Welcome back people, to the conclusion of Ash vs Paul. Finally, it is done, but however I look at it, I feel like it misses something. I don't know, this is the first chapter I'm not really happy with. Whatever, I hope you guys enjoy it anyway. On another note, it's my birthday today! Yes, I turned twenty years of age. So consider this a gift from me to you :)
Special thanks to my reviewer Uranium235, for the constructive criticism he left last chapter. I love all your reviews, but I definitely crave constructive criticism the most. It helps me make this story even better for your own reading pleasure! For those who hadn't seen it yet, I changed a certain scene in the last chapter because of his review. Now on with the story!
Disclaimer: I don't own pokemon! If I did, somebody would've hooked up with Ash ages ago!
''Charizard'' Speech
'Charizard' Thoughts
'Charizard' Telepathy
''Charizard'' Whiteboard marker
Chills.
That's what went through Ash's body when he saw the silhouette of the pokemon who was descending rapidly to the battlefield below; the sun rays blocking its appearance.
Its big wings flapped heavily on the wind, and when it spotted Ash, it dove towards him like a bullet. Just then, it gave a mighty roar, letting the whole stadium know of its presence. Crowd and announcer alike watched with awe as the pokemon came closer and closer.
''We're just back from our intermission people, and it seems we have a mysterious pokemon crashing the battle who's heading straight to Ash Ketchum!'' the announcer spoke with a hint of panic in his voice.
Some people in the crowd got restless as well. Murmurs could be heard; some of them even slightly dreadful, yet Ash only gave a wide smirk at the approaching form of the pokemon.
Paul's expression was unreadable; he didn't fear for Ash's life at all. Something just screamed at him that this was Ash's pokemon, and he was right.
The flaps grew louder and finally, Ash could see the face of his loyal fire and flying type.
''Charizard! You made it!'' the boy exclaimed happily.
The pokemon in question gave one mighty flap of his wings to stop his descent, sending dust flying everywhere, and greeted his trainer with a growl of acknowledgement.
'I knew it,' Paul thought to himself, slightly agitated, and gritted his teeth. Sweat started to form on his face, as he desperately sought for a solution to this obvious ace of Ash Ketchum.
'This Charizard is probably Ash's strongest pokemon and I should treat it as such,' the Veilstone resident reasoned.
In the crowd, Bianca looked on with excitement, her pencil almost smoking with how fast she was drawing. 'Charizard looks so awesome, don't you agree, Tia?' she stated to her best friend, who was seizing Charizard up and down, obviously seeing a match in the Kanto fire starter.
'Definitely,' the dragoness agreed, her eyes locked on the monster that was now standing before Ash. He was growling at the purple haired trainer, who looked slightly fazed.
''What!?'' the announcer exclaimed, unable to hide his surprise. ''I don't believe it! The mysterious pokemon was Ash's Charizard all along, talk about an entrance!''
The crowd now gave a deafening roar, their worry ebbing away. If this Charizard was just as strong as he looked, they would be in for an enjoyable match for sure.
''Hey Paul! How'd you like my Charizard? I let him come over here all for you, so he expects a tough match!'' Ash yelled at his opponent, who didn't respond.
Paul was in a tough spot: his Drapion was damaged pretty badly, his Ninjask was obviously no match, and he had to keep his Electivire for last. That Infernape was still in the back as well and Ash had still one slot unrevealed. He couldn't let his ace take unnecessary damage, so his options were limited.
'If I want to win this, I have to play really smart,' he added mentally; he couldn't afford to make a mistake.
'Ash! Are you going to use Charizard right now?' the dragoness asked him, unable to keep a twinge of happiness out of her sweet voice. Even after all what'd happened, she still felt strongly around the boy, and couldn't help but show it a little.
The young man responded her in an instant; quite happy when he heard her voice, despite what just had occurred.
'Of course I will! And I already got a plan how I'm going to use him. If I know Paul well enough, he's going to save his Electivire for last, even if he would have the type advantage against Charizard. He needs it for my Infernape and he knows it. That's what I'm going to exploit!'
The disguised legendary nodded mentally. 'Alright Ash, I'll be here to cheer you on!' she responded, seeing as Ash didn't need her help anymore. The trainer finally looked content, probably because he was about to battle with one of his oldest friends. Nostalgia had that effect on you.
''The match will now be resumed. Trainers, please show your pokemon!'' the referee stated, both boys getting ready.
''Drapion, standby for battle!'' the purple haired trainer shouted, throwing his poison and dark type back on the field, who looked slightly bruised but ready to fight nonetheless.
Just like before, it was about to shout menacingly, but immediately shut up at the sight of the Charizard. Fear started to creep in its system instantly. The Kanto starter looked not amused at all, his powerful claws shining in the bright sunlight.
''I'll be using Charizard!'' the Kanto resident brought in.
The Charizard grinned, and puffed out a cloud of smoke. He would show Ash just how much he'd progressed after the last time they battled together.
The crowd was pumped; these two beasts were about to battle against each other in the class of ages. The referee raised his flags as both pokemon got ready, one fearful and one filled with determination.
''Drapion versus Charizard, begin!'' he shouted, and lowered his flags in signal of the start of this battle.
''Drapion, cross poison, go!'' the purple haired trainer started off, extending an arm for emphasis.
His pokemon hesitated slightly; Charizard had that look on his face that screamed: 'I dare you to fire off that attack, I double dare you!'
Not wanting to disobey his trainer, but not wanting to turn into a shish kebab by Charizard's claws either, he fired the poisonous X towards Ash's pokemon, though it missed a lot of raw power.
The fire and flying type saw this; he loved seeing pokemon tremble before him, and opened his wings to look even more intimidating. The fear on the Drapion gave him a great advantage, even though he hadn't even fired off an attack of his own yet.
Charizard smirked as his trainer uttered his first attack, ''Charizard, use flamethrower to block the cross poison.''
The pokemon opened his maw and fired a sea of flames at the incoming attack.
The purple X turned hot red at the contact, and exploded in mid-air soon afterwards, not stopping the flames at all, which were traveling towards Paul's pokemon with high speed and not a care in the world.
''Use your claws again to escape!'' Paul yelled, desperation lingering in his voice.
The pokemon complied and used his claws on the ground, getting that extra boost he needed to evade the flamethrower just in time.
''Ash starts off strongly as that cross poison from Paul's Drapion missed a lot of power. Are we sure that Charizard's ability is not intimidate?'' the announcer questioned jokingly.
Paul couldn't appreciate the joke; even he was slightly intimidated as the flamethrower whizzed past him. He could feel the destructive power and heat it packed, his face turning to a red hue for a moment when it traveled past his line of sight.
He swallowed audibly.
This was not just an ordinary Charizard, this was a powerful Charizard.
The dragoness was amazed; that was certainly one powerful flamethrower. 'Ash, did you train Charizard all by yourself?' Latias asked him excitedly. If this was the case, she couldn't wait what Ash had in store for her.
'Unfortunately, no. Charizard has had some very special training, which I'm sure I could've managed to accomplish myself, given me enough time, but definitely not as quick as now,' the boy explained to his legendary, who understood.
'Aww, I was hoping you could make me a powerful pokemon too.' She pouted, half teasing and half sincere.
Ash chuckled in response. 'But you already are, Tia, and trust me, I promise to make you the strongest Latias in the whole world!' the boy exclaimed happily.
The disguised legendary felt warmth invade her body. She gave the boy a very happy smile and cooed in response. Ash never failed to make her happy; she loved the young man, and so, she was reminded of what she'd done just twenty minutes ago.
She sighed inwardly; the dragoness knew this was going to be tough to admit, and called Ash softly. 'There's something I need you to tell, Ash...'
She hesitated for a moment, trying to find her words. Latias was about to postpone this chat until after the match, but Ash beat her to it.
'Let me guess, you were the one that blocked Bayleef's attack, weren't you?'
Tia gasped; her heartbeat started to rise, and shame hit her like a ton of bricks. Ash knew; how did he figure it out so fast? She felt so ashamed, and was at a loss for words as the trainer patiently waited for a response.
Finally, she admitted it hesitantly, slowly nodding her head up and down like she just got caught doing something terrible, and in her mind, she did.
The young trainer sighed and pinched his nose. He'd never expect something like this from Tia, but it was the only logical explanation. He'd thought about it very deeply in the break and he was right about his assumption.
The only reason is why? Why did she do it? Ash had a vague idea, but that could wait after the match. Latias was already apologizing profusely as Ash put her at ease.
'I'm so sorry, Ash. I don't know what came over me. Please forgive me!' she mentally pleaded, sadness filled in her voice. The Kanto resident stayed silent for a moment before he responded.
'...I forgive you,' Ash told her finally, his voice neutral. 'But! We're going to have a long talk with Bayleef after this match as to why you did it,' Ash added, with a hint of tiredness in his voice.
Latias nodded immediately; already more than happy her trainer had forgiven her so easily. 'Yes of course, thank you, Ash!' she spoke to him with happiness. Appreciation filled her being and Ash smiled slightly, he couldn't stay mad for long at her.
'Now that we got the cleared out of the way, I have a scorpion to fry.' Ash now gave a full smile as he saw how Paul reacted to his flamethrower attack. He used the same strategy that caught him so off guard earlier in the match. Not this time though.
'Got you,' Ash thought triumphantly. He predicted—no, he knew Paul was going to use that strategy to evade his Charizard's flamethrower, and punished him accordingly.
Drapion, who whas high up in the air, felt some confidence return now that he evaded that attack, and looked down on the battlefield below, only to see that Charizard was nowhere in sight.
Dread filled the pokemon immediately when he looked up, and saw the Kanto fire starter hovering above him, grinning widely.
Paul gawked, yet again he fell into Ash's trap and there was nothing he could do about it.
The boy in question smiled contently, yelling his finishing blow victoriously, as he pumped a fist in the air. ''Now! Use fire blast on Drapion!''
Charizard shot the five-star pointed beam of fire point blank at the Drapion, who gave a mighty cry of pain. It was pushed back to the ground below, and the impact left a crater where he landed. The ground shook as the poison and dark type hit it, not ever getting up after that massacre. Its eyes were replaces with swirls, signaling its defeat and the referee raised his flag.
''Drapion is unable to battle, Charizard wins!'' he stated as the crowd yet again exploded in cheers and roars.
Charizard too, gave a dominant roar, winning his first battle for Ash.
''Way to go Charizard!'' Ash praised his pokemon loudly. His strategy had worked; Paul had only two pokemons left while Ash still had his strongest three.
''Somebody please hand me my nitrates! I don't think my heart is able to take any more surprises! Ash managed to catch Paul completely off guard with that flamethrower lure, finishing Drapion swiftly with a fire blast straight to the face. Paul now only has two unrevealed pokemon remaining while Ash has three left; one unrevealed,'' the announcer boomed through his mike.
The giant screen gave a ping sound as Drapion's picture turned dark, and all eyes were back on the Veilstone resident, curious how he was going to counter this Charizard.
Paul began to grow nervous; this was not in his favor at all. He had to rely on Ninjask's speed to damage that Charizard as best as he could, and then finish it off with his Electivire, hoping his electric type wouldn't take too much damage, so that he still could battle Infernape and possibly win.
'If only I knew Ash's last pokemon,' He thought, grimacing. He had the poison on his side for the Infernape, but he had no idea who Ash's last pokemon was. It either was a bad matchup against his Drapion, or even stronger than his Charizard.
Paul chose to believe the former. This Charizard clearly was Ash's best pokemon. He silently withdrew his Drapion, who had done so much in this match for him, and picked his second to last pokeball.
''Ninjask, standby for battle!'' he shouted, and the speedy bug type materialized on the field. It buzzed, and seemed to teleport all over the field, a normal eye not able to register its movements.
Bianca, who couldn't take her eyes off of the dragon-look-alike, was paying no mind to Paul's Ninjask; instead, she cheered loudly for Ash while drawing furiously at the same time, still managing to make sketches that looked stunning.
Latias grew uncomfortable at the buzzing sound, though. She didn't like bug pokemon at all. Partly because they were super effective against her, but mostly because she was terrified of them.
She always had this reoccurring dream where she got caught by a bunch of Ariados, who in turn, began to eat her whole. She visibly shuddered at that thought; it was a little trauma she'd gotten after the Annie and Oakley incident. Ever since, she was scared of all sorts of bug types.
She was drowning so much in those thoughts that she didn't even notice that she was sending them to her telepathic connections, namely, Bianca and Ash. The artist paid it no mind, she knew about Tia's phobia of bug types, and also knew she would do this often, almost every time she encoutered a bug type.
Ash however, reacted worriedly at the images presented in his head. 'Tia, are you ok?' he asked, concerned for the dragoness.
'I-It's ok, Ash. Just a little phobia for bug types, that's all,' she tried to respond coolly but failed horribly.
The raven haired trainer didn't have to think long as to why she had this phobia. That stupid Ariados from two years ago was likely the cause, he reasoned, and grew pissed just thinking about it.
'Don't worry, I'll never let you battle a bug type then, I promise. Besides, if a bug type ever wants to hurt you, it has to go through me first,' the boy tried to soothe the disguised legendary.
It worked.
Yet again, the dragoness felt warmth spread through her body. She blushed as she responded shyly. 'Thank you, Ash... But if I have to, I'll battle bug types for you.'
She would face her fears if that meant pleasing Ash. Hell, she would give her life for him in a heartbeat.
'No way!' Ash rebutted. 'I'm not letting you face a bug type and that's final. Let Infernape or Charizard handle that, you can clean up the rest,' Ash reassured, giving the psychic and dragon type a bright smile.
She knew, at that moment, there was no one in this world than Ash for her. He would look out for her, like she would for him. She gave a bright and loving smile in return, just enjoying Ash's presence and cool voice.
The pokemon trainer faced his opponent, the Ninjask still zooming all over the stage, while Charizard looked bored, not impressed with the bug type at all.
''The interesting choice of match-up comes from Paul this time, opting to go with Ninjask for his superior speed! But don't underestimate Charizard, who's not a slugger either. Let's see how this is going to work out people!'' the announcer boomed in his mic yet again, the crowd agreeing with him instantly.
The referee raised both of his flags again, as this match was about to start. ''Ninjask versus Charizard, begin!'' he shouted and just like that, they were on.
''Ninjask, use your speed to get in close and start off with an X-scissor!'' the purple haired trainer commanded. He needed to make sure this Charizard wouldn't hit his pokemon. That way, he could rack up the damage, slowly but surely.
X-scissor wouldn't do a lot, but that was part of his plan. While his bug was trying to confuse Charizard, who still looked bored as hell, Ash was thinking about the best way to approach this obnoxious little buzzer.
'I need the full attention of Charizard if I want to hit that thing, but the longer I wait, the faster it gets, thanks to its ability,' the trainer contemplated. He didn't get long to think as the bug and flying type prepared its X-scissor attack.
One of its claws glowed a menacing red, and struck the Charizard right on his face.
The fire and flying type, who was bored just a moment ago, now was actually surprised. The attack, while not very painful, had stung. It was this annoying pain that would bother you all day, and before he could contemplate what just happened, the Ninjask struck again, this time, at the back of his head.
Charizard let out a grunt of irritation and slashed with his claws at Ninjask's general direction, who was long gone the moment the Kanto fire starter tried to hit it, and he grew more annoyed as time passed.
''Charizard, don't let it annoy you, use fire spin to protect yourself!'' the voice of his trainer rung out.
He obeyed, although with a little hesitation, and created a fiery tornado around himself, making the bug type unable to come in close.
''It seems like Paul's offense surprised Ash's Charizard! But the Kanto trainer remained calm, and reacted accordingly, protecting his pokemon in the process!''
While the announcer explained, Ninjask only increased his speed, waiting patiently for the fire spin to wear off. The buzzing grew more erratic, and Tia couldn't help but start to sweat a little. She hated the sound, and would have wished for nothing more than a couple of ear buds right now to drown it out.
She actually let out a mental shriek when the bug whizzed by very closely, stopped for a moment, not even five feet away, before resuming its destination to elsewhere.
'S-sorry,' she stuttered out to Bianca and Ash, who both reacted startled, the artist dropping her pencil while Ash gave a sudden jerk of his head in her direction.
'You ok?' Ash asked her mentally, concern clear in his voice.
The dragoness sighed a breath of relief, 'I'm ok, just startled,' she responded to Ash. Bianca gave her a reassuring squeeze with her hand, while Ash chuckled weakly.
'Can you warn me the next time you do that? You startled me just as bad,' he replied back jokingly.
'Sorry,' she apologized again, rubbing her head awkwardly. Honestly, she was just happy she didn't have to fight that thing... Hopefully. Because there was no way Charizard and Infernape would lose to this bug... Right?
While Tia was thinking of this worst case scenario, the Ninjask was still running loose, just being the annoying little pokemon it was.
Charizard had stopped his firespin, and just like last time, the bug started to attack the fire and flying type from every angle.
The fire starter, at this point, was pissed off, and was firing flamethrowers at it randomly, missing his target every single time.
''Ash's defense didn't work for long, as now, his Charizard is ticked off and firing attacks at Paul's Ninjask like crazy without any coordination,'' the announcer told the crowd, surprised this Ninjask was able to keep up so well with Charizard.
The crowd too, had never suspected any of this. Then again, both trainers were full of surprises, and they were sure this certainly wouldn't be the last one.
Paul smirked; this was exactly what he was planning. Get Charizard pissed off so it can't attack accordingly, and then keep racking up the damage. Maybe, if he got lucky, he would even take it out with his Ninjask!
Ash, who was trying to get his Charizard to listen, got more annoyed as time passed. His patience was running thin; all the crap that had happened recently, including Charizard's past with Ash, were he'd disobeyed him constantly, was reaching a breaking point.
Not this time! Charizard would obey him, right here, right now! So, with those thoughts in his mind, he let loose his little tirade. ''Charizard! Stop attacking that pesky little wannabe Vespiquen blindly and listen to me!'' he screamed at the top of his lungs.
Charizard, who heard his trainer scream at him so angrily, gave Ash an angry look of his own, and was about to rebut with a growl, but the young man had had enough.
''No! Shut it! I'm done with all this crap! I'm your trainer so listen to me! You understand!?'' The ticked off looking trainer commanded his fire starter.
Charizard immediately shut up after that. He'd seen his trainer mad plenty of times, but never so pissed off as now, and silently nodded his head. ''Good! Now focus on that Ninjask, and strike when the time is right!''
The purple haired trainer gave a full fletched grin at Ash's little speech.
'Never knew Ketchum had it in him. Surprising,' he thought as Charizard listened, and was now waiting patiently for his opening.
Tia was blown back by the amount of pent up rage that came off of the young pokemon trainer, and silently called him while being a little bit scared. 'Ash?' she asked hesitantly.
The trainer had to pause a moment not snap at her, and took a deep breath.
'I'm fine, Latias, don't worry about me,' he reassured her. The pokemon trainer watched as Charizard finally saw his opening, and slapped his claws together, trying to splat the Ninjask like the bug it was.
''Protect!''
Just in time, the green force field stopped the Charizard's claws dead in its tracks. But, that is where the purple haired trainer gasped.
Normally, a protect would bounce off any attack it blocked, however, the Charizard was still holding on to it strongly, not wanting to fail his trainer. If the protect would falter, Ninjask would as well.
''Another surprise from the kanto resident. Paul thought to outsmart him by using protect, but Charizard has the bug in a deadlock now instead. Bad times all around for Ninjask!''
Indeed bad times, Paul knew it too. There was nothing he could do, Ninjask struggled as best as it could, but it was no use.
Seeing as Paul had no options left, he ordered his pokemon one last time. ''Use giga drain!'' he yelled, trying to rack up a little bit more damage.
''Finish this with flamethrower, Charizard!'' Ash countered.
The protect dropped, and Ninjask eyes grew red, its giga drain a lot faster than Charizard's flamethrower. Ash's pokemon grunted as he felt his life-force getting sapped away, but held one nonetheless, and fired the flamethrower straight at the bug type.
It stood no chance as the fiery beam engulfed it whole. It quickly dropped out of the sky afterwards, and was not getting up.
The referee raised his flag. ''Ninjask is unable to battle, Charizard wins!'' he stated.
''There you have it folks! Paul is down to his last pokemon while Ash still has three! Will he able to make this comeback?'' the announcer questioned as the crowd roared again.
Tia sighed. She luckily didn't have to deal with that bug herself. 'Thank you, Charizard,' she added mentally.
Bianca was clapping excitedly for Charizard and Ash, who were almost in the semi finals. 'I can't believe it; Ash is actually going to win!' she said mentally to her best friend, who nodded in return.
'There was nothing else I could do there. It's all up to Electivire now,' Paul thought, silently returning his fallen pokemon and grabbing his last.
''Ash! You definitely know who my last pokemon is going to be,'' he addressed his opponent and showed him the pokeball in question. ''He's going to give his all, and you know it.''
Ash, who had now calmed down considerably, responded him, unable to keep a smug grin off his face. ''You know Paul? You're right. But... Are you ready for my last pokemon?''
While he said this, he returned his Charizard back to his pokeball, making Paul quite confused.
''What do you mean, Ketchum?'' the purple haired trainer asked for clarification, as he threw his last pokemon, Electivire, on the field. The pokemon appeared with his everlasting grin on his face, electricity flying from his body.
''You'll see in a moment, Paul,'' Ash replied, chuckling slightly.
'Latias?' he called to his legendary. 'It is time.'
The dragoness sputtered for a moment. She didn't expect Ash would use her, he had Charizard and Infernape left, after all. 'But Ash, I'm in the stands. Everybody would see me if I'd transform into my true form,' she rebutted.
Ash was clear in his decision though.
'I don't care. I want you to battle for me. Besides, we'll make another disguise for you after this match is over.' Ash softened his voice. 'Please?'
The dragoness gave a loving smile at that. Honestly, if he had pleaded her for anything else, she would've done it too. Giving up her old disguise was not a big deal for her at all.
'Alright, Ash, I'll be down in a moment.' True to her word, she was down in a moment, simply climbing over the fence that separated the front row with the battlefield.
The artist, at first, was about to hold her friend back, but when she saw the smile and determination on her face, let her go after that. The crowd gasped as this young girl walked over the battlefield towards Ash with not a care in the world.
''Ma'am, you can't be here! Please leave the field at once!'' the referee addressed her, who she promptly ignored, her eyes set only on her trainer.
''What is happening people? First Charizard, and now this girl that interrupts the match? Is she one of Ash's pokemon too?' the announcer jokingly guessed. His mouth would grow numb the instant he found out how accurate that joke was though. For now, he was watching curiously how the young girl approached Ash.
'Here I am, Ash,' she told him matter of factly, heartbeat rising. She hugged him gently, which he returned, before she faced Electivire and Paul, hands behind her back and a cute smile on her face.
Paul's eyes widened, and automatically brought a hand to his cheek, which suddenly began to sting a lot more at the sight of the girl.
'That's the girl who almost deformed my head! What's she doing here?' he thought, afraid.
The referee was just thinking the same thing. ''Ash Ketchum, you better have a good explanation as to what this girl is doing here!'' he said to the quarter finalist.
''Certainly,'' he responded. ''She's my final pokemon. I'd like to battle with her.''
The referee and Paul looked at him like he grew an extra head.
''What?!'' they both yelled at the same time.
The announcer saw the humor in it though. ''It looks like I was right! Ladies and gentlemen, Ash's last unrevealed pokemon is going to be this girl! How's she going to do against Electivire?'' he joked, some of the people in the crowd laughing.
Ash frowned. ''What's the problem, referee?'' he asked him innocently.
The referee was not amused in the slightest. ''Get this girl off the battlefield or be disqualified immediately,'' he yelled at him.
The pokemon trainer rolled his eyes. 'Can't appreciate a joke, can he?'
Latias giggled cutely at him, and Ash gave her a mental nod. At this cue, she started to deactivate her disguise. She glowed brightly in a shower of sparkles; the referee and Paul watched slack jawed at the transformation, while the crowd and the announcer grew deadly silent.
The light died down, and before them, floated the cute, red and white dragoness in all her glory. She gave a soft coo at the referee, who was stunned into silence. You could hear a pinprick fall as Ash repeated his question.
''Well, what's the problem? I choose Latias as my final pokemon!'' he said as stoic as possible, but from the inside, he was laughing like crazy.
'Did you see the look on their faces? Priceless!' he laughed mentally to Tia, who giggled sweetly in return.
''I...Uhm...Well...'' the referee stuttered, before he was rudely interrupted by the announcer.
''I can't believe my eyes! For the second time, we're seeing a legendary pokemon in this tournament! And one that tricked us all! I take my earlier statement back, this is going to be Paul's toughest match of his life!''
The purple haired trainer looked on fearfully. 'This girl is actually a legendary pokemon!?' He couldn't believe it. Ketchum had a legendary pokemon? How was this possible? How in the distortion world would he ever be able to beat a legendary with only his Electivire?
Said electric type was intimidated too, but also pumped. This was his first time facing a legendary, and he wouldn't go down without a fight.
''Don't worry, Paul! Latias will finish this quickly, isn't that right?''
The dragoness cooed happily at Ash in agreement and stared down her very first opponent.
Paul gritted his teeth, a snarl apparent on his face. ''We'll see about that!'' he retorted, though his statement didn't hold much power.
''Yeah, go Latias! Woohoo!'' Bianca suddenly cheered from the crowd, other people quickly following in turn. Soon, the whole stadium was almost shaking; so much noise were all these people producing. This was it, the climax they've all been waiting for.
The referee cleared his throat and raised his flags again, signaling the start of this decisive match. ''Electivire versus Latias, begin!'' he yelled over the noise.
''Start this off with thunder!'' the Veilstone resident shouted.
His pokemon obeyed and shot the lightning bolt at Latias, who narrowed her eyes.
''Latias, fly up high to dodge, and then use dragon pulse!'' Ash countered. Much like the Ninjask, she seemed to teleport away, tugging her arms in her body to reduce air resistance and fly up high. She opened her maw and prepared the blue draconic beam.
''Speed that could rivals Paul's Ninjask! Expected from this legendary pokemon, let's see what Paul's going to do next!''
''Protect, and then thunder again!'' Paul retaliated. Electivire put his hands before him, creating the green force field that blocked Latias' dragon attack with success, and fired his next thunder at the dragoness, who was still high in the sky.
''Evade that attack Latias, use psychic to block it!''
The young legendary's eyes glowed with psychic power and effectively changed the course of the thunder attack, sending it high up in the sky, where it disappeared harmlessly into the clouds.
''Amazing plays from both sides! We're at a stalemate at the moment folks!'' the announcer, shaking with excitement, told the crowd.
'Not for long though, let's surprise Paul a little shall we? Turn invisible.' At the command, the psychic and dragon type activated her invisibility cloak, completely disappearing from the naked eye.
''What? What's happening?'' Paul shouted out, growing more unnerved. The announcer was so kind as to answer Paul's question.
''Ash opts to go for one of Latias' abilities, invisibility. This has just become a very high mountain to climb for Paul.''
'It can transform and turn invisible? This is not good. Not at all.' The nervous trainer thought. ''Electivire, keep your ears open!'' The electric type nodded at his trainer's command.
'If I can't see it, at least Electivire can hear where she's attacking from. Now, I only have to wait for Ash's comma-' He was baffled when the legendary fired off another dragon pulse, without waiting for Ash's command, completely catching Paul's pokemon off guard, who was unable to dodge.
The pokemon let out a loud cry and got knocked off his feet. He grunted and looked desperately at his trainer, who was just as stunned.
''Surprised? As a psychic pokemon, Latias has the ability to use telepathy. So I don't say my commands out loud. I just think them towards her,'' he explained to his opponent smugly.
Paul gasped again. 'Arceus, is there no end at what this pokemon can do?' he said mentally, grinding his teeth as his pokemon was levitated from the field in a psychic grip.
''This could very well be the end for Paul if he doesn't think of something fast,'' the announcer said.
''Try to break loose!'' he shouted, but it was no use. The Electivire was thrown across the stage like a rag doll, before his mind was bombarded with psychic energy.
He cried out in pain as he gripped his head in agony, and fell to the ground with a loud thud afterwards.
''Electivire is down!'' the announcer told the crowd matter of factly.
Was this the end for Paul?
Latias, seeing as her opponent was down, turned visible again, and cautiously floated to the large electric pokemon. 'Did I overdo it?' she awkwardly asked her trainer, who gave her a mental shrug in return.
Paul said nothing; it was over in his mind... Until he saw a twinkle in the eyes of his pokemon, and quickly took advantage of Latias' guard drop.
''Ice punch, go!''
The downed pokemon stood up immediately, fist ready. The legendary never saw it coming and got the icy punch straight at her right cheek. She shrieked and fell out the sky, hitting the ground with a thud, where the toxic spikes activated as well, poisoning her in the process. She let out a grunt of pain at the numbing venom that travelled through her system.
'Guess that makes us even,' Paul thought smartly to Latias.
Ash however, was more than angry with Paul. ''That was a dirty trick!'' he said to him.
The purple haired trainer laughed in disbelief. ''Come on now, Ketchum, I'm only playing your own game right back at ya!'' he stated smugly. He was, in some sense, right. But that didn't change the fact Ash felt anger rise in his system as he watched his Latias weakly get back off of the ground, looking pretty battered because of Paul's cheap shot.
''Oww! That had to hurt, even for a legendary pokemon,'' the announcer boomed, the crowd just as excited as ever.
'Come on Latias, I know you can do it!' Bianca mentally cheered her best friend on.
'Play time is over! Latias, use calm mind and then finish it with dragon pulse.' The legendary nodded and cleared her mind, glowing with a golden hue in the process.
Paul saw what Ash was trying to do and quickly reacted. ''Get in close for another ice punch!''
Paul's pokemon complied, and darted to the legendary dragoness, who still had her eyes closed in concentration. Just as he was about to hit her for a second time, she opened her eyes, and fired the dragon pulse with such sudden speed at point blank range, the surprised electric type wouldn't have been able to dodge it even if his life depended on it.
The attack exploded on impact, and forced Paul's pokemon on his back, where it was blasted away several feet on the ground, sliding to a stop just before Paul's feet.
He looked incredulous to his defeated Electivire, not expecting such a sudden attack at all, and the referee raised his flag for the final time.
''Electivire is unable to battle, Latias wins! All six pokemon of Paul have been eliminated, which means Ash will be progressing to the semi finals!'' he stated as the crowd erupted in loud cheers and roars.
''It's over! Ash will be the one competing in the semi finals against Joey in three days. Congratulations Ash Ketchum from Pallet town!''
The big screen showed Paul's last slot going dark, and Ash's picture took center place, with the word 'winner' written in big letters under it.
''We did it! We did it Latias!'' Ash cheered loudly. She cooed happily and tackled him to the ground, nuzzling his head affectionately while Ash giggled at the ticklish feeling.
''You were so great back there!'' he praised Tia, who blushed at the compliment.
'It was because of you... Ash,' she shyly confessed. The trainer stopped his giggling and looked her straight in her eyes. That funny feeling returned tenfold when he saw her warm, amber orbs stare back at him, which made the trainer nervous as hell.
''How's your cheek doing?'' he whispered back, forgetting the world around him. He gently touched her right cheek and slowly rubbed it. The dragoness winced a little under the boy's touch, but enjoyed it nonetheless.
'Now? So much better.'
Ash couldn't help but blush at how Latias spoke those words. They were filled with so much emotion and compassion, he felt at ease just lying here. He swallowed once before responding. ''I got a couple of potions and antidotes in my back, just a sec.''
He grabbed his backpack from his left, producing two small bottles from it, one potion and one antidote. ''This might sting just a little,'' he warned her and sprayed the content of the potion gently on her right cheek, dabbing it with a piece of cloth.
She let the boy do his work as she lowered her head, giving him better access to her stinging cheek. Heat radiated from the dragoness at the closeness of the young man, who was nervously moving his hand up and down her face.
''Can...Can you...Uhm... Get off of me please?'' Ash asked her, embarrassed. Why was he so embarrassed? he was just tending to his pokemon's wounds.
The dragoness floated off of him gently and he stood up, moved to her back where the toxic spikes had infiltrated her body, and began to apply the antidote there.
'Sweet Cresselia don't let this feeling ever end,' Latias thought to herself, in heaven just by the closeness of the young man. She felt instantly better as the poison was leaving her body, and gave another grateful coo.
Bianca was squealing at the adorable scene, the sketch she was currently working on forgotten. 'They're so cute together!' she thought, and put her hands on her cheeks, sighing contently.
Paul, who had returned his Electivire and had muttered a couple of words of encouragement to the pokemon, was waiting patiently for Ash to finish treating his pokemon.
''Ash! You obviously care for your pokemon, by defeating me here at the Lily of the valley island... You've earned my respect.''
Not waiting for a response, he put his hands in his pockets and left the scene, where Ash thanked him silently, before cuddling Tia again. Said dragoness nuzzled him back just as hard.
''Ladies and gentlemen, this was the last match for today! Be sure to check in tomorrow for the other quarter finals matches here, on the Lily of the valley island.'' The announcer went silent after that, most people leaving, some watching the heartwarming scene where Ash was cuddling with Latias with not a care in the world.
'We should go too, if we want to avoid all the media,' Tia said to her trainer who groaned in response. He reluctantly let go of Tia, not wanting to stop the cuddling at all. The dragoness saw this, and blushed a bright red as she made Ash a suggestion. 'We could...Uhm...You know... Always cuddle tonight, if you'd like?'
The instant she said it she immediately regretted it, but Ash's response surprised her, even if he stuttered in response. 'Yeah...I'd like that,' he said, heat rising to his cheeks. The thought of just cuddling with Latias made him nervous but also very happy. She gave one last happy coo before he returned her to her custom loveball.
''Take a nice rest for now, you deserve it,'' he muttered to his loveball, which contained his special pokemon. Looking around, he saw the battlefield was relatively empty, except for a waving Bianca. He quickly walked over to her and she congratulated him happily.
''Hey there, semi finals boy! Congrats, you were great!'' she spoke as Ash thanked her. His thoughts went immediately out to Brock and Dawn though.
He frowned and voiced his concern. ''I just hope Brock and Dawn are ok.'' He sighed as Bianca reassured him that everything was going to be fine.
''They'll come back with Pikachu, don't worry, I just know it!''
Ash smiled at her, when their attention was redirected at the sky, a white blur getting closer and closer to their destination.
''Wait,'' Ash muttered. ''Is that...?'' Now Ash eyes widened fully as the blur became recognizable.
''That's Dawn's Togekiss!''
Did you like it, love it, hate it? Leave a review please! Next chapter is going to focus on the Brock and Dawn arc. However, because finals are almost around the door, expect updates to be a little slower. I try my best to deliver as quickly as possible though!
Syrup-Waffle
