With Courage I Will Face
Arc IV: Cerulean
Chapter Twenty-One: A Very Technical Tournament
Ash readied himself as he stood opposite Yellow, a small-framed girl in a yellow tunic dress with purple rubber boots and a large, brimmed sunhat.
"Ratty, come on!" Yellow selected her Pokemon first.
Yellow had selected a Raticate, which she had [very originally] nicknamed Ratty. Her Raticate stood ready to lunge at any moment as Ash chose his own Pokemon.
"Butterfree, I choose you!" Ash's loyal bug-and-flying-type appeared yet again, fluttering around the field.
They didn't waste any time after that, and the ref signaled for their battle to start. Ash took the first move.
"Alright, Butterfree, use Gust!" Ash called. Butterfree took action right away, using its wings to send out a small cyclone of air towards Raticate.
"Dodge it and use Hyper Fang!" Yellow ordered swiftly.
Ratty dodged back and out to the side, passing by the wind vortex and lunged up into the air at Butterfree with glowing teeth. Just before it made contact, Ash cried out again.
"Confusion, send it flying back!" He said.
Butterfree caught Ratty in midair with glowing red eyes, encasing it in a blue glow that the normal-type squirmed. It was no use and after just a few moments Butterfree threw it backwards through the air and back into the cyclone that it had narrowly avoided getting hit by.
"Quick Attack!" Yellow didn't want to stay down long, and Ratty responded.
It rolled back onto its feet as the swirling winds died down and ran forward, jumping quickly into the air to strike Butterfree and they both came crashing back down.
"Butterfree, use Stun Spore!" Ash called urgently.
"Retreat, Ratty!" She yelled, and Raticate used Quick Attack to retreat back to its own side of the field while Butterfree attempted to spread spores while lifting back into the air. "Tail Whip, like you've never whipped before!"
Ratty responded eagerly, turning and wagging its tail teasingly at Butterfree at such an impressive pace that it displaced the small amount of spores that had carried across the field in addition to lowering Butterfree's guard. Ash clenched his fist. He was sure that dispelling technique had only worked due to the distance between them and the low volume of spores, but it was still an impressive counter, and one he had hardly seen before.
"Fine, we'll keep our distance. Psybeam!" Ash decided. Butterfree's eyes glowed with psychic power as he sent a condensed, jagged beam of pink energy straight at Ratty.
"Focus Energy!" Yellow ordered.
Ratty, who had been on the verge of bolting from its spot, instead stood back up and seemed to brace itself for the impact while its body became shrouded in an orange glow. The Psybeam struck just as Ratty pulled its focus together and knocked it off its feet, but Yellow didn't seem to mind as she issued her next command.
"Quick Attack, again!" She called eagerly.
"Tackle it back!" Ash countered and they both launched themselves forward.
Butterfree descended just as Ratty jumped up. They collided in midair and seemed to bounce off each other after a heavy smack, Ratty was shot back to the ground and Butterfree was knocked back further into the air.
"Ratty, use Water Gun!" Yellow ordered suddenly.
To say Ash was shocked was an understatement, even Pikachu beside him mirrored his surprise as Ratty shot a stream of water through the air to slam into Butterfree just as he was regaining his 'balance' in the air from the collision. Butterfree was caught off guard, same as Ash and Pikachu, and the attack landed before he could escape in time. The effects were immediate, and Butterfree felt his wings getting softer and harder to maneuver.
As he slowly descended to the ground, Ash winced at the scenario. This might be even more difficult than his first match.
Just across the courtyard, Ash's friends were engaged in their own battle against one another.
"Let's do this Zubat!" Brock chose his Pokemon first. It looked like he didn't want to use Geodude or Onix against any of her water-types, he probably wanted them to be as fresh as possible for the finals.
"Come on out, Staryu!" Misty threw her Pokeball out. Staryu posed a bit as it stretched upon being selected. "Don't think we're gonna go easy on you today, Brock!"
"I won't be worried about me, Misty, I would be more worried about you! Zubat and I have learned some things in our short time together." Brock warned her. As much as Misty wanted to shoot another reply, the time to banter was quickly passing, replaced by the time to battle.
"Staryu, Water Gun!" She took the first move.
"Move, Zubat!" Brock called quickly back.
Staryu shot a stream of water from its most upward-facing point, but Zubat quickly fluttered out of the way.
"Astonish!" Brock ordered next.
Zubat flew towards Staryu and began to give off a dark-colored aura. As if shrouded by darkness, a face with glowing red eyes emerged overtop of Zubat's body as it collided with Staryu and passed straight by it. Staryu, expecting to be hit, flinched away from the impact.
"Great, now Absorb!" Brock continued
Zubat swooped back down, squeaking as it descended. It held its mouth wide open and aimed at Staryu, who grimaced as seeds of energy were pulled from its body and into Zubat's. Brock smirked as Staryu seemed at least bothered by the attacks, while Misty glared.
"It'll take more than a couple of quick hits to take us out! Rapid Spin, go!" Misty called.
Staryu jumped up quickly, spinning on its side straight into Zubat's back as it tried to retreat away. Zubat was knocked onto the ground where it skidded before picking itself up to fly again as Staryu carried on straight by it and looped around to strike Zubat again.
"Use Bite!" Brock countered.
Misty was shocked as Zubat charged forward, opening its mouth again to reveal two sets of glowing fangs that it clamped down onto Staryu with. There was a small struggle, but Staryu's body size won out and knocked Zubat away, though it had taken damage from Zubat's Bite still.
"Confuse Ray!" Misty ordered as Staryu landed. From the same appendage as Water Gun, Staryu formed a small ball of purple energy and fired it. As it traveled it grew, stopping at about the side of Staryu's core.
"Zubat, you too!" Brock followed.
Misty was shocked again by the use of another move she hadn't expected Zubat to know. Zubat opened its mouth and fired its own identical purple ball, matching the size as well. The two glowing balls collided and fizzled one another out before either could have the desired effect.
"You weren't kidding about having new moves for us, Brock. Staryu, Water Gun again!" Misty commented as she gave her next order.
"Plenty more where that came from. Dodge and use Leech Life!" Brock ordered.
Zubat dodged out of the way of the incoming stream of water and lunged at Staryu again. Its fangs glowed a light green color with the bug-type move as it advanced at Staryu, but this time Misty expected the dodge and Staryu slammed into Zubat with another Rapid Spin.
"Quick, Astonish!" Brock wanted to capitalize on another flinch, but Misty was faster again.
"Finish it with Water Gun!" She gave him a friendly wink as Staryu stopped spinning at just the right moment to unleash another stream of water that shot Zubat into the ground.
Try as it may, Zubat was too frail to get back up after all that punishment and Misty was declared the winner.
"I guess it's up to you and Ash now to teach these guys a thing or two." Brock said while they walked off together.
"Don't worry, we'll avenge you, Brock." Misty assured him.
For perhaps the first time since he had set out on his journey, Ash's confidence waived.
His gym battles with Brock and Daisy had been challenging, difficult even, but he had done his best to prepare for them. He had confidence in himself and his Pokemon the whole time that they could prevail. The master trainers were a step up from normal challengers, and his battle with AJ had been close, but those were just for training. Maybe a bit of an ego booster, but still just training. Here, inside the walls of an exclusive Pokemon trainers school that looked down on traditional methods of training and bullied its students, he felt like what little amounts of reputation he had earned were being challenged.
Even if Yellow didn't go here, she was a roadblock in that she was preventing him from showing this school exactly what he thought of it. That's why she had to go down.
She was good, he admitted to himself as Ratty scored what looked like another critical hit with Quick Attack. Her Focus Energy from earlier had done its job and tightened its focus enough to find weak points in Butterfree's defensive form more easily. Something that was made even easier with Butterfree grounded.
A Raticate with Water Gun, seriously?
Ash grit his teeth for just a moment longer before he looked down at Pikachu, who looked out at Butterfree worriedly, then at Ash. Then he decided that it didn't matter how good Yellow was, he would just have to be better.
"Butterfree, listen to me! Use your best Gust, straight down!" Ash called out.
Yellow was caught off guard in the middle of giving her orders at the strange tactic and, almost automatically, stopped in favor of watching Butterfree execute the command. With great difficulty, Butterfree flapped its wings out but took no lift. Instead, an even smaller than usual cyclone of wind seemed to dance just in front of him.
"Now jump in there! Don't forget to keep your wings out!" Ash continued.
Yellow watched in shock as Butterfree jumped into the funnel of wind and was taken into the sky by it. Its wings were spread, and it used them to navigate more cleanly than one would've expected from being caught in the vortex. Then she suddenly remembered that this was a battle, and she was supposed to be battling, not spectating.
"Ratty, go for Bite!" She snapped herself out of it and Ratticate was off running.
"Use Psybeam while your spinning around! Just keep it going up there for a bit longer!" Ash's reply came.
While being thrust around at the mercy of the small winds despite its best efforts to control its flight, Butterfree fired a continuous bolt of pink energy straight at the ground. It wasn't properly aimed, but it didn't have to be as it heavily interfered with Ratty reaching Butterfree. Even her next attempt to use another Water Gun was blocked and the jet of water was swiftly cut in half by Butterfree's sweeping Psybeam.
"Now, I want you to remember how it felt when you evolved, and how it felt to fly for the first time! Hold on to that feeling and use all your new moves at once! Sleep Power, Stun Spore and Poison Powder!" Ash's orders were passionate enough that it seemed to resonate with Butterfree past his initial confusion.
Spores radiated off Butterfree's wings in all different shades of greens, purples and yellows. They seemed to go in all different directions as they scattered through the wind, being blown around through the cyclone and battlefield. Ash grinned as the effect took place and he watched as some of the spores began to get stuck on Butterfree's wings.
"Double Team!" Yellow called.
As it desperately backed up to avoid the spread of all the spores, Ratty obeyed and suddenly five copies of Ratty flickered into existence nearby. They were very life-like, if a bit blurry on the eyes as if they were much further than they were. Ratty seemed to be using the attack to dodge the spores as they carried through the air, setting up a new set of after-images every time escape seemed inevitable.
Meanwhile in the air, Butterfree had straightened out his flight in a way that seemed nothing short of miraculous. The Gust had been used to dry off Butterfree's wings quickly, in the event that Ash's gamble of combining all the spore attacks hadn't been a conducive solution.
After he talked with Gary and Leaf about Butterfree's strange inability to create water-proofing dust on his wings, Ash began to think of how to reverse engineer the dust. But as he looked through the Pokedex he noticed that upon evolution Butterfree typically learned all those moves immediately, even though he was very sure his had not. It added fuel to Brock's theory that it evolved too fast; maybe it hadn't just evolved from Caterpie too fast, but from Metapod as well.
So, while he was no researcher, Ash thought that the fact that all three of those moves were learned upon evolution seemed significant for Butterfree as a species.
He hadn't had the opportunity to develop the theory much further, though he supposed a trial-by-fire was an adequate test. It seemed to be a miracle that, when the funnel of wind disappeared, Butterfree was staying airborne as he continued to release copious amounts of spores.
Ash knew that would drain Butterfree's stamina a lot faster. They had to wrap this up, and fast.
"Butterfree, dive down and use Psybeam!" Ash called.
Butterfree followed his instructions and swooped down, firing another one of the psychic-type attacks at Ratty, though the Mouse Pokemon had dodged out of the way without prompting from Yellow.
"Double Team!" She ordered after, to further throw Ash off. He watched Raticate multiply again, and suddenly there were multiple likenesses of it popping up nearby.
"String Shot, whip it through them all!" Ash countered.
Butterfree sprayed out a long, continuous rope of silk from his mouth and, like a whip, swung it through where Raticate and its copies stood. One by one they all disappeared except for the original Raticate, which got wrapped up in string.
"Finish it with Confusion!" Ash yelled.
Yellow cried out for Ratty to escape using Quick Attack, but the silk it was covered in slowed it down enough that escape wasn't possible. Ratty was lifted straight into the air and slammed back down as roughly as Butterfree could manage. There was a pause, then a groan and as the small amount of dust settled it was clear Ratty was unconscious.
Butterfree gently dropped to the ground, finally having stopped releasing spores. Ash ran up to the exhausted Butterfree and hugged it close in excitement, even Yellow smiled at the sight.
"That was a great battle. Happy to see there's someone else like you to represent the non-students." Yellow approached him.
"Thanks! We had a lot of fun, you're a really great trainer." Ash beamed up at her.
"Good luck, I hope you win this thing." She said back. She began to walk away, but Ash moved to follow her.
"Wait! How did you know about Butterfree's wings? And that using Water Gun would mess us up like that? Most Butterfree don't have that problem! And how does your Raticate know Water Gun?" Ash fired off all the questions that he had been trying not to focus on throughout the battle.
Yellow laughed and turned to Ash as they walked a bit off the field.
"I can't just go around telling my tricks to just anybody. Then they wouldn't be mine." She said cryptically.
Ash groaned. Great, another Leaf.
"It's nothing special, if that's what your wondering." She added.
"Still! If you noticed it, someone else could, and I might not get to fix it next time! And I want to learn how to see that myself, especially on Butterfree." Ash persisted.
Yellow watched as Butterfree landed softly on his head and smiled.
"Okay, tell you what. If you win the tournament, I'll answer all the questions you got, Ash." Yellow replied. Ash eagerly pumped his fists in excitement. "But if you want to have any chance of that, hurry up and get out there because the next round started ten seconds ago."
Ash was gone before she could even blink.
Yellow checked the brackets. Austin, an Ace Trainer, had defeated Isabelle. He would be Ash's semi-finalist opponent. She checked the other side as well noting that Misty had beaten Brock and Giselle had beaten AJ, so the two girls would be facing off next. However it happened, she almost hoped Ash would win.
"You were friends with that kid from earlier, right? The stupid one in the hat." Giselle asked Misty, who rolled her eyes.
"Yep, that's him." Misty didn't bother to correct her. She knew that it would bother Ash more that way. "So?"
"So, I'm about to show you both why Pokemon Tech students are the best of the best. Go, Graveler!" Giselle replied, releasing her Pokemon. Graveler appeared quickly, a round mass of rock and stone, and stomped roughly on the ground.
"Staryu, I need you again!" Misty called and threw out Staryu again. Staryu had just battled, but it was still her strongest Pokemon and, loathe as she was to admit it, Giselle's Graveler looked very strong.
"Weren't you and your friends the ones saying that type doesn't determine every battle?" Giselle mocked. The crowd laughed too, and Misty nearly growled. Clearly Giselle always had a home-field advantage.
She didn't bother to respond and tell her that all her Pokemon were water-types anyway, she was sure that would just cause more taunting. Instead, she started her turn.
"Go, Staryu, Water Gun!" She ordered. Staryu didn't waste a moment and took aim, firing out a stream of water.
"Defense Curl!" Giselle called.
Graveler tucked into itself, making it look like a regular boulder rather than a Pokemon. There was a blue flash of light that overtook it just before the water made contact as Graveler raised its defenses. It didn't prevent the water from damaging it, but it was less hurtful to be moved around by it than struck head-on.
"Water Gun, again!" Misty called.
Same as before Giselle ordered a Defense Curl and Graveler was rolled back. Misty glared while Giselle let out a haughty laugh.
"Now, Rollout!" She called smugly. Graveler spun in place before it took off, rolling like a true boulder out at Staryu who barely had time to react before it was slammed into by its far larger opponent. "Rollout, again!" She ordered just as quickly.
Graveler didn't even turn around and seemed to just throw itself into reverse, backing up towards Staryu at high speeds yet again.
"Confuse Ray!" Misty ordered before they could collide.
Staryu released the small orb of purple energy again just as Graveler was nearly touching it. The orb collided with Graveler's rocky body and exploded into a blast of light. After the light went away, Staryu had moved positions to be further away from Graveler while the rock-type had emerged from its rocky ball and stood dazed on its two stubby legs again.
"Snap out of it, Graveler! Back to Rollout!" Giselle commanded. Graveler didn't have the wherewithal to obey, it just stood and wildly swung its four arms around.
"Now, use Swift!" Misty called next.
Staryu fired multiple bright yellow stars from the gem in the center of its body at Graveler, all varying in size as they slammed into its confused opponent.
"Try a Rock Throw!" Giselle cried.
Graveler did manage to create and throw rocks, but due to its dizziness they were nowhere near landing a hit on Staryu, who continued its attack.
"Switch to Water Gun!" Misty called, and Staryu complied, shooting a stream of water just behind the last volley of stars. They both slammed into Graveler as it stumbled around again, nearly losing its balance.
"Snap out of it already and use Rollout!" Giselle was getting angry now.
But it seemed luck was on her side, as Graveler tried to roll back into a ball it raced around the field wildly, nearly hitting Staryu straight away. It zigged around like a loose pinball while Staryu jumped around trying to avoid the pattern less attack. Misty ordered another Swift that just glanced off its rocky exterior, and she didn't feel comfortable getting in close with a Rapid Spin.
Then just as she was about to order another Water Gun, it seemed like Graveler straightened up and its pace increased. Just before it made contact with Staryu, the water-type jumped into the air and Graveler unfolded from its ball while Giselle gave another order.
"Mega Punch!" She called, with a smug tone in her voice again.
From its position right beside it, it was easy for Graveler to hit Staryu straight in its red core with a glowing white circular fist that sent Staryu straight into the air.
"Now, Rock Throw!" Giselle ordered again. Graveler planted its feet on the ground and created another set of large grey rocks to throw into the air at Staryu while it was vulnerable, while Misty gave desperate orders.
"Rapid Spin, back to the ground!" She cried.
It looked like Staryu was a frisbee in the air, dodging between rocks hurled at it as it desperately tried to reach the ground to regain its footing.
"Rollout!" Giselle called just before Staryu landed back on the ground.
Graveler sped forward and slammed into Staryu while it was still in the air, knocking it down and then hitting it again as it continued its path. There was a faint beeping noise heard that caught everyone's attention. Giselle paused and Graveler exited Rollout while Misty gasped, knowing that sound meant Staryu was unable to battle any further.
"How sad for you. I guess you run a loser gym after all." Giselle gave a sickeningly sweet smile to Misty as she recalled Graveler just after the ref declared the match.
"Just you wait. The real world isn't the same as Pokemon Tech, you'll have to learn that sooner or later." Misty put a finger on her chin. "Maybe even in your next match! Because Ash is gonna wipe the floor with you." She gave a sarcastic wave as she walked off.
She couldn't stand to look Giselle in the eye any longer, the girl had such an attitude problem that even her eyes were full of themselves. Oh well, she reasoned, that would just make it all the better when she finally lost. Misty had to admit she was glad she would be there to witness it.
"Go, Vulpix!" Austin wasted no time selecting his Pokemon as Ash took his place. "About time you showed up. That scared, huh?" He taunted.
"Pidgeotto, I choose you!" Ash ignored him and selected his own Pokemon. He brushed aside his angry retort and decided to focus on the eagerness of battle and talking to Yellow again after the tournament.
"Vulpix, use Ember!" Austin ordered.
Vulpix opened its mouth, took aim and fired a few balls of red-yellow fire out towards Pidgeotto, though Ash was quick with a response.
"Sand Attack!" He called.
Pidgeotto swooped down and smacked at the ground with her wing, scooping up globs of sand and throwing them out at a rapid speed. There was more globs of sand than balls of fire, and the sand snuffed out any fire that it met before carrying on towards Vulpix, forcing the Fox Pokemon to dodge away.
"Disable!" Austin yelled next. Vulpix landed to the side, after dodging the sand, and then glanced back at Pidgeotto with its eyes glowing blue.
Pidgeotto, mid-swipe, began to glow a matching blue. As her next strike hit the ground, no sand was scooped up despite her best efforts for the next few attempts. Ash gasped as Pidgeotto attempted to shoot more sand in frustration while Austin gave more orders.
"Will-O-Wisp!" He said happily.
Vulpix shot more balls of fire from its mouth, though this time they were blue in color with purple towards the center. They raced across the field towards Pidgeotto while Ash gave more orders as quickly as he could.
"Use Gust!" Ash called.
Pidgeotto stopped flapping at the ground and started flapping at the air, creating a cyclone of wind between her and the fire balls. The fire balls weren't strong enough to stay together after colliding with the gusts of wind and they broke apart into smaller embers.
"Quick Attack!" Ash ordered next, intercepting in case Austin intended to attempt another Disable.
Pidgeotto took off speeding at Vulpix before it could blink, slamming into its side and knocking it over. Austin growled as Ash smiled.
"Quick Attack as well!" Austin ordered.
Vulpix pushed back to its feet and ran forward, a white light trailing it as it ran after Pidgeotto. After only seconds Vulpix lunged at the airborne Pidgeotto and slammed into her side. Pidgeotto flinched but stayed airborne as Vulpix glanced off her side and landed back on the ground, skidding to a stop.
"Vulpix, Imprison!" Austin called next.
Vulpix turned to look at Pidgeotto as its eyes glowed again. They glowed a faint pink color, and their irises were replaced with a symbol that resembled a seal. As Vulpix maintained eye contact with Pidgeotto, this was mirrored in her irises. Her eyes also glowed, and her irises were replaced with a seal-like symbol. This faded from both of their eyes in unison and Ash glared, uncertain of what had happened.
"Confused? I thought so, figures you wouldn't know what Imprison does." Austin gloated. "It locks up any move that both our Pokemon have in common, and it lasts until Vulpix switches out. That means for the rest of the battle, Pidgeotto can't use Quick Attack. But Vulpix still can, of course." He said.
Vulpix punctuated his words by taking off again, using Quick Attack to launch at Pidgeotto. Caught off guard, the fire-type slammed into the birds chest while Ash glared.
"Knock it back with Gust!" He called urgently.
Pidgeotto pushed back up and used Gust again, knocking Vulpix back onto Austin's side of the field as he grunted in displeasure.
"Another pesky attack. Vulpix, Disable that instead!" Austin called.
Vulpix's eyes glowed light blue again and Pidgeotto's body mirrored it. After only a few moments, the gales coming from her wings ceased and Ash glared again.
"Fine then, Wing Attack!" Ash ordered instead. Pidgeotto dove down and moved to slam Vulpix with her wing, but Vulpix jumped out of the way just before it landed.
"Ember!" Austin called eagerly.
Just inches away, Vulpix launched a barrage of fire balls into Pidgeotto's face. Pidgeotto recoiled from the pain as Vulpix landed again. Austin capitalized on the moment, ordering another Quick Attack and a Will-O-Wisp back-to-back until Pidgeotto was pushed back across the field. With more space between them, Ash noticed the smoldering coming from Pidgeotto's wings.
A burn.
That wasn't good. Not only would it be damage Pidgeotto would feel throughout the rest of the battle, but it would drastically reduce the power of her physical attacks. That was less than ideal considering Vulpix had locked their only special move. So, this was what some of the Master Trainer's could do, Ash found himself energized by the experience even still.
He had almost panicked against Yellow, but the feeling of hopelessness had long since left him. Instead, he could feel himself getting more excited for the current battle.
"Ember, again!"
"Dodge it and use Wing Attack!"
Pidgeotto dove, maneuvering between the flames while her wings glowed. Wing Attack slammed into Vulpix, but it seemed it was only Pidgeotto's natural size that sent it toppling back as it got back to its feet quickly.
"Now use Tail Whip!" Austin ordered.
Vulpix turned and wagged all six of its tails at once at Pidgeotto while both her and Ash grimaced as she took more damage from the burn as well.
"Quick Attack!" Austin's next command was predictable, but even still there was little they could do about it as Vulpix charged again.
"Tackle it!" Ash countered.
Pidgeotto threw itself forward and clashed with Vulpix. For the first time, Pidgeotto was unable to leverage its bulk in size against Vulpix and instead both were forced apart. Austin smirked, seeing his plan was working.
"Use Ember!" Austin called confidently. Vulpix let out another cry as it created more embers of fire and fired them across the field at Pidgeotto.
"Pidgeotto, flap your wings! We don't need to use Gust to create wind!" Ash encouraged his Pokemon.
Pidgeotto chirped in agreement and began vigorously flapping her wings in an attempt to recreate a gale similar to that of Gust. There was a breeze created, but it noticeably wasn't enough to damage Vulpix or completely extinguish the incoming flames. Austin repeated the attack after seeing more than half the embers break through.
"I don't know what you want to accomplish by doing that, that's not even an attack." Austin belittled the idea. "Another Ember!"
More of the fireballs were blown apart this time, less making it to Pidgeotto but she was noticeably tired from how hard she was flapping her wings.
"Doesn't look like you can keep that up forever. Go, Ember again!" Austin urged.
"We can keep going for as long as we need to, right Pidgeotto? Now dig deep, you can totally blow those things away! I believe in you!" Ash encouraged.
"Piiika!" Pikachu called out as well, offering his own words of encouragement to his teammate.
As if their words awakened something inside her, Pidgeotto began to flap her wings even more vigorously than she had at the start. Back and forth, in large, harsh movements that created deep swooshing sounds that didn't even occur with a proper Gust.
No, it wasn't Gust, Ash realized in shock. Instead of a simple gale and creating wind, Pidgeotto had created a tornado controlled by walls of wind.
Pidgeotto had just learned Twister.
And it was more than enough to break through Vulpix's next assault with Ember. Ash cheered as Twister tore apart the flames and continued to slam into Vulpix, picking it up only to twirl it around and throw it back down onto the ground.
"What? But I disabled Gust!" Austin was in disbelief as Vulpix struggled to shake off the attack.
"That wasn't Gust, Pidgeotto just learned a new move! Pidgeotto, use Twister again!" Ash cried excitedly.
Pidgeotto gave a cry of her own and created another tornado, sending it straight at Vulpix again. Vulpix did its best to stand its ground, but in doing so ducked its head down to stay low to the ground, giving Ash another opening for attack.
"Wing Attack, go!" He called.
Pidgeotto dove again, her wings glowing, as she passed effortlessly by the tornado to slam both wings into Vulpix one after another. Austin couldn't contain a gasp as, even suffering a burn, Pidgeotto knocked Vulpix into the air.
"Finish it with another Twister!" Ash called again.
Just as before, Pidgeotto created and sent a tornado at Vulpix. This time the fire-type was airborne already and had no defense against the attack, it was helplessly thrown around by the vortex before being spit out violently as the gales began to disappear. Vulpix failed to stand back up and the referee declared Ash the winner of the battle.
"That was amazing, Pidgeotto! I knew you could do it!" Ash bent down to congratulate the bird, who had landed on the ground to rest her wings. She preened under his attention as he pet her while Austin approached them after recalling Vulpix.
"I hate to say it, but I'm pretty impressed." Austin said as he approached Ash. "You were pretty good. For someone outside the Tech, anyway."
"Yeah? You were pretty good too, for a guy who goes to a school for jerks." Ash replied, a little annoyed at the backhanded compliment.
"I know this isn't what the battle was for, but you did win, and I am still authorized enough to give these away." Austin produced a button from one of his pockets. It was uniform in size like the others, and red with a stamped image of Vulpix on it.
"Are you sure? I wouldn't mind coming back and battling you for it directly." Ash hesitated while reaching out for it.
"Nah, not necessary. Just take it and keep collecting 'em. You are collecting 'em, right?" Austin urged.
"Of course!" Ash agreed with a nod as he accepted the button. "Thanks a lot."
"Don't mention it." Austin gave a final nod as he departed.
Ash left the field with a new button earned and a new move learned. He made his way over to Misty and Brock to wait through the brief fifteen minutes of respite until the final round.
"What happened to showing 'em how it was done, you guys?" Ash asked jokingly as he approached them.
As if rehearsed, Misty and Brock each chose a shoulder to punch lightly while Ash laughed.
"The competition may have been stiffer than we thought." Brock said. "I may have lost to Misty, but I don't think my chances against Giselle were much better."
"And to be honest so far I think everyone you battled would've beaten me too." Misty added. "I guess I'll have to start training with you more after all."
"It wasn't easy, that's for sure. That was probably the three toughest battles in a row I've had since I left Pallet Town. I can't wait to keep that up!" Ash declared. Pikachu also cheered from his shoulder.
"I would be careful out there, Ash. She was really good; she seems to know a lot more about actual battles than most of the other kids here. She might be just as stuck up as everyone else, but she can back it up way better." Misty warned him.
"Ah, come on! You say that like you don't got no faith in 'em!" AJ was indignant on Ash's behalf as he approached the group.
"AJ!" Ash said in surprise.
"I'm glad you made it!" Misty told him.
"And I'm sorry you got eliminated already. Tough break." Brock lamented, though all AJ did was laugh.
"The hell with it! Every battle I have is one step closer, even battles I lose! I'm more upset it was her I lost to than just losin'. She's a real piece of work, she is." AJ replied easily.
"She sure is." Ash agreed, glaring over at where Giselle was giggling with a group of other schoolgirls.
"She sure is." Brock agreed, but with more longing than aggravation as he looked over to her too. Misty elbowed him roughly in the chest without bothering to give an explanation as to why.
"Don't let her fool you, she's more ruthless than any of the Intermediate or Advance level students. She's still just a Beginner, but she's only been here less than three months. Her level of advancement is unheard of." AJ warned them.
"She was really impressive." Misty agreed.
"That's fine, I want her to be at the top of her game when I beat her." Ash said.
Not a second sooner, they called for the finalists to return to the field. Misty, Brock and AJ all wished him luck as he left them and made his way to the field opposite Giselle.
She gave him a funny look.
"I'm glad all your experience got you here. I was hoping to be the one to put you out of your misery." She teased him.
"You won't be glad for long, because I'm about to show you how wrong you are!" Ash yelled.
Giselle just scoffed back, and the ref declared the start of their battle following that.
"Pikachu, I choose you!" Ash pointed at the field.
"Pika!" Pikachu grunted as he jumped forward onto the field. He sparked his cheeks, and Ash felt his own mimic the feeling.
"I thought you might do that. I saved this one just for you. Go, Cubone!" Giselle chose her own Pokemon next.
Cubone appeared in a flash. It was a small, bipedal, light brown reptile-like Pokemon wearing a skull as a helmet and carrying a large bone like a club. It shook the light away and immediately pointed its club at Pikachu challengingly.
Ash hummed as he took out his Pokedex.
Cubone, the Lonely Pokemon, and the pre-evolved form of Marowak. At night, it weeps loudly for its dead mother, but those cries only attract its natural predator- Mandibuzz.
"Cubone, use Headbutt!" Giselle started off.
"Pikachu, Quick Attack!" Ash countered.
Pikachu took off running at Cubone, who sprinted and reared its head backwards. They collided after just moments with Pikachu slamming into Cubone's body, but the ground-type used the bone it was holding to remain stable and not be pushed over. This let it drop its skull-covered-skull onto Pikachu, causing him to stumble backwards and whine in pain.
"Tail Whip!" Giselle ordered. Cubone spun around quickly, teasingly wagging its tail in Pikachu's face.
"Growl!" Ash ordered back. Pikachu's growl quickly became more pronounced, rumbling as he bared his teeth at Cubone.
Back to square one.
"Mud Slap!" Giselle ordered instead.
Cubone's tail glowed orange, and it quickly whipped it at Pikachu, who only just barely rolled out of the way in time.
"False Swipe!"
"Quick Attack!"
Pikachu's attack was faster and landed first again, though still didn't knock Cubone off its feet. Instead Cubone began to push back and grip its club tighter just as Giselle gave new orders.
"Bone Club!" She yelled happily.
Cubone drew back its club and smacked Pikachu roughly to the side, separating them. The separation was brief, however, as Pikachu merely bounced back up like a little yellow rubber ball and slammed into Cubone's chin, headbutting it with Quick Attack. Cubone swung its club to the side as Pikachu landed, smacking the electric-type across the cheek hard enough to knock him over.
"I understand the point you and your friends are trying to make, you know, about type advantages. I know type isn't everything, a Pokemon is only as strong as its trainer after all." Giselle said. "That's how a weaker Pokemon can still win, with a better trainer and a better strategy. Not that you would know anything about that." She smirked at him.
"You think you understand, but your just a bully! You don't understand anything, you just pick and choose whichever side you want to be on! You just beat a water Pokemon with Graveler, but now you think your invincible because your using a ground-type against Pikachu." Ash shouted back.
"Actually, that's just because I think you're so far beneath me. Cubone, Bone Club again!" Giselle replied with mock sincerity.
"Dodge backwards!" Ash commanded quickly, and Pikachu dodged into a roll backwards away from Cubone's strike. "You're so high on yourself you'd think space was beneath you. Quick Attack!"
Cubone knocked Pikachu away with its club as he lunged forward, and Giselle laughed again.
"Isn't there anything else you can do? You can't train or tame your Pikachu, can you? Hardly strong enough to battle, doesn't obey enough to put it in its ball and so you just let it walk free. Some trainer you are." Giselle rolled her eyes. "Cubone, Headbutt!"
Cubone slammed its skull down onto Pikachu, causing the electric-type to flinch away after and fall onto his back.
"I'm not here to tame my Pokemon! Pikachu's my friend, and so are my other Pokemon!" Ash yelled. He clenched his fists as he spoke.
"What, all two of them?" Giselle shot back and covered her mouth as she laughed. "Even at two badges, most new trainers have caught at least six Pokemon. Cubone, Bone Club again!"
"Yeah? Well, each one of mine is twice as strong as normal! Let's show her, Pikachu! Brick Break!" Ash insisted.
Pikachu and Cubone, both of which were taking a small breather while their trainers argued, lunged at the same moment. Cubone swung its bone weapon again while Pikachu pivoted and swung his glowing tail. They glanced off each other and Cubone swung again, but Pikachu rolled to the side and ducked under the blow and surged forward again with a Quick Attack.
"Fine then! Cubone, show them your Bonemerang!" Giselle called.
Just as it regained its footing, Cubone spun and threw its bone like a boomerang at Pikachu. Pikachu ducked out of the way of the first hit, only for Ash to call out too late that the bone was returning. It knocked Pikachu onto the ground face-down, but he did roll away from another Bone Club.
"Bonemerang, again!" Cubone caught its bone just in time to receive the order to throw it again, and it obeyed and flung out its weapon again.
"Pikachu, ThunderShock!" Ash's counter seemed silly at best and desperate at worst.
Giselle was about to remind him that electric-type moves had no effect on ground-types when she noticed the attack didn't seem to be meant for Cubone. Instead, the golden bolt of electricity arced and collided with the incoming Bonemerang, knocking it straight out of its spinning position and getting rid of all its momentum.
The bone plummeted to the ground and Cubone rushed forward to pick it up, desperate to return its weapon back to its hands.
"Cubone, wait! Use Mud Slap!" Giselle stressed her order.
Cubone visibly restrained itself from running forward and began to carry out Giselle's command when Pikachu appeared just before it, seemingly out of nowhere. Pikachu and Ash wore matching grins as Giselle, for the first time since she could remember, felt a sense of dread.
"Brick Break, pin it!" Ash called happily.
Pikachu grunted and flipped over, slamming his tail into Cubone's roughly. Pikachu's sharp-edged tail and gravity advantage let him pin Cubone's onto the ground while the Lonely Pokemon recoiled in pain. It hurt enough that its tail ceased glowing, and it stopped executing the Mud Slap, just in time for Ash's next command.
"Now, go full circle! Use Brick Break!" Ash was getting more excited than before.
Although he knew that arguing with Giselle was pointless, it didn't feel right to sit by and do nothing. And he took slights against his friends and Pokemon personally. But it had been distracting him, at least slightly, from his favorite part of the battle. Which was to say, battling, rather than shouting.
Pikachu pushed forward and entered an aerial somersault, his tail still glowing as he came fully around and brought his glowing tail down directly on Cubone's protected skull. Without its weapon to deflect the attack, Cubone was knocked into the ground while Pikachu landed swiftly on his feet, panting heavily.
He felt Ash grinning and couldn't hide his own. Ash's hands clenched and Pikachu's stance widened. They mirrored each other even now.
When there was no movement for another few moments, the match was called in Ash's favor. Pikachu collapsed backwards into a sitting position just as Ash reached and lifted him.
"You did it! You did it, Pikachu! We won!" Ash laughed as he praised Pikachu.
"Pika! Pi Pikachu!" Pikachu replied happily, licking Ash's arm where he could reach.
"You're the best, d'ya know that?" Ash asked with another laugh.
"You're not so bad yourself." Giselle said as she approached them, cradling Cubone the same way he was Pikachu. "I guess that's what I get for underestimating you. I had no idea there could be trainers who are so strong outside of Pokemon Tech, it seems like every strong trainer in the world comes from here."
"There's strong trainers everywhere you go. A great school helps, but I don't think that's what makes you strong." Ash told her.
"What do you think it is then?" She asked. It seemed almost challenging, but without the malice she had displayed earlier.
Ash hesitated, unsure of his answer. Giselle sighed.
"I've been told and shown my whole life that Pokemon Tech was the key to strength. My family sent me here to learn with the best. The resources here are magnificent. I've learned a ton. But I guess you're right, because I've never seen or heard of a Pikachu winning a battle without using its electric attacks. And I've never seen an electric attack used like that before." She said, smiling down at Pikachu briefly. "What would you say is the key to your strength, then?"
"Honestly? I don't know. Everything is still so new. To be honest with you, I just believe in myself and in my Pokemon that what we're doing is good enough and that it'll work out." Ash shrugged.
"Belief, huh?" Giselle hummed.
"Don't let him fool you, he has ideas sometimes too." Misty said dryly as she approached them with Brock by her side.
"If I wasn't holding Pikachu right now…" Ash trailed off teasingly, and even Giselle laughed.
The moment was interrupted by the principal approaching the group, followed closely by AJ.
"I dare say, that was the most spectacular tournament Pokemon Tech has seen in a long time!" Principal Hackett commended. "You all battled brilliantly, especially the two of you." He put one hand on each Ash and Giselle's shoulders. "Giselle, you'll be getting plenty of extra credit for this! And we can accelerate your evaluation to advance into the Intermediate class, I'd say you've more than earned it!"
Giselle nodded her head politely but couldn't stop shifting her feet in excitement.
"Ash, of course, you will receive more traditional prizes as you are not enrolled in Pikachu Tech. Please, accept these on my behalf along with the 2000 Pokedollars already deposited into your account." He dropped an armful of items into Ash's already-filled arms and laughed. "Hope to see you here again, young man." He said finally before walking away.
"I hope you wasn't holding back on me, Ash. I hope you've just gotten that much stronger since our battle and that that ain't the case." AJ teased. Ash laughed.
"Me holding back? As if!" Ash replied.
"I'm not sure Ash could hold back anything even if he tried." Misty said helpfully.
"That's right-," Ash began to agree. He glared at Misty midway through talking. "I'm sorry, do you do anything around here except for answering for me?"
She laughed as she leaned over his shoulder.
"Someone's got to, you don't know what your saying half the time." She said and began to look at his prizes.
"It looks like I got a Super Potion, a TM, a couple Pokeballs and a Pokemon Tech cloth. I wonder what TM it is." Ash noticed Misty peaking and announced the prizes to everyone.
"It looks like a bug-type move." Giselle supplied, leaning over to inspect its color. "They're surprisingly good about giving TM's that you can use straight away. I think so it feels more like a reward."
"And a Super Potion should come in handy too. This place sure doesn't skimp out on anything." Brock added, nodding his approval. "I am totally ready to get moving, though. Unless a certain beautiful girl wants to have dinner with me?" He turned and smiled at Giselle; hands fully clasped over his chest.
"I'd rather have a root canal." Giselle said.
Ash, Misty and AJ all laughed as Brock simply sighed.
"I'm ready to leave, too, I don't want to have to spend the night in the courtyard and wake up covered in fog again." Misty agreed as she and Ash began to situate all his prizes and Pikachu. "And Pikachu needs a good rest."
"Nonsense! Ya'll can stay here for the night; we have spare rooms and stuff! And a refresh machine, too, if you want to use it." AJ offered them.
"Sounds great to me!" Brock agreed first, seconded by Misty. They looked to Ash.
"Absolutely fine by me!" He agreed. AJ nearly jumped for joy.
"Come on, I'll show you to the spare rooms and the cafeteria! Ya'll gotta be just as hungry as I am after all that battling!" AJ volunteered and started walking away.
Misty and Brock turned to follow him, but Misty quickly noticed Ash did not. He was looking at Giselle and searching the courtyard with his eyes.
"Ash?" She asked.
"Go ahead, I'll catch up." He said, then paused. "And I won't get into any fights this time."
Misty looked at him, then Giselle, then back at him.
"Probably, I probably won't get into any fights this time." He amended.
Somehow it seemed to be enough for her, and Misty turned to follow Brock and AJ out of the courtyard while Ash turned back to Giselle.
They both let out huge sighs at the same time and smiled at each other.
"Thanks for such a great battle, Giselle. That was definitely the best one I've had so far." Ash said.
"Thank you, Ash, for teaching me something Pokemon Tech couldn't." Giselle replied.
"Friends?" Ash extended his hand. Giselle took it easily, but not lightly.
"Friends." She said back. "I hope we meet again." She added.
"Duh, I'll see you at dinner." Ash joked. He felt even Pikachu deflate at his joke. "But past that, we sure will. At the Indigo League!" He promised her.
They dropped each other's hands after that, and Giselle walked away first while Ash still examined the edges of the courtyard. He was hoping that Yellow had stuck around, though it didn't seem likely.
Oh well, he sighed. He would see her again too, he was just as sure of that.
Happy New Year everyone! Didn't get as much of anything I wanted done in the last few weeks, but we're still out here trying! This one took serious thought to put together, I must've edited the entire last battle a hundred times so I hope everyone likes it! I wanted a good resolution with Giselle without it seeming like a complete heel-faced turn, because I really like Giselle and she will be showing up again in the future. So will Yellow, though much sooner than Giselle.
This tournament was supposed to be the toughest thing Ash has faced yet, I hope that came across enough! Pokemon Tech students are elitest snobs, but a lot of the time they can back it up with their overall knowledge, especially going against beginners like they usually do. Misty and Brock, while challenging to them, aren't quite as fierce as Ash and neither are used to battling purely for sport. And the Ace Trainer's aren't always pushovers either there is merit to studying at Pokemon Tech! Strategies are starting to become more advanced on everyones part and we'll start to see more trainers having evolved Pokemon.
With the Cerulean Arc over, we are officially past what I consider the 'early-game' of Ash's Kanto journey. Things are about to get a LOT more fun and a LOT more different pretty quickly from here, so I hope you're all ready! I'll give you all a tease just like I do with A Hero's Rebirth; Arc V will be called "Green, Red & Blue". That's about all I have to say for this chapter, so let's see what some of you have had to say!
Speed Reader: Thanks! It's one of the things that's the hardest to get right but one of the most important, I'm glad you like it so far!
RagingSceptile: Ah I'm glad you thought so! The dynamic was a unique one to try and capture, especially while still highlighting Daisy's skill.
RKF22: Thanks for your consistant support! I appreciate you sticking with me!
Dragonkeeper10: Even Team Rocket needs to succeed sometimes! I'm trying not to make it anything too devastating though lol. If it helps, all that happens to those Pokemon is they just get given to some other Rocket grunts to use. They'll lead perfectly normal lives and won't be locked in any cages anywhere, they're not rare enough for Giovanni to consider them assets beyond arming his grunts. And I agree, having Yellow here IS nice!
rusty32536: Thank you for reading it! :)
uchiha-rune: Ahaha thank you! I've been waiting to write Ash vs. Daisy for a while, I think it's one of my most fun creative battles yet! Of course AJ's a good guy, he was just in a bit of a bad mood. He'll come around again too, just like Yellow! And thanks for the kind words, I'm doing my best on all accounts still!
ShadeOClutch: I sort of understand your point, but I don't see how you can say Ash is always bad at strategizing. Even if you don't watch anything past the Original Series, he's very good at strategizing on the fly and it has nothing to do with Misty or Brock; neither one of them provided him much actual help or advice. They were crutches for him when learning things like navigation and cooking, but they gave him nothing outside of general tips like type matchups and to 'use your head' about battling.
Unknown: Early Kanto was mostly set up! I am trying to loosly re-imaging the anime so there will be a lot of similar beats still, but a lot more changes are about to start happening soon and they will cause a lot of butterfly effects!
Ash's Team: Pikachu, Butterfree, Pidgeotto
Pikachu: Electric - Male - Static - Rash | ThunderShock, Tail Whip, Growl, Nuzzle, Charm, Thunder Wave, Brick Break, Quick Attack
Butterfree: Bug/Flying - Male - Compound Eyes - Hardy | Tackle, String Shot, Harden, Gust, Supersonic, Confusion, Stun Spore, Poison Powder, Sleep Powder, Psybeam
Pidgeotto: Normal/Flying - Female - Keen Eye - Hasty | Tackle, Sand Attack, Gust, Quick Attack, Wing Attack, Twister
Misty's Team: Staryu, Goldeen, Tentacool
Staryu: Water - N/A - Natural Cure - Modest | Tackle, Rapid Spin, Harden, Water Gun, Confuse Ray, Swift
Goldeen: Water - Female - Swift Swim - Careful | Peck, Tail Whip, Supersonic
Tentacool: Water/Poison - Male - Liquid Ooze - Hardy | Water Gun, Poison Sting, Acid, Supersonic, Wrap
Brock's Team: Onix, Geodude, Zubat
Onix: Rock/Ground - Male - Rock Head - Calm | Tackle, Bind, Screech, Harden, Rock Throw
Geodude: Rock/Ground - Male - Sturdy - Relaxed | Tackle, Defense Curl, Rock Throw, Rock Polish, Mud Slap
Zubat: Poison/Flying - Male - Inner Focus - Hasty | Absorb, Supersonic, Astonish, Bite, Leech Life
Jessie's Team: Ekans, Spearow, Jynx
Ekans: Poison - Male - Shed Skin - Serious | Poison Sting, Bite, Wrap, Leer
Spearow: Normal/Flying - Male - Keen Eye - Hasty | Peck, Growl, Leer
Jynx: Ice/Psychic - Female - Oblivious - Modest | Powder Snow, Pound, Sweet Kiss, Lick, Confusion
James' Team: Koffing, Spearow, Weedle
Koffing: Poison - Male - Levitate - Bashful | Poison Gas, Tackle, Smog, Smokescreen
Spearow: Normal/Flying - Female - Keen Eye - Lax | Peck, Growl Leer
Weedle: Bug/Poison - Female - Swarm - Jolly | Poison Sting, String Shot
Meowth: Normal - Male - Pickup - Sassy | Fury Swipes, Scratch, Growl, Fake Out