Chapter 3: Confrontation
A/N: Wow, two chapters in one day? Well, I had already gotten this written, so whatever. Anyway, enjoy!
"Okay sir, your villa is Number 501," the lady told Ash, handing him the key to the villa.
"Thank you, Ma'am," Ash said in return, maintaining a professional face. On the inside, however, he was wondering just what the villas had inside of them. They had to be fancy, but how fancy? Would theirs have a Jacuzzi?
"Umm, sir?" the lady at the counter repeated, startling Ash out of his thoughts.
"Sorry, yes?" he said hastily.
"You should know that the villa can hold a maximum of eight people. Because there are only four people in your group, including yourself, you may be called upon to provide shelter for some of the other competitors. Are you all right with that?" she warned him.
Ash nodded. "Yes, that is all right. Thank you very much," he told her. 'As long as those four aren't any of the traitors, I'll be fine with it,' Ash thought to himself.
"Okay, have a nice day," she said with a warm smile as Ash left.
"Hey Ash, which villa are we staying in. And when do we sign up for the tournament?" Tory casually asked Ash as the four of them strolled along the streets of Undella Town.
"Villa 501. It's got room for eight, so we may need to share. Just thought I should warn you," he replied. "If you happen to find anyone in need of somewhere to stay during the competition, feel free to invite them. Also, we sign up three days before the tournament starts. Because of that, we got 3 days of down time before we have to submit registrations." Pikachu thought about something for a moment, then dismissed it, preferring to take a nap on Ash's shoulder.
"Thanks, Ash. Somehow, I get the feeling that we're gonna need to take you up on your offer on the guests," Max commented. As they spoke, they approached the villas.
"Oh, there's Villa 501," Cynthia pointed out. "Let's check it out."
"Sounds good," the other three males said simultaneously. All four of them walked over to their villa talking with each other, just like a normal family. Suddenly, Ash froze as he heard voices which he had hoped to never hear again.
"Hey, who the heck rented the villa? We need to dump some people here, since ours doesn't have the room. Who goes?" Gary asked his group. Pikachu woke up and bristled at the sound of one traitor's voice.
"I'm certainly not going to. Who knows what kind of morons are staying here?" Trip replied snobbishly. Unbeknownst to them, Ash glared at them at this comment.
"Yeah, I'm staying with Trip," Misty said.
"Are there any girls staying here? If so, I'll stay!" Brock declared, making everyone roll their eyes. In the distance, Cynthia shuddered, and her two younger companions gave her reassuring pats on her arms, whereas Ash pulled her into a gentle hug.
"I'll volunteer. Anything to get away from you people," May said bitterly. 'I hope the people renting the villa will let me stay for a bit,' she thought worriedly.
"Who said anything about any of you staying at this villa?"
Everyone jumped and turned at the sound of a voice they had not heard in five years, wondering if their ears were deceiving them. True to their ears, however, Ash was glaring at them all, fire in his eyes. Cynthia was by his side, holding his arm to calm him down and also glaring at the group. Max and Tory did the same as Ash, except with ice in their eyes instead of fire. All of the traitors felt an aura of power emanating from the two younger Champions, making it clear that they were extremely skilled Trainers. This, however, paled in comparison to their teachers. Ash and Cynthia exuded such power, their very presence made passerby turn to look at them in wonder. Trip and Gary returned the glares, whereas most of the others paled and backed away. Misty stood by Trip's side, her show at bravery ruined by her shaking legs. May, on the other hand, looked at them with pride. 'They've grown so much… Max and Tory are taller than me now… No wonder they're favorites to win.'
"Ash?" she asked, fear and regret in her voice. Though Ash's glare never faltered, Max's and Tory's eyes softened.
"May? Is that you?" both Trainers said, with caution in their voices. She nodded, before she ran over to them and hugged them.
"I'm so sorry for turning against you! I should have gone with you, but- but I was too scared to do so! Everyone was ganging up, and I chickened out on you…" May sobbed in remorse for her actions. Both boys thought for a moment, before returning the hug.
"You know, it's not us who you should be apologizing to," Tory said gently, indicating that May needed to show her remorse to Ash firstly. Max nodded in agreement.
"You're right," she said, letting go. She looked at Ash, eyes glinting with her tears and memories of her error.
Ash considered deeply before making his judgment. Had it been anyone else among the traitors, he would have scorned their apology and heavily mocked them. May, however, was like a little sister to him. He had shown her the various tricks and tactics of Pokemon training, though their specific careers were quite different. He looked one more time at May before giving his verdict.
"May, I'm not gonna lie. I'm still pretty damn angry at you, for turning against me. However, you didn't really think that I was a criminal. That much I believe. I'll see whether to forgive you fully or not. For now though, you can stay for a while," he said heavily. As he spoke the words, he felt a heavy weight lift off of his chest.
"Thank you…" May whispered, before smiling through her tears. She was truly grateful that Ash had decided to take the first step towards forgiveness, along with her brother and his closest friend.
"Hold it. Ignoring the soppy love scene, who's staying here with them?" Misty interrupted.
"Not you, that's for sure. I doubt any of us could put up with you for a day without needing a mental hospital," Max retorted, getting even angrier at this interruption. His friends and sister chuckled at this.
"You little brat! I'll teach you to respect Trainers stronger than you!" Misty snapped, pulling out her infamous mallet.
Max snorted, before pulling a fist back, ready to punch. "You? Stronger than me?! That's a laugh! Look who has such a bad loss streak and rep as a Trainer," he snarled. Misty turned red at this insult, and both of them stepped forward.
Before the fighting could turn physical, Trip stopped Misty's advance. "Hey, why don't you two battle it out with your Pokemon? It'll be good entertainment, watching you trash this loser," he suggested, wanting to see Max humiliated for threatening his girlfriend. Misty nodded, then put away her mallet.
"Sure, honey. Sounds good!" she said cheerfully, kissing Trip's cheek. Max rolled his eyes and relaxed.
"Whatever. My Pokemon could use a warm-up, anyway. Rules?" he said.
"A three-on-three battle, on the beach, now. Unless you're too scared?" Misty said tauntingly. The brown-haired Trainer chuckled at this.
"Sure, why not? This'll be over real fast. You know, I doubt it'll count as a warm-up for my Pokemon, anyway," he told them, before walking off towards the battle site. Tory, Ash, Cynthia, and May followed suit, along with the group that betrayed Ash.
"The battle between Max Maple of Petalburg and Misty Waterflower of Cerulean will now begin! Each side will use three Pokemon each, and substitutions may be made by either side. Trainers, send out your Pokemon!" Brock declared.
"This'll be fast. Go, Gyarados!" Misty yelled, sending out the Atrocious Pokemon. The Gyarados roared in challenge as it came out. Max noted that it was somewhat smaller than most other members of its species.
"Indeed, this will. In fact, it's a waste of our time. Umbreon, let's show them what we're made of!" he declared, sending out the Dark-type Eeveeloution. Umbreon came out gracefully, and let out a bored yawn at Gyarados's attempts to scare it. Why is my master, having me battle this nobody? Oh well, someone's gotta do it, and he does want to save our "secret weapon" for a proper opponent. Plus, I could use a stretch, the Moonlight Pokemon thought to itself.
"Battle begin!" Brock announced.
"Gyarados, Hyper Beam!" Misty shouted. Gyarados charged a large beam of light, before firing it at Umbreon. The Dark-type Pokemon rolled its eyes, not even making an effort to dodge the attack.
A large explosion of sand billowed out. Gary's group shielded their eyes with their arms, while Ash's group, minus May, just closed them. When the sand settled, Umbreon wasn't even scratched by the impact.
Max laughed out loud. "Oh well, so much for being a master Water-type Trainer. Umbreon, Toxic!" he said. Umbreon spat out a clump of purple sludge at the Water-type Pokemon. With Gyarados being immobilized by the Hyper Beam, Misty could only watch as her Pokemon roared in pain, being covered by the Toxic.
'This is bad. Gyarados isn't going to be hanging in much longer,' she thought to herself. "Dragon Dance!" she commanded after thinking a bit more. Gyarados growled in pain, before performing an intricate dance to boost its Attack and Speed.
"I can't believe you fell for it. Umbreon, Foul Play!" the brown-haired Trainer said in a bored voice. Umbreon glowed a neon purple, before slamming into Gyarados, drawing upon its opponent's strength in the attack. Gyarados let out a low roar, then collapsed without another sound.
"Gyarados is unable to battle. Umbreon wins," Brock said without much enthusiasm. He wondered what had gotten into Misty, and why her Gyarados could be taken out by one attack from an Umbreon.
"You're probably wondering why that attack was so powerful, right?" Max asked Misty. When she nodded, he continued. "It's because Foul Play draws upon its opponent's Attack stat instead of its own to attack. I knew you were gonna try to boost your Pokemon's stats and try to finish Umbreon off, with Toxic setting a timer on its staying power. Even so, your Gyarados is very poorly trained. A properly trained member of its species could withstand at least one Foul Play, even with an Attack boost and Toxic poison eating away at it. You're just a terrible Trainer, and I feel sorry for all of your Pokemon. That goes to all of you, too," he finished, glaring at Misty, Brock, and the others.
Misty gaped at Max's daring. How dare he insult her Pokemon like that? "Oh, really? Then prepare for this! Go, Starmie!" she yelled. The dual-type Pokemon came out without a sound, standing ready to battle.
After thinking for a bit, Max grinned. He had an idea on how to really humiliate Misty. "Umbreon, return!" he said, recalling Umbreon back to its Pokeball. "Thanks, Umbreon. Perfect form out there. No complaints here."
"Now, Hydreigon, let's show them what we're made of!" he yelled, sending out the Dragon-type Pokemon, which came out with a powerful roar.
Misty smirked. "Bad move, rookie Trainer. Starmie, Ice Beam!" she commanded. Starmie charged a ball of ice, before firing a concentrated beam at Hydreigon. The Brutal Pokemon didn't even flinch as the Ice Beam made contact, doing negligible damage.
"Well, anyway… Hydreigon, Flamethrower," Max said in a monotone. 'This battle is really boring', he thought. Hydreigon complied, spitting out a white-hot stream of fire at Starmie. It fell without a sound on impact, gemstone blinking to indicate its fall.
"Starmie is unable to battle… H-Hydreigon wins…" Brock stuttered, unable to believe that a Flamethrower downed Starmie in a single hit. Everyone else on Misty's side stared in disbelief as well. Max's side, including May smirked. They knew what the outcome of that Flamethrower was going to be.
"Bad move, rookie Trainer. Sound familiar?" Max spat tauntingly. His opponent growled, furious with her Starmie for its loss and Max's jibes.
"This will finish it! Golduck, go!" she snapped, tossing her last Pokemon's Pokeball. Golduck came out with a screech, which made Hydreigon laugh.
"Enough of this crap. Hydreigon, one more Flamethrower so that we can do some proper training already," Max said. Hydreigon rolled its eyes, before quickly sending another stream of fire at Golduck. The results were the same as Starmie's loss, and Misty regretfully recalled her fainted Pokemon.
"Golduck is unable to battle. Hydreigon is the winner, and the victory goes to Max of Petalburg…" Brock said without any enthusiasm, imagining having to fight him during the tournament.
"Nice job, Hydreigon. Great form out there. Nothing we really need to improve on," Max congratulated his Pokemon. The Brutal Pokemon let out a soft growl of appreciation, and rolled its eyes. The battle had been the most boring one of its life, and Max agreed.
"How could I lose to the likes of you? And how are you a Champion?" Misty asked in disbelief. Max, Tory, Ash, and Cynthia smirked.
"Simple, because I properly trained and cared for my team, instead of just boasting around and trying to shove my responsibilities on others," he taunted. "Plus, I'm the Champion of Hoenn because Cynthia and Ash trained Tory and me."
Tory chuckled. "Johto is the region that I became the Champion of. After learning under the best," he said, indicating Ash and Cynthia, who blushed slightly at the compliments, "it was easy."
Ash smirked; 'Here it comes,' he thought. "I'm the Kanto Champion, and you probably saw the statistics on the ones most likely to win this tournament. Surprised? Thought I'd never become a Champion?" he told the group.
The traitors stared at them, especially Gary. May looked with pride at Tory and Max.
"Impossible, how could you three become Champions?! No one, not even Cynthia, should be able to repair your lack of skill!" Gary yelled. Suddenly, everyone shuddered as the temperature seemed to plummet from Cynthia's glare. 'It was warmer where I was nearly killed by those Sealeo and Walrein,' Tory thought to himself, shaking his head at Gary's stupidity. Suddenly, the Sinnoh Champion stormed up to Gary and punched him hard enough to send him reeling.
"You shouldn't be talking, you pathetic excuse for a Pokemon researcher," she snarled. Ash, Max, and Tory were surprised by her vehemence. Normally, she was a serene and calm person; able to resolve conflicts with just a few words, but now she was really getting into her anger. The sight of a truly enraged Cynthia was something no one, not even Ash, had ever seen before. Their thoughts were interrupted by her even more raised voice.
"If you ever insult them again, you had better hope that I'm on another continent, because otherwise I'll destroy you! You hear me?!" she yelled. Gary nodded, afraid of her vengeance and fury. Cynthia walked back over to her friends, who hugged her, trying to calm her down. The blonde-haired Trainer's eyes softened, and she relaxed. "Thanks," she whispered.
"No problem," Max, Tory, and Ash all said in unison.
"Okay, anyway, back to the original problem. Some of us need to stay at your villa, so who will it be?" Trip interrupted.
"Just what kind of an arrogant jerk are you? You're insulting us with every other sentence, and now you want us to cover your freaking living expenses?!" Tory asked in disbelief.
"I'll stay with them! You guys go ahead!" Brock announced.
"What? Okay, but why?" Gary asked, getting up from the ground.
"Guess why," Brock said suggestively, giving a rather lecherous look to Cynthia. The Sinnoh Champion stared in horror and slowly backed away, crossing her arms around her chest.
Ash's sight turned red with anger at the sound of those words. Before he could beat Brock up for his perversion, Max had already dealt a swift punch to the stomach, winding Brock. Tory followed this up with a knee strike to the face, sending him reeling. Both of them glanced at each other, nodded, then performed a simultaneous kick to the Gym Leader's crotch.
"Ohh!" Gary, Trip, and the others groaned at the sight. Brock gaped in pain, before collapsing to the ground. Both attackers glared at Brock's crumpled form, before returning to Ash's and Cynthia's side, standing in front of the Sinnoh Champion defensively. Ash smirked at the sight, and Cynthia didn't try to conceal her look of satisfaction.
"You know, perhaps I could fill a spot?" a new voice said. Ash turned around, to look at a face he had not seen in years. It was…
A/N: Cliffhanger! XD (Guess whose voice that is.) Don't worry, I update often. For example, next chapter's due tomorrow.
Anyway, Umbreon and Hydreigon are two of my favorite Pokemon, so I figured that Max would use them. Talk about character bashing, though. Brock's perversion was stepped up, Gary and Trip are even more arrogant than in their old anime appearances (actually surprising), and Misty is… bashed very badly. That is all I can say.
Suggestions? I'm open to them. Read, review, and I'll see you next time!
Question of the day: Which Pokemon is Max's "secret weapon"? (I think this'll be too easy.)
Red Aura Guard, signing out.
