So this chapter has Ash's third double battle in it. OC Submissions are now closed. Enjoy.
"Good luck!" Dawn exclaimed.
"Thanks." Ash replied. "Pikachu, you know the drill. Stay with Dawn until after the match." He said, turning to his loyal partner.
"Pika!" He exclaimed, jumping onto Dawn's shoulder.
"Alright, see ya after the match!" Dawn said, turning to head into the stands.
"See ya," Ash replied, heading into the trainer's room. He walked in, and sat down on a bench, pulling two Pokeballs from his belt.
"Come on out guys." He said, releasing his Pokémon. Infernape and Torterra appeared.
"Alright, I'm facing a guy named Danny Walters. I don't know who he'll use, but you two won't let me down, right?"
His two Pokémon shook their heads.
"Good, I knew I could count on you. This will just be like old times. I know I haven't used you two in that many battles recently, but I know you won't let me down. Do your best, that's all that matters."
A bell rang, signaling Ash to head off onto the battlefield.
"Return guys," he said, recalling the two Sinnoh starters.
He headed out, walking onto the field. The stands were packed, just like the previous two matches. Ash looked around, trying to find Dawn, but couldn't spot her. "Damn, it's so packed, I can't even spot Dawn," he muttered. He headed over to the trainer's box, and he looked at his opponent.
His opponent, Danny Walters, was a kid who looked no older than twelve. He wore black sneakers, black socks that ran up halfway his calves, khaki shorts held up by a brown belt, a red t-shirt, and a black hat with a flat brim worn backwards. He wore thick black glasses, which appeared more stylish than functional. He was standing there with his arms crossed, a confident smirk on his face.
The ref spoke up, beginning the pre-battle statements.
"This will be a two on two double battle between Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town, and Danny Walters of Fuschia City. Each trainer will use two Pokémon, and the match is over when both of either side's Pokémon are unable to continue battling. If one Pokémon is knocked out, then the match will continue as a two on one. This match will be fought on a dirt battlefield, and both trainers will send out their Pokémon on my command. Are both trainers ready?"
"Yes." Ash said, pulling two Pokeballs from his belt.
"Hell yeah," Danny said, also retrieving two Pokeballs from his belt.
"Begin!" The ref shouted, throwing up his flags.
"Infernape, Torterra, I choose you!" Ash shouted, throwing his Pokeballs.
"Nidorino, Rhyhorn, let's go!" Danny shouted, releasing his Pokémon.
Ash made the first move. "Infernape, Mach Punch on Rhyhorn. Torterra, Leech Seed on Nidorino!"
"Rhyhorn and Nidorino, double Horn Drill!"
Really, he's going for a one hit KO move in the first attack? Jeez, kids these days. Ash said mentally.
Infernape charged towards Rhyhorn in a flash, striking him with a fist to the face. Rhyhorn retaliated by spinning his horn, and charging at the Flame Pokémon, but the attack was easily dodged. Torterra fired a seed from his tree, which latched onto Nidorino and started draining his energy. Nidorino also spun up his drill, charging towards Torterra. Torterra, due to his massive size, was having trouble keeping the poison type at bay.
"Infernape, help Torterra out with a flame wheel! Torterra, eat your energy ball!"
"Nidorino, keep it up!" Rhyhorn, Take Down on Infernape!"
Infernape covered his body in flames, then rapidly rolled towards Nidorino. He struck the poison type in the back, causing him to stop the attack. Rhyhorn then charged towards the fire type, knocking him to the side. Meanwhile, Torterra formed an energy ball in his mouth, then swallowed it, giving him a boost of power.
He learned this trick as a Grotle when he faced Palmer's Rhyperior. It gave him a boost in energy, and almost gave him the win, but the difference in experience won out in the end, and Palmer won the match. Ever since then, Ash had been using this strategy whenever he battled with Torterra.
Back on the battlefield, Torterra and Infernape were standing on their side of the field, looking relatively, healthy. On the other side, Rhyhorn looked a little worn out, but he had a lot of juice left. Nidorino, on the other hand, was getting weaker by the second, thanks to the Leech Seed planted by Torterra.
How the hell did this kid make it this far? Ash asked himself. This kid is reckless, and goes for pure power right off the bat. What the hell is his strategy? Maybe he caught his previous opponents off guard with those OHKO moves?
"Nidorino, use Double Kick on Torterra! Rhyhorn, use another Take Down on Infernape!"
"Torterra, Bulk Up! Infernape, hit him with a Mach Punch!"
Rhyhorn charged towards Infernape, attempting to ram him with his Take Down attack. However, Infernape disappeared in a flash of light, and reappeared, punching Rhyhorn on the face, causing him to skid on his stomach. Meanwhile, Nidorino jumped up, flying towards the Continent Pokémon. Torterra tensed his muscles, making him appear slightly larger than normal. This reduced the damage when Nidorino landed two kicks in rapid succession to his face.
Infernape, finish Rhyhorn off with Close Combat! Torterra, Razor Leaf on Nidorino. Wear him down!" Ash shouted.
"Rhyhorn, go for a Horn Attack! "Nidorino, hit Torterra with a Sludge Bomb!" Danny countered.
Infernape charged towards Rhyhorn, whose hand was glowing, and struck him rapidly with a flurry of punches, kicks, and headbutts. It was too much for the rock type to handle, and he fainted. On the other side of the field, Torterra shot dozens of razor sharp leaves at his opponent. Nidorino destroyed the leaves with a thick black sludge he shot from his mouth. Once there was a let up, he redirected his aim at Torterra, dealing a significant amount of damage.
The ref made his call. "Rhyhorn is unable to battle, this match will continue as a two on one!" He shouted.
Danny pulled out a Pokeball, and recalled Rhyhorn. As soon as the rock type was inside the ball, he made his next move. "Alright, now another Sludge Bomb!" Danny commanded.
"Infernape, protect Torterra with Flamethrower! Torterra, use Synthesis!" Ash ordered.
Torterra covered himself with a green light, absorbing sunlight and regaining energy. Infernape was protecting him, fending off the onslaught of sludge with a flamethrower. Nidorino started to look exhausted, then collapsed.
"Nidorino is unable to battle, the winners are Infernape and Torterra! The match goes to Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town!" The ref shouted.
"What the hell happened!?" Danny asked, bewildered at the situation.
"Leech Seed." Ash said simply. He recalled his Pokémon and walked off to the trainer's room.
As he got inside, a familiar voice greeted him.
"Congrats on winning!" Dawn exclaimed.
"Thanks." Ash replied.
"Pika!" A voice called out. A certain Pikachu jumped up onto his shoulder, congratulating his trainer of his victory.
He pulled out his Pokenav, and started typing, sitting down in the process.
"What's the matter? You seem bothered." Dawn said, sitting down next to him.
"I wanna know how that kid was able to make it to the third round. I'm looking up how he won his previous battles. He had very little talent, and was very reckless with the way he was commanding his Pokémon." Ash replied.
"Oh."
Ash started scrolling, stopped, then continued scrolling some more. He did this for a few minutes, then stopped. "So I was right."
"What?" Dawn asked.
"This kid has won his matches in the first minute every time. Apparently he goes for the same strategy, hit the opponents with a OHKO move, and win the match. How can someone be so stupid to not dodge those?"
"Maybe they didn't realize that they were that powerful? OHKO moves aren't used often, and sometimes people forget that it's over when they get hit by them."
"Maybe, but something doesn't seem right."
"Ash, you're just paranoid. Move on. Speaking of which, who are you facing next?"
"I guess you're right. Lemme look." Ash typed some more on his Pokenav, and his eyes widened at what he saw.
"What is it?" Dawn asked.
"I'm facing Ritchie Speed."
"Who?"
He's the guy I lost to in the Indigo Plateau."
"I'm sorry."
"Don't be. We're good friends, and I lost because Charizard wouldn't listen to me. I've been looking forward to a rematch for years, and finally I have a chance." Ash explained.
"Oh. Do you think you'll meet up with him before the match?" Dawn asked.
"I'd like to. Come on, I'm sure we'll find him if we go outside." Ash said, getting up.
"Okay!" Dawn said, following Ash. The two walked outside, and immediately Ash saw a familiar face.
"Ritchie!" He said, running up to his friend
"Ash!" Ritchie replied. "How have you been?"
"I've been good." Ash replied.
Ritchie looked over and noticed Dawn standing a few feet away. "Is that your girlfriend?" He asked.
Dawn blushed furiously at the comment, but Ash's was a little less obvious, yet still present.
"No. She's just a friend. Dawn, this is Ritchie. Ritchie, Dawn."
Ritchie raised an eyebrow upon seeing Dawn's response, but decided not to press the matter. "How are you doing?" He asked Dawn.
"Good," she replied meekly.
"Anyways, I'm really looking forward to our battle. I wish you luck." Ash said to Ritchie.
"Yeah, me too. Charizard isn't gonna not listen to you, is he?" He joked.
"Nah. I just use him in a battle today. He helped me defeat a Dragon Tamer, and he followed my every command." Ash replied.
"Glad to hear it, although I was hoping to face Charizard in the match today."
"Don't worry, I'm using two of my strongest. I hope you do the same."
"I will. I'll see you after the match. Good luck." Ritchie replied.
"You too."
The two went their separate ways, with Ash and Dawn heading back into the trainer's room.
"Well, I'll take Pikachu up to the stands with me," Dawn said, a dejected tone in her voice.
"What's wrong?" Ash asked.
"It's nothing a good battle won't take my mind off of." She said, forcing a smile.
"If you say so. I'll see you after the match." Ash replied.
"See ya." Dawn said, heading off into the stands. As she was walking, she was deep in thought about the meet up with Ritchie. Why was he so quick to deny it? I saw his face get red, but he denied it so quickly, I don't know whether to believe my eyes or my ears. Maybe Pikachu will know.
She started talking to Pikachu.
"Why is he so dense?" She asked him.
"Pika?"
"Oh cut the act. I know you know what I'm talking about."
"Chu," Pikachu sighed.
"I know I can't understand you like Ash can, but can you at least answer me this?"
Pikachu looked at her, wondering what this was about.
Dawn mustered up the question that had been bugging her ever since the end of Sinnoh. She had a feeling that she was right, and it was just his denseness preventing things from getting through, she still wondered if it was a lost cause after all this time.
"Does Ash like me as more than a friend?"
Sorry for the shorter chapter, but I hate writing more than one battle in a chapter, especially double battles. I made that mistake with the first round, where I wrote five, and they were really unimpressive in retrospect.
Cliffhanger! What will Pikachu answer? Even though it might be obvious, I felt like it was a good place to leave off. Also, Ritchie returns! I always felt like Ash should have met back up with him, but I guess the Pokémon anime creators don't agree. Oh well. Their battle will be in the next chapter, then it goes back to Jake and May.
Anyone who gets what Danny was a reference to gets an Internet cookie.
OC submissions are now closed, so please don't send any more in. However, I want to thank all who did. I will use most of them during the upcoming tournament, so stay tuned for that.
Regarding the OCs, I never mentioned this, but when a Pokémon was submitted with only four or five moves, I may not use any of them. I use them for reference. I write the battles based on how a Pokémon would be most effective. I honestly see no reason to use Hyper Beam or Blast Burn. Once that move has been used, the Pokémon is a sitting duck for a counter attack. Same goes for Solar Beam, the charge time makes the Pokémon vulnerable. Sorry for any inconvenience. The larger the movepool, the more likely I will use the moves.
Thanks for reading, and as always, R&R everyone!