I want to thank everyone who took the time to leave a review; I really appreciate your comments and feedback.
If you read the original version of this story and have any questions, PM them to me so we don't spoil anything for the new readers - I'm honestly not sure why I keep putting this since every chapter has at least one review with a spoiler.
There will not be a new chapter for a couple of weeks in all likelihood, I'm going on holiday and will probably not devote any time to writing.
Anyway, without further ado here's chapter 14, I hope you enjoy it.
In conversations:
'- Translation of Poké Speech – No human unless otherwise stated can understand it. Ash can understand it due to his Aura.
"- Human speech
"- Telepathy/Aura
Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon, if I did then Ash would have won a league by now.
Outside the stadium Ash looked to the left and saw Anabel and the other's coming their way. He walked to Anabel who wrapped her arms around him, Ash returned the embrace once again making sure not to crush Manaphy between them. They broke apart and Manaphy now took residence in Ash's arms.
"Ash that was great they never saw you coming." Anabel said.
"Yeah that was awesome man. You showed them." Richie said as he clapped Ash on the back.
Richie then spotted Zoey to Ash's right and his mind went blank, he knew that he couldn't stand there staring so he forced himself to say something.
"H-h-hey, your Gallade was r-really impressive." Richie stuttered.
Zoey blushed at the comment made by Richie, she was usually calm and composed and would have no problem responding to praise but the handsome young man in front of her changed that.
"T-thanks." Zoey managed to stutter back.
Ash and Anabel looked at the pair and both were thinking how perfect the two of them would be together, Ash was then tackled by Ariana who was gazing at him with an awe struck look in her eyes.
"Those moves were incredible guys. It was such a beautiful match." Ariana said as she released Ash.
Ash chuckled at Ariana's enthusiasm for watching contests, no matter how he was feeling seeing Ariana so happy always bought a smile to Ash's face. Sadly, Paul did not have the same love for contests, in fact he pretty much hated them and he was never afraid of voicing his disdain for them.
"Contests are a stupid waste of time, pretty looking moves are useless if they don't do damage." Paul snapped.
Usually Ariana would jump to the defence of Contests, but Paul's abrasive nature had always intimidated her and today was no different. Ariana shrank back hiding behind Ash who wrapped an arm around her so she knew she was safe. Ariana wrapped her arms around Ash again but this time she had a much tighter grip on him and she hid her face in his shirt. Even though she knew that Paul wouldn't harm her she was still scared of him sometimes.
Ash tightened his hold on Ariana and watched as a furious looking Ursula stormed over to Paul and stood so they were inches apart.
"What the hell did you say?!" Ursula yelled.
"You heard me." Paul replied.
"You just know you don't have the skill to create any innovative moves and can only use basic tactics in battle."
"Shut up I could create those idiotic moves if I wanted to but it would be wasting time that could be used on something useful." Paul snarled.
Ursula and Paul were sending each other death glares as they both defending their opinions on coordinating. Ash knew them both well enough to know that if they are kept together any longer something or someone would probably get destroyed. So Ash handed Manaphy back to Anabel and started dragging Paul away while it was taking Richie, Dawn and Zoey to pull the enraged Ursula away. The enraged trainer and coordinator continued yelling at each other until they were out of sight. Ash, Anabel, Ariana and Delia managed to get Paul to a nearby café and eventually calmed Paul down. Ash listened as Paul still ranted about coordinating however after a while he started to tune his friend out as his thoughts were mainly on Pidgeot.
"I'm going to head to the Pokémon centre and see if Nurse Joy will let me take Pidgeot now." Ash announced.
Anabel, Ariana and Delia decided to come with him while Paul said he was going off to train. Ash just hoped that this training didn't involve finding Ursula because without any of them nearby there could be serious problems. Ash, Anabel, Ariana and Delia walked inside the Pokémon Centre and saw a rather bored Nurse Joy sat behind the front desk. However, when she saw the group entering she instantly perked up.
"Hey Nurse Joy. I came to see if I can take Pidgeot with me now." Ash said anxious to take Pidgeot.
"Yes you can take her. She seems to be recovering from the surgery very quickly."
"That's great news. Will she be able to battle again?" Ash asked. He wanted to have the option of using her if he could but he wouldn't risk her health.
"Oh yes. In fact, she should be battle ready in a couple of days."
Ash's eyes lit up with glee, he was expecting to hear that it would several months before she could start training again let alone battling.
"So I'll be able to use her in the tournament." Ash said more to himself than anyone else.
"Speaking of the tournament, have the next round match ups been done yet?" Anabel asked.
"No with all the build up to the event today the draw was delayed. It will be ready tomorrow though."
"Ok thanks again Nurse Joy."
Nurse Joy handed Pidgeot's Pokéball to Ash and then the quartet walked outside leaving Nurse Joy to once again be alone and bored. As soon as he was outside Ash chose to send out Pidgeot who nuzzled him making him laugh, Anabel, Delia and Ariana smiled at the scene happy to see Ash so carefree. Once Pidgeot stopped her nuzzling, Ash asked his mother if she wanted to meet his other Pokémon but she politely decline. She had already made plans to meet some old friends from her travelling days who she'd kept in touch with but hadn't seen face to face for years. Ariana on the other hand wouldn't be separated from Ash as she hadn't seen him for so long so Ash, Ariana and Anabel began walking back to the clearing.
When the clearing came into sight Ash told Pidgeot to wait for his word before coming out. Ash, Anabel and Ariana walked into the clearing and saw that Blastoise, Butterfree and Lapras were now with Bulbasaur laughing together. Ash knew it wouldn't be long before his Kanto team stood with Bulbasaur but the other's still shot glares at him. The worst by far coming from Charizard which didn't surprise him, he just hoped it wouldn't take long for the others to forgive him.
"Hey everyone." Ash yelled.
All the Pokémon turned to where the shout came from and saw their trainers, the Pokémon went over to them and Ash then sent out Milotic to join them.
"Nurse Joy has let me take Pidgeot. So it's time to introduce you to her." he said as Pidgeot landed next to Ash.
Pidgeot immediately went to Bulbasaur and extended her wing to the grass type showing she had no ill feelings towards him. This was thanks to Ash who had explained to her about Bulbasaur on the way and she understood the grass types motives. Bulbasaur smiled, glad that the noble bird had already forgiven him and extended a vine so they could do the closest thing to a handshake they could. Charizard growled at the scene he was watching, although he was ecstatic that Pidgeot was safe and unharmed he couldn't believe she had forgiven him so easily. But then again she hadn't been there the day that Ash was betrayed so he couldn't expect her to understand why he should not be forgiven so easily.
Pidgeot spent the rest of the afternoon meeting everyone she learnt about all of their pasts and she just generally talked with them. Anabel, Ash and Ariana stayed there for the rest of the day relaxing with their Pokémon. Manaphy was sat happily in Anabel's arms enjoying the attention her mama and papa were giving her. As it got late Ash and Anabel decided to leave and go back to the hotel, they escorted Ariana back to her hotel and made sure she got to her room safely. They then started walking towards their hotel, they strolled down the street admiring the beautiful night sky until they got to their hotel. They went inside and fell to sleep side by side with Manaphy between them.
Next morning Ash and Anabel walked to the Pokémon centre and saw everyone waiting for them once again. As usual Paul looked irritated while everyone else looked reasonably calm.
"Ever heard of an alarm clock Ketchum." Paul said agitatedly
"Yeah but I usually smash mine to smithereens."
They all laughed at that as they walked inside and approached Nurse Joy. She handed them their schedules one at a time, Paul had been matched against the winner of the Unova League. Richie was against Tyson who Ash had faced in the Hoenn League and Anabel was up against Volkner who had recently been made a member of the Elite 4 in Sinnoh. All of them looked at Ash wondering who his next opponent would be and could tell by the grin on his face that he'd finally be drawn against Max.
"So I finally get to fight the brat and his rat." Ash said.
As if on cue the doors to the Pokémon centre opened revealing Max and Pikachu. Ash, Paul and Richie smirked as they watched them walk to the main desk anticipating the look on their faces when they find out who they are against. Ash noticed that Max and Pikachu were not making eye contact with him and the other's as the young traitor walked towards the desk. Nurse Joy saw Max and quickly gave him the schedule that showed him and Pikachu who they'd be facing. Their eyes widened and Ash could sense the fear coming from them. Max and Pikachu glanced to the left and saw the smirk on Ash, Paul and Richie's faces. Ash and the others turned around and headed towards the exit.
"See you in a few days Maxy." Ash said as they left
Max and Pikachu were left alone in the Pokémon centre in shock, they shared a nervous glance knowing that the upcoming battle would be tough.
"We can do this Pikachu. We can beat Ash and show him that we were right all those years ago." Max said trying to sound confident.
'Yeah of course we can.' Pikachu replied.
They continued to look at each other, neither of them sure whether they were trying to convince themselves or each other.
Ash walked towards the clearing to tell everyone the good news, he could barely contain his excitement at finally getting to make Pikachu pay for abandoning him. When he walked into the clearing the Pokémon saw Ash coming towards them and the look on his face told them that it as finally time for Max and Pikachu to feel their wrath.
"I'm sure you've already realised this but next round we face Max."
All the Pokémon were thrilled that they'd finally get the chance to fight Max and were curious to see which Pokémon Ash chose to use. He looked at all of his Pokémon finding hard to select who should get a shot at Max. Eventually he managed to choose the Pokémon he would use to crush Max, everyone else groaning in disappointment that they wouldn't get to humiliate Max. Ash then looked at Charizard who was smirking at the thought of roasting Pikachu.
"Charizard there is one condition, you can't kill Pikachu."
"Why not?" he replied disappointed.
"Because we might get disqualified." Ash said with a smirk.
The next few days went extremely slowly for Ash but it was finally time to show his starter how wrong he was.
Ash sat in the locker waiting to be called out for his match, he had been waiting for this day for a long time and now it was finally here he wouldn't waste the opportunity he's been given. He heard his name be called and walked out of the locker room ready to humiliate Max and Pikachu. Ash walked on to the battlefield and even though he could hear the crowd roaring he ignored them as they were insignificant to him right now. The only thing that mattered right now were Max and Pikachu who were looking cocky but Ash could see the fear in their eyes.
"This will be a six vs six battle, substitutions are allowed. In the green box we have Max Maple and in the red we have Ash Ketchum. Max Maple shall choose his Pokémon first"
"Sceptile let's go."
The lizard appeared on the battlefield, Ash could see that he would be easily outclassed by his loyal Sceptile.
"Bulbasaur may the Aura guide you."
Bulbasaur came out and glared at the lizard across from him. Sceptile looked back at Bulbasaur with a look that was halfway between surprise and anger that he was with Ash, the last time he'd seen Bulbasaur he was residing at Professor Oak's lab.
"Sceptile use Bullet Seed."
"Cut through it with Razor Leaf."
Sceptile opened his mouth and shot hundreds of glowing yellow seeds at a high velocity at Bulbasaur. In response Bulbasaur released several razor-sharp leaves and fired them at the seeds. The leaves sliced the seeds in half making an explosion in the centre of the battlefield.
"Energy Ball and swallow it."
"Now you're trying to use my tactics as well. Bulbasaur quick use Sludge Seeds."
Sceptile smirked and then started forming a green orb in front of him. Bulbasaur quickly fired several seeds covered in toxic sludge at Sceptile. But he hadn't shot them quick enough and Sceptile managed to form and swallow an Energy Ball. A green aura suddenly formed around Sceptile as the effect of the Energy Ball took place. Sceptile grinned as he felt his power increase. The grin was wiped off his face when the poisoned seeds hit him. It was Bulbasaur's turn to grin as he saw that his attack had done some decent damage. But he knew this fight was far from over as the lizard still looked more than ready to continue.
"Use Leaf Blade."
"Use your vines to push yourself in the air then use Body Slam."
Sceptile blades turning a deep green and he straight at Bulbasaur. Sceptile threw his right blade forward but he only hit thin air as Bulbasaur had released his vines and pushed himself up in the air. Bulbasaur then began descending and was about to slam into Sceptile however the Hoenn starter quickly raised his other blade and struck Bulbasaur which stopped the Body Slam and sent him crashing down next to Ash. Ash winced watching this and looked worriedly at Bulbasaur who had managed to get back to his feet. Ash then realised how dumb he had been so far. He'd been using Bulbasaur as he would use his other Pokémon which would be fine except for the fact that Bulbasaur at the minute is nowhere near the same power level of them.
"X-Scissor."
Sceptile crossed his forearms and ran at Bulbasaur. He then slashed Bulbasaur with the bug move causing Bulbasaur to stagger back and temporarily collapse. Bulbasaur looked at Sceptile again and could see a smug grin on his face. The smug look angered Bulbasaur and he struggled to his feet. Bulbasaur knew there was only one way he'd be able to win this battle and he would win it no matter what it takes. Bulbasaur cried out and glowed a brilliant white that blinded everyone. When the light died down an Ivysaur now stood on the battlefield. The main change in his appearance is that its bulb on his back has changed into a pink flower bud with leaves extending from it.
"Sceptile X-Scissor again."
"Ivysaur use Vine Whip to grab his arms. Then use Sludge Bomb and then slam him into the ground."
Ivysaur shot out two vines that grabbed Sceptile's arms. Sceptile tried to struggle free but Ivysaur had a tight hold on him. Ivysaur then then raised Sceptile high in the air leaving him completely defenceless. Sceptile could see what was about to happen and struggled against Ivysaur's vines again but it was futile. Ivysaur smirked as he watched Sceptile try to break free. He then shot a torrent of poisonous sludge at the Lizard causing Sceptile to yell out in pain. Ivysaur then slammed Sceptile down into the battlefield which created a crater in the battlefield.
Sceptile managed to push himself back to his feet but looked exhausted, there also appeared to be poison dripping from his mouth. Ash also noticed that Sceptile's body had lost the green glow that the power boost Energy Ball had given him which showed that he no longer had the strength to maintain that level of power. However, his Overgrow ability had kicked in but it had nowhere near as much power as the Energy Ball power boost had.
"Let's end this. Ivysaur Solarbeam." Ash said calmly.
"Sceptile use Solarbeam too." Max yelled angrily.
Ivysaur gathered sunlight in the flower bulb on his back and Sceptile gathered sunlight in the seeds on his back. Both starters then fired a green beam of energy at each other. The attacks clashed in the middle of the battlefield and at first the attacks seemed even. But gradually Ivysaur's Solar Beam began pushing Sceptile's back until it finally cut through and launched the lizard into the stadium wall. Sceptile pulled himself out of the wall but he had taken too much punishment to keep going so he slumped to the ground unconscious.
"Sceptile is unable to battle green choose your next Pokémon."
Max growled in frustration and returned Sceptile, he then pulled another Pokéball off his belt.
"Gallade you're up."
"Great job Ivysaur, I'm proud of you. Now take a rest."
Ash returned Ivysaur and took a new Pokéball off his belt.
"Chu may the Aura lead us to victory."
"Gallade annihilate that thing with Earthquake."
Ash sighed, he really was disappointed in how predictable Max was.
"Magnet Rise." Ash said in a bored tone.
Gallade stomped on the ground which created some tremors. But honestly the little shakes were pathetic compared too what Charizard and Paul's Torterra had created in previous rounds. Ash knew he didn't even really need to dodge the Earthquake but this would be just another way to mock Max. Max growled angrily as he saw Chu on a platform of electricity. What infuriated him was the smirk Chu was directing at him.
"Hey captain predictable, you should know by now that using tactics like that won't work against me." Ash taunted.
"Shut up Ketchum. Gallade use Psycho Cut until you knock that worthless Pikachu out of the sky." Max yelled.
"Counter with Thunderbolt."
Gallade's blades glowed blue and he started swinging his arms which fired several psychic blades at Chu. As she saw the blades headed her way the Chu's cheeks crackled and she charged electricity into them. She then fired several bolts of electricity and aimed them at the psychic blades which instantly dispelled them. The electricity then carried on and shocked Gallade forcing him to drop to his knees. Chu then jumped off the platform of electricity and smirked at Gallade who had gotten back to his feet. As he watched what was happening Max's eye twitched and a frustrated growl came from him.
"Chu use Thundering Shadows."
"Use Shadow Ball."
A black aura which crackled with electricity surrounded Chu. Gallade was not worried about what Chu was doing and formed a black orb of energy in front of him which he fired at Chu. The mouse watched the orb coming towards her and merely swiped her arm at it which batted it away. Chu then slammed her fist into the ground and the aura that surrounded her transferred into the ground and shot straight at Gallade. The psychic type jumped in an attempt to dodge the wave of dark electricity but the aura just shot straight off the battlefield and engulfed Gallade. Everyone heard Gallade yell out in pain and when the attack ended Gallade crashed back to the ground. Ash was surprised to see Gallade struggle to his feet but it was obvious that he was finished.
"Max return Gallade there is nothing more he can do." Ash said not wanting to cause more harm than necessary.
"No I don't believe you. Gallade is fine. Show him Gallade use Leaf Blade and Night Slash."
Ash sighed "Fine. Chu use Volt Tackle."
Gallade's right blade glowed green and his left turned black. He charged at Chu who became surrounded in electricity and sprinting straight at Gallade. Gallade aimed both of his bladed arms at Chu but due to his tiredness he missed both attacks. Chu than slammed into Gallade's gut which sent him flying through the air and he landed at Max's feet unconscious and covered in electrical burns.
"Gallade is unable to battle. Green side choose your next Pokémon."
Ash didn't feel that satisfied about beating Gallade the way he had done. He knew that was the Ralts he had met in Hoenn and he felt bad that he had to do that much damage. Ash shook the thought away and looked at Max who seemed to be getting more and more pissed off.
"Slaking it's your turn."
"Good job Chu, return. Now Absol may the Aura assure our victory."
The disaster Pokémon stood proud in front of her opponent while Slaking looked ready to take a nap.
"Slaking use Focus Punch."
"Absol use Ice Beam on the battlefield then use Dark Pulse to shatter the ice."
Slaking's fist glowed white and he charged at Absol who formed a light blue orb in front of her. Absol then fired several beams of ice Beam at the battlefield which froze it. The now slippery surface caused Slaking to slip over and slide ungracefully finally crashing into the arena wall. A dark aura then surrounded Absol and she released it as a dark wave of energy. The dark energy shattered the ice which left shards of ice all over the battlefield. Ash and Absol smirked as they saw that Slaking's ability then kicked causing him to show off why his species is called the lazy Pokémon. Max was grinding his teeth in anger as he saw another one of his Pokémon being humiliated.
"Now use Razor Wind."
"Use Focus Punch again." Max yelled desperately.
The scythe on Absol's head glowed white and she started swinging her head, sending out white crescent blades of wind at Slaking. Meanwhile Slaking had stopped being lazy and ran at Absol its fist again glowing white. He was immediately stopped by the blades of wind though which were gradually pushing him back. What made it worse for Slaking was that the blades of wind were also propelling the shards of ice on the ground at him so the shards were pelting him which caused him even more pain. When Absol fired the last blade she looked at Slaking and saw that he was covered in nasty looking cuts over his body as well as some hefty bruises where the large chunks of ice had crashed into him. Slaking felt completely drained and he slumped to the ground as blood slowly oozed out of the wounds.
"Let's finish him off. Use Night Slash and don't let up your assault."
Absol charged at the defenceless Slaking as her claws and the scythe on her head turned from grey to pitch black. Slaking looked on in horror as the he saw the sharp claws and scythe now headed at him. Absol then bombarded Slaking with slashes creating terrible cuts all over his body. She finished it up by using her sickle to make a huge gash on Slaking's gut. The pain was overwhelming and it caused Slaking to black out.
"Slaking is unable to battle. Green side choose your next Pokémon."
Max wasn't going to give up but his confidence was waning as he watched each of his Pokémon fall to Ash's Pokémon
"Quilava let's do this."
"Well done Absol. Now Gardevoir time for another traitor to fall."
The fire type came out and as soon as he spotted his opponent he quickly averted his gaze. Ash had caught sight of the look in his eyes and saw the same look that Bulbasaur had on his face days ago. It made Ash wonder if he was ashamed of his actions as Bulbasaur was. He always had been fond of the rather timid fire type and if he too had a legitimate reason for turning against him then maybe Quilava could become one of his Pokémon again.
"Why did you do it Quilava?" Ash yelled determined to get an answer.
Quilava looked to the ground guiltily. He was ashamed of what he did and to be honest he knew that his reason for betraying Ash was pathetic. But Ash deserved to know the truth.
'I-I was scared. I saw so many of the other's nod along with the traitors that I was scared of what would happen to me if I disagreed with them.'
"Not good enough." Ash replied harshly.
'I know.' Quilava said while nodding his head. He had no respect for Max but he needed some help if hoped to not be crushed by Ash.
"Quilava use Flamethrower." Max yelled.
"Use Light Screen. Then use Shadow Thunder Blast."
Quilava shot a burst of flames at Gardevoir who stood still and erected a barrier in front of her. The flames hit the barrier and were sent flying off in different directions leaving Gardevoir completely unharmed. She then formed an orb of black energy in one hand and a blue orb of energy in the other hand. Her fists then crackled with electricity and she punched both of the orbs launching them at the stunned fire type. Quilava tried to dodge but the Shadow Ball was moving way too fast meaning that it clipped his side. The damage caused by the Shadow Ball made him unable to avoid the Focus Blast which hit him head on. Quilava was knocked down by the attack but he managed to get back to his feet looking ready for battle.
"Use Flame Charge."
"Meet him head on with Thunder Punch."
Quilava became engulfed in flames and ran straight at Gardevoir who's fists crackled with electricity. She charged at Quilava and the two met in the centre of the battlefield. Gardevoir started by throwing one fist forward which was matched by Quilava's Flame Charge. However, he could do nothing to avoid her other fist which slammed into his skull. The strength of the punch sent Quilava skidding along the ground until finally stopping in front of Max. Quilava shook his head and slowly pushed himself to his feet meanwhile Gardevoir floated back in front of Ash.
"Quilava hit her with Swift."
"Use Psychic to return them to sender."
A horde of stars appeared around Quilava and he fired the stars at Gardevoir. They flew at Gardevoir and Max looked on triumphantly as it appeared she couldn't do anything. To his shock he saw that they stopped inches from her. The stars then glowed blue from the psychic energy and Gardevoir shot them back at Quilava spinning several times faster than before. The fire types eyes widened in shock as he saw his own attack headed back at him. By the time he snapped out of his shock it was too late and he cried out in pain when the stars hit him. He nearly collapsed from the pain and he could feel how shaky his legs were. But he managed to stay standing although he knew he couldn't go on much longer.
"Quilava use Flare Blitz."
"Psychic Rush."
Like before Quilava's body was engulfed in flames but they were much more intense this time and he charged at Gardevoir. The speed boost from Flame Charge making him close the distance quicker than before. Meanwhile Gardevoir's body was surrounded in a blue glow and she charged at Quilava using Psychic to increase the speed and power of her attack. The attacks clashed and the power of the combined attacks raised a dust cloud which shrouded the battlefield. When the dust finally settled a triumphant Gardevoir stood over an unconscious Quilava.
"Quilava is unable to battle. Green choose your next Pokémon."
Max was getting incredibly frustrated now.
"Gliscor come one out and win this."
"Donphan crush him."
They both came out and Gliscor looked away in guilt as he saw Ash and Donphan. Ash could sense that his reasons were the same as Quilava's which was not good enough.
"Gliscor. I know you turned on me through fear but that is not a good enough reason. So now you're going to pay." Ash said and Gliscor just nodded in response.
"Don't listen to that loser Gliscor. Use X-Scissor"
"Seed Bomb and then hit Gliscor with a Hyper Beam."
Gliscor crossed his arms in front of him and flew full speed at Donphan. The closer he got the more confident he felt as Donphan had made no attempt to attack. When Gliscor was only a couple of feet away Donphan opened his mouth revealing a glowing white orb. Multiple glowing white seeds then shot forth from the orb giving Gliscor no option but to try and push through the attack. Sadly, for Gliscor he just wasn't strong enough to burst through the attack. Donphan sent one final wave of seeds which this time exploded on contact sending Gliscor crashing to the ground. Max watched on helpless as Donphan formed an orange orb in his mouth and fired a powerful orange beam from the orb. The Hyper Beam hit Gliscor which slammed him into the wall causing massive damage. He pulled himself out of the wall and was able to stay in the air although it was taking a lot of effort. Max knew that he had to try and heal some of the damage Gliscor had just taken.
"Roost."
"Max you are really making this far too easy. Use Earthquake."
Gliscor landed on the ground and rested his body which healed some of the damage caused by Donphan. But before he could get back into the air Donphan stomped on the battlefield which caused massive tremors that cracked the earth and demolished the battlefield. The intense attack caused major damage to Gliscor so it had basically made Gliscor's Roost a pointless endeavour. Gliscor got back into the air but it was obvious that he was pretty much finished. Ash was finding the decimation of Max incredibly funny but he knew that Charizard was eager to meet their old friend so he decided to finish Gliscor off.
"Let's finish this, use Stone Edge."
Max then realised the real reason Ash had used Earthquake and he could do nothing as he saw the rubble from the destroyed battlefield circle around Donphan and then be fired at Gliscor. Gliscor was too tired to do anything but watch the rocks as they crashed into him. The attack sapped the last of Gliscor strength and he plummeted to the ruined battlefield. To add insult to injury some of the rocks that had knocked Gliscor out of the sky fell on top of him and crushed him. Donphan dragged Gliscor's unconscious body from the rubble and dumped him next to Max.
"Gliscor is unable to battle. Green side choose your final Pokémon."
Max returned Gliscor and then looked at Pikachu who was stood on his shoulder.
"Come on Pikachu we can do this. If you can beat Ash's last Pokémon I'm sure you can take down the rest of his team no problem." Max said hoping he sounded confident.
Pikachu nodded and jumped off Max's shoulder. He stood defiantly in front of Ash ready to prove that he was right to ditch him seven years ago.
"Pikachu you are about to enter a world of pain and by the end you will be begging me to tell him to stop him attacking you."
'I will crush whoever you send out.' Pikachu yelled back.
"Charizard it's time."
Charizard came out roaring and shooting flames in the air. The little confidence that Max and Pikachu had vanished as they looked at the now smirking Charizard. But they both quickly regained their composure.
'I've been looking forward to this day for seven years.' Charizard said darkly.
'Y-you don't frighten me you overgrown lizard.' Pikachu replied.
"Do you want to do this on your own." Ash asked already knowing the answer.
'Yeah.'
"Okay have fun."
"Pikachu use Thunderbolt." Max instructed.
Pikachu fired a bolt of electricity at Charizard. Max was anticipating an easy win and had already started celebrating. But his jubilation soon turned to horror as he watched Charizard just swung his wing at the electric attack which simply batted the Thunderbolt away. Both Max and Pikachu were stunned at what had just happened as nobody had ever just brushed aside his Thunderbolt that easily.
"Quick Attack now."
Streaks of white appeared around Pikachu and he shot forward at an incredible speed. But sadly for him Charizard had battle much faster opponents and all he had to do to stop Pikachu was raise his foot up. Pikachu tried to push against Charizard but it was futile. Pikachu was so focussed on attacking Charizard that he didn't notice that the dragons other foot was glowing white. Charizard kicked Pikachu with a devastating Mega Kick which sent the mouse into the sky. Charizard took flight and flew up above Pikachu. His fist glowed white and it was also engulfed in flames. He punched the mouse back down to the ground and Pikachu crashed into the battlefield. Pikachu groaned in pain as he pulled himself out of the crater. He was still more than able to fight but he looked worse for wear.
"Pikachu Electro Ball."
Pikachu formed a ball of electricity on his tail and launched the ball of electricity at Charizard. The dragon yawned and simply put up his hand and caught the Electro Ball like a baseball. Charizard then threw it straight back at Pikachu who wasn't really harmed by the attack. But it was quickly demoralising the mouse who was beginning to realise just how outclassed he was. Ash was on the verge of laughing watching Charizard humiliate Pikachu this badly. But he knew Charizard wasn't done yet.
"Iron Tail."
Pikachu's tail turned metallic and he ran at Charizard. Pikachu leapt into the air at the last minute hoping to land a shot to Charizard's head and he did. He felt like this would turn it around for him but then Pikachu saw that the attack hadn't even made Charizard flinch. The dragon then grabbed Pikachu by his tail and dangled the defenceless mouse in front of him. Pikachu started panicking and used a Thunder in an attempt to escape but Charizard wasn't even bothered. What scared Pikachu was that Charizard had actually laughed at the attack.
'Ha that tickled.' Charizard said with a smirk.
Pikachu was utterly terrified now. He'd never been more afraid of anything in his life not even when he was paralyzed by Mewtwo's Psychic. Pikachu was scared to think of what Charizard would do to him next. He got his answer when the fire type slammed Pikachu into the ground not once, not twice but three times. Pikachu was beginning to see that Ash had been right. Pikachu then screeched in pain as Charizard fired a point blank Flamethrower at him. Charizard released Pikachu and the mouse managed to scramble away however his body was littered in cuts, bruises and burns.
"Pikachu Volt Tackle." Max yelled with no regard to Pikachu's condition.
Pikachu became surrounded with electricity. He knew that he may be outclassed but he wouldn't go down without a fight. Ash watched as Charizard charged at Pikachu and his body became engulfed by flames. The attacks clashed and the mouse wouldn't have stood a chance if Charizard had been trying. But he'd had a different idea. Charizard's tail suddenly turned metallic and he swung it hitting Pikachu in the abdomen and it sent him flying in the air again. Charizard chased after him and grabbed him. Pikachu knew that it was over now as Charizard had only one intention now.
Charizard flew high into the sky and when he got to an altitude that he thought was appropriate he threw Pikachu towards the battlefield. The mouse rocketed towards the ground and he crashed into the ruins of the battlefield. Pikachu prayed that Charizard was done but then he saw the dragon charging a Blast Burn. Charizard grinned as he saw Pikachu realise what was about to happen and fired the immensely powerful fire attack at the completely powerless mouse. Pikachu closed his eyes as he didn't want to see the brutal attack as it hit him. The battlefield was bathed in flames and when the flames died down Charizard glided back to the ground and inspected his handiwork and to say he was delighted would be an understatement. Pikachu was in the enormous crater Charizard had created, broken, bleeding and burnt.
"Pikachu is unable to battle. Ash Ketchum wins."
Max collapsed to his knees crying at the fact that Ash had beaten him. Ash smiled seeing the distraught look on Max's face. Ash then walked to the crater Pikachu was in. He stepped into the crater and knelt next to Pikachu. The broken mouse winced as he turned his head to look at his old trainer. His vision was blurry from the pain he was feeling and the tears in his eyes. In a cold voice that Pikachu had never heard Ash use before he said six words.
"This is the cost of betrayal."
After hearing those words Pikachu finally blacked out, Ash smirked at his broken starter and returned Charizard. He took one last look at the first Pokémon he had gotten, then turned around and walked out the stadium.
Notes
Please give a review telling me what you liked/didn't like.
If you have any questions PM them to me. I am more than happy to answer them.
Readers of the original will see that I have removed a scene which May be added later on.
Jirachi will get a shot at Max at a later date, revealing her during the battle would be too reminiscent to what I did with Oak and I want to change things up for Celebi and Jirachi's reveals.
Combo Moves
Sludge Seeds – Sludge Bomb + Seed Bomb
Thundering Shadows – Hidden Power (Ghost) + Discharge
Shadow Thunder Blast – Shadow Ball + Thunderbolt + Focus Blast
Psychic Rush – Equivalent of Flare Blitz, Volt Tackle etc.