Hey readers - here we are with another new chapter : )
I have to admit I'm quite excited about posting this chapter, not so much for the content itself even if it does figure my adaptation of a very iconic battle, but more because I've been waiting to post this week's particular voting topic for quite some time now. I'll get into that more at the end of the chapter though.
For now, let's discuss the result of last week's voting topic. I'm positively ecstatic to announce that the winner of the latest evolution vote was... Scyther! I had hoped I'd get to evolve one of the original Nuzlocke Pokemon during this arc, so I'm thrilled to be able to do so. Now my original plan if this Pokemon was picked was to do another vote to decide which one of its branched evolutions would be the one Scyther would get to evolve into, however since only one vote was left last week, and that reviewer specifically stated that this would be Nolan's first Johto Pokemon, I'm going to honour that by evolving Scyther into Scizor. Sadly, I can't do it in the game itself since only the first original 151 Pokemon are included in it, with some exceptions like Misty's Togepi and Tracey's Marill, so I've gone back to my saved game of the original Fire Red Nuzlocke and done it there : )
Beyond that, I just want to say a MASSIVE thank you to everyone that has reviewed, favourited, and followed this story. The support that has been shown to the story is amazing, and it means so much to me, so thank you : )
Please remember that Pokemon is not mine, only my OC's are : )
I hope you enjoy this chapter : )
The Waterflowers of Cerulean City - Part 5
Nolan's brand new Cascade Badge was barely even fastened to the front of his hoodie before his best friend was at the golden haired boy's side, silently hounding him for a look. Nolan rolled his eyes in fond exasperation, but assented. Leaning in closer, Ash's russet coloured eyes eagerly swept of the glistening trinket that the Sensational Sisters had just presented to Nolan, drinking in every detail. After a couple of moments, Ash stood up back to his full height again, and gave his golden haired best friend a look that spoke of his approval.
"Awesome!" the raven haired boy breathed in a dreamy tone, no doubt fantasising about earning one of his own, "Congratulations Nolan! That was a really amazing battle to watch!"
The golden haired boy beamed at his best friend's praise, and was about to open his mouth to thank Ash for his kind words, but sadly he never got the opportunity to. For right at that moment, the tell-tale sounds of shoes treading against water reached their ears, and glancing over, everybody saw that Misty was coming over to join them with Pikachu cuddled up in her arms. She wore a bright smile on her face as she approached.
"Well done Nolan!" the orange haired girl praised her friend as well for his latest victory, "You and Welkin battled really hard, and you deserve that Cascade Badge!"
Pleased that his female friend didn't seem to be too upset that he had defeated all three of her sisters in quick succession, Nolan returned the Water Type Pokemon Specialist's warm smile.
"Thanks Misty" the blonde haired boy nodded happily, before he decided that he wanted to make sure that there was no hard feelings between them. He knew about family loyalty after all, and even if Misty didn't have the best relationship with her sisters, she might still be upset about their defeat. Nolan hoped that that wouldn't be the case, "So, you're not upset that I beat your family's gym?"
Misty just gave him a kind, patient smile.
"Of course not" the girl said in such a genuine tone of voice that it was enough to lift some of the weight off Nolan's shoulders, "Losing is simply another part of the job when it comes to being a gym leader. At least my sisters made you work hard for that badge, and gave you a good run for your money while they were at it".
From behind Nolan, Misty's three older siblings all wore genuine but pleasantly surprised expressions on their faces upon hearing those last few words.
"Careful Misty" Daisy waved a playfully reproachful finger towards her little sister, who just blinked up at her in confusion, "That was dangerously close to a compliment!"
Violet and Lily both giggled at Daisy's light teasing, and even Misty snorted in amusement and rolled her eyes fondly. The orange haired girl made no effort to reply though.
"But you're right though Misty" Nolan was the one to resume their conversation once the Sensational Sisters' giggles eventually died down, "That was one of the hardest battles I've ever been in. In fact, I think it was only thanks to how stubborn Welkin is that we actually manage to win at all".
He gently stroked the chest feathers of the Pokemon cradled in his arms, earning a happy little coo from the creature in question.
"Pidgey..." Welkin chirped happily, though he still looked utterly exhausted.
"Don't sell yourself short though" Misty replied earnestly, recapturing Nolan's attention and prompting him to look up at her, "That strategy you used against Daisy's Seel was really clever. You played just as big of a part in earning that Cascade Badge Nolan, don't forget that".
Nolan silently nodded as he digested what his female friend had just told him. Before he had a chance to reply to her though his best friend once again cut into the conversation.
"But that's enough about Nolan's victory for now though, despite how awesome it was!" the raven haired boy declared in a tone that brooked no argument, "Now it's my turn to try and earn one of those badges!"
Nolan couldn't help but smile and roll his eyes in fond exasperation. That was so typical of Ash. Never any patience at all.
Already the raven haired boy was sidestepping his best friend and approaching Misty's three older siblings. The look of pure and unadulterated excitement shining in his russet coloured eyes was so endearing that Nolan found himself swallowing any protests he might have had about the boy cutting their pleasant conversation short.
"Come on!" Ash challenged the trio of beautiful gym leaders eagerly, practically bouncing on the balls of his feet he was so pumped up, "I challenge all of you!"
"Pika!" Pikachu squeaked as well, jumping out of Misty's arms and rushing over to stand next to his beloved human. It was obvious that the small Electric Type Pokemon was just as eager for this battle as his human partner was.
Despite Ash's words being for much more than merely dramatic effect however, unfortunately for the young raven haired Pokemon trainer, it would appear that a battle with the Sensational Sisters just wasn't in the cards for him that day.
"Um..." Daisy muttered hesitantly, looking faintly embarrassed as she elegantly tossed her long honey blonde hair over her shoulder.
"What?" Ash blinked up at her in confusion, perplexed by her delay in responding to the challenge he'd made. Still looking embarrassed, as well as mildly concerned about the reaction she no doubt was about to face, Daisy decided to put the young boy out of his misery.
"We don't feel much like battling anymore" the blonde head sensational sister said delicately, trying to be gentle as she knew that the raven haired boy before her would no doubt be disappointed by what she was saying.
It was a wise move on her part, because when Ash finally reacted to what he was hearing, he did not fail to disappoint.
"W-What do you mean?!" the raven haired Pokemon trainer spluttered frantically, his expression one of abject horror. On either side of him, Nolan and Misty both looked concerned buy this unexpected turn of events as well, though in the latter's case, there was a hint of incredulous anger there as well.
Sensing the distress of the young challenger had unfortunately just had to turn down, Violet figured that the very least that he deserved was an explanation as to why, and so the blue haired Sensational Sister quickly began to elaborate.
"You see, your friend here isn't the only challenger that we've lost to in the last couple of days" Violet explained in dismay, gesturing towards Nolan, who was listening with rapt attention alongside Ash, "We also just got beat three times in a row by a bunch of trainers from this nowhere place called Pallet Town".
His icy blue eyes widening in surprise, it didn't take long for Nolan to quickly put the pieces together. Choosing to ignore the slight against his birthplace for the moment, he instead cut straight to the heart of the more pressing matter of what the woman had just told them.
"Let me guess..." the golden haired boy spoke up, running a hand down the length of his face tiredly, "They were a boy with an Charmander, a girl with a Squirtle, and a smart-mouthed brat with an Eevee, right?"
All three of the Sensational Sisters just gaped at him in amazement.
"Okay. That was like, totally spooky!" Lily, the pink haired Sensational Sister, looked down at him with wide eyes, "How on Earth did you know that?!"
Nolan just let out a low feeble moan, and his shoulders slumped dejectedly, before he eventually responded.
"I know because me and Ash are both from Pallet Town as well, so I know all three of them" Nolan began to explain in a voice which was little more than a petulant whine, "They all started their Pokemon journey on the same day that we both did, which means that we're still lagging behind everyone else Ash!"
Ash, despite looking just as displeased by the notion of being behind Gary and the others as Nolan did, was much more concerned about his imminent lack of a Pokemon gym battle. Before he could voice any opinions on the matter however, Violet began speaking again.
"Well regardless of your history with those other three kids, they all like, totally kicked our butts!" the blue haired Sensational Sister complained unhappily, "It was just one defeat after another. My eyes were spinning from all the losses!"
Daisy and Lily both just nodded sagely on either side of her.
"We had to like, totally rush all our Pokemon over to the Pokemon Center for treatment" Daisy picked up where her sister left off, looking no happier about the bleak situation than her fellow gym leader did, "We're like, expecting them back tomorrow evening at like, the earliest".
Ash opened his mouth to speak, but unfortunately for the young raven haired boy, he was quickly spoken over, this time by Lily.
"Nolan just defeated the last ones we had left" the pink haired Sensational Sister sighed in a rather overly-dramatic manner, "All the other Pokemon that we like, currently have in the gym are the ones that we use in our performances. They have like, zero battle experience, so they wouldn't be any kind of a challenge. We're like, really sorry Ash".
The raven haired boy just hung his head in defeat.
At his side, Nolan felt simply awful. Whilst the golden haired boy felt no guilt whatsoever about being the one to challenge the Sensational Sisters first given that it was only fair considering that he had gone second last time, he still hadn't intended for this to happen. The Cascade Badge he wore now felt heavy against his chest at the knowledge that he may have just denied Ash chance to win one of his own that day. And what made it feel even worse was that there was nothing that he could do about it. He was just about to say something in the hopes of cheering his disheartened best friend up, but unfortunately for Nolan, someone else beat him to it.
"Hey! There's like, no need to look so sad kid!" Daisy coaxed in an effort to make Ash's heavy frown go away, "After all, I like, totally know what will cheer you up!"
And in one swift graceful manoeuvre, the golden haired Sensational Sister plucked another Cascade Badge from out of her swimsuit's pocket. She held the sacred item out towards Ash for the boy to take, a warm smile firmly set upon her features.
"A Cascade Badge, just like the one we gave to Nolan" Daisy said kindly, prompting Ash's jaw to drop wide open in shock as he stared up at her in sheer bewilderment. Giggling, the blonde haired Sensational Sister quickly elaborated, "This is what you want, right? You can have it".
Three expressions of pure and unadulterated amazement all met the bold offer.
Then Nolan scowled.
It spite of how much he genuinely wanted Ash to have a Cascade Badge of his own, the golden haired boy couldn't help but feel rather upset that his best friend was just going to be handed such a wonderful prize on a silver platter, whilst he had been made to work for his. Not that he would have accepted a badge without a battle if it had been offered to him anyway, but it was more the principle of the matter.
At the golden haired boy's side, Misty looked just as horrified by what her sister had just suggested as Nolan felt.
"What?!" the girl in question gasped in disbelief, though the others all paid her little mind.
Gaping incredulously at her eldest sibling, the orange haired girl even began rubbing at her ears, certain that she must have heard the blonde Sensational Sister's words incorrectly. When it quickly became apparent that she hadn't however, Misty's jaw clenched angrily, her eyes flashing dangerously as she continued to watch the Cascade Badge in her sister's palm, her expression livid.
In Ash's defence against his two friends' less than thrill reactions though, the raven haired boy did look extremely uncomfortable by the idea of accepting Daisy's offer, and he immediately shook his head in refusal.
"Thanks. That's very kind of you" the raven haired boy stammered out awkwardly, not wanting to appear rude or ungrateful but unable to bring himself to take the offered trinket, "But I'd much rather earn my badges, just like Nolan did".
Daisy apparently wasn't one to be deterred however, for she just smiled even wider and shook the badge in her hand temptingly towards Ash.
"Take it" the honey blonde haired Sensational Sister urged him, completely ignoring Ash's reservations, "A badge is a badge".
A heavy sigh slipped past Ash's lips.
It was more than a little obvious that his best friend didn't know what he could do, though Nolan could only hope that Ash would remain true to his principles, and not accept the badge. He didn't mean that in a nasty way, before of course he wanted Ash to leave with a new gym badge of his own that day, but Nolan was also someone who truly believed in fairness, and regardless of how many justifications that they could come up with between, just being handed a gym badge for no reason when others had been made to work for it would never be fair. The golden haired boy just wasn't sure if it was his place to say anything on the subject, nor whether Ash would listen to him even if he did. Fortunately for both of the boys however, they were each saved from a potentially awkward social situation.
"No! No way is this happening!" a voice that was positively furious cut into the conversation like a knife through butter, "Not whilst I'm here!"
And before anybody had a chance to register what was happening, a small slender hand shot out of nowhere, and brutally snatched the glistening Cascade Badge right out of Daisy's hand. Looking over in the direction that the minor disturbance had originally in, they all saw that Misty was the perpetrator. The Water Type Pokemon Specialist now had the small treasured object clutched tightly against her chest in a protective manner, glaring daggers at her three older sisters, all of whom seemed quite taken aback by her behaviour.
"Misty?!" Daisy cried in surprised, shocked by the way that her little sister was acting, and not liking the look on her youngest sibling's face one bit, "Like, what are you doing?!"
The orange haired girl practically seemed to be swelling up, she was fuming so hard.
"What am I doing?!" Misty repeated incredulously, her vermillion coloured eyes almost bulging out of her head, she was getting so worked up in her righteous anger, "What are you doing Daisy?! Giving out badges without making trainers battle for them?! What, have you lost your mind completely, or just your self-respect?!"
The three Sensational Sisters all recoiled backwards in shock at the girl's sharp tone. It was obvious that none of them were not used to this kind of fiery behaviour from their younger sister, who they normally kept firmly under their heels.
"Like, chill out Misty!" Violet intervened before the orange haired girl could have another go at Daisy, "You're like, taking that stuffy old rule about making challengers battle us first like, way too seriously!"
"You're being like, a total downer right now!" Lily also put in, which unsurprisingly, didn't help the situation one bit.
Judging by how red Misty's face was slowly turning with each word that met her ears, Nolan honestly thought it was quite remarkable that the girl hadn't burst into flames already. He swallowed hard and took a small step back from her, not wanting to risk accidentally being caught up in the cross-hairs of his friend's white-hot blazing outrage.
"'Stuffy old rule'?!" the orange haired girl repeated incredulously, grinding her teeth saw hard that it was a miracle there hadn't already all crumbled into dust, "'Stuffy old rule'?! That rule is one that this gym has operated by for almost six generations now!"
The words were said with astonishing passion, but it was obvious that Misty's three older sisters just weren't getting it.
"Like... so?" Daisy said slowly. Misty actually slapped a hand against her own forehead out of sheer frustration.
"So, I cannot believe that you three airheads a dishonouring our traditions so easily!" Misty said pointedly, and Nolan was beginning to see why his female friend had such a tense relationship with her older sisters. It appeared that they were at opposite ends of the spectrum in just about every context, "Don't any of you have any sense of family pride?! I can't believe this!"
Off to the side, Ash looked most perturbed by just how utterly distraught his female friend seemed to be getting, and quickly tried to interject into the conversation.
"Misty, it's alright..." the raven haired boy said gently, reaching out and placing what he hoped would be a reassuring hand on her arm, "I wasn't going to take the badge without winning a battle".
Unfortunately, the orange haired girl just threw him a stormy look, and angrily shrugged his hand away.
"That's entirely besides the point Ash!" Misty raged on, her temper only getting worse when it quickly became apparent that nobody else seemed to be getting it, "The Cerulean City gym has always been respected in Kanto for being one of the toughest gyms around! My grandmother worked herself ragged to maintain that reputation, and when she handed ownership of the gym over to the four of us, she trusted us to keep that going! I won't see all that hard work just go to waste, not even if my sisters seem determined to prance around like amateur ballerinas, all whilst turning this place into a laughing stock!"
This time, the three Sensational Sisters seemed to be genuinely hurt by what Misty had just said.
"Misty, like, that was uncalled for" Daisy whimpered, and Misty softened ever so slightly as she realised that she may have gone too far there, "Yes, we like, focus a lot of our time on our performances, but we like, also try our best to keep the gym running at Grandma's high standards".
"By giving out our badges to anybody who just turns up asking for one?" Misty replied bluntly. The three Sensational Sisters all quickly shook their heads up to that last remark.
"No!" Daisy cried out in a tone of voice which was so genuine, that even in her angered state, Misty couldn't help but believe her, "This is like, the first time that I've ever offered that! I swear! And you have to admit, this is like, totally unique circumstances! We've never had such an influx of trainers asking for a battle before!"
Misty was frustrated to admit, even to herself inside her own head, that her oldest sister had something of a point there. Still, the orange haired Water Type Pokemon Specialist wasn't about to back down either.
"Well I don't care!" Misty cried stubbornly, still clutching the precious Cascade Badge in her hand tightly, "Giving away a gym badge without a battle just isn't an option, not ever! In the future, I suggest that you three spend less time making yourselves look pretty, and instead do some work on raising some of the other Water Type Pokemon here to be battlers as well! And if I ever so much as suspect that you three have given out a badge like this ever again, I will be telling Grandma about it!"
Daisy, Violet, and Lily all turned a faint shade of white as the ominous threat hung in the air.
"You wouldn't..." Daisy whispered in horrified shock, visibly cringing as she imagined how her grandmother would react upon hearing such information. Then the blonde haired Sensational Sister seemed to realise that Misty meant every word, and her eyes widened in fear, "You would?!"
Misty didn't even hesitate before responding.
"Yes, I would" the orange haired girl nodded sternly, and all of her sisters gasped again, "I meant what I said before Daisy. I can not and will not allow you guys to run this gym's reputation into the ground. But as for right now..."
Allowing some of her righteous anger to fizzle out, Misty turned her attention to Ash. The raven haired boy swallowed hard at certainly being the point of her focus, so Misty offered him a strained, apologetic smile.
"I'm really sorry Ash, but as much as I'm your friend and would love for you to win one of our badges as well, I can't allow you to have one without earning it first" the Water Type Pokemon Specialist said regretfully, but she quickly continued before Ash had to be opportunity to interrupt her, "However, if you don't want to wait until tomorrow to be able to challenge my sisters, there is another option open to you right now".
That was enough to stoke up Ash's curiosity.
"Yeah... what's that?" the raven haired boy asked slowly. He was still a little wary of saying the wrong thing to his female friend at the moment, given her intense outburst just a couple of moments prior.
"You battle against me" was the simple response that Misty gave to him. Ash's russet coloured eyes immediately widened in surprise.
"HUH?!" Ash exclaimed incredulously. Misty giggled for a moment in a manner which was eerily reminiscent of her sisters, before she quickly elaborated on exactly what it was that she was suggesting.
"As I told you before, I was once one of the Cerulean City gym leaders as well" Misty patiently reminded him, and once Ash nodded his understanding, she continued, "Well I'm prepared to take up that mantle again. If you want the chance to earn a Cascade Badge today rather then wait until tomorrow or even the day after, then I'll battle you. It's up to you".
A heavy silence reined for a couple of moments, before Ash gave his friend a look that was practically overflowing with affection.
"You'd do that?" the raven haired boy whispered, not only sounding stunned, but deeply touched as well, "Just for me?"
Misty flashed him a kind smile.
"Of course I would Ash. You're one of the best friends I've ever had" Misty told him earnestly, but her expression quickly morphed into a serious frown just a few seconds later, "But just because we're friends, don't expect me to go easy on you if you decide to challenge me. When I'm battling as a gym leader, I will do everything in my power to defeat you and defend my family's honour!"
Ash was a little taken a back by the bold declaration, but found himself respecting it. A huge grin quickly lift up the raven haired boy's entire face. It didn't take a genius to work out that his decision had been made.
"Thank you Misty. I think I'd much prefer to get my Cascade Badge this way" he admitted in a grateful tone, and Misty smiled warmly at him, "So yes Misty, I'd like to challenge you to a battle. Just know that I won't be going easy on you either. I don't plan on leaving this gym without that badge today!"
Misty found herself grinning at her friend's enthusiasm, and quickly nodded her head.
"Well I'm ready right now if you are Ash" she kindly told the boy that had become one of her closest friends in a surprisingly short amount of time, "Should we get started?"
Ash eagerly nodded his head.
Off to the side of the rather intense moment between his two dearest friends, Nolan cleared his throat a little awkwardly, drawing their attention over to himself.
"Well... I know this isn't exactly what any of us were expecting to happen today, but good luck to both of you!" the golden haired boy said earnestly to his two friends, "But I hope that neither of you will be offended if I don't cheer for either of you. It wouldn't feel right when it's one of my friends against the other one after all".
Ash and Misty both just laughed. Leave it to Nolan to worry about something like that after all.
Quickly assuring the golden haired boy that neither of them would take offense if he didn't offer up any encouragement during the battle, Ash and Misty then began walking off in different directions. They quickly made their way to opposing ends of the swimming pool, before they carefully stepped onto the same floating platforms from Nolan's own battle and gently kicked off. As they drifted a couple of feet into the water, Nolan quickly made his way over to the stands with Meadow and Welkin, and took a seat to watch the match unfold. He was surprised when Daisy, Violet and Lily all soon joined him.
With everybody in position, things quickly began to get underway.
"So Misty!" Ash called across the surface of their watery battlefield, once there were both in position and steady on their platforms, "What rules do you want to operate under?"
Misty appeared to consider his question for a few moments, before she nodded silently to herself as she evidently made her decision.
"A two on two elimination battle works for me if it does for you" Misty announced to her raven haired friend, who quickly nodded his understanding, "A trainer wins when they successfully knock out both of the other trainer's Pokemon. In addition, as the temporarily reinstated gym leader, I won't be allowed to make any substitutions. You, as the challenger however, may switch your Pokemon at will, but only twice. Sound good to you Ash?"
"Sounds perfect!" Ash grinned, before he happily glanced down towards his beloved partner, who had followed him on to the floating platform, "And since you're an Electric Type Pokemon, you'll have a huge advantage against Misty's Water Type Pokemon! This is much better than when we battled against Brock! At least this time you'll actually be able to inflict damage on your opponents!"
Unnoticed by Ash in his own excitement however, Pikachu's ears drooped sadly at the prospect.
"Chuuu..." the small yellow creature whined unhappily.
"Well if we're both clear on the rules, I suggest we waste no more time and get straight down to business" Misty suggested, and Ash found himself agreeing, "Challenger! Send out your first Pokemon!"
Beaming upon hearing the words that he'd feared he wouldn't get to hear until the next day at the earliest, Ash didn't have to pause even for a second before he knew which of his Pokemon he wanted to use. Throwing out his arm in a dramatic pose, the raven haired boy called upon his first combatant.
"All right, Pikachu!" Ash's excited voice echoed across the surface of the swimming pool, "I choose you!"
But there came no reaction from the small yellow creature in question.
After a rather embarrassingly long pause, Ash began to wonder what was going on, and soon glanced down at his beloved Pokemon partner to see what the delay was. To the young raven haired trainer's immense surprise, he found Pikachu standing exactly where he had been previously. The little yellow guy was looking up at him with wide eyes, and his tail and ears were both drooping sadly. Ash immediately knew that something was very wrong.
"Huh?" the surprise was evident in both Ash's tone and his expression.
"Chu..." Pikachu squeaked regretfully, before taking another small step backwards on the floating platform that they were standing on, so that he was practically hidden behind Ash's legs.
"Pikachu, what are you doing?!" the raven haired boy demanded to know incredulously.
"Chu! Chu..." the little Electric Type Pokemon whimpered, before he began pointing towards Misty with his tiny paw, and shaking his head miserably. His ears and tail drooped down even further from obvious sadness.
It quickly became apparent to Ash exactly what the problem was here.
"Uh, what?" the raven haired boy blinked in surprise again, before he decided to clarify things with his beloved partner, just to make sure he had got the right end of the stick, "Are you saying you don't want to battle with Misty?"
"Pikachu..." Pikachu whined sadly, but firmly nodded his head.
Ash's face fell into a frown as he received that confirmation, and his surprise quickly gave way to disappointment. Disappointment that he was lousy at attempting to hide. The raven haired boy's shoulders slumped down dejectedly, and his russet coloured eyes narrowed unhappily. It was clear that he was more than a little upset about Pikachu's reaction to this situation, but being the kind-hearted young boy that he was, Ash also knew that it would be very wrong of him as a Pokemon trainer to try and force his beloved partner to battle against his will. So allowing a small forlorn sigh to slip his lips, Ash quickly forced his expression into one that was more neutral.
"Well..." the raven haired boy said slowly, not quite able to keep his disappointment from creeping into his tone, "I guess it's okay if you don't want to battle against a friend".
The small yellow Pokemon sighed in relief and relaxed upon hearing those words. From across the surface of the swimming pool, Misty beamed at the little Electric Type Pokemon.
"Aww! That's so sweet of you!" the orange haired girl cooed happily at her friend's Pokemon partner, "Thanks Pikachu! You're a real Pika pal!"
And when it came down to it, he really was. Misty had known right from when she had first suggested this match that if Ash decided to use Pikachu, which naturally he was bound to, she and her own Pokémon would be at a staggeringly high disadvantage. The battle wouldn't be impossible for her to win though, far from it in fact. In her time as a gym leader, Misty had learned several ways to counter opponents of the Electric Type Element with her Water Type Pokemon, but it had never been easy, and all of her strategies required a lot of energy on her Pokemon's part. Needless to say, it came as a great relief to Misty to know that those particular skills would not be needed today.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu squeaked happily upon hearing Misty's cheer.
Ash couldn't help but scowl this time around. That particular response from his beloved partner was just a bit too enthusiastic for the raven haired boy's liking. It was starting to feel as though Pikachu was taking Misty's side in this entire affair. The little traitor. It was no wonder when Ash quickly levelled the little yellow Pokemon with an unimpressed glare.
"Thanks a lot, Pikachu" the irritated boy drawled sarcastically.
Quickly shaking off any frustrations he felt about his partner's lack of willingness to fight for him, Ash quickly began mulling over what other options were available to him. He smiled when he realised fat although they were not quite as suitable for this battle as Pikachu would have been both Butterfree and Pidgeotto would still be on an equal footing against whatever Pokemon Misty might choose to use against him. The raven haired boy smiled as he plucked a pokeball off of his belt.
"Butterfree, I choose you!" he called, tossing the red and white sphere high into the air.
Moments later the capsule device snapped open, and in a bright flash of light that reflected off the water's surface and cast an eerie red glow across the entire room, Butterfree materialised in the air above Ash's head. The Butterfly Pokemon quickly started beating his wings in order to remain airborne.
"Freee!" the purple Bug Type Pokemon chirped upon his release.
At the opposite end of their watery battlefield, Misty suddenly found herself feeling grateful that out of all of the Bug Type Pokemon that Ash might have encountered on his journey, he had captured the one that she could at least tolerate. Otherwise she might have been in trouble. She had a nasty habit of freezing up entirely whenever she clapped eyes on a Bug Type Pokemon, and despite it being an entirely involuntary reaction on her part, it still wasn't a good thing for a trainer to do. It could end the match before it could even begin, so Misty was glad that that wouldn't be the case in this situation.
"Well, in that case..." Misty trailed as she produced a pokeball of her own, before lobbing the red and white sphere into the air as well, "Misty calls Staryu!"
There was another bright red flash of light, and moment's later, Misty's Staryu materialised in the swimming pool in front of the temporarily reinstated gym leader.
Ash would be the first to admit that he was pretty surprised by Misty's first selection when it came to choosing her Pokemon. He had been expecting his female friend to pick her Starmie, considering that it was her partner and the member of her team which Ash had seen her battle with the most in the relatively short time they known each other. Curious about the brown star-shaped creature in front of him, Ash quickly fished out his pokedex, and pointed it towards the Water Type Pokemon in the swimming pool.
"Staryu - the Star Shape Pokemon" the pokedex announced once it had made a successful identification, "The core of this Water Type Pokemon shines in a rainbow of seven colours. This makes the core valuable, as some consider it a type of jewellery".
Ash blew out a small breath at the information he had just learned. Whilst that certainly made for interesting reading, from a subjective standpoint, that pokedex entry provided him with very little information that would help him in this battle. Disappointed, Ash put away the device, before he turned his attention back to his chosen combatant.
"Butterfree! We're completely in the dark about what this opponent can do!" Ash called up to the Butterfly Pokemon, a nervous edge in his voice, "So don't let your guard down! Not even for a moment!"
"Freee!" the Bug Type Pokemon nodded his understanding.
Across the surface of the swimming pool from the two of them, Misty was issuing her own Pokemon with some advice as well.
"Staryu! I know that you and I have been at this for a lot longer than Ash and Butterfree have, but they're no slouches!" the orange haired girl informed the Star Shape Pokemon lazily drifting about in the water, "So we can't afford to underestimate them!"
"Star!" Staryu hollered back its understanding. Both of the young Pokemon trainers then nodded at each other, signalling that they were ready.
And so without further ado, the battle between the dearest of friends, quickly got underway.
Meanwhile, over in the stands, Nolan couldn't help but squirm awkwardly in his seat as he waited for the battle between his two closest friends to get started. Try though he might, the golden haired boy still couldn't help but feel a little guilty about not cheering either of his friends on for this match, regardless of how they had both reassured him earlier that neither of them minded. He knew that he was being ridiculous, but in all fairness, Nolan had never been put into a situation like this before, so he could hardly be blamed for not knowing what the correct protocol should be. He had to admit, he didn't much care for this either, seeing Ash fighting against Misty. Even the presence of both Meadow and Welkin failed to set his fried nerves at ease. There was only one thing that the golden haired boy was sure of in that moment, and that was that both of his friends would be giving this fight they're absolute all. They both had too much riding on the outcome to do anything else. He was quickly pulled out of those thoughts however, when down on the floating platforms beneath him, one of his friends began speaking to the other.
"As the challenger, you may have the first move Ash" Misty offered graciously, before her expression twisted into a slight smirk, "And since I have no intention of losing this battle, I suggest you use it wisely".
Ash didn't seem overly fazed by the subtle challenge in her words. Instead, he just met her smirk with one of his own.
"I plan to!" the raven haired boy retorted to his friend's light teasing, before he quickly called out a command to the Butterfly Pokemon who was still hovering over his head, "Butterfree! Let's start by testing the waters! Use a long-distance Gust attack!"
And just like that, they were off.
"Freeeee!" with a loud thrill that almost sounded like a war-cry, Butterfree surged forward through the air until he was hovering a couple of feet in front of his beloved human. Maintaining a safe distance from his enemy as per Ash's instructions, the Butterfly Pokemon then began beating his shining silver wings together as quickly as he could. Summoning up a small but powerful vortex of swirling air, Butterfree then launched his Gust attack in the direction of Staryu, who wasn't quite able to dodge it in time.
"Star!" the brown Star Shape Pokemon gasped in alarm as it was sent hurtling backwards through the water.
"Yeah! Direct hit!" Ash cheered happily, fist-pumping the air in his excitement, before he glanced upwards in order to give his beloved Bug Type Pokemon some well-deserved praise, "Nice work Butterfree!"
"Freee!" the Butterfly Pokemon thrilled back enthusiastically.
Unfortunately for Ash and Butterfree however, Misty was only just getting started. Planning a manoeuvre that would show her opponents just how pre-emptive their celebrations truly were, the orange haired Water Type Pokemon Specialist quickly issued a command of her own.
"Staryu!" she called, prompting the Star Shape Pokemon to shake itself off, "Leap up out of the water and hit Butterfree with your Rapid Spin attack!"
"STARYU!"
Barely even a split-second had passed before Staryu was following its trainer's order. Dipping down beneath the surface of the water for one brief moment, Staryu suddenly came crashing through the top of the swimming pool, spraying water droplets everywhere as it twirled through the air like a loose Catherine Wheel.
WHAM!
"FREEEEE!" Butterfree couldn't help but shriek in what must have been agonising pain as Staryu sharply collided with him. Each of his opponent's five points kept on slashing at the poor Butterfly Pokemon, inflicting a surprisingly high amount of damage. Down below, Ash could do little more than look on in horror as his chosen combatant was almost bowled clean out of the sky.
"Uh oh!" Ash exclaimed in panic and alarm as Staryu's relentless assault on his Pokemon finally came to an end. The Water Type Pokemon then gracefully landed in the pool again with a small splash, "Are you okay Butterfree?! Can you keep going?!"
Just barely managing to catch himself in time before he fell into the water as well, the Butterfly Pokemon weakly nodded his head.
"That's the spirit!" Ash cheered, pleased that his Pokemon friend was still up to the task, before he quickly narrowed his eyes in sheer determination, "But least try and make sure that Staryu can't get you like that again! Use Stun Spore!"
Nodding his head in understanding, Butterfree hovered forwards through the air until he was suspended in the air directly above where Staryu was standing on one of the small floating platforms. Acting quickly so that his enemy wouldn't have a chance to dodge, Butterfree began beating his large white wings together once more.
From her own floating platform, Misty looked on in sheer amazement as Butterfree immediately began scattering a fine golden coloured powder over the Star Shape Pokemon. Poor Staryu had no chance of escape, and it simply couldn't help but feel effected by the paralysing agent as it rained down on it.
The effect it had on the Water Type Pokemon was instantaneous.
Almost like a switch had been flipped, all of the will to continue battling seemed to be drained right out of Staryu in a single moment. Everybody looked on sympathetically as the Star Shape Pokemon soon began to spasm and convulse.
"Oh no!" Misty gasped, her vermillion coloured eyes growing wide in sheer horror, as she watched the somewhat disturbing scene playing out in front of her, "Staryu looks like it's in real pain!"
Across the surface of the swimming pool from the orange haired Water Type Pokemon Specialist, Ash threw his friend an odd look.
"Okay... as much as I respect your talent as a Pokemon trainer Misty... how on Earth can you tell that?!" the raven haired boy couldn't help but ask curiously, his expression one of the bewilderment, "Staryu doesn't even have a face to go off!"
Misty just gave her friend a look that was borderline patronising.
"Ash, if Pikachu or one of your other Pokemon was in that much pain, would you really need to look at their face to know that?" she asked pointedly.
The raven haired boy quickly realised what she meant, because no, of course he wouldn't need to look at their faces to know that. He was their trainer. He would just... he'd just know.
Before Ash had a chance to verbalize any of his thoughts on the matter however, Misty had already come up with a plan on how to deal with the current turn of events, and was calling out her next instruction to her Staryu, who was still quivering in obvious pain.
"Staryu, stop trying to fight it and just let your whole body relax!" the orange haired girl exclaimed to her struggling Pokemon, "Let yourself fall into the water! That should be enough to wash the Stun Spore off!"
It seemed to take a tremendous effort on the Star Shape Pokemon's part, but eventually Staryu was able to relax enough that its entire body fell limp. Unable to control its for whatsoever though, the Water Type Pokemon tumbled off its floating platform in a sloppy dive, before it vanished beneath the surface of the water. There was a tense couple of seconds in which everyone waited with baited breath, but after almost a full minute, the surface of the swimming pool was broken again as Staryu re-emerged. It didn't take a genius to work out that Misty's strategy had been a rousing success.
"Star!" the brown Star Shape Pokemon cheered loudly as it clambered back up onto the platform without any difficulty. It was obvious the strange creature now in full control of its faculties once more.
"Yay!" it was Misty's turn to fist-pump the air this time around. She glanced over at her friend turned opponent with a gleeful expression on her face, "What'd you think of that Ash! I bet you didn't know that Stun Spore doesn't work if you wash it off in water!"
Ash couldn't help but frown in annoyance. Misty was right. He hadn't known that, and what made it worse, this was hardly the right time to learn such vital information.
"I haven't been giving Misty enough credit" Ash muttered thoughtfully to himself under his breath, "She's a lot better than I thought she was. I guess we'll have to try a different status attack if we want to get the advantage..."
Raising his eyes up to where his purple Bug Type Pokemon was still hovering in the air, Ash raised his voice to a shout, as he issued his latest instruction.
"Butterfree! Your Stun Spore is out!" he exclaimed to the Butterfly Pokemon, who chirped and nodded in understanding, "So now let's give your Sleep Powder a try!"
"Freee!" Butterfree thrilled loudly, before swooping down low in order to hit Staryu with another one of his pollen-based attacks.
Unfortunately for Ash and Butterfree however, Misty was ready for their sneaky tactics this time around, and she was not about to let her beloved Water Type Pokemon suffer like that again. Not if she had anything to say about it.
"Dodge it Staryu!" the orange haired girl commanded, throwing out her arm and striking a dramatic pose, "Dive underwater!"
"Star!" the Star Shape Pokemon bobbed its entire body in what could only be construed as an affirmative manner.
PLOP!
With a small splash that barely left so much as a ripple upon the pool's surface, Staryu quickly left off it's floating platform and dropped down into the water, vanishing out of sight entirely. Hardly even a split-second later, Butterfree's Sleep Powder attack landed, harmlessly striking the spot where the Water Type Pokemon had stood not even five seconds before.
"Aw nuts!" Ash gently cursed to himself, knowing that they were in trouble now. He couldn't spot Staryu anywhere within the pool, and judging by the confused expression on Butterfree's face, the Bug Type Pokemon couldn't locate their enemy either. That could only mean one thing...
"Now's the time, Staryu!" Misty's voice yelled out before Ash had a chance to even begin processing just how vulnerable Butterfree was right now, "Double-Edge!"
SPLASH!
Fountaining out of the water like a miniature geyser, Ash could scarcely do anything but look on in abject horror as Staryu propelled itself through the air like a ninja's throwing star. Faster and faster the Star Shape Pokemon spun its jagged points, until...
WHAM!
With a sickening crunch that seemed to echo throughout the entire battle arena, Staryu slammed its body into that of Butterfree with enough force that it honestly came as a surprise that the collision wasn't deadly. When it quickly became apparent that both creatures were still alive as the two Pokemon broke apart a moment later, both of them began tumbling in a downwards spiral, and it quickly became apparent that neither of them had escaped that passing blow unscathed. Ash watched, his russet eyes wide with fear, as he saw Staryu gracefully landed upon the floating platform in front of that belonging to Misty. Butterfree on the other hand, wasn't quite so fortunate.
SPLASH!
Hitting the swimming pool and breaking through the surface of the water with all the elegance and grace of a cannonball, the purple Bug Type Pokemon quickly disappeared from sight beneath the depths. His face turning an unpleasant shade of white, Ash swallowed hard, as he nervously counted down the seconds until his beloved Pokemon surely had to resurface. It seemed to take a lifetime, but in reality the raven haired boy was only kept waiting for about ten seconds.
Sadly, ten seconds proved to be long enough.
"Freee..." with a pathetic little whimper as he floated back up to the surface, Butterfree's broken and battered form began bobbing about in the water. His eyes were drawn shut, obviously from the immense pain, and the movements of his crumpled wings were limited at best. It didn't take a genius to work out what had happened.
The Butterfly Pokemon was unconscious.
Misty had won the first round.
And that marks the end of another chapter : )
So yeah, I was really keen to keep this battle one that was between Ash and Misty, rather than have it be with her sisters like I did with Nolan. I sometimes feel that Misty wasn't allowed to show off her skills as a trainer as much as some of the other characters, particular during these earlier days and especially whenever she tried to battle and her Psyduck would pop out and mess it up. I figured that this was my chance to change that, whilst also making sure to keep the battle between Ash and Misty friendly since they have a much better relationship in this story than they did in canon at this point. You guys might also have noticed that there has yet to be a battle between Ash and Nolan in this entire story. Well I can confirm that that's deliberate, and it will be staying this way for a long time to come ; )
But enough about that for now. Instead, let's move on to this week's voting topic. I'm very happy to say that we're finally getting back to another new encounter vote, since it feels like it's been quite a while since we've last had one, and those just so happen to be my favourite : ) Anyway, here are this week's options.
Pokemon Options: -
Crystal Cave: - Machop - Male - Careful Nature - Guts Ability
Pinkan Island: - Pink Rhyhorn - Female - Modest Nature - Rock Head Ability
Fukumara Island: - Nidoran - Female - Mild Nature - Poison Point Ability
Rind Island: - Fearow - Male - Impish Nature - Keen Eye Ability
Yambera: - Kangaskhan - Female - Lonely Nature - Early Bird Ability
I have to say, there's quite a few interesting options available this time. First of all, yes, the Rhyhorn is the one from the anime and it is pink in the game. Something to bare in mind however is the fact that it is a completely ordinary Rhyhorn beyond that, and that in future games, I won't be able to do anything about its appearance. I'm also quite surprised by the fact that I managed to encounter a Kangaskhan for my first encounter in that particular area, since when training up the team there, they hardly popped up at all. I guess I got quite lucky there. Still, it's not up to me which one you guys pick, so please go leave your vote in a review to decide Nolan's next Orange Islands Pokemon ; )
And I think that's just about everything from me for this time, so thank you so much for reading this chapter and my story in general. I hope you are enjoying it all so far, and please consider leaving a review because I'd love to hear your comments and feedback : )
Until the next time, keep on reading : )