This is the first of two chapters today.
"Ready for this?" Ash asked.
Keldeo nodded firmly. "I am, Ash!" he said. "You've helped me out a lot, and I think I can do it!"
"Good," Ash smiled. "Should I tell you how well I did when I faced her last time?"
Keldeo frowned.
"...tell me afterwards," he decided.
"Sure thing," Ash agreed. "Okay – and remember, there's the backup if you need it."
Another nod, as Keldeo glanced down at his belt – specifically, the three Fast Balls in a neat row.
"Okay, Keldeo!" Ash said with a grin. "Let's do this!"
"Dewgong, Surf," Lorelei instructed.
Her Water-type complied, sending out a wave of water, and Keldeo's first Sacred Sword hit him on the side. Turning, Dewgong fired a Water Pulse which slapped into the second blade-beam and attenuated much of its power, then rolled to one side and fired an Ice Beam.
Lorelei waited for several seconds, as the water spread and flattened out. "Okay, now – Sheer Cold!"
Dewgong was quite some distance from his opponent, so the pulse of intense cold didn't harm Keldeo – it certainly didn't knock him out, though the arena did get a bit chilly.
What it did, though, was to freeze the water in a ring around him into cold, slippery ice. Ice which Dewgong was experienced at battling on, but which Keldeo most certainly was not.
The young Fighting-type saw the problem coming before it arrived. "Right!"
Ash saw it too. "Keldeo – try-"
What he was going to say, though, went unheard. Keldeo reared up, then – just as the wave of ice crossed under him – slammed his forehooves down onto the ice hard enough to crack it.
He pivoted forwards, taking the weight on his forelegs, and then drove his rear hooves down with the same ice-cracking force.
That got him a stable platform. He ignored the skating Dewgong for now, and swung his horn twice to fire off two scything blasts – one of them slicing a line out from Keldeo to cross just behind Dewgong, the other about a quarter turn away.
Then he fired blasts of water from his hooves down the cracks.
This course of action led to two results.
First was that Keldeo was rocketed into the air, soaring easily fifty feet into the air from the sheer force he'd put in.
The second one was that all that water went through the cracks and under the ice, lifting it up.
It fractured with an almighty BANG along the lines Keldeo had scored, and Dewgong was suddenly on a chunk of ice four inches thick and a hundred feet on a side which was rapidly tilting to vertical.
WHAM.
"That was very... Ash-like of Keldeo," Misty observed. "Guess he's been learning well."
"No kidding," Brock agreed, as Lorelei returned the Dewgong from underneath the broken ice. "Which might be a bit scary, come to think of it... I'm sure being Ash-like would make him very capable, but I fear for nearby buildings."
Keldeo twisted, hooves lashing out, and caught the Mamoswine a glancing blow as it thundered past him.
He used his Hydro Pump to brake, then multiplied himself and charged up an Aura Sphere. A chomp, and the Sphere shattered into dozens of fragments which deluged towards the shaggy-coated Ice-type.
"Mamoswine, Ancient Power!" Lorelei instructed. "Power through it!"
Mamoswine grunted agreement, horns flashing, and shot a blast of Rock-typed energy at his opponent.
Keldeo's horn swung down, flaring, and he scythed through the Ancient Power – then, as it blew two craters in the floor either side of the Water-type, he counterattacked.
Hooves drumming on the frosted ground, he charged forwards – jinking around a Mud Bomb, leaning over a bit to make the turn, before lighting his horn with Secret Sword and clashing it against Mamoswine's tusks.
"There's something..." Cobalion frowned. "I don't know. Something strikes me about Keldeo now..."
"What, that he's stronger?" Terrakion asked. "He's been doing well-"
"That's not it," Virizion interrupted. "I see it too, and I think I know what it is. Cobalion... he's come into his own. Look here."
All three Swords followed the next few moments closely.
A Jynx flared into existence on the battlefield, and Keldeo faced her down – flanks heaving, after the heavy work he'd been doing already in the battle, but steady and confident.
"...you're right," Cobalion agreed. "There was no nervous glance, there. He's quite self-confident – not just in his ability to fight, but in his ability to judge his opponent's strength."
"Oh, I get it," Terrakion said, nodding. "He's not looking to Ash for confirmation something's a good idea any more. Cool!"
"It is indeed," Virizion smiled. "It is indeed. He's grown up."
They winced as a wave of Psychic energy crashed across the battlefield – then that turned to shock, as Keldeo launched a Night Slash which punched through the psychic wave and hit Jynx a glancing blow.
"Can he do that with anything that uses his horn?" Cobalion asked. "That's quite remarkable."
"Certainly looks like it," Virizion agreed.
"Okay, when's he getting back here?" their friend asked. "I want to learn that!"
"We all do," Cobalion chuckled.
"Audine?" the Pokémon Centre's assistant nurse asked.
"No, we're just here to watch the television," Virizion told her. "But – actually, if it's not too much trouble, could we get something to eat?"
"Dino."
"Great work, Keldeo!" Ash said, sincerely. "That was amazing!"
He held out a Pokéball, and recalled the exhausted Fighting-type. He'd managed to get through Dewgong, Mamoswine and Jynx, but that last one had left him absolutely exhausted – and the arena a mess of powder-snow and icy chunks.
"Should we-" he began.
Lorelei smiled. "This has been a lot of fun so far, Mr. Ketchum. Please, continue."
"Right!" Ash agreed. "Okay – Entei, see if you can finish what Keldeo started!"
About ten minutes later, Entei managed to haul Cloyster's shell open and launch a blast of flame in through the gap.
Lorelei held up her hand in acceptance of the loss. "I'm out – good match."
"And I can take that as I want to," Entei muttered, rubbing at his spike-stuck paw. "Ow."
"Ladies and gentlemen, may I have your attention?" Mr. Goodshow called, through a PA system. "First, let's all thank Mr. Ketchum and Lorelei for that wonderful battle!"
The applause that ran around the arena was gratifying.
"Secondly – that was one reason why this series of matches are so special, with such a skilful opponent as Mr. Ketchum for our Elite Four members. But the other one is – Mr. Ketchum will only be using Legendary Pokémon."
That drew some gasps, and at least one shout of 'lucky bastard!' from the crowd which was answered by a great deal of laughter.
"Well, he's done the work..." Charles Goodshow quipped. "Next will be Bruno, the Breaker of Bricks and the Fighting-Type master of the Elite Four! Though I still don't understand the Onix..."
Another ripple of laughter.
"What's he going to send out to fight Bruno, do you think?" Casey asked, as the second member of the Elite Four took the field.
"Good question..." Pietra admitted. "Latias, maybe? That one makes sense..."
Next to them, Koji leaned forwards. "Wait... who are they?"
He pointed, and the girls followed his finger.
"Aren't those the Kimono Girls from Ecruteak?"
"Yeah!" Casey confirmed. "I met them once. They're nice..."
She frowned. "Wait. Why are they coming out on Ash's side of the field?"
One of the five girls, wearing an ornate rainbow-patterned kimono, struck two bamboo clappers together.
"May?" Norman asked, glancing over at his daughter – who seemed to be all but trembling with anticipation.
"I helped him with the ideas for this," May explained. "Wait for it..."
Ash threw the Pokéball. It was almost invisible at this distance, but then it opened and there was a great big crackling BANG from the seals attached to it. A towering cloud of white smoke erupted forth, with orange flame at the base...
And then, bursting through into the sunlight, came Ho-Oh. The blazing noonday sun reflected and refracted off his iridescent wings, spreading an aura of colour all over the stadium as his wings churned away the smoke.
"...top marks," Caroline remarked.
Casey gaped. "You're kidding me. You're... how long has he had that?"
"I'm getting the distinct impression we got off lightly," Koji said.
Ho-Oh's wings flared, and he settled down to a stately hover just above the arena floor.
"Okay, Bruno's main thing is to go for the all-out strike," Ash said, giving some last-minute advice. "That's one reason why I came up with the new move."
The firey legendary dipped his wings, then beat hard down and ascended as Bruno sent out his Hitmonlee.
"Hitmonlee!" Bruno called out. "Our big challenge is going to be doing damage fast enough – so start with a lot of it! Stone Edge!"
Hitmonlee complied, drawing one leg back and digging it hard into the ground before snap-kicking up with it – carrying a load of the rock and dirt of the arena floor, which shot up at Ho-Oh.
"Now!" Ash called.
The Rainbow Pokémon seemed to explode in a cloud of flames, which streamed upwards – and the Stone Edge went through empty air before being stopped by the Alakazam.
Bruno's head went back as he followed the flame, and blinked. "How did-"
The flames dissipated, revealing Ho-Oh much closer to the stadium roof with his wings covered in scorch marks. He called out, voice rippling in the air, and turned before spearing down a bolt of flame.
"Ho-Oh's able to heal really quickly!" Ash explained. "So I thought – why not make an artificial thermal to get out of trouble?"
"...I can see this one's going to be difficult!" Bruno called.
His Kicking Pokémon emerged from the flames somewhat the worse for wear, and he pointed up. "Okay, Hitmonlee – another Stone Edge! Aim high!"
"...well, now we know why there were those regular explosions over where Ash was training," Norman admitted, as the fiery glow of Ho-Oh's attacks cast second-shadows across the stadium.
"Impressed?" May asked, a bit smugly.
"I've been impressed for a while," Norman pointed out. "But now I'm a bit more impressed than before, certainly. And – it looks very spectacular."
"I wonder if he'd want to do some contests with you!" Caroline suggested. "I believe he's got so many Pokémon that getting them all into gym challenges might be difficult."
"...actually, I should ask him," May admitted.
Hitmonchan punched out, fist cloaked in ice, and the rosy flame splashed off his glove – the ice acting like an oven glove, preventing him from being directly contacted by Ho-Oh's attack.
"Right!" Ash called. "Ho-Oh, change in tactics!"
A cry of acknowledgement, and Ho-Oh unleashed flame again. This time, it streamed out from his tail and wings in a continuous layer, joining up to form a tornado of flame which hung in the air – whipping the air in the stadium into a breeze, then a stronger wind.
Hitmonchan's gloves came up in a high guard position, ready to block the next blast of flame – though the tornado would be harder to deal with.
"Behind you!" Bruno called out, and Hitmonchan spun with blazing speed. His fist came out, crackling with thunder, and scored a hit on Ho-Oh – then the Fire-type's talons grabbed him by the arm, and hauled him skywards.
Flying straight up through the core of the flames as they dissipated, Ho-Oh was carried skywards faster than he might have been through wing-power alone. Repeated Thunderpunches rammed into his talons, but he could handle it – then, reaching his apex, he turned around and flung Hitmonchan at the floor in a Sky Drop.
"Flaps down... engines slow... okay, I think we're about ready ta land, Jessie!"
Jessie nodded, and shifted the joystick slightly. The big aircraft seemed to float in the air for a moment as it flared, shedding speed and height, then touched down with a gentle bump.
The bumping got less gentle a moment later as they jostled their way to a landing on the grass strip, but it was a lot better than it could have been.
"Phew!" Jessie said, relieved. "This thing's a lot more intimidating than a balloon or submarine, at least they don't tend to crash if you do nothing..."
Meowth shrugged. "Hey, it ain't like we'd hit da ground, not with Abra on board."
Jessie nodded. "True..."
A trail of flame went past, and Moltres backwinged to land just in front of them.
James staggered off, looking a bit queasy.
"Guess he didn't enjoy da turbulence," Meowth observed. "Okay, we're in Hoenn again, now what?"
"Well, going by what Team Aqua and Team Magma did last time... they're not exactly subtle," Jessie observed.
She winced. "Though neither were we."
"Jessie, we got a giant firebird on da team and you been teachin' her to do aileron rolls through Cubone's bonemerangs. We ain't subtle now," Meowth said.
"Point taken."
"Okay, Onix!" Bruno said, as the Eviolite sparked to life. "Remember, you're the strongest thing on the battlefield – so go close in, you'll come off best!"
Onix coiled up, then lashed out with a cascade of rocks in a Rock Slide.
Ho-Oh cloaked himself in flame and executed a radical course change, and only one of the rocks hit him – though that one hit plenty hard enough.
Rising, he used the flame-thermal trick to accelerate skywards faster, and levelled out nearly at the stadium roof. Solar energy flowed over his feathers, and then blazed down as an intense green Solarbeam.
Onix had an answer for that one, though. It raised a shining iron tail, and the grass-type attack reflected off in all directions – scoring lines on the field, and driving the tail back a few inches.
When the attack faded, however, Onix was still quite healthy.
Ash's response to that was a grin. "Okay, Ho-Oh! Rain Dance!"
Everyone else was a little taken aback. Pardon?
Ho-Oh, however, complied. He beat his wings once, flames crackling beneath them, and then swept his shimmering feathers outwards.
There was a kind of ripple through the air.
Overhead, clouds began to gather, blocking out the noonday sun. Within a few seconds, they had joined up and the first drops began to fall.
"No more long flights unless we have to..." James sighed.
Moltres looked a little worried. "Are you okay?"
She shook her head. "Sorry – never mind, forgot... no Meowth, no translation."
After a moment, James leaned back on the grass. "Hoenn... hm, it's been a while."
Seeing Moltres looking curious, he expanded. "Last time around... yeah, it kind of got confusing. But at the same time, it was pretty fun, some of it – this is where Jessie got into Contests."
"That explains why she's been working on making my moves showy," Moltres mused.
"Actually, this is about the time we lost Arbok and Weezing," James said. "Not having that happen again... it was poachers," he filled in.
"How ironic."
"And then we got Cacnea, and Seviper... now Seviper was kind of funny. Jessie captured Seviper by beating her up herself..."
James blanched, as the memory touched something off. "Whoops... hey, Jessie!"
"What?" Jessie called back from the plane.
"We're going to need to head to my parents' summer house in Sinnoh! I forgot Carnivine!"
Jessie looked aghast. Then she threw the flight manual at him. "Couldn't you have remembered that before we flew all the way down here?"
Moltres couldn't quite hold in a giggle.
As the rain intensified, Ho-Oh shook his wings out and rode the wind.
Unlike certain other Fire-types, rain was not a problem for him – he preferred the sun, but there were no exposed flames to harm.
But... there were certain advantages.
Half-hidden by the drumming rain, he charged up his attack.
"Ready?" Ash called, a moment later.
The Fire-type nodded, knowing Ash at least could see him perfectly.
"Weather Ball!"
In his enthusiasm, Ho-Oh may have overcharged the Weather Ball slightly. It drew in all the water currently falling through the stadium into one ball as he fired it, and then slammed that considerable mass into Onix at equally considerable speed.
Mud went everywhere.
As Bruno recalled his last Pokémon, the rain dwindled to a patter before stopping entirely.
Exactly this situation was what Ho-Oh was well known for, and he did not disappoint. His feathers glowed as the sun broke through the clouds, and he came spiralling down with a rainbow trailing him from the top of the arena to barely above the floor of the stadium.
Then, just as he passed Ash's box, he flared. Landed. Raised his head, and let out a long cry with wings and tail spread.
That done, he nodded courteously to Ash, who returned him.
"We're certainly having a treat today," Norman smiled. "Do you know who's next?"
"I'd have thought you'd know, Norman," Caroline teased. "You're the Gym Leader."
"Not of around here I'm not," Norman pointed out.
"It's obviously Agatha next," Max frowned. "But who's Ash going to use to battle her?"
"At this point I wouldn't be surprised if he sent out Lugia..."
"Oh, he can," May assured him matter-of-factly. "He doesn't talk about it much, but even last time he helped save Lugia – Brock told me once, he wasn't there but Misty told him..."
Norman blinked, but had become almost inured to Ash stories by now. "I see. Do you think he'll use Lugia here?"
May frowned.
"I think no," she began, but before she could explain why she though that she was interrupted.
The crowd began to murmur as Agatha stepped up, before swelling as she sent out her first Pokémon – a big, black Gengar.
In reply, Ash gestured.
For a long moment, nothing happened. Then a white and purple form stepped onto the field from one of the tunnels, with an odd gliding step that suggested it was more floating-at-ground-level than walking per se.
Greetings, Mewtwo broadcast.
The crowd went very quiet.
Yes, I know, I know. It's all a bit surprising. Mewtwo spread his hands, and rose a few feet into the air. He's a very hands-off trainer.
"Ready?" Ash called.
Suppose so.
Turning to face Agatha's Gengar, Mewtwo gathered energy into his palms. Let's see how this works out.
"So?" Ritchie asked, gazing down over Hoenn. "What do you think? Should we do this place next?"
Zippo shrugged, giving his wings a shake.
"I think so," his Raichu volunteered. "It's got Water and Flying gyms, which is a definite plus."
Another grumble from Zippo.
"Oh, come on..." Ritchie chuckled, patting the flank of his Charizard. "There's a Fighting gym, you're not just a Fire-type."
"Fair enough," the Charizard sighed. "Should we head back down?"
"In a bit," Ritchie denied. "I like flying up here."
Sparky coughed. "You realize that Ash's third match should be on by now?"
For a couple of seconds, Ritchie did nothing.
Then he pointed down. "Okay, Zippo, enough flying for now! Let's get back to the Pokémon centre!"
Chuckling, Zippo folded in his wings and dove. The wind whistled around him and his passengers, going from a breeze to a gale in moments, and he stooped down towards Slateport's main Pokémon Centre.
As the ground rushed up, Ritchie waited until Zippo was slowing down and then hopped off the side. A burst of psychic energy braked the rest of his fall, and he hurried into the Centre to watch the main screen.
Mewtwo made a seemingly-lazy gesture, and a huge pulse of energy roared out towards Gengar.
The Ghost-type responded by swooping out of the way, letting the attack expend itself on the floor of the arena, before heading underground.
"Okay, Mewtwo!" Ash said. "You know what to do!"
I do indeed. Mewtwo gathered shadowy, ghostly energy in his hands, and then thrust them down towards the floor. Shadow sweep!
Dozens of Shadow Balls cascaded from his fingers, reaching the ground and phasing through it just as Gengar had done. They moved in a complicated pattern, appearing and disappearing for several seconds and tracing a space underground so that Gengar had nowhere to hide that would not be intercepted by a Shadow Ball at least once.
The whirling balls produced a purple haze in the air for a few seconds, and at the end of it Gengar emerged somewhat the worse for wear.
"Watch out, he's not done yet!" Ash called. "Psystrike!"
Mewtwo gestured, and the Gengar was driven into the wall by a hammerlike blast of energy.
There we go, he said, pleased. One down, four to go.
The second Pokémon Agatha sent out was a new one to Ash and Mewtwo both. It was almost like a sword and shield joined together, with the shield held in one 'arm' and the other one – a tassel-like appendage – clearly visible.
"Dexter?" Ash asked.
That is an Aegislash. It's got the move King's Shield – if you hit it when it's blocking with the shield, it drains energy.
"Thanks. Mewtwo, stay clear when it's defending!"
Thank you for the advice, Mewtwo said somewhat tartly. And should I keep breathing, too?
He clenched his fist, and frowned.
"What is it?" Ash asked.
I can't manage a Psystrike any more. How-
"Grudge!" Ash realized. "Gengar used Grudge on you – I guess we'll have to watch out for that one in future..."
Very true. I can see this could be harder than I-
Aegislash brought its shield up to the defensive position. Then, startling both Ash and Mewtwo, it charged at him.
What the!? Mewtwo asked, and backed away to keep the range open. Aegislash followed, pommel-eye glowing, and Agatha cackled.
Ash was frowning. "So I guess you can't attack it... uh... can you throw stuff at it from a distance?"
I think so. Mewtwo reached down to the arena floor, getting as firm a grip as he could while being chased by the surprisingly mobile animated weaponry, and made a sharp upwards gesture – making the arena floor crumble into dust.
Mewtwo's power reached out to enfold it, and he drew the dust and sand towards him – then set it whirling around his body at close range, forming a kind of ersatz sandstorm through which Aegislash would have to pass.
The King's Shield Pokémon promptly did so, abrading badly in the high-speed sandshield but reaching Mewtwo to deliver a shield bash.
Mewtwo flinched back from the feeling of the impact. What – that hurt! More than it should have!
"I see!" Ash called up, as Mewtwo swooped away from Aegislash to gain more distance. "It's making itself hit you so the King's Shield thing happens!"
That's just annoying! Mewtwo frowned, and this time a much larger chunk of rock came flying up and cannoned into Aegislash.
It clattered back to the floor after that, shield askew, and Mewtwo had a moment to feel satisfied before it vanished.
Not wasting so much as a moment, he launched out a spherical Dark Pulse which filled the whole arena with night-black and purple-blue shadows.
"Left!" Ash called, and Mewtwo saw a black-glowing blade swinging itself at him from the side. The shield was in one of the tassel-arms, revealing the wicked blade aimed for his shoulder.
Reacting quickly, Mewtwo managed to use an intense Reflect shield to prevent the Night Slash from connecting with him. The Dark-type attack eroded through it almost instantly, but Mewtwo reinforced it with a rush of compressed air that formed a physical shield in its place.
A backhanded Psychic, and he knocked Aegislash to the arena floor again.
"King's Shield!" Agatha called. "Now, Rest!"
The shield blocked the blade once more, and then Aegislash's pommel eye closed.
This seems- Mewtwo began.
"Dodge!"
Mewtwo teleported out of the way, trusting Ash to only tell him that if there was a need. That trust was borne out a bare second later, as Aegislash launched forwards a Hyper Beam.
Ah. Sleep Talk, Mewtwo realized, as he saw Aegislash was still asleep.
This was going to be a complicated battle, he could tell.
Giovanni leaned back in his seat.
"You know," he observed, and Persian looked up with sleepy eyes. "That is getting your money's worth."
Persian yawned, not all that bothered.
AN:
And here goes. The Exhibition Matches.
Let's see...
We've seen Lorelei before, some four hundred thousand odd words ago. Same team, different opponents.
Bruno... Bruno's an odd one. Fighting? Not fighting?
In any case, Ho-Oh (technically Ash's first catch in this timeline!) has some new moves to show off.
And then there's Agatha. Yes, Sleep Talk keeps it in shield mode.
She's got a number of tricks up her sleeve...
Meanwhile, Giovanni is pleased Mewtwo isn't trying to go Old Testament on Team Rocket. Or the world, come to that.
