Thanks for the reviews guys I really appreciate you taking the time to write one they really help me know what I am doing right and what I can improve on.
Sorry for the wait guys, a couple of weeks ago I burnt my thumb and index finger on my right hand which meant that I wasn't able to write very quickly. They're still sore but I've managed to get this done. I'll try to get another chapter up soon.
I've taken down the last poll as it was heavily in favor of one side. A new poll has been put up and will be on until I start writing chapter 46 or 47 depending upon where we are at the end of chapter 45. Please take a moment to check it out and vote.
About six weeks ago I made a target for favorites by the end of 2015 and well it seems that my target for 2015 was a little low. I was hoping for 600 by the end of this year and I've managed to get it within the first month of the year which is absolutely amazing. I really want to thank you all for supporting this story. You have no idea how much it means to me when I see so many people enjoying this story. I guess now I should make a new target for the year; I don't want to be too greedy so I'll go for 700 favorites by the end of this year.
I made this chapter quite a bit longer to make up for the shorter one I uploaded last time and to commemorate the 600 favorite's milestone.
Here's chapter 44 I hope you enjoy it
In conversations:
'- Translation of Poké Speech – No human unless otherwise stated can understand it. Ash can get the gist of what his Pokémon are saying due to his close bond with them.
"- Human speech
'- Thoughts'
"- Telepathy
Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon.
For the most part of the cruise Ash and Leaf had stayed together and kept to themselves either in their rooms or on the quieter decks. They'd both enjoyed their conversations which made the hours fly by, there were sometimes where words weren't needed and they just stood by the railings and watched the crystal clear ocean pass by as the gentle sea breeze countered the heat provided by the sun. There was even one night where they had stayed up and laid on the top deck watching the stars and laughing as they tried to make Pokémon out of the random stars. They had fallen asleep in each other's arms that night which created a bit of an embarrassing situation when they were found by the other passengers in the morning.
Eventually their love for Pokémon battles compelled Ash and Leaf to go to the battle deck. They sat on a couple of deckchairs and were surrounded by their Pokémon as they watched people battling to a decent level although most of them weren't anywhere near them in terms of strength and skill. They weren't sure how long they sat there watching until finally one person approached them, it was a girl who was a probably a year or so younger than them.
"Um would one of you two have a battle with me please?" The girl asked sweetly.
"Sure I'll battle you. My name's Ash." Ash said.
"I'm Steph."
"So Steph what kind of match do you want to have?" Ash asked.
"Um well how about a double battle?" Steph suggested.
"That sounds good to me." Ash replied.
"Ok then I'll officiate." Leaf said.
Ash, Leaf and Steph quickly walked over to the battle area, Leaf stood at the mid-point on the sidelines while Ash and Steph stood at opposite ends. Ash looked back to his Pokémon who all looked raring for battle, after a bit of deliberation he finally chose two of them.
"Sandshrew and Totodile to the battlefield."
Both Pokémon cheered and ran onto the battle area, they all watched as Steph studied Sandshrew and Totodile presumably trying to choose two Pokémon to counter Sandshrew and Totodile. Eventually Steph took a couple of Pokéballs off her belt and threw them.
"Bellossom and Weepinbell I choose you."
The two grass and poison types landed on the deck, they grinned cockily when they saw that their opponents were a ground type and a water type.
"Both of you use Razor Leaf."
"Sandshrew counter it with Swift."
A flurry of small razor sharp leaves shot from the leaves on Bellossom's head and combined with the larger leaves that Weepinbell was firing from the leaves on his sides. Sandshrew quickly responded by opening her mouth and shooting several brilliant white stars at the approaching leaves, the stars clashed with the leaves and slashed straight through them. The stars then shot past the sheared remnants of the leaves that drifted to the deck and they sliced the bodies of Bellossom and Weepinbell which left small cuts all over their bodies. When the last of the stars hit Bellossom and Weepinbell grinned at Totodile and Sandshrew, they were tired of fighting easy battles and it seemed like Totodile and Sandshrew would give them a challenge.
"Quickly trap them both with Vine Whip."
Bellossom and Weepinbell smirked as they knew what their trainer was planning, they both extended a pair of vines from their bodies which wrapped around Totodile and Sandshrew's arms. Another pair then wrapped around their bodies tightly which appeared to restrict their movements. Ash stayed silent and smirked as he watched the vines circle around Totodile and Sandshrew's bodies. He looked at Steph and her Pokémon and wasn't surprised to see a confident look on their faces. They suddenly realized that Ash was watching them and were confused to see that he had a cocky smirk on his face.
"Grab their vines and slam them into the deck."
Totodile immediately gripped the vines that wrapped around his arms, he looked up at the owner and saw that it was Weepinbell who had a shocked look on his face. The water type smirked and then quickly raised his arms which launched Weepinbell into the air, he then lowered his arms which sent the grass type crashing into the deck. The sound of the deck splintering was drowned out by Weepinbell's groans.
Totodile kept slamming Weepinbell into the deck until he felt the grass types grip on him slack, he then pulled the vines towards him which sent Weepinbell hurtling his way. As the grass type approached Totodile his fist became encased in ice and he slammed his fist straight into Weepinbell's mouth which froze his mouth shut and sent him crashing back to Steph.
Sandshrew on the other hand wasn't doing so well, despite her struggles she couldn't break free of Bellossom's grip and she let out a pained whimper as the vines grip tightened. Steph heard the whimper and decided to focus on knocking out Sandshrew while Totodile was distracted.
"Bellossom use Mega Drain on Sandshrew."
Bellossom started to glow bright green, the glow then travelled down the vines and surrounded Sandshrew who cried out in pain as she felt her energy being drained. Ash heard Sandshrew cry out in pain and watched her fall to her knew as her energy was sapped. He knew that Sandshrew needed to get out of those vines however she was in no position to even try and escape. He briefly turned his gaze back to Totodile who was easily dealing with Weepinbell, Ash was honestly surprised at how resilient the grass type was.
"Totodile leave Weepinbell for now and hit Bellossom with Ice Punch."
The small crocodile quickly hit Weepinbell with another Ice Punch and then charged towards Bellossom. His fist once again became encased in ice and he threw a punch at the grass type's face, the blow connected and sent Bellossom flying back and she slammed into the metal railing. She cried out in pain and slumped to the deck as she tried to deal with the pain that was rushing through her back. Due to the pain she was feeling Bellossom lost all the focus she had put into attacking Sandshrew so the vines released the ground type and the Mega Drain stopped.
Totodile ran over to Sandshrew and managed to catch her as she lost consciousness and fell forwards. He then lifted Sandshrew to her feet and carried her to Ash, he placed the ground type next to Ash who knelt down and picked up Sandshrew.
"Sandshrew is unable to battle." Leaf said.
Sandshrew's eyes flickered open and she looked at Ash sadly as she believed that she had failed him, she licked his cheek and then lost consciousness again. Ash carried Sandshrew to the area his Pokémon were resting in and placed her with them. He stood up and walked back to the battle area although he kept his sight on Sandshrew.
"She's not ready for a gym battle especially against a gym leader that's as strong as Norman. I guess it's a good thing I didn't tell them who was battling Norman. She'd be crushed." Ash thought.
Ash forced himself to stop looking at Sandshrew and turned his attention back to the battle. He saw that Bellossom and Weepinbell had managed to get back up and were now having a stare down with Totodile. The water type looked back at Ash with fire in his eyes and simply nodded, Ash returned the nod and they both focused on their opponents again.
"Hit Weepinbell with Aqua Wheel then use Iron Tail on Bellossom."
"Grab him with Vine Whip."
Totodile curled into a ball and was then surrounded in water, he suddenly rolled incredibly quickly towards Bellossom and Weepinbell. The grass types released several vines in an attempt to ensnare Totodile however the water type was moving too fast and was able to dodge every vine. Moments later he rammed into Weepinbell which sent the grass type sprawling, he then slammed his tail which had turned metallic into Bellossom's body which sent her skidding along the deck. Totodile looked at the grass types who hadn't moved yet and he turned his back on them as he assumed that they were finished.
"Vine Whip again then use Mega Drain." Steph quickly ordered.
Before Totodile could react he was surrounded by several vines which wrapped around his arms and body, he felt the vines grip tighten and he tried to find a way to release himself like before. However this time the vines had Totodile's arms trapped so he couldn't grab the vines to slam the grass types into the deck, moments later a green glow travelled down the grass types vines and surrounded Totodile. The water type fell to one knee and grit his teeth as he felt his energy being slowly sapped by Bellossom and Weepinbell. Ash could see that Totodile was trapped but he wouldn't forfeit unless Totodile wanted to.
"Totodile we can stop if you want." Ash said.
Totodile shook his head and tried again to free his arms but found that he still couldn't move them. Totodile's struggles started to get weaker as he felt his strength waning and he fell to both his knees while using his hands to keep himself upright, he glanced back at Ash and saw the increasingly worried look on his trainers face. He then turned his gaze to Sandshrew who was still unconscious, as he stared at her he felt strength and determination rush through him. He slowly pushed himself back to his feet and looked at Weepinbell and Bellossom and knew that he'd win because he wouldn't give up, he'd win this for Ash and for Sandshrew.
"For Sandshrew!" Totodile yelled as he glowed white.
The blinding light emanating from Totodile forced everyone to shield their eyes, the light died down moments later which allowed everyone to see again. They all turned their gaze to the battlefield and saw a Croconaw that was trapped in vines standing where Totodile had been standing. Ash was astounded to see that Totodile had evolved, he knew that he'd been working hard in an attempt to evolve and was extremely happy for him.
Bellossom and Weepinbell were in such shock that they had stopped draining energy from Croconaw. The water type smirked at the look on the grass types faces and thanks to the strength he'd gained from evolving he gripped the vines that were constricting his arms tightly and lifted both of the grass types up and slammed them into the deck. The impact loosened Weepinbell and Bellossom's grip on his arms and he was able to pull his body free. He looked at Bellossom and Weepinbell who were struggling to get back up and then he looked back at Ash and nodded.
"Form two Water Pulses then hit them with Ice Punch." Ash instructed.
Croconaw immediately knew what Ash was thinking and formed an orb of water in both of his hands. His hands then became engulfed in ice and he punched the orbs which froze them and sent them hurtling towards Bellossom and Weepinbell. The orbs were flying so fast that the grass types could do nothing except try to brace themselves however they were easily overpowered by the balls of ice which sent both Bellossom and Weepinbell crashing into the deckchair that Steph had been sitting in. The chair splintered when they hit it and they both groaned in pain as they tried to recover from the ice attack and the painful landing.
Ash was about to tell Croconaw to end this with one more Ice Punch when Steph ran over to her Pokémon and stood in front of them.
"You have us beat Ash, I forfeit." Steph said.
"Okay Steph. Croconaw go show off your new form to the others. I'll be there soon."
Croconaw nodded and walked away from the battle area, Ash then made his way to Steph who was thanking her Pokémon and hugging them tenderly. Ash smiled at the scene and waited for Steph to finish consoling her Pokémon. After a while she returned her grass types and stood up, she turned around saw Ash smiling at her.
"Thanks for the battle Ash. I learned a lot from it." Steph said.
"That was a really good battle Steph. You'd have won if Totodile didn't evolve into Croconaw. I also think that you made the right call for your Pokémon by forfeiting, you saw that your Pokémon were going to get hurt and stopped the battle. I respect that."
Ash extended his hand and Steph shook it, the pair shared a respectful look and then went back to where they had been resting. Ash saw Croconaw showing off his new form to everyone and was proud of the water type just as he was for Quilava. It was good to see that all of the hard work had paid off for him, he turned his gaze to Sandshrew and saw that she was looking at him sadly. Ash sat down on his deckchair and picked Sandshrew up, he placed the ground type on his lap and gently moved her head so that she was facing him.
"I'm proud of you Sandshrew. You have no need to feel bad about what happened. You fought your hardest against an evolved Pokémon that had a type advantage."
Sandshrew smiled at Ash and snuggled into his shirt happily, she felt lucky that she had such a kind trainer who would support her like this. She sighed in content when she felt Ash gently stoke her body and she quickly fell to sleep. The group spent the remainder of the day on the battle deck until the sun started to set and everyone left the deck. Ash and Leaf stayed a little longer until their Pokémon started to yawn and they went back to their rooms.
The days quickly flew by after the battle with Steph and before Ash and Leaf knew it two weeks had passed and the ship was docked in Slateport. A wave of sadness rushed over both of them as they disembarked the ship as they knew that they would be parting ways soon and in all likelihood wouldn't see each other for several months. They didn't want to part ways but Leaf needed to win the Heat badge from Flannery and Ash was heading to Petalburg so he could battle Norman. Ash had considered offering to go with Leaf but knew that she would refuse and say that she didn't want to slow him down.
Once they were off the ship and out of the dock area Ash and Leaf walked to the northern exit of Slateport in silence, neither of them really knew what to say as they gradually came closer to the place where they would go their separate ways. They eventually arrived at the entrance to Cycling Road and stopped. Ash immediately pulled Leaf to him and hugged her tightly, Leaf turned bright red and returned the embrace. They both held on to each other for as long as possible so they could cherish their final moments before they went their own ways.
"Well I guess this is goodbye for now." Ash said.
"Yeah it is." Leaf murmured.
"Take care of yourself Leaf."
"I will do just make sure that you do the same."
Ash nodded and reluctantly released his grip on Leaf, the pair stood staring at each other sadly until leaf turned around and Ash watched her walk into the building that lead on to Cycling Road. A few moments later she cycled out of the building, she waved down at Ash one more time and then started heading down the road that would take her to Slateport. Ash stayed there and watched Leaf until she faded from view, he then made his way north until he came to the open body of water that separated Route 103 and Route 110. He took a Pokéball off his belt and opened it revealing Heracross who looked around wondering why he'd been called out on his own.
"Heracross can you fly me across the water?" Ash asked.
The bug type nodded and let Ash on to his back.
'What about us?' Raichu asked as he pointed to himself Meowth and Raimodo.
Ash simply looked to Celebi who was sat on his shoulder. The legendary nodded and a blue glow surrounded her, a similar glow then surrounded Raichu, Raimodo and Meowth and they were lifted into the air.
"Alright let's go."
Heracross nodded and flew as fast as he could towards Route 103 with Celebi levitating Raichu, Meowth and Raimodo alongside them. Ash smiled and basked in the peace and serenity the ocean brought, the only things that could be heard were the sounds of the waves crashing against rocks and the Pokémon inhabiting the area. Ash looked down at the ocean beneath him and watched as the Magikarp swam against the flow making it hard for them to make any progress, the Wingull and Pelipper were resting on the beach like islands in the middle of the water and the Goldeen were swimming just under the surface.
They arrived on the area of Route 103 that was just north of Oldale Town a few hours later. Ash returned Heracross and started walking towards the quiet little town, as they walked Ash was trying to decide who he should bring over to fight Norman. He had always used at least one of the Pokémon he'd obtained while he's been in Hoenn however he knew that Norman was rumored to be the second toughest gym leader in this region and he was one of the main reasons that trainers couldn't get all eight badges.
Ash began going through the list of his older Pokémon trying to choose between them, he had planned out which of his older Pokémon would be fighting at which gym before he'd even got to Hoenn however there was some room for flexibility now that Espeon, Vaporeon and Jolteon were part of his team. He finally made a decision and quickened his pace so he could get to Petalburg as soon as possible.
Ash walked into Petalburg two days later, he had been so excited to battle Norman that he'd decided against staying in Oldale so that he would get to Petalburg a little bit sooner. He looked at the gym and remembered that he needed to bring someone over to take Sandshrew's place in the gym battle. He walked to the Pokémon Centre and entered the building, he approached the phones and sat down in front of one. He dialed in Professor Oak's number and didn't have to wait long to see the elder Oak appear on screen.
"Hello Ash I wasn't expecting a call from you so soon."
"In all honesty Professor neither did I but I need to transfer someone here for my gym battle if you don't mind."
"Of course I don't mind Ash so who do you want me to send to you."
"Thanks Professor. I want…."
Ash took the Pokéball out of the transfer machine and he left the Pokémon Centre, he clipped the Pokéball he'd just asked for on to his belt and he looked around Petalburg. His sight was immediately drawn to the gym and he quickly headed towards it, he walked inside and was greeted by Max and before Ash could say a word Max started chattering about how his dad had won again. The young boy was talking so fast that Ash couldn't get a word in luckily Norman walked into the room and managed to calm his son down, Norman then turned his attention to Ash and shook the young trainers hand.
"Hello Norman."
"Hello Ash. I've been waiting for you to arrive here for over a month."
"Really?"
"Yes I got a call from Mr. Moore a month ago saying how you had defeated his granddaughter and that I needed to bring my A game if I wanted to beat you."
"Wow I'll need to thank Mr. Moore for his praise if I see him again."
"It's very rare that Mr. Moore gives that sort of praise so you must have done something special and I'd like to see whatever you did to prove yourself to Mr. Moore. So Ash are you ready for your toughest gym battle so far?"
"You bet I am. Let's do this."
"That's exactly what I wanted to hear. Follow me and we'll go to the battle room."
"Wait!" Max yelled
Ash and Norman turned around and saw Max looking at them with eyes that would melt even the coldest of hearts.
"Dad can I watch the match? Please." Max pleaded.
Norman sighed and shook his head, every time someone came to challenge him to a gym battle Max would ask to watch and every time Norman would say the same thing.
"You know the rules Max. I never let you watch gym battles." Norman replied.
"Why can't I?" Max whined.
"You could be distraction to the challenger and…."
"I'm fine with him watching." Ash interrupted.
"See dad, Ash is fine with me watching you beat him."
Norman wasn't sure that this was a very good idea, he knew how Max reacted to him losing and was pretty sure that the same thing would happen if Ash did beat him. He looked at his son again and couldn't resist the look that would rival the one that Puss in Boots commonly used.
"Fine, just stay on the sidelines and be quiet."
Max cheered happily and hugged his dad, Norman wrapped an arm around his son and hugged him until Max finally let go of him.
"Can I watch too?" May asked.
Norman looked over to his daughter wondering when she'd walked in, he shook the thought away and suddenly felt relief rush through him as he had let May watch gym battles in the past since unlike Max she had never reacted badly to him losing. Her being there would probably be enough to control Max in case Ash wins.
"Alright May just keep an eye on your little brother for me." Norman said.
"Sure dad you can count on me." May replied.
"Thanks sweetheart. Now let's go to the battlefield and get this battle started."
Everyone nodded and followed Norman as he walked through the doors at the back of the room. The moment he passed through the doors Ash turned his gaze straight to the battlefield so he could spot anything he could use to his advantage. He was disappointed to see that it was once again a completely flat surface with not a blemish on it just like the last three gyms had been. He knew that there wasn't much he could do with that so he refocused on the room and saw that Norman had a blank expression on his face and was waiting for him to stand in the challenger's box. Ash mimicked the look as he didn't want to give anything away and made his way to the challenger's box flanked by Raimodo, Raichu and Meowth.
On the sidelines Max was quietly snickering as he watched Ash. This confused May as she had seen nothing that would justify this reaction.
"What are you laughing about?" May asked.
"I'm laughing because Ash doesn't stand a chance against dad. He was daydreaming just then while dad stood there waiting for him. I mean what chance does he have if he stands there staring into space like that?" Max whispered to May.
"You're wrong Max. Ash wasn't daydreaming. He was analyzing the battlefield. I remember seeing him do the exact same thing at the Contest match in Verdanturf Town."
"You're giving him way to much credit May. Why are you doing this? Is it because you love him?" Max replied with a smug look.
May turned bright red and glared at her little brother.
"Shut up Max I don't like him that way and you're not giving Ash enough credit."
Max paused and appeared deep in thought, May watched as Max's eyes suddenly lit up and he grinned cockily at her.
"I tell you what May since you're so confident in Ash how about we make a bet?"
"Ok what are the stakes?"
"If dad wins then you have to do all of my chores until you leave in two weeks' time. If Ash wins then I do all of your chores."
"No our chores aren't even, you have more than me so if you lose you would only have to do a few more whereas I'd have to do a lot more."
"Alright then what do you want the bet to be?"
"If Ash wins then you have to call me your Majesty until I leave and you have to do my chores."
"Fine I'll agree to that. It's not like Ash has a chance so I have nothing to fear."
May and Max shook hands to seal the deal. They turned their gaze back to the battlefield and watched as the referee walked into the room and took his place on the sidelines.
Ash saw the referee step forward and felt his anticipation increase, he was really looking forward to this battle and he couldn't wait for it to start. He was pretty sure that Norman had purposely told the referee to wait a few minutes before he came in to the room presumably to try and intimidate challengers and make them feel anxious.
"This is a three verses three match between the Petalburg gym leader Norman Maple and the challenger Ash Ketchum. Norman shall choose his Pokémon first."
Norman readied his first Pokéball and a confident grin appeared on his face, he had stopped many challengers with just this Pokémon and he was interested to see if Ash would be able to deal with him.
"Go Kecleon."
The Colour Swap Pokémon burst out of the Pokéball and landed on the ground in front of Norman. Ash was wary of the reptile as he knew that due to Kecleon's ability it could prove to be a very annoying opponent. He pulled the Pokéball he'd recently brought over from Professor Oak off his belt and threw it.
"Tauros to the battlefield."
The bull appeared on the battlefield and snorted as his tails lashed around impatiently. It had been a while since he'd had a proper battle so he was looking forward to this.
"Kecleon let's start off with Thunderbolt."
"Block it with Iron Tail."
Sparks formed around Kecleon's body and a bolt of lightning quickly arced off the reptile which shot straight towards Tauros. The bull saw the electricity headed his way and appeared to be unconcerned, just before the electricity was about to hit him Tauros' tails turned metallic and he drove them into the battlefield. The electricity surrounded him moments later and he was completely unaffected by the attack as the electricity transferred from his metallic tails into the ground. Norman and Kecleon were surprised to see such an effective counter to the attack.
"Very clever counter Ash, I'll have to remember that one for future battles. Now let's see you block this, Kecleon Mega Punch."
"Meet him with Horn Attack."
Kecleon's fists glowed white and he ran at Tauros whose horns were glowing white. As he got closer to the bull Kecleon threw his fist forward and they were met by the horns of Tauros. The reptile tried to hold his ground but Tauros was just too strong and he started to push Kecleon back despite him digging his feet into the ground.
"Psybeam."
The reptile smirked and opened his mouth, moments later an oddly colored beam shot from his mouth and surrounded Tauros bombarding him with a series of odd noises and making his head spin due to all the colors of the rainbow. Kecleon smirked as he saw the bulls eyes turned into swirls and he started thrashing around randomly due to his confusion, Kecleon saw this as his chance to get some damage done and he slammed both his fists into Tauros which sent the bull crashing back to Ash.
"Tauros you've got to snap out of it."
"Jump on his back and use Fury Swipes."
Kecleon waited for Tauros to get back up and then leapt onto the bulls back, his claws then glowed white and he raked Tauros' back leaving a trio of gashes down his back. This made Tauros roar in pain and he started to thrash around again, another swipe created three cuts on the bull's face which was enough to snap him out of confusion. Ash saw that Tauros had regained his senses and was now trying to throw the reptile off of him as his thrashes had become more calculated.
"Give him a shock Tauros."
It was time for Tauros to smirk as electricity surrounded him and then immediately transferred to Kecleon who had been so focused on slashing Tauros that he hadn't even noticed when sparks had started to crackle around the bull. Kecleon cried out in pain as the electricity shocked him and he lost his grip on Tauros' back. Ash spotted that and a plan instantly formed in his mind
"Now throw him off and hit him with Iron Tail."
Tauros used all of his strength to buck which sent Kecleon flying off his back into the air. The bull's tails then turned metallic and he ran to where he was sure that Kecleon was going to fall, he swung his tail forward and they slammed into Kecleon who seemed largely unaffected by the steel attack. Ash had known that the steel attack wouldn't do much due to Kecleon's colour change making his type electric but had counted on the reptile crashing into the gym wall to do the damage and he was relieved to see Kecleon slam into the wall and break straight through it.
"I wonder how much damage I've done to all the gyms I've battled in. I'm glad they haven't asked me to pay for damages."
Kecleon walked out of the hole in the wall and growled angrily as a few loose stones struck him on the head. He stomped to the battlefield and glared at Tauros who was quickly glancing at the wounds that were littering his body. He then turned his attention back to Kecleon and returned the glare that the reptile was giving him.
Ash looked at both Pokémon and was sure that Tauros was in slightly worse shape however he suddenly spotted Kecleon wince as he put his weight on to his left leg. Ash looked at Tauros who gave him a nod to say that he'd spotted it as well. They both knew that if they exploited that weakness then they could end this soon.
"Tauros use Earthquake then use Rock Tomb."
"Kecleon use Faint Attack."
Tauros raised his forelegs and slammed them down on the battlefield, the force created powerful tremors and cracks appeared in the battlefield where the seismic activity was too much for the ground to take. Kecleon felt pain rush through him as the attack was super effective and it was affecting his badly damaged leg first. The reptile did his best to ignore the pain and he was surrounded in a black aura as he charged at Tauros, when he got close he faked right and slammed into the side of Tauros. The bull staggered slightly but not as much as Kecleon who fell to his knees as his leg finally gave way.
Tauros looked at Kecleon and used his horns to scoop some of the rubble that was strewn across the battlefield due to the Earthquake and he dropped it right on top of Kecleon. The reptile shrieked in pain as his left leg was crushed by one of the rocks, the pain overwhelmed him and he completely collapsed as he clawed at the rock in an attempt to free his leg.
"Finish it with one more Take Down."
Tauros walked as far away from Kecleon as he could and then charged as quickly as he could at the trapped reptile. Kecleon's eyes widened as he saw the bull rushing at him and frantically tried to free his leg but the rocks pinning him were just too heavy and he could do nothing except watch as the charging bull got closer. Tauros collided into Kecleon moments later and sent the reptile and the rock soaring through the air and they slammed down in front of Norman, Kecleon somehow stood back up but his legs were wobbling and his vision was blurred. He stared at the four Tauros opposite him and then everything went black, his eyes closed and he fell face first to the ground.
"Kecleon is unable to battle. Choose your next Pokémon."
"Nice job Tauros!" Ash cheered.
Tauros snorted happily and then collapsed to his knees as his wounds started to get the better of him. Ash looked at the gashes caused by Kecleon's Fury Swipes and the massive bruise on his side caused by the Faint Attack and knew that Tauros needed a break. He watched as Norman returned Kecleon and praised the reptile for his efforts, Norman then readied another Pokéball.
"Go Linoone." Norman said.
"Tauros return. Quilava to the battlefield."
Ash took Tauros' Pokéball and returned the bull in a flash of red and he was replaced by Quilava who burst out of his Pokéball in a ring of flames. He landed on the ground and immediately ignited the flames on his head and back. He smirked at the Linoone opposite him and got ready for a tough battle,
"Linoone use Quick Attack."
"Quilava match him."
Both of the lithe Pokémon shot off at an amazing speed, the pace they were running at was so incredible that the only thing that could be seen were the streaks of white and the split second collisions they were having. Quilava and Linoone rammed into each other one more time and were at a standstill as they tried force the other one back. They eventually gave up their struggle and they both leapt away from each other, they landed in front of their trainers and grinned.
"Douse him with Water Pulse."
"Dodge it with Dig."
Linoone stood up and formed an orb of water in his paws, he took a few moments to make it as powerful as he could and then he shot the orb at Quilava. The fire type saw the orb rocketing towards him and quickly burrowed underground which made the Water Pulse pass over the hole and it burst when it collided with the wall. Linoone started looking around in an attempt to guess where the fire type would appear from but he couldn't find any clue that would indicate where he was or where he would come from.
The ground behind Linoone started to shake and the normal type turned around just in time to see Quilava burst out of the ground, Linoone had no time to block the punch that was sent his way and it slammed into his face. The punch dazed Linoone who staggered away and collapsed.
"Go back underground." Ash called.
Quilava nodded and jumped back into the hole he'd appeared from. Linoone shook his head and regained his senses, he looked around again trying to spot Quilava and when he didn't see the fire type he knew that he'd dug underground again. He felt frustration build inside him and growled in annoyance.
"Linoone he went back in the hole he burst out from. Chase after him and use Mega Punch."
"Turn around and fight back with Fire Punch."
Linoone saw the hole that Quilava had appeared from and jumped down it, he quickly ran through the tunnel and came face to face with Quilava. The normal type smirked at Quilava and his fist started to glow white, Quilava returned the smirk and his fist was engulfed in flames. Both Pokémon launched their fists forward and connected with their opponents jaw, they staggered away from each other and rubbed their sore jaws for a moment. They then charged their attacks again and started a brutal fist fight where neither Pokémon were looking to give up.
On the surface Ash and Norman could see nothing except for the occasional light created by the flames that shone through the cracks in the ground. Neither of them were sure how well their Pokémon were doing since they heard both Pokémon letting out pained cries so it was impossible for them to know who if anyone had the advantage.
Back underground Quilava and Linoone charged one more punch and put all the energy they could into it. They both launched their fist at each other and the punches clashed, the power of the two attacks created a massive shockwave that blew a massive hole in the battlefield around them and sent them flying through the air. They crashed down on the broken battlefield and groaned in pain as they both landed in piles of rubble,
"Soak him with another Water Pulse." Norman instructed.
Linoone quickly shook away the pain and found a sturdy part of the ground to stand on. He formed an orb of water between his paws again and launched it at Quilava who was just getting back up. The fire type saw the blue orb headed his way and jumped to his right however he wasn't fast enough and the orb crashed into him. The orb exploded on impact and sent him flying across the room, he slammed into the wall and broke straight through it.
"Quilava! Are you okay?"
Ash got the answer to his question when Quilava yelled angrily and intense flames shot out from the hole in the wall. The flames were aimed straight at Linoone who hadn't been expecting the attack and he had no chance to dodge the flames which engulfed him. The pain caused by the flames scorching him was too intense for Linoone to shrug off and he screeched in pain as he fell to one knee. Moments later Quilava walked out of the hole in the wall and stood in front of Ash who could instantly tell that his Blaze ability had just activated due to the orange aura that was surrounding Quilava.
Norman stared at the orange aura surrounding Quilava and knew that he had to be careful now, now that Quilava had Blaze activated his fire type moves were much more powerful than before. He heard Linoone growl in annoyance and saw him push himself back to his feet, the Flamethrower had done some serious damage as his fur was singed in several places and some nasty looking burn wounds were now visible on his face.
"Linoone are you okay to continue?" Norman asked.
The normal type turned his head towards his trainer, Norman could tell just by the fired up look in Linoone's eyes that he was more than able to keep fighting. Linoone gave a nod as well as a thumbs up to Norman just too fully convince him.
"I thought so. Linoone use Headbutt."
"Shoot a Flamethrower at the ground. Then use Flame Wheel."
Linoone's head glowed white and he ran across the sturdy remnants of the battlefield making sure to avoid the wobbly rocks and cracks in the ground. When he was in range of Quilava Linoone leapt at the fire type who quickly shot a burst of flames at the ground which shot him into the air. Linoone smacked his head on the hard ground and howled in pain as he was subjected to a skull splitting headache. The pain was so intense that he didn't know that Quilava had gotten into ball which became engulfed in flames while in the air and was now rocketing towards him.
"Stop him with Thunderbolt."
Linoone did his best to focus on the battle and not the pain that was rushing through his head and he looked up at the rapidly approaching Quilava. Electricity quickly charged in Linoone's body and a bolt of lightning shot off of him straight at the spinning ball of flames that was Quilava. The Thunderbolt clashed with Quilava and both sides fought for dominance however neither was able to force the other back. Quilava could feel his power beginning to fail him and he was being pushed back. He cried out in anger and frustration and suddenly found himself easily pushing back the Thunderbolt but he had no idea how. What he didn't know was that the flames surrounding him were no longer glowing orange, they were glowing blue.
"Whoa Quilava just learned Flare Blitz." Ash commented in awe.
Quilava didn't hear Ash and kept putting all the power he had into his attack. Linoone looked up at the glowing ball of blue flames that was pushing back his Thunderbolt and knew that he had no chance of stopping that but he wasn't going to make it easy for Quilava. He put all the power he could into his Thunderbolt but it was nowhere near enough power to match Quilava's Flare Blitz so it was almost immediately pushed back and Quilava slammed into Linoone and drove him into one of the raised platforms that had been created by Tauros' Earthquake. Quilava backed away from Linoone still wondering how he'd managed to overpower the normal type. He looked at Linoone whose eyes were closed and then looked back at Ash who had a proud look in his eyes.
'How?' Quilava asked.
"You used Flare Blitz. I guess some burning desire within you formed the attack." Ash replied.
Quilava felt like jumping for joy that he had learned such a powerful move but the recoil damage he suddenly received due to him using Flare Blitz kicked in and he collapsed. Ash and Norman looked worriedly at their Pokémon, wondering if they were able to continue fighting. They were on the verge of returning them when they saw start to move. After a few moments both Linoone and Quilava pushed themselves to their feet but it took a lot of effort for them to do so, their chest heaved as they took several deep breaths and tried to ignore the pain they were in. Despite feeling like their legs were made of jelly they got up on their hind legs and shared a mutual look of respect. They looked back at their trainers who could tell that their Pokémon were running on pure adrenaline now and were on the verge of passing out.
"Flare Blitz!"
"Take Down!"
Blue flames once again surrounded Quilava and he ran with all his strength at Linoone who was charging towards him. Both Pokémon were determined to win and pushed their bodies to the very limit just to increase the speed they were running at and to power up their attacks. The duo clashed in the middle of the destroyed battlefield; an explosion came from where the meeting of the two attacks happened and a fog of thick black smoke shrouded the battlefield from view. Ash and Norman were certain that they knew what the result of this matchup was but had to wait until the smoke cleared to find out. A few minutes passed before the smoke started to clear and the motionless bodies of Quilava and Linoone were revealed.
"Quilava and Linoone are unable to battle."
Ash and Norman walked on to the battlefield and scooped up their Pokémon, they congratulated them for their hard work and carried them off of the battlefield.
May watched intently as her dad and Ash returned their Pokémon, she had seen her dad fight several battles before but this was an incredible spectacle that was far more intense than any other battle she had seen. She looked at her father and saw a look in his eye that she hadn't seen for a long time, it was the same look he had worn when he'd battled against Drake. She was amazed that someone who wasn't a member of an Elite 4 could get him that fired up.
It was then that she realized why Ash had managed to do this when so many other trainers had failed. They had come in with teams consisting of Hariyama, Medicham, Breloom, Machamp and Gallade's. Every challenger won by only using fighting type Pokémon which meant that every single battle was the same for her dad. This time however Ash had used a normal type and a fire type so far which had made the battle more interesting for her dad.
"Ash is giving dad a really tough battle. I think dad could be handing a badge to Ash soon and you will be addressing me as your Majesty." May murmured.
May looked at her brother when she heard him snort at her comment.
"You have no idea what you're talking about May. Dad's just making this look good. There's no fun if he knocks all of Ash's Pokémon out without breaking a sweat." Max whispered.
May looked at her little brother and sighed as she shook her head. She couldn't believe that he still had the belief that their dad won all of his battles easily.
"Max when are you going to realize that dad's not unbeatable?" May thought.
May turned her gaze back to the battlefield and waited for her dad to reveal his most powerful Pokémon.
Norman grinned as he pulled his final Pokéball out, he had thoroughly enjoyed this match with Ash and couldn't wait to see how he dealt with his most powerful Pokémon. He looked at Ash and could see that the boy was enjoying the battle too. Norman turned his gaze to the Pokéball in his hand and threw it.
"Go Slaking!"
The ape-like Pokémon appeared on the battlefield and yawned as he laid down on a flat part of the rubble strewn ground. The Lazy Pokémon yawned again and closed his eyes, a snore like sound started to come from Slaking which made May and Max think that he had fallen asleep. Ash on the other hand knew that Norman's Slaking was a bit special compared to any other Slaking in the world as unlike other Slaking he was not affected by the Truant ability that made most trainers shy away from training a Slaking.
Nobody Ash asked knew whether it was due to some genetic abnormality or just Norman's training; all they knew was that Slaking usually fooled challengers into believing that his Truant ability activated as soon as he came out. This led to inexperienced trainers charging in recklessly and getting wiped out because of it.
Ash pulled Tauros' Pokéball off his belt, he wanted to do some damage to Slaking with Tauros just to give Heracross a better chance.
"Tauros to the battlefield."
He threw the Pokéball in his hand and Tauros once again appeared on the battlefield, his injuries still looked nasty but the blood flow had stopped and Tauros looked pumped up and ready to fight. Tauros saw that the Slaking in front of him was asleep and felt rage build inside him. He felt insulted that this Pokémon would fall to sleep in a gym battle of this magnitude. He snorted angrily and then lowered his horns as he ran at Slaking.
"Tauros wait!"
The bull stopped charging and turned his gaze to his trainer wondering why Ash had stopped him. He saw Ash signaling him to come to him so he walked over to Ash and was confused again to see Ash crouch down next to him.
"Slaking is pretending to be asleep to trick you into attacking. He's actually fully aware of what's going on so just hit him with Thunderbolt's until he decides to give up on this baiting strategy."
Tauros nodded and stepped back on to the battlefield and charged electricity inside his body, he then fired a bolt of lightning at Slaking who didn't move however Ash and Tauros saw him wince slightly. Tauros fired another Thunderbolt at Slaking and was confident that it was going to be a repeat performance of last time however the Lazy Pokémon quickly got up and threw his glowing fist towards the bolt of electricity. Ash and Tauros were surprised to see the Thunderbolt clash with Slaking's fist and get sent back at Tauros who shot another Thunderbolt to counter the one headed his way. The Thunderbolt's clashed and created a cloud of smoke as they cancelled each other out.
"Slaking hit him with Focus Punch."
Before Ash or Tauros could react Slaking charged through the smoke and threw his glowing fist at Tauros. The blow connected with the bulls face and he was sent flying across the room finally coming to a stop when he slammed into the wall. Ash looked behind him to where Tauros had smashed into the wall and watched in shock as the bull lost consciousness and slumped to the ground.
"Holy shit. He knocked Tauros out in one hit." Ash murmured.
"Tauros is unable to battle. Choose your next Pokémon."
Ash was in shock; he had expected Tauros to do some damage to Slaking despite the injuries he'd suffered against Kecleon. He stared at the bull for a moment then returned him, he thanked Tauros silently and placed his Pokéball back in its slot. Ash then took his third Pokéball off his belt and stared at Slaking as he enlarged the Pokéball.
"That Slaking is as tough as people said, Norman is certainly no pushover. I'm glad I brought Heracross with me." Ash thought.
"Heracross to the battlefield." Ash said as he threw the Pokéball.
The beetle landed on the battlefield and looked at Slaking, a determined look appeared in Heracross' eyes and he rolled his shoulders as he prepared himself for the toughest battle he'd ever had.
"Let's start off with Façade."
"Fly out of the way and use Brick Break."
An orange aura surrounded Slaking and he charged at Heracross making sure to jump over the small cracks in the ground and avoid the piles of rubble. Heracross saw the normal charging his way and immediately flew into the air far out of Slaking reach. His arm then glowed white and he flew at Slaking who had stopped in place and was watching the bug intently.
"Stop him with Flamethrower."
Slaking opened his mouth and intense flames shot out and headed straight towards Heracross who was so close that he had no chance to dodge the attack. Heracross winced as the flames engulfed him and he felt pain that he hadn't felt since he had fought Gary's Magmar in the Johto League. Despite the pain he pushed through the Flamethrower just like he had against Magmar and he swung his arm down at Slaking's head. The blow connected and Slaking staggered back as immense pain rushed through his skull, he grasped his head and turned away from Heracross whose arm glowed white again and he charged at the seemingly dazed Pokémon.
"Slaking use Hyper Beam."
Slaking suddenly turned around and formed an orange orb in his mouth, moments later a powerful orange shot from the orb and hit Heracross at point blank range. The beam struck Heracross who cried out in pain as he was catapulted across the room. The bug slammed into one of the piles of rubble on the ruined battlefield and moan in pain as the sharp stones dug into his back.
"Heracross! Are you okay?" Ash yelled in concern.
Ash looked worriedly at Heracross who had stayed silent and he hadn't yet moved, he started to wonder if Heracross was going to be able to continue however relief flooded through him when he saw Heracross push himself upright. Heracross smirked at Slaking who was stood slightly slumped over as he was suffering from the effects of using Hyper Beam. He looked at Ash and nodded to say that he was more than able to keep fighting.
"Alright Heracross use Fury Cutter."
The claws on Heracross' hands glowed green and he quickly leapt from the few flat surfaces that remained and the lunged towards Slaking who was still unable to move. Heracross then raked his claws down Slaking's side which created a pair of gashes, he swiped at the normal type again this time aiming at his right calf. His claws dug into Slaking's flesh which made him yell in pain and he fell to one knee. Heracross went in for another slash however he was stopped by Slaking who had regained his strength and had swung his arm at the bug which sent Heracross flying towards the ceiling. Heracross was able to gather himself and flipped his body around so that his feet hit the ceiling. He then extended his wings and launched himself towards Slaking.
"Hit him with Megahorn."
"Counter it with Focus Punch."
Heracross' horn started to glow green as he soared towards Slaking who's right fist had started to glow white. As Heracross got close to Slaking he pulled his arm back and
"Duck under the punch and use Focus Blast."
Heracross did as Ash said and watched as Slaking aimed the punch at him, when Slaking threw his fist forward Heracross quickly reacted and he flew under Slaking's punch. He then formed a blue orb in his hands and shot it at Slaking, the orb crashed into Slaking and sent him rocketing across the room coming to an abrupt halt when he slammed into the wall which sent pain rushing through his back and his skull. Slaking forced himself to ignore the crippling pain he was feeling and got back up. He exchanged a smirk with Heracross as he was truly enjoying this battle.
"Use Seismic Toss then Body Slam." Norman instructed.
Slaking moved at a speed that was supposed to be physically impossible for one of his species and grabbed Heracross, he then leapt in the air and threw the bug towards the ground with all of his strength. Heracross slammed into the broken battlefield and moaned in pain as he felt a stone jab him in the back. He yelled in pain moments later when Slaking landed on top of him which sunk him further into the ground and he felt the rock pierce his back.
"Heracross blast him away with Focus Blast."
Heracross ignored the pain in his back and formed another blue orb in his hands and then held it in front of Slaking's face. The normal type's eyes widened and he tried to get away from Heracross however he had no chance to do it as Heracross launched it at his head. The Focus Blast exploded on impact and sent Slaking flying off of Heracross all the way to the ceiling, the force of Slaking hitting the ceiling left leaving several cracks where he had collided with it. Slaking fell to the ground shortly after and landed on the pile of rubble that Heracross had slammed into at the start of their battle. He moaned in pain as he felt the sharp stone stab into the wounds that had been
Ash saw that Slaking appeared to be stunned after a combination of the Focus Blast and falling on this sharp stones and knew that this was their chance to end this match.
"Heracross now use Arm Thrust."
Norman watched as Heracross ran towards Slaking who was still getting back up, he knew that Slaking was tough but if this attack hit there was a good chance that it would be enough to finish him off. He had an idea for how to stop Heracross and he just hoped that Slaking could get up in time to execute the plan.
"Grab his fists and use Thunderbolt."
Everyone watched as Heracross aimed a blow at Slaking's head with his right hand but to except Norman and Max's surprise Slaking got back up and caught Heracross' descending hand with his massive left hand. Heracross tried to hit the Lazy Pokémon with his other fist but it was also blocked by the normal type. Heracross winced as he felt Slaking's grip tighten on his fists and he was sure that his wrists were on the verge of breaking. Sparks started to crackle around Slaking and Heracross then cried out in pain as he felt electricity shocking him, he struggled to free himself from Slaking's grip but he couldn't break free.
Ash watched as Heracross tried to overpower Slaking while being shocked by him but the normal type was just too powerful, he could see that Heracross was wincing and judging by the position his wrists were in as well as the Thunderbolt that was shocking him that wasn't surprising. Ash kept watching the pair and suddenly had an idea when he saw that Slaking was leaning forward and putting all his strength into keeping a grip on Heracross.
"Pull Slaking forward with all of your strength and use Megahorn then use Brick Break repeatedly."
Before Norman could give a command Heracross' horn glowed green and he used all of the strength he could muster to pull Slaking down. The normal type hadn't been expecting this and had no time to react so he slammed face first into Heracross' horn. The impact dazed Slaking and he loosened his grip on Heracross' fists, this allowed Heracross to pull his fists out of the normal types grip and stop the electricity from shocking him. His arm glowed then white as he hit Slaking in the side making the Normal type fall to one knee and clutch his side, Heracross then struck Slaking with his arm several times forcing him back until the normal type finally collapsed.
Ash and Heracross thought they had this won however they were proved wrong when Slaking pushed himself to his feet. Luckily they had one move that they'd be saving for a moment like this.
"Finish him with Focus Uppercut." Ash said.
Heracross' right fist glowed white and he ran towards Slaking who was standing on wobbly legs, when Heracross was within arm's reach of Slaking he threw his left fist into Slaking's stomach which winded the normal type and made him fall to his knees. Heracross put all of the strength he had left into his right fist and hit Slaking with an uppercut that launched the normal type into the air. Slaking slammed down on to the battlefield moments later which caused a tremor that shattered the rocks he was laying on and he fell through the ground. The rubble from the nearby area fell down on top of him and Slaking was buried under an avalanche of small rocks.
Everyone peered into the hole trying to see Slaking but all they could see was the rubble, suddenly a beam of red shot into the pile of rocks and the sound of a Pokémon being recalled could be heard. Everyone turned their gaze to Norman who had a Pokéball in his hand that was aimed at the hole that Slaking had been in. Norman saw the looks everyone was giving him and aimed his Pokéball at the ground in front of him.
"Slaking is done. He's not recovering from that." Norman said.
Norman sent Slaking out on the ground next to him to prove his point, everyone looked at Slaking and saw that he was unconscious.
"Slaking is unable to battle so the winner is Ash Ketchum." The referee said to confirm Ash's victory.
Ash cheered exuberantly and ran on to the destroyed battlefield followed by Raichu, Meowth and Raimodo. Heracross turned around when he heard footsteps behind him and he was pulled into a hug. Heracross smiled and despite him feeling absolutely exhausted he hugged Ash back. Ash broke the hug with Heracross and looked into the bugs eyes.
"That was an awesome battle Heracross and I am so proud of you. I promise that once you're healed up we're gonna work on Close Combat."
Heracross nodded weakly and his eyes closed as the battle with Slaking finally took its toll and he passed out. Ash caught Heracross before he could slam face first to the ground and returned him. He stared at Heracross' Pokéball and placed it back on his belt.
A shadow suddenly loomed over Ash, he looked up and saw Norman who had a smile on his face.
"Congratulations on your victory Ash I hereby present you with the Balance Badge. I'd like to thank you for the best battle I've had in a very long time."
"Thank you Norman, that was an amazing battle and I hope that one day we can have a rematch."
Ash reached out to take the badge from Norman when suddenly someone barged him out of the way and snatched the badge out of Norman's hand. Ash looked at the thief and saw that it was Max who was glaring at him.
"Hey give me my badge." Ash demanded.
"No way. I'm not giving this to a cheater." Max replied.
"We ain't no cheaters you little twerp." Meowth replied angrily.
"D-did that Meowth just talk?" Max and Norman asked.
Meowth saw the shock on Max's face and used that to his advantage, he used Quick Attack to close the gap and he easily plucked the badge out of Max's hand. This knocked Max out of his shock and he desperately tried to grab Meowth but failed to do so.
"Here ya go boss." Meowth said as he handed the badge to Ash.
"Thanks Meowth."
Meowth nodded and quickly placed the badge in the case that he kept his others in and placed the case back in his bag. Ash saw Max walking towards him out of the corner of his eye and saw that there were tears leaking from the young boys eyes. Norman quickly strode over to his son and pulled him into a hug. Max buried his face into his dad's shirt and started to let out muffled sobs.
"Max listen to me. I'm not unbeatable, if that were true then I'd be the Champion of Hoenn. Ash won fair and square just like the other people who beat me." Norman said.
Max nodded and mumbled something into Norman's shirt. Ash knew that this was a family matter that he really shouldn't be listening to so he quietly walked out of the battle room. He headed towards the main entrance but stopped when he felt someone grab his shoulder. He turned around and saw May smiling at him.
"That was a good battle Ash." May said.
"Thanks May. Say goodbye to you dad and brother for me."
"I will do. I'll see you later Ash."
"Yeah see ya May."
Ash hugged May which made her cheeks turn bright red as she thought back to what Max had said. She pushed the thought out of her head and enjoyed being in Ash's arms. Ash finally broke the hug with May, he turned around and walked out of the gym. He took his newly won badge out of the case and felt a sense of achievement that he hadn't felt since he beat Drake to become the Orange Islands Champion. Norman had been the toughest gym leader he'd ever had the honor to battle and he hoped that someday he'd get the chance to have another match with him. Ash placed the badge in the badge case and walked towards the Pokémon Centre so he could heal his team up.
Meanwhile in a secret location Rethant and Salem were in a room looking through images of all the ancient drawing they'd found of Ksher. Salem was stood nervously next to her father who was sat in his chair trying to decipher the newest images. They had gotten some luck while excavating Mt Pyre and found a giant stone table with the same ancient script that was found with the cave drawing of Ksher. Salem was still amazed that they'd managed to get the equipment in undetected but her father was one of the most intelligent men on the planet and he'd planned for weeks until he'd finally come up with the perfect plan. He'd decided to wait until Christmas Day when almost nobody was there to execute his plan. They had only had to knock out a few Pokémon and a couple of old codgers to get inside.
"Father I'm sorry." Salem suddenly blurted out.
Rethant sighed in annoyance and closed the images folder, he shut down his laptop and turned to face his daughter.
"You can say that a million times and it still won't remedy the fact that you failed me by letting the Ketchum boy escape."
"I believed that he was in no position to escape."
Rethant stood up and slammed his hands on the desk angrily, he smirked when he saw his daughter momentarily recoil but then quickly regain her composure. He was proud that she wasn't cowering like most of the people in the organization.
"You should have known after all the time you spent with him that Ketchum is resourceful. Your overconfidence blinded you and because of that he escaped and is once again a threat to us."
Salem stood in silence as she really had no response to that. Her father was right, she had gotten cocky after she'd knocked out that worthless Vibrava and left those moronic grunts to deal with him. She knew that if she'd have stayed he wouldn't have gotten away.
"You're lucky that you are my daughter, had it been any other member of this organization well you remember what happened when Commander Annette disobeyed me."
Salem stiffened and a look of fear appeared in her eyes, she flashed back to the day that her father had 'disciplined' Annette. She had heard Annette's pained screams go on for hours, she'd heard her beg and plead for him to stop but he hadn't. She remembered the door to her father's office opening and watching in horror as a half-naked Annette was being dragged out of the room by two of the grunts with blood pouring out of the wounds on her back. That was the day she realized that failure was not an option when it came to her father.
"Now I want you to go and supervise the excavation in Mt Pyre. The tablet we discovered there is key to us finding Ksher. Make sure that it is safely removed and brought here as quickly as possible."
"Yes father."
Salem walked away from her father towards the door, she was about to reach out for the door when she felt a hand grab her shoulder. She turned around and saw her father who was staring at her.
"Salem this is the most critical mission I have sent you on. If you fail me again I won't show the same mercy I have this time. You will be punished… severely." Rethant said threateningly.
Salem felt her knees start to shake as she saw the look in her father's eyes which told her that he was deadly serious.
"I-I shan't fail you father." Salem replied shakily.
"I hope for your sake that you won't." Rethant mumbled.
Salem nodded and then left her father's office leaving him to continue his work. He walked back to his desk and sat down, he turned laptop back on and opened the images folder again and started to translate the text in the hopes of finding more information on Ksher.
Notes
For all you Salem lovers who are thinking that she will turn good because of Rethant's threats you're wrong. She's bad to the bone just like her father.
This chapter ended up being a lot longer than I expected – about 4,000 words longer. I hope this chapter compensated for the rather short chapter I put up last time. This was a one off though, I'm not making every chapter this long.
I know that some of you will complain about Linoone, Kecleon and Quilava using punching moves but I think that if an Abra can use punches why can't those three?
Please give a review telling me what you liked/didn't like. It really helps me know what I am doing right and what I can improve on.
If you have any questions I am more than happy to answer them.
Ash:
Kanto - Raichu, Meowth, Ivysaur, Wartortle, Charizard, Pidgeot, Kingler, Muk, Tauros(x24), Snorlax, Sandshrew, Jolteon (Shiny), Vaporeon (Shiny) & Aerodactyl
Johto - Croconaw, Meganium, Quilava, Heracross, Noctowl (Shiny), Phanpy, Hitmontop, Togetic, Sneasel, Espeon (Shiny) & Celebi
Hoenn - Marshtomp, Ninjask, Shedinja, Treecko, Vibrava, Zangoose, Sableye, Plusle, Minun, Raimodo & Kirlia
Sinnoh - Monferno & Glaceon (Shiny)
Kalos - Meowstic & Amaura
Pokémon currently on hand – Raichu, Meowth, Celebi, Quilava, Raimodo, Heracross, Sandshrew, Tauros, Vibrava, Phanpy & Croconaw