Hey, guys! I'm back again with another chapter! It hasn't actually been that long since I last posted a chapter. Maybe two or three days? Anyway, I may not post this the same day as I'm writing this exact text, as I tend to write a paragraph or two and then wait a bit if I can't think of what to write. Those breaks to search for ideas sometimes last for a day or two. Anyway, let's get right to this chapter!
Ash sat backstage, watching the battles pass by on the T.V out of boredom. Only a few battles had passed since his battle with Oliver.
A secretary had come up to Ash and told him that his next battle would be with the winner of the two battlers who was battling at the time; Henry and Iris. She had also told everyone backstage that this was the last battle of the first round, so they would be fifty battlers left at the end of that battle.
Ash had no idea who Henry was. He noticed that he seemed to be a strong battler, as his Staraptor was giving Iris' Fraxure a hard time.
Ash, of course, was cheering his friend on and was disappointed to see that she lost. It looked like Ash would be battling Henry.
Henry came backstage, taking a glance at Ash, presumably knowing that he was his next opponent. Ash gave him a slight nod, which Henry reciprocated.
Suddenly Sycamore's voice came over the speakers. "Well done to everyone who is still in the tournament! We are proceeding into the second round, where only fifty people remain. At the end of this round, there will be a twenty-minute break. If the losers of the following battles wish, they are allowed to join the crowd and watch the following battles in person. We are starting off the second round with Ash Ketchum and Henry Wood battling."
The crowd cheered as Ash and Henry made their way out onto the battlefield.
Ash took one side of the battlefield while Henry took the other. The referee walked up to the battlefield.
"This will be a one on one battle between Ash Ketchum and Henry Wood. As soon as one side's Pokemon is unable to battle, the battle is over. Begin!"
"Go, Krookadile!" Ash exclaimed, throwing a Pokeball which opened to reveal the tall, red, Ground-type lizard. The Pokeball bounced back into Ash's hand while Henry sent out his Pokemon, Leavanny.
"Alright, let's kick this off with Razor Leaf!" Henry shouted, Leavanny complying as it sent a violent storm of razor sharp leaves towards Krookadile.
Knowing that is Razor Leaf would hit then Krookadile would suffer badly, so Ash came up with a plan to avoid them all.
"Krookadile, use Dig!" Ash exclaimed quickly, knowing that the quicker Krookadile could use the move, the less chance Razor Leaf would have of hitting his Pokemon.
Krookadile obliged and dove into the ground, digging its tunnel as it moved underneath the battlefield before shooting up, out of the ground and into Leavanny, which made it stagger back slightly, despite its strengths against Ground-type moves.
"Leavanny! Use Bug Bite!"
Leavanny took the opportunity to take Krookadile off guard, as when Leavanny bit into Krookadile's shoulder, Krookadile jumped backwards and attempted to shake Leavanny off him, which worked as Leavanny fell off and skidded backwards.
"Use Dark Pulse!" Krookadile complied, taking a few steps backwards before conjuring a ball of dark energy which he proceeded to fire towards Leavanny.
Leavanny expertly dodged the Dark Pulse, ducking as it passed overhead with tremendous speed; this left both Ash and Krookadile shocked. How could a Pokemon with relatively normal speed dodge a fast-moving attack like Dark Pulse?
Henry chose the next move carefully, knowing that it would be best to take both Ash and Krookadile by surprise.
"Solar Beam," Henry commanded quietly, making sure that neither Ash nor Krookadile could hear his command.
Given the fact that both Ash and Krookadile were still in shock from what happened a few moments ago, Leavanny was able to fully charge Solar Beam by the time Ash had snapped out of his stupor.
"Counter it with Outrage!" Ash exclaimed, hoping that Krookadile would be quick enough on its feet to be able to dodge the fast, strong and super-effective move directed at the red lizard.
Krookadile just about managed to dodge half of the attack, weakening him substantially, but not enough to faint him.
Creating a dark aura around his body, Krookadile leapt forwards and constantly slashed, clawed, and slapped Leavanny, causing great damage to the grass-bug type.
"Now finish it with Arial Ace!"
"Quick! Try and counter with Slash!" Henry made the last command to Leavanny, knowing that it was useless as Leavanny was incredibly weak, but he gave it a shot nonetheless.
Krookadile rushed up to Leavanny, forming two make-shift blades out of his hands and getting ready to strike.
Leavanny, meanwhile, did the same sort of thing, forming a blade out of its hand before running over to Krookadile.
The two Pokemon met in the middle, swinging and dodging the blades as they battled it out.
The battle came to an abrupt end as Krookadile managed to dodge Leavanny's attack before proceeding to jump in the air and slash Leavanny across the face.
Leavanny stumbled before falling backwards; fainted.
"Leavanny is unable to battle, Ash, is the winner!"
The crowd cheered at this victory, Ash's group of friends especially.
Smiling, Ash walked up to Henry, his hand extended, expecting a handshake but was surprised when Henry merely returned Leavanny and walked off into the crowd, not paying attention to Ash while muttering something about 'how he should've won.'
Shrugging it off, Ash headed off the battlefield and backstage, passing-by two other people who were heading out to battle.
When Ash got into the 'room,' Gary walked up to Ash and gave him a high-five, saying something about how Ash did a good job, and that Henry seemed like a sore-loser.
"Yeah, I guess," Ash muttered, turning to look at the T.V to try and catch a glimpse of who was be battling.
To Ash's surprise, he noticed someone standing on the battlefield that he hadn't talked to in a long time, Trip.
Ash pointed this out to Gary, who also looked surprised as neither he nor Ash had noticed Trip backstage.
As Trip and his opponent sent out their Pokemon, Ash instantly knew that Trip would win. He had sent out an Electavire, while his opponent sent out a Pidgeot.
But if Trip won, would he get to the finals?
OHHHH, CLIFFHANGER! Sorry, but I like annoying you guys. I apologise this was short, but there wasn't much extra detail to add in, and I want a battle to take a full chapter, just so it isn't the quickest thing ever. Anyway, leave a review with anything you want in it, as I will approve. Yes, even 'hate.' it's merely constructive criticism, so I'll be happy to hear about what I need to improve. BYE!