Serena / January 12th / 8 PM
Against my will, the floor creaked as I walked down the hall towards Ash's room. Giving two knocks like I usually did, I wasn't left waiting long as Ash opened the door to his room - I could tell he had been thinking hard about something, and he had ever since we arrived back at the inn.
"Hey, Serena" He said, a smile replacing his previous expression. "Need something?"
"Not necessarily," I responded, "I was just hoping we could talk"
He motioned for me to come in, and I walked into his room, which was nearly identical to my room, because the two of us didn't bother decorating it much. We sat on the side of his bed, facing the window that had a view of the large battlefield we had for training.
"Is something bothering you? You've been thinking about something really hard ever since we got back" I pointed out
"Well, to tell the truth, it's about Dawn" Ash admitted. "I was the one who really helped her out with battling, and now she's become so much stronger than me in such a short time"
"You don't know that for sure" I said
"I can tell by the way Paul describes her" Ash replied. "Not to mention, her presence alone as an ice-type master chilled up the entire room"
"Jason and Anna don't have presences like that, so it could just be something unique to ice" I argued. "Or it's just for show, and she does it on purpose"
Ash continued to look out the window, and I noticed that Tierno and Trevor were having a practice match while Gary refereed and Shauna watched; Wartortle went up against Charmeleon, and the contrasting battling styles made for a difficult battle.
"That's true I guess, but it still doesn't change the fact that I have to get stronger for the tournament" Ash said. "That is, if I have a shot at battling the other type-masters"
If there was anyone to be concerned in all of this, it had to have been me. There was no doubt about it: I was the weakest person on our team, despite being the fairy-type master. If Ash was concerned about his current strength, then I would have to do some catching up.
"Then we'll get stronger together" I turned and offered a smile, to which he emulated
January 20th
"Blastoise, shoot him out of the air with Hydro Pump!" Gary commanded
"Charizard, dodge it and use Flamethrower!" Ash said
Blastoise aimed and fired Hydro Pump out of its mouth, purposefully aiming to the side of Charizard, so that when it moved, the attack would connect; an explosion of steam was set off, but Charizard had survived the attack.
"Use Dragon Claw!" Ash continued
"Don't let him get close. Use Rapid Spin!" Gary countered
"They've already gone through four Pokemon each, but neither of them are giving up" I said
"It's amazing how much either of them want to win, but that was to be expected from those two" Shauna replied
Currently, we were just outside the inn at our provided battlefield, watching as Ash and Gary battled for what seemed to be like the first time in a long time. Shauna, Calem, and I were sat on a table by the exit to the inn and the entrance to the battlefield, beneath an umbrella connected to the center of the table, which provided us with a shield from the shining sun.
In the past week, Ash had been making a lot of progress, especially with his water-types, which were all their final evolution, except for Frogadier, who was still exceptionally powerful for its middle evolution. On the other hand, I had been making a lot of progress with my Pokemon as well, and even Eevee was well-equipped for battling. She was still quite nervous, but she was comfortable around Pikachu, Ash, and I, and even Clemont's Bunnelby for an unknown reason.
Footsteps walked out the of the inn, and Jason, wearing a set of normal clothes and a white cape exited; he made just in time to see the final result of the battle: a tie, as Charizard and Blastoise's attacks exploded against each other at pointblank range.
"Passersby were concerned about why there were so many explosions coming from over here" He said
"I've got nothing to say except that Ash won't admit I'm still stronger than he is" Gary replied
"Well it's a tie so far" Ash brought out a fifth Pokeball after returning Charizard
"And I'm going to break it" Gary tried to bring out another Pokeball, but realized he didn't have any. "Oh man"
"Looks like Ash wins by default" Shauna giggled
"Speaking of winning, I want a rematch" Calem told Jason
"I don't remember our previous battle, but you and Ash can practice some teamwork while you're at it" Jason exchanged spots with Gary on the battlefield
"Sounds like the perfect practice for the tournament to me" Ash agreed
"Fair enough" Calem nodded, walking over next to Ash
The three trainers brought out their Pokemon - Charizard against Lucario and Frogadier - and Gary stood at the reffing spot, announcing the rules.
"This should be an interesting battle, considering how strong they've gotten in the past few days" Shauna said
"They may even have a shot at winning"
"Alright, battle begin!" Gary announced
Charizard let out a roar, and Frogadier looked slightly intimidated while Lucario got into its battle-ready stance.
"Use Iron Fist!" Calem began
"And use Cut!" Ash added
Lucario's fist shined with a silver color as it solidified into pure metal; Frogadier brought out a sharp white blade, and together, the two Pokemon charged forward; Charizard smashed both of its fists into the ground, causing cracks to form in the battlefield that stretched out and stopped Lucario and Frogadier as a Blast Burn-esque attack hit them.
"Metal Slash!" Calem commanded
Lunging at a rapid speed, Lucario hit Charizard with a hard-to-see attack as Frogadier charged up an attack.
"Flames of Hades" Jason said
"Iron Scales!" Calem quickly defended
Charizard fired a pointblank Flamethrower compose of icky green flames that hit Lucario, who was surrounded with a silver glow, and sent him flying back, but dealing no damage. Frogadier let loose a powerful Water Pulse, which collided with Charizard and exploded against him.
"So far so good" I said
"They make a good team" Shauna said
Suddenly, the flames from explosion began to swirl in; the smoke disappeared as the flames spiraled and curved into Charizard's mouth - in other words, he had eaten the fire.
"Secret Art: Burning Wings of Despair" Jason commanded
Flying up into the air, Charizard spread out its wings as an aura of flames surrounded it, with multiple circles of energy appearing in the sky, angled downwards towards the battlefield.
"We can't let him use that attack" Calem said. "Lucario, Secret Art: Final Flash Cannon!"
"Use Water Pulse again!" Ash instructed
The ground began to shake as Lucario charged up two Flash Cannon, one in each arm, and put them together in front of him; Frogadier pitched a quick Water Pulse, but it did nothing to stop the attack.
Columns of flames shot down from the sky, raining down before Lucario could fired its attack, and setting off multiple explosions that consumed the entire field with smoke. Moments later, a massive attack - presumably Lucario's - shot out of the smoke, connecting with Charizard in a large-scale explosion.
Once again, the smoke instantly cleared as Charizard consumed all of the flames that had come from the explosions.
"What in Arceus is he doing? He's eating all of the flames" Calem said, an annoyed expression on his face
"You answered your own question" Jason replied as Charizard landed back down on the ground. "Frogadier could gain power and some health back by consuming water, while Lucario could do the same by eating metal or iron"
"We have to be careful and not set off any explosions than" Ash said. "Frogadier, use Aerial Ace!"
"Lucario, use Double Blade Dance!" Calem instructed
Two swords made of pure metal formed in Lucario's hands, as it dashed across the battlefield with Frogadier; Charizard waited until the last moment to launch itself up into the air, avoiding the attacks and front-flipping, while firing a Flamethrower midway through the flip that connected with both Pokemon.
Frogadier and Lucario shared a quick look, and so did their trainers, as if they knew what do; Lucario jumped up, and Frogadier provided a boost as it placed both of its arms beneath one of its feet and launched him forward; Charizard was unable to dodge as Lucario slashed both of its swords across it. Frogadier then jumped into the air as well, uppercutting Charizard with Aerial Ace.
"Secret Art: Gravity Zone!" Calem exclaimed, and Lucario held both of its hands up to the sky; on the battlefield, the gravity changed, causing Charizard to crash into the ground and become pinned to it. "Now, Ash"
"Frogadier, use Water Pulse!" Ash said, with his usual finishing-move tone
Jumping up into the air, Frogadier shot downwards two Water Pulses that hit the stuck Charizard, and finishing up the battle with a big explosion of steam.
Quick footsteps were heard, and the rest of our friends flooded out of the inn.
"I thought I heard some intense battling going on" Clemont said
"Can't say I was disappointed either. Three type masters sure do make for a destructive battle" Tierno said
The smoke cleared, and I was shocked to see Charizard still standing, small sparks of electricity circulating around it.
"It survived all of that?" Shauna questioned
"I saw the whole fight from my window, and I'm surprised that it's still up as well" Sawyer agreed
A bright glow of multiple colors illuminated off of Charizard as its shape began to change into its Y-Mega Evolved form; it finished evolving, and then roared as an aura of fire and electricity covered it.
"Electric-Flame mode" Calem said. "I was afraid of going up against this"
"What even is that anyway?" I inquired
"I have no idea myself" Anna shook her head. "Ever since Charizard absorbed Zeraora's electricity, he's been able to activate that"
"Must be some kind of type master secret ability" Sawyer quickly wrote down notes into his journal
"Lucario, pummel him with Iron Fist!" Calem resumed
Unafraid, Lucario dashed forward, both of its fists glowing with a silver outline. Its fist connected with Charizard's face, but did nothing more than move it to the side a couple of inches; we watched as Charizard hit back with tremendous force, smashing its fist, which lit up flames and electricity, into Lucario's gut, sending him crashing into the wall behind Calem in an instant.
"Secret Art: Overheat Magnetron" Jason said, his voice as chilling as the electricity I could feel from all the way over here
"Dodge it Frogadier, just like we practiced!" Ash confidently said
Frogadier nodded as Charizard roared; spikes of flames began to shoot out of the ground like a mole in those whack-a-mole games, and Frogadier quickly took off, dashing around in a zigzag pattern and avoiding all of the flames.
On the other hand, Lucario struggled to recover, limping back to the battlefield but collapsing once it did.
"Thanks Lucario, you did well" Calem returned his Pokemon
"It's all up to Frogadier now" I said, genuinely concerned that Frogadier would have to battle Mega Electric-Charizard on its own
"Use Aerial Ace!" Ash commanded as Charizard flew up into the air
However, Frogadier was quick, and jumped off the ground, hitting Charizard with an Aerial Ace that did minimal damage; Charizard quickly struck back, swiping its fist and sending Frogadier crashing down into the ground.
"Burning-Thunder Roar" Jason instructed
"Stop that with Cut!" Ash decided, with no time for Frogadier to dodge in its current condition
Letting loose another loud roar, Charizard fired a mixed column of fire and electricity; Frogadier activated two cuts, one in each hand, and held them above him in an x-shape. The attacks connected, and Frogadier was struggling to resist the attack.
"That attack could seriously hurt it if it connects" Anna said
"Frogadier's gotta hang in there" Tierno added
A bright blue glow illuminated off of Frogadier as it began to gain height and strength, and the attack was slowly getting pushed back.
"It's evolving!" Clemont adjusted his glasses
Then, a massive column of water shot out of Frogadier - now apparently Greninja - that instantly vaporized the attack and consumed the Pokemon. Ash looked confused at first, until the column reduced into a bubble of water that surrounded Greninja - both of them had a faint red glow to their eyes.
"Is Greninja suppose to look like that?" Gary asked
"No" Calem said. "That's something else entirely"
