"So why did you really want me to tag along, Misty?" Brock asked, shooting his long time friend a sideways look. Misty frowned. "Whatever do you mean, Brock?" she returned. Brock frowned as they entered the store. "We both know you don't need me to carry whatever you buy. You always get your pokemon to help you with that." he responded as both girls perused the racks. Misty frowned in turn. "To be honest I wanted to talk to you about Ash. I know it's only been a day or so but you have to admit he's been acting really secretive." she replied, never taking her eyes off the rack of clothes in front of her. Brock crossed his arms, tapping a foot. Meanwhile Serena moved off to the right, checking the clothes she found cute while listening in on her new traveling companions. She wasn't really sure what to make of Brock just yet, and her most recent interactions with Misty hadn't exactly been the best.
Brock sighed, keeping up with the girls as they went from one section to the next. Despite how it looked on the outside, the store was rather expansive. "Yeah, I've noticed that as well. Remember the conversation we had with Looker at that cafe?" he asked. Serena piped up at that. "Was it just me or was Zoey going to say that Ash… killed somebody?" she interjected. Misty nodded grimly, her mouth drawn in a straight line as she checked the tag of a rather cute pair of jean shorts. "It kinda sounded like it. And why come back now? Has he even been back to Pallet town? I wonder if Professor Oak knows he's back." Brock sat down in a nearby chair as Misty and Serena both rushed into a changing room. "Yeah, it doesn't add up, does it?" he said loudly enough for both of them to hear. Ten minutes later Misty emerged with the clothes she had settled on in one arm and the rejects in the other. "Yeah. We'll have to ask him after he's done with Sabrina. You think Ash will win?" Brock smiled at his friend. "My money's on Ash. He's never let her get to him before, and now he and his pokemon have grown really strong." Misty huffed. Crossing her arms and leaning on one foot. "I'll say. I never quite believed your Sinnoh League story up until the other night. Who would have thought Ash's Sceptile could be so fast?" she retorted. Brock's smile widened. "You thought I was lying?" he inquired. Misty's frown took on an air of careful thought. "Well of course not. I just thought you might be over exaggerating is all." Brock laughed. "Was it really all that surprising? Ash has always been a magnet for strong pokemon. Remember how strong Charizard was back in the day?" Misty giggled. "You don't have to remind me." she responded, browsing a new rack of clothes. "Um… what did you mean by 'never let her get to him before'?" Serena interjected nervously. She, too, was checking out clothes, quietly trying to find something cute to wear in the hopes of catching Ash's eye. Misty and Brock frowned. "Yeah, well, the last time we were here together was… odd, to say the least." Misty said, pausing to collect her thoughts. Brock crossed his arms against his chest. "I'll say. That whole 'turn people to dolls' thing was downright creepy." Serena sweatdropped. "Turn people to what, now?" she inquired. Misty waved it aside, turning to look Serena in the eyes as she responded. "She doesn't do that anymore, so it's nothing to worry about." she said, gathering the clothes she wanted to buy and heading towards the check out line. That certainly seems like something to worry about. Serena thought as she followed the other girl. They would join Ash at the gym fifteen minutes later.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
Ash was enjoying the battle almost as much as he enjoyed the one with Misty two days ago. Psychic types were always fun to fight, and psychic gyms were even more so. Challenging, too. "All right, Charizard! Be on guard. A Mega Alakazam can move crazy fast with the ability to teleport, so let's start off with heat wave!" Charizard roared, flexing his arms and wings and slamming his tail onto the ground, throwing cinders a few feet into the air. Orange waves rimmed with red and yellow flowed off Charizard, evenly spreading in all directions. The waves of dry heat condensed as they slammed into an invisible barrier just before Ash and Sabrina, and Sabrina's Alakazam shimmered and vanished just before the heat reached it. "Be on guard! It'll reappear where you least expect it!" Ash shouted. Charizard swung his head side to side, peering around the arena suspiciously. Flapping his wings, Charizard took to the air. He rose a meter or so with each downward thrust quickly gaining altitude. Sabrina smirked. Ash's Charizard must think he'll have the advantage in the air. Too bad. Just as Charizard was coming to a stop, a light purple, almost pink outline appeared around him. Suddenly, Charizard was jerked up, down, left, and right at random, flying off in every direction as if yanked about by an invisible string. Before Ash had a chance to open his mouth, Sabrina's Alakazam reappeared hovering upside down in front of Charizard, who came to a sudden complete stop. And just like that Charizard was slammed into the ground in a similar manner to Medicham before him. The fire started slumped lifelessly to the ground, hitting the ground just as the recall beam returned the fire type to the luxury ball. Tch. Were this any other gym Charizard would have been able to sweep the enemy team. Back to the plan, then. Ash flexed his shoulder, casually tossing the luxury ball to the ground just in front of him. Just as it was about to hit the ground a red light burst forth from it, and Incineroar roared onto the scene. Donning his signature grin, Incineroar leapt into action. He leapt forward on all fours as Ash pointed to his opponent. "Crunch!" Ash commanded. Drawing in range, Incineroar hurdled the last ten feet or so, clearing the distance between itself and the floating psychic type in an instant. Fangs glowing with a twisted dark aura, Incineroar bore down upon his frail enemy only to be stopped by a purple, crystalline barrier. "Use dig!" Ash shouted. Breaking off his previous attack, Incineroar disengaged his opponent, falling back down to the earth and quickly vanishing beneath. "On guard, Alakazam!" Sabrina instructed. Really now? Alakazam's psychic power will allow it to know just when and where Incineroar will reappear. Even if he can't sense Incineroar he will be able to sense the change in the terrain. What could you be planning, Ash? Before long a circle of ground a few feet behind Alakazam began tremble. "There, Alakazam. Behind you! Focus Blast!" Alakazam turned around, shooting a blast of red energy into the ground. But then the ground directly to the right began to tremble. And the area six feet off to the left. And the area just behind Alakazam. As a matter of fact, a lot of different spots were rumbling. Sabrina was confused, and by the look on it's face, so was her Alakazam. What in the world… then Incineroar erupted from the ground… everywhere. He was to the right, to the left, right in front of Alakazam, there were Incineroars everywhere. "Use crunch!" Ash commanded. Instantly, the Incinerators all surged forward, swarming the Mega Alakazam. The psychic type didn't even have time to teleport as it was bumrushed, taking super effective damage from the dark type attack as it was bitten from all angles. "Charge beam, Alakazam! They're just copies!" Recollecting itself, a beam of compressed electricity shot from Alakazam's forehead, moving down the copies of Incineroar swarming it. Off in the stands, Misty frowned. "I don't understand. Alakazam should have been able to sense where Incineroar was, right? Even if he used double team, Alakazam would have been able to figure out which one was real." Brock nodded, crossing his arms. "Yeah, whichever way you look at it it doesn't make much sense. Even though Alakazam can't sense a dark type, a well trained one should be able to tell where his opponent is by what it does sense, like the tunneling Incineroar had to do to get close." Serena listened in, never taking her eyes off the awe inspiring battle unfolding before her. "So then how did Ash pull it off?" She asked, feeling chagrin at her inexperience in formal battles. Just as the words left her lips they were answered. Alakazam's charge beam swept through the flood of Incineroars, knocking them all back. All but one, the one that had rushed Alakazam from behind, faded. Then, Incineroar began to shimmer until no one could look directly at him. Seconds later, Zoey emerged from the illusion.
"Ahhh, so that's how they did it." Brock exclaimed, grinning. Both Misty and Serena scowled, not catching on quite so easily. "Hey! Mind sharing with the rest of the class?!" Misty demanded, huffing in agitation. "Zoroark are known for their ability, 'illusion'". Brock said, shrugging. "Unlike Ditto's ability 'imposter', 'illusion' doesn't actually change Zoey in any way. Instead, the ability influences the minds of any observers Zoey chooses, forcing them to see what she envisions." Serena gaped in understanding. "So all the moves 'Incineroar' used were moves that Zoey actually knows, we were just made to think that it was 'Incineroar' using them?" Brock nodded. "Exactly. Normally, an Alakazam would be able to sense where the enemy is coming from without fail. But if it's trapped in an illusion, then it's senses could be used against it." Misty's mouth formed an 'o' as comprehension dawned on her face. "So Ash planned this from the start? That doesn't sound like him." Brock shook his head. "Yeah, it was clever. But now that the illusion has been lifted, what now? As clever as it was, I'm not sure Zoey can match that Mega Alakazam in terms of speed."
" A Zoroark. Huh." Sabrina said quietly, frowning. Well played. But that won't be enough to stop us. "Very clever, Ash. But I think it's time we finish this. Alakazam, double team." Alakazam closed his eyes, shimmering until dozens of clones appeared in the air with him. The copies formed a circle around Zoey. "Uhhh, Ash?" Zoey inquired anxiously. "Find it with Dark Pulse, Zoey." Zoey open her mouth wide, firing off a pulsating dark energy. The beam of darkness swept through the ring of Alakazams, eliminating them in swift fashion until striking the true Alakazam square in the chest. Alakazam reeled midair, flying back and coming to a sudden stop. He righted himself before vanishing, using teleport. "Let's end this little game, Alakazam. Use Dazzling Gleam!" Sabrina instructed, sweeping an arm out in front of her and pointing at Zoey. Instantly Alakazam reappeared above Zoey. As Zoey looked up, a pink light erupted from thin air, enveloping the dark type. Zoey only had time for one word before the light swallowed her up completely. "Shit"
Well, it was worth a shot. Ash thought with a wry grin as the recall beam retracted Zoey. "Well played, Ash. That was very clever. But it'll take more than tricks like that to defeat us." Sabrina exclaimed, wearing a smug smile. "There's this nice hole in the wall a few blocks away. Don't worry, it's not too expensive. It's four right now, so how does seven sound?" she said flirtatiously. Ash sweetdropped, fully aware of the reactions of the girls in the stands. "We're not done yet, Sabrina." Ash challenged. The gym leader smirked in response. "Not quite yet. But you're running out of pokemon, and we've been training for this day for years." Ash's arms dropped by his side, confused. "What?" Sabrina rolled her eyes. "You, Ash Ketchum, were the first to defeat me in a very long time. But not only that, you helped me get in touch with my emotions, something that can be very difficult for me as a psychic. It's thanks to the battle that I had with you that I am able to be who I am now. When you left I was heartbroken. I had wanted to find some way to repay you. But then I had a vision of a powerful, striking man, worthy of the title champion, challenging my gym once again." Sabrina explained with a wink. Misty and Serena were shocked. More Serena than Misty, as Misty had been there for the battle, but both were affected. On the one hand, Sabrina's confession made sense, and it was extremely romantic of her to have fallen for Ash in that way. The two of them just couldn't bring themselves to hate her; both had fallen for Ash for similar reasons. The man they knew was very helpful, regardless of any risk to himself, something that both girls deeply admired. On the other hand, this meant that they had more competition, someone who was both powerful and beautiful, and who Ash clearly respected as a trainer. They looked at each other, nodding wordlessly as Brock watched in confusion.
Ash was flustered. To be entirely honest, Ash hadn't given much thought to that battle in the last decade or so. And when he had, it was just to remember how creepy the whole ordeal had been. All that aside, Sabrina was very pretty. Plus she was a great battler. That said, Ash already had two pretty (and somewhat scary) girls fighting for his affection, and he wasn't keen on adding a third to that number. "As I said before, we're not done yet. Greninja, you're up!"
I'm back! I won't be back to my normal post schedule for a few weeks at best, but I will eventually get there. Sorry for the smaller chapter, but it's been hectic.