Chapter 14
"Final Battle"
"…Bulbasaur! Return!!"
Now I have to use one of my other ones…but which one would be the best…?……It's risky, but…
"Magnemite! Go!"
"Mmmag!"
"Ivysaur! Poison Powder!"
"Iiivysaur!!"
Ivysaur let out a cloud of green powder from its back, and Magnemite became poisoned.
"Miiite…" Magnemite winced.
"Don't worry about it!" I called, "Magnemite! Thundershock!"
"Magne? Miiite!"
"Ivysaur! Block it with your Vine Whip!"
"Saur!"
Ivysaur used its Vines to absorb Magnemite's attack and prevent it from doing any damage.
"Now use them to attack!!" shouted Asunta.
"Ssauurrrr!!"
"Magnemite! Watch out!"
"Miite!"
Ivysaur used its Vine Whips to whack Magnemite around in the air, spinning it around, making it dizzy, and basically just giving it a pounding.
"Magnemite…" I said.
"Magne…mite……" it groaned. It was in pretty bad shape.
"Unhh……Magnemite! Tackle attack!"
"Mag?…Magnemite!"
After regaining its balance, Magnemite zoomed towards Ivysaur.
"Ivysaur! Finish it off! Tackle!"
"Saauurrr!!"
They both Tackled each other, but Ivysaur proved to be the stronger of the two, and it Tackled Magnemite onto the ground, defeating it.
"…Magnemite has been eliminated! Ivysaur is the winner!"
"M…mite…" gasped Magnemite.
"Magnemite! Return!" I took out another Pokéball, "This one should be able to win…Sandslash! Go!"
"Ssslassh!!"
"Sandslash! Slash attack!"
"Ssandslash!"
Sandslash jumped forward and Slashed Ivysaur with its huge, sharp claws. A streak of red appeared where it had cut, and Ivysaur looked more than a little dazed.
"…Ivysaur! Leech Seed!" Asunta shouted.
"Ivy…Saur!"
A seed emerged from its bud and jumped onto Sandslash. Lots of vines grew from the seed and covered Sandslash, making it unable to move.
"Ssandslashh…" it said.
Ivysaur was looking better already.
"Ivysaur! Tackle attack!"
"Saur!"
Ivysaur bashed into Sandslash and it rolled back towards me. I could see we weren't going to win this way."
"…Sandslash, return!"
"Whoa! It looks like both of the trainers are now down to just one Pokémon each! Asunta's Ivysaur is a real fighter, and it's giving Ash's Pokémon an incredibly hard time! Let's see who can pull this one off!"
"…Taper! I choose you!"
…You're my last choice…
"Drowzee…" Drowzee said calmly. It blinked at Ivysaur. "Drowzee."
An Ivysaur…This should be easy, Ash.
…I sure hope so…
"…Taper! Disable attack!"
"…Drowzee?"
'Are you sure about that?'
"It looks like Ash is having trouble controlling his Drowzee! This could give Asunta a major advantage!"
"…Ivysaur!…Sleep Powder!"
I gritted my teeth.
"Taper, I really don't care what you do, as long as you win!"
Taper turned and stared at me with its small eyes.
…I'll do as you say…
Just before Ivysaur's Sleep Powder was about to hit it, Taper raised its arms and sent a blue blast at it and knocked it away. Then it stared at Ivysaur. It moved its arms ever so slightly, and with a flash, Ivysaur became paralyzed.
"I…vy…saurr…" it strained, trying to move.
…I know just how you feel, Ivysaur…but don't think that means I'm going to lose to you…
Heh…
"Taper, just hurry up," I said in annoyance.
"Drowzee!…Zeeee!!"
'Then I'll use Confusion!'
Its eyes glowed blue and a blue haze surrounded Ivysaur as well. Suddenly, Ivysaur rose into the air and was tossed back towards Asunta, then just as quickly, it came back towards Drowzee.
"Drowzee…"
Using its mind, Taper sent Ivysaur flying back towards Asunta again. When it was all the way at the other end, Taper let it hover there for a moment, then raised it into the air and slammed down into the ground as hard as it could. After a moment's pause, Taper released its hold on Ivysaur, and Ivysaur fell wilted limply.
The referee dashed over to see how Ivysaur was doing. Finally, he raised the green flag.
"Ivysaur has been eliminated! The battle goes to Ash!"
The crowd went crazy. I mean really crazy. They were jumping out of their seats from their sudden insanity. They were all cheering for me…
"You did it, Ash!"
"Great job!"
"I knew you could do it."
I just kind of smiled.
"Thanks……Taper! Return!"
"Drowwzee…"
'Sure. My job's done…'
Taper went back inside its Pokéball, and I turned to face my friends.
"That was pretty cool," Billie told me, "Now I know a Pokémon Master!"
"Uh…heh-heh…" I said nervously.
I didn't feel like a Pokémon Master. All this time, I thought that it would be a whole lot different but…I felt just the same.
Just then, the door that led back to the locker room burst open to reveal Jessie, James, and Meowth.
"Ash! The boss is on the phone!" Jessie announced.
"And he wants to talk to you right now!" James said.
"Wh-what are you guys doing here!?" I asked, "How did you get past the police? And why aren't you keeping your distance? Isn't that what you're supposed to be doing? I don't see you wearing any disguises."
"It's not your place to question your superiors," Jessie replied haughtily, "and besides, you really don't want to keep the boss waiting, do you? This isn't a toll-free number, you know."
"…All right…I'll go talk to him…" I grumbled.
I went past them, found the phone and picked it up. The boss was actually smiling for once. It still wasn't a nice smile though.
"Congratulations, Ash," he said, "I knew I could count on you to carry out your duty."
What is he talking about now?
I glanced up because someone had just entered the room. It was Jessie, James, and Meowth. I looked back at the screen.
"…Why do you look so down, Ash? You should be happy that you won."
"……I know that. But how can I be happy when I just won because you told me to?"
"…Is that the real reason why you won…? I must say, if it is, then I'm very glad, but I do doubt it…Ash, I want you to return to Viridian right away. I need to…inform you of you next mission…"
I blinked.
Next mission?
"But don't I have to fight the Elite Four, now?"
"Yes, yes, yes," he said dismissively, "but you're allowed to do that on your own time, right?"
"…Right…"
"So come to Viridian and…I'll see what else I can do for you……"
"…You'd better give me back my Pokémon," I said with dead seriousness.
He smiled slightly. "You'll just have to come, Ash."
I suddenly thought of something.
"What about that awards ceremony later on? You don't want me to miss it, do you…? I've already been late to enough things as it is…"
He sighed.
"Fine then. Go to the awards ceremony, but don't tell them that you're in Team Rocket yet. We'll save that for when you defeat the Elite Four."
He sounds as if he knows for sure that I'll win…I wonder what he's planning now?
"Okay," I said.
It was best to just do what he said…Just like Billie had been telling me all along.
"Good."
The screen blanked out before I got a chance to say goodbye.
That guy's kinda weird…
"All right. You're going to the awards ceremony!" James said suddenly.
"Hurry up, Ash! You have to get ready! Tonight's a big night!" Jessie said.
"Yeah! Ya wanna look yer best!" Meowth laughed.
"But-!" I started to say, but they were already pushing me out the door and saying really weird things while they were at it.
I glanced backwards for help, but Misty, Brock, and Billie couldn't do anything about it.
Misty suddenly raised her hand and waved vigorously.
"Bye Ash!" she called, "Good luck!!"