The Battle Arena had a wall around it.
It also had Scott outside the doors in the wall, and he waved. "I thought you'd make it today!"
"That's impressive prediction," Max noted. "How did you get it that precise?"
"Well, if you'd got here tomorrow I would have said I thought you'd get here that day," Scott answered. "Expecting someone will get here every day means I'll eventually be right!"
He chuckled. "But, no, I saw you in the Pokémon Centre and I'm a very fast driver. Now, the Battle Arena is a place where Greta teaches a class in martial arts."
"Right," Ash said, thinking. "So… is part of the challenge how to get in?"
He looked back along his body barrel, then held his saddlebags closed with Confusion.
"No, I can answer that-" Scott began, then stopped and watched as Ash walked up the wall. "Or you could do that, that's an option as well."
"How's it supposed to work?" May asked.
"If you say you want to have a battle, in a loud voice, the gate opens," Scott explained.
Ash stopped, balanced on top of the wall with two hooves on each side, and frowned. "Huh. I guess that would have been easier."
"Can I try?" Latias said. "We'd like a battle!"
The gate didn't open, though Ash could see Greta's martial arts class all turn in his direction.
"Oh, right!" Greta said, and Ash could just about hear her despite the distance. "That must be Ash Ketchum! Someone open the gate!"
The gate began to open, and Ash pushed off from the top of the wall to land with a thump of all four hooves on the ground.
"Great to see you!" Greta said, jogging over. "Scott! Didn't you tell him how you're supposed to open the gate?"
"I didn't have a chance," Scott replied. "That's Ash for you, I think. Always pushing forwards."
"My kind of attitude," Greta declared. "Okay, now… how much do you know about how the Battle Arena works?"
"Not a lot," Ash admitted.
"Well, I'll go through it," Greta said. "To start off with, it's a one-on-one, two-on-two or three-on-three battle. Which is which is decided by a random number generator!"
"A dice?" Max asked.
"No, a big clunky machine," Greta replied. "It's much more fun! Anyway, after that, all the Pokémon on both sides have to be sent out at the sidelines before the battle starts – and withdrawing a Pokémon is only possible if they're knocked out, or to concede them. That's because my symbol is the Guts symbol, and Guts means never giving up!"
Ash nodded, already thinking about who he might use.
Greta turned around, clapping her hands. "Okay, class! We're taking a break, so do your warm-down exercises and then get ready to watch a Pokémon battle!"
The giant roulette wheel machine decided that the battle would be three Pokémon a side, and Ash thought carefully about whether his choice was the right one – then nodded.
"I'm ready," he said, holding up three Pokéballs.
"Here's my Pokémon," Greta said, beginning with a Heracross, then added a Hariyama and a Medicham.
Ash sent out Koraidon and Swellow, on the back lines – Swellow electing to perch on Koraidon's left tendril, which made her giggle – then for his front line choice he sent out Kingler.
"It's been a while," Kingler said, turning to look back at Ash. "I'm glad you believe in me."
"You bet I do, Kingler!" Ash nodded firmly. "Okay, let's do this! You know how Heracross works, that's going to give us a starting point!"
"Oh, you've got a Heracross – yeah, now I think about it I remember seeing him," Greta realized. "Anyway… hey, students! Whoever raises their hand first, they're referee!"
Several hands went up.
"Williams, you're it," Greta said. "Count us in!"
"Three, two, one, go!" Williams said.
"Arm Thrust!" Greta opened.
"Crabhammer, Kingler!" Ash ordered.
Heracross's first attack went wham into Kingler's massive claw, and a splash of water erupted from the impact point. It robbed the strike of some of its force, and Greta whistled.
"Now that's interesting!" she said. "Damping out the force of impact, literally!"
"That's right!" Ash confirmed.
"It's a shame I can't switch in, this would be a great fight for me," Swellow said, then flirted his wings. "Well, they're all Fighting type."
He inspected the other Pokémon. "I wonder which one I'll be fighting…"
"Get distance!" Greta called, and Heracross retreated. "Now, Bulk Up!"
"Kingler, keep it up!" Ash called out. "Razor Shell to attack, Crabhammer to defend, get up a rhythm!"
The Fighting-type bulked up, then surged back into the fight with a Megahorn, but her attack ran straight into a Crabhammer and water splashed away from the impact point.
"Bubble!" Ash said, suddenly, and Kingler began using his smaller claw to fire Bubble attacks at Heracross.
Heracross wound up and punched him halfway across the arena, and his claws skidded on the floor before slowing him to a halt.
"Stomp!" Ash called, and Kingler jumped into the air before kicking Heracross in the face.
"Do Greta's battles normally last this long?" Ash overheard Brock asking.
"Not normally, no," Scott replied. "Some have, but others… not so much."
"Crabhammer!" Ash called, warning Kingler just in time, and he blocked Heracross's Power-Up Punch. The two Pokémon attacks hit one another with a wham, and this time neither Pokémon gave up on the push.
Instead, a glow built up inside Kingler's claw.
"...uh oh," Heracross said, as she spotted it, then Kingler fired his Hyper Beam and sent Heracross sailing backwards into the wall.
"Great!" Ash called. "Well done, Kingler! As tough as ever!"
Kingler made an I'm-ok gesture with his smaller claw. "She was tough," he said. "She's out now, right?"
"Is she out?" Ash asked
"Yeah, she's out," Greta confirmed. "This is great! Okay, Hariyama, in you go!"
Hariyama advanced, putting his hands together and bowing, then took a ready battle stance.
"Three, two, one, begin!" Williams called.
"Arm Thrust!" Greta called.
"Crabhammer!" Ash responded, and Kingler swung his larger claw to respond to the Arm Thrust attack. The two collided with a thoom that shook the building, and Hariyama switched to his other arm as Kingler rotated slightly to get a better angle.
"Thunder Punch!" Greta said.
"Kingler, look out!" Ash realized, but Greta had left it late on purpose. Kingler was already committed to his attack, and this time the Crabhammer just conducted the Thunderpunch into him more effectively than it would otherwise have done.
Even a direct super-effective hit didn't finish the doughty Pokémon off, but Hariyama followed up with a powerful Mega Punch, and that finally left Kingler defeated.
"That was amazing," Ash said. "Swellow, your turn!"
"Of course it's my turn!" Swellow replied, taking off and hovering in the arena opposite his opponent. "Let's DO this!"
Pikachu giggled, as Williams counted the two Pokémon in again.
Greta swiped her hand down for emphasis. "Thunder Punch!"
"Extremespeed!" Ash replied, and Swellow exploded forwards.
He took on the Thunderpunch head on, and despite what all normal typing logic should imply Swellow was playing by his own set of rules. The impact rocked Hariyama back on his heels but troubled Swellow hardly at all, and the Flying-type bounced off before flipping and Boombursting past Hariyama.
"Whoa!" Greta said, whistling. "Now that's one tough bird! Okay, Hariyama, let's try something else – Brine!"
"Extremespeed!"
Hariyama flung some salty water in Swellow's direction, and the Flying-type went wham through the sound barrier to dodge away from it. Then Swellow bored directly in on Hariyama again, turning at the last moment to Boomburst past the Fighting-type's shoulder, and Greta nodded to herself.
"That's going to be a tricky one to deal with," she said. "Hariyama, Whirlwind!"
"Avoid the whirlwind and Extremespeed!" Ash advised.
Swellow turned, avoiding the rush of wind that Hariyama slapped in his direction, then blasted in on another attack run. This time he hit directly, staggering Hariyama, and Greta snapped her fingers.
"Got it!" she said. "Chilling Water upwards!"
"Chilling Water?" Ash repeated, not quite sure what that one did or why Hariyama was doing it, then his eyes widened. "Swellow, look out!"
"Ice Punch it!" Greta said, as the water fell back towards Hariyama. The Fighting-type adjusted his footing slightly, then punched, and a spray of icy slush slapped into and around Swellow.
The Flying-type cried out in pain, then rallied, and beat his wings hard to throw off the water.
"If you think I'm down or out, you don't know me well!" he said.
"If he tries that again, go through it, wings folded!" Ash decided. "If you Boomburst while you do it, it'll scatter it! Now, Extremespeed!"
"Swellow is so tough," Koraidon murmured, as the Flying-type flew up and around in a corkscrew that evaded Hariyama's latest Ice Punch.
He was breathing hard, and a little raggedly, but that didn't seem to have any impact on his actual performance. A left-slip, then a right, and Ash decided abruptly to commit.
"Brave Bird!" he said, and Swellow slammed into Hariyama again. This time it was a head-on charge that knocked the Fighting-type both sliding backwards and wobbling on the verge of falling over, and Swellow pressed his forehead into the contact point and kept pushing – wings whirring as he outmuscled the Arm Thrust Pokémon and forced him the rest of the way into overbalancing.
Hariyama hit the ground, and didn't get up again.
"Take that!" Swellow said, flitting up in the air, then banked around to land in front of Ash. "Whoo!"
"That's a very impressive Pokémon you have there, Ash," Greta said. "But let's see how he does against Medicham."
Recognizing a prompt when she heard it, Medicham stepped forwards and took a ready pose.
Ash glanced down at Swellow, checking how he was, then nodded in agreement.
"Three, two, one, begin!" Williams said.
"Extremespeed!" Ash called, hoping to pre-empt whatever Medicham had planned.
"Quick Guard!" Greta replied, and Medicham moved like lightning. She pivoted, one palm flashing out to negate Swellow's momentum, then the other rammed into Swellow with an Ice Punch and knocked him spinning through the air.
"Ow!" Swellow said, wings flaring to damp out his spin, then got control of his movements and came right back again.
"Boomburst!" Ash called, and this time Swellow went blasting past Medicham instead of driving in straight at her. That helped out a little, but the Psychic-type watched carefully, then put her hands together as Swellow came in for another turn.
"Reflect, and..." Greta said. "Axe Kick!"
Swellow Boombursted past Medicham, but his opponent created a wall of psychic energy – not to defend herself, but in Swellow's way. He ran into the wall at close to the speed of sound with a shattering crash, and Medicham brought her right leg down in a brutal kick which knocked Swellow into the ground.
The impact shook the floor, but the sound had barely faded when Swellow was up again.
"You can't do that and guard against me!" he said. "Ash, signal which one I should do!"
Ash focused all his attention on Medicham, and Swellow did a wide turn to pick up speed.
"...Boomburst!" he said suddenly.
Medicham had picked Quick Guard, and Swellow blasted past her close enough that if he'd flicked his tail he would have brushed her shoulder.
"Now, Extremespeed!" Ash decided, and this time Medicham had got it right. The Fighting-type blocked Swellow's attack and hit him with an Ice Punch, but the doughty Pokémon recovered and banked around to come right back in again.
"Swellow!" Ash called, a few minutes later.
"What should I do?" Swellow asked, circling.
"Come on back!" Ash replied.
Swellow gave Ash a look, weaving through the air a little. "But I can still-"
He wobbled more substantially, barely avoided crashing, then pulled himself up to orbit again. "I'm still in this!"
"Swellow, I-" Ash said, swallowing. "I know you're still in this! I know you don't want to give up! But you'd never want to give up, and you're so tough mentally that – Swellow, I'm worried that if you keep it up any longer you're going to badly hurt yourself!"
"Please!" Koraidon agreed. "Swellow, I'm still here, I can take over! I'd hate for you to get yourself hurt!"
"But – I'm not-" Swellow said, wobbled again, then came to a decision and flew down to perch on Ash's ring.
"Swellow, you're really strong," Ash said, turning to look at him. "And dedicated, but – but if you don't pull yourself out of a battle when you're too tired, then it means I have to make that decision for you. And if I'm thinking about that then that distracts me from helping you out, okay?"
"Tch," Swellow grumbled.
"We'll work on it, okay?" Ash said, then gave his daughter a nod. "Koraidon, you're up!"
Koraidon stepped forwards just far enough to be on the arena itself, then stopped, and glanced back at Ash for direction.
"Good, the referee hasn't counted you in yet," Ash said, lowering his voice. "When he does, sunlight on and open with Breaking Swipe."
"Got it," Koraidon replied, nodding, then turned her attention to Medicham.
"Three, two, one, begin!" Williams said, probably for the final time, and Koraidon released her hold on Oricalchum Pulse. The sun shone more brightly in a moment, energizing her in the way it had since she was first created, and her paws beat a tattoo on the arena surface as she charged forwards.
"Ice Punch!" Greta called, and Koraidon was already going into a skidding turn. She whipped her tail around, catching Medicham hard enough to knock the Fighting-and-Psychic-type stepping back in reaction, but then she recovered and hit Koraidon with a powerful Ice Punch.
"Hang in there!" Ash called.
"Poison Jab!" Greta added.
"Jump!" Ash said, but too late. The jab caught Koraidon on her hindquarters, and some of her feathers took on an unhealthy purple tinge.
"Back here, Koraidon!" Ash called, and she banked around to land with a thump in front of him. "Are you okay?"
"For now," Koraidon answered, bravely. "It stings, but I'm still strong."
"Yeah, we need to finish this quick," Ash decided. "I know she's Psychic-type, but it can't be helped… Koraidon, Collision Course!"
"What's Collision Course?" Greta asked.
Koraidon crouched down, tensing herself up all over, then demonstrated. Her claws grated on the floor as she fought for traction, and over the short space between her starting point and reaching Medicham she picked up enough speed that the whoosh of air felt a little bit like Swellow's Boombursts.
"Dodge left!" Greta said, and Medicham stepped out of the way, but – just like Primeape had taught her – Koraidon wasn't aiming to hit head-on. She slewed herself into a skid, making her surface of attack much wider, and hit Medicham anyway with a concussive wham that sent both Pokémon sliding apart from one another.
Medicham was dazed, just a little, and Ash pointed. "Now, Solar Blade!"
"Ice Punch to block!" Greta countered.
Medicham took the first claw-swipe as Koraidon switched to bipedal gait for a better attack, her feathers rippling out proudly despite the poison. Then Medicham punched her in the chest, and ice spread before breaking away from her body with a crash.
Koraidon used Flamethrower.
She might not have been as good at ranged attacks as her sibling, purely on a relative-specialization basis, but she was still in close range and the attack hit Medicham hard.
"Keep it up, Koraidon!" Ash called. "Make sure she can't use Ice Punch!"
Koraidon nodded, her muzzle too occupied with using Flamethrower to reply, and she lined up before using Rock Smash as well – an attack which Medicham blocked with a Thunderpunch, but despite that Koraidon came off the best from the attack.
"Duck down and Facade!" Greta said, and Medicham ducked down before punching Koraidon so hard she went sailing up into the air.
"Wings out!" Ash called, and Koraidon switched to her flight mode and stopped using Flamethrower. "Okay, Koraidon, she's burned, you're poisoned… aim for the wall, kick off, and use Collision Course!"
"On it, dad!" Koraidon said.
"...what?" Medicham asked, completely baffled, and looked between Koraidon and Ash. "Did she just say-"
"Medicham, look out!" Greta said.
Medicham looked out, but mostly this meant she saw Koraidon's attack coming.
"Now that was a battle!" Greta said, as Brock helped Ash spray down Koraidon with an Antidote. "Whoo! What a rush!"
She whistled. "That Swellow of yours was just – and that Kingler, and Koraidon too! Was that a new move?"
"Yeah, we worked it out a couple of days ago," Ash agreed. "Koraidon, what do you want for dinner? I think we'll have to make you an extra-sized sandwich for that… I'm not sure what to get Kingler or Swellow, but I'll think of something for them, too."
"Hmm," Koraidon said, considering the question seriously. "Can I have something spicy? That ice punch didn't freeze me but it still hurt!"
"Something spicy, right," Ash nodded.
"And here you go," Greta added, holding out her Symbol. "The Guts Symbol! You've earned it – seriously, that was such a good fight, I'm going to be thinking about it for weeks…"
Ash straightened up, taking the Symbol in his hoof, and looked up for a moment.
"Valour pushes beyond the limits on a body," he recited. "And I didn't change colour again, right?"
"Same as usual from here, Ash," Pikachu agreed, typing the information into the Pokédex. "This is a real mystery."
"Yeah, hopefully we'll work it out eventually," Ash said. "So… which one's next?"
"The Tactics Symbol should be next," Scott told him. "Near Lavender Town, so east of here."
"Oh, I think there's a Contest on the way there," May declared. "Just… you know, there usually is…"
AN:
Guts symbol, two out of seven.