The next day, as promised, Ash stood in the stands as Cynthia battled in her final match. Ironically it was against Gary, as they battled it out on the Rock Field.
"Gary is certainly a powerful trainer," Misty commented as she watched the field.
"But Cynthia is just as good," Brock said.
"NOW GARY AND CYNTHIA ARE DOWN TO JUST ONE POKÉMON EACH, WHOEVER WINS THIS BATTLE WINS THE MATCH!"
Down on the battlefield, Gary's Nidoking stood squared off against Cynthia's Gabite. Both powerful Ground Types growled at each other as they awaited their trainer's orders.
"Nidoking, use Mega Horn Attack!" Gary ordered.
The Drill Pokémon let out a roar as it charged down the field at Gabite.
"Use Dragon Rush," Cynthia said.
Gabite leapt into the air and flew down the field as a teal colored aura in the shape of a dragon enveloped it. The two Pokémon crashed into each other in the center of the field, and the two fought for dominance over the other. After a moment, the two conflicting energies reacted and exploded, shrouding the field in smoke.
Suddenly, Gabite flew out of the smoke and hovered over the field. As the smoke cleared away, Nidoking was revealed lying on the ground with smoke flowing from his body in wispy curls.
"Nidoking is unable to battle, Gabite wins," the judge announced, "the victory goes to Cynthia Shirona of Celestic Town!"
"AND SHE'S DONE IT, CYNTHIA HAS WON OVER GARY OAK FOR HER FOURTH ROUND VICTORY!"
Ash let out a sigh. He wasn't sure what he was expecting, but he was glad it was over. He quickly ran out of the stadium and met Gary as he left. His cheerleaders were crying in the back of his red car and Gary himself looked like a kicked puppy.
"Gary!" he shouted as he ream up to his rival.
"Hmm? Oh, hey Ashy-boy," he said, his cocky attitude quickly coming to the fore, "She was just lucky I was distracted by the girls cheering for me."
Ash just stared at him.
"They're just upset that I lost," he said, referring to the girls crying in his car, "But they'll get over it, won't you girls?" They started crying harder.
Gary leapt into the front seat, "Later Ash," he said as he drove away. Ash watched him go until the car was out of sight.
"Friend of yours?" a voice asked.
Ash turned to see Cynthia standing behind him. He smiled, "We were friends when we were little, but now he's a cocky jerk. I'm hoping that this loss will teach him a lesson. You did really good by the way."
"Thank you," she said, smiling, "Cocky or not, he's a good trainer. Is he related to Pallet Town's Professor Samuel Oak?"
Ash nodded, "His grandson."
"Really? Does that mean that you know the Professor too?" she asked, interested.
"Yep, I'm a field researcher for Professor Oak," Ash said, he rubbed Riolu between the ears, "He gave me Riolu too."
"Impressive," Cynthia said, "My grandmother is a researcher as well, though she studies Sinnoh history."
"Really?" Ash asked, "And what about you?"
Cynthia smiled, "I have an interest in history as well, but my preference are myths and legends."
"Legendary Pokémon?" Ash asked.
"Among other things," she replied.
"Cool, listen my match starts in a few minutes, so I've got to run," Ash said, "Will you be watching?"
"Sure, I'd hate for the chance to observe an opponent to slip by me," she said, giving him a playful smirk.
"Opponent huh?" Ash asked, returning the smile, "well I'll try not to disappoint." He ran off to the Grass Field to get ready for his match.
Ash stood in the battle box above the Grass Battlefield. His opponent had yet to show up and he fingered Ivysaur's Pokéball in annoyance. This would be the perfect field for the Grass Type to shine, but his opponent would be expecting that. Perhaps something different. Nah, he was confident in Ivysaur's abilities.
Suddenly, a massive red carpet rolled out of the entrance on the other side of the field. A young woman slowly walked out to the field with her eyes closed. She had long purple hair and was wearing large red robes. Walking behind her was a man throwing flower petals around her.
When she finally stepped up to her battle box, she finally opened her eyes and said, "I am honoured."
The next moment, a massive cheering squad that took up about an eighth of the stadium seating erupted with cheers.
Ash was incredulous.
"WE ARE GATHERED HERE IN THE GRASS STADIUM FOR THE THIRD FOURTH ROUND MATCH OF THE INDIGO LEAGUE. ON THE RED SIDE IS JEANETTE FISHER OF CRIMSON CITY. ON THE GREEN SIDE IS PALLET TOWN'S ASH KETCHUM."
The judge stepped up to the field. "This is a three on three Pokémon battle," he said, "the winner shall be declared when all three of one side's Pokémon are unable to battle. Substitutions are allowed, let the battle begin!"
"My Pokémon should create quite a buzz," Jeanette said, "Beedrill Go!"
She launched her Pokéball to the field and released a Beedrill. It flew around before landing right in front of Jeanette.
Ash threw his own Pokéball, "Ivysaur, to the battlefront!"
"AND IT'S BEEDRILL VS. IVYSAUR. JEANETTE HAS THE CLEAR ADVANTAGE IN THIS BATTLE"
"Indeed I do, Beedrill use Poison Jab!" Jeanette ordered.
Beedrill flew down the field as its stinger became enveloped in poison.
"Sunny Day," Ash ordered.
Ivysaur launched an orange bolt of energy into the sky, just as Beedrill slammed its stinger into his side. He grunted in pain even as the sun grew brighter.
"Use Twineedle!" Jeanette
Again Beedrill attacked, stabbing Ivysaur twice with its stingers.
"Solar Beam!" Ash ordered.
Jeanette gasped, "Beedrill get out of there!"
Ivysaur, taking advantage of the bright sun, instantly fired a beam of pure solar energy. It impacted against Beedrill with an explosion, sending if crashing into a nearby wall. It slumped down and didn't move.
"Beedrill is unable to battle, Ivysaur wins!"
Jeanette silently recalled her Pokémon. She quickly changed Pokéballs, "This one won't be so easy, go Scyther!"
"Poison Powder," Ash shouted in response.
Ivysaur expelled a cloud of purple spores. It quickly enveloped Scyther, causing it to cough and cry out as it was poisoned.
"That won't stop us," Jeannette said, "Scyther use your Slash attack."
Scyther quickly rushed at Ivysaur, slashing hard down on him.
"Saur!" He cried out in pain.
"Energy Ball!" Ash ordered.
Ivysaur quickly formed a ball of green grass energy and fired it at Scyther. It impacted against the bug type with an explosion and sent it flying across the field.
"Now quickly use Synthesis," Ash ordered.
"Ivy ivysaur," he replied. A golden glow enveloped him as he absorbed solar energy and healed himself.
"X-scissor!" Jeannette shouted.
Scyther rushed at Ivysaur with the attack, impacting him powerfully.
"Saur!" He cried out.
"Solar Beam," Ash ordered.
"That won't work this time, Double Team!" Jeannette said with a laugh.
"Scyther!" It said as three copies of itself appeared.
Ivysaur looked around in confusion, the Solar Beam charged and waiting in his flower bud.
Ash closed his eyes and extended his aura. "On the left," he ordered.
Ivysaur aimed and fired instantly. The attack rushed across the field and slammed into the real Scyther with an explosion.
"Scyther no!" Jeannette cried out.
"Scyther is unable to battle, Ivysaur wins."
Again, Jeannette silently returned her Pokémon. "Go, Bellsprout!" she threw her Pokéball and released her last Pokémon.
Ash blinked as he looked at the Flower Pokémon before him.
'Why on earth would she use a Bellsprout?' he thought in insert adjective here
High in the sky, the sun returned to its usual intensity as the Sunny Day faded.
"Let's start out strong Ivysaur, use Leaf Storm!" Ash ordered.
"Saur," he replied and launched a huge cyclone of glowing leaves straight at Bellsprout.
"Dodge it," Jeannette ordered.
Moving faster than Ash would have believed; Bellsprout wove, ducked, and dodged around every single leaf in the storm.
"Wow," Ash said to himself, reluctantly impressed. "Ivysaur, let's try a Sludge Bomb attack."
"Dodge," Jeanette said again.
Ivysaur fired a volley of sludge bombs at Bellsprout, which it easily dodged once again.
"Well then," Ash said, "If we can't beat it with offence, then let's see if we can beat it with defence. Use Growth."
"Ivy," he said, and a green aura enveloped him, increasing his attacking power.
"Bellsprout, use Slam," Jeanette ordered.
Bellsprout raced down at Ivysaur. Faster than he or Ash could respond, Bellsprout gripped Ivysaur's front legs and flung him over itself, slamming him into the ground.
"Saur!" he cried out painfully.
"Vine Whip!" Ash ordered.
Ivysaur quickly got to his feet and extended out two vines, whipping them at Bellsprout. Yet again, Bellsprout nimbly dodged around the attack.
"Slam again!" Jeanette ordered.
Bellsprout once again flipped Ivysaur into the air and slammed him down into the ground, causing him to cry out.
"Use Magical Leaf!" Ash ordered.
Ivysaur grinned, he fired a barrage of glowing leaves at Bellsprout. It tried to dodge, but the leaves merely circled around and slammed into Bellsprout from behind.
"Sprout!" it cried in pain and surprise.
"But how?" Jeanette asked in shock.
Ash grinned at her, "Haven't you heard? Magical Leaf can't be dodged. Use Double Edge Ivysaur!"
"Saur saur saur saur," Ivysaur chanted as he rushed at Bellsprout with a golden aura around his body. Bellsprout, still stunned from the Magical Leaf, had not time to dodge before Ivysaur crashed into it with an explosion.
The smoke soon cleared to reveal Bellsprout unconscious.
"Bellsprout is unable to battle, Ivysaur wins," the judge announced, "the fourth round victor is Ash of Pallet Town!"
"AND THAT'S IT, ASH WAS WON ALL FOUR OF HIS PRELIMINARY MATCHES AND WILL BE MOVING ONTO THE VICTORY TOURNAMENT IN INDIGO STADIUM."
Ash smiled as he returned Ivysaur and made his way back to the locker room. As he walked in, he found the last people he was expecting. Not only were Brock and Misty there, but so were, "Mom, Sam, when did you get here?" he asked in surprise.
"We came to cheer you to victory," Sam said.
Delia came up and hugged him, "Oh, I'm so proud of you," she said with tears in her eyes, "Out there, battling. And these clothes, you remind me of your father."
Ash sucked in his breath. 'Mom never talks about dad,' he thought. Ash silently hugged his mom back. When Delia pulled back she finally got a good look at his eyes and gasped. "Oh Ash, what did you do?"
"What...what do you mean?" Ash asked hesitantly.
"What do I mean?" Delia shrieked, "I mean you nearly killing yourself with your aura! That's what!"
"Kill himself?" Misty repeated, "Ash what is she talking about?"
Ash stared at his mom in shock, "You know about aura?" he asked.
"Of course I do," she said, "Your father...your father was a powerful Aura Guardian. He..." she burst into tears once again, like she always did when Ash's father was mentioned.
Ash immediately hugged her again, and she clung to him. "I...I don't want to lose you...not like I lost...him," she sobbed.
Ash swallowed, his worst fears having been confirmed. He'd always assumed that his father was dead, but to have it actually confirmed like this was a blow.
"You won't mom," he promised.
"But you nearly did," she wailed, "I know what those eyes mean. You nearly overused your aura. You nearly killed yourself doing some foolhardy thing to save a bunch of people and Pokémon."
Ash grimaced, she'd hit the nail on the head.
"Ash never did something like that," Brock said.
Ash sighed, "Yes I did. You were both there, but Mewtwo erased your memories."
"What? Who's Mewtwo?" Misty asked.
Ash didn't respond, instead he reached into his backpack and pulled out a large crystalline looking flower.
"A time flower," someone gasped.
Everyone turned in surprise to see Cynthia standing in the doorway to the locker room. She blushed lightly from the stares, "Sorry, I didn't mean to intrude, I was just hoping to congratulate Ash on his win."
"It's okay, you can come in," Ash said, "perhaps you can explain to them what a Time Flower is." Ash himself only knew because of all the research he did on Aura Guardians while working for Professor Oak. He had found the Aura Guardian's fascinating, not only because of their abilities but their ideals. Their one constant was the fight for peace between people and Pokémon, and the protection of the world from the forces of evil. All the while, he had never even dreamed that he would become one himself.
"Time Flowers are holographic records of important events were aura was used," Cynthia explained, fully entering the room and closing the door. "They hold a true record of what happened, and cannot be altered. They also can't be activated by any but those who possess the ability to manipulate aura."
"Exactly," Ash said. He channeled a tiny amount of aura into the flower and activated it.
He stayed silent as the events in the New Island stadium, from when Mew appeared to the moment where Mewtwo erased all of their memories. He himself had found the flower in his backpack and assumed that Mewtwo or more likely Mew had left it there for him
Once the flower returned to its normal state, Ash stored it back into his backpack. His mother and friends were silent as they all looked at him in horror. Oddly, Professor Oak seemed the least bit surprised. Finally, Delia came up and hugged him tightly, "I'm so proud of you sweetheart. I know I shouldn't be, but I am. Just...just promise me that you will be careful in the future."
"Always mom," Ash said, hugging her back tightly.
In an attempt to change the subject, Misty said, "You did really well out there, that Jeanette girl didn't stand a chance."
"I agree," Cynthia said, "particularly adapting to her unorthodox strategy with the Bellsprout."
"Thanks girls," he said.
"The championship tournament starts the day after tomorrow, so the trainers can have a break to relax," Brock said.
"In that case, I'm going to make you all your favourites so you can keep your strength up," Delia said happily.
"Really? That's great mom, but where are you going to cook around here?" Ash wondered.
She just laughed, "Leave that to me," she said.
"This is either going to be very good or very bad," Misty said. Cynthia nodded mutely in agreement.
They were all watching as Delia scrambled around the restaurant kitchen cooking up a gourmet meal. The food turned out to be delicious, even the chefs working at the restaurant had asked for Delia's recipe.
"You know if you win your next match, you can use up to six Pokémon per battle," Oak was saying as they walked to the elevator.
"I know," Ash said, "but I'm going to wait until I know who I'm battling before switching."
Oak pressed the call button on the elevator and turned back to Ash, "If you always remember to do your best, you're a winner even if you lose. That's the important thing."
"But try to win," Delia added.
"Right," Ash said, "I'll remember that."
The door opened and they all walked in.
"Hold the door please, I'm going down stairs too," a voice called. Ash turned to see a kid wearing teal clothing and a blue hat running up to them. Clinging to his back was a large and overstuffed backpack.
"Sure," Oak said. He placed his hand over the door to keep it from closing as the kid ran in.
"Thank you very much," he said to Oak.
"No problem," Oak said.
The kid then noticed Pikachu on the floor at Misty's side. "Oh cool a Pikachu," he said kneeling, "Whose is he?"
"Mine," Misty said.
"You're lucky," the boy said, reaching out and rubbing Pikachu just under his electric sacs. Pikachu signed with delight while Misty looked on happily.
"Wow, you found just the right spot," she said, "Pikachu doesn't often let strangers touch him."
"I can see you did a great job raising him," He said. He then noticed Riolu standing next to Ash, "whoa, what's that Pokémon?"
"This is my pal Riolu," Ash said, rubbing Riolu between the ears.
"Cool, I've never seen one of those before," He replied. Pulling out a Pokédex he tried to scan Riolu, but it failed. "Why didn't it work?" He questioned.
"That would be because your Pokédex is only programmed to scan Pokémon from the Kanto Region," Sam said.
"Riolu originate from the Sinnoh Region," Cynthia explained, "here." She pulled out her own Pokédex and scanned Riolu, holding it up for the boy to see.
"Riolu, the Emanation Pokémon. Riolu has the power to see and understand emotions like happiness and anger in aura waves."
"That's cool, you're lucky to have a Pokémon like that.
Suddenly the elevator came to a halt and the lights went out.
"Hey what happened?" Misty asked.
"The power went out," Oak surmised.
Brock moved over to the emergency call button, "Hello, can anyone here me?" No response.
Ritchie moved over to the panel under the call button and started fiddling with the wires.
"Do you mind if I borrow your Pikachu for a moment?" he asked. He was holding two small electrical wires in his hand.
"Uh, sure," Misty said. She picked up Pikachu and held him out to The boy. The kid held the wires to Pikachu's electric sacks, "Ok Pikachu, can you use ThunderShock?"
Pikachu started streaming electricity into the elevator. The lights came back on and the elevator started descending again.
"We're moving," Misty said happily.
"Smart idea," Cynthia complimented.
They reached the ground floor and the doors slid open. Pikachu cut off the electricity and everyone started running out.
"We made it," Misty said happily.
"I'm glad we held the door open for you," Brock said.
"We can't thank you enough," Delia said.
"Don't thank me," he said, "Thank Pikachu."
"Thank you anyway," Ash said, holding out his hand, "I'm Ash Ketchum."
"Ritchie Matthews," he said, shaking Ash's hand, "Nice to meet you. I need to go. Later." He ran off.
"What a sweety," Delia said.
"Very mature for his age, much like you are Ash," Oak said.
"Thanks, I think," Ash said.
"Attention please, may I have your attention please," a female voice echoed into the building.
"This is an emergency announcement for all participants in the Pokémon League Competition," a male voice continued, "This is not only a test."
The female voice went on to say, "All trainers must bring their Poké balls to the Pokémon Pavilion for an official inspection immediately."
"That's odd," Cynthia said, "I don't remember anything about a Poké ball inspection."
"Me neither," Ash said, "I guess we had better go check it out."
Ash and Cynthia arrived at the Pokémon Pavilion to find it already filled with trainers. Looking around, they were surprised to spy Ritchie milling about in the crowd too. "Hey Ritchie!" Ash called.
"Ash!" he said happily, running over, "how's it going?"
"Great," Ash said.
Ritchie turned to Cynthia, "Sorry, I didn't catch your name earlier."
"I'm Cynthia," she said, "Are you competing in the League as well?"
"Yeah, I didn't realize you guys were as well," Ritchie said.
"Yeah," Ash nodded.
"Hey, what was your other friends name?" Ritchie asked, "The redhead with the Pikachu. I meant to ask but I was in a hurry."
Ash noted a slight blush on Ritchie's face and smirked, "Her name is Misty. She's one of the Gym Leaders for the Cerulean City Gym."
"A Gym Leader? Wow," Ritchie said in amazement.
Ash and Cynthia exchanged a look, smirking at each other.
An official suddenly spoke into a microphone, "We must now collect all of your Poké balls to complete the required examination. Please place all Poké balls into the bag held by this official looking man with a mustache. Any trainers who fail to turn in all their Pokémon will be disqualified from the League."
Ash blinked, "this doesn't seem right."
"Yeah," Ritchie said, looking suspiciously at the duo.
"They seem kind of familiar," Ash said after a moment, watching as the two made their way through the crowd to collect Poké balls.
"You too twe...I mean young man," the man said when he arrived in front of Ritchie. Though he seemed reluctant, Ritchie dropped all of his Poké balls into the back, and the official turned to Ash and Cynthia. "You as well."
Ash squinted at them. "Have we met before?" he asked.
The man blinked in surprise, while the woman said, "No of course not. Now your Poké balls please."
"Can we see some ID?" Cynthia said.
"What on earth for?" the woman asked, sounding nervous.
"Well none of us were prepared for this inspection," Cynthia said, "I just want to make sure that you guys are the real deal."
"Yeah, it seems like a lot of trouble to go through," Ash said.
The man and woman twitched and shuddered as Cynthia and Ash spoke.
"P...pre...prepare..." the woman stuttered out.
"T...t...trouble," the man stuttered.
Quite suddenly they ripped their clothing off to reveal white Team Rocket uniforms beneath.
"Prepare for trouble," the woman began.
"And make it double," the guy continued.
"To protect the world from devastation,"
"To unite all people within our nation,"
"To denounce the evils of truth..."
"Hey I remember you," Ash interrupted, "you were on the St. Anne before it sunk."
"How dare you interrupt the motto," Jessie shrieked at him.
"You're just as bad as the twerp," James added, pointing at Ritchie.
Ash looked to Ritchie, "You know these clowns?"
Ritchie nodded sadly, "they've been stalking me for nearly a year now, ever since I stopped them from stealing the Pokémon from the Viridian City Pokémon Center.".
"That was you?" Ash asked, stunned, "I arrived at the center the next day."
"Huh, small world," Ritchie said.
"Excuse us," Jessie interrupted, "We're stealing everyone's Pokémon here."
"Now if you'd be so kind as to hand us your Poké balls," James said, "Or things might get...ugly."
Ash turned a glare on them, "Ugly huh? Why wait?" He tossed a Poké ball into the air, "Dragonair, use Wrap!"
The ball burst open and Dragonair appeared already winding his way around the duo and holding them tightly.
"Gah! Hey let us go!" Jessie shrieked.
"Yeah, what have we ever done to you?" James demanded.
"Tried to steal my Pokémon," Ash deadpanned, turning he shouted, "Hey would someone call Officer Jenny?"
"Already done Ash," Cynthia said, lowering her wrist which Ash now noticed had a Pokétch on it. He assumed it probably had a communicator function. She tossed her own Poké ball and released her Gabite, "Keep an eye on these two will you sweety? We don't want them escaping."
"Gabite," she said, before turning a glare on the duo.
While they were waiting, Ritchie retrieved the bag of Poké balls from Team Rocket and helped everyone reclaim their property.
Soon a battalion of Officer Jenny's arrived and promptly arrested Team Rocket, promising that they would be in jail for a long time.
"Thanks a lot guys," Ritchie said, "They've been a real pain."
"No problem," Ash said.
"I gotta go," Ritchie said, "I want to get some training done before our matches tomorrow. See you 'round."
"Bye," Ash and Cynthia called after him.
"Ash," Cynthia said, "I just want to say, what you did...that was very brave of you."
Ash knew she wasn't talking about just now with Team Rocket.
"It was an accident," he said, "I didn't realize I was using so much aura."
"I don't believe that for a second," Cynthia said, "I know about aura guardians. They originate from Sinnoh you know."
"An argument could be made that they originate in Cameron Palace," Ash replied, "That's northern Kanto."
"Not the point," Cynthia said with a glare, "I know that an Aura user is always aware when they use too much. The stories say the pain is indescribable."
"They're right about that," Ash mumbled. He shuddered, remembering the pain of overusing his aura.
Cynthia leaned forward and pressed a kiss to his cheek. "You're a good man Ash Ketchum. I gotta go, see you later."
She turned and began walking away. Ash stared after her in a daze; until Riolu bumped into him, snickering.
Ash glared at him, "Laugh it up fuzzball."
Ash walked into the Registration center and looked around. In front of each of the desks was a large tank of water with a couple of Magikarp swimming around in it.
"What's all this?" Misty wondered aloud as she came up next to Ash.
"Not a clue," Ash said.
He looked around, hoping to see the long blonde hair of Cynthia but was disappointed. However, he did see a familiar face fishing in the closest tank.
"Hey Ritchie," he called, walking up to the trainer.
"Oh, hey Ash, how's it going?" he asked. Suddenly, the fishing pole started shaking and Ritchie pulled it from the tank.
"B-5," the attendant said, "You're the first in that block. Your Pokédex will inform you when your opponent has been selected."
"Ok, thank you," Ritchie said. The attendant smiled at him and returned the Magikarp to a Pokéball.
"So this is how we select our opponents?" Ash asked.
"Interesting," Brock commented, "This prevents anyone from interfering with the matchups."
"Exactly," the attendant said, smiling at them.
"Will Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town step up?" a voice called from another desk.
"That's me," Ash said, he hurried over and took up the fishing rod waiting next to the tank. Dipping it in the water, he waited until one of the Magikarp bit into the hook and yanked it back out. His strong muscles were easily able to hold up the flailing fish as the attendant read the number on the Pokémon's side.
"A-3" she said, "you're opponent is…" she trailed off and gestured to the screen, returning the Magikarp to a Pokéball.
A picture of Ash appeared on the screen, and then shrunk to half it's size and his opponents picture appeared next to his. Ash let out a gasp as he saw his opponent, his face quickly turned dark and he whirled around to go make a call.
"Wait, Ash!" Misty called after him, but he didn't respond.
Ash stood with a single Pokéball in his hand, glaring heatedly across the stadium at his opponent. Damian looked back with a cocky smirk on his face, assured he would win.
The judge for the match took his position as the MC prattled on about their achievements. "This is a three on three Pokémon battle," the judge said, "the winner shall be declared when all three of one side's Pokémon are unable to battle. Substitutions are allowed, let the battle begin!"
"Let's get this over with," Damian said cockily, "Nidoking, I choose you!"
He through his Pokéball and released a massive Drill Pokémon to the field.
"Hey Damian," Ash yelled, "Do you remember that Charmander you released? He'd like to say hi!" With that, Ash threw his Pokéball to the field and released Charmeleon to the field. The Fire type was literally glowing with rage as he glowered at Damian.
"What?" Damian said in shock, staring at the Pokémon across from him, "That's impossible. That Charmander was so weak he couldn't beat a Bellsprout!"
Charmeleon snorted and released a massive roar that created a shockwave that kicked up dust across the field.
"Grr, Nidoking finish this now, use Hyper Beam!" Damian shouted.
Nidoking reared up as an orange orb of energy formed in front of its open maw, and fired a powerful beam of orange energy at Charmeleon.
"Dodge," Ash ordered
Charmeleon leapt to the left, doing a quick barrel roll back to his feet.
"Now get in close and use Metal Claw," Ash ordered.
Charmeleon's claws lengthened and hardened into steel. He raced down the field and slashed his iron hard claws across Nidoking's chest, drawing a roar of pain from it.
"Nidoking, use Horn Drill!" Damian ordered.
"Dodge and use Fire Punch," Ash said.
Nidoking's horn started rotating quickly as he charged towards Charmeleon. The Flame Pokémon twisted out of the way of the attack and jabbed Nidoking hard in the side with a flaming fist.
"Grr, use Stone Edge!" Damian ordered, angry that his attacks keep missing.
Two white circles formed around Nidoking. The broke apart and formed into several sharp jagged stone as they orbited around Nidoking. The Drill Pokémon roared as he launched them at Charmeleon.
"Protect," Ash ordered.
A green shield formed into being before Charmeleon, deflecting each of the stones harmlessly away.
"Hyper Beam Nidoking!" Damian shouted in fury.
Nidoking opened his mouth and began charging the powerful attack.
"Protect again!" Ash ordered. This would be a gamble, but one he knew Charmeleon would be willing to take.
Nidoking fired, the powerful beam of energy roared down the field right at Charmeleon. At the last second, Charmeleon once again brought up the protect. The Hyper Beam slammed into it with an explosion, enveloping the field in smoke.
Ash held his breath as he waited to see if it had worked. A red glow from within the fading smoke gave him hope. When the smoke cleared, Charmeleon stood unharmed, glaring heatedly at Damian.
"Now Fire Blast!," Ash called out.
Charmeleon roared and launched a powerful blast of fire at Nidoking. The flames took on the shape of a five point star and slammed into the Drill Pokémon with an explosion of flames. The field rocked as smoke surrounded the whole place.
When the fumes cleared, Nidoking was revealed unconscious.
"Nidoking is unable to battle, Charmeleon wins," the judge announced.
"Grr, Nidoking return," Damian growled, pulling his Pokémon back to it's Pokéball. "Machamp, I choose you!" With a burst of light, the four-armed Superpower Pokémon appeared on the field.
Charmeleon snorted derisively as Machamp flexed his muscles in an intimidating manner.
"Let's wrap this up quick," Damian said, getting his cockiness back with the new Pokémon, "Machamp, use Dynamic Punch!"
Machamp raced down the field at Charmeleon as his arms started glowing with energy.
"Block it with Mega Punch, then use Dragon Tail!" Ash quickly countered.
Charmeleon clenched his fist as an orb of energy surrounded it. With a roar, he charged at Machamp, and their fists met in the middle of the field with a crash of energy.
As Machamp struggled to overpower the Fire type, Charmeleon's tail started glowing bright green. He suddenly released the hold he had on Machamp, causing the Fighting Type to stumble in surprise, and swung around to nail it in the face with his tail.
"Machamp!" it yelled in surprise as it went flying back towards its trainer. The Superpower Pokémon was then enveloped in red energy as he was recalled to his Pokéball, much to Damian's surprise. A moment later, another Pokéball burst open on Damian's waist and a Fearow appeared on the field.
Fearow shook its head slightly as if just waking up, but quickly took to the air, ready for battle.
Damien stared in surprise, but quickly shook his head, "Whatever, it doesn't matter what I use you're going down."
Charmeleon roared angrily at the out of reach Fearow. Suddenly his body was enveloped in blinding blue/white energy. He grew larger and more muscular, his belly grew wider and his neck longer. Large wings sprouted from his back, and his tail doubled in length. The energy burst away to reveal a newly evolved Charizard. He let out a massive roar, shaking the ground with the power of it and causing Fearow to squawk in fear.
Damian took a step back in surprise before straightening and glaring. "It doesn't matter what form you are, I won't lose to a weakling like you! Fearow use Drill Peck!"
Fearow's long sharp beak started spinning like a drill as it raced towards Charizard.
"Block it and use Thunderpunch!" Ash commanded.
To Ash's surprise, Charizard's wings took on a metallic glow as they became hard as steel and he quickly folded them in front of his body. Not a moment later, Fearow slammed into Charizard but did little damage.
Charizard's small fist started crackling with energy as he unfurled his wings to stay up in the air and he punched Fearow hard. The Beak Pokémon squawked as the electricity coursed through it and went tumbling away.
"Fearow, use Aerial Ace!" Damian commanded
Fearow quickly righted itself and sped towards Charizard as a spiraling white energy surrounded it. Too quick for Charizard to dodge, the Beak Pokémon slammed into the Fire type, sending him crashing to the ground.
"Get up Charizard, use Fire Blast!" Ash called.
Charizard leapt to his feet and took back to the air with fire in his eyes. Without even giving Fearow a chance to escape, he unleashed a massive burst of flame in the shape of a five point star.
Fearow squawked as the attack exploded against itself, sending it flying down to the field with a crash.
"Now finish this with Dragon Rage!" Ash ordered.
Charizard roared and unleashed a blue blast of energy from his maw. It took the shape of a massive dragon and crashed into Fearow and exploded. After a moment, Fearow was revealed to be completely unconscious.
"Fearow is unable to battle, Charizard wins!" the judge announced.
Damian was steaming with anger now as he recalled his Fearow. With no other choice, he threw out his Machamp for the final battle.
"Use Focus Punch!" Damian ordered.
Machamp's fist started glowing brightly as he ran down the field at Charizard.
"Use Dragon Claw," Ash ordered, "Deflect it and then use Fire Fang."
Charizard's claw's started glowing light blue, and just as Machamp's fist came at his stomach he wrapped his hands around the attack. There was a shock wave as the conflicting energies met and Charizard went sliding back with the power of the Focus Punch but held strong.
Once he knew he had Machamp, Charizard's mouth caught ablaze. He bit down on the Fighting type's shoulder, causing it to howl in pain and back off.
"Flamethrower!" Ash ordered.
Charizard took a deep breath, and launched a barrage of flames at Machamp, severely burning the Superpower Pokémon and blasting it back.
Machamp whimpered slightly, even as Damian growled in anger.
"Machamp, don't be a wimp," he yelled, "Get in there and use Giga Impact!"
Machamp got a determined look on his face, and it began charging at Charizard again. As it ran, a purple aura with spiraling streaks of gold surrounded it.
"Flare Blitz," Ash said.
The Flame Pokémon gained his own fiery red aura as he flew down the field at the charging. Charizard's attack was so powerful, that the flames flashed and turned bright blue to signal a hotter flame.
The two powerhouses met in the center of the field with an explosion that covered the whole stadium with smoke. After just moments, Charizard came flying out of the top of the smoke, wincing as the recoil damage was administered.
"Now let's finish this, use Aerial Ace!" Ash ordered.
Flipping in midair, Charizard became surrounded with white streaks of energy with the focal point right in front of his snout. With barely a moment's thought he flew back into the smoke and crashed hard into the now frozen form of Machamp.
The Superpower Pokémon screamed in pain as the Super-effective attack hit it, and sent it flying into one of the stadium walls. He slumped down on the ground in pain, waiting for blissful oblivion to come.
"You had better get up or else!" Damian all but growled to the Pokémon. The spectators had gone silent as the match unfolded, and a good few of them heard Damian's statement. Murmurs of disapproval swept through the crowd as those who didn't hear were quickly filled in.
Machamp struggled to get up, valiantly managing to stand on its weak legs.
"Damian!" Ash called, "can't you see that your Pokémon is severely injured? There's no shame in calling it quits."
"I don't care!" Damian shouted back, "Machamp, get up now and use Cross Chop!"
Ash just sighed as he watched Machamp struggling to use the attack. "Charizard, put it out of its misery," he said, "use Overheat!"
Charizard's body started glowing red as he focused his flames on his next attack. After a moment, he opened his mouth and launched a beam of white hot flames surrounded by a spiraling red flame at Machamp. The Superpower Pokémon actually smiled slightly as the attack slammed into him, sending him instantly into unconsciousness.
"Machamp is unable to battle," the judge announced, "Charizard wins. The victor is Ash Ketchum!"
Damian was vibrating with rage and panting heavily. He rushed out to the field and right up to his Pokémon. With wild abandon, he started kicking Machamp while screaming, "YOU STUPID USELESS POKÉMON! I SHOULD JUST SEND YOUR POKÉ BALL INTO THE SEA FOR THIS!"
The whole stadium looked on in horror as Damian continued to kick his Pokémon.
Charizard suddenly let out a roar of fury as he flew straight at Damian. Ash whipped out Charizard's Pokéball and returned him, knowing that his Pokémon would kill Damian if he had the chance.
Not moments later, a horde of Officer Jenny's came rushing out to the stadium. The first one tackled Damian to the ground and started cuffing him.
"You're under arrest for Pokémon abuse!" she said, pulling him to his feet.
"Argh, lemme at him!" Damian shouted, raging and trying to get to his Pokémon.
Ash just sighed and walked out of the stadium, he wasn't interested in watching the idiot being carried off.
He met his two friends just outside of the stadium.
"That was a good battle Ash," Misty said.
"I was surprised how Charizard acted though," Brock said.
"It's not really all that surprising," Ash said, "Damian was Charizard's first trainer."
Their eyes widened. "Yeah, that does make sense," Misty said.
"Anyway," Ash said, "Charizard's in a rage, I need to get somewhere safe where I can calm him down."
"Do you want us to come with?" Brock asked.
Ash shook his head, "Better not. He's going to be pretty steamed, it'll be better if it's just Riolu and I."
Thus ends Chapter 14.
So, what did you guys think about this chappy? I'm sure many of you are curious about Ash's father, unfortunately I have no plans on revealing his identity for quite a while yet, so don't bother asking. Any guesses, private or public, will be met with silence. I'll give you guys a tiny hint, a love of Pokemon isn't the only thing that Ash Ketchum and Samuel Oak have in common. ;)
Yay, Charmeleon finally evolved. I'm sure many of you were expecting this, and a lot more of you guys are waiting for Riolu to evolve as well. Rest assured it will happen, but I have a very special event that will trigger it, but it won't be during the Indigo League, sorry.
Until next week guys,
Dragonwolf12