The Year of Rocket's Revenge
Session: September, Part 3 (09.12.05/09.14.06)

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A tournament to crown the first-ever Pokémon Junior Master was being held in Evergrande City, the crown jewel of the Hoenn Region! After getting through a hectic preliminary and then rolling past Jimmy, the young man representing Goldenrod City, Ash advanced to the Elite Eight! But so did his rival, Gary, as well as former PTA member, Cassie!

Having avoided a match against each other once again, Ash prepared for his next battle. That was with Shauna, who was from Dewford Island. The esteemed apprentice, who also had a thing for her teacher, Brawly, proved to be just as determined as Ash to not let the chance to become the top trainer under 18 years of age slip away.

Even though the quarterfinals were being fought on the same day as the round of 16, Ash and Shauna were up for a great battle. They were in for a surprise, though, when they learned this round involved using two Pokémon at once! Ash put Pikachu and Kingler up against Shauna's Machoke and Meditite. Shauna grabbed the early advantage by going on the offensive, trapping Ash's Pokémon in defense.

Luckily, though Ash had no experience in double battles, apparently his Pokémon felt like they did, as Kingler and Pikachu use a one-two surprise attack to put Machoke down for the count. Ash's advantage didn't last long, however, as Meditite used Recover to regain HP, and then Reversal to turn the tables and make Pikachu accidentally KO Kingler with a Thundershock!

Down to a one-on-one match-up, Shauna believed she had an equal chance as Ash to claim victory. But Pikachu proved to be too fast to keep up with and too powerful for Meditite to last. Ash and Pikachu move on to the semifinals, gaining a new rival who was gracious in defeat in the process.

Speaking of rivals, did Gary and Cassie manage to get to the Final Four too? Let's hit the other quarterfinal fields and see if we can find out...

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Typhlosion hit the ground with a thud and was knocked out instantly. The crowd watched as the official ran over to confirm it. Seconds later, he did so by raising a red flag up in the air, to the delight of the crowd.

"Typhlosion is unable to battle!" the official proclaimed. "The match goes to Gary Oak, the representative from Ecruteak City!"

The crowd cheered as Gary smiled with confidence. His Pokémon, Arcanine, howled with delight and satisfaction of his performance.

"Arcanine's repeated uses of Flamethrower were too much for even the similarly-typed Typhlosion, and Gary moves on to the Final Four!" the announcer stated.

Up in the stands, Ash, Misty, and Brock were standing by the rails near an entrance, and they had arrived just a minute ago, in time to see the end of Gary's match.

"So it looks like Gary won," Misty stated matter-of-factly.

"Maybe you two will get your match after all," Brock suggested to Ash.

Ash nodded in response. "I can't wait!"

------

A few minutes later, Gary emerged from the battlefield and was surprised to see Ash, Misty, and Brock waiting for him.

"Well, isn't this a surprise," he remarked with sarcasm.

"Gary, that was awesome!" Ash exclaimed. "Your Arcanine is really strong!"

"Not to brag or anything, but with all the time Arcanine and I have been spending together, it would've been a disappointment if we had lost. Say... if you're still here, then that means..."

"Yep! I won and now I made it to the semifinals!"

"Heh... you better hope you don't draw me next, 'cause I'd whoop you easily!"

"Oh yeah? You won't be so smug when my team takes the field!"

Misty shook her head in dismay. "You two and your rivalry."

"Well, at least we know the match'll be good if they end up facing each other," Brock noted.

"So, Gary, I noticed the announcer said you're representing Ecruteak City."

Gary nodded at Misty's observation. "Yep. I'm doing it as a favor for the gym leader, Morty. Seems he's been having trouble drawing challengers for his gym, as well as students for his battle training school."

"He runs a school?" Ash asked.

"Yeah. It's mostly on ghost-type Pokémon, since that's what his specialty is. He's worth the time even if you don't have a ghost Pokémon. His techniques can work for pretty much any type."

"Maybe I'll look him up when I get back to Johto."

"You do that. I'm sure he'd love the publicity. Of course... you'll only give him said publicity if you win the tournament, which I'm here to win myself."

"We'll just see about that!"

Gary started walking in the direction of the Pokémon Center. Ash and the others followed him, as they headed in the direction of the spectators as they had funneled onto the sidewalks.

"So, up for some dinner?" Gary asked. "My treat!"

"Can we really?" Misty asked happily.

"We're always up for free food!" Ash agreed.

"Pika pika!" added Pikachu.

"Okay then. We can go after we make a stop at the Pokémon Center. Gotta make sure my team's ready for the rest of the tournament."

"No problem! That's where we headed too, right guys?"

Misty, Brock, and Pikachu nodded.

------

At the Pokémon Center, Ash and Gary handed their Pokémon over to Nurse Joy to be healed. They then walked back to the lounge to wait with Misty and Brock, who were just relaxing on the couch.

"Joy said it should be about half an hour," Ash told them.

"In the meantime," Gary said, "I guess we'd better decide upon where we're gonna eat then."

Brock produced a guidebook from his backpack and started flipping through it. Ash, Misty, and Gary all gathered around him as they tried to sneak a peek over his shoulder. Finally, Brock had turned to the section that listed all of the area restaurants, and the picture of one grabbed Misty's attention.

"Hey, that looks like a good place!" Misty exclaimed, reaching over and pointing at a picture of a bowl of hot ramen on the page.

"The best noodle shop in Evergrande City," Brock said, reading the description aloud. "You won't find a better option anywhere else; satisfaction guaranteed!"

"That's got me convinced," Gary said. "A hot bowl of noodles is just what we need to get ourselves motivated for a late-night study session."

"Study session? But they haven't even announced the pairings for the semifinals yet!"

"And they won't until tomorrow morning, Ash! I need to be prepared to battle anyone, including you!"

"Looks like Ash'll have to do the same if he hopes to make it to the title match," Misty remarked slyly.

"I guess you've got a point," admitted Ash.

"Hmmm..." Brock muttered, drawing the other's attention.

"What's wrong, Brock?"

"I'm just curious about Cassie. I haven't seen her come back from the match. Do you think she lost?"

"I knew she couldn't compete against us serious trainers," Gary commented. "I mean, she spent all of that time doing all those missions that she sure had to have slacked off in keeping her Pokémon in shape. I wonder if whomever is representing her knew what they were getting into."

"I guess you've got a point."

"She just didn't have what it takes. I'm sure the guy who beat her isn't crying over her loss."

"Maybe so," Misty cut in, "but I'm not sure we should be ragging on her when we don't even know how she did."

"Especially when she's sitting right next to you," Brock suddenly pointed out, as Gary looked to his right and did see Cassie there.

"Wha?" Ash freaked out. "When did you get here?"

"And how much did you hear?" Gary added, a little frightened.

"I heard enough," answered Cassie. "And though I admire you for making some fair assumptions, Gary... that's all they are. Assumptions."

"So does that mean you made it through to the semifinals too?" Misty guessed.

"With flying colors!" Cassie said, pumped with excitement. "I've never felt this good about being a Pokémon trainer in a long time!"

"Good," Gary smiled, "because I want you to be at your very best when I knock you out of the tournament tomorrow!"

"How do you know if you're facing me? The draw won't be done until morning. For all we know, you could get matched up with Ash here and you two will somehow take each other! That'll leave me with the sorry patsy that'll have to battle me for the title. I guess this is all in the bag, now."

"Let's not count our chickens before they hatch," Gary quipped.

"I say let's just let everything shake out and whatever happens, happens," Ash said to the both of them.

"Agreed!" Cassie and Gary shouted simultaneously.

"So, since we've got all of that 'let's see who's the best of the best' stuff out of the way," Misty stated, tired of all of them trying to sell themselves on being top dog, "why don't we invite Cassie along with us for dinner? It would make for a nice, relaxing get-together before tomorrow's matches."

"That, and Gary's paying," reminded Brock.

"Gary's paying?" Cassie said excitedly as she looked at her rival. "This I got to see!"

"Hardy har har," Gary laughed mockingly. "If you didn't want to come with us, a simple 'no' would've sufficed."

"Well, I was going to spend the evening prepare for tomorrow so I could get to bed early, but I can put that aside for an hour or two. All just for you, Gary!"

"It's settled then!" Brock clapped his hands in confirmation. "Once all of the Pokémon are healed, it's off to dinner!"

"Hurray!" the entire group cheered.

------

A few hours later, back at the hotel, the four semifinalists returned to their rooms to isolate themselves and prepare for the next day. In the room shared by Ash and Misty, the Cerulean gym leader was already sound asleep, having turned in early. So was Pikachu, who was resting on the desk next to Ash, who was typing away at the computer.

He pulled up the profiles of the remaining trainers, starting with himself. Each of the profile had a head shot of the trainer along with pictures of the six Pokémon he or she had currently registered for the tournament. Next to Ash's portrait were Pikachu, Bulbasaur, Squirtle, Muk, Noctowl, Kingler, and Charizard.

"Tomorrow will be my toughest day ever," he thought to himself. "I've gotta make sure I'm ready for anything the others might throw at me."

He then clicked on Gary's picture to examine his lineup. Gary had registered Dodrio, Umbreon, Blastoise, Arcanine, Nidoking, and Scizor.

"I didn't know Gary had a Scizor! That's the evolved form of a Scyther, I think. Hmmm... and his Umbreon's going to be tough, based on how he saved me in the preliminaries."

Ash then checked out Cassie and her team. She had Ivysaur, Kadabra, Raticate, Gloom, Meowth, and Eevee.

"That seems to be the same line-up she had back when we qualifying to become Pokémon League members almost a year and a half ago! Only her Bulbasaur and Abra have evolved since then..."

Ash finally proceeded to glance at the fourth and final semifinalist. It happened to be Marco, the guy who nearly took him out in the prelims. Ash growled as he looked over Marco's lineup... Slowpoke, Cyndaquil, Sudowoodo, Sableye, Girafarig, and Absol.

"That's a weird team... I'm not sure I even know half of those Pokémon. I better be especially careful of him. Who knows what he'll throw at me."

Elsewhere in the hotel, Gary seemed to be doing the exact same thing as Ash, as his Pokémon ate their supper on the floor around him. Having already figured out her strategy, Cassie was silently meditating with her Kadabra, Eevee, and Ivysaur. Speaking of already being prepared, Marco was outside in the courtyard, practicing some moves with his Absol.

Ironically, the courtyard happened to be a great vantage of Ash to look on from his room window. And he took this opportunity to really study his opponent.

"I don't know what this guy's deal is, but I WILL beat him tomorrow!"

------

Night passed quickly, and soon enough the sun was rising in the sky. The Pokémon Center was abnormally quiet for this time of day, as it seemed most of the trainers and other tourists had slept in. In fact, other than Nurse Joy and her Chansey assistants, the only other people in the Center were Ash, Misty, Brock, and Pikachu.

The quartet were all gathered around a videophone, where Ash was chatting with Professor Oak.

"Ah, so you want to switch out one of your Pokémon?" inquired the professor.

"Yes, da... uh, Professor," Ash stumbled before recovering. "I want to be able to get a jump on the competition. They're all really tough."

Suddenly, the sliding doors into the Center opened, and Gary entered. Misty and Brock spotted Ash's rival walking over towards them. Ash quickly moved to cover the screen so Ash wouldn't see what he was doing.

But Gary already knew.

"Making a last-minute substitution?" Gary asked. "You know what they say... those with indecision about their team will surely fail to win!"

Ash laughed. "Well... I've got a secret weapon that'll surely turn the tide! And I'm not letting you see it ahead of time, so there!"

Gary shrugged his shoulders. "You can pull out whomever you want. It won't matter anyway. See you at the stadium!"

Gary gave Ash a two-finger salute, then headed back out the door. Ash grumbled loudly under his breath.

"No way I'm letting Gary beat me!" Ash exclaimed. "We're going to win it all... right, Pikachu?"

"Pikachu!"

"So," the professor cut back in. "Are you ready for the switch?"

Ash nodded happily. "Gary and the others won't know what hit them."

------

Half an hour later, Ash entered a rocking stadium, which exploded with loud cheering as he appeared out of the tunnel. Up in the stands, Misty and Brock were already seated with two of three other gym leaders who had a semifinalist. One was Cissy, who ran the Mikan Island Gym in the Orange Islands. The other was Morty, the ghost master from Ecruteak City in Johto.

"So you're the young woman that took over the Cerulean Gym," Morty noted. "I have to say, I doubted your skill when I first heard you took over the gym. But seeing your representative make it this far is beyond belief! You really trained him well!"

"Thanks, I think..." Misty said in response.

"On behalf of all of the Orange Island gym leaders," Cissy spouted, "you're an inspiration to us all!"

"Wow, really? All of the Orange Island gym leaders?"

"A lot of people are surprised you and your representative are still here," Morty said. "Not just the spectators, but many of the gym leaders too."

"It's safe to say the Cerulean City gym isn't the worst the gym in the Kanto region anymore!" added Cissy.

"All of this just because of how good Ash is?" Misty wondered. "Did the League really think that lowly of my sisters and our gym?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," Brock suddenly stated, out of the blue.

"But you never told me at all! How long did you know this?"

"A... a couple months..." Brock stated meekly.

"It doesn't matter," Cissy said, reaching in before Misty could lose her temper at Brock. "What matters is that everyone respects you now!"

"You could, of course, get a whole lot more if your guy wins the whole tournament... but, my boy Gary is fighting for my gym's livelihood! He won't let anyone beat him!"

"And Cassie's one of the most amazing trainers I've ever seen!" praised Cissy. "She's smart and good!"

"Well," Misty huffed, getting into the act, "no one's going to beat Ash! He's the best trainer I've ever seen! He will be Pokémon Junior Master!"

"That's the spirit!" Cissy patted Misty on the back. "Realizing that no one in the crowd will back her trainer up unless she's backing him!"

"Speaking of backing," Brock wondered out loud, glancing at the empty seat next to Morty, "where's the gym leader for the other guy? You know, for Marco?"

"Refused to show up," Morty said. "Don't know why."

"That sure won't look good in the eyes of the Pokémon League," Cissy shook her head. "Especially given the hot water he's already in."

Before Misty or Brock could ask for the identity of the missing gym leader, the voice of the announcer started to boom throughout the stadium to begin the next match.

"Welcome, Pokémon fans and enthusiasts, to Evergrande Stadium, site of today's championship match! Very soon, we will be proud to crown the first-ever Pokémon Junior Master! Before we begin, let's introduce the four trainers that have survived to this point of the tournament!

"First up, representing Morty and the gym of Ecruteak City, we have Gary Oak, grandson of the famous Pokémon researcher, Professor Oak!"

Gary waved to the crowd as they gave him tons upon tons of cheers and applause. He then turned to look at Cassie, who seemed to be a little bit miffed about all of the attention he was getting.

"Next up is the only female left, and the only trainer represented by an Orange Island gym in the entire tournament! Here's Cassie Banks, sponsored by Cissy and the gym of Mikan Island!"

Surprisingly, Cassie got an even bigger response for the audience. She waved at them all before glancing back at Gary and sticking out her tongue at him. If Gary didn't like that, he sure wasn't showing it.

"Up third is the surprise of the tournament so far, only because not many are aware of his record, which is on par with both Gary and Cassie. Introducing Ash Ketchum, the delegate of Misty and the Cerulean City gym!"

Ash raised his hand up in the air and flashed a 'V for Victory' sign for the audience and his fellow competitors alike to see.

"Last but not least is a fellow not known much either, but also has a intriguing League résumé. From the Viridian City gym, run by Giovanni, this is Marco Pereira!"

As Marco waved to the crowd, Misty and Brock gasped with shock in the stands.

"Viridian City?" they yelled together. "You mean the gym run by the leader of Team Rocket?"

"That hasn't been proven as fact, yet," Cissy stated.

"But Brock and I know!" Misty claimed, as Brock nodded in agreement behind her. "I've already petitioned the League several times regarding it!"

"I think a lot of gym leaders have," Morty noted. "But apparently there's not enough proof to substantiate any sort of action against him."

"Okay... but what about Marco? He's probably a Team Rocket agent, especially since he's representing his gym!"

"Background check came up clean," Cissy shot Misty down again. "I should know... I was one of the gym leaders asked to do that for all of the competitors."

"And he could just be some young promising talent he found on the street," argued Morty. "I think we should give the kid the benefit of the doubt."

"You can if you want to. But I'm not!"

"Me neither," Brock agreed with Misty again.

"And now for the biggest surprise of the tournament!" the announcer said. "There will be no semifinal round!"

"What?" Ash, Gary, Cassie, and Marco all shouted in surprise.

"Instead, we will be having one final match... a four-trainer battle royale! All four trainers will be battling at once, with one Pokémon apiece, three total. The last trainer standing will win the tournament and become the first Pokémon Junior Master!"

As the crowd murmured amongst themselves over this shocking development, at least one gym leader didn't see this coming.

"No way!" Brock cried. "A one-on-one-on-one-on-one?"

"It was Lance's idea," Cissy admitted. "He wanted a wild Pokémon battle final like no one's ever seen!"

"He wants everyone to remember this battle," chipped in Morty. "That, and establish that the title of Junior Master is just as important as the one of Master!"

"And how come we didn't see this coming?" Brock asked Misty.

"Well, actually..."

Brock gasped. "You knew! And you didn't tell me?"

Misty giggled. "Well, Ash and the others weren't supposed to know ahead of time, anyway. Telling you would've given you a chance to blurt it out! Besides... the League couldn't tell you since you didn't have a trainer in the Final Four!"

"You know how sad that makes me feel?" Brock turned away and sulked.

"Shouldn't you..." Cissy started.

"He'll get over it," Misty finished, ignoring Brock and turning her attention back to the battlefield.

During that conversation, the four trainers had been paired up and told to go to opposite sides of the battlefield. Ash, with Pikachu accompanying him, climbed up one side, with Gary right behind him. As they reached the top of the steps, they saw Cassie and Marco appear on the other side. The foursome began to mental prepare for the battle as the announcer explained the rules of the match.

"In this match, all four trainers will start by calling out one Pokémon. They will battle as per normal League rules. When one Pokémon faints or is knocked out of the arena, that Pokémon's trainer has one minute to recall their Pokémon and call out a replacement. Failure to do so within the time limit results in an automatic forfeiture. Only in extreme circumstances will the time limit be extended.

"Also, during that one minute time limit, the battle will not be stopped by the official! Trainers and/or their Pokémon, at their own discretion, may continue to battle. Also during that period, any other trainer may substitute their current Pokémon for another one. Note, though, that each trainer will be limited to two substitutions for the entire match.

"The battle will be stopped after five, and if necessary, ten total Pokémon have fallen, in order to change the field. The first break will be 15 minutes long. If a second is needed, that will last five minutes. The field will be chosen at random via computer. The battle will start with a grass field.

"Finally, the battle will begin once all four trainers have called out their first Pokémon and the officials give them the signal to start."

Two referees were standing, one on each side at midfield, ready to officiate the four-trainer battle royale.

"With that all said... let the championship free-for-all begin!"

"Ladies fir..." Cassie began to motion to throw out a Pokéball, but a speechless Marco beat her to the punch, tossing his out first.

"Duskull!" Marco's Pokémon cried.

"A ghost-type Pokémon?" Morty smiled. "I've gotta cheer him on now!"

"But he's your opponent," Misty and Cissy chided, sweatdropping.

"The best always go first," sneered Marco, scowling at Cassie.

But Cassie was unfazed by the scare tactic. "Ha! I'm gonna make you pay for your first choice! Let's go... Kadabra!"

"Kadabra!"

Cassie's psychic-type came out next to Duskull, and the two shot each other evil glares. As they did, the other two Pokémon came out to remind them that this was a four-mon dance.

"Scizor, come on out!" Gary shouted.

"Alright, Pikachu, you're up!" Ash exclaimed, as Pikachu ran out onto the field.

Gary and Cassie both shot odd glances at Ash, curious as to his motives for calling out his favorite Pokémon first.

"Is he trying to win this all from the start?" Gary thought.

"Just what could he be up to?" Cassie said to herself as the possible strategies raced through her mind.

The audience started yelling for the referees to begin the match. Pikachu, Scizor, Duskull, and Kadabra eyed each other over, as they also tried to think of what attacks they might employ to outlast the others. The four trainers themselves to be just as much on edge, with none of them wanting to be the first to be down one Pokémon.

Eyes were on the refs as they raised their flags and then quickly dropped them, officially beginning the match in earnest.

"Pikachu, Quick Attack on Scizor!"

"Pika!" Pikachu cried, charging towards Gary's Pokémon.

"Agility, Scizor, then counter with a Quick Attack of your own!"

"Scizor!" chirped the half-bug, half-steel Pokémon.

"Alright, Kadabra, we're going after that Duskull! Use Confusion!"

Kadabra nodded, then began chanting a spell. Duskull stood firm, as did Marco, who apparently didn't seem interesting in calling out any sort of attack or defense. As Kadabra fired Confusion at Duskull, Pikachu and Scizor started exchanging blows as they ran all over the field.

To be continued next week in Part 4!