This is it! The (hopefully) thrilling battle between Ash and Paul! I gave it my all guys, I tried to look up to other authors to try and build on their battle writing skills, and hopefully I did ok since this chapter is quite literally almost all battle. I tried to add small bits and pieces in between switches, but this chapter is pretty much all battle all the time...so...without any more delay, I'll take care of anonymous reviews for the last chapter.
Guest: Maybe I am, and I know how powerful Charizard is, but like I've said in the past, I can't make Charizard be the star of the show every chapter. Like I said once before, Charizard's not invincible, and just for being an author, in order to have a story, I need more drama than that, Charizard can't mean automatic win otherwise it'd get boring. I hope you (including all others reading this) can understand.
the Pokeshipper: Um...ok? xD
Well that's it...I own nothing but the story. And so now, with a full heart and an empty stomach...I say to you now in the words of my uncle...allez cuisine! Oh wait...wrong show, that's Iron Chef America, my bad. xD Just watch/read the battle ok? xD
_
Chapter 56
Misty's POV
Forget it. I'm watching Ash and Paul battle, let's go!
Normal POV
"Paul's pulling out all the stops…and I guess I shouldn't be surprised that Electabuzz knew 'Light Screen' since I saw it yesterday…" Ash said to himself, "Ok Pikachu, don't let your guard down, we gotta be careful with this guy!" Pikachu nodded in compliance.
Dawn meanwhile had pulled out her Pokédex to scan Magmortar. "Magmortar, the Blast Pokémon and the evolved form of Magmar. It launches fireballs that can reach temperatures over three-thousand six-hundred degrees from the ends of its arms and lives in volcanic craters." The Pokédex chirped.
"Since Paul knew that Ash was going to use Pikachu, why isn't Paul using a ground-type Pokémon instead?" Dawn asked.
"He may be thinking that using a ground-type won't matter because Ash could simply switch Pikachu and use a water-type like Buizel at any time." Brock suggested.
"Paul wanted to come into this battle with the mindset of always being two steps ahead of Ash, but since his gameplan's already been thrown off by Ash's Charizard, he might be just testing to see what Ash will do." Reggie added.
"Alright Pikachu, let's start things off with a 'Thunderbolt'!" Pikachu heard Ash's order and unleashed a furious blast of electricity, which hit the Blast Pokémon and also activated 'Light Screen', making the damage taken unnoticeable, "Didn't do a thing…somehow I'm not surprised." Ash grumbled.
"Ash knows Magmortar has 'Light Screen' to defend it thanks to Electabuzz, so why isn't he trying some physical moves instead?" Dawn asked.
"We talked to Max a little bit about Paul's Pokémon, we told him about Magmar, and he warned us about its special ability 'Flame Body'." Misty explained.
"Yeah, Ash probably doesn't wanna come in with a physical attack because he knows that he'd risk Pikachu getting burned by 'Flame Body'." Brock added.
"True, Paul probably wanted to goad Ash into doing something foolish by overwhelming him, but so far Ash has kept a cool head about it." Reggie added.
"Pikachu, 'Thunderbolt' again!" Pikachu fired once more, and again the 'Light Screen' weakened 'Thunderbolt's' power down to half its original strength, "Keep your distance Pikachu, that 'Flame Body' could be a big problem if we try to get too close."
Paul growled to himself, Ash had figured out his plan, "Magmortar, use 'Flamethrower'!" Magmortar aimed its arm cannons and blasted two powerful flames at the electric mouse.
"Spin and dodge it!" Pikachu twirled in mid-air and was able to dodge the incoming flames, "Whoa, I felt the power from that." Ash said to himself, "Alright Pikachu, now it's time for you to use that new move!" Pikachu nodded, and just like Electabuzz did, Pikachu activated 'Light Screen'.
"What?! They copied my move!" Paul exclaimed in anger.
"Alright Pikachu, come here!" Pikachu acknowledged and scampered back over to Ash, "Alright buddy, you did good, take a quick breather, now that we've got 'Light Screen' up, I know just the Pokémon who can take Magmortar on!"
"Wow, I never thought this battle would get so back and forth!" Reggie said in surprise.
"Like I said, we spent all of yesterday preparing for this battle, Ash is gonna make sure that he doesn't pull any dumb moves that could make things worse for himself. If Paul's gonna beat Ash, he's gonna have to beat him through skill, not intimidation." Misty replied.
"Get ready for this Paul! You're about to meet another old friend of mine!" Ash grabbed a Pokéball and held it tightly, "Now, Snorlax, I choose you!" Snorlax emerged from his Pokéball, and stomped the ground like a sumo wrestler, "Meet Snorlax, an awesome battler and an even more awesome friend!"
Paul growled, "Where does he keep getting these Pokémon?"
"Ash's Snorlax sure looks strong." Dawn commented.
"When he's not eating or sleeping, Snorlax is one of Ash's most powerful Pokémon, and they've been through a lot together, I should know, I was there most of the time." Misty laughed, reminiscing on old times.
"Alright Snorlax, let's use one of those new moves! Use 'Earthquake'!" Snorlax stomped down on the ground, and an earthquake was created, making cracks in the ground and causing Magmortar to lose balance and fall over. "Yeah, that worked!"
"Wow! I didn't think Ash would be able to put Paul on the ropes like this! That 'Earthquake' was super effective, and it probably caused major damage to Magmortar! And since it was a physical attack, 'Light Screen' couldn't help Paul at all!" Reggie exclaimed.
"Not to mention the fact that it probably does major damage to Paul's psyche." Misty snickered.
"Get up Magmortar!" Paul demanded. Magmortar did, and glared at the Sleeping Pokémon who just stared blankly at it, "Use 'Flamethrower'!"
"Alright Snorlax, charge ahead and use 'Body Slam'!" Ash ordered.
"Is Ash crazy?!" Dawn exclaimed, "I mean I know 'Light Screen' is up, but Ash is telling Snorlax to run right into an attack!"
Snorlax lumbered forward, and just as the attack hit, 'Light Screen' activated and halved its power, and Snorlax kept moving as if he hadn't felt a thing. "Magmortar, don't let it…" it was too late; Snorlax had already fallen right on top of Magmortar.
"But…what about 'Flame Body'? Isn't Ash running the risk of getting Snorlax burned?" Dawn asked, shocked at what had just happened.
"Yes, but Ash figured it was worth the risk with Snorlax, and the reason why is the same reason Ash had Snorlax run right into the 'Flamethrower'. Snorlax's special ability is 'Thick Fat', which gives resistance to fire and ice-type moves, and Ash figured that with 'Thick Fat', Snorlax ran a better chance of getting away with hitting Magmortar." Brock explained.
"Get that blob off of you! 'Rock Tomb'!" Paul snarled. Magmortar managed to get its cannons underneath the belly of Snorlax, and used the rock-type move to shoot Snorlax off of it, sending both Snorlax and several boulders flying through the air until they hit the ground, which when Snorlax hit it, the ground rumbled. "Return Magmortar!" Paul returned Magmortar to its Pokéball, "I'll deal with you later."
"You ok Snorlax?" Ash asked. Snorlax got up and shook his head to try and shake of the stun he had endured from the fall, but eventually Snorlax got back up and went back to staring blankly at Paul, "Nice 'Body Slam' by the way."
"I gotta say, I'm impressed with what Ash has been able to do." Reggie said, "He's got Paul fighting to make the right moves, since he was totally unprepared for these new moves and strategies Ash is using."
Paul growled and grabbed another Pokéball, "Now Ursaring, stand by for battle!" the bear emerged from its Pokéball and roared in anger and determination, "Take it down with 'Hammer Arm'!"
"Quick Snorlax, use 'Hyper Beam'!" Ash countered. Snorlax opened his mouth and blasted a super powerful beam of orange energy at the bear.
"Hit that with your 'Hammer Arm'!" Paul ordered. Ursaring used the fighting-type move's power to hit the 'Hyper Beam' and negate its power, then it rumbled forward and punched Snorlax in the gut while he was immobilized, causing the normal-type to groan in pain.
"Oh no, Snorlax!" Ash exclaimed worriedly.
"Now use 'Bulk Up'!" Paul ordered. Ursaring roared angrily and glowed in a red aura, as its power was increased.
"Ursaring just raised its attack and defense!" Ash said to himself, "I think I need some speed on the field, I can't let Ursaring take down Snorlax. Snorlax, return!" Ash returned the normal-type to his Pokéball, before Ursaring could take him down with another hit.
"That was a smart move by Ash," Reggie said, "Snorlax ran into trouble with Ursaring's fighting-type moves, and since Paul had Ursaring use 'Bulk Up', it could have very possibly ended that battle with one more hit."
"I've noticed something else though…" Brock added, "Neither Ash or Paul seem to be willing to let one of their Pokémon go down for the count, it almost feels like they're both wary of losing a member of their team because of the unpredictability."
After hearing Brock say that, Misty gasped, "Ash is overthinking things…I hope that doesn't come back to bite him later in the battle."
"Alright, I've got one last surprise Paul! Now, Sceptile, I choose you!" Ash launched his final unknown Pokémon, and the grass-type revealed himself, glaring coldly at Paul as he chewed on the twig in the side of his mouth, "This is my old friend from Hoenn…meet Sceptile!"
"Here we go, I can't wait to see what Ash's Sceptile can do!" Dawn exclaimed excitedly.
"I had no idea Ash had so many powerful Pokémon in his arsenal, it almost feels like this shouldn't even be a close battle." Reggie admitted, "If Paul weren't my brother, I'd say he has no shot from what I've seen so far."
"Sceptile was Ash's ace in the hole back in Hoenn, I'd say he's the second most powerful Pokémon Ash has, the first being Charizard." Brock explained.
"Do you realize what you've done?!" Paul shouted, earning the attention of everyone watching, "All you've done by using these new Pokémon is prove my point! If you had gone with the team you made here in Sinnoh, you would've already lost by now! Instead you went and found the most powerful Pokémon you could and brought them all here to face me, proving that your training style can't produce strong Pokémon!"
"But…" Ash was frozen in his place, had he really gone against everything he professed to believe in by calling on his old friends?
"Paul's messing with Ash's head…trying to get an edge." Reggie said.
"I don't think so Reggie…" Brock replied, confusing the established breeder, "I think Paul is genuinely angry at Ash…see, you thought they were just rivals, but you haven't seen what goes on when Ash and Paul meet when you're not around…they've almost gotten into fist fights on more than one occasion, they're always butting heads over their training techniques, Ash hates the way Paul treats his Pokémon…this isn't just a friendly rival battle, this is a battle to determine whose training style is superior, and the winner will probably hold it over the loser's head forever…that's how intense this battle is."
Reggie sighed, "Maybe this battle wasn't such a good idea."
Meanwhile Ash was still unable to react, his mind was in a haze thanks to what Paul had said to him, "He can't be right! I trained these guys the same way I train all my Pokémon! But still…they're my strongest Pokémon, and I brought them all here in one fell swoop just so I could win! Does that really count?"
Paul sneered, it looked like he finally had the edge over Ash, and he was going to take advantage, "Now I'll show you what true power is! Ursaring, 'Focus Blast'!" Ursaring formed a ball of energy in its claws, and launched it at the Forest Pokémon.
"Huh?! Oh man! Sceptile, dodge it!" Ash was able to regain his senses long enough to order a dodge, which Sceptile's speed allowed him to do, but when Sceptile got ready for the counter strike, Ash became quiet again.
"Misty, look what Paul did to Ash!" Dawn said worriedly.
"That creep thinks he can mess with Ash's head, but he forgot that I'm here, and there's no way I'm just gonna let him get away with that. Paul can break Ash, I can rebuild him! I've been quiet for too long!" Misty handed Riolu to Dawn, who now had one Pokémon on each leg, Piplup on one and Riolu on the other, while Misty stood up and took a deep breath before shouting, "Hey Ash!" her voice got Ash's attention, "He's trying to mess with your head, don't let him! Remember, no matter how strong your Pokémon are, you're still the one who trained them from the ground up! The same way you always do! What he's saying is a flat out lie! Your training style has produced strong Pokémon, and one of them is standing there waiting for you to tell him what to do!"
Ash blinked a few times and then looked back at Sceptile, who was giving his trainer a thumbs-up. Ash smiled, and then turned back to Misty, who winked at him in reassurance, "Thanks Misty, I needed that." Ash then turned to Paul, as his own trash talk came into his head, "You see that Paul? One of the greatest things about my training style is not only because it builds up strong Pokémon and relationships, it's because now I have friends that'll back me up! We make each other stronger! And in the end, that's all that matters!"
Paul growled, "We'll see about that." He said.
"Wow, Paul never could've prepared for the Misty factor." Reggie laughed.
"That's usually the factor that matters in the end." Brock replied with a chuckle.
"Ok Sceptile, 'Bullet Seed'!" Ash ordered. Sceptile acknowledged and fired a barrage of energized seeds at the bear, who got protected by 'Light Screen'…at least for a moment. The screen fell at the tail end of the 'Bullet Seed', and Ursaring was pelted briefly by the attack, leading up to only a minor annoyance for the bear. "Hey, the 'Light Screen' fell! Alright Sceptile, hit 'im hard! 'Solarbeam'!" Sceptile began absorbing sunlight in order to unleash a full power blast of energy.
"Ursaring, counter with 'Focus Blast'!" Ursaring formed a ball of energy in its claws, and it fired just as Sceptile unleashed his grass-type attack. The attacks collided, and an explosion took place in the center of the field, causing smoke to rise everywhere. But suddenly, through the smoke, Ursaring appeared with its left claw glowing white, and it slashed at the surprised grass-type and knocked him to the ground, "Now, follow up with 'Focus Punch'!"
"Get up Sceptile, it's coming for ya!" Sceptile shook off the pain and jumped up and over the bear with his powerful legs, just before Ursaring punched the ground, leaving a divot of dirt where there used to be grass, "Nice dodge! Ok, 'Leaf Blade'!" Sceptile took off running and managed to get in a hard swipe with 'Leaf Blade', causing the normal-type to slide across the ground, using its claws to create friction.
"Looks like an even matchup." Brock said, "Sceptile's faster and has a lot of power in his own right, but Ursaring has way more brute strength than Sceptile, and with Sceptile's low defense stats and Ursaring having raised its attack, too many hits like that 'Slash' attack and Sceptile could fall."
"I think Ash needs to do what he's doing now, he's got his strategies in place, now it's time to get back to basics, and battle the way he always does. He chose his team with his head, he needs to battle with his heart." Misty commented.
"Alright Sceptile, let's get some speed going! 'Quick Attack', go!" Sceptile charged forward with a burst speed, and managed to smack into the bear who got turned around by the hit, "Now use 'Pound'!" Sceptile turned right around and hit Ursaring with its leafy tail, but still the normal-type didn't seem to be taking as much damage as one would expect.
"So why isn't Sceptile doing more damage? It looks like Ursaring is barely feeling it!" Dawn exclaimed worriedly.
"Remember, 'Bulk Up' does more than just increase attack power, it also raises defense power, so when Sceptile uses physical attacks like that, Ursaring takes less damage than usual." Brock explained.
"I don't particularly care. As long as Ash goes back to his battling instincts, he can pound away at Ursaring all he wants." Misty added.
"Ok Sceptile, time for that new move! Use 'Focus Blast'!" Sceptile acknowledged, and began charging the ball of energy in his claws.
"Ursaring, 'Secret Power'!" Ursaring glowed in a pink aura, and the grass began glowing in the same manner all around Sceptile, and within moments, Sceptile lost concentration on the 'Focus Blast' and fell asleep, as the 'Secret Power' took effect. And as a result, Paul couldn't help but snicker at the surprised look currently on Ash's face.
"Oh no, not 'Secret Power'!" Dawn exclaimed worriedly.
"Just like when I battled Ash, 'Secret Power' in grassy terrain has a chance of causing the opponent to fall asleep…Ash is in deep trouble." Reggie said.
"C'mon Sceptile, you gotta wake up!" Ash exclaimed.
"You and your faith again, pathetic." Paul scoffed, "Get up close and use 'Hyper Beam'!"
Everyone in the stands, including Reggie, gasped at what Paul had ordered, "A blast like that could seriously injure Sceptile!" Reggie shouted, "Don't do this Paul!"
"This is a battle! There are no rules against what I'm doing, so you can't tell me anything! I'm doing this to make sure I come out on top, and that's all that counts!" Paul shouted back.
Up until now, Reggie hadn't known just how deep-rooted the rivalry between Ash and Paul truly was…he knew that under normal circumstances, even Paul wouldn't do what he was about to…the only explanation was that it was simply Ash. "You were right Brock…now I know this was a bad idea."
Ursaring stomped up to Sceptile, who was still fast asleep, and began charging the ultra-powerful beam at point-blank range. "Sceptile, wake up! Sceptile!" Ash's cries seemed to be falling on deaf ears, as Sceptile remained asleep. "SCEPTILE!" But just then, Sceptile's eyes snapped open, and the Forest Pokémon got back up and jumped back, just as Ursaring fired at the ground, causing a huge explosion that caused smoke to fly everywhere.
"What happened to Sceptile?!" Dawn cried.
When the smoke cleared, Sceptile was seen on his claws and knees, panting in exhaustion, "Sceptile, are you ok?!" Ash asked. Sceptile raised his head and glared at Ursaring, who had its arms crossed confidently over its chest.
"I can't believe Paul would try to do that." Dawn gasped.
"You can't?" Misty asked incredulously.
"I've never seen Paul do anything like that. He really isn't that bad, it's just…I don't know…maybe it's my fault." Reggie sighed and drooped his head in disappointment.
"You can't blame yourself Reggie, Paul obviously has something in his heart that makes himthis way…maybe someday we'll be able to figure out what." Brock placed a comforting hand on the older breeder's shoulder. He could understand how Reggie felt, he'd feel the same way if Forrest acted out that way.
"Let's end this." Paul said, "Use 'Hammer Arm'!" Ursaring started to close the distance between it and Sceptile, its arm glowing with power.
"Come on Sceptile, you gotta get up!" Ash's encouragement apparently worked, as Sceptile suddenly began glowing in a green aura, "Whoa…is that…?"
"What's happening to Sceptile?!" Dawn asked in shock.
"It's Sceptile's special ability 'Overgrow'! It works just like 'Blaze', except it's the grass-type version!" Brock replied.
Sceptile suddenly got up, and the seeds on his back began glowing white, "Is that 'Solarbeam'?" Ash wondered. But instead of a beam of energy coming out of Sceptile's mouth, energized leaves began swirling around Sceptile, and then shot out at Ursaring who was unprepared for the powerful attack, and the bear took the hit and fell to its back, "Whoa, was that 'Leaf Storm'?"
"Did Sceptile already know 'Leaf Storm'?" Dawn asked.
"No, Sceptile must've learned that move just now! It must've been Ash's encouragement that brought that move out!" Brock replied.
"Wow! So that means Ash has two new moves at his disposal!" Dawn exclaimed.
"Wow Sceptile, you learned 'Leaf Storm'! That's awesome!" Ash exclaimed. Sceptile nodded to agree. "What do you think about that Paul? See what my style of training can do?"
Paul growled in fury, "Ursaring, 'Focus Blast'!" Ursaring began charging its attack, but Ash wasn't about to let Paul go uncontested.
"Sceptile, let's take this battle! 'Leaf Blade'!" Sceptile ran forward with his arms sporting blade like leaves, energized with power. Ursaring fired, but similarly to how Ursaring countered Snorlax's 'Hyper Beam', Sceptile used one side to cut the 'Focus Blast' in half and leave it to fly off, while Sceptile used the other blade to take Ursaring down to the ground. Sceptile landed on one knee and smirked to himself, as he heard the soft groaning of a Pokémon behind him.
"Ursaring is unable to battle! Sceptile is the winner!" Olivier announced.
"Alright!" Dawn cheered.
"Sceptile came back and showed Paul just how powerful he is!" Misty added.
"Sceptile, return!" Ash called back his worn out grass-type at the same time Paul returned his fainted normal-type. "You did awesome Sceptile, take a good long rest." Ash put the Pokéball away and smirked at Paul, "One down Paul! Who's next?!"
Paul growled and pulled out another Pokéball, "Now Weavile, stand by for battle!" Paul's Weavile emerged and grinned maliciously at Ash.
"So Paul's going with Weavile this time, makes sense since Paul's used almost all of his other Pokémon so far." Brock said.
"Weavile's an ice-type and a dark-type…" Ash said to himself. "Ok…" Ash grabbed a Pokéball, then that means it's time for Chimchar!" Ash tossed out the Pokéball, and Chimchar emerged and shouted determinedly at Paul, "You got this Chimchar! Let's do this! 'Flamethrower'!" Chimchar acknowledged and fired a beam of flame at the Sharp Claw Pokémon.
"Dodge that!" Weavile easily moved out of the way with its amazing speed, "Now use 'Swords Dance'!" Weavile's claws glowed purple and extended out, and the ice/dark-type did a short dance and then held out its claws to try and intimidate the small fire-type.
"What's that?" Dawn asked.
"It's called 'Swords Dance' and it greatly increases the user's attack power." Reggie explained.
"Which means that Paul is trying to build up power to make up for the advantage Chimchar has." Misty added.
"Use 'Flame Wheel'!" Ash ordered. Chimchar rolled up into a ball and charged right for Weavile.
"Blizzard', go!" Weavile unleashed a powerful storm of snow, but Ash was ready for it.
"Quick, use 'Flamethrower'!" Ash shouted.
"What?!" Paul couldn't believe what he was seeing. In mid-'Flame Wheel', Chimchar began firing a 'Flamethrower' that whipped around and countered the 'Blizzard' and then the 'Flame Wheel' nailed Weavile head on. "How is that possible?"
"There's Chimchar's Counter Shield! We worked on that yesterday, we wanted to make sure there were no glitches in that technique." Misty said.
"I've never seen anything like that before! Amazing how it totally countered the 'Blizzard' like that!" Reggie exclaimed, impressed by Ash's strategy.
"It's really meant for offense and defense!" Brock explained, "The 'Flamethrower' blocks the 'Blizzard' while the 'Flame Wheel' gets to hit uncontested!"
"I'm done playing games." Paul growled to himself, "Use 'Ice Shard'!" Weavile fired a chunk of ice at the fire-monkey.
"Dodge it!" Chimchar managed to avoid the attack, but suddenly Weavile came out of nowhere and slammed Chimchar with a 'Metal Claw'. "Oh no, Chimchar!"
"Now use 'Ice Beam'!" Weavile immediately followed up with another ice-type move, this one hitting Chimchar dead-on, and even freezing Chimchar solid. "Perfect." Paul sneered.
"Oh no, Chimchar!" Ash shouted.
"That 'Ice Beam' froze Chimchar solid! But how is that even possible?!" Dawn asked.
"It's possible…just rare." Misty groaned.
"Finish it Weavile! 'Swords Dance', and then use 'Night Slash'!" Paul ordered.
"Wah?! 'Night Slash'?! Since when?!" Ash gulped. Weavile raised its attack even further, and then charged forward to attack the frozen Chimchar, "No ya don't! Chimchar, return!" Ash returned the frozen fire-type to his Pokéball, just as Weavile slashed so hard that even Ash felt the power, "Whoa…dodged a bullet there." Ash gulped.
"Is Chimchar thawed out now?" Dawn asked.
"No..." Misty sighed, "Come on Ash, you were on a roll!"
"If Paul wants to use 'Ice Beam', I'll oblige." Ash said quietly. "Now, Buizel, I choose you!" Ash launched the Pokéball out of his hand, and Buizel appeared for the second time, "Use 'Water Gun'!" Buizel obeyed and fired a spray of water at the Sharp Claw Pokémon.
"Use 'Night Slash'!" Weavile quickly dodged the attack and moved in to use its own attack.
"Dodge it!" Buizel tried to dodge, but Weavile's speed made it impossible for even Buizel to get away unscathed. Weavile grazed Buizel with the attack, and caused the water-type to groan in pain. "Hang in there Buizel!"
"Ice Beam'!" Weavile acknowledged and fired the freezing beam again.
"We'll take that!" Ash exclaimed, "Alright Buizel, let's do it! Use 'Aqua Jet'!" Buizel smirked and enveloped himself in water, and hit the 'Ice Beam' dead on, causing the water around it to freeze, "Yeah, it worked!"
"Again with that coordinator garbage!" Paul snarled.
"Whoa, what's that?" Reggie gaped in awe at what just happened.
"That would be an 'Ice Aqua Jet'!" Misty replied.
Buizel hit Weavile dead on, and when the dust settled, Weavile had fallen. "Weavile is unable to battle! Buizel is the winner!" Olivier exclaimed.
"Yeah Buizel! That rocked!" Ash cheered. Buizel nodded with a smirk, his arms crossed over his chest proudly.
"Where did Ash come up with that move?" Reggie asked.
"Ice Aqua Jet' was actually Dawn's idea first, but Ash was the one who actually got it to work right." Brock explained.
"I'm actually pretty shocked at how much Dawn's coordinating has helped Ash along, the Counter Shield technique was inspired by Dawn as well." Misty added.
"So whaddya think Paul? I'd say we're a lot stronger than you give us credit for!" Ash said, "Maybe it's time for you to give in and say we were right all along!"
Paul didn't answer and simply called out his next Pokémon, "Magmortar, stand by for battle!" Magmortar appeared again, "Use 'Smog'!" Paul ordered. Magmortar opened its mouth and a poisonous cloud of smoke hovered over to the water weasel.
"Buizel, spin and use 'Aqua Jet'!" Buizel acknowledged, and a barrier of water was thrown up that changed the direction of the smog so that it hit Magmortar instead. "Yeah Buizel, nice job!"
"Amazing how they deflected the smog like that! That Counter Shield is turning out to be a great strategy!" Reggie said.
"So tell me Paul, how'd you like a taste of our little Counter Shield? Chimchar's not the only one who can use it." Ash said confidently, "Now, use 'Aqua Jet'!" Buizel surged ahead and nailed Magmortar in the gut with the super-effective move, and the Blast Pokémon slid across the ground as a result. "Now use 'Water Pulse'!" Buizel immediately followed up by throwing an energized ball of water towards the ground, making it detonate and form a mini-tidal wave that headed right for Magmortar.
"Now, 'Rock Tomb'!" Magmortar pointed towards the ground, and shot several purple balls of energy that grew into boulders in front of Magmortar.
"They're using 'Rock Tomb' as a shield!" Brock exclaimed in shock.
"That means Ash better watch out, because when Paul does stuff like that, it means he has a plan." Misty added.
"That move's got no chance against a water-type attack!" Ash laughed, "Alright Buizel, use 'Aqua Jet'!" Buizel rammed forward and broke through the 'Rock Tomb' with 'Aqua Jet', but was then shocked to find that Magmortar had disappeared, "Uh oh!"
"Smog', let's go!" Paul ordered. Ash and Buizel looked up, and saw Magmortar hovering above the water weasel, and the Blast Pokémon spewed out another poisonous cloud, and this time Buizel could do nothing except take it.
"Great…Ash is losing ground." Misty sighed.
"You gotta admit it was a good strategy though," Brock said, "That 'Rock Tomb' kept Buizel from seeing what Magmortar was up to."
Magmortar landed on the ground in front of the weakened water-type, and then disappeared as a red light called it back, "He's switching now?" Ash asked himself.
"Electabuzz, stand by for battle!" Paul threw out a Pokéball, and Electabuzz appeared once more. "Use 'Thunder Punch'!" Electabuzz obeyed and pounded Buizel with an electrified fist, sending the water-type flying.
"Buizel's in trouble!" Dawn gulped.
"Paul switched into Electabuzz and got the type-advantage, and even if Ash switched now, Paul would probably just use 'Light Screen' and switch to someone else with some added defense. Ash either has to step up and beat the disadvantage or sacrifice Buizel for the rest of the battle." Misty said.
"Hang in there Buizel, use 'Sonic Boom'!" Buizel leaped up and swung his tail around, firing bursts of sound at the Electric Pokémon.
"Protect'!" Paul shouted back. Electabuzz formed a green barrier, and Electabuzz went untouched. "Now use 'Thunder'!" Electabuzz charged up and unleashed a super powerful blast of electricity that struck Buizel while he was descending from using 'Sonic Boom'.
"No, Buizel!" Ash cried.
"Finish this Electabuzz, 'Thunder Punch'!" Electabuzz charged ahead and punched Buizel down, causing dust to rise and leaving Buizel fainted in a crater that was shaped like him. Paul scoffed and placed his hands in his pockets, and kept quiet beyond the initial scoff.
"Buizel is unable to battle, Electabuzz is the winner!" Olivier announced.
"Poor Buizel…" Dawn sighed.
"I called it. Ash really had no choice." Misty added.
"Ok Buizel, return!" Ash pointed the Pokéball at his fainted water-type, and the red light retrieved him and put him to rest in his Pokéball, "Thanks Buizel, now you take a good rest."
"Paul put Ash into a trap he couldn't escape from. Switching would've made no difference since 'Light Screen' was always a threat." Reggie said.
"And with Electabuzz still in, that threat is still there." Misty added.
"Kay, if you're sticking with Electabuzz, then Chimchar, I choose you!" Chimchar emerged from his Pokéball, but unfortunately he was still frozen from Weavile's 'Ice Beam'. "Come on Chimchar, thaw out…" Almost as if the ice obeyed Ash's command, it melted and allowed Chimchar to be free, "Yeah Chimchar! Your tail melted the ice!" When Chimchar saw he was facing Electabuzz, he growled at the bully electric-type, and also at the one controlling it. "Here we go, 'Flamethrower'!" Chimchar acknowledged and fired the blast of fire at Electabuzz.
Unfortunately, Paul had predicted that. "Protect'!" Electabuzz shielded itself with an unbreakable green barrier and deflected the 'Flamethrower'. "Now, 'Light Screen'!"
"There it is." Misty commented knowingly.
Electabuzz obeyed, and once 'Light Screen' kicked in, Electabuzz was back in its Pokéball. "Whoa," Brock said, "Electabuzz used 'Protect' and then 'Light Screen' on top of that."
"Right. I'm certain Paul's strategy all along was to first use 'Protect' to cover Electabuzz and then 'Light Screen' to cover his next Pokémon." Reggie replied.
"So going by that logic, until Ash knocks out Electabuzz, 'Light Screen' is gonna be a severe pain in the butt." Misty said bluntly.
"That's about as simple an explanation as one could get." Reggie replied.
"Now Torterra, stand by for battle!" Paul tossed out Torterra again, and the Continent Pokémon shouted a battle cry.
"Paul knows we have the type-advantage…maybe he figures with 'Light Screen' up we won't be able to do much damage, not to mention Chimchar's not on the same level of power as Charizard…" Ash shrugged and decided not to mind, "Guess we'll just have to try it out! Use 'Flame Wheel'!" Chimchar acknowledged and charged forward at the grass/ground-type starter.
"Stone Edge', now!"
"Dodge it!"
Torterra formed sharp stones that orbited around it momentarily before sending them flying towards Chimchar, but Chimchar refused to take the hit so easily, and quickly swerved out of the way before turning back towards his target, "Changeup!" Paul shouted. Torterra nodded and grunted as it forced the 'Stone Edge' to come back around and chase Chimchar, much to the horror of Ash.
"Change direction?!" Dawn gasped.
"How is that even possible?!" Misty added.
"The ability to control 'Stone Edge' is just incredible!" Just as Brock said that, Chimchar took the hit and groaned as he was forced out of his attack.
Chimchar then turned back at Torterra and growled in anger at it, "Use 'Flamethrower'!" Chimchar fired, but 'Light Screen' came into play again as it protected the Continent Pokémon from taking heavy damage. "Oh man!" Ash growled in frustration.
"Light Screen' halved the damage from 'Flamethrower', Chimchar may have the advantage as a fire-type, but this is getting difficult now." Brock said.
"Not only that, there's the danger of getting hit with 'Stone Edge' if Chimchar gets too close, leaving both Ash and Chimchar with precious few options in this matchup." Reggie commented.
"Alright Chimchar, return for now!" Ash called back the fire-type again, much to the chagrin of the three helpers who were manning the big screen.
"Hey! Make up your mind! Our fingers are starting to hurt!"
Ash totally ignored the trio and decided to go with a different approach. "Alright, if it's bulk I need, then it's time for Snorlax!" Ash tossed the Pokéball, and Snorlax appeared for the second time.
"Think Snorlax can take on Torterra?" Dawn asked.
"Not sure, Torterra has some serious defense, Ash is gonna have to get in close." Misty replied.
"Use "Frenzy Plant'!" Paul ordered. Torterra's eyes glowed green and vines shout out from underneath Snorlax, then the vines wrapped around the Sleeping Pokémon and lifted him into the air. "Take him down!"
"Ice Punch' Snorlax!" Snorlax managed to fight the vines, and punch one of them with an ice-powered punch that froze the vine and caused it to crumble, and the remainder of the vines dropped Snorlax to the ground. "Yeah! Way to go Snorlax!" Ash cheered.
"Snorlax's weight is too much for those vines! When he punched out that one holding him by the waist, the vines let go!" Brock exclaimed.
"Torterra can't move right after 'Frenzy Plant'! We'll use 'Ice Punch'!" Snorlax rumbled forward and unleashed a brutal uppercut to the Continent Pokémon's jaw, "That had to do some damage!"
"Torterra had to feel that." Brock said.
"No kidding. Not only was that a hard hit, that 'Ice Punch' was super-effective, since Torterra's a grass-type and a ground-type." Misty added.
Torterra was now panting with fatigue, its previous encounter with Charizard had left it drained, and now after the 'Ice Punch' from Snorlax, Torterra was ready to collapse. "Stand your ground Torterra, use…huh?" Suddenly Torterra began glowing in a green aura, and Paul chuckled as he realized what was happening, "About time 'Overgrow' kicked in."
"Uh oh, Torterra's using 'Overgrow' too!" Dawn gulped.
"Ash better be careful now." Misty added.
"Time for you to be put back in your place. Use 'Leaf Storm'!" Torterra unleashed a cyclone of energized leaves flying at Snorlax, who growled lowly when he saw them coming.
"Alright Snorlax, time to show 'em why you're a champion! Fight through it and use 'Ice Punch', full blast!" Snorlax roared out a battle cry and ran as fast he could, through the leaves that were now pounding his body in an attempt to keep him back, but the Sleeping Pokémon refused to go down, and managed to get to Torterra and let loose with another fierce uppercut of ice, this one with so much strength that Torterra actually got airborne, and came down to the ground making the earth tremble violently around the battlefield.
"Impossible!" Paul barked.
"Torterra is unable to battle, Snorlax is the winner!" Olivier announced.
"Yeah Snorlax! That was awesome!" Ash cheered. Snorlax sighed and hunched over, he was starting to run out of gas, especially since Paul's Ursaring had done major damage to him before.
"Snorlax ran right through that 'Leaf Storm', unbelievable!" Dawn exclaimed.
"Snorlax has awesome special defense, but even he can't keep this up forever…it's gonna be a close call." Misty replied.
"Close call?" Dawn asked. Misty didn't respond, and simply turned her attention back to the field, absent-mindedly petting Riolu who in her lap, had been watching in complete and total awe at the intensity of this particular battle. One day that would be him battling alongside Ash…he couldn't wait.
"Ok Snorlax, return for now!" Ash called Snorlax back and stared at the Pokéball Snorlax was now encased in, just as Paul did the same to the fainted Torterra, "Hang on Snorlax, I may need you later…" Ash pulled out another Pokéball, "Now Charizard, I choose you!" Charizard emerged with a roar, ready for battle after a decent rest.
"Electabuzz, stand by for battle!" Electabuzz came out for the third time, and smirked at Charizard deviously. "Use 'Thunder'!" Electabuzz discharged a super powerful 'Thunder' attack, and Charizard was just barely able to dodge it in time purely by instinct, "Thunder Punch'!"
"Take off Charizard! Don't let Electabuzz get to you!" Charizard took off and managed to get high enough that Electabuzz couldn't reach with the 'Thunder Punch'. "Alright, nice dodge!"
"Ash is back in that bad matchup he tried to avoid earlier." Misty said.
"It could be that Paul is trying to wait Ash out, hoping he'll get anxious and start pulling the trigger prematurely and make a mistake." Reggie explained.
"Now, use 'Flamethrower'!" Charizard spewed fire, but like several times before, it would do no good.
"Protect', then 'Light Screen'!" First Electabuzz shielded itself, then it put up the damage cutting screen once again. Only this time, Electabuzz wasn't recalled.
"I'm getting really sick of that 'Light Screen'." Ash growled to himself. "Alright Charizard, use 'Heat Wave' on the ground!" Charizard acknowledged and started to heat the ground with his attack, while down below, Electabuzz began to get a bit of a hotfoot.
"What are you doing? Stay still!" But Electabuzz just couldn't obey at the moment, the Electric Pokémon currently felt like it was standing on a hot stove and it kept jumping up and down to get some relief.
"Ash gave Electabuzz a hotfoot! Now's his chance!" Misty exclaimed.
And Ash took that chance. "We got 'im now! Charizard, it's time for 'Seismic Toss'!" Charizard swooped down and grabbed Electabuzz, and got ready to throw it down and finish the battle.
"No! Use 'Thunder' now!" Electabuzz's eyes snapped open, and in the middle of the final flip, Electabuzz fired at point-blank range in Charizard's grasp, and the dragon roared in agony as the electricity surged through his body and caused his whole body to tingle painfully, and Charizard unwillingly released Electabuzz and crashed down to the ground, his signature move cancelled.
"Charizard, no!" When the dust settled, Charizard was in a crater, but he still hadn't fainted, and was growling in anger at Electabuzz, who was merely smirking back at the dragon smugly. "Come on Charizard, you're not done yet! You can take this guy!" Charizard started to try and push himself up, but he was suddenly stopped by electricity that crackled around his body, causing the fire/flying-type to groan, "Oh no!"
"Charizard's paralyzed!" Dawn cried.
"On top of being a super-effective move, 'Thunder' has a pretty significant chance of paralyzing the opponent, and that's at mid to long range…so point-blank like that? It's no surprise." Brock sighed.
Paul smiled maliciously and glared straight at Ash before calling out the final attack, "Electabuzz, 'Thunder Punch'!" Electabuzz ran up to Charizard, then leaped high into the air, both fists raised over its head, "Do it!" Paul barked. Electabuzz came down, and crushed Charizard with a downward smash that was just sickening to hear.
"Charizard!" Ash ran onto the field and looked down into the now even deeper crater, where Charizard was most definitely down for the count. The dragon's face was swollen around the sides, one of his horns was slightly bent out of shape from the impact, and a big black eye finished the visual demonstration of what a beating looked like. "Oh man, Charizard…"
"Charizard is unable to battle! Electabuzz is the winner!" Olivier announced.
"That was just uncalled for." Misty spat, Riolu growling angrily at Paul in her lap.
"Paul knew Charizard was coming, he just needed the right matchup…wow…I've never seen a rivalry this hostile before." Reggie sighed and shook his head despondently, his little brother was seriously disappointing him, "Why are you trying to hurt these Pokémon Paul?" he asked himself.
"Charizard, return." Ash recalled the suffering dragon to his Pokéball, "Don't worry Charizard, I won't let Paul get away with this." Ash looked up and glowered at the purple-haired trainer, who seemed to show no remorse for what he had done.
"What are you waiting for? We have a battle to finish." Paul said emotionlessly.
"I'll give you a battle alright." The black-haired trainer grumbled. Ash looked down at his starter Pokémon, "Pikachu, get in there." Pikachu nodded and scampered back onto the field and scowled at Electabuzz…if there had been any chance of a possible friendship between the two electric-types, it had been soundly eliminated by the heartless act committed by the Electric Pokémon. "Use 'Thunderbolt'!" Pikachu acknowledged and blasted away, but Electabuzz stood still and just let 'Light Screen' pretty much negate the attack. "That does it."
"Light Screen' is really turning into a pain for Ash." Misty commented.
"Paul can just keep throwing 'Light Screen' up to act as a defensive strategy and to get inside Ash's head, Ash even seems to be getting more frazzled as the battle wears on." Reggie replied.
"Ok Pikachu, if that's how he wants to play it, we'll play that way! You use 'Light Screen'!" Pikachu formed his own barrier of light, and Ash smirked up at the purple-haired trainer after it was done. "Stalemate Paul!"
"You'd think so wouldn't you?" that comment confused Ash, "Electabuzz, 'Brick Break'!" Electabuzz suddenly appeared in front of the surprised Pikachu, and with a hard karate chop, the 'Light Screen' appeared momentarily as the power of 'Brick Break' shattered the barrier and knocked Pikachu off his feet.
"No way!" Ash shouted in shock.
"What happened to the 'Light Screen'?!" Dawn asked.
"Brick Break' happened! See, 'Brick Break' is a very unique fighting-type move as it's able to remove the effects of defensive moves like 'Light Screen' or 'Reflect'! Ash has got his hands full now." Brock replied.
"Pikachu, come back here!" Hearing Ash's voice, Pikachu rushed over to Ash's side and looked up at him, "I don't like the matchup, so sit tight ok? I can't let Paul keep abusing 'Light Screen' like that and wear you down." Pikachu nodded, as he too could feel the pressure Ash was currently under, "Now Sceptile, I choose you!" Sceptile emerged again, somewhat rested after being inside his Pokéball for a decent amount of time. "Use 'Bullet Seed'!" Sceptile opened his mouth and bombarded Electabuzz with energized seeds, and this time 'Light Screen' didn't come up as it had already worn off. "Aww man, and here I didn't wanna chance losing Sceptile's special attack power because of 'Light Screen'."
"Ash didn't wanna gamble that time. It was a smart move but at the same time it's gotta hurt knowing that he could've used 'Leaf Storm' and possibly finished Electabuzz off." Misty said.
"I think Paul is in Ash's head, he's starting lose his nerve now that Paul is catching up with him, and since Paul still has one fresh Pokémon, he honestly has the advantage here." Brock added.
"Light Screen'!" Electabuzz grinned evilly as it knew Ash would be annoyed by this move, and it found pleasure in bullying and tormenting its opponents, but then it found itself in its Pokéball again, as Paul called out his next choice, "Now Honchkrow, stand by for battle!" Paul's lone flying-type appeared, puffing out its chest at the worn down grass-type. "Use 'Aerial Ace'!"
Honchkrow dove down towards Sceptile to attack, but the grass-type was locked in and focused, and Ash fed off that and was able to call out his move, "Dodge that Sceptile!" By some miracle, Sceptile was able to dodge the flying-type attack by sliding down on the ground like a baseball player sliding for home, and the Forest Pokémon could actually feel how close the attack had come to hitting him, as he could feel the wind that was generated by Honchkrow's swoop back into the sky, "Now, use 'Quick Attack'!"
Sceptile jumped into the air and managed to get a decent hit off of Honchkrow, but the dark/flying-type didn't seem to take too much damage, "That's not gonna do you any good. 'Dark Pulse'!" Honchkrow fired rings of dark energy from its chest, and Sceptile took the hit with some difficulty.
"Come on Sceptile, hang in there!" Sceptile wanted to listen to Ash, but after dodging the close call from 'Aerial Ace', and now taking a 'Dark Pulse', the Forest Pokémon had used up all his reserve energy from the rest he had been granted, he could barely move his legs as it was, but still he was pushing himself past his limits for Ash's sake, he could sense that his opponent had an distinct arrogance and cruelness to him that he had never seen in any other trainer before, why was he like that? Why did he seem to get pleasure out of hurting Pokémon? That was something he would have to ask his friends after the battle was over. "Stay strong Sceptile! 'Solarbeam'!" The seeds on Sceptile's back glowed white, as he began charging the ordered attack.
"Now! 'Sky Attack'!" Paul barked.
"Oh no!" Ash immediately regretted calling out 'Solarbeam', as after moments of charging its own attack, Honchkrow swooped down in a vicious white aura, dodging 'Solarbeam' in the process so that 'Light Screen' wasn't even necessary, and the Big Boss Pokémon hit Sceptile hard…but by some sort of unknown reason, Sceptile had still refused to relinquish victory. "Sceptile…" Ash's voice cracked at seeing how broken down his powerful grass-type had become.
"You're just making it harder on yourself." Paul returned Honchkrow wordlessly, "Now Magmortar, stand by for battle!" Magmortar appeared in front of Sceptile, who fought to raise his head and look up at the large fire-type.
"Scep tile." (Give it your best shot.)
"Mag mortar." (Best offer I've had all day.)
Ash was frozen in place, he didn't order a dodge, he didn't try to call Sceptile back, all he could do was stand there like a statue and watch in horror as Magmortar blasted a 'Flamethrower' at point-blank range, forcing Sceptile to shout in agony at the top of his lungs, as the fire engulfed his body and left him with burn marks all over his body. Magmortar finally stepped back and admired his work. Sceptile was barely noticeable at this point. The 'Flamethrower' had charred his body, and his tail had actually been partly burned off…it would heal and grow back of course, but not for quite a while, and in the meantime, the only comfort Sceptile had was the fact that he had been knocked out, granting him temporary sleep and relief from the pain he would soon be in.
"Sceptile is unable to battle! The winner is Magmortar!"
After hearing Olivier announce that, Ash began to tremble involuntarily…he hadn't expected this battle to be so difficult or this brutal, all of his Pokémon had suffered incredibly devastating hits that had gone past just knocking them out. Even now, Charizard was probably suffering inside Pokéball, now Sceptile had been all but destroyed by Paul's heartlessness…what kind of monster was this trainer? What kind of person would push the rules to their limits, just so he could impose pain on his friends and Pokémon? He knew Paul treated his own Pokémon wrongly, but this…this was a new low. "You disgusting creep." Ash had only said it loud enough for himself and Pikachu to hear…but he hadn't taken into account that one other was able to know how he felt…and he wasn't happy about it.
"Riolu, come back here!" Hearing Misty's outburst, Olivier called timeout on the field as he saw Riolu running angrily towards Magmortar, a 'Force Palm' at the ready.
"Give me a break." Paul sighed. Magmortar swung its arm and sent Riolu flying right into Ash, who had since snapped out of his pity-induced trance and was now holding the baby Pokémon in his arms, "Too much love, not enough discipline. I tried to warn you."
Ash looked down at Riolu, who was now breathing heavily after taking the cheap shot from Magmortar. He looked ok, but it was clear he would be hurting for a little while. By this time, Ash had had it. "You didn't have to do that!" he yelled with anger never felt by him before, "Why are you trying to hurt my Pokémon Paul?! Why are you trying to make them hurt?! That's not what battling is about! Battling isn't an opportunity to make your opponents suffer!"
"You're a fool." Paul replied coolly, "I do what I need to do in order to win, my attacks ensure victory beyond the shadow of a doubt, that's all that's been happening here. If your Pokémon can't take the hits, maybe you should consider a different approach to your training." Once Olivier called time in…albeit reluctantly, Paul returned Magmortar and called out Honchkrow again.
It was then that Ash decided he had talked enough, there was only one thing Paul understood, and that was battling. He wanted so badly to go over to Paul and size him up, take him down and send him to the hospital, it was what he deserved in his mind. But then another look at Riolu, who was stirring in his arms, he decided he would keep his wits about him, he would teach Paul a lesson through his Pokémon. Ash stood up and handed Riolu back to the Emanation Pokémon's adopted mother, Misty. "Take care of him Mist."
His voice displayed no emotion, he seemed almost robotic…but Misty being Misty, she could read her boyfriend like an open book. She could see Ash's heart in turmoil, she could see that he was hurting over the fact that his Pokémon had been brutally beaten on by Paul. She wanted nothing more than to comfort him, hug him and kiss him and let him know that she was behind him, but she knew she couldn't interfere, Ash wouldn't let her at this point. He was angry, and he was determined to finish the battle. And so, all she did was nod at her boyfriend, and then she watched him walk back to the battlefield and face Paul, "Ash…don't worry, everything's gonna be alright after…I'll make sure of that."
"Pikachu, he called out Honchkrow. This battle is all yours." Ash raised a determined fist, "Take him down buddy." Pikachu nodded and took his place on the field, his feelings at this point were the same as his trainer's. He wanted revenge on Paul for hurting his friends, and he would make sure that he'd come out on top.
"The battle will now resume!" Olivier shouted.
"Pikachu, 'Thunderbolt'!" Pikachu fired a blast of electricity that was actually so powerful that rocks jumped off the ground from the energy spike, and it nailed the Big Boss Pokémon who despite having protection from 'Light Screen', clearly felt the hit, "Again!" Pikachu fired again, but this time Paul was ready.
"Aerial Ace'!" Using the power of 'Aerial Ace' to add to its evasiveness, Honchkrow spun away from the attack and then swooped down to attack.
"Ready Pikachu?" Ash asked. Pikachu nodded with sparking cheeks, as he knew exactly what Ash was about to tell him.
"Why isn't Ash telling Pikachu to dodge?!" Dawn exclaimed.
Brock thought about it, but then he figured it out, "Wait, I know why!"
"Do it!" Paul shouted. Honchkrow picked up speed and eventually made it so that it was only inches off the ground and was closing in fast.
"Now! 'Volt Tackle'!" Much to the shock of everyone in the stands, Pikachu ran as fast as he could, generating a veil of electricity that covered the mouse completely, and he ran headfirst into Honchkrow's 'Aerial Ace', causing an explosion to take place, which blocked the view of everyone watching. "Pikachu?!"
When the smoke cleared, Pikachu's body had leftover electricity giving him recoil damage, but Honchkrow had fallen. "Honchkrow is unable to battle! The winner is Pikachu!"
Normally Ash would've cheered, but he was still upset over what Paul had done to his Pokémon, so he remained stone-faced. And Pikachu didn't mind it one bit. He knew Ash was focused, he knew Ash could care less about pride at this point, all that mattered was making sure Paul didn't get away with doing what he did with a victory today. "Be ready Pikachu."
"Ash doesn't seem happy about winning." Dawn pointed out.
"Makes sense." Misty's comment got the attention of the coordinator girl, "Ash doesn't care about winning anymore, he just wants to make sure Paul loses. He doesn't want Paul to leave this place as the winner of this battle, knowing that he got away with being abusive to his Pokémon."
Dawn frowned and looked back at her mentor and friend on the battlefield, this wasn't the same Ash who taught her almost everything she knew about battling and building relationships with her Pokémon, this was an angry version of that trainer…but she could understand very easily why he was feeling that way. "What a disaster this turned out to be."
Paul returned Honchkrow and glared at its Pokéball, "You didn't move fast enough, and you lost because of it." Paul put the Pokéball back on his belt and grabbed a different one, "Now Magmortar, stand by for battle!" Once again Paul's huge fire-type emerged, glaring down at who it hoped would be its next victim.
"Ok Pikachu, take the fight to him! 'Quick Attack', let's go!" Pikachu ran with a burst of speed and trail of white light behind him, and the electric mouse head-butted the Blast Pokémon in the chest with a hard tackle that knocked it back slightly. But when it recovered, it smirked maliciously at Pikachu, who had just landed back on the ground. "What's so funny?" Ash suddenly knew exactly what was so funny. Pikachu gave a cry of pain as his body burst into flame without warning or reason. And just as quickly, the flames died down, but Pikachu was left weakened, and he got down on one knee to try and keep his composure.
"Magmortar's 'Flame Body'…it got Pikachu!" Dawn gulped.
"Pikachu, are you alright?!" Pikachu turned back to Ash and nodded, and then turned back to Magmortar and got on all fours, cheeks sparking wildly with built up electricity, "We'll make this quick then, use 'Thunderbolt'!" Pikachu unleashed his most powerful 'Thunderbolt' of the day, and it made a beeline for the Blast Pokémon.
"Magmortar, 'Flamethrower'!" Magmortar aimed its cannons and fired, and when the two attacks collided, the group witnessed the biggest explosion of the day, as flames burst outward from the explosion and forced everyone to shield their eyes from the bright light it created, all except for Paul who seemed unfazed by the display.
"Man that's powerful." Ash said to himself, "Can't wait all day, that burn'll get Pikachu sooner or later…Pikachu, 'Volt Tackle'!" Pikachu surged forward with his most powerful attack charged and ready to go, but Paul was more than ready for it.
"Use 'Rock Tomb'!" Magmortar aimed its left cannon, and fired purple balls of energy that turned into rock upon impact with the ground, and one by one Pikachu ran through them with the power of 'Volt Tackle'.
But as the rocks kept coming, Pikachu lost steam and eventually couldn't break through one last boulder that had been set for him, and he was sent flying back from the impact. Pikachu then landed on his back and got a rather unpleasant reminder of what happened the last time he struck Magmortar physically in the form of a burn spasm. "Pikachu, you gotta hang in there!" Hearing Ash's encouragement, and also remembering exactly what he was battling for at this point, Pikachu growled and fought himself back onto all fours, but as determined as he was, even Pikachu realized that at some point his body would stop doing what he wanted it to.
"Use 'Smog'!" Paul ordered. Magmortar opened its mouth, and poisonous smoke came out of it in an attempt to choke the electric mouse into submission.
"Pikachu, spin and 'Thunderbolt'!" Pikachu heard the order and followed through. He began breakdancing on the ground while using 'Thunderbolt', making a barrier that not only knocked back the 'Smog' attack, but bombarded Magmortar with decently powered waves of electricity that 'Light Screen' didn't repel because it didn't recognize the move.
"Alright! Pikachu's 'Thunderbolt' Counter Shield! That should hold Paul off!" Dawn exclaimed.
"I'm surprised Paul hasn't found a way to stop that move yet." Reggie said.
"It's probably too new, has he ever seen anything like it before today?"Misty replied. Once Pikachu stopped spinning however, the burn came back to not let Pikachu get too confident. "But that burn effect is still there unfortunately, if Ash doesn't finish off this battle soon, Pikachu's going down one way or the other."
"Magmortar, 'Flamethrower'!"
Just as Magmortar fired, Ash made his call. "Use 'Iron Tail' from above!" Pikachu leaped over the flames that had barely begun to lick at his fur, and managed to slam his now iron hard tail into Magmortar's head, making the Blast Pokémon feel pain solely from the impact. But as Magmortar recovered, Pikachu was hurt by his burn again, and at this point Pikachu felt no desire to resist anymore, as he hunched over in pain with his teeth clenched. "Come on Pikachu, stay strong!"
"Magmortar, finish this with 'Fire Punch'!"
Magmortar rumbled forward with 'Fire Punch', and wound up its cannon for the final blow, "Pikachu, quick! Dodge it with 'Quick Attack'!" As much as Pikachu wanted to do just that however, the electric mouse soon found he had no energy left to move, and could do nothing but brace himself as Magmortar punched Pikachu with all its might and sent Pikachu flying into the nearby lake. "Pikachu!" Ash ran into the water where Pikachu had made an electricity infused splash, and after a few tension filled moments, bubbles began to come from under the water, and Pikachu weakly walked up out of the lake, "Pikachu, are you alright?" Pikachu smiled feebly at Ash for the briefest of moments, before falling into his arms with swirls in his eyes, signaling his defeat.
"Pikachu is unable to battle! The winner is Magmortar!"
"About time." Paul scoffed.
"Even Pikachu couldn't handle all that, gotta give this to him, that little electric-type's got heart to spare." Reggie said sympathetically.
Ash gently placed Pikachu into his arms and started walking over to the stands, "Thanks Pikachu, you gave it your all and then some." Pikachu had regained consciousness and smiled at Ash, his eyes displaying extreme fatigue. Ash then looked up at his friends, and then down at a certain Pokémon who had been watching in worry the whole time Pikachu was battling, "Take good care of him Buneary." Ash smiled at the rabbit and carefully laid Pikachu down on the vacant spot on the bench, and Buneary wasted no time in comforting the electric-type with a gentle hug, which Pikachu was more than glad to accept after the beating he had withstood.
"Is it time Ash?" Misty asked suddenly, much to the confusion of everyone else on the bench.
Ash frowned as he looked at Misty, whose face seemed to send mixed emotions of concern and determination all at once. "Yeah…it's time. Have Gyarados ready."
Misty nodded, and called out her large water-dragon who growled softly upon release. "You know what to do Gyarados." Gyarados nodded, understanding what it was to do when the time came.
"What's going on?" Dawn asked nervously.
Nobody replied to the coordinator's question, and Ash simply took his place back on the field, "I hope you're satisfied with what you've done Paul." He began, "You've proved to me that you really don't care about the well-being of Pokémon, I always thought to myself that way deep down, you cared about Pokémon, and you really did want to be friends with them, but now I see. I see that you really do only see them as tools, and I've never met any trainer that was as cruel to Pokémon as you." Ash's speech didn't seem to be having any effect on Paul, until he heard what Ash said next, "I was there when Brandon swept you, using only Regirock, Regice, and Registeel to do it…you wanna know how I beat him Paul? I beat him because my Pokémon didn't know the meaning of the word quit, they refused to let me lose because they cared about me, and they knew that I cared about them. And until you learn that, you'll never be a true winner like Brandon, no matter how strong you get."
That last part seemed to get to Paul, as the normally cool trainer seemed to flinch at Ash's words. The truth was, he could argue that his battle-style was better than Ash's all he wanted…the fact was that Ash had still beaten Brandon, while he had not, and that cold reality made Paul seethe inwardly, but at this point in the battle, he refused to let Ash even get an idea that his speech had made him think.
"Ash is pouring it on thick." Brock said.
"I just hope that what Ash is saying somehow gets through to Paul…if not now…then sometime in the future." Reggie replied hopefully.
"Now you'll witness firsthand what friendship between trainer and Pokémon can do!" Ash grabbed his second to last Pokéball and held it tightly before winding up his throw, "Snorlax, I choose you!" The Sleeping Pokémon emerged one last time, still clearly exhausted from his previous two bouts.
"I already saw what your Snorlax can do and I'm not impressed." Paul scoffed, "Besides, it looks about ready to fall over, I'd say you're a hypocrite to your own foolish beliefs by letting it battle." Normally Ash would've taken offense to that comment, but the black-haired trainer had a plan that was completely unknown to Paul. "Let's end this. Use 'Fire Punch'!" Magmortar once again charged forward to finish off its opponent.
"Get ready…" Snorlax tensed his muscles and waited for the right moment. Just as Magmortar was about to strike, Ash made the call. "Now Snorlax! Grab its arms!" Snorlax stopped the punch by grabbing onto Magmortar's arms, "It's time Snorlax! 'Self-Destruct'!"
"What?!" Paul shielded his eyes as Snorlax suddenly glowed white while still holding onto Magmortar who was desperately trying to break free of the normal-type's grasp.
"Now Gyarados! 'Protect'!" Gyarados activated the huge green barrier, just as Snorlax seemed to explode, causing Ash, Paul, and even Olivier to be knocked down from 'Self-Destruct's' power.
When the smoke cleared from the attack, both Snorlax and Magmortar had fainted. "Way to go Snorlax, I'm proud of you." Ash sighed.
Olivier got back up and dusted off his uniform, "Both Pokémon are unable to battle!"
Paul returned Magmortar and said nothing, while Ash returned Snorlax to his Pokéball with a somewhat sad expression, "Way to take one for the team Snorlax."
"What…was that?" Dawn asked.
"Self-Destruct'. 'Self-Destruct' is a super-powerful move that causes the user to…well…self-destruct. It faints the user automatically, but luckily the attack is so strong that unless the opponent has a resistance to normal-type moves, it almost guarantees that the opponent faints too." Brock explained.
"Ash sacrificed Snorlax in order to take down Magmortar, but it makes sense since Snorlax was pretty much a dead duck anyway." Misty added. Suddenly Psyduck appeared, holding its head as always, "Psyduck, you're clearly still alive, don't come out unless I call you." Misty returned Psyduck and then returned Gyarados as its purpose had been served.
"Now Electabuzz, stand by for battle!" Electabuzz emerged again, and glared at Ash who had yet to make his move.
"Ok…Chimchar, I choose you!" Chimchar popped out of his Pokéball and growled at the bully of an electric-type, "Chimchar, let's show him how powerful you can be! Use 'Flame Wheel'!" Chimchar enveloped himself in flame and charged forward to attack.
"Use 'Thunder Punch'!"
Electabuzz swung its fist and punched the 'Flame Wheel' back, but Chimchar stayed in the attack, showing he had taken no damage from the hit, "Use 'Flamethrower'!" Still in midair, Chimchar came out of 'Flame Wheel' and unleashed a powerful 'Flamethrower' that managed to nail Electabuzz dead-on.
"Thunder'!" Electabuzz quickly recovered and fired back with its most powerful attack, which badly electrocuted the fire monkey and left him depleted. "This battle's over." Paul scoffed.
"Chimchar, come on! You're the last one, you're the only one who can beat Paul!" Chimchar forced himself to his feet, growling and snarling as he summoned every ounce of energy he could…but no one could've predicted what happened next. Chimchar suddenly became enveloped in a white light, bringing gasps from everyone, even Paul looked shocked. "Could it be?!"
"Chimchar's evolving!" Brock exclaimed.
Ash watched as his small fire-type grew slightly larger in size, and a long tail sprouted from where his smaller ember tail used to be. His arms became more defined and powerful looking, and a spike collar grew around his neck. Finally the evolution was complete, and the Pokémon shouted his name with determination unlike any other. "That's great! You evolved into Monferno!" Monferno smirked and gave Ash a thumbs-up.
"Wow, amazing!" Dawn pulled out her pink Pokédex to scan the newly evolved Pokémon.
"Monferno, the Playful Pokémon and the evolved form of Chimchar. It controls its flaming tail to keep its opponent at an ideal distance when battling." The Pokédex chirped.
"Amazing! Chimchar answered Ash's call and gained new power in order to rise to the challenge! The trust between Ash and his Pokémon is being demonstrated right before our eyes!" Reggie exclaimed, impressed.
Monferno then turned to face Paul and did some shadow boxing, as his fists began moving faster and faster while starting to glow white with a new power, and then one powerful swing of his fist sent a whirlwind Paul's way, that made the trainer's hair blow. "Wow Monferno, you learned 'Mach Punch' and that's a brand new move!" Monferno did backflips in excitement, now that he had evolved, he couldn't wait to get the battle going again, he was going to prove to Paul and Electabuzz just how powerful he really was.
"You know what else this shows?" Reggie said suddenly.
"What Reggie?" Dawn asked curiously.
"This shows that Chimchar wasn't really compatible with Paul's training style, but with Ash's training style it's a perfect fit! Simple as that. Just as some Pokémon have compatibility issues, there can be the same issue with Pokémon and trainers. And Chimchar's evolution is a great example. I'm not saying Paul's style is right, but at the moment this isn't about who's right or wrong. This is a battle for pride, and for Ash, it's even more than that, it's a battle for his fallen Pokémon, he's gonna try and win it for them as well as himself." Reggie crossed his arms, "I doubted myself and my idea when I saw just how hostile Ash and Paul's rivalry was, but the truth is I'm still right about one thing…this battle will make both trainers and their Pokémon stronger in the long run. I just wish it could've been done without the unnecessary, extra violence."
"Alright Monferno, use 'Mach Punch'!" Monferno rushed forward with incredible speed, and before Electabuzz could even react, Monferno's face was two inches away from its own, and the Electric Pokémon soon found a fist digging into its gut, and with a hard push from Monferno, Electabuzz went flying into a nearby rock. "Alright!"
"Wow! Monferno's super-fast!" Dawn exclaimed.
"Now Paul gets to witness firsthand what training with love can accomplish, I would've loved to see him pull that off with Monferno!" Misty added with a grin.
"Get up Electabuzz! 'Thunder'!" Electabuzz gave its first real growl of the battle, and used all its power to fire an incredibly powerful electric-type attack at the Playful Pokémon.
Monferno had no time to dodge since the attack came so fast, so the fire monkey just crossed his arms and took the hit, getting pushed by the attack's power. When it finally wore off, Monferno shouted in pain, "Hang in there Monferno, use 'Flame Wheel' now!" Monferno shook off the electricity and burst ahead in a wheel of fire.
"Protect'!"
Electabuzz quickly countered with a green shield, and Monferno bounced off the barrier and flew into the air. When Monferno uncurled from his ball, Ash barked out another move, "Now 'Flamethrower' from up there!"
"Thunder Punch', quick!" Electabuzz managed to dodge the flames and jumped up into the air to strike Monferno, but the fire monkey's agility was too much for the Electric Pokémon, who was left swinging at nothing but air as Monferno flew over Electabuzz's head. "You missed!" Paul snarled.
"Monferno, 'Dig'!" Monferno was already hurtling earthward, so all he had to was go underground as soon as he made contact with the ground, and that's what he did. Once Electabuzz hit the ground, looking around warily for where Monferno would reemerge, Monferno did just that and connected with the Electric Pokémon's jaw, "Now 'Flame Wheel'!" Monferno was on the attack now, and there seemed to be no stopping him.
"Thunder'!"
Paul had Electabuzz try to shoot Monferno out of the sky, but Ash was once again ready for it, "Use 'Flamethrower'!"
"Not again!" Paul growled.
Monferno activated his Counter Shield and fended off the 'Thunder' attack, and that left Monferno free to nail Electabuzz with a brutal hit, "Keep it up Monferno!"
"All Paul can do right now is defend." Reggie said.
"Ash is on the attack now that Chimchar evolved into Monferno, I told Ash he'd battle with a lot of heart, now that he's battling for his friends as well as himself, that determination and will just got that much stronger!" Misty added.
"Mach Punch' go!"
"Protect'!"
Monferno blasted forward to attack, but this time even Monferno wasn't fast enough to get to Electabuzz before it activated the green shield, as he was left to punch nothing but what seemed like a brick wall, "Now, 'Thunder'!" Electabuzz fired again, this time at point-blank range, and Monferno took the full brunt of the attack and groaned in agony.
"Quickly switching gears between 'Protect' and an attack shows how impressive Paul's Electabuzz is." Brock admitted, "You gotta give this to Paul, he may have suspect methods but his Pokémon know what they're doing."
Monferno fell to his hands and knees and groaned in exhaustion, after using attack after attack and then getting hit with 'Thunder', his evolution-induced energy surge and since worn off, and he was quickly losing steam. "Monferno are you alright?!" Suddenly Monferno's body began to crackle with electricity; this concerned Ash. "Hold on…Monferno, use 'Flamethrower' now!" Monferno got back up and readied his attack, but then the electricity came back and stopped him, "I knew it…he's paralyzed!" Ash groaned in worry.
"Oh no…not now!" Dawn cried.
"If Ash doesn't find a way to work around this, it's all over!" Misty gulped.
Paul smirked as he knew that victory was ensured now that the power of 'Thunder' had paralyzed Monferno…but the purple-haired trainer gasped in shock when Monferno suddenly roared his name at the top of his lungs, and shook off the paralysis, "No way…"
The flame on Monferno's tail suddenly grew and shot off in five different directions, as Monferno shouted out battle cries, "Whoa!" Ash gasped.
"Oh no, is that 'Blaze'?!" Dawn exclaimed nervously.
Reggie just smirked, "That's not 'Blaze'." He snickered with amusement, "It's Monferno's determination not to be beaten and avenge his friends manifesting itself in his flame." He explained.
Monferno then shouted another battle cry, which got Ash to relinquish a proud smile, "That's right Monferno! We're not gonna give up no matter what! We're gonna win this for our friends! Alright Monferno, 'Mach Punch'!" Tail blazing and fist glowing, Monferno rushed forward to unleash the fighting-type move.
"Electabuzz, 'Thunder Punch'!" Electabuzz also ran to meet Monferno's punch with its own electricity infused one.
When the two attacks collided, a blinding white light flashed, and then an explosion took place on the field, causing smoke to rise all over the field, blocking the two Pokémon from view and leaving everyone wondering who had emerged victorious, and Ash extremely worried about his Pokémon and friend.
"MONFERNO!"
_
A/N: Wow wow wow wow wow! What have I done?! I'll tell you what I did! I made my first ever real cliffhanger! We all know what happened in the anime...but the big question is...am I gonna change what happened? Or am I gonna stay true to the anime? Either way is possible! And you've seen what the strategies are with Charizard, Sceptile, and Snorlax...unfortunately Charizard never got to use 'Solarbeam', but at least now he has it at his disposal for future battles...wanna see what happens? I wanna see reviews! The winner is still up for grabs! I haven't even decided myself yet! Sit tight everyone!