It's been a while, people. I had exams and stuff, so yeah, I am back with a new chapter.
Firstly adressing a particular review: Guest: No I am definitely not being hypocritical. There is an explanation in the near future chapters on how special abilities can be manipulated to use them effectively in battle. But the charging period for Hyperbeam is a must, you are using a very powerful move and in exchange you leave yourselves vulnerable to your opponents. There is no easy way around it. Torterra has Frenzy Plant because it could afford getting hit. The same cannot be said for Tauros.
~*~5. A new battle style? Nah!~*~
October 3
Countdown 363:17:00:12
The gentle mountainside was wind wasn't harsh, it wasn't cold, and it was pleasant. The fresh air in lungs was always welcome. I stretched my muscles one more time, removing any hint of laziness. The two—no, three of us were already quite a good distance away from Pallet Town.
"So dad, why are you taking me to this place?" I asked the man beside me. He was a feet above me, much to my annoyance, but he had a pleasant look on his face, which means he wasn't in his usual snide mood now.
"I'm going to teach you a whole new battle style," he said.
"A whole new battle style!" I was baffled, excited and somewhat skeptical at the same time.
He chuckled, perhaps at my childish joy. "It's going to improve your own battle style. It's actually something you regularly do anyway." He ran his fingers through his long hair, "But first, you should know what these mountains are famous for."
I should have told him earlier. I have already visited this place while training for the Indigo League. "I know, this place is known for giant Onix, and this is where Bruno trains. Isn't that right, Pikachu?"
"Pika," my buddy cooed in agreement.
He was visibly surprised, "Those were the two things I wanted you to tell about. You beat me to it kid."
"Are we going to meet Bruno?" I asked eagerly.
Dad shook his head, "Bruno's in Rosenburg," his face brightened up when he said the last word.
He loved that place, more so than my mom.
My eyes fell on the hut downhill. "Let's rest there, there's an old woman I know from last time," my voice was somewhat cold. It was jealousy perhaps, that he valued his goal more than me and mom. And yet what had compelled him to come back just before the tournament?
I walked to the hut and pulled the sliding old fashioned door, "Hey anybody here?" I was met with silence and a completely empty room. The old woman must have vacated this place.
"Nobody can live for more than two months in a place like this. The Onix here are too dangerous." Behind me dad set down his back pack and pulled out a box. "Let's eat kiddo," he settled down on a rock nearby.
"Fine," I said taking a seat opposite to him. Two hours of walk in the cold morning made me hungry. Nothing could be better than a homemade breakfast.
"Mm," dad relished his food, with his eyes closed, "I really missed her cooking. All we got in Rosenburg was the cheap food from Elli's. Mao never allowed us to spend more than necessary on food."
"Mao…" I heard the name more than once, "Tell me more about him."
"He was an awesome trainer. He comes from China where Pokémon training isn't that famous. He mixed martial art techniques with Pokémon battles. Every second I spent with him was worth it," his face was filled with pride and joy.
"I see," I wanted to honestly share the joy with him but I was feeling down for some reason. Something in my heart was plunging me since the day he came back. It was just one question.
"Why did you leave us dad?" The words came out of my mouth involuntarily. I cursed myself to ask that aloud. The question might be hurting me from the inside, but the smile on mom's face…I hate this! I loved my dad, he's so cool! He was amazing, he coaches me well, and I realized he was only being harsh with me for the sake of being harsh. Everything was going well between us but this feeling that I was left behind, it hurt me. It hurt me more that my mom simply forgave him, like the ten years of silent anguish she felt was nothing at all. She was naïve; she could be left behind again.
The man was surprised by my question, "What's with you all of a sudden?"
"Uh, nothing," I hid my eyes from his gaze, and looked at the distant trail of rocks that formed the mountain. "Forget it."
"It's fine," he mumbled, "If you hate me then say it aloud."
"No, I—," I paused. Yeah, what was it then? I must really hate him. Damn, why was it so hard to admit?
He spoke, "The connection between us is that of a teacher and a student. You didn't accept me as a father, as far as I remember. You never said you loved me or something. I don't expect you to do that anytime soon, or perhaps never. I deserve that because I abandoned you."
"So you knew all along that I hate you?" I asked. It was hilarious because I thought I put the past behind me. So, I was hiding from my feelings to support mom? Then I am worse than her. She ignores the pain because she loves him too much, and I ignore my pain because I don't like to hurt their relationship. I never knew I was capable of something complex. I was doing it without my knowledge. "Then answer me, why did you abandon us?"
"Ash you of all should understand me," he said.
Understand what? It's true that I badly want to become a Pokémon Master but would I—
My thoughts were interrupted by him, "I didn't have any choice, I was already five years behind my schedule. I couldn't even qualify to the Champion League when I was supposed to win it."
"What?" I gasped.
The calm and composed Alex Ketchum no longer existed. I saw the other side of dad, the frustrated side that is. The frustration of not being able to win. The same I felt when Charizard refused to listen to my command against Ritchie. It was my most painful loss.
He sprang up from his seat, "I couldn't take it anymore. I couldn't do the same mistake again; I had to win this time. That was when I decided to leave you people. I had no choice. Being a father and a husband was holding me back."
Anger shook me up. My fists tightened, "Then why did you marry in the first place."
"Why?" He snapped, "Because I loved her!"
It doesn't make sense, not even a bit. "You could have hold off the marriage till you won the league. You were only eighteen!" It was something my mom told.
The furious man calmed down at once, as if he were defeated by my question. He sat back and took in a deep breath. "Circumstances, Ash. I was forced to marry her."
"What kind of circumstances?" I asked, still serious. I refused to go down; I didn't want to pity him.
"You won't understand. Forget it, Ash. You won't get more out of me. Shall we forget this and continue our training?"
His words were final. Yeah, I won't get any more out of him. Well, there's always tomorrow.
"Fine. But before that I have a few questions about Multiple Thunderbolt." Our conversation causally drifted off from serious to a more formal and easy topic.
"So how's Ash? Is he any better than in the Sinnoh League?" Words spat out of Barry's mouth faster than a bullet. He was prancing eagerly, waiting for Dawn's reply.
The blunette sighed, "So that's the first question you ask. Nothing like 'Hey Dawn, how have you been' sort of questions?"
"Hey Dawn, how have you been?"
"Not you Kenny," she replied sourly, "I know you would say that a million times if I ask you to."
The plump boy blushed, "What do you mean by that Ms. Diamond Dandruff?" He attacked her instead.
"Ah stop squawking the two of you, I want more important stuff," Barry pushed himself between the two.
"You should start giving me more respect first," she put a demanding expression, placing her hand on her hips. "You could start with some courtesy first."
"I'm going to fine you for this!" The blonde was mad for a second and then politely bowed down to the girl, "Please, Dawn tell me how Ash's training is going on?"
The girl simply giggled at his expression and said, "He said he'll become strong."
"It's still two thunderbolts, not a double thunderbolt," Dad said as we walked down.
"All that secret training last night was a waste, huh?" The news was disheartening. Both I and my buddy had to put extra effort for that actually. "But we were close, right?"
"Yep, that girl's idea s working," he nodded. "Now for what I actually wanted to show you—" Dad pointed at the large trail of mud. "We need to spot a giant Onix first," he said.
"Leave it to us," I gave him a thumb up. "Swellow!"
The Pokéball exploded, forming a swallow Pokémon in the midst of the sky.
"Swellow, I want you to search for this giiiant Onix!" The Pokémon nodded and followed the trail. He was a smart guy.
"It's really huge," and I could say that every time I see it. The giant Onix was standing before us, and it was definitely not happy seeing us. I couldn't possibly know the reason why this particular Onix was so mad. Onix despite its appearance were docile Pokémon, and not territorial unless they want to protect something valuable or you endangered them with water Pokémon.
"When an Onix is mad there are two possibilities," Dad said, "Either something's struck inside it or it had a heart break. Anyway it will be useful for your training kid. Are you ready for my demonstration?"
"Of course," I nodded. This new battle style thing, I wonder what it is. A secret trick? Or a powerful new move?
"Pikachu," Dad commanded my buddy. "Hop your little A over here."
The rodent looked at me somewhat irritated by his bossy attitude. Sorry buddy he's my trainer, and I am yours. Things work the wrong way sometimes. "You can compensate it with a thunderbolt later," I whispered so that my dad couldn't hear.
He did as directed and stood before the Onix. He freaked out against Brock's Onix when we began our journey and look at him now. I guess we have come a long way after all.
"Now Ash and Pikachu carefully look at what Onix is basing its entire body on," he pointed at the rock that supported Onix's upper part. "This weakness applies to any Onix and Steelix. Being composed of many individual parts, you might not notice it but the rock that supports Onix's weight is larger than the rest of the rocks." It was true, Onix supported most of its weight on one particular part. Despite seeing a lot of Onix, this fact never crossed me.
After giving us a second to digest the fact he spoke, "Pikachu use a full powered Iron Tail on that rock."
"Pika?" Pikachu looked at him confused.
Dad insisted, "You heard it right; hit it on that particular spot. Avoid hitting anything else."
"Do it, buddy," I believed in my dad and so should you. The rodent nodded.
The Onix noticing that its opponent prepared to strike it, loomed its enormous expanse to the ground, ready to confront Pikachu with any head on attack. Pikachu charged first, sprinting on his four legs. As he went closer to the giant Onix, the Pokémon let out a roar, ready to take on any attack Pikachu was about to throw.
Replying to his roar Pikachu jumped in midst of his sprint. His tail stiffened with a bright light. Onix lurched forward to bite him, but with the grace of a ballerina, Pikachu spun about itself as it let out its own battle cry.
With one large sweep, that could make any swordsman envious; the iron tail flowed past the particular rock it was aimed at. The rodent landed on the ground with the same grace as it performed the attack.
Everything was still for a second. It was beautiful. I never noticed it because I was always in the tense mood of a battle, but I never thought Pikachu's Iron Tail would look so beautiful. Heck, I could give May and Dawn a run for their money if I ever wanted to get into contests. But—no, it wasn't that kind of a beautiful thing. It was more like a guy's kind of beautiful thing. Gah, you catch my drift?
"The correct word is elegant," Dad said as if he read my mind.
The Onix turned back, wondering what hit it. It noticed Pikachu standing beside its tail. In a jet of rage it turned around and prepared to charge at Pikachu.
"Pikachu watch—!"
There was no need to worry. Yeah, if anything I should worry about the Onix. Because the mighty serpent that prepared to attack Pikachu couldn't even move an inch before collapsing like a stack of play cards.
"How the heck did that happen?" I asked, puzzled. My previous knowledge told me it took more than one Iron Tail to finish Onix. Even two or three won't be enough, let alone one.
"Pikachu hit its weakest spot and rendered it immobile," Dad explained. "Is that so hard to understand?"
I defended myself, "I know that already. It was just a rhetoric question."
"This is the battle style I talked about," he said proudly. "Find the weakness of your opponent and chop him off."
Huh, wait? I think I know something like this already. "I know it already. There's nothing new about it."
"I have expected that too. But I bet you never tried it on a regular basis did you? Besides I will tell you few tips to observe only useful things."
That was correct. I only used it in desperate times. "Hmm, I guess you are right."
"I am always correct, Ash," he grinned. "This is the trick that Mao taught both me and Bruno. You must remember one thing though. Don't depend on it. Most of the times you won't find a weakness in a trained Pokémon. Even if you do, they would have something to cover the weakness. But if you see that your opponent is unaware of it, then use the chance. It's a fool proof strategy, trust me. You may not be completely defeat the opponent, but you could cripple it at least. All you need is to continuously critique your opponent Pokémon's physique."
Wait, so Bruno knows this trick too? But when I asked him if he had any trick up his sleeve five years ago. All he said was the Pokémon and friendship crap that everyone says. No wonder he could find out what exactly was Onix's problem. Heh, he's scared that I might beat him some day with his own strategy.
"So critique my opponent Pokémon's physique?" I repeated what he said.
"Yes. One thing you must notice is if your opponent's Pokémon has a glaring weakness then he'll be on guard about it the whole time. So if you study its body movements, you could find what it keeps protecting, and then when you get the opportunity—"
"You knock them off!" I punched into the air. "I get it!"
"It's easier said than done," Dad held my raised fists. "Let's see if there is any wild berserk Pokémon or a random trainer hiding in the mountain, what do you say?"
"Sure!"
"Good, this battle suits you because of your observation capacity." he smiled with satisfaction. "First we heal the Onix though." He pointed at the whimpering Pokémon.
He said as he unpacked a Super Potion and sprayed at the Pokémon's bruised boulder, "I tried learning Mao's battle style for years and couldn't do it. The only thing I knew was this weakness Onix has, Ash. That's why I brought you here. This is a battle style only those with truly gifted observation capacity can learn."
"Do you think I have them?" I asked.
"If there are any good points about you as a trainer, it's that," he smiled. The Pokémon's whimpering's seized. Instead a soft growl took its place. The giant Onix lifted its head to look at me and Dad. The Pokémon looked somewhat surprised, but understood we weren't its enemies. It simply lay down as he gently brushed its rock. "Ash, every Pokémon has its own unique weakness, even among the same species. There is no secret strategy to beat all the Pokémon, you must learn to observe correctly, and that comes with natural talent and a bit of practice."
"I thank you for taking up my offer," the gracious looking young man said as he sat down on the other side of the table.
Okay, she might be overrating his looks, but he did spend a good amount of money on this. May could tell it by simply looking at the menu.
"It's nothing," she tried to be just as gracious and humble.
'Ack, did that come out right?'
No, she shouldn't look nervous. The date was a casual one. Something Gary did to spend his time after cooping himself in research for two and a half years. He did say that directly. But still it was a date. And there were no casual dates, only serious ones.
May wondered for a second how her brain worked. It began with a statement and by the end of the train of thought she ended up contradicting it.
They were in Viridian City's most expensive restaurant: The J&J restaurant. For a second she thought it was Jessie and James, but Gary said he did a background check on that, and the couple of good for nothing criminals had nothing to do with the restaurant.
"So May what will you be taking?"
She heard something of that sort. May's fuzzy brain came to focus, and she saw a waiter standing at their table, with a notepad in his hand.
"Oh," she turned to Gary and asked, "What about you?"
"Why do I get to be the girl and you the guy?" Iris was mad, but she kept her voice low. They were in Viridian's J&J restaurant after all.
"With that long hair of yours, you don't expect me to be the girl," Misty said derisively, as either of them hid their faces behind a menu card.
Misty was wearing a rental blue jacket, over faded blue jeans. Her emerald eyes were hid behind the dark shades. Her red hair was let loose, and draped over her shoulders. To an untrained eye she was a red haired guy with an overgrown hair. Something like that wasn't odd in the twenty-first century.
But what was odd was the other girl, Iris.
"Why the heck am I wearing Asian clothing?" She asked Misty for the umpteenth time.
"Gosh, will you stop complaining? How are we supposed to hide your damn hair otherwise?" Iris's hair, much to her annoyance was combed and tied into a single knot at the bottom. Her dress, which was a traditional robe from somewhere in South Asia, completely covered her hair. Unfortunately that was the only realistic disguise one could come up with a stubborn girl who refused to cut her hair.
Iris hushed as soon as she saw the waiter approaching.
"Your order, sir?" He sent a courteous glance to Misty, and an awkward one at Iris.
"This is my wife's first visit to Kanto," Misty's voice was more like a teenage boy though. The waiter decided to ignore the impossibilities as it was not his place and simply listened. "Do you have any Kanto specialties?"
Iris rolled her eyes. She knew what Misty was trying. She was constantly rubbing it on her face that Iris was the 'wife' and Misty was the 'husband'. Poor little girl doesn't probably know wives have more power over husbands.
The waiter's eyes brightened up, "Sir, we do have an excellent course just for you."
It has been two hours since we began searching for a berserk Pokémon. It was dad's motto not to attack a Pokémon unless it attacked us first. I actually liked that, but it's getting annoying now. There aren't any trainers here, not even a soul. We checked in through the last three tunnels that could have been made my some Onix or Bruno and found nothing but Rattata.
We finally reached a dead end, a small valley between two of the hills. We could climb and check the top, but it's highly unlikely that someone would be up there.
"Let's go back," Dad said dejected. "The mountains aren't just that lively anymore. This place used to be a hub for rough trainers."
The two of us turned around and decided to head back.
"Pi," Pikachu's grip on my shoulders tightened. His ears were wobbling, he must have heard something.
"Dad," I warned him. Noticing the seriousness in my voice he stopped and looked around cautiously.
The ground around us began to vibrate. It was as if we were standing on a platform and it was about to collapse underneath us.
'An earthquake?'
"Pikapi!"
Pikachu screamed a warning into my ears. My instinct made me turn around, only to notice the approaching danger.
Hidden in the ground, something plowed its way towards us, like a shark in the deep sea. In a reflexive action I threw myself away from the path of the approaching danger.
Having missed me, whatever it was turned around and headed towards me again. The hidden creature tunneled past me, drawing a line. Then it appeared on our right, and dug out another line.
"It's trying to trap us inside, try stopping it." Dad said.
I was having the same idea too. I actually have a perfect Pokémon for the occasion. This was definitely the best time for taking out the land shark.
"Gible, I choose you!"
Well it was a mini-land shark. It was still a tiny Gible after all. Gible opened its mouth and stared at me, clueless. He was a bit slow on the intake.
"Gible, use Dig and lure the Pokémon out!"
Its mouth still wide open, Gible nodded—no, shook its entire body would deem more appropriate. Gible dove into the ground, like an ace swimmer into the arena and dug its way towards the hostile creature.
The two lines of dirt met and in an explosion of sand and dust, a shadow rose up from underneath and landed far away from us.
Having successfully completed its job, Gible dug its way towards and peeped out from the ground. He moved his jaws and made a sound which could have translated into 'Job done'. I wasn't sure.
"Good job, buddy!" I appreciated his work anyway.
My attention shifted to the silhouette beyond the dust that slowly settled down. It was small, a bit larger than Pikachu but not more. I had a good idea of what it was but waited till the dust completely cleared away, revealing the Pokémon and confirming my doubt.
"Sandslash," I muttered its name. "Looks like we have got a wild Pokémon to test our new battle style!"
"It's not a wild Pokémon," Dad said. He looked around with a suspicious glint in his eyes, "Wild Sandslash don't grow this much."
I didn't realize that the Pokémon was much larger than any Sandslash I have seen before. Even the spikes on its body were suspiciously large and looked pretty sharp.
"Slash," the Pokémon growled, snapping its claws like scissors.
"You haven't changed much have you, Ash Ketchum?"
The voice startled me. I didn't recognize it, but the tone felt somewhat familiar. I looked upon the cliff to see who the owner of the voice was.
The bright afternoon sunshine blinded my vision, but with extreme difficulty I did notice a sturdy personality standing on the distant cliff.
Was it Bruno? The person was too short for that. He carried something in his hand, something like a rope. No, it was a whip.
Wait! Could it be?
"A.J?" I asked, somewhat doubtful.
"Am glad that you remember me," with a grunt he jumped from the seven foot height and dropped right before us. "Very few remember me these days."
How could I forget him? The guy with one hundred consecutive wins. The guy who promised to meet me at the Indigo League and failed to do so—
"You know, you broke your promise," I said.
The guy with spiky black hair playfully swung the whip, "I couldn't make it to the League, Ash."
"You couldn't?" I was slightly surprised. How could a guy talented and hard-working like him not make it to the league?
"The past is past," he said, "I have been training in various mountains in Kanto since that day. Once I'm done with here I'll go to Mt. Silver. What about you, Ash?"
"My dad's training me for the Pokémon World Tournament," I replied. I turned to my dad, "Dad, meet A.J, a friend from long time ago."
Dad and A.J exchanged a complementary glance. A.J shifted his attention to me, "Hey Ash, what kind of a Pokémon is that?" He pointed his finger at Gible.
"Huh," I was mildly surprised. Perhaps Gible were much rare than I thought. "It's a Gible, from Sinnoh Region."
"Wow," there was surprise on his face, "You have travelled that far?"
"What do you mean?" I chuckled, "Sinnoh's nothing compared to Unova. You actually need a plane to get to Unova."
"Excuse me but," Dad interrupted, "A.J you have never travelled these regions?"
"Nah," A.J twirled his whip, "I was training my Pokémon in Kanto itself. Don't you see how strong my Sandslash is?"
"It's pretty strong," Dad agreed, "Ash this is your best opportunity."
I understood what he meant. Finding a trainer in this mountain was impossible, I can't just let this opportunity pass.
"Challenge his Sandslash with your Gible," Dad ordered. "I'll referee."
Why the heck was he deciding what Pokémon I should be using? For some reason I decided to follow him though.
"Fine with me, Ash," A.J said. "Let's battle."
"How much more will she eat?" Iris moaned. "I really feel sorry for Gary's wallet."
"Well she's using the opportunity," Misty said. The two girls in disguise have finished their course a long time ago, and have ordered three courses of desserts already, and yet May didn't seem like she was about to budge yet. Gary, who was sitting with her, was putting a troubled expression, but he obviously didn't have the stomach to stop her. No man could ever do that on a date.
"I was expecting a lot of spicy stuff," Iris complained. "Like in the movies. All I am seeing is May hoarding the food."
"Well, after this date I think Gary will choose cheaper restaurants," Misty said.
From somewhere far away, a set of red-eyes watched the two girls. The two red-eyes that were like a painting on the wall then disappeared with a snicker. "Gengar gar gar."
The battle was set. The battle field was set between the two cliffs. A.J was standing before me, his trusty buddy Sandslash on his side. I was actually somewhat worried about the choice of Pokémon. Sandslash was A.J's number one partner. Using a grass type would give me a better chance, or I could at least use a Pokémon that I trained well. Gible didn't have much of battle experience. But he did have a secret move up his sleeve, something that covered up his inexperience.
"Ready, Gible?" I asked. I shouldn't have any doubts on my Pokémon. That wasn't how Ash Ketchum operated.
"We'll finish this pretty fast," A.J scoffed. Well it's true that Gible doesn't give you much of an impression but still, underestimating us would be fatal to him.
Dad announced, "Let the battle begin!"
Alright, the time's come. Time to test my new battle style.
Sandslash stood right before us. So what's a Sandslash's weakness?
Sandslash's upper part is made up of tough spikes, attacking that part wouldn't do much damage. A.J gave it a harsh training all these years, but based on what I saw, he trained it so that its spikes are super strong. Not to mention, its roll out attack would be too powerful thanks to all that special training in these mountains. This place wasn't called the home of powerful ground types for nothing. The land was fertile, which makes the Pokémon grow extra tough.
So that means the part not covered by its spikes would be its weakness. So that's what we should aim for.
"Gible," My objective is clear; the path for victory was in front of me. So I'll just have to blast through. Nothing would be better than a "Dragon Pulse!"
Widening its enormous jaws, Gible concentrated its Dragon type energy into a green sphere.
"Dragon what?" A.J seemed to panic. He hardly knows anything about Gible, this match's unfair.
Gible shot the ball of energy at Sandslash; the attack was powerful enough to throw the Pokémon back in recoil. He's small but his attacks pack a lot of punch than what his body could take.
"Sandslash, guard yourself!" A.J commanded.
The mouse Pokémon curled itself into a ball as the sphere approached. The green ball of energy shot like a canon, the momentum of the attack was powerful enough to raise the dust along the path it moved.
The attack landed on the brown exterior with an explosion, throwing away the mouse.
I looked at the curled Sandslash with glee. The attack would have done pretty good damage. Man, I should train this little guy a bit more.
That's what I thought for that instant but when the mouse Pokémon uncurled itself, what I saw made me take back most of what I thought. There wasn't even a single scratch.
"It's tough," I muttered. What else should I expect? He's A.J's top Pokémon.
So much for my hit the weak spot strategy. Defending its inner part was a piece of cake for Sandslash. Like dad said, not all Pokémon have obvious weaknesses. I should keep my eyes open though.
"It's my turn, Ash." A.J stretched his whip and glared.
Bring it on. I glared back.
"Roll Out!"
The mouse Pokémon curled itself before, this time it began to roll like football. Except this one kicks you back.
"Gible, Dig!"
The tiny dragon didn't hesitate to go below the ground level. Dig was the best countermeasure.
Having lost a target to strike, the rolling football stopped. Sandslash was in a pinch, Gible could hit from any direction. That's the beauty of dig. The move's pretty obvious and straight-forward and yet hard to counterattack. I wonder if A.J had something up his sleeve.
"Sandslash you know the drill!" He yelled at the mouse, which nodded.
Fine he does have something for dealing with dig. Then I guess we will have to go for the move.
"Gible now!"
Not a second after my command, Sandslash's ears twitched, it must have sensed Gible.
The ground before Sandslash split, as a tiny Pokémon emerged ready to smash Sandslash. Except there wasn't a target for Gible to hit.
"What the!"
Sandslash was in the air before Gible could even land a hit.
"Rollout!"
The airborne Sandslash turned into a ball again. With intense momentum powered by gravity, the attack landed straight on Gible's face.
The Pokémon crashed onto the ground, and bounced like a ball before trying to stand on its two legs.
My attention shifted to Sandslash. As I expected, he was ready for another round of Rollout, this time powered up.
Gible was in no position to dodge that. Sandslash approached Gible at a dangerous speed, ready to mow down the Pokémon once more.
"Counter it," it was my only option, "Rock Smash!"
Gible concentrated a fist with its tiny arms, and threw a punch at the approaching ball. The punch had hardly any impact, nor did it do anything to slow down the power-upped Rollout. Gible was pushed away with relative ease; the attack dragged it down to the ground, and slid against the rough surface.
The damage was not much, but with Rollout it wasn't the damage that worries you, but the Pokémon's increasing momentum.
Gible struggled to its feet a lot quicker than last time.
Sandslash returned for more, this time with more power.
"Dodge!"
Gible threw itself to the left, barely saving itself from the attack. The pattern repeated once more. Sandslash reached the other end and turned back once more, to come back with even more momentum.
I can't keep dodging, No, dodging would make it worse.
Sandslash began the attack once more. With improved speed and power, it came back for Gible once more.
"Gible use Dragon Pulse on the ground!"
That's right; we still have an option left. If the opponent was getting the upper hand then you should just remove it.
No soon as I commanded so, A.J who seemed to catch my drift commanded, "Jump!"
Impossible, it can't jump in midst of a Rollout!
Gible fired its Dragon Pulse at the ground, disintegrating the relatively plain surface with a small dent enough to put out Sandslash's momentum.
Sandslash simply jumped above the obstacle that could have put in a fix. Then in that case—
"Rock Smash!"
Gible prepared itself from the Rollout coming from the air and struck the rotating ball straight on. If Sandslash jumped to dodge the depression in the ground, its speed would drastically fall or so I thought.
Without losing even a bit of its momentum, Sandslash once again bowled Gible out with ease.
"Dammit," I stomped the ground.
"We trained for two years on the mountains for two years, Ash," A.J rubbed his nose, and pointed his whip at me, "Do you think a small bump would defeat me?"
Sandslash's momentum kept on increasing. I could dodge one or two, but after that? Soon Rollout would be strong enough to finish Gible off.
This sucks. Dragon Pulse and Rock Smash won't work.
"Gible, Dig!"
It was my only chance.
A.J cried, "Attack!"
Before Gible could hardly make a crack to jump in, the bulldozer called Sandslash hit Gible once more, tossing it away like thrash and moved on to strike it.
"Jump and use Dig!"
Gible jumped over the attack this time and dove into the ground. Jumping from that height would give it enough power to get underground without any effort.
But my calculations were wrong once more. Gible as it approached the ground was knocked off balance by a super-fast Rollout.
"Gible!"
The little dragon fell limp on the ground. The damage done was small, but even the small damage would slowly pile up to do bigger damages.
Dig, Dragon Pulse and Rock Smash won't work. And I can't exactly use Draco Meteor against a target like Sandslash, not when it's this fast.
The Rollout came in once more, this time Gible barely dodged it, as I didn't send it any command.
Good Job, Gible. But it won't work again. I should figure out something.
Another strike. "Keep Dodging!" I yelled at my Pokémon. It was impossible but he could try dodging while I figure out something.
I should study Sandslash. Rollout had to have some weakness. Why wasn't our Rock Smash or Dragon Pulse working?
It's momentum.
Yes, it was Sandslash's momentum that kept Gible's attacks from doing it. But instead of attacking in the horizontal direction, if I attack from up or down then it could do some damage.
That's right, if I attack from the right direction, it wouldn't matter how much momentum Sandslash has.
It's just like deflecting a football. It's easier to hit from the perpendicular side than facing it straight on. Not that something like that would be possible in a real match.
But it's easier said than done. Well I'll just give it a try.
What was the boy thinking?
Alex was worried. Gible was hardly dodging those attacks. Most of them were almost direct hits, and did a good number on Gible. About six of them must have hit by now. If Gible didn't had a type advantage against Rollout it could have been seriously damaged by now.
Was Ash trying the new battle style? It could be. His eyes were fixated on Sandslash.
There was a change in the boy's attitude. He seems to have an idea. It wasn't a confident smirk, so he was having his doubts. But whatever it was he would try to use it.
So what was it?
The Rollout was nearly impossible to stop now. It approached Gible once more with blinding speed.
"Gible use Dragon Pulse on the ground!"
It was this again? Didn't it fail the last time?
Gible willingly obeyed its trainer and shot the green or of energy at the ground once more.
"You are desperate," A.J scoffed.
The mouse Pokémon, needless of its master's command jumped just as the Pulse struck the ground and found itself in the air.
The glint in Ash's eyes grew brighter. Things were going just as expected.
Ash exclaimed, "Now, jump and use Rock Smash straight on top of Sandslash!"
The superfast rollout struck the ground as Gible jumped. It wasn't fast enough to dodge the Rollout completely the attack approached Gible before it could complete the jump, but—
Gible has already prepared its right fist for a Rock Smash and struck the ball called Sandslash just as it made contact with Gible.
Alex couldn't comprehend what happened next. The ground beneath Sandslash cracked as if a heavy weight landed on it. Gible was pushed away by Rollout' impact. But instead of moving further, Sandslash's rotation stopped.
Alex remained speechless for a second. What just happened? The bewilderment in his face was shared by A.J, but in Ash's face it was happiness.
"You are awesome, Gible!" Ash jumped, as the dragon took back to its feet. With opened jaws, it simply watched what happened in awe too.
Alex realized what happened. When Sandslash was about to hit Gible, the landshark was in the air, and used a Rock smash straight on top of Sandslash. The attack may not have any impact on Sandslash's body, but Gible's power wasn't to be underestimated. It thrust Sandslash's ball of rollout into the ground. The rest was taken care by friction. But of course Rollout's momentum was too good to be stopped, and Gible's arms were too small, so the Rollout struck it anyway.
Ash successfully stopped Rollout. If Gible's arms had been longer—no, if Gible had been a Gabite, it could have stopped Rollout without breaking a sweat. A power-upped rollout would have been stopped like it was nothing. It was just simple physics. The funny part was, Ash didn't even know what Physics was.
The boy before him was a battle genius. He doesn't have the knack to remember complicated stuff like special abilities and all, his specialty lies in making out of box strategies and win matches.
He was ten times better than Alex was when he was fifteen.
"What a lucker!" A.J shrugged. "I guess your stars are good today."
Lucker wasn't even a word. Ah, no it didn't matter, this kid doesn't seem to notice what Ash did.
Tch.
Ash simply grinned innocently at A.J's component. Ah, so he has a shrewd side too? The more he watched his son, the more he learnt about him. Especially in battle.
Ash's battle style isn't as straight forward as people make it out to be.
"Luck won't get you victories, Ash!" A.J whipped against the ground, "Rollout once more!"
Let's do it again then. Let's see how much of it was luck.
"Gible, jump and use Rock Smash!"
My little friend was facing the annoying move again. But this time, Rollout wasn't power-upped. He can do it.
Gible, having used to the fast Rollout jumped onto this one with ease, and punched straight on top. This time it was perfect.
The ground beneath Sandslash cracked once more, this time with more impact. The rolling turned into rotating and then stopped. Gible simply jumped off Sandslash and stared at the curled stationary ball.
"Again?" A.J clenched the whip in frustration. "So it wasn't luck, eh?"
So he figured it out. Now use your next move. No, I'll just take the lead from now.
"Dragon Pulse!"
A.J followed my lead, "Use Dig!" He commanded.
"Follow it!" I barked. An underground battle would be interesting.
Following Sandslash, Gible jumped into the ground.
The field was empty, as the two Pokémon went deep inside to the ground. As trainers there was nothing we could do on the ground. Instead we exchanged glances.
"You made a mistake, Ash!" The spiky haired boy smiled viciously. "I have been training my Sandslash just for this."
I retorted, "Don't underestimate my Gible either."
Just as said that, two piles of sand rose up, as Gible and Sandslash erupted from the ground at the same time.
I don't know what happened underground but this was a good chance, Sandslash's front was exposed.
"Dragon Pulse!"
Gible struck the mouse with the powerful attack before A.J could even react.
The attack that struck Sandslash straight on its face threw it off balance onto the ground, where it staggered to balance on its feet.
"That's some damage," I smirked.
A.J was unhappy. Maybe because he didn't expect much from a tiny Pokémon. Appearances can be deceiving.
But still I can't deny the fact that Sandslash was extremely good. The difficulty it put us in with just Rollout was too much. And I was kinda lucky with the damage we did just now. For all we know, Gible would have run off after not coping up with Sandslash underground.
He still has two more moves left. I wonder what they are.
A.J looked at us with animosity, "You are giving us a lot of trouble than I thought. I guess we should go all out."
Gible wasn't my ace Pokémon, but he needs to go all out to defeat any of my Pokémon, that was for sure.
"I thought that was all your Sandslash could do," I bluffed.
A.J smiled, "You have gotten just as cocky as good. Let's see how you'll face my Sand Rush."
"Sand Rush?" The name was familiar. I don't remember where I heard it. Dad must have taught it in his ability classes, but I hardly remember much. All of that stuff was too much to take in. He taught me about a five hundred abilities in just one day. I should have mugged up like he told, but I used the time to perfect Multiple Thunderbolt. Not that it did much good.
"Sandslash, sandstorm!" He commanded as if he just ordered the extinction of all humans.
Sandslash lifted its claws into the air in a prayer like ritual.
'Sandslash whipped up a Sandstorm' was the accurate description of what happened now. Out of nothing, a swirling tornado of sand rose engulfing everything around its wake. Some of the sand ended up in my mouth. It was definitely not worth eating.
Holding my hat in its place I watched Gible who stood in the sand, unfazed, and mouth still open. I guess mama Garchomps need not worry about their kids eating mud.
"Witness my *cough*Sandslash's *cough* Sand Rush!" A.J was having a hard time speaking, and yet couldn't resist from gloating.
So it was something good?
"X-Scissor!"
I heard a distant voice shout.
I said, "Watch out, Gible!"
My eyes were set on Sandslash. For god knows why, he decided to not use this move till now. I have to be careful with his claws, but at the same time if I let him come closer I could attack its frontal part for heavy damage.
Then, Sandslash disappeared from my view. Like a magic, like an Alakazam's teleportation and—
Appeared right before Gible.
"DO—"
I didn't even have time to complete my command and Gible was slashed by the mouse Pokémon's sharp claws.
"Gible!" I cried.
The damage was too much. That Sandslash's pretty fast! Damn it, what happened till now wasn't even a real battle. We can't lose now.
I—
"Ash, get stronger."
Three words flashed my mind. I have to get stronger. That's true. I am not getting stronger if I keep losing like this. I should try dad's battle style.
Sandslash was fast, superfast! Dammit I can't do anything!
Ah, I am panicking. Dammit, I knew I was panicking and it's only making things worse.
There gotta be something Gible could do and—
A bulb flashed in my brain.
Gible's special ability: Sand Veil. Well, I at least remembered the important parts from dad's coaching.
I said to myself, "I guess it's good to panic, once in a while."
I ordered the dragon type, "Gible, use your special ability, hide in the storm!"
A.J screamed from the other side, "Finish it off!"
Sandslash raised its arms, preparing to strike again. Like a ghost Gible slipped into the storm.
I couldn't see it, but I am pretty sure A.J was frustrated. If A.J had known about Gible it would have been different. But A.J didn't knew what Gible's ability was, and dug his own grave. Today's my win, A.J.
The toying began. Gible appeared behind Sandslash. The Pokémon noticing the presence behind turned around and prepared to slash Gible, but the Pokémon was long gone.
Sandslash jerked its head to the right, and jumped straight at Gible, and ended up slashing an false image.
A chance! "Gible, Dragon Pulse!"
A green orb appeared out of nowhere but—
"You can dodge it, Sandslash!"
Sandslash noticed the attack too late, but for the demonic speed it possessed now it wasn't that late.
Half a second later, Sandslash was found slashing empty air again.
"Good Job, Gible," I muttered.
Sandslash can't hit me, but I can't Sandslash either. Man! This was a stalemate.
A.J on the other hand wasn't keen on giving up. "Keep attacking, Sandslash!"
Likewise, "Keep Dodging!"
This was unbelievable superiority. Either Pokémon thanks to the weather effects, and their abilities were able to perform things outside their capability. The battle transcended from ordinary to extraordinary even by Pokémon standards.
I could wait till Sandslash loses energy to fight and finish the battle. But that's risky. I can't rest the battle on a possibility. There was a good chance that Gible could be struck before that happens.
Using Rock Smash was a suicide. Dragon Pulse would easily be dodged. Sandslash has superiority underground so Dig wasn't an option. I could try Draco Meteor. But with a speed like that—
No, before Gible could even do the attack, it will give away its location. I should think something and quick!
I have absolutely no use with Dig or Rock Smash; both the moves would make me lose. Dragon Pulse was too slow to hit Sandslash, and on top of that it would throw Gible in danger if I keep using it. Sandslash's fast and A.J's smart enough to use it.
I have no choice. I have to use Draco Meteor and finish this match. But how? Maybe like I did against Conway? I could try eating Sandslash's attack. But that speed, there was no way Gible could outmatch that. But with Sand veil…
A plan began to form in my head. But would that be even possible? It's outrageous, if I fail I lose. It's do or die.
I shouted, "Gible use Dragon Pulse!"
"You are a goner!" A.J yelled.
Sandslash disappeared before Dragon Pulse hit and appeared at what was the source of the attack. But there was nothing.
"Be sharp, Sandslash. Don't let it escape this time."
He knows using Dragon Pulse would be game for me. Gible could perform tricks and confuse Sandslash, but if it knew where Gible exactly was, the special ability won't exactly make Gible disappear from the sight.
He's on high alert now. If I am not careful, he would finish the battle. But I will lower my guard.
One X-Scissor was enough to put Gible out of shape. This one would definitely finish Gible off. That Sandslash's high leveled, I have to accept that first.
So—"Gible. Jump and use Dragon Pulse!"
"Gotcha!"
Sandslash stiffened its muscles, ready to dodge anytime and hit the source.
Gible, who doesn't know my plan, decided to play it safe and attacked from behind.
Good Job. "Get ready for a bite, Gible!" I hope he gets the hint.
Sandslash got away from the attack's path halfway before it could even strike the ground and disappeared from the sight.
A.J exclaimed, victory's sweetness echoing in his voice, "X-Scissor!"
Sandslash appeared somewhere in the air, and extended its arms, to perform the perfect X. But-
Gible wasn't where Sandslash 'sensed' it to be. Sandslash landed on the ground, wondering why despite its amazing speed it couldn't hit its target.
The target was in fact only a few centimeters above where it attacked. It was extremely slow when compared to Sandslash, but the distance between them would be too low it compensated the speed difference. Well, at least I expected all of this to happen. I didn't actually see what happened.
But the end result was the same.
Gible was latched onto Sandslash's claws, which were clamped together by Gible's teeth.
The Sandstorm was cleared off. My experience with Boldore told me, they were temporary. It didn't matter much now, anyway. Other than giving me the spectacle of an astonished A.J. Well that filled my ego a bit.
A.J's hands shivered, "H-How?"
"Holy Deus Ex Machina!" Dad exclaimed at the same time.
There was no time for gloating around. It was time to call down the curtains before Sandslash jerked its way out of Gible's jaws. "Gible, Draco Meteor!"
A.J screamed, "D-Draco what?!"
With a power unexpected of a tiny Pokémon, Gible pulled an astonished Sandslash into the air. The mouse which dangled in the air, kicked its legs to pull itself down. Gible's hold didn't weaken. It was something he specialized in. All his strength lied in his jaws. If I give it some time Sandslash could break out and escape, but I wasn't doing that.
Gible's belly turned into an orange furnace. The expression on A.J's face turned more and more terrified. Not knowing about a move could be very bad. If he did know about Draco Meteor he would have tried something or yell Sandslash to escape. Not that it would have made any difference but still. I guess there weren't many Dragon Types in Kanto. Even Dragonites were rare.
The orange sphere of destruction moved up slowly, and began to engulf Sandslash in it. By now, Sandslash forgot any hopes of fighting up and let itself drown in the attack.
"Now!"
The orange sphere was tossed into the air, to a good twenty feet above the ground, where it exploded in different directions. The split energy landed back onto the ground like a meteor shower. It was mimicry of a real meteor showers with dragon energy, hence the name Draco Meteor, or so Brock said.
A.J was speechless. Who wouldn't be after witnessing such an attack for the first time? It was that amazing, brilliant and that strong.
"Sandslash is unable to win Gible wins," Dad announced.
He finally snapped out of it and noticed that his Sandslash was lying on the ground, unconscious.
We won. It was unbelievable but once again, Gible's jaws saved the day. "You were awesome, Gible," I stretched out my arms as Gible lunged at me, and lifted into the air.
He didn't show much, but he was definitely very happy defeating a powerful Pokémon like that.
"That was a good battle," Dad clapped.
A disappointed A.J took his Sandslash back inside. His seems to be pissed off but he smiled anyway, "You are pretty good, Ash. You are not the same kid I remember from back then."
"You were amazing too," I smiled back. The words seemed to have rejuvenated his spirits because he looked more pleased.
"I guess I should train extra hard to beat you at the Champion's League," he said wiping the sand off his face.
"I will get a lot stronger by then, let's have a full battle the next time," I said.
"Of course," he said coiling his whip around his palm. "Until then, Ash." He produced his other hand. The two of us shook hands with each other, promising for the future, for our goals.
"A.J's pretty strong, but it's still amazing I won," Ash was happy today. Ever since he lost to Paul, his spirit was a bit low, even if he looked excited. But it seems his confidence has returned completely.
"I think the new battle style did pretty good, eh?" Alex asked the boy.
"Yeah, but I think there's another thing I must observe while trying this new style," Ash said. "I have to check my Pokémon's limitations too. Even if I find a weakness in my opponent, it's useless if my Pokémon can't use it."
Excellent. That was the third point he had deliberately left out, and Ash had figured it out. But still, the new battle style was nothing new to this kid. It only changed his views a bit. From now on, he would concentrate on the opponent's Pokémon along with the field. He needs more practice with tactics like this.
Yes at this rate, within one year while his Pokémon grow strong, even Ash will grow stronger as a trainer. Put and two and two together, it will be four.
"Well, now that we finished our day training today," Alex grinned deviously, "It's time for you to remember the special abilities I taught you. You did forget about Sand Rush in the battle."
"I didn't forget it!" He protested, "I was only bluffing. I wanted to look weak in front of A.J."
"I wonder," the father insisted.
"It's the truth," the boy puffed his cheeks.
As they walked, the barren land slowly grew into a lush green. A hint that they were approaching Pallet. "I am looking forward to face A.J again. He's really good isn't he?"
Alex remained silent at his question. The boy called A.J had zero chances to even go to round two. If he lost to an inexperienced Gible with his strongest Pokémon, what were the odds of him winning the League?
In Pokémon battles, previous knowledge was important. Even Ash knows that. You can't dodge an attack unless you know what it could do. A.J had never been out of Kanto, so he will never win matches against foreign Pokémon.
"He chose the wrong path to become strong," Alex said. That was enough; Ash should be able to figure the rest out.
"Finally!" Iris sighed as May and Gary headed out.
Misty and Iris followed the duo out of the restaurant. "I hope the fun part begins now," Iris said. "All we have been watching was May eating and Gary, silently crying for it."
The man at the door opened it as the two of them walked out, "Thank you sir," he bowed. Misty placed a bill in his hand and headed out, Iris in her hand.
"Shouldn't the gym leaders of Kanto and Unova have better things to do than stalking on dates?" An old yet firm voice spoke.
The two girls spun around at once, only to find a lone old woman in her sixties standing before them. She had a withering blonde hair, and a stick to support her walking.
"Um," Misty didn't know what exactly she should say.
'Oops you broke our cover. Who are you?' She wanted to ask but—
The woman showed them a green colored book. "Misty and Iris, right?" She said showing the book to the girls.
The girls looked at the page the woman showed them. It was a photo collection of all the gym leaders of Kanto on one page. Misty was in the second row. Below it was Johto, and on the next page to the corner was Unova, and in the corner was Iris.
Above the photos was the title 'TIER 5'.
"Is this the league brochure?" Misty asked. "I thought they would release it to the public on fifth."
"Well," the woman smiled, "I am special."
"Um, so who are you?" Iris asked, doubtfully.
She was annoyed by this, "Kids these days," the woman snorted. "You hardly know your manners." She flipped the pages and showed them the book again. The heading was 'TIER 2' this time.
Confused, Misty and Iris looked at the photos until their eyes stopped at the title 'Agatha, Ghost/Poison' under the heading Elite Four-Kanto.
The girls looked at the woman once more, and checked the photo again, and then exchanged a glance. They immediately jumped to an attention position and bowed to the woman who watched their reactions proudly. "I am sorry, Miss Agatha. I didn't think it was you." Misty humbly apologized.
"Ah, it's fine," the woman took the apology. "I came here for the two of you because I have a request."
"What is it?" Iris asked, being extra-sweet.
"The gym leader of Viridian City returned," Agatha said with a frown. "I don't think I like it at all. I mean personally. So, I need the two of you assist me in investigating him."
The gym leader of Viridian City? Who was he?
"In case you don't know who he is," Agatha flipped the page of the book again and showed it to Misty, "Look at the photo below yours."
Misty casually looked down at the photo below hers. "You are kidding me!" She exclaimed.
"He is a gym leader?!" Iris exclaimed, no sooner.
"And he is up to no good," Agatha said. "Because he is the leader of Team Rocket."
By the way, I have written two new stories. If you are a fan of anime, then take a look at the three new amazing series I am writing on.