Hi, FanFiction Members! It's HollowKU ready for the next chapter of the Parallel Challenger! Sorry for not updating earlier, but I've been really busy with homework from college, and it has been really a pain to write this chapter with the little amount of time I had free to do it. I would like to thank all the people that had been reading the fic until now. I hope that you like it the way it's going.
Well, I would like this little moment to thank a dear friend of mine, Omegaxis1. He has been my friend here in FanFiction for a really long time, almost 4 years, and he has always been supported back then and now. 2 years ago, I dropped writing FanFiction, since I lost the spirit and the enthusiasm of it. However, he still stayed connected and always looked if there was some update from me or the fic. Now, when I returned with this fic, he started reading it, even though he's a Pokéshipper. I really thank him for being such a good friend. With that being said, I would like to say that I DEDICATE this chapter to him, since the main event of this chapter was his idea for a really long time, and now has finally materialized in this fic. Omega, this is for you =)
Pokémon: The Parallel Challenger
Chapter 7: Unlocked Potential
"Ok, then. BEGIN!"
"This is going to be difficult. Red already defeated one of my most powerful Pokémon, not to mention that his own Snorlax is still able for another round later. Now it's up to Charizard for this round. I have the advantage since its opponent is a Grass-type. Like I said before, this is just getting started!"
"Ok! Charizard, take flight!" Ash ordered his Pokemon to do the first move.
"RAWRRR!" Charizard obeyed and took flight but stayed in a certain distance to attack.
"..." Red, as always remained in silence, waiting for Ash's move.
"Ok, use Flamethrower!" Ash's first attack was obvious, but still effective.
"RAWRRR!" The Fire type obeyed, unleashing powerful flames right were its opponent was, without any effort. Well, he hasn't been training all this years in Charific Valley for nothing.
"Too predictable..." Red said calmed, waiting for the attack. "...Counter it."
"Saur!" The grass-type nodded to its trainer, as vines came out of its body.
What happened next was completely unexpected. As the attack almost reached its destination, Venusaur smashed the ground really hard, making it crack, as rocks from it went flying due to the impact. However, their course wasn't random. Everyone except Red was surprised that the rocks were in fact making a shield for Venusaur.
"BOOOM!"
Charizard's Flamethrower reached the 'shield', creating a lot of smoke due to the explosion. After the smoke dissipated, Venusaur was revealed to be perfectly fine, with a grin on its face, like if it was mocking Charizard.
"What? He countered it! That's not going to happen for a second time, though!" Ash thought.
"Charizard, try another Flamethrower!"
"RAWRRR!" The Pokemon obeyed once again, unleashing the fire move directly to the Grass-type.
"...Counter it again." Red ordered calmly.
"Saur!"
The Pokemon raised its vines, but instead of hitting the ground, it started to move its vines in circles, faster and faster, like the propeller of an helicopter. Slowly, the fire move started to disappear due to the strong wind that was generated from the vines until it became nothing but ashes.
"What?! Venusaur was able to counter two Flamethrowers! How is that even possible?"
"It's useless. I've trained my Venusaur so it can counter ANY Fire-type attack..." Red replied with a smile. "I hope that Fire-type attacks aren't everything your Charizard has to give..."
Meanwhile with the others...
"An anti-fire counter with Grass-type moves?!" Max gasped.
"Without Fire-type attacks, Charizard will be in real trouble!" May also was shocked by Red's smart strategy.
"Pretty impressive. Not only because Red has nulled Charizard's primal attribute, but also that he has managed to do it with a Pokémon with great disadvange against him. He has blocked almost half of Ash's strategy." Gary remarked.
"That much? Well, since using Fire attacks against a Grass-type is common sense, you can be right." Dawn replied.
"Even though Venusaur is still weak against Charizard, it's Red's Venusaur we're talking about, so it won't be easy for Ash to win this battle."
Returning to the battle...
"So Fire attacks won't work, huh? Well, in that case..." This were Ash's thoughts before he came up with his next strategy. "Charizard, approach to Venusaur and use Dragonbreath!"
"RAWRRR!" Charizard obeyed and started to head where its opponent was with an amazing speed. Then it unleashed the Dragon-type move.
"Use Sludge Bomb..." Red ordered his Pokemon.
Venusaur nodded and from its back, a smelly and disgusting purple jelly came out, in an attempt to counter the Dragonbreath.
Both attacks collided, making lots of dust between the Pokemon. The impact was closer to Charizard, making it to got into the dust, losing trace of him. This was, however, like Ash wanted to be...
"NOW! Seismic Toss!"
"..."
"RAWRRR!"
Charizard, who was thought that was damged from the attack, emerged from the dust with some scratches, charging at full speed where Venusaur was. This took everyone by surprise.
Charizard arrived really fast, giving no time to react to the Grass-type, as it was picked up by the dragon-like Pokemon. Both then went to the sky, higher and higher, until Charizard reached its limit and started to fly in circles, like if it was rotating across the world, faster and faster to gain speed enough for making the crash really hard.
"Your Venusaur may block my attacks in ground combat, but the sky is Charizard's territory!" Ash pointed as he looked to the sky.
"Then let's use your own strength against you..." Red said smiling. "Wrap Charizard..."
"What?!"
Venusaur nodded and used its vines to cover Charizard almost completely, leaving only bare its head and tail. Due to the wrap, Charizard couldn't continue flying and started to fell to the floor really fast, thanks to the power it accumulated while preparing the Seismic Toss. Now both Pokémon were in risk of crashing directly into the floor.
"If you think that's going to make me back off, then you're wrong!" Ash claimed as he looked to his Pokémon. "Charizard, try to get more speed!"
"..."
"And two can play the same game! I'll also use your move to my advantage! Now, Charizard! Surround your body with your Flamethrower!" Ash ordered.
"RAWRRR!"
With a strong determination in its eyes, Charizard growled and obeyed its trainer's orders, starting to spin and unleashed the fire move, as both he and the Grass-type were engulfed by the flames. Both were decided to maintain their positions. None of them was planning on backing off.
"GO!/...!"
"BOOOOM!"
Both of them collided into the ground, creating a big crater on it and along with it a lot of dust.
"CHARIZARD!" Ash yelled, hoping that his Pokémon could hear him.
Suddenly, a huge roar was heard, as a shadowy figure emerged from the crater, revealed to be the dragon-like Pokémon, with scratches all over its body, but the resolve inside of him let him act like it was nothing. However, this was not the end...
"..." Red just looked at Charizard with a smile, like if everything was accorded to his plan.
"Charizard, good job! Now let's end...Charizard?" Ash was confused with the attitude of its partner. "Are you ok?"
"Rawrrr..."
Charizard was starting to yawn. His eyes started to close slowly, and he blinked many times, but his sleepiness was too much to handle, as he closed his eyes completely and fell backwards. The dragon-like Pokémon was now in a deep sleep.
"Charizard! What the...?"
"...Frenzy Plant."
Red's voice interrupted Ash's, but that was the least Ash had to worry about. The ground started to shake, as giant vines emerged from the earth, heading at fast speed were Charizard was. The vines grabbed the Fire-type's body, from the legs to the head, blocking completely all of its possible movements. Venusaur then emerged from the crater, facing the now asleep and tied Charizard.
"What just happened?" Ash asked really confused.
"Did you really think that I just wrap Venusaur to your Charizard so they could both crash?" Red asked rhetorically.
"What do you mean by that?"
"I ordered him to do that because I wanted him to be as near as possible from your Pokémon." Red said, explaining the situation to Ash. "You see, you know that Venusaur can release different types of scents from its back? Well, normally they would need to store some strength in a little period of time so they can release them naturally. However, by training him enough, Venusaur managed to surpass this flaw, and now releasing the scents from its back is as easy as breathing for him."
"I don't understand..."
"When you changed your strategy from range attacks to close ones and managed to get Charizard pick up Venusaur for Seismic Toss, he started to release the scent already. However, due to your Charizard's high speed, the scent was not reaching him, so I needed that Venusaur stayed as close as it could be. That's why I ordered to wrap your Pokémon with its vines. Charizard inhaled this scent before crashing into the ground. If you hadn't make him use Flamethrower, maybe he wouldn't even managed to get out of the crater." Red said while pointing at the sleeping Pokémon. "As you can see, the scent was Sleep Powder..."
"No way..."
"If you attacked from range, Venusaur would just block it. If you attacked near from him, he would just release Sleep Powder or another status problem powder. A flawless strategy. " Red said, while grabbing his cap.
"..." Ash was speechless, seeing that Red had everything planned right from the beginning of the battle.
"This is over. Venusaur, finish hm with Frenzy Plant..."
"Saur!"
The Grass-type nodded and proceded what was going to be a total defeat. The first vine appeared from the ground, hitting directly into Charizard's chest. The impact was so hard and painful that he instantly woke up from its sleeping status and groaned in pain.
"Charizard, no!" Ash shouted, seeing his Pokemon in such a bad situation.
The second vine appeared and impacted in the Fire-type's chest again, making the Pokemon groan in pain again.
"RAWRRR!"
Ash's POV
Charizard!
*A third vine hit Charizard*
No...
*The next one hit*
Why...
*Hit*
Can't I do anything...
*Hit*
He's completely unable to move...
*Hit*
Am I forced to watch...
*Hit*
...and do nothing?
*Hit*
Is this...
*Hit*
...the end?
*Hit*
...No
*Hit*
"CHARIZARD!" I yelled to my Pokemon.
"Rawrrr..." It was my Charizard's reply.
"Charizard! I know that you can escape from those vines!" I tried to encourage him. "I know what you're capable of! We've been together ever since you were a little Charmander!"
*Hit*
"I know that we had many fights after you evolved into Charmeleon, and especially after you became Charizard, but we eventually surpassed that and ended up being good pals, right?"
*Hit*
"Thanks to you I have accomplished many victories. I wouldn't have defeated the Gym Leader Blaine if it wasn't for you. I wouldn't have defeated Gary at the Silver Conference. I wouldn't have defeated Noland of the Frontier Brains..."
*Hit*
"Come on, Charizard! I KNOW YOU CAN DO THIS! I BELIEVE IN YOU!"
Normal POV
"Rawrrr...RAWRRRRRR!"
Suddenly, Charizard opened his eyes really wide. He was REALLY pissed off.
"...!" Even Red didn't see that coming.
"RAWRRRRRRR!"
Suddenly, Charizard started emanating an unbelievable powerful red aura, burning down the vines that were blocking him from moving. He then roared and took flight with an amazing speed, leaving a path of fire and ashes. Venusaur couldn't help but to feel a little afraid of his opponent's sudden power up.
"No way! Charizard...?"
"RAWRRRRRR!"
The dragon-like Pokémon started to release Flamethrowers into different directions in the sky. For a moment the spectators saw an orange sky, since Charizard's flames were everywhere. He was clearly showing his new power to the Grass-type.
"RAWRRRRRR!"
When he stopped his rampage, a better image of him could be seen. He was surrounded by flames, all across his body. His eyes turned crimson red in contrast of his normal blue eyes. His tail was now releasing a massive amount of flames, which were getting even bigger by the aura engulfing his body. The aura took form of what it seemed the form of a blazing dragon.
"Charizard! How...?"
"Blaze." Red claimed, while seeing the new power of his opponent surprised.
Meanwhile with the others...
"Charizard activated Blaze? No way!" Max said shocked, but relieved that this power up helped Charizard escape from Venusaur's wrath.
"But that looks more like an inferno!" May said shocked.
"This is the first time Ash's Charizard has activated his ability!" Misty said.
"Fascinating, even though I'm not surprised that it happened, but how it has taken appearance!" Prof. Oak said.
"What do you mean gramps?" Gary asked.
"Every single Pokémon is different from each other, even the ones that belong to the same species. The activation of abilities depends on the Pokémon itself, so each one has a way in how activate it and how it materializes in the field. For example, May's Blaziken activated Blaze during her battle with Ash's Sceptile, right? However, at that time her Blaze activated more like a calm aura giving her a power boost. In other scenario, Ash's Infernape has also activated Blaze, but in a more violent way, just like Charizard is now. However, Charizard's Blaze is far more violent and destructive, as you can see. Just by seeing his new appearance it seems that his ability level is far stronger than anything I've seen before..." Prof. Oak said.
Returning to the battle...
"..." Red snapped out from looking at the mighty dragon-like Pokémon. "Venusaur, retire..."
"Saur!" The Pokémon obeyed, and by using his vines, he jumped to his trainer's side of the field, waiting for his next order.
"Wow...Charizard you did it!" Ash said cheerfully as he saw the power of his Pokémon.
"RAWRRRRR!" The Pokémon roared harder and looked at his trainer.
Suddenly, Charizard's body started to shine in a deep red, as his tail reached its peak point, and Charizard started charging a massive amount of energy in his mouth.
"What is that?" Ash asked, but his thoughts were interrupted since he heard a beep from his bag. He pulled out a tiny device he recognized as the Pokédex.
"ANALYZING. ANALYZING." The robotic voice of the high-tech encyclopedia said. "THE DATA HAS BEEN FOUND. CHARIZARD'S ATTACK HAS BEEN RECOGNIZED AS BLAST BURN."
"Blast Burn?!" Ash exclaimed, not believing what his Pokédex just told him. "He just learned that move?!"
"RAWRRRRR!" Charizard roared even more, as his attack was almost charged, ready to be unleashed.
"Watch out...Venusaur..." Red said in a lower voice to his Pokémon.
"Well, let's not waste this!" Ash said as he pointed at the Grass-type opponent. "Charizard, BLAST BURN!"
"RAWRRRRRRRRR!"
"Counter it!" This was the first time all of them saw Red worried about something.
Charizard, with burning eyes and with one of the most deadly glares one could ever see, unleashed his Blast Burn directly at the Grass-type. The attack was so destructive that everything that was hit or was near the attack was instantly burn into ashes. In the other side of the field, Venusaur obeyed his trainer's orders, and instead of his traditional counter, he instead used Frenzy Plant once again, covering him with a mass amount of big vines.
"GO, CHARIZARD!"
"...!"
The attack finally collided, and for everyone's surprise, the attack easily burned down every single Frenzy Plant covering Venusaur. The attack continued its course, crashing with the Grass-type, creating a big explosion, making it impossible to see the results.
"Venusaur!" Red seemed somewhat concerned about his Pokémon's status.
The dust dissipated, revealing an unconscious Venusaur, with burns all across his body and with swirls on its eyes, meaning the battle was over for him. After that, everything went silent, as everyone was too shocked about the massive power of the Blast Burn. Red just grabbed his cap and returned his Pokémon to his Pokéball.
"Ve-Venusaur c-cannot continue battling. The victory is for Charizard!" Brock stuttered a little as he declared the winner, but then a big smile invaded his face, knowing that his best friend got the first victory against a Champion's Pokémon.
"No way...Charizard, we did it!" Ash was extremely happy as he cheered to his Pokémon.
"RAWRRRRR!" The Pokémon returned to the ground, still surrounded by the powerful flames.
"Good job, Venusaur..." Red said smiling, while returning his Pokéball to his bag. "That was a good battle, other me."
"Thanks, Red. But thank Charizard, he was the one who gain strength enough to unleash Blaze AND doing that Blast Burn."
"That could be true, but I think that he couldn't have done it if you hadn't given him the confidence to unleash his potential. Your sync with your Pokémon is great. As expected of my counterpart..." Red replied.
"Well, we should continue this, right? Charizard, ready for round two...? Charizard?" Ash asked as he saw his Pokémon.
"RAWRRR..." The Pokémon started to falling back, as the flames on his body started disappearing.
"Charizard!" Ash ran where his Pokémon was, and helped him to not fall, but he backed off as he felt a great heat coming from him. "Ack! It burns!"
"Rawrrr..." Even though Charizard didn't faint, he was extremely tired. Everyone could see that.
"Charizard, you're in no conditions for continuing for now. Take a rest, since I'll need you in better fit for later." Ash said as he grabbed his Pokéball and returned Charizard to it, allowing him to rest for a while.
Meanwhile with the others...
"What just happened?" Dawn asked, concerned about Charizard.
"It was obviously his last power up..." Gary replied.
"You mean unleashing Blaze and Blast Burn?" Max asked.
"Yes. Seeing how these events have developed, it's only natural that Charizard is tired and exhausted, especially after those Frenzy Plants were attacking him with such brute force that it's a miracle that he managed to stay conscious after that. However, activating Blaze requires a Pokémon to be at a dangerous situation, where he is heavily damaged. After that, Charizard not only managed to move freely and with such speed even with his wounds, but also he took the pressure of using Blast Burn, not only the most powerful Fire-type move, but also it was the first time he used it. Obviously Charizard cannot control Blaze or Blast Burn yet." Gary said.
Returning to Ash and Red...
"A two-edged sword..." Red said to his counterpart. "So he can't control them yet..."
"Charizard gave his all at the battle, but right now I can't allow him to continue. It would be foolish from me to do it..." Ash replied.
"Hpmh. I don't expect less from you..." Red said as he grabbed another Pokéball and throwing it. "Blastoise..."
The Pokéball opened, revealing the final evolution of Squirtle. He released his back cannons and couldn't help but doing a Hydro Pump to the sky, showing his power to the others, ready to meet his opponent.
"So, should we continue?"
"Of course!" Ash replied as he looked to one of his Pokémon, a green lizard Pokémon to be precise. "Sceptile, want to take him on?"
"Sceptile!" The Pokémon nodded, as he approached to the battle field, facing the starter Pokémon while grabbing his trademark stick.
"Very well. The next battle will be between Red's Blastoise and Ash's Sceptile." Brock continued to be the judge of the battle. "BEGIN!"
"Ok, Sceptile! Use Leaf Blade!"
"Sceptile!" With an unbelievable speed, Sceptile ran towards Blastoise, as his leafs in his arms formed a shining green blade.
"..." Red stayed in silence as he looked with his Pokémon with a smile. "This is just beginning, other me..."
In the next chapter...
Red: Blastoise, show him your power...
Ash: Look out, Sceptile! Pull back!
May: This will be troublesome for both Pokémon. Be careful, Sceptile...the one who represents both me and Max's bonds with Ash...
Ash: Sceptile! Finish this!
Pokémon: The Parallel Challenger
Chapter 8: Falling
Ash: Sceptile, NO!
Red: Impressive, but not enough...
So, that was Chapter 7. You liked it? I hope so XD I'm really happy in how it developed. Well, remember to review it when you're finished. Things are starting to get really intense! See you in the next chapter, my dear readers!