With Courage I Will Face
Arc III: The Nugget Bridge
Chapter Fifteen: Battles, Begin!
"Gary!" Ash cried in surprise.
"How are ya, Ash? Long time no see." Gary greeted him again, jumping down the stairs of the Nugget Bridge. "Care for a battle?"
"You bet!" Ash agreed reflexively, but he paused. "Actually, we probably shouldn't right now. I just got done fighting every trainer on that bridge without a break, so my Pokemon are pretty tired."
"Pika. Pikachu." Pikachu added. Ash nodded.
"And two of them would still be effected by status conditions."
"Well I'll be, I never thought you'd be the one turning down a battle from me for a change." Gary teased, but he relaxed as he accepted the answer. "You and Pikachu seem to be getting along these days." He changed the subject.
"Of course! I told you we were gonna be just fine." Ash told him, reaching up to pet Pikachu to prove his point. "Ain't that right?"
"I admit, I'm impressed. I thought for sure you'd be leaving Viridian Forest with a Rattata attached to your ankle as a make-shift starter." Gary knocked his elbow. "I'm glad you worked it out though."
Ash and Pikachu glanced at each other. They both shrugged silently, both deciding Gary didn't need to hear the Spearow story, and Ash changed the subject.
"Did you know Leaf's here too? We found her in the Pokemon Center yesterday." He said excitedly.
"Yeah, I talked to her yesterday. I haven't seen her yet, but she said she was sticking around for a tournament." Gary replied.
Ash clenched his fists in excitement.
"Does that mean you're competing in the tournament too?" Ash asked. Gary gave a smug nod.
"You bet. And I'm gonna win the whole thing too because I'm on a roll. I've already got two badges, and I've caught dozens of Pokemon." Gary told Ash.
"Dozens?" Ash practically yelled, startling both Gary and Pikachu on his shoulder.
Gary made a show of picking his ear, testing to see if his eardrum was still intact.
"Yeah, gramps has me catching a lot for research purposes. Says it helps him record average statistics. I catch something and send it to him, and he either studies it and keeps it at the lab, releases it or keeps it in the vault." Gary said. "I only have a couple Pokemon on the team right now."
That made a lot more sense, Ash figured. It wasn't an approach he was comfortable with, something about just snagging every Pokemon he saw didn't feel right. And it was one thing to send them to Oak's and let them live on the ranch out back with the wildlife and other trainers Pokemon that stayed there, but to be kept in stasis forever or just released, miles and miles from home?
Still Ash couldn't fault Gary or any trainer that did undertake such missions. They were integral to learning about Pokemon as individuals and as species. And he knew Oak always took care of the Pokemon there, so it was hard to think about such things and come to the conclusion that it wasn't at least well intentioned. That didn't mean Ash was going to contribute to such a task.
Gary could catch them all. He would settle for having the best.
"Vine Whip!" Leaf ordered.
Bulbasaur pushed up from the floor and sent out two thick, green vines. One whipped the opponent's Meowth straight across the face, causing it to fall over and the other slammed onto its back, pushing it into the ground. It did not get up, and Leaf jumped for joy as her opponent, Oberon, recalled his Meowth.
"That was a good match." Oberon complimented her. She recalled Bulbasaur.
"Thanks, I thought so too. You were really good!" She replied, adjusting Bulbasaur's Pokeball on her belt. "I'm heading back that way," she gestured towards Cerulean City. "But let's battle again if I come back out this way, okay?"
"You got it!" Oberon waved her off as she turned to pass back through Route 4 into the city grounds.
"Zippo, Ember!" Ritchie called.
Ritchie's Charmander, nicknamed Zippo, shot out several balls of red-yellow fire from its mouth. They all slammed into his opponents Raticate, and his opponent conceded the match.
"Fine you win! I'll return the TM I stole." He practically threw a CD at Ritchie, case and all. "You'll regret messing with Team Rocket, kid!" He shouted loudly before sprinting past Ritchie and out towards Route 9.
Ritchie inspected the TM. It was a light brown color, so a ground-type move. That could prove useful, Ritchie thought as he put it away. He'd check it with his Pokedex later, and probably go see Officer Jenny about it. Team Rocket were notorious criminals, and he admitted the TM was stolen property, Ritchie didn't want to be caught with it.
Even encountering the man was a stroke of bad luck, as he was attempting to take a shortcut down the cliffside and into Cerulean City without trekking down and around all of Route 9. This put him in a position to run directly into the man as he was hiding off the Route 9 path.
At the time Ritchie assumed he was just taking a leak or setting up camp, but now it was obvious that he was trying to avoid detection.
"Let's go, Zippo. You need a rest." Ritchie called Charmander back and continued on his way into Cerulean City.
All points converged, just like that North of Cerulean City.
Ash and Gary from the North, Leaf from the West, and Ritchie from the East. They all paused once they noticed each other, taken by surprise to all be in the same area again so soon.
"Leaf!" Gary called out excitedly.
"Ritchie?" Leaf was shocked at the other trainers presence.
"Gary." Ritchie acknowledged Gary with a brief nod of his head. "Leaf. Ketchum."
"Ritchie." Ash acknowledged back, not taking his eyes off the other trainer.
"Good seeing you." Ritchie paused. "Most of you." He begun to walk away, but Leaf called out to him despite Ash and Gary miming at her to stop.
"What? Hey, wait! That's it? Where are you going?" Leaf shouted.
"To the Pokemon Center. I just had a pretty good battle, and my whole team could use a refresher. Then I have other business to do. But I'll be in town until at least tomorrow, we have all night if you want to catch up." Ritchie replied dryly. "But I doubt you will." He left without another word.
"Why does he act like we're the ones that don't like him when all he does is pick fights?" Gary asked as Leaf came closer to the pair.
"Forget about him for now. The more important question is when did you get here and why didn't you tell me?" Leaf swatted Gary's arm.
"You didn't think I was gonna pass up an opportunity to beat you in a tournament this soon, did you? I was on my way here as soon as we hung up yesterday." He replied with a laugh. Leaf swatted his arm again, harder.
"Can we take this somewhere else? I should hit the Pokemon Center too." Ash interrupted.
Gary threw his arms around Ash and Leaf and started walking, dragging them along with him.
"Let's go then, the sooner we get there the sooner we can see each other's Pokemon!" Gary encouraged them as they rushed back to the town.
Ash, Gary and Leaf quickly met Misty and Brock back at the Pokemon Center.
"So, you're the ones that got Ash here safely, right?" Gary teased.
"Oh, it wasn't easy." Misty replied with a smirk. Ash could only groan as they all moved to sit down.
"Trust me, I believe ya." Gary said back. He quickly switched topics and turned to Leaf and Ash. "What Pokemon have you guys caught so far?"
"Leaf won't tell me!" Ash complained. Leaf nodded, and Gary looked almost as disappointed as Ash was.
"What do you mean? That's torture!" He cried dramatically. Leaf rolled her eyes.
"Maybe you'll get to see tomorrow or something during the tournament." she said teasingly.
Before both Ash and Gary could have another sadness relapse, someone else spoke.
"You haven't heard? They moved the tournament up." Ritchie said as he walked up to their table. "The last slot just got filled up today, they're calling for it to start around two this afternoon."
"You mean…" Ash started to ask, and Ritchie simply nodded.
"I'm competing in the town tournament too. See you out there." Ritchie finished Ash's thought and left the room.
"I hope he's right; I can't wait to get this started!" Gary pumped his fists. Ash broke out of his stupor to mimic him.
"Yeah, the sooner the better!" He agreed.
"I wonder if he's telling the truth…" Leaf speculated. Just then, Nurse Joy's voice carried through the center's intercom system.
"Attention trainers! We have just filled in all the available slots for the Nugget Bridge Tournament. We are not accepting any more entries, and the tournament is expected to take place today at the request of its sponsor, Bill. Participants and spectators should plan to arrive at the Nugget Bridge just North of town at one-thirty this afternoon! Thank you for your attention, that will be all!"
The message came over loud and clear. Ash, Gary, and Leaf all shared a few looks with each other and then the clock. They could hardly wait for these next few hours to fly by.
The turnout for the tournament was modest, bigger than Ash initially thought it would be considering the size of town. Though he supposed it held meaning to a lot of the locals, it made sense.
He could see familiar faces from around town the last few days, including Gary, Leaf and Ritchie in the crowd. A brown-haired man in a purple polo shirt stood on the steps to the bridge with an electronic screen behind him.
"Okay, I'm sure we're all eager to get to the tournament part so I'll keep it brief! My name is Bill, I'm sponsoring the tournament yet again this year for you all!" Bill said, and the crowd gave a gentle applause. "And for an extra treat, I'm competing as well!" More claps came at the decree, and quite a few gasps.
"Bill's notorious for this," Misty leaned over to whisper to Ash and Brock. "Whenever he enters a tournament he sponsors, he always wins. He has a real knack for observing the competition that way."
"Is he rigging them?" Brock asked, but Misty shrugged.
"I doubt it. He doesn't enter every time he sponsors, and he's sponsored more times than not as far back as I can remember. I think he's just that good and decides when he wants to be bothered participating or not." Misty replied. Ash let himself smile.
"I'll beat him." He said. "Just you watch."
"All sixteen participants have been registered and will be randomly shuffled, making two brackets, A and B. Each will be further shuffled into their first-round matchups, all eight of which will take place simultaneously! The victors will obviously progress to round two, and so on until the winners of the A and B brackets will meet in the finals to determine the winner!" Bill gestured grandly to the screen behind him that had begun lighting up as he spoke.
Ash eagerly waited for the randomization process to end and nearly jumped when Bill announced the brackets were set. Ash was disappointed to see that Leaf, Gary and Ritchie were all in the B bracket while he was in A. That meant he was only going to be able to potentially fight one of them. Bill the sponsor was also in the B bracket. Ash didn't envy him, though, having to go up against potentially Gary, Ritchie, or Leaf.
"I can't believe I'll only get to battle one of them." Ash mumbled.
"That's assuming you make it to the finals." Ritchie remarked from a few feet away, having heard Ash as he was passing.
"I will make it to the finals, and I'll make sure to tell those prizes you said hello!" Ash retorted angrily. Ritchie grit his teeth.
"You probably will make it to the finals, my side has all the competent trainers!" He shot back, but Gary's voice got their attention before Ash could yell back.
"Actually, Ash's side is probably more impressive. There are two Master Trainers in the A bracket, and the only noteworthy trainer on our side is Bill." Gary told them. "And you're up against one of them in the first round, Ashy-boy."
"I could take Bill any day of the week!" Ritchie argued with Gary, who just huffed.
"Well, we'll never know, because he's not getting past me in the bracket." He bragged. "But all four of us might as well still have new-car smell compared to all these guys, let alone Bill."
"Your only advantage really is that Bill focuses a lot more on researching and studying than really Pokemon training. He owns Pokemon, but these tournaments are really the most battling he ever does that I know of." Misty added, leaning over Ash's empty shoulder.
Gary nodded his agreement as Bill spoke again.
"Alright everyone, organize like so!" Bill began to direct the competitors around until they were situated.
They were at a little less than regulation battlefield length, but it didn't matter too much considering the expected level of the trainers participating and everyone seemed to have more than enough room.
"We have lovely volunteers from the Pokemon Center standing by each field to act as referees and give medical attention if necessary. Is everyone in place? Alright then, from here I will hand over my announcing duties to our lovely and talented Nurse Joy!" Bill gestured to Joy to replace him on stage before quickly running opposite his opponent.
Misty and Brock looked up at the board, taking note of the matches.
Bracket A
A1: Olly vs. Ash
A1: Buzz vs. Wayne
A2: Joey vs. Joey
A2: Haley vs. Summer
Bracket B
B1: Louis vs. Leaf
B1: Ritchie vs. Dustin
B2: Franklin vs. Gary
B2: Dan vs. Bill
"Now that everyone is in their place, let the first round of the Nugget Bridge Tournament begin!" Joy shouted happily, and the battling commenced.
"Venonat, let's go!" Olly revealed his own choice Pokemon, a round little ball-like Pokemon covered in purple fur.
"Pikachu, I choose you!" Ash had full intentions of starting strong, smiling as Pikachu ran onto the field.
"I chose first, so I'll move first too! Venonat, Tackle!" Olly decided. His Venonat complied, charging head-first towards Pikachu.
"Meet it, Pikachu, with Quick Attack!" Ash countered with a wave of his arm.
"Pika!" Pikachu agreed, sprinting out at Venonat. Pikachu covered far more ground than his opponent and they met closer to Olly's side of the field. They struggled for a moment before Pikachu started to overpower Venonat and knocked it backwards.
"Use Psybeam!" Olly shouted next.
"ThunderShock!" Ash was quick to counter again.
The jagged attacks met, neither having far to travel and exploded upon impact. Venonat and Pikachu were both thrown back, and Ash took the initiative.
"Quick Attack, again!"
Pikachu grunted and pushed off, moving through the smoke to try to hit Venonat but the dual-type had moved. Pikachu appeared confused, before being pelted from a distance with Venonat's Confusion. Ash gasped as Pikachu was lifted off the ground under Venonat's psychic power, but he relaxed himself. He had to not panic, or Pikachu would sense his duress. Besides, he knew the weaknesses of the move Confusion.
"Pikachu, release some Thunder Wave's!"
Pikachu, still flailing around in the air, began to release circle after circle of electric energy from the pouches on his cheeks. Some came closer to hitting Venonat than others and forced the Insect Pokemon to start to pack up. Pikachu immediately felt the slack in its psychic hold.
"Disable it!" Olly cried urgently.
Venonat's eyes shined a brilliant blue, flashing with light at the same time as Pikachu's cheeks. The electric rings coming from them fizzled out, but Venonat was unable to split its attention so hugely and Pikachu was dropped to the ground. He landed smoothly on his feet, having anticipated his fall from when they started spamming Thunder Wave.
"Now what's stopping us from grabbing you again? Use Confusion again, Venonat!" Olly's claim was bold as he commanded his Pokemon, but Ash seemed more excited than surprised.
"Our speed! Pikachu, Quick Attack!" Ash punched the air in front of him as Pikachu took off again, crossing the field faster than Venonat's eyes could even finish glowing. "Finish it with ThunderShock!"
Pikachu didn't so much as let Venonat roll over before unleashing the stream of electricity into it. Olly was surprised by the speed and ferocity while Venonat thrashed about under the attack. As Pikachu landed and stopped his attack, it was clear Ash was the winner, as announced by the nurses aid.
"That was great," Ash complimented Olly as he ran up to them, holding Pikachu in his arms. "We had a lot of fun. We've never fought a Venonat before."
"Well not only did you fight one, but you also beat one. You were pretty impressive out there." Olly repaid him. He held out his hand. "Here, you should take this too. Just because it's a tournament doesn't mean you shouldn't get this too."
Ash looked down at the small red button Olly had given him. It had Venonat superimposed on it. He smiled widely. That was four now. And, like Misty had said, only about a hundred more to go.
"Shellder, use Ice Shard!" Louis called.
The Bivalve Pokemon popped open from its shell and created a small orb of light blue energy. From the orb, sharp shards of ice were thrown directly at Bulbasaur, who took each one into the forehead as Leaf gasped.
"Bulbasaur, hit back with Razor Leaf!" Leaf called. Bulbasaur grunted and stepped forward, throwing out crescent-shaped leaves from underneath the bulb towards Shellder.
"Withdraw!" Louis was desperate to defend from the onslaught, having Shellder completely retreat into its shell.
"Great job, Bulbasaur! Now grab it with Vine Whip!" Leaf cried excitedly.
Bulbasaur's leaves were replaced by thick vines, reaching out to grab Shellder before it could react enough to fire an attack or jump away. Shellder grimaced in pain as Louis gasped, but Leaf smiled.
"Leech Seed!" Leaf called.
Held in Bulbasaur's vines, Shellder could not escape the tiny brown seed fired from the top of Bulbasaur's bulb that landed on it. It quickly exploded into more vines, wrapping around Shellder tight enough to constrict its movement even further. Louis could do nothing as Shellder's health was sapped away by Leech Seed and delivered back into Bulbasaur.
Eventually, Bulbasaur set Shellder down, unconscious, and Leaf was declared the winner of her round.
"Squirtle, use Water Gun!" Dustin cried desperately.
"Dodge it, Zippo, and use Ember!" Ritchie shouted back.
Dustin's Squirtle shot a stream of water at Charmander, who easily moved to avoid the hit and launched small balls of fire back at Squirtle. Despite the hit being resisted, it looked to damage Squirtle a lot still.
"Go in for Scratch!" Ritchie said. Zippo obeyed, running straight for Squirtle while Dustin panicked and ordered a Withdraw, forcing Squirtle to retreat into its shell as Zippo scratched and banged at it with Scratch.
"Rapin Spin from there!"
"Use Growl!" Ritchie's counter was swift and calculated.
Just as Squirtle began to move, Charmander let out a deep growl. The Flame Pokemon forced the Tiny Turtle Pokemon to look into its eyes by attempting to hold it in place with its claws and the water-type couldn't help but shudder at the intimidation tactic.
"Ember!"
Point-blank distance from Squirtle, Charmander shot more balls of red-yellow fire, each slamming into where Squirtle's face would be. Eventually the shell was flung back due to the force and Dustin gasped as Squirtle landed on its shell. Squirtle panicked and came out, trying to right itself up and Ritchie saw his opportunity.
"Fire Fang, go!" He said decisively.
Zippo charged, mouth spitting flames on the way there. As it reached its opponent, Charmander opened its flaming mouth and bit down directly onto Squirtle's flailing tail. There was an explosion that followed, but it was more smoke than anything as a result of all the fire.
Once it cleared, Squirtle was still shell-up and no longer struggling while Zippo stood proud, swooshing its tail from side to side, casting embers at the ground.
Ritchie had won his first round too, and would advance to face Leaf next.
Gary was, similarly, dominating his match.
Franklin had chosen an Onix, but it had to still be a baby because it hardly reached half the size they normally did. Still, Gary operated with caution as Franklin had Onix use Rock Throw.
"Withdraw, Squirtle!" Gary called out.
Squirtle retreated to its shell in midair, slamming into the rock Onix had thrown with ease. The raised defenses allowed it not to slow down as the rock broke apart around it and Gary smiled, realizing his Squirtle had nothing to be afraid of; he had been right, this Onix was just a hatchling, even compared to his own young starter.
"Okay Squirtle, use Water Gun!"
Squirtle landed on the ground and popped out of its shell to spray a stream of water at Onix, who flinched away from the super-effective attack.
"Don't give in yet, Onix, use Tackle!" Franklin ordered.
Onix did its best to angle its face away from the jet of water as it charged through, moving its still-lumbering body at Squirtle. It wasn't fast, but it was big and that still made it hard to react to for Squirtle, who couldn't see through its own water spray. But Gary had been waiting and been ready.
"Withdraw again!" Gary called.
Just before Onix slammed into Squirtle, the Tiny Turtle retreated into its shell again. It was sent flying backwards due to the force behind Onix's Tackle, but the shell looked mostly unharmed.
"Now use Rapin Spin!"
Squirtle, still inside its shell, adjusted course and spun back closer to Onix.
"Catch it with Bind!" Frankling tried to counter, but even still Gary was faster.
"Go left!" He called.
Onix's hulking body righted itself from the Tackle and tried to move its tail out to ensnare Squirtle, but the smaller Pokemon was much more agile and easily steered towards the left like Gary instructed while staying in its shell, to the shock of the audience.
"Hit 'em with another Water Gun!"
Squirtle popped out of its shell again while still moving, sliding semi-gracefully back into Onix's blind spot and scoring another direct hit with Water Gun. All it took was one more failed Tackle from Onix, easily avoided by Squirtle and a final Water Gun to the top of Onix's head to give Gary the win.
Gary was advancing to the second round as well.
"I guess they all wanted to make a powerful first impression, huh?" Misty asked Brock as they watched the battles.
They mostly watched Ash, but they could see the other Pallet Town kids not too far away. It sounded like they were all dominating their battles and had all elected to use their starter Pokemon in the first round.
"Guess so. If they're anything like Ash, their starters are their strongest right now. If Ash is serious about planning for the finals, there's no doubt he wants to use Pikachu there too. So, it makes sense to start and end with your strongest, leaving the other two rounds open for their other Pokemon." Brock noted out loud. "It's risky, sure, because your opponents might just get stronger and stronger but that's the risk you take."
Misty couldn't help but glance over to Bill's battle as well where he easily displaced his opponents Rattata with an Eevee, but the other matches weren't much more interesting. Buzz appeared to easily win his Drowzee, beating Wayne's Magikarp handily. Joey the birdkeeper was going against Joey the not-birdkeeper, using a Pidgeotto and a Rattata respectively; an encounter Pidgeotto eventually won. The last match in the A bracket was the closest to interesting, with Haley using an Oddish against Summer's Exeggcute. But Summer was a Master Trainer and Exeggcute had a type advantage to boot, so she locked in her place as well.
"Looks like the first rounds have been handled rather efficiently! Victors, hold your positions while those eliminated leave the area! Congrats on moving forward, your battling arena has doubled!" Nurse Joy said excitedly. "Is everybody ready?" She did not wait to hear a response. "Round two starts now!"
Ash's next opponent was Buzz, a man who was dressed like he was ready to burglarize a house.
"Machop, rock 'em!" Buzz cried.
Buzz's Pokemon was a humanoid shaped one, with blue-grey skin. It was muscular everywhere, showing off as it flexed.
"Pidgeotto, I choose you!" Ash chose Pidgeotto simultaneously. His bird Pokemon came back out, ready to go.
"Machop, focus up with Focus Energy!" Buzz ordered. Machop tightened its fists by its side and grit its teeth, becoming surrounded in an orange glow.
"Sand Attack, then!" Ash replied swiftly. Pidgeotto swooped down, shoveling sand towards Machop as it tightened its focus. Machop tried to move out of the way of the sand, but Pidgeotto was relentless until Buzz cried out another order.
"Karate Chop!"
Machop sprinted forward, one of its arms glowing a solid white to inflict damage. Machop jumped in an attempt to strike Pidgeotto, but Pidgeotto fluttered back, just out of reach.
"Low Kick!" Buzz switched commands. While hunched over, Machop launched forward swinging its glowing legs outward now.
"Gust!"
Pidgeotto frantically flapped her wings, catching Machop in a small cyclone of wind that is grew more and more desperate to break out of. Buzz called for several attacks that Machop tried to execute, but to no avail; it just flailed around wildly trying to Karate Chop the wind.
"Finish it, Pidgeotto! Wing Attack into Quick Attack!" Ash said.
Pidgeotto darted forwards, smacking Machop with her glowing wing. The force send it straight downward, finally breaking apart the Gust attack, but just as it pushed up off the ground Pidgeotto was upon it. Pidgeotto slammed into Machop using Quick Attack and before Machop could even process the attack it was flung backwards again.
It was obvious to everyone that Ash and Pidgeotto were the winners. Buzz recalled his Machop and walked off without a word to Ash, who was going over to congratulate his opponent.
"That was kinda rude…" Ash muttered to himself and Pikachu, who nodded but shrugged.
Semi-finals, here they come!
"Bulbasaur, I can count on you!" Leaf chose her starter for battle again as Ritchie stood opposite her.
She hoped he didn't choose his own starter; Bulbasaur was her strongest Pokemon and was her best chance at beating Ritchie. Even if he chose Charmander, she didn't think either of her other Pokemon were strong enough to compete with it; not after she noticed how it destroyed that Squirtle earlier even with a type disadvantage.
"Stag, let's go!" Ritchie's choice came immediately. Leaf was admittedly a little relieved it wasn't Charmander, but that presented a new problem, an unknown opponent.
Ritchie's Pokemon, nicknamed Stag, was a Pinsir that stood twice as tall over her Bulbasaur. The pincers on its head clicked together intimidatingly, but Leaf held her ground.
"Use Razor Leaf, Bulbasaur!" Leaf shouted, starting things off.
Bulbasaur stomped its foot and leaned forward, sending another multitude of crescent-shaped leaves towards its opponent.
"Harden!" Ritchie nullified their attack quickly. A quick gleam of light moved across Pinsir's body as it tensed up its muscles, preparing for the impact of Bulbasaur's Razor Leaf. The leaves struck Pinsir's hardened body, nicking off it and either falling flat or being deflected sideways.
"Fine then, Vine Whip!"
Bulbasaur used its vines again, reaching out and whipping at Pinsir even as it stood stoically against their onslaught. Its raised defenses helped, but even Ritchie knew it couldn't stand there forever.
"Focus Energy!" Ritchie said. Even standing strong between a few more whips, Pinsir's body tensed again but it glowed an orange hue this time. Its defenses were raised, and its focus was tightened now, and Bulbasaur was hammering away at nothing.
"Vine Whip but grab it!" She changed tactics, but Ritchie was already ready.
"Vise Grip!" He called.
Pinsir reacted swiftly, ducking its entire body to square both of Bulbasaur's vines between its two giant pincers and clamped down. Bulbasaur audibly growled in pain and recoiled instinctively, trying to pull back but Pinsir wouldn't allow it and squeezed harder.
"Bulbasaur!" Leaf cried out; her was voice fraught with worry. "Go in for a Tackle!"
Bulbasaur gave up tugging its vines and charged forward, running towards Pinsir. Bulbasaur slammed into Pinsir hard enough to knock the bug-type over and release its vines, much to the shock of Ritchie.
"Point-blank Razor Leaf!"
Practically standing on top of Pinsir, Bulbasaur shot off another Razor Leaf attack. This time they looked to do more damage, but Ritchie ordered Pinsir to power through.
"Stag, use Bug Bite!" He called suddenly.
Pinsir lurched forward, the claws on its head now glowing a light green color as they pinched Bulbasaur between them. Bulbasaur flailed about in pain, but Leaf was quick to react again.
"Vine Whip! Pull them apart!" She cried. Even struggling between the pincers, Bulbasaur sprouted vines again and attempted to force open the pincers that trapped it in their vise-like grip.
"Don't let it, use Seismic Toss!" Ritchie ordered.
The pincers on Pinsir's head seemed to move independently, keeping Bulbasaur locked between them while Pinsir leaned far back, going to slam Bulbasaur into the ground behind it. It would've been a heavy hit, had Bulbasaur not forced itself free just in time.
"Magical Leaf!" Leaf cried urgently, hoping to capitalize on the surprise factor.
Bulbasaur's bulb seemed to glow the slightest bit as it sent out multiple light green glowing leaves at Pinsir. They were distinctly different shaped than Razor Leaf, more akin to the shape of regular tree leaves than the crescent-shaped ones created by Razor Leaf. Even still, they hurt plenty and caused Pinsir to quickly pull back and stumble forward, wincing in pain.
"Tackle it again!" Leaf continued her orders. Bulbasaur charged, but Ritchie was quicker and ordered Pinsir to jump straight up and the Stag Beetle Pokemon quickly jumped straight over Leaf's attack.
"Go for a Bug Bite again!" Ritchie called.
Pinsir twisted in the air, aiming its horns straight down and Bulbasaur was caught between them again. This time, Bulbasaur gave a few sounds of struggle at first, but was quickly overwhelmed. It looked like it had been a critical hit on Bulbasaur.
"Bulbasaur, no!" Leaf cried as she ran to check on her starter. Ritchie calmly congratulated Stag before turning to Leaf.
"Not bad, but I would've expected more from you." He said it so matter-of-factly that Leaf didn't even reply, just picked up her tired Bulbasaur.
"It's your turn, Growlithe!" Gary selected his Pokemon quickly and easily.
The orange canine-like Pokemon appeared eager to battle, standing ready while Bill selected his own Pokemon.
"Clefairy, come on out now!" Bill chose, and many onlookers were surprised to see such a rare Pokemon.
The pink Pokemon landed before Bill and happily waived its arms, which was enough of a signal to begin for Gary.
"Use Howl!" Gary began.
Growlithe begun a growl that quickly got louder and louder, until there was a visible orange aura coming from its maw. It matched the color that bathed its body, signifying a stat-raise.
"Clefairy, use Disarming Voice!" Bill ordered next.
Clefairy nodded and began to wail, producing a beam of pink soundwaves surrounded by multiple hearts and music notes that traveled at Growlithe, who took the attack head-on while he continued to power-up.
"Sweet Kiss!"
"Dodge it, Growlithe!"
Clefairy's mouth glowed pink and produced a pink heart that Clefairy blew at Growlithe, but the fire-type was on the move maneuvering around the giant heart.
"Go for a Bite!" Growlithe ran towards Clefairy around the heart, jumping and latching onto Clefairy's body with its now-glowing jaw.
Clefairy screeched in pain while Growlithe applied more pressure.
"Use Pound!" Bill countered. Both of Clefairy's hands glowed white as the fairy-type started mercilessly swatting at Growlithe's head as hard as it could.
Growlithe winced and held on as long as it could but did eventually release Clefairy to get away from the constant assault. Clefairy landed again as Bill ordered another Disarming Voice that hit Growlithe at close range.
"Ember!" Gary commanded back.
Growlithe fired out a few balls of fire, red-yellow in color that forced Clefairy to stop its assault to block its face. Clefairy skidded back a few inches trying to take the attack and Gary ordered another Howl, powering up Growlithe again.
"Copycat that!" Bill's order came as a surprise, as Clefairy became covered in a grey-ish aura as it used Howl back at Growlithe.
After both their attack stats were raised again, more orders came.
"Go in for Pound!" Bill cried. Clefairy ran forward, both arms glowing again determined to attack Growlithe while Gary thrusted his arm out.
"Flame Wheel!" The command shocked everyone watching, doubly so as Growlithe took off running.
It jumped into the air while producing a mass of red-orange fire and somersaulted through it, coming through it in a wheel-like form and heading straight for Clefairy. To it's own credit, Clefairy didn't back down, but Bill was ready to change strategies.
"Metronome!" Bill cried out. To saw the audience was shocked now would be an understatement.
The glowing on Clefairy's arms ceased, leaving only its index finger to glow and wag back and forth a few times in rapid succession. Suddenly, a monstrous stream of water shot forward from Clefairy's finger and collided with Growlithe. The force pushed it back instantly and extinguished any hope of Flame Wheel landing.
The vortex of water plowed Growlithe backwards and into the ground with such force that Clefairy was pushed back from even using the move. It was over in seconds, and it was clear that Clefairy had summoned Hydro Pump via Metronome. Gary knew without even looking that Growlithe wouldn't be able to keep going after taking an attack like that.
"That was a great battle." Bill said as he approached Gary.
"Thanks, we had fun. You won't get so lucky twice with Metronome though. Next time, I'll beat you anyway." Gary replied, going for a handshake that Bill returned.
"You know Metronome is completely random, so I couldn't have foreseen that. But I never expected such an attack to come out, it seemed so unlikely." Bill told him. "I just didn't have anything else to stop you, nothing else could've broken through that Flame Wheel after your attack boosts."
"Hey, it's the game we all play, right?" Gary replied easily. "Better luck next time."
Gary departed his own battlefield as Bill waved a bit more to the crowd. He seemed to be a bit of a local presence here.
Ash and Pikachu eagerly watched the semifinals participants lit up on the electronic board. It was a shock to see Gary had lost, and even more shocking to see that Leaf had lost to Ritchie.
"You might get that fight with him after all." Gary said, nudging him.
"What happened to all that talk about 'see you in the finals, Ashy-boy'?" Ash mocked him. Gary waved his hand dismissively.
"Can't win 'em all. I'll get 'em next time." He said. "You better watch, there's only fifteen minutes to prepare for the semifinals. I'm gonna go find Leaf, okay?"
"She's over there with Misty and Brock, by where I'm gonna battle next." Ash told him.
"You know where I'll be then. But be careful, the next one is another Master Trainer." Gary advised him before leaving.
Ash took a deep breath.
"We might have to go up against Ritchie in the finals already. That won't be easy, but I'm sure we can do it." Ash muttered to himself. "Easy, nothing we haven't kinda done before, right?"
"Pika, Pikapi?" Pikachu seemed to ask from his shoulder.
"Hm? Oh, what's wrong?" Ash took a moment to figure out what Pikachu had said. "Nothing, Pikachu. Just some history there with Ritchie, that's all."
Pikachu seemed unconvinced but didn't say anything else. They simply watched the board for a few more minutes before they turned to go get ready for their third round battle.
Part one of the Nugget Bridge Tournament is done! I wasn't sure if I wanted this all in one chapter or not, but I thought the bit of suspense might be a nice way to end this chapter. Plus we got so many battles last chapter, I'd hate to put two chapters with like a million battles in them together and then create a dry spell. I'd rather spread them out a little bit for you!
Here we have the first look at the Ash/Gary/Ritchie/Leaf dynamic. It will get a lot of attention so I don't want to break it down completely for you guys just yet, but Ritchie is NOT Paul, he's not even Trip. It is just Ash he has a problem with, and that just kinda extends to Gary and Leaf mostly by proxy. Those exact reasons, as I said, will come up gradually but I hope everyone enjoys the change of pace with Gary and Ritchie's characters.
I'm hopefully setting up everyone at battling good. All four of the Pallet kids are essentially Pokemon prodegies for different reasons. It's hard to make that clear so soon but later on we'll see that too. Right now I hope we can see shades of it with Ritchie attempting to power up, counting on that critical hit, and Gary pretty easily dominating both of his battles only to lose to the mere random chance of Metronome. We all know those feelings, am I right? Leaf is pretty straight forward, she knows her Pokemon well and what it'll take to get a win. And then Ash... Ash operates on vibes.
Would you guys want to see team breakdowns of Gary, Leaf and Ritchie when they appear like I show for the main cast? Or is that not necessary for you guys? Let me know!
Dragonkeeper10: Thanks! Hope you're glad to keep seeing more! Between all the battles there hasn't been a terrible amount of dialogue, but I hope you're enjoying the dynamics of the Pallet kids so far. Pretty much everyone will get a mix of their canon and some non-canon Pokemon, I think it keeps it the most interesting. The tricky part is figuring out how many everyone gets and at what point it feels excessive. I will give you peace of mind that Ash will still catch the three Kanto starters. He has to keep some of his protagonist powers, after all, and I think I can make a lot of interesting parallels to the other Pallet kids.
Charizard is overrated, but Ash's gets a pass from me for... y'know, being the reason lol. And yes! Just trying to drop some hints in the background about the goings on for now, but we will see that Pikachu again. And yeah, but Ritchie's will be a bit tardy to this party this time. His is the least story-relevant, so in order to not overload everyone with Pikachu, Sparky will be around later on.
Speed Reader: Thanks! Glad you're enjoying the battles so far! I don't know if you can tell or if I've said this but they're my favorite thing to write, so it means a lot that you've enjoyed them all! Hope that keeps up, we got a handful here and a few more to go really soon!
mpsRocket: I have to say being complimented on my handling of Team Rocket from someone with Rocket in their name is VERY flattering! I'm glad you're enjoying them, they're some of my absolute favorites and I hate how a lot of authors use them. I'm trying to find a long-term balance between pests and flat out main characters, but for now their theiving antics work great for subplots!
Ash's Team: Pikachu, Butterfree, Pidgeotto
Pikachu: Electric - Male - Static - Rash | ThunderShock, Tail Whip, Growl, Nuzzle, Charm, Thunder Wave, Brick Break, Quick Attack
Butterfree: Bug/Flying - Male - Compound Eyes - Hardy | Tackle, String Shot, Harden, Gust, Supersonic, Confusion, Stun Spore, Poison Powder, Sleep Powder, Psybeam
Pidgeotto: Normal/Flying - Female - Keen Eye - Hasty | Tackle, Sand Attack, Gust, Quick Attack, Wing Attack
Misty's Team: Staryu, Goldeen, Tentacool
Staryu: Water - N/A - Natural Cure - Modest | Tackle, Rapid Spin, Harden, Water Gun, Confuse Ray, Swift
Goldeen: Water - Female - Swift Swim - Careful | Peck, Tail Whip, Supersonic
Tentacool: Water/Poison - Male - Liquid Ooze - Hardy | Water Gun, Poison Sting, Acid, Supersonic, Wrap
Brock's Team: Onix, Geodude, Zubat
Onix: Rock/Ground - Male - Rock Head - Calm | Tackle, Bind, Screech, Harden, Rock Throw
Geodude: Rock/Ground - Male - Sturdy - Relaxed | Tackle, Defense Curl, Rock Throw
Zubat: Poison/Flying - Male - Inner Focus - Hasty | Absorb, Supersonic, Astonish
Jessie's Team: Ekans, Spearow
Ekans: Poison - Male - Shed Skin - Serious | Poison Sting, Bite, Wrap, Leer
Spearow: Normal/Flying - Male - Keen Eye - Hasty | Peck, Growl, Leer
James' Team: Koffing, Spearow, Weedle
Koffing: Poison - Male - Levitate - Bashful | Poison Gas, Tackle, Smog, Smokescreen
Spearow: Normal/Flying - Female - Keen Eye - Lax | Peck, Growl Leer
Weedle: Bug/Poison - Female - Swarm - Jolly | Poison Sting, String Shot
Meowth: Normal - Male - Pickup - Sassy | Fury Swipes, Scratch, Growl, Fake Out