Disclaimer: I don't own anything, except Lorelei and Damien – that's the only character
A/N: Thank you for anyone who has read this – feel free to review it and let me know what you think
Chapter 02
Ash looked at his opponent – his original thought was that his opponent would be a challenge, based on what he had been told. Behind her, in the stands, Ash could see Damien eagerly watching the battle.
"Let the battle begin!" the referee called out, swinging the flag down to the ground.
"Alright, Spheal – come on out!" he heard his opponent, call out.
On the arena below Lorelei, a Pokémon who Ash assumed got the name Spheal from its near spherical shape stood ready to battle. It seemed small, but Ash had learnt not to determine strength by size. Spheal could very well still be strong despite being smaller than Pikachu.
Ash's next thought was to choose his first Pokémon, which he thought he would use a Pokémon that would be him an advantage through type. According to Dexter, Spheal was an Ice and Water type, so a grass type would be ideal.
"Sceptile – I choose you!" he cried out, throwing the Pokéball in the air.
It had been a while since Ash had used Sceptile, but he was grateful to have the Grass Pokémon on his side and ready to fight.
"Sceptile…" the Pokémon said, with a readiness in its voice.
The two opponents watched as the arena transformed into a rocky ground where sharp and jagged rocks jutted out of the ground that could be used as protection, but also as something to create more damage.
"Okay Spheal, let's kick it off with a Water Gun!" Lorelei commanded, extending her arm out to one side.
Her Pokémon took a deep breath, inhaling the cool air and exhaling sharply with a string of water whistling through its jaw towards Sceptile.
"Dodge it, and use Leaf Blade!"
The dark green arms of his Pokémon lit up, shining like sharp edges as he hurtled towards the icy Pokémon, who barely had enough time to dodge it.
Lorelei's command to dodge it just wasn't quick enough – Sceptile nicked Spheal by the very tip of his Leaf Blade.
"Now Spheal – use Encore!" she yelled, trying not to let the battle overcome her.
Echoes of clapping and cheers filled the air, created by Spheal's Encore. Whilst Ash's Pokémon was distracted by the celebratory noises it could hear, Spheal chose to hide behind one of the jagged rocks to catch its breath.
"Come on Sceptile, snap out of it!" Ash yelled out in frustration. "You got to snap out of it!"
But Sceptile wasn't so quick to snap out of it – it was just taking in all of the cheers, thinking it was all for him.
"Spheal – use Aurora Beam to break up the rocks!" Lorelei ordered, followed by a cheer from the greedy little Castform. "You can do it!"
Ash watched as Sceptile was hit by numerous chunks of rocks that had been broken up by the aurora beam. Right now, this battle seemed a lot tougher than Ash had anticipated. "Look out!"
Behind Ash, Brock stroked his chin, trying to figure out Lorelei's battle strategy. "It's like she's trying to avoid any head on attack on Sceptile. Probably because Sceptile has a greater speed than Spheal, taking into account Spheal's size and mobility. Ash, you really ought to take advantage of Sceptile's speed – and remember Grass moves may be weak against ice, but Spheal is both Ice and Water, so Sceptile has an advantage somewhere."
"Yeah!" Ash exclaimed. "Okay Sceptile – use Bullet Seed."
Dawn didn't agree with Ash's move choice and felt the need to say something. "Ash – Sceptile's still affected by Spheal's Encore, there's no guarantee any attack will land a hit."
"I know what I'm doing," Ash replied, smiling cheerfully.
"Pika!" Pikachu frowned as Sceptile lazily sent out some seeds that littered the rocky ground.
The seeds seemed to have evaded Spheal, who was now nowhere to be seen. It was then that Sceptile snapped out of Spheal's encore.
"Sceptile?" it said, confused as to how its opponent could have disappeared. Cautiously, it moved forwards, passing the halfway mark of the pitch, looking left and right, hoping to catch a glimpse of Spheal.
"Spheal – use Body Slam now!" Lorelei yelled cheerfully, enthusiastic that Sceptile had fallen right into her trap.
To the side of Sceptile, a pile of broken up rocks moved and out shot Spheal. There was a thud as the spherical Pokémon smashed into the larger Pokémon, by size. Lorelei's Spheal bounced back and stabilised itself after a slight wobble. Even though Sceptile had gone to search for his rival, the seeds that had littered the ground caused Spheal to trip and tumble, sending him crashing into one of the rocks that was still standing firm in the arena.
"Spheal!" Lorelei cried out, causing her to miss Ash's next command to Sceptile. "Look out!" she screamed as a swarm of leaves swirled through the air and struck Spheal.
A squeal from her Pokémon echoed in her ear and she felt the pain in her heart as Spheal was hit multiple times by Sceptile's Leaf Storm.
"Spheal – you have to get up!"
"Sceptile, use Pound whilst Spheal is recovering," Ash called out to his Pokémon, beginning to feel the battle was moving in his favour.
As Sceptile hurtled towards the extremely weakened aquatic Pokémon that was trying to get up, Lorelei took a risk and ordered Spheal to take up a bolder stance.
"Spheal – Hail attack, now!"
Damien's mouth dropped open, like he was disagreeing with his pupil's choice of attack. "Lorelei – what are you doing?"
Hail began to shower down on the arena – Sceptile tried to avoid the sharp pellets when it crashed into a rock face. Unlike his opponent, the Grass Pokémon took cover as the hail became lodged into the ground of the battlefield. Dust spewed up into the air as the hail hit the ground, shrouding Ash and Lorelei's vision.
Anticipation filled the air as the spectators tried to see who had become victorious in the storm of hail.
Only one of the victors celebrated when they saw that their Pokémon was still standing and it was left to the referee to say who had won the round.
"Spheal is unable to battle – the round goes to Sceptile and Ash."
Lorelei held out Spheal's light blue and white Pokéball – a Dive ball. "Spheal, return." Her Pokémon was engulfed in the usual red mist before returning to the Pokémon. "You did really well, Spheal. You allowed me to get to know Ash's battling strategy. I know just what to do." She set the Dive ball down on the metal block to the side of her and picked up the next on. "Okay, here goes!"
With the normal red Pokéball thrown up in the air, Ash saw its next opponent, and Brock saw a Pokémon of impeccable appearance.
The older guy stood up in the viewing stand in complete amazement. "What a glossy coat, a coat that must have taken months- no years to cultivate. I would love to hear the recipe for a coat like that." This was the breeder in him coming out. "That Ninetales must have had a lot of care and attention from Leia – she's certainly raised it well."
"A Ninetales – well, this won't be easy with Sceptile weakened. Sceptile, return!" Ash withdrew Sceptile and decided to stick to type advantages for now. "Go, Buizel!"
Brock let out a small utterance. "Ash! Buizel will still be recovering from the last battle."
"Brock," Dawn said, resting a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sure he knows what he's doing. Let's just sit back and let him see get on with the match."
The referee held his hands to the air. "With Spheal unable to battle, the pitch will transform into a water zone!"
In the centre of the pitch, a stone tower with a staircase spiralling up around it shot up through the rocky ground which was now filling with water, apart from two platforms Buizel and Ninetales prepared themselves upon.
"Okay Ninetales, keep on that tower and let Buizel make the first move." Lorelei gritted her teeth, agitated that she had let one of her Pokémon slip and get defeated, but like she had told Spheal – she was beginning to see how Ash would battle.
"Well I can't ask for a better invitation, Buizel, let's kick this off with a Sonic Boom!" Ash grinned.
"Buizel," his Pokémon said, agreeing with Ash's choice of move. The aquatic Pokémon sprang into the air, flicking its tail around and sending crescent shaped sonic booms rippling through the air.
"Now Ninetales – use Safeguard!"
Lorelei's Ninetales protected itself and deflected the sonic booms like they were a baby Pidgey's Gust attack.
"Wahh!? Safeguard…" Ash looked down. "Buizel, get Ninetales into the water with a Water Gun!"
Buizel swam under the water, preparing himself to strike Ninetales when she least expected it. He narrowed his eyes at the Fire type as she scurried about the platform frantically, stressed that she couldn't see her foe. Propelling his tail in concentric circles, Buizel shot out of the water and squirted the Water Gun attack at Ninetales.
Lorelei gasped, and then let out a little laugh. "Show them what's special about you, Ninetales!"
Ash was confused at what Lorelei meant – Ninetales was a Fire type, not even a Fire Spin attack would deflect the water gun from Buizel. His mouth hit the floor when he saw what was so special about Ninetales.
It plunged into the water and for a few seconds, it was safe and heading for the stairs up the stone pillar.
"Quick, Ninetales!" Lorelei shouted, her fists clenched in anticipation because her Ninetales could only be in the water for a little while before it started to take a heavy hits to its health. "Come on," she muttered.
Castform nuzzled the girl's cheek, trying to calm the stressed out trainer.
"Buizel, steer Ninetales from the steps with a Water Pulse!" Ash called out, eager to take up the opportunity to knock out another of his opponent's Pokémon.
"Bui-Buizel," Buizel replied, as if to say 'this will be a piece of cake.' Seeing Ninetales struggle towards the steps, Buizel sped ahead of her and blew her back with the rings of a water pulse.
"Ninetales! You have to get out of the water!" Lorelei squealed.
"Call Ninetales back, Lorelei – she's been in the water too long. Save her strength for later." Damien stood up boldly. "This fight will be over if you don't. Ninetales can help to defeat Sceptile."
Though she hated to admit that Damien was right, Lorelei recalled Ninetales who was now floundering about towards the platform it had started on. As she turned to the stand where her other Pokéballs were, she hesitated.
"Come on Lorelei – you need to use the arena to your advantage!" shouted Damien, frustrated that she hadn't chosen quicker.
"There are other ways to win, other than advantages of the arena." Lorelei picked up a safari ball from the stand. "Bellossom, I believe in you."
"Bella!" Bellossom frowned at Buizel who was now playing up to the cheers of the audience.
At the sound of another Pokémon, Buizel readied itself to fight in an instant.
"Kick it off with a Solarbeam!" Lorelei yelled.
A glowing light lit up Bellossom as the Pokémon powered up the attack. "Bell-la," it growled, holding in the energy until it reached a maximum.
"Buizel, use Sonic Boom!" Ash shouted desperately.
"Now, Bellossom! Before Buizel gets a chance." Lorelei grinned as her flowery Pokémon released the powerful light beam, striking Buizel and its sonic booms. "Alright Bellossom!" she exclaimed when she saw Buizel collapsed out on the stairs – much to the frustration of his trainer.
"Buizel is unable to battle, this round goes to Bellossom and Lorelei. The arena will now change. To a grassy meadow."
"Buizel – return…" Ash admitted in defeat. "Sceptile – I choose you."
Sceptile seemed weak now – but Ash had faith in the Pokémon he had raised from Treecko. He was using Sceptile so that he could save his other Pokémon and surprise Lorelei later on.
"Bellossom – Petal Dance!" Lorelei demanded that her Pokémon use the attack before even giving Bellossom a chance to recover from solarbeam.
"Hide in the grass, Sceptile!"
A flare of red and pink petals that were all shades of the setting sun tore towards Sceptile who ducked down under the taller grass. This didn't put Bellossom off, she controlled the petals to soar across the grass, determined to find her opponent.
"Pound, Sceptile!"
Sceptile struck Bellossom, who tumbled away into the tall grass. Rather than search for his new opponent, Sceptile learnt to wait it out and stood his ground.
"Stun Spore, Bellossom!"
Spots of orange burst out of the grass and dusted Sceptile's body – he tried to leap away, but collapsed as electrical sparks jolted across his body. He was paralyzed and down on one knee in the opening of the meadow that was surrounded by the grass.
"Come on, Sceptile, you got to get over that!" Ash yelped helplessly.
"Magical Leaf, Bellossom!"
Dark leaves that looked like they had been coated in a purple glowing ectoplasm sliced Sceptile one too many times. Sceptile was now lying flat out on the meadow, its body shook a little as it struggled to get up, but it was hopeless. Ash's Sceptile collapsed on the floor – unable to battle.
"Sceptile is unable to battle – the round goes to Bellossom and Lorelei. The pitch will now change to a normal pitch."
"Alright then, Muk – I choose you!"
Lorelei raised her eyebrows. "Muk? That's a weird choice… Maybe Ash isn't as predictable as I had thought. Alright Bellossom, let's make this a match people won't forget!" Lorelei pointed at Muk. "Let's use stun spore in a circular motion."
Bellossom danced about the pitch, throwing paralyzing spores onto the ground, but it was purposefully avoiding where Muk stood. This was something that worked successfully in past battles – by making a stun spore circle around the opponent.
"Muk, chase after Bellossom and try to catch it!" Ash yelled.
"Hold everything, Ash." Brock stood up, and looked to Muk's trainer. "Lorelei had used a different tactic – she's gotten Bellossom to isolate Muk due to the stun spore that have lined the ground."
"Oh right." Ash turned back to the pitch. "Nice try, Lorelei," he taunted his opponent. "Muk, let's dress up the pitch with a Sludge Bomb."
Due to his trainer's orders, Muk open his slimy mouth and out erupted a series of thick looking dark purple sludge bombs. The bombs splattered the pitch, covering the stun spores that were on the ground.
Bellossom's little legs spun out of control as she evaded the bombs of sludge Muk was sending her way. However, with the mix of sludge and stun spores on the ground, there was very little space for her to land without being near the poisonous sludge or paralyzing spores. One wrong move from Bellossom and her foot was in the sludge. A flush of purple coursed across the small Pokémon's skin. She was poisoned and if she stayed on the pitch any longer, then her health would take a drastic hit.
"Oh no!" Lorelei gasped. "Bellossom, return!" Her poisoned Pokémon returned to the Pokéball. "You did well Bellossom – you've definitely given me a fighting chance, but my next Pokémon will definitely have the advantage against Muk." The young trainer's mind was already made up – she didn't need Damien's input this time. "Flygon – I choose you, stay in the air!"
Flygon soared above the pitch, circling above Muk, ready to strike.
"Use Dragonbreath, Flygon!" Lorelei called out, hoping to see a puff of a gas to be sent flying towards Muk, causing it to vacate its 'safe zone.'
Instead, Flygon decided it had other plans. It flapped its strong wings, picking up the dust particles on the pitch and whipping them around Muk – impairing the Pokémon's visions.
"Flygon – what are you doing?" Lorelei cried out helplessly, shielding her eyes with her arm as the dust flowed uncontrollably through the stadium. "Stop this now, Flygon!" Desperate to control her own Pokémon, Lorelei attempted to pull her Pokémon back, but it avoided the red mist of the Pokéball. "Why are you being so disobedient?" she whimpered.
The dust started to settle, despite Ash attempting to get Muk's Screech attack to separate the sandstorm, which didn't help at all.
Lorelei tried to get Flygon to use Double Team, but it seems that her Pokémon would rather use a Steel Wing instead.
The pure strength of Flygon's wingspan sliced through Muk, leaving it unable to carry on – much to the dismay of Ash and the disbelief of Lorelei.
"Muk is unable to battle – the round goes to Flygon and Lorelei. The pitch shall change to a volcanic region – watch the lava flow down the mid-section of the pitch, it's hot stuff!"
"I'm not finished yet – Charizard, I choose you!" Ash was sure that Charizard would hopefully be on his side, and obey his commands. Recently, Charizard was very temperamental with whether or not it would obey or not.
Dawn seemed more nervous than ever before, she just couldn't stop fidgeting. "Ash only has three Pokémon left – whilst Lorelei has five… Do you think he can still win it, Brock?"
"It depends. Charizard is a strong Pokémon – but the question is whether or not Charizard will obey Ash. We also have to remember that he knows that Lorelei has a Ninetales, and a Bellossom – both of who are weak, so she doesn't have the element of surprise like Ash does right now. But you can be sure that Pikachu is in the two Ash has left to choose from."
The arena fell silent as Flygon and Charizard stared at each other with narrowed eyes. Little did their trainers know that neither Pokémon was going to obey orders. This round was going to be a battle that only Flygon and Charizard could decide the winner of…
Thoughts from AspiringWriterGirl = It seemed better to split the battle into two chapters – so with Ash on three Pokémon and Lorelei on five, who is going to win this match?