Chapter 41: Mind's Eye
The rest of the tournament went by quickly. Mostly due to the fact it consisted of Elite Four members steamrolling the veteran Trainers with ease. The only pair to take longer than 20 minutes was Grant vs Ilima.
For the Quarterfinals, the current brackets were as followed:
Lorelei vs Red
Green vs Blue
Bruno vs Agatha
Grant vs Lance
The victors would then proceed to the Semi-finals, with only 4 winners.
After the final match of Day 1, the audience cleared the stadium and accommodated the multiple hotels or the Pokémon Centre.
…
After the conclusion of the first day, the students of Pokémon Academy cleared the hall and returned home at dawn. They would reconvene at night due to the time differences.
Vaniville Town.
"Maaaan… Those Elite Four guys are way too strong," Tierno sighed in resignation. The large boy could hardly fathom the strength displayed by Lance as he overpowered his cousin, Clair.
For all the Elite Four members' battles, not even one of them had a single Pokémon defeated.
Calem balled his fists as he recalled every previous battle in excitement. He was in awe at the skills shown during the first day.
Ash's unpredictability bordering on insanity. Gary's cold and calculative tactics that maximized efficiency. As well as Blue's rhapsody-like style of expressive freedom.
They were all amazing and the black-haired boy was still in disbelief that the Pallet Town trio were the same age as him and his friends.
Meanwhile, Shauna was relentlessly hounding Serena for more stories about her and Ash. The honey blonde chuckled nervously at the bundle of energy that was her friend.
"There was one time when I told Red that I haven't seen the ocean before. And the moment I did, he promised me that he'll take me there!" Serena recounted with a blush on her face.
"Now that I know how that Red looks like, I can definitely see him doing that," the tanned girl said.
To say Tierno was not thrilled to hear more about Ash was an understatement. The boy was beginning to feel jealous over the raven-haired boy who had made the girl he liked smile so much.
"But isn't his next match against an Elite Four member? Do you really think he has a chance?" Tierno asked, furrowing his brows in annoyance lest he heard more about Serena's childhood with Ash.
Although the honey blonde was confident about the raven-haired boy's strength, she could not give an answer after witnessing the Elite Four's overwhelming power against the veteran Trainers.
The room was filled with silence…
Before Grace spoke out.
"Well, if that Green boy could beat an Elite Four candidate, whose to say Ash couldn't?"
Serena turned towards her mother, who gave a wink to her daughter. The girl lit up with glee and nodded at her statement.
"Speaking of which, Serena. How long do you think Ash is gonna take to see you again?" Grace asked.
"Yeah. I remember you not telling Red where you are. What's up with that?" Calem chimed in, finally back from his daze.
Everyone looked towards the honey blonde for answers. The girl then obliged with a tender smile, holding onto her treasured handkerchief.
"I've told you guys about our parting, right? Red's not someone who breaks his promise, so I have complete faith he'll come find me."
"Even if it takes years, I'll always wait for him. No matter how long it takes."
The group of friends minus Tierno smiled at her answer, Grace included.
"Although, I'm not just gonna wait here like some princess atop an abandoned tower," the honey blonde smirked, her imagery spoken from her childhood of fairy tale books.
"I still don't know what I want to do. So, I'll just do everything I can possibly do," she continued.
"Then, when Red comes, I'll have become a charming girl and steal his heart in one fell swoop!"
The exaggerated hand gestures Serena made had everyone dropping a sweat. But then, Tierno had to ruin it.
"But what if he finds a girl he likes during his trave—"
"That will never happen."
The menacing smile Serena gave off silenced everyone in the house. Underneath their breath, they began cursing Tierno for his loudmouth.
…
Ash felt a shiver down his spine.
"Seriously? Are you sure you're not sick?" Misty asked. The redhead's worries were not unfounded since the raven-haired boy had been sneezing frequently.
"Nah, I don't think I've ever been sick before," Ash replied.
"Well, you know what they say about idiots and cold," the redhead shrugged, looking away with a smirk.
"Oi."
The competitors were now gathered in a banquet hall, surrounded by food and drinks. On the stage was a short elderly man whom the Elite Four paid their respects to: Charles Goodshow.
"Raise your heads, dear Elite Four. Ahem," the old man cleared his throat.
"To all the competitors, both victors and vanquished, this is a celebration for all who had given their best during the Grand League. As a token of thanks for creating so much memorable and exciting battles, feast yourselves to the fullest!"
With that, the 16 contestants clapped their hands and began eating.
"Was that Santa?" Ash asked innocently, preparing to stuff his face with food before earning a smack on the head by Misty.
"Don't be so rude. That was President Goodshow, the highest authority of Pokémon Leagues across the world," Misty chided before explaining who the man was.
Nodding in understanding, Ash was about to bite into a roasted chicken before getting it stolen by Pikachu.
"Oi, Pikachu!" the boy snapped.
Getting outnumbered by Team Rocket was one thing, but having his food stolen was enough to make the raven-haired boy go berserk more than the evil organization ever did.
The electric mouse then proceeded to vandalize the chicken with ketchup sauce with a happy squeak, causing most of the competitors to look at the defeated boy and triumphant mouse with chuckles.
"The chicken… it was innocent…!" Ash dramatically wailed in sorrow.
Clack, clack.
The raven-haired boy heard high heels approaching him. The boy then turned up towards the owner of those heels and gave a toothy grin.
Vermillion hair, round glasses, and a form-fitting black dress.
Ash Ketchum stared at Lorelei of the Elite Four.
The latter was holding a glass of juice while smiling towards her next opponent. Misty was silently begging Ash not to be rude towards her idol while frantically looking for something for Lorelei to sign her autograph.
"…I see. Red of Pallet Town, was it?" the Elite Four asked.
'Please don't be rude. Please don't be rude. Please don't be rude,' Misty begged internally.
"…Ash Ketchum. I don't like other people calling me Red other than my childhood friends," Ash bluntly requested.
Misty facepalmed while Blue and Gary snorted from behind. The orange-haired boy was accidentally caught off guard by his rival's brazen reply.
Before Misty could enact any form of physical rebukes, Lorelei stopped her by raising a palm.
The veteran Trainers got apprehensive upon seeing the Elite Four's amused expression. The latter seemingly impressed by his brazenness.
"Are you not afraid of me? Even though I'm an Elite Four?"
Ash tilted his head innocently in response, earning a vein popping from the tomboy behind him.
"Why should I? You're the person Misty looks up to. If anything, I'm honoured to meet you."
The red eyes became to turn sombre for a moment.
"But… I crushed her dream. Her dream to battle against you."
Misty looked at the boy with a sad smile and sighed, not blaming Ash for her defeat. Then, the boy gazed towards the surprised bespectacled woman with a determined smile.
"That's why, I'll defeat you. I'll make sure her loss won't go to waste."
Hearing this, everyone froze. The audacity of the raven-haired boy to challenge an Elite Four made them frightened for the boy. Gary watched in silence with an unidentifiable expression while Blue resisted the urge not to giggle at Ash's proclamation.
Finally, Lorelei gave a hearty laugh, breaking the silence.
"Bruno was right. You have a warrior's spirit in those red eyes of yours."
"Well, I'll see you on the battlefield, Ash. Let's hope you can give me a challenge," Lorelei waved to the youth.
"Yeah! I'm gonna battle with everything I've got!" the raven-haired boy grinned.
The vermilion-haired woman turned back, preparing to walk back to her fellow Elite Four. But not before asking another question.
"Say, Ash. What drives you to go so far in the Grand League? I'm pretty sure it's not Misty who's pushing you," Lorelei asked with a smirk directed towards the blushing mess that was Misty.
"Hmm? Why'd you ask?" Ash raised a brow at her sudden inquiry.
"Call it curiosity. It's been a long time since I've seen such an interesting opponent, so I'd like to know you better."
Ash pondered for a moment before taking out the silver locket he had hid underneath his T-shirt.
"…A promise."
"My dream of becoming a Pokémon Master. It was given to me by someone very dear to me."
"She gave me everything when I had nothing. She is the reason why I stand before all of you today. I'll never stop searching for her…"
"And along my journey…"
The gloved hand clenched the locket tightly, afraid of letting it go.
"I'll become the very best. Like no one ever was."
Lorelei was stunned at his answer, but more importantly, his eyes.
The blood red orbs that showed absolute honesty and sincerity that she could practically feel the warmness from them.
"…Hmm. Good answer," the vermilion-haired woman approved, satisfied with the boy's answer.
"Don't disappoint me tomorrow, Ash."
"Wouldn't dream of it, Miss Lorelei!"
With that, the woman walked back to her fellow Elite Four colleagues, leaving behind a poor Ash getting scolded by Misty for his blunt behaviour.
Lorelei glanced at a smirking Lance.
"I'm starting to like that boy. Kid's got fire in his eyes."
"Excited?" Lance parroted the question from before Ash and Misty's battle.
This time, Lorelei gave a different answer.
"…Very."
"...What do you want?"
A scowling Gary turned to a huffing Blue.
"Tomorrow. Use [ExtremeSpeed], Green."
"Ha! I told you. That move is wrapped up with too much of Raticate. Arcanine and I won't even need it to beat you, Blue."
The chestnut-haired girl did not flinch. Rather, her blue eyes stabbed into the tormented boy's expression.
"Is that so? Then, I'll just have to kick your butt."
"…What?"
"If you're not gonna use it, then I'll make you use it. I'll force you to acknowledge Raticate."
A resolute promise for her. An insolent threat for him.
Gary glowered at her words; his restraints now broken, succumbing to his tainted mindset.
"Looks like there's another thing I'll be looking forward tomorrow other than Red losing."
Blue furrowed her brows at Gary's uncalled insult towards Ash. And Gary walked away after saying enough.
"Smell you later… Blue."
It was a sneering remark in the ears of anyone who heard it, but for Blue, it was different.
It was Gary's favourite phrase.
Blue clenched her chest at the retreating figure of the boy she admired.
It was not a mere condescending remark to her…
It was a cry for help.
…
…
…
The hall was once again filled to the brim with students and teachers. Matter of fact, it appeared as if the number had doubled since the day before. Parents were already spreading the word of such a festive event across Lumiose City as well as Vaniville Town. Now, people of Aquacorde Town joined the assembly with a more than pleased Sycamore nodding his approval at the large crowd.
The Vaniville group were seated near the front alongside Grace and Sycamore with Froakie making his appearance once again. Although he knew Serena was not the Trainer that he painstakingly sought for, he had grown rather comfortable with her and happily found his way to her lap.
The honey blonde was overjoyed to meet the blue frog again as she had associated him as a fellow Ash enjoyer, a comrade. The girl was jittering with excitement as she waited for the match to begin. Unbeknownst to her, everyone else, although excited, were unsure of the battle.
Unlike Serena whose mind was set on 'Red will win', the group of friends were in the mindset of 'Can Red even win?'. After all, the raven-haired boy was about to face one of the strongest Trainers of the Kanto Region.
"Let's pray that if he loses, we'll get off easy," Calem whispered to the group bar Serena. The black-haired boy was already mentally preparing himself for a whining honey blonde.
Although Serena was rather demure most of the times, she could lash out quite violently. One example was the time she got incredibly angry at her dirty appearance after Rhyhorn riding and the poor friends had to endure her fury until she took a bath. Once was quite enough.
Then, the screen turned on. The message that appeared sent sparkles to the honey blonde's blue eyes.
{ ELITE FOUR LORELEI VS RED OF PALLET TOWN }
{ Y/N }
"Pikapi?" the electric mouse squeaked.
"No, I'm not. Just thinking about Yellow," he assured.
The raven-haired boy's mind was occupied with the honey blonde, her 11-year-old appearance causing his heart to do a backflip every time he thought about it.
"She's probably cheering me on and making a big deal out of it," he chuckled.
"Sorry, Pikachu. But I wanna win this one with the others."
The electric nodded in understanding, pumping a little fist as if to cheer on his Trianer. Ash gripped his locket tight. The red eyes flickered for a moment.
Pikachu smiled at his Trainer and jumped onto his shoulder and nuzzled the boy as if reassuring him.
With that, the duo faced towards the light and stepped forward.
{ LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! WE ARE BACK ONCE AGAIN ON DAY 2 OF THE INDIGO GRAND LEAGUE! }
{ FOR THE FIRST MATCH, WE'RE STARTING THE DAY OFF WITH A BANG! }
{ ON ONE CORNER, WE HAVE ONE OF THE STRONGEST TRAINERS IN THE GRAND LEAGUE! }
{ KANTO'S GREATEST ICE SPECIALIST! THE WITCH OF FROST! }
{ LORELEI OF THE ELITE FOUR! }
The vermilion-haired woman entered the battlefield wearing a smile. The Elite Four was excited to be able to battle the one who had defeated her unofficial protégé, Misty.
{ AND ON THE OTHER, ONE OF THE THREE YOUNGEST TRAINERS TO EVER STEP FOOT AT THE APEX OF THE KANTO REGION! }
{ RED OF PALLET TOWN! }
A grinning Ash ambled his way towards the field with a fist pumped into the air. His partner, Pikachu, was doing the same, albeit a bit exaggerated in his actions.
The appearance of the raven-haired boy made a certain honey blonde's heart lurch in delight.
{ NOW, LE— HUH? }
Suddenly, outside of everyone's expectations, the two competitors began walking towards each other. The people grew tense as the young boy marched without hesitation towards the Witch of Frost.
{ OH MY! IT APPEARS OUR TWO TRAINERS ARE MEETING IN THE MIDDLE! }
Each step brought the contestants closer. Each step caused Ash's grin to grow bigger. And finally, they stopped.
Right in front of each other.
"…Hmm. You really are a strange one," Lorelei began with an amused smile.
"Wouldn't be the first time I've heard that," Ash retorted with a smirk.
"Most people would be scared to battle against me, y'know?"
The vermilion-haired woman was still bewildered of how a Trainer, let alone a child, was able to stroll to a battle against her without a care in the world. Truthfully, it made Lorelei internally excited.
"I told you. I'm gonna be the very best," Ash answered back, his excitement expanding into his trembling fists.
"It's no fun if the battle's easy, right? Miss Lorelei?"
The vermilion-haired woman widened her eyes at his question. Her façade of calmness faded away. Replacing it was creeping smile and a dangerous glint in the woman's eyes.
"…Looks like you'll be able to take it, Ash. Everything I've got."
An icy blast of intimidation swept across the stadium, causing the crowd to flinch at the sight of the Witch of Frost.
"Last chance, will you surrender?"
Ash and Pikachu narrowed their eyes with a grin. The boy answered back with a maniacal one.
"Sorry, but I don't give up until it's over."
And for the first time, Lorelei laughed.
"Then come, challenger! Show me what bested Team Rocket!"
The fire had been lit. The two began walking back to their sides. But their faces never changed.
Lorelei was overjoyed. An 11-year-old child did not even quake at the sight of her other side, the Witch of Frost.
It was an epithet she earned by mercilessly defeating weak-willed Trainers by forcing them into submission with Ice types. Her ruthless nature combined with her mastery over Ice gave her such a terrifying nickname.
Although she had mellowed out as she grew wiser, the nagging desire of wanting to go all-out lingered at the back of her mind. It did not help that her first opponent, Flint, did not meet her expectations. However, she eyed the raven-haired boy across the battlefield.
Those blood red eyes exuded not of power equal to hers. No, even in terms of raw strength, Lorelei knew she far exceeded him. Rather, they exuded a complete lack of fear. Unnervingly…
It was closer to that of madness.
Goosebumps settled onto Serena's entire body as she witnessed the stare down between Ash and Lorelei. Her blue eyes widened at the sight of her sweetheart making an expression that could be labelled as borderline insanity. However, what she saw in those blood red eyes was someone who was itching to do battle against an overwhelming opponent.
The honey blonde's breath hitched in excitement and began cheering on for the raven-haired boy.
"Go, Red! Don't lose!"
It was redundant for her. In her mind, this battle, win or lose…
Was already a victory in her eyes.
"…Hold on, did she just say Team Rocket?!" Calem blurted out in surprise.
The vertical steel walls opened and revealed the battlefield where the first match would take place.
A floor of red leaves. Thin sickly trees wilted as evidenced by their absence of green. Their lifespan sprawled over the battlefield.
{ WELL, FOLKS! IT APPEARS THAT THE HAUNTED FOREST TERRAIN IS CHOSEN! }
{ WITHOUT FURTHER ADO… }
{ ELITE FOUR LORELEI VS RED OF PALLET TOWN }
{ BATTLE START! }
And the duel began.
"Snorlax, I choose you!"
"Dewgong."
A round giant materialized at Ash's side with a pristine earless seal on Lorelei's.
{ WHAT A SURPRISE! IT LOOKS LIKE PIKACHU ISN'T STARTING THE MATCH THIS TIME! }
The two simultaneously ordered their attacks.
"[Belly Drum]!" / "[Hail]."
The seal wailed to the sky akin to a shaman. The call rained ice upon the battlefield. Meanwhile, Snorlax slapped his enormous body with his two paws, the echo of the beats surrounded the stadium and maximized the goliath's Attack stat.
"Y'know I could've ended it right there and then, right?" the vermillion-haired woman smiled.
"But where's the fun in that?" Ash shot back, locking eyes with the Elite Four who seemed amused by his reply.
"Then, allow me to make the first move…" Lorelei said seriously.
'Here it comes!' Ash braced himself.
"[Surf]."
Dewgong then conjured a gigantic wave that headed straight towards its opponents.
"Snorlax, [Rest]!" Ash called out.
In an instant, the giant fell backwards on his back and immediately went to sleep while recovering his halved health back to full at the same time.
"Plus…" Ash continued while covering his ears. Pikachu doing the same.
Lorelei narrowed her eyes at the boy.
"[Snore]!"
As the boy cried out his next move, a harsh noise emitted from the sleeping giant, creating a violent soundwave aimed straight towards the Dewgong behind the wave made by [Surf].
"Naïve. [Ice Beam]," the woman simply smiled without a hint of worry.
The seal obliged her orders and blasted a stream of cold ice towards [Surf]. The impact froze the large wave in an instant before [Snore] could hit.
The now solid wall of ice served as a shield to protect the seal from the devasting noise, cancelling out the attack and destroyed after serving its purpose.
{ WHAT INGENUITY! LORELEI HAS CREATED A WALL OF ICE FROM [SURF] AND SUCCESSFULLY DEFENDED AGAINST SNORLAX'S ASSAULT! }
"Well, damn. Didn't expect that," Ash chuckled to himself, a bead of sweat rolling down his cheek.
'An impromptu ice shield, huh?'
"What's wrong, Ash?" a chilling voice asked from across the battlefield.
The woman's piercing red eyes stabbed into the wide bloody orbs.
"It's too early to give up, you know?"
The blood red eyes travelled towards the small-horned seal. The pinniped had manifested blades of ice around it, ready to be released.
"[Ice Shard]."
The imaginary bowstrings released, and the arrows flew towards the still sleeping Snorlax.
"Kuh! Snorlax, [Sleep Talk]!" Ash called out.
[Sleep Talk]. A move that substituted and used any learnt move while the user was asleep. However, due to the 4 moves limit in most battles, it was banned due to the chance of it breaking the rules. This did not apply to the Grand League as there was no move limit; therefore, [Sleep Talk] was fair game.
'But the problem is…' Ash thought.
Snorlax then proceeded to [Lick] one of the incoming icicles. The others hitting him directly while the giant's tongue was frozen by the ice.
'It's completely random!' Ash facepalmed with Pikachu following suit.
Back at the spectator room, Blue sighed heavily at Ash's blunder.
"Your friend… can be really dumb sometimes," Bea stated bluntly.
"I wouldn't go that far, but… yes," Skyla tried to cheer up the exasperated Blue.
"No, she's right. That blockhead forgets some things at the most important time," Blue shook her head, agreeing with Bea's comment.
"But…" Blue suddenly added with a grin.
"He promised to go all-out against Miss Lorelei. And Red never breaks his promises."
"Let's finish this. [Aqua Tail]," Lorelei commanded.
Although Snorlax was a defensive Pokémon, it is a Special tanker. This meant that although his Defense was nothing to scoff at, the stat was significantly lower than his Special Defense. [Hail] and [Ice Shard] were able to damage the giant considerably since one was a weather condition and another was a physical attacker, which heavily injured the sleeping Snorlax.
Taking all these into consideration, Lorelei launched [Aqua Tail] onto Snorlax. Her Dewgong was Elite Four trained and as such would not fail to deal the final blow to the boy's Pokémon. Even if [Aqua Tail] would not be able to finish the job, the [Hail] would.
'Was he really all talk in the end?' Lorelei sighed in disappointment.
The vermillion-haired woman had been lamenting the fact that she was the Elite Four member that had to be placed the furthest from her colleagues. She was itching for an exciting battle, and it seemed she was not getting one now.
'There goes my expectations…'
Dewgong jumped into the air and was right above Snorlax. The giant still had his eyes closed and mouth inhaling and exhaling as if snoring.
With that, a heavy [Aqua Tail] descended.
…
A few centimetres before impact were the moment Ash let out a roar.
0.15 seconds.
"Snorlax, in front! [Mega Punch]!"
Snorlax opened his eyes, but they looked more like gleaming stars rather than actual eyes.
With maximized Attack, the giant moved his fist to intercept the crashing [Aqua Tail]. The clash between moves resulted in an explosion.
A cloud of smoke burst and Dewgong was flung out of it towards its Trainer due to the massive recoil. Lorelei had her eyes narrowed as she deciphered what had happened.
Dewgong was staggering from the heavy blow but not down, nonetheless.
The ends of her mouth twisted upwards as she realized what the boy had accomplished.
"I see. He woke up after [Ice Shard], didn't he?" the woman asked aloud.
"Impressive how a Snorlax can be awoken with an attack since their species are heavy sleepers. You must've trained him well, Ash."
The raven-haired boy simply gave a dry smile and a shrug.
"You'd be surprised how much getting hunted down by Team Rocket could do wonders compared to simple training," he sarcastically replied.
'Constant training till we drop to be prepared for the next attack… only to be on the run again. Oh, and sprinkled with weeks without sleep. Man, good times,' he joked to himself.
Seeing his opponent's surprised expression and the audience suddenly going quiet, Ash raised an eyebrow, confused by their reaction.
'…What.'
Sycamore was shocked beyond words. Team Rocket had made a name for themselves across the world, meaning there was not a single person who did not know the crime syndicate's name. It was a name that struck fear to many as their nefarious actions were infamous and, in a twisted way, legendary.
Furthermore, despite the multitude of evidence against Team Rocket, the organization was never caught as the grunts would always be released soon after their capture. Thus, it was generally agreed upon that Team Rocket would never be put behind bars.
Then came a certain 11-year-old boy dropping a bombshell that he had defeated said unstoppable crime syndicate with an Elite Four verifying his off-handed retort. The way Ash wore a solemn smile did not help at all.
But the reality was that the boy was just reminiscing the sleepless nights he had. Not that anyone knew what he was thinking.
Hastily, Sycamore opened a new tab by the side of the live feed and searched up Team Rocket's disbandment. Lo and behold, what he found had everyone gasping in awe.
==TEAM ROCKET FINALLY CAUGHT AFTER YEARS OF TERRORIZING KANTO!==
...was the headline and followed by the capture of Giovanni as well the three major contributors to the arrest:
Red of Pallet Town, the one who defeated the crime boss, who was also revealed to be the Viridian City's Gym Leader.
Green of Pallet Town, the one who took care of the grunts of the lower floors.
Blue of Pallet Town, the one who rescued the two and first responder of the situation.
All three of the Pallet Town children were involved in the disbandment, but Ash Ketchum was the main variable that nearly singlehandedly destroyed Team Rocket as written in the article.
"No way… I swear those three are trying to one-up each other on purpose," Calem gulped in astonishment.
The three others were nodding in tandem, unable to pry their eyes off the red-eyed Trainer. Ash had become a hero in their eyes, a fact that even Tierno begrudgingly admitted. However, one of them did not share that sentiment much to everyone's surprise.
"That dummy is still doing that," Serena frowned in irritation.
The honey blonde was aware of his impulse to help others without any self-preservation. Although she was proud and amazed at his accomplishment against Team Rocket, it was slightly infuriating to rein him in when his tendency to help others activated.
She knew that something personal must had happened for him, as reckless as he was, to go and topple a nigh-indestructible organization overnight. As much as the honey blonde wanted to book a flight to Kanto and reprimand him for his suicidal endeavour, she could not as those very same bravery and truthfully, stupidity were what made her fall for him. Serena sighed and continued watching the match with Froakie widening his eyes in awe.
Ash began scratching his cheek awkwardly and eyed a stunned Lorelei. He knew he had to break the silence and so, he gave the first word.
"I didn't think that would freeze up an Ice type specialist," he joked, pun intended.
Broken out of her daze, the vermilion-haired woman coughed into her hand.
"Sorry, it's just that kids your age wouldn't be so nonchalant about surviving through such an ordeal," Lorelei explained.
'Let alone adults.'
"Meh. Try tying a girl's hair properly. That's the real ordeal," Ash chuckled, remembering the time he offered to braid a certain honey blonde's hair.
Results were not satisfactory, and the boy was subjected to an hour-long lecture of women's beauty and passionate scolding. Suffice to say, he got it the second time.
Somewhere, a honey blonde was pouting at his words.
"Hmm. Well then, let's see you overcome this ordeal then," Lorelei responded with a vicious smile. The woman was back into her battle mindset.
Ash, likewise, took position. The battle stance he had come to perfect from his many encounters with Team Rocket. The blood red eyes narrowed at the opposing Pokémon.
'It's coming!'
"[Ice Beam]," Lorelei commanded.
Suddenly, a teal-coloured laser quickly made its way towards Snorlaxing, making Ash widened his eyes in shock.
'It's too fast!' he clicked his tongue.
"Snorlax!" he called out to his Pokémon. The giant prepared his fist as he gritted the damage from [Hail].
"Slam [Mega Punch] on the ground!"
The shockwave of the move caused the ground to break. The earthly plates shifted and collided with each other, pushing to the surface.
"[Stone Edge (Fake)]!"
The [Ice Beam] burst onto the plates, sparing the giant behind it. Soon after, the 'shield' was immediately encased in frosty ice.
"[Aqua Jet]," Lorelei smiled dangerously with Dewgong bursting with great speed towards the hiding giant.
0.03 seconds elapsed.
Being covered in water, Dewgong was able to 'swim' inside it, it further increased its Speed due to its biology.
0.08 seconds elapsed.
In a split second, the ice broke and gave way to a water-clad pinniped on its way towards a surprised Snorlax. Any novice Trainer would have never seen the assault coming…
Normally.
Blood red eyes raced towards the blindly fast pinniped almost immediately, their gaze piercing it directly.
0.15 seconds.
But the raven-haired boy managed to react in time, albeit barely. But he reacted, nonetheless. An accidental ability that was prominent among the talented and the hard-working. Due to the life-threatening situations that he got himself into, he was in the latter.
"[Hammer Arm]!" Ash called out instantly and Snorlax let his body move before his mind.
'No way… he saw it?!' Lorelei mused with a surprised expression, impressed that her opponent was able to react whereas novice and most veteran Trainers would have difficulty the first time.
'Could it be? He has…that?!'
The [Aqua Jet] connected, but the giant had also managed to land a clean hit as well. Dewgong winced in pain due to the super-effectiveness and fell back.
Snorlax was not faring any better. The [Hail]'s continuous damage was apparent on his round body and the [Aqua Jet] had only worsened the bruises. Thankfully, the [Hail] let up and the bright sun was seen again.
{ WH-WHAT…? HOW DID... }
{ AHEM! [AQUA JET] LANDS BUT IN RETURN, SNORLAX CONNECTS WITH A SUPER-EFFECTIVE [HAMMER ARM]! }
The two Trainers stared at each other. Both waiting to see who would make the next move. The tension rose higher as the audience roared in excitement.
Lorelei was stunned while Ash was sweating and panting from a held breath that he let out after a moment's rest. The latter flashed her a toothy grin, relaying his excitement.
'What's more… [Stone Edge (Fake)], was it?' the bespectacled woman processed.
'Snorlax isn't able to learn that move…'
Then, it clicked. A feral grin appeared on her lips.
'An imitation, huh? How interesting.'
Meanwhile, Ash was running high on adrenaline due to the close call from [Aqua Jet]. Although he had training with his reaction time, it was just barely enough to see Dewgong's attack.
'I need to find an opening if I wanna have an advantage,' the boy narrowed his eyes at Dewgong, not wanting to let the pinniped out of his sight.
'No… an Elite Four wouldn't show any openings. Hell, she could probably go all day with her guard up.'
Ash scrutinized the woman's expression. Her red eyes were akin to a predator honed into its prey.
A slight shift of the boy's sneakers and the woman almost pounced, prompting Ash to not make any sudden movements.
But then, an idea struck him.
'…Hold on. She's not gonna give me any openings?'
Lorelei widened her eyes at the young Trainer's change in expression. The nervous yet confident grin now plastered on his face.
Blood red eyes steeled themselves.
'If she's not giving any openings…'
Celestic Town, Sinnoh Region
"Uwaah, that's brutal. Going for the kill by catching them off-guard. As expected of the Witch of Frost," a young blonde girl drawled.
"How intriguing. It's just barely but he has it," Cynthia said to herself.
"Hmm? Whaddya mean, sis?" the younger girl asked.
The woman then began explaining to her sister.
"When a Trainer battles for a long time, it is not only the Pokémon that grows stronger. The Trainer does as well. Particularly, a sort of passive."
"Their reaction time gets inhumanly fast as well as the ability to analyse the battle gets unnaturally sharper. To know whether the Trainer has it, they must be able to react faster or equal to 150 milliseconds, or 0.15 seconds*."
*( Regular Trainers' mean range during battle = 0.25 seconds. The mode = 0.86 seconds )
'He reacted right on the dot…'
"It should be impossible for an 11-year-old to obtain such a skill in the short time he has spent journeying. But now it makes sense."
"He was the one who thwarted Team Rocket. He had no choice but to get stronger in such a short period of time. All to survive."
"If you say it like that, I'm starting to pity that Red kid," the younger sister grimaced.
"Hmm? By the way, sis, you called that a skill, right? What's it called?"
Cynthia simply smiled at her sister.
"It's called…"
"How shocking. He has Mind's Eye," Lance muttered in awe.
The competitors within the room heard the skill's name and widened their eyes at the Elite Four.
"Yes. It was exactly 0.15 seconds," Bruno confirmed, his eyes drawn to the raven-haired boy while mentally calculated the timing of Ash's reaction.
"I knew dear Ash took on Team Rocket in the months leading up to Giovanni's defeat… but to be able to achieve Mind's Eye this quickly, and at such a young age…" Agatha frowned while looking at the boy sadly, knowing the implications.
"It doesn't sit right with me."
Blue could only watch the standoff between Lorelei and Ash in silence. She could not see nor react to the blindingly fast Dewgong. Her eyes just were not able to follow it. And yet, her childhood friend barely managing to react in time just showed how much the raven-haired boy had to train to survive his hunters.
"Red…" she whispered absentmindedly while her mind finished her words.
'Is strong.'
At the back, Gary watched with his eyes narrowed. He had to admit that even he was not capable of seeing Dewgong's [Aqua Jet], but he predicted Lorelei's next move and so, his eyes landed right at the place of confrontation.
What caught him off-guard was the speed in which his rival reacted to the pinniped. And it made him frown with annoyance.
Mind's Eye was a skill honed over years of experience. In fact, it was what separated normal battlers from the strong ones. So, seeing how the raven-haired boy acquiring such a skill, albeit a very degraded one, caused Gary to feel inferior.
"Tch."
Pokémon Academy, Kalos Region.
"Am I seeing things? He's going toe to toe with an Elite Four…" Calem voiced out, stunned by Ash's performance. Especially [Stone Edge (Fake)].
The black-haired boy knew he should not be surprised anymore, but the sight of someone his age battling evenly against some of the strongest Trainers in the Kanto Region just inspired awe from him.
'I mean, Green beating an Elite Four candidate was one thing, but Red's taking on an Elite Four evenly, for crying out loud! The difference is huge!'
Sycamore was shocked at Ash's abnormally fast reaction towards the [Aqua Jet] assault, and had his assistant review the timing of the footage.
"Sophie, how fast was that?" the professor asked.
"…I don't believe it. It's exactly 0.15 seconds. It's without a doubt Mind's Eye!" Sophie confirmed in disbelief.
Serena's friend group gulped as they realized the meaning of achieving such a skill due to Calem's previous ramblings as a battle nerd.
Serena was now staring at the sweating but grinning Ash with sparkles in her eyes. Him having Mind's Eye just reinforced the image of a victorious Ash in her head.
"Go, Red!" she cheered again enthusiastically with her arms outstretched.
Snorlax glanced behind towards his Trainer, waiting for his command. Ash, likewise, nodded towards him, signalling his orders.
With that one eye contact, Dewgong was on the move.
"[Aqua Jet]," Lorelei commanded.
The pinniped went towards the giant's blind spot and went for the attack.
0.15 seconds.
But Ash was waiting for this moment.
'If she won't give me an opening, then I'll make one for myself!'
"[Body Slam]!" Ash called out in response.
'If Miss Lorelei isn't gonna let her guard down, then I'll let mine down…'
The blue giant flexed his round body and proceeded to tackle the approaching Dewgong.
'And I'll go for the wi—'
0.11 seconds.
"[Signal Beam]."
But before the giant could collide its body onto Dewgong, the latter cancelled its assault and fired a lime green beam towards Snorlax, propelling itself backwards away from the Sleeping Pokémon. And then, the pinniped was recalled back into its PokéBall.
"Dewgong, out. Cloyster, in," Lorelei commanded, her eyes shadowed by her vermilion hair.
'Wha—'
Ash's thoughts were cut short as the spikes on Cloyster froze into freezing cold thorns. The raven-haired boy widened his eyes in alarm.
'Oh sh—'
"[Icicle Spear]!" Lorelei called out.
And the polearms of frost shot out towards Snorlax at a terrifying rate. Ash's mind kicked into high gear. The adrenaline pumped even more into his blood.
"Snorlax, defend with [Rollout]!" he shouted in distress.
Snorlax obliged but instead of engaging the black mollusc, he was rooted in the same position while performing [Rollout].
The ensuing barrage of [Icicle Spear] were foiled as the centrifugal force of the giant's body repelled them with minimum damage.
With that, Ash finally caught his breath. However, his blood red eyes were still locked onto the woman in case she suddenly went unpredictable again.
"Huff… puff… [Rapid Spin (Fake)]…" the boy said in between his ragged breath and turned towards Snorlax.
"You alright, big guy?"
Snorlax smiled with a thumbs up as if he was up for more despite the many bruises on his round body.
"Haha… I'll cook you a feast later," Ash weakly chuckled at his eager Pokémon. Pikachu followed suit beside him.
Then, laughter erupted from the other side of the battlefield. The sight of the calm and cool Lorelei breaking into laughs was jarring for the boy, to say the least.
"Are you insane, boy?" the bespectacled woman asked after calming down.
"You purposely created an opening for yourself so that I would take the bait. Quite the suicidal style you've utilized."
Ash understood where the Elite Four was coming from. It was not a stretch to call it a suicidal style of battle, although the raven-haired boy would prefer 'using every little advantage you have'.
"Well, what do you expect us to do? I know for a fact you can go all day without showing any openings," Ash cheekily retorted.
'Besides, it's useless now that you know it.'
He kept that thought to himself.
"What's more, those Fake moves you used were… interesting," Lorelei continued.
"Sabrina would think otherwise. She'd go ballistic whenever I used [Bite (Fake)] or [Crunch (Fake)]," Ash recounted while scratching his nose.
…
The boy remembered the first time he had met the Psychic Gym Leader. He initially thought she was an aloof and collected person when he challenged her for the Marsh Badge.
But that image quickly came crumbling down when Ash occasionally bluffed Dark type moves against her with the girl coming close to tears after her loss.
He remembered her saying that her Psychic abilities being unable to read his mind nor affect his body due to her uncontrollable psychokinesis that tended to act up sometimes.
'Come to think of it, she asked if I was gonna enter the Grand League. Wonder why she would wanna watch my matches…' he pondered before giving up.
Girls were creatures that he was convinced were beyond understanding.
…
"If I didn't have Mind's Eye, you would've drawn first blood as well," Lorelei commented.
"Not only that, but you've also forced me to use my second Pokémon for the first time in this tournament. That's worthy of praise, Ash."
In the spectator room, Flint felt like he was slapped and was comically sobbing with the other defeated consoling the red afro.
Then, Cloyster's spikes began freezing again, but it was different this time. The raven-haired boy noticed it and wore a shocked expression at what he was seeing.
On the mollusc's spikes were glassy reproductions resembling polearms made of ice. The weapons were on standby, waiting to be released towards their enemy. Lorelei started to exude an intimidating air around her, causing everyone to meet her gaze to feel a chill up their spine.
The woman raised her hand towards Snorlax, signalling the target. And with a command, the battle resumed.
"[Icicle Spear]."
Five specially crafted weapons shot out of Cloyster and flew rapidly towards the giant. Without hesitation, Ash responded back.
"Snorlax, [Rollout]! I'll direct you!"
The Sleeping Pokémon curled into a ball and began rolling away from the incoming projectiles. The speed of the icy weapons was nothing to scoff at.
"Left!"
The one resembling a lance hit the ground. Four remained.
"Swerve right!"
The one resembling a naginata destroyed the battlefield's tree. Three remained.
Unfortunately, Snorlax ran out of gas first. The three remaining projectiles hit their mark.
A halberd, a guandao and a glaive. The three stabbed into the spherical body.
The giant wailed in pain, causing the boy to grit his teeth.
"Efficient, aren't they? I had Cloyster memorizing those weapons' shapes for maximum damage."
"It's over! [Avalanche]!" the Elite Four announced the end.
An ominous cloud encompassed the arena, darkening the skies and without a moment's rest, rained down sizeable chunks of ice onto the heaving Snorlax.
{ MY WORD! THOSE ICE CHUNKS ARE THE SIZE OF METEORS! CAN RED TURN THIS AROUND?! }
Ash then whipped his head around the field, searching for anything he could use to turn the tables. He saw a large slab of rock made by [Stone Edge (Fake)] inclined by another rock beneath it, acting as a fulcrum. Then, an idea hit him.
'…It's do or die!' he braced himself.
"Snorlax, come back!" he called out to his Pokémon.
The round giant realized what his Trainer was insinuating and proceeded to [Rollout] towards the lowered end of the slab.
A barrage of [Ice Shard] began hitting the retreating Pokémon.
Ash looked towards the intimidated smile of Lorelei and shivered for a moment. Snorlax was about to pass out at any moment but held strong, successfully placing himself onto the other end of the rocky beam.
{ NO… NO WAY! IS HE ABOUT TO…?! }
Blue gasped in astonishment as she realized what Snorlax was about to do while Gary held a bewildered expression with a glare. Lorelei widened her eyes in horror at what was about to come, specifically Ash.
'Oh no! I got too ahead of myself!' she chided herself as smaller but equally damaging chunks were making their way to the young Trainer.
The biggest chunk fell onto the other end of the slab. The weight of it acted as the effort while Snorlax was the load. And with that, Ash's gamble began.
"[Bounce (Fake)]!" he roared.
And Snorlax went flying towards the clouds, avoiding [Avalanche] completely.
"Pikapi!" the electric mouse warned his partner as the smaller chunks were coming towards them.
Without a moment's hesitation, Ash immediately grabbed Pikachu and held him tightly, his back acting as a shield for the mouse.
"Pikapi!" Pikachu squirmed, trying to break free to protect his Trainer but to no avail.
Although not as harmful as the bigger ones, the impact was still painful as Ash gritted his now chattering teeth. The cold pain spread across his body until it was over.
The adrenaline was doing its work as the pain subsided slowly, but he was internally groaning at the backlash later.
"You… Ach!... alright, buddy?" he asked his partner, squinting his eyes at the pain on his shoulder
"Pikapi… Pikachu!" Pikachu scolded with worry in his tone, punching his leg harmlessly in anger.
"Sorry… I'll try not to next time," the boy chuckled weakly while swaying a little.
Then,he turned his gaze to the sky and shouted to his now out-of-bounds giant.
"Snorlax! [Hyper Beam]!"
The vermillion-haired woman escaped her worried expression and dived back into her competitive one.
"Not going to work, Ash! This is the end! Cloyster, [Clamp] shut!"
With a swift movement, the mollusc retreated into its shell.
"Now you can't hurt me with [Hyper Beam]. Enjoy the air while it last," she taunted, revealing the true nature of the Witch of Frost.
Cloyster's shell was as hard as diamonds, meaning [Hyper Beam] was nigh-impervious to the mollusc, even if the move was the one of the most devastating Normal type move of the list.
But Ash gave a laugh in response. The boy let out a crazed grin towards the taunting Lorelei. The high of the adrenaline now fueled his body.
The maniacal expression shocked the audience and the students watching. They thought Ash had gone insane.
"Who said I was aiming [Hyper Beam] at you?"
Lorelei was puzzled at his words before a meteor-like object came crashing down at rapid speed.
"What?!" she uncharacteristically cried out in surprise.
"[Hyper Beam] towards the sky, and [Giga Impact] towards the ground!" Ash revealed his gamble.
Snorlax aimed his mouth upwards and let out a destructive beam while bracing his lower body with [Giga Impact] as he gained maximum momentum in an instant. The [Hyper Beam] acted as a booster and propelled the giant onto the earth.
Even with Mind's Eye, Lorelei could not issue a command as Cloyster's shell was not manoeuvrable. Additionally, even if the mollusc were to open its shell to try to escape, the incoming Snorlax was too fast to avoid.
It was…
"Checkmate! [Hi Jump Kick (Fake)]!" Ash called out his final move.
…
BOOOOOOOOOOOM!
A deafening explosion erupted on the battlefield. A tower of heavy smoke was built in its wake. The competitors shielded their eyes but quickly looked back to see the results.
Since there were too much to disappear in a short time, Brock rushed out with another Gym Leader in tow since this was beyond his ability, even as field maintenance.
A black-haired teenager around 14 to 15 years old with pink eyes sent out her Alakazam.
"Blow the smoke away, [Psychic]!" she ordered.
The tower of smoke began shining with a purple outline and condensed itself into a sphere. The Psychic sphere was then flung far into the skies, never to be seen again.
With that, the aftermath of the battle was shown to the world.
A large crater was made with a blue giant laying flat on the epicentre. The blue giant had fainted not from the impact, but from the G-force he experienced while descending.
Meanwhile, Cloyster was emitting heat waves from its shell, but barely conscious. Even though the shell was impenetrable, the shockwave it experienced inside the shell damaged it immensely.
{ S- SN- SNORLAX HAS FAINTED… }
{ AHEM! THE WINNER IS CLOYSTER! }
With that announcement, the stunned audience were resuscitated and erupted in roars of excitement.
Ash recalled Snorlax into his Ball and landed on the floor where he stood, his legs gave out from the stinging pain from his back.
"You did an amazing job, Snorlax," he praised his giant.
"You went toe-to-toe with two Elite Four-level Pokémon. And I'm proud of you!"
"Get some rest."
The round giant awoke inside the Ball and smiled, incredibly satisfied by doing its best. Finally, he went back into sleep, dreaming about the feast Ash promised.
"Man, I'm gonna work myself to the bone later," he smiled, resigned to his impending fate in the kitchen.
With a grunt, Ash pushed himself to stand again. He then noticed the teenager beside Brock and recognized her.
"Ah! Hey, Sabrina! Long time no see!" he called out, waving to the Psychic Gym Leader.
Sabrina looked towards the waving boy and shyly waved back, her hair hiding her blush.
'Weird, she's looking away,' he raised an eyebrow at her reaction.
"You did a splendid job, Ash," a voice praised, causing Ash to turn towards the source.
Lorelei looked at him with crossed arms and an approving expression.
"I underestimated Snorlax's tenacity," she admitted with a sigh.
"Yeah! He's my toughest guy and I'm proud of him!" he grinned while blushing a little.
"But… you're down one Pokémon now," the woman reminded him with a sharp gaze.
"A miracle like that isn't going to happen again."
The atmosphere got colder as the woman smiled ominously towards the young boy. The audience gulped timidly at the dangerous air the vermillion-haired woman was giving off. Her Elite Four colleagues began to worry that the Witch might go overboard again.
"Did it just get colder…" Blue muttered while rubbing her arms.
But Ash did not flinch. Rather, he bared his fangs towards the overwhelming threat with a grin. The blood red eyes met the scarlet ones with defiance.
"As much as I like the cold…"
The raven-haired boy summoned his second Pokémon. The chilling air was now combated with a warm breeze.
And the warmth grew wilder. And hotter.
A stalwart fortress.
A prideful roar echoed the stadium.
1 : 0
Large orange wings burned the battlefield.
Ice vs Fire.
"Let's heat the place up, shall we?"
Chapter 41: Mind's Eye
The blood red eyes shone redder.
Mind's Eye: A passive Trainer skill that gives inhumane levels of reaction time as well as the accumulated battle experience to find a way to overcome the odds, no matter how dire the situation is.
Achieved through:
Hard work = Mind's Eye (True)
Gifted from birth = Mind's Eye (False).
(Ash: 0.15 seconds, Lorelei: 0.11 seconds)