Chapter 28:Jaded
Ash stood his ground, with a single pokeball in his hands. He only had Pidgeot to battle for him, since Gengar was hardly an option anymore. At best, she could serve as a revenge-killer for a future battle, and he didn't really want to waste that potential at this point.
"Ash Ketchum?" Janet asked. "Choosing your next pokémon anytime now should be good."
His fingers clenched around the pokeball, as he tried to maintain his hold on his emotions. Ever since he had had that talk with Shelgon, he hadn't really been himself. That level of control he had over himself while battling Gary, it was non-existent, leaving behind a trainer who was using his pokémon's natural strength and his own knowledge of tactics to win his battles. In hindsight, bringing in Shelgon would have, perhaps, been a better idea.
I made my bed. I get to sleep on it. He thought grimly. However, the time for hindsight and lamenting was past. He needed to win and for that, he needed to concentrate on the now. His fingers clenched around his pokeball, he threw it high into the air. "I choose you, Pidgeot!"
Her wings spread out, Pidgeot entered the battlefield, the flames almost dying out by the mere gust that accompanied her entrance into the battle.
"That's one unholy specimen of a Pidgeot. Why, I might even…" Janet paused before her mouth overran her mind. Surely it was not possible to permanently…
She shook her head. "Gardevoir, use shadow ball."
Ash took it as his cue and waited, allowing Pidgeot to handle the matters at hand. As quick as Gardevoir was, it was nothing to the raw speed that Pidgeot commanded. In her element, she was the Queen. Full stop.
The shadow ball zoomed past her, missing her completely.
"Gardevoir, use psychic and hold her."
Instantly, Pidgeot's eyes glowed with a bluish sheen, as several dozens of her illusory forms appeared all around the arena, all of them centered on Gardevoir, as they all let out a war cry, completely neutralizing any chance of the psychic attack from affecting her.
"Steel wing." Ash stated calmly.
"Protect." Janet ordered, rolling her eyes.
"Do you never learn?" She asked, as if speaking to a slow kid. She had previously demonstrated that Gardevoir's protect move was strong enough to hold against a Draco Meteor, albeit one that was weakened to a degree. Surely he didn't think that a simple steel wing w9uld be able to get through her-
"GARRR!"
The soul-wrenching shriek from Gardevoir shocked her to her very core, as she stared, shocked and outwitted, at the extremely sharp steel wing attack, which had slammed itself into Gardevoir's abdomen, slashing through it, sending Gardevoir tumbling through the grass, her abdomen now bleeding.
"How- how?" Janet stuttered, shocked at the turn of events.
"Gardevoir needs attention." Ash replied in a stern voice. "Please return her."
Without another word, Janet raised her pokeball, returning Gardevoir back into it, before she sent a glare at Ash. "How did Pidgeot break through the barriers?"
Ash's lips twisted into something that was almost but not quite a smirk. "Let's just call it my Pidgeot's special ability and leave it at that."
What Ash didn't tell her was that Pidgeot, in her mega-evolved state, had gained the ability No Guard, which made any and all defences between her and her opponent completely irrelevant. As good as that was, it did nothing to enhance Pidgeot's own attacking strength, making her dependent on her own moves and reserves. However, when coupled with Steel wing against a defensive, stationary opponent, the No Guard ability literally guaranteed a clear hit.
Janet stared hard at the odd trainer in front of her, before letting out a sigh. "Very well. Gardevoir is unable to battle, so Pidgeot is the clear winner. That leaves us on a one-on-one footing, only Pidgeot has had two battles so far, and mine hasn't had a single one."
"You remind me of that too much to forget it." Ash quipped.
"I'm just stating the facts as is." Janet shrugged.
"Such a harsh opponent I have." Ash mocked, "Let's begin."
"Let's." Janet gave him a thin smile. "You are up, Avalugg."
The first thought that flitted past Ash's mind was that he had simply heard it wrong and that it must be some pokémon using some bizarre ice-type move to create such a large snowy plain in front of her. The second thought that flitted through his mind was that perhaps, this was some kind of showy covering through which a real pokémon would perhaps break out.
It took the third thought for him to actually realize that this large ice-plain actually had a head and four legs, and was, as unreal as it might seem, the pokémon he was going to battle with.
Avalugg let out a roar.
Where the hell do these Tower guys get their pokémon from?
"He's from the Kalos region, if that's what you are wondering." Janet replied with a smirk. "Use blizzard, Avalugg."
Said pokémon let out a fearsome roar, as the entire arena became drenched with snow, making Ash shiver, as icy cold winds blew on all sides, carrying snow along with it. It was in essence, one of the worst environments a flying type could find herself in.
"Right. It's too cold for my liking, so I will have to change the weather now." Ash retorted. "Use heat wave."
Pidgeot began to beat her wings at high speeds, creating a sharp rise in temperature, as waves of hot air began to radiate out in all directions. Thanks to convection, the hot air moved upward, allowing the snowy-cold air to move downward, centered on Avalugg, allowing Pidgeot to fly above it without any issues.
"Use mist on yourself and attack with powder snow."
Powder snow? What the hell is that now? Ash yelled inwardly.
It was unnecessary, since the effects were pretty much clear. Enveloping himself inside a mist-like substance, Avalugg began to radiate out what was essentially a powerful gust of snow and icy wind.
"Let's finish this, Pidgeot," Ash decided. The more they waited, the more Pidgeot was vulnerable to the ice. "Use Aerial Ace and strike with Steel wing."
Pidgeot let out a war cry before she dived down to Avalugg, striking him with the powerful steel-type move.
Pidgeot slammed her steel wings into Avalugg, but contrary to what she expected, the attack did nothing. Nothing at all. Whatever that mist was about, it was more than effective against her steel wing attack, and surprisingly enough, Avalugg didn't seem to be even affected by the entire attack at all. At the very least, there should have been a significant power reduction in defending against the attack.
"Pidgeot, back to the air." Ash commanded, and luckily, Pidgeot was back before the ice monster was able to make a move. "Use hyper beam."
"Use ice beam." Janet replied dryly.
The two beams slammed into each other, creating a giant explosion. The result was clear as water.
Stalemate.
Damn. How do I defeat something that had no reaction to her steel wing? The longer Pidgeot stays there, the longer she gets affected by the environment, and it won't be helping. How can I possibly-?
Wait.
Ash glanced back at Janet, and then returned his stare back to Avalugg.
Then, he lifted his palm and smacked himself in the face.
Idiot.
He lifted up his pokeball. "Pidgeot, you were great. Now let me take care of the rest."
Pidgeot let out an apprehensive screech, as the red light sucked it back into the pokeball.
"Your only available pokémon is injured, Ketchum. Is this a declaration of defeat?"
"Huh?" Ash looked up at her, a little confused. "No, I was just being stupid all this while." He lifted up his other pokeball. "Go, Gengar!"
Gengar materialized between himself and Avalugg, looking a lot strained and needing rest. However, what he had in mind wouldn't really take too much for her.
Hopefully.
"Use perish song."
"What? No!" Janet yelled, but Gengar was already grinning madly, as she opened her mouth and let out a soul-wrenching wail, as Avalugg cried out in pain at the noise.
"You tricked me!" Janet cursed. "Avalugg, use Flash Cannon."
Ash smirked. "Disperse."
Avalugg let out a powerful roar, throwing out the powerful burst of bright light that was Flash Cannon, but Gengar was already incorporeal, floating in the air around them.
"Get closer and use Confuse Ray."
Gengar materialized in front of the giant ice-type, as her eyes glowed a nasty red, the confusion attack taking effect.
"Shake it off, Avalugg." Janet yelled, and surprisingly enough, Avalugg shook off the effects, much to Ash's shock.
"… How?"
"Own tempo." Janet answered. "Prevents it from getting confused. Now Avalugg, use Blizzard."
The… fuck?
The current situation was a rather unorthodox one. The effects of Perish song made the victim slowly lose their power with every passing second, but for some reason, Avalugg seemed to be regaining his power with every passing second as long as the Blizzard continued. Whatever it was, ability or not, it allowed Avalugg to gain power as long as the hailstorm was going on.
Damn. Ash cursed. It wasn't working at all. Avalugg had managed to counter the effects of Perish song. It was frustrating, but at least, now he knew that his one-trick-pony wasn't a cent percent success.
"Gengar, ret-"
But Gengar, it seemed, had other ideas. With a large grin that she sent towards Ash, she suddenly dissipated from her position, before quickly reforming above Avalugg, as she sent a dark purple beam, connecting herself and Avalugg.
Destiny bond. Ash realized.
But that was not all. Gengar had been slowly shifting into a semi-solid state as she literally phased into Avalugg, the poison that made up her body causing irritation and pain to the large ice-type, as she stared at Ash, throwing in a large grin, before her body began to shine.
Ash's eyes widened as he realized what Gengar was about to do.
"Gengar, no!" He yelled out, his right hand extended outward.
BOOM!
The explosion that happened blew apart the battle arena, and when the smoke dispersed, there was the fallen body of Avalugg, completely unconscious and unable to battle. Above his giant form, there were strips of black fumes that were slowly condensing together, though it was quite clear that doing so, would be taking a lot of time.
"That… was quite a sacrifice." Janet spoke up, her tone muffled. "This was the first time I saw a pokémon wilfully choose to use Explosion of all things to win a victory."
Ash just stared.
"You won the third tier. You can proceed to the fourth. It is said that every tier extracts a terrible price from its conqueror. I hope you have it within you to pay for your next victory."
Ash just kept on staring.
Meanwhile in a different room.
"Interesting…" The young woman mused, "—and you say that he is not even a trainer for six months?"
"He has three badges, Ma'am." The receptionist informed her over the phone. "I can send his files to your room should you be interested, though it is quite... obvious that he won't be making it to the seventh tier in any shape or form."
"Pfft!" The young woman mused. "An unfortunate situation, indeed. I'd have liked to test someone like this, especially one who's-" she paused, changing her mind. "Tell Jackson that I'll be shifting for him. I need to see for myself just what makes this trainer tick."
"But Ma'am-"
"You worry too much, Ivy." The young woman, known to everyone as the ruler of the seventh tier, the Tower Tycoon, chirped. "Send him to my own floor for his Tier 4 match. I want to see exactly who this Ash Ketchum is."
Ash trudged himself out of the elevator as he found himself on the next tier—the fourth tier for his next challenge. Over the last three tiers, he had lost Rhydon, Magnus and Gengar. He still had Pidgeot, who could probably fight another battle, and Crawdaunt, who could probably take a few hits before fainting. And then, there were three more—Metagross, Poliwhirl and Absol.
But it barely mattered anymore.
The person who had registered for the Battle Tower had been a different person. From that point onwards, Ash had lost the respect of his own starter, had seen Crawdaunt get injured because of his fault, had seen Rhydon scream in agony because Ash hadn't had the sense to change pokémon when he should have had. He had watched Gengar use explosion on herself only to secure him a win, and that too with that grin on her face.
If someone was trying to show him that he was hardly better than an amateur, someone who chose his own ambitions before his pokémon's well-being and personal choices… then the person was doing a damn good job.
Was this your intention all along, professor Oak? To show me just how much I do not know? …Just how much I still have to learn? …Just how much I still have to…
He shook his head over and over, as if in hope that it would relieve him off the negative thoughts, before looking up at the arena around him. Unlike the previous three arenas, the current one didn't have a well-defined battle-ground. Instead, it seemed like the entire arena was the battle-ground itself, and it was made of…
Ice.
No. Not quite.
Ice and Rock. With shrubbery growing over here and there. The cliff of a mountain, to be exact.
"Welcome." The person standing opposite him, several yards away, had a sort of androgynous appearance, though her voice pretty much gave away her femininity. She had lilac eyes with matching hair, and wore a standard Elite battle outfit of white with lilac trimmings.
"I'm the Salon Maiden Anabel, and I will be your challenge for your fourth tier."
The Salon Maiden Anabel?
The young woman, who looked somewhat around twenty, chuckled. "You can just call me Anabel."
Did she just read my mind?
"I cannot read minds, Ash Ketchum." Anabel answered, keeping a straight face. "Your facial expressions pretty much give it away."
Odd.
Ash returned a deadpanned stare at her, as if daring her to continue her non-hilarious jokes.
"Right. The fourth tier." Anabel cleared her throat. "Rules are thus. You have four remaining pokémon in position to continue battling. While the standard situation demands a six on six on the fourth tier, I am willing to bend it down to a four on four to make it even."
"I refuse."
Anabel arched an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"
"I refuse." Ash replied, his tone cold and devoid of emotion. "If the rules demand a six on six, then I will battle on a six on six."
"You have only four pokémon left." Anabel returned slowly, as if speaking to a child. A very slow child.
"That is my own problem to address. Not yours."
Anabel scowled at his apparent rudeness. Then again, considering what trainers underwent at the Battle Tower, and knowing what Ketchum had been through, it would be hypocritical of her to judge him on his emotions.
"Very well." She replied. "You will get a six on six battle as is the requirement. Substitutions are allowed. I must applaud you on your sense of fair play, Ash Ketchum."
A blank stare met her appreciation.
Not much of a talker huh? "Very well. Allow me to choose my first pokémon. Go, Alakazam."
Ash raised an eyebrow, as the psi pokémon appeared in front of him. Briefly, he wondered how his own Alakazam would stand against this one. By the looks of it, it was obviously female, considering the short moustaches on its head.
"Very well. I choose you, Metagross."
With a large mechanical roar, Metagross appeared in the battlefield, merrily levitating above the ground. In a matter of seconds, the psychic type estimated his trainer's mental state, as fear gripped him.
Trainer Ash, hold yourself together.
I'm fine. Ash replied, his mental voice sounding lost.
You are not. If you are not on your best form, I'll lose. We will all lose.
Surprisingly enough, Metagross's words got to him. He couldn't afford to let his emotions get the better of him mid-battle. He needed to win. After what Rhydon and Crawdaunt had been through, after Magnus's constant contribution till he remained conscious, after Gengar's sacrifice…
You are right. He confessed, as he pulled up a brave grin. I'm sorry for that. Come, we have a battle to win.
Metagross let out a loud, mechanical sound, expressing his own amusement at his trainer's attempt at what was his analysis of an extremely optimistic outlook of his situation.
Anabel arched an eyebrow. Ash Ketchum was proving himself quite an interesting trainer. First that strange Charmeleon, and then that even more stranger Pidgeot, and now a Metagross? If she didn't know any better, she would have thought that Ash was pulling miracles out of his pockets.
"A Metagross huh? Interesting." Anabel mused. Alakazam, use psycho cut.
Alakazam let out a loud war cry, manifesting several blades made of psychic energy in front of him, before propelling them towards Metagross, who simply shifted, once again, keeping his movement to the bare minimum, only enough to dodge the attack.
Quick reflexes. Anabel mused.
A psychic link like mine then. Ash mused. This battle was going to be really interesting. Get closer, Metagross.
Metagross used his agility to slowly move closer to Alakazam, while at the same time, making sure to dodge the incoming barrage of psycho cut attacks.
Use confuse ray. Anabel ordered.
"Alaka!" the psi type yelled, as the spoons glowed with a strange power, propelling dark purple rays towards Metagross.
Light Screen. Ash commanded. Keep getting closer.
Psybeam. Anabel ordered.
Light screen.
Anabel frowned. Using future sight wouldn't really help since psychic attacks weren't effective on Metagross at all. That left ghost-type and dark-type moves. The only problem with them was that it inhibited quick teleportation should she require it. The only thing that she could use was-
She smiled. This she could work with.
Teleport close to him and use focus punch.
Alakazam teleported from her position, putting Ash on an edge. Metagross, get bullet punch ready.
After two seconds, Alakazam appeared to his right, her fists raised, as she threw in a powerful focus punch towards Metagross. Of course, Agility could help the situation, but Ash needed to break the stalemate going on. And that required him to-
Take the hit. Use Zen head-butt.
Leave it to you to think of such simple tactics.
Ash rolled his eyes.
Metagross braved the attack, his steel-body allowing him to somewhat absorb the attack, as he propelled himself with psychic energy, slamming into Alakazam, creating a horizontal version of body slam, throwing the psi type down to the floor.
Agility. Metal claw.
"Snikt!"
A single slash from the metal claw almost tore through Alakazam's torso, before the psi pokémon had even reached the floor.
Alakazam! Anabel yelled in her mind, a single line of distraught betraying her composed outlook at the injury of her friend. After some precious seconds, her face softened back, as she realized that Alakazam wasn't as injured as she had previously anticipated. She had managed to pull in a weak protect before the metal claw had struck her.
Can you battle, Alakazam?
Anabel received a confirmation in answer.
Very well. Use dark pulse.
Once again, Metagross shifted, using his agility to maximum benefit.
This Metagross has been trained to use his personal abilities to the Tee. She mused, as she regarded Metagross's trainer, wondering how in the world had this… young man, managed to train so many fantastic pokémon in so less time.
Be warned, Master. Hyper salivation is known to be a symptom of mental instability. Alakazam quipped.
Anabel rolled her eyes. I need something else to battle this Metagross with. Return, Alakazam. She lifted her pokeball, sucking the psi type into it. Having done that, she regarded Ash. "You have trained Metagross well."
Ash just shrugged, not really seeing the point.
Odd. Anabel mused, as she sent her next pokémon. "Go, Mismagius."
By the looks of it, the purple pokémon seemed like a witch's headgear, with the long, pointy purple hat, and the trimmings flowing down. On the frontal part of its chest were three gems that shone with energy. Ash had had too much exposure to that energy to not recognize the pokémon in front of him.
A ghost type, and just as powerful as Professor Oak's.
Excellent deduction, trainer Ash. I wonder what gave it away.
It was the hat for me. Ash replied derisively. He wasn't pretty sure that Metagross did indeed mutter something along the lines of… "… Doomed."
"The first move is yours." Anabel offered.
"And I'll take it." Ash returned. Use agility and bullet punch.
Metagross's eyes glowed…. And he vanished, right before appearing right in front of Mismagius, before raising a sharp claw towards the ghost type.
Use mystical fire. The Tower Tycoon mentally commanded.
Mismagius didn't even seemed fazed by the fact that Metagross was so near her. Instead, her entire body seemed to be enveloped in flames, as Metagross came into her proximity, the claws raised in offense.
Will-o-wisp? Ash widened his eyes, believing he was seeing Will-o-wisp in front of him. Use agility and escape. He replied hastily, knowing very well just how effective the ghostly flames would be on Metagross. Use Flash Cann0n.
Metagross shifted to a position with a better vantage point, and began to glow with a bright silvery colour, as light energy began to concentrate in front of X right between his eyes.
Attack. Anabel and Ash thought at once, as the flames and the shaft of light slammed into each other, creating an explosion midway.
Use shadow ball.
Metagross, dodge.
The purple sphere, one that Ash knew and recognized as shadow ball, missed Metagross by several inches as he pushed himself to the right.
Again. Anabel stressed. Let's see how good this Metagross is at dodging. Use multi-ball.
Mismagius let out a guttural sound that sounded like an incantation, as she kept on firing shadow balls at Metagross, who kept on dodging the incoming barrages with the perfect precision that Metagross were famous for. The shadow balls kept slamming into the ground, before bursting into ghostly fumes, slowly inundating the entire arena with residual ghostly energy.
She is trying to turn the environment into her advantage. But if I try to attack, she will overwhelm me with ghost-type attacks. I need to get rid of this constant stale-mate she is putting me through.
Ash paused as he observed the situation. Normal moves won't work on her, and Mismagius would probably just tweak through psychic attacks. A direct attack would be repelled through-
He smiled.
This… he could work with. He regarded the levitating pokémon in front of Metagross. Get as far from her as you can.
Anabel smirked as she witnessed the move that Metagross seemed to be making.
So… she mused. You think that getting far will help you? I will show you why you shouldn't think like that. She smiled. Mismagius, use Multi-ball. Radial Arc.
Mismagius raised her voice, as the incantations became more and more high-pitched, and the shadow balls began to change their trajectory and instead of the direct translational movement, they seemed to be propelled upwards so that they could fall down like meteors. It was in effect, a ghost-variant of the Draco Meteor.
Fascinating. Wonder if Gengar can replicate that. Ash wondered. "Use zen-head-butt."
Metagross didn't bother questioning his trainer. He had been through enough of his trainer's stunts to grasp the utter unpredictability of his trainer. With a loud mechanical roar, he retracted his limbs upwards, as he pushed himself straight towards Mismagius, aiming for a direct head-butt, knowing very well that a part-normal attack like that wouldn't really have an effect on Mismagius.
What is he…? Anabel wondered. Use multi-ball again.
Mismagius let out a chant, as another set of spheres of condensed otherworldly energies formed in a chain around her, ready to be propelled at the first thought.
Ash smirked. "Use agility."
Metagross let out a roar, as he shot towards Mismagius with something that was just a step away from Extreme speed, shooting towards the levitating ghost like there was no tomorrow. If Anabel didn't know that the attack wouldn't so much as put a scratch on her ghost, she would have been more… alarmed at the incoming missile that was Metagross.
"Attack." She voiced her command.
Ash smiled. Protect.
Anabel blinked in confusion. The move Protect prevented any attacks from striking the user, and had a higher priority, which meant that Protect would be up before the incoming attack would strike the user and-
OH!
"Mismagius, dodge!" She yelled.
But it was too late. Just as expected, the higher priority of the Protect move ensured that it was up before the other moves were taking effect, and that meant that as of now, there was a full-powered shield shooting towards Mismagius.
But that was not the only problem.
The multitude of shadow balls that had shot towards Metagross hit the Protect barrier, which was doing its level best to stop the incoming attack from breaking through, and all of this while Metagross was shooting at Mismagius with psychic-enhanced speeds.
SLAM!
And with that, an explosion came into effect, as Mismagius got slammed by a full-powered Protect, and a multitude of shadow balls on its surface. Like all ghosts, Mismagius was extremely vulnerable to ghost-type moves.
"Mismagius!" Anabel screamed, as the ghost was bodily thrown over the ground, her physical form scratching the surface all the way, as Metagross flew off to the opposite end.
"Flash Cannon!" Ash whispered, knowing very well that Metagross would pick the thought out from his mind either way.
"Met—Taaaa!"
The single shaft of light slammed into the fallen Mismagius, ending any further chance it had for battle.
Silence.
Anabel stared at the fallen body of her friend. Mismagius had put forward a great fight, but had been taken down by trickery. A rather ironic event, considering that a psychic had tricked a ghost. She raised her pokeball, returning the ghost, as she gazed at Ash, as if revaluating him all over again. "Impressive. I certainly didn't expect that."
"I have enough incentive to do my best." Ash returned.
"An adequate reason, yes." Anabel muttered. Her calm and friendly demeanour was gone, and replaced by a cold calculating countenance. "I will not make the same mistake next time."
Ash didn't bother giving a reply.
Anabel lifted off her next pokeball. "I choose you…" She clicked the release button. ".. Delphox."
The pokémon that stood in front of Ash and Metagross was a bipedal, fox-like creature that closely resembled a witch or sorcerer, if not for its feline facial features, and its lush, orange tail on the back. Its body is mainly covered in long, shaggy maroon fur, resembling a robe or dress, with bright orange flame-shaped patches on either side, with large bright yellow ears with long orange fur tufts protruding from the inside.
Delphox… that was what she said. Ash wondered. Is this also some exotic pokémon from the Kalos region?
Anabel smiled. Use flamethrower.
Delphox let out a howl, as she let out an immense torrent of flames towards Metagross.
Deflect. Send them back.
"Met—taaaa!" The iron leg pokémon's eyes glowed blue, as the flames were surrounded with psychic energy, as he readied to send them back.
Anabel smiled. Two could play the game. Force it ahead.
It was almost hilarious. The torrential flames that were supposed to be deflected back seemed to ignore the psychic deflection as Delphox's own psychic effect neutralized Metagross's deflection, allowing the flames to head straight ahead towards Metagross.
Shift.
Metagross barely managed to get over the surprise as he shifted to the left, narrowly missing the flame attack.
A fire and psychic type? How the hell did she even get such a pokémon? He wondered. First Alakazam, then Mismagius, and now this… Delphox.
We are at a disadvantage, Metagross. I think it would be better if I switched right now.
I can handle the fox.
But I might need you for something else.
…. You are not supposed to make sense. It is usually my end of the contribution.
Ash almost chuckled at Metagross's antics. Shut up you big baby. He lifted the pokeball. "Metagross. Return."
Anabel raised an eyebrow. She hadn't expected Ash to switch just like that.
Ash selected another pokeball from his belt. "Absol, you are up."
Anabel's lips curled. So he has an Absol huh? How… Interesting.
Absol lifted her head to stare at the fox pokémon. Even by the looks of it, the feline in front of her gave the feel of an all-knowing-one, though the waves were considerably less in intensity than she felt in the steel caretaker and the psi.
"Use Dark pulse."
Use Flamethrower.
The attack collided midway to create a smoke explosion. Ash clenched his fists. While Absol's dark typing would indeed render her immune to psychic manipulations, it wouldn't stop Delphox from burning her to the crisp.
Take her out by surprise. Don't get close. That's the strategy. Ash committed to himself.
"Use double team and follow it with mean look." Ash commanded, not for the first time reminding himself how uttering commands loudly was an extreme disadvantage. Especially so, when your opponent has the opportunity to avoid the same.
Absol let out a growl as several illusory forms of herself surrounded Delphox in a circle, leering at her, with glowing red eyes. A slight red aura settled around Delphox for a moment, signalling that mean look was now active. Until Absol was substituted from the battle or defeated, Delphox wouldn't be able to leave the fight.
Locking me from all sides, huh? Let's see how you manage this one then. Anabel smiled. Use Blaze and follow with fire spin. Full power.
Delphox let out a loud howl, surrounding herself with scorching flames, which exploded outward in the form of a fiery t0rnado, towards the illusory dark types surrounding her on all sides.
Got her. Ash decided. "Use Rock Tomb!"
"What?" Anabel literally yelled in surprise, certainly not expecting an Absol to know a damaging rock-type move like that, her eyes widening as the illusory Absol raised their front limbs and slammed them into the ground, as large rock boulders, with sharp edges tore their way through the ground, trapping Delphox as well as the encroaching flames inside it, allowing Absol more than enough time to leap back and avoid the blazing heat.
"Now use perish song." Ash commanded, as Absol let out a soul-wrenching wail, one that made Delphox shiver. Apparently, something about Perish song both intimidated and horrified psychic-types, though he didn't exactly know the details.
Smooth. Anabel had to hand it to him. He had, through a combination of four moves, rendered Delphox trapped, unable to leave the battle and now, officially about to faint in three moves-all of that, while maintaining a safe distance from her, and without even using a single dark-type attack in the entire process.
"That was excellently done, Ash." Anabel praised. "However, I suppose then Delphox has to burn your Absol in less than three moves."
"Absol is rather good at dodging." Ash returned.
"I will take your word on that." Anabel returned with a smile. "However, how will you dodge, if there is no place to do so?"
What does she mean by…?
Something… sinister flickered across Anabel's eyes. "Delphox, use Blast burn."
… Shit. Ash declared.
Blast Burn, was in layman terms, the fire-equivalent of hyper beam, when used in fusion with earthquake. At the cost of the caster's own energy, Blast Burn literally annihilated the entire arena, bathing it in liquid fire. Plus, with Delphox's Blaze ability activated, it would surely mean the end of the battle for someone like Absol.
Anabel wasn't kidding when she stated that she would burn-
Wait.
A thin smile spread across Ash's lips. It would be dangerous, and might even hurt Absol, but it was the best chance they had—a thin line between victory and overwhelming loss.
"Absol, use agility and get closer to Delphox."
Anabel narrowed her eyes in incomprehension, as Absol leapt closer to Delphox, who already had her flaming fists up in the air, her blaze ability fuelling the process as she slammed said fist into the ground, literally tearing the battle stadium apart as Blast burn activated.
"Use magic coat." Ash yelled as l0udly as he could, making sure that Absol heard him, despite the entire explosion, as a silver aura surrounded her body.
Then, the ground shattered as scorching flames sprang upward, inundating Absol completely.
Silence.
One second passed by.
The flames continued to rage.
Another second passed by.
The flames were now falling down, with the rock boulders slowly falling back onto the battle arena, and in the middle of it all, was Delphox, fallen onto the ground, scarred flesh visible through her extensive red fur. With another soft growl, Absol leapt down to the ground, exhausted, and slightly bruised, but obviously able to continue battling.
Anabel stared blankly at her fallen pokémon. Of course, she had no doubt that with Blaze and Blast burn together, Delphox would succumb and faint immediately afterward. In case she didn't, the perish song would make her faint either way. What she had not expected was Absol, still standing and able to battle, despite the devastating attack. She had heard Ash yell out something but because of the explosion, she hadn't been able to hear it. Considering the state of events, clearly Absol hadn't failed to listen and execute his commands.
"What did you do?" She asked Ash, not bothering to hide her confusion and hysteria.
"Magic coat." Ash replied with a sigh. To be honest, he didn't really know the level of control Absol had over the technique Alakazam had taught her back then on the island. Maybe a treat for the old coot was in order. "I chanced that out on Absol's super luck ability as well."
Anabel arched an eyebrow, as his words registered in his mind. Magic coat, of course. Of course. The technique reflected status conditions caused by special attacks back to the attacker. Blast burn would obviously qualify as a special attack, and thus, the burns Absol would have received were reflected back to Delphox, which in addition to the sheer exhaustion caused by the execution of Blast burn, had rendered her unconscious immediately. The only injures Absol had on her person must have been because of the rock fragments that were blown up because of the explosion.
Her hands moved up on their own accord, as she clapped. "Well done. I can see now, why the last three tiers were taken by surprise and gotten defeated so easily."
"I don't remember that being easy." Ash clenched his jaw in irritation. The images of Rhydon groaning in agony, and Gengar grinning before creating an explosion instantly came to mind.
"It was." Anabel refuted. "Most trainers that come in, already use at least seven of their team of eight before they manage to get to Tier 4. Of course, half of that is already too exhausted to continue battling."
Suddenly Cynthia's words began to make more sense.
"… Do people even manage to win at the Battle Tower?"
"Of course they do. Those people are known as the Elite Four."
However, Anabel wasn't done speaking yet. "You have four pokémon, out of which none are yet out of battle. I have six, and already two are dealt with. That says a lot about your skills as a trainer, Ash Ketchum."
Ash shrugged. For good or worse, he had yet to learn how to accept compliments in the face. "Uh… let's just focus on the battle at hand."
Anabel felt a spark of amusement. The changed expression on her face could be adequately described as 'pleasantly surprised'. "Very well. Let's see what you make of my next pokémon." She lifted up her next pokeball, having already returned Delphox back to herself. "I choose you… Medicham!"
Ash arched an eyebrow. What was with Anabel and psychic pokémon? So far, each and every single one of her choices, apart from that Mismagius, had been at least part-psychic. Still, the part fighting-type of Medicham could be downright lethal to someone like Absol, if this one could do half of what Cynthia's Medicham was capable of. In either case, he knew exactly how to fight this battle.
"Absol, very well done. Now return." Ash raised his pokeball.
Absol gave him a look of surprise but did not object.
Anabel looked at him with a curious expression. This was the second time Ash had chosen to substitute his pokémon after a win. First, Metagross after his win against Mismagius, and now this… Truly, this trainer was one unpredictable person.
"Poliwhirl, you are up."
Anabel barely managed to stop her jaw from falling, as she witnessed the tadpole pokémon—a water-type, materialize between Medicham and Ash. Of all the things she had expected, Poliwhirl wouldn't be any of them at all.
Medicham has normal effectiveness against water. Poliwhirl has normal effectiveness against fighting and psychic. What is he playing at?
Agility, use thunder punch.
"Cham!" Medicham declared, before instantly vanishing from his point, and appearing right in front of Poliwhirl, his fists brimming with electricity running through the surface.
"Poliwhirl, it is a Medicham." That was all Ash had to say.
Almost instantaneously, Poliwhirl pushed his legs up, allowing him to fall down on his spheroidal body, before propelling a powerful hydro pump at Medicham's abdomen, scoring a direct hit against him, banishing the fighting type away, before standing up again.
Anabel blinked owlishly.
Ash smirked. The technique was something he had come up with while battling Cynthia's Medicham. That fighting type was always a beast when it came to close combat, and it became necessary for him to figure out a means to push the beast back. Of course, knowing Cynthia, she could always whip up a counter if she wanted in the first place.
"Ice beam." He intoned.
"Poli!" the tadpole pokémon lifted his face up and threw up a powerful ice beam at Medicham.
Light screen and use agility. Use confusion when near him.
Medicham let out a fearsome roar and drove towards Poliwhirl, completely neutralizing the ice beam shot at him.
Oh shit. Ash almost panicked. "Stop him. Use blizzard."
"What?" Anabel was almost tired of getting surprises thrown at her face. Who in the right mind would try teaching a Poliwhirl a move like Blizzard? After all, Blizzard was one of the apex ice-type moves taught to a fully-evolved pokémon. Even her own ice-types had trouble with that move.
Medicham's sudden agility was brought to an end, as he slipped on the floor, now completely submerged in snow and ice. Being a part fighting type, he was used to quick attacks on hard ground, not on something as slippery as this one. Letting his agility go, he pushed himself with his innate speed, ready to hit him with a confusion the moment he reached close enough.
"Use rain dance." Ash commanded, finally ready to complete the stage he had been setting over the last couple of moves. After all, training with Cynthia didn't just optimise his team. It also allowed him to understand the sheer efficiency of move combinations.
The entire arena was covered with clouds, as harsh rain fell down upon Poliwhirl and Medicham, the former's water-absorb ability allowing it to replenish his own power, while making it difficult for Medicham to keep moving ahead. After all, a passive effect of rain dance ensured that an ice-type move like Blizzard became slightly stronger.
Trickster. Anabel thought, a minute amount of fondness creeping into her tone. "Medicham, use psychic on Poliwhirl."
Poliwhirl felt a strange energy engulf him completely as he was raised above the ground, though the rain dance and blizzard continued to ravage the arena. From his vantage point, it was obvious that Medicham was having a tough time maintaining his composure.
"Bring him close and use force palm."
There were a few loopholes of the psychic trap. Sure, the victim was enveloped in psychic energy, and completely incapacitated as far as using body movements were concerned. However, psychic did nothing to stop attacks which didn't require any body movement at all.
Like water pulse for instance.
Poliwhirl manifested a sphere of compressed water in front of him, and finding himself close enough, propelled it straight at Medicham in the face, as the water pulse exploded on contact, banishing Medicham away into the snowy platform.
"Medicham return." Anabel raised her pokeball, sucking the pokémon in.
Damn. Ash cursed. He was just an inch away from defeating Medicham. He glared at Anabel antagonistically.
Anabel chuckled. "I won't allow my pokémon to lose just because you were having too much fun beating him." She lifted her next pokeball, releasing her next pokémon. "However… your winning streak ends now. Dusknoir, defeat that Poliwhirl."
Ash stared, wide eyed, at the humongous ghost type that stared back at him. The entire physical structure seemed to be enclosed in some kind of protective carapace, with two large hands floating outward, giving a rather sinister appearance with the single red eye peeping through the large headgear on the top.
This is what Dusclops evolves into. Ash thought inwardly to himself.
Almost instantaneously, Poliwhirl was gripped by a reddish aura which dissolved as soon as it had appeared, signifying that Mean look had activated on Poliwhirl.
Disable, and follow with Hypnosis.
"Poliwhirl, use water pulse."
The sphere of concentrated water shot towards Dusknoir, who turned incorporeal in the last second, though its hold on Poliwhirl didn't even loosen by a second, as the water pulse passed through its body without any effect. Dusknoir's eyes glowed with eldritch energy, as the tadpole pokémon fell asleep.
"Poliwhirl, wake up." Ash yelled in frustration.
"Don't bother." Anabel replied, a smirk playing on her lips. "Dusknoir, use hex."
Ash clenched his fists as Poliwag cried out in agony, trying to push his appendages outward, only to be locked by the powerful disable attack.
"Now use dream eater."
"Enough!" Ash thundered. "I forfeit. Poliwhirl won't battle any longer."
Anabel raised an eyebrow. For someone who fought like a trickster, Ash sure was impatient when it was his own pokémon caught in a difficult situation. 'You do know that should you forfeit Poliwhirl, you won't be able to use him in-"
"Do I look like I care?" Ash snarled. "Let Poliwhirl be, and stop the attack."
He really cares about his pokémon. Anabel realized. I didn't realize he was that passionate of a trainer. "Dusknoir, stop the attack."
Dusknoir's eye glowed again, dropping Poliwhirl unceremoniously to the ground.
Ash quickly ran to the tadpole pokémon, lifting him up in his arms. "I'm really sorry, Poliwhirl. I should have substituted you with someone else. You really fought very well. I am proud of you."
He clicked on the button, sucking the tadpole pokémon inside the pokeball. He selected his next pokémon, and threw her out into the field. "Go, Absol."
Absol let out a growl, as she stared at Dusknoir, instantly realizing it as a ghost type.
"It hurt Poliwhirl." Ash replied vengefully. "Show it what happens when you hurt one of us."
As if in answer, Absol lifted off her maw and threw up a dark pulse at Dusknoir, who created a shadow ball, firing it back in return. The two spheres collided midway, forming dark fumes.
"I suppose you are betting on Absol's type advantage, yes?" Anabel asked genially.
Ash didn't bother to reply. "Use double team and surround it."
The same move again? Does he really expect me to fall for it twice? Anabel wondered. Use focus blast.
Dusknoir raised its large fist up into the air, only to slam it down to the ground, creating a radial wave of pure energy outward.
"Leap into the air and use dark pulse." Ash yelled.
Double team.
Dusknoir instantly dissolved into dozens of illusory forms, defeating the purpose of the Dark pulse, allowing it to evade the attack and shift places with ease.
Use mean look.
Absol growled, before the obvious red shade of mean look appeared and disappeared on its form.
Ash clenched his teeth. Well, this goes both ways. "Use mean look as well."
And with that, the two pokémon were trapped inside the arena, with neither of them having the ability to be substituted unless they fainted. A literal battle till the end.
This… this I can work with.
It was almost unfair that ghost-types were immune to normal-type moves. It removed the advantage that Perish song could have given Absol in such a situation. That was however, not to say that the situation was bad. On the contrary, with Absol immune to psychic-type moves, and almost invulnerable to ghost-type attacks, Dusknoir would be forced to use moves out of its own typing. Absol on the other hand, was still able to cause significant damage via its dark-type and ghost-type attacks.
"Get closer, use crunch!"
Will-o-wisp.
Mysterious, ghostly flames erupted in front of Dusknoir's immensely large forearms, as it directed them towards the incoming Absol.
"Take the hit. Endure it."
"What?" Anabel arched her eyebrows in surprise.
"Now use payback."
Oh damn.
Payback was an absurdly lopsided technique, in which the user took damage first and then attacked with a double power. With the will-o-wisp having hit Absol first, she leapt on Dusknoir, before biting on the shoulder with double power, with the viciousness that one could only associate with a dark-type. In less than a second, Absol had torn through several portions of Dusknoir's body, her usually docile temperament given into pure and heartless rage.
Anabel clenched her teeth. Use pain split.
And Absol let out a wail as she fell off from Dusknoir, who managed to float away during that very moment of weakness. Normal-type moves didn't work on Dusknoir, but they did work on Absol. Pain Split, a status move, brought both Absol and Dusknoir to an equal level of power, enough to raise Dusknoir to a considerable level and reduce its opponent to a more vulnerable position as well.
Ash was torn between gnashing his teeth in anger and doing his best not to grin like an idiot. For any other pokémon, he would have been enraged by what had just taken place. For Absol however, the situation was entirely opposite.
"Use punishment."
Such an absurdly lopsided dark-type move. He had actually gotten himself a custom-made TM for the Absol-line for this particular move, back when he had visited the Pokemart at Cerulean city. Instead of using her own attack-power, Punishment enabled Absol to use a dark-type move against Dusknoir at the expense of Dusknoir's own power stat. Thus, it was a perfect way to get back what Dusknoir had stolen from her.
Now only if she manages to pull it off perfectly.
Absol reared her head up, her jaws dripping with dark energy, as she leapt towards Dusknoir, the punishment obviously in effect.
Anabel shook her head, a little conflicted at having to end the battle in such a fashion. Payback and Destiny bond.
Absol's jaws landed right on Dusknoir's upper extremities, biting off a piece of its 'flesh', as Dusknoir, despite its groans, gathered the rise in power it had attained through payback, and used it to enforce a destiny bond between itself and Absol. With Absol doing her worst to ensure that Dusknoir suffered a lot, the empathic link through Destiny bond sent back an equal amount of pain and agony into her, as she fell down on Dusknoir's person, both of them rendered completely unconscious.
Silence.
"It is my defeat if I have had to claim victory like that." Anabel muttered. "Absol and Dusknoir are unable to battle."
Ash didn't even say a word. His mind was too engrossed in repeating Absol's screams over and over inside his ears. This was the second time he had been on the receiving end of Destiny bond. A part of him, the more cynical side, was awed at how disgustingly useful of a move it was. Another part of him, the emotional one, was too busy staring blankly at the fallen form of Absol, draped over the floating Dusknoir.
He silently lifted the pokeball. "Absol. Return."
"Return, Dusknoir."
"Ash, choose your next pokémon." Anabel replied softly.
Ash was past caring now. "I choose you, Pidgeot."
The humongous avian shot out of the pokeball, flying up to the ceiling, as a blank Anabel stared at her in awe and disbelief. "That's not a normal Pidgeot."
Ash didn't bother to answer.
"Nor a shiny one."
Ash's disposition still didn't change.
"Win for me, Medicham." Anabel let out, as the fighting-type materialized between Ash and herself, staring up at the giant avian above him.
End it. Use disable on her.
Medicham's eyes glowed with power, as a silvery aura formed around Pidgeot's huge form, trapping her inside a psychic trap.
"Hyper beam." Ash replied, his voice devoid of emotion.
In answer, Pidgeot opened her beak, and began to concentrate energy for a rather nasty hyper beam.
Anabel cursed under her breath. For a smaller and less powerful pokémon, a disable was more than enough to end the game. However, for something of the sheer size as that Pidgeot, it would take the entirety of Medicham's power and mental focus to ensure that the disable held.
That meant that Medicham was completely vulnerable to the hyper beam.
"Pidgo!" Pidgeot let out a war cry, inundating the entire arena with her hyper beam.
Let her go. Use protect.
Medicham relinquished his hold on the disable lock, before surrounding himself with an energy barrier to protect himself from the devastating attack. It was a testament to his strength that the barrier didn't budge, even under the overwhelming force of the hyper beam.
However, Ash was far from being done with it.
"Double team, finish with steel wing."
Almost instantaneously, the entire arena was filled with a dozen illusory forms of Pidgeot floating above Medicham, their wings glowing like liquid light. With another war cry, the illusory forms declared war and pounced down at Medicham.
Use bide. And protect.
Medicham closed his eyes, calling in his entire psychic strength, one that gave him enough awareness to identify the real Pidgeot out of the illusions and manifested a barrier only in that particular direction.
Pidgeot came swooping down, and just like before, the barrier seemed to go incorporeal, as her steel wing slammed into Medicham, sending him thrashing into the ground, injured and exhausted, but still able to fight.
How…?
"Hyper beam."
Leap up, use agility and return with counter.
In the matter of seconds, Medicham was up in the air, before he came slamming down onto Pidgeot from the top, a powerful focus punch right on Pidgeot's abdomen, as she let out a squawk of agony, before falling down to the ground.
"Pidgeot!" Ash yelled, but Anabel was faster.
"Hypnosis."
And just like that, Pidgeot was entrapped inside a psychic trap, unable to move, unable to attack, lost inside a world of complete and utter confusion.
Use high-jump kick, and end the battle.
"Medi!" The meditation pokémon leapt into the air, before slamming down a kick down Pidgeot's wings, making the avian cry out in pain, before losing consciousness.
"Pidgeot is unable to battle." Anabel replied in an emotionless voice. "Return her and choose your next pokémon."
Ash silently returned her. It was no surprise who his last pokémon would be. "It is all up to you now, buddy." He muttered at the pokeball. "I choose you, Metagross."
And the iron-leg pseudo-legendary entered the battle.
If she were completely honest with herself, Anabel would have sworn that this one was one of the best matches she had had over a long time. The person that had attempted the Battle Tower before Ash had reached won the fifth tier, before getting defeated in the sixth by Jessica. The trainer, one Paul from Sinnoh, had been a rather powerful one, with highly-trained pokémon, and a trainer-experience of over four years.
But this?
Where on earth had a newbie trainer, one who hadn't even attained past his handicap limit, learnt to battle like this? If she hadn't known any better, she would have sworn that she was battling one who had been to a conference and returned with a Top-8 position at the very least.
And to think that he was only in his fourth month of pokémon training.
Anabel shivered as excitement ran through her very skin.
Absol. Poliwhirl. Pidgeot. All three of his pokémon were masterfully trained. And considering the battle between Mismagius and Metagross back in the beginning, and what with Ash keeping Metagross for his last, it was vivid that Metagross was his strongest, and if not, then the most versatile at the very least. It was almost sad that such a person would have to stop his journey, defeated at the fourth tier in her Battle Tower. She wouldn't have minded at….
Anabel stopped the thread of thoughts running through her mind.
You are one interesting individual, Ash Ketchum. I will have my eyes on you. She decided inwardly.
"Medicham finish this." She ordered.
Ash stared at Medicham, as Metagross materialized beside him.
You are all I have left, buddy.
And that will be enough. Metagross replied with confidence, as he stared at the rapidly encroaching Medicham, his supercomputing mental facilities analysing the meditation pokémon to superlative degrees- the speed of his movement, the trajectory, the distance, his stride, his movements, his tilts, right to sixteenth place of decimal.
A shining limb suddenly appeared in front of air, a rather potent focus punch, should it manage to make a hit on him. However, coming close and making a hit were two different things, especially considering that a large iron-limb had pushed Medicham's elbow to the right by seventy-nine degrees, enough to divert the path of the trajectory and making it hit-
SLAM!
The focus punch, now redirected off its course, hit Medicham straight in the solar plexus, banishing him away, the recoil having an adverse impact on his own shoulder, possibly causing delocalisation of the shoulder bone.
Not that Metagross cared. He had a battle to win.
And he vanished.
Only to appear in top of Medicham, exactly three feet in the air, before letting his psychic powers, one that maintained his constant state of levitation, fade away.
Crunch.
That was possibly the sound of Medicham's other elbow breaking, the one that was initially at a forty-seven degree and twenty-two minutes angle to his chest, now slightly increased to fifty-six minutes.
Effect of a localised body slam.
Anabel stared at Metagross in utter incomprehension, having been on the receiving side of a Metagross's efficiency in battle for the first time. It was vividly clear that Ash had trained Metagross to be utterly efficient and effective in battle.
She smiled. Yes, her decision to battle Ash Ketchum had been a really, really good one. And now she knew why.
"Medicham is unable to battle." She muttered, before returning the pokémon back into his pokeball, as she plucked out her next -the one she had avoided using for all this time. Her own starter.
"I choose you… Metagross!"
An enormous mechanical roar, as if thousands of metallic rims were sliding on top of each other, inundated the entire battle arena, as her own Metagross appeared in front of Ash's own. It was obvious that her own pokémon was older, considering that it was at least one foot taller than Ash's pokémon, and looked larger, and overall stronger, if the large claws at the ends of its iron limbs were of any indication.
"You… have a Metagross as well?" Ash spoke up. For some reason, Anabel felt extremely happy at hearing the considerably distinct tone of uncertainty seeping into his tone.
"He's my starter." She returned with pride. "I hope you will give him a fair fight."
Ash stared at the Metagross in front of him with a mix of awe, uncertainty and to some extent… excitement. He and Metagross had fought several pokémon over the course of time that they had shared together, right from the point when he had captured him as a Metang. However, this was the first time they were facing a Metagross in a formal battle.
Did you battle any Metagross at the colony?
Choosing a losing battle is a human disorder, trainer Ash.
The trainer from Pallet rolled his eyes at the obvious jab, but digested it. Then I suppose we will see how good you are against someone of your own level.
That is, as unfortunate as it is, your job. Mine is to do the actual battling.
Shut up.
"Are you ready, Ash?" Anabel asked.
"… Ready." Ash muttered.
Agility with bullet punch. Both trainers thought in unison, as both Metagross literally teleported from their positions, only to appear in the middle, their iron claws slamming into each other, steel barging into steel.
Anabel's soared up to hit a body slam, Ash's one would push himself back with psychic. Ash's Metagross would throw a hyper beam, a Flash Cannon would be sent back in retaliation. A sniping offence would be met by a grand defense, while short-ranged defense invited overwhelming attack.
Anabel's Metagross came with an unstoppable force.
Ash's own retaliated, with an equal and no less deadly force. With complete ruthlessness, Ash's Metagross tore into Anabel's own.
Zen head-butt.
Agility, attack with meteor mash.
Reflect.
Push back and use bullet punch.
The sounds of steel on steel reverberated through the entire arena, as the two steel behemoths landed blows on each other, and accepted equally powerful blows in return.
Move back and use Flash Cannon. Anabel communicated.
Use substitute and take it by surprise. Ash countered.
Metagross created a life-sized decoy in front of him, allowing it to take the force of the impact, before quickly using agility to get closer to the other Metagross, only to slam its leg against the opponent's own. From the way it looked, Anabel's Metagross was superlative in its skill of computing trajectories, which only left a single option.
He would need to be tricked his way out.
Trainer Ash, any suggestions?
Now you need my aid?
I always refer to your superlative judgement in such matters.
Ash rolled his eyes, as he considered the situation. Truth be told, he was himself at an impasse, unable to understand how to get rid of this stalemate. It was almost like fighting against one's own self, a rather frightening situation to consider. He closed his eyes as he tried to get some hare-brained idea to pull out of his ass that might allow him to go past this situation. The only thing he could remember was-
…
…
The book gifted to him from Derrick came to mind.
There are two kinds of psychic manipulators- manipulators of the mind, and manipulators of force. The Abra-line is a quintessential example of the first kind, and are extremely skilful at manipulating minds, emotions, illusions and the like. This… versatility also shows itself in the wide range of psychic moves that an Alakazam is capable of. Of course, there is also the Gardevoir-line and the Xatu-line, who are able to overspecialize this ability into clairvoyance, but that is beside the point.
The other kind, or the manipulators of force, are the more… physical side of psychic pokémon. The Drowzee-line is perhaps best-suited to this kind of psychic manipulation, and are able to use psychic energy as a tangible weapon. An Alakazam would consider using psychic energy to create a powerful hypnosis-based move, but a Hypno would use it as a sledgehammer.
Despite the innate differences that lie between the intangible and tangible use of psychic energy, it is clear that in both cases, the energy is used by the user against an opponent.
This is where Metagross shows a considerable and unique deviation, well, almost unique, considering that its cousin line, the Bronzong, are also capable of demonstrating such attributes, albeit at a lesser extent. Instead of channelling the psychic energy outward, Metagross channel it inward, almost like turning themselves into a machine with psychic energy used as fuel, instead of being a machine that throws out psychic energy as output as is the case for Alakazam and Hypno—a rather thin but no less important distinction.
Because of its unique processing of-
Trainer Ash? Metagross's words pulled Ash back from his thoughts, as the sounds of steel clashing on steel came to mind.
I am thinking… I am thinking… but everything I plan out seems to get counteracted by something else. As long as it can see something coming, it will be able to compute the result and act accordingly. A rather… annoying thing.
I do the same against opponents.
Yes, but it is against opponents, so it doesn't count.
Ash could have sworn that Metagross had just given a mental sigh.
I need to reduce the efficiency of the machine to slow it down. How do I slow something that is going to counter every single physical attack I make on it?
….
….
Shit.
Metagross gave a mental grin, as he agreed to the mother of all ass-pulls.
Anabel had been silently watching as her Metagross played around, matching Ash's Metagross blow for blow. Every single attack had been parried with equal ferocity and efficiency, creating what could possibly be termed as a perfect stalemate scenario between two opponents, both of which were blessed with supercomputing mental facilities. The only obvious solution seemed to let the battle go on and on, and until it was declared to be a draw, or if one of them made a mistake out of their lack of battle experience. Though, considering everything, the chance of that happening was as good as zero.
"Metagross, use hammer arm." Ash began.
A fighting type attack for a change perhaps? Anabel wondered. She had had enough experience dealing with Ash to spot when he was doing something unpredictable. Considering the last couple of battles, this might be the start of something completely maddening once again.
She chuckled.
Use focus punch.
The two Metagross rammed into each other, and surprisingly, Ash's Metagross was the one to receive the injury, as he fell down to the ground, the force of her Metagross's focus punch sending him straight down to the ground.
This is my chance. Use meteor mash.
"Met—taaaa!" Her Metagross roared, before slamming the powerful steel-like move down to the earth, straight towards Metagross.
Take the hit on one claw and hit on the head with another. Ash commanded.
The meteor mash fell.
Metagross groaned, as the powerful steel-type attack hit its claw, possibly disintegrating one of the bones. His somewhat feeble resistance to steel-type moves only saving his claw from becoming completely dismembered.
The painful look on his face was distinct.
The surprised expression on Anabel's Metagross, not so much.
Hammer Arm. Ash yelled inwardly, as Metagross twisted upward, slamming a sideways slam of his forelimb into Anabel's Metagross, and sending it thrashing into the ground.
"EARTHQUAKE!"
"Met—Taaaa!" Metagross lifted himself off the ground, before slamming his forelimb into the ground, creating a powerful seismic wave, one that scored a direct hit on Anabel's Metagross, from the sounds of it.
Only Ash wasn't done with it.
Get on top, and get hitting.
Metagross didn't need any further telling. In less than a fraction of a second, it was on top of the other, slamming bullet punches at peak efficiency at the other's face, one after another.
Consistently.
Go to sleep! Go to Sleep! Go to sleep!
Thunk!
Or… well, as consistent as it could be, before the other Metagross, despite his agony, had managed to lift its forelimbs, to stall the attack, and was glaring at Ash's Metagross with unbridled fury.
…. I'm sorry?
Finish it. Anabel commanded with a mundane finality.
"Met-Taaaa!" The larger Metagross gave out a long, drawn-out, metallic roar, as its body began to shine, enough for Ash, now horrified, to raise the pokeball and call out-
BOOM!
It was too late.
"Metagross!" Ash yelled in anxiety, running into the battlefield, only to fall on top of a large steel contraption like thing, injuring himself, before he realized that it was Metagross's claw.
"Metagross…" He muttered, wide-eyed, as he stared at the smoking body of Metagross, completely unconscious and on the ground.
"Meta-" The words stuck in his throat, as he tried to say them, only to realize that he was short of breath. Enraged, he got up, and yelled at Anabel. "What the fuck kind of battling are you doing here? You… you want to win… you want to win so desperately? You desire for me to lose so desperately?"
"Ash…." Anabel replied in a composed tone. "To defeat the challenger is the sole objective of the Battle Tower."
"At what cost?" Ash yelled back. "I came here to fight, to see my potential amongst other trainers… to see if I…." He couldn't bear it anymore, as his knees gave away. "I broke Shelgon's… Shelgon's faith in me, for this. I made my friends' suffer all throughout this… this journey through spineless cowards who would stop at nothing unless it meant defeat of the challenger."
"Ash, the battle is not over yet." Anabel replied calmly. "You still have your Crawdaunt for battle and-"
The glare she faced was enough to shut her up.
Ash was done with it. He was done with the Battle Tower, with all the incentives that it offered. "I came here to prove my worth. I am leaving with regrets." He paused for a moment. "Can I get my pokémon back?"
"They…." Anabel paused. They have been treated by our medics and will be available to you at the recipient's office."
"…." Ash murmured something incomprehensible under his breath. He knelt beside the still smoking body of his trusted friend, one would now take a long time to be completely cured of his injuries. He remembered Shelgon's judging eyes, Rhydon's groans, Gengar's haunting grin right before his own sacrifice, Pidgeot's screeches and Absol and Metagross being taken out like that. All of those images…. Swirling in front of him in an unending loop.
Sure he had lost, but victory and defeat had lost its meaning back when he had lost Gengar. He had only been pushing himself to see just how far he could progress. He had simply not known that his pokémon would continue to pay the price for his ignorance.
For the first time, after since Gary had broken the GS Ball in front of his own eyes, Ash Ketchum curled into himself and cried.