"The first quarter-final battle of the Sinnoh League Tournament at Lily of the Valley Island is about to be waged on a dirt battlefield; and now in a six-on-six full battle format!" the announcer said over the loudspeaker. "Representing Kanto is Ash from Pallet Town, facing off against Paul from Veilstone City. The tension is formidable indeed. And their first Pokémon are…"
Ash smiled. "Alright; ready Pikachu?"
The yellow mouse Pokémon expressed his readiness, and stepped onto the battlefield; sparks arcing from his cheeks in anticipation of battle.
"Aggron," Paul said calmly, tossing a Pokéball onto the battlefield, "Stand by for battle."
From the Pokéball emerged a giant grey and silver Pokémon; an Aggron Jack could only assume, having never seen one before himself. Checking his Pokédex quickly revealed Aggron to be the evolved form of the Lairon he saw when he first met Paul.
The two Pokémon stared each other down, just as their trainers were doing; Ash seemed confident, and possibly even more enthusiastic than usual. Which was odd considering, as Jack had heard from Brock and Dawn, that Ash and Paul were bitter rivals; and that Ash had never once beaten the purple-haired trainer.
"This is going to be a battle for the ages," Jack muttered.
"But which one of them will win..." Jason, who was sitting right beside him, said.
"I don't know," Jack mused, "But I'll likely have to fight whoever wins here; either in the finals or the semi-finals."
"Who would you rather fight," Jason asked. "Ash or Paul?"
Jack shrugged. "Whoever loses, obviously."
Jason snorted. "True; but unfortunately that's not how tournaments work."
"I know," Jack said. "But either way, I doubt that either of them could beat us; it's that Tobias guy I'm worried about."
"Did you end up finding out anything useful about him?" Jason asked.
Jack shook his head. "No; no background, no history, nothing. Not even what other Pokémon he has besides that Darkrai. It's almost like he doesn't exist; if Maylene didn't remember him beating her gym, I'd almost think he popped into existence just to compete in this tournament. Any way you slice it, there's something strange about him; so many things that just don't line up…"
"Shush," Jason interrupted him. "The battle's starting."
The battle was indeed starting; as soon as the referee started the round, Aggron lunged at Pikachu with Metal Claw. Pikachu didn't so much as hesitate, and instead countered it with Iron Tail; the two attacks collided in a stalemate for a few second, creating a cascade of sparks which illuminated the battlefield, before the two Pokémon broke away from each other again.
Before Pikachu had time to launch a follow-up attack, Aggron used Metal Sound; a high-pitched sound filled the arena, like the screeching of metal against metal. The noise was Hell for anyone with superhuman hearing, which included most Pokémon; and Jack, who gritted his teeth against the pain. No wonder it was such an effective technique; no one could fight with that ringing in their ears. Beside him on the bench, the rest of his team were all in similar discomfort, and they were up in the stands; he could barely imagine what it must have been like at ground zero.
Pikachu was obviously in pain, the waves of intense sound washing over him; but he wasn't about to give up. The mouse Pokémon poured every drop of that pain into one attack; a raging Thunderbolt which hit Aggron dead on and inflicted massive damage, and also interrupted the Metal Sound.
Finally free of the oppressive noise, Pikachu followed up his advantage with his signature move; Volt Tackle. However, Aggron quickly recovered and fired off a Flash Cannon which stopped Pikachu in his tracks and sent him flying backwards; he rolled along the ground for several meters before regaining his footing. The attack had inflicted a lot of damage, and Ash knew it.
"Alright Pikachu," he said, "Time out."
Pikachu nodded in acknowledgment and ran back to Ash's side as the trainer pulled a Pokéball off his belt.
"All right," he shouted, tossing the Pokéball onto the field. "Infernape, you're up next!"
The Flame Pokémon appeared in the customary flash of light, and growled excitedly. He reminded Jack a lot of Sunspot; they both had a playful glimmer in their eyes, as well as a whole lot of fighting spirit.
"Alright Infernape," Ash said. "Let's show Paul just how powerful you've become!"
Aggron, at a command from Paul, rushed full-tilt at Infernape with Double-Edge; a powerful attack which inflicted recoil damage on the user, a dangerous wager. Infernape, as if in defiance of Paul, countered with Flare Blitz; another recoil-inflicting attack, albeit one which looked a whole lot more awesome. Infernape's entire body was engulfed in blue flames, and he launched himself at Aggron in a head-on tackle.
The two attacks clashed, and resulted in yet another stalemate; both Pokémon separating after a few seconds and withdrawing to their respective sides of the field. But while Infernape soon felt the backlash from his attack, Aggron seemed unaffected.
"It's ability must be Rock Head," Jason said.
Jack nodded. "Makes sense; one thing I will say for Paul, he's not reckless. He always thinks his moves through two steps ahead; he's pretty much Ash's polar opposite in terms of battle style…"
Jack's train of thought was derailed, as Aggron was suddenly engulfed in a roaring inferno; a side-effect of Infernape's Flare Blitz, no doubt. Taking advantage of the opening, Infernape shot towards Aggron with Mach Punch; Aggron tried to counter it with Flash Cannon, but Infernape closed the distance before it could even fire. The attack landed hard on the side of Aggron's head, and the Iron Armour Pokémon was sent flying into the side of the arena.
"And that would be why the stands are up so high above the arena," Jack commented wryly; he couldn't help but cheer for Ash, the alternative was too distasteful.
When the dust cleared, Aggron was out for the count; Paul recalled the defeated Pokémon with an unreadable expression.
"Great job, Infernape," Ash exclaimed. "You did it!"
"It's still early," Jack head Brock say from the row in front of them. "Much too early to predict how this will all turn out."
Down in the arena, Paul pulled out another Pokéball. "Gastrodon, stand by for battle!"
Gastrodon, a slug-like Pokémon with a blue underbelly and a squishy green shell on its back, a Pokémon which Jack had also never seen in person before, appeared in the customary flash of light and immediately prepared to fight.
Ash nodded. "Gastrodon… all right then Infernape, return."
With that, Ash recalled Infernape to his Pokéball.
"A wise move," Jason noted. "Infernape would've been at a serious disadvantage, and Paul isn't the kind to pass up any advantage he can take."
Ash pulled out another Pokéball. "Staraptor, I choose you!"
Ash's choice of Pokémon seemed to trigger a response of some sort from Paul, who nodded knowingly.
"First Pikachu," the purple-haired trainer said, "Then Infernape, and then Staraptor. I get it now."
Jack didn't have time to wonder what he meant by that cryptic comment, because Paul wasted no more time in calling out an order.
"Muddy Water!"
A puddle of brown, dirty-looking water started forming under Gastrodon, but Staraptor didn't wait for it to finish; the Predator Pokémon performed what amounted to a hit-and-run attack with Quick Attack, landing a solid hit and then retreating to a supposedly safe distance. The Sea Slug Pokémon was flung backwards a ways, but it recovered and quickly started waving its head around in a circle.
Jack's confusion at the odd technique turned into shocked realisation as Gastrodon's Muddy Water rose into their air; spinning like a watery tornado around the blue slug. Staraptor tried to backpedal away from the whirling wall of water, but wasn't quite fast enough to escape it completely; fortunately it was only a scathing blow.
"Counter-Shield..." Jack muttered grimly. "Oh, he's good."
"I remember that technique," Jason said. "Solomon used it against Strike in your battle with Nicholas."
Jack nodded. "Yeah; we learned it from Ash. Apparently, Paul did too."
Ash seemed more than a little surprised at Paul throwing his own technique back at him, but he quickly got past the shock and came up with a plan.
At Ash's command, Staraptor dove low to the ground and rushed at Gastrodon with Aerial Ace; obviously trying to aim below Gastrodon's Counter-Shield. It might have worked too, but Gastrodon was expecting it; just before Staraptor could land the attack, Gastrodon jumped straight up into the air and Staraptor flew right underneath it.
As soon as it was directly above its opponent, Gastrodon… well, there's only one way to describe it; using Body Slam, Gastrodon flopped down and landed on top of Staraptor, pinning the bird Pokémon to the ground with its soft, squishy body. Staraptor was completely immobile; not so much from Gastrodon's weight, as by the fact that it couldn't get its legs underneath itself to stand up, or flap its wings hard enough to take off.
With Staraptor trapped beneath it, Gastrodon charged up a Water Pulse and fired it straight up into the air; the attack flew upwards several hundred feet, then started descending. Even from the stands, Jack could see the Sea Slug Pokémon tensing; getting ready to move.
"It's going to jump off at the last second," Jack muttered, "So the Water Pulse will land right on Staraptor."
Staraptor tried desperately to dislodge Gastrodon from its back, but to no avail; no matter how hard Staraptor struggled, Gastrodon didn't move. Not yet anyway. Then, Ash got one of those ideas that's so dumb, it just might work.
"I've got it," he exclaimed with a grin. "All right, Staraptor; use Close Combat on the ground!"
Staraptor didn't bother questioning the order, it just followed it; using its wings, which were the only things not pinned down, Staraptor hit the ground as hard as it could. It worked; Staraptor lifted itself off the ground just enough to get its legs underneath it, and then it was relatively easy to buck Gastrodon off its back. Staraptor took to the air just as the Water Pulse struck the ground behind it and exploded, throwing up a cloud of dust out of which Staraptor flew a second later; Gastrodon, unable to escape the blast radius in time, was thrown backwards by the shockwave.
Gastrodon wasn't done however; even as it was being flung backwards through the air, it unleashed an Ice Beam attack on the retreating Staraptor, scoring a direct hit. The attack didn't freeze Staraptor solid, but it did do a lot of damage; enough to knock Staraptor out of the air, and send it plummeting to the ground. Staraptor managed to get back up, but Ash knew it wouldn't be able to take another hit.
"Staraptor, return," Ash called out, recalling Staraptor to its Pokéball.
"At this point," Jason commented, "Paul has lost one of his Pokémon, but three of Ash's have taken a lot of damage and won't last much longer if they get called out again; the odds are in Paul's favour."
"Then again," Jack said, "He's made bigger comebacks before; I've pretty much grown to expect it of him."
"Buizel, I choose you!" Ash said, tossing another Pokéball onto the battlefield.
Jack grinned. "And there it is; I remember that Buizel from when Ash challenged Maylene way back in the day. That Buizel almost single-handedly fought Lucario to a standstill."
If Jason had eyebrows, he would've raised them. "No kidding? In that case, this ought to be interesting."
"So Number four is Buizel," Paul said, clearly not surprised. "I see what's going on; you're trying to turn the frustration your Pokémon felt when I beat you then, into your advantage now. That's why you're using the same Pokémon as last time."
Jack frowned; he felt like he was missing something here.
"Hey, Brock," Jack said, leaning over to where Brock and Dawn were sitting, "What's Paul talking about?"
"Ash and Paul have fought many times," Brock explained, "But the most recent was at Lake Acuity; they had a full six-on-six battle, and Paul won it and Ash only managed to knock out two of his Pokémon. It was a crushing defeat, and Ash took it hard; now he's trying to even the score, and he's hoping that by using the same Pokémon he used then…"
"He can turn their frustration at losing," Jack continued, "Into an advantage this time around. I get it now; thanks."
"No problem," Brock said.
"He's such a helpful guy," Jack commented, sitting back down.
"You don't say," Jason retorted. "While you were getting your explanation, Ash gave his mandatory heroic speech."
"Aw," Jack sighed, "I missed it…"
"Quiet," Jason told him, "I think they're done talking"
"Ice Beam," Paul commanded.
"We'll take that Ice Beam, and use Aqua Jet!" Ash exclaimed.
Gastrodon fired off a blue beam of 'coldness' at Buizel, who flew like a watery bullet straight at it; the beam hit Buizel's Aqua Jet dead on and froze it solid, but Buizel's trajectory didn't change. Buizel, now encased in a large chunk of ice, plummeted towards Gastrodon who only just managed to avoid getting hit. The 'Ice Aqua Jet' crashed into the ground right in front of Gastrodon and shattered, forming a sizeable crater in the ground.
Gastrodon, hoping to take Buizel by surprise with a rapid counter-attack, used Body Slam; Buizel didn't even flinch, and slammed an Ice Punch into Gastrodon's soft underbelly. The attack left Gastrodon half-frozen, and unconscious.
There was a roar of approval from the audience as Paul recalled his second Pokémon; although the purple-haired trainer didn't seem fazed in the slightest by the fact that he'd just lost two Pokémon, and Ash hadn't lost any. Ash looked at his rival and grinned.
"The real battle starts now, doesn't it," Ash said, but Paul's only response was to pull another Pokéball off his belt.
"Drapion, stand by for battle!"
Jack scowled; that was a Pokémon he recognised. He'd fought one once before, when the Predator had attacked them; he knew firsthand that Drapion wasn't an opponent to underestimate, and he still had the scar to prove it. This Drapion looked, if possible, even stronger than the one the Predator had used; and its tail seemed larger than average.
No sooner had the round started, than Drapion fired off a volley of pin missiles at Buizel. The Sea Otter Pokémon didn't hesitate, and started spinning in place; using Water Gun and spinning it around himself as a Counter-Shield to deflect the Pin Missiles.
No sooner had Drapion finished firing off its first attack, than it launched a second; this time in the form of Cross Poison. Buizel just barely managed to dodge the oncoming Poison-type move, and then he ran around behind Drapion and whipped its tail rapidly through the air in a Sonic Boom attack which headed straight for Drapion's back; hoping to hit its blind spot.
It looked like an easy hit, but at the last second Drapion's enormous tail came up and deflected the shock wave; then the tail swept around and snatched up Buizel in an ironclad grip.
As if solely for dramatic effect, Drapion's upper body spun around menacingly to face the captive Buizel. Buizel tried to use Sonic Boom again, but Drapion his tail with one of its claws. Then, something seemed to click in Ash's mind.
"Buizel, inflate your floatation sack!" the trainer said.
Buizel grinned, and did so; the yellow ring around his neck expanding to more than twice its previous size, and forcing Drapion's tail to loosen around it. With its main body free, Buizel then used Water Gun on the claw holding his tail captive; simultaneously forcing Drapion to release its grip, and shooting Buizel backwards into the air and out of range of Drapion's claws.
Paul didn't even seem surprised, much less concerned that Buizel escaped.
"Drapion, use Toxic Spikes," he commanded.
Drapion, while Buizel was still in the air, charged up a ball of purple energy and shot it onto the sky where it exploded into countless smaller bolts; these smaller projectiles then plummeted to earth, and sank into it seemingly doing nothing.
Jack scowled. "Toxic Spikes; that's almost like Stealth Rock, except…"
As soon as Buizel landed back on the ground, he cried out in pain as poison from the Toxic Spikes spread through his body. While Buizel was pretty much incapacitated from the pain, Drapion fired off another Pin Missile; unable to dodge in time, Buizel was hit by every shot and took a massive amount of damage. When the dust cleared, Buizel was unconscious.
Ash recalled Buizel with a solemn expression; he'd been right, the real battle had just begun.
Me: And thus begins the second time I've transcribed a battle from the Anime into the written word and put it in my story. The last time I did this, Ash's Gym battle with Maylene, it received such a positive response that I simply had to do it again; that, and I couldn't very well just gloss over what's possibly one of the most epic battles in the entire series! I mean seriously, this battle takes up three whole episodes; and while I was watching it for the first time, I was on the edge of my seat for the entire hour it took to binge-watch it all the way through (commercial free).
Jack: I have to admit, it's turning out to be a pretty exciting battle; I certainly hope it satiates the people who've been telling us we needed to have some more action soon. You know who you are…
Me: In any event, I hope you enjoyed the chapter; hopefully the next one won't be long in coming. Until then.
