Grass Field
Ash and Gary were the final preliminary battle, and they were already on the field. The former was in the green stand while the latter was in the red stand. In one section of the stands there was Delia, Serena, Brock, James, Luana, and Ritchie who were here to cheer on Ash.
In a box above the stands there was Agatha, Blue, and Samuel. While the ghost specialist was looking to retire, if Brock finally gets strong enough to replace her, she wouldn't deny the job came with its perks. The ref took his place on the field.
"Alright folks, you're in for a real treat." The announcer informed. "This is a battle between two boys who started their respective journeys on the same day, from the same home town. Gary Oak has been living up to his rather extensive legacy of champions and Elite Four.
Despite not having an Elite Four member in his family, I'm almost positive the two champions in the Ketchum family would say Ash has lived up to his name just as well. If I were a betting man, I'd put money on this match being one you will all remember."
"This is the final preliminary match of the Indigo Conference." The ref declared. "It is between Gary Oak and Ash Ketchum, and it shall take place on the grass field where. Each trainer will be allowed the use of three Pokemon and can substitute at any time. No time limit is in play, and the trainer who shall go first will be…"
The board with both trainers' faces light up. The green light behind Ash and the red light behind Gary continued flashing, rotating between the two, before eventually stopping with Ash's picture lighting up.
"Ash Ketchum." The ref continued. "The battle will be over when all three pokemon on one side are unable to battle."
Ash knew exactly how he should start this battle, so he took the first pokeball off his belt. "I choose you, Dragonite!"
Ash let out his pseudo legendary who knew this battle was an important one for his trainer. He immediately took a battle stance.
"Ash Ketchum is not messing around as he bust out the pokemon closely tied to Kanto's strongest Elite Four member." The announcer informed. "That's not all since Ash Ketchum has yet to reuse a pokemon in this league leaving me to wonder just how many he has."
Unlike Ash, who unintentionally brought four pokemon to prior battles by proxy of Pikachu always being with him, Gary deliberately brought four to all his preliminary battles. After all, a little wiggle room in his strategy was key for him.
As such, he currently had two options for this battle. While neither were pseudo legendaries, you didn't have to have one to beat one. His first option was Kingdra who had no problems navigating a land field through their training together.
Not to mention both pokemon were part dragon type meaning they had an advantage and disadvantage over each other. His second option was Gengar who was a rather solid pokemon attributed to Kanto even though it appeared in many other regions.
There was also something to be said of the fact that like Dragonite, Gengar was the ace of the Elite Four members just under Lance in terms of strength. Unlike Ash, raising such a ghost type was kind of in his blood by proxy of his relation to Agatha.
Both pokemon were truly solid options, but he ultimately made his choice based on the fact Ash liked to start with Dragonite's extreme speed, thus he would remove that option. "I choose you, Gengar."
Upon seeing the two pokemon chosen for this battle in particular, the crowd went wild.
Agatha's Box
"See that Blue." Agatha was smiling. "Why couldn't you have trained a ghost type your first journey? I think a Gengar would be much better for your gym than Alakazam."
"Alakazam is a perfectly fine pokemon." Blue retorted. "Besides, between him and Tyranitar, I have pretty much everything covered without one."
Despite how Agatha could be, she'd never enforce her pokemon preference on her family. That didn't mean she wasn't going to bring up her grandson willingly capturing and training a ghost type from the very line she decided would be her ace. To her, it was celebration worthy.
Grass Field
Ash busted out his pokedex to scan this pokemon:
Gengar, the Shadow Pokémon and the evolved form of Haunter. Gengar is happy when it scares people, smiling wickedly in the dark.
"A ghost type, huh?" Ash grinned. "Yep, that's Gary alright. He did his research and knew I love getting off that early priority move. Even so, I still have another on Dragonite."
"Gary Oak decides to answer Ash Ketchum with the ace pokemon of the Elite Four member just under Lance." The announcer informed. "What an opening decision."
"Dragonite vs Gengar…Begin!" The ref declared.
Ash vs Gary (P. I)
"Aqua jet." Ash declared.
Gary thought Ash might go for that which only made Gengar more of a solid option. "Sucker punch."
As Dragonite was surrounded by water and came rushing at Gengar, he was suddenly slammed in the face by a powerful, dark fist stopping him in his tracks.
"Now, follow it up with a hypnosis." Gary ordered.
Rather than resort to sleep talk, Ash had a different move in mind. "Dragonite use safeguard."
Dragonite, Charizard's pokeball, and Pikachu all glowed with normal type energy effectively shutting down all status conditions for this battle. That means when Gengar sent out his hypnotic waves, they did nothing to the pseudo.
"Gengar, use thunderbolt." Gary ordered.
"Dragonite, use iron head to dispel some of the electricity and nail Gengar." Ash instructed.
Dragonite's head sheened with steel type energy as he flew at Gengar. The ghost/poison type did get off thunderbolt, but Dragonite ensured their iron head was the point of first contact. While not as effective as using iron tail to ground, the dragon/flying type still managed to push through the super effective move and land iron head on Gengar dolling out a strong blow.
"Now that we're close, follow it up with a dragon claw." Ash ordered.
"Gengar, use phantom force." Gary commanded.
As Dragonite attempted to strike with his dragon energy infused claws, he passed through a now transparent Gengar. The shadow pokemon then became corporeal before delivering a strong blow to Dragonite's back.
"You'll have to try a little harder than that." Gary declared. "Gengar, use ice punch."
"Then, it's a good thing Dragonite and I are just getting warmed up." Ash retorted. "Dragonite, use fire punch."
Gengar and Dragonite punched at the same time with their respective, elementally charged fist. They clashed said fists for mere moments before Dragonite came out on top and slammed his fire fist across Gengar's face.
"Let's follow up with an ice spinner." Ash ordered.
With the pseudo in proximity, dodging wouldn't quite work out, so Gary settled for another avenue. "Use payback."
Dragonite spun while cloaked in ice energy and smashed into Gengar. The shadow pokemon came right back around nailing the dragon pokemon with his body coated in a powerful dark energy due to taking that prior attack. This pushed the dragon/flying type back.
"I think it's time we wrap this up." Ash stated. "Dragonite, dragon claw."
"I couldn't agree more." Gary smiled because now there was distance. "Gengar, dodge before finish this with dazzling gleam."
As Dragonite attempted to come in with his dragon energy imbued claws, Gengar had just enough time to get out of the way. He almost immediately after radiated powerful fairy type energy that blasted Dragonite back. When he hit the ground, there were swirls in his eyes.
Grass Field
"Dragonite is unable to battle. This round goes to the red trainer, Gary Oak." The ref declared.
"Return Dragonite, you did a good job." Ash returned his fallen pseudo.
"For the first time this league, Ash Ketchum loses a pokemon before his opponent." The announcer informed. "How will young Ketchum respond?"
Stands
"Oh no…" Serena gasped.
"Gary is shockingly strong." Ritchie commented in shock.
"Gary's always been ahead." James stated, drawing his and Luana's attention. "Up to this point, Ash has yet to beat him."
"Even so, I'd say this is the closest Ash has been to him in terms of strength." Brock voiced. "That means there is a chance he can turn this around; however, Ash will need to do what his prior opponents couldn't."
"If Ash wants to win, he must take back the momentum." Luana finished for Brock.
Try as Ash's three prior opponents might, not one could snatch the initial momentum. Despite their best efforts to take it back, none could manage it. Now, Ash was in their shoes meaning it was time to see if he could.
Grass Field
Considering Pikachu really wanted a potential battle with Venusaur, Ash only had one option at this time. "I choose you, Charizard!"
The fire/flying type appeared and roared mightily more than ready to finally have his shot at battling in the league.
"This pokemon might not have made an appearance in the Indigo Conference yet, but Ash Ketchum has used that Kanto Starter to topple the prior Orange Champion. Clearly, Ash Ketchum is showing he's not messing around.
"Return and rest up Gengar." Gary declared.
Despite coming out on top, that last battle had really worn down his shadow pokemon, so a substitution was in order. While Kingdra would ordinarily be a good choice, Ash's Charizard was simply on a level where relying on type advantage simply wouldn't do.
Besides, Gary had a particular pokemon just itching for a rematch. "I choose you, Typhlosion."
When the Johto starter appeared, both immediately knew who they were dealing with. Two fire starters once owned by Damian and now with different trainers. Neither blamed the other for anything from their last encounter.
In fact, both could relate given Damien didn't treat either of them particularly well. That didn't mean either fire type wasn't going to put their all into this battle. Charizard wanted to see if Typhlosion was stronger, and the latter wanted to prove it.
"The battles just keep coming folks." The announcer declared. "Both trainers whip out a fire starter which tells me were in for another impressive battle."
"Charizard vs Typhlosion…Begin." The ref declared.
Ash vs Gary (P. II)
"Typhlosion/Charizard, use flamethrower." Gary/Ash ordered.
The two fire types shot their flames out, and they met in the middle momentarily before Charizard's overcame Typhlosion's.
"Use thunder punch." Gary commanded.
"Meet them head on with fire punch." Ash ordered.
The two pokemon charged one another before colliding with their respective elemental punches.
"Fire punch." Gary ordered.
"Thunder punch." Ash commanded.
Their opposite fists were cloaked in the elements the other had just used, and as a show of attempted dominance, the two pokemon kept up their prior fists refusing to back down. This meant when they collided with their other fist, it was fire vs electricity on both ends.
"Use shadow ball." Gary commanded.
"Dragon pulse." Ash ordered.
At point blank range, they fired off the sphere of ghostly energy and wave of dragon energy from their mouths. This resulted in a powerful explosion that blasted both pokemon back. At this point, the damage from colliding fists and the powerful explosion were setting in.
"Use rock slide." Gary instructed.
"Charizard, dodge and use seismic toss." Ash instructed.
Typhlosion rained rocks down, but Charizard lunged forward before flying at Typhlosion. Despite this move being used on him before, the volcano pokemon could not stop it. The flame pokemon nabbed his opponent and ascended before flying around rapidly.
Once he had enough speed, Charizard hurled Typhlosion right into the ground with all his might. The Volcano pokemon was dazed, yet he could still get to his feet. At that point it was clear he was nearing the end. Perhaps even just a bit more would activate his blaze.
"Typhlosion, flare blitz." Gary commanded.
"Charizard, flare blitz as well." Ash ordered.
Typhlosion rolled along the ground cloaked in a powerful fire as he picked up momentum, and once he had, he transferred every ounce into a powerful leap. Charizard flew down to meet him cloaked in his own fire.
They clashed powerfully before Charizard ultimately drove Typhlosion into the ground. Even at this point, Typhlosion was not bested by the impact, and blaze activated in a powerful red aura as both pokemon stood. Then, the recoil hit both and the volcano pokemon fainted.
Grass Field
"Typhlosion is unable to battle. This round goes to the green trainer, Ash Ketchum." The ref declared.
"Awesome Charizard!" Ash praised. "Keep up the good work!"
Charizard gave a mighty roar of victory.
"You performed well Typhlosion." Gary returned his pokemon. "Take a good rest now."
"Ash is on the path to closing the lead Gary picked up from the prior battle." The announcer declared. "The question is, can he keep this up, or will Gary's earlier win be all the momentum he needs to cinch victory?"
"I choose you, Gengar!" Gary declared.
Ash has taught his own ghost pokemon destiny bond, so he had no doubts someone like Gary would do the same with his. This means Ash either needed to faint Gengar before he used it or make him use it on Charizard. If he failed in either, Pikachu would faint in the next battle.
"Charizard vs Gengar…Begin." The ref declared.
Ash vs Gary (P. III)
"Shadow ball." Gary commanded.
"Charizard, use crunch on the oncoming shadow ball." Ash instructed. "Then, use shadow claw."
Gengar fired the sphere of ghostly energy only for Charizard to crunch down on it with a maw of dark energy destroying it. The flame pokemon then rushed forward with his claws cloaked in ghostly energy.
"Phantom force." Gary ordered.
At the last second, Gengar became transparent phasing through the oncoming attack. He then immediately turned around, becoming corporeal, and landed a powerful ghostly blow to Charizard's back.
"Rock slide." Ash commanded.
Rocks rained down atop Gengar delivering a strong blow.
"Gengar, use thunder punch." Gary commanded.
"Use steel wing to get a wing in the ground before then slamming them into Gengar." Ash instructed.
Charizard managed to dig one of his steel covered wings into the ground to act as a ground against the coming thunder punch. As a result, the powerful blow was lessened. He then dug out his steel covered wing and slammed it into Gengar who was quickly losing steam.
"Charizard, end this with flare blitz." Ash ordered.
Gary knew his ghost type wouldn't have the energy to dodge, and Charizard was simply a power house of a pokemon. This meant he only had one option left to take it out.
"Gengar, destiny bond." Gary commanded.
Charizard was cloaked in powerful fire energy as he plowed into Gengar sending him smashing into the ground. This was enough to faint the ghost type while Charizard stood tall taking the recoil like a champ and roaring to the heavens as blaze activated around him.
Then, destiny bond kicked in sending ghostly energy from Gengar's unconscious body into Charizard. He roared in pain before collapsing to the ground with the blaze wearing off as he'd fainted.
Grass Field
"Both pokemon are unable to battle." The ref declared. "Since Ash Ketchum revealed his pokemon first at the start of this match, it now falls to Gary to reveal his last pokemon first."
"You were great as always Charizard." Ash returned his pokemon. "Take a well-deserved rest."
"You performed well, Gengar." Gary returned his pokemon.
"Ash has managed to push Gary into using destiny bond." The announcer informed. "This brings the match to a one on one. Given the strength of the strongest pokemon these two have used in this battle, it's as close a match as one could possible be. Who will come out on top?"
At this point, Gary had to choose between Kingdra or Venusaur as his final pokemon. It was an easy choice. While neither pokemon were truly affected by electric moves, Gary wasn't about to play a game of speed against Ash of all people.
He'd rather play his own game of bulk against that speed. Beyond even that, what better battle to go out on than one involving their starter? In short, Gary had every reason under the sun to go with his starter.
"I choose you, Venusaur!" Gary declared as he threw his pokemon out.
"This is exactly what we wanted." Ash smiled as he looked at his starter. "Ready to do this, buddy?"
"Pika!" Pikachu declared.
"Alright then." Ash turned back to the field. "I choose you, Pikachu!"
Pikachu lept onto the field and sparked his cheeks while staring down the starter. Unlike their battle back at the Fuchsia Tournament, he had every intention of winning. Venusaur, like his trainer, just flashed a confident smirk figuring the win was all theirs.
Stands
Serena smiled. "Right up the very end, those two have made memorable matches."
"What do you mean?" Ritchie asked.
"Just as Pikachu is Ash's starter, Gary had picked Bulbasaur." Serena informed.
"I see." Luana nodded. "Dragonite and Gengar are aces of the Elite Four, Charizard and Typhlosion are regional starters, and Pikachu and Venusaur are their starters."
"I figured it'd go this way." Delia commented now causing everyone to look at her. "When I go see my son's pokemon, I also tend to see Gary's around. Considering they've always competed; I had a feeling what pokemon would be matched up."
Granted, there were plenty of other possibilities besides these three specific match ups. After all, both boys own their fair share of pokemon. Delia did at least have these specific battles in mind among the various others that could have happened.
Agatha's Box
"That Ketchum boy is just like his father." Agatha commented. "An unevolved Pikachu that is shockingly strong."
"From what I've seen, Ash's Pikachu has a great chance of one day being stronger than Red's." Samuel commented. "As for right now, they have a long way to go."
"Both boys do, but I'd say they're coming along well." Blue commented.
If Red did fail to hold back all that will threaten their world, it's likely those two could be some of the trainers at the forefront of what may come. The fact that they were as strong as they are now gave Blue hope they'd be ready if it ever came to pass.
Grass Field
"Pikachu vs Venusaur…Begin." The ref declared.
Ash vs Gary (P. IV)
"Pikachu, get in there with extreme speed." Ash commanded.
Pikachu sped in and slammed into Venusaur. While it didn't seem to do much, Venusaur was a rather defensive pokemon, the damage was still dealt all the same.
"Venusaur, vine whip to snatch Pikachu." Gary ordered.
Ash knew getting in close with anything that had a move which could capture Pikachu was a potential risk. Fortunately, they'd worked on a little something that should turn that risk in their favor…unless they were facing a ground type, but Venusaur wasn't one.
"Pikachu, electric terrain." Ash commanded.
Pikachu sent out his electricity across the field making it spark. Its effects weren't meant to hurt opposing pokemon by itself. It was meant to boost the power of electric attacks by 50%. Being snagged, like Venusaur did not long after terrain was up, was where Ash wanted things to be.
"Now Pikachu, thunder at max strength." Ash ordered.
"Venusaur, slam Pikachu into the ground." Gary tried.
Pikachu got his move off before he could be smashed into the ground unleashing a devasting thunder right into Venusaur. While normally resisted, the electric terrain simply brought the move back to neutral meaning the grass/poison type was really feeling it.
As Venusaur was forced to reflexively loosen his grip on Pikachu, Ash gave the next command. "Now, dig into the ground and do as we practiced."
As Pikachu fell, he positioned himself just right to immediately tunnel and vanish into the field.
"We already got a counter for that Ash." Gary called out. "Venusaur, earthquake!"
"We have our very own counter to that as well courtesy of the battle with Blue." Ash countered. "Pikachu, trailblaze to defend!"
While nothing could be seen underground, the earthquake was clearly seen as the entire field shook violently.
"Pikaaaaa!" Pikachu cried out in pain.
Pikachu being damaged wasn't the only thing that happened as the ground immediately beneath Venusaur collapsed in on itself. Pikachu had dug a hole under the seed pokemon while leaving the field intact. After so many destroyed fields, Ash decided to work on honing this strategy.
At least now the entire field wouldn't need to be repaired because of them. This arguably worked out better since the hole could more effectively trap pokemon. To put the cherry atop this whole thing, Pikachu lept forth from the hole he had created to get under there.
Pikachu was now cloaked in grass type energy and panting just like he had been back at the Viridian gym. Just like back then, Pikachu was still very much conscious. Additionally, Venusaur took a nasty fall that couldn't have felt all that great.
"Time to wrap this up!" Ash declared. "Pikachu, give it everything you got with your strongest icicle crash!"
"We won't be defeated just like that!" Gary countered. "Venusaur, full power giga drain!"
Pikachu lept high into the air right above the hole where Venusaur now resided. He formed the largest icicle of ice type energy possible before landing atop and riding it straight down. It was set to strike true right into the grass type starter.
Venusaur let rip his giga drain attempting to siphon off as much of Pikachu's energy as possible. This was done to hopefully survive the falling attack and faint the opposing pokemon. Large spheres of grass energy were siphoning from Pikachu steadily weakening him.
Then, the icicle crashed directly down on Venusaur powerfully due to distance it fell, and the move shattered on impact. This kicked up debris of grass, dirt, and ice that completely obscured the hole leaving everyone wondering just what had happened.
It was silent as the audience, announcer, and trainers all waited with baited breath just to see the outcome. Soon enough, the debris dissipated revealing everything. Venusaur was collapsed on the ground with swirls in his eyes while Pikachu stood atop him panting heavily.
Grass Field
"Venusaur is unable to battle." The ref declared. "With all three of Gary Oak's pokemon down, the green trainer, Ash Ketchum, is the final member of the top 8."
The crowd went wild.
"He's done it folks!" The announcer declared excitedly. "Ash Ketchum cannot only maintain momentum, but he's shown he can even work against it to come out on top! Now, I request you all remain seated for we will change the field and get the other seven competitors out shortly."
"Pikachu, you did it!" Ash exclaimed.
He lept off his stand, landed, and booked it across the field. Pikachu would have loved to run to his trainer, but he only had enough energy to get out of the hole. Any further than that, and he'd faint. Ash was more than content to scoop his buddy up into his arms and hug him.
"Return Venusaur." Gary gave a small smile of acceptance. "Sorry, looks like I misjudged just how much Ash would grow in the Orange Archipelago."
While Gary did want a challenge, he was not above admitting this loss had been his doing. Granted, he likely wouldn't have been able to accept such a thing had he been who he was at the start, but who he was now certainly could.
Gary put his starters pokeball back on his belt before approaching his rival. "Hey." Ash looked at him and saw that familiar smirk. "You finally got the best of me, but don't get used to it. Whatever league you're going to next, I'll be there, and it'll be my win."
"We'll see about that." Ash smiled. "After taking the win for the first time, I won't be eager to simply hand one over to you."
"Getting handed a victory wouldn't do, so keep that energy." Gray then held out his hand. "As for now, keep that energy you came at me with today. If you end up losing, I don't want anyone to say it's because you faltered. That'd only made me look bad."
"You won't have to worry." Ash shook the offered hand. "No matter what the results, my pokemon always give their best."
This wasn't exactly a Cross situation. Ash and Gary have always been friends on some level, but it was never really defined given what their rivalry had been. This journey had shaped both. They weren't ever going to say it to each other, but they were true friends and rivals.
After their moment, the two boys got off the field. Gary left it while Ash moved to stand where the ref directed him to as a plain battle field was slotted into where the grass field had been. He was now waiting for the seven other trainers who made it this far.
Stands
"Ash did it!" Serena cheered louder than anyone else in the group with only Delia coming close.
"Ash's Pikachu is becoming something else." James noted.
Vaguely, the thought crossed the former rocket member's mind that perhaps he, Jessie, and Meowth might have very well followed Ash to the ends of any region in an attempt to snag such a powerful Pikachu. Just as suddenly as such a thought came, it went.
"Huh, that was odd." James thought before going back to cheering.
"I think it's safe to say that no matter how far he gets now, no one in the Orange Archipelago will be able to contest why Ash is our regions latest champion." Luana commented.
A champion participating in another league always ran the risks of displeasing their region if they didn't perform well. Ash had left no doubts in Luana's minds that everyone back in the Orange Archipelago would be praising his performance here.
Agatha's Box
"I'd say Gary is already better than the two of you." Agatha stated.
Just as before, compliments were a rarity from Agatha. It didn't mean she didn't love her family, but it did mean that when she gave truly meant something.
"If Gary wants to take my tittle as the strongest Oak, he'll have to work for it." Blue gave his and Gary's signature smirk. "I'm not ready to simply roll over and accept my boy has beaten me just yet."
"See that Samuel, that's the attitude you should have had rather than your current ways." Agatha retorted.
"I'm quite content where I am in life now, Aggs." Samuel responded with a smile.
Life never was truly a straightforward path, and it often had its ways of changing people. Sometimes that mean falling out of love. That didn't mean those who had once loved each other couldn't control the fallout from the loss of affection.
Even if Agatha often said she wished Oak was more like Blue, he knew she wasn't transfixed in changing him into that. It was more her own way of lamenting a long since passed part of their lives together. It was only natural to look back at the past in that way as you grew older.
All I got to say down here is a bit of real-world stuff. I will be moving around October 5th-6th. My plan as of now is to have this story finished before then and hopefully have started the next. After we move, wifi should be back up almost immediately, but providers have often screwed us before even with prior notice. Essentially, we shall see, but the dream is minimal interruptions in continuing this series.
Something concerning this story is that the next match is six on six, so that will take more time to write. I'll try to have it out relatively soon, but don't hold me to that. What you can hold me to is that I will not go on another year long break. Not when I am so close to finally finishing the first story of this series. If I start to take way too long to get the next chapter out, you all have my permission to flood my pms telling me to get a move on.
lrbrenneke: Thanks
Vital Info: I will confirm nothing on just who wins since that would be spoilers, but I will say I have my reasons for why things go as they do.
Nightshadegirl: Don't worry, Misty will be in the next region. With Gary confirming he'll be going to whatever region Ash decides next, to get his get back for this loss, that's two Indigo League rivals who Ash will have to contend with in the next region.
Elemental-Aura: I just had to work it that way. She didn't get to be a traveling companion, so she gets some recompence by having dedicated chapters to her that meaningfully progress her story. As for this chapter itself, she did get the privilege of actually pushing Hilbert who hasn't been pushed in any battle prior. While future league can't exactly progress her story as much as this league has, she'll still be around. Hopefully, you enjoyed this chapter's battle.