Chapter 21: Frenzy
Ash's opponent revealed her two Pokémon, Sealeo and Vaporeon. Ash nodded to Pikachu and pulled a Poké Ball off of his belt.
"Let's see what you can do," he said, "Pikachu and Salamence!" The blue dragon type was released from his Poké Ball. He stomped the ground with a snarl. Pikachu walked up next to him, cheeks sparking.
"Vaporeon! Aurora Beam!" his opponent shouted, "Knock out that Salamence!" The Vaporeon unleashed a frozen beam of rainbow energy towards Salamence.
"Block it with Iron Tail Pikachu!" Ash exclaimed. Pikachu hit the beam of light and shot it into the roof.
"Get on Salamence's back, Pikachu!" Ash ordered. Salamence flew forward to catch Pikachu as the electric mouse tumbled to the ground. The dragon type flew into the air and stared down the two water types below. They both backed down a little.
"Intimidate…" Michael said to himself, "Nice strategy there…"
Ash nodded. "Salamence, use Dragon Rush!" Salamence, Pikachu still on his back, shot towards the opposing Pokémon surrounded in a blue light.
"Ice Ball Sealeo!" the girl cried. The Sealeo curled up and began rolling towards the charging Dragon type. As it rolled, ice developed around its body.
"Around!" Ash called. Salamence curled around the rolling Sealeo and headed straight for the Vaporeon.
"Dig!" the girl yelled. The Vaporeon dug underground before Salamence could hit it. The Dragon Rush petered out and Salamence and Pikachu coasted into the air behind the opponent. The Vaporeon popped out of the ground and awaited its next order. The Sealeo, in the meantime, had circled back and was now headed back towards its trainer.
"Iron Tail!" the girl shouted. The Vaporeon hit the bottom of the Ice Ball attack as the Sealeo came by and its teammate was thrown into the air at Salamence and Pikachu.
"Dodge!" Ash called. Salamence flew out of the way and the Sealeo hit the wall of the stadium. Rather than stopping, it circled back a third time.
"Iron Tail again!" The Vaporeon tripped its teammate into the air yet again. The Sealeo was going much too fast to dodge now. Ash held his breath and closed his eyes. The battle flowed through his veins, and in his mind, and at the last second, he shouted, "Pikachu, Volt Tackle! Salamence, Hyper Beam!" Pikachu shot off of Salamence's back and dove into a Volt Tackle straight at the Sealeo. Salamence shot its Hyper Beam and it wrapped around Pikachu's side. Michael panicked for a moment. But then he realized what Ash was doing. He smiled and nodded as the Hyper Beam wrapped around Volt Tackle. The power of the collision could be felt all throughout the Colloseum. Peoples' hairs stood on end. Within seconds, the victor of the collision was revealed. Pikachu and the Sealeo both shot straight down at the Vaporeon at high speed. Both water types were KO'd from the impact. Pikachu was battered and bruised, but still standing.
"Ash is the winner of this match!" the judge called. Ash pumped a fist.
"Awesome job you two!" he exclaimed excitedly. Pikachu jumped into his arms and Salamence nuzzled him. He laughed and petted the dragon. Eevee cheered them from Ash's feet. Michael smiled, but then his face straight. As Ash came up to him in the participant deck, Michael asked, "How did you do that?"
"Yeah, I know, it was awesome wasn't it!" Ash exclaimed, "I can't believe it worked."
"No, how did you get Salamence to wrap the Hyper Beam around Pikachu's Volt Tackle without rehearsing it first?" Michael asked, "There's no way he could have pulled it off as well as he did without specific instruction." Ash shrugged.
"I don't know," he replied, "I just kinda felt like it would work. It was great!" Michael put a hand to his chin as Ash celebrated the victory with Pikachu and Eevee.
"His Aura is so incredibly strong… what will be next?" Michael thought to himself.
The first round was concluded within the next twenty minutes. The tree was shown. Ash was up in the third match. Miror B's match was first. He was up against a Glalie and a Donphan. Both boys watched him intently to see if he would use another Shadow Pokémon. They immediately stopped watching when he sent out two Ludicolos and Michael said, "Nope. No dice. I think he's taken care of." He double checked his Shadow Monitor to make sure there weren't any more nearby. In the meantime, Miror B's match went unexpectedly in the dancer's favor. His opponent had taken a chance on Blizzard and missed. The opening was enough to knock out the Glalie with a double Solarbeam; Donphan was easily disposed of thereafter. Miror B was declared the winner.
As Miror B soaked in the applause, Ash leaned over to Michael.
"Do you ever think we'll run into him again after this?" Ash asked.
"I'm sure we will," Michael said shallowly, flipping through his Shadow Monitor. "Yeah, I'm not seeing any more Shadow Pokémon that seem to be nearby. We'll leave when the tournament is over." Ash nodded. The next match went by quickly and then it was once again Ash's turn.
"Good luck," said Michael as Ash walked towards the stairs. Ash gave a thumbs up and continued walking. Ash's opponent this time was an older man in a sweatshirt and jeans.
"Two Pokémon per trainer! Double Battle! Begin!"
The man unleashed a Pidgeotto and a Sandslash. Ash narrowed his eyes and grabbed his two Poké Balls.
"Salamence and Muk!" he called. The two Pokémon appeared on the battlefield.
"Sandslash, use Sandstorm!" his opponent ordered, "Pidgeotto, Gust!" The Sandslash dove into a ball and began spinning in the dirt, creating a massive sandstorm that covered the battlefield. The Pidgeotto flew above it and began beating its wings. The sand blew over to Ash's side of the field. Ash couldn't see a thing. He was forced to cover his eyes in order to block out the sand.
"Muk! Down!" he yelled over the raging storm, "Salamence, into the air!" Salamence emerged from the top of the sandstorm seconds later. He glared at the Pidgeotto. Ash's vision was still obscured.
"Dragon Rush!" Ash shouted. Salamence shot towards the Pidgeotto at top speed.
"Quick Attack!" the opponent yelled, "Out of the way! Then Air Slash!" The Pidgeotto sped out of the way and Salamence was forced to halt the attack in the midair to avoid hitting the audience. The bird Pokémon then threw a sharp blast of air at Salamence. He was hit in the back and sent reeling a few feet.
"Slash!" the man yelled, "Take out that Muk!" The Sandslash ran into the sandstorm to attack Muk. Ash gritted his teeth. He could hear everything that was going on, but his vision remained obscured. Some sand got in his eyes and he was forced to close them.
"Shoot…" he thought to himself, "Now what?" He heard Muk's cry and his heart jumped. She had been hit.
"Aerial Ace!" his opponent shouted. The Pidgeotto shot at Salamence surrounded in white light. The dragon was knocked further back into the air. Michael watched sternly. The sandstorm was really bogging Ash down. If it kept up…
Suddenly, the Sandslash was thrown from within the sandstorm. It landed on the ground near its trainer's feet. It took a few moments to get to its feet. Then, it immediately fell over unconscious from poisoning. At the same time, Salamence circled around the Pidgeotto and dove into the sandstorm. There was a massive explosion from within the swirling dust. Not a second later, Muk flew high into the air above the raging storm and landed on top of the Pidgeotto. The bird Pokémon was crushed by the weight of the poison type as gravity did its work.
"Sandslash and Pidgeotto are unable to battle!" the judge yelled over the screaming crowd, "Ash is the winner!" The sandstorm gradually cleared. Ash shook some of the sand off of himself and was then swamped by Muk. Michael smiled.
"He pulled through," the red-haired trainer said to himself. He watched as Ash and his Pokémon celebrated their victory and left the battlefield.
As Ash came up this time, Michael said to him, "Good job."
"Thanks," Ash responded jovially.
"It's amazing that your Pokémon could hear your commands over the sound of that sandstorm and the roar of the crowd combined," said Michael.
"I'm amazed they could, too," said Ash, scratching the back of his head, "I could barely speak down there, what with all of that sand flying around!" The next match was incredibly heated; literally. On one side of the battle was a team of Torkoal and Magmar, and on the other, a Charizard and a Ninetales. Flamethrowers were shot back and forth. The battlefield was literally on fire by the end of the match. The Charizard and Ninetales prevailed.
"That's who you're fighting next round," said Michael.
"I know," Ash replied.
"Pro-tip; don't use Ledian," Michael informed.
"Right," Ash nodded. They watched as Miror B somehow won yet another match. This time, his opponent had completely overpowered him at first, using incredibly powerful moves like Hyper Beam and Double Edge. But those moves took their toll quickly on that trainer's Pokémon. They were so fatigued that the afro-sporting dancer had an easy time taking them down.
Ash went down for his semifinal match next. His opponent wore a leather jacket, black pants, and dark glasses.
The judge nodded at both of them to start the match. Ash pulled one Poké Ball off of his belt and then said to Eevee, "Your turn." Eevee nodded and jumped out onto the battlefield. Ash was about to send out his second Pokémon but then he let his arm fall. He closed his eyes. Everyone looked at him intently. Michael watched in confusion. Ash returned the Poké Ball he was holding to his belt and pulled out another one.
"Ledian!" he yelled confidently. Michael fell backwards in shock. The Bug type was revealed. The audience cheered as Michael got up.
"What is he thinking!?" he thought to himself. The opposing trainer sent out his Charizard and a Darmanitan.
"Begin!" the judge yelled.
"Double Fire Blast!" Ash's opponent ordered. Both of his fire types shot stars of fire at Ash's Pokémon.
"Both of you! Into the air!" Ash said confidently. Ledian grabbed Eevee off of the ground and shot into the sky. The Fire Blasts petered out.
"Charizard, use Slash!" the trainer called. His Charizard shot into the sky, claws glowing.
"Mach Punch!" Ash yelled, "Just get around it!" Ledian, still holding Eevee, let her fists glow, waited until the last second and dodged behind Charizard at lightning speed.
"Supersonic!" Ash called. Ledian unleashed a cacophony of sound at the Charizard as it began to turn around. The fire Pokémon was hit directly and fell to the ground, eyes spinning.
"Mega Punch, Darmanitan!" the other trainer yelled. The Darmanitan leapt off of the ground with a glowing fist.
"Helping Hand! Mach Punch!" Ash ordered, "Do it!" Ledian shot towards the jumping Darmanitan, one set of fists glowing with power, and the other holding Eevee. Eevee began glowing with orange energy, which she transferred directly to Ledian. Ledian's Mach Punch arms turned orange as well. They sparked with power. The two punches collided and exploded and the battlefield was covered with smoke. Ledian shot out of the smoke and skidded on the ground. Eevee jumped from her arms. The Darmanitan fell to the ground. It got up dizzily, eyes spinning.
"He confused it, too…" Michael thought to himself.
"Flamethrower! Incinerate!" the other trainer yelled in a panic.
"Bug Buzz," said Ash lowly, "Eevee, use Swift. Then Quick Attack." Ledian filled the arena with a loud droning hum. The whole audience was forced to cover their ears. The fire types were so agitated by the confusion and the buzzing that they couldn't attack. Eevee, however, was unaffected and dished out her attacks. The stars of Swift hit both fire types and the follow up Quick Attacks were directly to the face. Eevee landed on her feet near Ledian. The Darmanitan and the Charizard suddenly both stabilized. They looked angrily at Ash's Pokémon. Eevee growled. Ledian raised her fists.
"That Eevee is weak," said Ash's opponent mockingly, "What were you hoping to accomplish with those kinds of attacks? Double Fire Blast!"
"Light Screen!" Ash called. Ledian put her arms forward and a wall of yellow light appeared in front of her and Eevee. The Fire Blasts hit it and Ledian cringed in the face of the heat. She held on and the Fire Blasts dissipated. The wall of light disappeared and Ledian fell to her knees in exhaustion.
"Hang on Ledian," Ash said with a confident nod of the head, "It's almost over." Ledian, who was in the middle of the battlefield, nodded back.
"Alright Eevee," Ash said, making a fist, "Get ready!"
"Double Fire Blast again!" his opponent yelled. His Pokémon let their attacks fly.
"Go Eevee!" Ash yelled, "Last Resort!" Eevee nodded and began running forward into the flames.
Ash's opponent smirked. "This is it," he said to himself. As Eevee ran, rainbow colored stars began to appear from the air around her. They enveloped her body. She sped up, running even faster towards the flames. The stars turned her into a speeding comet of color. She hit the Fire Blasts head-on. Ledian's eyes glowed and the wall of yellow light reappeared, preventing the attacks from hitting her. Eevee was slowed down briefly. Then, she blew through the Fire Blasts and shot at the Charizard and Darmanitan like a bullet. She slammed headfirst into the Charizard's face and then did a 180 and slammed into the Darmanitan as well. She skidded back on the battlefield as the light around her dissipated into sparkles. Both Fire types were on the ground. The Judge raised his hand.
"Charizard and Darmanitan are unable to battle!" the Judge announced, "Ash wins!" Eevee ran to Ash's arms and he hugged her tightly.
"That was amazing!" Ash cried, "You did awesome!" Eevee gave a cry of delight. She jumped from his arms and Pikachu congratulated her as well. She tackled him in a hug. Ash laughed. Ledian limped over to him with a weak smile. Ash picked her up.
"Hey, that was outstanding," he congratulated, "You were so brave out there! Thanks for trusting me." Ledian gave a thumbs up and a nod.
Ash recalled Ledian. The Judge walked over to him.
"Your opponent will be out shortly," he said, "Do your Pokémon need to rest?"
"Yes," said Ash. The Judge pointed to the arena entrance.
"There's a healing machine right in there," said the Judge, "We'll call you out." Ash nodded.
"Thanks," he exclaimed, "Come on, guys!" Eevee and Pikachu jumped to his shoulders and they walked out of the arena. As Ash placed his Pokémon on the healing machine, Michael appeared from the stairs.
"I can't believe you won," he said, "That was an impossible situation." Ash looked up at him.
"Hey, but Ledian and Eevee really pulled through!" Ash said, giving a thumbs up.
"You said you weren't going to use Ledian though," Michael said skeptically, folding his arms, "Why'd you change your mind?" Ash shrugged.
"Instinct?" Ash guessed, "Just a tug of the heart?" Michael crossed his arms.
"What about your Aura?" he asked, "Did you feel something there? Any ripples?" Ash thought for a moment.
"… I don't know," he said.
"Hmm…" Michael stood in silence. Ash heard his name called from outside.
"That's your cue," Michael said, nodding towards the entrance to the arena, "Go for it." Ash nodded.
"You know I will," he said. He pulled his Poké Balls out of the healing machine. Eevee and Pikachu jumped to his shoulders. Then he walked out onto the battlefield. Miror B was waiting for him. His snazzy disco music was playing through the Colloseum speakers as it had been for every one of his matches.
"Final Round!" the Judge announced, "Begin!"
"It's time," said Miror B, picking his Poké Balls, "Ludicolo! Sudowoodo!" His Pokémon appeared on the field.
Ash nodded to the two Pokémon on his shoulders. They took the field. Michael watched in interest. What would Ash do this time?
"Rain Dance!" Miror B called with style. Ludicolo did a little dance and rain began falling from roof of the Colloseum. Sudowoodo began flailing in shock. The speakers in the Colloseum quickly shorted out and the whole audience went silent. Ash sweatdropped. Miror B looked on in confusion.
"What are you doing, Sudowoodo?" he asked dramatically, "What's wrong!?"
"Pikachu, use Thunder," Ash ordered, not about to let his chance go to waste, "Eevee, Helping Hand." Pikachu jumped into the air and his cheeks began sparking. Eevee began glowing orange and sent her energy to Pikachu. Electrical energy sparked all around Pikachu. Then he let it all go. It struck both of Miror B's Pokémon. They were both knocked out immediately. Miror B reeled back in shock.
"Wh-wh-wh-what!?" he cried, "That's impossible!"
"Ludicolo and Sudowoodo are unable to battle," said the Judge, "Ash is the winner of today's tournament!" The audience burst into cheering as the rain cleared. Miror B held his heart in pain and fell onto his back in shock.
"Ohhhh… I… think I died a little on the inside just now…" he moaned. Trudly and Folly were forced to drag him out of the Colloseum.
Ash received thunderous applause. He and his Pokémon waved to the audience. Soon enough, though, he and Michael were back at the reception desk.
"Congratulations!" the receptionist exclaimed, "And your first tournament too. That's impressive. Anyways, here's your prize!" She handed him a small blue and red gem. Ash held it up to his eye.
"What is it?" he asked.
"I dunno," she shrugged, "They just give me things to hand out every day. Could be special, y'know?" Ash nodded and stuck it in his pocket.
"Thanks," he said gratefully. The receptionist nodded. He and Michael then left the building.
"Well, that was anticlimactic," said Michael.
"Yeah… I was kinda hoping it would be more interesting," Ash agreed.
"Hey, you've gotta have some people out there who don't know what they're doing," Michael joked.
"People who don't know Sudowoodo hates getting wet," Ash followed up.
"Exactly," said Michael. The sun was just arching into its descent behind them.
"We could probably make it back to the lab tonight," Michael observed.
"We should probably leave soon then," said Ash.
"Yeah…" Michael pondered. He thought for a moment. Then his eyes lit up.
"You could fly!" he exclaimed.
"Huh?" Ash questioned.
"With Salamence!" said Michael, "You can ride on his back!"
"Oh yeah!" Ash exclaimed. He called out Salamence.
"Alright, buddy," said Ash, "You ready to fly?" Salamence flapped his wings and rose off of the ground in response. Ash petted his head and he purred.
"Great," Michael said, "I'll get my bike and we'll get going." Ash nodded. He looked to the sky and pulled out the gem he had received at the Colloseum.
"It's so pretty isn't it, Pikachu?" Pikachu nodded. It glimmered a little in the waning sunlight. Salamence stared at it with a cocked head. Ash returned it to his pocket as Michael rode up.
"Let's roll," said Michael, "And fly."
A/N: And so, Ash wins the tournament by defeating Miror B in the most anticlimactic match in Pokémon history. Like Michael said, you've gotta have some dumb AI out there. Well, that's not exactly what he said, but you get the point.
Got a little busy this week. If you didn't know already, I am a college student and a musician first. I get busy with schoolwork and music gigs and all that jazz (even though I don't do jazz), especially on weekends. And the case of this particular weekend, I've had Fire Emblem Fates keeping me occupied... So there's that. Anyways, this chapter's been done for a few days, so I thought I'd upload it just to make sure you guys aren't waiting terribly long for me to continue the story. Hopefully I'll have chapter 22 done within the next few days for all of your reading pleasure ;). But if not, just assume that my life ate me and that I'm busy trying to escape from the maw of adulthood. Thank you all for reading! And as always, constructive criticism is greatly appreciated!
Also, the Eeveelution poll is now closed! The winner will be revealed within the next ten chapters. I'll say that much. But if you were really paying attention to who the votes were going towards, you know who got picked. No spoilers in the reviews though. ;) Thanks so much for reading!