DarkFoxKit: Hello everybody! Oh, what's this? Another 'early' update? Amazing, I'm updating faster than before, is this a miracle? Is the world coming to an end? Fear not! The world is still intact, we're just having a lot of Pokemon inspiration right now!
ChuckTheEon: As you can probably tell from last chapter, we're still at the gym. So we still have the Ninja outfits on, and I sold Key's off to the highest bidder!
Key2DestNE: *is glaring at Chuck* ...You…. suuuuuck… *grumbles, staying in his emo corner for now*
ChuckTheEon: You still have your Naruto jumpsuit… or should we get you a Sasuke one…?
Key2DestNE: *twitches* You do that and I will destroy you, just like he planned to do to Itachi! *begins to growl like a wild Mightyena*
DarkFoxKit: Guys, this is Pokemon, not Naruto. Let's move on, people don't wanna see another long AN. Now, this is a free-for-all battle, but it's mostly a team battle against Dustin, because of how strong he is- he's the biggest threat to them.
ChuckTheEon: Who will win? Who will fall? Will we learn more about our mysterious character named Dustin? Probably! So SasuKey, want to do the disclaimer?
Key2DestNE: …We don't own Pokemon or any of the characters, that's GameFreak and Nintendo's job, only the storyline is ours, and I hate you, you little Eevee… *is twitching like a maniac, growling even more*
DarkFoxKit: …Anyways, on with the story! We hope you enjoy it!
Chapter 10: Battle Royale
"Venomoth, use Stun Spore." Koga took the first move and ordered his Pokemon, ending the Mexican standoff-esque vibe that was coming off the room.
"Take this!" Venomoth began releasing deadly yellow powder at the Dewott.
"Venonat, use Psybeam!" Aya quickly commanded, and the Venonat shot out a bean of colors of at the Dewott.
Ash didn't order Trixie, posing as Scorch, to do anything, he wanted to analyze what Dustin would do- the boy was skilled and he did remember almost getting killed by this kid. Blue did the same, whether for the same reasons or for different ones.
Dustin smirked, crossing his arms. "Heh… Idiots. Dewott… deflect the attacks." To everyone's shock… Dewott began slashing one of it's scalchops around, making a gust of wind around it, as it used the other scalchop to reflect the psychic beam right at Venonat and hitting it dead-on! The Stun Spore began to scatter around the room… "Never strike first. Don't you know those old samurai films? There's a speck of truth in every legend and every film, you fools!"
Ash glared, knowing they would have to act fast if they hoped to catch him off guard. Problem is that he's faster than us! He doesn't even have to really command his Dewott half the time! But if we don't do something now, the Stun Spore's going to paralyze the rest of us, not just our Pokemon!
Blue seemed to be thinking the same thing- he doesn't want to attack yet, knowing they were at a disadvantage. Still, he decided to make a move. "Eevee, use Sand-Attack!"
"Right!" Eevee began kicking up dust right at the Dewott's face, temporarily blinding him.
Koga smirked at that. "Perfect- Venomoth, use Gust!" The bug quickly began blowing the Stun Spore out of the room, inadvertently paralyzing the Dewott.
"Heh…" Dustin smirked. "Not bad, interesting combination. Too bad for you…" Dewott then somehow got up, shaking it's tense shoulders. "I've gone one step ahead of you. You know of building up an immunity to poison, right? You're a ninja, after all. Well… consider this a similar form- the powder moves are nothing but a form of poison, after all."
Ash's eyes widened in shock. What!? He can't seriously be implying that his Dewott's immune to Paralysis, could he?! … Or does he mean only for the spore moves?
"Ash! Come on, let me fight!" Storm spoke up with a growl, his cheeks sparking.
Ash frowned, shaking his head firmly. "No, Storm, he knows most of your moves. Let's let T- I mean Scorch handle this for now." The Pikachu glared, still itching for a re-match against Dustin and his Dewott. "Don't worry Storm, you'll get your chance." He looked up, giving a small grin at his 'Charmander'. "Scorch, try to get in close and use Fury Swipes on him!"
"I'll do my best." 'Scorch' said, looking pretty nervous herself about this as she began moving forward, using the sand to help keep her covered, combined with her illusion to camouflage herself and making it hard to see her.
Dustin scoffed. "Honestly, you are a stupider trainer than I thought." He rolled his eyes, yawning. "Use Water Pulse…"
The Dewott smirked as he powered up a ball of water in his paws and threw it right into the sand, causing the sand to become heavy and making it harder for Trixie to move as they all turned to mud and got on her, easily exposing her as her illusion wore off. Everyone who didn't know she was a Zorua was shocked to see Trixie's true form, Dustin included.
The Team Rocket member's eyes widened. "W-what the!? A ZORUA!?" He gritted his teeth. "B-but that's- how did you GET one!?"
"Let's just say I got lucky, again." Ash said, frowning as he remembered the words the young yet skilled Team Rocket member said to him about being extremely lucky. "Now that you know she's a Zorua… Trixie! Use Faint Attack!"
Trixie shook the mud off her fur as she suddenly disappeared from view and came up behind the Dewott, tackling him off guard.
"I am impressed, young Ash." Koga said, smiling. "For I did not know that Charmander was a Zorua- her illusions are quite powerful."
"We can talk about impressions later." Ash said, still looking at Dustin and his Dewott seriously.
"That Dewott…" Blue said suspiciously, as if studying it. "It's already far more powerful than any ordinary Dewott's- in fact, if he wanted to, he could evolve straight into its final evolved form."
"He kinda did that before, with his Oshawott." Ash whispered, making sure Dustin didn't hear him.
"Please, let me help! We can defeat him together!" Storm begged.
"Venonat, use Confuse Ray!" Aya commanded as her Venonat's red eyes began flashing at the Dewott.
Dustin smirked. "Oh Dewott, deflect it once more~" The Dewott didn't respond, though, and he frowned. "...Oh no…" he groaned, now seeing his Pokemon's swirly eyes.
Ash and Blue both gave a sigh of relief at this. Good, at least this means he's not completely invincible… they both thought to themselves.
Ash grinned, crossing his arms. "Now Trixie, use Snarl!"
"Eevee, join in with Swift!" Blue commanded.
Both fox Pokemon used their special attacks. The Zorua making a growling and snarling noise that created some black notes at the Dewott, and the Eevee sprayed out several stars, homing in on the Dewott like heat seeking missiles. The two attacks combined, creating a musical note with stars surrounding it like one of Saturn's rings.
Dustin growled, crying out a bit nervously, "Dewott, dodge, NOW!" Of course, the Dewott didn't respond- it even slashed it's leg with one of it's scalchops by accident! This caused the Dewott to not only hurt itself but also got hit by the Snarling Swift attack, causing it to hit the wall. But it was far from out as it stood up, the confusion wearing off rather quickly.
"Young man, why do you want one of my Gym's badges?" Koga suddenly demanded, frowning as he crossed his arms.
"Do I really have to tell you my reasons for what I do?" Dustin replied in a reprehensive manner. "Dewott use Razor Shell!" The Dewott smirked as it gripped to the two scalchops on its legs and turned them into water swords, charging at the four Pokemon.
"Here it comes!" Ash yelled, knowing how deadly that move is.
"Venomoth, use Gust, now!" Koga quickly ordered.
The Venomoth's wings created a strong wind, trying to slow down the Dewott, but it didn't do much as the Dewott only smirked- almost as if it was all part of the training. It jumped and slashed Venomoth, instantly KOing it. It hit Aya's Venonat next, also KOing it. Both ninjas quickly returned their Pokemon, frowning in irritation.
"We're not giving us now! Trixie, use illusion to get away, quickly!" Ash yelled as the Zorua immediately disappeared from sight.
"Eevee, Dig underground, now!" Blue quickly said as the Eevee went underground quickly before the deadly water blades could get to him.
The Dewott smirked, though, instantly making a Water Pulse and hitting Trixie! Ash's eyes widened as the Zorua hit the wall, and Dustin grinned. "Perfect! Now time to remove two potential enemies…" He glanced at the two ninja, who were pulling out two new Poke Balls, and as if instinctively understanding him, the Pokemon rushed towards them, and it slashed all their Poke Balls, cracking the capsules! "Wonderful- now that's two pests out of the way!"
"That is a coward's move!" Aya snapped angrily, glancing at the Poke Balls. "Preventing us from opening our Poke Balls!? How DARE you!"
Dustin smirked, cheekily saying, "Oh, I dare."
Trixie groaned in pain as she weakly stood up, still trying to stay in the fight. "Trixie! Are you okay?" Ash called to her.
"Fine… dizzy…" Trixie said, feeling disorientated. Then… she fell down, facing Ash. She winked, before she blinked and her eyes spiralled, as if KOed. Ash blinked before realizing what her plan was, and he heard Dustin laughing.
"Ah, looks like a third is down and out!" He smirked at Ash. "And if your other Pokemon are just as weak, I don't think you'll be any more of a challenge! The only one left…" He glanced at the final Trainer. "Is Blue Oak, former Champion of the Indigo League. Heh… Talk about an easy finish." He couldn't believe Blue, the former Champion, was using a weak little Eevee of all things.
Blue glared, narrowing his eyes dangerously. "You shouldn't judge a book by its cover. That's your problem, you just like to make assumptions based on the situation around you rather than analyzing it."
Dustin smirked, rolling his eyes. "Sure, whatever- as if you have any right to talk. I've already won!" He threw his arms out to the side. "I just need one more more… Dewott?" The samurai-like Pokemon perked it's head up, smirking. "Finish that Eevee off nice and easy. We don't want to kill it, now do we~? Use… Water Gun, perhaps."
Blue watched as the Dewott just sneered at them. Eevee glaring as he growled out, "Don't think I'm WEAK!"His teeth were bared, and he narrowed his eyes dangerously.
"Eevee, jump." Blue said as the little brown fox creature jumped, avoiding the Water Gun. "Now use Swift!" The Eevee didn't hesitate to summon the stars as they all shot at the Dewott. "Combine with Sand-Attack!" Eevee landed and quickly kicked up sand at the stars, covering them.
The Team Rocket member glared in irritation as the sandy stars hit, causing more damage due to the sharp sand and his own eyes being irritated from the grains of sand and debris. "I've had it with this little monster… No more holding back! Dewott, finish it off with Razor Shell!"
The Dewott jumped at the Eevee, its water blades coming at him. Blue gritted his teeth, knowing Eevee wouldn't be fast enough to get out of the way this time, but right when the Dewott was passing the 'unconscious' Zorua, she suddenly jumped and hit his tail from behind! "YEEOW!"
"Hah! You think you can just knock me out so easily!?" Trixie spoke while still biting on the Dewott's tail. "Not happening, bub!" She bit down harder, and the Eevee began to rush towards the Dewott's front.
Dustin's eyes widened in shock. "What the heck!?" He growled in irritation. "YOU WERE STILL CONSCIOUS, YOU LITTLE…!?"
Ash smiled, crossing his arms. "It looks like both of our Pokemon work together real nicely, wouldn't you say?"
Blue chuckled, nodding. "It would appear so."
Koga stepped up, narrowing his eyes dangerously. "Explain yourself now, why have you invaded my gym and to steal the Soul Badge?"
Dustin growled, seeing the Eevee bite his Dewott in the front and KOing it due to exhaustion. "I don't have to explain ANYTHING," he growled, pulling out two Poke Balls and returning the knocked out Pokemon in front of him. "Not to you! Go, Beldum!" He released the Steel type Pokemon, smirking. "Now… Use Take Down, supersonic speeds!"
"WHAT!?" Ash, who was happy they were able to take down his Dewott, was both in shock and fear that he had MORE! "Y-you have more than one!?" The Bledum wasted no time hitting the Zorua, actually knocking her out this time and leaving just Blue's Eevee.
"Let me fight now, Ash! I can take him!" the pumped up Pikachu said as he all but stomped his little feet.
Ash frowned, shaking his head. "N-NO, Storm…" he muttered. "It's… it's not going to be safe…!"
Dustin overheard him and laughed. "You're right- not that it'll be safe for anyone anyways!" The Beldum launched at the Eevee, and this time it hit, sending it flying into the wall. It slowly slid down, unmoving. "HA! Look who's winning now, you fools! Now give me the badge, or-" A brick suddenly flew through the giant hole in the wall and hit Dustin upside the head! "OW! W-what the heck!?" He turned around, and BAM! Another brick hit him in the face, sending him crashing to the ground, unmoving.
Ash and the rest jumped at this sudden event, all looking at the big hole in the wall in shock. The Beldum glared and looked like it was going to attack, but then… a kid that appeared to be seven years old ran through the hole and startled the Metal type Pokemon, causing it to turn to the boy and start to charge. Koga, seeing his chance, quickly kicked up some dust with his swift feet and flipped to the 'unconscious' Dustin before he grabbed the Beldum's Poke Ball and forced it to return.
Koga took a few deep breaths, calming himself from the tense situation before turning to the newcomer. "...Who is that boy?" he muttered to himself, seeming suspicious of this sudden turn of events.
Ash and Blue were staring at the boy… Both of them had noticed the strange shape FLOATING there earlier before this boy came in.
"Well… it would've been nicer if WE had just thought of knocking that guy out with a brick…" Ash said, trying to release some of the tension around the area.
Koga was still glaring at the boy suspiciously, though, one of his hands inching towards a pocket. "...Who are you and how did you find my gym? You seem to be seven years old, at the most!"
"Uh…" The boy looked around nervously. "M-my name is Samuel Andy Fredericksonvonstren, but you can call me Sam Fredrickson. O-or maybe just Sam… What- whatever works for you…"
Aya looked at the boy before her eyes widened in surprise. "Wait, I recognize you. Yeah- you're the same boy who came in here and played with my Venonat a month ago! But you disappeared when I tried to talk to you…"
"...I had to leave because my me… I mean my dad said that I had to be back by a certain time and I was about to be l-late." Samuel said, still seeming a bit nervous. "C-could you… could you stop glaring at me… You're making me nervous."
Blue looked at the kid with a critical eye, "... You must have amazing vision to see Koga's gym in the middle of nowhere."
"Who cares? He saved us!" Storm said gratefully.
"But Blue is right… this kid must have the sight like a hawk to see this gym." Ash commented with a small frown.
"I have a v-very strict mem… I mean father." Samuel said nervously. "Seriously, p-please stop glaring at me Mr. Gym Leader Koga."
Ash blinked, before he said 'father' the boy said 'mem'. Mem? … But he meant father… Could it be….?
"Look, we can discuss if this boy is suspicious or not later, we need to get Dustin arrested before he wakes up and cause more trouble." Blue said seriously, crossing his arms. "But we are keeping an eye on you, Sam."
"O-ok. As l-long as you're n-not glaring." Samuel said, a little less nervous than before. He then took something out of the brown backpack he was wearing. "I brought some rope…" Sam mentioned nervously, giving a slightly shy smile. "I- w-will it help?"
Koga nodded, grabbing the rope from the small boy. "Right. Aya, help me tie up the intruder- we shall alert the authorities once we are done."
"Yes, Brother." Aya said as the two ninjas gathered around the unconscious Team Rocket Elite.
Samuel then walked over to Blue, timidly asking, "Um… a-are you Ash Ketchum?"
Ash snorted as he held in a laughter while Blue raised an eyebrow, frowning a bit at the mistaken identity. "... No. I'm nobody important. That's Ash Ketchum." He gestured to the boy beside him with the Pikachu up on his shoulder. "But why do you need to talk to him?"
"He dropped this outside." Samuel said as he lifted up a wallet with a name but no picture.
"..." Ash blinked, surprised. "... Uh… that's not mine, I don't have a wallet." My money just comes from the endless space dimension Memma creates.
"It has your name in it, though… Y-you sure?" Samuel said, almost as if he was trying to faintly hint at something.
"Oh come on, just take it Ash, free money!" the Pikachu said eagerly from his shoulders.
Ash sighed. On the one hand, Samuel seem to think that it's his, but… he could also see there's something else in the boy's eyes… Sighing, he slowly took the wallet. "Uh… Thanks… where did you find this anyway?"
"It was right outside the gym." Samuel said in an almost rehearsed way.
By now, Ash is wondering why the heck the boy was talking like he's trying to hint at something. "... Uh… thanks…?"
Blue crossed his arms, frowning suspiciously. "Don't you think it's a bit weird that he found a wallet just outside of the gym with YOUR name on it even though you don't supposedly have a wallet?" He narrowed his eyes as he looked at the boy suspiciously.
"Maybe his mom put it in his bag and he didn't know about it." Samuel said in a convincing way.
Ash, curious, opened the wallet to see what was in there, and to his surprise, he saw fifty bucks and... a note? He opened the piece of paper to read it: 'Meet me at the Pokemon Center room 3F.'
"Hopefully I can see you again sometime. I haven't been able to do something so fun in a while. Bye!" Samuel said as he then turned and ran out the same way he came- through the huge hole in the wall- before anyone could react.
Koga, having finished tying Dustin up, looked back and stood up, still frowning. "He is no ordinary child, to be able to spot my gym."
Ash looked at Koga, crossing his arms determinedly. "... We still haven't finished our match, Koga."
The ninja sighed, nodding slowly. "Yes, I am aware of that, young Ash- however, I cannot battle you as of right now. Not since the Dewott locked our Poke Balls. Tell you what- get some rest at the Pokemon Center tonight, we will continue our match in the morning when the Poke Balls are fixed."
Ash blinked, before reluctantly nodding. "Alright, I guess… But don't sleep in because I'll be here at nine o'clock in the morning."
"Just be here by morning, don't matter the time too much." Blue grumbled. "Is there a Pokemon Center out here in the middle of the forest?"
"We have a Pokemon Center next to the Gym, how else did you think we keep our Pokemon in shape?" Aya said with a chuckle. "We're not stupid, after all!"
Blue frowned, slowly nodding. "I.. suppose so…" He crossed his arms in thought, before adding, "But why move out here when you had it right next to the Pokemon Center before?"
"It is because we are ninja and prefer to train in secret. It is also a test for Trainers when they come here and to see if they have enough wits to find me and have the right to battle me." Koga explained.
"The way of the ninja is not an easy one." Ash sighed. "Well… I think you'd better lead us the way out so we don't get lost, at least."
"Just take this passage and you'll be outside in no time." Koga pointed at the hole in the wall.
Ash chuckled sheepishly as he just remembered that hole. "R-r-right… That boy did the same thing… Eheheh…"
"Way to look stupid." Storm grumbled, rolling his eyes.
Blue sighed, shaking his head "Come on, let's go." He began pushing Ash out the door, with the boy grumbling at Blue's shoving.
Koga and Aya turned back to Dustin, but… when they did, they gasped when they saw the ropes were on the ground and the boy was nowhere to be seen! All that was left was a note.
Koga frowned, picking up the note and reading it aloud. "Nice try… but next time, I will be the winner. You have gotten stronger, Ash, even if you don't remember our last meeting. But next time… that brat won't be there to save you, and neither will anyone else. And I will show no mercy to those who have defeated me once. -Dustin. P.S. Tell Koga thanks for the badge- it's a fair trade for letting him take my Beldum for a minute or two, after all." Koga suddenly paled and glared, patting his now empty pocket. "...He stole our badge when I grabbed his Beldum's Poke Ball…!"
Aya glared too, worriedly replying, "This is not good, Brother…"
"No, it is not, Aya." Koga replied with a scowl. "Who knows what that Team Rocket member wanted with my badge…"
Meanwhile, in the Pokemon Center… Ash just checked in his Poke Balls and Storm into Nurse Joy, and she went ahead to heal them back to 100% while Ash looked at Blue, who seemed to be looking at the video phones.
"I'll just… go check into our rooms, okay?" Ash said to him with a slightly nervous grin.
Blue sighed, distractedly nodding. "Go ahead…" He didn't notice Ash's nervousness, seeming to be debating if he should call someone or not.
Ash frowned, wondering what's going on in Blue's head, but he had to get to the 3rd floor and talk to that boy again, perhaps he can talk to Blue about it later. And with that, he went upstairs.
DarkFoxKit: Okay, before someone goes berserk and points out how ridiculous it was that Dustin just got knocked out like that, let us expla-
ChuckTheEon: Could we have… A NEW CHARACTER on our hands?
Key2DestNE: CHUCK! *BONK!* NO INTERRUPTING RIZ! She was about to explain it, it's her story, SO LET HER DO HER DANG JOB! *pant… pant… pant…* …That actually felt pretty good- can I do it again, Fox?
ChuckTheEon: … You'd better apologize… *shakes head* Sorry about what happened… Anyway, you're just mad that I sold the costume I HAD GOTTEN MADE FOR YOU!
DarkFoxKit: ….. *checks watch, begins tapping her foot.*
Key2DestNE: AND that you called me SasuKey, AND that you kept on teasing me! *growls, pulling out the hammer again* Now let's get back on subject before you make me bonk you again!
ChuckTheEon: …Ok. Fine. You will learn of what knocked him out specifically next chapter. On to the other important stuff!
DarkFoxKit: *sigh* Thanks guys, you really spent a lot of AN time arguing about Naruto stuff in a POKEMON fanfiction again. Well anyway, I hope you readers enjoyed this battle, because in the future chapters it's gonna have more dialogue than action.
Key2DestNE: Yeah, so for those of you who love explanations *cough* exposition *cough*, you'll LOVE the upcoming chapters! Now don't worry, we'll be back to the action soon, but we need a BIT of character development, now don't we?
ChuckTheEon: Also, it isn't like you haven't requested to know more about certain subjects before, this is just one of our ways of filling you in on our secrets. Can I say it this time?
DarkFoxKit: Well, if you want.
ChuckTheEon: Yes… did we miss anything? Just wanna check.
Key2DestNE: Not as far as I know, nothing- we're all good. So do you wanna say the final AN note of this, Chucky? *cue image of the deranged doll in question*
ChuckTheEon: Gladly, SasuKey! *Key twitches at that* Read and Review or SasuKey will try to kill me and fail causing him severe injury and turmoil. Again.
Key2DestNE: ! WHY YOU LITTLE- C'MERE! *tackles Chuck, sending both of them into the camera, which breaks, causing static*