Chapter 39
"Hey, Ash! The matchups are here." Reisa says as we go to check it out. We find Silver, Ethan, and Harrison in the matchups, and when I found mine, I can't believe it! I'm facing Gary in the top 16 round.
"It's Gary!" I gasp.
"Lucky you. Your Silver Conference experience is going to be a short one. It will be fun." Gary smirks.
"Hey!" I yell back. "Not so fast, there's no way I'm losing to you, Gary!"
"There they go again..." Lillie frowns.
Gary says, "Hey, Ash. Remember this?" I gasped as he took out the half Pokeball. "Of course I remember that. The Pokeball when you and I tied!"
"He kept a Pokeball from when they tied?" Kris is confused.
"Wrong, I consider that one a loss." The words Gary said to me are getting on my nerves.
"Talking to you is already a loss, the battle this time is going to be six on six, and that means one thing, you will be toast." Gary says.
"I wouldn't be so sure about that one, Gary!" I yell back.
"See you at the battlefield." Then he walks away.
That night, I find out the other half of the Pokeball in my backpack, and I say, "It is the very first Pokeball that I got before my start on my journey."
"So what is that all about?" Kris asks Lillie.
Lillie says, "You see...before we started our journey, Ash and I were fishing by a stream, Ash managed to hook a Magikarp, which proceeded to slap him in the face before landing back into the water. Gary, on the other side of the stream, taunted Ash for being unable to name any of Magikarp's attacks, including the Flail that was used on him. The two had liked the stream as a fishing spot, and this caused their rivalry to escalate. When both Ash and Gary caught a bite, both reeled their lines in, but discovered that they had both hooked onto the same rusted Poké Ball. After a brief tug-of-war, the Ball broke in two."
"So they keep each pieces?" Ethan asks.
"Well...Ash was willing to accept that the fishing battle was a draw, but Gary had declared it a loss since he thought that tying with Ash was just as bad as losing." Reisa sighs. "It is also the reason we didn't like him at first."
"I kept this ball as my good luck charm, and this time I am going to show him that I am not an opponent to be underestimated." I say.
"That's the spirit." Lillie says.
"Well, the next day is a rest day, so you should prepare your strategy." East says as we nod.
The next day, Ethan and the others notice Lillie and I bury ourselves in books. "What's all this?" Ethan asks.
"Hey, guys!" Lillie says.
"Have you guys been reading all of those since last night? Aren't you exhausted?"
"Not a bit." I say back. "I couldn't sleep because of my battle with Gary."
Then we decide to go outside for training, and we're still discussing about Gary.
"So it seems like he has no particular type preference like us..." Lillie says.
"Yeah, and he keeps rotating Pokemon like us, so we don't know what he will use." East says.
Reisa says, "I think that your team-battling strategy will be crucial..."
I then look up to see two shadows flying over us. And I can't believe it, it's Charizard and Charla, they have come to help us from the Charicific Valley.
"Charizard? Charla? What are you doing here?" I gasp after hugging both of them.
"Well, I made a late-night request to Liza." Lillie says.
But then Gary appears in front of us, and we stare at each other. "This calls for a poem."
We are shocked to see Professor Oak arriving, and he says, "Rivals now they meet, Gary, Ash, to compete."
And it is not just Professor Oak, my Mom, Leaf, Molly, Serena, and Alice also arrive. Of course they all hug me, much to Lillie and Kris' slight annoyance.
"What are you guys doing here? It sure has been a long time."
"We come to cheer you on." Alice says. "We didn't get to come to the Grand Festival, but we're here for the League."
"So you two will be facing off, eh?" Professor Oak asks.
"Oh yeah." Gary says.
"Well, you two have to relax, if you are too tense, you won't be able to compete." Professor Oak says.
"And how are you doing, Molly? Are you used to our family?" I ask.
"Of course, I also want to be a trainer like you!" Molly says with delight.
The next day, we see that Harrison, Ethan, and Silver all go to the next round easily, and I am surprised to see Harrison come to me in the locker room.
"Hey, Harrison!" I say. "Congratulations to the next round."
"Thanks a lot. I know you're up next. I hear you're facing one of your own rivals. Once you finish up with him, don't forget I'm waiting." Harrison says.
"Yeah. I'll see you in the next round." I say while I walk to the battlefield.
Back on the field, Lillie and the others have already been seated, with Pikachu and Togetic ready to cheer Ash on. However, Gary has also brought his cheerleaders to cheer him on. The field is a rocky field, and the first move goes to Gary.
"Nidoqueen! I choose you!" Gary sends out his Nidoqueen, and I go with Espeon.
Nidoqueen charges forward with a not-very-effective Rock Smash that sends rocks flying into the air, giving Espeon damage.
"We have to go with the straightforward attack! Use Psychic!" Espeon manages to push through the oncoming rocks and heads for Nidoqueen with a Psychic. Gary sees that Nidoking is hurt, he recalls Nidoqueen and then sends out Umbreon. Espeon uses Dazzling Gleam and damages the Pokemon, but Umbreon uses Double Team and then uses Shadow Ball to knock Espeon out.
"Heracross! Go!" I send Heracross out, and Gary swaps Umbreon out for Magmar. Magmar begins with a Flamethrower, but Heracross evades the attack and throws its opponent into the air with a Fury Attack. Magmar uses the increased altitude to its advantage, landing into its own Fire Blast before ramming straight into Heracross. The flames engulf Heracross, causing it massive damage.
Adding insult to injury, Magmar also adds a point-blank Flamethrower to the mix to cripple Heracross. Suddenly, Heracross manages to blow the fire away with its wings. It charges towards Magmar with a Megahorn, which overpowers Magmar's Flamethrower defense, knocking it out.
"Great work, Heracross!" I say.
"Ash is still as reckless as always. I guess it's time to show him my best, deal with this, Ashy Boy!"
He sends out Blastoise, his strongest Pokemon, and the Starter Pokemon. Heracross starts with a Fury Attack, but Blastoise responds with a Hydro Pump. However, despite a last-minute evasion tactic behind a rock, Hydro Pump manages to blast through the boulder and knocks Heracross out.
I send out Jumpluff, hoping that a Grass-type will provide a good advantage over Blastoise. Jumpluff evades the first Hydro Pump with a Cotton Guard, but her airborne Razor Leaf is deflected by Rapid Spin. Making matters worse, Jumpluff's attempt to use Tackle is met with a Bite attack from Blastoise. She gets tossed by her cottons and is knocked out.
Since I lost three Pokemon, the referee calls for a five-minute intermission. During the break, Pikachu says, "Ash, let me battle that Blastoise, I will make sure that he knows his place."
"I wish I could, buddy." I say. "But I'm only allowed to use the Pokemon that I registered before the match."
Then Pikachu pouts at me, and I promise to give him the next match against Harrison.
When the break ends, Gary sends Umbreon back. "This guy wants to battle your Umbreon." I say as I also send out my own Umbreon.
Due to the previous battle against Espeon, Umbreon is a little tired. I use it as a chance and have Umbreon use Moonblast. Serena is confused and says, "I thought Umbreon couldn't learn Moonblast."
Lillie says, "Yeah. But Ash's is a special one, he trains Umbreon with some strange moves."
After firing attacks, Gary's Umbreon is knocked out. Gary sends out Arcanine next, and I recall Umbreon for Snorlax. Arcanine uses Take Down to charge straight at Snorlax, who responds with Body Slam. Arcanine evades the attack and traps Snorlax with Fire Spin. However, Snorlax frees itself and lands a direct hit with a Hyper Beam at Arcanine. Gary's Arcanine struggles to get up, but the attack proves to be too much and it faints.
Nidoqueen is sent back out. I warn Snorlax to be careful since Nidoqueen also knows Hyper Beam. Using its tail to jump, Nidoqueen manages to land down on Snorlax and strike it with Double Kick.
"What?" I gasp.
"I learned that trick from you, Ash." Gary says to me.
Nidoqueen then blasts a Hyper Beam, but Snorlax ducks the attack and retaliates with an Ice Punch, taking Nidoqueen out of the match and tying the match.
"How did he make Snorlax so fast..." Gary mutters. "Not bad, Ash. I have to say I'm pretty impressed."
"Yeah, are you ready for more?" I taunt back.
Gary sends a Scizor out against Snorlax, and after a series of Quick Attacks, Scizor defeats Snorlax with a Metal Claw to the face.
"So Scizor is having a speed game..." Reisa mutters.
"And the one we know Ash has is Umbreon...which is not a good typing against Scizor..." East says.
Because I want to leave Charizard with Blastoise, so I go for Umbreon. And just as I expected, Umbreon is so tired that it is defeated by Metal Claw and Swift.
"Here goes. Charizard! I choose you!" I go with my final Pokemon, a lot of people know this as the one who did a 6-0 in my Kanto League match.
Gary looks at the Charizard and says, "This will be tough…but I figured you would use it last."
Scizor lunges towards Charizard with Steel Wing, but the move fails to hit its mark. Charizard attacks with Flamethrower; Scizor jumps to avoid the attack, however, I refuse to let it get away this time. Charizard then meets Scizor airborne, much to Scizor and Gary's shock, before Scizor is knocked out by a super-effective Flamethrower to the face.
"You've gotten this far, Ashy Boy. That will be far enough! Blastoise! Go!" Gary sends out the now panting Blastoise.
Charizard's opening Flamethrower is deflected by Rapid Spin. Blastoise scores a direct hit, landing a Hydro Pump on Charizard's face. Charizard takes to the sky, but its airborne attack is repelled by a Skull Bash.
"Charizard! Fly up and go for another Aerial Ace!" I yell, and Charizard evades several Hydro Pumps along the way. However, Charizard cannot seem to find a desperately needed opening.
"Come on! There's gotta be something to do...but what?" I mutter.
"What will it be, Ash? You're always good at thinking outside the box when you have to. But none of that thinking's gonna help you now." Gary smirks.
I noticed when Charizard's Flamethrower missed Blastoise, it hit the rocks and they were left red hot and somewhat melted.
"That's it! Charizard! Use Flamethrower to burn the battlefield!"
As it does so, Gary is confused, "Okay... what's Ash's idea this time."
"I can't figure out what Ash's doing..." Lillie says.
"Hm..." Serena seems to have an idea.
Blastoise is immobilized by the red-hot field, something that not even a type advantage could cover. Resorting to cool the field using a Hydro Pump, Blastoise only succeeds in covering the field in steam. When the steam clears, Blastoise and Charizard are locked in close-range combat - too close for Blastoise to aim its Hydro Pumps. Though Blastoise manages to duck from a Dragon Rage, it allows Charizard to attempt a Seismic Toss. Blastoise tries to escape by biting Charizard's arm but to no avail. The attack continues and once Charizard and Blastoise land on the ground, everyone begins to wonder who won. When the dust clears, Blastoise is able to get up, and both Pokémon have a stare-off. Blastoise soon succumbs to the damage it took and reverts to its original form.
I am surprised, "I won... and I beat Gary..." Then Pikachu and the others rush to me, and they cheer for my victory.
"You did a great job, Ash!" I was a little surprised that the females were hugging me, and I said, "Thanks. I couldn't have done it without my Pokemon's help."
Silver is also there and he says, "You really are lucky, but the match is still going to be mine."
Ethan says, "Not if I take it first."
The night, I find Gary at the lake, and he says, "Hey, Ash. Thanks for coming to see me."
He gives me the other half of the Pokeball, much to my surprise. "It belongs to you, really I mean it. That battle today is awesome, I don't even feel bad that I lost. When we tied in the fishing contest, I felt like a failure, so I took it as a loss. But you won fair and square today."
"I also feel a lot stronger by battling you today." I say back.
"Me too. I'll cheer for you." Then we bid farewell.
The next day, I'm having my match against Harrison on a grassy field. I decide to go with Pikachu first.
"Hey, Ash! Even if you're my friend, I won't take it easy on you! Kecleon, you're up!" Harrison says.
I know that Pokemon is a Hoenn Pokemon, and soon enough Kecleon camouflages itself, making itself almost invisible besides a red zigzag on its stomach.
"Pikachu! Kecleon hasn't moved yet! Do a Quick Attack now!" But before Pikachu can attack, Kecleon jumps into the long grass for cover.
"Pikachu! Lock onto its position by listening!" I yell. However, Kecleon uses its Lick attack to confuse Pikachu, then tosses him aside with its tongue.
Harrison then orders a Psybeam, and the attack narrowly clips Pikachu as he tries to evade. Pikachu stands up and rushes into the grass to hide. But Kecleon uses its tongue to cut down the lawn. Pikachu bides his time before grabbing a hold of Kecleon's tongue, using it as a wire to deliver a direct Thunderbolt, knocking Kecleon out.
Harrison quickly recalls Kecleon and sends out Sneasel. Pikachu uses another Thunderbolt, but Sneasel dodges and lashes Pikachu with a Metal Claw to claim the round. I take a second to collect Pikachu from the field before calling out Scizor.
I have Scizor use Razor Wind, but Sneasel runs forward and attempts to use Metal Claw. However, Scizor uses X-Scissor down on Sneasel's arm, effectively immobilizing it. Afterwards, Scizor bullet Punches the Pokemon, leaving Sneasel unable to continue.
Harrison chooses Hypno to fight next. Scizor tries a Swords Dance, but Hypno replies with a Hypnosis, taking full control of Scizor. Next Hypno uses a Psychic attack to send Scizor flying, knocking it out cold.
I haven't sent back Snorlax yesterday because he is going to help in this battle as well. So I send it out now and although its slumbering state prevents it from being affected by Hypnosis, Hypno takes advantage of the situation by using Dream Eater. As Hypno slowly absorbs Snorlax's energy, its target soon wakes up in a rage from having its dreams stolen.
"Wow, what was Snorlax dreaming about?" Serena asks.
"Eating, I guess." Ethan replies back as they all chuckle.
With a single Hyper Beam, Hypno is blasted out of the match. The announcer orders a five-minute intermission due to three of Harrison's Pokémon being unable to battle.
The second half of the battle begins, I use Noctowl and Harrison chooses Steelix. Noctowl hits Steelix with a Confusion, but Steelix blinds it with Sandstorm. Noctowl is hit with a Dig attack from Steelix. Noctowl recovers and attempts to use Hypnosis. However, Steelix knocks it out of the sky with a powerful Iron Tail, winning Harrison the round.
I get Snorlax back out. As Snorlax prepares to use its Hyper Beam, Steelix Binds it up and uses a Crunch attack. Snorlax manages to free itself from Steelix's Bind with an Ice Punch before proceeding to knock Steelix out with a Hyper Beam.
Harrison's next Pokémon is Houndoom. Snorlax uses Hyper Beam once more. However, Houndoom uses Counter to deflect the attack and Snorlax ends up getting blasted by its own Hyper Beam and is taken out of the fight.
"A Houndoom can use Counter...that is so amazing..." East says.
"But Ash is in danger..." Alice frowns.
My fifth Pokémon is Meganium. The decision surprises Harrison, however, as a Grass-type Pokémon like Meganium is weak against Fire Pokémon like Houndoom. Meganium starts with Razor Leaf, but a Flamethrower attack from Houndoom burns through the leaves. I order a Headbutt attack, while Harrison orders Bite. The attacks miss, but then, Meganium uses Vine Whip to snap close Houndoom's jaws, which prevents Houndoom from using Flamethrower and Bite. Meganium tosses Houndoom to the ground and then finishes the battle off with a Body Slam.
"Well, Ash. You are really strong. Now I must show you my promise, Blaziken!" Harrison tosses his Pokeball and the Pokemon appears.
"Now Ash has to face another Pokemon with a type advantage..." Kris mutters.
Meganium starts with Razor Leaf, but Blaziken uses its legs to kick the leaves away in a flash. I decided to change my strategy and keep Meganium away from Blaziken as soon as possible. I have Meganium use Vine Whip, but the vines are easily caught by Blaziken, much to my surprise.
I order a Body Slam to use Blaziken's power against it, but Blaziken lands a close-range Fire Punch on Meganium and knocks her out.
"Now you showed yours, I will show mine. Charizard!" I send out my last Pokemon, and it will be interesting to see both Fire Starters battling against each other.
Both Charizard and Blaziken start off with a powerful Flamethrower attack, which collides to form a giant smoke cloud. As the smoke clears, neither Pokémon is fazed by the explosion. I have Charizard use Flamethrower again, which Blaziken easily dodges by jumping high into the air.
Taking advantage of the fact that Blaziken can't move freely in the air, Charizard tries a Dragon Rage, but Blaziken dodges, then counters using Quick Attack. Charizard flies upwards, though Blaziken still manages to hit it with a Flamethrower. Blaziken follows up with Quick Attack again and Charizard is hit by a Fire Punch, but, unfazed, counters with a Flamethrower that hits Blaziken dead on.
Blaziken is ordered once again to use Quick Attack. As Charizard and Blaziken brawl it out, I command Charizard to use Seismic Toss. Blaziken falls down to the ground, and the referee says, "Blaziken is-" But he stops as he sees that Blaziken gets up.
With both Pokémon tired out, Blaziken uses one more Quick Attack, which Charizard counters with Flamethrower. Charizard attacks again with a Seismic Toss, but Blaziken dodges and smashes Charizard with a Blaze Kick, dealing severe damage to Charizard. Charizard, sustaining the damage, releases a full-power Dragon Rage to meet Blaziken's Flamethrower. As the smoke clears, both Pokémon struggle to their feet.
"Charizard, please get up!" I yell.
"Blaziken, my hopes are on you." Harrison says.
Both Pokemon are encouraged, and they get up, but Blaziken proves to be too exhausted and collapses. As for Charizard, he stands back up with a mighty roar.
"Blaziken is unable to battle, Charizard is the winner, which means the victory goes to Ash Ketchum!"
Good. Now I'm one of the four in the finals. Harrison says, "Good battle."
"Same here." I say as we shake hands with each other.
That night, Harrison is sitting alone by the river, but we join him. I ask, "Is Blaziken going to be alright?"
"It is fine. He was my starter in Hoenn. Thanks to him I could made this far." Harrison says.
"You know what, maybe you should try Hoenn as your next target." Reisa says.
"Sure, once I beat this league I will go there." I say.
Just then, we hear a sudden scream, and we rush over to hear that there are some ghosts troubling them. I use Noctowl and it goes for Foresight, revealing to be a Misdreavus.
Gary then comes and explains that the Misdreavus actually live higher up on Mt. Silver, but must have been disturbed by the Silver Conference. I am much more surprised when Gary says that he's going to be a Pokemon Researcher uncovering the mysteries of Pokemon evolution.
Of course, I am happy for my friend, and Misdreavus decided to join my team.
Misdreavus: The Screech Pokemon: Ghost Type. It loves to bite and yank people's hair from behind without warning, just to see their shocked reactions.
Here is the second part of the three-part league chapters, and I let Ash win against Harrison for the purpose of the next chapter, Ash will be facing both Ethan and Silver.
Ash + Lillie's Pokemon:
Charizard x2 (In training), Butterfree x2 (One Pink), Pikachu, Lapras, Meganium, Typhlosion, Feraligatr, Furret, Noctowl (Shiny), Ledian, Ariados, Crobat, Lanturn, Togetic, Xatu, Ampharos, Bellossom, Azumarill, Sudowoodo, Politoed, Jumpluff, Aipom, Sunflora, Yanma, Quagsire, Espeon, Umbreon, Murkrow, Slowking, Misdreavus, Unown x28, Wobbuffet, Girafarig, Forretress, Dunsparce, Gligar, Steelix (Crystal), Granbull, Qwilfish, Scizor, Shuckle, Heracross, Ursaring, Magcargo, Piloswine, Corsola, Octillery, Delibird, Mantine, Skarmory, Houndoom, Kingdra, Phanpy, Porygon 2, Stantler, Smeargle, Hitmontop, Miltank, Blissey, Raikou, Entei, Larvitar, Tyranitar, Celebi
Reisa's Pokemon:
Blastoise, Tentacruel, Seaking, Starmie, Gyarados, Feraligatr, Lanturn, Azumarill, Politoed, Quagsire, Slowking, Qwilfish, Corsola, Octillery, Mantine, Kingdra
East's Pokemon:
Noctowl, Ledian, Crobat, Jumpluff, Gligar, Delibird, Mantine, Skarmory
Ethan's Pokemon:
Typhlosion, Pichu, Sudowoodo, Politoed, Togetic, Aipom, Sunflora, Mantine
Kris' Pokemon:
Parasect, Arcanine, Hitmonchan, Meganium, Cubone, Xatu, Smoochum
