Chapter 23: Rivalries
Chapter 23! Yay!
"It's time to operate!" Brock exclaimed. Brock was a light skinned African American with spikey hair. He wore a green vest over his orange t-shirt, beige jeans, and blue sneakers. He took out his medical kit and started to wrap Pikachu in bandages, working slowly and carefully.
The rebels and Trainers were all in a large white tent near the camp, discussing what had happened the night before. Ash, Misty, Iris, Melaney, Raven and Cilan all stood around the table, watching Brock work. Zoey stood in the corner, sharpening her knives while Starfire observed her intently. Tails and Angel were sitting on a bench inside the tent, while everyone else waited outside.
"Live, Pikachu, LIVE!" Melaney exclaimed repeatedly. After a few minutes of this, Raven finally gave up.
"That's enough of that," she said dully. She used her demon powers to pick the Yoshi up by the tail and carry her outside.
"I don't understand," Tails said as he wrapped a bandage around Angel's arm. "How are you the one that got so hurt and Ash didn't?"
"I don't know," Angel said. She gritted her teeth as Tails cleaned out one of her wounds with rubbing alcohol. "I've been in accidents before, but they've never been this bad."
"Perhaps it is because you never stop for pedestrians," Star said. "Could it possibly be that the sudden movement of the bike threw you off and you crashed into a tree or a bush?"
"Who cares?" Ash commented. "She's not the one who almost got killed." He looked down at his Pikachu, a look of concern on his face.
"You should have mo—ow!" Angel exclaimed. Tails had just cleaned another cut on her arm.
"Sorry," he said sheepishly.
"My Pikachu almost died because of you," Ash said. "This is all of your fault!"
"Uh, hello?" Angel said. "You're little rat was already hurt before I even crashed in to you! I have nothing to do with it." Tails tightly wrapped another one of her wounds. "Ow! Jeez, Tails, could you make it any more painful?"
"I'm being as gentle as I can," Tails replied. "There's just way too many injuries to fix."
Angel sighed, then turned back to Ash. "Maybe if you weren't such a terrible Trainer your Pikachu wouldn't be in this mess!"
"Say that again, I dare you!" Ash yelled.
"Let's not make a scene now," Cilan said, trying to get everyone to calm down.
"Will you shut up?!" Angel and Ash shouted at the same time. They glared at each other, disgusted that they would even have the same thought process as each other.
"Okay, I've had enough of this," Tails said. He stood up to go outside.
"Where're you going?" Angel asked.
"I'll be back in a few minutes. Just stay there." He ran out the door of the tent in search for Doofenshmirtz.
Tails found him a few yards away from the tent, working on something. It was purple and green, and had a giant laser sticking out if it. "Oh, God." Tails said. He walked over to the evil scientist. "What are you doing?" he asked.
"Behold! The sandwich-inator! With this I'll be able to…hey, what are you doing?!" he exclaimed.
Tails was under the machine, taking various parts out of it. "I just need a few of these," he said. He removed a button from the machine and looked at it awkwardly. "Why the hell do you even need a self-destruct button?!" he said.
"Well-" Tails didn't let him finished. He chucked the button at Doofenshmirtz, surprised that someone could be so stupid. "At least the Doctor had some decent machines." He crawled out from under the machine and dusted himself off. "There," he said, satisfied. He wheeled the machine into the tent. "I made one of Doofenshmirtz's machines somewhat useful," he said. He pointed the laser at Pikachu and got ready to fire.
"Hey!" Ash exclaimed. "What are you-"
He was cut off when Tails pushed one of the buttons on the –inator, sending a blast at the small electric Pokemon. Pikachu began to glow, then stopped. It got up slowly and looked at Ash. "Pika-Pi!" It shouted in joy. It jumped into Ash's arms, happy to see its Trainer again.
Ash laughed in delight, spinning Pikachu around playfully. "Pikachu, you're okay! I'm glad to see that you aren't hurt." He turned to Tails and smiled. "Thank you for saving my buddy," he said.
"It wasn't really a big deal," Tails said, embarrassed. He turned to Angel. "Do you want me to try it on you, Angel?"
She smiled. "If it means that I don't have to go through all of this bandage crap, fire it up!" Tails turned the machine toward her and fired. She began to glow too, then it faded away. "Yes!" she exclaimed. She did a front flip in the air. "Good as new!" She kissed Tails on the cheek, making him blush.
Iris turned to the rebels. "Who are you guys, anyway?"
Tails spoke up first. "My name's Miles Prower, but all of my friends call me Tails," he said, gesturing to himself.
"Greetings!" Starfire said, quickly flying up to Ash. She sniffed him. "You smell like the burning of toast."
"Zoey," the Total Drama girl said harshly. "Welcome to the alliance."
"Okay," Ash said. "Who's the girl that almost ran over me?" he said, looking at Angel.
Angel took out her spear and chucked it at the wall of the tent. "That girl, just happens to be named Angel Icirrus," she said as she walked up to Ash.
Brock turned around to get a closer look at the rebels. He stared at Zoey for a moment, then sped to her with a bough of flowers in his hand. "Zoey, my love, you are the most beautiful girl I've ever-oof!" He fell on to the floor, a large red mark on his face. Zoey had just punched him. Hard.
"Not on your life," she said. She walked out of the tent, leaving Brock sprawled out on the ground.
"Why can't I ever find a girl," Brock whined. He then stood up and looked at Angel. He repeated the same process he had just gone through with Zoey, flowers and everything. "Angel, my love, you are the most beautiful girl I've ever-oof!" He had been punched again, but this one by Tails.
"She's also taken," Tails said, putting his arm around Angel.
Misty looked at Brock, laying on the floor, and shook her head. "So that's Brock," she said. "My name is Misty, the Cerulean City Gym Leader. I specialize in water type Pokemon."
Cilan stepped forward. He was wearing an outfit for a waiter at a four star restaurant, including a green bow tie that matched the color of his hair and eyes. "I'm Cilan, a Pokemon Connoisseur," he said with a bow.
"Boring," Iris said shoving Cilan out of the way. She was a spontaneous, dark skinned girl that had long purple hair pulled back in a ponytail. Her matching capris and top were tan and pink, the top having a large bow on the side. "I'm Iris, and this is Axew," a small green dragon popped out of her hair. Despite its red eyes, it looked very innocent. It had sharp, small tusks coming from its mouth and a large fin like horn on its head.
Angel shrugged. "Only an Axew? Not that impressive."
Tails gave her a questioning look. "What do you mean?"
Angel winked at him, even though her heart was pounding on the inside. "Let's say I've got a bit of knowledge on this type of stuff," she said mysteriously. She turned back to Iris. "An Axew? Big deal. If you're a real trainer, you'd at least have a Fraxure."
"I do not understand," Starfire said to Tails. "Do you know anything about the subject that they speak of?"
Tails shook his head. "It looks like Angel knows what she's doing though."
"Hey!" Ash interjected. "Just because a Pokemon hasn't evolved it doesn't mean that they aren't strong," he said.
"Oh, please," Angel said. "That's only something a horrible Trainer would say to make themselves feel better."
"Pikachu…" Pikachu said angrily. Its red cheeks began to spark with electricity.
"What do you know about our world?" Ash challenged.
Angel swallowed, but remained calm. "I don't have to tell you. But if you continue to live a life of denial, that's your choice." She walked over to retrieve her spear and headed for the door.
At this point, Brock had stood up again and spotted Starfire. He rushed over to her, going through the exact same process again.
"Thank you for your offer," Starfire said. "But I must refuse. There is someone else that I have an interest in," she giggled.
"Fine," Ash said, angry at the icy hedgehog. "If you won't back down, I want to battle you with my Pokemon!" He took two red and white balls from his pocket, about the size of ping pong balls, then pressed a button on them, making them the size of baseballs.
"What are those round like objects?" Starfire asked Tails. He shrugged again.
"Psssh," Angel said, rolling her eyes. "No thanks. I wouldn't waste my time with the likes of you." She turned to walk away, but the Trainer's next comment caught her attention.
"What are you, scared?" Ash challenged. He was trying to get Angel in to a fight.
Angel turned around. "I know what you're doing, and it's not working. If I do battle you sometime however, it'll because I need to teach you a lesson, and not because you want to."
"Okay, go ahead and live your life of denial," Ash said tauntingly.
Angel sighed, knowing that she would regret her decision. "Fine," she said. "But only so I can prove to you that you are weak and not worth anyone's time. You name the time and place, and you bet your ass I'll be there."
"At noon, in the clearing," Ash said fiercely.
"And you can make it a Tag Battle," Iris added. "I'll show you that I'm not weak! I'm the girl that knows the hearts of Dragons!"
"Well, Iris," Angel said with a smirk. "You can't exactly bet your ass, considering that you don't have one."
Iris growled, angrier than she had ever been before. "That's it!" she screamed. "Let's go Ash!" She grabbed Ash by the arm and dragged him out to the battle field. Misty and the other Trainers followed reluctantly.
"What did you just get yourself into…?" Tails asked Angel. "You can't take on them! We don't even have any stupid Pokemon or whatever! I don't even know what a Tag Battle is, but I'm pretty sure this couldn't possibly end well-"
"Relax, Tails," Angel said, adjusting her hat. "I know what I'm doing. All I need to do is find someone who will fight along with me…"
"Well you will not find me participating in such violence," Starfire said. "There is no possible way I could beat up the Pikachu."
Angel shrugged. "How about you, Tails?"
"I don't know…"Tails said. "That whole conversation you just had with them left me lost. I think it would be best for me just to observe what happens first."
"But come on, Tails!" Angel pleaded. "I need you help! You're smart, and strong, and all of that other crap I'm supposed to say to try to convince you…"
"I'm sorry, but I can't," Tails replied. "And I thought you said you know what you're doing?"
"I do," Angel said, regaining her composure. "But it would be impossible for me to do it myself."
"I have come to a solution!" Starfire exclaimed excitedly. "Why do you not ask someone else to help you? There are many others here that would be willing to help."
"She's right," Tails said. "There are lots of people here itching to fight. It would be easy to find someone here."
"Yeah, but we still need to be able to win," Angel said. "There are Pokemon that can weigh up to a thousand pounds! Our choice of people just got a lot smaller." She, Tails and Star walked out of the tent, wandering around the camp looking for a tag team partner.
Beast Boy slid in and walked next to Angel. "Hey, beautiful," he said slyly.
"Perhaps Beast Boy can be your partner," Starfire offered.
"No," Tails said quickly. "Not him. He just wants an opportunity to flirt." He pulled Starfire and Angel in the other direction.
"How about Cyborg?" Tails asked as they walked by the robot and human hybrid. He was following Raven around, annoying her.
Angel shook her head. "Steel type. Weak to Ground-, Fighting-, and Fire-type moves. Plus if you spill soda on him he'll short circuit and Robin will probably rebuild him as a toilet."
"And Raven?" Starfire asked.
"No," Angel said. "Demons and I have…issues." She eyed Raven suspiciously, then casually turned away when she was caught.
"Wow," Tails said. "I never realized how much thought went in to this." He spotted the humans, gathered around talking. "What about them?"
"We can't," Angel replied. "When it comes to battle, it's illegal for them to jump in to the ring." She put quotation marks in the air when she said 'illegal'.
"We still have plenty of options, though," Tails said. "There's still Rouge, Brian, Shadow, and Knuckles…"
"A Tag Battle all depends on how well you can get along with your partner," Angel explained. "Rouge and I have way different fighting styles, Shadow and Knuckles will do anything to argue with me, and I don't interact with dogs that do drugs."
"And now we are running out of options," Starfire said looking down at the ground. "Who is left, Tails?"
"That leaves you with Sonic, Amy, and Melaney. You do realize that we started with like twenty something people and now we're left with three, right?" Tails said with a laugh.
"Yeah…" Angel said. "I just really don't want to lose, though." She paused for a second. "You know, I really wouldn't mind battling with Sonic. He's one of the few people from our District that I haven't tried to beat up yet." She smiled. "It's hard to believe that out of all the people I've fought, I'm going out with the one that put up one of the strongest and hardest fight I've ever been in."
"Seriously?" Tails asked. "You think I put up a better fight than Knuckles and Shadow?"
Angel nodded. "You're much stronger than you think you are Tails." There was a long pause between the three rebels until Starfire broke it.
"So…you will be battling Ash and Iris with Sonic?" Starfire asked.
"She would…" a voice from behind them said. The three of them turned around to find Shadow there, only a few feet away. "If he were here."
"What are you talking about Shadow?" Tails asked curiously.
"Hmph." Shadow crossed his arms. "Sonic's persistent nature has driven him to go for a run. I, of course, don't need such childish things. I am the ultimate life form." He then disappeared in a flash of light.
"Douchebag," Angel mumbled to herself. "I guess Sonic's out of the question."
"But that means…" Tails trailed off.
"…You must choose between Melaney and Amy," Starfire finished. "My guess is you will decide to fight with Amy."
Angel blew on her bangs, a smirk on her face. "Yeah, right. I couldn't convince Amy to help me with anything if I paid her. Besides, she's probably running after Sonic."
"That leaves Melaney then!" Tails exclaimed. "What happened to the whole 'get along with your partner thing'?"
"I don't exactly have a choice." Angel said. "Melaney's one of the better choices I could be paired with, actually. Now all we have to do is find her." She quickened her pace, searching every area of the camp to find her. After a few minutes of searching, she had finally found Melaney.
"What do you want?" Melaney asked.
"I…need…your help," Angel said, looking down at the ground. "Ash and Iris challenged me to battle, and you're the only one left to choose from."
"So…you're asking me. For help. I'm not sure if I heard you right. Can you say it again-"
"Okay," Tails said, trying to prevent any further conflict. "So you two are partners, and you have to be at the clearing right now!" He said quickly. "Come on!" The four of the rebels started to run towards the area near the edge of camp.
"Wait!" Melaney said as they ran, still trying to process what was going on. "I don't even know what we're doing! I don't know how to battle!"
"Just hit the stupid animals that come out of the baseballs," Angel said quickly. "I'm not sure what the hell type you would be called, so we're just going to wing it!"
"Is that a compliment?!" Melaney asked.
"Does it really matter right now?!" Tails exclaimed. "Just run!"
A few minutes later, the three of them had finally arrived at the clearing. All of the rebels stood on either side of the battlefield, ready to watch the fight. Angel spotted Sonic and Amy on one side.
"You've got to be freakin' kidding me," Angel mumbled. She sighed. "Let's get this over with, Melaney."
"I still don't know what to do though!" She exclaimed. "I'm not even sure if I want to! Why'd you drag me in to this crap?!"
"It's gonna be fine," Angel said, pulling out her spear. "You can't possibly think that they even have a chance of beating us, right?"
"I guess you're right," the Yoshi replied. The two of them walked on to the battle field, ready to go.
Cilan stood on the sidelines. "I'll be the referee. There will be two battlers on each side, and the match is over when-"
"Both on one side are unable to battle," Angel finished, rolling her eyes. "Can we get started now?"
"Fine," Cilan said with a glare. "And…begin!"
"All right," Ash said, reaching for one of the Poke Balls on his belt. "Oshawott, I choose you!" He threw the ball, which opened in the air, releasing a small otter Pokémon. It had a brown nose, white head, and a blue body. It stood on two feet, and its stomach had a tan scalchop on it.
"Osha, Oshawott," it said proudly as it tapped the scalchop. He looked at Angel, then sprinted as fast as it could towards her on its tiny feet. It grabbed her leg and started hopping up and down.
"That's…mildly…disturbing," Angel said. She pushed Oshawott to the other side of the battlefield.
"She's taken!" Tails yelled from the sidelines.
"It's my turn," Iris said. She took one of the red and balls from her belt, then threw it. "Go, Dragonite!"
A large seven foot tall orange dragon popped out of the ball, shaking the ground when it landed on its feet. It had small blue wings, strong arms, and a tail that could destroy anything. It gave out a mighty roar which filled the tense air.
"What?!" Tails exclaimed. "How is that possible? You can't fit something that big in something the size of a baseball! That breaks the laws of physics!"
"What are we doing?!" Melaney exclaimed. "I'm not taking on that thing!"
"Relax," Angel said. She took out her Pokedex. "Take a look at this."
The Pokedex lit up, showing a picture of Oshawott. "Oshawott, the Sea Otter Pokémon. The scalchop on its stomach is made of the same elements as its claws. It detaches the scalchop and can be used as a blade.
"Like I said earlier, unevolved Pokemon equals crap," said Angel with a flick of her head.
"Hey!" Ash yelled, looking at the Pokedex. "That's mine!"
"Not anymore," Angel said tauntingly. "Now look at this one."
The Pokedex lit up again, this time showing an image of Dragonite. "Dragonite, the Dragon Pokemon. It is said to make its home somewhere in the sea. It guides crews of shipwrecks to the shore."
"Huh." Angel said. "Fully evolved. Of course, it doesn't make a difference if the Trainer's an idiot."
"What are you doing?!" Ash screamed at Iris. "Are you trying to make us lose?!"
"What are they talking about?" Tails asked Raven.
"Give it a sec," she replied.
"You are TERRIBLE with Dragonite! You can't even get it to do what you say! Not only that, but why would you send out a Pokemon with a HUGE type disadvantage!"
"I do not understand," Starfire said. "Did the Iris make a mistake?"
"I'm trying to make a point, Ash! You're such a little kid."
"CAN YOU GUYS GET THE HELL STARTED NOW?!" Gwen yelled from the crowd.
Angel jumped in the air, ready to attack. She formed her spear in to a bow and arrow, and began to shoot them at Oshawott and Dragonite. The two Pokemon dodged the attacks, their trainers still fighting.
"Pi…kaaa…chu!" Pikachu screamed as it electrocuted the two Trainers. They both screamed, then got ready to battle.
"Whatever," Ash said. "Oshawott, let's start with Tackle!"
The small otter ran towards Melaney, and not very quickly at all. The Yoshi moved out of the way and watched Oshawott run straight in to a tree.
"And they made a TV show out of this?!" Cyborg said. "That's stupid."
"Dragonite, Flamethrower on Angel!" Iris yelled.
Dragonite flew in to the air at high speeds, looking eye to eye at Angel. It felt its mouth heat up, then let out a huge stream of fire. Angel quickly dodged, and the flames shot in to the air and kept going. Dragonite growled, seeing that it missed its target.
"It's my turn," Melaney said. She flutter jumped in to the air, then came down and smacked Oshawott away with her tail. "Yes!" she exclaimed.
Oshawott rubbed its head; it clearly had taken a lot of damage.
"We're okay, Oshawott!" Ash said. "Now use water gun!"
Oshawott quickly tried to shoot a blast of water at Melaney, when Angel jumped in at the last second. She had her spear formed in to a shield now. "They say offense is the best defense," she whispered. "If we attack them head on, we can sweep this. Are you with me?"
Melaney nodded. "Kay."
Angel flew back in to the air, her spear now a laser gun. She shot at the Oshawott, hitting it repeatedly.
"That spear…" Ash whispered to himself. He nodded. He had an idea. "All right Oshawott, jump on Dragonite's back and get up in the air!"
Oshawott nodded then jumped onto its partner's back. Now Angel was cornered in the air.
"Dragonite, Thunder Punch!"
"Oshawott, Hydro Pump!"
Dragonite's fist crackled with electricity as it got ready to land a punch, while Oshawott began to form a huge blast of water with its arms. Both Pokemon unleashed their attacks at the same time, hitting Angel with full force. She smashed in to the ground, but got back up again.
"It takes more than just a wimpy attack to take me down," she said. "You don't actually think that you can win, do you? You both obviously have no idea what you're doing."
"What does that mean?!" Ash challenged.
"It means that this battle was over before it even began," she replied. "Now let's end this."
"Oshawott!" Ash yelled. "Use Razor Shell and get Angel's spear!"
Oshawott, still riding on Dragonite's back, took its scalchop off of its stomach and raised it like a sword. It jumped in the air, ready to knock Angel out. The attack was blocked by Angel's spear, however. She two continued to hold their grip on their weapons, neither one ready to give up.
"I'm coming, Angel!" Melaney yelled.
"Dragonite, Ice Beam on Melaney!"
Dragonite looked down at the Yoshi, then shot a beam of ice at her from its mouth. Melaney struggled to get away, but couldn't. Her tail was frozen to the ground.
"Oshawott, finish it!" Ash bellowed.
Oshawott gave a final surge of power and knocked Angel's spear out of her hands. It landed in a tree nearby.
"Yes!" Ash exclaimed. "Can't do much without the spear, can you?"
Angel looked straight forward, eyes sparkling. "That's where you're wrong," she said with a smile.
"What?" almost everyone said from the crowd.
"The spear is just a tool," Angel said. "You don't think that I'd give up just because I lost it, did you?"
Ash flinched. "What…do you mean?"
"I mean I can do this," Angel said. She raised her fist in the air and closed her eyes, concentrating all of her power in her glove. Her fist began to glow as a cold aura surrounded it. Her eyes opened quickly, then threw a power packed punch at Dragonite. The huge dragon crashed to the ground, unconscious.
"Dragonite is unable to battle," Cilan said. Angel is the winner!"
"Yes!" Angel exclaimed.
Iris growled, then held up her Poke Ball. "Dragonite, return!" the Pokemon became surrounded in red light, then went back in to the Poke Ball. "You were great," Iris said, looking at the ball. She looked back up at Angel, angry at her. "Bitch!" Iris yelled.
"Thanks for the compliment," Angel said with a smirk. "You'll be happy to know I think of you the same way."
Iris was ready to punch the arrogant girl, but was stopped when Brock dragged her off the battlefield. "That's enough of that," he mumbled, carrying Iris away.
"It isn't over yet," Ash said. "We've still got Oshawott!"
"Why do you waste your time, Ash?" Angel said. "All you're doing is putting Oshawott in danger. We can accomplish a lot more if you just give up now."
"No," Ash said sternly. "I'll never give up! If I want to become a Pokemon Master, I have to fight to the very end!"
"A Pokemon Master?" Angel questioned. "You wanna be like Red? Hmph. Faker."
Shadow looked up at Angel, then looked at Sonic. "You can learn a lot from this girl, you know."
Sonic stuck his tongue out, then turned back to watching the battle.
"I am not a faker," Ash growled. "If I'm the faker, then why did I get a show first-"
"CAN WE GET ON WITH THIS NOW?!" Iris yelled from the sidelines. "Stop talking smack and just get on with kicking her little bitch butt!"
Angel kicked at the ice that froze Melaney's tail, freeing her. "I say we combine our powers and take this thing down in one hit," she said. The Yoshi nodded back, and the two jumped in to the air. Angel stood on the Yoshi's back. "It's going to get really cold in here," she said. She began to form a small ball of ice with her hands, and continued to let it slowly expand. Soon the ice surrounded both her and Melaney. "When I say go, ground pound on Oshawott's head. Ready? Go!"
The two fighters came plummeting down to the earth, surrounded in a shield of ice and snow. Within seconds, the two of them landed on the small otter's head, knocking it unconscious.
"Oshawott is unable to battle! Melaney is the winner!" Cilan exclaimed. "That means the match goes to the rebels!"
"We…won?" Angel said in shock. "We won! Yes!" She and Melaney high-fived, victorious. "Forget Tag Team, more like Dream Team! We kicked butt!"
"Yeah!" Melaney exclaimed in agreement.
Ash sighed, then took out Oshawott's Poke Ball. "Return. You deserve a good rest," he put the Poke Ball back on his belt, then walked up to Angel. He had a genuine smile on his face. "You did great," he said, holding his hand out.
Angel gave him a questioning look. "You seem to be reacting pretty well considering you lost," she said. "Why?"
"Nah," Ash said. "It's only one battle, no big deal. You'll definitely lose next time we battle," he still had his hand outstretched.
Angel smiled and shook it. "Either way, you still owe me a bike," she said with a wink.
"Yeah, me too!" Misty said from the crowd.
Ash sighed happily. "I know, I know. It's not like I've got a million bucks to spend though."
"Ash!" Iris said, complaining. "How could you not be upset about-"
"Oh, just shut the hell up," Misty and Amy said at the same time.
Tails looked at the sun setting over the ridge. "It's getting late," he said. "We should probably get going."
Angel nodded. "Mistralton City, here we come!"
Chapter 23's done! Yay! Oh my God this was sooo long. What is it, like 5000 words? That's the longest chapter yet! Mostly what I wanted to do is set how the characters feel about each other, and obviously Iris and Angel want to kill each other. It would make sense, seeing that Iris hates Ice-types and the cold. Anyway, thank you so much for reading so far and please leave a review on how you think this chapter went! Thank you!