As our heroes continue on their way to Lavaridge Town, it didn't seem that anything can slow them down… well, it didn't seem anything can slow Ash down… Serena and May were another story.
"Does any of you have any water left?" May asked while dragging her legs over the sand, with sweat rolling down her face.
"No, I'm sorry," Serena replied, almost equally exhausted and sweaty as May. "I ran out of it couple of hours ago."
"Damn it," May said, and looked at the sky, from where the sun is shining brightly at the three trainers. "This damn sun seems to be growing hotter and hotter as the time passes. I swear by the time we are out of this god-damned desert, we will all have different skin color."
"Here," Ash said making May and Serena look at him only to see him holding a half full bottle of water in his hands and pointing it at them to take it.
"Y-You have some water," May stuttered seeing that there is about a liter of water in the bottle Ash was holding.
"Yes," Ash said just before Serena grabbed the bottle, and started to drink. Now normally she would have drank it all considering how thirsty she is, but knew that she can't drink it all since this is all the water they have, so she only took two small gulps, before she handed the bottle to May, who also took two small gulps. May then handed the bottle over to Ash, who returned it to his backpack. "You need to learn to preserve water while traveling through the desert as you never know how long it will take you to get out from it. Do you two understand that?"
Both girls nodded, and thanked Ash for giving them some water.
As they continued to go through the desert, Ash, Serena and May were surprised when they run into a Camerupt dragging a carriage behind it. "Hey kids," the three heard an old female voice, and looked at the carriage. "Do you need some help?"
The three looked and saw an old woman, along with a middle-aged man seating on the front of a carriage.
"I guess we do." Ash said, while looking at May and Serena, who were barely standing on their legs.
"Good, then hop on." The old woman said, and pointed to the back of the carriage. The three young trainers climbed the carriage, and then the woman motioned Camerupt to go.
"Thanks for helping us," Serena said. "I really don't know how long May and I would have lasted in this scorcher."
"It's ok, dear," the woman said. "I'm guessing you are a trainers, right?"
"Yes, we are," May said. "We were on the way to Lavaridge Town, but this heat was killing us, especially since we drank most of our water and only Ash had some left."
"Well don't worry," the old lady said. "We will take you to our house which is not far from here, and you can rest and refill your bottles with water."
"Thanks," Serena said and then introduced herself, Ash and May. "By the way, my name is Serena, and these are May and Ash."
"My name is Vicky," the old woman said. "And my name is Victor. We are members of the Winstrate family, the only family who lives in these parts of the desert."
"It must be hard to live in a place like this," May said, making Vicky and Victor smile.
"It's ok," Victor said. "We have been here for years raising kids and growing crops, so we are used to it, though I guess it would be hard to get used to if you just came to live here and are not used to the high temperatures. I'd now since it was hard for us at first."
They arrived at the Winstrate family house, about 15 minutes later, and there Ash, Serena and May met Victoria and Vivi, who were Victor's wife and daughter.
Ash, Serena and May were offered food and water, much to May's and Serena's delight, as they were thirsty as all hell, and though they were not so hungry, they did accept some food since it would be an insult to the Winstrate family to deny the food they have so graciously offered.
"So, Ash," Vicky drew Ash's attention as she looked at him. "You and Serena are trainers on the way to the Hoenn League, right?"
"Yes," Ash said. "We have been here for a while now, and have won four badges, and were now on the way to Lavaridge for our fifth."
"That's nice to hear," Victoria said. "We have a son named Vito, and he left two months ago on his journey."
"Vito you say," Ash said, and started thinking about something for a moment. "Does he by any chance have a long green hair tied behind his head?"
"Yes, that must be him," Victoria said with surprise and excitement in her voice. "Did you meet him somewhere?"
"Hm, well, if it's the same guy I think, then yes, all three of us met him not that long ago on the Trainer Hill just outside of Mauvile City." Ash said, causing all members of the Winstrate family to smile when they heard this.
"So, what do you think of him," Victor asked? "Is he good?"
"Well, considering he has been a trainer for only two months… he is not bad," Ash said. "But he does have a long way to go if he wants to become great trainer."
"I see," Vicky said. "I'm happy you were honest with us, Ash. I would have hated to hear you say he is great just to please us, but then to one day hear he is bad trainers who can't get anywhere."
"You are very nice people, so I don't want to lie to you." Ash said, getting wider smiles from the family.
"Say, Ash," Vicky said. "How about we have a battle?"
Ash, Serena and May rose their eyebrows at this. "You, and me?" Ash questioned just to be sure.
"Well, I was thinking three, one-on-one battles, where the three of you take on Victor, Victoria and me." Vicky said, making Vivi pout and say how she wants to battle as well, but since she has no opponent, she will have to sit this one out.
Ash looked at May and Serena, who nodded their heads, and then said. "Ok, why not? We agree to those matches."
"Great," Vicky said. "But let's have them this evening when the temperature outside gets lower. For now, the three of can rest here, and you can spent the night here as well if you want to, since the battles will be quite late for you to leave after."
"That's fine with us." Ash said, while May and Serena nodded.
XXX
When the sun was close to settling down, and the temperature in the desert was bearable, Ash, Serena and May, much to their surprise, found themselves at a professional battlefield, built close to the Winstrate Family house.
"This is a surprise," Ash said. "I wasn't expecting a battlefield here."
"Our whole family loves Pokemon battles," Vivi said. "So, we all helped in making a battlefield where we can have battles."
"I see," Ash said, and after they all agreed the schedule of the battles, and who will fight whom, Serena and Victor found themselves on the battlefield for the first battle.
Vicky was going to be the judge, and since they are the so called 'home team', Victor said he will go and release his Pokemon first.
"Here I go, come on out, Zigzagoon!" Victor shouted and released his Pokemon.
"A Zigzagoon, ha," Serena thought for a moment, and then picked one of her Poke Balls, and released her Pokemon. "Come out, Bagon!"
Bagon came out from his Poke Ball, and stood across from Zigzagoon, ready for battle.
"A Bagon," Victor said in surprise. "That's one interesting Pokemon you've got there, Serena."
"Yeah, he really is something," Serena said. "I only caught him few days ago, and this will be our first battle together, and I'm interested to see what he can do outside of training and when fighting with a trainer instead of alone."
Vicky started the battle right after that. "BEGIN!"
"Bagon, use Dragon Breath!" Serena decided to start big, and Bagon was fine with that, as he immediately jumped into the air, took a deep breath and fired white beam at Zigzagoon.
Much to Serena's surprise, Zigzagoon managed to dodge the Dragon Breath, and showed it is very fast. "Use Thunderbolt, Zigzagoon!" Victor said with a smile, and Serena's eyes widened, as she really wasn't expecting that. Even Ash was surpassed by Zigzagoon using a Thunderbolt.
"Use Dig, to dodge, Bagon!" Serena said quickly, and just on time, as the place where Bagon was standing was hit by Thunderbolt merely a second after he managed to jump underground and escape being shocked.
"Now, use Dragon Claw!" Said Serena, and moments later, the ground in front of Zigzagoon broke, and from below came Bagon with his right hand become surrounded in a light green, claw-shaped energy, which he then used to strike Zigzagoon, sending it flying back in front of its trainer, where it laid with swirls in its eyes, showing it was defeated.
"Zigzagoon is unable to battle," Vicky announced! "The winners are Bagon and Serena!"
Serena smiled and congratulated her Bagon, before she returned him to his Poke Ball. She was then congratulated by Ash and May, before she went to stand next to Ash, while May went to stand on the challengers spot on the battlefield, where she will face against Victoria.
"I chose you, Roselia!" Victoria went and released her Pokemon first, just like her husband before her.
Seeing her opponent, May went and sent her Lombre to battle, much to the surprise of the others, since Lombre is Water Type, while Roselia is Grass/Poison which makes it resistant against Water Types and strong against Grass Types.
"BEGIN!" Vicky shouted the start of the second match.
"Lombre, use Fury Swipes!" May started the battle. Lombre's claws glowed white, before he run and then jumped at Roselia. Then, he slashed Roselia several times, giving her quite a bit of damage.
Roselia yelped in pain, and fell on her knees, but cheering from her trainer helped her get up and continue to battle. "Roselia, use Stun Spore!" Victoria said.
Roselia then released an orange powder from the flowers on her hands which then spread across the air, toward Lombre.
May knew that her Pokemon would be done for if he gets hit by the spores, so she reacted quickly. "Lombre, use Ice Beam!"
Lombre created a light blue orb of energy in between his hands, and then shot multiple white-blue beams from the orb, which scattered some of the spores that were in front of Lombre, and then the beams went and hit Roselia dead on, freezing her in a block of ice in an instant.
Some of the Stun Spores which were left in the air, then fell around Lombre, and some of it on him, which is why he fell on his knees and was paralyzed, and barely held himself from passing out, but was able to hold for a few moments as there was not a lot of the spores so he was paralyzed but didn't pass out immediately.
Vicky announced the end of the battle, and May's win, and as soon as she did, Lombre fell and passed out as he couldn't hold it any more.
May thanked her Pokemon for defeating his opponent and holding himself conscious long enough for her to win a battle instead of it being a draw.
The final battle was between Ash and Vicky, while in substitution for not being able to battle since there was no opponent, Vivi was allowed to be a referee. Not that there was really any need for a referee at all.
Vivi announced the match just like her grandma did earlier, and then Vicky went and released her Camerupt to a battle, while Ash released his Combusken.
"A Fire Type against another Fire Type," Vicky commented after she saw Ash's Pokemon. "This should be interesting."
"BEGIN!" Vivi shouted right after.
"Combusken, start with Quick Attack!" Ash said before Combusken run at Camerupt at great speed, while leaving behind a white trail. In a second, Combusken slammed into Camerupt, pushing it backwards until Camerupt laid sprawled on the ground.
"Come on Camerupt," Vicky shouted! "It didn't hit you that hard, so you are fine! Just think of Vito, you got to keep fighting and make him proud of you! What do you think he would think if he sees you like this?"
Camerupt managed to stand back up, and was ready to continue, judging by the glare he was sending at Combusken.
"Great job, Camerupt," Vicky said! "Now, use Sandstorm!"
Camerupt blew the air from its nose, and made the dirt from the ground come up creating Sandstorm. The Sandstorm swallowed Combusken, and made him shield his eyes, as the dust was bothering them.
"Now use Take Down, Camerupt!" Vicky shouted.
Camerupt started running toward Combusken, who was still shielding his eyes from the dust. Ash looked at his Pokemon with one eye open as the Sandstorm was bothering him as well, and said. "Use Double Kick, to counter!"
Combusken jumped into the air above the charging Camerupt, and then first kicked it with his foot across the face, and then when Camerupt stopped charging, Combusken flipped into the air, and then with both of his legs, he slammed right at Camerupt's head from above, burying its head into the ground.
"Great job, Combusken," Ash said to his Pokemon, who smiled at him and nodded, before they both looked at Camerupt, but noticed it was glaring at them, and its face was getting redder and redder.
"Oh, hell no," Victor said, before he and the rest of his family pulled out helmets like the one miners use, and put them on their heads, surprising Ash, Serena and May.
"Ahm, what's going on?" May asked.
"Be careful," Vivi said with a smile. "It's about to get really hot."
As Camerupt as growing redder, there was a smoke coming from the volcanos on its back. "It's a nasty habit Camerupt have," Vicky said with slight smile on her face. "For some reason, getting hit on the head, makes them uncontrollably angry. And when that happens… well, it's Eruption Time."
Camerupt yelled, and a geyser of fire and rocks spews out form both of the volcanos on its back and shots toward the sky, much to Serena's and May's shock. Ash raised his eyebrows as he saw this, and though about how to deal with the problem. He knew that as Fire type, Combusken has resistance to fire, but there is a limit to everything, and even with resistance, he can still be injured if hit by as much fire power as Camerupt is shooting from the volcanos.
When the flaming rocks started to fall all over the place, Serena and May made a run for it so they won't get hurt, while Ash just moved left and right, dodging the small rocks which then fell on the ground around him. Combusken was doing the same.
"Let's finish this, Combusken," Ash said, and Combusken nodded. "Mega Kick, one more time!"
As Camerupt was charging at him, blinded by anger, the feather crest on Combusken's head and his feet glowed metallic light blue, and he jumped into the air, and kicked Camerupt onto the head with as much power as he could.
The kick caused a small shockwave, but it stopped Camerupt in its track, and the fire and smoke stopped shooting from the volcanos, just before Camerupt fell on the ground, passed out.
"Well, that takes care of that." Ash said with a smile, before he thanked his Combusken, and then returned it to his Poke Ball. Ash looked at the others, who were looking at him with surpassed looks on their faces.
"What?" He asked.
"Oh, it's nothing," Vicky said. "We are just surprised by how easily you defeated Camerupt after it went on the rampage."
Ash shrugged. "Sometime it's easier to take out rampaging Pokemon then the one with clear head, as they can't think and just charge forward." He said.
XXX
Ash, Serena and May spent the rest of that evening and the night in the Winstrate Family house, before they left and continued their journey the next morning after they thanked the family for everything and said their goodbyes.
It has been several days since Ash, Serena and May left the Winstrate Family house, and continued toward the Lavaridge Town.
They have managed to get out of the desert by the end of that first day, and on the very next day, they run into Skitty. May instantly fell in love with the pink cat Pokémon, so she battled it with her Marill, defeated her and then caught her, after which, they continued their journey.
Two days later, the three trainers took a left turn from the route 111 and are now walking through the route 112, which will lead them directly to the Lavaridge Town.
But, to get to the Lavaridge Town, they first have to pass through a place known as, the 'Valley of Steel', which is exactly where Ash, Serena and May are at this moment.
"What is this place?" May asked while standing in front of a vast land filed with nothing but rocks, and giant boulders. It looked like some kind of valley with deep ravines and plain rock fields here and there.
"I don't know," Ash said. "But I guess we can check it out as there might be something interesting in there."
"Ok, then," Serena said. "Come on, let's go."
The three proceeded to enter the vast plane field, after which they traveled for about 15 minutes without spotting anything.
The peace and quiet was interrupted by the shouts of some Pokemon. "What is that?" Serena asked.
"It sounds like some Pokemon is in pain," May said.
"Let's check it out." Ash said, and then run forward to see what's going on, while Serena and May run after him. It took them a minute to come to a surprising sight of several Magnemite floating around a Torkoal while holding him in the air with Thunder Wave, while Skarmory was attacking Torkoal with Swift attack from above.
Torkoal was trying to defend itself with Flamethrower, but couldn't do much as Skarmory was dodging, and Magnemite were increasing the power behind their attacks.
"That poor Torkoal," Serena said while watching the beat down! "Why are they doing this to it?"
"I don't know, but we better do something to save it." Ash said, and May and Serena agreed. Serena reacted first and sent out her Delphox and Marshtomp.
"Delphox, use Fire Blast on that Skarmory," Serena said immediately! "Marshtomp, use Mud Shoot at the Magnemite and help that Torkoal!"
Serena's Pokemon went and did as they were told. Delphox's Fire Blast took Skarmory by surprise and hit it head on, sending the Steel Bird crushing into the ground, while Marshtomp fired several mud orbs at Magnemite, which also hit them and sent them flying away from Torkoal and also made them stop using Thunder Wave on the poor Fire Type.
With Torkoal being released from the Thunder Wave, it fell on the ground, right on its back, and since it was a turtle, it couldn't flip itself back on its legs.
Serena, Ash and May run to Torkoal and flipped it over back on its legs, before Serena asked. "Are you ok, Torkoal?"
Torkoal looked at the three kids, and when it heard Serena's question, it cried river of tears, while at the same time it released a smoke from its nose, covering everyone in soot.
"Well… I wasn't' expecting that," Ash said with a giant sweat drop at the back of his head, while Serena and May coughed and glared at Torkoal.
The two girls were about to rip it a new one for doing this to them when Serena just saved it, but then there was a deep growling which was heard from somewhere farther into the valley, which drew everyone's attention.
"What was that?" Serena asked while looking at where the growling came from.
"It sounds familiar," Ash said. "It actually reminds me of Steelix's growling."
Torkoal suddenly dashed into the distance and went toward the growling sound, leaving the others in the dust… literally.
"Can someone tell me what the hell is going on?" May asked, but neither Ash nor Serena had the answer. Instead, they both looked at the three Magnemite and a Skarmory lying on the ground passed out after they were defeated by Serena's Delphox and Marshtomp, and Serena sighed.
"What do we do with them?" Serena asked.
"You can catch them if you want," Ash said, getting raised eyebrows from Serena. "You did defeat them, and besides, you only have one Electric Type, and no Steel Types, so they can be useful."
"Hm, I guess you are right," Serena said, and then pulled out two Poke Balls, and caught Skarmory and one Magnemite. Both Poke Balls shrank immediately as she already has six Pokemon with her.
"Can I catch the other two," May asked, drawing looks from Ash and Serena. "I also don't have a single Electric nor Steel Type, so I can use one, and I can give the other to Max if he is interested."
"Go ahead." Serena said, and so May caught two Magnemite, her two Poke Balls also shrinking right after. "So, where to now?"
"I want to see what' going on in this place," Ash said. "And I want to check if that growling we heard is really Steelix, and what Torkoal's connection to all of this is."
Serena and May agreed to follow Ash, so they all continued to go through the valley in search of Torkoal, and, potentially Steelix, so they can see what's going on.
XXX
Few minutes later, the three were surprised to see and hear an explosion coming from about a hundred meters in front of them. They also saw a lot of smoke coming from the place where the explosion came from, so they run there immediately.
"Damn, it's that same Torkoal," Ash said while watching Torkoal being attacked by more Magnemite, one Magneton, as well as a Shiny Metang.
"What is going on here anyway," May asked? "Pokemon don't usually attack other Pokemon like that. Do they?"
"Not unless they are provoked," Ash said.
"I'll go and save that Torkoal, and then we can find out what the hell is going on here." Serena said, while Ash and May nodded, though Ash expressed desire to catch that Shiny Metang, so he joined her, while May stayed back to only watch, as there was really no need for all three of them to intervene.
Serena again sent out her Marshtomp while Ash sent out his Dusclops, and while Serena went and attacked Magnemite and Magneton, Ash had Dusclops attack Metang.
"Dusclops, use Shadow Punch!" Ash ordered his first move, and Dusclops's hands become outlined in a gray aura, then he punches the air and a black shadowy fist come out of his hand, outlined in a gray aura. The shadowy fist caught Metang by surprise, and it hit it head on, sending it to the ground.
Metang was able to float back up, and glared at Dusclops and Ash, before both of its hands glowed red, and then went to attack Dusclops.
"Dodge and use Confuse Ray!" Ash said. Dusclops dodges several of Metang's punches, before his eye glowed red and he emits a bright purple light from it, before he looked at Metang, who suddenly stopped with the punches as it has become confused. "Great, not finish it off with Shadow Ball!"
Dusclops created a black ball in between his hands, before he threw it at the confused Metang, who was hit straight in the face, which caused an explosion, and made Metang fall on the ground.
Ash then took one empty Poke Ball, and threw it at the defeated Metang, who was then sucked inside it, and a few moments later, there was a ping coming from the Poke Ball, signifying that the capture is compete.
"Good job, Ash," Serena said as she approached him from behind. Ash looked at her and then at the Magnemite and Magneton, and saw all of them lying on the ground defeated. "You got yourself an interesting Pokemon."
"I sure did," Ash said, and thanked his Dusclops before he returned him to his Poke Ball. "But what are you going to do with those Magnemite and Magneton?"
Serena shrugged. "I already caught one Magnemite, so I don't need any more," she said. "May also caught two for herself and Max, so she won't need them either. I guess you can capture them for the PPA."
"I guess I can do that," Ash said, and then went and caught three Magnemite and one Magneton. He will send them to PPA later, but now, he has to help Serena and May with Torkoal who is lying on the ground exhausted from all the attacks from the electric and steel type Pokemon.
Few minutes later, and Torkoal was lying down on a small blanket which Ash pulled out from his backpack. "Torkoal should be just fine," Ash said. "All he really needs is a rest as he is tired, and not that much injured."
"It's surprising really, since he was attacked by so many Magnemite as well as a Magneton, Skarmory and Metang," May commented.
"It just proves he is one tough Pokemon," Serena said, while patting Torkoal on his head. "Isn't that right, Torkoal?"
Torkoal cried in happiness because of Serena's praise, and then blew some smoke into her face, much to her annoyance, but she didn't say anything.
"Why don't you tell us what is going on here, Torkoal," Serena asked. "It's strange that the Pokemon here are attacking you this much, and on top of that, you even went after them after we saved you the first time."
"There is a Pokemon here I want to battle," Torkoal said, not really expecting the humans to understand him, but he said it anyway. What Torkoal said, made Ash raise his eyebrows. "These Steel Types are very territorial, and they've been attacking me ever since I came here by accident. But after I learned that the Steel Types are led by another Steel Type Pokemon, I decided to challenge it, but I lost once, and the others have been attacking whenever they see me."
"Is that so," Ash said, and Torkoal looked at him in surprise. "So this Pokemon you want to battle… it wouldn't happen to be Steelix, would it?"
Torkoal nodded, surprised that Ash understood him, but also that he guess which Pokemon Torkoal wishes to battle.
"What did Torkoal say, Ash?" Serena asked.
"Well, apparently he got here by accident and was attacked by Steel Types who happen to be very territorial, Ash explained. "After he learned that they are led by another Steel Type, which happens to be Steelix, he challenged it, but lost and ever since, Torkoal was being attacked by the other Steel Types whenever they see him.
"Hearing this now, it actually makes me wonder if this place may be a Valley of Steel."
"What's a Valley of Steel," May asked? "I've never heard about it."
"It's supposed to be like a heaven for Steel Type Pokemon," Ash said. "I heard about it years ago, and I knew that it was in Hoenn, but I didn't know exactly where, which is why I didn't know until now that we might be in Valley of Steel. Torkoal said that Steel Types are very territorial here, and that is something I also heard about this place."
"So what now?" Serena asked.
"Well, Torkoal still wants to battle against that Steelix," Ash said while looking at Torkoal, who nodded at Ash. "So I guess we can help him."
May and Serena raised their eyebrows. "How?" May asked.
Ash looked at Serena and said. "You seem to be very interested in Torkoal, so why don't you help him win the battle against Steelix?"
"Me?" Serena said with surprise in her voice.
"Yes, you," Ash said. "What do you say, Torkoal? Do you want Serena here to act as your trainer and help you win against Steelix?"
Torkoal immediately started crying and nodded in agreement with Ash's proposal.
"Ok then, let's go and find that Steelix," Ash said, before he walked ahead of May and Serena, while Torkoal walked in between Serena and May.
XXX
It took a while for Ash, Serena and May to find Steelix, and in fact, it can't even be said that they did found it in the end, because the giant piece of steel just burst out from underground right in front of them about an hour after the three, plus Torkoal, started to search for it.
When it came in front of them, Steelix was obviously angry at them, and Ash said that to Serena and May. Ash said that Steelix is angry not just because they entered into his and Steel Type Pokemon domain, but also because they defeated and then captured a bunch of its comrades and he will have revenge for that.
"Come on, Torkoal," Serena said to the turtle fire type! "Let's beat this Steelix!"
Torkoal nodded, and stood in front of Serena while glaring at Steelix and looked ready to fight.
"Use Flamethrower!" Serena started the battle first, and Torkoal released a very big and powerful blast of fire from his mouth.
Steelix, unfortunately for Serena and Torkoal, had defense against its weakness, so he put-up a Sandstorm around itself by spinning around in the same place.
"Damn, I didn't expect that," Serena said, while Torkoal broke into sweat a little.
"You are going to have to overpower the Sandstorm or catch it before it can pull it up," Ash gave an advice to Serena who nodded.
She then saw Steelix's tail glow white, and knew immediately what's about to happen, so she said. "Iron Defence, Torkoal."
Torkoal pulled all of his limbs inside of the shell, and then glowed white just before Steelix's Iron Tail smashed into Torkoal, and sent him flying far into the distance until Torkoal hit into the boulder which he crushed and then got buried under the pile of rocks.
Ash whistled as he saw this, while Serena and May were wide eyed. "That was one powerful Iron Tail," Ash said, and then watched as Torkoal pulled himself out from under the rocks, and came back ready to battle while looking like nothing happened. "And that was one powerful Iron Defense as well. Well done, Torkoal."
"Torkoal, use Smokescreen to blind it, and then Flamethrower!" Serena said, and Torkoal blew smoke from his nose, which spread around and covered Steelix completely blinding it from seeing anyone. Torkoal then took another deep breath, while pulling his head backwards, and then fired another Flamethrower, this one even more powerful than the previous one.
Flamethrower hit the target, and caused Steelix to let out a roar, before it swung its tail, broke Flamethrower, and then brought up a Sandstorm again which blew away the Smokescreen from around itself.
"This is going to be tougher than I thought," Serena commented as she saw that Torkoal's Flamethrower didn't do much damage even though it hit Steelix dead on. "Can you use Fire Blast, Torkoal?"
Torkoal shock his head, making Serena frown, as she wondered what other Fire Type attack she can use which is more powerful than Flamethrower.
As she was thinking, Serena saw Steelix about o fire Dragon Breath, and told Torkoal to counter it with Flamethrower.
Torkoal did that, and both attacks collided with each other, before they started to push to overpower the other. After few moments, it became clear that Steelix has more power, as its Dragon Breath was pushing back Torkoal's Flamethrower.
Luckily for Torkoal and Serena, before Steelix's attack could completely overpower Torkoal's, both attacks exploded, which threw Torkoal backwards, where he bounced from the ground, twice, before he finally stopped himself and stood on all of his legs, though he was breathing hard, and was clearly getting exhausted.
"Come on Torkoal," Serena shouted! "You can't give up now! Not when you have a chance to defeat this Steelix!"
Torkoal yelled, blew some smoke from his nose, and glared at Steelix ready to continue. "Good, not use Flamethrower!"
"What is Serena doing," May asked Ash as they were watching Torkoal fire another Flamethrower, and it was stopped by Sandstorm again just like before. "She must know by now that Flamethrower won't work."
Ash smiled. "Watch and see." He said, and May raised her right eyebrow, before she heard Serena shout her next move.
"Use Overheat, full power!" Said Serena right after Steelix released its Sandstorm, and left it open for another attack.
Torkoal's shell glowed red and started to release steam as he was building power for his next attack. After few seconds, Torkoal fire a white beam of fire surrounded by red and yellow fire, at Steelix.
Steelix couldn't escape from the attack, nor did it have the time to pull up Sandstorm to defend itself, and so, it was hit head on right below the face.
One of the most powerful Fire Type attack caused Steelix a lot of damage, and made it cry in pain, but it was again able to break the fire attack with its Iron Tail, and then glared at Torkoal from above.
"Damn, even that didn't work." May said, while sweating at the glare Steelix was sending at Serena and Torkoal.
"I wouldn't say that." Ash said, and just then, Steelix fell on the ground, not able to continue any longer, as that Overheat has taken a lot out of him, on top of the attacks he used, and was hit by before.
"ALL RIGHT," Serena yelled and punched into the air with her right fist. Torkoal also shouted his own name, as he was happy he won just as much as Serena. Serena hugged Torkoal who was crying rivers, and congratulated him for a nice battle.
"That was a nice play in the end, Serena," Ash commented after he and May approached Serena and Torkoal. "Make Steelix pull out Sandstorm to block Flamethrower and then catch him by surprise with Overheat. Great job."
"Thanks, Ash." Serena said with a smile, and then looked at Torkoal. "So, what are you going to do now? I guess there is no need for you to stay here since you defeated Steelix."
Torkoal thought about it for a few moments, before he said. "I want to come with you."
Ash rose is eyebrows at this, then smiled and translated to Serena, who was surprised, but also happy to see that Torkoal wants to join her team.
Serena then pulled empty Poke Ball, and taped it slowly on Torkoal's head, before he was sucked inside. The ball shrank, but Serena was ok with that, and will exchange some Pokemon later, so Torkoal can spend some time traveling with her, and so she can train him just like her other Pokemon. The same goes for her newly captured Magnemite and Skarmory.
By that point, Steelix has pulled itself together, and decided to just leave instead of continuing to battle.
Since they didn't have any reason to stay any longer in the Valley of the Steel, Ash, Serena and May continued on their way toward the Lavaridge Town.