Full Battle, 6-on-6!

part 1

"So, young man, ready to battle?" asked Serena Pryde, eyes gleaming behind her trendy sunglasses. The slim, short-haired woman's nondescript clothing--a simple white t-shirt and jeans--was a direct contrast to her outgoing nature. Ash, Dawn, and Brock had just met the middle-aged Serena that morning and had taken an immediate liking to her. She had been a Pokemon trainer in her youth and had won several badges, but eventually ended up settling down and marrying. Her ten-year-old daughter had recently left on her own Pokemon journey, which made Serena sorely miss the traveling life herself. She was now traveling the Sinnoh region in the company of her supportive husband Ben, making up for lost time. It helped that Ben was able to take his work with him. He was an accountant who could do his entire job from his laptop if he so chose. Currently, he was in a business meeting that would take the whole day, so Serena had been looking for someone to battle, both to train and pass the time.

Serena and Ash now stood on opposite sides of the battlefield behind the Sunyshore City Pokemon Center, with Brock acting as referee. Ash had initially wanted to use only Pikachu and his Sinnoh Pokemon in the battle, but Dawn pointed out that she had never seen most of his others. So, at Dawn's insistence, Ash had made a couple of phone calls, in order to use some of his older Pokemon for this battle, but had not told either Dawn or Brock which ones he would be using. They knew only that Pikachu would be involved, as it was by Ash's side as usual and looked anxious to battle. Dawn sat on a park bench near Brock's position, with Piplup on her lap.

Brock now blew his whistle and began to announce the rules. "This will be a 6-on-6 battle between Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town and Serena Pryde of Floaroma Town. There will be no time limit, and both sides are allowed to substitute Pokemon when desired. The battle will end when all Pokemon on either side are unable to continue. Begin!"

Ash had won the first move thanks to a Coin Toss from Dawn's Poketch, so he now chose a Pokeball from his belt and threw it. "Sceptile, I choose you!"

"Wow, Piplup!" exclaimed Dawn, taking out her Pokedex. "I've heard so much about Ash's Sceptile, but I've never seen one up close before!" She scanned it, and the Pokedex voice recited, "Sceptile. The Forest Pokemon. The leaves that grow on its arms can slice down thick trees. It is without peer in jungle combat."

"Interesting leadoff choice," said a smirking Serena, enlarging a Pokeball of her own, "but unfortunately, the wrong one. Rapidash, help me out!"

Ash hadn't seen one in a while, so he scanned it with his Pokedex. "Rapidash. The Fire Horse Pokemon, and the evolved form of Ponyta. It has astounding acceleration. From a standstill, it can reach top speed within 10 steps."

"Battle begin!" announced Brock.

Ash paused a moment. Normally he would be up to the challenge of overcoming Sceptile's Fire-type weakness by relying on its speed, but Rapidash were also known for their speed. Ash didn't like his chances, so he recalled Sceptile. "Sorry, pal, I'm gonna save you for later." He stored Sceptile's Pokeball on his belt and chose another. "Kingler, I choose you!"

"Cool, a Kingler!" said Dawn, watching it come out. The robotic voice from her Pokedex recited, "Kingler. The Pincer Pokemon. The larger pincer has 10,000-horsepower strength. However, it is so heavy, it is difficult to aim."

Serena wasted no time. "Rapidash, Sunny Day!" The fire horse looked skyward and sent a ball of bright energy straight up. Suddenly, the temperature became noticeably hotter.

Ash knew that Sunny Day would boost Rapidash's Fire-type moves as well as weaken Kingler's Water-type moves. But there were other options. "Kingler, Vicegrip, go!" Kingler scuttled towards Rapidash, claws raised in preparation.

"Rapidash, Solarbeam!" A ball of bright green solar energy quickly formed atop Rapidash's horn. The energy then shot out in beam form straight at Kingler, striking before the Pincer Pokemon could even think of dodging. It cringed and cried out in pain.

'I didn't realize Rapidash could use Solarbeam. That was supereffective on Kingler too,' Dawn thought.

'Man, that Rapidash is really fast!' Ash thought. 'I can't try another close-range attack, it'll just use Solarbeam again and I don't think Kingler can take two of 'em. Wait, I almost forgot about that new move it learned at Professor Oak's place!' Aloud he said, "Kingler, use Dig!" Immediately Kingler shovelled its way underground.

Serena hadn't expected this. Thinking quickly, she said, "Rapidash, use Stomp on the ground!" The fire horse reared its front hooves, and was about to pound the ground with them when Kingler suddenly popped out under it, scoring a direct hit on its underbelly! Kingler hopped back a bit as Rapidash reeled. "Let's try Solarbeam again!"

"Kingler, Hyper Beam!" The two attacks collided, forming both sides of a massive ball of combined energy. The ball swayed towards Rapidash, then Kingler. It looked as if Kingler would lose!

"Hang in there, Kingler, give it all you've got!" Ash encouraged it. Kingler strained as hard as it could, and slowly but surely, began to push its side of the collison back towards Rapidash. Finally, the strain was too much for the fire horse, as it was struck by the full force of the Hyper Beam. It collapsed and fainted.

Brock blew his whistle and pointed at Ash. "Rapidash is unable to battle. The winner is Kingler!"

Ash punched the air in celebration. "All right! Kingler you were awesome!" The Pincer Pokemon weakly raised a claw in acknowledgement. Ash decided to recall it now. He knew that after using Hyper Beam, Kingler wouldn't be able to move for a while. That plus the damage it took from the first Solarbeam meant it would likely be defeated soon. Ash chose to start the next round fresh and save Kingler for later.

"Rapidash, return!" Serena recalled her Pokemon. To Ash she said, "Impressive. Usually when I use Sunny Day against a Water type, my opponent tries to press on with Water attacks anyway. But you found another way to win. Good job."

"Thanks," said Ash. "Your Rapidash is really strong too. I can't believe how fast it can launch that Solarbeam, even though I know Sunny Day speeds that up."

"Thanks! Now let's get on with it! Cherrim, help me out!"

"Cool, a Cherrim," said Ash, scanning it. "Cherrim, the Blossom Pokemon, and the evolved form of Cherubi," the Pokedex recited. "If it senses strong sunlight, it opens its folded petals to absorb the sun's rays with its whole body."

Ash now sent out his next Pokemon. "Noctowl, I choose you!"

Dawn remembered Ash telling her about the vital part Noctowl played when he battled Morty at the Ecruteak Gym in Johto. She hadn't seen it yet either, so she scanned it as well. "Noctowl, the Owl Pokemon, and the evolved form of Hoothoot. Its eyes are specially developed to enable it to see clearly even in murky darkness and minimal light."

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part 2 coming soon