Torn
Fans. Shouting. Sunlight. Food. Heat. Cheering. Children laughing, children crying.
Fangirls in the stands, screaming their lungs out for him. Ash watched them bitterly. What was a girl who cared only for your reputation, your looks, your skill at beating up Pokemon? It was worthless. None of his screaming fans in the stands could measure up to Misty. Why had he--
He didn't let the tears come.
Ash stepped out into the sunlight, smiling grimly. The cheering rose to a roar of aproval as the two opponents shook hands. Ash scrutinized his adversary. The boy was scrawny and seemed younger than Ash, but the defiant look in his eyes struck Ash the most. It was the same look he had worn years ago.
Then I have to beat him down, Ash thought, and keep him from claiming my title. The memory of something Misty had said an age ago-- "You won't be greatest forever, Ash"-- flickered dully for a moment. No, he told himself firmly, I have to win this. She would want me to. They all do.
He plunged into battle.
Ash seared his way through the first days of the Tournament week, aching all the time for someone who lay miles away on a clean, white bed. Brock had left, promising that he would watch Misty for Ash's sake, after the blow had come: if Ash left without three weeks' warning, he would be disqualified and have the title taken from him.
Forcibly, he dragged himself through the finals, half-awake and half-dreaming, sometimes imagining that Misty was there, cheering him on. The younger contestants he brushed aside at first, but, thinking of Misty, thought better of it and walked up to them, encouragement in his words and approval in his eyes. He resolved that when she woke up, Misty would find him changed. He didn't allow himself to ponder the "if".
At last he faced the other one who had made it into the last round, who sweated and watched Ash's moves with anxiety. Frustrated by his opponent's timid battling style, he launched his attacks with savage fury, battering the boy's defense with brute force that sent all of his Pokemon to the ground except one.
"Go, Gyarados!"
Ash watched critically as the twenty-one-foot-high monstrosity rose above him. It was in good shape; the scaly hide glimmered coldly in the early afternoon sunlight, and the eyes were bright with cruel intelligence. Ash recalled Brock's message: Misty had been felled by a creature like this one. Emotionlessly, he sent out Pikachu. The crowd, cheering with the thrill and the heat, made new bets on the outcome. The two teams remained still and ready.
Ash's opponent struck first. "Gyarados, Hydro Pump!"
The serpent sent a powerful jet of water toward the tiny yellow foot-high Pokemon. Pikachu hopped aside nimbly, and somewhere Ash heard girls cheering.
"Thunderbolt, Pikachu."
Pikachu stopped where it was and sent a sizzling bolt of electricity toward the Gyarados, whose two types of Water and Flying were especially susceptible to Electric attacks. The bolt struck head-on, leaving the blue Pokemon smoking. The commentator whooped with the crowd, jabbering excitedly into his microphone.
"--direct hit! Ketchum's putting on a real match today--"
"Dive!" Ash's opponent looked grim as he ordered his Pokemon underwater. Pikachu watched the water intently, his black-tipped ears twitching frequently. Ash whispered a single command.
"Thunder."
A lightning bolt like a rip in the azure sky streaked into the water, sending it churning as Gyarados thrashed in pain below the surface. It flung its head up, jaws wide and slavering, ready to strike at the infuriating little yellow rat that had dared to shock it.
"Bite!" the boy commanded. Gyarados needed no other encouragement. It brought its head down to dig its cruel fangs into chubby yellow flesh, but all it found was hard concrete. It roared in pain, the ear-shattering tones making the air shiver.
"--not such a good idea to send it in water, which conducts electricity, and then attacking recklessly like that--"
Contemptuously, Ash wondered why the boy had changed his battling style from conservative to all-out. True, the Gyarados was his strongest Pokemon and therefore could have more liberties taken with it, but trusting the entire match to one Pokemon was risky. Ash's Pokemon were barely tired at all, and there was no way that one Gyarados could defeat all of Ash's team single-handedly.
It seemed like the boy knew it as well, but was determined to go down with a fight. He set his jaw and said, "Hyper Beam!"
A bright, yellow beam of light shot from Gyarados' mouth, landing on the concrete where Pikachu had been standing just a moment before. The blast created a gaping hole in the ground. Dust and shards of cement showered down around Ash as he stood, oblivious to the muted roars of the crowd and the Gyarados mingling in the air. Pikachu stood by his side, panting.
"Pika-pi?" Ash?
"It can't do anything after a Hyper Beam. Volt Tackle!" he shouted.
Pikachu set off at a run, sparks running lightly over his fur, then faster and brighter until he was engulfed in a sparking, crackling surge of electricity.
"--one of Pikachu's strongest attacks. Looks like the end for Gyarados--"
Pikachu leapt over the water, his momentum carrying him toward his target. All eyes were on the yellow streak that flew through the air and--
--hit Gyarados' tail.
In a desperate attempt to block itself from the attack, the blue serpent had flung up its tail just before the Volt Tackle had made contact. Electricity surged over its body and into the water, where the small body of Pikachu fell with a splash. Gyarados roared again, weakly, its movements sluggish as it dove in the water after its foe. The crowd was hushed, and murmurs of disagreement ran through the stands.
Shadows chased each other in the depths of the pool. Ash watched with brow furrowed, holding his breath for Pikachu's resurface. Just then there was a watery, distorted growl from Gyarados, and it flung its head up with a mighty splash that drenched the first few rows of watchers, tossing Pikachu in the air, who let out a weak cry. Ash watched, powerless, as the yellow rodent went limp on the ground.
"--and Pikachu is down! Will Ash go on, or will he withdraw Pikachu?"
Now he felt the gazes of the hundreds of people in the stadium and the millions of others who sat at home, eyes glued to their television screens, breaths held for his next move. His opponent glared across the battlefield, challenging him to make Pikachu go on, taunting him. But he only thought of one who couldn't see him.
"Ash! Ash! Ash!"
The cheer swelled until the stadium was trembling with it, drowning in the sound. Ash tried to clear his mind, but he couldn't shake he hypnotizing chant from his mind.
"Ash!"
He gasped. He knew that voice.
"Don't do it! Don't let him get hurt! Don't let it happen again!"
Pikachu staggered forward, weak sparks flying from his cheeks. He looked back, waiting for a signal.
Ash looked at his Pokemon, who stood shivering in the cold gray sunlight. He hesitated, still hearing the phantom voice that screamed in his head.
"You'll kill him! Don't do this!"
With a shudder, Pikachu collapsed, and the stadium erupted into a simultaneous roar of booing. Amid the din, the commentator yelled, "Pikachu is unable to battle!"
Ash strode forward and picked up the trembling ball of warm fur, stunned, and walked to where May and Drew sat. Wordlessly, he handed Pikachu to May.