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 Thirty Seven

Part Two

Kanto Elite Four

"Well, thats everyone then..." Ashley said to herself, placing a pokeball back on her belt. She then opened her travel bag to put the half-empty Max Potion back inside.

"Agatha uses ghost and poison pokemon, so I'll start with Aerodactyl." Ashley thought, looking out toward the field. Agatha was on the other side of the field already, waiting for Ashley to finish up. "The only pokemon I even have that could take on ghost-type pokemon is Gengar. I don't even have Gengar with me, though, and it works both ways in that case. I'll use Zapdos and Hypno in this match I think."

Ashley gripped Aerodactyl's pokeball in hand and stepped out onto the field. Agatha looked up as Ashley walked out of the preparation room, as if she could sense her arrival.

"Finally ready, are you?" Agatha intoned.

"I am." Ashley replied with a nod.

"Good, good." Agatha smirked lightly. "It seems Professor Oak has taken an interest in you, child." Agatha looked to where Oak was sitting in the audience. "Hmph. That old duff used to be young and handsome, now he just wants to fiddle with his pokedex! Pokemon are meant for battle, not research subjects!" Agatha fixed her cold gaze on Ashley.

"Ashley! I will show you how a real trainer battles!" Agatha took a pokeball out of her pocket and held it out. "Gengar, come out!" The pokeball opened in her hands and Gengar then appeared on the field with a wide grin on its face.

"She seems really bitter about Professor Oak's research for some reason." Ashley thought before sending out her pokemon. "Ok, Aerodactyl, you're up first again!" She called out, releasing the ancient pokemon onto the battlefield. Aerodactyl appeared with a screech and tried to look menacing to Gengar, but Gengar remained unfazed by this.

"Hmm..." Ashley looked toward the audience seats and scanned the area. "Rina's still not here?" Ashley blinked in disbelief. "Thats weird, I hope nothing happened to her." Ashley shook her head and returned her attention to the battlefield. "Nevermind, I'm sure she's ok..."

"Gengar! Hypnosis!" Agatha's Gengar held its hands out toward Aerodactyl. Gengar sent out hypnotic waves of psychic energy toward the ancient pokemon and, at first, Aerodactyl seemed to be getting drowsy from it. Aerodactyl quickly snapped out of it though, shaking his head as he came out of his daze.

"That was close." Ashley thought, breathing a sigh of relief. "Aerodactyl, attack Gengar with Wing Attack!" Aerodactyl flapped its wings and took off, quickly crossing the gym. Aerodactyl then dropped down in front of Gengar and swiped at the ghost pokemon with his right wing, but Gengar quickly stepped back out of the way. Undeterred, Aerodactyl lunged at Gengar and struck it with his left wing instead, causing Gengar to stagger back.

"Gengar, try again with Hypnosis." Agatha commanded. Gengar straightened out and focused on Aerodactyl again, sending out hypnotic energy waves. Aerodactyl started feeling drowsy again. This time, he couldn't resist the attack and soon dropped to the ground, fast asleep.

"She must have been awfully determined to put Aerodactyl to sleep for some reason." Ashley thought. She would soon realize why.

"Gengar, Curse." A dark aura surrounded Agatha's gengar, and a large, shadowy pin formed in front of it. The pin stabbed through Gengar's stomach, draining away a large portion of its remaining strength. The same aura then surrounded Aerodactyl, placing a Curse on him.

"Now...Psychic!" Gengar focused briefly and then stretched out its hands toward the sleeping Aerodactyl. A blue aura surrounded Aerodactyl, crushing him with a telekinetic force. With another gesture from Gengar, Aerodactyl was flung back across the field and landed on his back. Aerodactyl was still snoring away after hitting the ground.

"Still asleep? Then let us continue our attack." Agatha said. "Gengar, Dream Eater!" Gengar opened its mouth wide and began sucking out Aerodactyl's dreams. Aerodactyl flinched slightly and let out a pained cry, but remained flat out on the ground. A purple energy orb formed in front of Gengar's mouth, which Gengar then chomped down on and swallowed to restore its health.

Meanwhile, with the Curse still affecting it, Aerodactyl was knocked out in his sleep with only the disappearance of the cursed aura around him to hint at this. Ashley frowned as she reached for Aerodactyl's pokeball and recalled him.

"I can't believe she defeated Aerodactyl so easily..." Ashley thought while she prepared to send out another pokemon. "I'll really have to be careful now, I don't want to go into the final match with only five pokemon. At least Gengar should be pretty weak after all that..."

"Hypno, go!" Ashley called out, releasing Hypno onto the field. Hypno looked around cautiously when he appeared and his shoulders drooped when he set his eyes on Gengar.

"-Ghost pokemon. Crap. What did I do to deserve this anyway?-" Hypno said to himself in dismay.

"Hmm. Hypnosis won't work on that one." Agatha thought, contemplating her next move. "Gengar is unlikely to survive an attack from Hypno now. Perhaps its best we ended this then." Agatha grinned darkly.

"Gengar, attack with Curse!" A dark aura quickly surrounded Gengar as it began to attack. A shadowy pin formed in front of Gengar, then stabbed through the ghost pokemon's stomach. Gengar fainted immediately, dropping to the ground, and was then recalled by Agatha. Hypno then shuddered as a dark aura surrounded him now, inflicting a curse upon him.

"I guess I should have expected she wouldn't hold anything back." Ashley thought, gripping Hypno's pokeball in hand again, ready to recall him. "She'll probably send out another ghost pokemon now..."

"Misdreavus, come forth!" Agatha called out as she released another pokemon. The feminine-looking ghost pokemon Misdreavus appeared on the field with a shriek, startling Hypno.

"Ok, you can sit this one out Hypno!" Ashley said to Hypno before recalling him. She placed his pokeball back on her belt and quickly drew another one.

"Zapdos, your turn now!" Ashley held out the pokeball at arm's length and released Zapdos. Zapdos appeared on the field with a shriek, spreading its wings and sending sparks dancing across them.

"So now I finally face one of her birds." Agatha thought with a smirk. "This should prove to be much more interesting."

"Zapdos, start this off with Thunder Wave!"

"Misdreavus, use Attract!"

Zapdos brought its wings together, channeling electricity through them to fire off a Thunder Wave attack at Misdreavus. Misdreavus, meanwhile, made kissy faces at Zapdos. The pulse of electricity struck Misdreavus and inflicted paraysis on her, but Misdreavus' attempt to attract Zapdos earned little more than a confused look from the bird.

"Hmm. I would have thought for sure Zapdos was a male pokemon." Agatha stroked her chin thoughtfully. "Perhaps Zapdos is female? Or can a gender even be applied?"

"We're actually off to a pretty good start!" Ashley thought. "Ok, Zapdos, now attack with Thunderbolt!" Zapdos charged electricity through it's wings again and stepped forward as it brought them together, casting a bolt of electricity at Misdreavus. The ghost pokemon shrieked as the bolt struck her and dropped close to the ground before floating back up again.

"Misdreavus, fire back with your own Thunderbolt attack!" Agatha commanded. Sparks danced around Misdreavus' necklace, building up until she fired a bolt of electricity at Zapdos. The bolt struck Zapdos in the chest, causing it to stagger back, but Zapdos easily shrugged it off and was ready for more.

"Agatha can't seriously expect to beat Zapdos by using the same attack!" Ashley thought. "If thats her plan, Zapdos will easily overpower her pokemon!"

"Zapdos, lets try a Thunder attack this time!" Zapdos raised its head to the sky and gave a shriek, calling down a lightning bolt on top of Misdreavus. Misdreavus tried to move to the side of the attack, but was too slow and ended up taking a direct hit anyway. She cried out in pain as the bolt shot through her on its way into the ground.

"Attack all you want, it won't do you any good." Agatha thought, grinning to herself as the trail end of the lightning bolt subsided. "Misdreavus, Pain Split!" Misdreavus quickly shook it off and focused. A red, misty aura surrounded the two pokemon and Zapdos felt itself growing weaker while Misdreavus' health was restored. The attack was trading the overall damage dealt between them.

"So that was her plan!" Ashley realized. "She's letting me attack her Misdreavus so she can throw it back at Zapdos with Pain Split, and then she'll finish it off when Zapdos is weakened." She then smirked to herself. "Too bad Misdreavus is paralyzed, she won't get off a finishing blow so easily."

"Ok, lets take a different approach then! Zapdos, charge up for a Thundershock but don't fire!" Zapdos spread its wings and charged electricity through them. As instructed, though, Zapdos didn't fire the attack.

"She has a few tricks up her sleeve as well it seems." Agatha thought. "Misdreavus, attack Zapdos with Shadow Ball!" Misdreavus began gathering a ball of shadow, but the ball quickly dispersed and she dropped to the ground as paralysis took hold of her.

"Zapdos, attack Misdreavus with Thunder!" Zapdos let out a shriek as it called down another lightning bolt to strike Misdreavus. The lightning bolt struck the ghost pokemon dead on, shocking her as the electricity moved toward the ground. Misdreavus cried out in pain as the bolt passed through her and was left looking very exhausted after.

"Misdreavus, Pain Split!" Misdreavus focused and a dark, red aura surrounded her and Zapdos. Zapdos began to look exhausted while Misdreavus regained some of her strength as Pain Split channeled Zapdos' remaining endurance to her. Misdreavus then slowly rose up off the ground as the aura faded.

"What is she planning?" Agatha wondered. "She prepared for one attack, but then used a different attack entirely..."

"Ok, Zapdos, lets finish this!" Ashley called out. "Charge Misdreavus and use Drill Peck! You should know what to do from there!" Zapdos nodded and took off, flying quickly across the gym to face Misdreavus.

"What on Earth is she doing?" Agatha wondered, raising an eyebrow.

As Zapdos barreled toward Misdreavus, a vacuum of air began to swirl around its beak like a mini-tornado. Zapdos then charged electricity around itself as it had practiced the day before, creating a swirling vortex of electricity around its beak on top of the air current. Zapdos charged straight into Misdreavus with the powered up attack, drilling her hard with an electrified Drill Peck attack. Misdreavus cried out as she was knocked back through the air, landing unconscious at her trainer's feet.

"How unexpected. Seems you have quite the talent, but I am not done yet." Agatha said to Ashley. She recalled Misdreavus and took another pokeball in hand. "Arbok!" Agatha called out, releasing the snake pokemon from its pokeball. Arbok materialized in front of Zapdos and hissed at the bird pokemon.

"-Tch. I don't have to take this from you.-" Zapdos said in a huff.

"Zapdos, thats enough for now! Return!" Ashley said. Zapdos looked a bit miffed as Ashley recalled it, upset that it wouldn't get the chance to zap Arbok. She placed Zapdos' pokeball back on her belt and took another one in her hand.

"Hypno, this one is all your's!" Ashley called out, sending Hypno back out onto the field. As usual, he didn't look at all happy about it.

"-Haven't I been beaten up enough for one day?!-" Hypno cried out in dismay.

"-I am to face this crybaby instead of the bird?-" Arbok hissed. "-How...insulting.-"

"Hypno, start off with Hypnosis!"

"Arbok, evade with Double Team!"

Hypno held his pendulum out in front of him. He then waved it around, using the pendulum as a focus to send hypnotic energy waves at Arbok. Arbok's body shimmered briefly as Hypno began his attack, and then split off into two more images of itself. Hypno ended up using his technique on a fake Arbok, leaving the real one unaffected.

"I didn't expect an Arbok to know Double Team!" Ashley thought. "Even if almost any pokemon can learn it from a TM, most trainers don't bother. Then again, Agatha is hardly a typical trainer..."

"Now, Arbok, attack with Sludge Bomb!" The three fake Arbok's reared their heads back and then each spat a ball of sludge at Hypno. Two of the images disappeared, leaving the rightmost image the one spitting the sludge.

"Hypno, now's your chance! Use Hypnosis again!" Hypno began to focus, still holding his pendulum out. The ball of sludge struck him in the face and exploded, covering him in a burning toxin, but he braced against it and maintained his focus. After a few short seconds, Arbok dropped to the ground and was fast asleep.

"Good! Now, Dream Eater!" Hypno extended his snout toward Arbok to start drawing out the snake pokemon's dream. Arbok winced in its sleep while a purple orb formed from its dreams, waking up almost immediately after. Hypno shoveled the orb into his mouth and swallowed it whole, then winced at the taste and held his stomach.

"-Ugh. That one's going to give me indigestion.-"

"Seems you gained little for your effort." Agatha smirked and said to Ashley. "We will ensure you do not get another chance! Arbok, Wrap!" Arbok stayed low to the ground as it slithered quickly across the field. As it neared Hypno, Arbok jumped at him and wrapped its long body around Hypno to pin his arms at his side.

"Arbok, Bite!"

"Hypno, Headbutt!"

Arbok opened its moth and made an attempt to Bite Hypno from above, but Hypno leaned his head back to avoid it. He then smashed his forehead into the underside of Arbok's head, causing the snake to recoil back while shaking its head.

"Now throw Arbok off with a Psychic attack!" Hypno's eyes flashed as he began to concentrate and a blue aura surrounded Arbok. Arbok's body was forcefully unwrapped from Hypno, then levitated into the air while crushing him from all directions. Hypno finished the attack by tossing Arbok out in front of him. Arbok hit the ground hard and was left looking pretty exhausted too. It took the snake pokemon a moment to shake it off and stand up again.

"Seems there is little chance of Arbok gaining back any ground against Hypno." Agatha thought, frowning. "The best I can do now is hinder Ashley's future matches."

"Arbok, paralyze Hypno with a Glare!" Arbok focused a piercing Glare on Hypno, sending a shiver down the psychic pokemon's spine that left his muscles weakened and prone to seize up at any moment.

"Hypno, finish this with one last Psychic attack!" Hypno managed to focus, in spite of the paralysis, and attacked Arbok with a telekinetic thrust. A blue glow surrounded Arbok and flung it backwards. Arbok hit the ground hard and skidded back until Hypno released it from his psychic grasp. Arbok came to a stop at Agatha's feet, at which point she recalled it.

"It seems you have won. I have nothing more to say, then." Agatha cast a glance toward Professor Oak and then left the arena.

"Looks like I move on to Lance then." Ashley thought. "Zapdos, Ivysaur, and Articuno. Beat Lance with those three, and then I can revive Aerodactyl before the final match with Gary." Ashley reached into her travel bag and headed into the preparation room. "First, though, I need to tend to Zapdos..."

"Professor Oak, how do you know Agatha?" Ashley's mother asked.

"You could say she was an old flame of mine." Professor Oak replied with a slight shrug. "Back in the day we were both talented trainers, but I gave that life up to become a researcher and she has resented me for it ever since."

"Why should that matter to her, though?" She then asked.

"She considers it a 'waste of talent'." Professor Oak explained. "Back then, she was never able to beat my pokemon in battle, so she saw it as an insult that I would give that up to pursue a field in pokemon research."

"-Whoa! That old guy used to be a trainer?-" Rolly said in disbelief. "-I never would have guessed that!-"

"That must be where your grandson gets it, then." Catherine replied, chuckling to herself. She then handed off another pile of pictures to Rolly, who set them down next to him.

"-She's taking lots of pictures. This must be really super important.-" Rolly said.

"I wish..." Oak replied to Catherine with a sigh. "That boy is a good trainer, there is no denying that, but he has learned nothing about how he should treat his pokemon..."

While Professor Oak and Catherine were talking, Lance had arrived on the field. Seeing Ashley wasn't there, he folded his arms over his chest and waited patiently. Lance already had a pokeball in hand when Ashley finally arrived back out on the field, also holding a pokeball.

"So you have made it all the way to me, it seems." Lance said calmly as Ashley approached the field. "There is no doubt that you are a strong trainer. Your accomplishments in the short time since you first left Pallet Town with Bulbasaur are testament to that. But even with all that, do you truly believe you are ready to face me?"

"I'm as ready to face you as I am any other Elite Four!" Ashley shot back. "I had to defeat three other trainers just as strong as you to get here, so I'm more than ready to face you."

"Then give it your all. My dragon pokemon are indestructable." Lance tossed back his cape and held out his pokeball. "My pokemon and I shall be your final test! I shall begin with Gyarados!" Lance released his pokemon, sending Gyarados out into the water half of the field. Gyarados let out a tremendous roar to announce its presence.

"This will be an easy one." Ashley said to herself, thrusting her pokeball out and releasing her pokemon. "Zapdos! Go!" The pokeball opened up and a red beam shot out onto the field, materializing into Zapdos. Zapdos let out a screech as it appeared and immediately turned to face Gyarados.

"Zapdos, start off with Thunder Wave!" Zapdos charged electricity along its wings and then brought them together to fire a quick pulse at Gyarados. Gyarados growled as the electricity struck it in the face and shot through its body, paralyzing its muscles.

"Gyarados, fire back with Thunder Wave!" Sparks danced around the fin on Gyarados' forehead as it charged electricity. Gyarados then fired a static pulse from its mouth. The pulse of electricity shot across the field and struck Zapdos, paralyzing the bird pokemon's muscles.

"-I'm really getting tired of these sea pokemon using electric attacks.-" Zapdos grumbled.

"Gyarados is at a large disadvantage against Zapdos, but at least we have managed that much." Lance thought. "Gyarados, power up now! Dragon Dance!" Gyarados focused and an orange aura surrounded it as it called out an ancient, draconic power from within itself, increasing its attack power and speed.

"That won't do him any good, his Gyarados is about to go down!" Ashley thought, smirking to herself. "Zapdos, attack with Thunderbolt!" Zapdos charged electricity in its body and channeled it through its wings, then brought its wings together and fired a bolt at Gyarados. Gyarados roared in pain and collapsed into the water as the electricity shot through it. Gyarados was down for a moment but soon got back up, looking very weak after just one attack but still able to fight.

"Seems even Zapdos cannot take my Gyarados down in one hit." Lance said with a grin. "Gyarados, now! Strike back with Hyper Beam!" Gyarados angled its mouth toward Zapdos and gathered a small orb of energy, then fired a huge beam at the bird pokemon. The energy beam seared the field, carving a path along the ground, and blasted Zapdos with enough force to send it crashing into the wall next to Ashley.

"Zapdos, are you ok!?" Ashley asked frantically. Zapdos slowly picked itself up off the ground and nodded to her. The powered up Hyper Beam had dealt a heavy blow to it, but Zapdos could still fight.

"Ok, lets finish it then! Attack Gyarados with Thunder!" Zapdos nodded, then raised its head to the sky and let out a screech. Zapdos called down a lightning bolt out of the blue, striking Gyarados with it. Gyarados roared in pain and collapsed into the water again, this time staying down until Lance finally recalled it. Though Lance had lost the first round, he was clearly satisfied with the heavy blow his pokemon had dealt to Zapdos.

"Seems my Gyarados took a heavy toll on you. Still so confident you can win?" Lance taunted Ashley while he took out another pokeball. "Kingdra! Come on out!" Lance pointed the pokeball at the pool and released his second pokemon, a dragon pokemon looking like a giant seahorse.

"You inflicted a lot of damage on Zapdos, but it can still fight later if it has to." Ashley said to Lance as she took Zapdos' pokeball in hand. "Zapdos, thats enough for now. Return!" Ashley recalled Zapdos and placed its pokeball back on her belt, then took another one in hand.

"Ivysaur, you can take this one on! Go!" Ashley called out, releasing Ivysaur out onto the field. Ivysaur looked over his opponent when he appeared and shrugged indifferently.

"This opponent is far less worrysome." Lance thought. "Though her Ivysaur has proven itself to be fairly tough, it carries no advantage against my Kingdra."

"Kingdra, Ice Beam!" Lance called out. Kingdra fired a blue beam from the tip of its snout. The beam lanced out across the field and struck Ivysaur head-on, forming a sheet of ice around the grass pokemon. The ice then shattered and Ivysaur staggered back in pain.

"Ivysaur, move in and attack with Leech Seed!" Ivysaur charged toward the edge of the water while prepping a seed for launch. The small seed appeared in the center of his flower and, once he was in range, Ivysaur leaned forward and fired. The seed sailed through the air and landed on the side of Kingdra's face, then started draining away Kingdra's energy and feeding it bac to Ivysaur.

"Kingdra, begin powering up! Dragon Dance!" An orange aura surrounded Kingdra as it called out to its draconic heritage, increasing its attack power and speed.

"Ivysaur, Sleep Powder!" Ivysaur angled his flower at Kingdra and fired a burst of green powder at the dragon pokemon. The powder floated through the air and landed on Kingdra, causing it to become drowsy. Kingdra's eyes slowly closed as it fell asleep.

"Ok, Ivysaur, now attack with Poison Powder!" Ivysaur fired another burst of powder, this time purple. The purple powder landed on Kingdra's body while it slept, sending a poison coursing through its body.

"With poison and leech seed, Kingdra won't last too long." Ashley thought. "So lets focus on surviving until Kingdra is knocked out."

"Ivysaur, use Synthesis to heal now!" Ivysaur began drawing sunlight into his body, then used that light to heal any remaining damage from Kingdra's Ice Beam attack. Meanwhile, Kingdra woke up and slowly opened its eyes.

"Kingdra, attack now! Ice Beam!" Lance called out while Ivysaur had just finished healing. Kingdra fired an Ice Beam attack at Ivysaur again, blasting him head on. Ice formed around Ivysaur's body and the force of the beam knocked him back, leaving a trail of ice along the ground.

"Now, continue powering up with Dragon Dance!" Lance added hurriedly, knowing his Kingdra had little time before Leech Seed and poison would sap its remaining strength. Kingdra was already starting to look fairly exhausted.

"Not bad, but Ivysaur's still in this!" Ashley said to Lance. "Ivysaur, use Sleep Powder!" Ivysaur leaned forward to angle his flower and then fired a blast of Sleep Powder at Kingdra. Kingdra didn't stick around to get hit this time, though. Kingdra quickly moved back through the pool with its increased speed, leaving the powder to fall harmlessly into the water where Kingdra had been.

"Kingdra, now! Fire the Hyper Beam!" Kingdra quickly took aim at Ivysaur and fired. A wide beam of energy lanced out from the tip of Kingdra's snout, carving a path across the battlefield and dragging Ivysaur along with it once the beam connected. The beam dissipated before reaching the other side of the field, but Ivysaur kept going until he crashed into the wall and was knocked out.

"Shoot! I didn't see that coming at all!" Ashley said to herself before recalling Ivysaur. "Great. Now I've got two pokemon down and only one Max Revive between them. Can't afford to make anymore mistakes, I'll send Articuno out now and set up while Kingdra recharges. Poison and leech seed should knock Kingdra out anyway."

"Articuno, go!" Ashley called out, releasing Articuno onto the field. Articuno appeared with a shrill cry, ready to battle.

"Articuno, use Agility!" Articuno closed its eyes and relaxed, allowing its muscles to loosen up and increase its speed.

"Good choice." Lance said quietly to himself as his own pokemon succumbed to the status effects inflicting it and fainted. Lance recalled his Kingdra and then took another pokeball in his hand.

"It has come down to this, then. Dragonite!" Lance held out the pokeball and released his final pokemon. A bored-looking Dragonite appeared on the field, looking unimpressed even by the sight of the legendary ice bird.

"This is it then, Lance's Dragonite. I'll have to be careful with this one." Ashley thought.

"Dragonite, paralyze Articuno with Thunder Wave!" Sparks danced between Dragonite's twin antennae briefly. The dragon pokemon then stretched out an arm toward Articuno and fired a pulse of electricity at it.

"Articuno, counter with Water Pulse!" Articuno opened its mouth and fired three small rings of water. The rings expanded as they shot across the field. The two attacks collided, and the water caused Dragonite's Thunder Wave to short out before it reached Articuno. Articuno's Water Pulse kept going and hit Dragonite in the chest, but Dragonite hardly took notice of it.

"Now, lets hit Dragonite hard! Ice Beam!"

"Dragonite, counter with Ice Beam!"

Articuno and Dragonite both opened their mouths and fired a blue beam across the field. The beams collided halfway between the two pokemon and quickly built up into a block of ice roughly the size of Dragonite before they backed off.

"Seems your Dragonite is full of surprises." Ashley said to Lance. "Ok, Articuno, take to the sky!" Articuno nodded and flapped its wings, quickly taking off into the air with its enhanced speed.

"We have only begun." Lance replied to her. "Dragonite is the best of my pokemon for a reason, afterall. Dragonite, use Agility to match Articuno's speed." Dragonite nodded then closed his eyes, relaxing his muscles to increase his speed.

"I can beat that Articuno easily enough." Dragonite thought. "I did it once already, with little trouble at that, so I can do it again just as easily."

"Thats good enough, Articuno! Now take aim with Mind Reader!" Articuno came to a stop high over the field, flapping its wings to stay in the air. Articuno then closed its eyes and focused, reading Dragonite's mind to ensure its next attack would hit.

"I hope Ashley won't use Sheer Cold." Articuno thought. "Though its impossible for me to tell her this, I already know Sheer Cold will not work on Lance's Dragonite. It will serve only to leave me open for attack."

"I can wait out Ashley's next move." Lance thought to himself with a slight grin. "She will undoubtedly try to go for a quick knockout with Sheer Cold, but Freeze tried the same and failed."

"Ok, if this works...I can end this match without any trouble." Ashley thought. "Articuno...use Blizzard!" Articuno breathed out a cold blast of air and flapped its wings, sending a shower of ice and snow down onto Dragonite. Dragonite tried to jump back out of the way, but was unable to judge the attack from so high up and ended up right in its path instead. The ice and snow rained down directly onto Dragonite, bringing the dragon pokemon to its knees as ice formed in places on its body.

"She didn't use Sheer Cold?!" Lance thought in disbelief. "Foolish! I allowed myself to be caught off guard!" Dragonite struggled to get back on its feet, still able to fight after enduring the powerful ice attack but he still took a heavy blow all the same. Dragonite's movements were initially sluggish in its weakened state, leaving it open for another attack.

"Ok, one more time!" Ashley called out to Articuno. "Ice Beam!" Articuno opened its mouth and fired a blue beam down onto Dragonite from above. Dragonite had just managed to stand up again as the beam struck him in the head, forming a block of ice around it. Dragonite staggered back, shaking his head, until he fell over onto the ground. The ice shattered when Dragonite hit the ground, knocking him out.

"This...this can't be..." Lance mumbled in disbelief. "My Dragonite has been defeated...without even landing a hit?"

"Alright! Way to go, Articuno!" Ashley cheered excitedly as Articuno dropped down in front of her to examine its handiwork.

"Seems you have managed to outwit me and earned yourself an easy victory over my best pokemon." Lance said to Ashley as he recalled his Dragonite. "For that, I would gladly crown you Champion of the Elite Four. However, as you are no doubt aware, that title has already been taken. Even the title of Champion of Kanto has been already claimed as well."

"I already know that." Ashley replied with a nod. "I have to beat Gary first, and then I'd have to beat Red."

"Unfortunately, Red is not here today for you to battle." Lance said to Ashley. "It matters not, as you may face him another day. However, you must still defeat Gary first. Good luck, Ashley." Lance turned sharply, his cape flowing behind him, then left the arena.

"I must say, I did not see that coming at all!" Professor Oak remarked with a slight grin. "Even with Articuno under her command, I never would have guessed she could beat Lance's final pokemon so easily."

"Do you think she has a chance at beating Gary?" Catherine asked the professor.

"I don't doubt it." Professor Oak replied, shaking his head sadly. "Ashley has a strong team of pokemon and shows them respect. Gary, while having strong pokemon, does not. Only after his defeat at Red's hands has he started to learn this, but I do not believe he truly understands why he lost."

"Well, I hope she's ready then..." Catherine said quietly.

"Guess I better go prepare for my match with Gary." Ashley thought to herself. "Question is though...with two pokemon fainted and one Max Revive,

which pokemon should I revive?"


Author's Notes: Just to be clear, as Lance more or less explained, I treat the Champion you face in the Elite Four as being different from the regional Champion. The Elite Four Champion is basically the leader of the Elite Four (Gary's in that position, scary thought, nay?) and then the regional champion is the actual title holder.

If there is no Elite Four Champion, then the next person to beat the Elite Four could end up being the new Champion. Whoever beats the Elite Four and the Champion would be the regional champion, ie. the Champion of Kanto in this case. If someone beats the Elite Four + Champion, they can then challenge the Champion of Kanto for the title. Right now, Kanto's Champion is Red. So if Ashley beats Gary, she can challenge Red to a battle at Indigo Plateau for the title.

Think thats about all there is to say here. Next chapter, Ashley battles Gary, Rina still MIA.