Chapter 19: The Decisive Battle
'So Sceptile's up first, well I've got just the Pokémon to go up against him.' May confidently thought.
"Blaziken it's time for battle." May called out her starter.
Blaziken materialised in front of his trainer igniting the flames on his wrists standing tall and confident. As soon as Sceptile's and Blaziken's eyes met they both focused, completely engrossing themselves on the battle to come. If it had been any other day they would have being fighting for their pride and their trainers, but there was far more on the line today.
"You know what to do Sceptile." Ash spoke firmly getting a nod from the grass type.
"Blaziken use Blaze Kick." May yelled getting the battle underway.
Blaiken leapt forward like a rocket, one leg extended forward with flames surrounding its foot. Sceptile stood firm in fact he didn't even move.
"Throw it Sceptile." Ash responded calmly.
The moment before Blaziken struck Sceptile the forest lizard side stepped at such a remarkable speed that May barely even saw him move. Sceptile grabbed Blaziken's leg with both hands and spun him around in mid-air. Blaziken barely realised what had happened until his head smashed through the side of a tree trunk, Sceptile had used the speed of Blaizken's own move to enhance the power of his throw. As Blaziken's head came out of the tree Sceptile threw Blaziken back towards May, the shock of the attack was so great that Blaziken couldn't even land on his feet and instead rolled across the ground.
May stared at Blaziken who clutched his bruised face in shock, once again Ash hadn't called out a single move he simply had Sceptile use the strength of his body to attack. She could see how it worked well against wild Pokémon but the fact it worked on her own as well dumbfounded her.
"Now use Bulldoze." Ash instructed calmly.
Sceptile lifted one leg and stomped on the ground, a shockwave lifted up the earth and headed right for Blaziken. When the shockwave hit Blaziken as he lay on the ground he was launched backwards letting out a loud cry before he crashed back onto the ground.
"You see now?" Ash spoke up getting May's attention.
"You're fighting a member of the Elite Four May, even with your Contest title behind you the difference in our levels is more then you know." Ash told the shocked brunette.
"Blaziken get up and use Fire Spin." May instructed.
Blaziken got to his feet pulled his hand away from his face and released a spiralling flame from his mouth.
"Block with Dragon Claw." Ash muttered.
Sceptile's arms glowed a light green which extended in front of his hands and became three times his arms width. He then pointed his arms into an arrow in front of his face. As the Fire Spin hit the Dragon Claw the flames were diverted to either side of Sceptile who lowered his arms after the flames had subsided.
"How did that not do any damage?" May blurted out.
"Dragon types have a resistance to fire moves and dragon type moves also have that same effect, lessoning any damage to the user." Ash explained calmly.
"Alright then Blaziken use Sky Uppercut." May went in again. Blaziken ran towards Sceptile his fists low to the ground ready to send his opponent flying.
"Intercept with Leaf Blade." Ash countered.
The leaves on Sceptile's arms glowed and extended he stepped forward and thrust his arms down as Blaziken brought both arms upwards. Both Pokémon's arms smashed together the force of the collision created a piercing boom and sent a blast of air out from the point of impact. Blaziken's wrists were locked between Sceptile's blades and both strained against each other trying to overpower the other. The only difference between the two was Blaziken's face strained in his attempts to push against his opponent while Sceptile's face was completely blank and unmoving, reflecting the look his trainer had. Sceptile repositioned one foot and then backflipped out of the lock he had Blaziken in while also kneeing Blaziken in the chin sending him backwards.
Blaziken was not left stunned this time and as he went into the air along with Sceptile charged up his foot and struck Sceptile along the side with a Mega Kick however the attack only managed to grase the grass type. Sceptile landed on his feet as if he hadn't even have been struck Blaziken on the other hand landed clumsily and then feel to his knees, Sceptile's last attack beginning to affect his head.
May gritted her teeth in frustration Blaziken needed time to recover or he would be knocked out quickly but what was more frustrating was the fact she had barely managed to land a single hit.
"Blaziken return." May called out calling back her fire type.
"Do you see now May?" Ash asked his tone completely calm but unnervingly cold.
"You are a powerful trainer May and there are some contest champions that would be Elite Four material. But the ways we train, battle and raise our Pokémon are completely different. Coordinator's like yourself are rarely stronger then gym leaders and though I don't like to talk big, I am far beyond any gym leader." Ash told her hardheartedly.
May wanted to shout him down but couldn't find the words, the way Ash spoke to her with such confidence and harshness reminded her of other Elite Four members when they got serious. And the way he looked at her with completely emotionless eyes stopped her in her tracks. Gone was the smiling gaze he used to have, May knew now that she had awoke the master trainer inside of Ash. May steeled herself and grabbed her next Pokeball.
"I'm not just a coordinator Ash, Glaceon come on out." May called.
The ice type appeared on the battlefield the first thing she did was check her trainer. Glaceon knew instantly that May was hurt but the coordinator told her to concentrate on the battle, with a single nod Glaceon focused on Sceptile.
"Attack with Blizzard." May ordered.
"If you insist on putting your Pokémon in harm's way then I have no choice." Ash sighed. "Sceptile dodge and use Leaf Storm."
Glaceon summoned a huge cold wind that she sent across the field in front of herself attempting to overwhelm Sceptile with the size of her attack. Sceptile was not so easily outmatched, in a single jump he avoided the blizzard that blew over the area covering the ground and trees in ice.
Sceptile then launched his own attack as the seeds on his back glowed a storm of leafs that rotated like a small twister shot out of his tail. He flicked his body around and sent the attack right at Glaceon.
"Mirror Coat now." May revealed her plan.
Glaceon became covered in a reflective field she dug her feet into the ground and braced for Sceptile's incoming attack. As the Leaf Storm hit Glaceon was pushed back from the force of the move but she was able to hold it back and now was ready to return it at double the power. Glaceon cried out as Sceptile's own attack was sent hurdling back towards him, the charged up move tore away the leaves and bark of the surrounding trees.
"Dodge that Sceptile." Ash instructed
Sceptile leapt away from the incoming tornado avoiding the attack but found the ground he landed on was slippery. As he looked down Sceptile saw he was sliding on ice, the after effects of Glaceon's blizzard. Unable to get a firm footing Sceptile activated his leaf blades and drove them into the ice ceasing his sliding.
"Ice Shard quickly." May called out.
Before Sceptile could react his arms were hit with a football sized shard of ice which shattered and froze Sceptile's forearms to the ground.
'I wonder if that was her plan all along, or if she saw an opportunity and simply took it.' Ash thought to himself.
"Now Glaceon use Blizzard." May took advantage of Sceptile's inability to move.
Sceptile tried to pull his arm out of the ice but was unable to escape before Glaceon's blizzard blew over him, the snow and frost so thick Ash couldn't see Sceptile through the snow storm. When it subsided Sceptile's body was completely frozen in a block of ice. May breathed a sigh of relief having immobilised her opponent but when she looked at Ash she saw no concern on his face.
"Leaf Storm." Ash uttered calmly.
Through the ice May saw the seeds on Sceptile's back glow, the ice surrounding him began to vibrate and crack. Suddenly the leafs on his tail glowed and burst outwards shattering the ice and creating another huge tornado above himself. Sceptile roared his name as he rotated his body and sent the Leaf Storm forward ripping the ice on the ground apart.
""Mirror Coat now!" May shouted over the raging winds.
Glaceon activated her move right before the leaf storm hit her blocking the attack just in time. May watched and waited till Glaceon was able to push the attack back. A flash of movement appeared and disappeared, barely noticeable with the huge amount of moving objects caused by the leaf storm but May knew that flash was different. Sceptile suddenly appeared behind Glaceon, he had been able to get around his own attack so fast and now had his arm raised ready to deliver his leaf blade attack.
May tried to call out but Sceptile brought his arm down with all his force slamming Leaf Blade into Glaceon's back. Her Mirror Coat was only able to reflect special moves and did nothing to stop the attack driving her into the ground. With nothing stopping the approaching leaf storm the violent winds and leaves continued forward. Sceptile jumped out of way leaving the stunned Glaceon to take the full force of his strongest attack.
As Glaceon was hit the attack detonated creating a cloud of dust, Glaceon came screeching out of it before slamming into the trunk of a tree. She fell to the ground and May ran to her side, kneeling beside her. Glaceon gave a weak glance up at May knowing she had failed and fell into unconsciousness.
"Dammit no." May cried out for her fallen partner.
She returned Glaceon and looked through the clearing smoke, Sceptile standing patiently still showing no signs of fatigue. She had used two Pokémon that were super effective against Sceptile and they barely even damaged him, deep inside herself Ash's words were beginning to make her doubt herself.
"It's unfortunate really." Ash started.
"If you had fought me to start off with instead of knocking me out you would have had a better chance. In my confusion I wouldn't have been able to concentrate or have given my Pokémon warning about what had happened. But now you are fighting me at my strongest, you're fighting me when my friends are in trouble, and so there is no hope for you." Ash spoke with determination and conviction behind his voice.
"I can't let you win, go Beautifly." May yelled releasing the dazzling and beautiful Pokémon.
"Sceptile return." Ash called out as he recalled Sceptile and reached for another Pokeball.
"It's time, Charizard I choose you." Ash declared as he threw the ball forward.
The large fearsome looking fire type landed on the ground with a loud thud, rearing his head back and letting out a mighty roar.
May was secretly fearing this fight in particular and it didn't help that she had the type disadvantage. Though she had formulated a strategy in the days before and was at least mentally prepared.
"Beautifly use Psychic." May instructed.
"Fight back with Flamethrower." Ash responded.
Beautifly flapped her wings sending a ripple like pattern of purple energy at Charizard who swung his head forward and unleashed a column of fire completely absorbing the Psychic attack and continuing straight for Beautifly. The bug type could do nothing in the face of such overwhelming power and was hit with the full might of Charizard's attack. Even from under Beautifly where May was standing she could feel the incredible intensity of the flames. When the attack ceased Beautifly feel to the ground covered in black soot, unmoving and unconscious.
"Just one move!" May exclaimed.
"None of my Pokémon are going to hold back, while I was aiding Pikachu I got each of them out individually and told them what has happened so their just as serious as I am." Ash informed May.
May had to shake off the shock of losing Beautifly so quickly, she returned it to the Pokeball and fumbled in her attempts to retrieve the next.
"Delcatty I'm counting on you." May called out as she released her fourth Pokémon.
Ash hadn't seen Delcatty since it had evolved from Skitty and its appearance reflected its contest upbringing. He wondered if it had as wide a range of moves as the one he and May met years ago when they first travelled together.
"Decatty hit Charizard with Thunder Bolt." May called out.
Yellow electricity built up around Delcatty's body charging up for her attack. Ash instructed Charizard to get into the air to make use of his manoeuvrability. Delcatty fired off multiple bolts into the sky trying to knock Charizard down but he was too quick and easily avoided the electricity. Getting Charizard to move away from Delcatty was a part of May's plan as the fire- flying type was also too far to launch his own attacks.
"Delcatty use Ice Beam on the trees." May instructed.
Delcatty froze the branches of eight trees surrounding her creating an odd situation for Ash. He knew May planned to use the frozen trees somehow but he couldn't risk trying to melt the ice with a fire attack or the entire area could go up in flames. With the added heat Groudon was creating it was a wonder that last flamethrower hadn't gotten out of control.
"Charizard use Steel Wing, go." Ash thrust his hand forward.
Charizards wings hardened and extended into iron, he looped around and flew down towards Delcatty exactly as May wanted him to.
"Delcatty use Thunder Bolt." May called out.
Charizard was ready to dodge but Delcatty's attack wasn't aimed at him, instead it veered off to the side and hit one of the frozen trees. The lightning bolt immediately bounced off the ice and whizzed towards Charizard who pulled back and avoided it just in time. To late Charizard and Ash realized that the tree branches were frozen in such a way that the single thunder bolt would reflect off of them and into another, bouncing between them until it hit a target. Charizard was forced to track the bolt every time it was redirected each time nearly getting struck again and again.
"Charizard block the electricity with your wings." Ash instructed.
Covering his body with his wings Charizard blocked the incoming bolt of lightning reducing the damage by keeping up his Steel Wing attack but May wasn't done yet.
"Delcatty use Hyper Voice." May yelled.
As Delcatty opened her mouth and made an ear piercing noise waves of powerful sound blasted out in front of her shattering the ice covering the trees around her and pushing Charizard back into the air as he stuck his claws into his ears.
"Charizard flamethrower now." Ash yelled over the Hyper Voice.
Ash planned to use the force of Delcatty's attack to weaken Charizard's own attack reducing the risk to the surrounding foliage while still hitting his target. Charizard balanced himself in the air while still being hit by the Hyper Voice and released a column of fire, Ash's plan worked the power of the attack was reduced but still managed to strike Delcatty on the ground engulfing her in flames. The normal type took the brunt of the attack but was still able to fight to May's relief.
"Charizard get below the tree line and advance on Delcatty." Ash made his next move.
May watched as Charizard disappeared below the trees, despite being a large Pokémon the thickness of the forest made for good cover. To make it worse Charizard didn't move straight for her he advanced left and right between trees making him harder to trace, she didn't realise it but May was starting to get reckless.
"Delcatty keep using Thunder Bolt till you hit him." May ordered.
Delcatty fired quick shots of electricity at Charizard but either completely missed or hit the trees hiding Charizard. Ash carefully timed the exact moment when to strike, looking for when Delcatty was charging its next attack and when Charizard was in a position to fire without hitting any trees.
"Charizard Dragon Rage now." Ash took his chance.
As one of Delcatty's thunder bolts hit a tree Charizard released a ball of orange and white energy through the gaps in the trees directly at the normal type. Delcatty wasn't able to avoid the attack in time and was struck firmly in the chest before it detonated and sent her flying backwards. May covered her eyes from the blast when Delcatty flew into her sending both of them back onto the ground.
May sat up with Delcatty in her lap the pain in her shoulder refusing to fade away. She held Delcatty's head up but her Pokémon was knocked out. May closed her eyes and breathed deeply, holding back her sorrow and frustration, she returned Delcatty and slowly got to her feet. Ash could tell her injuries were taking their toll, in her condition it was a wonder she could continue to battle so well.
"I-I can't let you win! Blaziken, Mismagius let's go!" May cried out as she released two Pokémon at once.
"Well double battles aren't my speciality but it will fasten things up." Ash uttered. "Sceptile come back out."
'Alright now that I have Blaziken and Mismagius out I can use some combination attacks.' May thought to herself.
"Blaziken use Fire Spin and Mismagius use Psychic on Blaziken's move." May instructed.
Blaziken released his fire spin but spread it out in a wide arch then Mismagius controlled the flames and spread them vertically creating a wall of purple flames.
"Push forward with Psychic fire wall." May called out her new attack.
Ash saw the advancing barrier of flames boosted and spread out by Psychic and knew he'd have to counter fast.
"Only one thing for it, Charizard use Blast Burn." Ash shouted.
Charizard became surrounded in red flames building up energy, when he reached full power Charizard smashed his fist into the ground sending the energy beneath the earth. As it neared the fire wall the earth burst open and released a massive explosion of red fire that blocked the advancing move, absorbing it and sending it into the sky.
"While they're distracted Sceptile use Bulldoze." Ash instructed wasting no time.
Sceptile thrust his foot into the ground sending a shock wave through the ground and under the rising flames undetected until Blaziken was pounded backwards by the attack. May couldn't keep track of what was happening, fire had burst out of the ground and neutralised her combination attack and now Blaziken was collapsing to the ground.
Charizard had to recharge before he could attack again and Ash couldn't afford to waste time. He instructed Sceptile to charge right in, using the evaporating flames for cover. Even with his primary weakness blocking his way Sceptile fearlessly ran forward bursting through the remaining flames and targeted Mismagius. Before the Psychic type could move Sceptile crashed into her with his Leaf Blade attack pinning her to the ground.
"Leaf Blade again." Ash yelled.
"Mismagius lift Sceptile up with Psychic attack." May responded.
Sceptile swung his arm down but was frozen as Mismagius's attack surrounded him in a blue field, he was powerless as the ghost type lifted him into the air and suspended him above her and Charizard still wasn't able to move yet.
"Blaziken hit Sceptile with Blaze Kick." May yelled as she thrust one arm forward.
Blaziken was on his last legs but pulled himself off the ground and lauched himself at Sceptile while he was incapacitated. Ash knew the exact time it took for Charizard to recharge and when Blaziken's foot began to light up was the time.
"Charizard hit Mismagius with Flamethrower and don't hold back." Ash yelled out.
Sceptile braced himself as Blaziken closed in on him when a huge stream of fire blasted under him and engulfed Mismagius sending her backwards and breaking her hold on Sceptile. Blaziken ignored Charizard's flame and continued towards Sceptile his foot a mere metre away when the field around the grass type faded, Sceptile instantly dropped his arm down and blocked Blaziken's leg.
"Dragon Claw." Ash reacted.
While they were still in mid-air Sceptile charged up his other arm with the light green energy and delivered a devastating blow to Blaziken's chest, smashing him into the ground lifting up a cloud of dust.
"Blaziken!" May cried out but as the dust cleared she could see Blaziken was half buried in a crater, his head thrown back completely unconscious.
"Dammit, Mismagius use Foul Play." May called out without even thinking.
"Charizard boost Sceptile and Sceptile use Leaf Blade." Ash called out his own combination.
Charizard got to Sceptile's side lowering one wing, Sceptile jumped on his wing and held on as Charizard spun around and launched Sceptile forward like a rocket. Mismagius was moving forward covered in a dark veil but Sceptile's flying approach was so fast she didn't even realise what had happened till she felt Sceptile's Leaf Blade cut right through her attack, the next thing she felt was her body going numb.
May saw Mismagius drop to the ground and Sceptile retract his blades and knew it was over, her Pokémon were no match for Ash's they were in a whole other league.
"All of your Pokémon are gone May and you won't be able to overpower me in the condition you're in, now surrender and don't try anything stupid." Ash said as he began walking towards her.
"You think I would face you without a trump card Ash?" May smiled.
Ash halted next to Charizard, it never occurred to him that she would have sixth Pokémon. It confirmed another theory that May had been lying to him from the very start. He hesitated slightly when May pulled an ultra-ball from her pack.
"My sixth Pokémon isn't one I raised, it was given to me by our leader and it's been trained to show no mercy and attack without hesitation." May declared confidently.
"Well then, show me exactly what type of creature you've been hiding." Ash said undeterred
"That was exactly my plan, now come on out and finish this!" May yelled as she threw the ultra-ball.
The ball opened and the Pokémon began to materialise in front of her but instead of a bright light it was a dark slow moving energy. As it came into form Ash began to wonder if it even had a solid body, it seemed to warp and change as if metamorphosing in front of him. Finally its identity was revealed with a shimmering black body, a fog like plume billowing from its head and a single blue eye. Ash realised he was facing a legendary, Darkrai.
The very aura it gave off was unsettling but when Ash looked into its eye he knew what May said was true, this Pokémon was bred for battle.
"I'll show you its power, Darkrai use Ice Beam." May commanded.
Darkrai lifted one hand in the air and fired a blue beam of energy at Sceptile, for once the grass type wasn't fast enough. He was struck square in the chest and sent hurdling backwards right in front of Ash's feet.
"Sceptile you alright?" Ash asked, shocked for the first time.
Sceptile weakly pulled himself up though he was not happy with the fact he took a direct hit even he had to admit that Darkrai was fast and powerful. Ash had been using Sceptile for most of the match and knew he needed a rest more than ever. He returned him knowing it would be easier to coordinate a one on one battle with Charizard.
"Darkrai won't go down as easily as my other Pokémon, the tide has turned in my favour Ash." May declared.
"The power of a Pokémon alone does not determine a battle, it's how they work alongside their trainer and Charizard and I do that better than anyone." Ash fired back getting a determined roar from Charizard.
May knew she was down in terms of numbers but even she didn't know the full extent of Darkrai's powers. As she faced off against Ash again she knew that now was the most critical point of the battle.
May was about to order and attack when an enormous explosion burst out to sea with a blinding light. Neither trainer nor Pokémon could ignore such a massive blast, all eyes turned to the detonation. It had happened in front of where Groudon currently stood and the blast radius was three time the size of Groudon itself. What could have caused such a massive explosion?
"Greninja now!" Ash yelled out.
May turned back to the battlefield to see Greninja leap out of nowhere, grab Darkrai's arms and pin them behind his back.
'So that's where his Greninja was this whole time.' May realised her mistake.
Charizard appeared in front of Darkrai who was now unable to move with Greninja on his back and could only watch as Charizard slammed his hardened Steel Wing over Darkrai's head into the ground. May was then struck by the blast wave of the explosion from off the coastline, then she saw Ash running at her.
His fist was pulled but past his hips, even if her arm wasn't injured she didn't have time to block or counter. Ash grabbed May's shoulder and drove his fist straight up into her gut. May's head lurched forward, her toes almost felt like they lifted off the ground he had struck her so hard. All the air escaped her body winding her like she had never been winded before. As Ash pulled his hand back May collapsed to her knees frantically trying to breath in while clutching her stomach.
Ash wasted no time before grabbing the ultra-ball from May's bag and aiming it at Darkrai, he pressed the button and returned the dark type while it was pinned down by Greninja and Charizard. He then flicked the ball to 'lock' a feature only more powerful Pokeball's had. May's vision was already going blurry but she turned around and grabbed Ash's jeans attempting to retrieve her poke ball. Ash grabbed her arm and twisted it, he then got down on his own knees and put May into a sleeper hold, slowly suffocating her. May tried to use her free arm but it still had little movement in it and her weak kicking did nothing to free herself.
She was losing consciousness, the world around her slowly fading. May couldn't believe she had failed, Ash outclassed her physically and as a trainer, he was far more powerful than she could have ever imagined. Before she blacked out Ash whispered into her ear, something she didn't expect him to say after everything that had transpired.
"I'm sorry." Was the last thing she heard before she blacked out.
The shacking earth woke May up, she was tied to a tree much the same way that Ash was when she knocked him out, she knew that it was what she deserved. She could hear Ash's voice to her right as she turned she saw him talking to all his Pokémon.
"Ok Krookodile you stay close behind with Pikachu but keep away from trouble. Greninja, Sceptile and Charizard you'll all attack at the same time on my signal. Gabite and I will run in and assist once you make the first strike, everyone got it?" Ash asked getting a determined nod from everyone.
"Alright then get into positions and wait for my signal." Ash finished his briefing before everyone ran or flew off to their destinations, Ash started to move when he noticed May was awake.
"So you've come to have you?" Ash enquired noting her laboured breath.
"Where are my Pokémon?" May asked her defiant attitude all but gone.
"Over by the tree behind you with the rest of your belongings, but don't worry you aren't going to be able to get free by yourself." Ash informed her.
"What are you going to do now?" May asked her defeat weighing her down even more.
"I'm going to stop this May what do you think?" Ash said bluntly.
"I was just doing what I thought was right." May replied not even trying to make an excuse.
"Well what you thought was right has unleashed the full fury of nature, those people have awakened a force that could change this entire world. And Groudon isn't the only power in in play anymore." Ash spoke with frustration in his voice.
"What are you talking about?" May asked, what other possible power could it be?
Ash knelt in front of May and looked her in the eyes, the seriousness behind them made her instinctively push back against the tree she was bound to. Ash grabbed May's chin and turned her head left so she could see exactly what he was referring to. What May saw was absolute carnage on a scale she had seen only once before. The nightmare of Monsu Island was recurring right in front of her eyes.
A lot of people have wanted to see Ash 'put May in her place' as they say and I hope this chapter worked in that regard. That's why I love getting responses from different viewers, it lets me know what you're all thinking and would like to see. Also don't threat I didn't reveal May's sixth Pokémon to have him only have fifteen seconds of fame, he will return later on. In this chapter I really wanted to show how far Ash has come, when he battles he's serious, unwavering and strong like you'd expect an Elite Four member to be. In case you haven't noticed I love leaving big cliff hangers for my chapters so sorry but you'll have to keep hanging in there for me, so stay tuned.