Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Nintendo's Pokémon franchise.

Legend:

"Someone is talking."

'Someone is thinking.'

"A machine is being used."

Chapter Sixteen:

"The winner of Round One; Gary!" Willow announced. When he heard this statement—and saw Gary's smirk—Ash clenched his hands into fists, fingers biting deep into his gloves, while he grit his teeth. While Ash could somewhat admire Gary's bit of strategy from a Trainer's perspective, from a personal point however, he was ticked off. He was angry at Gary. He was angry at Squirtle for knocking Eevee out. He was angry at himself for not having predicted what Gary was planning.

"C'mon, Ashy-boy!" Gary called from his side of the battlefield. "Withdraw your beaten Pokémon and call out your next one!" Then, under his breath, he said. "Not like it really matters, anyways."

Ash's eyes narrowed with rage, "Eevee, return!" Then, as soon as Eevee had been called back into her Poké Ball, he quickly pulled out another. "Go, Pidgeotto!"

It was after a momentary flash of white light that Pidgeotto landed on the ground before looking around. Seeing Squirtle's injured form across the way—and its Trainer's obviously foul mood—caused it to get ready for battle.

"Round Two…" Willow trailed off for a moment. "… Begin!"

Ash immediately went on the offensive, "Pidgeotto, use Peck!"

Pidgeotto screeched in confirmation before flapping its wings to get aloft. Once high enough, Pidgeotto dive-bombed Squirtle, the wind screaming in its wake.

"Squirtle, dodge it!" Gary ordered.

Obeying, Squirtle quickly jumped to the side, just in time to avoid Pidgeotto's glowing beak. Not deterred, Pidgeotto simply tilted its wing slightly to adjust its course before it circled around until it faced Squirtle. It charged.

"Dodge and then use your Water Gun attack!" Gary demanded.

Squirtle nodded with a faint "Squir" to show that it heard. Then, as Pidgeotto was less than a dozen feet away Squirtle dodged to the side before opening its mouth. Like before, a powerful jet of water was released from Squirtle's mouth, though this time this move appeared to be far less powerful than the first time it was used.

Pidgeotto swerved in the air to avoid Squirtle's Water Gun—on Ash's order—though only just the necessary amount to dodge it. Squirtle had barely finished its attack when Pidgeotto's glowing beak slammed into its stomach, the force of it sending Squirtle hurtling back.

This time, when Squirtle landed, the Water-Type Pokémon didn't get up.

"Squirtle is no longer able to continue!" Willow announced upon checking out and seeing that Squirtle was unconscious. "So, the winner of Round Two is Ash!"

"Pidgeo!" Pidgeotto cheered.

Ash scratched Pidgeotto's head with one hand, "You were awesome, Pidgeotto! Squirtle didn't stand a chance against you!"

"Don't get too cocky Ashy-boy!" Gary yelled, fuming, as he recalled Squirtle. He then fingered a Poké Ball on his belt, hesitated for a moment, before he grabbed it. "This battle is far from over!" He tossed the Poké Ball into the air, "Go, Fearow!"

In a flash of white light, Gary's next Pokémon was revealed.

Fearow was a large, mostly brown Pokémon with a vulturine neck and broad, powerful wings. It had a long, pointed beak that is pink in coloration, and a decorative red coxcomb tops its head. Its intense-looking eyes had very small pupils, and didn't appear to have colored irises. Fearow also had shaggy feathers on the base of its neck and a vaguely cape-like pattern covering the upper portion of its wings. The cape itself was cream in color, as were the tips of its flight feathers. Its sharp-clawed talons were pink, with three toes pointing forward and one pointing backward.

Ash pulled out his Pokédex, "Fearow: the Beak Pokémon. Fearow have the stamina to fly all day on its broad wings. When fighting, it uses its sharp beak to pierce its enemies."

"Fear-ow!

XXXXXX

(Meanwhile—With Anabel and Willow)

When Gary had released his next Pokémon, Anabel had already been on alert. She had sensed his hesitation and slight fear over it, which could've meant a lot of things.

It could've meant that he didn't think his next choice would be good enough to defeat Ash's Pidgeotto or that he was afraid that it could lose against it. It could've meant that Gary was hesitant to use his next Pokémon because of some issue he had with it.

However, when Anabel got a read on Gary and his Fearow after it was released onto the battlefield, she knew why he had been hesitant and fearful. Fearow was a very angry Pokémon and—judging by the way it attacked before Gary had ordered it to—didn't trust Gary to lead it.

'This is very bad.' Anabel thought as she worriedly bit her lip.

"I know." Willow said from five feet in front of Anabel, startling the poor girl. Had she really been thinking out loud? How embarrassing "If Gary can't control his Pokémon…"

There was a pause as neither Willow, nor Anabel, wanted to outright admit what could happen if Gary couldn't control his Pokémon. Especially a very powerful, and aggressive, Pokémon, like Fearow were known to be.

XXXXXX

(Three minutes earlier—Ash vs. Gary)

Before Willow could announce the beginning of Round Three, Gary's Fearow had gone aloft before it flew at Pidgeotto. Its beak was already glowing a bright white.

Ash's eyes widened in alarm, "Pidgeotto, dodge!"

Pidgeotto had only barely gotten into the air when Fearow's beak tore into the spot where Pidgeotto had been standing only moments before. A large amount of debris was sent high into the air. Then, after a mere second's hesitation, the debris fell to the earth, comparable to a meteor shower.

"Hey!" Ash demanded with an angry scowl. "Did you tell your Pokémon to do that, Gary? 'Cause, if you were, that means you cheated!"

"I don't cheat and I didn't tell Fearow to—" Gary seethed.

Gary was interrupted mid-speech when Fearow rocketed out of the good-sized plume of smoke its former attack had caused, eyes focused on Pidgeotto. Fearow shrieked again before its beak began to glow a bright white.

"Not again!" Ash complained before he shouted up towards Pidgeotto, "Dodge it and then use Gust to blow him away!"

Pidgeotto didn't reply. Instead, Pidgeotto quickly swerved out of Fearow's way—infuriating the larger bird—before flying a small distance away. Then, as Fearow turned around, Pidgeotto began to flap its wings rapidly.

This action caused a massive gust of wind to be created, which Pidgeotto then directed towards Fearow. On the ground, Gary ordered Fearow to dodge. Fearow didn't listen; instead, it met the gust of wind with a defiant shriek.

As it struggled through Pidgeotto's gust, multiple cuts began to appear over Fearow's body. Then, when it appeared that Fearow would be able to break free of the attack, Ash ordered his Pokémon to send another Gust at Fearow.

"Pidge-otto!"

With the addition of a second Gust, Fearow was unable to force itself forward and actually began to lose ground. Then, after a couple of seconds, Fearow was forcibly sent backwards, spiraling in its descent.

"Fearow!" Gary exclaimed, alarmed.

After a couple moments, Fearow managed to stop spinning around and right itself. It then turned vengeful, angry eyes towards Pidgeotto before it gave an angry shriek.

Ash's hands clenched into fists, expression twisting in mild annoyance and anger. "I've had enough of you!" He declared, before turning his attention to his own Pokémon. "Let's finish it off with another Gust!"

"Fearow! You need to get away!" Gary demanded urgently. Fearow didn't as much twitch in response, bullheadedly flying into the Gust that Pidgeotto was creating. "C'mon, Fearow; listen to me!"

Like all of the other times before, Fearow's beak once again gained that white glow, signifying that it was preparing to Peck. It then flew headfirst into Pidgeotto's Gust, where it began fighting against the strong winds, gaining ground at an alarming pace. It was less than twenty seconds later when Fearow escaped the winds attacking it, screeching in triumph.

"Fearow!" The bird Pokémon lunged towards Pidgeotto.

"Pidgeotto, use your Tackle attack!" Ash ordered half a second later. He knew that this was going to be the last play, as Pidgeotto looked almost completely drained and Fearow was quite injured. "C'mon, you can do it!"

Pidgeotto nodded dutifully, "Pidgeotto~", before it pulled its wings in and dove towards Fearow, who shrieked challengingly in response. The two bird Pokémon collided over 70 feet in the air, though Fearow was the one to get in the first blow.

The force behind Fearow's attack caused Pidgeotto to cry out as it fell back. However, Fearow wasn't done just quite yet. It followed Pidgeotto—pecking—as the smaller Pokémon used its talons to scratch against Fearow as it fell.

When these two Pokémon hit the ground a small plume of smoke was created. Shielding their eyes, everyone watched as it slowly began to clear, revealing the two Pokémon.

"Double knockout; no winner!" Willow announced after a brief pause. "Therefore we have a tie; one win to Ash and one win to Gary, so—"

"The one who wins the next match wins!" Ash and Gary interrupted, starting at one another across the battlefield, eyes alight.

Without further ado, both Pokémon Trainers recalled their unconscious Pokémon. They then spared a brief glance at one another, trying to think of which Pokémon the other would use next.

Ash was thinking about using Rattata, because of its speed, or Beedrill, because it was pretty powerful and it could fly. He could gain an advantage if he used Beedrill but, what if Gary used a Pokémon that could fly as well?

There was a brief "popping" sound as one of Ash's Pokémon released itself from its Poké Ball. "Cle?" It murmured, causing Ash to look down and see Clefairy holding onto his right leg.

"Clefairy, what—what are you doing?" Ash asked, confused. Clefairy looked up at him with a shy smile, titling her head in a curious fashion. "I'm in the middle of a battle right now, Clefairy. So, I'm afraid I'm going to have to return you—"

"Clefairy, fai C-Clefairy." Clefairy interrupted quietly, tightening her grip as she spoke.

"What? You… you want to fight?" Ash asked, stunned. It didn't seem quite real to him, Clefairy didn't seem like a battler. So, why, why would his shyest Pokémon want to battle? "… Are you sure?"

"Fairy, Cle-fairy." Clefairy nodded.

"Hah!" Gary snorted—instantly drawing Ash's attention—sneering slightly as he looked at Ash's Clefairy, having already called out his own Pokémon. "You think that pink ball of fuzz will be able to beat my Nidoran? I mean, look at it; your Pokémon's trembling."

Ash spared a glance towards Clefairy, only to find what Gary said was actually true; Clefairy was trembling. He however saw, unlike Gary, that oh-so small spark in his Pokémon's eyes. Despite her fear, Clefairy clearly wanted to battle.

Ash grinned, "I'm sure of it, Gary. I KNOW that Clefairy is going to kick your Pokémon's butt!"

"Your Pokémon doesn't stand against mine, Ashy-boy." Gary retorted, before smiling a bit. "But… if you want to give me the win so easily… I won't complain. C'mon, Nidoran… Let's show 'em."

Nidoran was a small quadruped with bluish-white skin, large ears, whiskers, and front teeth. She was covered with small spines, primarily on its back, which added to its rather porcupine-like appearance. The only other thing of note was that this Pokémon was shifting from foot to foot, as if incapable of staying still.

"Alright, it's time for the final match; Round Four!" Willow announced from the sidelines. "When I say "start"… ready… set… start!"

Gary immediately went on the offensive, "Nidoran, use your Poison Sting!"

Nidoran nodded in confirmation, "Nido", before it opened its mouth. As the Poison-type Pokémon released a stream of white darts, Ash quickly ordered Clefairy to dodge. Clefairy dodged to the side just in time to avoid the poisonous barrage.

"Good job, Clefairy!" Ash cheered with a grin, which caused Clefairy to turn around and beam at him shyly, head slightly bowed. "Now, use Sing!"

Clefairy bowed her head. Head still lowered, she opened her mouth before she began to sing, using her energy to send out a stream of multi-colored musical notes towards Nidoran. Gary frowned, all-too familiar with that move.

"Fire another Poison Sting at those notes! You need to destroy them all before they reach you or you're as good as done!" Gary ordered, shouting.

"Ni-do…" Nidoran began before she opened her mouth again, releasing another barrage of poisonous needles as she all-but roared, "RAN!"

Nidoran and Clefairy's attacks met in the middle of the battlefield, resulting in minute explosions as Nidoran's Poison Sting pierced and destroyed Clefairy's Sing. The resulting shockwaves created by these explosions sent both Pokémon flying backwards, Clefairy landing on her side while Nidoran flipped in the air before landing on her feet.

"Clefairy!" Ash called, worried.

"Hah!" Gary sneered, gleeful. "I warned you, Ashy-boy!" Then, turning his attention to his Nidoran. "Why don't you finish that fluff-ball off with a Double-Kick?"

"Nidoran!" Nidoran cried, excitedly, before she rushed forwards Clefairy's downed form. Having heard Nidoran, Clefairy looked up with a pained look on her face, trembling.

"F-Fairy!" Clefairy squeaked out, frightened.

"C'mon, Clefairy! You need to dodge!" Ash shouted concernedly. "Roll over, jump… do whatever you need to so you can dodge! C'mon, Clefairy!"

Clefairy trembled some more—eyes locked on Nidoran's rapidly approaching self—before she shook her head. She then slowly pushed herself to a standing position though it appeared that it was too late; Nidoran was only five feet away.

"Heh!" Gary smirked.

"C'mon, Clefairy!" Ash said imploringly. "Just dodge it! I know you can do it!"

Nidoran jumped into the air, hind legs outwards in preparation for its first kick. It looked as if Nidoran's attack would hit until Clefairy suddenly jumped backwards, her tiny wings glowing white as she floated in mid-air.

"WHAT?" Gary roared as his Nidoran crashed into the ground, getting a face-full of dirt for its troubles. "How is that even possible?"

Already one step ahead, Ash opened his Pokédex before pointing it towards Clefairy. "Clefairy: The Fairy Pokémon. By storing moonlight into its wings, Clefairy are later able to use that moonlight to float in mid-air."

"Whoa…" Ash murmured once his Pokédex had stopped. He looked to where Clefairy was floating, a grin quickly blooming on his face. "Clefairy, you're awesome!"

Clefairy ducked her head shyly, trying to hide her head in her fur.

"Just because it can float doesn't your Pokémon will beat mine!" Gary yelled, startling Ash. For a moment there, he had forgotten that he was battling. "Blast it outta the sky with a Poison Sting!"

Nidoran growled in confirmation of her Trainer's orders. The blue Pokémon was very upset, and somewhat dirty from her earlier face-plant. It was very obvious that she intended to pay Clefairy back for the other Pokémon's sudden trick.

"Clefairy, use Sing!" Ash countered quickly before watching as Clefairy dropped to the ground—dodging the first barrage of needles—before releasing a stream of musical notes towards Nidoran. 'I need to think of something else…' The two attacks met once more, creating another series of explosions. 'Or we could lose this battle. But, what…?'

"Nidoran, use Scratch!" Gary ordered.

Nidoran lunged out of the smoke—surprising both Ash and Clefairy—before she rushed towards Clefairy. As she ran, she weaved in and out of Clefairy's Sing, losing some speed but ultimately resisting the attack.

"Clefairy! Dodge it!" Ash shouted out, alarmed.

However, Ash was already too late.

"Fai, Fai, Fai, Fai!" Clefairy cried as Nidoran began scratching her with its claws. Tears streaming down her face, she covered her head with her stubby arms and closed her eyes. "Fairy… fairy…"

Ash's eyes widened, "Clefairy!" When he didn't get a response, he turned blazing eyes towards Gary. "Call it off; you're hurting her!"

"This is a Pokémon Battle Ashy-boy; the only way I'm calling Nidoran off is if you surrender… and admit that I'm the better Pokémon Trainer!" Gary yelled back.

"WHAT?"

"You heard me, loser!" Gary responded, crossing his arms. "Just admit that I'm the better Trainer and I'll call off Nidoran."

Ash gritted his teeth, fingernails digging into his palm and making little white indentations. 'There is no way that I would EVER admit Gary is the better Trainer!' He though vehemently, seconds before he heard Clefairy cry again. His eyes softened. 'But… I can't stand to see Clefairy suffer like that.'

"I—" Ash choked out. "Gary, I—"

Ash never got the chance to finish for, at that moment, something truly unexpected happened. Unnoticed to all, Clefairy had been glowing an off-white color since Nidoran had begun attacking her. Now, both of her hands had been covered in a light-purple shroud of pure energy. Noticing this, Nidoran stopped, uncertain of what her opponent was doing.

Clefairy looked up, teary-eyed, and took advantage of Nidoran's sudden hesitation; she threw blow of her fists forwards her tormentor. With a roar so uncharacteristic of her, Clefairy slammed both her fists into the underside of Nidoran's chin. "CLEFAIRY!"

The force of this sudden—unexpected—attack sent Nidoran careening backwards, spittle flying from its mouth. Nidoran crash-landed on the ground, uprooting about an inch of earthen debris as she tumbled backwards. By the time Nidoran stopped tumbling, it was revealed that she was unconscious.

For almost an entire minute, no one spoke or moved, too stunned at the sudden happenings.

"Clefairy!" Ash shouted, breaking out of the sudden stupor to run towards his Pokémon. "Clefairy!" Ash stumbled to a stop before he kneeled and grabbed Clefairy, holding her close. "I'm sorry you got hurt again, Clefairy… but, you really were amazing out there."

Clefairy snuggled deeper into his embrace and smiled, no longer feeling the pain of her newfound wounds. "Clefairy Cle, Clefairy Fairy Cle Fai."

XXXXXX

"The winner of Round Four is Ash! Ash wins!"

Gary scowled as he returned Nidoran to its Poké Ball, shoved the round thing into his right pants pocket, and turned, stomping away. He didn't get too far before Anabel intercepted him, looking completely outraged.

Without warning, she slapped him clear across the face. "You little jerk! How could—how dare you blackmail Ash like that!"

"I already told Ash; it was a Pokémon Battle!" Gary responded angrily. "In a Battle, you do whatever you can to win!"

Anabel's eyes narrowed in rage, "Not if it comes at the expense of unnecessarily BEATING on another Pokémon, like you had Nidoran beat Clefairy! A Pokémon that was curled into the fetal position, crying, as your Pokémon beat her!"

"It's not my fault that fluff-ball was so weak! And I told Ashy-boy earlier that his Pokémon had no chance against mine! In fact, if it hadn't used Metronome right then, then I would've won!" Gary retorted.

"Is winning all you care about?" Anabel demanded with a ticked off expression on her face, eyes alight as she stared at Gary. "Is it? You could've seriously hurt Clefairy and all you care about is the fact you would've won?"

Gary was taken back. '… 'Seriously hurt'?'

He lowered his head slightly, wondering if that was what he had intended. He shook his head after a moment. Ash was supposed to have given up and admitted he was the better Trainer. He had never meant to hurt Clefairy, outside of what was needed.

Had he?

Ash's Pokémon Team:

Eevee

Attacks: Tackle (Normal), Scratch (Normal), Tail-Whip (Normal), Helping Hand (Normal), and Growl (Normal).

Pidgeotto

Attacks: Sand Attack (Ground), Tackle (Normal), Gust (Flying), and Peck (Flying).

Rattata

Attacks: Bite (Dark), Tackle (Normal), and Scratch (Normal).

Beedrill:

Attacks: String-Shot (Bug), Poison-Sting (Poison), Bug-Bite (Bug), and Fury Attack (Normal).

Clefairy:

Attacks: Sing (Normal) , Pound (Normal), and Metronome (Normal).

Paras

Attacks: Poison Powder (Poison), Stun Spore (Grass), and Spore (Grass).

Gary Oak's Pokémon Team:

Squirtle

Attacks: Tackle (Normal), Water Gun (Water), Withdraw (Water), and Bite (Dark).

Fearow

Attacks: Peck (Flying).

Nidoran (Female)

Attacks: Growl (Normal), Scratch (Normal), Double Kick (Fighting), and Poison Sting (Poison).

Anabel's Pokémon Team:

Abra

Attacks: Teleport (Psychic), Psyshock (Psychic), and Confusion (Psychic).

A/N: Author's Note: Well, that's it for this chapter. Tell me what you guys think about it; comments, concerns, and constructive criticism. Also, me and my delightful Co-Author/Beta Sharkteeth will be taking a brief Hiatus as we update A.I.A. and P.E.C. This revision is to make sentences flow better amongst other things.

Also, I'm sorry that it's taken so long for this chapter to come out. I have had to prepare for the stately BioExpo that I am competing in. Wish me luck you guys, cause I'll need it when I'm presenting my project!