Lucario managed to take care of Ninetales quickly and Kabu brought up his next Pokeball to send the next Pokemon to the match.
"Arcanine, it's your turn!" he exclaimed and a big, orange, dog-like Pokemon appeared in front of him and roared. In the auditorium, Lucas smirked when he saw the Pokemon, and Serena took out the Rotom and scanned the Arcane with it:
"Arcanine, Ledendary Pokemon and an evolved form of Growlithe. Fire-type. The sight of it running over 6,200 miles in a single day and night has captivated many people."
"Ledendary Pokemon? But Arcanine is not legendary," she said a little in amazement and Gou shrugged.
"The one who wrote that didn't seem to be quite aware of things," he said and Serena settled for it.
On the field, however, things were in full swing. Arcanine had been hit by Lucario a few times and Lucario had taken quite a bit of damage from them. But Ash and Lucario had not yet surrendered and Ash had just instructed Lucario to make the next move.
"Lucario, use the Bone Rush!" Ash exclaimed and Lucario growled and formed a shimmering bone in his paws. Then it plunged on its way to Arcanine, the bone in its hand glistening and ready to strike.
"Arcanine, dodge it and do Will-O-Wisp!" Kabu instructed his Pokemon and this one dodged Lucario coming towards him and threw a purple fireball towards him.
"Lucario, dodge it with your bone!" Ash instructed and Lucario lifted the bone in front of him like a shield and swung the Arcanine's fireball with it aside.
"Again Arcanine, use Will-O-Wisp! At the same time, head to come towards Lucario!" Kabu said and Arcanine rushed the purple fireball towards Lucario again, while running towards it.
"Lucario, dodge it again with your bone!" Ash exclaimed and Lucario fought off the Arcanine fireballs with his bone. When Arcanine was close enough, Ash exclaimed, "Lucario, use Aura Sphere!"
With his free hand, Lucario formed a blue ball from Aura and threw it towards Arcanine. This dodged it agilely and plunged another fireball towards Lucario.
This time the fireball hit Lucario's paw and its bone came off its hand. It flew into the air and disintegrated into small, shimmering Aura sparks.
"Now, Arcanine, use Bite!" Kabu instructed and a pair of shimmering jaws appeared in front of Arcanine's muzzle. It rushed towards Lucario, who, however, dodged it by twisting away.
"Now Lucario, use the Aura Sphere!" Ash instructed and Lucario formed a bigger, blue Aura Ball with both paws and threw it towards Arcanine.
It hit him in the back and made him falter. Lucario looked pleased and Ash exclaimed, "Lucario, use Aura Sphere again!"
Lucario growled and formed the blue Aura ball with his paws again. He threw it towards Arcanine and this faltered again as the ball hit it.
Ash looked pleased to see Lucario succeed in his attack. He watched as Arcanine turned towards Lucario and growled at him and Ash told Lucario again to make one Aura Sphere.
"Arcanine, let's finish this," said Kabu and grinned. "Use the Flame Wheel!"
Arcanine howled and then it started running towards Lucario. At the same time, its body was completely covered in flames, and before Ash had time to do anything, it had reached Lucario and bumped into it violently.
Lucario flew on his back to the ground and Ash clenched his fist. "Lucario, can you continue?" he asked and Lucario nodded. "Well, then get up!"
Ash realized he was saying it more dullly than he should and Lucario glanced at him a little amazed at his tone of voice. However, he shook it off and got up properly.
"Still okay? Well, it won't take long," Kabu said, grinning with his hands in a gust. For some reason, Ash felt a great desire to wipe the grin off in some unpleasant way and he found himself squeezing his hands so much into his fists that his nails sank into the skin.
"Master, are you okay?" asked Lucario through Aura and Ash woke up.
"Yeah, I am," he said to himself with warmth and deep relaxation. "Let's continue"
"Arcanine, Will-O-Wisp!" instructed Kabu and Arcanine to plunge a purple fireball at Lucario again.
"Bone Rush and dodge it with your bone!" Ash said and Lucario formed a shimmering bone in his paw again, repelling the Arcanine attack with it.
Lucario went for a walk towards Arcanine in the middle of the field and Arcanine continued to make fireballs towards it. Lucario easily rejected them, and at the same time, the plan unfolded in Ash's mind.
Lucario walked right near Arcanine and they began to spin in a circle while measuring each other with their gaze. "I have a plan," Lucario heard Ash's voice in his mind and he replied, "Tell me, Master."
"When I give a signal, somehow distract Arcanine. Then jump over it to the other side and wait for me to give the signal again. Then make a Stone Edge," Ash explained his plan and Lucario replied, "All right, Master."
They were still spinning in a circle and Lucario squeezed the bone in his right paw. "Now!" he heard Ash's voice in his mind and with his free paw, he formed the ball of Aura and threw it directly into Arcanine's face, to distract this.
Confused by the sudden attack, Arcanine quickly picked up momentum and jumped directly over Arcanine to the other side.
"Now, Lucario, Stone Edge!" he heard Ash's voice screaming out loud and Lucario threw the bone out of his hand, causing it to shatter into shimmering chips and hit his paws on the ground.
Three sharp, blue-glowing boulders protruded from the ground, and one of them protruded just below Arcanine. Kabu didn't have time to guide Arcanine in any way and the bump hit Arcanine at full power.
"Rock-type move, genius move from Ash!" exclaimed from the auditorium Lucas and Serena turned to look at him.
"What do you mean?" she asked and Lucas explained with a smile, "Look, Arcanine is a Fire-type Pokemon and then very weak against Rock-type. So Stone Edge probably did a lot of damage to it."
And true. As the boulders evaporated, Arcanine lay on the ground and familiar spirals were visible in place of its eyes.
"Arcanine is unable to battle, so the winner of this round is Lucario!" announced the referee and Ash watched the Pokemon lying on the ground.
For some reason, he made up his mind to tell Lucario to make one more Aura Sphere to make sure Arcanine has certainly fainted, but the feeling went away when Kabu returned his Pokemon to the ball and thanked him for the match.
Then he took up the next Pokeball and said, "You might have beaten my first two Pokemon, but you won't beat this. Centiskorch, let's put some heat into this game."
He threw the ball in the air and a big, red, millipede-like Pokemon appeared in front of them and its big jaws flared.
"Huh, I haven't seen that Pokemon before," Ash said, picking up his Rotom. He pointed it at Centiskorch and Rotom scanned the Pokemon in front of him.
"Centiskorch, Radiator Pokemon and evolved form of Sizzlipede. Bug and Fire-type. While its Burning body is already dangerous on its own, this excessively hostile Pokémon also has large and very sharp fangs"
"That kind of Pokemon then. Lucario, I'm sure that we handle it easily," Ash said purposefully and Lucario nodded in confirmation.
****
But things didn't go quite as Ash planned. Namely, Centiskorch was a very strong Pokemon and it easily defeated Lucario in a few minutes.
"Lucario is unable to battle, so the winner is Centiskorch!" the referee declared the result of the round and Kabu grinned with satisfaction.
"I told you that you can't beat my Centiskorch," he said confidently as Ash returned the fainted Lucario to its ball.
"Thank you, Lucario," he said to the ball and put the ball back in his belt. Then he picked up another Pokeball, magnified it, and threw it in the air, while exclaiming, "Greninja, I choose you!"
Greninja appeared in front of him and said, "Ninja!" It looked at the Centiskorch standing in front of him and took a determined look on his face.
When Kabu saw Ash's next Pokemon, there was a slightly worried look on his face for a moment. However, it only took a second and then he said, "Centiskorch, nothing will change, even though Ash now has a type advantage. Use Bug Bite!"
Centiskorch set out to come towards Greninja and at the same time, its jaws began to shine and grew even bigger.
"Greninja, dodge it and use the Water Shuriken!" instructed Ash and Greninja dodged the agile approach of Centiskorch and formed the Shurikens with their hands.
It jumped into the air and threw the Shurikens directly into Centiskorch's back. Centiskorch faltered and when Greninja repeated the move, it fell to the ground.
Ash looked at the show with satisfaction, but Kabu was not very pleased. He decided that the match required an even hotter grip and took the Centiskorch ball up.
"Return!" he said and Centiskorch disappeared inside the ball. Ash looked at him a little confused, but then he realizes what Kabu was going to do.
So did the Serena, who was sitting in the auditorium. "He's going to Dynamax Centiskorch!" she exclaimed and Lucas nodded seriously.
"Yeah, and not just Dynamax. Centiskorch is capable of Gigantamax itself," he said, and Serena looked a little worried.
"Hopefully Ash is okay," she whispered and touched her blue ribbon with her hand.
****
On the field, Ash didn't look worried. "Greninja, ready when I say," he said to his Pokemon and this one nodded resolutely and said, "Ninja!"
At the other end of the field, Kabu grinned and touched the ring on his wrist. That's when Centiskorch's Pokeball grew very much bigger and then Kabu threw it in the air.
Centiskorch appeared in front of him, but it had changed in appearance and was very much larger than before. Ash looked at it with interest and said, "So that's the Gigantamax form of Centiskorch."
"Yep, and a powerful one," Kabu said smugly and to his surprise Ash grinned broadly.
"It suits me, challenging opponents are the best," he said and took the X position and Greninja did the same and then he exclaimed, "Greninja, LET'Z GO!"
The Greninja was first covered with a veil of water, which soon dissipated and formed on its back a large Shuriken. Its appearance changed a little and at the same time, Ash felt a familiar sense of reunion for a long time as Greninja transformed into its Ash-Greninja form.
In the auditorium, everyone except Serena looked very surprised. "Woah, what happened!?" exclaimed Gou, and Lucas said, "Is.. is that a Bond Phenomenon? I've heard of it when I was traveling in Kalos year ago"
"Yep, that's it," Serena said and grinned. "Ash and Greninja achieved that while we were in Kalos. It's very rare; only one person is known to have achieved it before Ash."
"Wow, I didn't know Ash has achieved something like that," Gou said with awe and Serena giggled. There's quite a lot you don't know about Ash, she thought and then focused on the match again.
****
"Centiskorch, use the G-Max Centiferno!" exclaimed Kabu and Centiskorch roared and plunged a huge whirlwind of fire towards Greninja.
"Greninja, dodge it, fast!" exclaimed Ash and Greninja plunged into the voyage very quickly, while avoiding Centiskorch's fire narrowly
"Now, Greninja, use the Water Shuriken and use the Shuriken on your back as the Shuriken!" instructed Ash and Greninja jumped high in the air, took the big Shuriken on his back, and threw it towards Centiskorch. At the same time, a new Shuriken appeared on its back and replaced the previous one.
Centiskorch roared when Shuriken hit it and turned his huge body towards Greninja. "G-Max Centiferno, now!" Kabu instructed and Centiskorch again set fire to Greninja.
"Dodge it!" Ash exclaimed and Greninja plunged out of the way of the fire. However, some of the fire had time to hit it and cause it to falter and fall a little.
Since the Fire-type moves do not have a very large effect on the Water-types, Greninja itself did not suffer much. But because when Greninja was in Ash-Greninja form, the attacks that hit it were also felt in Ash.
When Greninja hit the fire, Ash felt a strong burn on the right side of his body. He had often had minor burns to his fingers, but this was really something else.
He felt as if his right side and hand were on fire. He grimaced and pursed his lips, trying to pull his thoughts away from the pain. "Greninja, Water Shuriken, again and in the same way!" he was instructed and Greninja nodded.
In the auditorium, Gou was amazed. "Why does Ash look like he's hurt?" he asked in wonder and Serena explained with concern, "Because when Greninja is in that form, his and Ash's minds seem to be united. So the attacks Greninja takes are also felt in Ash."
"Oh, that's why Ash is holding his side," Gou said after realizing it. "Greninja's side hit fire and Ash feels it too"
"Yeah, hopefully it doesn't hurt very much," Serena said worried, squeezing her right hand around her blue ribbon.
****
"Centiskorch, G-Max Centiferno again and aim it this time at the ground around you!" Kabu exclaimed and Centiskorch roared and began to pour fire around him.
"Greninja, dodge it!" Ash exclaimed and Greninja set off, avoiding the approaching fire to the best of his ability.
But because Ash and Greninja shared almost the same feelings while in this form, Greninja's movements slowed as he felt the pain on Ash's side as well. It managed to avoid the fire in Centiskorch, but then something surprising happened.
Centiskorch waved his big tail and it hit Greninja in the back. It made Greninja fly to the ground and Ash also felt a strong blow to his back and it got him on his knees.
"Ash!" exclaimed Serena anxiously and Ash bit his lip and got up. The burning sensation on his side and the throbbing pain in his back combined were very intense and he gritted his teeth so as not to shout out loud.
"Greninja, can you get up?" he got it said and Greninja managed with difficulty to get up. Meanwhile, Centiskorch shrank to its normal size and Kabu said, "End this game with Bug Bite."
The jaws of Centiskorch began to glow brightly again and it came at a worrying pace towards Greninja. "Greninja, dodge it!" Ash instructed, trying to keep the pain away, but Greninja didn't have time to dodge and Centiskorch managed to bite it.
The Bug Bite Bug-type move was very powerful for the half Dark-type Pokemon, as Greninja and Greninja sank from the force of the blow to his knees.
"Are you still trying or are you giving up already?" asked Kabu ready to give a final order to Centiskorch.
Ash bit his lips, at the same time trying to push the pain away, but it began to become impossible. Should I just answer yes, he wondered, looking at Greninja on his knees. Then at least this torment would end and we could try again sometime.
But then he happened to glance at the auditorium and saw Serena. She looked worried, but as she faced Ash's gaze, she smiled slightly and formed the words, "Go on, Ash!"
It gave Ash enough strength to continue. "We will continue no matter what comes!" he said resolutely and upon hearing it, Greninja got up and Kabu looked at them a little surprised.
"For we will not give up until the very end," Ash continued, then exclaimed, "DON'T GIVE UP 'TIL THE VERY END! GRENINJA, NOW!"
Greninja got more strength from somewhere and jumped in the air. It took its big Shuriken from its back and somehow got to enlarge it even bigger. Then it threw it towards the terrified Centiskorch, while shouting, "NINJA!"
Ash had time to see how Centiskorch fell to the ground from the power of the huge Shuriken and how Kabu looked very amazed. He then saw Greninja fall to the ground and the Ash-Greninja form evaporate away from it.
"Greninja .." he said until he gave in to the pain and then everything went black.
****
"Is he dead?"
"Of course not. He's just unconscious."
"Hey, he's waking up!"
Ash slowly opened his eyes and looked around.
Gou, Lucas, Kabu, and the three paramedics stood beside him and one of the paramedics said, "Welcome back," and Ash slowly raised his head. He felt his back ache and a burning sensation on his other side.
He slowly looked around and found himself lying on the floor of Kabu's Gym. His gaze slowly circled in the people around him. Gou and Lucas were pale as sheets and Kabu looked at him with a weird look on his face.
"What happened?" Ash asked and got up to sit down. His back whistled and he grimaced. "Why am I lying here?"
"You went unconscious," Gou said and Lucas nodded. "Yeah, after Greninja defeated Centiskorch, you fell to the ground and didn't wake up, even though we called you"
"One of the workers called the ambulance and the paramedics arrived a moment later. They said you were okay otherwise, but they saw a strange redness on your side and that there is a big bruise on your back," Gou explained and Lucas nodded.
Ash listened to this quietly and tried to remember what had happened. However, the memories felt flimsy and seemed to slip out of his reach.
"Greninja.. where is he!?" he suddenly remembered and Lucas smiled slightly.
"Nurse Joy is taking care of him right now. He also went unconscious, like you, but Nurse Joy says he's recovering," he explained and Ash nodded in relief.
He was silent for a moment until he realized something. "Where's Serena?" He asked. "Why isn't she here?"
Gou and Lucas glanced at each other and then Lucas said cautiously, "When you went unconscious, Serena.. well, she went completely hysterical. She cried and screamed so the paramedics had to give her a sedative. She's fine, don't worry about it."
Ash wasn't content with that. "Where is she? I want to see her," he said, trying to stand up.
"Woah, calmly," said the paramedic who had spoken to him first. "You'd better stay horizontal"
"I can't, I want to see Serena," Ash said stubbornly and tried to get up again. The paramedics blocked him again and he said bitterly, "Let me see her!"
"Ash, Serena's okay, you're hurt here," Lucas said, but Ash didn't listen to him.
"Please, I just want to see that she's okay," he begged the paramedics and these looked uncertainly at each other.
"Fine, but you shouldn't strain yourself too much," one of the paramedics warned and Ash nodded. "I know, this has happened to me before," he said, getting up with the help of another paramedic.
His back ached a little, but he didn't care about it right now. "Where is she?" he asked and one paramedic said, "We took her to the ambulance. She's probably asleep."
Ash nodded and walked cautiously toward the exit of the Gym. He doesn't care for the pain in his back and all he could think was that he needed to see Serena. For some reason it was very important to him, so he just limped forward and pursed his lips as his back ached.
Gou shook his head as he watched Ash go. When you, Ash, really realize not to offend yourself, he thought and watched as Ash opened the front door of the Gym.
****
The ambulance was parked in front of the front door and Ash limped to it. The paramedic who accompanied him opened its back doors for him and he got on board.
He saw Serena sleeping on a stretcher. She looked calm and serene while breathing evenly as she slept, but her cheeks still showed the tears of the tears she was crying. She had squeezed her right hand around her blue ribbon and the other hand was under her head as a pillow.
Ash looked at her with a small smile and whimpered as he felt a pain in his back just then. The voice made Serena move and then she opened her eyes.
She got up to sit and looked around confused. She rubbed her eyes to get the sleep scraps off of them and then she noticed Ash sitting at the doors.
"Ash?" she said in amazement and Ash nodded, flashing a familiar toothy smile. Serena moved closer to him and when she was close enough, she wrapped up Ash in a tight hug.
"Thank Arceus you're fine!" she said with a voice trembling and Ash wrapped his arms around her. "Of course I am, why should not I?" he said and grinned.
Serena withdrew from the hug and looked at Ash with her blue eyes. "How did they let you in here? I thought people who had just been unconscious wouldn't just be allowed to walk around," she asked and her gaze looked at Ash inquisitively.
"He insisted on getting here," came the voice of the paramedic who had escorted Ash to the ambulance. "He was so worried about you that he didn't care about his own injuries."
Serena looked at Ash surprised and a little blushed. "Really?" she asked and the paramedic nodded. Serena looked at Ash a little reproachfully. "You shouldn't have done that," she scolded and Ash looked a little embarrassed
Ash laughed a little embarrassed and said, "Sorry, Serena. I just wanted to make sure you're okay."
Serena glared at him, but then smiled. "It's okay, Ash. The main thing is that you're okay," she said with a smile and blushed a little.
Serena's smile made Butterfrees fly in Ash's stomach. He looked into the girl's blue eyes and was just saying something when the Gym's front door heard, "Ash Ketchum? The Gym Leader wants to see you," and the moment was interrupted.
"Come on, Serena, let's go see what Kabu has to do with it," Ash said and landed carefully off the ambulance.
He hesitated for a moment and then held out his hand to help Serena down. Serena grabbed his hand with a smile and Ash helped her down the ambulance. They then headed for the door and the paramedic, who had brought Ash to the ambulance, grinned to himself knowingly and closed the door of the ambulance.
****
As Ash and Serena walked along Gym's hallway toward the field, Ash suddenly heard the familiar "Pikapi!" shouted and he turned to look.
Pikachu ran up to him, followed by Nurse Joy and Wigglytuff, pushing carts with two Pokeballs on top.
"Hey Pikachu!" Ash exclaimed and Pikachu jumped happily into Ash's arms. The movement made Ash's back aches a little, but Ash hardly noticed it, for he was so happy to see Pikachu again.
"You must be Ash Ketchum, right?" asked Nurse Joy, who had just gotten to them and Ash nodded. "Good, because here are the rest of your Pokemon you used in your match. They're now perfectly healthy and in full force."
Wigglytuff handed to Ash the two Pokeballs from the top of the cart and Ash received them with a smile. "Thanks," he said, then released Lucario and Greninja.
They appeared in front of him and Ash smiled at them. "You were awesome, thanks to you I won the match," he thanked his Pokemons and these grinned broadly.
"You're welcome, Master. It was pretty fun," he heard Lucario say with the help of Aura and Greninja said, "Ninja!" with a satisfied voice.
"Pikapi pika!" Pikachu's voice was heard from Ash's shoulder and Ash turned to him as well. "And of course you were awesome too!" he said to Pikachu and this one smiled broadly.
Nurse Joy nodded approvingly and set out to continue her chores. Ash returned Lucario and Greninja back to their balls and then he and Serena continued their journey towards the battlefield.
****
When they finally got to the field, Gou rushed up to them and exclaimed, "There you are! Ash, Kabu wants to tell you something."
"I know," Ash replied with a grin. "Where is he?"
"Here," a voice came and Kabu walked his hands in his pockets to Ash. "It was quite a match, I can't say anything else," he said smirking and then picked up a small, metallic badge.
He looked at it for a moment and then handed it to Ash. "Here, Fire badge, you deserved it," he said and Ash took the badge in his hand.
He looked at it for a moment until he grinned wide and lifted the mark into the air. "I just got a Fire badge!" he exclaimed and Pikachu also jumped into the air, exclaiming, "Pika pikachu!" Ash then took out his badge case and put a badge on it.
"Three collected, five left," he thought aloud and then he closed the case and put it back in his backpack. Then he turned to the others and said, "Will we continue the journey?"
****
After examining Ash once again, the paramedics decided there was no need for him to go to the hospital and left the Gym. So did Ash, Gou, Serena, and Lucas.
They said goodbye to Lucas at the door of the Gym. "Aren't you really going to come with us?" Ash asked, but Lucas shook his head regretfully.
"I'm sorry, but no," he said. "I'm going to go Hulbury and challenge Nessa. At the same time I could go to greet Nelly and my parents, I'm sure they would become happy"
"All right then," Ash said and then Lucas waved his hand and set off to walk away. They watched him walk down the street and then disappeared around the corner.
"So, Ash, what now?" asked Gou and Ash scratched his head. "I guess we're heading for the next Gym, I just have no idea where it is," he said, looking a little embarrassed.
"But I have," Serena said, looking at her Rotom at the same time. "The next Gym is in a place called Stow-on-Side and its Gym Leader Allister specializes in Ghost-type Pokemon."
"There then!" Ash said. "Stow-on-Side, here we come!" he exclaimed and raised his fist resolutely.
However, the movement made his back ache and he quickly lowered his fist. "But will we stay here for a couple of days first?" he suggested embarrassing and then they left laughing in search of Pokemon Center where to stay.
Oh yeah, and I did choose Allister as the next Gym Leader. Bea would have been just as good an option, but Allister is somehow more interesting and I came up with a good idea of how they would meet him.