Indigo League Challenge, Mt. Moon Task – 6 drabble collection (excluding extras), third drabble 500-550 words.
Mega Prompts Challenge, word prompts #285 – dynamic
A Trail of Dust Particles – Alain's Journey
Drabble 05: Ash's Rival
Meeting Ash Ketchum had been entirely a coincidence. He'd been wandering around a quaint little town between orders from Lysandre, looking for mega evolution trainers. When he detected a signal, he followed it – though the end result turned out to be something a tad different.
He still had no idea what it was, but it wasn't mega evolution – or, at least, what they understood it to be. No stones on either of them. His stone didn't even react, though the power meter did. Maybe mega evolution still, but through a bond so powerful, the stones became unnecessary. Or perhaps the stones could be found in other forms. Minerals absorbed into their blood, for example.
It was interesting. And he wanted a closer look. So when opportunity presented itself to acquaint himself with the Greninja's trainer, he took it. Even if they probably hadn't needed his help in rescuing the Pikachu.
(And, for that matter, who were those freaks that swooped out of nowhere and stole a pokemon while everybody slept? And then go and attack the boy who had no other pokemon out.)
The battle was one of the best he had. Ranking under Siebold of the Elite Four and Steven the Champion, of course. Definitely a far cry from Groudon and Rayquaza (but those weren't his favourite battles, considering he'd been injured in both). But for an evolution that didn't even look to be the mega evolution other trainers took for granted…
He won. Easier than he liked but that happened a lot, nowadays. He'd left the pack behind. But the boy had potential. His eyes burned with the promise of a better battle when they next met.
And when that next meeting did occur, he got that better battle. Charizard went down, even, but not out. Not quite – but he might have. Who knew? Who could know? Ash collapsed before the battle could reach a conclusion, and mega evolution or not, Alain could appreciate the deep bond that allowed such a transformation to take place.
Afterwards, he wondered as to how far that battle could have gone. He'd forced Charizard down. Few had managed that, and the last had been that long battle with Rayquaza, Kyougre and Groudon. And he'd landed his first hit without that transformation. Even if Charizard hadn't been mega-evolved at the time himself, to land the first hit without giving up the advantage in the rest of the match was a feat.
He missed the battle. He really wanted to see it again. And so he chased the boy. Went to the only place he knew he'd meet him again: the Kalos League. Went to gym after gym, wondering which ones Ash had already visited, which ones (if any), he had left to go. He didn't ask the gym leaders though – even if they'd probably remember a trainer that stood out as much as Ash did. Didn't mention him or his unique Greninja to Lysandre either. He wanted to find him himself. And fight him again. And learn more about that Greninja.