Chapter 15: A Battle Packed Festival Part 3

After round 2 had finished, the tournament stopped for the night so that the final four could rest and prepare, both themselves and their Pokemon. Ash and May were up bright and early the next morning to get some practice in. Torchic and Treecko, who they would be using in their respective battles, were having a sparring match.

"Peck, Torchic!"

"Pound, Treecko!"

The two starters clashed, Treecko's fist smashing into Torchic's beak. After a moment, the two broke apart, Treecko wiping sweat off his brow. Ash and May nodded in approval.

"Great job, Treecko!"

"You too, Torchic!"

"Cko Treecko!"

"Torchic Tor!"

"Aw, isn't that cute? You're playing with your pets."

May's smile turned into a frown as she turned around to glare at Drew, the lord smirking smugly at them.

"For your information, we are not playing, we're training."

"Oh, is that what that was? Well, I hope you get plenty of it. Otherwise, winning just won't be as satisfying!"

With that Drew walked away, May barely managing to restrain your anger.

"Oh, that jerk! Just wait until I beat him, that'll teach him a thing or two!"

"Easy, May. He's not worth it."

May sighed, knowing Ash was right.

"Come on, the first match will be starting soon."

Ash's match was first, against Brendan. The older knight smirked, pleased with the matchup.

"Ah, so we finally meet on the battlefield? Well, don't expect me to go easy on you!"

"That's fine, just don't expect us to hold back either!"

"Deal!"

"Treecko, I choose you!"

"Go, Marshtomp!"

Ash's eyes went wide as the Water type stomped on to the ground. Brendan saw this, and chuckled.

"Surprised? Meet Marshtomp, the evolved form of Mudkip."

"Wow, your Mudkip evolved? Now I want to battle you even more!"

Brendan smirked, glad his opponent shared his eagerness. The king lowered his arm, signaling for the battle to begin.

"Treecko, use Leafage!"

"Water Gun, Marshtomp!"

Treecko launched a small barrage of leaves, which battered Marshtom and pushed him back. But his success was short-lived, as the burst of water knocked Treecko back even farther.

"Mega Drain!"

Treecko closed his eyes, drawing energy from Marshtomp into himself, both healing him and dealing damage to his opponent.

"Mud Shot, Marshtomp!"

Marshtomp groaned, before spitting chunks of Mud at Treecko, hitting him right in the face and blinding him. As he tried to scrub the mud off his face, Brendan took his chance to strike.

"Now use Water Pulse!"

While Treecko was distracted, Marshtomp hit him with rings of water, knocking him back. Things only got worse when Treecko got up, for while his vision was no longer impaired by mud, he now had a case of Confusion.

"Don't let yourself get Confused! Use Pound on yourself to snap out of it!"

Treecko nodded, and punched himself hard in the face. After shaking his head for a moment, he snapped back into focus, much to Brendan's amazement.

"Hurting yourself just to get rid of Confusion? Interesting, but we're just getting started! Whirlpool!"

"Razor Leaf, Treecko!"

"Muddy Water!"

Treecko's Grass type attack barely managed to hit Marshtomp before he was blasted by a stream of dirty water, sending him skidding back to Ash's feet.

"Treecko!"

With a grunt, Treecko forced himself to his feet. He could still fight, but Ash could tell exhaustion was catching up to him.

"You may have the type advantage, Ash, but that can only get you so far! Maybe if he evolved…"

As if the universe was mocking him, Ash's Treecko started to glow, evolving before everyone's eyes. When the glow died down, he was now…

"A Grovyle?" Brendan exclaimed. "Aw man, talk about timing!"

"So you evolve into Grovyle?" Ash said, impressed. He really wished he could bring out his Pokedex for more information. "Can you still fight?"

Grovyle turned to Ash and flashed him a thumbs up.

"Alright, then use Leafage!"

Grovyle opened his mouth, but instead of shooting out leaves a green orb of energy, the attack striking Mashtomp and forcing them to one knee.

"No way, Energy Ball? Alright, time to end this! Hydro Pump!"

"Dodge and Use Mega Drain!"

Marshtomp let loose a massive blast of water, intending to blast Grovyle into unconsciousness. Grovyle was quicker though, jumping out of the way before getting inches from his opponent's face. Once he was close enough, his body began to glow bright green, as did Marshtomp's. Before Marshtomp could react, his energy began to drain away into Grovyle's. When the glow faded, Marshtomp stood still for a minute, before falling over in defeat.

"Marshtomp is unable to battle, Grovyle wins! Which means the battle goes to Sir Ash!"

The crowd applauded the two knights' efforts. With a weary sigh, Brendan returned Marshtomp to his Pokeball.

"You did well, Marshtomp. Get some rest."

Afterwards, he walked over and shook Ash's hand.

"Well fought, Sir Ash. Of course, it doesn't help that Marshtomp is both a Water AND Ground Type."

Ash chuckled, glad to have lucked out.

"Hey, don't sell yourself short! If Treecko hadn't evolved, you would've won for sure."

"Maybe, but we'll definitely win next time, you can count on it!"

"I look forward to it!"

A half hour later, it was May and Drew's turn. Drew smirked as he stepped onto the arena, giving a half-hearted handshake before separating.

"I hope you prepared. Winning won't be fun unless you can put up some kind of effort."

May just rolled her eyes.

"Big talk for someone about to lose!"

"As if. Go, Roselia!"

"Torchic, I choose you!"

Drew stifled a laugh when May's starter appeared.

"A Torchic? This will be easier than I thought."

"Oh yeah? Torchic, use Peck!"

"Poison Sting, Roselia!"

Torchic started running towards her opponent, beak sharpened and ready to strike, only to be pushed back by Roselia's Poison Stings. She tried to push through it, but Roselia proved to be stronger.

"Time for a new strategy. Use Ember, Torchic!"

"Magical Leaf, Roselia!"

Torchic opened her mouth and launched several small embers at Roselia, who grunted when the attack hit. But her victory didn't last long, for Roselia's attack hit ever harder.

"Now use Leech Seed!"

Before Torchic could react, she was wrapped up in vines, sapping her health and forcing her to the ground.

"Torchic!"

"Now use Giga Drain!"

While Torchic tried to break free, Roselia sapped even more of her health with Giga Drain.

"Ready to give up yet? Because I don't think Torchic can last much longer!"

"Never! I believe in my Pokemon! You can do it, Torchic!"

Hearing May's words of encouragement, Torchic forced herself to her feet, flames surrounding her entire body, taking May by surprise.

"Wait, is that…"

Seeing her opportunity, she smirked.

"Alright, use Flame Charge!"

Torchic charged, the vines burning off her as she sped towards her opponent. Before Drew could issue another command, Torchic had already closed the gap and slammed into Roselia, making her cry out in pain.

"Now use Peck!"

While Roselia was still reeling, Torchic jabbed her beak right between her eyes, making her stumble back before tumbling to the ground, too exhausted to continue.

"Roselia is unable to battle, Torchic wins! Which means the winner is Princess May!"

"Yes! You did it, Torchic!"

"Chic Torchic!"

As Torchic ran towards May, she suddenly began to glow, shocking everyone. When the light had faded, she was much taller.

"Combusken!"

"Wow, you evolved into Combusken! That's awesome!"

"Combusken!"

Despite his loss, Lord Drew smiled as he returned Roselia to her Pokeball.

"Take a well earned rest, Roselia."

Afterwards, he walked over to the Princess, but didn't say anything. May smiled, and offered him a handshake.

"Thank you for the battle, Lord Drew."

Drew paused for a minute, his hand hovering just inches from hers…

Before he retracted it, and pulled out a rose, which he offered to her.

"Let me guess, for Combusken?"

"Actually, it's for you. I'd say anyone who can beat my Roselia deserves some praise."

"Oh…well, thank you."

"But know this, Princess. You may have won today, but next time will be a different story."

"Yeah, because next time I'll beat you even faster!"

In spite of himself, Drew couldn't help but chuckle, giving May's hand a kiss before leaving.

May returned to the stands, a triumphant smile on her face. Ash and Pikachu awaited her, equally as big smiles on their faces as well.

"Alright, that was awesome May!"

"Pika Pika!"

May giggled, still energized from her win.

"Thank you, but you do know what this means, don't you?"

"No, what?"

"It means you and i are going up against each other in the finals!"

Ash chuckled sheepishly. He'd been so excited for May that he'd forgotten that detail, much to Pikachu's amusement.

"Oh, yeah."

"Pika."

"Ash, just promise me one thing: don't hold back. I know I'm not as experienced as you, but when I take over as queen I need to know I can handle anything thrown at me."

Ash smiled, and nodded.

"I promise, just as long as you don't take it easy on me."

"Deal! Good luck."

"You too."