I'm back!
Chapter 2- The Thrilling Conclusion and the Mysterious Trainer!
'Who should I choose?' thought Ash (unsurprisingly rather anxious, seeing as he was facing a Mega Evolution), fingering his Pokeballs. 'Greninja? Maybe Noivern? No, Noivern would be a horrible Pokemon to fight an Ice type, and Talonflame is just too frail to take on a Mega-Evolved opponent. Greninja is my best choice, and we all know it, but I'm just worried, since if our new form fails then we'll definitely lose…' He slowly began to panic. 'I know what I said to Serena, but what if I lose this?
"Ash Ketchum, please choose your Pokemon now," said the referee warningly, raising his arm, "or I'll be forced to give the match to Wulfric, the Gym Leader!"
"Come on, Ash!" encouraged Bonnie, wildly flapping her arms around like a crazed Swellow. "I know you can win it, so get your Pokemon out already!"
Clemont added, "We all believe in you, so don't hesitate!"
Serena said nothing, but smiled at him sweetly, and Ash remembered what she had said; "Don't fret, just win the battle against Wulfric and acquire the Iceberg Badge."
'That's exactly what I'm planning to do,' Ash thought, grinning, now over his disquiet as he snapped out his last Pokeball.
"Finally gotten over your anxiety, Ash?" asked Wulfric kindly. "Great, now let's have a battle we both shall never forget!"
"Yeah!" agreed the younger boy. "Greninja, I choose you!"
Ash chucked the Pokeball hard, which burst open to reveal the Ninja Pokemon. Greninja gave a loud battle cry, and Abomasnow responded with one of its own, roaring tremendously. Ash and Wulfric both smiled, the two opponents exhilarated for the final stage of their battle.
"The real battle starts NOW!" Ash bellowed, excited and determined to win. "Greninja, get in close and use Cut!"
"Ninja!" Greninja cried out, moving faster than lightning, and rapidly slashing Mega Abomasnow with a glowing sword.
"Wow!" said Serena appreciatively. "I've never seen anything like Greninja's speed! It's moving as if it's got feathers on its feet!"
"Good Greninja, now use Aerial Ace!" ordered Ash. The Ninja Pokemon's legs glowed white, and it started to kick the Mega-Evolved Pokemon anywhere and everywhere it could, and as hard as it could.
"I don't think so!" roared Wulfric.
A gentle hail began to fall, clumps of ice hitting Greninja. It wasn't enough to seriously hurt it, but it stung all right.
"What? What's this?" said Serena, obviously shocked.
"Of course, this must be Mega Abomasnow's ability, Snow Warning," explained Clemont, pushing his glasses up. "It allows Mega Abomasnow to summon hail automatically, whenever it is in the field!"
Ash clenched his fists. "Greninja, use Cut, back-to-back!"
Two gleaming swords appeared in Greninja's hands, and it started to hack at the Frost Tree Pokemon again and again. Mega Abomasnow grunted, and held on.
"Smash it away with Wood Hammer!" ordered Wulfric, and Abomasnow quickly formed a green, opaque hammer around its arm. It swung hard, and Greninja was pounded away with the bone-breaking, super-effective hit.
"Greninja, are you all right?" asked Ash, concerned. When Greninja nodded at him, Ash started to beam widely. "Good, then let's win this! Let's become stronger than ever, together, side-by-side!"
"Gre!" agreed the Ninja Pokemon, its eyes starting to glow red.
"We'll get even, even, even stronger!" yelled Ash, raising his fist while Greninja mimicked the raven haired trainer's movements. "Let's go!"
"It's happening, it's happening!' screeched Bonnie, the youngster almost falling down from the stands in excitement. "Ash-Greninja has returned ~!"
Clemont and Serena, although they didn't show it, were as thrilled as Bonnie. Serena especially, wanted to jump up and down with happiness, just like Bonnie, since she was extremely pleased that the form had worked.
Greninja was now surrounded by a towering pillar of water, looking very different from normal. Its eyes gleamed a scarlet hue, with black-and-red outgrowths on the sides of its head. Finally, the blue cross on its face had turned a light crimson.
Ash's eyes shone red as well, much to Wulfric's surprise. 'I wonder,' the older man thought, scratching his stubble-covered chin lightly. 'This form, isn't it the same as that other boy's-'
"Greninja, use Water Shuriken!" roared Ash, making the motions that the Pokemon made to create the shuriken himself. The Ninja Pokemon started throwing powerful spinning stars of liquid (which were now the size of Shadow Balls) at Mega Abomasnow, which roared in pain at the onslaught.
"Just look at those Water Shuriken!" said Serena, astonished. "They're so big!"
Wulfric was amazed, too, but he wisely did not show it.
"Abomasnow," commanded the Gym Leader, "use Sheer Cold!"
"Snow 'boma snow!" cried the Frost Tree Pokemon, at once releasing a profound wave of icy energy, which hurtled towards Greninja.
"Double Team, let's go!" ordered Ash.
Multiple Greninja covered with watery cyclones appeared on the field. The advancing Sheer Cold widened, hitting several clones, and covering the arena in an ice blue light.
"Waaah, I can't see!" complained Bonnie, shielding her eyes from the glare. Serena and Clemont also put their hands in front of their faces, peering over to see whether Ash and Greninja were alright.
As the light disappeared, everybody noticed that Greninja had successfully dodged Sheer Cold by hanging on to the rooftop using its webbed hands. Ash had also similarly raised his arms and clenched his fists, exactly mirroring how Greninja was hanging onto the rooftop.
"Amazing, amazing, amazing!" shouted Bonnie, dancing animatedly and somehow accurately displaying how Pancham acted whenever it was hyperactive.
"That was innovative, pure genius, and totally Ash," praised Serena, for some strange reason flushing as she did so. Clemont nodded appreciatively, hence not noticing Serena's red face. Bonnie, however, did see it and waggled her eyebrows, obviously trying to poke fun at the older girl. Serena flushed even more deeply, which made Bonnie laugh, catching Clemont's attention.
"What's happened?" asked the blond inventor, looking at Serena concernedly. Serena shook her head mutely, face as red as a tomato's. Shrugging, Clemont turned his attention to the battle once more.
Ash screamed, "Go, Greninja. Give it your all!"
"Ninjaaa!" the Pokemon leaped down, the watery cyclone around it dissipating into a gigantic shuriken on its back. Ash-Greninja had now been stripped of its liquid veil, and now shone in all its glory.
"Greninja, use Aerial Ace!" commanded Ash.
The Ninja Pokemon's legs glowed white and it began to roundhouse-kick Mega Abomasnow as hard as possible. The Frost Tree Pokemon howled in pain as it was pushed back from the onslaught.
"Abomasnow, end this!" yelled Wulfric, the older man knowing that the battle would end soon. "Energy Ball!"
"Greninja, one last Water Shuriken!" roared Ash.
Mega Abomasnow released a pearlescent green ball of energy which sped towards Greninja, while the other unslung the giant blue shuriken on its back and made it fly towards the Mega Evolution, Ash copying Greninja's movements once more.
The two attacks collided fiercely, and Water Shuriken sliced cleanly through the Energy Ball, and hit Mega Abomasnow harshly on its wide fur-covered chest. The Frost Tree Pokemon was smashed backwards, and finally, finally, it fell, reverting to its original form.
"Abomasnow is unable to battle; the winner is Greninja!" said the referee. "Thus the winner is Ash of Pallet Town!"
Ash wiped his forehead tiredly, but a big grin was already forming on the raven haired trainer's face. Right on cue, Pikachu woke up in Serena's arms, rubbing its eyes to wipe the sleep from them. When the Mouse Pokemon noticed Ash victoriously grinning, it immediately started to cheer for his victory. "Pika, pika, pika chu!"
"Well done Ash!" said Clemont approvingly. Bonnie was squealing with delight, Dedenne and Squishy coming to life and popping out of her bag. Serena was grinning as well, obviously happy for the ecstatic trainer, who was currently congratulating Greninja by hugging it tightly.
All three of them ran down the stands and into the arena where Ash was. Bonnie reached there first, hyper-actively charging and tackling Ash to the ground in a hug, where he landed with a thump.
"Ouch," said Serena sympathetically, jogging over to Ash and peeling the very noisily shrieking lemon blonde off of him.
"Thanks for that," winced Ash, rubbing his stomach. He watched Wulfric return Abomasnow to its Pokeball, and commend it for its hard work. Ash turned to Serena once more, who'd deposited Bonnie to the side where Clemont was reprimanding her. The trainer felt butterflies bloom in his belly, and he swallowed nervously. 'What the heck is wrong with me?'
"Are you okay Ash? You're staring," asked Serena kindly. Ash caught himself, and shook his head to clear it. "Ah ha hah," he said awkwardly, rubbing the back of his head. "I guess I'm just tired after the battle…."
"And speaking of the battle…." Ash turned to see Wulfric approach him. "That was a simply mind-blowing battle, my boy! I've experienced few battles like these in my many years, and it's a very rare occurrence that someone displays that kind of bond with their Pokemon. Call me impressed. And, of course, as proof that you've beaten me….."
The referee walked over and handed Wulfric a small rectangular box. The old man opened it and took out a badge, which was basically a gold hexagon, with an iceberg in the middle. Wulfric walked over and presented Ash with it. "The Iceberg Badge, my boy. Well done."
"Yes!" cheered Ash, holding it up. "I got the Iceberg Badge!"
"Chu pika chaa!" cheered Pikachu along with its trainer.
"Great work, Ash," said Serena softly. She reddened (typically) at seeing him so cheerful, which Bonnie noticed.
No doubt she would be facing some snarky comments from the said lemon blonde when they would be on the road once more.
"Also, Ash," said Wulfric, growing serious all of a sudden. "Do you- er- know any trainer with a bond much like yours and Greninja's?
"No," said Ash a little apprehensively. "Why?"
"Because," Wulfric shivered a little, which shocked Serena, Clemont, Bonnie and Ash. "Not very long ago, I battled a trainer who had that same kind of bond with his Infernape.
"What?" asked Ash, even more astounded by this information. There were others like him? "B-But," he stammered. "I've never met anyone like me before, with a bond like mine. Was he super strong or something?"
"Well, he used a Weavile, a Braviary, and of course, his Infernape against me," recounted Wulfric.
"And?" inquired Clemont. "How did he do?"
"His Braviary tied against Cryogonal, much to my surprise," admitted Wulfric. "Even though he had an overwhelming type disadvantage, he made clever use of Steel Wing and Brave Bird to hack away at Cryogonal, until an Icy Wind took it out. But Cryogonal also fainted."
The four listened with rapt attention.
"His Weavile managed to beat Avalugg, with a combo attack sequence of Fury Swipes and Night Slash. It also froze Avalugg's legs to the ground with Ice Beam so that it wouldn't be able to use the ultra-effective Skull Bash," Wulfric continued, scowling slightly, "and Avalugg finally lost to Dark Pulse."
"No way," breathed Ash, who just couldn't imagine a Weavile beating Wulfric's behemoth of a Pokemon
"Abomasnow, however, beat Weavile in two seconds," Wulfric commented wryly.
Serena stifled a giggle, as did Bonnie.
"But the worst," the old Gym Leader said darkly, "was yet to come. When he sent out his Infernape, it greatly weakened Abomasnow with Mach Punch and Flamethrower. My Pokemon fought back with Sheer Cold, but Infernape just somehow evaded by jumping up high, and the trainer wasted no time. He activated his 'form', and instantly beat Abomasnow with Flare Blitz."
"Oh my God," breathed Serena. Clemont gulped as Ash asked hesitantly, "Where could we find him, if we were to search for him?"
"Um, he said he would be heading to Anistar City to challenge the Gym," Wulfric recalled. "Why, are you going to find him?"
"Yeah, he might know something more about this form," said Ash decisively, lifting Pikachu upon his shoulder. "Oh yeah, could you describe this guy?"
"Hmm…let me see…." The older man tried to recall. "Yes, yes, I think he called himself Rahl Feranos."
"What a funny name!" Bonnie piped up, laughing.
"Hush, Bonnie!" chided Clemont. "That's not nice." The little lemon blonde pouted empathetically.
"He wore only black," Wulfric further recalled. "Black hoodie, black trousers, black shoes, you name it. He had very pale skin, and very notable white messy hair and black nails."
"B-Black nails? White h-hair?" Serena started to shudder. "Was he an e-e-emo sort of person?"
"No, both his hair and nails looked natural enough, but he didn't smile, not once," said Wulfric. "So you could say yes."
"…Okay then," said Clemont a little uneasily. "White messy hair, black nails, black clothing and pale Ash utterskin?"
"Yeah," agreed the other Gym Leader. "Well, bye, Ash!"
"See ya around!" said Ash cheerfully, spinning around and walking out of the Snowbelle Gym, Serena, Clemont and Bonnie following suit.
"Well then," said Ash after a bit of silence. "What say we find this Rahl character, and….maybe induct him into the group temporarily?"
Everyone looked in astonishment at Ash, although Clemont looked as if he was considering this.
"I second that," commented the blond inventor, after a bit of thought. "It might be good to have a new travelling companion, and he might look like an emo, but looks can be misleading, right? Plus, he sounds super strong." He attempted a cheerful demeanor, and Serena and Bonnie looked thoughtful.
"Well, why not?" said Serena cheerfully. "It's as Clemont said after all."
Bonnie said nothing, just nodded vigorously to show that she agreed with Serena.
"Alright then," Ash uttered, walking ahead happily to Anistar City. "Rahl Feranos, here we come!"
And that's Chapter Two! My, aren't there quite some questions? When will Ash realize his feelings for Serena? Who exactly is Rahl Feranos, and does he really have that bond with his Infernape? With Ash and Rahl hit it off or become bitter rivals? Will Clemont figure out Ash and Serena's feelings for each other? Will Rahl really join the group? Find out in the next chapter of BPL!
Reviews and constructive criticism are greatly appreciated!
-Nirgends101
P.S: BPL stands for Battles, Pokemon and Love for future reference.