The Second Battle Begins...
Chapter 18 - The Second Battle begins...
It was 3pm and they were starting to get restless, inpatient to see Richie's battle against Judy Smith. All of the friends were sitting in the living room attempting to pass the time with small talk and TV but it didn't make the time go any faster. Lucario and Gardevoir were once again talking in the balcony while Pikachu was taking a nap on Misty's lap.
"Ash, does Pikachu always take naps now? I don't remember him being like this before."
"Well not really Misty. I guess since we've been here, he's treating the tournament like a vacation. Back home we're basically training all day, every day but we take breaks and relax too. Just not as much here. I told my pokémon back home to treat these next couple of weeks as a vacation so they're probably doing the same thing."
"Ash, what new pokémon do you have?"
Max wanted to know what new pokémon Ash had captured and trained. He kept asking this question at different times, hoping to catch him off guard and get him to slip something out but he hadn't been successful yet.
"Nice try Max," answered Ash with a smirk.
"Ah come on; just tell me one or two!" begged Max, tugging Ash's sleeve.
"Yea, c'mon tell us! Don't be so secretive!" added May, slapping Ash's arm. He gave May an amused look, making eye contact with her before he chuckled.
"Alright, you want to know who I caught? Hmmm…who should I tell you about…wait…even better, let me show you one of my new pokémon."
Ash held out his hand in front of him and concentrated. Everyone stared at him, confused as to why he would do that. A small blue ball appeared and quickly grew to the size of a regular poke ball, causing some shouts of surprise from his friends. When it stopped growing, the blue glow faded away to reveal a Luxury Ball. He opened the ball and a flash of light later, one of Ash's new pokémon stood on top of the coffee table. A small four legged cat like pokémon appeared, with a jewel in the middle of his forehead, a light purple fur coat and a tail that was split into two halfway down; an Espeon.
"Espe!" said the pokémon and jumped onto Ash, snuggling against his chest while purring.
"Awww! It's so cute!" cried Dawn, absolutely fawning over the pokémon.
"I'm glad to see you too Espeon!" laughed Ash as the purple pokémon licked his cheek. "Espeon, say hello to your new friends!"
Espeon turned around to look at everyone else. She quickly became excited, jumping up and down, completely thrilled to have some new friends to play with.
"Somebody sure is happy," said Misty with a smile as she watched the pokémon jump up and down.
"Yea, she's a very playful pokémon. She's one of my friendlier pokémon and she loves to play all day but she also trains hard too. Isn't that right Espeon?"
"Espe esp!" Espeon licked his cheek again before suddenly jumping onto Dawn, causing her to squeak in surprise since she wasn't expecting that and everyone laughed.
"Looks like she likes you Dawn. Maybe because you're both so bubbly," teased May.
"Eh, you're just jealous she likes me more. Isn't that right Espeon?" Dawn picked her up and hugged her, moving her side to side.
"Espe!" Espeon purred lightly as she cuddled up in the blunette's arms and viewed everyone else from her comfortable position, eyes glinting with happiness.
"What an awesome pokémon! What other pokémon do you have?"
"Nope. No more for today Max. Have to keep some surprises for the tournament."
"Damn it."
"Ash, how'd you bring her here? What was that trick you did?" asked Brock, the others listening as well since they too were curious.
"Oh that. Since my pokémon and I have strong bonds between us, I can use my aura to materialize their poke ball in my hand and summon them, anytime, anyplace. It was hard at first but after some practice it's easy as pie." Ash didn't give them the full details. He didn't think it was necessary right now but he didn't lie either.
"Ah so that's why you don't have any poke balls with you. Very impressive Ashy-boy. But where are your pokémon staying since they're not at Grandpa's ranch anymore?" asked Gary.
"Yea it is. Came in handy several times and I had all of my pokémon go with me when I left three years ago so right now they're just relaxing at the place I went to. Can't say where though, sorry," replied Ash. Before they could ask him why, Richie spoke up.
"Guess what guys?" asked Richie, excited
"What?" asked Max for everyone.
"It's time to go down for my match," grinned Richie.
"Finally! I thought I would die of boredom!" cried out Max dramatically.
May smacked him upside the head, causing her younger brother to yelp a little in pain. The others laughed at his misery as they got up to head out. Pikachu woke up when Ash gently shook him and jumped onto Ash's shoulder. Lucario and Gardevoir joined the group as well. Espeon stayed in Dawn's arms, not wanting to leave her.
"Are you sure you want keep Espeon with you Dawn?"
"Yea, its fine Ash, I don't mind and I'm sure we'll be alright."
"Okay, just let me know if you change your mind."
They walked out of the building with Richie, who became a little upset since he was not able to see Joy before he went to compete in his match, as she wasn't there when they left. Gary noticed his friend's behavior and elbowed Ash lightly.
"Gary, what the-"
"Richie," interrupted Gary. "He missed Joy and now he's a little sad. Kind of pathetic isn't it?"
"Only thing pathetic is you trying to be funny," snorted Ash, causing Gary to stumble a bit.
"Damn it Ash. That's twice you got me today. Oh shit, the world's going to end!" panicked Gary.
Ash rolled his eyes and the ones near them laughed at their antics. Once they reached the stadium, Richie entered the trainer's entrance while the others entered the public one. Ash told them that he'll meet up with them in front of the stadium after his match, since he couldn't watch Richie's battle. He headed back out towards the woods with Gardevoir, Lucario and Pikachu.
"I guess we could do some light training. How about some Gardevoir?" asked Ash.
"Yes, finally some real fun," responded the graceful pokémon.
They headed into the woods and after finding a suitable clearing, Ash put a thirty minute timer on his Poketch.
"We'll train for a bit here and rest before going back to the stadium for my match."
They soon began Gardevoir's training. Ash had Gardevoir practice her teleportation technique while Lucario launched Aura Spheres at her, slowly at first, then picking up speed. Even Lucario sending his Aura Spheres at maximum speed, Gardevoir was still dodging them easily and was now giggling at Lucario, taunting him. Lucario growled, but in a playful way as he attempted to hit her with the spheres. Ash shook his head in amusement at the two.
"So you think it's too easy huh? Okay, Pikachu, add some Thunderbolts into the mix," said Ash, making Gardevoir sweat drop but she remained focused and determined to not get struck.
"Pika!" shouted Pikachu as he fired the powerful electrical bolt of energy at the psychic, but she teleported out of the way. Pikachu then launched several Thunderbolts at random, while Lucario kept launching his spheres as well. Both were trying to trip her up and land a hit though Gardevoir teleported away from the dual attacks but not as easily as before. A couple times she barely dodged the attacks.
"Good job Gardevoir. Now let's see how you do against me." Ash called off Lucario and Pikachu and he gave her a moment to catch her breath. "I want you to intercept this with Psychic. Don't dodge alright?"
Gardevoir nodded and Ash charged up an Aura Sphere, making it a good deal larger than a basketball then tossed it at her. After the blue sphere traveled over half the distance to her, Gardevoir's eyes glowed blue and she caught the sphere in midair. She struggled to maintain control, as Ash was still pushing it as well with his aura.
"Concentrate comrade! You can do it," encouraged Lucario.
"Pi pikachu pika pi pi!" cheered on Pikachu.
Gardevoir tried to push it back but couldn't. After a moment, Ash sensed Gardevoir losing strength rapidly and dissipated the sphere. Gardevoir dropped to her knees, panting heavily. Ash hurried to her and placed an arm around her.
"Hey, good job Gardevoir. I shouldn't have pushed so hard, especially since you just got out of the hospital. That was my fault. I'm sorry." Ash helped her back onto her feet and assisted her in moving back to where Lucario and Pikachu were when she shook her head.
"No, it wasn't too hard and I'm glad that you're not babying me. This shows that I'm not back to full strength yet, even though I thought I was."
Ash smiled at her honesty and after Lucario used Heal Pulse on Gardevoir to help her recover some strength, Ash's alarm went off suddenly. He dismissed it and motioned for them to head back to the stadium and turned to his pokémon as they traveled through the forest.
"Don't worry Gardevoir. You still did great. I'm actually impressed that you were able to do so much so fast. Just do your best and if you need a break, just let us know. I'm all up for good training but not to the extent to hurt ourselves. Deal?"
"Deal," agreed Gardevoir with a smile.
They reached the trainer's entrance and noticed the time; it was 4:50pm. He looked at the battle board and saw that Richie had triumphed and moved on to the next round, having only one of his pokémon faint in the outcome.
"Not bad Richie. Hey, why don't you three go find the others and watch the match with them? Tell them snacks are on me and you three go get whatever it is you want."
Ash took out some money and handed it to Lucario. Gardevoir's eyes glowed blue and the three teleported to where the others were in the stands after locking on to Misty's position the second she sensed her location. Their sudden appearance caused some surprised shouts from amongst the crowd near their friends but soon they quieted down.
"Hey guys. Looks like Ash is back huh?"
"Yes Lady May."
"And he gave us some money to grab snacks. Can we get something please? I'm a little hungry after the training we did," stated Gardevoir as she sat down next to Misty.
"Ash made you train already? I'm going to mallet him!" growled Misty, appalled that he made her train so soon right after she just got out of the hospital.
"It's alright Misty. I wanted it and he stopped the training when it became too much for me. No need to worry," replied Gardevoir hurriedly to make her new friend calm down and it worked as Misty took a breath and relaxed.
"Hey! That's my line!" complained Dawn. Everyone laughed as Brock stood up.
"I'll go get the snacks." Lucario handed him the money as Pikachu jumped onto Brock's shoulder. "So you're coming to huh?"
"Pika!" nodded Pikachu.
"One guess as to why he's going," said Serena.
"Ketchup," replied the group together. After a few minutes, Brock and Pikachu returned, the yellow mouse holding a bottle of ketchup and grinning. The others laughed at his obsession while Brock handed out popcorn, chips, pretzels and drinks to everyone. Gardevoir started munching on the popcorn and pretzels while Lucario didn't take anything. He merely sat up straight in his seat next to Gardevoir and grimaced slightly as he watched her eat the snacks so quickly, thinking that she must be very hungry since he never saw her eat like that before. As soon as Brock took his seat, the announcer spoke over the speaker system.
"THANK YOU FOR BEING PATIENT FOLKS! OUR LAST MATCH OF THE DAY WILL BE BETWEEN JACK THOMPSON IN THE RED BOX VERSUS ASH KETCHUM IN THE GREEN BOX!"
The crowd roared in approval as the two trainers walked onto the field from opposite ends. This was the match everyone was waiting for that day. They all wanted to see the raven haired trainer battle.
"Wow, is it just me or is the crowd louder?" asked Serena.
"They're definitely louder since Richie's match. Looks like Ash's first battle with Pidgeot seemed to spark everyone's interest," mused Cilan.
Ash and Jack meet up in the middle of the field where the referee was at, giving them both a microphone, which they attached to their shirts then shook hands. Jack was a well built trainer who wore clothes similar to that of a Pokémon Ranger, wearing green shorts, brown hiking boots, a black shirt and a green short sleeved jacket.
"I heard about your first match. You're opponent forfeit. That won't happen with me. I will win."
"We'll see Jack."
Ash's calm demeanor and the little words he used as he spoke made many people in the stands gossip excitedly. The trainers went to their respective boxes, ready to start the battle.
"Okay, you know the rules. This will be a three versus three battle, one on one, no Mega evolutions allowed, no time limit, substitutions allowed. Are you ready?" Both trainers nodded. "Let the battle begin!"
Both trainers tossed out poke balls and two pokémon appeared instantly.
"AND THE BATTLE BETWEEN ASH AND JACK BEGINS! JACK SENT OUT AN ABOMASNOW WHILE ASH SENT OUT A FLYGON! BAD BREAK AGAIN FOR THE PALLET TOWN TRAINER! HIS POKEMON IS FOUR TIMES AS WEAK TO ICE TYPE ATTACKS!"
Iris shivered when she saw the part ice type pokémon. Cilan noticed that and threw an arm around her and brought her close to calm her. Iris thanked him quietly and returned to watch the match.
"No way, Ash has a Flygon?!" Max had gotten up, leaning over the railing to get a better look. May grabbed her brother from the back of his shirt and pulled him back down to keep him from falling over.
"That Flygon looks strong indeed. Look at how shiny his wings and eyes are. They show how strong that particular species of pokémon is the shinier it gets. But I don't know if Ash should use him against Abomasnow. That four times weakness could end him with a single powerful shot," expressed Brock.
"Don't worry Brock. Ash must have a plan. I won't doubt him again after last time," replied Misty confidently. Lucario, Gardevoir and Pikachu nodded in agreement over her words.
Back on the field, Jack looked at his opponent and he laughed a bit as he thought something; too easy.
"I'm not going to make a mistake like that girl in the first match did Ash from what I've heard! I won't go easy on you and give up an easy win! And I don't underestimate my opponents!" said Jack but Ash merely crossed his arms and smiled.
"HEY!"
Ash's friends heard a female's voice shout out against the remark and looked around. They found the voice belonging to Sarah Wiseman, sitting a few rows behind them watching the fight. Gary looked at her intently for a couple seconds, her attractive face and figure had captured his attention before he was able to face the field again with a thought going through his mind; damn, she's hot!
"Cocky are we? Alright then take this! Abomasnow, Blizzard!" ordered Jack. The grass and ice type brought forth a furious cold wind with ice and snow around him, heading towards Flygon.
"Dig." Flygon dug underground with such speed, he evaded the attack with no problem.
"I figured as much. Earthquake!" The white and green pokémon jumped up and slammed against the ground, causing the ground to tremble violently. They heard no sound after the attack stopped.
"Earth Power." The ground underneath Abomasnow started shaking and a powerful blast of rocks and dirt shot up from below, hitting its opponent, causing the pokémon to fall backwards while Flygon shot out of the whole.
"Quick, Ice Punch!"
"Counter with Fire Punch."
Abomasnow got up and both pokémon had their hands glow, one white and the other red. They attacked, hitting each other's fists, struggling to overtake the other.
"Flamethrower."
"Ice Beam!" screamed Jack.
Both pokémon fired their elemental attacks at point blank range and an explosion occurred when the attacks collided against each other, smoke covering the field. A moment later the dust cleared and there stood Abomasnow and Flygon, both still standing in front of their trainers, ready to go another round.
"Wow, that Abomasnow is tough," said Dawn.
"Looks like it won't be so easy for Ash-boy," joked Gary.
"Shut up Oak!" yelled May as she glared at him.
"Please, all of you calm down and relax," said Lucario. "Master is testing his opponent's strength."
"Testing? Are you serious?"
"Yes Lady Serena. Watch and see." The friends turned their attentions back onto the field with inpatient eyes. Unknown to them, Sarah had overheard their conversation.
Is he really that strong? How could anyone be that powerful? And who are these people? Wait, I remember the red head. Was she his girlfriend or something? They must be his friends though that's for sure. I must know more about them and him, thought Sarah before turning her attention back to the match when she heard Ash's voice.
"You alright Flygon?" Flygon let out a loud roar in response. "I know buddy, just checking," chuckled Ash.
How could he be so calm? He's up against my pokémon that his is extremely weak to, thought Jack.
"If you're not going to attack then I will. Solar Beam!" shouted Jack and his Abomasnow gathered energy, charging up his attack.
"Dragon Rush," ordered Ash. Flygon glowed blue as draconian energy surrounded him. Once he gathered the energy needed, Flygon charged at Abomasnow at the same time the ice and grass pokémon fired the powerful green beam. The beam and cackling blue sphere that was Flygon struck head on, each attempting to push against the other. The crowd was going crazy over the power struggle.
"Good job Flygon! Now, finish this! Full power!"
"What?!" cried out Jack in horror as he watched Flygon push the beam rapidly back towards his opponent. "Dodge it!"
It was no use, as Flygon was too fast and Abomasnow was too slow. The dragon pokémon overpowered the green beam and slammed into Abomasnow, causing him to fly into the wall behind Jack and then slide down to the ground with his eyes in swirls.
"Abomasnow is unable to battle. Flygon wins!"
The stadium erupted in cheers as Flygon returned to his trainer's side as Jack returned his pokémon.
"Not bad Ash. But don't underestimate this pokémon!" Jack sent out his second pokémon, which was a Magnezone.
"Magne!" yelled out the large magnet pokémon, shooting a few sparks out form its attached magnets.
"That Magnezone looks powerful!"
Pikachu growled and sparks shot out from his cheeks at Iris's comment, making Serena laugh a bit.
"Don't worry Pikachu, we know you're stronger."
"Pika!" Pikachu crossed his arms and nodded, causing the others to laugh as well.
"Good job Flygon! Return!" Ash called back his dragon pokémon.
"WHAT'S THIS? ASH HAS CALLED HIS FLYGON BACK! HE HAD THE TYPE ADVANTAGE BUT PERHARPS HIS POKEMON WAS TOO TIRED? WHAT IS HE PLANNING?"
Ash tossed out a poke ball and a large dinosaur pokémon with big jaws, short arms and a long powerful tail appeared, roaring as it emerged.
"ASH HAS SENT OUT TYRANTRUM, A RARE AND POWERFUL FOSSIL POKEMON!"
"What the hell? When did he get a Tyrantrum?" Gary got up to get a better look at the rare pokémon.
"How did he get one Lucario?"
Lucario shook his head at Brock's question. "You'll have to ask him that."
"Amazing," whispered Sarah. She couldn't believe what she saw. Tyrantrum are supposed to be almost impossible to get, only if one is lucky enough to find a fossil but even then, the chances of reviving it are slim and costly. How did he get one?
Tyrantrum roared and stomped his feet, making small tremors in the ground that shook the stadium a bit, itching to get started.
"WE'VE GOT ONE INPATIENT DINOSUAR FOLKS! I WOULDN'T WANT TO BE FACING HIM RIGHT NOW! BUT MAGNEZONE HAS THE ADVANTAGE, BEING PART STEEL TYPE. WILL THE ANCIENT POKEMON BE STRONG ENOUGH WITH HIS WEAKNESS AS A ROCK TYPE?"
"Magnezone! Don't underestimate him! Flash Cannon!" Magnezone shot a beam of white energy at the large jaw pokémon.
"Do a barrel roll." Tyrantrum rolled to the side, dodging the attack and landing on his feet.
"Thunderbolt!" Ordered Jack immediately after, taking advantage of the slow movement of his opponent. Magnezone fired a powerful bolt of electricity at the dinosaur. It was way too fast to dodge.
"Take the hit then close the distance."
"WHAT!" His friends shouted but Lucario, Gardevoir and Pikachu smirked.
The T-Rex like pokémon took the electric attack and let it run through his body without resistance. The electrical current flowed quickly through and ended up doing very slight damage as the fossil pokémon was resistant to it naturally and had grounded his tail against the ground. Once finished, Tyrantrum shook himself, shaking off the electric feeling. He roared even louder and charged towards the electric pokémon. Jack was in shock. The attack did nothing except piss him off.
"Magnezone! Rapid fire Mirror Shots! Stop him in his tracks!" Magnezone quickly shot blast after blast of white energy balls at the dinosaur pokémon. Some of the attacks made contact, but Tyrantrum kept charging forward.
"TYRANTRUM ISN'T GOING DOWN WITHOUT A FIGHT! EVEN AFTER TAKING A DIRECT THUNDERBOLT TO THE FACE AND SEVERAL STRONG MIRROR SHOTS, HE'S STILL RUNNING AT FULL SPEED! THIS IS ONE STUBBORN POKEMON!"
"I get it now. Damn, why didn't I think of it before?" said Gary. Brock and Cilan murmured their agreement as they understood.
"What do you mean?" asked Dawn.
"Tyrantrum is part Rock type and Dragon type so the Thunderbolt, even though powerful, hardly affected him and especially since he grounded himself with his tail. Looks like all it did was just piss him off. Because of his anger, the normally super effective Mirror Shots are just being ignored, even though they are damaging him," explained Gary.
"It's genius really, using type advantage in that case and using his pokémon's own nature to increase his chances of winning. Looks like Ash has really grown these past three years," added Brock and Misty agreed with Brock's words as they turned their attention back to the match.
"Good job buddy! Fire Fang!" shouted Ash. Tyrantrum was too close to Magnezone for Jack's comfort and Ash's command completely caught him off guard.
"Magnezone! Flash Cannon up close!" Magnezone fired his attack directly into Tyrantrum's face as the dinosaur clamped his now enflamed teeth on the magnet pokémon. Both cried out in agony but Tyrantrum held on and bit down harder on the steel and electric pokémon.
Impressive. Magnezone should've gone down with that one attack because of Tyrantrum's Strong Jaw ability. It must have the Sturdy ability. Well, time to finish this, thought Ash.
"Magnezone, finish with Thunder!"
"Tyrantrum, Crunch!"
Magnezone summoned a large and powerful lightning bolt to slam down onto the dinosaur pokémon before it could begin its attack. Even though it was resistant against electrical attacks, the energy of the move was so great it caused him to cry out in pain, letting go of his opponent and pushing him back. Magnezone looked drained after finishing his attack and slowly floated down to the ground, exhausted but still conscious. Tyrantrum advanced to deliver his finishing blow.
"Tyrantrum! Stop!" The dinosaur stopped his attack in time and turned his head to look at the raven haired trainer. Ash made a signal at the dinosaur who understood what he meant and slowly backed away from Magnezone.
"Why didn't he finish the attack?" asked Max.
"Because Magnezone is exhausted and can't defend himself anymore. It used up all its energy on the last attack and can't go on. Ash is a fair battler and wouldn't finish off a match like that if he didn't have to," answered Brock.
Sarah's eyes widened at what she saw and heard from the spiky haired man. She had moved closer to them but not too much. She's never seen anyone with such sportsmanship. Everyone she's faced before were always arrogant or smug about their victories and never showed any mercy to their opponents. She was very impressed by his actions.
"NOW THAT'S SPORTSMANSHIP! ASH CALLED BACK HIS POKEMON BEFORE HE COULD SERIOUSLY INJURE MAGNEZONE! THIS TRAINER HAS HEART AND IS FAIR!"
The four girls smiled at the announcer's kind words, knowing that it's true while the crowd screamed its approval. Some called him the Ash the Merciful while girls screamed out that they love Ash, causing the four girls to get jealous looks on their faces, making the others glance at each other, thinking of the worst. Yet, when they noticed that Ash was paying attention to his opponent only, they all relaxed.
Jack returned his Magnezone, thanking him for doing his best. He looked at Ash and Tyrantrum. The dinosaur looked a little tired, but not what he was hoping for. He smiled a bit before he pulled out his last pokémon's poke ball.
"You've done well Ash. Not many have been able to put up a decent fight against me but you're different. My last pokémon is no push over! I didn't think I would need him to beat you! Go! Dragonite!" shouted Jack, tossing the poke ball into the air. A tall and bulky pokémon appeared, with small wings, two antennas on its head, large claws and with a long strong tail, roaring as it appeared.
"This is going to be tough. Dragonite are by nature extremely strong. I'm surprised he even has one," said Iris, as she shot praise over the dragon pokémon. She loved them more than any other type.
"Well, Ash does have two dragon pokémon with him," countered Serena.
"That's true Serena, but they're both tired. Then again, maybe they still have the energy," replied Iris.
"Good choice Jack!" Ash praised his opponent out as he returned Tyrantrum, thanking him for the battle. Everyone awaited his next pokemon. "This should be interesting," muttered Ash as took out a poke ball from underneath his jacket.
"Who do you think he's going to use?" asked Max.
"Charizard maybe? I don't know who else could compete with Dragonite," worried Misty. Lucario, Gardevoir and Pikachu sniggered. "What's so funny?"
"You'll see Lady Misty," answered Lucario as he pointed at the field.
Ash tossed out his poke ball. Everyone in the stadium held their breath, waiting to see who his third pokémon will be. A tall two legged pokémon appeared, covered with red and yellow feathers, thick strong legs and long toned arms with flames around his wrists along with large split feathers coming down from the back of its head.
"Blaze!" roared the pokémon as it took up a fighting stance.
"ASH HAS CHOSEN BLAZIKEN! WILL THIS FIRE AND FIGHTING POKEMON BE STRONG ENOUGH TO COMPETE WITH THE MYTHICAL DRAGONITE?"
"I can't believe he has a Blaziken just like me!" May was ecstatic. "Show them how strong Blaziken are Ash!" she yelled out to her love, who heard her. He turned to face her and the others before smiling back and gave her a nod.
"I wonder just how many new pokémon has Ash caught and trained," thought Max out loud and they just shrugged in response while Pikachu sniggered.
In the VIP room, Goodshow and his guests were there, watching the matches. So far they were mildly attentive with the previous battles that day since they didn't show much to be interested in besides the usual expected performances but were completely impressed with Ash, awed by his strength and battle style. Yet his choice of using Blaziken against Dragonite baffled them, completely confused by Ash's choice. It made them very curious.
"Jack's Dragonite is going to pose a problem for him," commented one of the guests, a woman who was wearing a white coat.
"Perhaps. But that boy's Dragonite is nowhere near as strong as mine," said the spiky dark haired man.
"Of course not my fellow Champion, but it's still a Dragonite," the woman shot back.
"Have you even looked at the Blaziken? You can feel the confidence and strength it has. This will be no easy match for sure," shared a tall muscular man. He was wearing a karate uniform.
"Let's see what happens," interrupted a silver haired man in a suit, before they continued and caused the other guests to get involved.
"I agree. Let us watch and see what he plans to do," replied a blond woman. She wanted to see just how much stronger the raven haired trainer had become since the last time they had seen each other, which now that she thought about it, wasn't really at a good time. She cleared her head after thinking some thoughts and focused on the match once more.
"Blaziken? Really? After two dragon pokémon, you use him? I'm kind of let down. They're strong sure, but against my Dragonite?" Jack shook his head and shrugged. Ash continued smiling.
"Oh don't you worry. We've got a surprise for you." Blaziken took up a fighting stance and glared at Dragonite, who scoffed.
"If that's the case, we'll start off strong at once! Dragonite! Dragon Claw!"
"Fire Punch!"
Both Dragonite and Blaziken shot forward with amazing speed and attacked, each of them landing their hits and taking a step back from the impact.
"Blaze Kick!"
"Wing Attack!"
The fire pokémon engulfed his leg with fire and smashed it against the dragon's side, causing it to grunt in pain. The dragon quickly recovered and struck back with its wings, making the fire type step back.
"Flamethrower!"
"Dragon Breath!"
Both let out a torrent of flames, one red and yellow, the other purple, in close proximity of each other. People in the stands thought there would be a power struggle but the colliding flames soon exploded, covering the field with smoke. Dragonite flew up into the air, hovering a good distance away, leaving his opponent in the smoke.
"Good work Dragonite! Get a Dragon Pulse ready and when you get a shot take it!" Dragonite powered up the attack, waiting for his chance.
"Sky Uppercut!"
Blaziken used its incredibly strong leg muscles to jump out of the smoke, high into the air, its fist glowing white. It landed a devastating punch into Dragonite's stomach who was shocked still at being followed into the air and didn't react. The attack caused the mythical pokémon to fire the beam of draconian energy prematurely and off aim, barely grazing against Blaziken's shoulder. The two dropped back down onto the ground. The falcon pokémon landed on its strong legs and rolled to offset the pressure of the land and the dragon pokémon slowed itself down at the last second before crashing into the ground. Both of them got up immediately after, ready for their next bout.
"INCREDIBLE! BOTH POKEMON ARE STILL STANDING! WHAT AN AMAZING BATTLE! THIS IS ANYONE'S MATCH AT THIS POINT!"
The crowd gossiped and shouted their cheers while many were too awestruck to even make a sound. Sarah was so absorbed into the battle, that she didn't realize she had gotten up from her seat and was at the guard rail, leaning over it to look at the battle. Gary saw her, taking in her beauty, dressed in a white skirt that reached halfway down her slender thighs and a tight blue shirt that showed off her bust before nudging Brock, who glanced at him.
"Looks like we have a fan," whispered Gary.
"Oh man, I hope the girls don't notice," whispered Brock. "Wait, isn't that Sarah from the first match?"
"I think it is. Reminds me of the old days when I used to travel with fangirls. Looks like Ash has his first hot groupie," smirked Gary, speaking a little too loudly.
"Ash has what Gary?" asked Misty, not looking away from the battle.
"Ah, I said Ash has a good chance to win if he doesn't blow it," lied Gary quickly, sweating.
"Oh okay."
Gary and Brock both sighed in relief. They didn't want to get mixed up in a catfight right now even though they both would've enjoyed seeing it. They returned their attention to the battle that was still continuing on after the dragon and falcon traded quick strikes against the other.
"Blaziken, you good?" Blaziken let out a battle cry.
"Dragonite, you ready for more?" Dragonite roared in response.
"Alright. Thunder Punch!"
"Dragon Breath!"
Dragonite let out a torrent of purple draconian flames at Blaziken, who quickly used some impressive acrobatics to dodge them while getting closer and landed an electrified punch against its target's face, stopping the flames instantly.
"Dragon Claw!" Dragonite countered with his powered up claw, grazing against the falcon pokémon's chest, making him take a couple steps back.
"Overheat!"
"Flamethrower!"
Both pokémon released powerful flames at each other, meeting in the middle, each attempting to overtake the other. Blaziken's Overheat soon overpowered Dragonite's Flamethrower and plowed through, dispelling the dragon's flames, hitting its mark. Dragonite cried out in pain as the flames burned him.
"Dragonite, use Twister! Push the flames away!"
Dragonite flapped his small but powerful wings and pushed the flames back away from him. Blaziken stopped his attack and back flipped towards Ash. As he landed onto his feet, his arm twitched a bit, the one on the same side where Dragon Pulse grazed the shoulder.
"You alright buddy?"
Ash had noticed the twitch. His bonds with his pokémon had grown stronger over the past few years, and were practically unbreakable, even with his newer pokémon like Blaziken. He could understand what they were thinking and feeling at any time.
"Blaze!" Blaziken nodded and took up a battle stance again. Dragonite stood tall still and glared at them.
It looked like it had plenty of fight left.
"It'll take more than that to finish us!" said Jack. Dragonite roared and flapped its wings. It grimaced for a split second as it raised its claws above him to show off its prowess and determination to keep battling. Ash noticed the injury and so did Blaziken.
"True, but it looks like I'm nearing that amount," said Ash.
"What? You're bluffing. My Dragonite is far too strong!"
Ash and Blaziken smirked.
"He is strong. But not strong enough."
"We'll show you! Dragonite! Dragon Rush!" Dragonite covered itself in blue draconian energy and shot forward quickly.
"Flare Blitz!" Blaziken covered himself with swirling red flames and charged at the rushing dragon. The red sphere and blue sphere collided, causing a shockwave to occur from their energies as they slammed into each other, making some people in the stands that were standing to lose their balance and stumble around. They were both trying to overcome the other.
"You can do it Dragonite! Show them whose boss!" Dragonite growled and pushed Blaziken back a bit.
"Spin and grab him!" shouted Ash. Blaziken spun to the side quickly, causing Dragonite to lurch forward and the falcon pokémon grabbed its tail when it moved past him.
"Superpower!" Blaziken had a red outline glow around him before lifting the great dragon and slamming him against the ground. He picked him up again and back down with even greater force.
"No! Dragonite, get up! Counter with Dragon Claw!" Dragonite got up and landed a last ditch Dragon Claw on Blaziken's side but struggled to remain on his feet as Blaziken took a step back, hurt but ready for more.
"Time's up Jack. Dual Chop followed by Blaze Kick!" said Ash with a grin. Blaziken delivered two powerful strikes against Dragonite's head and finished up with an enflamed kick to the dragon's side, sending him flying back towards Jack, crashing into the ground and sliding several feet until he stopped.
"Dragonite! Please get up!" pleaded Jack. Dragonite tried to pick himself up but its arms trembled violently and gave way. Dragonite slumped back onto the ground.
"Dragonite is unable to battle! Jack has no more pokémon to use! The winner is Ash Ketchum!" yelled the referee.
"WHAT A BATTLE! ASH HAS WON HIS SECOND MATCH OF THE TOURNAMENT WITHOUT LOSING A SINGLE POKEMON! WHAT AN INCREDIBLE DISPLAY OF SKILL AND STRENGTH!"
The crowd cheered for Ash as he returned Blaziken, after he thanked him for a great battle. Jack returned his Dragonite as well and both trainers met up in the middle of the field.
"That was a great battle Ash. Good luck in your future battles at the tournament."
"Thanks Jack. You were pretty good. I had to think outside the box. Oh and you should have the Pokémon Center take a look at your Dragonite. I think it might have sustained a serious injury on its side." Jack was taken aback at his thoughtfulness.
"I'll do just that right now. Thanks Ash. Take care."
"See ya."
Jack left via the trainer's exit. The people started to exit the stadium and Ash looked for his friends and he quickly found them. He pointed at the exit, conveying that he would meet them at the end, which they agreed.
"What did I tell you?" said the man in the karate uniform to the woman in the white coat. She didn't respond but merely frowned. The blond woman had a smile form on her face.
"I think his Blaziken could take on your Dragonite as well," said the blond woman to the spiky haired man with the red and black cape.
He scoffed at that statement and left the room. The blond woman turned her attention back to the field in time to see the raven haired trainer leave it, entering the exit tunnel. She smiled as a thought ran across her head; it's been way too long but he's finally back.
Ash, his pokémon and his friends headed out and met up at the exit. Pikachu jumped onto Ash's shoulder, a happy expression on his face for winning the match. Ash returned Espeon, who had surprisingly fallen asleep in Dawn's arms even with all the loud noises going on at the stadium.
"That was amazing Ash!" complimented Misty as she hugged him and he returned the hug with a smile.
"Thanks Misty. Dragonite was a little tough, but everything worked out."
"A little tough? You man handled it like it was just an overgrown serpent with wings!" yelled Max causing Iris to scowl; she didn't like that a strong dragon pokémon lost to a pokémon that it had an advantage over it but she was still happy that Ash won.
"Nah, I got lucky that Blaziken's attacks hurt his side and caused him too much pain. I would've still won, but it might have taken longer. Granted, Blaziken has been practicing against Flygon so I guess it would've been the same outcome sooner or later."
"Blaziken and Flygon fight each other huh? Is that how Blaziken was quick to overcome Dragonite's moves?" asked Gary, his researcher side taking over him.
"Yeah, they help each other out, learning how to deal with their shortcomings and turn them into strengths," said Ash as he shrugged. "Let's go back to the room and eat. I'm starving."
They walked towards the hotel, talking about the Ash's match and his pokémon. Unknown to everyone but Ash and Lucario, who sensed a presence near them with their aura, someone was following them. They didn't pay much attention to it though since the aura around the follower wasn't filled with ill intent. Sarah had decided to follow them from afar to talk to him about something.
He's so incredible. And his friends seem to respect him greatly. I hope I can convince him to help me in my training, even if he only tells me a little bit, thought Sarah as she followed them patiently.
They entered the building and spoke with Joy. Before they could go upstairs, they heard angry shouts as a girl and boy came in after Sarah, who had quickly maneuvered herself to the far side of the area. The group stayed facing Joy, not wanting to be noticed that they were listening in.
"No! A hundred times no! I told you already I'm not going out with you!" shouted the girl.
"You know you want to. And we agreed if you had won your last match, then you'd go out with me," said the boy.
"No, I never agreed to such a thing! Stop making things up and….and…my boyfriend won't like you talking to me like that!" she added hastily.
"Boyfriend? Yea, right. Look one dinner is all I ask."
"You think I'm lying? That's my boyfriend right there!"
"Why me?" muttered Ash quietly, so only his friends heard him, as his arm was grabbed before being forced to turn around and made to face the girl and boy.