Chapter 13
"Lorelei"
Mayo went to find a seat with everyone else, and I went to the locker room. As soon as I was inside, I Transformed…I was exhausted from the fight with Gary and the walk to the locker room
…I shouldn't be this tired…That wasn't even much of a fight or a walk…so why do I feel like this?……I hope I can last through the battles……If each one is under twenty minutes, and I can come back here to heal my Pokémon, and Transform while I'm at it……I should be fine……I hope…
It didn't take long for my nervousness to completely overpower any other feelings I might have had…While I sat in the locker room, trying to decide which six Pokémon to use, I realized that I was shaking…badly…
"Pikapi, kachu?"
'Are you alright, Ash?'
"Meww…"
'Yeah……'
"Pikachu?"
'Are you sure?'
Yeah…I'll be fine……Once we get onto the battlefield…I'll be fine……
"Perrrsiaann?"
'Have you decided which Pokémon to use?'
"……Meewww……Mew………Me-eww…"
'……I know I want to use Pikachu……Taper………Charizard…'
"Pika!?"
'Charizard!?'
"Mew…Meeww…Meww…"
'That's right…Charizard's very strong…and I know it'll listen to me now…'
"Pika…chuu…"
'I don't know about that……'
"Mew. Mew mew!"
'Charizard will listen to me. I know it will!'
"Peerrrrrsiann…?"
'What about your other Pokémon?'
"Meew……Me-eww…Mew……mmew……"
'Umm……Bulbasaur…Squirtle…and……'
I wasn't sure about my last Pokémon…Anyone else could easily fill in that slot…but……
…Persian, what about you? Are you a good battler?
"Perr!?"
'Me!?'
Yeah. Do you think you could help me out?
"Persiannn…Persiannnn……Persss…"
'Ash, as much as I would like to help you, I'm afraid that…my former master never really used me for battles very often……'
"…Mewmew, mew?"
'…But you trained with me, right?'
"Perrssiannn…Perssiiiiannn…"
'I'm sorry, Ash, but I think you'd be better off choosing a different Pokémon as your final choice.'
"Well……then……I guess……Pidgeotto…or……Sandslash……either one…"
…I already have Charizard as a flying type…so……
"…Mew…"
'…I guess I'll bring Sandslash……'
I left the rest of my Pokémon in my locker, then left to begin the match…
* * *
To say I was scared would be a big understatement………I was more nervous than a Rattata in a room full of Persians……or a Meowth in a room full of Growlithes…or……You get the point…
…What about a Mew in a stadium full of humans…?
What…? That's crazy……
…I guess I really was scared…I was even scaring myself…
Let's get this over with…I need to end this match in less than twenty minutes……
…I guess I had good reason to be scared……
…At least I wasn't really in a stadium full of humans. The only spectators were the guys who had come with me and Gary and his cheerleaders.
My first opponent was a woman named Lorelei……but for some reason, everyone called her Prima……Maybe because she was the first of the Elite Four?
Her name didn't really matter to me. I just had to beat her.
"Are you ready, Ash?" she asked from across the field.
"I've been ready!"
There goes another lie……
"Alright! This match will be five on five. For my first Pokémon, I choose…Dewgong!"
A water-type, huh?
"Then I choose…Bulbasaur!!"
Bulbasaur and Dewgong faced off, ready for a battle.
"Bulbasaur! Razor Leaf!"
"Bulba!!"
"Ice Beam!"
Bulbasaur let out a whirlwind of leaves from its bulb, but Dewgong dodged every single one of them, then hit Bulbasaur head on with an Ice Beam, leaving Bulbasaur frozen in a ball of ice…
"Bulbasaur!!!" I cried.
I didn't get any response. Bulbasaur couldn't even move…I was getting the shivers just looking at it…I didn't want to imagine how cold it must be…but I found myself doing that anyway…
"Well, that was quick…" Prima said, "I was hoping for more of a challenge. I've heard you're good."
"…I………Return, Bulbasaur!"
It was good to get Bulbasaur back inside of its Pokéball…I didn't want it to have to suffer any more than it had to…
I forgot that Dewgong's an ice type too…Who should I choose next…?
"I…choose……Squirtle! Go!!"
"Ssquirtle, squirt!"
"A Squirtle, huh? Dewgong, Take Down, now!"
"Squirtle! Withdraw!"
Squirtle ducked into its shell before Dewgong got near it, and Dewgong's attack glanced off of it.
"Good job, Squirtle! Now use Skull Bash!"
Squirtle paused only for a second before it delivered a devastating blow to Dewgong. Dewgong skidded across the ground, but it jumped up ready to fight.
"Water Gun!" I said.
"Dewgong, Bide!"
Huh?
Squirtle sprayed a powerful blast of water at Dewgong, but just flinched and absorbed the attack.
What's it doing…?
…Well, as long as it isn't attacking, now's the time to knock it out!
"Squirtle! Mega Punch!"
Squirtle hit Dewgong squarely in the jaw and knocked it across the floor again. Dewgong still didn't retaliate…
I noticed that Lorelei was smiling…
What's she up to…?
I tried to remember what Bide does……
Okay…The Pokémon doesn't attack right away……It just…waits? Until what?
"…Pika?"
'…Ash?'
Give me a moment…
"Pi?"
'Huh?'
It must be waiting for something……maybe……Maybe to land a really powerful blow later on…? That's gotta be it…Might as well try to faint it while it's not attacking though…
"Tackle attack!"
"Ssquirt!!"
Squirtle jumped and Tackled Dewgong as hard as it could.
"Mega Punch!"
"Ttle!!"
Dewgong rolled to the side after Squirtle hit it.
"Alright Dewgong, that's enough…Attack!"
"Dewww…"
"Mew!"
'Squirtle, watch out!'
I covered my mouth.
…Oops…Hope no one caught that…
Dewgong got ready for its attack, and Squirtle backed up considerably.
…Withdraw…
Finally, Dewgong rushed at Squirtle. Half in panic, and half because I had ordered it to, Squirtle ducked into its shell and let the wind spin it around on its back. Dewgong ended up sailing straight over it and crashing heavily into the ground in front of it. I winced, thinking of how much that had to hurt.
…Water Gun.
I don't know why I started giving orders out in mind-speak…It just seemed natural, I guess…
"Squiirrrrrtle…!!"
Squirtle gurgled out a strong Water Gun that hit Dewgong and sprayed it out across the floor. When it finally stopped, it had almost reached the spot where I was standing…It lay on the ground without moving, drenched with water and covered with bruises that Squirtle had put there…I wanted Prima to call it back quickly…
"Dewgong! Return!" Lorelei ordered, "…Not bad, Ash…Now let's see you handle…Cloyster! Go!"
"Cllloyyysterrrr!"
"Cloyster! Spike Cannon! Now!"
Bubble!
Squirtle didn't have a chance. Cloyster's Spikes hit it repeatedly until Squirtle was as banged up as a tin can in a small avalanche…
"…Return!"
At this rate, I'm going to lose…
I fingered at my Pokéballs until I decided on one that could take some abuse.
"Taper! Go!"
"Drrrowzee…!"
"Alright, Cloyster…Aurora Beam!"
"Cloy……Ster!!"
"Taper! Teleport!"
"Drow…"
Taper Teleported a few feet to its left and easily dodged Cloyster's attack.
Now use……Psychic!
"Zeeee!"
Taper created a white light and shot it straight at Cloyster, frying it.
Wow. I didn't know Taper was that strong…
Lorelei recalled Cloyster.
"Amazing……" she commented, "but just as a test…Let's see how well your psychic matches up against mine…Go, Slowbro…!"
"Sslllooowwww………"
A Slowbro?
…Taper, be careful. That thing's gonna be tougher than it looks…
…How can you tell?
Um…Just call me a psychic, if you want.
That made Taper laugh.
"…Sloww?"
It took me a while to figure out what it had said, but it was something about wondering what was so funny…
Taper! Poison Gas attack!
"Zee!"
Taper created a cloud of poison and sent it drifting over to Slowbro…I don't think Slowbro noticed……
"Slowbro! Amnesia!"
"………Bro………"
Teleport!
Once again, Taper easily Teleported out of the way and avoided Slowbro's attack.
That's good…The last thing I need is for Taper to start forgetting things…
……Meditate…
Taper closed its eyes for a moment to increase its attack power.
Okay, good! Now use Headbutt!
"Mega Punch!"
The two attacks hit one right after the other. First, Taper rammed Slowbro in the chest, then Slowbro punched Taper and knocked it backwards…Slowbro flinched after hitting Taper.
Taper, try……Seismic Toss…
"Drrowzee……"
'Alright, then……'
Taper stood up, grabbed ahold of Slowbro, then slowly swung it around until it had reached a high velocity, then tossed it as hard as it could. Slowbro slammed against one of the walls of the stadium, but it came away still looking ready to fight.
I don't believe this……
Taper! Psychic!
"Slowbro! Psychic!"
Uh oh……This oughta be interesting……
Taper's Psychic attack got a head start on Slowbro's, so they didn't exactly meet halfway……There was a brief moment of struggle as they fought to see who was the strongest……They finally exploded, right in front of Slowbro.
When the dust settled……Slowbro was still standing……
Is this thing impossible to defeat!?
…I sure hope not……
We weren't even halfway through the battle, and I was already starting to feel weak……I pleaded that I would make it all the way through.
…Headbutt……then Body Slam…
Taper ran forward and charged into Slowbro again. After that, it climbed up on top of Slowbro and slammed down on it with all its strength. When it was done, it got off and stood back, waiting for Slowbro's next move…
…After a while…Slowbro finally fell to the ground in defeat.
"Return, Slowbro," Lorelei said, "…Jynx, Go!"
"Jyyynnxx…!!"
Uh oh…If she uses Lovely Kiss, then Taper's outta here…
"Blizzard attack!"
Taper, look out!!
It was too late to use Teleport. Taper got blown away in a flurry of ice…It tumbled head over heels until it finally reached a stopping point…and it didn't get up…
Taper…
"……Return!"
All right…Jynx is an ice-type, right…? And……fire melts ice……so……
"Charizard! I choose you!!"
"Piika!?"
'Charizard!?'
"Chhhhaarrrrrriizzzarrrrddd!!!!" Charizard roared.
"…That Charizard does look strong…" Lorelei admitted, "Okay Jynx, Ice Punch!"
Charizard, Flamethrower, now!
Before Jynx could even make a fist, it got barbecued by a Fire Blast from Charizard.
"Uh…Charizard! I said Flamethrower, not Fire Blast!"
"…Zard."
'…Humph.'
"…That's strange. I didn't hear you say either one of those," Lorelei commented.
"Jjj……yynnxx…" Jynx moaned.
"…Blizzard," Lorelei said.
"Flamethrower!"
Charizard used Fire Blast again…
"Pikachu…" Pikachu reminded me.
'At least it's battling…'
Yeah…
"Jynx, return!"
The overcooked Jynx returned to its Pokéball, and I suddenly realized that Lorelei was down to her last Pokémon…
"……Go, Lapras!!"
"Llaaaa!"
Lapras is a water-type…so that means Charizard's at a disadvantage……
Charizard! Be careful! Don't let it touch you!
I guess Charizard took that as "Use Double Team", because that's what it did.
I don't remember teaching Charizard Double Team……
……It must have been……
"Lapras, Water Gun!"
I guess you should keep using Double Team…
This time, Charizard listened to me…Every single one of Lapras's attacks missed.
Okay! Now it's time to fight back!
Before I could tell it an attack, Charizard Fire Blasted Lapras.
…I guess that could work……
Lapras looked a little burnt, but nowhere near beaten.
"Ice Beam!"
Charizard!!
Lapras's attack hit Charizard and grounded it.
"Charizard!!"
…Charizard, are you okay!?
"…zzarr……!" Charizard roared in pain.
It struggled to its feet. There was a dangerous light in its eyes…It started powering up for its next attack, which it sent out and hit Lapras…
…Hyper Beam!?
"Lapras! Body Slam!"
Lapras slid forward and powered into Charizard, knocking it into the ground…This time, Charizard wasn't able to get up.
……Return…………Pikachu, it's up to you.
"Pika!!" Pikachu declared.
'I'll beat it!'
"……Pikachu! Thunderbolt!!!"
"Piikaaaa………CHUUUUUU!!!!!!"
When the light show had ended, Lapras fell to the ground, starry eyed and rather burnt.