I LIIIIIIIIIIIIIVVVVE!
Rayquaza45: Hello there readers. It certainly has been forever, hasn't it? Well, technically it's been 294 days...or 42 weeks...or 9 3/4 months since the last update.
I know I let a lot of you guys down with the lack of updates. Certainly, I planned for this story to be finished in 2010 itself or by New Years leading into 2011 or May 2011 at the latest but laptop crashes, course work, the release of several movies and other factors led to this delay.
Of course, if any of you have read my Haruhi Suzumiya/Maid Sama crossover fic 'To Go Beyond Melancholy', you'll know that I have at least been online. If there are any fans of those series, I suggest you go read that fic since it's the only crossover fic between those two series on this site.
To tell the truth, I planned THIS story to be 20 chapters but it's now gone on to 21. This is the 18th chapter and so after this, we've still got three more to look forward to. Don't worry, they're mostly done and so I guarantee that there won't be another delay like this.
Of course, given this delay, you may want to refresh your memory of this story and read previous chapters so this chapter flows smoothly in your mind.
Thanks to Gerbilftw for beta reading this chapter, and the others too.
So I hope you guys aren't so mad at me for the delay such that you will refrain from reviewing...? I know it was messed up but still, I wanna read your thoughts (unbiased and non-flaming thoughts) just like any writer here.
Disclaimer: I do not own pokemon or any aspect of it.
Chapter 18 Leaf Green and Fire...Ash!
For Ash Ketchum, only one day remained before he would battle Leaf Green, his girlfriend and the one he's liked since he was a child. The Battle Spirits Tournament, which had started as a competition which he'd entered with his friends Brock, Dawn and Gary soon became a life-altering event where he met up with his old friend May, her boyfriend Brendan and, of course, Leaf. I just a few short weeks, he had ended up learning things about his friends which he'd never known before. Thinking about life in ways he had never really done before and bonded with his pokémon.
It was now around 2:00pm and with a little less than 24 hours left before he had to begin one of the biggest battles of his life, Ash stood in the training field in the back of Leaf's vacation house facing the six pokemon he was going to use in the finals.
"Basically, we've come a long way and tomorrow, we reach the final stretch." He told them.
The six pokemon cheered loudly at Ash's words. All of them were clearly excited about the finals and the prospect of battling Leaf's pokemon the next day.
"Take the day off," He said. "Cause we need to be ready for tomorrow."
With that, Ash recalled all of them to their pokeballs except Pikachu, who climbed onto his shoulder as he put his pokeballs back on his belt and turned around to go back inside. But when he turned, he noticed Brendan, Gary and Dawn coming out.
"Hey guys, what's up?" Ash asked as he noticed all of them staring at him in a curious manner.
"Pikaka!" The electric rodent cheered.
"Ash, are you ready for tomorrow?" Dawn asked him.
"I'm fine." He told them as if they should've already known. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing's wrong, dude." Brendan told him as he crossed his arms. "Why? Do you think something's wrong?"
"No, really, I've just been out here giving pep talks and getting psyched for tomorrow." Ash explained.
"Isn't this the first time you've ever made it to the finals of a big tournament?" Dawn asked.
It was true. He'd made the top 16 in Kanto, the top 8 in Johto and Hoenn and the top 4 in Sinnoh. He'd won the Orange League and the Battle Frontier, but they weren't exactly styled along the ways of a tournament.
"It is." Ash acknowledged as he clenched his fist. "And tomorrow is when it happens and I'm gonna win it."
"Well, that's when it all comes to a close." Gary stated as he crossed his arms.
"I know." Ash said as a familiar tree branch caught his eye which he then pointed to. "Remember when we first got here?"
"Sure do." "Yeah" Were Brendan and Gary's responses to seeing the sliced off tree branch which Brock had once climbed for less-than-wholesome reasons.
"What happened?" Dawn asked, looking at the three guys. "Did I miss it?"
The girls never did find out that Brock tried to watch them when they were in a hot tub in their bikinis or that Ash's Sceptile sliced off the tree branch he was hanging on and made him fall to the ground. He wasn't seriously hurt, aside from his pride.
"Brock just tried to saw off a dead tree branch and he fell." Brendan said, trying to come up with the best lie possible.
"When?" She asked.
"When we first got to Olivine and met each other." Brendan explained. "Just before the tournament started."
"I see." Dawn nodded. "At least he didn't get hurt, right?"
"Yeah he was fine." Brendan told her.
"Man that feels like so long ago," Gary realized. "And the finals are tomorrow."
"Should be an interesting day." Brendan said, looking at the sky. "But after that, I'm heading back to Hoenn."
"After that?" Ash pondered.
"Yeah, after that." He enunciated. "Why? How long were you planning to stick around here?"
Admittedly, he hadn't thought about it. He'd been so focused on training for the tournament and practicing for the stunt that he hadn't considered that he'd be doing after the tournament was over since he would have nowhere to go but home, just like before the tournament.
"I don't know." He shrugged.
"What was it you were gonna do before the tournament began?" Dawn asked him.
"Nothing." Ash bluntly told her, surprising her somewhat. "I'd been in my house for two weeks, not doing anything till I found out about the tournament on TV and came here."
"And I'm sure you're glad that you did." She laughed.
Gary nodded. "Truthfully, nothing you did back in Pallet Town was very productive."
"Well, I did…I…uhm…there." He came out.
He was happy to have come, of course, but truthfully, those two weeks he'd spent at home hadn't been very productive. He hadn't decided which league to challenge so he was just biding his time. Eventually, he'd seen the commercial advertising the tournament with Gary and Dawn and he ended up coming to Olivine to compete, with Brock joining them along the way.
"Yeah, that's a real adventure." Brendan sarcastically commented before breaking into a hysterical laughter.
Ash then turned to Dawn and Gary. "Why did you wanna talk about this?" He asked.
"Nothing big, but for Leaf…." Gary hesitated. "Now that you're…"
"Together?" Dawn finished the sentence for him.
"Yes, thank you." Gary sarcastically responded before going back to normal. "But I was wondering where you wanted to go from here."
"Well…I kinda haven't thought about it." Ash scratched his head. "I've just been so focused on the tournament, I haven't really been thinking about much else."
"How typical." Gary snidely remarked.
"I was gonna go back to Pallet Town, but that's about as far as I got." He said.
"Well then…" Dawn said as she turned around. "We're just gonna have to work on that afterwards."
"You're not gonna do anything are you?" Ash asked.
"Well…uh…." She snickered. "…No."
With that, the three of them took their leave and went back inside as Ash and Pikachu stayed outside.
"I'm gonna go get something to eat." Ash said. "Let's go, Pikachu."
"Pika!" The electric rodent cheered.
As Ash and Pikachu went inside from the outside training field, the first room their entered was the kitchen where May, Brock and Leaf were working on something.
"Allow me!" A gleeful May said as she took a plate out of the refrigerator and handed it to Leaf.
"Thank you." Leaf said as she accepted the plate from May and took it back to the counter, but accidentally losing her footing and nearly dropping it.
"Careful!" Brock exclaimed.
"Don't be such a worry wart." Ash said, shrugging off Brock's fear.
"Ash?" Brock was clearly surprised to see him.
"Are you done with your training for today?" May asked.
"Tomorrow's the finals. I'm not training today, I wanna let Pikachu and the others rest."
"Leaf said the same thing." May said. "You two are a lot alike."
The comment made both Ash and Leaf blush for a moment, something which Pikachu took notice of but didn't draw attention to. Ash then got a thought in his head and started getting little nervous.
"Uhh…Leaf." Ash nervously came out.
"Yes?" She asked, smiling.
"Tomorrow's the finals." He said.
"I know." She giggled. "We're battling each other."
"Well…" He started. "I'd say good luck…but I really wanna win."
Leaf was wondering whether it was best to laugh at what Ash just said or to just ignore it. It was a rather strange thing to say.
The raven haired trainer went upstairs with the electric rodent on his shoulders as Leaf and Brock were still in the kitchen snickering over Ash's words while Brendan, Gary and Dawn had presumably left the house.
"Ash and Leaf. Brendan and May. Gary and Dawn." Brock thought to himself as he carried some plates. "I guess I'm the only one left."
Inside Ash's room, the raven haired trainer was rummaging through his large suitcase as Pikachu looked on in confusion.
"PikaPi?" The electric rodent asked.
"It's gotta be in here somewhere!" Ash exclaimed, ignoring Pikachu. "I packed it with the other one!"
On his bed, various clothes were scattered along with toothbrushes and combs. Ash began to get a little furious and gritted his teeth as he began rummaging even more before finally seeing a familiar green symbol.
"I found it!" He cheered.
(Battle Tower, Olivine City)
(The Next Day)
On the 70th floor of the Olivine City Battle Tower, the stage was set for the final and biggest battle of the tournament. Ash Ketchum would battle Leaf Green.
The audience's stands were filled to capacity as literally thousands of fans showed up to watch the matches. Unlike before, they were arranged in a circular order around the field, which was round and was several meters below the lowed level of seats.
The field was a large dirt arena. It was brown with white lines dividing the field between the two battlers. Around the walls of the field were the multi-angle cameras showing everything on the field, protected by a layer of thick material which was said to be impossible to penetrate.
Near the middle of the rows was where Ash and Leaf's friends sat. In one row there was Brock, Dawn, Gary, May and Brendan with unknown people sitting next to Brendan and Brock.
"Even though we're Ash's friends, these are the best seats they give us?" Brendan muttered.
"You should be glad we're not in the upper deck." Dawn told him.
A camera crew was present near the referee's box, which was fixed to the wall and was several feet about the field, requiring a ladder to get onto. The camera crew had finished setting up for the event and was just screening the field for the live telecast since the referee had yet to arrive and since he wasn't there, Ash and Leaf couldn't be called out yet.
The biggest change from previous rounds was the roof. Indeed, since the 70th floor was the highest in the Olivine tower, a sky roof was added so that flying-type pokemon could use their full potential. The roof was open as the sun shined down brightly on the field and the members of the audience, making several of them reach for the sunscreen.
"This place is huge!" Gary thought to himself.
Elsewhere in the stands, three people sat perched to watch. They were the three tournament contestants who had already been knocked out of the contest: Jackson, Marina and Jimmy.
At the very top of the stands, which was quite far up from the bottom, a familiar trainer who'd battled Ash in the top 8 round sat perched in his seat, ready to watch the boy who'd beaten him.
(Veilstone City, Sinnoh Region)
At a house with a red rooftop, a boy with purple hair sat on a couch in front of his TV. The walls of the room were tiled white with a golden trim around a desk showcasing several league badges.
As the boy watched the TV intently, almost angry at it for not starting the fight yet, another boy, older than the one on the couch, walked in carrying a Starly on his elbow.
"So, Paul, who's your money on?" The older boy asked the younger one. "Ash, who knocked you out of the Sinnoh League or the girl who knocked you out of the Hoenn League two years ago?"
"Don't talk to me about that!" He snapped.
(Twinleaf Town, Sinnoh Region)
At a house located by the side of the road, a lady with purple hair was sitting on her couch watching TV along with two other people. One was a tall man with blonde hair wearing a green jacket and the other was a teenager with the same blonde hair wearing a shirt with orange and white stripes.
"Gla?" A small cat-like pokemon purred as it entered the room and curled up in front of the three humans, blocking the TV.
"Glameow, come now." The lady said to her pokemon, which immediately left the TV area and perched itself next to the couch.
(LaRousse City, Hoenn Region)
Three trainers were watching a TV in the lobby of the Battle Tower located in the super high-tech metropolis known as LaRousse City.
One of the three trainers had brown hair and wore a long, dark green jacket over a purple shirt and crème coloured pants. Another was an overweight boy with ginger hair wearing an orange and red garb. The third was a boy with light brown hair and wore a purple shirt with pink coverings on the shoulders and white pants.
Behind them were three pokemon which were watching the match as well: a Sceptile, a Swampert and a Blaziken.
(Olivine City, Johto Region)
Inside the living room of a fancy villa located near the coastline of Olivine City, a man with short blue hair sat on a sofa watching TV. Sitting next to him was a girl with long brown hair.
On the floor, also watching the TV was an Aron.
(Cerulean City, Kanto Region)
The camera panned over the arena, showing the audience, the field and the box where the referees would be.
"Come on…" An orange haired girl muttered as she carefully watched the television, hoping to see her old friend become the victor.
(Pallet Town, Kanto Region)
In the laboratory of Professor Samuel Oak, Delia Ketchum, mother of the finalist Ash Ketchum, sat on the couch along with her trusty Mr. Mime, Professor Oak himself and the assistant to the professor, Tracey Sketchit.
"Mime, mime mi!" The barrier pokemon exclaimed.
"Don't worry Mimey," Delia told it. "It's going to end exactly how it should."
(Battle Tower, Olivine City)
Back at the Battle Tower, the door on the referee stand opened up and not one, but two people walked through it. One was Dome Ace Tucker of the Kanto Battle Frontier who had been the acting referee for the rounds so far and the other one came as a surprise to everyone in attendance.
It was Wallace, the champion of the Hoenn Region who had advertised for the tournament but hadn't made an appearance since the preliminaries ended. Wearing the same outfit he wore for the Wallace Cup event held in Sinnoh's Lake Valour, he and Tucker stood at the furthest most point of the referee stand, eliciting wild cheers from the thousands of spectators as they waved to them.
"Hello, my friends." Wallace said as he waved to the audience. "It's wonderful to be here once again after my brief visit!"
"Are you ready to start the finals?" Tucker said, also waving his hand.
The audience started cheering even louder to show their enthusiasm. As to Ash's friends, the noise was starting to hurt Gary's ears. Even Dawn and May were cheering for the battle to start as they saw Wallace put his hand up to say something.
"I know you are all eager to start the finals, but we have something else to do before we get there." Wallace announced.
"What would that be, Wallace?" Tucker asked in the fakest possible voice, clearly trying to build up suspense.
"Did we not announce that a special guest would be joining us?" Wallace asked in a similar fake manner.
"We certainly did." Tucker nodded as both of the turned to the open sky roof, causing everyone in the audience to look up as well. Even the cameras began to focus on the sky as well.
"He's here." Both Tucker and Wallace said with lasting emphasis on the second word.
In the endlessly far, clear, blue sky with very few clouds and a bright and shining sun, a small figure which was so far away that it looked like a dot was visibly approaching the Battle Tower at an amazing speed.
Murmurs in the audience were deafening as everyone was wondering what was coming towards them. It wasn't a bird and was too damn small to be a plane. Tucker and Wallace clearly knew what it was since they were both smiling as it made its final turn and was now hovering over the field.
As the figure was flying in circles over the field, some part of it separated from the rest and plummeted towards the ground at an incredible rate with something resembling a two foot wing span. It almost looked like a descending from above.
Strangely, it began spinning around as it was just barely a few dozen feet above the referee podium. It was still too small to clearly see it from a distance and was spinning and falling too fast for the cameras to get a clear shot of it with their focus lenses.
When the figure finally landed, it was clear that it was a human but he/she had their back turned and was facing the ground so it was impossible to identify who it was. There was absolute silence as they stood up and turned around, allowing the cameras a full view and letting the audience see…him.
The man had red hair and wore black boots and a blue uniform-like suit underneath a cape. The audience went wild at seeing him as he took a spot between Tucker and Wallace.
Lance, the dragon-type pokemon trainer and the champion of the Johto region had arrived.
"It's Lance!" Dawn exclaimed.
"I guess that means…" Brock started.
"He was the special guest for the finals!" Gary finished.
On the referee podium stood Lance, champion of the Johto region. On his left was Wallace, champion of the Hoenn region and on his right was Dome Ace Tucker of the Kanto Battle Frontier. The three of them had never before been seen in the same area so for them to have gathered here was truly a testament to the prestige of the tournament.
Wallace and Tucker took a step back as Lance took a step forward and grabbed the microphone off its stand. His presence was almost intimidating and his composure made him look even more authoritative than ever before, so much so that the entire audience didn't make a peep.
"Welcome to the finals of the Battle Spirits Tournament." His tone seemed so different from the way he usually spoke, which May and Brock noted. "We've gathered here for an exciting day and what is sure to be one of the most amazing battles we will ever witness."
Following his words, Lance's Dragonite, which was the pokemon he had flown in on, descended to the field for no apparent reason, though Lance clearly knew why. It stood up in the middle of the field, between the green and red doors from which Ash and Leaf were later meant to enter from.
"Well then," He started with a more enthusiastic tone. "Are you ready to get on with it?"
The audience lit up at the question and began cheering and Lance cracked a smile along with Tucker and Wallace.
"Alright then, we begin!" He exclaimed. "Will the red trainer, Leaf Green, please enter the battle arena!"
The large red door opened up from the bottom automatically. But nothing came out immediately. Soon, heavy stomps could be heard. They got louder and louder as whatever was making them was getting closer. Soon the sound was clearly heard as, from under the red door, Venusaur walked onto the field.
The audience, and even the three men on the referee stand, was caught off-guard by what the seed pokemon was carrying on its vines. With seemingly no effort at maintaining her balance, Leaf Green was standing on the green vines of her pokemon.
"What the heck is she doing!" May screeched.
"It seems unlikely that Leaf would do something like this for nothing." Gary observed. "This must be it."
"Must be what?" Brock asked.
"Her grand entrance."
The seed pokemon made its way to the red trainer's section of the field and stood in place. Leaf seemingly had no problem maintaining her balance, which was strange given that she was standing on just two thin vines. She then looked down at her pokemon and nodded, which was received by it.
What happened next surprised everyone in the audience, the gang and even Wallace. The cameras were now displaying her and her pokemon in full.
"Veeeeena…" The seed pokemon said as it carefully lowered its vines.
"Do it!" Leaf shouted.
"Saur!" Venusaur shouted as it flung its vines up, sending Leaf flying straight into the air.
She was around thirty feet above the field as the audience, cameras and the three trainers on the referee podium saw her turn around and face her pokemon from up in the air. Venusaur hunched down further and began shooting its razor leaf attack at its trainer just as she had reached the height of her flight and had begun her descent.
As the leaves got closer to her, it was clear that they would pass under her, but what was surprising was that Leaf actually used them to get back to the ground. She began stepping on them as she got further and further down. It was almost like she was jumping on clouds and descending from the sky.
When she was just a few feet above the ground, Venusaur released its vines one final time in a long stretch and swiped the ground in Leaf's landing zone, sending dust into the air and covering Leaf as she approached.
The cloud of dust on the field made it impossible to see since Venusaur and Leaf were inside it. When the dust finally cleared, Venusaur stood proud behind its owner, who had landed and had struck a pose similar to Ash when he issued a command. The entire audience cheered at her stunt, impressed with her acrobatic ability and noting the preparation time she obviously took.
"Well…it wasn't that impressive." Brendan commented with his arms crossed.
"What's wrong?" May asked him. "You didn't like it?"
"Eh."
"How typical." Brock thought to himself. "Must be the lemonade."
"Well now, wasn't that amazing?" Lance spoke, his voice booming through the microphone. "A fantastic performance by the red trainer who has obviously put a great deal of effort into it!"
Lance then took a look behind him and nodded at Wallace, who nodded back, reached into his pocket and took out what appeared to be a small box with a red button on it and pressed it as Lance raised the microphone back to his face.
"And now…" He said, dragging out his words. "Will the green trainer, Ash Ketchum, please enter the battle arena!"
Several minutes passed and absolutely nothing happened. Leaf was clearly getting irritated with the wait as was everyone else. Wallace began frantically pushing his red button several more times, fearing that it may have been broken.
After a few more minutes, door to the green preparation room flung open and a figure could be seen. It was clearly a person but the light had yet to illuminate them.
With its head flung down and a pokémon on its shoulder, the figure was illuminated by the light and revealed a boy wearing a blue and white jacket with gold trim worn open over a black t-shirt with jeans, sneakers, green fingerless gloves, and a red and white hat bearing a green symbol on the front. The pokémon was a Pikachu, the electric rodent pokémon.
As he lifted his head, his face could clearly be seen thanks to the cameras. It was Ash Ketchum, the green trainer and finalist of the Battle Spirits Tournament. His faithful Pikachu was on his shoulder and waved to the crowd as Ash continued to march forward.
He went onto his side of the field and looked around. He was feeling confident but nothing could've prepared him for what happened next.
Almost the entire audience started booing him and shouting rude things to him. His friends in the audience were also caught off guard by the hundreds of spectators screaming at him, and even Leaf didn't seem to know what to do as she covered her face in embarrassment.
"What kind of stunt was that!" "Loser!" "Wuss!" "Why would Leaf date you!" "Go, Leaf!" Were just among the many insults hurled at the raven haired trainer who started feeling a little uneasy. It took the force of Lance clearing his voice in the microphone for them to subside.
"All because I didn't want them to see him just yet." Ash thought as he looked around.
Up in the audience, the gang was going over the scene.
"That was just plain sad." Dawn commented.
"He needed to do a stunt and wusses out of it..." Gary laughed. "I didn't think even Ash could do that."
"I bet Leaf's performance is looking really good now, huh?" May said as she turned to her boyfriend.
"Well now, I'm sure that was intended to at least look cool." Lance said after the audience had calmed down.
"No doubt." Ash thought to himself.
"I will be the referee for this final round!" Lance announced. "Now then, can both trainers take their positions on the field?"
Ash brought Pikachu to his side and Leaf recalled Venusaur into its pokéball and thanked it for a job well done on its part. Both trainers stood in the area designated for pokémon trainers as they stared down one another. The tension was thick, not a sound was heard as Ash and Leaf stood still, waiting for the battles to begin as Pikachu closed his eyes and began to prepare himself.
"This battle will be a one-on-one battle format with each trainer allowed to use six pokemon!" Lance announced, speaking extremely fast. "After either trainer loses three pokemon, we shall take an intermission. The battle ends if either trainer gives up or all six of their pokémon are knocked out. Ash and Leaf, do you acknowledge?"
"Yes."
"Yes."
"Both of you must now remove a pokéball from their holding spots in preparation for the battle." Lance declared.
Leaf took a pokeball out of her bag while Ash took one off his belt. It had been a while since he'd attached his pokéballs to his current outfit. It reminded him of the old times in Kanto when he just was a rookie. Pikachu also got itself into a fighting stance despite the fact that it was clear that it would not be battling right away.
"Release your pokémon!" Lance instructed.
Ash tossed out his pokéball with his right hand. "It's go time!"
"Fight for us!" Leaf shouted as she threw her pokéball.
On Ash's side came his Infernape, the fully-evolved fire-type starter from the Sinnoh region. The flames on its head burned brightly as the flame pokémon prepared for battle.
On Leaf's side came her Froslass, the ice-type pokémon and evolution of Snorunt. Froslass had been seen before in the tournament against Gary in the semifinals and, like before, was sent out first.
"Both trainers have released their first pokémon and so I now declare the finals of the Battle Spirits Tournament…officially underway!" Lance announced. "Let the final battle BEGIN!"
"Infernape, use flamethrower!" Ash ordered.
"Infernaaaaaaa…" The flame pokémon exclaimed as it tightly clenched its fists and released a reddish-orange stream of fire from its mouth at its opponent.
Leaf was not worried about Ash making the first move, nor about Infernape having a type advantage. She had overcome difficult situations before. "Dodge it!" Leaf instructed her pokémon.
"Fross." The snow land pokémon shrilled as it effortlessly glided out of the path of the flamethrower. Though Infernape turned its head repeatedly, the flame pokémon could not get its attack to hit Froslass despite its many attempts before having to end the attack.
"Infernape, get in the air!" Ash told it.
"Infer!" The flame pokémon shouted as it used its nimbleness to quickly get into the air above Froslass and make its descent.
"Use mach punch!" Ash shouted out.
"Inferaaappppp…" The fully evolved fire-type from Sinnoh screamed as its eyes took on a yellow glow and both of its fists began to glow light blue as it prepared to clock its opponent.
"How foolish" Leaf smugly commented.
As Infernape thrust its first forward, Froslass disappeared from view, causing the flame pokémon to punch the ground instead. The snow land pokémon quickly reappeared behind Infernape without the latter even noticing.
"Infernape, get out of there!" Ash called out to it.
"Use attract!" Leaf told her pokémon.
"Fross." The snow land pokémon hummed as it winked at Infernape and multiple yellow hearts were released from its body. When the attack hit, the flame pokémon's eyes were replaced with hearts, signifying that it had fallen in love with Froslass.
"Oh Ash," Leaf sarcastically spoke. "Did you forget that fighting-type moves have no effect on ghost-type pokémon?"
"Darn it!" Ash cursed. "I was so fixated on Froslass's ice-type that I completely forgot about its second type. I wonder if I should switch to-"
"Froslass, use thunderbolt." Leaf commanded.
"Dodge it, Infernape!" Ash urgently told it.
"Frooooossslaasss…" The snow land pokémon screeched as it released a large bolt of yellow electricity from its body at the immobilized flame pokémon, hitting it directly and sending it flying across the field.
"Infernape, no!" The raven haired trainer exclaimed.
"In…infer…" The flame pokémon muttered as it stood back on its two feet.
"This is really turning into a harder fight than I thought, even with a type advantage." Ash thought to himself.
"Froslass, let try ice beam!" Leaf told it.
"Frooo…" The snow land pokémon shrilled as it formed a blue ball in front of its mouth and fired several beams from it at the flame pokémon.
"Infernape, flame thrower!" Ash worriedly shouted.
Rather than attack, the flame pokémon stood still and was hit by the blue beams, causing it to freeze over. The reluctance to attack was due to its infatuation with Froslass. The frozen block containing Infernape stood still, somehow containing the fire on its head as Froslass approached closer.
"Thunderbolt!" Leaf called out.
"Frooooossslaasss…" The snow land pokémon screeched as it released a large bolt of yellow electricity from its body and nailed the ice block with the flame pokémon inside it, shattering it and sending Ash's pokémon flying through the air before crashing back to the ground.
"Infernape, are you alright?" Ash asked his pokémon.
"In…nfer." The flame pokémon muttered as it struggled to get back to its feet.
"Let's try another ice beam, Froslass." Leaf said to her pokémon.
"Frooo…" The snow land pokémon shrilled as it formed the blue ball in front of its mouth.
"Infernape, you have to try another flamethrower!" Ash told the fire-type.
"Infernaaaaaaa…" The flame pokémon grumbled as it tightly clenched its fists and released its flames just as Froslass released its blue beams.
"Frooo…" "Inferrr…" The two pokémon shouted as the blue ice beam and the reddish-orange flames battle one another. Worst case scenario: the ice beam turns the flamethrower into a frozen fire. Of course, it was impossible and with some effort, the flame pokémon's attack managed to overpower the snow land pokemon's attack with its own.
"Froslass, get out of there!" Leaf exclaimed.
Following orders, the snow land pokémon glided away just as the flamethrower passed the area where it was standing. The ground turned a darker shade of brown while Froslass remained completely unharmed.
"Infernape, the attract is gone!" Ash shouted. "Hit it with flare blitz!"
"Inferrr…" The flame pokémon shouted as its body became surrounded by red-orange fire as it shot itself at the snow land pokémon like a guided missile. "AAAAAAPPE!" It screamed as it slammed its fire-covered body into its opponent with great force.
"Frosssssss…" The snow land pokémon shouted in pain as it was sent flying across the field before landing back on the ground with bruises all over its body.
"Froslass, are you alright!" Leaf asked her pokémon.
"Fff…fross." The snow land pokémon answered as it got back up.
"Odd." Ash thought to himself. "I'd have thought that flare blitz should've been enough to knock it-"
"Let's end this now with blizzard!" Leaf called out.
"Infernape, stop it! Use flare blitz!" Ash instructed it.
"Infer…infer…infer…" The flame pokémon muttered as it attempted to strike first as it saw Froslass starting its attack.
"Fross…" The snow land pokémon said as it raised its arms into the air and released a blizzard from its hands into the air. The blizzard shot up and curled around the flame pokémon, who looked around in worry and confusion before it attempted to escape. "…Slass!" It shouted as it used its arms to direct all the ice and snow onto Infernape, bringing all the force around it, preventing it from running away and eliminating it from the audiences view.
On the inside, the flame pokémon was battered by the coldness and brought to its knees within a few moments. Before long, it was on its side reeling in from the damages and by the time the snow had cleared, the audience looked down at the field to see Ash's pokémon knocked out.
"Infernape!" Ash exclaimed.
"Infernape is no longer able to battle!" Lance the acting referee declared. "Green trainer, chose your next pokémon!"
"I can't believe it," Dawn expressed. "Even with a type advantage, Infernape couldn't beat Froslass."
"Well, Leaf's pretty good at taking type advantages and rendering them completely useless." Gary commented.
"Gotta admit, Froslass' defense and speed were pretty impressive." Brock said.
Brendan nodded. "I hear that."
"It's your turn now!" Ash shouted as he threw his next pokéball after he had recalled and thanked Infernape.
"This is disappointing." Leaf thought as she saw the red light emerge from the capture device.
Out of the pokéball came Swellow, the swallow pokémon and the very first pokémon Ash had caught in the Hoenn region while it was in its first stage of Tailow.
"If Leaf can win with a type disadvantage, so can I!" He confidently told himself.
"He's making a mistake." Leaf thought.
"The green trainer has selected their pokémon!" Lance announced. "Let the battle RESUME!"
"Swellow, use aerial ace!" Ash shouted.
"Swellooow!" The swallow pokémon hooted as its body became outlined in white streaks of wind as it flew around its opponent before quickly diving in for damage. It quickly slammed itself against Froslass' body and sent it reeling before the snow land pokémon or its trainer could even think of a counter.
"Frooos…" The snow land pokémon grunted.
The swallow pokémon's streaks dissipated as it fluttered its wings lightly and ended the technique. Froslass got back to its feet, so to speak, and the two pokémon began staring down one another, their sharp eyes fixated on the other pair.
"Froslass, use thunderbolt!" Leaf shouted.
"Swellow, quick attack." Ash commanded.
The snow land pokémon began to discharge electricity from its body once again and fired it at the incoming swallow pokémon, who quickly dodged the attack several times before it came down to the ground and managed to nail Froslass in the stomach, causing it to bend over in pain.
"Use ice beam!" Leaf called out.
"Frooo…" The snow land pokémon hummed as it formed a blue ball in front of its mouth which then sent forward several smaller beams of ice at its opponent.
"Swellow!" The swallow pokémon exclaimed as it carefully avoided the ice beam and flew around, trying to continue evading as Froslass kept redirecting the beam wherever Swellow went.
"Use aerial ace again!" Ash shouted.
"Swell?" The swallow pokémon blurted in confusion since it was still being attacked. But it followed its trainer's orders anyway and regained its white streaks as it dove down for the kill.
As it saw Swellow coming down, Froslass ceased its ice beam and raised its hands into the air. Once again, the snow land pokémon unleashed a blizzard from its palms and trapping Swellow within its 'snow world' with the coldness everywhere. The swallow pokémon tried to get out but its normally excellent vision was being impaired by the whiteness while its wings were not as effective due to the cold.
"Darn it!" Ash cursed. "Get out of there fast!"
"Swelloooowwwww…" The swallow pokémon screeched as it was barraged by the cold weather inside the blizzard from which it was unable to escape. The blizzard soon dissipated as Froslass lowered its arms. Swellow came down, injured but otherwise able to fight.
"Froslass, return!" Leaf shouted as she pulled out her pokéball and recalled her pokémon.
"Why the heck would Leaf recall Froslass if she has a type advantage over Swellow?" Dawn wondered aloud.
"It's Leaf, she doesn't think much about type advantages and disadvantages." Gary explained. "She's probably switching to mess around with Ash's head."
"No doubt it's gonna work." Brendan commented.
Everyone was silent for a moment until Brock spoke up. "Somehow, I think he's right."
"Well, let's just wait and see how Ash does the next pokémon Leaf brings out." May suggested as she turned her attention back to the match.
"Come on out!" Leaf exclaimed as she threw a pokéball into the air.
"Fearow!" The large brown pokémon which came out of the pokémon screeched. It quickly turned its attention to Ash and Pikachu, starting at them with a killing look in its eye. From every possible camera angle shown on the screens, it looked like Fearow was ready to attack Ash at the first thought.
"A…Fearow?" Ash observed.
"That's right." Leaf said. "I caught it a while ago in the forest outside Pallet Town. I haven't used it yet in this tournament."
"The forest…outside Pallet Town?" Ash reviewed, with various possible but horrifying thoughts in his mind. He looked up and noticed the beak pokémon angrily looking at him and Pikachu.
"The red trainer has chosen their pokémon!" Lance announced. "Let the battle RESUME!"
"Fearow, use drill peck!" Leaf commanded.
"Swellow, aerial ace!" Ash shouted.
Both pokémon took off flying upon receiving their orders.
"Feeeear!" The beak pokémon screeched as it flew through the air as its beak started spinning like a drill as it approached Swellow.
"Swelloow!" The swallow pokémon blared as its body was engulfed in white streaks while it zoomed towards Fearow.
The two pokémon raced towards one another with killer instincts visible in their eyes. As they approached one another, Swellow ducked downwards and managed to dodge Fearow's spinning beak while it went back up and nailed it in the stomach with its aerial ace.
"Feeear…!" The beak pokémon shouted in pain as it reeled from the blow.
"Use tri-attack!" Leaf shouted.
The beak pokémon spread its wings wide as it approached Swellow who attempted to fly away after hitting the former with its aerial ace. Fearow opened its beak wide as it flew behind the swallow pokémon, ready to fire.
"Fearow!" The beak pokémon exclaimed as a stream of fire erupted from its mouth and scalded the red and black tail of the swallow pokémon who quickly picked up speed to evade its opponent. Fearow quickly followed with a blast of thunder from its mouth which the Swallow pokémon took notice of when it turned back and quickly changed course at the last moment, evading it and letting the yellow bolt hit the ground below and fizzle out.
"Great." Ash subtly cheered.
Fearow followed up with a barrage of ice crystals being released from its mouth. Swellow managed to dodge a few of them but since Fearow kept changing its positioning and managed hit Swellow's wing with a few ice shards.
The swallow pokémon grunted as the attack finals stopped. Though it tried to shake it off, the beak pokémon kept up until Swellow began to pick up speed and fly higher, closer to the sky roof.
"Fearow, drill peck!" Leaf ordered.
"Swellow, use wing attack!" Ash commanded.
"Feeear…" "Swelloo…" The two pokémon shouted as ones beak began spinning like a drill while the others wings took on a white glow. The two jetted towards one another, slashing the wind as they flew, until Swellow's right wing was hit by Fearow's spinning beak, injuring the swallow pokémon enough to make it lose balance and its wings white glow to dissipate. As the beak pokémon flew back to Leaf's side, it shot an angry glare at the raven haired trainer, who looked at it in confusion.
"Fearow sure is giving Ash a hard time." Brock observed.
"It's almost like it's taking this whole battle personally." Brendan expressed.
"Those eyes are like knives on your mind." Dawn said.
"I agree," Gary said. "Even for an opponent, Fearow looks awfully angry at Ash."
"Maybe it doesn't like his cologne." May jokingly suggested.
Gary snickered. "As if he's ever used any."
"Swellow, aerial ace!" Ash shouted.
The swallow pokémon regained its composure as its body was covered in the standard white glow for the attack. Swellow jetted towards Fearow as fast as it could but even though there was a clear distance between the two, Fearow made no movements and hovered in place. As Swellow got closer, Fearow's trainer looked up and shouted her order.
"Fearow, tri-attack!" Leaf ordered.
Mere feet away from the incoming swallow pokémon; Fearow opened its mouth and released a stream of fire from it, scalding its opponent who was forced to cease its attack. The beak pokémon followed with a blast of electricity which nailed the swallow pokémon as well before ending with a barrage of ice shards, hitting the swallow pokemon multiple times, causing it to
fall to the ground, landing on the brown dirt with a loud sound.
"Swellow!" Ash worriedly exclaimed.
"Swellow is no longer able to battle." Lance declared. "Green trainer, choose your next pokemon!"
Ash quickly pulled out his pokéball and recalled the defeated Swellow back inside. "Thank you, Swellow."
"Did anyone else feel Ash was being awfully reckless?" Brock asked around.
"More than usual?" Dawn questioned.
"Somehow, yeah," Gary said. "I don't think he ordered Swellow to ever dodge an attack."
"It's your turn!" Ash exclaimed as he threw his pokéball.
Out of Ash's pokéball came his Torterra, the fully-evolved grass-type starter from the Sinnoh region.
"Torterra!" The continent pokémon boomed as it lifted up its back towards its opponent, displaying its thick hide.
"What the heck is Ash thinking?" May wondered.
"Flying-types are strong against grass-types." Brock stated. "Knowing that, he intentionally chose Torterra."
"Giving himself a disadvantage intentionally," Brendan scowled. "What's he thinking?"
"I don't know but maybe he has some kind of strategy." Dawn said.
"I hope so," Gary said. "For his sake."
Back on the field, Torterra looked up at Fearow who was flying above the field and looking down angrily at him and Ash. Torterra shot back its own angry glare but it seemed to do nothing to deter its opponent, who seemed to have been carrying some kind of grudge.
"The green trainer has chosen their pokémon!" Lance announced. "Let the battle RESUME!"
"Torterra, razor leaf!" Ash ordered.
"Tor.…terra!" The continent pokémon shouted as it shot many small green leaves from its back at the beak pokémon. Most of them missed but a few were able to hit Fearow in the stomach, pushing it back and leaving a scratch.
The continent pokémon began moving around the field while the beak pokémon circled around in the air. Despite its very heavy body, Torterra managed jumped in the air only a few feet, but Fearow seemed to believe that it was going to jump higher, which made the beak pokémon fly higher into the air while Torterra was behind it.
"Now, Torterra, use leaf storm!" Ash commanded.
"Torrr…terrraaaa!" The continent pokémon bellowed as the buds on its back began to glow green. Immediately after, Torterra fired a barrage of glowing green leaves at Fearow from behind. Since the beak pokémon was not facing it, the attack caught it by surprise as it clipped its feathers fast and hard. The cameras revealed to the audience that the attack left some incisions in Fearow's wings, causing it to shout in pain.
"Fearow, use drill peck!" Leaf shouted.
"Feeearrrr…" Leaf's pokémon shouted as its beak began spinning around like a drill as it zoomed down towards Torterra, ready to pierce it.
"Dodge it!" Ash shouted.
"Torterra!" The continent pokémon exclaimed as it attempted to sidestep the beak pokémon's attack. However, Fearow proved too fast and managed to hit Torterra's head with its drilling pecker, causing the continent pokémon to stumble momentarily before regaining its composure.
As Ash wondered what to do next, Leaf made a move.
"Fearow, return!" Leaf yelled as she pulled out her pokéball and recalled her pokémon.
Ash raised a questioning eyebrow at her action while most of the audience
"One again, Leaf recalls her pokémon despite a type advantage." Gary thought. "Is she really just trying to toy with Ash? Cause it's working!"
"Leaf's really using the rules to her advantage." Dawn commented.
"But Ash had a pretty good strategy with that rock climb," May added. "Too bad he underestimated her."
"I don't think it's that Ash is underestimating Leaf as much as it is that Leaf is surpassing our expectations." Brock expressed.
"I'd have to agree." Brendan said. "She's clearly been hiding her best tricks for this match."
"Ash better pull of some serious strategy if he wants to win this match." Gary stated.
"It's your turn, now!" Leaf shouted as she spun around and threw her pokéball.
Out of Leaf's capture device came her Dusknoir, the pokemon she'd been battling with for a while. The gripper pokemon stared down the continent pokémon from across the field, who returned the gesture.
"Torterra against Dusknoir." Brock read. "This should be an interesting battle."
"Dusknoir's pretty strong, but it doesn't have any moves that are strong against a grass-type pokemon." Dawn commented.
"But Leaf's too smart to go into battle unprepared." Gary said. "I'll be she has something up her sleeve."
"The red trainer has selected their pokémon!" Lance announced. "Let the battle RESUME!"
"Torterra, use razor leaf!" Ash commanded.
"Tor…terra!" The continent pokémon bellowed as it shot many green leaves from its trees at Dusknoir at an amazing speed. The gripper pokemon attempted to evade the attack and levitated itself away from the path of the attacks but due to its large, slow body it suffered some minor injuries on its left arm.
"Dusknoir, confuse ray!" Leaf ordered.
"Dusknoir!" The gripper pokemon said as the large frowning face on its stomach began to glow purple and it sent a silhouette of itself at its opponent.
"Get out of the way!" Ash shouted.
With effort, the continent pokémon narrowly managed to evade the silhouette of Dusknoir by jumping to the side with some difficulty. It landed back on the field with the attack having passed and Dusknoir looking frustrated.
"Torterra's faster that I thought." Leaf thought to herself. "I wonder what would happen if I used that move."
"What do you think it is that Leaf's planning?" May asked the others as they noticed Leaf standing still on the field while Dusknoir hovered in place.
"Whatever it is, she'd better do it fast because Torterra seems to have the advantage." Brendan stated.
"Torterra, use razor leaf!" Ash ordered.
"Tor!" The continent pokémon shouted as the leaves on the tree on its back started to shake and it fired multiple razor-sharp leaves from the tree at the gripper pokémon.
"Dusknoir, use trick room!" She told it, making Ash adopt a worried look on his face.
"Dusk…noir!" The gripper pokemon said as its eyes started to glow red and a large light blue rectangle with light blue transparent walls and ceiling appeared around the battlefield. Torterra's leaves were still in the air as the cameras showed them from every angle near Dusknoir, ready to strike. However, the never managed to make contact with Dusknoir's body as the light blue glow faded and the walls and the ceiling became invisible while the gripper pokémon zoomed out of their path.
"Trick room?" Ash cursed. "I wasn't expecting that. This could be a problem."
Dusknoir quickly broke the feeling of pain as it stared at Torterra, who was right in front of it.
"Dusknoir's never used trick room before." Ash commented.
"You didn't think I'd come into battle without preparing did you?" Leaf asked. "I've been training with Dusknoir this last week to learn new moves just for battling you."
"I'm flattered." Ash joked before turning serious.
"Shadow punch!" Leaf shouted.
"Torterra, leaf storm!" Ash commanded.
"Dusk!" The gripper pokemon shouted as its hands became surrounded in a shadowy aura, and it reached its arms out. A shadow fist in the shape of Dusknoir's reached out and immediately smashed into the continent pokémon before it could even shoot out its leaf storm, sending it flying across the field back to the other side.
"Trick room is a move which make fast pokemon slow and slow pokemon fast." Leaf explained. "Right now, we're pretty evenly matched."
"This isn't good." Ash thought to himself as he saw the injured Torterra get back to its feet as Dusknoir hovered on the other side of the field, panting in exhaust.
"Tort…." The continent pokémon grunted.
"Torterra was a slow pokémon so trick room's making just as fast as it used to be slow." Ash theorized. "But it doesn't matter since Dusknoir will be just as fast. I'll have to be quicker on the command"
"Dusknoir, use pursuit!" Leaf ordered, catching Ash off guard.
"Dussss." The gripper pokemon buzzed as its body began shaking so much that it began to blur. Torterra had no time to get out of the way as the Dusknoir blur bashed into it within the blink of an eye.
"Darn it." Ash cursed. "How am I gonna fight this?"
"Ash sure seems to be in a bind." Gary commented.
"Just goes to show how skilled Leaf is." Brock said.
"Dusknoir, ice punch!" Leaf shouted.
"Duuuuusk!" The gripper pokemon shouted as the dark parts on both of its arms started to glow light blue as it approached Torterra, getting ready to punch it with both of them.
"If that hit's I'm in real trouble!" Ash thought for a moment before getting and idea. "Torterra, hunch down and use leaf storm!"
"Tor…" The continent pokémon boomed as it bent down its head just as Dusknoir had caught up to it. "Terra!" It shouted as the trees on its back started to release a cyclone of wind and glowing light green leaves from the seeds towards the opponent standing above. The attack collided with Dusknoir's icy blue fists and created a cloud of dust in front of the two pokémon which even the cameras were unable to see through or around.
"Dusknoir!" "Torterra!" Leaf and Ash called out simultaneously.
Eventually, the dust subsided and revealed the continent pokémon standing in place, visibly out of breath with its body covered in injuries. The gripper pokémon was also revealed to be heavily injured, it hovered in place with its arms sagging down, indicating some kind of injury which impaired them to some extent.
While the two pokémon caught their breath, the blue walls around the field began flashing before they stopped entirely. Torterra's eyes opened widely as it stood up straight and began stretching, realizing that the trick room effect was no longer in place. "Tor!" It exclaimed. Dusknoir, too, realized that the effect had faded when its trainer shouted out an order.
"Use pursuit!" Leaf ordered.
"Alright, then!" Ash cheered. "Use leaf storm!"
The gripper pokémon became a blur as it began pursuit, rushing across the field at an immense speed. The trees on Torterra's back began to glow white and it released a barrage of light green glowing leaves from all around at the incoming opponent. The leaves made contact with Dusknoir as it blazed forward but failed to actually stop it as they continually bounced off. The continent pokémon continued with the attack and eventually managed to aim closer to Dusknoir's bottom, preventing it from effectively hovering while knocking it around.
"Duuuuuusssk…" The gripper pokémon bellowed as it was knocked to the ground by the repeated leaf storm blows to its bottom which threw off its gravity.
"Now, Torterra, rock climb!" Ash hastily commanded.
"Tooooor..…" The continent pokémon said as its claws started to glow white and then grew longer. It got onto its hind legs and slammed its front legs into the ground. The ground separated and protruded just before Torterra began to run up the side of the protruded ground to slam into its opponent.
"Dusknoir, ice punch!" Leaf called out.
"Duuuuuuuuusk!" The gripper pokémon shouted as it got up off the ground and the dark part of its fists took on a light blue glow as it gestured them back.
As Torterra approached, Dusknoir did the same. It came over with its head down just like before while Dusknoir moved its arms forward. Torterra's head made contact with the blue fists and created another dust explosion which blanketed the field once again. The dust was even thicker than before and the cameras still could not see through it. Minutes passed before even a glance could be taken.
"Come on, Torterra." Ash thought while he waited for the dust to subside.
Eventually, the dust cleared up but what was inside the cloud was not something either trainer wanted to see.
Both Torterra and Dusknoir had been knocked unconscious by the collision and were lying on the ground completely still. The ground which was brought up by the rock climb went back to normal while Ash looked down at his feet, trying to hide the sight from his eyes.
"Both Torterra and Dusknoir are no longer able to battle!" Lance declared.
Both Ash and Leaf recalled their pokémon after Lance's declaration. Ash walked back sullenly to his preparation room with Pikachu following him while Leaf stayed on the field.
"Since the green trainer, Ash Ketchum, has lost three pokémon, we will take a short intermission." Lance announced.
Numerous insults were hurled as Ash as he walked back. He did his best to tune them out but found it to be near impossible. His face showed no sadness, only an entire lack of emotion altogether as he entered his room and closed the door behind him before sitting down.
He hung his head low as Pikachu sat next to him, rubbing his arm to make him feel better.
"PikaPi?" The electric rodent worriedly asked.
"I dunno Pikachu…" The raven haired trainer responded, his voice beginning to break. "I just can't figure it out what to do…"
Rayquaza45: Well, so how was that? I hope you guys liked it cause I was beginning to get desperate to put it up so that I wouldn't lose readers and reviewers. This is also the longest chapter in the story as of yet.
That being said...PLEASE REVIEW.
Yeah, so, that's the end of this chapter. I promise there won't be another huge delay again in posting the next chapter since it's almost done with just a little more to go.
I really hope you guys will forgive me for that long delay since December 2010. It was unfortunate. But it is in the past now.
Stay tuned because we are very close to the end.
So thank you for reading, please leave a review and stay tuned for the next chapter.