`Chapter - 7
*Evening, Contest Hall, Petalburg city*
"Welcome back everybody to the exciting second round of this contest today" Vivian announced on the mike. "The first match of this round is going to be one of the, if not THE MOST anticipated match today. Our very own veteran May Maple vs the rising star Sky Highflier, who entranced us in her very first performance in the Hoenn region. So let's get this party started."
May and Dawn both took position on opposite sides of the stage and got ready to begin the match. But before Vivian could start it, Dawn spoke up looking straight at May through her veil. "May Maple, you are a traitor, and you don't deserve the respect these people have for you. You should be jailed and thrown out of the city for what you did. You betrayed someone who trusted you and considered you one of his greatest friends. Moreover, you did it just for money and personal gain. You are a selfish bitch"
Nearly every person in the crowd went nearly crazy at what this newcomer girl had just said, and began booing her and shouting curses at her. May herself was furious. "Who do you think you are and what are you talking about?" she said, visibly shaking. "You know damned well what I'm talking about" Dawn said and raised her hand and snapped her fingers. Suddenly the big screen went blank and then a video appeared on it. At the same time, it was playing in nearly all of the TV channels, thanks to Mewtwo, of course.
May was sitting and a chair and talking to the wanted criminal Ash Ketchum. She confessed that Ash was innocent and that she had betrayed Ash because for her personal gain. Everyone in Hoenn was badly taken aback to see that. Most of the people had been watching the contest on TV and this startled them badly. May saw herself confessing all this and the previous night came back to her. She was now on the verge of crying. The crowd which was cheering for her a few minutes ago now despised her. Even her parents weren't able to look at her and her brother was nowhere to be seen.
She looked at the girl standing in front of her as she took off her veil. Mat nearly fell over when she saw her. This was the girl that had beaten her at the Wallace Cup. The girl she hated most. One of the most wanted criminals - Dawn Berlitz. The crowd which was already pretty surprised from the earlier events now nearly went mad. A group of policemen led by an Officer Jenny came running towards her but were stopped short by the appearance of a Swampert and a Ludicolo. "I'm sorry officer but this road is closed" Brock said, with a smile, then continued. "But the road to my heart is still open. Why don't you accompany me-" he was cut short by the appearance of Croagunk behind him. "Well since you are here, why don't you join the party?" Brock said to his toxic Pokémon as the fight between him and the officers started.
While Brock held off the police officers, Dawn showed May a pokeball. "I think someone wants to have a word" Dawn said and opened the pokeball which released a Manaphy. "May" said, looking at his 'mother'. May looked heartbroken to see him, but was taken aback by the hostile look in his eyes. "Manaphy? What have you done to him?" May demanded, taking a threatening tone. She was answered by Manaphy instead. "May. You betrayed Ash. You framed him just for yourself" he said, with tears in his eyes. "I considered you my mother, and Ash my father. You betrayed him, and by that, you betrayed me. My mother would never do something like that. Never, ever ever. I couldn't believe it, but now I can see it clearly in your eyes. You are NOT my mother!" He said the last few words with such ferocity that May was taken aback.
May fell to the ground and shed a few tears. When she looked up, Manaphy was already gone. Dawn was still there though, looking at her with a cold face. Dawn knew this was what she deserved. She had a hand in making all three of their lives so miserable that they couldn't even show their face in public. She had this coming. May then stood up and looked at Dawn straight in the eye. Anyone who would have seen her would have run for his life. And this look was directed straight at Dawn. She wasn't worried though. Dawn knew she had to win this fight, for Ash.
May immediately threw two pokeballs, and as soon as the Pokémon were out, called out "Blaziken, Blastoise, mega evolve". Dawn knew this was going to be a tough battle. Blaziken was May's starter, and Blastoise had a reputation for being great tanks as well as good attackers. In their mega-form though, their power levels were much higher than normal. Dawn sent out her Pokémon as well. "Go Typhlosion, Lopunny" she called out. In a moment both her Pokémon were out, and Lopunny had mega-evolved. Mega-Blastoise and Mega-Blaziken vs Typhlosion and Mega-Lopunny. This was going to be a battle for the ages.
*15 minutes ago, Petalburg Audience Stands*
May and Dawn had just taken their place at the stage. Max was sitting with his parents and cheering for his sister. He was now an actual Pokémon trainer, and had come pretty close to winning the Hoenn League championship that year. Suddenly, he saw a Pikachu standing at the edge of his row, and looking at him. Pikachu were quite rare in Hoenn. He remembered the trainer with a Pikachu who had taught him all the basics, but disregarded the thought. That guy was a pathetic trainer, and a criminal. Thinking a little, he decided to catch the Pikachu.
"Mom, Dad, I'll be back soon. I just have to get some snacks for myself." he said to his parents sitting next to him and then went after the Pikachu that he had just seen going out of the door. He followed after it as it ran to a big field a little far from the contest hall. Soon it stopped in the middle of the field. Just as Max was about to throw a pokeball, a voice stopped him cold. A voice he dreaded hearing the most. "It's been long hasn't it, Max?" Ash said from behind him.
Max immediately turned around and gave him a look of utter disgust, which was exactly mirrored on Ash's face. "What do you want, you loser." he said with irritation and concealed fear. "I don't believe calling the person, who used to be your idol, a loser are good manners, Max?" Ash said with a devious smile.
"I'll call you what I want" Max said with a scowl. "You are a loser who can't win a single battle. You're pathetic and you are a criminal. And I'm gonna prove to you what a bad trainer you are by beating you here and now. Ash Ketchum, I challenge you to a Pokémon battle" he said, with a wicked smirk and took a pokeball from his belt.
"Well then, let's get started" Ash said and took a pokeball of his own. They both opened them at the same time. From Max's pokeball, emerged a cunning looking Linoone while Ash released Infernape. Max decided to start with a powerful attack. "Linoone, Giga Impact" he shouted as Ash just raised a brow. That Linoone was pretty fast, even for a Linoone. But Infernape had already been trained way past his limits. He just dodged to the side so fast, that all Max saw was an afterimage.
"Try that again, Linoone" he called out. Linoone had already recovered thanks to his incredible speed. Max might have been a traitor, but he sure trained his Pokémon well. Linoone tried to attack Infernape again but failed. "Infernape, Mach punch, straight to the ground" Infernape moved faster than Max had ever seen a Pokémon move, and before he could say anything, Infernape had already punched Linoone to the ground, unconscious.
"Hmph, that was just my weakest Pokémon, you haven't seen my full power yet" Max said, her fear now visible through the brave façade he was putting up. "Go Mightyena" max shouted, releasing the faithful canine he had met during his travels. "Mightyena, Scary face" Max shouted as soon as the canine Pokémon materialised into the battlefield. Infernape didn't even bat an eye.
"Let's show them how its done. Infernape use your scary face" Ash commanded. The result was Infernape making his fiercest face of rage and Mightyena running to hide behind her trainer's leg. "What, you're scared of that puny monkey" Max said, glaring at the poor Pokémon. "Go and use Crunch" he commanded. Mightyena, though scared, decided to obey her trainer, and ran straight at Infernape and jumped. Ash didn't even need to command this time, Infernape already knew what to do. Just as Mightyena jumped at him, he unleashed a point-blank Flamethrower. Mightyena fell down, completely burned.
"Uh" Max commented and returned her. "That isn't the way to treat your Pokémon, Max. Haven't I taught you anything?" Ash scolded him, smirking as Max's face became one of evident rage. "You are a loser" he shouted, and threw two pokeballs together. "Slowking, Breloom, take that chimp down" he shouted. As the two Pokémon materialised, Ash just looked amused while Infernape flashed a deadly grin. He Mach punched the Slowking straight in the gut and then Iron tailed Breloom before Max could even give a command. "Damn" Max commented and released his Metang. "Breloom, energy ball, Metang, Meteor Mash" he commanded both of his Pokémon.
"Infernape, lets finish this. Fire blast" Ash shouted. Unfortunately for him, Max had already anticipated this. "Slowking, disable" he shouted just as Infernape took a deep breath. However, nothing came out of infernape's mouth and he took both attacks at once. "Yes" Max exclaimed "Now Slowking, psychic to hold him. Metang, Meteor Mash and Breloom, bullet seed" he said.
"Infernape, use dig to get out" Ash shouted but Psychic drew him out of the ground and Infernape took another critical hit straight in the chest. "Well, looks like you're one Pokémon down, loser" Max smirked at Ash, just to see him smirking back. "Oh, not just yet. What do I always say, Max? It ain't over till it's over". And just as he said this, the smoke cleared to show a badly bruised, but still standing Infernape.
But Infernape had taken many hard hits. He suddenly cried out his name, and with a flash of light, Blaze had activated, giving him a well needed power boost. "Ok Infernape, let's see what you learnt from charizard, Blast Burn!" Ash shouted, and a sphere of pure blue colour erupted from infernape's open mouth and headed for the combatants. As it turned white, any hope of surviving this escaped them completely. Everything suddenly turned white and so much heat erupted that Ash had to put up and Aura shield. He decided to be generous enough to make one around Max as well. When all was over, Ash recalled Infernape with a word of thanks and turned to go.
"Oh it isn't over yet, Ash. I still have my ace" Max shouted, and threw another Pokémon that revealed a Gardevoir. Ash looked at it for a split second, then decided to stop. "Go Lucario" he said, and Lucario came out of his pokeball himself. "Ready for battle, master" he immediately took a battle stance. Ash decided to ignore the fact that Lucario called him master again for the moment. It was then that he noticed Gardevoir was shining. In a few moments, Mega Gardevoir stood before him. "Well this just became interesting" he said.
"Lucario, Aura sphere" he said, testing his luck. The Mega-Gardevoir took it like it was nothing. "Our turn. Gardevoir, Hypnosis" Max said. "Lucario, close your eyes and use your Aura senses" Ash shouted. This was the best counter they had come up with so far for moves like hypnosis. Max decided to shift on the offensive, and take control. "Gardevoir, keep teleporting so he can't keep track of you and use Psychic, repeatedly. If he opens his eyes, use hypnosis" Max commanded. It was this plan that had led him very near to winning the league. But this was Ash, and he was a lot tougher.
"Fine then, Lucario lets hit everything, use earthquake" Ash shouted as he saw Lucario take yet another Psychic. Lucario, immediately stamped his foot on the ground and jumped, creating a tremor that stopped Mega-Gardevoir from teleporting. "Now, Vacuum wave" Ash shouted, but before the attack hit, Gardevoir had already teleported. "Well, I didn't think I'd need this but what the hell. Lucario, Mega-evolve" Ash shouted.
In a flash of light, Lucario mega-evolved to take a more powerful form. It was now Mega vs Mega. Gardevoir tried to take a shot at Lucario from behind him, but he had already moved, thanks to his boosted stats due to Mega evolution. They were both on equal footing and neither was ready to give an inch. Then a plan formed in Ash's head.
"Lucario, calm mind, and keep at it" Ash said. Max decided Ash was preparing for a final blow, and he needed to end this quick. "Gardevoir, Psychic full blast" he shouted. Just as he did though, Lucario opened his eyes. He had already gotten the command from Ash telepathically through Aura. He ran straight at Gardevoir using Quick Attack and then shifted to a full power Force Palm which took Gardevoir full force. When it was over, Gardevoir was lying on the ground, back to her original form. "Looks like it's over Max" Ash said returning Lucario.
"NO" Max shouted, tears streaming on his face. He then called out in his loudest voice. "Jirachi, if you ever considered even a little part of me as your friend, come here now and help me". What he didn't know was that somewhere, miles away, a Pokémon opened his eyes, long before his time, and immediately teleported to his friends rescue. "Max, Max what happened", Jirachi spoke to a crying Max in front of him. Max opened his eyes to see his childhood friend floating in front of him, but jirachi was already going through Max's memories after the time he had left them.
"Max, you betrayed Ash. Max how could you? After all he did for me. After all he did for us?"Jirachi said, straight in Max's head, looking horrified. "And what have you become Max. You starve your Pokémon to make them stronger. You release the weak ones. You're not the Max I knew. You're not my friend" Jirachi mentally shouted at him. "And for all that you've done to your Pokémon, you should learn how to live like one" Jirachi then sent out a big burst of light and when it was gone, Max was no longer there. What was standing there, was a Psyduck wearing Max's glasses. Jirachi, then vanished back to his cave. Ash was too amazed at that turn of events. Even he had not anticipated this. When he looked to where the Pokémon was standing, the Max-Psyduck had already scurried off to the contest hall. Ash followed it as he went through the backdoor of the arena and saw Dawn standing on one side of it, while at the other end, May was on her knees crying, and the whole audience was booing her and throwing garbage at her. The Psyduck was next to her, and Drew was comforting her.
*15 minutes ago, Contest Hall*
Dawn had just sent out her Mega-Lopunny and Typhlosion, while May had sent her Blaziken and Blastoise, both of which had mega-evolved. May called the first shot, going with raw power. "Blastoise, Hydro pump", she commanded. Dawn retaliated with her own move. "Typhlosion, Fire blast to counter, Lopunny, Sunny Day".
The hydro pump was neutralised by the fire blast resulting in a cloud of steam, as the sun got even brighter. Dawn then commanded Lopunny without speaking so May couldn't hear her. May was shocked when she saw Mega Lopunny emerging out of the mist with a Return and headed for Blastoise. "Dammit, Blastoise, withdraw" she called out. Lopunny collided with Blastoise's hard shell, barely causing any damage to him, but leaving a noticeable dent. "Now Blaziken, Sky Uppercut on Lopunny" . "Lopunny, retaliate with High jump kick. Typhlosion, Flame Charge" Dawn commanded.
Lopunny's foot and Blaziken's forearm collided in the middle of the battlefield, and it became a contest of strength. On the other hand, just as Typhlosion reached near Blastoise, May commanded "Hydro cannon" and Blastoise immediately followed her. This caused Dawn to smile. The battle had gone exactly as planned. As soon as Ash had told her about May's strongest Pokémon, she had been working on a strategy. It was time to test it.
Lopunny noticed Dawn's smile and knew it was time, so she let go, and jumped back. "Now Typhlosion, Eruption around yourself." The Eruption acted as a shield and protected Typhlosion from taking any serious damage. Blastoise though couldn't move. "Now Lopunny, Solarbeam" The attack, due to the previous Sunny Day, was charged instantly, and obliterated Blastoise. When it faded, Blastoise had reverted back to its normal form and had swirls for eyes.
"No, Blastoise. Dammit!" Blaziken felt May's rage at losing her Pokémon due to their bond of Mega Evolution, and it made him even stronger. "Blaziken, combine Brave Bird and Flare Blitz" May shouted. Blaziken knew if he did that, he would surely faint from the recoil, but seeing May like that, still executed the move. Dawn was too surprised, and because of that, typhlosion got hit straight in the chest, making both of them faint. But Dawn still had Lopunny standing, so technically, she was the victor.
May got frustrated at seeing this, and in spite of what Blaziken had done, ran to him and kicked him. "You…..pathetic…..Pokémon. You couldn't even defeat this girl. You don't deserve to be my Pokémon". Seeing a Pokémon treated like this made Dawn's blood curdle. "You don't deserve to be called a trainer" Dawn said to May. "This Pokémon risked all he had for you. And this is how you treat him, you truly disgust me. Since you don't want him as your Pokémon, I'll take him" Dawn said, and took Blaziken's pokeball from her. She then returned him after giving him an Oran berry.
May got on her knees, crying, and the whole audience was booing her and throwing garbage at her. Drew came to her side and tried to comfort her. Suddenly a psyduck ran to her and began to telepathically communicate with her, just as Ash reached the arena. "Well, looks like I'm too late" said Ash to Dawn. Just then Drew pointed to Dawn. "You. I'll battle you, and I'll teach you a lesson". Just as Dawn was about to retort, Ash got in front of her. "You wanna battle, try me. I've barely gotten a fight today" said Ash yawning and then smirked. "Fine" said Drew. "Let's go outside".