Author's Notes (1)
Hi everyone! So, I've removed the first AN on the previous chapter since it was rather spoiler-ish but fear not! For someone in the reviews has asked some questions regarding the now-removed AN so there shouldn't be much spoilers for the future. Without further ado...
Amazing review and criticism, MegaSalamence64! This was a very constructive and enlightening read on the story thus far.
In fact, your words have solved a huge dilemma of mine for the continuation of this story.
Advice Answers:
1) ABSOLUTELY agree 100%. Serena is a top tier character and I would not make her to be a trophy waifu along this story. That would just be disrespectful. I may be garbage at romance, but even I know trash writing when I see one.
2) Ash's personality is actually really easy to write, to be frank. The main personality is that of Anime!Ash while the battling side is a mix of Specials!Red and Champions!Red.
Meanwhile, his Aura powers are leaning towards Fate (or rather Shirou from Fate) since Pokemon doesn't really elaborate on powers in their own verse. While the main goal is to make an OP!Ash, it just doesn't feel right to have that kind of power handed to him on a silver platter. That's why I chose Shirou as a base for his Aura ability since it ties in nicely with the Sword motif of Galar (main reason) and also that Shirou's power is directly tied to his ideals and mindset (It's not only the coolest power I've ever seen, it's the most tragic one since Fate isn't really a happy story). Ash will undergo the same struggles as Shirou did where his views are challenged by the foes he meets along the way and that will shape his Aura abilities in the future.
3) Just like point (1), agree 100%. Serena's huge arsenal of skills is reflected in the anime as well since during the time when she was conflicted on her goals, she went around doing everything she could. And that's why I made the school, so that she could learn every skill that a school can feasibly offer. So, don't worry. There won't be any timeskips since I've promised that I'm going to rewrite the entire story with Champions manga as the foundation. Now, Ash's and Serena's stories side by side is going to be tricky, but I'll try my best.
As for the recommended fics, if I don't upload for months because I'm too sucked into these books, I'm holding you accountable (jk).
Seriously, these are going to be gold mines for me to write romance. Massive thanks, man!
Questions Answers:
1) As I've said, everything is going to happen, so Legends Arceus is going to be a huge Yes. In fact, Hisui will be one of the turning points of the story as it will have a lot of what-the-absolute-hell moments. Even though this plotline is going to happen in the far far future, can't give spoilers since that'll be no fun, right?
2) Now that... Is a good question. Serena's Saber-like role is going to be post-Fate route as she will wait eternally for Shirou, a normal human, to reach Avalon, a utopia so rich in mana that a normal human would explode as soon as they touch a single foot in. This parallels Ash's journey across many regions and adventures, all so he could reach his own 'utopia', Serena (If that makes sense).
Serena won't have any powers like Aura or Psychic (I'm not too fond of the latter), but she won't be a damsel in distress, that's for sure. That's why she'll have all those skills at her disposal, making her like Batman(lol) if she needed to fight.
(Love for sword-like Pokemon is definitely going to be a gag for Ash. But for him to catch a Gallade or a Aegislash or any sword-like Pokemon, I'll leave it to you readers.)
3) Contests and Performances are as good as confirmed. But regarding her Saber-like personality, I would probably adopt it as her Ice Queen persona. A serious and charismatic personality with a very intimidating aura.
Well, that should be enough to answer all your questions. I had a blast reading this, dude. In fact, I'll likely post this message in the next chapter so others could read it as well. Wouldn't be fair to the rest of the readers if you were the only one ahead of them, right?
[Overall, A Rather Solid Fic for an Amourshipping Story set in the Style of the Fates Series…] = I just can't believe no one has ever thought about this! Galar with Arthurian legend. The Lucario movie's huge tree being based on Yggdrasil. There are just so many legends and myths to use in Pokemon, and that's what makes me mad. The amount of content just writes itself! All those wasted potential *sigh*. Then this story happened because of a 'Fine, I'll do it myself' moment.
Which is why I strongly encourage you to read up on the origins and trivia of the future legendaries and mythicals since they are based on the real life mythology.
...Except for King Arthur NOT being a girl (10-year-old me was VERY disappointed)
In any case, massive thanks, MegaSalamence64!
(Note: Small error on Chapter 43: Nine Strikes. 'Artery' isn't the one with valves, but 'vein'. I'll be changing that, sorry for the misinformation.)
Chapter 45: One Girl's Resolve
I met her when we were 4.
It was just any other day in Pallet Town.
Just me and Red by our lonesome since the kids our age avoided us.
I remember how that idiot never once spoken a word since the day he learnt that he was the cause of his mother's death.
Genius, they called me…
Yeah right. If I was really a genius, then why didn't I know how to comfort a friend?
Being the brat that I was, I tried to get Red to open up by annoying him to get even a second of reaction from the guy. Well, even after he met that straw hat girl, the habit stuck.
The same red eyes devoid of emotion. The blank expression as if a clean canvas for no artist to paint on. And that abhorrent selflessness whenever we got into fights.
Every time the town kids would brawl with us, Red'll without a doubt get bruised even more than me. That idiot never changed.
It was like he had no self-preservation. Absolutely zero regards for his own well-being. And I hated that part of him.
I'd dare say that infuriating part of him was even more annoying than his bonds with his Pokémon.
But I've long since given up trying to change Red. He may be an emotionless machine back then, but he was probably even more stubborn compared to now.
And then, we've heard of a new family moving to one of the vacant houses in Pallet. At the time, I didn't think much of it as both Red and I never once saw a single kid outside of ourselves as a potential friend.
Then that day came.
Red and I saw a group of bullies harassing a girl we didn't recognize. Although I didn't have much to work with, I gathered that she was probably the new kid that moved in.
Even though I disregarded anyone outside of Red as a friend, a girl getting bullied was not what a man should do. And so, I came to her rescue…
Only to find my idiot of a friend dashing towards the large bullies without hesitation. With a groan, I made an impulsive decision to save that girl.
And it was the best decision I've ever made in my life.
Long flowing hair of chestnut brown. Smooth fair skin that complimented the darker shade of her hair. And a pair of deep blue eyes that took my breath away.
On that day, I, Gary Oak, fell for Blue Leaf at first sight.
"Go, Gengy!"
"Arcanine."
A purple grinning phantom materialized from the Ball along with a large red canine with a cream-coloured mane.
'Arcanine already?!' Blue widened her eyes in surprise.
Gary wasted no time as he called out his first move.
"[Sunny Day]!"
'I'll end this as soon as possible.'
The large canine roared to the sky, causing a harsh sunlight to befall upon the battlefield.
'He's setting up for his Fire type moves. Then…' the chestnut-haired girl gulped.
"Gengy, it's showtime! [Shadow Ball] x3!" she barked out.
The phantom nodded and shot out three ghostly orbs that travelled towards the quadruped speedily. Gary calmly assessed the situation.
'I see. Gengar's Speed is quite astonishing, it's probably even faster than Arcanine on a base level.'
He was already thinking of his next move. His calculative mind observed the Gengar with machine-like green eyes.
'So that's your game. You're trying to get me to dodge with [ExtremeSpeed].'
The orange-haired boy gritted his teeth in annoyance at the girl's persistence.
'But if you think this is enough… Think again, Blue!'
"Burn them all, [Flamethrower]!"
In an instant, the three orbs of shadow were vanquished in a blast of incandescent fire, powered under the blistering sun.
"And out."
Gary recalled his ace and prepared to summon his next Pokémon.
{ OH MY! GREEN HAS RECALLED ARCANINE! }
{ HAS HE MISJUDGED BLUE'S STRENGTH?! }
'No… Green's not like that,' she bit her lip.
'I'm already in his trap.'
"Exeggutor, you're up."
A bipedal coconut tree manifested from the Ball and was raring to go.
"Think again! Espeon!" Blue recalled Gengar as well and summoned her ace. The purple feline was holding an item resembling a metallic sphere by coiling it with her tail.
{ IT LOOKS LIKE ESPEON IS UP NEXT AS BLUE SWITCHES AS WELL! }
"Bombard Espeon with [Seed Bomb]."
With a shake of its leaves, hard-shelled seeds blasted into the air and came down onto the idled Espeon.
"Show Green how fast you've become! [Quick Attack]!"
Effortlessly, the purple feline danced around the exploding seeds that were destroying the greenery around the two Pokémon. Soon, there were only a few spots left with the meadow grass still intact.
As Espeon was prancing about, she and her Trainer shared a look before they engaged into battle. An unnoticeable interaction that was noticed by a perceptive Gary.
'What was that?'
But before he could mull over that strange reaction, he quickly focused onto Espeon's incoming attack.
"Hold this for me, will you? [Trick]!" she cheekily smiled.
As soon as she did, Espeon lobbed the heavy object onto the leaves of the Coconut Pokémon. The bipedal tree immediately felt its weight being doubled as it struggled to stand.
'An Iron Ball!'
"Nice 3-pointer, Espeon!"
And with a 'Bleh' expression, the purple feline was recalled into her Ball. With that, Blue summoned Gengar back into the spotlight.
{ ONCE MORE, BLUE HAS SWITCHED AGAIN! }
{ AND GENGAR MAKES ITS RETURN WITH A MENACING GRIN! }
She knew that Espeon would not be able to finish off Exeggutor since it was a Grass/Psychic, meaning her ace's trademark Psychic moves were resisted by the bipedal tree's same Typing. Therefore, her next choice would be the optimal Ghost/Poison Gengar who countered both of Exeggutor's Types.
'I didn't think I would have to use my first trump card so soon though,' the chestnut-haired girl mused as her only held item was now gone.
'But now, that settles it. Arcanine and Exeggutor don't have the held item, which left his third Pokémon.'
The Iron Ball that she gave Espeon was her process of elimination for which Pokémon to be wary of other than the red canine. Although she did not expect Gary to switch so quickly, her main objective was nevertheless met.
'So that was Espeon's [Quick Attack], even with the Iron Ball handicap...'
Somewhere within his heart of unrelenting darkness, a small glimmer of pride sparkled.
"But it's still too early to celebrate. One more time, rain hell upon them! [Seed Bomb]!"
But Blue had already anticipated that and did the unexpected.
"Gengy, dance number #3!" Blue grinned as she puffed her cheeks.
Gengar's grin grew wider as it began dancing along with its Trainer.
Right step, dodge. Left step, dodge. The purple phantom was flawlessly evading each seedy grenade that was after it. Each impact of the [Seed Bomb] was a beat complimenting both Blue's and Gengar's tempo.
The dancing performance garnered excited cheers for the dancing Gengar and Blue.
"Right now…" Blue said as she did her perfect shot with Gengar mimicking her.
"The genre is a Musical!"
Pokémon Academy, Kalos Region.
"Look at that smooth dancing! A girl after my own heart!" Tierno gushed at the chestnut-haired girl dancing to the beat of [Seed Bomb].
The majority of the male students roared in agreement as they watched Gengar and Blue have the time of their life as they performed a musical.
Serena was awestruck at the rhythmic dance Blue was doing alongside her Pokémon, the sight striking a chord in her heart.
'How dazzling…'
Similarly, two other girls from different regions were sharing her wonder and enjoyment towards Blue's dance.
"I'm shocked. Most Dancer Trainers don't have this level of sync between them and their Pokémon," Lorelei praised as the chestnut-haired girl coordinated her moves with Gengar seemingly on-the-fly.
"Well, Blue has always been a good dancer," Ash agreed while nervous for some reason.
"But she shines a lot brighter whenever she danced with Green…"
The raven-haired boy remembered his childhood memories of his two closest friends dancing without a care in the world, enjoying themselves to the chaotic beat of Ash's drumming.
"She said she got interested in it after seeing the Dancers in Alola."
"Really. That girl's a ball of sunshine whenever she danced with Gary," Daisy nodded in delight.
"…And?" Ash wanted to address the elephant in the room.
"And?" Lorelei and Daisy repeated.
"Why're you guys sticking so close to me?"
After the raven-haired boy had returned after his meal with Misty, he was dragged in between Lorelei and Daisy with both his gloved hands stuck in their grasps.
"Well, I'm here to protect you from danger, Ashy," Daisy shot a strained smile towards Lorelei.
'Ain't no hussy trying to ruin my OTP!' the older sibling declared vindictively.
'From what?!' Ash demanded.
"And I want to get to know more about the Trainer who defeated me," the vermilion-haired woman commented with a sultry voice to aggravate Daisy for her own amusement.
'To think that the granddaughter of Professor would be this fun to tease,' the vermilion-haired woman smirked.
'Didn't I already tell you most of it during last night's dinner?!' Ash recoiled in confusion.
The raven-haired boy tried to break out from the two women's grip, but to no avail. His fear of the opposite gender increased tenfold.
'Holy…! They're strong!'
At his wit's end, he looked towards his partner for help, only for the cheeky mouse to snicker and hopped his way to the redhead Gym Leader behind his Trainer.
'Et tu, Pikachu?!'
Before Ash could attempt to channel his 'power' to break free, a sudden development occurred on the battlefield.
'So far, so good,' Blue licked her dry lips as she was working up a sweat at the never-ending [Seed Bomb].
But before Gengar could take its next step, Gary had already begun his attack.
"Exeggutor, [Solar Beam]!
Sunlight gathered within all three of Exeggutor's mouths. Blue halted her dance and narrowed her deep blue eyes at his choice of moves.
The chestnut-haired girl was confused as even though it was the strongest Grass type move Gary could dish out with the bipedal coconut tree, she knew the orange-haired boy was not one to take risks.
That last sentence made her remember his cruel principle of closing his heart from his Pokémon, not wanting to risk his heart from breaking ever again.
'[Solar Beam]? It's not going to make it in… time…' her thoughts trailed away into the void and her blood ran cold.
"Hot day today isn't it, Bluey?"
"Gengy!" Blue cried out.
And the harsh laser of sunlight propelled towards the purple phantom.
BOOM!
The meadow field now had a wavy line of burnt dirt, small embers could be seen ravaging the green grass. And a cloud of smoke left in [Solar Beam]'s wake.
'So that's it. [Sunny Day] can not only power up Fire moves but charge up [Solar Beam] almost instantaneously,' she pondered.
"…You led me to [Solar Beam]'s line of fire," Blue remarked as she took notice of the tiny craters left behind by [Seed Bomb], leaving only a singular spot of untouched grass.
'They were all steering Gengy there.'
"Well, well. Looks like this is going to be an easy match, after all."
Gary's devious and arrogant smirk rubbed Blue the wrong way. Although he was willing to become vulnerable to her, the orange-haired boy would reflexively return to the villainous façade as soon as it was time to battle.
If he was to win, he would win with the value he imposed onto himself as a Trainer. He could not back out from his words.
'He's one step ahead every time… Heh.'
Just then, Blue let out a grin towards the orange-haired boy.
'Hmm? She's smiling?'
"Sorry, Green. I told just a small lie just now. Teehee~" the chestnut-haired girl stuck her tongue out cutely.
Exeggutor felt a chill run down its spine as the coconut heads gaze downwards…
"This battle's genre isn't Musical…"
Only to find the nightmarish wide grin of a purple phantom lurking within its pitch-black shadow.
'Exeggutor's shadow!'
Feeling satisfied with the slight surprise shown on Gary's face, Blue began her reversal with the 'perfect shot'.
"This is HORROR!"
"[Will-o-Wisp]!"
Ghostly fire danced around Exeggutor and planted themselves onto its stumpy trunk-like body, burning it in the process.
"Plus…!"
As Gengar's crimson eyes began pulsing with an intimidating dark energy, Gary was able to ascertain his childhood friend's scheme.
'So that's your play.'
"[Hex]!" Blue called out, instigating the Shadow Pokémon to unleash a whirlpool of menacing black upon the Burnt Exeggutor.
"Dear Blue has done some splendid work with her Gengar," Agatha nodded with approval at the girl's tactics.
"What do you mean, mentor?" Karen asked inquisitively.
"She's learning from you, sweet Karen. That bright girl is using Gengar's biology to her advantage in this battle just like your Umbreon," the elder woman explained, referring to the silvery-blue eyed teenager's usage of Umbreon's natural poisonous sweat.
Hearing this, Ash took out his PokéDex and scanned Blue's Gengar. The electronic encyclopaedia's entry on the purple phantom with its synthesized voice prompted every Trainer in the room to listen and marvel at the device.
.
Gengar, the Shadow Pokémon:
It hides in shadows. It is said that in rooms where Gengar is hiding, the temperature drops by nearly 5°C.
.
"Wow… She wasn't kidding when she said she's gonna fight to win," the raven-haired boy chuckled as he recalled her determined oath after the squabble between the trio.
"From here on… I'm fighting to win."
"What's more, dear Blue Burnt Exeggutor first before using [Hex] on it, doubling its damage." Agatha observed before sighing at the sight of the red device.
"Looks like Samuel was onto something when he made that thing," she begrudgingly admitted since she was not fond of the PokéDex as the device's creation was what led to Oak's retirement from battling.
The calculative green eyes dissected the wounds obtained by the Coconut Pokémon as well as the toasted path left by [Solar Beam].
The cogs in his mind turned as he tried to unravel Blue's shrewd idea.
'If I recall, Gengar has the ability to enter shadows at will, but it is limited by the shadow's length. That means there should be no way for Gengar to enter Exeggutor's shadow from that distance. Unless…'
"Really now… Are you taking a page out of that idiot's book?"
The thought of Blue copying the likes of his rival displeased him greatly.
"Gengar had no way to reach Exeggutor's shadow from there…"
"…Unless there was a shadow that connected Gengar to him. Which leaves only one conclusion."
"You used [Solar Beam]'s shadow to reach Exeggutor, didn't you?"
"Hehe… Got caught, didn't I?" Blue sticked out her tongue with a playful expression.
"[Solar Beam] is an attack weaponizing sunlight, and light doesn't cast shadows…"
Gary was about to theorize again before solving the dilemma as he noticed the wavy line that [Solar Beam] made. Everything clicked at that moment.
"So that's what you and Espeon were thinking about."
"You placed [Light Screens] there, didn't you?"
'Uwaaah… He's smart. He got all that from just the look I gave Espeon?' Blue pouted as she was annoyed that her plan got unmasked.
Suddenly, Gary burst into a laughing fit, unnerving everyone watching.
"Hahaha! So that's how it is!"
"Light cannot cast shadows. That's an immutable fact. But there are conditions that makes it possible."
Gary pointed a finger towards the chestnut-haired girl.
"You refracted [Solar Beam], am I right?"
Celestic Town, Sinnoh Region.
"Hey, I know that! We've learnt that in school," a blonde teenager pointed to the screen excitedly.
Refraction. The light that hits the object passes through, but the light's direction is bent by the object. If the direction is bent enough, the light that passes through the object will be angled out of the forward-traveling beam. As a result, the beam will have a dark spot; hence, a shadow.
"Gengar took advantage of those dark spots and travelled through them with its natural ability to enter shadows. That's how it managed to reach Exeggutor's shadow while simultaneously dodging a chargeless [Solar Beam]," Cynthia deciphered as her interest in Blue heightened.
'That's not something an 11-year-old would be able to come up with,' she mused with a smile.
'She's like a mix of Green and Red. Her ingenious tactics and shrewd battling as well as her high risk, high reward mentality.'
'Those two are the extreme end of the spectrum but Blue is right in the middle of them.'
The platinum gray eyes sparkled with amazement towards the Pallet Trio.
'I wonder how much stronger they'll become in the future…'
"Shadow-hopping within those specks of shadows… Not a bad move."
Truthfully speaking, Gary was unknowingly falling even more for Blue as the battle continued. But due to his arrogance and unwillingness to accept what both her and Ash stood for, he buried it deep within a cesspool of hatred.
'Bending light to create shadows. It's the same principle as to how a mirror's edge can cast one despite being a transparent object.'
"How does it feel, Green? To be outplayed to this extent?" Blue teased with a satisfied snicker.
"Huh? Aren't you mistaking something here, Blue?"
"Eh?"
Gengar suddenly lurched forward, electricity danced around its purple body.
'Paralysis?!' the chestnut-haired girl widened her eyes.
"You thought you outsmarted me?"
"I had Exeggutor plant [Stun Spore] around his vicinity as a failsafe just in case of situations like this."
'He outsmarted my outsmarting?!' the girl comically held her head.
"It's a simple trick, but it's effective. Especially against risk-taking fools like Red."
'Rude,' Ash's eye twitched in irritation.
'That refraction using [Light Screen] as well as [Trick] with Iron Ball. No doubt in my mind, those were probable tactics that I would do.'
'…If it was the old me, anyway. They run the risk of being too reliant on the Pokémon instead of the Trainer.'
Memories of a poisoned Raticate barely stepping out of the cave where he passed resurfaced. His teeth grinded with anger as he narrowed his eyes towards the battlefield.
'Never again. I won't make the same mistakes again!'
Without warning, blood red orbs lit up as if they had sensed danger.
'Green?!' Ash's attention swam towards his scowling rival.
'Anger. Disappointment. Hatred. Guilt.'
'I can feel them around Green.'
The raven-haired boy was still strained from the previous battle but noticed the significant improvements to his so-called power. However, since he had no idea what was the source of the thing that flowed within him, he opted to minimize its usage now that he was much more aware of it after battling Lorelei. After all, nothing in the world comes for free.
"Ash?" Daisy caught a small glimpse of unnatural light in his eyes.
Shaking his head, Ash deactivated whatever power that he was unconsciously using.
"I'm fine. Just that Green seemed a little off," he replied, trying not to draw attention to his momentary slip-up.
What the raven-haired boy was not aware of was that everyone was curious of the luminous blue circuits that appeared on his arm. A fact that the boy was not aware of.
'Thank goodness I'm great at keeping secrets,' he mentally patted himself on the back.
However, putting his current predicament aside, he was worried about the match between his two childhood friends.
"Hey, Ash?" Daisy asked again.
"Yeah?"
"What happened to your arm just now?"
Those magical words caused everyone in the room to turn to Ash. Their eyes were demanding an answer to that question. Truly, luck was the boy's lament.
'…I want a refund for my relief.'
"Exeggutor, make yourself useful until the end. Another [Solar Beam]!"
Once again, a new blast of sunlight was readily shot out towards the paralyzed Gengar.
"Counter it with [Sludge Wave]!" Blue retaliated.
A surge of poisonous ooze propelled towards the incoming beam and collided into an explosion of dust.
'A smokescreen?! Was he aiming for this?' the chestnut-haired girl used her arms to shield her eyes from the overpowering dust.
Just then, the purple phantom was pelted by several green bullets that emerged from the smoke before it.
'[Bullet Seed]?!' she recognized the move.
"Your style revolves around turning battles into movies with genre themes, right?"
"Then let me change it for you!"
[Bullet Seed] were sprayed towards Gengar at an alarming rate. The guerrilla warfare combined with the huge cloud of smoke added atmosphere to the battle. In other words, Gary was adding fuel into the chestnut-haired girl's battling and turning it against her to his advantage.
"Military?!" she voiced out the genre that came after her Horror.
Within Blue's delusions, the scene of a ghillie suit Gary and a helmet-wearing Exeggutor firing their assault rifles towards her, who was wearing a soldier uniform and hiding under a man-made trench whilst holding her own rifle alongside a helmet-wearing Gengar. But she had no time to be surprised as she made her next move.
'Gengy's paralysis… Green set all of this up!'
Although the Grass type bullets were not that effective against the Ghost/Poison type, the accumulated damage were starting to take a toll on the purple phantom.
And her chance made itself known when [Bullet Seed] stopped firing like a rifle out of ammo. Her deep blue eyes widened at the sudden ceasefire, but she was not about to waste this opportunity.
'If Gengy's mobility's compromised…'
The chestnut-haired girl nodded to her purple phantom, the latter shot a grin with excitement as it aimed both its hands behind, electricity still sparkling from the body as paralysis was still in effect. But it was more than enough.
'Then we'll just boost ourselves to you!'
"Gengy, full throttle [Dark Pulses]!" she called out.
"Gen-gar!"
Converging spheres of darkness gathered into the palms of the Shadow Pokémon and blasted into high gear. The twin boosters of villainous energy were more than enough to send Gengar towards Exeggutor's presumed location with rapid speed.
'Exeggutor's got Iron Ball, so it can't possible have gotten anywhere far from the front!' Blue reasoned with a hand on her chin.
But after bursting open the curtain of smoke, what Gengar and its Trainer found was not a bipedal coconut tree, but a lustrous steel cannon aimed directly at the approaching phantom. Within the cannon, a blue light came to life as it whirred up ominously.
"Glad you could make it."
'Blastoise?!' the chestnut-haired girl widened her eyes in shock.
Recalling the sudden ceasefire of [Bullet Seed], the pieces formed a clear picture.
'He switched at that moment! That's why [Bullet Seed] suddenly stopped!'
"Blastoise, [Hydro Pump]!"
An unforgiving jet of pressurized water came bursting onto the boosted Gengar. A direct hit onto the stomach and the Shadow Pokémon came crashing backwards into the ruined field.
Pokémon Academy, Kalos Region.
{ GEN- GENGAR HAS TAKEN A FATAL HIT! GREEN HAS TAKEN THE LEAD! }
"How far ahead is Green?! It's been one plot twist after another!" Calem exclaimed.
The black-haired boy was now wondering how much stress he underwent these past few days of the Indigo Grand League.
"That refraction trick didn't even faze him as much as I expected it to," Trevor commented, still impressed by the chestnut-haired girl's sly plan with Espeon.
Everyone in the school's hall were glued to the screen, trying to anticipate the flow of the match between Blue and Gary…
All except one honey blonde.
Serena was still in a world of her own as she tried to decipher the identity of the man she met previously. The man in red.
'He knew who I was,' the ball of nervousness thought, not knowing her best friend and mother were staring at the girl with worried expressions.
'Not only that, but he also seemed to know who Froakie was, judging by that annoying smirk of his.'
'…Everything about him feels wrong! That man was so infuriating!'
Her mind was cluttered by the memories of the tanned man constant berating of Ash by calling the boy a 'fool' as well as his mocking tone that carried an edge of sarcasm in his words.
But the gentle smile the ashen-haired man gave her captivated her. It felt familiar to the honey blonde…
And she caught herself with rosy cheeks as she lingered at that smiling man. Now back from her musings, she shook away the man's begrudgingly dashing face and got back to watching the present battle.
"Are you alright, Serena?" Shauna asked.
"Yeah, just thinking about some things," the honey blonde replied with as much cheerful energy that she could conjure.
'Nameless, huh? As if I'd believe that.'
The metallic cannon that blasted Gengar away was now emitting steam from the concentrated [Hydro Pump]. Blastoise's debut in the Grand League came with a roaring ovation and a quick victory.
{ IT LOOKS LIKE GREEN HAS SWITCHED EXEGGUTOR FOR BLASTOISE WITHIN THE SMOKE! }
Many may think of it as foul play, but the rules were in Gary's favour as they did not specify conditions for switching Pokémon.
A downed Gengar was struggling to stand even though it was covered with bruises. With one deep breath, Blue recalled Gengar once again.
"You did amazing, Gengy. Get some rest, I'll need you soon," she thanked with the Ball wiggling with enthusiasm.
"Switching out now? I'm disappointed, Blue."
The snarky Gary let out a sigh of chagrin.
"Any sane Trainer would have let Gengar fight till the end since it was already weakened that much."
"There's no merit to keeping a nearly fainted Pokémon for later if it's just going to be easy picking for later."
"But that's not how Gengy wants to go out. Show him some respect," she argued to her cold opponent.
"…What?"
"Did you know, Green? Gengy was the main reason why I was able to save Espeon."
The boy pursed his lips as the girl continued.
"Without him, Espeon wouldn't even be here right now."
"Get to the point."
"Your whole spiel of Power would have claimed another Pokémon, idiot!" she snapped furiously, rendering Gary silent and surprised.
"Your excuse of using Pokémon without forming bonds with them, all just to get stronger… It would have been no different from the old you!"
"Nothing would have changed! Raticate's death was never your fault to begin with!"
"But Espeon… no, Eevee was going to die because of your so-called value. Her death would be on your hands!"
Blue's teary eyes began leaking as she poured out the words that she wanted to tell him during their scuffle yesterday.
"Tell me…"
"Could you live with yourself if Eevee had died? If she did, doesn't that make your value worthless?"
"I can see through you, Green. Under those excuses of Power and values, Raticate was the one who pushed you to this degree."
Finally, the chestnut-haired girl summoned her third Pokémon. A large amphibian with a rafflesia on his back, Venusaur. The evolved starter roared to the audience, announcing his debut in the Indigo Grand League.
"You…" the orange-haired boy staggered backwards.
"That's why, I'll take you down," she declared with hardened features.
"Right here, right now!"
"And after this…"
"I've got a slap here with your name on it, moron!" Blue fumed with unleashed irritation towards the boy.
…
From the room, a raven-haired boy was torn between siding with Blue or pitying Gary.
'Man, she's pissed…' he gulped.
"Pika…" his partner vocalized his thoughts with his own language.
…
"Tch! Blastoise, out!"
"Exeggutor, back in!"
The cannon turtle was swapped with the returned bipedal coconut tree.
{ I… IT LOOKS LIKE EXEGGUTOR IS BACK ON THE BATTLEFIELD… }
The announcer could not summon the enthusiasm as he looked upon the pitiable state Oak's grandson was in. The professor watched silently as he gazed at the tortured figure called Gary Oak.
'My little boy… I never expected so much to happen within a year,' the old man lamented as he digested this information.
The grandfather had lost contact with his grandson when the latter was about to embark to Rock Tunnel and never heard from him since. Now that he understood why, Oak could comprehend with what the boy was going through.
But he did not condone his behaviour. In fact, Oak had seen through his grandson's contradiction.
'He got this far by using his guilt as his motivation, and yet he won't admit that that love for his Pokémon was his main driving force.'
'Your love for Raticate is what made you so strong, but you insist that bonds were what made you weak.'
'Haaah… Someone needs to give that grandson of mine a talking to.'
'Exeggutor's gonna be the sacrifice here. But before he faints, I'll deal as much damage as I can to Venusaur!'
"Venny, I'm counting on you!" Blue summoned her third Pokémon.
{ LOOKS LIKE IT'S A CLASH BETWEEN GRASS TYPES, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN. }
"[Psychic]! Let's see how high that overgrown frog can jump!"
Gary was losing control of the bottled feelings that he thought he had thrown away. The orange-haired boy had thrown out all semblance of strategy in favour of brute forcing his way to end this match quickly.
Anxiety and hatred blended and produced the menacing visage that was now Gary Oak. He longer cared about a perfect victory that went smoothly like he envisioned. The loathing green eyes now only wanted one thing:
To prove that Power would always triumph Bonds.
A purple energy surrounded the large amphibian, causing him a great deal of pain since he was half Poison type. But to Gary's shock, the flower-bearing behemoth never budged an inch.
"[Ingrain]," Blue called out.
"Then I'll just blast you away! [Extrasensory]!"
The coconut heads released their hold using [Psychic] and their eyes now glowed gold as they fired a multicoloured circular beam with white rings of energy towards the rooted Venusaur.
"Venny, deflect it with [Petal Blizzard]!" Blue commanded hastily.
Venusaur obliged and conjured a raging tornado of pink petals to block the incoming [Extrasensory]. The beam was immediately dispelled due to the high rotational force of the storm of pink.
Before Gary could give his next instructions, he startled at the sight of a dazzling light emitting from the rafflesia on the Seed Pokémon's back as the [Petal Blizzard] unravelled into slow falling petals of soft pink.
'That's right! [Sunny Day]'s still in effect!'
"How the tables have turned, huh?! [Solar Beam]!" Blue grinned before capturing an imaginary photo with her fingers.
"Exeggutor, start Plan R!"
A blitzing cylinder of sunlight came extending towards Exeggutor at rapid speed. And it made contact with the bipedal coconut tree.
BOOM!
A deafening explosion bloomed on the meadow field and Exeggutor fell onto the very grass that he ruined.
{ EXEGGUTOR IS UNABLE TO BATTLE! VENUSAUR WINS! }
{ THE MULTIPLE SWITCHING AND MIND GAMES WERE TOP NOTCH BETWEEN THESE TWO TRAINERS! }
As Gary recalled his Pokémon back into the Ball, he re-evaluated the threat before him.
'I lost control there. Never thought Blue could be that aggressive…'
The orange-haired boy's thoughts were a jumbled mess. The mere thought of Espeon's passing due to his self-justified mindset was enough to wash his entire body with self-disgust and extreme guilt.
'…If that's the case, then what am I even doing this for?'
'What kind of sick and twisted reason did Raticate have to die for, then?!'
'No… My way isn't wrong! I proved it against Karen!'
Gary adamantly refused to believe in the bonds that betrayed him. Trusting in them caused his late ace to perish.
And that was more than enough for the orange-haired boy.
"You won't change my mind, Blue. This is the only way I can atone for Raticate's death!"
"Blastoise, in!"
The blue turtle with massive steel cannons materialized back into battle.
{ GREEN DOESN'T HESITATE! HIS NEXT POKÉMON IS BLASTOISE AGAIN! }
'Atone…' the chestnut-haired girl gave a soft smile towards the tortured boy.
It was the only confirmation she needed from him.
"I knew it. You wouldn't have insulted Raticate like that," she whispered under her breath.
Venusaur matched Blue's eyes of fierce resolution as he faced against his fellow evolved starter.
"Then, I'll save you, Green!" the girl stubbornly decided.
'I'll bring back the boy whom I love so much!'
And the two Pokémon engaged in combat.
"[Ice Beam]!"
Twin cannons roared to life as they blasted dual beams of frigid ice.
"Block them with [Petal Blizzard]!" Blue instructed with a raised hand.
As the swirling vortex of pink manifested, the twin beams of ice immediately froze it and turned the [Petal Blizzard] into plummeting ice shards.
The sun was no longer shining brightly as [Sunny Day] had reached its time limit.
As the last falling petal of frost fell, Blue was greeted with the sight of a Blastoise that had tucked all its limbs and head inside its massive brown shell.
"[Rapid Spin] into the air!"
The nigh-frictionless shell spun with great speed, enough to ascend the massive turtle a few meters above the ground due to the inertia with increasing velocity.
"Don't let him finish, Venny! [Energy Ball]!" Blue commanded again.
The rafflesia birthed an enormous verdant orb of concentrated energy and burst it towards the spinning shell.
But Gary was waiting for this moment. His green eyes sharpened at his awaited opportunity.
"Now, Blastoise! [Skull Bash]!"
'What?! How's Blastoise going to use [Skull Bash] when it's in the air?!' Blue screamed internally.
To the chestnut-haired girl's surprise, the stumpy legs of the cannon turtle emerged from the heavy shell and planted themselves onto an invisible platform.
With the Water type starter's head aimed directly towards the incoming [Energy Ball]…
And the target behind the emerald sphere: Venusaur.
"That's…!" Blue realized as she widened her eyes at the mirror-like square that gleamed in the sunlight.
"THIS is how you use the screen moves without any risks."
'[Reflect]!' she identified the move.
"Plan R has been set up for you, Blastoise."
"Crush it."
With one forceful push from the powerful legs, [Reflect] shattered into a million pieces while fulfilling its duty to propel a [Skull Bash]-charged Blastoise towards Venusaur.
The gargantuan impact shredded the [Energy Ball], reducing it into wisps of faded green, and within moments, collided with the stunned Seed Pokémon.
BOOM!
A massive cloud of dirt burst into fruition and the echoing roar of the blue turtle erupted from the smoke.
{ VE-VE-VENUSAUR IS DOWN! BLASTOISE WINS! }
{ THE SCORE IS 1 TO 1 NOW! }
{ BUT BLUE IS LEFT WITH ESPEON AND AN INJURED GENGAR, WHILE GREEN STILL HAS TWO HEALTHY MEMBERS IN HIS TEAM! }
"Return, Venny. You did a great job. Get some rest," Blue whispered to the recalled Pokémon inside the Ball.
"That was…" the girl said before getting interrupted.
"Have you forgotten that Exeggutor was a Psychic type as well?"
"I had him use [Reflect] at that exact position just before he fainted."
'He's implying that he knew exactly what was going to happen from that point?' she gulped nervously.
"Do you see now?"
Gary's menacing glare stabbed into the nervous blue eyes.
"This is what your Bonds amount to:"
"Trash."
The vile words that the boy spat out were poisonous but Blue braved through them without breaking their eye contact. The chestnut-haired girl was not going to let the cursed boy win with his Power talk.
'I didn't think Venny was going to go down that easily…' she thought with a bead of sweat trailing down her fair skin.
'Green's Blastoise… It's probably on par with Arcanine's strength!'
Petalburg City, Hoenn Region.
"Woah! That [Skull Bash] was so powerful!" Max exclaimed with awe in his excited voice.
His father, Norman, was immensely impressed with the orange-haired boy's showing as a Normal type specialist.
'[Skull Bash] is an extremely powerful move but it has a flaw,' the man thought to himself.
'To use it, the Pokémon must use the ground as a spring to propel itself towards the opponent. But this Green kid managed to circumvent the problem by setting up a [Reflect] in the air as a platform for Blastoise's [Skull Bash].'
'What's more, even if it might seem like a redundant move, he made Blastoise use it in the air instead of the ground to make sure [Skull Bash] deals even more damage when combined with the gravitational force.'
'…I see. He wanted to end it without any room for error, huh?'
"Scary brat," he said aloud.
"To think you had two aces in your team. I didn't expect that," she grinned.
"Blastoise's my failsafe in case Arcanine went down."
"But against you? In this context…"
"I'll prove that I won't even need to use [ExtremeSpeed] to deal with you, let alone letting Arcanine battle at all."
'Didn't you already send him out for [Sunny Day], dummy?' Blue snarked in her head.
"Gengy, you're up!" the chestnut-haired girl summoned her purple phantom again.
"Count your lucky stars, Gengar. At least you can't feel the pain of [Skull Bash]."
Without the use of [Foresight], Gengar was impervious to Normal type attacks. The Shadow Pokémon merely stuck out his tongue as a response.
"Well… There're still many ways to make you feel pain."
His nonchalant comment made Blue furious. She may be patient and understood where his hateful behaviour came from, but to insult and threaten the one who saved his first partner crossed the line for the girl.
"Gengar!" the Ghost type cried out for Blue.
One look in the phantom's bloodshot eyes conveyed his intentions to his Trainer.
"I got it, Gengy," she nodded before glaring daggers at the offending boy.
'I'm soooooooo going to enjoy that slap I promised.'
"Blast it with [Dark Pulse]."
Malefic energy accumulated within the twin cannons and blasted towards the still paralyzed Gengar.
"Gengy, we're going to copy Red! [Shadow Punch] on the ground!" the chestnut-haired girl called out, imitating her raven-haired friend for the second time in this tournament.
A ghostly aura surrounded Gengar's fist as he punched the grassy floor with all his strength. Due to the STAB bonus and the purple phantom's efforts, a large plate of dirt emerged from the ground, acting as a shield.
'[Stone Edge (Fake)]!' Ash grinned with approval as he recognized his trademark fakery.
'She's copying that idiot?!'
Gary was offended as the Fake move defended Gengy from the super-effective [Dark Pulse].
A large explosion manifested, and a trail of smoke extended towards Gary.
The orange-haired boy felt a chill down his spine as he noticed Gengar had disappeared.
'Gengar's still paralyzed, so it couldn't have gone anywhere in that short period of time. The only way is…'
And everything clicked when he saw the smoke above him.
'The smoke trail's shadow?!'
"Tch! Again?!"
"Blastoise, below you!"
Now that the jig was up, Gengar popped out of the shadow below Blastoise and touched the cannon-wielding turtle with an extended hand.
Gary's disdain for Ghost types was increasing even further as it reminded him of his fallen Raticate. And it got worse when the threat before him was a Ghost type that apparently saved his former partner from hypersomnia. The thought that she was saved by the very same Type that he abhorred was pure irony.
"Disappear from my sights, Gengar! [Hydro Cannon]!"
If [Hydro Pump] was a torrent of high-pressure water, [Hydro Cannon] would be a shining beacon of concentrated water enough to rival that of the depths of the ocean. Dual [Hydro Cannon] primed themselves towards the still grinning Gengar.
Normally, Gary would have taken notice of the trickster-like nature of Ghost types like how he did with Karen's Dark types, but his emotions were running wild within his mind after bottling them up for so long that all he could think of was eradicating the purple phantom before him.
"Fire!"
And another explosion was brought to life. But this time, the superior version of [Hydro Pump] was powerful enough to leave a mushroom cloud akin to Ash's Charizard.
'Blastoise needs to recharge after [Hydro Cannon], but it's still within my expectations.'
Gary tried to calm himself, forcing his emotions down his throat and bottling them up again. However, this time, the bottle that filled his imprisoned feelings had no more cork to seal it shut. Unconsciously, the orange-haired boy was nearing his limit where he could feign ignorance of his emotions.
A fallen Gengar had been thrown backwards from his initial position due to the immense force of [Hydro Cannon]. His battered purple body made its stop right in front of Blue.
The chestnut-haired girl made her way towards the battlefield and gave a warm hug to her purple phantom.
"Good job, Gengy. You were the best," she smiled tenderly to the glazed bloodshot eyes.
Gengar's weakened grin was still plastered on his face and stretched as much as he could to muster his satisfaction. With that, the purple phantom lost consciousness with a satisfied expression.
{ GENGAR HAS BEEN DEFEATED! THE UNDEFEATED BLASTOISE REIGN SUPREME ONCE AGAIN! }
{ WHAT A REVERSAL! GREEN HAS TURNED THE TIDES OF BATTLE BACK TO HIS FAVOUR EVEN THOUGH HE LOST HIS FIRST POKÉMON! }
'Naturally. Exeggutor's defeat was already accounted for.'
'Right now, there's no way for Blue to wi—'
A deafening crash erupted in front of him. Gary's cold green eyes narrowed as he began processing what he was seeing.
The narrowed greens then slowly opened more and more as he took in more information that his eyes were giving him until they were as big as saucers.
"What in the world…"
He could not help but utter out as the boy was perplexed at the scene of his starter downed onto the ground with swirls in his eyes.
{ MY WORD! IT APPEARS THAT BLASTOISE HAS ALSO FAINTED! }
{ WHAT HAPPENED?! }
Thankfully for the announcer, Blue answered that question for him.
"[Destiny Bond]."
"Gengy wanted a cool finish. So why not taking down the second ace that stood between me and Arcanine, right?" she said with fiery eyes.
"What's wrong, Green?"
Her tone was threatening as she stared with unbridled rage towards the imposter of the boy she loved before her.
"Did you predict THAT, genius?"
Gary stood without moving a muscle, still floored by the unexpected development. What's more, it was a simple trick that managed to fool him.
'It was so simple. I could have avoided it but…'
The orange-haired boy had been blinded by his emotions when Gengar appeared before Blastoise, not even sparing a glance at the purple phantom's palm on his blue turtle's shell.
'…Am I a dumbass?! Why did I get swept up by my anger?!'
But Blue was not even going to let the boy scold himself as a mass of purple energy manifested, forming a large hand for the chestnut-haired girl. She stood on the palm that carried her back to her side of the battlefield. Gengar had been recalled and in his place...
Espeon had entered the battle.
{ BLUE'S FINAL POKEMON IS ESPEON! }
Clicking his tongue, Gary sent out his final Pokémon as well.
{ ARCANINE IS BACK, FOLKS! LOOKS LIKE THIS FINAL MATCH WILL BE A CLASH BETWEEN ACES! }
"Use [ExtremeSpeed]," Blue demanded, leaving no room for negotiations.
"Or don't. Your choice," she suddenly added.
"Either way, I've already won. Isn't that right, Green?"
Gary clenched his fist as he understood what she had meant by those words.
"I'll prove that I won't even need to use [ExtremeSpeed] to deal with you, let alone letting Arcanine battle at all."
The chestnut-haired girl had proven him wrong. He knew in his heart that Arcanine would not stand a chance against Espeon without [ExtremeSpeed] as the [Quick Attack] barrage she showed yesterday was comparable to that of Raticate's.
Right now, Gary was in a dilemma. If he used [ExtremeSpeed], it would have proven that Raticate was an important factor in his victory. But if he chose not to use it, there exist a high percentage that Blue could win against him…
And Gary Oak would never take such a huge risk.
'Blue…'
'She engineered this whole situation?!'
The resolute blue eyes that had been lit ablaze glared at the boy.
He had been threatened before when he fought against Karen.
But now…
A battle for ideals.
For the first time in the Grand League…
No way out.
"What's wrong?"
Pick your poison to die on.
Gary was terrified of the Blue that stood before him.
Chapter 45: One Girl's Resolve
"Make your move, Green."