Life: It's time!

Leien: Yay!

Kelly: I'll just tag along until I find an escape.

Note From Life: In case you wondered, the story is going to follow Ash and Misty, and the occasional OC. Just so you know!


2: The First Battles

Ash found a short hall in front of him. The walls were blue, as was the carpet. The ceiling was white. Two paths led off from the hall. Hmm...so, it looks like by choosing a path, I'm kind of choosing my opponent, even thought I don't know who that will be, he thought. He hoped he would be able to battle Gary. He wanted to beat the show-off.

"Which path should we take, Pikachu?" Ash asked his trusty Pokémon.

Pikachu eyed both paths and shrugged.

"Hmm...I know how to decide!" Ash turned to the left path. "Eenie, meenie, miney, mo, catch a Growlithe by its toe..."

He ended up with the left path and walked down it. He found two double doors and pushed them open.

A large regular-type stadium greeted him. Standing in the middle of the battling field was a boy with red hair and blue eyes wearing a white shirt and gray pants. A Pidgeot was with him. The card around his neck said 44. Off to the side was a girl with short brown hair wearing a Pokémon referee uniform. Near her was a strange machine that looked like an altered ATM.

The boy looked up and saw Ash. "Hey, about time you got here!" he said cheerfully. "We must be each other's opponents!"

Ash nodded. "I guess so," he said, walking over. "I'm Ash Ketchum."

"Mac. Nice to meet you." They shook hands.

The referee walked up to them, a red and a green flag in her right hand. "Ready to start the battle?" she questioned with a smile. The boys nodded and went to their places opposite the field.

"Good luck, Ash," Mac said from across the battling area.

"You, too," Ash said.

The referee took up her position on the side, facing the center. "The battle between Number 61, Ash, using his Pikachu, and Number 44, Mac, using his Pidgeot, will begin!" She raised both flags.

"Let's go, Pikachu!" Ash cried. Pikachu jumped onto the field.

"Go, Loden!" Mac yelled. His Pidgeot flapped its wings and flew into position.


Misty took the path on the right the moment she went through her door. A few turns and curves, and she found herself in her own stadium. A referee with blond pigtails awaited her. "Hello!" the referee said, coming over. She saw Misty's tag. "Number sixty-two?" She consulted an electronic pad in her hand. "Ah, Misty. You'll be using your Corsola?"

Misty nodded. Just then the door beside the one Misty had entered through opened, and in came the girl that had been standing beside Ash. 60. She had her miniaturized Pokéball still in her hand, and smiled in a friendly way as she approached Misty and the referee.

"Hi!" the referee said, glancing at the girl's tag and then down at her pad. "60, Midnight, using an Umbreon, right?"

The girl nodded. So, I'll be up against an Umbreon, Misty thought. She didn't know a lot about them, so she decided the best defense would be a good offense. Plus, her Corsola knew Recover, which would most definitely be useful in staying in the battle.

Midnight extended her hand to Misty. "Midnight," she said with a smile that looked slightly manic.

"Misty," Misty said, shaking her hand.

"Good luck," Midnight said as she turned and started for the other side of the field. "You'll need it."

We'll see, Misty thought. She reached into her satchel and pulled out Corsola's Pokéball.

The referee held up a red flag and a green flag. "The battle between Trainer 60, Midnight, using an Umbreon, and Trainer 62, Misty, using a Corsola, will now begin!" The flags dropped.

"Go, Corsola!" Misty yelled, tossing her Pokéball in one smooth motion. Corsola appeared in a flash of white light and jumped into the field, rested and ready.

Midnight's brown curls bounced as she pulled back her arm, enlarged her ball, and then hurled it over the field with an expertness that proved she had been hurling Balls for quite a while. "Let's go, Umbreon!" she yelled. Her Umbreon jumped from the ball in another white flash and stood menacingly on all fours, tail raised.

"I'll start things off, if you don't mind, Misty," Midnight said. She pointed at Corsola. "Umbreon, use Screech!"

Umbreon opened its mouth and let out an earsplitting screech that was ten times worse than nails on chalkboard. Misty put her hands over her ears, and Corsola nearly passed out.

"Now hit it with a Quick Attack!"

Without missing a beat, Umbreon dashed forward. Streaking across the field, it slammed into the distracted Corsola head-on and sent it flying.

"Oh no!" Misty cried. "Corsola, Pin Missile!"

Corsola flipped over in mid-air so its spines were pointed at Umbreon. It glowed white, and sharp glowing spikes shot from its body, all aimed at Umbreon.

"Umbreon!" Midnight shouted. "Use Swift to intercept the missiles!"

Umbreon opened its mouth again, and yellow glowing stars spewed out. They intercepted the spikes, all of the stars and spikes canceling each other out. Corsola landed on its feet on the ground.

"Darn it!" Misty said to herself. "She's better than I thought. And she hasn't even used any really powerful attacks yet. I'd better go on the offensive if I want a chance to win. Corsola!" she yelled. "Pin Missile again!"

Corsola glowed white and fired a stream of pins at Umbreon.

"Use Quick Attack to dodge!" Midnight commanded. Umbreon jumped away from where it was standing and the pins hit the ground. "All right, now use Iron Tail!"

Umbreon's tail glowed bright silver. It jumped at Corsola and swung its tail out.

Misty gasped. It would be a Direct Hit! At the way things were going, Corsola might not be strong enough to use Recover. She'd have to think fast.


"Pikachu, Thunderbolt!"

Pikachu charged up and let its electricity release. Several streaks of yellow electricity sailed towards Mac's Pidgeot.

"Loden, use Fly to dodge it!"

Loden snapped its wings and flew straight up. The electricity passed under it.

"Don't let that Pidgeot get away!" Ash yelled. "Use Quick Attack and get it!"

Pikachu increased its speed tremendously. It ran to Loden's side of the field and then jumped into the air after Loden.

"Now, Pikachu, Thunder!"

Pikachu charged up. The electricity collected around its body. "Pika-CHUUUUUU!" The electricity flew in showers everywhere. Loden couldn't dodge them all and was shocked back to the ground. Pikachu landed on its feet. Loden didn't get back up to fight.

The referee looked at Loden and then raised her red flag. "Pidgeot is unable to battle! Ash and his Pikachu win the match!"

"All right!" Ash cried. The referee collected their Pokémon and put them on the AutoCenter.

"You're awesome in battles, Ash," Mac said. "I've seen you on TV, and it was great battling you."

Ash smiled. "Thanks. It was nice battlin' you too, Mac." Their Pokémon, fully healed, came back to them, followed by the referee.

"Mac, since you lost, I'll escort you outside, where you can watch other people's progress on the screens," she said to him. "Ash, since you won, you have a choice of which of the three doors on that wall you want to go through." She turned and led Mac off.

Ash looked at the doors. "Which one, Pikachu?" he asked.

"Pika." Pikachu shrugged.

"Okay, then," Ash said. "Eenie meenie miney mo..."


"Corsola, Harden!" Misty yelled.

Corsola immediately began to glow slightly as its body became harder and harder. Umbreon's Iron Tail attack hit it and sent it flying. It hit the wall and fell; however, since it had used Harden, the damage was cut in half. But still Corsola looked pretty weakened.

Midnight threw back a curl. "One more good attack ought to do it, Umbreon," she yelled to her Pokémon. "Give it your best Quick Attack!"

"Umbreon!" Umbreon sped into superspeed in record time. It jumped at Corsola.

"Now, Corsola, Pin Missile!" Misty yelled.

Corsola glowed white and spewed pins at Umbreon. Since it had been jumping for an attack, Umbreon didn't have a chance to dodge and was hit head-on. It was knocked back.

"All right, now, Corsola, use Recover!" Misty ordered.

Corsola glowed white as the healing powers of Recover converged on it. When the glow faded, it looked as good as new.

Midnight gasped. "No way!" she exclaimed. "It knew Recover!" She clenched a fist. This would be a lot harder if she had to deal with that. "Okay, Umbreon, let's up the ante and put Corsola out of commission before it can use that Recover attack again! Use Iron Tail!"

"Stop it with Bubblebeam!" Misty yelled. Corsola fired a hard stream of bubbles at Umbreon, slowing the other Pokémon down. "Now give it a hard Tackle!" Misty added.

Corsola stopped the bubbles and rushed forward, its hard body slamming into Umbreon. It knocked the Dark-type over, and Umbreon didn't get up.

The blond referee watched it and then raised her green flag. "Umbreon is unable to battle! Misty and her Corsola win!"


Life: Good? Bad? In-between? Let us know!