It had been a while since Ash and Misty were able to battle alongside each other instead of against each other. And here was that time.
The Finals of the Albion Cup at the Albion National Stadium in AC City; one of the biggest tournaments in the world, and the two had made it to the Doubles Final.
"Charizard, use Fly!"
Charizard swooped down from the rafters, diving like a Royal Albion Air Force fighter. The opposing Dragonite braced itself while watching Charizard getting closer and closer and closer.
"Cloyster, Ice Beam!"
Realization dawned on the Dragonite all too late. The Ice Beam struck the Dragonite dead-on, throwing it back on the field and coming to a stop just in front of its stunned trainer. Its partner, a Dusklops, stood and watched with what could be a look of shock, but was unreadable for the most part. As if it remembered, it looked up as Charizard slammed into it, knocking to the ground as it slid and stopped right next to its Dragonite partner.
"Dragonite and Dusklops are unable to battle!" the referee declared, "Charizard and Cloyster win!"
Just like his old self, Ash jumped in the air, shouting and hollering enthusiastically much to Misty's (smiling) embarrassment. But she took in stride, knowing that was his way of celebrating. "Alright Ash," she said, "I think they're down to their last ones."
"Then let's get this!" he said. "You ready, Pikachu?"
"Pi-Ka!"
Pikachu jumped onto his shoulders, his fur bristling with energy. Ash recalled Charizard, and Misty recalled Cloyster.
"Alright Ash," she said, "We're going to do this as a team, okay? No more jumping the gun."
"But we're so close—"
"Ash," she said firmly, "That's why we're going to do this as a team."
"Okay, right," he said.
The hushed crowed waited for the opponents to pick their Pokemon. Misty reached for her belt and pulled out another Pokeball, while Ash waited to let Pikachu go. The opponents expanded their Pokeballs and threw them onto the field. A Florges and a Torterra popped out of the Pokeballs, ready to do battle.
"That makes it more difficult," said Misty, "But I'm not concerned. Go, Gyarados!"
"You're up, Pikachu!"
"Pika, Pika!" Pikachu jumped off Ash's shoulder, dashing onto the field while Gyarados's PokeBall popped open. The large sea serpent roared as it emerged, and Pikachu ran up the serpent's back and onto his head, his cheeks throwing sparks threateningly.
"BEGIN!" The referee declared.
"Gyarados, Hyper Beam!" Misty ordered.
"Torterra, Earthquake!" the Torterra's trainer ordered. The enemy Torterra bellowed and stomped its feet hard on the ground, causing it to shake. Ash and Misty braced themselves, while Pikachu stayed on Gyarados's head, but had to hang on to its crown for dear life. Misty almost felt over, but Ash was able to catch her.
"Now Florges, use Petal Dance!" Florges stared to spin, throwing hundreds of flower petals into the air. While Earthquake did nothing to Gyarados, the Petal Dance did hit him, and he roared in pain while Pikachu struggled to stay on top.
"Pikachu, Iron Tail!" Ash called, "Try to hit Torterra!"
"Pika!" Pikachu vaulted off of Gyarados's head towards Torterra. Torterra braced itself as Pikachu's tail started to glow. He spun end over end and swung his tail at Torterra.
But at the last moment, Torterra jumped out of the way, and the Iron Tail attack landed in the dirt. Pikachu was stuck. He tried to pull his tail out as Torterra approached him.
"Now, Torterra, use Stomp!
"Gyarados, Hyper Beam!" Misty called. Gyarados managed to recover and fired its attack at Torterra. The massive tortoise screamed as it was hit by the powerful, golden beam. It rolled on the ground for several feet, but stood up and recovered. But this gave Pikachu enough time to pull his tail out of the ground and roll away from Torterra. He glanced over at Florges, who'd floated by him.
"Florges, Moonblast!"
"PIIIII!"
Florges gathered whatever energy it could from the moon while Pikachu ran for safety. The pink-colored blast fired at Pikachu. Pikachu ducked just as the beam passed over him, but it glanced off his back. Poor Pikachu cried out in pain, and it was agonized enough to make Gyarados, who was still recharging from Hyper Beam, try to move to protect his little partner.
"PIKACHU!" Ash cried out, unconsciously moving towards the battlefield, only to be held back by Misty.
"Ash, don't be reckless!" she said. "We need a plan here."
"Right, right, sorry," said Ash. "I'll have Pikachu go after Florges, you have Gyarados go after Torterra."
"Got it," said Misty. She knew what he was getting at. And Gyarados was more than capable of it. "Gyarados, are you okay?" she asked.
Gyarados turned back to Misty and let out a confident grunt. He was good to go.
"Pikachu, are you okay?" Ash called out.
"Pika!" Pikachu gave the V-sign.
"Alright, Pikachu, use Iron Tail on Florges!"
"Gyarados, Ice Beam on Torterra!"
Pikachu jumped back up and ran over to Florges. Gyarados took a look at Torterra and stared it down. Gyarados is a Water-type which gives it a disadvantage against Torterra's Grass-type. But its Flying type gave it an advantage… if only he knew flying types.
Still, Misty was careful. "Alright Gyarados, ICE BEAM!"
"Torterra, Solar Beam!"
Torterra opened its mouth, gathering the energy from the sun. Then it fired its attack at Gyarados. Both attacks struck each other at the same time, effectively cancelling each other out and causing an explosion that knocked the two down and threw shards of ice all around the battlefield. Ash grabbed Misty and protected her from the ice, even though that really wasn't necessary.
It also knocked Pikachu down, and he missed Florges with his Iron Tail attack. "Pika…" he moaned.
"Pikachu, are you alright?" asked Ash.
"Pi-ka!" Pikachu replied.
"Try it again, Pikachu!"
"Gyarados, are you okay?" Misty called out.
Gyarados growled in confirmation. Misty sighed.
Pikachu ran up to Florges and swiped his tail at it. Florges jumped out of the way, but a follow-up swipe from Pikcahu glanced off of Florges, causing it to fly away from Pikachu, who ran to catch it.
Gyarados got back up and shook off the shock of the attack. "Now, Gyarados, Ice Beam again!" Misty ordered.
Gyarados opened his mouth and aimed at Torterra. The big dragon fired its attack at Torterra, who was still getting up from the shock of the blast. The attack struck Torterra, throwing the massive tortoise into the air, and it came down outside the battlefield boundaries, effectively ending that match. "Torterra is out of the battlefield!" said the referee, "Trainer George has lost!"
That just left Florges and Pikachu. Pikachu kept swinging his Iron Tail attack at Florges. With another Pokemon out, it became a more open battle, with the two smaller Pokemon fighting in the center of the field. Florges turned out to be a lot faster than Pikachu expected, which made Pikachu's efforts all the more frustrating.
But now Gyarados was freed up. Gyarados may be a dragon, but he's not a Dragon-type. That gave him a slight advantage. But Florges still knew Grass-type moves. "Gyarados, Hydro Pump!" Misty ordered.
Gyarados quickly unleashed a torrent of water at the Florges. She moved out of the way, only to find Pikachu's Iron Tail swinging in her face. The Forges easily dodged both attacks.
But now the two-on-one situation was clear. And Florges was cornered. "Pikachu, Tunder!" Ash called.
"Gyarados, Hydro Pump!" Misty added.
Both of the Pokemon unleashed their attacks on the poor Florges, who resigned herself to defeat. Pikachu's Thunder hit first and Hydro Pump forced Florges out of the battlefield.
"Florges is unable to battle! George and Fred are out of Pokemon! Ash and Misty are the winners!"
The roar of the crowd drowned out their own cheers, but Ash's leaping spoke for itself. Pikachu ran up to Ash, jumping into his longtime trainer's arms while he spun his old partner. Then Ash, without thinking, threw both arms tightly around Misty and spun her around before surprising her with a big, wet kiss on her lips.
"ASH!" she shouted, "DON'T DO THAT!"
"Sorry!" Ash replied.
"You have to ask first!" she said.
"Oh, okay—HUH!?"
"Just say it," she said.
"May I kiss you, Misty?"
"Absolutely!" And so that's what he did.
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The End