After that, they had to go out and into the final. It was one tense battle, indeed, even though it was only three-on-three.
"GgGGGGG!"
"Nnnnn!!"
Charizard, scratched and bruised, was locking paws and wrestling with a gallade.
"Come on, Charizard! You can do it!" cheered Ash.
"C'mon, Galvan! You've taken charizard before!! Throw this guy DOWN!" encouraged the girl commanding the Psychic-/Fighting-type.
"I'm NOT letting you destroy my winning streak! NOT when I'm almost fifty-nothing!" Charizard growled through gritted teeth.
Galvan merely continued to grunt in strain.
The girl Trainer raised her eyebrows, then cocked her head, lowering one. "Well, hate to break it to ya, big guy, but your winning streak's gotta end sometime!" she taunted.
Ash raised his eyebrows at this. "Huh? But I'm only in range for the pokédex itself to translate--how could you hear it?" he asked.
The Trainer winked. "I can understand Dragon-types, and I guess Charizard, as well," she said, smiling playfully. "I don't need a fancy pokédex mod!"
Ash pouted. "Well, sor-ry for being normal," he muttered. He met Lucario's eyes and looked up into the sky, sweatdropping slightly. "Well, mostly," he corrected himself, scratching the back of his head.
Charizard skidded back a bit. "GGGRR! Shit! Ash!" he called over his shoulder. "Let's do like you did during the Brawl, please!"
"WUSSIEEEE!!" the girl jeered, making a face and Charizard anger-vein.
"I ONLY CONSIDER A BATTLE LOST WHEN I FAINT!!" he roared back. He grunted heavily and skidded a foot, barely able to keep from being thrown down.
"But this'll be a good idea, anyway! Let's save you for later, Charizard! Good job!" Ash said, returning him to his ball. He looked at Lucario. "You're up, buddy!" he said, smiling.
''Alright,'' Lucario bowed. He trotted out there and got into stance. 'He's pitting me against a Psychic-type. Why, oh, why must he always do things the hard way?'
"Alright! Galvan, hit 'im with a good ol' Psychic!" ordered the Trainer.
"Gal." Galvan nodded, raising his arms and lighting up his eyes.
"Turn on your aura vision and dodge it!" Ash ordered as soon as his brain registered the opponent's order.
'! Of course!' Lucario quickly did it and was able to dodge in time. He had seen a strange, violet force closing towards him from almost all directions. He had to time it just right, or he would be grabbed anyway--like being grabbed physically. He decided to keep his aura vision on to see psychic energy.
"--! Wh--!? How?!" the Trainer whined.
"Later! Lucario, regular Double Team!" Ash ordered.
Lucario dashed around as fast as he could, creating the (in)famous ring of illusions.
"Psh!" scoffed the girl Trainer, batting a hand and looking away, as if it were childish. "That's the oldest trick in the book to buy time! Galvan, Foresight!"
Galvan's eyes went red and he quickly spun a circle, emitting the sweeping beam. In half a second, all of the illusions were gone and the ring was no more.
Wait, what?
"Steel Claw!" Ash ordered.
Galvan and his Trainer looked up in time to see Lucario appear in the air above. He came down and, using his spike-grown claws, unleashed a double slash on Galvan.
"Quick, again!" Ash ordered, taking advantage of the fact Galvan was flinching just slightly.
Lucario executed a three-hit combo--left, right, crossing slash! Galvan was thrown back a few feet.
"Oooh, nice claws!" complimented the girl. She pointed. "Hypnosis!"
Lucario wasn't able to escape in time and was hit. This, of course, didn't mean it worked. Thanks to the fact his eyes were shut, he was better able to resist what was really a very, VERY powerful suggestion to sleep. (See, the only way hypnosis (real) works is if you WANT it to work. Go AP Psych! A way I figured out Hypnosis (Pokémon) could work is that it telepathically sends a powerful suggestion to the opponent, like shoving something in front of you, only directly into your mind. It's assisted by mesmerization through eye contact. Another simple explanation is that it just directly hijacks your mind a sec and flips on the switch that says you're awake or asleep.)
"Oh, come ON!" the girl growled, fists thrusting down to her sides and shoulders squaring.
"Iron Tail!" Ash ordered.
"GRAB IT!!" the girl squeaked quickly.
Lucario WAS grabbed, to his surprise. ''You're fast,'' he commented to Galvan. Galvan merely nodded.
"Vital Throw!"
Galvan spun and slammed poor Lucario to the ground. The attack was super-effective thanks to Lucario's Steel type. He shouted in agony as his body bounced once against the hard ground.
"LUCARIO!! C'mon, we gotta give these guys some payback," Ash called.
Lucario grunted as he got up to his elbows, listening to Ash. When he heard the last word, his eyes widened slightly and he nodded. ''Right!'' He leaped up and landed a roaring punch right to Galvan's face.
Ash blinked a moment. "What the--?" he muttered. "I didn't..."
''You said Payback, right?'' Lucario smirked at him.
Galvan staggered a little, grimacing from the 1x damage Dark-type attack. His Trainer pouted. "No fair, he didn't technically call that," she said.
"Well, I'm sure calling this! Finish him off with Metal Claw!" Ash ordered, pointing.
"Dodge it, dodge it!" the Trainer called. "Uuuh, Detect!"
Galvan tried, Lucario slashing quickly, one after the other. However, as swift he was, he was unable to successfully anticipate a clever move by Lucario. He swung as if giving a palm-up chop, then, when that missed, quickly brought it up, claws' points stabbing to the sky. Galvan didn't expect this and was hit. He got slashed by another combo slash and was unable to do more than stand, eye open, and say, "Lade," or "Good," and faint.
"Galvan is unable to battle! The round goes to Ash and Lucario!" the judge announced, holding the appropriate flag.
Lucario panted, claws returning to spikes and ending their glow. ''Glad that's over with,'' he muttered.
The Trainer pouted and recalled Galvan. When she heard this, she smiled and giggled menacingly. "Oh, that's over with, yes," she agreed. She looked up with a gleam in her eyes. "But now you've made me MAD!" She grabbed her final ball, a great ball. "Alright, Sally! Lunch time!!" she sang, letting fly the ball.
'''Sally'?'' 'Tanglebag, Galvan, and Sally...Judging by her naming habits, this one should be...a...' Lucario began musing before his eyes grew bigger and bigger as the form of white light from the ball did. He took a step back, looking upwards. ''...Good heavens...''
"Holy Toledo..." Ash gaped quietly, gazing at the huge form. The pokémon finally formed entirely. The light broke, and a ground-shaking roar announced the arrival of Sally the gargantuan Salamence.
Looking through the semi-translucent top of his ball at the battle, Charizard raised his eyeridges. "And I thought the elder shiny back home took the cake," he murmured. "This thing takes the whole BAKERY."
Sally bent down her car-sized head at Lucario. "Quit pulling my tail, Nikki--this one could only be a side dish," she joked, Ash (to his great surprise and confusion) able to understand her from the pokédex.
Nikki, her Trainer, laughed. "Well, let's get rid of it, then," she said. "Judge?"
The judge held up his flags. "This match of Sally versus Lucario...begins!" he announced.
He had no sooner waved both flags down than Nikki ordered, "STOMP!"
"RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!!" Ash yelped.
''I know!'' Lucario replied, a little unnerved by the size of the creature above him. 'One carelessly-controlled Stomp, and I'm--'
boom.
"GRRAAAAA--aaaa--UGH...!!"
A strangled scream rang out of Lucario's throat, pupils dilated. He was half trapped underneath the ultra-sized right front paw, unable to move quick enough. And it didn't look like Sally was being merciful with her weight, either. She was casually, slowly, leaning forwards a little bit.
Ash looked in horror at the scene. "Are you NUTS?! You could break his bones or something!!" he cried, being the one to object to the opponent this time.
Nikki giggled and put a hand under her chin. "Oh, it's only fair for the dirty tricks this guy's played on us," she said.
At THIS, though, Sally let up and turned her huge neck to face Nikki, giving a hard glare. "Nik-kiiiii..." she growled warningly.
Nikki sweatdropped. "Ah, I was just joking! Really! Heheheh!" she squeaked nervously.
"You'd better," Sally threatened. She swung her head back to the front.
Lucario gasped, feeling the intense pain fading slowly. ''It...almost feels like you DID break something...'' he said weakly.
"Up."
Lucario grunted and turned his head up. ''What?''
The salamence glared at him, head inches away. "Up," she ordered again. "You can still fight."
Lucario grunted and got up slowly. He stood on his feet and got into stance. 'She's right--I'm only in a state of shock, expecting my body to break under such a weight...' He shook his head and took a deep breath, calming himself. ''Ash, I'm ready,'' he said confidently.
Ash breathed a sigh of relief. "If you say so," he said. He pointed. "Alright, uh, Force Palm!" 'Like THAT will do any good...We're not in a Brawl, so his aura's as strong as it was when he first went out...'
Lucario tried to attack, but Nikki was serious. "Fly!"
Up went Sally, blowing Lucario back with the force of her wings blowing the air around. The giant dragoness flew up rather terrifyingly high.
Ash smiled sadly. "Lucario, this isn't going to end well," he said softly. "Let's get some damage in with your best move, though!" He pointed. "Aura Sphere!"
Lucario nodded and began to charge it. He was able to release it right when Sally came charging back down. He hit, causing enough damage to make her wince, but was struck back, knocking Ash over and back a couple feet. When Ash rubbed his head and looked at Lucario, he was spiral-eyed.
"Lucario is unable to battle! Sally..." the judge rattled on.
"Great job, Lucario," Ash said softly, gently setting him to the sidelines.
Lucario awoke, opening his eyes slowly. He smiled sorrily at Ash. ''I...did my best, at least,'' he said.
Ash nodded, smiling. He then turned, frowning in thought. 'Shoot...Lucario and everyone are too small to use an effective Low Kick on this thing...but I know the only way I can get her onto the ground and out is if I hit her with her own weight!' As his thoughts turned to his pokémon, he lowered his head and put a hand to his chin in thought. 'I don't want to try and have Charizard do anything, since he'd probably drop his winning streak like a stone...Pikachu MIGHT be able to handle her, since his Electric attacks would be strong enough to do good damage, but he might get hit pretty hard...Squirtle's out, he just can't do much right now...What if Bulbasaur could poison her with Poisonpowder? Shoot, he'd have to get up close, and even then, he's got only mostly Grass-type attacks at his disposal...Or, wait, maybe I can flood the field with Squirtle, after all, forcing her into the air or making her slip...And Charizard could outmaneuver her in the air and maybe take a few more hits--he's way more stubborn than he looks and he's not as tired as he was last time--and then fire off Dragonbreath...'
"You smell of a different kind of pokémon, boy."
The deep growling voice of Sally brought Ash jumping out of his pondering. He turned partway around and saw her, again uncomfortably close. 'She does this on purpose, I know it...' He gulped and stood bravely, asking, "What do you mean?"
"I remember the scent of one of the last pokémon I met in a final round. This one is different--but has the same kind of strange quality. It's also interesting in how strong it is--considering I can barely smell it at all," she described.
Ash raised an eyebrow at this. "Ummm..."
"You're smelling nothing but something, aren't you?" Pikachu asked from Ash's side, cocking his head.
"Correct," Sally said, nodding. "I want to face THAT pokémon."
Ash blinked in surprise. "...You..." 'Wait...maybe...Yeah. He's faced big guys before. She's also slightly weakened by Lucario--I saw her wince when the Aura Sphere struck her.' He nodded. "Right! Uhm...Could you get back, first, please?" he asked, sweatdropping. She obeyed, stepping back a bit and raising her head. "Alright, by popular demand..." Ash grabbed the Light Ball. He looked at it for a moment. "I believe in you," he told its inhabitant, and threw it, "EXEXITT!!"
Exexitt came out and shouted his battlecry--then stopped midway when he saw Sally look at him.
''Aaaaannnd there goes half of his physical attack power,'' Lucario commented, grimacing and crossing his arms from his seat.
"Intimidate, I know," Ash nodded, mouth in a grim line.
"...May I ask what the HECK you're smoking?!" Exexitt asked weakly over his shoulder. "I'll be turned into a sheet of clean, white paper by this thing!!"
Meanwhile, pokédexes all around were trying to blip Exexitt, but to no avail. Oak hadn't been able to upgrade everyone's pokédex or give them new ones yet. Ash looked up at Sally, wondering what hell she was going to unleash.
"The match between Nikki's Sally and Ash's Exexitt shall now begin!" the judge announced.
"Flamethrower!" Nikki ordered.
"Dodge it, please!" Ash called.
The two pokémon sprang to action. Sally stepped back and let loose a column of thick flames, but Exexitt proved his speed and jumped away.
"Please jump around and use Poisonpowder!" Ash ordered.
"Ex!" Exexitt did as he was told. He jumped first onto her leg, shaking his head a bit to loosen the violet-glinting powder. He then leaped up to her shoulder, then to the middle of her back.
"Bite him off!" Nikki pointed.
"But--I hate--cauliflower!" joked Sally between snaps, neck turned to get at him with difficulty. Exexitt leaped right, left, and right--off of her back...until he shot out some vines, wrapped them around the base of her neck, and swung around to her other shoulder, releasing poisonpowder into the air around her.
"Nice save!" Pikachu complimented, holding a tiny fist up.
"Just a little more...!" Ash whispered, clenching his fists tensely. 'If we can poison her, we can at least play keep-away with Charizard while he uses Dragonbreath!'
Exexitt dashed quickly up her neck before stopping on her head and shaking what...He resisted stopping to wonder if he HAS a momma and shook extra power onto her head before leaping off and away, tucking his legs in before they were bitten off. He flipped once and landed on all of his legs in front of Ash. "Voila!" he said, startling Ash with the perfect Human (he knew that it would have translated that into English) as he stood straight.
"Since when did YOU speak French?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Sally! You're alright, right?" asked Nikki worriedly.
Sally moaned slightly, paling a little. "Little shrub got me," she admitted bitterly.
"And the rest should be absorbing through your scales...now," Exexitt added, turning, and nodded at the right time.
Sally's color went definitely pale as the poison began to take full effect. "Urgh! Poison--so underhanded, but fair game in battles," described Sally.
"Well, let's see past this! Rock Tomb and lower its speed!" Nikki ordered.
"Rock Tomb?!" Ash repeated. "Can salamence learn that?"
"Can bunearys learn Ice Beam?" Pikachu asked, half-eyeing and smiling wryly.
Sally stomped the ground, then came up with four boulders in her paw. She tossed underhand them at Exexitt...who was quite close to Ash.
"WOULD PEOPLE QUIT THROWING ROCKS AT ME?!" Ash complained, waving his arms and legs in panic as he scuttled side-to-side. He stopped and pointed, ordering very quickly, "Please cut them apart with as powerful a Razor Leaf as you can muster!"
'Magical Leaf'd be better for me...' Regardless, Exexitt rocked his head back for a second. Then, right at the last moment, he threw it forth again, unleashing almost his entire head of leaves at the boulders. (Of course, nothing detatched from his body proper, but by all rights, with as many as he threw, something should've.) The mini Leaf Storm slashed them apart and went right at Sally, on whom they landed a critical hit if her surprised grunt said anything. The rock debris rained around harmlessly.
"Okay, this is getting annoying, Nikki! Let me do this, please!" Sally called over her shoulder. She winced as the poison sapped her strength.
"We can't! It's not an official Slasher battle!" Nikki replied morosely. "I'd let you handle it, otherwise, for sure! C'mon, let's try and use Fire Spin!"
"Finally," Sally rolled her eyes. She spat a stream of fire out at Exexitt.
"Get away from it!" Ash waved his hand.
"I'll try!" Exexitt dashed away, but the Dragon-type could control her stream very well. It followed him, catching up even when he went on top of her again. "ZEEEET!!" he cried in pain as it encircled him, burning him. "PAINPAINPAIN!! DAMN, I HATE FIRE!!"
'Nuts!' Ash thought fast. 'He has to do SOMEthing...wait!' "Hurry! Charge through and use Tackle on her face!" he pointed.
"EEEEEEEHHHH..." Exexitt yelled as he barreled out, a ball of flame, and jumped right at her head. "...XITT!!" FWISH! He headbutted her in the face. He got her in the eyes.
"SALAAA!" Sally cried, squeezing them shut. "My eyes!"
Exexitt landed, putting himself out by rolling on the ground. He got up, dusty but alright, and glared up at Sally. "I'm getting tired of my leaves turning black!!" he grumbled.
"Alright, what can we do..." Ash muttered, starting to think.
"Ash! Wait! Tell him to try Sinister Sundown!" Pikachu interrupted quickly.
Ash blinked a second. 'Sinister Sundown?' He nodded. 'Pikachu sounds like he knows what he's talking about...' "Please try Sinster Sundown!" he ordered.
Exexitt started, then nodded. It almost looked like he might be smirking, but his mouth was never visible. "Good choice!" And he vanished.
"Huh?!" Ash and Nikki went at once.
A short moment passed, Sally opening her watery eyes. "You're gonna--ngh!--pay for that!" she spat, leering at the spot he was at and grunting from poison. She blinked her eyes open and clear in surprise when he wasn't there, or anywhere she looked. "...Hullo?" she muttered.
"BEHIND YOU!!" Nikki screamed.
She was too late. Sally was assaulted by silver-white energy bullets from all around her. "AAAAUGH!" A gigantic blast wailed her from behind, sending her down and forwards a little bit. The energy bullet disappated to reveal Exexitt, who landed neatly in front of Ash.
"Great call, great chance to use it," Exexitt commented as he touched down. "Or was that eye thing only to buy time?"
"It was SUPPOSED to just buy some time," Ash replied, frowning concernedly. "That seemed kinda cheap..."
"DAMN RIGHT IT WAS!!" Nikki hollered. "What was THAT?!"
"Something that he shall PAY for!!" thundered Sally, standing straight again. Her eyes were glowing, for some reason. "You wish to play that way? FINE! Nikki, LET ME AT HIM!!"
"THEN TAKE THEM DOWN!!" Nikki complied, pointing. Sally roared again and began to barrel forwards.
Ash thought fast. "Quick! Shoot your vines underground, please!" he ordered, pointing at the ground around Exexitt.
The Nobody-type did as he was told, firing two vines, one on either side of him, into the ground.
"Push them forwards..." Ash said.
Sally was getting closer--MUCH closer. It appeared she was using Take Down, since Nikki had told her to "take them down".
"GRASS KNOT!!" Ash shouted, pointing.
"A-HAH!" Exexitt went, realizing the plan. He drove his vines up through the ground a distance away and formed a large vine loop. "...This is gonna hurt..."
"And it should hurt her enough, despite the quartered damage the attack will cause!" Ash hoped aloud.
Sally, too blinded by rage to notice, caught a footpaw on the loop. Exexitt braced himself, body creaking a bit as he croaked a grunt.
"Only a bit more--!" Ash cheered.
Sally's footpaw stuck in the loop, and, with a roar, she fell forwards and down, all her 1,000+ lbs following after her. The slam made an even bigger crater than in the last match, and Ash was caught in the shockwave since he was so close. "UWWAAHH!" he yelled, thrown back a bit. As he flew through the air with everyone else on his side, the ground quickly broke away to a crater, pelting him and his companions with rocks. He grunted after he landed on his back. "NGH! Oww!!" He sat up and rubbed the back of his head. "Huh?" He looked up and saw Sally facedown in the middle of the crater, which wasn't a true crater; it just SLIGHTLY fanned out from her front, not in a completely perfect circle around her. It was darn close, though. Ash smirked and stood up quickly. "Alright! That HAD to hurt!" he said victoriously.
The dust cleared and showed she was grunting, getting up slowly. "I...am such...a fool..." she berated herself weakly.
"C'mon! You can recover faster than that! Show them your Fire Blast as fast as you can!" Nikki pumped her fists.
Sally opened her mouth, inhaling the dusty air. Her throat began to glow...
Ash widened his eyes in alarm. "! It's not over yet! Exexitt, get away as fast as you can!" he looked at him.
Exexitt was having a little trouble getting up, himself. A leg was caught under a rock! "I would if I could!" he said. He turned and sent out some vines to the rock, wrapping them around it and tugging. "Eeeeeex!!" he groaned, eyes squeezing shut.
"Almost there!" Nikki breathed.
Sally's mouth was glowing, too, now...
"C'mon!" Ash begged.
"EEEEEX!"
"Please!!"
Exexitt's eyes opened, the word registering. Strength renewed, he yelled and pulled harder on the rock. Ash noticed it was caught under another, larger rock, which itself was away from his foot (as in, not above it).
The Fire Blast came out with another roar, the kanji character flying straight forwards to Exexitt.
"EXEXITT!" Ash cried.
CRICK! The rock came free!
FWOOOOMPSH!! And the Fire Blast hit!
"No--!" Ash grunted, shielding his eyes from the heat. He saw, though, an UNBURNING pair of vines around a swinging rock. He gasped, then shouted the first thing that came to mind: "ROCK THROW!!"
On the next tumble, Exexitt let the rock, which had shot out from under the heavier one to give him some momentum, fly out from his grip. It sailed for Sally's head and hit in the middle of her eyes. And, if her cry said anything, it still counted as a Rock-type attack, which meant her Flying type was weak against it!
"SALLY!!" Nikki cried, hand out.
Exexitt skidded to a stop, panting and putting a vine to his chest. "That...was too close!"
Sally rested her head on the ground with a thud. She wheezed, fighting to stay conscious. "You...You...clever child..." she went. Suddenly, she cringed, eyes widening a bit. "URK!...Mmmmmeeennnnnnnnncceeee..." Her head settled entirely to the ground, her movements halted, and her eyes went spirally.
"Sally is unable to battle!" the judge announced, holding a flag. "Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town wins the match and the tournament!!"
Ash gaped in amazement. It was an even more intense battle than before, and he had won. His little, tiny Exexitt had beaten the largest salamence he'd ever seen! A smile came to his face and he bunched up. "MmmmmmMMMMM--" He shot up, pumping a fist. "YYEEEAAAAAHHH!! WE WON!! WE WON!!"
His jubilation made his pokémon all smile at him a bit. Exexitt chuckled, "I'm glad...to be of assistance," before fainting, himself.
Nikki gaped, disbelief in her eyes. "Beaten...again..." she muttered. She then humphed and crossed her arms. "Aw, come on! That's it, I'm NEVER entering a tourney where there's a Brawler involved!!" she decided. She couldn't help but smile. "But still, that was a great battle." She walked down and trotted to Sally, sliding down her side of the crater.
"Great work, Exexitt," Ash said to his pokémon, lifting him up. Exexitt opened his eyes slightly and gave another little chuckle. Ash smiled sympathetically and held the Light Ball again, returning him. "You deserve a rest."
"Sally? You doing alright?" asked Nikki, bending down near her huge head. "C'mon, don't tell me you threw the battle! That was a Grass-type attack, it didn't do anything!"
Rumbling a groan, Sally opened her eyes. "Mnnnn..." She looked over at her Trainer. "My size worked against me again, Nikki," she said faintly, smiling weakly. "I was also poisoned--that's what did me in. That, and that amazing Trainer's talents and his well-trained pokémon," she added, looking at Ash.
Ash raised his eyebrows and stood up, pointing to himself. "Huh? You talking about me?" he asked.
Nikki chuckled and Sally rumbled, the latter making the ground shake again (to Ash's displeasure as he waved his arms to keep standing). "Yeah," Nikki said, walking over. She held a hand out. "Good game."
Ash smiled and took it. "Same here," he agreed.
The crowd cheered. Abruptly, streamers burst from nowhere, the victory theme for the Pokémon world played, and the big scoreboard flashed with Ash's picture and his roster. "CHAMPION" was emblazoned across it.
Ash looked all around at the people clapping for him, then blushed and smiled sheepishly, putting a hand behind his neck. "Aw, thanks, we worked hard," he said.
"Ash Ketchum!" called a voice. Ash looked and saw Mr. Announcer, a man from the EBA world who appeared wherever there needed to be an announcer--be it on the news, at a tournament, or for an art show. He was smiling and walking towards him down the crater, mic to mouth. "Con-GRATulations! You've won battle after battle and come out on top! How was it?" He held the mic to Ash's mouth.
Ash, caught by surprise a little, could only say, "Uhm..."
"Was it intense?" asked Mr. Announcer, switching mic targets back and forth breifly.
Ash got his senses back and nodded, smiling. "You'd better believe it!" he said. "I owe it to my pokémon, who all worked together for this win!"
"That's great! What a good guy!" Mr. Announcer commented, looking out at the audience. "Now, Ash, this tournament has a little surprise for the victor," he said, turning back to Ash. He dug in his pocket before taking a small bag out. "This here's valuable stuff, but it's too gorgeous just to sell! Take it and take it proudly, champ!" As Ash took it, he turned again to the audience. "LET'S HEAR IT ONE MORE TIME FOR ASH KETCHUM!!"
The crowd roared.
***OBTAINED Beautiful Material***
-'-,-'-
Ash breathed a sigh of relief after healing his pokémon and his friend. "WOO! That last battle had me on my toes!" he said. He smiled around him at Pikachu and Lucario. "I knew we could win, though. Thanks, guys!"
"No problem!" Pikachu replied, smiling.
''It was my pleasure,'' Lucario nodded. ''Me, Pikachu, and your other pokémon all gained valuable combat experience.''
"Yeah," he said. 'I wonder how close Exexitt is to evolving, now...' Ash opened the doors to the exit and stopped, sweatdropping. "Uuuuh..."
A hoarde of screaming fans was there, waiting for him. They made more noise and crowded to him.
Ash blushed. "Wow, am I that good?" he asked.
''We need to get through this, or else we're never going to get out in time,'' Lucario muttered, sweatdropping.
"Right!" Ash nodded, then began to try and wade through. "Excuse me! Pardon me! We've got to be somewhere, sorry!" he said as he went. It was no use; nobody listened. "Darnit!" He looked at Pikachu. "Plan B, buddy!" he nodded.
"Got it!" Pikachu jumped up and released a short, weak blast of elecricity around him. The crowd yelped and cleared away a bit. This gave the troupe enough time to dash out.
Once in fresh air again, they stopped to take a breath and to search for a save disc for Ash's sake. ''Ash.'' Ash looked at his friend. ''Let's head to my room. It's quiet and cool there. We can rest for a while.''
"Alright," Ash nodded.
Once there, Ash used the save disc and went to a chair to sit. "Phew! Okay, I'm getting a little tired of battling for once," he said. "So many--! It felt like I was in the League again!"
"We did better than we did back at the Wharfton Cup, though," Pikachu commented, "and it was about as intense."
"Heh, yeah," Ash said, smiling a little at the memory. "I think I still have the awards they gave us before...yeah," he said, shuddering slightly at the memory.
''What's in the bag?'' Lucario asked curiously, tilting his head as he came over.
"Oh, I haven't checked yet," Ash said, bring the pouch from a pocket in his backpack. He opened it and dumped the contents out. It was a beautifully shining blue gemstone, cut into a sphere. Ash marveled at it, gazing at its infinite depths. "Wooooooow...it IS gorgeous," he whispered in awe.
Lucario's mouth fell open. ''Of all things--!!'' he went. He nodded and looked at Ash seriously. ''Ash, could I take that for a moment? I'll give it all back, I promise.''
Ash looked up questioningly. "Er...okay," he said. He gave it to Lucario.
''I'll be right back,'' he said before dashing out the door.
"Wh--?! Lucario!!" Ash objected, getting up and looking down the hall after him, frowning. "What're you stealing that for?!"
''Something you'll like,'' Lucario's telepathic voice came back faintly as he got farther away.
Ash furrowed his brow. "What's that jackal up to?" he wondered.
"Let's wait here for him," Pikachu suggested.
Ash agreed and sat, waiting. He spent the time looking through his pokédex at the entries for the Heartless and Nobodies he's faced. They were arranged similarly to how the pokédex did pokémon. A black and violet pokéball was the wheel for the Heartless, and a white and silver one was for the Nobodies. They weren't numbered, and instead were in alphabetical order until the bottom, where special ones were. The first one of those he found was Twilight Thorn. It had no data except for the name and picture. He raised his eyebrows and selected "Enter Data".
"Alright, let's see..." He began to fill it in from memory.
Twilight Thorn
A really huge Nobody that I met in my dreams when I was at Destiny Islands. It held me up by energy shackles and tried to get me. I was able to use my aura through things I later learned to be called Reaction Commands to defeat it. It liked summoning up some Dusks, which was annoying. They went away after a while, thankfully.
He smiled at the entry after reading it aloud. "That's good! I'm not bad at this, am I, Pikachu?" he asked, looking at his friend.
Pikachu smiled a bit, but his eyebrows told a different story. "Uuuhmm...Ash? I don't think that sounds very professional..." he muttered.
Ash groaned and hung his upper body. "Oh, come on...What should I put, then?" he asked, frowning at him.
"Maybe make it less vague, don't use the first person...?" Pikachu suggested.
"I'll just take it to Oak later," he said, exiting from the Bestiary. "Meanwhile, I think I'll look at this other thing he put in..." He searched and found the Journal. "Alright! Let's fill THIS in. At least this one will be alright no matter what," he said, looking at Pikachu and sticking his tongue out.
Pikachu just stuck his right back.
-'-,-'-
''I'm sorry it took so long,'' Lucario apologized as he came back in. He closed the door and went to Ash. ''What're you doing?'' he inquired.
"Finishing up filling in the rest of this journal of things up 'til now," he answered, looking up from the screens and smiling for a sec. "...And Lucario just came in..." he read aloud as he wrote, using a keyboard on the bottom touch screen and his fingertip. He saved it and shut the 'dex. "So, what were YOU doing?" he asked, putting it away.
''You know that stone that was on each one of Sir Aaron's gloves?'' asked Lucario.
"Yeah, those blue gems," Ash nodded.
Lucario gave him back the sphere. It had a perfect slice taken off a side. ''Heh, now you can stand it up without something to hold it,'' Lucario joked when Ash noticed this. ''But it still would be hard not to send rolling...'' This was true. The slice was very small (but fairly large compared to the rest of the ball).
"What'd you do to it?" Ash asked, raising his eyebrows. "And what do the gems on the gloves have to..." He stopped, widening his eyes. He snapped them back to the sphere he was putting back in the pouch. "Hey! This looks JUST like it!" he exclaimed.
''Precisely,'' Lucario said. He smiled and reached into the small messenger bag-turned-belt bag he'd had since Traverse Town and modified while he was out just then. (He'd take it off whenever he had to battle or Brawl, then put it back on again.) Taking something out of a small pocket, he held his paw out. Upon it sat a badge. It was the slice of the aura gem, set onto a plate of black metal around it. A blue, glittering crescent moon, probably done with powdered aura gem, curved around to it from the right, lending to the entire badge's circular shape. He explained, ''This is the Aura Badge. Harmony and I made it for you. Building off of the power of the clothing Clan Nutsy gave you to enhance its effects, it acts like Sir Aaron's gloves, letting you tap into your aura further with greater ease. You would most likely be able to unlock to potential of your body further as a result. I think that you would do well in using it if you plan on entering that fighting competition.''
Ash took it in a bit of amazement, looking at it. He held it to the lights above. It shone brightly. He smiled, first at no one, then at Lucario. "Thanks, buddy," he said, nodding. And, as Ash tradition goes, he stood up and went, "Alright! I got...an Aura Badge!!" while turning and posing with it.
"Pi-pikachu!!" Pikachu went, the pokédex neglecting to translate whatever he said.
Lucario sweatdropped. ''...Erm...''
"Don't ask," Pikachu said, sweatdropping and smiling sorrily.
***OBTAINED Aura Badge!! (Unlocks human aura users' potential...)***
After pinning it to the inside of his vest, Ash looked at his new Aura Badge, sitting beside the one he got in Traverse Town (that he had decided to call the Drive Badge after hearing what it could do from the FFTA folks). "Heh." He looked at Pikachu. "Hey, you know when that fighting tourney is?" he asked.
"Shouldn't be too soon," he answered. "I think we've got a bit of time to wait."
"Good!" Ash held a fist up. "I want to give this Aura Badge a shot and practice for the tourney. Anyone wanna come with?" he asked.
''How would you do this?'' asked Lucario, crossing his arms.
"There's GOT to be a place around here that's devoid of people," he reasoned.
"True--there are the ground floor tunnels that go beneath the stone bleachers on the first floor," Pikachu admitted. "They're dangerous, too...but that's the point, right?" he asked.
Ash nodded. "Yep! Besides, we can always run if we need to," he pointed out. "'Run away and live to fight another day,' I think that saying goes, right?"
''Something like that,'' Lucario confirmed, nodding. ''Well, I don't want you getting hurt out there, so I will accompany you.''
"You think I'd let you go without me?" Pikachu asked, smiling and hopping to Ash's shoulder.
"Alright, thanks, guys!" Ash said. He turned to the door. "Well, let's go."
They traveled out to the arena floor. They were repairing it before the next tournament. "I guess we got a bit rough, huh?" he asked, laughing.
''That's an understatement.'' Lucario sweatdropped at the damage.
They got to the first floor bleachers before finding a ramp downwards. A guard there stopped them before they went inside. "You don't want to go here," he warned them. "Heartless have been appearing down there, making it dangerous. This is especially significant because of a unique kind found here, called Brawlers. If you don't know genuine martial arts, you're a dead man."
Pikachu held up his paw, showing his light stamp.
The guard started. "Oh! You're Brawlers, yourself, then!" he said. He stepped aside. "Be careful."
Ash thanked him and they went on.
Ash led down to the corridors. It was dimly lit, but they could see well enough. Regardless, Lucario went into aura vision breifly. ''The aura around here is dimmer than outside, but not completely out,'' he described, opening his eyes. ''Perhaps areas like this where Heartless spawn at any time are different from the times we've encountered?''
"Maybe," Ash shrugged. He looked around. "Well, why don't we walk about a bit and fight some things?"
So they went. It didn't take long before Ash felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on-end. "Yeek! That's uncomfortable," he muttered before Heartless appeared around them. It was a moderately small group, consisting of four Soldiers, a pair of spellcaster hourglass things (they couldn't tell well which kind in the light), and two new ones. "Those must be the Brawlers," Ash said, summoning the Keyblade and simultaneously putting a hand to his belt.
"Hey, you think they've had enough for a while?" Pikachu asked, raising an eyebrow.
Ash furrowed his brow. "...True. I gotta get stronger, too," he said, nodding. He took a look at the situation breifly. "Alright, let's take some shots at the aerial ones if they get on our nerves, but focus on the Soldiers! Lucario, we'll each take a Brawler, how 'bout that?"
''Sounds good,'' Lucario nodded, and the battle began.
Ash found the Brawlers (recap from other fic: simple-shaped, rounded creatures whose only defining features are balled fists, shoed feet, and orange scarves and sashes) a LOT harder than any normal enemy. They blocked, deflected, and caught his attacks like they were nothing. Lucario appeared to be having a bit of a time, as well, but he was able to manage well, combating martial arts with martial arts. ''While my moves are mostly forgotten, my knowledge of fighting hasn't,'' he reasoned after the battle.
Lucario finished off his Brawler before Ash did...WAY before. He watched him whenever he could, handling anyone who got in his way (meaning the other Soldiers). After observing him long enough, and considering what he knew from watching before in other fights, he told him, ''Go low sometimes!''
Ash heard this and instantly had an idea which turned into a Reaction Command. After swinging and getting deflected, he quickly swung back at the Heartless low. After what he called a Low Blow afterwards, Ash had a few moments to combo it normally a couple times. He had to use another one, though, but this time, he was caught instead of deflected. He could do nothing if he were blocked, since he was busy recovering from the recoil of his Keyblade, but being caught gave him a quick idea. Utilizing his Aura Badge, Ash quickly sent a blast of aura down the Keyblade like electricity. "Leggo!!" he grunted as he did this. The Brawler complied and Ash could combo again. Like Maru before him, Ash also found them attackable once they missed, but RIGHT afterwards--only a split second existed as the gap in their defenses.
After everyone was defeated, Ash wiped his brow. It was more humid down there, a major difference from the dry environment outside. "Well, that was fun," he half-lied.
''Good use of your aura with that Brawler Heartless,'' commented Lucario. ''You could be able to try an Aura Sphere someday.''
"Aura Sphere..." Ash repeated. He looked at his Keyblade and remembered how he normally held it, two-handed. A smile came to his lips. "I think I've got an idea," he said. He held his Keyblade in both hands and closed his eyes. "Alright..." He focused. His aura grew and pulsed, then caught onto the energy he felt from the Keyblade, now that he thought about it. His aura crawled up the hilt before going down the barrel and to the bit. It materialized above the teeth, forming a small ball. Ash had to focus a bit after it grew larger than three quarters of a fist, finding it abruptly much more difficult to channel his aura.
''Ash, that's good for now,'' Lucario said quickly, putting a paw on his shoulder. ''Don't tax yourself much more right now. You're doing great for a beginner.''
Ash stopped and opened his eyes. He looked at the amount of aura swirling above the teeth and stared. "Wow, you're right," he muttered. "I didn't expect that much was out!"
''You've got a great amount of talent inside of you,'' Lucario commented, smiling a bit. ''Just don't try and use it TOO much. Aura is dangerous if you don't know how to properly use it. Remember, you would've died had I not pushed you out of the way at the Tree of Beginning.''
Ash nodded and tossed the Aura Sphere up with his Keyblade. "Alright!" He wound up and swung his weapon like a bat at the ball of energy. They collided and the Aura Sphere flew off before exploding in a wall. It left a sizable hole. "...I wonder if there's a word for 'oops' and 'wow' at the same time," Ash murmured, sweatdropping and standing with a finger to his mouth.
***Learned Aura Sphere***
Ash went onwards, fighting enemies they came up against. Ash grew a couple levels, Lucario noticed, by the time they got too tired to fight much longer. "Alright, um, let's...le-let's go and find one of those shops..." Ash said weakly.
"Agreed," Pikachu nodded. Lucario nodded without words.
They went up the nearest ramp, surprising the guard (to whom they breifly explained their reason for being down there), and then up to the third-floor corridors. They went around until finding a shop. Their stamina had returned by then. Using the munny he'd earned during the Heartless battles downstairs, Ash bought some KH potions and a couple Mega Potions. "Hey, you should put them somewhere on your person where you can grab them quickly," suggested the shopkeep. "You got any pockets?"
Ash nodded. "Yeah, cargos," he answered.
"And your friend's got a side bag. Give some around so that they can help when needed, huh?" the shopkeep asked, smiling.
"I'll do that! Thanks for the tip!" Ash nodded.
When they left, he found that he could fit in three items into the wide, Naruto-ninja-toolbag-style single-buttoned pocket on the back of his jacket before he felt uncomfortable with the extra weight. Lucario could hold up to four, but poor Pikachu could hold none whatsoever. "I need to hold something for battles like this," he said, frowning. "Besides, I feel sorta defenseless out there, now. Lucario's got that bag, and you've got those clothes..."
Ash thought for a moment. "Hmmm..." He shook his head. "I can't think of anything we can do," he said, holding up his arms. "Sorry, Pikachu."
The little guy sighed. "If we could just find May or Dawn..." he muttered.
"Won't be much good by then, would it?" Ash chuckled. "Too bad we don't even have your old cheering uniform from the Contests, anymore, either. I think you could've gotten something in there."
Pikachu nodded. "Plus, I love wearing that outfit! It's cool and cute at the same time!" he chirped.
Lucario had no comment on that, or at least he didn't say it.
So, Ash stocked himself with two potions and a mega potion, giving the last three potions and one mega to Lucario. They were nearby the Pokémon Center, too, so they stopped in for a sec.
While he waited for his pokémon to return from the back, Ash sat on the couch, arms crossed and face frowning slightly as he pondered. 'I've got the Keyblade,' he thought, 'and these clothes. But Lucario and Pikachu have only their bodies and hides to protect themselves. I believe in their power, but...there are going to be life-and-death battles ahead, or at least ones we just CAN'T lose...' He sighed in slight aggrivation. 'Isn't there ANYTHING we can do? They can't use weapons--well, Lucario can, but I think he'd prefer not to--and I don't know where I can find someone I can trust to make clothing they'll like that can be armor. Even one piece would help them!' He tilted his head. 'Too much would slow them down, actually, since they probably aren't used to fighting in outfits very much...' He remembered the time he and Pikachu went on stage wearing caveman costumes and chuckled. This turned back into a frown as he refocused on the problem at hand. "Hmmmmm..."
"Ash, your pokémon are all well again!" Joy chimed as she came from the back, holding the tray of pokéballs and Pikachu while she walked between two other pokémon. Ash looked up as she came over and stopped, blinking at him a bit. "You look pretty deep in thought. What's wrong?" she asked.
Ash frowned as Pikachu and Lucario rejoined him. "I'm wondering if there's any way we can get something to help these guys in real fights without makin' 'em have to change the way they fight," he answered. He stood and went over to get his pokéballs.
Joy frowned, a little unsure. "...You mean like weapons and armor?" she asked. "What are you doing with them?"
''Ash is fighting on his own and me and Pikachu assist him like teammates,'' Lucario answered.
"It's when we go against Heartless," Pikachu explained.
Joy looked a little relieved. "Oh, good," she said, hand to her chest. She gave the tray to the chansey, who happily bobbled off. "I thought it was something more sinister...That's very commendable of you two," she complimented, smiling. "If that's the case, Ash," she went on, looking at him, "then you might want to invest in getting special 'weapons' that pokémon can wear and to enhance their normal attacks' power."
Ash started, eyebrows high. "You mean, there ARE weapons for pokémon?" he asked in disbelief.
Joy nodded. "Yes," she confirmed. She turned and went behind the counter and rooted around. "By law, they have to take them off before going back into their pokéballs, but pokémon can use these accessories, called Poké Arms, to help them out." She brought out two bags. Ash and the others came over to the counter to look at them as she opened them.
In one bag was a small, semi-elastic cloth band that appeared to be pokéball-themed. Half-red, half-white, it was divided across the middle by a black stripe that held a white, outlined circle on one point. A small lightning bolt was visible inside the "button" of the design. "This is a tailband, for small pokémon who have tails that wouldn't let it fly off in battle," Joy explained. "They sometimes come paired with easy-to-don goggles. Each tailband design does different things. This one's design is called simply a Pokéball Tailband, and it only enhances a pokémon's physical attack power. Again, this is for normally attacking, not using moves. Some Poké Arms DO enhance the power of moves, regardless of type or specifically of one or more types; to prevent cheating, all Poké Arms are banned from battles. Held items aren't, of course, but these are not counted as those."
The other bag held what looked to be a relatively thin gauntlet without the glove part. Instead of being made of thick, heavy iron, though, it was made with thin and light but strong metal. It wasn't simply a fitted tube of metal; instead, it was half of a tube. Attatched with a hinge and secured by a small, clasp-released locking mechanism was the other, inside half, making it look somewhat like an arm shackle. It had a rounded acute angle on the elbow end of the outside half. A centimeter-thick layer of soft padding lined the inside curve of both sides. The outside was grey metal, mostly, but dark blue stripes followed the edges and, surrounded by decorative brass lines, a blue, diamond-shaped, yet polished round gem was inset in the center. "This is a bracer," Joy described. "Specifically, it's a gemmed bracer. Bipedal pokémon, like many Fighting-types, can clap it onto their dominant arm and continue to fight as normal, paws or hands unhindered. The padding on the inside makes it comfortable to wear. Most bracers are used as armor pieces and come in sets of two and have enough on them that they can be used to defend against sharp attacks when both arms are brought up to guard. However, gemmed bracers are different. They can only be equipped one at a time to use their full potential, which resides inside the gem. Pokémon with a connection to the world around them can use the gem's power to enhance their attacks, thus making them work as Poké Arms. Being single-arm only, they can't really be used well to defend, though they naturally do add on a little protection."
Ash, Pikachu, and Lucario looked at these in interest. "Wow...That's really cool," Ash said, looking up and smiling. "I've never heard of these before."
Joy smiled. "Well, they're from the region I come from, Astori," she explained. "With things going on as they've been recently, I think it'd be a good idea if people started to sell them in weapon shops..." She pushed them forwards, giving a close-eyed smile. "Here; I don't need these, but I think you might," she told them kindly as they looked back at her in surprise. "They're perfect for you! Pikachu, you can wear tailbands because of how your tail is shaped; just stretch them over it quickly to the base. Lucario, this gemmed bracer, this one being called Brass-n-Blue, is made specifically with your kind of arms in mind, and I know you can use the power of the gem inside." She looked at each pokémon in turn as she spoke.
Ash and the others smiled as the weapons were taken. Pikachu stood on the counter and looked at his in his paws while Lucario stood next to Ash, doing the same. They looked up and everyone bowed. ''"Thank you very much, Nurse Joy!"''
Nurse Joy giggled. "Not a problem! Anything to help pokémon!" she replied. She bowed. "Now, Ash, I hope you come back when your friends are hurt!" she bade. Ash smiled and said good-bye before turning and walking with the others away.
***RECIEVED Poké Tailband (Poké Arm for Pikachu)***
***RECIEVED Brass-n-Blue (Poké Arm for Lucario)***
After refreshing themselves from the save disc, which revitalized everyone (rendering the Center useless except for old times' sake), they delved back down again. The guard let them past without a problem now.
They didn't have far to go before their next fight. As soon as the Heartless came, Lucario's right paw shot to his bag to retrieve Brass-n-Blue. In an instant, it was out and being tossed up slightly. He caught it in his left paw and clapped it shut over his right forearm. It fit perfectly, and it gave a good amount of space for his wrist and paw, which could move around as easily as before.
Pikachu, meanwhile, had stored his tailband inside one of Ash's shoulder mesh bags (surprising Ash that they were actually used instead of being for decoration). He retrieved it as fast as his type and leaped off of Ash's shoulder. On the way down, he stretched it out and put his tail through the loop before letting go. It snapped back on the base of his tail seconds before he landed, and it stayed there.
For both of them, they found their attacks now produced hit bursts, like Ash's Keyblade. They were regular ones, however, with the only shapes (apart from impact ring-bursts, or whatever they're called) coming out being stars, which were different from Kingdom Key's.
After the fight, they went on, pokémon keeping on their Poké Arms for now. They commented how they liked them and how they helped. "I don't really need to think much about it," Pikachu described. "It doesn't bother me much that I'm wearing it, either. Though, I AM used to wearing clothes, which helps."
''I'm very satisfied with this gemmed bracer,'' Lucario smiled, looking at it. ''I seem to recall them from my time, or at least similar objects. Though sure they use new technology in some way, I'm quite comfortable with it.''
Finally, about halfway around the Arena, they had their eighth rumble. Ash made good use of Aura Sphere, which, after a few bouts, he'd been able to summon within a second. It still left him open from the charge, which Lucario suffered, as well. He also was able to hit it each time--something no young man acting like he's swinging a baseball bat should do normally. ''I suspect it's the aura and the Keyblade working together, like you're suggesting for the charge time,'' Lucario theorized sometime later.
The battle over, everyone took a second and a breather. "Man, this is hard," Ash slightly whined, leaning on his Keyblade like a cane as he removed his hat breifly to let his head breathe and to wipe his brow. "I've been in tons of fights now, but I'm still not used to it..."
Lucario looked around with aura vision on for a moment. ''It's all clear,'' he said. This was when he spotted a patch of bright aura where he didn't think anyone else was. He furrowed his brow and walked over. It appeared a man was there, hunched up and sitting. Opening his eyes, he saw that it was nothing but a cardboard box...
"Huh? What is it, Lucario?" Ash asked, looking around at him as he walked past to investigate.
After seeing what was in front of him, Lucario bent over and lifted the box straight up. Ash jumped at the sight revealed. "WOAH! I didn't think--!" he exclaimed.
A man in a body suit with a headband looked up in surprise before starting, an exclaimation point appearing above his head. ''And who are you?'' Lucario asked, throwing the box away before crossing his arms.
"After all those years..." he muttered before standing up. "Solid Snake. I'm a Brawler here," he introduced. "And you're Lucario, right?"
''I am,'' the pokémon confirmed, nodding. He held a paw, and they shook.
"And YOU'RE still a greenhorn, then," Snake added to Ash, turning and pointing.
Ash stepped back and pointed at himself. "Me? Whaddaya mean?!" he retorted, looking a bit defensive.
"You said it yourself--you're not used to fighting yet," Snake explained. He looked at his Keyblade and raised his eyebrows breifly. "Huh. If you're gonna be toting one of THOSE around, you'd better man up and get used to it, 'cuz that thing's a magnet for trouble--literally."
Ash opened his mouth to fight back, but he stopped. 'He's right; I've got to get used to fighting. I should be already...I've relied on my pokémon and my friends too much! I have to be able to fight on my own, too!' He nodded. "You're right."
Snake nodded, then turned. "Well, I'd better get going," he said. He held a hand up. "Later."
''What were you hiding in that box for?'' Lucario asked, stopping him with a look.
"Not really any of your business, now, is it?" he asked. "They're starting to hold sign-ups for the combat tournament. If you want to enter or get a good seat, now's the time." He walked off again, this time unhindered.
Ash looked at everyone else. They shrugged in unison. "Well, let's go, then," he said. "I think we've trained enough."
''Right.''
"Should be north this time," Pikachu said. "C'mon!"
They jogged off the other way. Further ahead, Snake swore and ducked into his box. "I hate Heartless," he grumbled.
BEE-EE-EE! BEE-EE-EE!
Snake touched his ear and activated his Codec.
"Snake," a deep, commanding voice addressed.
"Colonel."
"What's the status of your mission?"
"Slow. I'm finding pretty much nothing under here so far, and this is the second time I've checked."
"Keep going. We've yet to find a way into the inner regions of the arena, and something would've been said if it weren't somewhere private. What have you found so far?"
"Pretty much the same as last time. We still don't know how so many worldless people are ending up here instead of in the other designated worlds of Radiant Garden and Traverse Town. I also don't know why or how they're entering the tourneys yet. I'll observe them when the next ones go on. My best guess so far is that the Melee Arena people are doing it to try and get rid of them somehow. Not like it really works..."
"Alright, thanks. Keep up the good work."
"Right. Snake out."
Zzzt-BEeeyuu!
*-*-*
*Link is in his room in Melee Arena. He's waiting, sitting on the bed and leaning back, for something. Finally, he hears a knock on the door. He gets off the bed and opens it. It's Ike. He's resting something on his shoulder, but it's not his sword.*
Ike: So, ready to play?
Link: *nods*
*They go to Link's Wii and Link turns it on. He selects the game--Guitar Hero: Unlimited. (This game is only availible to Brawlers and includes infinite space to hold every existing Guitar Hero song and more.) He goes into co-op, playing lefty guitar, while Ike syncs his Wiimote. When they're ready, they begin on System of a Down's take on "The Legend of Zelda".*
*Midway through, Ike notices something odd about the look of Link's side of the screen as he (Ike) plays Hard bass.*
Ike: Huh? Wait, your game's glitched! How can you have one blue and four...*looks at Link's guitar controller*...yellows...
Link: *keeps playing Expert. His guitar controller has, instead of green, red, yellow, blue, and orange buttons, giant, fret button-shaped A, Down-C, Right-C, Left-C, and Up-C buttons.*
Ike: *smacks forehead after starting a long note* He's even got them from lowest to highest in the correct places and order...
*-*-*
Yeah, that one sucked. I re-beat MM recently, hence the Zelda stuff. Sorry that this is such a long-ass bit this has become! It ends next one and we're semi-out of the starting-with-your-hand-held part of Ash's journey. The story ought to pick up after that, if only because then I'll have most of a plot in my head. (Then, isn't this more about Ash, really? I dunno...)
The Poké Arms I made up as I was going through and re-reading this bit before putting it up online. (I've caught a few errors and changed a few things as a result, making it suck less than it does now.) I've wanted to give Lucario and Pikachu some weapons of some sort, since they're Ash's main partners in this "game", like how Sora's got Donald and Goofy and Maru's got Figment and Elliott. However, since they're pokémon and are much more used to fighting without actual weapons, I needed something a bit different. After thinking for twenty minutes (most of it on Pikachu's, I think), I decided on their weapons. I also added something to remember for an idea I have that I'm certain will never see the light of real day apart from fanfics and fanart and stuff. (The best I can hope for is an ultra-kick-ass fangame.)
Sure, they're basically magical weapons, sorta, but here's my alibi to defend their being used in the Pokémon world: A) I explained the gemmed bracers well enough; B) Tailbands work by giving off a short-range energy field that naturally boosts a pokémon's power; and C) The hit bursts only happen against Heartless, Nobodies, and other non-pokémon enemies.
Like Figment and Elliott in the other fic, expect them to recieve better Poké Arms in the future.
Oh, and I realized that fighting + messenger bag do not equal very practical, so I had Luc modify his bag.
