"Chapter 6: Round 3 - Field Change!"
"Hey guys, there you are," Ash said, walking into one of the island's many restaurants. Inside, everyone was waiting for him to join them for dinner.
"About time you got here," Misty said. "We've been waiting for half an hour!"
"Sorry about that," Ash said apologetically as he hopped into the booth next to Misty. "There was a pretty long line at the Pokémon Center."
"Well you're here now, so that's all that matters," Delia said. "Let's order dinner."
At that moment, a very attractive young woman was making her way over to their table.
"Miss, we're ready to order," Delia said.
"Forget the food, I want her!" Brock said, jumping out of the booth and taking hold of her hand. As he was accustomed to, Brock instantly fell head-over-heels for the girl. She was 21 years old, wearing a green outfit over her very voluptuous figure, and she had teal-colored hair.
"Oh I'm not a waitress," she said, shoving Brock to the floor. He landed with a thud on his backside.
"I think that broke my back and my heart," Brock said, as he slowly got up and sulked his way back to his place in the booth.
"My name is Maria Davis, and I came to see Ash," she said.
"I'd be careful if I were you," May said. "His girlfriend over, Misty, gets pretty jealous when other girls want to talk to Ash."
Misty shot May an evil stare and tried her best to ignore her comment.
"Hey, I know you," Ash said. "You're my next opponent."
"That's right," Maria said. "I just wanted to have a chance to meet you before our match tomorrow. I like to try and get to know my competition personally."
"Well that's nice," Ash said. "I hope you're also ready for a touch battle, because I assure you, I'm not going to go easy on you."
"I wouldn't want you to," Maria said with a smirk. "Though I'm sure I'll be able to handle you. I am from Xanto, after all."
"Wow, you're a long way from home," Delia said.
"So, big deal," Ash said, not very impressed.
"Ash, don't you know anything?" Gary said. "Xanto is legendary for producing some of the toughest trainers in the world. Xanto trainers have won more Masters Tournaments than trainers from any other part of the world."
"Yes, and they have some very ferocious Pokémon in that region," Professor Oak added.
"Well this year, the Masters Tournament cup is coming to Kanto," Ash said.
"You're very confident," Maria said. "I like that. Well good luck tomorrow Ash. You're going to need it."
"I'm sure," Ash said, politely shaking her hand before Maria exited the restaurant. "Now, can we finally eat?!"
*****
"Welcome to Round 3 of the Pokémon Masters Tournament!" the announcer shouted. "Today's match features two trainers who have battled their way through tough battles in the first two rounds and are ready for their next challenge. Please welcome Ash Ketchum from Kanto and Maria Davis from Xanto!"
Ash and Maria made their way into the stadium through their respective tunnels and took their familiar places in the Trainer's box. Maria gave Ash a friendly wave, and Ash responded with a wave of his own, though his was far less enthusiastic. Brock and Misty took their places on the coach's bench, as they all waited for the referee to announce what this round's special challenge would be.
"Today's match will be a Field Change match," the referee announced. "At random times during the match, the stadium floor will change from its current standard type to another elemental-based arena. The field will continue to change at random intervals until a winner is decided. Trainers will only be allowed to use one Pokémon for this match, so they are advised to choose one that can battle well under any situation."
"What Pokémon are you going to use?" Misty asked.
"One who has gotten me through a lot of tough scrapes," Ash said. "Charizard, I choose you!"
Ash threw out Charizard's PokéBall, which popped open to reveal the intimidating Fire-type. Charizard let loose a loud roar, signaling that it was ready to start the battle.
"Very impressive, Ash," Maria said. "Allow me to send forth a good opponent for your Charizard. Swimurai, let's go!"
Maria elegantly tossed her Pokémon's PokéBall out onto the field of play, and a bizarre-looking Pokémon materialized out of it.
"Now there's a Pokémon I've never seen before," Ash said, pulling out his trusty new Pokédex.
"Swimurai, the Swordfish Pokémon," Ash's Pokédex said. "The evolved form of Marlengard. It's agile hind legs allow for battle on land and in water. Its sword-like nose is detachable and can be used as a powerful weapon."
Ash carefully examined the strange Pokémon. It stood as tall as Charizard, with flippered feet and sharp claws. It had metal shingles aligning the outside of its body, which Ash guessed served as a tough defense.
"It might be a Water Pokémon," Ash said, "but don't think you have advantage, Maria. Charizard will win."
"Then let's get this underway, shall we?" Maria asked.
"Fine by me," Ash said.
"Trainers, begin the match now!" the referee announced.
"Swimurai, Take Down!" Maria ordered.
"Charizard, brace for impact!" Ash shouted. Swimurai charged at a quick speed and lunged itself into Charizard, who was ready for it, was its claws outward, grabbing its foe and stopping its attack. Charizard held tightly onto Swimuari, trying to restrict its movement as much possible.
"Charizard, use your Slash attack!" Ash said. His Pokémon let go of Swimurai and let loose with its powerful claws, slashing at its opponent wherever it could. However, Charizard's claws weren't tough enough to penetrate Swimurai's thick shielding.
"Forget it, Ash," Maria said. "There's no way you're going to get through Swimurai's armor. It helps being part Steel type."
"Then I'll just have to go with Charizard's special attacks," said Ash. "Use Flamethrower!"
Charizard opened its mighty jaws and sent forth a streaking fire-attack, which quickly engulfed Swimurai in a swirling firestorm. After a few seconds of being surrounding by the intense heat, Swimurai managed to leap up into the air and escape the flames. It landed back on its feet several meters away from Charizard and resumed a battle position.
"Charizard, keep using your fire attacks!" Ash shouted. Charizard sent another blast of fire at Swimurai, but this time the Swordfish Pokémon jumped up into the air to avoid it.
"Use your Samurai Strike!" Maria called. While still up in the air, Swimurai detached its nose and gripped it in its hands, then fell back towards the ground in Charizard's direction.
"Charizard, fly away!" Ash quickly shouted. Charizard took off into the air as Swimurai landed where Charizard had just been standing. Before Ash's Pokémon even had time to react, Swimurai had already jumped into the air again, straight up at Charizard, and swung at it with its sword. Charizard had no time to counter it as it could only watch as the speedy Swimurai took a slash at its belly. Charizard grasped its midsection in pain, trying to stay in the air, as it watched its foe fall back to the ground.
"Hang in there, Charizard!" Ash yelled. Before either trainer could issue their next command, they heard a loud whirring sound. They look at the ground before them, which was slowly opening up, leaving only three circular-shaped platforms in the center. Swimurai quickly jumped on one as they waited to see what field would arise. The empty void in front of them began to fill up with water until the water level had reached the height of the platforms.
"Alright, a water field!" Maria shouted in joy.
"Ash, this isn't good," Brock said. "Charizard's going to be at even more of a disadvantage now."
"Well Charizard will just have to stay in the air then," Ash said.
"Swimurai, dive down!" Mario ordered. Her Pokémon jumped into the water and dove deep. Deep enough that Charizard could not see its position under the water.
"Now, Swimurai!" Maria said. Her Pokémon swam straight up from the bottom of the water and leapt out of the surface, soaring high into the air, right above where Charizard was flying. It fired a blast of water from its mouth right at the Fire-type, sending Charizard hurtling towards the pool below. Ash's Pokémon splashed down into the water, disappearing from Ash's view. Ash looked on very worried, hoping his Pokémon would surface quickly. It did a few seconds later, scrambling to get onto one of the platforms. When it did, Charizard collapsed, in obvious pain.
"Charizard, get up!" Ash ordered, with a tone of voice that struck both Misty and Brock as odd. It was a much more powerful and angry tone than they had ever heard Ash speak when battling.
"Get up now!" Ash continued to yell. "We can't let her beat us! I order you to get up!"
"Ash, maybe you should calm down a bit," Brock suggested.
"I know what I'm doing," Ash said. "I'm not going to give in this easily."
Charizard was confused by Ash's sudden actions, and was growing displeased with its trainer's tone of voice. It stared at Ash as he continued to shout at it.
"Charizard, get back on your feet this instant!" Ash yelled.
Charizard would have none of this anymore, and fired a blast of fire at its Trainer. Misty and Brock dove out of the way of the oncoming blast, but Ash wasn't so lucky, as he was more than a little burned up by Charizard's outburst.
*****
Tracey, watching the events of Ash's Round 3 match on television, almost spit out his drink as he saw Charizard attack his friend.
"Oh no, not again," he said.
"I don't believe this!" the TV announcer said. "Charizard has turned around and attacked its own trainer. I've never seen anything like this in a Masters Tournament. What could be going wrong?"
*****
"Charizard, what's wrong?" Ash asked. Charizard only answered with a terribly loud roar, and turned around, refusing to obey Ash anymore.
"Looks like your Charizard has an obedience problem," Maria said. "Then again, maybe it's the trainer who has the problem."
Ash began to fume over that comment and tried to get Charizard to attack, but his Pokémon would not listen to any of his commands.
"Don't tell me he's losing it," Gary said.
"What's wrong with Charizard?" May asked.
"I don't know," Professor Oak said. "Charizard hasn't acted this way in a long time. I wonder what the problem could be."
Maria prepared to give Swimurai its orders to attack when they heard the familiar sound of a field change. The water began to drain from the arena as everyone looked on and wondered which field would be next. The next battlefield began to rise up from the depth of the stadium. Soon a forest of trees began to surround the platforms where Charizard and Swimurai were waiting.
"A grass-type field," Brock said.
"It doesn't matter that your Pokémon wants to fight anymore or not," Maria said. "Swimurai and I are going to finish this. Samurai Strike!"
"Charizard, please!" Ash shouted, almost on the verge of begging his Pokémon to move. Charizard paid no attention to Ash, but quickly fly up out of the trees and it saw Swimurai cutting through them to get to it.
"Go up and fight it," Maria said. Swimurai jumped up to the canopy of the trees and began to fire water attacks at Charizard. Using its powerful wings, Charizard quickly flew from side to side, trying its best to dodge the aqua blasts. Now starting to grow annoyed at its opponent as well as Ash, it flew down to where Swimurai was and grabbed hold of it, then flying back up into the air.
"Charizard, please do this for me," Ash thought to himself. Charizard finally came to a rest in the air, then decided to fling Swimurai to the trees below. The Water and Steel-type Pokémon fell at an amazing speed towards the foliage before slamming hard into the fake forest, clearing an open spot where it landed as trees all around it fell backwards from the impact. Charizard landed in the clearing as Swimurai was coming to its feet. The weakened Swimurai made a desperate lunge at Charizard, who was now feeling rejuvenated with rage. Ash and Maria could only try and watch on through small openings in the trees. Charizard nailed the oncoming Swimurai with its huge tail, then proceeded to pick up one of the downed trees and slowly walked towards Swimurai. Just as Maria's Pokémon was once again regaining its footing, Charizard smashed it with the tree trunk. Swimurai was sent flying out of the forested arena and into the wall just to Maria's left. It wasn't even to make an attempt to get back up after that attack.
"Swimurai is no longer able to battle," the referee said. "The winner of the battle and the match are Ash Ketchum and Charizard."
"Ash Ketchum has won this third round match after an incredible duel between two Pokémon powerhouses," the announcer said. "However, he should consider himself lucky this time, after his Charizard decided to take on a mind of its own. I wonder what the problem could have been?"
Maria recalled her Pokémon as the field began to slowly shift back to its regular state. Charizard flew into the air and cried a powerful roar, shooting a Flamethrower attack up into the air in celebration. It then turned to face Ash, with a not-too-happy look on its face.
"Ash, you better recall Charizard," Misty suggested. "It might try something else."
"Charizard, return!" Ash said, pointing its PokéBall up towards his Pokémon and pulling it back into it. He was feeling quite angry at Charizard's sudden disobedience, and he was left wondering what in the world caused it. Misty and Brock had a pretty good idea, but decided they should keep it to themselves for the moment.
"Good battle, Ash," Maria said, after having walked over to the other side of the field to shake Ash's hand.
"Yeah, I guess," Ash said, refusing her handshake and instead turned around and walked out into the tunnel.
"Misty, I think we better find out what's wrong with Ash," Brock said.
"Yeah, you're right," Misty said, growing very worried. "If we don't, Ash might not last much longer in the competition."
As Misty and Brock exited the tunnel into the stadium to try and catch up to Ash, Misty couldn't help but notice someone watching them, laughing, She realized it was the man who they had run into after arriving on Master's Island. She wondered why he was laughing, but decided to forget about it for now as she and Brock hurried to get to Ash.
"Hey guys, there you are," Ash said, walking into one of the island's many restaurants. Inside, everyone was waiting for him to join them for dinner.
"About time you got here," Misty said. "We've been waiting for half an hour!"
"Sorry about that," Ash said apologetically as he hopped into the booth next to Misty. "There was a pretty long line at the Pokémon Center."
"Well you're here now, so that's all that matters," Delia said. "Let's order dinner."
At that moment, a very attractive young woman was making her way over to their table.
"Miss, we're ready to order," Delia said.
"Forget the food, I want her!" Brock said, jumping out of the booth and taking hold of her hand. As he was accustomed to, Brock instantly fell head-over-heels for the girl. She was 21 years old, wearing a green outfit over her very voluptuous figure, and she had teal-colored hair.
"Oh I'm not a waitress," she said, shoving Brock to the floor. He landed with a thud on his backside.
"I think that broke my back and my heart," Brock said, as he slowly got up and sulked his way back to his place in the booth.
"My name is Maria Davis, and I came to see Ash," she said.
"I'd be careful if I were you," May said. "His girlfriend over, Misty, gets pretty jealous when other girls want to talk to Ash."
Misty shot May an evil stare and tried her best to ignore her comment.
"Hey, I know you," Ash said. "You're my next opponent."
"That's right," Maria said. "I just wanted to have a chance to meet you before our match tomorrow. I like to try and get to know my competition personally."
"Well that's nice," Ash said. "I hope you're also ready for a touch battle, because I assure you, I'm not going to go easy on you."
"I wouldn't want you to," Maria said with a smirk. "Though I'm sure I'll be able to handle you. I am from Xanto, after all."
"Wow, you're a long way from home," Delia said.
"So, big deal," Ash said, not very impressed.
"Ash, don't you know anything?" Gary said. "Xanto is legendary for producing some of the toughest trainers in the world. Xanto trainers have won more Masters Tournaments than trainers from any other part of the world."
"Yes, and they have some very ferocious Pokémon in that region," Professor Oak added.
"Well this year, the Masters Tournament cup is coming to Kanto," Ash said.
"You're very confident," Maria said. "I like that. Well good luck tomorrow Ash. You're going to need it."
"I'm sure," Ash said, politely shaking her hand before Maria exited the restaurant. "Now, can we finally eat?!"
*****
"Welcome to Round 3 of the Pokémon Masters Tournament!" the announcer shouted. "Today's match features two trainers who have battled their way through tough battles in the first two rounds and are ready for their next challenge. Please welcome Ash Ketchum from Kanto and Maria Davis from Xanto!"
Ash and Maria made their way into the stadium through their respective tunnels and took their familiar places in the Trainer's box. Maria gave Ash a friendly wave, and Ash responded with a wave of his own, though his was far less enthusiastic. Brock and Misty took their places on the coach's bench, as they all waited for the referee to announce what this round's special challenge would be.
"Today's match will be a Field Change match," the referee announced. "At random times during the match, the stadium floor will change from its current standard type to another elemental-based arena. The field will continue to change at random intervals until a winner is decided. Trainers will only be allowed to use one Pokémon for this match, so they are advised to choose one that can battle well under any situation."
"What Pokémon are you going to use?" Misty asked.
"One who has gotten me through a lot of tough scrapes," Ash said. "Charizard, I choose you!"
Ash threw out Charizard's PokéBall, which popped open to reveal the intimidating Fire-type. Charizard let loose a loud roar, signaling that it was ready to start the battle.
"Very impressive, Ash," Maria said. "Allow me to send forth a good opponent for your Charizard. Swimurai, let's go!"
Maria elegantly tossed her Pokémon's PokéBall out onto the field of play, and a bizarre-looking Pokémon materialized out of it.
"Now there's a Pokémon I've never seen before," Ash said, pulling out his trusty new Pokédex.
"Swimurai, the Swordfish Pokémon," Ash's Pokédex said. "The evolved form of Marlengard. It's agile hind legs allow for battle on land and in water. Its sword-like nose is detachable and can be used as a powerful weapon."
Ash carefully examined the strange Pokémon. It stood as tall as Charizard, with flippered feet and sharp claws. It had metal shingles aligning the outside of its body, which Ash guessed served as a tough defense.
"It might be a Water Pokémon," Ash said, "but don't think you have advantage, Maria. Charizard will win."
"Then let's get this underway, shall we?" Maria asked.
"Fine by me," Ash said.
"Trainers, begin the match now!" the referee announced.
"Swimurai, Take Down!" Maria ordered.
"Charizard, brace for impact!" Ash shouted. Swimurai charged at a quick speed and lunged itself into Charizard, who was ready for it, was its claws outward, grabbing its foe and stopping its attack. Charizard held tightly onto Swimuari, trying to restrict its movement as much possible.
"Charizard, use your Slash attack!" Ash said. His Pokémon let go of Swimurai and let loose with its powerful claws, slashing at its opponent wherever it could. However, Charizard's claws weren't tough enough to penetrate Swimurai's thick shielding.
"Forget it, Ash," Maria said. "There's no way you're going to get through Swimurai's armor. It helps being part Steel type."
"Then I'll just have to go with Charizard's special attacks," said Ash. "Use Flamethrower!"
Charizard opened its mighty jaws and sent forth a streaking fire-attack, which quickly engulfed Swimurai in a swirling firestorm. After a few seconds of being surrounding by the intense heat, Swimurai managed to leap up into the air and escape the flames. It landed back on its feet several meters away from Charizard and resumed a battle position.
"Charizard, keep using your fire attacks!" Ash shouted. Charizard sent another blast of fire at Swimurai, but this time the Swordfish Pokémon jumped up into the air to avoid it.
"Use your Samurai Strike!" Maria called. While still up in the air, Swimurai detached its nose and gripped it in its hands, then fell back towards the ground in Charizard's direction.
"Charizard, fly away!" Ash quickly shouted. Charizard took off into the air as Swimurai landed where Charizard had just been standing. Before Ash's Pokémon even had time to react, Swimurai had already jumped into the air again, straight up at Charizard, and swung at it with its sword. Charizard had no time to counter it as it could only watch as the speedy Swimurai took a slash at its belly. Charizard grasped its midsection in pain, trying to stay in the air, as it watched its foe fall back to the ground.
"Hang in there, Charizard!" Ash yelled. Before either trainer could issue their next command, they heard a loud whirring sound. They look at the ground before them, which was slowly opening up, leaving only three circular-shaped platforms in the center. Swimurai quickly jumped on one as they waited to see what field would arise. The empty void in front of them began to fill up with water until the water level had reached the height of the platforms.
"Alright, a water field!" Maria shouted in joy.
"Ash, this isn't good," Brock said. "Charizard's going to be at even more of a disadvantage now."
"Well Charizard will just have to stay in the air then," Ash said.
"Swimurai, dive down!" Mario ordered. Her Pokémon jumped into the water and dove deep. Deep enough that Charizard could not see its position under the water.
"Now, Swimurai!" Maria said. Her Pokémon swam straight up from the bottom of the water and leapt out of the surface, soaring high into the air, right above where Charizard was flying. It fired a blast of water from its mouth right at the Fire-type, sending Charizard hurtling towards the pool below. Ash's Pokémon splashed down into the water, disappearing from Ash's view. Ash looked on very worried, hoping his Pokémon would surface quickly. It did a few seconds later, scrambling to get onto one of the platforms. When it did, Charizard collapsed, in obvious pain.
"Charizard, get up!" Ash ordered, with a tone of voice that struck both Misty and Brock as odd. It was a much more powerful and angry tone than they had ever heard Ash speak when battling.
"Get up now!" Ash continued to yell. "We can't let her beat us! I order you to get up!"
"Ash, maybe you should calm down a bit," Brock suggested.
"I know what I'm doing," Ash said. "I'm not going to give in this easily."
Charizard was confused by Ash's sudden actions, and was growing displeased with its trainer's tone of voice. It stared at Ash as he continued to shout at it.
"Charizard, get back on your feet this instant!" Ash yelled.
Charizard would have none of this anymore, and fired a blast of fire at its Trainer. Misty and Brock dove out of the way of the oncoming blast, but Ash wasn't so lucky, as he was more than a little burned up by Charizard's outburst.
*****
Tracey, watching the events of Ash's Round 3 match on television, almost spit out his drink as he saw Charizard attack his friend.
"Oh no, not again," he said.
"I don't believe this!" the TV announcer said. "Charizard has turned around and attacked its own trainer. I've never seen anything like this in a Masters Tournament. What could be going wrong?"
*****
"Charizard, what's wrong?" Ash asked. Charizard only answered with a terribly loud roar, and turned around, refusing to obey Ash anymore.
"Looks like your Charizard has an obedience problem," Maria said. "Then again, maybe it's the trainer who has the problem."
Ash began to fume over that comment and tried to get Charizard to attack, but his Pokémon would not listen to any of his commands.
"Don't tell me he's losing it," Gary said.
"What's wrong with Charizard?" May asked.
"I don't know," Professor Oak said. "Charizard hasn't acted this way in a long time. I wonder what the problem could be."
Maria prepared to give Swimurai its orders to attack when they heard the familiar sound of a field change. The water began to drain from the arena as everyone looked on and wondered which field would be next. The next battlefield began to rise up from the depth of the stadium. Soon a forest of trees began to surround the platforms where Charizard and Swimurai were waiting.
"A grass-type field," Brock said.
"It doesn't matter that your Pokémon wants to fight anymore or not," Maria said. "Swimurai and I are going to finish this. Samurai Strike!"
"Charizard, please!" Ash shouted, almost on the verge of begging his Pokémon to move. Charizard paid no attention to Ash, but quickly fly up out of the trees and it saw Swimurai cutting through them to get to it.
"Go up and fight it," Maria said. Swimurai jumped up to the canopy of the trees and began to fire water attacks at Charizard. Using its powerful wings, Charizard quickly flew from side to side, trying its best to dodge the aqua blasts. Now starting to grow annoyed at its opponent as well as Ash, it flew down to where Swimurai was and grabbed hold of it, then flying back up into the air.
"Charizard, please do this for me," Ash thought to himself. Charizard finally came to a rest in the air, then decided to fling Swimurai to the trees below. The Water and Steel-type Pokémon fell at an amazing speed towards the foliage before slamming hard into the fake forest, clearing an open spot where it landed as trees all around it fell backwards from the impact. Charizard landed in the clearing as Swimurai was coming to its feet. The weakened Swimurai made a desperate lunge at Charizard, who was now feeling rejuvenated with rage. Ash and Maria could only try and watch on through small openings in the trees. Charizard nailed the oncoming Swimurai with its huge tail, then proceeded to pick up one of the downed trees and slowly walked towards Swimurai. Just as Maria's Pokémon was once again regaining its footing, Charizard smashed it with the tree trunk. Swimurai was sent flying out of the forested arena and into the wall just to Maria's left. It wasn't even to make an attempt to get back up after that attack.
"Swimurai is no longer able to battle," the referee said. "The winner of the battle and the match are Ash Ketchum and Charizard."
"Ash Ketchum has won this third round match after an incredible duel between two Pokémon powerhouses," the announcer said. "However, he should consider himself lucky this time, after his Charizard decided to take on a mind of its own. I wonder what the problem could have been?"
Maria recalled her Pokémon as the field began to slowly shift back to its regular state. Charizard flew into the air and cried a powerful roar, shooting a Flamethrower attack up into the air in celebration. It then turned to face Ash, with a not-too-happy look on its face.
"Ash, you better recall Charizard," Misty suggested. "It might try something else."
"Charizard, return!" Ash said, pointing its PokéBall up towards his Pokémon and pulling it back into it. He was feeling quite angry at Charizard's sudden disobedience, and he was left wondering what in the world caused it. Misty and Brock had a pretty good idea, but decided they should keep it to themselves for the moment.
"Good battle, Ash," Maria said, after having walked over to the other side of the field to shake Ash's hand.
"Yeah, I guess," Ash said, refusing her handshake and instead turned around and walked out into the tunnel.
"Misty, I think we better find out what's wrong with Ash," Brock said.
"Yeah, you're right," Misty said, growing very worried. "If we don't, Ash might not last much longer in the competition."
As Misty and Brock exited the tunnel into the stadium to try and catch up to Ash, Misty couldn't help but notice someone watching them, laughing, She realized it was the man who they had run into after arriving on Master's Island. She wondered why he was laughing, but decided to forget about it for now as she and Brock hurried to get to Ash.