Chapter 17: The Boy and His Fox
Author's Note: This was one of my favorite chapters to write! I hope you all enjoy it. I just want to take one more moment to thank everyone who's given this story a chance too. It really means a lot to me. Anyway, please leave a review if you can. Enjoy Midoriya vs Todoroki!
"You want to be a Hero, right?" Shoto's mom ran her hands through the child's hair and smiled as the boy cried into her shirt. "I know you'll become a great one someday..."
The memories of his mother flooded his mind. But he couldn't focus on that now. He had to win this fight and prove to his father he could be strong without using Fire.
"Begin!"
"Use Blizzard!"
"Counter with Vacuum Wave!"
Ninetales howled and summoned a Blizzard that rushed toward Riolu. The small Pokemon held his paw forward, but rather than whirling his whole arm, he focused all his power into a single finger. Then, a giant blast of wind shot out, completely pushing the Blizzard away and keeping Riolu safe.
The audience felt the powerful wind combined with the cold air as the attacks were released. Shoto looked at the two and saw Izuku and Riolu's injured fingers. They were bruised and broken, just as he had expected. "Ninetales, they were ready to injure themselves just like that. We can't let our guard down."
All Might clenched his fist as he watched nervously. There was no way Riolu could get near, so this was likely their only option. Still…
Ninetales summoned another Blizzard, but once again, Riolu countered it with another Vacuum Wave. "And he countered the attack once again!" Ninetales was pushed back by the blast of air, but she still stood her ground.
Izuku was desperately trying to find an opening or gather information, but Ninetales was just too fast. The Blizzards absorbed most of the attack so by the time it reached Ninetales, they wouldn't be able to do much damage. If that was the case, maybe using a 100% Smash as they did in the Entrance Exam would be enough. However, that would mean sacrificing his whole arm… there must be some other way.
"Riolu! Are you okay?!" Izuku shouted out. Riolu winced in pain, but he eventually turned and gave his trainer a confident nod. Both of them were in a lot of pain, but there wasn't much else they could really do at this point. Still, there had to be some kind of opening. Riolu only had four shots left.
Ninetales took a deep breath, with a small cloud of cold air coming out with her exhale. Once she was ready, she shot out another Blizzard. Izuku saw this and saw their chance. Riolu countered with the final finger on his left hand, giving them this new chance. They only had three shots left.
Katsuki watched silently as the two continued to counter each other's attacks. "Sure is nice to have such flashy Pokemon, right Bakugo?" Eijiro asked. "Typhlosion and I don't just shoot moves out at random if that's what you're asking. Especially when it comes to powerful attacks like Blizzard or Lava Plume, Pokemon can only put in so much energy before giving out."
"So Midoriya's plan is..."
"Outlast us, huh? That's your idea? Then we'll just have to end this!" Ninetales howled and summoned an extra powerful Blizzard, but it still wasn't enough to get past a One for All powered Vacuum Wave. Without hesitating though, Shoto told Ninetales to run forward and create a path upwards using Ice Beam.
Ninetales did as told, and even though Riolu tried to jump out of the way, he was just a bit too slow. His foot ended up getting caught in the ice, and in a spur of the moment decision, Izuku shouted something he didn't want to do.
"Now, Riolu! Smash!" The Pokemon used his entire arm and released an absolutely gigantic blast of air with a single punch just before Ninetales could reach him. This sent Shoto's Pokemon flying, only being able to catch itself with a well-aimed Ice Beam behind her.
The Pokemon seemed to have taken a lot of damage from the attack, though it wasn't enough to knock her out. Even worse, by using their entire right arm, Izuku and Riolu were out of shots.
"You really don't want Ninetales coming close, do you?" Shoto asked. The sheer endurance of Ninetales was incredible. It had survived so many Super Effective attacks, yet it seemed just fine. Damaged, but not too badly. Meanwhile, Riolu had broken an arm and all of his fingers. Izuku was in extreme pain as well. He felt his muscles tighten as he felt the same pain that Riolu did.
Then, he saw it. Just as he had suspected. Ninetales was shaking… no, she was shivering. This was the opening they needed! They just needed a little bit more time…
"Riolu! Survive just a little longer!" Izuku shouted.
Shoto shook his head and crossed his arms. "Sorry about this, Midoriya, but this is a fight I can't lose. You're out of options now. I think it's time we finish this, Ninetales." He pointed right at Riolu. "Blizzard!"
With one last howl, Ninetales summoned a raging Blizzard right for Riolu. "One last attack from Ninetales!" Present Mic shouted from the edge of his seat.
"Where are you looking?"
Then, something happened. Somehow, Riolu shot out another Vacuum Wave that had countered the Blizzard. Everyone watched in shock as Ninetales had completely been taken off-guard, taking a significant amount of damage as she took the hit directly.
Once the smoke had cleared, Shoto's eyes widened in shock. "You used… a broken finger?" One of Riolu's fingers had been used once again for that Vacuum Wave. Izuku's body didn't like that at all. He felt something happen in his hand, something that caused extreme pain. Something must have ripped, but he couldn't worry about that now.
"Ninetales… you're shaking..." Izuku said, surprising his opponents. "Normally, an Ice Type wouldn't start shivering like that even after a hundred Blizzards… but your Ninetales… She isn't like normal Ice Types. The flaw of the crossbreeding… She's getting cold. I assume Ninetales would be able to remedy this with Fire… but you won't let her..." Shoto took a step back and clenched his fist.
"Everyone and their Pokemon are giving it their all… they're putting everything they have into this tournament to win… and here you are, holding yourself back." Riolu barked and stood back up, still shaking from the pain. Despite that, he and Izuku both took a fighting stance, revealing their will to keep going. "You haven't landed a single hit on us yet!"
Shoto clenched his teeth. "Did my father bribe you or something? I'm not going to let him get away with this! Ninetales, Zen Headbutt!" Once again, they had decided to fight up close. This would be a good Super Effective hit that could potentially knock Riolu out.
Still, Izuku and Riolu weren't going to let that happen so easily. Ninetales had tried to throw Riolu off by jumping up rather than running head first, but they were smarter than that. "Riolu… the egg in the microwave..." The trainer and Pokemon's minds became one and they placed all of their focus into this single punch.
"It won't explode… it won't explode!" With that, just before Ninetales could land her attack, Riolu slammed his fist right into her. "And a critical hit!" The attack didn't break any extra bones, but it sure as hell hurt his already broken ones.
Ninetales got launched back, but not before getting a small portion of an Ice Beam off, freezing Riolu's right arm. Everyone gasped in shock as the Ninetales slowly got back up. Even with Riolu being so worn out, that was the first actual hit of the entire battle!
Ninetales and Shoto tried another Blizzard, but it was now significantly weaker and slower than before. Riolu was able to dodge the attack despite his injuries. Ninetales tried running in once again, even creating an ice path with Ice Beam, but Riolu ended up breaking another finger, dealing a Vacuum Wave right onto Ninetales.
Riolu and Izuku weren't letting up. They were beginning to use the fingers they had broken twice over just to continue fighting.
"Should we stop them, Midnight?" Cementoss asked. "Midoriya is probably thinking that he'll be fine after a trip to Recovery Girl, but these injuries are too much. The adrenaline is stopping him from experiencing too much pain, but this could lead to permanent injuries. Even if he wins, he won't be able to compete in his next fight anyway."
Aizawa squinted his eyes as he carefully observed Riolu's attacks. "He isn't overdoing it just to win." He said to himself. "He's doing this because it's all he can do. Still, even if he can heal, inflicting this much pain on yourself takes a lot of willpower. What are they trying to do..."
The two Pokemon's attacks were significantly weaker now compared to the start of the match. They were constantly throwing themselves toward each other, only to take attack after attack. Both were injured, but they just kept going.
Riolu could barely move his fingers anymore, so, out of desperation, he and Izuku had to use Riolu's tail to create a shockwave that knocked Ninetales down. Considering Izuku didn't have a tail, the pain transferred to his back. His entire body was in a lot of pain now.
"Why are you going so far!" Shoto asked.
"Because we have to live up to people's expectations!" Izuku shouted. Riolu ran forward. "Stop screwing around! You wanna reject your father? Fine! But you don't have the right to own Ninetales and be number one if you're gonna keep holding her back!" Those words… they reminded Shoto of his mother.
Riolu dove headfirst right into Ninetales' body, landing a devastating headbutt. "That's why we're gonna win!" The Fighting Type landed another smash on Ninetales, continuing to beat the Fox Pokemon.
Why were these memories coming back to him now? The memories of sadly watching his siblings play with their Pokemon… the way his father had hit his mother… the way Endeavor had treated him and Vulpix… his mother pouring boiling water onto his face…
"It's your Pokemon, not his!" Shoto's eyes widened in shock and he turned to his injured Ninetales. Those words… he remembered them! Watching All Might on the television with mom... He remembered the Hero's words. "Only you can decide to become a Hero! No one else!"
He looked at his Pokemon and softly smiled. "Ninetales… I'm sorry for the way I've been treating you. I've been only looking after myself this whole time, I completely forgot how you were there with me from the very start." Ninetales smiled and nodded confidently. "Okay, let's finish this fight properly then," Shoto said. Ninetales turned to face Riolu once again, but this time was different.
"Fire Blast!"
Ninetales shot out a blast of consuming flames, creating a wall of fire around the Pokemon. Izuku and Riolu smiled widely as they watched Ninetales increase the heat. All Might watched in awe. "He made him use Fire… Midoriya, Riolu… was this your plan this whole time?"
Shoto turned to Izuku with determination in his eyes. "This is our true power." Ninetales stood her ground and howled loudly. "We're going to be Heroes too!"
"Shoto!" Endeavor shouted from the audience. He grabbed onto the railing of the stadium and smiled. "You've finally accepted your purpose! You're finally going to fulfill my ambitions! This is why I created you!"
Present Mic scratched his head. "Endeavor coming in with words of… encouragement? What a uhm… proud father?"
Shoto didn't respond. Instead, he clenched his fist. "Why're you smiling?" He asked Izuku. "In this situation, with those injuries… who's the one screwing around now? Don't blame us for what happens next."
He cracked his knuckles and pointed right at the enemy. "Combine Blizzard and Fire Blast! We're finishing this now!" Ninetales summoned the biggest Blizzard they had seen yet and shot it right at Riolu.
"This is it, Riolu! Let's put everything we have into this final attack!" Riolu roared and they surged One for All into their whole body.
"Midnight!" Cementoss shouted, sending out Crustle. Midnight sent out Salazzle and both Pokemon began running forward. "We can't let them do this! Their Pokemon could die!"
Riolu broke his legs and jumped forward, pushing through the Blizzard. "Get as close as you can, Riolu!" Izuku shouted, feeling his own legs ready to collapse. "Come at me with everything you've got!" Both trainers shouted.
Shoto smiled. "Thank you, Midoriya."
Ninetales then used Inferno and combined it with the Blizzard, creating an ultimate attack. Riolu reached forward and threw a single punch. However, just before they're attacks could connect, the referees' Pokemon jumped in between. "Protect!"
But it was futile. Even with the Protects, the combined power of their two attacks created an explosion so massive that it completely destroyed the podiums Midnight and Cementoss were standing on. The explosion had created a massive blast of wind that caused the entire crowd to struggle to stay in their seats, with Minoru's small body nearly flying away. The wind lasted for nearly ten seconds before finally calming down.
Protect couldn't protect Crustle and Salazzle who had both been knocked out amidst the smoke. Everyone watched anxiously as they waited for the smoke to clear to see if there had been a clear winner.
Once the smoke was gone, they saw Riolu, who had been launched directly onto Izuku. Due to the force of the attack, they had been slammed against the wall of the stadium, knocking them out. Meanwhile, Ninetales was still up. Very damaged and barely able to move, but still standing nonetheless.
"R-Riolu is no longer able to battle! Ninetales and Todoroki win!"
Meanwhile, in an alleyway in Hosu City, a man loomed over the bleeding body of Tensei Iida and his Excadrill. He placed his foot right on the injured Hero's head and laughed. "Money… Fame… that's what all you so-called Heroes are after. You're nothing but a bunch of fakes."
Tensei struggled to look up at the man and he clenched his fist. "Hero Killer... Stain..."