50: Ash vs. Ritchie
"Today was really fun," Misty said to Ash and Brock as they filed out of the venue after the last match had completed. "Let's get something to eat. Then, I heard someone has a neat obstacle course set up for pokemon." As they were completely out of the venue, a group surrounded them, cooing over Pikachu.
"Pika pika?" Pikachu called, confused by all the attention.
Misty scooted closer to Ash. "You're all getting famous... Or at least Pikachu is. You really don't have its pokeball, huh?" she asked.
"No," Ash said. "And I've gotta see who my next opponent is. Here, you take Pikachu for now." Ash handed off the pokemon.
Pikachu easily accepted being held by the familiar girl, but Misty herself became frustrated. "Huh? You don't already know? Wait-" she began before being barraged by questions. Not being Pikachu's trainer, she just tried her best to answer as quickly as possible.
Ash dodged through the remaining crowd, going to the results board. It wasn't as crowded as yesterday, probably because most people there had seen all the matches, but he still wanted to see his next opponent. "Hey, Ash!" Ritchie greeted with a wave right before he could do so.
"Hi!" Ash waved. "And hi, Sparky," he added to the pokemon. "My pikachu's with Misty right now."
"Pikachu," Sparky gave a disappointed call.
"I saw you win again, it was great," Ash said.
"And you too," Ritchie said. "But now..." he glanced to the tier before back at Ash. "I guess this'll be as far as I go."
"Why? Who are you going up against?" Ash asked, walking over closer to see. "Wait," he began as he read, his brow furrowing. "You're just battling me!"
"Um, yeah," Ritchie said, putting a hand to his head as he looked away. "You're pretty good, and you already beat me before..."
"I just beat a guy that already beat me before," Ash said. He looked down at Sparky before back at Ritchie. "I wanna win. But I'm not gonna say I have before we even start."
"Yeah... I get it," Ritchie said. "Don't worry. I'm gonna give it my best. Sparky and everyone else too."
"Me too!" Ash clenched his fist and put all his energy into his declaration. He spun around, almost running into the man in the brightly-colored suit behind him.
"Excuse me," Giovanni said. He looked over Ash's head, nodding at Ritchie. "The youngest challenger, I see, still in the running. I hoped I'd see you, so I could congratulate you."
"Thank you very much, sir!" Ritchie said, bowing slightly to Giovanni. "But... Ash and I are the same age. We even have the same birthday. So we're actually both the youngest challengers of the league this year."
Giovanni briefly glimpsed at Ash before back at Ritchie. "Of course. Congratulations to you both."
"Wait, you-" Ash paused. "You're the guy that I met at that hospital!" he said, pointing forward. "You're the Team Rocket leader, right?"
"Indeed," Giovanni confirmed.
Ash leaned close to Ritchie. "Misty says he's a really bad guy," he tried to whisper.
Giovanni's expression became intense, certainly having heard Ash's comment. "Don't believe everything you hear," the rocket boss spoke in a booming voice. "Team Rocket is a legitimate organization. To speak of any crimes or wrongdoing is slanderous. We work for the advancement of the entire world with pokemon." Giovanni paused, continuing as both boys remained silent. "I simply came to offer my former challenger encouragement in his endeavors."
"Thank you again, sir," Ritchie said. "I'm surprised you remember me though. I didn't even win the badge."
"I could tell you held promise," Giovanni said. "Besides, you're from our very own Viridian City. It's been a while since someone from our home city won. Perhaps you'll be the first in years."
"I'll just try my best," Ritchie said.
"Your mother's here as well, isn't she?" Giovanni said.
"She did come to watch, along with everyone else that sponsored me," Ritchie informed.
"Tell her I said hello."
As Giovanni wandered away, both Ritchie and Ash stared after him. Ritchie only spoke to Ash once the rocket boss was well out of sight. "I never would have guessed he was the evil rocket boss when I met him in Viridian Gym."
"So he really is the rocket boss, and the Viridian Gym leader too?" Ash's brow furrowed. "When I went to Viridian Gym, there was Team Rocket everywhere, so I guess Misty's right about everything."
"You didn't know before now?" Ritchie said.
"No... I mean, he's not wearing the R uniform thing like the rest do," Ash said. "You were being nice to him, so I thought Misty could have been wrong. Misty said there being two Team Rockets was a lie, but I thought it might be true."
Ritchie's shoulders tensed. He took a step back from his friend. "So you didn't say anything else because you didn't know?" he said.
"How could I talk about what I don't know about?" Ash said.
"Oh, yeah." Ritchie swallowed. "What would you have said to him if you did?"
"Um, I dunno," Ash said as he turned around. "I've gotta go find Misty, Brock, and Pikachu. I'll see you at our match tomorrow!" Ash waved before running back toward where he'd left Pikachu.
His friends weren't at the previous spot, but Ash soon found them in a crowd that was observing something. As he got closer, he saw Pikachu making its way through the previously mentioned obstacle course, hopping on platforms and through hoops everyone around watched. Eventually, Pikachu reached a platform that tumbled over, grazing a bucket of water before it fell on the ground. "Pikachu..." Pikachu called with some exasperation.
The audience laughed and cooed as Ash picked up his pokemon. "Come on guys, let's go," he said. "Did you know Ritchie's the next matchup?" he said.
"I was trying to tell you before you just went racing away like it was a marathon," Misty said. "Of course we knew!"
"It's easy to tell from the tier, so we knew after he won," Brock informed. "We know the possibilities for the next match if you win as well."
"Oh." Ash frowned, his announcement's thunder stolen.
Misty giggled as they got to the front of the makeshift pokemon center. "Hehe. Let's see how that goes. Mr. Put Together against Mr. Not Put Together At All. I wonder how it'll turn out." Misty laughed again as they went into the building, giving Ash's pokemon to the nurse.
"Ritchie is pretty good. He won against Gary. But that doesn't mean he'll win against us, too." Ash grinned down at Pikachu, completely unaffected by Misty's implied pessimism of his success.
"He does have the advantage," Misty said. "That pikachu might not have the same 'super' power as yours, but it's still pretty powerful, and going against all your flying types."
"Misty, wait, you forgot," Brock interrupted. As she turned his way, he pointed to the screen in front of them, a replay of Gary and Ritchie's match, showing Ritchie's pidgeot dodging the electric type attack. "Ritchie also has three flying types. The same three, actually - pidgeot, charizard, and butterfree. And on top of that, there's Ash's pikachu."
"Oh. You're right, I did forget," Misty admitted, then smiled. "That just makes it all the more interesting! You're really going against your clone."
"What does that mean, anyway?" Ash said, scowling. Describing Ritchie that way didn't seem to make any more sense when Misty did than when Gary had. "Ritchie and I don't look alike at all."
"Maybe not up close," Brock began. "But you're both fairly young contestants, similar height, style of dress, and, not to mention something that's very apparent in the league - over half of the pokemon species in your teams are the same. Not to mention you both keep your pikachu outside their pokeballs. The similarities are pretty striking. Probably more people will talk about how alike you are during the match, if they aren't already."
Ash blinked quietly. "I guess you're right," he eventually said. "But we won't both be the winner tomorrow. Nobody's gonna say we're the same then."
When it came time for Ash and Ritchie's match, they ran onto the field simultaneously to the cheers of the crowd. Ash's pikachu was by his feet, meanwhile Sparky was in its pokeball. Ash and Ritchie threw out their pokeballs in unison at the start of the battle, Ash saying the species name while Ritchie gave the nickname, but it didn't matter, it was the same species. Ash's butterfree and Happy, Ritchie's own, fluttered in front of each other, calling out similar cries, one echoing the others.
"Butterfree, whirlwind!" Ash ordered.
"Happy, psybeam!" As Ritchie called out, his pokemon was caught in the attack, tumbling around in the gusts of winds. That wasn't a very good start to the battle.
"Alright, Butterfree! Now, tackle!"
Ash's butterfree managed to hit Ritchie's own before the psybeam attack could be completed. Happy curled up, falling to the ground. Ritchie quickly returned it before it hit, then got his next pokeball ready. "Gale! Get ready! Wing attack!" This time Ritchie's pokemon was the one right on target, the repeated hits of Gale's wings causing Butterfree to cringe before losing its stance in the air.
Ash also knew when to return his pokemon, bringing Butterfree back in its pokeball before he pointed forward. "Go, Pikachu!"
"Pikachu!" Pikachu called as it leapt onto the field, standing tall to show how it was ready for the battle.
"A-Already?" Ritchie stammered in surprise.
The crowd cheered loudly as the electric type pokemon took its place, but Ash was still able to get his message across, shouting over the noise, "Pikachu, thunderbolt!"
"Pika," Pikachu called as it started the attack, its cheeks sparking as it stood up even straighter, body tensing.
"Gale, quick attack!" Ritchie ordered.
Gale swept forward toward its opponent, but the order came too late even for the fast moving attack. "CHUU!" Pikachu completed the attack, hitting the flying type dead with the flashy electric bolt on as it dashed closer. Ritchie's pokemon fell like a zapped bug as Pikachu simply jumped to the side.
Ritchie returned it, frowning. "Sorry, Gale," he muttered before taking out his next pokeball. "Go, Vincent!" Ritchie threw out the pokeball, then catching it as his tangela appeared. "Vincent, vine whip."
"Pikachu?" Pikachu called as it observed the funny pokemon. It hadn't ever met this species before. It was just a pile of vines. Was there anything in the middle? While wondering this, it was hit by said vines. "Pika!" it called, bouncing back up and getting into a battle ready position. This was a pokemon to be taken seriously, despite how it appeared.
"Pikachu, quick attack!"
"Pika, pika," Pikachu called seriously as it dashed forward, hitting the opponent, still seeing no signs of what, if anything was in the middle of all those vines. "Pikachu!" it called its pleasure at being able to meet and battle such an interesting pokemon.
"Vincent, mega drain!"
"Pikachu, quick attack, again!"
Pikachu completed its attack first, slamming against the grass type pokemon. This only seemed to affect part of the tangela's body, which withered before the entirety of it began to glow a bright green. "Pikachu?" Pikachu called questioningly before being enveloped by the glowing energy emanated by its opponent. "Pika!" it called as it felt the energy being drained from its body. Vincent's affected vines straightened out, regaining vitality as the energy returned to it.
"Oh no," Ash exclaimed as he realized the implications of the energy sucking technique. He'd seen Erika's gloom using it skillfully when visiting with Brock and Misty recently. He couldn't play around and let Ritchie win. "Pikachu, you can win! Thunderbolt!"
"Pika, CHUU!" Pikachu called. Vincent gave a muffled call itself as it was hit, its vines again drooping.
"Vincent, quick, vine whip," Ritchie advised, guessing Ash's next move.
"Pikachu, quick attack!" Ash indeed suggested the speedy technique. Vincent managed to hit Pikachu once before getting hit itself, tripping and splaying out like spaghetti.
Ritchie quickly returned it before poor Vincent had to make too much of a mess of itself. This pikachu really was powerful, wasn't it? It had managed to knock out Ritchie's pokemon one after another without too much of a fight. Maybe Pikachu could be overpowered by a much larger opponent. "Zippo! Get ready!" Ritchie shouted, throwing out his next pokeball. As his charizard appeared, Ritchie pointed forward and gave his next order. "Zippo, flamethrower!"
"Pikachu, quick attack!" Ash ordered.
"Pika, pika," Pikachu called, dashing forward and Zippo roared and spit out flames as part of its technique. Pikachu had seen this technique many times before, in the wild when it had been by the magmar, as well as when battling other pokemon, or even battling with the charizard that was a part of its current team. It was grazed by the flames, but able to keep focused and prevent itself from taking the full hit. At the same time, it leapt forward in a blur, hitting Zippo in the jaw, which dazed the other pokemon. Zippo shook its head and tripped, while Pikachu landed on its feet, standing at full attention.
"You did it!" Ash cheered. "Now, Pikachu, thunderbolt!"
"Zippo, slash!" Ritchie ordered, supposing it might be able to stop Pikachu's upcoming surge of electricity.
"Pika," Pikachu began as the first sparks of the thunderbolt attack surrounded it. Pikachu then grimaced as Zippo slashed claws across its face. However, it simply leapt to its feet and continued to follow Ash's order. "CHUU!" it called as it completed its most powerful technique, again with perfect aim, enveloping its opponent.
"Zippo, return!" Ritchie quickly brought the pokemon back inside its pokeball. Zippo's head usually moved a certain way as it tried to stay focused after taking a particularly powerful attack, but this time it had just hung down. Ash's pikachu was really something else. It had just taken out three pokemon in a row, and now all Ritchie had left was two pokemon for the match, while Ash had Pikachu plus four others waiting. Ritchie had already suspected he may not win, but he was really letting his team down here. They needed better direction. He's made the wrong call for his pokemon to defeat Ash and his pikachu, if he'd even been able to train a pokemon to properly do so in the first place. What was the right call now, Jelly the tentacool or Sparky the pikachu?
The crowd might love to see Sparky and Ash's pikachu in the arena together. Sparky also wouldn't have to deal with a type disadvantage. Getting hit by electric type attacks had even seemed to invigorate it during previous battles. Ritchie's pikachu seemed the obvious choice for who was up next, but given how his pokemon were being knocked out one after the other, maybe the choice wasn't so obvious. Ritchie reached for the pokeball with the water drop symbol instead. "Go, Jelly!" he shouted, then pointed at Pikachu. "Toxic!"
His pokemon likely called out, but the sounds of the crowd drowned it out as it floated toward Pikachu.
"Pikachu, thunderbolt!" Ash advised.
"Pika," Pikachu began seriously. It stopped and shivered as the other pokemon's tentacles lightly touched its arm and head. Then, the other pokemon spat in its face. "Pikachu?!" Pikachu called out in surprise. It suddenly felt a wave of discontent and nausea, and wasn't able to complete the attack.
"Pikachu, come on," Ash encouraged. "Thundershock," he suggested the less powerful, but likelier easier to complete attack.
"Jelly, wrap!" Ritchie ordered. His pokemon tightly bound itself around Pikachu. The attack was risky, since that put the water type at a sure hit range for Pikachu's super effective electric attacks, but Jelly was pretty good at this technique.
"Pika!" Pikachu called out, affected by both the poison status and Jelly's current constricting technique. "Pikachu..." it complained, before its cheeks sparked as the start of its thundershock. "Chu!" it called as it shocked its opponent. The wrap loosened only briefly before the attack continued, Ritchie's tentacool holding on with relentless determination.
"Jelly, now! Finish it! Water gun!" Ritchie shouted. Before Ash could advise a counter, Jelly spit the water into the other pokemon's face at close range. Pikachu went limp.
"That's enough!" Ash shouted.
"Jelly, let go," Ritchie said. His pokemon gently put Pikachu on the ground.
The crowd murmured as Ash ran onto the field and picked Pikachu up. There was a brief lull as he attended to it with antidote and potions, the referee helping. Once Pikachu was sitting up, Ash took out his next pokeball. "Go, Bulbasaur!" he shouted, then pointed forward. "Vine whip!"
"Jelly, try water gun!" Though Jelly's secondary type of poison made it resistant to grass type attacks unlike other water types, it fell backward as it was barraged with the relentless stream of leaves before it could even start its technique. "Good job, Jelly," Ritchie praised as he returned the pokemon. It had more than contributed to this battle. And now, there was one pokemon that had to carry them the rest of the way, win or lose. "Go, Sparky!" Ritchie threw out the pokeball to release his final representative of the battle.
"Pikachu!" Sparky called as it appeared.
"Sparky, double team!"
"Bulbasaur, vine whip!"
Sparky practically danced around the field, avoiding most of Bulbasaur's attack, only being hit by the initial attempt. "Sparky, thunderbolt!" Ritchie advised. If it got too close, that would make his opponent's attacks easier to hit.
"Bulbasaur, razor leaf!"
Sparky avoided the leaves completely while Bulbasaur took the attack head on. "Bulbasaur!" it called in protest.
Ash clenched his fists. "Bulbasaur, you can do it! Vine whip!"
"Sparky, thunderbolt!" This time, Sparky's attack completed and knocked out Bulbasaur before it could complete the attack. "Sparky, double team!" Ritchie ordered as Ash threw out his next pokeball and the pidgeot appeared. Ash ordered it to try quick attack, which missed. Now Sparky had a buffer, moving quickly, protecting it while it unleashed its attacks. It quickly knocked out Ash's pidgeot, dashing into the air in what seemed a particularly critical hit. Ash's remaining pokemon were all also weak to electric attacks. Of course, type advantages weren't everything.
And yet, when Ash sent out his charizard, Sparkly quickly dashed around the powerful flamethrower before paralyzing the large fire type with a thunderbolt. Ash recalled Charizard without comment when he noticed his pokemon's state.
Then, Ash only had one pokemon left. "Squirtle, go! Skull bash!" Ash ordered.
"Sparky, thunderbolt!" Ritchie shouted. That was predictable, but still the obvious choice for this pokemon.
"Squirtle?" Squirtle called as it hunched down, getting in the position for the skull bash attack against the shorter opponent. Sparky moved quickly, knocking out the water type pokemon before it could even complete its technique.
And somehow, Ritchie had won yet again, and against such a powerful trainer. As the announcement was made, he just stood in shock, hearing the cheers along with the fact he'd entered the top 4, winning against Ash of all people, but not really believing it. It was only when he saw Ash crossing the arena that Ritchie moved himself to greet his friend.
"Pikachu!" Ash's pikachu called, reaching over to Ritchie's and patting it in congratulations.
"Pikachu!" Sparky called back, a grin on its face.
Ash stuck out his hand. "Thanks for battling me."
Ritchie noted his defeated opponent's head was down, unable to completely make eye contact. Ash was able to be a good sport, but still felt some shame at the loss. "Ash," Ritchie said. As the other boy looked up, Ritchie shook his hand. "I just happened to make some good calls, after making a lot of really bad ones," he said. "You're a great trainer."
"You're really good too," Ash said.
"I'm not sure if I'd win again. I want a rematch," Ritchie said.
"Of course!" Ash said, the energy coming back into his voice as he spoke. "I need one... But not before the end of the league." He laughed. "But you're my rival. We'll battle again and again!"
"Pikachu!" Ash's pikachu agreed.
"Pika!" Sparky did the same.
With that, the trainers left the field. Ritchie met up with his family and other sponsors, who congratulated him yet again. He thanked them as he always did, and listened to their praise as they played back the battle with words, pointing out how great Sparky was, having knocked out four pokemon in a row.
Hadn't they noticed that Ash's pikachu had done the same? It had managed to knock out Ritchie's first four pokemon. Of course, many likely took note of that. Ritchie's current company was there to cheer him on, being his emotional, on top of financial support, so of course they wouldn't feel the need to point out that the only reason he'd won was that Ash had used his best pokemon too early.
End notes: Not sure how everyone will feel about the end and totality of this chapter, though feel free to share your thoughts, as always! Also know this isn't the end at all, for Ash or the story in general. We're winding up the league with the next chapter, but of course, there's a lot left to address afterwards.
Next chapter: Ritchie vs. Team Rocket