And I'm back with another chapter! Wrote this one until 2 p.m. four days ago.
Current Location: - Somewhere near the outskirts of Celadon, 2 km away from the City Center
Ash's Team: - Pikachu, Kingler, Unfezant, Sceptile, Scrafty and Glalie.
65 badges. Two time runner-up in the Kanto League and semi-finalist in the Johto League. She had piled on the best of the best trainers. The best trainer Celadon had to offer .Nicknamed as ''Bad-Ass-unta!'' Today she was travelling from Vermillion to reach the hometown, beating every bug catcher, hiker, camper and whatever trainer she encountered on the way, acing up her sleeve. Now she found herself backed against the walls.
''I'm sorry. Were supposed to be the runner up of the Kanto League at one time? You are not nearly as good as I thought,'' Ash snickered, flashing a silly grin, further annoying the purple haired trainer.
A low growl left the trainer from Celadon. This was the third round she had lost consecutively. Not only that, but she had lost by a pretty wide margin. Her Rypherior and Ampharos were taken out as soon as the battle had begun, respectively losing against the opponent's Pikachu and Unfezant. Still, she managed a smile as he held out her fallen Lickylicky's PokéBall, returning it in a flash of red light.
Although she'd shown her thanks and put on a nice face, it was very transparent. Sweat was dripping down her brow, and her hands were tightened into fists. She'd gone into this confident as ever, but this mysterious guy had stomped her out at the very beginning. Still, it wasn't over just yet. Now she would just have to try twice as hard!
''You're pretty tough! But I'm not backin' down yet! Let's go Flareon!'' Assunta chastised, tossing a Pokéball, bringing forward her fourth Pokémon. The magnificent fire fox touched down the grassy terrain, chanting out its name in a threatening manner, desperately wanting to avenge its comrades.
''Someone woke up on the grouchy side today.'' Ash bantered, as he fetched out Kingler's Pokéball to return the Pincer Pokémon back, after it did its job pulverizing Assunta's Lickylicky. With a wry smile plastered on his face, he switched the Pokéball with another before lobbing it forward, ''I choose you!''
The Face Pokémon appeared, looking as intimidating as ever. Floating above the field, it leered down at its opponent.
''Alright. I'm getting mixed signals here. This guy always chooses a Pokémon that has a type disadvantage against mine. It's kinda provoking me.'' Assunta frowned, humming in thought. ''Flareon, Sunny Day!''
Unquestioning, the fire fox huffed, forcing out a ball of flames that drifted up above the terrain, acting as a second sun and shining down light and warmth on them all.
''Hmm...Let me guess. By using Sunny Day, you're trying to gain the weather in your favor. Trying to melt down Glalie I see. Nice one. But here's something to remember. Ice absorbs about two-thirds of the sunlight that hits it – but ice is transparent enough for the light to penetrate quite a long way before the absorption takes place. Hence the heat radiation won't even touch Glalie.'' Ash elucidated.
''Yeah actually, Sunny Day was for powering up Flareon's fire type moves.'' With an annoyance hinted in her eyebrow, Assunta admitted.
That drained the color from the face of the raven haired trainer. Ash blinked hard before smiling sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. ''I'm sorry I didn't consider that. Boy, this is awkward. Never really happened before. It was the right place but the wrong time. Guess I spoke too soon. You know, knowledge is kinda a power to boast. I mean what was I thinking, anyway. You don't look like someone interested in science. My bad, serio…''
''Hey it's rude to keep a girl waiting.'' Assunta snapped. ''Fire Spin!''
With Sunny Day still in use, hopefully their luck would turn up. A toss of Flareon's head launched spiral of fire, a corkscrew of flames heading towards the lively Glalie.
''Oh yeah, sorry about that. Glalie, just hold yourself and use Gyro Ball!'' Ash chuckled in apology before ordering out in retaliation.
Kidding aside and noting his opponent's carefully observant expression, Ash hoped she didn't know what he was actually up to. Eyes zeroing in on the challenger's Pokémon, Glalie waited with patience for the Fire Spin to dodge to draw closer. The Face Pokémon quickly took on a silver shine, reflecting the full wrath of the artificial sun off of its protective body, deflecting the Fire Spin.
The light radiated from the collision of the sunlight on Glalie's spinning metallic sheen, feel right into Flareon's eyes. It was the kind of brightness that sears into your retinas making you close them for fear of going blind; a brightness that would make fresh snow look grey and dull. It was a brightness to rival the sun itself. While Ash's aim was the Pokémon, Assunta had also been watching the affair too closely. She raised an arm to shield her offended eyes.
''Now, Water Pulse!''
An orb of condensed liquid conjured in front of the icy Pokémon's mouth, giving the Pokémon a bit of recoil as he shot the blast forward.
Shielding her eyes from the sun with a hand, Assunta squinted, soon enough to counter cautiously ''Flareon. Dodge to your right!''
As powerful as the attack was, it was no faster than Assunta's warning that fell on the blinded Flareon's ears. Zipping to the right, Flareon saved itself, the orb crashing against the grass, mere inches from it.
''Damn, that was close!'' Assunta heaved, clutching her chest. ''As much as I hate to admit it that was astute.''
In a typical fashion, Ash flashed a cheeky grin. ''Wanna see the weather forecast for today? Glalie, use Hail! ''
Raising its face upwards into the sky followed by the desperate call for help, Glalie summoned a blanket of clouds which soon rained down thick, heavy chunks of ice. The field became shrouded in mist as well as hail. Flareon belched flame at the ice. It was no good. There was simply too much coming down to help her.
Assunta raised a gloved hand to shield her eyes. She had anticipated the coldness and the sting of driven snow on her face, but not the ferocity of the wind and how the light blinded her. Blue sparks danced around Flareon's fur as she was being pelted by the hail stones.
''Shadow Ball, quick!'' Assunta commanded, throwing her hand forward.
"FLA~RREEOONN!" Sparks seemingly devoid of life, rather than full of it burst and crackled around a dark purple orb, growing remarkably large. With a cry, it was fired towards Glalie.
''Bad move,'' Ash's eyes narrowed, drifting towards her.
''Zip it! We're almost there!'' Assunta replied, showing no signs of worry.
Glalie grew antsy as the Shadow Ball approached it. But before the floating orb of darkness could explode in Glalie's face, it burst into a mist of ghastly energy inches before Glalie's melancholy grin.
''I'm afraid not.'' Ash smirked, the taunting grin once again danced its way upon Ash's lips.
''What happened? I swear I saw it touch Glalie!'' Assunta called, tension rising in her posture at the prospect of her plan falling apart.
"What you saw was the Shadow Ball exploding on hail,'' Ash explained calmly. "The Shadow Ball attack is really sensitive and explodes on the first thing it makes contact with.''
Assunta gritted her teeth; things weren't looking good for her. ''We'll get rid of all the hail, then. Flareon, Fire Spin.'''
A blistering coil of flames made an attempt to cancel all the icicle hails, changing their matter from ice to water droplets that began to pelt from the clouds summoned. But it was all futile. She couldn't dodge the manipulating ice-stones. It was a never ending blizzard that made it a goal to assail Flareon from all sides. It was mortifying watching the fire type wasting its time getting rid of the ice while totally exposing itself for Glalie to attack.
''It's like watching a three year old chase Butterfrees,'' Ash droned, running his hand through his hair.
''Pika…'' the little mouse standing beside him agreed, incoherently.
''Alright, I can't take this anymore. Glalie, Ice Beam.'' Ash grimaced before calling out.
Leering eyes, much like those before him, lit an eerie blue. "Glalie!" The Pokémon roared, cyan light sparking between its demonic horns. Two currents of cold energy merged, taking the form of a bright ray of ice that shot across the field. The energy homed in on the occupied Flareon, landing a perfect hit, encasing it in a block of ice.
''Flame Charge!''
Crunch of ice around Flareon began to liquefy, once it began to reclaim its breath. Then with a melodious bellow, she shielded herself in a fiery blaze that left all the remaining chunks of ice to scatter out in different directions as the fire type blasted itself towards Glalie, a fiery streak leaving behind. A boom filled the area as she crashed her torched body right into Glalie with a tremendous force.
The flames around her dissipated as soon as she flipped back in front of Assunta, maintaining her balance, as she waited patiently for the opposition to make a move. The Hail continued its normal frequency, but Flareon brushed it though. She wasn't let some tiny ice shards take this battle away from her. The smoke cleared itself to reveal Glalie, much to Assunta's shock, unscorched by the super effective attack, as it enveloped itself in a teal golden light and crying out a chant of tranquility.
''But how? That was a full head on hit!'' Assunta gasped, sweat trickling down her forehead.
''It was. But you missed something. Hail can prove to be a pretty daunting move. Not only the opponent is pelted by it, there's also Glalie's special ability Ice Body which ensures it regains 1/16th HP every turn. Hence every move you make, Glalie will recover 10 percent of the strength it loses."
Assunta wasn't the type to take anything sitting down. ''Not for long! Flame Charge!''
Kicking up another wall of dust, Flareon emerged seconds from it, once again cloaked in the flames, only one target in her mind: the taunting Glalie.
''It's like talking to a Slakoth,'' Ash exasperated, a bead of sweat forming on his brow. ''Water Pulse!''
Like trainer, like Pokémon. Neither impressed with the work of their opponents moves. As Flareon jetted forward, she was met with a free rush of water. The two moves met violently, before Flareon was reeled back on the grass floor, as it went rolling towards her trainer. The impact was not only enough to land Flareon but also enough to knock it out.
''Perfect,'' Ash maffled indistinctively, before rolling his eyes at the fallen Pokémon.
"Return, Flareon!" Assunta commanded, a Pokéball outstretched. "You fought bravely…" Her orbs flickered, turning up towards Ash, then. '' I'm impressed. I have never been in such a tight spot. I'm glad you asked me for this battle!''
''Actually, I asked you out for coffee first, but…whatever,'' Ash corrected.
''And I said, you have to earn it! Venomoth, let's give them a battle to remember!'' Assunta commanded cockily.
In Flareon's place, another Pokémon was released. The Poison Moth Pokémon was the next to emerge from Assunta's arsenal. It took to the air and floated warily over Glalie, who merely leered back in return.
''Awesome job, Glalie,'' Ash praised in a calm composure, holding out a Pokéball and recalling it the hardy ice type, only to replace him with another Pokémon, ''I choose you!''
''Scrafty!'' the Hoodlum Pokémon appeared, quickly recognizing the moth by various descriptions. A Pokémon with double the advantage. Oh, this was going to be fun. It quickly reached to its back and pulled out the Hood over its face, boasting the boost it received.
''Your Scrafty seems to be very confident. We'll bring that down with him. Quiver Dance!'' she ordered, a fiery spark in her eyes.
No peep, no squawk was heard. Light surrounded around Venomoth as it spread out its wings and fluttered them furiously as it flew around in circles, leaving afterimages behind itself. The dance concluded with the insect hovering above Scrafty.
"You have messed with the wrong girl, guy. Venomoth, Silver Wind!''
Venomoth quickly buzzed into action, as it fluttered its wings mightily, whipping up a pale breeze which cut down towards Scrafty.
Ash looked on grimly, but wasn't fazed by the attack nor the phrase. He simply countered. ''Dragon Dance!''
Scrafty gave out a war cry as it surrounded itself in a red outline that misted off. With its eyes turning blood red, it flipped backwards just as the zephyr cut through the wind in front of it. It hopped and flipped left and right, jumping up and ducking below to avoid the scathe of the Silver Wind.
''It keeps dodging every move!'' Assunta flinched, her awe betraying her.
''And at the same time, powering up its attack and speed. Show em' your Hi Jump Kick!''
Grasping its pants, and folding its right leg to reveal its crimson glowing kneecap, Scrafty soared towards the Poison Moth Pokémon.
"Dodge it with Double Team!" she combated.
''Uh-oh…''
However, the new horde of summoned copies and the genuine opponent swiftly dodged the incoming knee strike. Scrafty rushed through one of the copies and kept going until it missed, and winced as it hurt its knee in recoil.
"Excellent, Venomoth!'' Assunta excitedly called, looking pleased, '' Let's Double the damage! Use Psychic!"
Each of the Venomoth's eyes glowed, first a dark sapphire shade and then a bright turquoise blue, attempting to grab a hold of Scrafty… But, it was like grasping sand. No matter how hard Venomoth concentrated, it just couldn't get a grip of Scrafty's consciousness.
''It's pointless using Psychic. Maybe you have forgotten that Scrafty is not just a fighting type but a Dark type as well.'' Ash deadpanned, toying with the flicks of his hair.
''Aw Hell! How did I let that slip past me? Venomoth, don't get any closer!'' Assunta called out, an edge of worry creeping on her face.
''Why? Don't you think we're friendly'' Ash quipped sardonically, before resuming. ''Scrafty, use Rock Tomb!''
Assunta recoiled. "What!?"
Before she could process it, Scrafty's feet slammed into the ground below, sending quakes threw it that resulted in mountainous stones jutting from the field, striking and encapsulating Venomoth. Before the Pokémon knew it, he was trapped in a cage of solid rock.
''Venomoth! NOOO!'' Assunta called, tension rising in her posture at the prospect of her plan falling apart.
''Sleep tight, Venomoth,'' Ash trailed off, ''Focus Blast!''
A yellow orb formed between the paws of Scrafty, before launching at the earthy prison. A series of loud explosions, and copious amounts of dust followed, shrouding the field.
"Damn it," Assunta muttered. Waiting for the debris to clear, she feared for the worst.
A shrill, distorted cry followed, and the bug type's body fell limp. Soon enough, discovering that Venomoth's eyes had turned to swirls, while Scrafty stood tall, towering above it.
''Ahh…!'' Assunta rushed, towards her fallen Pokémon, her shorts making it easier for her to sprint. Kneeling down to pet her fallen bug type, she muttered a few words of appreciation before recalling it. She walked over back to her spot before casting a cold glance at Ash, who in the meantime had recalled Scrafty back.
''Alright, any move I'll be making would be just watering a Psyduck's back. Everytime I roll my dice, he catches me off guard by making unpredictable moves. He's like a sponge, absorbing my every form of attack. he switches to offence and defense in a heartbeat. Now I'm down to my last Pokémon and I barely scratched his. If one Pokémon of his can slam me like that, imagine what six of them can do. Seriously how come such a strong trainer is off the records? He's totally unavailable on my C-Gear! I'm sure this guy has to be a Champion level. I know I cannot win, but I won't forfeit either.
She gazed down at the Pokémon in her hand, thinking aloud just looking at it, ''It's all on you Venusaur.''
''I know what you're thinking,'' the voice broke Assunta of her trance as she set her eyes on Ash, carefully listening what her was trying to say,'' It's impossible for your last Pokémon to defeat all six of mine. So I'll make you a deal. If your Pokémon can take out my sixth Pokemon, you win, and I pay for the coffee. If I win, you agree to have coffee with me. That okay with you?''
''Now I can't say no to someone as cute as a Teddiursa.'' Assunta could barely suppress a chuckle, as she giggled behind the palm of her hand.
''Way to kill the mood,'' Ash huffed, groaning at the last sentence.
''Alright then, let's do this!'' Whereas Assunta chucked her Pokéball, Ash lobbed his like a baseball.
Both spheres burst open and the Pokémon intended materialized in front of each other.
"Saur!" The Seed pokemon cried loudly, thumping over the grass.
Sceptile appeared on the opposite side, promptly inserting its signature twig between its lips, chewing on the small plant. Golden eyes turned towards the other powerhouse present, locking with aqua hues. Before Ash could even utter a word, the challenge had been silently declared. The reptile grinned, taunting the duo of Assunta-Venusaur verbally. This was going to be fun.
''Well, things just gotta pretty interesting.''
''It sure did. But this time I'll be ready in case you pull a fast one. Sneaks like you can't fool me twice. Watch out, my Venusaur isn't the kind to lose so easily.'' Assunta warned, somewhere between a purr and a hiss.
''And your other Pokémon are?'' Ash's head titled, an eyebrow raised to emphasize the question.
Drat! Now I can't even beat him at words!
''You can begin,'' Ash put both of his hands behind his head, warding off the signal.
''Not this time. I know that you use play the game defensively. You use defensive style of battling so despite I try, all my attacks char useless. I won't be falling for that again and again!''
''And you think me going first would change that?''
''Just Do it!'' she gnashed her teeth.
''Women. They're just beyond me,'' Ash shrugged his shoulders before calling, ''Sceptile, Slam!''
''Venus…''
Before Assunta could even finish, Sceptile was long vanished from where it stood. Venusaur's eyes darted around, until it managed to find a green blur shooting around in circles around it. Finally it came to a halt, right in front of Venusaur's snout as the Seed Pokémon's eyes widen in astonishment. Mirroring Ash's smirk, it whipped around, smashing its tail into the rival grass type in a swift loop.
'' ''…!'' she gawked, momentarily marveling the speed of Sceptile. ''How fast is that thing?!''
''Hard to attack someone you can hardly see.'' Ash cracked a grin.
''Visible or not. We'll still beat it! Sludge Bomb!'' Assunta pressed on with the battle.
Venusaur's wide rotund maw parted wide, as it spewed out solid globs of toxins towards the precipitous green titan.
''Right back at ya! Leaf Blade!'' Ash combated back, shrugging cockily.
Sceptile barely ducked the incoming collusive volley of sludge, charging towards Venusaur to slice it with the glowing sickles on each of its forearms.
''Vine Whip!'' she decided it was time to close the distance between the two Pokémon.
The Kanto Starter roared before it lashed out its stems out like a whip.
''Dual chop on those vines!'' Ash whispered narrowing his eyes down, digging his hands in his pockets.
The blades in Sceptile's forearms reverted back into the leaves, before it made a streamline charge for Venusaur, with its claws flickering with emerald blades, opting for brutal strikes on each of the vines.
''Use your remaining vines to get Sceptile!'' Assunta decided, continuing with her tactics.
More vines stretched out from Venusaur's back as they all latched onto Sceptile, enclasping him.
''Alright! Since you are so desperate, Leaf Storm!''
Since its branch like tail wasn't chained as Sceptile's body, Sceptile managed to raise its tail and summoned a cyclone of leaves in response. The leaves turned their direction marking the trajectory and enfiladed Venusaur, pummeling the grass type backwards. Even though, Venusaur did not release its hold from Sceptile.
''Almost there! Solar Beam!'' Assunta cried out.
Without hesitation, Venusaur crouched low and aimed its flower at the trapped Sceptile. Light began to draw in from the sunlight charging up the destructive attack as Venusaur fired the burst of light from the flower, kicking up a tunnel of dust.
''I think not! Venusaur may have some serious resilience, I'll give you that. You have seen Sceptile's speed, now watch his amazing strength! Break free, using X-Scissor!'
If Assunta didn't believe him earlier, she might have as well now. No matter how squeezed Sceptile was, it mustered all its strength into its hands and burst itself out of the release, leaping just out of Solarbeam's range. It didn't stop to acknowledge the booming explosion right behind it as it charge headfirst, a green gleaming cross heading its assault, slamming into Venusaur's skull.
''Saur!'' it cried, thrown airborne by the physical assault. It didn't have time to react as it forced itself to land roughly on all fours.
''Then maybe we go for the kill! Frenzy Plant!'' Assunta announced resolutely, punched her way into the air.
A loud, earth-shaking roar came from Venusaur, preluding what was to come. A mighty stomp of its forelegs rocked the ground below them, parting the battlefield with a myriad of thick, spiky roots.
A small smile picked up in the corner of Ash's lips. With that, Ash threw both of his hands outward. ''Plants don't kill reptiles. Leaf Blade!''
In a green blur, Sceptile tore across the field, its blades glowing with vibrant energy. As soon as the roots were nearing, they were carved neatly in half. Sceptile continued to sprint, severing the needles with a clean swipe of his energized blades. In a breath's pace, Sceptile's blades cut across Venusaur's face. Not once, not twice, not thrice, but it only stopped when Sceptile wanted to. Suffering under the radical power of the move, it was sent sky-high.
'That's enough suffering! Let me put you out of your misery!'' Ash called, as he held out the shining emerald crystal in his outstretched hand that glittered attractively as soon as kissed in the sunlight. Setting up the Z-Crystal in the Z-Ring on his wrist that Assunta had mistook for a watch earlier, Ash and Sceptile performed the mandatory motions for the Z-Move until a mystical light green aura surrounded them, ''BLOOM DOOM!''
Venusaur awoke to a field of flowers and could file the bile rising up its throat. Each pungent with different fragrance. A dream place for every Grass Type Pokémon. Light began to emit from each flower as if some bomb had been ticked off. A blinding flash light followed beneath it and a transient explosion occurring that obscured the entire field with all the flowers disappearing into thin air.
Assunta shielded her eyes from ensuing explosion that ripped through, taking a step forward hoping that Venusaur would still be standing. The white cloud soon faded away revealing Sceptile to twist in midair and land nimbly on one knee, while Venusaur slumped on the grass.
Her fears had come true. She reached out for her Pokéball and recalled her prized starter back to it, before respiring, ''That was some nice battlin' there, Venusaur. Proud of you.''
She clipped the Pokéball back to her trainer belt and began staring at the ground hard until a hand surfaced in front of her eyes. ''Come on, it was a fun battle. Even you gotta admit that. At least, it was a learning experience for both of us. Usually no one has dragged me in a battle for so long. And if I had to use a Z-Move to put a full stop to this battle, then you are already special.''
She couldn't help but offer a knowing smile, accepting his hand and shaking it as the symbol of a good sportsmanship. And then suddenly a thought struck her mind.
''Hey wait,'' she hummed, ''what did you just say something about a Z-Move? What is that?''
Ash sighed warily, realizing her lack of knowledge about the Z-Moves. He glanced at the inquisitive girl and his smile brightened once again. ''It's actually something they use in Alola. You might have missed on a couple of things. Stick around and I'll teach you a thing or two.''
''Well, maybe we can begin with some coffee…''
Next chapters on ''In Search of Vengeance''
Chapter 10: Battle Factory- Noland (1 on 1)
Chapter 11: Arena Tycoon Greta (Double Battle)
Chapter 12: Dome Ace Tucker (Double Battle)
All requests and ideas are welcome.
Oh and there's also a small request. Slashkiller/Sharkkiller, I very much appreciate your reviews and am flattered that you call me your friend. Whenever I post a chapter here, you review is the first that comes to my mind. But dude, there is no need to review four times on the same chapter. One is simply enough for me to acknowledge that you have already reviewed. But you see, others might get the idea that I do it myself to increase the number of reviews. So please, just one review from you suffices. And thank you for being my regular reviewer.
Here are the answers to a few questions asked by some authors
Why are the battles over so quickly?
Simple. Ash's has been training extensively for a decade, hence, he's gotten stronger everytime and smarter too. Kanto trainers and gym leaders according to me, are not that powerful. The battles will rage longer once the story progresses. But for now, imagine a SSJ4 Goku against Krillin.
Which shipping does this fic promote?
It's no secret that I am an Advanceshipper. This story actually is fully based on Ash's battles, so the answer hangs in the air. There will be a minute Advanceshipping involved but there's also Amourshipping.
Are we going to see any of Ash's companions?
Possibly May, Max, Dawn and Cilan once we reach Hoenn.
Why is Ash battling against trainers he never lost to?
As I repeat, Ash is honing skills for a major league. Hence he'll battle every strong trainer, possible rivals, gym leaders, frontier brains and Elite 4 of each region.
Does Ash battle any Champions?
No. I'm preparing a separate fic for that.
