This chapter turned out a little shorter than usual, but I hope you will still enjoy it. Will Ashley win her second battle of the semi-finals and advance to the Victory Tournament?

Disclaimer: I do not own any Pokémon characters! I only own my OCs!

Chapter 55: Look Out, Floor is Hazardous!

After our first victory in the semi-finals, Ash and I got to take a break for a day while Macy and Ritchie battled the third Trainer in our separate division. Macy won against Vincent after his Poliwhirl got distracted by its Trainer tripping over his own cape. Ritchie however didn't have the same luck. He got demolished by Vernon, earning him zero points. So in order for either me or Vernon to move on to the Victory Tournament, one of us had to win to earn three more points to secure a spot.

Ash and I returned to our hotel room after Ritchie's battle to check data of our next opponents. My brother quickly put a team together after analyzing Vincent's registered Pokémon. Many of them were actually water Pokémon, so Ash decided on Ivysaur, Pikachu and Cyndaquil. Cyndaquil was more like a backup against Vincent's Meganium and his shiny Magneton if he were to use them.

I had a harder time choosing my new trio team. Vernon had a various collection of powerful Pokémon. He was in his early twenties so he had at least ten years of experience as a Trainer. Brock offered to help me selecting my Pokémon, but I wanted to try doing this myself for a change. Ash and our friends left the room to get Ivysaur from Professor Oak, so I was by myself, which I didn't mind.

I studied his list of Pokémon including their known moves. I noticed they knew moves meant to set up the battlefield with hazard moves like Spikes, Spider Web and et cetera. Then, to really put the opponents in a predicament, Vernon's Pokémon set up Reflect and or Light Screen to reduce the damage done to them.

I figured I needed to use my older Pokémon against him, so I put together a team and registered it. With it done, I hurried to the Pokémon Center to call Professor Oak so I could switch Pokémon.

As I approached the Pokémon Center, I noticed a crowd had gathered around something. I pushed myself through and stumbled upon a Meganium and an Azumarill brawling with an Ivysaur and a Croconaw. I instantly recognized Ivysaur and Croconaw as Ash's Pokémon.

"Ash!" I yelled when my brother and our friends, and Vincent, rushed to the scene. "What's going on here?!"

"I don't know!" Ash replied. "Ivysaur, Croconaw, stop it!"

"Meganium, Azumarill, lay it off, would ya?!" Vincent shouted.

I didn't know what to do until Harrison showed out of nowhere with a Miltank by his side. "Miltank, use Heal Bell!"

"Mil mil!" Miltank mooed. She moved her tail that made the same noise as a bell. A calm melody rang around us, soothing everyone down. Even the grass and water Pokémon calmed down and behaved like they were best friends forever.

"Good job, Miltank", Harrison praised his Pokémon.

"Harrison!" Ash rushed to the Trainer. "Thanks a lot!"

"Hi, Ash", Harrison smiled. "Was it your Pokémon that were fighting?"

"Y-Yeah…", Ash confessed with a sheepish laugh.

"Two of them were mine as well…", Vincent cold sweated.

Officer Jenny drove to the scene on her motorcycle and caused the crowd to split up. "I got a report of Pokémon fighting, so I came to investigate!"

Ash and Vincent didn't know what to say, so Harrison stepped in to protect them. "There is no fighting here, Officer Jenny, but there were some Pokémon practicing for the Conference."

"Really?" Officer Jenny arched a brow.

"Yes, they were sparring!" Gary joined in. "You know, they were getting ready for their next match by warming themselves up."

Ritchie appeared next to my childhood rival with Sparky on his shoulders. "I can reassure you the Pokémon were working out together, but I guess they were a little too enthusiastic."

"Pika pika!" Sparky nodded.

Officer Jenny seemed pleased with the witness statements. "Well, practicing is permitted, but make sure to look after your Pokémon", she warned us. "If any of your Pokémon gets involved in a fight during the tournament, you can either lose points or get disqualified!"

Ash and Vincent turned stiff like popsicles by the warning, the colors fading from their cheeks. "Yes, ma'am!"

Officer Jenny took off to continue patrolling while the rest of us took a breath of relief, relieved we didn't get into much trouble thanks to everyone. "Thanks a lot, guys! You saved our bacon!" Ash smiled.

Gary snorted loudly. "Don't think I did it 'cause of kind heart! I need you to remain in the competition so I can crush you, Ash!"

"What?!" Ash growled, clearly agitated by our rival's statement. Gary left with a shrug, which irritated my brother even more.

"Gary is quite a character", Ritchie commented.

"Tell me about it…", I sighed tiredly. "He's been like this for as long as I can remember."

"Is he a childhood friend of yours?" Vincent wondered.

"More like a rival", Ash replied, clenching his fist. "He's always looked down on me and my sister. I swear I'm gonna defeat him and make him pay for everything he has done to us."

"Sounds like you have a personal vendetta", Harrison said. "I don't know the details, but don't let your frustration cloud your mind. It'll make you lose attention to the battle and it will put your Pokémon in a huge disadvantage."

"Spoken like a true Trainer", Brock nodded.

"Yeah, you need to have a clear mind during battles so you can support your Pokémon in the best way", Misty added.

"I already know that…", Ash pouted.

I gasped when I realized I had almost forgotten something. "I need to call Professor Oak and get my team ready!"

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Thanks to Professor Oak, I got my three Pokémon so I spent the rest of the day practicing with them, preparing for the upcoming battle. I felt pretty much ready when the day was over, but I was still nervous when I stepped onto the battlefield when it was my and Vernon's turn. Ash and Vincent had their match a few hours ago that ended in a draw with Ivysaur and Meganium battling it out to the very final. With a draw came one point for each Trainer, but since Vincent lost to Macy, he had only earned one point in total while Ash moved on to the Victory Tournament with four points.

"Welcome to the last match of the K-Division! Today we have Vernon and Ashley battling it out to earn a spot in the Victory Tournament! Both have earned three victory points each, so this match will settle it! And the first Trainer to call out their Pokémon is Vernon!"

"Begin the battle!" the referee announced.

"This is going to be easy peasy!" Vernon grinned and threw his Poké Ball. "Go, Ariados!"

"Ariiiaa!" Ariados hissed aggressively when it entered the field.

I reached for my Poké Ball and threw it to call out my first Pokémon of this battle. "I choose you, Hunter!"

"Aeroooo!" Hunter snarled when he came out and landed on the ground, glaring at the spider Pokémon.

"Ariados, use Poison Jab!" Vernon yelled.

"Ariiia!" Ariados ran toward Hunter with one of its front legs glowing purple.

"Dodge it, Hunter!" I shouted. Hunter howled and swiftly flew up to the sky, dodging the poisonous jab. "Now, use Stealth Rock!"

"Ariados, counter with Sticky Web!" Vernon shouted.

Hunter summoned several large boulders around him and sent them flying toward the ground while Ariados fired bundles of cobwebs at them. The moves bounced each other off and ended up on the field, the boulders scattered on Vernon's side and cobwebs on my field. Hunter remained in the air and scouted the field.

"Both Pokémon has set up traps across the field! One side prevents the Pokémon from fleeing if they come in contact with the Sticky Web while Stealth Rocks cause damage every time Vernon switches Pokémon."

"Not bad", Vernon shrugged. "But your Aerodactyl is quite annoying. Ariados, use your web to pull Aerodactyl down!"

"Aria!" Ariados blew silk from its mouth, aimed at Hunter.

"Flamethrower, Hunter!" I yelled.

Hunter screeched as he breathed a thick beam of fire. The silk burned into crisp as the flames engulfed Ariados. Ariados screamed in pain as it ran around the field, trying to put the fire out.

"Ariados, roll around to put the fire out!" Vernon shouted.

Ariados listened and rolled around the dirt field, slowly extinguishing the fire on its body. This was also perfect timing for Hunter to attack.

"Hunter, attack with Ancient Power!" I yelled.

"Rooooo!" Hunter summoned boulders with fake fossils stuck on them and threw them at Ariados. Ariados dodged one of them after it was done rolling around, but it ended up crashing into another boulder behind it. A third boulder landed on the spider Pokémon, burying it in the ground.

The dust cleared up, revealing a very much defeated Ariados. "Ariados is unable to battle!" the referee announced, raising the green flag. "Aerodactyl wins!"

"Vernon is already down one Pokémon! This doesn't look good for him so far."

Something nagged me in the back of my head. This battle felt a little too easy for Hunter. It was like Vernon didn't utilize Ariados's strong sides, like it was meant to be a scapegoat. Then again, every Trainer had different strategies. Perhaps he used Ariados merely to set up Sticky Web.

"Return, Ariados", Vernon recalled his Pokémon and switched Poké Balls. "Go, Slowking!"

"Sloowking!"

A Slowking replaced Ariados, but that also triggered the Stealth Rocks. They came alive and levitated from the field before they smashed together into Slowking. It shrieked when it got hurt by the entry hazard move and landed on the ground with bruises formed on its body.

"Ouch, Slowking took damage due to Stealth Rock! This puts Slowking in a disadvantage with its health already taking damage."

"Slowking, use Nasty Plot!" Vernon yelled.

Slowking hummed as it closed its eyes with its body enveloped in red and black energy. It opened its eyes and snickered evilly. Nasty Plot raised a Pokémon's special attack and Slowking was a Pokémon specialized in special attacks, so it was getting dangerous for Hunter.

However, this gave me an opportunity to clean up my field for my two other Pokémon. "Hunter, burn the Sticky Web with Flamethrower!"

"Slowking, block the Flamethrower with Blizzard!" Vernon yelled.

Slowking blew a howling blizzard from its mouth, blocking the flames from Hunter's Flamethrower. While ice-type moves weren't effective against fire-type moves, this Blizzard was much stronger thanks to Nasty Plot. The flames were pushed back by the icy winds while Hunter used all his strength to keep using Flamethrower.

"Dodge, Hunter!" I yelled.

Hunter quit breathing fire, but he wasn't fast enough to avoid the Blizzard. He was caught in the snowstorm, frost forming on his wings as he tried keeping himself flying. Ice-type moves were super-effective to him, so he dropped down like a stone. When the dust settled, I realized to my horror that he had landed on one of the Sticky Webs. He flailed about and tried to pull himself free with the little strength he had left.

"Hunter, can you use Flamethrower to burn the web?!" I shouted.

"That won't happen!" Vernon declared. "Slowking, use Blizzard again!"

"Slooooow!" Slowking blew another Blizzard at Hunter who didn't use Flamethrower in time. He was hit by compact snow that hit him in his face. I was hit by a chill wind of Blizzard so I shielded myself until the attack was done. Hunter laid on the ground, frozen and defeated.

"Roooh…"

"Aerodactyl is unable to battle! Slowking wins!" the referee announced, raising the red flag.

"What a comeback! Slowking took down Aerodactyl like it was nothing! Those Sticky Webs Ariados set up before worked to its advantage!"

"Return, Hunter", I retrieved him to his Poké Ball. "You were great, Hunter. Take a good rest." I strapped his Poké Ball onto my belt and grabbed another one for my next Pokémon. "I'm counting on you, Volt!"

"Joolteoon!" Volt barked as he appeared on the field where there was no web, his spiky fur sparkling by electricity, eager for action.

"Ashley's second Pokémon is Jolteon! A good choice against a water Pokémon like Slowking, but I have a feeling Slowking will give Jolteon a challenge!"

"Watch your steps, Volt! The field is covered by Sticky Web, so make sure not to get stuck on them!" I quickly warned him.

"Jool!" Volt nodded.

"Start with Thunderbolt!" I shouted.

"JolteOOON!" Volt unleashed a lightning bolt toward Slowking who had its arms crossed.

"Light Screen!" Vernon yelled.

There it was!

Slowking raised its hands and made its eye glow blue as it set up a transparent wall in front of it. The lightning bolt slipped through the wall, but it was more like a tiny spark as most of the Thunderbolt's power got reduced immensely.

"Slowking set up Light Screen which reduces the power of all special moves! Now Jolteon will have a much harder time attacking it!"

The commentator was right on that part, but I had a backup plan. All I had to do was to buy some time and wait until Light Screen was no longer active. "Volt, use Roar!"

"Roar?!" Vernon exclaimed in surprise.

Volt barked so loud it sounded like an actual roar. Slowking grimaced in fear before it transformed into red energy and slipped back to its Poké Ball. That in turn forced Vernon's third Pokémon to enter the battlefield. I couldn't see what Pokémon it was first because the Stealth Rock clashed against it. The Pokémon landed on the ground, revealing its identity.

"Doooon!"

"Ladies and gentlemen, Vernon's third Pokémon is Donphan that replaced Slowking after it was scared away by Jolteon's Roar!"

I gritted my teeth in frustration. I didn't expect a ground Pokémon of all types. I could switch to my third Pokémon, but I feared Vernon would just switch back to Slowking immediately, not caring if it got hurt by Stealth Rock.

Then again, I was prepared for a battle with Volt against ground Pokémon.

"Donphan, use Earthquake!" Vernon shouted.

"Volt, Magnet Rise!" I yelled.

Donphan stomped the ground, making it quake beneath my feet. Volt became surrounded in yellow energy which made him rise off the ground, so he didn't get hurt by the ground-type move.

"Whoa! Jolteon dodged Earthquake by using electromagnetism to levitate above the ground! That was quick thinking of Ashley!"

"Fine, if that's how you want to play!" Vernon growled. "Donphan, knock down Jolteon with Rollout!"

"Dooon!" Donphan trumpeted as he curled himself into a ball and rolled down the battlefield, bouncing up to get to Volt.

"Dodge and use Shadow Ball, Volt!" I shouted.

Volt jumped to the side so Donphan rolled right past him. He fired a Shadow Ball from the front of his mouth, landing a hit of the rolling Pokémon. The Light Screen did pop up and reduced the Shadow Ball's strength, but Donphan still got caught off guard and uncurled himself, landing on a safe part on my side where there was no web.

I got an interesting idea when I realized I could use the Sticky Webs to my advantage. "Volt, get back to my field!"

"Jol?" Volt barked with a confused expression, but he listened to my command and levitated to my field, coming closer to Donphan.

"Now's your chance, Donphan!" Vernon yelled. "Rollout again!"

Donphan trumpeted aggressively and rolled toward Volt who levitated only meters away. "Dodge, Volt!" I yelled swiftly.

Volt leapt over Donphan with ease, which resulted with Vernon's Pokémon rolling straight onto a Sticky Web. Volt landed on the ground with ease with Magnet Rise done, and turned to the flailing Pokémon. Donphan panicked and trumpeted while trying to get free, using his trunk to rip the sticky cobweb apart.

"Whoops, looks like Donphan fell right into a Sticky Web! It seems it cannot get free from the cobwebs Ariados set up for Ashley's Pokémon."

"Now, Volt! Launch as many Shadow Balls as you can!" I yelled.

"Defense Curl, Donphan!" Vernon yelled.

Volt fired Shadow Balls after another, all of them slipping through the Light Screen, so they didn't cause much damage to Donphan that used his trunk as a shield. At the fourth Shadow Ball, the transparent wall shattered into pieces, having grown weak after the bombarding assault.

"Donphan, it's time for Giga Impact!" Vernon exclaimed.

Donphan enveloped himself in bright colors that emitted such a heat it scorched the Sticky Web. Donphan launched himself forward and tackled Volt so hard he got thrown into the wall surrounding the arena.

"Volt!" I shrieked worriedly as he fell to the ground. Donphan landed on his feet and panted deeply, affected by the backlash of Giga Impact.

"Volt, are you okay?!" I yelled.

Volt struggled up on his paws, grinding his teeth while he growled at the recovering Donphan. "J-Jolt…"

I was in quite a predicament. I could either let Volt take out Donphan, but I needed him for Slowking as he was the best against the dual-type Pokémon. "Volt, use Roar!"

Volt roared at Donphan who swiftly retreated to his haven and forced Slowking out. Slowking got caught off guard by the sudden switch. "Sloow?" Just one second after it was out, the Stealth Rocks smashed into it again, chipping down its health.

"Now, Volt, use Thunderbolt!" I yelled.

Slowking barely had a chance recovering from the entry hazard when it got electrocuted by Volt's Thunderbolt. It screamed in pain during the electrocution and got weak enough to land on one knee, its body sizzling by scorched marks.

"Slowking, get up quick!" Vernon demanded.

"S-Sloow…!" Slowking grunted while it forced itself on both feet again.

Now that Volt managed to land a successful hit on Slowking, I assumed Vernon's two remaining Pokémon were weakened a lot so my third and last Pokémon could take care of them if Volt got defeated.

"Shadow Ball, Volt!" I shouted.

"Catch that Shadow Ball with Psychic!" Vernon commanded.

Volt launched a large Shadow Ball at Slowking, but it used its psychic powers to grab the Shadow Ball without physically touching it. The ghost ball levitated in front of Slowking who waited for further instructions.

"Send it back with Blizzard!" Vernon called out.

Slowking blew another harsh snowy wind from its mouth, sending a snowstorm along the Shadow Ball back at Volt. Volt was already fighting the cold wind by having a firm grip on the ground, but he got knocked down by his own Shadow Ball, twitching in pain and cold.

"Volt!" I gasped in horror.

"Jolteon is unable to battle! Slowking wins!" the referee announced and raised Vernon's flag.

"What a major comeback! Slowking took down Jolteon with its own Shadow Ball! This forces Ashley to depend on her last Pokémon!"

I held back a bitter grimace, meant for Slowking. It was much stronger than I anticipated even without the boost of Nasty Plot after its stats got reset after it got forced back to its Poké Ball. I recalled Volt and planted a kiss on his Poké Ball. "You were amazing, Volt. Rest with Hunter while Oliver finishes this." I switched to Oliver's Poké Ball and called him out. "I leave the rest to you, Oliver!"

"Vilepluume!" Oliver shrieked joyfully while his flower released a sweet scent.

"Ashley's last Pokémon is Vileplume! Everything could come to an end now or will Ashley and Vileplume turn the tide around, giving Vernon a challenge?"

"I'll pluck that weed of yours easily!" Vernon smirked. "Slowking, boost your special attack to max with Nasty Plot!"

"Slooow…!" Slowking meditated with its body glowing red and black, a dark smirk growing on his lips.

I knew Oliver had to take out Slowking now or else he could get OHK'd. "Oliver, use Solar Beam as fast as you can!"

"Viiiile…!" Oliver absorbed sunlight into the pistil of his flower while Slowking continued using Nasty Plot to maximizing his special attack. The sunlight in the pistil turned into a golden color which meant Oliver was ready to fire Solar Beam. He jumped up and aimed his flower at Slowking before he fired his move.

"Slowking, set up Light Screen!" Vernon panicked.

Slowking opened its eyes from Nasty Plot and raised its hands to activate Light Screen, but it came slightly too late. Slowking was engulfed in the sunlight screaming in pain until an explosion erupted. Oliver landed on the ground and cautiously eyed the thick smoke. It soon cleared up and revealed a fainted Slowking.

"S-Sloow…"

The referee raised my flag. "Slowking is unable to battle! Vileplume wins!"

"Slowking got defeated by a single Solar Beam, which I believe it was partially because of the Stealth Rock damage it took twice before. This means both Trainers are down to their last Pokémon."

"Great job, Oliver!" I praised him. "Only one left to go!"

"Vile vileplume!" Oliver bounced happily.

Vernon silently recalled his fallen Slowking and switched Pokémon. "Welp, this is it. Donphan, endure the Stealth Rocks with Defense Curl!"

"Doooon!" Donphan trumpeted when he was released, immediately curling himself into a ball.

The Stealth Rocks levitated from the ground and smashed into the curled Pokémon. I had to say, it was a smart move to make his Pokémon shield itself from the Stealth Rocks. Donphan straightened his body and landed on the ground, covered in dust and bruises. To be honest, I was surprised it was still standing after taking entry hazardous damage.

"This is our final opponent, Oliver! He's already weak, but be still careful!" I informed him.

"Plum!"

"Donphan, use Rollout!" Vernon shouted.

"Dooo-oooh!" Donphan trumpeted and rolled toward Oliver.

"Oliver, Grass Knot!" I yelled.

Oliver's eyes glowed green and secretly grew a root from the ground in the shape of a knot. Donphan didn't see it coming because he was all curled up, so his leg got caught in it. He yelped in surprise before he crashed, whimpering in pain by the heavy impact.

"Donphan!" Vernon yelled worriedly.

"We've got him now!" I shouted. "Oliver, use Petal Dance!"

"Vilepluuum!" Vileplume released a swirl of pink petals from his pistil, striking Donphan with such a force it threw him backwards.

"Dooon!" Donphan screamed and crashed on the ground in front of Vernon.

"Donphan, are you okay?!" the male Trainer shouted.

Donphan tried getting up, but he was too exhausted so he gave in. "Don…"

"Donphan is unable to battle! Vileplume wins!" the referee announced and raised the green flag. "The winner of this match is Ashley Ketchum!"

"You did it, Oliver!" I smiled, bouncing happily.

"Vil vile!" Oliver rushed to me so we could give each other big hugs.

"This concludes the competition of the K-Division in the semi-finals", the announcer called out, the main screen switching to the point score between me, Ritchie and Vernon. "With three victory points for each of her battles, Ashley's total points of six sends her to the Victory Tournament!"

I couldn't believe for a second that both Ash and I made it to the big finals. Now we were in Top 16, which was already a victory to me. Vernon congratulated me and promised he was going to root for me in the Victory Tournament which I appreciated.

All that was left to do now was to wait for the other matches to be done and wait for the next announcement of who made it to the Victory Tournament.

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Ashley's party:

Trica the Furret (female)

Axel the Scyther (male)

Sora the Dragonair (female)

Hunter the Aerodactyl (male)

Oliver the Vileplume (male)

Volt the Jolteon (male)

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Ashley's Pokémon at the Lab:

Wanda the Gyarados (female)

Aria the Lapras (female)

Kobra the Arbok (male)

Poseidon the shiny Gyarados (male)

Mystic the Togetic (male)

Queendra the Kingdra (female)

Hikaru the Ampharos (male)

Cedric the Tyranitar (male)

Victor the Houndoom (male)

Lily the Espeon (female)

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Ashley's roaming Pokémon:

Crystal the Suicune (genderless)

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Ash's party:

Pikachu (male)

Cyndaquil (male)

Croconaw (male)

Phanpy (male)

Larvitar (male)

Ivysaur (male)

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Ash's Pokémon at the Lab:

Tauros (male)

Kingler (male)

Poliwrath (male)

Wartortle (male)

Shiny Noctowl (male)

Heracross (male)

Snorlax (male)

Bayleef (female)

Dudunsparce (male)

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Ash's roaming Pokémon:

Entei (genderless)

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Misty's party:

Staryu (genderless)

Psyduck (male)

Togepi (female)

Politoed (male)

Lanturn (female)

Corsola (female)

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Misty's Pokémon in the Cerulean Gym:

Goldeen (female)

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Brock's party:

Geodude (male)

Onix (male)

Crobat (male)

Forretress (male)

Magcargo (male)