DISCLAIMER
Ownership is like me seriously shipping Latias with some other character later on in the story! (I Imagine you guys would really kill me if I did something like that :P )
Summary: After losing in the Sinnoh league, Ash and his friends head back home, but make a stop in Altomare to visit some old friends. But it's a start of a new adventure as unexpected changes befall upon our young hero. Altoshipping!
Rating T – Strong language, Suggestive but Non-Explicit Adult Themes, and Cartoon Violence
" " = talking
' ' = telepathy
thoughts
{action}
A/N
Yes yes yes. I know and I'm so so so so so so so so so so so so so so...well you get it...sorry! I've been really busy! I'll explain at the bottom! Until then please enjoy!
-Mekon
Last Time:
"Shhhh! You can't go around blabbing about like that" Max exclaimed, but then turned to Ash, "You've got to show me your new form Ash! I really really really really really realllllllllllllyyyyy want to see it! It looked amazing and sooooo cool!" Ash laughed, knowing that not even Max was immune to the unbelievability of his story. Brock shook his head and laughed as well, missing the hilarious interaction between Max and May.
"Shouldn't you guys be focusing on the fact that we're trying to save the world...again?" Brock asked with a raised brow and a grin, making light of the actual situation they faced.
"Yeah, what's up with that whole deal? All I could catch was something about elemental aura orbs... and corruption," Max stated, wanting to learn more about these mysterious powerful objects.
"Long story short: There are some magical orbs scattered all around the world that are connected directly to Arceus, and there is someone that's corrupting them, which is hurting Arceus and the world. Eventually if we don't stop it, all the pokemon in this world will become corrupted and evil. We're here because I need training from Mew and Mewtwo to learn to use my powers, and it just so happens that Mew's home is here at the Tree of Beginning." Ash summed up to the best of his abilities, "And we're hanging out here for a bit now because Mew and Mewtwo are still out trying to find out who is corrupting the orbs."
'Yup...that's pretty much where we're at right now,' Latias said, glancing at the clock. There were fifteen minutes left till the first round. 'And speaking of where we're at, I think that you guys need to head over to the competition NOW if you want to make it!' May and Dawn swerved their heads towards the clock and screamed, realizing just how close the actual first round was.
"LET'S GO DAWN!" May yelled, having already picked out her outfit a day earlier. She grabbed, Dawn's arm and dragged her out of the door. "WE'LL SEE YOU GUYS AT THE CONTEST!"
"GOOD LUCK!" They all called, a bit late. May and Dawn were already out of the door, ready to put on their best for the show ahead. Latias, Ash, Brock and Misty couldn't wait!
Ch20: A Little Competition
Ash slowly weaved through the compact aisles of the contest hall, squirming and forcing his way though the stagnant crowds, most of which were too occupied with searching for a free spot to place themselves. In the back of his mind, Ash thanked Arceus that they had been granted reserved seating, being such good friends with many of the competitors in the competitor's box and calling in a few favors. After another brief tussle with another still pool of audience members, they finally pushed their way towards the first few rows, clear and ready to receive them.
"There sure are a lot of people here," Brock commented, jostling past the last inconsiderate bystander that was too busy conversing with one of their friends to move out of the aisles. Misty had no problem, simply brushing past the offending group, making it no mystery to her feelings on their current position in the contest hall.
'Well May and Dawn did mention that this is one of the biggest pokemon contests held in Kanto.' Latias said, 'And I can see what she meant by that. There are people from all over the place.' Everywhere she looked, she could easily pick out foreigners, most noticeably by their pokemon. There were of course a few that were ostensibly dressed, their bright and strange clothing easily poking out of crowd.
They finally got to their premium seating, the second row being elevated perfectly to provide a clear and unobstructed view of the elegantly decorated stage below, the theme matching the medieval setting of the festival. They sighed with relief as they were now able to sit and move around without interference.
"Good morning ladies! Gentlemen! And Pokemon alike!" a voice called over the PA system, "I'm your host for this wonderful contest! Lilian Meridian!" The crowd finally settled down as the auditorium lights began to dim, a comfortable quiet sweeping the room. "This year we are proud to present the sixty-fourth Annual Cameran Contest Extravaganza!" The crowd responded with eager and jubilant cheers, ready to experience the magic that the contest promised. "And now! Let's introduce our judges! The ever respectable Mr. Contesta!"
"It's a pleasure to be here today. I do hope to see some magnificent performances today from our wonderful coordinators who have worked hard to prepare for this moment," Mr. Contesta greeted with a charming smile.
"Mr. Sukizo!"
"Today will be remarkable," he commented coolly, being a man of very few and choice words.
"Our wonderful resident Nurse Joy!"
"It is such an honor to be here today. I wish all the coordinators the best of luck," Nurse Joy said sweetly, and Brock nearly died from the heart-ache.
"And finally! Our guest judge! Queen Ilene! Regal and benevolent ruler of Cameran Palace and our annual sponsor of the yearly Cameran Contest Extravaganza!"
Queen Ilene rose fluidly from her seat flashing the crowd a soft smile and a brief wave, her mime junior imitating her every movement. The audience responded with a thunderous roar, accompanied by occasional whistling, many of which she duly ignored.
"Well then folks, are you ready?" Lilian asked, as the stage lights burst into full power. She was answered with another round of deafening applause from a very anxious crowd. "Alright! Let's welcome our first contestant! Dawn! Who hails from the mystical and far-off land of Sinnoh!"
Dawn took a deep breath. "Here we go," she said to herself as she stepped into the central spotlight, trying to mask her nervous energy with a grin. Piplup smacked her leg lightly, waking the Sinnoh coordinator out of her reverie. Dawn looked down at her faithful partner and smiled, glad that he always had her back. "You're right. No need to worry!" With a release of breath and a cheerful wave, she issued her first command, her blue dress swishing gracefully behind and ready to dazzle the crowd and judges.
"And now! The judges will now announce the ten coordinators who are advancing to the battle round!" Lilian voice reminded over the PA system, as the enormous television mounted over the center of the stage began to display the winners of the first round. "They will be revealed according to their current ranking!"
Ash and his friends watched with baited breath as the first picture was revealed; it wasn't May or Dawn. The next two pictures came after, with none of them displaying either of the friends. However, on the fourth, Dawn's picture finally came onto the screen. Ash and his friends cheered the hardest amongst the crowd, ecstatic that at least one of them had made it.
They wouldn't have to worry about only one of them making it though. The fifth picture showcased May's smiling face and her extremely happy Skitty.
'They both made it!' Latias cheered, 'I knew they would! They were amazing!' Ash laughed, agreeing wholeheartedly with Latias.
"Yeah they were. They do put a lot of time into their performances," Ash said, thinking about and analyzing some of the combinations moves he had witnessed, seeing what he could use for his upcoming battle. "They definitely deserve it." By now, the ninth picture had already been revealed, and the audience waited, eager to know who the last coordinator was.
"And it looks like Ms. Jessilina is our last coordinator folks! Stay right where you are! The battle round begins right after our thirty minute break!" Ms. Meridian announced as she too walked off the stage to grab a snack. The massive crowd began slowly filing out, many of them wanting space and food.
Ash stood up and stretched, deciding to get a bite to eat and some fresh air. It was nearly lunchtime after all. Riolu and Kirlia hopped up too, feeling a bit stiff after sitting for so long. They were not used to the strange feeling of sitting for extended periods of time. The forest didn't have chairs after all. Latias followed suit, always happy to spend more time with Ash.
"You coming Pikachu?" Ash asked with a smile as he came down to his best friend who was lazily relaxing on the soft cushions of the auditorium. Pikachu looked like he was trying to decide whether or not getting up was worth it. "There's probably free ketchup!" Pikachu's ears popped up, and he stretched, always in the mood for his favorite food. Pikachu hopped up onto Ash's shoulder, ready to go.
Ash politely asked if any of his friends wanted anything from the stall he was going to visit, having spied some of his favorites on the way to the contest hall. Brock, Misty and Max merely replied that they would go to another stall to get food, and he nodded. They exited with a bit of difficulty, and made a beeline for their respective food stalls, the smells already making Ash's stomach growl in anticipation.
Latias latched herself onto Ash's right arm so she wouldn't get swallowed up by the hoard of people fighting to get into the food line. He blushed, deciding not to comment and ignoring the snickering from Pikachu, Riolu and Kirlia.
"So what did you guys think?" Ash asked once they had successfully claimed their place in line, "Was it awesome or was it AWESOME?"
Latias giggled. "Both," she replied, beaming, "I've never seen pokemon use their moves like that before. I would have never thought of some of those combinations! How did May know her Skitty would use Fire Spin from her Assist? Then how did she know that she could somehow combine it with Skitty's Blizzard attack? And how did Dawn get Piplup to wrap his Hydro Pump around his Whirlpool?" Ash laughed, commenting on the fact that May and Dawn always seemed to be able to come up with new combinations without fail. "I wish I could do something cool like that."
"Maybe I'll enter next time with you Latias. How does that sound?" Ash asked with a wink. Latias nearly tackled Ash in happiness, but instead opted for nodding her head vigorously. He chuckled at how excited the red-eon was, and wondered if that was how he looked to all his friends when he got excited.
Finally, after what seemed like ages, they got their food and headed back. Ash made sure to grab a couple handfuls of ketchup packets and stuff them in his pockets for Pikachu, ignoring all the strange looks people were directing towards him. Pikachu was too busy slurping the ketchup from a ketchup packet to care.
They made it to their seats just in time for the first round. The stage lights illuminated the battlefield, revealing the changed stage. On both sides of the stage were large semi-circular platforms, and down the middle of each of these half-circles were long ramps, large enough for a rather good-sized pokemon to walk on. In the center, they connected to a central platform which was a large full circle, that connected both sides. The rest of the stage was filled with crystal clear water, dotted with a few floating platforms no larger than a Houndoom. Ash noticed that the stage was built to resemble the flowing river and castle that was characteristic to the town as seen from the air.
The bell rang and the first battle began.
"And that last combination did it folks! May's Glaceon's Frozen Shadow Ball scored a direct hit! Yanmega is down and out for the count! This concludes our semi-final round! It looks like May and Dawn will be facing it off in the final contest battle!"
"Whaat! Not FAIR! HOW DID YOUR TINSY LITTLE GLACEON DEFEAT MY YANMEGA!" Jessilina cried out as she stomped off the stage in a rage. May looked on with a puzzled face, wondering why her voice seemed so familiar. She shrugged it off, however, as she nuzzled her Glaceon.
"You were amazing. I couldn't have wished for a better battle," May congratulated, which Glaceon responded in kind with a happy purr. "Let's get some rest. We got a re-match to prepare for!" Her fresh snow pokemon nodded as she followed her trainer into the backstage rest area.
"Congrats May!" Dawn said as her friend returned, "I knew you could do it." May smiled, thanking her friend and competitor.
"Looks like it's going to be me and you again," May said, remembering the results of their prior face-off, "Don't think you'll be getting off easy this time!"
Dawn giggled. "I wouldn't want it any other way! Let's give it our all!" she said with a determined face. May nodded.
"Deal."
"This is it folks! The final battle between Dawn of the Sinnoh region and May of the Hoenn region. Which coordinator will come out on top? You'll just have to wait and watch!" Lilian said into the mic, pumping up the crowd for the final showdown, "Coordinators take your places!"
"Glaceon! Take the stage!" May called, Glaceon's pokeball releasing a fine storm of ice crystals, highlighting her entrance and beauty.
"Alright! Piplup! Spotlight!" Dawn responded as her pokeball erupted in a flurry of bubbles. Piplup materialized onto the stage, puffing his chest out confidently, ready for action.
"The coordinators will have twenty minutes to reduce their opponents score as far as they can. The first to reduce their opponent's score to zero or knock out their opponent's pokemon will be crowned this year's contest princess! Begin!" Just as Ms. Meridian finished saying this, the buzzer rang, initiating the countdown.
"Piplup! Let's go! Bubblebeam!" Dawn said, hoping to get a first strike in. Her small penguin pokemon unleashed a torrent of forceful bubbles, that rocketed towards Glaceon.
May smirked, predicting an early attack from Dawn. "Return it! Iron Tail then follow it up with a Shadow Ball!" the Hoenn trainer called and watched with satisfaction as Glaceon's hardened tail whacked the incoming bubbles repeatedly, like a batter on the mound. The crowd began to warm up to the battle, knowing that returning bubbles required some finesse and a lot of practice. Once all of the bubbles had been sent back to where they came from, the fresh snow pokemon let loose a powerful shadow ball. Dawn's points were decreased a bit by May's successful counter.
"Peck! Then Bubblebeam again! Pop all of those bubbles!" Piplup's beak elongated to enormous proportions and began glowing with concentrated power. He narrowed his eyes, focusing on each of the oncoming projectiles, spearing them rapidly, using his beck like a rapier. The bubbles burst into a sparkling and harmless mist, which caused May's points to go down.
"What remarkable skill and speed!" Mr. Sukizo complemented, marveling at how fast Piplup's beak had been going.
Piplup wasn't done yet, because once all the bubbles had been popped, he created more, firing them at Glaceon's Shadow Ball. The two attacks collided, creating an explosion and a lot of smoke.
"Quick! Into the pool Piplup!" Dawn commanded, hoping to use the water to their advantage. Piplup eagerly dived in, water being his element.
"Glaceon! Center. Freeze the pool!" Glaceon rushed down the ramp, fired her Ice Beam and spun. Within seconds, Piplup was sealed in a watery tomb, a thick sheet of ice barring his access to the surface. "Then use Ice Shard! Rapid fire!"
The fresh snow pokemon immediately began firing off a volley of sharp and fast ice chucks that pierced the layer of ice, causing Piplup to dodge and swim all over the place. From the underwater camera, the audience was treated to what seemed like a small penguin being shot at by a machine gun, in an artistic way of course. The ice chunks trails were illuminated by a line of fine bubbles, that caused the crowd to 'ooo' and 'ahh' at the power Glaceon was displaying.
Dawn had to act fast before she lost any more points. Making large and blatant motions towards her submerged partner, she issued a non-verbal command, something they had worked out ages ago. Piplup nodded, understanding what his trainer wanted him to do. Dodging even more ice-bullets, Piplup positioned himself directly underneath the platform Glaceon was on and dove downward to the bottom of the pool. Giving a hard kick off of the ground, Piplup began spinning rapidly, his Peck creating and upside-down typhoon.
May knew that a counter was coming, but she had lost sight of the water-type; she would have to react fast if she wanted to gain the upper hand.
Dawn had opted for the shock and awe technique. Most trainers and coordinators would have probably commanded their pokemon to break through the ice. She would do something else. She would break through the stage itself, underneath Glaceon.
It happened so fast. First May heard the blast from Piplup destroying a part of the stage. Then she watched as the penguin pokemon burst out of the water over her Glaceon, who was currently flying through the air, thrown upward by Piplup's attack.
"Quick! Glaceon! Tackle!" May commanded desperately, hoping her fresh snow pokemon could somehow pull an attack out. Glaceon gritted her teeth and looked back, seeing a substantial piece of debris flying up with her. Moving towards it, she kicked off in midair directly at Piplup, scoring a direct hit, sending the small penguin into the ice. Dawn yelled out as she watched her companion crash into the ice still covering much of the water, doing even more damage to her partner.
"Piplup!" Dawn exclaimed, "C'mon! Get out of there!" Moments passed, and the crowd watched in silence, waiting to see if the water-type would burst out of the surface or float to the top. Just as Dawn was about to concede defeat, Piplup rocketed out of the ice, landing in front of Dawn, kneeling on one knee, hurt, but still okay to continue. He was not one to give up so easily. "You alright Piplup?" Dawn's partner nodded, prompting Dawn to make her next move. She surveyed the new battlefield. Ice coated the water and pieces of the stage were scattered all over. Only in the center was a small patch of water still visible. "Let's go! Peck!"
Piplup slid forward, finding the ice as easy to navigate as the water.
"Iron Tail Glaceon!" The fresh snow pokemon, also had a similar advantage on ice, the pads of her feet allowing her easy travel.
The met, blow for blow, back and forth back and forth, like two skilled swordsmen dancing in a heated duel to the death, their weapons unforgiving and unbending as they slid all over the ice. The crowd was going nuts, and May's and Dawn's points both continued to drop.
One particularly strong blow and parry forced the two duelists to slide backward.
"Hydro Bubbles Piplup!"
"Shadow Shards Glaceon!"
Piplup spewed out an enormous beam of water with fast moving bubbles traveling inside for extra punch. Glaceon matched his combo move with her own, firing off multiple Shadow Balls embedded with Ice Shards, which blazed towards Piplup with incredible speed.
Simultaneously, the two attacks collided with a roaring bang, the powerful shock wave whipping everyone's head back into their seat cushions. May and Dawn covered their eyes and face, trying to make out what happened to their pokemon. Their respective pokemon slide back to their sides, readying themselves for one last showdown.
Time was running out, and May and Dawn were basically tied. The next few moves would determine who would win.
"Ice Shadow Ball Rapid Fire!" May yelled, hoping Glaceon's most powerful combo move would be enough to break through Dawn's defenses. The violet-black orbs of energy surged forward and were promptly frozen into deadly ice balls by the fresh snow pokemon's Ice Beam. If they connected, they would explode, sending hundreds of tiny shadow-propelled shards into Piplup and blinding him in smoke.
Not to be outdone, Dawn commanded Piplup to use a new counter combo they had created recently. She hoped that Piplup would be able to pull it off.
"Bubble Whirlpool Counter!"
With just enough time, Piplup summoned a massive whirlpool over his head. However, instead of throwing it as usual, he held it, spewing hundreds of bubbles into the vortex. The bubbles conglomerated, increasing in size before, moving to the outside. Then Piplup cast Bide and let go, the combo dropping onto him!
May watched, aghast, as Glaceon's Ice Shadow Ball attack was grabbed by the bubbles on the spinning vortex and sent careening back with even more force than before with an added bubble attack. She had one shot. If this didn't work, Piplup would be super-charged and would take out Glaceon with one attack.
"Secret Power Full Power! On the water!" Glaceon's eyes glowed a brilliant white as she focused on the water beneath the stage. Suddenly, a colossal wave rose up from the stage, taking all of the water, ice, and debris left on the stage and moved towards Piplup and Dawn. Glaceon's Secret Power had turned into Surf.
The returning Ice Shadow Balls crashing into the debris and massive amounts of ice being carried by the wave, harmlessly being destroyed and shielding Glaceon. May's attack had another crucial effect. Piplup had been on the ice when he had countered, and he lost his footing form the attack, leaving him open to attack.
Dawn couldn't respond in time, and watched hopelessly as the wave of ice, concrete, her counter, and water smashed onto Piplup.
"Piplup!"
Then the buzzer rang, and the crowd's applause and cheering didn't stop for nearly two minutes.
"That's it! The final blow to a spectacular and powerful battle. I'm still coming down from all the excitement!" Lilian proclaimed, "Let's go to our judges to see the final results!"
"A terrific and extremely skilled performance from both trainers! I've never seen such adept command and innovative combinations! I must congratulate both coordinators for their hard work and amazing performance," Mr. Contesta said, extremely pleased, "I believe I can safely say that this was one of the best contest battles I have ever seen!"
"Yes! Simply Remarkable!" Mr. Sukizo added.
"The beautiful combination moves and the speed and power clearly show how much work and time these coordinators put into their pokemon. The amount of love and devotion necessary to achieve this level is to be commended," Nurse Joy said, smiling widely, always happy to see a good relationship between a pokemon and their trainer.
"A magnificent showcase of skill, beauty, quick-thinking, style, and power. This kind of performance truly lets me know that these pokemon and coordinators have worked hard. Our town is blessed to be graced by such dedicated and gifted trainers," Queen Ilene finished.
"Mime Mime Mime Mime Miiiime!"
"And now! We will reveal this year's winner and Contest Princess for a year!" Lilian announced, as the screen began a drum roll. Then it revealed the winner. "May and her Glaceon wins! Congratulations!" (1)
"Wha...I won?" May said, stunned by the result. Glaceon bounded over to her trainer and jumped on her, giving her a loving embrace. "I won!" May laughed as she hugged Glaceon back, ecstatic. She quickly got up to shake Dawn's hand.
"Congratulations May. You were amazing," Dawn said sincerely, as she petted a sore Piplup, "You deserve this."
"Thanks Dawn. You were fantastic as well. It could have gone either way," May responded, shaking her friend's hand. The roar of the approving audience echoed in their ears as they waved to the crowd.
"And now! Queen Ilene will present the awards!"
The Queen slowly walked, around what was left of the stage and made her way to Dawn and May, carrying two large medals, one silver, one gold. Behind her, a levitating golden trophy followed in her wake.
"Congratulations to the both of you," she said warmly, "You have demonstrated uncanny skill and dedication, and for that, I present to you these medals in celebration of your accomplishments." May and Dawn bowed down to allow Queen Ilene to place the medals around their necks, the gold going to May and the silver going to Dawn. "And to the victor, I present this trophy." Ilene's Mime' Jr. released her psychic powers, and the trophy landed with a small crash, in front of May. It was about the size of Max, gilded with complex designs and stamped with the date, name, and royal insignia of Cameran Palace.
May lifted up her trophy to the crowd, holding Dawn in a hug as they faced the cheering crowd with bright and beaming smiles.
"And the way you did that whirlpool bubble shield thingie was so cool!" Max gushed, having been going over the entire battle for the last forty minutes, continually reiterating the highlights and focal points. Ash and his friends laughed, knowing that was just how Max was.
"Imagine if May hadn't been able to find a way to stop your counter. You would have had it. Even if the attacks had missed, Piplup would have had enough energy and power to instantly take out Glaceon," Brock commented, remarking how close the match actually was.
"Yeah. That was what I was hoping would happen. But she found the weakness in the shield," Dawn replied mareepishly.
"Ehh I was just lucky," May dismissed, not wanting to take away from Dawn's superb performance.
'It was still a really good plan. Both of you were great out there!' Latias said, still calming down from all of the excitement she had experienced in the last hour. May laughed.
"Yeah. I had lots of fun," she responded, "I've really missed you guys. Things have been really quiet without you guys around. Exciting stuff just seems to follow you guys all over, wherever you are."
Max laughed. "You mean, follows Ash around," he deadpanned, eliciting a round of laughs from all of them.
"Speaking of Ash," Brock remarked as he turned to his friend, "Are you ready for your battle?"
"Yeah!" Ash declared, "I just know Riolu, Kirlia and Latias will be great!" He gave them all a grin and a thumbs up.
"Yeah! I can't wait to see them battle!" Max responded, bubbling with the prospect of seeing Ash battle again, especially since he had a legendary pokemon. "There's no way you can lose!"
"Hey! What about me! Don't count me out just yet!" Misty protested with a fierceness in her eyes, "I can't let Ash have all the fun! I can't wait to see the looks on everyone's faces when I beat you Ketchum!" Misty smirked, knowing exactly what to say to get Ash riled up.
"Ha! We'll see about that Misty!" Ash answered defiantly, a fire burning in his heart and eyes, "There's no way that I'll let you win!"
"Doesn't matter! Because I'll win anyway!"
"Will not!"
"Will Too!"
"WILL NOT!"
"WILL TOO!"
"WILL! NOT!"
"WILL! TOO!"
Ash started again, always eager to continue a yelling match with Misty, but he was cut off by Brock's hand.
"Alright alright. Can it you two. Save that energy for the battlefield," Brock said with a sigh. Misty huffed, pretending to be angry, but a silly grin was plastered on her face that said otherwise. She had missed these pointless arguments.
Ash grumbled something into Brock's still outstretched hand, and Brock released him. The black-eon smiled, turning to his new team. There was about an hour and a half until the first round.
"Latias! Riolu! Kirlia! Pikachu! Let's go! We've got some work to do!"
Ash stood alone in a large field on the outskirts of Rota, save for his four pokemon. He had a little bit of time to assess the battle prowess of his new pokemon, and fit their strengths to his style appropriately.
"Okay so guys. What moves can you do? I know that Riolu can use Earthquake and Blaze Kick. Kirlia can use Psychic probably. Latias I know can use Mist Ball, Psychic, Dragon Breath and Protect. What else do you guys know?" Ash asked, wanting to make sure he covered all of his bases before he began some tests.
"Shadow Claw and Brick Break are two of my other strong attacks. I can also perform Quick Attack, Force Palm, Bulk Up, Foresight and Low Sweep," Riolu listed off proudly, glad now that his dad had taught him a large variety of moves to use in almost any situation.
"And I can use Thunderbolt, ThunderPunch, Will-O-Wisp, Magical Leaf, Light Screen and, if I start practicing again, Teleport. Confusion is also a handy attack that I bet you could use to your advantage," Kirlia said with a smile, "Riolu's also taught me a lot of hand-to-hand combat since we always trained together." Ash nodded.
"Any status attacks?"
Kirlia blushed. "Well there is this one move that my mom taught me in case of emergencies."
"Yeah? What's that?"
"Attract," Kirlia squeaked, her cheeks reddening a bit, and she tried to avoid all eye contact with Riolu, whose left eyebrow went up at her admission. He didn't know she could use that attack.
"That could really come in handy," Ash said, formulating a battle strategy already, "What about you Latias? Anything else you got?" Latias giggled.
"Of course! Recover, Zen Headbutt, Dragon Claw, Dive, Fly, obviously, Aerial Ace, and my secret weapon! Ice Beam," Latias answered happily, "Of course there's all the easy ones like Double Team and Reflect too. And I bet Riolu and Kirlia can do some of those too."
"Wow...you know a lot of powerful moves," Ash remarked, extremely pleased, "And I'm sure they do. How did you learn all those attacks?"
"I had to learn how to protect myself after...well...you know," Latias said, kicking at ground to distract her thoughts away form her brother. Ash's eyes softened, and he patted her shoulder in understanding, telling her she didn't have to continue. Latias looked up and smiled, the hurt being much less than she ever remembered.
"Anyways, we have a great team here, and an even better chance at coming out on top! With you guys I'm sure that we'll win!" the black-eon cheered, "There are a couple of techniques I want to go over though, before we begin the first round. Let's get started!"
At the opening ceremony of the annual Hero of the Year competition
"Welcome! To the 132nd annual Hero of the Year competition in honor of our town's historic heroes, Lucario and Sir Aaron. This year will feature a three versus three battle system with over 108 trainers entered in this year's contest. They come from far and near! Kanto! Hoenn! Sinnoh! Johto! And some even further! All have come to participate, to see if their skills have what it takes to be this year's 'Guardian of the Aura'! No switching is allowed per round. The trainer that knocks out all of their opponent's pokemon will be the winner of the match and move on to the next round!"
"Ready to go guys?" Ash asked as they waited in the tunnels that gave entrance to the colosseum, giving his team a thumbs up.
"Did we have to wear these costumes?" Riolu complained, as he tugged at the adorable red scarf wrapped around his neck. They had decided to dress him up as a medieval ninja, seeing as he already had the skills and black mask to match. However, it was not comfortable at all.
"Oh c'mon Riolu! It's all in good fun!" Kirlia said with a giggle, as she gave a little twirl. They didn't have that much trouble dressing Kirlia, seeing as she already looked like she wore a dress all the time. They had fitted a small blouse on her, colored a light blue and yellow, to go with her already dress-like appearance to complete her look.
"Yeah Riolu! Have some fun!" Latias added with a happy grin as she floated alongside Ash, invisibly.
"Yeah! Says you! You don't even have to put on a ridiculous costume," Riolu growled.
"Well it isn't my fault that you don't have the ability to change your appearance at will," Latias stated, giggling to herself. Riolu was about to respond again, but was stopped by Ash.
"Don't worry Riolu. You'll be out of that costume in no time. It's just for first appearances anyway!" Ash said as he adjusted his top hat. He had decided to go as a fancy count this year, complete with mustache, gilded cane, and monocle. He knew he probably looked ridiculous, but that was the entire point after all.
"And here we go folks! The first battle will be initiated by our returning champion and guardian this year, Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town! Give him a warm welcome folks!" the announcer said, followed immediately by the crowd's cheers.
"Let's go!" Ash said as he rushed into the sunlight and the battlefield, feeling that familiar adrenaline pumping through him again.
"His opponent is Rupert Hets! Hailing from Johto! He shall make the first move!"
A rather large build man with a large brown beard, stepped out of the tunnel, dressed in full plate armor and accompanied by similarly sized pokemon, a Tyranitar, a Crawdaunt, and a Electabuzz.
"Let's get this over with! I got a real match to get to!" he taunted, seeing Ash's puny pokemon, wondering how he had managed to win last year. "I bet I could have finished you off with one pokemon! Electabuzz get in there!" His electabuzz surged forward, positioning himself on the battlefield, sparking his two horns menacingly. Ash smirked, always happy to fight jerks like this guy.
"Let's get in there Riolu! Show em what you can do!" Ash said nodding to the empathy pokemon. Riolu nearly jumped for joy. He literally jumped out of his costume, shedding the remaining clothing mid-air and landing on the battlefield with a dramatic kneel. He stood up and smirked, raising his fists.
"Begin!"
"Thunderbolt Electabuzz! Fry that little doggie!" Electabuzz let loose hundreds of volts of electricity, directing it towards Riolu with all intent to electrocute him to a crisp. Ash shook his head, remembering when he used to act so hasty in battle.
"Riolu! Brick Break on the ground then Blaze Kick!" Ash commanded. Riolu immediately smashed his paw into the battlefield, throwing up a large piece of the ground in front of him, absorbing the electricity. Without a moment of hesitation, Riolu ignited his foot and spun, kicking the rock directly towards Electabuzz and coating it in flames.
Rupert watched, completely surprised, as the flaming chunk of earth smashed into his Electabuzz, sending it flying into the wall and crushing it, doing extra effective damage and burning the electric pokemon. With a loud crash, the thrown rock peeled off of Rupert's Electabuzz and landed on the floor, followed immediately by Electabuzz who struggled to stand up. With an enormous effort, the electric type staggered to his feet and looked like he was ready to go again, but just barely.
Ash wouldn't give his opponent the chance, however.
"Earthquake Riolu!" Ash continued, not letting up for a second. Ash's fighting-type surged forward, flipping his body forward and smashing the ground with the end of his leading leg, forming a fissure that headed straight towards the stunned electabuzz. Electabuzz's eyes almost bulged out of his skull, just noticing the attack a second too late. Riolu's Earthquake blasted the wall and sent Electabuzz high into the air, flailing around helplessly. Rupert's pokemon landed after a significant amount of time headfirst into the ground, sealing Electabuzz's defeat. The electric pokemon fell over.
"WHAT!" Rupert screeched, unable to believe his eyes.
"Electabuzz is unable to battle! Riolu is the winner of this round!" the judge announced.
"Unbelievable! Ash's little Riolu was able to take out Rupert's Electabuzz flawlessly. By beginning with an unorthodox counter and transitioning that defense into an offense, Ash has clearly proven that he knows what he's doing," the commentator said, eliciting a cheer from Ash and the crowd. "This kid is not to be underestimated!"
"Ugghh! Crawdaunt! Go!"
"Riolu return. Kilira it's your turn now." Riolu nodded and returned to Ash's side receiving a rewarding pet and congratulations from his friends.
"What an unusual move! Pitting a psychic-type against a dark-type. We'll see what Ash Ketchum has in mind for this battle!"
Ash refocused on the battle at hand. He knew that if Crawdaunt landed a powerful dark attack, Kirlia could potentially lose. He had to be careful.
"Crawdaunt! Show that puny psychic-type what you're made of! Crabhammer then Crunch!"
Crawdaunt rushed forward, raising his claw high above his head, intent on smashing Kirlia to bits.
"Wait for it Kirlia..." Ash said as he watched Crawdaunt come closer and closer to the emotion pokemon. He would have an extremely small window for what he wanted to do. Kirlia prepared herself, ready to move at any moment. The opposing water and dark-type pokemon was just a few feet away now, his attack fully prepared and fully powered. Any second now, Rupert's attack would connect, and just as Crawdaunt came upon Kirlia and began to bring his claw down, Ash made his move. "Now Kirlia! Flip and Light Screen! Make it strong!" Kirlia did a graceful front flip, dodging Crawdaunt's attack and landing behind him.
Within seconds, Kirlia encapsulated Crawdaunt, trapping the rouge pokemon within a blinding box of psychic energy.
"Wow! How unusual! The agility of this psychic-type is not normally seen by her species; most psychic-types would have teleported away. Kirlia effortlessly avoided Crawdaunt's Crabhammer attack. And again, Ash Ketchum is pulling out more surprises. Instead of using Light Screen as a defensive move, Ash Ketchum has altered it to become an offensive move! Crawdaunt is completely trapped!"
"Yeah! Good job Kirlia!" Ash cheered, so glad that that had worked.
"Crawdaunt break outa there!" Rupert cried out, knowing no good would come out of this. Crawdaunt beat uselessly against the psychic prison, but it was no use. The wall of psychic energy was just too strong. "Night Slash go!" Crawdaunt raise his left claw to deliver the powerful slash that would have torn the box to shreds, but Ash wouldn't let him.
"Open the box! Thunderbolt Kirlia! Then close!" The emotion pokemon opened a small hole in her construct and fired her bolt of electricity at the trapped crab. Crawdaunt shrieked in pain as the electricity hit his body and bounced around in the cage, continually damaging him over and over again.
"Crawdaunt is taking a lot of damage now! Obviously Rupert did not expect this kind of battle strategy from Ash and has no answer!" Across from Ash, Rupert was visibly sweating, his mind racing to find an response.
"Get outta there Crawdaunt! Bubblebeam!" Ash's opponent commanded desperately, forgetting about the actual effects of Light Screen. Crawdaunt didn't want to obey, but knew that he had to. He attacked the shield, and as the rouge pokemon knew, the bubbles bounced back. Crawdaunt had attacked himself with his own Bubblebeam and collapsed. "NOOO!"
"Crawdaunt is unable to battle! Kirlia is the winner!"
"Yay!" Kirlia cried out as she bounced happily in her spot, amazed that she had won.
In the stands
"Wow! I would never have thought of using Light Screen like that! Ash has gotten really good!" Max exclaimed, taking avid notes on how to apply some of Ash's ideas into his own battle strategy with Ralts.
"Classic Ash, using a move in the completely opposite way. Using a defensive move for an offensive move and vice versa...Impressive," Brock said, "Rupert had absolutely no idea how to react to that attack."
"Yeah! That Rupert guy doesn't even stand a chance! He's definitely going to lose," May said, reveling in Ash's success.
"He was really overconfident, but he's already two pokemon down. Ash has got this in the bag," Dawn added, taking a sip of her soda nonchalantly.
"And Ash hasn't even used Latias yet," Max stated, "There's no way Rupert can get of this one."
"This is it folks! The final battle! Does Rupert's Tyranitar have enough 'ompph' take out all three of Ash's pokemon? We're about to find out!"
"Alright Tyranitar! It's all you now!" Rupert yelled, "What's your puny little Pikachu going to do against my massive Tyranitar now!" Pikachu's cheeks sparked threateningly, almost jumping into the battle himself, but was restrained by Ash.
"Don't worry Pikachu. We'll get em for you," Ash said with a grin, looking over his shoulder to an invisible Latias.
"What? Your puny whittle Pikachu scared of my mean ole' Tyranitar?" Rupert shouted, not knowing the hole he was slowly digging for himself. Ash looked up and grinned, not even phased by Rupert's useless threats.
"One...my Pikachu could take out your Tyranitar no problem!...Two...I'm not even going to use Pikachu..." Ash played off coolly. 'Are you ready Latias?' he asked Latias telepathically.
'A bit nervous, but ready to go,' Latias answered, prepping herself for her entrance.
"What are you talking about! There's no other poke..." Ash's opponent started, seeing no other pokemon available to Ash's disposal. The rules had clearly stated that all competing pokemon were to be out of their pokeballs, imitating the days where no such technology was available.
Latias upon hearing the mental cue, dropped her invisibility, becoming visible to everyone: Rupert, the audience, the TV watchers at home, and the entire world. She cooed happily, doing a small back flip as she hovered over the ground. All of the cameras focused on the strange red and white dragon, broadcasting her image across the world.
"What...what is that!" Rupert yelled, never hearing of a pokemon that could spontaneously make themselves invisible and visible at will. Indeed, the entire crowd, save for Ash's friends, were asking the same question. Silence pervaded the stands as everyone observed the strange pokemon.
"I'd like you to meet my wonderful friend and last battler, Latias," Ash introduced calmly, enjoying the shock and confusion filtering rapidly through Rupert's face. Tyranitar back up a little bit, knowing the status of Latias' lineage and birth. Every pokemon could tell when they were in the presence of a legendary.
"Folks! We're getting some news in from out central headquarters! And I for one do not believe what I am seeing here! From the reports coming in, Latias is the legendary eon dragon pokemon! She is reportedly a dragon-type and psychic-type. Can you believe that folks? Ash Ketchum has gotten his hands on a legendary pokemon!" the commentator said into the microphone, causing an explosion of roars and yells to fly from the audience. "Is there anything else this extraordinary young man has up his sleeve? We'll just have to see!"
"Let the final battle begin!" the judge called, standing back to watch the carnage, knowing that everyone was in for a rare treat. Now Ash made the first move.
"Latias! Aerial Ace then move into a Dragon Claw!" Latias put on an incredible burst of speed, moving so fast that she could have passed off for being invisible again. Within a second, Latias was upon Tyranitar and struck, her empowered claws and huge amount of momentum throwing the half-ton Tyranitar into the air, an impressive feat. Obviously, the armor pokemon was not build to fly and landed gracelessly. It would take a lot more than one attack to take Rupert's resilient pokemon out, however.
"Use Dark Pulse Tyranitar!" The rock and dark-type pokemon stood up with a grunt and gathered dark energy in his claws, firing it at Latias. The red eon swerved instinctively to the right, dodging the attack. This bought Rupert some time to devise an offensive strategy. "Use Dig! Legendary or not, it's going down!" Tyranitar halted his assault and dove straight into the ground, creating a deep hole in the ground and hiding himself from Latias.
Ash knew Rupert had two options, attack directly with a physical attack or use a special move underground to hit Latias. Either way, he didn't want Latias to get hit. "Mist Ball on the ground!" Latias wasn't sure what Ash planned to do, but she knew to trust Ash. Forming the ball of psychic mist in her claws, she released and watched as the special cloud of energy spread out over the battlefield. She grinned, knowing what Ash had had wanted to accomplish.
"What is this crazy stuff? Ehh! Whatever! Tyranitar! Use Crunch!" Rupert cried through the thick mist, his vision of the battlefield obscured to mere silhouettes.
'You know what to do with the mist Latias,' Ash telepathed, before issuing his command. "Let's go Latias! Dragonbreath!" Latias' eyes lit up as she searched her mist for Tyranitar's entrance. Because her mist was made up of her psychic power, she was able to spread her sentience through the attack and scan for the enemy. It had already diffused into the ground, allowing Latias to pinpoint exactly where Tyranitar was going to burst out of the ground, to her left.
Latias spun, finding her face literally staring down Tyranitar's throat and razor sharp teeth. Without a moment of hesitation, she let loose a stream of deadly dragon-fire...directly into Tyranitar's mouth. The rouge pokemon would have roared with pain if his mouth wasn't currently being attacked.
Outside of the cloud, the crowd saw a flash of the brightest green shine from the strange blue smoke. What was going on down there?
"Let's finish this up Latias! Ice Beam!" Ash commanded, knowing the mist would fall soon. Rupert was in full panic mode. He heard the attack that Ash had called out, and knew that it would be all over for him if it succeeded.
"Tyranitar! Screech!" Rupert commanded, unknowingly committing himself to defeat. He had no idea that Tyranitar's mouth was currently unusable.
Latias commenced her final attack, blasting the rock and dark-type with a powerful Ice Beam straight to the chest. Tyranitar's eyes lit up in intense pain, the rapid change from hot to cold doing super-effective damage. (2) Rupert knew something was wrong when he didn't hear his pokemon's ear-piercing attack.
Finally, the mist cleared, and everyone leaned forward as if it would help them get close to the action and determine what had just happened.
What they discovered was a completely frozen Tyranitar-sicle. They waited a few moments, and not a single sign of movement was seen from the ice-encapsulated pokemon.
"Tyranitar is unable to battle! Latias is the winner! Ash wins the match!" the judge called, waving his blue winner flag to Ash's side.
"Yeah! Great job Latias!" Ash said as he was thrown into a hug by the large red-eon dragon.
'Couldn't have done it without you Ash!' Latias answered back, nuzzling Ash's face affectionately.
"Amazing! Let's watch a play-back of that last move!" the announcer said, his voice nearly hitting the roof in excitement. The screen hanging above the commentator's booth displayed the last confrontation. "Would you look at that! Latias anticipated where Tyranitar would come out of the ground and fired a Dragonbreath attack point blank! Straight into the mouth!" Rupert hung his head low, feeling like a complete failure. "And she finishes Tyranitar off with a Ice Beam to the chest! What a move! There's no question why this powerful pokemon is a legendary!"
Rupert collected his fainted pokemon, and walked up to Ash.
"Congratulations...now I see why you were the champion last year. You got some skills kid," he conceded, shaking the boy's hand. At least he was a good sport.
"Thanks. Don't worry. I can tell that you really raised your pokemon well too. I'm sure you'll do great next year," Ash said, knowing that Rupert was probably feeling crushed right now. He had felt that many times before. Rupert chuckled at his response.
"Thanks kid. Knock em dead for me huh? After all if you beat me, you got to beat them all so I can say I was beaten by none other than the best," he answered, a small smile now back on his face.
"I'll do my best. Good match," Ash responded, glad that Rupert had gotten some of his confidence back. Rupert walked back to the tunnel and disappeared from view. The first match was over.
"And there we go folks! A spectacular first match by our past guardian! Ash Ketchum! There is no question that this kid is special!"
Ash waved to the crowd, tipping his hat to his friends. Then, he returned to his tunnel, his arm draped around Latias' neck the entire time.
In the Royal Box
"A wonderful match indeed," Jenny, Queen Ilene's maid said, clapping her hands together, "That boy sure is something. Catching a legendary..." Queen Ilene smiled, remembering his actions which had saved her kingdom last year.
"Yes. He has a bright destiny ahead," Ilene answered, as she watched the screen. Ash was currently being mobbed by a mass of reporters, scientists and fans.
"Ehh whatever. He's not that special," an annoyed voice answered to Queen Ilene's right. She sighed, looking back to the voice. "I could trump him any day."
"Jason must you always be so derogatory towards others?" she asked, shaking her head.
"Hmph...I'm only 'derogatory' towards those who are not worth my time 'auntie'," he answered, folding his arms.
"Now young man! That's no way to act! Queen Ilene was kind enough to take you in this summer, seeing as your parents couldn't deal with you. She may be able to put up with your rudeness, but I for one will not tolerate such insolence, Jason Trent Malatyon!" Jenny yelled as she smacked the side of Jason's head, which caused the boy to cry out in pain. A small smile tugged the side of Queen Ilene's lips, and she decided to not intervene.
"Whatever..." Jason mumbled as he nursed his wounds. He looked up to the screen to avoid Queen Ilene's maid, and his eye's widened at what he saw. He seethed with jealousy as he witnessed the girl he had met earlier at the pokemon center, Tia, hanging on the arm of Ash Ketchum. "Oh it is on..."
(1) Wanted to even the score between Dawn and May. It's 1-1 now!
(2) Now I know some people will say Ice isn't super effective against Rock. But in this case, it's the rapid change from hot to cold that's doing the massive amount of damage. It's like super-heating and rock and then rapidly freezing it. It would crack and break under the strain.
Haha it was really fun to get Queen Ilene's maid to smack Jason around. I must do that some more. :D
For now you've gotten a one-sided battle, just to show how good Riolu, Kirlia and Latias really are. The real challenges lie just ahead.
I know that this is mainly a filler chapter, but trust me! Things are really really going to pick up next chapter! We'll be getting back to our quest in no time!
And now...
...I'm going to hide in my bunker with reinforced armor, trip wires, land mines, anti-matter shields and a time-flux aura generator now so I can hide from you guys! I know I ended with a cliffy!
And I know! It's been ages! And ages! And aggggees! (3 months to be exact.) And I'm really really really really really really (x100) sorry! I've been so busy with finding colleges to apply to, scholarships, my new job (the worst part x.x), relationship stuff, relatives visiting for the summer (from Europe no less!), starting on my senior thesis, and a multitude of other projects! I'm really trying guys I promise!
I don't want to keep you guys waiting. I want you to know I really appreciate all of the continued support and beg for your understanding and forgiveness! I'm going to try to do weekly or bi-weekly updates from now on! If something comes up, I'll post update statuses on my profile, so check there if you want to know when the next update could be.
Anyways, I'm rambling now. Oh this has been here for a while, but I just don't feel right not giving it publicity.
The Black Latios – Kirlia and Riolu – Submitted by AquaShine
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And I just got this one! :D
The Black Latios (game sprite) – Submitted by ben10tristan
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And Finally!
Over 400 reviews! (Dies) You guys are really amazing! :D
Thank you so much for your continued love and support! And thank you for reading and please review!
-Mekon