Alright guys, I'm sorry that this is posted a bit late. I've had a roaring headache for the past few hours, but I've tried my best to revise this chapter to the best of my ability.
I can't really go into details on this chapter without going into spoilers, so read on and enjoy!
The beautifully lit sky of Sunnyport Beach was a site to behold for the two trainers. The beach was filled with people in bathing suits and bikinis, enjoying the hot rays radiating from the late Summer sun. The oceanfront streets were lined with clothing stores, restaurants, nightclubs, theaters, and the like. Up in the clouds, they could see biplanes flying across the light blue sky, banners blowing in the wind behind them.
"We're here!" Misty squealed, overjoyed to finally be arriving at the beach she had dreamed of going to since she was a child.
"It sure is a nice beach." Ash had to admit as he watched the beautiful, blue waves crash against the yellow sand. "We might have to stick around for a bit after my gym battle."
Misty's eyes widened. "You actually want to have fun?" Her tone was slightly sarcastic. "You mean I don't have to drag you by your ear to the beach?"
Ash stuck his tongue out at his redheaded friend. "Sorry, but this isn't a seven month vacation for me."
Misty snickered. "So I guess the next stop is the Sunnyport Gym then?"
"Sure is!" Just mentioning the gym was enough for Ash to get excited about his upcoming battle. "I'm going to get my….." He stopped and looked over at Misty. "Uh, what badge to they give away here?"
"The Fireball Badge."
"I'm going to get my Fireball Badge!" He exclaimed. "It'll fit nicely with these three." He said as he opened his jacket slightly, revealing his Venom Badge, Power Badge, and his most recently earned Night Badge. He began to feel a rush of nostalgia as he flaunted his badges. The only thing missing was Brock, then it would be just like old times.
"There you go showing your badges off again." Misty smirked.
"Well get used to it." The black haired trainer shot back. "When I get my Fireball Badge, I'm going to be showing that one off too!"
The gym leader rolled her eyes. "Whoopee." Her tone was very completely lifeless. "I hate to see what you'd do if you actually won the Master League."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Ash raised an eyebrow.
"What I mean is that the world already has enough trouble fitting your head in it. Humanity can't afford for it to get any bigger."
"Are you saying I have a big ego!?" He stopped walking and glared at Misty.
She didn't dignify that with a response, instead deciding to look off a little bit farther inland. As she did so, she could see off in the distance was what looked like stadium with the words "Sunnyport Gym" written across the front. "I think that's the gym, Ash." She said, pointing towards the giant structure.
Ash had a slightly puzzled look as he gazed at the coliseum shaped building. "Are you sure? It looks more like a stadium than a gym." He squinted his eyes, being sure that it did indeed read "Sunnyport Gym" across the front of the stadium.
"I guess we'll have to go and find out then." The Cerulean Gym Leader said as she began making her way towards the structure, Ash following close behind her.
"Pika." The little mouse added.
XXXXXXXXXX
The two approached the colossal doors of the stadium, unsure as to if they should try to open them or not. Judging by all of the vehicles parked outside of the stadium, and the noise that could be heard coming from inside, you'd think there was some sort of big competition going on.
"Should we go inside?" The black haired trainer asked, looking over at Misty, still uncertain as to if they were even in the right place.
"It wouldn't hurt, I guess." She shrugged, just as uncertain as Ash.
Both of them pushed the gargantuan chrome colored doors open, feeling a rush of cold air blanket them as they entered the building. Both of the teens, including Pikachu let out a relieving sigh as they felt the comforting cold air cool them off. As they stepped onto the lobby's tiled floor, they were greeted by a young, well dressed blonde woman sitting behind a circular desk in the center of the room.
"May I help you?" She said in a very soft spoken voice.
A feeling of worry began to fill Ash's stomach, thinking that he and Misty were indeed in the wrong place.
"Uh… Is this the Sunnyport Gym?"
She smiled and gave him a nod. "This most certainly is. Are you here to compete for the Fireball Badge?"
Ash let out a sigh of relief upon hearing that they were at the right place. "Yes m'am!"
The blonde lady's smile widened upon seeing his enthusiasm. "If you will proceed through the door directly behind me," She pointed towards the chrome colored door behind her, where all of the cheering and screaming seemed to be originating from. "the gym leader will be ready for you when he's done with his current battle."
Misty looked over at the door. "Is that why there's all that noise?"
The lady nodded. "Yes, the gym leader likes to hold open challenges to anyone who thinks they can beat him."
"And the crowd?" She asked.
"He likes to perform in front of a crowd, so all battles are open to be viewed by the public."
Ash's eyes lit up upon hearing this. "You mean I get to win my badge in front of a crowd!"
The lady behind the desk giggled. "You're quite confident."
"I sure am!" Ash exclaimed. "If I could take down Tobias' Darkrai, I can take down this guy!"
"Oh!" The lady's eyes widened upon realizing who the black haired trainer was. "You're Ash Ketchum!
"The one and only!" he boasted.
Misty let out a sigh. "Just what he needs, someone to feed his ego."
Ash glared at the redhead, but his attention was drawn back to the blonde lady when she began to speak again.
"It might be interesting to know that the gym leader here was the Elite Four member who beat Tobias."
Ash's eyes widened. "Say what?"
Misty couldn't help but laugh at the sight of Ash's sudden loss in confidence. However, after realizing how worried he actually was, she quit laughing, and began to make a slightly grim expression. "Um… I'll be cheering for you in the stands." She went up to her friend and gave him a light hug before heading towards the door leading to the stands.
The black haired trainer looked over at Pikachu, who had the same worried expression on his face. Ash took a gulp, and began making his way to the chrome door behind the circular desk. As he slowly approached the door, the noise from the other side became louder and louder. For the most part the only thing he could hear was roaring, cheering, and applause. Once he placed his hand on the door knob though, he could hear what sounded like a vicious attack, followed by what sounded like a Pokémon crying in pain.
He slowly opened the door to see a brightly lit regulation battlefield before him, which was encircled by about a thousand people cheering in the stands. The second the trainer stepped into the arena, Ash was greeted by a seeing a Ludicolo fly across the battlefield, landing next to his trainer, while an Infernape stood on the battlefield, victorious.
"The opponent is out of usable Pokémon!" A brunet female exclaimed as She raised her red flag into the air. "Flint is the winner!" She waved the flag towards the gym leader's side of the battlefield, pointing towards a man with a red afro.
"Flint!" Another shiver of worry and doubt began to crawl up his and Pikachu's spines upon hearing his name. The trainer began to think back to not so long ago when Flint easily dispatched Pikachu, Buizel, and Inpernape with only one Pokémon.
"Now, we have a special announcement!" The referee shouted out as the challenger withdrew his Pokémon, and walked past Ash to exit through the same chrome door the trainer from Pallet had just entered through. "We have one of the thirty two Master League contestants here today!" The crowd began to roar with applause, knowing they were in for an awesome battle. "Most of you may know him as the boy who managed to beat Tobias' Darkrai, Ash Ketchum!"
As all eyes began to focus on Ash, he felt a nervous shiver go up his spine. Normally he thrived in front of crowds, but knowing he was about to go against Flint shook up his nerves. As he walked towards the battle-box, all he could think about, even as the crowd cheered him on, was that he was about to be embarrassed in front of almost a thousand people.
Well, it can't be as bad as having your Charizard fall asleep and refuse to battle on public television.
Though the crowd cheered Ash on as he approached the battlefield, he couldn't help but still feel unsure of himself. He took a deep breath, finding his inner-center, and then exhaled. "I've got this." He said to himself. Once Ash stepped into the battle-box, he looked across the battlefield, eyeing the next gatekeeper between him and the Master League Championship.
Flint had a grin cross his face as he watched Ash enter the battlefield. "I've been itchin' to challenge you again!." He chuckled. "Let's see how bright your spirit burns this time!"
Ash nodded as he reached for Totodile's Poké Ball, knowing that he was the best bet he had for going against the fire master. However before he could grab the red and white sphere, he was stopped when he heard a voice reverberate from the stands, standing out from the others.
"Good luck Ketchum! You'll need it!" Ash looked of towards the stands to see that the voice came from an old man. He was completely bald, and had a long, white mustache. The only other notable thing about him was the dark, circular sunglasses he wore.
Who is that guy? I swear I know him from somewhere.
"Are you going to pick your Pokémon?" Flint called out to his challenger.
"Uh.. Yeah." Ash shook himself out of his daze, getting his head back into the game. "Totodile, I choose you!" He shouted, releasing the little reptilian water type.
"Tota totadile!" He cried out upon his release, jumping around happily to finally get a chance to battle.
"Cute water type." Flint snickered. "This will be a two on two battle. The first to lose both their Pokémon loses." He paused. "Understood?"
"You got it!" Ash was starting to feel himself get back into the groove of things.
The brunet referee, seeing Ash was ready, lifted both the red and green flags in the air. "Then let the battle begin!"
"Totodile!" Ash immediately made the first move. "Hit that Infernape with a water gun!"
"Infernape, counter it with flame wheel!"
Countering a water type move with a fire type move? I might actually win this after all.
Totodile opened his long snout and fired a stream of water at the flaming chimpanzee. However, as the stream of water began to approach him, Infernape charged towards the small water type, a wheel of flame surrounding him as he did so.
The water made contact with the incinerating wheel, causing steam to emit from the Pokémon when Totodile's water made contact with Infernape's fire. However, this didn't stop the fire type, as he continued charging towards the lizard, the flames still blazing.
"What?!" Ash exclaimed, wondering how Infernape was able to generate enough heat to withstand the powerful blast of water. "Totodile, jump out of the way and hit him from behind with an aqua tail!" Totodile, using his nimbleness, jumped out of the way of the incoming Pokémon, and began to shoot out water from his tail as he made a three-hundred and sixty degree spin, smacking Infernape from behind with his water soaked tail.
"Aaaape!" It cried, feeling the flame on its body momentarily die down as the his back became drenched in water.
"Nice, but fire attacks aren't the only thing I can do!" Flint shouted. "Use close combat!" Infernape quickly turned around towards Totodile, and began pounding away at Totodile with his bare fists before the water type or his trainer could even react. Watching on as the rapid flurry of punches slammed into the small water Pokémon, Ash knew he had to think quick.
"Totodile! Hit him with a hydro pump now that he's close!" Totodile jumped back just out of Infernape's reach. The blazing monkey then began dashing towards the water lizard. Seeing this, the little Pokémon blasted an extremely powerful blast of water directly into Infernape's face.
"Aaaape!" It cried out once more as the force of the water blasted him across the battlefield, causing him to crash onto Ash's side of the battlefield. Despite this though, the monkey quickly got back onto his feet, his flames slightly dimmer than they were at the start of the battle.
Flint smirked. "I guess I can't play around with this Totodile, can I?" He looked around to see the crowd was roaring, wanting to see more of this battle. "Use brick break!" Infernape began dashing towards the blue Pokémon, running on all fours.
"Totodile, don't let him get close to you! Use water gun to stop him!" Totodile began shooting out concentrated streams of water at the burning chimp. However Infernape's amazing speed and finesse allowed him to swerve between Totodile's blasts of water. Once the fire type was within striking range, his left fist began to glow.
"Totodile, look out!" It was too late though, the powerful fire and fighting type hit Totodile square in his snout with the attack, knocking him onto his back. Fortunately, the tenacious Pokémon wasn't going to stay down, and he began to pull himself back onto his feet, despite the pain he was in.
"Infernape, don't let him get back onto his feet!" Flint yelled out. "Hit him with mach punch!" The monkey's fist began to glow as he drew his fist back, directing it towards the little water type.
"Totodile, duck it and counter with aqua tail!" The second Totodile got onto his feet, Infernape struck. However, thanks to his trainer's advice, the water type was able to duck under the attack, and countered it by spinning around, smacking Infernape square in the chest with his water covered tail. The monkey let out a cry of pain as the water type's tail made contact, stumbling back as he did so. "Now finish him off with hydro pump!" Totodile took in a deep breath, and unleashed all of the water he had built up.
"Infernape, lookout!" Flints order was in vain, as his loyal Pokémon was still recovering from the aqua tail attack. The blast of water completely engulfed the fighting and fire type, washing him halfway across the battlefield. Once the water quit flowing out of Totodile's jaws, Infernape could be seen laying facedown, unmoving.
"Infernape is no longer able to battle, Totodile is the winner!"
A look of disbelief crossed Flint's face. "No way!" The Elite Four member couldn't believe that his starter had been taken out by a Totodile of all things. He then let out a sigh and withdrew his Infernape, knowing that he did the best he could. "Good job buddy."
Up in the stands, Misty began to cheer as loudly as she could. "Go Ash!" Her cheer was so loud that the trainer from Pallet actually looked up at her and waved.
"Good job Totodile!" He congratulated as the loyal water type ran over to his trainer.
"Pika pi!" Pikachu was just as proud of his fellow Pokémon.
"Do you think you can go another round, Totodile?" The black haired trainer asked, being sure that he wasn't pushing his Pokémon too hard.
"Totoadile!" He cried out, more than happy to continue battling.
"Alright then!" A big smile crossed Ash's face. "Go out there and win this!" With that, Totodile returned to the battlefield, ready for his next match.
"Flint," The referee called. "have you decided what your next Pokémon will be?"
He nodded, a confident smile across his face. "You bet!" He answered, tossing his next Poké Ball onto the field. "Go Magmortar!"
Upon its release, the giant fire type stood ready for battle, glaring across the battlefield. However, he wasn't glaring at Totodile, he was glaring at Ash. This sent an uneasy feeling down the trainer's spine. He couldn't help but feel that this Pokémon had some sort of personal vendetta against him.
"Let the battle begin!"
"Magmortar, start this off with fire blast!" The giant fire type took aim of the little water type with his giant arm-cannons, then unleashed a blast of fire that took form of the Japanese symbol for fire. Ash felt an old memory resurge as the fire blast quickly approached Totodile.
"Totodile!" He cried out, worried for his Pokémon. "Get out of the way!"
The little reptile's eyes widened when he saw the attack close in on him. Heeding his master's command though, he quickly jumped out of harms way… Or so he thought. By some amazing feat of speed, Magmortar had managed to dash across the field, and was standing directly above the little reptile. Totodile staggered back to his feet, looking up at the fire type that towered over him.
"Take him down with a low sweep!" Flint shouted. Without hesitation, the fire type swung his right leg, smacking Totodile so hard that it sent him flying across the battlefield, and into the wall. It took no time for Ash and Flint to realize that the battle was over for the tenacious water type.
"Totodile is no longer able to battle, Flint is the winner!" The crowd roared in applause again. It had been a few days since anyone was able to take down Flint's Infernape, and to see someone going against his Magmortar was a real treat.
Misty felt a bead of sweat trickle down her forehead, and it wasn't from the heat of Magmortar's fire blast. She had a terrible feeling about this Magmortar, like it wanted to get back at Ash for some reason. This thought caused her heart to race.
Ash withdrew Totodile, wondering which Pokémon he should pick next. Pidgeot could dodge its attacks, but he'd never be able to make contact with him without getting burnt. Gible was still too small for his type effectiveness to really be useful.. Pikachu was a possibility, but if Magmortar got a single hit in on the little mouse, that could be the end of it, and Sceptile was out of the question. This only left Charizard.
"Hey!" The bald man from earlier shouted. "Use that Charizard of yours!"
Who is he? And how does he know I have a Charizard?
Feeling like he was letting the man get into his head, he ignored the comment, and reached for Charizard's Poké Ball. "Go Charizard!" He shouted, releasing the giant orange fire type. Upon his release, his eyes lit up when he saw Magmortar standing before him, Magmortar's eyes began to light up the same way.
What's going on? Ash thought, confused as to why the two Pokémon seemed so overly eager to battle each other.
"Are you ready to battle?" The referee asked the trainer from Pallet.
"Y..yeah."
"Then let the battle begin!"
"Charizard, start this off with a wing attack!" Charizard quickly lifted himself into the air and began soaring towards the gargantuan fire type, his wings glowing.
"Grab him Magmortar!" The second The flying and fire type came within reach, it grabbed onto Charizard's wings with his cannon-like hands, using the fingers he kept concealed to grip onto him. Magmortar's incredible power caused Charizard to stop his advance dead in his tracks. "Now, slam him into the ground!"
"Charizard, you've got to break free!" His plea was futile, as Magmortar slammed the gargantuan lizard into the ground, causing the entire arena to shake. The dragon-like Pokémon let out a cry of pain as he slammed against the hard ground. All the while, the crowd began to erupt into cheers and applause at seeing Ash's most powerful Pokémon being pummeled.
"Now, throw him into the air and use thunder punch!"
"Thunder punch?!" Ash couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Charizard, when he throws you into the air, fly away from him and catch your breath!" Once Magmortar tossed the fire and flying type into the air, Charizard tried to fly out of Magmortar's reach. However, Magmortar's impressive speed struck again. The huge Pokémon jumped up into the air, grabbing Charizard by the wings again. Once he had him in his grip, he tossed the flying type to the ground, and came down on him with electricity running through his now exposed fist.
Charizard roared in pain when Magmortar's massive, electrically charged fist slammed into his stomach, electrocuting him on impact. The half flying type cried out as the powerful surge of electricity charged through his body. After a moment of screaming and roaring, Charizard fainted, finally succumbing to his injuries.
"Charizard!" Ash cried out as he ran onto the field to aid his downed Pokémon.
"Charizard is no longer able to battle, and Ash is out of usable Pokémon. Therefore, the winner is Flint!" The brunet referee announced, pointing the red flag towards Flint. After hearing this, the roof blew off the stadium with cheer and applause.
"Oh no." Misty got up from her seat. "I hope Charizard is okay." She then quickly ran down the stairs of the stands, and hopped over the railing separating the spectators from the battlefield.
As soon as she stepped onto the battlefield, a security guard stepped in front of her. "M'am, you need to step ba-"
"That's my friend out there!" She pushed him out of the way, running past him without a second thought. She dashed towards Ash and his wounded friend as a Nurse Joy ran onto the field to check on him. "Ash, is he going to be okay?"
The trainer from Pallet looked up at her, a concerned look on his face. "I..I don't know, is he going to be alright, Nurse Joy?"
The pink haired nurse nodded. "Yes, he'll be aright." She said, pulling Charizard's right eyelid open and shinning a flashlight into it, revealing the pupil to be completely dilated. "But he'll have to stay at the Pokémon Center for a few nights before he'll be good to go." She turned to Ash. "I also recommend you give me your Totodile too. He looked pretty badly hurt."
Ash nodded. "Y..yeah, here you go, Nurse Joy." He said as he handed the water type's Poké Ball to her. "Please take good care of them."
Nurse Joy gave him a reassuring smile. "They'll be just fine, I promise." She replied, taking the red and white sphere from Ash's hand. She then turned to Charizard and withdrew him into Ash's Poké Ball, which the trainer had given her while Misty was dashing towards them.
"Pikachu," Ash looked over at his friend. "Go with them, I want for you to keep them company."
"Pikachu." The little mouse nodded, and without hesitation, jumped down from Ash's shoulder and ran over to Nurse Joy, hopping onto hers.
Nurse Joy started scratching Pikachu's ears after he hopped onto her. "Just stop by tomorrow, and I'll be able to tell you when they'll be ready to go." She said before she started walking off of the battlefield.
"Ash, I'm so sorry about that." Misty said, giving the distressed trainer a hug, trying to comfort him. He lightly placed his arms around her, seemingly finding comfort in her being there with him.
"I shouldn't have been so confident." He mumbled. "Back in Hoenn, Drake said that my confidence was the reason I lost so much. Now here I am, Totodile is hurt, and Charizard is in even worse shape."
"Ash…" Misty tightened her hug. She was trying her best to comfort him, but she didn't know what else there was she could do to help her friend.
"Hey!" Flint called to them, approaching the two teens who were separating from their hug. "That was an awesome match. I'm looking forward to our rematch."
Ash looked down at the ground. "Yeah."
The red haired Elite Four member frowned. "Don't worry, I know you've got it in ya."
The defeated trainer looked up at Flint, and gave him a slight nod. He then silently turned around and began walking towards the same chrome door he entered from, with no badge to show for it.
The fire master looked over at Misty as Ash left the battlefield. "He really needs ya right now."
The Cerulean Gym Leader looked over at him. "I know, but I've never seen him this down after losing a battle before."
"Ya know, I had a friend who decided to quit Pokémon battles entirely." He began to smile. "You know what made him want to battle again?"
"What?"
"When he watched me and Ash battle."
Misty's eyes widened. "Really?"
"Yup, sure did." He chuckled. "That was because he was bored with battling though. What Ash needs is to get his confidence back."
Misty sighed. "But I don't know how to give him the boost he needs."
Flint placed a reassuring hand on the redhead's shoulder. "Ash is a confident kid, so whenever he fails like this, the world just seems to come crashing down on him." He looked her in the eyes. "So just show him the world isn't going to end just cause of one loss."
The gym leader sighed once more. "I'll try my best."
Alright, well Ash has been defeated and is going home... Just kidding.
The next chapter will be quite a bit longer, as well as focusing ENTIRELY on Ash and Misty.
Now, if you wonderful readers will please excuse me, I'm going to go sleep off this headache.
Till tomorrow, see ya!