Welcome back! Last time we left off, Greninja was blown away by a powerful focus blast. Will he recover or not? How will the rest of the battle play out for Ash? Also, after having a week to look at the starters, I have warmed up to Litten. The other two, I still don't like.
Ch 12: Biding your Time
"Greninja!" Ash yelled across the field as his water type didn't respond. "Greninja, are you alright!?" Still, no response from the ninja pokemon. Ash hoped for the best as he waited for the smoke to clear, but once it did he didn't receive the sight he hoped for.
"Greninja is unable to battle! The winner is Raichu!" The referee declared as he raised his flags into the air, signaling the end of the battle.
"Thank you, Greninja," Ash said as he raised its pokeball. Recalling it into the device, Ash watched as the screen blacked out Greninja's picture. "That Raichu is strong..." Ash thought to himself as he looked at his options. Talonflame and Noivern would be weak to it and Pikachu was still recovering from his match with Hitmontop. Knowing that he had no other choice, Ash reached for his next pokeball. "Goodra, I choose you!"
"Goo. Goodra, goo," the dragon pokemon cried happily as he smiled at his trainer. Ash smiled back at the happy dragon type before they both faced Raichu. Goodra then appeared in Ash's fourth slot as its image lit up.
"Ready Goodra?" Ash asked as the dragon type replied affirmatively. Goodra was ready to help his trainer out just as Ash had helped him when still a Goomy. "Alright, start off with dragon pulse!"
"Raichu counter with Charge beam!" Tierno called out as both pokemon charged their beam attacks. Firing at the same time, an explosion occurred as the dragon pulse met the super charged charge beam and smoke filled the arena. Neither trainer could see a thing, but that wasn't stopping them.
"Goodra use sludge wave!" Ash could be heard calling out through the smoke. Nodding in approval, Goodra opened his mouth as a large purple ball started to form.
"Sludge wave?" Tierno asked himself as he tried to form a way to dodge. He had faced an attack like that in the past, but he couldn't think of any way to avoid it back then. "Okay, time to try something new! Aim a charge beam at the ground to dodge!"
"Rai rai!" The electric type cried out as he launched another charge beam. This one was launched just in time as once Raichu was airborne, the field was flooded by the sludge wave. Now in a free fall, Raichu was a sitting duck.
"Goodra, dragon pulse once more!" Ash cried out as Goodra fired the dragon type move. Knowing that Raichu could only try and block the attack, Ash decided to try and put some pressure on it.
"Counter with focus blast!" Tierno yelled out as the beam grew closer to Raichu. At the last second, the mouse pokemon formed an orb of energy and launched it right at the dragon pulse attack. Managing to overpower it, Tierno and Raichu watched as it headed straight for Goodra.
"Block it with bide!" Ash called out, shocking Tierno. The dancing trainer had completely forgotten about Goodra using bide. He was going to have to finish this off fast now. The focus blast collided right into Goodra's stomach, but the dragon pokemon seemed unaffected. Now glowing with a light red aura, Goodra braced itself for any more attacks.
"Raichu, focus blast and follow that up with a charge beam!" Tierno called out as he grew nervous. If they couldn't beat Goodra before it launched the attack, it was going to hurt a lot. Raichu fired the attacks off in quick succession of each other and watched as Goodra took them head on.
"Gooo..." Goodra panted as the smoke from the previous two attacks faded. It looked to be a little tired, but nothing too bad. Then, Ash noticed it, the red aura was growing darker as it was about time to launch the attack off.
Tierno also noticed it and decided for one final attack. "Focus blast, once more!" He yelled out, nervousness could be heard in his voice. Anyone who had went up against a bide attack would know just how terrifying it could be under the right conditions and right now was the worst time for it.
"Rai... Chuuu!" It cried out before throwing another focus blast. This time however, it didn't hit its mark. Instead, it had been blocked by a beam of pure white energy.
"Goodra!" The dragon type had yelled out mere seconds earlier as he fired off the bide attack. It was fully charged and after taking all those hits from Raichu, was much stronger than either trainer expected. Colliding with the focus blast, Goodra's bide managed to overpower the blast and actually consume it.
Raichu stared on in shock as the two attacks now collided with himself. An explosion then followed the impact as Raichu was launched backwards. Looking at the electric type, the referee made his decision. "Raichu is unable to battle. The winner is Goodra!" He declared as Raichu's picture was blacked out.
"You did great, Raichu," Tierno told the electric type as he returned it to its pokeball. Now, reaching for his next pokemon, Tierno tossed his pokeball out. "Your turn to shine, Ludicolo!"
"And Tierno responds to losing his Raichu by choosing Ludicolo!" the announcer cried out as the screen showed Ludicolo in Tierno's fourth spot. "How will Ash respond to this?"
"Goodra return!" Ash called out immediately. He could see that Goodra was tired from the previous match and it was no use running it into the ground. Not with Blastoise still waiting to be used by Tierno. "Talonflame, I choose you!" Ash yelled as he threw the pokeball.
"Talon!" The scorching pokemon cried out in joy. Immediately taking off into the air, Talonflame circled the arena as it waited for a command.
"And Ash switches out Goodra for Talonflame!" The announcer explained as the screen was updated again as Talonflame's picture appeared on the screen while Goodra's was grayed out.
"Ash went with Talonflame, a fire and flying type to battle a grass type like Ludicolo," Serena said as she watched the flying type continue to circle around almost like it was looking for an opening. "Its attacks will be really effective."
"Don't get too excited just yet," Professor Oak interrupted as he kept his eyes on the battle. The young performer was forgetting something very important about Ludicolo which could become a problem for Ash if he forgot as well. "Ludicolo is also a water type, so Talonflame's fire type moves won't do much good here. Plus, it'll have to watch out for any powerful water type moves like hydro pump and water gun," the professor explained to everyone.
"Okay, Talonflame, let's start out strong and use heat wave!" Ash called out as Talonflame started to fly in one location. Opening its beak, the scorching pokemon started to spray what appeared to be waves of fire everywhere.
"Ludicolo, let's cool this place down a little. Start us off with a rain dance!" Tierno called out as Ludicolo started to dance on the ground as a large, black cloud covered the entire stadium. With the increase of rain, Talonflame's heat wave weakened to the point where the carefree pokemon was unharmed by it.
"Talonflame's fire type moves won't be effective now," Ash thought to himself. He would just have to wait until the rain dance ended, but he also had an idea. "Talonflame, use flame charge!"
"Talon!" The fire and flying type cried out before its entire body burst into flames. Charging at Ludicolo, both Ash and Talonflame noticed how the flames were weakened by the rain.
"Dodge it! Then counter with hydro pump!" Tierno called out as he watched Talonflame approach.
"Ludi," the carefree pokemon replied before spinning to his left. As he did so, Talonflame lunged at Ludicolo only to miss the dodging pokemon. "Colo!" It cried out before a stream of water flew out of its mouth.
Talonflame was hit directly in the back, extinguishing the flame charge and causing it to free fall towards the ground.
"Great! Now, hydro pump again!" Tierno called out as Ludicolo fired off the water type move again.
"Not this time! Talonflame, straighten yourself and use steel wing! Then charge at Ludicolo while spinning!" Ash called out to the scorched pokemon. Ash's words seemed to reach the flying type as Talonflame managed to recover from the last hit and begin flying towards Ludicolo.
"Talon!" Talonflame cried out before its wings started to stiffen up and glow a bright white. Talonflame then continued its current trajectory straight for Ludicolo.
Seeing the hydro pump, Talonflame understood why Ash wanted it to spin. Doing so, the flying type looked like a drill before flying right through the hydro pump unharmed.
Tierno was shocked by Ash's strategy to overcome Talonflame's weakness and still get in close. "No way…" he muttered as Talonflame slammed its wings right into Ludicolo.
The carefree pokemon was thrown backwards, but quickly regained his balance by performing a flip while in the air. Now facing the retreating Talonflame, the water and grass type was ready to attack. "Ludicolo!" It cried out to its trainer.
Seeing what his pokemon meant, Tierno nodded in agreement. "Good idea! Use ice beam on Talonflame's wings!" If Talonflame couldn't fly, then it wouldn't be much of a problem.
Ludicolo nodded in agreement as it opened its mouth and had a sphere of ice form. Firing it off, a trail of ice shot off of the sphere and struck Talonflame's wings causing them to freeze on impact.
"That won't work with us," Ash calmly replied. Most trainers would worry if their flying type had its wings frozen, but not Ash. "Heat up, Talonflame! Use flame charge!"
Talonflame nodded in agreement as its entire body started to heat up before being engulfed in flames. Just like Ash thought, Talonflame's wings thawed out and it could now fly freely. It then changed course and flew straight at Ludicolo, striking it directly.
Ash was now smiling. Not only was Talonflame much faster thanks to flame charge, but rain dance had ended as well. Deciding to finish this, Ash pulled out Talonflame's strongest attack. "Let's end this! Brave bird!"
Talonflame nodded before soaring through the skies and straight for Ludicolo. As it flew, blue flames covered its body and everyone knew this could be it.
"Stop it with ice beam!" Tierno called out at the last second. Ludicolo quickly fired off the ice type attack, but Talonflame wasn't stopping.
Flying right into the ice beam, Talonflame's entire body was frozen. Thanks to its speed however, the scorching pokemon continued on its path until it collided with Ludicolo. An explosion followed as chunks of ice flew everywhere across the field.
"Both Ludicolo and Talonflame are unable to battle! It is a double knockout!" The referee declared as he raised both flags. The scoreboard was then updated as both pokemon's images were blacked out.
"Thanks so much, Talonflame, you fought extremely well. Take a nice rest," Ash said as he recalled the pokemon.
The announcer could then be heard as his voice filled the stadium. "Now that one trainer, or in this case both trainers, have lost three pokemon we will now have a short intermission so they can both rethink their strategies!"
"I've already lost three pokemon," Ash thought as he sat down on the provided bench. Thus wasn't how he expected the match to play out. "Plus Pikachu and Goodra are pretty tired. Tierno still has two pokemon who are fresh. I already know one of them is Blastoise," he told himself as he stared at the field before smiling. This was what he loved, having to give it his all.
"Ash!" His friends yelled out. The young trainer turned around and noticed his three friends walking down to the edge of the stadium seats to talk with him. However, by the way they looked it seemed like they needed to tell him something important.
"Ash..." Clemont muttered as he finally leaned over the railing. They had decided to let Ash know about Hitmontop in case he was still wondering what happened. "Hit... Hitmontop... He's using the spike on his head to channel the electricity into the ground."
"Tierno had this all planned out as a way to counter Pikachu," Serena added in once she saw Clemont gasping for air. They decided to let him breath and she would tell the rest. "Since half his team are water types, Tierno trained Hitmontop to cancel out all Pikachu's electric type moves."
"So... That's what was happening," Ash said as he stood up. Like he had said to Tierno, he knew something was up but he just didn't know how to explain it. "I'll just have to fight him another way," he said as a bell rang through the stadium.
"What was that?" Serena asked. She had never heard it before as this was the first time she ever was at a League, but Ash recognized it. The match was going to resume now.
"It's just a signal that the match will start soon," Ash explained as he stood up. He was getting tired of waiting so it was good that they were resuming now. Ash gave one last look at his friends, but noticed their nervous looks. Reaching into his pocket he pulled out Serena's note. "Serena, thanks for that lunch you made. It really filled me up. And, you guys don't need to worry; I'll win this for sure!" With that, Ash made his way over to the field.
"So, Serena..." Bonnie started to say as she eyed the performer. Serena gulped as she didn't like where Bonnie was heading with this. "What exactly did that note say?"
"N-Nothing!" Serena replied as she felt her face heating up a little. She hadn't expected Ash to keep it or to actually still have it on him during his match. "I-I just wished him luck from the three of us."
"Sure you did..." Bonnie replied. Before she could give Serena the chance to respond, Bonnie was already making her way back to their seats with Clemont dragging behind her.
Turning to face the field one more time, Serena watched as Ash pointed to the field and Pikachu ran out to it. Grabbing onto her ribbon, Serena let out a sigh. "Good luck, Ash."
"Pikachu, you're up again, buddy!" Ash cried out as Pikachu jumped off of his shoulder and onto the field. Pikachu had a few sparks of electricity fly off of his body as he got ready to battle again.
"Pikachu," Tierno muttered as he pulled out a pokeball. "Well then, I guess it's time for round two! Go, Hitmontop!"
"And to start things off Ash has chosen his Pikachu while Tierno will use Hitmontop. Let's see if things will go differently as these two battle it out for a second time!" The announcer cried out as the stadium's board lit up the images of Pikachu and Hitmontop.
"Pikachu start off with thunderbolt!" Ash cried out. Now that he knew how Tierno was countering his thunderbolt, Ash had a new idea to try out. Pikachu jumped high into the air before unleashing his electric attack.
"Again with this, Ash?" Tierno asked as he snapped his fingers. Ash noticed this now. It was three snaps before he called out the attack. "One, two, three... Rapid spin!" Tierno called out as he did a little spin himself.
"Hitmon!" The handstand pokemon cried out as he started to spin. The thunderbolt was about to hit him when Ash called out a new command.
"Knock it off its axis! Use electro ball!" Pikachu then charged up the electric sphere of energy as he fell towards the ground. Firing it before landing, Ash and Pikachu both watched as the ball collided with Hitmontop's spinning head.
"What!" Tierno cried out as he watched Hitmontop fall onto the ground due to the attack. Looking up, they both watched as the thunderbolt struck the electric type directly. "So, you finally figured it out? Well, try this one! Gyro ball!"
"Hit... Hitmontop!" The fighting type cried out before starting to spin again as the silver ring formed around his body. The handstand pokemon then moved straight for Pikachu.
"Use iron tail, Pikachu!" Ash called out. Right now, he knew Hitmontop could easily deflect any electric type attacks like he did earlier so their only way to counter was with iron tail.
"Pika!" the electric type cried out as his tail started to glow white and stiffened. Jumping into the air, Pikachu got ready to strike.
The two pokemon met each other head on as Pikachu slammed his iron tail hard onto Hitmontop. However, both pokemon couldn't make the other budge as they wouldn't back down. Unfortunately, Hitmontop's gyro ball proved to be too strong as the fighting type managed to overpower Pikachu and send him flying backwards.
"Now, hit him with triple kick!" Tierno called out as he watched Hitmontop stop spinning for a second. The fighting type started to spin once again and raced towards the falling Pikachu. Extending his legs to kick Pikachu, the fighting type was caught off guard by their counter.
"Pikachu, block it with iron tail!" Ash called out as Pikachu straightened himself while in mid fall. Twisting his body around, Pikachu's tail started to glow white and stiffen just like last time.
Swinging it right at Hitmontop, Pikachu's tail collided with Hitmontop's first kick. Using it like a spring board, Pikachu was now high in the air and awaited the next command.
"Got to be fast with this. Pikachu can only block that attack so many times," Ash thought as he watched Pikachu descending. Looking at Hitmontop, Ash saw an idea waiting to happen. "Quick, electro ball!"
"Pikachu!" Pikachu agreed before firing off the attack. Both Ash and Pikachu watched as the electrical sphere crashed into Hitmontop. The fighting type had tried to kick it away, but due to the explosion on impact it had only hurt itself.
"Now finish it with iron tail!" Ash yelled out as Pikachu slammed his tail right into Hitmontop. The fighting type was thrown backwards by the force of the attack, but to Ash's surprise it managed to get back up. "No way..."
"Yeah, I knew you could keep going!" Tierno called out as he looked at the fighting type. However, he looked at both pokemon and noticed they were both panting. The next hit would probably decide the match. "Go! Mach punch!" He called out while throwing a fist forward.
Ash blinked for a split second and in that time he had lost sight of Hitmontop. Even with all the damage he had taken, the fighting type could still move so fast. Then, the handstand pokemon reappeared in front of Pikachu and before Ash or the electric type could react Hitmontop smashed his glowing fist into Pikachu.
The electric type flew across the field before coming to a stop in front of Ash. Looking down at his best friend, Ash could tell that he was defeated. "Pikachu is unable to battle! The winner is Hitmontop!" The referee declared as the board blacked out Pikachu's image.
Picking Pikachu up, Ash walked over to the bench and put his best friend on it. "You did great today, Pikachu," Ash said as he put his backpack under Pikachu's head as a pillow. "Rest up while Noivern and Goodra finish this match for us."
"Pika..." the electric type replied weakly. Listening to Ash, it stayed there and rested since he was exhausted after that last battle.
"Okay! Noivern, I choose you!" Ash cried out as the flying and Dragon pokemon emerged from its pokeball. Landing in front of Ash, Noivern spread its wings before taking to the sky.
"And Ash has chosen Noivern as his final pokemon!" The announcer told everyone as the board showed Noivern in Ash's sixth spot.
"Ready, Noivern?" Ash asked only to receive a nod of agreement. He needed Noivern to well today. Goodra must have been tired from earlier and Tierno still had two pokemon fully rested. "Use boomburst!"
"Vern!" The sound wave pokemon cried out as his ears started to glow white. Then, before either Hitmontop or Tierno could react, a white beam of sound waves flew from Noivern's ears and struck Hitmontop. The fighting type was launched backwards, but managed to get back up.
"Now, acrobatics!" Ash called out. They couldn't give Hitmontop a chance to recover right now. They had to use every chance they got. Flying right for Hitmontop, Noivern started to glow a light blue before ramming himself right into the fighting type.
"Hitmontop!" Tierno yelled as he noticed the swirls in the fighting type. Hitmontop had put up great fight with Pikachu and he couldn't ask for more from it.
"Hitmontop is unable to battle! Noivern is the winner!" The referee declared as Hitmontop's image was blacked out.
Looking at the screen Ash realized it was all tied up now. "Great job, Noivern!" Ash called out while the sound wave pokemon smiled at his trainer.
"That was a nice combo, Ash," Tierno told his rival as he recalled Hitmontop. "But can you handle this one!? Politoad, your turn!"
"Poli!" The water type cried out as he danced a little around the field. Ash knew they couldn't lower their guard for one bit, even if Politoad didn't look much like a battler.
"Noivern use dragon claw!" Ash yelled as he threw his right fist forward. Noivern nodded before flying right at Politoad. As his claws extended in size and turned green, Noivern picked up speed and aimed right for the water type.
"Slow it down with bubble beam!" Tierno called out as Politoad shot a stream of bubbles from its mouth. The attack proved to do nothing as Noivern popped all of the bubbles with his claws before striking Politoad.
"Great! Now, acrobatics!" Ash continued as he pumped his fist. Noivern needed to stay on the offensive. They needed to weaken Tierno's last two pokemon as much as they could.
"Noi!" Noivern screeched as his body glowed light blue again. The sound wave pokemon circled around as he charged at his target again.
"Not this time, icy wind!" Tierno called out as he snapped his fingers. Politoad nodded in agreement as the frog pokemon opened its mouth. Then, to Ash's shock, a stream of cold wind blew out of it.
"Noivern, try and dodge!" ash called out, but it was too late. The flying and dragon type flew right into the cold breeze and felt the pain from the attack. Losing sight of its target, Noivern crashed into the ground face first. "Noivern are you alright?"
"Noi," the sound wave pokemon nodded as he got ready to fly up into the sky. However, once he tried to spread his wings and fly, Noivern realized he couldn't.
Looking at the pokemon, Ash saw some ice had formed on Noivern's wings during the last attack. "Now what?" Ash thought to himself. Without his wings, Noivern was just a sitting duck. But still, there must be something they could do. "Noivern, boomburst!"
"Vern!" Noivern cried in agreement. It didn't enjoy the feeling of ice on its wings, but there was nothing they could do right now. They just had to fight through it by staying at a distance. Firing off the soundwave attack, they both watched as Politoad dodged it easily by dancing.
"Great work, Politoad," Tierno complimented the pokemon as they both spun together and struck a pose. "Now, get in close and use focus punch!"
"Politoad," the frog pokemon stated as his fist started to glow white. Running across the field, Politoad reared his fist back and got ready to attack.
"Block it with dragon claw!" Ash called out, but due to the ice formed on his wings, Noivern was too slow and felt the focus punch ram right into his chest. Flying a few feet back, Ash noticed that some of the ice broke upon impact with the ground.
"Once more, Politoad! Focus punch!" Tierno commanded. They had to end Noivern before it could fly again. Once in the air, it would prove to be troublesome for them. Running at the flying and dragon type again, Politoad reared his fist back.
"Now, block it with your wings!" Ash called out. If they couldn't attack properly, maybe Noivern could move his wings just enough to cause Politoad to smash the ice. Barely getting his wings in front of his body, Noivern braced himself as Politoad slammed his fist into the sound wave pokemon's wings.
Ash watched as Noivern flew backwards, but to his joy, the ice was completely shattered. Noivern could also tell as well, spreading his wings freely once he got back up. "Noivern!" It cried out before taking to the skies. It now circled Politoad, waiting to strike.
"Dragon claw!" Ash commanded while pumping his left fist. He hoped that this would be enough to finish the water type off.
"Icy wind! Don't let him get in close!" Tierno called out, knowing exactly what would happen if the attack landed.
Noivern dove right for Politoad, his claws glowing green and growing in size once more. Likewise, Politoad opened his mouth as the cold breeze left his mouth again.
"Not this time! Blow it back with boomburst!" Ash called out as Noivern's ears glowed white. Unlike the previous time, the sound waves emerged from Noivern's ears and blew the icy wind back into Politoad.
Politoad braced himself as he felt the cold wave flew over his body followed by the sound waves. Then, looking up, Politoad watched as Noivern slammed his claws right into the frog pokemon and knocked it backwards.
"Politoad is unable to battle! The winner is Noivern!" The referee declared as the scoreboard was updated once again.
"Politoad!" Tierno called out in concern as he looked at the defeated pokemon. It hadn't turned out the way he hoped, but it still managed to do some damage to Noivern. Smiling, Tierno reached for his last pokeball. "Blastoise, you're up!"
"Blastoise!" The water type cried out as he stood back to back with his trainer. The water type then did a little spin before going onto the field and facing Noivern.
"Blastoise is Tierno's last pokemon..." Serena muttered to herself as everyone watched the shellfish pokemon.
"Just like we all expected," Clemont added as he also eyed the pokemon. The screen in the stadium then put Blastoise in Tierno's sixth and final spot. "Even with Noivern and Goodra, this will still be hard."
"Yes, that Blastoise is well trained," Professor Oak said as he watched the water type. He could tell by the size of it that it was extremely powerful. "Ash has to stay focused right now. Otherwise things could go wrong for him."
"Ash will win," Serena told everyone as they waited for the two trainers to make their moves. It appeared that they were waiting for the other to attack first. "He'll find a way to come through. He always does."
"Noivern start off with acrobatics!" Ash called. He had waited around long enough. It was time to get this moving again. Soaring through the sky, Noivern started to glow a light blue before flying right for Blastoise.
Tierno smiled at the scene unfolding before them. "Rapid spin, Blastoise!" He called out as the water type pulled his appendixes into his shell and started to spin. As he did so, Noivern crashed into him but merely bounced off the shellfish pokemon. In fact, Noivern appeared to be hurt more than Blastoise.
"Now, boomburst!" Ash yelled as Noivern fired off the attack.
"Dodge it, Blastoise!" Tierno countered as his water type finished spinning and instead started to do a cartwheel across the field. Now safe from the attack, Blastoise emerged from his shell. "Now, ice beam!"
"What!?" Ash asked out of shock. He wasn't expecting Blastoise to have an ice type move as well. Noivern had no time to react as he was struck in the side by the ice beam. Now with half of his body frozen, the sound wave pokemon couldn't do anything.
"End it with skull bash!" Tierno said as he threw both hands to his sides. Nodding, Blastoise lowered his head before running right at Noivern. Ramming his head into the flying and dragon type, Blastoise watched as Noivern fell backwards.
"Noivern is unable to battle! The winner is Blastoise!" The referee declared as Noivern's image was blacked out. In response, Goodra's image was now lit as it was Ash's last pokemon.
"Thank you, Noivern," Ash said as he recalled the defeated pokemon. For being so young, it had been battling extremely well lately. Smiling, Ash reached for his last pokeball. "Goodra, you're up again!"
"Goo!" The dragon pokemon cried out before facing Ash. Goodra knew what was at stake here and couldn't afford to lose.
"And it's all down to this folks!" The announcer cried out as everyone looked on in anticipation. "Goodra against Blastoise. Who will prevail?"
"Goodra," Tierno muttered as he thought back to the last time he faced the dragon type. "I have to be careful with him. I can't take my time, but even when I attacked constantly it still beat Raichu," he thought to himself. This was going to be hard for him.
"Goodra start off with dragon pulse!" Ash called out. Just as he did with Noivern, Ash knew they had to strike early and often. Blastoise looked to be pretty well off while Goodra was still tired from his earlier fight.
"Goo!" The dragon pokemon cried out before firing off the purple beam. The blast took the shape of a dragon's head and flew right at Blastoise.
"Bounce it right back to them! Rapid spin!" Tierno called out. He knew that Blastoise could deflect the attack with ease.
"Blastoise," the shellfish pokemon grunted before breaking out into a spin. Spinning as fast as he could, Blastoise was managing to push the dragon pulse back towards Goodra, but it was causing a lot of strain on Blastoise.
Ash watched as Blastoise was spinning across the field while pushing the dragon pulse as well. This didn't look good, if the attack struck Goodra who knows what would happen. "I'm counting on you, Goodra! Put everything you have into it!" He yelled out as the blast started to grow in size.
"Goodra!" The dragon type cried out after hearing Ash's words. Digging deep down, Goodra put as much as he could into his attack. The dragon pulse managed to grow a little bit in size, but just that tiny amount was more than enough to push Blastoise.
"What!?" Tierno called out as it was now his turn to be surprised. He had no idea that Goodra was that much stronger. Looking over at Blastoise, Tierno knew that the rapid spin wouldn't hold up much longer. Then, in one quick movement, the dragon pulse crashed down into the ground as Blastoise was thrown backwards.
"Blast... Blastoise," It muttered while getting up off of the ground. Blastoise however wasn't ready to give up just yet. They had come too far to give up after one hit.
"You're right, Blastoise," Tierno stated once he saw the determined look on his starter's face. They had come way too far to just give up now. "Use ice beam!"
"Toise!" The water type agreed as the beam fired from his mouth. Flying across the field, it looked ready to strike Goodra.
"Counter with sludge wave!" Ash called out at the last second as Goodra launched the poison type move. This time however, Goodra fired it off like a concentrated beam instead of a large wave.
The two attacks collided as the ice beam managed to freeze the sludge wave and create what looked to be a slide across the entire field.
"Blastoise, ride that frozen sludge wave and use skull bash!" Tierno called out as he got an idea from seeing it. Blastoise nodded before jumping onto the frozen attack and slid all the way across it.
"Grab him, Goodra," Ash tried to counter, but thanks to the momentum Blastoise got from sliding across the ice he was too fast. Ramming his head right into Goodra's stomach, the dragon type was thrown backwards.
"Now ice beam!" Tierno continued as Blastoise launched the ice type move once again. This time, Goodra had no time to react and was struck directly by the blast and had its lower body frozen.
"Goodra!" Ash yelled out in concern now that Goodra was partially frozen. "There has to be something I can do!" Ash mentally yelled at himself before remembering back to his old gym battles. "Of course," he muttered before a smile flashed across his face. "Goodra, use rain dance!"
"Goo, Goodra!" It cried out before clouds covered the entire field. Then, a downpour emerged from the clouds as Goodra's ice disappeared and he appeared to be much better.
"You feeling better now, Goodra?" Ash asked as his dragon type looked much better in the rain. His fatigue and injuries also looked to have been healed by the rain. "We'll show them your real strength! Use dragon pulse!"
"Goodra," it muttered before firing off another dragon pulse. This time, it was even larger than the last one. Emerging in front of Blastoise, the water type could only raise its arms in front of its body to try and block the attack.
"Blastoise..." It muttered while being thrown backwards. Getting back up, Blastoise was clearly fatigued now while Goodra looked to be perfectly fine.
"We need to finish this, Blastoise," Tierno stated as they both stared at Goodra. It appeared to be perfectly fine despite taking a lot of damage from Raichu earlier on in the battle. "Hydro pump!"
"Blastoise," it muttered again before lowering its two cannons. Then, once it got a good look at Goodra, Blastoise fired off two streams of water at Goodra.
"Blastoise is still hanging in there," Ash thought as he looked at Goodra. Despite it looking fine, Ash knew that it was just a front. It was still fatigued, the rain dance was only making Goodra look in better condition than it really was. "We need to finish this. Goodra is only getting weaker. The longer this match continues on, the better the chance is for Tierno to win," Ash continued to think to himself. Finally agreeing on it, Ash looked at Goodra. "Use bide!" It was all or nothing at this point.
"Goo..." Goodra panted as he started to have a light red aura surround his body. The hydro pump then collided right into the dragon type, causing the aura to turn a little darker.
"Bide..." Tierno thought as he knew exactly what was coming now. They needed to end it and fast. "Blastoise, use hydro pump but hit the streams with your ice beam!"
Blastoise fired off another blast of water, but instead of sitting back after the attack it instead fired off another ice beam. The two attacks combined together and formed what appeared to be two large icicles which struck Goodra in the stomach.
"We can't stop!" Tierno yelled out as Blastoise kept the attack up. Each time one of the frozen icicles struck Goodra, Blastoise fired off another one.
"Goo, Goodra. Goo..." Goodra muttered as each attack struck it directly. Ash watched as Goodra put up with all these attacks. He couldn't ask for more from Goodra, it really was giving everything it had.
Ash watched as the red aura continued to darken until it was the shade of blood red. Hoping that it was enough, Ash watched as the aura disappeared and Goodra formed the beam of white energy. "Now, Goodra!" Ash yelled out as the beam was launched.
"Blastoise, look out!" Tierno told his starter pokemon, only to watch it get blasted by Goodra's bide attack. Flying across the field, Blastoise fell onto the ground defeated by the attack.
"Blastoise is unable to battle! The winners and moving onto the Top 8 are Goodra and Ash Ketchum!" The referee declared as the scoreboard changed to show just Ash's face on it.
"And Goodra pulls off a massive bide attack to end Blastoise and in the process Tierno's quest to win the Kalos League!" The announcer declared as both trainers embraced their pokemon.
"Well, Ash, you beat me again," Tierno said to his rival while extending a hand. It hurt a little that he had lost, but his pokemon had given it their all. In fact, they all improved so much since they first set out on their journey together. "Good luck in the rest of the Kalos League."
Reaching for his hand, Ash shook it while smiling at the trainer. It still seemed just like yesterday where Tierno and his Squirtle managed to beat Froakie in a first touch battle. "Thanks. There were a few moments today where I didn't know if we were going to manage," Ash said truthfully as the two trainers ended their hand shake.
"And if you all would all turn your attention to the screen please," The announcer called out as the scoreboard flashed the pictures of all the contestants. Looking at it, Ash noticed his, Sawyer's and Nick's pictures up on the board as they were all lined up. "Tomorrow's matchups will now be posted.
"Finally!" Nick yelled out in joy from his seat. Eevee likewise was just as excited by the battles for tomorrow. Looking up at the board, Nick noticed that his picture was matched up with Ash's. "You ready, Eevee? We finally get to battle Ash and Pikachu."
"Vee!" The normal type cried out in joy.
"So I'll be battling Nick tomorrow," Ash muttered to himself as he looked up at the board. This was going to be interesting since Nick knew a lot about Ash. "We'll just have to give it our all again. Right, Pikachu?"
"Pika!" The electric type cried out in agreement.
"So, Ash," Professor Oak started to speak while everyone sat down at the table. They had returned there following Ash's match and were getting ready to eat dinner. "Have you decided on which six pokemon you'll be using tomorrow?"
"Not yet," Ash said as he sat down next to Serena. He had given it a thought, but nothing was decided for sure yet. "I know that Pikachu will battle, but besides that I really haven't decided yet."
"Well, take your time. No need to rush into a decision," Professor Oak agreed as he sat down next to Clemont. "Tomorrow will be a hard matchup considering how Nick knows most of battle strategies. He has watched all of your League's since the Silver Conference."
"We'll help again if you need it," Serena added as she looked over at Ash. They had been worried during the battle today, but once again he managed to pull off the victory.
"Yeah!" Ash agreed as sat there waiting for the food. He was now starving and could barely wait any longer. "Still, I noticed that Nick has a lot of pokemon registered for the League. It'll be fun to see who else he uses tomorrow."
"I wouldn't be surprised to see Eevee being used," Clemont now added. Based on what they saw from Nick's previous matches, Eevee was Nick's go to pokemon in tight situations. "Plus, his Malamar is powerful as well. You'll have to plan accordingly.
"Well, why don't we just relax for right now," Delia joined in as she placed a plate of food onto the table. "You can talk about tomorrow's match in a little. Right now let's enjoy dinner," she said while placing the rest of the food on the table.
"Before we eat I'd just like to congratulate Ash on advancing to the Top 8," Professor Oak stated as he raised a glass. "You really have come a far way since your first League back in Kanto, Ash."
"Thanks, Professor Oak," Ash replied as he rubbed the back of his neck. But, Ash knew that it wasn't just him that was responsible for him getting this far. "But, I think Serena, Clemont and Bonnie also deserve some of the credit. They've helped me on my journey through Kalos and without them I don't know if me and my pokemon would be as well off right now."
"We wish you the best of luck tomorrow, Ash," Everyone in the room stated before digging into the food prepared by Mrs. Ketchum. They all seemed to be having an excellent time following Ash's latest victory and couldn't wait for tomorrow.
"Speaking of friends..." Ash thought to himself while looking at everyone. "I think I'll need to call on an old one," he finished thinking before taking a bite out of the sandwich that was on his plate.
Greninja as a fall guy, who would have guessed. I bet a few people really thought he was going to transform. Anyway, Nick is next and how will Ash handle someone who knows almost everything about him? Who could this old friend be that Ash is talking about? Find out during the next chapter.
I had planned on getting this chapter out last night, but for the past two days I've been battling a cold that has just drained any energy I have from me. Also, anyone see XYZ 27? Depressed Ash only means one thing... A depressed Serena. Seriously though, Serena looked real down in the preview of XYZ 28 after Ash ran off. Hopefully she cheers him up.
Thank you to everyone who supports this story. Please leave a review letting me know what you liked and how I can improve the story.
