Well, I'm back again! It has been a terribly grueling semester for me, and sadly I haven't been able to update until now. College always takes precedence over the story, and I have had zero time to do anything besides work. The semester's over though, so I have all summer now!
Anyways: responses! I have quite a few, but I'll do what I can. Thanks to the usuals (Analon, Yana5, Uranium235, CDR2Magi, and JLgods01) for making me come back to the story. I feed off of feedback, and I love hearing what you guys have to say.
Anyone who asked when I'm going to update: As soon as I finish writing this author's note.
AutumnalCheese: That sounds awesome! Thanks for even giving my story a thought. Private Message me with details so I know what you're taking, but I'm pretty lenient and will probably let you use whatever (as long as it isn't copy 'n' paste).
xRoosiee: I DID know that Mew can change her form, as I'm sure you found out in later chapters :)
Thanks again to Kauris Azurai for deconstructing my chapter! I always enjoy reading your reviews.
I've seen some theories tossed around in regards to the tournament mystery... not going to give spoilers, but let's say that some of you are on the right track.
Finally, about the chapter itself. At 8,500 words its a monster, took me a long ass time to write, and is the longest chapter I've ever written by about 800 words not including the author's note. Don't be intimidated! I promise it moves fast.
Enjoy :)
Standard disclaimer: Jumping off buildings may lead to gravity related injuries. Also, I do not own Pokemon, or any of the characters associated with it.
Chapter 9- Battling
The sunlight broke through the clearing the following morning, rousing everyone in the camp. Brock was the first up, and almost instinctually began making breakfast for the group of young travelers. Pikachu and Mew, still an eevee, stretched while Ash and Misty wearily crawled out of their sleeping bags. The young pokemon master and his orange-haired companion drug their sleepy selves and the two pokemon over to the fire that Brock was frying eggs over. None of them had gotten a good night's sleep, and everyone just watched as Ash slowly fell forwards off the rock he was sitting on. Nobody was surprised to hear snoring a second later.
"Whar w doin' t'day?" Misty mumbled, following the question up with a big yawn.
"Goin' to see Max battle I think," Brock replied, while proving that he probably could cook a full meal in his sleep.
"Alright!" Ash yelled, shooting off the ground in an instant. Misty and Mew nearly jumped out of their skins as Ash and Pikachu started yelling. They were amazed to see the pallet native dressed in an instant with his starter on his shoulder, clearly ready to leave. Brock didn't even flinch, and slowly scooped everyone's food onto a plate or into a bowl.
"Can you believe it buddy? I can't wait!" Pikachu agreed with his trainer and both tucked into their food. In a flash they were done with their breakfast, and were off rummaging through his bag. They found what they wanted, and the others watched as the duo ran off into the woods. Mew knew they were going to train, and made to follow, but a motion from Brock stopped her.
"Don't worry about it Mew," he said, looking down at the surprised pokemon. "They're just going off to train a little bit, and waste some time before we leave. You should just relax and eat your food." The breeder yawned and sat down to eat his own meal. The small pokemon looked up at him in confusion, and Misty asked her question for her.
"What just happened?" She couldn't tell if she was more amazed that Ash and Pikachu ran off, or that Brock took it all in stride. The oldest group member yawned again and took everyone's plates and silverware.
"Sorry, I keep forgetting how used to his antics I am by now," the elder boy admitted. "Well, you know how Max is, right?" Misty nodded, thinking back to the few times they met. She didn't see how that was connected, though. "Well, he definitely showed promise to be a good trainer, and Ash kinda sees him as his student in a way. Ash was Max's idol, second only to his dad, and by the time we split up I was even questioning that."
"That makes sense, Ash was pretty excited about it yesterday," she remembered. Mew just took it all in, trying to learn as much as she could about her trainer.
"Yeah, well, he's going to be like that the whole way there," Brock said, watching what was undoubtedly Ash's pidgeot fly around the sky. The two trainers and their legendary companion were silent for a while, watching the bird. Clearly lost in their own thoughts, everyone jumped when Ash ran back out of the woods. He stopped by Brock, wheezing for air.
"Ready to go?" The winded trainer asked as soon as he could talk. Brock just laughed, thinking about the conversation he and Misty had had, and everyone finished getting ready to leave.
"What pokemon do you think Max has on his team?" Pikachu pondered as they left camp. Ash relayed the question, and everyone was in deep thought, toying with the different possibilities.
"Well, we already know he has Gallade," Ash put forward, "and Vigoroth too. He probably has his starter with him also." The others nodded at the idea.
"Yeah, I bet the gallade was that ralts he helped. And the vigoroth was from Petalburg. May did say that he had three pokemon before he even left. That must be those three." The group agreed with Brock's idea too. Even though the chances of Max finding the ralts again were slim, stranger things had happened.
"The other three are the ones I'm stuck on." Misty added.
"I bet he has a dragonite." The cat-turned-fox theorized. "I would if I was a trainer." Ash and Pikachu couldn't help but laugh, and Mew pouted. "What? They're really strong!" She couldn't figure out why they were laughing, having fought plenty of enraged dragons herself.
"Well, yeah!" Pikachu kept snickering at her naivety.
"Everyone would have a dragonite if they could!" Her trainer put in. The other two humans started laughing, having understood, and that only made her madder. "The problem is they're really rare. That's why only the top trainers, like Lance of the Elite Four, have them." Her response was not what he expected.
"They aren't that rare. I know a place with a whole bunch of dragonites, dratinis and dragonairs." The two started coughing on their laugh. Mew just giggled, feeling vindicated. Ash passed along the info and they all were stunned.
"That's amazing! Maybe I'll have to check it out sometime," her trainer said thoughtfully.
"Well… maybe not." He tilted her head at her and she explained. "They've been having some border disputes, and most of the time they're really, really, really, not happy. So until you get your powers under control, I wouldn't go there, 'K?" She was still happy and bubbly, even when shooting down his dreams. They were fairly quiet for the rest of the journey, with the exception of Mew's continual questioning about human society. By about 9:45, they were walking up the steps to The Mirage Island Hotel. The receptionist greeted them with a cheery smile, and a comment about Ash's lovely eevee (pissing off Pikachu), and pointed them to a lounge by the lobby. The group of humans and pokemon entered the lounge to find the Maple family waiting on them. Norman, father of May and Max Maple, was the first one to reach them.
"Hey Ash, it's been a while!" The two shook hands, and Norman analyzed the pokemon on his shoulder. "Pikachu is looking a strong as ever! And what a healthy looking eevee!" Mew and Pikachu both said their thanks, and Norman continued. "Brock, good to see you again too!" As with Ash, the two shook hands and exchanged greetings. "And you must be Misty! I've heard you're quite the gym leader. May tells me you used to travel with Ash?" Misty smiled at the praise.
"Yep! I found him after fishing him out of a river when he started his journey." Everyone laughed and the trainer in question hung his head. "I went to see what he was doing when he got back from Sinnoh, and decided to travel with him again."
"Great! Sounds like you're on another adventure Ash. Speaking of Sinnoh, I have to say: that was some battle you gave Tobias. I know you lost but taking out two legendary pokemon is quite a feat! I wonder how he got them."
"I don't know. Sometimes pokemon find you instead," he replied, causing both Norman and the two pokemon currently perched on his shoulder to laugh.
"Isn't that the truth," the older man said. Caroline, who had been speaking with the other two, popped up next to him. She surprised Ash by giving him a hug.
"Thank you for looking after May and Max! Brock said he did most of the work," Ash shot his friend a glare and he looked away, whistling, "but I know you're a good kid. I don't think either of them would have been nearly as successful as they have been without you." The Pallet native just smiled and waved it off. He enjoyed traveling with the siblings, and even though they were annoying at times (he finally knew how Brock felt when Misty and his self fought), they were great traveling companions.
"Hey, where is May?" Misty said, finally noting her absence. The group had been talking for a while, and nobody had realized that she still hadn't appeared. Norman looked down at his watch and realized that they needed to get going. Caroline smirked.
"Oh, she just had to go freshen up real quick. She's been awfully worried about her appearance this morning." She glanced over at Ash, and tried not to laugh. Misty didn't catch her meaning, but her 'competitive bitch' sensors tingled at the statement. Five minutes and some small talk later, May finally came into the lounge.
"Sorry I'm late, guys!" She apologized, and Norman ushered everyone out the doors so they could start the long trek towards the stadium. They had left so early because the long walk was made longer by the impossibly large crowds trying to cram into the narrow roads of the small town developed around the stadium. Norman and Ash ended up at the front of the group.
"So, Ash, what are you up to this time around? You've already taken on all of the regional tournaments." Norman knew about the Battle Frontier, and some of the other things Ash had done that weren't related to official League tournaments, and figured it was something along those lines.
"I'm training for a new tournament! It's kind of a minor thing but it's going to be really intense. You know, we actually weren't planning on coming to the Indigo League Tournament. We didn't hear that the date got moved since we were traveling in Sinnoh, and we were hoping to pass through and get some supplies for our trip." Norman was shocked by that; he figured everyone had heard about the tournament. While it was great that Ash got here in time to see Max battle, this raised another question in his head that none of the kids had apparently thought of.
"So if you weren't planning on coming, how do you plan to get inside without tickets?" Norman watched realization pass over Ash's face.
"OH Shhhhhhhhhooooooot." He censored himself in front of the adults and turned to the rest of the group. "Guys, we don't have any tickets!" The others had that same slow realization that Ash did as everyone realized they had no way to get in. Brock, being the planner of the group, had an idea.
"Maybe they'll let us in since we know you guys?" That sounded fine to the rest of the group, so they kept going through the line. Norman had managed to get some VIP seats for his son's battles through some friends of his at the League. Normally, the VIP box wasn't at full capacity, and the kids were counting on that so they could squeeze inside. It wasn't unheard of to get a cheap or free seat upgrade for battles without a large crowd, especially if it was the preliminaries. The group reached a small gate between two of the much larger main entrances. There were four entrances to the ring of VIP boxes, and each one had a staircase that led directly up to them so the ticket-holders didn't have to fight the crowd. Unfortunately, the attendant at the gate shut the whole plan down.
"Sorry guys, I can't let you in. I really feel bad for saying it, but there's no way you're getting in without a ticket." The attendant had sympathized with their dilemma, but she wasn't about to risk her job. "We sold all of the tickets for the VIP boxes before the tournament even started." That was a shocker, and left them in a pickle. Norman looked at his watch and shook his head.
"I wish I could help you guys out, but we have to get in there. I would say try a scalper, but I think tickets are going fast. Whatever you do, I hope you guys hurry." Everyone understood, and said their goodbyes. Once again on their own, Ash, his pokemon, Brock, and Misty all tried to form a plan.
"I could teleport us in, if you get somewhere where I can transform," Mew said. Pikachu shook his head.
"Too noticeable, that room is full of humans. Not to mention that's illegal." Pikachu had explained basic human laws to her, and she understood the premise. Suddenly Brock had an idea (again).
"Well it's a long shot, but it may work." Everyone gave him their full attention. They were willing to try anything that didn't get them into trouble. "Ash, go over to that VIP gate and try and use your name to get us in. Everyone seems to know who you are, so maybe they'll let a 'celebrity' in. Try and ramp up Misty as a star gym leader too." Ash looked confused at the notion, because it wasn't something he would normally do. Sure he had moments where he got recognized, but he never thought himself a celebrity. Eventually, he sucked down his humility, and marched up to the gate with confidence. They had walked around the stadium looking for scalpers, and were at another VIP gate with a bored looking attendant.
"Do you really think this will work?" Misty asked as she watched Ash stride up to the man.
"Not unless that guy happens to be Ash Ketchum's biggest fan, which is impossible because you're Ash Ketchum's biggest fan." He laughed, but one look at her, and he was afraid for his life, so he cleared his throat and continued. "But more importantly, it will be hilarious." Brock said as he watched Ash. Misty laughed at that, and shook her head.
"I didn't know you had it in you, Brock."
"Try and look important. Don't laugh." Brock was already laughing as he said that though, and both of them had to clear their throats. Misty crossed her arms and tried to look disinterested.
"Ticket?" The attendant asked as Ash walked up. He clearly was ready to get off work. Pikachu and Mew straightened up, and tried to look important.
"Yeah we lost ours. I thought you might recognize me though, and let me in." Ash tried to look like he didn't care at all, but the attendant put Ash's attempt at apathy to shame.
"Ash Ketchum?" he asked with a straight face.
"Yeah, and Misty Waterflower, THE gym leader of Cerulean City. So are you going to let us in or not?" The attendant glanced over to the redhead, who was straining not to laugh at her friend's terrible acting skills.
"No ticket, no entry." Ash was let down, but tried not to show it.
"Do you KNOW who I am?" he asked, then immediately felt stupid because the guard did, in fact, know who he was. Misty and Brock were dying on the inside, but robo-attendant didn't flinch.
"Yes sir."
"And?" Ash hoped the man would give.
"No ticket, no entry." He repeated. The trainer was at the end of his fake pompous rope.
"But I-"
"No."
"But you-"
"Ticket."
"Why-"
"No."
"When-"
"Entry, Mr. Ketchum." The young trainer and the electric mouse on his shoulder sighed and hung their heads. Misty and Brock were about to let loose and start cracking jokes, when who should arrive but their guardian angel.
"Thank you Mr. Williams, for doing a wonderful job, but I happen to know these kids right here. If Ash is done trying to play celebrity, I would be more than happy to let you kids in." Ash turned around to see the smiling face of Mr. Charles Goodshow, President of the Pokemon League. Finally realizing what he said, his friends and pokemon lost it. With the sound of their hysteric laughter as background noise, Ash rubbed the back of his neck and agreed to shut up. The gate attendant merely stepped out of the way and let the group in.
"Oh please, you first, Mr. Ketchum." Misty mocked.
"Well you too, Misty. After all, you are THE gym leader of Cerulean City." Brock added. The girl whirled around.
"What are you trying to say Brock? It's not an important job?" She snapped. His eyes went wide.
"N-no, I was just q-quoting Ash and-" Brock stammered. 'Damn that girl has a temper'. She laughed.
"I was just kidding! You should have seen the look on your face!" The gym leader's giggles died out, and the group quieted as they walked up the stairwell into the stadium. The buzz of the pre-battle crowd got louder as they got closer.
"You really cut this one close!" Mr. Goodshow said as they climbed. "If I remember correctly, you're friends with Max Maple, Ash?" Ash confirmed that thought, and Goodshow smiled. "Well, neither he nor Pete were supposed to make it this far. Several people think this is going to be a great battle because of that, but some of the VIPs here see it as unimportant and have chosen not to come today. There are a couple free seats in all of the boxes, if you want to look around. Better hurry though; the match is going to start in a minute!"
The three trainers all gave the old man their thanks, and as they reached the top of the stairs they separated from the President. He went back down and they turned around and their jaws dropped. None of them had been in a VIP box before and were surprised to find an amazing view of the field from halfway up the stadium as well as an all-you-can-eat buffet, a staff of assistants and a series of TVs showing different views of the field, and displaying information like temperature, weather predictions, and stats about each trainer. They only paused for a second, however, because they needed to go find the Maples. There appeared to be a hallway that ran around the stadium connecting the boxes, so they traveled down the direction they had split from earlier.
"There they are!" Ash said as they ran into the third box from where they left the president. May heard his voice from the small area of stadium seating by the plexiglass window, and pointed the three out to her family. The Maples waved them over, and Ash, Misty and Brock plopped down in three seats by them. Pikachu and Mew hopped off of their trainer's shoulders and ran up to the glass. Said trainer was awed by the view they had over the middle of the field and the memories it brought back. He was shaken out of his reverie by Norman.
"How did you guys make it here? I though the gate attendant said the VIP boxes were all sold out."
"Mr. Goodshow helped us out."
"You mean the League President?" Norman was shocked. Max told them that Ash knew the President, but he had no clue that they were actually friends. It seemed the boy had friends in high places. If only he knew.
"Yeah, we've met a couple times before; he's a cool guy." Norman just shook his head, and turned back to the field, where the match was about to begin. Even the buffet couldn't pull the attention of Ash and his starter away from the field. It really was their favorite place to be, but they were more than happy to watch Max battle. Finally the crowd died down as they sensed things were about to begin. The announcer came onto the intercom.
"Ladies and Gentlemen!" The crowd yelled as he began to speak. "Welcome to the first battle of the Indigo League quarterfinals!" The crowd roared even louder. Ash, Misty and Brock were shocked that Max had made it to the Top 8 on his first try. Pikachu and Ash shared a look, remembering what Mew had said about the Master's tournament. If Max made it to the Top 4, he could apply to be in! They turned back to the battle as the announcer was bringing out the competitors. "From Vermillion City, making his second Indigo League appearance, it's Pete Pebbleman!" The young trainer strode confidently to his box on the field. He waved as the crowd cheered, and turned to face the other tunnel.
"And, from Petalburg City, making his very first tournament appearance, it's Max Maple! We certainly saw an excellent battle from him yesterday. Will he be able to stand the pressure again today?" All of Max's friends and family were wondering the same thing.
Max Maple was in the locker room provided for trainers before battles. Well, not so much a locker room, as it was a small waiting room with refreshments and a bench. He had been pacing, the thought of yesterday's close call, and the possibility of reaching the Top 4 on his mind. Of course, he had researched everything he could on his competitor, but he couldn't find anything particularly helpful. At last, he heard his name called and moved out into the tunnel, towards the field. Thoughts of family and friends, as well as various battles and pokemon from his short journey flashed before his eyes. He had done an excellent job (with some luck, admittedly) to reach the Top 8 but failure was always at the back of his mind. Only the thought of various facts and strategies about battling got him focused.
None of the trainers were being told what field they would be playing on, and so he was anxious to find out. As he left the tunnel, he saw a cluster of rocks forming the majority of the field, with a small pond in the shape a crescent around the right hand side, taking up about a fifth of the area. He walked up to the trainer's box on his side of the field. It elevated him so that he could see over the rocks, and he began to consider what pokemon he should use first. The size of the crowd was the largest he had ever competed for, and they weren't helping to calm his nerves. The official on the sidelines raised his flags, getting everyone's attention.
"This will be a full six on six battle, the winner of which will move on to the semifinals. Are both trainers ready?" The man asked, the attached microphone amplifying his voice. Both Max and Pete nodded. "Begin!" The flags were down, and the game was on.
"Go, Dugtrio!" Pete yelled. The mole pokemon popped out of the pokeball, and settled in on the other side of the field.
"You're up, Cubone!" Max threw out the small ground type. It was fairly new to his team, and wasn't that strong to begin with, but it would work well for what his trainer had planned.
"Alright Dugtrio, do what you do best!" Pete commanded. The group of heads burrowed underground, and began tunneling around the field.
"And it seems Pete is trying to start off with a sneak attack!" The announcer said. Max assumed he would make a direct path towards Cubone, and took action.
"Cubone, weave through the rocks, and use bone club!" The small pokemon understood, having fought his fair share of digletts. He started to form a path through the clusters of rocks in front of him, and waited until the tunneling pokemon popped up. When it did, he jumped forward and dodged it. Cubone turned around, and played a lighting fast game of Whack-a-Mole, smacking each head as much as possible. They dug underground, and tried again. Once Pete saw that Cubone's strategy of 'smack Dugtrio in the face' was pretty effective, he decided to try a new tactic.
"Use magnitude before you surface!" The trio of heads understood, and dug another tunnel. Cubone kept running, but a sudden shaking in the field made him trip. Max knew what was coming, but could only watch as Dugtrio slammed up into his pokemon and threw it into the air.
"Cubone, try and hold your balance!" It was all he could say as he watched the new game being played. On the third hit in the air, he got an idea. "Flip into a headbutt, now!" The small ground type heard him, and did a twist in mid-air. He came crashing down on Dugtrio, knocking the pokemon out.
"Good thinking Max, but we're just getting started." Recalling Dugtrio, Pete pulled out another pokeball. "Go, Cloyster!" The water pokemon came out of the ball, and awkwardly flopped into the water. Max wondered what he was going to do, since Cloyster couldn't learn any offensive water moves. Pete wasted no time in showing the young trainer he was wrong. "Alright, Cloyster, water pulse!"
With an agility not expected of a giant oyster, the pokemon popped out of the water and fired a blast of water at Cubone. The small pokemon could do nothing but hide behind a nearby rock, which exploded under the attack. The water type flew out of the water again and fired another blast, and Cubone hid behind another rock, waiting on Max to do something. The trainer shook off his wonder at the Cloyster's moves and tried to figure out a game plan.
"Cubone, wait for it to pop out, and then use bonemarang!" The pokemon in question rolled out from behind a rock, threw its bone and took cover again. It jumped out to catch it, and began a dance with the water type. For a second, the crowd watched as both pokemon jumped, dodged, and took cover it a hit-and-run frenzy. Finally, after taking a couple of shots to the face, Cloyster got off a good water pulse. Its target had nowhere to hide, and took it head on.
"And that dancing cubone goes down after some excellent footwork!" the announcer yelled. Max returned it, surprised at how well the young pokemon did, and sent out his next choice.
"Jolteon, let's go!" He threw his pokeball and out came the electric fox, who surveyed his surroundings. "Start things off with a thundershock!" he ordered.
The young trainer knew his opponent would expect this, and watched as Cloyster blocked the bolt with an aurora beam. The next one hit, but seemed to do little damage. Pete realized that while fast, Jolteon didn't have that much power against Cloyster's shell, and decided to take a risk.
"Aim for the field, Cloyster!" The dual type began icing the field, and Jolteon started slipping around. Max had already decided to abandon random thundershocks, and tried a new idea.
"Quick attack into a double kick!" The electric type, already annoyed with sliding into rocks, needed no further encouragement. It sprinted to where Cloyster had fallen in the water. The bivalve jumped back out, only to meet a ferocious kick in the shell, launching it down into the water. Max capitalized on the direct hit and told the eeveelution to fire a powerful thundershock into the pond. Cloyster floated to the top, clearly knocked out. Pete just shook his head and recalled it. "Great job, Jolteon!"
"What a combo on the leaping oyster, folks! It seems Max is determined to keep us on the edge of our seats." The crowd only got louder.
"Alright, you're good kid, but now it's on. Ampharos, show him we mean business!" A powerful looking Ampharos popped out of ball, and set his sights on the tired Jolteon. "Ampharos, close the gap," Pete ordered. The charged sheep ran at the exhausted fox, and got ready for an attack. Jolteon was backed to the water, and looked for help from his trainer.
"Jolteon, get to the rocks, hurry!" Like the element he represented, the eeveelution began zigzagging through what was left of the rocks. "Now double kick!" Pete was counting on the fact that Ampharos was slower than Jolteon for his counter. The gap between the two had widened as the sheep was unable to keep up and because it kept sliding around.
"Thundershock now, Ampharos!" he yelled. Jolteon sprung off of a rock and somersaulted, only to meet the lightning bolt launched from his opponent. The flying fox crashed into the sheep causing them both to roll across the field. The crowd got quiet and waited to see the results. Only Ampharos got up.
"Jolteon is unable to battle!" Max heard the referee for the first time since this match started. He recalled his electric type and fished out his third pokemon. It would be a stretch, especially with the type matchup, but he needed to save his best pokemon for whatever Pete had in store. He knew the Vermillion native wasn't nervous, and he figured it was because of whatever he was saving.
"Come on, Scyther!" The dual type shot out of its ball and eyed its opponent. Scyther as a whole were not easily intimidated, but he knew he was going to be relying heavily on Max for this one. "Scyther, stay low and use the field for cover!" This strategy proved effective; as the electric type was having trouble hitting the bug as it flew around. Now it was time to go on offense. "Good, now use agility and get in close for a fury cutter!"
"Charge up, Ampharos!" Pete called. The sheep nodded, and electricity started flowing through its body. It watched as Max's scyther drew ever closer. Finally, Ampharos heard the order to fire, and let loose a powerful electric blast and struck the buzzing bastard right in the chest. It did nothing to slow the vicious pokemon down, however, and it tried a different approach. It felt the bug's sharp arms hit it from the right, and tried to turn and block it. After a second of weak but tenacious slashing, Max called the bladed bug off. Once they broke apart, both trainers saw how tired their pokemon were. "Fire another thundershock!" Pete tried to get the win before Scyther could recover, but the bug's trainer had a plan.
"Stick a blade in the ground!" Sure enough, the electricity was grounded and had no effect on the dual type. Max grinned, knowing Ash would have been proud of that move. 'Well at least I was able to get out of that one! Now how do I finish this thing off?' he thought. He tried to plan a finishing blow, but his false sense of security cost him.
"Cotton spore while it's stuck!" Scyther and his trainer watched the sheep launch a blast of cotton at its opponent. While doing no damage, the fluffy balls reduced Scyther's aerodynamics, both making him slower and totally making him look super squishy. Max's pokemon was having none of it, and tried to take cover. The young trainer realized his mistake, and tried to take control of the battle again.
"Close in and finish it off with one last slash!" the Petalburg native ordered. His now enraged bug was more than happy to agree, and took off towards its opponent. That was a fatal move.
"Thunderpunch, Ampharos!" Pete yelled. This was his chance to take the lead in this battle, and there was no way he was going to miss it. His faithful electric type nodded, and had no problem following the fluffy Scyther, who was now much slower. The bug brought his arm back, and was about to tear Ampharos in half when it met a crackling fist. Everyone watched as Scyther was blasted back, fainting before he even finished rolling. The turn in the battle did not go unnoticed, and Max gritted his teeth.
"Since Max Maple has lost his third pokemon, we will now take a short intermission." The young trainer ignored the announcer as he began to ramble of sponsors, and quickly went to the locker room.
Everyone upstairs groaned as they saw Scyther's figure go dark on the jumbotron. They had all been immersed in the intense battle, and were just now peeling their eyes away from the field. Ash, Misty, Caroline and May had been on the edge of their seats the whole time, while Brock and Norman had been analyzing every move made. Ash grabbed his pokemon and made for the buffet. Mew practically exploded with questions, having been quiet nearly the whole time, and her trainer looked at Pikachu for an explanation.
"I made her- shush," the mouse told Mew, "- I made her wait 'til intermission to ask questions." Ash just nodded, and pretended he couldn't understand the rapid fire conversation happening right next to his ears. He reached the buffet and started loading up a plate, as well as a bowl of food for his pokemon. At his starter's request, he threw some ketchup packets in there too.
"Well," Misty said, watching Ash at the buffet, "I could go for something to eat, how about you, Brock?" She waited but didn't hear anything. The gym leader turned back around, only to find the breeder missing. She narrowed her eyes at the empty chair, knowing there was a woman in need of rescue somewhere nearby. Sure enough there was a waitress pinned against the wall with a confused look plastered on her face, and Brock firing pick-up lines at her. 'I turn around for two seconds…'
Norman and Caroline watched as May and Ash destroyed their plates of food and Misty hauled a flailing Brock back to his seat. They looked down from there to see Mew chattering away, and Pikachu sucking on the ketchup packets to keep himself sane from the legendary's verbal onslaught.
"May says this kind of stuff happens all the time with them," Caroline muttered to her husband as they watched the scene unfold. He just shook his head and turned his view back to field.
"I don't know how those kids keep it up all the time." After a couple of minutes everyone settled down and began discussing the battle.
"I can see a lot of your battle style in his, Ash," Brock said. "So far he has used a bunch of fast pokemon and tried to use hit and run tactics. While this may sound good on paper, Max has one key flaw and I think Pete knows it."
"What's that?" Ash asked. Brock had everyone's attention at this point, and kept going.
"Max knows a lot about pokemon. That's great, but he relies on that information too much, and therefore relies too much on controlling the battle. Once he loses control of the battle and has to go on defense, that's when he struggles."
"How so?" Norman asked. Brock apparently did this at all of the battles, and was very good at it. The Maple father was genuinely curious to hear what he had to say about his son.
"Well, Cubone, Jolteon and Scyther were all told to take cover and try those hit and run tactics on defense. As you know, counter attacks and maneuvering an overly aggressive opponent are important parts of battling, and Max just can't seem to put anything together once he loses control. Luckily reactionary skills will come with practice. This is just his first year, but I bet he will be great with some more training. I mean, he's only ten and he's in the Top 8 of a regional tournament." Everyone thought about that, letting the words soak in.
"I just hope he can make it through this battle," Misty said.
"He still has his three best pokemon," Norman added.
"Let's hope that's enough," Brock finished. The announcer came on the intercom and everyone turned the attention back on the field where the two trainers were walking back out.
"Are both trainers ready to resume the battle?" The ref asked. Pete Pebbleman and Max Maple both nodded, and the ref raised his flags. "Then: begin!"
"Go, Ampharos!" Pete sent the electric type back out. It had some time to rest during the break, but was still weary. The Vermillion native figured that it was better to do this and figure out what Max had than use a new pokemon and have Max know what he had. He wanted to know as much as he could about the kid before he committed his best pokemon.
"Go, Vigoroth!" 'I need to hit it hard while he's tired. If I can take it out quick, the match will be even again.' The wild monkey popped out of his ball and began getting pumped up. As soon as it heard its trainer say 'slash', it was off and running. It skillfully dodged both Dugtrio's holes and the stumps that were once rocks, making a direct path to the injured sheep. It took a tundershock and didn't slow at all. Ampharos's final move was a last second cotton spore. Both trainers watched the yellow pokemon tumble back to its side of the field. "Great job, Vigoroth!" Max celebrated the swift K.O., but Ampharos had done its job. Pete also had a plan to take out the troublesome monkey that involved the first matchup they had.
"Time to play, Furret!" The big fuzz ball appeared, and faced down the rampant primate. It was tiny for a furret, but still large enough to be able to deal some good damage. Without much pause, the Petalburg native sent his monkey on another berserker spree. The more experienced trainer decided to use the field to his advantage and sent Furret down into the tunnel system left by Dugtrio. It disappeared into the darkness and Vigoroth, which wasn't the brightest of pokemon, had nowhere to channel his fury. "Sucker Punch!"
It took Max a second to understand, but suddenly he began to see the old game of cat and mouse (meowth and pikachu?) that they had played the whole match. Furret popped out of a tunnel, smacked Vigoroth in the head, and popped back in. The only reason he was worried this time was that Vigoroth was in no way able to counter the assault, other than trying to pick the pest out of the air. Anytime Max had him move, Furret would just pop out of a different hole.
"It seems Vigoroth is in trouble now, folks! How will his trainer get him out of this one?" The announcer queried. It was a question the young trainer was asking himself as well.
"Uproar!" It was an act of desperation, but the hopping pokemon was smacked out of the air by the blast. Max wasted no time, and with a vengeful slash, Furret was launched across the stage. The young trainer thought he got him. He was wrong.
"Rest!" The older trainer called. It was then that Max realized that the damned ferret was sleeping in the tunnels! And there was nothing he could do. "Sucker Punch! Then Slam!" Max felt like banging his head against the wall.
"You know it's coming, Vigoroth! Just land one good slash," Max yelled. Furret bounced up and got a decent shot on the monkey. Vigoroth was tired, but managed to land a weak attack on the quick pokemon. The big ball of fuzz bounced right back up and nailed him in his chest, knocking him out. It waved its tiny arms in victory as it saw the crazed primate fall. Vigoroth's trainer recalled it and reached for his best pokemon, the only one left capable of taking on that annoying weasel. Pete saw yesterday just how good that gallade was, and prepared himself. All he needed to do was learn more about it, and try to wear it down.
"Take that fur ball out, Gallade!" Max threw the dual type out and the crowd went wild. Gallade had apparently become the young trainer's signature pokemon after that enormous comeback yesterday. The Hoenn native was relying on another one today. Gallade spotted its opponent amongst the rubble, and took up its stance. "OK Gallade, hit it with a psycho cut!" Predictable, yet effective, Max figured.
"Back in tunnels, Furret!" Pete said. Gallade reared back and launched two glowing discs that weaved through the battlefield. It wasn't fast enough, though, and Furret dove between the two, and into a tunnel.
"Double team, now Gallade!" The psychic/fighting type bounded around the battlefield at an incredible rate, seemingly appearing at multiple places at once. The sneaky weasel beneath had to make a decision, and picked the wrong image to attack. As it passed through a fake Gallade, the real one slammed into it with a powerful slash attack. Furret's trainer watched as it rolled across the battlefield, and then stood back up ready for more. It ran into another tunnel, and at Pete's order got a quick sucker punch off, staggering the dual type.
"Keep landing those sucker punches, Furret!" A new dance began of the normal type trying to land a hit on the agile fighter, and Gallade trying to slap the fur ball out of the air.
"Close your eyes and focus!" The young trainer from Hoenn ordered. Being half psychic, Gallade was able to pinpoint Furret as it ran through the tunnel system. It anticipated the coming strike, and at the last second landed a devastating psycho cut on the small pokemon. The crowd cheered at the powerful hit, and both trainers thought it was out, but the damned fuzz ball proved too tough. Pete grinned.
"Get in a tunnel and rest!" The Johto pokemon did just that, but Max wasn't about to let it finish.
"Use psychic to pull it out! Then finish it with another psycho cut." Ralts's final form focused on the sleeping pokemon, and dragged it out of the tunnels. Nothing Pete did seemed to wake it up, and the dual type used it for batting practice.
"Furret is unable to battle! Gallade is the victor!" The referee declared. The older trainer was already switching pokemon, and sent out his secret weapon against Gallade.
"I'm relying on you. Go, Gengar!" Max watched the ghost type grin as it set its malicious gaze on his pokemon. Gallade was unfazed and took up a fighting stance. "Start off with a confuse ray!"
"Track it Gallade! Don't let it hit you." Gengar disappeared, and the dual type closed its eyes as it tracked the pokemon. The ghost reappeared and fired a beam of shifting colors at its enemy. The warrior tried to dodge, but got clipped. Luckily it was able to resist the mental attack, but was unable to deal with the following shadow ball. "No! Don't let that bring you down," Max yelled as he saw his pokemon get hit. He knew the battle with Furret had exhausted it, and ghost types were effective against psychic types. Gallade stayed strong, and managed to get up.
"Good shot Gengar, now hit it with a shadow punch!" Both trainers watched the ghost disappear again.
"Wait for it to come out of hiding, then use psycho cut!" Max called. Gallade did one better, and fired a glowing disc into the air where it slammed into the poisonous spirit. Gengar hit the dirt and tumbled into the pond, but floated out grinning.
"Way to stay up! Fire a sludge bomb, then use dark pulse!" The grinning ghost fired a ball of poison, and followed it up with a black beam. The youngest Maple ordered his pokemon to use psychic, but was surprised at how he interpreted that. Gallade grabbed the ball of slime and used it as a shield against the coming beam, taking both out.
"Great job!" his trainer called and he allowed himself a smile. It was short lived.
"Don't stop! Shadow puch!" It became a boxing match as the two dual types tried to land psycho cuts and shadow punches. Max frowned, watching the two, and couldn't think of what to do. He knew that Gengar had the speed advantage, but there had to be some way out of it.
"It's become a stalemate as these two powerhouses can't land a hit!" The announcer yelled, excitedly.
'What would Ash do… ?' The more experienced trainer beat him to the punch, though, and Max Maple could only watch as his best pokemon was blasted across the stage by a powerful shadow ball. The capable fighter had left Gengar worn out and though Pete knew he could probably take out Max's last pokemon with the poison type, he decided to switch. With only his starter left, the young trainer threw out his last hope at a Top 4 spot.
"I need you now, Grovyle!" The grass type came out, ready to put up a tough fight.
"Let's wrap this up Arcanine!" This was one of the Vermillion native's best pokemon, and it looked to be a very uneven fight, not to mention the ghost that waited if a miracle happened. The Maple child knew first hand that crazy stuff happened all the time in battles, and was determined to make a comeback. He nodded down to his faithful pokemon, who nodded back and the two began a losing battle.
"We can still win this! Quick attack into a slam!" They caught the proud dog off guard with a burst of speed, and hit it with a strong slam.
"Get up and use extemespeed! Then flamethrower," Pete said, expecting this to be the end. He was right.
"Try and dodge!" Max yelled, watching the powerful fire type disappear. It only took a fraction of a second for the beast to reach Grovyle, who was still processing his trainer's order. The grass type was blasted into the ground, flipped over, and crashed into a rock. The subsequent river of fire was more than enough to finish it, and once the smoke cleared she was clearly out. Two hits were all it took to bring the match to a finish.
"Grovyle is unable to battle! Arcanine is the victor, and that means that Pete Pebbleman wins the match!" The ref raised the flag on Pete's side of the field, and Max Maple watched his last pokemon go dark on the jumbotron. The young trainer smiled grimly, and went to shake his opponent's hand.
"And that's it! Pete Pebbleman has walked away from this fantastic battle with a victory, and will go on to the semifinals. Let's hear it for both of our competitors!" The crowd was already going crazy, but they got even louder. Max just slumped back to the tunnel and tried to hold back his tears. Losing a tournament was always hardest the first time.
"But I could have done more!" Ash just put his arm around the kid and let him have his moment. Max had come out of the stadium and tried to find his family. Of course, he had been elated to see Ash, Misty and Brock, but once he found out that the only match they saw was the one he lost he was back to being sad. Not even holding the cuddly eevee in his arms could cheer him up, though it was trying its best. Everyone had given him encouragement, but after that didn't work they gave him his space. Ash knew what it was like to be where he was.
"You know, I only got Top 16 when I first tried, right? In fact, I just got Top 4 for my first time!" Max didn't want to listen though.
"B-but I'm supposed to b-be better than you!" Brock and Misty were holding back laughs, while the Chosen One was trying to restrain himself from strangling a 10-year-old. One look to Pikachu said no zapping either, although the mouse had disobeyed his trainer before.
"Look, losing's never easy, but you just have to make an attempt to learn from it," the older trainer continued.
"Pi pika chu," his starter added. Max took a deep breath and admitted his friend was right. Ash considered what he was about to say, then decided that it would be for the best.
"I'm actually about to spend the whole summer training for a tournament. Would you want to come with me? Brock and Misty are coming too." The entire Maple family looked at the three, who nodded, and everyone looked down at the young boy. It only took a second to decide that if he wanted to get better; spending the summer training with Ash was the way to do it.
"Yeah, that sounds great!" He said enthusiastically.
"Awesome!" Brock cut in. "I think we're staying for the rest of the tournament to find out what the big mystery is," at this Ash and Misty agreed, "then we'll leave from here." He was about to continue, but Caroline interrupted.
"Before you leave, why don't you and Ash have that battle you kept going on and on about, Max?" The kid blushed and tried to get his mom to shut up. "Don't you remember it was always 'battle with Ash this' and 'gonna destroy him' that." The older woman was blissfully unaware of the embarrassment she was causing her son, and the kick that his friends were getting out of it. "Norman and I were both excited to see that one."
"W-well," the young trainer said, trying to save face, "while you DID promise me a battle, Ash, I think my pokemon need a break. We've been at it all week, and they deserve it." Norman was proud of his son for making such a responsible decision, but he had to cut in now.
"Honey, while I'd love to see those two battle, I actually wanted to battle Ash myself. He's gotten a lot stronger and I'd like to see if I can still battle outside the gym." That got the group's attention, and Norman looked over to see both his son and the trainer in question totally pumped up.
"That would be awesome!" the youngest Maple yelled.
"You're on Norman!" Ash added.
"This is exciting, but you need to get your pokemon to the Pokemon Center, Max!" May said. It took a second for the thought to make its way into the kids head, then a look of panic shot across his face.
"You're right!" He put Mew down who scampered up to her trainer's shoulder, and they started across the marketplace towards the overcrowded Center. May would always remember the day that her brother Max told her she was right.
"So how about tomorrow around… one? During the semifinals? There should be nobody around," Ash asked the older gym leader. He just shrugged and looked down to his son.
"Do you want to see those matches, son?" he asked. Max shook his head.
"It would be fun, but I need a break, and I'd rather see you two battle!"
"Well, tomorrow at one it is then. You'd better watch your back Ash, I have more pokemon that just those that I use in gym battles." Norman warned.
"I can't wait to see Ash get his butt kicked." The Waterflower sister joked from behind her friend. Ash just glanced back at her and grinned, too happy to be affected by her comments. He looked up at the married couple he was walking beside.
"Hey Norman?" he asked, getting both of their attention.
"Yes, Ash?"
"Did I ever tell you about my charizard?" Pikachu and Misty shuddered at the name.
And Max goes down! That battle took me a while to write, as I did a lot of research and tried to balance game info on pokemon with anime battling styles. I then had to try and figure out how Max would battle after almost a year of being a trainer, which was tough.
So tell me what you thought! How was my first full battle? Did I keep everyone in character? What's your social security number and credit card information? Review!
Ash and Norman next chapter, whenever that is!
