Chapter 26: Don't Stop Me Now
"Garchomp has fainted, meaning the new Sinnoh League Champion is Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town!" the judge announced as the whole crowd cheered his name.
"Alright we did it!" the new champion celebrated.
Cynthia walked towards him with a satisfied look on her face, "Well done Ash, I know you'll be Sinnoh's greatest champion ever. I want you to take this."
Ash received a badge from her that was made out of platinum and glistened in the sun. "What's this?" the auburn-eyed trainer asked the blonde.
"It's a symbol that proves that you have or are in the position of Sinnoh League Champion, it's one of its kind, and I hope you take good care of it," the former Sinnoh League Champion grinned at him.
"Look Pikachu we got the Sinnoh League Champ's symbol!" the happy Kanto trainer made it shine and sparkle on the battlefield.
"Pikachu!" the yellow mouse leaped in to his arms.
"Ash, Ash, Ash, Ash!" everyone on the stadium yelled his name including his friends Dawn and Brock.
"We finally did it Pikachu," the teen held his friend tightly and petted him, his fur felt soft, and warm. This was the greatest day of his life and nothing could bring it out of him, until he felt something poking him.
Ash felt someone being poked in the chest and heard someone saying Ash repeatedly. He slowly opened his eyes and slowly examined the place; he was in the living room in his Pallet home. Then he looked down and saw someone.
"Ash, I appreciate all the hugging, but I'm getting of kind tight," the brunette smiled sheepishly.
May's friend looked at what was going on, one of his arms was on May's hips and the other wrapped her back. He was way too close and may be close enough to make people think they were up to something.
"May!" Ash's eyes widened as he grew startled by the scene and provoked him to fall off the bed.
"Ash!" the Petalburg girl looked down from the bed to find Ash rubbing his head, the bed was too small for him to move around so anxiously like that.
"Morning sleepyhead," the brown-haired teen giggled at her goofy Kanto friend.
"Morning May," the raven-haired trainer greeted with a smile, trying to hide the pain from the fall.
"Mind explaining what you were dreaming about?" the coordinator asked him since Ash wouldn't dare to hold a girl so close to him if he was completely awake.
"I was dreaming about becoming the Sinnoh League Champion, people were screaming my name, and I was thanking Pikachu for his hard work," the Pallet teen explained.
"That explains why you were petting, playing with my hair and holding me so tight," the brown-haired female grinned.
"Is that what woke you up? Sorry," the trainer laughed nervously.
"Don't worry about it Ash," the Hoenn native grinned after all it did make her feel comfortable, but then he tightened his hold.
"What time is it anyway?" the Kanto trainer asked her.
"According to the time, it's about 8:30 am, I thought your mom would be awake by now," the brunette had expected.
"May be she slept later than all of us," Ash had assumed.
"What's the commotion you guys?" a red-head walked down the stairs, yawning.
"Misty!" the two stated simultaneously.
"What's up guys, sleep well?" the gym leader asked.
"Well we were, until Ash fell off the bed," May giggled.
Misty looked to the ground and saw Ash lying there, the gym leader lowered her head, "That explains the bang I heard, but how?"
"Ash was dreaming about beating the Sinnoh Champion and he thought was Pikachu, who was holding and I just felt so tightened I thought I should wake him up. When he saw how he was holding, he got startled," the coordinator described the occurrence to her female Kanto friend.
The gym leader raised her eyebrows, Ash must've been holding her as if he didn't want to let go, "You guys didn't try anything sneaky last night did you?"
Ash and May's faces blushed red with embarrassment at what their friend just commented, knowing what she meant, "No!" The pair retorted at the same time.
"Just making sure," the water user winked and giggled.
May and Ash shook off the comment, then moved on to another topic. "Hey Misty, did my mom wake up?"
"No, but she's a heavy sleeper. I don't know she manages to wake up so early yet can't hear you fall off your bed like that," the Cerulean resident stated.
"Who knows what time she might wake up, she might've slept late last night, but since that's the case then we'll have to make breakfast ourselves," the brunette suggested to the others.
"But I don't know how to cook," the messy haired boy told the two of them.
"We'll teach you," the brown-haired coordinator told him.
"Come on guys," the gym leader said as she walked to the kitchen.
"Ok if you say so," Ash said with an expression that wrote 'don't say I didn't warn you' all over it.
The trio walked in to the kitchen and Misty was in charge of this operation, "Ok May you'll make the bacon, Ash will make the scrambled eggs, and I'll make some pancakes. Is everyone ok with that?" the gym leader questioned.
Ash and May nodded sideways. "Alright then let's start" the red-head smirked and got her ingredients.
May got all of the stuff she would need and Ash figured he'd need some eggs. He got some out of the fridge and put them on a frying pan, he put the frying pan on top of the place where you fry foods. He quickly turned up the heat and just let the eggs sit there, assuming that it should turn in to scrambled eggs with fire underneath.
His Hoenn companion quickly noticed and face palmed herself. He should only be glad that Misty wasn't the one to see him, "Ash that's not how you make scrambled eggs."
"What? Then how?" the auburn-eyed teen questioned her.
"You're supposed to crack open the eggs first and then place them on the frying pan, like this," the Petalburg resident cracked the shell and the egg emerged, it quickly fell on to the frying pan.
"Oh ok, but I told you I was bad at cooking," the black-haired teen looked her.
"You'll get it down, now I have to get back to making that bacon," May told him as he shook his head and only looked at May walk away, what would he do without her?
Ash cracked one egg's shell and repeated the process. He let the eggs fry in the frying pan as just stood there and watched it fry; this was something he had never really done before so he lacked any knowledge of it. However, he did regret not asking Brock on how to learn to cook as well as he did.
"Ash, you're not just supposed to let the eggs just sit there and burn," the red-head told him rather sternly.
"Misty, I said I wasn't going to be able to cook," the raven-haired boy sighed.
The gym leader wouldn't yell at the boy for not knowing how to cook so she just gave him a break; however she could lighten the mood up by doing something fun, she woke up rather energetic this morning so she wanted something that made the morning feel alive.
"Hey Ash," the red-head called out.
"Yeah?" the black-haired teen asked.
"Heads up!" the red-head warned as she threw an egg.
"Huh?" the teen avoided the egg and hit May.
"What was that for Misty?" the auburn-eyed teen frowned.
"I thought we could have some fun while cooking," the red-haired teen laughed.
"But…" the boy tried to explain before he was interrupted by a flying egg that came from behind and hit him right in the head.
"May why'd you do that for?" the Pallet trainer looked at her.
"Misty and I already planned this out while you were making eggs, I thought she would manage to hit you, but I was wrong and now I want payback," the brunette smiled deviously and threw an egg that hit Misty right in the kisser.
"Oh May, you're so going to get it," the red-haired gym leader smiled cunningly and threw an egg, but it hit Ash right in his face.
"Ok, guys this time it's war," Ash smiled slyly and threw two eggs at both eggs.
May was hit on her shoulder while Misty dodged it, and hit the wall instead. This was going to get worse before it would get any better.
"Ash!" the Petalburg female screamed and threw an egg swiftly.
"No you don't," Ash laughed and bent down then threw an egg that hit May's leg.
"Darn you," the blue-eyed girl stomped and reached for more eggs.
"Gotcha," the auburn-eyed teen laughed, but was put to silence when Misty hit Ash in the forehead with yet another egg.
"You're going to pay for that Misty," the black-haired teen threw a bunch of eggs from a carton on the table.
"Ah!" the gym leader yelled as Ash hit her all over.
Misty picked up some bacon and started throwing them at eggs; the red-head was covered in egg yolk. "Bacon now too? It's on Misty."
When Ash prepared to avoid the charging bacon, he saw May throw some eggs from another direction and before he could think of something the eggs and bacon hit its mark. Ash was no covered in a large amount of egg yolk with bacon as well.
"That's one heck of breakfast," the brunette giggled.
"Very funny, May but here comes my shot and prepared to throw his egg like he could throw a Pokeball," the teen grabbed an egg and pulled his arm back.
"Stop this instant, young man!" a voice called out and made him stop in fear.
Misty and May also grew alert, they found Delia standing at the kitchen door, tapping her foot on the floor. She had a frown on her face, "What is going?" the usually cool mother asked seriously.
The trio was speechless; they only looked around the kitchen and saw how the place ended up being covered in egg shells, egg yolk, and bacon. This doesn't look good, Ash thought as he saw how messy his kitchen was. He had never seen the place as messy as it was now.
"Well, what do you kids have to say for yourself?" Ash's mother questioned sternly.
"We're sorry," the three teens lowered their heads in apology, knowing that they have disappointed the adult.
"I'm just sorry that I didn't wake up in time and prevent this, but it looks like deciding to sleep a bit more showed me that this would be an outcome. I'm deeply disappointed in you three," Delia spoke in a stern tone and hoped that the teens would learn from their mistakes.
She then began to smile and then giggle when she saw how the trio left their heads hanging in disappointment. When they heard Delia laughing, they looked at her strangely. She was mad a second ago and now she's laughing, the trio thought.
"Oh kids, I just wanted to see how regretful you can get. I know I can't stop kids from having fun after all, it's only natural for them to behave like this these days," the older female laughed and looked at them.
Ash, May, and Misty still appeared puzzled and then Ash began to speak, "Wait so you aren't mad?"
"No Ash, I know you guys were just trying to have fun. I'm sorry that I didn't wake up earlier to make you guys breakfast. It seems like you three tried that, but it ended up in games," the joyful mother smiled at them.
The three teens formed smiling, seeing that Delia wasn't truly mad. "Delia, this is my fault. I started the egg battle and it got carried away," the red-head apologized to her.
"I'm sorry too, I also planned it out with May, Ash was the victim here," May apologized for her actions.
"It doesn't matter who started it or who are the victims, you three. I know you didn't really intend to make such a mess, but since I have to clean this up, I won't be able to make breakfast this morning," the brown-eyed mother explained to them.
"Oh," the three said at once and lowered their heads.
"You can still go eat at Professor Oak's Lab anyway right, I'm sure he'll be happy to let you three eat breakfast with Tracey, Gary, and himself," the brown-haired mom assured them.
"Hey that's right, he'll be happy to let us eat there," the brunette gained renewed hope on getting breakfast this morning.
"That's right, we were supposed to go later anyway so let's hurry," the auburn-eyed trainer said with his own sense of hope.
"I think we should shower and change first, we wouldn't to show up like this," the gym leader recommended. The three of them looked at each other, Ash had bacon stuck on his hair, May had egg yolk hanging from her hair, and Misty looked like a yellow-head rather than a red-head. Ash, May, and Misty all laughed at each other.
"That's so you might want to hurry up," Mrs. Ketchum told them with a grin and went in to the kitchen to commence cleaning.
"Do you guys mind if I go first?" the brunette asked.
"Not really," the two older friends told May.
May thanked them and ran upstairs to get herself ready. Misty then turned to face Ash with a sly grin.
"So Ash, you seem to be in a good mood this morning. Is it because you enjoyed sleeping with a certain brunette," the red-head moved her eyebrows up and down.
Ash took a step back, still embarrassed about any comment Misty had to say about May and him sleeping together, "No, it's just that today I get to battle Gary and I have some plans of my own for today."
"You will never drop your rivalry with Gary will you? And what might those plans be anyway?" the red-head asked him with curiosity.
"Nope, he's always going to be my primary rival and it's a surprise, after yesterday's horrible events, I'm looking forward to the bright and shiny new day," the raven-haired teen commented on today's events.
"So am I Ash," the gym leader hoped for good results in today in comparison to yesterday's murky occurrences.
After several minutes a brunette came down completely spotless, from head to toe there was trace of eggs. "I'm finished," the coordinator declared.
"Well then, I guess it's my turn if you don't mind Ash," the red-head told her Pallet friend.
"Nah, go ahead," the trainer told her and Misty went up to shower.
"So Ash, do you mind telling me what the big surprise you told me about yesterday is going to be?" the Hoenn girl questioned him.
"Not yet May, I'll you later. It's a big surprise, trust me," Ash assured her.
"Oh Ash, I wish I could know now because I'm getting impatient," May pouted at him.
"Don't worry, it'll be worth the wait and after battling Gary, I think it'll be time," the black-haired boy tried to give May assurance.
"I hope so, by the way how come you still carry that rivalry with Gary even after you beat him in the Johto League?" the sapphire-eyed teen asked him.
"Because Gary has always taunted me in the past and even though I beat him while also becoming friends, I want to prove to him that I haven't been slacking. I want to show him I've been getting as good as he is. It's the same way you view Drew, even after beating him twice in a row," the messy haired trainer told her.
"That makes a point, Drew thinks the same about me sometimes and I just wanna prove that I can get as strong as he is. Beating him only makes me want to train more because Drew will always train harder after a loss and if I don't keep up I will fall behind," the brown-haired Petalburg explained to Ash the meaning behind her rivalry.
Ash agreed with May about the meanings of a true rivalry and after minutes of discussion Misty had also come down spotless, all that was left was Ash to get himself clean.
"Guess that's my cue, I'll see you guys in a few," the trainer told both girls as he went to get ready.
Misty approached May and they began discussing, "So how was sleeping with Ash?"
"It was my first time ever sleeping with a boy, and with Ash. Thank you for letting me go with him, Misty," the brunette explained to her.
"No problem May, I can't hold you against your own will. You felt sorry for him, he didn't have Pikachu to accompany him, it was sweet of you to that," the red-haired gym leader stated how thoughtful it was for May to do that.
"Yeah, he was nervous at first because it was his first time and he thought if his mom caught him he would get in to trouble, he didn't want me to go with him," the Petalburg resident told the Cerulean girl.
"Good thing she didn't see that, who know what she would've thought. How did you convince him anyway?" Misty commented on how lucky they were about avoiding, getting caught sleeping together in one bed by Ash's mom, then proceeding to ask about how she managed to persuade him to let her sleep with him.
"It was kind of tricky, but I assured him that wasn't going to do anything sneaky with him and told him that if his mother caught us, then I would take the whole blame because he had been reluctant, but I just pushed him in to doing it," the coordinator described her solution that convinced Ash to let her sleep with him for the night.
The water user grinned, "That was nice of you May, I bet you couldn't resist getting near him when he fell asleep. Did you cuddle with him?"
May recalled the moment she had cuddled with Ash during the night, and blushed in front of Misty, "Actually when he fell asleep I got near and felt tempted to hide myself in his chest, he just didn't notice."
"Awww, did anything else happen?" the Water-type gym leader asked curiously.
"When I got near Ash he hugged me and I just felt so warm, also safe. I practically blushed and then I embraced him and we ended up cuddling, the only reason he had done that though was because he was dreaming about hugging Pikachu," the brunette shook her head sideways and giggled.
Misty face palmed herself and laugh, "Oh Ash."
"He looks like he's in a really good mood today," May pointed out to the red-head.
"I know, he said he had something to do with battling Gary and having some plans for later today," the red-haired girl mentioned.
"He mentioned that to me too, wonder what it could…" the brunette informed her.
"Let's just hope it isn't anything reckless," the gym leader hoped.
May laughed, "Yeah, I hope so too,"
Ash then came downstairs, he was wearing his usual Sinnoh clothing and like May as well as Misty he looked good as new. "Who's ready for some breakfast?" the raven-haired teenager asked and smiled.
"We are," the girls smiled at spoke at the same time.
"Well then come on!" the boy cheered.
Delia emerged from kitchen with a rag, "You kids are leaving now?"
"Yup," the auburn-eyed trainer told her.
"Ok then, get back home safe you three and have fun," Delia told them.
"We will mom, we'll come back later in the evening," Ash informed her.
"Bye Delia," the red-head said goodbye and began walking to the exit.
"So long, we'll be back," May said farewell and followed Misty's lead.
"See you later, kids I'll be waiting," the mother said farewell as the three hit the road.
They soon vanished from sight and Delia went back to the kitchen to clean up the disastrous mess.
"Ok Ash, do you know what Pokémon you're going to use if you battle Gary?" the water gym leader inquired him.
"We will battle Misty, and I already have some Pokémon in mind for this one," the black-haired teen corrected her and told her.
"What would they be?" his Hoenn friend questioned him.
"You'll see when we get there," the raven-haired teen told her.
"Wonder who's going to when," the Cerulean gym leader wondered.
"Me of course, I'm not going to lose to Gary," the messy haired boy spoke proudly.
"We'll be rooting for you Ash," the blue-eyed Hoenn girl assured him.
"Yeah, just be careful. If you beat him in the Johto League Ash I know you'll beat him again with the right strategy," the Cerulean native reminded him.
"Thanks guys," Ash smiled confidently.
Until they arrived to the lab the only thing that had really discussed was the battle Ash had looked forward too between Gary and him. First thing is first though, they had to get some breakfast. When they knocked the door that allowed entry to Oak's Laboratory a delightful Tracey opened.
"Ash, May, Misty how wonderful to see you three," the boy wearing the headband greeted.
"Hey Tracey," the trio saluted their good friend, who lead them inside the lab.
Inside they found Professor Oak walking around the lab and Gary helping him around with some supplies around the lab. When they saw the trio in front of them they stopped their activities to welcome the group.
"Hello kids, you're rather early today," the older man stated.
"Hey guys, why did you drop by so early? It's hardly ten," Gary approached them and greeted them as he inquired their early arrival.
"The three of us were trying to make breakfast while my mom was still asleep, but all we did was finish with a huge mess. When she woke up she said she would need to clean this and would have no time to breakfast so we were hoping if you would let us get something here," the boy with hat remembered the events that led up to the early appearance.
"I see, well you're welcomed to eat with us since we were about to do just that," Oak welcomed them to some morning breakfast.
"Yeah, we have tons of food for this morning, I'm sure you'll be satisfied," Tracey remarked about the amount of food that could fill all six of the people in the lab.
"Thank you so much professor!" the girls thanked him.
"Anytime kids, I'm always here to give some assistance," the professor told the duo.
"Come, I'm sure your stomachs can't last a second longer without eating," the male brunette led the way to the kitchen where they would eat.
When they got inside the kitchen they saw a table setup with vast amount of cupcakes, muffins, waffles, fruits and much more. Ash, May, and Misty were shocked at how much breakfast there was for only three people.
"Do you guys really manage to finish all this?" the Cerulean resident asked them.
"Not exactly, we always have spare left after any meal and we give it to anyone who would enjoy it," the Orange Islands traveling companion told them.
"With Ash and May I think there won't be a problem with leftovers," the red-head reminded the residents of the lab.
"I'm sure about that, now how about we dig in," the younger Oak recommended to everyone.
"Yes, why doesn't everyone get a cup and a plate to fill themselves with all this exquisite food," the older Oak suggested to everyone.
Everyone nodded their heads and began to get plates as well as cups and utensils. They sat down with Ash next to May's right, then Misty, next Gary, following up Tracey, and finally Professor Oak. They all got as much food as they pleased, with Ash and May stacking up on cupcakes, muffins, and butter toast with a glass of milk with a glass of orange juice.
In seconds they would finish one stack and built another just to eat it down, this same process was repeated as everyone else tried to eat their food peacefully while trying to ignore Ash and May's manners on the dinner table.
"Professor Oak, how's Pikachu doing?" Ash swallowed his food and asked the old professor.
"Pikachu is doing fine Ash, he's sure to recover in a few days. The wounds are still heavy though and I was forced to use tranquilizers on him so that he wouldn't stay awake with the terrible pain, he'll wake up and see that he is as good as new and never encountered Tyranitar," Oak filled Ash in on the details.
"Oh, that's good news," the auburn-eyed teen looked satisfied with his friend's progress. When Pikachu was forced to be sedated or any other kind of medication was used on his pal he would get slightly annoyed because he had heard that in can be very lethal in some cases. However he put his trust in Professor Oak's ability to cure Pikachu and he'd recover soon.
"I'm sure Pikachu will be able to do everything again less than a week," Mist expected and everyone agreed with her.
"So Ash, you still hoping for a battle against me?" Gary Oak inquired Ash Ketchum.
"Are you kidding of course I am, and I am going to win!" the Pallet teen with Sinnoh clothes made a fist and smiled, confident in his abilities to defeat Gary.
"Don't count on it, because I'm going to win," the brunette answered back.
"We'll see about that," the boy with the hat responded.
"Why not wrap this breakfast up and get prepared for the battle," the Pallet brunette suggested.
"Yeah, I want to get this battle started," the trainer replied back to him with anticipation in his voice.
After a few minutes of eating, everyone had eaten enough to go until the rest of the afternoon and like Misty had told Tracey, there certainly were no leftovers. Ash announced that it was time for the battle to begin and ran outside to the ranch with Gary, Misty, and May behind him. Professor Oak and Tracey only warned them not to create an entire disaster again like yesterday when Blaziken and Typhlosion had triggered a serious of extreme power struggles.
Outside the gang saw Ash and May's Pokémon together with Bayleef in front. They looked a bit grim today and the group was going to find what was up. "What's the matter guys?" Ash asked his friends from various regions.
"Bay bay Bayleef," the Grass-type explained.
"Bayleef you can walk properly again, that's great. I see what you mean though, when you told them about Pikachu they got sad huh, its one friend after another I know, but tell them not to worry because Pikachu is in Professor Oak's care and he'll be just fine again in a few days." Ash looked at all his Pokémon along with May's as Bayleef began to explain the current situation.
The Pokémon still looked grim, but half smiles appeared on their faces. They were just glad to hear how Pikachu was doing; after all the electric mouse had made friends with all of the Pokémon at the ranch, which included May's own.
Ash then faced all of them, "That's right guys; Pikachu was attacked by a Tyranitar. I don't know why and I don't know how, but the only thing that matters now is that Pikachu is going to be ok and I'm sure he would appreciate the attention all of you guys have been showing him, and right now I am about to battle Gary to see who's number one and I'll need some of you to help me out on this one. In the end though, I'll need everyone's support and I'll dedicate this battle for Pikachu."
Every Pokémon cheered at Ash's words and were willing to play their parts in this battle, whether it was battling out there or watching from the sidelines.
"Those are deep words, and I'm sure Pikachu would be flattered by your words, but now it's time to battle and let's make it the best one yet," the brunette looked intensely at Ash, who agreed with Gary's words and began to see how this was going to play out.
"You know Misty; I am really looking forward to this battle. I always wanted to meet Gary and see him battle Ash, now it looks like that's about to happen," the Petalburg brunette expressed her excitement to Misty.
"Believe me May, when these two battle it's something you don't see every day. I just wonder what Pokémon both of them are going to use," Misty uttered to May over the clash between Ash and Gary.
"I wonder too, they're both my friends, but I want Ash to win," the brunette chose a side.
"I know you believe Ash has the ability to win this one after seeing him in so many battles and I can promise you that this one will be one two remember. I know the two will put on a great battle," the red-head walked towards the side of field where she would judge.
"This is going to be a three-on-three battle Ash, so go pick your Pokémon. I've already picked mine," Gary informed Ash.
"Right," the raven-haired trainer went to his group of Pokémon and chose three Pokémon that haven't been used in a real battle up until now. Misty grinned at Ash's choices and thought this was going to be one interesting battle. May was thinking about how Ash could use this Pokémon in his strategy and assumed that he knows what he was doing, but was filled with anticipation as to how this battle would turn out. Gary only gave a sly smirk when he saw Ash's choices and returned back to his side of the field.
No one knew what Gary's Pokémon were going to be and it only made it more interesting yet even more intense for everyone. Ash and Gary saw eye to eye, "Let's make this memorable Ash."
"I'm hoping for the same Gary, so how about we get this started!" the teen declared.
"Let the battle begin!" the red-head announced.
"Arcanine your up!" the brunette called out the Legendary Pokémon.
"Arcanine, alright go Kingler," the messy haired trainer unleashed his Water-type Pokémon.
Arcanine is the Pokémon; May tried to claim, but had given up in the past. She and Drew had both gone after it, but dropped it after they realized that it was a parent. She hadn't expected Gary to have the Pokémon she sought in the past, wonder what Drew would've thought. Nonetheless, Arcanine was a Fire-type while Kingler was a Water-type giving Ash the advantage, May thought.
"Kingler use Water Gun!" Ash called out as Kingler shot out pressurized water.
"Arcanine use ExtremeSpeed," Gary smirked as his Fire-type charged at incredible speed and dodged the Water Gun elegantly.
Without any warning Arcanine hit Kingler backwards and the Pincer Pokémon got up, not willing to give up so early. Ash had to think of something and then an idea sparked in his head.
"Kingler use a barrage of Mud Shot," the raven-haired trainer called out.
Arcanine saw a widespread volley of Mud Shot that came from all directions, but it seemed as though Gary knew what to do. "Arcanine obliterate the volley with Hidden Power!"
The Legendary Pokémon did as ordered and became circled by spherical energy balls. The Kanto Pokémon then barked and released it from all sides, cancelling out the Mud Shot.
"It's going to take more than that to beat me Ash, try something a bit more creative," the brunette chuckled.
Ash grinded his teeth, he was cornered and felt as though there were no tricks up his sleeve. What could he do?
"Arcanine prepare for a Solarbeam and end this," the brunette commanded.
May covered her mouth, since Solarbeam is a Grass-type move, if it hit Kingler that'd be it for the crab. Ash had to think of something fast.
"Kingler use Crabhammer on Arcanine while he's charging that Solarbeam," Ash ordered his Pokémon to use Crabhammer.
Kingler rushed towards Arcanine and just when he was about to make it, and Arcanine was still charging Gary sent out another command.
"Use Double Team," the younger Oak said.
When Kingler had hit its mark Arcanine just vanished since it was a fake copy and many more revolved around it. Now he had to figure out which one was the real Arcanine, the worst part was that all of them were charging a Solarbeam and there was no doubt that if the attack hit Kingler, it'd be over for the Pincer Pokémon.
"Darn, Kingler use Bubblebeam to take them all out," Ash commanded with a strain in his voice.
Kingler shot out the Water-type technique at the multiple Arcanine, but it only failed to destroy several fakes with some still remaining. Time by then was up and the Arcanine released the many Solarbeams at Kingler. Ash was unable to react and when the Grass-type attack hit the mark, a burst was created.
Ash's jaw dropped when a fainted Kingler was revealed, "No…" That was all he could get out.
"You're going to have to try harder than that to beat me Ash, I thought you were stronger than this," Gary taunted his rival.
"Kingler return," the black-haired trainer recalled his Pokémon in to its ball, "You did great out there and did you best. I'm proud of you."
Ash put away his Pokeball and looked at Gary, who said, "Well Ash what's it gonna be? You gonna call it quits?"
"Hardly, just wait and see. Go Bulbasaur!" the auburn-eyed teen called his loyal Grass-type.
May was surprised at Ash's movements. He had lost Kingler so quickly and so easily, now he chose a Pokémon that had a disadvantage, but knowing Ash there might be a possibility that he had some tricks.
"Bulbasaur, well does should be interesting," Gary smirked.
"That's right, Bulbasaur use Razor Leaf," the messy haired trainer demanded.
"Try harder, Flame Wheel Arcanine!" the young Oak reached his arm out.
Arcanine began running at a fast speed as it dashed like an incoming flaming bullet. It burned Bulbasaur's entire Razor Leaf in seconds, but Ash only smiled.
"Now use Leech Seed!" the black-haired trainer commanded.
A brown seed shot of Bulbasaur's bulb and hit Arcanine without any warning. The Legendary Pokémon wailed as it felt the speed attach to him in order to absorb energy.
"What?" the rival was surprised at Ash's comeback.
"Great, now if Bulbasaur gets hurt it will recover with energy used from Leech Seed," May cheered for her friend.
"Nice one Ash," the red-head hadn't expected that tactic.
"Arcanine get it together and use Fire Blast!" Gary shouted.
Arcanine ignored the seed attached to him and fired the mighty offense at Bulbasaur, Ash only stayed calm and at the right moment let out another order, "Now use Dig!"
"That's not even possible!" the brunette exclaimed.
Misty and May's eyes widened when they heard the command that wasn't even possible to teach a Bulbasaur, but their jaws dropped when the Seed Pokémon had gone underground. This was definitely something to keep in mind about and ask Ash later.
Arcanine's Fire Blast had missed as Bulbasaur went underground to hide. The canine-like Pokémon used its senses to detect Bulbasaur, but very little could be heard. Then at a sudden moment, Ash called out another attack, "Use Vine Whip to stick Arcanine to the ground!"
Gary ordered Arcanine to move, but it was too late. Bulbasaur had gotten a hold of Arcanine and kept him stuck on the ground, now unable to move.
"Wrap it up by coming out of the ground," the black-haired teen demanded.
Bulbasaur sprang up and since Arcanine was immobile, it was unable to dodge and was hit the by the attack. The Seed Pokémon landed safely on the ground while Arcanine dropped to the ground, but it wasn't backing down so easily. It got up and barked at the starter.
"Arcanine use Fire Spin!" the brown-haired Oak ordered.
"Blow it away with Whirlwind," the boy with hat stated.
May and Gary were surprised yet again by a move that isn't naturally known by a Bulbasaur. Misty had already known about the move, but she had always questioned such a capability. There was no answer to it though, so there was nothing that could help her identify it, it might just be that this Bulbasaur is so unique that with enough practice it can learn moves not commonly known by other Bulbasaur.
The winds blew off the Fire Spin and Bulbasaur remained unfazed. "Now Bulbasaur use Take Down," Ash fist pumped.
"You do the same Arcanine," Gary ordered the Normal-type attack. If it had been another attack Ash would have found a way to avoid his attacks, since Ash must've trained Bulbasaur to avoid its own weakness like any other trainer would.
Arcanine and Bulbasaur charged at each other slammed their selves. Both of them groaned from the pain that they were feeling and fell backward, the Take Down clash was intense for both of them and some bruises were left on the Seed and Legendary Pokémon. Bulbasaur and Arcanine had also faced recoil as well, making the damage increase, but Bulbasaur had backup. Thanks to the Leech Seed, Bulbasaur absorbed energy from Arcanine that made it recover from its wounds, while Arcanine became noticeably weaker.
The two just stared at each other from opposite ends and snarled, then Ash made another command, "Use Vine Whip!"
Gary had expected the attack to come directly at Arcanine, but by the time he realized the true purpose behind the Bulbasaur's Vine Whip it was too late. The vines dug underground and then emerged to trap Arcanine once again.
"Now charge up a Solarbeam!" Ash prepared to finish this.
"Arcanine you may not be able to move, but release a Fire Blast while Bulbasaur is preparing that Solarbeam," Gary Oak planned to end this now.
His Legendary Pokémon released the fiery blast, but Bulbasaur then released his most powerful attack. Everyone's eyes widened, except for Ash's. The Solarbeam had taken a lot less time to charge than an average one, the only explanation behind it was Ash had trained Bulbasaur to charge it up quicker.
The Solarbeam and Fire Blast collided and turned in to power struggle between Arcanine and Bulbasaur. Neither duo would give in to the other, however since Fire Blast had the type advantage it slowly advanced and dispersed the Solarbeam little by little.
"I need to think of something quick or if that Fire Blast hits, it's all over for Bulbasaur," Ash looked tense.
"More power Arcanine!" Gary demanded.
The Fire Blast then became much stronger as Solarbeam was gradually being pushed back as Bulbasaur and Ash had to think of something quick. Ash looked around the battlefield for any trace of hope that could turn this around and then saw the vines holding on to Arcanine's legs.
"That's it, if I can move Arcanine with Vine Whip the direction of the Fire Blast will move away and giving the chance for Bulbasaur to strike," Ash spoke to himself.
"Bulbasaur pull Arcanine down with all your strength right now!" the raven-haired teen ordered.
Bulbasaur then pulled Arcanine down that instant and the direction of the Fire Blast went upward and the Solarbeam moved in. Gary yelled "No!" He only saw the white flash hit Arcanine with all its power and fall backward.
When it became clear that Arcanine was unable to battle, Gary retrieved it and put it back in his pocket, but not before thanking it for a valiant battle. "That was good Ash, Bulbasaur is really something else, but let's see if it can handle this Pokémon. I choose you Umbreon!"
"Umbreon, I'm sure we'll do just fine," Ash smiled confidently.
"Let's just see," Gary gave him a sly grin.
It was smart of Ash to corner Arcanine like that, despite having the type disadvantage, but now that Gary sent out Umbreon things should get even more interesting. I wonder how Bulbasaur will be able to beat Umbreon, May was thinking about the many events that had been going on in this battle. This was really one of the best battles she had ever seen because of the unique tactics Gary and Ash had used so far.
"Bulbasaur needs to recover energy, battling Arcanine took a lot out of it. Bulbasaur use Leech Seed!" the raven-haired ordered.
His Seed Pokémon launched yet another seed towards Umbreon, but Gary had something up his sleeve. "Stop it with Psychic."
Umbreon made the seed glow blue and it levitated in the air, "Now send it back it back!"
Ash was unable to react in time and the Leech Seed attached itself to Bulbasaur and felt the sting of the Leech Seed. Bulbasaur grinded its teeth and Ash looked intense, what would he do now?
"Bulbasaur use Razor Leaf," the teen demanded.
"Destroy them with Hidden Power!" Gary ordered.
The leaves were extinguished the moment Umbreon sent the glowing spheres right at them. "Now use Double Team, Umbreon!" the brunette called out.
Umbreon multiplied itself and Bulbasaur was surrounded by the Dark-type and found out that he was unable to do anything. "Sand-attack on Bulbasaur!"
All Umbreon kicked sand at Bulbasaur and soon he was unable to see due to the heavy sand, Gary wrapped this up by saying to move in on him. Ash could only watch his Kanto starter look helpless in the dust. That instant Shadow Ball from all sides appeared hit Bulbasaur, but the Seed Pokémon was far from over by the look in his eye.
There was one attack that could save him from this, "Sleep Powder!"
Bulbasaur let out the silver powder and started to cover the whole battlefield with it, the purpose was to make Umbreon fall asleep and Gary had no way of countering this one. The powder slowly fell on Umbreon and the Moonlight Pokémon dropped to sleep.
"Leech Seed now," Ash demanded.
The Kanto native shot a seed at Umbreon and quickly attached to it, thus granting Bulbasaur more energy to battle as Umbreon lost some. "Umbreon wake up!" Gary pleaded as the black creature lay asleep.
"Use Razor Leaf!" Bulbasaur sent a barrage of leaves that sent Umbreon backward.
"Now Vine Whip!" Bulbasaur's trainer commanded.
Vine Whip slapped Umbreon and made fall even farther back, unintentionally though, it was like a wake-up slap that awakened Umbreon. Ash only saw this as bad news as Umbreon awakened rather quickly and with that absorbed some of Bulbasaur's energy.
"Shadow Ball!" Umbreon released the dark energy ball and launched it at Bulbasaur.
"Energy ball to counter it," Ash told Bulbasaur to send out the green-colored sphere.
Both spherical attacks clashed and cancelled each other out. Bulbasaur and Umbreon were not giving it an inch, but Gary thought he should end this now, "Psychic to finish this once and for all!"
Umbreon lifted Bulbasaur with its Psychic powers and left the Seed Pokémon floating in the air with hopelessness. However, the attack paid its toll and it cost Gary a loss, Umbreon's Psychic attack had damaged Bulbasaur heavily and with that Leech Seed cost Umbreon its own energy. The absorption left Umbreon ready to faint, but not before launching Bulbasaur to the ground like a rock. Umbreon had then fainted by the Leech Seed and when the dust cleared from Bulbasaur's fall it showed him unconscious as well.
Both trainers appeared intense and retrieved both their Pokémon and congratulated them for their efforts. They may have ended in a draw, but the attempts to win in the battle were remarkable.
"They're down to one Pokémon, what will Gary use? I just hope Ash manages to pull this one off though, he has fought really hard. Let's see if it all pays off in the end," May spoke to herself as she watched the two trainers prepare for the final round.
"You've done well Ash, but I don't think you'll manage very well with my last Pokémon, it will cost you heavily," the brunette assured his friend of his victory.
"The Pokémon I am about to use has defeated many powerful opponents in the past Gary and I have already used in a battle when I had just begun training. This one will end this match with me as the winner," Ash spoke sternly yet confidently.
"Don't count on it, go Blastoise!" the young Oak sent out his most powerful Pokémon.
"Here goes nothing, Infernape come on out!" Ash released his Sinnoh starter.
The monkey glared at his foe. It was about time he had gotten in to another real battle, the chimp thought. Ash and Gary smiled confidently as their last Pokémon stared at each other. A combination like this one had occurred in the Silver Conference before, but this time it was time to see who had gotten stronger.
"Things aren't starting off pretty good. Ash already has the disadvantage, but like with Bulbasaur he'll be something off, he has too," May stared at the battlefield nervously.
The powerful rivals had fire in their eyes as did their Pokémon. Like their trainers, they would fight harder than they have lately in order to see who would result as the winner of this match.
"Blastoise use Hydro Pump!" Gary called out for his attack.
"Infernape counter with ThunderPunch!" Ash ordered.
The heavy pressurized water aimed for Infernape who charged forward with its electric fist as the two trainers looked on with tension. Misty and May just expected a result to the phenomenal battle that had been transpiring, who would win this time was the question.