The Ultimate Challenge
Chapter-3
The Rematch: Part I
NEW CHAPTER! Finally!
Yeah I know, I'm late, but my schedule is very erratic, and since I'm currently on thin ice with my parents due to recent test scores, writing was on the down low, but I'm finally done with the first part of this battle.
Now, enjoy
Wyndon Stadium, Galar
"Let's go, Chesnaught!"
"I choose you, Sirfetch'd!"
Out of Alain's pokeball, a bipedal, mammalian pokemon with some plant-like features let out a challenging roar. It had fluffy white fur on its belly and fringing its face like a beard. On top of its head was a plate of beige armour, similar to a helmet. It possessed a prominent domed, armour-like shell similar to that of a chestnut. The armour was beige with four large spines jutting out of the back. The armour was trimmed with red and green bands, with green on the outermost edge. There is an additional spine protruding from the armour over each of Chesnaught's shoulders, which were connected by a green breastplate. The top surfaces of the tail and arms were protected by green armour, and each arm had two small spines. It had three brown, clawed digits on its hands and feet.
In front of it, stood Sirfetch'd, an avian that resembled a white duck, standing no taller than its pre-evolved form and retaining its yellow beak, legs, webbed feet, brown eyes, black eyebrow-like marking, and its stubby tail. It had a crest on its head, consisting of three feathers standing upright. It carried a massive leek in two parts, wielding the long, sharpened stalk as a lance and using the hard leaves as a shield.
"WELL FOLKS, ITS A BATTLE BETWEEN THE SPIKY ARMORED TANK AND THE UNYIELDING LEEK MASTER! THIS WILL BE AN EXCITING START TO THE BATTLE!"
"I'll take the first move. Chesnaught, attack with Hammer Arm!"
Chesnaught acknowledged, its arm glowing white as it rushed toward Sirfetch'd with a speed uncharacteristic for its bulky size. Sirfetch'd, without command, raised up its shield just in time, blocking the blow.
"THAT'S SOME SPEED FROM CHESNAUGHT! ALAIN GETS THE FIRST HIT IN!"
"That's some speed indeed, but we won't go down that easily! Sirfetch'd, rush in, Brutal Swing!"
Sirfetch'd's shield and leek glowed pink and it threw its shield at Chesnaught before charging in with its leek.
"Chesnaught, wait for it, then counter it with Gyro Ball!"
Chesnaught acknowledged, as the shield got closer, it's spikes glowed green and it began spinning rapidly, deflecting the shield and all of Sirfetch'd's hits.
"Use Poison Jab, on the ground!"
"What?"
Sirfetch'd's shield glowed purple and it launched it toward the ground near Chesnaught. The shield hit the ground and the poison effect spread out.
"No! Chesnaught, get out of there!"
Chesnaught narrowly avoided the poison, spinning away but the rapid movement disrupted its spinning, causing it to stop.
"Alright Chesnaught, attack with Hammer Arm, rapid fire!"
Chesnaught once again charged up, before disappearing and reappearing behind Sirfetch'd and hitting it, repeating this several times.
"CHESNAUGHT UNLEASHES A FLURRY OF POWERFUL BLOWS, HE IS COMPLETELY OUT MANEUVERING SIRFETCH'D! HE'S GETTING HIT AGAIN AND AGAIN WITHOUT A CHANCE TO GET BACK UP!"
In the stands...
"Well Alain really is countering Sirfetch'd well, it looks like Ash will be the one to buckle first," Kukui said worriedly
"Kukui! Are you supporting Ash or not?" Burnet asked her husband, an incredulous look on her face.
"I'm just stating the facts! I also want Ash to win, but this round is starting to lean towards Alain , that's all I'm saying!" Kukui replied defensively.
"He's in trouble if he doesn't stop those rapid fire Hammer Arms," Misty said, looking at Ash.
"I'm sure he knows that, Misty. He's just trying to come up with a plan," Brock replied.
Back to the field...
Ash took a deep breath and glanced at Alain before giving out his next order, "Sirfetch'd, use Detect!"
Sirfetch'd, who had gotten hit multiple times but had also dodged quite a few hits, moved slightly away from Chesnaught, who moved away before rushing in again.
Sirfetch'd's eyes glowed blue and it stood still, leek and shield raised. As soon as Chesnaught appeared behind him with its glowing arm raised, Sirfetch'd moved out of the range, the arm hitting the ground and causing Chesnaught to stumble.
"Now, Sirfetch'd! Brutal Swing!"
Sirfetch'd's leek and shield glowed pink once again as it began swinging the leek, rapidly hitting Chesnaught multiple times.
"Chesnaught! Use Gyro Ball and get out of there!"
Chesnaught began spinning again and quickly moved out of Brutal Swing's reach, having taken significant damage.
"Alright Sirfetch'd, attack with Poison Jab!"
"Pin Missile!"
As Sirfetch'd moved towards Chesnaught, the spikes on Chesnaught's back turned green and grew bigger, before he fired multiple light green needles at the onrushing leek master.
"Sirfetch'd, deflect those with your leek!"
Sirfetch'd obliged, swinging its leek rapidly, deflecting the missiles.
"SOME QUICK THINKING FROM ASH AND ALAIN IS SURELY GETTING WORRIED NOW, CHESNAUGHT HAS TAKEN QUITE A BIT OF DAMAGE."
"Chesnaught, defend yourself, use Spiky Shield!"
Chesnaught locked its arms, forming a shield as a green force field full of spikes erupted in front of it, protecting it from the Poison Jab.
"Sirfetch'd , Brutal Swing don't let up!"
Chesnaught was struggling to hold up the shield as the Wild Duck pokemon attacked in a flurry.
"Chesnaught, drop the shield and attack with Hammer Arm, both hands!"
The armoured giant complied, freeing his arms as he attacked his opponent with another barrage of punches, tanking a multitude of hits himself.
Sirfetch'd was thrown across the field, slowly standing up.
"Don't let up, Pin Missile!"
"Deflect them again with your leek!"
The missiles were once again deflected, inflicting no further damage.
"Fine then, I'll take the risk. Chesnaught, get in close with Hammer Arm, both hands, rapid fire!"
Sirfetch'd, let's end this, Meteor Assault!"
As Chesnaught, who was moving much slower than before, moved towards Sirfetch'd, the leek master began charging up his attack. Yellowish energy travelled through its leek, forming a ball of energy at the tip which then began covered its entire body as he got ready to charge.
Chesnaught got within range and hit its opponent with another flurry of blows, slightly dispelling the energy.
"Sirfetch'd, move further away, fast!"
Sirfetch'd quickly moved away, as Chesnaught began panting from the amount of strength it had expended.
"Now, charge in! Full power!"
"Chesnaught, use Gyro Ball!"
As Sirfetch'd charged, Chesnaught once again began spinning, faster this time, using all of its energy.
Sirfetch'd's attack collided with the armoured pokémon's spinning body, launching it away. Chesnaught crashed into the ground, swirls in its eyes.
"Chesnaught is unable to battle! The winner of this round is Sirfetch'd!"
"AMAZING! SIRFETCH'D'S POWERFUL SIGNATURE MOVE POWERED THROUGH ALAIN'S TOUGH DEFENCE AND BROKE THROUGH! ASH GETS THE FIRST WIN OF THE TOURNAMENT!
The stadium cheered, some for Ash and some against.
In the stands..
"He did it! He did it! Woo-hoo!" Misty and Goh were ecstatic, jumping on their seats.
"It was a good battle, both of them used their strategies to good effect," Brock said, smiling.
"Well, Ash definitely turned it around quickly, don't you think, dear?" Burnet asked her husband.
"Yeah it was some impressive quick work from Ash, let's see how he proceeds now." Kukui replied.
(Meanwhile, on a plane somewhere over the Galarian Channel, passengers were rattled out of their sleep by a high-pitched squeal, which almost gave the pilots and service staff a heart attack)
In the field...
"You did great, Chesnaught. Have a good rest now," Alain said as he recalled the pokemon, "Well Ash, that was quite a powerful move. I wasn't expecting it to blow Chesnaught away that easily."
"What can I say, Sirfetch'd has gotten pretty powerful. But it took a toll on him, see? He's unable to move." Ash said, pointing to his pokemon, who was indeed, not moving. Ash recalled him.
"Both trainers ready with their next pokemon, then let the battle BEGIN!"
"Corviknight, I'm counting on you!"
"Gliscor, I choose you!"
Out of one pokeball, a large, mainly blue-purple vampire bat-like pokemon, partially clad in an insect-like carapace appeared. Its legs had two toes and a slightly darker circular coloration on the underside, and its tail had two barbs, giving its tail the resemblance of a vampire's fangs. Its arms were red with thin striations, completely detached from its black wings, and each ended with large pincers. It had six visible fangs in its mouth, and its waist, like its arms, was red and striated. It's yellow eyes were glowing with power and mischief, having taken to the battlefield for the first time in a long time.
Gliscor's opponent, a large, avian pokemon resembling a raven, was staring at the vampire bat menacingly. Most of its body was a lustrous black, but its lower beak and legs had a matte colour. Its mantle, breast, belly, flanks, and scapular feathers were smooth, resembling plate armour. It's talons, head, and upper beak were similarly armoured. It had a crest above its eyes that resembles a crown, and a ruff of feathers on its throat that resemble a beard.
"Hey, when did you go and get a Galarian pokemon?" Ash asked his rival, surprised by this addition to Alain's team.
"He's been with me for close to an year at this point, and I'm warning you Ash, he's much more powerful than the Unfezant Lysandre gave me!"
"Well then, we'll see about that! Gliscor, start off with an X-Scissor!"
The Fang Scorp Pokemon acknowledged, it's pincers glowing green as it rushed towards Corviknight, forming an X with them.
"Don't let it get close, Flash Cannon!"
Corviknight's wings glowed as it formed a white-bluish ball of energy before firing it towards the oncoming Gliscor.
"Oh no you don't, Gliscor, fold your wings, try to drop down!"
Gliscor did as told, instantly dropping to the ground, narrowly dodging the beam.
"WOULD YOU LOOK AT THAT! GLISCOR JUST DODGES THAT FLASH CANNON THANKS TO SOME SPEEDY MOVEMENT AND QUICK THINKING!"
"Flash Cannon again, keep your distance for now!"
"Block it with Stone Edge!"
Corviknight's move was blocked by large light blue rock pillars. Both pokemon were again staring at each other, waiting for their orders.
"Aerial Ace!"
"Alright, Gliscor, wait for it!"
Corviknight started moving randomly, before disappearing, covered in a blue aura.
"Gliscor, keep your eyes open, ready up a Fire Fang!"
Gliscor acknowledged, his fangs slowly getting covered in flames.
Suddenly, Corviknight appeared right in front of Gliscor and slammed straight into him, trying to send him flying, but Gliscor had anchored himself to the ground with his tail. Gliscor grabbed the large bird with his claws.
"Shit, Corviknight, get out of there!"
"Too late, Gliscor, Fire Fang, now!"
Gliscor sank his flaming fangs into his opponent, eliciting a shrill shriek from him, as the armoured bird wrestled from the pain and tried to break free.
"He's stuck! Alright Gliscor, finish it off with Stone Edge!"
"Corviknight, Flash Cannon, fire it on the ground!"
As the stone pillars started emerging, Corviknight broke free of Gliscor's hold and broke the pillars with the beam, propelling himself up and above Gliscor's reach, bruises visible on the region where the Fire Fang landed.
'Shit, Corviknight needs a bit of time to use Roost, but Ash won't allow me to take that time, I need something to buy time'
"Alain sure has a plan up his sleeve. He won't have told Corviknight to close in recklessly without having something in mind."
Masters 8 Box
"Well, they are certainly playing it careful this time," Steven said, "Especially Alain."
"Ya think? He lost the first battle, Obviously he wants to play Careful so as to not lose 2 pokemon before Ash even loses one," Cynthia replied, "Though I must say, Gliscor has gotten much more agile and powerful than the last time."
"Both of them are now trying to approach it carefully, the battle is becoming a contest of strategy and quick thinking." Lance said.
"Well, let's see if Alain is able to put up a good comeback," Leon said, smiling.
Back To Field
"Flash Cannon, on the ground! Stir up some dust!"
"Use Stone Edge, block him off!"
Both pokemon fired off said attacks, the Flash Cannon destroying a small area of the field, kicking up debris and some dust. Gliscor protected himself with the Stone Edge.
"Now, Corviknight, use Roost!"
"Oh no you don't, Gliscor, rush in with X-Scissor!"
Corviknight landed, his body surrounded in a green ball of injury as it slowly healed its injuries. Gliscor activated X-Scissor, but the dust was blocking his view, and he missed.
"WELL NOW THAT WAS CLEVER. AS GLISCOR'S BEST SENSE ORGANS ARE ITS EYES, ALAIN HAS EFFECTIVELY SHROUDED CORVIKNIGHT TO ALLOW HIM TO HEAL UP!"
"Gliscor, glide up, look for Corviknight!"
Gliscor tried to, but the wind was so slow that he couldn't rise high enough.
"Dammit! Alright, keep calm Ash, think!" Ash spoke to himself, he knew that a healed up Corviknight could spell disaster for Gliscor, it was very powerful.
"Alright, Use Stone Edge! Spread it out! Cover the field!"
Gliscor fired up the move, slamming his claws on the ground as the light blue pillars emerged again, spreading outward rather than rushing ahead in a line. However, it was too late, as from the settling dust, Corviknight became visible, fully healed.
"Flash Cannon, full power!"
"Gliscor! Dodge it!"
Gliscor moved to dodge, but he was to slow as the beam caught his tail. The energetic bat fell to the ground, letting out a screech.
"Oh no Gliscor! Can you still move?"
Gliscor gave an affirmative nod, but it was visible that he couldn't stand as strongly as he did before, as his usual position required full function of his tail.
"AND CORVIKNIGHT LANDS A DAMAGING BLOW TO GLISCOR! THIS COULD SPELL DISASTER FOR ASH!"
"Let's end this! Corviknight, Aerial Ace, rapid fire!"
"No! Gliscor, use Stone Edge again! Protect yourself!"
As Corviknight sped up, disappearing once again, Gliscor began firing off multiple Stone Edges, in all directions, to protect himself. Both pokemon received significant damage, Gliscor from the repeated hits from Aerial Ace and Corviknight from the randomly appearing pillars of Stone Edge.
In the stands...
"Well, they're approaching the endgame of this battle, that's for sure, it's getting hectic down there," Kukui said, completely engrossed in the battle unfolding down on the battlefield.
"Well I've got to say, that trick Alain played with the debris to use Roost and heal up was exquisite," Brock said, impressed.
"Well, it was a do or die scenario, he thought of a trick and it worked out, so props to him, I guess?" Misty said.
"Hey, look! They're going for it again!" Goh said, pointing to the field.
In the field...
Both pokemon were fiercely exchanging blows, Aerial Ace and X-Scissor clashing, Flash Cannon getting blocked by Stone Edge, some blows landing, some not. Both battlers were slowly reaching their limits, multiple bruises visible on their bodies.
'Alright, since Corviknight can't fly because of that Fire Fang Gliscor landed earlier, I guess it's safe to go for the finish,' Ash thought.
"Let's go Gliscor, Giga Impact!"
"What!? Corviknight, Roost! Use all your strength to heal up! Fast!"
"WHAT IS ALAIN THINKING HERE? ROOST MAY HEAL CORVIKNIGHT, BUT THAT WON'T MATTER IF HE'S HIT BY GIGA IMPACT!"
As Gliscor charged up the attack, a purple aura surrounded by golden streaks enveloped him, he sped up, rushing towards his healing opponent.
'Wait for it, wait for it...now!' Alain observed the field, "Corviknight, fly up, now!"
"What? How can he move in the middle of using Roost?" Ash exclaimed, surprised.
"I trained him for this particular withdrawal, it's a useful trick for lulling the opponent into a sense of security, isn't it?" Alain said, a smug smile on his face.
This act drew surprised and astonished looks from some of the more experienced trainers in the crowd, as it had never been thought possible that such moves could be stopped midway to allow the pokemon to regain movement.
Gliscor landed at the spot Corviknight was, as Corviknight wasn't fully healed, the move clipped its hind legs and tail. But as the move had connected, it's condition was set, Gliscor was now unable to move.
"THIS TOURNAMENT HAS GONE WILD AND IT'S JUST THE BEGINNING! ALAIN PULLS OUT A TRICK TO COMPLETELY BAMBOOZLE ASH, AND IT'S SOMETHING THAT'S NEVER BEEN DONE OR SEEN BEFORE! ASTONISHING!"
"Oh no, Gliscor!"
"Yes! Corviknight, use Brave Bird, finish him!"
Corviknight acknowledged and flew straight towards the unmoving Gliscor, speeding up as his body was surrounded in an orange aura.
'I need to do something fast! Looks like we pull off one last ditch damage dealing attack, It's unlikely Gliscor would be able to get up after this attack, considering all the damage he has taken. Alright. We go for it and see what happens,'
"Gliscor, Fire Fang, full power!"
"Trying a last ditch move to deal as much damage as possible, huh, Ash? Well it won't work!"
As Corviknight hit Gliscor, Gliscor sank his fangs once again into the armoured bird's body.
Dust flew up as Corviknight finally flew past Gliscor and landed, his wings damaged as visible burns could be seen where the Fire Fang had landed. As the dust cleared, Gliscor could be seen on the ground, swirls in his eyes.
"Gliscor is unable to battle, Corviknight wins!" the referee called out, as the stadium exploded in another wave of cheers.
"AND ALAIN PULLS ONE BACK TO LEVEL THE TIE, IN STYLE, MIGHT I ADD! BOTH TRAINERS HAVE NOW LOST ONE POKEMON EACH!"
In the stands...
"Well, it wasn't going to be an easy battle, was it?" Goh said.
"Well, both of them took risks, trying to go the extra mile, and one got the better of the other," Brock replied.
"Let all that go! I need to start a new research paper on that Corviknight. What kind of monster training did Alain put that bird through, for him to be able to break Roost mid-effect, something that's never been done before! I wonder if Ash could introduce me to him, they definitely know each other well after all, oh the possibilities are endless..." Kukui had now gone full professor mode, rambling out theories and ideas.
"Uh, Kukui..." Burnet spoke to her husband, asking him to stop his rambling as he was attracting attention from the nearby audience, but was met with no response, so she smacked him on the head, hard enough that he fell down to the lower row, which was thankfully empty.
Back to the field...
Corviknight and now been returned to his pokeball, and now both Alain and Ash were preparing their next battlers.
"Both trainers ready?"
Both of them nodded.
"BEGIN!"
"Tyrantrum, get ready for battle!"
"Snorlax, I choose you!"
Out of Alain's pokeball, a bipedal, large dinosaurian pokemon emerged. It was predominantly brownish red with scaly patterns on its skin and scattered orange highlights on some scales and ridges. It had a large head with a blunt, ridged snout and powerful jaws. It had black around its eyes and a light grey lower jaw covered by a beard of white, feathers. Several sharp teeth were visible in the lower jaw, while the upper jaw was lined with orange-tipped, tooth-like projections. Over its eyes was a row of five spikes resembling a crown. Around it's neck was a feathery white ruff that extended over its shoulders similar to a cape. Its underbelly was grey with white borders and there were two orange spikes near the tip of its long tail. Its small forelimbs had only two black-clawed digits each, but it had large hind legs with three black claws each. Plated, armour-like ridges covered its knees, back, and the top of its tail.
On the other end, from Ash's pokeball, was a huge, bipedal, dark blue-green pokemon with a cream-colored face, belly, and feet. Its body was composed of mostly its belly, as its limbs were comparatively small. Its head was large with small, pointed ears, and two pointed teeth protruding from its lower jaw. It had round feet, which both had three claws and a circular brown paw pad, and short arms with five claws on each hand.
"AND NOW, IT'S A BATTLE BETWEEN TWO BEHEMOTHS! THE MASTER OF ATTRITION AGAINST THE FEROCIOUS ANCIENT PREDATOR! BOTH POKEMON ARE EXPERIENCED HEAVYWEIGHTS, QUITE LITERALLY! THIS ONE'S GONNA BE ONE HELL OF AN EXPERIENCE, THAT'S FOR SURE!"
"Well, well, well! Looks like this one is gonna take a lot of time, eh Tyrantrum?" Alain called out to his partner, who gave a loud roar in response, both as a challenge to his opponent and a reply to his trainer's query.
"Well, since you both are fired up, so we're gonna go in, hard and fast! Snorlax, use Ice Punch, rapid fire!"
Snorlax nodded, as his fist was engulfed in bluish energy as it charged towards his opponent with speed uncharacteristic to his large frame.
"A super effective move, huh! Well, we'll counter it with our own super effective one. Tyrantrum, Close Combat, rush in!"
Tyrantrum rushed towards his oncoming opponent, claws and feet glowing orange as he started exchanging rapid fire blows with Snorlax, who now had Ice Punch charged up on both fists, both hitting each other multiple times. A mini blast was created after some blows, and both pokemon flew back to their starting spots, sporting a sizeable amount of injuries.
"Good work, Snorlax!"
"We're not done yet! Tyrantrum, Dragon Tail!"
Tyrantrum's tail was engulfed in a glowing green scale pattern as it grew in size and the dinosaur rushed to attack again.
"Snorlax, use Protect!"
Snorlax acknowledged, summoning a green force field just in time, as Tyrantrum struck the barrier with force, but the move held up.
"Damn it, staying on the defensive, huh? Alright then, Earthquake, full power!"
Tyrantrum slammed his foot on the ground and it began shaking violently, shaking Snorlax off balance.
"Alright, Dragon Tail, again!"
"Ice Punch, quickly!"
The two moves clashed, but the Dragon Tail was ineffective against the Ice Punch, so Snorlax got another hit in.
'Damn it! Tyrantrum can't keep taking damage like that!' Alain thought to himself, clearly panickingas one of his powerhouses was roughed up.
"OH HO! THAT ONE DEFINITELY HURT! A QUICK COUNTER FROM ASH AND TYRANTRUM TAKES HEAVY DAMAGE! WILL ASH SWEEP THE BATTLE OR CAN ALAIN STAGE A COMEBACK IN TIME?"
Tyrantrum stood up slowly and let out another loud roar, signalling that he wasn't down for the count just yet.
"Ready for more, eh? Alright, Snorlax, Ice Punch, again!"
"Oh I ain't letting you get close! Earthquake, full power!"
The battlefield shook again as another tremor ripped through the field, this time causing large cracks to appear on the field. Snorlax, however, rushed in undeterred, closing in on his target.
"Shit! Tyrantrum, use Dragon Tail, on the ground!"
A look of confusion passed over Tyrantrum's face, before he obeyed and hit the ground with his glowing tail, which kicked up rocks from the broken areas around Tyrantrum. Tyrantrum smiled (or what can be counted as a smile) as he understood the plan of action.
"Now, launch them using Dragon Tail!"
The attack worked perfectly, sending a barrage of rocks, all of different sizes, flying towards Snorlax, forcing him to stop midway and deflect the rocks with Ice Punch, though some rocks still hit him, inflicting more damage.
"AND ALAIN SHOWS JUST WHY HE'S SUCH A GREAT BATTLER! A GREAT MOMENT OF INGENUITY FROM THE KALOSIAN HALTS SNORLAX IN HIS TRACKS! THESE TWO REALLY COMPLEMENT EACH OTHER IN BATTLE, EH?"
"We aren't letting up! Meteor Beam, full power!"
Tyrantrum formed a large orange orb of energy in front of his mouth, as Snorlax stood up, recovered from the hits he had taken.
"Snorlax, use Protect! Defend yourself!"
As Tyrantrum fired a yellow beam, Snorlax quickly moved to form the green shield in front of him, but he was hit by the powerful Rock type attack, launching him towards the edge of the battlefield, near Ash, who braced himself from the dust that flew as Snorlax landed.
Snorlax had taken a significant amount of damage from that single attack, which was showing in his movements. He was trying to stand back up, but his body was unable to. Multiple cuts could be seen on his arms and legs, and the skin of his arms was singed.
"Dragon Tail, don't let up!"
Before Ash could call out to Snorlax, Tyrantrum had already hit him with a green glowing tail, straight in the face. Snorlax was once again sent flying back, landing right in front of Ash.
"No, no, no! Snorlax, can you still move?"
Snorlax grunted as he tried to lift himself up, but his injuries caused him to fall back down.
"Use Rest, recover your energy!"
The fallen giant acknowledged the command, falling asleep as his body worked to restore his lost energy.
Tyrantrum stood near his sleeping opponent, not sure what to do.
"I won't let you heal that easily now, would I? Tyrantrum, Close Combat, keep it going!"
Tyrantrum rushed forward and began kicking Snorlax around, although it didn't seem to have much physical effect, but the move was disturbing Snorlax's sleep.
'Wait for it... just wait for it...', Ash though to himself, as he patiently waited for Snorlax to heal, even if not completely, to an extent that he could effectively attack Tyrantrum.
On the other end, Alain was getting increasingly frustrated, Tyrantrum had done a great job so far, pushing Snorlax to its last legs, only for Ash to pull out a healing move, which Tyrantrum was trying to break through.
In the stands...
"Ash might just have survived a battering right now," Kukui said, commenting on the battle that had taken place so far.
"Yeah, Tyrantrum was really throwing down on Snorlax. I mean, to launch a body weighing a ton as easily as he did, that requires a lot of strength," Goh replied, looking down at the battlefield.
"Snorlax is the definition of a tank, Ash's even more so. I've seen him take super effective hits and shrug them of, almost like they had no damage," Brock told Kukui, which quelled Burnet's incessant worrying since the start of the battle, somewhat.
"Well, Ash's Pokémon sure have peculiarities, that's a given," Kukui said with a laugh as he remembered Lycanroc and Naganadel.
"If Ash can't finish off Tyrantrum, with Snorlax even now, it will put great pressure on the rest of his team," Misty chimed in, "Tyrantrum is also a powerhouse and can take quite some damage, as we've seen."
"Well now, keep watching and we'll find out." Burnet said as Snorlax stood up on the shattered battlefield, punching Tyrantrum away from himself.
On the battlefield...
"Snorlax, you ready to go?" Ash asked the giant, who affirmed to the question.
"Alright, we're going for it differently this time, use Ice Punch on the ground, freeze the field!"
"Earthquake, break that ice!"
As Snorlax's punch landed and ice began to spread quickly through the field, the ground shook again, breaking apart some of the ice as well as stopping its spread, but most of it remained, mainly encircling Tyrantrum, which was a major risk for the reptile, as the ice kept the air cool, sustaining the effect the Ice Punch generated, which was slowly affecting Tyrantrum.
"A little bit of ice won't have an effect! Tyrantrum, use Dragon Tail to jump over it and then attack with Close Combat!"
Tyrantrum's tail glowed green once again, as he struck the ground with it to propel himself over the layer of ice, which also broke more of it, before rushing forward with Close Combat.
"ANOTHER MASTERFUL ESCAPE! USING DRAGON TAIL TO AVOID WHAT COULD'VE TURNED INTO A TRICKY SITUATION!"
"Snorlax, Protect!"
The green shield formed just in time, as Tyrantrum collided with it with a roar, the shield stood, Snorlax standing behind it.
"Argh...Protect again! Tyrantrum, move further and use Meteor Beam!"
The dinosaur jumped away, putting some distance between himself and his opponent.
"Now's our chance! Snorlax, rush in! Ice Punch!"
Snorlax covered the distance in an instant, appearing behind Tyrantrum, fist covered in glowing blue energy.
"Shit! Tyrantrum, block with Dragon Tail!"
Tyrantrum closed his mouth, dispelling the Meteor Beam as his tail glowed green and he moved to block the attack, but it was too late. The Ice Punch made contact with Tyrantrum, slowly coating him in ice, leading to him taking a lot of damage.
"No! Tyrantrum, use Close Combat! Break free!"
The dinosaur tried to do it, but his limbs were completely restricted.
"Alright! Now, finish it with Body Slam!"
"Use Dragon Tail! Break out of that wretched ice!"
As Snorlax jumped up, Tyrantrum activated the move, wriggling his tail to break apart the ice and bring back some of his movement.
It was too late, however, as a shadow enveloped Tyrantrum and Snorlax crashed down on the giant lizard, destroying the battlefield around it.
"THAT LOOKS TO BE THE SOUND OF DEFEAT FOR ALAIN AND TYRANTRUM! QUICK THINKING AND PERFECT EXECUTION MIGHT JUST HAVE HANDED ASH THE VICTORY!"
On the destroyed battlefield, Snorlax slowly stood up, slightly panting. Tyrantrum could be seen lying on top of a layer of crushed ice, roughed up, but still conscious.
As Tyrantrum slowly stood up, feet shaking, the crowd burst into cheering at the sheer resilience of the prehistoric pokemon. The dinosaur let out a challenging roar, glaring at Snorlax.
"I DON'T BELIEVE IT! TYRANTRUM SURVIVES WHAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN A BATTLE-ENDING ATTACK, ALTHOUGH HE LOOKS TO BE ON HIS LAST LEGS!"
"Dragon Tail, launch the rocks!"
"Snorlax, Ice Punch!"
Tyrantrum once again used the rocks scattered on the battlefield as ammunition, though Snorlax was able to counter it more effectively this time.
"It's been a great battle, this one, but we're ending it for real this time! Snorlax, Hyper Beam!"
"We ain't going down easily! Counter it with Meteor Beam!"
A glowing orange orb appeared in front of Snorlax, just as Tyrantrum charged up his own beam, a yellow orb. As the energy orbs reached full capacity, both pokemon targeted each other, determined to end the battle.
"Fire away, Snorlax!"
"Let's go, Tyrantrum!"
Both pokemon fired their beams, but Tyrantrum's left leg gave out, resulting in the Meteor Beam misfiring, as it collided with the energy barrier that was protecting the spectators, while the Hyper Beam made contact, resulting in a large explosion that flung up a lot of debris.
As the area cleared, Tyrantrum could be seen lying on the ground, swirls visible in his eyes.
"Tyrantrum is unable to battle, Snorlax wins!" the referee announced, which left Alain dumbfounded.
"WELL, IT LOOKS LIKE TYRANTRUM WASN'T ABLE TO COMPLETELY SHRUG OFF THAT BODY SLAM, BUT NONETHELESS, THIS BATTLE WAS EXHILARATING! BOTH THE POKEMON WENT TOE TO TOE WITH EACH OTHER! NOW, WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, LET US PROCEED TO THE NEXT BATTLE!"
"You did good out there, Tyrantrum," Alain said as he recalled the reptile. He was still a bit shocked to see one of his main powerhouses take such a beating.
"Snorlax, that was an amazing battle!" Ash energetically told his pokemon, "Yeah, yeah, you need to sleep now, I know that," Ash replied to Snorlax's gestures, which were clearly implying that he wanted a good rest now, "Alright then, return, Snorlax!"
"Both trainers, please be ready with your next pokemon!"
"Don't have to tell me twice!" Ash replied, pokeball in hand.
"I won't be going down easily this time, Ash!"
"Both trainers ready, Battle BEGIN!"
"I choose you, Sirfetch'd!"
"Take to the skies again, Corviknight!"
"AND IT'S A BATTLE BETWEEN TWO BRUISED AND BATTLE WEARY HEAVYWEIGHTS, WHO'LL COME OUT ON TOP THIS TIME?"
"Corviknight, Flash Cannon!"
"Block it with Brutal Swing!"
Corviknight fired the silver beam of energy straight at Sirfetch'd, who blocked it with his leek and shield, both of which were glowing pink.
"Long range won't be easy. Corviknight, Aerial Ace!"
"Counter with Poison Jab!"
Both of them clashed, Poison Jab against Aerial Ace, and were now in a deadlock. They pushed against each other, trying to force the other to yield and inflict some damage, but to no avail.
"Get away and use Flash Cannon!"
"Close in with Poison Jab!"
As Corviknight flew away and charged up Flash Cannon, Sirfetch'd jumped after him, Poison Jab at the ready. This time, both moves made contact, though some of the damage from the Flash Cannon was taken by Sirfetch'd's shield.
"Sirfetch'd, are you alright?" Ash asked the leek master, who responded affirmatively.
"Corviknight, don't let up! Brave Bird!"
"Dodge it with Detect!"
Corviknight rushed at his opponent at a high speed, covered in an orange aura. Before it could make contact with Sirfetch'd, however, the leek master's eyes glowed blue as he vanished from his original position and reappeared behind Corviknight.
"Now! Brutal Swing!"
"Shit! Corviknight, speed up and move away!"
It was too late, as Corviknight was hit hard by the pink glowing leek, launching him back toward Alain.
"Corviknight, you still up for it?" Alain asked the metallic bird, who let out a shriek in response, "Alright! Then use Roost, we need to heal!"
"I won't let you do that! Brutal Swing, rapid-fire! Don't let him heal!"
As Corviknight landed and activated Roost, he was instantly rushed by Sirfetch'd, forcing him to stop midway and fly away. This continued for several more tries, before Alain gave up in frustration, calling for Corviknight to stop trying to use Roost.
"You won't let me heal, will you? Alright then, Aerial Ace, don't let up!"
"Detect!"
Sirfetch'd dodged Corviknight's attack again continued dodging, which was tiring out Corviknight.
Stands…
"Come on Sirfetch'd! Take that nasty bird down!" Burnet cheered.
"What's your problem all of a sudden with Corviknight?" Kukui asked his wife.
"Well, I was actually liking Gliscor, so I wanted him to win! But he lost, so Sirfetch'd is out for revenge, if you ask me." Burnet replied, smiling deviously.
"Ash is effectively tiring out Corviknight, but won't it affect Sirfetch'd too?" Goh asked Brock, who was keenly observing the battle.
"Well, that's the thing with Ash, sometimes his tactics end up leveling the playing field instead of am outright advantage, but the amount of unnecessary movement Corviknight is being forced to make to counter Sirfetch'd moving constantly will surely tire him out earlier."
Masters 8 Box…
"Both of them are at each other's throats! This is so exciting!" Iris exclaimed, the two rivals battling below was really a sight to behold in her opinion.
"Well they were rivals, they must be riding high on emotions, especially Ash, considering he hasn't won a single match against Alain and the stage at which they're battling," Diantha replied, having seen and heard about the two rivals' battles.
"Whatever it may be, but that Tyrantrum! Damn! That was guy was a beast! Shame he lost," Lance said, disappointment etched on his face.
"Yeah, I think he was on par with yours, eh, Diantha?" Cynthia chimed in.
"Yeah, we can say that I guess, that Tyrantrum is a certified powerhouse. I saw him before in the Kalos League, he was pure carnage," Diantha replied to her friend, remembering the ferocity and tenacity of Alain's reptilian partner.
"Well, that goes to show that Ash's Snorlax ain't no pushover. Man went to town with Tyrantrum. That was a Champion Time!" Leon exclaimed.
Battlefield…
The two opponents had been continuously trading blows, and both were exhausted, Corviknight more so, he was down on the ground, not unconscious, but not in great shape either. Sirfetch'd, as well, was panting heavily, his leek and shield both were damaged.
'The next one will be the final attack for Corviknight, unless we can miraculously pull off a Roost,' Alain thought, his mind working to find a solution.
"Alright, it's time to finish this, Sirfetch'd, Meteor Assault!"
"Corviknight, Brave Bird!"
Both pokemon faltered before rushing in towards each other, as they collided in an explosion of yellow and orange.
As the dust cleared, both of them could be seen on the ground, passed out with swirls in their eyes.
"Both Corviknight and Sirfetch'd are unable to battle, this match is a draw." The referee exclaimed.
"AND WE'VE NOW BEEN SERVED UP OUR FIRST DRAW OF THE TOURNAMENT, AND WHAT AN EXHAUSTING BATTLE IT WAS! THIS RESULT DOESN'T BODE WELL FOR ALAIN THOUGH, HE'S NOW LOST HALF HIS TEAM. HOW WILL HE COUNTER NOW?"
"You did a good job, Corviknight," Alain said as he recalled the metallic bird.
"You really went above and beyond, Sirfetch'd, and I'm proud of you," Ash told the leek master as he recalled him into his pokeball.
"I must say, Ash, this is the most fun I've had battling someone in a while," Alain said, smiling.
"Well this rematch has just begun, Alain, we're only halfway through, and you're going to lose this time!" Ash exclaimed, a goofy grin on his face, as both of them readied their next pokemon.
Alright! Finally done with it and oof! 6k words, first time I have written something this long.
You may notice that the writing may be sloppy in some place or maybe in general, and that's cause I have ZERO experience writing battles (actually, action as a whole) I'm trying to see where I can add improvements, so if you could point any areas that I need to focus on or any pointers that you might have, please do share. Also, if you find any grammatical or spelling errors, inform me in the comments and I'll fix it.
Also, I would love it if some of you could recommend some fics with well written tournament battles so I can take some inspiration.
Can't give a specific date for the next chapter, as is the norm with me, but expect it to take less time than this one.
That's all for this time.