This is the one hundred fifty-eighth chapter in Pokemon Heroes. Now begins the fight that will test the strengths of Ash and Gary and settle their rivalry. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon or any of the songs.
(Opening Song)
Misty opened her eyes slowly.
She was still in that dark room on that bed. She was looking up at the ceiling as a thick red blanket rested on her.
"Good morning, Misty."
The first voice she had to hear was Sephiroth. It just HAD to be her uncle.
"You've been out for a while," continued Sephiroth. "You could've died if I wasn't here to take care of your injuries. You should be thanking me."
She slowly turned her body for her stomach to touch the bed.
"Where's Gary?" she asked.
"You wake up and the first thing you ask for is that boy?" asked Sephiroth. "I sent him on a mission."
"Is this mission May related?"
"Not this time," said Sephiroth. "It's more about that Aura Guardian."
"Why?"
Sephiroth smirked.
"This may be the last mission Gary Oak ever goes on," said Sephiroth. "If he does come back, then he'd be a completely changed person, even more changed than he already is. He's going to settle it with that boy. He's not going to hold back this time."
Misty slowly elevated herself with her arms.
"If you're thinking about interfering, you're out of luck this time," said Sephiroth. "I placed a barrier around this cabin. No one's allowed in or out. It's negated once Gary steps foot on this island or if 72 hours pass. I made sure to take extra precautions this time, sweetheart."
Misty semi-turned to him while glaring.
He only responded with an even larger smirk.
"Let's play a game to pass the time, shall we?"
Ash and Gary 1 (Confrontation)
Gary was sitting within a thin alley. It was just a small gap between two buildings. So small that his back leaned against one building, and the tip of his shoe against the other building. The top was sealed by something that connected the two buildings. The light came from the entrance into the alley.
Gary was staring at his sword that was held out in front of him. He spun it around whiling staring at the blade. The flat end showed his reflection.
He stared at himself. He noticed how much he had changed.
But he didn't care.
He shut his eyes.
"The only person who stands in your way, the person who is stronger than you right now, is Ash Ketchum."
Gary's closed right eye twitched.
He remembered all those times Ash and he clashed. He remembered how he always beat Ash to the ground. He remembered how annoyed he was when Ash came up to him, asking for a fight. He remembered how great he felt when he put Ash in his place.
But now, all that was crushed when he learned that this boy was "stronger" than him.
It made no sense, but Sephiroth knew a lot. He couldn't take any risks. He always thought that killing Marluxia would end his path to power, but he was mistaken.
There were many, many more paths.
He slowly stood up and proceeded to walk out of the alley.
He was not going to back down this time. This time, he was sure as hell he was going to end this.
He slowly placed his sword in its sheath.
Sootopolis City went through another day like any other day. There were hardly any crimes, for the police force and the gym leader that resided in the city made sure that there wasn't any.
Five days ago, when Sora wrecked buildings and cost many people their lives, was when the city actually had something going on after two months of absolutely nothing.
But right now, another problem had occurred. It didn't look like this city could get a higher peaceful streak anytime soon.
A little's girl's scream was heard in the center of the city. Even people that were by busy roads and rivers could hear it clearly.
The scream had come from Ash, who was slumping forward as he held his abdomen. May stood over him.
"Don't be a baby," said May.
"What the hell was that for?" asked Ash. "Take better care of my wounds!"
"Were you thinking that when you got into a with those those guys just because they stepped on your foot?"
Behind them, near a fountain, were at least ten adolescent boys who were leaning all around the fountain structure. They were all knocked out.
"They had it coming!" yelled Ash.
"Stepping on your foot doesn't show killing intent."
"It was my damaged foot!"
"Whatever!"
May grabbed the back of his shirt and pulled him up. She checked his abdomen, where a purple bruise had formed.
"It got larger," said May, and she proceeded to pat a ice cold, wet towel on it. "You could really put your life in danger by taking these risks."
"I'm fine," said Ash, flinching at the pain. "The pain has reduced a little."
"What do you think Dawn would say?" asked May
"And why would I give a fuck at what Dawn says?" asked Ash with a smirk.
"Repeat that, Ketchum. I dare you."
Ash quickly turned around, only to Dawn with her arms crossed in front of her chest with a dark glare. Brendan was behind her while looking at the beaten boys.
"What the hell happened while we were just getting supplies?" asked Brendan. "This is why you're not a likable person."
"It's only fair to beat him the way he beat them," said Dawn.
Ash started to furiously sweat. He tried making a run for it, but he forgot May was softly patting his bruise. Pushing toward her arm applied more pressure, and the boy let out a high pitched "eep". He was then held up by Brendan from the back of his shirt.
"Come on, Ketchum," said Brendan. "We're leaving before Officer Jenny shows up."
"Aye sir."
Ash held his shirt up in front of the mirror in the two bunk bed room he and his friends shared. No one else was in the room by Ash and Pikachu. Pikachu sat on the bed while looking at Ash.
"Pika Pi?"
"I'm gonna be okay," said Ash as he looked at the large bruise on the right side of his abdomen. "It'll heal up at some point."
He pulled down his shirt and then looked at his open backpack that sat on his bed. He walked over to it and checked inside while taking stuff out and putting stuff in.
"Don't worry, though, I'll still be able to fight and stuff," said Ash. "I just have to make sure no one hits that area. Simple as that."
"Pika."
It lowered its head, looking at its trainer with disbelief.
"Hey, have some faith in me!" said Ash, quickly turning to looking Pikachu. This action caused his backpack to fall back and it hit his bruise. A small, pained sound escaped his mouth. He flinched and moved back as the backpack continued falling. It hit the ground and all of its contents spilled out.
The series of events made Pikachu jerk its head up to look at what happened.
"Pika Pi!"
"I'm fine. Just Arceus being a dick."
He bent down to pick up the materials with some help from Pikachu.
"Thanks pal," said Ash after shoving the last of the contents in the backpack.
Pikachu was about to get back in bed, but then it noticed something under the bed. It crouched down and took the rectangular object in its mouth. It nudged Ash to get him to notice.
Ash looked down at Pikachu. He took the object in Pikachu's mouth.
It was a photo. He was staring at the back of it. As soon as he turned it around, a grim expression formed on his face.
It was an old photo. It was a photo that he kept with him since the beginning of this quest. It was simply a photo he shoved into the deepest end of his backpack, never to be seen again. He remembered when May caught a glimpse of it during the beginning of their journey.
It was the picture of Ash, Gary, and Drew with their arms over each other's shoulders. They were way younger. The picture was taken at least six years ago.
They all had large smiles on their faces.
It was a time that was way simpler than now.
"Pika Pi?"
"Nothing," said Ash, quickly shoving the picture into his backpack. He placed it on his back, and then extended his arm for Pikachu to jump on it and climb up to his shoulder.
"Let's go."
He went out and shut the door.
He walked into the lobby, where his other friends were waiting.
"Took you long enough," said Brendan. "You usually don't take that long."
"He does have an injury, Brendan," said May, getting down from the window ledge and walked toward Ash. "Did you hurt yourself while packing up? You're walking with a limp."
"How did you know?" asked Ash in a low voice. "I mean, no I did not! I'm perfectly fine."
He walked past May and walked out of the Pokemon Center.
"We should keep a close eye on him," said Dawn. "I take no responsibility for this. He decided he didn't want to rest until it was healed."
"I guess he'll get around it somehow," said Brendan, taking out a map. "Let's go."
They walked out to follow Ash.
"Are you sure you brought the right map this time?" asked Dawn, looking over at the map spread out in front of him.
They were on a wide path with trees that led into a deep forest that lined it.
"I hear that the path ahead is really dangerous at night," said Brendan. "By the time we get there, it'll get dark. If we wait and then go in the morning, it takes at least two days to get through it, so doing that is a bad idea. We'll just have to take a detour past some rocky terrain. We should rest in caves over there."
"Yeah, but do you have the right map?"
"Yes, I do."
Behind them were Ash and May. Ash looked exhausted while walking. They had only left the city thirty minutes ago. May watched on with concern.
"Are you alright?" she asked.
"How many times do I have to answer that?" asked Ash, obviously annoyed. "I can survive."
"We can take a break."
"I don't want any," said Ash. "I have to be prepared if whenever he shows up. I can't be lying on my ass for that."
"There's no reason to give a tough boy act. If you need to rest, you rest."
"Why don't you give your worrying a rest?"
May smiled.
"You're so cute."
"SHUT UP! Stop that! Hey!"
May had already tried cuddling with Ash as he tried pushing her away. Brendan and Dawn looked back and sweat-dropped.
Pikachu had a mocking smile on its face. Then something came into its sense of smell. It looked ahead and slowly placed its paw on Ash's cheek.
"Pika."
Ash stopped and looked at what Pikachu was looking at. Brendan and Dawn had already stopped. May realized Ash had stopped and looked forward as well.
They saw Gary, the boy who had been attacking them a lot lately, coming their way.
"Gary?" asked Ash.
It was weird. He usually attacked them with a sneak attack, but this time, he just causally walked to them. There was no weapon in his hand.
It was strange.
As he got closer, Dawn slowly got into a position to quickly mold ice in an instant and Brendan's eyes had already turned emerald green.
Gary just kept walking. When he was close enough, he finally stopped.
There was silence.
"Well?" asked Brendan. "What do you want?"
Gary's glare darted from Brendan, to Dawn, to May. Ash quickly reacted and moved May so she could be behind him.
Then his eyes were set upon Ash, and it stayed there. Their eyes were locked.
But Ash felt something different with Gary's eyes.
"I have no business with the rest of you," said Gary. "I'm only here for Ash."
"What?" asked Dawn. "What for?"
"If you want something with Ash, you're gonna have to tell all of us," said Brendan.
"Yeah!"
Gary's glare returned to them. He didn't say anything, and then he slowly looked at Ash again.
"We're going to fight. Right now."
"Now you must be crazy," said Dawn.
"If you think we'll just let you take Ash after all the things you've done to us, you've got another thing coming, buddy," said Brendan. "I'll take you-"
"Yeah, fine, I'll fight," said Ash.
"What?"
"What?"
"What?!" asked May. "Do you realize what you just said?"
"Yeah, I said I'll fight him," said Ash.
"No! You have an injury! Fighting will just make it worse."
"What are you talking about, May?" asked Ash with a smile as he placed a hand on her head. "It's just a simple fight. No one's gonna die."
He walked away from her toward Gary. Brendan placed a hand on his shoulder and stopped him.
"Ash, are you being serous right now?"
"Yeah," said Ash, giving Brendan a look that caused Brendan to raise an eyebrow. "I've for this under control. No need to worry."
He took Pikachu off his shoulder and placed it in Brendan's hands. He gave it a nod, and then turned to Gary. He walked closer to him until he stood in front of him.
"Let's take this fight someplace else," said Ash. "I need more room to really let loose."
Gary didn't respond. A crack of thunder was heard, and the boy was already gone. Ash saw where he went.
"We're coming with you," said Dawn.
"No!" yelled Ash, glaring at them. "You guys stay HERE! Do not get in between this! I'll be right back!"
He ran into the forest before his friends could say anything else.
Gary's feet crashed onto a branch and used it to propel him forward. The branch broke and fell to the forest ground. Ash quickly jumped over it and kept on running while trying to keep a close eye on Gary.
"Gary! Stop running! You're gonna answer a whole lot of questions for me, dammit! Slow down so you can answer them!"
Gary didn't pay attention, nor did he even turn back. His foot landed on another branch, and he launched himself forward once again.
"Gary!"
Gary's feet landed on another, and this time, he used his lightning powers and bolted like a bolt of lightning away. Ash was going to lose sight of him at this rate.
"Dammit!"
He stopped, and then aura surrounded his feet. He used this to propel himself into the air. He then propelled himself forward like a rocket jet, getting past Gary and stopping in front of him.
"Listen to me when I'm talking to you!"
Gary didn't stop. He moved like a bolt of lightning and quickly moved aside and appeared behind Ash and kept going.
Ash noticed he had escaped and looked back. He fell to the ground and rolled over to his feet. His bruise hurt like hell, but he didn't have time to think about the pain. He rose to his feet and kept going, eventually getting out of the forest and came to a cliff that overlooked the rocky wasteland with high rocks that rose higher than others.
He saw Gary jumping on one high rock to another.
"Wait up!" yelled Ash, and he jumped off the cliff. He landed on a tall rock formation and jumped toward another.
Finally he landed on one, and Gary landed on one higher than Ash's at the same time.
Now Ash and Gary were face to face. They were ready to begin the fight that would end the rivalry between them.
"Gary..." said Ash in a low voice.
Gary slowly removed his sword from its sheath and held it out in front of him.
"What the hell is your problem?" asked Ash.
"This is no ordinary fight," said Gary. "This fight is to the death."
He pointed his sword at Ash.
"The death?" asked Ash. "No way! When I tell you I am going to kill you, it was just to show how serious I was to fight you! I was never going to actually kill you! If you want to fight so badly, then I will fight you, but first you have to answer stuff for me."
"There is nothing I have to answer!"
"Um, yes you do! A whole lot actually!"
"Doesn't matter if I answer them or not," said Gary. "You won't be alive long enough."
"Quit it!" yelled Ash. "Stop being like that, Gary! You're not that type of person! I know you are way smarter than that! The only answer is that someone else is making you do this! Tell me who it is now!"
Gary got in a position to fight.
"I'm not fighting you, Gary!"
"You'll be forced to," said Gary. "Let's begin!"
His foot pushed down at the rock formation he stood on, and a crater formed around his foot. He launched himself off it and went for Ash with his sword held back to swing.
"Dammit, Gary!"
Ash quickly materialized his Aura Blade and he swung his blade to push Gary's blade away. Gary had moved his other hand that was not holding onto the sword back into a fist. Lightning surrounded it and his fist crashed against Ash's side.
The force of the punch sent Ash toward the rocky terrain down below. Ash's feet was pushed against the ground as he moved back. He finally stopped and took a deep breath. The bruise on his side hurt, but he had to make sure Gary hadn't noticed it. He also had to make sure Gary's attacks don't head toward there. It could put him in real deep trouble.
Gary landed on the ground and bolted toward Ash. Ash got ready.
Their blades clashed twice. Gary rammed his foot on Ash's gut, making him stagger back. He swung his blade at Ash's neck with great force, but Ash ducked and threw a fist at Gary, but he got out of the way too quickly.
He rose his hand and then the ground cracked up. A surge of lightning up at Ash. He jumped out of the way and landed on the ground on all fours.
He quickly shot an Aura Breath at Gary, but Gary cut through it with his lightning covered blade. Gary swung his arm down and a thunderbolt headed for Ash. Ash barely dodged this one, and the damage the attack caused sent Ash up in the air. The debris struck him as he held his arms up.
"He's going all out!"
Gary moved like a bolt of lighting and launched himself off the side of a rock formation to another and kept going in a zigzag fashion until he got up to Ash and elbowed the boy on the face. Ash was sent to the ground hard. He groaned and coughed before ramming his fist on the ground.
Gary landed on the ground behind him, and Ash heard a surge of lightning surround his blade. Ash quickly got up and turned to Gary. Just at that time, Gary had suddenly tossed his sword at Ash like a spear covered in lightning. Ash moved to the side as it brushed past him. He quickly created an Aura Sphere and tossed it at Gary. It struck the area Gary was standing on, but Gary himself wasn't there.
He suddenly appeared in front of Ash and thrust his fist at Ash's face, but Ash ducked and rammed an Aura covered fist into Gary's gut. The boy didn't seem too fazed at it though. Ash tossed another, but Gary smacked it aside and landed a punch to Ash's face. He then rammed his fist into Ash's gut, and then another, and another, and another until a fury of fists crashed into struck Ash. He then kicked Ash across the face, sending him flying away.
Ash connected his feet to the ground and stopped just as the sword brushed past him again after flying past it. Gary appeared behind Ash and caught the sword at the handle, ready to swing it at Ash's back. Ash quickly moved and the sword cut strands of his hair off.
Gary snapped his finger and the shockwave that was produced when thunder crashed formed, launching Ash's away with its force.
Ash landed on the ground and coughed up blood.
He slowly tried getting himself up as he breathed heavily. He took the hat on his head and placed it on the ground.
"You know, I tried to be nice and follow May's example to settle things by talking it out, but I guess that's no use," said Ash as he stood and turned to Gary as his palm covered his fist. "Fine then! I'll just beat you until you're unconscious, tie you to a chair, and then force you to tell me everything you know, asshole!"
Gary got into position.
Ash got into position.
Now, beating down their opponent was the only thing going through their minds.
"That idiot!" yelled May as she kicked aside a large rock as she continued to walk around in circles. "He just had to fight after getting those injuries after fighting Sora! After all that's happened, he still thinks he should just fight Gary for fun! That's stupid! He could fall unconscious and get his butt kicked!"
"Maybe we should have followed him," said Dawn. "I hear explosions not too far from here. Pikachu, can you smell Ash?"
Pikachu sadly shook its head.
"Gary must have made sure he's not followed," said Brendan. "Smart bastard."
"Even after all this time, Ash still doesn't understand that we can help him out sometimes," said Dawn. "He doesn't have to do everything alone."
"This time is different," said Brendan. "I saw the look in his eyes before he left. He wanted to fight alone because this time he felt that this was his battle, and his battle alone. Even if we did follow him he'd insist we do nothing. All we can do is wait."
"I don't have the patience to wait," said May as she walked around in circles nervously.
Dawn watched her, and then she noticed something else. Something, more like someone, was coming their way.
"Misty!" yelled Dawn.
Misty noticed them and walked closer. She didn't looked too cheerful. A grim look was on her face.
"Are you alright?" asked Dawn as she went up to her. "The last time we saw you, you were near death. Are you alright now? How's it been?"
"I'm fine," said Misty.
"What are you doing here?" asked Brendan. "It is Gary related again?"
"Why else would I be here?" she asked. "Did you see Gary yet?"
"Yeah," answered May. "He challenged Ash to a fight and they left ten minutes ago."
"I'm too late then," sad Misty, looking toward the forest.
"Too late for what?" asked May. "Ash said it was going to be a regular fight."
"No," said Misty. "It is not just a regular fight. This one is serious."
"What do you mean?" asked Brendan.
Misty turned to them.
"This is Gary's final mission. This time, he is ordered to kill Ash. But with what they are right now, they could wipe each other out."
May and the others were frozen. They knew Gary was out to kill May, but when did it suddenly change to Ash?
But Misty didn't have time to be shocked.
"We don't have much time!" yelled Misty. "Let's get over there and stop them."
(Ending Song)
Next Time on Pokemon Heroes: Ash and Gary's fight rages on and Gary is holding nothing back to make sure he completes his goal. But as Ash continues to fight Gary, he starts to realize what they had, and why it should have continued to be like the way it was. How will Ash start to realize things from his memories, and how will Misty find a way to intervene this time? Next Time: Ash and Gary 2 (Light Within the Dark).
That was that chapter. You may be question (or maybe not) about how Misty is outside even after her uncle said she wouldn't be able to leave the cabin. That will be explained next chapter. She's smarter than she looks. Ash and Gary's fight is already starting to heat up and it will continue to heat up in the chapters that are coming. You soon understand what Sephiroth meant when he said that Ash was stronger than Gary, and remember that Misty knows about this too after overhearing Gary and Sephiroth talk about it. They will finally settle things with the next two chapters and then real shit happens. See you next chapter!
Read and Review please :-)
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