Chapter 35:
Real Steel
Vinoville Town
"It's surely peaceful here, isn't it?" Serena asked.
"Yeah," Ash replied. "This reminds me of Pallet, but it's even more rural."
"Pi, pika!"
A day has passed after Serena's victory in her latest contest, so the group had decided to take it easy, at least for a day. They had gotten up late, and spent noon celebrating Serena's victory with a grand feast. After that, Ash suggested he and Serena went on another date, something the girl eagerly agreed to.
This time, Ash had brought Pikachu along. Serena had asked him why he left Pikachu with Bonnie on their first date, and when Ash told her what Bonnie had advised him, Serena merely laughed and assured him that she wouldn't have minded if he decided to bring Pikachu along. Sure, dates were a two-people affair, but Pokemon were obviously an exception. So this time the yellow rodent was tagging along for the date.
Though, like in the Wheatfields, Ash didn't have any better idea than take a walk through the town and see the sights, given that a rural place like that didn't have that many things to do. Not that Serena minded, given that since they arrived the day of the contest, she didn't get the chance to know the town a little better before resuming their journey.
And thus they were, slowly walking around the town, holding hands. While there wasn't that much to see, the scenery being mostly fruit trees and crop fields, it was rather relaxing, at the very least.
While it was a little odd experience at first, Ash was rapidly growing more comfortable holding hands with Serena. It filled him with a sense of pleasantness the likes of which he had never experienced before, which grew little by little the more he did it.
"If this is what it feels to be Serena's boyfriend, guess it's something I could get used to in no time," the boy thought.
There were a few buildings that stuck like a sore thumb among all the rural-style, smaller houses, such as the Pokemon Center, the Contest Hall, and the Pokemon Gym, the latter which looked like it was taken out of a place like Bealbeach of Nowtoch, given that it was made mostly of glass, concrete and metal.
"Hey, Ash, look!" Serena said, pointing somewhere.
Following the direction of Serena's hand, Ash saw another building that, if differently from the rest of the residences, fit with the town's décor: a church. It was made of gray stone, with rather colorful stained glass windows, a roof covered in teal tiles, and a small bell tower.
"Say, how about if we take a look inside?" Serena suggested.
"Um... are they going to let us?" Ash asked, scratching his cheek with his free hand.
"Sure, why not? Churches tend to be places that welcome everybody," Serena said, releasing Ash's hand before walking to the large double door made of oak wood. With a little effort, Serena pushed the door open, and she and Ash entered inside.
The first thing they noticed was how much cooler the air was inside, something the two humans and the one Pokemon appreciated.
There were two rows of large wooden benches over a floor composed of tiles made of black marble. At the other end of the instance, there was an altar, and behind said altar there were two large stained glass windows, each depicted a serpentine creature both Ash and Serena presumed they were Pokemon. Both of them were large serpents, one of them being white with multiple orange feathered wings and a black mask covering its face, and the other being black with multiple blue leathery wings and a white mask covering its face.
"Whoa," Ash said, as he walked towards the stained glass. "What are those, Pokemon?"
"Pi..." Pikachu said.
"So it seems. Have you ever seen a Pokemon like that before?" Ash asked Serena.
The honey blonde shook her head. "No. But if I were to guess, they'd be Legendary Pokemon."
"And your guess would be the correct one, child. Though some people might find it blasphemous to refer to the Twin Gods as mere Pokemon, Legendary or not," a new voice said.
Ash and Serena turned around, and saw an old man with a head full of white hair, wearing a black and white priestly robe walking out of a nearby door.
"I'm sorry if I startled you. I heard some voices, so I came to check if somebody was here or if my mind was starting to fail me," the priest said, smiling a little. "And I'm glad to see it was the former, hehe. Though, I'm a little surprised to see visitors here, given that there's no service today."
"Oh, in that case, we'll be going now!" Serena said, a little embarrassed.
"Yeah, we didn't want to bother you..." Ash added.
"Oh no, you misunderstand me! It's not my intention to make you leave," the priest stated. "The church is open for most of the day to anybody who wishes to enter, either be locals, or foreigners such as yourselves."
"How do you know we are foreigners?" Ash asked.
"That's not a Pokemon you can find around these lands, now is it?" the priest asked, as he gently rubbed Pikachu under his ear, making the electric rodent coo. "You saw the church, and your interest was piqued, at least a little, wasn't it? Well, our quaint little town is a paradise for those who seek peace and quiet, but for energetic youths, I'm afraid it doesn't have that much to offer..."
"Still, we decided it would be good if we got to know it a little before we left," Serena began. "Since that's what we do with every town and city we visit."
The priest smiled. "In that case, I hope that you at least get something interesting from your visit by the time you continue your journey," he then turned towards the two main stained glass windows. "Though, now that I remember, you were talking about them, didn't you? The Twin Gods."
"So... Do you worship those Pokemon in this church?" Serena asked.
"Indeed. The one with the orange wings is Aotius, the White Light that illuminates the world. The other one, with the blue wings is Mutios, the Black Shade that protects it. According to our beliefs, they're the creator deities that willed the world into existence, shaped it, and kept it in balance through their power," the priest explained.
"Oh, so that explains why some people mentioned some Twin Gods," Serena said, as she remembered both Natalie and Sayaka swearing by them.
"Yes. Even if people are not as eager to engage in the faith as it was in the past, the worship of the Twin Gods remains a strong part of Tandorian culture," the priest nodded, before adding. "Not in all of Tandor, though. In the northern parts of East Tandor there's still another religion, an old one that keeps going strong there: the Acolytes of the Dragon. They pray to Actan and Lanthan, the Brothers of Metal.
"That used to be Tandor's main religion in the ancient times, before we started worshiping the Twin Gods. Though many people in the East remained faithful to the old religion," the priest finished explaining.
"Fascinating..." Ash said.
"Pi, pikachu," the Mouse Pokemon added.
"So, if it's not meddling, might I ask what brings a pair of youths to Vinoville?" the priest asked. "Perhaps the Contest? Or to challenge our Pokemon Gym? If it's the latter, Sheldon might be most pleased. His boredom with our town makes him lash out in the most unbecoming of ways."
"Both, actually. Serena just won the contest held yesterday, and I'm about to challenge Sheldon tomorrow," Ash explained.
The priest nodded. "I'm happy to hear of your victory, young lady. And I'll pray for your success against Sheldon as well."
"Thank you!" Ash said.
The priest rubbed his forehead. "I also pray for you to give Sheldon a battle good enough to leave him satisfied for some time. Otherwise, I'm afraid of what he might do in his battle with boredom."
"Well, I'll try my best," Ash said, chuckling a little.
"Oh, don't worry. Ash will leave Sheldon completely stumped. He won't be the first Gym Leader left in awe before Ash's skill," Serena praised, making Ash redden a little.
"I hope he will. I really hope he will," the priest said.
…
After leaving the church, the couple continued their tour through Vinoville, but there weren't that many sights to see, so they quickly returned to the Pokemon Center so Ash could prepare for his impending match with Sheldon.
The Pallet Town native had been hard at it for many hours, pushing all his Pokemon, Pikachu excluded, into giving their all. Despite the fact that the sun was beginning to set, he didn't show any hints of tiredness or slowing down.
"Raptorch, Brick Break!" Ash ordered.
"Parry with Iron Tail, Nucleon!" Clemont shouted.
The Fire Dino Pokemon and the Atomic Pokemon leaped towards each other, their respective tails glowing with power, one with pure white light, the other shining like polished metal, before clashing against each other. Neither won the duel, with the two Pokemon landing back on their feet, close to their initial spot.
"Very well Raptorch! I'd say your Brick Break is pretty solid. Now, let's test the speed and power of your Flame Impact!" Ash said.
"Nucleon, try to block his way with Quick Attack, but make sure not to touch him!" Clemont instructed.
"Ra, rap!"
"Nuuuuu!"
Raptorch's entire body was coated in flames, before barreling forward like a burning rocket, leaving a trail of scorched marks behind. Nucleon's body began to crackle with green sparks, as it dashed next to Raptorch, blocking his path and keeping up with him as the Fire Dino Pokemon changed direction, leaving a trail of fading green light.
Such detail didn't go unnoticed to the Kantonian trainer, who shifted his attention from his Pokemon to Clemont's.
"Clemont...?" Ash asked, scratching his temple. "I think Nucleon just learned a new move. Because that doesn't look like a Quick Attack..."
"It did look like one, but at the same time it didn't," Bonnie pointed out.
"Nucleon? Was that a Quick Attack?" Clemont asked.
"Cle," Nucleon nodded.
"Hmmm..." Serena hummed, as she began to fiddle with her Pokedex. "Maybe it's... oh, of course!"
"Serena?" Ash asked.
"Yeah, that's a Quick Attack. Though a little different thanks to Nucleon's ability, Atomizate," Serena began, reading from the Pokedex's screen. "Atomizate is an ability unique to Nucleon that converts Normal-type moves into Nuclear-type ones, on top of giving them a small boost in power."
"So, like Galvanize or Aerilate, but with the Nuclear type," Clemont surmised.
"Whoa! That sounds like a really cool ability!" Ash gushed.
"Indeed. Though, not that it would be of much help now, given that from what I heard, Sheldon favors Steel-type Pokemon," Clemont pointed out.
"Yep! But that's why I believe this Gym Leader is perfect for Raptorch's battle debut!" Ash said, causing Raptorch to happily yip. "Even if I didn't have as much time to train him as the others, I believe he won't have much trouble against Sheldon. The little guy has a lot of energy and strength, and neither of us can wait to put it to good use!"
"Sheldon isn't somebody to be underestimated, though. You already saw his S51-A in action, and it was far from a pushover," Clemont reminded Ash. "I presume his other Pokemon will be close in strength."
And indeed, his friend's words reminded Ash the night of the battle with the UFO Pokemon. It proved to be quite the formidable adversary, and that was fighting on its own. No one could tell what that Pokemon would do when coached by an experienced Gym Leader.
Though, rather than feeling intimidated, such thought caused excitement to boil inside him. "I wouldn't want it any other way. I haven't come to Tandor to battle against easy Gym Leaders!"
"Pi, pika!"
"Rap!"
"Though, if you or your Pokemon want to be of any challenge to Sheldon, you'd better take it easy for the rest of the day," Serena advised. "Or else you'd be too exhausted for tomorrow."
…
The next morning, right after having breakfast, the group headed straight to Sheldon's Pokemon Gym.
If the place stuck out on the outside when compared to the rest of the town, that was nothing once one could see its insides. After crossing its automatic double doors, Ash and his friends felt like they had entered inside some sort of spaceship or futuristic building, given the walls covered in plates of white metal, soft lights, and multiple screens hanging from them.
"Welcome to the Vinoville Town Pokemon Gym, Ash Ketchum," a synthetic but pleasant female voice said, startling the aforementioned trainer a little, as pictures of his face next to information about him appeared on the screens.
"Whoa! That was super creepy!" Bonnie said, hugging Dedenne protectively. "Has he been spying on you or something?"
"Hey, who are you calling creepy!?" Sheldon's voice protested from the intercom, startling her. "My cameras identified Ash because they're connected to an AI with facial recognition software that tries to identify any trainer that sets a foot on my Gym! Even if I already knew that Ash would come sooner or later."
"Whoa, that sounds really useful! Maybe I could add it to the Lumiose Gym!" Clemont said, clearly impressed by the innovation.
"Oh no, he's giving him ideas," Bonnie groaned.
"Indeed it is! And that's only one of the many improvements I have made to this old Gym until I turned it into a technological wonder!" Sheldon boasted.
"You made these improvements yourself?" Clemont asked.
"Yeah! I may be a Gym Leader, but I'm also something of a scientist myself," Sheldon's voice boasted. "And by 'something' I mean 'proud holder of two doctorates'. But you didn't come here to hear about my scientific achievements, would you? Now, follow the arrows to get to the arena!"
Ash's profile disappeared from the screens, being replaced by sliding arrows that guided the group towards the main battleground in question. After taking a few twists and turns through several identical looking hallways, they finally reached the arena.
"Whoa..." Ash said in awe.
While the battleground itself was nothing to write home about, being just a plain sheet of concrete with nothing else on it, there were many giant screens of varying sizes hanging around the place, and multiple spotlights on the ceiling, keeping the place well illuminated. And rather than the usual bleachers, the seats for the spectators looked more like the cushion seats you'd see at a theater.
Floating above the arena were multiple S-51 holding cameras on their arms. In the middle of the battleground there was a brunette woman with long hair and glasses, wearing the jacket typical of Pokemon referees, as well as a flag on each hand.
All in all, it looked closer to what you'd see at a stadium hosting League Battles rather than any other Pokemon Gym.
"Welcome to my Gym! Feast your eyes with such a well crafted, high-tech and innovative battleground, which, hopefully, will be how all of Tandor's battlegrounds will look like in the not so distant future!" Sheldon said, as he began to walk towards them, spreading his arms around.
"This Gym is simply incredible! Once I get back to Prism Tower, we need to do some serious renovations!" Clemont gushed.
"Thank you! It's great to see somebody appreciating my good work!" Sheldon said. "Now, shall we begin?"
"Do you really need to ask?" Ash replied, as his lips curved into a grin of eagerness.
"Great! Then take your spot on the battleground! Your friends can see the battle from the seats," Sheldon said, before he himself went to take his spot at the opposite side of the arena.
"Good luck, Ash," Serena said, before she, Clemont and Bonnie took their seats in the spectator's area.
"Now Amy, if you'd be so kind?" Sheldon asked the referee.
The referee, Amy, nodded, and after Ash and Sheldon were in place, she raised both her flags. "This is an official Gym Battle between the Gym Leader Sheldon, and Ash Ketchum. The battle will be single format with no time limit, and each trainer will use up to three Pokemon. The battle will be over when one side has no more Pokemon remaining. Only the challenger may make substitutions. Trainers, select your first Pokemon."
The moment she said that, the S-51 flew in position, recording the battleground from different angles which was then broadcasted on each of the screens. The main screen, though, had a scoreboard with Ash and Sheldon's portraits, and three empty slots for each of their Pokemon, in the same fashion as the league stadiums.
"Raptorch, I choose you!" Ash said, tossing a pokeball forward. The capture device opened, releasing the smiling Fire Dino Pokemon.
"A Fire and Ground-type, huh? I see you did your homework. Still, you're going to need more than type advantage to bring this bad boy down! Tracton, go beyond!" Sheldon said, sending his first pick.
The pokeball opened, releasing a rather large, weird looking Pokemon neither Ash nor his friends had never seen before. It looked more like a machine or a vehicle than a living being: it had a sleek, elongated metal body, gray on the back, yellow with black stripes on the front. At each of its sides were two tank treads with three wheels. Its head, connected through a black, tube-like neck to the main body, looked like a pair of excavator shovels fused together by its ends, and had a red eye on each of its sides. It also had a small black tail with a yellow orb on its end.
Both Ash and Serena scanned this new Pokemon with their Pokedex:
"Tracton, the Crane Beast Pokemon. Dragon/Steel. A Mechanical Dragon Pokemon that is often used to help construction workers. Its jaws can crumple steel with ease," the devices explained.
"Whoa. That Pokemon looks scary," Bonnie said.
"Nene," Dedenne agreed.
"Yeah. And the Pokedex's description didn't make it look any less threatening," Clemont observed. "Let's hope Ash and Raptorch can keep up."
As pictures of Raptorch and Tracton appeared on each of the first of the empty slots next to Ash and Sheldon's portraits, the referee lowered both flags in a chopping motion. "Begin!"
~Challenger Ash (Raptorch, ?, ?) VS Gym Leader Sheldon (Tracton, ?, ?)~
"Alright Tracton, begin with Crunch!" Sheldon ordered.
"Trac, Tracton!" Tracton roared, as its treads spun in place, rising a cloud of dust, before it blitzed towards Raptorch, its metallic jaws wide open.
"Whoa! So fast!" Serena said as she saw Tracton turn into a blur.
"Raptorch, avoid it with Flame Impact!" Ash ordered.
Raptorch's entire body was coated in flames before it dashed to the side, narrowly avoiding Tracton's metallic jaws clamping over his body. The Fire Dino Pokemon then raced around the battleground, chased by Tracton, who kept trying and failing to bite him. Even if Tracton was fast, it couldn't match Raptorch's speed while using Flame Impact.
"Now stop and use Brick Break!" Ash ordered.
Raptorch abruptly stopped, the fire coat disappearing as quickly as it formed while his tail glowed with white light, before delivering a roundhouse tail slap at the coming Tracton in the face, whose building momentum made it impossible for it to stop or take a turn.
"Traaaaac!" it complained upon taking the super effective move.
"Yes! The first hit is ours!" Ash cheered, pumping a fist in the air. "Now, let's keep going! Raptorch, Flamethrower!"
"Raaaaaaap...!" Raptorch took a deep breath, before releasing a massive stream of flames at the Ccrane Beast Pokemon. "TOOOOOOORCH!"
"Tracton, use Shift Gear and avoid it!" Sheldon ordered.
Tracton's body glowed with a silvery light as ethereal gears and cogs appeared around it for a couple seconds, and moved away from the Flamethrower before the attack could reach it, its treads screeching angrily and rising an even larger cloud of dust.
"Shift Gear?" Serena asked.
"It's a move that vastly increases the speed and attack power of a Pokemon," Clemont explained, as he looked at Tracton apprehensively. "I thought that only the Klinklang line could learn that move, but guess I was wrong..."
Raptorch moved his head in order to catch Tracton with the flames, but the Crane Beast Pokemon was fast, much faster than a moment ago.
"Good! Now get close and use Crunch again!" Sheldon ordered.
Tracton expertly maneuvered around the Flamethrower as it got close to Raptorch, clamping its metallic jaws menacingly. Ash scowled, knowing that his current tactic wasn't going to work.
"Raptorch, drop the Flamethrower and use Dig!" Ash commanded.
The torrent of flames ceased, and Raptorch burrowed underground just in time to avoid Tracton's jaws for a second time. Wasting no time, it emerged from below, smacking Tracton's underbelly with a powerful headbutt, knocking the Crane Beast Pokemon backwards.
"Trac, ton!" it complained again.
"Man, that little guy is a fast one, isn't he? Tracton is my fastest Pokemon, yet it has yet to land a single hit," Sheldon said, crossing his arms.
"And you have seen nothing yet! Raptorch, Flame Impact again!" Ash ordered, throwing a hand forward.
"Raaaaaap!" Raptorch yipped, coating himself in a cloak of flames, before shooting towards Tracton.
Sheldon didn't look worried in the slightest. "Oh well, if outspeeding you won't work, guess I'll have to change my strategy. Tracton, Lock-On!"
Tracton's red eyes glimmered crimson as a crosshair of the same color appeared on Raptorch's flank, just before he slammed against Tracton.
"Wait... what did Tracton do?" Bonnie asked. "It had no effect on Raptorch, but..."
"Lock-On makes the next move impossible to dodge," Clemont explained. "Ash has been relying on Raptorch's superior speed provided by Flame Impact in order to avoid Tracton's attacks, but such tactic won't work anymore with Lock-On."
"Now Tracton..." Sheldon raised a single finger while grinning savagely. "Draco Meteor!"
"No!" Serena yelped. The memory of Ash's Gible using such a devastating attack against Braixen back in Pallet returned to her mind with thunderous force. And Raptorch wouldn't be able to dodge such an attack!
Tracton opened its metallic jaws, its body glowing orange as it formed an orb of light of the same color between them. The orb then shot upwards, exploding into meteors that fell back to the ground. However, rather than falling in a wide area, the meteors began to fly towards Raptorch as if they had life on their own.
Before Ash could tell him anything, Raptorch began to run away from the meteors, who chased him like an angry swarm. Unfortunately, the Fire Dino Pokemon wasn't fast enough, and the meteors smashed against him, engulfing the Tandorian started inside a chain of explosions.
"Raptorch!" Ash cried.
When the smoke of the explosions vanished, Ash could see his Pokemon. Raptorch was still able to stand on his feet, but the attack had made a number on him, as there were numerous burnt marks and bruises across his body, which was trembling with pain.
"Look at that! Not only is the little guy fast, but much more resilient than it looks!" Sheldon observed. "Though, is he resilient enough to resist a second Draco Meteor? Let's find out! Tracton, Lock-On!"
Tracton's eyes glowed red, as yet another crosshair appeared on Raptorch's body.
"Raptorch, return!" Ash quickly said, returning his Pokemon back to the capture device.
Serena couldn't help but sigh in relief as Raptorch was saved from a second round of the brutal attack. While Ash definitely made the right decision, what other Pokemon could be able to counter such a devastating combo?
Ash himself seemed to ponder that question as well, given that it took him several moments to choose his next battler. "Dunsparce, I choose you!"
As the Land Snake Pokemon materialized on the battleground, his picture appeared on the second slot on Ash's side of the screen, while Raptorch's picture was grayed out.
"A Dunsparce? Hm, interesting choice. Foregoing type advantages upon seeing how little they help you?" Sheldon taunted.
"Raptorch already did plenty to help me win this round. Dunsparce is here to finish the job," Ash confidently replied.
"Dun," Dunsparce grumbled.
"Very well then. Let's see if your Dunsparce is able to fare better than your Raptorch. Lock-On!" Sheldon shouted.
"Dunsparce, Ancient Power!" Ash replied.
As Tracton's eyes glowed red, a crosshair mark of the same color appeared on Dunsparce's back. Meanwhile, the Land Snake Pokemon summoned a ring of golden rocks around him, which he launched against the Crane Beast Pokemon. The attack landed, though it did minimal damage.
"And now, Draco Meteor!" Sheldon said.
Once again, Tracton's body glowed orange, as it formed a sphere of light of the same color between its jaws. Said orb shot upwards, exploding into a mass of meteors that flew towards Dunsparce like a flock of hungry birds of prey towards a particularly tasty meal.
"Dunsparce, stop those meteors with Ancient Power!" Ash commanded.
Dunsparce summoned a ring of golden rocks for the second time in a row, before throwing them at the incoming asteroids. The golden boulders smashed into the meteors with flawless accuracy, making them explode prematurely, and successfully stopping the attack. And for an added boon, a golden aura flashed over Dunsparce's body for a second.
"Yes!" Ash cheered.
"Awesome! Dunsparce has stopped the Draco Meteor!" Serena cheered.
"Indeed. Undodgeable doesn't mean unblockable. And not just that! Ancient Power's extra effect has been triggered! Now Dunsparce is stronger than before!" Clemont added.
"Come on Ash and Dunsparce! You have this!" Bonnie shouted.
"Clever maneuver, boy! No wonder other Gym Leaders are gushing so much about you! But I'm not an easily impressed man!" Sheldon said, though it was obvious he was a little miffed over Ash blocking his Draco Meteor. "Tracton, use Lock-On again!"
As the non-damaging move was used for the third time in a row, Ash gave his command. "So you think our counter-maneuver was a fluke? In that case, Dunsparce, prepare an Ancient Power again!"
Dunsparce summoned yet another spinning ring of golden boulders, these ones a bit larger and with sharper edges than those used before, thanks to the recent power boost.
"...and follow up with Iron Head!" Sheldon said.
"What!?" Ash shouted.
"Traaaaaac!" The Crane Beast Pokemon let out a roar as it launched itself headfirst at Dunsparce, streaks of silvery light coming from it.
Dunsparce launched the salvo of golden rocks, but Tracton's attack plowed through them as if they were made of soft clay, before it slammed its head against Dunsparce, sending the yellow snake rolling backwards.
"Dunsparce!" Ash cried.
"Now, Crunch! Don't let him escape!" Sheldon ordered.
Tracton dashed towards Dunsparce, still dizzy from the brutal impact, and clamped its metallic jaws around the Land Snake Pokemon's body, who wriggled uselessly against his opponent.
"Dun, dunsparce, dun!" Dunsparce cried as he trashed around, but Tracton didn't budge.
"Dunsparce, use Ancient Power again!" Ash ordered. "Aim for its face!"
Dunsparce summoned another ring of golden boulders, but much to his and Ash's frustration, the boulders flickered and disintegrated into dust before they could reach its final size.
"Nice try Ash, but not good enough!" Sheldon mocked.
"Hey, what gives! Why did the Ancient Power fail?" Bonnie protested.
"Ancient Power isn't a move that can be used many times in a row. It's a strong move with a powerful aftereffect, but as a trade-off, it can't be used many times in a short timespan," Clemont explained.
"Now, Lock-On!" Sheldon said.
"Though, Lock-On is also a move that can't be spammed either, but that doesn't seem to be a problem for Sheldon..." Clemont said in contemplation. "Maybe he trained Tracton so he could use that move many times consecutively..."
Serena covered her hands with her mouth as Tracton placed that crosshair mark on Dunsparce again. She knew what came next, given that Dunsparce could no longer use Ancient Power as he did before. First Raptorch and now Dunsparce. Isn't there anything that could stop that brutal machine dragon?
"And let's finish this with Draco Meteor!" Sheldon ordered with a wave of his hand.
Tracton tossed Dunsparce back, as it formed an orb of orange light between its jaws. The orb flew upwards, and exploded into a multitude of meteors that homed on Dunsparce. Sheldon smirked, knowing that his first victory drew near.
But as Sheldon was about to learn, Ash wasn't somebody who was frightened in the face of impossible odds.
"Dunsparce, use Rollout to get close to Tracton!" Ash ordered.
"Par, parce!" Dunsparce cried as he curled into a ball and rolled towards the Crane Beast Pokemon, with the meteors trailing behind.
"I know what you plan to do, Ash, and it won't work! Tracton, Shift Gear again, and run away from Dunsparce!" the bespectacled Gym Leader ordered.
Tracton glowed with a silvery light as several cogs and gears appeared around it for a second, before it dashed away from Dunsparce. The two Pokemon ran around the battleground in circles, with the meteors slowly closing their distance on Dunsparce.
"Keep running, Tracton! Your stamina is far greater than Dunsparce's! He will get tired much sooner than you, and when he does, boom!" Sheldon shouted.
"That's what you think!" Ash confidently said with an energetic arm wave. "Dunsparce, swerve to the right!"
The rolling Dunsparce abruptly changed his course, and cut a diagonal line across the battleground. Tracton hadn't realized this and kept running in circles, not realizing the shortcut Dunsparce had taken in order to reach it faster.
"Tracton, turn to the right!" Sheldon warned, his eyes growing wide as he realized what Ash had planned.
"Tracton is fast but it can't make close turns! Dunsparce has no such problems!" Ash boasted. "Now Dunsparce, latch onto its face!"
"Parce!" Dunsparce cried, as he uncurled and launched himself at Tracton. He didn't land on its face, but rather its long neck. Still, Ash considered it a good outcome.
"Tracton, shake him off, now!" Sheldon desperately cried, watching how the Draco Meteor came closer.
"Traaaaaaac!" Tracton roared, as it wildly shook its neck, but Dunsparce remained firmly latched onto it.
The meteors were practically onto them.
"Dunsparce, Dig!" Ash shouted.
Dunsparce jumped off of Tracton's neck and quickly burrowed underground. And less than a second later, Tracton was bombarded by the very same meteors it had summoned, which were unable to change course in such a minuscule amount of time, engulfing the Crane Beast Pokemon inside multiple explosions.
"Tracton!" Sheldon cried again.
When the smoke from the explosions vanished, Tracton was there, lying sideways, its chassis completely burned, its jaws wide open, and its eyes completely blank.
The referee raised a flag in Ash's direction. "Tracton is unable to battle! The winner is Dunpsarce!"
As Ash's friends cheered, Dunsparce returned to the surface and said something that sounded a lot like a boast.
As Tracton's picture turned completely black in the scoreboard, Sheldon returned his defeated Pokemon with a sigh.
"Good work, friend. At least you forced him to make a switch," Sheldon said, as he grabbed the pokeball containing his next choice. "Alright then, Dearewl, go beyond!"
The capture device opened, and just for once, it revealed a Pokemon Ash and his friends were familiar with.
"Dea, rewl!" the Dearewl cried, as its picture appeared on the scoreboard.
"Parce," Dunsparce said, smirking widely, as if he expected this battle to be easy. Given that Dunsparce had already defeated another Dearewl during a Gym Battle, he probably thought that this was nothing he couldn't handle.
Hopefully Ash wouldn't be as overconfident.
"Dunsparce versus Dearewl, begin!" the referee said.
"Dunsparce, begin with Rollout!" Ash ordered.
"Par, Dunsparce!" Dunsparce cried energetically as he curled into a ball and rolled against his foe.
"We'll fight spinning with more spinning! Dearewl, Gyro Ball!" Sheldon ordered.
Dearewl's entire body began to glow with a silvery light as the Iron Horn Pokemon curled into a ball and rolled against Dunsparce. The two Pokemon clashed against each other for a few seconds, the friction caused by the grinding resulting in a shower of sparks, until Dearewl won the struggle and sent Dunsparce tumbling backwards.
"Great! Now, follow it with Metal Whip!" Sheldon ordered.
"Don't let him catch you! Dunsparce, Dig!" Ash countered.
Dunsparce was able to burrow underground with only a second to spare before the steel cable coming out of Dearewl's organic helmet could have caught him. Sheldon an annoyed frown appeared on Sheldon's face.
"Do all your Pokemon know Dig or what?" the bespectacled man asked.
"No, but maybe I should teach them that move, given how useful it is," Ash deadpanned, just as Dunsparce burst from under Dearewl, smashing his head against its underbelly, launching the Rock and Steel-type Pokemon backwards.
"Dearewl!" Sheldon cried, worried about his Pokemon after taking a super effective strike. Dearewl was able to get back on its legs, and glared at Dunsparce, who shot it a look of superiority. "Are you okay?"
"Deeeee..." Dearewl seethed.
Then, there was a crackling noise, and Dearewl's body began to glow with a bright bluish-white light, as its body began to change and grow.
And grow.
And grow.
And grow.
And as it did, all those present craned their necks upwards in order to keep up with the process. And with the exception of Sheldon and the referee, all of them were starting to grow worried.
"Gar!"
Once the process was over, a new Pokemon stood in Dearewl's place. It was much bigger than its preevolution, being almost twice as tall as Ash, with extremely long legs and a long neck. Its metallic skin had gone from light brown to dull yellow. It had steel plates on its knees, a steel, spiked helmet on its head with a long steel wire coming from the central spike, and a saddle-like metal growth on its back.
"Ohohoho, look at that!" Sheldon laughed, while both Ash and especially Dunsparce looked at the new Pokemon in awe and a little worry. "Sorry kid, but luck's not on your side!"
"Sheldon's Pokemon evolved mid battle? That's not fair!" Bonnie protested.
"But Ash's Pokemon sometimes evolved mid battle. Don't you remember Davern?" his brother reminded her.
"Yeah, but..." Bonnie pouted, crossing her arms in frustration. "It sucks when it happens to a Pokemon Ash is battling..."
"Well, it sucks for Ash's opponents too when it happens," Clemont countered.
While the siblings bickered, Serena scanned this new Pokemon with her Pokedex.
"Gararewl, the Iron Beast Pokemon. Dearewl's evolution, and Barewl's final form. Steel. They often have to leave the cave that they grew up in as Barewl, because caves are seldom able to accommodate its massive size."
Serena could believe that description. She was still having a hard time believing that a few seconds ago, that metallic behemoth that towered over all of them barely reached Ash's waist as a Dearewl.
"Alright Gararewl, let's see how well you do now that you have reached your final form! Time for a Stone Edge!"
"Rewl!" Gararewl cried as it stomped one of its hooves into the ground, followed by a row of consecutive stone pillars rising towards Dunsparce.
"Dunsparce, Dig again!" Ash called, making Sheldon roll his eyes.
"Dun, dunspa!" he cried, before burrowing underground for the second time in a row, just in time to allow him to escape the Rock-type move.
"Gararewl, stay where you are and wait for him to come out! And once he does, give him a good Stomp!" Sheldon ordered.
And indeed, a few seconds later Dunsparce burst from underground, slamming his body against the Iron Beast Pokemon's front legs. Unfortunately, Gararewl gave Dunsparce quite the powerful and painful kick that sent the Land Snake Pokemon rolling backwards.
"Dunsparce!" Ash cried.
"And finish with Stone Edge!" Sheldon said making a hand gun.
With another mighty stomp, Gararewl summoned yet another row of rising stone pillars. Still reeling from the Stomp, Dunsparce was unable to dodge them this time, and the attack sent the hapless Normal-type Pokemon flying into the air, before it fell back to the ground with a loud thud.
"Dunsparce, no!" Ash shouted again.
Dunsparce laid on his back on the crater he had opened with his fall. His whole body was beaten and bruised, and didn't make any attempt to move.
The referee raised a flag in Sheldon's direction.
"Dunsparce is unable to battle! The winner is Gararewl!" the referee said, just as Dunsparce's icon on the scoreboard was blacked out, while the rock pillars from the Stone Edge crumbled into nothingness.
Ash sighed, before returning Dunsparce to his pokeball. "Thank you, buddy. You did your best."
"This doesn't look good to Ash," Clemont commented. "All he has now is his tired Raptorch, and I assume either Greninja or Metalynx for his last pick. While Sheldon has his freshly evolved Gararewl, and his last Pokemon, which I assume will be that S51-A."
"This is nothing new. Ash has already been in battles with the odds against him, yet he prevailed," Serena said, as she clasped the blue ribbon hanging on her black shirt.
"Yeah! Did you see how Ash used Tracton's own Draco Meteor to beat it? And I'm sure Ash still has another awesome trick under his sleeve!" Bonnie cheered.
Serena smiled. She could always count on Bonnie to share her optimism.
"Raptorch, I choose you!" Ash said, sending the Fire Dino Pokemon into battle for the second time. Raptorch's icon on the scoreboard recovered its color.
Raptorch materialized, and even if he didn't look as full of energy as when Ash sent him for the first time, he looked eager to for another chance to win, the imposing size of his opponent having no effect on his morale, no doubt thanks to the resting time Dunsparce had bought him.
"Raptorch versus Gararewl, begin!" the referee said, lowering her flags.
"Alright Raptorch, let's begin with Dig!" Ash said.
"Ra, torch!" Raptorch yipped, before burying himself underground.
"Man, do your Pokemon know any attack other than Dig?" Sheldon groaned. "Or do you find it fun to fill my battleground with holes? You know what to do, Gararewl."
Garearewl cried as it prepared to kick Raptorch the moment it became visible.
"Raptorch, use Flamethrower from underground!" Ash shouted.
"What!?" Sheldon cried, taken aback.
A geyser of red and orange flames burst from the ground under Gararewl, roasting the Steel-type Pokemon. Crying in pain, the Steel Beast Pokemon jumped away, before Raptorch emerged from the hole his attack had created.
"Very clever. You knew I could use Stone Edge to block a long range Flamethrower, so you used Dig to get close to Gararewl," Sheldon said, adjusting his glasses. "But here's a move you won't be able to block! Gararewl, Rock Tomb!"
"Gaaaaa...!" the Steel-type Pokemon cried as it conjured a multitude of giant boulders above Raptorch.
"Raptorch, use Flame Impact to dodge them!" Ash commanded.
Once they fully materialized, gravity did their job and made them fall to the ground with loud thuds, while Raptorch's body was coated in flames, and blitzed through the rain of rocks before he could be crushed under any of them.
"Good! Now get close to Gararewl!" Ash ordered.
"Gararewl, Stomp once he gets close enough!" Sheldon shouted.
Like a red, burning missile, Raptorch shot towards his much larger foe. However, he was forced to make a sudden break and jump aside in order to avoid being flattened by Gararewl's metallic hoof. The Iron Beast Pokemon tried to stomp on Raptorch any time it got close, with none of them being able to land a hit on the other.
"Gararewl, Stone Edge again!" Sheldon ordered.
"Raptorch, quickly, dodge!" Ash urged.
As Gararewl stomped one hoof on the ground, summoning another row of rising stone pillars, Raptorch quickly jumped aside, narrowly dodging them.
"Now, Gararewl, catch that annoying saurian with Metal Whip! Wrap it around its jaws so he can't use Flamethrower!" Sheldon commanded.
"Ga, gara!" Gararewl cried, as it cast its iron wire like a fisher would cast a fishing rod.
"Raptorch, Dig!" Ash shouted.
Before the glowing iron wire could catch Raptorch, the Fire Dino Pokemon burrowed underground, narrowly avoiding it.
"Gararewl, stay on the move! Don't let him catch you off guard with another underground Flamethrower!" Sheldon urged.
Gararewl obeyed, and began to move around the battleground in random patterns with long strides.
"Raptorch, get under Gararewl and use Flamethrower from underground!" Ash ordered.
"What? Why is Ash doing that? Sheldon just warned Gararewl against that tactic!" Bonnie pointed out, incredulous.
"It makes no sense, yes..." Clemont agreed, as he placed a finger under his chin, pensive. "Ash must be thinking something..."
"Indeed. Ash isn't somebody to just spam attacks at random. I'm sure he must be cooking a tactic to win as we speak," Serena confidently said.
However, as she watched Raptorch fire one Flamethrower after another from underground, blowing holes over the battleground, while Gararewl dodged them all, the honey blonde couldn't guess what was going through Ash's head. Raptorch's stamina was great, but sooner or later it would run out, and then-
"Ga!" Gararewl cried, as it tripped back.
"Huh?" Bonnie asked.
Ash smirked.
It took most people present a couple seconds to realize that, while jumping away from the underground Flamethrowers, Gararewl had unwittingly sunk one of its back legs into one of the holes, making it lose its balance.
"Yes! This is our chance, Raptorch! Come out and use Flame Impact! Aim for the front legs!" Ash commanded.
"Rap, torch!" Raptorch yipped, as he burst from underground, before coating himself in flames and shot towards the Iron Beast Pokemon.
"Gararewl, quickly, get out of there!" Sheldon urged, trying and failing to mask the building panic in his voice.
However, Raptorch managed to reach Gararewl before the much larger Pokemon could pull the leg from the hole, smashing it against its front legs.
"Yes, keep going Raptorch! More Flame Impacts!" Ash encouraged, his voice overflowing with the excitement that comes with victory being at hand.
Raptorch continued his fiery onslaught, assaulting Gararewl from multiple sides with consecutive Flame Impacts.
"Gaaaaa!" it cried in pain, as the pain, burns and bruises kept building up.
"Time to finish this! Flamethrower!" Ash said, thrusting a fist forward.
"Raaaaaaaa...!" Raptorch took a deep breath. "TOOOOOOOORCH!"
Gararewl was engulfed by the roaring torrent of flames exhaled by Raptorch. Needless to say, the super effective attack managed to snuff the last of Gararewl's energy. When the flames vanished, the Iron Beast Pokemon was lying on the ground sideways, unconscious.
The referee raised a flag in Ash's direction. "Gararewl is unable to battle! The winner is Raptorch!"
And as she said that, Gararewl's icon on the screen blacked out, while everybody except Sheldon cheered for Ash's victory.
"Yes! One more Pokemon and Ash will win!" Bonnie shouted, while hugging Dedenne.
"See? I told you that Ash had a strategy in mind!" Serena said, happy that her faith in Ash had been validated once more.
"It looked like making all those potholes on my battleground wasn't just for the fun of it. That was pretty clever, kid," Sheldon praised.
"Thanks! Though, if I'm being honest, I got the idea from you," upon seeing Sheldon's confused face, he added: "When you complained about all the holes my Pokemon were doing with Dig, I realized that a Pokemon as long-legged as Gararewl wouldn't do good on such a terrain."
Sheldon sighed. "Me and my big mouth... oh well, you're going to need something more than a bunch of holes if you want to defeat my last Pokemon. You already got a small taste of its power the other night, but let me assure you, you barely scratched the surface. Go beyond, S51-A!" he said, tossing a pokeball forward.
The capture device opened once it touched the ground, releasing the strange looking Pokemon, while a picture of it appeared on the last slot on Sheldon's side of the screen. S51-A fixed its mismatched eyes on Raptorch, and scowled, clearly remembering how the little lizard ambushed it the other night.
Everybody noticed that S51-A was now wearing a bracelet with a peculiar round gemstone attached to it on its right wrist. If what they saw of other Gym Leaders was of any indication, they knew what to expect.
"Raptorch versus S51-A, begin!" the referee said, lowering the flags.
"Raptorch, Flamethrower!" Ash ordered.
Raptorch took a deep breath, and released a huge stream of flames towards the UFO Pokemon.
"Teleport," Sheldon said in an almost bored tone. "Followed by Dark Pulse."
S51-A flickered for an instant before vanishing and reappearing behind Raptorch.
"Behind you, Raptorch!" Ash warned.
Too late. S51-A appeared behind the Fire Dino Pokemon, a sphere of darkness already between its cupped hands. Thrusting its hands forward, it cast a beam of darkness at Raptorch, hitting him squarely and sending him rolling backwards.
"Raptorch! Please, get up!" Ash pleaded.
Much to Ash's relief, Raptorch managed to get up, though not without difficulty. Suddenly, a red burning aura appeared around the small Fire Dino Pokemon, as his eyes glowed with orange lights as if they were burning coals and the flame at the end of his tail burned with more intensity.
"RAAAAAAAAAAP!" Raptorch screeched.
"Is that... Blaze?" Ash asked. "Alright, we still can win this! Get ready Raptorch!"
"No, you won't. Finish him off with Psybeam!" Sheldon ordered.
"Avoid it with Dig!" Ash commanded.
As the UFO Pokemon fired a multicolored energy beam at Raptorch, the Fire Dino Pokemon quickly dug underground, adding yet another hole to the battleground. Raptorch quickly appeared under where S51-A was hovering over.
"Teleport!" Sheldon called.
"Turn around and use Flamethrower!" Ash shouted.
S51-A vanished from where it was floating before Raptorch could attack it from below. However, the Fire and Ground-type Pokemon turned around, took a deep breath, and exhaled yet another wave of flames, far bigger than those he used before, with a fire burning so hot it produced ripples in the air, seemingly at an empty spot just a second before S51-A materialized exactly there, taking the brunt of the attack.
The UFO Pokemon cried in a horrible distorted screech as the empowered super effective move washed over him.
"Meteor Mash!" Sheldon angrily ordered.
Still wreathed in flames, S51-A curled one hand into a fist, which glowed with a silvery light, and dashed towards Raptorch, who was still exhaling a torrent of painful flames, before delivering a brutal swing. The fist connected, producing an explosion of silvery stars that sent Raptorch flying backwards, before falling on the ground with a loud thud.
"Raptorch!" Ash cried.
Upon seeing that the Tandorian Starter didn't make any attempts to get back to his feet, the referee raised a flag in Sheldon's direction. "Raptorch is unable to battle! The winner is S51-A!"
Ash sighed, and returned his defeated Pokemon to his pokeball, as his icon on the screen was blacked out. "Thank you buddy. You did way more than I could have hoped for."
After all, even with only one opponent down, Raptorch managed to stand up to the Gym Leader's entire team in his first official battle.
"That little guy is sure tough, to last as long as he did. Somebody would think that sending a recently caught Pokemon against a Gym Leader would be foolish, but you managed to whip him into shape in such a short amount of time!" Sheldon praised.
"What can I say? Raptorch was eager to learn, and I was just as eager to train him," Ash said, as he chose his final Pokemon. "Now, the other night your S51-A was engaged in a battle with one of my Pokemon before it was interrupted, and I'm sure the two of them would love to see that fight to the end. Metalynx, I choose you!"
As the pokeball hit the ground, it released the Grass and Steel-type Pokemon, who announced her presence with a mighty roar. Both Metalynx and S51-A glared at each other, the two of them remembering their last, inconclusive battle.
"Metalynx vs S51-A, begin!" the referee said, lowering both her flags.
"Hey, is that a Mega Stone I see on her collar?" Sheldon asked, adjusting his glasses, as his eyes focused on said object. "Say, have you Mega Evolved her before?"
"I did, but only for sparring. Not in a serious battle yet," Ash explained, as his lips curved into a smirk.
Sheldon smirked back, as he turned his tie around, revealing a pin with a Keystone on it. "You know what they say, kid! No time like the present! Plus, given that you already saw what my S51-A can do on its own, I think I should show you what a monster it becomes when it Mega evolves!" he touched the Keystone, which began to glow. "Come on S51-A! Through our bond, you shall break your natural limits and your power will fly past the sky! Mega Evolve!"
Both the Keystone and the Mega Stone attached to S51-A's bracelet began to glow, and fired beams of different colors towards each other. The beams clashed, and merged into one, and the UFO Pokemon began to glow as its body changed, the helix of Mega Evolution flashed before it once the transformation was finished.
"Behold my S51-A at the height of its power!" Sheldon boasted.
S51-A no longer looked like an UFO, but more like a tank, its metal body incredibly bulky and sturdy, with two cannons at each side of the glass dome. It had doubled the number of arms coming out of its main body, which also acted as legs since it no longer floated in the air. The creature inside the vehicle was still green with mismatched yellow and blue eyes, but the dark green mark on its forehead was now in the shape of a T rather than a triangle. Its two pointy ears were now much longer, and had two tiny horns at each side of the head.
Ash held his shuriken necklace with one hand, as he touched the Keystone inside it with the other. "I guess you leave me no option: Come on Metalynx! Let's show him that together we're so much stronger! Mega Evolve!"
The same process as with S51-A happened to Metalynx as she reached her Mega Evolved form.
Sheldon smiled giddily. "Ah, a battle between two Mega Evolved Pokemon! I can't even remember the last time I saw one!"
"In that case, we'll make sure this is a battle you'll always remember!" Ash hotly shouted.
"I'll be holding you to that boast! S51-A, open with Laser Pulse!" Sheldon said.
Laser Pulse. That was an attack that Serena had never seen before, and judging by his expression, neither did Ash, who watched as bluish-white particles of light gathered at each of the cannons at the sides of the UFO Pokemon's main body, before firing twin energy streams of the same color.
"Jump over it, and follow with an Energy Ball!" Ash ordered.
"Teleport!"
The Armored Pokemon jumped over the twin light blue energy bolts as it charged a green sphere of energy between her jaws, firing it once her feet touched the ground again, careful not to accidentally land near a hole. The verdant projectile sailed towards the UFO Pokemon, but this vanished before the attack could connect.
"No fair! If the alien thingy keeps teleporting, then Metalynx won't be able to land a single hit!" Bonnie complained.
"Teleport is a powerful evasive move, but it's not infallible. Raptorch was able to score a hit, after all," Clemont said. "I'm sure that Ash will be able to find a way around it."
"Dark Pulse again!" Sheldon ordered, just as S51-A appeared at one of Metalynx's flanks.
"Parry with Metal Claw!" Ash shouted, realizing his Pokemon had no window to dodge.
S51-A's twin cannons fired a stream of dark and purple energy at Metalynx, whose arm blade began to glow with a silvery light, and swung it at the incoming blasts. The Armored Pokemon was pushed backwards, but Metalynx's huge blade coming out of her metallic front leg made for a surprisingly effective shield, keeping the dark power there until it dispelled on its own.
"Now follow up with X-Scissor!" Ash ordered.
"Teleport again and Psybeam!" Sheldon followed.
"Meta!" Metalynx growled, as she leaped towards S51-A, the claws on the front legs glowing with a greenish-yellow light, before delivering an X-shaped slash. However, Metalynx only ended up hitting thin air once again.
S51-A reappeared behind Metalynx, and blasted her with a multicolored beam fired from its eyes. Metalynx whined in pain as the attack smashed into her, even if it wasn't all that harmful.
"I saw you battle my S51-A that night, Ash, and it was totally kicking your Metalynx's sharp ass," Sheldon pointed out. "And it would have won if that Raptorch had not intervened. But not only is S51-A fighting under my guidance now, no one will come to help your Pokemon."
"Metalynx doesn't need any help! She's strong enough to beat your Pokemon on her own!" Ash boasted.
"Ly, lynx!" Metalynx roared in agreement.
"By how the battle is going, that sounds like an empty boast to me," Sheldon said, adjusting his glasses. "Laser Pulse."
Energy particles began to quickly gather around the mouth of the two cannons, forming red orbs.
Ash's eyes grew wide. "Metalynx, quickly, dodge them!" he commanded, his voice carrying more urgency than usual.
The UFO Pokemon fired twin beams of energy, crimson red this time around. Metalynx was able to swiftly dodged the harmful streams, hissing as one of them graced her side.
"Energy Ball!" Ash shouted.
"Teleport, and Dark Pulse," Sheldon replied.
As it happened before, Metalynx formed another sphere of green energy between her jaws, before firing at her foe. And as it happened before, S51-A teleported just before being hit by the emerald orb, reappearing at Metalynx's right, Dark Pulse ready to fire.
"Block it with Metal Claw again!" Ash ordered.
Facing S51-A, Metalynx's arm blade glowed with a silvery light, and lifted it to parry the twin streams of darkness, a good chunk of its energy remaining on it. However, instead of dispelling as it happened before, the dark power began to swirl around the blade, looking as if the metal was absorbing it, before releasing the energy in the form of a focused and stable blade of darkness superimposed over the metal blade.
"Is that...?" Bonnie asked.
"Night Slash! She must have learned it by combining the energy of Dark Pulse with Metal Claw!" Clemont excitedly said.
"Whoa... it looks different from Greninja's," Serena observed.
"Yes! Well done Metalynx!" Ash congratulated the feline.
"Yes, yes, very good, Metalynx. Learn all the new attacks you want, they won't be of any help if you can touch S51-A," Sheldon said, unimpressed. "Laser Pulse again."
Once again, energy particles began to gather around the Steel and Psychic-type's cannons, this time yellow in color. Ash's eyes widened again, though this time it was more because of excitement over an unexpected opportunity rather than urgency.
"Metalynx, weather the attack and use Night Slash!" Ash quickly told her, much to Sheldon's surprise. "It won't be able to teleport while it attacks!"
While Metalynx didn't look so sure, she decided to trust her trainer, and dashed towards her opponent, as her arm blade was coated in dark power. S51-A fired the attack, colored an electric yellow, the two energy streams smashing against Metalynx, but the Armored Pokemon managed to plow through them without much inconvenience.
"Quickly, tele-" Sheldon was about to say, but not fast enough, as Metalynx was able to reach close combat range and delivered a brutal swipe at his Pokemon, making it recoil in pain, while letting out a horrible, otherworldly screech of pain.
"Yes! Direct hit!" Bonnie cheered. "About time!"
"So..." Sheldon began, sounding a little mysterious. "You finally found my little secret, didn't you?"
Ash smirk was all the answer he needed, but the teen decided to elaborate. "It's the colors, isn't it? At first I thought it was like a Tri-Attack, but then... During this battle and the one the other night, I realized that Metalynx could resist the attack better or worse depending on the color. Red did the most damage, and yellow did the least. And each color represents a type, I'm going to guess Fire for red, Electric for yellow, and Ice for blue. But said color is chosen randomly, otherwise it would use the red one all the time."
Sheldon began to clap slowly. "Bravo, Ash! Yep, you dissected the attack flawlessly!" the Gym Leader praised. "Some might call Laser Pulse an unreliable attack, given its random nature, but you have no idea how many trainers are thrown into a loop by it! Though, guess that the Feleng is out of the bag, I better not use that attack anymore."
"That's far from the only trick of yours I learned how to counter, Sheldon," Ash confidently stated.
"Oh, you think so?" Sheldon replied, his tone matching Ash's bravado. "Very well then! S51-A, Teleport and Psybeam!"
"Metalynx, Iron Tail in a wide circle around you!" Ash quickly ordered.
"What!?"
As the UFO Pokemon flickered before disappearing, Metalynx's sword-like tail glowed with a metallic sheen, before spinning in a circle, delivering a wide circular swipe around her. S51-A reappeared behind her left flank, just in time to be struck by the attack. The alien-like Pokemon screeched in pain, its attack interrupted by the unexpected counter.
"Yes! Now follow up with X-Scissors!" Ash said, thrusting a fist forward.
"Quickly, Teleport!" Sheldon urged.
Unfortunately, S51-A was unable to regain its bearings in time, and the Armored Pokemon delivered a powerful X-shaped double swipe with her front claws coated in greenish-yellow glowing aura.
"Yes! Go Ash and Metalynx! Show them who's boss!" Bonnie cheered, bouncing on her seat.
"See Bonnie? I told you that Ash would figure out a way around the Teleport," Clemont told her.
"Yeah. There's no such thing as an invincible strategy," Serena added. "Once Ash sees a tactic in action enough times, he'll figure out a way to counter it."
"That makes two attacks that won't work against us anymore!" Ash boasted. "Energy Ball!"
"Nonsense! All S51-A has to do is teleport out of range of Iron Tail!" Sheldon countered, stammering a little. "Teleport and use Dark Pulse!"
Metalynx fired yet another missile of emerald light at S51-A, which quickly teleported to Metalynx's left, this time far enough from close combat range, as it prepared the Dark-type move.
"To your left, Metalynx! Use Night Slash to block the attack!" Ash replied, sure of his words. "If it does that, it won't be able to ambush us fast enough!"
Metalynx turned to the left, and began to dash towards S51-A, just a second before the UFO Pokemon fired twin streams of dark power. Metalynx's blade on her left front leg began to glow with a black and purple aura while growing in size, before launching herself bladefirst towards S51-A. The Night Slash cut through the Dark Pulse, and the Armored Pokemon delivered a swipe at the UFO Pokemon's glass dome, cracking it.
"S51-A! Resist!" Sheldon cried.
"Energy Ball at point blank range!" Ash shouted.
Before the alien-looking Pokemon had any time to react, Metalynx blasted it with a close range Energy Ball that ended up shattering its glass dome, leaving its organic part completely exposed.
"And finish it off with Night Slash!" Ash said.
This time, not only was Metalyx's blade arm covered in a coat of darkness, but so was her tail, in a way that reminded Serena of how Vitor's Leafeon would use Aerial Ace and Leaf Blade with both its tail and the leaf on its forehead. And just like her fellow Grass-type, Metalynx delivered first a swipe with her blade arm, before spinning around and following up with a powerful swipe of her tail.
The attack sent S51-A rolling backwards, before it collapsed on the spot, the power of Mega Evolution fading as it returned to its normal form, lying on the ground, motionless.
The referee raised a flag in Ash's direction. "S51-A can't fight anymore, the winner is Metalynx! And since Sheldon has lost three Pokemon, that means Ash is the winner!"
"YES!" Ash shouted, jumping into the air with a fist held.
"Pi, pika!" Pikachu cried, sharing his trainer 's joy.
"Ash! You did it!" Serena said, leaving the spectator's zone and running towards him, Clemont and Bonnie trailing behind her.
"You and Metalynx totally kicked ass!" Bonnie shouted.
"Such a magnificent victory!" Clemont praised.
Metalynx let out a sigh of exhaustion as she also returned to her normal form, though unlike her defeated foe, she didn't collapse. The armored Pokemon then walked towards Ash, and began to run her head against his body affectionately.
"Hey, good job, girl! You were amazing," Ash said, while scratching the large feline under the ear, making her purr in satisfaction.
"You know Ash, when you came to my Gym, I thought I had finally found somebody I could call my equal," Sheldon said, as he walked towards the Kantonian trainer. "But in the end, you turned out to be my superior. Congratulations for a well earned victory. The Pixel Badge is yours. Treasure it well, it's the first badge I hand out in a long time!"
Sheldon handed Ash his prize, a badge shaped like a black square with silver edges, and four smaller squares of four different colors each (red, blue, green and yellow) on its corners. Ash gratefully took the badge, and with a triumphal grin, raised it above his head.
"I won the Pixel Badge!" Ash shouted.
"Pi, pikachu!"
"Congratulations, Ash! You're halfway there!" Serena said.
"Thanks!" Ash said, as he placed his newest badge inside his badge case with the other three. He then turned at Sheldon. "Hey, Sheldon, are there any other Gyms near this town?"
"Quite a few yes," the bespectacled man said. "Though, if you want a true challenge, maybe you should try Tiko, the Gym Leader of Amatree Town. He's the toughest Gym Leader of West Tandor, with only the Big Three of East Tandor being above him in terms of difficulty."
"In that case, that shall be our next stop!" Ash excitedly said.
"Not really. The next contest is in Legen Town in a few days, Ash, so we'll need to go there first," Serena told him.
"Oh, right! Sorry, hehe, guess I got carried away..." Ash chuckled awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck.
…
The sun was already setting by the time the group left Sheldon's Gym –it seemed Ash's battle had been way longer than any of them realized– so they all headed back to the Pokemon Center, where they got dinner and turned in for bed early. And the next day, after a good night of sleep, the gang of four had their energy recharged and were ready to continue their journey through Tandor.
Author's Note: So following Serena winning her fourth ribbon, Ash snags his fourth badge! So it's accurate to say that with this chapter, we're (more or less) on the midway point of this story. While I haven't finished writting this story yet, I imagine that it will be about 70-75 chapters long, give or take.
I hope you guys enjoyed the Gym Battle as much as I enjoyed writing it (Sheldon is a pretty fun character to write), which included a couple of debuts: Raptorch's first Gym Battle (and first battle overall outside of training, though he isn't new on that regard) as well as the first time Ash uses a Mega Evolved Pokemon. But as you could see, Mega Metalynx raised to the challenge and then some.
Dunsparce's Ancient Power failing after being used many times in a row is my attempt to translate PP to the anime, more especifically moves with powerful effects but low PP. That way, I can keep them from being too overpowered.
Given that one of Ash's Pokemon evolved mid-battle in his last two Gym Battles, I thought it would be funny if the opposite happened, so I had Sheldon's Dearewl evolve into Gararewl mid battle instead. It really sucks when it happens against you, isn't it? Fortunately it wasn't enough to cost Ash the battle.
Thanks to 61394, Jake, BrightNova169, Fox McCloude, hirowriter, MegaSalamence64 and Viror-kun for reviewing the last chapter, as well as special thanks to Viroro-kun for his work as betareader, whose edits and suggestions made this chapter so much better.
Next time, our heroes continue their journey and meet an old friend along the way. In the meantime, drop a review with your thoughts on this chapter :)