Chapter 27: Don't Stop Believing
"Koffing, let's rock this one out with one last Sludge Bomb!" Roxie shouted eagerly. Her fans followed behind her and yelled cheerfully for the rock star.
"Kooooffing!" Koffing smirked and shot out a large ball of gunk at the ground below.
Ash gritted his teeth and looked through the small cloud of dust created from the Sludge Bomb barrage, No, I'm not going to lose that easily, no way, Pikachu and I are not going to let that happen.
"Pikachu, stop Sludge Bomb with Iron Tail!" Ash extended his arm to the right while screaming.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu shot out of the cloud of smoke like a rocket. The mouse had serious injuries on him, but that didn't stop the Electric-type from smirking at Koffing.
Roxie's eyes widened and she yelled, "Impossible, no Pokémon is able to get back up after my Sludge Bomb volley."
"You're not dealing with ordinary battlers Roxie," Ash smirked at the rock star.
Pikachu's tail turned into steel and immediately swung it against Sludge Bomb. The Steel-type attack instantly swung the shot of sludge toward the ground below, causing it burst like a bubble when it hit the floor. Ash chuckled and pumped his fist, "Now let's give Koffing a taste of your Thunderbolt!"
While still in midair, Pikachu's cheeks began to spark and the mouse shouted. "Piiiiikaaachuuu!" Pikachu then unleashed a violent stream of lightning at Koffing, alarming the Poison-type and Roxie.
"Koffing!" Roxie screamed.
"Koooooffiiiiiing!" Koffing wailed in pain as the electricity coursed through it.
"Break out of it!" Roxie yelled.
Koffing opened its eyes while still enduring the pain, the purple Pokémon glared at snapped, "Koffing!" When it did that, the electricity shrugged of its body.
"Wow, that's a strong defense," Ash raised an eyebrow.
"Pika," Pikachu landed on the ground and raised an eyebrow in surprise.
"Koffing," Koffing smirked while small sparks of electricity enveloped it.
Roxie chuckled and spoke, "Ash that was one sick move. Not only did you deliver a deadly blow to my Koffing, but you even left it paralyzed. If it weren't for its high Special Defense, this would have been over dude."
"There's more where that came from Roxie," Ash smiled confidently.
"K, you've left one out of my three Pokémon wounded, there's still a long way to go. You should be thankful the gym here allows you to use as many Pokémon as you please, because from here it gets sickly serious," Roxie pointed at Ash and performed a riff on her guitar.
The crowd surrounding them roared at the sound of Roxie's words and you could feel the ground almost shake. Roxie reached into her pocket and got out two Pokéballs, "Return Koffing," Roxie raised her Pokéball and a red beam shot out, returning Koffing.
"I didn't know she could switch Pokémon," Ash sounded confused while talking to himself.
"What's Roxie up to and why is she able to switch Pokémon?" May murmured,
"I thought gym leaders weren't allowed to do that," Iris also seemed puzzled.
"Apart from making a wise decision by switching Pokémon, Roxie is allowed to do that because Virbank Gym is one of the world's only gyms with a unique set of rules. Think about it, in this gym the challenger is allowed to use as many Pokémon as he pleases, leaving the gym leader a bit vulnerable so to make up for that, they took off that rule for the Virbank City Gym," Cilan stated, explaining the rules of the Virbank Gym to them.
"That's a weird twist," Iris commented on the unorthodox rules of the Virbank Gym.
"Koffing is paralyzed and in a bad state to battle right now. A fresh new Pokémon would be much wiser to use, let's see how Ash will respond," Cilan further stated, explaining Roxie's smart thinking.
"Let's rock em Scolipede!" Roxie threw her other Pokéball and from it emerged a very large centipede-like Pokémon.
"Scolipede," Ash looked at the tremendous foe in front of him. His gaze then focused on Pikachu, who was breathing heavily and looked like it could barely stand up, there's no other choice. "Pikachu, come back," Ash commanded.
Pikachu turned around in surprise while Roxie and Ash's friends raised their eyebrows. "Pikachu?" Pikachu asked.
"Scolipede looks too strong for you to battle in the condition you're in pal. Take a break and I'll use another Pokémon," Ash told his small friend.
"Interesting," Roxie crossed her arms and smiled slyly.
"Pika," Pikachu nodded and ran back to Ash to stand beside him.
"I wonder what Pokémon Ash is going to use now," Iris wondered.
"If I were Ash I'd choose any but Snivy, Roxie shouldn't be taken lightly," Cilan crossed his arms.
May and Victini merely watched, they were confident that any Pokémon Ash would choose, would be a good choice.
Ash brought out a Pokéball and grinned, "Scraggy, let's go!" The raven-haired teen threw the Pokéball.
A white beam came out and took the shape of Scraggy. "Scraggy," Scraggy stood proudly in front of Scolipede, not fazed one bit by the superior-sized Pokémon.
"Scraggy, eh let's see how this goes, no time to waste, Scolipede, use Sludge Bomb!" Roxie pointed at Scraggy and smirked.
Scolipede cried out powerfully and released a large shot of sludge at Scraggy. "Scraggy, dodge and use Headbutt!" Ash ordered.
"Scrag," Scrag slid away from the Sludge Bomb's trajectory. The Dark-type then rushed towards Scolipede with its head lowered. "Scraggy!" the small Pokémon shouted and jumped toward Scolipede with its head still down.
"Stop it with a rock hard Screech," Roxie smirked.
Scolipede took a defensive stance and let out an earsplitting screech that hurt everyone's ears, except for Roxie who merely chuckled. "Man, that's one loud Screech," Ash covered his ears along with Pikachu.
"This is madness, I can barely hear myself think," Mr. Gold complained and covered his ears like the rest of the audience.
"Scragggyyyyy," Scraggy stopped its attack midway and dropped to the ground in pain from the noise. The Dark-type covered its ears as best as it could to stop hearing the noise, but Screech proved much more powerful.
"Let's keep rocking it with Rock Tomb!" Roxie extended her arm forward with her palm opened while she used the other hand to perform her usual riff.
Silver sparkles formed in between Scolipede's horns and the sparkles expanded, forming into a silver orb of energy. The glow then faded out the orb, forming into a large gray boulder with a transparent silver glow. The orb rested in Scolipede's horns, and without a moment's waste, Scolipede screeched while throwing the boulder at Scraggy.
When Scolipede's Screech stopped, everyone focused their attention back on the battle and now they were seeing a large boulder being thrown. Scraggy immediately got up, although its eyes widened when it saw the incoming attack.
Ash grinded his teeth and said, "Scraggy, dodge it!"
"No you don't," Roxie smirked and before Scraggy could move away the rock hit its mark. Rock Tomb hit Scraggy and it kept charging forward, but eventually broke when it hit the steel wall.
When the boulder broke into small rocks from hitting the wall, Scraggy was shown pressed against the wall from the impact, but the Pokémon fell off instantly and landed on its knees. "Scrag scraggy scrag," Scraggy panted and looked up at Scolipede.
"Sludge Bomb!" Roxie kept her arm extended forward.
Scolipede roared and released the large shot of gunk at Scraggy. Ash gritted his teeth, but he knew he couldn't afford to lose and frowned, "Scraggy, dodge it as quick as possible!"
"Scraggy," Scraggy nodded, but before it could slide away, Sludge Bomb hit its mark.
The shot of sludge caused Scraggy to cry out in pain as a dust elevated into the air. "Scraggy!" Ash screamed with frustration.
"Scraaaaggy," Scraggy moaned with its body covered in sludge and dropped to the ground unconscious.
"One down, five to go," Roxie chuckled. Roxie's fans then roared with happiness as Roxie stood her ground confidently.
"Scraggy got taken down in two hits!" Iris exclaimed.
"Roxie has a spicy strategy under her belt, her main tactic is weakening the Pokémon with decent moves and then adding the final touch with a high-powered attack," Cilan said, the seriousness in his voice showed that the green-haired teen knew Ash would have a hard time with Roxie.
"Ash still has four Pokémon in good shape to battle Roxie, this is still far from over," May spoke with a stern tone, the brunette still had full confidence in Ash and had no doubt in her mind that he'd win.
"Vi," Victini looked May and then at Ash, the Fire-type shared May's confidence and the invisible Pokémon grinned, "Victini."
"C'mon Ash lad, you have to get it together," Mr. Gold gritted his teeth from nervousness.
Ash returned Scraggy and smiled at its Pokéball, "You fought great Scraggy, take a good rest." With that said, Ash put away Scraggy and brought out another Pokéball, "Alright, Tranquil get out here!"
Tranquil appeared in front of Ash, cooing and flapping its wings confidently, Roxie couldn't help but chuckle though, "Don't think this is going to get any easier simply because Tranquil has the advantage."
"That's the last thought on my head, but Tranquil's speed and ability to fly will help me a lot for this one," Ash grinned with poise at the rock star.
"Scolipede, let's give show these two how sick we really are, use Sludge Bomb!" Roxie screamed with her arm extended to the right.
"Tranquil, let's counter with Air Cutter!" Ash pumped his fist.
Tranquil smirked and flapped its wings viciously until a blue-shaped "X" formed and the bird released it by flapping its wings one more time. Air Cutter blasted towards Sludge Bomb at an incredible pace and slashed right threw it like paper, canceling out the attack.
"Whoa," Roxie lifted an eyebrow.
Air Cutter continued to charge at Scolipede, but the Bug-type remained firm in its position. "Why isn't Scolipede moving, it's going to take a lot of damage if it doesn't," Iris became frustrated from the confusion she felt.
Ash himself wasn't sure what Roxie had planned, but remained calm and let Air Cutter charge. Suddenly, when Air Cutter was only a few feet away, Roxie chuckled and pointed at Air Cutter, "Cancel it out with Rock Tomb."
Scolipede screeched and released a large boulder to counter. The clash between the two attacks caused a large explosion and produced a cloud of smoke between the two Pokémon, causing both trainers to have a hard time seeing, or at least Ash. "Toxic now!" Roxie shouted.
"Huh?" Ash's eyes widened with surprise, not being able to react in time, the only thing he saw was a purple beam of sludge shoot out of the black cloud and blast Tranquil.
Tranquil squealed when the attack hit her and pushed the Flying-type toward the ground, Ash gritted his teeth and yelled, "Tranquil!"
"Tran," Tranquil gritted its teeth and struggled to get on its feet, when the cloud of smoke disappeared, the bird could only glare at Scolipede. Between the bird's eyes and beak, there was a visible purple mark.
"Looks like this song's over dude, give it up," Roxie smirked and then chuckled,
"Tranquil, what's wrong?" Ash saw the purple mark and purple sparks course through its body.
"Tranquil's been poisoned by Toxic, this isn't good," Iris grinded his teeth in frustration.
"Tranquil's energy is being slowly depleted because of that attack, Ash has to do something fast!" Iris screamed, realizing how critical this battle had become with Tranquil poisoned.
May could only bite her lip as she worried for Ash and Tranquil, the pair just couldn't afford to lose. Victini also showed concern when he saw his frustrated "papa" and the weak Tranquil struggling to stay on its feet.
"Your Pokémon got poisoned kid, in time, because of Toxic; Tranquil will no longer be able to rock on. Sick move don't ya think?" Roxie smirked at Ash, whose confidence was quickly fading.
Ash glared at Roxie and then looked at Tranquil, who kept moaning in pain, "Tranquil, I don't think you can battle anymore, you have to come back," the raven-haired teen told the bird.
"Tran!" Tranquil snapped at Ash and smirked at the auburn-eyed teen.
"You really want to keep going?" Ash questioned it.
"Tran," Tranquil nodded and turned back to Scolipede, smirking with confidence.
Ash saw Tranquil's gesture and grinned confidently as well, "Well then, let's keep at it, use Quick Attack!"
Tranquil raised its wings high and dashed towards Scolipede with great speed. "Tranquil is persistent, I'll give it that, but let's see if it can take a rock hard move, Screech!" Roxie screamed and played a riff on her guitar.
Scolipede raised its head high and began to screech, provoking the same reaction as before from everyone, but much to everyone's amazement, Tranquil kept darting forward. Ash's face became surprised, but then turned into a joyful one and yelled, "Let Scolipede have it Tranquil!" The black-haired teen shouted as best as he could so Tranquil could hear it.
May, Cilan, Iris, and the rest of the audience continued to be amazed, but most of all Roxie, "What?! No freaking way!" the rock star exclaimed.
Tranquil then smirked at Scolipede and hit against the giant Bug-type, sending the centipede-like Pokémon crashing toward the ground. The Quick Attack stopped Scolipede's Screech and everyone had their eyes widened as Scolipede attempted to get back up. "Scolipede get it together, get up!" Roxie demanded.
"Air Cutter before it can get up!" Ash pointed at Scolipede.
"Tran!" Tranquil raised its wings high and flapped, unleashing the mighty attack. Before even being able to react, Roxie and Scolipede were only able to spot the incoming attack and the next moment, the Flying-type move bashed Scolipede back down toward the ground.
Scolipede squealed in pain as it felt its body lose balance and Air Cutter cut through its tough skin, making its wounds burn because of the energy.
Tranquil smirked, but all of a sudden, the purple sparks from Toxic coursed through its body. The bird's eyes widened and in the next second, Tranquil just dropped to the ground unconscious.
Roxie's alarmed expression turned into a calmer one when she saw the event transpire and Scolipede slowly got back up on its feet, having a very proud gaze in its eyes.
"What just happened?" Ash raised an eyebrow in confusion.
Roxie crossed her arms and smiled arrogantly, "Toxic sucked away the last of your Tranquil's energy, that's what happened, thus rendering it unable to battle."
Before the host could even declare Tranquil unable to battle though, Roxie's fans cheered for her second win in a row, while May, Iris, Cilan, Victini, and Axew sat with disappointment.
Ash grinded his teeth and returned Tranquil without a word. The auburn-eyed teen took a look at the bird's Pokéball and smiled, "Thanks Tranquil, you did a great job out there."
"I gotta say Ash, your Tranquil rocked my world when it was able to endure Scolipede's Screech and manage to hit Scolipede. I hope I see more of that through this battle, perhaps you're not as weak as I originally thought," Roxie smirked and crossed her arms.
"That battle is definitely going on the film, no doubt," Mr. Gold chuckled and smiled, crossing his arms with confidence.
Ash smirked and replied, "This next Pokémon is going to end your Scolipede's winning streak though, get out here Tepig!" the messy-haired teen summoned his Fire-type.
"Interesting, let's brace ourselves Scolipede," Roxie chuckled and looked at Scolipede, who nodded in return.
"Tepig!" Tepig smiled when it came out of its Pokéball, but when it saw Scolipede in front it, the pig instantly became serious and took an offensive stance.
"Another Pokémon with an advantage, Ash has to win for sure this time," Iris clenched her fists because of the angst.
"Indeed, if not he'll only have three Pokémon left and it's most likely that this could end with a sour taste in our mouths," Cilan added to what Iris said.
"Tini?" Victini looked up at May with worried eyes.
Even though May couldn't see the Fire-type she could tell that it got worried for Ash and hugged it tighter, "Don't worry Victini, papa will pull through, he always does," the brunette grinned.
Victini then looked back at the battlefield and watched in silence.
"Let's rock this one! Scolipede let's use a Sludge Bomb volley!" Roxie extended her arm forward.
Scolipede roared proudly and shot out multiple balls of gunk at Tepig. "Tepig, counter Sludge Bomb with Ember now!" Ash ordered loudly.
"Teeeepiiiiig!" Tepig shouted and sneezed out the fiery attack.
Ember blasted through the field and caused a series of small explosions when it collided with the sludge barrage aiming towards Tepig. Small clouds of dust were made, but the abundant amount of dust clouds was enough to cover the midfield part of the battlefield.
"Charge at Scolipede with Flame Charge!" Ash punched his fist forward when he made the command.
"Tepig tepig tepig tepig," Tepig braced itself and then jetted off like a fiery bullet through the dust.
The bright flames exposed Tepig's location in the dust, giving Roxie and Scolipede an advantage and the rock star wasted no time in reacting, "Scolipede, take that pig down with Toxic or Sludge Bomb, let's show it how sick your truly are!" The musician then played a loud riff on her guitar to encourage her Poison-type.
"Tepig, use all the speed you've got!" Ash shouted, sweating from the intensity of the battle.
"Tepig tepig tepig," Tepig repeated as its flames became larger.
The Fire-type nimbly dodged every Toxic shot and Sludge Bomb coming its way by swerving, sliding, jumping, and dashing. Each attack was like an incoming rocket, but Tepig's phenomenal speed had the clear advantage.
The audience's jaws all dropped with shock while Ash's friends all cheered with joy. "You getting this?" one of Mr. Gold's cameraman asked his fellow cameraman.
"Every bit," the cameraman responded, focusing his camera on Tepig's every move.
"Let em have it!" Ash pumped his fist into the air.
"Teeeeepiiiiig!" Tepig huffed and lunged at Scolipede, nimbly dodging an incoming Sludge Bomb.
The flaming bullet bashed against Scolipede with all its heat, making the Bug-type squeal in pain as it flew backwards and crashed against the rocky floor. "Finish this with Ember!" Ash extended his arm to the right.
While still in midair, Tepig back flipped and snorted out Ember. The small flames charged at the knocked down Scolipede, making it squeal even harder than before. The flames scorched the centipede Pokémon's skin, leaving the Poison-type roasted and unconscious.
"Tepig," Tepig huffed and landed on the ground, grinning proudly.
"That was sick," Roxie became flabbergasted by what just happened.
The people in the audience were silent, whispering and mumbling to themselves about what just occurred. "Nice one Ash!" Iris jumped off her seat and fist pumped.
"That was spicy, yet delicious mix you pulled!" Cilan stood up and shouted.
Everyone in the crowd looked at the pair as if they were crazy, but they were oblivious to it. The duo caught Ash's attention and the boy waved at them, laughing and smiling happily. He then looked at May, who sat their quietly and winked at him while Ash winked back, he may have won the battle, but the war isn't over.
"Completely sick Ash, you rocked this battle for sure," Roxie smirked at Ash.
Ash smiled and responded, "That was nothing."
"Let's see if you can keep that rocking spirit on with my next Pokémon though," Roxie chuckled and returned Scolipede, the rock star smirked at it and spoke, "You rocked hard Scolipede, get some rest."
She then got out another Pokémon and threw it without a word. From it emerged Koffing, "Koffing," the Pokémon hovered over the field smiling, but electricity still coursed through its body.
"Are you sure you want to use Koffing now?" Ash lifted his eyebrow while asking, not sure what Roxie intended to do with her injured Pokémon.
"Course, but this time Koffing's going to rock it out, right Koffing?" Roxie smirked at her Pokémon and threw at Cheri Berry.
"Koff," Koffing opened its jaw wide and the berry went its mouth. The Poison-type chewed on it happily and suddenly, its sparks disappeared.
"You've got to be kidding," Iris frowned and clenched her fists.
"That berry just healed Koffing from its paralysis, this isn't good for Ash," May gritted her teeth, not expecting Roxie to do that.
"A very smart and unpredictable tactic, looks like Roxie and Koffing are coming back harder than ever," Cilan sat and remained calm while stating.
Ash grinded his teeth and mumbled, "Now I'm starting to understand why everyone says Roxie is strong, she's not just a gym leader, she's a tough one."
"Pikachu," Pikachu caught Ash's attention and the boy looked down at it.
"Pikachu, you want to battle Koffing again?" Ash inquired.
Pikachu nodded and Ash smiled, "Of course you will pal, but let Tepig have a go at it first, I'll switch him when the time is right ok?"
"Pikapi pika," Pikachu bobbed its head and looked at Koffing, after losing the first part of their battle in the mouse's mind; the little Electric-type became determined to make a comeback when Roxie would call it back.
"Koffing, Sludge Bomb!" Roxie instructed.
"Tepig, dodge and use Tackle!" Ash commanded.
"Kooooffiiiing!" Koffing exclaimed and released the large shot of sludge at the fire pig.
"Tepig!" Tepig ran straight toward Koffing and easily dodged the Sludge Bomb while jumping over it.
As the fire starter drew closer Roxie began to smirk and the moment Tepig jumped up to tackle Koffing she had something else to counter with, "Stop Tepig's charge with Gyro Ball."
Centimeters away from hitting Koffing, Tepig's eyes widened when it saw Koffing spinning rapidly and then charging at it. The next moment, the Poison-type hit its mark and Tepig's Tackle rebounded off the purple Pokémon and Tepig got sent flying by Gyro Ball.
"Teeeeepiiiiiig," Tepig wailed as it flew backwards.
"Don't give it a chance to recover, use Clear Smog," Roxie crossed her arms as Koffing released the white-colored gas attack.
Clear Smog shot Tepig and brought it crashing down to the ground like a bird hit with a stone. "Tepiiiiig!" Tepig cried when it hit the ground, causing some dust to rise.
"Is it over yet?" Roxie chuckled while she asked.
"Te…tepig," Tepig groaned as it got up, but the pig got up in the end and glared angrily at Koffing.
"Not yet, Tepig's making his final stand," Ash smiled slyly at Roxie.
"Shame, guess I'll put Tepig down for this time with Koffing's most powerful attack. Koffing, let's rock this stage with a Gyro Sludge Bomb volley!" Roxie performed a loud riff on her guitar and the audience roared wildly when Roxie announced her next attack.
"Bring on whatever you got, we're not going to lose, Tepig, use Flame Charge!" Ash extended his arm to the right as he exclaimed.
"Teeeeepiiiiiiig tepig tepig tepig tepig," Tepig braced itself once more and became enveloped in a violent fire. Then lunged its body forward and dashed off like a fiery bullet.
"That won't be enough this time," Roxie smirked. Suddenly, Koffing began to spin like it normally would while using Gyro Ball, but this time it shot out a barrage of Sludge Bomb in all directions and at an incredible speed, it was almost like a machine gun.
Try as he might, Tepig had a harder time dodging Sludge Bomb this and narrowly dodged the sludge attacks. "Tepig tepig tepig," Tepig panted as he slid from side to side trying to avoid any incoming sludge.
"Tepig, full speed, you can do it!" Ash encouraged his pig Pokémon.
Tepig began to sweat from exhaustion and his legs began to tire out. As he kept running, Tepig had a harder time dodging each sludge bullet and in the end, when Tepig leaped forward, a Sludge Bomb shot the pig's legs and made the pig's body flip as more Sludge Bombs came and shot Tepig multiple times like a sentry gun.
The massive quantity of Sludge Bomb shot Tepig toward the ground and made the pig cry out in pain like Pikachu before him, although this time was much worse. When the dust cleared and Koffing's assault stopped, a Tepig with swirl eyes got revealed, "Teeepiiig," Tepig moaned.
"Tepig is unable to battle, Koffing is the winner!" the host declared and Roxie's fans cheered for the rock star once again.
"Tepig return," Ash recalled his Pokémon and smiled at it, "Great job pal, you did amazing."
"You're down to three, and I still have two. I'm telling you, things don't get any easier from here," Roxie crossed her arms.
"I'd say the same about you, but I'll let Pikachu do that for me," Ash grinned confidently and at the sound of its name, Pikachu leaped onto the battlefield, still covered in injuries, but still had the fighting spirit to keep going.
"No surprise you're using Pikachu again, but let's twist this up a little," Roxie chuckled and snapped her fingers.
All of a sudden, the ground began to shake and a platform behind Roxie began to rise from underneath the ground. On top of it were a female guitarist and a male drummer with their respective instruments. The pair seemed mesmerized in their playing, producing the rhythm of a rock song.
Roxie reached for a microphone near the female guitarist and spoke, "Ladies and gentlemen, today, you're going to witness a rare occasion where we hold a battle as my fellow band mates play some rock hard music for us. I hope you enjoy the show!"
Roxie's fans all roared harder than ever before, causing the whole place to shake from the loud noise. Ash frowned at Roxie and responded, "This isn't a concert you know."
"I do that, but people love 'Koffing and the Toxics', so we're going to give them the satisfaction they need for being such great fans," Roxie smirked at Ash, her comment making the crowd go even wilder.
"Whatever," Ash had a hard time hearing himself think with all this noise.
"Things are going to get chaotic with this," Cilan commented.
"That's not fair, Roxie's fans are like 99% of the people here, how are we supposed to support Ash with all this noise," Iris clenched her fists and began to sweat a little, with Axew feeling the same amount of frustration as her.
May and Victini also had the same intense looks and May bit her lip even harder, wishing there were a way to help Ash in his endeavor.
"Koffing, let's use Will-O-Wisp," Roxie began to play on her electric guitar.
"Koffing," Koffing replied and formed small blue flames around it and shot them at Pikachu.
"Pikachu, dodge it with Agility, then boost up your speed and hit Koffing with Quick Attack!" Ash extended his arm forward.
"Pikaaaaa," Pikachu braced itself and then jetted off, dodging Will-O-Wisp with outstanding ease. The blue flames didn't stand a chance on hitting Pikachu.
"Sick speed Ash, but that won't be enough to beat Koffing," Roxie chuckled,
"I know that's why we have one other move up our sleeve. Pikachu, leap toward Koffing and use Double-Edge!" Ash punched his fist at the air in front of him.
"Piiikaaa!" Pikachu dodged the last of the Will-O-Wisp and lunged at Koffing The mouse's body became surrounded in a golden aura and left a trail of bright yellow energy behind it.
Roxie smirked and spoke, "Counter with Gyro Ball."
Before Pikachu could slam Koffing though, the purple Pokémon began to spin and used Gyro Ball. When Pikachu hit Koffing, the mouse's attack was unsuccessful and got sent flying back with Gyro Ball.
"Pika!" Pikachu cried out as it flew backwards and landed on the ground.
Koffing then stopped its motion and smirked down at Pikachu. Ash gritted his teeth and clenched his fists, after all that speed and power, Gyro Ball was still stronger, since it's a Steel-type there's no way a Normal-type move could have gotten through it, we need to come up with a better tactic so we can end this,…wait that's it!
Pikachu groaned and slowly got back up on its feet. "Pikachu, let's repeat the same strategy as before, this time with more power alright?"
Pikachu looked at his friend with an unsure look but Ash smiled back, "Trust me on this one."
Pikachu seemed uncertain, but then took a look at his friend's grin and nodded. The small mouse turned back Koffing and glared at it. "Do you really want to make the same mistake again Ash? If Pikachu gets hit with Gyro Ball one more time, it's a guaranteed knockout."
"We'll see about that, Pikachu go!" Ash instructed.
"Koffing let's save them the trouble and just finish them with our Gyro Sludge Bomb volley," Roxie smirked.
Koffing nodded and repeated the same attack that defeated Tepig. The Sludge Bomb got launched at the same astounding speed as before, but this time, its opponent was much faster. With the combined speed of Agility and Quick Attack, Pikachu nimbly dodged each Sludge Bomb, although it almost got caught a few times.
"Pi pika pi!" Pikachu flipped and swerved all over the place, panting and sweating, but the mouse still had the energy to keep going.
Roxie lifted an eyebrow and spoke, "Amazing, I've never seen anyone handle Koffing's most powerful combination attack with as much control as your Pikachu, rock on," The white-haired rock star smiled.
The audience became amazed once again with Ash and his Pokémon, not believing their eyes that not even Koffing's most notable offense attack could stop the mouse. When Pikachu got close enough, it leaped into the air and charged at Koffing, forming the same gold aura from Double-Edge.
Roxie merely crossed her arms as Koffing used Gyro Ball, knowing Pikachu's attack would just fail again, until Ash spoke, "Now power up with Volt Tackle!"
"What?!" Roxie's eyes widened.
Pikachu's face formed a smirk and its body became enveloped in powerful yellow aura, making the mouse look like an electric-charged bullet. "Pikachuuuuu!" Pikachu charged full force and bashed against Koffing, producing a powerful swirling tower of electricity from the collision.
The tower then exploded and electricity and smoke dispersed everywhere while Koffing and Pikachu shot out to their respective sides. Both Pokémon had swirl eyes, indicating that both were unconscious.
"Koffing and Pikachu are unable to battle, this battle ends in a tie!" the host announced.
The audience was still in a state of shock after seeing the illuminating electric tower produced from the collision between Volt Tackle and Gyro Ball, they were all dead silent, even Iris and Cilan while May let out a deep breath of relief.
"Uhhhh…did you guys film that?" Mr. Gold mumbled to his cameramen.
One of them displayed a video of it through their cameras and showed just how epic the attack collision had been, from the way the video seemed to shake; it appeared that the attack had also caused a vibration in the ground.
"Terrific," Mr. Gold plainly stated and watched with silence, although his eyes showed that even the famous director had been amazed by the display of power.
"Pikachu, are you ok buddy?" Ash lifted his partner up and looked down at it.
"Pi," Pikachu smiled at Ash softly.
"You did amazing, thanks so much pal, you should rest now," the auburn-eyed teen gave his friend a sweet gaze and walked back to his position.
"You rocked hard Koffing, get some rest," Roxie recalled her Koffing.
"Ash, I gotta hand it to you, ever since you used Tranquil; you've done nothing, but amaze me. You rock hard bro, but I'm getting tired of the fireworks, it's time to wrap this up, it was fun, but your time in this gym is over, go Garbodor!" Roxie spoke sternly and threw out her last Pokémon.
"Not if my Pokémon have something to say about it," Ash held Pikachu with one arm threw his Pokéball and the other.
From Ash's Pokéball emerged Snivy, standing arrogantly in front of the audience. "Has Ash lost it, Snivy is going to get creamed against a Poison-type!" Iris shouted.
"Maybe not, Snivy is an exceptional battler, Ash might just win this," Cilan placed his fingers under his chin and prepared to analyze the battle.
May looked up from the battlefield to the screen and saw Roxie only had one Pokémon left while Ash still had two, giving him the advantage, but since all of Roxie's previous Pokémon took down at least two, she had a reason to worry.
"Garbodor," Garbodor appeared on the stage, the large Pokémon glared down at Snivy and towered over it with an intimidating pose.
Snivy simply looked at Garbodor and chuckled, irritating the Poison-type. "Garbodor, let's give Snivy a warm welcome with Venoshock," Roxie smirked.
"Gar!" Garbodor yelled and raised its arms equipped with pipes and released a green poison at Snivy.
"Snivy, dodge with Vine Whip!" Ash extended his arm to the left.
"Sni," Snivy closed its eyes and pushed itself up with Vine Whip, allowing it to dodge Venoshock.
"Sick," Roxie lifted an eyebrow when she Snivy in midair.
"Now use Attract!" Ash shouted.
"Sniiiivyyy," Snivy looked down at Garbodor and winked at it, releasing pink energy hearts down at the garbage Pokémon.
Unable to react in time, Roxie and Garbodor became helpless with the incoming Attract. The hearts enveloped Garbodor, but when they tried to close in on the Poison-type the hearts faded.
"It failed!" Cilan got up his seat, shocked by the result.
"No, now how are we suppose to stop Garbodor," Ash murmured, gritting his teeth.
Pikachu jumped off his arms and couldn't believe how bad this just became. Roxie chuckled and spoke, "Our turn, Garbodor, rock it with Hyper Beam!"
"Bodor!" Garbodor opened its jaw wide and unleashed the attack.
"Snivy, counter Hyper Beam with Leaf Storm, fast!" Ash screamed at the top of his lungs.
"Sniiiiiivvvvvyyyyy," Snivy's eyes widened when it saw the powerful red beam aiming its way and unleashed a barrage of green energy leaves to counter.
The powerful attacks clashed with each other, but ended in a violent midair explosion, causing Snivy to fly backwards violently from the impact.
"Snivy, stop your fall with Vine Whip!" Ash instructed.
As Snivy fell down, it extended its vines and slowed down the fall, gently landing on the ground unharmed. Its small body had a few wounds on it, but nothing serious.
"You got yourself a close call Ash, but this is far from over," Roxie began to quicken the pace of her guitar playing and so did her band mates.
"Garbodor needs to recharge from Hyper Beam, we're going to hit our mark before you know it," Ash grinned confidently and then spoke again, "Snivy, use your vines to launch yourself close to Garbodor and use Leaf Blade!"
"Sni," Snivy nodded and used its long vines to wrap itself around Garbodor and then launched itself close enough to the poison giant like a slingshot.
"Whoa, that's a rocking trick," Roxie commented.
When Snivy got near Garbodor it spun around it slashed the trash Pokémon with its glowing green tail. "Follow it up with Vine Whip!" Ash ordered.
"Snivy!" Snivy frowned at Garbodor and quickly after using Leaf Blade, it retracted its vines a bit and slapped Garbodor across the face twice, leaving red spots on its cheeks.
"Grab it!" Roxie screamed.
Suddenly, before Snivy could land on the floor and move away from Garbodor, the Poison-type's left arm reached for Snivy and crushed the Grass-type in its left hand.
"Snivy!" Ash yelled.
"Sniiiiiii!" Snivy squealed in pain as Garbodor crushed it in its hand.
"You got a little too close to Garbodor, Ash, now you're going to see just how strong Garbodor really is, throw it and finish this with Gunk Shot!" Roxie extended her left arm forward.
"Gaaaarbooooodoooor!" Garbodor roared and threw Snivy like a pebble. It then placed its hands close together and formed a large garbage bag and launched it at the snake Pokémon.
The garbage bag hit Snivy head on and sent it flying against the wall with the impact causing a large metallic noise since the wall was made of steel. The garbage bag and Snivy dropped to the ground together, when Snivy landed it was clearly unconscious.
"Snivy is unable to battle, Garbodor wins!" the host announced, provoking a loud roar from the audience, having fully recovered from the battle between Koffing and Pikachu.
"Snivy return," Ash returned Snivy and grinned at Snivy's Pokéball before putting it away, "Snivy, you couldn't have done better. You've earned a good rest."
Ash then brought out another Pokémon, but before he could throw it he got interrupted by Pikachu, "Pika pikachu."
"I hope so too pal, but in the end, I know he won't let me down," Ash looked at his Pokéball.
"Ash is up to his last Pokémon," Iris said with a serious tone.
"And we all know who that is," Cilan stated.
"Yeah, the Pokémon that'll win Ash's fourth gym badge," May looked at her friends with a confident smile and soon, Cilan and Iris formed their own smiles, having confidence in Ash and his other Pokémon.
"Oshawott, get out here!" Ash released his sixth and final Pokémon.
Oshawott shot out of the Pokéball and landed in a prideful manner on the battlefield, "Oshawott," the Pokémon smiled arrogantly and opened its eyes, but when it saw its opponents, all its bravery immediately flushed away.
"Gaaar," Garbodor glared at Oshawott.
"Oshawott osha," Oshawott quickly ran to Ash and hid behind his leg, shaking its arms frantically.
Ash looked down at Oshawott and grinned sheepishly, "Oshawott, c'mon, this isn't the first time you've fought someone much bigger than you, you can do this, I believe in you."
"Oshaaaa," Oshawott stared up at Ash with a frightened look and shook its head sideways in frustration.
Their conversation was quickly cut by Roxie though, "You know Ash. All of your Pokémon have impressed me today, from Scraggy to Pikachu, because they all fought their hardest and showed a great amount of bravery. To be honest though, your last Pokémon is a disappointment, is it always such a coward? No wonder you saved it for last."
Ash grinded his teeth and glared at Roxie, "Hey, Oshawott is anything but a coward! He may be a little stubborn, in the end though, he would fight as hard and as brave as any of my other Pokémon, don't underestimate him!"
"Whatever, are we gonna battle or you gonna forfeit or what?" Roxie crossed her arms, gazing at Ash sternly.
Ash looked down at Oshawott and sighed, the auburn-eyed teen then flashed a soft smile at it and spoke, "It's alright Oshawott. I'm not going to make you battle if you don't want to." The boy then lowered his head and hid his eyes under his hat.
Pikachu looked up at Ash and then Oshawott with a disappointed gaze. "Pi…." The mouse lowered its ears.
"What, is he going to quit just like that?!" Iris shouted in anger.
"The well-being of his Pokémon seem more important than the battle Iris, you have to let him be," Cilan sighed, disappointed at the result as well, but supported his friend's choice.
"No look at Oshawott!" May exclaimed and the other two turned their attention back to Oshawott.
"Oshawott!" Oshawott jumped onto the battlefield with great pride in the otter's soul.
Pikachu and Ash's heads lifted and looked surprised, "Oshawott, you're going to battle?" The auburn-eyed teen's eyes glistened with happiness.
"Osha osha oshawott," Oshawott smirked and placed his hand over its heart.
Ash and Pikachu smiled with joy while Iris and Cilan's eyes shined with delight as well. I told ya so, May giggled as she communicated with herself in her mind while Victini cheered in her arms.
"Well whaddaya know," Roxie smirked.
"I knew that boy wouldn't let me down, crew, film all you can of this last battle pronto!" Mr. Gold ordered and his cameramen quickly positioned for filming.
"Great Oshawott, let's win that badge," Ash smiled at his friend.
"Pikapi pi!" Pikachu encouraged his friend.
"Osh," Oshawott smirked at Garbodor, who continued to glare down at it.
"Let's make this the final jam, rock it sick!" Roxie began to play a very punk rock song and confetti shot out from the ceiling while the entire crowd cheered happily.
"Right, Oshawott, give Garbodor a taste of your Water Gun!" Ash extended his arm to the left while grinning cheerfully.
"Counter with Venoshock!" Roxie shouted.
Within seconds the attacks collided and both canceled each other out, leaving a muddy pool of green-blue goo on the ground between their spots. "Garbodor get that otter," Roxie commanded.
"Oshawott, dodge as best as possible!" Ash instructed.
Garbodor's arms stretched out to grab Oshawott, but Oshawott's small size allowed it to avoid the lengthy arms. He jumped and flipped over the incoming arms. "Osha osh," Oshawott swerved and flipped the long arms.
"Oshawott, use Razor Shell and Water Gun to protect yourself!" Ash ordered.
Oshawott felt like it was in a jungle as it tried to avoid every time the arms tried to grab it. When the filthy Pokémon's arms got too close, Oshawott slashed it away with Razor Shell it sent it back with Water Gun.
The otter kept repeating this process for some time and amazed Roxie and her fans with all its quick moves, Oshawott proved to be fast and powerful against Garbodor's mighty abilities, but even otter began to tire out. Ash soon noticed and knew he had to come up with something, that's when he took note of the blue-green pool and then looked at Garbodor. He soon realized Garbodor's arms were twisting and turning everywhere, which would give him a clear advantage along with his other idea.
"Oshawott, get out of there and use your shell as a surf board on that colored pool so you can slip upwards toward Garbodor!" Ash commanded.
Oshawott water gunned away one of Garbodor's arms and when it heard Ash's command it noticed the pool just ahead and dashed as quick as possible to it. "No you don't, Garbodor, stop it!" Roxie demanded loudly.
As the Water-type ran to the pool, Garbodor's arms followed behind it until they stopped and revealed the knot its arms had made. "You've got to be kidding me," Roxie's grinded her teeth.
"That was your mistake, with Garbodor's arms tied up, you're left opened. Oshawott, let's go!" Ash told his otter Pokémon.
"Oshaaawoooootttt!" Oshawott exclaimed and took its shell from its belly while running. Seconds before touching the pool, Oshawott got on his shell and launched himself into the water while pushing his board against the contaminated pool with Water Gun. The pressurized water from Water Gun accelerated the speed of Oshawott's shellboard and allowed it to surf on the large goo pool that covered the entire midfield of the battlefield. When Oshawott got close enough to Garbodor it used more power on Water Gun and surfed upwards towards Garbodor.
"That's not even sick, that's insane," Roxie's jaw dropped when she saw Oshawott surf out of the pool and go upward like a bullet at Garbodor. The otter then shot at Garbodor with a blue water-like aura surrounding it and it became clear that the Pokémon was using Aqua Jet. The pressurized water bullet aiming at Garbodor would be deadly, but before Oshawott could hit Garbodor, it lifted its shell against Garbodor's face. When Aqua Jet hit Garbodor dead on in the face, it didn't stop there; when Oshawott's shell hit Garbodor it slid on his face in an upward direction and allowed Oshawott to reach a higher altitude while still on his shell.
The audience was in complete awe, even Iris, Cilan, May, Victini, and Axew. None of them, not even May, who had traveled with Ash for a long time had seen him ever do something like this.
Oshawott smirked at the upset Garbodor and did a handstand on its shell to show off. Sounds of camera flash could be heard thanks to the audience as Oshawott played with its shell in midair.
"Uhhhh…gentlemen?" Mr. Gold's jaw dropped.
"We got it," the cameramen filmed Oshawott very attentively.
Oshawott winked at the crowd and then grabbed its shell with its one hand and lowered down to Garbodor's face, turning his shell into Razor Shell. "Do it Oshawott!" Ash pumped his fist with joy, amazed by his Pokémon's ability to pull off those types of moves.
"Oshaaaaawooooott!" Oshawott flipped forward and slashed Garbodor across the face, making it squeal in pain.
As Oshawott fell, Ash made his next command, "Follow it up with a Water Gun!"
"Oshaaawooott!" Oshawott opened its mouth and released a stream of pressurized water, causing Garbodor great annoyance as the water pounded his face.
Roxie gritted her teeth and spoke, "Enough games, Garbodor, use Hyper Beam!"
Garbodor immediately faced Oshawott's Water Gun head on and unleashed Hyper Beam within a second. The Hyper Beam vaporized Water Gun and blasted Oshawott, sending it flying upward.
"Oshaaaawooott!" Oshawott cried out in pain, feeling extreme pain from the high-powered attack.
"Oshawott!" Ash, May, Cilan, and Iris said simultaneously.
Before the otter Pokémon could hit the ground though, Garbodor's hands caught them. When Ash and his friends saw this, their eyes widened, knowing exactly what this meant for Ash. Roxie smirked and spoke, "If you think Water Gun could hold off Garbodor, you were wrong Ash, now it's my turn to play. Garbodor, DoubleSlap Oshawott."
Garbodor tightened his grip on Oshawott with his right hand and crushed the little guy, making it squeal in pain. "Garbodor," Garbodor smirked at Oshawott and began to slap it across the face continuously with DoubleSlap.
"Oshawott…." Ash watched with Pikachu in horror as Oshawott's cheeks became red, Roxie wouldn't stop until Oshawott knocked out.
"Let's take a break Garbodor, switch to Venoshock," Roxie began to play a guitar solo and the crowd went wild.
Garbodor chuckled and aimed his pipes at Oshawott while still holding the otter. Oshawott weakly lifted its head up and saw the green poison shoot at him, shocking its entire body with pain.
"Roxie, Roxie, Roxie, Roxie!" the audience repeated loudly, cheering the gym leader's name and believed the match was hers.
What can I do now, Oshawott can't use Razor Shell with Garbodor crushing it and Water Gun isn't strong enough to do anything. Tackle isn't an option either and neither is Aqua Jet, he's trapped there, how are we supposed to get out of this one now? Ash thought in his head frantically while gritting his teeth.
"Vi v victini," Victini became concerned with how the battle had began to turn in Roxie's favor so quick and raised its arm, creating a small red sphere in front of it.
"Victini, no," May lowered the invisible Pokémon's hands, having no trouble locating them.
Victini gazed up at May with a sad look and spoke, "Victini vi…"
"I know you want to help Victini, but it wouldn't be fair to lend your power. Ash and Oshawott would like to win fair and square," May spoke as nicely as she could to Victini and smiled sweetly. "So we have to give them that, but I know another way we can help, a better one," the brunette smiled happily while Victini seemed puzzled.
"Follow me," May got up while talking to Victini.
"May, where you going?" Iris inquired.
"I'll be right back and I'm taking Victini with me," the sapphire-eyed girl informed her and Cilan.
The pair nodded and May ran off. "Why do you think she left now out of all moments?" Iris asked.
"Maybe she can't afford to see Ash lose like this," Cilan spoke solemnly.
"Oshawott, Water Gun!" Ash commanded.
Oshawott looked up at Garbodor who continued to shoot Venoshock at it, but before it could get hit again, Water Gun clashed with and canceled it out. "Oshawott," Oshawott panted and continued battling his opponent futilely.
"Ash, Oshawott has to be the most impressive of your Pokémon. Its determination and willpower is something else, but it'll need more than that to beat Garbodor. This battle is almost over, not even Water Gun can save your victory," Roxie chuckled.
"If Oshawott's not giving up, then neither am I!" Ash spat at Roxie.
"Pikachu pi!" Pikachu added to what Ash said.
"You are by far the greatest challenger I've ever had, it was fun, thank you for the rocking experience," Roxie smirked and winked at Ash, ""Garbodor, end this with DoubleSlap!"
"Garbodor!" Garbodor raised its left arm and began slapping Oshawott like before.
"No, Ash, c'mon, get it together lad, you have to win this, if you could make your Pokémon surf and make electric twisters, you can break out of this one," Mr. Gold clenched his fists and was sweating heavily.
In the audience, Cilan, Iris, and Axew watched with frustration, but their focus got cut by May's words, "Guys, I am going to need your help for this."
"Help for wha-," but Cilan's words got cut off by what he saw.
"We need to help Ash by encouraging him and Oshawott. With all these people chanting Roxie's name, I think it's hardly fair that no one is supporting Ash and as his friends and girlfriend we have to do something," May held some medium-sized drums in a stack, three for each.
"May, that's a brilliant idea!" Iris cheered.
"Are you sure about this?" Cilan seemed uneasy about making an awkward scene.
"Of course, now c'mon Cilan, here's your drum," Iris said while taking two of the three drums and handed one to Cilan along with the drumsticks.
"Before we starting playing though, there's one more thing I'd like to do, and it involves makeup," May told the other two.
"Makeup?!" Cilan's eyes widened.
"We'll have to do whatever it takes to help Ash, even if it includes makeup, plus it isn't what you're thinking so calm down," May frowned and sassed Cilan, forcing the green-haired teen to give into her demands.
"Then let's get started," Iris smiled from the excitement.
"Right," May nodded and dug into her fanny pack in search of her makeup.
"Oshawott…osha….oshawott," Oshawott slowly lowered its head with every slap, feeling itself about to give in to defeat.
"Folks, looks like this is the end of this match, and like usual, our champ and beloved Roxie is the victor," the host spoke through the microphone with happiness.
"Oshawott, you gave it your best, thank you," Ash spoke to Oshawott with a soft voice, it was clear to him that their defeat was now inevitable.
Oshawott smiled weakly at Ash and slowly lowered its head, "Folks, our victor is clearly the rock star Roxie!" the host announced.
Before Oshawott could give in or before the crowd could cheer or before Ash could surrender though, May's voice caught the attention of everyone, "Not if I can say anything about it!"
Roxie and the audience all turned to May and her friends standing in the audience. Mr. Gold became alarmed by what he saw and Ash and Pikachu seemed incredibly puzzled, "What are May, Iris, and Cilan doing?" Ash wondered.
"Pi," Pikachu also appeared confused.
The four of them had their faces painted, with May having fire markings on her face, Cilan had water marking, and Iris and Axew had lightning markings. The markings were painted over their eyes, cheeks, and forehead and they seemed excited, except for Cilan, who appeared nervous. She also held drums in front of them, with the straps of the drums hanging by their necks.
"Hey, what's the big deal brat, Roxie is about to win!" a man dressed like a biker gang member got up from behind May and yelled at her.
May felt her temper shoot out and turned around with the same fierce anger Ash had only seen once during May's visit to Sinnoh. "Listen punk, your rock star hasn't won until Oshawott is down and that isn't exactly the case now is it? So sit down, shut your mouth or I'll make sure you won't have kids!"
Iris, Cilan, Axew, and the rest of the people near May became startled by her red flaming eyes and fierce and violent tone, causing them to take a step away from. May turned around and her frightening demeanor transformed back into the innocent and sweet girl everyone knew. She smiled down at Ash with the sweetest smile she could pull off and spoke, "Ash, Iris, Cilan, Axew, and I believe in you. We know you can do it; you and Oshawott, the four of us believe in you, so don't give up. Hold on to that feeling, that feeling of determination and desire to win, the both of you have what it makes, just don't stop believing in yourself. Go for it."
Ash and Oshawott gazed at May and they felt themselves blush, but then as she spoke they felt their feelings of determination and confidence return. "Vi…." Victini's voice echoed through Ash's ear and Ash could feel something land on his shoulder, but it wasn't visible.
Ash turned to his side and smiled at the creature sitting next to him, "Victini v," the Pokémon smiled at Ash.
"Thanks you guys," Ash fought back the tears in his eyes as he looked at his friends, Victini, and his beloved.
"Pikachu," Pikachu grinned at Ash with joy.
"Play it guys!" May smiled and began to play the drums.
"Let's do it Axew!" Iris exclaimed.
"Axew!" Axew responded.
"Here goes," Cilan sighed.
Suddenly, the beat of the drums began to echo around the room and a recognizable tune began to play through the ears of the audience. The drums thundered through the room and everyone felt excitement crawling underneath their skin.
"Hey, that song is 'We Will Rock You'!" Roxie shouted happily.
"We Will Rock You?" Ash seemed confused.
"It's a hit song," Roxie informed Ash.
"Ash, we know you can do it!" May screamed.
"We know you can win it!" Iris shouted.
"It's in your hands Ash!" Cilan exclaimed.
"Axew ax axew!" Axew yelled.
"Let's join them!" Roxie shouted to the audience and to her band mates.
The crowd cheered thunderously and all of a sudden, Roxie and the Toxics began to play along with May, Cilan, and Iris. "We will, we will rock you," got repeated throughout the room and loud claps caused a feeling of excitement among the audience.
"Whoa, I've never had a gym battle like this one before," Ash raised an eyebrow.
As everyone continued to sing and play along to "We Will Rock You", Roxie pointed at Ash and spoke, "Ash, let's finish this!"
"I'm right with you!" Ash smiled confidently.
"Oshawott!" Oshawott grinned confidently at Garbodor while still being clutched.
"Gar." Garbodor glared at it.
The sound of the music and the words of their friends echoed through Oshawott and Ash's minds and they felt their spirits renewed for battle. "Oshawott, let's make this last battle a good one, use a full power Water Gun now!" Ash extended his arm forward joyfully,
"Garbodor, slam Oshawott against the ground by throwing it!" Roxie played her guitar out of control as the audience continued to sing and clap.
"Oshawott, use Water Gun to weaken your fall," Ash ordered.
Garbodor flung Oshawott to the ground, but Oshawott unleashed a Water Gun aiming downwards and the pressurized water sent Oshawott flying back into midair, preventing its fall.
"Clever, but not good enough, let's end this song with Hyper Beam!" Roxie exclaimed.
"Oshawott, fight back with Water Gun!" Ash extended his arm to the left.
"Garbodor!" Garbodor shot out the powerful red beam.
"Oshaaaaaaaaawooooooooooott!" Oshawott began to glow blue and moved its hands in a counterclockwise motion and a blue ball of water formed in between them. The ball of water flattened and turned into a circle. Then, a powerful jet of water got fired from the circle to counter Hyper Beam.
"That's no Water Gun," Roxie lifted her eyebrow.
"It's Hydro Pump!" Ash's eyes shined with amazement.
The two superpower attacks clashed with each other and entered a power struggle where both attacks tried to dominate each other. At moments it seemed as though Hydro Pump would overpower Hyper Beam, and at other moments vice versa.
All of a sudden, Oshawott's eyes began to glow blue and a blue aura enveloped its body. "What ability is that?" Iris stopped her drum playing and became alarmed by what she saw.
"That's Torrent, Oshawott's ability!" Cilan stopped as well and exclaimed.
"It increases the power of a Water-type's water moves when it is very weak, Oshawott is exerting as much as possible into the Hydro Pump," May stated, amazed by how brightly Oshawott glowed.
"Garbodor, turn it up!" Roxie ordered and Garbodor exerted more power into Hyper Beam, slightly overpowering Hydro Pump.
"No, not even Torrent is enough, how can we win now?" Ash analyzed his environment desperately until he focused his sight on Hydro Pump itself, bingo.
"Oshawott, use Aqua Jet to get into Hydro Pump and exert all the power you can!" Ash extended his arm to the right.
"Oshaaaaaaawoooooooooott!" Oshawott began to glow a dark blue and jetted into the stream of water.
Hydro Pump became even thicker and Oshawott could be seen darting off inside it. That's when Hydro Pump quickly began to overpower Hyper Beam and pushed it back within seconds.
"Gaaaaarboooooodoooooor!" Garbodor's eyes widened as the powerful Water-type attack combination overpowered Garbodor and sent it flying. The water erupted violently as Garbodor flew back and landed on the ground, no longer able to battle. It was at this moment that all the singing, clapping, and playing halted and the environment became silent.
Oshawott stopped glowing blue and dropped to the ground, but before it could hit the floor, Ash ran from his position and caught it, "Oshawott!" Ash greeted the Pokémon with a smile.
"Garbodor is unable to battle, the victor of this match is Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town!" the host declared joyfully.
When the host announced the victor no one in the audience could believe it, only Iris, Cilan, May, and Axew celebrated happily by dancing and jumping with each other like children. "What are you guys doing, this kid one won it fair and square, ladies and gentlemen, I want you to roar and give our winner, Ash Ketchum, a loud and powerful applause!" Roxie took the microphone from the host and spoke to the audience.
Roxie's fans quickly came to its sense and smiled happily, soon they began to applaud all at once, they whistled, screamed, and roared Ash's name throughout the entire room.
"I knew he could do it, I just you he could pull it off, he's everything I hoped for!" Mr. Gold jumped up and down cheerfully while his cameramen stared at him oddly.
"Victini vi victini," Victini flew around the room happily, remaining invisible, but was able to celebrate in papa's victory.
"He did it, my Ash did it!" May jumped up and down with Cilan and Iris, giggling with joy.
"Ash, catch!" Roxie called Ash and threw the Toxic Badge at him.
Ash barely caught it since he got caught off guard, but smiled happily with it in his hands. Oshawott leaped off Ash's left arm and danced with Pikachu joyfully. "Way to go Oshawott, I'm so proud of you, we couldn't have won if it hadn't been for you," Ash grinned at the Water-type.
"Osha oshawott!" Oshawott smiled happily despite its injuries.
"Sorry I went so rough on your Pokémon, it's been a long time since I've had a battle that tough and in the end you earned your victory Ash. You are much stronger than I could've imagined. Congrats," Roxie smiled at Ash.
"Thanks Roxie, but I couldn't have done it without my Pokémon," Ash smiled down at his Pokémon and smiled.
Ash grinned at the badge in his hand and raised it in the air, "Alright, I got the Toxic Badge!"
"Pipikachu!" Pikachu leaped into the air joyfully.
"Oshawott!" Oshawott jumped alongside Pikachu.
Ash lowered his badge, away from the sunlight and smiled at his friends walking beside him, "I still can't believe I've got my fourth badge."
"You've earned it," Iris smiled.
"Ax axew," Axew beamed.
"Indeed, congrats on your sweet victory," Cilan grinned.
"Pikapi pika," Pikachu sat on Ash's right shoulder, smiling at his best friend as well.
"I couldn't be more proud of my Ashy," May wrapped herself around Ash's arm and pecked him on the cheek sweetly.
"Victini vi," Victini, now visible to the gang sat on Ash's other shoulder and hugged his neck.
Ash began to blush red from the affection and grinned sheepishly, "You guys are the best."
As they walked for a bit, a thought came through Ash's mind, "Although I do wish we could've talked to Mr. Gold after all that. I wanted to ask how the filming went."
"Supposedly, he left in a hurry. No surprise since movie producers often have a tight schedule," Cilan explained to Ash.
"We'll see him again someday though," May stated, still holding onto Ash.
"And I can't wait to see the movie on the big screen," Iris added.
"Well, now that that's over with. We still have some missions to complete and getting you to compete in a contest and win your next ribbon, May," Ash looked at his beloved with a sweet smile.
May returned her gesture and with one arm still wrapped around Ash, May used the other to make a fist and spoke with confidence, "You bet; now it's my turn to shine and I can't wait."
Ash and the others admired May's fiery determination and continued walking toward wherever adventure awaited them.
Ok this chapter is simplistic in overall concept but I don't know happened. I guess I got a little too creative although it is very different from typical gym battles. Hope you enjoyed it anyway, once again I apologize for the length and since I was really tired and sick while typing this I'm sure there tons of minor to major grammar errors and such. Still, hope you liked it, stick around to see May compete for her ribbon and all the other challenges these guys have waiting for them. Till next time!