[Author's Note: Sorry I haven't updated in a while, I was on vacation. Anyway, this chapter is mainly based on the T.V. show, not the game, though I'm somewhat familiar with both. Also, this story is based in Johto. And now without further delay…]
Chapter 11: Opposite Directions
"Pokeball, GO!" yelled Ash as he threw one into the air. It opened above the quivering Sunkern and sucked it inside. Ash watched intently as the pokeball quietly landed in the grass and began wiggling back and back and forth.
Suddenly it sprang back up into the air and re-opened. The Sunkern appeared on the grass where it was previously and quickly hopped into the bushes.
"Aaah!" said Ash as he threw his hat on the ground. "I almost had it!"
"Almost being the keyword, Ash." said Misty as she and Brock stepped out from behind him. "I told you it was too strong."
Ash looked down to see Pikachu holding his hat up. He took it and said, "Thanks Pikachu."
"Pi-KA-chu!" replied the happy electric type pokemon.
"Yeah, well, it looked weak enough to me." replied Ash as he put on his hat and adjusted it.
"And you were wrong!" said Misty with great satisfaction.
"Hey, I wouldn't be talking if I were you. You haven't caught a pokemon in months!" said Ash.
"That's cause I don't try to catch the first thing that crawls by." said Misty. "I carefully select my pokemon with a vigorous screening process!"
"Yeah, Psyduck is a great example of that!!" retorted Ash. "At least all my pokemon know their right from their left."
"YOU TAKE THAT BACK YOU FILTHY RAT!!" yelled Misty in response.
"FILTHY RAT?!? ISN'T THAT WHAT DIED IN YOUR HAIR!?!" shouted Ash back.
They were about to get in a fistfight when Brock pushed them away from each other and stood in between them. "Settle down you two! We need to get going if we want to get back to town before dark."
Ash always thinks he is the best at everything. It's time to put him back in his place once and for all. thought Misty. Why do I even put up with him? Suddenly the answer pulled her leg, trying to help Brock separate them.
"PIKA-PI-PIKACHU!" yelled Pikachu with a worried tone.
"I'm sorry to do this..." said Misty softly as to him he lost his grip and fell backward.
All of a sudden, she turned around put her hand on the front of Brock's face. "Not this time, Brock!" said Misty as she shoved him out of the way. "It's time to show this chump some matters!"
"Bring it on, Misty!" said Ash.
"A two-on-two pokemon battle. If I win, you take back those stupid little remarks and become my personal servant for a week!" proclaimed Misty.
"Fine, but if I win, you admit that I'm the better trainer and I don't owe you thing for the bike!" said Ash.
"Deal." said Misty as they shook hands aggressively.
"Pi-ka-pi!" wailed Pikachu.(Which roughly translates to: "Not this again!")
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The two combatants faced each other in a grassy field with a small lake to one side. To the left of Ash stood a very worried Pikachu. To the right of Misty was Brock, who was agreed to be an impartial referee. The gladiators continued to stare at each other, never moving or even blinking. It was so quiet you could hear a Pineco drop.
Finally, Brock shouted out, "Let the battle begin!"
"Go, PIKACHU!" yelled Ash and extended his index finger toward Misty's location. Nothing happened.
"PIKACHU!!!!" yelled Ash again.
"CHU-CHU!!" said Pikachu as he shook his head.
"I thought we settled this!" said Ash to his furry yellow friend.
"CHU!" answered Pikachu, crossing his arms and looking away from Ash.
"You're so sweet, Pikachu!" called Misty from the other end.
"Pi-KA-chu!" said Pikachu with a smile.
"Lousy traitor…" mumbled Ash under his breath while turning his hat around. "Fine. I CHOOSE YOU, CHIKARITA!!!"
A pokeball flew through the air and landed in the middle of the field. It opened up to reveal a small plant pokemon. "CHI-KA!"
"How predictable, a grass type. This should be easy." said Misty as she pulled out a pokeball from her bag. "MISTY CALLS… STARYU!!!!"
It too flew through the air and landed next to the first one. Out popped a star shaped pokemon.
"Come on Chikarita! We can do this!" shouted Ash.
"In your dreams, maybe! STARYU, DOUBLE EDGE!!" screamed Misty.
Staryu jumped into the air and whirled around like a frisbee toward its opponent. It stuck Chikarita hard and knocked it back a little bit. However, Chikarita quickly got back on her feet.
Ash regained his confidence. "Now it's our turn! CHIKARITA, VINE WHIP!"
Chikarita obeyed instantly and extended two green whips. She swung at the star like pokemon, but it back-flipped out of range.
"NOW, RAZORLEAF!" said Ash before it could land. Chikarita launched two sharp vertical leafs at its enemy.
"WATCH OUT!" yelled Misty. Staryu landed fast enough to duck the first one, but the second one nicked it on its left side. She quickly shouted, "ARE YOU OK?"
"HE-YA!!" Staryu said and nodded affirmatively.
"GOOD!" said Misty. "FIGHT BACK WITH PSY-WAVE!!"
Staryu stiffed for a second as Chikarita withdrew its vine whips and suddenly radiated a volley of harmful psychic waves. But Chikarita was ready for it and braced itself well. It did not receive much damage.
"GOOD JOB, CHIKARITA, NOW QUICK ATTACK!" cried out Ash.
Chikarita charged forward and slammed into the still recovering Staryu. It landed stomach up in the dirt a few feet away. "OH NO!! STARYU!!!" shouted Misty.
"FINISH IT WITH A LEECH SEED!" said Ash.
Chikarita fired a small seed that hit Staryu directly in the middle of it. It sprouted and quickly grew, sapping the life out of its helpless victim. Staryu struggled, but the seed was too strong. Finally, all of its strength was depleted and it lost consciousness.
Brock put his hands up. "STARYU IS UNABLE TO BATTLE. THE WINNER IS CHIKARITA!!"
"CHIKA!" said Chikarita proudly.
"ALRIGHT!" said Ash. "JUST ONE MORE TO GO!"
Misty sat down for a moment and put her head in her hand. She needed a good strategy in order to get back into the match. Finally she got an idea.
"IT'S NOT OVER YET, ASH! GO HORSEA!!" announced Misty.
Out of her second pokeball came a small seahorse pokemon. "HORSEYYYY!" it said as it landed safely in the grass.
"OK CHIKARITA, LET'S TAKE THE INITATIVE, BODY SLAM IT!!" shouted Ash. Chikarita leap high into the air and fell at an incredible speed. It aimed to land directly on Horsea.
"QUICKLY HORSEA, DODGE IT!!!" yelled Misty to her pokemon.
Horsea rolled and barely avoided getting squashed. Chikarita hit the ground with a loud thud. "NOW USE SWIFT!!" said Misty.
Horsea tensed up a second and shot hundreds of little stars out of its snout. They continuously pelted Chikarita and drained its endurance. When Horsea finished the barrage, Chikarita was breathing hard.
Ash saw this and knew she was tired. "TRY REGAINING STRENGTH USING SYNTHESIS!!" Chikarita nodded and started to glow. It was using sunlight to recharge itself.
"HORSEA, MAKE A SMOKE SCREEN TO BLOCK OUT THE SUN!" yelled out Misty in desperation to stop it.
Horsea promptly complied and spewed out thick billowing clouds of smoke. Chikarita was unable to continue absorbing sunlight and choked on the black fog.
Misty decided now was a good time to put her plan into action. "OK, NOW GRAB IT WITH YOUR TAIL AND DRAG IT INTO THE LAKE!!!"
Horsea went into the dust cloud and wrapped its squiggly tail around one of Chikarita's back legs. It then pulled her out and toward the small lake.
"CHIKARITA, DON'T LET IT PULL YOU INTO THE WATER!!!" screamed Ash. "IT HAS A HUGE ADVANTAGE THERE!"
Chikarita tried to break free, but was much too weak. Horsea reached the lake and pulled Chikarita down with it as it submerged. After about 30 secs, Chikarita fainted from lack of oxygen and Horsea threw it back onto dry land.
"CHIKARITA IS UNABLE TO CONTINUE. HORSEA IS THE WINNER!!" said Brock.
"GREAT WORK HORSEA!" said Misty. "HANG IN THERE!"
Now it was Ash's turn to think. If I use any of my other pokemon she'll do the same thing and win. Unless…
"I CHOOSE YOU, SQUIRTLE!!" yelled Ash and threw his second pokeball into the arena. It opened up to reveal a small turtle-like pokemon. Misty knew at once that her strategy would no longer work.
"OK NOW SQUIRTLE, TAIL WHIP!" said Ash.
"SQUIRTLE-SQUIRT!!" it replied with a nod and flung its tail around at its opponent. However, Horsea leap into the air and over the turtle to avoid its attack.
"ALRIGHT HORSEA!!" said Misty. "NOW USE SLUDGE!!"
Squirtle turned around just as Horsea spit a black mud-like substance into its eyes.
"SQUIRTLE!!!" clamored Ash. Squirtle tumbled back blinded by its foe. "SQUIRT…"
"HURRY HORSEA! TACKLE ATTACK!!!" shouted Misty. Horsea raced forth and smashed into Squirtle making it stumble backward even more. Nevertheless, it caught its balance and began rubbing its eyes in a frantic attempt to clear its vision.
"FINISH IT WITH AN ICE BEAM!!!" ordered Misty. Horsea charged up a second before releasing a jagged white beam at Squirtle. Squirtle finished removing the dirt and opened its eyes just in time to see the ice beam fly toward him but still dive out of the way.
"YEAH SQUIRTLE!!!" said Ash with pride. "USE BUBBLEBEAM!!"
Squirtle unleashed a large blue beam packed with bubbles. Horsea tried to dodge it but was too slow. "SEYYY!!!" it was all it managed to squeak out before it was hit by the massive blast. It didn't deal that much damage, but it did paralyze Horsea.
Ash thought it would be a good idea to use Squirtle's most powerful physical attack on the almost defenseless Horsea. "DO A SKULL BASH!!" he yelled.
Squirtle lowered his head and charged forward. "Squir…" Horsea could only watch as the tortoise pokemon got closer and closer. "TLE!!!!!!!" it said as it rammed its head into Horsea and lifted it to send the sea horse flying.
Horsea flew many feet into the air before slamming into a tree and falling down to the ground, unconscious.
"HORSEA IS UNABLE TO BATTLE. SQUIRTLE AND ASH ARE THE WINNERS!!!" declared Brock.
"YEAAAHHHH!!!" said Ash and jumped up and down holding Squirtle. Misty ran over to her defeated pokemon to make sure it wasn't permanently hurt.
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"Looks like I won!" said Ash, who was happy as a Shellder.
Great this was exactly what I didn't want to do. thought Misty as she looked at the grinning boy. Boost his ego.
"Since you lost, you have to repeat after me." said Ash. "Ash is the greatest trainer who ever lived."
"… Ash is the… greatest… trainer who… ever lived." said Misty mumbled aversely.
Ash shook his head at her. "Oh come on, you can say it better than that!"
"Fine!" said Misty, her rage building. "Ash is the greatest trainer who ever lived."
"Better." said Ash. "But I don't think they heard you back in Pallet Town."
"THAT'S IT!!!!" yelled Misty furiously. "I'M LEAVING!!!"
"Wha?!?" said Ash, his mouth dropping to the ground.
"I said I'm leaving!! I don't want to hear you moronic gloating for the next ten years!!!" said Misty. "I'm outta here, through, gone, finished, DONE WITH YOU!!! I have had it!!"
"Wwwell FINE!! BE THAT WAY!!" screamed back Ash. "I don't want to hear your dumb whining, either!!!"
"No, Misty, don't listen to him. You can't leave!!" said Brock quickly. "You guys are good friends! You're just having a small fight!"
"PIKA!!" yelled Pikachu. "PI-PI-KA-CHU-KA!"
"No she isn't Pikachu. She wasn't, isn't, and will never was my best friend." said Ash angrily. He immediately wanted to take that back, but his pride stopped him.
It hurt Misty deeply. "I guess I better get going." said she said with tears in her eyes. She picked up her bag and started walking back the way they came.
Suddenly Pikachu jumped in front of her. "CHU-PIKA-PI-CHU-KA!" begged Pikachu.
She bent over to Pikachu and gave him a hug and a small kiss on the cheek. "I'm sorry… I didn't mean it to turn out this way. God I'll miss you…"
With that she stood up and ran as fast as she could down the path, sobbing all the way.
"Come on, let's go." said Ash coldly. "We need to get to town before the sun sets." He started walking quickly forward, and Brock reluctantly followed.
Pikachu however didn't move. Or rather, he couldn't move. It felt like he was being pulled apart in opposite directions. It hurt so much he thought he would be split in two. Maybe that would be good though, so that he could go with both.
Suddenly, tears weld up in Pikachu's eyes. He started crying uncontrollably, completely without restraint. He couldn't stand the thought of being without Misty or Ash. He cried and cried till he could barely see through all his tears. He picked up a small pink tissue he found and used it to wipe off his eyes and blow his nose.
"JIGGGLLLYYY!!!!!!" screamed the angry pokemon after being used like a common Kleenex. She startled Pikachu, and he became the next victim of her song. "JJIIIGG-GGALLYY-PPPUUUFFFFF, JJJIIGGALLYYYY-YY-YY-PPPPUUFFFF. JJIIIGG-GGALLYY-PPPUUUFFF, JJJIIGGALLYYY-Y-Y-Y. JJJIIGGALLYY-PPPUUUFFFFF, JJJIIGALLYY-PPPUFFFFF, JJIIGG-JJIIGGAALLLYY, JJIIGGALLY. JJJIIGALL…"
She opened her eyes and noticed the furry yellow pokemon next to her was now sound asleep. This angered her greatly. "JJJJIIIGGGLLLYYY!!!!!" was the last thing she said before puffing up and removing the cap on her microphone/marker.
She began to scribble on his face anything she could thing of. Stars, circles, hearts. In the end it really didn't matter as long as there was something there. However, before she could finish, a large shadow blocked her light. "Jiggly?" she said inquisitively as she looked up.
The Master Hand knew he was coming for the yellow one, but it was so easily defeated by the pink one it made him question his decision. Better take them both. it thought as scooped up both Jigglypuff and the sleepy Pikachu and carried them through the rift.
[Author's Note: Wait a minute, the story isn't quite over yet!!! Coming up next is the biggest chapter of them all, "The Smashers Meet". Check back every once in a while, and I'll see you later for now!!"]