A/N - Hello everyone! I hope that every single one of you is doing alright, especially with the way things are right now in the world. Please be safe, take care of yourselves and loved ones and don't let anything keep you down.
I know its been a while since my last post, and I could list all the reasons why but I'm sure you don't really want to know. I've just honestly been really busy and every time I want to write, something comes up or I have writer's block and no matter what, I can't get anything out. And so, I've been reading other fanfiction stories, mostly about My Hero Academia and a few on Highschool DXD. Even gave me some new story ideas but, not really pursuing that at the moment. Just some random writings here and there as ideas pop into my head.
Don't worry though, as "The Blue Spirit" is still my primary focus. And those newer fanfiction stories have helped me overcome some hurdles and issues to get this chapter up and I've already started working on the remaining ones as it's been flowing better for me at the moment, even with a slight hiccup on the next chapters.
Before you get into the reading, some quick replies to some reviews;
Leafy - Thank you for your kind words and I'm glad to hear that you keep coming back to reread the story. And yes, I am continuing it and won't quit until its finished.
Guest - Hey buddy, glad to hear you're enjoying it. I'm not sure of other fanfics like this but this story is continuing.
Guest (One who kept leaving negative reviews) - Look buddy, if you don't like it, don't read if "the amount of drama makes you want to throw up". Sorry that realistic scenarios and real life stuff is portrayed in the story and you don't like it. And yes, he is an Aura Guardian but he couldn't "walk straight" because he was dazed by what he saw and couldn't believe it. Just because someone has power, doesn't mean they're invincible. Also, the darkness is not a pokemon type, so no, those pokemon wouldn't be able to resist it. And if Arceus just took all the legendaries from the world and hid them in the Hall of Origin, the world would fall out of balance. Pay attention to the context of the words and you would understand.
Alright, so here you go everyone! I hope you enjoy it and please remember to review, favorite and follow!
THE BLUE SPIRIT
CHAPTER 56 – CHAMPIONS OF THE WORLD
Sitting on her bed while lost in thought, a certain Elite trainer was quiet for a long time. Even her fellow elites who had joined in on her plan to test the Aura Guardian and the Sinnoh Champion were silent as well while sitting on their own beds. The four females were going over what had happened earlier that day and the altercation that had occurred just a short while ago. They wondered if they had truly gone overboard with their plan. They wondered if what was revealed about the bonds between an aura user and their beloveds was true. They wondered about if they could find something like that if it was true and whether or not they were worthy of finding something like that.
The four of them thought about all that for quite some time while silent. That is, until one of them, the ghost type trainer raised her gaze and moved it towards the dark elite. "Karen?" she called out to her.
Snapping out of her thoughts, Karen jerked her head towards the questioner. "Huh? Yea, what is it Phoebe?" she replied back.
"Are you okay?" she asked in a concerned tone. Her question made the other two in the room, who were half listening to their surroundings at first, to become alert at once and paid attention.
Karen allowed a small smile to form. "Yea, I'm fine. Thanks. You?" she asked her.
Phoebe nodded. "Yea. Even though Cynthia scared me a bit, I'm alright."
"You're not the only one who was scared of her, trust me," added the ice queen of Kanto, having decided to join in.
"Is that so Lorelei?" questioned Malva after hearing her, making them look at her now. "Cause the way you took it upon yourself to end it and try to explain that it was just a prank in the beginning didn't look like you were afraid at all."
Reddened cheeks appeared on the Kanto Elite over what was just said. "That's kind of you Malva, but I was scared. I just tried not to show it."
"Well, you did a damn good job of it in my book," repeated Malva, making Lorelei blush a little more. "Hey, everyone…" The other three gave her their utmost attention as she trailed off, waiting for her to finish. "…about what happened…I've been thinking a lot and I've come to realize that all this happened because of me and so I wanted to apolo-"
"Shut it," interjected Karen loudly, making her go quiet at once. "It's not your fault so don't even start."
"We all decided to do the plan together so don't just put it on yourself."
"That's right Malva," added Phoebe after Lorelei spoke, adding her two cents' worth. "We did this together. Even though things got out of hand somewhat, I'm glad that everything is alright now. We'll deal with what happens because of it together as well."
Malva felt some comfort over their words and allowed herself to smile some. "Thank you." Smiling at one another, the female elites felt a little better that they weren't dealing with this on their own. It was then that one of them spoke out a question towards the dark elite. "Hey Karen…" She didn't continue until she had the black haired girl's attention towards her. "I have to ask this; Is this what you wanted to happen?" asked Malva.
Karen let out a sigh before she answered a moment later. "No, it's not," answered the Johto Elite.
"Really? I know us three kind of went overboard a bit ourselves, but you went postal. So why push it so much?"
Karen let out another sigh after her question and glanced down at herself as she thought of what to say. Malva, Phoebe and Lorelei waited for her to answer, since each of them was curious over her answer. "I think, at first, I was just trying to have some fun. You know? Just play games and pull some pranks." Some understanding nods were made by the other three before she continued on. "I guess, I just really wanted to know the truth. To see with my own eyes what was going on between them. That's what it was. Until I actually spoke with him, battled him, interacted with him…well, all that made me feel something inside of me…" Her words caused their eyes to widen in surprise but they made no sound over the revelation. "It made me realize that I missed that." She finally looked up at the three and smiled a bit at their curious filled expressions. "I had taken it for granted in the past, thinking it would always be there. As you know, my fiancée had passed away from cancer and so I haven't been with anyone since. But, dealing with him, with Ash, it made me have those feelings again. And when we tried to have Cynthia confess and come clean, she kept trying to dodge it or come up with excuses. That angered me because it reminded me a lot of what I did and that I should've had it in front of me instead of trying to hide it…."
"OH!" yelped Phoebe all of a sudden, making Karen go quiet at once, as she became the center of attention now. "You were trying to help Cynthia by being so adamant about it!"
"So that's why!" remarked Malva, turning to face her. "You wanted her to own up to it and to understand that what she has is rare!"
Karen allowed herself to smile a bit before she nodded but then Lorelei spoke up. "But didn't she kind of know that already? And didn't she basically come clean in the end? So why keep doing it? You know, pissing her off?" she asked. "And several others might I add," chuckled the ice queen.
Some laughter was let out amongst the group for a few seconds. "I-I don't know. I guess, I just got caught up in it all. Because of my anger, my narrow mindedness, my…my jealousy of what she has…" Surprised looks were given by her fellow elites but she kept talking, ignoring it. "…and remembered what I had…I guess I just lost it."
It was quiet for a bit after her revelation until Lorelei spoke. "I see. I think I understand where you're coming from."
"Yea, me too," said Phoebe and Malva nodded.
"Thanks. At least you understand," she chuckled, her friends copying her. When finished, Karen got off her bed as she spoke again. "Well, I'm gonna go to bed. I'm kind of tired and tomorrow…well, I bet it'll be entertaining at the very least," she said while beginning to change into her night gown.
A few chuckles were let out before they got up to do the same. "Goodnight," said Malva, Phoebe and Lorelei together, with Karen returning it. As they all got into bed under their covers, each of them thought about what they just learned. About Cynthia. About Ash. About themselves. And each of them had come to realize that, they too were affected by their interactions with Ash. He had caused them to realize what they wanted. Phoebe came to realize that she wanted someone who can keep her on her toes, able to keep surprising her. Malva concluded that she didn't want to live her life alone anymore and that she wanted someone to share her life with. Lorelei decided that she wants someone who would not only appreciate her beauty, but also her brains as well and would be able to engage her mind too. Karen had learned that she was searching for something that would allow her to let go of her past life and start anew. As they each thought about their realizations, they began to drift off into sleep and their dreams were filled with the one who caused their realizations.
Within one of the patient rooms of the Indigo Hospital, there was a man sitting beside a woman who was lying comatose on the hospital bed. Having spent the night there, he had woken up a short while ago, washed up and after getting in touch with his cohorts, he came to his current position. He had to wait until the appointed time to act, to do what was required of him. Until then, he had to stay by her side. But he didn't mind that for he would be able to drink in the woman's beauty while he waited before he would be able to experience the night of passion with her that he had wanted for a long time. It was finally within his grasp and he didn't care that she was unconscious. He began smiling as he imagined all the things he was going to do before accomplishing his mission. Soon, I will be able to make my dream a reality Natasha. And nothing is going to stop me or get in my way. It's just too bad you won't be awake to at least enjoy it yourself as well.
A sudden rustling sound was heard from the corner of the room and he turned his gaze towards it at once. He saw that the round pink pokémon had shifted her position some and readjusted the blanket that was placed over her while still asleep. He let out a quiet sight. Scared the shit out of me. Moving his sight towards the other corner, he saw the other pokémon that was also staying in the same room. Yet this one was wide awake and staring right at him. Greninja had not once fallen asleep and kept his silent vigil over the red haired girl. Seeing that the man was looking at him, the ninja frog narrowed his eyes, making the man turn back towards the woman with his heart's pace quickening. Fucking frog! I can't wait until the time when he's taken cared of!
As soon as he thought that, a few knocks were heard on the room door, making him jump slightly. "Nurse Johansen here, may I come in?" came a girl's voice.
Hearing the nurse's voice, he calmed down, controlled his tone and replied back. "Sure, that's fine."
The door opened and in walked the nurse that was in charge of this particular patient. But she wasn't alone. There was one other with her. "Sorry, should've mentioned that it wasn't just me," said the nurse as the two of them moved towards the now standing man. "You've met Doctor Swanson correct?"
"Of course. Good morning Nurse Johansen and Doctor Swanson," he replied back.
Both women smiled a bit and nodded before the doctor spoke. "Good morning to you as well Mr. Walters," she said as both she and the nurse began going over the morning routine of checking their patient's vitals and replacing what needed to switched out.
"Just John is fine," he said as he watched them work.
"Alright then. Then just Lilit and Adrine is fine with us too," stated Adrine as she assisted Lilit. "Did you sleep well?" she asked him.
That question reminded him of how he fell asleep in the chair in an awkward position. He stretched out his back and arms. "Now that you ask, I've had better but it's alright. All I need is a little bit of stretching and I'll be fine," he answered her.
The two smiled a bit as they continued their work. "It's very kind of you to stay by her side all night," remarked Lilit. "You must care for her greatly."
John's mouth formed into a rather large smile. "Of course. We've been friends for a long time before getting together."
Hearing him say that made the nurse remember something. "Oh that's right. There's someone else here who says they're a friend of Natasha and you," stated Adrine, making John tilt his head, confused. He was about to ask who when she continued. "She's here and wanted to visit Ms. Dobrev but we wanted to verify with you first. She has black hair and said her name was Tanya," explained the nurse.
John's heart skipped a beat over what he heard. What the hell?! Why is she here?! Can't be anything good but I can't keep her waiting or she'll be pissed again. Maintaining his composure, he responded back quickly to avoid suspicion. "Oh Tanya is here too?! That's great as I told her what had happened before coming here myself. I didn't think she'd come visit as well though. Can she come in?" he asked the two.
Smiling, both medical professionals said it was alright before Adrine left the room to go get her. Not even a minute passed before she came back with the black haired girl. "Thank you so much Nurse Johansen," said the girl in such a friendly tone of voice that would've surprised John that she was able to speak like that had he not seen her act before.
"It's our pleasure Tanya and thank you for waiting. You can just call me Adrine," replied the nurse with a smile.
Tanya smiled at her and quickly looked around the room, taking in her surroundings. Immediately noticing everything of note, she went up and hugged John while greeting him. That surprised him a bit until she said something to him. "Follow my lead," she told him in barely a whisper so only he could hear her. Not even waiting for him to answer, she then moved towards the lying red haired woman. "How's Natasha doing?" she asked in low concerned tone of voice.
"Still the same since she was brought in," answered Lilit sadly as Tanya took a seat beside the bed and held the comatose girl's hand.
"I can't believe this happened to her," said Tanya in a sullen tone, making Lilit and Adrine become saddened. She glanced towards the medical personnel who had finished their checks and then at the two pokémon in the corners. "Thank you all for doing what you can for her," she told them.
"As Adrine said before, it's our pleasure to help however we can. But you should also thank the Aura Guardian if you ever get the chance as he was the one who brought her in," said Lilit.
Tanya smiled a bit at them before she nodded. "I will do just that." She faced Natasha again and gripped her hand tighter. "I'm so sorry. I hope you come through this soon," she said quietly. "Can I get a moment alone with her?" she asked them without moving her gaze away from the redhead.
"Of course," replied Doctor Swanson. Both she and Nurse Johansen moved to leave the room and when Tanya looked at John, he understood. Though he had a bad feeling, he didn't argue at all.
"Thank you and…" Facing the frog ninja, she continued speaking. "Can you leave as well? Please?" she asked the frog timidly with a saddened expression, making the pokémon tilt his head. "I'm not comfortable speaking my feelings in front of others. But since Blissey is asleep, she can stay."
Greninja didn't react for a moment since he was busy thinking quickly. He had promised to not leave Natasha alone with the man named John but he wasn't told anything about this Tanya. Though he didn't sense anything bad from her, what worried him was that he could sense nothing at all. Just like the man. But he didn't want to give a bad impression of himself or ruin his trainer's name. He thought that he wouldn't be breaking his promise either. He also figured that since his comrade was still in the room, though she was asleep, if something happened, she would immediately wake up and call for him. Thinking of all that and not finding anything that would conflict with his given commands or break his promises, he agreed to it. Nodding his head, the ninja frog left the room with the three humans and leaned against the wall next to the shut door.
After they left, Tanya faced Natasha once more. Letting go of her hand, she stood up and moved closer to the red head quietly. Glancing at the pink pokemon, she realized that Blissey was in a deep sleep and wouldn't wake up because of what she wanted to do. Shifting her gaze back to the comatose girl, she didn't move for a moment. Then, she grasped the blanket covering most of her body and lowered it down to her feet. Seeing the hospital gown she was in now, she grabbed the bottom part of it and raised it towards her head but kept her face visible. After revealing the girl's bare body from her neck down with all the hospital equipment hooked up onto her, Tanya's eyes widened. She was expecting to see the damages dealt to her by the Skull Brothers but only saw a perfectly proportioned and curvy body with flawless skin. Anger rose within her. What the fuck?! How does she not have any wounds or scars?! Looking over the naked body, Tanya was becoming furious as she couldn't find anything. It's fucking perfect! What the hell?! She thought for a moment until something came to mind. Wait, what about the back? Carefully moving her onto her side in a manner to not disrupt the sensors that were attached onto the comatose girl, it was then that a large evil smile spread on Tanya's face. There it is! Reaching into her pocket, she took out her smartphone and took a silent picture before bringing her back into her normal position of lying on her back. Looking at the photo she took, her smile spread.
The scar that was the carved word of 'WHORE' was clearly visible in the picture, with Natasha's signature red hair and rear also showing. Perfect. Looking at Natasha again, Tanya decided to take a picture of her front too. Afterwards, she put away her phone, lowered her gown to cover her and then raised the blanket back up towards her neck. Her hand let go of the blanket and then inched towards the red head's throat. Grasping it lightly, Tanya felt a strong desire to just end her there. Bringing her face closer to Natasha's, she stared at her for a short while as she imagined so many ways to bring her life fully to an end. She then spoke in a very quiet voice. "Oh how I could end you right now. But that is for that pathetic pilot to do. I'm not mad though and I'm no longer jealous of you. You will never again steal Giovanni's attention from me, you fucking slut! I am the only one he really needs and whatever he wants and desires of me, he will have! I'm glad to be finally rid of you! Anyone who tries to get between me and him and his happiness will pay, no matter who it is!"Her grip tightened a little bit but it didn't cause the sensors to go off for it wasn't much. Feeling the steady light pulse against her finger tips, Tanya felt her sadistic side coming alive and felt a wave of pleasure fill her as she imagined choking Natasha to death. She controlled herself though, let go of her throat, leaned down over her face and got so close that their noses were barely a millimeter apart. "Goodbye Natasha Dobrev. But don't worry. That filthy Aura Guardian you've come to admire will be joining you very soon. And we Team Rocket will have a grand farewell party for you. No one will ever forget you and what you truly were. Your pictures and I will make sure of that." Grinning madly, she raised herself, reached into her other pocket and took out a small plastic red rose. Placing it onto her chest, she turned around and moved towards the door to exit the room.
The moment she stepped outside, she noticed the ninja frog to her left who glanced at her. She smiled a bit and the pokémon nodded at her before going back inside the room. A tap on her shoulder made her turn around and saw John there. "Everything good?" he asked her with worry.
He got his answer when she smiled that happily evil and sadistic smile that he hated seeing on her face as it confirmed that she was getting what she wanted. "I did," she told him as she grasped his hand, making him tilt his head before continuing in a very low whisper that he barely heard her. "Today we will make history. Don't fuck it up and make sure her end doesn't come quick. And don't you ever fucking touch me again," she finished saying before she gripped his hand so hard that she almost crushed his fingers, causing his eyes to widen from it.
"Okay, okay," he said in a pained but quiet voice. She let go of his hand and began walking down the hallway. He massaged his hand while seeing her leave. She's very happy. Guess seeing Natasha like that made her become unusually so. Fucking psycho. Shaking his head, he then entered the hospital room. Glancing at the guardian's pokémon, he saw the pink one still asleep and the blue one glaring at him. Letting out a sigh again, he moved towards the object of his obsession on the bed. When he stood beside her that was when he noticed the flower. "Oh." Instantly he knew what it meant. Tanya, or more accurately, Domino, agent double-oh-nine, the highest ranking Team Rocket executive who was directly under their boss Giovanni, had said her own personal goodbye to the one person who she despised the most; Natasha Dobrev.
In one of the rooms of a motel that was nearby the stadium, two females were going over their equipment that was spread out throughout the room. From weapons and body armor, to ammo and small explosives. Though they had checked everything before the guardian's battles against the elites yesterday, they wanted to make sure since they had spare time and wanted to double check. Everything had to be ready for their mission that they would carry out on that day because no matter what outcome came from the battle today, they would launch their attack immediately after the results. And for that reason, there was no room for error as they would be going up against many talented and strong adversaries as they announced the return of their organization; Team Rocket.
Picking up one of the medium sized weapons, the silver haired female looked over it. "Hey, do we need to re-calibrate these Annie?"
"I don't think so sis," replied the blonde haired woman as she put down the body armor she was adjusting and moved to where her sister was. "Domino said they were ready after calibrating them and don't need to be adjusted again," she told Oakley. Taking the weapon from her sister, Annie looked over it herself and then readied it, holding it against her shoulder as she looked down the scope. "Funny how these aura limiters look almost the same as our rifles," she remarked.
"True. Except for…" As the younger sister of the two continued talking, she pointed at each of the differences. "…the capacitors that are sticking out on the sides of the rail that power the laser, the beam emitter on the front that replaced the receiver which aims and fires the laser, the stability cooling compensators on the bottom connected to the grip to keep the weapon from overheating and the cable that's attached underneath the stock that transfers the sucked out energy to any attached energy container or disperse it through an exhaust into the air." When she finished naming and explaining them all, Oakley had a grin on her face.
Annie lowered the aura limiter and gave her sister a glare. "I know what they are! I was merely commenting that they look similar, not identical. And I don't need you to tell me what they are Ms. Know-It-All!"
Oakley chuckled at that and went back towards her stuff to continue her work. "I know. I just felt like saying it."
Placing the aura limiter back on the bed, Annie shook her head as she did so. "Whatever. Moving on…" It was at that moment when the door opened and both sisters looked at the black haired girl who just entered. "Oh, hey Domino. I take it everything went well?" she asked her.
"It went splendidly." Domino pulled off her wig as she responded back and placed it on one of the chairs. "Have all the equipment been rechecked?" she asked them as she continued taking off her civilian attire.
"Yup and they're ready to go," answered Oakley and Domino nodded in return. "Have the other groups checked in?"
"Yes they have and now all that remains is for us to be ready," answered the executive while putting on her Team Rocket uniform.
"Roger that," replied Oakley.
Annie nodded as well before speaking up. "By the way, what should we do with our guest?"
Domino finished getting her uniform on and thought for a moment as the two sisters waited for her decision. After thinking some, she moved towards the bathroom and opened the door. Inside was a tied up and unconscious pink haired girl lying on the tiled floor of the bathroom. "We should've done this last night but we still have some time before the match starts." She crouched near the tied girl as she reached over and grabbed her face. Making her face her now, Domino smirked. "You said she loves the guardian?"
"Yes," answered both sisters at once.
Her smirk grew. "Perfect." It was then that the girl woke up and she opened her eyes slowly. "Well, look who's finally awake. Good." The girl's eyes grew wide with fear and Domino let out a dry laugh. "That's right, you should worry." She let go of the girl's face and stood up. "Oakley, Annie…our guest is a little uncomfortable don't you think?" she asked them while the poor girl was too frightened to even make a sound.
Understanding her, the two sisters immediately got a chair ready as well as some rope. Then, both went to the tied girl, lifted her up and moved her onto the chair before tying her onto it. "There you go," said Oakley, as she finished up. "Man, I'm a little disappointed that she didn't even try to resist."
"Looks like the league will employ just about anyone these days," commented Annie.
"Doesn't matter," said Domino, moving towards them as she withdrew a small blade from her pocket. The already fear filled girl became even more afraid over what was going on, causing her to tremble in her position. She couldn't do anything but watch as the Team Rocket member got closer to her before she raised the blade to point at her. "Now, you're going to answer some questions. And if you attempt to lie, scream or try to do anything other than what I tell you, this blade here will be coated with your blood. Understand?" she said calmly with a menacing tone of voice.
After she finished speaking, Oakley ripped off the tape that was covering her mouth, causing the girl to let out a yelp of pain. Immediately following that, Annie delivered a solid punch to the girl's stomach, causing her to let out a soundless gasp. Domino moved forward and placed the blade against her neck, making her freeze at once. "What did I say?" she asked with a deadly tone of voice. The girl didn't dare make a sound or move yet something still happened. A sudden trickling sound along with a slightly foul smell filled the room, causing the two sisters to form disgusted expressions on their faces while the third Rocket member merely smirked as she looked down on her captive. "Oh, did someone just have an accident?" she taunted. Feeling absolutely horrible and embarrassed over what just happened, the girl shook with fear again as she whimpered slightly. Domino raised her gaze back towards the official and her smirk grew into a sadistic smile. "Oh, how cute. You're so scared aren't you?" She didn't need an answer as she could see it in the girl's eyes. "Good. But, I didn't say you can let yourself go, now did I?" Domino removed her blade from the girl's neck but then applied it against her cheek. Not even a second later, the tied up girl let out a scream as she was cut. Domino's sadistic smile grew even more as she watched her reaction before grabbing her throat suddenly, making the girl go silent again, even though she was feeling the stinging pain from the side of her face. "Now, no more interruptions or more punishment will be administered. Understand?" Silent tears along with muffled whimpers were her answer and she continued on. "Good, that's better. First, who are you and who do you work for?"
"Na-Natalie…" started the girl in a small, scared tone of voice. "A-And I work f-for the l-league."
Domino remained motionless for a couple of seconds before moving the blade away. "Good. Now, Natalie, what were you doing at the stadium last night? Were you following after my partners?" she asked.
Natalie was barely able to shake her head as she spoke. "N-No…I wasn't following your partners!" she answered immediately, not wanting to get hurt again.
A sudden punch thrown by Oakley connected against her cheek, making Natalie turn her head and a bit of blood spurt out due to her teeth cutting her lip from the impact. "Now, what did I say about lying?" said Domino while Oakley and Annie glared at the girl.
"P-Please!" cried Natalie, the side of her face throbbing with pain, her cheek and lip bleeding. "I wasn't! I-I was doing the rounds for someone else! I didn't even know they were there until I bumped into them!" she finished telling them, barely able to control herself to talk before taking in sputtering breaths, her eyes letting out tears.
None of the three Rocket members moved or said anything for a moment. Domino then glanced at the sisters who gave slight nods. She faced their bound prisoner again. "Alright. I believe you. Now, tell us what's planned for the final matches of the tournament besides what's been told the public."
Natalie was shaking greatly now, unable to control her fear anymore, blood trickling out from her lip. But she was able to speak, her fear making her comply with her abductors. "T-There isn't much m-more planned be-besides what was told to the public. If the challenger d-defeats the champions, they will announce two days t-time for the Master to show up. If he doesn't s-show, then he will be named the official Pokemon Master. And to celebrate that, they will have an evening b-banquet in honor of it."
"Oh, a banquet huh?" asked Annie.
"I want to go to one!" commented Oakley.
"Stay on task!" snapped Domino, making the two sisters go silent at once. She thought for a moment about what she learned. What else does that good for nothing mole know and hasn't shared with us? Need to find out more. "That's new. When was this decided by the board?" asked the agent.
"I-It wasn't," replied Natalie and continued on without thinking. "I overheard P-President Goodshow t-talking to himself about it after reminiscing about his old friends. He said he'll do it himself if he has to cause he felt o-obligated to do so because of o-old connections."
"Obligated?"
"Old connections?"
The two sisters glanced at one another as they asked those questions before looking at the other Rocket member who didn't show any visible reaction. "I see," said Domino, before she thought about this information. Looks like that old fart doesn't share everything with the board. But maybe this girl knows more. "What else have you heard him say?"
It was then that Natalie realized that she may have said more than she should have. She glanced at Oakley in fear, hearing her move a bit closer as she answered. "Not much. I only over hear things from time to time whenever I'm scheduled to be his assistant."
"And what have you heard?" asked Annie, making Natalie look at her now.
"Nothing important!" Another punch to her gut, causing her to lose her breath for a second.
"We'll decided what's important or not," informed Oakley, as Natalie had many tears pour out of her eyes once more while she tried to unsuccessfully control her breathing.
Domino moved closer, grabbed her face and moved Natalie's gaze to hers. "If you think you're being brave, you're not. This motel is part of Team Rocket's." Natalie gave a look of surprise at that. "We have many uses for this place, just like other places. And one of the benefits is soundproof walls. You know what that means right?" She didn't need it spoken since she could see it in her expression. "I thought so. You have one last chance. What did you hear?"
Natalie was beyond afraid now, her breathing uneven and her heart was beating wildly. "Just r-random things! The g-guardian being strong! T-This tournament being d-different! The stadium a-attack!" She closed her eyes at this point, unable to keep looking at the scary face of the Rocket member. That allowed her to keep talking. "The memories of the current M-Master with his friends! The challenger's struggles and his girlfriends! It's mostly just stuff about that!" she finished saying, her lips quivering.
Oakley, Annie and Domino looked at one another once more before nodding. Looking right at her, Domino applied pressure on her grip. "Open your eyes." Slowly, she opened her eyes and saw the criminal's eyes locked onto hers, making her heart beat even more rapidly. "Tell us more about what you heard him say about the Master, his friends and the guardian."
Natalie's mind suddenly formed the image of the guardian, the one she had fallen for, in her mind. She couldn't do that to him. "Please…I don't know anything else…"
Without hesitation, Domino slashed the captive's thigh, causing her to let out a pained squeal of pain as she began to cry again. Yet their captive's crying did nothing to soften the Rocket members. "That was just another graze. Anymore stubbornness you want to show?" No response for a moment other than the girl's whimpers. "You're no hero. No one will remember you if you die here and now. And for what? To protect the Master who hasn't done any protecting for over a decade? The guardian who you love even though he's with other sluts? They're not here and they don't care. So do yourself a favor and do as we say. And maybe you'll come out of this alive at least."
Natalie continued her whimpering caused by the pain from her cuts, her feeling of discomfort from wetting herself out of fear and how she was slowly starting to realize what was going to happen to her even though she couldn't believe the predicament she was in. How she failed her job so badly. Being taken captive and tortured to give up information. That no matter what they promised, she probably wouldn't come out of this alive. When she came to that conclusion, the image of her crush appeared in her mind once more and that filled her with something else. The young girl was still afraid, but she also felt some courage all of a sudden to at least give them a hard time to get what they want. I will not give in so easily! I won't go out like that by betraying the one I've fallen for! Raising her gaze, Natalie locked her reddened and watery eyes onto Domino's and steeled herself to do what she decided to do. "Go fuck yourself! I don't know anymore and even if I did, I won't tell you!"
What happened next wasn't what she was expecting. Natalie figured that she would get angry or start hitting her. Instead, Domino had a large evil grin appear on her face. "Alright. We'll do this the hard way then." She stood up straight and moved away from the bound official towards a large container. "Oakley, Annie; have fun while I get some toys. But make sure she stays awake and alive. I want her to feel everything." Natalie glanced at the sisters who were sporting identical wicked smiles on their faces, making her heart beat loudly in her ears as Domino continued speaking. "Don't worry, we won't kill you. Not yet. I have something in mind for you. But until then, I'm going to enjoy this." And with that, Domino let out a sadistic laugh as she opened the container while her cohorts began to work. Within minutes, the sounds of shrill screams and anguish cries filled the room yet were unable to get to the outside world due to the soundproof walls of the room…
A couple hours before the scheduled start of the champions' battle, in the penthouse suite of the Indigo Plateau Hotel, a large group of family and friends were seated in the dining room and enjoying their lunch together. Every single one of them was filled with excitement over the upcoming match. For it would be their first time seeing the champions themselves get challenged. And it was one from their very own group who would be the one challenging them.
Right now, said challenger was in the middle of his girlfriends, inhaling his food at breakneck speed as usual yet still somehow able to keep several conversations going with them and his friends. Normally he would've been smacked upside the head for that by his mother or by one of his girlfriends. But for now, they let him be. They didn't want to bring his excitement down for any reason. Not today. For each of them knew that not only will this help him prepare for the future, but it was something he had dreamed of since he was a kid.
As he and his group had their conversations going, the parents of some of the children who were there were having their own. Having spent the last few minutes discussing what the champions could have possibly planned for the match, their ideas went from possible to absolute craziness. One theory made by Johanna made the other parents burst out laughing. "What?! It's possible!" she said over their laughing with an annoyed look.
Grace finished with her laughing and responded back. "Right. I highly doubt that the champions will do that. They'll want to beat Ash with all their might. Especially after how he took out their Elites. They won't be using other pokemon other than their best who are their lead ones."
Johanna crossed her arms in defiance and looked away while making an annoyed sound, making them chuckle again. A moment later, the male of the group spoke up. "Speaking of Ash…" Started Norman, catching their attention. The five of them glanced at the raven haired guardian and saw him in good spirits while eating, talking and being around the ones he cares about. "…he's in a pretty good mood. He looks confident and ready. Good. He'll need to be to face on the champions. They'll be his toughest battle ever. More so than the Elites." Nodding in agreement, the four women said nothing. "By the way, do you have any idea what he's gonna do against the champions Delia?" asked the Petalburg gym leader.
Delia faced him after a moment because she was thinking of some other things before shaking her head. "Nope, don't have any idea."
"Damn. I was hoping you'd know," sighed Norman.
His wife nudged him in the side. "Impatient are we?" asked Caroline with a slight smirk.
"Hey, in my defense, when have I ever not been?" he asked his wife, causing her to roll her eyes and the other mothers to laugh a bit.
Delia chuckled as she turned to face her son again while the other parents continued with their breakfast and conversation. She watched him interacting with his girlfriends. The way they talked and joked with one another. How they looked at one another. How the girls were so close with one another as well. It made her relax a bit over what she was thinking about since yesterday. My son…maybe I was worried over nothing. From what I can tell, what I've witnessed, I don't think you'll have the same problems as we did. But, I think I will still tell you so you can know the truth. So you can be aware. And hopefully you won't ever make the same mistake. I don't think you will even if I don't, but I promised you I will always be there for you. And as your mother, I will do everything I can to ensure your happiness. Delia finished thinking those thoughts and continued eating the meal on her plate.
On another area of the table, several people were seated together and enjoying their own conversations between each other. Brock, Lucy, Richie, Joy, Chili, Violet, Cress, Lily, Cilan and his guest Burgundy along with her friend Georgia were all speaking with one another. Though they were excited about Ash's upcoming battle, they had moved on from that topic after sharing their thoughts of what could happen. Now, several of the girls had begun talking about another upcoming event; Lucy and Brock's wedding. After Joy had brought it up, they began giving the bride-to-be several ideas of what she could do for her special day, the engagement party and of course, her bachelorette party.
Seeing them become so, the guys glanced at one another before deciding to let them be as none of them wanted to get involved in that. Not even the groom, Brock, thought it was a good idea to speak his mind about that topic, even though it was his special day as well. And though Chili mentioned a bachelor party, Brock told them they'll talk about it later since he whispered to them that he didn't want to talk about it near the girls. Understanding him, the guys agreed and moved on from that subject. Instead, they talked about what they were going to do after the battle and how they would let their families know that they would be gone for a while so they can train for the future.
After talking for a bit with the girls about Lucy's wedding plans, one of them got her fill of wedding talk for the moment and so looked around her to see what else was going on. She noticed two of the younger persons were engaged in a heated discussion about the champions and what they could possibly have planned and which pokemon they would use. Moving her gaze away from them, she noticed some of the boys talking about trips and letting their families know they would be gone for a while. She wondered where they were going to in such a large group for a bit before letting it go. Shifting her sight away from them, she looked at everyone else. From the group of girls around Ash, to the parents and then finally onto the other person she knew well besides Burgundy.
Seeing her in a better mood than she was in recently since she was talking with a few of the other girls, Georgia was glad to see her close friend Iris in better spirits. Though she was surprised that Iris didn't hold anything against Burgundy or Cilan, she was glad that she was able to move on so quickly. Because from their past talks, Georgia knew that Iris was the jealous type as well as somewhat insecure. But, it seems that she's getting better at not allowing such things to affect her. She only wondered if there was something or someone that was helping her to do so. She wondered that because this change in her was relatively recent and she had been keeping in touch with her. But she quickly let it go, realizing that it doesn't matter. Her lips spread into a small smile after thinking that, because now her friend could focus on other things that are important. Such as her training, pursuing her dreams and finding someone better….
"Hey, Georgia, why are you spacing out?"
Snapped out from her thinking, Georgia blinked a few times before realizing that Iris was looking at her and so were a few others. Her cheeks reddened slightly before Georgia waved her hand as she spoke. "Oh nothing, just thinking about a few things that are happening."
They nodded and Iris responded back. "Yea, I hear ya." She glanced at Ash before she continued to speak. "All of us are thinking the same thing. It's gonna be an incredible battle." A wide smile spread on her face while looking at the raven haired guardian before facing Georgia. "I can't wait."
Georgia nodded with a smile spreading on her face as well with the others saying they too couldn't wait. "Me too Iris." She glanced at Ash, who was finally beginning to slow down as he was finishing up what was remaining on his plate. "It should be great after everything we've heard and seen." Looking back at her friend, Georgia saw that Iris was still smiling before she nodded and went back to talking to the others. Tilting her head, the red head thought something then over the purple haired girl's behavior. Huh, could it be? Could it be him who's causing this change in her? If so, why him?
As Georgia continued thinking, a few minutes later, the raven haired guardian finally finished up his meal after three full plates and then topped it off with gulping down some soda. After that, he placed his empty cup back down on the table and let out a content sigh. "Ah, that hit the spot." Standing up afterwards, he caught the attention of everyone in the dining room, making the room go quiet at once. "Thank you for breakfast everyone. I'm going to go see my pokemon and get ready for the match."
"Alright dear," said his mother as she too stood up. "We'll start getting ready ourselves soon. But first…" Delia walked towards her son and gave him a tight hug and he returned the hug. "Win or lose, I'm so proud of you." They separated a bit and looked at one another. "But, try to keep your winning streak going," she told her son, a smirk spreading on her face.
Ash smiled back at his mother. "Thanks Mom. I'll do my best." He moved his gaze around the room. "After this battle, there are a lot of things to be done. But I also want to say thank you all for all the support and for being here for me." His words were met with smiles and nods from around the room while some commented back that they would always stand by him. "Thanks, I know and it means a lot to me to hear you say that." Looking at his group of girlfriends now, they gave him warm smiles as well as telling him they believe in him and wished him luck. "Thank you. I'll see you all after the match." And with that, the rave haired guardian vanished in a blue glow.
That caused Georgia and Burgundy to let out surprised gasps but then when Iris reminded them of Mewtwo being able to do that, they understood and moved on. After he left, Delia looked at everyone. "Alright people, let's finish up breakfast, clean up and get ready to go. We'll have to get there earlier than usual as I have a feeling it's going to get packed very quickly." Agreeing with her, they all focused on finishing up their meals before they got up to get ready.
In the middle of the ocean on a hidden island, a large group of powerful pokemon was spread out all over the mansion grounds located in the middle of the island. In that group, there were many different kinds of pokemon and each one of them was one of the strongest, if not the strongest, amongst their particular species. Though there were some who were unique themselves and had no other like them such as the legendary pokemon. And now they were all relaxing and awaiting their trainer who was also their family and friend to return home so they can learn who would be battling against the champions.
Three of them were standing together on top of the mansion roof, watching over the rest of their comrades in arms while speaking to one another with their telepathy. The tallest of the three, the purple feline raised his gaze towards the sky after viewing their activities for a while. "He'll be here soon," he stated to the two beside him.
"I should think so," remarked the black and blue aura canine. "Though he still has some time, I would think that he would want to be here for a bit first before the battle. Did he contact you Mewtwo?"
Mewtwo shook his head while keeping his gaze upwards. "No, not yet, but he will soon enough."
"Do you think he already knows who's going to battle against the champions?" asked the white and green petite fairy.
"I have an idea," answered Mewtwo. "But I won't say."
"Why not?" she asked but he didn't answer that. "Hmph! What, afraid of being wrong in front of others?" taunted Gardevoir.
Mewtwo lowered his gaze towards Gardevoir and gave her half a smirk. "Yeah, right. Just don't want you copying my choice."
"As if!" she shot back before turning to her mate. "What about you Lucario?"
"Hmmm." Raising his right paw to his chin while using his left arm as a base for his right elbow, Lucario thought for a moment. "He would have to use one of his strongest, that's for sure. Though all of our comrades, and us as well, have grown quite powerful, there are those amongst us who are at even higher levels than the rest."
His words were met with nods of agreement. "True. We have all grown strong, but I think he'll choose one of his stronger ones. Like you Lucario," remarked Gardevoir kindly.
Lucario smiled at Gardevoir. "Thank you but I have a feeling it won't be me," he replied back.
"Why not?" asked his mate, tilting her head. "You're one of the best here!"
"Exactly," spoke Mewtwo before Lucario could respond. "He's one of the best. There are others here as well who are equal to him when it comes to official pokemon battles. And some of them haven't even battled yet." Gardevoir pouted yet Lucario said nothing. "Don't be such a baby."
"Hey!" shot Gardevoir, and Mewtwo just smirked in response. "Jerk!"
Mewtwo's brow rose up a bit. "My, my. Temper, temper."
Gardevoir started blushing heavily but with an angry expression on her face. "Why, you!"
"Now, now, you know he's only teasing," interjected Lucario, to try and calm her down as Mewtwo received a mental message at that point.
"Well he shouldn't!" snapped the psychic fairy.
"He shouldn't what?" Gardevoir and Lucario turned around and saw Ash standing behind them at that point, making them become surprised. "Why are you surprised in seeing me?" he asked them.
"It's nothing Master," said Lucario, seizing the opportunity to move on from the recent conversation. Gardevoir noticed that, making her narrow her eyes a bit on her mate while Mewtwo's smirk grew a little. "Have you decided who will battle the champions?" asked the aura canine. His question made both the fairy and feline focus their attention onto the raven haired guardian.
Ash nodded before answering him. "I have. But first, I want to talk to everyone." Knowing what he wanted, Mewtwo teleported the four of them into the stadium that was on that island. "Would you be so kind buddy?" asked Ash towards the aura canine as soon as they arrived there. Lucario had an Aura Sphere appear in his right paw before he shot it up into the air. Traveling up into the air a good distance, it then exploded with a loud sound into countless blue sparkles before fading into the air.
It didn't even take a minute for them to start hearing the flapping of wings and the ground rumbling caused by many pokemon making their way into the stadium. Ash looked at his pokemon moving into the stadium and lining up as they had done many times in the past three years. Sure, he could've called them using his aura, but having Lucario do so once more like he did so many times before in the past just felt right at this point because of what's about to happen. He glanced at his partner in this. The purple feline was also looking over the many pokemon coming into the stadium. Though the legendary had allowed himself to be captured so he could battle Deoxys for the title of the strongest psychic in the world during the finals, Ash still didn't view him as his pokemon. Of course he viewed all of his pokemon as his friends and family. But with Mewtwo, it was different. Ash felt that Mewtwo was much more than just a pokemon for many reasons. He couldn't quite place his finger on it, but he knew it, felt it and believed in it. And that's all that matters.
Ash returned his gaze to the horde of pokemon filing into the stadium in time to see a yellow mouse make his way through them. "Pikapi!" shouted Pikachu once he got close enough to be heard and then he jumped to his spot on his trainer's shoulder.
"Hey buddy, good to see you too," greeted Ash happily as his starter nuzzled his cheek, making him chuckle. After everyone else was able to finally get organized, the raven haired guardian moved his gaze over all of them once more. From the smallest of his pokemon to the one of a kind legendaries. Sometimes, he couldn't believe that he had captured and befriended so many powerful and rare pokemon.
Finishing with his scan and confirming that everyone was assembled, Ash then started to talk. "Alright, so we're all here," he told them, with his army of pokemon and Mewtwo listening to his every word. "This is it. We're near the end now. After working so hard…after all the sacrifices…after breaking through our limits so many times…we at last have the opportunity to challenge the Champions of the world!" he finished saying as he raised his fist into the air. A collective roar was let out together from all the pokemon there. When it died down, Ash continued speaking. "Though we have done it several times before already, especially during the stadium attack and against the Elites, we will show the world that we can go the distance. That we are a force to be reckoned with and that we never give up!" Once again, the pokemon let out roars of agreement and it took a moment for the noise to die down. "Let me say this as well. Thank you to those who have given it their all in the tournament already. And I also want to apologize to those who weren't able to battle officially in the tournament. But know that just because you haven't battled officially yet, it doesn't mean that I don't believe you to be capable. I believe that all of you are at the very least Elite level." His words were met by happy expressions on his pokemon as Mewtwo nodded in agreement. "And some of you may even be at higher levels. But that's not all I'm looking at for this handicap battle against the champions. The one who will battle against them needs to have many things. Power. Speed. Endurance. Versatility. Experience. And above all…a battling spirit!" Many pokemon in the group made some noise in agreement while others silently agreed. "It took me a while to think of who is going to battle them because of so many choices that have all those qualities. But I believe there is only one who should have that honor who you all will agree with. And that choice is…"
While that was happening on New Island, back at Indigo Hotel, there was a small group of people getting ready themselves in the champions suite located on the 39th floor of the hotel. And just like the suite above them, it was large enough to accommodate many people. But right now, only they were there. And each of those persons was going through their own little tradition before a big battle. Then once that was done, they would go together for rest of the official ceremony that was traditional of champions to do before a battle against a challenger.
Having already finished up getting dressed in his dark, bluish black tuxedo, Steven was now sitting on his bed taking in deep slow breaths as he would often do before doing anything major. In his right hand were two metal stress balls that he was circling around in the palm of his hand as he continued his breathing exercise. He had found this was best to help him relax and focus before having to do something important after trying so many other different methods that didn't help him at all. And it was thanks to his father who had bought it for him. After continuing this for a little while longer, Steven decided it was enough. He stood up as he stopped and placed the two steel balls into their wooded container. Closing the lid on it, he smiled a bit as he remembered the day his father gave it to him and explained what it was for. He then moved towards his room door, opened it and walked into the living room where one of his fellow champions was sitting there, all ready to go.
Before she had went to sit in the living room and wait for the others, Diantha took a little while to get dressed before looking herself in the mirror. Looking into her reflection's eyes, she began saying several phrases with similar sounds one after another. It was an old trick she had done practically all her life starting as a child to let go of her insecurities and doubts by focusing her mind on this phonetic challenge she had made for herself before acting. Having helped her so much in her acting career, she even continued this tradition of hers into her pokemon trainer career as well before most big battles. After successfully completing them, she smiled at herself and left her room. Entering the living room and finding no one there yet, she decided to sit on the couch and wait for everyone else. It didn't take too long either until one joined her. Glancing towards him, she smiled at him who returned it. "Ready Steven?" she asked him.
"Yes. And yourself?" he replied back to her.
Before she could answer, another did. "Of course she is and so am I." Both of them looked towards the balcony door and saw the eldest of their little group standing there while leaning against the sliding glass door with his arms crossed. He had been enjoying the view from the balcony as he looked at the horizon before meditating. He loved being under the sun and enjoying the cool breeze that came in the middle of the day. For he believed that was the best way to meditate and clear one's mind before taking care of something important. Having finished that, he had went back inside to see if the rest were done and ready when he heard them speak and decided to join in on the conversation. "I can't wait to finally get the party starting," he told them with a smirk on his face.
Diantha rolled her eyes but still chuckled as Steven shook his head with a smile. "Yes, we know you're always ready Alder."
"Got that right," he remarked with his smirk spreading. "So, are Lance and Cynthia ready yet?" he asked them.
"Should be. Let's give them a few more minutes as they still have time," suggested Diantha and they agreed.
One of the two who they were talking about in their quick conversation was in her room and lying down on her bed as she faced the ceiling after consuming her customary vanilla ice cream cone before each major battle. She would do this normally in the past as she used the ceiling as a canvas to mentally draw out her upcoming battle against her opponent by envisioning how she'd battle them. But this time she couldn't because even though she was lying down, she was feeling so much excitement. Not just because of her upcoming battle that she would have to defend her title in, but because of who was challenging her, the way he was doing so and what was going to happen afterwards. Win or lose, Cynthia had decided on something. She was going to tell her challenger, who was also the love of her life, the Champion of her heart, everything about her. Her past, her quirks, her flaws, her failures and everything else in between. She couldn't wait to do so and so after thinking about that a little more, she then got up off the bed and exited the room to join up with the others if they were ready.
The last of the champions was still in his room. Sitting on a chair in front of a desk, Lance was starting at the poke ball in his hand as he thought many things while several memories flowed through his mind's eye. Good ones. Bad ones. Trivial ones. Important ones. Right choices. Wrong choices. He allowed his mind to go through them as he had done so many times before. Except this time, there were more memories brought up in his mind thanks to the current tournament. Soon enough, he finished up and raised his head with his gaze landing onto the picture on his desk. It was of the one who had placed him in charge so many years ago and believed in him. It was because of that man that Lance had been under so much pressure to keep the world spinning and since he had chosen him, he felt that everything he was doing was for the greater good. Believing it so much that he felt that he could do no wrong, he remembered how that belief slowly changed him into…well…for lack of a better word for it, an asshole. That is until this tournament and what's happened throughout it all. He shook his head a bit after thinking that because he knew there was no point in dwelling on it as he had already come to terms with it thanks to his fellow champion. Smiling a bit as he imagined her face in his mind's eye, he thought about her for a bit before shaking his head and stood up. I need to focus. He looked at the clock in his room and stood up. Glancing at the poke ball in his hand once more before clipping it onto his belt, he realized he was excited and smiled. Leaving the room, he joined up with his fellow champions who were all ready and waiting for him. "Let's go," he told them and they nodded in agreement. Diantha brought out her Gardevoir who then teleported them.
The five champions appeared in the middle of the champion's tunnel in the Indigo Plateau stadium with the Kalos champion returning her pokemon right after. They still had plenty of time to spare before the start of what could be possibly the last battle of the tournament depending on what happened afterwards. And so, they moved through the tunnel until they reached the room that was reserved for champions and entered it. Once inside, they continued walking forward until they reached the opposite wall from the room's entrance. On that wall was a painting of the god pokemon Arceus who was surrounded by all 18 different pokemon elements portrayed via different symbols connected to him through the gold wheel around his body. They knelt down, held up their hands in front of them in prayer positions as they lowered their heads and went quiet. This was part of the 'tradition' that Cynthia had spoken of to Ash earlier on. The other parts were already taken cared of earlier in the morning. Now this part was in no shape or form some part of religious ceremony but more of a showing of faith of what they were part of. Silence enveloped them for a moment as each of them recited the champion's prayer and vow in their heads as well as their own choice words before they finished and stood back up. It was at that moment that a call was heard in the room that drew their attention towards the video phone near the side wall of the room….
Sometime before they champions arrived at the stadium, in the Pokemon League headquarters that is stationed at the Indigo Plateau, the President of the Pokemon League was in his office, finishing up some paperwork. Signing one last paper, he let out a sigh before he cleaned up everything and placed the document into a folder. He then moved the folder into his 'Out' basket on his desk. "There. That should take care of the banquet orders." He sat up and stretched a bit. "Aaaaahhhh, that feels better." Glancing at his watch, his eyes widened a bit. "Oh shoot, it's getting close to the start time. I should get going." For his old age, Goodshow sure did move pretty quickly, as he made his way out of the building. As he did so, he began to think about the upcoming battle. The hero of the tournament going up against the champions of the world. Man, I can't wait. This battle is going to be amazing! It's been too long since any of them were challenged. Stepping outside, he found his personal driver who was waiting for him who then escorted him to the black limousine. The driver opened the door before standing aside while holding the door. Getting inside the car, President Goodshow relaxed on the comfy leather seat as the door closed, his driver got in the front and the vehicle began to move soon after.
While traveling towards the stadium, the president thought of everything that had happened since the start of the tournament. He then thought about the current Master and his old friends. He thought how things could've been different if they were still around. Or what could've happened if Ash wasn't there to protect them against the attack. He shuddered in his seat as those horrible thoughts entered his mind before shaking his head and forcing his mind to move away from that. And now, his mind landed onto what was going to happen soon enough.
The Aura Guardian versus the Champions.
He still couldn't believe it if he was being honest to himself. He never thought that such a day would come. Where not only were the champions being challenged, but they were being done so at the same time. All of them up against one person at once. Nothing of the sort had ever been done before. It was hard enough to go up against one champion, but to go against them all together while also being handicapped? That was just plain suicide. Or he would have thought that if he hadn't seen the things that the challenger had done. I wonder just where does he get it from? Probably from his mother, since Satoshi is out of the picture… That thought made the president think about his old friend again and he wondered a bit of why he disappeared and where he could have possibly gone. Because he couldn't understand as to why Satoshi would do such a thing. He kept thinking as to what in the world would cause his old friend to abandon his family when he had relinquished the title of Pokemon Master to Red just so he could be with his family? No matter what he thought, it just didn't make any sense.
That was on his mind until he reached the stadium and the limo came to a stop. Clearing his head, he let out a sigh and decided to just let it a go. A moment later, the passenger car door opened and Goodshow got out of the car. He was greeted by his league security team and two of them began escorting him towards the VIP room. Once he reached there, they entered the room first to make sure it was safe before allowing Charles to come inside. Sitting down on the large comfy couch in the center of the room facing out the windows towards the arena, the president then pressed a button on the nearby coffee table. A feminine voice answered a moment later, asking for his order. After he placed his order, he glanced at the clock again and saw he had about thirty minutes left until the start of the match. Wondering what he should do until then while looking around the room, his eyes landed onto the pictures of the current champions on the wall closest to him. Seeing their pictures made him think about each of them in turn.
He first thought about his Kalos Champion, Diantha Camet, as his gaze landed on her picture first since hers was nearest to him. He remembered how she started as a pokemon trainer later on in her life as a young adult since she had pursued a different path than most which was acting. Having focused on that as a child, she grew up into a very popular and loved actress. From well reviewed movies that brought in hundreds of millions of dollars at the box office, to critically acclaimed shows that were the most viewed in the world, Diantha was number one when it came to show business. It didn't surprise Goodshow at all that she decided to try out her hand in pokemon training after being on top of the acting world for so long.
When he first heard of the famous actress venturing into the pokemon trainer world, he merely figured that she was doing it to increase her popularity or to try something new. He never thought that she would become Champion of the Kalos region and what was surprising was the fact that she did it all in a short amount of time. Though, he had to admit that possessing a lot more funds than most to access did make things easier for her too. But he also knew that it didn't take anything away from her achievements as it only made certain things easier, such as acquiring supplies. She still put in the time, worked hard, studied and trained in order to dominate and become champion. And she did that all while still continuing her acting career, which in itself, was also amazing. Goodshow figured because of that, along with her classy personality and looks, were just a few of the many reasons as to why so many people loved her, adored her and respected her. When she became Champion, Goodshow was happy indeed and he remembered how they had a grand celebration thanks to her agent.
After thinking about that grand party for Diantha, the president shifted his sight to the picture next to Diantha's, which was of the Unova Champion, Alder Adeku. Goodshow thought of how even though Alder was the oldest of the five champions, he would still be lively and upbeat about almost anything and everything. His many experiences of this world were vast and loved to talk about them with anyone who was interested. Chuckling a bit, Goodshow remembered that Alder would also act the most immature of the champions at times as well. That was especially true when he would be gone for days, even weeks, at a time without even alerting his elites while out in the forests just living as one with nature. He was more of the free spirited type and would rather be outside than cooped up inside an office all day.
Goodshow remembered that when he got his chance, Alder set things up so his elites would be able to run and maintain the Unova League. He would only get involved in things when he absolutely needed to, such as dealing with criminal organizations or defending his title. When Goodshow first heard of that, he had to admit that he was a little disappointed that he wasn't as active like the other champions. Yet he couldn't deny that when things got tough or there was something important to take care of, Alder never let them down. Letting out quiet chuckles, the president remembered how Alder would just laugh and joke at his elites for getting all worked up over his antics, especially when he pulled pranks on them. He would often tell them to not get so serious and to enjoy life a bit more, to be less rigid. To be one with nature. And the president had to admit that helped them become even better trainers. Though they too would get back at him with their own pranks, and Goodshow remembered some of them, making him laugh out loud.
Finishing up with his laugh, his gaze landed onto the next picture that belonged to the Sinnoh Champion, Cynthia Shirona. She was the youngest of the group but that by no means meant that she was inferior to any of the other champions. Hell, sometimes Goodshow had even thought she could become Master one day if only she continued towards it after witnessing some of her battles. But she had other goals to achieve and wanted to pursue instead. He remembered how she told him that she wasn't interested in that title and definitely didn't want to be responsible for so much. He was astounded over her response back then because of what he witnessed her do to become champion. It was at that time that he realized she was even more different than he thought of her before.
His thoughts brought up of how quickly she had become champion, holding the record for the youngest after beating the old record that used to belong to Lance. Though, he did also remember how her path to champion and being champion was rockier than the rest. Having a rough upbringing that made her brutal and angry all the time with a very short fuse, to experiencing bad treatment from others, such as the few so called men she had gone out with in the past. All of that had made her want nothing to do with people anymore except for the very few she was close with. Because of her keeping to herself mostly, being involved in her hobbies that most thought was weird for such a beautiful girl and her brutal battling, many would keep their distance from her. He knew of her entire past since she had told him along with a few others of it, such as her elites. When he learned of it, it saddened him that she had gone through so much but it also made him happy that she was able to overcome it to become one of the greats. Sure, she may have had some issues and problems, and she may still be trying to completely overcome some of them, but she had become a completely different person today. Though one thing remained the same, besides her fondness for ice cream that was borderline crazy since she could and would eat it at almost any time, which was that her interest in the world's history and lore was always there and it kept her distracted from the bad experiences. He was glad that she had that at the very least but was now happy for what she had found now as well.
Forming a small but happy smile on his face after picturing his youngest champion happy with a certain someone, Goodshow received a notification from his PokeNav. Glancing at it, he read the message before replying back to it. When finished, he moved his sight onto his next champion's picture whose father coincidently just messaged him, thanking him of something that he had done for him. It was the Hoenn Champion, Steven Stone. He remembered how from an early age, Steven was raised properly since it showed in his mannerisms, the way he spoke and how he held himself. It made sense, since he was the heir to the great Devon Corporation empire and so was taught and educated in many things. From a young age, his father made sure to enroll him in the best schools for everything. He wanted his son to be prepared as much as possible for anything and everything so he could one day take over as the head of the company. Even with all that schooling however, Steven was still able to live out his childhood just like most other kids with games and hanging out with friends until he turned fifteen and became more interested in his studies as well as the company.
Goodshow knew all of that before Steven even had become champion since he knew the champion's father for a long time. They had many business dealings together and as a result, became good friends and shared with each other about what was going on in their lives. Goodshow was told a lot about Steven from his father and could tell from the way he spoke how much he loved his son as well as how proud he was of him. Earning top grades in academics, helping out with the family business, making a name for himself as an archeologist, becoming a champion and still balancing all of his responsibilities would make any parent proud. And Goodshow felt the same as well to be able to call Steven one of his champions.
As he felt that, the president turned his head towards the last but in no way least, picture of one of his champions and felt his pride swell even more. Even with all the mistakes that he had done over his life. For no one could deny what the Kanto and Johto Champion, Lance Wataru, had accomplished and continued to do to this day. Besides having once set the record for youngest champion in the world as well as setting and still maintaining the record for being the only champion of two whole regions, he had done so much. Such as maintaining order in both regions, creating the G-Men that helped protect not just Kanto and Johto, but the world as well. He thwarted multiple criminal organizations' attempts for world domination and so much more. The dragon master was amongst one of the most capable persons in the world. Goodshow could count on one hand the amount of people who could've done what his most experienced champion had accomplished. It was true what Lance had said in one of their earlier meetings after hearing the truth from Ash about his mission and what was coming. If it wasn't for him, his sacrifices, his difficult decisions and everything else he did in the past that still haunts him from time to time, though he would never admit it, the world would not be as it was now.
Even the current Master, Red, wherever he is, would agree with him. That it was because of Lance and his actions that the world continued spinning. But then again, Red did handpick Lance to oversee things whenever he would be away, so Goodshow believed that was another thing. He had the makings to become a Master himself one day as told to him by Red. Yet, sometimes the president thought that may have contributed, along with his paranoia and determination, to go overboard on some things as shown here at the Spirit Tournament. However, Goodshow would never doubt Lance's intentions when it came to doing his job, as he knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that whatever he did or wanted to do, was coming from his heart for the good of the people. That was one of the reasons why Goodshow's hopes for him was high and believed he could become even better. It didn't hurt either that he was changing by finally learning to deal with his emotions and failures more maturely now, especially with the help of a certain other champion.
Goodshow became lost in his thoughts about how the two could be good for one another and how hopefully things could blossom for them both. His imagination went for a little while longer until he happened to glance at the clock and saw that there was little bit of time left. He decided to have one last call with his champions and so he reached for the videophone near his seat to press a button. A couple rings later and it was answered, the screen showing a small group of people together. "Hello, my champions."
"Hello Goodshow," replied the five champions he was just thinking about who were standing together in their room.
Goodshow smiled a bit before he began speaking. "I can't tell you how excited I am for this…very very excited. For many reasons. Some you know as well." The champions shared a knowing glance between the five of them for they knew how the president was hoping for something like this for a long time and in his old age, he's been wanting to see it even more before his time came. "I hope to see something outstanding. And remember what Lord Arceus told you; give it your all against him as it will only benefit him and I believe you all as well."
"Of course, we will not go easy on him at all," replied Diantha, her tone one of confidence.
Alder grinned before speaking. "If that's what the big guy wants, that's what he'll get." His words caused his fellow champions to chuckle a bit at that.
Cynthia nodded in agreement. "Even though he and I are together, I will do all that is required as a champion."
Goodshow felt proud over that before glancing at his watch. "Good and you have a little bit of time left. Do what you must before heading out to battle."
"Will do President," replied Steven as he stood up straighter.
The others copied him except for Lance who moved closer to the camera where they were at, making his image become bigger on the screen. "Are you ready for this Charles?" he asked his elderly friend.
A smile spread on Goodshow's face before answering him. "I am and so is everything else for whatever may come afterwards."
Lance understood immediately and chuckled lightly. "I should've known. Always liked to end things with a bang didn't you?" he asked yet Goodshow merely shrugged with his smile still on his face. Lance shook his head. "Alright. Well, we're pretty much ready to go. We'll start heading towards the arena."
"Good. I know you have a little bit of time left, but better not to be late."
"No worries Pres. We got this," remarked Alder.
Nodding in response, the President of the Pokemon League got up off the couch and faced his champions. "Yes, I know. I want you to show everyone, both here and at home, what champions are made of. Give your absolute best no matter what and good luck," he told them.
"Yes, sir!" said the champions together. Goodshow nodded at the five before the video call ended. He sat back down and right when he did, the VIP room's door was knocked on. A moment later, his food was delivered that he had ordered. As he began eating, he thought some more about his champions while he waited out the last few minutes before the match would begin.
After the video call with the president, the champions looked at one another before nodding. They headed out of their preparation room in the stadium and moved towards the tunnel that would lead them into the stadium field. Walking together for a short while, the five reached the tunnel they needed and after rounding the corner into it, they saw that their Elites were waiting for them. Nodding at each other, the two groups didn't say a word as it wasn't needed. Cynthia did glance at the four female elites who caused the commotion last night, though they were purposely avoiding her gaze. Deciding to ignore them, she continued on without saying a word. Seeing her do that, everyone in the group of Elites and her fellow champions were surprised yet said nothing since they were relieved that nothing happened. Moving ahead, the champions positioned themselves in front of their elites and waited for their introductions.
Standing near the entrance, they all could hear the rumbling of the crowd in the stadium. For they weren't the only ones anxiously waiting for the match to begin as the people in the stands were growing impatient with every passing moment as their noise increased steadily. And luckily for them all, they didn't have to wait much longer as the announcer's voice suddenly boomed out over the crowd's noise through the speakers. "Good afternoon everyone and welcome back!" Gradually quieting down but still making a lot of buzz, the people in the stadium were all still able to hear the words blaring out. "I know, I know. We've all waited impatiently for this and it's time to get the show on the road! I introduce to you once more, the strongest group of trainers in the league….THE CHAMPIONS OF THE WORLD!" The crowd ignited over that as the five walked onto the field while waving at everyone. "We have Diantha, Cynthia, Alder, Steven and Lance!" As their names were called, each of them moved towards the center of the field where the referee stood waiting. "Don't forget about their Elites who gave it their all yesterday!" Twenty three trainers moved into the field as they too greeted the people in the stands that cheered at them and continued to do so even as they stopped a short distance away from their side's trainer's box."Now, who knew it would come down to this?! We have the champs here ready to battle against a trainer worthy enough of their skill and power! But will he have what it takes to triumph in the end and become a contender for the tile of Pokemon Master?!" The announcer's words were met with deafening loud cheers and the energy in the arena seemed to increase to the point where almost everyone could feel the anxiousness and excitement off of one another. "I can't wait either! Well, let's bring him out and find out! Here's the challenger who's been on a roll! The Aura Guardian and savior of the tournament, Aaaaaaaaash Ketchum!" Immediately after his words, a large, light blue glowing sphere of aura energy appeared on the challenger's side that expanded rapidly. White streaks of electricity appeared around that cackled around it with great intensity. It appeared to be even stronger and moving even faster than when he faced the elites the previous day. Dark blue eyes appeared inside the sphere and shined brightly before the sphere burst open with a flash of blue light that once again traveled over everyone in the arena, making them shield their eyes while energizing them. When it finished, they looked at the raven haired guardian and saw him dressed in his guardian's attire with his glowing blue flames dancing around him before they died down and the glow went away from his eyes. The crowd roared and cheered for him, with his group of family and friends being among the loudest. He waved at everyone before making his way to the middle of the stadium.
Keeping his sight locked onto the champions, Ash made his way towards them. Reaching them, he took the microphone from the referee and pinned it to his shirt before speaking. "Hello Champions," he greeted the five, his voice being heard throughout the stadium, making the crowd quiet down so they all could hear him better. "I want to tell you this before we start our battle together." The five stood silent, giving him the chance to do so. "I may be repeating myself but thank you for this opportunity. As I said yesterday before my battles with your Elites, I meant no disrespect in my challenge against you in this manner. For I want to become the best trainer in the world and in order to do so, I have to do constantly push my limits. I want to thank you for giving me the chance to do so and perhaps make my dream come true. Just like you and your teams, my pokemon and I have worked hard to get here. And now, it all comes down to this. Whatever happens now, whether I win or lose, this battle is one of those where I will never forget!" The crowd cheered after his words and the champions smiled confidently at their challenger who smiled back at them the same before the two groups went towards their respective sides.
Reaching their side, the champions turned around and faced their opponent on the opposite side. Glancing at his fellows, Lance spoke. "Alright, let's show the world what we champions are made of."
Diantha nodded as she took out her poke ball. "Couldn't have said it better myself." She looked at Cynthia who shifted her gaze to her as well. "You ready to give your boyfriend a thrashing he won't be forgetting anytime soon?" she asked her with a smirk.
Cynthia blushed a little since she wasn't expecting her to say it like that but remained composed. "Of course. As I said earlier, we may be together but I would never go easy on a challenger. Doesn't matter who they are. Plus, I think he'll hate that anyways so can't do that even if I wanted to." They chuckled over her words before refocusing on what was about to happen, facing their challenger who was standing across the arena.
As the ones in the field readied themselves to start the battle as soon as the referee signaled them, in the stands, amongst the buzzing crowd, the challenger's family and friends were filled with excitement and anxiousness. Especially his girlfriends, who were on the edge of their seats, cheering for their beloved. They couldn't wait to see him go all out against the champions.
They weren't the only ones though. Most everyone couldn't wait to see that but they all had their own reasons behind it. For the trainer of legendaries, Tobias was using it as a way to distract himself from his worries as well as waiting for an opportunity to talk to Ash afterwards. Because after witnessing his battles against the elites the previous day, Tobias realized that he was right; the younger trainer does know some things and that they could help him in keeping his promises and finding out why he lost control with Regigigas. He decided to stay and wait for the right moment to speak with him.
As for someone else, he was watching for an entirely different reason. Drax wanted to figure out what he was missing still. After watching the elite battles and speaking with the one who was promised to him, the self proclaimed dragon master felt he was close to unlocking some secret. And so, he too stayed so he could fulfill his dream of becoming the greatest dragon trainer in the world. And if he was being honest with himself, to prove himself to the one girl who he actually cared for because even though she told him she wasn't interested, he knew that there was a reason behind it. For she wasn't like that before in the past as she had changed from how he remembered her. In order to do all that, he thought that by staying and continuing to watch the battles, he would be able to figure out the guardian's battling style, which he hoped would be beneficial in some way.
As much as those two wanted to see the battle, so did a group of three women. Though for them, it was for far more evil intentions. Having prepared fully and taking care of their guest earlier on, Oakley, Annie and Domino had been waiting for the match to begin after they contacted their allies and teammates to give and receive updates so everything was ready to go. The only thing they had to do now was to just wait. Oakley and Annie glanced at each other when the champions and the guardian began walking to their trainer boxes before moving closer while Domino kept her serious gaze fixed onto the raven haired young man.
After the six trainers reached their boxes and faced each other, the referee spoke into his walkie-talkie for a moment and once he received the go ahead, he put it away. Raising both the green and red flag, he spoke, his words blaring out through the speakers, making the crowd go silent so they can hear him. "The Champions' match of the extended battles of the Spirit Tournament is about to begin." The crowd let out loud noise before the referee was able to continue. "This will be a handicapped match with the five champions against their challenger at the same time. There will be no substitutions, no mega-evolutions and no time limit. The moves Destiny Bond and Perish Song are prohibited. Trainers, are you ready?" asked the referee as he pointed the green flag towards the guardian and the red flag towards the champions. Receiving nods from them all in response to his question, the referee raised both flags and spoke once more. "The battle begins now!"
At once, the five champions tossed out their poke balls and their lead pokemon appeared with powerful roars. "AND THEY'RE OFF! THE BATTLE AGAINST THE CHAMPIONS OF THE WORLD HAS FINALLY STARTED! WE HAVE DRAGONITE FOR LANCE, METAGROSS FOR STEVEN, GARCHOMP FOR CYNTHIA, VOLCARONA FOR ALDER AND GARDEVOIR FOR DIANTHA! WE ALL KNOW HOW POWERFUL THE CHAMPIONS' LEAD POKEMON ARE! NOW, WHO WILL THE CHALLENGER CHOOSE TO BATTLE AGAINST THESE POWERHOUSES?! WILL THEY EVEN HAVE A CHANCE?!" The crowd roared and cheered over seeing the champions' most powerful and popular pokemon appearing. Many have only heard about them but finally being able to see them in person was something else entirely. They could feel their power radiating off of them.
"Damn, just look at their pokemon!" remarked Burgundy with excitement for everyone in the group, making Cilan give her a small smile over her excitement. "They all look so strong! Who is Ash gonna use against them?" she asked while keeping her sight glued onto them.
No one was able to even attempt to make a guess from the group as Ash started speaking at that moment, making them and everyone else in the stadium to quiet down to hear him. "Your pokemon are very strong. You can feel their power. I can't wait to see how we'll do against you. But as you have also seen already, so are mine. Although I have many to choose from, even from legendaries, it didn't take me a long time to figure out who should battle you in this special match. Because honestly, there was no question about it. There is only one pokemon who should have this honor of facing against you all." A blue glow appeared in his right hand before it faded away to reveal a poke ball. "And that pokemon has everything that's needed for this battle." Ash raised his hand that contained the poke ball up and looked at it. "And just like your lead pokemon, he's been through pretty much everything with me, through thick and thin." He raised his sight back up and locked his gaze onto the champions. "He's one of my best friends who is also one of my strongest pokemon." He extended out his arm forward with the front of the poke ball facing the champions. The screens around the stadium showed a lightning bolt sticker on the front and immediately most of his family and friends knew who was in there, making them think many different things. "And I don't think I'll ever get him into a poke ball again." He chuckled a bit and so did several from his group. "Alright buddy! Time for you to show everyone what you're truly capable of!" And with that, Ash tossed out his starter's poke ball into the field.
After traveling some distance, the poke ball opened with a flash of intense bright light that blinded most everyone in the stadium for a split second. When the intense light faded, they were able to see again and saw something that made many let out startled sounds. For on the guardian's side of the field, several arcing lightning bolts were dancing around a bright yellow sphere of electrical energy with such intensity and speed that it was blowing apart the ground where it struck.
Seeing this display of power, Lance spoke. "This could be the pokemon…" His fellow champions looked at him. "You know, the one who caused all that damage in the forest." Hearing him say that, they realized he was probably right and refocused on their opponent with their hearts beating a little faster.
After showing off his power a little more, the pokemon inside the yellow sphere had the lightning bolts slow down before disappearing as the sphere shrunk while fading away to reveal himself. Seeing which of his pokemon it was caused many to let out astonished gasp as they became surprised along with the champions except for the few who knew what the pokemon could do. "WOULD YOU LOOK AT THAT?! THE CHALLENGER HAS OPTED TO USE HIS STARTER, PIKACHU, AGAINST THE CHAMPIONS OF THE WORLD! EVEN IF WE DID GET TO SEE SOME OF HIS CAPABILITY BEFORE HAND, I DON'T KNOW ABOUT ANY OF YOU, BUT IT LOOKS LIKE THE GUARDIAN HAS JUST MADE A FATAL MISTAKE! WE COULD BE COUNTING THIS ONE EARLY FOLKS!" The announcer's words were met with boos from the crowd, with the loudest being Ash's group before they switched to cheering him on. Though there were many in the stands, such as Tobias, Drax and the three Rocket women included, who thought that Ash had lost his mind over his choice of pokemon. For his opponents were naturally strong pokemon and were raised to champion levels of power. They, along with many others, believed that to face a single champion strength pokemon with such a lowly pokemon such as Pikachu was absurd already. But to do so against five pokemon of champion class caliber at once was just beyond crazy.
And they weren't the only ones to be shocked at the guardian's choice of pokemon. Back on the field, on the champion's side, both trainers and their pokemon were still sporting astonished expressions. They could sense that the yellow mouse had power over his little display earlier in the tournament, but they couldn't believe it. Maybe because it just seemed so surreal to them that such a pokemon, whose species isn't really known for being formidable until they evolved into their final stage, was their challenger. Now, anyone else and they would've just messed around in the battle and then finish it with a merciful knock out. But no, not against this mouse. After everything they've witnessed, especially about the raven haired guardian and his other pokemon, they would not underestimate it and would instead give it as much respect and attention as if they were facing a legendary of the world.
Glancing at his fellow champions, Steven spoke, catching their attention. "Let's do this. Remember the plan and don't underestimate that Pikachu. Ash knows how strong our pokemon naturally are and who we are. So for him to use Pikachu, who could be the one who caused all that carnage in the forest, he must have a plan. Stay alert and let's keep him from getting any traction." They voiced their agreements and they faced forward towards the field.
On the other side of the field, Ash and Pikachu were in battle ready positions. The yellow mouse was on all fours along with his lightning shaped tail standing up as Ash stood straight with his arms crossed in front of his chest. As the raven haired guardian kept his outward appearance calm and neutral, inside he was feeling several different emotions, ranging from excitement to nervousness. Yet he was able to keep his mind focused on the task at hand as he surveyed the pokemon facing him and his starter across the field. This is it. Dragonite. Gardevoir. Metagross. Garchomp. Volcarona. Except for the Master's pokemon, these are amongst the strongest trained pokemon in the world. He shifted his gaze towards Pikachu, who was motionless in his readied stance. So are my pokemon but there is a difference. They may have more power and experience over us. But we definitely have the techniques and speed to win. All I know is that we can't afford any mistakes. One wrong move and it could be all over. Taking in a quiet breath, he then let it out slowly to calm himself before speaking. "Alright Pikachu, you ready buddy to show everyone what we're capable of?!"
"Pi Pikachu!" answered his starter with confidence. Some small sparks were let out from his cheeks.
Hearing that, the champions and their pokemon readied themselves and acted immediately. "Good thing as so are we!" remarked Diantha before following up with her command. "Gardevoir, Psychic!" Her white and green pokemon had her eyes glow blue while the other four pokemon moved as well, heading towards their lone adversary from different angles.
"Pikachu, use Agility!" countered Ash at once and the electric mouse instantly vanished from its spot with a flash of yellow, like a lightning strike, evading the attack.
Seeing their opponent literally disappear from sight, the champions' pokemon stopped their advance and looked around their surroundings. "Metagross, try to sense where he's going with your psychic abilities!" advised Steven, with the Kalos champion telling her pokemon to do the same. Both psychic types had their eyes glow blue as they attempted to pinpoint his location.
The Sinnoh champion decided to also aid in the search. "Garchomp, sense the vibrations in the ground from Pikachu's movements and once you find him out, use Earth Power!" ordered Cynthia, and her land shark struck her tail into the ground to sense the vibrations.
As those three tried to figure out where their opponent was, Lance and Alder had Dragonite and Volcarona stay alert while hovering in the air in the middle of the field with their backs up against each other. They didn't want to be caught off guard from any direction and used their position in the sky to search for the elusive mouse.
Several seconds passed with nothing happening that was making both the crowd and the champions restless but for different reasons. It was a short while afterwards, right when Diantha was about to open her mouth and say her next command, that something happened. Pikachu appeared all of a sudden right in front of Gardevoir who had a split second reaction of astonishment expressed on her face before she was struck by his tail covered in a metallic sheen. The psychic fairy was thrown backwards while letting out a cry of pain. At once, the other pokemon reacted. Dragonite shot towards the fairy to catch her while Garchomp stomped her right foot. A crack shot through the ground at great speed towards Pikachu. The ground erupted at the site with the debris consisting of dirt and rocks shooting upwards into the air. Pikachu was able to evade the attack with only an afterimage that was all that was visible before the electric mouse appeared in front of the blue land shark with his tail still glowing and attempted to hit his next target as well.
Garchomp was barely able to defend herself by raising her claws into a 'x' position in front of her to defend against the attack. Yet when Pikachu struck her using Iron Tail, the dragon was still pushed back many feet by the force behind the attack with her feet digging a trail because of it. Immediately after he struck, Pikachu was about to get bombarded by Volcarona's Fire Blast and Metagross's Flash Cannon before he once again disappeared from sight, with the two attacks reaching his previous spot right after and exploded on contact with each other.
What just happened surprised the champions as well as the people in the stands. They couldn't believe that Pikachu, who was a fraction of the size of Garchomp, made the dragon move from her defensive position and escaped before being struck himself. "WOULD YOU LOOK AT THAT?! LOOKS LIKE THERE MIGHT BE MORE TO THIS MOUSE AFTER ALL!" The announcer's words were met with cheers from the crowd while it buzzed over what they just witnessed.
"I can't believe how fast Pikachu is," murmured Alder mostly to himself yet his teammates heard him and they too could hardly believe it.
Cynthia couldn't help but be impressed by what she just saw. Even knowing how strong he and his pokemon have become. Even thinking that Pikachu could be the one responsible for the forest destruction. Even then, she was still surprised. Smirking a bit, she felt excitement fill her from the battle, her heart beating quickly because of it and loved that it was her beloved making her feel this way since it's been so long since she felt something from battling. "That wasn't bad Ash. But that's not all you're going to do is there?"
Ash chuckled a bit. "Of course not. But I'm not telling you what we have planned. All I will say is that you won't be able to find Pikachu with that kind of tactic," he replied back confidently.
Instead of Cynthia replying, the champion of Hoenn did. "Garchomp did it once, she can do it again. And even if Garchomp can't, it's only a matter of time before Metagross and Gardevoir lock onto Pikachu. Then it's game over," revealed Steven as their pokemon got back into position after recovering. Once again, Metagross and Gardevoir attempted to find the electric type with their senses with their eyes glowing blue.
"That's right. That little stunt you pulled surprised us, that's all. It'll take more than that to take us down," added Diantha, slightly peeved that Gardevoir was struck first, with her pokemon feeling the same, sporting narrowed eyes on her face while searching for Pikachu.
Seeing their reactions, Ash felt a little nervous over their glares for a moment before he shook it off. It was nothing personal against them and he knew that they knew that. They were just trying to get under his skin but he wouldn't let them. Gardevoir is one who could be taken out easier compared to the rest and they all knew that since her endurance was naturally less than the other pokemon. Ash also knew that the most difficult would probably be either Garchomp or Dragonite because of their species' well known resilience. "You're right about that Diantha. But it'll also take more than your two psychics to catch Pikachu," taunted Ash.
Steven, Diantha and their pokemon, Gardevoir and Metagross, grew a little angry over his words but didn't show it as they remained composed. They had much experience in controlling their emotions and reactions when it came to battling. They wouldn't let that be the cause of their downfall. "And why is that?" asked a curious Alder for them instead.
"Because Pikachu trained a lot with Mewtwo," revealed Ash with a grin.
Their eyes widening, they realized something yet only one spoke. "So you're saying that Pikachu is too quick for them to hone in on him using their psychic senses. Is that it?" asked Lance for clarification.
"Exactly. After training together for so long, Pikachu has reached the point that nobody, except for Mewtwo, is able to stop him when in the middle of his Agility. You only have a split second to do something when he shows himself to attack," he explained to them. As if to prove his trainer's point, Pikachu appeared in a flash of yellow in front of his trainer with a smirk on its face and then disappeared again immediately afterwards.
Expecting them to be slightly unnerved at the very least, Ash became surprised that they hardly reacted over this new bit of news along with a showing of proof. Instead, they seemed to be disappointed instead. "Is that it?" questioned Lance. "I expected something a little more than that. So Pikachu is super fast that psychics can't grab hold of him. And he has a little bit of power as well as shown when he struck Gardevoir and Garchomp. You think we haven't dealt with something of the sort before?" he asked the guardian.
It was then that Ash understood. They thought he was going for just hit and run tactics. Well, that's partially true. But there's far more to it than that. But, I'll let them figure it out if they can. Ash shrugged, letting his arms fall against his sides afterwards. "If that's what you believe, then I guess we'll just have to show you otherwise." A flash of yellow appeared behind Dragonite in the middle of the air right after his words. Before any of them could react, the dragon was struck against his back with Iron Tail and sent rocketing to the ground.
"No! Dragonite!" shouted Lance with worry but it was unneeded. For his pokemon recovered quickly in the air and stopped his descent with quick flaps of his wings. "Almost had me worried there," chuckled the red haired champion. Setting his gaze back onto the raven haired trainer, Lance's expression grew serious. "Alright, enough with this annoying stunt as it's time to bring your mouse out of hiding. Dragonite! Twister all over the field!" Dragonite channeled the draconic energy within him to mix with the surrounding air as he flapped his short yet powerful wings towards the field in an attempt to bring out the elusive electric type.
As Lance's dragon did that, the other champions' pokemon brought out protective shields around them as that happened to avoid any damage themselves. Powerfully sharp and fast winds blew all over the field, howling as it did so. The champions were looking for any sign that could show where the elusive mouse could be. The winds kept going for a little while longer yet nothing happened. Seeing that, Lance ordered his pokemon to stop and soon enough, the roaring twister died down. "Where the hell is he?!" asked Lance with slight frustration.
An answer was supplied to his question right after thanks to Alder. "He's on your pokemon!"
"What?!" Everyone looked closer at the dragon in the air and that was when they spotted the mouse. Pikachu had rushed through with Agility and grabbed onto Dragonite's back right before he started his attack. The bulky pokemon hadn't notice such a small weight on him, especially when he was concentrating on covering the area with Twister.
Grinning at the dragon as he turned his head to look back at him, Pikachu then unleashed a massive Thunderbolt right then and there. Dragonite roared with pain at the point blank range of attack and writhed about in the air. His agony was short lived however when Metagross was able to lock onto the mouse with his psychic senses. A purple outline appeared around Pikachu who was forced to stop his attack because of shock. Expressions of surprise and worry formed on both pokemon and trainer's faces as they both realized that they had messed up; Ash by not telling his starter to keep moving and Pikachu by staying in one spot too long as a single word entered both of their minds; "Shit!"
Seeing his Dragonite panting from the electric type but alright for the most part, allowed the dragon trainer to let out a relieved breath. "Thanks Steven."
"No worries Lance," replied Steven before sending his next words to his pokemon. "Good job Metagross!" he praised his pokemon, who let out a metallic sounding noise in response.
"Pikachu, break free!" shouted Ash urgently, and his starter attempted to do so. Struggling valiantly against the psychic hold, the yellow mouse was trying to use his increased speed to get out of it. Seeing it barely do anything, he decided to focus his mind and muscles before attempting another Agility. His speed having become quadrupled from the move was making him literally vibrate with incredible force in the hold.
And it was working. Remarkably, Pikachu was giving such a fight, looking like a blurry yellow ball, that the pseudo legendary psychic and steel pokemon was having a tough time keeping the small mouse within his psychic hold. "Damn, that's one stubborn mouse! Gardevoir, help Metagross!" said Diantha, and her fairy pokemon assisted, with her eyes glowing blue. Along with the purple glow around him, at the moment Pikachu was about to break free, he then had a pink glow form around him as well. Both psychic restraints were able to do what one could not. He was completely restricted now and unable to move even an inch. "Gotcha!" exclaimed Diantha in triumph.
"Damn it!" cursed Ash, seeing his starter completely stuck. Even with trying everything, Pikachu was unable to even attempt to move his paw's short appendages.
"Nicely done!" commented Lance, facing Diantha with a smirk, who flashed a grin back at him. "Now we can get some payback if not end this match!" he said, with her nodding in agreement.
Steven let out a sigh. "Well, I wasn't expecting things to just end like this."
"Too right," added Alder, unsatisfied with the all too short battle. "I wanted more."
Cynthia didn't say anything though she was feeling the same as them along with several other emotions. She was looking at Ash at the other side of the field whose expression was that of worry. I'm sorry Ash but this is what happens with just a single mistake in a battle. Especially against us Champions. I hope you can at least learn from this. And if not, I'll make sure you do. Especially when I punish you for it later tonight. Unable to help herself, a slight smile formed on her face along with her cheeks turning slightly red after her thoughts.
Alder speaking again brought her out of her thoughts and back into focus. "Alright, let's finish this. Steven, Diantha; keep your hold on Pikachu as we prepare to deal the finishing blow," said the Unova champion. Agreeing with him, both Diantha and Steven informed their pokemon of the plan while Lance, Alder and Cynthia told their pokemon to prepare their final attacks.
Hearing the champions make that plan made many in the stadium to boo, not happy with the outcome. They thought that it was a cheap way to end the battle. Especially Ash's family and friends. Even though they knew that it was a good and legal tactic to use, that didn't mean that they had to like it. His girlfriends were shouting out many things to their beloved and his pokemon to encourage them to find a way out of the mess. "LOOKS LIKE THIS IS IT FOLKS! UNLESS THE CHALLENGER CAN COME UP WITH A MIRACLE RIGHT NOW, HIS TOURNAMENT STREAK IS GOING TO COME TO AN END IN JUST A FEW MOMENTS!"Hearing the announcer's words made most of the crowd become even louder because of it. Though they were upset over the short and apparently one sided battle, they still wanted to see the final moments to bring the tournament to a close.
Three women glanced at one another as they witnessed this happening. Two of them made eye contact with the third, wanting to know if they would be springing into action now. Their questioning looks were given an answer with a slight shake of the head and mouthed the words 'not yet' to them and they nodded. For Domino had the remote ready in her hand as soon as Pikachu was caught in the psychic hold but she was waiting for the referee's words that ended the match.
Back onto the field, Ash was wracking his brain trying to come up with something to help his starter. Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit! This isn't good! Pikachu can't move at all, no matter what he does! Looking at the other pokemon, he saw that while the two were keeping their hold onto Pikachu, the other three were charging up their attacks to launch them together. His eyes widened in fear and moved his sight back onto his starter. Damn it! We're almost out of time! What the hell can we do?! We can't give up now! Not after everything! C'mon, think! Think damn it! What can we do to counter this trap?! Pikachu can't move but there must be something! There has to be something! C'mon! C'mon! Think of something to counter it! It was then that an epiphany occurred to Ash and his eyes widened. That's it! Counter! Of course! "Pikachu!" shouted Ash, catching everyone's attention. "Charge quickly!" Not knowing yet what his plan was but trusting him fully, his starter stopped his pointless struggling and began absorbing the electrical currents in the air. He didn't need to move to do his since it mostly consisted of using the electric sacs located within his cheeks.
"What's he up to?" asked Cynthia out loud for them all.
"Doesn't matter, as we're about to end this battle," replied Alder, seeing their pokemon almost ready to launch their attacks. Besides Cynthia, who was slightly sullen to end things this way, the champions nodded in agreement.
"Well Ash, I hate to say this but all good things must come to an end," began Lance, wanting to say something before the final attacks. "You had an incredible run but this is where you stop. Though your Pikachu is strong, it's still nowhere near our level to take us on. Especially against the five of us at once." Lance wanted to see if Ash would react or say something after that but nothing was said back. In fact, Ash's attention was still on his Pikachu. Lance shook his head in amusement. "Well, I can't say you're not stubborn after everything. But stubbornness alone isn't enough." He looked at his team. "Ready?" he asked his fellow champions, seeing his Dragonite holding the attack, waiting for his command to fire it.
"Ready," answered Alder swiftly.
It took a moment for Cynthia to respond back. "Yes," she said quietly. As much as she was about to hate doing what she was about to do, she still had to as she had to do her duties as Champion and also knew that Ash wouldn't be happy with her not doing so.
Lance looked forward once more. "Alright. Dragonite, Dragon Pulse!"
"Volcarona, Signal Beam!"
"Garchomp, Dragon Pulse!"
The three elemental attacks were fired with incredible power and speed. With the crowd's shouts and screams ringing in his ears, Ash yelled out his command, hoping that his starter absorbed enough to be able to salvage the situation. "Counter shield!"
With barely any time to act, Pikachu quickly used the absorbed electrical energy from the air to disperse out multiple lightning bolts from his body that was strong enough to break the psychic holds on him before circling around him with blinding speed. It was then that the three energy beams reached him and the moment they contacted the electrical shield, they exploded at once, bringing up a cloud of smoke instantly before the next second, a ball of yellow energy was sent rocketing towards the stadium wall in a downward angle.
"PIKACHU!" shouted Ash after seeing the electrical sphere collide into the wall, getting stuck in it. Utter silence throughout the stadium as everyone saw what happened. All eyes were on the yellow sphere in the wall, waiting to see the pokemon's condition. A moment later, the energy dissipated only to reveal a still conscious mouse who was panting heavily. Pikachu pushed himself off the wall and landed onto the ground with his sight on his opponents. As Ash felt relieved to see his starter still in the battle, the stadium erupted with cheers while everyone, from the people in the stands to the champions in the field, were astounded over the outcome. Ignoring the noise, Ash focused on his pokemon. "Pikachu, you alright buddy? Can you still go on?" he asked.
Though he was still panting, the yellow mouse turned his head to lock eyes with his best friend, Pikachu then nodded and faced forward. "Pi, pika!"
Ash smiled and looked back up towards his opponents. "Alright, looks like we're going to have to start the next part of our plan earlier than expected. You know what to do Pikachu. It's now or never!" Going onto all fours again, Pikachu had his yellow tail stand straight up. He began drawing in the electrical energy from the air once more to give him a boost and rejuvenate himself as much as he could.
Cynthia reacted first from the champions as they saw him prepare, her battling instincts taking over. "Don't let him charge up again! Garchomp, Dragon Claw!" Shooting forward with blinding speed, the land shark pokemon had his right claw glow in preparation to land the strike. At the last second, Pikachu evaded by using Agility but didn't travel too far away, appearing a short distance away from his attacker for he was still trying to collect energy. "Don't let up Garchomp!" encouraged Cynthia and that's exactly what he did, attempting to land his strike while trying to prevent the mouse from fully charging.
After the third attempt, when Pikachu reappeared in another spot on the field, a curved blade of air energy was racing towards him. His eyes widened before he was able to flee at the last second, the attack blowing apart the ground where it struck. Dragonite had also entered the fray, helping out Garchomp in preventing the yellow mouse from continuing his charging. "Don't think we'll just let you do that so easily Ash," remarked Lance.
Ash grit his teeth but remained composed. "Didn't think so." His pokemon showed himself in front of his trainer. There was a very faint glowing outline around his Pikachu. Just a little more. "But we'll keep pushing!" Pikachu disappeared again right when a Dragon Pulse was about to make contact but instead struck the ground.
"Don't think that's all you have to contend with!" said Steven. "Earthquake!" Metagross raised his two front limbs before slamming them onto the floor. Incredible tremors rocked the field, with cracks forming all over the place as the ground became uneven. His teammates avoided the damage by moving up into the air.
Their opponent however, was not so lucky. Pikachu was forced to appear by the sudden shaking with a loud cry of pain. "Pikachu! Anchor yourself!" His tail turning a metallic sheen, Pikachu slammed it into the ground and stabilized his position, minimizing the damage from the attack while it ran its course.
"That's it! He's stuck! Fire Blast!" yelled Alder, wanting to capitalize on the current situation. His fire moth shot a five pointed fire star towards the mouse while the Earthquake was finishing up. There was no way for Pikachu to escape, his tail still in the ground. His eyes widened at the incoming attack.
At the last second, a yellow sphere of electrical energy was brought out from within Pikachu and the moment the Fire Blast made it contact, it exploded. Smoke covered the area and the crowd went quiet. "GOOD LORD, WHAT A BATTLE! WAS THE FIRE BLAST ABLE TO PENETRATE THAT ELECTRIC SHIELD?!" The smoke cleared to show that Pikachu was slightly panting but still in the fight, saved from the Fire Blast because of using Counter Shield. However, he had used up the extra energy he had absorbed earlier. Realizing that, Ash cursed under his breath. They were back at square one in collecting the necessary energy to give them a boost and even out the battle.
The champions were surprised and one of them let out a sigh. "What is it going to take?" asked Alder rhetorically after seeing his pokemon's Fire Blast practically shrugged off like it was nothing.
"Don't be so down," answered Diantha with a smile, getting his attention. "Volcarona was able to get Pikachu to use up all the extra energy he collected to use his Counter Shield again."
It was then that Alder realized that there was no more glowing outline around the mouse and his mood brightened. "Yup, that's right. Good job Volcarona!" praised Alder, his mood changing rapidly.
Chuckling, the other four champions shook their heads slightly before facing their opponents again. "Alright, let's continue," said Lance as their pokemon positioned themselves in front of them while glaring at the electric mouse.
On the other side of the field, Ash was trying to decide which of his other plans to use after cursing under his breath. As he did so, Pikachu smirked at the champion pokemon in an attempt to get under their skin, which worked slightly as they narrowed their eyes onto him. Their initial plan of using Agility to disorient them and attack at opportune moments worked a little before it was brought to a screeching halt. His second plan of also using Agility to continue their evasive tactics while charging up also failed. They were not going to let him continue this, whether to slowly tire them out with hit and run tactics or to charge up Pikachu to his maximum. Seeing the champion's pokemon move to stand in front of their trainers, Ash made up his mind. His next plan he decided would have to be an all out and relentless offensive. It would be risky, considering that Pikachu would be using up a lot of energy. But if they were successful, they could probably bring down two of their opponents. And if they were really lucky, three. "Alright Pikachu. We've gotten lucky so far but we can't afford any more mistakes." His starter nodded, while small sparks shot out of his cheeks. "We showed them your speed. Now it's time to show off your power. You ready?" he asked his starter who replied with larger sparks shooting out.
"Get ready to intercept and counter!" said Cynthia after hearing that. Her pokemon readied herself to attack or defend as needed and so did the others.
Ash grinned at seeing that. "I'm coming for you Cynthia!" he remarked, calling out his girlfriend.
The Champion of Sinnoh blushed slightly but remained focused on the task at hand. "I've been waiting! Bring it!"
"You asked for it! Quick Attack!" Pikachu grinned before shooting forward with such speed that he vanished from sight thanks to using Agility earlier on. He reappeared, slamming into Garchomp's slightly softer belly compared to the rest of her rough skin with his side. The land shark roared with pain as she was sent flying backwards from the force behind the attack before crashing against the ground head first, shocking everyone there that the mouse was able to do that to the large dragon with Cynthia yelling out for her pokemon. "Focused Discharge now!" roared Ash, not wasting any time, capitalizing on their opponent's momentary weakness.
"PIKAAA…CHUUUUUUUUUU!" Several lightning bolts of intense electrical energy shot out from the yellow mouse. Since he was in close proximity to the rest, several bolts struck against their intended targets. Dragonite, Gardevoir, Metagross and Volcarona cried out in pain over the electrical blasts as they writhed about in their spots.
"Fly up Dragonite!" shouted Lance.
"Push through and counter with Meteor Mash!" encouraged Steven.
"Teleport out of range!" ordered Diantha.
"Use Quiver Dance to evade and power up!" commanded Alder.
Hearing slight panic from their voices for the first time in the battle made Ash and Pikachu grow bolder. "Keep it up Pikachu! Don't give them a chance to get free!" As his pokemon kept the pressure on the four who attempted to break free of the constant electrical shocks, the raven haired guardian glanced at the fifth pokemon. Garchomp was recovering, slowly finding her bearing as she was on all fours. She was more dazed from the attack than hurt, having the wind knocked out of her. Ash turned his attention back to his pokemon. Pikachu was still going, keeping up the Focused Discharge against them. It had taken them a long time to alter the normally wild and all over the place Discharge into the more refined attack that they were using at the moment. But it was draining his pokemon's energy quickly. It was time to take out a couple of their opponents. "Iron Tail and then Thunder!" Pikachu vanished from sight, with the last of his electrical attacks connecting against their targets, keeping them rooted in their spots for a moment longer. And it was all he needed as the electric type landed a direct hit against the psychic fairy with his metallic covered tail. Immediately following that, Pikachu used a lot of his power to bring forth an enormous pillar of electrical energy onto the three remaining targets. As if the constant writhing about from Discharge wasn't enough, the incredible power behind the summoned Thunder caused all three of the pokemon to spasm in agony as their nerves were being fried before the intensity of the attack caused a massive explosion that blew away the pokemon.
When Gardevoir was hit, she was sent rocketing to the stadium wall while screaming in pain before she was silenced from the impact that drew up a cloud of dust. "No!"cried out Diantha at seeing that, hoping that her pokemon was still in the fight.
Immediately after she said that, the other three champion pokemon joined the petite fairy as they too crashed into the stadium walls, bringing up more dust clouds that hid them from view. Shouts of anger, concern and fear were let out by Lance, Alder and Steven at witnessing that. "WHAT A COMBINATION! THE CHALLENGER HAS BROUGHT SEVERAL OF THE CHAMPION'S POKEMON TO THEIR KNEES! WILL THEY BE ABLE TO CONTINUE?!" Everyone impatiently waited to see what the dust cloud would reveal when they finally cleared. As they waited, Pikachu made his way back to his side of the field, panting heavily while Garchomp was finally able to stand up again.
The dust slowly cleared to show what it was hiding. Gardevoir was out cold, lying against the wall with her back, her head hanging. Dragonite was barely conscious, on one knee, his muscles still twitching from the high voltage attacks. Volcarona had landed awkwardly against the wall, damaging his wings on one side greatly, causing him tremendous pain as he struggled to stay afloat in the air. Metagross was still stuck in the wall, having become embedded into it because of his weight, spread eagled and unconscious.
It had worked. His very risky plan bore fruit. They were able to knock out two of their opponents while damaging two more greatly. "WILL YOU TAKE A LOOK AT THAT?! THE GUARDIAN WAS ABLE TO KNOCK OUT A COUPLE OF THE CHAMPIONS' POKEMON! NOW IT'S JUST THREE AGAINST ONE!" Astounded over what just happened, the people in the stands had gone silent until the announcer's words brought them out of their trance and began cheering loudly.
Throughout the entire battle, the group of elites that stood behind their champions on the field had remained silent for the most part. Only a handful times did they let out noise out of surprise or astonishment. But now, they were unable to stay quiet, having just witnessed the incredible last moments of the battle. "I can't believe it," whispered Lorelei in awe from within the group of elites.
Malva had taken off her sunglasses out of shock and held them loosely in her right hand. "Is this his true strength?" she asked to no one in particular.
"He was able to bring them all down at almost the same time," commented Phoebe with slight fear coating her words.
Karen was staring with wide eyes. "Is this truly the same person we battled against yesterday?"
No one else spoke from within the group of elites from around the world. However, each of them was lost in thought over what they just witnessed. Many were having a hard time believing it, even seeing with their own eyes. Although two of them were lost in thought as well, they weren't thinking the same things as the others. Both of them, one Kanto Elite and the other a Sinnoh Elite, had been reminded of the current Master who hadn't been seen for so long. They wondered how close the current Master and the guardian are in terms of level. Could the guardian be equal to the Master? Or…dare they think it…actually be stronger?
As they elites were left stupefied in their group with many of them thinking several things, their champions composed themselves. Looking over their pokemon, the champions of the world shook their heads before letting out sighs. Diantha and Steven returned their pokemon, thanking them for their hard work. Alder and Lance were checking on their pokemon, asking if they could continue and if they wanted to. Both of their pokemon steadied themselves and moved forward to signify that they were still in the fight. Yet one of them dropped down to the ground all of a sudden. He was wheezing, desperately trying to remain conscious while struggling to get back up.
"It's alright my friend," said the champion towards his pokemon, who looked up at him with guilt that he wasn't able to continue. "Don't give me that. You did splendidly. We'll get them next time," he finished saying with a smile before raising his pokemon's poke ball. His pokemon gave him a slight smile before being returned. "It's up to you two now," he said.
The two remaining champions looked at one another and nodded before facing him. "We'll take it from here Alder," said Lance.
"We promise we'll do our best," added Cynthia.
Alder smiled before stepping back to join Diantha and Steven who had moved a few steps behind their fellow champions so as to not get in their way. "SCRATCH THAT, LOOKS LIKE ITS TWO LEFT INSTEAD OF THREE! HOWEVER, EACH OF THE REMAINING POKEMON LOOK EXHAUSTED SO THIS BATTLE COULD BE FINISHING UP SOON AT ANY MOMENT!" Roaring with anticipation and excitement, the crowd couldn't wait to see the final result.
Inside the green trainer's box, Ash was giving thanks to Lady Luck inside his mind. He knew that their risky gambit would take out at least one of the champions' pokemon, who was his initial target of Gardevoir, and most probably take out a second pokemon, which it did. But a third was included and Ash was elated. With great effort, they were able to almost bring it down to a one on one match. It was close to that, with Dragonite suffering from major damage, having been hit with several high powered electric attacks. Garchomp was immune to normal electric attacks but Dragonite could still be damaged from them and most other Dragonite would've been knocked out by now by Pikachu's powerful bolts. Even the other pokemon, Volcarona, Gardevoir and Metagross, had soaked up an insane amount of damage from the electric mouse before finally succumbing to their pain and exhaustion. It was testament to how much of a different level the champions' pokemon are at. He was only able to do this because of his own insane level of power that had come as a result of his three years of grueling training with the help of Mewtwo along with the boost given through their aura bonds.
Bringing his attention back onto his starter after thinking about all that, Ash could tell that Pikachu had used up more than half of his power. If they could knock out Dragonite quickly enough, then it was possible for them to try and attempt to recharge while evading Garchomp. And he had thought up of a new plan. It was another risky gambit they would have to take but if it worked, it would allow them to set things up to win the match. "Pikachu, you ready to keep going?" he asked and his partner nodded while keeping his attention onto the two dragons. "Okay buddy, be ready."
On the other side, Lance and Cynthia were thinking about the best way to continue until one of them came up with a plan. "We'll charge at Pikachu to buy you guys some time to recover and when you can, I want you to cause a diversion to draw his attention onto you so I can have Garchomp go underground. That way, I'll have the ground and you'll have the air. We'll be able to overcome his speed with both of us attacking at once," explained the Sinnoh Champion.
"Pincer attack huh? Alright, we're in," replied Lance with a slight smirk as he kept his attention on the guardian and his pokemon.
"Good." Cynthia let out a quiet breath in an attempt to calm down, since her heart was beating quickly before she continued with her plan. "Dragon Claw and don't let up!" Garchomp shot forward with her claws glowing with draconic energy.
"Evade and if you have to, use Quick Attack to do so!" countered Ash and his Pikachu narrowly avoided the attack, the dragon's right claw swiping the air. Garchomp quickly turned and attempted another swipe with her left claw this time. Again, Pikachu dodged but by the skin of his teeth, even using Quick Attack. He was that exhausted. "Use Iron Tail to intercept if you can't get away in time!" added Ash after a few more close calls. He didn't want him to do that, as it would cause him to use more energy but they didn't have a choice. Pikachu would be worse off if he were struck. Glancing at Dragonite, Ash thought for a moment as to why he wasn't battling yet and then realized that he was still recovering. He couldn't let him continue doing that any longer.
But he had come to that conclusion too late. For right when he was about to say his next command, Dragonite let out a loud roar before launching a quick Dragon Pulse. Garchomp moved out of the way as Pikachu threw himself to the side to avoid the attack at the last second. When the yellow mouse got back up and turned to face his opponents, he saw an empty field and tilted his head in confusion. "Pika?"
"Stay on your toes Pikachu! Garchomp is underground and Dragonite is up in the air!" warned Ash. Pikachu looked up and saw the mirage pokemon high up in the air. At the same time, he felt slight rumbling from the ground around him caused by the land shark. "Don't stay in one spot! Keep moving around!" said Ash. His starter took off and not a moment later, the ground from his previous spot caved inward, sinking deep into the ground. "Damn, that was close!"
"Don't forget about us now!" Ash looked up at Dragonite over Lance's words as a volley of Dragon Rage attacks were shot from above towards the mouse.
"Shit! Pikachu Double Team!" Splitting into a dozen copies, the yellow mice scampered all over the field, attempting to confuse the flying dragon.
"Relax, follow Garchomp's lead!" advised Cynthia to their teammate. One of the Pikachu's had the ground cave in again at its last position.
"There!" shouted Lance at the top of his lungs. "Let's slow him down! Ice Beam!" A bright bluish white beam of icy energy was shot from the mirage pokemon.
"Pikachu, dodge it!" shouted Ash with worry. Pikachu stopped using Double Team in order to focus and dodged the attack at the last second. The ground froze over with a thin layer of ice where he used to be. Dragonite was about to use another Ice Beam but struggled, unable to focus the energy needed to do so because of his exhaustion. "Thank Arceus…."
"No rest for you!" called out Cynthia as loud rumbling was heard from beneath the ground. "Garchomp, use Dig!" All of a sudden, the ground around Pikachu had cracks form before the land shark shot up through the ground with tremendous speed and power.
Pikachu was slammed into by Garchomp along with rocks, dirt and debris pelting into him as well. He let out an anguished cry from the pain as he was sent flying through the air before crashing badly against the ground. "Pikachu!" shouted Ash with worry and fear as he watched his starter land hard against the ground. Struggling to get back up, Pikachu was on his last legs. The raven haired guardian could feel the exhaustion of his pokemon and his heart was beating like mad over it.
On the other side of the field, Garchomp and Dragonite gathered together to see if their worthy opponent would be throwing in the towel or not while one of them was breathing heavily and the other was slightly panting. "Is that it? Is it over?" asked Diantha.
"Don't say it's over until it's over," replied Alder.
Back with the guardian and his pokemon, Ash could see his pokemon valiantly get back up on shaky legs. He stumbled a bit, falling back down before quickly but painfully getting back up to not allow the referee to count him out of the battle. Ash was moved by his starter's conviction and willpower. Out of all of his pokemon, he was the one who surprised him the most many times. He felt and believed he was right for choosing his starter to battle the champions and now, he knew it to be true one hundred percent. At first, seeing him take that monstrous blow from Garchomp and him in so much pain, he had a split second thought that his friend had reached his limit. But not anymore. Win or lose, he was proud of his pokemon and his best friend. And they were going to finish this within the next few moments. "Pikachu, I know you're tired buddy. I know that you're giving it your best. I know that we were facing a very difficult battle from the get go. But I also know that we have yet to reach our limit. We trained for far worse things than this! This is our chance! This is our time! Let's show everyone your incredible power! Your iron will! Your amazing spirit! Let's show the whole world what we're made of! I believe in you!" Ash's heartfelt words not only moved many in the stadium but it also resonated with his starter pokemon. Pikachu felt his very core become ignited with renewed vigor as a result of his trainer's words and the bond they share between each other. Drawing out this new power from within, he could feel electricity coursing throughout his body. It seemed that his entire being was becoming supercharged from it.
Moved over his words, the champions glanced at one another before facing the guardian again. "That was a moving speech Ash, but I'm afraid it's time to bring this battle to a close. Thank you for the wonderful match and for pushing us to our limits," praised the Kanto and Johto Champion.
Cynthia smiled before speaking as well. "Thank you Ash for this. You have brought me joy in battling again. But I'm sorry that I have to finish up this battle," she said with slightly sullen tone.
Ash nodded in reply to Lance but then shook his head in response to Cynthia's words. "No need to be sullen Cynthia. And don't even think about apologizing. Whatever happens, this was a great battle." He smiled a bit before allowing it to grow, spreading across his face as he just sensed something through his aura bond with his starter. "But we're not done yet!" At that moment, Pikachu began to glow a bright yellow color before multiple bolts of lightning shot out from him and blasted apart the ground around him. Ash sensed his starter had tapped into something but not like this. This had even surprised him a bit. Pikachu had tapped into his reserves, using his natural affinity with electricity to boost everything within him. It was then that both trainer and pokemon realized that this was their final chance. This sudden burst of energy had put Pikachu into overdrive and it could lead them to victory. But time was against them as both trainer and pokemon could feel the immense strain on the mouse. The countdown had already begun.
Lance and Cynthia had their eyes widen in shock before focusing back on the battle. "Don't get startled! Dragon Pulse!" commanded Lance.
"Garchomp, you too!" ordered Cynthia.
Both dragon pokemon quickly fired the draconic energy beams at the electric type. When they were just a short distance away from him, Pikachu shot forward with such speed that he left a trailing yellow energy behind him. Zigzagging across the field as if he was lightning incarnate, the mouse had reached the dragons instantly from across the field. He slammed into the mirage pokemon with so much force behind it while covered in electricity, that an explosion occurred at the moment of impact, releasing smoke that covered them both. Before anyone could say anything or do anything, multiple electric attacks shot from within the smoke towards Garchomp.
Drawing up her arms again to get into a defensive position, the blue dragon was struck by the multiple Thunderbolts. At first thinking that she could just shrug them off, it came to her surprise that they actually hurt when she was hit. Roaring with pain and astonishment, Garchomp stepped back a few feet subconsciously. Lance shouted for his Dragonite to help out but when the smoke finally cleared, he was shocked to find his dragon out for the count with the electric type nowhere to be found.
Immediately afterwards, Pikachu appeared next to the blue dragon with his tail covered in a metallic sheen and cackling with electricity around it. Bombarded with an onslaught of electrified Iron Tails, the blue dragon was being outmatched. Even when Cynthia said to counter with Dragon Claws, it was no use for Pikachu was moving way too fast for Garchomp to keep up with him. "Garchomp, all you need is one clean hit! Distract it with Dragon Breath!" Her pokemon was about to let loose a torrent of greenish flames from her mouth when Pikachu appeared above her head in order to deliver the final blow. "No, Garchomp! Counter with Dragon Rush!" shouted Cynthia.
"Do it Pikachu! Finish it!" yelled out Ash.
Garchomp was covered in draconic energy and rushed towards the incoming attack but it was no use. Pikachu had his constant electric bolts strike her, making the blue dragon flinch with pain from them as he flipped in the air to add momentum to his tail. A devastating blow against the top of the Sinnoh dragon's head sent the pseudo legendary crashing face first into the ground. Pikachu landed next to his opponent. Having used up all of his power in that final attack, the yellow mouse was absolutely spent yet still conscious, taking in large gulps of air while on all fours.
Everyone waited with their eyes wide and their hearts beating like mad for a little while. Just when the referee was about to raise the flag, Garchomp stirred, causing the official to freeze. Slowly, agonizingly, tremblingly, the land shark rose to her feet, panting heavily. Ash had his eyes widen and Pikachu could only do the same, unable to do anything in his exhausted state. Garchomp then raised her head and let out a loud roar that made most everyone cover their ears. It suddenly stopped however as her eyes went glossy white and she dropped back down onto the ground.
It took a moment for the referee to react until he raised the green flag and lowered the red flag. "The challenger has defeated the champions' pokemon, knocking them all out. The winner of this battle and of the extended matches of the Spirit Tournament, making him a possible contender for title of Pokemon Master is Ash Ketchum!" As soon as the referee finished speaking, Ash ran to his starter pokemon while the crowd erupted into cheers. They couldn't believe it even though they saw it with their own eyes. The champions of the world were defeated in a handicap match and it was one of the most spectacular battles they had ever seen. Ash's family and friends were celebrating the loudest, with the girls hugging each other and crying out of happiness for their beloved while his mother was standing up and clapping hard as she screamed out in joy for her son's accomplishment, joyful tears also flowing down her cheeks.
When Ash reached his starter pokemon, he knelt beside Pikachu and smiled at him. "I'm so proud of you buddy." Smiling weakly, the electric mouse gave a shaky thumbs up. Chuckling, Ash picked up his pokemon and gave him a hug who returned it. "You were amazing. Relish in your victory buddy. You deserve it." Pikachu smiled in the hug and let out a few tears of happiness over their accomplishment.
"Hey Ash…" Ash and Pikachu turned their attention to Cynthia, who had walked over to them along with her fellow champions. She was giving a loving smile towards him and Ash returned it to her with one of his own. "That was incredible. Thank you for the battle," said the Sinnoh Champion before she moved closer. Knowing what was going to happen, Pikachu used the very little energy he had regained in the last moments to jump out of his trainer's hands onto the floor. Immediately afterwards, Cynthia leaned in closer and placed her lips onto Ash's.
The entire stadium went silent at once at the sight of the kiss between the two. Until a few seconds later where Ash's group started cheering for them with cat calls and whistles and then the crowd followed after them. The two finished their affectionate display soon enough and broke apart. Their eyes gazing into one another, they then turned to the other champions who had crossed their arms and giving them a look that clearly said 'get a room, geez'. Both of them blushed yet did nothing to hide it. It was time for the world to know, whether they liked it or not. Looking at one another, Ash and Cynthia smiled again before she spoke. "Congratulations Ash. I'm so proud of you," she said before hugging him tightly.
Returning the hug, Ash smiled while in the embrace. "Thank you Cynthia. It was an amazing battle and I'll never forget it. And thanks for not going easy on me," he told her.
They separated and Cynthia gave him a warm smile. "Well duh, I wanted to give you a good trashing." They chuckled and so did the other champions. "But in all seriousness Ash, you did great. You have surpassed us all. You and your pokemon. If anyone deserves the title of Pokemon Master, whether you win it from the current one or not, it's you," she told him sincerely.
Ash felt elated over her words. He glanced at the other champions who agreed with her words by nodding their heads. Shifting his gaze back to hers, he let his trademark goofy grin show on his face. "Cynthia, coming from you that means a lot to me. Thank you so much. I won't disap…" Ash trailed off as he got a sudden ominous feeling.
Cynthia titled her head. "Disap? Ash, what are you…"
Ash raised his hand to signal her to stop and she did. He looked around the stadium, the uneasy feeling filling him. He started using his aura senses to try and see what it was coming from, his eyes darting everywhere. But he couldn't pinpoint the source as it seemed to be coming from everywhere. Frustrated, he looked up towards the sky and that's when he saw what it was coming from. His eyes widened and he was startled into taking in a sharp breath. "No…"
Seeing him do that, the champions and their elites also looked up into the sky and they had mixed reactions, from letting out shouts of surprise to startled cries. The people in the stands quieted down, seeing the powerful trainers in the field become frozen. Noticing that they were looking up into the sky, they too fixed their gazes up. And every single one of them had fear and panic filling them.
For above the stadium, hovering in the air was an entire battalion consisting of dozens of people all on top of their flying pokemon while dressed in their black uniforms with a single red capital 'R' on their chests. And in the middle of the large group, much higher up in the air yet still clearly visible, was what appeared to be a satellite of some sort. But the thing that caused them to be filled with fear was the fact that it looked like it was having more and more flying Team Rocket Members emerging from it.
It was at that exact moment that Ash realized something and his hands clenched into fists as intense anger rose within him. Not only was he enraged at the evil organization's second attempt in attacking, but it was also due to being betrayed from someone who he had trusted and had sworn to him. The Original One had lied to him even when he gave his word that nothing else would happen during the tournament. His eyes glowed a bright blue with his anger rising higher with every passing second as he said the next few words in barely a whisper, where only Cynthia and the nearby champions were able to hear him because of the dead silence in the stadium caused by everyone's fear. "Damn you Arceus…damn you…"
A/N - Hope you liked it. Took me a long time to get the flow right for this chapter. And I don't even want to get started for the remaining chapters for the rest of part one.
Also, I posted up another story that came to mind, but this is from the anime "My Hero Academia". Been watching that lately and even read some of the fics for it here that I read are pretty good. Don't really have a plan for it but I do have some ideas. I would like some suggestions, comments and ideas if you'd like to share with.
Anyways, hope everyone is doing well and please remember to review, favorite and follow!
Question 1 - Which character turned into a surprise for you so far in the story?
Question 2 - What scene did you like best from this chapter?
Ash's Harem Status
In the Harem - Misty, May, Dawn, Serena, Leaf, Sarah, Anabel, Cynthia, Sabrina, Clair, Liza, Giselle, Lizabeth, Shauna (Hoenn), Daisy Waterflower
My Other Stories (Please check out my other stories and leave a review!)
"Tale of the Forsaken" - Prologue is up; working on chapter 1
"Agma Sins" - Prologue is up; working on chapter 1
My Hero Academia Story - (No real title yet; just one chapter up)