Pikachu took the lead, Raichu from behind, Brock in between, and Sandslash from below Brock. Raichu and Pikachu began to rotate around Brock, switching positions and making a full circle. Their heads swiveled from side to side; making sure that nothing from any direction could attack them.
Not only was Brock perfectly situated between all of them to be safe, he was also in between them to keep them from fighting each other again. Brock's eyebrow twitched, he ironically felt like he was babysitting a group of children that were protecting him and could easily kill him on a whim.
A few hours earlier he had called his mother to make sure that they were okay, telling them the most recent thing that had happened to him and the rest of the group.
He tried to not get into too much specifics so not to worry his mother. As always, his father and all of his brothers and sisters fought to know what was happening from Brock himself, but talking to all of them would take forever. Tracy hadn't modified all of the Pokeglovs with the ability that his had.
He knew that Tracy had only begun working on the modification for the others and that they hadn't extended to the capacity that his could. Brock had no way of contacting the others from so far away. When he rematerialized, he immediately looked at where he was on the map, utterly surprised by how far Sabrina had teleported him.
He had ended up being in between the paths of Ash, Dawn, the former Rockets, and Misty and Tracy. Brock had no way of knowing where those without Pokeglovs where, whether they were with one group or in an entirely different place all together. To make matters worse, Sandslash and Raichu were determined to go towards Tracy's direction, but Pikachu was determined to go where Ash and the others were.
Raichu and Sandslash insisted that they could detect the faint scent of their trainers in the direction of Tracy's location. Brock didn't want either of them to go off on their own in search for someone who might not even be there, regardless of their strength. Brock attempted to compromise, deciding that it would be better if they waited for Ash's group to meet up with them until they went and searched for Tracy.
No one was happy about the suggestion, wanting to be with their partners as soon as possible. Pikachu decided to go along with Brock's suggestion; Sandslash and Raichu were not so easily worn down. When they tried to leave, Pikachu got in their way. Raichu decided to stun Pikachu with a small Thunderbolt, twin lances of lightning converged into a single electrical spear that burst forward at Pikachu.
Pikachu Deflected it with his arm as if he were swatting the air, the bolt stabbing into a tree to Pikachu's side, making it explode into splinters and setting it on fire. Brock reacted quickly to put the fire out, but neither Sandslash nor Raichu moved, their full attention now on Pikachu.
Raichu fired a stronger blast this time, for the sake of not having the forest burn down, Pikachu smacked the bolt towards the ground. The earth flashed for a brief second, blinding anything that was looking in its direction. Raichu's body began to steam, the rising hot air ascending into the clouds. The clouds above darkened, a single bolt plummeted from it and struck Raichu.
Raichu absorbed the lightning bolt, redirecting all of its energy at Pikachu who never moved from his spot. The bolt tore up the ground like a dragon of lightning, charring the earth it devoured in its thunderous maw, leaving a trench that spanned several meters. Standing amidst the blackened trail was the yellow figure of Pikachu.
Raichu lunged at Pikachu, aiming his head for a Skull Bash. Pikachu lifted his hand into the air, slamming into Raichu's head, grabbing him by the fur, and shoving it into the ground. The ground crumbled instantly, Raichu's face being buried several inches into the dirt.
Raichu's tail thrusted at Pikachu's face, Pikachu's free paw seemingly plucking it out of the air with two fingers and holding there. No matter how much Raichu tried, he didn't have the strength to move his tail another millimeter forward as Sandslash stood before them, awestruck.
"How? How is it that he's so powerful now? Where is he getting this power? I wouldn't have been able to take that Thunder attack from point-blank range, even if I'm an electric Pokemon. Now with the dampeners gone, the heat would've killed anything on the receiving end " Sandslash wondered.
Pikachu was actually surprised by his own power, but didn't allow it to show. It only took a few seconds before he actually realized why he suddenly felt so much power coursing through his veins.
His most recent fight had been the one against the Muks; he had been teleported before it had connected with any of them. He could only assume that the second that after Sabrina had teleported out of the city herself, the lightning ignited the toxic air and destroyed everything in the city.
All of those combined Muks were technically defeated by his single move; all of that experience had gone to him in the end. He had killed every single Muk and obliterated an entire city. Pikachu couldn't help but feel the surplus of power begin to blind him.
Pikachu lifted Raichu's head out of the ground, still holding his tail with his tiny fingers. He let them go, spinning suddenly and slamming the flat side of his tail into Raichu's face. The force of the blow sent Raichu back, crashing into the bewildered Sandslash and taking him along for the ride. The both of them tumbled over the ground for a few feet, Brock watched in amazement and worry about what was going on before him.
Pikachu had been feeling inferior, starting after being beaten by Gary's Electivire. He and Ash had just finished defeating the frontier brains, only to be defeated by a Pokemon that had just been captured and hadn't received proper training like he had for so many years.
Once they had come to the Sinnoh region, he no longer felt that all those battles and years of training meant anything anymore; he now had the average strength of a regular Sinnoh Pokemon. Now that he was just beginning to feel powerful there was something always holding him back.
They ran away from the Ariados in Dawn's hometown, when Pikachu could've easily killed them all, but needed to get to the ship to be with Ash so that they could find his mother. He had missed nearly the entire battle against the Fearows, something that he felt he could've defeated single handedly.
He couldn't attack the Beedrills within the super hive because they would overwhelm Ash and the others that had become liabilities, weak links that needed to be protected. As long as Ash and the others were around, Pikachu could never go full strength so that he wouldn't damage the surroundings or hurt the ones around him.
Due to Tracy's plan in Misty's gym, he was under the constraints of using one single move that required him to pour all of his power into a single shot, otherwise the Zubats and Golbats would escape. Pikachu would've gladly gone into the caves himself and destroyed them all, but many would've escaped, reproduced, and come back. It wasn't a problem for him, but it was for Ash and the others.
The Kinglers had used Protect and stopped all of his moves, and to add insult to injury, he had hit the Giant Dragonite in the eye with a Thunder but it didn't even blink. So not to kill everyone, Pikachu couldn't immediately kill the Muks until the last second, depriving him of a battle that he had been starving for.
Now that he had gained so much experience and levels from killing hundreds, nearly thousands of Muks, and that he was now practically away from any humans in the vicinity with only wild Pokemon and his Pokemon rivals in the area, he no longer cared to hold back.
If Brock were smart, he would leave the area as fast as he could, Pikachu wouldn't directly aim for him, but if he was caught in the crossfire, then that was his fault. The same went for the wild Pokemon in the area, although if they died in the crossfire, unlike Brock, Pikachu would not care.
Pikachu had no intention of killing Raichu or Sandslash, only wanting to establish his dominance over them. Finally the moment had come that he would be able to unleash his pent up strength. He didn't care about what happened to the forest around them, he was tired of being held back, and all he wanted to see was the fear in the eyes of his rivals from his newfound strength.
Pikachu looked over to Brock, giving a malicious toothy smile as sparks danced off his cheeks. Brock couldn't believe what he was seeing, getting the message instantly but finding it hard to accept. The skin between Pikachu's cheeks and below his eyes had reddened. Brock became instantly reminded of the same look being on drunkards and the sick, Brock beginning to wonder which one of the two would explain Pikachu's actions.
Pikachu didn't care what Brock thought, as long as he got away from the area while he had his fun. Hopefully, if a bolt came near him, he would do what Ash did at Misty's gym and block it with the Pokeglov to reflect it.
Pikachu knew that there would be consequences later, and he would deal with them then, but now he didn't care. Somewhere in his mind, he knew that the power was blinding him, but he felt he deserved to let loose just a little. A cruel part of him took pleasure in seeing Brock scramble away from him. His sights turned on Raichu and Sandslash that were just beginning to get up.
"Have you gone mad?" Sandslash cried out.
Raichu immediately understood what was happening. Pikachu had become saturated with pent up electricity and power due to the massive level up by wiping out all those Muks at once. It reminded him of when his master had drunken too many beers, becoming aggressive and delirious.
"There isn't a human for miles? I just wanted to test out how strong I got. Brock will soon be out of the range of my attacks, I just wanted a friendly sparring match" Pikachu replied innocently.
Sandslash said nothing, glaring angrily at Pikachu.
"This isn't like you? What happened? What's wrong?"
"Oh what's wrong? Weren't you dying to test your strength against me, Sandslash? Or are you a scaredy Delcatty?" Pikachu goaded with a sinister grin.
Sandslash pounced at Pikachu, claws already reared back for an attack before Raichu could continue talking and make sense of the situation. Pikachu sent a blast of electricity at Sandslash while he was in mid-air. Sandslash dove for the ground, his claws piercing through the soft dirt as easily as if it were made of water.
The attack scorched the dirt where he had dug through, burning a trench several meters past it where Raichu had once been standing. Raichu had dodged the attack; amazed that Pikachu was fighting to kill. Pikachu instinctively jumped, a pair of claws stabbed out of the ground where Pikachu had been standing only moments ago.
Pikachu flipped through the air, sending a bolt of lightning down the hole that Sandslash had made, but he was already gone. The clang of metal let Raichu know that Pikachu was using Iron tail. Pikachu stabbed his tail into the ground, wondering if Sandslash was dumb enough to charge at him and impale himself with Pikachu's tail. The surrounding dirt began to swirl around Pikachu, encasing him in a tornado.
"Looks like I underestimated him" Pikachu smirked, sending a current along the swirling sand tornado surrounding him. The heat from the bolt made the sand melt together, turning it to glass.
"So predictable" Sandslash chuckled, bursting out of the ground and combining Gyro Ball and Rollout. Pikachu had essentially cornered himself inside a frozen cyclone made of glass. Sparks flew from scrapping against the spinning chainsaw ball that was Sandslash.
The both of them flew out of the opening in the top of stilled tornado, steel still biting steel. Pikachu pulled his tail away, spinning around rapidly and slamming the flat end of his tail against Sandslash, launching him back into the frozen cyclone's opening. The force of his crash made the entire structure shatter.
Pikachu landed, instantly firing a Thundershock, strong enough to be mistaken for a Thunderbolt. Sandslash stabbed the ground, the force making a thick spray of sand erupt before him. The wall of sand from the Sand Attack intercepted the lightning, turning into a wall of glass.
Pikachu began firing several salvos of lightning, all of them blocked by sand attacks, despite Pikachu's efforts of strengthening each Thundershock. Sandslash pushed against the walls of glass, sending them towards Pikachu. Pikachu easily leapt over the walls, Sandslash bursting through one of them.
The flying shards momentarily stunned Pikachu and made him flinch. Before the rolling ball of spikes could impale Pikachu, he swung his tail and turned it to iron, using it as a makeshift shield. Sparks erupted anew from the spinning blades that scratched against the surface of Pikachu's Iron Tail, one of the few things standing between Pikachu and the grinder.
It didn't take long for Sandslash to suddenly stop, Pikachu launching Sandslash back. Sandslash's rigid body bounced off the ground, scraping away the dirt with every hit. Pikachu calmly walked over to the limp Sandslash on the ground, ginning the entire way. Sandslash willed his body to move, seeing a tiny jolt of electricity jump across one tip of his spike to another.
"No! Not again!" Sandslash screamed in the depths of his mind, realizing the trap that he had been caught in. Pikachu was now standing over him, casting a pitying gaze, knowing full well that the action infuriated Sandslash even more.
"You know…I could've sent an electrical current through my tail while it was iron and set you on fire, but I decided not to since I have no intention of killing you or Raichu. I only attack the way I do because I know you guys can dodge it. It took a few times, but it seems like you finally fell victim to my trap, you took the bait so easily" Pikachu chuckled, ruffling the fur on Sandslash's head with every pat. Sandslash growled behind his shut lips, unable to shirk away from the patronizing petting he was receiving.
"Enough!" Bellowed Raichu, appearing from one of the bushes.
Pikachu instinctively jumped back, expecting an attack from the ferocity in Raichu's voice, surprised to see Raichu calmly walk over to Sandslash, helping him up. Raichu pressed his paw against Sandslash's body, absorbing the electricity that was paralyzing Sandslash.
"That's a neat trick, I didn't know you could do that" Pikachu remarked.
"Neither did I, I tested it out and it worked. Without the dampeners this wouldn't be possible."
"I've got so much energy coursing through my body after our last battle, holding it all in almost hurts. I don't want to just vent all of this on nothing, I wanna test it out one someone. I don't plan on killing you, I trust that you guys can keep up with me and will be able to dodge" Pikachu explained nonchalantly.
Raichu slammed the end of his tail against Sandslash's body, separating the both of them before a bolt the spot they were once in. Sandslash dove into the earth, Raichu charged towards Pikachu. Raichu had decided to use physical attacks, seeing as ranged electrical attacks seemed to not even affect him.
Pikachu smirked, sidestepping easily as Sandslash's claws stabbed through the ground, only inches away from Raichu's face who was about to throw a punch at Pikachu. Pikachu leapt into the air, firing a bolt of electricity at the frozen combatants that had almost killed each other off.
Raichu jumped away, stabbing his tail into the ground and using it to push himself away. Sandslash did a back flip, digging back into the ground as fast as he could. The electrical current traveled through the ground, already at Sandslash's heels. Sandslash dug deeper and faster, despite the fact that the dirt did not conduct electricity well, it still traveled deeper and deeper through the ground, scorching as it went.
Sandslash was finding it harder to dig through the earth, the deeper he went, the less air there was and the tougher the earth was to claw through. Just before the electric current reached him, it was drawn back to the surface. All of the electricity had been absorbed by Raichu's tail that had been stabbed into the ground earlier. Raichu redirected the attack right back at Pikachu, adding in some of his own power.
Pikachu was still in mid air, falling back to the ground from gravity's pull. Pikachu spun and slammed the bolt with his tail. The bolt was redirected as if deflecting off Pikachu's tail.
Brock was still running away from the battlefield, throwing himself to the ground when a bolt of lightning the size and length of a train ran through the forest. What was left was a smoldering trench, any trees that were in the path of the colossal lightning attack had disintegrated into ash.
Some of the trees were only half destroyed, their branches, leaves, and bark now on fire and converging onto the other side. Brock summoned his Swampert to douse the flames in water so that it would not spread.
All the while, Brock felt like he did a week ago, when they had encountered the giant Dragonite for the second time. The attacks were not as catastrophic as the giant Dragonite's attacks, but they were nonetheless devastating. Brock had underestimated the Pokemon's abilities; they were more destructive than he had thought capable.
Pikachu finally landed, feeling somewhat irritated at the idea that the attack might've come close to Brock. Raichu braced himself for another attack, surprised to see Pikachu turn tail and run away from him. Sandslash was just making his way back to the surface, digging through the burnt and ashy dirt.
Pikachu was nimble, fast, and agile, easily clearing half a mile of distance in a few seconds with his Agility and Quick Attack. He stopped and turned around on all fours, his paws settling in the dirt, making sure he had good footing. Volts of electricity began to scamper all over the ground, like Wurmples. The bolts grew bigger, appearing like wriggling, wreathing Ekans that finally converged on a single target.
Himself.
The force with which Pikachu burst forward sent a wave of earth behind him. The attack's name came from the only thing that could come close to its power.
Rail Gun.
Like a Stantler caught in the headlights of a car, Raichu's body froze. Raichu suddenly felt the earth give out underneath ground before him split in two, Sandslash had used Fissure from underground. By the time the gap was two feet open, Pikachu had already passed the area where Raichu had stood, the force that came with his attack took with it the earth behind him.
Pikachu began to notice a crack in the earth, snaking its way along the ground and matching his speed.
The single dividing line that separated the earth from Sandslash's Fissure was catching up to Pikachu. It was like a race between the line and Pikachu, the line already beneath Pikachu's stomach. The ground a few inches behind Pikachu's tail was already split a meter wide.
Pikachu touched the earth for a brief second, jumping to one of the sides where the fissure split the earth. He passed through several trees, his landing making a deep crater in the ground that caused everything around him to be pushed away from him.
"That was awesome! I wonder what would happen if I hit someone with that?" Pikachu wondered happily, already beginning to sober up from his aggressive electric stupor. For the moment, Pikachu could not move, the attack requiring him to recharge his strength.
Brock could feel the hair on his back stand on end, the air filled with the smell of ozone. A flurry of curse words ran through Brock's mind, watching giant trees being uprooted at his sides.
A thunderous crash came reached his ears when a gigantic tree landed a few meters in front of him. Brock easily scaled over it, landing behind it and sitting against the side for cover. When the tree began to roll over him, Brock began to wonder whether his choice of cover had been wisely picked.
Brock was dazed momentarily, seeing bright lights scurry across his vision, knowing full well that it was still daytime. A quick look around made Brock repeatedly say in his mind, "someone up there must love me."
His legs were wobbling frantically as he tried to stand up, making it almost impossible. Using the surrounding fallen trees as support, he managed to stand and eventually sit atop the trunk. Brock did his best to get all the dirt that was on his outfit, in his hair, ears, nose, mouth, and even in some areas that made Brock wonder how they even got there.
Starring off in the distance filled Brock with awe and terror, the aftermath of Sandslash and Pikachu's attack had created a chasm that rivaled a canyon.
Raichu had stabbed his tail into the side of the fissure to stop himself from falling. He swung his body until he landed on the surface, looking around in amazement, flabbergasted by the very same thing that Brock was awed by. Sandslash burst out of the ground, heading over in Pikachu's direction.
Raichu rushed over to him asking, "where do you think you're going?"
"Over to fight him, what do you think?" Sandslash replied, shrugging off Raichu's paw on his shoulder.
"Are you crazy! Did you not see what he just did? He's out of our league; we can't beat him. He's too powerful" Raichu reached over and tried to put his paw on Sandslash's shoulder to stop him. Sandslash batted the hand away and started walking once more.
"I'll fight him alone then. I know I can beat him. He wants a fight, I'll give him one" Sandslash grumbled before disappearing in the ocean of earth. Raichu watched hopelessly, unable to stop Sandslash from going any further and fighting. The seeds of fear had been planted deep in him by Pikachu's power.
Sandslash was scared, but determined to take on Pikachu. More than anything he wanted to deflate Pikachu's ego. He was not about to let someone get away with patronizing him. There was one thing that was bothering him about Pikachu's abilities.
Pikachu had just created a new move, or one that he had never seen. Sandslash guessed that this was only possible because of the removal of the dampeners. If this was true, then Sandslash concluded that he could also make up his own moves, or possibly use moves that he wasn't previously capable of using.
Sandslash resurfaced a few meters away from Pikachu's location just in case that Pikachu decided to send a current through the ground and get him. Pikachu turned, a bemused look on his face that enraged Sandslash to the point where he was now blind with fury.
Sandslash rapidly stabbed the ground repeatedly; the ground began to rumble so much that Pikachu actually began to worry. The electric mouse began to put as much distance between him and Sandslash. It was when he did that plumes of earth rose into the air, waves of dirt and rock building up into a single attack.
Pikachu's energy finally recharged, bursting from the area as fast as possible. Darting off the ground and the surrounding trees, Pikachu risked a peek at what Sandslash had into store for him and couldn't help but be a little surprised at the sight of a tsunami of rock and dirt trailing behind him.
Pikachu continued to run, finding the tallest tree around and running up its side like a ramp. He combined Agility and Quick Attack once more, skyrocketing off the tree and into the air. Pikachu spun around, aiming himself at the earth tsunami that still towered over him.
The crackling whip of lightning dragged across the forest floor, an erupting trail of infernos followed the scorched path through the woods that Pikachu just made. The bolt carved up the impending landslide, severing it down the middle. Pikachu plummeted through the treetops, landing only a few yards away from Sandslash that seemingly predicted where he would be when he landed.
Sandslash sheathed both his claws into the ground; a single crack sprung from the wound in the dirt and zipped underneath Pikachu before he could react. Pikachu jumped, assuming that it was another one of Sandslash's signature Fissure attacks. It was then that Pikachu quickly realized that he had fallen for Sandslash's traps.
The ground beneath him split like it usually did when Sandslash used Fissure, but the slabs of earth that had just separated swung off the ground as if on hinges. Sandslash had combined Fissure and Rock Tomb into one move that would have Pikachu sandwiched between two slabs of earth and crushed.
Pikachu had nowhere to go, nothing to jump off of to get away. Despite the fact that he had been fooled into taking the bait and leaving himself open to the real attack in mid air where he was unable to dodge, Pikachu couldn't help but admire two things about Sandslash.
One: that he had managed to trick him in the first place, and two: because Sandslash was starting to learn how he could use any move that would be physically possible for him and every move that belonged to his ground type attribute.
The sound of the two slabs slamming together and the crunching gravel aftermath sounded for miles. Sandslash couldn't help but wonder and worry a little after seeing that the slabs had been reduced to rubble. Like Pikachu, Sandslash had no intention of killing his rival and opponent.
The subtle dimming of the sunlight almost went unnoticed by Sandslash, had he not noticed, he would not have dodged that attack that Pikachu had sent at him. Pikachu finally landed, only several yards away from Sandslash that had already taken a defensive stance.
"Okay, I've gotta ask, how did you escape that?" Sandslash asked, referring to the point where Pikachu was supposed to be crushed.
"Simple" Pikachu replied curtly, lifting his paw and aiming it at Sandslash, causing him to flinch and prepare to dodge. What caught him surprise was that a purple rectangular barrier appeared between him and Pikachu.
"You know a barrier move!" Sandslash exclaimed.
"I actually just learned it now. Probably with my dampeners off, I can know any move I'm supposed to know. I didn't even know I had a move like this until just now. Had I know earlier, I would've helped with making more barriers when the Muks were attacking. I'm so used to attacking that Ash and even I overlooked strategic and defensive moves like this. So to answer your question, I used it like a platform and got away " Pikachu explained.
Pikachu finally noticing the ground beneath him beginning to go from warm to burning. Pikachu barely managed to get away as the ground beneath him erupted. As Pikachu ran, he hardly noticed the red sections of ground glow red, passing over them just as magma spewed from below.
Not only did Pikachu have to dodge past the minefield of lava, but the lava that rained from above. Hot molten droplets burned holes through any unfortunate shading leaf like they were made of rice paper. Pikachu could feel streaks of heat graze his fur as the descending molten globules barely missed him.
As Pikachu scampered about, he couldn't help but reprimand himself and praise Sandslash's plan. The fact that Sandslash had gotten him to talk, allowing him to stall for time was brilliant. Sandslash had used Earth Power, a move that typically dealt with making the earth beneath the opponent burst up in a plume by controlling the ground underneath. With the dampeners gone, Sandslash had gone to the furthest depths and rerouted the magma veins to come to come to the surface.
As long as Sandslash had some part of him imbedded into the ground, he would be able to do the attack. The fact that he had stalled for so much time, allowed him to make numerous amounts magma mines on the battlefield.
Brock watched from the distance as towers of lava skyrocketed from the ground, branching out once they got too high and showering the forest in a hellish firestorm. All foliage was quickly mowed down easily. A warm red glow was all that was left beyond the border of surviving trees between him and the battle. Brock had been through many battles against the undampened Pokemon, but none had been so powerful as to terraform the area to a molten wasteland.
Pikachu panted from across the lake of lava, the air between him and Sandslash shimmered from the heat. One of the leaves from one of the trees fell off, landing on the lava and instantly burning out in seconds with a white flame. Pikachu was confident that Sandslash wouldn't attack from below, at least in this area since he couldn't dig through lava and would have to resort going the long way around it.
"I'm tired of being on the defensive," Pikachu mumbled irritably, jumping into the air directly over the lava.
Sandslash watched in rapt fascination as a bridge of Light Screens made its way over the large body of lava, Pikachu heading towards him now. Pikachu watched Sandslash stab his claw into the ground, leaping off the barrier he had been currently running on just before a spike of stone jutted out of the ground, coated with lava.
The hot tip of the spike easily pierced the barrier. Just before Pikachu landed, he made another barrier to stop his fall. The process was repeated several times until Sandslash found the opening he was looking for.
Pikachu flipped through the air, making a vertical Light Screen behind him and jumping off it, amused that Sandslash had taken the bait of him being defenseless while in mid air. The top section of iron quills that were part of Sandslash's back as he curled up into a ball while using Gyro Ball were diced off by Pikachu's Iron Tail.
Sandslash ended up landing on Pikachu Light Screen Bridge, Pikachu made his own platform, adding to the many that made the lava field appear like a checkerboard. Pikachu summoned a corridor of Light Screens aimed at Sandslash, a ball of electricity was cradled in Pikachu's paws.
As long as it was a move of the same element as the Pokemon itself, the move could be used. Pikachu fired a Zap Cannon at the Light Screen corridor, the bolt reflecting off the screens, heading faster and faster towards Sandslash.
The move was meant to disorient the target if they tried to follow the attack as the attack would bounce off the screens so fast that the target's eyes would be unable to keep up with it. Rather than analyze where it would be striking and trying to dodge it, the best course of action would've been to get out of the way as quickly as possible.
Sandslash slid across the Light Screen pathway, the bolt missing him by just a few inches. Four light screens suddenly boxed him in, just as Sandslash shattered one with the simple slash of his claws, Pikachu was already above him, making another box while simultaneously charging a Thunderbolt.
Being stuck in a Light Screen prison, not only made him easier to hit and held him in place, but it made it so that any escaping volts from his attack would be directed right back at the center where his target stood, getting the maximum amount of damage.
Pikachu could've easily zapped Sandslash with one Thunderbolt before, but he didn't see the fun in that, and Sandslash was proving to be a reliable Guinea Grumpig for all the moves that Pikachu was making up on the spot.
Sandslash swung his claws all around, shattering the surrounding Light Screens once more. The shards fluttered for a few seconds all around him as he crouched underneath the shrapnel. Pikachu's Thunderbolt was intercepted by the fading fragments of his own shattered Light Screen, deflecting the lightning bolt in every direction, unable to pass through the cloud of Light Screen shards that disappeared within a second.
"Not bad" Pikachu couldn't help but comment; the timing for the Light Screen shards to still reflect his attack before they faded needed perfect timing.
Sandslash stood still as he concentrated but leaving himself completely open to another attack. Pikachu waited to see what Sandslash had in store, landing a few yards behind Sandslash on the Light Screen Bridge. The barrier that had been beneath Pikachu shattered, but Pikachu was already on another platform.
What had broken it was another rock spike; Sandslash had managed to do Stone Edge without touching the ground.
To use an elemental move like that without making any contact with the element was something that required a lot of concentration, experience, and skill. Pikachu had learned it long ago. The benefit of doing it was that you didn't use your energy reserves like when Pikachu did used Thunder but from the clouds.
"You're full of surprises" Pikachu complimented, dodging the rock spikes that thrusted out of the ground diagonally in an attempt to catch him while he was jumping. They eventually surrounded him and tried stabbing him all at once, but Pikachu landed on solid ground, the dirt was burning hot and made him hop from one foot to the other.
He tried to put more distance between him and the lava that bled from the earth. All around, Pikachu watched as the trees wilted from dehydration and spontaneously combusted from the sheer heat. Smoke rose into the skies, blocking out the sun in a thick layer of gray clouds that managed to capture the crimson glow of the lava, giving the heavens an ominous and malevolent radiance.
Raichu watched in horrific fascination and admiration, feeling like the world was ending. The fact that the skies had turned black and red did not ease Raichu's feeling that he was in a world approaching the apocalypse. He had climbed atop one of the nearby trees, watching as Pikachu and Sandslash fought over a large pool of lava.
Raichu felt like he was the only sane Pokemon for miles, unable to fathom how this was still a sparring match. The slightest mistake could lead to them falling into the molten madness below them, killing them instantly. He wondered whether or not his lack of enthusiasm to fight in these conditions made him a coward.
Raichu wondered how his master would've reacted to this kind of thing, relenting in the end and admitting that his master probably would've approved. Had his master asked it of him, Raichu would've gladly joined the battle. Yet, he felt clearly outmatched by the Pokemon before him.
Raichu had fought countless battles and gotten stronger with his electrical attacks. All he needed to do most of the time was a few electrical attacks and it was over, sometimes Raichu got bored. Even the times that the battles became challenges, he ended up being defeated, which took the fun of it being a challenge away.
Raichu's trainer hadn't taught him moves like Iron Tail or Volt Tackle. Moves like Light Screen were impossible for him; at least he thought they were when the dampeners were still on. If Surge could see him now, would he understand? Would he be disappointed? Raichu didn't know, but planned to join the fight when he saw the opportunity.
Sandslash was now fighting on landing with Pikachu, leaving the battlefield of lava. His claws stabbed into the ground once more, a single line in the dirt separated Sandslash and Pikachu. The ground, shot upwards making the miles of land behind Sandslash become a plateau.
Sandslash dove into the earth from atop his plateau, a river of lava surging behind him and pouring over the battlefield. Pikachu turned and ran from the lavafall that rushed towards him like a flood. Sandslash burst from the ground a few meters away from Pikachu, underground, Sandslash would always be faster than Pikachu if he didn't use his speed increasing moves.
After doing a spin through the air, Sandslash landed on his claw, balancing his entire body on it. Sandslash used his two remaining Fissure attacks, combining them with Rock Tomb at the same time. Twin cracks stretched across the ground in a V formation going past Pikachu.
For miles around the ground burst up, creating pillars, ravines, and canyons all over the place, the earth bled lava from every open earthy orifice. Pikachu leaped down from the jutting stone pillars that had risen sharply from the ground. Many of the pillars and canyons collapsed as the lava ate away at their foundations.
Sandslash plowed through everything with Gyro Ball, the structure that Pikachu was standing on gave out underneath him. Pikachu had run out of Light Screens to jump off of. Sandslash rebounded off one of the canyon walls as Pikachu used the remaining pieces of what had been the floor underneath him and jumped off it.
Pikachu used Iron Tail, but didn't have enough time to swing in retaliation, using it as a shield. Sandslash slammed into Pikachu; both of them soaring through the air, crashing several meters away from the new rugged terrain where lava seeped from the bases.
Pikachu slammed into the ground and tumbled a few feet, Sandslash had already gotten up and prepared a new attack. A giant boulder emerging from the ground and with a single, gentle tap from Sandslash's claw sent the boulder charging towards Pikachu, leaving a deep trench behind it.
Pikachu jumped and diced the top of the boulder feeling stupid once he saw Sandslash thrusting his claw at Pikachu in mid air. The claw stopped just before Pikachu as he arched his whole body back to dodge from mid air. Sandslash smiled at the trap within the trap.
Pikachu quickly realized that Sandslash had used False Swipe, stopping just before actually attacking, making the opponent react and leave themselves open. Sandslash swung his claws down at Pikachu who spun in mid air, slapping the claw away with the flat side of his tail.
Pikachu landed, his back to the ground, Sandslash leaping into the air and plummeting onto Pikachu. Sandslash reared one of his claws back, aiming it at Pikachu's head. Pikachu lifting his lower body with his tail and kicked with all of his strength.
Sandslash did not budge an inch; the claws on his toes had dug into the earth and anchored him there. Pikachu was pinned to the ground; there was no way for him to dodge the strike as Sandslash plunged his claw through the air at Pikachu's skull.
Raichu desperately tried to catch up to the two combatants, finding them seemingly frozen in place. Pikachu's face was covered in blood, but there wasn't a scratch on Pikachu's face. Sandslash's claw hovered just a few millimeters from Pikachu's face.
The claw he had attacked with was the one that had been slightly eaten away by the acidic floors of the city when they battled against the Muks. Sandslash had attacked too hurriedly and without thinking. Had he used his other claw that was longer, he would've managed to land a solid and lethal attack on Pikachu.
Raichu wondered why Sandslash didn't go for another attack, his question being answered when a small jolt of electricity jumped from one patch of fur to another. It had taken a few more instances of contact, but Pikachu had managed to use his Static ability once more and paralyze Sandslash.
The blood had come from Sandslash's mouth; the kick hadn't managed to move him, but had managed to make him spit up blood. Sandslash's body tipped over, his frame still frozen as if he had rigor mortis. Pikachu got up, slowly heading over to him as if to finish him off.
Raichu stepped up, tearing Pikachu's attention away from the fallen Sandslash.
"Real nice, you come now when I'm actually starting to get tired. Or is your plan to remove my static ability from Sandslash so he can fight again?" Pikachu inquired.
"Don't bother" Sandslash announced, getting a surprised look from Pikachu.
"What?" Pikachu cried out incredulously.
"I surrender. I realize now that there's no point to fighting you anymore. You've could've killed me from the beginning of this fight" Sandslash relented.
"What about you?" Pikachu said, turning to Raichu.
"I'm not fighting you. There's no way I would win. Besides, you're sober now. You've released all the pent of electricity you've stored up inside you" Raichu pointed out, Pikachu's visage now back to being bright and yellow again.
Pikachu's shoulders slumped; he still felt that he had enough energy to fight Raichu evenly, despite his fatigue. He'd managed to make them fight, but he couldn't force them unless he really wanted to hurt them, or change their relationship.
"All right, I'm done" Pikachu sighed; the trees behind them began to burn as white trails of fire licked along the tree's roots and skyrocketed up the bark.
Brock stood leaning against the few remaining trees outside of the battlefield. He had sent Swampert to put out the fires to the best of his ability, clearing the skies with Rain Dance. Brock did not stir when the lush green bushes rustled across from him and three figures emerge.
"You guys finally finished?" Brock commented; sounding unsurprised.
The three Pokemon looked at each other awkwardly, they hadn't been sure how Brock was going to react or how they were going to explain what had just happened.
"I'm gonna pretend that I didn't see anything, your trainers won't hear a word of this" Brock consoled, gaining another gasp from all three Pokemon. They had all perceived that Brock was a mere human, but there seemed to be more to Brock than met the eye. What they found more surprising was that something like terraforming several acres of land could be so easily ignored.
