I did my best and I have actually been able to do what I said, the chapter has been finished before Christmas. the ending might be a little rushed but I wanted to get this chapter finished before starting to write the oneshots for Christmas and New Year.
But before we get to the chapter I want to ask a question, do you think I have the power levels of Ash's Pokémon right? I had a review saying that I'm underpowering Ash's Pokémon and I can see where the reviewer is coming from but I don't want to do what a lot of writers on this site do and overpower them. The reviewer mentioned that three of Ash's Pokémon have beaten Legends which is right Charizard, Sceptile and Pikachu have, from those three I've only had Pikachu battle properly so I can't really compare the levels for Charizard or Sceptile.
I just want to know if I need to change them or not, personally I think I've got them pretty close because Ash has been training all his Pokémon over three years along as catching some new ones plus training in Aura and given the levels his Pokémon would've been on by the end of Unova I think I've worked out the math roughly right for their levels but I'm putting the question to you my reader's have I got the levels right?
I've tried to put a poll on my profile, hopefully I've done it right so you can either vote there or do it in a review
Current Teams
Ash:- Pikachu, Lucario, Gardevoir, Meowth, Grimm (Absol), Houndour, Butterfree, Gengar
May:- Glaceon, Blaziken, Mawile, Flaffy, Cubone, Spoink, Vulpix, Beautifly
Okay that's enough from me, time for a Gym Battle.
Chapter 25
Links in the Past
Ash slowly rose to his feet with May's help as Gardevoir did the same with Lucario, both Aura users were clutching their heads hoping the ringing would end soon. Sabrina walked out of the Gym towards them rubbing the side of her head.
"Sabrina, what did you throw me and Lucario out of the Gym for?" Ash asked grumpily.
"I didn't throw you out." Sabrina replied, taking her hand away from her head, "If I'd known you were coming then that wouldn't have happened."
"You're a Psychic, shouldn't you have seen me coming?"
"Psychic yes, clairvoyant no. I can speak telepathically, move objects with my mind, read minds and manipulate them if I wish but I can't see the future."
"Well, what happened then?"
"Your Aura and my Psychic abilities rejected each other. The strength of your Aura is equal to the strength of my Psychic abilities and because of that they repelled each other, kind of like magnets when you try to put the same poles together but a lot stronger. The only reason I wasn't thrown into a wall was because I could feel that something was coming and was able to prepare, at least a little. I'm going to have a headache for a couple of hours, you are too. Didn't you feel anything strange before you got here?"
"Well I was feeling uneasy but I put that done to battle nerves."
"You're here for a Gym Battle?" Sabrina said sounding slightly surprised.
"Well, yeah couldn't you tell from reading my mind?"
"No, your Aura is blocking me. I thought you would've known that, who taught you about Aura?"
"An Aura Guardian in Rota why?"
"Didn't he tell you anything about Psychics and our history with Aura Guardians?"
"Not really, he said they existed in larger numbers hundreds of years ago but that's about it." Sabrina shook her head and started to turn around.
"Come on let go into the Gym and sit down, I'll tell you what you need to know." May stepped forward and held out her hand.
"Hi, I'm…" She started.
"May Maple, a Pokémon Co-Ordinator who's currently competing in the Kanto Grand Festival. You're travelling with Ash under the pretence of being boyfriend and girlfriend because a rival Co-Ordinator won't stop asking you out even though you've turned him down multiple times. I don't blame you, he seems like a egotistical jerk." Sabrina finished, the Psychic saw the look of shock on May's face and chuckled lightly. "I'm Psychic and while I can't see into Ash's mind, you are an open book to me." Don't worry I won't tell anyone about the pretence or let Ash know how you feel, that's for you to do when you feel the time is right. Sabrina added telepathically before walking back into the Gym.
May stood there blinking at Sabrina's retreating form until Ash tapped her on the shoulder, snapping her out of her daze. The group then followed the Psychic into the Gym, once they were all through the doors they closed by themselves. May flinched as they banged against each other and the frames, she gripped Ash's hand a little tighter. Ash turned and smiled at her, seeing Ash smile calmed May's nerves letting her relax though she still clung to his hand.
Sabrina lead them to the Gym's living quarters, they stopped in the living room and sat down. Ash and May sat on a pale blue couch, Pikachu and Glaceon leapt into their trainer's laps while Meowth sat on the carpet leaving Gardevoir and Lucario standing behind the couch. Sabrina sat opposite the group in a matching blue armchair, sitting with one leg crossed over the other. The room had plain white walls with a few framed certificates on the wall, May saw that one certificated Sabrina as a psychologist and another for psychiatry.
"Would you like anything? Tea, water?" The Psychic asked, looking at the group in front of her. Ash and May declined but a jug of water floated from a side table and poured itself into a nearby glass. The jug then lowered back to the surface of the table, the glass of water rose from the table and made its way across the room. Ash and May watched as the glass came towards them, it passed them and stopped in front of Gardevoir. The psychic type was surprised but took the glass anyway, Sabrina laughed lightly, "I could sense that you were thirsty, my question was to all of you not just to Ash and May." Pikachu and Glaceon shook their heads declining a drink while Meowth asked for a glass. Sabrina was mildly surprised to hear Meowth talk but after a quick explanation of his past Sabrina used her abilities to pour the Scratch Cat Pokémon some water. Sabrina turned her attention to Lucario, "There is no need to be silent I know you can speak using your Aura. Would you like anything?"
Thank you for the offer but I do not need anything at present. Lucario replied. There was a few minutes of silence before Sabrina spoke again.
"I have to say, it is unnerving not being able to read the mind of someone that's right in front of me but at the same time it is refreshing. It lets me experience surprise, something I rarely feel. Anyway getting back to the reason we came back here. Aura Guardians and Psychic have a long and complicated history, at times they were allies and other they were enemies, sometimes both at the same time when a group of Aura Guardians and Psychics needed to be stopped. I suppose I should start at the beginning, from what I've been told and what I have been able to research all Aura Guardians and Psychics come from the same source. When Arceus first created the world and put humans on it he wanted a way for them to protect themselves from Pokémon until they would earn their trust and live peacefully together. He used his Plates to give power to one group of humans, they were the first Aura Guardians, Arceus' Plates have the power of life that's why Aura is tied to a person's life force. The Aura Guardians, or as old records refer to them the Protectors of Life's Spirit, flourished but it was a big and dangerous world back then and although they were forming a peaceful relationship with Pokémon they needed help so Arceus used the Psychic Plate to give powers to another group of humans who, obviously, became Psychics though at that time they were known as Masters of the Mind. Arceus chose to create Psychics instead of more Aura Guardians so that there would be a different approach in case some Pokémon didn't respond to the Aura Guardians. Arceus brought the groups together and bid that they worked together to protect the other humans and forge a friendship between Pokémon and humans." Sabrina paused to let the information settle in before she continued.
"For a number of years Aura Guardians and Psychics worked together in peace but inevitably something happened to create a rift between them. A man named Malcus, a Psychic, decided that because Psychics had power they should be in charge of the world instead of working to keep the peace between people as well as between people and Pokémon. Malcus was a man of strong principles and always stood for what he believed in, no matter how twisted or evil those principles might be. As far as I can tell his reasons for taking over were that instead of creating a peaceful co-existence between man and Pokémon, Psychics should enforce it and destroy anyone or thing stood in their way." Sabrina stopped again. "Malcus gathered a few followers that he knew would be loyal to him and started small. He took over a few isolated villages first, ones he knew hardly ever saw Aura Guardians or Psychics, his plan was working. Malcus was a powerful Psychic and had placed suggestions into the minds of the villagers under his rule, a suggestion that made the villagers tell any Aura Guardians or Psychics that came to their village that nothing was wrong. Malcus move slowly so that his plan would go unnoticed but after a few years he became impatient and tried to take over one of the larger settlements. He nearly did it but one of the settlers managed to escape before Malcus' forces blocked the gates and alert the Aura Guardians. That was the first battle in the first war between Aura Guardians and Psychics."
"That's…that's a lot to take in." Ash said. "How do you know so much?"
"I wanted to know the origins of my powers, to see if there was a reason behind the dark persona that had taken over me when we first met and that in turn lead to the history of both Psychics and Aura Guardians, though my knowledge of Malcus is less recorded history and more family history. I am a direct descendant of Malcus, which may be the explanation behind my past…negative experiences when using my powers."
"What happened during the war?" May asked, wanting to know more, Sabrina nodded and continued to tell the history of Psychics and Aura Guardians in a solemn tone.
"The Aura Guardians took the fight straight to Malcus which angered the other Psychics so they sided with their own people, even though they knew what Malcus was doing was wrong, the Psychics wouldn't stand by and let one of their own be attacked. It was a vicious and bloody war that lasted six years, the final battle claimed more lives than any of the ones that came before it, Malcus was the last to actually die in that battle though many died of wounds obtained later on. Malcus fought against the leader of the Aura Guardians, a woman by the name of Keila, she managed to survive the battle and bring Psychics and Aura Guardians back together under a common goal. The same goal they had in the first place but there was an enormous amount of tension between the Psychics and Aura Guardians, this is what caused skirmishes and the other three wars between our people, sometimes our people fought as allies against their own people and at others it was like the first war all over again Aura Guardians battled Psychics. The last war was a little over a hundred years ago and was by far the bloodiest battle our people ever took part in. It was fought near the Kingdom of Rota, that ended due to an Aura Guardian giving his life to…"
"Restore the Tree of Beginning and end the fighting, after that the two armies returned home and never battled again but that final battle took the lives of nearly all the Aura Guardians." Ash interrupted, "That was Sir Aaron who ended the war, my ancestor." A small smile tugged at the corners of Sabrina's mouth.
"I should've known you'd be related to a hero like Sir Aaron, you share the same honourable spirit and sense of right." She chuckled quietly before growing solemn again. "That battle also killed a fairly significant percentage of the Psychic's population." Sabrina turned her head slightly and looked at the door. "Can you bear with me for a minute, I have a family member coming and I had forgotten about them but they've just entered the Gym." Sabrina smirked and put a finger to her lips, she lifted three fingers on her other hand and slowly lowered them as a countdown. "Come in." She said loud enough to be heard by the person outside the door.
"Sabrina, I've told you not to do that." A feminine voice said as the door opened, a young woman entered the room. She was about the same height as May, 5'9", and had similar pale skin. She wore a pale lilac long sleeved shirt and a darker lilac ankle length skirt, a pair of black shoes could be seen beneath the skirt as she walked into the room. Her hair was the same colour as her skirt and hung at shoulder length, framing her delicate features. Her eyes shone with a fierce intelligence along with a gentle nature, they too were the same colour as her hair and skirt.
"Anabel?" Ash and May said surprised to see the Salon Maiden again after so many years.
"Ash, May?!" She exclaimed in reply, shocked to see them. Sabrina looked between the three of them, her eyebrow raised slightly.
"I take it that you three know each other." Sabrina said in her usual calm demeanour, she held a hand out indicating for Anabel to take a seat. As Anabel sat down in an armchair she released Espeon from her Pokéball, the Sun Pokémon stretched as she coalesced from the white light and her eyes brightened when she saw Pikachu on Ash's lap. Ash nodded in agreement with Sabrina's statement and quickly explained how they knew each other, while Ash was talking May looked at Anabel. The Salon Maiden had grown and could no longer be mistaken for a boy, not counting the fact she was wearing a skirt. Her figure and facial features had become more feminine and eye-catching even though her shyness made her try to hide it.
May watched as Anabel's eyes kept flicking back to Ash's face as she fidgeted and smoothed her skirt even though it was perfectly straight. A couple of years ago Lucy had accidentally revealed to May that Anabel had quite a big crush on Ash, at the time May had laughed and felt sorry for Anabel but know she was in the same position and felt bad for laughing at Anabel's situation while at the same time she saw the lilac haired woman as a rival. May noticed that Anabel's eyes settled on her with confusion evident in them, it was then that May remembered that Anabel was empathic and could sense emotions.
"Why are you here?" Ash asked after he'd finished explaining.
"I'm here to visit my cousin. Sabrina's been helping me train my powers, I want to make them stronger so I can get closer to my Pokémon. Why are you and May here?" Anabel replied. Both Ash and May were surprised to hear that Sabrina and Anabel were related but then again they didn't know that much about either of them.
"We're travelling together again, I'm here to challenge Sabrina for a Gym Badge."
"Oh, it's just Sabrina's never let a challenger back here before."
"Anabel, do you remember what happened when I was younger, when my powers took over?" Sabrina asked, Anabel nodded as a shiver ran down her spine. She'd heard the stories and was glad that she never saw Sabrina during that time. "Ash was the one who helped me regain control."
"I didn't do it alone," Ash said reaching for his belt, "I had hel…."
"GGGAAAARRRR!" Gengar shouted as he appeared hovering in front of Sabrina pulling funny faces causing everyone to shout or scream in shock and clutch their chests as their hearts raced. While no-one was looking Gengar had let himself out of his Pokéball and hidden, wanting to surprise Sabrina. The Psychic Gym Leader didn't react in the slightest when Gengar appeared keeping a straight face. "Gar?" The Shadow Pokémon said staring at Sabrina's expressionless face, his smile drooping before it grew again. "Gengar!" he cried as he licked the Psychic's face from bottom to top, a few seconds passed before Sabrina's stoic expression started to crack as a smile pulled at the corners of her lips. After a couple more seconds Sabrina started to laugh and once everyone else had overcome the shock they were laughing at the ghost type's antics too. Gengar began circling around the room pulling faces and performing tricks, though Pikachu was still shouting at Gengar for scaring everyone, after a few minutes Gengar stopped clowning around and floated in front of Sabrina.
"It's good to see you too old friend." The Psychic said smiling as she ruffled the spiky tufts on top of Gengar's head. "I actually have a surprise for you." Sabrina closed her eyes for a second before opening them again, everyone felt the temperature of the room drop a few degrees. Gengar's ever-present smile grew larger as he looked to the ceiling, a Gastly and another Gengar (AN to stop confusion this Gengar will be called Geng) slowly drifted down into the room. The two ghost types looked at Gengar and grinned, they shot forward and started to talk excitedly with Gengar. May and Anabel watched the three ghost types not understanding what was happening, Anabel could sense that it was a reunion of some sort but she'd always had trouble reading the emotions of ghost type Pokémon.
"How does Gengar know those other Pokémon?" May asked, before Anabel had the chance to ask the question herself.
"These two are Gengar's brothers, they used to visit when Gengar was lived here as a Haunter. When Haunter went with Ash these two came to visit and eventually decided to stay here and keep me company. They all used to live in the Pokémon Tower in Lavender Town. It's been years since they've seen each other." Sabrina explained. The three ghost types had floated into the air stopping just before they hit the ceiling, they were talking and laughing quietly.
The three ghost types slowly faded away after a couple of minute, Ash asked Anabel what she'd been doing since he'd last seen her. While Anabel told Ash and May that she hadn't really had many challengers lately and the few that managed to get past her were never able to beat Brandon, so far Ash was still the only person to complete the Kanto Battle Frontier.
Suddenly Gengar appeared behind Ash and thrust his hand into Ash's back as Geng did the same to Pikachu, both trainer and Pokémon slumped as the ghost types pulled their hands back. The ghosts laughed as they shot into the air and through the ceiling. Gardevoir took a few steps to the side, standing closer to Lucario and May due to the fact she was unnerved by Sabrina's abilities and the ghost types that were no longer in her sight. She knew that they were Gengar's brothers but they still made her nervous, like most psychic types, ghost and dark type Pokémon scared her. She was used to Ash's Pokémon but when it came to ones she didn't know she kept her distance, staying close to whose who made her feel safe.
"What just happened?" Anabel asked while May was gently shaking Ash and Glaceon nudged Pikachu, trying to wake them up.
"The ghosts want Ash to play with them." Sabrina said. "They've taken his spirit to their playroom, Ash will be perfectly alright. He'll be returned to his body later once the ghosts have played enough. Now, the boys are going to be away for a while, what ever shall we girls talk about?" A mischievous light shone darkly in Sabrina's eyes as she slowly put her fingertips together and watched the two women and their Pokémon in front of her squirm in their seats. She knew that both of them liked Ash and that they each were aware of the fact that the other did. Sabrina knew that Anabel liked Ash after the Frontier Brain confided in her and that Anabel knew May liked Ash from sensing her emotions upon entering the room and seeing her sat next to him. The Psychic Gym Leader also knew May liked Ash from looking into her mind earlier and that May knew about Anabel's feeling towards the raven-haired trainer thanks to a conversation with the Empath's fellow Frontier Brain Lucy. Even though Sabrina was in control of her powers and darker personality now, she still enjoyed the opportunity to torment people when it presented itself.
Meanwhile In The Playroom
"If you wanted to play you could've just asked." Ash said as Gengar floated in front of him, Pikachu was already playing with Gastly and Geng on a seesaw. Ash chuckled, shaking his head and smiled. "Well, what should we do first?" Gengar's smile widened as he grabbed Ash's shoulder and pulled him towards all the toys in the playroom.
Ash, Pikachu and the ghosts played for a couple of hours before the young Aura Guardian called playtime to an end. The three ghosts groaned as Ash explained that he wanted to have his Gym battle, though he promised to play with them again afterwards. Reluctantly Gengar led Ash's spirit back through the floor as Geng did the same with Pikachu, as they passed through the floor Ash saw that May and Anabel were looking away from each other while Sabrina was smirking at both of them. When Ash's spirit settled back into his body, his head snapped up and he took a deep gasp of air as if he'd been holding his breath. He looked around the room to see the surprised looks on May and Anabel's faces, Pikachu jerked in his lap as the Electric Mouse was returned to his body letting out a short blast of electricity, shocking Ash in the process.
"I take it playtime is over?" Sabrina asked once Ash had stopped sparking.
"Yeah, though I said I'd play with them again after the Gym battle. Are you ready to do it now?" Ash replied while still twitching a little, Sabrina slightly raised an eyebrow. She was expecting Ash to challenge her but assumed that he would wait till his spirit had settled into his body more.
"If you insist, follow me to the battlefield." The Psychic said rising from her chair and walking towards the door, as she led the group to the battlefield. "Oh I almost forgot congratulations on becoming an Aura Guardian that quite the achievement in such a short amount of time. When we first met I did sense a power inside of you, it's one of the reasons I wanted to keep you as a doll."
"What was the other reason?" May asked.
"I thought Ash was cute." Sabrina answered calmly as she continued down the corridor to the battlefield. Ash, May and Anabel stumbled at the Psychic's confession, Ash's face turned a pale shade of red while both May's and Anabel's faces went a darker shade. Don't worry Sabrina said to the two women telepathically I won't stand in your way. It was a passing fancy nothing more.
"I'm cute?" Ash asked questioningly, May and Anabel looked away, giggling nervously while Sabrina kept walking down the corridor laughing. Pikachu used his tail to slap the back of Ash's head.
"Pika Pikachu!" (Translation "You're only cute because of me!") The Electric Mouse said. The rest of the walk was made in silence.
As they neared the doors to the battlefield Sabrina slipped into her Gym Leader frame of mind. Her abilities instinctively reached out to scan the minds of the people and Pokémon around her, she could feel the barriers of Aura around Ash and Lucario's minds as she failed to get any insight from them. While that frustrated Sabrina it also excited her, she could finally experience a battle like everyone else, a battle where she wouldn't know what her opponent was thinking and would have to react in the moment instead of being able to plan ahead.
The group walked through a set of doors on to the battlefield, it was exactly like it had been when Ash had been there the first time except for a small set of tiered seats on either side of the field. The room's décor made everyone feel cold and nervous, except for Sabrina it was her Gym after all, the design of the battlefield was her idea and was meant to give any challengers those feelings. The challengers were challenging a psychic type Gym so they needed to be prepared for the mental side of battle as well as the physical. May, Anabel and the Pokémon sat on the seats, Pikachu and Glaceon sat in May's lap while Gardevoir and Anabel stood on each side of her, Lucario remained standing with Meowth as the three ghost Pokémon hovered above everyone's heads. Sabrina closed her eyes for a second before opening them again, a referee came running to the battlefield stopping at the side of the field at the halfway point.
"This is a Gym Battle between the Saffron City Gym Leader Sabrina and the challenger Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town. This is a three on three battle with the challenger able to make substitutions. Are you ready?" The referee asked looking between Ash and Sabrina. Ash nodded, Sabrina closed her eyes again and took a deep breath. Her eyes snapped open and Ash wasn't able to hold back the urge to flinch as he saw the look in her eyes, Sabrina's gaze which had been calm was now burning with a challenging flame, Ash knew that he was in trouble if he lost his focus at any point in this battle. He decided to give Sabrina a taste of her own medicine, he let his Aura flare up and envelope his body. Ghostly blue flames of Aura coated Ash and started to counteract the chill the room's atmosphere gave off, a smirk formed on Ash's lips when he saw Sabrina's eyes widen slightly. Sabrina nodded to the referee, letting him know she was ready for the battle. Everyone could feel the pressure of Ash's Aura and Sabrina's Psychic abilities battling invisibly in the air. "Let the battle for the Marsh Badge begin!"
Ash pulled a Pokéball from his belt and threw it into the air at the same time Sabrina levitated a ball from her pocket and opened it using her abilities. From the two Pokéballs came their Pokémon, Houndour landed in front of Ash with a bark, the Dark Pokémon turned and jumped at Ash bringing his trainer to the ground and licking his face. As Ash tried to calm Houndour down, Sabrina's Pokémon took her position in front of the Gym Leader. The Pokémon's front half had dark yellow, almost gold, fur while the back half was coated in black fur. A four black patches of fur were on the Pokémon's front and two yellow patches were on the Pokémon's back. Pink triangular spikes ran from the base of the Pokémon's skull down her long neck and along her spine stopping at the base of her tail. A section of white fur sat on top of the Pokémon's head along with two bulbous horns, the Pokémon's tail also had a head. The tail's head had yellow eyes and a mouth full of sharp teeth. The Pokémon pawed at the ground with her hooves, eager to start the battle, Girafarig stood ready for her trainers commands.
Eventually Ash managed to dislodge Houndour from his face and the dark/fire type ran back onto the battlefield. As Ash wiped the slobber from his face he could here May and Anabel laughing, he mock glared at them before turning his attention back to Sabrina who was barely suppressing her own laughter. Ash made his Aura visible again and called out the first move of the battle.
"Houndour use Flamethrower!" Ash shouted. Houndour quickly responded by opening his mouth and sending a stream of fire at the Long Neck Pokémon.
"Dodge." Sabrina said calmly. Girafarig bent her legs and jumped into the air, rising above the flames. "Now Signal Beam." The round ends of Girafarig's antennae became shrouded in multi-coloured light and a beam of the light shot out, streaking towards Houndour.
"Smokescreen!" Ash countered, Houndour opened his mouth again releasing a cloud of thick black smoke that blanketed his half of the field. Girafarig's Signal Beam pierced the cloud but there was not sound to say that Houndour had been hit.
"Girafarig, Dazzling Gleam." The Long Neck Pokémon's body started to glow with a bright light as she prepared the attack but Ash had other ideas.
"Feint Attack." Ash shouted through the smoke. Sabrina, having dealt with the tactic before, knew what to do.
"Double Kick, behind you." She said, Girafarig stopped glowing and kicked her back legs into the air behind her, expecting to hit Houndour but both psychic Pokémon and trainer were caught off guard when Houndour appeared alongside Girafarig. The Dark Pokémon slammed into Girafarig's side sending her skidding across the field but staying on her feet.
"Now Bite." Houndour ran forward baring his teeth as they shone with white light.
"Stomp." Sabrina said just before Houndour's attack made contact, Bite missed it's target of Girafarig's front legs and instead bit into thin air. Even with Ash shouting a warning Houndour was unable to evade the attack as Girafarig's hooves crashed down on the dark/fire type. Sabrina kept up her momentum of attacks, "Double Hit." Girafarig reared up again this time her hooves glowing purple as she rained down hit after hit on the stricken Dark Pokémon.
"Feint Attack." Houndour's body shimmered and faded away just before Girafarig's hooves made contact again. Looking around the field Houndour couldn't be seen so Sabrina assumed that the injured Pokémon had retreated into the Smokescreen to try and recover.
"Use Psychic to disperse the smoke." Girafarig's eyes shone blue and the smoke started to shift and dissolve into the air, once all the smoke was gone Sabrina was a little surprised to see that Houndour was nowhere to be seen. "Stomp as hard as you can." Girafarig reared up again and slammed her front legs into the ground sending a small tremor through the field. "Again." Sabrina said, getting Girafarig to hit the ground over and over again. After a few minutes Houndour burst out of the ground behind the Long Neck Pokémon and was about to make contact with a Bite attack when Girafarig's tail sent out a Signal Beam which slammed into the Dark Pokémon's gut, followed quickly by a Double Kick.
"Houndour!" Ash shouted as he was the dark/fire type land hard and skid across the field. The doglike Pokémon slowly stood up, his legs shaking slightly as he panted for breath, Houndour barked at Ash when he saw the raven haired Aura Guardian reaching for his Pokéball. Ash smiled slowly and took his hand away from his Pokéball. "Alright then, Dark Pulse." Houndour howled and formed a ball of black and purple energy in his mouth before sending a wave of rings at Girafarig. The psychic type dodged quickly but was unprepared for the Flamethrower that she'd jumped right into the path of. Ash was taking advantage of Houndour's sharp hearing by whispering more attacks, when Houndour had used Feint Attack it was Ash that told him to retreat to the Smokescreen and use Dig to sneak up on Girafarig.
"Girafarig, Tackle." The Long Neck Pokémon lowered her head and charge at Houndour. She covered the distance quickly but Houndour rolled to the side dodging the attack and the subsequent Double Kick. "You're not the only one who can hide their tactics Ash." Sabrina said sternly, though a small smile tugged that the corners of her mouth. Houndour was panting even harder now but still wouldn't give up as he stared down Girafarig.
"Flamethrower again." Ash called out and Houndour obeyed instantly letting another stream of flames flow from his mouth.
"Psychic." Sabrina countered, Girafarig took hold of the flames and sent them back at Houndour. The dark/fire type was consumed by the fire and Sabrina cursed herself when she saw the flames being absorbed into Houndour's body.
"Flamethrower one last time." Ash shouted but instead of a stream of fire Houndour let loose a column of white hot flames. The small doglike Pokémon had learnt Overheat during his stay at Professor Oak's lab thank to some tutoring from Torkoal. Girafarig managed to weaken the attack by using Psychic but still took a significant amount of damage, when the flames died Girafarig was shaking a little due to burns on her front legs.
"Double Hit." Girafarig's hooves turned purple as she charged forward.
"Sucker Punch." Houndour dashed at Girafarig and slammed into her causing her to spin around and stop her attack. "Now Bite." Houndour was about to latch onto her back leg when Girafarig's tail attacked with another Signal Beam. Houndour was thrown back landing in front of Ash, he lay still for a few seconds.
"Houndour is…" The referee started to as but stopped when Houndour slowly rose to his feet and howled louder than before as white light was emitted from his body. His body grew larger and his midsection thinned, his tail got longer and a triangular point formed on the tip, his muzzle stretched out and two wicked curved horns extended from the top of his head. When the light faded silver bands circled his lower legs and across his back, another band of silver went around his neck with a small oval with two black dots on it stopping the ends of the bands meeting. He slowly padded towards Ash and lowered his head before dropping down to the field. "Houndoom is unable to battle, the winner is Girafarig." The referee said.
"That was great for your first Gym Battle Houndoom, take a nice long rest." Ash said kneeling down to stroke his Pokémon's side before returning him to his Pokéball. "I'm so proud of you." Ash stood up and placed Houndoom's Pokéball back on his belt, taking another one into his hand. "Grimm, let's finish this." Ash threw the ball on to the field and Grimm appeared in a flash of light, his black scythe-like horn reflecting the battlefield lights. "Night Slash!" Ash shouted, Grimm's horn turned a dark purple as he ran forward and before either Sabrina or Girafarig could react he delivered a powerful blow to the psychic Pokémon. Girafarig was sent sprawling backwards on her side.
"Girafarig is unable to battle, the winner is Absol." The referee said as Sabrina recalled her fallen Pokémon, lifting another Pokéball into the air and letting out her next Pokémon. The Pokémon that came from the ball was humanoid in appearance with a green upper body and a white lower body. He had a dark green helmet-like structure on his head with a light green fin curving out of the back and two red fins, one on his back and the other on his front. His arms were shaped like blades had piercing red eyes, Sabrina had sent out her Pokémon what could take on dark types.
"Gallade, are you prepared to battle?" Sabrina asked her Pokémon.
"Gal!" He answered, Gallade looked at the group that sat watching the battle. When Gallade saw Gardevoir he bowed deeply to her, Gardevoir didn't know how to react and shifted uncomfortably in her seat. As Gallade straightened up he locked eyes with Lucario and they both nodded to each other, acknowledging the other as a strong warrior.
"In that case, let's being with Fury Cutter." Gallade rushed forward in the blink of an eye with his blades glowing red and he started to slash at Grimm.
"Counter with Slash." Ash called out, Grimm's horn became cloaked in white energy as he started to fight back, meeting as many of Gallade's attacks as he could.
Meanwhile
"Ash made a good call using Slash." Anabel said as she tried to follow the attacks being thrown by Gallade as what seemed like impossible speeds.
"What do you mean?" May asked, taking her gaze away from the battle and turning to the Frontier Brain.
"Slash is a normal type attack and Fury Cutter is a bug type move. There's no advantage or disadvantage between them, if Ash had called for Night Slash then Absol's attacks wouldn't be blocking as much damage as they are. Night Slash being a dark type move means that it's not very powerful when blocking or deflecting bug type moves." Anabel explained. The Empath was quiet for a minute before turning to look at May, she took a deep breath. "May, I know that you like Ash…and I know that you know I do too."
"W..What?" May stuttered, startled by Anabel's sudden admission. The gym battle that still raged in front of them was completely forgotten.
"Lucy told me that it slipped out when you two talked a while ago and I can feel how much you like Ash." Anabel paused to let the information sink in. "I would try and win Ashover or just ask him to choose which of us he liked most but with my abilities I know that no matter what I did I wouldn't be able to win him over and that he would choose you in a heartbeat." Sadness was clear in her voice as she spoke. "Given that this is Ash we're talking about I doubt either of those methods would work anyway, he as dense as a Steelix's hide." She let out a hollow laugh. "I can sense what he feels towards you and I won't get in between the two of you, I will however wish you luck and give you a warning." Anabel's face turned dark and her voice was laced with menace. "If you ever do anything to hurt him, I will hunt you down. Understand?"
May nodded meekly, she wanted to get angry that Anabel thought that she'd ever do anything to hurt Ash but the way the Empath had looked at her and the tone of her voice had scared any defiance from May. Anabel's face and voice went back to the way they were before they'd started talking though a great amount of sadness could be felt coming from Anabel. May tentatively reached out and put a hand on the Frontier Brain's shoulder.
"I…" May started but didn't know what to say, "I know this probably won't mean anything right now but I'm sure there's someone out there for you and I promise I'll never do anything to hurt Ash." She said to the lavender haired woman, Anabel just looked at May for a second before closing her eyes and letting a small smile cross her lips.
"I believe you." Anabel replied, she knew that May would make Ash happy but she was still jealous that May had hold of Ash's heart even if the raven haired trainer didn't know it yet.
"Gallade!" They heard Sabrina shout, turning back to the battle they saw that Gallade had somehow been sent into the wall creating a crater.
A few minutes earlier
"Grimm use Dark Pulse." Ash said as Gallade came in to deliver another round of Fury Cutters. Grimm smirked and let loose an attack but it wasn't a Dark Pulse, he spat out a Flamethrower instead catching Gallade and Sabrina by surprise. Gallade ran right into the attack taking damage and getting burnt but still continued towards Grimm in order to land his attack. Ash was about to call out to Grimm to dodge but saw that he was surrounded in a low orange light, as Gallade made contact with Grimm he was launched backwards. While he was at Professor Oak's lab Grimm had trained hard with all of Ash's Pokémon and watched the other training when he needed to rest, by doing this he'd learnt how to use Flamethrower, Counter, Ice Beam and Aerial Ace. Grimm jumped forward using Aerial Ace and slammed into Gallade while the Blade Pokémon was still flying through the air. The combination of the momentum of Counter and Aerial Ace's impact sent Gallade into the wall making a crater with Gallade in the centre of it.
"Gallade!" Sabrina shouted, showing the first signs of emotion since the battle began. As the dust settled Gallade's eyes snapped open he teleported out of the crater and appearing behind Grimm. Gallade went straight into a Close Combat, punching, slicing and kicking Grimm over and over again each blow landing and being pulled back in less than a second. The force of the assault was enough to lift Grimm into the air leaving him nowhere to escape. Ash went for Grimm's Pokéball when for some reason one of Gallade's punches missed, in that brief second of opportunity Grimm used Aerial Ace to get away from the Blade Pokémon.
"Grimm are you alright?" Ash asked as the Disaster Pokémon moved in front of him.
"Sol." Grimm replied with a nod but Ash could tell the Grimm couldn't take much more and Gallade was in a similar situation due to Counter and Aerial Ace. Ash was starting to think of his next move when his Pokédex beeped in his pocket, pulling it out quickly Ash opened it and saw a message saying 'Egg Move Unlocked'. Ash accessed the message while Grimm was dodging more of Gallade's attacks.
"Let's try your new move. Play Rough!" Ash shouted. Grimm's eyes flashed pink as pink energy coated his claws and horn. Grimm jumped at Gallade ready to end this battle.
"Close Combat!" Sabrina said, settling back into her Gym Leader mindset. Gallade dashed forward to meet Grimm's attack. Both Pokémon battered each other for a minute before separating, Gallade nodded at Grimm while Grimm gave Gallade a small smirk before they both fell to the ground unable to stand any longer.
"Both Pokémon are unable to battle. Trainers please send out your final Pokémon." The referee said. Ash thanked Grimm for all of his hard work as he returned the Disaster Pokémon. Sabrina returned Gallade to his ball with a quick thank you, once the battle was over she would thank her Pokémon properly but right now she needed to keep up her Gym Leader persona. Both Ash and Sabrina sent their final Pokémon onto the battlefield, Butterfree immediately took to the air while Alakazam simply crossed his spoons. One of May's Pokéballs burst open revealing Beautifly after the light of the release had faded.
"I guess you want to cheer Butterfree on." May said to the Butterfly Pokémon, Beautifly nodded and landed on brunette Co-Ordinator's head. May giggled and watched the battle while stroking Pikachu's and Glaceon's fur.
"Alakazam, Teleport." Sabrina said, Alakazam vanished in a flash of light and reappeared in the air behind Butterfree. "Fire Punch." Flames coated Alakazam's fist as he drove it into Butterfree's back. "Alakazam can use attacks that give him an advantage over types he's weak against." Sabrina said staring at Ash, trying to unnerve him. Ash didn't reply, just flaring his Aura again in defiance as it had faded while he was concentration on the battle.
Butterfree spun from the impact of the punch but quickly righted himself, surprising Sabrina as Alakazam's Fire Punch usually had more of an effect on bug types. It seemed that Butterfree's resistance training had paid off.
"Butterfree use Bug Buzz." Ash said, Butterfree's wings glowed red as he started to flap them sending out waves of red energy along with a high pitched whine. The whine was enough to disorientate Alakazam, who put his hands to his head as he tried to block out the noise it also caused the Psi Pokémon to stop levitating himself and fall to the ground as the waves of red energy hit his body. "Now String Shot." Butterfree fired out a thin sticky stream of thread wrapping it around Alakazam's spoons.
"Psybeam." Sabrina said, Alakazam crossed his spoons and fired a multi-coloured beam towards Butterfree. As the Butterfly Pokémon dodges the attack Ash looked at Sabrina and saw a slightly confused look cross her face. Ash briefly let a wolfish grin appear on his lips before hiding it. He'd had the idea a couple of days previously when he'd battled a trainer with a Scyther, Butterfree had covered Scyther's blades with String Shot which in turn caused Scyther's slashing and cutting attacks to be weaker then they should've been. By covering Alakazam's spoons with String Shot it made it more difficult to form attacks from the spoons focal point. Sabrina looked at Alakazam as he kept attacking with Psybeam and a flash of realization quickly went across her face.
"Alakazam, use Fire Punch to burn off the String Shot." She said, Alakazam immediately stopped using Psybeam and went to ignite his fists.
"Butterfree, String Shot again." Ash shouted, Butterfree fired two short blasts of String Shot and thanks to his training back at the lab he hit his targets. The String Shots covered Alakazam's eyes, the psychic type stopped summoning the fire for Fire Punch and tried to pull the sticky thread from his face. "Silver Wind, full power." Butterfree opened his wings wide and started to flap them, sending out silver crescents of energy along with a strong blast of wind. The silver crescents crashed into Alakazam sending him backwards. "Now Tackle." Butterfree gave one last powerful flap of his wings, releasing a crescent of energy that was a little bigger then the ones before it and dove after it. Alakazam stood with his back turned to Butterfree as he still tried to remove the String Shot from his face, the last crescent of energy hit Alakazam causing him to stagger forward. Butterfree closed the remaining distance between himself and the Psi Pokémon quickly but just before he made contact Alakazam spun to the side and delivered a Fire Punch to Butterfree's back sending the bug/flying type to the ground. Ash was shocked to see that Alakazam's eyes were still covered by the String Shot and while his back was turned Alakazam had used Fire Punch to burn of the String Shot..
"Ice Punch." Sabrina said, Alakazam raised his fist as icy blue energy started to swirl around it.
"Aerial Ace!" Ash shouted, Butterfree flew out of the way just in time to avoid the attack but Alakazam used Teleport and appeared in front of Butterfree. The Ice Punch crashed into the Butterfly Pokémon and send him sprawling across the field. Ash's mind raced to try and figure out what was happening, he heard Lucario growl from the sidelines.
Master, Lady Sabrina has formed a link with Alakazam, she is… Lucario's warning was cut off and Sabrina waved her finger at the Aura Pokémon.
"This is a battle between myself and your trainer, unless you are involved in the battle please refrain from interfering." She said. Ash looked at Lucario and the steel/fighting type simply closed his eyes before opening them again slowly. Ash turned back to the battle as he heard Butterfree cry out, Alakazam had switched to using Thunder Punch.
"Sandman!" Ash shouted confusing everyone except for his Pokémon, it was another of his combination moves. He'd gotten the idea from an old song that his mom liked, Butterfree quickly rose into the air and started flapping his wings hard kicking up a Whirlwind in seconds. The Whirlwind glittered slightly in the lights of the battlefield as it spun towards Alakazam, the psychic type started to glow to Teleport out of the way but found that he couldn't move. Butterfree had stuck his feet to the ground before he retreated into the air, it was then that Ash realized what Lucario had tried to tell him. Ash saw that Sabrina's focus was purely set on Butterfree, she'd formed a mental link with Alakazam and was acting as his eyes because she was doing this Sabrina couldn't use her abilities to look into Buttefree's mind to try and work out what Sandman was. The swirling vortex encircled Alakazam and the psychic type started to sway back and forth, dropping to his knees for a second before falling face first onto the field. "Giga Drain." Butterfree stopped flapping his wings and was breathing heavily, he swooped low and his antenna glowed green as energy of the same colour flowed out and latched onto Alakazam restoring Butterfee's health while weakening the Psi Pokémon. Sandman was a combination of Whirlwind and Sleep Powder, which worked as long as the Pokémon it was aimed at was caught in the centre of the vortex.
After a minute Butterfree stopped using Giga Drain and flew back into the air waiting for whatever might happen next. Alakazam was still asleep on the ground but was starting to twitch as he began to wake up, slowly the psychic type lifted himself off the ground and Sabrina said the one word that Ash had dreaded since the start of the battle.
"Recover." Alakazam glowed yellow as the signs of the battle started to disappear, even the String Shot that had clung to his face faded away.
"Signal Beam, rapid fire." Ash said, Butterfree's eyes released multiple blasts of multi-coloured energy in short bursts, causing Alakazam to stop using Recover to dodge the attacks. "Get in close," Butterfree kept attack but his rate of fire for his attacks was starting to slow down as he was getting tired but at the same time Alakazam wasn't evading the attacks as quickly as he had been. Even though both Pokémon had been able to recover their health it did nothing for their stamina, they had both been battling hard and it was showing in the movements. Both Alakazam and Butterfree were forcing themselves the extra mile for their trainers but they both knew that this battle was going to end soon and neither would stop just to rest, they could rest when the battle had a definite winner. Only one of them would be standing when the victor was decided, the other would be knocked out on the ground.
"Focus Blast." Sabrina said, her excitement showing in her voice her stoic Gym Leader persona had vanished completely, this had to be one of the most enjoyable battles she'd ever had since she gained her abilities. A grin had forced itself onto her face and her arms which had been crossed over her chest were now slicing through the air with every attack and counter she called out. Alakazam launched a ball of yellow energy from his crossed spoons towards Butterfree as the Butterfly Pokémon weaved out of the way of a Psybeam.
"Butterfree, drop!" Ash shouted, Butterfree immediately showed his trust in Ash and stopped flapping his wings. Butterfree fell to the field and only just evading the Focus Blast as it grazed his antenna.
Anabel was smiling to see that her cousin was finally experiencing the excitement that a battle could give you, Sabrina's abilities had always taken the fun away from battle due to her being able to read her opponents mind but with Ash's mind shielded by Aura it meant that her unfair advantage was taken away and she was finally on a level playing field with her challenger.
"Now U-Turn!" A cloak of green energy coated Butterfree as he flew toward the Psi Pokémon, just before Butterfree made contact he did a sharp ninety degree turn and flew straight up. Butterfree rose a few feet above Alakazam before flipping around and diving straight at the psychic type's head but as he came closer the green energy started to shine brighter and brighter until it was a blinding white light. Every person and Pokémon turned away or covered their eyes before heading a crash. When they turned back they saw Alakazam lying face down on the field with Butterfree on his back also lying face down, everyone waited in silence to see what would happen. May with Anabel's help had to keep Pikachu and Beautifly from running onto the field to check on Butterfree, a minute passed, two. The referee slowly walked onto the field and knelt down to look at the Pokémon, he stayed their for a minute before standing back up.
"I'm not sure how to call this battle." He said, "Alakazam is knocked out and although Butterfree is still conscious he'd not in any shape to battle. Technically this is a draw, so we'll need to have another battle to determine a winner." Sabrina coughed lightly and once the referee had turned to face her, she pointed to the Pokémon and as everyone turned their attention back to the Pokémon they saw that Butterfree had managed to lift himself into the air. The Butterfly Pokémon was panting heavily but refused to lay down until Ash was named the victor, he owed Ash a lot and would do whatever he had to, to prove to Ash how much he appreciated it. Butterfree dug deep and used the last of his energy to fire a Psybeam into the air to show he could still battle. "Alakazam is unable to battle, Butterfree is the winner which means Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town has won the match." The referee said even though he could see Butterfree wasn't going to stay airborne much longer.
Ash and Sabrina walked onto the field, Ash ran forward as he saw Butterfree start to fall. The rave haired trainer slid across the field, kicking up a cloud of dust, and caught Butterfree just before he hit the ground.
"You were amazing Butterfree. I'm so proud of you, now it's time to take a long rest. You've more then earned it." Ash said, he went to pull Butterfree's Pokéball from his belt but stopped when he felt a weight rest on his head. A proboscis dropped into his field of vision letting Ash know that it was Beautifly that now sat on his head. Sabrina knelt down and slowly helped Alakazam to his feet, she praised her Pokémon for everything he'd done and as she lifted her Pokéball to return him a blast sounded from the side of the room, everyone turned to look and saw a bright light beaming through a hole in the wall.
"Prepare for…" A familiar voice started before it was cut off.
"SHUT UP!"
Current Teams same as the top of the chapter.
That's it for his chapter hope you enjoyed it.
Let me know what you think both of the chapter and my question.
Until Next Time
Basic Trainer