THE BLUE SPIRIT
CHAPTER 32 – SURPRISES AND A BATTLE
A crystal glass half way filled with an alcoholic beverage was thrown across the room with rage and it smashed against the wall, sending shards of glass flying in every direction. The liquid splattered on the wall and slowly made its way down.
"ALL OF THEM?!"
The tall man was shaking with fury after finding out what happened at the tournament after returning from his little vacation at a private island. His assistant had just informed him that all of the enhanced subjects, both human and pokémon, were defeated, the pokémon disintegrated into dust, the stadium was still standing, the tournament was still continuing, the human subjects were in jail and that they were unable to deal permanent damage.
"HOW THE FUCK IS THAT POSSIBLE?! TELL FREEMAN TO GET HIS ASS IN HERE NOW!" roared the tall man.
His assistant ran out of the spacious office as fast as she could in her three inch black high heels, her long red hair bobbing along in her wake. She reached her desk and pressed the PA button on her desk phone.
"Paging Mr. Freeman to the boss's office immediately. I repeat, paging Mr. Freeman to the boss's office immediately," she said.
She ended the page and hurriedly returned to her boss's office to take up her previous position, which was standing next to his desk, her hands clasped together and held in front of her. She was a very attractive woman, with an hour glass figure, in her mid twenties and was wearing business style clothes consisting of a tight black skirt reaching her knees and a white buttoned up blouse. The tall man was pacing up and down his office, in his black pinstriped business suite with his hands behind his back and his head hung, staring at the floor as he paced, which was covered with an expensive Arcanine throw rug. A skinny scientist entered the office, wearing a white lab coat that was buttoned up all the way over his black pants and black shirt, his glasses hanging at the edge of his long nose and breathing hard. He had run from his laboratory to the office, knowing not to make his boss wait too long.
"I'm here sir," said Freeman in a small voice as he entered the room and walked a little towards his boss though stayed at an arm's distance from him. The tall man stopped pacing and eyed Freeman for a second who trembled as his boss was tall and well built.
"Freeman, what the hell happened?! The subjects were enhanced to peak levels were they not?!"
"Of course sir! I administered the injections myself sir!" responded Freeman immediately as he stood up straight.
"Then why were they defeated so easily and they barely caused any damage?! They were supposed to get rid of all the trainers they possibly could before the Champions got through to them! And what in the hell made the pokémon disintegrate into dust?! They cost a damn fortune to capture, feed and force to evolve!"
"We tested a few of the pokémon here that were injected with the enhancers and we found that for some reason the pokémon no longer need to sleep after being injected but when they are forced into an unconscious state, they cannot control the power inside them anymore and it roasts them alive from the inside out. The subjects faced the Champions Lance, Cynthia and Steven when they attacked the stadium. Alder and Diantha were distracted with the explosion that the group set up before they attacked. The Champions put up tough resistance, knocking out some of the pokémon but since they only had one pokémon with them, their lead pokémon, they weren't able to last long against our enhanced subjects. But…" Freeman trailed off, afraid of continuing.
"BUT WHAT?!" roared his boss.
"They were aided by an Aura Guardian by the name of Ash Ketchum sir. Apparently that's what the news and the president of the Pokémon League are saying. If he wasn't there, the stadium, the Champions, the people in the stands, both trainers and spectators, would have perished."
"There's another Aura Guardian besides Riley?!" asked the boss quietly, his eyes bulging from this news but soon got over his shock. "And his name is Ketchum? Why does that name sound so familiar? Bah, it doesn't matter, he was only one man and even if he did have a full roster of six pokémon with him, they were still greatly outnumbered!"
"That is true sir but this Aura Guardian is unlike any other we have seen or studied. He's even more powerful than the last Guardian we ran into and took care of all those years ago and makes Riley look like a joke. He was able to summon more than six pokémon to his side because of his aura and he has control over the Legendary Beasts of Johto. The entire display of his powers was broadcasted throughout the world and everyone knows by now who he is and what he's capable of."
"He summoned pokémon with his aura and he has Entei, Raikou and Suicune on his side?!" asked the boss in surprise. "Bring the video of the stadium attack. I want to see this Guardian's power for myself," ordered the boss and the scientist Freeman bowed before scurrying out of the room to get the video. The tall man moved his hands over his hair, growling as he did so.
"You should relax Giovanni. This was a test after all, was it not?" asked his assistant and he glared at her but his assistant held her gaze. She was the only one of his employees who did not fear him and he respected her for that. Giovanni let out a sigh before walking around his large black executive desk and sat in his black leather executive chair. His assistant moved behind him and started messaging his shoulders and neck.
"Ah that's just what I needed. What would I do without you Natasha?" asked Giovanni huskily.
"Probably fuck one of the new girls who have just signed up. Then again, you still do," replied Natasha in a monotone voice. Giovanni chuckled at her answer.
"And when are you going to join the party?" he growled slightly.
"You know me. All work and no play. I don't mix business with pleasure. That is why you hired me and let me get away with calling you out on your tantrums," chastised Natasha.
Giovanni was about to comment back when Freeman entered the room after knocking and held up the DVD that had the recording on it. Giovanni barely nodded and Freeman placed the disc in the player and turned on the TV and played it. The video started from the moment that Ash and Leaf finished the battle and Giovanni, Natasha and Freeman watched the video together in silence. When Giovanni saw who Ash Ketchum was, his eyes widened in realization; I know that punk!
Several gasps were made throughout the viewing as they saw his displays of power and all of his powerful pokémon that included the Legendary Beasts of Johto. When the video ended after Ash and his friends teleported away from the stadium, Freeman turned off the disc player and the TV before facing Giovanni and waited for his comments. Natasha's eyes were wide at what she witnessed the young man do and had stopped messaging her boss's shoulders halfway through the video. Giovanni didn't notice until after the video ended since he was preoccupied with absorbing what was shown to him. He glanced up to see his assistant frozen in shock and her face covered with amazement.
"I've seen that expression before. You're impressed aren't you Natasha?" questioned Giovanni.
Natasha broke out of her trance and moved to her usual spot of standing by his desk and crossed her arms in front of her chest.
"It's not every day you see one man singlehandedly defeat a small battalion. And a handsome one at that," replied Natasha with a smirk on her face. Giovanni noticed and scowled before facing Freeman.
"I'll deal with this Ketchum. I've run into him before. Freeman, continue working on the enhancers and I want them twice as strong. I want an update on the weapon and the report on the entity."
"Sir, I must say with much regret that we have reached the limit on how strong we can make the subjects until we reach the entity. If we try to enhance them further, they deteriorate at an alarming rate. We need to study the entity itself to find what is limiting the growth potential. It will take us three years to reach it and contain it. As for the weapon, it is complete and we are conducting test experiments as we speak. It should be ready to operate by the end of the tournament."
Giovanni growled and his neck's vein throbbed though he controlled his temper as he spoke.
"Freeman, this is what's going to happen; I'm going to give you half the time. You have one and half years to reach the entity and capture it and study it to perfect the enhancers. The weapon must be ready by the end of the tournament. Our first official shots will be on the tournament itself and I want the weapon strengthened even further. We must launch our attack without mercy or hesitation with full power. Especially if this Ketchum will be there as he is our biggest threat. More so than the Champions. Launch the weapon a couple days before, get it into position and make sure we are not discovered as we do so. Do not fail me Freeman, or do I need to remind you about what happened to my last top scientist Morrison?"
"Yes sir, I'll get right on it and no sir, I remember," replied Freeman. He shivered right after as something brushed past him. He looked down and saw a large, white lioness looking pokémon with a jewel on its head. It lazily walked towards Giovanni before sitting up on its rear legs. Giovanni began petting his most loyal and favorite pokémon on the head.
"Good Freeman. My Persian hasn't had fun in a while. Do not make me have her play with you since she ends up killing most of her playmates," he said coldly. Freeman nodded and left the room quickly. Giovanni looked up at Natasha who noticed him moving and eyed him.
"Yes Giovanni?"
"I have an assignment for you."
"I was waiting for you to say that. It's been a while since I had some field work," she replied with a grin on her face.
"Then it's settled. Find this Ash Ketchum and get close to him. Find out everything about him. And I mean everything. We may be able to use something for our own benefit. But do not kill him. He will be a celebrity now and his every move will be covered with eyes. We cannot afford being discovered at this point. He will perish on the closing ceremony soon enough along with everyone else. I will give one day's warning in advance of the attack but if you finish sooner, report back when you have all the information you can get out of him."
"Consider it done. But you know I could kill him without getting caught after getting what we need from him. This isn't the first time I've done something like this Giovanni," she said as she made to leave but her forearm was grabbed with a vice like grip that actually hurt her. She looked back at her boss with fear filling her eyes. She was never hurt by him before and he never gave that cold, angry look at her either.
"I said do not kill him Natasha and nobody else. We cannot be found now. Do not fail me," warned Giovanni with an icy stare.
Natasha couldn't speak but nodded after a moment. Giovanni let go of her and motioned for her to leave, which she immediately did, walking out of his office at a brisk pace. Giovanni stared at her retreating figure before he let out a grumble while petting Persian's head.
"She better not mess this up. I don't want to have to get rid of her. At least not before I have some fun with her," finished Giovanni with an evil grin. He pushed a button on his telephone system before speaking into it. "Domino…I have two missions for you…find Hunter J...and the other one is..."
Back at the Indigo Plateau Hotel, Ash's large group of friends and family was fast asleep even as the sun rose and its light shined through the slightly open curtains. As the light from the sun started filling up her room and came across her face, Leaf started to murmur a bit before the heat and light made her wake up. She opened her eyes and blinked a few times in a vain attempt to clear her eyes but ended up having to rub them with the back of her hands to do so. When she finished, she sat up and looked around at her roommates who the sun hadn't woken up, even though its rays were shining on their faces. Leaf's lips curled up into a small smile as she observed her roommates' positions.
Anabel and Sarah each were on their own twin bed and the way they ended up being in was amusing to Leaf. Sarah had her head hanging from the edge of the bed while she hugged her pillow in her arms, her mouth slightly open and had some drool slipping out from the corner of her mouth with her blonde hair hitting the floor. Anabel was still fully on top of her bed but she had spread out her arms and legs so her hands and feet were dangling in the air while she muttered incoherently in her sleep, her short purple hair all over the place.
Leaf suppressed a giggle as she got up and walked towards their room door while still in her pajamas. She wanted to go check on Ash before everyone else got up and to speak with him if possible about what she had seen in Mewtwo's memory sphere, his own memory and to confess about what she did back at the hospital. She silently reached Ash's room, checking around her as she went; making sure no one else was up and softly knocked on the door twice. She waited for an answer but when silence was all that greeted her, she opened the door and entered.
"Ash? Are you awake?" asked Leaf as she poked her head in first before her body followed. It took her a moment before realizing something that made her feel uneasy; Ash wasn't there. His bed was empty, the cover thrown haphazardly to one side and the bathroom door was open, the light not on. Even his pokémon weren't there as she saw no sign of Lucario, Gardevoir or Pikachu.
"ASH?" Leaf half shouted as she looked around his room, the bedroom door left open, hoping to find him. She checked under the bed, the bathroom, in the closet, the balcony and a couple other places but found no trace of her childhood friend. She was about to let out a yell in fear and frustration when she noticed several items on the dresser that shined as the sun's rays hit them from the window. She moved closer to them and saw that they were four Luxury Balls and one Ultra Ball with tags attached to them as well as a folded piece of paper. Leaf picked up the folded paper, opened it and scanned it quickly. She let out a slight sigh of relief and then glanced at the poke balls on the dresser.
After some quick thinking, she went out of the room and stood in the middle of the living room. She put her two fingers into her mouth, positioned them over her tongue and blew air out as hard as she could. Her loud whistle shot throughout the silent penthouse, echoing against the walls. Not even a minute later, the agitated cries of everyone as they woke up and shuffled out of their rooms was heard while Leaf smirked, knowing her plan had worked. Some had annoyed expressions while others looked concerned.
"What's the big idea Leaf?" asked Anabel as she tried to rub the sleep out of her eyes.
"Yea, where's the fire?" asked Misty as she yawned and stretched.
"Is everything okay?" asked Riley, the only one not in his pajamas, already dressed in his Guardian's outfit. Many glanced at him and some had a suspicion that he had slept in it.
"Yes, everything is fine. I just wanted to say that-"
"ASH IS GONE!" finished Delia for the brunette, shouting it as she ran into the living room to join the others. Everyone shared confused and panicked expressions but before it could actually became hectic, Leaf caught their attention again with another whistle.
"Can you all just relax?" asked Leaf, half amused, half annoyed. Before anyone could answer her rhetorical question, she continued. "He's alright. He left this letter for us." Leaf stretched out her hand that held the letter to Delia who took it and read it out loud so everyone could hear it as Leaf slipped away from them unnoticed:
Mom, Misty, Dawn, Serena, May and all of my friends,
I'm fine and please don't worry about me. I woke up in the early morning when Mewtwo came to check on me and I asked him to take me with him to check on my pokémon who are recovering from the stadium attack. I will most likely be with them all day until my match at 5pm.
I wanted to say I'm sorry for leaving without word or warning but I didn't want to wake any of you. Also, I wanted to apologize for my memories that were shown to you all if they have caused any kind of discomfort to anyone. Also for what Mewtwo showed you of what he and I went through inside my mind as he told me he had shown you all. Again, I apologize for the gruesome images.
Everything is alright. But, I am not going to take any chances from now on. I know you all can take care of yourselves but just for my peace of mind I have left some protection for you guys. You will find poke balls near this letter that hold five of my pokémon who are ready to await your five's orders. They are powerful, swift and clever. I believe that you will like the one I picked out for you Mom. He looks intimidating and is a great battler, but he is a softie on the inside.
I will see you guys after my match. Thank you for understanding and if there is any emergency at all, just shout out Mewtwo's name and we will teleport to you instantly. But please only do so in an emergency as anything else will cause him to get angry and annoyed. I can handle him but I really don't want to deal with that. Damn, he's glaring at me as I wrote that…Anyways; I will see you again later on today. Bye.
Love
Ash Ketchum
Delia finished reading the letter out loud with a chuckle and stared at it for a moment before looking up at everyone. Misty, Dawn, Serena and May let out sighs of relief, knowing that he was alright and would be back.
"Where are the poke balls he was talking about?" asked Max as he glanced around the living room. "I don't see any."
"That's because they were in his room," answered Leaf as she rejoined the group. She had the five poke balls in her pajama shirt as she used the bottom part of it like a bowl to carry them. "They each have a tag with one of your names on it," continued Leaf as she grabbed one of the Luxury Balls that had a tag with Serena's name on it and tossed it to her. She then tossed one to Misty, another to May and the fourth one to Dawn. The last poke ball, an Ultra Ball, she handed to Delia.
"I wonder who he left for us," thought Misty out loud as she removed the tag from the poke ball.
"Well, open them and let's see!" said Bonnie as Max agreed, excitement evident on both their faces.
The four girls let out the pokémon inside their balls and four flashes of light later, four small pokémon bounded up and down around them with happy looks on their faces. Each of the four girls let out a squeak of pleasant surprise before kneeling down on the floor to hug the pokémon that Ash left for them. The four pokémon were Vaporeon for Misty, Jolteon for May, Flareon for Serena and Espeon for Dawn. After almost smothering the pokémon with their bear hugs, the four girls let the Eevee evolutions go and watched them as they played with others in their group, earning chuckles from them all.
"What pokémon did Ash leave for you Delia?" asked Oak as he turned her way.
"Oh, I almost forgot," replied Delia as she opened her poke ball and a flash of light later, a tall turtle like pokémon appeared that stood on two legs, had long powerful arms with a spiky shell on its back. It was cream and green colored and let out a small roar as it appeared. The four Eevee evolutions glanced at the pokémon for a split second before realizing who it was and bounded towards him without concern. Chesnaught knelt down and started playing with the four happily.
"I see what he means of him being a big softie," chuckled Delia as they all took in the sight of the large grass and fighting pokémon playing with the four smaller pokémon.
"Wow, I didn't know he had a Chesnaught!" remarked Serena as she looked at the pokémon. "They're great battlers and very protective too!"
"Who would've thought Ash was so generous," remarked Gary.
"What do you mean bro?" asked his sister Daisy.
"Well, the Eevee evolutions are hard to come by and pretty powerful. Plus, Chesnaught are rare pokémon, exclusive to the Kalos region and are usually only available as starter pokémon. Since we saw him with a Greninja at the attack, having a Chesnaught as well is impressive. And he just gave these five away," explained Gary.
"Makes sense," nodded his sister and so did several others.
"Ok so Ash is with his pokémon. Does anyone know where they are?" asked Anabel.
"Now that you ask, he never did tell us where his pokémon stayed and where he's been when he was gone except for what we saw in the memories," replied Cilan.
"So mysterious! I can see why you love him Misty! Always surprises you huh?" teased Lily, making Cress glance at her as he smiled a bit.
"Don't tell me you're jealous sis?" asked Misty with a smirk and Lily crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes at her little sister. Misty giggled as Vaporeon came close to her and started rubbing against her legs as she called out to her. Misty glanced down at her new pokémon and smiled. She bent down and picked her up and hugged her. "Ah, you're so cute Vaporeon!"
"Vape vape!" Vaporeon licked Misty's cheek and cuddled against her. Misty laughed and the other girls called for their own new pokémon who shot to them. As the girls hugged their new pokémon, Delia smiled and turned to Chesnaught who stood back up and faced her.
"Hi Chesnaught. Ash is my son. Did he tell you about me?" she asked the turtle pokémon who nodded in response. "Great! I hope you are happy to be by my side. If you ever want to go back to Ash, I have no problem with that so just let me know okay?"
Chesnaught understood her and nodded before stretching out his hand to her and waited for her to shake on it. Delia reached out and shook his hand with no hesitation, which made the grass and fighting turtle smile. Delia returned Chesnaught and kept his ultra ball with her. The girls made the same promise with their own pokémon and the small pokémon nodded in agreement. The four girls returned their new pokémon and faced the others with large smiles on their faces.
"I think it's time we get breakfast started," commented Brock who turned to go to the kitchen. Cilan, Cress, Chili, Delia, Caroline, Grace and Johanna followed the pokémon doctor and the others went to wash up and change out of their pajamas. After about half an hour, almost everyone besides the cooks and Queen Ilene was gathered around the two dinner tables, waiting for breakfast.
The moment the meal was brought out by the cooks, Queen Ilene appeared though she wasn't wearing her royal clothes. Instead, she was wearing a pair of plain blue jeans and a black slightly loose shirt and her blonde hair was tied back in a pony tail. When she sat down, everyone stared at her, causing her cheeks to flush with color.
"Ah, Queen Ilene, is that you?" asked Lucy.
"Yes it is. Please, just call me Ilene. I'm treating this as a vacation and would like to be normal for at least the time I'm here," replied Ilene.
"Who would've guessed that a girl actually doesn't want to be treated as royalty," remarked Gary with a sly smile.
"I do like other things more than being a queen. Being a Queen is more about taking care of my kingdom, keeping it safe and prosperous. Though there are some perks that go with it but I'd like to have some down time every now and then. Plus, I like to think I'm more than just a pretty face with a crown Gary," replied Ilene with a friendly wink at him.
"Ah…I…ah…I…"
"Holy Mew! I've never seen him stutter before!" replied Misty, alternating looking at Gary and then at Ilene making both of them get embarrassed with reddened faces and look down at their food.
"I don't think any of us have ever seen Gary stutter before," replied his sister Daisy. "So what's the cause little bro? Finally found a girl that can make you forget how to talk properly?" quipped Daisy as she ruffled his hair, making Gary scowl at her before returning to his food. Ilene's lips curled into a slight smile as she thought about the young researcher though nobody noticed, except for Riley who didn't say anything. Though he did eye Daisy Oak a bit after she teased her brother. They continued eating their breakfast in relative silence until they had their fair share.
"So who feels like taking a dip in the pool after breakfast?" asked Misty after finishing her meal.
"Ah, the mermaid misses her natural habitat and wants to return!" joked Gary, trying to throw off some of the embarrassment he still felt to someone else. It worked slightly as several people laughed, including Ilene but the red head paid no mind to it.
"True. I do miss the water. So who's up for it?" she asked again with no trace of shame.
"Sure, why not. You know we're game," replied her sister Violet as she pointed out herself and their two other sisters Daisy and Lily. Cress and Chili gave one another quick grins at hearing that before turning away to not get noticed.
"What do you think Norman? It is getting pretty hot already and it's barely 10am. We haven't gone for a swim in a while," said Caroline. Norman's reply was a grunt with a shrug, which she took for a yes. "Oh, but I didn't pack any swimming clothes…"
"It's alright Mrs. Maple, we should have some spares lying around and if not or you don't want to borrow, we can always get some at the store nearby," commented Sarah.
"Oh thank you Sarah but I'll just go buy one. And let's all just drop the formalities alright everyone?"
Everyone agreed with Caroline's suggestion and after breakfast, they all headed back to their rooms and changed into their swim wear. Misty's sisters borrowed from her, as luckily she traveled around with several swim clothes and had grown up so her clothes would fit on them. Bonnie had brought her swim wear as she thought they might be able to have some fun while they visited. Lucy had brought her own as well since Ash told her to be prepared for anything. Gary's sister Daisy borrowed from Sarah. Anabel had brought her own just in case. Delia, Caroline, Grace, Johanna and Ilene opted to go buy some swim wear from the nearby store and told the others that they wouldn't be long.
Riley wanted to escort Ilene but she told him to relax and that Delia had Chesnaught with her so they would be fine. He had decided to just wear his shorts. Cress and Chili didn't bring any spare clothes with them, or anything at all for that matter, except for their pokémon since they just hopped onto a helicopter in the middle of the night so they borrowed from Cilan who had a few extra shorts. Norman, Clemont and Professor Oak decided on shorts as well, who each had their own.
Leaf, Sarah and Anabel were changing into their swim wear when a knock was heard on their room door. Leaf opened it and saw that Lucy was there, already changed into her purple and black two piece bikini. She wasn't shy at all about walking around in her swim wear, showing off her athletic and curvy figure. She looked great and even Leaf gave the Pike Queen a quick wolf whistle while Lucy grinned in return with a wink.
"Hey Lucy. Looking good. What's up?"
"Not too bad yourself Leaf. I wanted to talk to Anabel for a second. Is she here?"
"I'm right here Lucy," called out Anabel as she stepped out of the attached bathroom, wearing her purple one piece bikini and wrapped a large towel around her. Lucy motioned Anabel to walk with her and the Salon Maiden followed the Pike Queen to an empty room and after they entered it, Lucy closed the door and turned to face Anabel.
"So, spill it," shot Lucy, not wasting time. "What are you going to do? Are you going to tell Ash or not?" Anabel was surprised by the blunt forwardness of her best friend. She took a deep breath and looked her in the eye before responding.
"I don't know. I have no idea what to do. I've been thinking about him for years but after seeing his memories and his nightmare, I don't think I can confess to him. Not that it would matter anyway because even if I did, seeing and realizing how much he loves the four girls, he wouldn't care about me. And what about Leaf? You heard that he used to have feelings for her in Mewtwo's memory. If he did take in another girl, it would most definitely be her, not me. I mean look at her! She's beautiful and talented!" cried Anabel. The purple haired girl sat down on the empty bed and hid her face in her hands, trying to keep herself from crying.
Lucy had a look of pity show on her face for a second but immediately replaced it with a concerned one. She shook her head and sighed. She picked up her friend, making her stand on her feet and moved her hands away before locking eyes with Anabel while placing both hands on her shoulders softly.
"Listen to me Anabel. Don't forget how he commented on how strong you've become in his memory and how sad he was in his nightmare with how you…well you know… She may be that but so are you and don't forget you are a Frontier Brain. And you don't know that. Leaf may like someone else. And even if she does like Ash-"
"She does! She loves him and she kissed him!"
"WHAT?! When did this happen?!" asked a shocked Lucy. Anabel cursed at herself for letting that slip before explaining what had happened.
"Back at the hospital after he took Norman's thrashing like it was nothing. Sarah and I went together to see him and caught her confessing many things as he slept. How much she admires and respects him, how she's fallen in love with him and when she finished, she gave him a kiss."
"She said she's in love with him? Are you serious? Do the others know and what did you two do when you found out?"
"No, the others don't know and Sarah wanted to know what she was thinking and doing but I slapped her after she noticed us in the room." Anabel let a prideful grin show and Lucy's eyes widened.
"You did? Damn. I'm impressed Anabel. Then what happened?"
"Well, the three of us kind of argued a bit and we all found out that we each have feelings for him and we think that Cynthia likes him too."
"WHAT THE FUCK?!" screamed Lucy.
"SHUT UP!" shouted Anabel.
Both girls went quiet, waiting to see if someone heard them. Lucy even opened the door a crack to peek through and see if anyone was around. Luckily no one heard them and no one was around so Lucy closed the door and turned back to Anabel. Or so she thought. Right as she closed the door, a certain blue haired girl walked quietly by on her way to the pool. When she passed the door that led to the room where the two Frontier Brains were taking and heard their voices from the other side, she paused to listen, curiosity rooting her to the spot.
"So let me get this straight. Ash loves Misty, May, Dawn and Serena and they love him back. You, Sarah and Leaf all have feelings for him too, with Ash having had feelings for Leaf in the past. And Ash and the four girls don't know about what the three of you are feeling. And you think that Cynthia likes him too. Why do you three think that? What kind of soap opera drama did I put myself in?" asked Lucy as she held her head as she started to get a headache.
The blue haired girl's eyes widened at what she heard. Her heart beat faster and her breathing became ragged but she kept still as she continued listening.
"You're telling me," pouted Anabel as she crossed her arms. "Now you know the position I'm in. I can't tell him at all. And Leaf, Sarah and I think that Cynthia likes Ash too because why else does she want to know his condition so badly and coming over late last night? It's more than just being a friend, I know it!"
Several long, quiet and awkward minutes passed by while Lucy paced up and down in front of Anabel, clutching her hair madly while Anabel watched her do so. The blue haired girl strained her ears, trying to pick up any sound. Finally, the Pike Queen stopped pacing and faced the Salon Maiden.
"Alright," said Lucy as she took a deep breath before lowering her hands. "Let's take one step at a time. This is beyond messy but in order for you to be able to move on with or without Ash, you need to forget about the other girls who have crushes on him and tell him how you feel. If he reciprocates, then all the girls would have to just deal with it like they are now. If not, then at least you know that you tried and you won't live your life going 'what if' every now and then. Now, let's go to the pool, have some fun and you'll have your chance to tell Ash sooner or later."
"I guess you're right...Thank you Lucy," replied Anabel as she hugged her best friend who returned it.
"You're welcome Anabel. I'm here for you."
The blue haired girl figured they were done talking and quickly but silently moved away towards the pool. Shortly after, the two left the room and went to the pool to find everyone already gathered there. Some were playing and splashing about in the large pool, which was spacious enough to hold fifty people comfortably.
"Hey Lucy! About time you got here!" called out Brock to his girlfriend while lounging around in the shallow end.
"I was making you wait to see me in my bikini, knowing how much you wanted to see me in it," winked Lucy before pushing Anabel in the pool. She stuck out her tongue at Anabel when the purple haired girl poked her head out of the water and glared at Lucy. Lucy then smirked at Brock seeing her boyfriend's face go crimson before diving into the water.
As Lucy and Brock fooled around a bit together off to one side in the pool, though they kept their actions to family friendly, Anabel jointed the others at the other end of the pool. Misty, May, Dawn, Serena, Leaf, Sarah, Daisy Waterflower, Ilene, Violet, Lily, Cress, Chili, Richie and Clemont were tossing around a few beach balls to each other, laughing and splashing water onto each other as they did so. Norman and Gary had gotten out of the pool a couple minutes ago and were now playing a game of billiards that the gym leader started with the traditional break of the balls. Max and Bonnie were teamed up together playing foosball against Cilan and Iris. The two younger trainers were winning, much to Iris's chagrin, letting her frustration out on Cilan. Delia, Johanna, Grace and Caroline were lying down on the beach chairs in their newly bought swim wear, soaking up the sun's rays as they tanned their bodies. Professor Oak was reading the newspaper as he relaxed in the jacuzzi and smoked a cigar. Riley and Gary's sister Daisy Oak were leaning over the ledge of the rails looking out into the distance and talking together.
After some time passed, Chili and Violet moved away from the main swimming group, talking to each other. Cress and Lily soon followed their example and did the same a small distance away. Ilene hit one of the beach balls towards Leaf and afterwards, glanced towards Gary's direction. She watched him get ready to make his next move playing billiards when someone called out her name.
"Ilene!" shouted Clemont.
Ilene turned her head towards the others in the pool in time to receive the beach ball right in the face. Even though it didn't hurt her since it was so light and made of thin plastic, she still felt it and Ilene was stunned more because of her embarrassing situation than of the barely noticeable pain.
"I'm so sorry Ilene!" cried Clemont as he swam hurriedly to her. "I thought you were paying attention. Are you alright?"
"Yes I'm fine Clemont and it's alright, it's not your fault. I should've kept my mind on the game," replied Ilene with a kind smile.
She glanced at Gary again who was looking at her with slight concern on his face. It made her blush a little as she turned away. Daisy Oak noticed Ilene's reaction to her brother glancing at her, making her smile knowingly. Riley appeared at the edge of the pool near the steps leading out of the pool, kneeling down. Daisy Oak was a bit peeved that he left her but quickly reminded herself that he had to be by the queen's side in times of need, even for something as trivial as this.
"Are you alright my Queen? Do you want to get out or need anything?" asked Riley. Ilene puffed out her cheeks as she crossed her arms over her chest.
"Riley, call me Ilene while we are here. While we are here, this is our vacation. Unless I ask for you, go do as you please and I'm fine. I can handle a little beach ball," remarked Ilene, annoyed.
"As you wish Ilene," replied Riley with a small bow before moving back towards Daisy Oak.
"Someone's whipped," joked Daisy Oak when Riley reached her, smiling at him.
"Haha, very funny Daisy. You're just like your brother," commented Riley. Daisy Oak raised her eyebrows and punched his arm playfully. Riley gave a fake pout while she giggled before they quickly continued their previous conversation.
After another half hour or so have playing around in the pool, the swimmers branched out in smaller groups, some even leaving the pool completely. Misty, Dawn, Serena and May went together to one corner of the pool away from the others.
"Hey guys, I have something to tell you," said Dawn quietly when they stopped swimming, having reached the corner.
"What is it?" asked Misty, as she and the others floated around in the water.
"Well, it's kind of important and I don't want us overheard. Can we go someplace to talk in private?"
"Sure, no problem," said Serena. The four girls got out of the pool, dried themselves with towels, then wrapped themselves with it and walked towards their room. May was the last one to enter so she closed and locked the door before sitting down on a chair.
"So what's so important Dawn?" asked May.
"Well, I was walking to the pool before and I heard voices from one of the rooms and it sounded pretty important so I kind of eavesdropped on them and heard some interesting things."
"So much for privacy. What interesting things and who was talking?" asked an intrigued Misty.
"Well, from what I heard and understood, Anabel and Lucy were talking. And Anabel told that she, Leaf and Sarah all have crushes on Ash-"
"WHAT?!" yelped Misty, Serena and May together.
"Yea, they have a crush on him," repeated Dawn. "And Anabel continued on saying that the three of them think Cynthia has a crush on Ash as well. She also said that she can't confess to him anymore because of us four and Lucy told her she would have to risk it to find out if he does have feelings for her or not and move on."
Misty, May and Serena were angered, letting out growls but they controlled themselves and each of them took a minute to take deep breathes to calm down and think about what they just found out. The honey blonde haired girl was the first to speak up.
"As mad as I am, it is solid advice. Only way past it is to actually go through with it but I understand her fear. Sarah was kind of obvious though. We have noticed her looking at Ash every now and then. She did confess at the lake that she wanted what we had but then she tried to cover it up hurriedly," remarked Serena.
"True. And Anabel did give out some hints at the Battle Frontier when Ash competed there, though Ash was oblivious as always as far as I could tell," remembered May with a slight smile, thinking of the old days they used to travel together.
"You may be right, but didn't Ash tell us that he acted dense to keep us from getting uncomfortable and also because he was afraid?" reminded Misty. "What if he did the same to Anabel?"
"I don't know. Remember him and the photograph memory? It was only us four that he thought about. But he did mention Anabel in his memories and get sad for her and Sarah in his nightmare…" Serena trailed off, not wanting to finish.
"Okay so Sarah and Anabel we kind of knew about and Ash hasn't shown any feelings towards them as far as we know," clarified Dawn. "What about Leaf and Cynthia? He did mention Leaf in his memories and he did admit he had feelings for her before in his nightmare. And Cynthia was mentioned in his memories and nightmare as well. And I did get the feeling that Cynthia may like Ash because of her actions. Ash does hold Cynthia in high regards too…"
"I don't know," admitted Misty. "We have noticed them all showing some emotions over the memories and nightmare. But does it mean something more? And what are we going to do about the four of them? Will we continue on pretending we don't know? Do we confront them?"
"Well, everything is going alright and I don't see the point of starting a fight yet," advised Dawn. "I mean, having a crush is one thing and actually acting on it is another. Plus I like Cynthia and the other three seem alright; I don't think they'll try to do something."
"Okay, sounds fair enough," replied May. "I'm just worried they may try something behind our backs or that they do tell Ash and he does like them back. I mean, what do we do if that's the case?"
"I know what you mean," replied Serena. They stayed in silence until she broke it once more after several minutes. "Here's how I see it. If that does happen that they tell him how they feel and if he does have even the slightest feelings for them back, I think we should let them give it a shot."
"WHAT?!" screamed out May, while Dawn raised her eyebrows as Misty had her face contorted in thought but Serena didn't back down.
"Well, think about it; we're okay sharing Ash between us right because we love him and he loves us. And we all know that he isn't going to pick one over the other, even from the beginning and neither of us is going to just let him go. And since we saw his memories and nightmare, it's even more proof of that. So what do we really have to lose? It's not like he'll ever leave us or any one of us leave him."
The three girls glanced at one another before facing the honey blonde girl again, who took it as her queue to continue.
"What if they truly love and care for him just like we do? What if he does too? Maybe he doesn't have feelings for them now and that'll be it. Maybe he develops feelings later on and that would be okay too. If we get jealous or try to stop it, wouldn't we be hypocrites? If we're okay sharing Ash between us, what are a few more girls if they're pure hearted in their love and really care for him and he really has feelings for them in return?"
Serena's words were heard by Misty, May and Dawn and it took a little while for them understand what she was saying. The three glanced at one another and then at Serena before letting out sighs and then Misty replied.
"You have a point Serena but we'll see how things go. We'll wait until something happens that points to something between them and we'll talk with him first before something develops between them. We love Ash, he loves us and we'll never betray each other. That's all that matters. C'mon, let's go back and rejoin the others. We'll behave the same with the four unless they give off bad vibes or try to do something behind our backs. One thing for sure that we need to agree on is if any of them try something behind our backs, abuse our trust or betray us regarding all this, then they will never be allowed into the group."
The four girls agreed and went back to the pool and joined in on the fun with the others. Shortly after, most of them decided to play pool volleyball. Misty, Dawn, May and Serena were such a great team together that they won against the four mothers, Misty's three sisters and Ilene and even against Gary, Richie, Brock and Cilan. They were crowned the champions of the game after winning their fourth and final game in a row against Lucy, Anabel, Leaf and Sarah, though they did play a bit more aggressively against them because of the new details they learned.
A couple hours later, they decided to have lunch so Brock and the three brothers, Chili, Cress and Cilan went to work preparing their meal as the others went back to their rooms to wash up and change their clothes. By the time the four chefs finished preparing the food and placed it on the two dining tables, everyone had gathered and they sat in silence and ate. They were too tired after their pool time and they all just wanted to enjoy the taste of the great food.
"It's almost time for Ash's match," said Delia after putting her spoon into her empty bowl. "We have about an hour to clean up and get ready to go."
The others nodded and the four girls glanced at one another with huge smiles on their faces. They had missed the raven haired guardian so much in that one day without him. Leaf, Anabel and Sarah also shared glances, though only Lucy noticed and the Pike Queen sweat dropped. She had no idea what was going to happen and it both frightened her and made her anxious as she wanted to see what could occur between them all. After about fifteen minutes, they finished cleaning the table and stacked the washed dishes to dry themselves before heading out of the suite towards the elevator.
Once they reached the bottom floor, Richie went up to Joy who had just clocked out of her shift and joined the group. Joy was saddened when she learned that they had a pool party without her but Richie promised that they would have another one soon and would make sure that she could attend. Joy felt a little happier as she wrapped her arm around his. They made their way towards the stadium as the couples held hands, the girls gossiped and the parents kept a watchful eye over them all. Ilene and Gary unknowingly ended up walking next to each other and when they noticed, gave each other a small smile before they started talking. They went past the security guards who were now stationed at all entrances and exits at the stadium with Machokes as they went down the tunnel to find seats. They found a large empty area to sit near each other. The announcer spoke as soon as the last person in their group sat down.
"THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR WAITING SO PATIENTLY FOR THE LAST MATCH OF THE DAY TO BEGIN. WE HAVE WITNESSED SOME PASSIONATE BATTLES TODAY AS EACH TRAINER POURED THEIR HEART AND SOUL INTO THEIR BATTLES, SHOWING THAT WE CAN OVERCOME ANYTHING AS LONG AS WE HAVE HOPE AND GO FOR IT. WE'VE SEEN SOME AMAZING THINGS TODAY BUT WE'RE SURE WE HAVEN'T SEEN OUR FILL YET. AM I RIGHT?"
The crowd roared in agreement, wanting to see the next battle start already and soon followed their roar with a chant.
"What are they saying?" asked Oak, straining his ears to concentrate.
"Are you hearing what I'm hearing?" asked an astonished Delia to the others.
"BLUE SPIRIT! BLUE SPIRIT! BLUE SPIRT!"
"No way!" exclaimed Max. He glanced at Bonnie who looked at him, both sporting ridiculous grins on their faces. They began chanting too and so did a few others in their group while the rest had huge smiles on their faces.
"IT'S 5PM AND LOOKS LIKE THE PEOPLE HAVE SPOKEN! LET'S GET THIS SHOW ON THE ROAD! THE LAST MATCH OF THE DAY WILL BE BETWEEN PAUL REBOLLEDO AND ASH KETCHUM!"
Paul walked onto the field from one of the tunnels to a loud roar from the crowd and moved towards the referee and stopped a foot away from the official, waiting for his opponent. Inside the VIP room, Charles and the five Champions were watching and waiting for Ash to appear.
"Looks like Ash has captured the heart of the crowd," mused Alder, making Diantha and Steven chuckle as Cynthia let a warm smile form on her face though Lance stayed quiet. He was still feeling ashamed over not trusting him.
"BLUE SPIRIT! BLUE SPIRIT! BLUE SPIRT!"
"Where is he?" asked a concerned Leaf, earning quick amused glances from the four girls while the crowed continued chanting for Ash.
As if to answer her question and draw the attention of everyone in the stadium, a large blue glowing sphere appeared out of thin air a few feet away from the referee and caused the entire stadium to go into an eerie silence at once. A second later, the raven haired guardian appeared with Pikachu on his shoulder with Lucario and Gardevoir standing behind him as the blue glow faded away. The people in the stands were deathly quiet watching the event and even Paul was surprised at how he entered. But soon enough, the people in the stands got over their shock and started screaming and shouting their loudest yet while continuing their chanting.
"I LOVE YOU ASH!" screamed out many girls from all over the stadium.
"BLUE SPIRIT! BLUE SPIRIT! BLUE SPIRT!"
"YOU'RE MY HERO!" yelled out many others.
"TAKE HIM OUT GUARDIAN!" shouted others.
"Wow, look at these people go crazy," remarked Lucy with a gasp.
"Can't blame them babe. Not every day they see a true hero," chuckled Brock.
Back on the field, Ash and Paul shook hands after Ash took the microphone from the referee and waved at the people in the stands.
"I hope you're fit to battle after the attack. I don't want to beat you when you're not at your full strength," taunted Paul though with slight respect. Even if he didn't like Ash at all, he had earned some respect after what he did to protect everyone.
"Thanks for the concern but no need to worry." Dawn smiled as he said her phrase and giggled at May and Misty's gentle nudges. "I hope you're ready."
"I am and I hope you are too."
The two let go and moved to their respective sides. Ash glanced at his friends who shouted out cheers to him, making him smile. He gave them a thumbs up sign as Pikachu, Gardevoir and Lucario waved at them with smiles on their faces. The referee went over the rules and once they said they were ready, the referee began the match. Both Paul and Ash tossed out two poke balls each into the air as the chanting died down so they could watch the match in peace.
"AND THE FINAL MATCH OF THE DAY HAS BEGUN AFTER THAT INCREDIBLE ENTRANCE MADE BY THE AURA GUARDIAN THAT GOT THE CROWD PUMPED! PAUL HAS SENT OUT MAGMORTAR AND ELECTIVIRE WHILE ASH HAS CHOSEN RAPIDASH AND ZEBSTRIKA! ITS FIRE AND ELECTRIC VERSUS FIRE AND ELECTRIC! WHICH TEAM HOLDS THE STRONGER ELEMENTAL PAIR?"
"This should be interesting," remarked Ilene. "All four pokémon seem very strong."
"Different watching in real life than back at home huh Ilene?" asked Gary with a slight smirk and Ilene blushed slightly but didn't take her eyes of the field.
"Rapidash and Zebstrika are so beautiful!" exclaimed May.
"They sure are. They're coats are really shiny," remarked Brock.
"I wonder if he'll let us borrow them for contests?" wondered Dawn. Misty and Serena shook their heads as they smiled a little at their obsession before turning their attention back to the battle.
"I thought you said you're ready Ketchum?" asked Paul with disappointment in his voice. "I wanted a real fight, against your strongest. I've seen your other pokémon at the stadium attack on the news. After seeing those insanely strong pokémon of yours, what are these two horses going to do?"
"My pokémon that fought to protect everyone in the stadium attack are still recovering from that. They probably could still battle but I'd rather not risk it when I have more pokémon ready to go. And Rapidash and Zebstrika will be more than enough to beat you."
"Spoken like a true pokémon trainer and caring guy," remarked Anabel quietly with a smile to herself but some from her group still heard her and smiled as they understood her.
"Still recovering?" Paul scoffed. "I guess I was wrong to think you and your pokémon are strong. I should've known better. They are weak for taking so long to recover. I could've won against those mutated freaks without losing a single pokémon! You just got lucky with your fire pokémons' rage. Prepare to be humiliated!"
"That wasn't nice," remarked Cynthia in the VIP room. She was starting to regret ever complimenting Paul on his strength in the past. She felt a little guilty about that and what she saw in Ash's nightmare. She pushed her thoughts to the back of her mind to continue watching the match.
"That's not very sportsmanlike at all. What a sour vibe he sends out," frowned Cilan.
"Yup! And it looks like he just hit the wrong button," said Iris with a grin.
Ash frowned before he reached up and turned his hat backwards. He crossed his arms after while Pikachu kept standing on his shoulder with sparks shooting out of his cheeks. Lucario and Gardevoir let out growls as they glared at the arrogant trainer.
"Paul is in deep shit now. I hope he's ready to eat his words," sniggered Leaf and Sarah laughed.
The newer people in the group were a bit confused but Misty quickly explained the hat turning and they understood. Paul and Ash eyed their opponents for a moment, sizing them up. Magmortar and Electivire smirked at Rapidash and Zebstrika, who both neighed and stomped the ground with their right front legs, their hooves digging into the ground. Paul made the first move.
"Let's get this started! I won't hold back anything! Flamethrower at Zebstrika and Thunderbolt on Rapidash!" Electivire fired an electrical bolt at Rapidash as Magmortar raised his cannon like right arm and a torrent of red and orange flames shot out at Zebstrika.
"Absorb it."
That was all Ash said and everyone was intrigued as to what he meant by that. Zebstrika and Rapidash moved so fast that many only saw red and black blurs. The two horses switched spots and took the attack that was meant for their ally at the last second. Rapidash took the Flamethrower and instead of getting damaged, absorbed the scorching flames into her body that made her glow red at the same time that Zebstrika had the lightning bolt strike his horn and absorb the current of energy who glowed yellow. Both pokémon's glow faded away quickly and they let out loud battle cries as they used their opponent's attacks to give them a power boost. Paul scowled as his two pokémon had their eyes widen in shock.
"WHAT STRATEGY! ASH HAD HIS RAPIDASH AND ZEBSTRIKA SWITCH SPOTS AND USE THEIR ABILITIES OF FLASH FIRE AND LIGHTNINGROD TO ABSORB THE INCOMING ATTACKS TO GIVE THEM A POWER BOOST! WHAT WILL PAUL DO NOW AGAINST TWO SUPERCHARGED HORSES?!"
"Good job guys!" said Ash and his two horse pokémon neighed loudly. "Now it's our turn. Show them a real Flamethrower and Thunderbolt!" Both Rapidash and Zebstrika fired their attacks and Paul growled.
"Quick, use Protect!" ordered Paul hurriedly but it was too late.
The two horse pokémon shot their boosted attacks with such speed that his Magmortar and Electivire had no time to react whatsoever. Magmortar writhed about as the powerful electrical attack hit him and Electivire roared in pain as the scorching flames washed over him.
"That must have hurt," winced Ilene.
"No doubt. Those attacks alone are powerful but when used by a pokémon that had received a boost, they go to a whole different level," remarked Gary.
"Damn it! Use Rock Slide both of you!" ordered Paul. Both his pokémon summoned dozens of small boulders that materialized out of nowhere and had them speed through the air to strike the two horses.
"Use Agility to evade and get close," said Ash.
"Keep at it to slow them down and if they do get close, use Brick Break on them!" shouted Paul.
Rapidash and Zebstrika sprinted forward, increasing their speed as they dodged the many boulders thrown at them and gradually grew closer to Magmortar and Electivire. When they got close enough, Ash was about to order their next move when Paul switched things up.
"Fire Blast and Thunder!" Electivire and Magmortar targeted Rapidash and Zebstrika respectively and since they were so close to their targets, they couldn't dodge and were both struck by the powerful attacks, sending them flying back. Ash stayed calm even though he was feeling their pain.
"Are you guys alright?" asked Ash. Both horses stood up and let out battle cries again. "Good. Let's pick up the pace guys. Agility again!" Both horses shot forward again, increasing their speed even more.
Really? Again? Wait, he has to know it won't work twice. He's planning something. Let's see what.
"Counter with Rock Slide once more!" Again, Paul's two pokémon launched boulders towards the approaching horses.
"Double Team and keep going," said Ash.
The two horses split into a dozen copies each and the twenty four horses kept going forward. It looked like a stampede was happening in the field. The entire stadium let out shouts of surprise and even Paul was shocked. He ordered his two pokémon to keep up with their attack. Boulder after boulder was launched at the galloping horses but they either missed or hit a copy.
"Great job you two. Now, use Agility once more to get in close and run circles around your target."
They both neighed as their copies went away as they used Agility once more and they shot forward so rapidly that the two horses were merely blurs, as using agility several times in a single battle had raised their speed to incredible levels. Soon, Rapidash was running around Electivire in circles, gaining in speed so much that it looked like there were dozens of her and Zebstrika did the same to Magmortar. Both of Paul's pokémon were scared at what to do and Paul was thinking hard.
Damn, I can't have them use Earthquake or any other move that can hit multiple pokémon as it may hit one of them as well. Shit!
"Don't just stand there! Use Thunderbolt and Flamethrower!" shouted Paul angrily. His two pokémon fired their attacks while turning but missed their targets as the horses were going too fast after using multiple Agilities. "Keep going until you hit them!" ordered Paul.
"Not going to work Paul! Heat Wave and Discharge while you're at it!"
"WHAT?!" shouted Paul, stunned and so was everyone else in the stadium as they heard the order. Rapidash and Zebstrika both engulfed themselves with flames and electricity respectively and kept running around in circles. Because of their enhanced speed and covering themselves with flames and electricity, it seemed that a circular wall of electricity was surrounding Magmortar and a circular wall of flames surrounded Electivire. Both of Paul's pokémon were being hit from loose flames and electric bolts. Even though the attacks were weak, they were being struck from all angles and by way too many to just shrug off. They were completely trapped and were being injured with every passing second.
Seeing his pokémon trapped and attacked from all over the place, Paul grit his teeth.
"ASH HAS MADE IT SO PAUL'S POKEMON ARE COMPLETELY TRAPPED! WHAT A CUNNING PLAN AND WHAT WILL PAUL DO NOW?"
"Screw it…Earthquake!" Both Magmortar and Electivire jumped up and right before they slammed the ground, Ash spoke his next command.
"Bounce into the air!" Both Rapidash and Zebstrika jumped high into the air immediately, avoiding the tremors that struck the two allied pokémon on the ground. They were directly above them, floating in the air for a bit but their fiery and electrical walls remained, trapping their opponents.
"Now finish it with Flare Blitz and Wild Charge!" Both horses let out battle cries as they covered themselves in powerful spheres of their type and shot down towards the trapped pokémon.
"Use Hyper Beam!" snapped Paul. His Magmortar and Electivire fired their energy attacks at the incoming fire and electric spheres from above, colliding against each other. However, due to gravity, their enhanced speed, their boosted power from absorbing their attacks from before and from the sheer strength of the two horses themselves, Rapidash and Zebstrika pushed through the powerful beams with relative ease and smashed into the two pokémon below them, causing two explosions to occur at the same time, sending out smoke into the field.
Everyone in the stadium waited for the smoke to pass to see the result and it finally did after a moment. It revealed the two horses standing in front of Ash with triumphant looks on their faces, though they were panting a bit from the recoil damage they received from their own attacks and that they just used multiple powerful moves right after one another. Magmortar and Electivire were on the ground out cold in the middle of two craters.
"Magmortar and Electivire are unable to battle. Paul, send out your last two pokémon!" said the referee.
"Very impressive," commented Norman. "Ash used his pokémon's abilities to enhance themselves, lowered their opponents' stamina by tiring them out with evasive maneuvers, trapped them with a move that also damaged them over time, made them strike their own ally and then finished them off with relative ease."
"Are you just seeing him battle now Dad?" asked Max, surprised.
"Well, not really. I haven't been watching the tournament until halfway through as usual since I was training in the gym until your mother told me it was the halfway point. I only saw part of his battle against Leaf and then the stadium attack happened," replied Norman.
"So what do you think Dad? Ash has become wickedly strong hasn't he?" asked May, a hint of pride in her voice. Norman turned to her while giving a genuine smile.
"Yes, he has. From what your mother's told me, sweeping his opponents and defeating the stadium invaders...I'm impressed. Good thing too as I don't want no weak trainer for my daughter."
May blushed at his comment and the other girls nudged her teasingly until she shouted at them to stop, making their large group of friends laugh. Cynthia cheered out in the VIP room at the result but quickly composed herself, feeling the other Champions' eyes on her and kept her back to them.
Paul scowled and returned his two fainted pokémon, cursing under his breath before tossing out two other poke balls into the air and two large pokémon appeared with loud roars. One was a green turtle with spikes and a tree on his back and the other looked like a large scorpion. Ash thanked his two horses and returned them and sent out two other pokémon of his own; one was a small red turtle and the other was a large eagle pokémon with white feathers on the top of its head.
"PAUL HAS SENT OUT HIS TORTERRA AND DRAPION AND ASH HAS SWITCHED OUT HIS HORSES FOR HIS OWN TURTLE TORKOAL AND THE VALIANT POKEMON BRAVIARY! THE SIZE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE FOUR ARE INCREDIBLE BUT WE ALL KNOW SIZE ISN'T EVERYTING!"
"Torterra, use Stone Edge on Braviary and Drapion take care of that turtle with Cross Poison!" ordered Paul quickly, wanting to get in a quick attack before Ash could do something. Torterra roared and stomped his right foot on the ground as Drapion sprinted forward with his front claws glowing purple.
"Defend with Steel Wing and Iron Defense." Both his pokémon responded quickly without hesitation. Braviary didn't move besides covering himself with his large wings that had taken a metallic sheen and Torkoal had his body turn a metallic sheen too as he withdrew into his shell. The ground underneath Braviary erupted and shot up dozens of sharp rocks at the large eagle that bounced off his metalized wings, doing minimal damage. Drapion slashed at Torkoal with his purple glowing claws and just bounced off of the turtle with a loud clang.
"Good, now use Smokescreen and Fly." Braviary spread his mighty wings with a loud screech and shot up into the air with such power that he left a small crater in his wake from the sheer force of it. Torkoal puffed out white smoke from his nostrils and from the top center of his shell to cover their side of the field with it, obscuring Paul's and his pokémon's vision of the turtle's location.
"Damn it!" Paul wasn't use to Ash battling like this. His old style of rushing in without a second's thought was long gone. He had to come up with something to counter him.
"Drapion use Sludge Bombs all over the place and Torterra watch out for either the bird's or the turtle's attacks and use Seed Bomb when you see them!" Drapion fired toxic balls of sludge as Torterra readied many large green and brown seeds to launch as he peered around the field and in the air.
"Good strategy but not good enough. Sunny Day and Hone Claws," shouted Ash from the white smoke. The sun seemed to grow hotter and stronger as another loud screech was heard from the air yet no one knew from where exactly. Paul grew worried as he didn't see either of Ash's pokémon.
Damn, I can't see his pokémon and what the hell is he planning?
"Drapion, stop and ready an Aqua Tail and use it on Torkoal when you see him. Torterra, fire those bombs into the smoke and then use Razor Leaf to part away the smoke!" Drapion stopped his previous attack and summoned water around his tail and readied itself to lung forward quickly. Torterra launched the Seed Bomb haphazardly into the smoke yet no cry was heard, only the sounds of several explosions from the attack. The large turtle then sent out dozens of sharp leaves that cut through the smoke with such speed that they pushed it away, revealing the small red turtle.
"Send it into the air!" roared Paul and his Drapion lunged at Torkoal, swinging his water covered tail into the red turtle and sending him flying into the air.
"TOOOOOORRRR!" cried out Torkoal as he was sent skyward, flailing his limbs comically about as if trying to take control, making many in the stands laugh at the small red turtle's expense.
"Finish it off with Dark Pulse!" Drapion fired a beam of dark purple and black energy at the red turtle hitting it. Torkoal let out a cry of pain after receiving the attack and he was pushed up a little more into the air by it before gravity took hold and made him plummet towards the hard ground.
Several of Ash's friends screamed out in total fear and even Cynthia let out a gasp from inside the VIP room. But before Torkoal could smash into the ground, a blue blur came from nowhere and caught him.
"Damn! Fucking bird," muttered Paul under his breath as he watched Braviary hover in the air while casually flapping his wings after gently lowering Torkoal back onto the ground. Many around the stadium let out relieved sighs once they saw the red turtle safely back on the ground.
"Well done Braviary. Torkoal how you doing buddy?" asked Ash.
"KOAL!" Torkoal roared out, white smoke escaping from his nostrils. He was hurt but was also angry at getting hit and being embarrassed.
"Easy Torkoal. We'll get some payback. Braviary, charge up Sky Attack while Torkoal keeps them both busy with Lava Plume!"
"TOORRR!" The red turtle summoned up an inferno of scarlet flames that rocketed to the two pokémon as Braviary gathered energy for his powerful attack, slowly glowing redder as he continued.
"Protect!" shouted Paul hurriedly. Both his Drapion and Torterra were covered in pale white shields as the flames gathered around them. They passed harmlessly over the two, curving around the shields.
Braviary screeched loudly when he finished gathering the required energy and flew up a little higher into the air, glowing completely red. Torkoal finished his attack and waited patiently for his next order.
"Good. Let's finish this! Use Sky Attack on Drapion and use Overheat on Torterra!" ordered Ash.
"Fight back with Frenzy Plant on Braviary and use Poison Jab on Torkoal!" countered Paul.
As Braviary shot down at the large scorpion covered in a red glow and Torkoal shot a large torrent of flames at Torterra, Drapion moved towards the red turtle with his claws glowing purple and Torterra had about a dozen thick roots shoot out from the ground at the dive bombing eagle. As if playing in slow motion, everyone watched as the four pokémon got struck at roughly the same time. Braviary was hit by the sturdy roots right before he slammed into Drapion at the moment the large scorpion swiped at Torkoal with his claws right as the red turtle's fiery attack engulfed Torterra. All four pokémon cried out in pain as dust rose up from the ground and covered the field as their attacks made contact simultaneously. As the dust settled back down, everyone saw two of the four pokémon on the floor.
"Torterra and Drapion are unable to battle. Victory goes to Ash Ketchum!"
The crowd roared and cheered for Ash, who returned his hat to its previous position as the two trainers returned their pokémon and met back up in the middle of the field. They shook hands with Paul doing so reluctantly after returning their microphones.
"Good battle. One more thing though…Don't ever insult my pokémon again Paul or I won't hold back at all."
Paul widened his eyes before he scowled at the fact that Ash was holding back but left without a word spoken. Ash glanced back at his friends in his stands. He waved at them and then turned to Gardevoir and whispered something in her ear before she teleported to be beside Misty.
"Hey Gardevoir!" said Misty as she hugged the pokémon and the others gave out greetings to her.
"Hi Misty. Ash said he'll join you guys back at the hotel. He has some unfinished business to attend to and he told me to stick with you guys for now," said Gardevoir.
"But he said he'll join us after his match!" whined Dawn.
"What's going on Gardevoir?" asked Delia, both curious and worried.
"I cannot say as I promised not to say anything. But I can tell you that everything is okay," replied Gardevoir with a smile.
"Hey, where'd he go?" asked Sarah as she turned back to the field. They all did and saw that the raven haired guardian had vanished.
"C'mon, let's go back to the hotel," said Johanna.
As the group moved through the main stadium exit tunnel, talking as they did so, they spotted a tall and beautiful blonde woman at the end, leaning against the tunnel wall with her arms crossed. She turned her head as she heard their footsteps and realizing who they were, moved towards them.
"Hello Cynthia," said Delia as Cynthia reached them. Delia noticed a look of concern on Cynthia's face. "Is everything alright?" she asked the Champion.
"I'm not sure," sighed Cynthia. "But I wanted to ask you something; did Ash mention anything about investigating the stadium attack?"
"No he did not since he wasn't with us all day. He had gone to check on his pokémon in the early morning. Why?" asked Delia.
"I see," replied Cynthia. "Well, because Ash appeared out of nowhere in the VIP room after his match and requested that Lance allow him to question the attackers. I thought you might want to know and I could take you to where they will be."
The group glanced at one another before Delia thanked Cynthia for the information and agreed to follow the Champion. Cynthia led the way while everyone was thinking about what Ash wanted to know and what he would do to get the answers he was looking for. Each girl that was in love with Ash thought the same thing as they traveled to him; I hope he doesn't do something rash.