Trial of the Dragons, Ash vs Drake!
"Attention passengers we will soon be approaching Draco Island, home of Elite Four member Drake. If you're lucky enough you may even be able to witness him battling in person as he's taking on challengers for the World Championship!"
"Aw yeah, it won't be much longer before I can face Drake again!" Ash shouted, his fists pumped with excitement.
"You're going to have to be careful on this one, Drake is a lot more skilled than Siebold was. It's important that you keep a cool head and don't get cocky," Marnie advised.
"Don't you worry I know exactly what I'm dealing with!" Ash shouted as he locked his gaze upon the fast approaching shore of Draco Island. "And hopefully he'll have advice on where to find a Mega Evolution keystone! Wait didn't Zach want one too?" He turned to look at their friend who wasn't paying much attention as his eyes were locked in the direction that Butterfree had disappeared to, he'd hardly spoken a word since Butterfree had left a few days ago.
"I don't think that's the best idea right now, he can always find one later when he's in a better state of mind and has a clear head." Marnie stated with a bit of a protective stance, he was like a brother to her and she didn't want to risk harm coming to him due to his lack of focus.
"She's right, Drake's challenge is no joke." May held up her arm to reveal a Mega Ring of her own. "It's better if he gets it later on."
Within the hour the ship docked at the island and the group departed onto shore, the island's buildings were quite the unusual design as all of the buildings appeared to be made and shaped from stones, smoke pouring out of the chimneys of some gave the impression that the island didn't even have electricity!
"Ahoy there, landlubbers. What brings you to my island?" A man stood on top of a nearby hut looking down upon the group, the sunlight made it quite hard to see who it was but the voice did sound familiar to Ash.
"I've come to face Drake in a rematch, have you got any idea where I can find him?"
"Know him? Ha, I am him!" The man laughed, leaping off the building and landing firmly on his face before his eyes looked upon Ash for the first time in years. "Ash Ketchum, I'd recognize that face anywhere!"
"For an old man he sure doesn't act like it." Marnie muttered.
"It's good to see you too, Drake! I've finally come for a rematch and things won't go down the way they did back then!" Ash shouted, excitement flared through his eyes as Drake crossed his arms and let out a hearty laugh.
"Hah, I'd welcome the challenge! I'm quite interested in seeing how much you've grown as a trainer since then but something tells me that you've come here for more than just that though." Drake flashed Ash a knowing smirk. "You've come here for a Keystone, haven't you?"
"Well yeah, how did you know?" Ash had a look of surprise as Drake laughed in response.
"You don't have one on your arm for one! You may be able to take down some Mega Pokemon without one of your own but there's no way that you'll defeat a well trained Pokemon like mine without one of your own!" Drake turned his gaze towards a nearby mountain. "You are to climb that mountain, by yourself." He added as he looked towards Ash's companions. "Powerful Pokemon live up there and will be an obstacle on your path to the cave at the peak, rather you avoid or fight them is entirely up to you but if you wish to obtain a Keystone then you must beat the Guardian within the cave!"
"Guardian?" Ash asked with a raised eyebrow as Drake merely laughed in response.
"You'll see! Well what are you waiting for? Sooner you get it the sooner we can have an all out fight!"
Ash turned to look at his friends or rather most of them as Zach was still staring off into space. "Well I guess I'll be seeing you all in a bit."
"Just be careful, you don't know what's up there." Marnie advised. "And make sure you drink plenty of water!"
"We'll be fine, go on ahead. We all know you're eager to." May gave her old friend a smirk.
Ash turned to Pikachu as the two pumped their fists and locked eyes with eager expressions upon their faces. "Well then I guess we should get going Pikachu, let's go!"
"Pika!" The two turned and began making the journey towards the mountain while Chloe turned her attention to their other friend.
"Maybe the two of us could try cheering him up? He hardly seems aware of his surroundings." She pointed out as Scorbunny was eagerly leaping for a pie that somebody left on their open windowsill while Lucario attempted to pull her away.
"I was actually planning on it," Marnie spoke. "He seemed to have a fatherly connection to Butterfree from what I noticed, perhaps if we introduce him to something new that he can raise it'll help fill the void."
"That could backfire," May brought up. "If you try and get him another Bug type you'll likely just upset him."
"That's a pretty good point, come on I'm sure there's something somewhere around here that'll help!" Marnie waved her arm as the three split off to look for a Pokemon.
"I can't believe we were stuck on that there garbage barge for weeks, I'm gonna make that brat pay if I ever see him again!" Leroy hissed irritably as he and his brother quickly began stashing Pokemon eggs onto a cart. The two absolutely reeked as the smell was practically visible as it drifted off their clothes.
"Yeah but this is quite the easy score, an old hag guarding a village's supply of Dragon Pokemon eggs!" Cletus added
"Yeah, good thing I thought of robbing her! Was quite easy to put her to sleep long enough for us to swipe them all! No doubt ma will be pleased when we bring home an army of Dragonite and Salamence, Unova will be brought to it's knees in sheer terror of our might!"
"And that brat is miles away, there's no way we'll get stopped this time!" Cletus laughed along with his brother as they soon burst through the front door with the cart full of dragon eggs only to wind up face to face with Scorbunny who'd sneaked off to find some sweets, the three locked eyes and were silent for a moment before eventually pointing at the rivaling group as they simultaneously shouted.
"You!"
"Scor!" Scorbunny shouted back before clenching her nose with her paw as disgust filled her face.
"Quickly if Kantonian Buneary's here no doubt her owner is!" Leroy shouted, pushing all his strength into it as the pair raced through the streets and gaining quite a lot of attention as several people dived out of the way to avoid getting smashed by the speeding cart!
"What the-?" May and Marnie quickly dived out of the way.
"Outta the way ya losers, Team Rocket coming through!" Leroy laughed maniacally as he and his brother sped through the town, aiming towards where they had left the speedboat that they had stolen shortly after leaving the garbage barge.
"Uh Leroy, there's a little twerp in the way!" Cletus pointed out as a fairly young girl stood in the middle of the pathway, completely unaware of what was coming as she played with a ball.
"Screw that, I'm not letting us get caught again! This time we will succeed!" Leroy laughed, an evil glint forming in his eye as he picked up the speed. Cletus looked unsure but eventually went along with it, the cart raced down the hill and gained on the little girl before a flash of blue and black appeared before them, latching itself onto the front of the cart and slowing it down, stopping it right before it could hit the girl. Lucario's tail brushed up against the girl's back from how close they were as he let out a growl, narrowing his eyes at the two dimwitted Rocket agents.
"Gah!"
"Team Rocket I presume?" Marnie spoke up as she caught up, Grimmsnarl stood next to her as he let out a menacing growl and stared them down. "We haven't met but I heard about you, picking on a defenseless friend of mine before she even had a Pokemon? Not cool." She shook her head before turning to Grimmsnarl. "Grimmsnarl, use Dark Pulse!"
"No wait! Y-You'll hurt the eggs!" Cletus cried out as he immediately cowered upon the ground, Leroy rolled his eyes as he pulled his brother up.
"Come brother she won't dare chase us once I... do this!" Leroy yanked a light blue egg with small white markings at the bottom off of the cart, slowly backing up with a gleeful smirk. "We're making it to our boat else you risk this egg going bye-bye!"
"Yeah what he said!" Cletus backed up with his brother as Marnie clenched her fists with a frustrated look. "D-Do you suddenly feel cold, bro?" He suddenly asked.
"Of course not, it has to be a hundred degrees out her-oh." Leroy looked down and growled out as he realized somebody had fired an Ice Beam attack at them, freezing their legs in a block of ice! "Curses!"
May let out a giggle before revealing herself, Glaceon walking by her side as she yanked the egg out of their clutches. "We'll be taking that!"
"C-Curse you..." Leroy spoke as he chattered his teeth.
"And now to make sure you don't try this again, Dark Pulse!" Grimmsnarl roared as dark energy began forming within his mouth before being unleashed in a powerful beam! The impact resulted in an explosion that sent the pair flying out to sea and to parts unknown!
"Well that's taken care of, let's get these eggs back to where they belong."
"Hmph, you landlubbers actually did a fairly good job at protecting our island." Drake spoke as he suddenly appeared. "It's obvious you all care a lot for Pokemon kind, and human kind too." Drake said as he glanced back at the kid Lucario saved who was now hugging her mom with tears falling off of her frightened face.
"Tell you what, I'll let the two of each take an egg of your choice as a reward for your mighty deed! I'll take the rest back to the nursery, don't you worry about doing that!" He offered.
May looked down at the egg she was holding before gazing off in the direction that Lucario had disappeared to. "I think I'll give this one to a friend if you don't mind."
"Of course!"
Marnie glanced at May as the girl stole her idea but shrugged it off and just hoped that it'd work on fixing him. She gazed at the cart and pondered over her decision before Grimmsnarl reached down and picked up an egg for her, dropping a dark blue one with what appeared to be black fur on the upper half of the egg.
Marnie gave her Pokemon a quizzical expression while it gave her a thumbs up.
"Ah, Deino! An excellent choice, those Pokemon hail from the Unova region and can be quite the challenge to raise but will make for a powerful and reliable Dark/Dragon type!" The news made Marnie smirk as she pulled the egg closer to her.
"Then I've made my choice!"
The trio soon made their way back to where they had left Zach who appeared to be in the exact spot they left him in, not moving an inch. Marnie gave May a nod, encouraging her to step forward as the brunette girl held out the egg with a warm smile.
"Zach? W-We got you something that we think will cheer you up!"
"Hopefully, I miss hanging out with you." Marnie added.
Zach turned his head to look at the egg, tilting his head as he slowly reached out and took the egg, soon holding it in his grasp as Lucario let out a light coo. Scorbunny hopped up onto her trainer's shoulders and reached out with her paw to touch the egg which began glowing brightly immediately upon her touching it, blinding them all with a bright light as a Dratini was soon visible within the trainer's arms, looking up at him with big bright eyes as tears began to flow from Zach's eyes again before he pulled the serpent Pokemon into a hug. The Dragon type cooing out affectionately in response.
"Thank you..."
It had been several days but Ash was steadily approaching the peak of the mountain, several powerful Dragon types had attempted to stop him but with the assistance of Pikachu, Charizard, Gengar, Gabite and Latias it wasn't a major issue. Dreepy had even gained a bit of experience as well by challenging weaker Dragon types such as Jangmo-o and a couple of Deino.
"Alright Gengar we're almost through this, use Psychic!"
"Gengar!" The Ghost type's eyes glowed bright blue as he flashed his familiar smirk, lifting a Hakamo-o off the ground before slamming it down hard! The Dragon/Fighting type let out a groan in defeat, allowing for Ash and his team to finally advance to the peak of the mountain where they soon stood outside of it's cave.
"Alright I'm pretty sure I'm only allowed to take one of you in there so would the rest of you mind letting Latias have this?" The rest of his Pokemon nodded their heads in agreement before Ash returned them to their Pokeballs, Pikachu remained on his shoulder with his tail twitching in excitement as Ash turned to face his newest Pokemon. "Alright Latias, you ready?!"
"Ready, Chosen One!"
"I told you to stop calling me that, my name's Ash!" Ash sweated while emitting a light chuckle as he began leading the way into the cavern, it was fairly bright for a cave as crystals lined up against the cavern walls and marked the path further into the cavern, Ash and his Pokemon couldn't help but eye the crystals in wonder as colorful lights shined brightly everywhere, it was quite the sight to behold! Eventually they came to a dead end, large room with no exits apart from where they had came with a giant crystal in the middle, a great deal of energy radiating off of it as it's mere presence caused Latias to be engulfed in a bright pink light as she was transformed into her Mega Latias form for the first time!
"Wow..." Ash gazed at Mega Latias for a minute before looking back towards the giant crystal. "That crystal must provide the same energy required to trigger a Mega Evolution!"
"You're correct chosen one," An old hermit walked around the back of the crystal, an ancient looking Pokeball within the palm of his hand as he stared Ash down. "I am the guardian of the Draco Island keystones, none may pass without proving their worth to me!"
"Why do people keep calling me that..." Ash groaned out as Pikachu snickered in response. "I'm here to prove my worth to you alright, but how?"
"We battle." The guardian responded with a joyful smirk, laughing maniacally as he threw forward a Pokeball and summoned a Garchomp which was instantly transformed into a Mega Garchomp due to the presence of the crystal.
Mega Garchomp and Mega Latias locked eyes before the guardian let out a shout.
"Dragon Rush!" Garchomp's body became surrounded in a light blue aura as he released a powerful roar and stomped across the cave as he raced towards Latias!
"Dodge by flying above then counter it with Dragon Pulse!" Latias flew upwards, narrowly avoiding Garchomp as he continued racing past before crashing into the wall. A pulse of green-blue energy then began charging within Latias' mouth before being unleashed upon the Garchomp!
"Sandstorm!" Garchomp roared out as a thick sandstorm started flowing through the cave, blocking sight of the Pokemon while Latias could be heard grunting as sand pelted her body.
"Latias, close your eyes and sense Garchomp's location with your mind, then use Psychic!" Ash shouted through the sandstorm.
Latias heard her trainer as she closed her eyes and let her senses guide her, her eyes soon shot open and glowed bright blue as a blue outline of Garchomp could be seen as the Dragon type was hoisted up before being thrown across the gym, a loud thud shook the cavern as he crashed against the ground.
"Hyper Beam!" The familiar orange-yellow beam of energy blasted through the sandstorm, nailing Latias in the left wing and causing her to go crashing down to the ground below!
"Latias!"
"I'm okay, Chosen One. What is your next command?" Latias spoke through their connection. Ash thought for a moment before closing his eyes and responding to her via thoughts.
'Dragon Pulse once more but use it on the ceiling above Garchomp!' Latias nodded in response as she aimed her head upwards, the blue-green energy pulse formed within her mouth before being fired directly upwards, striking a stalactite and causing it to come crashing down directly on Garchomp's head! Garchomp went cross eyed and began walking back and forth for a bit before collapsing forward and laying down in defeat as he reverted back to normal form.
"Alright, we did it!" Ash shouted out as Latias swiftly zoomed across the cave and pressed her head up against him, nuzzling him in an affectionate manner.
"I won, I actually won!"
"Indeed you have," The guardian smiled, reaching into his robe and pulling out a Mega Ring fitted with a keystone before handing it to Ash. "This is yours now, you've earned it. Now with it you'll be able to Mega Evolve any Pokemon you desire, assuming you can locate or buy the keystone."
Ash put it on his right arm and admired it for a moment before looking up to thank the man only for him to have already disappeared.
"What?"
"Oh a challenger, I'm so sorry but I only just got back from collecting supplies! Are you prepared to battle?" Ash turned and noticed what appeared to be the real guardian but if that was the case then who did he just fight?
Thanks to the trial being over the descent of the mountain was much easier as Ash simply hopped onto Latias' back and was back in town within ten minutes. It took a bit to track down his friends but he eventually found them at a diner, immediately noticing that Zach seemed a lot like his normal self while also spotting that there was a Dratini in his lap while Marnie was holding a Deino. Looks like his friends had a miniature adventure of their own while he was away.
Marnie soon turned her head and began frantically waving her arm. "Hey Ash, welcome back!"
"Did you get a Mega Ring?!" Zach was quick to ask, excitement showing in his eyes as Ash raised up his arm to show them. "Oooh, lucky! I can't wait until Lucario and I can experience that!"
"Car!" Lucario nodded with a similar look of excitement in his eyes.
"And I'm ready to take on Drake so let's get go-ing..." His mouth began drooling at the sight of the food, due to his inability to cook all he really had to eat the past few days was premade sandwiches and chips!
"You should eat first," Marnie rolled her eyes lightly before standing up so Ash could take her seat while giving him a warm smile.
Ash smiled back as he took the seat and began quickly chowing down on food, excitement filled his body as he knew he was only a few hours away from facing Drake!
Drake currently stood on the beachy shore of Draco Island and was in the midst of training and teaching the young generation who all appeared to be only a few months off from getting their first Pokemon. A Haxorus with black scale coloring stood by his side, demonstrating some attacks to the kids, his claws were surrounded by a light green aura as he slashed at a practice dummy that Drake had set up for the demonstration. The dummy was sliced cleanly in half across the waist as the kids cheered.
"And that was Dragon Claw, now I suggest you all either take a sit or grab the person next to you as this attack can be quite ground shaking! Haxorus use-Oh, it appears that you'll all be treated with being able to watch an epic battle between two of the world's strongest trainers!" Drake gave Ash a wave as the Alola champion approached. "Unlike previous matches you may have seen me partake in, Ash should actually provide a challenge. Don't let his looks deceive you, he's actually a champion along with conqueror of the Kanto branch's Battle Frontier!"
A nervous look formed across Zach's face at the small crowd watching their approach, slowing his pace before proceeding to walk behind May and Marnie to obscure the view. May looked back at him and giggled lightly, finding the behavior cute.
"Ash I hope you don't mind if my students watch our battle, otherwise this'll have to wait a few hours."
Ash merely smirked in response, lightly shaking his head as he gave the Elite Four member a thumbs up! "I don't mind a crowd besides I'm eager to get this battle underway!"
"That's the spirit!" Drake shouted as the man pumped his fists, for an old man he sure seemed in great shape and had a spirit of a younger man. "It's been awhile since I've gotten a good fight and I hope you don't disappoint!" He said with a light teasing tone, knowing full well that Ash would live up to his expectations.
The Elite Four member quickly produced a shovel and began dragging it through the sand, leaving behind sand marks that eventually made up the familiar rectangular shape of a battlefield! "There, that should help give the younglings a good idea of where to safely stand." He pointed towards the end closest to town. "You kids stand on that side, Ash's friends will take the other end! Meanwhile I'll go over... here!" Drake ran across the field at quite the surprising speed before turning around at the opposite end of the field. "And Ash you stand right there!"
"Man he's fast!" Zach sweated lightly. "He could probably even keep up with Mustard."
"Good luck, Ash!" Marnie shouted to him as they took their place at the sidelines.
"Bzzzt, welcome challengers!" A Rotom Drone soon appeared and hovered on the side of the battlefield to act as referee. "Today Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town, Pokeball class will be going up against the Hoenn Ellte Four member Drake, Master Class."
"M-Master Class?" Marnie spoke up, her eyes widened at the realization of the rank gap!
"Relax Drake doesn't have to move to find challengers, they practically come looking for him. Ash chooses to seek out his opponents instead so of course he'd be at a lower ranking, though if he beats Drake that should vastly improve his ranking!" Zach explained. Though he didn't care for the competition itself he was familiar with how it worked as he watched a lot of Cynthia's matches, hoping for the chance to battle her someday!
"Yeah, it's no fun to sit around in place for a long time!" Ash replied with a light laugh, much as he enjoyed his time in Alola he missed getting to travel around the world at his leisure and not having to rush back for scheduled appointments like school. He couldn't imagine sitting around in one city for a majority of a year for a second time, he'd probably go bonkers! "Besides there are a few trainers that I'm itching to track down and get a rematch with! I sure won't find them by laying back and relaxing in Alola or heading back to Kanto!"
"As Challenger Ash Ketchum is still in Normal Class the battle will be limited to three Pokemon on each side of the field. Challenger Ash Ketchum and Challenger Drake are you ready to pick out your first Pokemon and begin the battle?"
"Ready!" Both trainers shouted simultaneously, their faces full of excitement for the battle to come!
"Then begin!" A airhorn sounded off from within the drone, signaling the start of the match!
"Haxorus will be my first partner," Drake declared as Haxorus took his place in front of his trainer, letting out a roar as he stared across the field at his opponent and awaited Ash's choice.
"I think I'll begin with Snorlax!" Ash grinned as he threw forward a Pokeball, releasing one of his oldest friends onto the field!
"Snorlax!" Snorlax looked down upon Haxorus with a determined expression, it had been quite some time since he faced a powerful trainer and he wasn't about to let Ash down!
"Win this for me and I promise you'll get all the food that you can eat!" Ash shouted while a giant smirk formed across Snorlax's face upon hearing those words. "Now use Ice Punch!"
"Snor!" Snorlax threw back his arm as it became surrounded with icy blue energy before lashing out and striking his opponent's chest! Haxorus let out a grunt as he was pushed back, the Dragon type's claws dug down into the sand to get a firm footing as Drake ordered out the attack.
"Earthquake!"
Ash gritted his teeth as there was no way for Snorlax to avoid that but thankfully it shouldn't do enough to take him down. Haxorus leaped up into the air before landing hard against the ground as the battlefield began shaking, even the audience members and Ash found themselves shaking. That earthquake definitely felt a lot stronger than previous ones Ash had experienced, his legs felt like they were made of jelly even after the attack had come to an end. Snorlax wobbled back and forth slightly but still maintained a great sense of balance and appeared to still be raring to go!
"Alright Snorlax, let's use Heavy Slam!"
"Snorlax!"
"Oh geez, I feel bad for that Haxorus..." Zach muttered, Snorlax weighed over a thousand pounds!
Snorlax leaped up into the air as a silver aura surrounded his body, he flew through the air and crashed right on top of Haxorus with the Dragon type letting out a cry full of pain as he was knocked over and squashed against the ground by the Steel attack.
"Oooh!" Marnie, May and Zach flinched at the sight while Ash and Drake kept their eyes locked onto the field in anticipation for the result! Snorlax soon rolled off of Haxorus' body, revealing the unconscious Dragon type with swirls present within his eyes!
"Bzzzt, Haxorus is unable to battle!" The Rotom Drone declared. "Challenger Drake, please pick your next Pokemon."
Drake returned Haxorus and began speaking to Ash as he placed the ball back onto his belt, while beginning to reach for another. "You definitely trained that Snorlax well, normally I don't send this guy out this early but it looks like we've got to even up the field. Salamence, let's go!" He hurled a Pokeball out onto the field, it burst open seconds later to reveal Salamence. The mighty Hoenn Dragon letting out a powerful roar and somehow looking even stronger than when Ash last faced him! No doubt it'd prove even more difficult once Drake activated Mega Evolution.
"Now let's show Ash and his friends the true strength of our friendship, a friendship that has spanned throughout decades! Mega Evolve!" Drake shouted as his fingers activated the keystone, the bright pink light began surrounding Salamence before quickly fading away to reveal Mega Salamence, this one looking oddly more intimidating than Pokemon Hunter R's!
Snorlax kept a cool and level head as he stared Mega Salamence down, refusing to back down and not seeming the least bit terrified!
"Hyper Beam!" Ash shouted out as he thrust out his arm.
"You use Hyper Beam as well!" The battle soon turned into a test of will as both Pokemon fired off the familiar beam of yellow-orange energy, the attacks met and began pushing each other back. The attacks were evenly matched at first as neither side appeared to budge but as minutes ticked by Snorlax's beam started getting smaller as it was overpowered by Salamence's, the energy beam made contact with Snorlax shortly afterwards and exploded resulting in a large dust cloud forming and blocking view of the battlefield. For a moment it appeared as if Snorlax had been taken out but as the smoke cleared the Normal type could still be seen standing!
"Snor!"
"Alright, Snorlax!" Ash cheered on his Pokemon and one of his closest friends. "Let's use another Heavy Slam!"
Snorlax smirked as he leaped up into the sky with the silver aura forming around his body, the Normal type soon came crashing down upon Salamence and pressed the Mega Evolution against the ground! Mega Salamence let out a gasp of pain before steadily rising upwards despite the heavy weight quite literally upon his shoulders.
"Flamethrower!"
"Sala!" Salamence opened his mouth as a steady stream of fire came roaring upwards and directly against Snorlax! Smoke began rising from Snorlax's belly as the Normal type let out a loud cry of pain, stumbling backwards and away from Drake as the man thrust out his arm once more.
"And let's finish this, Dragon Pulse!" A multicolored beam of dragon shaped energy fired from Salamence's mouth and flew across the field towards where Snorlax was standing, the attack struck and landed a critical hit as Snorlax's eyes widened from the pain before shortly toppling over with a loud thud, dust getting blown up as a result of the impact and obscuring the view before eventually fading away to reveal the defeated form of Snorlax!
"Bzzzt, Snorlax is unable to battle! Challenger Ash Ketchum please send out your next Pokemon!"
Ash returned Snorlax to his Pokeball and smiled at it. "Thank you Snorlax, you did a great job today and deserve a rest!" He placed the Pokeball back onto his belt before reaching for the next one as he noticed Drake was currently returning his own Pokemon, no doubt saving Mega Salamence for last. "Glalie I choose you!"
"Glalie!" Ash's Ice type Pokemon burst from his Pokeball, giving the opposing side an intimidating stare.
"Let's go, Dragalge!" Drake threw forward a ball to reveal the Kalosian Dragon of the sea! Ash had encountered the species before but never had the chance to battle it until now, an excited look formed across his face before he pumped his fists and shouted out the first attack!
"Use Blizzard!"
"Glalie!" Glalie opened his mouth as a powerful blizzard flew out and was unleashed upon the opposing side! Dragalge's body shivered as the cold breeze flew across it's body but the Poison/Dragon still looked raring to go!
"Sludge Wave!" A wave of dark purple sludge began forming around Dragalge before quickly being hurled at her opponent!
"Dodge it, quick!" Glalie swiftly moved aside before regaining focus on the opponent. "Now use Crunch!"
"Glalie!" Glalie flew forward and bit Dragalge's tail!
"Thunderbolt!" Drake quickly ordered, catching the viewing trainer's by surprise as the Pokemon's body sparked with electricity before unleashing it upon Glalie! The Ice type cried out as electricity flowed through his body but he remained strong and standing, refusing to let Ash down!
"Let's use another Blizzard!"
Glalie opened his mouth as he unleashed another Blizzard upon Dragalge, luck appeared to be on Ash's side as Dragalge soon became encased in a block of ice! Drake gritted his teeth and let out a frustrated grunt at the sight while Ash was free to attack once more!
"Iron Head!" Glalie's head glowed bright silver as he charged across the field and slammed his head against the block of ice, cracking it and striking Dragalge's body with the Poison/Dragon Pokemon being flung back before crashing down in a defeated heap as the Rotom Drone buzzed out the results.
"Bzzzt, Dragalge is unable to battle! Challenger Drake please release your final Pokemon!"
"Heh, hahaha! This battle is proving to be more exciting than I hoped for, it's been years since somebody new put me in a corner like this! Not since Steven!" The elder Elite Four member laughed as he returned Dragalge before fetching the ball containing Mega Salamence as he threw it back out to resume his place on the field. "But not many trainers can say that they've beaten my Salamence, do you think you have what it takes?"
"I know I do!" Ash shouted. "Glalie can you still fight?!"
"Glalie!" The Ice type responded by facing his trainer and giving him a large grin.
"Alright then, let's start off with Blizzard!"
"Glalie!" Glalie opened up his mouth and unleashed a powerful blizzard upon Salamence.
"Counter with Flamethrower!" Salamence opened his mouth and fired off a hot stream of fire that blasted majority of the blizzard away though he still took damage from the remaining bit, while the fire flew through the storm and struck Glalie!
"Glalie!" Glalie's body was scorched but the Pokemon remained standing, from the look of things that wouldn't be much longer though. As strong as Ash's Pokemon were it was going to take the effort of all of them to take Salamence down and thankfully there was still one Pokemon left to use!
"Wow I'm surprised Glalie survived, I could feel that heat from here!" Marnie was sweating along with the rest of the group and a few students too from the look of things.
"Well Glalie is one of Ash's strongest Pokemon, at least he was back when I traveled with him." May explained with a light smile as she reminisced about the old days.
"Think you've still got an attack in you?" Ash asked his Pokemon with Glalie quickly responding with a nod and a cry of confirmation.
"Glalie!"
"Than let's do this, Gyro Ball!"
"Glalie!" The Ice type began rapidly spinning before spinning on across the field and crashing his body into Salamence! The Mega Evolution uttered out a roar of pain, his eyes narrowed as he uttered out a fierce growl.
"Flamethrower!"
"Gyro Ball again, let's try and reflect the damage!"
Glalie began spinning in place as the stream of fire came blasting out of Salamence's mouth, Glalie's movements made most of the flames reflect from his body as he spun through the attack and struck Salamence once more, the Dragon type threw back his head and let out a pained groan while Glalie collapsed from exhaustion from the attack usage along with the effect of the flames.
"Bzzt Glalie is unable to battle, Ash Ketchum please release your final Pokemon." Ash knew it was going to be a close one but he was positive that they could pull off a win, Glalie and Snorlax had both dished out a fair amount of damage.
"Latias I choose you!" Latias burst from her ball and gave Salamence a light smirk. The students began chanting out excitedly at the sight of the Hoenn legendary Pokemon!
"I await your command, chosen one!"
"I-Stop calling me that!" Ash's face turned red as Ash's friends turned to one another in confusion, wondering just what she said all the time that upset him. Ash then reached out for his own Mega Ring, fingers activating the keystone which resulted in the ring emitting a light glow. "Latias I know we just met a week ago but I feel like we're already great friends, let's show off our bond with Mega Evolution!"
Latias' body was surrounded by the pink glow before fading away to reveal the form of Mega Latias! Ash had experienced it before but this time felt much more real, it was the first time that he was in full control of the form!
"Psychic!" Latias' eyes glowed blue in response, Salamence's body was encased in a similar blue coloring as he was flung about by the attack before being slammed against the ground!
"Let's see how much power that Latias of yours can withstand, Hyper Beam!"
"Chosen one let me use Psychic on the blast!"
"Huh?" Ash didn't get what was going on but decided to trust her. "Use Psychic on the attack!"
Latias' eyes glowed blue as she unleashed her attack, halting the energy beam in place before redirecting it and sending it back at Salamence whose expression turned to that of surprise as the attack exploded upon meeting his own body!
"Heh, not bad kid." Drake commented.
Ash knew there was an opening as Salamence would need to recharge his batteries after the attack. "Latias, use Dragon Pulse!"
Latias opened her mouth and fired off the multicolored dragon shaped energy blast upon Salamence, the attack struck and Salamence began showing visible signs of tiredness.
"Giga Impact!" Drake shouted out.
Mega Salamence's body became surrounded by an orange sphere of energy as he flew across the field and crashed his body against his opponent, landing a critical blow as Latias let out a loud cry. Her breathing appeared to grow heavy as she narrowed her eyes at Salamence. Soon rising up and letting out a cry as she awaited Ash's command!
"Psychic!"
"Flamethrower!"
Latias' eyes glowed blue as she lifted Salamence up and flipped him over to face the ground, Salamence's flames causing the Dragon to quickly blast off into the sky as Latias held onto him and prevented him from regaining control and balance. Her eyes turned to normal once the attack ceased, dropping Mega Salamence from what had to be at least three stories as he came crashing towards the ground with a loud thud, leaving a huge crater in the middle of the beach with his defeated form in the middle of it.
"Sala... mence..." The dragon cried as he returned to his regular form, Drake formed a light smirk as he returned Salamence to his Pokeball before turning to face Ash.
"Bzzzt, Salamence is no longer able to battle meaning that Challenger Ash Ketchum is the winner! Currently updating ranking... updating... updating... updating complete! Challenger Ash Ketchum you are now in Great classing! You are now eligible to use four Pokemon in official matches so long as your opponent is above Normal Class!" The Rotom Drone informed Ash before turning away to deliver the recording.
Latias let out a cry before headbutting Ash and knocking him to the ground as she nuzzled him affectionately. "We did it, we did it!" She cried out while Ash laughed and gently pat her back, his gaze turned towards Drake as he saw the man approaching with his hand reaching into his pocket. Ash gave Latias a light prod and she quickly got off of him so Drake and him could talk.
"That was an amazing battle, young Ketchum. Never has somebody your age delivered quite the exciting battle! If you keep this up I'm sure that you could even give Steven Stone a run for his money!" Drake praised while holding out his hand for Ash to shake. Ash reached out and shook it, noticing that Drake held a very tight and strong grip before feeling something being left in his hand.
Ash gazed downwards and noticed what appeared to be a Mega Stone, which one Ash had no clue as he never learned how to tell the difference.
"Garchompite!" Zach fanboyed at the sight.
Drake noticed Ash's confusion and laughed. "I'm well aware that you have a Gabite, I hope that will come in handy someday. Consider it your reward for beating me and my gift to you in exchange for making me feel young again! Now let me dismiss my students and I'll treat you and your friends to a big feast in honor of your victory!"
From afar Latios had been watching, a light smirk crossed his face at the sight of his sister's victory. "Good job, sis!" He said before quickly blasting off and disappearing into the horizon once more.
Night had fallen upon the island, the darkness being fended off by torches that lit up the beach as Drake true to his word threw a feast in celebration of Ash's victory but he'd let anyone that wanted to from the village join in. There was a lot of food after all, wasn't anything too fancy due to the lack of electricity but Salamence's flamethrower still helped make a delicious steak!
Marnie stood to the side, her arms crossed as a sour look formed upon her face at the sight of several village girl's attempting to flirt with Ash upon hearing about his victory over the town's leader. Morpeko was currently helping himself to her food due to her lack of attention while her other Pokemon stood next to her and ate their own food. May soon walked over and took a glance at what Marnie was looking at before tugging on her arm. "If it bothers you that much why don't you say something to him?" She asked.
Marnie's face shot bright red as she nervously glanced to the side. "I'm worried about how it'd affect our friendship... and the group. My brother dated a girl that he was friends with and it didn't go well for him at all, it left him broken and what winded up spurning his desire to go into the music career. The two never spoke since and she left the region from what I heard."
"You know he's bound to get a lot of female fans or make friends with other females along the way, if you don't hurry somebody else might snatch him first and you'll just live with the regret."
Marnie knew May had a point, Ash sure seemed close to Bea and the girl clearly liked him... but did Ash even think of her that way?
"Well enough of that, come join us. I'm sure being amongst friends will help keep you distracted!" May tugged on her arm once more and this time Marnie followed her to the far end where Zach could be seen feeding Dratini as the Pokemon sat in his lap. Scorbunny had her arms crossed as she was jealous of the attention the Dragon had constantly received the past couple of days, her foot tapped impatiently before he eventually pulled out a spare Lure Ball and held it out to Dratini.
"Alright Dratini, now that we're leaving the island I'm gonna have to ask that you get into the ball so I don't have to worry about losing you somewhere." Dratini let out a happy coo before tapping the Pokeball with his tail as he was engulfed in a bright red light, the Pokeball quickly shook within the palm of his hand before chiming to announce the capture followed swiftly by Dratini's data being registered as he was officially made part of the team!
"Dratini the Dragon Pokemon, Dratini dwells near bodies of rapidly flowing water, such as the plunge pools of waterfalls. As it grows Dratini will shed its skin many times!"
"I'm glad that you're feeling better now," May spoke with a warm smile as she focused on eating her food. "I couldn't help but feel responsible in some way for it, Butterfree did choose my Beautifly after all."
"It's not your fault at all," Zach quickly shook his head. "I have attachments to all of my Pokemon, they're like a family to me." Even Linoone despite him not being a great team player as of late.
"Ah well, I'm sure that your Pokemon feel the same way about you." May's eyes flickered towards Lucario and the others who were all eagerly digging away at their meal. "They all seem to care a great deal for you, I guess you could say the same about me. Watching over my Munchlax is a lot like having a sibling that can't stay out of trouble." May laughed.
Ash soon returned after having another discussion with Drake. "Alright so I've got word on where I can track down the next Elite Four member, Glacia is currently training on a remote island to the north of Hoenn. Phoebe is at Mt. Pyre and Sidney is in Fallabor Town!"
"So where are we going first?" Marnie asked while she pulled out her Rotom Phone. "Glacia is kinda remote but if we head up there first then it shouldn't take too long to reach Mt. Pyre from what I see."
"Fallabor Town is close to a desert we could potentially find fossils, I wouldn't mind stopping there whenever we pass through." Zach was also viewing his Rotom Phone's map app.
"I think I'd like to face Glacia first, it's been years since I've faced off with an Ice specialist!" Ash exclaimed with fire burning in his eyes. "Plus this gives a chance to let Incineroar and Emboar prove themselves!"
"So you'll be in Hoenn for a bit longer? Don't mind if I stick around for a bit longer then do you?" May asked.
"Why wouldn't we? It's nice traveling in a large group." Zach stated with a smile.
"Yeah, we're happy ta have you for awhile!" Marnie smiled.
And so Ash has successfully beaten Drake! What next awaits our fair heroes?