A bit of a short chapter, but a fast update! ^.^
"Go Charizard!" Ash called. Charizard burst from his pokeball, and roared. The crowd went wild at the sight of the dragon-like fire pokemon, applause ringing through the stadium. He spat a column of flames into the sky, then looked at Latios and smirked, snorting a small puff of smoke as he did. Latios narrowed its eyes at Charizard, a faint growl rumbling in its throat. Ash grinned. This would be interesting.
Back in the Sinnoh League, he hadn't had a chance to bring back Charizard to fight Latios. At the time, Charizard had been indisposed dealing with an incident at Charicific Valley. So he'd chosen certain other pokemon, like Swellow. Now he knew that as tough as Swellow was, even she wasn't strong enough to match Latios. But perhaps Charizard could.
In the stands...
"Wow", Iris murmured. "So Ash is gonna try and use Charizard to beat Latios."
Cilan nodded, his gaze serious. "It would seem so. After all, it is his only pokemon right now that can fly."
"Do you think it will work?" Even though she'd seen first hand the power Charizard had, Latios was much much stronger than her Dragonite.
"Perhaps..." was his only reply.
As the referee called for the match to begin, Iris quickly focused on the stadium.
...
"Now Latios, Giga Impact." With an eager cry, Latios shot across the stadium, shrouded in a white aura.
"Counter with Wing Attack!" Ash called. Charizard's wings began glowing white and he launched himself across the stadium to meet Latios.
A moment later, the two pokemon collided, Charizard driving his wing into Latios, who pressed back with Giga Impact. For a moment, the two clashed, each vying to get the upper hand. Then, with a cry, Latios pressed harder. A blast of energy exploded and Charizard was forced back. He caught himself easily, growling and shaking off the blow.
In the stands
"Oh no," Iris murmured. "Does that mean Latios is stronger?"
"Not exactly," Cilan replied. "I don't think its that simple. See how they didn't quite clash in the center of the stadium?" he pointed towards a spot just off center of the stadium, a few yards closer to Ash's side. "Latios speed allowed it to reach Charizard before he could read his top speed."
"So it wasn't that Charizard's power was weaker, but it was because Latios was a little faster?"
He nodded. "Exactly right! Although..." he paused. "This fight may be hard. Charizard is powerful, but he lacks the raw speed Latios does. The two are like distinct dishes prepared with similar yet contrasting flavors."
"Uh-huh." Iris turned to watch Ash, her concern growing. What would he do?
...
A frown of concentration briefly crossed Ash's face. Latios was fast. Even faster than he expected, and possibly even a little faster than at the Sinnoh League. Up in the air, Latios seized up as the energy drain from Giga Impact kicked in. "Charizard, Flamethrower!" he called.
Charizard opened his jaws wide and let loose a massive jet of fire.
"Light Screen," Tobias called, just as the flames washed over Latios. At the last second, Ash caught the telltale flash of the pink barrier. Then Latios was engulfed in flames. A couple of seconds later, Charizard let up, taking a breath. As the flames faded, they revealed Latios, covered in a transparent pink barrier, looking unharmed.
In the stands...
"Oh wow!" Iris said. "Latios managed to use Light Screen just in time, so Flamethrower did nothing."
Cilan quickly shook his head. "Not exactly. Light Screen only halves the damage, so I'd say Latios is definitely feeling the heat."
...
Tobias spoke his next command calmly. "Latios, up." Rumbling in acknowledgment, Latios flew up, high into the sky.
"After it, Charizard," Ash called. With a growl, Charizard flapped his wings and shot after Latios.
"Dragon Claw," Tobias said. Latios became a blue and white blur, as its claws doubled in length and shimmered with green energy. One moment it was there, a few yards away from Charizard, then it vanished, reappearing suddenly above him. He lashed out with his claws, knocking Charizard through the air with a powerful strike.
"Quick, Wing Attack," Ash commanded. Charizard caught himself instantly, and with a single flap of his powerful wings, shot upwards after Latios, wings glowing. As he lashed out at the dragon, Latios managed to dodge at the last moment, and Charizard only landed a glancing blow.
Before he could strike again, Latios flew away, widening the gap between them more. "Okay Charizard, get it with your Dragon Pulse." Immediately, Charizard opened his jaws and blasted a powerful purple beam at Latios.
"Dodge," Tobias said. Latios spiraled upwards and looped through the air, out of the way of the beam. Undeterred, Charizard tracked him with the beam, sweeping it through the sky. As Latios twisted out of the way, Charizard jerked his head upward and nicked Latios wings, causing it to falter briefly.
"Now, Luster Purge." Latios recovered quickly, then opened his jaws. Sparkling light gathered in front of his jaws. An instant later he fired a powerful beam of pink energy.
Ash reacted almost faster than one could blink. "Charizard, spin and use Wing Attack." Charizard threw himself into a tight spin even before Ash finished saying his command. He became a whirling sphere of light just before Luster Purge struck. It hit a moment later, slamming directly into Charizard before glancing off and smashing into the ground below, leaving Charizard mostly unharmed. He smiled. Counter-spin had worked. Charizard pulled out of the spin gracefully and smirked at Latios, who appeared slightly winded.
The two pokemon paused, hovering around each other with narrowed eyes, watching each other's every move. Ash stared up, watching the two, his mind racing. Charizard was powerful, that he knew. And he felt certain that given the chance, Charizard might be able to win the battle. But the cost would be too high. Latios was built like a jet engine and possessed speed that surpassed that of Charizard. No, he wanted to keep Charizard fresh for later. He had a feeling he would need the fire-type's strength.
That said, some instinct told him Charizard still had more left to give. Then it struck him. Latios had raw speed, yes. But Charizard won in agility. A plan quickly began to form. "Charizard, get out of there and put some distance between you and Latios!"
Up in the air, he caught Charizard give him a sharp look as if asking 'how dare you ask me to run from my opponent?' Ash just smiled. Charizard obeyed, darting away from Latios, higher into the sky, putting distance between them.
Tobias eyed Charizard for only a moment before nodding. "Pursue it." Latios burst after Charizard, quickly closing the gap. "Now, Giga Impact." Latios began charging the attack, the white aura forming around its body. Within seconds, it quickly began to draw close to Charizard. Ash gritted his teeth. Not yet... He had to time this perfectly otherwise it would fail.
"Faster Charizard!" he shouted. Charizard edged faster, though it seemed it hardly made a difference to Latios' speed. 20 yards, 15, 10, 5 - now. "Brake and use Seismic Toss!"
Charizard understood absolutely. Time seemed to slow. He flared his wings, jerking to an abrupt yet graceful halt midair. Latios never had time to realize what was happening. In one fluid motion, Charizard reached down and snatched a shocked Latios as it passed under him. It jerked to a stop, caught in Charizard's grasp. Tightening his grip, he looped through the air twice, building momentum. Then he dove straight at the ground, still holding Latios tight.
"Now, Flamethrower!" Ash shouted, his heart racing.
As the two plummeted towards the ground at frightening speeds, Charizard opened his jaws and let orange fire pour out. The two pokemon became cloaked in flames as they fell, turning into a massive flaming comet, swirling orange and red and yellow. The fires of the comet intensified, bathing the stadium in flickering light. Then it smashed into the earth with explosive force, shaking the entire stadium.
Ash staggered, barely catching himself, and Tobias threw out his hands for balance. Smoke mixed with debris and dust oozed from the middle of the field. Ash recovered his balance to stare into the cloud.
Moments later it dissipated, revealing a deep crater, which Charizard hovered above. Latios lay in the center, stunned. As Ash watched, a faint pink wall flickered out of existence around Latios. Then it opened its eyes, blinked, and rose into the air. Soot and ash covered its white body and it gave a furious growl. Its flight was slightly unsteady, but it still appeared determined.
Ash smiled. Even with Latios' last moment light screen, it hadn't blocked the majority of the damage. Charizard, who seemed unfazed, peered proudly at his opponent, clearly satisfied with outmaneuvering it. Ash took out a pokeball.
"Alright Charizard, return." Charizard gave him a look but relented. The familiar red light poured out, pulling Charizard back into his pokeball. "Thanks, Charizard. You did exactly what I needed." He tucked it away before selecting another.
"Come on out, Sceptile!" he shouted, tossing the pokeball. Sceptile emerged in a flash of light, then took up a fighting stance when he saw Latios. As Latios realized who his next opponent was, Ash swore he detected a bit of a smirk from the dragon. "Ready Sceptile?" he asked eagerly. Ever since the Sinnoh league, some part of him had wanted a rematch for Sceptile against Latios. Pikachu had proven himself by defeating Latios, but Sceptile hadn't had the chance. He'd been too exhausted from fighting Darkrai. But this time would be different.
Today, Sceptile would get his revenge.
So there we have it. It's quick, but came out good, I think. I genuinely believe Charizard might be able to take out Latios, but I also 100% believe Latios is faster. I mean, that thing is modeled after a jet engine. But I wanted to let Charizard pull off a sweet maneuver. The move he pulls is also a not exactly subtle reference to a movie, I wonder if anyone can guess which one?
And next up, Latios vs Sceptile! There's a multitude of reasons I picked this. I feel like Sceptile's speed and power is really the best bet, plus I wanted to give Sceptile a chance at a fair rematch.
As for Tobias team, its not gonna be a thing where is like... a bajillion legendaries, like I mentioned. I'm curious to see if anyone can guess his team though.
Anyways, review time!
Reader: I agree, Pikachu vs Latios is unnecessary. Sceptile vs Latios though... I really wanted that revenge match, so to speak. As for something like Latias or Zekrom, well as edgy as it might be, it wouldn't really feel fitting I think. Especially since Ash doesn't seem like the type to try and call on a legendary for this. Maybe another day, another fic I guess.
Krookodile would have an advantage against Latios, for sure. But given he's grounded and not as fast, I don't think he would fare well with Latios speed.
Yabas: I'm glad you enjoyed! :) I won't spoil anything, but you might just like where this battle will go... ;)
Dustellion: Close, but not quite! I wanted to go a little off path for this, so its neither Gabite nor Pikachu, as you can see.
Fiahy567: Well, you're right!
Xavier: It pleases me greatly to know the battle felt that good. I really wanted to make it feel like a good smackdown, but hard too. Also, I'm extra delighted that you appreciated my reference to pokemons weird aging mechanic, lol
I'm gonna put a few random rambles here at the bottom.
I always hated how the anime uses Light Screen/Barrier and stuff. Like, they act like its a complete shield that utterly blocks an attack. BUT IT DOESNT. That's what Protect is for. Light Screen and the like are only supposed to halve the damage. People in the anime talk like attacks that hit it do nothing. Ugh.
All right, that covers it I think. As always thank you for reading, reviewing, and commenting. I expect Scetile vs Latios fight to be up in a few days. With this method of one fight per chapter, its so much easier to write this! :D