Ash had practically screamed herself hoarse by the time she called Pikachu out to the field, the last of her team who would be facing down the last opponent all by himself. It was time to bring out the big guns, and reveal what they'd been working on.
Titania, Oberon, and Alto had all fought hard and extremely well－Matt's Drapion had been beaten by Titania who was then taken out by his Toxicroak, which had been crushed beneath Oberon's psychic-powered stadium drop. As in, he'd torn up the entire battle field and basically drop kicked it at the frog. And then Matt had brought out his ace, a Haxorus. The massive, powerful dragon had immediately shown that the gap in strength between it and Salamence was significant, and it had bulldozed through her Espeon's psychic hold like there was nothing happening at all.
So now it was Pikachu against Haxorus. She'd be lying if she said she had a good feeling about this match up, but in the end it didn't matter－they'd already decided to give it everything they had.
"Alright, Pikachu, let's do this! Magnet Rise!" She shouted, pumping her fist in the air as she let the tension fall away and be replaced by the excitement for this final battle.
"Pika!" Her partner cackled, a low humming sound rising as he jumped on his tail and hovered in place, making their opponents eyes' widen. Sparks flew around him, making his small form ever so slightly more intimidating.
Haxorus roared, and charged.
Thus began a long game of chase, Pikachu's natural agility combined with Agility making it impossible for the massive dragon to catch him. And every turn he made, Pikachu pulled up a Grass Knot, lacing each and every one with Steel type energy. It was all part of the plan, the one they'd been working on for months.
Then he started pulling up larger Grass Knots, coated in Toxic, these ones actively going after the Dragon type, wrapping around its limbs and reaching for its snapping jaws. The armored scales of a Dragon type made them difficult to poison in most cases, but if you could get one to ingest even a little bit of a Poison type move, it put them on a time limit－something Ash desperately needed if they were to win this by some miracle.
The Feathers pulsed in time with her rapidly beating heart.
"OUTRAGE!"
"PULL BACK!" She screamed as soon as Matt's command registered in her brain. Pikachu zipped high, getting some distance between himself and the furious dragon that was now having what looked like the most terrifying tantrum ever caught on national TV. The ground beneath them shuddered, ruptured, Haxorus' tail bashing down and making tall, sharp spires of rock shoot upwards－shit, it knew Stone Edge. "Stay alert! Don't let any of those hit you, and start getting ready for the Storm!"
As directed, Pikachu started pulling up enough Grass Knots to practically cover the field, coating them in Steel type energy－that had been the hardest to train, creating and controlling that many from a distance. But Pikachu had worked and worked and trained himself into the ground to be able to do this, and even though he was tiring, this move would be so worth it.
It didn't look like much, she knew, just a sea of greenery that was somehow surviving Haxorus' rampage as he tried to get Pikachu close enough to Bite, but it was the set up for the fireworks. The announcer was even commenting on the strange choice of move, but she couldn't hide her grin.
Matt noticed, eyed the Grass Knots warily, but there was no way he could have expected what was about to happen. No one could have, really, except Surge, who had helped her develop the entire technique, so he really didn't count.
Ash silently begged Pikachu to hold out just a little longer, build up the Steel type energy coated Grass Knots just a little more. Her little trooper was panting now, losing a bit of speed as he began to run low on energy. Finally she knew they couldn't stall any longer－it was now or never.
"ELECTRICAL STORM!"
Pikachu let out a cry of exertion, pouring lightning onto the ground where it was then picked up by the modified Grass Knots like a relay race of doom. Dense white light flashed, the entire field lighting up and enveloping Haxorus in a gigantic dome of electricity, which was getting stronger as it constantly cycled through the Steel type energy and Pikachu put more effort into it. It looked like a miniature apocalypse, a high pitch screeching tearing through the air.
Soon enough lightning bolts began to pull away from the dome, the magnetic field created by the metal coated Grass Knots unable to contain the sheer force of electricity within it; with an eardrum-bursting explosion, the move came undone, a pillar of lightning and thunder shooting up from the center of the dome where the magnetic field was the weakest. Dirt and rocks billowed outwards, obscuring everyone's vision, and Ash blinked furiously to clear the spots from her eyes. The move hadn't gone quite like she'd hoped, but it was their first time actually using it in live combat, so she was more than happy with it.
But note to self, work on that magnetic field…
Pikachu wobbled on his feet, having no more energy left at all. He looked to be keeping himself upright through sheer willpower alone.
Across from him, Haxorus was shifting slightly, its hide scorched in more places than it wasn't, and while it certainly wasn't looking great, Ash felt her heart sink a bit. Even though she'd known her chances of winning were slim, she'd still thought… hoped that maybe she could do it, that she could end her first year as a trainer with at least a Conference victory.
They'd worked so hard, but Matt's final wall had been a little too high, even for her ambitions.
Her partner－so stubborn, so determined－caught himself the first time his body gave out on him, but not the second.
"Pikachu is unable to battle! Matt Davis wins!"
Above the distant roaring of the crowd, Ash heard her opponent call out a 'Good battle!' to her, but all she could do was nod and give him a short wave before running over to her exhausted partner, who was out cold. Carefully picking him up－he wasn't injured at all, thankfully, had just spent every last bit of energy he had for a last ditch effort to win－she was aware enough to at least wave to the cheering crowd before jogging back to the tunnel entrance. She needed to have Nurse Joy look over her team before anyone got to her, wanting some time to process her loss.
She couldn't get over how close it had been. It was a new experience－not the loss, no, Sabrina had beaten Matt to that ages ago, it was the nagging feeling that she could have won if she'd just worked harder－and she rather disliked it.
Using her aura to avoid running into anyone on the way, Ash tried to calm herself, ease the heavy disappointment that weighed heavily on her shoulders. She'd really thought they could win their first League… It wasn't that she was unhappy with the way her team had battled, not at all, she was so ridiculously proud of them her heart felt like it could burst. It was her own choices and commands during that last battle she was second-guessing.
This feeling… she wasn't used to it at all.
XxXxX
Max frowned as he looked for Ash, hoping to tell her how cool her last battle was even if she didn't win. Technically he wasn't supposed to be out wandering alone, but he had Eevee with him so he thought it was fine, because he wasn't really alone. Still, it was getting kind of dark and he wanted to hurry up and find her so they could go back and eat dinner together. He had so many questions－
A low, mellow note pulled the young boy's attention away from his thoughts, some kind of flute flowing over the wind. His breath hitched at the near-haunting sound, even as it comforted and relaxed him. The melody was slow, less a tune and more of a story. Captivated by it, Max and Eevee glanced at each other and decided to find the source. Ducking beneath a nearby tree with low hanging branches, the pair found themselves on a hidden path that seemed to snake its way behind the buildings of the Indigo village, a five minute walk to a small lake.
On a boulder jutting partway out of the water was Ash, a weirdly shaped seashell pressed to her lips, and with a slight start Max realized that the shell was actually some sort of instrument, and it was Ash playing that breathtaking song. Her team was scattered around her－some still with bandages, all looking exhausted even after what must have been a long stay with Nurse Joy－listening to the song with closed eyes.
Max faltered, suddenly feeling like maybe he should just leave Ash be for a little longer, but Eevee trotted over to join the circle of Pokemon. The young boy followed slowly, still entranced by the music, not daring to speak. There was just something about the whole scene that made his normally frantic analytical mind ease, slow down and see.
He'd admired Ash ever since he saw her first battle, where she and her Pokemon had total control of the flow of battle and how proven that even a young trainer could be successful. Kids at his school had all bullied him for being smart, telling him that his 'nerdiness' wouldn't actually help him on a journey. But Ash was obviously smart (strategies on strategies, amazing planning, that custom move Electrical Storm that he was still working on picking apart to understand), and she'd made it to second place in her first conference.
She'd even taught him more about Pokemon, about the parts that couldn't be learned from his books, about them as individuals instead of stats. So he admired her, wanted to be like her－strong and unstoppable. But right here and now, she looked… sad. Maybe that she lost? But Max knew that she'd done better than pretty much any first year trainer could have hoped! His dad had said so.
He started when the song cut off, blinking rapidly like he'd just been doused with cold water. Realizing that Ash was now staring at him, he offered a sheepish grin, finally feeling able to approach.
"Everyone's been looking for you," he told her as he scrambled up onto the rock, reaching out to pick up Eevee. "To tell you how good you did."
Ash's eyes drifted off to the side for a moment before falling to the seashell flute in her hands. "I… think I could have done better."
"What do you mean? You and your team were awesome!"
"I doubted we could win this battle," she said, like it was some kind of crime. "I doubted and because of that I didn't do the best I could have because I was afraid we'd lose anyways."
"Char!" Charmander pressed his clawed hands to her leg, sharp protests being cut off by a gentle pat to the head.
"It was my fault," she said firmly.
Max was floored. He'd seen lots of battles, in person, through videos… sometimes he'd seen people who lost blaming their Pokemon, or the rules of the battle, or their opponent. Some people just brushed it off. But never had the young boy seen somebody blaming themselves for losing a Pokemon battle for not believing in their team.
But something about it made sense. Confidence was an important factor in battle, right? And believing in your Pokemon was like having confidence in them. That made sense to him, that if you didn't then you wouldn't fight at your best.
"Well then you just have to believe in them next time," he pointed out, oblivious to the way his idol stared at him for a good long moment. With that matter 'solved', he was more interested in the seashell flute. "Anyways, what's that seashell? How do you play it?"
Ash huffed out a slight laugh, and proceeded to teach him about the ocarina and the finger placements.
XxXxX
AN: Sorry for not having many updates, work has been crazy and I regularly have to stay after my scheduled shift to cover for graveyard coworkers who just don't show up. I barely have time to shower, do laundry, and sleep. But I'm still writing bits and pieces where I can!