Confrontations...

Chapter 13 - Confrontations...

Lucario found Ash with the other guys at the same time they both got the mental message from Gardevoir; Tracey's back and he has friends.

"We have to move, now!" Ash roared and dashed towards their table, Pikachu hanging on, the other guys following after him, a little behind.

They had gone all the way to the back of the arcade to reach the prize area after winning the required ticket amount when Ash got the message. Ash ran like there was no tomorrow, nearly tripping over all the fallen food and toys on the ground and bumping into many people but he didn't care. He crashed against their booth and looked inside, noticing that they're not there. The other guys soon caught up with him a couple seconds later, Lucario at his side. They heard a loud explosion suddenly from outside.

"No…please no…" pleaded Ash as he hurried outside, dreading what he may see with Lucario and the guys at his heel. They stepped out to a cloud of smoke that Lucario pushed away with his Psychic attack. What they saw made Ash's heart leap to his throat.

To the left of them stood Tracey, Kenny, Rudy and Drew and they had several pokémon out in front of them. All of them had evil, happy expressions on their faces. To the right of them were the six girls, all covering their mouths with their hands, eyes filled with tears. In the middle, between the two groups, was a petite white and green body on the ground.

Ash moved towards it, wobbling a bit as he walked in a dazed fashion. Pikachu jumped down and faced the hated group, growling and sparks flying from his cheeks, ready to defend if they sent any cheap attack. The guys moved to where the girls were, prepared to defend them if needed. After what seemed like ages, Ash finally reached the form on the ground and fell to his knees, unable to believe what he was seeing. Several other random people crowded around them unnoticed by the two groups as they too heard the explosion. Lucario was at first glaring at the aggressors before moving to where Ash was but froze when he heard his master's pleas.

"No…Gardevoir…no…. please…wake up…please…"

Hearing Ash's whimpers made some of the guys' growl in anger and the others kept their face stoic, while the girls let out silent tears. Lucario hurried forward and knelt beside Ash and Gardevoir. She was battered and beaten. Black and blue bruises were everywhere and there were some nasty cuts on her that were bleeding. He placed his paw gently on her.

"She is still alive Master. She is very hurt but her aura is still with us but barely. She needs medical attention now."

Lucario focused to channel some healing aura into her. A blue energy wave pulsed into Gardevoir and she began whizzing loudly.

A stream of yellow energy sped towards Ash, Lucario and Gardevoir. Before anyone could say anything, Pikachu jumped up and absorbed the electrical attack before landing back onto his feet, growling loudly and his fur stood on end. Ash and Lucario didn't even react to the attack, knowing that Pikachu would intercept it but Ash's group called out against the cheap attack together.

"Hey, stop you assholes!"

"They're not in a battle anymore!"

"What the fuck is wrong with you dipshits?!"

Many more were shouted at them, even from the unknown bystanders but the vile, cold hearted group didn't care at all.

"What? They're in the middle of the battlefield and he used a recovery move. Looks like the battle is still on to us," smirked Tracey. The others laughed and nodded in agreement.

"Such disrespect and contempt. You and your group are an awful flavor," spat Cilan.

"If it's a battle you want, then it's a battle that you'll get!" yelled Brock as he, Richie, Max, Cilan and Gary each took out a poke ball but before they could send them out, Ash spoke;

"No. There won't be a battle."

His friends froze, surprised at what he was saying.

"Ah I don't think so. It was agreed that there would be one battle between us and you and if we won, the girls would come with us, and if you won, then we'd leave you alone. So, either continue right now or forfeit. So hurry up and send out your worthless pokémon but the result will be the same," laughed Tracey maniacally.

"Nobody agreed with you cowards!" yelled Serena.

"Well then why did your pokémon come out and fight us then?" jeered Rudy.

"Because you wouldn't leave us alone and you cheated!" shouted Misty.

"Doesn't matter. Either send out another pokémon or come with us now," laughed Kenny.

The girls and guys glanced at each other, confused, not knowing what to do when Ash stood up, facing his friends, Gardevoir in his arms. He turned his head sideways a bit to glance at the horrible people behind him. Everyone's attention was on him now as a gust of wind blew past them, making Ash's hair move some. The sight of him in that position made many of the girls from his group and the unknown strangers picture him as a hero, a knight in shining armor rescuing a damsel in distress. As he spoke, everyone listened closely.

"There won't be a battle because there's no chance in hell you will win. How dare you. Ganging up on an innocent pokémon like a bunch of blood thirsty animals, fighting unfairly. I gave you a chance Tracey. But now you and your group will answer for your actions!" spat Ash with such venom that his friends were surprised.

Tracey got a good look at Ash's face as he turned his head sideways as a thought ran through his head, making a chill run down his spine.

Fuck, it is him!

"Ash, allow us to help you," requested Richie but Ash shook his head.

"Lucario, take Gardevoir to the pokémon center. Pikachu go with them to support and protect."

"Pikapi!"

"Master, I cannot leave you here. I want to fight to avenge her! And we cannot forfeit!"

"I don't plan on it and I don't honor bets that involve gambling lives. It will be better that at least you two are by her side when she wakes up. Joy, somebody should be at the pokémon center right?"

"Y-yes!" she stammered out.

They were beginning to worry. Ash wanted to take on all of them by himself and was speaking with such a commanding tone that it unnerved them. The raven haired trainer gently lowered Gardevoir into Lucario's outstretched arms.

"Who are you planning on using Master?"

"You know exactly who," said Ash, each word coated with rage, causing his friends to glance at each other as Ash pulled out a poke ball from beneath his jacket. Lucario sensed who was in there.

"Are you sure Master? Does this really require him? They are scum no doubt but you know how powerful he has become. Isn't this too much?"

Lucario wanted revenge on what they did to Gardevoir but he didn't want to take it too far. Their friends glanced at each other. What pokémon was Ash going to use that was stronger than all the ones in front of them combined?

"Yes I'm sure and no, it's not too much. I'm done playing games," replied Ash. "This isn't about revenge Lucario. It's about justice. They will answer for their crimes. They will not get what they want and will learn that they cannot just do as they please."

"Alright Master. But please, control yourself. You know Gardevoir will not be happy if you let loose."

Ash didn't respond as Lucario bowed his head. Before he left, he faced the vile group and growled at them loudly. He then left, moving quickly, carrying Gardevoir to the pokémon center, telling her she'll be fine soon. Pikachu was moving beside them with his guard still up. Misty and May called out to Ash as they drew closer to him.

"Ash stop!"

"You don't need to do this!"

But Ash shook his head as he held up a hand to them so they stop.

"While we're young! No matter what pokémon you bring out, you won't win against us!" jeered Tracey. The others with him sniggered and laughed stupidly.

"I've tried to be civil…" Ash began, right hand gripping the poke ball and shaking slightly from the fury engulfing him. The poke ball began shaking as well. The pokémon inside had felt the anger of his trainer.

"I gave you a chance…." He turned around and glared at them with narrowed eyes burning with rage. His friends caught a glimpse of it in his eyes as he turned, making them flinch.

"But you just had to spit in my face. You just had to bother the girls again. And you ganged up on my Gardevoir! No, you will not win, you will not have what you desire with such evil intentions and YOU. WILL. FACE. JUSTICE!" roared Ash as he tossed his poke ball in the air.

A flash of bright white light and then an ear splitting roar escaped from the ball, causing everyone besides Ash to close their ears. The ground shook a little and everyone saw a huge orange red dragon with two horns on its head, large powerful wings, long sturdy tail with a large flame at the tip and two arms with razor sharp claws on them. Charizard spread opened its wings and roared again, flames shooting out of its mouth into the air.

"What a magnificent Charizard!" whispered Cilan as Iris gasped at the sight of the dragon.

"Brock, is that the same Charizard?" asked Misty in wonder.

"Yea, but it's so much bigger now," answered Brock.

"It's not just bigger. It's stronger too. You can tell by the size of his tail's flame. It's much larger than other Charizard," added Gary in awe.

"Charizard!" called out Ash, making Charizard turn his head towards him. "It's time to teach these punks a lesson."

Charizard glanced at the group of pokémon in front of them and scoffed, spitting out a small flame in front of him, utterly disregarding them as a threat. He wanted a real fight and had felt Ash's rage and thought he was going to battle a tough foe.

"Don't underestimate them….They ganged up on Gardevoir and hurt her badly."

Charizard snapped his head back at Ash making eye contact with his trainer, as if peering into his soul and soon growled loudly. Now the dragon knew why Ash was angered. Slowly, Charizard turned to face his opponents. No not opponents. In Charizard's eyes, they were now his sworn enemies for hurting Gardevoir. He and many others of their comrades viewed her as a little sister, since they found her scared, alone and beaten to within an inch of her life. They had all promised to take care of her no matter what. He roared at the soon to be roasted enemies.

"Charizard's pissed!"

"You think Max?!" his sister May replied.

"Charizard are highly prideful pokémon. They don't fight with pokémon that are weaker than themselves, only fighting equal or stronger opponents. And they are fair fighters. However, they are also very protective of their friends and family. Since Gardevoir's one of Charizard's friends, and the fact that they ganged up on her has pressed many buttons at once; not fighting fairly, hurting his friend, attempting to hurt Ash, bothering us, taking unfair advantage…. Basically, Charizard is furious now and only getting angrier," lectured Gary.

"Like I said, it doesn't matter who you choose. Marill, Hydro Pump!" boasted Tracey, commanding his pokémon to attack.

The small round blue pokémon fired a huge torrent of water right at Charizard. It hit square against his chest.

"Yes! Direct hit! Wait…WHAT?!"

Tracey was in shock. Charizard was still standing after a direct hit. The only things that changed were his growling got louder and his tail's flame became even bigger. Even Ash's group was stunned that Charizard gave no reaction at all to the super effective attack.

"Electabuzz, Thunder!" yelled Rudy.

A huge pillar of yellow electric energy dropped down from above, slamming into Charizard. Even though the giant dragon like pokémon was covered in water and amplified the power of the electric attack, Charizard still kept standing. He even took a couple steps forward, his growling turning into a loud snarl and his tail's flame grew larger yet again.

"No way in hell! Not after a Hydro Pump! He should've been cooked alive!" cried out Rudy.

"How did that not do any damage?" asked Joy, awestruck.

"Probably from sheer willpower and incredible strength. That Charizard is no ordinary Charizard," answered Richie.

Ash crossed his arms as Charizard took another step forward.

"Charizard is one of my most powerful pokémon. He has trained to shrug off those types of attacks, especially from low level pokémon. It'll take more than that to stop him. Surrender now!"

"No matter how strong he is, he can't withstand us all! Everyone, fire at once now!" yelled Tracey. The hated group shouted commands to their pokémon at the same time.

"Marill, Hydro Pump!"

"Electabuzz, Thunder!"

"Empoleon, Ice Beam!"

"Exeggutor, Solar Beam!"

"Roserade, Leaf Storm!"

"Flygon, Dragon Pulse!"

"NOOOOOOO!" yelled out Ash's friends. A massive explosion occurred as the powerful attacks hit their mark at the same time, sending up a thick smokescreen.

"Ha ha ha! So much for your speech Ash and your so called powerful Charizard!" sneered Tracey while laughing and his posse joined in.

Ash's friends were anxious and inpatient as they waited for the smoke to clear. Even the unknown bystanders had fearful and concerned looks on their faces. Slowly, the smoke faded away and they began seeing a faint red sphere in the middle of it. As the smoke cleared, the red sphere grew brighter.

"What the fuck is that?" asked Drew, his smile disappearing.

The smoke finally cleared and they saw what the red sphere was. Charizard had wrapped itself in a circle of heat and had brought his wrings in front of him, which were coated in a metallic shine. The sphere went away and Charizard once again spread out its wings, returning to their normal color and give an even louder roar than before. His eyes narrowed in fury and the flame on its tail was almost as large as the pokémon itself now.

"Impossible! All the attacks made contact! How the hell is he still standing?!" screamed Kenny.

"Ah, I see what he did. Very smart and I'm impressed he was able to pull off such a difficult combo maneuver." Remarked Gary as Brock and Cilan nodded in understanding.

"What? What did he do Gary?" asked Iris immediately, everyone listening to find out as they kept their eyes glued on the dragon.

"Charizard used Heat Wave to cover himself in a flame cocoon, while using Steel Wing to put up an extra layer of defense. Using the heat from the sphere of flames, the extra layer of density from Steel Wing, add that to Charizard's already resilient body and you've got an almost impenetrable defense, which all but the most powerful attacks from the most powerful pokémon can punch through. And look at his tail. The size of Charizard's flame on his tail shows how angry he is right? Right now he's at his peak rage. You feel the extreme heat coming off of him? You should because I'm sweating like crazy right now. Anyway, that rage and heat also helped him shrug off those attacks. Ash used Charizard's rage to boost not only his attack, but his defense too," lectured Gary.

"I didn't know Charizard can do that," whispered Serena. They all stared in awe at the dragon. Ash spoke to Tracey and the others.

"As much as I don't want to, as much as I hate you right now, I will still give you one last chance to apologize and leave with your integrity intact."

"What?" Tracey was outraged and seemed to have lost his mind at that moment. "Fuck you! Fuck all of you! Misty, go screw yourself with your pokémon! By the way Gary, you're sister was a horrible lay!"

"Why you piece of shit, I'm gonna…" Gary threw out every cuss word and insult he knew at Tracey as Brock, Richie and Cilan had grabbed a hold of the now furious researcher, to hold him back.

"Better them than you!" yelled out Misty in anger.

"Dee-Dee if you don't come with me now than we are done!" yelled Kenny. Dawn merely held up her middle finger at him as she gave him a death look. "Fine, screw you, you whore!"

"May, come with me and let's leave all this behind," pleaded Drew. May gave him a look of disgust and crossed her arms. "So be it! I will find a better woman that isn't a slut!"

"THAT'S IT! CHARIZARD FINISH THIS!" shouted Ash in rage.

Charizard roared again and a red outline glowed around his body as he focused his power to the attack. A sphere of fiery energy appeared in front of the dragon's mouth and grew larger and larger. Ash's friends and the bystanders were amazed at the dragon's power, unlike Tracey and his group, who sweat dropped and grew scared at the horrifying sight.

"Quick! Attack! Fight! Do something!" screamed Tracey, Kenny, Rudy and Drew at their pokémon, but their pokémon didn't move; the sight of Charizard still standing after their combined assault had shaken them to their core, frozen from fear that this monster of a pokémon didn't have the slightest scratch on him after their combined attack.

"BLAST BURN!" roared Ash.

Charizard fired the most powerful fire type attack. A large ball of fire was shot at his enemies, a stream of bright yellow, orange and red flames trailing behind it as it flew towards their target. The ball of flames hit the victims and expanded. It engulfed them in a great vortex of fire before finally letting off a huge explosion that sent its targets blasting far away from where they were as smoke filled the area. After the smoke cleared, Charizard roared in victory, letting out another stream of fire into the air from its mouth.

"Great job Charizard. I doubt they'll bother us again." Ash rubbed Charizard's back in appreciation and Charizard nodded before giving him a grin. Ash returned him and glanced at the others.

"I'm going to go check on Gardevoir." He sprinted past them back to the pokémon center. The others looked at him for a moment and then followed him. They silently agreed to give him some space for a little bit.

They arrived at the pokémon center about ten minutes after Ash did. Joy led them to the emergency medical wards and they saw through the room window that Ash and Lucario were sitting beside Gardevoir as she lay on the bed, sleeping. Pikachu was curled up on the bed, next to Gardevoir. Silent tears were flowing down Ash's cheeks. Lucario sensed that some of the girls wanted to come in so he stepped out of the room, allowing them to enter. The girls huddled around Gardevoir's bed; tears flowing down their cheeks as well at the sight of the battered and bruised fairy pokémon on the bed before them. Misty hugged Ash, his hat still on her head and sobbed loudly into his shoulder. Ash made no reaction whatsoever, still staring at Gardevoir.

"I-I'm so s-sorry Ash! It was m-my fault! I tried to keep her from battling t-them but she wouldn't listen! I should ha-have kept my p-pokémon with me! I would've been able to keep them from cheating and attacking her when she was distracted!"

Misty continued crying without saying another word. The three other girls didn't add anything else and just stood beside the bed while they cried quietly. Ash was silent for a long time. He then spoke but with no emotion and continued staring at Gardevoir.

"It's not your fault Misty. The only one who should be blamed, whose fault it is, is mine and mine alone. I brought her here. I left her alone. I convinced her to come as I promised to always protect her and to never let anything happen to her. I had found her when she was still a Kirlia, alone, beaten almost to death, hungry and scared. I made a vow to her that I would never let any of that happened to her again. I have failed in that promise. I have not kept my word. I am not worthy of her trust, her friendship…I am not worthy of being a trainer."

Ash hung his head, tears escaping from him as they fell to the ground. Misty sobbed even harder as May, Dawn and Serena sat down on the empty chairs in the room, sad and teary eyed after hearing Ash's confession.

"You're wrong Ash."

Ash looked up at Gardevoir as Misty glanced at the hurt pokémon as she separated from Ash. She had opened her eyes slightly and was speaking with telepathy. Her soft and angelic voice was still there but it was weak. Pikachu patted her hand, earning himself a smile from her. Lucario appeared out of nowhere and knelt by her other side, holding her other hand gently.

"Comrade, it is great to hear your voice again," Lucario said happily. Gardevoir made a small smile as she glanced at Lucario. She then turned back to face Ash.

"How can you say that? I promised to keep you safe no matter what. Especially after all the horrible things you've already gone through," said Ash sadly.

"You are not responsible for those past crimes nor are you responsible for the acts of evil people and their pokémon today. It is not your fault that I got hurt. They fought unfairly and took advantage when I was distracted, which I should have foreseen. I wished to protect my friends Ash, the best I could, as you have done so many times and I would do it again in a heartbeat."

"But that's my job! I don't care about me getting hurt! That's fine in my book! But I can't stand it if anyone else does! And I had promised!" choked out Ash. He was beginning to lose himself.

"And the fact that you feel remorse for what others have done, when it's especially not your fault, shows that you care beyond measure. I'm glad that a trainer such as you found me and took me in. I am proud to be your pokémon, your friend. I am also proud that you ended the confrontation, not with vengeance in your heart but with justice, to teach them a lesson. I know that you gave them multiple chances to apologize for their crimes and change their ways, and that is a good thing."

Gardevoir took a moment to catch her breath before continuing on.

"You saw that there was no good in their hearts, that they would not stop even when facing defeat and that they would continue their ways if given the chance. That is when you unleashed your fury upon them. You fought to protect out of love, like you always have. That is only one of the many qualities that you possess that make you a great person, a great leader for others. This experience will no doubt help you in the future. I can only ask that you stay yourself and not change." Gardevoir finished as her voice weakened and lost consciousness.

"Gardevoir? Gardevoir!"

"It's okay Ash, she's only sleeping as the sleep medicine probably kicked in," said Joy after she checked her vitals.

"Thank Arceus." Ash hung his head.

"Master, I know you are feeling terrible but you should rest for the tournament tomorrow. I shall stay by her side."

"No, I'm okay Lucario. I'm not worried about the tournament."

Misty, May, Dawn and Serena gathered around Ash and collectively picked him up and forced him outside Gardevoir's room. Pikachu followed them, intrigued as to what the girls were doing.

"Stop! What are you doing?" shouted Ash, trying to wiggle out of their grasp.

"You heard Lucario! You need to rest and be ready for tomorrow!" Misty yelled.

Ash struggled harder and Serena motioned the guys to come help. Before they could get involved however, Ash stopped moving. A blue outline appeared around him and kept him from moving. Lucario stepped into the hall, his eyes were glowing blue; he was using Psychic. The girls let him go and stepped aside, alarmed at what Lucario was doing.

"Stop Lucario!" Ash glanced at Pikachu but before Pikachu could do anything, Lucario spoke.

"No Master! I have sworn to help you, to be by your side no matter what and to keep you from making mistakes. You are about to make a mistake! Do not sabotage your tournament, your goals and your plans, because of one tragic event! Yes it is horrible what happened to Gardevoir, but do not think it is only you who suffers! She knew the possible consequences and she will feel even worse if you lose your concentration. I fear this is but a taste of what we may face! We must focus on the bigger picture! Use this to become stronger! Remember what is at stake Master! Honor her by doing what we are meant to do! So stop this self pity right now, clear your head and put your heart back together and do not stain Gardevoir's noble actions with your emotional tantrum!" criticized Lucario as he made Ash slam against the wall with his psychic powers and let him slide down, causing many to scream in shock at what the aura pokémon just did.

Lucario stepped back into the room to be by Gardevoir's side and shut the door. Pikachu was stunned over what just happened and dropped his ears. Ash quickly got back up fuming but didn't move for a moment. He then looked at everyone and then hung his head, his anger quickly disappearing. He stuffed his hands into his jeans' pockets and walked towards the exit, Pikachu following behind him. The girls made to follow him as well but Gary stopped them, telling them he needs to be alone right now.

"I hope he feels better soon. Lucario didn't need to be such a jerk!" whimpered Dawn, as she dropped onto the metal bench in the hallway.

"I wonder what caused Lucario to get so angry," pondered Serena as she sat down next to Dawn.

"Must be something that they haven't told us yet," interjected May as she paced up and down.

"It has to be. But Ash has always felt bad whenever he can't protect or help anyone, and if someone gets even a little hurt on his watch, he feels as if he failed the whole world. Lucario on the other hand sees this as a lesson compared to something else. What did he mean by saying they knew about the possible consequences?" Misty asked as she leaned against the wall, a frown on her face. She pulled off Ash's hat that was still on her and while looking at it, thought of Ash and what the heated confrontation could be about.

"We won't know the full story until Ash and Lucario tell us everything. Until then, we must stay strong, keep our minds open and help out as much as we can," advised Brock.

"Brock's right. We will help out Ashy-boy because you know he'll be lost without us," quipped Gary, earning some chuckles from the group.

"You're such a kid." Iris shook her head. "But you're right, we will help Ash as much as we can and hopefully he will tell us soon about why this mission is so important." Cilan, Richie and Max nodded in agreement.

"So, anybody want to take a bet as to how long it'll take Ash to come back?"

Everyone glared at the young professor.

"Just trying to ease the tension," said Gary while shrugging.

"Ah, excuse me, girls?" The girls looked at Joy. "Can I talk to you alone?" They nodded and followed Joy into an empty room with a circular table and six chairs. Joy closed the door behind them and they all sat around the table.

"What did you need to talk to us about Joy?" Dawn asked as she drew her chair closer to the table.

"It's about Ash…"