I'll be the first to say that I mainly pick Ash's Pokémon for these battles on a whim.
Usually I include one or two that make sense narrative-wise, a couple of new Pokémon to showcase, and finally a few veterans that I want to write content for.
With that being said, here begins Ash's battle versus Diantha, hope you enjoy!
Clicking her first Poké Ball, Diantha said, "Let's give them a good show, shall we, Ketchum? Go, Hawlucha!"
Diantha's Hawlucha materialized in the air, performing a corkscrew 540° before landing on one of her hands and performing a handstand. From there, she hopped onto her feet and performed the 'bring it' gesture towards Ash.
Chuckling, Ash remarked, "I wish I chose my own Hawlucha for this match," before sending out his first Pokémon.
Seismitoad landed on the ground, cracking his knuckles as he stared at Hawlucha. Once the referee gave the signal, he opened things up with a Sludge Wave, summoning a wave of toxic sludge to swamp the battlefield. Hawlucha responded by jumping into the sky, gliding around for a bit to wait out the Sludge Wave. Once the last of the Poison-type move had dissipated, she dove down with surprising speed and used U-Turn, kicking Seismitoad in the gut before jumping off Seismitoad and retreating back to her Trainer's side with a graceful flip, clicking her Poké Ball.
As Hawlucha vanished back into her capsule, Diantha laughed. "Hawlucha can be a bit of a drama queen in battle sometimes, but wrestling is an artform nonetheless, and she takes it very seriously. Anyways," she said, unclipping her next Poké Ball, "your turn, Gourgeist!"
The Pumpkin Pokémon emerged from her Poké Ball and attempted to scare Seismitoad by leaping towards him and shouting, "Pumpka-Boo!"
Unfazed and unamused, Seismitoad attempted to strike back with Ice Punch, but Gourgeist floated out of his reach before readying a Seed Bomb in her hands. Scowling, Seismitoad hunkered down and used Toxic, firing a massive glob of Poison-type energy from the bulbs on his head up towards Gourgeist, who blocked it with her Seed Bomb.
"Diantha has a Gourgeist?!"
"Ya didn't know, Jess?" Meowth deadpanned.
"Obviously not! Ugh, I wish we had our other Pokémon with us right now instead of that stupid Morpeko..." As James let out a noise of protest, Jessie fired back, "You know it's true, he's been far more trouble for us than it's worth!"
"I'm wit Jess on dis one, Jimmy, I would like ta not go hungry every time we're looking for the twerp's Pikachu," Meowth said.
"Anyways- she has a Gourgeist!" Jessie almost squealed with delight. "She's got almost as good taste as me!"
"Well, at least some things never change..." James and Meowth sighed. Wobbuffet popped out of his Poké Ball and saluted as well.
Angie, who had been listening to the trio's conversation, quietly slipped away, walking in the direction of the food stalls, while down on the field, Seismitoad's attempt at another Sludge Wave was stymied by Gourgeist using Psychic to dispel the wave of poison before it hit her.
Ash gritted his teeth as he took out Seismitoad's Poké Ball and recalled the Vibration Pokémon, thinking to himself, I'm not going to be able to do much against Gourgeist if I just stick with Seismitoad. Taking out his next Poké Ball, he said, "Primeape, I choose you!"
"Wait, Primeape?!" May asked in shock as the Pig Monkey Pokémon emerged from his capsule. "Why would Ash do that?"
Serena placed a hand on May's shoulder to reassure her friend. "It's Ash, I'm sure he has a reason for sending Primeape out here."
Landing on the ground, Primeape took on a boxer's stance as he stared at Gourgeist. As soon as Gourgeist made a move, Ash quickly said, "Taunt!"
Primeape began hooting and hollering in Gourgeist's direction, enraging her and causing her attempt at Will-O-Wisp to prematurely fire, the ring of bluebell fireballs missing their mark. The face on her lower body also morphed into a furious expression, and fire began to build up inside of her body as the jack-o-lantern face fired a Flamethrower towards Primeape.
Jumping to the side, Primeape then leapt up towards Gourgeist and struck her with an Ice Punch, cooling down her lower body. As Gourgeist reeled, Primeape wound up his other fist and threw a Fire Punch haymaker her way, though the Pumpkin Pokémon drifted backwards before leaping forward and letting out a yell, Primeape being startled by Gourgeist's Astonish.
Upon recovering, Primeape gave a derisive snort as his left fist surrounded itself with an eerie purple glow, and he jabbed right at Gourgeist, sending her flying with Rage Fist. At the same time, the expression of her jack-o-lantern's face changed back to its usual jovial self.
Diantha watched with bated breath as her Ghost/Grass-type landed in front of her, pulling herself back up with some noticable effort. Upon noticing that Gourgeist's face was back to normal, Diantha snapped her fingers, saying, "Trick Room, Gourgeist!"
Gourgeist waved her hair-hands around wildly, her jack-o-lantern face glowing a vivid pink as she did so. Around the entire battlefield, walls began to form, followed by a ceiling of psionic energy. The ceiling snapped onto the walls, and the entire battlefield flashed a bright blue for a moment, Trick Room going into effect.
As Primeape prepared to fire another Fire Punch though, Gourgeist bowed his way before disappearing in a flash of red light, Diantha having recalled her. Unclipping her next Poké Ball, she said, "Action, Tyrantrum!" throwing said Poké Ball onto the field with a flourish.
Upon landing, the Despot Pokémon let out a roar as he leered in Primeape's direction. Slamming his fists together, Primeape charged towards Tyrantrum in an effort to use Close Combat, but thanks to the effects of Trick Room, his legs felt like they were being weighed down by heavy weights. In contrast, Tyrantrum moved so quickly, it was almost like it teleported as he brought down a full-force Psychic Fangs onto Primeape, a psionic burst of energy erupting from Tyrantrum's mouth once he clamped onto the Pig Monkey Pokémon.
Pushing himself back to his feet, a slightly woozy Primeape looked towards Tyrantrum, who stomped his foot on the ground and used Stealth Rock, causing a myriad of pointed stones to erupt into the air and then vanish. Defiantly, Primeape used Taunt.
Diantha smirked. "Let's wrap this up, Tyrantrum! Use Fire Fang!"
With a burst of speed, Tyrantrum bounded towards Primeape. Though Primeape tried to dodge, Tyrantrum clamped down on him with his teeth and shook him around like a toy as his jaws lit ablaze, engulfing the Pig Monkey Pokémon in a veil of fire. Spitting him out, Tyrantrum let out a triumphant roar as Primeape collapsed to the ground, unable to battle.
"Primeape is unable to battle, Tyrantrum wins!"
Recalling Primeape, Ash whispered, "Good job out there, Primeape," before taking out his next Poké Ball and saying, "Alright Absol, you're up!"
The Dark-type materialized and landed on the ground, using Iron Tail to block some, but not all of the rocks that attempted to smash into her.
Serena watched as Absol carefully pawed around the field, staring in Tyrantrum's direction before testing the waters with a Night Slash, which Tyrantrum dodged with little trouble. Looking at the big screen, which was focused on Absol, she noticed that something was tied onto Absol's left front leg.
"Is that a Mega Stone?" Max asked.
Chloe took a closer look and said, "It is! It looks like it's an Absolite!" Looking towards Dawn, Chloe said, "But he's not using Mega Evolution for this match."
May shook her head. "It doesn't matter, I'm just happy to see Absol again." Looking closer at the big display, May turned to Serena and asked, "Hey 'Rena, doesn't that ribbon holding Absol's Mega Stone look familiar?"
Serena stared at Absol's ribbon for a moment longer before looking at her wrist and blushing.
"I'm sure it's just a coincidence Serena, don't think about it too hard," Dawn reassuringly said. "But if it is intentional..." Dawn and May looked towards each other and clasped each other's hands as they squealed with glee.
Serena buried her Tamato-red face in her hands, Max trying his best to not snicker as he played with his pendant while Chloe could only stare at the scene in confusion.
Down on the battlefield, Absol blocked an attempted Stone Edge from Tyrantrum with Close Combat, smashing through the rocks with a flurry of attacks.
"Play Rough!" Diantha said, sweeping a hand outward.
As Tyrantrum charged towards her, Absol turned to Ash, who said, "Use Megahorn on the Trick Room!" Absol nodded, the horn on her head glowing a dull green as she struck at the barrier with the Bug-type attack, causing it to shatter.
Tyrantrum's run slowed back down to his regular speed, and Absol darted out of the way of the Play Rough before using Shadow Ball, nailing Tyrantrum with the Ghost-type attack. As Tyrantrum turned towards Absol, Diantha coolly said, "Scale Shot." The Despot Pokémon roared as his underbelly began to glow a deep purple, and he promptly fired a buckshot of black-and-white scales towards Absol, who jumped over the attack... and promptly yelped as she saw Tyrantrum rush in for a Dragon Claw, moving even faster than he had been in Trick Room.
Recalling Absol, Ash immediately sent out Lucario and said, "Circle Throw!" Lucario, upon shrugging off the Stealth Rocks with relative ease, braced himself as Tyrantrum raked his claws across his face. Lucario promptly grabbed Tyrantrum by the arms and swung him over his head as he dropped to the ground, performing a tomoe nage.
Tyrantrum landed with a crash in front of Diantha and he was forcibly recalled into his capsule. On Diantha's belt, Hawlucha's Poké Ball shook as she was forced back into the battle. The Wrestling Pokémon landed with a graceful flip and performed the 'bring it' gesture towards Lucario, who respectfully bowed towards his opponent and assumed a fighting stance, a grin making its way across his face.
Jumping up into the sky, Hawlucha proceeded to dive down onto Lucario with Fire Punch. Lucario tapped his left foot on the ground, causing it to spark to life as he used Blaze Kick, blocking Hawlucha's fist with a flaming hook kick. Neither attack was able to overcome the other, and a small explosion from the collision forced both Pokémon to reset to a neutral position.
Concentrating, Lucario held his hands out, and a Bone Rush staff formed in his hands. As Hawlucha lunged forward, she thrust a knee out and used High Jump Kick, which Lucario intercepted with his staff. Much to Lucario's shock, Hawlucha ended up shattering his staff, with him getting kneed in the face moments after. As Hawlucha shot past him, Lucario collapsed onto all fours, spitting out a clod of saliva as he attempted to recover.
Gracefully landing on her feet to avoid the potential recoil of High Jump Kick, Hawlucha turned around and leaped towards a stunned Lucario, using Fire Punch once again. However, Lucario charged an Ice Punch in his right hand and punched downwards at the same time she landed an uppercut on his chin, sending him flying while Hawlucha got pummeled into the ground.
As both Pokémon pulled themselves to their feet, Lucario inhaled and held a paw out, a silvery glow beginning to build up in the spike on his paw. Said glow began to spread all over his fist, and Ash said, "Flash Cannon!"
The Aura Pokémon dug his feet into the ground and fired Flash Cannon from his glowing hand, but Hawlucha managed to dodge with a cartwheel before spreading her hands outward and taunting, "Luchaaaaa..."
Gritting his teeth, Lucario tapped his right foot on the ground, and it sparked with flame. Fire Punch met Blaze Kick once more, and both Pokémon were reset to neutral yet again.
"Hawlucha, use Stone Edge to trap Lucario!"
Punching the ground, Hawlucha used Stone Edge, sharp rocks erupting out of the ground and encircling themselves around Lucario. Hawlucha jumped onto one of the rocks that had formed when she used Stone Edge, and with a cry of, "Lu! Cha! Lu! Cha!" she jumped off the rock and used Brave Bird, surrounding herself in a blue aura as she flew towards Lucario. As she was closing in, however, Hawlucha was startled when a large rock just barely grazed her face and forced her to abandon her plan of attack, perching on one of the smaller stones.
Lucario stood within the circle of rocks Hawlucha had entrapped him in, all of which had been cut down to stumps by Bone Rush. Smashing one particularly large rock with a swing of his staff, Lucario swung his bone like a golf club, sending a volley of stones flying towards Hawlucha. As the Wrestling Pokémon dodged through the rocks, Lucario tossed his staff into the air and kicked it towards Hawlucha with Blaze Kick, the flaming bone hitting her right in the face and sending her sprawling to the ground.
As Hawlucha staggered to her feet, she could barely react to Lucario slugging her across the face with Ice Punch followed by a point-blank Meteor Mash, the Steel-type move throwing up a plume of dust as Lucario punched downwards onto the Wrestling Pokémon's head.
When the dust parted, it was revealed that Hawlucha had been slightly pushed into the ground by the impact of Lucario's final attacks.
"Hawlucha is unable to battle, the winner is Lucario!"
Ash recalled his Lucario before looking on his shoulder and saying, "Alright buddy, it's your turn!"
The crowd went wild as Pikachu hopped onto the field. As Pikachu stepped into the arena, Stealth Rock activated, but Pikachu simply batted the stones away with Iron Tail.
"Is it time for the main event already?" Diantha asked, a hint of amusement present on her face. "Very well." Taking out her next Poké Ball, she said, "The scene's yours, Gardevoir!"
The Seals on Diantha's Poké Ball activated, releasing Gardevoir in a series of sparkles as she landed on the field, the necklace housing her Gardevoirite shining in the sunlight. As the crowd somehow got even louder, Gardevoir looked down at Pikachu and telepathically communicated, Pleasure seeing you again, Pikachu. Is Greninja part of this match too?
Pikachu shook his head. "He declined to face you since there's another match he wants."
An amused smile worked its way across Gardevoir's face as she asked, "Alain, right?"
Quirking an eyebrow, Pikachu replied, "How did you know?"
Chuckling, Gardevoir said, "I don't need to read minds to know that Greninja and Charizard want a rematch against each other." Glancing to the side, she continued, "Also, Greninja's a Dark-type, I couldn't read his mind even if I wanted to because I don't know Miracle Eye."
"Touché." Pikachu proceeded to crack his knuckles and asked, "Ready?"
"Of course."
Gardevoir opened up the match with Light Screen as Pikachu fired off a Thunderbolt, the Electric-type attack splashing off the barrier of Psychic-type energy as Gardevoir retaliated with Hyper Voice. The harsh sound ended up knocking Pikachu slightly off-kilter when he landed on the ground, and he leapt in to strike with Iron Tail immediately afterwards, though that was blocked by Gardevoir using Fire Punch.
Cynthia joined Leon and Steven in the skybox, a smile on her face as she looked towards the field. "This is going to be interesting..."
"I know you and Diantha have been close friends for years, but what's your relation to Ash?" Steven inquired.
Watching as Pikachu used Brick Break to shatter Light Screen, only for him to get pushed away by Psychic, Cynthia replied, "I first met him when he was a fourteen-year-old traveling through Sinnoh. Back then, he had a pretty personal rivalry with another Trainer his age, Paul Rebal." Thinking back to when she had first met the two, Cynthia muttered, "Talented Trainer without a doubt, but wow he had serious problems with empathy. His older brother was so much nicer when I met him..."
Leon watched as Pikachu dissipated a Moonblast with just Iron Tail, and he asked, "So was Ash just a Trainer you took interest in along with this Paul?"
Cynthia licked her ice cream cone and nodded. "I'd heard about him just weeks before he came to Sinnoh, when he beat Brandon to earn his seventh and final Frontier Symbol. Scott told me that his Pikachu managed to beat a Regice that was in pristine condition." Looking towards Steven, Cynthia joked, "Bet you wish Wallace struck a deal with Scott before Lance did, don't you?"
"I'm still a little sore over it, I always give Wallace crap about that blunder every once in a while whenever we meet up," Steven chuckled.
As Gardevoir uppercutted Pikachu with Ice Punch, Cynthia asked, "Did either of you watch Ash's run at the Lily of the Valley Conference?" Steven nodded and Leon shook his head. "I suggest you watch that one then, Leon, that was the tournament that made Ash into a star."
Steven awkwardly rubbed his hair, saying, "Well... I only watched the semifinal match, but still, that was a performance most can only dream of."
"How so?"
Turning to face Leon, Cynthia said, "He defeated three Legendary Pokémon and tied with his opponent's fourth Pokémon, a Hydreigon." As Leon's jaw dropped, Cynthia continued, "I would be remiss if I didn't mention the fact that he was not only the only person in the entire conference who knocked out even just one of that competitor's Pokémon, but also forced him to use more Pokémon besides the one he primarily used." Before Leon could ask, Cynthia finished, "It was a Darkrai."
A clash between Thunderbolt and Shadow Ball made the three of them turn their attention back to the match, Cynthia's eyes flitting between Ash and Diantha as the two watched their Pokémon duke it out.
Gardevoir erected a Reflect as Pikachu bounded towards her with Quick Attack, but at the last second, the Mouse Pokémon disengaged, smashing through her barrier with Brick Break. Landing in a handstand, Pikachu swiftly sprung himself upward and clobbered Gardevoir on the head with Iron Tail.
As Gardevoir staggered, Diantha recalled her Pokémon and sent out her fifth Pokémon, Goodra.
"Pikachu, come back!"
Pikachu stared at Goodra for a moment, giving a respectful nod her way as he ran back to Ash and perched himself on his shoulder.
Taking Seismitoad's Poké Ball, Ash threw it out, saying, "Alright Seismitoad, it's your turn again!"
The Vibration Pokémon landed on the ground, croaking out, "Toooooaaaaad!" as he stared up at Goodra. The Stealth Rocks flung themselves at Seismitoad, but he paid them little mind as he rolled his neck and cracked his knuckles again.
Goodra started the match by firing a Dragon Pulse towards Seismitoad, who ducked underneath the blast of purple energy before charging forwards with Liquidation, the water surrounding his body turning an ugly purple. Seismitoad body-checked Goodra, who winced as her entire body crackled with purple lightning.
Calmly, Diantha commanded, "Focus Blast."
Goodra charged a yellow-and-blue ball of Fighting-type energy in her hands, and Seismitoad lumbered forwards, his hands both glowing a bright green. Jumping backwards, Goodra proceeded to fire a couple of Fire Blasts, which Seismitoad punched through with Drain Punch. As Seismitoad lunged forward with Ice Punch, Goodra released her Focus Blast, striking Seismitoad at point-blank range. Seismitoad's Ice Punch did make the slightest contact with Goodra, however, and Goodra winced as the poison from Seismitoad's Liquidation earlier kicked in.
"Wow Clemont, I didn't know Diantha had a Goodra too!" Bonnie excitedly said.
Clemont watched as Ash's Seismitoad shot a glob of bright green poison towards Goodra, who blocked the incoming Venoshock with Surf. "Neither did I, Bonnie."
As Dedenne poked his head out of Bonnie's satchel, the girl in question asked, "Who do you think is gonna win here?"
Putting a screwdriver to his chin in thought as he continued working on his latest Clemontic Gear, Clemont said, "Hmm... it's a little hard to say, mainly because I want both of them to win," chuckling at the last bit. "That being said, however, I think Ash probably has a good shot at winning this if he's using Greninja, if not, then it's hard to come to a conclusion." Clemont proceeded to accidentally screw in a bolt on one of his devices just a little too tightly, resulting in the contraption exploding.
Bonnie sighed, "I'll get the fire extinguisher, Big Bro..." running off to her brother's lab while Clemont began to wipe the soot off his glasses, Clembot patting his shoulder sympathetically.
As Seismitoad charged forward with Liquidation once again, Goodra dug her heels into the ground, her right fist glowing a bright blue. Once the Vibration Pokémon was within range, disengaging his Liquidation before leaping towards her with Drain Punch, Goodra struck hard with Focus Punch, causing Seismitoad to blanch as Goodra's fist drove itself into his gut.
Seismitoad pulled himself to his feet, having been blasted halfway across the field by Goodra's Focus Punch, and when he saw Goodra running towards him, her tendrils glowing green, he grimly resigned himself, thinking, Might as well get a parting shot in, as he hunkered down, waiting for her to get closer.
Once Goodra was in range, she swung her head towards him just as Seismitoad fired Venoshock from the bulbs on his head. Though Goodra's Power Whip did make contact, driving Seismitoad into the ground, the Vibration Pokémon's last-ditch Venoshock hit its target, causing Goodra to double over in pain because of her getting poisoned earlier in the match. That being said, she was still standing, which was more than what could be said about her opponent.
Seismitoad was lying in a small indent on the floor, muttering, "Thank you, come again..."
"Seismitoad is unable to battle, Goodra wins!"
As Seismitoad's icon on the big display was greyed out, Diantha recalled her Goodra. Ash sent Absol back out onto the field, and with a flourish, she said, "Come on Aurorus, it's showtime!"
The Tundra Pokémon revealed herself in a flurry of winter winds, landing on the ground and immediately using Snowscape while Absol deflected Stealth Rock with Iron Tail on the other side of the field.
When she finished fending off the last of the pointed stones, Absol could only stare as a makeshift blizzard came to life and enveloped the entire battlefield, Aurorus disappearing into the snow. Carefully keeping watch, Absol pawed at her surroundings and tried to get a feel for things before her instincts told her to dodge. Absol crouched to the floor as a Thunderbolt speared over her head, and she charged towards where the attack had come from, blindly striking with Night Slash.
Though Absol did manage to hit her mark, Aurorus was almost unscathed thanks to the snow increasing her defensive capabilities, and she retaliated with Flash Cannon, the blast of pure light cannoning Absol across the field.
I'm generally ambivalent towards the numerous Pikaclones that the main characters have owned, but man I do not like the Rockets' Morpeko at all.
I don't know if there's a general theme between Diantha's team, but it's pretty fun to put into text, especially since I like to think of them as representing different types of entertainment because Diantha's an actress. Gourgeist leans towards horror films, Hawlucha is a pretty obvious wrestling shout-out, Goodra reminds me of something like Groot or the Iron Giant, Gardevoir would be something like an old-school bombshell movie star, and Tyrantrum and Aurorus are analogues to dinosaur movies like Jurassic Park and The Land Before Time.
This battle may seem slower, yes, but I want to experiment more with pacing instead of it being a standard formula.
As always, reviews are always appreciated.
Thanks for reading and stay tuned for the next chapter!
-Krosshair
