A/N: It is highly recommended that you go and look up what a Countershield and an Ice Aqua Jet is before reading this huge battle. With that being said, read, review, and enjoy the story!
Chapter 20: The Sinjoh Ruins – The Decisive Duel
As Ash cried with his face to floor, a calm feeling suddenly reached him as he thought about all of his friends.
"My friends..." Ash thought to himself, "…they went so far just to help me out. They'll always be by my side. And Pikachu, I want him to know how much he means to me. So I can't give up now. I have to win."
Wiping away his tears, Ash got up and was finally able to get a hold of himself. The Pokemon trainer was more determined than ever. "Giovanni, I challenge you to a Pokemon battle. Let's make this 5 on 5."
"You're very fortunate that your Charizard took down my Kangashkhan," Giovanni stated. "And I already know about how you only have five Pokemon since Pikachu is your sixth."
"Are you going to take me on or not?" Ash asked confidently, holding a Pokeball forward.
"Very well," Giovanni agreed. "You won't win, but I'll still battle you anyway. I'll show you that I was always meant to have control from the day I was born!"
Ash vs Giovanni
"I tried splitting my efforts between saving Bonnie, Max, and Pikachu all at the same time," Ash thought to himself. He briefly looked at Pikachu, who was nearby Giovanni, and then turned his face back to the battlefield."Because of that, each effort was only half as strong as it could have been; counting on just Buizel and Charizard wasn't enough. But now that Max and Bonnie are alright, we can all focus on one goal: saving Pikachu. And that means I have to win!"
"Buizel, I choose you!" Ash called out. "Aqua Jet!"
"Grr," Giovanni mumbled, "I haven't even – "
WHACK!
Buizel crashed right into Giovanni's head and caused the boss to fall on the ground from the impact.
"Good work Buizel," Ash commended.
"You impudent child," Giovanni grumbled as he recovered and started to get up. "I haven't even sent out my first Pokémon and yet you still dare to attack me directly! How dare you?!"
Ash did not respond to Giovanni, but many thoughts were running through his head. "That's exactly what he deserves for stealing my Pikachu and endangering the world! And just as Clemont said, I have to hurt him directly to end this situation for good."
"Aqua Jet again Buizel!" Ash commanded.
"Not this time!" Giovanni responded. "Go Nidoqueen, halt it with Double Kick!"
After the Aqua Jet and the Double Kick clashed, Buizel back flipped to safety when he realized his Aqua Jet would lose. While back flipping, Buizel nearly avoided getting crushed by Nidoqueen's devastating Double Kick foot. As Nidoqueen smashed its heel into the ground, the entire ruins shook and the stone floor underneath it began to shatter; Nidoqueen's power was not to be messed with.
"Now Nidoqueen," Giovanni directed, "Sludge Bomb!"
"Break the Sludge with Sonicboom!" Ash responded.
Buizel's Sonicboom successfully stopped Nidoqueen's Sludge Bomb, but by the time the blasts had finished colliding the cunning Giovanni already had a second attack prepared!
"Surf," Giovanni said casually.
"What?!" Ash reacted in shock. He did not see Surf coming; all Buizel could do was take the hit.
As the water crashed onto Buizel, Nidoqueen propelled herself up into the air while she was riding the waves. It turned out that Giovanni had a third attack though of ahead of time before Nidoqueen even used Sludge Bomb. With the aerial boost from Surf, Giovanni knew Nidoqueen could certainly smash Buizel with a Double Kick.
"Uh-oh," Ash said while looking at Nidoqueen high in the air.
"Double Kick!" Giovanni told his Nidoqueen.
"Nid-oooo!" Nidoqueen shouted.
However, even though Buizel had just taken the Surf attack, Buizel was fortunately still alert enough to dodge the incoming Double Kick.
"Dodge and roll away!" Ash told his Buizel. "Then roll right back in with an Ice Punch!"
Nidoqueen's Double Kick crashed into the stone floor so hard that Nidoqueen's foot was briefly stuck in the ground. Seeing this, Ash knew to throw in an Ice Punch right after Buizel dodged the attack!
"Nid-ooo!" Nidoqueen cried as was sent flying from the direct hit, super-effective elemental punch.
After Nidoqueen got back up, Giovanni revealed Nidoqueen's fourth and final move.
"So you want to play ice, huh?" Giovanni smirked. "Let's see how your Ice Punch does against this Ice Beam! Do it Nidoqueen!"
"Now's the perfect chance!" Ash smiled confidently. "Ice Aqua Jet!"
"Bui-bui!" Buizel resounded in agreement as he rushed in with his Aqua Jet.
As Buizel's Aqua Jet collided head on with the Ice Beam, Buizel's Aqua Jet absorbed the Ice Beam and now Buizel entire Aqua Jet was covered in ice. Nidoqueen stopped using Ice Beam because it would only make the Ice Aqua Jet stronger.
"Hmm, interesting," Giovanni thought to himself. "I wonder who helped Ash come up with such an intriguing combination…"
"Do it!"
The Ice Aqua Jet smashed and crashed into Nidoqueen with the full force of the Ice Beam and Aqua Jet elemental energy combined. The massively powerful attack was too much for Nidoqueen to handle, so it fainted.
"Return Nidoqueen," Giovanni smirked. "Nidoqueen was only a mere fraction of my power. You haven't seen anything yet, Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town."
Ash smirked back. "The same goes for you Giovanni. I haven't used all of my Pokemon so you haven't seen anything yet!"
"Is that so?" Giovanni laughed spitefully. "Well let me show you another fraction of my power; Nidoking go!"
"No time to waste," Ash stated hastily. "Buizel, use Water Gun!"
"Match the attack with Sludge Wave," Giovanni casually commanded.
After the Water Gun and Sludge Wave blasts fought back and forth, Ash thought he had an opening.
"Rush in there with Aqua Jet!" Ash commanded. "Hit him while he's distracted!"
"Oh we're not distracted," Giovanni chuckled arrogantly, "we've been waiting for that move this entire time!"
"Huh?" Ash wondered.
Right before the incoming Aqua Jet slammed into Nidoking, Giovanni made his commanded.
"Nidoking, Earth Power!" Giovanni roared.
A pillar of scorched earth energy erupted from right under Buizel's Aqua Jet and dealt a huge amount of damage! Ash knew that Buizel wasn't going to be the one to finish Nidoking, especially after it defeated Nidoqueen and attempted to save Pikachu.
"Return Buizel, we're going to have to try something else," Ash realized. "Heracross, let's go!"
"Fair enough," Giovanni thought to himself as he accepted Ash switching out.
"Megahorn!" Ash told his Heracross. Heracross rocketed its powerful horn forward and charged straight towards Nidoking.
"That's nothing," Giovanni commented mockingly. "Block, trap, and stomp on Heracross using Double Kick!"
The situation was similar to when Buizel almost got stomped on while using Aqua Jet. But this time, Ash's Pokemon (Heracross) could not dodge the incoming Double Kick attack! And after the Double Kick, there was unfortunately no way for Heracross to move! Because of this, Nidoking just continued to stomp and stomp on Heracross to weaken it. As Heracross struggled being trapped underneath Nidoking's mighty legs, Nidoking launched yet another fierce counterattack!
"Now use Flamethrower!" Giovanni cackled. "Burn that vile insect!"
"Oh no, Heracross!" Ash yelled in despair.
The blazing Flamethrower attack did a great deal of damage to poor Heracross. Flamethrower even managed to burn him! However, Heracross and Ash were not ready to give up just yet.
"Nidoking's feet are on top of my Heracross, right?" Ash stated. "Well, whack Nidoking's legs away with Horn Attack! Do it Heracross!
After Heracross finally freed itself from Nidoking's stomping, Giovanni made sure to continue putting on the pressure.
"Rapid fire Double Kick!" Giovanni told his Nidoking.
"Rapid fire Horn attack!" Ash commanded in response.
The two attacks clashed and clashed and clashed, but Ash found the perfect opening in the midst of the fighting.
"Heracross, now use Hyper Beam!" Ash commanded confidently. "Hit that Nidoking at point-blank range!"
"The tremendous Hyper Beam attack from point-blank range left Nidoking weak and defenseless."
"Finish him with Megahorn!" Ash shouted.
"No no no, come on Nidoking," Giovanni urged. "Block the Megahorn with Sludge Wave and Earth Power!"
But it was too late. By the time Nidoking got up, Heracross's Megahorn was already there to pulverize Nidoking and finish him for good. Nidoking was defeated.
"Return Nidoking," Giovanni said. "So I see, you've beaten two of my Pokemon. But remember, those two were only a fraction of my strength. Allow me to show you what a Pokemon stronger than my Nidoqueen and Nidoking combined can do, go Honchkrow!"
The Swagger of Honchkrow
Despite Giovanni's large claims, Ash treated his words like they were nothing. Ash was on a winning streak, and all he could think about was winning this battle.
"I don't care who you bring out," Ash declared, "we're still going to win! Heracross, use Hyper Beam!"
"Dodge," Giovanni smirked, "then use Mirror Move!"
"What?" Ash wondered in confusion. "Mirror Move?!"
While watching Honchkrow, Ash's jaw dropped as he watched Honchkrow fire the exact same move right back at Heracross!"
"What a move," Ash grumbled as he lowered his head a bit.
"That's right," Giovanni pointed out. "Mirror Move can copy any attack you throw at me and throw it back with 1.5 times the power!"
"We still don't care," Ash insisted, "we're going to beat you! Heracross, fly up there and use Fury Attack!"
"Allow me to show you Mirror Move again," Giovanni casually responded. "Mirror Move, go!"
Honchkrow and Heracross clashed back and forth with a slew of rapid horn, wing, and talon strikes! However, as a flying type combined with the move's 1.5x boost, Honchkrow's Fury Attack barrage easily won. Heracross, on the other hand crashed right down into the floor after being airborne.
"No, Heracross!" Ash called out to his Pokemon. "Come on, I believe in you!"
"And I believe it's time to end this now!" Giovanni laughed arrogantly. "Honchkrow, use Swagger!"
"Now Swagger?!" Ash gawked. Ash continued to watch as Heracross wobbly spun around in confusion.
"Your Heracross may have great Attack boosts now, but they will only make matters worse for you if your Heracross hurts itself." Giovanni explained.
"All right then, since you're confused" Ash decided, "Heracross, retur – "
"Quick, Foul Play!" Giovanni burst out.
Honchkrow's swift Foul Play attack knocked out Heracross in one shot before Ash's Pokeball could even reach it. Heracross was done for good.
"Too slow! I've knocked out your Pokemon; now you can return it to its Pokeball," Giovanni laughed arrogantly. "No one will escape Honchkrow's clutches without fainting first! And remember Foul Play is especially deadly against Pokemon with boosted stats such your Swaggered Heracross."
"Hmm…what can I do these moves?" Ash thought to himself. "Wait, I'll send in Buizel to make a Countershield; that should make things much easier."
"Return Heracross," Ash declared. "Go Buizel!"
"Honchkrow, Dark Pulse!" Giovanni said confidently.
"Block it with Water Gun, then jump up and use Sonicboom!" Ash responded.
"Mirror Move that Sonicboom!" Giovanni shouted.
The two Sonicbooms collided, but once again Honchkrow's Sonicboom emerged stronger and pummeled Buizel. Honchkrow, who was acting very prideful, was flying at a very high altitude and was almost at the top of the ruin's ceiling. But despite this challenge, Buizel wasn't done just yet.
"So," Ash thought to himself, "Giovanni copies the second move if his opponent uses two moves in a row. Alright Buizel, use Aqua Jet to reach Honchkrow in midair and then use Ice Punch when you come in close!"
"Bui!" Buizel burst out as he rocketed into the air.
"Stop Aqua Jet with Dark Pulse!" Giovanni commanded Honchkrow.
"Veer left to dodge it, then continue rocketing to Honchkrow's height!" Ash said back.
Buizel continued to Aqua Jet up and up until it came in close, and then it stopped using Aqua Jet to use Ice Punch. The momentum Buizel gained was just enough to land a powerful Ice Punch right on Honchkrow's beak!
"A second move after Aqua Jet?" Giovanni wondered. "Don't fall down Honchkrow! Fly back up and hit Buizel back with an Ice Punch of your own!"
"Ok Buizel, let's use that ice!" Ash declared. "Use Ice Aqua Jet!"
As Buizel's Aqua Jet head crashed into Honchkrow's frozen wing, the Aqua Jet absorbed the ice and froze the water bursting throughout Buizel's body. Buizel then pulverized Honchkrow with freezing Aqua Jet to land in a powerful super effective blow; Honchkrow was shot straight into the ground from the combination's mighty power!
"We did it!" Ash chanted.
"Did what?" Giovanni smirked as Honchkrow flew right back high up into the air where it once was. "You didn't do a thing."
"What, no way!" Ash cried. "How is Honchkrow still able to fight?"
"Any ordinary Honchkrow would have fallen," Giovanni explained, "but my Honchkrow is top-notch! How do you think I have attained so much power and assets? It's because I am that strong; my Honchkrow is levels higher than even the level of legendary Pokemon!"
"Well my Buizel is no ordinary Pokemon either," Ash said back confidently. "You better watch out."
"Is that so?" Giovanni said mockingly. "Honchkrow, use Foul Play!"
"Buizel, Water Countershield!" Ash told his Pokemon.
Buizel used Water Gun while spinning to create a raging water shield knocking back anything that touches it. As a result, Honchkrow was pushed back and could not even fly in close!
"Great job Buizel!" Ash praised.
"Well, this is a new one," Giovanni admitted. "But unfortunately it won't be enough – use Mirror Move and start spinning just like Buizel!"
Honchkrow had created a water countershield of his own to neutralize Buizel's; this left Ash in utter shock!
"No way…Honchkrow has a countershield now?!" Ash gawked.
"Now fly in with Foul Play," Giovanni commanded, "now you have your own countershield to charge in with!"
With the surging waters surrounding the bird, Honchkrow effortlessly tore through Buizel's countershield and landed a solid Foul Play attack! And with Buizel defenseless, Honchkrow could easily follow up with any of its attacks.
"Swagger," Giovanni said with style.
Ash tried to tell Buizel to try to block Swagger, but it was too late.
"Finish it off with Foul Play," Giovanni casually said.
"Buizel!" Ash cried. Buizel fainted and so Ash returned it to its Poke Ball.
"So, now your Buizel is down and we both have 3 Pokemon remaining each," Giovanni stated. "But I can assure you that Honchkrow is the only Pokemon I'm going to need."
"Man," Ash thought to himself, "I have to come up with a play to get past Giovanni's Honchkrow. What do I do when Honchkrow uses Swagger? And what am I supposed to do about Honchkrow copying all of my moves. This sure is one powerful Honckrow…"
"Ok Quilava, you're up!" Ash declared. "Use Aerial Ace!"
"Check it with Foul Play!" Giovanni told his Honchkrow.
As Quilava and Honchkrow were about to collide, Ash carried out one of his ideas!
"Yes," Ash said confidently, "now use Eruption when you come in close!"
"What?" Giovanni reacted in shock, unable to say Mirror Move fast enough.
The devastating Eruption inflicted tremendous damage on Honckrow, but it still wasn't enough. Honchkrow was flying in the air like it wasn't hurt at all!
"See, my Honchkrow is still alive, well, and stronger than you'll ever be!" Giovanni asserted.
"Grr…Quilava use Flame Wheel!" Ash shouted.
"Honchkrow, use Mirror Move to make a Flame Wheel of your own!" Giovanni responded.
As Quilava and Honchkrow were about to collide, now it was Giovanni that came up with a clever idea!
"Now use Swagger when you get in close!" Giovanni told his Honchkrow.
Swagger easily landed on Ash's Quilava and made Quilava very confused from the special condition.
"Use Fou – " Giovanni started.
"Oh no Swagger!" Ash realized. "Quick Quilava return!"
"Huh, so you managed to return your Pokemon fast enough this time," Giovanni commended. "But it won't make a difference since all of your Pokemon will fall anyway."
"What should I do now?" Ash thought to himself. "I haven't shown Infernape or Charizard yet, and I need Charizard to stay as fresh as possible just in case I need to fly away and retreat. But can Infernape win? Wait…wait…Honchkrow is super strong only when it is in the sky. That means if Infernape can just catch Honchkrow and pin him to the ground, Infernape can easily triumph over Honchkrow; and Infernape can do that really well with its fast reflexes!"
"Infernape, go!" Ash called out.
"So you think your fighting-type is going to beat my flying type?" Giovanni laughed. "Nonsense, use Swagger Honchkrow!"
"Dodge it with Dig!" Ash commanded Infernape. Infernape's Dig allowed it to easily escape the dangerous Swagger attack.
"Now come out of the ground and use Mach Punch!" Ash told Infernape.
"Mirror Move," Giovanni responded. Honchkrow simply slapped some sense into Infernape by using a Mach Punch of its own!
"And now that you're wide open," Giovanni continued, "use Swagger!" Infernape was left in utter confusion.
"Man," Ash grumbled in frustration, "Giovanni is just going to use Foul Play again to take advantage of my stat increases and knock out my Infernape in one shot. Wait…that's it…the positive effect of Swagger…If I can just get Infernape to snap out of the confusion, I can use the attack boosts to my advantage!
"Infernape, Flame Countershield!" Ash shouted. "Just listen to me just this once and keep on spinning!"
Infernape listened on and off because it was confused, and just so happened to be listening when Ash gave the command. With Infernape continually spinning, it could not hurt itself, stop the countershield, or use a different move; Ash's plan was to protect Infernape until the confusion wore off.
"What's this?" Giovanni wondered in shock. "Another Countershield? Use Dark Pulse to break through!"
Honchkrow tried all it could break through, but the spinning fire wall was just too strong.
"Infernape, I know you're confused, but just keep on spinning in that Flame Countershield to protect yourself!" Ash informed. "Keep on spinning until your confusion wears off!"
"Mirror Move," Giovanni said. But to Giovanni's surprise, not even Mirror Move could break through this time around – Infernape's Countershield was much more powerful than Buizel's.
All of a sudden, Infernape snapped out of its confusion and stopped its Countershield.
"There, you finally stopped," Giovanni noticed. "Honchkrow, rush in with Foul Play!"
"I don't think so," Ash responded, "use Mach Punch to catch Honchkrow and pin the bird to the ground!"
Honchkrow flew in with fierce speed and momentum, but Infernape was able to use Mach Punch to redirect that momentum straight down into the stone ground – this caused Honchkrow's beak to get stuck.
"Now sit on top of Honchkrow!" Ash demanded.
"What?!" the surprised Giovanni reacted.
After sitting on top of Honchkrow to suffocate it, Ash made his finishing move.
"Now use Flamthrower and finish this with a rapid fire Mach Punch flurry!" Ash yelled.
The slew of fast and strong attacks were too much for the already tired Honchkrow to handle. Honchkrow was finally defeated.
"Return Honchkrow. So you actually did it," Giovanni acknowledged, "you defeated my Honchkrow. But I can assure you that you haven't seen anything yet. Go Rhyperior!"
"Rhyperior?" Ash wondered. "Well since Infernape still has its Swagger boosts, Infernape will continue to fight! Use Flamethrower!"
Infernape fired its Flamethrower with full power, but Rhyperior stood completely still, effortlessly shaking off the direct hit.
"My Rhyperior is a solid rock that you won't be able to shake," Giovanni grinned confidently.
"Now use Mach Punch!" Ash quickly blurted out.
"Catch its hand," Giovanni casually responded.
"What?" Ash said in surprise.
"Megahorn," Giovanni commanded. With Rhyperior clamping onto Infernape's hand, Infernape was unable to dodge the immense horn bash.
"Infernape no!" Ash cried as he watched his Pokemon being launched backwards towards him.
"Now hit Infernape with Stone Edge," Giovanni continued.
"Snap out of it Infernape!" Ash shouted. "Use a Flamethrower Countershield!"
Infernape quickly perked up to the sound of Ash's voice, and it did more than just snap Infernape out of its pain. Infernape activated its mighty Blaze state that powered up Infernape to the max! When it used its Flamethrower Countershield, it unleashed flames so powerful that it wrecked the nearby stone pillars! In addition, any snow inside the cold ruins instantly melted into water.
"Such intense flames," Giovanni commented as he watched the Countershield completely disintegrate Rhyperior's Stone Edge. Even Rhyperior was getting beaten down by the fire, so Giovanni had to swiftly make his next move.
"I must say you've done a great job utilizing your Countershield technique against me," Giovanni commended. "But while your Countershield defense is strong, it is not impenetrable. Especially against a solid rock like my Rhyperior - Rhyperior charge in straight towards Infernape while using Megahorn!"
Rhyperior's Megahorn attack pulverized through any Blaze-powered flames that came at it, allowing Rhyperior to easily stomp its way to Infernape. Seeing this, Ash quickly responded to Giovanni's aggressive advances.
"Quick Infernape, Dig!" Ash responded. Infernape made it underground just before Rhyperior landed its Megahorn!
"You can run, but you can't hide," Giovanni smirked.
"Wait for it…" Ash cautioned Infernape.
"Don't be a fool," Giovanni laughed. "Remember how Rhyperior isn't going to be shaken?"
"Almost there," Ash continued.
"Rhyperior, this should be no problem for you to see," Giovanni laughed again.
"Go!" Ash shouted. Infernape leaped from behind and threw a powerful Mach Punch at Rhyperior.!
"How did you like that?" Ash asked confidently.
"My Rhyperior sure liked it, liked catching your Infernape's punch that is," Giovanni replied.
"What?!" the dazed Ash said in horror. "No way!"
"My Rhyperior is an expert Ground-type and it knew exactly where your Infernape was coming from," Giovanni explained. "Now slam Infernape into the ground and pin it using your body weight. Then use Hammer Arm on the monkey 12 times or so to beat him to a pulp!"
SLAM! SLAM! SLAM! SLAM! SLAM! SLAM! SLAM! SLAM! SLAM! SLAM! SLAM! SLAM!
Infernape was brutally wounded, but its Blaze ability continued to keep it from fainting.
"Not giving up yet, eh?" Giovanni noticed. "Alright, finish the job with Drill Run!"
"No!" Ash cried. "Infernape!" Infernape had fainted with massive injuries to all parts of its body. The Pokemon was lucky that Rhyperior chose not to drill its eyes out.
"Ha!" Giovanni cackled. "Your Infernape pinned down my Honchkrow, so my Rhyperior pinned down your Infernape!"
"Return," Ash sighed with his head low as he started thinking to himself. "Not good. Who knows how badly Infernape was injured after that match? That must have been 10 times worse than when it was just a Monferno losing to Paul's Electabuzz back in Sinnoh. And now I only have two Pokemon left: Quilava and Charizard. Quilava will be useless here, but do I really want to use Charizard now? I guess since Rhyperior's a Ground expert it won't be able to do much to my flying Charizard besides Stone Edge. And besides, Giovanni only has 2 Pokemon left anyway…I wonder who his last one is?"
"Ok Charizard," Ash declared, "you're up."
"Ah Charizard," Giovanni remembered, "the one that took down my Kangashkahan."
"And he's taking down your Rhyperior too!" Ash claimed. "Use Flamethrower!"
The Flamethrower, however, had little effect.
"Didn't I tell you that my Rhyperior is a solid rock?" Giovanni laughed. "Rhyperior isn't going to be shaken, especially by flames that it's resistant to!"
"Now fly in and whack it with Dragon Tail!" Ash continued.
"Catch Charizard's tail and swing him around and around," Giovanni responded. "Then hurl him out into the air and fire Stone Edge!"
Rhyperior flung Charizard sky-high into the air, but right before Rhyperior used Stone Edge Ash made a decisive move!
"Now," Ash declared, "Charizard, Mega Evolve!"
"Mega-what?" the puzzled Giovanni gasped.
After the blinding light emitting from Charizard pierced through the air, Charizard emerged with more radiant power than ever experienced before! Ash's Mega Charizard Y was ready to win!
"Ah yes," Giovanni realized, "Mega Evolution. You know, it was just recently that I obtained the ability to Mega Evolve my Kangashkhan."
"And it was just recently that my Charizard crushed your Kangashkhan," Ash smirked back with newfound confidence.
"Darn it," Giovanni grumbled in fury, "why you?! Rhyperior, jump into the air and charge in with Drill Run!"
"Charizard, do an air dodge and knock Rhyperior back to the ground with Dragon Tail!" Ash yelled to the flying Pokemon.
WHACK! The enormous Rhyperior created a small crater in the ruins as the mighty Charizard slammed it into the hard stone floor!
"Get up Rhyperior, you're a solid rock that's not supposed to be shaken!" Giovanni bellowed. "Use Stone Edge!"
"Flamethrower!" Ash shouted back.
The two attacks collided, but the Flamethrower easily dominated Rhyperior's Stone Edge by melting and shoving it away! Giovanni stood in disbelief as he watched his "solid rock" get shaken by Charizard's Flamethrower!
"Wow," Ash pointed out as Charizard continued to beat Rhyperior down with flames, "my Mega Charizard Y's Drought ability strengthens his Fire-type attacks and it's working out perfectly!"
"Still," Giovanni also pointed out, "my rock-type solid rock Rhyperior resists Fire-type attacks so it's not going to be shaken!"
"Is that so?" Ash grinned subtly while looking at his Pokedex to check on Charizard's moves. "See, there's one more thing Charizard can easily do with its Drought ability!"
"Is that so?" Giovanni said mockingly, imitating Ash.
"Solarbeam!" Ash commanded his Charizard.
"What?!" Giovanni blurted out hopelessly. "S..sss…solarbeam?! Charizard knows Solarbeam? Noooooooo!"
The devastating Solarbeam unleashed massive damage to Rhyperior who had a four times weakness to the Grass-type technique! Rhyperior fell flat on its back and was rendered unable to battle.
"Return Rhyperior," Giovanni sighed. "You may have toppled Rhyperior, but not even my Mega Kangashkhan or Honchkrow is stronger than my final, main Pokemon; I've saved my strongest for last. Persian, go!"
"Persian?" Ash thought. "Wait, of course! That's the same Persian we saw in Unova! Return Charizard, go Quilava!"
"My four times weak-to-rock Charizard will instantly fall if it takes even one hit from that Power Gem," Ash thought to himself. "At least Quilava is only two times weak to rock, plus it can match Persian's ground mobility and agility much better than Charizard can!"
All of a sudden, three adamant, mighty creatures leapt in between Persian and Quilava.
"Huh?" Ash wondered.
"Ah," Giovanni smirked, "Raikou, Entei, and Suicune, the three legendary beasts of Johto."
"Grrrr…" the three beasts growled. They were enraged with Giovanni; you could tell they were not happy with everything Giovanni was doing.
"No way," Ash pondered, "Raikou, Entei, and Suicune are here?"
"So you three want to try and stop me?" Giovanni laughed. "All right, fine, I'll let you legendary beasts fight my cat. Or should I say legendary dogs? Either way, I'm going to win."
"Watch closely Quilava," Ash coached his Pokemon. "Persian will be your opponent so here's our chance to study Giovanni and Persian's strategy."
Cat vs Legendary Dogs
The three did not hesitate one bit when attacking Persian; Suicune threw out an Air Slash, Raikou fired a Zap Cannon, and Entei used Sacred Fire!
"Double Team," Giovanni said. Like Proton's Crobat, Persian was skilled at making Double Team shadow copies, but Persian was able to create 5 times as many! The army of 100 or so Persian clones surrounding the beasts left them extremely confounded!
"Now attack them all at once with a Double Team Shadow Claw combination!" Giovanni shouted.
At the same time, Raikou, Entei, and Suicune all used their Extreme Speed attacks to swiftly destroy the Double Team clones. The attacks were landing at unfathomable speeds and somehow Persian was keeping up with all three beasts blow for blow! However, the three beasts were eventually able to easily wipe out the clones.
"Persian," Giovanni hurriedly said, "make more Double Team!"
But before Persian could make its move, Raikou slammed into Persian using Extreme Speed, hitting the real Persian since the Double Team had disappeared. The powerful Persian, however, got right back up to continue fighting.
"KOU!" Raikou roared as it launched a Zap Cannon ball towards Persian.
"Now's your chance," Giovanni affirmed, "use Shadow Claw to redirect and hit that Zap Cannon towards Suicune!"
Suicune swiftly dodged the Zap Cannon, but Persian used Double Team to teleport right next to the Zap Cannon ball to hit it a second time. This time, Zap Cannon landed a direct hit on Suicune and knocked it out for good.
"One down, two to go," Giovanni said to himself.
Just then, Entei pulverized Persian with its Flare Blitz attack right to Persian's head. However, the Persian was only a clone, and Entei was mortified to see the legion of Persian clones surrounding it by the time Flare Blitz was over.
"Power Gem!" Giovanni yelled. The multitude of high-power rock energy beams was too much for even the mighty Entei to handle!
"Now only Raikou is left," Giovanni smirked.
"Grrai…KOU!" Raikou growled. This time it launched an Aura Sphere attack at Persian.
"This attack would have done a lot of damage to Persian," Giovanni remarked, "but you'll be the one taking the damage! Use Shadow Claw to throw and hit the Aura Sphere right back into Raikou!
Raikou fell to the floor after being hit by its own Aura Sphere, but unlike Entei and Suicune, Raikou was actually trying to get up.
"Finish all 3 beasts with Slash!" Giovanni said with confidence. To make sure they all stayed down Persian followed Giovanni's orders and slashed them all one more time.
"That Persian is strong," Ash marveled. "It took down not 1 but 3 legendary Pokemon at the same time with ease!"
"My Persian is the strongest Persian in the world," Giovanni declared and told Ash. "I'll have you know that Persian played a crucial role in controlling Arceus and all of the other legendary Pokemon we have in our possession.
"How come those dogs weren't in your possession?" Ash inquired.
"Oh, but they were!" Giovanni replied. "It just so happened to be that their "obedience" to me wore off and so they vowed to stop me. But they failed; my grand design for a suitable world will finally become reality!"
"Wore off? New suitable world? I thought Team Rocket's goal was conquest and gain," Ash wondered again.
"That's none of your business, I'm the one who's in charge here!" Giovani responded. "Prepare to lose!"
Quilava vs Persian
"Well I'll make the first move," Ash decided, "Quilava, use Aerial Ace!"
"Use Slash!" Giovanni said back The two Pokemon's attacks were evenly matched.
"Double Team!" Giovanni blurted out. Once again, the Persian army appeared to surround Quilava.
"Wow, that's a lot of clones," Ash commented.
"All of you, use Slash!" Giovanni told Persian and his clones
"It's a good thing I taught Quilava the Countershield before coming here," Ash said determinedly. "Use Eruption Countershield!"
"What?" Giovanni said in shock while watching his Persian getting blasted with Eruption attacks. "My Persian is actually having a hard time?!"
"This is why the bond between the trainer and Pokemon is so special, wild Pokemon like those legendary beasts don't get techniques like our Countershield!" Ash asserted.
"Persian use Power Gem in front of you and charge in straight towards Quilava!" Giovanni said fiercely.
"I almost forgot," Ash realized, "Rhyperior did that too! The Countershield is perfect for handling the Double Team armies but now Persian knows how to break through it. Let's try something else and not let Quilava faint."
"Return," Ash sighed.
"Huh?" Giovanni wondered.
"Mega Charizard Y," Ash declared, "come back out to stop this Persian!"
Mega Charizard Y vs Persian
"Double Team Shadow Claw combo!" Giovanni shouted.
"Destroy all of the clones with a spinning Dragon Tail!" Ash responded back.
Even though the clones were destroyed, the real Persian appeared from behind ready to pounce on Charizard!
"Charizard, use Flamethrower behind you on the real Persian!" Ash hurriedly said.
"Too slow!" Giovanni blurted. "Power Gem!"
"Switch to Solarbeam to hold Power Gem back!" Ash
The two beams clashed and clashed, but finally Charizard's grass energy beam overpowered Persian's rock energy!
"What?!" Giovanni "Solarbeam beat out Power Gem?!"
"Now swoop in, grab Persian, and bring it to the air!" Ash commanded with determination.
"No!" Giovanni howled. "Just what do you think you're doing?!"
Alright Charizard, swing Persian around and around," Ash continued. "Get ready for a Seismic Toss!"
Just then, Ash remembered Clemont's directions inside his head:
"Ash, you're going to have to physically stop Giovanni's body and not just his Pokemon. If he is truly in control of all this, direct physical action is necessary."
"Physical action? That's exactly what I'm going to do!" Ash declared boldly. "Use Seismic Toss and hurl Persian right into Giovanni!"
"What?!" Giovanni cried. "No, don't do that!"
The mighty Charizard swung its arms with everything it had. Persian was launched with enormous momentum, and Giovanni was knocked out cold when the flying Persian crashed into his body like a speeding missile. Both Persian and Giovanni lay weak on the cold, stone ruin floor.
"Phew, we really did it," Ash said in relief. "Return Charizard, take a good rest."
Finally, after waiting for so long, Ash walked over to his Pikachu and opened up his canister.
"Hi buddy," Ash whispered to his drained Pikachu.
Pikachu opened up its eyes a little and smiled at the sight of Ash. "Pika."
"I've missed you…so much…Pikachu," Ash cried softly.
The two embraced in a long, warm hug, finally glad to be reunited with one another.
Ash defeated Giovanni and finally saved his Pikachu! But is the fight really over for Team Pikachu? What happens next? Find out in the next chapter of Saving Pikachu!
All of a sudden, Giovanni got up and hobbled weakly towards Ash, but his motives and attitude were of desperation instead of decimation.
"Where…where…am I?" Giovanni feebly asked Ash, still weak from the battle.
"What, are you trying to trick me?" Ash angrily retorted. "You stole my Pikachu and are trying to take over the world!
"What…really?" the uninformed Giovanni said in shock. "I don't remember doing any of that…"
"I'VE HAD ENOUGH!" Ash yelled at the top of the lungs. "I'm not buying any of your schemes!"
"I'm serious!" Giovanni insisted. "The last thing I remember was going to bed in Team Rocket HQ in Kanto but when I woke up I found myself here!"
"So really, you didn't plan all of this?" Ash sarcastically said while pointing out all of the Team Rocket members, equipment, Pokemon, and vehicles filling the ruins.
"This was not planned, I swear. And I'm looking at my phone right now and I don't remember sending these text messages…wait a second," he thought. Giovanni then came to a horrifying conclusion.
"The date that I went to bed that night is 4 weeks prior to the current date that's listed here," Giovanni noticed, "I woke up 4 weeks later? No, this can only mean that somebody has been possessing and controlling me."
"But if you didn't create this scheme…." Ash started.
"…then who did?" Ash and Giovanni both wondered.
To be continued…