Hey Everybody! I'm glad I was able to get this out to you on time! Hopefully everyone had a great week and will enjoy today's installment. I don't want to give too much away up here, so I'll leave my thoughts on the chapter below.

I do have a question for you all, though. WHO'S READY FOR "DETECTIVE PIKACHU" THIS FRIDAY?! I, personally, am freaking out. I will probably be the only grown man in a theater showing a children's movie, but I don't care – this is going to be so cool! If you had told me when I began this story ten years ago that there would one day be a live action Pokémon movie released in theaters, I NEVER would have believed you. To be totally frank, when I started this story, it seemed like the Pokémon fandom was largely dying. Many fansites were being abandoned back in '09, and tons of authors were leaving their Pokémon stories unfinished on this site. I started this story more for me than anyone else, because I assumed no one would read or care anymore. It turns out, though, that I was (thankfully) wrong. The fandom had hit something of a lull, but it grew again back into full force, and now here we are!

If you're excited to see the movie, let me know in your reviews, along with your thoughts on the chapter! I want to know how popular it is among the actual Pokémon fandom.

As always, read and REVIEW PLEASE!

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon or any of its affiliated companies including, but not limited to, 4Kids, The Pokémon Company, Game Freaks, or Cartoon Network. The characters written within this story are solely based upon the fictional characters created by these companies, and the story is not meant to, nor will it, receive any monetary funding.

Characters' Ages:

Ash: 18

Brock: 23

Misty: 19

"So, here we are again," Elli chuckled nervously.

"Yeah. Good luck to you!"

"You too! I respect you too much as a trainer to give anything but my all, so get ready!"

"This will be a one-on-one battle. Winner proceeds to the deciding round of the tournament!" the referee announced as spectators spilled in to the overflowing bleachers.

"My! It certainly has grown more cramped," Delia noted as an overweight man squeezed in beside her.

"The tournament's winding down," Oak noted. "They have two spots to fill, so the final match should only be a formality, right Ash?"

"Yeah. The last two trainers to reach the seventh round will battle for fun, but they already have a spot on the team."

"At least that means Misty's almost done. She looks beet red! Did she wear sunscreen?"

Ash was interrupted by the referee's call for the trainers' Pokémon.

"Who will she go with?"

On the field, Misty wondered the same thing. She had planned to use Gyarados at some point if she had another water field, but this dry clay wouldn't do him any favors.

She needed to be smart. This was why she had conserved as much of her team as she could. Politoed was relatively fresh, and could fend off this glaring sunlight with Damp. Unfortunately, Seaking would be completely useless.

Her hand reached for the fourth pokéball, but she stopped herself. Dragonaire wouldn't work, either. Elli was almost definitely going to use Dragonite again, and if she did then Dragonaire probably couldn't compete.

She jolted as a pokéball suddenly popped open from her hip.

"Duck?"

"What?!" Delia and Oak cried.

"Psyduck! What are you doing?!"

"A Psyduck?" Elli reacted cautiously. "Wait…is this a trick?"

Misty smacked her forehead and covered her eyes. "No, just a terrible nightmare." She looked to the referee pleadingly. "Please tell me I can switch out. You saw what happened! He came out on his own!"

"The rules are clear. The Pokémon released is the one you must battle with. Psyduck is the green trainer's Pokémon!"

"Well, all the same, I don't wanna risk it." Elli grabbed her pokéball and held it forward. "I thought we were gonna have a rematch with Gyarados, but this works too. Dragonite, go!"

With a flourish, Dragonite emerged from his pokéball and sped through the air before landing hard in front of Misty's Pokémon. Emitting a low growl at his inferior opponent, smoke began to seep through his nostrils.

"Duck?"

"O-okay, Psyduck. Let's just try to not die, alright? Remember everything we worked on back at the gym."

"Psy?" The duck cocked his head to the side in response.

"Yep, we're clearly ready for this. Just do what I say, okay you dumb duck?"

"Psyduck!"

"Begin!"

"Dragon Rush!"

"Headbutt!"

"Headbutt?!" Delia and Oak answered.

Psyduck charged headfirst toward Dragonite, but only managed to waddle a couple of steps before colliding head-on with his opponent. Flying through the air, his screech of pain could be heard a mile away.

"Finish it off with another Dragon Rush!"

Dragonite sped off to meet Psyduck mid-roll as Misty suddenly called out "Disable!"

His eyes glowing blue, Psyduck found his footing and produced large blue rings from his eyes that stopped Dragonite mere inches from contact. Dragonite's eyes also turned blue for a moment before he shook his head and looked back to his trainer in confusion.

"No way," Elli whispered under her breath. "Well, the weather's on my side. Roast that duck!"

Rearing back, Dragonite unleashed a conflagration that lightly singed the audience's clothes, even through the protective barriers of the battlefield.

Elli smirked. "Okay, Dragonite, back to me!" Her smile quickly faded though, as, through the haze of flames licking the parched battlefield, the stubborn duck could be seen still standing. "What?!"

"Psyduck, Cloud Nine!"

Psyduck cried loudly as a psychic blue shield took shape around them. Elli felt a chill run down her spine as the temperature dropped at least thirty degrees in a matter of seconds.

"Oh, this is much better," Delia noted happily as the sunlight dimmed.

"So this was all definitely a trick, then," Elli reasoned. "There's no way you lucked into all this. And how did you survive my Flamethrower?!"

"Sorry," Misty winked. "That secret's your consolation prize! Psychic!"

Eyes glowing once again, Psyduck threw Dragonite against the shield above before slamming him into the dirt below.

Misty had her Pokémon repeat the attack several times as Elli worked a counter-strategy. "Dragonite, give him a Thunder Wave!"

Struggling to turn his head against the Psychic attack's force, the dragon type's antennae began to spark. A weak current shot across the battlefield and zapped Psyduck on the bill.

"Psy!" he cried, releasing his hold on Dragonite as his eyes dimmed.

"Psyduck, can you move?"

The duck struggled to shuffle his feet toward his opponent.

"Uh-oh."

"Now, let's end this!" Elli pointed directly at Misty's paralyzed Pokémon. "Outrage!"

Dragonite managed to grow even angrier as a blood-red aura enveloped his body.

"C'mon, Psy, shake out of it," Misty pleaded quietly, eyeing their opponent prepare his attack.

"Go!"

In a heartbeat, Dragonite was across the field. Swiping at the frozen duck, he sent Misty's Pokémon sailing skyward.

"Again!"

Shooting up like a rocket, he met Psyduck mid-flight and pummeled him back towards the ground.

Misty began to feel sick at the sinking déjà vu.

"Again!"

Dragonite dove toward Psyduck, who cowered for cover.

"No. Not like this! Zen Headbutt!"

"Psy!" Overcoming his paralyzed status, Psyduck stood up straight as the top part of his scalp glowed blue. Dragonite hit him head-on, and the sound of their collision reverberated across the field as the dragon bounced off his opponent and landed on his back.

"Psyduck?" Misty questioned as her Pokémon stood perfectly still a mere dozen feet away. "Are-are you-"

A rippling blast of energy knocked her backward. The blue sphere surrounding the field glowed and began to darken as Psyduck's eyes took on a similar hue.

Though she had almost been knocked completely out by the blast, Misty winced and rolled to her side, looking back to her Pokémon.

"Psy…duuuuuck!" With a scream, the duck's body shook, and fissures began to surface all over the battlefield.

"Dragonite, fly!" Elli called, dusting herself off as she returned to her feet.

Moaning, the confused Pokémon haggardly struggled to his knees. His wings barely lifted him off the ground before the earth beneath him gave way and cratered several hundreds of feet.

"Don't let him get away! Psychic blast!"

The ground stopped shaking. Instead, the water type began to glow as his head turned to follow Dragonite's flight pattern back to his trainer.

"Duck!" Putting out his tiny arms, he created a beam of dark energy more powerful than Misty had ever seen, striking Dragonite directly in the back and forcing him into the chain-link fencing, hard.

After the attack roared for several seconds, Psyduck's power finally began to waver.

"Okay, Psyduck, that's enough."

With a sigh, the duck ended his attack and began to lose the dark glow surrounding him. The sunlight beat down hard once again as the Cloud Nine shield disappeared.

"Duck." He sat down on the clay and stared ahead blankly.

"Dragonite is no longer able to battle! Psyduck is the winner!"

The sizable crowd roared its approval as Misty launched herself to her Pokémon's side.

"Psyduck, that was amazing! I've never seen you so powerful before!" As she lifted him up, all she got in return was a quizzical look.

"Psy?"

Her face faltered. "Do-you do remember what just happened, don't you?"

He appeared to think hard for a second before the quizzical look returned.

"Oh…you dumb duck," she sighed, smiling again and bringing him in for a tight hug. "Don't change."

A moment later she found herself being hugged tightly, as well.

"This better be Ash, or I'm gonna unleash Psyduck."

"Misty! What happened? Was that really on purpose?"

"Yeah, was it?" Elli walked up, carefully eyeing the crater now in the middle of the battlefield. "How could you have predicted that?"

"Well…I won't say either way, but I will tell you how we survived your Flamethrower, if you wanna know."

Elli crossed her arms, clearly bemused. "Fine. I might as well get something out of this whole mess. How did you do it?"

"Simple, I told Psyduck to use Hydro Pump."

"But your Psyduck can't have a more powerful Hydro Pump than Gyarados? And he was evenly matched with Dragonite's Flamethrower on a much cooler day?"

Misty shook her head. "I wasn't trying to match Dragonite. I just needed enough water to keep the flames off Psyduck. Once you called off your attack, I called off his."

Elli was quiet for a moment. "Well, what was the deal with the Headbutts?"

"Psyduck only knows psychic attacks when his headache gets really bad. When I saw Dragonite coming down for a final attack, I saw my last chance to win."

"I thought I heard that somewhere before. Never seen it in real life, though. The only Psyducks I know usually paddle around the ponds in my hometown."

"Actually, this one can't swim."

Elli gave Psyduck a confused look. "You're…kidding, right? I know Dragonite didn't just lose to a duck that can't float."

"Afraid so," Misty teased with a smile. "But I need to thank you, Elli."

"Hm?"

"Yeah. Our last battle was a real wake-up call for me. Up until then, I was used to believing I was one of the strongest trainers in any room I walked into. But after our match, I realized that wasn't true. There were a lot of people stronger than me, and I needed to start pushing myself harder."

Elli smiled. "I've heard the Cerulean Gym is a force to reckon with now."

"Partly because of you," Misty nodded. "My sisters did a lot of the work, but I've grown a lot stronger myself."

"She's trained every day," Ash elaborated. "I've never seen her so fired up!"

"Thank you." Elli gave a slight bow. "I'm not gonna lie; it sucks to lose, no matter what you say. Still, though, part of me is happy it happened."

"You're not giving up?"

"On Pokémon? Never. But I'm starting to think college isn't right for me. At least not right now."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I've been on the road since I was twelve. The only way I could picture myself being able to stand sitting in a boring classroom all day was if I could still battle regularly. Since I can't do that, I think I'm gonna head back out."

Misty and Ash exchanged an uncomfortable glance. "Well, I'm sorry to hear you won't be coming here. I think we could've been great friends."

"We already are," Elli winked, putting out her hand. "Stay in touch, Misty. I want a rematch someday! I'm gonna develop a specific 'Psyduck Strategy' for next time!"

Misty chuckled and shook her hand. "You've got it!"

As Elli walked away, Ash took hold of Misty again and gave her another hug. "That was amazing, Mist." Pulling away, he gave her a serious look and lowered his voice. "Be honest, though – was releasing Psyduck an accident?"

Misty smiled and stood on her toes to whisper. "Like I said, it's a secret."

Author's Notes: Ending the chapter with this battle's conclusion felt like a natural stop and I'm very happy with how it turned out. You'll hear authors discuss A-, B-, and C-plots in their storylines. Well, I'd actually call Psyduck's redemption arc more of a Z-plot than anything else. It was about a year ago when I realized I had never written Psyduck once in this story, despite him being such a major character in the show. I guess I never thought to include him because he'd generally been so worthless (with a few notable exceptions), that I couldn't think of a use for him in the plot. However, I realized that that couldn't remain the case. This story is my love letter to the OG anime, after all, so I needed to fit the "dumb duck" in here somewhere, and this battle felt like the perfect place.

From his accidental (or was it?) release, to the unleashing of incredible psychic power, it was a fun chapter to write that still managed to move the plot ahead. I wrote Psyduck assuming that, as the years passed, Misty would have continued to train and develop his powers, and even created strategies around aggravating his headaches to unleash his powers. The last time she battled Elli, Dragonite only used two moves – Dragon Rush and Flamethrower, so Misty's strategy to nullify those attacks early in the battle also made sense.

Like I said, I saw this as a slight redemption arc for our beloved dummy. He certainly screwed things up in the past, so coming out and owning a Dragonite like that was, while hilarious, also a fun conclusion to his dopey storyline from the cartoon. At the same time, I felt like it wasn't unrealistic, given what we've seen of his powers in the past alongside seven years of training that we simply haven't been witness to.

So, what did you think, readers? Did Misty actually choose Psyduck, or did he just pop out at the least convenient time? Let me know in your REVIEW PLEASE!