Ash was prepared to win this fight. He may not have fought Misty in a long time, but he was still confident. It was a battle like any other and he was going to come out victorious
He entered the stage of battle at the same time as Misty, the crowd cheering around him. Misty smiled at Ash and Ash smiled back.
"We shall now begin the second of the main rounds of the Whirl Cup! Trainers are allowed to use two Pokemon each like in the first round. The victors of this round will move on to the semi-finals, where each trainer will use three Pokemon. The victors of the semi-finals will both face in the finals for a full six-on-six battle. Every battle from this moment on will have no switching. The Pokemon standing shall win. With the rules and methods explained, both trainers will now send out their first Pokemon!"
Ash and Misty called out their Pokemon in unison, Misty sending out Wartortle while Ash sent out Kingler.
The battle began with Misty commanding a Water Gun. Ash called for Crabhammer. The Claw hits the water and an energy sphere is sent across the arena causing Whirlpools to form. The sphere broke through the Water Gun and hit Wartortle. When Wartortle recovered, Kingler was no longer on the platform. Streams of bubbles shot out from the swirling waters and Wartortle was forced to keep dodging instead of going on the counter. Kingler popped up in front of Wartortle and attacked with a Stomp. Wartortle quickly Withdrew into its shell and took the brunt of the hit. Kingler followed it up with a Crabhammer and sent the still-withdrawn Wartortle skipping across the water. Wartrtle hit the wall with a thud and by that time Kingler was already speeding towards it. Misty called for Ice Beam and Ash commanded a Crabhammer. Kingler took the Ice Beam on his water-wrapped Crabhammer claw, which he then slammed into Wartortle, the ice on the claw completely breaking on contact and knocking Wartortle out.
Misty called back Wartortle with a frown. She brought out her next Pokemon, but before she could summon it, another Pokemon popped out, much to her displeasure.
"Psyduck, the Duck Pokemon. When its headache intensifies, it starts using strange powers. However, it has no recollection of its powers, so it always looks befuddled and bewildered."
Misty tries to call back Psyduck but the announcer warns her that if she does so she will be forfeiting and the match will go to Ash. With a defeated sigh she allows Psyduck to battle.
Kingler dives right in with a Vicegrip, grabbing hold of Psyduck by the head. Psyduck thrashes around in Kingler's grip in pain before suddenly stopping. Its eyes glowed blue before blue energy burst out from it. Kingler was sent flying back and crashed into the wall, knocked out.
Surprised at how strong the Psyduck's attack was, Ash called Kingler back. Even Misty seemed shocked. He quickly shook out of it and sent out his Wartortle.
The Pokedex had mentioned how headaches could trigger something in Psyduck and the Vicegrip possibly did just that. So the only way was to get rid of the headache. Ash decided he'd maintain a distance and deal with the duck Pokemon.
Ash called for a Hydro Pump and Psyduck sent out another pulse of psychic energy. Wartortle kept pushing against the pulses, inching slowly closer as Psyduck's fatigue caught up to it. The Hydro Pump hit its face and Psyduck gargled on the water. When Wartortle stopped, Psyduck's eyes had gone normal and they looked confused. The trance was gone and Psyduch was normal once more.
Wartortle quickly followed up with a Skull bash and knocked Psyduck out.
Ash had moved on to the Semi-Finals.
The two trainers met up after the battle and Misty gushed at how powerful Ash's Pokemon were. She offered him her Pokemon in trade for Ash's Kingler but Ash declined the offer, even if he did want Misty's Psyduck. There was something about it that made Ash curious.
By the time they were done talking, the other round two battles were finished. Ash and Misty rushed to see who Ash would battle. It was a girl named Trinity and so far she'd swept the competition with her Gyarados.
Ash needed to find a way to deal with Gyarados if he wanted to win and move to the next round.
The semi-final match between Ash and Trinity was held two days after the match against Misty. Excited crowds chattered in the stands as both trainers took the stage. Trinity called out her Gyarados as expected when the announcer and referee called the match to begin. Ash called out his Poliwhirl, who had evolved from his Poliwag while training on his way to the tournament venue.
The match began with Trinity calling for a Hydro Pump and Ash commanding Poliwhirl to jump into the water. Gyarados followed her underwater and fired multiple Hydro Pumps, all of which Poliwhirl dodged with ease by swimming out of the way. Trinity called for a Take Down and Ash told Poliwhirl to stand her ground. When Gyarados had gotten close enough, Poliwhirl used Hypnosis (a move Ash had Gengar teach the Pokemon). Gyarados stopped before it collided against Poliwhirl, fully asleep. But before it could fall to the bottom of the pool, Poliwhirl grabbed it and threw it out. Gyarados flew out of the water and landed on a platform still asleep. Poliwhirl came out not after, using a Hydro Pump to jet out higher than Gyarados had. Ash had her use Belly Drum and Body Slam in quick succession and Poliwhirl slammed into the sleeping Gyarados, knocking it out.
The crowd roared at the defeat of an unbeatable Pokemon, while Trinity looked intrigued by her loss. She sent out a Chinchou next and had it use Spark. The Chinchou fired the Spark in the air and the clouds absorbed it before raining down a bolt of lightning at Poliwhirl. Poliwhirl jumped out of the way and right into a well-aimed Confuse Ray. Another Spark (this time aimed right at Poliwhirl instead of the sky) and Poliwhirl was knocked out.
Ash sent out his Totodile next.
Chinchou attacked with Spark and Ash commanded Totodile to take to the water. Chinchou dipped its antlers in the water and used Confuse ray. The ray confused Totodile, who shot out of the water onto Chinchou's platform. Ash called for Slash and Totodile thrashed around with slashes everywhere Chinchous prepared for a Spark but Totodile chomped on the antler and threw it into the water. The shock from biting the sparking antlers knocked Totodile out of confusion. Chinchou surfaced and Totodile hit it with Slash, taking it underwater with him before biting down on the Pokemon's antler and throwing it deeper into the pol. Ash knew for certain that taking Chinchou underwater would prevent it from using electric moves since it would take damage too.
Chinchous had tried to surface multiple times, using Bubblebeam and Tackles to fight away Totodile. But Totodile was relentless in attacking Chinchou with Slash and Bite, before finally letting it surface when it was knocked out.
Trinity called back her Chinchou before sending her last Pokemon out.
"Golduck, the Duck Pokemon, the evolved form of Psyduck. The webbed flippers on its forelegs and hind legs and the streamlined body of Golduck give it frightening speed. This Pokémon is definitely much faster than even the most athletic swimmer."
Ash called for a Hydro Pump and Golduck countered it with one of its own. Golduck overpowered Totodile easily and the move threw it into the water. Golduck then jumped into the water and at frightening speed swam to Totodile. It used Fury Swipes to weaken Totodile, before finishing him off with a Psybeam.
Ash called his Totodile back and sent out his last Pokemon, Wartortle.
Trinity called for a Hydro Pump and Ash called for a Hydro Pump as well. The two moves were an equal match and cancelled each other out. Golduck swam towards Wartortle and Wartortle used Skull Bash and met Golduck halfway. Golduck used Psybeam but Wartortle broke through it and hit the Pokemon in the face. Wartortle quickly followed it up with an Ice Punch in the same spot he hit Skull Back. Golduck reared back before slamming its head on Wartortle for a Headbutt. Golduck quickly followed up with Fury Swipes. Wartortle withdrew into his shell after taking a few swipes and spun for a Hydro Pump. Golduck was pushed back before being swept by the pool, the motion of the spinning Hydro Pump causing the pool to swirl like a whirlpool. Golduck tried to break free but the currents were too strong for it to swim out of it. Wartortl shot towards it from the centre, switching from Hydro Pump to Skull Bash. Golduck was hit and fell when Wartortle followed it up with an Ice Punch, winning Ash the battle.
The final of the Whirl Cup was held two days later. Ash stood to challenge the other finalist, one he couldn't believe. It was the same trainer from Azalea Town, the one that helped him fight Team Rocket. He was also the one who stole Totodile.
The trainer named Silver sent out his first Pokemon and Ash sent his Gyarados.
"Feraligatr, the Big Jaw Pokemon, evolved form of Croconaw. Feraligatr intimidates its foes by opening its huge mouth. In battle, it will kick the ground hard with its thick and powerful hind legs to charge at the foe at an incredible speed."
So he fully evolved his Totodile. Ash had seen Pokemon of evil people, people who mistreated them. But the Feraligatr did not look mistreated. If anything he seemed fond of his trainer.
Then again so was Charmander once upon a time.
Ash sent his Gyarados out.
Feraligatr pounced immediately and clamped its jaws around Gyarados' tail. Gyarados shrieked and tried to get it off but was unable to move the Pokemon. Feraligatr lifted Gyarados instead and thrashed Gyarados around, slamming her on the platform and the water. Finally, Feraligatr threw Gyarados in the air and as she fell, it hit her with a Thunder Punch and knocked her out.
Ash stared in horror.