For the first time I realize I have nothing to say on this particular note…Um…enjoy? Anyway, time for Chapter 4!
Chapter 4
A Horde
Reeree enjoyed pictures.
To her, they represented a more beautiful time; a memory that could be captured and never let go of. It was a simple thing like that which so many people forgot. A picture, a painting, all of them could sear an indelible memory into one's soul. It was so different from fighting, where one moment you could feel a burning passion, and then the very next it was gone. There was nothing to hold on to. And all too often, Reeree felt there was something that desperately needed to be held on to.
"They're nice pictures, huh?" Mimi asked. She hadn't said anything for a long time, simply standing there with Reeree in the darkness. It was a comfortable friendship, one that Reeree wouldn't trade for anything in the world. It was one of the few things she had left after all. "Although, some are a little scary, huh?"
"Kalos is steeped in history, you know that," Reeree said quietly. However, her tone was laced with warning, as if reminding her to shut her mouth and move on. Mimi quirked an eyebrow, but didn't speak, heeding the warning. Reeree stepped along, her gaze briefly flitting upward to the moonlight filtering in through the high windows. Everyone else must have been asleep, but here she was losing herself in the pictures that lined the halls of the League Headquarters.
Feeling a sense of calm pervade her body, Reeree returned her focus to the pictures. Most of them were location paintings; beautiful landscapes that stretched as far as the imagination would let them. Then there were those that detailed history, bloody and violent. Not that anyone who looked at the pictures would be able to guess that was what they depicted unless they were a historian of some sort, but Reeree knew. More like she had to know.
"Once upon a time there was a noble and just king…" she spoke out, though it seemed to come more as singing, a haunting melody. Mimi closed her eyes at the sound of it, losing herself in the reveries of history. "That king loved all people, Pokémon and things. But the king could not stop the war to come, for people and Pokémon made the world undone."
"And then the flower went off to war," Mimi continued. Reeree stopped at her continuation of the lost poem of history. Her gaze lingered on the sight of a man, holding a single flower. To anyone else, it may have been a random picture, but it wasn't, and she knew that. "But what was it for? What was it for?"
"That flower came back in a little box, and the man, he could not deal with what was lost," Reeree proceeded, her haunting melody and song echoing off the hallway's stone walls. "And so he built it, terrible and great, that weapon that ruled over all the world and its fate. But when hatred sets in, it sets in deep, and this world for once, it knew its defeat."
"And the rest is lost to history…" Mimi concluded for her. Reeree stopped in front of one more picture. This one was a little blurrier than all the rest, but within the paint could be seen the shape of a blossoming flower of opalescent quality; the artist had truly captured its shimmer and the terrifying and palpable aura that surrounded it. "He'll be making his move soon, you know."
"I'm well aware of that," Reeree stated simply. She reached her hand out to allow her fingertips to brush against the oil painting softly. "You're the one who needs to be careful. Losing in the first round like that…and against Pancham, of all Pokémon."
"Hey, she was strong!" Mimi protested angrily. "I'd almost think she could give you a run for your money."
"I'd like to see that…" More silence in the empty moonlit halls. "Either way, just as our Father predicted, almost all of them made it through, and with little effort on their part. I'm hardly surprised."
"Father has been quite adept at predicting things, though it's hardly premonitions, and it hardly matters in the long run." Reeree didn't feel the need to point out that it was easy to predict things when you tried to manipulate all the little things.
"I wonder how long the other two will last in this tournament…though I'd imagine it matters little. We still need the final key, after all, and there's not much of a window left." Mimi nodded simply, her own thoughts clearly directed inward. Reeree continued to look at the painting and she could imagine fire surrounding it. Almost everything was in place, there was one key remaining hidden in the wider world, and they would get ahold of it first to tip the balance in their favor. It would all be over soon.
This filthy world would be over soon.
"Hello, hello, and welcome to the second day of the Peace Tournament!" Kalas' voice blasted out over the stadium. "Yesterday, you saw our 108 competitors whittled down to 54 by a show of strength, testing themselves within the heat of combat. Those 54 are now presented on the screen!"
Ash and Pikachu looked towards the screen where all fifty-four pictures were presented. Next to him, Serena was leaning forward in interest. Slipping his eyes over to look at her for just a moment, he smiled. She had been really awesome the day prior, the way she had managed to command Pancham to take down an opponent he was at a clear disadvantage against. Of course, she had told him that his words had encouraged her and helped her to keep a clear head, but he knew that she always had the ability to win.
In fact, they had all celebrated their win except for Tierno who didn't let his loss get him down. If anything, he was just as excited, dancing on top of a table while telling Ash to make sure that he got into those final three slots. He got yelled at by the waitress almost moments later. Serena had apologized for their group, but the woman still seemed to walk off grumbling until she'd slammed a platter of dinner foods before them.
"Pikapi, pika," Pikachu said from next to him, and Ash was pulled away from the reminiscence of the previous night. Instead, he focused on the commentator's words, drowning out the cheering crowd, and on the scoreboard with his and his friends' faces on it.
"However, today's battle is not a one-on-one format, oh, no! Instead, today's battle representation is…HORDE BATTLE!"
"Interesting…" Clemont commented, though Ash could barely hear him over the cheering crowd. "I quite wonder how they'll pull this one off."
"Okay, so…we have to fight a lot of Pokémon?" Dawn questioned. On her lap, Piplup was munching on something. "How are they going to judge us based on that?"
"Lup?" Piplup asked, looking up at his trainer before returning to munching on his cookie.
"To explain the intention and general format of this day's tournament portion is Vice President Michael," Kalas informed the crowd and they quieted enough to let the vice president explain things.
"Yesterday, our contestants were tested on their pure battle ability. However, the purpose of the Horde Battle is to judge how well they can handle difficult situations with numerous opponents. A swarm of them. A horde, if you will," Michael elaborated to the crowd at large. Ash found himself drinking in the words. It seemed like they were going to be fighting against a large group of Pokémon all at once. "To this end, every trainer will, as I'm sure most of you have guessed, be facing off against numerous Pokémon at once. They won't be alone, though.
"Every single Horde Battle is not a single trainer against an entire horde, but rather three trainers at once. This is not a team battle, let me stress that. Their goal inside of the competition is to rack up as many points as possible. Each Pokémon within the horde is worth a singular point, and the Pokémon horde is randomly selected, as is the battlefield. Also within the group is a differently colored member of that horde, which is worth a grand total of ten points. At the end of the ten-minute limit, or if the entire horde is eradicated, the two trainers with the highest amount of points will proceed to the next round."
"Whew, sounds complicated," Kalas chuckled out, trying to keep the crowd entertained. "Though, let's clarify for our audience: are the trainers allowed to interfere with their opponents on the field?"
"They are," was the simple response. "However, let it be known that this particular competition will be a battle in restraint as well. Should you faint any of your competitors' Pokémon instead of a member of the horde, you will be instantly disqualified and the round will end."
"Guess that makes their work cut out for them. But without further ado, let's present the eighteen different matchups for today's round of the competition." Ash scooted forward a little and watched as all the pictures flipped around and then began to shuffle themselves together, making it impossible to keep track of. Eventually, they stopped and flipped back over. Ash only had to look through the first three groupings of names to find his picture, along with Serena and Clemont's.
SERENA vs. DAWN vs. CHARLES
CLEMONT vs. REEREE vs. DEREK
ASH vs. CONWAY vs. POL
"We're in the first three rounds. That's unusual," Serena commented. "Well, let's have a good match, Dawn." As she said this, both she and the bluenette stood, reaching across to grab each other's hands.
"Nothing says we can't work together to ensure we're in the next round, though," Dawn indicated with a wink. "Ash, can you stick with Piplup? I have somebody who wants to go out for me to impress a special someone."
"Pika?" Pikachu asked with titled ears and a questioning expression. Even Ash had a feeling to whom Dawn was referring but he nodded to ensure that he would watch over Piplup. Pikachu hopped from his shoulder to join his friend on the chair. Then Ash watched as Serena and Dawn left together. For a moment, he actually couldn't stop staring at Serena from behind; she held more confidence than she had the day before. He couldn't wait to see her on the battlefield.
He'd hardly said it aloud much, but anytime that Serena was doing anything lately (which hadn't been often after the Master Class) he was captivated by her movements and her Pokémon's movements. Of course, he knew that he was in love with her, that much was easy, but when little movements were starting to dazzle him, it reminded him of every reason he had fallen in love in the first place. It made his thoughts about the nearing end of his journey in Kalos concern his mind. Not that it was going to matter; he wanted Serena there, and for now, he would live in the moment.
"Let's welcome our first three trainers to the field. The field for this particular round is…Grassland!" Kalas announced. Ash turned his gaze to the battlefield down below and watched as the large chasm in the stadium was replaced by rippling grass fields. Stepping on top of it were the three trainers, each of them joining in the center to shake hands before going to a corner of the field. Ash paid most attention to the participant he didn't know: a boy with blond hair and an expensive looking suit. "Our first competitors today are Serena, our very own Kalos Princess; Dawn, a popular Coordinator from the Sinnoh region; and Charles, whose family owns the Torchic Company, a popular distributor of…"
Ash could admit to zoning out. He just wanted to get to the battling. Whose parents owned what weren't important. Before any more announcements were made, each of the three trainers tossed out their Pokémon, with those pictures appearing next to the trainers faces on the scoreboard. As expected, Dawn had called out Buneary who sent a sudden wink up to the stands where Pikachu was sitting. Ash also wasn't surprised that Serena had called out Braixen, undoubtedly her strongest and best-equipped for dealing with large amounts of enemies (she certainly had enough practice). Meanwhile, their fellow trainer, Charles, sent out a Flareon that looked well-groomed.
"Now that our combatants have chosen their Pokémon, the horde Pokémon of choice is…" A roulette reel began to spin in the center of the scoreboard, circulating through a number of shapes until it stopped on a specific silhouette. That very picture colored in. "Plusle and Minun!"
"Oh, boy…" Ash said, leaning back in his seat. Both Pikachu and Piplup appeared to facepalm.
"What's wrong?" Shauna asked from the seats behind him. Ash turned around, noticing that everyone but Alain was looking at him with interest.
"Uh…Dawn has some…issues…with Plusle and Minun. Or she did, at least," Ash told them with a nervous chuckle. He wasn't about to tell them the whole story (considering Dawn would probably kill him) but it was enough to make him turn back to the stadium. "Serena, Dawn, just do your best!"
"Yeah! Go, go, Serena and Dawn!" Bonnie cheered out with Dedenne, kicking her legs back and forth. Both girls looked up to their part of the stadium and raised their fists in the air. That old sign of victory having returned, Ash raised his fist as well, along with the others in their section except for Alain and Mairin, who looked confused.
"There are fifty Plusle and Minun in total. The top two trainers at the end of the ten-minute limit will proceed to the next round," the referee on the last remaining portion of the field announced. "Horde Battle, begin!"
"Buneary, let's start things off with a little Ice Beam!"
"Bun bun!" Buneary cried out, opening her mouth and firing out a wide beam across the grass field. All too instantly, the entire battlefield was covered in a sheet of ice, crystallizing and giving off a shimmer that was reflected in the sunlight. Buneary hardly needed Dawn's command to twirl forward and begin skating upon the ice. At this moment, Ash noticed the first of the horde emerging onto the battlefield from ports on the side of the stadium. Keeping his gaze on Dawn a moment longer, he noticed her stiffen just a little but keep her cool.
"Flareon, use Incinerate. Get rid of this annoying ice," the trainer, Charles, said dismissively. Flareon shot out a globe of flame out onto the field. As it came to impact in the center of the ice field, it mowed through three of the Plusle that had come out before striking and melting the ice. It turned into water, seeping into the grass underneath. On the scoreboard, the number "3" appeared next to Charles' name.
"Come on, Serena! Get some points!" Bonnie called out. Whether it was because of the younger girl's words or not, Serena finally sprang into action.
"Sorry, Dawn, but I have to get rid of your ice field! Braixen, use Flamethrower!" Braixen jumped upward and spun in a pirouette before pointing her wand out. A gush of flame burst out in a massive stream that eclipsed much of the field as she swept it along, melting all of the ice. A number of Plusle and Minun were caught in the attack. As the flames got close, Buneary jumped up and somersaulted over them. When the torrent of flames ended, Ash saw that all the ice was gone, and the grassland was no longer a grassland, but more of a muddy mire…in which the Plusle and Minun were stuck. Buneary appeared just fine.
"That works for me! Buneary, use Bounce!" Buneary landed quickly on a dry patch and bounded upward with strength, slamming her feet into a nearby Minun. She appeared to use that as a springboard to fling herself toward the next one and slam into it. "Alternate with Dizzy Punch!"
"Bun bun Buneary!" Buneary cried as she bounced on another Plusle and then flipped through the air to strike with a glowing, elongated ear, driving two into the ground at once. Ash looked to the scoreboard. Of the fifty Plusle and Minun, Dawn was in first place with a whopping ten points, followed by Serena with five and Charles with three. The last two weren't taking their points quite so lightly, and the horde was beginning to attack back as a number of them were surrounded by a blue aura of electricity that exploded outward.
"Use Fire Blast to defend!" Serena commanded. Braixen held her wand forward and shot the five-pronged attack at the bursts of electricity. The two attacks collided and canceled each other out, only for an orb of fire to slam into Braixen's side. Of course, Ash thought, you can interfere with your competitors as long as you don't faint them. "We're not taking that! Braixen, use Hidden Power!"
"Brai!" Braixen confirmed, the swirling orbs of Hidden Power appearing around her wand before she flung it and the silver spheres went cascading into the field. One of them veered off course and struck Flareon, pushing it back, but only barely. The remaining four spheres broke into the attacking Plusle and Minun, defeating them and adding another four points to Serena's score. She didn't stop there.
"Fire Spin, get onto the field, but look out for the water," she ordered of her top Pokémon. Braixen nodded and shot off into the field. As she ran, her wand continued to switch hands, tapping different places of the ground to make columns of Fire Spin erupt outward. Some of the opposing Pokémon's attacks hit her, but Braixen kept going. By the time she'd cleared the field, she'd left a slew of Plusle and Minun in her wake, adding another seven points to Serena's score and putting her in the lead. Half the time remained, and less than half of their horde remained with it.
The air changed, and Ash could feel that the other Pokémon were getting more desperate. Even Pikachu and Dedenne seemed to ruffle themselves at the charge permeating the air. Sure enough, a group of five Plusle and Minun had joined together in the middle of the stage, when Ash noticed something: a Minun at the top with green colored ears. Those on the battlefield seemed to realize it as well.
"Buneary, Ice Beam at their feet!"
"Flareon, cancel that out with Flame Burst! Then use Overheat on the stragglers," Charles said with a dismissive wave of his hand. Flareon ran forward into the mud and shot out a shot of flame that went straight for the blue beams spurting from Buneary's mouth. The two attacks collided, a thin layer of steam exploding from them. Buneary jumped backwards as Flareon reared back with a powerful cry, slamming its legs down and sending out a great torrent of flame around the area. It quickly added five more points to Charles' score as the timer was ticking down. He was still behind the front runners, though.
"Dawn, looks like we have to work together to stay at the top!" Serena called out. "I'll provide the distraction we need!"
"On it! Buneary, head for Braixen!" Buneary bounded forward, aiming straight for Braixen. Ash noticed the timer was getting very close to ending. If Charles took out just a couple more, Dawn would be out of the competition. With only a minute left, and the combined pyramid of Pokémon having used their Discharge to completely negate the earlier Overheat, they had to find a way to circumvent it.
As it turned out, Serena and Dawn had. Buneary had leapt over to Braixen and gotten on top of her wand. With that, Braixen heaved her wand and sent the bunny flying through the air, right towards to group of Pokémon. Ash scooted forward, wanting to see the very clear result. With an absolutely gleaming smile, he watched as Serena ordered Braixen to use a Fire Blast that not only prevented Flareon from getting close to the clustered group but also forced the Plusle and Minun to divert their attack solely to blocking the blow. It left them vulnerable up above.
"Now, Buneary, use a spinning Dizzy Punch!" Dawn yelled. Right above them, Buneary went spinning through the air, right for the green eared Minun on top. Her ears glowed white and then she slammed into the pyramid, slapping each of her opponents around with her ears until the entire set was defeated and the bell suddenly rang. The final score tallies were placed on the screen.
DAWN 24
SERENA 16
CHARLES 8
"Time is up!" Kalas' voice rang out. "And given the current standing of the points, the trainers passing onto the next round…are the lovely maidens, Dawn and Serena!" The crowd gave a wild cheer as all three participants called back their Pokémon after thanking them and proceeded to leave the field. The water-infested grass field sunk below the surface, all to set up for the next battle. To that, Clemont stood.
"Go and win, Clemont!" Bonnie encouraged her brother.
"I will!" he said emphatically before turning and walking off. Serena and Dawn returned before he and his opponents took to the field.
"You guys did great out there!' Ash assured the both of them positively.
"Yeah, you and Braixen were even more in sync than usual, Serena," Shauna praised her performance. Serena laughed slightly nervously with words of thanks and took her seat. Ash, feeling happier and prouder than ever, decided to put his arm around her to watch the next battle. She appeared to blush a little at the contact, but leaned into it.
"Time for the second round, folks! Battling it out on the Marshland, it's the Lumiose Gym Leader and Electric type expert, Clemont!" Clemont received quite the cheer, similar to the one Serena had gotten, though it was no surprise; he had been just as much a part of those incidents as he and she had. "Also on the field is the mysterious and frightful tactician, Reeree, along with Derek, who competed in the Kalos League just a few weeks back!"
At the conclusion of Kalas' words, the three combatants on the field tossed their pokeballs towards the swampland. From Clemont's pokeball emerged Chespin, though it was hardly a surprise with the land's layout. On the other side, the girl Reeree sent out her Delphox once more. Serena sat forward, as if interested. Derek, a rather lanky trainer with a rather plain face, sent out a Haunter. The roulette of horde Pokémon began to spin rapidly.
"And our combatants in this round will be facing off against…a horde of Wooper!" Each trainer, sans Reeree, seemed to tense in their readiness for the battle as the Wooper began to emerge from the water within the marshland. Then the referee lowered his flag.
"Haunter, use Poison Jab!" Derek commanded as the first of the Wooper popped out. Haunter floated quickly through the air, both of its disembodied hands glowing even more purple than its gaseous body already was. Then both of its hands flew out, slamming the group of Wooper upwards quickly. Before they could hit the ground, Clemont had leapt into action.
"Finish them off with Vine Whip, Chespin!"
"Pin pin!" Chespin agreed, the vines stretching out from his neck to whip into the midair Wooper. Ash's face stretched into a toothy grin. Clemont was really pulling out a brilliant strategy, pulling away points from his opponent like that. Strangely enough, though, the girl Reeree hadn't quite made her move yet, like she was observing her opponents, watching how they fought. On the scoreboard, the points had been awarded evenly at three points to both Derek and Clemont.
"Get Chespin away with Ominous Wind!"
"Brace yourself!" Chespin retracted his vines and crossed his arms in front of himself as Haunter spun around, making swift rotations in midair. From those rotations, an eerie looking burst of gray wind blasted out, buffeting Chespin, who began to be pushed back towards the edge of the arena. "Lock your vines into the ground to prevent yourself from sliding, then fling yourself forward!"
"Ches…." Chespin grunted out, following Clemont's commands by planting his vines deep into the ground, holding out against the wind. Once it started to cease a little, he followed-up on Clemont's other command and flung himself forward, sailing straight for Haunter. "…piiiiin!"
"Great job, Chespin. Now use Pin Missile!" Chespin's spines glowed brightly before sending a stream of green missiles sailing out. Haunter looked at them and whooshed out of the way, but it was obvious that the Gas Pokémon was hardly Chespin's target. The attacks completely missed it, knocking into the Wooper. Some of them countered with a well-timed Water Gun or Mud Bomb, but Clemont managed to all too easily bring in another four points.
"Yeah! Go, Clemont! That's my big brother!"
"I hope he's paying attention to that Reeree girl," Serena said worriedly. Ash frowned at her concern, but he couldn't help but agree. She'd yet to make a move, but if her battle from the day before was anything to judge by, she was a particularly strong opponent.
"All right, great job, Chespin, let's bring in some more points!"
"I'm not letting you! Haunter, use Shadow Claw on that Chespin."
"Intercept, Delphox." The entire crowd almost seemed to roar with approval that the last of the three had finally made her move. However, it proved to be a very unusual move. Instead of countering with an attack, or going after the horde, Delphox flitted forward, right in front of Chespin to take the Shadow Claw head on.
"What the hell, girl? ! Are you insane?"
"Inventor boy, we can team up can't we?" Reeree said confidently. Clemont surveyed her with a healthy amount of skepticism, pushing his glasses up by their bridge.
"I guess so…" he answered tentatively.
"Good, then I'll cover for you while you take away his points. Though, first…use Hidden Power!" Delphox's wand glowed with the numerous amount of mini-spheres before firing out powerfully. They struck into about six Wooper, adding those points next to Reeree's face on the board.
"Like I'll let you do that. This is a free-for-all. Haunter, use Ominous Wind on all the Wooper you can!" Derek ordered passionately. Clemont ignored the incoming attack to order Chespin to attack all the Wooper with a wide sweeping Vine Whip. He managed to sweep through two of them before a rogue Water Gun blasted at the Spiny Nut Pokémon's face and sent him tumbling back. At this point, Haunter was unleashing its Ominous Wind…only for Delphox to stand in the middle of it. It didn't even try to defend, but took the powerful attack head on.
"Is she…?" Ash questioned, finally seeing the game that Reeree was trying to play. It wasn't about points or alliances at all.
"She's playing on psychology," Alain confirmed. "Clemont has proven that he won't attack the other opponent if it means losing points, so she went for someone who would. She's baiting him into attacking in a wide area."
"But why?" Serena and Sawyer managed to ask at the same time. Ash tapped his chin thoughtfully as down below, Haunter fired off another barrage of Poison Jabs. Only one of them managed to find their mark on a Wooper. Instead, Delphox took the brunt of all the attacks.
"She wants to end the round," he concluded. That drew more looks from his friends around him, even Pikachu. "By forcing Delphox to take the attacks, she's ensuring that Delphox faints quickly, disqualifying Derek without any hassle. It's a bold move…and a little sick…"
"Like Paul…" Dawn commented. "He sacrificed Aggron and Gastrodon just to draw out your team, and what she's doing is no different." Ash agreed with that, even if he didn't actually say it aloud. Rather, he kept his gaze intensely focused on the battle unfolding below as Haunter rushed in with Shadow Claw, only for a Fire Spin to erupt between it and its target, forcing it to keep it in the battle with Delphox. She really was a tricky tactician.
"That's enough. Use the biggest Ominous Wind that you can and blow away every single Wooper on the field! We'll earn all the points and show them for getting in our way!"
"Chespin, quick, use Pin Missile to get the Wooper into the air and then Vine Whip to smash them down!"
"Pin pin ches!" Chespin cried out, firing the green projectiles that exploded all over the marshland, making water and mud fly everywhere along with the Wooper. As Haunter started swirling around quickly and the gray wind began blowing, Chespin's vines shot out and slammed all the Wooper into the ground, giving Clemont even more points…regardless of whether the points mattered or not.
At that moment, the gray wind reached a fever pitch. At the same moment, Delphox gracefully slammed its wand into the ground, creating a ring of fire that trapped it and Haunter within the same area. It was dual purpose, and Ash could see that right away. Not only did the attack not reach the Wooper thanks to the barricade of flames, but Delphox had nowhere to turn and was struck point blank by the powerful Ghost attack. It flew back, straight through the flames until Delphox was slammed against the wall, completely out cold. The bell rang instantly.
"Delphox is down! Owing to fainting an opponent's Pokémon, Derek is disqualified from the tournament! The trainers moving on are Clemont and Reeree!"
The crowd appeared to be mixed on that one, half of them cheering and the other half murmuring, as if they'd no idea what had just happened. Ash did, though, and as he observed the dejected trainer watch Reeree curiously, he decided that he wasn't going to let the same thing happen to him. Not in the slightest. Removing his arm from around Serena he stood as Pikachu leapt off his shoulder, like he read his mind.
"Stay with Serena, buddy. I'm going to win this," he said confidently. Responding pleasantly to his friends' words of encouragement, Ash kept his gaze on the field. More accurately, he watched the girl, Reeree, retreat. She had told him everything he needed to know about making it past this round of the tournament. You could work together. You could bait your opponents. You could steal points from your opponents. Knowing all of that, though, Ash had the perfect Pokémon in mind for his battle.
"Good luck, Ash. I know you'll make it through," called Clemont's voice as the lemon-blond passed by him in the hallway.
"Yeah. You did great, Clemont." The two quickly exchanged a fistbump with one another as they continued in opposite directions. Fixing his gaze upon the goal in sight, Ash smiled and adjusted his hat. Two of his best friends (well, one was his girlfriend, but he sometimes saw that as an upgraded version of best friends) had already made it through. Now it was his turn. As he came close to the exit, he saw that the field had already been brought up: a badlands setting.
"Now introducing our third round combatants, it's your hero, Ash Ketchum!" Like the day before, the crowd erupted in cheers. Ash had to admit it was getting quite mortifying. He could only imagine what his mother would say if she was seeing this (which, he realized soberly, she probably was). "Joining him on the battlefield are the scientific genius, Conway, and the unknown, but powerful trainer, Pol! Their battlefield is the Badlands!"
Ash strode onto the field, keeping his mind in the game to avoid being distracted by the crowd. With little trepidation or nervousness, Ash walked forward to the center of the field where both Conway and this Pol character, a guy who looked more thug than trainer with his beanie cap and sunglasses, were waiting. All three extended their hands, though Pol appeared to do it begrudgingly.
"Let's have a great battle, guys," Ash said to them. Pol just scoffed and turned away, heading for his section of the field. Conway shrugged.
"I certainly hope so as well. Good luck, Ash, heh heh heh…" Ash wasn't sure what to make of Conway's usual creepy mannerisms as he slunk away, so he just headed for his own section, and grabbed his pokeball from his belt as his opponents did the same.
"Noivern, I choose you!"
"Vern!" Noivern cried as he emerged, spreading his wings wide before landing on the rocky surface. At the same moment, Dusknoir (to Ash's expectations) came out from Conway's side while a Drapion was sent out by Pol.
"And the horde Pokémon for this particular battle is…Gible!"
"Perfect! Noivern, you're ready for this, right?" Noivern spread his wings wide, indicating that he was ready for battle. Once more, Ash took the opportunity to adjust his hat and smile up at his friends. Then the referee lowered his flag. "Let's start off with Supersonic on Dusknoir!"
"Veeeeeern!" Noivern cried, shooting off like a jet towards Dusknoir. Ash still kept another eye peeled on Pol's Drapion, which he was already giving orders to. Ash looked to see the powerful soundwaves emerging from Noivern's ears as they slammed into Dusknoir, causing the Gripper Pokémon to grow confused. One complication off his back, Ash turned his attention to the emerging Gible and the Drapion that was attacking them with Pin Missile.
"As calculation defying as ever, Ash…clever, eliminating the possibility of Trick Room like that," Conway said with a snicker.
"Well, I'm not going to let you put a stop to Noivern!" Ash said with his trademarked grin. "All right Noivern, fly close to the ground and use your echolocation to find the location of all the Gible underneath the ground. Memorize them!"
"Like I'll give you a chance! Drapion, use Cross Poison, send it at Noivern!" Pol argued in a gruff voice. That caused the grin to drop from Ash's face. He sounded so harsh and familiar, but that was of little concern when a great purple X was flung Noivern's way as he scanned along the ground.
"Spin and dodge, then use Boomburst to force all the Gible out of the ground!" Ash ordered. It was a complex command, but he had full faith that his Pokémon would be able to pull it off. Sure enough, Noivern spun in midair, sailing right under the intersection of the Cross Poison before snapping his wings out to sail back along the ground. As ordered, large and powerful soundwaves blasted out from Noivern's large ears, slamming into the ground and ripping apart every stone and clot of dirt that it could. As expected, over a dozen Gible were ripped from out of the ground. "All right, now zoom through using Dragon Claw!"
"Intercept with Pin Missile!" This guy wasn't giving up, but Noivern was too fast, even for the quick attack given off by Drapion. With all the skill of an expert flier, bested only by Talonflame, Noivern zipped through the air, his claws glowing green. Spinning once to avoid the Pin Missile, Noivern moved in a very quick zigzag pattern, similar to when using Acrobatics to cut across each Gible with a Dragon Claw and slam them into the ground. It took only seconds for all of the Gible to be knocked out. Ash turned his attention to the marauding Drapion, and knew what he had to do.
"Noivern, move in close on Drapion!"
"Get ready to intercept." It was almost a tense face-off as Noivern sailed at high speed right for Drapion and the scorpion waited for him to make a move. Then they were almost within a hair's breadth of each other. "Now, Poison Fang, let's go!"
"Dorap!" Drapion cried, its fangs glowing purple as it attempted to take a bite out of Noivern. Ash wasn't allowing that to happen.
"Use Acrobatics and plant Drapion's head into the ground!"
"Vern!" Noivern screeched, backing up right as Drapion took a bite out of the air, leaving behind its purple sickly glow for just a brief second. Noviern's body glowed with a turquoise hue as he zipped through the air before landing his attack right on top of Drapion's head and driving it down. The earlier Boomburst had managed to shift the rock formation slightly, allowing for Noivern's strength to pierce through it and trap the Poison type's head deep inside. With both his opponents neutralized, Ash decided to make a move before either could recover.
"All right, Noivern, let's do it again! And look for that specially colored one!" Noivern nodded as he streaked along the ground once more, sending off short bursts of soundwaves to locate all of the present Gible. Ash looked over to see that Dusknoir had practically recovered when Conway suddenly had an idea. At the same time, Noivern gave a sharp cry to indicate he'd found his target. "Let's act quick!"
"Dusknoir, Shadow Punch."
"Noir!" The cry was strangled, the confusion still having a hold over it. Instead of attacking any particular target, however, the shadowy punches were turned back on the Ghost type, pummeling its own self. Ash almost cringed; Dusknoir was likely back to normal. Thankfully, Noivern had skimmed along the ground with a destructive Boomburst to draw out their targets, including a Gible that was bright blue in color.
"Now, use Acrobatics and Dragon Claw at the same time!"
"Trick Room!" Ash almost held his breath as Noivern's speed picked up, claws glowing green and he slashed forward, slashing at one Gible before slicing at another. It was going to be close, and it didn't help that Drapion had used its tail to dig itself out. Pol quickly ordered a Pin Missile. The Trick Room had nearly closed in around the arena as Noivern's speed burst petered out and he made a final slash on the bright blue Gible, grabbing it with the green claw and going down with it to ground level.
The Trick Room closed. The Pin Missile slowed. Conway was standing there with shiny glasses of triumph, but Ash already knew that he could breathe. He'd done what he set out to do. Dusknoir was much faster on the move now, cleaning up what was left of the Gible on the field with furiously quick Shadow Punches. Drapion and Noivern, with their speed, stood no chance of getting an attack off against the Gible. It was hard to tell from the look on Pol's face, but as Dusknoir cleared out the final Gible, Ash had a feeling that the boy had greatly underestimated the both of them, leading to such a horrible performance. Though the situation could have easily been reversed, and Ash knew that.
"That's it folks! All of the Gible have been wiped off the field, and what a show it was! It's nearly unprecedented, a trainer taking more than half the points available within a few moves!" Kalas said with joyous enthusiasm. Ash, no longer stuck in the moment, looked at the scoreboard for his results.
ASH 36
CONWAY 18
POL 5
Ash didn't need to hear the responses to know that he was going on to the next round. He didn't even need all the raucous cheers from the crowd at his supposedly amazing performance. All he needed was Noivern returning to him with such a look of triumph; and all Noivern needed was the look of pride he'd given him. "You were great, Noivern. Did you have fun?"
"Vern!" Noivern informed him with a flap of his wings. Ash laughed proudly as the Soundwave Pokémon pulled him into a hug. Responding in kind to his beloved Pokémon with a pat on the head, Ash watched Pol recall his Drapion with his mouth twisted into a scowl.
"Worthless…" he seemed to mutter. The whole scene struck Ash as odd, and familiar.
"As ever, you defy all calculations, Ash," Conway suddenly said from next to him, and both he and Noivern jumped. Clearly, Conway didn't just sneak up on Dawn like that. "At least we're both moving on."
"Yeah, maybe next time we'll work together," Ash chuckled out. He extricated himself from Noivern's hug and returned the dragon as both he and Conway made their way off the field together to let the next round begin (a set of trainers that Ash had only seen battle yesterday). Still, looking back to the point where Pol had left the field, he got a very eerie feeling that he couldn't explain.
It was gone by the time he'd returned to Serena, who had led a practical group hug in celebration of Ash's victory (Alain didn't take part and Serena had topped it off with a light kiss), but the general thought was still there and he couldn't shake it. Something was starting to feel very wrong about this tournament and some of its competitors. Regardless, he sat down, and pushed the thought from his mind to watch the battles, hoping that his momentary ridiculous thought was wrong.
"Ash Ketchum has moved onto the next round. Are you surprised, Mr. President?"
Jack's ears perked up, but he didn't move from the spot he was kneeling. One of his subordinates was watching the Peace Tournament coverage some distance away, trying not to disturb him. The tournament seemed to be proceeding apace, and he knew that it was both a good and a bad thing. Not that it was any surprise for Ash to progress quite handily through the tournament, along with those that had gathered with him. Jack hadn't been keeping up too much with the tournament, but he liked to attend it vicariously through his men. It was truly the only one of his matches he hadn't been able to attend in the recent years.
"Sounds like it's heating up," Lionel commented, leaning against a stone face. "He's really one of the best trainers in Kalos, isn't he?"
"So are his friends," Aidan said, striding forward. Jack tilted his head, noticing that a young recruit was at his side, looking all too apprehensive, as though scared he would have his head chopped off.
"Your son isn't taking part in tournament, I noticed," Lionel directed towards Aidan, though the blond didn't give a direct answer.
"Regardless, sir, our scouts at the tournament and elsewhere have returned," Aidan replied, ignoring Lionel and his remarks completely. Jack quirked his eyebrow, shifting a bit on his knees to look back at the scout in the darkness, lit only by the moonlight. What an eventful day it must have been if the man was shaking that hard.
"There's no reason to be nervous, Derek. Just tell us what you know," he said softly, trying to calm the man. Clearly his words had the reverse affect, causing the boy to shut his mouth. It wasn't like he'd be angry; Derek's main goal was to gather information, not win the Peace Tournament; the same goal that his participation in the Kalos League had. His loss had no effect on their overall plan.
"While Derek gets his mouth in working order, we have a report that the third key was taken from its burial site," Aidan informed him. Jack frowned, but reached a hand out, touching it to the cool stone in front of him. "Looks like we're all even now."
"So we are…We'll all have to act on every angle we can: the forest, the man…the tournament. Please, Derek, inform us: were they there?"
"Y-yes, sir, Red!" Derek replied with a salute. "I don't think they knew I was a member of ARC but I clearly saw at least four members of DARC at the tournament. I followed the one who lost to Ash and…they're making their move tomorrow, I think."
"Tomorrow, huh?" Jack said. He patted the stone in front of him and began to stand. "Looks like things are moving quickly now. Good thing we're all prepared, and everyone is ready to carry out their duties. So, don't be afraid, Derek. You did well making it to the point that you could confirm things. No need to shake. And no need to call us by our code names, either; you're in good company."
"My apologies, sir…Mr. Ketchum, sir," Derek practically stuttered out. Jack smiled.
"No worries…Looks like DARC took our declaration quite seriously," the black haired man replied. In the light of the moon, covered only by shadows, the z-shaped markings on his face, small though they were, became evident. "Time for ARC to bring the war to them, then…"
"And your plans?" Aidan asked curiously. Jack just smirked and turned away, allowing his gaze to cast over the wide field he had been before. No…not a field, but a graveyard filled with countless souls of the fallen. Those he had killed. In that moment, though, none of it mattered, because he had one thing on his mind.
"I'm going to the Peace Tournament to face my son."
Author's Note: So, our second day concludes of the Peace Tournament. Obviously, I'm not showing every single round or battle, because it would both kill me and be so utterly pointless that you'd wonder what the hell I'm doing. To that extent, I'm showing the relatively important ones while building up the plot. Of course, if you couldn't tell, the next chapter is when the real plot is kicking in (as if it hasn't already…) Hopefully, though, you've enjoyed the battles I've provided thus far and found them, maybe, different.
Beyond that, yes, I've dropped some bombs on you this chapter! Well…one bomb! But still, Mimi and Reeree's conversation is important to the plot if you haven't guessed what it's about yet. The clues are all there, however, and sheds some light on the inner workings of DARC. And, of course, the end: Jack is Ash's father. Yes. Why Jack? Well, obviously the codename of Red is reference, but the name Jack is from the fact that his name is one of the default names you can choose in RBY so I went with it because it sounded right. But the graves, on the other hand…well, that and his enigmatic words are mysteries yet to be solved.
So, this time I have another story to suggest you all read and review. It's a newer story but I love the way it reads: Wanderlust by esharpthat. It's a great read so far, so get out and review it!
So, before I leave you with this chapter, I'm going to thank all those who have made this story a success: DragonZeta97, I am the Bird of Hermes, bankerrtx01, ethanhung11, and migueleto10 for favoriting; StrawHatLuffy94 and wamakina5004 for following; and my biggest thanks to those with words of kindness, Cato Yugi, Omegaz, potat lasaro, Tenzalucard123, Cottonmouth25, ultimateCCC, FantasyLover88, Sentinel07, AdvancedAlto, jsun25, Daniel31, InfiniteImmunity, ChE clarinetist, TheEnigmatic97, AmourshippingCanon, 0 Jordinio 0, and sparkydragon98 for reviewing. I'm very grateful to have you all here, sharing your words and helpful, realistic wisdom with me, and I hope you continue to do so. Until the next chapter, Review, and Dare to Be Silly.