Disclaimer: I do not own pokemon and am in no way affiliated with Nintendo or Gamefreak, or other companies that write or produce pokemon. Now that that legal stuff is out of the way, on to the story!
Pokemon Legends: Kanto Saga
Chapter Fifteen
Vs. Flare
An unintended stopover in Lavender Town ended with Ashley and Rina facing off against Team Rocket in an all-out battle. Their trip into the pokemon tower ended with Ashley catching a new pokemon, a female Haunter, and Rina receiving the pokeflute. Now, the two girls and their pokemon stood in a grassy plain overlooked by a steep hill just outside Celadon City. They had just arrived from the underground pass going between Lavender and Celadon.
"Ok, so if we're going to do this we should do it now." Ashley called out to Rina. The two of them were standing at fifty feet apart. Bulbasaur and Pippi were sitting just at the bottom of the hill, watching the two.
"-I can't believe she's not even using me in the next gym match!-" Bulbasaur grumbled. "-The next one uses grass pokemon, so I'm not even at a disadvantage!-"
"-Doesn't Ashley prefer to battle with type advantages though?-" Pippi asked him. "-She did say she had three pokemon with an advantage over grass types.-"
"-Yeah...well...-" Bubasaur trailed off into mumbling.
"Ready as I'll ever be..." Rina called back hesitantly. She was still reluctant about having training matches, but she knew now at least that her pokemon seemed to enjoy battling. "So its your Pidgeotto against Sarge again, Beedrill against Berg, Golbat against Clyde, Haunter against Berry, and Charizard against Ebil?"
"Thats right, I want to test out all my options since each of them have some kind of advantage. I already know what Bulbasaur is capable of." Ashley paused for a moment and blinked in confusion. "Wait...Ebil?"
"Yep! Ebil!" Rina replied, giggling quietly. "Thats what I decided to name that Ekans..."
"Oh...ok then..." Ashley blinked again and shook her head. "Anyway! Lets start off with Pidgeotto and Sarge!" Ashley took a pokeball from her belt and held it out while pressing the button on the front of it. "Pidgeotto, go!" The pokeball opened up, releasing Ashley's Pidgeotto onto the field.
Rina likewise took a pokeball from her belt and held it out with her hand gripped around it. "Sarge, go!" Rina pressed the button, opening the pokeball. A red beam fired out towards the ground, forming into a Sandshrew. When Sarge saw his opponent, he and Pidgeotto shot each other a glare.
"-It seems fate has brought us to battle once more...-" Sarge said to Pidgeotto.
"-You couldn't beat me then and there's no way you'll beat me now.-" Pidgeotto shot back.
Meanwhile, on the top of the hill, a red haired trainer was approaching the edge just above Pippi and Bulbasaur.
"No sign of that legendary pokemon anywhere..." The trainer, Flare of the Grand Hunters, grumbled. "If I wasn't stuck with this worthless Flareon I would be out stealing pokemon instead of waiting for our leader to find an 'easy enough target' for me..." The Flareon in question, wearing a slave collar around its neck, didn't even flinch at Flare's insults.
Flare was about to jump over the ledge at the edge of the steep hill, but ducked down behind it when she saw Rina and Ashley battling.
"Thats the blonde-haired tramp that made a fool out of me!" Flare growled. "Battling another trainer too...well that legendary pokemon can wait then!" Flare grinned widely, a wicked look in her eyes. "Their pokemon will be nice and weak after a battle...once they're done, I'll make my move!"
"Ok, Pidgeotto! Start with Quick Attack!" Pidgeotto flapped its wings and flew towards Sarge, then suddenly shot forward at a blinding speed and smashed into him. Sarge staggered back, but simply shook off the attack. Rina was tempted to try to use Defense Curl beforehand, but she knew she wouldn't have had time.
"Sarge, strike back with a Slash attack!" Sarge raised its claws and quickly lashed out at Pidgeotto, who had little time to get away after its Quick Attack. Pidgeotto staggered back as Sarge's claws raked across its body, hopping back on one foot a few feet as it tried not to fall over. It quickly righted itself and glared at Sarge while awaiting further instructions to attack.
"Pidgeotto, lets try out your Wing Attack technique! Then get back into the air!"
"Sarge, defend against it with Defense Curl!"
Sarge quickly curled up into a ball as Pidgeotto jumped towards it to attack again. Pidgeotto struck out at Sarge with his wing, sending Sarge rolling back. The attack was largely ineffective, courtesy of Defense Curl. As Sarge was rolling he uncurled and stood up, digging his feet into the ground to come skidding to a stop. Pidgeotto flapped its wings and flew back up after attacking Sandshrew, hovering several feet off the ground.
"Now, jump at it and attack Pidgeotto with Metal Claw!" Sarge raised its right hand back, its small claws changing to look like they were made of metal. Sarge charged towards Pidgeotto and jumped up to attack.
"Pidgeotto, counter with a Gust attack!" Pidgeotto flapped its wings rapidly while in the air, pummeling Sarge with strong gusts of wind. The attack caused Sarge to fall short of his target, his claws coming just inches short of reaching Pidgeotto.
"Strike back with Air Cutter now!" Pidgeotto brought its wings together one last time, holding them briefly and beginning to drop. Pidgeotto opened his wings and started flapping again to stay up, simultaneously releasing a v-shaped blade of air down towards Sarge. The blade struck Sarge from above, knocking him onto his back. Pidgeotto was hovering very low now, almost within reach of Sarge.
"Sarge, strike Pidgeotto while he's low with a Slash attack!" Sarge quickly hopped up while extending his arm out to claw at Pidgeotto. Sandshrew struck hard, slashing across Pidgeotto's soft underbelly. Pidgeotto was knocked up and back, landing hard several feet away. Pidgeotto slowly picked itself up off the ground, shaking his head and then turning his attention back to Sarge. Both pokemon had just taken a strong, crippling blow and were looking pretty exhausted.
"-You've certainly gotten stronger since evolving...-" Sarge commented to Pidgeotto, panting heavily. "-But it matters not, one more strike shall finish you...-"
"-You're not going to last more than one attack either.-" Pidgeotto shot back, also panting from the effort it had been extering in the battle.
"Ok, Sarge, lets try one more time with Metal Claw! Charge!" Sarge charged towards Pidgeotto, holding his claws out at his sides. His right claws began to turn metallic as he prepared to attack.
"Pidgeotto, finish it off with Air Cutter!" Pidgeotto brought its wings together, forcing air between them. However, Rina was ready for this.
"Sarge, quick! Use Defense Curl and roll!" Sarge curled up into a ball and continued rolling towards Pidgeotto as the bird pokemon fired its Air Cutter attack. The attack landed a strong hit on Sarge, the blade cutting across Sarge's curled body, but Sarge was just barely able to withstand it while curled up. Sarge uncurled as it reached Pidgeotto and raked it across its chest with his Metal Claw attack. Pidgeotto staggered back from the blow and fell over onto its side as it lost consciousness.
"You've gotten better since the last time!" Ashley said to Rina, recalling Pidgeotto and placing his pokeball back on her belt.
"Thanks, I don't think I'm as good as you yet though, even though I managed to win this time." Rina admitted in response. "Sarge, great job! You can take a rest now." Rina held up Sarge's pokeball and recalled her pokemon as well.
"Ok, next..." Ashley took another pokeball from her belt. "Beedrill versus Berg! Beedrill, go!"
"Right." Rina nodded in agreement, taking Berg's pokeball from her belt. "Berg, go!"
The two girls each released their pokemon. The large bee pokemon, Beedrill, appeared from Ashley's pokeball and hovered over the ground several feet in front of her. Berg then appeared in front of Rina, extending his twin water cannons from the cracked holes in his shell. Berg immediately trained his cannons on Beedrill. Neither pokemon truly knew what the other was capable of.
"Berg, lets hit hard to start! Blizzard!"
"Beedrill, fly up to dodge it!"
Berg fired a blast of cold air and snow from its cannons, which spread out from each to cover a cone-like area. Beedrill was able to fly up and over the attack to avoid it. Berg's Blizzard only managed to create a sheet of ice across the ground.
"Now, Beedrill, attack Berg with Twineedle!" Beedrill dove down towards Berg, its two stinger-tipped forelegs pointed towards him.
"Berg, Withdraw!" Berg fell forward onto the ground while withdrawing its arms, head, legs, and tail. Beedrill was left only with Berg's strong shell to strike. Beedrill dove into Berg, striking with both stingers but inflicting little damage. However, even through Berg's shell, Beedrill's attack managed to inflict poison. Berg groaned from within his shell as Beedrill's venom began to flow through his body.
"Poisoned?" Rina blinked in disbelief. "Wow...ok then. Berg, get up and use Refresh!" While still safely in its shell, Berg focused and used its Refresh technique. His body shimmered briefly, expelling the poison from it.
"We won't let you off that easy!" Ashley called out to Rina. "Beedrill, poison it again with Poison Sting!" Beedrill raised one of its stingers and struck Berg with another light blow while still hovering over him. Berg didn't even flinch this time from such a weak attack, it even failed to poison him as Ashley had hoped.
"Ok, Berg! It won't dodge this time, use Blizzard again!" Berg emerged from its shell quickly and aimed its twin cannons at Beedrill while crouching down on his arms and legs. A cold blast of air and snow fired from the cannons, giving Beedrill little chance to avoid it. Ice began to form in places on Beedrill's body and the air and snow pushed him up because of the angle Berg was attacking at.
"Beedrill, cut through it with an Aerial Ace and Poison Sting combo!" Beedrill extended one of its stingers in front of it and dove down into the blast of wind, struggling at first but Berg soon ran out of steam and ended the attack. Beedrill dove down and disappeared in a blur of movement, slashing across Blastoise's body with its venom-filled stinger and reappearing only as it pulled up from the attack. Berg groaned in pain as Beedrill landed its first truly effective attack and poison coursed through his body again.
"Should I have him use Refresh again?" Rina wondered then shook her head. "No, Beedrill would just be able to take advantage of that to attack again, I'd need to use Withdraw first but Beedrill would be able to attack before Blastoise has managed to use the technique. Maybe another Blizzard will finish it off?"
"Berg, lets try using Blizzard again!" Berg nodded and got back on its feet, turning towards Beedrill to bring its cannons to bear.
"Beedrill, use Aerial Ace again!" Beedrill dove down towards Berg. Berg opened fire, sending a blast of cold air and snow towards Beedrill. Beedrill dove under most of the attack, however, taking only a glancing blow. Beedrill shot forward, slashing across Berg's side with its right stinger. Berg growled and staggered from the attack, which also forced it to stop its Blizzard attack. Beedrill then stopped and turned back to face Berg, hovering in the air. Both pokemon were looking exhausted, but Berg far more so. A blue glow briefly surrounded Berg as his Torrent ability became active.
"Blastoise's special ability..." Ashley thought. "I can't remember what it is, but all the pokemon handed out by Professor Oak had a special ability that increased the power of attacks the same type they were when they were in danger." A slight smirk tugged at the corner of Ashley's lips as she thought it over. "Even so, Berg's most powerful water attack right now is Water Gun. Beedrill took some strong hits, but he can still take a boosted Water Gun if Rina tries it."
"Umm...Ashley...was that glowing a good thing?" Rina asked her, interrupting her thoughts.
"Thats a Blastoise's special ability." Ashley explained to her. "It increases the power of his water type techniques when he's weakened to a certain point. His Blizzard attack would still be his strongest attack right now I think..."
"Even if thats true, Beedrill has just been dodging it anyway..." Rina replied quietly. "Ok, Berg! Try using Water Gun!" Blastoise quickly turned towards Beedrill, bringing its guns on it and firing a decent sized stream of water from each cannon. Beedrill did nothing to avoid the attack, taking both streams head on. The attack knocked Beedrill to the ground, but it quickly hovered back up even though it was looking pretty weak now. A yellowish-green glow briefly surrounded Beedrill, mimicking the activation of Berg's Torrent ability.
"Beedrill has that ability too?!" Rina cried out in surprise.
"Beedrill, lets finish this in one go! Twineedle!" Beedrill flew towards Berg, leveling both its front stingers at it. Berg was struck by both stingers simultaneously and staggered back with a pained cry. The last of Berg's strength was drained and it fell back onto his shell.
"-You know, I have an ability like that too you know...-" Bulbasaur grumbled.
"-Seems common...-" Pippi commented, nodding to herself. Bulbasaur snorted and mumbled to himself.
"Your Beedrill is strong..." Rina said to Ashley, sighing as she recalled Berg. "I feel sorry for Berg losing like that after what he's been through..."
"You need to have Berg get stronger so it can evolve for real, remember?" Ashley reminded Rina. "Its bound to have some losses along the way until then. Anyway, Beedrill, great job! Now, return!" Ashley held up Beedrill's pokeball and recalled him. Beedrill had its usual expressionless look as Ashley recalled it.
"With that Blastoise out of the way, there's no way they'll be able to beat me!" Flare thought, grinning to herself. "That girl is going to burn for making me look like a fool!"
"I guess you're right, I just hope Berg won't be like that much longer..." Rina sighed again as she placed Berg's pokeball on her belt and took another in hand. "Ok, guess you're up now! Clyde, go!" Rina held up the pokeball and released Clyde, sending him out onto the grassy field that they were using for battle. Ashley, likewise, switched Beedrill's pokeball for another one.
"Golbat, go!" Ashley called out as she released her pokemon. The pokeball she had grabbed opened up at the push of a button, releasing the green-skinned Golbat into the air. Golbat was already flapping its wings to hover in the air.
"-Bah! A Clefairy?!-" Golbat grumbled. "-I left Mount Moon to get away from your type!-"
"-Well I'm sorry to hear that, but you now have me to contend with.-" Clyde replied sternly, slamming his fists together.
"Ok, Golbat! Start with a Bite attack!" Golbat turned to Ashley and stuck his tongue out at her after she called out the attack, but he followed through as usual anyway. It dove down towards Clyde, large jaws open wide to attack.
"Clyde, block it with Protect!" Clyde threw his arms out and formed a transparent blue bubble. Golbat went head first into it and bounced off harmlessly. "Now! Sing attack!" Rina called out next, taking advantage of the brief pause brought by Protect. Clyde began singing a quiet, melodic lullaby. Golbat soon dropped to the ground face first, falling fast asleep.
"-I think that Golbat is more disrespectful to Ashley than you are!-" Pippi commented to Bulbasaur, giggling quietly with a few small sparks escaping from her cheeks.
"-He has the attitude, but not the wit.-" Bulbasaur commented bitterly.
"Now, attack Golbat with Doubleslap!" Rina called out, and as Clyde moved towards Golbat to attack she kept her gaze fixed on the sleeping pokemon. Clyde began slapping around the sleeping pokemon, swiping at Golbat with one hand after another. Clyde continued this until Rina noticed Golbat starting to wake up and flinch from each slap.
"Clyde, finish it up with Pound!" The assault stopped for a moment, giving the waking Golbat a chance to try to get up. It got to its feet just as Clyde followed through with a punch that caught Golbat between the eyes. Golbat staggered back, briefly dazed by the attack. It managed to shake it off, though, before Clyde would have time to launch another attack.
"Golbat, use Supersonic now!" Golbat emitted a high-pitched sound towards Clyde, sending Clyde into a confused daze.
"Thats the technique it kept using back in the Rock Tunnel, that was annoying..." Rina thought, frowning slightly. "Ok, Clyde, try using Sing again!" Clyde opened his mouth to sing, but inexplicably put his right hand in and bit down hard. Clyde cried out in shock and let go of his hand.
"-Bah! Thats what I HATE about you Celfairy!-" Golbat yelled at Clyde, mouth and wings flapping wildly. "-You use that annoying Sing attack!-"
"Golbat, now's your chance! Wing Attack!" Golbat flew up off the ground and then quickly moved towards Clyde, flying past him and striking him with its wings held out stiff in a dive. Clyde stumbled back and fell down, knocked over by the attack in his confusion. Golbat turned around and came to a stop after passing by Clyde, flapping his wings to hover in the air.
"No good, lets see if Clyde does any better going on the offensive then..." Rina thought. "Clyde, attack Golbat with Pound!"
"Her Clefairy is pretty strong, but it lacks much variety in its offensive techniques." Ashley thought to herself. "Golbat, catch Clyde's attack with Bite!"
Clyde shook its head to regain its bearings and turned around towards Golbat. Clyde jumped at the bat pokemon, arm outstretched to attack with Pound. Golbat managed to catch Clyde's fist in his mouth, biting down hard to hold Clyde in place and block his attack. Clyde's extra weight dragged Golbat to the ground, but it was able to maneuver itself to land in a standing position.
"Now follow it up with Leech Life!" Ashley commanded. While still latched onto Clyde, Golbat bit down a bit harder and drained a small amount of energy from Clyde. Clyde grunted and gritted his teeth as the energy was drained from him. He pulled back on his arm, trying to free himself, and no longer had a confused look in his eyes.
"Clyde, use your other hand! Knock him off with Pound!" Clyde stopped struggling and blinked in surprise at the rather simple but effective instruction. He raised his other hand and smashed Golbat between the eyes again with another Pound attack. Golbat let go of Clyde and staggered back in a bit of a daze, but quickly shook it off. Both pokemon were looking exhausted by this point and were panting heavily.
"Clyde, finish Golbat with another Pound attack!"
"Golbat, attack quickly with Wing Attack!"
Golbat stretched out its wings then moved to attack Clyde. Clyde stood his ground, raising his fist back to strike Golbat. The two hit each other simultaneously, Clyde's fist connecting with the side of Golbat's face and Golbat's stiff wing striking Clyde. Both pokemon were knocked back from each other and fell to the ground. Clyde was knocked out almost immediately by the strong Wing Attack, but Golbat made an attempt to push itself onto its feet with its wings before collapsing into unconsciousness.
"A draw..." Rina noted in a disheartened tone, giving a heavy sigh as she and Ashley recalled their respective pokemon. Rina was already placing Clyde's pokeball on her belt and grabbing another.
"Rina, if this is bothering you we could take a break..." Ashley said to her.
"No, its ok, really." Rina replied, shaking her head. "Its just...I don't seem to be on the same level as you. Its like every other match is either a loss or a draw."
"So the brunette is the stronger of the two then?" Flare noted mentally. "She could be a problem then if blondie doesn't defeat more of her pokemon."
"I'm not THAT much better than you, I was just lucky enough to catch some strong pokemon." Ashley said to Rina, smiling to her. "Besides, you're coming close even when you lose and your Sandshrew managed to beat my Pidgeotto this time even though it lost against Pidgey."
"I...guess you're right..." Rina replied, though she didn't sound so sure of herself.
"Instead of worrying about winning or losing, you should just worry about whether or not you're giving it your all!" Ashley quickly took another pokeball from her belt. "So are you ready for the next match?"
"Hmph...they're way too naive..." Flare muttered to herself. "That kind of thinking doesn't get you anywhere. "Being strong doesn't get you anywhere. Strength is useless unless you can extert it over the weak. Thats why I took up the offer to join the hunters. And you..." Flare grinned and giggled psychotically to herself.
"You will find out for yourself...when I burn you and your pokemon to ash!" She clenched her fist, shaking with rage. "Just you wait...even if I don't find that pokemon...you will burn..."
"-Huh?-" Pippi glanced around, twitching her ears.
"-What is it?-" Bulbasaur asked her.
"-I thought I heard something...-"
"-Probably just the wind.-" Bulbasaur replied with a shrug.
"-Wind sure makes funny sounds at times...-" Pippi shrugged and turned back to the battle about to unfold.
"Berry, go!"
"Haunter, go!"
Rina and Ashley released their pokemon for the next match, Rina sending out her butterfly pokemon, Berry, and Ashley releasing her recently caught ghost pokemon, Haunter. Berry glared at the female Haunter. She wasn't too happy about what she heard Haunter did to Rina and Pippi.
"Now listen, you! No funny business!" Ashley warned Haunter.
"-But my dear, thats what I do best!-" Haunter gave Ashley a wide, toothy grin. "-If it makes you feel better then in this instance I will do as you instruct...-"
"She'll follow orders..." Rina informed Ashley, though she looked a bit nervous. "I don't trust her though..."
"As long as she'll follow orders, then." Ashley replied with a nod. "Ok, Haunter, use Will-o-Wisp!" Haunter stretched out her hand towards Berry, her hand then becoming engulfed in a purple, ghostly flame. A wisp shot out from Haunter's hand and slowly moved towards Berry. Though Berry had time to dodge the slow moving attack, the zigzagging path it followed confused Berry long enough for it to strike her. The flame dissipated when it hit Berry's body, leaving a bad burn in its place.
"Berry, put Haunter to sleep with Sleep Powder!"
"-With pleasure, Master!-" Berry called back to Rina. She released a green powder from her wings and then began flapping them to kick up some wind, blowing the powder at Haunter. Being a ghost pokemon did nothing to protect her. As the green powder fell on Haunter's body she soon collapsed into a deep sleep and slowly floated down to the ground.
"Now attack with Confusion!" Berry's eyes flashed as she focused her power. A blast of psychic energy suddenly appeared and blasted Haunter from all directions. The ghost pokemon took a harsh blow from it, due to being part poison, but remained asleep throughout the attack. Rina smiled to herself when she saw this.
"We've got this battle won already! Berry, use Confusion again!" Berry nodded quickly in agreement with Rina. Her eyes flashed again, focusing her psychic power on Haunter. A blast of psychic energy struck the ghost pokemon, knocking her back into a small rock jutting from the ground and sending her spinning into the air. Haunter suddenly stopped in midair and opened her eyes, waking up after Berry's attack.
"Haunter, Berry's turn to take a nap now! Hypnosis!" Ashley called out. She kept a close eye on Haunter so she would be ready to call out an attack as soon as Haunter was awake.
"-Nighty night, dearie!-" Haunter held out her hand towards Berry. Berry tried to turn away but felt herself drawn in to Haunter's eyes. Haunter's glowing eyes appeared like swirling whirlpools to Berry, leaving her in a hypnotized state. Rina shuddered involuntarily, remembering that technique being used on her twice. Berry slowly dropped to the ground, landing and falling onto her stomach as she fell asleep.
"Now use Night Shade!" Haunter suddenly appeared to grow through casting an illusion around itself. This caused a dark shadow to fall over Berry. Berry shuddered in her sleep, feeling a chill from the darkness being cast over her. Berry remained asleep throughout the attack, however, even though she could feel it.
"Again! Night Shade!" Ashley called out. Like Rina, she was using the most effective move her pokemon had while there was a clear opening to attack.
"-Oh, but I do dislike using the same trick twice...-" Haunter shook her head in dismay. Despite her hesitation, however, she focused her illusion abilities to use Night Shade. Her body appeared to grow larger, casting a dark shadow over the sleeping Butterfree. Berry, again, shuddered in her sleep from the chill that went through her body. However, she showed no sign of waking, and her burn was still weakening her as well.
"Oh no! Berry can't take another attack!" Rina thought frantically. To her relief, Berry was starting to move as she finally woke up. However, she was moving far too slowly.
"You almost had it this time, Rina, but this is where it ends!" Ashley declared triumphantly. "Haunter, use Shadow Punch!" Haunter curled her ghostly hand into a fist and struck out as if punching a target directly in front of her. Berry recoiled back as if something had struck her, hit by Haunter's punch from afar. Berry fell back to the ground, quickly slipping back into unconciousness as she was knocked out cold.
"I thought I had you that time too..." Rina sighed and recalled Berry to her pokeball. "Well I guess next I'll find out if Ebil will listen to me..."
"-Now, now...I'm not finished yet!-" Haunter grinned and held her hand out towards Rina, slowly floating towards her. Rina froze in fear and Ashley quickly recalled Haunter.
"Thats the last time I listen to a chaneller..." She muttered to herself. Ashley returned Haunter's pokeball to her belt and both her and Rina took another one in their hands.
"So, you sure you want to use Ebil?" Ashley asked her.
"I'm sure..." Rina replied with a nod. "I need to find out, afterall. And I don't think Pippi would want to battle Charizard..." Rina glanced over at Pippi, who shook her head quite adamantly.
"Didn't think so." Rina smiled sheepishly. "Ebil it is then. Ebil, go!" Rina held up the pokeball and released the snake pokemon. Ashley moved quickly when she saw Rina do so, hurriedly releasing Charizard from his pokeball just incase something went wrong.
"Ebil, ready for a battle?" Rina asked the snake pokemon.
"-WHAT?!-" Ebil turned to Rina and hissed at her. "-Why should I take orders from you? Just wait until I sink my teeth into that ankle of your's!-" Ebil lunged at Rina, fangs bared. He didn't get anywhere, though. A thick, metallic tail slammed down hard on his body. Ebil hissed in pain and squirmed to get out from under Charizard's tail.
"-I don't think so, pal.-" Charizard said to Ebil. "-I might not like trainers, but no one is biting either of these two on my watch...-"
"-Fine then!-" Ebil hissed at Charizard. "-I'll take you out first!-" Ebil raised his head. He bared his fangs at Charizard, dripping with a violet poison, then bit into Charizard's right side. Charizard roared in pain, but his weakened body managed to fight off the poison. Charizard ended up lifting his tail slightly, which allowed Ebil to free himself.
"Charizard, attack with Metal Claw!" Charizard raised his left hand, his claws becoming coated in metal. He then lashed out with them, slashing down the side of Ebil's body. Ebil hissed in pain and let go of Charizard's body, slithering back and rearing up on the back end of his body.
"Ebil, paralyze Charizard with a Glare attack!" Rina called out, hoping Ebil would follow her instructions.
"-I am NOT listening to you!-" Ebil hissed back at Rina. Rather than taking Rina's advice to use Glare, the Ekans curled its tail back on its body and rubbed against itself. Rubbing his scales together created a terrible screeching noise. Rina, who was closer to the battle than Ashley, had to cover her ears. The screeching noise caused Charizard to wince and threw him off, weakening his defenses.
"Charizard, attack with Ember!" Charizard growled at Ebil and spat out a small fireball at him. The fireball blasted Ebil in the face, knocking him back to the ground. The fireball left a minor burn on the side of Ebil's face as well. Ebil hissed and reared up on his tail again to glare at Charizard.
"Now will you listen to me?" Rina asked Ebil. The Ekans took a moment to think about it, and Ashley didn't call anymore attacks while Ebil thought it over.
"-Fine, you win...-" Ebil muttered quietly. "-This time, I'll listen...-"
"Ok then! Jump behind Charizard and use Poison Fang, aim for his neck!" Ekans nodded and quickly sprang forward. Charizard tried to follow Ebil's movements, but once Ebil had a good grip on Charizard's body it was able to climb around and reach its target. Ebil slithered up the back of Charizard's body and bit into the back of his neck, his fangs dripping with poison. Charizard roared in pain, and this time the poison set in.
"Glad to see he's listening to her now..." Ashley thought with a smirk. "Too bad this is over, otherwise she might have been able to make a comeback..."
"Charizard, flip Ebil over you and use Bite!" Charizard thrust his head forward and leaned over, throwing Ebil's long body over his shoulder while the snake pokemon remained firmly latched onto his neck. Charizard then opened his own mouth and sank his teeth into Ebil's body. Ebil cried out, letting go of Charizard's neck and fainting. Charizard then let go, dropping the unconscious snake pokemon to the ground.
"I think we could have done better if Ebil was listening to me to begin with." Rina said as she recalled Ebil. Though he had decided to listen to her in the end, he had no doubt learned yet another harsh lesson.
"You knew what you were doing anyway, despite never having handled him before." Ashley said to Rina. "Charizard, great job too! Lets get you in your pokeball before that poison can cause anymore damage." Ashley held up Charizard's pokeball and recalled the orange fire pokemon into it, then placed the pokeball back on her belt.
"Well, I guess thats it...glad thats over with." Rina waved to Pippi and Bulbasaur, signalling that it was time to go.
"So they still have two pokemon left then..." Flare thought as Bulbasaur and Pippi came into view, previously hidden from view at the bottom of the hill. "A Bulbasaur and a Pichu...hardly a threat to Flareon. I'll beat both of them, and then take out their remaining pokemon with one Quick Attack each!" Flare stood up, grinning to herself.
"Flareon, jump and attack those two pokemon with Fire Blast from above!" The enslaved Flareon ran towards the steep edge of the hill and jumped out into the air. Tilting downward, it shot a small fireball at Bulbasaur and Pippi. The fireball expanded in midflight and seemingly grew arms, legs, and a head.
Bulbasaur and Pippi stopped when they heard the fire coming towards them and looked up to see Flareon's Fire Blast attack coming straight down at them. They tried to dive out of the way but the extended arms of the attack caught them and pinned them, burning them briefly before exploding around them in a burst of flames.
"Bulbasaur!"
"Pippi!"
Ashley and Rina called out to their pokemon when they saw the attack hit. Both pokemon looked as though they were hit pretty hard. It was a strong fire attack. Bulbasaur was weak to fire attacks and Pippi wasn't a tough pokemon either. Both of them were barely able to get back on their feet. Their attacker, the enslaved Flareon, gracefully landed behind them and Flare slid down to the bottom of the hill.
"Seems we meet again!" Flare said to them. "This time I won't be caught off guard by you!"
"I was able to take you by myself before! What makes you think you'll beat us this time?" Rina asked her while Ashley quietly took two pokeballs from her belt. One was Bulbasaur's, as she knew he wouldn't do her much good now, and the other was Charizard's.
"I've been watching you two battle." Flare explained, grinning at the two. "Your pokemon are either already knocked out or too weak to put up much of a fight. So this time I'll have the pleasure of incinerating you both!"
"She's nuts..." Rina mumbled quietly. While Flare was talking, Ashley took the opportunity to quickly recall Bulbasaur and, at the same time, send out Charizard to confront Flareon. Flare blinked in surprise at first, then chuckled quietly at Ashley's useless manuever.
"Do you really think that is going to do you any good?" Flare asked her mockingly. "Your Charizard is already weakened, poisoned, and has no advantage against my Flareon..."
"She's right..." Ashley thought, gritting her teeth. "But I have to hold out as long as I can. I'll buy time for Rina to get her smokeball-thing from her and maybe come up with a strategy that will allow our pokemon to beat Flareon. I'll need to find out what attacks her pokemon has..."
"-R...Rina...-" Pippi mumbled weakly as she started to slowly walk towards her trainer.
"Afraid you're not going anywhere." Flare said when she saw Pippi trying to get away. "Flareon, Quick Attack!"
"Pippi, dodge with Quick Attack!" Flareon took off towards Pippi in a flash of movement. It looked as though Flareon would hit its target, but Pippi shot off out of the way. Flareon shot off towards Pippi again, but likewise Pippi dodged with another Quick Attack. They followed the pattern one last time with Pippi stopping in front of Rina and Flareon going head first into Charizard's iron-clad tail. Without orders from Ashley, Charizard had blocked Flareon with Iron Tail.
"-Hunter...you have me to deal with.-" Charizard snorted at Flare, but then winced in pain from the effects of the poison on his body. A reddish glow surrounded him briefly and the fire on the end of his tail grew higher and flickered fiercely.
"How persistant. And yet, he won't even be standing much longer." Flare noted smugly. "Flareon, use Fire Blast at point blank range." Flareon turned towards Charizard and spat out a small fireball. The fireball hit Charizard before it expanded into its usual shape, but Charizard stood his ground. The fireball, in the shape of a stick figure, eventually exploded and engulfed both Charizard and Flareon in a ball of fire.
When the flames died down, Charizard was barely standing. Flareon, on the other hand, was unharmed by the attack. The pokemon's Flash Fire ability had activated, causing the fire to form into an aura around Flareon's body and boost the power of its fire-type attacks. Charizard stood panting for a moment, but the poison quickly took its toll on him. Charizard lost conciousness and fell backwards, hitting the ground with a heavy thud.
"Charizard..." Ashley felt the hopelessness of the situation now. Charizard didn't last long at all. Ashley didn't have a clue as to what to do next, especially with Flareon boosted by Flash Fire. She recalled Charizard while trying to come up with her next plan of action. She didn't notice Rina was now cradling Pippi in one hand while she tried to stealthily retrieve a potion with the other.
"Now there's nothing either of you can do to stop me. I'll burn you alive...but first..." A wicked grin formed across Flare's face. "I'll make you suffer for what you put me through..." Flare clenched her fist and walked towards Rina. Ashley quickly stepped out in front of Rina to block Flare.
"If you really want to be first then by all means..." Flare raised her fist back, about to strike Ashley. A low growl from nearby stopped her, however. Looking towards the source of the growl, the three trainers saw a tan-furred doglike pokemon standing at roughly seven feet tall. It had what looked like a pair of white wings on either side and a flowing white mane resembling smoke.
"Entei!" Flare grinned widely, immediately losing interest in Ashley and Rina. "The fire pokemon from Johto...I'll make you mine!" Flare removed a folded slave collar from her belt and threw it at Entei, but an Ember attack from the legendary pokemon blasted it aside.
"Wait...is that a legendary pokemon then?!" Ashley asked increduously, taking out her pokedex to check. She was unable to find any information on the pokemon in question, however. While Flare was distracted, Rina sprayed Pippi with a potion. She then set her down on the ground and whispered to her. In a flash of movement, using Quick Attack, Pippi swiped Flare's smoke ball without her even noticing.
"Fine then! We'll just have to battle! Flareon, use Shadow Ball!" Flareon moved out in front of Flare to battle Entei, both Flare and her pokemon forgetting about Ashley and Rina. Flareon launched a purple ball of shadowstuff at Entei, which exploded when it made contact with the legendary pokemon. Entei hardly seemed phased by the attack, however.
With Flareon in attack range now, the legendary fire pokemon opened its mouth and shot out a small fireball. The fireball expanded, taking the familiar shape of the Fire Blast attack. The odd-shaped fireball was simply absorbed by Flareon's Flash Fire ability, strengthening the aura of flames around it.
"Legendary pokemon or not, wild pokemon always make stupid moves in battle!" Flare thought, grinning to herself.
While Flareon and Entei were battling, Ashley lifted up her camera and focused the viewfinder on Entei. She quickly snapped several pictures of the legendary pokemon.
"Ashley! Don't you think we should be helping Entei?" Rina asked her furiously when she saw her taking pictures.
"I'm sure Entei can handle it..." Ashley replied with a shrug. "If he's a legendary pokemon like Flare says anyway. Plus, now I'll have pictures of a legendary pokemon!"
Entei took a few steps towards Flareon and then raised up on his hind legs. He brought his front legs down hard on Flareon's neck, shattering the collar which had become weakened from the intense heat and instantly knocking Flareon out with its incredible strength. With Flareon down, Entei turned its attention to Flare.
"N-no way! Its way too strong for me!" Flare stammered. She reached for her smoke ball, but discovered it was missing. She immediately cast an accusing glare at Ashley and Rina, at which point she saw the smoke ball in Pippi's hands.
"Flare, we're turning you in to the proper authorities! And don't even try to escape!" Rina said to Flare. Flare cursed under her breath. Seeing that the situation was well in hand, Entei turned and quickly fled the scene.
"That pokemon really knew what it was doing..." Ashley thought. "Still...why is it in Kanto? Flare said it was from Johto..."
"That pokemon sure left in a hurry..." Rina noted mentally. Ashley stepped forward and roughly grabbed Flare's arms so she couldn't get away.
"Wait! What about Flareon?" Rina asked Ashley, looking over at the fainted pokemon.
"Catch it?" Ashley suggested with a shrug. "We can sort it out later after that..."
"Ok." Rina took an empty pokeball, her last one, from her backpack. She threw it at the fainted pokemon, which was then pulled inside and caught without any struggling. The pokeball disappeared in a white flash, getting sent off to storage as it Rina's seventh pokemon. With Flareon taken care of, Rina escorted Flare into Celadon City alongside Ashley.
Author's Notes: This chapter was originally going to just be three pokemon battles between Ashley and Rina, rather than five. It was only going to involve the pokemon Ashley would use against Erika. However, I decided to expand that to include two of her more recent captures so they could be seen in battle a bit more.
Another Grand Hunter caught, and a brief appearance by Entei. By the way, I like to have legendary pokemon know all their attacks regardless of what 'level' I have them set at. Also, anyone who's read Legends in Hoenn might notice a little something about this chapter as well...
