Junior: Hey guys. Hopefully you guys are having a better time than me.
Jade: Quit it. Anyways,
"Disclaimer: We don't own Pokemon."
Junior: Before you ask, this isn't related to the story. Some false alarm has made our lives somewhat miserable. So, a personal story which Jade disapproves unless really required AND not so personal.
Jade: Seriously kiddo, people may not know you from here, but don't make it a habit. Like I said, if it really smoothens the situation and isn't so personal, only then do it.
Junior: Anyways, first reply to reviews.
Reader: Thanks for the praise. In reality, I remembered BW so differently, half of it's head cannon, making the story much more alluring. But that doesn't mean the series is bad, it is just MLB but at a smaller scale. And for your question, I purposefully made Ash use 5 pokemon, just to show how much he has grown. Same as in here too, but it will be justified as you will see. And more importantly please don't apologize for the long reply. I loved your responses.
Also, it is fine that you can't make an account. Try replying in AO3 then, bcoz there seems to be no rules against this there.
Junior: One more thing guys. If you have an AO3 account, you can review there with your battle request or message me there. There seems to be no rules against this at AO3. The pen name is Junior04 and the story is 'For the joy of battles'.
So, without further ado,
Let us take off.
"Ash, did you pick your pokemon for tomorrow's battle with Drayden?" Iris asked as Ash, Cilan and herself were getting ready to sleep after their dinner.
"Of course I picked them. And I am not gonna lose." Ash said as he pumped his fist forward.
"Don't act like a kid, Ash. You saw how powerful Drayden is and yet you challenged him to a 6 on 6 battle?" Iris asked with narrowed eyes.
"This is my 10th badge. My first time getting a 10th badge, and I want this battle to be memorable. Just wait and watch." Ash said back. But the moment he said that Iris got a sly smile on her. Ash knew he fell into her trap.
"Let me guess, Pikachu…. Krookodile … and" Iris said as she counted and then "Garchomp!" she shouted.
Ash winced at the volume and knew what was about to come.
Sure enough Iris came up to his side while he ignored her as much as he could, which isn't much because she knew how to rile him up.
"What a kid? You forgot you had a garchomp? Being rusty like with elisa heh?" Iris asked, smothering a fake laugh.
"Come on Iris, Ash was under pressure then." Cilan tried to reason but it was completely futile.
"I didn't forget him. He will be brought in tomorrow morning, just before I go to the gym." Ash said, smiling at the pout Iris had.
"Sheesh, what a kid? Aren't you gonna check over him? Make sure he is fine. Afterall it is a long distance from Kanto to Unova. Oh garchomp, I feel for you." Iris said with dramatically slauntering over Ash, back to back and putting her hand on her forehead.
Ash knew she was baiting him, but he can't take that 'What a kid'. He is a great trainer. So, he just pushed her away as she fell face down.
"You know if you want to command Garchomp, raise your own Gible to be one. And how would she feel about it if her trainer preferred some other trainer's Garchomp over her?" Ash retorted, fixing his bed with a smug smile.
"Great, you are going to bring back Garchomp. Gible and I will have so much fun." Iris said as she started dancing and twirling with her Axew.
"Of course you would have spoiled Gible with the tales of my Garchomp. Just like you spoiled mine with your petting." Ash said as he hung his head low. He always hated the fact that Iris was able to find the perfect spot to pet Garchomp than he could, no matter how he tried.
Garchomp has some tough skin or scales, except for a few places where he can feel the touch's warmth, all other places feel the same toughness. So, Iris perfectly finding that spot made her the number one person in Garchomp's opinion, even going as far as obeying her not to bite in excitement. He couldn't do that even after a tedious and long training. Dewott was easier to train than Garchomp. Ash sighed, 'The after-battle is going to be annoying. Very annoying.'
"This is an official gym battle between the Opelucid gym leader Drayden and Challenger Ash Ketchum. Each side is allowed to use 6 pokemon, with only the challenger allowed to substitute. When all 6 pokemon on one side are unable to battle, the battle ends." The referee declared.
"Go Flygon." Drayden said.
"Dewott, time to battle." Ash called for his trusty Dewott.
"The first move is yours." Drayden said.
"Dewott, razor shell." Ash ordered.
Dewott unsheathed his left scalchop and leapt at Flygon. Dewott slashed the razor shell at Flygon who crossed his arms and took the hit.
"Dragon claw." Drayden said.
Being in mid-air, Flygon charged his right hand with claws extended from draconic energy on to the vulnerable Dewott.
"Defend with your razor shell." Ash ordered.
Dewott spun around and brought out his right scalchop and clashed it against Flygon's claws. Using the attack's momentum, he spun around in air and charged another razor shell at Flygon. But before he could execute the move, he was hit by a dragon claw from below to his chin.
Dewott crashed head first from the attack while Flygon gently glided down.
"Dragon pulse." Drayden said.
"Dewott, hydro pump." Ash countered.
Dewott circled his hands and hooked them as a large stream of water shot forward towards Flygon who spilled out a large beam of purple draconic energy. Both attacks were equal in power and canceled each other with a light mist.
"Dewott, X-scissor." Ash ordered.
Dewott ran into the mist with his scalchop ready while Flygon stood still.
"Dragon claw." Drayden said.
When Flygon saw something move towards him at blurring speed in the edge of his vision, he immediately turned and slashed the incoming Dewott. But to his surprise, all he hit was a spinning razor shell and before he knew what happened, Dewott came from the side and threw another shell at close range. The attack knocked Flygon to the side as Dewott without stopping his momentum caught the suspended scalchop alongside the one he sent onto Flygon and crossed them in front of him as slashed at Flygon with a dark green X.
The attack caused Flygon to crash back into Ground as Dewott landed in front of him.
"Heat wave." Drayden ordered.
Flygon lifted his head and let out a wave of orange energy wide towards Dewott who just landed to catch his breath. Thus, he was knocked off his feet by the attack.
"Dewott, blizzard." Ash ordered.
Dewott turned in midair, and striked a crouch position with two legs pushing into ground to stop his skidding, with his left hand skidding ahead to slow down even further and his right hand on air to support. Then he blew out a powerful stream of chilled air as strong as a blizzard against the heat waves. The attacks collided for a moment before Dewott stopped skidding and released the full power of attack, easily overtaking heat waves and hitting Flygon with a 4 times super effective move.
The move was enough to knock the fight out of Flygon.
"Flygon is unable to battle." The referee declared.
"Dewott has perfected the technique at last. Such a sweet victory topped off with a cherry of winning. A truly lasting taste…" Cilan was giving his comment when Iris cut him off.
"Super, swordmaster. Go cut and slash your way through." Iris encouraged the cute and cool otter.
Cilan was kinda offended that his evaluation was cut off by Iris's blunt words but he just shook his head.
"Good going Dewott. Let's keep this up." Ash said.
"You are not going to switch him?" Drayden asked, eyeing the exhausted Otter.
"No substitutions. We will battle just like you." Ash said as he and Dewott both pumped his hands at the same time.
Drayden smiled at the kid, it was ages before he saw someone who wanted to fight a gym battle the hard and fair way.
"Altaria, battle mode." Drayden said as he released Altaria.
Dewott's heart melted at the sight of such a fluffy goddess descending from heavens and wanted to propose to the beauty in his knee, 'My otter half, my scalchop. It is yours, along with my heart if you wish to'.
The words are at his tips but Dewott kept it in him. He is going to win this and capture her heart. With the renewed inspiration, he flared his nose.
Ash chuckled knowing where the inspiration struck from.
"Dewott, use razor shell." Ash ordered.
"Cotton guard." Drayden countered.
The cotton clouds around Altaria fluffed up even more as they surrounded her in a white cloud, which absorbed both the razor shell and Dewott. But Dewott wasn't complaining, the smell and fluffiness was heavenly for him.
"I know Dewott is cool and cute, a total package but sometimes he is way more desperate." Iris sighed as she plopped down.
"You are the only female to think he is cute and cool." Cilan remarked.
"Hey, what is that supposed to mean?" Iris asked, getting defensive for her second favorite pokemon that wasn't her's.
"Nothing." Cilan said as he held his hands in a defeated manner.
"Dewott, hydro pump." Ash ordered.
Ash's voice was enough to snap Dewott as he pushed his hands into Altaria's wings as he released a large stream of water and exploded and sent both flying back.
"Using hydro pump from inside to blow up the cotton guard was truly marvelous." Cilan remarked, still awed at Ash's nature to bring the most unorthodox methods to table.
"Dragon rush." Drayden ordered.
Altaria shook her body and wings to get rid of excess water and was successful partly so. She became angered at this and cawed as she opened her beak and let loose a large draconic form of open dragon's maw onto Dewott.
"Blizzard." Ash countered.
Dewott breathed out a large blizzard onto the incoming dragon rush, completely able to neutralize it.
"Aerial ace." Drayden ordered.
Before Ash could order, Dewott was hit by a fast moving Altaria, knocking him out of battle.
"Dewott is unable to battle." the referee declared.
"Thanks for the help Dewott. I truly appreciate it." Ash said as he returned the otter to his pokemon. "Gigalith, time to strike."
The massive rock pokemon landed as the earth shook near his feet.
"Why did Ash bring out his steel type this early into the battle?" Iris asked.
"Altaria, cotton guard." Drayden ordered.
"Altaria at her maximum defense will make this battle hard as Gigalith depends on physical attacks heavily." Cilan remarked.
"Gigalith, Flash cannon." Ash ordered.
Gigalith's spike on his head glowed white and used Flash cannon on the flying Altaria. Who dodged it easily by flying away fast.
"Dragon Pulse." Drayden ordered.
Altaria shouted as she let out another draconic beam on Gigalith, who couldn't dodge it in time.
"Rock blast." Ash ordered.
Gigalith's chest spike glowed white as it was launched at Altaria, who once again dodged by moving away. But she didn't count on the next ones following up so quickly. Just after the second one, the third one hit and sent her pummeling down to earth.
Just as she hit the ground, another rock blast connected. This left Altaria badly wounded.
"Ice beam." Drayden ordered.
"Counter with flash cannon." Ash said.
Both pokemon let out beams of ice and steel, which collided and equalized each other.
"Spin and use rock smash." Ash ordered.
The dust from the cancellation of attacks started circling violently as Gigalith emerged two feet above Altaria with a rock smash ready.
"Dragon pulse." Drayden ordered.
Altaria didn't back down as she launched the blue beam which collided with Gigalith's attack but Gigalith was able to cut through the attack and hit her hard with a rock smash. The blue aura around her indicated the defense drop.
"Perfect, rock blast." Ash ordered.
"Dragon rush" Drayden ordered.
Altaria cawed as she surrounded herself in a draconic maw and shot forward at the incoming rocks Gigalith launched. But she underestimated their strength. And sure enough while she could break the first two, the third and final ended her assault.
"Alteria is unable to battle." The referee declared.
"Time's over, Salamence." Drayden called forward his mighty dragon.
As Salamence entered and roared, a red aura surrounded Gigalith as his attack power decreased.
"Salamence, Hydro pump." Drayden ordered.
"Gigalith, sandstorm." Ash countered.
Gigalith brought his legs together and bound his body to the shape of a boulder as he spinned rapidly, causing a sandstorm to wipe out. The incoming Hydro pump was unable to counter the formation of such a strong sandstorm as the water was sucked in and circling the fast-spinning Gigalith.
"Go and use Dragon pulse." Drayden ordered.
Salamence roared as she entered the sandstorm, not at all bothered by the strong sandstrom and searched for the Gigalith.
"Rock blast." Ash ordered.
Gigalith fired off a rock blast from his location which Salamance shrugged off and went in his direction but was hit by another attack from the other side. Salamence was thrown off guard but she flew towards that side before the above dance continued.
"Of course, using Gigalith's superior hearing capabilities in the sandstorm puts Salamence at an intense disadvantage. A really thought through strategy." Cilan remarked as it hit him.
"But Salamence are known for their intense battles too." Iris replied worried for the rock pokemon. She didn't think Salamence would be used in battle, they disregard their own safety to pummel the opponent should they get carried over.
"Salamence, focus and use Dragon rush." Drayden ordered.
Salamence roared as a draconic maw formed in front of her as she flew through the area, scouting for ant orange rocks and blowing away some other rocks in process.
'Gigalith might not have enough power to launch Flash cannon due to the sandstorm.' Ash thought as he was trying to come up with a good strategy.
"Gigalith, Rock smash on the wing." Ash commanded.
Gigalith came from behind Salamence as he flew upon her and attacked her wing. This caused the Salamence who was gliding a few feet above ground to topple to the side and crash alongside Gigalith. But the dragon was not done as she collected the remnants of draconic energy and unleashed a dragon rush at Gigalith.
The draconic maw was trying to push back Gigalith who held his ground and broke the attack. But he flinched from the effect.
"Now, use hydro pump." Drayden ordered.
The powerful stream of water knocked Gigalith off his feet as he slid a few feet back. Ash knew Gigalith at his limit and would have to think fast.
"Gigalith, give it all you got. Flash cannon." Ash ordered.
"Break through with brick break." Drayden ordered.
Gigalith powered up his internal energy as Salamence's frontal limbs were covered in white energy and flew at Gigalith. When Salamence was 6 feet from Gigalith, Gigalith fired off the Flash cannon with force enough to rattle him and nearby ground. Salamence was pushed back hard before she regained her momentum and moved forward, cutting through the massive attack.
As Salamence slashed through the attack and attacked Gigalith, an explosion took place. When the dust cleared, both were unable to battle.
"Salamence and Gigalith are unable to battle." The referee declared.
"Thanks for your work Gigalith." Ash said as he returned Gigalith.
"You did well. You pushed back my first set of dragons, without losing most of your pokemon. But here comes your real test." Drayden said as he threw out his pokeball, from which Druddigon came out.
Ash looked shocked for a moment before he slightly bowed his head and smiled.
"I wouldn't expect anything less and wouldn't give anything else." Ash said as he raised his head, his eyes full of fire. "Then let's do this, go Krookodile."
Krookodile came out as he stood tall and strong, flexing himself.
"His first three pokemon were dragon types, but never true dragons like his Haxorus was." Cilan said. "We are in for a treat."
"Druddigon, dragon pulse." Drayden ordered.
"Counter with your dragon claw." Ash ordered.
Druddigon roared as he spewed out a beam of energy on Krookodile, whose both hands' claws glowed blue. Krookodile raised his right hand and slashed down across the beam. Then, he proceeded to spin and used the back of his left hand to slash once more across the beam, dissipating it completely this time.
"Charge beam." Drayden ordered.
As Krookodile continued to go at Druddigon with his right claws coated in blue energy, Druddigon unleashed a strong beam of charge onto Krookodile. The move caused no damage but the blow was enough to stop the assault and his momentum. Following the attack, a blue aura rose around Druddigon while a red aura rose around Krookodile. Druddigon's special attack was raised.
"Krookodile, stone edge." Ash ordered.
"Dragon claws." Drayden countered, crossing his arms.
Druddigen's right claws glowed and lengthened with bluish white energy as he swiped the incoming rocks from Krookodile. Most rocks disintegrated from one swipe alone as Druddigon advanced forward and got Krookodile by the throat and slammed him into the ground in a blink.
"Crunch." Ash ordered.
Before Druddigon could retreat, Krookodile latched on the hand that caught him by the throat. Druddigon grunted as pulled his hand out, but it resulted in pulling up Krookodile.
"Dragon claw." Ash ordered.
Displaying his speed and incredible jaw power, Krookodile tossed Druddigon's hand with such force that Druddigon was lifted above the ground before he was hit under the chin by a dragon claw. The attack toppled Druddigon and made him skid a few feet on his back.
"Stone edge." Ash called.
"Dragon pulse." Drayden called.
Druddigon rolled up and stopped skidding as he got into a crouch position while Krookodile made floating rings of stones around him and launched them at Druddigon. Druddigon took a deep breath and spewed a powerful dragon pulse that obliterated all of the stones and pushed Krookodile back.
"Stone edge." Ash called again. Krookodile blasted another volley of stones at Druddigon like before, just from a few meters behind his previous position.
"Charge beam." Drayden ordered.
Druddigon collected a yellow orb of energy in front of him as he blasted it onto the incoming rocks. Followed by a blue aura surrounding Druddigon.
"Aerial ace." Ash followed.
Krookodile locked his aim at the attacking Druddigon and shot forward. Druddigon was able to destroy all the stones but couldn't attack Krookodile who slipped past Druddigon and turned back, spreaded his hands and hit the back of Druddigon's head with his outstretched elbow.
Druddigon toppled over but Krookodile was clutching his elbow, seeing as it was brown with a small gash.
"Rough skin. Druddigon's ability is rough skin." Iris exclaimed as she saw the gashes.
"Krookodile must not have felt it before when he was healthy. So, that means, Krookodile is in trouble." Cilan exclaimed.
"Druddigon, Iron tail." Drayden ordered.
Druddigon's tail took a white coating as he swiped it at Krookodile's gut who wasn't able to dodge it in time and was sent flying before he stabilized himself and skidded back.
Krookodile clutched his gut as he roared, a strong red aura surrounded him, which made Ash's smile widen.
"Krookodile, Stone edge." Ash ordered.
"Dragon claw." Drayden ordered.
This time though, the stones were launched at blinking speeds and Druddigon's dragon claws were unable to keep up with the volley.
"Use Crunch." Ash ordered.
"Charge beam." Drayden ordered.
Druddigon blasted the charge beam into Krookodile's open jaw, but Krookodile just snapped his mouth shut and dissipated the attack. This time though there was no blue aura.
Krookodile just snapped at Drussigon's hand as Druddigon roared out in pain, before tossing Druddigon a few feet into the air.
"Dragon claw." Ash ordered.
"Dragon claw." Drayden ordered.
Krookodile smirked as he leapt towards Druddigon with his claws charged blue with Druddigon's claws lengthening with blue energy. But when both clashed, the impact sent a boom across the battlefield as Druddigon was sent flying back.
"Aerial ace." Ash ordered.
"Dragon claw." Drayden countered.
Krookodile landed for a brief second before he pushed his legs hard into the ground and leapt at Druddigon, who landed and was skidding across but pushed himself forward towards Krookodile with large claws of draconic blue energy. Both attacks collided and the impact sent both of them flying back to their trainer's feet.
"Druddigon and Krookodile were unable to battle." The referee declared.
"That's it. I thought the red aura had a slight color match, but chalked it up to my imagination. But it seems the iron tail, which was a critical hit, not only activated Krookodile's 'Anger point', maxing out his attack but also dropped the defense of Krookodile." Cilan remarked.
"Wow, to tell that in the middle of battle from a slight discoloration, how amazing is it?" Iris wondered.
"Thanks Krookodile. You did your best and made me proud." Ash said as he returned his Krookodile, "That was just the beginning isn't it?"
Drayden narrowed his eyes slightly at Ash's question as his head bowed slightly and his body started trembling slightly, which made Drayden confused as to why. But then Ash proceeded to lift his head and laugh out, clutching his stomach.
Drayden was now completely confused with what was happening, and why Ash was laughing like he saw the greatest joke over.
"Let's get this done, shall we?" Ash asked.
"Haxorus, enter." Drayden released his entrusted Haxorus, still shaky on what happened.
"Well, let us do this buddy." Ash said as Pikachu nodded enthusiastically and jumped down onto the battlefield, wildly sparking his cheeks from crouch position, making tentacles from the sparks with a wild grin.
'Ash's Pikachu isn't normal, his mastery of electricity is on par with legendaries themselves.' Drayden thought as he looked at the seemingly wild tentacles, which were crafted by Pikachu himself.
Ash just grinned wider as he completely turned his hat to back.
"Earthquake." Drayden ordered.
"Back down with quick attack." Ash ordered.
Haxorus stomped her feet as a tectonic wave of power rushed outwards, breaking all the ground in its way .Pikachu ran outwards from the wave, but it was futile as the wave was getting near and Pikachu will have no more space.
"Iron tail." Ash ordered.
Pikachu used all his momentum and leapt to crash down on the ground in front with an Iron tail that created enough vibrations to momentarily clash with the earthquake as Pikachu launched himself like a rocket towards Haxorus.
"Rock smash." Drayden ordered.
Haxorus's tusk glowed scorching red as she clashed with the Iron tail. But the momentum behind Iron tail was far too great for her to measure upto. The impact from collison created a shockwave that had nearly the same power as the earthquake while Haxorus skidded a few feet back.
"Pikachu, thunderbolt." Ash ordered.
"Dragon claw." Drayden ordered.
Pikachu unleashed a powerful, earth shattering thunderbolt as he landed onto Haxorus, who slashed at it with dragon claw. The attack caused the thunderbolt to dissipate.
"Dual chop." Drayden ordered.
Haxuros's tusks glowed green as she attacked Pikachu with a dual chop. Pikachu moved away to dodge it but the speed was too much and he was hit by the second chop. Pikachu fell to his knee,clutching his gut where the stroke was but stood up again.
"Dragon claw." Drayden ordered.
"Thunderbolt." Ash countered.
Haxorus charged with her right hand while Pikachu released a twin bolts of electricity from both of his sacs. Both collided in front of the dragon claw, creating an impact that made Haxorus reel her arm back as another bolt impacted on her chest, tumbling her to ground.
"Earthquake." Drayden ordered.
"Spring up with iron tail." Ash ordered.
Haxorus slapped the ground with her tail as an earthquake rushed outwards while Pikachu used his iron tail as a springboard to launch upwards.
"Electroball." Ash ordered.
Once he reached the maximum height, Pikachu discharged a huge amount of current into his tail as he descended upon Haxorus.
"Dragon claw." Drayden ordered.
"Now." Ash ordered.
Pikachu twirled and shot his electro ball as Haxorus clashed it with her claws, but what she didn't expect was to have a thunderbolt from above make the ball exploud in a frenzy of thunder onto her. The thunder raked through her entire being, dissipating the dragon claws.
When the attack ended, Pikachu stood in front of the smoking Haxous, panting slightly but nonetheless had a cheeky smile.
"Haxorus" Drayden said as Haxorus lifted her head and glared at Pikachu. "Dual chop."
Haxorus pounced on Pikachu as she charged her tusks and rotated just as she was about to hit Pikachu.
"Dodge with quick attack." Ash ordered.
Pikachu gathered the white energy into him as he sped up and ran away from Haxorus. Haxorus crashed but continued to pursue Pikachu.
"Earthquake, destroy the landscape." Drayden said as his eyes glowed with anticipation and strength.
Haxorus unleashed an earthquake unlike before. The attack was massively under-refined but the strength was enough to prop up random cracks across the surface. This made Pikachu's speed in quick attack go from blindingly invisible to streaks of yellow blur.
"It is time for our play then. Swipe the floor clean." Ash ordered.
Pikachu got the meaning as he powered up even more, which was reckless as more speed on such a broken field would make him crash painfully into the ground.
And soon enough, Pikachu slipped as his left frontal leg swirled and he was going to topple onto the floor. But the unexpected happened as Pikachu charged up his Iron tail and used the toppling to swipe across the scape.
The iron tail's impact made the ground crack even more as many rocks and molds of dirt shot onto Haxorus.
"Rock smash." Drayden ordered.
Haxuros's tusks once again glowed red as she smashed through all the projectiles, but Pikachu was once again nowhere to be seen.
"Electroball." Ash ordered.
That was when Drayden recognised where Pikachu was. Pikachu was ten feet above the ground and just between himself and Haxorus's back.
"Dragon claw, behind your back." Drayden ordered.
Pikachu unleashed all his momentum into a condensed ball of thunder as he shot it like a super fast baseball at Haxorus. Haxorus charged her dragon claws against the electroball.
But the moment the ball made contact, Haxorus was pushed back several feet back before she was able to stop the attack. But even then the attack exploded and the blast pushed Haxorus off her feet, sliding on her back.
"Iron tail." Ash ordered.
"Earthquake." Drayden ordered.
Pikachu ran forward as the earthquake neared him and jumped at the last moment. But Drayden knew it was impossible to leap the distance between Pikachu and Haxorus, thus Pikachu will have to land and take the hit.
As expected, Pikachu landed on his right foreleg, taking the blow all the way to the tail but just like before he swirled around and projected with his tail at the front onto Haxorus's legs.
Haxorus didn't have enough time to compute the action as she was hit in the leg by Pikachu. Haxorus cried out as she landed on her knees. But that was when sparks raked through her body, paralyzing her.
"End this. Thunderbolt." Ash commanded.
Pikachu charged up his strongest thunderbolt as Haxorus was completely paralyzed by the sparks on her body. And he then unleashed the attack on her, which overwhelmed with power and defeated her.
"Haxorus is unable to battle." The referee declared.
"That was awesome Pikachu. Now come back and watch the rest." Ash said as Pikachu ran back.
"Why did you lie?" Drayden fumed, he never liked any liars. And he would never give someone who would lie to look strong but only fall apart when reality hits. Such people, they are not worthy of his badge.
"No offense sir, but there is a member of my party who is raring to fight, alongside Pikachu. If the rumors are true, the pokemon you send is the one he wants to fight." Ash said as he caught on.
Drayden was intrigued and insulted. On one hand, the first three pokemon were meant to serve as a measuring stick, but the last 2 pokemon were vastly different. Only Krookodile was somewhat near his assessment, Pikachu was on another level of power unseen in any of his pokemon till now. But,
"Hydreigon? You are asking for Hydreigon?". Never did any challenger ask him for a Hydreigon. That is a monstrosity many would not fight yet again as Ash nodded, Drayden was feeling more curious. Just what is that pokemon?
"Hydreigon, time to battle." Drayden called for his three headed friend.
"Perfect, Garchomp, battle on." Ash released his Garchomp who locked his eyes on the Hydreigon and roared menacingly.
"A battle of two pseudo legendary dragons? This is a battle to behold." Cilan exclaimed, giddy with excitement.
"Garchomp, dual chop." Ash ordered.
Garchomp floated to the level of Hydreigon, then locked eyes with Hydreigon. Garchomp flew at mach speed towards Hydreigon and spun at the last second as he attacked Hydreigon with both blades, each having enough forces to push Hydreigon back a few feet.
"Dragon pulse." Drayden ordered.
Hydreigon released a beam of draconic energy onto Garchomp, who crossed his arms and took the move. When Garchomp downed his hands, it seemed like Garchomp didn't take any damage.
"Garchomp, dual chop." Ash once again ordered.
"Ice fang." Drayden countered.
Garchomp flew at mach speed, but Hydreigon kept his eyes and caught Garchomp's attack with both of his sides at side, as the middle head bit into Garchomp's neck with an ice fang. Garchomp showed mild pain before he looked down on Hydreigon and smiled.
"Brick break." Ash ordered.
The heads that stopped Garchomp's dual chops were slashed with brick break powered wings as Garchomp knee kicked the middle head with an even powerful Brick break. All three heads cried out in pain as Garchomp was released from the icy bite.
"Dragon rush." Ash ordered as Garchomp flew above Hydreigon.
"Tri-attack." Drayden ordered.
Garchomp gathered a draconic maw in front of him as he dived at Hydreigon, whose three heads fired off beams of ice, fire and thunder. Garchomp clashed with the move, causing him to lose aim as he was deflected.
"Dragon pulse." Drayden ordered.
Hydreigon reared his head back and spat a beam of energy, but Garchomp was nowhere to be found. Suddenly, he appeared behind Hydreigon and had that menacing smile again.
"Poison Jab." Ash ordered.
Garchomp proceeded to punch a poison jab to Hydreigon's back before they could turn and Hydreigon fell forward from the attack as he was poisoned.
"Poison jab? That means..." Cilan remarked happily, "He finally forgot Crunch. Thank Arceus." He said as he animatedly cried and rubbed his left elbow.
"Don't overdo it. You said it pained for only a day." Iris was annoyed at Cilan's fear of Garchomp. It is something to be awe of, not fear. Cilan on other hand wished Iris too got a bite so that she could see the picture clearly.
"Dragon pulse." Drayden ordered.
Hydreigon, furious at the backstab, unleashed a giant beam of energy on Garchomp, who was hit hard and fell down. But Hydreigon moved his head so that the beam always targeted Garchomp as he fell down.
"Ice fang." Drayden ordered after the attack ended with Garchomp on ground.
Hydreigon roared as he flew forward with an icy fang in all three of his heads.
"Dual chop. Counter mode." Ash ordered.
Garchomp opened his eyes and stood back up as he spun violently. When Hydreigon was nearby, he charged up his wings with Dual chop as the draconic ring around him attacked the three heads. All three cried in pain as they were hit with a fast blade to head.
"Dragon rush." Ash ordered.
Garchomp stopped the spinning in an instant as he dissolved the dual chop and reconfigured the draconic energy into the form of Dragon's maw as he went on to bite Hydreigon with the attack.
Hydreigon was taken back by the force of attack and flinched.
"Brick break." Ash ordered.
Garchomp charged up his hands as he brought them down on the side-heads of Hydreigon, crashing him into the ground.
"Hydreigon, Tri attack." Hydreigon once again fired up three beams of fire, ice and thunder at Garchomp who took the attack head on.
"Dragon rush." Ash countered.
As the attack ended, Garchomp charged forward with a powerful and fast dragon rush and crashed onto Hydreigon.
"Poison jab." Ash ordered.
"Crunch." Drayden countered.
Garchomp gave another jab to Hydreigon's gut as the middle head of Hydreigon crunched on the spot where the ice fang bit. The move caused Garchomp to flinch from the pain.
"Ice fang." Drayden followed.
While the middle head didn't relieve the crunch, the side heads used ice fangs on Garchomp's hand making him roar in pain.
"Dragon rush." Ash ordered.
Garchomp roared again as draconic energy surged through him and around him, the pressure making the heads lose their grip as Garchomp flew to 30 feet above the ground in a blink and released the draconic energy in form of a maw at Hydreigon. The attack was so strong that Hydreigon made a mini earthquake from crashing to earth.
"Hydreigon is unable to battle." The referee declared.
"It isn't always that people come here for an extra badge to boast about. I shut them out but your request of my strongest team intrigued me. The hardwork and handicap you put yourself so as to be on an equal footing, yet winning against me has earned you my respect." Drayden said as he presented Ash with a Legend badge.
Junior: I have an announcement of sorts to make. For those who are reading through this gruesome author notes. Jade is leaving.
Jade: Yep. I don't have any more reasons to be here. I helped Junior as he was in dumps about his first story being taken down, but since the recent Ash vs Paul was a big hit(for us at least), I am sure Junior can manage.
Junior: Not so sure about managing though. This chapter is completely written by me and you can see that some battles, umm, pale. They don't have substance and it feels like a downgrade from chapter 8.
Jade: Come out of it, both of them. Chapter 8, like I said, is your peak. You can't compare each chapter to that one, it won't measure up like I said. And this chapter may be lacking but you shouldn't depend on me that much. It is your passion, my part time hobby.
Junior: _sigh_ anyways, thanks for listening to our dumps. All my requests I had said at the end of chapter 4 have been completed. But from AO3, I got a curious request. Ash at his fullest vs elite fours and champions. Presently, that is a very lofty goal for me. Ash vs Paul was a literal justified stampede, which seems to be my speciality. But I wanna give it a try, but I ain't sure how good it will be without Jade's miraculous inputs. Like I said, I wanna give it a try and wish me luck.
Jade: And bye guys.
Junior: Until next time,
- Junior.