Chapter 88: One Punch Pokemon

A few days later, our heroes were in Celadon City for reasons unknown to anybody but Ash as they approached a building called the Fighting Spirit Gym.

"Why'd you want to come here, Ash?"

"The P1 Grand Prix's coming up, and I wanted to get front row seats."

"I didn't think you were into fighting tournaments."

"I'm not ordinarily, but I've got an old friend competing."

Ash knocked on the door, and a red haired woman answered.

"Oh, Ash! Are you here for Primeape?"

"Yeah! Are they here?"

"You're just in time, they're getting ready to head over now."

Rebecca welcomed them in, just in time for her father to walk in with Primeape in tow.

"Great job, Primeape! You'll win it for sure!"

"Ape!"

The moment Primeape locked eyes with Ash, however, he ran straight towards his trainer. Ash laughed, opening his arms wide for his friend.

"Primeape, good to see y-""

He got cut off by a hard punch to his gut, making him keel over as his friends gasped in horror.

"Ash, are you alright?"

Ash laughed, ruffing Primeape's fur.

"Good to see you too, buddy. You've really gotten strong!"

Primeape smiled, letting out a content "Prime!"

"You don't know the half of it, Ash. Primeape here is the undefeated champ five years straight!"

Ash smiled proudly.

"Way to go, buddy! And I bet you'll add another win to your record!"

He then turned to Anthony.

"Hey Anthony, do you mind if I battle with him this year?"

"I wouldn't have it any other way!"

"Sweet! Let's go!"

They found the stadium packed with trainers and their Pokemon, looking to take the title.

"Wow, packed crowd this year."

"That's just more chances to prove yourself, right buddy?"

"Primeape!"

"Ash?"

To their surprise, Bea was also there, with a Machamp standing right behind her.

"Hey, Bea! You actually remembered my name this time."

Bea chuckled.

"Of course, I remember all the names of trainers who have beaten me. I look forward to facing you and Riolu again."

Ash laughed.

"He's not a Riolu anymore. Go, Lucario!"

Bea watched impressed as Lucario emerged from his Pokeball, letting out a mighty howl. Even without aura sensitivity, she could feel how powerful he was.

"Impressive. Are you entering with Lucario?"

"Nope! I'm entering with Primeape."

Lucario was crushed by Ash's decision.

"Don't worry, buddy. I'll make sure you get some extra training later."

This made Lucario feel better. Bea hummed curiously.

"So you're the trainer of the reigning champion. I look forward to seeing what you're capable of."

Bea bowed, before walking away.

Attention, the tournament is about to begin. All competitors are to report to the locker room.

"That's my cue! Lucario, you stay with the others and cheer for us, ok?"

"Cario!"

"Good luck, Ash!"

Ash was up first, against a boy named Rinto and his Gallade. Once the two had entered the ring, the referee began explaining the rules.

"This will be a one-on-one match! No Psychic or Flying type moves are allowed. Are both trainers ready?"

"Ready!"

"Ready!"

"Battle begin!"

"Gallade, use Close Combat!"

Gallade grunted, before charging at Primeape with his arm blades ready to strike.

"Use Low Kick on his legs!"

Just as Gallade was within range to strike, Primeape swung his leg out, tripping him up. While Gallade didn't fall to the ground, he lost his footing, stopping his attack before he even had a chance.

"Now use Focus Blast!"

While Gallade was still incapacitated by pain, Primeape punched him in the gut, firing off a concentrated blast of energy right into his gut, launching Gallade back to the other side of the ring. He recovered quickly, landing right on his feet.

"Leaf Blade, Gallade!"

"Rock Smash, Primeape!"

Primeape summoned a large mound of rock before launching it at Gallade, only for Gallade to cut through it like a knife through butter before reaching him, striking at him with his blade arms. Not having any chance to fight back, Primeape raised his arms to defend himself, though it wasn't doing any good.

"Counter, Primeape!"

Once he found an opening, Primeape hit Gallade with a powerful uppercut, sending Gallade spiraling to the floor.

"Gallade, are you alright?"

Gallade grunting, forcing himself to his feet.

"Focus Punch, Gallade!"

"You too, Primeape!"

The two Pokemon charged once more, fist and arm outstretched and ready to take each other out. The two met in the middle, striking each other as they passed. For a moment, nothing happened until Gallade collapsed to the ground, out cold.

"Gallade is unable to battle! Primeape wins!"

Rinto returned Gallade to his Pokeball, a proud smile on his face.

"You did well, Gallade. Get some rest."

He then walked over and shook Ash's hand.

"I should've expected as much from the champ. I look forward to battling you again. Good luck."

"Thanks, Rinto."

After a long hard day of battling, Ash and Primeape were in the final round. Their opponents were Bea and her Machamp.

"For this final match, there will be 2 rounds! Each round will last 2 minutes, with a minute break in between. Should both Pokemon still be able to battle after two rounds, a final sudden death round will commence! Trainers, are you ready?"

"Let's do this, Primeape!"

"You can do it, Machamp!"

"Primeape!"

"Machamp!"

"Battle begin!"

"Primeape, use Bulk Up!"

"Cross Chop, Machamp!"

Machamp charged, arms stretched out in an X-formation. Primeape stood firm, holding his arms up in a guard stance ready to defend. Machamp finally reached Primeape and slashed him across the chest, forcing Primeape back, though he stood his ground.

"Use Counter, Primeape!"

"Keep him back with Mach Punch!"

Primeape tried to punch Machamp in the gut, only to be met by Machamp's two right arms. Primeape tried to do the same with his other arm, only to be met by Machamp's left arms. The two went back and forth like this for a minute before their trainers realized this wasn't working.

"Low Sweep, Primeape!"

Before Machamp could react, Primeape swept him off his feet with one hard kick of his foot, knocking the larger Fighting type onto his back. Machamp was winded, but not out yet.

"Brick Break, Primeape!"

"Catch it, then throw him with Superpower!"

Quickly coming to his senses, Machamp caught Primeape's karate chop and flung him away, landing him right in front of Ash.

"Primeape, are you alright?"

Immediately, Primeape sprung back up, but before Ash could issue any commands the bell rang, marking the end of the first round.

Primeape sat down on the stool, allowing Anthony to cool him off with a towel while Ash gave him a water bottle.

"You're doing great, Primeape! Just got to hang in there."

"Ash is right, Primeape. Your opponent is tough, but you're tougher."

"Primeape!"

Meanwhile, Bea was giving her Machamp a pep talk.

"Just keep a level head. Remember, you're facing the champ, so don't expect an easy fight."

"Machamp!"

Then the bell rang, signaling the end of the break.

"Now go get them!"

"You've got this, Primeape!"

Primeape and Machamp grunted, jumping to their feet and walking towards the center of the ring.

"Round 2 begin!"

"Close Combat, Machamp!"

"Go for Focus Punch, Primeape!"

Primeape tried to, but Machamp wouldn't give him any space, assaulting him from all sides with his arms.

"Thunderbolt, Primeape!"

Primeape roared, creating a spark of electricity from his arms that struck Machamp, pushing him back and paralyzing him.

"Now go for Focus Punch!"

Primeape grunting, charging up his attack before launching himself at Machamp, dealing a powerful punch straight to Machamp's gut.

"Reversal, Machamp!"

Fighting through the pain, Machamp swung all of his arms at once, throwing Primeape backwards.

"Drain Punch, Machamp!"

"Finish him off with Hyper Beam, Primeape!"

Primeape roared, firing off a massive energy blast that hit Machamp dead on. For a second, it looked like it was all over, only for Machamp to rush out even angrier than before, striking Primeape with all four fists. Primeape, completely drained from Hyper Beam, could do nothing to stop him as his energy was drained.

"Now throw him with Seismic Toss!"

While Primeape was still incapacitated, Machamp picked him up, spun him around in midair before slamming him into the arena.

"Now finish him off with Heavy Slam!"

Machamp leapt up, coming down hard before slamming his knee into Primeape. Primeape grunted, then fell unconscious.

"Primeape is unable to battle! The winner, and the new champion, is Machamp!"

Ash sighed, but smiled as he helped Primeape to his feet.

"You did great, Primeape."

Primeape grunted, and walked over to Machamp. Taking off his belt, he handed it over to Machamp before holding out one of his fists in respect Machamp returned the gesture before lifting the belt high into the air as the crowd cheered.

After the tournament wrapped up, Ash and his friends returned to Anthony's gym to say goodbye to Primeape.

"You sure you don't want to come back with us, Primeape?"

Primeape shook his head furiously.

"Sorry Ash," said Anthony. "But I think he wants to reclaim his title!"

Ash chuckled, before ruffling Primeape's fur.

"Well, you know I've got your back all the way!"

Primeape responded by punching Ash in the gut, making him chuckle.

"Ash?"

Just then, Bea stepped into the gym.

"Hey Bea, what's up?"

Bea reached into her pocket and pulled out an envelope with Ash's name on it.

"Chairman Rose asked me to give this to you next time I saw you. The World Coronation Series is having a battle festival in a month at Circhester Stadium."

"A Battle Festival?"

"It's a tournament for World Coronation Series competitors. Different ranks have them at different times of the season, and the one for the Ultra Class is next month. Only a select few are chosen to compete, and Chairman Ros is inviting you."

Ash grinned.

"We're in! Right, buddy?"

"Pika!"

Bea smiled, then turned to Lucario.

"I especially look forward to seeing how far you've come, Lucario."

Lucario bowed in respect. With that, Bea and Machamp took their leave. Ash watched them go, before reading over the invitation.

"Look out Circhester, I'm coming for you!"

A/N: Yes, I did do two chapters in a row where Ash reunites with an old Pokemon. Last chapter wasn't going to be one originally, but the next 10 or more chapters are going to be very story focused, so I wrote the last one up to give myself a bit of a calm before the storm.

In other news, the poll is officially over, and the path you all chose for Lillie is… Pokemon Researcher! I'll be honest with you, I sort of forgot I had the poll up, which is why it was up for so long, but thank you to everyone who voted. Don't worry, Lillie won't be leaving the story any time soon.

Catch you all next time!