Author's Note:
First off, I just wanted to let you know I changed a little thing from the last chapter. Very minor and it doesn't affect the story at all. It was just the part with Grace getting mad at Ash. I just didn't think that worked. Next...wow I didn't realize people hated Palermo so much. Don't worry, I get it since she's the biggest threat to amourshipping. I just thought some people actually liked her so I was trying to appeal to both sides.
Finally, I just want to thank everyone for their passion. A lot of emotional responses to the last chapter. And I don't want to spoil anything, but some people seem really freaked out. Relax, though. Remember, I am pro-amourshipping. Hint hint nudge nudge wink wink. I wonder how that might make me finish the story in the end...
Chapter 29: Ash vs Wulfric
Serena sat down next to her mother and her friends and watched as Ash made his way to his position on the battlefield. She could see a big man, which she assumed was Wulfric, standing on the other end of the field.
Sitting there, she realized why the air around the gym seemed colder than the rest of Snowbelle City. The field was completely covered in ice and ice pillars were all over it. The air was also bitter cold. She couldn't believe that Wulfric wasn't wearing his coat properly. How could wearing it like a cape do anything in this temperature?
"Is Ash ok?" Clemont asked. "He looks kind of upset."
Serena clenched her fists but didn't answer. She didn't think they needed to get into that right now. Grace decided to make an excuse though. "I think he's nervous. Who wouldn't be? Wulfric seems pretty intimidating."
Bonnie shrugged. "Ash faces intimidating opponents all the time. I don't see why Wulfric would make him nervous."
Serena loved Bonnie, but when she was so perceptive despite being a little girl it could be both scary and irritating. "It's nothing Bonnie." She said quickly. "Just focus on the battle."
Of course, speaking turned out to be a mistake, because Bonnie was immediately able to figure out something was up. "Did you two have a fi-"
"Shh!" Mairin hissed. "It's about to start." She gave Serena a quick wink and looked at the field.
Serena sighed in relief and also looked, seeing the referee step forward. "This will be a three on three battle between Ash the challenger and Wulfric the gym leader. Once all three Pokemon for one side are unable to battle, the opposing trainer will be declared the winner. Only the challenger may substitute Pokemon. Do you agree?" Both Ash and Wulfric muttered agreement. "Then let the battle begin!"
"Talonflame, I choose you!" Ash yelled, throwing out his pokeball. The fire-bird emerged in a flash of light and hovered in the air in front of Ash.
"Cryogonal, out!" Wulfric shouted, tossing his own pokeball. A Pokemon that looked like a hexagonal snow flake emerged. It had cracks on the front that seemed to be eyes and a mouth.
"That's a creepy looking Pokemon." Mairin said.
Serena scanned it with her Pokedex. "Cryogonal, the crystallizing Pokemon. Created in snow clouds, Cryogonal make ice crystal chains and use them to capture prey."
Wulfric made the first move. "Use ice beam." He said calmly.
"Flame charge, right through it!" Ash countered.
Cryogonal hovered in the air and then launched a blast of icy energy that rocketed towards Talonflame. The fire-bird was quick, however and engulfed himself in flames and then blasted forwards. Just like he had done in the training with Ash's Glalie, Talonflame was able to charge right through the ice beam. He continued going and blasted into Cryogonal with full force and launched the crystal Pokemon back and into an ice pillar which exploded from the collision. Talonflame did a flip in the air and then landed in front of Ash, waiting.
"What a start!" Grace clapped.
"Wulfric doesn't have a chance!" Mairin yelled.
Serena wasn't so sure. She'd seen enough gym battles to know that gym leaders often tested the strengths of their opponents first. Wulfric likely expected something like that. His opening move had seemed a little too obvious. He must have known that Talonflame would be able to counter it fairly easily.
Her suspicions were confirmed when she looked at Wulfric and saw him smiling. "You're Talonflame is well trained, Ash." He chuckled. "I was wondering if you'd try that move."
Ash narrowed his eyes. Serena could tell that he knew as well that Wulfric was likely testing his strength. "We've got more than just that." He said. He thrust out his arm and pointed. "Steel wing, let's go!"
Wulfric narrowed his eyes, looking interested. "Alright, a steel move against a steel move then. Flash cannon."
Talonflame barrelled towards Cryogonal, his wings glowing in a silvery light. As he approached, however, Cryogonal started glowing, as orbs of light started started shooting towards it from the air around it. Just as Talonflame was about to strike, Cryogonal stopped and then appeared to explode in a bright, white light. A blast of energy shot out from it and slammed into Talonflame. The fire bird went flying backwards and slammed into a pillar of ice and slid down it.
Serena heard Clemont gasp. She looked at him and he explained. "That shouldn't have been so effective. Steel type moves should be weak against Talonflame. That Cryogonal is extremely powerful."
Ash looked like he was as surprised as Clemont. He had his fists clenched and was staring at the field in front of him. He then shook his head and appeared to take a deep breath. "Talonflame, you alright?" His fire-bird Pokemon flapped its wings and shot up above the pillar of ice he'd crashed into and hovered, high in the air. He turned to Ash and nodded. "Good, now use flame charge. Remember our training!"
Wulfric seemed to be confused by Ash's phrasing but he quickly ordered an attack himself. "Use hail!" He called.
As Talonflame engulfed himself in flames, Cryogonal started to glow in a blue light. Just as Talonflame charged forward, hail began to fall throughout the stadium. Ash didn't seem bothered by it though. "Don't worry about it Talonflame, just do what we planned." Talonflame continued his charge and instead of heading straight to Cryogonal, he stayed low to the ground and seemed to be zigzagging around the ice pillars.
Serena smiled, seeing what his plan was. "He's melting the field."
Clemont laughed. "Perfect. That will take a huge advantage away from Wulfric."
Wulfric obviously wasn't as pleased by this strategy and quickly ordered an attack. "Flash cannon. Aim for the ice pillars it approaches." Cryogonal immediately started glowing again and gathering orbs of light. Ash didn't seem to care, though, because he didn't change his orders for Talonflame. Finally, Cryogonal's charging seemed to be done and it unleashed a blast of white energy. It seemed to wait for Talonflame to approach a certain point and then the blast rocketed towards it.
"Brave bird, go!" Ash yelled. The blast of light shot through the ice pillar and exploded it into pieces. Serena was sure Talonflame had been hit, but then she saw it. A glowing white and blue light that covered the fire bird as it shot through the pieces of ice. He closed the gap with Cryogonal in an instant and slammed into his opponent hard. Cryogonal was blasted backwards and slammed into the ground hard. As it slid, it got caught in a patch of slushy water from where Talonflame had melted the ice. As good as the attack was, though, Serena could see Talonflame wince in pain. He'd not only been hurt by the flash cannon, but also by the recoil from brave bird.
"As good as Talonflame is doing, he's taken a lot of damage." Clemont said. "That's not a good sign since he's got the type advantage."
Ash wasn't letting that stop him from trying to finish things off, though. "Talonflame, you can do this. Flame charge one more time!" Talonflame nodded and launched at Cryogonal, flames once again surrounding his body.
"Confuse ray." Wulfric said quickly.
Talonflame was on Cryogonal with incredible speed. He easily managed to close the gap and slammed into the crystal Pokemon. However, just as he hit, Cryogonal's eyes seemed to glow in a purple light. Cryogonal was thrown backwards and slammed into the ground again. Serena was sure Ash had won, but then she saw Cryogonal manage to float up once more. Talonflame, however, didn't look quite as good. He was wildly attacking his surroundings, slamming himself to the ground and against the ice pillars.
"Finish with ice beam." Wulfric ordered.
"Come on Talonflame, snap out of it!" Ash yelled. "You need to calm down. Don't leave me!" He stopped for a moment, looking confused. Serena glanced nervously at the others, but they seemed to be watching the battle too closely to have noticed. She looked back at Ash and for a brief moment he seemed to be looking at her, but then he turned back to the battle.
Unfortunately for Ash and Talonflame, the fire bird did not seem to be snapping out of his confusion. Cryogonal quickly flew over to the bird and unleashed a blast of icy energy straight at him. Talonflame was slammed to the ground and began to get covered in ice. There was a flash of fire and the ice disappeared, but Talonflame stayed down and didn't move.
"Talonflame is unable to battle. Cryogonal is the winner." The referee called.
Serena looked at Ash and saw him staring blankly at Talonflame's still body. He'd clearly expected he could win this one. She could see the shock and frustration in his face. But he'd been in situations like this before. It seemed like this time, however, he couldn't stay focused. Like when he'd tried to call out to Talonflame, something had distracted him. When he'd said, "don't leave me." Serena felt guilt in the pit of her stomach. It was because of her.
XXXXX
Ash took a deep breath. He needed to focus. He'd started the battle pretty well after all. He just kind of lost his composure at the end. He returned Talonflame to his pokeball and then pulled out his next one. He'd initially planned to use Noivern, but he knew he had to go strong right away. "Houndoom, I choose you!"
The horned dog emerged from his pokeball and reared his head back and howled loudly. He then turned his head to Ash, gave him a quick nod and then glared at his opponent. Ash was happy to see his newest Pokemon ready to go.
"Interesting." Wulfric said. "I thought you would save Houndoom for last. Feeling a little nervous I suppose."
Ash clenched his fists. He didn't like that unnecessary taunt. The referee signalled for the battle to continue and Ash immediately went into action. "Alright Houndoom, let's show him what you've got. Flamethrower, full blast!"
"Cryogonal, use flash cannon!" Wulfric ordered.
As Cryogonal charged up his attack, so did Houndoom. The crystal Pokemon absorbed orbs of light while Houndoom inhaled deeply and charged up his best flamethrower. Finally, both of them unleashed their attacks. They crashed together and on impact a massive blast of smoke expanded through the air. When the smoke cleared, the attacks were revealed to still be crashing against each other, each Pokemon trying to force theirs further ahead. The heat from the two attacks was melting the ice in the middle of the stadium. Finally, Houndoom's eyes seemed to flash and then he opened his jaws wider and his flames increased in power. They started to speed further ahead and then they carried the flash cannon attack into Cryogonal and the crystal Pokemon was blasted away by both his own attack and Houndoom's. It slammed into a wall and slumped to the ground. Just as Cryogonal hit the ground, a large gust of hail from its hail attack in the battle with Talonflame slammed into Houndoom and made him stumble.
"Cryogonal is unable to battle. Houndoom is the winner." The referee called.
As Wulfric recalled his Cryogonal, Ash heard his friends cheering and he gave them a quick wave. Serena was smiling at him, but for some reason that didn't seem to make him as happy as it usually did. He then looked at Houndoom who was giving him a pleased look. He was relieved to see that, giving that the horned dog had just been hit by that hail attack and that the hail was still falling. "Great work, Houndoom. I knew you could do it." Houndoom nodded and looked back at Wulfric who was about to call out his second Pokemon.
"Well, since you've decided to go with Houndoom, I think I'll go with this. Abomasnow!" The big white, snowy Pokemon with green arms and legs emerged from its pokeball. Ash noticed the hail seemed to pick up speed around it. The referee signalled for the battle to resume and then Wulfric ordered the first attack. "Energy ball!"
Ash didn't understand how Abomasnow was a good choice against Houndoom. Being both a grass and ice type, Abomasnow should be extremely weak against a fire type. He shook his head. That didn't matter. He just needed to win. "Houndoom, deflect with flamethrower!"
Houndoom dug in his feet and as the sphere of green energy whipped towards him, he unleashed his flames. The attacks slammed into each other, but it was clear that the fire attack was stronger. It immediately started overpowering the energy ball. However, at this point a large blast of hail, even more than the first one, slammed into Houndoom and he lost control. His flames jerked upwards and shot away from the energy ball attack.
"Now ice beam!" Wulfric yelled. Abomasnow immediately launched his icy energy and it hit the energy ball that had started to make its way back towards him after being hit by Houndoom's flames. The two attacks merged and were then strengthened by the hail and they rocketed towards Houndoom, who slipped as he tried to regain his balance. The attack slammed into the horned dog and he rolled through the air and slammed into an ice pillar, exploding it. "Earthquake!"
"Houndoom!" Ash yelled in concern. "Come on, you need to get up quick. Jump in the air!" Ash knew that if Houndoom was hit by an attack like earthquake it would be super effective. Houndoom tried to get up, but the hail and ice were making it hard to gain balance. He tried to make his way to the melted patches of the field, but the hail kept hitting him. Ash noticed that the hail storm had now become much worse and it was now harder and harder to see.
Abomasnow jumped up and then slammed to the ground, not only hitting it with his feet, but also his fists. Immediately, the field shook wildly. Ash even fell over himself. It was worse for Houndoom, though. Ash could see the area beneath Houndoom was shaking much worse and the horned dog was wildly being thrown up every time he hit the ground. It was made worse by the hail and the slippery ice.
"Finish with ice beam." Wulfric ordered. Ash's eyes widened, seeing the icy energy whip towards Houndoom, who was now lying on the ice. It struck the horned dog and covered him in ice.
"Houndoom is unable to battle. Abomasnow wins." The referee called.
Ash couldn't believe it. How could Houndoom have lost? As soon as he'd joined Ash he was immediately one of the strongest Pokemon in Ash's entire arsenal. How could a Pokemon like that lose with such a heavy type advantage?
"Are you calling out your next Pokemon?" Ash stared blankly at the referee who was looking at him expectantly. "If you do not call out another Pokemon, you will forfeit the match."
Ash narrowed his eyes. He couldn't do that. He recalled Houndoom to his pokeball and then pulled out his final Pokemon. Now he was at the type disadvantage, but that didn't matter. Ash had to win. This was for his final gym badge. "Noivern, you're up next!" He yelled and the bat-like dragon emerged from his pokeball.
The referee signalled for the battle to begin, but neither Ash nor Wulfric made a move. Instead, Wulfric looked at Ash. "You didn't come into this battle prepared. I expected a lot more from you. You let your Houndoom down. If you were capable of beating Malva, you should have easily been able to win that battle."
Ash automatically glanced towards Serena, who was looking at him with what looked like guilty eyes. He then turned back to Wulfric. "It's not over yet." He snarled.
Wulfric shook his head. "It is. It was over before we even started. A challenger that isn't prepared is easy to beat. If you had not had Houndoom, I would have easily beaten you with only my Cryogonal."
Ash didn't feel like being insulted anymore. "Noivern, acrobatics!" Noivern whipped into the air and started glowing in a blue light and then he blasted towards Abomasnow.
"Ice shard." Wulfric said, sounding bored. As Noivern rapidly sped towards Abomasnow, the massive snow and grass Pokemon formed shards of ice in his hands and then launched them at Noivern. They struck perfectly with the incoming Pokemon and Noivern lost his aim and then crashed to the ground. "Ice beam." Wulfric said. Abomasnow launched the icy energy at Noivern, who was struggling to stand, as he was being buffeted by the hail. The ice beam struck him and he went flying backwards, ice spreading along his wings. He slammed into the wall and didn't move.
"Noivern is unable to battle. Abomasnow wins. The match goes to the gym leader, Wulfric." The referee called.
XXXXX
Serena's eyes widened and she looked at Ash. He seemed frozen in shock. Noivern had been so easily defeated. Even with the type disadvantage, how was that possible? And how did Houndoom lose when he was at an advantage?
"Ash, I ask that you not return to this gym until you are actually ready to challenge me." Wulfric called out. "I can't afford to waste my time with unprepared challengers."
Serena clenched her fists. She was about ready to jump down from the stands and attack Wulfric for talking to Ash like that. She felt a hand hold her arm, though and looked at her mother, who must have sensed her anger. Grace shook her head and then nodded to the door.
A quick glance at Ash, showed he was heading towards the exit so Serena nodded and lead the group through the door so that they could meet Ash in the front of the gym. However, when they got there, they saw Ash walking through the front door, not even bothering to wait for them.
"Serena, maybe you should go on ahead with Ash. We'll lag behind." Clemont suggested.
Bonnie nodded. "Yeah and Clemont should be good at that."
Serena smiled and then ran forward so she could catch up with Ash. She caught up to him at the bottom of the steps for the gym and he looked at her. He gave her what was obviously a fake smile. "I'm fine. I guess I just wasn't as good as I thought I was."
"You know that's not true." Serena said, holding his hand. "And Wulfric was really rude at the end of the battle."
Ash shook his head. "No...I think he was right. I wasn't prepared. I shouldn't have even bothered with that gym battle. I let my Pokemon down."
"Pi-pikachu." Pikachu said angrily, swatting his trainer's face with his tail.
Serena smiled at the electric mouse before turning her attention back to Ash. "Pikachu's right. And how could you say you weren't prepared? You trained really hard for this gym. You did all that training with your Glalie, remember? You made sure you were ready for the ice field and the ice type Pokemon."
"You know what Wulfric meant when he said I wasn't prepared." Ash said, not making eye contact.
Serena felt a pit in her stomach, knowing what he meant. He meant exactly what she'd been worrying about ever since Talonflame had gone down. "He meant you weren't mentally prepared." Ash nodded. "Because of me."
"No not because of you. Don't blame yourself." Ash stopped walking and looked her in the eyes. "I...I made a mistake."
A cold feeling and not one from the temperature outside, gripped Serena's heart. "What do you mean?" She asked, even though she thought she knew.
"I can't focus knowing you've got this opportunity. Staying together is only going to make things harder...for both of us. Maybe some day...maybe...we can figure something out. But for now I think we need to go our separate ways." Serena had always loved Ash's energy and enthusiasm, but now he seemed so lifeless. It was like talking to a different person.
It took a moment for Serena to be able to bring herself to answer. She wanted to argue, but she knew he was right. She didn't care if it hurt her, but she couldn't make things harder for Ash. "I...I guess you're right. I don't want to make things harder for you."
Ash shook his head. "It's not just that, Serena. I think it's better for you. You need to follow your dream. I'm holding you back. Maybe this will help me focus on my training and maybe it won't. I don't know. All I know as that this isn't going to work right now." Serena sighed and then leaned forward to kiss him, but he held up his hand to stop her. "No...that will only make it harder." He let go of her hand. "As of now...we're...we're...broken up."
"What?" Serena's eyes widened. "But..." She then looked down and thought for a moment. Why argue? What would be the point in saying they were a couple when they didn't plan on being in each others lives anymore. "I...yeah...I guess...you're right." She looked back at him. "What are you going to do? Are you staying in Snowbelle City?"
Ash shook his head. "I think I'm gonna go back to Anistar City. I'm going to see if Olympia can tell me anything else about Greninja. I think it'll help me reset." He took a deep breath. "And you? Are you going to do the training?"
Serena sighed and nodded. "I guess so. I'll be going to Lumiose City for that."
Ash smiled and then held out his hand awkwardly. "Well...I wish you the best of luck. Maybe...if you get a chance...you can watch the Kalos League on TV."
Serena stared at his hand. It seemed like such a stupid thin, but she reached out and shook it. She was shaking hands with the person in the world she loved most. Shaking hands as if they were just...friends. She managed a fake smile. "Yeah...of course I'll watch."
"Thanks. And I'll watch your showcases whenever I get a chance." Ash said. He then turned and walked away a few steps, before he turned his head back and looked at her one more time. She could see Pikachu could barely believe what was going on. "I don't know if the others are going to continue traveling with me. Just let them know I'll be leaving the Pokemon Centre in an hour." He paused and sighed. "Goodbye, Serena."
A tear fell down her face as she looked at him, about to leave. "Goodbye, Ash."
Author's Note:
I know it may have seemed kind of fast with Noivern, but I wanted to make it seem like once Ash lost Houndoom, he had no chance. Also, ice attacks on Noivern are definitely pretty effective. And I don't believe Abomasnow actually knows earthquake in the either the X or Y games, but I wanted him to have a move that was super effective on Houndoom, so I used a TM on him in a way.
And yes...the last part. I'm sorry, but it had to be done. See you Monday.
AC
