Wow I haven't written on this story for ages since my last note was about friend safaris and I completed the entire Pokédex, yup 718 total, 7 months ago. About the legendary, well some of you got it and some of you didn't. I suppose you will all find out in maybe 5-10 chapters since after this chapter and some of the next I will be moving on to the league and I'm not sure how long that will go for, not to mention after I add my own plot to the mix.
Disclaimer – I don't own Pokémon all I own are my original characters and plot twists.
'Talking'
"Thinking"
"Telepathy"
*expression*
Flashback
Chapter 6 – The Final Gym
'So Ash, are you ready for this?' Asked Brock to his time-travelling friend.
'Yeah I think so, Venusaur and Wartortle should be able to take down anything they throw at us and with Primeape as well we should be unstoppable.' Said Ash revealing who he planned to use to take on the Ground type Gym.
'Don't get overconfident Ash, I've heard as far as Gym Leaders go, the Viridian City Gym Leader is absolutely brutal and hasn't lost more than ten challenges in the last five years. You better be prepared, or you will get beaten easily.' Warned Misty.
'Don't worry I'm not getting overconfident; Ground type Pokémon all have similar move sets and can be countered easily if you are expecting it. Some people think using a Flying type will beat a Ground type easily, but most Ground types know Rock type moves to negate that advantage. However, that isn't my plan. Ground types can't take a lot of super effective attacks and with Venusaur, Wartortle and Primeape they will have to be much more powerful than my Pokémon to be able to stand a chance.' Said Ash calmly never faltering in step towards Viridian City, which had just appeared over the horizon.
'Pika pi.' Said Pikachu in agreement knowing just how strong Ash's team was.
'See Pikachu agrees with me, plus after this I can start preparing for the league and winning it, nothing will stop me!' Said Ash passionately.
"This time." Amended Ash in his mind remembering his battle against Ritchie and how it ended.
"I know I could have won that league but I was too inexperienced and Charizard didn't respect me as his trainer… but this time I know I can do it, especially because I need to do it, I need to meet Lance earlier than before." Thought Ash resolutely and with a nod started running towards Viridian City, eager to have his eighth and final Gym battle.
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Ash stared intently at the door of the Viridian City Gym.
"I wonder who the Gym Leader will be this time... given the changes it won't be Team Rocket." Thought Ash.
'Well Pikachu here we go, right?' Ash asked his first companion.
'Cha!' Said Pikachu in agreement before crawling into Ash's bag for a nap causing Ash to chuckle.
Brock and Misty finally caught up to Ash as he started to head inside the Gym, for whatever reason though, after Ash stepped inside, the door wouldn't open for them anymore leaving them befuddled.
'What's going on Brock?' Asked Misty in confusion.
'I don't know but, I don't like it one bit.' Said Brock with a stern frown marring his features.
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Ash continued inside unaware of the fact that his comrades were now locked outside, unable to join him inside the Gym. Eventually Ash found himself in what appeared to be the battling area for the Gym. There was a podium high up opposite from him and a dusty battlefield with a Poké-ball in the centre like always, however inside the centre-most portion was a small R.
'I challenge the leader of this Gym to a battle.' Said Ash to the darkness, waiting with bated breath and a stern expression on his face.
'Very well as the leader of this Gym I accept your challenge.' Replied a deep masculine voice from the darkness before the lights in the room started to light up one by one, revealing a handsome looking man in an orange suit with black trim.
Ash looked up at the man he recalled to be the leader of Team Rocket, however Ash noticed slight changes in the man.
"His suit didn't have black trim in the last timeline… strange." Thought Ash suspiciously at the seemingly innocent change.
'This will be a six-on-six battle, is that acceptable?' Asked Giovanni but it was clear it was a rhetorical question.
Giovanni grasped an ultra-ball to his side and threw it releasing a fearsome looking Rhydon.
'Go Venusaur.' Said Ash releasing the final evolution of the Kanto grass starter.
'Earthquake.' Ordered Giovanni.
Rhydon pushed off the ground slightly leaving it momentarily before slamming back down with immense force shaking the building and rattling Venusaur.
'Venusaur use Razor Leaf.' Said Ash.
Venusaur bent down slightly and launched a multitude of sharp leaves at Rhydon.
'Iron Defense.' Calmly ordered the Rocket Boss to which his Pokémon obeyed.
'Venusaur use Energy Ball.' Said Ash.
'Saur.' Cried Venusaur as it built up a ball of green energy over its flower before launching it at Rhydon.
'Rhydon, Dig.' Said Giovanni as his behemoth of a Pokémon buried itself underground avoiding the attack.
'Horn Drill!' Shouted Giovanni as his Rhydon came bursting through the ground, Venusaur managed to dodge the drill itself but was still sent flying from Rhydon's sudden appearance.
'Oh no, Venusaur use Leech Seed.' Said Ash.
The green quadruped launched a pulsating mass of green and brown which wrapped around Rhydon's neck causing him immense pain, while also slightly healing Venusaur in the process.
'Flamethrower Rhydon!' Shouted Giovanni.
'What! Flamethrower?' Questioned a panicked Ash as his opponents Rhydon spewed flames at Venusaur.
"Oh no, if that hits, Venusaur will be in real trouble." Thought Ash in worry before a blast from the past gave him the answer.
'Venusaur use Vine Whip to jump and then Solar Beam.' Ash shouted triumphantly.
His bulky Seed Pokémon did as asked, albeit not jumping as high as Bayleef had once done, but avoiding the scorching hot flames aimed at him nonetheless before charging up his most powerful attack.
'Rhydon jump and take him down with Megahorn before that Solar Beam can finish charging.' Ordered the suit clad gym leader.
'RhyDON!' Shouted the Drill Pokémon as it bent its knees before pushing off high into the ground, horn glowing a pale green.
Since both Pokémon were rather heavy the distance was closed in a short amount of time and thus Rhydon was able to strike Venusaur before the beam of energy was launched. Venusaur cringed in pain from the powerful attack before retaliating with the Solar Beam that it had been patiently charging up.
'SAUR!' Shouted the green quadruped as its attack launched Rhydon into the ground kicking up a large amount of dust obscuring the battlefield.
After a moment Venusaur slammed into the ground harshly pushing most of the dust away revealing a knocked out Rhydon lying spreadeagled on the floor.
'Hmm that was rather impressive, I suppose the first battle goes to you.' Said Giovanni as he withdrew his downed Pokémon before grasping a different ball.
'However your Venusaur won't be up for much longer.' Said Giovanni as he released a Nidoking, a rather aggressive looking one at that.
'Venusaur use Synthesis.' Urged Ash.
'Futile, end this, ice beam.' Commanded Giovanni.
As the blast of icy blue energy approached Venusaur, Ash knew he was going to lose Venusaur for the rest of this battle as the Super Effective attack struck his already weakened Pokémon and caused it to collapse, well and truly knocked out.
Ash grit his teeth as he returned his downed Pokémon, thanking it for his hard work before grasping his next Pokéball.
"Hmm… since this is going to be a six-on-six battle I better change up my strategy." Thought Ash as he grasped a Pokéball.
'Go Haunter.' Said Ash releasing his playful ghost Pokémon.
Haunter came out with a grin but feeling the seriousness of its trainer realised this was not the time for fun and games.
'Haunter use Shadow Ball.' Said Ash.
'You too Nidoking.' Said Giovanni but he knew it was only a matter of time.
Haunter being part Ghost type and part Poison type and having levitate made him immune or at the very least heavily resistant to almost every move Nidoking had.
'Ice Beam.' Giovanni said to which his Pokémon obliged.
'Shadow Punch.' Said Ash calmly.
Haunter swayed around the attack and landed a ghostly fist right into Nidoking's face.
'Now follow up with Hypnosis.' Said Ash while Haunter was still in close range.
The attack struck and Nidoking fell to the floor asleep.
'Finish this with Dream Eater.' Said Ash as a ghostly apparition of Haunter blasted through Nidoking's downed form causing it to shiver before being knocked out.
'I must say, I didn't expect you to do this well.' Said Giovanni as he withdrew his second Pokémon to go down in battle.
Ash raised an eyebrow at the odd statement before focusing on the newly released Nidoqueen.
'Roar.' Said Giovanni and before Ash knew what was happening his Haunter was sucked back into his Pokéball and Wartortle was released.
'Wartortle, Rapid Spin.' Said Ash.
'Mega punch and then follow it up with Thunder.' Ordered Giovanni.
Nidoqueen braced itself, right fist glowing as Wartortle neared before launching an uppercut sending Wartortle high in the air, after which an immense blast of electricity struck the turtle Pokémon and knocked it clean out cold.
Ash growled at the loss of Wartortle, noticing he was now dead even with Giovanni with two Pokémon out for both sides and a third already having been in battle, but not taken any damage.
'Go Primeape.' Said Ash releasing the Pig Monkey Pokémon who looked eager for a fight.
'Double Kick.' Intoned Giovanni as his Nidoqueen quickly charged at Primeape and launched two kicks into its snout.
Primeape got back to its feet and was fuming, nostrils flared at the damage from the critical hit before its ability kicked in. Primeape repeatedly slammed its fists into its chest in anger as its attack power was maximised.
'I suppose I should thank you for that, Primeape use Counter!' Shouted Ash.
Primeape sufficiently angry was immersed in orange energy before shooting at Nidoqueen and slamming into it doing sizeable damage despite the match up.
'That is not like any Counter I've ever seen.' Said Giovanni in shock.
'Well Primeape is no ordinary Primeape. Now follow up with Seismic Toss.' Said Ash.
Primeape charged at the still dizzy Nidoqueen and in an amazing feat of strength picked Nidoqueen up and jumped high into the air before turning, mid-flight, and throwing Nidoqueen right into the ground.
As the dust cleared Primeape was seen eagerly awaiting its opponent's next move while Nidoqueen picked itself up off the floor.
'Nidoqueen, Hyper Beam!' Shouted Giovanni.
'Primeape use Bide.' Said Ash confidently as the menacing attack was charged up.
'You're taking a big risk; you could have tried to dodge. Taking an attack of this magnitude head on is foolhardy.' Said Giovanni as Nidoqueen continued gathering energy.
'I didn't get where I am today by playing it safe.' Said Ash as he stared intently at Primeape.
"You can do this Primeape, I know you can." Thought Ash as Nidoqueen finally released the beam of destruction.
The beam struck and kicked up a lot of dust hiding Primeape but the dust was blasted away as a single solitary beam of orange energy burst forth from the dust and struck Nidoqueen, knocking it out. Primeape had withstood the attack and was breathing, heavy along with a few bruises but all in all, still standing.
'Impressive, your Pokémon are certainly a force to be reckoned with however, I am far from beaten and have a few tricks up my sleeve as well.' Said Giovanni ominously as he released a Honchkrow.
"What? That is a Johto Pokémon." Thought Ash in confusion.
'That Pokémon isn't from Kanto.' Said Ash accusingly.
'Ah so it isn't, normally, however I happened to procure this particular Pokémon in the Kanto Safari Zone, so this is perfectly allowed.' Said Giovanni clearly lying through his teeth.
Ash growled, even more so when a simple Air Cutter attack took the already exhausted Primeape down.
'Very well, if that is the case then I suppose it is fair that I use this Pokémon, which I too captured in the Kanto Safari Zone.' Said Ash snidely as he grasped one of his ultra-balls and released the Pokémon inside.
The bipedal jackal-like form of Lucario appeared, ready for a battle.
Giovanni frowned but on the inside was scheming.
"A Pokémon from Sinnoh, how interesting, this trainer is no ordinary trainer… no wonder those three buffoons are constantly quashed in their efforts by him. However, this does present a unique opportunity for me, if he has one, there is a good chance he could have other rare and powerful Pokémon with him, Pokémon which would be better utilised by my hand." Thought Giovanni sinisterly.
'Honchkrow use Aerial Ace.' Said Giovanni.
The avian Pokémon struck Lucario just after Ash made a quick order.
'Detect.' Said Ash and thus the attack was averted.
'Aura Sphere.' Said Ash to which Giovanni ordered a similar move as Ash had done previously.
'Protect.' Said Giovanni as a green dome surrounded the Big Boss Pokémon and thus, kept it safe from taking any damage.
'Swords Dance.' Said Ash slightly annoyed.
'Taunt.' Said Giovanni mockingly as Lucario's attempt to power up was squashed easily.
'Lucario use Dragon Pulse.' Said Ash.
'Double team.' Said Giovanni mockingly as Lucario's purple beam of energy merely ploughed through a copy of Honchkrow.
'Extreme Speed Lucario.' Said Ash as his Aura Pokémon quickly shot off and struck every copy of its foe before finally finding the real one and slamming its paw into Honchkrow's face.
'Steel Wing.' Said Giovanni with a slight grin.
'Meet it head on with Metal Claw.' Said Ash.
Both Pokémon's respective Steel-type attacks struck each other with both vying for dominance. Lucario grit its teeth in effort while Honchkrow squawked angrily before both disengaged and backed off.
'Sucker Punch.' Said Giovanni before Ash even said a move, knowing that thanks to Taunt, Lucario had to use an offensive move.
'Well if we are going to take a hit anyway, we might as well make it count, Close Combat Lucario.' Said Ash grimly.
Lucario nodded its head slightly knowing that after this next series its defences would drop and could only hope Honchkrow was knocked out.
Honchkrow disappeared in a burst of speed and swiped at Lucario with its left wing dealing a small amount of damage before flying away in an attempt to avoid the retaliation. Lucario however, a fast Pokémon in its own right burst right after Honchkrow and landed a multitude of fast punches dealing severe damage.
The weakened Honchkrow fluttered back weakly to Giovanni's side of the arena but didn't fall.
'Roost.' Said Giovanni calmly but was annoyed at the turn his luck soon took.
'Lucario, Taunt should have worn off by now, try using Calm Mind.' Said Ash.
Lucario closed its eyes and relaxed itself while boosting its abilities proving, that as Ash expected, Taunt had indeed worn off.
'Now finish this with an Extreme Speed Close Combat.' Said Ash as Lucario glowed with energy and charged after Honchkrow launching many blindingly fast punches and kicks leaving no opportunity for Honchkrow to counter.
'Sky Attack!' Shouted Giovanni as Honchkrow mustered what strength it had left and summoned a white aura around its body before slamming into Lucario with the strongest Flying-type move in existence, kicking up an immense explosion.
When the dust cleared Honchkrow was down and out but Lucario was down to its knees breathing heavily. Lucario tried to stand before falling to the ground, also knocked out.
'My, my, this is quite possibly the closest battle I've ever had, you should consider yourself lucky you survived this long and were even able to match me at one point.' Commented Giovanni giving Ash a backhanded compliment.
'Luck has nothing to do with it, besides I'm not just planning to match you, I'm going to beat you.' Replied Ash passionately.
'Oh is that so, my next Pokémon might disagree with you.' Retorted Giovanni before releasing a Gliscor.
"Ok now I know there is something very wrong, for Giovanni to have a Gliscor…it just doesn't add up. Where could he have gotten a razor fang from to be able to evolve a Gligar? Although I guess being the leader of Team Rocket has some perks." Thought Ash in annoyance.
Ash sent out Haunter once again hoping to take out Gliscor without losing Haunter, given what had been happening so far, Giovanni's sixth Pokémon could be anything.
'Night Shade Haunter.' Said Ash
Haunter's eyes glowed red, before it fired multiple black beams outlined in streaks of dark red from its eyes.
'Gliscor, Dark Pulse and then Night Slash.' Said Giovanni.
Dark Pulse met Night Shade and lots of smoke was generated, out of which Gliscor burst, claws glowing with sickly purple energy, before striking Haunter causing it immense pain at the super effective attack which just so happened to be a critical hit as well.
'Damn it! Haunter use Poison Jab.' Commanded Ash angrily.
'Too slow, Thunder Fang.' Said Giovanni and much to his delight when Gliscor's electrified fangs reached the swirling mass that was Haunter, Haunter was paralysed and unable to complete its attack.
'Now end this with Dark Pulse.' Ordered Giovanni.
The blast of energy struck Haunter and just like that Ash was down to his last Pokémon.
'I will still win this, go Charizard!' Roared Ash with emotion.
'Flamethrower!' Shouted Ash to which Charizard quickly obliged and scored a direct hit on Gliscor and also managed to burn it as well.
Giovanni frowned at this unfortunate twist of events.
'Thunder Fang again Gliscor.' Said Giovanni.
As Gliscor lunged at Charizard seeking to inflict serious damage, Ash had other ideas.
'Beat it back with Brick Break.' Said Ash.
The two entered a quick sequence, with Charizard trying to punch Gliscor while Gliscor tried to bite Charizard. Charizard let down its guard and Gliscor capitalised by flying straight at Charizard's left wing ready to bite down. It was a feint however and Charizard slammed a fist into Gliscor's underside before launching a massive Flamethrower at it pushing it up into the roof of the stadium and causing it to shake.
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Outside
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Brock and Misty who were outside the Gym, felt and heard the rumble. Misty glanced at Brock with an uneasy expression on her face.
'Come on Misty, it isn't safe here we need to go to the Pokémon Centre.' Said Brock earning a small nod from Misty.
"Whatever is going on in there Ash, I hope you make it out safely." Thought a solemn Brock as they headed to safety.
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'Down to my last Pokémon, I never thought I would be pushed this far.' Commented Giovanni as he recalled his bruised and battered Gliscor.
Giovanni pressed a button to his right and a hatch opened up on his platform revealing a slightly worn Pokéball.
'However I find this fitting given the Pokémon I am about to use, poetic some might say.' Said Giovanni as he grasped the ball and released the monster inside.
A great roar bellowed out as a large draconic creature was revealed, a scar going from its snout to just under its left eye showing this Pokémon had been through quite a battle at one point. What was once orange had now become a reddish-brown dulled by years of battle. The flame on its tail burned brightly and its claws flexed in anticipation at being able to battle once again, against its own kind nonetheless.
The two Charizard faced off, one older and more experienced while the other was brimming with the energy of youth.
'Flamethrower.' Commanded both trainers and both Pokémon released a blistering wave of flames.
The golden-orange waves of energy clashed mercilessly against each other, neither willing to back down.
'Fire spin.' Said Ash.
Charizard roared and the flames started to spiral out of its mouth helping push against the opposing Charizard's attack.
'Overheat Charizard.' Said Giovanni.
Giovanni's Charizard unleashed a devastatingly strong attack which tore right through its opponent's flames and landed a devastating attack on Charizard despite sacrificing some of its attacking prowess to do so.
'Charizard are you alright?' Questioned Ash worriedly.
Charizard roared in confirmation and stood back up to its full height before glaring balefully at its opponent.
'Charizard, use Dragon Claw.' Ordered Giovanni.
'Meet it with Metal Claw, Charizard.' Countered Ash.
Both Pokémon charged up their respective attacks shrouding their claws in purple and silver energy respectively before charging at each other. Their right claws clashed against each other in a furious battle for dominance.
'Quick Charizard while you are close, use Bite.' Said Ash.
Charizard pushed forward slightly before opening its maw wide and biting onto the neck of its opponent.
'Use your free hand and attack with Slash.' Said Giovanni.
Giovanni's Charizard used the close proximity to land a devastating slash to Charizard's cream underside causing it to disengage from the bite and back off momentarily.
'Steel wing.' Said Giovanni.
'Counter with Aerial Ace.' Said Ash.
Both Pokémon took to the sky and tried their best to land an airborne attack on their respective opponent. Giovanni's Charizard closed in quickly but Ash's Charizard quickly climbed in mid-air and looped back before slamming into the other member of its species. Giovanni's Charizard roared in anger at being hit and quickly followed up with a blast of flames which was just barely dodged by Ash's Charizard.
'Use Flare Blitz.' Said Ash.
A wave of orange flames engulfed Charizard in a dome like ball of death before Charizard shot off towards its opponent.
'Protect.' Said Giovanni smugly as a green barrier surrounded his Charizard.
The Flare Blitz pushed against the Protect with neither side wanting to lose the fight. Eventually Protect wore off and the younger Charizard struck the older one, however the attack was much weaker than if it had been at full power and the youthful Charizard was quite exhausted from trying to break through the more experienced Charizard's defences before finally landing a hit, which too caused some recoil.
Both Pokémon floated down to the ground, much too tired to keep themselves airborne. Bruised and battered neither was willing to give up. Simultaneously, both Charizard were covered in a red outline, their eyes glowed red and the flames on their tails increased in size.
"Blaze must have taken effect." Thought Ash.
'Flamethrower.' Commanded both trainers as their draconic Pokémon launched supercharged waves of flames at the other trying to overwhelm their opponent. The attacks waged on for some time, sometimes moving towards Ash before shortly moving back towards Giovanni before settling in the middle.
Both attacks exploded and shook the very foundations on which the Gym was built. Both Charizard were breathing heavily, the energy intensive moves they had unleashed trying to topple the other had fatigued both severely, one not familiar with fighting such tough opponents, the other not very familiar with battling as of yet, neither one however wanted to lose this test of strength.
Both trainers realised the same thing, the next attack would decide the battle and the match.
'Hyper Beam.' Ordered both trainers.
Their Pokémon both charged up a ball of destructive orange energy in their mouths, waiting for the moment their trainer told them to unleash the devastating attack.
'FIRE!' Shouted both trainers as their respective dragon's unleashed one of the strongest attacks in their arsenals.
The beam war waged for a few seconds before any progress was made, Ash's Charizard was starting to push through. Giovanni cursed at his usage of Overheat so early on, while it had done some lasting damage to Charizard the price was too high. Hyper Beam slammed into Charizard kicking up lots of dust. When the dust cleared Giovanni's Charizard was panting heavily while Ash's only looked slightly winded.
The two stared each other down before one of them toppled to the floor: knocked out. It was Giovanni's.
Giovanni was showing an uncharacteristic amount of emotion, mouth open slightly and eyes wide in shock. He had actually lost. Inconceivable. A cheer broke him out of his thoughts as his opponent rushed to his Charizard and hugged it around its neck.
Giovanni gave a small smile before sighing and schooling his expression back into a neutral one. He turned around and walked out of his podium and made his way to the arena floor.
"How long has it been since I had a battle like that. Such emotion, so thrilling… however I have made my place in this world and the past is of no consequence anymore. However, should the day come… just maybe, but not today." Thought Giovanni as he reached the battlefield and begun to walk towards the victor of this battle, but not the war.
Ash returned Charizard who was clearly fatigued from his battle while Pikachu continued to snooze in his backpack not knowing that a battle of epic proportions had just took place and instead, was dreaming of ketchup.
'Well young man that was quite a battle.' Praised Giovanni as he stood a metre away from Ash.
'Thank you, you were a worthy opponent indeed.' Said Ash honestly despite knowing what this man did behind the scenes.
'I present to you the Earth Badge.' Said Giovanni as he held the badge out to Ash.
Ash carefully took it from Giovanni's hand and placed it inside his jacket along with his other badges.
'I must say, that battle took me back. It has been some time since I had a battle that made me feel excitement once again. It is for that reason, that I do hold some regret for what I am about to do now.' Said Giovanni, instantly unnerving Ash and causing him to be on high alert.
A panel behind Giovanni opened revealing what appeared to be a Pokémon, it had a robotic suit of armour covering it in various places only leaving its legs mostly bare, barring the knees, and its tail.
'Use Psychic on the boy.' Commanded Giovanni.
Ash instantly felt his muscles and bones lock up and become rigid as they were pulled towards his body.
'I truly am sorry about this, especially given the magnificent battle we just had; however, business is business. It is nothing personal.' Said Giovanni with a smirk.
'Grr this is not over.' Growled Ash as he struggled to use his aura to allow his arms to move surprising Giovanni.
'More power!' Shouted Giovanni in alarm as Ash reached towards his belt.
"Impossible he shouldn't have any more Pokémon capable of fighting. That was the whole point of the six-on-six battle, to make sure he wouldn't be able to do anything." Thought Giovanni in shock as Ash grasped a master-ball and managed to release the Pokémon inside.
A fearsome cry resounded in the Gym, a seven-metre-long dragon appeared coiled protectively around its trainer.
Rayquaza gave a roar and charged up a Hyper Beam and launched it right at the Pokémon that was attacking its trainer distracting it from its assigned task.
'Rayquaza quickly get us out of here!' Shouted Ash over the sound of the attack as he grasped on to Rayquaza's back.
Rayquaza roared once again before launching straight at the roof and blasting through it with a Dragon Pulse before it and its trainer left the confines of the Gym and escaped into the outside world.
Giovanni held a grimace of annoyance on his face at his foolproof plan being thwarted. Who ever heard of a trainer having more than six Pokémon on them at any point in time?
"It doesn't matter too much though, just like before, he has won the battle but, he will not win the war." Thought Giovanni sinisterly.
So just in case you didn't figure it out yet I am not going to be sticking to anime canon. Rather, I am going to blend some aspects from the anime, manga and the games together and make a more realistic story than most.
For instance, Giovanni, he will be similar to the anime in that he doesn't really want to get his hands dirty too much, however, as you can tell, he can throw down with the best of them and he will in this story. I mean the leader of a global criminal organisation and all we ever see him do for the most part (barring Mewtwo specials) is stroke Persian and get angry with Jessie, James and Meowth. Not impressed.
In addition, the Gym Leaders will be relatively stronger than they are in the games since those are based on your progression point in them, since Ash will be using new and old Pokémon the Gym Leaders will have some powerhouses too (no I don't mean Whitney's Miltank who I never had trouble with… didn't you people evolve your starter before facing her?) because Ash will not be catching Pokémon and then, before giving them any training, use them for a Gym Battle.
Once again sorry that it was around 7 months for this update but Uni is no joke and really demands a lot of my time… but I will try to limit breaks between stories to no more than 6 months… more than half a year is just sad.
Now since this worked so well for NSUU and HOAD welcome to the third round of Kyuubi's corner where I take an aspect of fanfiction, usually specific to the category of the story and tear it to shreds in an attempt to improve fanfiction and get some things off my back.
Today's/Tonight's Issue is: The Ash betrayal plot device.
Ok so first thing is first, most Ash betrayals go like this (and I have read over 100 of them so I have a pretty good understanding.
First, Ash loses some event or league, usually after Hoenn, Sinnoh or Unova.
Second, there is some large event or meeting of some sort.
Large events include:
fires i.e. a burning in Pallet Town which Ash is inexplicably blamed for solely because he has a Charizard.
The death of a supporting character; Delia, Oak, May's Parents, Misty's Sisters, Paul, Gary etc. for which Ash is to blame because some hooded character was seen at the crime with a Pikachu on his shoulder (and why does no one ever consider Ritchie?).
A rival or antagonistic character, such as Tobias or Trip, is suddenly seen as a "Real Trainer" unlike Ash (are people forgetting he has repeatedly saved the world?) who is deemed a failure.
Third, all of Ash's friends suddenly turn on him for as he is supposedly to blame for whatever ever happened above. This usually amounts to this: Ash you are a horrible trainer and should give up because we all think so and we must be right even though you have beaten all of us before (Barring the rival/antagonistic character for option 3) and if you don't leave we will attack and/or kill you and/or your Pokémon… barbaric much?
Lastly, to round out all of this, Ash escapes somehow, on the run from his friends and/or the law and trains in solitude before reappearing as some masked or caped trainer and for whatever reason forgives a subset of the people who turned on him, or even worse, ALL of them.
At this stage I would like to kindly ask… WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE?
Why, pray tell, would Ash's friends and family turn on him so quickly, without giving Ash a chance to defend himself and instantly believe he is Satan barring the fact that he has saved the lives of many of them before?
It is the height of unrealistic, a normal family or group of friends do not suddenly turn on someone and try to lynch them with shaky evidence, (if any) at best.
I have seen one story where this is done somewhat realistically, coincidentally it is the only Ash/Melody story on this entire site which is 'The Shadows of betrayal' by kingsley321, in which he creates a fusion Pokémon made up of a Darkrai and a Spiritomb which manipulates the minds of Ash's family and friends. While the story itself isn't perfect and does have a few mistakes here and there, it at least deals with the point of why a bunch of people who have been through quite a lot with Ash suddenly betray him.
So please, if you do plan to write, or are writing an Ash betrayal fic… FOR THE LOVE OF POKÉMON, please make it realistic.
With that I wrap up the third episode of Kyuubi's Corner, please let me know what you thought of it and the chapter as well and as always, thanks for reading.
SSJ3 Kyuubi Gohan.