Obligatory Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon.
Thanks again for the review, Nauran! I'm glad that you're intrigued.
Ash slept well that night, drifting off peacefully in his own bed for the first time in over a year. The day before had tired him out completely – a difficult feat, in truth – and his dreams revolved primarily around scattered memories of the previous afternoon.
Iris had kept Gible with her for hours, holding it tightly and attempting to interrogate Ash about every moment of its existence so far, such was her infatuation with her new friend. In the end, he had managed to persuade her to take it back to the lab and leave it with the other Pokémon.
"Ash…"
When it came down to choosing who would sleep where, Delia was able to offer three beds in the Ketchum house. Ash obviously took one, and by drawing straws did Cilan – everyone insisted that he take a bed after he attempted to offer to withdraw – and Dawn claim the others. Thus, when the afternoon had turned into night and the night began to drag on, Brock, Iris and Tracey returned to Professor Oak's lab to sleep there, and Cynthia was apparently doing the same.
"Ash…"
They had spent the night – before and after separating – recounting stories of their adventures across the years. Ash, Brock and Tracey had the most to tell, but the others were able to chip in at times too. Cilan and Iris also showed their Pokémon to Brock and Tracey; the latter was particularly impressed by Excadrill, and nearly a quarter of his subsequent sketches that night happened to be of the Subterrene Pokémon.
"Ash…"
He also remembered something vague; a thought or a suggestion, perhaps, relating to Misty. In the haze of sleep, he couldn't quite remember what it was.
"Ash…"
Come to think of it, that sounded quite a lot like Misty. Ash though, still dreaming. But that's impossible.
"Ash, I swear…"
Huh. I must be dreaming. He decided. Pity.
"Pikachu, wake up Mr. Lazypants over there for me please, will you?"
Ash suddenly found himself in a great deal of pain, surprise and shock leading him to jump upwards and sideways in alarm. Straight off the side of his bed, in fact.
"Well, that worked."
And everything was immediately very clear to Ash. Too clear for eight o'clock in the morning.
"Misty… whassgoingon?" He managed to slur, his body a little slow to react as he picked himself up off the floor and looked at the redhead who stood in the doorway of his room.
"Morning to you too." She answered sweetly, as though this were not the first time she had spoken to him since he had left for Unova – and even that had been for the first time in a year, and had been via the picture phone, not in person. She cradled a certain content Pikachu in her arms, who matched her serene expression.
"It's eight o'clock." He whined, his mouth catching up to his brain at last. "Why…?"
"Dawn told me about how she wanted to go to Celadon today, and we need to leave early if we want to get there before midday, so hurry up." Misty replied, turning to leave the room. "Oh, and take a shower." She added. "You're not on the road anymore, you don't have that excuse."
"Dawn's up?" Ash struggled briefly with the urge to climb back under his warm, soft duvet and fall asleep again, but sighed and headed for the bathroom instead. "Fine…"
Dawn, it transpired, had been up since six. She told Ash so as he walked into the kitchen half an hour later, drying his hair off with a towel. She sat opposite to Misty at the dinner table, and the two seemed to have been getting to know each other with the time that they had, occasionally ceasing to chat to eat mouthfuls of breakfast. Misty appeared to have already taken a particular shine to Piplup, though given his water-typing, that was perhaps to be expected. Cilan was at the stove, and passed Ash a plate of pancakes as he entered the kitchen and greeted the others.
"Pecha berry sauce, too?" Ash's mouth watered at the meal before him.
"Your favourite, of course." Cilan grinned.
"You're the best, Cilan." Ash said as he began to dig in, then paused. "Oh, where's mom?"
"She popped out to the nursery before you got up; she said she won't be back until we'll be in Celadon. She left a shopping list." Dawn informed him, grimacing as she pointed to a rather lengthy list, crammed onto a small piece of paper on the table.
Ash shrugged and started eating, while Pikachu happily accepted a bowl of Pokémon food from Cilan to match the one that Piplup had nearly finished.
"I see he hasn't changed his eating habits, then." Misty commented as she watched whole pancakes disappear into Ash's maw.
"It's not my fault I have a healthy appetite."
"Heh, yeah, healthy, sure."
Dawn giggled and began recounting a story about how Ash and Pikachu had eaten too much once in Sinnoh, and had been forced to lay down for nearly two hours, complaining all the while.
Ash didn't bother to interrupt and simply allowed them to carry on gossiping. He used the distraction to properly observe Misty, now freed from the last vestiges of sleep by the sharp heat of the shower he had taken.
Her clothes were different from what he remembered; her outfit, whether it was new or not, seemed to be a mix of the two that he had seen her wear before, combining a yellow top akin to her second outfit – except sleeveless and hooded – with blue shorts similar to her first.
Her hair was still fixed in the same way that he had always seen it; the ponytail hanging neatly to her left side.
She looked older and calmer, but he could see the Misty he knew from her mannerisms alone.
She nearly caught his stare as Dawn's tale came to an end, but he managed to avert his eyes to his food, and then look back up to catch her gaze.
"You must've gotten into Pallet Town pretty early, Misty." He prompted through a mouthful of pancake.
She nodded, and seemed tempted to yell at him for spraying food everywhere as he talked, but restrained herself.
"Mmhmm. I arrived at seven; Dawn opened the door."
That line of conversation ended fast.
"Oh, okay. Well, when are we going?"
"Cynthia stopped by just before Misty got you up." Cilan put in from behind Ash. "She's agreed to give us a lift there, and back in the evening."
"She said that she has some stuff to do in Saffron City." Dawn added.
"Fair enough, that's pretty nice of her." Ash finally finished the last of his pancakes, burping loudly to everyone's general disgust as he did so. "Oh," He started, standing up. "If we've only got about an hour, I'd better go pick my Pokémon up from the lab, I left 'em all there to get to know each other yesterday." He bent down to let Pikachu, who had just finished eating too, onto his shoulder. "Anybody want to come with?"
Cilan and Dawn demurred, explaining that Dawn would be showing the connoisseur how to make her speciality poffin before they departed.
"I will; I'd love to see your Pokémon." Misty offered. They exchanged a smile and departed, waving goodbye to the two who were staying as they did so.
The morning was cool, the weather calm and the wind glowing gently. The temperature would undoubtedly rise as time passed, but the refreshing breeze was a welcome part of having to be up so early.
The first five minutes of their walk passed in a complete, awkward silence. Both used the time to reflect and gather their thoughts.
Misty broke the silence first.
"Three years, Ash…"
"Huh?"
"Three years. It's been more than three years since we last met face to face, and you've only called to say "hi" once in that time."
"I… uh…"
Misty wasn't smiling anymore.
"You could've called a little more, at least. Or come to say hi before you left for Unova. Or even Sinnoh. But you didn't…"
"Misty, listen, I…"
"No, you listen." She snapped at him, coming to a halt, balling up her fists. "I know you're always busy, I know you've always got to go further to reach your goal. I get that. We all do, honestly. But can't you just step back sometimes and talk to the people who had to stay behind? We still exist, you know… Me, Tracey, your mom. We miss you." Her tone suggested that a mix of deep anger and sadness lay behind the look that she wore as a mask, her outward annoyance alone not betraying the hurt that she felt inside.
It took Ash a minute of standing still, stunned by her outburst, to formulate a coherent response. Pikachu sat unmoving on his shoulder, unsure what to think about this awkward moment between his partner and a good friend.
He noted that even now, as angry as she was, her expression was no harsher than it had ever been during their journey all those years ago. Even now, she was still in control. No tears, no hysterics.
"I'm… sorry." He began, and her expression softened slightly. "I didn't realise you felt this way. I mean, I always think about the stuff I've done, but never really dwell on it, y'know? I never forget, but I guess I don't ever really stop looking to the future…"
"That's what makes you who you are, Ash." She replied, her tone becoming kinder, softer. "We wouldn't ask you to change that. But…"
"But you are right." He cut in. "I leave people behind. I don't go back anywhere near enough to the friends who can't stay with me anymore. You're absolutely right, Misty, and I promise that from now on, I will keep in touch. I will actually remember to catch up, a lot more often than once every three years. I promise. And I'll have Pikachu keep me to it; won't I, buddy?"
"Piika!" Pikachu dragged out the first syllable in a determined affirmation.
Misty was smiling again.
"Thanks, Ash. And with Pikachu backing you up, I'm sure you'll keep to it."
He returned the smile as she leaned in and tickled Pikachu on the chin, earning a warm purr from the Mouse Pokémon.
"Looks like you've grown up a little bit then, at least." She teased as they started walking to the lab again, picking up the pace a little to make up for lost time,. "Even if your appetite's stayed the same."
"I'm full of surprises. So how has life been as a gym leader?" He asked then shrugged at her confusion at his sudden change of topic. "Might as well start catching up now."
"Honestly? It hasn't been that bad." She admitted. "I mean, I miss travelling, but we get a lot of challenges for the gym, so it's not like it gets boring staying in Cerulean all the time. Plus, I think my sisters have realised pretty recently how much weight it takes off their schedules for me to be the full-time gym leader, so I think they've been treating me a little nicer overall."
"That's good to hear." He remarked.
"And you've got eight badges in Unova, right? Tracey told me." She explained as he looked at her quizzically.
"Yeah, just waiting for the conference in three months now, not sure what we'll do until then."
"I'm sure you'll think of something."
They had reached the front gate of Oak's lab when something occurred to Ash.
"Why'd you wait until now to tell me how you feel?" He asked as they walked up the path. "It looked like you were bursting to say it, but only after we left the house."
"I'd didn't want to say it in front of Cilan and Dawn, because if we started arguing then they could be dragged into it." She said, knocking on the lab's door. "Though I shouldn't have worried, clearly." She smiled, and then winked. "Plus, you'd only just got up. I wanted to make sure you were awake. Otherwise I might have needed to repeat it."
"Fair enough." He shook his head, and followed her inside as Tracey opened the door.
They passed through the lab itself, stopping only briefly to assure Brock, Cynthia and Iris that they would meet them outside Ash's house in half an hour, and that they would not be late. Tracey and Professor Oak were already working on the stone, as early as it was, and thus were nowhere to be seen.
Now that Ash knew the way, the walk back to where his Pokémon were staying took very little time for the two of them, and they walked into the clearing to greet the assembled horde.
Misty gasped upon seeing Buizel and Oshawott, and for a moment Ash feared that he would have another repeat of the "Gible situation" on his hands, but Misty's will was apparently slightly more tempered, as she restrained herself, and simply marvelled at the Pokémon, that she had previously never seen in the flesh, standing before her.
Some of his Pokémon happily received his visit with as much genuine enthusiasm as they had shown the day before; Bayleef chief among them.
Some, however, feared what would come next. That Ash would pick his chosen team, and after a few heartfelt goodbyes, go off on another adventure and leave them alone for several more years.
Or leave them all at the lab, except for Pikachu. As he had done twice before.
Infernape in particular had found it hard to accept, but plenty of patient counselling from Bulbasaur – and sparring with Sceptile – had allowed it to forgive Ash.
It wasn't sure if it could do so after another year.
Ash signalled for quiet, though there was a significant delay between his request and its fulfilment, in part due to the size of the crowd.
Still, they all wanted to hear what he had to say.
"All right, all right. First, I've gotta say that it's been great seeing all of you guys again, it really has."
Those who had been at the lab for several years almost visibly tensed. They had heard this before.
"Second, I've got to apologise."
Now this was new.
"I've been coming and going since I started my journey. I've travelled with all of you at some point or another – some for far long than others." Kingler, Muk and the Tauros herd leader received particularly sympathetic glances from the rest of Ash's older Pokémon. "But each time I come back, I've just been leaving more and more of you here, and then heading off with Pikachu on a new adventure each time. That was wrong of me, and I'm sorry."
Pikachu rubbed his head awkwardly, but none of the others were glaring jealously at him as he might have expected. They were all concentrating on listening toAsh very carefully.
"And from now on I'm going to change."
Ash paused for a moment. An eerie silence had descended over the clearing, and his Pokémon were staring at him in bemused – yet hopeful – disbelief.
Misty, too, stood silently, caught unaware by Ash's speech. He hadn't told her of his intentions on the way to the clearing.
He'd hoped to happily surprise her, Pikachu and the others.
"I'm going to keep a full team, this time." He started again. "I don't know exactly where I'll be going over the next three months, until the Unova League begins, but I'm sure they'll be lots of opportunities to battle on the way. And I'm not just going to pick five of you and leave the rest here for that time. I'm going to rotate like I have done in Unova; ask Snivy, Palpitoad, Unfezant or any of the others if you want to know how that works. I promise, I'm going to try my hardest with all of you, and I'm sure we can win the conference in three months' time!"
The silence persisted. Many of the Pokémon thought it too good true.
"I guess the question is, then…" He continued, a wry smile shaping his features. "Who wants to come first?"
The silence ended in a massive uproar of excitement as the din returned. Ash was swamped by his most eager Pokémon once again, as even those with more restraint surged forward to embrace him.
Misty looked at the spectacle, proud of her friend and his decision.
Neither of them could know it then, but would realise later it - in three months' time, it was one of several factors that made all of the difference.
"Eeeeeeeeeeeeee!"
"Iris, come on!" Ash shouted at the prospective dragon master as everyone was thrown into their seatbelts by the sudden swerve Cynthia accidentally performed after hearing Iris' scream.
Fortunately, they were still on the country road, and the Sinnoh champion was more than enough of a competent driver to correct their course before they dove off the road.
"Sorry, sorry! But I'm just so glad you brought Gible along!"
"We know…" Everyone else in the middle and back rows chorused, while Cynthia shook her head and Brock sighed.
"Pika pika…"
"Piiiip…"
"Ax…"
"You've only said so, maybe… twenty times?" Dawn remarked.
Choosing a team had been harder than he had expected, primarily because of the time constraints. Still, he got there in the end.
Bayleef invited itself, and he just couldn't say no.
He chose Kingler, appreciating how long it had been since it had been given the chance to battle, or even leave the lab, for some time. It had been ill during the Sinnoh Conference, and it cracked its claw together happily at its inclusion.
He had picked Gible, partly because he knew that Iris would have murdered him if he had not, but also because he wanted to work more on perfecting its attacks.
Unfezant was next; Ash remembered his vow back in Unova to never leave a lab again without a flying-type Pokémon.
Infernape rounded out the team for its power and attacks, and it too expressed great joy at being able to travel again.
The walk back to Ash's house had been somewhat rushed but otherwise pleasant, both in terms of the weather and the company. In fact, the heat became oppressive just after they got into the car.
Having air conditioning in cars is so awesome in summer.
Cynthia had managed to procure their transport for the journey the day before, presumably by using her many and varied connections. The vehicle was rugged, and outwardly unsightly, but did its job well enough, and its built-in AC and very soft seats certainly made it comfortable to ride in.
Except whenever Iris got a little overexcited and surprised the driver – i.e. Cynthia.
This had occurred three times now - though only two had been down outbursts from Iris.
The car was huge, with three rows of seats, allowing for two to sit in the front, three in the middle and three in the back.
Brock called shotgun as soon as Cynthia announced she was driving.
Misty sat right behind him, in the second row with Ash and Dawn, swearing that if he tried anything she'd show no mercy in going for his ear. Pikachu and Piplup sat on their partners' laps, though Pikachu, to Ash's vague annoyance, occasionally bounced over to sit with Misty.
This left Cilan and Iris to the back seat, with room to spread out.
Cilan used that room to let Jigglypuff and Pansage out of their Poké Balls, intending to see they would enjoy the poffins that he had created with Dawn's guidance. Unsurprisingly, given his A-class connoisseur status and excellent knowledge of his own Pokémon, they adored them.
An unfortunate, unintended side effect of that action occurred twenty minutes later, however, when Brock happened to glance in the central mirror and spotted Jigglypuff in the back seat. It is worth knowing that he had yet to be introduced to Cilan's Jigglypuff.
His sudden – albeit brief – panic accounted for the other time that Cynthia nearly went off the road.
By the end of the entire escapade, Cynthia swore to limit the number of Pokémon that would be sent out in any car that she drove in the future. And perhaps put a limit on people, too…
All in all, the drive to Celadon City from Pallet Town took just under three hours, allowing them to arrive just before midday.
They drove north then east, slowing very slightly when passing through Viridian and Pewter due to a small amount of traffic, but reaching Mount Moon relatively quickly. The car was easily capable of going off road, and though she had to be a little more careful than normal, Cynthia made the sharp turns with practiced skill.
They flashed south through Cerulean City – avoiding the gym, much to Misty's chagrin – and then went south through Saffron City, getting a glimpse of the Magnet Train as they went over a connecting bridge.
The overall lack of traffic intrigued Cilan and Iris. The two Unova natives were used to an impressive, albeit not particularly healthy, stream of vehicles making their way through at least their busiest towns and cities; Cilan especially found it particularly jarring.
Ash explained that people in Kanto generally found other ways to travel that did not involve noisy, petrol producing four wheel drives; Pokémon being a more common mode of transport in Kanto than Unova.
Times are changing, though. He mused after, recalling Scott's car and terrible driving during his conquest of the Battle Frontier.
They were beyond Saffron and, before they knew it, they were in the limits of Celadon City. After ten more minutes of confused navigation using the inbuilt GPS, Cynthia dropped them off on a lane that connected onto the Celadon high street.
"I'll be back to pick you up at five." Cynthia reminded them as they piled out. "Have fun."
"Oh, Cynthia!" Brock whimpered, stretching out his hands. "My enjoyment of this day will be irrevocably dented by your absence, and- aargh!"
"Enough of that." Misty growled, dragging him away by the ear. "Or your ear's going to end up dented…"
The subsequent shopping trip turned out to be shorter than their plushie binge in Mistralton City for two reasons.
First, neither Cilan, Dawn nor Misty found very much that they had to debate over buying. Dawn picked up some new seals and spent twenty minutes ensconced with Misty around a changing room, trying to decide whether or not a dress that she had spotted was her.
It turned out not to be, in the end.
That bet won Ash a note from Brock, which he promptly spent on vending machine fodder.
Iris' catchphrase found common use that day.
Cilan picked up a few cookbooks, and perused the wares of the local department store, before moving on to a nearby market. He walked out having purchased a rather large basket full of berries, and a few trinkets to send back to his brothers at the Striaton Gym.
Misty primarily showed Dawn around, but took a little time to stock up on a few essentials for the Cerulean Gym, as well as a few notepads and fancy pens. She refused to answer Ash when he asked her what they were for, diverting the subject to another set of vending machines which he gleefully advanced to.
Brock followed Cilan to the market and purchased a similar quantity of soft fruit. He also took the chance to offer to exchange recipes with the connoisseur, the prospects of which Cilan happily accepted.
All in all, Ash and Iris did the least shopping. Ash did remember to find everything on his mom's shopping list, though only really because of Pikachu's unusually sage guidance. Iris happened to notice a woodcarver when following Brock and Cilan around at the market, and managed to buy a well-crafted chunk in the image of Dragonite, which she fiercely defended from any of Ash's criticism; again, invoking her catchphrase with alarming frequency.
Still, finding what they were looking for with surprising alacrity was only one reason for their shopping time being cut short.
They were taking a quick break to have lunch in a sizeable park square, directly in the middle of the city. The open space and flourishing greenery stood in stark contrast to the surrounding metal monstrosities, though, given a plaque at the entrance which marked out the park's protected status, it was a contrast that would not soon be diminishing.
The sun was up yet again, and many people were out picnicking, playing and generally making the most of the time of year. No clouds blotted the sky overheard, providing a dreamy blue backdrop to the boxed-in landscape.
It was a reasonably perfect day.
"Step right up, folks, because in just twenty short minutes this whole park square will be transformed into a battle zone!" The voice over the loudspeaker drew everyone's attention from their food. People stopped running to listen. Kites fell out of the sky as children – and a few adults – lost focus. "That's right! We at Tag Battle Tournaments are holding a Sixteen Team Tag Battle Fiesta, right here, right now, and we need you Pokémon trainers to help us make it work! So, if you have at least four of your Pokémon with you at this current time, just come up to the stand here in the centre of the park and sign up, and you could be in with the chance of winning a secret prize!"
The speaker cut out as quickly as he had begun. It seemed that brevity was important to whoever was shouting.
A crowd began to gather around the middle of the park, as a small team of workers laid down a useable, league-regulation field out onto the grass, markings and all.
"A tag battle tournament, huh?" Iris considered for a moment, then bolted up. "All right, we're entering!"
"Aww, but shopping…" Dawn moaned, but Iris was having none of it.
"C'mon, we've been through loads already and you've got some souvenirs. Why not cap off those memories with a few battles?"
"Sounds good to me." Ash agreed, standing up.
"All right, I'm with you!"
"Uh, wha- Iris, I kinda wanted to-"
"Gible." She said menacingly. He nodded slowly.
"Oh… Kay…"
"Good!" Iris' tone reverted to almost sickening sweetness.
"I'll partner with you if you'd like, Dawn." Misty offered, finishing the last of a bread roll and standing up too.
"Oh, all right, I guess my Pokémon could use a workout anyway."
Cilan looked over to Brock, who shook his head, his mouth full of water.
"Sorry, Cilan." He said, gulping down the last of his drink. "I only took Crobat with me when I left for Pallet Town."
"That's okay, I guess I'll evaluate the Pokémon on the battlefield instead!" Cilan declared. "Plus, I guess someone's got to look after our stuff while people are battling and such…"
"C'mon, we'd better go register!" Iris cried, dragging Ash with her. "That big crowd might get there before us!"
"H-hey, wait! Iris, I wasn't done eating!"
"Tough, you took too long."
Pikachu made the most of his failure by finishing off the last of his ketchup-covered spaghetti. Dawn and Misty followed at a slower pace, followed by Brock and Cilan who carried the group's belongings.
As it turned out, the teams that Ash and Iris, and Dawn and Misty put together were the last to register for the sixteen battle tournament, although a prominent section of the crowd was only there to watch anyway, as many did not have enough Pokémon on them to qualify, or could not find a partner.
The registration was conducted with as much efficiency as the announcement and creation of the field had been. Upon confirming that they had four Pokémon each with them, the former team were given the number fifteen and told that they would be in the second matchup; the latter were given the number sixteen and told that they would be battling first.
"Okay, folks, we're almost ready to go here." The loudspeaker returned, drawing everyone's attention once more. "Just to remind you of our standard rules, of course: each trainer may use one Pokémon each, and the battle is over when both Pokémon on one team have fainted, or after ten minutes; whichever occurs first. Apart from that, it's no holds barred, so good luck to all participants, and thank you all for attending this event!" The announcer paused for breath. "Now, would teams five and sixteen please step forward onto the blue and red corners respectively!"
Dawn and Misty took their positions, facing off against two heavily tattooed, leather-wearing men; probably in their early thirties, and sporting identical black haircuts.
"We have the team of Mike and Daz up against the team of Dawn and Misty! I doubt I need to remind you that this Misty is none other than the gym leader of Cerulean City!" A cheer arose from the crowd, which Ash and the others heartedly joined in on.
"It'll still be a piece of cake battling a bunch of girls like you, no matter what gym one of you might run." One of their opponents sneered.
"Excuse me?" Dawn glared across the field.
"You heard me." The biker spat back.
"They do look pretty tough." Brock admitted.
"We'll just see how they treat their Pokémon though…" Cilan said thoughtfully.
"Misty's keeping her cool, that's good. Dawn's getting a little fired up by the banter though."
"Let's try to keep the tension to the battle itself, trainers! And now, will you please reveal your Pokémon!" The announcer boomed.
Four Poké Balls flew up into the air at once, bursting out with four separate flashes of light to reveal four different Pokémon.
"The blue team starts off with Espeon and Kabutops, while the red team leads with Quilava and Starmie!" The announcer declared. "Begin!"
"Espeon, start off with Calm Mind!"
The Sun Pokémon tensed slightly, and its eyes began to shine; a glow shortly matched by the stunning jewel on its forehead.
Dawn had been reaching for her Pokédex to check up on the rare Kabutops, but thought better of it.
"Quilava, hit it with Eruption while it's vulnerable!"
Quilava sent a blast of flame towards the cat-like Pokémon, which was in no position to avoid it. However…
"Get in the way with Aqua Jet, Kabutops!" The other biker cried. Espeon's partner shot across the battlefield, intercepting and dissipating the powerful gout of flame, its dual-typing protecting it from most of the harmful effects.
"An early Eruption with no damage on Quilava would have meant a great deal of pain, so it's unfortunate that it didn't get through." Brock commented, something that the announcer repeated nearly word for word moments later.
Kabutops swung back round for a super-effective hit on Quilava, but found its way blocked by Starmie.
"Starmie, Hydro Pump!"
The sheer force of the torrent of water sent Kabutops flying back to the edge of the pitch, struggling to get up.
"Keep up the pressure with Swift, Quilava!"
Espeon's trainer decided to make its presence known.
"Stop Starmie with Psychic!"
Starmie found itself unable to move, held motionless in mid-air and surrounded with a blue aura that echoed the colour that Espeon now radiated.
"Starmie, break free with your own Psychic!"
Meanwhile, Kabutops simply shrugged off Quilava's Swift.
"Crush it with Ancientpower!" The second biker roared. Kabutops slashed the ground with its massive scythes, sending huge chunks of rock into the air and down again, falling towards Quilava too fast for it to dodge.
"Quilava, no!" Dawn cried as Quilava was briefly entombed. It burst out seconds later, but it was clear that it had suffered heavy damage from the super effective attack.
"Starmie, no!" Misty added her voice to the fear, realising that Starmie was unable to break free of Espeon's mental grip.
"This is bad," Brock started. "Espeon-"
"Espeon's Calm Mind has boosted its power far past Starmie's at this point, folks!" The announcer told the crowd. "Is this the end for it?"
"Stole my thunder." Brock grumbled, receiving a pat from Pikachu at his side.
"Play with it, Espeon." The first biker sneered.
With a flick of its tail, Espeon sent Starmie spinning in the air, then crashing into the ground shortly after.
Starmie emerged, shaken, but holding on.
"Recover, quickly!"
Starmie's own core jewel began to glow as it charged its power.
"Stop it, Espeon with-"
"No need to worry! Quilava, help Starmie out with a Flame Wheel!" Dawn ordered, realising that Starmie had to heal itself if it was going to be of any help in the battle.
Espeon was too slow to avoid the hit and Kabutops was too slow to protect it. Quilava struck it across the front of its body with its encircling flames – the defensive benefits of Calm Mind of no use against a physical attack.
Starmie finished glowing, and looked much more refreshed now than it had been.
"All right, way to go, Starmie!" Misty cheered. "Now let's deal with Kabutops – Ice Beam!"
Emitting its whirling cry, Starmie span briefly, then unleashed a beam of ice against its unsuspecting enemy. With Espeon briefly stunned, it received no aid, and took the hit hard; Starmie's rejuvenated power left it out cold from the chilling move.
"Kabutops, no! This can't be!"
"An excellent display of teamwork from the trainers of the Red Team! That's really what these battles are all about, after all!"
"Espeon, you can take 'em!" The first biker encouraged, but he no longer sounded anywhere near as cocky as he had been at the start.
"Let's finish this, Misty!"
"Yeah! Starmie, use Thunderbolt!"
"Quilava, Flame Wheel, one more time!"
Hit with two powerful attacks, one after the other, Espeon could not hold on, and was sent flying, clearly unconscious.
"That's it! An epic battle! The first round goes to the Red Team of Dawn and Misty! Congratulations!"
The crowd cheered, and they cheered hard for the duo.
Dawn and Misty high-fived, and thanked and returned their Pokémon. They smirked in the direction of the dejected bikers, then left the battlefield to return to where the others sat for the moment.
They passed Ash and Iris on the way, who had been called up to the pitch by the announcer. They exchanged "good luck" and "great job"; the former to the latter team, and the latter to the former team. Misty also took Pikachu from Ash at his urging; he'd be giving Pikachu a rest.
"That was exquisite teamwork indeed!" Cilan complimented Dawn and Misty as they returned. "Your Pokémon worked in perfect tandem, like two chefs crafting the perfect recipe and being the first to jointly taste the results, like-"
He was interrupted by the loudspeaker again.
"Next up in round one, we have team fifteen – Ash and Iris – in the blue corner, and team eleven – Bob and Carol – in the red, so let's give them a big cheer as they send their Pokémon out!"
Ash reached for Infernape's Poké Ball, but stopped when he realised that Iris was staring at him. Staring hard.
Over on the other side, the two older trainers – they might even have been married – had already chosen their Pokémon, and were waiting for their opponents to signal that they were ready.
"Fine." He sighed, and picked again.
Three balls went up in the air. Three balls and one dragon.
On the opposing side, a Sunflora and a Flaafy emerged into the bright sunlight.
Gible stood, bemused by its summoning for the competition, next to Axew, who greeted its fellow dragon-type excitedly.
"Now that is impressive!" The announcer declared. "A Gible, native to Sinnoh, and an Axew, hailing from Unova! These two are a long way from home!" Another pause, allowing for the crowd's anticipation to build a little more before starting the battle. "Begin!"
If they had been anticipating an impressive battle, they certainly did not receive it.
"Sunflora, start charging Solarbeam!" The woman ordered.
"Flaafy, stop those dragons from getting near to Sunflora while it prepares its attack!" The man added.
Sunflora started drawing in sunlight, though it was not able to fire it with particular expedience; the sun was not bright enough for that. Flaafy took a guarding position, protecting the grass type with its height and bulk.
All of which ended up being almost completely pointless, in the end.
"Gible, let's start off with a bang! Draco Meteor!" Ash called for Gible's strongest move.
Over on the side lines, Piplup took cover behind Pikachu.
Over Iris' cry of excitement, Gible fired off a blast of energy into the sky. It split into seven smaller fragments, which cascaded down from the sky towards the red corner.
Probably more by chance than judgment, all of the hits completely bypassed the unsuspecting Flaafy, and smashed directly into the Pokémon that, while charging, had no chance to avoid them; Sunflora.
When the smoke cleared, Sunflora was down and out.
"No!"
"No!"
"Yes! Great job, Gible!"
"Oh my gosh, that Draco Meteor was amazing!"
"Iris, focus!"
"What a powerful display!" The announcer was barely able to express his amazement. "I don't think anyone was expecting such a quick knock-out!"
"Flaafy, avenge my dear's Sunflora, use Wild Charge!"
The pink and fluffy electric type made a beeline towards Gible.
"Axew, show 'em what you're made of, Giga Impact!"
"Aaaaxewwwwwww!"
Encased in a rush of glowing purple energy, Axew shot towards Flaafy with as loud a roar as it could muster.
The two attacks collided with another explosion.
Axew's stronger move, and its greater power, won out.
Flaafy fell in a heap next to Sunflora, while Axew landed back next to Gible, exhausted but proud and standing.
"Truly remarkable! These two dragon-type Pokémon have ended the battle in less than a minute! Such power!" The announcer marvelled.
Ash and Iris thanked their opponents over the crowd's deafening cheer, then walked back to their place in the crowd, receiving the praise of their impressed friends. Iris refused to allow Ash to return Gible to its ball, and instead insisted on holding it until their next battle.
They watched the six other battles in round one. Some ended quickly, others took time, but none finished so fast as team fifteen's did.
Upon the conclusion of the first round, the field was cleaned quickly after the last match had involved an Electrode exploding, knocking out all but its partner, who had used Protect, and covering the field in thick smoke.
The time was used to announce the draw for the second round, which the teams of Ash and Iris, and Dawn and Misty, waited for with baited breath.
"Team sixteen will go on to battle… Team two!"
Misty and Dawn looked across from their position, recognising a man with long, white hair who had used a Machamp to dominate in the first round, partnered alongside a young girl – his granddaughter, perhaps? – who had used a Blissey to support.
"Team fifteen will go on to battle… Team nine!"
Ash and Iris looked left, picking out a pair of hooded trainers who had each fielded a Scizor in the first round.
"Bet they both use the same Pokémon again…" Ash whispered to Iris, who nodded.
Ah well, our Pokémon did great in the first round. He decided not to worry. How hard can it be?
Uh oh. Famous last words.
The instinct for survival makes enemies of all.
- Feral Contest, Worldwake