Chapter 16! More battles this chapter, but what did you expect? I hope you enjoy the chapter!
This food was really good. In the moment, the food was all Ash could think about. The extreme flavors dominated Ash's tongue, and the food filled his mouth to the brim. "Ash, calm down! You're eating like a Munchlax!" Leaf cried out, exasperated. Ash pretended not to hear the other girl and kept on shoveling food inside his mouth. Gary strode over to his fellow trainers.
"Ashy, just make sure you're prepared for the battle. These guys are actually threatening. They're not pushovers like the last team. " Ash nodded, but was far too occupied with his food to actually say anything. His battle was in twenty minutes for so. Ash had plenty of time to eat.
"And, here is Gary Oak and Ash Ketchum!" Ash walked on to the arena, much calmer than the last time he was here. Gary soaked up the attention, smiling and waving at the crowd. Their opponents, Aika and her teammate Joe, were already on the field.
"In this battle, each challenger is allowed two Pokémon, so four Pokémon total for each team. Challengers, please send out your Pokémon on the count of three," the referee yelled. This time, Ash and Gary had decided what Pokémon they were going to use beforehand. Ash would use his Pikachu and Exeggutor, and Gary was going to use Pinsir and Pidgeotto. "Three!" Both the referee and the crowd yelled. "Two!" came the countdown. "One!" and…"Go!"
Pikachu scampered off Ash's shoulder, cheeks sparking with electricity. Gary's poke ball soared in the air, opening to release a prideful bird, his Pidgeotto. The bird cawed arrogantly upon its release. At the other side of the field, Joe had sent out a Raticate, and Aika sent out a Pokémon Ash had never seen before. It was a bird like Pidgeotto but had much darker plumage. "Corvisquire!" the bird shrieked. Pidgeotto immediately glared at the opposing bird.
Gary had started the battle the moment he heard the referee. "Pidgeotto, dive under the other bird and hit its underside." Turned out that, though Gary was the grandson of a famous researcher, even he didn't know what Pokémon he was battling. Pidgeotto dashed down under Corvisquire, admirably speedy, and pulled up at the last second, sending the other bird reeling. Corvisquire flapped its wings rapidly, attempting to readjust itself.
That wasn't all that was going on, though. "Pikachu, Electro Ball!" A condensed ball of sparking yellow electricity was forming above Pikachu's tail. Soon enough, the ball flew at Raticate.
"Raticate, dodge and use Bite!" Raticate's trainer commanded. It was clear that Raticate wasn't very well trained, as it couldn't dodge Pikachu's Electro Ball and was banished into the wall.
"Corvisquire, Drill Peck." Aika yelled. The dark bird dived down at Pidgeotto, extremely fast thanks to the boost of gravity. Ash thought there was no way Pidgeotto could meet the attack head-on, but Corvisquire was moving too fast to dodge. But clearly, Gary had more faith in Pidgeotto than Ash.
"Pidgeotto, Agility followed with Wing Attack!" Pidgeotto fazed onto the other side of the field, then flew towards Corvisquire, who had pulled up to avoid the ground.
"Pikachu, Brick Break!" Ash yelled. Pikachu sprinted at Raticate and brought down a lightning-quick hand on the tired Pokémon. The force of the impact between Raticate and the ground reverberated through the stadium. Raticate slumped, clearly knocked out.
"Take the attack and use Reversal!" Aika told Corvisquire. Gary bit his lip worriedly as Pidgeotto slammed its wing into Corvisquire. The other bird immediately retaliated with its powerful Reversal. Reversal was a move that did more damage when the user had taken more damage. Pidgeotto was tossed aside like a measly Caterpie.
Ash figured that since Raticate wouldn't be getting up anytime soon, he should help out Gary. "Pikachu, Iron Tail!" Pikachu leapt at the dark bird and brought its metallic tail down on Corvisquire's skull. The opposing bird was rattled at the impact and crashed into the ground.
Out of nowhere, Joe yelled, "Fearow, use Aerial Ace on that rodent!" Fearow's sharp red beak neared Pikachu, who was clearly unprepared for the attack. Ash hadn't even noticed that Joe had returned his Raticate and brought in a new Pokémon. Pikachu wouldn't be able to dodge in time. Thankfully, Pikachu didn't have to dodge.
"Pidgeotto, Twister!" Gary countered. The miniature tornado ripped up the dirt in its path as it hit Fearow, sucking the other bird in.
"Corvisquire, return. Go, Lycanroc!" Aika cried. Ash sighed in disappointment. Another Pokémon he hadn't heard of? The new pokemon was quadruped and had very light brown fur. A few spots, like its underbelly, had glossy white fur. It had a bright white tail as well. Its claws stood out, being the only part of its body that was a void-like black. "Lycanroc, Accelerock on Pikachu!" Aika's Pokémon darted towards Pikachu, and in the blink of an eye, tossed Pikachu against the wall. Ash grunted. Pikachu would have to be alone in its fight with Lycanroc. Its avian teammate, Pidgeotto, had taken to the skies in a battle for pride with Joe's Fearow.
Lycanroc was clearly fast, Ash mused. A move like Electro Ball wouldn't work well against it. To be frank, Ash hadn't prepared to battle an opponent faster than Pikachu, because he didn't expect it. That was his fault. Well, Ash thought, better wing it. But then, a brilliant idea popped into his mind. "Pikachu, Nuzzle!" Pikachu looked at its trainer doubtfully, but ran towards Lycanroc, coated in electricity.
Aika's eyes widened, realized what Ash had planned. "Lycanroc, whatever you do, don't touch Pikachu! Double Team followed with Stone Edge!" Ash bit his lip stressfully as a dozen Lycanrocs, all mirror copies of the original, appeared from thin air. It was just a matter of luck to hit the true Lycanroc. He had no way of knowing which one was the real one. As Pikachu crashed into the air that seemed to be Lycanroc, a jagged stone threw the mouse in the air.
Pikachu collapsed and slouched against the ground upon impact, knocked out from the heavy blow. Up in the sky, Pidgeotto was in the same state as a powerful Drill Peck from Fearow made impact. Gary looked at Ash. "I'll get the Fearow. You get Lycanroc." Ash nodded and returned Pikachu to its poke ball. He would probably get a shock from the mouse later, but that didn't matter. What mattered was who Ash should send out to battle. He had planned to send out Exeggutor, but Exeggutor was far too slow and would be like target practice to Lycanroc. Ash's best bet was Grovyle, but Ash wasn't even sure if the wily gecko was faster than Aika's Lycanroc. Hopefully, Exeggutor wouldn't mind not battling.
Gary sent out his Pokémon first. "Wartortle!" he cried. Ash guessed that Gary decided not to send out Pinsir, as it was in a bad position to fight either of its opponents, based on type advantages. Wartortle lashed its fluffy tail against the ground and bared its fangs at Fearow, who stayed safely in the sky.
"Grovyle." Ash summoned the green gecko onto the arena, who didn't seem to mind being in a battle. The first Pokémon Grovyle noticed was Lycanroc, and the gecko lashed its tail in anticipation of the battle to come. Ash started the battle immediately. "Grovyle, Bullet Seed!" Grovyle fired small but painful seeds at Lycanroc.
"Dodge them. "Aika said. The light brown Pokémon gracefully stepped past every seed effortlessly. "Good. Now, Crunch." Lycanroc lunged at Grovyle, who tried to sidestep, but to no use. Grovyle was thrown around in Lycanroc's jaw easily. The gecko flopped around powerlessly. At this point, Ash wasn't even paying attention to Gary and Joe's Pokémon. He was completely focused on Grovyle's battle with Lycanroc. After what felt like an eternity, Lycanroc released Grovyle. The gecko staggered to its feet, already tired.
"Grovyle, Agility!" Ash yelled. If he could get Grovyle to outspeed Lycanroc, he could probably win. But, Aika wasn't going to let that happen so easily.
"Close down on Grovyle with Accelerock and use Drill Run!" Lycanroc seemingly disappeared, but then struck the blur that was Grovyle, tossing the gecko into the wall. Lycanroc didn't miss a beat and plowed through the ground, collapsing into Grovyle. Aika didn't even need to command Lycanroc as the opposing Pokémon relentlessly sank its fangs into Grovyle's lean frame. The gecko shrieked in pain, but what hurt most was that Ash couldn't do anything about it. Suddenly, Lycanroc was thrown back. Grovyle stood up, adrenaline pumping through the gecko's body.
Ash couldn't help his growing grin as Grovyle's body started to glow an iridescent white. Even Wartortle, Fearow, and Lycanroc stopped moving, in awe of the momentous occasion. The whole crowd was hypnotized by the beautiful white. The glow shattered away, revealing a whole new Pokémon. There were many differences between Grovyle and the new Pokémon. The largest changes were to Grovyle's stomach, head, and tail. Grovyle's stomach used to be a mix of pink and red, but the new Pokémon had a light green stomach, the same color as the rest of its body. Before, Grovyle's head used to have a lengthy dark green leaf extending from it. Now, the leaf was completely gone. Also, Grovyle's tail used to just be a long leaf. Now, the new Pokémon had a bushy tree as a tail. But, the most noticeable change was the smallest one. The new Pokémon carried a small, thin twig in its mouth. "Sceptile!" it cried. Ash couldn't help but pull out his pokedex.
Sceptile, the Forest Pokémon. Its arms are equipped with razor-sharp leaves, and it moves lightly through tree branches in order to attack its enemies.
"Sceptile, use Leaf Blade!" Ash yelled. Everyone else suddenly snapped out of their stupor. Grovyle was fast, but Sceptile's speed was closer to teleportation than movement. In mere milliseconds, it had crossed the field and sent Lycanroc flying.
"Lycanroc, Stone Edge!" Aika cried. Lycanroc elegantly landed and slammed its paws against the ground, sending jagged spikes of stone in Sceptile's direction.
"Jump over them and use Mega Drain!" Sceptile pushed off against the ground, and anyone watching must have thought Sceptile was a flying-type Pokémon as it soared over the jagged spikes. Midair, Sceptile started to drain Lycanroc of the energy it had. The opposing Pokémon swooned left and right, but couldn't take the attack for long. Lycanroc collapsed in a heap, whereas Sceptile landed gracefully.
"The winners of the match are Ash Ketchum and Gary Oak! A timely evolution saves the duo from the jaws of defeat!" the announcer yelled. Ash shook his head, trying to get his bearings. He was so engrossed in the battle; Ash hadn't even noticed when Joe's Fearow fainted. As he realized what happened, Ash grinned. Sceptile's timely evolution had won them the battle!
Gary looked at Ash. "Wartortle had you covered the whole time." Okay, so maybe they would have still won the battle even if Grovyle didn't evolve. But still, Sceptile was just so cool! Ash was so busy in his own thoughts that Gary had to call him off the field. "You coming? They have another battle soon." Ash shook his head and returned Sceptile to its poke ball. Then, Ash followed Gary off the field.
"The team's going to be so confused when they see you!" Ash told Sceptile. The newly-evolved gecko smirked. Ash proceeded to toss out every one of his team's poke balls. Every one of Ash's Pokémon looked around, unsure of why Ash had let them out. Soon, though, their eyes fell on the new Sceptile. Charmeleon was by far the most suspicious, and prodded Sceptile. The rest of the team was merely curious about the new Pokémon. Exeggutor seemingly knew that Grovyle had evolved, and didn't even take a second glance at its newly evolved teammate. Just then, something tapped his shoulder.
"Hey, Gary!" Ash said. "What do you need?"
"We're going to eat lunch. Want to come?" Gary asked.
Ash shrugged and looked at his team. "You want to go eat?" Ash questioned. Sceptile's eyes lit up at the prospect of eating. The energy required to evolve had taken a lot of energy from Sceptile, and what better way to nourish himself than eating? "That's what I thought. Let's go."
Ash found himself seated next to Gary, across from Leaf in a table for four. Across from him was Aika, the girl he had battled with Gary earlier today. Leaf apparently made fast friends with her, and invited her to eat. Ash's Pokémon had disappeared, scouring for the food they liked best in the overwhelmingly large dining room.
"So, Leaf, how did your battle go?" Ash tried to start the conversation.
"Our battle was pretty easy. Didn't have to come to a lucky evolution." Leaf teased Ash back.
Aika grinned. "Yeah, we would have moved on if your Grovyle didn't decide to evolve in the middle of the match. But, I don't mind much. I'm not even that big a fan of battling. I prefer contests."
Gary's eyes widened in surprise. "But, your Pokémon were pretty powerful!"
Aika smirked. "Well, its not that I don't like battling. I have a few badges myself, you know. "
Ash interrupted their conversation. "What do you think the prize Pokémon is? I know its from Unova, but nothing else. I bet it's a Tympole."
Gary scoffed. "Are you kidding? Gramps says that if you step foot in Unova, they come to you! It's obviously going to be a rarer Pokémon like Zorua."
Leaf laughed. "Gary, the Zorua species are almost extinct. There's no way something that rare is the prize! It's probably a Pawniard." And so, the four young trainers talked through the afternoon.
So, how was chapter 16? I hope you enjoyed it. Please do leave suggestions for what Pokémon the prize should be. Thanks for reading!