Chapter no.50: Austin vs Gary
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Yellow squealed in excitement as she laid her eyes on the magnificent city of Celadon. "Oh, wow! It's Celadon City!" she exclaimed, clasping her hands together in awe. Austin was equally awestruck as he took in the enormity of the city. It was far bigger than he had ever imagined, making Saffron City look like a tiny village in comparison.
"You know, I didn't think my competition at the Battle Chateau was so important," Yellow said to Austin with a smile, causing him to nod in agreement. However, Austin didn't have the heart to tell Yellow the real reason they were here in Celadon. They were on a mission to lure out Jessie, James, or any other Team Rocket member as part of his plan C.
Lucario, the aura Pokemon, was reading a note out loud. "Hmm, do you humans have something to compensate for when building such large, thick, long..." he said before Austin grabbed Lucario's snout and Pikachu coughed into his hand. Haunter, the ghost Pokemon, was laughing at Lucario's joke.
"Read it again," Austin said, causing Lucario to comply. "I don't get it," Yellow said, confused. Austin facepalmed as Haunter and Pikachu looked at Lucario with genuine concern in their eyes. "Why are you looking at me like that?" Lucario asked, but Austin just pointed at the page and then at Lucario's groin. The joke finally landed, and Lucario exclaimed, "Oh, I get it... Gross." Austin shook his head, not believing the situation. Yellow, still innocently clueless, asked, "I don't get it."
...
The group had finally made it to another large city. Celadon City was the largest city in Kanto with Saffron City a close second.
As the group made their way to the Pokemon Center, they saw a red convertible speeding past them. As they watched it pass, Austin and Yellow instantly recognized one of the faces in the car. It was none other than Gary Oak.
Upon seeing the two, Gary ordered the cheerleader driving the convertible to stop. He then got out of the car and approached the trio and Pikachu.
"Yo, Ashy Boi," he greeted as he held up his right arm.
"Gary, long time no see," Austin said.
" Yeah, I can see that your two friends have abandoned you. If I was them, I would have done the same." Gary said trying to get a rise from Austin who merely replied while covering Yellow's ears, " And I can still see you hanging around those gold diggers."
" Hey !"
Many of the girls said causing Austin to glance at them before glancing back at Gary who gulped as he saw the cold look in Austin's eyes.
"I should correct myself; I still see that you're hanging around your father's hand-me-downs."
Many of the girls gasped at Austin's words while Gary tried to think of a comeback.
" I, I can see that you just came here. I was here to win the Rainbow Badge from Erika, the gym leader here. Now that I've beaten her, I just got my fourth gym badge," Gary said while embarrassed at his comeback.
Austin leaned in a little causing Gary to subconsciously back away as he saw Austin's crimson eyes.
Austin just smirked," Do you want a round of applause for that? Mr. Gary Oak, the grandson of the Great Professor Samuel Oak."
Gary flinched at Austin's dry tone.
" You have changed, Ash."
" People change over time; Gary. I changed maybe it was for the better or the worse. I think you should change too. Why don't you leave this training business to someone else ?"
Austin said while patting Gary's cheek before walking away.
Releasing Yellow's ears, Austin didn't say anything while Lucario and Haunter gave him a thumbs up.
Pikachu thoughts that maybe he was a little too hard on Gary.
" You said, a bad word didn't you," Yellow asked.
" No, I didn't," Austin replied causing Yellow to huff.
" I don't believe you."
" Oh, you can ask Luacrio if you don't believe me."
Yellow's head quickly turned towards Lucario who replied with a smirk," He said a bad word."
" I knew it !" Yellow said but before Austin could refute further, Gary bellowed out causing everyone to look at them.
" I challenge you to a pokemon battle, Ash Ketchum!"
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Gary Oak, the grandson of Professor Oak had once been Ash's best friend, back when they used to be little kids. As they grew up, Gary developed a mean streak and began to establish himself as the big bully of the town—the only unfortunate fact being that he had the skills to prove his mettle, even back then in school. Top in the class, top in pokémon theory and stats, and Ash's contender when it came to practical battling using simulators.
And then that incident happened.
Ash had never really known anything about his father, not even his name. His mother, being the owner of a restaurant herself, didn't suffer from financial troubles. Besides, from what he had guessed, the restaurant that belonged to them, was his father's, one that he had gifted his mother before… leaving. And irrespective of how much he would have liked to believe, he knew very well that the restaurant went a long way in establishing financial prosperity for his little family.
Delia Ketchum however, despite being the world's best mom, went seemingly silent whenever Ash inquired about his father- that, or she would start weeping. Over the years, little Ash had slowly come to associate anything linked to his father, as something of an anathema—not to be spoken in front of his mom. Delia seemed happy to ignore the absence of a father in Ash's life, and not wanting to spoil it, Ash had readily decided to pretend the same.
He had often wondered why his father had left him and his mom. From whatever bits and pieces he could gather, his father wasn't exactly a bad person or anything, and considering that he had willingly transferred the rights to the restaurant to Delia's name—Ash didn't think that his father was a cold-hearted bastard as well. Then why did he leave? His mother had once told him, back when he was a child, that his father was a great man, and a great trainer, who went separate ways because of personal reasons. The more cynical part of him often wondered (or dare he admit it, feared) that he was the reason why his father had deserted his mother.
And then he had come across a single Pokeball, one that looked slightly old-fashioned, what with the strange black and silver coloring instead of the usual red and white- inside the store room. Also, there was this strange inscription on it, one that could be roughly called an R. When Delia had witnessed him holding it, she had downright panicked and told Ash to throw it away, which he did. However, that didn't stop him from getting it back from the trash later in the day and hiding it safely in a drawer.
The next day, he had taken it to school to observe the strange pokeball in detail. For some unexplainable reason, a part of him had stuck to the half-baked conclusion that the Pokeball (coined Red ball according to his little mind), had belonged to his father once, and despite all the rage, and all the confusion he had over his father's departure, little Ash Ketchum had clenched to this lone item that he believed, belonged to his father.
And that was where Gary Oak had found him, staring at the odd-looking Pokeball.
As was common with his behavior, Gary had snatched the Red ball from his hand, an action that had resulted in a simulator battle between himself and a rather indignant Ash Ketchum. The match ended in a draw.
And then Gary had done something that in Ash's mind, was simply unforgivable.
"It was a draw, and that means… that we both won the match by halves. The prize should be halved as well, don't you agree?" He tore open the Res Ball into two halves, tossing the top part to Ash while putting the other half inside his pocket. "Smell ya later, loser."
That was the day when Ash had lost a friend, and gained a rival, or should he say it, a nemesis, one he had sworn to defeat and humiliate in the future.
...
Austin blinked a few times as he didn't expect such a memory to arise in his mind at such a random time.
Maybe it was Gary's outburst that triggered it or maybe there was some other unknown reason for that memory to arise but ultimately Austin didn't care.
" You are going to take back everything you just said !" Gary roared out in fury with Austin just nodded.
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Standing on the other side of the public trainer battlefield, Austin could see Gary's unbridled fury towards him.
Looks like his words got to him.
"A Lucario, eh?" Gary leered. "That's a rare pokémon. You are putting her to battle against my team, aren't you?"
" Did he just call me a female ?" Lucario asked in a dangerously calm voice.
"Huh?" Austin said, a little off-guard by Lucario's words, "No, not really. Lucario doesn't like to battle."
"Pfft!" Gary sneered. "You must be pitiful if you cannot even convince your pokémon to battle for you. Then again, I'm not surprised…"
Gary sneered and stepped back into position.
Yellow looked up at Austin with a worried look that maybe Gary's words had affected him but Austin was the definition of dead calm meanwhile Lucario gave him a rather queer look.
" Do you want me to battle?"
" Do you wish to?"
" Not really, I don't like fighting weaklings."
" Then don't. My team is more than enough to deal with this pest."
Lucario looked thoughtful, before he nodded, looking back at Gary curiously, as Austin stood over his designated position.
" If anyone doesn't mind, I will be refereeing." A girl from Gary's fan club stepped up.
"Thanks a bunch, Jeany," Gary yelled from his position. "You ready to face defeat, Ashy Boy?"
Said the trainer, on the other hand just stared back.
" Rules?"
"This will be a six-on-six battle." Jeany intoned loudly. "Substitutions are allowed. Trainers are not allowed to use any items or enhancers during the battle. The match will end when all six pokémon are unable to battle for either trainer."
Austin nodded calmly, as he plucked out his first choice. Rule number one, he reminded himself of Cynthia's battle strategy. A rookie would say choosing first is a mistake because the opponent gains the chance of a type advantage. A professional would say that it makes you look confident, which goes way ahead to set the pace of successive battles.
He turned his cap around, as he sent the ultra ball to the floor. "I choose you, Chansey."
Chansey appeared on the field, her pristine pink fur shining bright, even though the sky was remarkably cloudy.
"A Chansey, huh? Wonder how you managed to get that one." Gary sneered. "But you are not the only one who's got new pokemon." He lifted a Pokeball and raised it. "Go, Mightyena."
Austin narrowed his eyes as Gary exclaimed," I think you remember this, he was one of the pokemon given out as the prize for winning the Clubsplosion !"
" Typical, if you can't win a prize for a competition. You might as well steal it from the winner." Austin causally said angering Gary more and more.
"All right," Gary moved ahead, "Mightyena, show him your strength. Use take down and follow fire fang."
Austin didn't say anything.
Rule number two. Training Pokémon doesn't mean teaching them skills. A TM could do that more effectively than a trainer. Training pokémon means getting them the experience to make their own decisions mid-battle.
With the amount of training Chansey had undergone against the rest of the team, she instinctively knew what to do in such situations. Forcing his will on her would only hinder that.
The moment Mightyena came closer, Chansey's eyes glowed brightly, as she disintegrated into several illusory forms of herself, surrounding Mightyena in a circle, completely breaking down his momentum, before stabbing her feet onto the ground, raising fragments of the earth upward, as she jumped backward, clearly trapping Mightyena in her version of Rock Tomb.
Austin held a small smile on his face. It had taken quite some time, but it was good to see Chansey being able to use the attack so quickly and in conjunction with Double-team. For all intents and purposes, Mightyena was effectively trapped inside the rock-tomb, created all around him
"Huh?" Gary snarled, "Mightyena get out of it, and use hyper beam!"
It wasn't so easy. Rock Tomb had held Mightyena captive and breaking out of it would require something along the lines of a Rock Smash, or a powerful Earthquake, and by the looks of it, Mightyena knew neither. Instead, it raised his head upward and began to conjure a hyper beam, and from the likes of it, was using his entire strength behind it.
Austin smiled while Lucario couldn't help but look impressed.
The hyper beam came in.
"Dodge and use iron tail."
Chansey wasn't one built for speed. However, her reflexes had been trained to be superlative, especially when it came to dodging and coming back with a counter.
According to her trainer, a healer isn't supposed to get hurt but she wasn't just a healer, she was also a tank.
Chansey narrowly leaped off the ground, missing the hyper beam by several inches, as she slammed her tail, now shining brightly on Mightyena's head, as the dark type let out a groan, as its face was slammed into the ground.
"Return Mightyena." Gary scowled, not wanting to keep Mightyena there any further since it was clear that Chansey had the upper hand. "Beginner's luck, Ashy boy. Don't think it was anything else."
"Of course," Austin replied calmly, something that he was sure would get to Gary's nerves faster than anything. Gary's technique had always been to anger the opponent, and hopefully, make stupid mistakes. Keeping a cool head in this situation, not only countered that, but also redirected the effect back on Gary, who was now vividly angry.
"All right, Ashy boy, let's see you face this one. Go, Scizor."
The large, red, winged, bipedal bug pokémon appeared in front of Chansey, who maintained her offensive stance with her signature creepy smile.
" Say Chansey, are you willing to battle the bug or take some rest?"
Chansey lifted her arm in the air, showing her intention clearly.
Very well.
"Scizor, use Sword's dance." Gary began.
" Mimic's hail" Austin muttered, as Chansey's frills glowed light-blue as thick clouds appear above the battlefield and a thick fog formed. Snow began to fall from the clouds, and occasionally, large balls of hail flew down and repeatedly hit Scizor and Chansey.
Gary was about to call for a bullet punch before stopping himself as he saw embers forming around Chansey's mouth.
Chansey looked up before firing a fire blast directly toward the sky shocking everyone.
Did Chansey just shoot himself in the foot?
Everyone thought before a heavy mist fell on the battlefield restricting Gary of his vision.
" Fly up and locate that Chansey" Gary commanded as Scizor flew to the clear sky before seeing a flash of pink in the mist.
Scizor shot at high speeds toward it.
The mist parted revealing Scizor using a bullet punch directly onto Chansey's body before he completely went through the double team.
Fragments of earth crashed into Scizor as he was trapped by Rock Tomb.
Chansey hopped towards the trapped Scizor before opening her mouth as a blizzard enhanced by hail hit Scizor, point blank range.
The mist cleared revealing, and Scizor froze in a block of ice.
" Chansey, return," Austin exclaimed calmly. "Go, Haunter."
The red light accumulated as Haunter appeared out of an amalgamation of shadows causing gasps to go around the crowd that had formed.
" Chansey went first. Go with the plan." Austin whispered, knowing very well that Haunter's sharp senses would pick up on it, as her eyes glowed brightly.
" Go, Nidoqueen, use crunch !"
Nidoqueen appeared on the battlefield as she let out a cry, accumulating dark energies in her mouth as she went ahead to charge at the grinning Haunter—
Only to stop midway, unable to move. At all.
"What's happening?" Gary cried out.
Austin smirked. "Use psychic curse."
Haunter's claws glowed maliciously as something leaped from her body, making the poison and ground type cry out in agony. The curse had begun its assault.
Gary growled, seeing Nidoqueen completely stuck in her position, and by the looks of it, about to collapse anyway. There was only one thing he could do in this position. Deliver an attack that didn't need him to move.
"Use hyper beam!"
Nidoqueen used up the entirety of his power to release a powerful hyper beam. The energy condensed into his maw, before he released it at the grinning form of the malicious ghost in front of him, striking him head-on.
The hyper beam traveled past Haunter, hitting the ground behind it.
"Normal moves don't work on ghost types, Gary," Austin replied calmly. "Did you forget that? A pity."
The hyper beam had blasted the point of contact apart, inundating the entire area in smoke as Haunter's psychic hold broke and attacked Nidoqueen head-on.
When the smoke had dissipated, an unconscious Nidoqueen stood fallen on the ground.
"Nidoqueen is unable to battle. Haunter is the winner." Jeany proclaimed.
"What?" Gary could not comprehend it.
It had only been two months since he last saw Ash, how did he get so strong? He lifted Nidoqueen's Pokeball, and duly returned him. "All right. You have had your tricks, but no more. Go, Arcanine."
Austin arched an eyebrow.
"What was that trap?" Gary asked, plainly curious. "It wasn't made by Haunter."
Austin smirked. " It's nice to see you're paying attention. But... unfortunately, it is the wrong kind of attention." He raised his voice. "Haunter, deal with the Arcanine."
Haunter's grin deepened, as it slowly levitated itself into the air.
Gary had had enough. "Arcanine, use crunch."
Arcanine let out a woof as he leaped off the ground into the air to bite onto Haunter, only for Haunter to shatter into a dozen different illusions, making Arcanine fall onto the ground. As soon as that happened, the illusory forms surrounded Arcanine.
Gary gnashed his teeth. "Use Burn Up."
Austin arched an eyebrow. He certainly hadn't expected that one. Arcanine hid lit up in blueish flames which began to expand out.
"Sludge bomb!" Austin commanded, as the illusory forms shot out large mounds of thick, poisonous sludge towards Arcanine, who was trapped in the center.
"Use Iron tail to deflect them," Gary ordered as the flaming Arcanine twisted sending a wave of flames out.
Austin had to admit. It was a good counter. Steel-types were immune to poison-type moves, and hence, it was the safest counter to the sludge bomb. However, the poison was simply a distraction. The sludge was the main attack.
As soon as the Arcanine's tail hit the sludge bomb, the flames of burn up caused the sludge bomb to explode covering Arcanine a horrendous sludge that seemed to explode due to the heat.
Arcanine's burn-up was negated in such an effortless manner as Austin grinned. " Dark Pulse."
" What? NO!" Gary yelled, as Haunter, with a cackling grin, sent out a spiraling beam of dark-type energy which hit the sludge, now covering half of Arcanine's shining hide, as well as the ground around him, causing an ignition that exploded with the force of a small bomb. Haunter, thanks to her ghost nature, had simply turned incorporeal, vanishing the other illusory forms, enabling her to remain unaffected by it. The same could not be said for Arcanine.
"Arcanine is unable to battle." Jeany declared. "Haunter is the winner."
"Well done, Haunter." Austin congratulated Haunter and released a cackling laugh.
Austin turned towards Gary while remembering Cynthia's words.
Rule number 3. Victory is paramount in the first battle. It puts the opponent on the defensive, and that's half the battle won, allowing you to play your cards better.
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Gary Oak had never really been one to take defeat easily.
Ever since he had started his journey with his trusted Squirtle, he had made it an ambition of sorts to capture a multitude of pokémon for the first month, and then create teams of out, both in terms of battling and in terms of power. The former was for delayed gratification, something that would aid him in the league, and the latter, to keep on a winning streak against the rookies he met on the road. He had, thanks to the convertible his parents had gifted him, driven to Pewter to challenge Brock, making sure that he had caught a couple of grass pokémon on the way, since those, along with his Squirtle, would be in an advantageous position against Brock and his rock-types.
He had won the battle without any problems.
He had repeated the same process, only this time capturing pokémon with aerial abilities, or psychic ones, though making sure that he had captured some rock types as well since they would be effective against Surge and his electric types. By the time May was over, Gary had already completed a winning streak across six gyms—Pewter, Cerulean, Vermillion, Chrysanthemum, and Celadon.
Being a trainer wasn't an easy thing. That much Gary could agree with. However, what he could not comprehend was how the best of his team, whom he had personally trained over the past few months, were getting their asses wiped by Ashy boy's pokémon.
It was sacrilege.
"I have had enough of you and your hit-and-run tactics, Ashy boy." Gary snarled. "Let's see what you can do against one of my strongest pokemon." He lifted out his next Pokeball and threw it into the ground. "Win for me, Kadabra."
Ash stared at the Kadabra, who looked ready to pounce upon Haunter, before throwing a side glance at him.
" Haunter return, go Musharna."
Haunter disappeared in a flash of red replaced by rounded, bipedal Pokémon that had a tapir-like trunk. With a body of light purple, while its head is a pale pink. It had oval, red eyes with three eyelashes and dark pink ovals on its forehead and cheeks. The tips of its four stubby limbs are dark pink. Dream Mist seeps out of the mark on its forehead.
Musharna's presence caused Kadabra's eyes to widen as he felt the sheer magnitude of psychic power in Musharna.
The dream pokemon had come a long way from her initial disposition after the events of SS. Anne. Back then, she could hardly perform four moves, and even those left a lot to be desired. The tough training that Musharna had undergone, because of Austin, Cynthia's Spiritomb, and later, by Haunter and especially Cynthia's Medicham, had changed the dream pokemon, making her into something Austin was proud to call a battler for his team.
Gary didn't seem to want to wait any longer. "Kadabra, use psychic and follow up with fire punch."
Gary's words seemed to fall on deaf ears as he saw Kadabra's arms and legs clasped in psychic chains as Musharna on her entry immediately launched the move " Imprison " effectively cutting off most of Kadabra's moveset.
"Let me help you, Gary," Austin smirked. "Wonder Room"
Musharna's eyes glowed and a large light blue rectangle with light blue transparent walls and ceiling appear around the battlefield. Then, the light blue glow fades, and the walls and ceiling become invisible.
Musharna suddenly disappeared causing Gary to scream out.
"Prepare drain punch!"
Gary's screaming caused Austin to roll his eyes.
Sometimes he wondered, why he considered Gary to be a strong trainer maybe it was his perception from the anime as Ash's rival but now in this world as a trainer, he understood how pathetically weak the trainers in the anime were like Gary who didn't even know how to mask his plays.
"Ally Switch." Austin calmly said as Musharna appeared in front of Kadabra who took a swing at her before her body glowed with white light as she disappeared meanwhile Kadabra's drain punch had missed.
Musharna was replaced by Haunter who released a cackle before the ghost slammed into Kadabra's face, breaking its jaw, before grabbing its neck with his claws, and slamming it into the ground with shadow claw
"Kadabra!" Gary yelled though it was of no impact. Austin's play had driven Kadabra into a precarious position. The combination of Haunter's succession of shadow claws followed by being slammed into was more than enough to send it reeling to the ground. Kadabra was deceptively powerful attackers, but they were no defensive tanks.
Gary gulped as he saw Kadabra held up in the air by Haunter as he was unconscious.
"Kadabra is unable to battle. Haunter is the winner."
Gary seemed to be shocked beyond comprehension.
"Return Kadabra," he replied in a deceptively calm voice.
"Ash, let us see who has the stronger electric type." He lifted out his next Pokémon. "Go, Raichu!"
Austin blinked as he saw Pikachu's evolved form appear on the battlefield.
"Want to show that overgrown rat whose stronger ?"
Pikachu stared at Austin incredulously. He didn't know if he should be happy or insulted.
Jumping down onto the battlefield, Gary's Raichu taunted Pikachu who thought.
' We are out of ketchup bottles, aren't we ?'
" Raichu, show him the power of electric type."
"Rai! Raichu cheered, his cheek glowing as he let out thousands of volts of electricity toward Pikachu.
Austin folded his arms.
Just before the thunderbolt came down upon Pikachu.
The electricity turned and was absorbed into Pikachu's cheeks which finally caused Pikachu to notice that Raichu had attacked it.
Seeing the thunderbolt having no effect, Gary figured Pikachu had the lightning rod ability.
Gary gnashed his teeth at giving his rival's pokemon an advantage.
"Raichu, use a quick attack!"
Raichu did as ordered, sprinting on his tiny legs towards the Pikachu, only for Pikachu to simply shift to the sides, just enough to avoid the attack, and not an inch more.
While it looked like Pikachu was seeing into the future, Pikachu was simply dodging based on Raichu's predictable pattern of attacks and their paths.
The difference between the two electric types was too great in terms of power and ability so much so that to Pikachu's eyes, Raichu was just a rookie who was used to blasting his opponent with raw power.
"Use Electro Ball."
It missed.
"Thunderbolt, Raichu!"
It missed.
"Use Iron tail."
It missed.
"What the hell, Ash? Are you just going to keep dodging?" Gary snarled.
Austin simply kept quiet.
"Grr!" Gary growled. "Very well. Raichu, catch that Pikachu. We'll show him who the one with the superior speed is."
Raichu barked in agreement, panting, before he shot towards Pikachu, trying to catch him.
However, each and every time Raichu would cross a calculated distance, Pikachu simply used magnetic rise to propel his body to a calculated distance, out of Raichu's range. Had it been a Pikachu, the electric type would probably have been able to change direction midway, however as a Raichu, that option was disabled.
Two minutes later, Raichu was panting, and Pikachu merrily floated in his place.
"Use thunder wave," Gary yelled, realizing that pin-pointed attacks weren't going to work. He would have to use wide-area ones.
Idiot. Austin mused as Gary seemed to have forgotten about Lightning rod
"Are you ever going to attack?" Gary yelled, frustrated.
Austin smiled. "Pikachu, let's fulfill his wish."
Raichu felt his entire body locked in a place as he felt the sheer magnitude of electric build-up.
" Pika."
Pikachu's cheeks sparked before releasing a discharge that tore through the battlefield.
The air seemed to light up in flames as electricity tore through it.
Pikachu's discharge caused the crowd to look at the small mouse with the same fear they would look at a gyrados.
Pikachu's discharge was a pure show of power as he appeared in front of Raichu.
Raichu could help but gulp as his eyes locked onto Pikachu's calm eyes.
" Break Combo," Austin muttered coldly.
Pikachu's arms glowed with a brick break as it slammed into Raichu's gut pushing it above the ground, before slamming its face with a Brick break, twisting around, Pikachu's leg crashed into the electric type sending it straight towards the wall behind Gary. Raichu slammed into the wall, before slowly dropping down unceremoniously onto the ground.
Unconscious.
"Raichu is unable to battle. Victory goes to Pikachu." Jeany declared
" Looks like you lost garbear." Austin exclaimed with a smirk.
" Grrrh !"
" Hmm, do you want to continue ?" Austin curiously asked.
" Huh ?"
" Yeah, how about you use your strongest pokemon ?"
" Don't think you have won this, I can still turn this around!" Gary shouted out causing Austin to raise one eyebrow.
" So you like six to one odds, huh." Austin asked with a chuckle causing Gary's glare to increase as he said," Let's go, Blastoise!"
With an enormous roar, Blastoise appeared in front of Pikachu, its hulking body inside its near-impervious shell, with two powerful cannons on either side of his head.
' Hmm, looks like Gary's Wartortle evolved. Didn't think it evolved this early on. '
"Annihilate that rat, Blastoise." Gary roared.
Austin simply narrowed his eyes.
" Buddy, do you want to battle?" He asked calmly.
" Pika!" The electric mouse pokémon let out a yell, raising his paws. He wanted a rematch with a Blastoise after the Clubsplosion.
"Very well." Austin mused while he didn't underestimate Gary one bit.
As Cynthia had ground into his head.
A pokemon battle's tide can change just because the opponent was overconfident.
Never underestimate your opponent even if it was their last pokemon.
Even though he had six to one advantage.
Austin smiled. Your move, Gary.
Gary glared at the strangely calm Austin, as he began his onslaught. "Blastoise, no mercy. Show him the power of a hydro pump."
"Blast!" The fully-evolved turtle pokémon bent forwards a little, forcing out twin torrents of water, powerful enough to cut through steel should it come in direct contact with it.
Very well. Austin mused. "Counter Shield, take the hit."
Pikachu surrounded himself with an envelope of a swirl of electricity, which also shot towards Blastoise, only to suffer the wrath of two super-powered water jets, directly head-on.
( Boom )
"Volt Tackle!" Ash yelled," follow up with a feinting discharge."
Pikachu leaped off the ground as his body was engulfed by dark clouds before shooting toward Blastoise.
Blastoise immediately dislodged a Wacan berry from its shell as he tanked the volt tackle.
Immediately out of volt tackle, Pikachu launched a brick break while Blastoise tried to use crunch.
Smirking at his feint, Pikachu released a discharge of electricity causing Blastoise to yell out in agony.
"Withdraw, and use Rapid spin," Gary yelled.
Austin knew what was to come. The moment Blastoise withdrew into his shell, it was over. The shell lifted off the ground and began to spin rapidly, slamming into Pikachu, who was sent flying to the ground.
"Blastoise, end this." Gary raged. "Use Flash cannon."
Austin arched an eyebrow. "Return with thunder."
Pikachu somehow managed to get himself up, before ejecting a loud discharge of electricity without any aim. It met midway with the powerful Flash-cannon attack, before detonating into a large explosion, once which threw Pikachu further away, smashing him into the ground.
"Pikachu is unable to battle. The winner is ..." Jeany began to speak before quieting down as Pikachu's down body disappeared revealing it to be a substitute.
" Huh ?!" Gary called out in surprise as he saw Austin smirk whose gaze went towards the sky that was filled with dark clouds.
A sense of dread filled Gary as he couldn't find Pikachu anywhere.
" Use focus blast on the ground !" Gary quickly called as Blastoise's attack tore the entire battlefield apart but Pikachu was nowhere to be found.
Looking at the dark thunderclouds in the sky, the sense of dread increased for Gary as Austin tapped his foot on the ground before raising his arm.
" Begone with the clap of thunder, Raijin's Descent" Austin's voice echoed out throughout the battlefield as a flash of light filled the sky blinding all.
The sound of the absolute majesty of thunder echoed out shattering the surrounding windows as lightning descended on the ground with one thing in its path.
Blastoise.
...
Raijin's Descent was a technique Austin had been working on as his big finisher, his trump card. Taking inspiration from Sasuke Uchiha's kirin, Austin had Pikachu trained the ability to control magnetism via magnet rise to essentially magnetically induce opposite charges to build up between the clouds and the ground, which would break the insulating capacity of the air causing a rapid discharge of electricity.
This technique was Austin's trump card. The card can flip the table on its head but it had one weakness.
It needed time to build up but once the prep time was over for this technique, it was essentially unstoppable. It didn't matter if there was a ground type in the path as the sheer heat of the attack was nothing to scoff at.
Given enough time, Austin theorized that this special attack of Pikachu could recreate a similar feat of vaporizing an entire city done by lance in the pokemon manga.
In this battle, Pikachu used an extremely weaker version of the attack to not vaporize Blastoise from the face of this world.
The dust cleared revealing an extremely injured and knocked-out Blastoise.
Seeing his starter in such a condition shocked Gary meanwhile Austin caught an extremely sweaty Pikachu from falling.
" You know when I imagined catching an angel would be more magical."
Rolling his eyes at his trainer's corny jokes, Pikachu closed his eyes to rest.
" Blastoise is unable to battle, Pikachu, and subsequently Ash Ketchum is the winner," Jeany exclaimed with worry in her eyes for Blastoise as Austin turned around to leave.
" Hey, aren't you going to say something?" Gary asked in a whispering voice.
Austin stopped and answered back," Thanks, I guess."
" Thanks for what ?"
" Thanks for helping me and my friends on the SS. Anne."
" You have matured, Ashy boi."
" That's what life does to you."
" Life, huh." Gary whispered to himself as he recalled back Blastoise before saying," Hey Ash; catch this."
Gary said as he threw something towards Austin who causally caught it.
Opening his palms, Austin was greeted by the sight of a top half of a PokeBall.
Recognizing the piece, Austin turned to Gary who looked away in shame.
" When we were kids, I didn't know that the PokeBall belonged to your father. I thought that you cherished something like that over our friends and I guess I got angry. I am sorry."
" Apology accepted, Gair Bear."
" Hey, I told you never to call me that."
Austin chuckled.
" And sorry for whooping your ass."
" Don't apologize, that makes it even worse."
Austin outstretched his hand in a fist bump.
" See you at the Pokemon league, Gary."
" Nah, I'll see you at the finals."
Austin didn't say much as he pocketed the piece before turning around to leave.
Yellow and Lucario joined him as he walked away from the battle.
This battle was just a warm-up. The true battle with team rocket has yet to come."
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[ Celadon City - Hotel ]
The illuminated skyline of Celadon City showcased its towering skyscrapers and bustling streets.
In a grand hotel, the neon sign flickered above the entrance.
Inside one of these apartments, one could see Lucario slumbering on the couch, his body rising and falling with each peaceful breath.
Suddenly, a Ninjask darts into the room, its wings flapping furiously as it lifted a Wartortle in its grasp. The Wartortle seems unperturbed, calmly taking out a marker as the Ninjask slowly lowered it towards the sleeping Lucario's mouth.
Meanwhile, a group of Pokemon gathers around, watching intently. A Scizor and Pikachu engage in a heated debate, while a Fearow perches on the back of a nearby chair, observing the scene with a critical eye. The stakes were high, as the group seems to be betting on the outcome of the Wartortle's daring move.
In the corner of the room, Yellow sketched away, her concentration focused on capturing the beauty of a Dragonair posing alongside her Dratini. The two serpentine Pokemon are caught in a serene dance, their flowing movements captured in Yellow's artwork.
Meanwhile, in another room, Austin sat in his hotel room, the light of his computer screen illuminating his face as he chatted with Cynthia. It had been a while since they last caught up and he was eager to hear how she was doing. He noticed a sense of frustration in her tone as they started talking about their week.
"Hey Cynthia, how's it going?" Austin asked.
"Ugh, don't even get me started," Cynthia groaned. "This has been the worst week ever."
" What happened?"
" The League happened, first they want to conduct some kind of experiment on an ancient artifact which leads to you opening an interdimensional gate and causing an essential crisis in your entire region and now you're facing the entire backlash and being criticized on national fucking television !"
Cynthia slammed her fist onto the desk as she gritted her teeth.
" Wow! And here I thought my week was crazy."
" What happened to you ?"
" Well, I dressed as a scarecrow and I even won an award. They said I was outstanding in my field," Austin chuckled.
" I am not in the mood for jokes, Austin."
" Sorry."
" No, No, No, I didn't mean it like that. ( ~Sigh~ ) I am just tired."
" I can tell, the dark circles under your eyes tell a moving story. That's just your life story in a nutshell: a long, dark tale of exhaustion and disappointment."
Cynthia let out a chuckle as she giggled while Austin smiled.
God, he loved that laugh.
" Well, sorry for not winning an award for my life story."
" Babe, it wasn't even nominated."
Austin and Cynthia smiled at each other and chuckled.
"Well, let's talk about something less depressing than your life. Have you seen any good movies or shows lately?" Austin asked.
Cynthia perked up at the change of subject, "Actually, yes. I just started watching this new show on ..."
...
Austin quietly slipped out of his room, careful not to disturb the others who were fast asleep. The apartment was silent except for the soft sound of snores and deep breathing. He made his way to the closet, grabbing a few blankets along the way.
As he walked down the hall, he couldn't help but chuckle as he saw the childish drawings that covered Lucario's face. Someone had decided to have a little fun with the sleeping Pokemon trainer during the night. Austin shook his head, amused by the sight.
He continued, laying a blanket over the sleeping Yellow, who was curled up with Chu-Chu, the Pichu. The sight brought a smile to Austin's face as he watched the two partners sleep peacefully. He then draped a blanket over Dragonair, who was lying on its back with its wings spread out.
Austin's attention was jolted by a strange noise coming from the kitchen. As he approached the kitchen, he could hear the sound of shuffling and clanging.
As he peered into the room, he saw Pikachu, standing on the counter, attempting to make a piece of toast. However, the electric rat was having a difficult time, as evidenced by the crumbs and spillage on the counter and floor. Austin couldn't help but smile at the sight.
He approached Pikachu, trying to stifle his laughter. "Whoa, whoa, hold on there, Buddy," he said, as he reached out to stop the Pokemon. "Let me help you with that." Austin took over the task of making the toast, making sure it was perfectly browned, and placed it on a plate.
Pikachu's eyes lit up with excitement as Austin presented the toast to him. The Pokemon eagerly took a bite, smearing ketchup across its face in the process. Austin gagged at the sight as he poured himself a cup of coffee.
As he leaned against the counter, sipping his coffee, Austin couldn't help but sigh as he reached out, gently rubbing the Pokemon's head, causing Pikachu to close its eyes in contentment.
" Professor Oak is calling in a few minutes, what to join me ?"
" Pika."
...
Austin leaned against the desk, a cigarette between his fingers as he waited for the call to connect to Professor Oak. He took a drag, savoring the calming sensation that spread through him. He then flicked the cigarette into the ashtray, the embers still glowing as he watched the smoke rise.
Pikachu, who had been sitting nearby while eating ketchup on ice cream, looked at the ashtray with a look of disgust. Austin couldn't help but smile at the reaction, knowing full well that Pikachu didn't approve of his smoking habit.
Just then, the call connected, and the screen flickered to life, displaying a black screen. Austin leaned forward, peering at the screen. "Professor Oak?" he called out, his voice filled with confusion.
"Ash, is that you?" came the familiar voice of the professor. "I can't see you. Have you switched on the camera?"
"Oh, right," Austin said, slapping his forehead in realization. "I'll fix that now." He reached over and flipped the switch, causing the screen to flicker to life once again.
This time, Austin was greeted by the face of Professor Oak, his kind eyes twinkling with amusement. But before Austin could say anything, another screen popped up, showing the face of Brock. Austin's eyes widened in surprise as he took in the sight.
"Hello, Ash!" Brock greeted," It's been a long time."
Austin felt his heart sink as he glanced at the shell-shocked Pikachu.
" I think yellow is calling me, I should check that out." Austin threw an excuse as he tried to get up and leave this call immediately.
" Oh, yellow is with you. That's good to hear so did she ask about Raticate?"
Brock's words froze Pikachu and Austin in place.
" Ash, my boy; while I was giving Brock that pokemon egg you gave me, he told me everything and I think I speak on behalf of your mother that I am disappointed that you would prioritize winning over your friends but I know that's not you."
Professor Oak's words were finished by Brock.
" Ash, did you leave us because Raticate died ?"
Austin slowly sat back down and took a deep breath as he tried to calm down his beating heart meanwhile Brock gulped as he saw his father's silhouette over Austin when his mother died.
" That's a good joke, hehehe."
Austin's chuckles were met with blank stares as Pikachu looked at Austin with sad eyes.
' Do you want to maintain this lie, so badly ?'
" Ash, my boy."
" Ash! This is no joking matter !" Brock yelled out surprising everyone in the room as Austin looked at him in silence.
" Ash, my boy. Why is Raticate missing from your pokemon registry?"
" ... "
" Pi."
Pikachu reached out to his trainer.
' Please, stop with these lies.'
" I released her !" Austin yelled out causing Brock to sigh as he saw through Austin's lies.
His father was just like that, pushing everyone away with lies. Telling them that it was going to be fine and that everything was ok.
" Ash,..." Before Brock could say anything the door to his room slammed open with a loud crash, causing Austin and Professor Oak to jump in their seats. Austin's eyes widened as saw Misty storming in, her orange hair had now been dyed to black hair as it whipped around her face.
Misty was dressed in a manner that was vastly different from her usual style. Her clothing was skimpy, revealing more skin than usual. A tight black top clung to her curves, while a short skirt showed off her toned legs. A long chain dangled from her waist, drawing attention to her hips as she walked.
Austin's eyes almost popped out of their sockets before the realization set in.
His words might have left a much bigger impact on Misty than he initially assumed.
Did his words mean so much to Misty that she changed herself to be " beautiful ", to not be seen as the ugly duckling of the Cerulean Sisters?
In her arms was a beautiful Alolan Vulpix, its fur a gleaming shade of silver. The fox's tail was a mass of fluffy white clouds, its eyes a bright blue that sparkled with mischief.
"What's going on?" Misty demanded as she marched towards Austin. " Brock, why are you screaming?!" She stopped short as she saw Austin's face on the computer screen, his eyes widening in surprise.
Misty's face contorted into one of fury as she took in the sight. "You?!" she spat, her voice filled with anger.
Suddenly Brock's scream turned back as only Professor Oak and Austin were left on the call.
They sat in silence.
" Ash my boy, was it all true, what you said? Does winning mean so much to you? "
" Professor, winning is everything. Don't we all want to be Pokemon masters, how can I achieve that when I can't win ?"
" There is more to being a pokemon master than winning."
" Ok."
" Ash, my boy. This isn't you, I know it isn't, please tell me what's wrong ?"
" Professor, nothing is wrong with me. You just assumed that something is wrong because I am not going according to whatever image you have in your head; am I ?"
Professor Oak stayed silent before he answered back.
" I think it's getting late at night, you should go back to bed."
" I agree "
" And Ash, if you need anything or want to say anything, I am here ?"
"..."
The sound of the computer screen going back was like a cold hand grasping Austin's heart. He felt the weight of his actions towards misty, his words towards Brock, and the lies overwhelm him. He stayed silent, the tears streaming down his face as he tried to compose himself.
Pikachu, sensing his trainer's distress, followed Austin as he got up from his seat and made his way to the open balcony. The sound of the door slamming echoed through the room as the electric rat saw Austin standing there with his head covered by his hands, his small sobs shaking his body.
Pikachu slowly approached Austin, trying to comfort the human with its presence. It rubbed its tiny body against Austin's leg, trying to ease the pain that was obvious in the trainer's tears.
" Is it ok to cry, Pikachu?"
" Pi." Pikachu nodded.
For a few moments, the only sound that could be heard was the rustling of the leaves in the wind and Austin's sobs. Pikachu continued to rub against Austin, its tail wagging softly as it tried to comfort him. It seemed as if the world had come to a standstill, as the two of them stood there in silence, with only their mutual understanding's pain holding them together.
Pikachu's soft purring filled the air, and the comfort it provided was like a warm blanket on a cold night.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
[ One week Later ]
[ Celadon City Pokemon Center ]
Richie stood in front of the sink in the Celadon City Pokemon Center, his face contorted with exhaustion and disbelief. Despite months of therapy, the memory of witnessing a person's death still weighed heavily on him. A small, yellow shape caught his attention, and he looked down to see Sparky, his Pikachu, looking up at him with worry in his eyes.
"Pika!" Sparky exclaimed, its voice filled with concern.
Richie forced a smile, attempting to hide his distress. "Don't worry, buddy. I just ate something bad," he lied, but the Pikachu wasn't convinced.
"Let's get something to eat," Richie suggested, and Sparky nodded eagerly.
As they walked out of his room and into the cafeteria, a strange figure caught their attention. Everyone in the Pokemon Center had turned to look at the person, who was wearing an unusual mask. The mask was made in the style of a gothic cyberpunk, complete with red dots that blinked ominously.
The masked trainer strode confidently towards Nurse Joy, who smiled politely. "Welcome to the Pokemon Center. What can I help you with?" she asked.
"Can you give him a basic checkup?" a robotic voice called out from behind the mask. The trainer released a Pokeball, revealing a small, blue Omanyte named Steve.
The entire Pokemon Center fell silent, shock spreading through the room like wildfire. Steve raised his tentacles in triumph, declaring, "Praise me, mortals!"
The masked trainer who was Austin in disguise rolled his eyes at Steve's theatrics. "Yes, it will take a few minutes," Nurse Joy said, taking Steve to the back for a checkup.
Suddenly, a loud trainer interrupted the silence. "Excuse me!" he called out, and Austin glanced back at him.
"You are excused," Austin replied, causing the loud trainer to scurry away. The trainer then approached Austin, asking if he wanted to trade his Omanyte for his Rhydon. Austin simply handed the trainer a poster, which was decorated with childish drawings and the announcement of a tournament with the grand prize being a fossil Pokemon.
Everyone in the lobby took the tournament seriously, considering the sight of an Omanyte in Austin's possession. Richie turned to Sparky, asking, "Hey, Sparky, do you want to enter?" Sparky nodded eagerly, its tail twitching with excitement.
"Very well," Austin said, his robotic voice echoing throughout the pokemon center. And with that, the tournament was officially on.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
" You know if I didn't get this call, I thought you have forgotten about little old me," Cynthia said with a smirk as she looked at her Pokenav which Austin just rolled his eyes.
" Don't worry, it is impossible to forget the Queen of Sinnoh," Austin answered back causing a tired Cynthia to smile back.
" Quite the way with words you have there, Mr. Ketchum," Cynthia said causing Pikachu's ears to stand up immediately.
" She said Ketchum, not ketchup," Austin replied causing Pikachu's ears to stand down resulting in Cynthia giggling.
" You still seem ... tired."
" Tell me about it, these last few days have been more hectic in Sinnoh. With the confirmation of the four world's theory and the emergence of these new pokemon. I now have to deal with so many interviews, and public seminars and my pile of paperwork have been increasing."
" ... is it ok to talk to me while you are busy ?"
" No! " Cynthia shouted," no, I just needed someone to talk to. Seriously! What is wrong with these people? I work day and night yet ... yet ..." Cynthia had a few tears built up in her eyes as she looked at her shaking hands.
Sometimes she wondered if she was older then these officials would take her seriously, that her world would carry some kind of meaning in her region.
Maybe she should just quit.
" Cynthia " Austin warmly said as Cynthia looked up with a few tears in her eyes," Can you take a deep breath ?"
" Austin, I ..."
" Just do it, for me."
" Fine."
Cynthia took a few deep breaths.
" Now relax your face."
Cynthia followed Austin's instructions.
" Now relax your shoulders."
Cynthia lay on her chair, completely exhausted mentally and physically.
" When was the last time you slept."
" 3 to 4 "
" Hours ?"
" Days ?"
" ... "
" ... "
" Cynthia."
" I know but what can I do? I have all of these expectations to meet." Cynthia said while covering her eyes.
" Cynthia, do you know these people that have such expectations for you ?"
" No."
" Then why bring yourself such pain for people you don't even know."
" ( ~Sigh~ ) I don't know."
" Cynthia, would you please take care of yourself? Just think of what I must feel when I see you like this."
Cynthia smirked and teased," Very pretentious of you to think like that."
" What? Can't I care for my friend?"
" Austin, can you please place your hand on the screen ?"
Without much question, Austin did said task which Cynthia reciprocated.
Looking at his screen, Austin couldn't help but smile as Cynthia had fallen asleep.
" Well, sleep tight, and don't let those assholes get you. You are working hard and one day everyone in Sinnoh will recognize that you are their champion." Austin whispered as he closed the call.
Looking at the black screen, Cynthia sighed.
" You bastard, always saying stuff like that," Cynthia said while trying to hide her beaming smile and blush.
...
Meanwhile, in Celadon City, Austin took a deep breath as he placed the Pokenav down.
" Hey Ash, you won't believe how big of a crowd that has gathered. There's like over a million people here." Yellow said while coming into the room.
" Well, I am sure they all came after seeing your beautiful poster."
" Really!"
" No."
Puffing out her cheeks, Yellow stomped on Austin's foot.
" Meany."
" Come on, you know I was joking."
" Really!"
" Yeah, yeah, but enough joking around let's get this tournament going."
" I still don't get how this is going to attract team rocket's attention."
" What's the prize of the tournament ?"
" A fossil Pokemon."
Yellow slowly said before it clicked in her head.
" Oh !"
" Exactly."
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