THE BLUE SPIRIT
CHAPTER 015 – THE TOURNAMENT BEGINS
Waking up due to the sound of a very loud alarm clock going off that was heard all throughout the suite, most of the inhabitants of said suite woke up grumpily. Some had even made threats to the pokemon researcher who was the one who set it so they wouldn't sleep in. They knew that they had to get up early enough so they can prepare for and attend the tournament's opening ceremony but that didn't mean that they had to like it.
Everyone started getting ready after having resigned themselves to it but several of them encountered some complications. Since they consisted of a group of eleven people with only three bathrooms, it was inevitable that some of them had to wait for their turn. As a result of that, they had to hold it in for a while and became increasingly more distressed as they waited until they were able to finally get their turn.
A certain raven haired trainer however, did not have to go through this problem since he had his own master bathroom attached to his master bedroom. And in his infinite wisdom, decided to tease his friends about their situation. His joking made a few of them start chasing him all over the suite while yelling promises of severe beat downs once they caught him.
Yet they weren't able to catch him no matter what they did for he was moving too quickly for them to gain any sort of ground on him. "Hey, I was just joking!" remarked Ash, trying to calm them down but several growls along with some threats were heard from behind him. "Alright, fine! You'll never catch me then, slowpokes! Hahaha!" He kept speeding away from May, Max, Iris and Serena, who were the ones who had to hold it in the longest. While running from them, he used the furniture in the suite as obstacles for his pursuers to slow them down.
"Get back here!" screamed May and Serena together while leading the other two but Ash just continued to laugh and tease them in response.
"Shouldn't we stop this?" asked Cilan, a look of concern visible on his face. "I fear it may turn to a sour flavor soon."
"Pfft, no way!" answered Gary while watching them chase his old rival. "This is great. I want to see Ashy-boy's face once they catch him. Oh man, I wish I could've recorded this!" cackled Gary and started saying some of the stuff he hoped they would do to Ash.
Brock, Misty, Dawn, Cilan and Richie sighed over his words but they didn't do anything to stop what was happening. They figured it would end soon enough on its own. Also, they did secretly want to see what would happen but would never admit it in front of Gary. They were impressed a few times at some of the moves that Ash pulled off in order to squeeze past his pursuers but wondered when the chasing was going to end.
Luckily they didn't have to wait too long. For when the four were beginning to get tired, Pikachu got an idea to even the playing field. Sporting a mischievous grin on his face, he waited for the perfect moment and sprung his trap when he saw it. Right when his trainer took a turn behind one of the couches, Pikachu tripped up his trainer right there. Ash stumbled a bit and tried to balance himself out.
But it was too late as May pushed herself to run faster, closed the distance and tackled him. "Gotcha!"
"Aaah! Oouf!" Ash slammed into the ground with May on top of him. Attempting to wiggle out of her grip without hurting the brunette, he twisted around this way and that way but it was all for naught since May held on tight. He ended up facing her with his back against the floor.
May was sitting on top of his stomach while holding his arms down with her hands. "Nowhere to run now Aura Guardian!" teased the brunette with a triumphant smile.
Ash gulped and chuckled weakly, his heart beating quickly over their rather intimate position.
All of that occurred within a couple seconds and before anything else happened, Serena barely slowed down when she tripped over Pikachu's trap that he didn't move out of the way yet. Falling on top of May, both girls let out a yelp of fright as the brunette was pushed further down on top of Ash. As a result of their previous position, the state at which they ended up in now caused the rest of their group to stare with shock. With the honey blonde haired girl's weight on top of her, the brunette was forced to lie down completely on top of the raven haired trainer. But her head was above his with her eyes closed and her chest pressing against his face.
Serena hurriedly got up off of May so they could get up as well but that was when she noticed the state the two were in. She clapped her hands over her mouth while letting out a gasp. "I'm so sorry May!" cried Serena through her hands while staring at what she caused to happen.
May opened her eyes and when she looked down, noticed her embarrassing position. Seeing Ash's face smothered within her breasts, her heart skipped a beat. "EEEK!" May yelped loudly and practically jumped off of him.
Remaining on the floor with a heavily reddened face and wide brown eyes staring up at the ceiling, Ash was as still as a statue over what he just experienced. Slowly, he moved into a sitting position staring straight ahead of him with everyone in the suite staying quiet, wondering what was going to happen.
Until a few seconds later when someone just burst out laughing. "Hahaha! Oh my Arceus! Hahaha! You should see your face! Ashy-Boy! Hahaha! THAT WAS YOUR FIRST MOTOR BOAT, WASN'T IT?! Hahaha!" Gary couldn't help himself and dropped onto the ground while holding his stomach, tears falling from his eyes.
Ash shot his childhood rival an angry look. A moment later, he slowly turned his head to face May, noticing the rest of his friends with stunned expressions and all of the girls were red in the face. But when he finally locked his gaze with May's, he noticed her completely crimson colored face with her arms crossed over her chest as if to hide them from everyone. "Sorry May," apologized Ash and then hung his head in embarrassment.
Getting back up onto his feet while keeping his gaze away from everyone, he decided it would be better if he left to give some space to the brunette so things wouldn't get too awkward. Putting his hands in his pockets, he started walking towards the door. "I'm gonna go visit Gardevoir. I'll see you guys later." Pikachu followed him with his ears dropped and his cheeks were dark red, no doubt embarrassed too over his actions and what he caused to happen.
When he exited the suite, the pokemon researcher finished up his laughing and stood up while talking. "Oh man…I wish I took a picture of his face. I hope I never forget that," remarked Gary as he wiped a tear from his eye.
*WHAM* The sound of a sickening blow shot through the room as Misty walloped Gary hard on the head with her mallet, sending him crashing back onto the floor and stayed there while groaning in pain.
"Nice hit Misty."
"Thanks Iris."
"C'mon, let's have a quick breakfast. We'll join Ash downstairs after and we'll take him some food too," advised Brock as he and Cilan went into the kitchen to prepare their morning meal.
They gathered around the dining table while leaving the pokemon researcher on the floor. Serena escorted a still shocked May to her seat and they all sat down. By the time the two chefs finished preparing their morning meal, Gary recovered and joined them at the table with a grumble but did compliment Misty on the fierce hit. After a minute of eating their breakfast, the usual relaxed atmosphere enveloped them and they even commented on what happened, laughing at how it was hilarious. Even May had calmed down enough to not let it bother her anymore but was still sporting slightly reddened cheeks.
They finished their meal pretty quickly and started cleaning up the table and dishes when Dawn spoke up. "Hey, when does the opening ceremony start again?"
"Starts at 10am," answered Richie, glancing at the clock as he did so. "So we got about an hour to get there."
"We should head down right now. That way we can join Ash and visit Gardevoir before leaving for the stadium," suggested Max and everyone agreed.
They finished cleaning up and grabbed some food for Ash. Retrieving their pokemon that were resting within their poke balls, they then headed out the suite and into the elevator to travel down to the ground floor of the hotel.
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Nurse Joy was humming a song to herself while working, sending out some emails. When she saw the group of friends coming up to the counter, she informed them that Gardevoir had been taken to a less intensive care room nearby since she was recovering without problems. Most of them headed towards her room with Richie staying behind, saying he'll catch up. Brock and Gary both gave Richie a knowing look before they left.
Richie reddened slightly at that but kept calm, turning to face the nurse. "How are you doing Joy?"
"I'm doing well, thank you Richie. Looks like you start today. I hope you do well."
Richie's cheeks reddened even more, his blush becoming noticeable, making her smile a bit. "Thanks Joy." He noticed the pink flower hair pin on the right side of her head. "I see you're using the hair pin."
Now it was Joy's turn as her cheeks flushed with color. "Yes, it's very nice and I couldn't just keep it without using it you know."
"No need for something if you don't use it right?"
"Too true."
They went quiet for a couple seconds, as neither could come up with something to talk about. Before it could get awkward, Richie said that he'll see her later, since he wanted to visit Gardevoir as well before heading out for the match. After saying bye to each other, Richie went to join his friends while both he and Joy were lost in thought thinking about each other. He came out of his trance when Richie heard his friends talking when he got closer.
"I can't believe he ate the food we brought him so fast," remarked Iris, somehow still impressed over his eating habits.
"That's Ash for you. He thinks with his stomach," joked Serena, causing several to laugh as Richie walked in.
"So what did you and Joy talk about?" inquired Dawn with a slight teasing tone.
All eyes turned to Richie, who immediately felt embarrassed but kept cool. "Nothing special. Just wanted to see how she was doing," he replied with a shrug.
"Is that so? Right, we getcha. I can help ya plan the next move," commented Gary who winked and gave a sly smile at his friend.
Richie face palmed, earning some chuckles from the group. "Man Gary, I swear you're so annoying. Anyway, how are you doing Gardevoir?" he asked afterwards, turning to face the pokemon and lowering his hand.
"I'm doing well, thank you. Joy checked in on me and said I'm recovering very quickly and should be okay to leave by tomorrow morning."
"That's great news! "exclaimed Richie and several nodded happily in agreement.
"Hey guys, we have to get going or we'll miss the opening ceremony and won't find good seats," interrupted Max.
"Oh, you're right. Gardevoir, I'll come back and visit soon as I'm done. Lucario, watch over her okay?" Gardevoir wished him luck and Lucario took up his usual position of standing guard beside her.
Getting up from his seat, Ash put his hat on top of his messy black hair and stepped out of the room. Pikachu jumped onto his shoulder and his friends followed after the two after saying their own byes to the pokemon. As they left, they also bid their byes to Joy, who informed Ash that she has let President Goodshow know that he isn't using his alias anymore. Ash thanked her for updating the president and they left the hotel.
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The stadium was about ten minutes away from the hotel by walking. Though they had more than enough time to get there before the ceremony starts, they wanted to get there early enough to find good seats. Another reason was because Ash and Richie had to go to the trainers' area to check in and find out what they were supposed to do for the ceremony. Along the way, several conversations were held between them all that consisted of questions and speculations as to who will be at this tournament and what kinds of pokemon they'll see in action.
Coming into view after rounding a corner in the path, the grand Indigo Plateau Stadium towered over the other buildings in the area a short distance in front of them. Many different feelings began to fill each and every one of them, with excitement and anxiousness being two of the most strongly felt, especially for the two participating trainers. Seeing many people pouring into the stadium, they quickened their pace to reach it, hoping that some good seats were still available.
Once they reached the stadium, they saw two signs that were labeled 'Trainers' and 'Public' with arrows pointing to opposite tunnel entrances. Splitting up from their friends, Ash and Richie headed towards the trainers entrance and the rest of them headed to the public entrance after they wished the two of them good luck.
The two trainers barely moved a dozen feet through their tunnel when someone called out to the raven haired trainer. "Hold up Ash!"
Turning around after hearing her voice, Ash saw May walking towards him with a determined expression on her face. Gesturing to Richie that he'll catch up, his almost twin continued on and Ash looked into the brunette's eyes while Pikachu kept quiet on his shoulder. "W-What's up May?" asked Ash, still a little nervous and embarrassed since they hadn't spoken since the incident.
May took in a breath to calm her jittery nerves before speaking. "Ash, I just wanted to say it's not your fault and its okay. I don't want you distracted in case you have to battle soon."
Ash felt relieved to hear her say that and he smiled at her. "Thanks May." The brunette smiled back and hugged him with him returning the hug with his head over her shoulder. Both of them felt their hearts beating a little quicker over the embrace and didn't want to leave it but they knew they had to. After a few seconds, the raven haired trainer whispered into her ear. "They felt nice." Separating from her, Ash's smile grew into a large grin and then he bolted down the trainer's tunnel.
May's face flushed with color, with her heart beating faster as her eyes widened over what he said to her. She was too shocked over his sudden brave compliment to her that she couldn't move or do anything afterwards. It was a short while later that the brunette regained her senses and smiled sheepishly but happily. Crossing her arms over her chest, she headed out of the trainer's tunnel and moved back to the public entrance. Did he really just say that? I never would've thought he'd say something like that. Does this mean he likes me? Was he flirting with me? Or just teasing? May shook her head but the smile remained on her face. Calm down damn it. But doesn't this mean that there's something between us? Confidence filled her and that also let her hope grow that something could happen between her and her longtime crush. She decided to not overanalyze it as she made her way to the stands and looked for her friends with a final thought entering her head for the moment. You better like them Ketchum or next time you'll get a fist to the face instead, thought May.
Joining her friends, she sat down between Dawn and Misty who were saving her a spot. They had found seats right in the front rows of the bleachers on the right side of the arena that gave them an excellent view. They were far enough to see the whole field but close enough to the action. There was still a little bit of time left until the tournament officially began so they spent it observing the stadium fill up with many people and commented on things here and there.
The red head turned to the brunette to reply back on something but was surprised over what she saw. "Whoa, what's with the sunshine smile?" asked Misty after noticing it, drawing their friends' attention to the brunette.
Not realizing that she still had that beaming smile plastered on her face, May became embarrassed but still kept smiling. "Oh you know, just really happy the tournament's about to start." Her answer didn't satisfy the girls and they gave suspicious looks at the brunette.
Luckily for the Hoenn native, the sound of trumpets was played through the stadium speakers that prevented more questions being asked and made them all shift their attention to the arena in front of them. Silence enveloped the stadium as the people quieted down due to the trumpets that signaled the start of the tournament. Right when the trumpets ended, words were spoken through the speakers. "Welcome ladies and gentleman to the Spirit Challenge Tournament!" The crowd roared in delight and clapped their hands hearing the announcer. Cheering and clapping along with everyone else, the group of friends looked at one another with excited expressions on their faces. "With great pleasure, I introduce to you the great and humble president of the Pokemon League, Mr. Charles Goodshow!"
Roaring even louder, the crowd became so loud that it seemed that the whole stadium began to vibrate because of it. The many large television screens around the stadium that was showing the symbol of the Pokemon League changed to portray the president. Wearing a black suit with a red tie, a very elderly short man with white hair and long white beard stood directly in front of the camera while sporting a happy smile on his face. A group of people stood behind the president, but their faces weren't visible since they stood in the shadowy part of the room.
When Goodshow began speaking, his voice carried over the many speakers that were placed around the stadium and the crowd went silent to listen. "Thank you everyone for attending this special tournament, trainers and spectators alike. Before we start, I wanted to mention how difficult it was getting this event together since it's something we do very rarely. All of the regions involved in the league have pulled together their sources and brought to you the best trainers in the world. Whoever wins this tournament, will have proven to the world that they have the spirit and will to become a great Pokémon Master one day. All of the trainers who will be competing are amongst the strongest we have ever seen. For the requirements to be part of this particular tournament is different than usual. A trainer can only participate if they have competed in multiple tournaments and have placed highly in them or have beaten at least one of the Elite Four of any region."
Goodshow took a few moments to let those words sink in while taking a breather. Once ready, he continued on with his closing statements. "The winner of this tournament will have the right to challenge the Elite Four and Champion of every league in the world. The first five rounds will be three versus three, rounds six and seven will be double battles with four pokémon on each side, the eight round will be a triple battle with again only four pokémon and the last two rounds nine and ten will be with full six versus six, one on one battles. Now without further ado, let's get this show on the road! Welcome everyone to the Spirit Challenge Tournament!" The crowd roared in agreement and immediately after Goodshow ended his opening speech, many trainers entered the field and the screens changed to portray them.
As the trainers moved to stand in the arena in organized lines, the group of friends started searching for Ash and Richie. "Where are they?" asked Misty as she scanned the mass of trainers on the field.
"I don't know. There's so many of them." Serena was leaning against the guard rail, same as Dawn, as they tried to find them.
"There they are! Look, third row from the bottom, fifth from the right. You can see Pikachu on Ash's shoulder!" exclaimed May and they found them thanks to her directions. Ash and Richie were waving to the people in the stands, with Pikachu waving as well from his trainer's shoulders.
"They look ready to go!" yelped Dawn happily while jumping up and down, causing the people in the stands near them to eye her with a little concern, fearing she might be going crazy.
"Everyone please turn towards the screens in the tournament to find out the first battle of the tournament!" The announcer's sudden loud voice caused most everyone to jump. Annoyed, the group turned their heads to the closest large screen to them. It showed a long list of competing trainers split up into four columns. On the bottom of the screen, it said the following;
TOTAL NUMBER OF TRAINERS – 160
"So one hundred and sixty of the world's best are competing here, huh? It's gonna be awesome!" shot Max, pumping his fist into the year.
CIlan nodded in agreement. "This should be quite an interesting tournament. Hopefully both Richie and Ash do well."
"We know what pokemon Richie has but Ash did mention he caught some new pokemon. He better have some cool pokémon and strategies to show off," commented Iris, wondering if he had any dragon type pokemon to battle with.
"Yea, besides his overpowered Charizard," remarked Gary, making several chuckle over his joke. "I hope Ashy-boy's ready cause if he gets beaten early, I'm never gonna let him forget it."
The girls glared at the pokemon researcher who responded back with a smug smile. Brock spoke up to both prevent things from escalating and to share his thoughts. "I'm sure both of them are ready. We've seen Richie train and we'll see soon enough what Ash has been up to for the past few years. Judging from what we've seen so far with Charizard and Lucario, he should make it to the later rounds with Richie at the very least," commented Brock and everyone in the group ended up agreeing with him.
"And now the computer will pick the first match of the tournament!" The announcer's sudden words caused everyone to look at the screen, spectators and trainers alike. Two outlined, colored boxes began flowing through the list of names, one red and one green. They rapidly went through the different columns many times for several seconds. Finally, they started slowing down until the two colored boxes came to a stop. The two names it stopped on were Ash Ketchum with the green box and Sarah Wiseman with the red box. "And it looks like the computer has selected which two will start the tournament off. Trainers, please leave the field so the officials can get it ready! The first match of the Spirit Tournament will begin in ten minutes!" The stadium, from both the people in the stands and the trainers in the field, was buzzing about the upcoming match. Not only were they psyched to see a battle, but many were shocked to see the raven haired trainer's name since the news had mentioned he had vanished three years ago. The trainers left the field so the stadium officials can get it ready for the opening match and also so the two trainers could mentally prepare for their upcoming match.
With the group of friends in the stands, they were even more excited than everyone else. Their wish to see their friends battle soon, especially Ash for the girls, had come true. And they had heard some of the words said by other people nearby them about how the raven haired trainer had come back.
"Hell yea! I hope we'll see some new pokémon that Ash caught!"
"We probably will Max," replied May, just as excited as her brother but controlling it better.
"Talk about starting things off with a bang! And people are talking about Ash…"
"Got that right Dawn. Ash never disappoints when it comes to battling. And it's good that people still remember him," commented Serena with a smile, happy about her crush being remembered.
"Let's just hope it's a more entertaining battle than what we saw with Charizard."
"That wasn't really a battle Iris. Even though it was an awesome display of Charizard's new strength, it was more like someone taking out the trash!" May laughed at remembering the scared expressions on the ones who bothered them and a few others joined her.
"I have to remember to ask him how he came up with that defensive strategy of his though. That was genius, using offensive moves to boost your defenses," thought Gary out loud.
"I must say that was quite an impressive demonstration. It made all those other pokémon's strongest attacks look like child's play," commented Cilan in agreement.
"Well you have to remember that Charizard is one of Ash's strongest pokémon and they've been together for a long time, practically from the beginning. He even held his own against several different legendary pokémon, such as Entei and Articuno," said Misty, reminding everyone of the Kanto starter's past and his achievements.
"True," agreed Brock but then gave his thoughts on the matter. "But there is a chance that those other pokémon that those bastards used could've been low leveled or just not as healthy and fit as Charizard. That can also explain why their attacks didn't affect him so much," explained the pokemon doctor.
They all thought about that until the blunette spoke up. "Well, we don't really know the full extent of what new levels or accomplishments Ash and his pokémon have reached until we see them battling," said Dawn, earning surprised looks from everyone. "What? I'm not just a beautiful, enthusiastic girl you know. I do read and I know more than you think I know." The others stared at her for a few seconds before they all burst out laughing. Dawn went pink as she puffed out her cheeks, pouting with her arms crossed over her chest.
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Ash was sitting down on a chair in one of the trainer waiting rooms that were inside the trainer tunnels of the stadium. Staring at his hands while opening and closing them constantly, Ash was becoming impatient as he thought and felt many things. He was shaking but it was a good kind of shaking for he was excited. It had been a long time since he battled in an official match and he couldn't wait. He wanted to show how powerful he and his pokemon had become. In just three years, they had broken past so many limits and had achieved levels that most everyone would have deemed impossible to reach, especially in such a short amount of time.
But they had done it. Ash and his pokemon had trained like they were possessed and earned their incredible strength through blood, sweat and tears. And it was time for them to test it. It was time to show his friends the fruit of their labor. It was time for the world to experience a taste of the storm that they could bring. And it was time for them to begin the next part of the plan they had made with the Original One.
A white light suddenly turned on in the room that caught the raven haired trainer's attention and he looked up at it. A smile spread on his face. "It's time." Standing up, he glanced at his starter. "Ready Pikachu?"
"Pika!"
Moving towards the door, Ash grasped the handle, opened the door and left the room. Making his way to the spot he's supposed to wait at near the tunnel entrance to the arena, Ash's excitement kept building. I'm ready. Time to show everyone how strong we've become! Standing at the spot, he waited for the announcer's words to introduce him so he can enter the arena and start his battle.
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Standing in the middle of her room, a blonde haired girl had her eyes closed and was taking in slow breaths through her nose and exhaling through her mouth. She was nervous and anxious at having to battle so soon and her heart rate was higher than normal. Repeating her breathing exercise was one of the few ways that helped her relax and focus.
And it normally would've been very effective in doing so. However, it wasn't helping as much this time. Not only was it because she was battling in the very first match of what could probably be called one of the greatest tournaments ever, but also because of whom she was going to battle against.
Ash Ketchum.
She was nervous in battling against him for many reasons. For he was the trainer who was talked about by many people all over the world because of his many tournament appearances and the high rankings he reached in them. He was the trainer that almost everyone knew about because of not just his tournament participations but also because of other events he was involved in. He was the trainer who had disappeared three years ago and nobody could find him. And all of this information was given through the news as they mentioned and talked about him a few times during these past few years when no one could find him.
But the biggest reason why she was nervous in battling against him? It was because of a promise she made a long time ago. And she was finally going to be able to fulfill that promise…
A white light turned on in the room that was so bright that she noticed it even through her eyelids. Opening them, she verified that it was time to leave the room after checking on the light. Taking in one more deep breath and then exhaling it, she formed a determined expression on her face as she left the room and headed to where she was supposed to wait for her introduction. This is it. After waiting all this time, it's about to happen. I've battled against many tough trainers. I've battled against the Johto Elite Four. But this is different. I'm gonna battle against him… Reaching her spot, she heard the announcer's voice through the speakers. A moment later, he called out her name and she reacted, stepping out into the arena. Give me your absolute best. I want it. Please, live up to my expectations. Be the one who I believe you to be. Please don't let me down…Ash Ketchum…
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"Ladies and gentleman, the field is ready and let us begin the Spirit Tournament!" The crowd roared loudly and the group of friends cheered, excited to see their friend battle. "In the red box, from Cherrygrove City of Johto, who has competed in the Johto League and came out as the number one contender to face the league Champion after beating the Elite Four of that region, please welcome the beautiful yet tough Sarah Wiseman!" The crowd shouted and screamed for Sarah the moment she entered the field. Walking towards the referee standing in the middle of the field, everyone saw how she looked. Long blonde hair tied back into a ponytail that reached the middle of her back along with a blue button down short sleeved blouse and a red skirt that reached almost to her knees. Her clothes accentuated her athletic yet curvy build on her. She was a very attractive trainer, causing many in the stands, even including Gary and Brock, to stare at her while others cat called and wolf whistled at her, but she didn't pay any attention to it.
When she reached the referee, the announcer spoke again. "And in the green box, you all know who he is. He had disappeared without a trace from the battle circuit for a few years and nobody has seen him in a long time. But now he's decided to come back! Let's give it up for one of Kanto's favored sons, from Pallet Town, Ash Ketchum!" The stadium erupted with the amount of cheers the crowd gave for Ash as he took to the field with his Pikachu on his shoulder, waving frantically at everyone with a huge smile on. The duo walked over to where Sarah and the referee were standing. The referee gave Ash his microphone to put on his collar. Sarah already had hers at this point. They shook hands as Sarah smiled at Ash, causing him to redden slightly as he noticed that she was very pretty and he smiled in return.
"Let's have a memorable match Ash."
"Wouldn't have it any other way Sarah."
Their words were heard by everyone because of the microphones. People cheered as they saw the two trainers sizing each other up with respect. They let go of each other's hands and went to their respective trainers' boxes on opposite ends of the field while thinking several things.
Wow, I didn't think he'd look so handsome! A blush formed on her cheeks and she shook her head slightly to control herself. Focus damn it! This is what you've been preparing for! To battle against the best and reach new heights! And I can tell for sure now that he's one of the best! I need to focus! Bringing herself back in line, Sarah readied herself for the battle, taking up position in her trainer's box and locked her gaze onto her opponent.
Oh man, I'm shaking! I'm so excited to battle her! I can tell that she's strong! Reaching his trainer's box, he turned around to face her and noticed her determined gaze on him. Wow, she's ready to go. I like that. And that just fires me up even more! I hope we have a great match!
Seeing that both trainers were ready, the referee began explaining the rules to remind them and everyone in the stadium. "This will be a three versus three battle. One on one, no mega evolutions allowed, no time limit and substitutions are allowed. Are you ready?" Sarah and Ash nodded. "Let the match begin!" yelled the referee as he raised both red and green flags.
Sarah and Ash both tossed out a poke ball at the same time and two flashes of light later, two battle ready pokémon appeared on the field. "And the first match of the Spirit Tournament has begun! Sarah has chosen Steelix while Ash has chosen Pidgeot! Bad break for Ash since his Pidgeot will have a tough time breaking through Steelix's incredible defenses! Will he switch out or try his luck?" Sarah's pokémon was an enormous steel coated snake-like pokémon that towered over Ash's falcon, even with the bird being larger than most of its kinds that caused the people to murmur about that. Steelix let out throaty growls, laughing at the small avian. Pidgeot however, looked to be unfazed while staring directly at Steelix with her sharp eyes.
Ash's friends began to worry over the match up. "Ah, what shitty luck! Ash is facing off against the number one contender against the Johto League Champion and has a type disadvantage! This is bad!" commented Iris, concern written all over her face as to how her friend will do.
"What an unfortunate turn of events," sighed Cilan in agreement.
Back on the field, Sarah was a bit disappointed. She could tell that his pokemon was strong, but highly doubted it could defeat hers. "I'll let you switch out your Pidgeot Ash! I don't like winning easily or unfairly!" suggested Sarah confidently.
Ash smiled and crossed his arms. "Thanks, but don't worry about it. Make your move."
"WHAT?!" yelled his friends together in shock.
"Would you look at that folks? Sarah was gracious enough to let Ash switch out but he didn't! Does he have some tricks up his sleeve or has he lost his mind?"
Sarah couldn't help but scowl in response. So you're that cocky huh? Damn, I thought you'd be different from others. Okay, time to teach you some manners in humility. "Have it your way then! Steelix, Dragon Breath!" Steelix spewed a stream of greenish blue flames of draconian energy from his mouth at the falcon.
Ash however didn't react to the attack and Pidgeot didn't move, waiting patiently for her trainer's command.
"What's he doing?!" yelped Misty, the others too busy gazing at the battle to comment.
When the flames were about twenty feet from Pidgeot, Ash finally gave a command. "Counter it." While still standing on the ground, Pidgeot flapped her mighty wings once. The strength behind the flapping caused a shockwave of powerful air currents to flow in front of her. Meeting the flames head on, the incredible wind cancelled them out as if the flames were a small candle light. Everyone was stunned over how easily Pidgeot dispelled the powerful attack.
Sarah's jaw dropped, as did her pokemon's, utterly shocked until snapping out of it a moment later. "No way! Steelix, Rock Slide!" commanded Sarah hurriedly. Steelix dug his tail into the ground and shot it up, causing many small boulders and other debris to go flying towards Pidgeot.
Starting strong huh? Let's counter strength with speed. "Agility." Pidgeot moved from her spot with blinding speed. However, the way the falcon did it was not what many were expecting. Instead of shooting up into the sky, the falcon was running on the ground towards the behemoth steel snake while dodging the incoming projectiles with incredible finesse.
The crowd was utterly stupefied at seeing a bird moving so quickly on the ground. And so was the blonde haired girl. "What the hell?!" yelped Sarah, shocked over what she was seeing. She had seen others train their flying type pokemon to be capable on the ground too but this was something else entirely. For the falcon seemed to be way too comfortable on the ground compared to most normal flying types. Snapping out of her state, Sarah's eyes narrowed. "You wanna stay on the ground huh? Alright, fine! Get in close and use Iron Tail!" Steelix slithered towards the falcon on the ground with surprising speed for its size, its tail glowing a bright white.
Pidgeot moved quickly, increasing her speed even more somehow after dodging the last of the projectiles and headed directly towards the incoming steel snake. When its tail was swung forward to hit her, at the last second she jumped over the incoming tail. Evading the strike, Pidgeot had jumped up high enough to be level with the snake's head.
"Crunch!" ordered Sarah, seeing her chance to finally get the bird.
But Steelix barely opened its large mouth when Ash made his own command. "Air Cutter." Multiple condensed blades of air were launched from his pokemon directly into the snake's mouth. Now, the steel like skin on the outside of its body does have incredible defensive properties. But inside? Not as tough, especially against incoming blasts of air that were condensed to the point of being able to cut through solid wood with ease.
Roaring with pain at the multiple cuts inside his mouth, Steelix was forced back, raising its head higher into the air as it did so. "No, Steelix!" shouted Sarah with concern.
"Alright, let's finish this Pidgeot!" shouted Ash, catching everyone's attention and even making Sarah move her worried gaze that was on her writhing pokemon to his in absolute shock over his words. "Heat Wave!" Pidgeot quickly collected energy and started glowing orange before turning red.
"No! Steelix, dodge it! Go underground with Dig!" shouted Sarah, her pokemon barely able to hear and understand her because of the pain.
He was about to dig into the ground but it was too late. Pidgeot had gathered the necessary energy she needed and had started flapping her wings rapidly to the point that you couldn't see them moving at all. Waves of scorching hot energy traveled quickly through the air towards Steelix and he was struck relentlessly. Roaring even louder than before, Steelix was in agony over the sustained attack. Though he had high physical defenses, his defenses against special based attacks, especially fire type attacks, were average at best. And this fire type attack was too powerful. Steelix let out a loud, lingering groan after the blistering waves of heat ended before dropping to the ground with a loud thud that caused dust to rise up into the air from his immense weight. When the dust finally settled and cleared, it showed the steel snake pokemon to be unconscious.
"No way! Steelix!" shouted Sarah in concern.
"Steelix is unable to battle. The winner of this round is Pidgeot!" said the referee as he raised a green flag.
The crowd was stunned into silence over the outcome of the battle. Until a moment later, when they all started to roar and cheer. Ash's friends' jaws were dropped, unable to speak or make a sound even when the announcer started speaking. "Looks like Ash hasn't lost his mind folks! His Pidgeot did well, outmaneuvering Sarah's Steelix and took him down with such tenacity! I've never seen anything like this! How will the battle go between these two trainers now?" Sarah returned Steelix, thanking him for his work. Staring at Ash for a second in disbelief, she shook her head before she pulled out another poke ball and tossed it into the air. A loud roar was heard over the crowd that made them pay attention to the continuing battle. "Sarah has chosen Tyranitar! Will this mountain pokemon be able to avenge his fallen comrade?"
Seeing the new pokemon that Sarah had brought out made Ash think how the next pokemon he was going to call out would do against hers. He turned to his pokemon as she came to stand in front of him on their side of the field. "Good job Pidgeot," complimented Ash and he was about to return her when Pidgeot chirped in defiance. "You want to stay and battle him too?" She nodded but then chirped again. "So you want to battle until we win the match? That's really selfish." Pidgeot stuck her beak into the air and Ash couldn't help but chuckle. "Alright, you can stay. But you're gonna have to explain to the other two I had in mind of competing why I didn't have them battle. And you're gonna have to make it up to them. Got it?" Pidgeot nervously sweat dropped but agreed to the terms by nodding.
"That's one stubborn pokemon folks! Looks like Ash has decided to keep using Pidgeot, even against Tyranitar! Will this be the beginning of the end for Ash? Will this decision come back to haunt him?" Once again the people in the stands and his friends were surprised over his decision.
No more so than the blonde girl who was facing him. She was shaken at how his falcon had completely overpowered her steel snake. She had never experienced such a thing happen to her. But she wouldn't underestimate him anymore. She shouldn't have from the beginning but she let her confidence and victory over the Johto Elite Four get to her head. Even with wanting a great battle with him, she still wanted to win, as any normal trainer would want. Taking in a breath, Sarah composed herself and locked eyes with Ash. "I gotta say I'm impressed with what you did against my Steelix. Let's see what else you have planned Ash but fair warning, I'm done playing games and it's gonna take more than before to take down my Tyranitar!" said Sarah. Ash didn't react much more than just smiling a bit wider. Oooh, you're starting to annoy me! "Dark Pulse!" Tyranitar quickly fired a purple and black colored beam of energy at Pidgeot.
"Double Team." Pidgeot split into multiple copies and closed in to surround the large green mountain pokémon while the attack shot through a copy that just vanished into thin air.
Tyranitar looked around him, confused over where his target was. "Relax Tyranitar! Use Flamethrower as you spin around!" Spewing out a stream of flames from his mouth as he spun around in his spot, Tyranitar made the flames rush towards all the copies surrounding him.
"Fly up then Air Slash." The real Pidgeot flew up over the flames while her copies merely vanished due to the flames that swept over them. Once high enough, the falcon shot a much larger and sharper blade of condensed air at her target.
Tyranitar braced himself and took the hit head on, knowing it can tank the strike. But what he wasn't expecting, and neither was anyone else, was for the flying type attack to push him back greatly, making him leave trial marks in the ground. He made to move forward but flinched, taking a moment to regain his bearings. "You're alright! Pull yourself together! Use Hyper Beam!" Hearing his trainer's words, Tyranitar had to take a couple seconds to compose himself before charging up a ball of white energy in front of his mouth before he could fire the powerful beam of energy.
Ash took this opportunity to set up his next move. "Twister!" Sarah's eyes widened as Pidgeot rapidly flapped her wings, causing strong winds to pick up and encircle her pokémon with powerful air currents coated with draconic energy. The mountain pokémon shot the beam from inside the twister but missed his mark as the harsh winds obscured his vision. The beam ended up just flying up into the sky and vanished after traveling some distance. Pidgeot continued her relentless whirlwind as her opponent recharged, the sharp winds actually cutting into Tyranitar's thick rock hard skin, causing him some pain.
"Use Dig and be ready for the next attack!" ordered Sarah and Tyranitar dug into the ground to escape the ruthless winds. Pidgeot stopped her attack but stayed up in the air to have some distance between the two and the twister dissipated. "Stone Edge!" Tyranitar shot up from underneath the ground and sent up dozens of small sharp rocks at Pidgeot.
"Defend." Pidgeot brought her wings in front of her, covering her body and head as they turned a metallic sheen. The sharp stones hit Pidgeot, but her Steel Wing attack used for defense lessened the damaged considerably. After the attack, Pidgeot's wings returned to normal and then the falcon pokémon glowed white for a second and then faded away. Steel Wing had increased her defenses.
"Hey, that's the same thing Charizard did!" exclaimed Max.
"Yeah. Looks like Ash taught his pokémon how to defend themselves from certain attacks," said Brock.
Sarah couldn't help but grimace. No matter what she did, she couldn't bring the bird down. She was starting to get frustrated and angry over the battle. He's really good but I can't lose! I beat the Johto Elite Four for Arceus' sake! I have to win! I have to prove that I've become strong too!
"Good job Pidgeot!" called out Ash as Pidgeot endured the attack and screeched loudly, the power up giving her a boost. Sarah turned her attention to him as he continued. "Now let's use that for offense! Quick Attack and Steel Wing combo!" Pidgeot's wings again turned a metallic sheen as she shot down towards Tyranitar. Gaining in speed constantly, she looked like a blur while a white stream of energy trailed behind her.
"Wait for your chance and when it gets close use Thunder Punch!" shouted Sarah in fury as soon as Ash gave his commands. Her pokemon waited for his opponent to get close as he readied his attack, his fist covered in electrical energy.
Pidgeot slammed into Tyranitar with her hardened wings at maximum speed. The impact caused dust and smoke to explode around them, covering everyone in the arena. Using it as cover, Ash's eyes glowed blue for a split second as he used his aura to check on the pokémon then went back to his brown color after he saw what everybody else would soon see. Once the field cleared up, everyone saw Tyranitar on the ground, knocked out with Pidgeot standing next to him but panting heavily with a few electrical bolts arcing around her for a bit before fading away. Tyranitar had landed the blow and done significant damage to her before fainting.
"Tyranitar is unable to battle. Pidgeot wins again!" stated the referee, raising the green flag again.
"Incredible! Pidgeot wins against Tyranitar as well even after a Thunder Punch to the dome! Is there anything this pokemon can't do?" The crowd shouted and cheered over the outcome of that matchup with many unable to believe what they just witnessed.
"Wow. I can't believe Pidgeot pulled it off," whispered Serena in awe.
"Ash trained her well. She's one of his first pokémon and Pidgeot are extremely fast. Imagine getting hit by a pebble going that fast," stated Misty with glee
"Yea, but look she's tired out," pointed out Dawn with worry. It was then that everyone noticed Pidgeot panting heavily. "I hope Ash doesn't make her battle anymore. She needs to rest."
"Ash isn't like that," replied May with a frown. "He won't let any of his pokémon continue in that state when he notices it,"
"Kind of hard not to notice how tired Pidgeot is. If Ash makes her continue to battle than he's an idiot and you know it," shot Gary, making the girls glare at him.
"Don't worry guys," interrupted Brock. "Ash will do the right thing."
"Yea guys, this is Ash we're talking about. He always puts others first!" chimed in Max, pumping his fist into the air.
"Yea, Ash may act like a kid most of the times, but he knows better. Right Cilan?" asked Iris.
"Yes, I agree. He knows when to stop."
"And that's two of Sarah's pokemon that Ash has brought down to their knees with just Pidgeot. What pokemon will Sarah use as her last hope?"
Sarah returned and thanked Tyranitar. She put away his poke ball and glanced at Ash and Pidgeot. The falcon was tired out, but Ash was still calm and focused, arms still crossed over his chest and that smile still on his face. It infuriated her that he was able to beat two of her pokémon with ease. And with a pokemon that was normally ineffective against her pokemon! What's your secret? How are you so freakin strong? I only have one pokémon left and he still has two fresh ones and I don't even know what pokémon they are. But I won't give up! I still have a chance, no matter how small! "You're pretty good Ash but this is far from over! I will beat you and that's a promise!" shouted Sarah as she tossed her final poke ball into the air, releasing her last pokémon onto the field with another flash of bright light.
"Sarah has released her final pokemon onto the field and it's a tough looking Jolteon! Will this pokemon bring her back from the jaws of defeat?"
"Of all the pokémon to send out!" whined Max.
"Ash definitely has to switch out now."
"You're right Gary and don't worry he will," replied Brock.
Sarah didn't say anything for a moment, watching her opponent wait for her to act. When he didn't react to her staring besides smiling again a little more, which also made her heart skip a beat, she decided to say something to try and rattle him. "You're bird's toast Ash! I hope you like extra crispy wings for lunch!" taunted Sarah and Jolteon grinned with his fur standing on end with small bolts of electricity shooting around him.
Ah, she shouldn't have said that, thought Ash as Pidgeot flew back towards her trainer and landed in front of him a short distance away. An angry look was on the falcon's face with her sharp eyes locked onto his. Buzzing loudly, the people in the stands wondered what was going on between the raven haired trainer and his pokemon. They looked to be communicating but no words or sounds were being made. Even Ash's group was puzzled. A short while later, Ash let out a sigh. "Alright then." Pidgeot faced the yellow electric dog with a serious expression and chirped loudly, taunting Jolteon.
"Ash is sticking with Pidgeot! Has he gone mad? How much more punishment can his pokemon take? What kind of crazy plan does he have in store?" Seeing the tired falcon still wanting to fight and even goading its adversary that it was extremely weak to was astonishing and the buzzing grew even louder with many shouting and cheering in the stadium with excitement and some even yelled out their concerns.
But the group of friends felt shock that was geared more towards worry and concern. "WHAT?!" yelled out Ash's friends together.
Misty got up and leaned over the guard rail before she started shouting over the crowd so she could be heard. "Ash! Don't be an idiot! Switch her out! She's too tired!" Ash looked up towards Misty when he heard her yelling. He kept his smile on his face and shook his head. Misty was dumbfounded over his refusal and so were the others. Ash never used to gamble with his pokémon like this. He knows the consequences. What in the world is clouding his judgment? thought Misty.
Sarah also heard the shouting from someone and glanced to see a red haired girl leaning against the rails. Moving her gaze back towards Ash, she saw him shake his head but kept smiling. He's serious. And who's that girl? Questions for later. Need to focus and I bet he's planning something. Need to stop him now! "Jolteon, use your speed and don't let that bird escape! Let's turn Pidgeot into fried chicken! Thunder Bolt!" Jolteon barked and raced forward. He closed the distance some before letting off a powerful bolt of electricity that shot towards the falcon.
"Double Team," responded Ash calmly. Pidgeot once again made copies of her and surrounded the electric type at the last second with the Thunderbolt attack striking its previous spot and hitting one of the copies that just disappeared. "Roost." All of the copies of the falcon pokémon began glowing white.
Sarah's eyes widened and she hurried to do something. "No! Jolteon, use Discharge!" Jolteon let off powerful electrical bolts that just arced all around him randomly in many different directions. But they ended up accomplishing what was needed and erased the copies. After the attack ended, they saw that the field was empty. "Where did Pidgeot go?" wondered Sarah out loud while her Jolteon looked around as well.
A loud screech answered her question from high up in the sky that caught everyone's attention. Raising their gazes to look up, they saw Pidgeot hovering high up in the air with ease, no longer looking tired. Truth be told, she looked to be even better than before. "What a plan! Ash and Pidgeot kept Sarah and Jolteon busy with the falcon's copies while she rested high up in the air! That is one talented pair!" Most everyone was surprised over the cunning plan, not expecting something like that happening.
Even Ash's friends were stunned as they couldn't believe it and they all felt a little ashamed, especially the red head. Misty had insulted Ash in front of everyone and he merely smiled in response. "I can't believe I did that to him and he didn't care," said Misty quietly, feeling horrible over what she did.
"We even talked about how he's gotten stronger. Why did we think he was making a mistake?" asked Dawn with regret in her tone.
"We should've never doubted Ash," commented Serena with her locked onto her crush.
"He really knows what he's doing and we should've trusted his decisions," remarked May sadly. They all agreed, still ashamed that they thought that he didn't know better.
Back on the field, the blonde girl was trying to come up with a way to beat her adversary. But she couldn't come up with anything. "Impossible! No way! No freaking way!" Having lost her cool, Sarah yelled out those words in frustration before falling to her knees and started staring at the ground. Jolteon glanced back at his trainer with a worried expression on his face. How can I beat him?! How?! He's strong…He's smart…He's talented…I…I don't have anything to use against him…I just…I can't…
Those thoughts allowed her to realize something. Waiting for the blonde haired trainer to say or do something, the stadium was buzzing. Until Sarah whispered something but the microphone attached to her blouse caught it and blared it out through the stadium speakers. "I forfeit."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
It was an incredible match from the start. None of them could believe what they were seeing. To see such an incredible performance from a pokemon against foes that it had no advantage against and even weak against was outstanding. And then, near the end, they witnessed that clever plan to distract and recover. They had to admit that they were impressed. And then they heard the blonde trainer whisper the two words that they haven't heard anyone say in an official match for a long time.
And it only took a second after she said those words for the stadium to practically erupt. The crowd grew so loud in their roars and cheering that it caused the glass in the VIP room to vibrate slightly. President Goodshow and his guests that were inside that room and watching the match from it were absolutely dumfounded over how the match ended. They expected that it would be a close one to call, considering the match up, but not a total blow out.
Turning in his chair so he could better see his guests, consisting of three males and two females, the president of the league asked them a question. "Didn't I tell you that he was something special?" asked Goodshow happily.
"Yes, you did," answered one of the males while keeping his tone even.
"Looks like you're right boss man," exclaimed another male happily.
They watched the two trainers return their pokémon and move towards the referee in the middle. "We'll have to keep an eye on Ash from now on," remarked one of the females, her eyes locked onto the raven haired trainer.
"Perhaps we should," replied the second female casually.
"If he continues like this, he might be the one who can finally give us a challenge," suggested the last of the males, earning nods of agreement from them all.