Author's Note:
What's going on everyone? I hope that you all had a great Christmas with whatever you might have done and now that Christmas is done and over with it's time for the next chapter of Crossroads.
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Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon and I don't plan on starting a campaign to try and buy Pokémon or anything like that so the point is that I don't own Pokémon.
Crossroads Chapter 3: A Rivalry Renewed!
Previously on Crossroads, Ash and Gary had a much needed talk about what Ash needed to do to become a better trainer and now they are going to have a battle.
Professor Oak's Laboratory – Kanto Region
Once the pair made it back to Professor Oak's lab, they went inside to alert the Professor of their upcoming showdown.
"Hey Gramps! Ashy-boy and I are going to have a battle. Would you mind being the referee?" Asked Gary once he and Ash made it to his office.
"Why sure, Gary! Since Tracy is away on a research project, I would be happy to take a break for a little while to be the referee for your battle!" Said Professor Oak as cheerful as ever.
"Great! Ash and I will be in the back deciding which Pokémon we want to use" said Gary, motioning to the backyard with his right hand.
"Alright boys, I'll be out in a minute." said the Professor. With that, the pair walked out to the backyard only to await the stampede of Pokémon that hurtled themselves toward Ash.
"Muk!" "Bay Bay!" Yelled Ash's two most physically loveable Pokémon as Muk and Bayleef pounced upon Ash once he entered the backyard.
"Hey, hey! It's good to see you guys too! Haha!" Said Ash cheerfully. He then continued to greet all of his other Pokémon that came to welcome him home.
"Alright, so which Pokémon are you going to pick Ash? I already happen to know which Pokémon I am going to use" said Gary.
"Hmm… that's a good question? When I think about it, I actually have no idea who I should use" said a puzzled Ash. Who should he pick?
"Here, I have an idea! Why not use some of your Pokémon that you haven't battled with in a while?" Suggested Professor Oak who just came through the back door.
"Yeah that's a great idea!" Exclaimed Ash. "Even so, I'm still not sure who I should use" said Ash just as confused and dense as ever.
Ash's question was quickly answered as both of the Pokémon that jumped on Ash earlier began to exclaim how much they wanted to battle by tackling Ash once again.
Ash laughed at the situation and said "Alright! Well it seems like I have to go with Muk and Bayleef now!"
"Which is the last Pokémon you will select, Ash?" Asked Gary curiously.
"TORKOAL!" Cried the coal Pokémon as he came running through the crowd of Pokémon and hurled itself at Ash.
"Whoa! Hmm, I wonder why Torkoal wants to battle so bad?" Asked Ash.
"I think it's because Torkoal wants to redeem itself for the way it performed in the Sinnoh League" said Professor Oak wisely.
"Is that true, Torkoal?" Asked Ash.
"TORKOAL!" It cried again even louder than before and Ash, Gary, and Professor Oak couldn't help but to laugh at the scene.
"Well there you go Gary. It looks like I'm ready to go!" Said Ash confidently.
"Very well, Ashy-boy. Now let's get this battle started!" Said Gary and with that the three-headed to the open spot in the backyard where all the battles at the laboratory were held.
Both Ash and Gary stood at opposite ends of the grass/normal-like field with Professor Oak standing in the middle.
The aged Professor raised his hands and said "This battle will be a three on three battle with no time limit and no substitutions. The first trainer to lose all three of his Pokémon will be defeated. Now if both of you are ready, then begin the battle!"
"Alright, Bayleef. I choose you!" Yelled Ash and pointed his finger towards the field and Bayleef ran out eagerly.
"Bay Bay!" She cried as Bayleef got herself ready to battle.
"Alright Ash you might be expecting this one. But regardless, let's go Umbreon!" Yelled Gary as he released the dark type eeveelution from its Pokeball.
"Umbri…" it called softly while analyzing its opponent.
Professor Oak look at both Pokémon and decided to begin the battle by announcing Umbreon VS Bayleef, begin!"
"Alright Ash, you have the first move" called Gary.
Ash responded by yelling "With pleasure Gary! Now Bayleef, start it off with Razor Leaf!"
With that, the battle began as Bayleef immediately jumped into the air and swerved its head downwards which shot a barrage of sharp leaves towards Umbreon.
"Umbreon, blow right through those leaves with your Dark Pulse!" Called Gary. Right on command, Umbreon created a dark ball of energy in its mouth and fired it as a beam of rings into the incoming razor leaves which burned them to a crisp. The attack continued its path straight towards Bayleef where the attack directly hit.
"Bayleef, stabilize yourself quickly and use vine whip!" Roared Ash. As Bayleef was falling to the ground, she was able to stabilize itself in mid-air and fire a pair of vines from its neck which hooked themselves onto Umbreon.
"Good! Now throw Umbreon!" Yelled Ash.
"Umbreon, don't let it throw you!" commanded Gary. He didn't want Ash to gain the upper hand.
Umbreon dug its claws into the ground but was unable to keep himself there as Bayleef's powerful vines launched Umbreon into the sky.
"Yes! Now hit it with Energy Ball while it can't move!" Yelled Ash trying to seize the opportunity.
Bayleef, upon command, created a large green ball of pure energy in its mouth and fired it toward the now falling Umbreon.
"Alright Umbreon, now stabilize yourself and use double team while in mid-air!" Called Gary with a smirk on his face.
"What! There should be no way that Umbreon should be able to use any kinds of moves while falling!" Yelled Ash, shocked.
"Well sorry, Ashy-boy, but this isn't just your average Umbreon. Alright, do it now!" Yelled Gary.
As the Energy Ball was about to hit Umbreon, Umbreon stabilized itself in mid-air and a spectator could see Umbreon's body illuminate itself a bit. As a result, the attack flied straight through the Umbreon clone that took the original's place.
"Good! Now hit Bayleef from behind with your Shadow Claw!" Yelled Gary as he pumped his fist, eager for his plan to work.
As he said that, the real Umbreon appeared behind Bayleef ready to strike it down. However, Ash wasn't done just quite yet.
"Quick Bayleef, use your Vine Whip to jump before it hits you!" Roared Ash desperately in an attempt to get Bayleef out of harm's way.
As a result, Bayleef was able to escape with only getting a light slash on its side from Umbreon's Shadow Claw before it propelled itself into the air using its powerful vines.
"Nice Bayleef! Now pin it down with Body Slam!" Yelled Ash seeing that the momentum was back on his side.
Gary, seeing that there was no way out of this situation, yelled quickly "Umbreon shoot your Dark Pulse straight up into Bayleef!"
"Sorry Gary, not going to work! Bayleef, Body Slam full power!" Called Ash triumphantly.
As Bayleef was heading down towards Umbreon, Umbreon quickly lifted its head and shot the powerful black beam into Bayleef. However, it hardly slowed down Bayleef as it came down on Umbreon hard, creating an explosion from hitting the base of Umbreon's Dark Pulse.
As the smoke cleared somehow, someway, it showed an exhausted Umbreon standing atop an out cold Bayleef with swirls in its eyes.
"Bayleef is unable to battle, the winner is Umbreon!" Called Professor Oak.
"WHAT! No way, that's impossible! Bayleef hit Umbreon full force with Body Slam! How didn't that work?!" Complained Ash as he had no idea what happen.
"Well you see Ash, the damage compiled from the Dark Pulse at the beginning, plus being half hit by Shadow Claw, than hitting the base of Umbreon's Dark Pulse at the end was just too much for Bayleef to take. You need to better assess how much damage your Pokémon has taken throughout the match. Although if that were me in your position, I probably would have just gone with using the body slam too" explained Gary, trying to help his rival.
Ash was about to respond but Professor Oak cut in and said "You know Ash, Gary is right about needing to know how much damage your Pokémon has taken throughout the battle. Being a trainer, you should be trying to master all the different aspects of battling."
Ash now understanding what happened recalled Bayleef to her Pokeball and said "Yes I know Professor but it's still only the first battle. I'm not done yet Gary and I'm going to show you right now! Torkoal I choose you!"
On command Torkoal ran out to the center of the field from where he was standing on the sideline.
"TOR-KOAL!" The Coal Pokémon cried as it released an large amount of steam from its nose.
Professor Oak looked at both Pokémon and called "Umbreon VS Torkoal, begin!"
"Torkoal, Flamethrower! Yelled Ash as Torkoal released a torrent on flames from its mouth towards Umbreon.
"Umbreon, counter it with Dark Pulse!" Called Gary and Umbreon fired the familiar black beam towards the incoming flamethrower.
As the two attacks hit each other, a battle for early dominance ensued. As time wore on, however, Torkoal would not let the attack that overpowered him in the Sinnoh League overpower him today. In response, he released an extra burst of heat from his mouth and as such was able to overpower the Dark Pulse.
After Umbreon was pushed back from the Flamethrower, Gary quickly responding by yelling out "Umbreon, push Torkoal back with Shadow Claw!"
Ash, however, was ready for Gary's attack as he called out in response "Torkoal, Iron Defense!"
Torkoal, seeing that Umbreon was incoming with Night Slash, quickly hid inside its armor-like shell which glowed brightly for a second before dimming down. Umbreon's came down as hard as it could on Torkoal outer shell, but the effects of the attack were next to nothing as it seemed that no outer damage had been done.
"Perfect Torkoal! Now, release from your shell and use Heat Wave and follow it up with Body Slam!" Yelled Ash. He knew that this could be his chance to wrap it up.
Upon command, Torkoal came out from its shell and fired a very hot wave of fire towards Umbreon. It so happened to be very close to Torkoal which therefore pushed it back several feet. Once Umbreon was pushed away, Torkoal used its legs to jump into the air and land directly on the exhausted Umbreon.
Gary, who could do next to nothing to stop Torkoal's powerful string of attacks, could merely look on as Torkoal removed itself from Umbreon to reveal it out cold with swirls in its eyes.
"Umbreon is unable to battle, which makes Torkoal the winner!" Announced Professor Oak.
"Yes! That's the way to do it Torkoal!" Yelled Ash with a thumbs up.
"TORKOAL!" It cried flooding the area around it in tears.
Gary recalled Umbreon to her Pokeball gave her praise and said "I'll admit Ash that, that was pretty good. However, I know that you have always had a problem with my next Pokémon so here he is! Scizor let's go!" As he finished speaking, he released Pincer Pokémon from its Pokeball.
"Scizor…" said Scizor calmly upon being released as it got itself ready to battle.
Ash knew that he had a hard time against Gary's Scizor in the Silver Conference, but what didn't make sense was why he would use it against a Pokémon that did even more damage against it than usual?
"Why are you using Scizor against my Torkoal? You know fire types do a lot of damage against Bug/Steel types right?" Asked Ash.
"Of course I know that Ashy-boy. I mean, why would I use a Pokémon like Scizor if I didn't have a plan in the first place? I guess you will just have to find out" Said Gray confidently.
With that said Professor Oak decided to begin the next match by saying "Torkoal VS Scizor begin!"
"Torkoal, Flamethrower! Yelled Ash. He wanted to start this battle off right. Torkoal followed Ash's commands by firing a stream of flames right toward Scizor.
"Scizor, evade it with Agility, and then go in with Metal Claw!" Yelled Gary right back.
Upon Gary's command, Scizor rushed forward while evading all of the incoming streams of flames while Torkoal kept trying to lock-on to the speedy Scizor. However, Scizor just had too much speed from being fresh out of his Pokeball. Seconds later, he was able to strike Torkoal right in the face which sent the coal Pokémon skidding across the ground several feet.
"Torkoal, shake it off and use Heat Wave!" Yelled Ash. Torkoal then quickly lifted its head and fired a wave of extremely hot fire toward Scizor.
"Scizor, evade that by jumping high in the air!" Called Gary. Scizor complied by jumping and using its bug-like wings to get high into air in order to avoid the incoming Heat Wave.
"Perfect I knew you would do that! Now Torkoal, Overheat!" Roared Ash while point his finger to exactly where Scizor would pop up over the Heat Wave.
Torkoal leaned its head back before pushing it forward and launching an tremendously big whitish-red beam from its mouth, which had incredible heat radiating off it, toward Scizor who just revealed itself over the Heat Wave.
"SCIZOR, get away NOW!" Roared Gary. He knew that if Scizor got hit with a direct hit from that Overheat, then it would be all over.
Scizor, using its incredible speed, managed to get away from most of the beam. However, the Overheat came as such a fast velocity that Scizor was unable to dodge the full attack.
"Alright Torkoal you got him!" Cheered Ash. He knew that he probably did a substantial amount of damage and probably took Scizor out.
"I wouldn't cheer just yet if I were you Ash! Scizor Flash Cannon while he's distracted!" Yelled Gary, trying to seize the opportunity.
Ash though wasn't as distracted as he lead on and quickly retaliated by saying "Torkoal, counter with Flamethrower!"
On command, the two Pokémon fired their elemental beam towards each other. However, because of Torkoal being weakened by using Overheat, Scizor's Flash Cannon was easily able to overpower Torkoal's fire attack.
"Torkoal no! Are you alright?" Asked Ash after Torkoal skidded backwards closer to its trainer.
"Tor…KOAL!" It cried proudly as it blew more steam from its nose.
"Alright then Torkoal here we go! It's time for a new a new strategy! Now use Body Slam to get close to Scizor!" Called Ash proudly.
Torkoal obliged by launching itself like a bullet towards Scizor and turning its back towards it so he could hit Scizor with his shell.
"Scizor, punch it with Crush Claw!" Roared Gary. In response, Scizor powered up its left claw as it illuminated with a bright white glow.
Scizor then released its raw power, punching Torkoal as it was about it hit him. It stopped the coal Pokémon in its tracks and created a shockwave from the sheer impact.
"Alright now Torkoal, use Heat Wave to launch yourself into the air!" Yelled Ash. Torkoal emerged from its shell with its head faced towards the ground. It then proceeded to fire its Heat Wave onto the ground in front of Scizor which propelled it into the air.
"Arggh what are you up to Ash?! Ugh never mind; Scizor fire your Flash Cannon at it" Yelled an annoyed Gary.
Ignoring Gary's commands, Ash now roared out as out as he could "Torkoal, stabilize yourself and use Overheat at max power!"
Despite Scizor's Flash Cannon which was already heading Torkoal's way, Torkoal managed to stabilize itself in mid-air and fire its powerful flame-like beam towards the incoming Flash Cannon. The power of the attack was like a knife cutting through butter as it sliced through the Flash Cannon and engulfed Scizor completely.
"Scizor NO!" Yelled Gary. He could do nothing but watch as Scizor was completely engulfed by the most powerful fire type attack he knew of.
Once the attack diminished and the flames died down, it was obvious that Scizor was beaten as it released a puff of smoke from its mouth and crumbed to the ground in a charred hunk of what it once was with swirls in its eyes.
"Scizor is unable to battle which means that Torkoal wins again!" Announced Professor Oak.
"Alright Torkoal! That's two in a row!" Cheered Ash loudly. All the while, you could only hear Torkoal crying a loud as ever from its second consecutive victory.
"Wow who would have thought that Torkoal could have won two in a row? That's remarkable if you ask me" said Professor Oak with a smile on his face.
"Yeah! You were right about Torkoal wanting to redeem itself after the Sinnoh League" said Ash agreeing with the Professor. This really just made Torkoal cry even louder if it was even possible.
While Ash was talking to Professor Oak, Gary had already recalled Scizor and said "Well I gotta say Ash, you're impressing me so far, but I'm afraid that it's time for me to turn up the heat myself!"
"Alright! Bring it on Gary!" Said Ash confidently.
"You're going to wish you never said that, Ashy-boy. Now Magmortar let's go!" Called Gary as he released the mighty Blast Pokémon onto the field.
"Mag-MORTAR!" Roared the Blast Pokémon as it looked more than ready to go a couple rounds.
"Ah, well, well, well when did you get a Magmortar, Gary? I wasn't aware that Magmar evolved?" Asked Professor Oak curiously.
Gary just laughed and said "I evolved it in Sinnoh when I was digging through Mt. Coronet, but that's a story for another time."
"Alright Gary if you say so. Anyway though, Magmortar VS Torkoal, Begin!" Announced Professor Oak.
"Torkoal has gotta be really low on energy so I gotta try and finish this fast"thought Ash to himself and then announced "Torkoal Overheat quick!"
"Come on Ash! Don't try and push your luck like that. Anyway, Magmortar use Flamethrower!" Called Gary calmly.
Torkoal shot out another fire-like beam from its mouth. However, anyone could tell at a glance that it was much weaker than before. The nice and fresh Magmortar however had no problem breaking through. Its Flamethrower cut right through Torkoal's Overheat like how Torkoal's broke through Scizor's Flash Cannon in the previous round.
"Good! Now finish it with Hyper Beam!" Called Gary with a smirk on his face.
Magmortar created a ball of colorful energy in its cannon-like arms which glowed brighter and brighter every second until Magmortar pushed the ball forward. It then fired like a beam right towards Torkoal.
"Torkoal try to defend yourself with Iron Defense!" Roared Ash but it was too late as the powerful beam already completely engulfed Torkoal, sending the turtle flying back behind Ash and into a tree. After the beam dissipated, Torkoal was left in a slouched heap with swirls in its eyes.
"Torkoal is unable to battle and Magmortar is the winner!" Announced Professor Oak.
Ash recalled Torkoal and made sure he knew what an awesome job he did today. This might have been one of the best performances he has ever put on.
"Now that is one powerful Magmortar. It's probably just as strong as Paul's if not stronger" said Ash, recalling Paul's Magmortar's strength.
"Well I wouldn't doubt it; I've had Magmar now Magmortar since about halfway through my first journey and it's been 6 years since then so its no surprise really" said Gary cockily.
"Oh really? Well how about I bring out one of the Pokémon I've had since my first journey? Muk let's go, I choose you! Yelled Ash while once again pointing out onto the field.
"Muk… MUK!" Cried Muk as it slid its way onto the field.
"Alright well if you're both ready to begin final battle for today then let's do it! Muk VS Magmortar, Begin! Announced Professor Oak.
"Muk, Sludge Bomb!" Called Ash quickly trying to gain the early edge. However, Gary was going to have no part in that.
Gary fired right back by calling out "Magmortar, counter it with Rock Tomb!"
As the dozens of sludge pellets made their way towards Magmortar, Magmortar shot four purple orbs from its cannon-like arms towards the ground which expanded into huge rock formations. The rock formations turned out to be more than a match for the Sludge Bomb as it was able to ward away the incoming attack.
"Alright well if Sludge Bomb is no good, than I guess we'll just have to get in close with Shadow Punch!" Yelled Ash.
Muk then created a big fist from its poison body which glowed with a dark black aura. Muk then proceeded to make a punching motion which fired a 'Shadow Punch' towards Magmortar which took the hit as the attack was unavoidable.
"Alright Magmortar, let him have his fun. Shake it off and use Sunny Day" Called Gary which made Ash cringe because that would give all fire type moves a big power boost.
Magmortar raised one of its cannon-like arms towards the sky and fired a red orb like a missile which instantly caused the field to feel much hotter like there were at the beach.
"Alright now that you're all fired up use Flare Blitz!" Called Gary with a smirk as Magmortar engulfed itself in red hot fire which after a few seconds turned a light blue from it being so hot. Magmortar then began to charge towards Muk.
"Muk, hold it off with Acid Armor!" Yelled Ash hoping that the defense increase would be enough to hold Magmortar off. Muk then proceeded to glow an icy aurora color that engulfed its entire body increasing its defense power substantially.
Magmortar than crashed into Muk, but the Acid Armor held firm and it soon became a power struggle of who would give in first. Bit by bit, however, Magmortar began pushing Muk further and further back. Ash decided that was enough and ordered "Muk, use Sludge Bomb since Magmortar is right in front of you!"
In order for Muk to use Sludge Bomb, Muk had to give up some of the strength it was using to hold off Magmortar. However, as soon as Muk opened its mouth, a torrent of sludge pellets fired from it. This caused Magmortar to bombarded by an infinite barrage of sludge bombs.
Regardless of the attack, Magmortar was now able to push Muk further back. Soon, Magmortar was able to push Muk into the ground which stopped the Sludge Bomb attack, but also caused an explosion. When the smoke cleared, both Pokémon were still standing but breathing heavily.
"I'm not letting you win this battle Ash! Magmortar, Overheat!" Roared Gary, now with an intense amount of determination on his face. This was it.
"Oh you don't have to worry about that! I am the one that is going to win this battle Gary! Muk, Hyper Beam!" Bellowed Ash. He also knew that this would probably be the last shot he had at beating Gary's Magmortar.
Both Pokémon charged up their respective attacks as Magmortar flung its cannon-like arms forward and firing out the same flame-like beam that Torkoal emitted but probably even stronger than his.
Muk on the other hand created two poison like hands and along with its wide mouth created the same colorful ball as before but fired it as a beam right towards the incoming Overheat.
The two powerful elemental beams met at the center of the field and upon contact, the two beams began to fight for control. Several times, it looked like either side was going to break, but when the overall power became too much, the beams overloaded and exploded in the middle of the field. It sent a shockwave that could be felt from anywhere in Pallet Town.
It took a couple of minutes for the smoke to clear but when it did, the result was obvious.
"Both Muk and Magmortar are unable to battle which means that this match is a draw! Great work to both of you. This was a fantastic battle!" Announced Professor Oak. True to his word, both Magmortar and Muk were on the ground with swirls in their eyes.
Both trainers returned their Pokémon to their Pokeballs and after giving them praise on a great battle, Ash said "Aww man, I really just wanted to beat you straight up this time."
"Hey don't worry about it Ash. I'm sure that we will have another battle sooner than you think" said Gary who had come over for a handshake.
Ash accepted the handshake and asked "What do you mean by that, Gary?"
Before Gary answered, he took a look at Professor Oak who nodded his head, affirming the silent question Gary asked. Gary turned back to face Ash and said "Well, what I mean is that I ran into somebody that I would say you are pretty familiar with."
"Somebody that I'm familiar with? Like who?" Asked Ash as curious as ever. Who could Gary mean?
"You know, Scott?" Asked Gary with a smirk.
"Do I know a Scott….." Ash pondered, searching his memory. Suddenly, Ash's eyes grew as wide as ever as the realization dawned on him.
"Wait... You mean Scott from the Battle Frontier?!"
Author's Note:
Alright so I have decided to cut it there for today as I believe that is as any a good time to cut it. Anyway, don't you all think Torkoal is awesome?! He was basically trash in the Sinnoh League so I felt like I had to give him so love here so what do you think?
If you can leave a review, favorite, or follow this story it all really does mean a lot to me so if you could drop me a review on your thoughts of the story then that would be awesome!
Other than that if you need me for anything, my profile page is always being updated now and I always reply to PMs so don't be shy to PM me if you have any questions!
As always here is the next chapter!
Crossroads Chapter 4: The Choice That Starts It All!
That about it everyone so I'll see you later and as always have an awesome day!
Cyclone20
