First of all, a big thank you to everyone reading this story, waiting eagerly for the last instalment of Road to be a Pokemon Master. I apologize for the mega delay, and I am grateful to all those who encouraged me through tumblr asks or fanfiction PMs and reviews. I am glad there are people who love this fic enough to swear at me for not updating quick enough. Now before I waste more of your time, let us begin with the final part of the six-chaptered battle between Ash Ketchum and Tobias.
21. The Last Pokémon
The battle till now: The Pokémon World Tournament, Rosenburg Cup began with an unexpected matchup between Tobias, an enigmatic trainer infamous for his team full of legendaries and Ash Ketchum, a young trainer dubbed the 'Blazing Star' of the tournament. The battle kicked off with Ash dominating the numbers on the scoreboard, but between the havocking Landorus and the untouchable Moltres, the tide shifted in favor of Tobias by the end of the first half. However, with back to back victories against Moltres and Latios in the second half, the young trainer from Pallet Town managed to snatch the advantage back. Now, with two Pokémon left on Tobias's side, and three left on Ash's side, which of these two would be winning the match? Ash or Tobias?
Scoreboard
(6-3) Ash Ketchum – Tobias (5-2)
Staraptor – Darkrai
Infernape – Raikou
Garchomp – Landorus
Glalie – Moltres
Scrafty – Latios
Sceptile–
The afternoon sun was blazing harsh, sweating up the spectators gathered to watch the full battle. While the VIPs were lucky enough to be sheltered by the sunshades, the rest resorted to wearing caps or cover their heads under some other kind of protection. However, none of that proved to be particularly helpful whenever the hot winds Rosenburg was famous for, blew on their faces.
The raven-haired trainer felt the heat seeping through his clothes and shoes. He wiped the sweat collected on his forehead and took a deep breath to clear his mind of any stray thoughts before focusing his gaze on the battlefield again. The legendary Pokémon of darkness stood still, supported by long, black and shadowy legs that eerily sprouted up from inside the ground. The Pokémon's white hair swayed with the wind, adding to the spooky effect created by the illuminating blue eyes.
The Hoodlum Pokémon Scrafty watched its opponent with narrowed eyes. Although, the Pokémon liked to rile up its opponent, no matter how strong and intimidating they were, the lizard abstained from doing the same to Darkrai. Perhaps it realized mere taunts weren't enough to provoke Darkrai.
A mountain of boulders was piled up to Ash's left at the center line of the battlefield, remnants from Sceptile's previous struggle against Moltres. Some of the rocky protrusions on the rugged surface turned into molten mass, a result of the now defeated phoenix's searing flames. Other than that, the battlefield looked much better in shape than the clay field after the first half.
After ensuring that everyone was in position the referee raised the red, green flags and announced, "Darkrai versus Scrafty, commence!"
"Here it comes," Ash said, warning his Pokémon. The lizard tensed its muscles to take a battle stance, setting a firm gaze on the opponent.
The legendary trainer ordered first. Waving his arm he announced, "Darkrai, go!"
"Scrafty," Ash said, in reply. "Charge in and use Ice Punch."
The darkness Pokémon glided towards its adversary like a ghost type, not having slowed down any bit, despite the damage it took earlier in the match. In response, the fighting type began its own attack when a vortex of icy energy shrouded its fists.
"The two Pokémon are charging at each other like wild Tauros for an exciting head-on confrontation. But what kind of move will Tobias use?"
The battlers ran into each other within no time. The lizard Pokémon thrust the fists enveloped in the freezing aura to strike the incoming Darkrai square on its chest. But the legendary was smart enough to not fall for such a straightforward move. On the last-minute of the mindless charge, Darkrai took a quick sidestep to the right, letting Scrafty's punch hit the air.
"Ah!" The move caught Ash off guard. "Watch out!" He exclaimed.
"Dark Void!"
Heeding the trainer's warning, Scrafty jerked its head towards Darkrai. The legendary Pokémon raised either of its hands, shaping a sphere filled with the essence of darkness and proceeded to toss at the startled lizard. The Hoodlum responded to the sneak attack with a hasty jump it managed to muster in the last minute, barely avoiding the attack. The clumsy landing from the quick movement caused the Pokémon to lose its balance and slip. But the fighting type avoided a moment of vulnerability by using its right hand as a support and flipped over to stand straight.
"Ash has somehow saved himself from a really tight spot. Tobias's clever plan to use a close ranged Dark Void has failed."
Meanwhile in the VIP box…
"Predicting Tobias's next move really saved Ash's skin out there," Flint said, chuckling at the scene. "His sense of battling is good."
Ash's warning before Tobias's order played a crucial role in letting Scrafty dodge the attack. While it wouldn't seem noteworthy to someone who watched the scene from the sidelines, any experienced Pokémon battler would acknowledge that even a simple warning like that was worth praising in crucial moments.
"Without a doubt," Lucian said, adjusting his glasses. "Ash is an excellent trainer. But Tobias…" Still had the edge because of the sole reason that he possessed six legendary Pokémon.
'That was close,' Ash thought. Had Dark Void hit, they would have been neck-deep in trouble. He began calculating the next move. Scrafty didn't have enough energy to use Focus Blast. Dark Pulse wouldn't do any damage. Using Hi Jump Kick against a fast Pokémon was dangerous. On the other hand…
Ice Beam was the only attack Darkrai had against Scrafty too. 'I can use that Ice Beam to my advantage.' If things went as Ash planned, there was high chance he would deal a good amount of damage to Darkrai. The only thing able to foil Ash's plan was Dark Void.
"Darkrai, Dark Pulse!"
'Dark Pulse?' The move stumped Ash, after having crossed out the possibility of Tobias ordering the attack. "Counter attack, Dark Pulse!"
Collecting the dark thoughts in its mind, the legendary created a wave of pulsating dark energy between its two shadowy hands as the opponent performed the same attack from the other side. The two dark types unleashed the waves of energy simultaneously, one attempting to destroy the other. The attacks met in the short gap between the creatures, resulting in a struggle of powers amidst the two. With its superior strength, the legendary Pokémon's attack overwhelmed the lizard's Dark Pulse in a short time and struck the opposing Scrafty straight on its chest, sending the unguarded lizard flying away.
"Darkrai has overpowered Scrafty!"
"Scrafty!" Ash exclaimed.
However that wasn't the end of Tobias's orders. "Dark Void, now!"
'Shoot!' Ash cursed. "Get up, Scrafty!"
It was too late. While Scrafty still struggled to get up on its feet, the legendary Pokémon prepared the dreadful sphere of darkness and threw it at its opponent, consuming the lizard completely in the pitch blackness before lulling it into sleep. The lizard collapsed onto its knees and fell flat on the ground, snoring deeply.
"Darkrai's signature move makes contact! Scrafty is now deep in sleep!"
Ash gritted his teeth. "So that Dark Pulse was to catch us off guard," he muttered. Ash was alerted to Dark Void or Ice Beam. He certainly didn't anticipate a Dark Pulse. While the attack wasn't effective enough to lay more than a simple scratch on Scrafty, the impact was enough for Tobias to slip in a Dark Void. "Not bad, Tobias."
He gazed at his Pokémon, snoring peacefully in the midst of the tense battle. "Scrafty, wake up!" Ash exclaimed, hoping that a strong call could trigger its wake-up. But his cries fell on deaf ears, as the Pokémon continued its unscheduled afternoon nap.
"Darkrai, Ice Beam."
"No," the raven-haired grunted in frustration. "Get up, Scrafty! Use Ice Punch."
The dark type generated the freezing blue energy between its hands, splitting it into multiple beams when the Pokémon released the power. The lines of ice emerging out and snaked their way towards the helpless lizard to strike the sleeping Pokémon. The Pokémon continued to be helpless as the damage accumulated, the frost began settling on Scrafty's skin.
"Scrafty!"
Even as the freezing beam began to cover the lizard in ice, the Pokémon remained unresponsive to its trainer's cries and let itself be consumed, till it was completely turned into an ice statue.
"Ice Beam has completely frozen Scrafty! Could this be the end?"
"Yes it is," Tobias said, closing his eyes while wearing a smug smile on his face.
"Not yet," Ash said, in reply to the legendary trainer's remark. "Do you think that's enough to beat my Scrafty?" Scrafty might be exhausted, but it hadn't received any damage other than the Ice Beam it just took. "We're still on."
"Even so," Tobias said. "Your Pokémon is both frozen and asleep. I don't think you have any chance here."
"Actually," Ash smirked. "We do."
A cracking sound took the attention of the two trainers, the referee as soon as the words came out from Ash's mouth. The ice crystal encasing Scrafty started to break as a bright light emanated from within, giving it a mystical glow. The cracks slowly spread in every direction until they were large enough for the crystal to crumble into pieces. The lizard thawed itself out in a single burst, sending several shards of ice flying in every direction.
"Incredible! Scrafty has recovered from both the statuses in one go!"
"Scrafty's special ability is Shed Skin," Ash said, balling his fists. "As long as we have that we won't lose."
In exchange for losing the top layer of its skin, Scrafty healed itself from the much undesired sleep status and also separated its body from the ice, giving the Pokémon enough room to break free.
Needless to say, Tobias wasn't amused. 'Asleep or not, the next move will finish them.' He believed that much for sure. "Ice Beam," the legendary trainer commanded.
'I knew you'd do that.' Ash almost jumped at the opportunity Tobias threw at him. "Let's take that Ice Beam. Charge in and use Ice Punch!"
The legendary Pokémon launched the freezing move once again, when the fighting type charged in preparing its own attack. The icy streaks of energy raced their way towards Scrafty as the latter came forward to invite them with tiny fists enveloped by a freezing vortex, rather than dodging the move like any sane Pokémon would.
"Ketchum is going for a suicidal move!"
When the Ice Beam was only a couple of feet away from the assailing lizard, the Pokémon dug its feet into the ground and pulled its skinny hands forward to punch the waves of incoming energy. The two attacks collided with a great force. Except, they didn't explode on collision as one would expect in an exchange of energy moves. Instead, the ice streaks coming from Darkrai were deflected everywhere by the ice energy shrouding Scrafty's fist, forming streams of thin ice around the lizard over the rugged arena surface. Using its energized right hand as a protective shield, the Pokémon proceeded to take heavy steps forward against the current of ice opposing it.
"What the?" Tobias was taken aback by the sudden turn of events. To make things worse than it already was, the vortex of ice surrounding Scrafty's fist grew larger and larger as it walked towards Darkrai. Apparently the lizard was not just deflecting the attack with its own, but also absorbing a good amount of it and making it much powerful. "Get away from there!" The legendary trainer exclaimed, when he realized they were powering up their own doom.
Darkrai paused its attack after the warning, but the move only let Scrafty increase its speed even more. Quickly taking back the massively energy boosted fist, the lizard Pokémon began to pace at its opponent with an increased momentum before taking a final leap at Darkrai, throwing the fatal punch at the pitch-black Pokémon.
The sudden change in pace, the huge amount of power collected by Scrafty's fists rendered even the ever agile Darkrai helpless. Despite that, the legendary Pokémon tried its best to duck to the right.
While Darkrai avoided the brunt of the attack, much to Ash's dismay, the monstrous attack still managed to graze the legendary Pokémon throwing the already backing legendary onto the boulders created by Sceptile's Rock Slide, before it slumped down in pain.
"What an incredible move! Even if it wasn't a direct hit, Scrafty's power-upped Ice Punch struck Darkrai with quite an explosive impact!"
Staggered by the attack's power, the legendary trainer watched his Pokémon struggle to get up speechlessly.
"What do you say, Tobias?" Ash asked, adjusting his cap before giving him a confident smile. "Scrafty's been specially trained to take on Latios and Darkrai. He's my ace Pokémon for this match."
'So, that's how it is.' Tobias thought. "No wonder," he replied. "It seems like type advantage isn't the only thing you prepared for." He wasn't just using a Pokémon with a type advantage against Latios and Darkrai. Ash's Scrafty was trained to handle any move Darkrai, Latios threw at it. No wonder the tide of the battle shifted towards the younger trainer ever since the lizard came out.
Tobias smiled to himself as he thought about it. There was more to Pokémon battles than just using the strongest Pokémon, he had realized through today's match. Even if he wasn't the greatest trainer around, he still managed to win the Sinnoh League and took the Elite Four by surprise. But that was simply because he used Pokémon that had much superior battling skills and didn't needed much training.
He always thought of the Elite Four as a final test to his strength, and hence didn't worry when he won the battles with extreme difficulty. He hadn't realized until now that he had been struggling against trainers who were using much inferior Pokémon. If a sixteen year old boy like Ash could put up such a good struggle, then how strong could someone like Cynthia be?
Tobias's next action was something that stunned Ash. He fumbled under his coat and extracted one of the Pokéball attached to his trainer's belt. Aiming the ball at Darkrai he muttered the words, "Take a rest, Darkrai."
The red light from the Pokéball sucked the Pokémon back in for a second time in the match.
It wasn't just Ash who was surprised by the move Tobias pulled. As he looked at Darkrai's Pokéball once again before putting it back, Tobias seemed surprised at his own move. When he withdrew Darkrai for the first time, he simply thought of it as a tactical return, but doing that twice hurt his pride. But at the same time the move seemed necessary. Was it perhaps a sign that he finally started to think like an ordinary trainer?
"Now, this is a twist. Tobias has switched out Darkrai!"
"What's going on?" Ash asked, his voice was almost a whisper. Why would Tobias switch out when he sent Darkrai againstScrafty in the first place? It was totally unlike him.
"Pika pi," Pikachu growled the same, in a worried tone.
On the other hand, Tobias silently placed Darkrai's Pokéball back in its place and plucked a new one out. He spread his lips in a smile, "I expected this battle to entertain me at the most. But…" he paused for a second. "You taught me a lesson today, Ash."
"A lesson?"
"Yes," he said, enlarging the Pokéball in his hands. "Now, it's time for you face my sixth and final Pokémon."
"Tobias has withdrawn Darkrai from the fray. This means we are going to set our eyes on his infamous sixth Pokémon! Now what kind of legendary Pokémon is awaiting us? We're about to witness this miracle right now in the Rosenburg Island!"
Ash's heart began to race with excitement. The inevitable moment he was waiting for had finally come. Tobias was about to send his sixth Pokémon, a Pokémon rumored to have been responsible for playing a major role in defeating the Sinnoh Elite Four. He knew he was going to face it sooner or later, but that didn't stop him from being anxious.
A dreadful silence spread through the Lily of the Valley Stadium. The rumors about Tobias's sixth Pokémon were everywhere, and so was the anticipation about its identity. The audience were just as an anxious Ash was.
"Pikachu," Ash muttered. "This is it. If we manage to defeat this last Pokémon….we'll win this match."
"My sixth Pokémon," Tobias looked at his reflection on the red surface of the Pokéball. "Never did I think things will come down to this in the first match itself." He noticed the raven-haired trainer standing stiff, watching Tobias's Pokéball with anxiety. "I won't make you wait any longer, Ash." He said, mockingly reassuring him. He immediately tossed the Pokéball onto the field with a grunt.
The Pokéball hit the hard surface and bounced a bit in the air before it split open suddenly, letting out a blinding flash of light.
The light took the shape of a bipedal creature possessing pointy legs, rather than normal feet. The features of the flashy silhouette came into vision as the bright light started to fade slowly. The figure that lay underneath the disappearing sheath of light earned a collective gasp from the crowd.
The creature standing before them was perhaps the strangest anyone had ever seen. The Pokémon wasn't gigantic or beastly and seemed to be only as tall as Tobias himself. To describe the creature with a simple phrase, it looked alien-like.
The Pokémon's skin glistened with a reddish-orange color that didn't seem anything like flesh or metal. A pair of orange-green tentacles emerged from each of its shoulders, entwined in a helical ring. A crystal reflecting a purple light was embedded inside the cavity on its chest, making it seem like a nucleus of some sort. The creature, face covered by a green mask, stared blandly with eyes that peered into the outside world devoid of any expression.
"What in the world is that?" One of the spectators, a bald man in thirties asked, looking at the Pokémon apprehensively.
Similar reactions were seen everywhere in the stadium. The crowd buzzed into multiple conversations all over the arena. The other legendary Pokémon they saw till then, though mystifying and intimidating, resembled actual living creatures. But the 'thing' standing before them was different. It wasn't organic, one could judge after seeing how it transformed the two tentacles attached to its shoulders into something that resembled human hands.
"W-What kind of Pokémon is this? I haven't seen or heard about a Pokémon like this in the legends before."
Ash watched the scene with a grim expression on his face. He was just surprised as the mob surrounding him, though for different reasons. "T-That's…." he muttered.
"Pikapi," the rodent looked equally stunned. But it was more concerned about how the trainer was going to handle the shock.
Ash remembered seeing the 'thing' from his journeys through Hoenn and Kanto. He had witnessed the Pokémon's prowess first hand to know that it was a formidable opponent. But the huge mystery here was…
'How did he even get a Pokémon like this?' He thought. The shocked expression on his face then turned serious again. 'I guess that's a pointless question.'
Ash didn't know where and how Tobias had managed to acquire all those Pokémon. A trainer with a team full of legendary Pokémon couldn't exist. Finding these creatures was a big task in itself, let alone capturing them. Even well-trained Pokémon have a hard time dealing an untrained legendary Pokémon. Then how did Tobias gather all these mythical beasts?
The questions haunted him for quite a while. But all that thinking led him to a single conclusion: It was pointless to make sense out of that abnormality. Because regardless of the road Tobias took to reach the stage, Ash still had to focus on winning the match and the championship by extension. . The questions plaguing him could always be answered later.
"We have just received some data from our information department. The Pokémon standing before us right now is…."
"Deoxys," Ash said, narrowing his eyes at the DNA Pokémon.
"A Pokémon that is said to have come from outer space, Deoxys!"
A sudden silence engulfed the stadium, letting the newfound information sink into the heads of the clueless people. While most of them exchanged blank looks with each other, wondering if they heard it right. Some of the scientifically updated audience, who read about the existence of such a creature through some kind of blog or a journal on latest Pokémon discoveries shared the information they had with excitement.
"You've heard it right, folks. This unknown Pokémon you're watching right now is said to have originated from meteors that crashed somewhere in multiple regions pretty recently. The Pokémon's origin is still being researched form what we've gathered."
Alex jumped out of his seat, beside himself with anger. "You've got to be kidding me! How did he even catch a Pokémon like that?"
Delia could understand her husband's frustration. The strange creature standing on the battlefield was an obstacle to her son's victory. Today, they were witnessing one of the most incredible events in Pokémon history and her son was forced to overcome that miracle in order to win. It was unfair.
On the battlefield, Scrafty took a step back from the mysterious creature, scowling at the opponent with an unpleasant expression on its face. Despite the tough expression Scrafty was putting up, Delia could notice the hesitation. It was startling, considering how the same Pokémon was mocking both Darkrai and Latios.
"It looks like a tough opponent to face," she couldn't help but state the obvious.
"It is," the Professor said. "From what we know, it's a psychic type. A powerful one at that." The Professor's words gathered the gang's attention to him. Appreciating it, he went into his lecture mode and said, "I've heard it's capable of performing a unique and powerful technique that converts its psychic type power into a massively powerful move." He bent forward a bit to face Alex, "I think I've mentioned all that in my recent blog post. Didn't you tell you were following it, Alex?"
"Ah," Alex looked taken aback for a second. But he quickly recovered. "Ah yes, yes! I-I think it slipped my mind." He began laughing nervously. He looked at Cilan, nudging him to say something. The Sommelier narrowed his eyes at Alex with a snarky glare, contemplating whether he should be helping the man who constantly poked fun out of him.
Cilan shifted his gaze to the battlefield, "Even if it does have a powerful psychic move, it's a mismatch against a dark type." His expression turned a bit gloomy as he said, "Or so I want to say but…" There was clearly something more than just the move Professor Oak mentioned.
"Yeah," Brock sighed, "its typing isn't the issue here."
Alex looked at the two young men, clueless as he probably wondered what the hell they were talking about. Delia smiled a bit, guessing that her husband never opened Professor's blog and simply lied about it.
If Deoxys's typing and signature attack wasn't the issue, then what was?
A similar state of confusion was seen amongst the ensemble of Elites and Champions too.
"You guys need to stop talking in riddles, y'know?" Alder demanded, frustrated that nobody was bothering to simply tell what they were talking about.
The Kanto champion agreed. "It's sort of bothering me too," he said, arms folded. Lance turned to the two Elites sitting in the row before him. "But if the Sinnoh Elite Four says so…" He glared at the Pokémon on the battlefield. "The rumors say you couldn't even land a scratch on the sixth, is that true?" He asked.
Lance's comment earned a guffaw in response. The source of the laughter was a man in his late twenties. He was completely bald expect for the small ring of red hair sticking out in the front. Wearing a red suit over khaki pants, the said elite carried a discourteous smile on his face. Needless to say, this man was Sidney of the Hoenn Elite Four.
"If the brat wins somehow….," he smirked at Flint. "Can we all agree the Sinnoh Elite Four sucks?"
Flint and Lucian glared at him silently in response. They were more than smart enough to react to an open provocation like that.
"You're so naughty Sidney," Karen responded. The woman with silvery-blue hair draped over her shoulders had a mischievous smile on her face. "Who knows?" She decided to play along with her fellow dark-type master. "Maybe he will win."
"They are slightly exaggerated. It's not really impossible to scratch per se," Lucian said, answering Lance's question while ignoring the other two. "It's true in a way, but not exactly so." It was impossible to explain, but in a few minutes everything could be clear to them…provided Ash was good enough to stand for some time that is, the psychic-type master thought.
Flipping the high-tech device in his hand off, Ash put the Pokédex back into his pocket.
'The Pokédex says it's a Psychic type.' He thought. He was saving Scrafty for Darkrai but the damage Ice Punch did was enough for him to finish things off with any other Pokémon. Defeating Deoxys was their first priority and there couldn't be a better option than a dark-type. "Alright, I've decided." He pumped his fist in the air, "Let's show them your power, Scrafty!"
"Ketchum decides to go on with Scrafty!"
Scoreboard
(6-3) Ash Ketchum – Tobias (6-2)
Staraptor – Darkrai
Infernape – Raikou
Garchomp – Landorus
Glalie – Moltres
Scrafty – Latios
Sceptile–Deoxys
The dark type nodded, approving of its trainer's decision. Putting its fears to its rest, the lizard glared at the extra-terrestrial opponent.
Tobias simply snorted at this, the confident smile on his face returning back. Watching his opponent brimming with confidence unnerved the raven-haired trainer. There was something up, and Ash knew better than to be careless under those circumstances.
The referee stepped onto his platform. "Deoxys versus Scrafty, let the battle commence!"
Tobias waved his hand. "Let's settle this quickly. Superpower!"
'Superpower!' Ash tensed at the name his opponent muttered. Superpower was a powerful fighting move that involved making direct physical contact with the opponent. There was more than enough distance between them for Scrafty to attack first before Deoxys could even reach the lizard Pokémon.' In that case, we'll hit them before they can close in on us.' He decided to counter the physical move by answering with a long ranged one. "Scrafty, use Dark Pulse!"
The move made sense because it would not only keep Deoxys at bay, but if they got lucky they could even deal a solid damage with that move.
Putting a wary eye on its opponent, Scrafty collected both its hands together and concentrated its dark thoughts into a pulsating energy that formed between its palms. But then—
Something strange happened.
The alien creature's shape suddenly began to change on its own, like a doll made of clay. In an instant the Pokémon's features turned slender, giving it a much aerodynamic shape. And then—
The next thing Scrafty knew, something zoomed past it at an incomprehensible speed. The opponent standing before it had disappeared!
"Scraf!" The Pokémon exclaimed in surprise.
"What the!"
"Behind you!" The trainer screamed.
The lizard Pokémon quickly twisted around, only to find the shape-shifted Deoxys behind, looking at Scrafty with eyes that seemed like they were staring straight into its soul.
Tobias exclaimed. "Now!"
The slender Pokémon shifted shape once again. The tentacles on its hands split in two and its shape turned much fiercer.
Before the dark type could even react to what was happening, the four tentacles landed on Scrafty's body and then—
"Scrafty!"
A huge amount of energy was suddenly pressed into Scrafty through the tentacles. The sudden influx of power on its body punched the lizard Pokémon like a ball being kicked away in a fantasy soccer anime. The shockwave from the move's impact threw the referee from his box onto the ground. The lizard Pokémon dashed straight into the wall on the other end of the stadium like a rocket and crashed with an impact that made a huge dent in the thick wall. .
A cloud of dust enveloped around where Scrafty skyrocketed into, followed by a rain of loose sand and rubble. Ash watched aghast as the dust slowly settled down, revealing the hoodlum Pokémon buried deep into the wall, unable to even twitch a muscle.
Silence remained.
The events that unfolded in the last few seconds was something no one was able to comprehend at first glance. For a second, Deoxys was standing at a good distance away from Scrafty as the latter attempted to launch a long ranged move. The next second, the DNA Pokémon was behind Scrafty. A moment later, the lizard was sent flying away into the wall and rendered immobile with just one move.
Tobias turned to the referee as the latter watched the unconscious hoodlum Pokémon, wide-eyed.
"If you please," the legendary trainer said, the smile not leaving his face.
"U...Uhh….right," the referee blinked, stepping out of his trance. He raised the red flag and announced. "Scrafty is unable to battle. Deoxys wins."
"Wow! Just wow! I've never seen anything like this. What a speed! What a power! Deoxys is incredible!"
Scoreboard
(6-2) Ash Ketchum – Tobias (6-2)
Staraptor – Darkrai
Infernape – Raikou
Garchomp – Landorus
Glalie – Moltres
Scrafty – Latios
Sceptile–Deoxys
Ash simply stood silent, still finding it hard to pull himself out of the shock. "S...Scrafty," he muttered the Pokémon's name.
He lost a Pokémon in the blink of an eye.
"W-What just happened?" Even the Unova champion was at loss for words after watching the scene.
Lance looked equally perturbed. "Not only was it so fast, it even managed to finish that Scrafty in one hit. That's too much," he pursed his lips. "Even for a legendary Pokémon."
"That's the scariest part here," Lucian said. "Look at the screen now."
The Elites shifted their gaze to the huge screen replaying the scene in slow motion.
The footage showed Scrafty preparing Dark Pulse. As the lizard Pokémon collected the energy, the alien creature shifted its stance by spreading its legs apart and stretched its hands behind. And then, its body began to mutate.
The Pokémon's body grew more slender in shape. The ears turned smaller, and instead a cone-like projection grew from behind the Pokémon's head. The orange skin of the creature's body turned grey while the 'arms' shifted from being two tentacles entangled in a helix to a single tentacle that extended out from its shoulders.
"Wait a minute," Lance muttered, upon realizing what was going on. "Isn't that a…"
"Forme change," Flint answered. "Deoxys has the ability to shift between different formes. The Speed-forme is unbelievably fast and the Attack-forme is unbelievably powerful."
The video showed Deoxys zooming past Scrafty, and stand behind. As Scrafty turned back in surprise, the Pokémon shifted its shape again into the powerful attack-forme. The tentacles changed back to being a twin pair again, which, unlike in its original forme were sharp and moved like a viper to ensnare the dark type.
Lucian adjusted his glasses as he proceeded to give the rest of the Elites an 'I told you so' look. They had been undermining the potential of the sixth Pokémon from the start and jested over the Sinnoh Elite Four's competence. He explained, "Depending on the situation, it can shift between these formes on its own and defeat its opponent." An overwhelming attack-forme to destroy defensive Pokémon, a super-fast speed-forme to deal with fast opponents, and a defense-forme just in case it falls into some sort of trouble. "In other words…." He paused a bit for his words to sink in. "It's a perfect Pokémon."
The rest of the Elite Four gave Lucian a strange look. While some of them put expressions that said they share his sentiments, others were skeptical about it.
"It's certainly apt to call that," Lorelei said. She was a woman in her thirties, known for her knowledge and theories on Pokémon battling. She went into her lecture mode and began explaining. "The reason Pokémon battles are so challenging and difficult to master is because each Pokémon has its own strengths and weaknesses. A Pokémon with good attack power usually has a weak defense or can be too slow to capitalize the attack power. Likewise, a Pokémon with good defense can't attack well. What we are seeing right now is a creature that can be anything at its will. Hypothetically, it can be called a perfect Pokémon."
Karen rolled her head and looked at Sidney. "I guess there's your answer." The Sinnoh Elite Four weren't exaggerating at all.
"Ha-ha," the bald headed man chucked nervously, avoiding looking at the Sinnoh Elite Four.
However…
"I don't believe it," Alder said, with a firm tone. The carefree champion was completely serious for once. "A Perfect Pokémon?" He said derisively, as if the word was unholy. "That's absurd. Nothing in the world is perfect. Every Pokémon has a weakness or the other, that's how they were made and that's why this world is still so diverse and beautiful."
"Right," Lance agreed. "We can't declare it's invincible with one move. I am sure Ash and Scrafty were simply caught off guard." If someone of Ash's level could lose a Pokémon in the blink of an eye, then it would be impossible for anyone to win considering how the boy didn't seem to be far away from an elite's level.
"Yeah," Flint said, resting his elbow on the seatback. "It's not really that invincible. I am more interested in how Ash is going to deal this." He smiled to himself as he thought. Ash reminded him of the days before he became a member of the Elite Four. He was young, hot headed and constantly pushed himself to climb high up in the ranks of the Pokémon League. Watching Ash reignited Flint's passion towards becoming the strongest trainer in the world. "He has what it takes to win," Flint said. 'The way he adapts to the situation will decide everything. Will your fighting spirit be enough to get you through this thing, Ash?'
Meanwhile on the battlefield, Ash withdrew his fainted Pokémon back in for a well-deserved rest. He still seemed shocked from what happened just now. The fact that he was still able to think coherently was a commendable feat.
"I hope this boy doesn't embarrass us by winning." A new presence walked into the VIP box as the discussion went on. "We'll look bad if that happens, wouldn't we?" The said person lightened the atmosphere with a chuckle. It was a grey-haired woman in her early fifties, enjoying a steaming cup of coffee.
"I'm surprised to hear that from you, Bertha." Lucian said, giving the old woman an acknowledging glance as she sat down beside him. "I don't believe the boy has any chance of winning."
The old woman simply smiled at that. She was half-joking when she said that. But Lucian had a habit of taking everything seriously. "Miracles do happen in Pokémon battles." Even though she was only joking, Bertha wanted to humor that point of view for some time. "Besides, his ability to observe is quite something. Nothing is set in stone, is it?"
"I thought the rumors exaggerated things but…." Alex couldn't help but feel nervous at that point. Despite all the training they had, will Ash fall short of winning after all? If so, what were his chances of winning in the world tournament?
"Yeah," Brock grunted in discomfort. "Undefeatable doesn't seem like a stretch anymore."
"Of all the Pokémon Ash had faced till now," Cilan said, tapping his finger against his chin. "Deoxys without a doubt has the strangest taste. I wonder how he's going to handle this matchup."
"Shining in an impossible to win scenario is Ash's specialty but…" Even Professor Oak was skeptical. 'This round will decide who will win and who will lose.' The old man didn't say it aloud.
"No need to worry!" Dawn said, waving the pom-poms to encourage her friend. "Ash is going to win, I know that. He'll find a way to defeat Deoxys."
Iris however, didn't seem to share the same enthusiasm as her friend. "Will he really be okay?" There was concern written all over her face.
Misty couldn't help but silently agree with her less-optimistic friend. She was having the same line of thought as Iris. While she was not against supporting Ash till the end, but what are the odds of him winning? They had seen very little of Deoxys. What if it could finish Sceptile in one hit too? Would Ash be able to take a crushing defeat like that? What was his train of thought right now? She wondered.
"Deoxys is awesome," Ash muttered, a smile on his face. "But things are still going according to my plan," he said, in a low voice audible only to Pikachu. He enlarged the Pokéball in his hands and gripped it tightly between his fingers. 'We defeated Latios and did a lot of damage to Darkrai. All we have to do is just defeat Deoxys tol win this match. Isn't that right?'
Tobias saw the hesitation in Ash's eyes when he gripped the enlarged Pokéball tightly. "What happened to the confidence you had five minutes ago."
"It's still right in there," he retorted. "Things are going just as I predicted," he said, placing the hand containing the Pokéball forward. "The real battle will be between your last Pokémon and mine."
"Last Pokémon huh," Tobias smiled at his proclamation. "We still have another Pokémon though."
"Our opponent is tough," Ash muttered to the Pokémon inside the ball. "But I think you're the right Pokémon to face it." 'Deoxys is fast, but so is Sceptile. All we have to do is a keep an eye on that forme-change.' He chucked the Pokéball into the air as he cried, "Sceptile, I choose you!"
Meanwhile, Bertha continued on with her argument. "Pokémon battles are always about observing your opponent. Observe, judge and act. These three are the basics of Pokémon battling." She watched as Ash's sixth Pokémon materialized out. "In situations like this, it's the ability to observe that's important. The last two steps are very easy to learn once you master the first"
A brief silence stood for some time after Bertha finished her talk. "You're an excellent observer aren't you, Bertha?" Karen asked, breaking the silence. "Then why did you lose." She spoke, a genuine question hiding behind her sarcastic tone.
Bertha smiled at this and replied. "Because I wasn't observant enough. Of course, if that boy wants to win the battle, he needs to be better at observing than I am."
"A better observer than you?" Flint raised an eyebrow at this. 'She's kidding, right?' If that was the case no one would be able to win against Deoxys. Because everybody knew Bertha was the queen of 'observation' both in battles and outside them. He remembered her saying she solved a case in a day when the police couldn't do it for weeks.
"Ketchum's sent out Sceptile once again. Unlike Staraptor, Sceptile didn't face any injuries or damage yet."
"In other words, this is almost like a one-on-one battle between two freshly sent Pokémon. Which of these two will win? Sceptile or Deoxys!"
Scoreboard
(6-2) Ash Ketchum – Tobias (6-2)
Staraptor – Darkrai
Infernape – Raikou
Garchomp – Landorus
Glalie – Moltres
Scrafty – Latios
Sceptile–Deoxys
"Sceptile, I'm counting on you buddy." Ash gave a thumbs up to the Forest Pokémon. 'The whole thing is right now on your shoulders.' He thought. "Deoxys can raise its speed and attack power with a forme-change. So, be careful."
The wood-gecko eyed its trainer strangely, noticing the tense look on his face. Judging from the lights on the scoreboard, the Pokémon had a good idea about what's going on. They were facing the infamous 'sixth' in Tobias's arsenal of legendary Pokémon. Things were really serious.
The Pokémon focused on the extra-terrestrial opponent, not willing to let its trainer down after collectively putting four of the legendary trainer's behemoths. They were only two more steps away from victory.
"This round will be crucial for both trainers. Both Darkrai and Staraptor have taken quite an amount of damage and mostly don't have much fight left in them. The winner of this round will have the edge and probably win the match."
Taking his usual position the referee announced, "Deoxys versus Sceptile, let the match begin!"
'Deoxys is fast, but let's see how they'll respond to our speed.' Ash smirked. "Sceptile, charge in with Agility and use Leaf Blade!"
Tobias responded immediately. "Ice Beam!"
The deciding round began with Sceptile making the first move. The grass type took a proper battle posture and calmed its muscles, instantly raising the Pokémon's speed by many times for a short burst of time. The Pokémon then vanished from the spot like a teleporting Abra and reappeared a few feet before the Attack-forme. Watching its opponent move, the DNA Pokémon, still in its attack-forme focused a beam of ice. However—
The Forest Pokémon disappeared once again, only to reappear behind the attacking Deoxys within no time, the leaves on its arms glowing with a bright green light.
'It's faster than I thought!' Tobias clicked his tongue at his folly.
Ash clenched his fists, happy that they were landing an attack right away. But—
Abandoning its attack, the alien creature quickly jumped back at an incredible pace, letting the Leaf Blade slice nothing but empty air.
'Even attack-forme Deoxys is fast!' Ash was stunned at the Pokémon's pace. However, the speed it displayed was nowhere close to the blitzing speed the speed-forme displayed. 'We can keep up with that speed if we continue to use Agility. In that case…!.' A plan formed in Ash's mind. "Use Agility to attack again!"
"Dodge and use Ice Beam!"
The Forest Pokémon encored its disappearance act. The psychic type, on the other hand, complied with the trainer's command and began shifting its shape into the much flexible speed-forme. The gecko reappeared, inches away from the DNA Pokémon when the latter was finally done with the transformation. The timing was a mismatch for Tobias, Ash thought, as Deoxys didn't seem to have enough time to dodge with Sceptile's blades only inches away from its chest. But then—
WOOOSH!
What happened there after that was too fast for the naked eye. In just a short span of time, the alien creature zoomed back from where it stood and placed itself at a good distance away from Sceptile.
"They dodged it?!" Ash said, jaws wide open in shock.
"Fast and super-fast! That's the only way I can describe what's going on right now!"
But if they were to rest now, then Deoxys would shift to its attack-forme and use Ice Beam, Ash realized. "Attack again!"
"Dodge!" Tobias replied to Ash's commands.
The grass type disappeared once again, but as soon as it reappeared before Deoxys, the psychic type quickly zoomed away from where it stood one more time.
'Shoot!' Ash punched in frustration.
Tobias closed his eyes, releasing the breath he was holding unconsciously. 'I was careless for a second.' He eyed the floating Deoxys. 'So, it seems like Sceptile is faster than attack-forme when it's using Agility. In that case, I've to be careful and make sure they don't make contact.'
"The transformation seems to take some time," Ash smirked, when the thought stuck him. "Then in that case," he pumped his fist in the air. "Let's put them on the defensive. Sceptile keep using Agility and Leaf Blade!"
"Dodge. And use Ice Beam when you get the chance!"
The battle resumed its fast pace action one more time. With a single Agility burst, Sceptile closed the distance between the two Pokémon in no time and attempted to lacerate the inorganic creature, but the latter had better reflexes than the gecko anticipated. The Leaf Blade whistled through empty air when Deoxys took a quick step back from Sceptile and floated away.
"More power! Keep attacking!"
Sceptile didn't needed another word. Disappearing once again the Pokémon lunged at the escaping Deoxys with another high speed Leaf Blade. However in response, Deoxys kicked the ground and dashed in Sceptile's direction, stunning the air-borne reptile. Using Sceptile's speed against it, the DNA Pokémon passed past the gecko.
The grass type cocked its head back as it landed back on the ground, realizing Deoxys was trying to put some distance between them to transform.
"Don't let it run away, keep attacking!"
Swinging its left hand, Sceptile skid across the dirt to completely turn around, and hopped back at Deoxys, rushing forward for another round of the two-move strategy. But the attempt proved to be a failure when Deoxys simply dashed into the sky.
Ash was displeased by the move, given how Sceptile couldn't just do the same. "Watch out," he said, warning the Pokémon. Using the advantage of flight, Deoxys floated at a good distance away and shifted to the fierce attack-forme once again. The purple slit on its face, extending top to down through the centerline on its face began shining, collecting the freezing beam in no time.
"Dodge!" Ash exclaimed, as soon as the move was launched.
The gecko hopped back when an Ice Beam struck the ground, but the psychic type followed the grass type's movements and redirected its aim at the Forest Pokémon, leaving a trail of ice behind as it did so. Watching the approaching danger, the Forest Pokémon performed another agili-burst and placed itself somewhere safe.
"You can't beat us with that strategy," Ash said, rubbing his nose. "Now it's our turn to attack, Sceptile."
The attack-forme lowered its altitude for a better aim and fired another Ice Beam at the grass type, to which the reptilian Pokémon replied with a swift leap to its right. The latter then began its charge towards Deoxys, running towards the low-levitating Pokémon with short quick steps while occasionally mixing it with Agility to zigzag whenever an Ice Beam was shot at it. The distance between the Pokémon fell short in no time, alerting the legendary trainer.
Tobias grunted in frustration. The grass type continued to close in towards Deoxys at a dangerous pace. "Evade it for a close ranged Ice Beam!"
Deoxys paused its suppressive fire and braced for the incoming attacker. The grass type, deciding that it was the best time to lunge at the DNA Pokémon sprang as it swung its arms, to catch the opponent. But then—
The attack-forme Deoxys simply pushed itself up, diving forward like a dolphin, floating over the sharp Leaf Blade passing underneath.
For a tense fraction of a second in which both Pokémon were in the air, moving in opposite directions, Sceptile's back was open to Deoxys after the unsuccessful Leaf Blade while the latter was upside down after the mid-air jump. The reptile's innate sense of danger warned that it was completely vulnerable at that moment. Not letting the opportunity slide away so easily, the psychic type fired the ice type move immediately.
With its speed still boosted by the sprint and the agility coupled jump, the grass type landed on the ground first before the Ice Beam could catch up with it. Not wanting to be hit by whatever was coming from behind, the grass type continued to slide across the rough surface. The Ice Beam followed suit to hit the ground and began catching up with the slithering grass type, as Deoxys shifted its aim. But then-
"Sceptile, jump!"
The Forest Pokémon hopped out of the freezing move's way and landed on one of the rocky projections, letting the Ice Beam pass. The gecko turned around to face Deoxys and began its agili-sprint again, zigzagging all the way to confuse the opponent.
"Deoxys, dodge!"
The battle was difficult to follow, even for the trainers commanding the Pokémon. Both Ash and Tobias only had a vague understanding of the high-speed battle. However, it was enough for them to guide their Pokémon when the creature's instincts failed them.
Using the brief amount of time Sceptile needed to run around to the other end of the field, Deoxys shifted back to the slender speed-forme. The psychic type then proceeded to dash forwards towards the gecko, and zoomed past the charging Sceptile.
Ash gritted his teeth, realizing they fell for the same move again. Rather than running away from Sceptile, the speed-forme moved towards Sceptile, using the gecko's speed against it.
The grass type pulled itself to a stop and glared at the speed-forme as the latter studied its ground-borne opponent with the same lifeless expression on its face. Sceptile narrowed its eyes at the opponent, not liking the fact that it was being out-sped by someone else.
"I do believe we all need to watch a replay to understand what's going on. But it seems like Ash and Tobias are in a stalemate. Neither of them have managed to land an attack yet."
"If that's the case this battle could go on for a bit," Flint said. Sceptile was dodging all of Deoxys's attacks and the latter was doing the same when Sceptile retaliated back. Neither Pokémon were successful at dealing damage to each other.
"I don't think so," Bertha said, her eyes were on a close up shot of both Ash and Tobias on the distant screen rather than on the battlefield. "First, that boy doesn't seem to be the type to sit tight in situations like this. If I am correct, he must be already planning something. Look at his restless eyes." She chuckled as she said so. "Second, Tobias still needs to step up his game."
Flint remained silent for a while, wondering what she meant. "It's true that he could have an easier time if he attacked back instead of focusing on dodging…" The fire type elite paused, the truth finally striking him. "I see, now I get it."
"You guys mind filling us the gaps?" Lance asked.
"It's simple," Lucian said. "Tobias wants to finish the match in just one hit just like he did with Scrafty. Something that's possible only in the attack-forme."
"Both of them will change their strategy now," Bertha said. "When that happens things will get more interesting."
'We have to figure a way out to hit them,' Ash thought. Sceptile was fast enough when using Agility to keep up with Deoxys. However, the brief amount of time it required to use Leaf Blade gave Deoxys enough gap to dodge the move completely. Deoxys had the added advantage of being able to fly, which made hitting the latter much more impossible than ever. 'If there were a couple of pillars around here. Sceptile could have….' Ash froze when the thought struck him.
'It seems like winning in the attack-forme is impossible.' Tobias pursed his lips in dissatisfaction. "Deoxys, use Ice Beam in your speed-forme."
Ash was pumped with the new idea that crossed his mind. "Sceptile," he swung his arms as he ordered his Pokémon. "Use Agility to confuse them."
The reptile began to appear and reappear in quick intervals as the speed-forme attempted to catch it with an Ice Beam. The Forest Pokémon was all over the battlefield, making it impossible even for its high speed opponent to catch it with the supereffective move.
"Get closer and attack," Tobias changed his orders, noticing the futility in attacking from a long range.
"We were waiting for you to do that," Ash's face brightened when Tobias made the move. "Sceptile, get behind them and use Rock Slide!"
The speed-forme closed down towards the battlefield and began shooting the ice beam at a much faster rate than earlier. However, the grass type disappeared once again and reappeared behind its opponent.
Deoxys turned back and fired an Ice Beam, only to see Sceptile disappear again and land a few steps behind where it first stood. The Pokémon then proceeded to raise its hands, as if to offer a prayer to some invisible gods.
Tobias looked up immediately, knowing what was going to happen. 'So, they were to trying to catch us off guard?' He realized when the massive boulders materialized in the air. "Deoxys, dodge!"
Ash punched in the air. "Follow them, Sceptile!"
The alien cocked its head up, when it heard the trainer's command only to find huge boulders descending upon it from the skies. The Pokémon dashed at a blurring speed to evade the chunk of rock that came to pulverize it, only to run into another that followed the first in a short gap. With great effort, the Pokémon swerved around to change its flight path but ran into more trouble. Had it been any other Pokémon, they would have been caught up under the crushing weights. But Deoxys piloted itself through the small gaps with much ease. But then—
The creature didn't realize something else was close behind it, moving at an incredible pace. Using the same boulders that restricted Deoxys's movements, Sceptile sped up, bouncing from one rock to the other with its extraordinary jumping power and Agility.
As the red-grey blur moved up into the sky, passing through the gaps between the rocks, a green presence quickly caught up with it, at a speed that bordered on invisibility. By the time the speed-forme looked at the open sky, the gecko rocketed into the DNA Pokémon, hands crossed and its leaves glowing with a green light.
Tobias watched the scene, mouth wide-open as Sceptile rammed its sharp Leaf Blades into the DNA Pokémon twelve feet above in the sky.
"Deoxys!" Tobias exclaimed.
The Leaf Blade dug deep into Deoxys's skin and tore through it as the grass type pulled them out of the cross position. The reptile then kicked its foe away to push itself back.
The boulders created by Rock Slide landed one after the other with a heavy impact that shook the ground apart, forming another mountain of rocks on the battlefield.
Right after that, Deoxys crashed into the walls of the field behind Tobias, after being arced away from its flight path.
A collective gasp silenced the arena as the gecko, curled into a ball, spun about itself to cushion its landing.
And after a brief pause—
"Wonderful! Leaf Blade strikes Deoxys!"
The arena was shook apart by the collective cheer from the audience. While they couldn't comprehend the feat that unveiled before their eyes, the impossibility in it drove them with excitement.
"He did it!" Dawn squealed as she jumped in joy.
"Using the falling rocks like pillars," Brock said, the frown on his face relaxed. "That's a good idea."
"Fast moves, smart commands and sharp attacks," Cilan said in an epiphany. "This battle makes my heart pound. It is truly exciting and marvelous. And Ash is especially good today."
"It's just one hit," Alex said, not wanting to encourage the rising hope among the others. "The battle is far from over." Though the smile on his face suggested that he was happy with the way things went.
"It seems like Sceptile has put in quite an amount of energy in that last attack."
Everyone's attention shifted to the Forest Pokémon, only to find the reptile on its knees, its tongue stuck out as it heaved for breath.
Brock folded his arms, resuming his serious expression. "Agility, Rock Slide and Leaf Blade. Using three moves in such a short time can be tiring."
While what Ash did was something incredible, it came at a huge cost. Using three different types of moves in such a short span of time took out a lot from the Pokémon's energy reserves. On top of that, Sceptile had been consistently using Agility to keep up with Deoxys. 'No wonder Alex isn't jumping with excitement.'
The outcome of the match was still unpredictable.
'Deoxys is still recovering from that attack! I need to hurry up and do as much damage as I can.' Ash decided. He was concerned about Sceptile's depleting stamina, but there was nothing they could do but push hard and win at the moment. It was unlikely that Ash would get another shot at cornering Deoxys. "Acrobatics, now!"
The grass type didn't needed a motivational speech to get up and move. Turning around with a hissing battle cry, the Pokémon lunged for the alien Pokémon that was still pulling itself straight after the crash. Despite the inorganic nature of its body, the Pokémon seemed to be in a deep cringing pain. The crystal embedded in its chest emitted a red static of energy.
The grass type jumped and landed its feet on the psychic type's face, kicking the DNA Pokémon into the wall it crashed earlier, further breaking the thick barrier. The move kicked up some dust, camouflaging the two battlers from the view. But it was clear that Sceptile's attack was successful.
"Sceptile lands another direct hit. This is….wait a minute. What the hell is this?"
The smoke settled down, revealing the presence of the two battlers once again. Except, the creature Sceptile landed on wasn't a slender Pokémon, possessing a flexible body that let it adapt to high speed movements. Rather, it was a robust creature with a body that looked resembled a spacesuit and seemed tough like an armor. The grey features on its frame disappeared, replaced by the glistening saffron. The Pokémon possessed arms that were twin tentacles, much like the original forme, except they were thick enough to pass off as a scarf. The head, crushed between Sceptile's foot and the thick wall resembled a helmet. tough enough to make one believe that it didn't feel any pain from the reptile's previous attack.
"Deoxys has transformed again!"
"That's Deoxys' last transformation, Defense-forme."
Lucian declared it to the rest of the members in an apathetic tone. A strange silence filled the room. A few moments ago, the feat Ash performed was applauded by everyone, some even said the odds of him winning improved. Lucian remained silent all the time. He knew for certain that Tobias would bring up the defense-forme at some point.
"This isn't good at all," Alder muttered, breaking the silence.
A small smile spread across Lucian's lips. Even Alder, the same man who actively refused to acknowledge the might of the creature responsible for bringing down the Sinnoh Elite Four, changed his opinion. While the Unovan Champion didn't make jokes at their expense like others did, he didn't agree with them either. Lucian said, "That Acrobatics just now didn't do any damage at all. There's no way Sceptile can beat this defense-forme." Every Pokémon has a style it can't beat. Sceptile being fast and offensive, couldn't beat defensive Pokémon.
Had Deoxys been his Pokémon, Lucian would have dealt Sceptile in its defense-forme right away.
"Nah," Flint said, much to the Psychic Elite's surprise. "I know strategy and tactics are important, but what matters most is the winning spirit. Ash wants to win this match more than anything else. I think he still has some chance to win."
Bertha glanced at the fire type elite, realizing he wasn't being his usual laidback self. Flint was more into the battle than everyone else, and could perhaps be the only one honestly rooting for Ash to win. It was perhaps because he was seeing himself in Ash, she realized as their battle styles were almost similar.
"Deoxys has now switched its battle style to defensive. Could this be it for Ash?"
"Not yet…." Ash mumbled to himself. He was confident that they still had a shot at winning. "Sceptile, keep using Leaf Blade!"
The leaves on the Forest Pokémon's arms transformed into sharp blades as the gecko danced around, before spreading its legs in a battle stance. Gathering all its strength with a hissing cry, the Pokémon sprang at its hulky opponent, swinging its arm down with great force, as if to slice the DNA Pokémon in two.
In response, the defense-forme crossed its thick tentacles in a protective formation, covering a major portion of its upper body. The grass type's powerful blow landed directly on the Pokémon, but failed to move through the thick line of defense the creature's arms provided. After rendering the reptile's zealous attack useless, Deoxys then proceeded to push the grass type back by spreading out its arms again.
"Don't let them rest," Ash pumped his fist in the air. "Keep using Leaf Blade!"
Grunting at the sight of its unharmed opponent, the reptile closed in onto its adversary once again and launched an uppercut, a movement exactly opposite to its previous attack. However, the DNA Pokémon's response remained the same. The Pokémon resumed its defensive posture once again, standing like a solid wall against the reptile's futile attack. Undeterred, the grass type took a quick step back and jumped as it spun around to slash down vertically.
The alien attempted to push away Sceptile after the first uppercut much like it did in the previous round, only to be caught off-guard by the second attack that followed right after. The act left the Pokémon completely open to the assault from above. The attack landed straight on its chest, cutting through the tough armor.
The alien stumbled back in pain, only to regain its balance by spreading the tentacles apart. Using the brief opening to its advantage, the reptile jumped at its opponent, to further tear through the alien's defense with its eloquent sword movements.
"Keep going like that," Ash yelled, to encourage his Pokémon.
"Take those attacks," Tobias said, leaving no doubt that the legendary trainer was intending to make use of the defensive-forme's grit for some time.
The psychic type huddled to shield its chest once again as the reptile began its melee of Leaf Blades. The attacks neither stopped nor slowed down. They never turned sloppy, even though the gecko's stamina depleted with each attack it performed, bit by a bit.
On the other hand, the impact from the repeated blows pushed Deoxys back inch by an inch, but that was the most Sceptile's attacks seemed to do. The defense-forme stood like an untouchable wall that can withstand repeated blows from a cannonball. The Pokémon didn't even attempt to break free as it was pointless. With its abysmal speed, it was impossible for Deoxys to escape Sceptile. It didn't have the ability to fly away either. However, the creature's perfect defense ensured that it didn't have the need to do any of that.
"Sceptile answers Deoxys' defense with Leaf Blade. But, it doesn't seem strong enough to break Tobias's fortress!"
"At this rate, they'll not be able to win at all," Alex said, barely holding himself from snapping out of frustration.
"The attacks are hardly doing any damage," the Professor said, judging by Sceptile's inability to budge Deoxys from where it stood.
The gang wore gloomy faces, knowing that Ash had no way out of this. If he had some sort of surprise move or plan, he could have revealed it by now. The fact that he wasn't doing anything other than watch Sceptile mindlessly slash at Deoxys meant he didn't have any of those out-of-the-box tactics he was known for.
"Guys," Iris however, looked excited. "Watch closely. He still has a chance to win."
The older Ketchum focused on the battling Pokémon, wondering what Iris meant. He couldn't make out anything from the distance. "What do you mea…?" Alex froze when his eyes fell on the zoomed view of the battle on the large screen. "Wait, that's…!"
"Marvelous!" Cilan exclaimed, apparently catching up with the same thing too.
The intensity of the grass type's blows grew stronger and sharper. The Pokémon swung its arms viciously, each attack thrown with a murderous intent. Much to everyone's surprise, the attacks started to have some effect. Soon, the psychic type was forced to take a step back with each attack it received, and was slowly cornered towards the wall behind.
Hissing once again, the reptile jumped up and let out a cry as its appendages grew brighter, sharper and hammered the last attack straight on the Psychic type's chest with every bit of strength it could muster.
The defense-forme's protective arms finally gave away thanks to the attack's brute force and gashed through the thick exterior protecting its chest. The force from the attack sent the Pokémon flying straight into the same wall it crashed earlier.
"Deoxys is blown away! Sceptile's attacks finally prevail through this defensive fortress!"
"Sceptile's awesome!" Iris exclaimed, drumming her in excitement. "You can do this, Ash!"
The DNA Pokémon rose up slowly, showing no amount of expression on its face as it did so. The crystal on its chest began to emit a red static once again as it did so, causing the Pokémon to buckle down a bit and cringe in what seemed like pain. The gargantuan straightened itself again when the static began to fade, watching its opponent with the same bland look.
"I'm amazed Sceptile's done something Ash would do even without his command," Professor Oak said, commending the Forest Pokémon.
"I never thought they could break through Deoxys's defense either," Alex said, clenching his fists in excitement. "They still have a chance to win."
"What happened just now?" Delia asked, wondering how Iris, Alex and Cilan knew Sceptile would break through before it actually did.
"Look at its arms closely Delia," Alex said, pointing at the DNA Pokémon. "Do you see that cut on its skin?" He pointed at psychic type trying to regain its balance.
That was when Delia noticed the deep incisions on the Pokémon's arms. Sceptile's slashes, though looked random, were aimed to pierce through the same spot. After repeated attacks, the blade finally passed through the Pokémon's thick line of defense and struck the crystal inside. The fact that the Forest Pokémon focused its attacks at the same point without any order from Ash's side showed how perfectly in sync the Pokémon and its trainer were.
"Now this is surprising! Sceptile has managed to do cut through Deoxys's arms!"
"So the crystal is its weak spot after all," Ash smirked, as he watched the psychic type struggle to stand. "I knew you were the right Pokémon for this battle." The gecko, now panting, looked back at its trainer and nodded in acknowledgement before glaring at its opponent with sharp irises.
"Let's not rest yet," Ash pumped his fist. "Let's keep attacking!"
The legendary trainer frowned, his lips curled down in dissatisfaction. For a second, he was happy that he had finally cornered Ash, but it seemed like that was impossible. However, it wasn't something he would fret over. 'We have a move just for a situation like this.' The grim look on his face disappeared, replaced by a smile. "Recover!"
"Recover?!" Ash looked, white-faced.
The defensive Pokémon wrapped itself once again as a pale warm light shrouded the Pokémon. The warm glow reminisced the serene moonlight, but to Ash it seemed as ghastly as a new moon night, thanks to the effects it brought.
The deep gash on Deoxys's arms began to cover up, as the Pokémon's tentacles slowly regenerated back to their former shape. The effect began to patch the small dents on its crystal as well.
"Deoxys is trying to recovering its health back! Will this put everything Sceptile has done to naught?"
'At this rate. Everything we've done till now will be for nothing.' Ash gritted his teeth in frustration. "Sceptile, Leaf Blade!"
Doing something was better than nothing. Yes, it was true that Deoxys recovering its health meant their efforts were being thrown into the gutter. But that didn't mean he was willing to give up. If Deoxys was trying to recover its health, then they would attack like there's no tomorrow and do more damage while it did so. It was a desperate move, but that was the only option they were left with.
Sceptile proceeded to begin another round of the melee assault. Using a flawless sword technique that left no room for the opponent to fight back, the reptile began hacking through Deoxys's skin like a mindless murderer. But at the same time the glow shrouding Deoxys continued to heal the wounds and closed the cuts, starting a tug of war between Recover and Leaf Blade.
Ash joined his Pokémon in its rage of attacks. He turned his hat around and began cheering the grass type Pokémon. "You can do it Sceptile! Keep attacking like that and we'll win this match!"
The trainer's words pushed the Pokémon's intensity of attacking much further. Despite performing what seemed like a furious rain of attacks, the grass type's technique never faltered. The attacks continued to strike the same spot, again and again.
"We're recovering a lot more health than the damage you're doing," Tobias said, he shook his head to brush the hair falling on his eyes back. He wanted to show Ash the futility in his attempts to defeat Deoxys. "You can't win this battle."
"You don't know that yet," Ash replied. "Deoxys won't be able to use Recover forever. We can still win if we keep attacking like this."
Tobias sighed, giving Ash a pitiful look. 'He's losing it. There's no way Deoxys can be defeated at this point. Sceptile will run out of energy before Deoxys does.' He silently stared at the large screen, to catch a clearer view of Sceptile's attacking.
A shudder went down Tobias's spine when he noticed what transpired on the screen. "What the hell," he cursed under his breath.
Even though Recover helped in closing down the wounds inflicted upon Deoxys, the relentless Leaf Blades from the gecko continued to open them again and removed the recovered flesh quickly before the wounds closed perfectly. The DNA Pokémon regenerated its flesh by dividing the cells that were not damaged. The cells grow up to heal the wound and join together to form a perfect bond. But Sceptile's attack didn't give enough time for that to happen.
Although Recover was much potent than Leaf Blade, the fact that Sceptile's attacks were focused at one point was detrimental to its healing. In fact using Recover made the flesh around the damaged area much weaker, letting Sceptile thrust in deeper and deeper.
He had already noticed that Sceptile was simply concentrating its attack at the same spot, but he didn't realize something like that would actually make a huge difference. Even though Recover was supposed to generate more health than what Deoxys was losing, the latter began to slowly overcome the former.
Slowly, if not immediately, Sceptile was gaining the advantage.
A sudden fury filled Tobias. 'Just who the hell is this kid? At this rate, I'm going to lose with one of the best Pokémon in the tournament.' Even if he won this match at the end, losing Deoxys would be a huge blow to his ego. If he let a young boy beat his strongest Pokémon, then the Elite Four and the champions above them would no longer take him seriously. He'd be a fool who couldn't beat a sixteen year old boy despite having six of the tournament's strongest creatures on his hand. "I won't let that happen." He wasn't going to lose to some ordinary trainer. Not with a team of six legendary Pokémon.
But Tobias understood that his current setback was a result of his own ineptitude. He was over-reliant on his Pokémon's abilities. He expected to sit back and rest easy while his legendary Pokémon played around with the opponent's inferior Pokémon using their incredible abilities. Indeed, he had enjoyed that at the Sinnoh League. But today….it was different.
The boy he faced now was different than any other trainer he battled till now. He refused to bend to the might of the legendary's Pokémon. Even if things looked awfully stacked up against him, he blindly believed in his own strength. A feat, Tobias admitted, was something not easy to achieve. Every person questioned his own self-worth at one level or the other.
But Ash's confidence—no, his foolhardiness knew no bounds. He was a fool who believed that he wouldn't lose no matter how bad the odds in his favor were. And that foolishness pulled Ash closer and closer to victory.
If Tobias had to win, he had to think out of the box, just like Ash does. 'But how?' The legendary trainer wondered.
What did he do wrong in the battle today?
Throughout the battle, he was waiting for an opportunity that would let Deoxys shift to its attack-forme and finish Sceptile in one hit. But the more the battle continued, the harder it had become to find such an opportunity. But Tobias was blinded by his own pride. He failed to see the pointlessness in the moves he had been pulling out. He had been implementing a uselessly-complicated strategy when there was a much simpler solution waiting for him right from the start.
He was desperately trying to show how amazing Deoxys's attack power was. He had defeated Scrafty in just one hit, and he wanted to do the same for Sceptile too. That was the source of his problem.
He needed to swallow his pride to win at times. That was the lesson he learned today. "Deoxys, use Ice Beam in your defense-forme."
The Pokémon responded to its trainer's command without a hitch, as if it was something it had been waiting for. Spreading out its tentacles, the Pokémon pushed away Sceptile in the midst of its attack, startling the gecko. The grass type stepped back for a second, but jumped once again, in order to exploit the opening its opponent had left.
Sceptile's attack hit first. The gecko successfully slashed through the DNA Pokémon's bare chest, chipping some more damage off the crystal. Deoxys staggered with pain, only to recover its balance and prepared the freezing beam of energy.
The move was something Ash had not anticipated. Not to mention, Sceptile, in order to exploit the brief opening, put more power in its attack than usual, leaving the Pokémon vulnerable to Deoxys's next attack.
The unexpected ice attack struck the grass type straight on its chest, throwing it a few feet back. The gecko curled as it was about to hit the ground, in order to cushion the landing. Rolling back, the Pokémon then uncurled to land back on its knees.
"Ice Beam lands a direct hit on Sceptile. It's supereffective!"
The grass type winced as it attempted to stand. The green skin on its chest was partly frozen, much to the Pokémon's agony. Staggering, the reptile took a couple of steps back before recovering its footing again. The Pokémon brushed off the flakes of ice, stuck to its body and glared at its opponent, who now stood at a distance, maintaining its defense-forme. It was clear that Tobias didn't want to risk a transformation yet.
"Sceptile, are you okay?"
The reptile grunted in response.
"Well it seems like Ice Beam didn't do as much damage as we expected. This fully-evolved grass type is still standing on its feet, shrugging off the damage Deoxys had inflicted upon it."
Even Ash had to agree that Deoxys's attack was rather weaker than he anticipated. While it still did put a decent dent in the gecko's health, it wasn't insanely powerful like the Superpower used on Scrafty. 'So, Deoxys's attacking power is weak in its defense-forme. So that means…' No wonder Tobias was so keen on dodging. Ash had a hunch about this from the start, but most of the time he was just playing along with the pace of the battle and didn't give it much thought. He blindly concentrated on hitting Deoxys for some damage while avoiding attacks.
And that wasn't it. From what he had seen, Deoxys needed sometime to shift between its formes. Though it wasn't really much for slower Pokémon like Scrafty to capitalize on, a vigilant Pokémon like Sceptile would jump at the opportunity and finish them in that small interval.
All along what Ash did was simply pushing forward with offense, but it landed Tobias in a heap load of trouble. But now…
Tobias seemed to have changed his strategy at last. He wasn't being adamant to shift into the attack-forme. Which means, the battle will continue in Deoxys's defense-forme for a while.
"If that's the case," Ash said, deciding on his next move. He would have to defeat Deoxys in the defense-forme itself. "Leaf Blade!"
"Stop them and use Ice Beam," Tobias ordered.
The wood-gecko's onslaught resumed once again, however, the DNA Pokémon decided to retaliate back this time around. The creature blocked the first Leaf Blade with its thick tentacles and wrapped them around Sceptile's arm, taking the assailing Pokémon completely by surprise. Using the brief moment of hesitation the reptile showed, Deoxys prepared yet another beam of the freezing attack.
"Use your other arm!" Ash exclaimed, snapping out his Pokémon.
The gecko then proceeded to thrust its left hand to slash the Pokémon on its chest yet another time. The attack sent Deoxys reeling back in pain, releasing its hold on the grass type. It was thanks to the Pokémon's high endurance strength that the defense-forme didn't lose its focus despite taking a direct attack like that. As Sceptile raked the alien once again with a complementary slash with its right arm, the Pokémon staggered once more, but released the Ice beam right after.
The freezing wave ended up landing on the reptile's shins, sending a bone chilling pain that numbed its right leg.
"Don't give up!" Ash exclaimed. "They're open!"
Hissing in pain, Sceptile limped forward and swung its appendages in a blind rage, dealing another dose of the sharp pain in Deoxys's chest.
"What a fierce exchange of moves! This is a battle worthy of the Pokémon World Tournament!"
'It's still not enough?' Ash gritted his teeth when the extra-terrestrial resumed its stance once again. However, even though Deoxys's facial expression was masked, Ash could sense from its movements that the alien was slowly wearing out too. Sceptile's attacks began doing more damage ever since Tobias decided to go down the offensive path.
"That crystal is the weak point after all," Ash said, to which the rodent, standing beside him with an equally tensed pose, agreed. 'Tobias lost his patience . He's attacking straight away in the defense-forme. This is our best chance. We'll keep attacking and finish the match.'
"Sceptile, use Acrobatics!"
"One more time, Ice Beam!"
Digging its unfrozen leg into the soil, the wood gecko launched itself at the rather slower opponent, slamming its knees straight on the torso, making contact with the green crystal inside. The impact from the kick sent the defensive monster stumbling back towards the wall once again.
However, the alien retaliated immediately by firing the freezing beam it had long since prepared, and struck the grass type clean and square on its chest. The reptilian, however, didn't flinch in pain this time. Chewing on the twig in its mouth, it endured the supereffective attack and stood still, perhaps as a retort to Deoxys enduring its own attacks.
"Now that's an impressive feat. Even if the Ice Beam isn't strong, it still takes quite a nerve to stand against a supereffective attack."
'It's not safe battling like this.' Ash's curled his lips in frustration. As much as he hated the way he was forcing Sceptile to take damage from Ice Beam, they really had no other choice here. A simple hit and run attack wouldn't work against Deoxys's thick defense. If Sceptile needs to do some damage, it needs to put its full power into the attack, which leaves them bare open to an Ice Beam. In order to win, they had to put more and more power into the Leaf Blade and finish Deoxys as quickly as they could. "Let's give our all, Sceptile!"
Agreeing with its trainer's sentiments, the reptilian spread its arms to face the sky and screeched at the top of its voice, pumping every bit of dormant energy inside its body. And then—
A green aura began emanating out of the Pokémon's body, shrouding the Pokémon like a burning flame. The leaf-like appendages on the gecko's body began shining with a bright green color and its yellow eyes started to glow like a lamp. Brandishing its blades, the Pokémon snarled at its opponent with a ferocious rage completely unlike its calm personality.
"Awesome," Ash smiled. The timing couldn't have been better, the raven-haired trainer thought.
"Sceptile's special ability Overgrow has activated. That Ice Beam must have really taken its toll, but in exchange Sceptile will now be able to battle with extra power."
"Well, why am I not surprised?" Tobias smiled. Overgrow was a common special ability among Sceptile. Now that both Ash's and Sceptile's determinations were renewed, there was no doubt that they would begin push even harder to score a win. "That's not a good thing," he muttered under his breath. Even with Deoxys's defense, taking a couple of overgrown boosted Leaf Blades would be quite a problem. But…
"You're awesome buddy," Ash smiled, showing all his teeth. "Now," Ash stepped forward and punched in the air. "Let's show them your real power. Leaf Blade!"
'I won't let you do that.' Tobias knew it was the moment he had to take a risk. He had the strongest Pokémon in the entire tournament and yet he couldn't battle at full potential because he constantly forced the DNA Pokémon to hold back its attack. . His judgment clouded by his eagerness to show off Deoxys's power pushed them away from victory. If Tobias wanted to win, he had to give his all just like Ash. "Deoxys, use Superpower to catch them!"
"A direct face-off! Could it be that we've reached the final stages of this battle? Who will clinch the victory, Deoxys or Sceptile?!"
As the Forest Pokémon, enveloped in a green aura lunged to strike the DNA Pokémon, the latter extended its tentacles to grab the gecko in action.
The round was crucial to both Pokémon. Even if their attacks wouldn't be strong enough to finish the other, it'd be enough to leave them completely open and vulnerable to the opponent.
Either of the battling creatures closed in onto each other as everyone watching the battle—the trainers, the referee, and the spectators held their breaths, as it was clear that only one Pokémon was coming out of the exchange of moves, unhurt.
In the short amount of time the Pokémon were in close proximity, the gecko launched its attack first by thrusting one of its blade to deflect the tentacles away. However, the defense-forme made a move that caught the Forest Pokémon completely off guard. The DNA Pokémon's tentacles that shot straight towards Sceptile, suddenly curved form their path.
The sudden movement diverted the reptile's attention, causing it to move its eyes off the target for a brief moment. Immediately, one of the defense-forme's other tentacles quickly wrapped around the reptile's neck. In response, the reptile blindly swung its free arm only to be caught by the other tentacle not a moment later. Shifting around, the bulky Pokémon then proceeded to toss the opponent using the reptile's own momentum into the wall behind in a single fluid motion.
The gecko was flung onto the same wall, landing on the structure hard on its back before it collapsed onto the floor, face-first.
"Sceptile!" Ash exclaimed in worry, knowing full well what the consequences of losing the move-exchange would be.
Ash betted on the Leaf Blade earlier to create an opening that would lead him to victory but Tobias used a Superpower to save himself and turn things around, literally and figuratively. 'Even so, this battle isn't over yet.'
"Sceptile's hits the ground! It seems like the freezing effects of Ice Beam have slowed it down."
"But still…" Ash gritted his teeth. 'Deoxys wasn't bad either.' Even if it were the slower of the two, the Pokémon's arms gave it an edge. "Sceptile get up," Ash yelled, urging the Pokémon to get back onto its feet.
The gecko slowly pushed itself back up with much difficulty, grunting with discomfort. The reptile winced in pain as it straightened up, clutching onto its chest. The frost settled on its skin was more than a mere annoyance to the reptile.
'Their defense will be low for a while after Superpower. We can still win this match,' Ash thought. "This is your chance to win, use Leaf Blade!"
'No, this isn't your chance to win. It's mine.' Tobias smiled, as he ordered his Pokémon. "Transform into your attack-forme and finish it off with Psycho Boost!"
'Attack-forme?' Ash glared at Tobias. 'Are you underestimating us in the last moment?'
The gecko finally pulled itself straight up to face the psychic type, and dug its feet into the ground, attempting to charge at its opponent—only to cringe in pain and trip forward. The Pokémon looked at its frozen foot, silently cursing its own inability to move.
"Sceptile!" Ash yelled, in worry. He finally realized why Tobias made such a reckless order.
Using the opponent's inability to stand up, the alien quickly transformed into the attack-forme to fly up and joined its four tentacles together, concentrating its psychic energy into a marvelous orb of energy. The pure energy collected inside the sphere was beautiful, displaying vibrant colors that reminded a supernova. The brilliant colors of energy focused at the center of sphere and gave birth to a bright white light that dazzled the onlookers speechless.
And then…
The immobile reptile watched with dazed eyes as the mesmerizing attack made its way towards Sceptile. At that moment, there was only one thought in the Pokémon's mind.
There was nothing wrong with losing to an attack like that.
"Sceptile!"
The trainer's screams fell on deaf ears.
The orb exploded into a brilliant white light that filled the stadium when it approached the Forest Pokémon. For anyone watching from the outside, the bright light shooting out from the open top would resemble a gigantic torchlight. Even the live casting screens turned completely blank, as if someone bleached the screens with white.
A deafening noise tore Ash's eardrums apart, leaving terror in his heart. The ground seemed like it was going to collapse under him. He was forced to lower his head in order to protect himself from the raining rubble and desperately held his hat from being blown away by the powerful wind.
After what seemed like an eternity, but was in fact only a couple of minutes, the quake slowly began to settle down, and the blast of wind died along with the sandstorm it brought along. He opened his eyes, slowly adjusting to the contrast in the brightness, when the field slowly came into view.
The site before him made the raven-haired teen gasp.
A large crater covering at least one-fourth of the battlefield formed where the attack landed, as if a huge meteorite struck the ground and wiped away a big chunk of the rocky field. The reptile that took the direct hit from the attack was nowhere to be seen on the surface.
"S-Sceptile…." Ash muttered, still quivering from the shock.
"Terrifying! Deoxys's signature move has ripped a part of the battle field with a single explosion. Is there any hope for Sceptile after this move? What happened to this Hoenn-native Pokémon? Let's take a look. "
The cameras zoomed in on the crater from above, giving a better look at what lay inside to the spectators. Meanwhile, the referee rushed to the spot, to examine the situation. The man was ready to swing the red flag and declare Deoxys the victor. He knew there was no hope for the grass type after taking an attack like that.
The referee expected the grass type to be buried somewhere in the middle of the crater, given how the Pokémon was at the center of the explosion. However, he was caught by surprise when a pair of green hands appeared on the surface near where he stood. The wood gecko pulled itself of the pit, as the crowd collectively gasped in surprise. The Pokemon attempted to get up and stumbled a few steps forward before it finally regained its balance.
"Sceptile is back up! It seems like it has somehow avoided a direct hit from the explosion in the last minute. This isn't the end after all!"
The Pokémon looked completely battered and exhausted. Even though it avoided taking the explosion directly, the destructing power of the strongest psychic type technique left the reptile with many noticeable injuries all over its body. The Pokémon's green skin was filled with cuts and wounds from the top to the bottom thanks to the rubble flying everywhere. On top of the obvious cuts, many parts of its skin turned purple as if it was beaten up by a crowbar, the cause being the brute psychic force that radiated out from the Psycho Boost. It was a miracle that the Pokémon was still standing, despite all the bone-crushing injuries all over its body.
The Pokémon dragged its feet towards Deoxys as the latter watched its opponent with the same expressionless gaze as ever. The reptile straightened its shoulders and snarled at its opponent, perhaps challenging the latter to come at it.
It wasn't ready to give up yet.
The referee turned around to face its trainer, and found the boy looking at his Pokémon with a proud but a solemn expression.
"Sceptile," he said, calling for the Pokémon's attention. The Pokémon raised its head to look at its trainer, a simple act that required a huge amount of effort from the Pokémon's part. "Thank you. You've done your part well," he said, faking a smile. "Why don't you leave the rest of the battle to me? I'll win this no matter what."
The trainer's words put the Pokémon at ease somehow, even if it seemed like a blatant lie. The next thing the creature knew, it found itself hit the ground as the world around darkened and the very words it hated came out of the referee's mouth.
"Sceptile is unable to battle. Deoxys wins."
"Tobias wins at last! Ash Ketchum is now down to one Pokémon! Will Staraptor be able to take on two powerful legendaries by itself from now on?"
Scoreboard
(6-1) Ash Ketchum – Tobias (6-2)
Staraptor – Darkrai
Infernape – Raikou
Garchomp – Landorus
Glalie – Moltres
Scrafty – Latios
Sceptile–Deoxys
Delia Ketchum wasn't an expert at Pokémon battles, but she certainly knew that the match was a closed deal. Her son was only one Pokémon away from losing the match. She was proud of what he achieved today. She hadn't watched it live, but she did watch the battle between Ash and Tobias in the Sinnoh League. She knew for a fact that Ash's battling skills have improved by a huge amount in the last one year he trainer with her husband.
"I don't think Staraptor can even battle at this point," Brock said, disappointment written all over his face.
"It's over," Alex sighed, closing his eyes. If the news made anyone sadder than Ash, it was perhaps Alex.
"No way…." Dawn's tone suggested that she was unable to digest the result. From the beginning she blindly put her faith in Ash and continued to cheer him despite the changing odds.
"He was so close," Iris said, equally disappointed. While Iris's expectations were more realistic, even she had great hopes when Sceptile seemed to dominate the match.
"It's not exactly a win," Cilan said, attempting to cheer up the group. "In terms of ability I think Ash won—"
"A defeat is a defeat, Cilan," Alex said, disrupting the sommelier's attempts to keep the atmosphere positive. "There are no excuses for that." Cilan bit his lip, and shifted his attention back to the arena. Delia had a feeling that her son would be having a similar line of thought like Alex. She wished they were a little bit more proud of the progress they've made.
Delia watched her son as the boy returned his fallen Pokémon back to its Pokéball. Wordlessly tucking the ball onto his belt, he took another Pokéball out and enlarged it. He lowered his hat slightly, an act he usually did when he wanted to hide his face. The electric rodent standing by him looked up, probably worried about its trainer.
A new question popped in her mind. How would her son take the result of the match? Especially after how Alex promised to make him strong enough to win the tournament. He did became strong, a lot stronger than Delia anticipated. Just not enough to beat the legendary trainer named Tobias.
"Why don't you leave the rest of the battle to me? I'll win this no matter what"
Ash's final words before Sceptile fell down was without a doubt a big lie. He had no means to win anymore. Staraptor was deeply injured after using Brave Attack, and was in no position to defeat a monster like Deoxys. There was no hope for them here.
"Pikapi," the rodent tugged its trainer's feet noticing that he was spacing out. The Pokémon put a worried expression when it noticed the look in its trainer's eyes. "Pika…."
The rodent was the only one privy to the expression on his face, as his hat managed to shield them from the rest of the world. "I…" He turned his hat back straight. "I'm not going to give up." He clutched onto the Pokéball in his hands. "I'm still going to win this match. I'm going to be the world's strongest Pokémon trainer!"
He wasn't just kidding. There was still a way to win the match. Deoxys might be powerful, but after using a move as powerful as Psycho boost, it would probably be somewhat exhausted. A move as powerful as that, always came with a drawback of some kind.
Deoxys's strength was also its weakness. Deoxys had a weak attacking power in its defense-forme, it didn't take a genius to guess that the opposite was true too. If he were to hit Deoxys in the attack-forme with a combination of Quick Attack and Aerial Ace, it was perfectly possible for them to catch Tobias off guard and finish the battle. And once he was done with that, they had a good chance of winning against Darkrai too.
It was still possible to win. The match wasn't over yet.
On the other hand…
'He's lost it.' Tobias thought to himself. He couldn't see why Ash was being so desperate. He had done something ordinary trainers couldn't. He managed to force the legendary trainer into using all his six Pokémon. Tobias believed that if he were in Ash's place, he would be extremely happy and save the last Pokémon of its misery.
But maybe that was the difference between the two.
Even with defeat staring at his face, Ash doesn't want to give up. He wants to put his all into the last round. If that's the case, then shouldn't he be doing the same? He shouldn't lax because he was only inches away from victory, Tobias thought.
"Staraptor, I choose you!"
The Pokéball struck the ground and burst open, revealing Ash's last standing Pokémon. However, the bird didn't seem like it was in any shape to stand any longer. Instead of taking off into the skies like it always did, the bird materialized on the ground, barely holding itself straight on its two legs. The Pokémon's white plumage was filled with reddish black scars, thanks to the burns it suffered from Brave Attack.
Wordlessly, Tobias plucked out Deoxys's Pokéball and aimed it at the alien Pokémon. "Deoxys, return." A red light shot out of the contraption and sucked the Pokémon back into it.
"Now, this is strange. Tobias has switched out Deoxys."
The elites were equally surprised by the move. "He's switching out at a time like this?" Flint asked, as it was unusual for Tobias to make a move like that.
Lucian had a plain expression on his face. "I guess that's Tobias's message to us all," he said. "That he's learned his lesson through this battle."
Bertha couldn't help but sigh at this. "Just as I thought. Well, it only means we won't be able to win against him from here onwards."
Flint jumped out of his seat at this. "What do you mean, Bertha? Are you telling we'll do worse than the last time?" He gritted his teeth. "Are you telling we're not as good as Ash either?"
"I never said that the last part," Bertha said, in a mildly harsh tone. "Tobias was leading the scoreboard until Darkrai and Latios came out. Ash's performance against him hinged on his previous experience. Of course, that means the four of us can do much better in a rematch and probably win but…"
Lucian continued for the hesitating Bertha. "This battle has changed the way Tobias thinks." He pushed his glasses up with his index finger slightly. "He might have won against the Sinnoh Elite Four thanks to the surprise factor, but today's battle showed him that he's as vulnerable as any other trainer once his surprise factor is lost. Well, we can't say anything for sure, but I do think Tobias isn't blind enough to not look at the reality even after an eye-opener like this."
Flint settled down, facing the battlefield once again. Tobias tossed out Darkrai's Pokéball for the third time in that match. The darkness Pokémon levitated close to the ground, staring at its opponent with frightening blue eyes.
"I guess you guys are correct. Ash's winning spirit must have gotten to Tobias." He chuckled dryly. "Who'd have thought Ash is the one teaching Tobias lessons here." On the other hand, the battle was totally devastating to Ash.
"He switched out…?" The move Tobias pulled just now was an unpleasant surprise to Ash, as he had been banking all his hopes on defeating a tired Deoxys with a couple of speedy attacks and then proceed to win the match by defeating Darkrai with the same winning momentum. "It doesn't make any difference," he assured himself. "I just have to defeat Darkrai first."
Scoreboard
(6-1) Ash Ketchum – Tobias (6-2)
Staraptor – Darkrai
Infernape – Raikou
Garchomp – Landorus
Glalie – Moltres
Scrafty – Latios
Sceptile–Deoxys
"We have a repeat match up here. Darkrai and Staraptor have faced off in the opening matchup of this long and exciting full battle. Now, how will this second round go? Will Tobias win as expected? Or does Ash have a last minute surprise."
"Darkrai versus Staraptor, let the battle begin!"
'Darkrai has taken a lot of damage. I'll finish this with one go.' Ash decided on his game plan. "Staraptor, use Quick Attack to get close!"
"Darkrai, use Dark Pulse!"
The hawk spread its wings, giving out a battle cry and launched itself into the air. The Pokémon began to slowly pick up its speed and rocketed towards Darkrai as the later began to collect its dark thoughts into a pulsating energy wave. And then—
No sooner did it pick up its pace, the bird cringed in pain and folded its wings in reflex. The Pokémon began crashing towards the ground like an airplane after an engine failure.
"Staraptor!"
Darkrai used the opportunity to shoot out the hot pulse of dark energy and struck the bird straight on its face. The wave of darkness pushed the hawk away and slammed it straight into the wall on Ash's end of the stadium.
Right after hitting the wall, the bird dropped as if it were dead. The referee didn't needed a second opinion.
"Staraptor is unable to battle, Darkrai wins." He raised the red flag. "As Ash Ketchum lost all six of his Pokémon, Tobias wins the first match of group C1."
Scoreboard
(6-0) Ash Ketchum – Tobias (6-2)
Staraptor – Darkrai
Infernape – Raikou
Garchomp – Landorus
Glalie – Moltres
Scrafty – Latios
Sceptile–Deoxys
"What an anti-climactic finish! Tobias wins the first match with two Pokémon still left at hand. Ketchum has done an excellent job throughout the battle, but they have fallen short by two Pokémon."
Ash stood like a statue, watching the scoreboard with a blank expression. The screen erased his photo, along with his Pokémon's to line up Tobias and all six of his Pokémon under a huge header that read "Winner!"
The long and tiring battle finally ended. The crowd slowly dispersed from the Lily of the Valley Stadium, leaving the stands empty sans the maintenance crew who were busy cleaning up the used drink cans, glasses and food packets that were littered everywhere. The preparations for the next match following Tobias versus Ash Ketchum was already underway.
A pair of familiar blonds were moving their way along with the rest of the crowd towards the exit. The Unova League winner Virgil, and the ever-hyper girl Bianca took the quickest way to the exit, as the latter demanded that they'd grab an ice cream before meeting their friends.
The rescue ranger looked deep in thought, as he continued to walk on robotically. Bianca's ever cheerful expression turned somewhat gloomy at this. She wasn't sure why Virgil looked sad but she took a good guess. "It's sad that Ash lost, isn't it?"
Bianca's words brought Virgil back form the world of thoughts. "Yeah," he said, looking at her. He put up a disappointed expression as he said, "I was rooting for him to win."
The Green Beret girl gave a toothy smiled at this. "Well that's true but this is just a group match, isn't it? He's still in the tournament, isn't he?" She said, as if it were the happiest news in the world.
Virgil smiled at this. "That's true, I guess." He was in fact plagued by the thoughts of Tobias. The performance Ash put up was a high level one. Without a doubt, he was in a different league than the boy he had last seen in the Vertress Conference last year. 'It must be really hard for him…to lose like this.'
Was there anyone who could defeat Tobias at all?
"I'm gonna fine Ash for losing," Barry said, as he dug his teeth into the burger he grabbed from a nearby stall.
Walking alongside him was the Tower Tycoon, Palmer, who simply listened to his son's ramblings with a tight-lipped expression. "Well, the kid did his best," the Frontier Brain said. "The battle was unfair right from the beginning."
"Hey Dad!" Barry moved quickly and stood in his father's way, giving the older man a serious expression. "We need to get stronger. A lot lot stronger. We need to get ten times…" he then shook his head vigorously. "No, a hundred times stronger than what we are. Let's train more and become the world's strongest trainers!"
Palmer smiled at his son's declaration. "Of course," he smiled, patting his son on the head. 'I don't want to lose to that guy either.' He thought, as the exhibition match with Tobias flashed in his mind.
"I can't believe Ash lost!" Morrison was screaming at the top of his voice. "The only person he should be losing to is me," he said, pointing his thumb towards himself. "His greatest rival!"
Meanwhile Stephan, Ritchie and Cameron had a hard time holding the furious Hoenn-native from doing something stupid. While Stephan held the stout boy by his arms, Ritchie and Cameron pushed him back, attempting to calm him down.
'How could you lose even after getting so strong, Ash?' Ritchie thought to himself, as Stephan attempted to calm Morrison down. 'If this isn't enough. Then I have to get stronger too.'
"Man, where did all my motivation go?" Harrison asked, two hands placed behind his neck as he walked along with Tyson and Vincent to the exit. He was looking at the clouds as he pondered about the battle that had just ended.
"I feel the same too," Vincent said. "Is it actually possible to win against that Deoxys?"
"Might as well go and eat something," Tyson said, in an equally despondent tone. "I don't want to worry about it on an empty stomach."
Vincent raised an eyebrow at the Hoenn-native. "Well, let's grab something to eat before we leave."
It had then occurred to him that there was one of them missing. He was with them before the match began, and disappeared after saying he wanted to buy something to eat. "Hey guys, where's Paul?"
After the long and tiring match ended, Tobias walked back alone through the long corridor leading to the exit. The battle left him with mixed feelings. He was miffed that he let an ordinary trainer, who was still away from an Elite's level force his sixth Pokémon out. He had expected things to be like the Sinnoh League. He though he'd breeze through the tournament with just Darkrai until he reached Tier 2. The fact that he was forced to reveal his trump card right in the first match hurt his pride on many levels.
But on the other hand, he was happy. Even if he was aware of his flaw, Tobias never saw much need to worry about them. He had now realized that there was still a lot of scope for him to improve. If he started battling tactfully rather than just send six legendary Pokémon and sit around, he could get a lot stronger. The match he had with Lucian was a close one, contrary to what the rumors said. The result of the match was a secret between either trainers after all.
Tobias had doubts on his chances against Cynthia, considering how she defeated Lucian by quite a margin in his title challenge match. But now…thanks to the boy called Ash Ketchum, Tobias finally realized that he still had a good chance of winning against her.
"Did you feel bad that I treated you like an ordinary Pokémon and switched around a lot?" He asked, to no one in particular. The corridor was empty except for the young man making his way towards the exit.
Silence remained for some time. "I see," Tobias chuckled, as if someone replied to the question he asked. "So my growth as a trainer interests you, huh. You never cease to amuse me, Darkrai."
The corridor split in two ways, one leading to the exit and the other leading to the stands. Tobias took the former route, as he wanted to get back to his hotel room and take a good rest. A real full battle was tiring after all. However—
He paused when he spotted a woman standing by the exit, her back leaned against the wall. The woman, whose long blond hair reached her hips, smiled when she noticed the legendary trainer. "Congratulations on your victory, Tobias." She walked forward and extended a hand.
The legendary trainer silently shook hands with her. "I'm glad the champion of Sinnoh has come in person to congratulate me."
"The honor is mine," she smiled back, brushing tendrils of hair falling on her eyes. "I'm impressed by your team of legendary Pokémon, and I acknowledge you as a threat, even if I can't comprehend your methods."
Tobias's eyebrows knitted in a frown. Clearly the woman didn't take the trouble to come this far from the VIP box and wait for him, merely to congratulate.
"The battle you and Ash showed us today has inspired each and every trainer participating in the tournament. After watching the match, I am pretty sure everyone is fired up to become stronger. All of them, especially I, have the same goal in mind right now." Cynthia's expression turned serious, the smile on her face fading and a frown taking its place instead. Placing a hand on her hips, the champion said in a formal tone. "As the champion of Sinnoh and the president of the trainer's association, I would like to tell something on the behalf of all the trainers participating in the Pokémon World Tournament."
Tobias closed his eyes, realizing what Cynthia was about to say. "We'll not let you win this championship at any cost, Tobias. It could be me, Alder, Jason or even Ash. But I will assure you one thing. You won't lay your hands on that title. I swear this on my honor as a Pokémon trainer."
The expression on Tobias's face remained placid at the champion's declaration. He knew he would be the source of envy and hatred of each and every trainer participating in the world tournament on the very day he decided to enter the championship. The words he heard now weren't anything new to the legendary trainer.
He said, replying in a casual tone. "I accept the challenge." He wanted to give her an equally extravagant reply, but Tobias believed in speaking through actions than words. Instead, "Now if you please…."he said, nodding at the exit.
The Champion silently moved aside, giving way for the legendary trainer to walk. He crossed the woman, not giving her an acknowledging glance as he did so and marched forward with the same callous look he always carried.
After ensuring that he was out of the blonde's earshot, the legendary trainer spoke to his invisible partner once again. "She threw me a direct challenge, so she's finally realized I am a threat to her title. Things have gotten really interesting, Darkrai."
"Well if that's the case, do you want to catch more Pokémon then?" A mysterious voice replied to him telepathically.
"Hmm," Tobias nodded, the smile on his face brightening up with newfound excitement. "Let's start with that Heatran I saw last night."
FIN
Is it over? Not yet. There's an Epilogue following this chapter. I'll probably post it tomorrow or mostly, the day after.
Well let me get into my usual rambling then.
Many of you might ask why I took ages to update this chapter.
This chapter was literally a pain to write. It's 19000 words long, but I'll tell you I probably wrote a 100,000 words in the process of writing that. I started the chapter, finished everything until the end in multiple sittings. On December 1st, I finally finished writing this last chapter. As I reread, it turned out to be unsatisfactory. Worse than I actually expected. I began rewriting many scenes and proof read them again. The proofreading was much more painstaking. I had to rewrite paragraphs and paragraphs together. Then, I came across more trouble! And began rewriting some of the scenes yet again! As much as I enjoyed writing this story, I'll tell you this chapter was a big pain in my ass. But I love writing this story, and I intend to continue it as long as I can (and probably finish it). So, the pain really didn't feel like much trouble. It's weird considering how I can barely write 3000 words on my engineering papers and yet I find writing 20000 for this fic nothing. But don't get me wrong, I am very much satisfied with this end product (though the end is slightlyrushed.), I hope you found it very good too.
Read and review. I would like to talk with each and everyone of you once again. I haven't been replying to reviews properly these days, so I want to really do that!