Me: Tatatorterra showing up! Another chapter, so let's get this started!
Everyone but Paul and Ash: Ash, we're counting on you!
Paul, facing Ash: Lose this hope. I'm going to win.
Ash, facing Paul: We'll see about that.
Infernape: Infernape Infer Infernape! ("Tatatorterra doesn't own Pokémon!")
Me: Let the story continue!
Mini-Misty
- Dark Aura -
"THE BATTLE ISN'T OVER, KETCHUM!"
Ash and Infernape stare at Paul. It looks like Electivire's defeat didn't shake him.
Paul launches his pokéball up in the air and his next Pokémon appears on the field, leaving Ash breathless.
"It can't be!..."
It was a Lucario. Ash couldn't believe that Paul caught such a rare and powerful Pokémon.
"Looks like you've seen a ghost... Or did you find your own place, loser?"
Ash was paralyzed. It wasn't because Paul had a Lucario, and Ash would never chicken out. It was something else.
What is this terrible feeling?.. Hate?
Where is this coming from?..
It can't be.
It's coming from Lucario!
"Argh!" Ash bends over, his insides twisting like mad. The referee walks up to him.
"Are you OK? Can you continue?" Ash breathes deeply and recovers his composure.
"Yeah, I'm alright."
"There's something wrong with Ash, I can feel it." Misty worries about her best friend, seeing him act in a weird way.
"Is it because of that Lucario?" Prof. Birch.
"Of course! Ash must've felt Lucario's aura when he saw sim!" Brock.
"Ash can feel Lucario's aura?" Prof. Oak was stunned.
"Yeah, and that isn't the first time that it happens!" Max.
"That's true!" Dawn "That was that time with Riolu too!"
"Riolu? Tell me mora about that!" prof. Rowan.
"When we were in Kanto, during the Battle Frontier, we passed by some kind of a kingdom, where we found a Lucario. Ash somehow connected with that Lucario." May.
"And not a long time ago, we met a lost Riolu and Ash managed to communicate with him through his aura. Thanks to that, we managed to save him from Hunter J."
"Some say that if a person has a compatible soul, he or she can feel the aura of living beings." Gary.
"But the problem here is that he felt something bad." Delia.
"Then maybe there's something wrong with Lucario..." Drew.
Everybody stares at Ash, who stood in silence.
"Infernape, Nape Infernape!" ("Don't worry, we'll win!")
"Thanks, Infernape!" Ash recovers his focus. "Mach Punch!"
"It looks like you still haven't given up... Extreme Speed." Not a split second after Paul finished speaking, Infernape was struck by Lucario.
"Aura Sphere." Lucario focuses his energy in his left paw. But, instead of blue, the condensed aura was pitch-black. Infernape was still getting up as the dark sphere was fired at him.
"EVADE IT!" But it was in vain. Infernape was too exhausted and couldn't dodge it in time. The powerful fire pokémon drops uncounscious.
Referee: "Infernape can't fight anymore, victory goes to Lucario!"
"Infernape, come back!" Ash looks at his pokéball and smiles "You were amazing, Infernape. I couldn't ask more of you."
"Hm. This pokémon emanates dark energy." Mewtwo watched everything from a distant place.
"That was quick..." Max was a bit scared.
"Did you guys notice the Aura Sphere's color?" Ritchie.
"What do you mean?" Morrison.
"Normally, a Aura Sphere is blue, but the one that Lucario launched was black." Gary.
"Is that the reason why Ash felt sick?" Delia.
"Recent researches found out that the Aura Sphere's color depends on the aura of the Pokémon who's using it." Prof Rowan explained. "It's usually blue because the Pokémon are glad to be defending their trainers and giving their all."
"Then that means that Lucario's aura is black as well?" Zoe.
"This is terrible..." Tracy.
"What is terrible?" Kenny.
"It means that Lucario's heart is full of hate, right?" - Tyson.
Everybody falls silent and resume watching the arena.
All around the stadium, everyone was talking about Lucario. On the VIP section, Mr. Goodshow comments with Snow Point's Nurse Joy and Pastoria's Officer Jenny, in charge of security.
"I know that, as the president of the Pokémon League Comitee, I must be neutral... But I can't help wishing that Ash wins this match."
"Mr. Goodshow..." Joy looks at him, understanding what he means.
"I've known Ash for years and have seen him battle several times in League competitions. And I could feel his spirit in every single one of them."
"Spirit?" Jenny.
"Yes." Goodshow smiles. "He loves every single Pokémon, no exceptions. And thinks about their well-being before his own. He would sacrifice his own life to protect them. He has the spirit of a true Pokémon trainer. Trainers exist in order to take care of the Pokémon and protect them. They are the symbol of the friendship bond that exists between Pokémon and humans. But lately, people have been forgetting that." Mr. Goodshow stares at the arena, worried. "Paul is the absolute opposite of Ash. He doesn't understand how important it is to make bonds with Pokémon and only uses them as battle tools. Everything he searches for is power, and doesn't care about the consequences at all. If he wins, it'll be a disaster!"
"I understand..." Jenny nods. "People will start behaving like him and will do everything in order to win, even if that means ruining the happiness of their Pokémon."
"This battle will be decisive." Goodshow was absolutely serious. "Not only the future of the League is on stake here, it's the future of all pokémon!"
"Staraptor, go!" "STARRRAPTOR!" Ash sends his next Pokémon into battle. "Aerial Ace!"
"Extreme Speed!" Staraptor clash and bounce with the power of their own attacks. Both Pokémon stare at each other fiercely.
"CLOSE COMBAT!" Both trainers shout at the same time.
"STAR!" "CARIO!"
They start trading blows furiously! Striking and resisting, with no time to dodge or even feel any pain! The crowd goes wild with the intense demonstration of guts and power!
"DOUBLE TEAM!" The bird Pokémon creates several illusions of himself. In addition to the Close Combat, Staraptor leaves Lucario defenseless! It seemed like there were ten Staraptors attacking him!
"Destroy them all with Dark Pulse!" A wave of dark energy makes every single illusion disappear. But Staraptor wasn't among them!
"Where is he?" Paul and Lucario searched for their opponent.
"BRAVE BIRD!" From high up in the sky, Staraptor dove towards Lucario with a blinding speed!
"He's up there, Lucario! AURA SPHERE!" Lucario fires a powerful blast at Staraptor, but the bird's attack isn't stopped. His body is surrounded by energy!
"Why didn't he stop his attack?" Paul was clearly losing his cool. Ash whispered silently: "Please, hang in there, Staraptor..."
The bird strikes his target violently. The impact was so huge that every single person in the stadium felt the ground shake. A dense cloud of dust was covering the arena, which was completely destroyed from the fierce battles so far.
The stadium was completely silent.
Announcer: What happened to the Pokémon?"
Slowly, two shapes could be seen in the arena: One was standing, the other was down.
"Oh, no..." Ash sees Staraptor fallen on the ground, uncounscious. Lucario looked well, despite everything that happened.
Referee: "Staraptor was defeated! Lucario wins!"
Ash returns his Pokémon. "Rest, Staraptor, you deserve it!"
"I told you before... Your Staraptor is weak. Always was, and always will be! Just like his trainer!"
"SHUT UP! I'm not only his trainer, I'M HIS FRIEND!" Ash loses control. He looks down, trying to calm himself, but his head was full of doubts.
Dammit, dammit, dammit! Is it my destiny to always be defeated by him?
All my time travelling and training, was it all in vain?
"ASH, YOU MORON! I DIDN'T TRAVEL ALL THE WAY HERE TO SEE YOU LOSE!" Misty screamed from the edge of the stands. She ran all the way down until the first row.
"Misty?" Ash was surprised, he hadn't seen her yet.
She... She came to see me.
"What the hell is she doing? We were supposed to support Ash, not to bother him!" Dawn was upset.
"Let's say she's doing it her own way..." Tracy was laughing. He remembered the time when they were travelling around the Orange Islands, the battle between Ash and Rudy in the Trovita Gym. When Ash was cornered, Misty did that very same thing: shouted him back to his senses and made him come back to the fight.
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU WAITING FOR? DO SOMETHING!"
"I know that! You don't have to shout!" Ash recovers his senses and smiles at his friend.
"Beat him down, Ash!" Misty retributes the smile.
Thanks, Mist!
"Another screaming weirdo..." May, Dawn, and Misty fire a deadly stare at Paul. As for Ash, he turns to Paul, deep anger burning in his eyes.
"DON'T YOU EVER TALK LIKE THAT ABOUT MY BEST FRIEND, GET IT?" Misty is surprised by Ash's reaction.
Am I that important to him?
"Ok, buddy, now it's your turn!" Pikachu jumps from Ash's shoulder, landing lightly in the middle of the arena. Sparks were flying out of his cheeks, much bigger and more intense than Electivire's!
"PIKA!"
"Beat him with your Dark Pulse!" "Agility!"
"LUCARIO!" "PIKA!" Pikachu easily dodges the Dark Pulse thanks to his Agility.
"Show them what's speed... EXTREME SPEED!" Lucario rushes towards Pikachu.
"THUNDERBOLT!" "Pi... Ka... CHUU!" Pikachu releases a massive amount of energy, forming multiple beams that ran through the ground!
"LUCARR!" Lucario is hit and his attack is stopped! That makes him furious, and his aura started to become visible: dark waves filled his surroundings, giving Ash goosebumps.
"Be careful, Pikachu! That Lucario is a bad Pokémon!"
"Pika!" ("OK!")
"Aura Sphere!" "Another Thunderbolt!" Lucario and Pikachu go all-out in their attacks. However, the Aura Sphere is more powerful and blasts through the lightning, fully hitting Pikachu!
"CHAAA...!"
"Close Combat with no mercy!" Lucario charged at Pikachu and started striking him nonstop. Every punch echoed painfully through the stadium.
Ash was desperate. But something felt different. In the middle of the whirlwind in his mind, there was some kind of clarity. What was that? He definetly felt something, and it... it was coming from Lucario!
"Be careful, he's coming from above!" Pikachu quickly evades, leaving Lucario out of control!
"CARR!" A new flurry of attacks comes brutally, but Ash could see every movement before Lucario even started it!
"Up! Right! Left! Right! Down! Left!" Pikachu followed every command, evading all of Lucario's punches.
"Dammit... FINISH HIM, LUCARIO!" Lucario prepares a full power attack.
"USE IRON TAIL FROM BELOW!" "PI-KAA!" The small electric Pokémon sweeps his enemy's legs, making Lucario fall down on the ground.
"RETREAT!" Pikachu jumps back moments before Lucario releases a powerful Dark Pulse!
"JUMP NOW!" Pikachu evades the Aura Sphere for a hair. Paul isn't pleased with what he saw.
"EXTREME SPEED!" "VOLT TACKLE!"
"Pika pika pikapikapikapika..." As the lightning-covered rat charged at the furious Lucario, Ash screamed: "DUCK!", making Pikachu get down just as Lucario was moving over him! "...PIKAAAA!"
"LUCARIOOOO...!" Pikachu leaps high up, striking Lucario's body with an incredibly powerful Volt Tackle! The impulse makes both of them fly 30 feet in the air, like a lightning bolt coming from below! The attack ends with an amazing explosion of energy, briefly blinding everyone in the stadium!
Pikachu lands on his four legs as Lucario hits the ground hard. "Pi..." Sparks fly out of his cheeks, waiting for his opponent to get up.
But he doesn't.
Referee: "Lucario can't fight anymore, the winner is Pikachu!"
Announcer: "Paul has one Pokémon left!"
"I think I know who's the next one." Brock.
"Torterra..." Everyone whispers in unison.
"GO TORTERRA!" Paul's huge Torterra appears in the arena. His first and most powerful Pokémon. He walks slowly and approaches Pikachu with a calm look in his eyes.
"Torterra tor terra terra." ("Before we fight, I'd like if you heard me.").
To be continued...
Me: Another chapter done!
Morrison: Such a creepy Lucario...
Max: I was even afraid of him...
Zoe: But Pikachu totally rocked!
Drew (stroking his hair): I was really impressed.
Pikachu (scratching behind his head): Pikachu... (You're exaggerating...)
Prof. Rowan: Critiques, praise, suggestions? Please leave a comment.
Dawn: You have to be more enthusiastic, Professor!