Chapter 21: The First Round
It was a beautiful day as the first round matches were about to begin. Not a single cloud could be found as the sun rose higher into the sky. It was an hour until the first matches were about to begin as Ash, Serena, Clemont, Bonnie, and Sawyer stood outside the Blue Stadium. As they entered the stadium, a tall man walked up to them. As he was dressed, they saw he was a Pokemon League official.
"Mr. Ketchum?" The man asked to Ash.
"Yes I am." Ash answered.
"You will follow me to the Trainer's Lounge. There you will wait until the match is to start." He said as he began to walk away.
"What about my friends?" Ash asked, signalling to his friends behind him.
The official shook his head. "I'm sorry Mr. Ketchum, but due to new security measures only participants that are about to battle are allowed in the Lounge."
Ash nodded his head, sad that he had to separate from his friends now. He turned around and they all gave him the thumbs up.
"You can do it Ash!" Bonnie shouted.
"Just trust in your Pokemon, like you always do" Clemont said.
"There's no doubt you'll win" Sawyer exclaimed.
"I believe in you Ash" Serena said softly, but not before giving Ash a quick peck on the cheek. She had wanted to kiss him on the lips, and so did Ash, but they still felt uneasy in showing their affection in public, and they still hadn't told Sawyer. Sawyer, who had seen the kiss, thought nothing of it. He knew Serena was an incredibly kind and caring girl and saw the kiss as just a friendly one.
Ash went with the official to the Lounge as the rest of the group found their seats. According to the bracket, Ash will be battling as the green trainer so they found seats that were close to the trainers box on the green side.
"So who is Ash facing this round?" Sawyer asked, looking at Clemont who had picked up a flyer detailing all the matches today.
"A guy named Dean. He's from Santalune City actually." Clemont said as he read the flyer. "This will be his first Pokemon League appearance."
"Well, then Ash should be able to win no sweat!" Bonnie cheered. Clemont didn't share the same enthusiasm.
"Remember Bonnie, everyone here was able to win 8 gym badges. There's going to be no push overs here" Clemont said. Sawyer and Serena nodded their heads in agreement.
In the trainer's lounge Ash found another person already there. A young boy a couple of years younger than Ash. He had blonde hair and a red jacket. As Ash entered, the boy turned to face Ash.
"Are you Ash?" The boy asked. Ash sensed the boy's nervousness in his voice. Ash had seen the boy's profile in the brackets. Dean, a Kalos native that had just started his pokemon journey a year ago. He had started last year, but couldn't make it to the League in time. So after a year of extra training and adventure, Dean was finally able to make it to the Pokemon League.
"Yes, you must be Dean?" Ash responded; the boy nodded his head. Ash could see the boy's legs were slightly shaking. Ash remembered his first Pokemon League. Though he didn't want to admit it at first, he was scared. He didn't want to let down his friends and family.
"A pleasure to meet you" Ash said as he extended his hand to Dean. The boy looked at Ash's hand in awe and shook it. "It's an honor to meet you"
"Honor?" Ash asked in confusion.
"I read your profile earlier this morning. Several Top 8 finishes, a semi-final appearance where you defeated 2 Legendary Pokemon. You even beat the Orange League, and were the first to defeat the Battle Frontier." Dean said as he went over Ash's record. Ash blushed scratching the back of his head in embarrassment.
"I know I can't beat you" Dean said as he finished. This took Ash by surprise. He looked down at the boy who now had his head down. They hadn't even stepped out onto the battlefield and Dean had already accepted defeat. Ash placed his hands on Dean's shoulders and took a knee so he could see Dean's face.
"Now that's no way to think. You're selling yourself short. If you made it here, then you must be strong." Ash said trying to cheer the boy up.
"Yeah, maybe...but not as strong as you." Dean said.
"I guess we will have to find out right? You owe it to yourself and your pokemon to do your very best. Never give up until it's over!" Ash said. With that Dean looked up at Ash. He smiled at Ash's encouraging words.
"Right, for my pokemon!" Dean said, now ready for their battle. Ash nodded his head and got up. He was here to win, but he didn't want to battle against trainers who weren't at their very best.
"Trainers, are you ready?" A door on the other side opened and a referee entered. Both Ash and Dean nodded their heads. Following the referee they walked out onto the battlefield.
"There he is!" Serena shouted as she saw Ash following the referee outside the middle tunnel. The two trainers shook hands and went to their own trainers box on opposite ends of the battlefield. The referee took his place on the sideline in the middle.
"This will be a three on three pokemon battle. When all of one trainer's Pokemon are unable to battle, the other will be declared the victor. Both trainers are allowed substitutions." The referee exclaimed for everyone in the stadium.
"Green trainer, Ash are you ready?" As he pointed to Ash. Ash gave a nod as he grabbed his first pokeball.
"Red trainer, Dean are you ready?" Dean took a deep breath and nodded, raising his own pokeball.
"Both trainers send out your first Pokemon!" The ref said as he raised both his flags.
"Alright Talonflame! C'mon out!" Ash said as he called out his first Pokemon.
"I'm counting on you Pelipper!" Dean shouted as he called on his first Pokemon.
The two flying Pokemon squared off, keeping steady ready for their trainer's first command.
"It has been pre-determined that Dean will have the first move" The referee stated, "Let the battle begin!" He said as he lowered his flags.
"Alright Pelipper shoot down his Talonflame with your Water Gun!" Dean commanded. Pelipper fired a torrent of water straight at Talonflame.
"Dodge it quick and get above Pelipper!" Ash quickly responded. Talonflame was quick and easily dodged the Water Gun attack. "Good, now use Flame Charge!"
Talonflame dive-bombed Pelipper, engulfing itself in fire. Pelipper tried to dodge, but Talonflame readjusted and slammed into Pelipper. Due to it's typing the attack wasn't very effective, but Ash knew getting the first hit in was crucial.
"Good job Talonflame, now go around and use Steel Wing!" Ash said was Talonflame made for another pass at Pelipper.
"Quick Pelipper, use Bubblebeam!" Dean shouted. Pelipper shot out a stream of bubbles.
"Talonflame, start spinning and push through it!" Ash said. Talonflame then started spinning, still going right for Pelipper. The Bubblebeam hit Talonflame, but it's effectiveness was decreased from Talonflame's spinning Steel Wing. The attack had slowed Talonflame a little bit, but the flame Pokemon still slammed right into Pelipper dealing a good amount of damage.
The two Pokemon resetted at their end of the battlefield. Talonflame was a bit injured from the super effective Bubblebeam attack, but Pelipper looked worn out. Dean saw this and hesitated. Ash took this opprotunity to attack.
"Alright one more time Talonflame, Flame Charge!" Ash told his Pokemon. Talonflame once again engulfed itself in fire and zoomed right for Pelipper. Without Dean's guidance, Pelipper was struck again and slammed into the ground, fainted.
"Pelipper is unable to battle, Talonflame is the winner!" The referee declared. It took Dean a second, but then returned Pelipper to its pokeball.
"Hey Dean!" Ash shouted across the battlefield arena. Serena, Clemont, Sawyer, and Bonnie were wondering why Ash would stop the battle now. Dean looked over at Ash, he was still shaken by the atmosphere of the Pokemon League.
"Don't worry about the crowd or anything. It's just you and your Pokemon. Believe in them because they believe in you." Ash said. The crowd had quieted down and heard Ash's words.
"Even in a Pokemon League match, Ash still goes out of his way to help someone" Clemont said, astounded at Ash's actions.
"And that's why he's your boyfriend Serena!" Bonnie said giggling.
"Huh?!"
Serena looked around and saw Sawyer's mouth wide open. Her face went red with embarassment. Now Sawyer knew of their relationship.
"Bonnie! Why did you say that?!" Clemont said to his sister, scolding her for her outburst.
"Oopsie..." Bonnie said, not really sorry for what she did.
Back on the battlefield Dean took a second to embrace Ash's advice. He was right, this was like any other Pokemon battle he had before. Sure there were hundreds of people watching now, but he had to drown them all out of his thoughts.
"Will the red trainer please call out their 2nd Pokemon." The referee announced. Dean took out his 2nd Pokeball. Talonflame was a flying type, so Dean knew what Pokemon to use against it.
"Alright, c'mon out Manectric!" Dean said as he threw the pokeball out. The lightning wolf Pokemon jumped out, ready to battle.
"You ready Talonflame?" Ash asked his Pokemon, the fire bird turned and nodded its head. It wasn't going to back down.
"Alright then, Steel and Flying moves won't be good against Manectric, so lets start off with a Flame Charge!" Ash commanded and Talonflame dove right for Manectric, its body burning bright from the fire.
"Wait for it Manectric...and jump!" Dean said, waiting for the right moment. Manectric jumped over Talonflame as it almost struck. "Now use Thunderbolt!"
"Quick Talonflame, turn around and use Flare Blitz!" Ash said. He had hoped Talonflame's increased speed would be enough. Talonflame banked around and went for Manectric as it charged up its Thunderbolt. It was still in the air, so it couldn't dodge again.
"Now!" Dean yelled as Talonflame closed the distance. Manectric let loose its attack and it struck Talonflame point blank. The momentum from Talonflame was too much as it still slammed into Manectric. There was an explosion and both Pokemon fell to the ground. Manectric got up, still ready to battle, but Talonflame had fainted.
"Talonflame is unable to battle, Manectric is the winner." The referee called out.
Ash withdrew Talonflame. "You did great buddy, take a good rest" He said as he drew out his 2nd Pokemon.
"Alright, you're up Torterra!" Ash said as he called on his 2nd Pokemon. The massive Pokemon slammed into the ground, eager to start battling.
"Manetric, get ready. Torterra is part ground type so Electric moves won't work." Dean said to his Pokemon.
"Torterra, use Razor Leaf!" Ash commanded. Torterra fired off dozens of sharpened leaves right at Manectric.
"Manectric use Double Team!" Dean said. Manectric then multiplied into a 7 different copies. The Razor Leaf went at one of the Manectric, but it was a copy.
"Well let's take them all out them. Torterra use Frenzy Plant!" Ash called out. Torterra then glowed green and then roots came out of the ground, hitting all of the copies and the real Manectric.
"Oh no, Manectric. Are you ok?" Dean called out to his Pokemon. Manectric stood up, obviously injured from the strong grass attack. "Alright, Torterra can't move for a awhile. Run right up to it!" Dean commanded his Pokemon. Ash wondered what Dean was thinking. What move was Manectric going to use at point blank range.
"Now use Flamethrower!"
Ash, and the rest of the stadium gasped. Manectric opened its mouth and a stream of flame came out, engulfing Torterra in its fire.
"Torterra! Hang in there!" Ash shouted. It was his turn to be shocked. After the attack, Manectric jumped back to its side of the battlefield. Torterra shook of the rest of the flames, and stood strong, but it was visibly weakened from the strong fire attack.
"Good job Torterra, now counter with Earthquake!" Ash said, hoping to finish this round quickly. Torterra raised itself up on its hind legs and then slammed the ground with its front legs, delivering a strong Earthquake.
"Manectric hang in there!" Dean shouted, but soon Manectric fell down from the attack.
"Before it gets up, Razor Leaf!" Ash called out. Torterra again shot out two dozen leaves right at Manectric. Manectric, already injured from the Earthquake couldn't get up in time, and got hit by the Razor Leaf. Manectric was launched back, falling in front of Dean, fainted.
"Manetric is unable to battle, Torterra is the winner!" The referee called out. "The red trainer has one Pokemon left, while the green trainer still has two Pokemon."
Dean knelt down next to Manetric, petting it's golden fur. "You did good Manectric, I couldn't be more proud." He said as he returned the Pokemon to its Pokeball. Dean went back to his trainer's box and pulled out his final pokeball.
"Alright, it's all up to you buddy!" Dean said as he threw the Pokeball into the air. Another large Pokemon landed onto the battlefield. It was a Chesnaught, Dean's first and most powerful Pokemon.
"Alright Torterra, let's keep Chesnaught at a distance. Use Razor Leaf!" Ash said to his Pokemon. Torterra gave a war cry and let loose a hail of sharp leaves.
"Use your shield Chesnaught!" Dean commanded just before the Razor Leaf attack landed. The leaves embedded themselves into Chesnaughts shield, dealing no damage to the Pokemon.
"Now rush in and use Needle Arm!" Dean shouted. Chesnaught then sprinted towards Torterra. Ash was surprised at the speed of the large Pokemon.
"Quick, use Earthquake." Ash yelled, but before Torterra could launch it's attack, Chesnaught came in and attacked with it's Needle Arm. Torterra was launched backwards, but luckily landed on its feet.
"Now finish it off with Hammer Arm!"
Chesnaught once again rushed in. Ash knew Torterra wouldn't be able to get an Earthquake attack in time. It was all or nothing now.
"Use Leaf Storm! Everything you got!" Ash shouted.
Torterra's Leaf Storm had caught Chesnaught right before it landed its own attack. It had hit Chesnaught sqaure in the chest, launching the Pokemon across the battlefield. Ash looked at his own Pokemon. Torterra was panting, it was almost out of energy and to top it off, Leaf Storm had drained Torterra's attack potential.
Chesnaught was getting up it shrugged off the attack, but Ash knew that it was injured. Torterra would need time to rest, and Ash might need it later down the road.
"Torterra, return." Ash said as he recalled his Pokemon. "You did really good. Rest up, I might need you for one last effort."
Ash looked over at Dean and his Chesnaught. "Your Chesnaught is really strong Dean. You raised it really well." He said complimenting the opposing trainer.
"Thanks Ash, that means a lot." Dean said, humbled by Ash's words.
"Alright, let's do this. Greninja I choose you!" Ash said as he released his final Pokemon. Greninja landed on the battlefield, and stared down Chesnaught. It knew this was a powerful opponent.
"Greninja, Water Shuriken!"
Then follow up with an Aerial Ace!
Greninja jumped into the air and fired two Water Shurikens at Chesnaught. While Chesnaught was busy with the water attack, Greninja came in with an Aerial Ace. Chesnaught blocked the first Shuriken, and then knocked the second one away. It then looked back up to where it thought Greninja was.
"Wait, where is it?!" Dean shouted, looking around frantically. As he looked around, a shadow came out of the sun in the sky and slammed into Chesnaught, knocking it back several yards.
"Wow, how did it do that...you ok Chesnaught?" Dean asked his pokemon as it got up on its feet. Chesnaught nodded its head, staring down Greninja.
"Alright, it may be fast, but so are we. Use Needle Arm!" Dean commanded. Chesnaught charged Greninja closing the distance quickly.
"Double Team!" Ash said calmly. He was in sync with his Greninja like always. Greninja's Double Team was much stronger than Manectric's earlier. Instead of just 7 copies, about two dozen had appeared and had circled Chesnaught as it stopped in the middle of the battlefield.
"If we can't figure out which one is the real one, we'll just hit them all! Use Pin Missile on all of them!" Dean said to his Pokemon. Chesnaught gave a battle cry and launched a volley of green missiles.
The multiple Greninjas started to dodge the attacks. Some were destroyed by a Pin Missile, but most of them survived. As the copies were dodging, the real Greninja came in and attacked Chesnaught from behind using another Aerial Ace. Chesnaught was getting frustrated. It didn't like these sneak attacks.
"You need to calm down Chesnaught." Dean called out to his Pokemon. Chesnaught looked back and took a deep breath. Its trainer was correct, this was what Greninja wanted.
"Alright, now use Pin Missile again!" Dean said. Chesnaught launched another volley and destroyed the rest of the copies, even landing a hit on the real Greninja. However, the strength of Pin Missile was that multiple Missiles would hit a single target so since just one of them hit Greninja, it barely left a mark.
"Ok Greninja let's finish this. One more Aerial Ace!"
Chesnaught is going to use its shield. Jump over at the last second and launch a Water Shuriken from behind.
"Chesnaught use Spiky Shield!" Dean countered. Chesnaught raised its shield and large spikes came out of it now. Chesnaught braced for the attack but it never came.
"Behind you!" Chesnaught heard Dean say, but it was too late. Two Water Shuriken's had struck Chesnaught in the back. Chesnaught had leaned forward for the attack that it thought was coming, but the attack from behind had made it lose its balance. As Chesnaught fell on the ground, Greninja pounced on Chesnaught and struck it with one more Aerial Ace. Chesnaught had fainted.
"Chesnaught is unable to battle. With no more Pokemon, the winner of this match goes to Ash of Pallet Town!" The referee announced, a second later the crowd erupted in applause. But none were as loud as the small group of two boys and two girls that sat near in the front. Ash walked over to Dean who was kneeling down next to Chesnaught. It had recovered and was sitting up.
"Hey Dean. That was a great match." Ash said as he extended his hand. Dean stood up and accepted the handshake.
"Yeah it was. Thank you so much for helping me though, but...why did you help?" Dean asked. Ash gave a short laugh and scratched the back of his head.
"There really isn't a reason why Dean. I just felt like you were having some trouble, and believe me I was going through the same thing in my first tournament, and I just thought...If I can help you, why shouldn't I help? I mean sure you were my opponent, but making friends and helping out other people is more important." Ash said.
Dean looked at Ash in amazement. Even though he had lost, Ash had somehow made it feel alright. The two walked off the battlefield and into the Trainers Lounge. They gave their Pokemon to a Nurse Joy and walked out. Dean was met by his father and mother who were waiting.
"Oh I'm so proud of you Dean" The mother said as she embraced her son. The father went up to Ash and reached out his hand.
"Thank you Ash" He said.
"Huh? For what?" Ash asked, confused at what the father meant. Even then, Ash accepted the father's hand and shook it.
"You may have defeated my son, but from what I saw. You were encouraging him every step of the way. It takes a real man to fight with honor like that." He said as he let go. Dean and his parents said their farewells. Sadly they had to leave for Santulune City soon, but Dean promised Ash that he would be watching him throughout the tournament.
Ash met up with his friends a minute later in the main lobby. Serena ran over to him and hugged him. Ash had gotten used to Serena almost tackling him, so he was able to stay on his feet.
"You were amazing Ash." She said as he returned her embrace. Sawyer came up to Ash's side with his trusty little notebook in hand.
"Amazing? It was phenominal! I thought I've seen everything but you Ash, you keep on surprising me!" Sawyer said, barely able to keep up with his excitement.
Upon seeing Sawyer, Ash broke his hug with Serena, but Sawyer raised a hand. "It's ok Ash, I know" He said.
"Uh...you know?" Ash said timidly.
"Yep, all thanks to Bonnie for spilling the beans" Clemont said as looked at his sister.
"Sorry Sawyer, we were going to tell you, but we're kind of new to this." Ash said, trying to explain. Sawyer shook his head, "Oh, it's no problem Ash. Besides, you two make a great couple."
Ash and Serena blushed and looked away from Sawyer, but ended up looking at each other. The two had nowhere to else to look, so they stayed where they were smiling at each other with red cheeks.
"Oh yeah. Sawyer, your match should be in a couple of hours." Clemont said as he looked at the flyer in his hand.
The group decided to break for lunch at the Pokemon Center. After lunch Ash recieved his Pokemon, fully healed. Ash helped Sawyer with several last minute strategies and before they knew it, it was time for them to leave for the Green Stadium.