Chapter 52: Observation
"Miss Bertha, I would like to challenge you in a Pokemon Battle for the Elite Four badge!"
"Oh my! You must be that young trainer with that Pikachu. Ash Ketchum if I recall correctly." She instantly recognized Ash.
"Do you remember me? It's been a decade since then." Ash looked surprised.
"Yeah I also remember your two friends you were with. You were one of the most interesting young groups I ever met in my life." She referred to Brock and Dawn while Ash was travelling throughout Sinnoh. "So you are planning to compete in the Pokemon Champions League, right?" She rhetorically asked him.
"Of course! I'm already halfway there when it comes to the Elite Four badges." He stated. "So could you battle with me now?"
"Yes, but let's head to an actual Pokemon battle field where we can have a more proper battle. Oh, and who is this lady over there? You didn't introduce us yet." She pointed at Lillie who was silent the whole time.
"Oh how rude of me. Miss Bertha, this is Lillie, a really close friend of mine. Lillie, this is the Elite Four member Bertha."
"I-I am glad to meet you. I-I am also training a lot to learn more and more about Pokemon." Lillie stuttered a bit in embarrassment and bowed her head in a formal way.
"Haha, you do not have to be so formal. I also like meeting people who share the passion of gaining more knowledge regarding Pokemon." Bertha said and then she went ahead. "Follow me. I know the perfect place where we can have the battle, you are asking for."
A few minutes later
Bertha led Ash and Lillie to a really well maintained Pokemon field which was free to use. There were also no people around as well since they were at the festival. Ash and Bertha took position.
"Lillie, would you mind being the referee?" Ash asked her.
"Oh yeah sure." Lillie agreed and stood in the middle.
"This is a three on three battle between the Sinnoh Elite Four member Bertha against the challenger Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town. You may release your first Pokemon!"
"Hippowdon come out!"
"Swellow, I choose you!"
"You can have the first move, Ash."
"Ok then, Swellow use Quick Attack!"
Swellow landed a hit on Hippowdon and backed off with Bertha giving no order to either dodge or attack.
"Ok, Swellow go for another Quick Attack!"
Swellow just like before landed another hit on Hippowdon.
"Iron Head!"
The moment it tried to increase the distance again Swellow got hit by Hippowdon's metallic head and fell down.
"Swellow, can you keep up?" Ash asked his Pokemon with the bird nodding before it starts flying again.
"Miss Bertha was testing Swellow's movements during the first attack. She knew that Hippowdon is durable so she took the risk twice to confirm that she will be able to land a direct hit before she actually makes her move. Her experience is going to play a major part in the outcome of this battle." Lillie thought.
"Swellow use Air Slash!"
"Use Dig!"
Hippowdon hid before the glowing wind blades could reach it.
"Swellow stay in the air! The opponent cannot harm you from up there!"
"Use Fire Fang!"
Suddenly Hippowdon emerged from the ground with its giant mouth opened with flaming teeth ready to strike Swellow.
"How did it?! Swellow use Double Team quickly!"
The copies saved Swellow from a very dangerous hit from Hippowdon which was vulnerable for attack as it was falling down.
"Now Swellow use Air Slash!"
Swellow unleashed its wind blades dealing damage to Hippowdon while it was falling but it managed to land properly but it was visibly in pain.
"Swellow go with Aerial Ace!"
"Block with Iron Head!"
Both attacks collided with Swellow being pushed back.
"Now use Stone Edge!"
Glowing blue pillars started emerging from the ground hitting Swellow directly in the stomach triggering an explosion.
"Swellow!"
Once the clouds disappeared, Swellow was seen struggling to get up but it managed to flap its wings and fly again at the end.
"Swellow use Double Team!"
Swellow created copies of itself.
"Stay on guard, Hippowdon!"
"Now use Quick Attack!"
"Block with Iron Head!"
Hippowdon tried to do the same thing again but all the flying Swellow that was attacking it were only copies which disappeared except one which had passed Hippowdon.
"Amazing…"
Ash then smirked.
"Swellow use Air Slash!"
Suddenly a barrage of wind blades came from behind which obliterated Hippowdon. Bertha's Pokemon had fainted.
"Hippowdon is unable for battle! Swellow wins!"
"Great job, Swellow!"
"Swellow!"
"Thank you. You can rest now." She said to her Pokemon as she recalled it. "That was pretty smart, Ash. You used Quick Attack to make your Pokemon go behind my Hippowdon while it was using Iron Head to guard against your attack but it was fooled by the clones. You took advantage of the fact that Hippowdon's body is not maneuverable enough to anticipate an enemy from behind on time. Even if I saw through your plan, my Hippowdon still wouldn't be able to respond accordingly."
"Thanks for the compliment. I have taught my Swellow this trick a few years ago!" Ash chuckled and rubbed the back of his head.
"Ash looks like he is really enjoying it. I'm happy glad for that." Lillie thought and smiled while staring at Ash enjoying his battle.
"Gliscor, you are going next!"
Bertha revealed her second Pokemon.
"Ok, Swellow start with Aerial Ace!"
"Gliscor stay still for now."
Swellow was coming close Gliscor with high speed.
"Thunder Fang!"
Suddenly, Gliscor used the wind to glide and dodge the attack and managed to bit Swellow with Thunder Fang but it got grazed across the face by Swellow's right wing. Swellow fainted.
"Swellow is unable to battle. Gliscor wins."
"Thank you, Swellow. Have a nice long rest." Ash said as he recalled it.
"That was a pretty tricky move. Miss Bertha let Gliscor to not make a move and check the wind currents instead so it could use the wind for its advantage to dodge the attack by gliding from one spot to another before launching its own attack."
"Corphish, I choose you!"
"Gliscor use Thunder Fang!"
Gliscor rushed at Corphish showing its electric fangs
"Corphish use Crabhammer on the ground!"
Corphish then punched the ground creating dust obstructing Gliscor who missed its target.
"Now Bubble Beam!"
Corphish opened its pincers and started firing bubbles at Gliscor which managed to briefly dodge the bubbles but it got caught up in the attack taking damage.
"Use Bubble Beam again!"
"Ice fang!"
Gliscor then managed to dodge most of the bubbles and froze Corphish's pincer with Corphish being seemingly in pain.
"Corphish use Crabhammer!"
Corphish then used his other pincer and punched Gliscor across the face fending it off.
"Gliscor use Thunder Fang!"
Then Gliscor went on the offensive once again but with higher speed than before because of the wind currents changing.
"Corphish use Harden!" Ash then commanded Corphish to increase its defence to endure the attack since he thought there was no time for Corphish to aim for Bubble Beam.
"Cancel your attack and use Guillotine!"
"G-guillotine?! Corphish try to-!"
Before Ash was able to give his command, Gliscor use its right pincer and grabbed Corphish by its neck and slammed it into the ground.
"Corphish is unable to battle. Gliscor wins this round too."
"Thank you, Corphish. Rest for now." Ash smiled as he returned his Pokemon. "Ok, everything depends-! What is this?!" Ash suddenly felt a severe headache coming from his right eye which was slightly losing his vision from that eye.
The pain was so severe that he ended up holding the right side of his face and then fell on his knees. For a moment he saw a human figure dressed in white clothes in a forest who was moving backwards but the image was way too blurry to figure out what he was watching.
"Oi, are you ok?! Try to stay calm!" The mysterious voice said to him as he came back to reality.
"Hey, are you feeling ok?" Bertha looked worried.
"Ash, are you alright?!" Lillie left her position as the referee and rushed at him.
"Sigh, yeah…" Ash said as he got up with Lillie's help. "I suddenly got a headache and my right eye lost vision but it lasted only for a few seconds. I cannot explain what happened…" Ash said as he placed his hand on his forehead.
"Are you sure you are feeling well enough to continue? We can have postpone the battle." Bertha suggested.
"No, everything is fine." Ash claimed and then turned his gaze towards Lillie. "Lillie, I'm ok now you can go back to your position."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah, don't worry." He claimed without hesitation and Lillie went back but she was still staring at him. "Ok, Primeape you are next!"
Ash then brought out his last Pokemon.
"Gliscor use Guillotine again!"
"Primeape jump on Gliscor and pin it down!"
Gliscor's attack missed when Primeape jumped and managed to bury its face to the ground using its arm.
"Now end this with Karate Chop!"
Primeape then hit the immobilized Gliscor on the back of its neck and fainted.
"Gliscor is unable to battle. Primeape wins."
"Yes!" Ash muttered clenching his fist. "You did a great job Primeape!" Then he praised his monkey Pokemon.
"Gliscor, you did well. Return." Once Bertha recalled her Pokemon looked at Ash. "I guess you saw through Guillotine's weakness."
"Yeah. Actually, it's not the first time I'm dealing with this move. It cost me a Pokemon once when I was battling in a Pokemon League final." Ash claimed.
"You still lost a Pokemon now too though." Bertha tried to tease him.
"Well, I didn't expect Gliscor to suddenly change its move like that. Everything happened within seconds. Corphish had no chance to dodge that but then again this trick as effective as it is, wouldn't work twice."
"You are exactly right. This was a trick that can be used only once and if the opponent knows you well the higher the chance it fails because they will most likely expect it. You are really observant but you don't show it much."
"I guess so. Due to some events that occurred years ago, made me look like that." Ash claimed as he started scratching his cheek. "Anyway, enough talking! Let's continue!"
"As you wish! Rhyperior, go!"
The last round was about to start.
"Primeape, go with Low Sweep!"
"Use Earthquake!"
Rhyperior slammed its foot into the ground making it shake which prevented Primeape to come close to it and attack.
"Now go with Rock Wrecker!"
Then the giant Pokemon formed a giant rock by small chunks that came out from the hole of its arms and launched it at Primeape which still hadn't recovered by the previous attack.
"Primeape use Close Combat!"
Primeape started punching and kicking like crazy the giant rock which was sent at him while Rhyperior was panting due to the move's drawback. Eventually, the rock was smashed into pieces while Primeape looked tired.
"Go with Earthquake again!"
Just like before, once it recovered, Rhyperior with its foot caused another quake which damaged Primeape even further.
"This is not good…" Ash muttered as he saw that Primeape couldn't do much in the fight.
"Rhyperior use Rock Wrecker now!"
"There is no way to dodge! Try to catch it this time!"
Primeape slightly bent its knees and placed its arms in front of its body ready to block. When the rock came, Primeape managed to catch it but he was kept being pushed back from the attack.
"We are almost there Primeape! You can do it!" Ash tried to encourage it with Bertha looking quite surprised by their determination.
Primeape finally managed to completely stop the rock.
"Now throw it back!"
The monkey Pokemon threw the rock at the immobilized Rhyperior who was unable to move due to recharge and hit it across the face.
"Use Earthquake!"
"Use Low Sweep on its other leg!"
Rhyperior was ready again to cause a third quake but Primeape managed to cover their distance in time and with its low kick the giant Pokemon lost its balance and fell down.
"Now use Karate Chop on its head!"
Primeape hit hard Rhyperior on the head with its chop.
"Rhyperior use Megahorn!"
Rhyperior's horn turned blue and was ready to respond.
"Primeape dodge it and use Close Combat!"
Rhyperior's Megahorn slightly grazed Primeape's leg but the latter managed to cause further damage with a barrage of punches and kicks with the rocky Pokemon reaching its limit.
"Avalanche!"
Rhyperior created a black cloud above Primeape's head and started raining down chunks of ice.
"Dodge again and finish the match with Karate Chop!"
When Primeape attempted to dodge the damage it received earlier on its leg was the turning point of the match. The monkey Pokemon was unable to escape the attack in time due to its leg injury and was caught up in the attack taking major damage due to Avalanche being more powerful when its user has been attacked first.
"Primeape!" Ash worryingly cried for its Pokemon which couldn't keep going and collapsed.
"Primeape is unable to battle. Rhyperior is the winner and the match goes to Bertha of the Sinnoh Elite Four." Lillie forced herself to announce the winner.
"Thanks, Primeape. You did your best." Ash said and recalled his partner.
"It was a great match, Ash. For a moment, I thought I would lose." She claimed.
"And I actually thought I was going to win. Well it happens." Ash stated visibly disappointed for the result.
"Can I ask something?" Lillie joined the two. "Was Megahorn meant to hit Primeape on its leg?"
"What do you mean?" Ash asked Lillie who looked curious.
"Primeape was not able to completely dodge the attack and the injury prevented it from dodging Avalanche later."
"Hmm, you are really observant too. But I cannot give an honest answer to that. You can interpret it the way you want." She answered with an enigmatic look.
"I see. I understand what you are trying to say." Lillie said after she thought about it for a bit.
"Really? I'm not entirely sure what she meant by that." Ash looked confused instead with the two women starting to giggle at his answer which kinda annoyed him.
"So is Aaron coming here too? I read a rumor about him visiting the city too." Ash then changed the topic.
"We communicated and he said that he is going to visit the city in a couple of days." She revealed.
"Great. Thanks for the confirmation."
"Well it's time for me to go and spend time to the festival. Would you like to join me?" Bertha suggested.
"Thanks but I will pass. I will head back to the Pokemon Center and rest a bit." Ash rejected the offer. "Lillie, you can go if you want though."
"Nah, it's ok. I will go back to the Pokemon Center to extend our stay since we are expecting other Elite Four member to come here." Lillie claimed.
"That's unfortunate. Have a nice day." Bertha said and went back where the festival was.
"Same to you!" Both said at the same time while waving at her.
Pokemon Center – Ash and Lillie's room
Ash was alone at the room while Lillie was downstairs. He sent a message to Brock regarding Pikachu but the latter told him that his situation hasn't changed.
After that he left his phone on his bed and headed to the bathroom where he ended up staring at the mirror looking conflicted. It wasn't about his loss but something completely different that he had temporarily brushed it off because of his battle.
"What happened to me back then?" He thought as he held the side of his head where he experienced that severe headache. "I don't understand anything. What was that blurry image I saw? A part of my past? The future? Something random? What if it happens again? I just don't get it…" He kept thinking and thinking while throwing water at his face but he couldn't find an answer.
"Do you happen to know? Sadly, you are the only one I can ask right now…" Then he said to himself.
"Me? Are you asking me about something now of all times?"
"Yeah… I do."
TO BE CONTINUED
