I did not expect to find Elite Four Flint on my way to the Sunyshore Gym, then again I did not know what to expect from my trip to Sunyshore City. All I knew is that Team Galatic was finally over and Paul had decided to pay me a visit to Veilstone City, to stay and train. He asked for my advice...
I was stunned, to say the least. This year was one surprise after the other, and all of it revolved around Ash. It all moved too fast and left me unable to catch my breath. Then again, from what I've been hearing it has always been like that. The only difference is that now the whole world knew it too... Ash was someone very important.
However, when I heard that Riley and Dawn were traveling on their own, with no sight of Ash. I got worried and spontaneously decided to go to Sunyshore City.
I just hope that I did not overstep, I thought worriedly as Elite Four Flint and I headed for the city's Gym.
The sight that welcomed us was one that I will never forget. At the front gate of the Sunyshore Gym, Ash had the Gym Leader on his knees before him as he shook him by the collar and shouted at him. I don't think I've ever heard him shout angrily at someone before. Riley, Lucario, and Dawn stood by the side with pitying gazes thrown at Volkner, while Pikachu and Jolteon kept Volkner's starter away.
"What is going on here?" Elite Four Flint finally snapped out of his stunned state, to step forward and try to stop Ash from killing him. Try being the keyword. He stumbled backward at the fuming glare he received from Ash. "Ash, could you tell me what's going on?" I believe Elite Four Flint tried to sound in control and professional, but with his tone being quite a few notes higher than normal, only managed to sound like a scared school girl.
"You want me to tell you what's going on?" Ash asked slowly, enunciating every word slowly, never letting go of Volkner's collar. The normally aloof Gym Leader had his eyes as big as saucers, watching Ash with trepidation and fear. "This son of Mew is giving out badges for free!"
"Oh," Elite Four Flint sighed in understanding.
"Oh?" Ash asked slowly, tilting his head to one side. The move which I normally find cute, as it makes Ash look like an adorable Eevee puppy, made me take a couple of steps away from the Fire Master. Especially, after I saw Ash throw Volkner away as if he weighed nothing. "You knew about this?"
"You need to understand, when we were young we were a team!" Elite Four Flint tried to explain, as he hastily moved backward. Not that it stopped Ash from slowly moving forwards, like a predator stalking their prey. "But when Volkner became Gym Leader, he lost interest in Gym Challenges..."
"I don't give a Tauros' crap about his soap story!" Ash snapped, eyes glowing with barely controlled aura power. "If he got tired from battling, have him quit!" I saw Volkner flinch at Ash's exclamation. Maybe not everything is lost for the Electric Master. "Yes, he is strong and you need him as a pillar for Sinnoh. But that does not mean he needs to be a Gym Leader! He is the last obstacle for those wishing to complete the Sinnoh Eight Gym Challenge, with him you can measure the level of your trainers! What he is doing is an insult to everything the League stands for and for the hard work those trainers put in!"
Poor Elite Four Flint looked ready to cry and Ash did not seem to be over. However, Gym Leader Volkner stood up and announced: "I'll battle you."
That brought Ash to a stop, he turned around to face Volkner with a raised eyebrow and a deadpanned expression. "Now you will battle me? What changed?" He asked sarcastically.
"When I became a Gym Leader, the trainers that came to challenge me were weak and did not have the will to get stronger. Many quit right after battling me. With time I lost my will to continue on this job," Volkner explained. "You are right, I should have quit a long time ago. What I'm doing is a mockery of the Sinnoh League. However, I still clung to my position, not able to let go of my childhood dreams completely. Your passion... reminded me why I am here, to begin with. So, thank you."
Ash stared at him for a long time, face blank. It was eerie, to say the least. Even in his Ace Ranger's form he never behaves like this. Thankfully, he broke into a huge smile soon enough. "Finally! Let's battle!"
Before any of us could say anything, we heard the feared exclamation... "It's The Saint!"
Then it was every trainer for themselves. We all scrambled towards the Gym's door and slammed it shut. Poor Ash and Elite Four Flint got caught on the other side by the fan mob.
"Is Arceus going to punish us for leaving them to die?" Dawn asked no one in particular, looking at the door fearfully. We all flinched back at the high-pitched screams coming from the other side.
"I'm sure he understands that sacrifices must be done in war," Lucario answered solemnly, bowing his head to the door. "We will pray for their poor unfortunate souls."
"What brings you to Sunnyshore City Reggie?" Riley asked me with a strained smile.
Are we going to ignore that? I thought sweatdropping. It seems that we are.
"I've heard from Paul that Ash was not traveling with you guys, and after everything that happened..." I trailed off.
"He is doing quite well honestly," Riley answered with a gentler smile. "He just needed some rest. Thank you for asking."
My answer was interrupted by the doors being slammed open, showing a disheveled and glaring Ash. "Traitors!" He hissed. We didn't have it in us to look unrepented, not after watching the result of staying behind. Seeing that, Ash huffed and stomped forward. "Let's get this over with!"
Riley and I shared a chuckle, while Dawn rushed after Ash asking him if he was all right. Elite Four Flint, who looked as weary as Ash, proceeded to help Volkner get the crowd in control and get them to the bleachers. Our group, luckily, got the front seats. Or not so luckily, when the crowd began squealing and shouting behind us at every second. Ash's smirk spelled 'sweet karma'.
"I believe this is the noisiest my Gym has ever been," Volkner commented, looking at the crowd in bewilderment.
"Welcome to my world," Ash muttered, as the referee took his position and explained how the match will proceed. A full battle match with no possibility of change from the Gym Leader.
"Let the battle begin!" As soon as the referee announced, Volkner and Ash had their Poke Balls in the air. An Electrivve and a Nidoqueen appeared on the battlefield, getting interesting murmurs from the crowd.
"This is going to be a good fight," Riley announced, leaning forward in anticipation.
"Electivire, Rain Dance!" Volkner was quick to command, surely thinking of using the water as a better conduit for electricity, especially with Nidoqueen being a Ground-type pokemon.
However, Ash did not allow it to happen. "Nidoqueen, Sunny Day!" Both moves neutralized each other. "Now use our Toxic-Stone combo!" In quick succession, Electivire was corraled by a ring of Stone Edge covered in venom. But that was not Ash's objective, without any command from her trainer, Nidoqueen went for a strong Drill Run, that had Electivire crashing against the Stone Edge ring. "Now, Rock Slide!"
The move broke the spikes covered in poison, burying Electivire in debris. Now the battlefield is transformed into a difficult area to move, with rock debris everywhere and poison covering every inch. "Don't give up Electivire! Use Brick Break, to break free!" Volkner did not give up, and neither did his pokemon. The crowd went wild when Electivire made it through all the debris. But I knew that he did not have much time left. He was poisoned badly. "Ice Punch and Mega Punch, go!" Both fists glowed in contained power, waiting for the right moment to explode. However, as I had deduced, while trying to bring down Nidoqueen with the combined use of Ice Punch and Mega Punch, he succumbs to the poison.
"Nidoqueen and Ash Ketchum win this round!" The referee announced, to the deafening crowd.
"That was incredible!" Dawn exclaimed, as she cheered and clapped loudly.
"It was a good fight," Riley agreed with a smile, while he clapped in a more sedated manner.
"I honestly, can't wait for the next one," I shared, as I watched Ash return his Nidoqueen.
"You are next Luxray/Torkoal!" Both trainers called out at the same time.
"A Fire-type? I thought he had more Ground-type pokemon," I exclaimed surprised. "Again he does not tend to stick to type-advantage."
"That's Ash for you!" Dawn agreed as we all watched Luxray go for the instant kill with an Electric Terrain and Wild Charge combo.
"Iron Shell defense!" Ash ordered rapidly.
"Iron Shell?" I turned to Riley confused.
"Withdraw and Iron Defense combo," it was Lucario the one who answered. "They worked hard for it and it works. The electricity is bouncing off."
It was then that Luxray was blinded by the use of Smokescreen to the face, followed by Rock Slide to the gut. Luxray was not giving up, trying to land a hit with the use of his speed, but Torkoal simply used Spin to evade his shell to protect himself. In the end, Luxray got to land a Thunder Wave paralyzing it, soon followed by a Crunch. As Torkoal could not move Luxray continued attacking him with a Volt Switch-Electro Ball combo, which looked like a contest move.
"Pachirisu and I have to learn to do that!" Dawn murmured beside me in awe. The Electro Ball was surrounded by the Volt Switch, making it a volatile but beautiful move, that was followed by a pretty light show.
Unfortunately, Torkoal fainted... but so did Luxray.
The crowd gasped in surprise. How did that happen?! I thought shocked. Luxray trashed Torkoal!
"What..." Volkner muttered, frowning at the scene before him. "Luxray, how did he get poisoned?!" It was then that I noticed the purple flush on Luxray's cheeks. When did Ash poison him? "You combined Smokescreen with Smog!"
"Took you long enough," Ash chuckled. "It seems that you are getting rusty after being out of the competitive circuit for so long."
The jab and sneaky attack took me by surprise. It seems that so it did to Volkner, but Dawn and Riley were not shocked in the slightest and chuckled in return at the interaction.
"Ash was mentored for some time by Fantina," Riley explained.
"That's how ghosts fight, being sneaky and all," Dawn continued with a smile. "But I did not expect him to use that method of fighting with other pokemon types."
"That's Ash for you, never letting a lesson go to waste," Lucario commented.
As if they were listening to us, a Rotom and a Poltergeist appeared on the battlefield... well, more like, above it.
"So, it will be a ghost battle," Ash chuckled. Once again, Volkner attacked first. Using Eerie Impulse and Dark Pulse, Poltergeist gets hit by the first one but dodges the next one. Which leads them to fall into Rotom's trap, and get captured into Electro Web and electrocuted. "Poltergeist uses Phantom Force!" Ash's pokemon then vanished, the move made them semi-invulnerable. Poltergeist finally freed themselves. "Nasty Plot!" Ash commanded, using the move to recover from Eerie Impulse from Rotom.
"Rotom, Protect!" Volkner commanded, but it was useless, Poltergeist easily passed through the protection and landed Phantom Force, which is very effective. "Use Rest!" Volkner's sudden attack, took Ash by surprise. Especially when it was soon followed by Sleep Talk. A move that was soon led by an array of electric moves like Thunderbolt and Charge Beam, and ghost moves like Hex and Shadow Ball.
Poltergeist barely managed to evade the erratic attacks, but was able to put a stop to it with a nasty Sucker Punch and then finished the battle with Foul Play.
"Wow, I was not expecting the battle to go like that," Elite Four Flint commented. "Maybe Ash is right and Volkner has been out of battles for too long."
"Or maybe Ash is simply that good," Dawn replied with a smug smile, that only a little sister proud of her older brother can manage.
"Maybe!" Elite Four Flint laughed in return.
Our attention was soon captured back by the battle before us. Two Jolteon stood in front of each other. We all paused at the scene, before laughing out loud. Even Volkner and Ash were laughing. "How is it that it always happens to Ash?" Riley asked while he tried to contain his laughter. "Poor Candance, it happened too much with her."
It took ten minutes for us to calm down and for the battle to restart.
As if to regain control of the whole situation Volkner's Jolteon went all out and trashed Princess. No matter how fast Princess was or how well Pikachu had trained her, she was no match for an A-Team member of a Gym Leader of Volkner's level. Volkner's Jolteon was too fast and too strong. Princess was brought down by a Quick Attack from every side, and when she tried to use Retaliate, the other Jolteon dodged with Dig. Princess was unable to feel him coming, as silent as an assassin, he appeared from behind and attacked with a deadly combo of Swift and Pin Misle. As if that was not enough, Volkner's Jolteon then took her out with a Wild Charge.
"Poor Princess," Dawn murmured sadly, as she watched Ash return his Jolteon. "That must be hard for Pikachu to watch."
Oh, Pikachu was furious! You could tell just by looking at him. I thought, slightly scared of the electric mouse's murderous glare. No one dares to toy with his daughter like that and get away with it!
Thankfully, Donphan was called out and he rapidly got to work to defend his niece's honor and immobilized Jolteon with an effective Rock Tomb, and then finished the battle with an overpowered Bulldoze that had debris flying everywhere. I ignored Pikach's vicious smirk and cheers. Then Volkner called out Electrode, and a new battle began.
"Electrode, Magnetic Flux!" Volker commanded.
At the same time, Ash ordered: "Donphan, Earthquake!"
"Electrode evade it with Rollout!" Volkner called out, and Electrode managed to get a hit on Donphan and stop the Earthquake. Oh, Donphan was angry, which led to a Rollout battle!
It was more interesting than I thought it would be. Especially, with the debris everywhere making it harder to roll around smoothly, it showed great control and ability from both pokemon to manage such an incredible battle. Though... it did end disappointedly. As Electrode and Donphan clashed one last time, Electrode ended the fight with an Explosion.
Ash was left stunned and disappointed. "What... come on! Really?!"
"Sorry, but I had to take down at least three of your pokemon, or my pride as a Gym Leader will be crushed," Volkner replied with a smirk, as he recalled his pokemon. "Come on out, Raichu!"
Everyone paused, watching the Gym Leader's starter come out, turning to Ash in anticipation... and he did not disappoint.
"It's finally your time, buddy," Ash turned to nuzzle Pikachu, ignoring the deafening squeals from the crowd. "Go, Pikachu!"
Ash then shocked us all... again. He left the battle for Pikachu to fight, Volkner was surprised but pleased by it and decided to leave it to Raichu as well. The battle became a pure electric fight of speed and sparks flying everywhere. It was scary, especially with the Electric Terrain going on. Two very powerful Electric-type pokemon battling it out... the shields on the battlefield shook and trembled. What made it so scary, is the fact that both of them could have shattered them if they had wanted to. However, they did not. They were able to maintain such a terrifying display of power and it was contained at that!
Wild Charge against Wild Charge, Iron Tail versus Iron Tail, Thunderbolt meeting Thunderbolt... it was a never-ending battle of wills. But Pikachu seem to have decided that enough was enough and used the last move he had learned to end the battle.
Oh, yes, Surf.
Soon Raichu was knocked over and the battlefield was soaked wet. Pikachu smirked in victory, jumping high in the sky, ignoring Volkner's command to use Protect, and released a powerful Thunder that blinded us all.
It took us a few minutes to regain our sight from the blinding light show, but when we did, we saw a fainted Raichu and a Pikachu nuzzling his trainer...
The crowd went wild, no one could listen to the referee announcing the winner over the cheering.
But who could blame them? Ash finally had his last badge! He was going to enter the Sinnoh League!
Not that anyone ever doubted that.