a smile.
"What?" Ash looked surprised, as Electabuzz gave a maniacal grin.
The moment the bolt of electricity came blazing towards the electric-type, it ate it up. Electabuzz were, by nature, voracious feeders of electric charge, so much that they are even used as lightning-rods at some places. However, a peculiar ability demonstrated by the species is static, which imparts paralytic damage on the opponent if the oncoming move is physical, which in this case, happened to be Metang.
Thunder punch, by definition, didn't really have any significant damage to Electabuzz, but the same couldn't be said for Metang, who zoomed in and out, because of the effects of the reversal.
"Now use Zap Cannon." Casey replied with conviction.
Electabuzz roared as its two hands glowed brightly, before creating a powerful ball of light, and projecting it towards a slightly disoriented Metang, who took a direct hit from it, as it sent it slamming into one of the rocks.
"Metang, can you get up?" Ash pleaded, horrified by the turn of events.
Metang made a noise that demonstrated pain, but it somehow floated up. It seemed, the iron claw pokémon, still had some strength left in it despite the devastating attack.
"All right," Ash replied, gritting his teeth. His own overconfidence had almost cost him a loss. "Metang, stay to the defensive. Use psychic."
Metang made another groan and threw a beam of psy energy towards Electabuzz.
"Return with zap cannon." Casey commanded. It seemed Electabuzz had, in no way, run out of power, as it returned another bolt of destructive power towards Metang. The two powerful attacks slammed into each other, enveloping the entire area with smoke.
"Metang!" Ash yelled.
Metang made another groan to show that it was still up and running.
None of Metang's attacks are going to work on Electabuzz, and Casey seems to be playing defensively. The more I draw it out, the more Metang grows weaker. Damn it!
Ash held out his pokeball. "Metang, return for now."
"And Ash Ketchum is forced to rotate his pokémon. This is probably the first time Metang has come closer to a defeat." The commentator went on.
Ash grit his teeth. Electabuzz cannot keep its static ability maintained for long. I need long-ranged attacks that can disable this pokémon.
"Red Trainer, please choose your next pokémon." The referee warned.
"Yes, I am," Ash scowled, before selecting his next pokémon. This will be tricky. "Go, Bagon."
The baby dragon materialized in front of Electabuzz, his head shining brightly like steel.
"Alright, Bagon, this one will be tricky. Follow my commands to the point."
Bagon screeched in agreement.
"Dragon Pulse." Ash began.
"Electabuzz, return with Electro Ball."
"Dodge." Ash commanded, as Bagon dodged to his back, avoiding the explosion caused by the two high-powered attacks.
"Electabuzz, it is time for close combat. Use focus punch on that little pokémon."
"Use Head-butt."
Casey smiled. "You never learn, Ash. Electabuzz, use static."
Ash smiled, watching with attention Bagon came inches close to Electabuzz's focus punch. "Change direction and use crunch on Electabuzz's arm."
"What?" Casey looked aback, as Bagon suddenly used the rocks on the ground to change direction midway, and use the dark move on Electabuzz's arm, breaking his arm bones using the powerful move. Electabuzz let the focus punch disintegrate as he howled in pain and fury.
"Electabuzz, use thunder on that Bagon for doing that to you."
Electabuzz liberated out all the electricity he had onto Bagon, and despite the powerful electricity coursing through his veins, Bagon did not relinquish his hold on the electric-type.
"Bagon!" Ash yelled. "Leave the arm and use dragon-pulse on Electabuzz."
Ignoring the pain in his limbs from the massive electrical attack, the tiny dragon let go off Electabuzz, before slamming another powerful pulse of draconic energy to the electric-type's face, the sheer momentum of the attack propelling him backwards as he hit a rock on his back.
"Electabuzz!" Casey yelled out, though her expressions shifted when she saw her battler still standing. "Use Zap cannon, one last time."
Electabuzz roared with all his rage, as he concentrated powerful electrical discharges into his fists, before sending the electrical shock wave towards Bagon.
"Bagon!" Ash exclaimed in horror, as zap cannon hit Bagon head-on. That was when it happened.
Bright light inundated the battle-ground, as Bagon's body began to shine white, as his features shifted, his body becoming more… oval, and his height increases by another foot by the minimum. The electric attack simply dispersed away into nothingness as Bagon- now Shelgon gave out a roar of draconic fury.
Shelgon. The Endurance pokémon. Covering Shelgon's body are outgrowths much like bones. The shell is very hard and bounces off enemy attacks. When awaiting evolution, this Pokémon hides away in a cavern. Dexter crowed automatically.
"Shelgon." Ash whispered, before his senses returned to the battlefield. "Shelgon, use dragon pulse one more time."
Shelgon let out a screech, as he formed a much larger dragon-pulse, in front of his face, before projecting it towards Electabuzz, who was now too weak to dodge the attack. The consecutive zap cannons had wasted all of the electric-type's energy. The powerful draconic attack hit Electabuzz in the face, sending it straight to oblivion.
"Electabuzz is unable to battle. Shelgon is the winner."
"Damn!" Casey cursed, looking up at Ash. "That timely evolution saved your pokémon. Otherwise, it would have been my win."
Ash tilted his head in recognition of her comments, something that made the girl grow even more indignant.
"Go, Chikorita!" Casey yelled, revealing her last and final pokémon.
An extremely cute sauropod pokémon appeared in front of Ash and Shelgon. Chikorita had a pale white body coloration with a large, green leaf on her head. Surrounding her neck, were vine buds in a pattern of a necklace.
"Casey's last pokémon is a Chikorita. Can Chikorita win against Shelgon, and then defeat whatever mystery pokémon Ash has kept for his third battler?"
As if in answer, Chikorita sent a couple of razor leaf attacks towards Shelgon, which struck Shelgon's shell, before breaking away, making Chikorita glare at him in anger.
"Chikorita, use vine whip and lift Shelgon."
Only if it was that easy. While Bagon weighed somewhat around ninety pounds, evolution increased its mass by almost two times, reaching a high value of two hundred and fifty pounds, half of a full-grown Onix. The vine wrapped all around Shelgon as the grass-type did her best to pull him up.
"Use Dragon Pulse, Shelgon." Ash commanded, and almost instantly, a sphere of draconic energy hit Chikorita right in the face, sending her off, tumbling down towards the end of the rocky field.
"I forfeit." Casey spoke up suddenly.
"Are you sure?" The referee asked.
Casey nodded. Chikorita cannot defeat Shelgon, and Ash still has another pokémon unused, besides Metang. Continuing the battle would only drag it out, nothing else."
Ash stood shocked at that, before a tiny smile formed on his lips. "It was a good battle, Casey. Your Electabuzz was one tough nut."
"And don't you forget that." Casey scoffed, before recalling Chikorita and walking away.
"Casey has forfeited the battle. Ash Ketchum is the winner." The commentator yelled into his megaphone.
"That was one hell of a match, Ash." Harrison proclaimed. "There was a very good chance of you losing against Casey, if the Electro-ball had been able to get Bagon out of the battle. As Casey said, Bagon's timely evolution saved your ass."
"I know." Ash scowled. "I became over-confident. Lt. Surge is known to be brutal, and I won against him in my first try. The same happened with the magnemite cluster, in which Rhydon literally mauled them into the dust. Against that guy's Raichu too, it was the same. I guess… winning against electric-types so easily got to me."
"And you took that Electabuzz too casually." Harrison chided, his usually-jovial expression gone. Had Metang been rendered unconscious by Electabuzz, the entire match would have gone into Casey's favour. You were lucky that Shelgon took care of Electabuzz and Casey's last pokémon was Chikorita."
"I know, I know." Ash snapped. "That's what's been in my mind since the battle." He looked squarely at Harrison in the eye. "I should have recalled Metang and used Rhydon, and even if not that, I should have used Metang's abilities as a steel-type to put down Electabuzz. I guess, the win over Beedrill got me overconfident."
"I hope you won't suffer from such issues should we happen to battle in this tournament, Ash, because I'm not going to give away any advantage I can get. Your battling style so far taught me that."
Ash, unsurprisingly, didn't reply back.
"Have you checked out who your next opponent is?"
Ash nodded.
"So… out with it? Who's it?"
Ash stood up, and let out a deep sigh. "The Viridian city gym leader's own son. Silver."