Disclaimer: I don't own anything.
Chapter 24: Was that it? How vexing.
Cinnabar Island.
Standing as the southernmost point of Kanto, this archipelago of twenty-three islands was a prime tourist destination of the entire region thanks to the multitude of hot springs found here. Although the island with the gym was considered the official Cinnabar island, the other islands were just as populated. There was once a time when all of these islands had wild Pokémon living in them, but the rapid development of civilization on the island led to their disappearance.
"Hello. We booked a room here two weeks ago." Brock asked a hotel receptionist. We had arrived on the island just an hour ago. Taking notes from my previous experience, we had already booked a room two weeks ago.
"May I know your name, sir?"
"Brock Slate and my companion's name is Ash Ketchum."
"Please wait a minute, sir as we check it out." The Receptionist said before she typed something on her computer. "Here it is. Thank you for your patience, sir. Here is the key to your room. Your room number is 69." She said, handing a key to Brock.
The hotel itself was pretty luxurious and stood at a prime location on the island. It also had a pretty great hot spring which was quite famous for its sheer size. However, the reason I decided on this was due to the fact that the gym was nearby.
"You wanna go to the hot spring? I heard that it is pretty good." Brock seemed eager to go there.
"Sure why not." I had a battle coming up so relaxation was always good.
"Then let's go there once we unpack our stuff."
"Sure."
After we unpacked our stuff and had dinner, we visited the hot springs just as Brock wanted Since it was already nighttime, there weren't many people around which was quite nice for us. We took a shower first before entering the place. It was bigger than expected and there was a huge wooden fence in the middle which separated the women's side from the men's one.
"Ah, this is Bliss!" Brock exclaimed as he plopped down and put himself neck down in the water.
"Sure is." Since I was smaller, I needed to stay on the shallower end.
We both sat there in comfortable silence until Brock broke the silence. "You have a gym battle coming up right? Are you ready for it? I heard that Blaine's fire-type Pokémon are quite formidable."
"That I am. I was a little bit worried since I didn't have many counters for his Pokémon before but now I can say that I am ready with confidence." It was true since the only Pokémon that I had which resisted Fire-types were Blastoise and Charizard which were more than enough normally but were a risky proposition for what I was planning to do.
"That's good then. Now let's just relax." Brock said before sinking himself further into the water.
After the bath, both of us went to sleep marking the end of the day.
The next morning, we were both a bit late to wake up since there wasn't anything to do besides the gym. We had breakfast and headed towards the old gym building beside the Pokémon mansion. Just as expected, it was closed and Blaine, with his disguise, was standing there. When we reached the gym, he spoke to us about how the gym was closed and some other stuff before giving us a riddle about the location of the new gym which was completely pointless since I already knew. Brock did a little brainstorming before he came up with the answer which was the Volcano and we promptly headed there only to find Blaine near the base.
"Congratulations! You have solved the puzzle for getting an opportunity to battle for the Volcano Badge."
"Uh, thanks I guess?"
"Now, let us go to the new gym without wasting any more time."
So, we entered the gym which in hindsight was a dumb place to be since it was in the middle of a Volcano that was active and spewed magma at regular intervals.
"Uh, Mr. Blaine? Are you sure that this place is safe?" Brock was worried.
"Don't worry about that. This pace was built with the state of the art technology and the metal beams that support the platforms do not melt even if it comes in contact with lava."
"If you say so."
We soon reached the platform where the battle was to be held and it was really hot as expected.
"Warning! The heat that has been radiating from the magma has caused the air nearby the platform to heat up. All Water-type moves will be only at 50 percent of their strength and weather-changing moves will be ineffective. The host should exercise caution when dealing with the situation." The system warned.
"Since there are no referees, we'll just skip the formal announcements. You're fine with that right?"
"Sure. By the way Blaine, I request for an all-out match with your complete team." Before I ever step foot on Cinnabar, I had decided that I should challenge Blaine head-on instead of doing the restricted challenge. Most of my Pokémon were at a level where they could just one-shot Blaine's entire League-sanctioned team without any problem.
As the seventh gym leader, Baine was one of the strongest trainers in all of Kanto. All of his Pokémon were at level 75 or above with his ace Magmar being one of the strongest Pokémon in the region compared to those of the Elite Four. He was quite experienced as well so I was hoping for a good fight.
"Are you sure about that?" he sounded extremely serious.
"Yes, I am."
"Then this will be a 6 vs 6 battle. Substitutions are allowed for the challenger. Now let's begin. Ninetails, take the stage." The fox Pokémon came out of the Pokeball and stood proudly in front of us.
"Blastoise, you're up."
"Don't think that a type-advantage is going to help you here. Ninetales, use Flamethrower."
"Let's match fire buddy. Use Hydro Pump."
A strong jet of water was shot from Blastoise's canon which collided with the strong stream of fire spewed by the opposing Pokémon which was boosted by the lava's heat. Both attacks stood at a stalemate yet the water-type attack was starting to show signs of overwhelming the Fire-type. Realizing this, Blaine gave his next order.
"Dodge the attack and use Will-O-wisp."
The fox Pokémon elegantly jumped over the attack which came its way before three wisps materialized around it which were sent after Blastoise.
"Use Rapid Spin to dodge it." Blastoise withdrew himself into his shell and started spinning himself. Before the wisps could hit him, he had reached enough speed that the attack bounced off of him.
"Now attack the Ninetales with Rapid spin."
Blastoise soon charged at the Fox Pokémon who jumped over the incoming attack with nimble steps causing Blastoise to almost crash into the walls. This kept up for a bit yet he was unable to hit the fox.
"Blastoise, use Rapid Spin once more."
"Dodge it again Ninetales."
Just like before, Ninetales jumped over Blastoise but this time, I had an idea.
"Blastoise, use Hydro Pump while Ninetales is in the air."
Blastoise stopped his spin and the canons which were tucked away made their presence known as high-pressure jets of water came crashing onto the airborne Pokémon who had no method to change his direction while airbound. Even weakened, the attack was more than powerful enough to send the Ninetales crashing onto the ceiling. It soon fell down and was clearly unconscious.
"Ninetales is unable to battle." Brock called.
"Ninetales return. That Blastoise is one strong Pokémon, Ash. I didn't think that it would be able to overcome the terrain handicap so easily. However, you are not getting lucky again. Arcanine, you're up." The dog Pokémon that has been a staple of the Kanto Police Department for a long time stood its ground. Blaine's Arcanine was much bigger than usual and it honestly looked quite strong. Blastoise was a bit tired already from the previous battle but one good look at him suggested that he was ready for another.
"Arcanine, use Fire Blast." It seems that Blaine decided to go with his strongest move right from the get-go.
"Dodge it Blastoise."
Although Blastoise was one of the fastest of his species to have ever existed, he was still much slower compared to Arcanine. He was able to dodge the incoming attack barely but it was clear to me that this wasn't going to happen twice.
"Alright buddy, use Hydro Pump full power."
"Arcanine, one more Fire Blast."
The boosted Fire-move and the Weakened Water-move collided and fought for dominance just like the last time but this time, the winner was different. The Fire-type move soon overwhelmed the Water-type one and hit Blastoise who had no room for dodging. While it didn't do too much damage, being a resisted hit, he couldn't possibly keep this up for much longer.
"Blastoise, use Skull Bash."
"Arcanine, dodge it."
Blastoise withdrew himself into his shell before he shot towards Arcanine who tried to move out of the way. However, Blastoise was able to adjust his trajectory midway and soon hit Arcanine who was unable to dodge due to the constant assault. The attack took quite a toll on Blastoise and Arcanine as well, both of them starting to show signs of Fatigue.
Sensing this, Blaine gave his order. "Arcanine, use Overheat."
"Dodge it Blastoise and use Hydro Pump."
Searing hot flames were spewed from the mouth of Arcanine which spread across half of the entire field and encompassed Blastoise who had no chance to dodge it. The attack took some time to finish and despite my worries, Blastoise stood proudly albeit on his last legs.
"Finish this with Hydro Pump, buddy."
Due to having overstrained himself by using Overheat, Arcanine was unable to dodge the attack which hit him square. He was pushed back by a lot before fainting making the score 2-0.
"Arcanine is unable to battle." Brock called.
"You did a great job, my friend. Take a good rest now." Blaine called back his Pokémon.
"Blastoise, return." After this fight, Blastoise was in no shape to fight another Pokémon so I had to return him. "You did amazing, buddy."
"That was one heck of a fight I must say. You genuinely surprised me. But I'm not going to lose to a rookie so easily. Charizard, you're up." Blaine said before he released his Charizard.
To be honest, Blaine's Charizard was pretty Average when it came to its size and I could feel that it was not that strong compared to its level. At first, I wanted to send out my own but decided against it since I wanted the others to get more fighting experience as well.
"Gengar, I choose you." I released my Pokeball and out came the ever-playful Ghost-type. I had brought her and Alakazam back from the lab for this fight.
"Charizard, take flight and use Flamethrower."
"Gengar, use Thunderbolt."
The Fir-Flying type Pokémon took flight before the bolts of electricity reached it. Gengar tried her best to land a hit but Charizard easily outmaneuvered all of them. He then shot with a powerful Flamethrower which Gengar dodged easily by disappearing.
"Gengar, keep using Thunderbolt to bring him within range."
"Charizard, keep your distance and continue using Flamethrower."
The battle was pretty much stale since both sides were not getting any hits in and there was no damage done to the opposition. Just as I was planning to change strategy, Charizard made a small mistake of getting too close to Gengar while he dodged a Thunderbolt.
"Gengar, quickly close the gap and use Hypnosis."
She didn't need to be told twice as Gengar disappeared and reappeared in front of Charizard who was caught in an awkward position. The point-blank hypnotic assault caught him off guard and he fell asleep. Since he was in mid-flight, he started falling towards the Lava.
"Gengar, put him in the platform using Psychic."
Using the Psychic powers that she had learned from Alakazam, Gengar raised Charizard's sleeping body and put it safely onto the platform where he laid without any form of protection.
"What is it going to be Blaine? Do I need to defeat him r are you going to call him back?"
"You know what? I don't see any point in keeping him on the ground since you will easily e able to finish him before he wakes up. Charizard, return." He recalled his Pokémon making the score 3-0.
"Not gonna lie kid, this is pretty amusing. I can't remember the last time I had been pushed this hard when using my real team. But, I think it's time we took this up a notch. Magmar, I need your help." Out of the Pokeball came Blaine's ace. Magmar was the strongest Pokémon that Blaine had and at Level 80, he was the strongest Pokémon that I had to face.
"Gengar, return. Charizard, It's time for your rematch buddy."
Since Blaine was going with his ace, I decided to go with mine as well. Charizard let out an Earth-shattering roar as he came out of his Pokeball and the temperature inside the Volcano rose. In fact, it was so hot inside that Brock had removed his shirt to cool himself. Both Pokémon locked gaze and we could tell at a glanze that they were excited about the challenge.
"Magmar, Fire Blast."
"Charizard, use Fire Blast as well."
Unlike the previous two times, the attack face-off was not a tie this time around as Charizard's Fire Blast easily ripped through Magmar's one and reached him. He was able to dodge the attack but was quite shocked to see how easily his attack had been countered.
"Magmar, let's try one more Fire Blast."
"Charizard, get in close and use Mega Punch."
Charizard took flight effortlessly despite his size and easily dodged the incoming attack. He closed the gap between them easily and clocked Magmar square on the face with his fists glowing. Magmar took a lot of damage but nonetheless was still standing showing just how tough the Pokémon was. Hwever, I was not going to let up on the assault.
"Charizard, use Wing attack."
Instead of his fists, Charizard attacked Magmar with his wings before he had the time to regain his bearings. The powerful strike from the massive wings shook Magmar.
"Magmar, shake it off and use Flamethrower." It seems that Blaine wanted to do something. Through sheer force of will, Magmar shook off his confusion and landed a point-blank Flamethrower on Charizard who had no room for dodging. However, not only did he take the attack without even wincing, Charizard fired back with a Flamethrower of his own that almost took Magmar out which was a crushing blow to the confidence of the proud Pokémon. Since I didn't want to prolong his suffering, I decided to end this.
"Charizard, use Fire Blast." That best thing I could do for the Pokémon was to take him out with a strong attack. Magmar didn't even bother dodging the flames and soon fainted which was pretty anti-climatic as far as I was concerned.
Blaine was speechless which showed how much he had rusted his Pokémon. He didn't look like he wanted to fight anymore which was understandable.
"Do you want to end this here Blaine?" I decided to ask.
"Ha. Let's just do that. There's no point in continuing since none of my three remaining Pokémon can even hope to touch that Charizard of yours. Seriously, where the hell did you even get one like that?"
"Charizard here is my starter. So he has been with me throughout the journey."
"I see. Well then, here's the Volcano badge." Blaine said before handing over the badge to me.
"Thanks."
Since I had gotten the badge, there was no need to remain inside the gym any longer so all of us returned back to the Town.
"Man, that was intense." Brock was still drenched in sweat.
"Wanna take a bath? We can't walk around like this."
"Let's just do that. By the way, I didn't think that you would go for Blaine's real team which in hindsight makes a lot of sense now that I think about it. Your Pokémon are too powerful for an ordinary challenge."
"Yeah. But I didn't expect things to go this smoothly. Maybe today was a lucky day."
"You know what Ash? My Grandpa used to say that in front of true strength, all schemes and plotting lose their relevance. Now I know what he was talking about."
"Thanks, Brock."
"Let's go visit the Pokémon Lab once we are done."
"Sure."
And so, we decided to take a bath before going to the Pokémon Lab drawing the curtains to what had been an underwhelming episode in my journey.
And that's that.
Hello there. Before anything, let me say that I'm sorry that this chapter was so underwhelming and late. I tried thinking of all possible ways to make the fight interesting but I wrote myself into a hoe by making Ash ridiculously broken. Hopefully, this won't happen again. My Laptop broke down yesterday and I had to rewrite the entire chapter on my smartphone which is much more stressful. I think the Laptop will arrive in two days so I'll probably upload it then. Also, that's the reason why I can't show the Pokemon stats.
Now that that's out of the way, I need help. If any of you know some good Pokémon fics where I can learn how to write a battle, please name them. I don't know what I was thinking when I wrote this without having any semblance of an idea to write a good battle scene so it's high time I did something about that.
Now to answer a review, I will be covering all six regions in this fic. Kanto will be the shortest since there's not much I can do here since I am a noob and the region itself is pretty bland without Team Rocket around. Also, I will be doing Alola as well since I recently took a liking to the Alola games, not the anime.
Anyways, thanks for all the support, and feel free to say whatever you thought of the chapter. See ya around.