There was a crowd of forty thousand spectators, but it was impossible to tell by the sound-or rather, the lack of it. It was the regional final, and the long slug-fest appeared to be in its final stages.
As the smoke gradually cleared the silhouette of a trembling Pikachu and a collapsed Aerodactyl appeared. Just moments ago, the fossil pokemon had released an earth-shattering Hyper Beam in a last-ditch effort to knock out its opponent. The Pikachu and his trainer had sensed this and desperately attempted to dodge and counter attack with a vicious Thunderbolt before the flying pokemon could recover.
It was a daring, but successful plan: it had knocked out the opposing pokemon. But this came at a price; Pikachu, in his rush to attack, had dodged the primary beam, but couldn't avoid the shrapnel from the powerful attack. Perhaps if the Aerodactyl hadn't been so strong, this wouldn't have been an issue, but as it were, Pikachu had taken the equivalent of multiple Rock Throws. It had also been fighting against the champion's Altaria and had managed to eke out a victory. There was only so much the mouse pokemon could do; hence, it collapsed of exhaustion mere seconds after the smoke cleared.
The champion and the challenger were at their last pokemon, and the bouts that had nearly destroyed the ring were almost at an end.
"You've done well to come so far Ash, but there's no longer any need for words: this battle ends here, and I will face you down with my strongest."
Perhaps if one knew nothing about pokemon, one would think the ever-playful friendly, chubby Dragonite would be a better caretaker than a fighter, but they would be very wrong. Once observed closely, all doubts of the dragons' fighting prowess would be erased. Standing at an average 7 feet, and an astounding 450 pounds, the dragon was a bonafide giant. Dragonites were universally respected, feared, and sometimes even worshipped.
However, while most Dragonite were classed as a pseudo-legendary pokemon, only one of them came close to breaking into the legendary barrier: Lance's Dragonite. Reaching almost 9 feet and 600 pounds, it was a monster of monsters. Many a challenger had slowly worked their way through Lance's party, only to be stopped in place by the imposing dragon. It was said that to beat Lance's Dragonite was equivalent to beating his party one more time.
Faced with a force of nature, Ash only had three pokemon who could hope to compete with it. Sceptile, Pikachu, and Charizard. Sceptile had finished off Lance's Gyarados and knocked out its Salamence before the exhausted pokemon was given the runaround by Altaria. Pikachu had just been knocked out. His Greninja may have stood a fair chance, but Lance had masterfully exploited the pair's lack of stamina through stalling the battle with his Mega-Salamence's speed.
"Charizard, I choose you!"
While the average Charizard was sized at 5 feet 6 inches, with a weight of roughly 200 pounds, Ash's Charizard was different. It stood at a mighty 7 feet and weighed 300 pounds. While the time it had spent in Charicific valley had certainly helped it physically, the pokemon's size wasn't it's only stand-out. Upon being released it released its signature Flamethrower, which could have been easily mistaken for an Overheat attack by a lesser pokemon.
The Charizard was faced by a daunting opponent, but he revealed no fear. Fear simply wasn't in his nature.
In the commentator's box, a pair of paramedics stood at moment's attention with a stretcher and oxygen tank: the poor commentator's face was turning blue from his excitement.
"And ladies and gentlemen, this will be the final bout of today's slug-fest, and we've been introduced to two absolute monsters of pokemon! All standing here know of the absolute dominance of Lance's Legendary Dragonite, but I have been reliably informed that Ash's Charizard has beaten a legendary pokemon before! My question, at this point, isn't who's going to win, but rather, will we still have a stadium once this battle ends?"
Ash inwardly chuckled, while Charizard had beaten Articuno, he had also almost fought a psychically-enhanced Entei to a standstill while protecting Ash.
The two trainers and their pokemon stared each other down, and eventually, the stadium's uproar quietened down. Ash was sure that his friends were cheering for him, but he couldn't afford to get distracted at this time. In a battle with such powerhouses, one lapse in concentration could lead to a devastating blow being landed.
Ash was also mentally sifting through his strategies and tactics; unfortunately, Ash didn't have a mega-stone for Charizard, so the match-up was far more even than it could have been. From watching clips of Lance's Dragonite, Ash knew that it was fast, especially for its size, and was incredibly strong. Ash trusted his Charizard, but he also knew his Charizard's limits: Ash was not comfortable with his prospects in a head-to-head battle. While Charizard may be able to take Dragonite down through raw strength, it was equally, if not more likely, the opposite case was also true. However, Charizard's size also meant that it would be able to maneuver better in the air.
The referee had already announced the start of the battle, but both sides remained still. And then there was movement. Many of the spectators blinked, and saw two craters were the dragons were previously standing and the buffeting clothes of their trainers.
The two rushed towards each other, with the Dragonite utilizing a Dragon Rush and Charizard keeping up with natural movement alone. As both pokemon were flying close to the ground, Charizard pushed with his feet and rocketed upwards. No human would be able to give an order countering a quick move, but Dragonite was a seasoned battler. In response, its claws glowed as it executed a Dragon Claw. Charizard countered with a Steel Wing, and both pokemon were blasted back. However, while Charizard was buffeted back in the air, Dragonite was pushed into the ground, and the resulting force split the skin on its feet and delivered tremendous pressure onto its knees. Charizard appeared to be nursing a stinging wing.
Mentally, Ash wasn't too disturbed by the results. His power of aura had expanded significantly, and he was able to give orders to his pokemon mentally and read their mental state. This, of course, gave him a tremendous advantage in terms of response speed and allowed his pokemon to compete with other more battle-hardened ones.
Charizard was only noting a stinging wing, which would recover over the course of a few seconds. The results confirmed Ash's thoughts: if he wanted to win, he'd have to continue exchanges like these.
"Dragonite, rise up! Twister!"
Lance had already recognized the state of his pokemon and acknowledged that Charizard had the advantage in the air. However, the move Twister also dealt more damage to pokemon flying in the air.
"Charizard, fire spin!" Ash conveyed mentally.
A tremendous tornado surrounded Charizard, while an equivalent fire tornado surrounded Dragonite.
'Charizard'll take more damage, but fire spin's completely blocked off Lance's vision of Dragonite.'
"Charizard break out, rise to the top of the fire spin, and use flamethrower from the vantage point."
Charizard broke through the twister at the cost of taking extra damage, but both Ash and Charizard were surprised that Lance had ordered his Dragonite to do the same.
"Dragon Claw!"
"Charizard, quick, flamethrower: top of Dragonite's back!"
Dragonite and Lance quickly realized the attack wasn't going to hit and let it pass them. What they didn't realize, however, was that the erratic air flows due to the previous attacks combined with the high-pressure zone the flames had created above Dragonite's wings would cause Dragonite's trajectory to drop, and he flew safely below Charizard.
The measuring phase over, both pokemon and trainers were at a standstill. Now, the battle in earnest would start.
"Dragonite, Thunderbolt into Dragon Claw!"
"Charizard fly to dodge, and then launch a flamethrower."
Charizard dodged the Thunderbolt, and let loose a flamethrower on the fast-approaching Dragonite. Dragonite, however, used its Dragon Claw to block the majority of the attack.
"Shit, Charizard parry with Steel Wing then use a Dragon Rage!"
Just as the Dragonite approached melee range, Lance yelled out another command.
"Hyper Beam!"
Ash's eyes widened, as he rushed to think of a counter-strategy. But he was too slow.
A Hyper Beam was one of the strongest moves available to any pokemon, and one launched point-blank had caused one death before in a league match.
Charizard, however, was no stranger to near-death situations. Before the attack had landed, he altered his Steel Wing attack to defensively shield himself. However, this couldn't stop all the damage. Charizard was pushed back and sent into a spiraling free fall.
Thankfully, he stopped his descent halfway, and Ash mentally cheered.
"Charizard, Overheat while we still can!"
Normally, the Dragonite could've easily dodged the flamethrower, but as it was recovering from the hyper beam, it could only move its arms and wings in front of itself for protection. A torrent of flames larger than the Dragonite itself surrounded the dragon and launched it several feet backward.
'Damn, the attack was impressive, but that was Charizard's Blaze kicking in. He's hurt, badly. We have to end this, now.'
The Overheat, before Blaze's augmentation, was already a fearsome fire move only second to Blast Burn and would've easily burned a lower Pokemon alive. Dragonite's dragon nature reduced the effect of the attack marginally, but the pokemon was sent into a free fall.
"Charizard, Seismic Toss now!"
Despite the pain in his wings, Charizard forced himself to catch the falling Dragonite.
"Dragon Claw him until he falls!"
It was apparent from Lance's desperate call that Dragonite was heavily damaged, but the dragon still elongated his claws and slashed repetitively at Charizard.
Charizard was definitely feeling the pain, but the close range of the attack meant that Dragonite couldn't muster anything near full force.
The two interlocked pokemon hurtled towards the ground, and the completion of the Seismic Toss covered the stadium with dust, and all the world could do was wait and watch for the results.
Both pokemon were left standing, but both were evidently at their respective limits. One of Charizard's was stumbling left and right and one of his wings was limp, while Dragonite's whole burn-covered body was shaking intensely.
The battle had been short, but with two powerhouses with attacks that could kill, it was expected. As they observed their pokemon, both trainers realized that they had one last attack left. Both trainers ignored the impassioned commentary of the commentator, as the crowd's cheering reached ear-splitting levels.
"Dragonite Hyper Beam!"
"Charizard, Blast Burn!" But this wasn't Ash's intention.
"Dodge it Charizard!"
This was an all-or-nothing moment. Ash knew that Charizard had far less in his tank left than Dragonite did, and this was his last option to win.
Realizing this, Charizard put all his force into his weary body and attempted to launch himself out the way.
He was only partially successful. The blast clipped his injured wing, spinning his body towards the Dragonite. Charizard felt his bones shatter, and wing tear: the injuries would take weeks to heal even with the augmented healing of the PokeCenter.
Luck, unconscious thinking, or sheer will: whatever one would call it, Charizard was now aiming directly at the Dragonite.
"Blast Burn!"
One member of the audience nearest to Dragonite screamed as ricocheting embers from Charizard's searing cross of flames ignited his alcoholic drink. It appeared that the pokemon had managed to, through sheer willpower, surpass Pokemon's limits and release an attack unhindered by his previous Overheat.
The Dragonite smashed into the stadium wall and was buried into the structure.
Ever-present fire-fighters released their ice and water pokemon in an effort to cool the temperature of the cement and the melting metal protection for the audience while paramedics rushed to the audience members closest to the heat and dragged them away to treat their minor burns. Pokemon nurses and doctors scrambled onto the field to treat both injured pokemon, but the commentator, amidst all the chaos, had never stopped screaming.
"And ladies and gentlemen we have the new champion of the known Pokemon World! Hail Champion Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town of Kanto!"
But there was something wrong: the audience wasn't cheering, instead, Ash heard repetitive beeping becoming progressively becoming louder. As he opened his eyes, he realized he was staring at a white ceiling. It had happened again.
"Son of a bitch."
AN: Hello everyone, this is my first story on . Suggestions and reviews are welcome!
I'll be typing a longer AN next chapter (which I'm currently working on), which would include what direction the story should take, and what pairings will be present (I'm not too sure yet).