Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon. If I did, Ash would age.
A/N: Finally onto the quarter-final match. Also note lemon/lime in centre of chapter. Warnings are in place however, so if you want to skip it you can.
Forest Near Indigo League Complex
"That's it Charmeleon, use flamethrower! Good Job." Ash was in the middle of a clearing in the nearby forest training. He was helping his Charmeleon get stronger. Being Charmeleon was the only one of his starter who had not fully evolved, Ash had decided to spend some extra time with it. Hopefully when it battled than it would evolve. It's flamethrower was on par with that of a Charizard, so Ash couldn't wait to see just how powerful it was going to be when fully evolved. Ash had also read that Charmeleon could be a handful, as they were normally proud and believed they were better than everyone else. This was another reason why Ash was spending time with it. He was making sure it knew who was in charge. "Good job Charmeleon, now lets see your slash attack!"
Charmeleon claws grew, it jumped and then swiped at a nearby tree. For few seconds nothing happened, then slowly part of the three began to slide away from the other half. Charmeleon's slash had cut the tree in two.
Ash had his Pokedex out looking through the various moves his Charmeleon had. So far it could use ember, slash, flame thrower, flame burst, fire fang, smoke screen. Not exactly a whole range of moves but still a few that could be handy in a battle.
Not far from Ash another trainer was also training his Charmeleon. The boy had a blue and yellow cap on, and a Pikachu was sat on his shoulder. This trainer was called Richie, and he was also in the quarter finals, however he had only managed to get through by the skin of his teeth. So he was here now training and making sure his Pokemon were ready for whatever they faced next. "Good job Zippo, keep it up." Richie had nicknames for all his Pokemon. The Pikachu on his shoulder was called Sparky. It looked like a normal Pikachu, but had a small tuff of yellow fur sticking out on the top of its head. His Charmeleon was called Zippo. He also had a Butterfree which he called Happy. Unknown to Richie three figures in the trees were watching him closely.
Jessie looked down at the young trainer. He reminded her so much of the twerp with Pikachu. This was why she and James had been following the kid. They had got tired of trying to pinch the twerps Pokemon, so now they were going to try steal this boys Pikachu. "James are you ready?"
James had a few smoke bombs in his hand. He looked to Jessie and nodded. He then threw three of them onto the ground, blinding the young trainer and his Pokemon. Jessie and James then leapt down from the tree attached their breathing gear, so that the smoke wouldn't harm them.
"Hey what's going on?" Richie had just been training his Pokemon, when the clearing he was using was filled with smoke. Richie covered his mouth while coughing. It was then he noticed three shadows walking through the smoke. "Who are you? What do you want with me?"
Jessie and James just looked at the young trainer and smiled. "Simple kid. We are team Rocket, and we are going to pinch your Pikachu and all your other Pokemon. Now hand them over." Jessie and James were so occupied with the trainer in front of them, that they didn't even realise Ash had just ran into the clearing. He had seen the smoke and wanted to know what was happening.
"Pidgeot use Whirlwind!" Pidgeot flew high above the smoke and then flapped its huge wings, clearing the smoke and leaving Jessie and James confused. However when they saw the Pidgeot and Ash glaring at them, they knew it was game over.
Richie could now see clearly, and he was surprised to see another trainer standing on the other side of the clearing. Just above his head was a huge Pidgeot flapping it's wings. Richie had seen a Pidgeot before, but not one this big. He watched as the three thieves attention were now drawn to this other trainer. He noticed two of the thieves had poke ball in their hands.
"Blast its the twerp. Arbok go, Poison Sting!" Jessie threw her poke ball, and out of it appeared a purple and black Cobra type Pokemon. It opened its mouth and spat a barrage of small stings at Ash and the Pidgeot.
Ash growled. "You three will never learn will you. What's the matter? Got tired of me kicking your backsides every time, and so you decided to target another trainer. You guys make me sick. Pidgeot use Gust to blow those stings away!" Pidgeot flapped its wings once more, this time two small tornado's appeared and blew the poison stings away.
Jessie growled in frustration. "Fine, if that how you want to play it. Arbok use Bite!" Arbok charged toward the Pidgeot and leaped. Its fangs clearly visible.
Ash shook his head. The nerve of these three. Ash wouldn't have minded if they put up a decent battle now and again, but no it was the same lame moves. "Pidgeot counter with Wing attack!" Pidgeot wings glowed white, it then charged towards Arbok, it used the glowing wings to smack the poison type around a little, and then finally smacked it away towards its trainer.
Jessie looked down and saw her Arbok was fainted. Quickly she recalled the Pokemon. "Blast you Twerp. James are you not even going to help? Send out Weezing now!" However Jessie eyes widened as she heard the twerp shout.
"Enough of this. Pidgeot send them all flying with Hurricane!" Pidgeot flew up high then flapped its wings hard. This time forming a huge tornado that was sweeping towards the three thieves. The tornado swept them up and they were now screaming and shouting as they became trapped in the vortex of the hurricane. The cyclone then took off from the floor and flew high above everyone head into the sky and off into the distance. Seeing the coast was clear, Ash recalled Pidgeot. He then walked over to the boy who team Rocket had attacked. "You okay? Those three didn't get any of your Pokemon did they?" Ash noticed the boy just shake his head.
"No, you got here just before they could steal any. By the way thank you for the rescue. My names Richie, and this is Sparky and Zippo." Ash looked at the two Pokemon. One was a Pikachu and the other was a Charmeleon. Ash then extended his hand.
"Don't mention it. My names Ash Ketchum, and this is my friend Pikachu. Say hello buddy." Pikachu posed with cross fingers and winked. Ash shook his head, Pikachu was becoming a bit of a show off of late. No doubt thanks to Brock introducing him to all those different girls. "Sorry he is not normally like this. I take it you're in the quarter finals too."
Richie was wide-eyed he was standing in front of the trainer who had qualified for the quarter finals with ease. The only Pokemon he had lost was his Pikachu. Richie had also heard that this trainer was really good and nearly all of his Pokemon were fully evolved. Richie had heard one story of how this trainer had used a Dragonair in his battle, at first he didn't believe it, but when he watched the highlights of the battle, he had seen the Dragonair sweep a whole team. "Wow you're that trainer with Dragonair."
Ash scratched the back of his head, he knew having a Dragonair was a big thing in this tournament. After all many trainers had never seen a Dratini before, yet actually had one for their team. "Yes she is a quite a powerful Pokemon. I was quite lucky to get her. Someone gave me an egg and told me to raise the Pokemon that hatched. Imagine my surprise when I discovered it was a Dratini. However a lot of care and hard work and finally evolved into Dragonair. However she as a way to go yet before she evolves again into Dragonite. Hey you want to get a bite to eat? We have an hour before we have to be at the arena to find who we have in the quarter finals. Also I want to introduce you to my friends. In fact I promised to meet them at the restaurant, but I am sure they won't mind if I bring another trainer along."
Restaurant Indigo Complex
Sabrina and Brock were stood outside the restaurant with Delia and Professor Oak. They were all waiting for Ash. Sabrina looked at her watch, he was already ten minutes late. Just then she spotted him walking up the road with another trainer. Both of them had Pikachu riding on their shoulders. Sabrina stormed right up to him.
"What time you call this Ash Ketchum? You're late. We have all been here waiting for you." Sabrina waited for her boyfriend to give her an answer. Her hands were on her hips, meaning she wasn't in the best of moods.
Ash lowered his head in apology. "Sorry Sabrina. I got held up by Team Rocket. However instead of trying to catch my Pikachu, they choose to go after Richie's. Oh Richie this is Sabrina my girlfriend, Sabrina this is Richie. He is also in the quarter finals."
Sabrina looked between Ash and Richie. The two trainers were so much alike. Both wore caps, and finger less gloves, and both had a Pikachu riding on their shoulders. The were roughly the same height too. Sabrina would have sworn they could have been twins had it not been for Richie's blonde hair and blue eyes. "Nice to meet you Richie. Ash is Richie going to be joining us for dinner?"
Ash inclined his head. "Yes, then afterwards we can all head towards the centre arena, so we can find out our match up for the quarter finals. " Ash and Richie then followed Sabrina back to the small group. They all then entered the restaurant.
Indigo League Main Arena
Ash stood next to Richie, apart from the two of them their were six more trainers. All of them stood looking up at the screen. Mr Goodshow had given his speech and now they were finally going to find out who they were going to face. During the short time Ash had known Richie, he was amazed to find out just how much they had in common. Ash knew he had found a good friend and hopefully a worthy rival. He noticed his picture flipped and then his opponents card flipped showing the face of Richie. Ash was surprised by the match up, however he was here to win, and so he had to face any one put in front of him. Least now though, Ash would get a chance to see just how strong he was.
Richie on the other hand was having a completely different thought. He was up against not only his new friend, but the trainer who had only lost one Pokemon so far. Richie had only got by the last round by pure luck, however Ash had dominated with his Gengar. Richie turned to Ash and extended his hand. "Oh well. Looks like its you and me Ash. May the best trainer win."
Later that evening Pokemon Centre
Ash was in his room with Sabrina. He was watching a few of Richie's battles. It seems his main three Pokemon were his Pikachu, a Butterfree and a Charmeleon. Ash was scratching the back of his head in worry. The team he had planned to go with would pretty much destroy Richie's team. Last think Ash wanted was to push a friend away, because he had dominated a battle. Ash decided he wouldn't use any of his big guns in this round. However he would keep one in reserve just in case he needed it. Finally Ash decided on Pikachu, Charmeleon and Milotic. Ash noticed one of his balls opened and out floated Mew.
"So Daddy, when am I going to get to battle? It's getting boring just be stuck in this ball all the time. I am a Pokemon after all, so why won't you use me." Ash groaned, he had explained this to Mew a hundred times already. She was being saved for the semi-finals along with Darkrai.
"Princess, I told you, not until the semi-finals. Then you can battle. Beside if I sent you out against my next opponent then I thing he would have a heart attack. He is already overwhelmed by Dragonair and my other Pokemon. Imagine what would happen if he found out about you and Darkrai."
Mew huffed and then vanished back into her ball. "Fine, long as you haven't forgotten about me, then I am happy. By the way you better put that away, Sabrina will be out of the bathroom soon.
Ash blinked in surprise, just then the bathroom door unlocked and Sabrina walked out in nothing but a towel and her long purple lock clinging to her body. Ash put his Pokegear away and took in the sight of his girlfriend. He had never seen anything so beautiful in his life. Sabrina blushed. Seem Ash was liking what he was seeing. That was good has Sabrina wanted to try something else tonight.
Indigo League Central Arena Locker room
Ash again was cross-legged on the bench in the locker room in meditation. He did this before every match and it was helping him a lot. Knuckles was also enjoying it has it was their time together. Both could hear the sound of the crowd coming from the arena. However both stayed silent and carried on centering their aura. Soon the buzzer sounded and Ash opened his eyes, they were now glowing a soft blue the same as Knuckles. Slowly the blue vanished, revealing Ash back to normal. He hugged Knuckles and then recalled him back into his ball. He then stood. took a deep breath. He adjusted his cap and then watched as Pikachu jumped onto his shoulder. They both faced the stair leading up to their platform. After spending a few minutes listening to the crowd, they walked up the stairs and out onto the trainers platform. The stands were packed once more. Ash looked over and acknowledged Richie. One trainer was about to leave this competition. Ash stood ready and watched the referee take his position, both flags in his hands.
"This is a quarter final match up between Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town and Richie of Frodomor City. This is a three on three contest. All clauses are in effect. Once one trainers loses all their Pokemon, I will declare the winner. Trainers send out your first Pokemon."
Richie looked to his shoulder. "First round is all yours Sparky. " The Pikachu nodded and then leapt off his trainers shoulder and landed on the battle field ready to fight.
Ash seeing Richie choose Pikachu, also decided to go with his starter. "You too Pikachu. You're up." Pikachu leapt off Ash shoulder and then flipped before landing on the battle field in a perfect pose. Ash sweat dropped, that is the last time he would leaves Pikachu with Brock.
The referee raised both flags. "The first battle is between Pikachu and Pikachu, begin!"
Ash decided to see just what this Pikachu had. "Go Pikachu lets start things off with Agility, right into Double team!" Pikachu raced across the field and then began to circle around sparky. It then used double team so now a dozen or so Pikachu's were running around him.
Richie watched as Sparky had a look of fear on its face. "Sparky Discharge the whole field now!" Sparky cheeks began to spark it then sent out a 360 degree wave of electricity.
Ash decided to counter this strategy. "Pikachu up on your tail quickly and ground that attack." the dozen or so Pikachu all vanished till only the real Pikachu was left. However it had suffered no damage thanks to it grounding the discharge attack.
Richie was stunned, Ash had stopped his discharge attack, still now there was only one Pikachu on the field. "Quickly Sparky use Quick attack!" Sparky dashed towards Pikachu.
Ash waited to the very last second, thanks to agility his Pikachu was faster. "Pikachu Double team, then Thunder wave!" Pikachu made several copies of itself once more. Sparky dashed right through one of the copies and into the wall around the battle field. All the Pikachu then sent out a wave of electricity hitting Sparky and paralysing it.
Richie looked on horrified. Ash had used a defensive strategy and then switched to an offensive strategy in the blink of an eye. His Sparky was now paralysed. Richie had another problem though, apart from quick attack Pikachu only knew tackle and the rest were electric type moves.
Ash seeing Sparky paralysed decided to cause some real damage. "Pikachu Iron tail let's go!" Pikachu jumped in the air. Its tail turning to steel it then flipped ready to bring its tail down on Sparky's head.
Richie again was surprised. Ash's Pikachu knew a steel type move. Richie did the only thing he could think of. "Sparky use your Double team!" Sparky made several copies of itself, luckily for him the Iron tail hit one of the copies. When this battle was over, Sparky was going to have a word with this Pikachu and ask if he could teach him Iron tail.
Ash seeing the double team smiled. He had to hand it to Richie. The problem was Ash didn't know which was real and which one were copies. "Pikachu use your Discharge!" Pikachu grinned, he had only learnt this move a month or so ago. Pikachu charged electricity into its cheeks and then unleashed a 360 wave of electricity, which washed over all the copies and finally lit up the real one.
Richie growled, that attack had caused some serious damage. It was clear that Ash's Pikachu was at a much higher level than his. "Sparky use Thunderbolt!" Sparky charged its cheeks and fired a bolt of lightning towards Pikachu.
Ash could see Sparky didn't have much left, so decided to go for the big finish. "Pikachu dodge with Agility then Iron tail once more!" Pikachu charged forward, dodging the various bolts being fired at him. When he was few feet away his tail turned into steel, Pikachu then jumped up and spun swinging his Iron tail right across Sparky's head. The impact caused Sparky to be knocked flying and it hit the base of its trainers platform. It then slumped down with swirl for eyes.
The referee raised the flag on Ash's side of the field. "Pikachu is unable to battle, Ash's Pikachu is the winner. Trainer send out your next Pokemon."
Richie recalled Sparky he then threw another ball onto the field. "I choose you Happy!" The ball opened up revealing a fluttering Butterfree.
The referee raised both flags once more. "Pikachu Vs Butterfree, begin!"
Quickly Butterfree use Quiver Dance!" Butterfree began fluttering around raising its special attack, special defence and speed.
Ash grinned. "Pikachu use Thunder wave!" Pikachu sent a wave of electricity at the bug Pokemon. The attack was about to hit, however Richie quickly countered.
"Dodge that wave then use Sleep Powder!" Butterfree dodged the thunder wave and then fluttered its wings spreading a shiny mist all over Pikachu.
Ash watched as Pikachu swayed and then fell asleep on the battle field. Ash now had to wait for his Pikachu to wake up.
Richie, was pleased sleep powder had worked now he could bring out Charmeleon safely. "Good job Butterfree use U turn!" Butterfree charged and hit Pikachu with its body. It then returned back to Richie.
Ash raised an eyebrow. Clever strategy, now his Pikachu was helpless then Richie was using U turn to switch in something that could cause some serious damage.
Richie pulled a ball from his belt. "Go Zippo! Use Flame thrower." The ball opened onto the field revealing Richie's Charmeleon. It then opened its mouth before engulfing Pikachu in flames.
Ash noticed the attack had caused some serious damage. However Pikachu carried on snoozing. Ash watched as Richie ordered another Flame thrower attack. This time Pikachu swayed and then fell face down.
The referee raised the flag on Richie's side of the field. "Pikachu is unable to battle. The winner is Charmeleon. Trainer send out your next Pokemon."
Ash recalled Pikachu. He did have Milotic, but where was the fun in that. "I choose you Charmeleon!" The ball opened up and out of it appeared Ash's Charmeleon. It locked eyes with the other Charmeleon across from it.
The referee raised both flags. "Charmeleon Vs Charmeleon, begin!"
Ash decided to get things started. "Okay Charmeleon use Smoke Screen!" Charmeleon opened its mouth and then covered the field in a think black smoke.
Richie wondered what Ash was up to. "Zippo use Flame thrower!" Zippo opened its mouth and then sent a flame through the smoke screen however Charmeleon was no where in sight.
"Now Charmeleon use Slash!" Charmeleon charged out of the smoke to Zippo left and hit him with its sharp claws. The attack had left a few marks on Zippo who was growling out in pain.
Richie was again surprised by Ash strategy. After this battle he was going to ask Ash to teach him everything he knew. "Zippo use Fire Spin!" Zippo sent out a twister of flames that surrounded Charmeleon"
Ash allowed the attack to hit. He then grinned as Charmeleon was engulfed by a white light. It was finally happening. Charmeleon was evolving.
Richie eyes widened as Charmeleon was engulfed by a white light. It then began to grow, Richie watched the outline of two wings appear, then a long tail. Finally the light vanished and there standing before him was Charizard. Richie gulped, this was not good.
Ash heard is Pokedex and bought it out, he then opened it. Charizard had some new moves. Fly, rage and finally seismic toss. "Okay Charizard, welcome to the team, now use Fly!" Charizard flapped its dragon like wings and flew into the air. It then flew towards Charmeleon forcing it to be launched into the sky. "Now Charizard, time for your new move. Seismic toss!"
Charizard flew low and caught Charmeleon in its claws. It then roared as it shot straight up into the air. It then began to loop several times. Finally it dived straight down towards the field. Just before it hit the floor it tossed Charmeleon into the ground and then glided just above the field. The impact of the attack had caused a crater appear on the field. Once the dust had cleared it showed Charmeleon fainted.
The referee raised the flag on Ash's side of the field. "Charmeleon is unable to battle. The winner is Charizard. Trainer send out your final Pokemon."
Richie recalled Zippo, and then threw his last ball onto the field. "Go Butterfree." Butterfree appeared on the field once more. It fluttered in front of the Charizard.
The referee raised both flags. "Butterfree Vs Charizard, begin!"
Richie decided to waste no time. "Butterfree Quiver dance!" Butterfree once more began to raise its special attack, special defence and speed.
"Ash wondered if Richie would try the same strategy. However this time he was prepared. "Charizard Smoke screen!" Charizard opened its mouth, out of it appeared thick black smoke which covered the field.
Richie growled, now he couldn't see where Charizard was going to attack. He decided to play it safe. "Butterfree use Quiver dance once more!" Again Butterfree raised its special attack, special defence and speed.
Ash smirked, that would have been a good strategy if Charizard was just a special attacker, however he was mixed. "Charizard Fire fang!" Charizard appeared out of the smoke and then grabbed hold of the bug Pokemon. Its fangs engulfed by flames. It then sank them into the bug Pokemon, causing it to cry out in pain. It fluttered for a while before falling to the battle field fainted.
The referee raised the flag on Ash's side of the field. "Butterfree is unable to battle, then winner is Charizard, and seeing how all of Richie's Pokemon are knocked out, then I declare Ash Ketchum the winner of this match."
Ash heard the crowd roar as everyone was on their feet for both trainers. Like he did with Gary, he met Richie half way and shook his hand. "Good battle Richie. Really good strategy with Butterfree and U turn."
Richie sighed, he had been knocked out, but he had given it his all against a really good trainer. He grabbed Ash's hand and shook it. "Good Battle Ash, I was wondering if you get a chance could you teach me some of those strategies you used against me?"
Ash grinned. "Sure, I will teach you all I know, then you can use them in your next battle." Both trainer then turned and waved to the crowd in the stadium. They then left the field through their separate exits. As Ash walked down the stairs, he was thinking about who he would face in the semi-finals. That would be a six on six battle, so he would have to bring his big guns. If the crowd was surprised by his victories up to now, then they were in for serious shock. Next round both Princess and Darkrai would be in his team.
A/N: There you have it. Ash advances to the semi-finals. Stayed tuned to see what happens next.