Chapter 11:Battles lost and won
Ash couldn't help but keep staring, completely befuddled by the turn of events. Standing opposite him, staring back in kind, was Misty. Misty Waterflower from Cerulean. The same girl with whom he had formed a tentative friendship back in Cerulean, and who had contributed a great deal to his knowledge of water-pokémon, and aided him in his win against her own sisters.
Suddenly, he became highly conscious of the water stone that he carried in his bag. He hadn't used it, of course, since it was given to Poliwhirl and not him, so that Poliwhirl could evolve into Poliwrath- Misty's personal preference over Politoed for some reason. Then again, considering Poliwhirl's proclivity towards swimming all day, he would do better with those strong muscles that came with the evolution into the tough water/fighting-type.
"—between Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town and Misty Waterflower of Cerulean city." The referee finished in his usual monotone.
"Ash?"
"Misty?"
"Ahem!" The referee made his point.
"Sorry!" Both the opponents flushed in embarrassment.
The man scowled before taking a step back, as the battle ground began to alter once again, this time replaced by a body of water, just as large as the platform. 'The battleground will be water for this match. This will be a three-on-three battle, rotations allowed." He lifted up the blue flag, "Blue Trainer, release your pokémon."
Misty, who happened to be the Blue Trainer for the match, took out a single pokeball and threw it into the water. "Misty calls, Golduck!"
An evolved form of Psyduck, apparently. A water/psychic type then. I know just whom to choose against it. Ash decided. "Go, Metagross."
"So your Metang finally evolved, huh?" Misty asked, from the other end.
"Yeah, just yesterday." Ash answered, with a grin.
"Nice. We'll see how he fares against my Golduck, then." Misty taunted.
"Trainers, if you would please go ahead with the battle?" The referee asked, irritation surging out of him in waves.
"Eh, right!" Ash looked embarrassed. "Alright, Metagross. I leave it up to you."
Of course. I am the one battling after all.
Wise ass.
Misty narrowed her eyes, but focussed on the battle. This was the second time she was facing Ash, and her previous battle hadn't really gone that well on her side. Then again, Golden was hardly experienced in battle, and Poliwag was a tough opponent, trained or not.
"Golduck, use water gun."
Stop it.
Just like he did with Typhlosion's flame thrower, the entire jet of incoming water literally froze in front of Metagross, as it went on accumulating, though instead of a sphere, this time it became a wall of unmoving water, a testament to the level to which Metagross had reached in terms of psychic potential.
Misty gaped at the sheer power and beauty of the move, before ordered another attack. "Use water pulse. Destroy that barrier."
Can you contain it?
Easily.
Do it.
The water pulse splashed against the barrier, but just like before, it settled on the surface, adding to the thickness of the water barrier levitating in front of Metagross.
"Ice beam, golduck!"
This will require concentration, allowing the water to turn to ice without fragmenting.
I trust you.
The audience watched, enraptured as the entire wall of stationary water got hit by the powerful Ice-beam, transforming into a thick layer of ice instead.
"No way." Misty breathed.
Can you use bullet punch with all four arms on the wall at once?
I suppose.
Pushing back all four of his appendages backwards, and generating a powerful momentum using psychic energy, Metagross slammed all four of his iron legs into the ice slab, shattering it into pieces, creating dozens of ice-meteors, all of them falling down to the platform, propelled by Metagross's psychic powers.
"Golduck, jump into the water, now." Misty replied, knowing that the ice, because of its density, would float on the surface, creating a wall in front of Metagross, should it try any psychic attacks. Just as expected, the ice-meteors slammed down onto the water body, splashing water all around, completely drenching both trainers in the process.
"Ash Ketchum!" Misty snarled.
"Sorry!" Ash squeaked, before returning to the match. "Metagross, use thunder punch on the water."
"No, Golduck get out of the water now!"
It was easier said than done. While the ice layer would in fact, be a protection against psychic attacks, the large chunks of ice also hindered Golduck's movement inside the water. Thus, when the powerful thunder punch came slamming down into the water body, the sheer amount of electricity literally encompassed the entire platform, almost electrocuting Golduck who lay in the middle of it.
"Golduck, NO!" Misty screamed, before quickly pulling her pokeball and returning her pokémon. Once safely returned, she released him back on the ground, only to find him unconscious.
"Golduck is unable to battle. Metagross is the winner." The referee declared.
Returning Golduck back, Misty glared at Ash. "That, was a dirty move, you know."
Ash shrugged. "It worked. We are in a water-platform, and you are the wannabe water-master. Surely I deserve to take any advantage I can get against such overwhelming odds?"
"That's manipulative and underhanded, Ash Ketchum." Misty yelled.
"Your compliment is well-accepted." Ash mock-bowed.
Misty gritted her teeth. "You were much better when you were all ignorant and wanting for knowledge. Battling has gotten you cocky."
Ash raised an eyebrow at that comment.
"It's your funeral," Misty muttered darkly, as she choose her next pokémon. "Misty calls, Gyarados!"
And all hell went lose.
Ash's eyes widened into large, gaping saucers as he took in the sheer size of the colossal behemoth in front of him. To his knowledge, Gyarados usually were in the range of fifteen to twenty-three feet, and had aquiline body color all over, except the underbelly which were usually pale-yellowish in color. This behemoth on the other hand, easily topped thirty-five feet by the minimum, and instead of the aquiline shade, its scales were crimson red. Bloody hell, the colossal thing was bigger than the platform all together.
An honest-to-god shiny Gyarados.
Ash gulped. "Umm… Misty, you do know right that I can always offer to purchase you a new dress for the one I just drenched?"
I believe that is a smart suggestion.
"Gyarados is one of my oldest pokémon." Misty cooed- yes, she cooed—at the infernal creature, who bent lower, much lower, so that it could reach Misty's hands, as she caressed her jaw, "—and she's downright protective of me."
Gyarados let out an infernal roar.
It must be noted, that at this moment, more than two-thirds of the audience had vanished from their seats, and the remaining ones had pokémon out, ready to shield them from the monstrous creature that looked way past heavier than the entire ship altogether.
"Uh… Miss Waterflower?" The referee asked politely- unbelievable, yes—but politely indeed, "are you absolutely sure that you are going to battle with that- Gyarados on this ship?"
Misty looked slightly puzzled. "Yes, why?"
Ash just raised both of his hands, pointing out everywhere, at the nearly empty spectator-stands.
"Oh." Misty realized. "Why don't we have a match in the sea then?"
Ash looked at her like she had gone completely past crazy. "Misty… a battle with a Gyarados in the sea? Especially with a large ship at such proximity?"
"Right." Misty replied sheepishly. She turned towards the referee. "Will be able to choose another pokémon in substitute for Gyarados, considering your hesitation in allowing her to fight here?"
"Normally no, but these are special circumstances, so considering the safety of the crowd, I will allow that just this once. Please keep the conditions of the battle in mind."
"Right." Misty replied, the sheepish expression still on her face. "Return, Gyarados." She stared at Ash, who hadn't issued a single order to Metagross during the battle. Either Metagross was simply that good, or Ash must have his own ways to-
So that's it. A thin smirk appeared on her lips, as she took out another pokeball and threw it into the water. "Misty calls, Sharpedo."
The pokémon that appeared in the water looked like a large, blue shark with black eyes, with fins on all sides, and large, powerful jaws.
Use psychic.
Metagross's eyes glowed blue, as another slash of psychic energy shot towards Sharpedo, only to curve all over Sharpedo's body, before hitting the water everywhere.
The beast of the sea has powers of the Void, and slips past the hold of my powers.
The Void? Ash thought, before he was reminded with a vision of how Metang's psychic attacks had failed in holding Carvanha in a psychic trap.
A Dark type then.
Users of the Void.
Right. Well then, psychic powers are out of the question. Let's put your hulking frame into some use.
Metagross hummed.
Use thunder punch on the water. Let's see what happens.
One of Metagross's appendages glowed with electricity, as he came slamming down towards the water body.
"Stop him with Hydro pump!"
A powerful, pin-pointed jet of water slammed into Metagross, the mere momentum of it pushing the steel behemoth backwards, disrupting the very momentum he needed to perform an adequate thunder-punch. Sharpedo however, wasn't done yet.
"Use night slash!"
Attack with metal claw.
The two attacks slammed into each other, though night slash, which had a higher critical hit value, made a deep gash into Metagross, causing the iron leg pokémon to groan in slight pain.
We will avenge that. Use psychic on the water. Pull the entire thing up. Ash roared in his mind.
Metagross's eyes glowed a powerful blue, as the entire water column rose like a giant tide, much to Misty's chagrin.
"Throw it down onto Sharpedo!"
"Swim over and use another night slash on Metagross!"
"Meteor Mash!"
The two attacks slammed into each other, with Sharpedo sent flying back to the pool, while Metagross groaned in pain, the dark technique causing agony to the psychic type.
Can you use Miracle Eye on that thing?
I could, but the beast is too swift. Miracle Eye needs a stationary target.
Shit! We will need to get your weakness to Dark attacks sorted out.
You will find it more difficult than you expect, human Ash.
That may be, but rest for now.
Ash held out his pokeball. "Metagross, return!"
"And Ash Ketchum returns his Metagross. Does he have any other pokémon to counter Misty's Sharpedo?"
"I choose you, Pidgeotto!"
With a screech, Pidgeotto soared up into the air, staring at the shark-pokémon still in the water.
"Pidgeotto, use gust!" Ash commanded, suddenly realizing the vulnerability of having to say the orders aloud.
The avian began to beat her wings faster, creating an extremely powerful gust, causing severe turbulence in the water body.
"It won't work, Ash." Misty yelled from the other end. "Sharpedo's swim easily in turbulent seas. A little gust of wind isn't even comparable."
Is that so? Thank you for the information. Ash thought inwardly. "Pidgeotto, use twister."
An entire column of water rose from the water platform, forming a tornado, as it sucked Sharpedo into it. However, Sharpedo being who it was, was quickly able to manoeuvre through the raging sea storm.
"Use Steel wing on Sharpedo!" Ash called out.
"Dive into the twister."
Just as Misty stated, Sharpedo quickly vanished into the twister, away from Pidgeotto, turning Pidgeotto's own attack into an impenetrable defence.
Damn. "Release the twister and use air slash!"
The twister dissipated, as Sharpedo found himself back in the pool, easily dodging attacks from the avian.
"We have dillydallied long enough. Finish this, Sharpedo. Use ice-beam!"
Sharpedo widened its jaws further, launching a powerful ice-beam towards Pidgeotto.
"Dodge it!"
With one single glide, Pidgeotto shifted past, missing the ice-beam, before flying directly on top of the shark-pokémon.
"This is going nowhere." Ash gritted his teeth. "Return Pidgeotto!"
"And Ash Ketchum returns back his second pokémon. Will his next choice be able to counter Misty's Sharpedo?" The commentator blared into his megaphone.
This will be more like a revenge-killer than anything else. I hope this works or else I might as well concede defeat right now.
Ash gritted his teeth. Busy with developing his pokémon's raw strength and power, he had totally neglected in getting them learn some long-ranged moves. He should have looked into something like Hyper Beam as a counter. Of course, Shelgon could perform dragon-breath and dragon-pulse, and so could Charmander, but their lack of speed rendered them useless in such a position.
I will have to rectify that.
"Go, Crawdaunt."
As the red light dissipated, the rogue pokémon appeared in the water, raising his pincers in intimidation.
"A dark type against my own?" Misty asked, raising an eyebrow. "It's not going to be that easy, Ash."
Ash gave a soft smile. "I never expected it to be."
Misty smirked. "Sharpedo, time to show why you are the biggest bully in the seas. Use Aqua jet."
"Use swift, Crawdaunt, and attack with Vice-Grip."
"Night slash!"
The two attacks slammed into each other, locking Crawdaunt's crabhammer into Sharpedo's powerful jaws.
"Sharpedo, pull him into the water."
Just as ordered, Sharpedo pulled Crawdaunt into the water, swimming backwards like nobody's business.
"Get him disoriented, and use poison fang!"
Ash grit his teeth, watching Crawdaunt getting dragged all over the water, knowing very well that the poison would soon start acting. If he didn't do anything yet, Crawdaunt would lose the match.
"Hit him with your own pincer. Use Crabhammer."
That, put Sharpedo in trouble.
Despite its sheer strength and agility, Sharpedo lacked any form of appendages, its only body parts capable of attack being its jaws and its fins. With the other pincer inside its jaws, Sharpedo was having a difficult time as Crawdaunt kept on slamming its powerful pincer on Sharpedo's head.
"Slam into to the sides of the pool." Misty yelled.
"Not so easy." Ash countered. "Crawdaunt, use ice-beam with your own pincer!"
"Sharpedo, leave him quickly!"
Before that could happen, a powerful ice-beam launched into Sharpedo's innards, having been born in the pincer that had been inside its own jaws. In a matter of moments, Sharpedo was completely trapped inside a large mass of ice, as the entire thing floated up at the surface, with a completely trapped and disillusioned Sharpedo inside it.
"Sharpedo is unable to battle. Crawdaunt is the winner."
Misty scowled. "Fine. Try my oldest pokémon." She plucked another pokeball and threw it into the pool. "Misty calls, Kingdra!"
The pokémon that turned corporeal from the red light resembled a large, blue dragon with two horns above its head, two vestigial flippers at the back and a yellow underbelly, at least from what was visible above the water.
"A Kingdra?" Ash whispered, in awe. Kingdra were, in general, very powerful creatures with a wide range of attacks, and packed agility, power and control all in one. The mere presence of such a pokémon was enough to convince Ash that the battle would be anything but easy.
"Crawdaunt, get ready." Ash stressed, "Use bubble beam!"
Kingdra simply made an odd gurgling sound, as a wall of water rose in front of her, absorbing the bubble-beam attack.
Right. Kingdra are masters at water manipulation. I forgot. "Use agility to get close, and fire an ice beam at Kingdra!"
Crawdaunt did the same, using its technique to swim as fast as possible, while preparing the ice-beam. The moment it was ready, the crustacean fired the ice beam towards the dragon.
"Counter with your own ice-beam!"
Kingdra gurgled loudly, before it threw out an immensely powerful ice-beam at a moment's notice, which shot past the water surface, slamming into Crawdaunt's own attack, pushing it back to the crustacean, freezing him into a mass of ice.
And just like that, Crawdaunt was defeated.
"That's one powerful Kingdra there," the commentator went on, "with one single attack, it froze Crawdaunt, sending it out of the competition."
Yeah, I didn't know that. Tell me more. Ash scowled, returning Crawdaunt. Trying to battle this… draconic monster with Pidgeotto would only cause him another defeat, and with the last two matches ending up with defeat for the avian, Ash didn't think it would do well to Pidgeotto's morale.
"Metagross, I choose you. End this match now."
"What a fitting end. Wouldn't you say?" Misty yelled from the other side.
"Yeah." Ash returned darkly. Metagross, don't take this one lightly. The Kingdra is powerful.
Powerful, aqua-dragon in a match on water. Your choices for battles do wonders for my pride.
What's with you and being so dramatic?
You are my trainer.
Yeah—wait, what?
Metagross hummed in amusement, as he floated across the water body, levitating towards the Kingdra who merely watched as the steel-type in return.
"Kingdra, show them your power!"
Kingdra rose from the water, levitating upwards, into the air, matching Metagross in his altitude, a statement if there was one. Once there, she gurgled out loudly,
"Use psy beams."
"Dragon pulse."
The two attacks slammed into each other, causing an explosion.
"Raise the water, Kingdra, use twister."
Kingdra let out a long gurgle, as several columns of water rose out of the pool, conjoining together to form a vast twisting column of water, with Kingdra at the center, staring at Metagross.
Metagross, I have something in mind that might be able to take this Kingdra down.
Of course.
And I don't think you are gonna like it.
With a mechanical roar, Metagross suddenly shot towards the twister, using his psychic-enhanced agility to maximum limit, towards the sea-dragon right in the center of the towering column of water.
"Kingdra, stop him with Dragon pulse!"
Kingdra shot out a powerful dragon pulse, but thanks to his agility, Metagross somehow dodged it as he approached closer and closer.
"Strengthen the twister and use Dragon breath. Annihilate that Metagross."
The twister kept broadening as the waters kept running with increasing velocity, except a single region from where a highly powerful dragon breath shot out, aimed directly for Metagross.
Use psychic to protect yourself from the attack, and dive in deep.
This will consume all of my power.
I told you, you weren't going to like it.
The forceful dragon-breath hit the Metagross face-first, pushing it back, as it burned him, despite the psychic shield trying to hold it back. Using his entire power, metagross pushed up ahead, trudging through the dragon-pulse, as he braced himself, removed his shields, and used all of his power to propel himself ahead, slamming directly into the Kingdra head-first.
"Kingdra!" Misty yelled in shock. "Hyper beam! Stop it now!"
"Meteor-mash, full power!" Ash yelled, as Metagross used every ounce of his power to slam his last attack into the dragon, who returned with a powerful hyper beam directly in the face.
The explosion that occurred literally smashed against the water column, almost evaporating half of it by its sheer temperature. When the smoke receded, two pokémon were floating on the top of the remaining pool. Metagross, and Kingdra, had been rendered unconscious.
"Both Kingdra and Metagross are unable to battle. Since the Blue Trainer has lost all three pokémon, the winner is- Ash Ketchum!"
Misty felt her knees weaken as she slid down to the floor, before returning her oldest friend back to her pokeball. After a moment of silence, she looked up towards Ash and gave him a soft smile. "That was a good battle, Ash."
"Thanks." Ash returned, his entire body shaken, as he returned Metagross. "You are one, powerful trainer."
Misty chuckled.
Sometime later.
"I am seriously confused now. How come we didn't see each other over the week?"
"Depends, really." Misty replied, as she walked beside her friend. "I had my matches in the evening. You?"
"Morning." Ash replied sheepishly. "I was a little… engrossed in stuff over the evenings." Like meeting with Shirona.
"Oh." Misty raised an eyebrow.
"I didn't think I'd see you here, on the ship."
"Yeah, me too." Misty agreed, a tad embarrassed. "But this was an option to visit three regions and meet so many water pokémon, so I couldn't resist."
Ash chuckled at that. "So, you are gonna travel all the way to Alola?"
"I guess…" Misty drawled out. "What about you? I don't think you'd stick long after the tournament is done with, what with the way you dashed out of Cerulean after winning the badge."
"Glad I did too." Ash murmured.
"What did you say?"
"Uh… nothing. I had some pretty interesting experiences since I left Cerulean." He didn't say that his time after leaving Cerulean had been a constant set of interesting experiences. Interesting and life-threatening both.
"Oh, like?"
"Well, I got this Charmander. He was sitting on a rock, in the rain, deserted bv his trainer. Metang helped me get it to the Pokémon center on Bavarian cliff, and after that, I got to visit the Lighthouse."
"You met Bill Montgomery?" Misty asked, widening her eyebrows.
"Why wouldn't I?" She retorted. "I have always wanted to meet him." She replied jealously.
"Well, he's a good friend, if a little overbearing at times." Ash described. "Maybe I'll introduce you to him sometime?"
"You would?" Misty asked hopefully.
Ash shrugged. "You are my friend."
"Oh." Misty suddenly looked away, towards the vast expanses of the sea. The two of them had finally reached the second floor, where all the trainers lived. "Where's your room?"
"Uh, towards this side, and yours?"
Misty pointed out in the reverse direction. "Most of the trainers there are from Hoenn and Sinnoh."
"Oh."
"Hey, Ash?" Came a somewhat uncertain voice from behind.
Ash spun around instantly, surprised to see Shirona standing there, behind him. "I uh… came to congratulate you for the match. That final move literally kicked that Kingdra's ass." The moment she spoke those words, Misty spun around, as Cynthia shut her mouth, realizing who the other person was. "Uh… no offence really. Your Kingdra was pretty powerful too."
"Thanks." Misty replied tersely, glaring at the blonde-haired girl in front of her, and wondering what she might have to do with Ash. "And you are?"
"She's Shirona." Ash introduced, "she's with the Sinnoh League envoys."
Misty raised an eyebrow. She had met the League envoys that were residing in the rooms on her side, and this girl wasn't one of them. She stepped forward elegantly, extending her hand at the stranger. "Pleased to meet you."
Cynthia shook her hand gingerly. "Likewise."
"So you are a trainer?"
"Nah!" It was Ash who answered. "She's a veteran, who now does some boring, unspeakable job for the Sinnoh league. Though, I am supposed to believe that she can kick ass whenever she wants."
Cynthia chortled at that explanation. "That sounds about right."
"You seem to know an awful lot about her." Misty accused, keeping any and all kind of hostility from her voice. Something about the girl's association with Ash didn't feel good to her.
"Yes," Cynthia chuckled. "Ash did treat me to ice-cream the previous day, rather magnanimous considering he almost lost all his money."
Misty looked questioningly at Ash.
"Don't ask." Ash scowled. "Anyway, this is Misty Waterflower." He introduced her to Cynthia. "She is a wannabe Water-Master and soon-to-be Gym leader for Cerulean city, and knows stuff about water pokémon like you wouldn't believe."
Misty blushed under the praise. Being the youngest out of four competitive sisters, she rarely had a chance to be praised, especially when all three of her sisters were stronger, powerful and prettier than her. For some reason, this blonde-haired girl had begun to incite some negative emotions inside her heart, reasons she couldn't fully comprehend yet.
"She helped me a lot, especially with Poliwhirl back then." Ash finished.
"Speaking of that, where's the little jokester?"
"Somewhere…" Ash waved it away. "He's been sort of a rarity ever since I've gotten here. I don't get it how someone could just keep on swimming like that all day."
"Poliwhirl can do that." Misty answered, almost automatically. Considering its behaviour, I am more confident that he's going to prefer being a Poliwrath."
Ash shrugged. "Either is fine by me."
"Poliwrath is a part fighting type." Misty deadpanned.
Ash's face was a good representation of his feelings.
Sold.
"So… you two are travelling together or something?" Misty asked.
"Nah, I just met her four days ago, on the ship." Ash clarified. "I've been travelling with Harrison, a friend of mine I met back in Vermillion."
"Ah." Misty deadpanned.
"Speaking of Harrison, I don't believe I ever met him." Cynthia asked curiously.
"He might be… somewhere on the ship. Harrison has the habit of vanishing away at times. He did that back in Vermillion too."
"Right."
"Wait… Harrison as in the guy from Hoenn with an Arcanine?" Misty asked.
"The very same." Ash replied. "Saw his battles?"
"Two of them. That Arcanine is pretty powerful though obviously young."
"Evolved only a month ago." Ash clarified.
"So Ash…" Cynthia began, "I was wondering if we could talk about the… issue earlier?"
Something about Ash's stance shifted. "Are you going to call my pokémon unnatural again?"
Cynthia raised her hands in surrender. "I am not, and seriously, stop with the defensive act. I just pointed out that your Charmander has… issues. Jeez, I didn't threaten you with killing it."
"I have problems with anyone calling any of my pokémon, that." Ash returned sternly.
"Okay." Cynthia, still hands-raised. "Sorry." She replied coolly. "Your Metagross is pretty powerful though," she stopped midway, before continuing, "as is that Kingdra." She stared at Misty. "You must have trained her pretty well."
"She's been with me since I was four, when she was a Horsea. Protected me against a bunch of Tentacruel."
Cynthia raised an eyebrow. A Horsea standing against Tentacruel? "That was certainly brave of her. Tentacruel are rather… ruthless."
"Do you have Tentacruel back there in Sinnoh?"
"No, but you do get to meet the occasional trainer with one of those things. The world's pretty small, you know." Cynthia answered. And for the record, that Gyarados of yours looked practically legendary. I have never seen anything that large in my life."
"She's… special." Misty answered, flushing slightly.
"That reminds me…" Ash suddenly rummaged through his belt, getting odd looks from the girls. "Ah, here it is."
"What's about that pokeball?" Misty asked.
"Not the ball, but the pokémon inside it." Ash replied proudly.
"What pokémon?" Cynthia asked, curious.
"My option for long-ranged attacks." Ash replied proudly. "Behold…" he pressed the release button.
It should be noted that the moment the pokeball opened, it seemed like bright, golden light shone all across the world, literally encompassing the entire ship in its wake.
Or maybe that was because they were all peeping into the pokeball to notice anything else.
The golden light then slowly waned, as it condensed, turning into the corporeal form of Ash Ketchum's great capture.
"Karp! Karp!"
Cynthia and Misty literally had their jaw drop to the floor, completely bewildered. Then, they got to their senses, each girl glaring at the owner who was grinning like a loon.
"Ash, that's a Magikarp!" Cynthia pointed out.
"Karp! Karp! Karp!"
"Yeah, and I need to help him evolve into a Gyarados!" Ash answered.
"Karp! Karp! Karp!"
"You… want a Gyarados?" Misty asked, looking somewhat surprised. "Why didn't you tell me back earlier?"
Cynthia raised an eyebrow. To her knowledge, Gyarados were known as the atrocious pokémon, and were incredibly dangerous. They weren't supposed to be cotton candy, like this strange girl was saying.
"Get back." Misty pushed the somewhat befuddled boy backwards, as she assumed prime position before the Magikarp, who was hopelessly diligent to keep on splashing on the floor.
"Wow, you are so adorable!" Misty cooed, slowly caressing the sides of the fish pokémon, which seemed to have gained a slight pink coloration just beside its tentacles.
"Personally, I'm not sure if adorable is the right word for-", Cynthia began but was silenced with a venomous glare from the redhead, who countered, "they need to feel proud of themselves to evolve. Now shut it and help me."
"Uh, guys, what exactly are you-?" Ash tried, completely confused by the turn of events. From what Bill had mentioned, he had a special way to make Magikarp evolve quickly. Surely being called adorable wasn't one of them?
"I'm pretty sure that Magikarp here can splash like no one else." Misty was saying.
"Karp! Karp! Karp!"
"Yeah, and he looks pretty strong too. Look how easily he's staying on ground."
"Karp! Karp! Karp!" Said Magikarp in question was turning redder by the minute. If Ash was any denser, he would have denied that Magikarp was in fact, blushing from the ever-growing affection from the two beautiful ladies before him.
"Yeah!" Misty decided to go ahead and give said Magikarp a little hug, which-
"Karp! Karp! Karp!"
"Girls, Magikarp is glowing!" Ash yelled from behind.
"Water! Throw him into the water, now!" Misty yelled back, as she got up, and with Cynthia's help, threw Magikarp into the sea, before a huge beam of light shot out of the water surface, condensing into a humongous, serpentine structure, as the atrocious pokémon came into being.
Gyarados let out an almighty roar.
Ash's knees hit the floor.
Gyarados then slowly lowered his large maw, lower and lower until it could reach Misty, before making a gurgling sound, as Misty caressed it. "See Ash? I told you, Gyarados are pretty cute if you are good to them."
Ace face-palmed.
"And that is how I got myself a Gyarados!" Ash finished, his left eye twitching at how Harrison was now rolling on the floor, laughing his ass off.
"Oho!" Harrison held his stomach, which was now paining, as he tried to get up and contain his mirth, failing dismally once again. "That has got to be the funniest incident I've ever heard of."
Ash scowled.
"Where is your Gyarados by the way?" Harrison asked weakly, trying to stop himself from snorting again.
Ash raised his right hand, and pointed towards the east, far into the sea, where two Gyarados, one red and one blue, were having fun, making all sorts of noises that would, in all probability, turn a younger Gyarados blush.
"Is that-?"
"Yep."
"Are they-?"
"Yep."
Harrison face-palmed.
"The funny thing is, Gyarados seems perfectly willing to follow orders. Apparently, Misty overloaded its sense of self-pride, and that reduced its proclivity to devastate. Don't ask how, I don't understand it myself."
"Misty is a wannabe water-master, right?" Harrison asked curiously.
"Yep."
"Well, when in Rome…." Harrison drawled out. "I guess, water-masters would understand water-pokémon best." He looked back at Ash and gave a grin. "I guess that helps you a little, since you are apparently facing me in the Top-4?"
"I… what?"
Two days later.
"Finally, we have our Top-4 contestants for our Clubsplosion event. On Team One, we have Harrison from Little Root Town of Hoenn, who will be facing Ash from Pallet Town of Kanto. On Team 2, we have Ritchie from Frodomar city, also of Kanto, who will be facing Jon Dickson of Sento Cherry Town of Johto."
The commentator paused for a moment. "Our judge panel have decided that between the defeated contestants of Team 1 and Team 2, whoever has attained more points in the battles so far will be declared the second-runner up for the tournament."
That rule was true to the standard rules of the League. For every single battle, a trainer was awarded points, based on his intuitiveness, his pokémon, his ability to think outside the box, and of course, the number of straight victories he had up to that point. Considering all of that, each trainer would get a specific point out of ten, which were given by the judges.
The scoreboard flashed as the contents altered, instead showing the faces of the four champions, and their respective points that each of them had scored until now.
Ash had scored a total of 48 out of 60 while Harrison a 51 out of 60. Ritchie on the other hand, had a 42 out of 60 while Jon Dickson had a 47. All in all, Harrison had been leading amongst the top-4 participants.
"So, let's start with Team 1, please welcome, Ash Ketchum and Harrison."
Harrison, who had been standing beside Ash all this while, gave a soft tap on his shoulder. "I guess, this is it. One of us will go to the finals."
"Yeah," Ash agreed, feeling a little odd at considering that it would be only one who could progress to the finals. In his mind, both of them would have been there, to contest for the final prize.
"Then again, it's pretty good for a rookie to get to the semi-finals with so many experienced trainers around. You should be proud of yourself if you don't make it any further." Harrison taunted good-naturedly.
"Yeah, when I defeat you, you'll know how those experienced trainers felt when I moved up and they didn't." Ash countered.
"Trainers Ash and Harrison, please take your places." The referee commanded. The platform let out a hiss, as it slowly sunk down, to be replaced by a thick layer of solid ice. "The battleground for the match will be ice." The man paused again before continuing. "This will be a three-on-three battle, rotations allowed mid-battle. The first person to lose three pokémon, loses." He lifted the red flag, "Red trainer chooses first."
Harrison, who was standing on the Red position, lifted a pokeball up in the air, as he threw it into the icy platform. "Go, Houndoom."
So, you want to begin with a dark/fire type, to counteract my Metagross, eh? Ash thought, as he considered his position. Two days ago, he would've been just indecisive, but rather horrified by the mere suggestion. Now though, he knew that he could go ahead with the plan.
"Check this out, Harrison. I choose you, Gyarados."
The pokeball split open, as a humongous structure materialized into view, the atrocious pokémon finally turning corporeal in front of everyone. After Ash and Misty's battle, the organizers had literally tripled the defences, not really wanting another almost-occurred-catastrophe on St. Anne.
"Ash Ketchum has chosen Gyarados against Harrison's Houndoom, but will type-advantage be enough to counter Houndoom's power?" The commentary went on in the background.
"I sincerely hope you aren't, Ash." Harrison yelled from the other side.
"Don't worry." Ash countered back.
"Houndoom, use flamethrower."
"Gyarados, return with dragon rage."
The two powerful attacks met each other midway, resulting a large explosion, which could be called the perfect start of an amazing battle between the two trainers.
"Get closer towards Gyarados and use fire fang!"
It was more difficult than expected. The ice field wasn't one for quick movement, considering how slippery it was. Houndoom was certainly having a rather difficult time trying to counteract the loss of resistance of the floor.
"Gyarados, let's help Houndoom a little." Ash teased. "Use splash on the floor."
Splash was, in simple terms, the most pathetic attack move ever. However, even completely worthless moves could be used in extraordinary ways.
One such way was to be used by a twenty-foot tall sea serpent, heavier than five hundred pounds in sheer mass, over a thick block of ice.
The moment Gyarados used Splash, the sheer momentum of that move literally shattered the ice layer, dissolving it into water, on which several other chunks of ice now floated.
"Use splash on the water with your tail."
The moment Gyarados came down on the water with its tail, the sheer power raised the water on either side, drenching Houndoom completely.
"Thanks for the impromptu bathing experience, Ash." Harrison replied in a falsely-sweet voice. That was when Ash noticed that not even Harrison had been untouched by the attack.
"Sorry."
"You will be saying that again, and again." Harrison sneered. "Houndoom, use inferno!"
"Dragon rage." Ash commanded, as another set of attacks caught up in a stale mate.
It was almost funny, that for a pokémon so… useless, like Magikarp, to have such a miraculous state of evolution. Even if one were to ignore the sheer mass and size of Gyarados, the draconic serpents were also able to automatically learn the moves Dragon Rage and Hyper Beam, without any kind of external aid, almost as if evolution itself granted them knowledge to perform those two offensive attacks.
"Use fire blast!"
"Hyper beam!"
"Stop playing defensive, Ash. Attack like a real man." Harrison taunted.
"I am a kid, Harrison." Ash bit back. "Stop asking to play otherwise."
The brown-haired trainer sneered. "Fine, try this. Houndoom, get closer to Gyarados and use fire fang!"
"Capture that Houndoom with your tail, and squeeze it."
Just as expected, Gyarados was able to capture Houndoom with its own serpentine body, crushing him from all sides, as Houndoom yelped in pain.
"Now use Dark Pulse at Gyarados on the face."
"Gyarados, repel with hydro pump!"
It was too late. This time, Gyarados's size was a liability, as the dark pulse came crashing down on him, scoring a powerful attack. Taking that opportunity, Houndoom threw out another two Dark pulses on the fallen serpent, who was trying hard to get up.
"Lash out with your tail." Ash commanded, as Gyarados slammed its tail right at Houndoom, hitting it straight in the abdomen, as it was flung away towards the boundaries, heavily injured. By some miracle, it managed to get itself up and standing, but barely just.
"Houndoom, one last attack." Harrison pleaded, "Destiny bond."
"What is that?" Ash asked, perplexed, as a thin line of otherworldly energy connected both Houndoom and Gyarados, before vanishing away.
"But nothing's happened." Ash pronounced, and indeed, nothing happened. No one attacked, no one blocked.
Then, Houndoom suddenly lost consciousness and dropped onto the floor. In a matter of seconds, Gyarados too, all of a sudden, let out a groan, and lost consciousness.
"Both Gyarados and Houndoom are unable to battle. Trainers, choose your next pokémon."
"But… what happened?" Ash inquired.
"Destiny bond," Harrison explained. "A self-suicidal, revenge attack. If the user faints, the victim faints."
"But, that's—that's unfair." Ash retorted.
Harrison chuckled. "It's a battle. And just to get things straight, you didn't put Gyarados against my Houndoom. I pitched Houndoom against your Gyarados."
"What do you mean?"
"My other pokémon have been mapped to yours. Gyarados was a new card, so it was best to remove it out of the equation. Houndoom was the optimal pokémon to get that done."
Ash was stunned. For all his life, he had only known straight-forward battling, a clash of power against power, with unpredictability thrown in at strange corners. Harrison on the other hand, seemed to consider it like a game of chess, where if necessary, one must sacrifice a pawn to win the battle. It was kind of demeaning, and also ruthless, then again, who was Ash to question him, when Ash himself relied on overwhelming his battles himself?
"I use every advantage I get." Harrison answered, "You taught me that."
Ash just stood there, flummoxed. One thing was clear, despite having a powerful team, he still had a lot to learn as a trainer. Harrison didn't just train his pokémon, he trained them in groups, making sure that they were all arranged like chess pieces, where one could counteract the weakness of another.
"Trainers, choose your next pokémon." The referee reiterated.
Harrison took out his next pokeball. "Now that your long-range attacker is out of commission, time to bring out the big guns." He smirked. "Go, Arcanine."
Ash gritted his teeth, as he returned Gyarados. "I choose you, Poliwhirl."
"Predictable." Harrison mocked. "Return, Arcanine. Go Blastoise."
The fiery beast was sucked in and replaced by the hulking turtle pokémon, who let out a roar.
"Not happening, Harrison." Ash retorted, "Poliwhirl, return," he returned the rock-type, before throwing in another pokeball. "Go, Metagross."
Harrison smirked. "Return Blastoise." A surprised audience watched him return Blastoise and replace him back with Arcanine.
"Are you going to keep doing that?"
"Just fixing opponents for my team. I feel like my Arcanine can do with better opponents like your Metagross."
Ash narrowed his eyes. Harrison had watched each and every of Ash's battles and spoken about them to him at length. He had done a rather good analysis of them too. In hindsight, he should have understood that he was literally giving away his techniques to his future opponent. Harrison knew all his cards, while keeping his own hidden, and hence, having an extra trump card under his sleeve.
I guess the best thing I can do is be unpredictable.
"I will continue with Metagross."
"Indeed?" Harrison provoked. "And if he loses, then wont your Poliwhirl have a tough time against my Blastoise?"
"Not if Metagross already defeats your Arcanine in the first place."
Harrison laughed. "Then let the best trainer win."
Ash nodded.
Cynthia observed the battle from the stands. One thing was clear, Ash had powerful pokémon, but Harrison was a far better trainer, displaying the level of calmness and planning that only comes with rigorous experience. In a battle of raw power, Harrison's pokémon would get decimated by Ash's, despite the latter having so less experience. However, the brown,-haired young man from Hoenn had literally taken his weaknesses and turned them into strength.
This is going to be really difficult.
Gyarados was already eliminated out of the competition, and with the choice of battlefield being water and ice, using Rhydon wasn't an option. Metagross and Poliwhirl were left against Arcanine and Blastoise, and now Arcanine had been pitched against Metagross, who was, for all intents and purposes, Ash's most versatile pokémon so far.
How will you defeat such a tricky opponent, Ash Ketchum?
Meanwhile back on the battleground, Metagross soared up in the air, above the battleground that consisted of water with ice chunks floating all over, as Arcanine stood on one of the larger chunks of ice, growling at the iron leg pokémon.
We need to defeat Arcanine as quickly as possible, and if not, I need you to get out quick without getting injured. Ash communicated mentally.
Understood.
"Arcanine, start with fire blast!" Harrison began, as Arcanine let out a loud howl, before unleashing a torrent of flames which expanded out towards Metagross.
Raise the water, use it as shield.
"Arcanine, use swift and use bite on Metagross."
Stop using psychic shields.
Metagross raised psychic defences in front of him, but shockingly enough, Arcanine was able to pass through it, as he scored a direct hit, on Metagross. It was only because of his steel-typing that stopped him from everything but superficial injury.
Use disable on him.
Metagross's eyes glowed blue, as he tried to capture Arcanine using his psychic powers, but Harrison seemed to have other ideas in mind.
"Use extreme speed, Arcanine. Don't let Metagross contain you."
Despite Metagross's attempts, Arcanine was moving awfully fast for him to even try holding him back.
"Now use hyper beam!"
Psychic, full power.
The two beams collided into each other, but because of their point of collision being closer to Metagross, the steel-type was sent flying towards the walls, before he somehow contained the motion using his psychic abilities.
This is getting difficult. I will let Poliwhirl deal with this. Ash decided. "Metagross, return."
Harrison smirked.
Ash took out Poliwhirl's pokeball in his hand, as he muttered. "All my hopes for defeating that Arcanine is on you, Poliwhirl." He threw the ball up in the air, "Go, Poliwhirl."
With a loud gurgle, Poliwhirl entered the fray.
"And Ash Ketchum replaces Metagross with Poliwhirl. Will Poliwhirl be able to win against Arcanine?" The commentator blared.
"And now you do not have the advantage of psychic-link as well." Harrison revealed loudly, much to Ash's chagrin. It seemed he was playing into Harrison's traps more and more since the start of the match.
"Poliwhirl, get into the water, and start with water gun."
"Dodge it." Harrison commanded lazily. "Use fire blast!"
"Get into the water."
"Continue using fire blast!" Harrison ordered.
What is he thinking? Ash wondered, before he noticed it. With every single fire blast, Arcanine was literally reducing the entire water-ice field to water, save the tiny portion he had for himself. But why would he-?
Shit. I have to end this now.
"Poliwhirl, jump up and use ice-beam on Arcanine."
"Use extreme speed, and jump to the sky." Harrison countered, as Arcanine used the powers of extreme speed, and propelled himself into the air, narrowly escaping the ice-beam.
"Time to finish this." Harrison yelled, "Use fire blast on Poliwhirl again."
"Poliwhirl, get into the water again."
Harrison laughed. "Got you, Ash. Arcanine, dive into the water and use wild charge."
"What?" Ash yelled in absolute shock. Arcanine was a fire-type, and jumping into the water with an electric attack would mean electrocution for the fiery beast.
"Now!"
Arcanine let out a roar, still in the air, as he activated wild charge, jumping into the pool. In a matter of seconds, the wild charge, amplified by the water all around it, literally shocked the wits out of both Arcanine and by extension, Poliwhirl, rendering both of them out of the competition.
"Both Arcanine and Poliwhirl are unable to battle. Trainers choose your next pokémon." The referee stated loudly.
"And with a rather daring move, .Harrison has once again neutralized both his own and Ash's pokémon in a single strike. Now, Harrison has one fresh pokémon Blastoise, against Ash's Metagross, who was injured in the battle against Arcanine. Will Harrison's plan prevail or will Metagross be able to win despite extraneous conditions?"
Within a matter of seconds, Metagross was back, and floating above the layer of water. Harrison had similarly, called upon Blastoise, who was apparently his strongest pokémon.
"So it all comes to this. My Blastoise hasn't even battled yet, and your Metagross is wounded. Who will win?" Harrison asked rhetorically.
Ash didn't bother to reply. Metagross, get ready.
At your command.
"Blastoise, show them a real Hydro pump." Harrison commanded, as Blastoise let out a loud roar, before throwing out twin jets of water from his two cannons.
Use psychic to stop them.
Almost immediately, the incoming water torrents were diverted from their path, as a blue aura surrounded them, diverting them back towards Blastoise.
"Use Water pulse."
The spheres of compressed water slammed into the incoming torrents, nullifying both of them.
"Use Flash Cannon!"
"Psy beam!"
This time, the more powerful Flash Cannon attack rammed into Metagross, pushing him back.
"Use Rapid Spin!"
Blastoise receded back into his shell as it began spinning in the air, throwing jets of water from its orifices, as it lashed towards Metagross.
Use Meteor Mash, Metagross.
Before Metagross could fire up a full-powered Meteor Mash, the harder-than-diamond shell of Blastoise came slamming into Metagross, injuring him heavily, as two of his appendages went flailing in pain.
"Metagross!" Ash yelled in frustration. "Hold that Blastoise and use Bullet Punch!"
Metagross was past caring now. His own vitals were beyond low, but he only concentrated on one single thing. Keep on smashing his four appendages onto Blastoise's thick shell, as the continuous succession of punches came slamming into Blastoise, making the giant turtle pokémon cry out in pain.
"Blastoise, use Hyper Beam!"
"Meteor Mash!" Ash cried out.
The two attacks collided, exploding outward, literally throwing the giant beasts towards opposite ends, as both Blastoise and Metagross went flying, slamming against the psychic walls that separated the battlefield from the stands. Both Ash and Harrison stood shaken, somehow managing to keep standing on their respective platforms, as smoke engulfed the entire battleground.
When the smoke receded, two figures were visible. One, was a fallen Metagross, completely disoriented and unable to battle, while on the other end, stood Blastoise, panting, his shell fractured, and in pain, but standing, nevertheless.
"Metagross is unable to battle. The winner is Harrison and Blastoise.'
Ash felt his knees hit the floor. The battle was over, and he, had lost.