Authors Notes: Two years in a row it's been Toradora! Now it's Pokemon. Happy Birthday to me...
Soundtrack:
Axel Rudi Pell: In The Air Tonight
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Two years ago...
Ash and Pikachu made their way out of Professor Juniper's laboratory. He'd just bid the Professors (Oak and Juniper) along with his mother goodbye. The lab was looking to be busy today, with new trainers coming soon for their Pokémon and the two professors...doing professor things. Ash learned long ago; when science is involved, don't ask, just get the hell out of there. With a goodbye to his Mother, Ash had stepped outside, a promise of greatness on his lips as he left her once more. He'd only briefly wondered when he'd find his way home again...
He'd decided to enter the Unova league, though that was no choice in itself. After his defeat at the last conference..."Gotta get stronger."
A new region, new Pokémon, new challenges, and above all a new adventure. It was something he'd stood before so many times before.
Yet..."You know Pikachu, it feels different."
"Pi?"
Ash turned to the Pokémon on his shoulder, very briefly noting how much better he was at understanding his partner these days, though there was some left to be desired, maybe he'd understand his best friend fully one day.
"Don't know how to explain it. It just feels like this time, like we're gonna go a lot further." He looked out into the sky. "So what do you say buddy, with me?"
"Pika!"
Ash smiled, and took his first step.
His first step into his next great adventure...
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"I am Pokémon Grandmaster."
Both former and current, their rights to claim it equal, as neither had yet been defeated, both thought the same thing as they stared the other down.
"I have no rival."
A truth almost absolute.
"Except you."
Smeargle's tail bashed the ground once more.
Pikachu's cheek sparked once more.
A breeze swept over the battlefield.
"You're the only one left."
Sweat.
Blood.
"You're the only one who can stand against me."
Each hit the ground.
They smiled.
"Don't disappoint me."
The breeze passed.
Smeargle's tail ceased hitting the ground, raising up, and dancing lightly in the air behind him. He looked across at Pikachu, his fists clenching. "Smearr..."
Pikachu took a stance, his cheeks sparking. "Pika..."
The silence continued, the four of them lock within it. Then, the unspoken truce came to an end.
The final round began.
"Smeargle, Force Palm!"
"Smear!" His right arm glowed. "Gle!" He thrust forward, firing a golden light.
"Pikachu, evade!"
Pikachu leapt, evading the light, which hit the ground he once stood upon. "Kaaaaa!" The gust from the blast was fierce, and Pikachu's small form was blasted further, headed right for the claw that contained whatever was left of their original battlefield. He flipped in the air, landing perfectly on his feet on the claw, the smoke still rising above him.
Just in time to-"Smear!" Smeargle landed, his tail slashing. Pikachu ducked the pesudo-blade, shifting forward. He leapt, kicking at Smeargle's face. The smiling artist leaned back, his own foot coming up, and tail coming back from behind Pikachu.
Pikachu caught a glimpse, taking a fraction of a second to make a decision. He kicked out both his feet, meeting the coming kick, bouncing off it like a trampoline as the tail passed under him. Smeargle watched as Pikachu grabbed piece of the rock that was once a claw, he span on it, gathering momentum before. "KA!" Pikachu let go, sailing at Smeargle with his foot outstretched. Smeargle snarled, kicking out with his own strike.
The air shook, and the rock beneath them cracked. In as many parts of a second, pieces of a distinct crack made their path part way the ground, the very base of the crack starting to leak water.
"Pikachu! Get some distance! Charge Beam!"
Pikachu leapt back, then to the air. "Piiii!" He opened his mouth, forming an orb of light-"KA!" The orb let loose a beam of golden light.
"Evade! And then counter with Swift!" Smeargle leapt, the blast hitting rock as he ascended higher. A circle of blue spread in front of him briefly, leaving many stars in its wake. They all shot forward, their countless shards of yellow aiming for the only thing that matched their color.
"Spark!" Pikachu glowed a bright gold, and a sphere of electricity spread out from him. The countless stars struck the wall, exploding, but ultimately never reaching their target. The two made their ways back to earth. Pikachu rebounded off the third claw, jumping to the middle and reaching the ground first. Smeargle simply fell, repeating Pikachu's previous spinning trick with his tail to slow his decent before he landed on the ground.
Pikachu turned to his left, Smeargle to his right, and step by step they walked, back to their starting point, though their distance was closed some.
Ash's clenched his fist. This was it...this was the fight he'd been wanting, for so long. For as long as Ash had watched Pokémon battles, he had watched this man. He had wanted to fight this man. He was the last, the only one who could match his power. He had at last...become so strong. Drip, drip. His eye turned, he found the crack, leaking ever so little every second. It was still in there, she was still in there..."Would you be proud of me?"
"I hate you!"
Ash took a breath, and turned away, looking to his foe and finding-he smiled. "You've been shitting me, this whole time." His eye fell on Quentin's hand, a mirror to his own. "You really have been enjoying this as much as me."
Quentin blinked. "Your point?"
"That is my point! Deny it all you want but we both know it's true! We are the same!"
Quentin shook his head. "Life ain't black and white, boy. Ah, you're young, I'm just wasting air, and time." He smiled to himself suddenly. "To be young, brash, and have no sense of self preservation..." He threw his head back and laughed. "The folly of youth!" He chuckled some more, before his gaze turned serious again. "Smeargle, continue. Let's put some more of his hand-to-hand to test."
Stoic, Smeargle leapt to the air, sailing until he was right above Pikachu, his tail dancing in the air. It came down. It struck the earth, stabbing deep where a heartbeat before Pikachu had been. Pikachu jumped off, fist ready, and he struck with an uppercut.
It missed. Like a marionette on string, Smeargle was moved out of the way by his tail. He kicked, and Pikachu's own tail met his strike. The mouse landed on the ground, as did Smeargle, and his tail pulled itself from the earth. He leapt at Pikachu again, enraged.
Pikachu's cheeks sparked, as the foe almost exactly three times his size swept in, his body moving in a graceful series of strikes. He slipped past two punches, shifting forward and punching-Smeargle's faced moved at the last second, his tail pushing him to the side as he launched a faster punch-Pikachu evaded, spinning in place as his tail slipped around to meet Smeargle's jaw. It never met. Smeargle leapt back, his tail shooting like a harpoon-it's brush-like tip baring all the threat of skewering Pikachu.
It hit air. Pikachu gripped just below the brush of the tail, and pulled. Smeargle was pulled off his feet, and swung through the air as Pikachu span in place, once, twice, a third-Pikachu let go, sending Smeargle flying just above ground level, spinning round and round. Pikachu rushed after him.
Smeargle blinked, the world spinning around him. He bowed his head at a precise moment, digging into the ground, he span in place, the spike upon his head the base his rotated on. His tail slashed out.
Pikachu ducked, and jumped back. Smeargle slowed down, stopping as his tail pressed to the ground, lifting him, and putting him right side up. He stood on his tail, smiling.
Quentin gave an impressed whistle. "Never seen a Pikachu who could fight like that."
"It became a problem," Ash started. "When we realized that Pikachu would almost always lose if he couldn't use electricity, we got to work on it. Took a while, but we made him strong, and he learned how to fight without needing electric attacks."
"And now you think he can take on Smeargle. A bold claim, for anyone."
"Been doing pretty well so far."
"Very rarely are things as they seem. Smeargle! Correct his perception!"
Smeargle's tail coiled, lowering him as his tail appeared more and more like a spring. He sprang. Smeargle leapt across the arena, in his fastest rush yet. He rolled as he ran, his body a rolling mass of limbs, each striking at Pikachu as he moved forward, pushing Pikachu back. An evaded punch, blocked kick. He'd moved past Pikachu, but his tail was-it was slipped under, Pikachu leaping forward, slipping under Smeargle before he landed. With Smeargle's back briefly turned Pikachu jumped at him, his own tail ready to strike.
Smeargle did not even turn. His tail struck, clashing against Pikachu's like a blade. "Pika!" He knew he'd knocked him off-balance. He flipped backwards, and leap on his hands, rising his leg up high as he came down.
"Pikachu, Shock Wave!"
"Pika-" His cheeks sparked."CHUUUU!" A single beam of electrical power shot at Smeargle. Even had he been on the ground, this attack was unavoidable.
So he'd take a leaf from Pikachu's book. "Protect!"
A wall of light, and Pikachu's attack smashed into it, both dissipating to nothing. Smeargle flipped back from the fading remains of his own shield, landing before his trainer.
Quentin grinned. "Ain't reality a bitch?"
"We've got other ways to fight! Pikachu!"
"So have we! Smeargle!"
Quentin watched, as the two fighters rushed across the field. "I reigned a long time. I did the duty left to me. I waited, for the one who would succeed me." He took one look, at his successor. "This is not who I waited for!"
Alas, this was a crisis of his own creation.
"Pikachu, Quick Attack!" Pikachu's speed increased, and he became almost as a white blur as he moved towards Smeargle. The artist followed him, waiting for-
"Smeargle, Mach Punch!" Smeargle punched at the blur as it reached him. It moved, coming to a sudden stop, with Pikachu beneath the wrist of the offending arm.
"Slam!" Pikachu jumped, grabbing Smeargle's wrist and lifting him, aiming him, palm-first to the ground.
An open palm, a-"Force Palm!"
His palm glowed, and a familiar blast hit the ground."KAA!" Pikachu was blasted off his feet, releasing Smeargle. He landed on his hand.
"Shadow Ball!" His hand glowed with a sphere of darkness, it shot off like a cannon.
"Zap Cannon!" Pikachu's paws stretched out, forming an orb almost bigger than Pikachu himself. It shot off, meeting the Shadow Ball head on. There was an explosion, and the cloud of smoke quickly parted for the still remaining, weakened, and travelling attack as Pikachu landed.
Smeargle ducked the ball of yellow, now what to use nex-"Inferno!"
"Smear-!" His body glowed red. "GLE!" An explosion of flame, spreading in all directions like a wall of fire.
"Pikachu!" The light and heat soon hid all things from view for a few seconds. When all could see there was only Smeargle, alone. Pikachu was nowhere in sight. Ash grinned. He knew where Pikachu was. "Iron Tail!"
The ground near Smeargle burst open. "Iron Tail."
"Pika!"
"Smear!"
Iron met Iron. Grinning, the two fighters parted again. This was...fun.
Ash smirked. "That evened things out."
Quenin shrugged, smiling. "I suppose. "If nothing else, you are a worthy opponent. That's rare for me to find. Those truly worthy to be Grandmaster are much rarer still. I could count the worthy Grandmasters on a single hand."
"I'm strong. That's all I need! I have all the power I need to be a worthy Grandmaster!"
"There is a difference between power and strength!" Quentin's features flared. "One determines your right to wield the other. You have something you've lost all rights to!" His face became stern, that resolve he was known for in every inch of his face. "I wont let this continue... I will not let you tarnish a legacy that spans a century! Smeargle!"
Ash grinned, his darkened eyes flaring. Let another round begin..."Pikachu!"
For two years. For two, long years, Ash had walked the earth, seeking battles. He had sought out the strongest he could find, struck them down, and sought another. It had been the way of things for a long time now. "I kept looking, but I didn't find it. I didn't find what I was waiting for..."
"Smeargle, Flamethrower!" Smeargle opened his mouth, and let lose a stream of flame.
"Evade!" Pikachu rushed, more than several steps ahead of the fire. When he got close-"Thunder Wave!" Pikachu glowed, and unleashed a wave of yellow.
"Stone Edge!" The ground released countless shards of rock, forming a solid wall which the wave smashed against, and faded away as the wall crumbled.
Quentin looked on, part of his deciding his next move, another... "When I became Grandmaster, it was all so new. So simple. And my first year, I thought it was going to be so clear-cut. Then came five, ten. And it kept on going. Time kept on ticking by, and I waited."
"Smergle! Shadow Claw!" Both of Smeargle's paws became shrouded by darkness, which became claws. He rushed at Pikachu, ready to strike.
"Thunderpunch!" Pikachu's paws became shrouded in golden, sparking light. Both struck.
Darkness met light.
"I just wanted someone worthy."
It met again.
"Someone to face me." Ash yelled for Pikachu to continue the battle.
"Someone to succeed me." Quentin ordered another assault.
Pikachu side-stepped a claw. He punched-it was blocked, he jumped back from Smeargle's tail, blocking a claw with another punch. Smeargle slashed again, meeting another punch.
"Someone who could see it all like me."
Pikachu jumped forward, slamming his fist fast and hard. Smeargle blocked with both claws, sliding back.
Ash smiled. He'd been waiting for this battle, for all his life.
"Pikachu, Swift! Get him from everywhere!" Pikachu created a circle of blue, and numerous, tiny stars emerged from it. Not as large as Smeargle's creations, but a hundred tiny stings could amount to something painful. They shot to the air, dancing high above Smeargle for a few seconds.
They came down, firing at him from every direction. "Pin Missile!" Smeargle's tail shot up, glowed white and from that light burst countless needles. Ash watched, as one by one his stars burst.
Stars...how many times had he stared at them with her? He felt again, that sting at his heart, but why?
"Pikachu, Quick Attack!" Pikachu rushed forward again, the stars still going out.
It...didn't matter anymore. None of it did. They never came back. She never came back. This, this was his lifeline. He clenched his fist, a wound throbbing lightly.
"This is how...I feel."
Pikachu rushed at Smeargle, the final star going out. Smeargle leapt away, Pikachu, changing direction as the final of the barrage came down. Smeargle shot around where Pikachu ran, creating patches of temporary spikes as he hit the ground. Ash watched, smiling.
Fighting was more than just a way of life.
It was a way to live.
He was living.
"Smeargle! Energy Ball!" Smeargle formed an energy ball almost instantly, a little larger than his hand. It shot at Pikachu, casting a green glow on the ground beneath.
"Iron Tail!" Pikachu's tail became metal. "Hit it back at the ground!"
He bashed the ball with his still-iron tail, and it shot back, coming to a stop before Smeargle. The explosion created a wall of dust. Smeargle was hidden instantly, the blast sounds was such Ash had to yell to get his plan across.
"Volt Marking!"
Pikachu leapt forth, glowing yellow and sparking. He leapt through the cloud, and in a second the dust storm passed enough for the result to be plainly seen.
The glow had been passed, from Pikachu to Smeargle, as the mouse touched his head. Pikachu jumped away, the glow fading, but little sparks remained. Ash and Pikachu smiled, there was nowhere to run now.
Smeargle suddenly smiled, and...
"What?
"Pika?"
...he faded away. "A substitute. But where-? Pikachu, sniff him out!"
Pikachu took a wiff of the air, and looked up. There, beneath the pillar of smoke, sat Smeargle, his tail pointed at Pikachu, glowing white briefly before the light faded. Smeargle jumped down to the arena. Ash frowned.
"Substitute and Teleport. And copying Pikachu's moves now?"
Quentin shrugged. "We're not picky on sources to Sketch. Consider it a compliment, that technique is quite a useful one. Mark a target with a charge and turn 'em into a lightning rod. Knew you'd try it eventually." Smeargle took his place again, beckoning Pikachu with his paw.
"Wait till you what else we got." Ash thought, and fast. This was risky, but given his lifestyle, risky was just normal. "Pikachu, Quick Attack! Get in close!"
Pikachu rushed forward, Smeargle and Quentin watching closely. What was he up to? He wasn't going to try the same trick twice, he had to have something planned. Pikachu got closer, and closer. Now what was-"Pikachu-!"
Quentin wasn't sure what made him say what he did next, but he was compelled to. Perhaps it was fate. Perhaps he'd subconsciously predicted it. Perhaps he was psychic.
Perhaps it was just a lucky guess.
"Signal Beam!"
"Charge Beam!"
Pikachu slammed to a halt, only a few feet from his target. Two beams formed. Two beams launched. Two beams met. One blast was born. Smeargle and Pikachu was launched off their feet. Standing in mid-air as they lowered to the ground, their momentums not slower. They forced their feet into the ground, each leaving two trails as they slowed.
Pikachu came to a halt, his eyes closed. He was still, his fists clenching.
"Pikachu?"
Pikachu's cheeks sparked into life as his eyes opened. "Pi pika chu ka pika." Ash smiled.
"What did he say?"
Ash looked Quentin dead in the eye, his darkness growing deeper than ever before.
"We'll always find our way."
"This is your way..." He signed. "Once there was something great in you. Now you're little more than a beast, snapping his jaws for his next fight."His gaze turned to contempt. "You'll really do it, won't you? When this fight is done you'll just find another to feed on." He looked over Ash's body, the litter of injuries he had. "If you even survive me."
Ash smirked. "Don't care if I drop dead now, huh? I never took you for that kind of guy."
Quentin shrugged. "I believe in self-determination. If you are determined to die, then by all means go ahead." His own eyes grew a bit darker. "One way or another, I'm correcting my mistake." He smiled. "You're no loss, right? Isn't that what you said? That your loved ones will not morn?"
"Shut up and keep fighting."
Quentin gave an exaggerated bow, chuckling. "As you wish, my lord."
Without order, the two Pokemon marched forth. Pikachu's cheeks sparked, then his entire body for a brief instant. Smeargle's tail danced like an Arbok.
They stopped.
"Mega Punch!"
"Thunderpunch!"
Smeargle's arm glowed white. Pikachu's glowed gold, crackling with power. They struck. The punches met, blocking one another at the backs of the hand. Smeargle's tail swept around, aiming-
Pikachu jumped, sailing high into the sky. "Smeargle, Fire Blast!" Smeargle took a second to get his balance, before his mouth opened, letting loose familiar mass of flame.
"Thunderbolt!" Pikachu glowed, so much that the world seemed dark next to him.
"CHUUUUUU!" The bolt came sailing down.
"Smergle! Stone Lance!"
Smeargle glowed blue, and a patch of ground near him did too. It cracked, and from it burst a weapon of stone. Smeargle caught it in his hand, a lance much longer than his body. He put his arm in its handle, the shield covering his forearm as he thrust it up, right into the oncoming bolt. The Thunderbolt ate though, and dissipated the Fire Blast, the bolt headed right for Smeargle.
He thrust at the bolt. The bolt burst on contact, its weakened, fractured power firing everywhere, striking stone, passing by Quentin.
Ash was not so lucky. The bolting struck, setting him aglow with its power. He laughed. He laughed as the electricity ran through him, even it felt like every inch of his body had its pain receptors triggered. The surge faded, and Pikachu was coming down. "Iron Tail!"
Pikachu's tail turned to metal, and he fell, his tail meeting Smeargle's thrusting lance. Iron cut steel, iron shattered steel. Pikachu met the ground, slamming his tail against the remains of the handle, which Smeargle thrust like a shield. The force of the strike forced them both back, and they jumped away.
Ash breathed, deep, closing his eyes. So this what it meant to be God... He felt slip down his face, a warm and wet drop.
"Empty."
Something was still missing, but...that was okay. He was okay. He had this, he had this to survive on. He had something to hold onto.
Maybe it was good.
Maybe it wasn't.
Ash didn't know.
Ash didn't...actually he didn't know if he cared or not.
It didn't matter, because no matter what, there was this moment.
There was this battle.
Just for this moment...
"I am alive."
"I am here."
"I am not alone."
...everything was alright.
Ash's eyes opened. "Are we done?"
Quentin nodded. "We're done."
They smiled.
"Pikachu!"
"Smeargle!"
Each Pokémon was at full attention, unmarked, unfazed by the battle thus far. They stood on their back limbs, each smiling in way that only those who found home in battle could understand. Their trainers were reflecting it. There the four stood, as above them the smoke was darkening the sky, dark clouds forming and joining with it, snaking across what was previously bright and casting shade, consuming the blue from the sky with unbound hunger.
The two Grandmasters declared their order at the same time.
"Warm up's over!"
Smeargle's body tensed, every limb and muscle seeming to become ready for the battle at the same time. Even his tail became stationary in the air as his legs spread out into a more defensible stance. Pikachu's cheeks rapidly started to crackle, briefly glowing and crackling wildly before finally returning to a more gentle display of power.
There the four stood, the air thick with new sensation, new tension, new excitement, and they would fight in the shade, they would fight in the-
Darkness.
The sun had been devoured.
"This is my way."
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End of Chapter
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Next time: Height Of The Glory
Author's Notes: I'll take whatever award they give for dramatic build up via post. Just address it to "the world's biggest lazy-ass gasbag" and it'll get to me eventually. That's how the award for "most long-winded dialogue" got to me.
(Don't send it to "the world's biggest prick", I thought that was me too but apparently it isn't. Which, all things considered, is very odd. Seriously, why the hell isn't it me? And who actually is the world's biggest prick? I demand to know!)
I did enter this fic for "crappiest Pokemon fic" but my competition's too stiff.
Trivia: I found it oddly easy to decide on Quentin's main Pokémon. Everyone else was a pain in the ass (even Aerodactyl required some thought, I can't believe I missed something so obvious at first), but Smeargle clicked in a heartbeat. It's food for thought that this Pokémon hasn't been seen fighting in the animé. A Pokemon that can learn any move! Why was this fact not given an ep focused on it?
A manga (I think it was Pokémon adventures. Pokémon has a lot of mangas.) also showed a real interesting feature: Sketch also copies specific attributes of the attack as well. It was used to copy Entei's flamethrower (which was stronger than a typical flamethower), and so from then on when it used flamethrower, it was a copy of Entei's fires.
I see plot potential here!*
*Which I ain't gonna use! (leave that to the talented writers)