Ash reached the front of the relatively short line. "I'd like to sign up for this," he said, smiling at the receptionist kindly.
"Okay! Are you alone or in a team?" she asked, pen ready. Ash replied that he was on a team. "How many?"
Ash opened his mouth, then closed it, a thought occurring. "Hang on," he said. He turned to his teammates. "Think I should enter in some pokémon?" he asked. "Apart from you guys, I mean. I'd feel comfortable having some on hand..."
''This is supposed to be a fighting tournament, not another battle tournament,'' reminded Lucario. ''However, you DO work quite well with your pokémon under your command...You can't just ignore them...but...''
Pikachu frowned in thought and concern. "You need to keep a balance," he ruled. "Don't rely on your pokémon at your command, but don't forget to bring them out and train them in battle if you need a break." He thought a bit more before snapping his fingers, then pointing them and looking at Ash with a satisfied smile (paired with lowered eyebrows). "Just so you don't get tempted to use them all the time, bring only ONE pokémon to use here. The only time we're allowed to heal is in battle, using items." He lowered his paw again. "This way, we're both at a healthy, manageable, challenging three to four fighters, and you'll want to sort of ration your pokémon, using him sparingly and trusting in your own power."
''I think that is a great idea. You can do it, Ash,'' Lucario told him. ''Remember how you fought against the Switch Armor?''
'Hey, I still gotta write an entry for that thing!' Ash couldn't help but think. He nodded, regardless, hand to chin. "Yeah, I do," he answered. "But then I feel like I'm relying on Reaction Commands too much..."
''You have to gain more skills that you can rely upon instead before you can say you rely on them too much, in my opinion. They may be the only reason you have survived so far, and in some cases ARE the only reason.'' Lucario crossed his arms. ''If you can get by without them, of course, then by all means, use those less often, as well.''
Ash nodded. "Right. I'll only take one pokémon with me," he said. "I'll also TRY and refrain from using Reaction Commands excessively."
"Great!" Pikachu smiled. "Then let's do it!"
Ash turned to the receptionist. "Alright, I'm going in a team of four: Me--Ash Ketchum--Pikachu, Lucario, and, though he's not gonna be out all the time, my pokémon, um..." He thought for a second before deciding. 'I can't bring the others with me, so I think the best choice I've got is...' "...Exexitt!"
"...Oooookay!" the receptionist chimed as she finished writing it all down. "And the name of your team?"
"Uhm..." Ash faltered. "A name? Shoot...erm..." 'I'd say 'The Twerps' just for fun, but Lucario and Exexitt probably wouldn't get it and they'd feel offended...' For a moment, he realized that he missed them, too, despite them being antagonists to him for his entire Training career.
''How about just 'Ash and Co.'?'' tried Lucario, tilting his head.
Ash shrugged. "That'll work," he said. "Ash and Co."
"...Mmmmkay, you're good!" the girl said, smiling. "Be in the locker rooms in ten minutes for the first match. You won't be able to heal between rounds, and you must stay on the benches around the perimeter of the arena area between rounds."
Ash nodded. "Got it," he said. He turned and beckoned to the others before leaving. "I think I'm going to let the others out, now," he told Lucario and Pikachu. "They might get hurt out there in their balls. I actually should've let them out before when we were training ourselves."
''Where will you put them?'' Lucario asked.
"I think I have an idea," Ash answered.
A few minutes later, they were talking to Prof. Oak and Tracy. "Sure, we'll keep them for you while you're fighting," said Prof. Oak, smiling. "We'll be sure to find a seat, too, for the battles!"
"Let them out, then get out, or you'll be late!" Tracy told him.
"Right!" Ash maximized the three balls before throwing them. "Okay, guys! Stay with Oak while we're gone, alright?"
They appeared, the three ball-burst sounds bouncing off the walls of the room. Charizard made things a bit tight, with everyone except Exexitt out and in Oak's room. Charizard looked impressedly at him. "You're seriously going to do this? I mean, we heard from within our balls, but...really?" he asked.
Ash nodded. "Yep," he answered. "If we win this, I'm going to use the munny towards finding the rest of our friends!"
Tracy raised his eyebrows and smiled. "That's a GREAT idea! Good luck, Ash!"
"Yes, good luck!" Oak agreed, smiling and holding up a hand.
The other pokémon bade them good luck, and Ash was off, companions close behind.
They barely made it, them and one of the other participants. "Ash! You ARE doing this!" Charlie smiled behind him when he looked to see who was coming up in the rear. He was running down the hall to the arena pit where the sign up was, each step causing at least two small cracks in the stone below. He was even heavier than he looked.
Ash nodded. "Yep, and I can't wait to meet in battle with you!" he said. "Fighting's more interesting when you know who you're fighting with personally, be it for good or bad."
"True, true," Charlie nodded, looking forwards again. He sweatdropped at the size of the doorway. "Uh...fall behind me. If I get stuck, Hi Jump Kick me in, wouldja?" he asked, sweatdropping.
The others sweatdropped, but they agreed.
Thankfully, they didn't have to do it. Charlie had enough momentum and his middle was soft enough to squeeze through in one go. He skidded to a halt at the sight before him, though, making Ash and the others collide with him, anyway. "Augh, hey, what's the idea?" Ash asked, a little peeved.
"THEM," Charlie pointed. Ash looked and gaped when he saw nothing but enemies in the room. Heartless as far as the eye could see grouped together in the same locker room...Heartless and, in a corner, Bowser. Actually, after he looked a little more, Ash saw some non-Heartless people. Charlie rubbed his chin. "We're probably being informed about the rules, but I don't see anyone talking..."
Cautiously, they made their way to the chalkboard at one side of the room. It had a tourney tree.
"Don't even bother, it's just a bunch of lines," Bowser said from his spot in the corner. They ignored him at first, thinking he was just being as stupid as always. However, they soon found he wasn't kidding. Bowser glared. "What, y'think I'm an idiot? ANYONE can understand tournament trees! They ain't that complicated!"
"ALRIGHT, EVERYONE WHO STILL POSSESSES LIGHT WITHIN HIS OR HER OR EVEN ITS HEART, GET OUT HERE!" roared a deep, commanding voice.
Ash and the others to whom this applied turned to see a large man in a lengthened, red-lined black gakuran, white gloves, and geta sandals crossing his arms in the entrance. His long, black hair was messy and under a thick-billed hat that had seen MUCH better days. His face was scarred. Overall, he looked very tough for a cheer squad member. "Well?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Woah. That guy's givin' me the creeps," Bowser muttered, frowning uncertainly.
''And I can see why! Go, go, go!'' Lucario growled hurriedly, using aura vision and pushing Ash.
Once outside, Ash asked, "Why?"
''He's one of those people whose aura is naturally more like fire,'' he answered. ''If two of them cross, it's basically what happens when an unmovable object meets an unstoppable force.''
"Oh." Ash sweatdropped at the man in the weathered cheering uniform as he stood in the same spot, waiting for Bowser to lumber defiantly out. Once they were out, the man turned.
"I am Doumeki Kai, leader of the Ouendan," he introduced, voice still loud even though he wasn't shouting. "I am the one responsible for keeping tournament fighters in line. I welcome you to the Shell Cup. Let me explain something about the way the tournament works here. You each have to face some normal people, like you, and hopefully we will have a final between those like you. You also must each face a number of teams of Heartless. There will be ten rounds to be taken by each of you, and there is a complicated process involved with deciding when you must fight normal people--it's called 'us announcing who goes next'. You will only have the items on you to help you in battle; there will be no healing, as some of you may have had the luxury of during the pokémon tournament. If you lose to any Heartless, the battle will end instantly and the Heartless shall be restrained from causing further damage that would cause you to lose your heart. Are there any questions?"
A pause, then someone slowly began raising his hand.
"Good!" Doumeki turned around and did a few cheering moves to the booth above the big scoreboard.
"ALRIGHT! Ladies and gentlemen, the Shell Cup battle tournament shall commence! Will Donny come to the ring?"
A guy broke ranks from the group and walked to the battlefield. It had been made into a square ring, stone tiles on the floor and round pillars at the corners. Once one entered the perimeter, a wall of invisible energy came up and fenced you in, like a cage match without the grabable cage. The walls appeared quite hard, too, since, as the fight wore on, the fighters hit them without any apparent give. (Strangely, when one landed against it with their feet, it indented slightly. ''It must only work when pressure is focused,'' Lucario guessed.)
"Oooooh, that had to hurt," the announcer, Agent Lock, Ash recognized, commented as Donny was slammed to the wall on his back. A ripple of light went across the point of impact.
"Grrrmmmmmm..." Charlie growled thoughtfully, rubbing his chin with a paw while he observed the round.
Ash and the others sat on a bench, waiting their turn. They were called up next.
"Next is Ash and Co.! Let's see the blurb," Lock announced, and a second of papers rustling was heard. "'A Trainer and his pokémon friends, specifically the Brawlers, Pikachu and Lucario, and the Trainer's own pokémon, Exexitt, Ash Ketchum hails from...Pallet...'" He stopped and laughed. "Everyone pretty much knows about him from the battles!! Knock 'em dead, Ash!"
Ash blushed and chuckled sheepishly at the loudspeaker cheer. "Alright, let's get going," he said to his companions after that, hopping down. The crowd cheered as he and the others went in.
"GO ASH!!" cried a voice, and Ash turned to see Tracy sitting on a bleacher near to the arena. Beside him were Oak and Ash's pokémon. Charizard nodded at him, Bulbasaur waved a vine, and Squirtle got some extra height with his tail breifly while he waved his arms and legs.
Ash smiled, then began to trot into the ring. A thought struck him suddenly. He skidded in the sand and dust and turned, taking off his pack. "Hey!" He ran back, calling. He stopped when he was nearby and asked, "Hold this, wouldja, too?" before he threw it up to them. Charizard reached his neck out and bit a strap as it came a bit short.
"We'll keep an eye on it!" Tracy promised.
"Thanks!" Ash proceeded into the ring. He got out his Keyblade as he saw the small troupe of Shadows and Soldiers ahead of him. Beside him and jumping onto him briefly were his teammates as they drew their weapons, as well. As the walls went up around him, he couldn't help but gulp--there was no escape. He tightened his grip around the Keyblade. 'We can't lose...I can't chicken out!' He looked up and, fiercely determined face on, shouted, "We can DO this!"
They won, of course, and without even needing to use any items or bring out Exexitt. The Trainer found it MUCH easier to fight without his pack, as well as more comfortable. Sure, his back was open, but at least he didn't have to lug around that much more extra weight. After that first match, Ash chuckled and spun his Keyblade around him, passing it behind his back once before holding it point-down and thrusting it a few inches into the ground, where it stuck while he put a hand on his hip. "Alright! Looks like we won!" He looked around. "...Now, who's next?" he asked. His companions did victory dances, as well, and he did a few different ones sometimes.
The next few rounds went on without incident. Bowser dominated the Heartless, burning them and crushing them. The same went for Charlie, who likewise used his Fire-type attacks and his weight. The difference was what was on their backs: Bowser had spikes, Charlie had wings, and both used them well. Ash and Co. went on relatively unhindered through six more rounds of Heartless, the groups growing more and more powerful as they went, and one round against a pair of people Lock revealed to be hylians with weapons. They were Royal Guards, and braver ones than usual. Ash was surprised that his wounds healed instantly on the surface after being sliced by a spearhead, reducing to mere scratches. He still recieved full damage. 'It must be the clothes,' he thought, also noticing that they mended themselves after a slash.
It came to be that Charlie and Bowser went against each other. "And it looks like it's a battle of the draconish," Agent Lock commented before the match began. "The winner of this match will be going, undoubtedly, to the final match if they can clear the Heartless round after this, so let's see who wins! Charlie, GET IT ON!!"
Charlie, on the field, laughed for more than a couple seconds.
"...Whaddaya MEAN, I can't root on my own friends?!" came the quieter voice of Lock (he had turned from his mic to speak to someone else).
Ash sat in the benches nearest to the place his friends above were. "Well, looks like the walking fire hazard's going against one of your kind, huh, Charizard?" he heard Squirtle ask.
"...Well, you could say that," Charizard said, head tilting in a way Ash took to mean he shrugged. (His head was all he could see from his spot.)
"What do you mean? I know he's a shiny, but...what else?" Bulbasaur asked.
Charizard thought for a moment. "Have YOU ever seen a charizard play trumpet?" he decided to ask.
A moment of silence, then all four of the people beside him (it went, left to right when facing them, Squirtle, Oak, Charizard, Tracy, and Bulbasaur) replied, "No, daresay I haven't," almost in unison.
Charizard nodded, smirking. "There ya go."
The walls went up and the match began. The girthy reptilians circled each other. "Awright, Band Geek, time for you to play 'Taps', 'cuz this'll be your funeral!" Bowser trash-talked. Some in the crowd went, "Ooooooh!" at this.
"Wow! I'm impressed the brain of someone who does nothing but eat, sleep, order minions around, beat people up, and fail at trying to take over the world numerous times could come up with something that clever!" retorted Charlie. More in the crowd went, "OooOOOOOooh!" at this.
Bowser anger-veined. "Why, you little--!!" he growled before lunging with a claw swipe.
"Awww, thanks for saying I'm little!" smiled Charlie as he jumped the attack. He landed on Bowser's head and springboarded up off of him to the other side.
The koopa stumbled a second. "Ooof-ungh...rrrRRRR, SHADDUP!!" he shouted, turning and blowing fire.
Charlie rolled to dodge it, almost literally rolling. "Yeep! Watch the jacket!" he squeaked.
Bowser jumped and tried to use his Bowser Bomb on him. He missed, leaving himself open to a Slam in the chest, knocking him over onto his back for a second. "Here, lemme help," Charlie said, and he Stomped on his leg, which both hurt the koopa and flipped him upright.
"Thanks," Bowser replied before successfully slashing at his front.
They traded blows, misses, and insults for another half a minute. "This is pretty good," Ash commented. "THEY'RE pretty good."
''You remember you'll have to fight one of them personally, right?'' asked Lucario, giving a sidelong glance at Ash.
Ash started, making a "yeek" face for a second as he blue-cheeked. "Oh, yeah..."
The two met in a grapple lock. This appeared, however, to be Bowser's plan the whole time. He'd been able to bait Charlie into it, and was now proving why--he was stronger, much stronger, than the charizard. As soon as the lock occurred, he squeezed tight with his paws and smirked. He waited until Charlie's face registered, "Oh, shit," before he mercilessly threw him down sideways, stepped on his gut (covering his footpaw in it as he pushed the remaining air in his lungs out), and let rip a blast of fire. He breathed for three seconds, then stopped and got off, pushing away with the footpaw on his opponent. He crossed his arms and laughed evilly, sure he was victorious.
Ash and the others rooting for Charlie gasped and leaned forwards a bit, looking closer at the result of the beatdown. Charlie's jacket was on fire and making a lot of smoke, the smell of burning polyester in the air. As soon as he could, he began rolling around, trying to put it out. The smoke rose in a cloud above him.
"UH-oh," Charizard went.
"Ooh-ooh," Lock mumbled. "Bowser just sealed his fate. Know why, folks?"
In unison, they answered, "He hurt the jacket. You NEVER hurt the jacket." Charizard looked both dreading and like he knew something he liked (which, given his personality, could be anything, be it comedic or violent) was coming. "If Bowser lets himself get caught by Charlie, now, he's gonna regret it..."
"How come?" asked Ash, curious to know as he craned his head up.
"Well, let's just say you're about to see why I told you to keep your pokémon away from him," Charizard replied, smiling nervously and sweatdropping down at Ash.
Charlie's jacket was out. Bowser saw this and stopped laughing. "Awwww, did I just ruin your dorky outfit?" he asked, mock baby voice.
Charlie stood up and turned, facing him. His face was concealed by the smoke. His jacket was now as black as hish scales. The buttons and zipper were all that gave it any color anymore. A white linen ruffle that was on the front was completely gone. It was an odd sight, indeed; the nearly-monochromatic scene against the brownish-tan of Melee Arena. "Like Lock said, you just sealed your fate," he said darkly.
"What, you gonna get angry and think you can win?" Bowser asked, raising an eyebrow unimpressedly and frowning. "I'm, like, the only guy here who can actually DO that. See my Final Smash, ever?"
"Oh, believe me, you didn't make me angry," Charlie said in a calm voice. "All you did was hold me down and blast me with fire, burning one of my most precious posessions. You burned a jacket given to me, a jacket altered to fit me with my great . wings behind me and thick neck atop me and damn blob in front of me." He spread his wings. "You burned that which I wear in pride of my band and in pride of who I am!!" With a mighty beat, he used Defog, clearing the smoke from the field. When his head was visible, people gasped.
His face was screwed up in a look that could murder. "YOU JUST MADE ME FUCKING FURIOUS!!" he roared, shaking the field.
Bowser blinked, eyes wide, before he acted unimpressed. (Though unseen by the people looking at him, his sweatdrop told otherwise.) "S-So? Y'gonna cry?" he asked.
"No," Charlie growled, "I'm gonna do what I do best." He dashed forwards with his wings to help, showing unseen speed. Adrenaline propelled the large creature headlong into Bowser, who didn't have time to do more than uncross his arms. Charlie tackled him and they rolled three quarters of a circle, Charlie slamming his tail down to stop them with Bowser crushing Charlie.
"What good's THIS gonna do? Just wanted to squash yourself?" Bowser taunted. He glanced under him. "...Hey, you're actually pretty comfy," he muttered, blushing a little.
Charlie grabbed his face, ripped it to him, and wrenched open his mouth, taking in a deep breath at the same time. Bowser, to his shock, couldn't tear away, even with his strong arms. Charlie had a death grip on his jaws.
Charizard sniggered. "Oh, God, here he goes..."
"You think you're a big jerk, huh?!" Charlie asked before breathing the lost air quickly and then blowing it out in a powerful Flamethrower--straight into Bowser's throat.
"YOWCH! Now THAT'S a spicy meatball!" Lock said, chuckling. "But what's he--wait a...is he--?!"
People around the arena were first making their normal roar, but then it quieted. It became a wave of gasps, then a few sounds of disgust mixed in with people falling silent. Then the silence revealed itself to be people snickering, keeping in full laughter that soon erupted all over.
"Oh, my goodness, folks! If you thought Bowser was a big jerk before, think again!!" Lock said energetically after a surprised laugh.
Ash was stunned, then laughing, too. "YOU'RE KIDDING ME!!" he cried. "What is this, a cartoon?!"
Bowser was making sounds of utter distress, scared at what was happening. Charlie's face was stone hard as he executed circular breathing, keeping the stream of fire constant as he scorched the big guy's throat.
"It may look funny, but that's painful as fuck, trust me on this one," Charizard was barely heard commenting between laughs. "And not just the fire, either!"
Oak was laughing, too, but not as much. "This is funny, yet a little disturbing," he commented, unheard by Ash.
Lucario was raising an eyebrow, obviously more than a little disturbed. ''Ash? Don't hurt his jacket when we fight him. For the love of all that lives, don't hurt his jacket,'' he asked weakly without looking at Ash. He shuddered.
"Smack me for saying this, but that actually looks kinda fun," Pikachu said, staring at him. "I mean, afterwards, you could play with them!!"
"GEH! Looks like you and he're on the same wavelength, Pikachu!" Charizard shouted down, winking. To Lucario, he assured, "He only does it on Fire-types, blue boy!"
''That still doesn't make this any less strange,'' Lucario said back.
"What? Strange? You act like you've never seen someone blowing a balloon before!!"
''...They didn't exist in my time...''
Yes--Charlie was turning Bowser into a balloon, and Bowser didn't like it. He tried fighting fire with fire, but it didn't work--he ran out of breath, and inhaling too much put fire in his lungs, which hurt. That wasn't what was inflating him, though--it was hot air.
Out in the stands, someone made a slightly queasy face. "I's nevah gonna look at da balloon da same way again..."
Charlie kept at this for half a minute, making him bigger and bigger. He actually furrowed his brow in concern partway through--his eyes checked his victim's stomach periodically. Finally, though, Bowser began floating up just slightly. Five more seconds and he was almost perpendicular to the ground. As soon as this happened, Charlie let one last blast out and shut the koopa's trap. He stood up, still holding his mouth, and, smirking with leering eyes, wondered aloud, "Did I ever tell you I'm the best damn trumpet player in Sinnoh under the age of twenty?"
With that, he let go of Bowser's mouth, took flight, and scooted around to his distended stomach. "SERVE!" he called before giving a straight Mega Punch to Bowser. The laughter died away quickly.
Bowser yelled in pain as he rocketed off to the wall. The yell broke a moment as he bounced off, going straight back. He was met with another Mega Punch. Then a Mega Kick. Then a Slam. Then more Mega Punches, each hit making him bounce faster and faster with each painful hit. The crowd began roaring and cheering at this.
"OVERSIZED SPEEDBAG!!" cried Charlie as he began actually rapid-fire Mach Punching.
"Oh-HOH! THAT'S his game!" Lock announced. "Strange but VERY effective! That shell may be protecting Bowser from the wall hurting him, but that charizard can really pack a whallop! (Keep it up!)"
Ash was staring. "That...looks really painful..." he murmured.
''...He does the impossibly strange and uses it to eliminate the enemy,'' described Lucario, doing the same.
"I'm afraid to think how he practiced it," Pikachu sweatdropped.
"Ah, Oversized Speedbag, his ultimate attack," Charizard said, crossing his arms and leaning back. "THAT'S why you want to be careful with your pokémon near him. He inflates you if your body can handle high temperatures, and then he beats you back and forth against a wall, going faster and faster until you're kinda like a speedbag in a gym. It'll end, don't worry."
Finally, Charlie did a whip-around bicycle kick, sending Bowser skyward as he himself fell. As he did, he readied a great Stomp. When he slammed down, making cracks behind him, he crashed his footpaw down so hard, he sent up a spray of rocks. "This won't hurt as much as it should, you lucky dog!" he informed Bowser with a grin. "But here's Rock Slide to finish out!"
The rocks soared up and pelted the underside (and sometimes face) of Bowser, who was slowly coming down. Each time he was hit, he grunted in pain. Sometimes, he was winded by a large rock. When this happened, he let out a small burp. When the assault ended and Charlie stayed panting on the ground, Bowser noticed this relationship.
And he smirked, black eye and bruised cheek.
Coming down faster with less air, he waited for the right time. Then, taking a great breath, he let it out. The burp grossed more people out, but made some laugh harder than before (leaving them holding their sides). One who DIDN'T laugh was Charlie, who was the one to have not the time to evade, this time.
"GRAAAAUUUUGH!" he roared, sailing to the wall backwards as a tail and the rim of a shell of spikes pushed him along. He struck it with a heavy thud and a eye-bulging strangled gasp. The spikes drove into his tough flesh somewhat, almost burying themselves into his ample belly. Bowser's erupting mouth propelled him backwards and held Charlie to the wall. He took the chance to kick him a few times.
"Oh, no!" Lock wailed. "Bowser's taken advantage of Charlie's genius plan!!"
When he was all out, finally, Bowser hid in his shell and flip-spun, throwing his prey off and landing safely. Charlie was tossed and sent skidding to a halt to the other wall.
Bowser came out and got up, leaning on a knee and smiling, breathing hard. "Heh...you really think...that stupid trick...would do me in?" he asked. "What'd'ja think...this was?...Dig-Dug?"
Charlie gasped and got up even slower, holding his front. His stomach was bleeding a bit, as well. He clenched an eye from pain. "You...son of a..." he croaked.
Charizard bit his lip, holding his breath with the others. "Oh, God, Charlie, stop," he whispered.
Bowser grinned, then stood fully. "Now for a little trick I learned from an annoying little rat," he said. Without further ado, he turned and spun sideways, like a cartwheel. However, he jumped and pulled himself into his shell. He landed and began revving up in place. Rock flew out from under him and sparks flew when his spikes scraped the ground. Some people made more reactions.
Charlie raised his eyebrows and gritted his teeth. "Whirling Fortress...on his side?!" he muttered.
"WHAT ON--?! Of all people, is the slowest Brawler trying to--AND THERE HE GOES!" Lock went.
Bowser shot off like a bullet towards Charlie. Charlie, however, wasn't finished. He sidestepped just in time, going on the left since Bowser, who had rolled so that, looking at his front, he went clockwise and exposed himself on that end. Charlie grunted and guarded against the koopa's bounceback, which wasn't as bad, but still hurt. He then looked and took his chance as Bowser went back from him. As the turtle began to fall back down to his front, like a giant coin, Charlie lunged and grabbed his tail.
"HUH?!" Bowser popped out of his shell in surprise and looked back, feeling himself being dragged towards the middle of the ring. When he saw what was going on, his eyes bugged out before he roared, "OH, YOU MUST BE JOKING!!" and flailed around.
To no avail. With as much determination as Ash, and perhaps more, Charlie hauled Bowser back far enough before he began turning. "I refuse..." he seethed, going slowly around but picking up momentum. "...to lose..."
"NOOO!! NOT AGAAAIIIINN!!" Bowser screeched, starting to fly off the ground and feel the blood rush to his arms and head.
"...to the likes..." He was spinning full force, now.
"And Charlie's givin' it his all as he pulls off the most classic move in the book!" Lock announced, smiling.
"...of YOU!" He let fly at the best moment he found, right to the farthest wall. Bowser roared as he flew through the air, face first, and SLAMMED into the energy field even harder than before.
He slid down to his front. After that, he was still. Then he rose. Turned, wobbling legs, and looking at Charlie with shaking vision. He let a gutteral, incoherent sound.
And he spiral-eyed, fell forwards, and slammed down once more.
Charlie fell to his slightly-large seat, breathing an immense sigh of relief.
"AND THIS ROUND'S WINNER IS CHARLIE, AFTER ONE AMAZING CLASH OF THE TITANS!!" Lock cried. "(YESSSSS!!)"
The crowd roared, and Charizard let out a sigh of relief even greater than Charlie's. "I thought he was a goner!"
"That was AWESOME!!" Ash cheered, pumping his fist out. Pikachu clapped happily beside him. "I don't care that I have to fight him now, that was amazing!"
''Strange, but impressive, nonetheless,'' admitted Lucario, shaking his head.
Charlie panted and limped towards Ash and Co., smiling a little. "Sorry if you wanted a bit of revenge," he apologized as he got near them. "Just a bit more determined than that."
Ash nodded, giving an eyebrows-slightly-lowered smile. "No problem," he said. "I'm sure I'll get to fight him again someday."
"Heh..." Charlie flopped down on the end of the bench next to Ash, making the Trainer and his pokémon yelp as they were rocked up and nearly launched off the seat. He was still bleeding, Ash noticed after scrambling to get a hold of the tilting bench before he slid, Pikachu grabbing hold of a loop on Ash's jacket arm. (Lucario was on another bench and blinking in disbelief at the outlandish display.) Charlie grimaced and held his front. "Ow..."
"Charlie, you dumbass! Why didn't you think of that before using Oversized Speedbag against him?!" scolded Charizard, smiling regardless.
"Would you have?" Charlie asked, looking up and smiling wryly at his friend.
Ash frowned in worry at Charlie. "Those look bad..." He looked with his eyes left, then right, then down as he chewed his lip. Pikachu, meanwhile, crawled up to his shoulder once more. Ash nodded. Letting himself slide down and bounce against Charlie, he reached into the item pocket/bag on his jacket to pull out a pair of potions he'd picked up from some Heartless (in this beginning cup only, the Heartless were able to drop items, as well).
Lucario's ears went straight to attention when he noticed this. ''Ash! What are you doing?!'' he asked, getting up and running over.
"Helping a hurt pokémon," Ash replied, offering the bottles to Charlie.
Charlie widened his eyes at this. "But...you have to fight me next," he said, confused.
"Yeah? You're about to die from loss of blood," Ash said facetiously, smiling a little. He pushed the items a little further to him. "C'mon, it doesn't say in the rules that you can't help heal other people, does it?"
"Well...no..." Charlie looked a little reluctant, but feeling his body in pain made him cringe, then nod. "Thank you very much," he said graciously, accepting the items. "Now, go--you're up."
Ash nodded, smiling in relief. "Thanks. See you in the ring soon!" He hopped off and ran away to the battlefield, where they had finished dragging Bowser off.
Lucario smiled at Ash as they ran into the ring. ''That was very good of you, Ash,'' he said. ''I'm proud.''
Ash raised an eyebrow. "What? You expected me to not only leave a pokémon--anyone--like that, but fight them like that?!" he asked. He smirked and chuckled, "What do you think I am, one of them?" He nodded to the Heartless that had appeared before them.
Lucario chuckled and shook his head. ''I was testing you,'' he confessed, slapping on his gemmed bracer. ''Your kind heart--it is a quality that Sir Aaron possessed, that all good wielders of aura possess.'' He looked forward and got into battle stance. ''Guard it well.''
Ash nodded, tapping into his aura and getting into stance as well. Pikachu jumped off of his shoulder and onto the ground beside him, snapping on his tailband as Ash summoned the Keyblade. "I will," Ash promised.
-'-,-'-
"AAAAALRIGHT, everyone! It's the moment you've been waiting for!" Lock called from the booth. "It's the final match of the Shell Cup! Who'll it be? Is it the Brawler team of Ash and Co.?" (Crowd roar pause.) "Or will it be the astoundingly powerful and determined charizard, Charlie Pacific?" (Crowd roar pause.) "THEY'LL DECIDE!! (I wish they could decide for me who to root for!) Place your bets now, you idiots out there, 'cuz the final match begins in THREE! TWO!! ONE!!! FIGHT!"
During this, Ash stood and smirked at Charlie. "Alright, big guy, it's come to this," he said.
"We're not gonna hold back," Pikachu warned from the ground.
''I DO feel a little bad that this is three-on-one, though,'' Lucario admitted, frowning.
Charlie, fully healed from the potions, thumbed his muzzle. Well, he clawed it, but made the thumbing motion. "What, you think I'd do this without thinking I could handle it?" he asked. He got into stance, legs spread and arms to his sides. "Don't think this'll be easy!" he warned.
"I'm not!" Ash assured, getting ready with everyone else.
That's when the command was given to fight, and with that, Ash and company sprang forth. Charlie surprised them by jumping up and over them, then swinging his big tail at them, knocking them away from behind. Ash used something he'd picked up from previous battles; he pulsed his aura to right himself after being knocked away, using the old KH standby, Aerial Recovery.
After locking his eyes onto Charlie, Ash fought as hard as he could, hoping for the chance to use Aura Sphere. After locking on, another ability that had awakened with the Aura Badge, Scan, made him see how much vitality Charlie had. Though it wasn't full, it was close--90%, about. (He'd healed to 95% health with the potions and had lost 5% in his semifinal.) He was guarding it well, too. Fighting with ferocity and surprising dexterity given his corpulence, Charlie was fending off and dealing out attacks without leaving much chance for an opening, as far as Ash could see. He also kept the pressure on, prohibiting Ash from using Aura Sphere.
The main problem was that Ash wasn't feeling any Reaction Commands, which he had, admittedly, come to rely on, despite trying to go without them if he could handle things as they were through the tournament. He regretted his foolishness when he was half-health and almost minus Steel-type Lucario. "This doesn't look good," Ash muttered. 'I HAVE to get that money! I don't know if he'll give it to me if I lose...and I don't wanna lose after all I've been through. Then, well, he doesn't, either...' He charged forth after seeing Charlie advance towards Lucario. "Lucario, no!" Ash raised his Keyblade to strike, but was stopped by a wing, springing out and pushing him back. "Un!"
Lucario ducked the Flamethrower and gave a full Force Palm, Brawl style. Charlie flew back a bit, but he didn't fly far. He winged once before stopping. He landed, dashed, and grabbed Lucario, who failed to escape. Then, he jumped, flew a loop, and Body Slammed him to the ground. Lucario survived, but he sometimes had bouts where he couldn't move. ''P-paralysis...'' he grunted.
Ash came in before Charlie could finish him there. However, even after a combo, Charlie was able to fly away and send a knock-out Flamethrower to Lucario. Lucario fainted, out for the count for a bit.
"LUCARIO!" Ash cried, reaching out.
"CHUUU!!" Pikachu sent another Thunderbolt at him, but Charlie evaded it. "Dang, he's faster than he looks," Pikachu grumbled.
"And smart, too, since enough from you, and he's sunk," Ash added. He found the chance he needed and focused. "Alright, batter up!" He swatted an Aura Sphere at Charlie.
Charlie tried to dodge, but the Aura Sphere just hooked right back at him. "GRAUGH! Sneaky--!" he grunted, falling to the ground. He was open a second to attack, and Ash and Pikachu came in and meleed him. Pikachu did so with scratches, bites, minor electric attacks and tail swings (as well as a few other moves he did in Brawls).
Charlie had enough after a combo and a half. He growled and sprang up, striking out with tail, arms, and wings. Ash and Pikachu flew back, and Ash knew...they weren't gonna last much longer, him especially. "I gotta use my mega--" Ash began, looking through his items pocket. He stopped as he remembered: He used it in the last round! "And I gave HIM the rest of my potions!" He knew that Exexitt wouldn't last long against a pokémon with two strong types against him. "We're DEAD! If only I had some more power..." Ash dispaired.
Suddenly, he remembered something. 'Using the power of my friends...' He looked at the Drive Badge in his vest. He looked at Pikachu, landing from an annoying Wing Attack. And he nodded. He focused his aura on the badge, finding, to his surprise, intense energy powering from it. 'I can...I can feel it!' He narrowed his gaze as Charlie came at them. "Pikachu!!" he addressed seriously.
Pikachu looked at him. "Pikah?" he answered, like, "Huh?"
"I need to borrow your strength, buddy!" Ash said. He smirked and crossed his arms, bunching up. "C'mooooon..." His badge flashed brilliantly right as Charlie came at him. Right before the shiny charizard was upon him, Ash spread his limbs out wide. "DRIVE!! LET'S GO!!"
A body-encompassing ball of light quickly expanded from Ash's Drive Badge, then stopped and broke, spiderwebs of cracks appearing a second before the whole thing came apart slowly. Time slowed instantly as a bright flash came around Ash. Yellow sparks of energy, which Pikachu became, flew into him. When it was finished, he was gone. Charlie yelped as he barreled right through, getting nothing but air. He stopped and blinked, looking around. "Huh? Did you teleport?" he asked. He was answered by a painful Thundershock to the giant target of his butt, which made him squeak and jump back, turning around. He gaped in awe at what he saw.
Ash Ketchum was, for the second time in his life, a Pikachu with spiky, yellow hair. He smirked around his Keyblade, which had shrunk very slightly for him. His hat's red part was now accented with yellow lightning bolts spreading and popping across the fabric in still animation. On his body was a pikachu-sized his jacket/vest, whose main color had changed to golden yellow, the collar, side straps, and arm loops becoming as brown as pikachu's stripes. Replacing the pokéball compass on his back were the stripes that the clothing covered, but instead of brown slashes, they were brown lightning bolts. His cheeks sparked. "Say hello to Ashachu!" he introduced as best he could with the obstruction before dashing forth.
Charlie started at the increased speed Ash now had as Ashachu and barely avoided the tackle--though not the Keyblade swing. Ash himself was at first surprised at the shapeshift, then not, realizing it made perfect sense. And, thanks to his previous experience, he knew how to control himself on four legs. The Keyblade in the mouth he relied on instinct to help, though. For now, though, he relied on his speed and Electric attacks.
Ashachu turned after landing and quickly used Thundershock to annoy Charlie. Then, he leaped forth again while Charlie was stunned briefly and began a quick combo. While still only having one Keyblade, Ash's small size and intense increases in speed and agility gave him new opportunities to combo. He was able to extend the number of hits to five.
First, he slashed sideways, spinning once.
Then, he jumped forth, barrel-rolling the other direction and hitting with the bit.
Next, he landed and jumped, uppercutting up and doubling the pain with a rapid Iron Tail while he backflipped.
After that, he dashed a small, quick triangle around the enemy, charging right with a hooking stab, going left by sidejumping and spinning, then leaping back sideways in another roll, not hitting so much with the Keyblade but with his paws out in a spiral scratch.
For the finisher, he combined electricity with his strikes as he jumped, grabbed his Keyblade in both paws, and did an acrobatic feat of flips and spins (going quickly, but not Anti Sora-fast) for a second and a half, somehow hovering above the ground while he attacked, before stopping, holding the Keyblade high as he hovered above the air, and literally charging up a final attack. The world around him darkened slowly and slightly before he finally, a second of Charging later, flipped, slamming his Keyblade down to the ground, where it stuck and sent a blast of electricity across the ground all around. He came down and twirled himself rapidly around the hilt, using Spark and sending electricity about as his weight made the Keyblade tip down to the ground. He set down, shook his head to relieve his dizziness, and put his weapon back into his mouth before too long had passed.
Charlie was a hurtin' pseudodragon after the end of this. He growled and swung with his tail as soon as he could, which was right after Ash pulled his Keyblade back into his mouth. The disadvantage of being small revealed itself--Ash's defense and weight had lowered considerably, leaving him much farther than normal and in pain after the Slam. Charlie then dashed through the air to meet him with a point-blank fireball. Ashachu cried and went back through the air further.
Before Charlie could spike him, however, Ashachu found a bit more confidence in his new form and dared try and use it. Surprising Charlie a little, he flipped back, spinning and swinging with the more-useful version of Aerial Recovery he dared not attempt in human form for now, Retaliating Slash. After that, he went into an aerial combo. It was still only three hits, but was still impressive. He first did a downwards-aimed spin to attack overhead twice, then he grabbed the Keyblade in both paws and swung it right to left to spin that way and then swung diagonally left-up, and he finished by putting it in his tail, wedging his tail between the hilt and double handguard, and did another three flips, hitting down-left, down-right, and powerfully, electrically down, like a thunderbolt (strangely) going from the sky to the ground. (Thunderstrikes actually usually happen land-to-sky, I'm pretty sure.) He slipped his tail out from the Keyblade after grabbing the barrel carefully, then he tossed it up and caught it in his mouth again.
This last one slammed Charlie to the ground and ate up the last of the time Ash had in his Drive form. He flashed, the yellow energy flying down nearby to reform as Pikachu, and he reappeared as a human again, upright and holding the Keyblade in hand as he fell. He landed and panted, still hurt from when Charlie had attacked him before. "WOO!...That was intense!" he commented.
"Ow," was all Charlie replied to that. He groaned and stood up moderately fast, not too happy. His fighting energy was fairly low--about a quarter of a full-length bar. (He started out with three full bars minus some from the match before.) He was ready to go, though, since Ash and the others weren't in a good state, either. Charlie knew he could still win--Ash only evened the playing field with his Ashachu Drive.
Charlie growled and came at them, ready to attack.
Ash remembered the battle with Exexitt. 'Lucario came to on his own after a while! If we could just hold out until he can give me or Pikachu a potion...Then we could still win!' "Evade!" Ash cried, and they both jumped aside while Charlie swung his claw and missed.
Charlie turned and beat, literally, with one of his wings, hitting Ash and making him flinch. Sadly, though, he was then Scratched twice and given a Body Slam. Sound faded out of his ears as he gave a horrid cry, "NOOOOOO...!!" After that was black for him.
"Ash!!" cried Pikachu in alarm. He squeaked and jumped, barely evading the attack. He was all alone, one on one against Charlie, who was by far the most unordinary Charizard he'd ever faced. He nodded resolutely, ready to fight.
He fought a little differently than Ash. He relied mostly on his speed, agility, and Electric attacks, and was the closest to Donald in the main trio that he, Ash, and Lucario had become for this adventure. He found, to his dismay, that fighting normally instead of battling was having an effect like Pressure--his energy for attacks was being used up quicker. Well, alright, his special and Electric attacks; Iron Tail he used as a combo finisher on the ground. He was able to recharge himself when depleted, thankfully, which he was making use of now as he evaded Charlie as best as he could. Once he was recharged, he dared and gave a Thunderbolt as soon as Charlie missed. He hit, though, and was able to stun him briefly.
This was just the time they needed. Lucario groaned and sat up, shaking his head, then looked at the situation. ''Right! Come at me!!'' he shouted, springing to his feet. He grabbed his bag. 'Now's the best time for this, I think!' ''Here we go,'' he said, as if finding something, before tossing the mega potion he got out of his bag up and watching as it broke in midair.
Ash felt the effects of the potion a moment later, revitalizing him and bringing him back to conciousness. "Huh?...O-kay!!" He rolled off of his back and pushed himself up quickly, summoning the Keyblade. "Thank you very much!"
Pikachu thanked Lucario as well with a simple, happy, "Thanks!"
Empowered once again, the party closed in on Charlie, who was focusing on Lucario again. Ash jumped and attacked his back, Pikachu got his side. They comboed once before Charlie blew them back with a gust from his wings. It was too late for him, though, because Lucario was ready for a little vengeance.
He rolled away and charged an Aura Sphere, firing it just before Charlie blasted him with a Fire Blast. He was almost knocked out from the attack, but his Aura Sphere went between the "legs" of the kanji and nailed the charizard in the jaw. "GROOOoooouaagh...this...sucks...!!"
Charlie stumbled back, panting, looking at the group, eyes hazy. He grimaced, then chuckled. "Not bad, kid," he said to Ash before falling forwards to the ground with as loud a slam as Bowser. His neck wasn't touching the ground as much as normal charizard's do from his stomach, but his spiral-eyed face still lay with chin flat to the tiles.
Ash panted a second before smiling and standing normally. "We won," he breathed. He grinned, bunched his arms and face up, then burst, jumping with his Keyblade in the air, cheering, "WE WON!!"
"And after a magnificent battle, Ash and Co. WIN!!" Lock declared. "Hold on a sec, I gotta get down there...First-, second-, and third-place people come down to those podiums you'll be seeing there..."
Ash and the other two turned and saw three wide, short, hexagonal pillars rise from the ground. "This place just loves showing off, don't it?" he muttered.
"You're one to talk," Pikachu said slyly, looking sideways at his friend and cat-mouthing. "I saw all ya did when we were together in Drive form."
Ash blushed. "W-Well, I was just trying to use my body to the best of its ability," he defended.
They walked forth and got to the highest, middle podium. After Charlie revived, he plodded over to the second-place one. Bowser sulkily stomped to the third, lowest podium, since he was technically the third non-Heartless to last, and the Heartless, being defeated, didn't--couldn't--come up (which was a little unsettling to Ash, once he realized it). He kept his arms crossed as he faced forwards like the others. He glared sideways at Charlie, who stuck his tongue out at him sideways back.
After a few minutes, Agent Lock came down there, holding a bronze trophy with a shell etched into it in one arm and his microphone in the other hand. "ALRIGHTY! In third place, it's the Koopa King himself, Bowser!!" he announced as he walked across from the other side of the stadium. The crowd cheered, which made Bowser at least smirk. "Second place goes to the hefty charizard, Charlie!!" More cheering. Somewhere, a couple of trumpets made the cavalry charge ditty, which made Charlie smile. Lock stopped in front of the third podium and turned to the audience. "And this game's official winner of the Shell Cup Trophy is..." He turned and held up the trophy to Ash. "...the intrepid Trainer and his team, ASH AND CO.!! GIVE 'EM A HAND, FOLKS!!" The crowd roared. He, himself, clapped, putting the mic in his arm after the trophy was lifted away.
Ash grinned and took the trophy in hand, then giggled in delight at it. "AAAAAWRIGHT!!" he cheered, pumping it up in the air. "We did it! We're the champs!!"
Pikachu jumped for joy cutely while Lucario crossed his arms and smiled at Ash.
"And they win 100,000 munny for their efforts, as well!" Lock added, pulling a relatively big bag out from his pocket. "Take it and use it well! Let's give everyone another round of applause for an exciting tournament!"
Ash took the bag while the crowd erupted once more.
***OBTAINED Munny Bag***
*-*-*
*It's a Brawl in no special stage. DK lifts and throws a party ball. It floats up slowly. He goes and waits patiently underneath it.*
Party Ball: *flashing as it speaks in a high, squeaky, impish voice* BOING! BOING! BOOBY PRIZE! BOOBY PRIZE!
DK: ?!
*The party ball opens and drops an anvil down onto DK, hitting him on the head.*
Party Ball: Heheheheheh...SUK--KAAAAHH!! *evil laughing smile*
*-*-*
That's an old one from the old SSBM Caption Contest on vgchat (dot) com (NOT VG Cats!). I submitted it, of course; I'd never steal a joke if I can help it without giving credit. I'm not sure, but I think it mighta won that round for that pic...
ONE MORE, folks!! I kinda lied last time!! (It was 30 PAGES before, so...yeah. ^_^; )