Hey readers - here we are with another new chapter : )
Again, I really don't have all that much to say this week, so let's just jump straight on into it. Unfortunately, we still don't have a clear winner on Nolan's next Pokemon as the result of the last voting topic was a tie again, but at least we managed to knock one of the competitors out of the running. I'll give more information about that in the footnote though ; )
For now, I just want to say an ENORMOUS 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 Path to the Pokemon League - Part 2
It wouldn't have been overly surprising if you could have sliced clean through the tension with a blunt knife, the atmosphere lingering over the unofficial gym had grown to such an overwhelming intensity. Silence reined over the group of young but dedicated Pokemon trainers, as up on the raised platform which would serve as their battlefield, A.J. and Ash both stared each other down with a fierce determination. It couldn't have been more obvious that both boys were trying to get the measure of the other, but because they were both so thoroughly overconfident, it was also apparent to all of those watching, that both of them thought that they would be the one to eventually rein victorious. Only time would tell which one of them that hope would become a reality for though, and with a smug smirk on his face, A.J. apparently decided that he was tired of waiting for that time to come about. As such, he quickly decided to waste no more time with any pleasantries or preamble, and got straight down to the matter at hand.
"Okay chump!" the expert Pokemon trainer called across the field to his latest opponent, enjoying the scowl that his little taunt had managed to provoke from the other boy, "How many Pokemon do you want to go with?"
Ash's nostrils flared indignantly, his eyes practically on fire with rage.
"I'm no chump, A.J!" the raven haired boy snapped back angrily, but that only seemed to amuse the boy in question, "But a two against two battle works for me just fine".
A.J. nodded, suddenly becoming serious again, as he accepted the terms that Ash had just proposed.
"Deal!" the green haired boy agreed, before adding, "It'll be an elimination match with no substitutions. A trainer loses when both of his Pokemon can no longer fight".
"Fine" Ash repeated, practically itching to get started himself now.
With the terms of the battle set and agreed upon, it was finally time to get down to revealing their first Pokemon each. Ash's fingertips ghosted across the sleek metal surfaces of the two occupied pokeballs he had attached to his belt, whilst on the opposite side of the battlefield from him, A.J. just raised his whip again in a commanding manner that could almost be mistaken for threatening.
CRACK!
Winding up the harsh leather whip in his hand again, A.J. unleashed it on the ground at his feet. For a moment, nothing seem to be happening, and Ash looked around curiously, trying to figure out what the expert Pokemon trainer was up to. Over on the sidelines Nolan and the others did much the same. It quickly became apparent though, exactly what A.J. had just done.
The ground... was trembling.
It was subtle at first, barely even perceivable in fact, but it quickly became apparent that something was tunnelling under the ground beneath their feet, burrowing its way towards them at immense speed. Ash's russet coloured eyes widened in alarm and shock when the ground close to his opponent's feet suddenly burst outwards in a shower of soil and dirt and stones. A small yellow head popped out of the hole left behind, followed by a small yellow body.
Ash frowned as he looked down at the Pokemon which was apparently to be his first opponent. It was a Pokemon that the young trainer recognised in fact.
"Shrew!" it squeaked in a high-pitched voice.
"Sandshrew, go!" A.J. commanded his chosen Pokemon, who immediately leapt out of the tunnel it had created obediently.
On the other side of the battlefield from them, Ash's lips quirked into a wide smile, one which practically oozed with smugness. The boy knew his type match-ups after all, and whilst the raven haired boy knew that his partner's Electric Type attacks would be completely ineffective against a Ground Type Pokemon like Sandshrew, the same would also hold true for his opponent in terms of facing either of the other members of Ash's little team. It's Ground Type elemental attacks would be no use whatsoever against Butterfree or Pidgeotto, so Ash will felt pretty confident that he was the one with the advantage here.
"A Sandshrew, huh?" the raven haired boy drawled, secretly enjoying the fact that he had an advantage which he had yet to reveal to his opponent. He couldn't wait to see the look on the other boy's face when he found out, "This should be... interesting".
Over on the sidelines, Nolan, Misty and Brock all exchanged concerned glances. Their friend was way too overconfident, and they were worried that he might end up ruining his own chances of winning because he was getting too caught up in it.
"Let's be careful now, Ash" Brock tried to caution, but he doubted it would do much good as far as his stubborn raven haired friend was concerned, "Remember, if A.J. used that Sandshrew in most of his battles, then that means it has at least Ninety-Seven victories under its belt".
"Also, Sandshrew is a Ground Type Pokemon" Misty chimed in, an anxious quality to vermillion coloured eyes, "That's means that Pikachu's Electric Type attacks won't be any use against it".
Ash turned to light glare at the pair of them over his shoulder, his whole posture practically screaming of impatience.
"Thanks for the advice you guys" the raven haired boy said to his friends, but he sounded anything but grateful, "But it really isn't needed right now. I know exactly what I'm doing, so just sit back and watch me do what I do best!"
Misty and Brock both just sighed to themselves, giving it up as a lost cause. From his spot between them, Nolan rolled his eyes, but knew better than to try and offer any advice of its own. So instead he just gave his best friend, who honestly was trying the patience of a saint today, a very tenuous smile.
"Good luck Ash" the golden haired boy offered up kindly.
"Thanks Nolan, but I doubt that I'll need it" again, Ash's patronising tone was practically dripping with arrogance, "I've got this in the bag!"
On the opposite side of the battlefield, having heard every word of the quartet's conversion, A.J. scoffed and rolled his eyes. He honestly didn't think he had ever met someone more arrogant in his entire life. Not even that Gary kid who's Eevee he had defeated the other day had been this bad, but it was a close tie. A.J. would take immense pleasure in cutting this little chump back down to size.
"You see A.J..." Ash called mocking, unaware of the green haired boy's thoughts, "I'm the one with the advantage here! I choose you! Pidgeotto!"
And with an air of superiority, Ash plucked one of the occupied pokeballs off of his belt, and tossed it through the air with a flourish. The red and white sphere snapped open to reveal the large avian creature, who tossed back her head and spread her wings fiercely.
A.J. and his Sandshrew were not intimidated.
"Ha! If you think that a Type advantage is gonna be enough to win against me and my Sandshrew in my own gym..." the expert Pokemon trainer told his latest opponent bluntly, "Then you've got another thing coming, chump!"
And without wasting any more time, he quickly got the battle underway.
"Sandshrew, go! Show them how we do things around here!" the expert Pokemon trainer commanded with another loud crack of his whip.
The Ground Type Pokemon immediately charged forwards on to the battlefield, its tiny but lethal-looking sharp claws raised menacingly.
Whereas other, somewhat more responsible, trainers might have hesitated at the bold manoeuvre from their opponent, Ash felt no need to show any restraint so early on in the battle, not even so that he and Pidgeotto could try to find their pacing. Instead, the raven haired boy just steamed right on in, without so much as a care in the world.
"Pidgeotto, dive at it!" Ash yelled, recklessly running straight on in.
Behind him, Nolan just barely resisted the urge to slap his hand against his forehead in sheer disbelief. He had previously thought that his best friend knew better than to just go charging in without getting a proper measure of the opposing Pokemon. Clearly he had been wrong about that though, and had been given his friend a bit too much credit. All he could do was look on from the sidelines though, and hope that Pidgeotto wasn't about to suffer a steep price for her trainer's newfound sense of arrogance.
Sadly, those hopes went unanswered.
"PIDGEOTTO!" the Bird Pokemon screeched in what must have been agonising pain, as Sandshrew met her ill-thought-out attack head on, and slashed viciously at her chest with his razor-sharp claws in a powerful Scratch attack. It only ended when Pidgeotto used her strong wings to knock her assailant away from her.
"No! Pidgeotto!" Ash cried out in alarm when he saw what it just happened. That hadn't gone the way it was meant to at all!
"Fool" A.J. tutted in a manner which could only be described as highly patronizing, "That type of direct approach isn't going to work against someone with as much experience as me! Sandshrew! Use Scratch again!"
Panicking slightly, but not any less confident about his chances of winning, Ash hastily issued another command.
"Dodge it Pidgeotto!" the raven haired boy called out, "Back into the air as fast as you can!"
"Geotto!" Pidgeotto cawed loudly, beating her wings together forcefully and launching herself back into the sky at a breakneck pace.
It was Ash's turn to smirk this time.
"Too bad Sandshrew can't fly!" the raven haired trainer laughed mockingly at A.J, is earlier arrogance and overconfidence returning to him now that Pidgeotto was safely away from those claws.
A.J. snorted in thinly-concealed amusement. If Ash actually thought that a manoeuvre as simple as that was going to cause problems for him and his Sandshrew, he was sorely mistaken.
"Sandshrew!" the green haired Pokemon expert shouted with another harsh crack of his whip, "After it! Use your Rollout attack to get up into the air!"
Almost too quickly for the human eye to process, Sandshrew obeyed the command and tightly curled itself up into a ball, before it began rolling around all over the battlefield. Once certain that it had built up enough momentum, the small yellow creature suddenly threw out one of its chubby little arms, and pushed off from the earth, to the absolute astonishment of everyone watching. The Ground Type Pokemon then rotated through the air like a speeding planet, shooting towards Pidgeotto like a makeshift cannonball. It all happened so quickly that poor Pidgeotto didn't have a hope of managing to dodge the most unexpected attack in time.
"WHAT?!" Ash yelled out in horrified disbelief. He rubbed both of his russet coloured eyes, unable to believe what they had just processed, but no, they weren't playing tricks on him. That really had just happened, despite defying all logic.
Ash knew that Rock Type attacks like Rollout were super-effective against Flying Type Pokemon like Pidgeotto, but the raven haired boy had never expected such an attack like that to actually land whilst this target was in mid-air. To say that he was more than a little miffed about the situation was quite the understatement.
"OTTO!" the large brown creature shrieked loudly as she was hit head on, and bowled straight out of the air.
CRASH!
With a noise so almighty it practically shook the entire forest around it, Pidgeotto plummeted back down to Earth, and unable to correct her flight pattern in time, she ended up face-planting the battlefield. The large avian creature looked dares and a little ruffled off, but thankfully still conscious and willing to fight.
A few moments later, Sandshrew landed on the ground again a couple of feet away, with all the grace and elegance of a trained ballerina. Ash seethed as he glowered in the small yellow creature's direction, but it remained completely unfazed by his anger. Instead, it just sneered up at the human with the same amount of contempt that its trainer carried about him.
"That's the spirit Pidgeotto!" Ash exclaimed gleefully as his Flying Type Pokemon managed to struggle back to her feet, "Now, give it a taste of your Gust attack!"
This time Pidgeotto was the one that got in first.
Jolting into action before her latest enemy had the chance to spring yet another sneak attack on her, something which she was thoroughly peeved about, Pidgeotto began beating her wings together as hard as she could. The Flying Type Pokemon was able to quickly summon up a powerful vortex of swirling wind. She hastily launched it in the direction of Sandshrew.
"Shrew!" the small Ground Type Pokemon cried out, digging his heels into the battlefield to avoid being sent hurtling backwards.
"Sandshrew, go underground!" A.J. remained very calm as his opponents attempted to fight back against them. He was far too experienced to make such an amateur mistake like losing his head in the middle of a battle after all, "Dodge it with Dig!"
"Sandshrew!" once again, the round yellow Pokemon hastened to obey its trainer's command. Showing off the extreme talent that its kind were famous for when it came to burrowing, the Ground Type Pokemon had a fully-formed tunnel dug in less than ten seconds flat. Before Ash or Pidgeotto had a chance to even blink, Sandshrew had leapt down into the dark opening, and vanished from sight.
"Oh no you don't!" Ash cried, just instinctively knowing that Sandshrew was about to pop up from beneath the ground and attempt another sneak attack on poor Pidgeotto, "Take off Pidgeotto! Fast as you can!"
But it wasn't fast enough.
Faster than a speeding bullet, the ground directly in front of Pidgeotto suddenly suddenly erupted. In a shower of dirt and stones, a hole burst into existence, and Sandshrew sprung out of it. The Ground Type elemental attack didn't strike the Bird Pokemon, not that it would have had any effect even if it did, but it was what happened next which caused such devastating results.
"SSSSAAAANNNNDDDDSSSSHHHHRRRREEEEWWWW!"
Before Pidgeotto could even think about trying to dodge out of the way, the inevitable happened.
Immediately upon leaping out of the hole it had created in the ground, Sandshrew didn't even have to wait for the next order from its trainer. The two of them were so in sync with each other that the Ground Type Pokemon already knew exactly what the following it instruction would be. So with that thought in mind, Sandshrew once again curled itself up into a tight ball, and launched itself straight towards the large avian creature that was still on the ground. And considering that Rock Type elemental attacks were super-effective against Flying Type Pokemon like Pidgeotto, the end result most certainly was not pretty.
WHAM!
"GEOTTO!" another agonized scream of pain tore its way past the Flying Type Pokemon's beak.
She was instantly pummelled by Sandshrew's speedy attack. She tried to recuperate her strength, she really did, in order to try and fly away, but it was just no use. Every time that Pidgeotto almost managed to spread her wings, Sandshrew came back around and slammed into her body over and over again. To the Flying Type Pokemon, it felt like it went on for an eternity, but in reality it was just a handful of seconds. Needless to say though, none of the trainers observing this match were really surprised by what happened when Sandshrew's Rollout attack finally ended.
"Geotto..." Pidgeotto let out a tiny, feeble moan, before she collapsed to the ground.
It was obvious that she could not continue.
His mouth hanging open in sheer horror by the spectacle that he had just witnessed, Ash wasted no time at all in running out onto the battlefield, falling to his knees by the crumpled heap on the ground that was his beloved Flying Type Pokemon. The raven haired boy quickly but gently gathered her up into his arms and held her close.
"Oh no..." the boy moaned in despair, his russet coloured eyes filled with sympathy for his feathered friend, "Pidgeotto... are you okay?"
"Otto" Pidgeotto managed to whimper out, before she closed her eyes and allowed the tempting lull of sleep to claim her.
Across the field from the scene that most other trainers would find heartbreaking, A.J. just smirked, knowing that he was one step closer to claiming his latest victory. The best part was, he and Sandshrew hadn't even had to break a sweat so far. This wasn't a battle. This was sport.
Realising that his faithful Pokemon was in no fit state to continue with the match, Ash softly uttered a few comforting words to her, before he begrudgingly returned Pidgeotto to her pokeball with a very dark grimace on his face. Glancing up, the raven haired boy caught sight of his opponent's smug expression, and he instantly felt his blood boil. Ash would make A.J. pay for Pidgeotto's defeat. He'd make sure of it if it was the last thing he ever did.
"One down, one to go, Chump!" the green haired Pokemon expert jeered tauntingly from his side of the battlefield, "Now get off the field and send out your second Pokemon! I do have other plans today, you know. I don't have time to waste on toying with little runts like you".
Ash seethed, but stomped back over to his original spot on the raised platform.
Out for revenge, not to mention practically desperate to wipe the smirk off of his opponent's stupid little face, Ash clenched his teeth and wasted no time in reaching down to his belt and plucking off a different pokeball to the one he had just returned Pidgeotto to. With a flick of his wrist, the raven haired boy tossed the red and white capsule up into the air. As it began its descent back down to Earth, the pokeball suddenly snapped open and released a ball of bright crimson light, which quickly manifested into the form of Ash's Butterfree.
"Free! Free! Butterfree!" the Butterfly Pokemon chirped happily as he was released from his pokeball. He unfurled his wings and hovered in the air above Ash's head.
"You can do it Butterfree!" the raven haired boy called out encouragingly to his Bug Type friend. He then made a comment which proved that not even Pidgeotto's resounding defeat had been enough to deflate any of the boy's ego, "We can wipe the floor with these badgeless weaklings!"
From their spot over on the sidelines; Nolan, Misty and Brock couldn't even attempt to stifle their groans of sheer despair.
None of them were trying to be nasty, or ruin things for Ash when he had been on such a good winning streak. Of course they weren't trying to do either of those things. If nothing else, the three of them were all very loyal to Ash, just as he was to each of them in turn. It was just... they honestly couldn't help but think that their friend had walked into this match with his eyes closed. And despite how bad they each felt about thinking what they were thinking, even in private, they very much doubted that there was anything either Ash or his Butterfree could do to pull things back around for them at this point. It wasn't that they wanted him to lose, even if he had been getting on their collective nerves all day, but sadly, they were all expecting it. Even Nolan was beginning to have second thoughts about challenging this guy to a battle, although he seriously doubted that he had it in him to just walk away from such an opportunity. After all, even if he ended up losing, he was sure that he would still learn a lot from battling against someone like A.J.
Even the three Pokemon which were gathered around them all seemed to have come to the same rather depressing conclusion. Pikachu, Meadow and Iris all looked on anxiously from their spot on the very edge of the platform, from where they'd been watching the entire battle unfold.
"PIKA! PIKACHU!" the small Electric Type Pokemon that was Ash's partner suddenly called out. If he couldn't do anything to help out in this most uneven battle, then the very least he could do was cheer on his teammate like there was no tomorrow.
At his side, Meadow and Iris both glanced at each other uncertainly.
They, kinda like their beloved trainer, both privately thought that this battle was a lost cause at this point. They most certainly didn't think that it could be turned in Ash's favour. Still, they could understand the importance of being supportive, and despite Butterfree not being a part of their own team, he was still apart of their traveling group. That alone made him just as worthy of their encouragement.
"BULBA! BULBASAUR! BULBA!" Meadow began to cheer the Butterfly Pokemon on as well.
"VENO! VENONAT!" Iris added kindly.
Upon hearing the encouraging exclamations from all three of the observing Pokemon, Ash and Butterfree both glanced over in that direction. The raven haired boy's whole face immediately lit up in delight.
"You see Butterfree? The other Pokemon all know that you'll win this easily as well!" Ash cried gleefully, completely misconstruing what the three small creatures were saying, "They obviously know great talent when they see it, and let's face it, you and I are both pretty talented!"
Pikachu, Meadow and Iris all had to work very hard not to grimace in disgust. That hadn't been what they were saying at all! Still, they supposed that they couldn't really blame Ash for that. It was very rare that humans could understand their language properly after all.
But Butterfree on the other hand could understand them.
The purple Bug Type Pokemon could even understand what it was they were trying to avoid saying. To the Butterfly Pokemon, it was quite clear that they didn't think he really stood much of a chance against their latest opponent. He tried not to feel hurt or to take it as an insult, considering that they had just watched Pidgeotto get taken out, and she was by no means any kind of slouch.
It did little to raise Butterfree's confidence, but it did warm his heart to know that despite their misgivings, his fellow Pokemon was still willing to try and be supportive. Butterfree had to admit, he was quite surprised to see that Iris was over there on the sidelines, fiercely cheering him on. Pikachu and Meadow was somewhat of the given, considering the fact that they were the most sociable Pokemon within the travelling quartet's group, but Butterfree and Iris had barely even had any interaction with each other whatsoever. He supposed that just went to show how sweet his fellow Bug Type Pokemon was at heart, and he felt humbled to know that he had such a kind and gentle creature in his corner.
"FREE!" the Butterfly Pokemon trilled back at them, although his bright red eyes never once left those belonging to Iris.
Iris soon found herself swallowing hard. The fluffy purple creature had no idea why, but she suddenly found Butterfree's gaze to be... intense. Perhaps even a little bit too intense, and yet despite herself, Iris couldn't seem to force her own eyes away from his either. It was all very strange, and it left Iris with a funny sort of feeling in the pit of her stomach...
"Alright Butterfree, let's get this over with!" Ash's voice suddenly yelled, immediately shattering the spell on the two Bug Type Pokemon, and jolting his own back to the present matter at hand, "We'll show them who the real expert trainer is!"
"Free! Free! Butterfree!" Butterfree swallowed, before he shook his head to try and clear it. Like Iris, he had suddenly been thinking strange things, but now wasn't the time for such things. He had a battle to survive.
Across the battlefield from the two of them, A.J. couldn't quite manage to hold back a derisive scoff, not that he tried very hard to though.
"You're been living in a dream world for too long, Chump!" the green haired Pokemon expert sneered mockingly, "I think it's time to wake you up!"
And with another loud crack of his whip, the battle quickly got underway again.
Sandshrew and Butterfree both scrambled to get into position, one on the ground whilst the other was hovering in the air, both waiting to see which of their respective trainers would be able to call out his command first. To the surprise of everybody present, this time it was Ash who managed to get the first move in.
"Go Butterfree!" the raven haired boy instantly demanded with a gleeful smirk on his face. Ash was sure that he had a winning trick up his sleeve this time after all, "Use your Stun Spore!"
Butterfree wasted no time in following through with the command.
As he swept through the air, the Butterfly Pokemon's wings suddenly began to glow with an enchantingly beautiful pale yellow light. Before the mystified eyes of the travelling quartet, along with the those of the three spectating Pokemon, spores began to float down to the ground like a mysterious golden rain. From her spot on the sidelines, Iris' large red eyes widened, and she couldn't but think how well that would match one of the spore-based attacks she herself could use.
"Veno..." she breathed softly in awe.
Nobody else seemed to have heard her, not even the other two Pokemon standing right next to her, but out on the battlefield, Butterfree did. And call him vain, but the Butterfly Pokemon couldn't help but feel secretly pleased that he had managed to impress her. He wasn't quite sure why that mattered to him though.
On the opposite side of the raised platform to Ash, A.J. huffed in thinly-concealed contempt.
"It's literally like battling against someone with no imagination, whatsoever" the green haired boy sighed condescendingly, "I train a Butterfree myself, Chump. Did you really think I wouldn't see a move like that coming a mile off?"
Ash's jaw was clenched so tightly in anger, that it was something of a miracle that the bones in it hadn't shattered already.
CRACK!
Another collision between the ground and the end of the harsh leather whip was all it took to get Sandshrew lunging into action again.
Just like it had in the previous battle against Pidgeotto, the small yellow creature immediately began burrowing into the ground again upon hearing the specific noise. Within seconds, it was gone again.
"Free?" Butterfree was confused as to where the Ground Type Pokemon had disappeared to, and so he stopped producing the curtain of gold glittering dust that was his Stun Spore attack.
Ash had his teeth and fists clenched in frustration, whilst over on the sidelines, Nolan and the others couldn't help but be highly impressed by the display unfolding before them.
"That Sandshrew is well-trained" Brock remarked, unable to help but point out the obvious, he was so awestruck.
"He controls it with a crack of his whip" Misty sounded just as impressed by A.J's skills as a trainer. He had certainly earned the title 'expert', no doubt about it, "It's like watching a circus act or something".
"You can tell that those two have definitely trained hard together for a very long time" Nolan nodded his head in agreement.
CRACK!
Another crack of the whip was enough to bring about an end to their conversation, and they all watched as history seemed to repeat itself right in front of their eyes. Just as things had played out during the first round when Sandshrew had used Dig, the moment that it emerged from the ground again in a shower of dirt and tiny pebbles, the Ground Type Pokemon immediately moved into its Rollout attack.
"Shrew!"
With a fierce screech that almost sounded like a war-cry, Sandshrew was once again hurtling through the air, despite all of the odds being stacked against such a thing. Like a comet on a collision course, the small yellow creature barrelled into an unsuspecting Butterfree, with enough force to stop even a ten-tonne truck in its tracks.
"FREE! FREE! BUTTERFREE!" the Butterfly Pokemon shrieked in surprise, not to mention the crippling pain he suddenly found himself in.
Unable to gather himself in time, and in a manner that was eerily reminiscent of what had happened with Pidgeotto before him, Butterfree fell out of the sky like a large purple stone. He collapsed onto the battlefield his shining white wings messily sprawled about, but that was the least of the Bug Type Pokemon's troubles.
"FREE!" Butterfree let out another moan of pain when quite suddenly, and without any kind of warning whatsoever, Sandshrew deliberately landed on top of him, pinning the poor Butterfly Pokemon down to the ground, and preventing any movement from him. And with how remarkably impassable the ground type Pokemon with proving to be, escape simply was not an option.
CRACK!
It didn't take a genius to work out what the silent command behind that latest lash of A.J's whip was. It was the command to finish this battle once and for all.
"SANDSHREW!"
In a flurry of movement that was almost too fast for any of the trainers to see, Sandshrew quickly began putting was razor-sharp claws it possessed to good use. In an attack which could only be described as a downright vicious, the Ground Type Pokemon began using it Scratch attack on its captive, over and over again.
"BUTTERFREE!" the trapped Bug Type Pokemon screamed in agony, whilst the others looked on in horror. Ash in particular was feeling particularly helpless and he quickly called out another instruction to his Pokemon friend in concern.
"Try to knock Sandshrew off Butterfree!" the raven haired boy cried desperately, scarcely able to believe what he was witnessing, "Butterfree! Use your Gust attack!"
But it was impossible for Butterfree to carry out that order. Not when his wings were being pinned down with the rest of his body.
"FREE!" the Butterfly struggled and squirmed, but it was no use, and they all knew it.
A couple more seconds of Sandshrew's vicious onslaught was all it took to make Butterfree's head collapsed to the ground in defeat. Almost against his will, his large red eyes strayed off to the side, and he noticed his fellow Pokemon all looking at him in horror and pity. Again, Butterfree found himself slightly warmed by the concern he noticed in the eyes of one of them in particular...
"NO! BUTTERFREE!" Ash moaned in despair as he watched his second Pokemon easily be defeated as well.
"It's not so free anymore" A.J. taunted from his position on the other side of the battlefield. He of course was utterly delighted by how things had played out, and the expert Pokemon trainer made no secret of that fact, as he struck a dramatic pause and raised his fist above his head in triumph, "And that makes victory number Ninety-Eight!"
"Shrew!" Sandshrew squeaked happily, mirroring its trainer's pose.
Across from them, Ash was practically in tears, he was taking his defeat so badly. Behind him, Nolan couldn't help but swallow nervously. He had a sinking feeling that he knew what was coming next from his best friend, and it wouldn't be pretty.
"It's not fair!" the raven haired boy whined, a little pathetically, "I'm the one with the badges".
His pride refusing to allow him to just accept what had happened, Ash quickly returned his exhausted Butterfree back into his pokeball, before he made a beeline across the battlefield towards his opponent, as fast as his legs could carry him.
"How 'bout two out of three?" he pleaded desperately. He simply couldn't accept that he had lost, and that the winning streak he had managed to build up had been brought crashing down around him.
A.J. just gave him a look of thinly-veiled disgust.
"Stop whining, Chump!" the green haired Pokemon expert snapped at his latest victim. If there was one thing that AJ couldn't stomach, it was an opponent that wasn't able to graciously accept defeat, "Nobody wants to compete against a cry-baby!"
Rather than just leave it there though, Ash continued acting in the obnoxious way he had all morning, and quickly changed tactics.
"Hey, there's something fishy here" the raven haired boy persisted, his incredible ego making him incapable of dropping it, "I didn't have any problems winning until I battled in your ring. How do I know this whole match wasn't rigged?!"
Over on the sidelines, Nolan finally lost his patience.
"Oh for goodness sake Ash, grow up!" the golden haired boy snapped at his best friend. Ash and A.J. both glanced over at him, surprised by the outburst, "If you want to be serious about being a Pokemon trainer, then you've got to learn to accept that sometimes there'll be someone out that's a little further ahead of you. Stop letting your ego run away with you!"
Ash was clearly very stung by those sharp words.
"Who's side are you on?!" the raven haired boy yelled back, rather hurt that his best friend, the boy he loved like a brother, seemed to be taking his opponent's side over his, "You saw what just happened! How can you explain Sandshrew defeating both Pidgeotto and Butterfree?! Flying Type Pokemon always have the advantage over Ground Type Pokemon!"
Nolan took a deep breath, willing himself to remain calm. It was hard though, considering what an obnoxious brat his best friend was being.
"Well, obviously, A.J. has been working extremely hard with his Sandshrew to be able to pull off such a strategy" the blonde haired boy said in a slightly patronising tone, which soon became more thoughtfully, "It was impressive though. I've never heard of Rollout being used in such a way before".
Perhaps complimenting his best friend's opponent hadn't been such a good idea, for it just seemed to fan the flames of Ash white-hot anger.
"Exactly! It shouldn't be possible, which just proves my point!" the raven haired boy shouted angrily, before he rounded on the expert Pokemon trainer again, "I knew it! I knew it! You cheated!"
The accusation hung heavy in the air.
For one terrible moment, it looked as though A.J. might actually hit Ash. The green haired boy's fist was clenched so tightly that his knuckled had turned white. But then, much to the relief of Ash's friends but not so much the boy himself, A.J. took a deep breath in an incredibly mature show of self-restraint, and lowered his fist.
"I don't need to cheat against a loser like you, Chump" A.J. narrowed his eye at the boy who was acting like a real jerk, "That was one of the most ridiculously easy battles I've ever been in. I'm almost embarrassed to include it in my winning total".
It was Ash's fist that was clenched in anger now.
"Then why don't you prove it?" the raven haired boy challenged, clearly not knowing when to quit, "What do you say we go replay the match someplace else, huh? Somewhere I know you won't be able to cheat!"
A.J. just sneered down his nose at the boy, who quite-frankly, he couldn't help but view as a pathetic wannabe.
"Come back when you grow up" the green haired Pokemon expert snapped, his tone of voice suggesting that that was his final word on the matter.
Ash sighed, the picture of utter misery, as he finally, finally, accepted the situation for what it was.
"It's not fair" he whined again, hanging his head in defeat.
The green haired Pokemon expert that had just claimed his Ninety-Eighth victory ignored him, bored of his dramatics by this point. So instead, he turned his attention to the other three Pokemon trainers. Normally, they would have felt quite sorry for Ash, but in this particular situation, all they felt was embarrassed by his appalling behaviour. Thankfully, A.J. then said something which drove those thoughts out of their minds entirely.
"So... any of you three want to battle me too?" he asked with an air of hope.
Misty and Brock both shook their heads at once. It wasn't that they were afraid to face him. After all, they had both been gym leaders at one point. It was just they couldn't really see the benefits of battling with him. Nolan on the other hand, could, and so despite knowing that his chances of winning were slim at best, the golden haired boy still nodded his head. A.J. gave him a shrewd, calculating look.
"You gonna cry like your friend if I bet ya? the green haired boy wanted to be sure on that point first. He was in no mood to deal with any more sore losers today, thank you very much.
Ash glared at him for that comment as he passed by the green haired boy, heading down the small flight of wooden steps in order to re-join his friends. Nolan ignored him though, in favour of answering A.J's question.
"If you manage to defeat me..." the golden haired boy said in a rather cool tone, "I'll simply congratulate you on a good battle".
A.J's smirk became a slightly more genuine smile. From that sentence alone, he already liked this Nolan guy much more than the company he kept. Or at least, one of them. He quickly shook off any thoughts of his disagreement with Ash though in favour of getting down to business.
"Get up here then" the expert Pokemon trainer said, as he turned and began to walk back to his previous spot on the battlefield.
The golden haired boy didn't need telling twice.
Immediately Nolan quietly returned Iris to the confines of her pokeball, not wanting to risk having her out as a distraction, before he and Meadow both quickly scrambled up onto the platform. Nolan took his spot opposite A.J whilst his beloved partner stood at his side, eagerly anticipating what he was sure would be, the Pokemon battle of his life. Only one thing was for certain in that moment.
Nolan would have to give this fight everything he had.
And he would...
And that's the end of another chapter : )
So I'm honestly so tired right now that I can't really think of much to say about this chapter, so instead let's just move straight to discussing the details of the previous voting topic. As you probably remember, we've been stuck in a tie for a while now. Originally it was between Squirtle, Seel and Shellder, and although the result of the last vote ended in a tie again, at least it's now between just two instead of three Pokemon; those being Seel and Squirtle. And now that it's between these two Pokemon, if we can't break the tie with this chapter I'll do it by flipping a coin. I really don't want to resort to that though, so please, please help to break up the tie and vote for either Seel or Squirtle in a review. I'd really appreciate it so please all go vote : )
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 : )