POKEMON HEART SOUL ADVENTURES
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Welcome to the second part of Ash' final battle with Paul, at the Sinnoh League finals! Right now, we're going to see whether Ash will manage to overcome his rival, or if he's doomed to bungle another league... I hope I did good enough in this chapter, but I'll let you be the judge on that!
Happy reading!
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Chapter 4 - Sinnoh League Finals, Part 2
"The twerp sure did a good job for now, didn't he?" James asked, looking at the new-empty arena, upon which the signs of the battle were still clearly visible. "He managed to give that little jerk a run for his money, and he's only one Pokmon behind him for now..."
"Yeah... Though I don't like to admit it, I have to say he's giving this all he's got." Jessie acknowledged, wrinkling her nose a little. Team Rocket, putting their roguish tendencies aside for now, was at the moment working on the stands, selling sandwiches, soft drinks and snacks in order to gain a little money... but even they couldn't help sparing the occasional glance towards the battle. They, too, were fervently hoping Ash would come out on top in the final confrontation, as they too were quite repulsed by the methods Paul used to train his Pokemon. "That Dig and Thunder Fang combination sure did a number on that Honchkrow, didn't it?"
"Ya know, guys, until now, I thought I would have been peeved had the twerp won the finals, but now, I'm finding myself rooting for the kid!" Meowth told them in his nasal voice. "Furthermore... just think of the extra reward we'll get if we bring a League Champion's Pokemons to the boss! An added value!"
"Hmmm... you know, Meowth, that makes a lot of sense! Heheheee... that would be an excellent idea!" Jessie answered, rubbing her chin with her slender fingers. "Can you imagine the bonus we'll get from the boss? That would be our moment of glory!"
"We could finally stop wandering around... we could eat in five-star restaurants every day, instead of swallowing those stuffy travel rations... and maybe I could even rebuild my bottle caps collection!" James exclaimed happily.
"Yeah... and I'll be the boss' favourite once again! Leaving that stupid Persian to eat his heart out!" Meowth said, sparkling comically with a dreamy expression in his oversized cat eyes. He quickly shook himself out of it, though. "Er... okay, guys, it's decided, then! We'll just stay here watching, for now... and in the meanwhile, we'll work out a plan to catch the twerp's Pokemon! You okay with that?"
"Of course, Meowth!" James answered, grinning practically from ear to ear, like a kid who is about to receive a new toy. "Wait for me, delicious delicacies, Jessie, James and Meowth are coming to you!"
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"Well, one has to admit, until now, this has been quite a pitched battle." Lucian commented as he sat on his seat of honour. Once again, the Psychic Pokemon expert could not resist the temptation of using formal, solemn words, which usually earned him more than a few confused stares. "Those two youngsters are giving an impressive show of their skills. Though, if I am allowed to express an opinion, Paul's methods of training I find excessively harsh. I am convinced most of you would share this opinion."
"Well, guess your right, Lucian... both of them have proven they can win this bout." Flint agreed. "I think next round will be a marvel to see... and if I know that Ash Ketchum boy as well as I think, he will show us just how powerful he and his Pokemon have become!"
Cynthia nodded calmly. "I'd be the first to be happy about that. That boy has made quite a lot of progress since we faced Team Galactic together." she confirmed, before adding something to herself, in her thoughts.
"That Paul guy, on the other hand, has certainly improved his technique, but he still considers his Pokemon as little more than instruments to reach his goal. I am somewhat annoyed, if I have to be frank, that such a person has managed to make it to the finals... Come on, Ash, show him just what you're made of. I know you're much more than this."
A loud whistle announcedthat the battle was about to resume, and that both finalists were being called on the arena to continue their fight! Cynthia shook herself from her thoughts and turned her full attention to the ring, anxious to see the battle reach its conclusion... and to see how Ash would have won this!
"Alright, this is it. That's the deciding moment for Ash..."
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"Thank you for staying with us, and for having waited for us to continue, ladies and gentlemen!" the announcer joyfully squealed, as both Ash and Paul returned to their respective sides of the battlefield and get ready for the next battle. The purple-haired boy's Weavile was already standing on the damaged arena floor, looking at Ash and Pikachu with a malicious grin, as if he was one-hundred per cent sure he could face anything the Kanto boy could match up against him. "Now the two finalists are back on the battlefield... and one needs to wonder, what do they have in store for us? For now, the results speak clearly - Paul is currently in the lead, having beaten three of Ash's Pokemon, and having lost only two, but if this final match is half as unpredictable as the rest of this tournament, then I think I speak for all of us when I say that we have seen nothing yet!"
The audience applauded again, and cheers and chants of encouragement were heard from the stand. "Well, well... your enthusiasm is truly commendable, everyone! So, let's not dilly-dally any more... and let's start the second part of the deciding battle between Ash and Paul, for the title of Champion of the Sinnoh League! Let the battle continue, and may the best one win!"
"Well, then ... " Ash murmured to himself as he produced his fourth Pokeball. "It's up to you, now, my friend! It's been a rather long time since we last fought together, but I'm sure you have not any of your skill! So... Go, Sceptile!"
This time, Paul's expression left space, even if only for a second, to surprise and vague concern. Sure, he had traveled through the Hoenn Pokemon as well, and he knew that continent rather well... but he had to admit to having little experience with the species of Pokemon who appeared from Ash's Pokeball, and stood in front of him and Weavile: a bipedal lizard, his skin covered with fine scales the color of the summer grass, with a long neck and two ridges on the head, yellow eyes with cat-like pupils, and a red-brown lower jaw. A band of reddish scales surrounded the reptile's stomach, like a girdle, and his long, emerald-green tail resembled nothing as much as the leaves of a fern or a palm tree. He had some strange yellow spheres growing on his back, as though they were fruits or berries, and his long arms, from which long, razor-sharp leaves protruded, ended with clawed hands. Sceptile, one of the most powerful Pokemon Ash ever hadin his team, rose in all of his considerable stature, standing on the battlefield... and then threw his head back and roared!
"TIIIIILE!"
An exclamation of surprise and wonder arose from the public, who shortly after exploded in another round of applause, while the somewhat puzzled Paul was trying to assess the situation. Sure, he was facing a Grass-type Pokemon, which meant that, in theory, his opponent was quite against his Weavile's Ice-type attacks... but he was too experienced a trainer not to expect Sceptile to have some kind of countermeasure against his own type weaknesses... Unfortunately, Paul had not had much experience with that particular Pokemon species, and he didn't have a very clear idea of what to do. He could only try out an attack, hoping he would be able to take down his opponent quickly enough.
"Hm... fine, then!" Paul commented, trying not to betray any indecision. "Weavile, use an Ice Punch on that Pokemon. Let's get this over with quickly!"
"Weavile!" the feline Pokemon answered, with a fierce grin. One split-second later, Weavile threw himself against Sceptile with blinding speed, his fist wrapped in an aura of bluish-white energy, apparently convinced that his type advantage would have ensured an easy victory against the Grass-type starter...
"Sceptile, use Agility!" Ash exclaimed. The mighty Grass-type reptile, who until then had simply been standing in the middle of the battle arena, as calm and stoic as an ancient samurai, moved away from his position with incredible speed, for his size... and Weavile's grin turned into a grimace when his freezing fist only struck the air in the place where the reptile was standing just a moment before! Sceptile had moved away so quickly that even Weavile could not follow his movements, and he was unprepared to defend himself when Sceptile dashed towards him and struck with a powerful Leaf Blade attack, extending the sharp leaves on his forearms and getting in three rapid slashes that staggered the cat-like Pokemon! Weavile was able to remain standing, crouching down on one knee and placing one clawed hand on the ground, while Sceptile landed behind him in an elegant fight pose, then turned around and stood on guard once again. Thanks to Weavile's Ice type, the Leaf Blade had done less damage than it usually would, but the fact that Sceptile was able to get in such a quick and unexpected attack had shaken both Weavile's and Paul's confidence - albeit the latter was better at hiding it.
However, the purple-haired boy was not the type of person to get worried for a temporary disadvantage. "Continue attacking, Weavile! Use Aerial Ace once again!" he ordered, determined not to waste time. The cat-like Pokemon let out an annnoyed meow and leapt towards Sceptile, drawing his sharp claws to deal a fatal blow...
"Use Detect, Sceptile!" Ash exclaimed, knowing that this was the only reliable way to dodge that kind of attack. The lizard extended his arm-blades and blocked Weavile's claws, which clashed upon his defense with an almost metallic sound, then shoved away the lighter Pokemon, forcing it to land on the arena with an acrobatic jump. Ash could see that, for the moment, the defensive strategy he had adopted was enough and decided to go for a little more pressure...
"Perfect, Sceptile... and now, follow it up with a Slam attack!" Ash ordered. Sceptile smirked in understanding and, once again demonstrating a much greater speed than could be expected from such a Pokemon, closed in on Weavile and spun on himself, hitting the black Pokemon with his huge leaf-like tail! Weavile cried out and was tossed on the square ... but almost immediately, he got back to his feet and, in an attempt to catch up, repeated the earlier Aerial Ace attack, and this time he managed to get through Sceptile's defenses and score a solid blow! Ash's eyes went wide open as he saw his Hoenn champion getting staggered... but fortunately, Sceptile managed to keep his footing and slid back intto a guarding position!
"Don't let him catch up with you, Weavile." Paul coldly ordered, deciding that the time was due for a change of strategy. "Attack him with Icy Wind and try to reduce his speed." The Dark / Ice typed Pokemon grinned again... then, he opened his fanged mouth and breathed out a gust of wind mixed with freezing snowflakes and ice crystals! Sceptile crossed his arms in front of himself, in an attempt to deflect the blow, but such a defense proved ineffective, as the Grass-type reptile felt his joints becoming heavy and painful as the intense cold took its toll on him. Ash grit his teeth... although reluctantly, he had to admit that Paul had chosen the ideal countermeasure! Now, it was unlikely that Sceptile's speed could keep up with Weavile's... and this meant that the young trainer from Pallet had to develop another strategy on the fly, if he wanted to defeat Paul's Pokemon...
...
Wait a minute!
Another strategy? Of course! How he had not thought of before?
"Sceptile, try to resist that attack! I know that you can do it!" Ash exclaimed, in an attempt to encourage the Grass Pokemon. Sceptile slightly turned his head towards him and nodded in assent, and kept pushing against the chilling wind, despite being covered in a thin sheet of freezing snow. Finally, Paul decided he'd had enough of that struggle, and at that point Sceptile was weakened enough that the next attack, provided it was a decent one, would have defeated him easily.
"Hmph. Again with these statements of trust and affection towards your Pokemon? These mean nothing, if you don't have the skills to back them up." Paul commented icily. "Weavile, let's wrap this up with Night Slash!"
Weavile grinned again and quickly approached Sceptile, preparing to strike him down with his claws while he seemed unable to react.
Unfortunately for Weavile, it only seemed so... and when Paul and Weavile understood they had fallen into a trap, it was too late for them to do anything about it!
"Sceptile... Focus Blast, NOW!" Ash exclaimed. Weavile's eyes widened in surprise and horror, while the Grass-type reptile drew back his hand and summoned a huge, glowing energy sphere in his palm! Before Weavile could reach him, Sceptile brought his hand forward, dissiipating the blanket of snow he was covered in, and threw the energy projectile against Weavile, striking him head-on! The Focus Blast exploded with a deafening roar and a spectacular light show that almost lit up the whole arena, as if it was broad daylight, and both the two trainers and Pikachu had to cover their eyes in order not to be dazzled! When they could finally see again, the first thing they saw was Paul's Weavile sprawled on the ground, bright stars orbiting above his head and his eyes turned into spirals! Weavile's dual type has spelled his defeat in front of a Fighting-type attack...
"An unexpected and devastating Focus Blast! And Weavile, taken by surprise, could not react in time and was knocked out!" exclaimed the announcer as Paul recalled his defeated Pokemon. "Now Paul has lost three Pokemon as well... so, according to the rules of the tournament, we will take another five-minute break! Stay with us, fellow Pokemon fans!"
"Great! Excellent job, Sceptile!" Ash exclaimed, raising a fist in the air as he congratulated the Grass type reptile, who at the moment was standing in the middle of the ring, his arms folded, enjoying his moment of glory. The audience as well was enthusiastic about the battle so far, and the ovations for both contestants were echoing throughout the whole stadium! Ash almost did not dare think about how much they would have cheered when the battle would reach its climax... but quickly shook his head and forced himself not to think about that. At the moment, the most important thing to do was to keep his concentration. This was the first time he had managed to put Paul in a corner like that, and now more than ever he had to be focused, give the right instructions to his Pokemon, and not let his enthusiasm betray him...
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In Kanto's Cerulean City Gym, the place where the Sensational Sisters' world-reknown performances took place every day, the teenaged stars were now sitting in front of the television, watching the contest between the two finalists with great interest. One of them, in particular, was fervently hoping for Ash to come out the winner in this battle...
"Hey, Daisy, what do you think?" asked one of the girls, rubbing her chin. "So far, those two have proven to have earned their place in the finals... do you think Ash has any good chance of winning?"
"Hmm ... I'm wondering about that myself, Violet ..." said the other girl, pretending to be undecided about it, and giving a knowing look at the younger, red-haired sister sitting on the couch next to her... "More to the point, it seems to me that there is someone here who is a looooot more interested than us in seeing how it goes... right, Misty, sister dear?"
Misty rolled her eyes. Damn those three, always bringing up the topic when it was the least appropriate...
"Come on, Daisy, Violet, Lily, how many times do I have to say that?" she answered in frustration. "Ash is just a friend, okay? It's only natural that I'm interested to see if he wins this stupid tournament or not! Even you would do the same thing if you had traveled with him for so long!"
Lily, the third of the Sensational Sisters, chuckled quietly, as she looked at the youngest of the four sisters with a sly smile. Misty, on the other hand, winced noticeably, understanding that she had just put herself in a corner!
"Hehehee... oooh, that's interesting to her! So, Misty, even you admit that you have a crush on him! From the way you talk about him... to how you say that you traveled with him for so long... you're too obvious, Mist, admit it!"
"Ugh.. what... what the heck does that have to do with anything?" Misty tried to protest. "Listen, girls... Okay, so I've been travelling with Ash for at least two years... and it's been almost as long since I last saw him in person... but I reiterate, we are just friends! Do not get strange ideas in your heads, now!"
"Okay, okay... we believe you for now!" Violet answered ironically, as she looked sideways at the youngest of the four sisters, who blushed and turned her face away with a funny indignant expression on her face, hoping that those three would just let things lie...
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The break had come and gone... and now, it was Paul's turned to send another Pokemon!
The two contestants seemed to be evenly matcheed, and the young purple-haired trainer knew he had to choose carefully if he wanted to tip the situation in his favor. After thinking for a moment, Paul grabbed a pokeball he had never used until then, and tossed it on the square.
"Hm ... all right! Torterra, it's up to you! Do not let me down!"
The ball snapped open on contact, and out came a red flash of light which, a moment later, solidified into a huge tortois, its thick carapace covered with moss, and a small but healthy tree growing from the top of its shell. Bone spikes protruded from the sides of his head and neck, as well as from the center of the carapace, and his feet looked like tree stumps with rocky claws. With a mighty roar, the tortoise took place in the center of the arena, as if issuing a personal challenge to Sceptile. It seemed that the idea of facing another Grass-type starter had further aroused Torterra's fighting instincts...
"Boy, what a surprise! This will definitely be a fight to see!" the announcer exclaimed, eager to witness this clash of titans. "Paul has decided to use the Pokemon who more than probably was his starter, to face Ash's Hoenn starter! And both are Grass-type! I think we're allowed to expect a very pitched battle, ladies and gentlemen!"
Even Ash and Sceptile knew that was not going to be an easy battle, and that they would need to use all means at their disposal to come out on top. The reptile-plant decided to start out with a prudent approach, slowly circling around his opponent, ready for anything, while Torterra kept his eyes fixed on him. The enormous turtle seemed to have an inkling already of his opponent's strength - and knew perfectly well that Sceptile could count on his speed, which Torterra certainly was lacking in! But even if he wasn't capable of matching his opponent's speed, there were still a lot of ways to address that...
"Torterra! Start out immediately, with a Sandstorm attack!" Paul ordered. Torterra grunted in assent and smashed his hind legs on the ground, then started digging furiously with his front legs, moving them with such speed that he set off a storm of debris, making them rain on the surprised Sceptile! The bipedal lizard tried to defend himself, raising his arms to shield his eyes, but the debris were too small and too numerous to stop them all, and Sceptile was hit several times from different directions!
"Ouch..." Brock commented as he watched Sceptile retreating under the Sandstorm atttack. "Once again, Paul played his cards well. He knew that Torterra could never be a match for Sceptile's speed, so he used this attack to hinder his opponent's movements. With all the debris flying around, Sceptile is incapable of moving as fast as he usually could... "
Dawn nodded, clenching her teeth a little. Sure, he was a creep... but one could not deny that Paul was an excellent trainer, and he had proved that more than once. "Yeah... Paul, in front of a Pokemon he was unfamiliar with, has been quick to understand what his strong and weak points were... and reacted accordingly!"
"Sceptile, try to sweep away those debris with Leaf Storm! Now!" Ash called out. Sceptile nodded as he continued to protect himself with his arms... Then, finally seeing a moment where the rain of debris was weakening, charged up for a split second, an green energy aura enveloing his body... then, he shot a huge vortex of wind mixed with leaves, which swept away the debris and forced them away from their target, then continued on its path and struck the huge land tortoise had on! Unfortunately, having blown the Sandstorm away, the Leaf Storm's power had been dampened, and thanks to his powerful natural defenses, Torterra did not suffer substantial damage, other than being forced to take a step back. For a couple of seconds, Sceptile was hit by a few stray debris, but he was able to recover quickly and got ready for the next attack, huffing a bit from the Leaf Storm having taken a toll on his strength.
Paul realized that Sceptile was temporarily weakened, and he and his Torterra immediately took advantage of that. "Great. Now, Torterra... hit him with an Earthquake attack!" exclaimed the purple-haired boy.
Torterra obeyed instantly and rose up on his hind legs, before dropping on the ground with all of his his weight, causing a small earthquake that brutally tossed Sceptile around! The lizard opened his arms, in a feeble attempt to keep his balance, but was struck by the seismic waved and fell on the ground, getting battered by more shockwaves. But Sceptile was not one to give up so easily, and Ash was able to keep his cool enough to think clearly... enough to use Paul's move against him!
"O. .. Okay, Sceptile, now just wait a second... and jump!" Ash ordered. Sceptile, hearing his trainer's voice, picked the right time to stand up... and then leapt up on the incoming seismic wave, which he used to give himself enough momentum and leap into the air, flying several meters above the arena! Stunned, Torterra looked up and saw Sceptile hovering elegantly above him, his leaf-blades extended and his eyes still filled with fighting spirit! Whatever Sceptile was going to do now, the huge tortoise was sure he would not like it...
"Perfect! And now, Sceptile... X-Scissors!"
With blinding agility, Sceptile swooped down on Torterra and delivered a powerful blow by bringing both arms forward in an X pattern! Too close and too slow to dodge the unexpected move, Torterra had no choice but to take it, and the Bug-type move sliced off a few leaves from the tree on its back and scraped away some moss from it carapace. But it took more than just that to floor Paul's mighty started, who stepped back to the edge of the battle arena, and braced itself for another attack.
"Don't give him any pause, Sceptile! Use a Screech attack and weaken its defense!" Ash ordered, and Sceptile opened his jaws and let out a shrill cry that forced the gigantic turtle to grit his teeth in slight pain... and while it was distracted, Sceptile used this opportunity to attack again! "Well done, Sceptile! And now ... a Slam attack!"
"SCEPTILE!" his Pokemon replied, closing in on his opponent. Its tail struck Torterra in the face Torterra, and Ash smiled as he saw the giant turtle beginning to weaken! A few of these attacks, and it would go down...
But Paul remained almost unnaturally calm, confirming to anyone close enough to see his face that he had already thought of something to regain his ground...
Another Slam attack almost forced Torterra out of the arena, and Sceptile closed in again, with a cocksure grin, to deal what he hoped would have been a decisive blow... but he stopped in sudden alarm when the giant tortoise looked up again, clearly showing that he had not lost an ounce of his determination! A green aura flared up around the Grass / Ground Pokemon's huge body, and a few leaves of pure green light orbited around him...
"I'm afraid Ash has only been playing right in Paul's hands..." Brock commented, having already an idea of what the green light around Torterra was. "Just like many starters, Torterra can use his Overgrow ability when in a pinch, powering up his Grass-type moves. I would not be surprised if Paul had simply let Torterra take a few attacks, so that this ability would activate and he would be allowed to deal more powerful blows!"
"Oh, no... that means Ash and Sceptile are in trouble now..." Dawn exclaimed. The giant turtle and his trained wasted no time in proving her right!
"You used quite a smart strategy, I have to admit." Paul commented to an alarmed and amazed Ash. "But your mistake was to assume that my Torterra could have been brought down this easily. And now, you pay the price for that... Torterra, use a Plant Frenzy attack!"
The giant turtle raised his head and roared in triumph, before summoning a swarm of vines, covered in leaves and thorns, from the ground itself! Sceptile found itself right in the middle of this explosive overgrowth, and he was lifted up in the air by a few vines, unable to do anything to defend himself, before getting battered around by the mighty Grass attack! With a short cry of disappointment, the lizard-like Pokemon was lifted up by a stray vine, and then grabbed by his wrists and ankles by those grassy tentacles... and finally, with a quick and brutl jerking, he was slammed on the arena floor! A large cloud of dust was kicke up from the place where Sceptile had fallen, with Ash gritting his teeth in sympathy pain... and when the dust cleared up, both trainers could see that Sceptile had collapsed and could not keep fighting.
"Another spectacular comeback from Paul! His Torterra appeared to be introuble... but after letting himself get hit with Sceptile's attacks, lulling him into a false sense of security, he reacted with a powerful Frenzy Plant that knocked out the Sinnoh starter! And with that, Paul scores his fourth point, and Ash is don to just two Pokemon!" the announcer's comment was heard. "Will the young trainer from Pallet be able to get his game back on?"
Ash thought carefully about his remaining choices... and decided that he had nothing to lose in sending out his best friend, as Torterra had taken quite a bit of damage from Sceptile's attacks. "Right then... Pikachu, are you up to this challenge?"
"Pika pika!" the electric mouse answered, climbing on the battle arena and facing Torterra. The giant tortoise frowned in uncertainty... in theory, that Pikachu would not be a dangerous opponent for him... but since Torterra had already taken quite a bit of damage in the previous battle, the outcome was not as clear as it should have been...
Even Paul seemed to uderstand that, and recalled his starter. "That's enough for now, Torterra." he staed. "I'll have you fight again later on. Now, Electivire... it's your turn!"
The last of Paul's Pokeballs opened up, revealing a rather large humanoid Pokemon with a wild yellow-and-black fur, a strange plug-like pattern on its back, and two tails which looked like electrodes. His hands were big and strong, with powerful muscles and short fingers, and his body was wrapped in a crackling aura of electricity! It was Electivire, one of Paul's strongest Pokemon, which the purple-haired trained had already used a few days earlier to defeat Barry. Having already seen an Electivire in action in his battle against Volkner, he knew that it was a very strong and versatile Electric Pokemon, which commanded respect...
"Electivire. Start out with a Barrier." Paul ordered. The Electric Pokemon raised his hands in front of him and created an invisible energy shield, prviding himself with a barrier against later attacks. Ash already saw that it was shaping up to be an hard battle... using Pikachu's Electric attacks against Electivire would have been completely pointless, and he and Pikachu needed to find a way around the Barrier, before the fulgorating Pokemon became too dangerous...
"Don't let this get you down, Pikachu!" the young trainer from Pallet exclaimed. "Let's try out a Swift attack!"
"PIKA!" the yellow mouse squeaked, jumping into the air and releasing a volley of shining stars against Electivire! The weak but accurate attack got through Electivire's invisible protection, striking him and causing some damage... but it was too weak an attack to really impair Electabuzz's evolved form, which quickly recovered and angrily launched himself at Pikachu!
"Strike him own with Brick Break, Electivire!" Paul ordered. Before his sentence had even been completed, the purple-haired trainer saw his Pokemon raise an hand to deliver a powerful karate strike to Pikachu, who luckily reacted on time and jumped back! The Brick Break fell on the arena floor, crushing a few bricks and causing pieces of concrete to fly in all directions... and before Electivire could recover from the missed blow, Pikachu dashed in and struck directly!
"Pikachu! Slam attack, now!" Ash exclaimed, as his best friend delivered a powerful flying kick to Electivire, which however did little more than annoy the larger Electric Pokemon. However, Paul quickly caught on to Ash's strategy, and tried to counter it as best as he could.
"Don't let that Pikachu buy too much time, Electivire! That's exactly what he wants!" Paul called out. "Knock him out with Fire Punch, now!"
"VIRE!" Electivire answered as he reared his right fist back. With a sinister sound, the raised limb was lit up in a nimbus of scarlet flames, and Electivire brought it down on Pikachu, who just barely managed to avoid the worst of it, but squealed in pain as the fire burned his tail. The electric mouse rolled away and put some distance between him and his opponent, but Electivire quickly caught up and prepared to strike again with his burning fist!
"Pikachu, quick! Use Reflect and stop that blow!" Ash ordered. Once again, Pikachu squeaked in assent before creating an invisible wall around himself. Electivire's Fire Punch clashed harmlessly on the forcefield, and the larger Electric Pokemon took a step backwards in annoyance, before trying again. This time, Pikachu's protection barely held, and the electric mouse was feeling his tail smart from the previous burn.
However, Paul was not the kindof person to let up that easily... and, in fact, he decided that the time had come for the gloves to come off! "You know what to do about this, right, Electivire? Destroy his protection with Brick Break!" he ordered. Electivire raised his limb again and brought it down, smashing Pikachu's protection and sending the electric mouse tumbling on the ground! Luckily Pikachu had not been hit directly, but Ash well knew that he would not get another chance, and he knew what Paul would have followed up with... this was the right time to pull off the strategy that had defeated Kenny's Empoleon!
"Pikachu, now!" Ash said, trying to convey his order to his best friend and to cover up his intentions from Paul at the same time. Luckily, the electric rodent caught on immediately and planted his lightning-shaped tail on the ground, clenching his teeth as his burn smarted again.. However, Pikachu tried to hide his disconfort... at the moment, his only real chance of winning was to catch Electivire off guard, without allowing him to suspect Pikachu had that countermeasure ready...
"Electivire... Earthquake!" Paul exclaimed, trying to put an end to the battle with that last blow. Electivire smirked, raised both hands up, and brought them both down on the floor... but before the hit could register, Pikachu used his tail as a spring and leapt up, causing the Earthquake attack to pass harmlessly under him. Paul frowned, not entirely caught by surprise by Pikachu's rection, as the electric mouse somersaulted through the air and got ready to drop down on his opponent. Electivire stood up again, and got ready to attack Pikachu at the moment of his descent. At that point, Ash could reasonably be expected to have Pikachu use an Iron Tail attack, which Paul wel knew how to counter...
That's why what Pikachu did a moment later caught him completely off guard!
"Pikachu... use Thunder Wave!" Ash called out. With a slight smirk, Pikachu charged up his cheeks and launched a swift electrical discharge against his opponent, hitting him head-on! The startled Electivire jumped up when the Thunder Wave struck him, locking him in place! His ability to absord Electric-type attacks was useless against a status-changing move...
Paul briefly showed an expression of anger an disbelief as his Electivire staggered and remain paralyzed... and Pikachu, admirably shrugging his tail burn off, kept on attacking, with Ash encouraging him all the way!
"Way to go, Pikachu! Keep it up with a Swift attack!". The electric mouse unleashed another volley of luminous stars against his opponent, who could do nothing but take all the hits. Then, Pikachu landed on all fours, his tail kept high as not to touch the ground and further disturb his wound, and dashed forward again!
"And now, Pikachu... Agility again! Show him what you're made of!" At that, Pikachu accelerated towards the stunned Electivire, getting faster and faster with every step he took. He was obviously building up to a very powerful attack, and Paul knew he had to stop him before it got too dangerous...
"This wasn't part of the plan... Electivire, try another Earthquake! Take out that Pikachu now!" the purple-haired boy ordered. Electivire grit his teeth and tried to raise both arms in the air, despite his joints screaming at him as he did so, but he was unable to react in time, and Pikachu reached him one second later and struck true!
"Now, Pikachu! A Slam attack, with all of your strength!" Ash exclaimed. Pikachu squeaked in determination and struck his opponent with all of his strength, turning into a veritable yellow bullet! The weakened Electivire was unable to take the full brunt of the blow, and was tossed to the ground, making a feeble attempt at getting up again before finally giving up and fainting.
"Electivire is unable to continue fighting! With a spectacular combination of agility and strategy, Ash and Pikachu gain their fourth victory in this battle!" the announcer exulted. "Ladies and gentlemen, we are really being witnesses to an high-level competition! Just when victory seems to be about to smile upon one of our contenders, the other manages to gain the upper hand back! And now, they're perfectly even once again!"
Paul shook his head and recalled Electivire in his Pokeball. For a second, he looked at the sphere as if he was about to criticize Electivire for his loss... but one second later, he seemed to think better of it and shrugged it off, before sending one of his last two Pokemon back on the field. "Alright... Ursaring, your turn again!"
The large grizzly bear roared as he appeared on the battlefield, but Ash was not daunted in the least this time. He was fairly sure he was in the lead now... after all, Ursaring had already spent quite a bit of his strength in the previous battles with Heracross and Staraptor, and was now unable to fight at full power. Ash just needed to have Pikachu stay away, avoid the Earthquake attack, and take care not to paralyze Ursaring, in order to avoid his Guts ability's effect... and Ash well knew how to do that!
"Okay, Pikachu! This time, we're getting ahead! But first I need to ask you... can you keep fighting?" Ash asked his best friend, worried for his tail burn. However, the electric yellow rodent did not seem too bothered with his own injury, and moved his tail as if to say it was alright. Ash nodded in understanding and signaled for Pikachu to stand ready. "Alright, then, Pikachu... start it off with Thunderbolt!"
"Ursaring, counter with Slash!" Paul ordered, not caring about Ursaring getting exposed to Pikachu's Thunderbolt attack. Even Ursaring did not seem to mind taking the hit, and charged head-on with a deafening roar, as Pikachu's cheeks crakled with electricity! As was probably obvious, Pikachu managed to attack first, unleashing a brilliant discharge of electricity on the raging grizzly... who, astonishingly enough, did not even bother trying to dodge the attack and was struck! Ursaring grit his teeth for a second and took a step back... but he continued his charge one second later, pushing against the streaming electricity with all his considerable strength! Pikach interrupted his attack and squeaked in disbelief as Ursaring quickly came up close and personal, sweeping the air with his enormous clawed arm!
One second later, Pikachu was struck by Ursaring's Slash attack and was knocked down, bouncing a couple times from the mighty blow, but he quickly picked himself up and shook the dizziness away. Ursaring groaned in annoyance as Pikachu's Static ability inflicted the same status change on him as Electivire, one moment earlier... but this tie, Ash knew that it wasn't good news for him! Thanks to his Guts ability, as long as Ursaring could fight, a status change was not such a bad thing...
"This was the last thing Ash needed..." Brock commented. "Paul knew that Ash would never have used a status-changing move against Ursaring, knowing of his Guts ability... so, he had Ursaring attack directly, to take advantage of Pikachu's Static. Now, it's Ash who is in a bad position, as Ursaring's attacking power was greatly augmented by this."
"Yeah, and he only has Pikachu and Infernape left..." Dawn murmured. "And Pikachu isn't exactly in the best conditions..."
"Let's not waste any more time, Ursaring. Use Stone Edge, and let's wrap this up." Paul called out. The berserked grizzly lifted one of his mighty arms, despite being slowed down by his paralysis, and slashed the air in front of him! The simple movement of the air caused an hail of small, yet incredibly fast rocks to be lifted from the floor and to rain upon Pikachu, who could do nothing to dodge them. The small electric rodent was struck by the powerful attack, lifted up in the air, and slammed down in front of Ash, and this time, he was unable to get up in time.
"Ursaring looks unstoppable... and even Pikachu gets knocked out!" the announcre once again commented, as Ash bent down to pick up his friend. "And now... Ash is down to just one Pokemon! Will he be able to surprise us once again, or is this the extent of his skills? This has been such an unpredictable battle that I'm sure we'll see a few more surprises towards the end!"
"You still did a good job, Pikachu..." Ash murmured as he picked up his best friend and gently laid him beside him. At the other side of the arena, Paul was not feeling as victorious as he should have felt by now... he was, instead, feeling somewhat unnerved and alarmed by the way in which Ash had managed to take out most of his team! And here Paul thought he was a weak and indecisive trainer who spoiled his Pokemon... instead, now Ash was doing what Paul was almost afraid he would do... he was proving Reggie right!
Paul mentally shook his head. That was not the right moment to stop and think of that. He needed to concentrate on winning. He would not be a loser like his brother... he would surpass him, and become the Sinnoh champion! He would not be defeated by someone who spoiled his Pokemon like that!
"Now just think of resting... I'll take care of everything else! Alright... this is the decisive moment! Infernape... I kept you in reserve just for this moment! And I hope that, together, we'll manage to pull this off! Go! GOTTA CATCH 'EM ALL!"
Ash's last Pokeball flew, opened up on contact with the ground, and let out the powerful Fire/Fighting monkey, who immediately spread his arms and let out a mighty war cry, and scarlet flames sprayed out of his fur! The audience remained in awe of that majestic entrance, and even Paul had to admit that the runt he had abandoned, believing him to be useless, had turned out to be quite impressive under Ash's tutorship. However, Paul cared little about first impressions... what really counted was whether or not Infernape could back up his bravado!
"Hm. So, not only did you manage to make that runt evolve to his strongest form, but you even managed to make him into a Pokemon worthy of this competition. Admittedly, I have to take back what I first said about you. You are a capable trainer, after all." he admitted. "But just like I said, the only thing that counts in my book is victory, so... let's see if you can defeat me with just that one Pokemon."
"You can bet on that!" Ash countered. "Let's start this with a good Mach Punch, Infernape!"
The fighting monkey shot forward with such speed that he seemed to disappear from sight for a split second, and struck the unprepared Ursaring with a fierce punch to the jaw, sending the huge grizzly bear tumbling with a dull thud! Paul took a step backwards, startled by the sudden and powerful attack, but he didn't let himself get intimidated - Ursaring, once again showing his prodigious stamina, stood up again, rubbing his jaw, and glared at Infernape, who simply stood his ground and defiantly motioned at the bear Pokemon to come at him!
Ursaring responded by rearing back and bellowing in rage as he got ready to counterattack! The final part of the challenge had just begun... and Paul showed that he was not willing to make this easy at all on Ash! "Fine, then... this just means we'll have to hold nothing back!" he exclaimed. "Ursaring, go for a Hammer Punch!"
"Infernape, Thunder Punch!" Ash countered, as the two mighty Pokemon rushed towards one another, their fists raised and ready to strike! A crackling aura of electricity sparked around Infernape's clenched fist, and the two blows collided in midair with a wince-inducing crash! Both fighters flinched ever so slightly, but they seemed to be pretty much equal, at least for the moment, and none could gain a distinct advantage over the other - they both were doing their best to push against one another, trying to force their opponent on his knees. Infernape was obviously well-rested and full of energy, but Ursaring's Guts ability and his own determination were allowing him to hold his own, at least for now. For several seconds, the monkey and the bear offered the audience a spectacular exhibition of both technique and brute strength... but Ash quickly saw that he would have gotten nowhere like that, and that this was the time to change his strategy...
"Okay, Infernape! Let's put what Flint taught us to good use!" Ash exclaimed. "Break the contrast, now!"
With a skilled dodge, Infernape broke away from Ursaring and then grabbed the bear's arm and pulled, using the massive grizzly's incredible strength against him! Ursaring could do nothing but grunt in disbelief as his opponent caused him to lose his footing and slam face first on the arena floor, causing an indentation! As Ursaring tried to pick himself up, Infernape scored another Mach Punch on him and made him reel... but the bear, in a furious rage, stood up and retreated slightly, trying to get a moment's respite. Paul, on the other hands, wasted no time and gave another order, trying to end the challenge as quickly as he could.
"Ursaring, strike back with a Strength attack!" the purple-haired boy ordered... and the bear Pokemon crouched low on the ground, and then rushed shoulder-first at Infernape, striking the flaming monkey square in the chest and sending it to the floor. Infernape stood up again with a backwards somersault, his fur standing up on end on his back and shoulders, as Ursaring lunged again... but this time, Infernape was prepared and managed to sidestep the attack, causing the grizzly Pokemon to pass harmlessly beside him... and to remain defenseless for just a second, more than enough for Ash and Infernape to take advantage of it!
"Now, Infernape! Flamethrower!" Ash exclaimed. A split second later, Ursaring was struck by a roaring gout of red flames that caused him to fall to the ground! However, showing his incredible willpower once again, Ursaring managed to pick himself up again and turned around to face his opponent...
Even so, it was clear that the massive bear Pokemon was beginning to tire out. Since the battle had started, Ursaring had absorbed a lot of hits, and there was only so much his Guts ability could do to dampen the effects of his paralysis... even a Pokemon as resistant as he was could only take so much before fainting...
Even Paul understood that one of his strongest Pokemon was on his last legs, and that he needed to take countermeasures as soon as possible. He was still leading, but if things kept up this way, he wouldn't be for long.
"Ursaring, attack with an Aerial Ace! Now!" he exclaimed, beginning to feel frustrated. The grizzly Pokemon gathered all of his strength, lunged forward and jumped, executing a ferocious downward slash with his claws, which Infernape could only try to block as well as he could! The fighting monkey flinched, which gave his opponent all the time he needed to mount another attack...
"Infernape, be careful!" Ash warned, as he saw Ursaring raise his arms again. "He's about to use one of his strongest attacks! Try to dodge it!"
"Ursaring... Hammer Punch, again!" Paul ordered. The bear Pokemon joined his hands above his head, and then brought them down in order to score a mightly blow... but luckily, Infernape managed to react in time, and dodged the attack. The Hammer Punch struck the arena floor, cracking another section of it, as Infernape backflipped away from Ursaring, who roared in frustration and began giving chase... but as soon as the Fire / Fighting Pokemon was at the border of the arena, he stopped, and then dashed forward at an order from Ash!
"Another Mach Punch, Infernape! C'mon, we can do this!" the boy exclaimed. Infernape dashed forward and struck Ursaring with another punch, this time to the chest, and caused him to flinch among vast cheering from the crowd! Paul grit his teeth in annoyance, but wasted no time and tried to counter.
"Hit him with Slash, Ursaring!" the purple-haired boy shouted. The grizzly bear was all too eager to obey, and a mighty claw swipe sent Infernape tumbling to the floor before he could get away. The flaming monkey rolled on the ground and stopped face down on the floor... but all of a sudden, his body disappeared in a puff of smoke, only leaving a wooden stump in his place, and leaving both Ursaring and Paul in disbelief! The fire monkey had used a Substitute without his opponents' notice... and what Ursaring had struck was nothing more than a copy! Which meant that the original could reappear anywhere, anytime!
"What?" Paul exclaimed in genuine alarm. "He used a Substitute... I did not expect this at all! Where did he go?"
Ash smiled to himself, proud of having finally caught his rival off guard, just when he seemed to believe himself capable of predicting his every move! And now.. now was the right moment to take out Ursaring once and for all! "Excellent! And now, Infernape... end this battle with Close Combat!"
Ursaring rapidly turned around when another puff of smoke came up from his right... but it was too late for him to react, as Infernape came upon him with a flurry of fists and feet which struck the mighty bear with lethal precision, every hit causing Ursaring to feel like a punching bag! For several seconds, Ursaring could do nothing but take every hit, ending in a vicious uppercut to the jaw which sent the huge bear flying for a short distance... and finally, Ursaring ended up crashing on the floor with a terrifying sound of smashed concrete! He tried to get up a second later... but this time, the exhaustion of the fight proved too much for him, and he collapsed, his tongue lolling out of his opened jaws!
"And after this barrage of terrific hits... Ursaring is knocked out! Infernape wins this bout!" As always, the announcer's words caused a veritable storm of applauses and cheers for the fighting monkey's skill! Even Ash was unable to resist the temptation and raised his fist in the air in triumph! Taking a hint from Flint's technique had been worth it, after all!
"Yeaaah! Great! You did it, Infernape! You defeated Ursaring!" the young boy from Pallet exclaimed. His Pokemon turned to him in return, and exulted while raising his fists in the air! He was finally getting his sweet revenge on the trainer who had mistreated him in the past, and was making his new trainer proud of him!
"Hm. Not half bad. But I'd wait before cheering, because I still have one Pokemon." Paul interrupted them. He recalled Ursaring in his Pokeball, and nodded at him, considering his performance satisfactory. Then, he produced his last Pokeball and sent out his starter Pokemon! "We can still win this! Go, Torterra!"
The last Pokeball snapped open, and the colossal terrapin appeared on the arena once again. However, Ash knew that, this time, the odds were leaning towards him! That was the last of Paul's Pokemon, and he had a type disadvantage towards Infernape. All he needed to do was to score a few decent hits, and that would be it! With a joyous smile, Ash gave Infernape the next command...
"Perfect, Infernape! Hit him with a Flamethrower!" he exclaimed. The fighting monkey took a deep breath and shot a huge stream of fire out of his mouth, which seemed to be about to strike down the huge tortoise... but once again, just as Ash was beginning to think he had won, Paul and Torterra caught everybody off guard once again!
"Torterra... Earth Power!" Paul ordered. Torterra concentrated hard, his paws planted on the floor and his eyes closed... and a split second later, the earth itself seemed to boil around Torterra, as small explosions went up in rapid succession around Infernape, throwing the warrior monkey off balance, and caused his Flamethrower attack to go completely off course, soaring up and towards the starry sky above the stadium! A spectacular display of red, yellow and orange hues decorated the sky for a few moments, giving a more spectacular feel to the scenario... but in the end, Ash had not managed to make any leeway in defeating his oppont, who, on the other hand, was taking advantage of Infernape's surprise to get another solid hit in!
"Good! And now, Torterra... use Earthquake!" Paul ordered, his normally stoic expression substituted by a victorious grin as his starter rose up on his hind legs again... and then violently dropped down, hitting the hapless Infernape with another super-effective attack! Ash drew his breath is fear and worry as his strongest Pokemon was hit by the shockwave and tossed to the ground with a slight shriek of pain! He fell and remained motionless for a second... but thankfully, he managed to pick himself up, even though he was weakened and staggering. Another solid hit in, and Infernape would have been defeated, giving Paul the final victory in the tournament just when Ash seemed to be one step away from victory! And yet... no, it could not end this way! Ash and Infernape had done too much, together, and had faced too many challenges to give up just then! There had to be some way to subvert things...
"Hey, Infernape! Are... are you still okay?" Ash asked, looking at his champion as he slowly regained his composure, his fists clenched at his sides and his eyes downcast... and a second later, as if to answer Ash's question, a large red flame engulfed Infernape's body, and his eyes lit up with a terrifying red hue as Infernape turned to his trainer and nodded in assent! Ash had never seen Infernape so incredibly determined...
"Infernape activated his Blaze ability... and I can see he's got it under control, this time!" Brock commented from the audience, expertly hiding his anxiety. "This is it, the next attack will also be the last. It's either win or lose for Ash."
"Come on, Ash, keep it up!" Lucinda shouted as she and Buneary waved their pom-poms in the air. "Come on, Infernape! You have to win this!"
oooooooooo
In front of a small TV in Cerulean City's Gym, the three Sensational Sisters and their younger sibling drew their breath in, as if fearing that the slightest noise would ruin the tension of the moment... and Misty prayed to herself that Ash and his Infernape could get through this!
In a small house in Pallet Town, Mrs. Delia Ketchum and her friend Mimy, the Mr. Mime who acted as the Ketchum's house butler and cleaner, were staring at their TV screen, holding their breaths in apprehension...
And a few blocks away from there, in Professor Samuel Oak's laboratory, the old Pokemon researcher and his grandson Gary were watching the battle as well, silently rooting for Ash...
oooooooooo
Cynthia nodded severely and narrowed her eyes, not wanting to lose even a split second of those decisive moments. She had rarely witnessed such an hard-fought battle, even for the standards of a Sinnoh tournament final match... and judging from the focused expression on the Elite Four's faces, the same was true for them...
oooooooooo
Paul frowned as he recognized the ability he had more than once tried to get Chimchar touse, without success. And now, under that loser Ash, he was able to use it and control it fully? Really, Paul did not expect such a result, and he definitely didn't expect that Ash, whom he always refused to consider a worthy opponent, could become so capable and skillful. Despite his outward stoicism, Paul felt surprised, annoyed and alarmed at the same time...
That naive fool that loved to run his mouth off about caring for your Pokemon and respecting your opponents had managed to get him in a corner. And that Infernape, even though he took more time than Paul thought acceptable, had become really strong, instead of remaining weak and pitiful as he thought. But... if Ash thought he had this in the bag, he was in for a serious disappointment!
"Let's wrap this up, Torterra. Strike him down with Leaf Storm!" Paul exclaimed. The giant tortoise took a deep breath, concentrating as hard as he could as streams of emerald energy zoomed towards him - especially the tree on top of his shell. Ash was quite alarmed by this. While Leaf Storm was obviously not that powerful against a Fire-type Pokemon, Infernape was weakened enough that even that could have spelled defeat for him... he had to gamble it all on this last move, and take out Torterra once and for all!
"It's now or never..." he muttered to himself. "Infernape, we're going for broke! Use your Flare Blitz attack, now!"
Infernape spread his arms, roaring in defiance as the scarlet flame blazing all around him expanded, spraying fire in every direction! Just as Torterra's Leaf Storm was about to go off, Infernape dashed against the giant turtle like a firey comet, leaving twin trails of fire behind him! The two Pokemon quickly got close, eyeing each other with determination... and then Torterra fired his attack, creating a vortex of shining green leaves that speeded towards the Fire-type Pokemon... who, in turn, concentrated even harder and intensified his flames even more as the two attacks collided, knowing that he could not afford any mistake now! A red and green flash illuminated the stadium once more, as Infernape and Torterra began pushing each other's attacks away, in an attempt to overpower the opponent. None of them budged, and both trainers were tense in their wait for someone to come out on top. It was a situation of complete stalemate, exacerbated by the deafening roar of the two kinds of energy clashing on each other.
"Infernape!" Ash exclaimed, in a further attempt to encourage his Pokemon. "Infernape... I know you can do it! We have faced so many difficulties together, to come this far... and we always tried to give each other our best... and believe me, you're the best Pokemon a trainer could ever have! Now... I just ask you to make a little more effort! If you lose now... it will have all been for nothing! Come on, Infernape... I believe in you!"
Infernape's eyes narrowed, as he glared at Torterra and Paul through the light of the two clashing attacks. It was a very important moment for him... if he didn't manage to prove himself now, to repay Ash for his kindness and to take his revenge on his hated former trainer... he would never get a second chance! He couldn't let Paul win, both for Ash's sake and for his own! Such determination caused all of his energy to burst outwards, and in a split second, an even more powerful blast of red fire exploded from Infernape's body and overpowered Torterra's Leaf Storm, dissipating it like leaves in the wind! This time, Paul's expression could not be described as anything else than pure shock... but he was powerless to do anything before Infernape was upon his starter, engulfing Torterra in a colossal gout of flames! An explosion of red light swallowed the battlefield, and the closest members of the audience had to cover their eyes not to be dazzled, as the noise of the blast drowned out everything else...
Slowly, the mayhem ceased... and Ash hesitatingly opened his eyes to look at the result of the clash. In the midst of the cinder-covered arena, Infernape and Torterra were both still standing, the former with his fist still extended, and the latter with his head low, and in a guarding position. One of the two had been defeated, that was a given... but which one? For several seconds, under Ash and Paul's tense stares, it looked like time had stopped...
And then, Infernape fell on one knee...
And Torterra, with a sigh of resignation, slumped down on the arena floor and blacked out! The sound of his massive body slamming on the battlefield echoed into the awe-struck stadium... and only after a few more seconds of stunned silence did the announcer regain enough wits to comment again...
"Torterra... is unable to continue fighting!" the young woman said, herself in disbelief. "The winner of this battle... and the new champion of the Sinnoh League is... Ash Ketchum, from Pallet Town!"
oooooooooo
In Cerulean City's Gym, the Sensational Sisters stood up from their stool and cheered wildly in victory, as Misty clenched her fists in front of her and smiled radiantly, her eyes watering just a little!
oooooooooo
"Ash, my dear..." Delia Ketchum commented, gently wiping her own eyes with her hand. "You did it... I knew you would do it! You became a real Pokemon champion! Your dad... would be so proud of you!"
"Mime! Mime!" Mimy cheered, taking part in his human friend's joy!
oooooooooo
"And so, Ash, my boy... you did it in the end!" Prof. Oak commented warmly, pleased with Infernape's last blow. "I never had any doubts about it... I knew you had it in yourself!"
"Yeah... Ash always manages to surprise us, huh?" Gary said, halfway between irony and genuine admiration. "Well, what can I say... I am only pleased about this! In the end, Ash was my most worthy rival!"
oooooooooo
A whole-hearted, enthustiastic applause rained down from the audience, together with exclamations of joy and victory! Dawn stood up with a victory cry and raised her pom-poms in the air just like her Buneary did, while the calmer Brock had simply smiled and nodded in Ash's direction! As for the newly-crowned champion and the two Pokemon he had fought the last part of the battle with, they were standing at their side of the arena, looking around almost as if in a daze: they couldn't believe it... they had won the Sinnoh League tournament! They had managed to defeat their rival, who had humiliated them time and again, mocking their accomplishments! It was... almost too good to be true!
But disbelief soon faded and was replaced with joy and triumph, as Ash raised his fist in the air and yelled in victory, and the large electronic table at the other end of the stadium displayed a bright WINNER word under his portrait. Despite being tired from the battle, Pikachu and Infernape hugged their trainer energetically, almost causing him to fall over!
"Ow! Hey, Pikachu! Infernape! C'mon, guys, you're making me lose my balance here! Heheheee..." Ash exclaimed, before hugging his Pokemon back and going back to celebrating. "Yeaaaah! We did it, guys! We're the Sinnoh League Champions! Way to go!"
"PI-KA-CHUUUUU!"
"INFEEEEERNAPE!"
As everyone applauded and cheered all around him, Paul just stood in his place, his face briefly contorted in an expression of shocked rage... but his self-discipline made him regain control soon enough, and the purple-haired boy, with a resignated shrug, recalled Torterra in his Pokeball.
"It can't be helped, I guess." he commented briefly. He then looked at Torterra's Pokeball for a moment, and shrugged, before saying what he needed to. "Hm. All things considered, you did an okay job, Torterra." Then, he put his Pokeball back with the others, and walked towards Ash, who was still hugging Pikachu and Infernape. While it was plain that he was disappointed at the way things had turned out, Paul didn't reallly seem angry at Ash... which was something that surprised Paul himself!
"Ash Ketchum." Paul called out, and Ash stopped celebrating and turned to the opponent he had just defeated, looking at him straight in the eye for a few seconds before Paul said what he needed to say.
"Very well, then. I admit defeat. For now." Paul said, without betraying any emotion. Then, he turned around and began walking away and out of the stadium, as he kept talking to Ash. "But do not think for a moment it ends here. I and my Pokemon will train more, and next time, we're going to win."
Ash, Pikachu and Infernape just kept looking at their rival coldly walking away... and after a moment of silence, Ash nodded and answered, even though Paul was too far away to hear. "We know... and that's why we'll keep on training. We won't lose so easily... certainly not to the likes of you." he said.
"Pika..." Pikachu nodded, his cheeks once again sparking with electricity.
But the triumphant atmosphere returned soon, and Ash grinned joyfully, inviting his Pokemon to join in the celebrations! "Heheheee... but now, why don't we just enjoy our victory? We have become the Sinnoh champions... and that's mostly thanks to you, Infernape! I couldn't have done it without your help, and that of all my Pokemon!"
"INFERNAPE!" the firey monkey answered, still enthusiastic over having shown his worth and given the right comeuppance to his former trainer!
Together, the two Pokemon and the newly crowned champion moved to the stairs leading to the audience, and saw Brock and Dawn enthusiastically come down to greet them...
oooooooooo
TO BE CONTINUED...
Author's Note: And so, the Sinnoh tournament ends with Ash's victory, and with Paul finally getting what he really deserved! But... of course, that's just the beginning of the story! As we've seen, a lot of familiar faces have popped up recently... and whether that means we're likely to see them again in the future, well... that's a question I'll leave unanswered for now!
Still, I hope you liked this battle! I really had to go all out with this one chapter... and the next one, while more relaxed, will still feature a surprise you probably won't expect!
Until next time! Please, leave a review!
Lily