Ash was once again sluggish getting out of bed the following morning. It was already 8:30 and Misty and Dawn's match was scheduled to begin at 10:00 that same morning. "Late again Ash", Serena chided, as Ash came downstairs for his breakfast, which, as usual, was in the lobby.
"I'm making progress ", Ash noted with a smirk. "I'm at least 2 or 3 minutes earlier than I was yesterday."
"Ha-ha funny man. I think I'll give you my alarm tonight." Serena was not done there:
"how would you like it if one of us was late to one of your matches?"
"Oh please Serena. It's not like I was actually going to be late. My ways might be a little unconventional but I always seem to manage fine. I know what I'm doing."
"Ugh, you can be so difficult to talk to sometimes Ash Ketchum."
"I'm not the only one." Serena was now highly irritated but she chose not to push the subject any further, in part because of the scary thing which had happened to Ash the previous day, and because she knew, even though Ash was sometimes a difficult person to talk to and often held the stubborn belief that he knew better than everyone else, he still meant well and rarely, if ever, held any genuine anger or malice towards others. Not long after, they all went back up to their rooms to collect their bags, and from there left the hotel as one large group, making their way towards Silver City Exhibition Park, where the tournament matches were being held. Dawn and Misty's match was to be held in Arena number 2. "I'm so pumped!" Ash exclaimed, as they began to draw near to the park. "This is going to be such an awesome match."
"Woo-hoo", Bonnie added. "Let's hurry up and get inside before they start."
Soon after, they reached the complex, only to discover a long queue outside each of the main arenas, where the wildcard matches were being held. "So much for your way huh Ash", Serena said sarcastically.
"You had to say it, didn't you Serena", he responded dryly.
After several minutes of arguing, the pair finally began to calm down as the line got shorter. About five minutes later, they each had their tickets scanned and proceeded to find their seats, which were again located on the upper level of the stadium.
By the time they got there, the stadium was already close to full, and they had just begun playing the national anthem of Johto, while the group were still shuffling past fellow spectators so they could get to their assigned seats. Just moments later, both Misty and Dawn entered the arena to heavy applause. Shortly afterwards, they gathered in the centre of the arena, standing on opposite sides and facing one another, as the match referee came between them and, with microphone in hand, began the standard pre-match reading of the 'rules of the battle'. Once he had finished...the battle was underway. Misty started with her Staryu, while Dawn began with Piplup.
It was Dawn who seized the initiative and made the first move: "Piplup, bubble beam." The attack came quickly and inflicted minor damage on its opponent but Misty was quick to respond:"Staryu, water gun!" This attack was stronger than that of its opponent and inflicted moderate damage.
"Piplup, gyro ball", Dawn countered.
"Staryu, dodge", Misty responded without hesitation, as if she had predicted her opponent's move. She was just as swift in commanding her next move: "Staryu, rapid spin." The Pokémon was just as alert as its trainer as it swiftly lunged forward and executed the move on its target, taking piplup's feet out from under him as it executed the spin move, which, when complete, left the latter motionless on the ground. Ash Thought that Piplup would still have a small amount of life left in it but it wasn't to be..."Piplup is no longer able to battle, the winner is Staryu!"
Ash couldn't help but shake his head disdainfully. Dawn just didn't seem like herself today. "Come on Dawn!" Ash muttered intensely, "spark up. This is your moment."
Dawn brought out Chimchar for the next battle. Misty sensed Dawn was getting desperate by bringing out Chimchar this early. She figured it best to slow the tempo of the battle and inflict enough damage on the large Pokémon to make it easy picking for her next Pokémon. After all, it would be very tough for Staryu to defeat it, especially given that Staryu had already obtained some damage. On that note, she was quick to make the first move: "Staryu, water gun." It was a direct hit, and left Chimchar a little stunned, as Misty had hoped. Dawn responded: "Chimchar, ember."
"Staryu, dodge it!" Misty shouted back instantaneously. Her Pokémon got out of the way just in time. She was also quick on the follow up: "staryu, leer." Dawn was getting frustrated and was unable to command her Pokémon to dodge in time for it to avoid the leer attack. It only inflicted a small amount of damage but the cumulative effect, when added onto Staryu's initial water gun attack, was significant enough to cause Dawn problems. She was beginning to feel the heat: things were not going at all how she had hoped. She had to find a way to turn things around. But how? There was only one thing she could think of. She acted decisively this time: "Chimchar, Fire spin!" The arena was suddenly engulfed in a vortex of fire. It trapped Staryu, which was unable to dodge in time. Misty's Pokémon fought hard against the vortex but, weakened by its efforts over the course of the two battles so far, in addition to the sheer force of the wall of flames, eventually fell to its knees just before the fire subsided. "Staryu is unable to battle, the winner is Chimchar." Sensing that they finally had an entertaining battle on their hands, the crowd let off a huge roar of applause. Many started shouting Dawn's name; some fans in the front rows even reached over the fence and started banging on the signage in their enthusiasm. Dawn pumped her right fist and leapt into the air: "woo-hoo!" Misty couldn't help but smirk, unbeknownst to her opponent.
She then proceeded to bring out her next Pokémon: "Gyarados, I choose you!" Suddenly Dawn looked a little worried, despite still being in high spirits. She contemplated how she would tackle the challenge of Misty's deadliest Pokémon. However, while she was still lost in thought, Misty had already taken the initiative: "Gyarados, dragon rage." Chimchar was not able to react in time and it fell to the ground, Copping the full brunt of the move. Chimchar was barely able to get back to its feet and was now in significant trouble, as Misty was well aware but she decided to not go in for the kill just yet.
"Chimchar, hold on", Dawn pleaded. "Ok", she continued as she regained her composure, "Chimchar, Slack off." Her Pokémon slumbered to the ground, restoring half of its HP in the process. Misty knew she had to respond quickly to get the job done: "Gyarados, ice fang." Her Pokémon cantered forward, gathering more momentum as it went. It's heavy footfall could be heard all through the stadium. As it approached its opponent, the large Pokémon lunged forward and successfully executed the move. Chimchar was in bad shape now. Dawn did not know if it had anything left to give but after several seconds it was able to stumble back to its feet.
"Chimchar, ember." Chimchar, exhausted, attempted to execute the move.. but the embers drifted wide of its opponent. Misty knew she had it won now.
"Gyarados, Hydro pump." The move hit its target, with Chimchar falling face-first to the turf and this time it wasn't getting back up.
"Chimchar is unable to battle, the winner is Gyarados." The crowd gave an applause almost as loud as the one they had given for Dawn only minutes earlier. Misty was suddenly feeling pleased with herself, as her opponent brought out her next Pokémon..."Clefairy, I choose you!"
Misty made the first move: "Gyarados, dragon rage." The move hit its target and Clefairy was already in trouble. But Dawn was quick to respond: "Clefairy, Growl." Gyarados suddenly lowered its shoulders, appearing more relaxed. Misty briefly paused before commanding her next move: "Gyarados, leer." The move did little damage. Dawn briefly looked up to the sky and, despite it being early in the afternoon, a crescent moon was visible on the horizon. She then made her next move: "Clefairy, Moonblast." Clefairy suddenly ran towards its target and pounced, dealing a significant amount of damage in the process. Misty was suddenly in some trouble, she had to think quickly.
"Gyarados, dragon dance!" Her Pokémon suddenly started to perform the dragon dance, which boosted its attack stat.
"Clefairy, Meteor mash."
"Gyarados, dodge it!" Misty bellowed in response, almost in unison with her opponent. Gyarados was able to dodge the punch just in time. Misty was almost as quick in calling out her next move: "Gyarados, hydro pump." The move was effective and suddenly, Clefairy was the one in trouble. Dawn, in desperation, took one last risk: "Clefairy, metronome." The crowd began brimming with excitement as Dawn's Pokémon began wiggling it's finger, wondering what move(s) the Pokémon would subsequently make. But much to Dawn's - and the audience's - disappointment, it only executed a simple leer move, inflicting minimal damage on its opponent. Misty knew the time was now right: "Gyarados, twister!" Suddenly, a vicious tornado was coming Clefairy's way. Dawn shouted at her Pokémon to dodge the attack but it was too late, as it became caught by the right hand edge of the whirlwind, which eventually had Clefairy fully trapped. It spent about 20 seconds fiercely struggling to break free of the tornado but it was to no avail as the Pokémon eventually fell to the ground. It did not get back up.
A few moments later the referee soon came over to announce the final result..."Clefairy is no longer able to battle, the winner is Gyarados. And that means the winner of the battle is Misty of Cerulean City!" The stadium erupted in applause for Misty. She soon began to blush. Ash and his friends in the stands also began to applaud their friend.
"Misty is a really composed battler isn't she?" Serena noted.
"Yes she is", Ash responded affectionately. "She was a really experienced and mature trainer, and now she's making a great gym leader too." Ash almost had tears in his eyes as he began to reflect on his old travels with Misty, and on how far she had come.
As the group were on their way out of the stadium Bonnie suddenly made a loud noise: "woo-hoo", she exclaimed.
"What is it Bonnie?" Serena asked, sounding a little startled.
"Clement won his match. He's into the quarter finals."
"Alright!" Ash shouted, even louder than Bonnie.
"Ok, ok, that's obviously really great", answered Serena, now beginning to blush, "but can we try to act a little like civilised human beings here, haha?" May cracked up with laughter.
"Ok, I'm sorry Serena", Ash responded, a little guiltily. Bonnie did likewise.
"Great!" Serena finished.
After that, they decided to head to a nearby park for a picnic, where they hoped that Clement would soon join them.
Unknown to Ash and his friends, Team Rocket were watching them from a distance as they headed towards the semi-crowded parkland, located just a few hundred metres from the exhibition park grounds. They had had trouble locating them back in the arena but with the help of Meowth's trusty binoculars, they were eventually able to spot the 'brats.' They were spying on them to find out if they had any more inside information concerning the strange man who they had met with the day before. Jesse and Meowth were also hoping to snatch one or two Pokémon but James strongly objected.
As they watched the brats enter the park, they made sure to maintain their distance, before running up and hiding behind an oak tree located near the edge of the large parkland. The children appeared to be in high spirits as they laid out two large sized picnic rugs but they were not behaving in a suspicious manner, let alone like they were about to hold a secret meeting. "This all seems a bit dumb", moaned James.
"Patience James", Jesse responded, "we only just arrived, let's not jump the gun just yet."
"I guess another five or ten minutes can't hurt", he conceded. "Plus, it's a lovely day to be outside."
Only a minute or so later, their phones started ringing..."op-oh", Jesse responded, "it's the boss." She nervously answered her phone, hoping that Giovanni's mood would be more serene than usual. As she answered, she shared her phone camera with James and Meowth so that Giovanni would be able to see all of them. "Hello Sir", she began, trying to sound as pleasant as possible."
"Hello you three", he answered in a dry tone, "what is your present location?"
"At present we're in Silver City, at the Pokémon gym leader's world championship, a great place to get our hands on some new Pokémon."
"And how's that going?"
"Well, i..it's a work in progress."
"Ugh, what a surprise", he answered coldly. "Any rate", he continued, "I wouldn't take too long because we will be launching our next attack in that very location precisely one week from today, at noon, so I would make sure I was well out of there before then, that is, if you wish to survive the war." James' face suddenly went bright red, as Jesse hung up the phone.
"Oh no", he moaned softly, "what are we going to do?"