Previously happened:
Ash and friends battled Team Rocket and sent them to jail. Ash and Serena had a sensual moment and soon after that Ash was able to start his Gym battle. And now Gym Leader Melony is sending her first Pokemon to the battle. I wonder how the match will end?
-
"Okay, Frosmoth, it's time to shimmer!" Melony exclaimed and threw one of her Pokeballs into the air. A white Pokemon resembling a big moth appeared in front of hee and cried shrilly. Ash looked at it with interest and said, "I've never seen a Pokemon like that before." He took out his Rotom and scanned the Pokemon with it:
"Frosmoth, Frost Moth Pokemon and an evolved form of Snom. Ice and Bug-type. It shows no mercy to any who desecrate fields and mountains. It will fly around on its icy wings, causing a blizzard to chase offenders away."
In the auditorium, Chloe pointed Frosmoth to Snom in her arms and said, "Look Snom, one day you might look like that, too." Snom waved her pincers happily at it, and Chloe smiled. Ash instead grinned resolutely and brought out his own Pokeball.
"Frosmoth, huh? Well, my Pokemon is this! Corviknight, let's go!" He threw a Pokeball into the air and a big, metallic bird appeared in front of him. He exclaimed in a low voice and in the stands Snom shivered a little when she saw that big, and pretty scary, Pokemon.
Bonnie, on the other hand, did not shiver. She looked at Corviknight with her eyes wide and exclaimed, "Wow, that Pokemon is really cool! I haven't seen anything like it before!" She leaned closer and Clemont sighed.
"Bonnie, don't you remember? We came here to Circhester by Flying Taxi and Corviknight carried it," he said and Bonnie looked a little embarrassed. "Oops, I forgot," she said with a laugh and Clemont rolled his eyes at her. Serena instead giggled and then turned her attention back to the match.
"Corviknight, right? A clever choice," Melony said her hands in her hips, and eyed Ash's big bird. "But it doesn't matter if you know the right tactics. Frosmoth, use Hail!"
Frosmoth cried shrilly again and suddenly it started to snow on the battlefield. It caused those in the auditorium to turn their gaze to the ceiling in surprise and Corviknight to shudder as Hail did a little damage.
"Hail won't stop us," Ash said firmly and then raised his fist. "So, Corviknight, use Brave Bird!"
Corviknight cried in his low voice and then flew into the air. He rose a little higher and then headed for Frosmoth. At the same time, a golden glow formed around his body, taking the shape of a bird. However, Melony was careful and exclaimed, "Dodge it and use Blizzard!"
Frosmoth flew lightly to the side and blew an icy stream of air towards Corviknight. It didn't quite hit Corviknight at all, but still froze part of the wing of a big metal bird. It got Corviknight out of balance, causing Corviknight to crash into the ground and roll along the ground.
"Corviknight!" Ash exclaimed and those in the auditorium looked worried. However, Corviknight was strong and he quickly got up without major damage. Ash looked relieved and there was a loud sigh of relief from the auditorium.
"Are you okay?" Ash asked his Pokemon and this one cawed in a low voice. "Good, then use Pluck!"
Corviknight croaked again and got up. Then he set off again towards Frosmoth. This time, however, only his beak began to glow brightly, unlike during Brave Bird.
"Dazzling Gleam, Frosmoth!" Melony exclaimed and Frosmoth spun in the air. Then her wings began to shine brightly and she directed the light towards Corviknght.
"Dazzling Gleam? That's a Fairy-type move, so it's not very effective against Corviknight, who is part of the Steel-type," Clemont commented, confused from the auditorium. "Melony should know that, she's a Gym Leader, after all "
"I'm sure she knows that, but she had a completely different plan," Serena said, pointing toward the battlefield. "Look"
Dazzling Gleam wasn't meant to do much damage to Corviknight, but just blind him. For Dazzling Gleam was really just a very bright light. And it did it very well.
Corviknight dazzled by the light and remained blind, fluttering in place. Melony immediately saw a place to strike and exclaimed, "Now, Frosmoth, use Blizzard again!"
Frosmoth exclaimed shrilly and blew cold air from her mouth again towards Corviknight. "Corviknight, up!" Ash shouted when he saw it, but Corviknight wasn't fast enough.
Frosmoth's Blizzard hit and froze Corviknight's wings. Corviknight began to fall like a rock down and eventually hit the ground of the battlefield with a heavy thump. Melony grinned with satisfaction and it looked strongly like the match was over. But miraculously, it wasn't.
Corviknight slowly rose from the ground and broke the ice in his wings. He didn't care about Hail's damage, but looked at his red eyes glowing Frosmoth, and his wings began to glow brightly. Then he plunged towards Frosmoth, ready to strike it with his steel wings.
Frosmoth didn't have time to dodge, but Corviknight hit her hard and with full force. Frosmoth cried and flew back from the force of the blow. Ash saw how much damage the Corviknight's blow did and now saw his chance to win.
"Steel Wing, again!" he exclaimed, and the wings of Corviknight began to shine brightly again. He then rushed again towards Frosmoth, who looked weak from the last blow.
Melony knew Frosmoth would not withstand another similar blow. Therefore, she knew she had to act quickly unless she wanted Frosmoth to faint.
"Frosmoth, use Bug Buzz!" she exclaimed and Frosmoth obeyed. She released a disturbing buzz from her antennas and headed it towards Corviknight. As it came close to Corviknight, Corviknight stopped in confusion and shook its head, trying to quiet the disturbing buzz.
Melony grinned to herself. The enemy was distracted, now it was time to act. "Blizzard, once again!" she exclaimed and Frosmoth blew ice-cold air again towards Corviknight.
"Dodge it!" Ash exclaimed, but Corviknight was still a little slow after Bug Buzz. So he didn't have time to dodge Frosmoth's Blizzard, so it hit and froze him completely this time.
Corviknight fell to the ground and the ice around him shattered into crumbs. However, there were familiar spirals in front of his eyes, and soon the referee announced, "Corviknight is unable to battle, so the winner of this round is a Gym Leader Melony!"
"Yeah, good job!" Melony exclaimed and Frosmoth also cried happily. In the auditorium, Alida looked pleased with her mother's victory, while others looked a little worried at Ash.
"I hope Ash is okay," Bonnie cared, and Dedenne on top of her beanie also said, "Nenene." However, Clemont smiled comfortably at his sister and said, "I'm sure he's doing alright. This was only his first Pokemon, Ash still has many places to win.
"That's what I hope, too," Serena said, squeezing her blue ribbon. "I really hope so"
"Thank you, Corviknight," Ash said as he returned Corviknight back to his ball. Then he looked up at Melony and found her looking at him with a smile.
"Well, Ash, what's your next Pokemon?" she asked and moved a few hairs off from her face. Ash grinned and picked up the next Pokeball, saying, "This. Lucario, it's your turn!"
He threw the ball in the air and Lucario appeared in front of him, grunting and forming a familiar blue stick from Aura. In the auditorium, Serena's Kirlia appeared out of her Pokéball and muttered quietly, "This is what I want to see."
"Lucario? Again a smart move," Melony commented and smiled. "But it still won't stop us. Frosmoth, use Dazzling Gleam!"
"Use Aura and protect yourself!" Ash exclaimed and Lucario quickly formed a shield in front of him. Frosmoth's Dazzling Gleam hit it and exploded into a blindingly bright light. However, Lucario remained unharmed and Ash looked pleased.
"Aura Sphere," he said and Lucario nodded. "Gladly," he said, then formed a blue Aura Ball with his hands. He then formed a blue Aura stick with his other hand and then hit the Aura Ball towards Frsomoth, using his stick as his club.
"Dodge it, quickly!" Melony exclaimed, but Frosmoth didn't have time to do anything. Lucario's Aura Ball hit it with full force and made Frosmoth fall to the ground. And when the dust from it settled, there were familiar spirals in the place of Frosmoth's eyes.
"Frosmoth is unable to battle, so the winner is challenger Ash!" declared the referee, and Lucario squeezed his Aura stick with satisfaction. In the auditorium, Kirlia instead hummed and muttered, "Amateurs job. Anyone would have won that." Lucario happened to hear it and his pleased look disappeared and he squeezed his Aura stick so tightly that it broke into small, blue Aura crumbs. Kirlia smiled smugly.
"Thank you, Frosmoth, you were awesome," Melony said, returning her Pokemon back to its ball. Then she took another ball and threw it in the air, exclaiming at the same time, "Darmanitan, let's go!"
The Darmanitan appeared in front of her with a low roar, but to the astonishment of Ash, and those in the auditorium, it was not the kind of Darmanitan they were used to. This Darmanitan was white and had something resembling a big snowball on its head. Besides, it was a little bigger and it definitely wasn't Fire-type.
"I've never seen a Darmanitan like that," Ash said in amazement, digging out his Rotom again. He pointed Darmanitan with it and scanned the Pokemon:
"Darmanitan, Zen Charm Pokemon and an evolved form of Darumaka. Ice-type and a Galarian form. Though it has a gentle disposition, it's also very strong. It will quickly freeze the Snowball on its head before going for a Headbutt."
"Galarian form, huh?" Ash said and put Rotom away. Then, however, he grinned and said resolutely, "It's not going to stop us, though. Lucario, use Aura Sphere!"
"As you wish, Master," Lucario growled and formed the blue Aura Ball again with his hands. This time, however, instead of hitting, he threw it towards Darmanitan, but the ball still went forward with full force.
"Stone Edge!" Melony exclaimed and Darmanitan hit the ground with its big fists. It caused large, blue boulders to protrude from the ground towards Lucario. One of the boulders hit Lucario's Auraball and destroyed it. Lucario himself had to spin off quickly from below, otherwise the boulders would have hit him and it would not have had a good thing.
"Lucario, get up!" Ash exclaimed and Lucario rose agilely. "Then use Bone Rush!" he continued and Lucario nodded.
He formed a blue bone with his hand. Then he rushed towards Darmanitan, a bone raised above his head.
"Block it!" Melony exclaimed and Darmanitan grunted in response. When Lucario then rushed towards it with the bone ready to strike, it crossed its big hands over its head and thus prevented the stroke.
Lucario's bone hit Darmanitan's hands hard, but Darmanitan's blocking held. It did make it slide backwards a bit, but there was no real hit. Lucario, instead, jumped back and stared at Darmanitan with the bone in his hand.
For a moment, the two Pokemon looked at each other until Ash shouted, "Again!" and Melony, "Darmanitan, use Icicle Crash!" That's when Lucario rushed again toward Darmanitan, but this time things didn't go as they did last time.
Now Darmanitan didn't block Lucario's blow with its hands. Instead, it took a deep breath, and then blew an icy breath of air out of its mouth. However, the icy air did not stay that way, but it began to clump in the air and eventually formed large icicle-shaped chunks. And which fell straight towards Lucario.
"Lucario, watch out!" Ash exclaimed and Lucario looked up. His eyes widened as he saw the icicles dripping towards him and he tried to stop. However, he didn't quite have time to stop his pace and instead had to make some kind of dodge move to the side.
However, it was not entirely successful. One of the icicles hit Lucario in his right hand and caused his grip to lose from the bone. The bone broke into small, blue crumbs, while Lucario faltered and fell to the ground. He spun a little distance and lay down on it.
"Lucario!" Ash exclaimed when he saw what was happening to his Pokemon. Those in the auditorium breathed loudly and Darmanitan grinned smugly. "Lucario, are you okay?"
Nothing happened for a moment. Then Lucario moved and slowly got up. Ash was almost sighing in relief until he saw what had happened to Lucario.
His right arm, the arm that had been hit by the icicle, hung limply against his side. He held it with his left hand and had a painful look on his face. As he tried to raise it, his face twisted with a grimace. It was clear that the arm was either broken, or at least stretched badly.
"Someone must be doing badly," Melony said, and Ash didn't like the fact that her voice sounded triumphant. Apparently not Lucario either, as he looked at Melony angrily and growled.
"Quick, give me some move with which I can destroy that Darmanitan," he growled and Ash stared at him. "But your hand...," he tried, but Lucario silenced him with a glance. "Move, please," he growled, trying not to show the grimace as his arm hurt.
"Well, Ash? What are you going to do?" Melony asked with her hands on her hips and looked expectant. So did Darmanitan and the auditorium. Ash slowly shifted his gaze from Lucario to Melony and back to Lucario until he finally said, "Lucario, Aura Sphere."
Lucario immediately raised his healthy hand and fired the blue Aura Ball towards Darmanitan. Melony didn't even have time to open her mouth when the ball had already hit directly into Darmanitan's face. It made it falter and Lucario lowered his hand looking very pleased.
But Darmanitan did not fall or faint. Instead, it shone brightly for a moment and then changed its appearance. It was now smaller and flames seemed to erupt at its head. It jumped into place and its mouth twisted into a vicious grin.
"Woah! What was that?!" Bonnie exclaimed from the stands and leaned forward in amazement. Clemont, on the other hand, raised his glasses and explained, "That was Darmanitan's Zen Mode ability. When Darmanitan's health in battle is no longer very good, it can change its appearance and type. Darmanitan is no longer just the Ice type, but the Ice and Fire-type. Zen Mode ability gave it more power "
"Oh, right," Bonnie said, nodding as she understood the situation, then focused on the match again.
"Well, isn't this nice?" Melony said contentedly and Darmanitan bounced in place. Ash and Lucario watched it suspiciously, Lucario still holding his hand. "I feel like this round is over. Darmanitan, use Flare Blitz!"
Red flames formed around Darmanitan's body and then it rushed towards Lucario, leaving behind a fiery tail. Lucario didn't have time to react to it, but Darmanitan hit him with full force.
Lucario slid back from the force of the blow and seemed to have suffered a bad burn on his chest. He swayed for a moment until he finally fell to the ground and his eyes were replaced by spirals. The referee was just about to declare Lucario fainted when suddenly Melony's Darmanitan also fell and seemed to faint.
"Surprisingly, both Pokemon are unable to battle, so the result of this round is a draw!" he declared instead and Melony returned Darmanitan back to its ball. Ash was doing the same for Lucario, but to his surprise this one got up, a little hardly though, and growled, "I'd rather watch."
"But you need rest. At least your arm needs it," Ash answered, nodding at Lucario's hand that hung against his side. However, Lucario just growled, replied, "No thanks. I'll manage very well without it," and limped into the stands. Ash looked after him for a moment until he shook his head and turned his gaze away, back towards Melony.
He noticed that the Gym Leader was looking at him curiously, and he wondered what she might be thinking. However, his thoughts were interrupted, for just then the referee announced, "Battlers, please choose your next Pokemon!" and Melony immediately threw one of her Pokeballs into the air.
"Eiscue, it's your turn!" she exclaimed, and Eiscue appeared before her. It resembled a penguin with a large ice cube in its head and Ash looked at it with interest. "A new Pokemon for me," he muttered and scanned Eiscue at his Rotom:
"Eiscue, a Penguin Pokemon and an Ice-type. This Pokemon keeps its heat-sensitive head cool with ice. It fishes for its food, dangling its single hair into the sea to lure in prey."
"Eiscue, huh?" said Ash and put Rotom away. "Well, then my Pokemon is this. Greninja, let's go!" He threw one of his Pokeballs into the air and Greninja appeared in front of him.
"Ooh, Greninja!" Bonnie exclaimed when she saw a familiar Pokemon. "I was wondering one day where Ash's Greninja might be right now, and now I know! I wonder if they're still capable do that cool battle thing..."
"What battle thing?" Alida asked curiously, but Bonnie just smirked. "You'll see," she just said mysteriously and Alida wondered what she meant by that.
At the same time on the battlefield, Greninja glanced at the audience. He seemed to be looking for someone with his gaze and Serena quickly realized who. "Braixen, I think you want to see this," she said, letting her fox-like Pokemon out of her Pokeball.
"Braixen!" said Braixen after appearing next to her and exploring her surroundings. She spotted Greninja on the battlefield and waved at him. Greninja noticed Braixen's waving, and waved back. It made Braixen blush a little and Lucario a little more gloomy.
Greninja smiled for a moment at Braixen, but then got serious, and took a battle position. "Ninja!" he turned to tell Ash, at the same time resolutely raising his fist. Ash nodded to him and said, "You're right. Let's do this! Greninja, use the Water Shuriken!"
"Ninjaa!" Greninja cried and jumped in the air. He formed with his hands many shurikens, formed from the water, and threw them towards Eiscue.
However, Melony was ready. "Eiscue, use Protect!" she exclaimed, and Eiscue formed a blue shield in front of her. When the Greninja's shurikens hit it, they caused small explosions, but did not harm Eiscue in any way.
"Freeze-Dry!" Melony then instructed and Eiscue formed a blue ball above her head. She then fired a blue, and very cold, beam towards Greninja, which would freeze immediately when hit.
"Dodge it!" Ash exclaimed and Greninja quickly jumped out from the beam. The beam, on the other hand, continued its journey towards the back wall of the Gym, where it eventually hit and caused a small explosion. "Double Team!" Ash exclaimed and Greninja instantly made many copies of himself around the field.
In the auditorium, Lucario snorted and accidentally leaned on his injured hand. It was a mistake, because he felt the pain explode in his hand. He grunted and that little voice made Kirlia pay attention to him. She quickly noticed what was wrong with Lucario, and a cunning grin spread across her face.
"It must be time for a magic touch," she said as she sneaked next to Lucario, and Lucario was startled sharply. He turned to look at Kirlia and saw that she was looking at his injured hand, her fingers glistening. Lucario guessed what she was thinking and said, "Don't even try," pulling his hand away from Kirlia.
"Don't be stupid, I see you're hurt," Kirlia stated briskly and grabbed Lucario's arm in her arms. Before Lucario had time to say anything, she had already used Heal Pulse for it and healed what had ever bothered Lucario's hand. After that, she moved his hand away and said with slight sarcasm, "There. It wasn't very horrible, was it? Do you want a sticker when you were such a good boy?"
"Shut up," Lucario muttered, but was nonetheless grateful that Kirlia had taken care of his arm. He lifted it up and moved it a little. The arm was functioning completely normally and the pain had disappeared. "Neat," he muttered, and Kirlia of course heard it.
"Isn't it? It's a shame that Fighting-type Pokemon don't usually do anything like that, you just hit and kick and break things up and then think about why your hands and legs hurt. Well, it's good that I'm around," she said smugly and sneaked away.
Lucario stared at her place, which was now empty, and then mumbled slowly, "But I have an Aura..." However, Kirlia had already turned her attention to completely different things and Lucario was left wondering why his life was sometimes so weird.
"Eiscue, use Surf!" Melony exclaimed and Eiscue created a huge wave from scratch with which she rode across Greninja. Greninja was left under it, and when the wave finally subsided, Greninja was soaking wet.
"Ninja," he mumbled and wiped the water off his arms. Even though he was a Water-type Pokemon, he wasn't really interested in getting wet right now. Ash noticed it and said, "Greninja, use Aerial Ace!"
"Ja!" Greninja nodded and then he rushed towards Eiscue. His arms began to shine brightly, and he lifted them up, ready to strike Eiscue with them.
"Dodge it!" Melony exclaimed, but Eiscue was too slow. Greninja hit Eiscue with his arms many times and Eiscue swayed back from the force of the blow. "Cue!" she exclaimed and held her ice-cube head. Greninja, on the other hand, landed on the ground and waited for what his attack had caused.
Eiscue swayed for a moment, holding her head. And then something surprising happened. A crack appeared at the end of the ice cube, which increased rapidly. Then there was a loud crack, and the head crumbled into small pieces of ice. Beneath it revealed a different kind of head that was much smaller and oval in shape. She looked guilty at Greninja and Ash realized that was the real face of Eiscue.
"Well, so you got to see Eiscue's Ice Face ability," Melony said as Eiscue stared at Greninja, still guilty gaze on her icy face. "It can take one physical attack without harm. And as you can see, Eiscue doesn't seem to be hurt - except maybe mentally, because she doesn't like her ice cube being broken. So, time to avenge it. Eiscue, use Freeze-Dry! "
"Eiscue!" Eiscue cried and blew an icy ray from her mouth again. This time Greninja didn't have time to dodge it, but the beam hit him, making him fly backwards. "Ninja!" he exclaimed at the same time, and finally got crouched on the ground.
"Greninja!" Ash exclaimed and Bonnie was confused in the stands. "But... I thought the Ice-type moves weren't very effective against Greninja," she said, puzzled. It made Clemont raise his glasses again and explain the matter to his little sister.
"It's because Freeze-Dry works a little differently. It's, for some reason, super effective against the Water-type Pokemon which Greninja happens to be. So, that's why Greninja took a lot of damage from Eiscue's blow," he explained and a realization spread across Bonnie's face.
"Ooh, I see!" she said and nodded contentedly after understanding the matter. Serena, on the other hand, did not look pleased, but a little worried. She squeezed her blue ribbon and watched closely as the situation developed.
"Greninja, are you okay?" Ash asked his Pokemon and Greninja stood up. "Ninja!" he said firmly and Ash smiled. "I guessed so. We'll probably have time to put some action into this match," he said, and Greninja nodded after understanding what Ash meant.
"Gre greninja!" he said and Ash grinned. "Right. Greninja, LET'Z GO!" he exclaimed and took the x-position. Greninja did the same and then Ash felt the familiar feeling of union surrounding them.
Greninja covered the water veil for a moment, and when it dissipated, he had changed his form a little. He now had a big shuriken on his back and a red mask-like spot appeared on his face. He took the ninja position and Melony, Alida and Chloe looked at him in great amazement.
"What was that?!" Chloe asked in amazement and Alida quickly turned to Bonnie. "Was that the cool 'Battle thing' you told me about?" she asked in awe, and Bonnie nodded.
"Yep yep," she stated, and liked that she got to be the center of attention and explain things. "Ash and Greninja learned that thing while in Kalos. It's really rare and requires a really strong bond between Pokemon and the trainer. It had some difficult name that I don't remember right now..."
"Bond Phenomenon," said Clemont, and Bonnie and Alida turned to look at him. "It was called Bond Phenomenon. It seems to unite the minds of the trainer and the Pokemon, allowing the trainer, in this case Ash, to see and feel the things that are happening to Greninja."
"Yeah, and it wasn't always nice," said Serena, who suddenly remembered what had happened at Motostoke and before that in Kalos. "If Greninja gets hit by an attack, for example, Ash will feel it, too. And people aren't built to take all kinds of attacks."
"Sounds fascinating," Alida said with interest, and suddenly she didn't know who she would want to see win, her mother, or Ash.
Speaking of her mother, Melony watched Greninja's new form with interest. She had never seen anything like it before, and she did not know how it had affected Greninja. "This became interesting," she muttered, then said a little louder, "Eiscue, use Freeze-Dry!"
"Dodge it," Ash said and Greninja agility avoided Eiscue's attack. Ash now saw the field from Greninja's point of view and it gave him a little advantage. "Now, use the Double Team!"
"Ninja!" Greninja said and made copies of himself again. He surrounded Eiscue with them and Eiscue looked around in confusion. "Eiscue...," she whimpered, closing her eyes and holding her icy head.
"Don't let it fool you! Use Hail!" Melony exclaimed and Eiscue nodded. The lone hair at her head trembled slightly and then gray clouds formed above her. For the second time, there was snow on the field and Eiscue opened her eyes.
Hail made some, but not all, of the copies created by Greninja disappear. "Use Aerial Ace!" Ash exclaimed and the arms of each copy of Greninja began to glow brightly. Then they rushed towards Eiscue, ready to hit her with them.
"Protect!" Melony exclaimed and Eiscue quickly formed a protective shield around it. Greninja and his copies hit it and the real Greninja bounced back. The copies disappeared when Greninja struck the ground, and Ash felt the blow in his arm that had occurred when Greninja hit Eiscue's shield.
He breathed and instinctively grabbed his arm. However, he just bit his lip and started, "Greninja, use...", only to find that Greninja had already risen.
He looked at Eiscue and at the same time formed a purple energy sword with his hand. Then he rushed towards Eiscue and raised his sword ready to strike.
"Eiscue, use..." Melony began, but didn't have time to continue after Greninja had already slashed Eiscue with his sword. Eiscue slid backward from the force of the blow and fell to the ground. In the auditorium, Serena said thoughtfully, "I haven't seen that move on Greninja before," and Clemont replied, "Yeah, you're not. That was Night Slash, the Dark-type move. Greninja just learned it."
"Oh, wow!" said Serena, and Braixen looked proud to hear it. Lucario, on the other hand, looked anything but proud and wondered why the frog did nowadays everything better than he did.
Ash also looked very happy and said, "That was awesome! And now, Greninja, let's finish this. Use Double Team!"
"Ninja!" Greninja cried and duplicated himself again into many copies. He surrounded Eiscue again and Ash grinned to himself. "Use the Water Shuriken!" he exclaimed, and Greninja, and all his copies, nodded. He formed shurikens with his hands and threw them towards Eiscue. And the copies, of course, did the same.
Eiscue might have survived one Water Shuriken attack, but not when ten copies of Greninja made it. So when the shurikens hit her, she fell to the ground and spirals appeared in her eyes.
"Eiscue is unable to battle, so the winner is Greninja!" the referee immediately declared and Greninja landed contentedly on the ground. The copies he made of him disappeared, and he took a ninja position, saying, "Ja!" In the auditorium, Braixen beamed, Lucario sulked, and Kirlia wondered where she could get popcorn.
Melony instead returned Eiscue to her Pokeball and said, "Thank you." Then she took out her last Pokeball and said with a smile, "Well, Ash. Even though this is my last Pokemon, I'm still not going to give up."
"Good, for neither do we," Ash said firmly, raising his fist into the air. Greninja did the same, saying, "Ja greninja!" Melony nodded approvingly at them and said, "Well, we'll see that then. But now, may I introduce you... Lapras, it's your time to shine!"
She threw a Pokeball into the air and Lapras appeared in front of her. "Lapras!" she cried and Ash looked at her with interest.
"Lapras? Well, we're going to continue like this, aren't we, Greninja?" Ash said and Greninja nodded. "Ninja," he also said and Melony smiled.
"So let's get started then. Lapras, use Thunder!" she exclaimed, and Lapras cried again. An electric layer then formed around her body and dark clouds gathered over her in addition to Hail's clouds. She then cried again and released many yellow lightings towards Greninja.
"Dodge them, and use Night Slash!" Ash exclaimed and Greninja nodded. He then set out to run towards Lapras, while avoiding the lightning striking the ground.
Greninja reached Lapras and formed a purple energy sword with his hand again. Then he lifted it up above his head and slashed Lapras with it. Lapras cried shrilly as the sword hit her face, and Melony exclaimed, "Lapras, use the Hydro Pump!"
Lapras took a deep breath and then fired a jet of water coming out of her mouth with great force. It hit directly on Greninja and flew him directly to the back of the Gym. Greninja struck the wall with the force of the Hydro Pump and slid down the ground along it.
"Ah!" said Ash, feeling pain in both his chest and back of his head. The chest pain was due to the Hydro Pump and the head pain was that Greninja had hit his head against the wall. He swayed a little, but bit his lip again, and he stood up again. In the auditorium, both Serena and Lucario looked tense and looked at Ash a little worried.
"Master, are you okay?" Ash heard Lucario ask and Ash turned to look at him in the stands. "Yeah, all right," he replied, but Lucario was still not entirely convinced. Ash seemed to notice it, for he hurried to convince, "I really am, we'll take care of this, trust me." And as for more confidence, he nodded towards Greninja, who had just risen from the ground and wiped the water off his hands again.
"All right then," Lucario said finally, but still sounded a little skeptical. However, Ash didn't care about his tone of voice, but looked at Greninja and said, "Okay, Greninja. New attempt. Use Water Shuriken!"
Greninja nodded and stepped back on the field. "Ninja!" he exclaimed and then formed a few shurikens out of the water with his hands. He then rushed towards Lapras, ready to throw shurikens at her.
"Won't work. Lapras, use Thunder!" Melony instructed and Lapras cried again. Then her body was again covered in electricity and she released lightning bolts again, hitting the ground all over the battlefield.
"Dodge them!" Ash exclaimed and Greninja dodged bolts of lightning agilely. He had almost reached Lapras when the not-so-nice turn happened.
He did not have time to see it, but one of the lightning struck just above him and hit him with full force. He screamed and fell electrified to the ground. The shurikens rolled his hands to the ground and it was clear that the blow had done a lot of damage.
The situation might have been quite tolerable if it had been an ordinary Water-type Pokemon. But Greninja was not anyone. He was still in Ash-Greninja form, so the blow was felt in Ash as well. And he felt it almost as hard as Greninja did.
He felt burning pain all over his body, especially his heart, and he instinctively put his hands on it. Pikachu, who was watching the match next to him, said anxiously, "Pikapi?" and looked at Ash.
"Don't worry," Ash replied, feeling the pain subside. He had taken so many Pikachu's electric shocks over the years that they hardly even felt in him anymore. "I'm fine," he continued with a reassuring smile, and Serena, who had also risen up ready to help Ash, sat down and sighed in relief.
However, the same could not be said of Greninja. Lapras' blow had been too much for him and he was now lying on the ground, fainted. Ash-Greninja form disappeared when the referee declared, "Greninja is unable to battle, so the winner is Lapras!" and Melony looked triumphant.
"Well done," she told Lapras, who looked pleased with herself. Satisfied, or really gleefully, looked alo Lucario when Ash returned fainted Greninja to his ball. Hah, right for you, he thought smugly and folded his arms on his chest. Stupid frog.
"Well, Ash. Who might be your last Pokemon?" Melony asked as Ash put Greninja's Pokeball away. Ash grinned at her and then said, "Well, because it was such an electric experience, it's just okay to bring more electricity to this match. So, buddy, what do you say? Do you want to bring victory to home?"
He turned to look at Pikachu with a smile, and Pikachu smiled back. "Pika pikachu!" he said and his cheeks sparked with electricity and he looked determined. "All right! Pikachu, I choose you!" Ash exclaimed and Pikachu ran to the field, full of power.
"So Pikachu is your last Pokemon, right?" Melony said as Pikachu glanced at Lapras, who glanced back at him. "A smart choice, but it's not going to help. Lapras, Gigantamax time!"
She took Lapras' Pokeball and returned Lapras to it. She then touched the band on her wrist and Lapras' Pokeball grew big. Melony hugged the ball tightly before throwing it behind her and Lapras, who took the form of Gigantamax, appeared behind her.
Lapras cried and Ash watched it with interest. Lapras was now bigger and the shell on her back was higher. Above her head hovered fuchsia clouds, like any Dynamax or Gigantamax Pokemon, and her voice was much lower than before. Those in the stands also looked at it with awe, and Bonnie exclaimed, "Woah, what was that!?"
"Gigantamax, Galar's own specialty," said Alida and grinned. "Basically, the Pokemon grows really big, so logically their powers also grow. I really want to see how Ash is going to beat my mother with just Pikachu."
"If you only know what Ash's Pikachu is capable of," Serena muttered, but Alida didn't listen to anymore. She had focused on the match again, as interesting things were starting to happen on the battlefield.
"Lapras, use Max Geyser!" Melony exclaimed and Lapras cried in her low voice. She then took a deep breath, and then spat a stream of water from her mouth, equivalent to at least a thousand Hydro Pumps.
"Pikachu, watch out!" Ash exclaimed as the water plunged towards Pikachu. Pikachu dodged the move quickly and agilely, and water eventually hit the back wall of the Gym. It exploded into thousands of tiny drops of water that watered almost everyone, causing Hail, which had fallen in the field, to turn into rain.
Ash now knew from experience that Max moves shouldn't be underestimated. That's why he said quickly, "Pikachu, Quick Attack!" and Pikachu nodded. "Pika Chu!" he said, and then set out to run quickly toward Lapras.
Pikachu quickly circled Lapras from her left side, and felt the look coming from above on his back. Ash, on the other hand, knew that Melony could say a new move at any moment, so he wanted to get the match to end as quickly as possible. Besides, he had a sudden throbbing headache, and he wondered if it was something to do with the Ash-Greninja form. However, he decided not to think about it right now and focus on the match. Namely, he had some kind of plan ready.
"Pikachu, jump!" he exclaimed and Pikachu jumped high in the air. "Now, use Lapras' shell to get all the way up!" he continued and Pikachu landed on the shell of Lapras. However, he did not stay on it for very long, but jumped in the air again and climbed higher all the time.
In the end, he was right in front of Lapras' face. Lapras stared at him with her glowing eyes, and Ash knew it was time to do the next part of the plan. "Use Iron Tail!" he exclaimed and Pikachu nodded.
"Pikachu!" he said and his tail began to shine brightly. He then jumped in the air and hit his tail directly into Lapras' face.
Lapras roared and Melony exclaimed, "What!?" However, Ash thought he had now a chance, and he exclaimed, "Pikachu, Thunderbolt, now!" Then Pikachu jumped in the air again and released a strong electric shock towards Lapras.
It hit and made Lapras sway by the force of the blow. Pikachu, on the other returned to the ground and looked at Lapras from a safe distance, his cheeks sparkling.
"Lapras, use G-Max Resonance!" shouted Melony, who didn't like the direction in which the match was going. Lapras seemed to get herself in control, and then looked up at the ceiling.
She cried and dark clouds formed above her. Then from they began to fall large clumps of snow around the field and very close to Pikachu. Ash, who had a fresh memory of Lucario with icicles, immediately shouted, "Pikachu, dodge them!" He wasn't going to take the risk of losing the match because of the piles of snow.
Pikachu didn't wait in vain. He jumped quickly between piles of snow, trying not to get hit by them. The tactic worked well, as none of the piles hit him. Ash was also pleased as he said with a grin, "Pikachu, let's end this match. Use Thunderbolt!"
Pikachu nodded and ran closer to Lapras. Then he jumped in the air and shouted, "Pika pika CHU!" At the same time, he again sent a strong electric shock towards Lapras. Melony just opened her mouth to instruct Lapras, but didn't have time to say anything after Pikachu's attack had already hit.
That was too much for Lapras. She cried and fell to the ground. The Gigantamax form disappeared from her, and she returned to her normal size. And when the dust finally settled, the spirals had appeared on Lapras' eyes and the battle was over.
It was quiet for a moment until the referee announced, "Lapras is unable to battle, so the winner is Pikachu! And that means the victory goes to the challenger Ash Ketchum!"
"We did it! We won my sixth Gym badge!" Ash exclaimed and Pikachu jumped into the air, also shouting, "Pika pikachu!" In the auditorium, Serena looked very relieved and happy, Bonnie jumped in the air and Lucario smiled approvingly. The only one who wasn't completely happy was Alida, who would have liked her mother to win.
"Ash, it was a great match, thank you," Melony said as she walked to Ash. She squeezed Lapras' Pokepall in her hand, to which she had just returned her fainted Pokemon. She smiled a little and then handed Ash something.
"Here. The Ice badge. You really deserve it," she said as Ash received the badge and looked at it. "You offered a challenge that I haven't had in a moment. Thank you for that."
"Yeah," Ash said, looking at the badge he'd received. Then he smiled broadly and lifted the badge into the air. "I just got the Ice badge!" he exclaimed and Pikachu also exclaimed, "Pika pika chu!" Then he put the mark among the other marks, and smiled.
"Two left," he muttered, but then looked up as he heard footsteps. He saw Serena and the others coming to him from the auditorium and almost everyone had a wide smile on their face. Serena was the first to reach him and she rushed straight to hug Ash.
"You were awesome!" she said with a smile and pressed a kiss to Ash's lips. Ash smiled at her and said, "Well, I had good cheerleaders." He felt very happy at that moment, especially after that disgusting headache had disappeared.
"And now you have only two more badges to earn. Where are you going to go next?" asked Alida, who walked next to her mother, Glaceon following her. Ash frowned slightly when he heard the question, for he had not had time to think about it.
"I don't really know. I haven't thought so far," he said, looking at Pikachu. He shrugged, agreeing. Serena, on the other hand, took her pink tablet and quickly typed something in it.
"Here it is said that some distance away is a place called Spikemuth and there is a Gym," she said, and Ash's interest rose. "It also says here that the Gym is a little different from other Galar Gyms, but how, it doesn't say"
"I know, but I'll leave it as a surprise to you," Melony said, winking. "But I can tell you that the Gym Leader specializes in Dark-type Pokemon."
"Spikemuth sounds good," said Ash and Pikachu nodded as well. "Then our next challenge is there. And the sooner we get there, the faster I can challenge the Gym. So, let's go!"
He was just rushing away, but a growl in his stomach stopped him. He stopped a little embarrassed and turned to the others, saying, "But maybe we should eat something first." It made Serena giggle and Gou rolled his eyes a little.
"Food sounds good. I know a good place close by where we could go," Alida and the others nodded approvingly. "Come on, I'll show you the way."
And so they set out to eat with Alida guiding them in the right direction.
They reached the Gym lobby when Ash noticed a familiar person standing near the door. "Sonia! What are you doing here?" he exclaimed after recognizing a person, and Sonia turned to look at them.
"Oh, hey Ash! And everyone else, too," she said and smiled at them. "I'm sorry I didn't get to watch your match, I had an important job to do. But I came to bring these, they're ready to use now. I'm sure you will be able to do something big with them." Then she dug a small cardboard box out of her bag, and opened it.
Ash and friends came curiously closer to see what was in the box. Sonia hadn't joked that the contents of the box would accomplish something big.
The reason was that four Dynamax bands rested on it.