Part LXXIII: Battle Calculations
Ash walked out of the trainer's entrance on his side of the battlefield and into the packed, cheering stadium for his first full battle of the Indigo Conference. At the same time Conway walked out of his own side and they made their way to their starting boxes while the crowd really got into the upcoming battle. It was the first battle of the afternoon and Ash was ready. This was what he had been training for all year. It was time to put that training to good use and win both this battle and the Indigo Conference but all-in good time.
The morning had been interesting as Ash made last minute plans for his battle while he was in the waiting room, factoring in the Pokémon he was using and how they would work against the Pokémon he expected Conway to use. At the same time, Ash was keeping an eye on the first 4 battles. They had been interesting to say the least, especially the first one.
The last 16 had kicked off with Bianca v. Trip in an all Unova opening match, a first for the Indigo Conference, that had not ended how many probably expected. That was because it had been Bianca who had won the match. It had gone down to the wire with their fully evolved starters, Emboar and Serperior, battling in the final matchup but Bianca had the edge and type advantage by that point and won. Ash had a feeling he knew why she won and it wasn't so much due to her skill, though that was undeniable at this point, but more Trip's own fault.
Trip had always been one of the more analytical trainers Ash had met and one of the most fundamentally correct trainers in the Conference. His best skills lay in his ability to study and observe his Pokémon but his weakness was his reliance of what he deemed to be basics. Fundamentals could only take you so far, it was the nuances that carried the day. The main one being forming a deep and loving bond with your Pokémon. That was, at least as Ash saw it, the key to victory.
Other than his starter, who he did share that bond with, Trip had focused on power and maximizing it through the tried and tested ways of trainers. While he wasn't as bad as he had been back in Unova Trip still had some of that early days mentality that had made him Ash's primary rival in Unova and Ash saw it on display at times in his match with Bianca.
It showed when Trip occasionally lacked that connection with his Pokémon, the almost human element that Bianca had is spades as her weaknesses were the flip side of Trip's. Ash had first seen it in Unova when they had faced off and Emboar had won for Bianca by learning Fling and he saw it again today.
True after his loss to Alder in the Junior Cup, Trip had mellowed out and Ash could see in the battle that his Pokémon were closer to him but elements of Trip's time before that loss, mainly his overreliance on the basics, had remained. That was reflected in his chosen team, all but Serperior unseen in the Conference, a good tactic, but Trip had gone overboard while trying to cover all his bases.
His entire team, other than Serperior, were duel types and no two types were the same. In addition to Serperior, Trip had used Tyranatar, Cloister, Magnezone, Xatu and Camerupt. To add to it, the remaining 6 types were represented in the various moves he used. It wasn't a bad strategy, and his move sets were impressively diverse, but it was too reliant on the knowledge side and against an unorthodox trainer who battled with her emotions like Bianca did it wasn't enough.
Not that Trip didn't do well, he had the lead a few times and Bianca's Pokémon, her 3 Unova ones plus Machamp, Hitmonchan and Dewgong, but her heart carried the day. Well that and her Emboar who won 3 matches itself as it was not only her best but clearly had a deep bond with Bianca and understood her rather odd behavior at times.
Regardless, it had been the best match of the day so far, the others couldn't compare to it. Brenden had won with 3 of his Pokémon still remaining conscious and eligible to battle, as had the Sinnoh trainer Lucas both showing their experience. Lastly Lyra had won just before lunch in a much closer match that came down to the last Pokémon for each trainer but in the end her Venusaur got the edge on her opponent's Typhlosion advancing her to the quarterfinals.
Now it was after lunch and Ash's turn to try and advance. A win would guarantee improvement from his last time in the Indigo Conference and match his last Conference place, that was the next barrier to break through. Ash had spent the night before reviewing Conway's battles so far, he had won all with his last Pokémon, and could tell that the Conway's style was still heavy on tactics and didn't take into account improvisation. He had almost lost twice because of that, the only thing ensuring victory was what all the trainers still standing had use, type advantages.
Still, Conway was a good trainer and Ash couldn't take him lightly in this match. He also wasn't sure what Pokémon Conway would use against him. He had seen all the Pokémon he recalled Conway having in Sinnoh along with 6 other Pokémon that Conway must have caught over the last 2 years. Ash wasn't sure what Conway would use, he could easily use a Pokémon Ash hadn't seen yet, and the guy was about as balanced as he was in his battles.
Ash had decided to go with a mix of predictions based on what he'd seen of Conway, a well-balanced team, and quick changes if need to be get an advantage. That had been the key to getting through the preliminaries, winning that opening battle so that you could ensure that a loss was replaced with a type advantage to win and advance. Mixed in with a little predictions of course.
For example Ash had known that Stephan would use Sawk in their battle if Ash used a Pokémon weak to fighting types. That was why he had a flying type for that battle. He was an experienced trainer here to win not test himself, that had been what the challenges to the gym leaders had been for this year. Against a powerful Sawk that knew mostly fighting type moves while being on a water battlefield and with a spot in the next round on the line he was going to use a flying type as that was his best shot at winning that matchup.
That had been why Katie had really pushed him. She'd kept the edge all match and reminded Ash that if he fell behind, he was still a skilled trainer. She'd shown that first with Misdreavus keeping the type advantage game at bay until one of them was down to their last Pokémon. That was a game that Katie had won but Ash had faith in Sceptile against her Scizor and skill had prevailed. It could have easily been the other way and gone against him against Nando or Stephan but his skill, coupled with the type advantages, had won the day in those matches.
Course that wasn't really the case now with the full battles. Now Ash could substitute if he won a matchup, just as Conway could if he won one, and that added a new factor into play. One Ash intended to do his best to avoid against a trainer like Conway. That meant quick substitutions when he had the chance to do so to keep the match unpredictable and quick changes when he lost if he had a Pokémon to counter Conway's. The same would be true for the other rounds but first he had to beat Conway.
All that had to be put to the back of his mind though. The battle was now at hand and Ash had to be in the zone for it, both his tactical plan and be ready to improvise at a moment's notice. He took his position, Pikachu next to him as he locked gazes with Conway across the battlefield, his first Pokémon already known and hoping he had predicted Conway well enough to guess what the Sinnoh trainer's first would be.
"Here we are at last Conway." Ash called out across the battlefield. "As you expected and wanted. I agree, it is fitting that this will occur in a full battle in the Indigo Conference."
"Yes I knew that we would one day engage in battle like this but that was the easiest prediction I made this year." Conway said with a chuckle. "Time to remind Misty why I should be considered in her equation of life. I always knew she was a threat, it's why I focused on her and liked her in the end. However, I always knew she liked you, I just never expected you to realize it or your own feelings. That is something I need to correct."
"She's cheering me and knows I will win, not just for her but myself as well." Ash said not looking at where Misty, his mom and all his gathered friends were cheering from as he had to focus on the battle at hand. "So why don't we cut this alpha male stuff and put it all on the battlefield."
"I couldn't agree more." Conway said with a small smile as the light reflected off his glasses as it always did, seriously did Conway buy his glasses specially for that or something because it was unnerving to Ash. "Let's start this Ash."
"Alright the 5th battle of the last 16 of the Indigo Conference is about to begin." An announcer said and the jumbotron at midfield came to life showing pictures of Ash and Conway with 6 empty slots for their Pokémon's pictures to represent their Pokémon. "Facing off in this match we have Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town here in Kanto and Conway from the Sinnoh region."
As the announcer spoke each of their pictures was highlighted when he said their names so that the crowd could see who was who. When that was done the announcer continued with his opening statements.
"By this point you and the trainers know the rules so we will proceed to the coin flip with Ash being blue and Conway red to determine the first move, something as you all know by now is only done in the final rounds." The announcer said as a virtual red and blue coin appeared on the screen and flipped several times before landing blue side up. "And it is blue, Ash will have the first move. On the ref's whistle send out your first Pokémon at the same time and the match will begin."
Almost immediately after the announcer was done the ref looked at Ash and Conway who both nodded to confirm that they were ready. With that he blew his whistle.
"Pikachu, I choose you!" Ash said pointing out and Pikachu leapt into battle.
"Slowking, here we go!" Conway said as Ash grinned.
"Just as I predicted Conway." Ash said. "Slowking has always been your top Pokémon, in a match like this you would go with that to start as it gives you a good chance to put me at a disadvantage right off the bat but I can counter a Slowking."
"Yes I can see you have done well there." Conway said but this time he wasn't fazed, he'd faced Ash before and knew not to try and predict him though he really hadn't expected Ash to start out with Pikachu. "But after last time I know that my predictions on you could be off so I have adapted to face you by studying all of your Pokémon, especially that Pikachu of yours as he is your top Pokémon."
"Then you will know how this one starts." Ash replied. "Pikachu, Electro Ball."
"That is a new move but an electric type attack against my Slowking is predictable." Conway said as Pikachu formed and sent the ball at Slowking. "Slowking, stop and send it back with Psychic."
"We've seen this trick before Pikachu, Quick Attack as it is coming back at you and dodge it." Ash said grinning at the memory of both his battle with Sabrina, as well as watching Misty's match with Anabel as both had shown him this little trick with other moves.
Pikachu just grinned as he tore off at full speed at Slowking as its eyes glowed blue and stopped the ball of electricity before hurling it right back at Pikachu. Unlike the Slowbro that Pikachu had faced, and embarrassingly lost earlier in the year, this Pokémon was a genius. Well compared to a Slowbro most Pokémon were geniuses but a Slowking was a legitimately intelligent Pokémon species.
That wouldn't stop Pikachu and he easily avoided his own attack, showing off his impressive maneuverability while using Quick Attack before he leapt at Slowking. He slammed head first into its chest, staggering it back and causing it to yell in pain but it was nowhere near enough to take it down.
"Throw Pikachu back with Psychic." Conway ordered and instantly its eyes glowed blue, then the blue glow enveloped Pikachu before Slowbro flicked its head sending Pikachu high and into the air.
"Just like with Arcanine Pikachu." Ash said as Pikachu was thrown high into the air. "Thunderbolt."
"Pikachu!" Pikachu yelled sending out a powerful Thunderbolt from midair right at Slowking, disregarding his own potential safe landing to ensure that the attack hit.
"Well that is impressive." Conway muttered in surprise while Slowking looked shocked that Pikachu could get the attack off.
That shock became literal a second later as it hit Slowking in the Sheldon on its head and fried it. Slowking bellowed in pain at the super effective move and fell to on knee with an eye closed, a hand on the ground and a grimace on its face as Pikachu hit the ground hard and rolled a little before popping up ready for his next order. Slowking was injured but it was a fully evolved and experienced Pokémon, it would take more than one hit to get it down.
"Water Pulse." Conway said as Pikachu was getting up.
"Dodge that with Quick Attack and then use Iron Tail." Ash ordered.
"Pikachu." Pikachu said knowing what he needed to do.
He ran right at Slowking as it send out the pulsing wave of water that might confusing him if it hit. Pikachu was ready for it and quickly ran to the side with Quick Attack to avoid it before turning and using the last of the attack to close the distance on Slowking. As the Quick Attack ended, Pikachu leap into the air and turn his tail to steel as he flipped.
"Protect!" Conway said quickly and instinctively as the steel type attack came down onto his Pokémon.
At the last second Slowking erected the protective shield around itself and Pikachu's Iron Tail slammed into it and went no further as Slowking's defensive move blocked it. Ash didn't mind, this was still good form him. Iron Tail was a means of getting close so that Slowking couldn't dodge.
"Thunderbolt one more time Pikachu!" Ash ordered.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu said as he used the last of the Protect he couldn't break through to flip up and back before unleashing a Thunderbolt.
Slowking had no time to react to the sudden attack. The bolts of electricity slammed into it right between its eyes and it howled in pain. Two electric type attacks plus the earlier Quick Attack were just a little too much for it to handle and Slowking fell back and hit the ground with a thud, swirls for eyes.
"And Slowking is unable to battle." The announcer said as the ref raised a red flag to Conway's side to confirm the defeat before Conway recalled Slowking. "Pikachu has won that one. Will Ash recall him?"
"Pikachu, return, I'll need you later." Ash said as soon as Slowking was off the battlefield and Pikachu scampered back to Ash's side as Ash pulled out his second Poke Ball, he was going to try and keep Conway guessing this whole match.
"Interesting strategy Ash." Conway said as he thanked Slowking and pulled out his next Poke Ball. "Makes sure that we both have to be unpredictable for a bit longer in this battle. So be it, Dusknoir, here we go!"
"Staraptor, I choose you!" Ash said at the same time sending out his Sinnoh flying type to face off against a familiar Dusknoir.
"And the next two up are Staraptor and Dusknoir." The announcer said over the cheers of the crowd. "As Conway lost his Pokémon in the last matchup he has the first move and so it will be for the rest of the match. Whoever lost the last matchup starts the next one."
"Dusknoir, negate that Staraptor's speed with Trick Room." Conway said and instantly a box around the battlefield appeared before disappearing.
"Just like last time." Ash said gritting his teeth, this had been the toughest thing to handle against Conway when they had faced in Sinnoh because Trick Room negated his speed advantage, especially with Staraptor but it was something that Ash had experienced even if he couldn't practice against as none of their Pokémon knew the move. "Very well, Staraptor, we may be unable to go first for a bit but we can still land a hit. Aerial Ace."
"Shadow Punch." Conway said simply surprising Ash with his move choice, it was rare mistake by Conway to go with a move like that against a Staraptor. "May as well match hit for hit."
"Yeah but Staraptor is a normal type." Ash said as a confused looking Dusknoir followed its trainer orders and punched, the shadow fist flying at and then through without any effect a speeding Staraptor that was closing in on Dusknoir. "Ghost type moves won't work on him."
"Oh right, that was really stupid." Conway said his eyes wide; he'd forgotten that Staraptor was a normal and flying type not just a flying type and Ash had effectively goaded him into that mistake, one that he wouldn't suffer that again as he prepared his next move. "That is what happens when I try to meet my opponents on their level and not stick to mine. I won't do that again."
As Conway was speaking, Staraptor slammed into Dusknoir at full speed sending it back with a groan of pain. It had done decent damage but it was nowhere near enough to take Dusknoir down. The Trick Room flickered into existence again to show that it was still active and Conway grinned.
"Thunder Punch." Conway ordered.
"Aerial Ace again." Ash said but alas the advantage of Trick Room showed itself.
Dusknoir had encased its fist in electricity and punched Staraptor under the beak in a savage uppercut before Staraptor could reach. Staraptor was thrown backwards with a wail as the super effective attack coursed through him but he beat his wings hard to avoid crashing into the ground and regain his altitude advantage. It was a big hit but Ash knew that Staraptor could handle it. Time to go for broke though and take down that Dusknoir.
"Brave Bird." Ash ordered.
"Thunder Punch again." Conway said with a grin, this time he had Ash.
The Trick Room flickered again as Staraptor flew at full speed at Dusknoir, his body encased in power from the strong flying type move. Staraptor knew that this, combined with almost certainly taking another Thunder Punch as he saw the electricity encase his foe's fist, would be too much for him to handle but he could take out this ghost for Ash and bring it with him, or at the very least damage it so badly that one of his friends could easily avenge him and beat it.
That was the last thing Staraptor thought as he slammed into Dusknoir's chest at full speed right as he was punched in the gut by the super effective electric type attack. Staraptor was out cold before he was thrown flipping backwards and landed hard on his back on Ash's side of the battlefield with wings spread and eyes swirls.
Dusknoir wailed in pain as it was thrown back and flipped a few times before steadying itself, floating in front of Conway. It was badly hurt and near the end of its health but it had won and Conway smiled. He could now recall Dusknoir and give it a bit of a rest for later.
"And Staraptor is unable to battle." The announcer said as the ref raised a red flag to Ash's side. "Dusknoir has won that battle. That folks is why a move like Trick Room is a really good for a slow Pokémon to learn, if it can learn it that is."
"As I expected." Conway said, Dusknoir's Poke Ball in his hand as he waited for Staraptor to be returned to recall his own Pokémon. "I think that it's for a bit of break, no point in losing Dusknoir just yet."
"Staraptor return." Ash said ignoring Conway and focusing on his Pokémon as he looked at the Poke Ball but noting that Conway recalled Dusknoir as soon as he could do so to prevent Ash from calling out a dark, ghost, or bug type Pokémon that he might have. "You did great my friend. Dusknoir is a really slow Pokémon and Trick Room is a great way to balance that plus it has an electric type move which gives it an advantage against you. Conway out thought us there so don't feel bad, you got some great hits in and when it returns I will quickly beat it."
"We shall see Ash." Conway said as he pulled out his third Poke Ball as Ash did the same to put that Pokémon in play regardless of who Conway sent out, which he did a second later. "Shuckle, here we go!"
"Gabite, I choose you!" Ash said grinning at the rematch as he threw his own Poke Ball out right after Conway. "Looks like we get to do this again Conway."
"So it would seem." Conway said with a nod. "Though your Gible has evolved since then. That was predictable though given how most of your Pokémon in Sinnoh evolved. This time my Shuckle will win."
"We shall see, Gabite is better now." Ash said. "So let's start this with Dragon Claw."
"Gyro Ball." Conway said as the Trick Room flickered. "We still have Trick Room Shuckle and you're slower so use it to your advantage."
"I know, brace Gabite and smack it down as soon as you can." Ash said.
Shuckle withdrew into its shell and launched itself at Gabite, spinning rapidly. Gabite knew that it would hit him first because of some lingering move so he crossed his arms in front of him and braced himself for the blow. The steel type move slammed into Gabite's arms and he held it there for a moment taking some damage but not that much. Gabite would take the damage to land his hit and he knew he would land it.
As soon as it was done and Shuckle was pushing off, Gabite extended and encased his claws in dragon type power and punched it in the shell hard enough to send it into the ground with a crack. It wasn't hard enough to beat Shuckle but it did do a good bit of damage.
"Rock Smash." Ash ordered.
"Withdraw." Conway said in counter as for the last time Trick Room flickered into existence.
Trick Room aided Shuckle there as it was able to get back into its shell with time to spare before the fighting type move hit it doing some damage but not as much had Shuckle not used Withdraw. Regardless, the Trick Room had ended giving Ash's speed advantage back to him.
"Dig." Ash ordered as Shuckle popped up and out of its shell and began retreat back to Conway.
"Power Trick." Conway said as Gabite dove into the ground and disappeared from sight.
Conway grinned, this was the move he'd been waiting to use but had saved for the right moment. Shuckle was a good Pokémon but its best attribute was its high defense while its attack wasn't great. Power Trick flipped those and gave Shuckle a huge offensive boost. Alas Conway still had to contend with the Dig attack
Gabite shot out of the earth beneath Shuckle and sent it flying directly up and into the air spinning as it did. Gabite landed and took a few steps back to give it some room between it and Shuckle as it landed on the ground near the hole he had just created. Ash grinned, he had this and it was time to remove Shuckle from the battle.
"Draco Meteor." Ash ordered.
"Withdraw." Conway said, he just needed to survive this and the battle was his. "You can get through this Shuckle and then we can win."
Gabite tilted his head back, opened his mouth and an orange light formed in it. A second later it shot up and out of his mouth and into the air as Shuckle withdrew into his shell. The ball of dragon type power burst in the air and meteors rained down on the battlefield creating a spectacle that the crowd enjoyed so much that no one noticed a single, small meteor had not landed on the battlefield but was rather had arced off and towards the stands and a squawking Pokémon standing on its trainer's head.
Ash and Conway were just focused on the battle as the meteors rained down on them. Striking the ground and Shuckle as a cloud of dust appeared and covered the whole battlefield causing them to strain their eyes as they tried to see if Shuckle was still in the battle or not. Something they wouldn't know until the dust settled.
"Piplup!" Piplup yelled as soon as he heard that Gabite was going to use that attack. "Pip, Piplup!"
Not this time. Well ok, he was going to be hit, there was not Togekiss here to protect him, but this time Piplup wasn't going to go down alone. He was taking Misty with him so that she understood his pain. To do so he leapt up from his position on the railing in front of a cheering Misty and onto her head, matching her routine the entire time so that she wasn't suspicious of his actions. This time she would suffer too and could tell her mate to teach that Gabite a different move, preferably one that didn't have a built in Piplup seeker.
The Draco Meteor had reached its peak by this point and burst raining the meteors down onto the battlefield as Iris cheered loudly near them, really enjoying the dragon type move that Ash was using with one of his two dragon types. Piplup didn't care. He was focused on the one meteor that had popped off from the rest and was heading to the stands right where he was.
No one had noticed it because of the battle going on before them and he was pissed. They should but alas they wouldn't as it closed in. Piplup just sighed at it and waited for it to hit him and Misty. He was half right.
Much to Piplup's horror, and subsequent cursing that would put any sailor to shame and earned him a beakful of soap if Misty could understand what he was saying, the angle of the meteor was such that it hit Piplup in the face and blasted him back and off Misty's head without touching her or even messing her hair up, something that would have gotten her attention. Misty was so focused on the attack and trying to see through the dust to see if Shuckle had been defeated, that she didn't notice what had happened to her starter.
Piplup crashed through the seatback behind him and into the concrete at Professor Oak's feet with enough force to create a small crater there, his eyes swirls and one-foot twitching. He was going to get that Gabite, Gabite's trainer, Misty and everyone else for this injustice, once he recovered and milked it for all it was worth that is.
Professor Oak had seen it all unfold looked down at the Piplup at his feet. He had heard of the phenomenon that was Piplup taking a Draco Meteor from Ash's Gible but it seemed to have continued now that Gible was a Gabite. This was something he would have to study if he could, after first giving Piplup a berry and making sure that he was ok before returning to the match. It was good and Ash was doing well. Professor Oak couldn't wait to see the rest of it.
Conway just smiled as the dust began to settle. He knew that his plan had worked. Shuckle's raised defense from the two Withdraws, combined with its now switched stats and the drastically lowered ranged attack power of Gabite after Draco Meteor would give him the edge in this battle. At least that was until the dust settle to reveal his Shuckle on the now scarred ground, legs out and splayed, head on the ground and swirls for eyes.
"Oh and what a Draco Meteor there, beating Shuckle and giving the win to Gabite." The announcer said as a surprised Conway had to return his Pokémon whole the ref raised a red flag to his side. "Will Ash keep Gabite in or continue the trend of switching Pokémon?"
Ash looked at Gabite who nodded back at him. He grinned, Gabite was still ready for this and fully prepared to fight on until the end.
"Stay in Gabite, let's see what Conway can throw at you next." Ash said deciding to not switch his Pokémon to avoid becoming too predictable for Conway, he trusted Gible to handle even an ice type right now. "I know you can win this next matchup for me."
"Yes well that win over Shuckle didn't go as I had anticipated it would but this time I have just the Pokémon for that Gabite." Conway said as he pulled out his 4th Poke Ball. "It's good but can it outlast my tank. Blissey, here we go!"
"Blissey?" Ash asked in surprise as the large, pink and white Happiness Pokémon appeared before Conway with a gleam in its eyes that was uncommon for its kind, this one was a battler. "That's not a Pokémon you often see in a battle."
Ash had to admit, seeing Conway send out the evolved form of Chansey in a battle was not something any of his plans had taken into account and it wasn't one he'd seen Conway use in the preliminaries. For the most part, with some exceptions like Shuckle, Conway liked large Pokémon that had odd ways of evolving but no one used Blissey in battle, Ash wasn't certain he'd ever faced one. He'd battled a Chansey once during his time on the Battle Frontier but that was it.
However Ash knew one thing about Blisseys, they was tough. There was a reason why Chanseys were used by Nurse Joys in this part of the world, they were some of the sturdiest Pokémon around. Blissey was its evolved form so it was even sturdier. This was going to be a long match as it was going to take a lot to take Blissey down but Gabite had a fighting type move so that was a plus.
"I have been saving Blissey for this part of the competition." Conway said with a grin. "She's really tough, hard to take down and not expected by anyone. In sum, she's the perfect unpredictable Pokémon to face making her great to flip your strategy on its head Ash."
"No she wasn't any of the Pokémon you showed in the Conference so far." Ash agreed. "But as tough as she is, my Gabite's just as tough and he's going to take a lot of that Blissey with him if you want to win this matchup."
"Oh I intend to." Conway said. "Blissey, Take Down."
"Punch it back with Dragon Claw Gabite." Ash countered as Blissey began running at him.
Gabite roared and his claws extended, glowing with dragon type power. Blissey was now running full pelt at him, her head lowered and he cocked his arm back and at the last moment slashed his claws at her.
There was a large boom and both Pokémon were thrown back. Blissey flew back and rolled along the pockmarked battlefield while Gabite flipped and landed hard before skidding several feet until he came to a stop. Both Pokémon got up showing clear signs of damage but with Blissey high endurance it wasn't much more than a dent for her compared to Gabite.
One thing that came from the result of the hit and clear damage to Blissey that no one knew of was that part of Professor Oak's recent research theories had just been proven spectacularly wrong by Blissey being affected by a dragon type attack. Ash of course didn't know this but he did know that he had to focus on evasive moves and not taking too many hits in comparison to landing. He had just the move for it.
"Gabite, Dig." Ash ordered and at once Gabite dove into the ground and began digging towards Blissey.
"Blissey, this is the time, start charging a Solar Beam." Conway ordered as Blissy got up and began to glow as she absorbed the sun. "And don't lose focus, you can take the damage as if it was nothing so focus on absorbing the sunlight and not the impending attack."
Blissey began to glow as she charged up. She knew that it would take a lot of damage to bring her down and while she enjoyed battling she wasn't a big fan of being hit but she knew that with this move she was open to an attack. So she would take it and then make sure she hit that dragon thing twice as hard in return and take it out for her trainer and team.
A second later, while Blissey was nearing the level she needed to get the Solar Beam off, Gabite burst out of the ground and hit her sending her back before landing just on the other side of the hole he'd come up through. Blissey just continued charging until she felt herself reach the point of attack. As soon as she was there, from her position on the ground, Blissey just looked at Gabite and grinned before unleashing her Solar Beam.
Gabite didn't have time to move before the powerful grass type move slammed into his chest and sent him flying back. He hit the ground hard and rolled over several times before finally coming to a stop a few feet from Ash. It was another big hit and he knew he was starting to get to the edge while that pink and white ball barely looked like she'd taken more than minor damage from him.
Gabite grit his teeth as he slowly got to his feet surprising his opponent that he was still in the battle. This Pokémon he was facing was sturdy and tough. It was going to be hard to beat it but Gabite was going to beat it, not just for Ash or his friends back home but for himself. He was going to add this Pokémon to his list of victories but there was only one way he felt he could win. It was a little early for him but that hadn't stopped some of Ash's Pokémon in the past. Besides, now was as good as ever.
Gabite got to his feet and roared as he triggered the change deep in his cells. Ash and Conway both gasped, as did the crowd, as Gabite suddenly glowed bright white and began to grow. He got taller, his tail longer and more distinct on the end, his back fin extended, as did the ones on his arms. Spikes erupted out of his upper arms, two on either side while the ones on his thighs begam more pronounced. Lastly his head became more shark-like as the light faded revealing the darker blue skin, a red torso, yellow patch bellow it and a yellow star on nose.
Garchomp roared as he felt a new move and how to perform it come to his mind. Instantly he wanted to use it and got into a running stance as power began to ripple of him to show Ash that he had a new move. Ash had a feeling he knew what it was given Garchomp's typing and quickly ordered it.
"Dragon Rush." Ash said wondering what move was forgotten for Garchomp to learn and expecting it was either Dragon Claw or Draco Meteor. "Show off that move."
Blissey and Conway were still in shock at the sudden evolution. He was unable to fully process the sudden change to the battle. None of his calculations had predicted that any of Ash's Pokémon were near evolution and Gabite had to have only recently evolved from Garchomp so it couldn't have been near evolution. Right? In fact, the fact that Ash had gone with a Pokémon not fully evolved at this stage had been a surprise to Conway but Gabite was a powerful second stage Pokémon so it made some sense to use it.
Blissey was more shocked that her attack hadn't ended it and instead apparently pissed it off into evolving thus making her opponent physically stronger. She was so surprised that she didn't move and Garchomp tackled her with the dragon type attack going a lot of damage to her in the process. However she was still not at the halfway point of her endurance and had the strength to go on. There was just one problem and Conway saw it. Her moves were either ranged, area or required a charge. None of them were great for close quarters battling.
"Throw Garchomp off and use Bulldoze." Conway said recovering from the sudden series of events and trying formulate a new plan on the fly, a skill he knew that he lacked.
"Rock Smash." Ash ordered hoping that Garchomp still had the move and not letting this advantage go.
Blissey rolled to the side and put Garchomp onto the ground as his right claw glowing with fighting type power causing Ash to breathe a sigh of relief at the sight. Garchomp knew that if Blissey got to her feet she'd get the move off so he had to land this hit before that happened. Still on his side on the ground, as was Blissey, Garchomp jabbed his claw out and hit Blissey in the side sending her literally rolling over with a wail of pain at the super effective attack.
Blissey rolled a few times before she got to her feet as fast as possible, which given her proportions wasn't as fast as she would have liked. Once she was up she stamped her foot down hard before Garchomp was up. The whole battlefield shook as Garchomp grit his teeth through the shaking and pain it caused as he got to his feet making sure that he was close to Blissey. He wasn't sure how much more he could take but he was still fighting. He could feel the strength and love coming off Ash and he let it fuel him to continue.
"Dragon Rush." Ash said again even as Blissey was still doing her move pouring all his emotions into his words. "I know you can do it Garchomp."
It took a lot of effort but despite the shaking, Garchomp pushed through it with a mix sheer willpower and the energy Ash was giving him as charged at Blissey once more. Her move finished just after he started moving and Blissey looked shocked at how much damage this Garchomp could apparently take before it tackled her again with the dragon type attack.
Blissey hit the ground again hard but still wasn't out despite a wail of pain and Garchomp knew that his chances of winning this one were slim at this point in the battle. His opponent just had too much health but he had done more than enough to ensure that a friend could finish her. One more hit and he would be out of the fight. That was what he expected until he saw the tell-tale shudder that was a flinch. Ash and Conway saw it as well and both reacted differently.
"Rock Smash." Ash ordered. "Finish her!"
"Hold on Blissey." Conway yelled his composure breaking for a moment as his emotions took over.
Garchomp raised his now glowing right claw above his head while still on top of Blissey and brought it down, striking her in the forehead, or whatever passed for it with as much force as he could muster. Blissey looked up and sighed knowing that the fighting type move was too much for her before it struck home. She'd done well and there was no way that Garchomp could take more than one hit but even her high health and endurance had failed her in the end as the blow landed and she passed out.
Garchomp groaned as he rolled off Blissey and lay on the ground next to her for a second. Then, when he noticed that she was not getting up and had swirls for eyes, he found the last of his strength and slowly got to his feet, tilted his head back and roared in triumph at his victory.
Far above the stadium in the box reserved for Charles and his guests, someone looked down and smiled at Ash and his newly evolved Garchomp as something at the person's side finally began to cool down after glowing warm during that battle. This was why the person was here and the person's suspicions that Ash was the right trainer for the person had had been all but confirmed. That was for after the Conference however, the person wanted to see how far Ash went this time.
"After that epic duel, best of the day so far, Blissey is unable to battle." The announcer said as the ref raised a red flag to Conway's side and he recalled his defeated Pokémon. "I think, yes Ash has recalled Garchomp after that battle. That Garchomp can't take much more so a wise move to recall it."
Ash had already known that he would have to recall Garchomp the moment Blissey was off the battlefield. There was only so much he could take and Ash was certain that after that battle Garchomp was running on fumes. One more hit would end him and Ash was protecting his Pokémon until he needed him again bit Ash had a good feeling that he wouldn't need Garchomp. If he did then things had taken a turn for the worst because he was up and had this battle, he just couldn't get cocky and let Conway back in on it, he had to focus on winning it.
"Not bad Ash, that was not how I expected it to go." Conway said pulling out his 5th Poke Ball. "I thought that Blissey had it but you showed me there."
"Yeah that was a tough one for sure." Ash said as he decided on his next Pokémon, predicting which one that he expected from Conway and going with a Pokémon he wished he'd used against Blissey but was still good against most of Conway's usual Pokémon choices. "You effectively took out my Garchomp but that will be the best you get for the rest of the match."
"I doubt it, you won't be able to counter this one this time." Conway said throwing out his Poke Ball. "Lickilicky, here we go!"
"Primeape, I choose you!" Ash said throwing out his own ball at the same time and smiling at his prediction being correct. "I think I will be able to counter it."
He remembered this Lickilicky. Ash had faced it last time he and Conway had battled back in Sinnoh and he'd seen Conway use Lickilicky in his most recent match along with his Slowking and Aggron which meant that he was likely going to use two of those three against Ash as they were used late in the preliminaries so clearly some of his strongest Pokémon. That meant that having Primeape in his roster for this battle would be a good idea. A strong fighting type was a solid bet and Ash's planning had paid off with this matchup.
"Well that is a new one." Conway said frowning, this was not a Pokémon he had expected Ash to have and what was odd was that it was clearly a skilled Pokémon already. "But it doesn't look new for some reason."
"Both statements are technically true." Ash said with a grin. "Primeape was caught years ago but he was in training with a fighting specialist basically since then. A chance meeting earlier this year with the guy who was training him for me allowed me to reunited with Primeape. I knew you would have at least one, maybe two Pokémon that would struggle against a fighting type so I brought in one of my best."
"Lickilicky may be weak to fighting type moves but that doesn't mean it will lose." Conway said though for the first time all battle he was unsure of himself; Ash's unpredictable style was starting to really show itself and Conway needed to get the match back on his terms before it got away from him. "And we'll show you, Power Whip!"
"Primeape get in close and block that whip with a Fire Punch." Ash countered. "Let's see how its tongue likes fire."
Lickilicky used its long tongue to lash out at Primeape just as Primeape began to run at it as fast as he could, he right fist encased on fire in anticipation for the block. His years of training and desire to once again prove to Ash that he had become as strong as Ash had wanted him to become driving him on as the long tongue shot at him.
As it reached Primeape, he punched it with his fist. The moves countered each other and he took some damage from the blow but it was less than if he hadn't have blocked it and better than Lickilicky who grimaced in pain as its tongue was hurt by the attack. It was just what Ash was hoping for as Primeape closed the distance for his next move.
"Close Combat." Ash said as soon as Primeape got within range.
Between Primeape's training and Lickilicky still recovering from his block, the Licking Pokémon had no hope of avoiding the attack. Primeape unleashed a flurry of savage punches and kicks over the course of 5 seconds as he wailed on the larger Pokémon doing a lot of damage to it due to his strength, the power of the move and Lickilicky's normal typing being weak to the fighting type move. However it wasn't down and Conway had a surprise for Ash.
"Dragon Tail." Conway ordered and instantly Lickilicky's tail glowed with dragon type power. "Never forget Ash, a normal type has more range than any other type."
"Dodge that Primeape." Ash said surprised that Lickilicky could use such a move.
Alas that was not to be the case as Lickilicky pivoted on one foot and the tail slammed into Primeape's chest sending him flying back and rolling over the ground. This was an advantage that Conway was not going to pass up.
"Lick." Conway ordered.
"Primeape, this is crazy but trust me, grab its tongue." Ash ordered as the idea popped into his head so he rolled with it. "And pull it to you, you need to be close for the next move."
"Er what?" Conway asked confused but Primeape understood exactly what Ash wanted him to do.
As good as Primeape was, and he knew he was good, he had one limitation in battle, one that most fighting types had to work to overcome. His moves, even the non-fighting type ones, were all physical ones so he had to be close to his opponents to land the attacks.
That was why he set his feet and as soon as the long tongue reached him he caught it in his arms as soon as it made contact with his body. He took the attack and the little damage it did, glad no side effects from it took hold, and then with a heave showing his impressive strength, he pulled Lickilicky to him.
The other Pokémon's eyes went wide at the move but Ash grinned as it flew at Primeape, instinctively drawing in its tongue as it was pulled to avoid issues. That was when Ash gave his actual order. This was going to look odd.
"Seismic Toss." Ash ordered. "Use it's tongue."
"Oh that's why he did that." Conway said gaping at Ash's rather strange orders that were now making sense. "Gotta admit, that was not what I predicted."
As soon as Lickilicky was close enough, Primeape bent his knees and still holding the large, slimy tongue, leapt into the air. Lickilicky wailed, at least it sounded like a wail, as Primeape jumped as high as he could, dragging the other Pokémon into the air by its tongue. Then, when he had reached the apex of his leap, he flipped Lickilicky over him and threw it down to the ground as hard as his strength would allow him to do so.
Lickilicky barely had time to process what had just happened before it hit the ground hard enough to create a small crater in the already crater filled battlefield, as well as a cloud of dust. The two fighting type moves had been too much for it so that when the dust settled, and Primeape landed near it, the sight that greeted them was a swirl eyed Lickilicky on its back in the crater with a good portion of its tongue lolling out and on the ground by its side.
"Well that was not something you see every day but it certainly works." The announcer said as the ref raised a red flag to Conway's side and he returned Lickilicky while Primeape leapt around in celebration of his victory. "Lickilicky is unable to battle, the winner of that matchup is Primeape."
"Hypno, here we go!" Conway said throwing out his last Pokémon, though Dusknoir was still eligible as it hadn't fainted and been recalled correctly after a win before Ash had a chance to even think about recalling Primeape. "I won't let you swap out this time Ash."
"And what is this?" The announcer said as Ash blinked at the speed of the change, it was something he had been prepared to use himself but he'd not expected someone as tactically focused as Conway to do so. "It would appear that Conway has wasted no time is sending out his 6th Pokémon to prevent Ash from switching out. That is a legal move that was have seen in all the battles so far and a good idea as Hypno has the type advantage on Primeape."
"You have done well so far Ash, better than I predicted." Conway said the light again flashing off his glasses and Ash could tell that the other boy was starting to give into his emotions as the battle continued to tip in Ash's favor. "So I had to be quick to prevent you from once again gaining a type advantage on me, or at least forcing me into a slugfest, but rather to gain the advantage on you."
"I see well a type disadvantage won't stop me." Ash said with a grin. "So bring your best."
"Oh I intend to." Conway said. "Future sight."
"Prepared and forward thinking, just the kinda move that fits your style Conway." Ash said as he quickly adjusted to what he had to do. "Primeape, we have a little time, get in close for a Fire Punch."
"Not this time Ash." Conway said. "Send it back with Psyshock."
Primeape ran at Hypno, his fist burning but he didn't get very far before an odd but powerful wave of super effective psychic type power slammed into him and threw him back to hit the ground hard. Primeape groaned as he slowly got to his feet and shook his head. That attack had been powerful and done plenty of damage but it would take more than that to take him out of this fight.
"Push through it Primeape and go for the hit with Fire Punch again." Ash said encouragingly. "I know you can do it and stay close to the Hypno when you reach it. Dodge anything it throws at you."
"Send it back with anther Psyshock." Conway said grinning, he knew that he had this Primeape.
Primeape once again ran at the Hypno with his fist burning. This time when he saw it attack coming and rather than run head first into the attack, Primeape jumped high and long to clear it. Psyshock was a good attack but it was a wave attack sent at Primeape as he ran so it wouldn't hit him if he was in the air.
As such he was able to leap over and clear the wave with relative ease and get close to the now startled Hypno. Before it could react, Primeape had punched the Hypnosis Pokémon hard in the face, that would teach it for earlier.
Because the attack was a fire type move and not a fighting type move it did regular damage to Hypno which was good. It would help for later as Primeape intended on beating this thing into the ground and proving that it could easily beat a Pokémon that had a type advantage on it. That had been the plan but the problem with having to be close to attack was that it made dodging just as hard for Primeape as it was for Hypno.
"Shadow Ball." Conway ordered and before Ash or Primeape could counter it, the Shadow Ball was formed and thrown right into Primeape's face. "Good just in time for the finale of this matchup."
Conway wasn't wrong. Primeape was thrown back and away from Hypno and landed hard a good 10 feet away from it. Just as he landed, the skies opened up and the Future Sight attack rained down its powerful psychic power right onto Primeape kicking up a lot of dust as Primeape was driven into the ground. When it was done, Primeape lay on his back in yet another crater with swirls for eyes, the combo too much for him to handle after everything.
"Oh and that was a perfectly executed Future Sight, timed to perfection to ensure that Primeape was unable to battle." The announcer said as the ref raised a red flag to Ash's side as Ash returned Primeape. "Hypno wins that matchup and it looks like Conway is not out of this fight just yet."
"You did well Primeape, that was a tough match to win under normal circumstances, against a trainer like Conway who is meticulous and has an attack like Future Sight in his arsenal that was going to be even harder but you landed a hit which will be good." Ash said to his Pokémon before shrinking the Poke Ball and pulling out his 5th Pokémon, best to keep with fresh Pokémon for Conway just in case he had any tricks up his sleeves. "Not bad but this one will be harder to beat. Seismitoad, I choose you."
Ash threw out his Poke Ball noting that Conway was keeping Hypno in likely to maximize Dusknoir's rest as that Pokémon had taken a beating against Staraptor as the Vibration Pokémon appeared before Ash. Dawn had brought Seismitoad with her when she'd come up for the Grand Festival and was sad to hand him back to Ash as she'd enjoyed training him but promised that Ash would be pleased with the results of her training. Their training had shown as much and now it was time to use Seismitoad in battle.
"Start this off with Hydro Pump." Ash said opting for power over anything else.
"Dodge and get in there with Zen Headbutt." Conway countered.
Seismitoad opened his mouth and blasted a powerful jet of water at Hypno who started running at him. Hypno side stepped the torrent of water and focused all of its power into head as it lunged at Seismitoad, striking it in the gut just as the Hydro Pump was ending with the psychic type move and causing plenty of damage. However it was too close to dodge and Ash had just the move to ensure that he gained the upper hand on Hypno.
"Supersonic." Ash ordered.
"Dodge that." Conway countered but rather than dodge Hypno moaned in pain and Ash saw a streak of purple under its eyes showing that it had been poisoned for some reason.
"How did it get poisoned?" Ash asked as Seismitoad opened his mouth and sent out the normal type, sound-based, attack right into Hypno's face.
He didn't mind so much as it was causing damage but it was still a question to ponder for later though if Ash had to guess it was likely to do with whatever Seismitoad's ability was. That could be confirmed later, however. Right now Ash saw the cross-eyed nature of Hypno and knew that it was confused. Thanks to the Indigo Conference rules Conway couldn't recall it without Hypno being disqualified from the battle and with how few Pokémon Conway had left he had to keep Hypno in the battle.
"Hypno snape out of it and use Future Sight." Conway said but Hypno just staggered in place not listening to its trainer.
"Hydro Pump." Ash said feeling slightly bad about it but it was a battle and the rules meant that Conway couldn't recall it but had to fight through it. "It it's any consolation, I am sorry for this."
The Hydro Pump slammed into Hypno's chest and sent it flying back without a noise to crash and land hard near Conway. To Ash's surprise it got to its feet, still cross eyed, and staggered around before a second poison shock from its poisoning hit it. Apparently between two rounds of poison, a Fire Punch and a Hydro Pump, Hypno was past its limit as it fell back with a thump, its eyes swirls.
"Oh and it looks like Seismitoad has the Poison Touch ability and it triggered at the contact made by Hypno's Zen Headbutt." The announcer said as Conway stared dumbfounded at his now defeated Pokémon, Hypno's picture going gray on the screen as the ref raised a red flag to Conway's side. "That little damage must have been the last straw for it, shame as it was impressive that it withstood that Hydro Pimp. Hypno is unable to battle and Seismitoad is the winner. Conway is down to his last Pokémon folks."
Conway returned Hypno and thanked it, Ash quickly recalling Seismitoad as soon as Hypno was off the battlefield. He already knew who he wanted to use last and what move to use to finish this. Dusknoir had one or two moves left to take and Ash intended to end this quickly so he needed a move that wouldn't miss. Fortunately he had a Pokémon, one he'd brought in to deal with any potential rock or ground types, that had a move just like that.
"This is it Conway." Ash said pulling out his last Poke Ball.
"It's not over until Dusknoir is done." Conway said throwing out the Poke Ball and instantly calling a move. "Trick Room."
"Meganium, I choose you!" Ash said throwing out his own Pokémon a second later allowing Conway this moment as the Trick Room activated just before Meganium materialized on the battlefield, he had this battle anyway so no point making a fuss over it. "Let's end this now Conway."
"Not if I can help it, Shadow Punch Dusknoir." Conway ordered going with his guaranteed hit, shame Ash had one as well.
"Magical Leaf." Ash countered and Ash saw Conway wince at that move.
Dusknoir punched the air sending the shadowy ghost type move at Meganium. That move would hit first due to Trick Room but Meganium still flicked her head and sent out the odd leaf that spun right at Dusknoir.
First the Shadow Punch hit Meganium in the chest staggering her back but she grit her teeth and held her ground watching the leaf spin through the air and then strike Dusknoir in the chest as it couldn't dodge the attack. Dusknoir wailed in pain and then fell to the ground surprising Meganium but she figured it had been out earlier in the battle so she would have to find out which Pokémon assisted her in this win and thank it as it was a win. Dusknoir's single eye was now a swirl as it lay on the ground.
"And that is it!" The announcer said as the ref raised the red flag to Conway's side for a 6th and last time, Ash's picture filling the screen with the word winner under it and a celebratory display as the ref's green flag was raised to his side. "Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town has won and will advance to the quarterfinals."
"Well done Conway." Ash said getting ready to head out and shake Conway's hand, after returning and thanking Meganium before she could flatten him with her affections. "That was a good battle."
"It was not as I predicted but it never is with you Ash." Conway said recalling Dusknoir and walking out to meet Ash in the middle of the battlefield to shake hands, both trainers picking their way across the crater filled battlefield, a testament to how hard they had fought. "You win this time but that just means I will study twice as hard so that if we ever meet again I will be ready for you. Next time I will win."
"I look forward to it." Ash said as the shook before the broke apart. "You leaving the Plateau then?"
"Yes, I see no need to be here, especially after you beat me." Conway said turning and waving at Ash. "See you around Ash, I'll be back when you least expect it."
"Wouldn't expect any less from you Conway." Ash said with a chuckle as he turned and headed out and back to the waiting room smiling at his friends as they cheered his win, and Misty blew him a kiss for beating his second rival so convincingly.
They would celebrate later, for now Ash had to head back and chill in the waiting room with Bianca, Brenden, Lyra and that quiet Lucas kid as they watched the remaining battles to see who else advanced. After that, it was back out for the random draw for tomorrow's quarterfinal before heading to the Pokémon Center to drop off their Pokémon before going back to their lodgings. Right now though, it was time to see who the last 3 would be.
Ash watched the remaining battles with curiosity but it was only the last one that he really cared about as that had Cameron in it. He was the last of them to go in the first full battle round so Ash's primary focus.
The first of the remaining battles was won by a female trainer from Kanto in a 6-5 win that was closer than it appeared as she had it the bag before the last matchup. The second one was close and to the wire before the Hoenn trainer in it won and advanced to the quarters leaving just Cameron's match.
That one Ash watched closely to see what Pokémon he had and noted that Cameron always kept his Lucario in all his battles while the rest were always a mix of old and new but Ash had a feeling he knew at least one from Unova would be back as Cameron always kept one Unova Pokémon in his roster in the preliminaries. However Ash didn't get to confirm this as Cameron won using only 5 Pokémon, losing 4 of them, to advance to the quarters.
With Cameron's victory, the quarterfinals were set and the 7 of them left in the waiting room exited it to join Cameron on the battlefield as the crowd cheered. Rather than wait until the evening, though it was late as it had been a long day, they were going to do the draw once the last one was known in front of the entire crowd. So Ash, Lyra, Bianca and Brendan joined Cameron in their own little group as they waited the draw, commented on by the same announcer who'd been calling all the matches so far.
"Alright folks the quarterfinalists are known, now it is time to randomly assign the battles" The announcer said as the jumbotron went black as every eyeball in the stadium turned to it for the full reveal. "There will be two matches in the morning and two in the afternoon and spread out a little more than they were today. So, without further ado, here are your quarterfinals."
The screen suddenly light up and the 4 matchups were shown. Ash instantly looked at it to see who he was facing and when starting with the first match. This time it was Brendan going first against the other Hoenn trainer. After that was an interesting matchup though, Lyra against Bianca.
Ash paused at that and realized something strange with that matchup. It meant that one of the 3 remaining female trainers left in the tournament would advance to the semifinals. In all the Conferences Ash had been in he could only recall one female trainer, the one who beat Ritchie here his first year as a trainer, advancing to the semifinals and she lost in the finals that year if he remembered correctly.
However Ash didn't recall Silver or Ever Grande will enough confirm that neither of those had female trainers in the semis or final. It was an odd realization as Ash knew several of the Champions and Elite Four members were female. Regardless, that was going to be a good match.
After that Ash noted that the first of the two afternoon matches was between Lucas and the girl from Kanto. That meant that he was in the final matchup against Cameron, something Ash only glanced at to confirm what he could already deuce. Ash grinned as he looked at his friend before leaving the stadium. As much as he wanted to chat with the others, he had to prepare for tomorrow and be congratulated privately by Misty for beating Conway.
It had been a good day. He had beaten Conway convincingly, he had advanced to the quarters besting his last Indigo Conference appearance and now he was going to face Cameron for the second straight year in the quarters. It was time for a rematch of the Vertress Conference and this time Ash intended on winning it.
