Semifinals I: The Grand Reveal – Ash vs Paul
"The Galarian Summit Tournament is approacing its climax!" the announcer spoke. "Today, we have the first semi-final round of the show! We're looking forward to our first 6v6 full battle!"
"And now we're waiting for our Trainers to show up!"
"From the green corner, the mysterious trainer who left his mark on the tournament! Defeating Z-moves and even the mysterious Terastal phenomenon, he's made a statement… he wants to win! Coming from the Kanto region… please welcome Red Satoshi of Viridian City!"
"Heh." Ash smirked, with Pikachu inside the cloak. "I'm waiting for you."
"Ash…" he thought to himself. "We're cool. Don't overthink."
"And from the red corner, the powerful trainer who is making a name for himself! With a powerful Electivire and great commands of Dynamax, he is not here for show. Coming from the Sinnoh region… please welcome Paul of Veilstone City!"
"There you are."
"Who will win this intense 6v6 full battle?! Will it be Red or Paul?" the announcer ended, exciting the crowd of a few thousand people.
"Wait, he is not doing it?" Jira worried. "You fucking..."
"Competitors", the referee said, "this will be a six-on-six, full battle. The first who will render the other's Pokemon unable to battle will be declared the winner. Additionally, in this battle, you will be allowed to use one of the following: Mega Evolution, Z-Move and Dynamax. Understood?"
"The time has come."
"Battle-"
"Wait", Red said. "Let me… do something."
And Red took it off. In place of what it looked like an Arabian prince, there he sat. Paul gasped.
The raven hair, his trademark Pikachu, and his clothing from his latest journeys in the Galar region. There was no question. Ash Ketchum has returned.
"Ash?!" Paul shouted. "Wait… what the…"
"He's finally done it." Jira smiled proudly. "Latios, Weavile… It's him."
Goh and Hop were smiling as well. They were very happy. The Ash they used to know was back. Especially Goh, who smirked for other reasons as well.
"They're gonna be SO mad at him." he quietly said.
"Hey, Paul. What's up?" Ash said, as he put on his hat. The one thing left.
"Uhhh…" Paul said… "I'm here to… battle…"
"Me too. I'm back and I want to have a battle with you."
"Why did you run away?!"
"It's a long story, Paul…"
"I never thought you were with Team Rocket. Ash, once the match is over… we'll have a talk." Paul smirked. "But for now… I want to defeat you once more."
"Let's give it our best! I'll be the one who wins!"
"Ladies and gentlemen", the announcer said, "looks like we have an incredible surprise! The Red Satoshi of Viridian City looks to be none other than the Ash Ketchum everyone thought he was dead! Two years ago… that's when he made the news! What a shock here in the Wyndon Stadium!"
"Are you two done?" the referee announced. "Ash… welcome back."
"Thank you, ref."
"Battle start!"
"Pikachu, I choose you!" Ash said like in the old times.
"Drapion, battle standby!"
Meanwhile, somewhere near Wyndon
"IT'S ASH!" Brock thought. "He was in the Galarian Tournament all along?! I should have thought so… he was yesterday with Jira…"
"I'm going to the stands right now!"
Back to the battle
"Pikachu! Quick Attack!"
"Poison Fang!"
Ash finally gave his first command in two years, with his cloak lying on the ground. The rodent charged towards Drapion and hit it for some quick damage, while barely avoiding his Poison Fang. That would have been awful. He couldn't afford some toxic poison.
"Iron Tail!"
"Cross Poison!"
As the two attacks collided, Ash noticed that Paul was keeping his opponent at distance. He was reminded... this was the strategy used by Paul in the Sinnoh League. Any attempt to get close could be falling for a trap.
"Okay, Pikachu. Looks like we have to attack him just like back then. Use Thunderbolt!"
This time, Pikachu's attack has finally connected. A powerful Thunderbolt enveloped Drapion and dealt quite a bit of damage. But Drapion wasn't going down without a fight.
"Drapion! Pin Missile!"
As Drapion's multi-attack fired towards Pikachu, Ash ordered it to use Quick Attack and try to make his way through. But just as he was about to strike, he was finally caught by one of the stray missiles, which started a chain reaction. Pikachu was hit multiple times. That was effective.
"No. I can't use it this early." Ash thought.
Both Ash and Paul smirked at each other.
"Just like back then," Paul said. "You haven't changed whatsoever."
"Hmph."
Meanwhile
"Ash! Ash, I'm coming!" Brock thought, as he ran through the hall.
"A ticket, please!" he said, as he was clearly hurrying. Thankfully, the receptionist understood his movements, and quickly gave him a ticket.
"Thank you! You're so beautiful, by the way!" Brock blushed, but quickly recovered and made his way through the stadium.
Back to Ash vs Paul
"Ash. I will win." Paul quietly said. "Drapion, return."
"You're not getting away that easily." Ash said. "Pikachu, buddy, have a quick rest."
"They're both switching out…" Jira thought. "Makes sense to me. They were just testing each other. The real fight starts now."
"Froslass, battle standby!" "Dragonite, I choose you!" Paul and Ash shouted at the same time.
"Crap. I'm at a big disadvantage." Ash thought.
"You're quite unpredictable now, Ash." Paul smirked. "But I'm not sure that's what you wanted…"
"Dragonite, we have to be quick here."
"Froslass! Ice Beam!"
"Dragon Dance!"
Dragonite showed air prowess, and managed to dodge its opponent's Ice Beam. Now Dragonite's speed increased, and felt ready to take momentum.
"Shadow Ball!"
"Hurricane!"
Although Froslass managed to charge up its Shadow Ball, it quickly found itself caught in Hurricane's tremendous winds. Froslass threw the Shadow Ball at random, missing its target by quite some distance.
"Now, Dragonite! Perfect time to exploit it! Charge towards Froslass and use Fire Punch!"
"Ugh, Froslass? Can you hear me? Use Ice Beam!" Paul said in shock.
Dragonite immediately listened, and with its improved speed, shot up towards Froslass. The Ghost/Ice-type saw Dragonite at the last second and managed to fire a quick Ice Beam, which collided with Fire Punch. As Dragonite fought its way through, Froslass felt trapped. Dragonite was inching closer and closer.
"Get out of there, Froslass!" Paul shouted.
But it was too late. Fire Punch caught up and hit Froslass's stomach. That's gotta hurt, especially since it was a super-effective move.
Meanwhile
"Ahh… I made it, finally. There's Ash… fighting against Paul, I guess. Just like in the old times. Ash, brother, I'm finally here. I can't wait to see you." Brock thought, as he was running to his seat.
Back to Ash vs Paul
"Unbelievable! Despite taking a powerful, effective Fire Punch in the stomach, Froslass is still not giving up! It doesn't want to give up without a fight! Seems like Paul's Pokemon know who they are facing, and a hidden spirit awakened inside! Paul and Red Sa-, no, Ash Ketchum will offer us an impressive spectacle! I can't wait!"
That was the voice of the announcer. And yes, Froslass was still here.
"Ash, I think I'll remind you of something." Paul smirked. "Froslass, Hail!"
"Ah… that strategy." Ash and Pikachu thought. "Pikachu, I remember it so well. You were struggling hard out there. And you were stronger than anyone."
As the snowy weather took over the battlefield, Ash remembered Froslass's Snow Cloak ability. He had to figure out a way on how to stall Froslass's turns. It wasn't going to be easy. But he decided to try something.
"Dragonite. Wait for its movements. Use a slow Dragon Dance."
Dragonite started dancing and tried to listen for a position from where Froslass will strike. It felt like Froslass's chants were being heard from all over the place. That was the beauty of Snow Cloak, especially combined with the Snow Land Pokemon's ghost abilities.
Suddenly, Paul ordered an Ice Shard, and Dragonite responded with Fire Punch. Dragonite managed to nullify the attack, but a following Ice Beam struck it from above.
"Dragonite, no! Keep that Fire Punch there, for Arceus's sake!" Ash shouted, as the Ice Beam made its way through. It started to freeze and the bad thing was that it started with Dragonite's head.
"Froslass! Charge towards it!" Paul shouted.
As the Snow Land Pokemon was flying towards Dragonite, the poor dragon seemed in peril.
"Shadow Sneak!" Froslass quietly disappeared in the snow, looking for the its best position to attack from behind.
"Dragonite! Can you hear me?" Ash shouted. Dragonite was able to slowly move its Fire Punch, signaling Ash that it was still receptive. "Wait there for a little. Don't move." Ash quietly said.
Froslass suddenly appeared.
"Turn now! Fire Punch!"
Dragonite managed to halfway turn its head around and its Fire Punch just managed to connect with Froslass's quick attack, causing an explosion and ending the snow effect. The Shadow Sneak was very close to the dragon, so close that one second later would have been enough to probably spell Dragonite's doom, especially unguarded. And as a side-bonus, Fire Punch cured Dragonite of its freeze, with its head being thawed out.
When the dust settled…
"Grrrr! Why won't you just… die already!" Ash said in shock. Froslass signaled to Paul that it could still go on.
Ash realized that Froslass had more resilience than he imagined.
"Pikapi!" Pikachu shouted.
"Pika… pika pi." he shouted again, in sign of encouragement.
"Yes, Pikachu, we're good." Ash quietly said. "We'll make quick work of it."
"Dragonite! Fly up in the air!" he shouted.
"Froslass, go after it!" Paul responded.
As Froslass was trying to chase Dragonite, the latter has started to make circles around it, with its hugely improved speed, leaving Froslass confused. But Paul kept cool, and ordered a Shadow Sneak. Now Froslass was the one who started listening to Dragonite's movements. It then quietly disappeared.
"Dragonite! Keep going around it!" Ash said. He noticed Froslass dissappear, so he had to make a quick plan around it. Dragonite kept increasing its speed.
Froslass then suddenly appeared and…
"Shit! We barely missed it!" Paul thought.
"Dragonite, grab Froslass quickly! Kairyu-Draco Meteor!"
"Ahhh… like back then, eh, Ash?" Leon thought. He was in the VIP room with Sonia.
Dragonite grabbed its opponent and with big speed crashed it to the ground, just like in the old times, as Ash's memories against Leon's Dragapult began to invade his mind. He was smiling brightly.
"Froslass is unable to battle! Dragonite wins!"
"Yes. Finally." Ash thought.
"Return, Froslass. Thank you." Paul quietly said, before turning serious again.
"Way to go, Ash!" Hop shouted.
"Great start on his return." Jira smiled as well. Latios and Weavile nodded.
"He did it, finally." Goh spoke. But Jira noticed that Goh was half-heartedly watching the battle. Jira noticed that Goh was starting to take pictures of Ash, Paul and the battlefield and… was sending those pictures to someone.