Chapter 10:The first of many
"I'm not sure if I should be enthusiastic or terrified, Ash," Cynthia, known to Ash as Shirona, remarked quietly. "The fact that such a psychic, whether human or pokémon could exist… is downright terrifying."
"I know." Ash's countenance shifted into a frown. "I've been around psychics all my life, but that one was… odd, unnatural… Alien."
"Maybe because he was human, or something?" Cynthia put forward, inwardly deciding to make a call to Lorelei, the Ice-Queen and one of the Kanto Elite Four. For one thing, she and Lorelei were cousins of sorts, and for another, Lorelei was apparently in the psychic-master Sabrina's good books. Besides, it wasn't like Champion Lance would be terribly accommodating should he hear that a Champion of a distant region is poking into matters beyond her concern.
Then again, it is beyond my concern. At least as a Champion.
"I don't know." Ash admitted. The two of them were standing by the deck, watching a pair of seagulls fly in the evening sky, and particularly, Poliwhirl, who was having the time of his life, swimming in the slightly turbulent waters of the sea. "He was using Telepathy, that's sure, but it could also be away to keep us from guessing. I mean, I haven't met any telepaths, but mom says that they love talking telepathically, if only to make the others uncomfortable."
Cynthia snorted at that. Guess she would have to ask Lorelei if Sabrina was like that. From what she had heard, there was a psychic-master known as Will in the Johto Elite Four, who had a nasty habit of teleporting all around, and then appearing behind people's backs, if only to scare them. Lorelei had once frozen the guy to keep him from teleporting, not that it had helped matters any better.
"So…" Ash hesitated a bit, "what exactly do you do all day? I mean, you said you're with the Sinnoh League, and you aren't participating in the tournament. So, what do you do all day?"
"Why, Mr. Ketchum?" Cynthia teased. "Are you demonstrating an interest in me?"
Ash flushed. "No—nothing like that." He ignored Cynthia's laughter and continued, "I mean, you are knowledgeable about pokémon, and so natural with them too. Bagon certainly agrees."
Cynthia's cheeks flushed a little red at that praise.
"So, I was wondering what you… you know, do with the League work and everything, all day. I'm sure you'd have loved to take part in the tournament."
"Well…." Cynthia drawled. "I've had my own share of tournaments during my life as a trainer."
Ash gave her a sceptical glance. "During your life as a trainer? How long have you been doing that?"
Cynthia laughed. "It's not right to ask a lady her age, you know."
Ash flushed pink. "I was not—never mind."
Cynthia chortled at his reactions. It was fun getting a rouse out of him, considering how honest his reactions were. "Four years."
Ash widened his eyes. "You've been a trainer for four years?"
Strange. She looks much younger.
Cynthia bobbed her head. "In Sinnoh, we acquire our trainer licenses at twelve."
"Twelve?" Ash cried out in indignation. "That's- that's cheating! Why do you get to start out at twelve when we get to sit for two more years?"
Cynthia chuckled. "You should take that question to your Champion, then."
"I will," Ash replied with conviction. "When I challenge the Champion and the Elite four, I'll take the matter to them."
Cynthia nodded. Considering how instinctive Ash's battle instincts were, she couldn't imagine it would be too far off before he actually gained the calibre to even consider challenging the Elite Four.
"You didn't answer my question, you know." Ash continued. "What do you do for the League?"
"I…" Cynthia pursed her lips. There were no issues with revealing her identity, but it wouldn't be funny. "Tell you what? Let the tournament end. There'll be a grand party after that, in which all the different League envoys will be introduced in public. I'll introduce you to my friends, and you will know what my job is."
"Okay…" Ash intoned curiously.
"Where is your Bagon? I haven't seen him with you today."
Ash grinned. "He evolved into Shelgon. You'd have seen him had you not been stuck up in 'league stuff' all day."
"Why Mr. Ketchum, that's awfully forward of you. Might you be suggesting that we should spend more time together?"
"I—uh—me- you tricked me!"
Cynthia chortled at his indignant expression. "Sorry, couldn't help it." She quipped.
"I, uh—let's have a pokémon battle." Ash blurted out, himself wondering how he jumped from being outright flustered to issuing a pokémon challenge.
Cynthia raised an eyebrow. "You sure know how to show a lady, a good time."
Ash didn't even try to give a reply.
"Hmmm… well, I suppose we could have a friendly battle. I'll try to go easy on you." Cynthia returned, pointing Ash to follow her towards the platform that was used for the tournament. Right now, the entire place was vacated as most of the travellers were inside.
"Oh come on, how difficult could it be?" Ash challenged.
Cynthia's lips curled into a beatific smile. A thing of beauty, really. "Go, Buizel."
A weasel-like pokémon stood in front of Ash. It had brownish-fur, a big ring-like protrusion all around its neck, and two fins on the backside.
Ash quickly pulled out his pokedex to check the pokémon out.
Buizel. The Sea Weasel Pokémon. Buizel swims by rotating its two tails like a screw. When it dives, its flotation sac collapses.
"Buizel has been caught only recently, so he's the least trained." Cynthia informed.
Ash thought over the information Dexter had just provided. He knew just what pokémon he needed against Buizel. Plucking out a pokeball from his belt, he threw the ball out. "Go, Charmander."
The fire-lizard growled, as he materialized in front of Ash.
"All right, Charmander, we have to win this fight against Buizel. Can you do that for me?"
Charmander asserted his agreement, his tail flame burning a little brighter, as he stared at the sea weasel pokémon.
"A Charmander." Cynthia tilted her head in curiosity. "Don't you think that fire-types are weaker against water-types? I should inform you that Buizel is no slouch."
"Charmander has his shots, right Charmander?" Ash returned.
Charmander growled in agreement.
Cynthia's lips twisted. "Very well, Buizel, start with water gun."
"Dodge!"
Charmander simply dodged towards the right with extreme precision, avoiding the water-gun attack.
"Head up straight, and use metal claw."
Cynthia raised an eyebrow. "Use Aqua Jet, Buizel."
The two elemental pokémon moved towards each other, with Buizel speeding towards the fire-lizard with enormous speed.
"Use dragon pulse on the ground." Ash commanded.
"What?" Cynthia looked in surprise. Charmander weren't expected to learn any kind of draconic attacks, except the rare ones that managed to learn dragon-dance. She would know, after all, Charizard was one of her top battlers.
However, the fire-lizard, with mind-numbing efficiency, ejected a powerful pulse of draconic energy out to the ground, creating an explosion, something that managed to stop Buizel midway, as the weasel pokémon looked at the lizard in surprise.
"Dragon breath, quick!"
"Water pulse!" Cynthia exploded, as Buizel pulled in a water pulse attack in the last second, which crashed against Charmander's dragon breath midway, creating an explosion that sent both pokémon flying over to either side.
"That is enough." Cynthia replied in a somewhat… colder tone. "Buizel, return."
Buizel looked surprised at the sudden change of orders, since he was perfectly able to continue the battle. He managed to glance a look at the somewhat tired Charmander before getting sucked in.
"What—what happened?" Ash asked warily.
"You tell me." Cynthia replied, a dangerous tone to her voice. "Only the rarest of the rare Charmander manage to begin learning that move. And your Charmander managed to use dragon breath and dragon pulse within a span of seconds. That is not normal."
"Who says that?" Ash retorted, not liking how Shirona was calling his Charmander unnatural. "My charmander is special, and I like him how he is. End of discussion."
Cynthia opened her mouth, and closed it. "Ash, you might not want to accept it, but something is inherently strange with your Charmander." She didn't add that Charmander was generating draconic energies in patterns very, very similar to how her Gible, now Garchomp did, while using draconic attacks.
"Maybe, but I like him how he is." Ash retorted. "Return, Charmander."
The fire-lizard sent a single glare at Cynthia as he was sucked into the pokeball. Returning the pokeball back to his belt, Ash gave her a half-glare. "What's the bloody big deal if my Charmander can use Dragon breath?"
"The big deal is because I think your Charmander's genetics aren't normal." Cynthia retorted back. "I'm not sure if you are wilfully denying or are just plain ignorant, but being in possession of illegally-bred pokémon isn't a good thing if you want to succeed as a trainer."
"My- I didn't do anything wrong." Ash defended. "I found him deserted, dying and in the wild, and I took care of him. He is now a part of my team, genetics be damned."
Cynthia almost retorted back, before she controlled herself. "Very well, but I reserve the right to talk about it later."
"You can talk about it as much as you like, as long as you do not try to take him away from me." Ash replied, anger distinct in his eyes. "He's a priceless asset I'm not giving up."
"Ash," Cynthia tried, "it's only for the-"
"I don't care." Ash retorted back, before Cynthia could complete her statement. "It's quite late, and I should return to my room." Without waiting for a reply, he turned around and stomped his way off to his room, leaving a perplexed Cynthia behind.
The next morning.
"Welcome to the second match of today's Top-16 battlers. This time, the participants are Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town, and Silver from Viridian City, both of which are in Kanto." The commentator exclaimed. "Ash, who has demonstrated a wide variety of pokémon under his command, is going to battle against Silver, who has been winning every single battle with his Fire team."
That's right. Ash thought. Unlike what he had expected, the son of the Viridian Gym leader didn't specialize in ground-types, like Giovanni was rumoured to be. Instead, he seemed obsessed with fire-type pokémon, and had been using fire-types ever since the tournament had begun.
A Ninetales, a Slugma and a Flareon, and he has used only those three to win each and every single battle prior to this. This one, will possibly be my toughest match so far.
The platform in front of them suddenly let out another hiss, as it started to sink down, until it was at least a couple of feet deep in, when halves of a new platform slid in from either side.
"The battleground for this match has been chosen to be Rock-type." The commentator stated.
"This will be a three-on-three battle. Rotation is allowed." The referee stated, "Blue Trainer, choose your pokémon."
Ash, the Red trainer for the battle, stood in wait as Silver, the brown-haired individual who looked around sixteen in age, dressed in black apparel that gave off a rebellious streak. His hair was unruly, and his eyes burned with a certain something, as he stood his ground, before calmly pulling a pokeball out of his pocket.
"Ninetales, go battle." Came the silent, emotionless demand.
The red light that inundated the stadium slowly ceased, leaving behind a dazzlingly beautiful, brilliant white fox with long, fluffy tails, all nine of them, folded around her to give the appearance of a throne. Her red eyes, along with the luxurious white fur, formed an avid juxtaposition between ethereal beauty and lethality, something even Ash couldn't help but admire.
That's settled. I need to get myself a Ninetales one of these days. Ash thought inwardly, as he selected his own pokémon. He would need a powerful water-type against Ninetales, who were known to be quite powerful in their attacks.
"Shelgon, I choose you." Ash made his choice, as Shelgon appeared in front of the silvery-white fire creature.
"And Ash has chosen Shelgon against Ninetales. Will Ash's Shelgon be able to prevail against Silver and his Ninetales?" The commentary ran in the background, as Ash muted it out, focussing on the match. It would not do to make the foolish mistakes he had made the previous day.
"Ninetales, use fire blast!"
"Shelgon, use Dragon pulse!"
The two powerful attacks slammed into each other midway, as the powerful fire blast from Ninetales met Shelgon's sphere of draconic energy, clashing into a giant explosion.
"Ninetales, use fire spin." Silver shot back.
"Stay where you are, Shelgon, and use protect." Ash commanded. It was a new move, one that Shelgon automatically learnt on evolving from Bagon-stage.
"Ninetales, use Flare blitz!"
Ninetales howled, as it gathered a powerful conflagration before thrusting it out towards Shelgon, who simply stood there, waiting for orders, its rock-hard shell completely unaffected by the fire-spin attack.
"Counter with dragon pulse."
Another time, two powerful blasts collided with each other, creating an explosion, but nevertheless, leaving the situation to a stalemate.
"This is going nowhere." Silver snarled. "Ninetales, return..." He plucked out another pokeball and threw it into the field. "Go, Typhlosion!"
"And Silver has replaced his Ninetales with Typhlosion. Will Ash continue with Shelgon, or will Silver's plan work out differently?" The commentary went on. The rat-like pokémon that had appeared on the field was as tall as Ash himself if not taller, and had a burning flame on his back.
"Shelgon, get ready." Ash warned.
"Typhlosion, use quick attack followed by flame wheel."
"Shelgon, use Zen head-butt on Typhlosion!"
"Dodge and attack." Silver commanded, as Typhlosion dodged mid-attack, before landing the flame-wheel onto Shelgon's back, slamming the pokémon to the ground.
"Now use brick break on Shelgon!"
Typhlosion let out a war cry as it jumped into the air, its fists glowing as it slammed down towards Shelgon, who was on the ground.
"Use dragon breath on the floor." Ash commanded, and right that instant, Shelgon belched out powerful dragon-breath onto the floor, the mere force of which shot itself upwards, colliding head-on with Typhlosion, who yelped as it got pummelled with Shelgon's powerful shell.
"Typhlosion!" Silver snarled. "Get back up, and use inferno!"
"Dragon pulse!"
"Double team with brick break!" Silver commanded, and almost instantly, several illusory copies of Typhlosion were all around the platform, coming towards Shelgon who went on firing dragon pulses madly at every direction.
"Full power!" Silver snarled.
"Shelgon!" Ash screamed, as he watched Typhlosion suddenly appear behind Shelgon and slam a powerful brick break onto the baby dragon, sending it to oblivion.
"And Shelgon is unable to battle. Typhlosion wins."
Typhlosion let out a roar of triumph.
His face an expression of absolute distress, Ash recalled his starter, as he threw out his next pokémon. "Go, Metang!"
"And Ash has chosen Metang as his next pokémon. Will Metang be able to defeat Typhlosion?" The commentator went on. "Silver's Ninetales is still in dormancy, which means he still has all three pokémon left to use against Ash's two."
Ash grit his teeth. This match was tougher than he had expected it to be. Typhlosion had a good combination of power and speed, something Shelgon lacked because of his anatomy. Metang however….
"Metang, use agility."
Instantly, Metang began to zoom all around the battlefield at high speeds, his psychic powers propelling him with very high momentum all around.
"Prepare for thunder punch."
Metang's appendages glowed as electricity sparked on them, as the thunder punch was prepared.
"Typhlosion, use smoke screen," Silver commanded, "and then use fury swipes."
Metang was just about to hit Typhlosion when the volcano pokémon caused the entire battlefield to be inundated in black smoke, enough to cause Metang to stop.
"Use harden, quickly!" Ash warned, but before Metang could react, Typhlosion was upon him, using fury swipes.
"Flame Wheel on Metang, now, and follow with double-edge."
The destructive technique hit Metang directly on the face, before the latter move sent him slamming into one of the rocks, causing further damage.
Shit! Ash cursed. "Metang, can you continue?"
Metang made a mechanical voice of agreement.
"Use psychic."
Typhlosion, use rock tomb!"
The blast of psychic energy splattered onto the rocks which had risen up from the battleground.
"Now jump and use flare blitz."
"Metang, thunder punch."
"Endure it and use lava plume on Metang, face-first." Silver commanded.
Just as the trainer from Viridian expected, Typhlosion was able to bear through the power of Metang's thunder punch, all the while using flare blitz on Metang. The effect of the flames on the iron claw pokémon was visible. That was when Typhlosion, despite his own injuries, used Lava Plume, one of his most powerful attacks on the psychic/steel-type, sending him all the way to the barriers of the battlefield, after which, Metang simply slid down to the ground, groaning in pain.
"Get on with it, boy. Your Metang is weak," Silver sneered. "Take him back and send something that could actually stand against Typhlosion for a change."
Ash grit his teeth. "Metang, can you continue?"
Strangely enough, Metang didn't reply back. Instead, the dark eyes of the iron claw pokémon were affixed to the volcano pokémon, who was sneering back at him from his vantage point. The expression on the fire-type's face gave away its thoughts for Metang.
Weak.
"Metang-?" Ash called out. "I trust you buddy, but can you continue?"
Metang didn't reply once again. Even its own trainer had doubts about its ability to defeat this fire-type. It would not stand this. It had chosen to step out of its colony so that it could become the strongest of its kin, and no one would stop it.
Certainly not this overgrown rat.
Metang closed its eyes, as psychic energy hummed inside him. Unlike other types, psychics were much more in tune with their own physiological changes and energy flow, which by extension, meant that they were more attuned to the changes occurring in their body, and how close they were towards evolution. The constant use of psychic powers over the last few weeks had strengthened its hold over its abilities, and the new techniques he had unlocked thanks to TM's had let the channels open.
It had been coming in for a while now, but this was the first time, it knew that it was time. It was time to stop being itself. It was time to become 'him'.
Blinding, white light flooded out of Metang's body, as it condensed into liquid light, before expanding, both in girth, size and power. Two new appendages formed on the posterior end, as its height extended beyond five feet, easily dwarfing Ash as an enormous X formed in the front of its eyes.
"Meta—gross!" came out the defiant roar, as Metang, now Metagross levitated upwards in the air, his four legs folded and radiating psychic energy, stared back at Typhlosion.
"Unbelievable! Metang has evolved into a Metagross. What will this evolution mean against Typhlosion?" The commentator blared.
Metagross. Ash breathed, as a feeling of Deja-vu gripped him. It was almost like looking at Derrick's Metagross, with all its power, and wisdom radiating out of the great behemoth. Of course, Metagross wasn't as big as Derrick's was, but then again, that Metagross was over fifty years old.
Power is a state of mind, human. The words returned to him, just as Metagross had said, there had been more to Metang than what Ash had expected. Metang might have been beaten, but he was reverted back, and stood his ground, confident on the power that lurked deep within him.
Ash's face twisted into a maniacal grin "Go, get him. Metagross."
Metagross let out a deep humming noise, which reverberated all around.
Silver snarled. "Typhlosion, use flamethrower."
The volcano pokémon's back erupted vigorously in a swirl of powerful flames as it sent a full-powered blast of scorching flames towards Metagross.
"Stop it." Ash commanded.
Metagross's eyes glowed blue, as the incoming barrage stopped midway, congregating into a single ball of flames, not unlike how the psychic back at Commerce City had done. As Metang he didn't have the power to replicate that feat, but as Metagross, using such a technique on the flamethrower was child's play.
In less than a minute, an enormous ball of flames had formed in front of Metagross, held in place by its sheer psychic prowess.
"Continue on the flamethrower, Typhlosion." Silver stressed, hoping that the increment of fire-type energy would soon become too much to contain by the steel-type.
But Metagross wasn't just a mere steel-type. He was a psychic too, and a pseudo-legendary at that. While it was true that he had just evolved, and was nowhere where the most developed ones of his species could reach, the gift of power that evolution brought with it, was more than enough for him to contain the flames with just his psychic potential.
"Let's give Typhlosion as gift of his own medicine, shall we?" Ash cheered, as Metagross, still humming, used his psychic powers to propel the ball of flames back towards Typhlosion, who was, for the record, still trying to push back using his own flamethrower attack.
"Typhlosion, get out of there!" Silver yelled in shock, but it was too late. The ever-growing ball of flames collided with Typhlosion head-on, its speed facilitated by Metagross's own psychic powers, causing an explosion that sent Typhlosion flying, its fur charred from the effects.
"Typhlosion, get up and use flare blitz!" Silver yelled.
It didn't matter. The moment the smoke cleared away, as Typhlosion slowly began to get himself up, the first thing he saw was blinding white hammer-like thing, which he realized was Metagross's appendage, with three shining claws at the front, as they came slamming down on Typhlosion's face, shattering his jaw as he fell towards onto the ground with a yelp, only for another strike at his abdomen, literally pushing him up into the air, followed by a third, supremely powerful strike that sent him flying, unconscious.
Meteor Mash. Ash thought inwardly with reverence.
"And Typhlosion is unable to battle. Metagross is the winner."
Metagross folded his appendages back into position, drifting in the air slightly, as it turned, facing Ash as he floated towards his trainer.
Metagross. Ash muttered inside his mind.
I am not weak, trainer Ash.
Ash blinked. The voice he had heard in his mind was deep, and brimming with power. Was that- was that you, Metagross?
A deep humming sound reverberated through his mind, as if in answer.
Whoa, this is awesome. Now you can talk to me using telepathy?
I am one who comprehends the meaning of the universe. Voicing our thoughts is a rather elementary concept to one such as myself.
Ash raised an eyebrow. Of course, how could he forget? Psychics were like that. It was like being at home with his mom's Kadabra and Gardevoir all over again.
Ash's face shifted into a grin. "Then, let's finish this battle and win the match."
Metagross hummed again.
Back in the stands, Cynthia observed the entire match, her mind in deep thought. Despite the initial stalemate between Shelgon and Ninetales, the match between Shelgon and Typhlosion had literally shifted the balance between victory and defeat, something that had only deepened with Typhlosion's near victory over Metang.
Then the unbelievable had happened. Metang had evolved into a Metagross.
A pseudo-legendary pokémon.
Despite her rather indecisive nature, Cynthia Shirona had two major pursuits, one was to push her pokémon to the limit, all the while caring for them better than she cared for herself, and the second, to study the mysteries surrounding the legendaries and the pseudo-legendaries. Her four-year experience with Gible, now Garchomp had given her priceless experience about a lot of things, one of which, was knowledge about the sheer might and existence of those the world knew as the pseudo-legendaries.
There was much more about pokémon training than what people would have liked to believe, especially when it came to the training of the pseudo-legendaries. Apparently, for a pseudo-legendary to be caught by a trainer was never a mercurial event, and always, always, predetermined by fate. In fact, the pseudo-legendaries themselves, felt certain premonitions that coerced them to join the trainer in his journey. Of course, the baby-stage or even the second-stage pokémon might not have enough… extrasensory perception to grasp the meaning of these premonitions, but surely enough, upon evolving to their final stage, those premonitions began to make sense.
Another shocking piece of revelation she had found from her Garchomp, was that unlike m0st other pokémon, pseudo-legendaries were literally… reborn when they evolved into their final stages. In simple terms, when a Gabite evolved into a Garchomp, said Garchomp could be called a baby, for all intents and purposes, irrespective of the power it might wield. It took years of harsh training and development for a fully-evolved pseudo-legendary to reach the zenith of its power, a level where it would be capable enough to stand a chance against the merciless destructive power of the mythical Legendaries.
A fully-evolved Metagross, and so soon, not to count the Shelgon, and that odd Charmander. Either he has incredible luck (or bad luck), or there is more to him that what meets the eye. Cynthia decided.
Apparently, a second-stage pseudo-legendary had the ability to stall its evolutionary process until it decided that it had gained enough skill and ability to move on to the final metamorphosis. So why would a Metang, one whom Ash described as powerful but lacking in skill, when he had captured it, be ready to summon its evolution midway in a battle? Surely a single battle wouldn't be of that importance, considering this was evolution on the bet. So what was it about Ash Ketchum that made Metang deem it necessary to evolve so quickly, as if the mere thought of him losing was unbearable to itself?
You keep getting more and more interesting, Ash Ketchum.
She glanced back at Silver, who had his next pokémon ready at hand. This was going to be a rather interesting battle, she decided.
Now only if I had an ice cream.
Back on the battleground, Silver stood, holding Typhlosion's pokeball in hand, staring at the pseudo-legendary in front of him. This, he told himself, this was what his father had dedicated his entire life, trying to control and subdue, the first step towards supreme control over the mythical legendaries. For better or worse, not a single pseudo-legendary species had wilfully joined Giovanni as a trainer, before which he had thrown all of his honour away and began to look into alternatives to lay claim and authority over these juggernauts.
And this puny kid has what even Father couldn't.
His fingers caressed his next pokeball, which was, in all likelihood, the most powerful of all his pokémon at the moment. A pokémon that was, in a manner of speaking, fire-incarnate. "Destroy that Metagross," he yelled, throwing the pokeball out into the battlefield, "go… Magmar!"
The pokémon that stood on the battlefield was unlike any that Ash had ever seen. At first sight, it seemed like a congregation of lava, shaped into a pokémon, what with the way its body was patterned with flames all over, along with the flares on its head and tail. Its mouth was extended outward to give a beak-like appearance, though its outer body structure didn't seem to give an indication of Magmar being a close-combat type.
"Magmar, huh?" Ash whispered.
The beast of the volcano is strong, but not undefeatable.
I wasn't doubting your power.
Merely an elementary clarification.
Right. Ash rolled his eyes, before an interesting thought hit him. Say Metagross, would you be able to follow directions should I direct you mentally?
Our minds are faster than human circuitry. Following a single external command doesn't even require consideration.
Right. Ash drawled. Apparently, with their incredible brain power, it was sort of a culture thing among psychic-types to speak the human tongue with an overuse of vocabulary.
While it is practically advantageous, doing so would commit a crime against the human concept of fairness and honour.
Isn't there a pokémon concept of honour as well?
I cannot speak for the avian or the dragon, but we live by the Hive. To defend, to feed, to grow- no other concepts matter to all that is Metagross.
Right. Ash thought, slightly flustered. Well, we need those ultraballs and the prize money to buy more TM's and food, so it should ally with your concept.
Humans have an affinity of twisting perspectives to fit their own purposes.
Are you disagreeing?
Just making a point. I have no issues with your plan of action.
Ash grinned. "Very well, Metagross, do your thing." He muttered aloud. Psy wave. He thought inwardly.
Metagross let out a deep humming voice, as he threw out successive psywave towards Magmar.
"Use barrier, Magmar¸and be ready with Detect." Silver muttered, as the spitfire pokémon threw out a psychic barrier, which shattered instantly as the psywave hit it, although it did neutralize the attack as well.
We need to work on getting you some nice long-ranged attacks. Ash thought. Now use agility and finish with Hammer Arm.
As you wish.
Metagross let out another deepening hum as he literally vanished from his position, appearing all around Magmar, who seemed almost uncaring about the entire situation. The moment Metagross came closer, Magmar's mouth seemed to twist as flames surrounded its body.
"Teleport." Silver commanded, as Magmar instantly teleported from his position, appearing high up in the sky, much to the audience's screams.
"Use Lava plume on the ground." Silver ordered, as Magmar belched flames from his position, onto the ground below, as the entire region simmered with the rising temperature, making it uncomfortable for Metagross. Meanwhile, Magmar came down to the ground, his mouth twisted into a sardonic grin, as he found himself in an environment more ideal to his own niche.
Ash muttered a soft expletive under his breath. By literally melting the entire stadium, Magmar was making it more uncomfortable for Metagross who was a steel-type. Even if Metagross should use his psychic powers to encase himself within, it would stop him from making any kind of quick attacks. Even if Metagross would sacrifice his shield to get closer, there was a good chance that Magmar would just teleport away.
Great. Another stalemate.
I believe the better term for this is Check mate.
Whose bloody side on you on?
The psychic waves that arrived this time seemed to have a slight tinge of humour associated with it. Ash almost laughed. This was the first time he had seen Metang, now Metagross demonstrate any kind of emotions—positive or negative. Maybe it was an evolution thing.
It is almost incomprehensible to all that is Metagross why human kind put so much importance on the outer expression of emotions.
Okay, old man.
I believe the semi-mindless beast would be a better fighter at this stage.
I dare you to say that to his face.
Metagross just hummed in return.
Ash lifted his pokeball in his hand, and replied, "Metagross, return." The iron leg pokémon condensed into red light before getting sucked into the pokeball. He took out another pokeball out and threw it into the field. "Go, Rhydon!"
"And Ash Ketchum decides to change pokémon and reveal his last pokémon, Rhydon."
Rhydon let out a grunt, staring at the spitfire pokémon, it's incredibly strong hide not even allowing him to consider the fact that he was in a battlefield filled with half-melted rocks.
Silver made no reaction, only choosing to stare blankly at Ash and Rhydon.
"All right, Rhydon. Use fury attack."
There is no point in teleporting against this one. Fire attacks wouldn't work. Silver thought. "Use fire punch."
"Now use rock tomb!" Ash pressed, as Rhydon let out a roar, stomping onto the ground, as several rock fragments rose up towards Magmar, interrupting his attack.
"Now rock smash!"
Rhydon sent another set of seismic waves, this time slashing his tail towards the rock fragments, sending them flying towards Magmar.
"Teleport and get behind Rhydon." Silver roared.
Ash smirked. "Earthquake!"
While the Magmar species did in fact, know the move Teleport, it could only do so in short spurts, over extremely short distances, courtesy to the trace amounts of psychic abilities inherited by the species. However, as with most non-psychic pokémon, teleport was a power-consuming move, one that took a significant toll on Magmar's own reserves.
Thus, it was completely natural that when Rhydon stomped his foot down, the Earthquake succeeded in weakening Magmar to devastating effect.
"Now Rock smash, quickly!"
This time, the rock fragments went slamming into Magmar, before the spitfire pokémon could attack back, the effects of the Earthquake still affecting him greatly.
"Bulldoze." Ash commanded, as Rhydon bent his body, before taking on a run, slamming his powerful horn into Magmar, as he literally lifted the spitfire pokémon up.
"Use Fire Blitz!" Silver yelled in horror.
"Horn Drill, full power!" Ash screamed, as Rhydon slammed the drilling horn into Magmar's abdomen, the sheer force of that attack tearing through Magmar's tough hide, the pokémon in too much pain to even try making another attack.
"Magmar, return." Silver called out, returning his pokémon in a flash of red light. "I forfeit Magmar from battling again."
"Are you sure?" The referee asked.
"I am." Silver threw a glare at Ash. "Your pokémon could've seriously injured mine."
"This is a battle." That was all Ash had to say.
Silver sneered at him, before choosing his only pokémon, one that he had used earlier. "Go, Ninetales."
With a howl, Ninetales sat on the rocky field, her tails folded gracefully like always.
"Rhydon, return." Ash commanded, much to everyone's surprise. "Rhydon is an extreme, needed to normalize your Magmar's heat." He looked at Silver, as if clarifying his actions. "Go, Metagross."
And just like that, the entire battle's conclusion was made.
"Ninetales, use Fire spin."
Agility. Get behind Ninetales.
The fox spewed out powerful flames which formed a tornado as it drifted towards Metagross, or rather, where Metagross had been. In an instant, Metagross was behind Ninetales.
Grip with Psychic and pin it down.
An enormous force of pure psychic energy slammed down upon the unsuspecting Ninetales, as she was pinned down onto the ground, despite her attempts to overpower Metagross by flame bursts.
Meteor Mash.
Several hours later.
"Your method of battling is getting rather rougher and unpredictable day by day, Ash," Harrison expressed, "I'm not sure if I should be happy about it or not."
Ash turned his neck towards his friend, raising an eyebrow. "Whatever do you mean?"
"Nothing really. I guess everyone has their own method of battle." Harrison replied, more to himself than to others. "You are making harder decisions, even taking unexpected advantages in a way few do."
Ash narrowed his eyes. "I don't understand."
"Psychic link." That was all Harrison had to say.
Oh. That.
It was a known fact that certain psychic pokémon, usually of the Abra or the Drowzee line, upon maturation, were able to communicate with humans with ease. However, psy pokémon were also able to, depending upon the bond they had with their trainer, be able to telepathically communicate with just their trainer, instead of everyone else. The development of such a telepathic link between a trainer and his psy pokémon was referred to as a psychic link, and was a rather rare skill to have.
"Your eyes, they were glowing, during the battle, blue like Metang did when using his psychic attacks." Harrison pointed out.
"I didn't know that you knew about psychic links and all that." Ash pointed out shrewdly.
"Picked it up from my mentor."
"Your mentor?"
"Professor Birch."
"Oh."
"Yeah," Harrison rubbed the back of his head. "That reminds me, I should call on him some time. Haven't had a long-distance call in a while."
Ash nodded. He had had a decent conversation with Professor Oak last night, and even had some words with his mother about the trip, discussing with her about the competition and how he made into the Top- 16, with his next battle being against Silver, the son of the Viridian Gym leader Giovanni. Delia Ketchum had been somewhat… perturbed at the mention of the Gym leader, something Ash noticed but kept on hold for private discussion for another day.
That reminded him…
"Yeah, about that. I too need to make a call to Cerulean city."
"Ah, yes. The girl you mentioned. What was her name again?"
"Misty." Ash answered, his face flushed. "No, I wasn't talking about her. There's someone else I want to call."
"You have two maidens waiting for you in Cerulean?" Harrison asked in wonder, rubbing off imaginary tears from his cheek. "Kids these days grow up so fast."
Ash kicked Harrison in his shins, making the other boy yelp in pain, glaring at him.
"That's what you get for teasing. I need to call a certain researcher friend of mine, and he lives in Cerulean."
"Uh-huh, and why?"
"It is…" Ash frowned, "I'll tell you about it, later on sometime, I guess."
Harrison raised his hands up in a gesture. "Completely understandable. "Are you going now?"
Ash shrugged. "Might as well."
"Cool. I guess, I'' just scour the deck and find a PC console. I guess they must have gotten some pieces latched up somewhere."
Back in his room, Ash made sure that the doors and windows were all closed, before he switched on the Xtransceiver to make a call to Bill Montgomery. He held on for a minute of indecisiveness over whether he should just call up the famous researcher out of nowhere, but then again, the researcher did tell him to stay in contact.
Well, I won't find out without trying, would I?
Activating the call function, he selected Bill's contact number, and after three rings, a flash of light appeared on the screen as Bill's- wait-
"WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?" Ash screamed, getting up from the bed, as he yelled into the Xtransceiver.
On the opposite end of the screen, stood a large, black, snail-like pokémon with tiny white pincers, six in number, while the rest of the body was enveloped in pitch darkness. 'Hello Ash. Didn't expect you to call back so soon."
"Bill? Is that you?" Ash asked, surprised. "What are you doing inside that ugly thing?"
"Yeah, that's my brand new Kabuto-based exoskeleton suit, you are referring to as the ugly thing."
"Doesn't make it any less ugly." Ash pointed out.
The exoskeleton or whatever, seemed to shake its head in frustration, before the abdominal portion hissed and cracked open, allowing the famous researcher to get out of it, still in his impeccable white robes.
"What the hell were you doing in that thing?" Ash accused.
"It is a way of trying to understand the pokémon way of life, especially for-never mind, what did you call me for?"
"I—uh, just wanted to know how things were going with Charmander's case."
"Ah, yes, of course. Has he evolved yet?"
"No." Ash narrowed his eyes. "Charmander's too… frail at this moment. He's nowhere strong enough to evolve."
"He might surprise you."
Ash didn't say anything to counter that statement. Earlier in the morning, he had encountered Metang's resolve and didn't want to make an0ther bet which he was sure he would lose.
"Metang evolved though," Ash replied, his voice upbeat. "Evolved into Metagross, before kicking the crap out of a Typhlosion."
Bill chortled. "Amazing. Metagross are in general, pretty powerful pokémon, even when untrained. That specimen of yours is going to be a heavy-hitter when he's more… mature and has unlocked more of his abilities."
"I'm sure of that." Ash stated, before changing the point. "You were speaking about Charmander?"
"Ah yes," Bill replied, realizing that he had digressed from the point. "His genetics are rather surprising, but I bet you already know that. I can assure you that you are in for a surprise when he evolves into a Charmeleon."
Ash raised an eyebrow. "You aren't going to tell me, are you?"
"And spoil the excitement? No way."
Ash scowled.
"Are you making good progress with the little gift I gave you?"
Ash's lips twisted into a large grin. "Yep. And I also caught more pokémon. I got Crawdaunt, and a Magneton, though he was being rather… unruly, so I traded him for a Lairon."
"Traded, huh?" Bill asked, before letting out a sigh. "I guess, that's to be expected sooner or later."
"What do you mean?" Ash inquired, confused with Bill's reaction.
"Nothing really. It's just that your reaction upon my suggestion of getting yourself a proper Charmander instead of a… hybrid one… the way you were being passionate about it. I just didn't expect you of all people to begin trading your pokémon."
Ash's countenance darkened. "I'm not trading away my pokémon. It's just… I caught Magneton under extraneous circumstances. Rhyhorn almost got killed by him, but evolved to Rhydon just in time. After knocking that thing off, Rhydon wanted me to capture it, so I did."
"Still having troubles getting over your fear over electric-types, huh?"
"I'm not scared of electric-types." Ash retorted darkly.
Bill raised his hands in surrender. "Go on."
Ash scowled, but decided to continue. "Magneton… was different. I caught this Crawdaunt, and he too, was rebellious but I and my team defeated him in battle, and he complied with my wishes after that. He's a solid member on my team now. Magneton… he knew he had been defeated but wasn't following any of my commands, as if I wasn't fit to train him in the first place."
"And?"
"Well, there's this trainer Morrison I met, and well… he asked if I'd want to trade away Magneton for his Lairon." Ash chuckled. "Lairon is pretty headstrong, but I got my way through him."
Bill chuckled. "Good for you, in that case."
"Yeah well," Ash frowned, "I just don't want you to think that I've changed over my beliefs regarding pokémon."
Despite how powerful Paul seems to have gotten by following contradictory beliefs.
"I understand." Bill nodded his head. "What else? Where are you right now?"
Ash grinned, allowing Bill to have a glance at the room all around. "Let me guess, the St. Anne?"
"Right in one." Ash jeered.
"You lucky sod." Bill muttered. "So, I take it you are participating in the tournament?"
"Yep, in the Top-8 after my last battle."
Bill almost choked. "Top-8? That's… that's rather good, Ash for someone as new as you are."
"What can I say? I'm awfully talented." Ash replied in a singsong.
"And your pokémon?"
"Bagon's evolved, just last day. He's a Shelgon now, bigger in size and somewhat sluggish, though that doesn't stop him from tearing a hole in my pocket," Ash went on sardonically, much to Bill's amusement, "—and Metang is now a Metagross," he replied with excitement. "Pidgeotto's coming around. I guess she'll evolve pretty soon. Poliwhirl's… somewhere in the sea, I guess." He paused. "I hardly see him these days apart from the battles."
Bill chortled at that.
"Rhyhorn's evolved, as I said, into Rhydon, and he's currently my most powerful. Charmander and Crawdaunt are coming along, and Lairon… he's kind of new and will need time before I shape him up nicely."
"That's quite a bunch of hard-hitters you've got there. That team's gonna be powerful when they are trained and matured, I tell you."
Ash opened his mouth, but then closed it, as a frown formed on his lips.
"What's the matter?"
"Today's battle," Ash spoke up, his voice a little lower than usual, "I was facing a trainer of fire-type pokémon, and we landed up in stale mates multiple times, and I was lucky that Metang evolved mid-battle, else I'd have certainly lost."
"I… see."
"I need a strong pokémon that can be used against fire-types with ease, and preferably for long-ranged attacks." Ash frowned, as he voiced his thoughts aloud.
"Well, that's quite simple."
Ash raised another eyebrow.
"You need to go fishing."
Huh?
Bill chortled at Ash's dumbfounded expression. "You are on a ship, in the sea. You have a water-type swimming all around. You have a psychic-type that can pull things at will. Get yourself a Magicarp."
"You mean-"
"A Gyarados. Yes."
Ash's eyes turned to saucers. "But aren't Gyarados like… too destructive and hard to manage?"
"And when has something that stopped you?" Bill challenged.
Ash opened his mouth, but found no words.
A Gyarados?
"Yes, water-types are perfect against fire-types and plus, Gyarados are draconic by nature. Wasn't it you who mentioned a desire of having an army of dragons at command?"
"A team of dragons."
"Semantics." Bill countered.
Ash looked thoughtful. "But… I've heard that it takes Magicarp an extremely long time to evolve into one."
Bill's lips twisted into a grin. "Depends, if you are friend with the famous Bill Montgomery or not."
"What do you mean?"
"First get yourself a magicarp, then we'll discuss. Right now, tell me more… what's happening on that ship?"
'That is pretty much all. I have made a friend in Vermillion known as Harrison, and he's on the ship with me. I also made an acquaintance with someone from Sinnoh, though she's not a trainer."
"Ah."
Ash frowned for a moment, before the rather odd behaviour he had seen in Shirona the previous evening came to mind. Hey Bill."
"Yeah?"
"Do you know any… Shirona from the Sinnoh League? She's part of the League Envoy and is pretty knowledgeable about pokémon."
Bill began to answer, but then paused, considering his words. "Shirona you say…" His eyes seemed to be dancing with mirth.
"Yeah?" Ash stressed, completely oblivious.
"And she's friends with you?"
"Well, kind of. We've met a couple of times."
Interesting. So the Sinnoh Champion is demonstrating interest in a fairly newbie trainer? I wonder why… Bill thought to himself. "No," he finally replied, "nothing comes to mind."
"Hmm…" Ash frowned, "she was quickly able to catch up that something was… odd about Charmander. She also told me that she'll introduce me to her friends after the tournament is over."
That will be one hell of an introduction. Bill chuckled inwardly. "Guess you'll have to wait and find out."
Ash shrugged.
"Well, it's been good talking to you. Now I'll get back to my lab, and you concentrate on winning the tournament and catching the… you-know-what. When you are done with both, give me a call."
"Uh… sure." Ash replied, as the screen went off without any overture.
A Magicarp… it is.
An hour later.
"I still do not understand how a long-range phone call became a motivation to go Magicarp-fishing." Harrison rubbed his head, feeling like he would soon have a headache if Ash's words didn't begin to make sense.
"A Gyarados, Harrison." Ash explained.
"So…. You want to catch a Magicarp, and evolve it into Gyarados, hoping that it wouldn't… oh, I don't know, eat you up for its very first party meal after evolution?"
Ash scowled. "My Gyarados isn't going to do that."
"Yeah?" Harrison put his hands at his waist, in typical interrogation fashion. "And why so? Because you are the great Ash Ketchum?"
"Because I'll defeat it in battle and capture it back into my pokeball. It is draconic, and all dragons respect power."
Harrison raised an eyebrow. The kid, had a point. "And you suppose your Metagross will be able to defeat him?"
Ash shrugged. "I wouldn't know without trying."
Harrison face-palmed. "Ash! You do know right how many people lose their lives to Gyarados every single year? Damn it, Ash. There is a reason why Magicarp population is being limited to specific locations all over the world, so that the safety of the seas can be maintained."
"Yeah, and how good is that turning out?" Ash retorted.
Harrison opened his mouth, but closed it. Ash had a point. Fortunately or not, Magicarp were able to survive in almost any water body, no matter how diluted. For a pokémon so hopelessly underpowered, it sure had a strong lifeline, and survival ability.
"There's no way can I convince you otherwise, is there?"
"Well, you can always join me in fishing." Ash offered.
Bugger. Harrison thought, as he realized how attractive the offer seemed. "And how exactly are you going to do that?"
Ash smirked. It was show time. "Like…. This." He looked down from the deck towards the sea, inwardly glad that Poliwhirl was still around, swimming in the sea to his heart's content.
"Hey Poliwhirl, think you can do a favour for me?"
Poliwhirl looked surprised, but voiced his agreement.
"Can you get me a Magicarp?"
Harrison face-palmed.
"And that's…." Ash proclaimed, "-how you catch yourself a Magicarp."
Harrison looked fairly irritated. "I'll say it again. You didn't catch it. Poliwhirl just threw one up to the deck, right into your hands, where it hit the pokeball in your hand, and got sucked inside."
"You always get stuck at the little details, Harrison." Ash returned safely. "The important thing is, I caught myself a Magicarp, and will soon have a Gyarados on my team."
"It is your funeral." Harrison waved his hand at Ash's boast, letting out a yawn. "I guess I'll go to bed early tonight. The battle match-ups will be displayed tomorrow morning at the earliest."
"Why the delay?" Ash asked, genuinely interested.
Harrison shrugged. "No idea, said something about new rules or something. Will have to check in tomorrow."
"Yeah," Ash stood up from the couch. "Today's match was the toughest so far. Wonder who it is, I'm gonna face tomorrow."
"Who knows? Maybe you'll be battling against someone you never thought you'd."
Ash narrowed his eyes. "Harrison, we are on a cruise ship, sailing all the way, with a congregation of trainers across several regions. There is no way something like that would ever happen."
Harrison just raised an eyebrow.
The next day morning.
Ash raced all the way to the deck, having woken up late, after being up most of the night, having intellectual, mental conversations with Metagross. As a result, he somehow misplaced his alarm, and got out of bed later than he could expect in his nightmares. Somehow managing to change into his shirt and trousers, and pulling his pokémon belt over, he rushed off all the way to the deck, panting all the way, only to hear the referee stating, in his usual monotone.
"And the match will be held between…" The man gave a stern glare at Ash for being late, who was currently, staring in surprise at the person he was supposed to battle for the Top-8 position.
"—Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town, and Misty Waterflower of Cerulean City."
The fuck?