Ash and Pete stare at one another from across the ice field, both of them down a Pokémon. The ice sits silently as both trainers returned their Pokémon to the respected balls. Both Ash and Pete knew they each had to be careful and not underestimate the other.
"Both Trainers have lost one Pokémon, their icy stares shoot across the field trying to intimidate each other. What Pokémon will each Trainer send out next? Who will win, and who will be left out in the cold?" the announcer's voice said as it echoed through the stadium.
"Well, it seems I got to do whatever it takes to win this… Go Cloyster, show Ash that together we can squeeze out a victory!" Pete said as he summoned his Pokémon to the field.
A large amethyst-colored shell appears on the ice in front of Pete. As the shell sits upright, it slowly opens.
"Cloyster…" Pete's Cloyster says as its face is fully revealed.
"Well, there's only one Pokémon on my team that can take down your overgrown shellfish…go Pikachu!" Ash shouted as he pointed towards the Cloyster.
"Pika!" Pikachu said as it jumped off the platform next to Ash.
Pikachu landed on the ice not far from Pete's Cloyster. Its forward momentum caused it to slide towards the inner part of the ice field and after sliding a short distance used its tail to slow it to a stop.
Cloyster and Pikachu's eyes meet and they stare down at each other as their Trainers were.
"The second part of the final round will be Pete's Cloyster against Ash's Pikachu. Will Cloyster clamp down on a victory or will Pikachu shock us with an electrifying win? Stayed glued to this battle folks!" the announcer said.
"Time to get this started… Pikachu use Thunderbolt!" Ash shouted.
"Pika!" Pikachu responded.
Pikachu began to charge up its attack, readying it to strike Cloyster. Pete shook his head and scoffed.
"That attack will be a waste of time…Cloyster, Withdraw!" Pete said.
In response to its Trainer, Cloyster closed its shell completely. As Pikachu gather enough electricity, it shot its Thunderbolt towards Cloyster. As the attack struck Cloyster's shell it seemed to dissipate almost instantly.
"A direct hit to Cloyster! But it seems Pikachu's Thunderbolt didn't affect it at all!" the announcer said.
"What? It didn't do anything? I thought Cloyster was part Water Type?"
"Yes Ash it is, but Cloytser withdrew into its shell protecting itself," Misty said recalling her Water Type knowledge.
"She's right Ash, if Cloyster closes its shell, no matter of attack will damage it," Brock said.
"Darn, how am I going to get Cloyster to open so Pikachu can shock it?" Ash said to himself.
After a few moments, Ash had a plan.
"Pikachu, get on top of Cloyster's shell!" Ash instructed his partner.
Pikachu ran towards Cloyster and leaped upwards, landing directly on top of Cloyster's closed shell.
"Pikachu, use Slam!"
Pikachu jumped up into the air and using some force, slammed into Cloyster's shell.
"Didn't you hear your friends? With Cloyster's shell closed, no attack can affect it." Pete said.
Ash ignored his opponent and instructed Pikachu to attack again.
"Pikachu, use Slam again!"
Pikachu again jumped into the air and slammed its body into Cloyster.
"Ash, are you even listening?" Pete said confused.
Ash ignored Pete again and ordered Pikachu to repeat.
"Pikachu, Slam two more times!"
Pikachu did as it was ordered and slammed into Cloyster another two times.
"Ash! Why aren't you listening to us?" Misty said concerned.
"Yeah Ash, you can't win that way!" Brock shouted.
"Has Ash given in? Is he going to throw in the towel?" the announcer said.
Ash stood silent as all eyes were on him.
"You really should listen to your friends Ash, trying to make Cloyster's shell open is near impossible."
"I'm not trying to force it open…Pikachu jump as high as you can!" Ash shouted breaking his silence.
All eyes shifted to Pikachu as it leaped high into the air.
"What's this? Pikachu is now an aerial acrobat! Was does Ash have up his sleeve?" the announcer said.
Ash looked up at Pikachu, and as his partner could not go any higher, ordered it to attack, causing the tide to be turned.
"Pikachu, use Body Slam!"
As soon as Pikachu started to descend, it electrified its body and put as much of its weight into the attack. Everyone watched as Pikachu fell closer and closer to the ground until it about reached Cloyster.
Upon impact, the attack caused a shockwave making everyone shield themselves. As they recovered, everyone looked back at the field but only seeing a large dust cloud.
Pikachu jumped from the dust cloud and landed near where it had begun the bout. Pete shook his head, thinking his Pokémon had an impenetrable defense that was unbeatable.
"How many times will it take for it to sink in? Cloyster's shell is unbreachable."
Ash looked over at Cloyster as the dust started to settle and smiled as he realized that he had made the right call.
"Well Pete, take a look at your Cloyster now…"
Confused, Pete looked at his Pokémon and was shocked at what he saw. Cloyster was now sitting at a 45-degree angle. As everyone watched, Cloyster's shell slowly opened and the inner part of Cloyster was now exposed.
What a turnaround! Cloyster's sure-fire defense has been breached by Ash and Pikachu's determination!" The announcer said.
"Now time to end this…Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!"
Pikachu charged up and let loose a Thunderbolt at Cloyster's open shell. The electric attack made a direct hit, causing Cloyster to get knocked out.
"Cloyster is unable to battle, Pikachu wins!" the referee said.
"Complete knockout! Cloyster is down for the count and Pikachu comes out on top with an electrifying win! These are the battles everyone here has come to see."
The crowd cheers for Ash's victory.
"I'll admit, I didn't expect Ash to pull out such a victory," Misty said.
"Me either, I'm interested to see what techniques he'll use to win the final round," Brock said.
Pete was stunned as his opponent was able to defeat his Cloyster in such a way but admired Ash's resourcefulness and tenacity.
"Well I can't say I'm disappointed, but this is where I pull out all the stops, go Arcanine!"
Pete calls back Cloyster and sends out his final Pokémon. Arcanine lands on a tall column of ice and roars loudly.
"Pete sends out his Arcanine to start the third part of the last round of this battle. Can Ash claim another victory with Pikachu? Let the final part begin!"
"This will be much easier than the last round, Pikachu, run in with Quick Attack and use Thunderbolt!" Ash directed.
Pikachu responded and ran towards Arcanine. As Pete watched, he smiled knowing his opponent made a mistake right off the bat. He waited for Pikachu to be close enough and told Arcanine to retaliate.
"Arcanine use Fire Blast!"
Pikachu was moving too fast to be able to dodge the immensely powerful attack.
"Fire Blast? That's the strongest Fire-Type move!" Brock shouted.
"No Pikachu!" Ash shouted unable to help his partner.
As Arcanine had Pikachu in its sights, it formed flames into its mouth and projected them towards Pikachu. The flames slammed into Pikachu sending it flying backward.
Pikachu flew towards Ash and he grabbed Pikachu before anything could happen. He held his partner in his arms like a baby and smiled.
"Good job buddy, you did great. Rest now…" Ash said.
"Pika…" Pikachu managed to say before passing out in Ash's arms.
"Pikachu is unable to battle, Arcanine wins!"
Ash turns and walked towards Brock and Misty.
"Hey, can I count on you two to look after Pikachu?" Ash said.
Before she could answer, Misty could see a tear fall from Ash's face. She could tell it hurt him to see Pikachu like that,
"Of course…oh and one thing…" Misty said.
"What?"
"Show that overgrown mutt that Ash Ketchum doesn't lose," Misty said then smiling.
Ash handed Brock Pikachu and as he walked back to his platform he wiped away the tear and put on a determined to win face.
He knew it was now down to this and he wasn't going to let anyone down and lose now. He grabbed for the one Pokeball he knew was his only chance for victory.
"I can't lose here, I must win! Go Kingler!" Ash shouted as he threw his Pokeball.
"Ash is now down to his last Pokémon. The battle will be decided with a showdown between Arcanine and Kingler. Will Pete's Arcanine prove to be too much for Ash's Kingler or will he come out on top?"
Pete knew he was being a little too cocky when he sent out Cloyster earlier but this time he knew not many Pokémon were a match for his Arcanine.
"You may have the type advantage, but I will show you the true power of my Pokémon! Arcanine use Fire Blast!"
As it did before, Arcanine formed flames in its mouth. Ash knew he had to use Arcanine's Fire Blast against it to win.
Kingler was much slower than Arcanine so out speeding was out of the question. With only seconds to spare, Ash knew what he had to and ordered Kingler accordingly.
"Kingler, focus and use Bide!"
Kingler raised its pincers and held them up in front of its body and braced itself. Arcanine's Fire Blast shot towards Kingler and slammed into it as it had to Pikachu.
This time the attack didn't do the same as it did as Kingler's defense shielded it. Kingler stood strong as the attack didn't hurt it all that much.
"Do you really think your Kingler can withstand the raw power of my Arcanine? Then so be it…Arcanine, Fire Blast!"
Seeing that his idea was working, Ash continued.
"Kingler, continue using Bide!"
Kingler did as it was told and remained still and bracing itself one more time. Arcanine's Fire Blast slammed into Kingler again and not much was different from the previous time.
Pete began to become irate. As he watched Ash's Kingler take all of Arcanine's Fire Blast's he could feel that he was being mocked. He felt that Ash was trying to make his Arcanine look weak in front of the crowd. He wasn't going to let that stand.
"Arcanine, turn that Kingler into a seafood platter, use Fire Blast one more time!"
As it did the last two times, Arcanine shot the large flames at Kingler. Ash knew he needed one last turn to win.
"Kingler, just hold on a little bit longer! Use Bide one last time!"
Kingler guarded one final time and blocked the Fire Blast. Ash looked around and saw that most of the ice had melted because of Arcanine's attacks making the ice field a pool. Looking back at Arcanine, Ash could see that it was now out of breath and knew this was his chance to end this battle.
"Kingler, jump into the water now!"
Kingler jumped off the piece of ice it was on and submerged itself into the water. As Kingler disappeared, both Pete and his Pokémon began to frantically look for it beneath the water's surface.
As he could see that neither his opponent nor his Pokémon could see Kingler, he ordered the final strike.
"Kingler, Crabhammer!"
Out of nowhere, Kingler sprang up from the water near Arcanine and raised its pincers above its head.
As Arcanine was completely out of breath, both Pete and his Arcanine knew that Kingler's attack was unavoidable. Pete stood helpless as Ash did before and watched his Pokémon take the hit.
Kingler's pincer's slammed into Arcanine, causing the ice it was standing on to shatter under its feet. Within a blink of an eye, Arcanine was plunged into the water.
"Arcanine!" Pete shouted as his heart sank watching his Pokemon do the same.
After a moment, Arcanine shot to the surface of the water and Pete quickly returned it to its ball.
"Arcanine is unable to battle. Ash and his Kingler have won the battle." The referee said.
After a moment of being in awe of what they witnessed, the crowd began to roar with cheer for Ash's victory.
"I can't believe he won…Don't think you're going to best me with weak strategies like that…" Gary Oak said getting up from his seat.
"Well ladies and gentlemen, it seems Ash and his Pokémon have not come to disappoint and pulled out a victory in this first round of the Pokémon League. Keep your eyes on this young man, I can tell you he's going to go far." The announcer said.
Ash returned Kingler to its ball and turned towards the crowd and upon throwing up the "V", the entire stadium filled with cheers.
As Ash started back to his friends, h \e could see Pikachu regained enough energy to greet him as he left the platform. He picked his partner up and raised Pikachu into the air.
"Give this young man another roaring cheer as he makes his way to the next round." The announcer said.
The crowd erupted once more as Ash and his friends made their way out of the stadium and to prepare for the next round.