Chapter 31; the promised battle; Ash VS Sonic
The sun appeared on the horizon as Sonic awaited for its rise, standing up facing east, eyes closed. He was awake for about an hour, his excitement and positive anxiety barely containable anymore.
Once the first sun ray reached his eyes, he opened them and smiled. The time of reckoning had come at last. As his pokemon slowly awoke to find their trainer observing the rising sun, raichu approached him standing next him.
"Today's the day raichu. All our work has led to this day" he turned and spoke to all his pokemon "are you all ready?!"
They all cried out in agreement. Moltres cried out the loudest.
"Good. Then let's have a good breakfast. We're gonna need all our strength for this".
After their breakfast, they had one final practice run of their moves and strategies. Deeming them perfectly ready, Sonic recalled 4 of them, rode Moltres alongside raichu and soared to the skies once again.
As Moltres slashed through the clouds, flying as fast as it could heading for the indigo plateau where the stadium was located, Sonic was taking deep breaths to calm his excitement.
As they flew over Celadon city he recalled he visit 3 days earlier. Reina and mr Fuji were glad to see him. Sonic had at first visited intending to let mr Fuji know that he had met Mewtwo again and that Mewtwo wouldn't be a threat to anyone. But at the last second remembering Mewtwo's placement of his trust in Sonic as well as Mewtwo's actions of erasing everyone's memories of it except Sonic himself, the latter changed his mind and simply chose to hang out with them for a while.
Flying over Pewter City too, Sonic knew it wouldn't be a long flight now. Raichu was restless, moving constantly and even almost caused them to plummet to the ground a couple of times. Anyone else in Sonic's place would be mad but Sonic was proud and excited. Raichu was itching for battle. It would be a force to be reckoned with.
Finally seeing Indigo Plateau, Sonic decided this time he would make a grand entrance. After all everyone was wondering where the hero of Kanto had disappeared at after the battle of Viridian city.
With Moltres slowly descending towards the stadium, they drew all eyes on them. They landed in a spectacular fashion outside the stadium as Sonic dismounted Moltres.
"The hero of Kanto is here!" a guy from the crowd excitedly said as everyone began cheering. Sonic smiled and chose to play along.
"Who's ready for some amazing battles?"
Everyone cheered as Sonic walked to be registered as present. After all the moment he had earned the earthbadge he was in the list of participants. Walking inside he was greeted by none other than…
"Surprise!" 3 voices said at the same time drawing everyone's attention.
"Jet? Tails? Knuckles?!"
"We weren't kidding when we said we would come big bro!" Jet said as they all rushed in to hug their friend after a month apart.
Sonic went to the counter to be registered as present. He then made his way to the stands with his friends and brother. The stadium was empty so far but was slowly filling up.
Sonic, Tails, Knuckles and Jet talked for hours while the remaining contestants were arriving at the league. Sonic refrained from telling his friends about Mewtwo and wondered if he would ever be able to share that with anyone. They caught up regardless and even got the chance to see Sonic's pokemon up close. They were all amazed by the majestic legendary Moltres.
Slowly but steadily the stadium filled up and Sonic knew he would have to split with his friends for a while. Thankfully they had bought an extra ticket for him so they could hang out and observe the battles Sonic wouldn't be a part of.
Sonic made his way to the arena were the remaining 31 contestants were gathering. Amongst them were Ash and Gary. Sonic also noticed one of the contestants hiding his face under a hood. Sonic was of course immediately approached by many of the contestants. Several of them tried to make small talk, others wished him luck and hoped they would get a chance against him and several others trash-talked him, stating his achievements weren't all that great. Sonic having been humbled by his journey ignored their arrogant statements and stated their pokemon would do the talking today. After a while Ash and Gary also approached him alongside a third kid with a Pikachu on his shoulder just like Ash. Sonic noticed the Pikachu had a unique scruff of fur on the top its head.
"Nowhere to run this time Sonic" Ash immediately taunted him this time in a slightly friendlier way.
"Wasn't planning to Ash. The time has come. Just make sure not to lose before our battle".
"Not if I have anything to say about it hero" Gary entered the conversation.
"Your turn will come too Gary. Patience" Sonic added, confident in his abilities.
The third kid approached and offered Sonic a handshake.
"Hi I'm Ritchie. This is sparky my partner".
Sparky climbed down from Ritchie and introduced itself to Sonic's raichu which returned the gesture. Ash's Pikachu also climbed down from Ash's shoulder and tried to intervene. Sonic theorized its desire to fight his raichu again had to be at an all-time high.
"Sonic. Sonic the hedgehog" Sonic said as he shook Ritchie's hand.
"I know. Everyone knows you. What you did was amazing".
"I only did what I thought was right Ritchie. Nothing more nothing less".
Under normal circumstances Gary would object or trash-talk Sonic more. Although he was tempted to do so he stopped himself. After all he did owe Sonic his life.
"I really hope I get to battle you today".
"I don't think you will Ritchie. Unless you and I battle before any of us fights Sonic, I will be the one to kick him out of this tournament" Ash declared.
The pairings were announced on a big screen. Sonic was to be the first to battle against a kid named Joey. Ash's first battle would be against Gary and Ritchie with another trainer with the latter two pairings meeting on the next round. And to top it off the pairing after that was connected with Sonic's line in the tournament.
"Looks like you will all have to fight for the privilege to face me" Sonic joked referring to Ash, Ritchie and Gary.
"Get ready Sonic I'm coming for you!" Ash declared in confidence.
Gary looked at his childhood friend in silence.
"I hate to admit it Ash but I'm afraid none of us can beat him. He survived Mewtwo. I doubt any of us can really rival him" Gary thought begrudgingly. Sonic was just on a whole other level.
The rest of the contestants leaving, Sonic and Joey were left on the arena taking their places on either side.
After the announcer introduced them, Sonic's introduction taking a little longer, the two contestants sent out their first pokemon.
To everyone's amazement and surprise, Sonic used his Pinsir to sweep Joey's team by having it use bulk up first to tank hits better and then knocking most of his opponent's pokemon in a single strike.
Their training had paid off big time. A part of Sonic was disappointed by Joey and his pokemon's performance and hoped that in the later rounds his opponents would actually be stronger.
After going to sit at the stands with his friends, Sonic observed the battles, intending on collecting intel on his possible opponents. The more he watched however the more disappointed he got. A lot of the trainers didn't have a fully evolved team like his and some had even brought pokemon that were too unsuited for battle. Specifically a female trainer had brought her paras along. It was taken out in one strike by a fearow. And even worse she couldn't understand how.
"Either I have become too focused on the multilayer version of battling by adding too many variables or she is just clueless. With all due respect to her, there was no way a paras would best a fearow" Sonic told Tails.
"All the better" Tails commented "you really got this".
Sonic nodded and got back to observing.
Eventually the battle of Ash vs Gary took place. Ash's team really consisted of Pikachu, Charizard, bulbasur, squirtle , a muk and a primeape. Sonic thought it pity that Ash had such a brave heart as he had witnessed on new Island yet his team was so much less powerful that it could have been.
Gary's team on the other hand consisted of his Blastoise, his eevee, his Arcanine, a Golem, a nidoqueen and last but not least an Alakazam just like Sonic's. Sonic admitted to his friends that he gave the edge to Gary in this battle as it seemed overall stronger than Ash's.
He was proven wrong however while observing the battle. Ash was an incredibly special trainer, very quick on his feet on the battlefield and created the craziest strategies Sonic had even seen. And he and Jet had seen a lot of battles on TV.
The battle seemed endless but in the end Ash defeated Gary with an overwhelming defeat of Gary's blastoise at the hands of Ash's Pikachu. Pikachu looked for Sonic's raichu at the stands and started crying out as if it was publicly calling it out. Raichu went to answer but Sonic scratched it on the head to get his attention.
"In due time buddy. In due time".
Next up was Ritchie's battle with a girl named Valerie. Sonic after a while identified as one of the two girls he had met in Vermillion city after his defeat of Ariana and subsequent liberation of the pokemon captured team rocket during his first raid with Mike.
Ritchie beat Valerie and proceeded to the next round where he was going to face Ash. Sonic's turn eventually came again.
Once again he severely unimpressed by his opponent, a boy named Albert who had trash-talked him earlier. Sonic went a little bit overboard in the battle but decided Albert needed to be taught a lesson about trash-talking. Albert was easily overwhelmed by the power of Moltres.
Sonic once again returned to his friends after his battle. Tails who was observing the battles as well in great detail had opened his laptop and added any intel he had on Sonic's possible opponents. Comparing them with Sonic's team and the strategies he knew Sonic had developed with his pokemon, he concluded that the statistics were in Sonic's favor. The only one that actually worried him was the kid in the hood who was proving to be a formidable trainer as well, using only a dugtrio and a gengar so far.
"Don't count Ash out" Sonic said "his team might not look strong but he just showed he actually has a lot of potential".
After a few more battles, Ash and Ritchie's match took place. Ash almost lost as his Charizard at first seemed bored and unwilling to put in any effort. That was until Ash reminded Charizard that if they won they would face Sonic. Charizard immediately got up and sweeped Ritchie's team.
The power of Ash's Charizard sparked a little bit of anxiety in Sonic. He kept the faith however that his team and their combined power would prevail.
About another hour after Ash's victory over Ritchie, the time of reckoning finally arrived. Sonic got up from his seat and headed for the arena. Raichu was bursting with excitement. Sonic did too, but also felt another feeling he couldn't quite identify.
"Is it fear? I think so but I don't fear defeat" he whispered as he recalled his defeat at Agatha's hands and what he had learnt from it.
Finally entering the arena to the applauds of the crowd and meeting eyes with Ash who was waiting for him, with Pikachu on the ground next to Ash, barely able to not start the battle by attacking Raichu. Sonic immediately knew what he feared.
"Disappointment" he thought "I'm afraid Ash won't perform as well as I expect. He has such untapped potential. It's almost like I want to lose to him" Sonic realized.
As the two trainers stood opposite each other, Ash took out his first pokeball.
"The time has come Sonic!"
Sonic was still not used to hearing his actual name being spoken by Ash. Keeping his composure he nodded.
"I agree. Our long awaited battle has come at last".
"Trainers sent out your pokemon in 3" the referee said as Sonic took out Blastoise's pokeball.
"2" Ash smiled in anticipation.
"1" Sonic winded up his hand.
"GO!"
"Blastoise come on out!"
"Bulbasaur I choose you!"
The fully evolved form of the water Kanto starter alongside the first stage of the grass Kanto starter came out of the pokeballs. Blastoise made a huge thud as it landed on the arena. Bulbasaur appeared on the arena, getting slightly knocked up by Blastoise's landing.
"Battle start!" the referee shouted raising his flags.
"Bulbasaur! Razor leaf!"
Bublasaur sent his leaves towards Blastoise.
"Deflect them! Rapid spin!"
Blastoise started spinning deflecting the razor leafs with ease but not unscathed as they still did a small amount of damage.
"Use vine whip!"
Bulbasaur extended its vines towards Blastoise. The vines wrapped around Blastoise. Bulbasaur tried to lift Blastoise but it was too heavy.
"Is that the best you can do Ash? You disappoint me" Sonic said trying to egg him on.
"Tackle!"
Bublasaur charged into Blastoise. It headbutted Blastoise who didn't even budge or move. Sonic found it hard to watch.
"I knew it. Ash has amazing strategy abilities and the bravest heart I've ever seen but some of his pokemon just refuse to reach their full potential. Venusaur would have been a hard opponent to beat as was Venusaurtwo" he thought as he waited for Ash's next move.
"It seems the hero of Kanto is not making any moves. What could his plan be?"
Ash was getting frustrated by Sonic's lack of attack.
"Aren't you going to fight back?"
"Fight back? You're not even fighting forward" Sonic joked though he was confused by Ash's question. Ash really hadn't yet made any actual actions against Blastoise, or at least any actions that required a counterattack or a defense.
Ash clenched his fist.
"Bublasaur use solarbeam!"
Bublasaur charged its move slowly. Without sunny day active the move was taking a lot more to charge. Sonic resisted the urge to yawn.
Finally the attack was charged and fired.
"Protect" Sonic said calmly.
Blastoise shielded itself from the solarbeam which dissipated. Ash was shocked at the ineffectiveness of their strongest grass move.
"Well those are all 4 of your moves. I'm sorry Ash but this is checkmate for bulbasaur".
"Don't count us out just yet!" Ash retorted.
"I'm not counting you out. You ARE out. Escort them out blastoise! Ice beam!"
Blastoise fired its move with precision and speed catching Bulbasaur off guard and totally unprepared. Bulbasaur was hit head on by the ice move and fainted instantly.
"Bulbasaur no!" Ash exclaimed.
"Bulbasaur is unable to battle. Blastoise is the winner" the referee announced as the crowd cheered for Sonic.
Ash recalled bulbasaur.
"You will pay for this Sonic!"
"What are you waiting for then? I'm waiting".
"Go Muk!"
Muk came out as its stench covered up the field and annoyed Blastoise. Sonic had read about muk and its pre-evolution grimer stinking but didn't expect it to be this bad.
"Finally now that might be an interesting battle".
"Muk! Body slam!"
Muk started crawling towards Blastoise and then suddenly jumped, catching Sonic off guard as he didn't expect a living mass of goo to be able to jump.
Muk landed on Blastoise and started fully engulfing it.
"Valiant effort Ash but I'm afraid it won't cut it! Rapid spin!"
Blastoise once again started spinning shaking Muk off.
"Hydro pump!" Sonic ordered.
Blastoise aimed at Muk but then electricity crawled all over its body.
"Damnit! Body slam can paralyze! You sure are lucky!"
"It's skill not luck! Use sludge bomb!"
Muk unleashed a barrage of sludge balls at Blastoise. Unable to defend Blastoise toppled.
"Blastoise is unable to battle, Muk is the winner".
Sonic recalled it with a smile.
"Amazing work Blastoise. Leave the rest to us" he said turning back to Ash who was rubbing his nose with a smile of triumph.
"Still think we are weak?"
"I never thought you to be weak" Sonic admitted "I just believe you're holding yourself back from your true potential".
"Oh yeah?! Well then bring out your next pokemon and I'll show you what our potential is!"
"As you wish! Nidoking give me a hand!"
Nidoking appeared and sparkled. The crowd erupted in cheers and exclamations of surprise and shock at the hero of Kanto owning a shiny pokemon.
"Let's see you take this on! Nidoking! Megahorn!"
"Body slam!"
Muk once again jumped the same way onto nidoking which stabbed its horn into Muk. The attack barely affected Muk not only cause of its resistance to bug but its high defense and liquid body which also played a role in absorbing the attack. Unlike with Blastoise though, Nidoking's poison typing allowed it to better withstand the poison type Muk on it.
"Nidoking shake it off and use earthquake!"
Nidoking started hitting the ground causing waves of earthquake to damage Muk breaking its focus. Easily shaking it off afterwards it used earthquake to its fullest potential. Muk however was very defensive and withstood the attack.
"Muk use poison gas!"
Sonic thought he misheard. Ash was using poison gas against a pokemon that could not be poisoned.
The move was nullified the moment it touched Nidoking.
"Ash forgot poison types are immune to poison gas" Brock commented from his seat where he, Misty, Ash's mom and professor oak were sitting.
Sonic seized the opening.
"Earthquake!"
This time there was no survival for Muk. The ground move knocked it out putting Sonic in the lead again.
"Muk is unable to battle. Nidoking's the winner".
"Muk return. Get some rest" Ash said as he looked at Sonic who had his arms crossed at his chest.
"You think you're tough don't you?"
"I'm waiting to be proven wrong about you. You're the one who said you'd prove me wrong".
"Go squirtle!"
Squirtle emerged from its pokeball ready for battle. Sonic seeing it reminded him of the start of his journey when his blastoise was a squirtle.
"So long ago" he thought.
"Squirtle use bubble beam!"
Squirtle unleashed a barrage of bubbles heading right for Nidoking.
"Nidoking protect!"
Nidoking easily shielded itself from the damage.
"Now use earthquake!"
Nidoking struck squirtle with its strongest move as squirtle got back up not ready to quit yet. Sonic was becoming a bit annoyed that despite all their training this Squirtle didn't go down in one hit.
"Hydro pump!"
Squirtle retreated into its shell and started releasing hydro pump from all holes on its shell while spinning. Sonic and nidoking were caught off guard by this and Nidoking was blasted several times getting severely weakened.
Sonic was both impressed and mad at this development. That use of hydro pump was exactly what he expected from Ash, making the best out of his team in such an unexpected way. However he was also mad that Ash could easily have been stronger than himself if he actually grew his team to their full potential.
"Nidoking! Playtime is over!" Sonic declared. He was hoping to use that move only at the finals but Ash needed to learn the hard way.
"Make it rain! Sludge bomb!"
Nidoking unleashed the move it had practiced a lot after Sonic's battle with Agatha. Releasing the sludge balls vertically upward, they started coming down on squirtle like rain. Squirtle tried its best to dodge them but its low agility caused it to get hit and faint. Ash was at a loss for words.
"Squirtle is unable to battle. Nidoking's the winner".
"3 to 5. I don't like your odds Ash" Sonic said seriously.
Ash clenched his fist as the referee declared it was breaktime as 3 of Ash's pokemon had fainted.
As the two trainers took a break Ash reconvened with Misty and Brock while Sonic met with his friends.
"Un-be-lievable!" Jet screamed in awe "you actually managed to replicate elite four Agatha's signature move?!"
"I suppose I did" Sonic smiled proud at himself.
"You got him on the ropes. He's only got Primeape, Charizard and Pikachu left" Tails said looking at the screen of his laptop.
"And your team is kind of full. Best of all you don't even have to send out Nidoking to continue the fight".
"Wasn't planning too. I'll let Moltres sweep him".
His friends looked at him in question.
"You… will?" Tails asked confused.
"My biggest fear was confirmed. He is not serious about his dream yet. Thinks that just because he wants to win he will win. It takes more than that. I did want to beat team rocket but had to train hard and still never really beat Giovanni on my own".
"But you did beat him" Knuckles countered.
"Once by a status condition, once with the help of Mike and with Mewtwo I didn't even beat him. I freed Mewtwo. So technically I have not defeated Giovanni. Point is I trained very hard to survive and face Giovanni. Ash has not. He cannot win this" Sonic said closing his eyes in disappointment.
His friends remained silent.
On the other side of the arena Ash was hitting the wall in anger.
"This guy will beat me?!"
Pikachu tried to get his attention to show him it would be fine. Brock and Misty however were not as optimistic.
"Ash I hate to say this but Sonic has a huge advantage here".
"He actually beat all of the gym leaders and even tamed a legendary pokemon" Misty added.
Ash couldn't accept that he could possibly lose to Sonic.
"Charizard is still up. He will deal with that Moltres. And Pikachu…" he said turning to his partner "you will have the chance to beat that raichu. I promise".
"Pika pi!" Pikachu cried out ready to go back out there.
As the two trainers reentered the arena to continue the battle, Sonic took out the ultra ball Moltres was stored in. Ash saw it and thought it had to be Sonic's Moltres. His hands went towards Charizard's pokeball but his anger for Sonic made him desire to prove him wrong in all ways. Choosing to go with Primeape instead he took out its pokeball.
"Send out your pokemon…. Now!"
"Primeape I choose you!"
"Soar Moltres!"
Primeape hopped onto the field as Moltres soared above the ground and shined like the sun, illuminating the arena. Everyone cheered for the reappearance of the legendary bird.
Sonic took in the picture of Primeape bracing itself to fight Moltres.
"I'll give you one chance Ash. Recall your Primeape and go with something else".
Ash raised his hand to his head and turned his hat backwards.
"Primeape use scratch!"
Primeape jumped towards Moltres really fast landing the attack. Sonic was annoyed that Ash had such a high speed pokemon and had it use scratch instead of an actually powerful move.
"Use flamethrower!"
Moltres released a jet of flames towards Primeape.
"Primeape dodge it then use mega punch!"
Primeape jumped out of the way and winded up its punch as it flew through the air towards Moltres.
"Predictable" Sonic said "air slash!"
Moltres slashed through the air with its wing sending a blade of wind towards Primeape. The fighting type pokemon was hit hard by the move and crashed to the ground but hopped back up albeit somewhat roughed up.
"Primeape use scratch again!"
Primeape jumped towards Moltres again.
"Air slash!"
"Dodge then seismic toss!"
Primeape was able to dodge the attack mid-air and grabbed onto Moltres' neck pulling it downwards into a collision course with the ground.
"It'll take more than that Ash! Moltres use flamethrower to soften the impact!"
Moltres sent a jet of flames towards the ground. The intensity of the flames was so great it was able to stop its fall. Primeape's hands slipped and fell off Moltres, crashing to the ground in a scary fashion. Once the dust settled Primeape had fainted as Moltres let out a victorious cry.
"Primeape is unable to battle. Moltres wins!"
Ash recalled his Primeape apologizing for their defeat and ensuring they would avenge it.
"You shouldn't make promises you can't keep Ash. And to think I even gave a chance to come at me with a better matchup" Sonic said with his arms crossed at his chest.
"The battle's not over yet!"
"2 of your pokemon against 5 of mine. What exactly are your odds here? And even if you can bring down Moltres… you just won't beat raichu".
"That one especially I will beat! Pikachu has some unfinished business!"
"Pika pika!"
"Rai!" Raichu answered to Pikachu's challenge from Sonic's side of the arena.
"Contestant Ketchum send out your next pokemon" the referee instructed.
"Charizard I choose you!"
Charizard emerged and roared, taking to the skies as Moltres followed suit. As the two fire and flying types stared each other down while flying, Sonic felt a little bit of excitement. Charizard had sweeped Ritchie's team.
"Finally. A worthy opponent. Let's make this battle worthy of Moltres' legend status!"
"Charizard flamethrower!"
"Moltres show them a real flamethrower!"
The flamethrowers collided and both pokemon proved to be a match for the other as the attacks resulted in a stalemate.
"Impressive. Alright then Moltres! Air slash!"
"Charizard dodge it!"
Charizard dodged the air blades slowly approaching Moltres.
"Now use seismic toss!"
Sonic wasn't expecting this move which resulted in Charizard grabbing Moltres and diving with it. Right before hitting the ground, Charizard let go causing Moltres to crash down hard.
"Moltres!" Sonic called out to it in fear it had fainted.
"Ha! Told you I would beat it!"
Moltres heard that statement and fought to stand up, vowing to take Charizard down with it. It looked back at Sonic in determination.
"Got it" Sonic thought "Moltres use sunny day!"
Moltres harnessed the sun, showering the arena in sunlight.
"Empowering Charizard? Don't mind if I do! Charizard fire spin!"
Moltres was trapped momentarily in the fire spin. It however broke free the next moment. Sonic decided it was time to play sneaky.
"Moltres solarbeam!"
"Solarbeam?" Brock said confused from the stands "why is he using solarbeam?"
"Maybe the pressure is getting to him?" Delia guessed.
"No Sonic isn't the type of trainer to make such a mistake" Misty shut Delia down wondering what Sonic was aiming for.
On the stands as well, Sonic's friends were also wondering what he was thinking.
"Charizard resists grass moves 4 times. Solarbeam will barely affect it" Tails said analyzing the move and the types.
"What are you thinking bro?" Jet thought.
Moltres gathered the sunlight and immediately fired the solarbeam. Charizard was blinded by the sunlight and closed its eyes in response. The attack barely tickled it.
When the solarbeam stopped and everyone looked back at the arena Moltres was gone.
"Where did it go?" Ash asked confused.
"Now Moltres! Air slash!"
Ash and Charizard both looked up and saw Moltres sending a powerful blade of wind towards Charizard. The move found its mark and Charizard roared in pain as it had the wind knocked out of it. Before it could go down however, it used seismic toss again on its own, grabbing Moltres by the throat and holding on as hard as it could as they fell straight down.
The two fire and flying types crash landed with a thud that shook the entire arena raising a cloud of dust all over it. Ash and Sonic both covered their mouths and nose.
When the dust settled the referee looked at the two pokemon having simultaneously fainted.
"Charizard and Moltres are both unable to battle. The result is a draw".
Ash's face turned numb. Only Pikachu remained. And he had managed to beat only 2 of Sonic's pokemon.
"Pikachu it's all up to you now" he said.
"Pika pika! Pikachu!" it cried out immediately rushing into the field.
Sonic and raichu both knew what that meant.
"The time has come buddy. All the frustration you've been suppressing. Time to release it".
"Rai!" Raichu cried out in anticipation and dashed inside the arena as well as the two electric types readied themselves.
"Continue the battle… now!"
"Pikachu use quick attack!"
"Raichu use quick attack as well!"
Both mouse pokemon rushed towards each other, colliding head on. Pikachu was knocked back as raichu's bigger body compared to Pikachu allowed it to maintain its momentum and overpower its opponent.
"Use agility!"
Pikachu started racing around raichu trying once again to confuse it.
"You used that strategy once it didn't work. Raichu use iron tail on the ground!"
Raichu jumped and prepared to crack the ground again with its iron tail.
"Now Pikachu! THUNDER!"
Pikachu stopped running and released its move, putting all of its desire to beat raichu on that attack. Raichu was unprepared for this and the attack resulted in a critical hit.
A huge bolt of lightning fell from the sky on raichu. Sonic felt the electricity course through him as well as raichu. It didn't affect him as much as it did raichu but couldn't explain why he could feel his partner's pain.
Raichu however stood sturdy against the thunder and once the attack was over it cried out in defiance.
"How is this possible? That was our strongest attack".
"It will take a lot more than that to bring down my Raichu Ash. I told you! My raichu unlike any other raichu you have faced before!"
"This doesn't make any sense" Ash fired back "what is so special about you two anyway?"
Sonic's eyes momentarily met Tails as these two were the only ones who really knew raichu's secret. Sonic decided at that very moment revealing it wasn't that big of a deal anymore.
"My raichu is twice as strong as others of its kind! Its electricity output is twice that of other raichus. I am speaking literally. You've never faced a raichu like mine".
Ash took it all in but couldn't believe it. Why was Sonic's raichu so strong? Could Pikachu also grow that strong if it evolved?
"So you're saying you gave up your Pikachu's pride in return for power?"
Sonic sighed. The crowd around them had begun whispering at the revelations as well as the discussion the two trainers were having instead of battling. Sonic didn't care though. For him it was just the two of them.
"I've already explained my point of view Ash" he said calmly "my raichu desired to become raichu. I didn't force it too".
"What about your other pokemon? Did you force them?"
Sonic recalled all of his pokemon's evolutions. Blastoise evolved twice during their encounters with Moltres. Nidoking evolved of its own choice to be like its teammates. Alakazam's evolution was kind of giving a point to Ash. But back they were way different. Their aim was to take down team rocket. So they had to grow strong. Even if it meant shedding their former selves.
"No I did not. We were shaped as a team through our experiences. But I can tell you this. I would never force my pokemon to evolve... but that doesn't mean I wouldn't try to convince them to evolve. I believe in growth Ash. Unless we change and grow our potential will always have a threshold. And I refuse to not cross this threshold out of attachment to my current self".
"Throwing away yourself in pursuit of victory is no victory at all! You say that unless I evolve Pikachu I will never win! Well here is my point of view for you! Unless me and Pikachu earn this victory with our own worth then I'd rather lose! I will never become like you!"
Sonic closed his eyes and sighed in disappointment.
"Then prepare to lose. Last time I went easy on you. Now I will break your Pikachu and its pride!"
"Pikachu use thunderbolt!"
"Raichu! Brick break!"
Pikachu discharged its electricity while raichu jumped towards it winding up its paw. The electric attack barely tickled it as this time it was prepared for it. Bringing down the brick break hard, Pikachu was knocked down. It struggled but got back up crying out its name defiantly.
For a moment Sonic saw in Ash's Pikachu a glimpse of his raichu from back when it was a Pikachu. Now he believed his feeling of Ash having unlimited potential even more. He had felt it back in Celadon and now it was unmistakable.
"If only he didn't inhibit himself" Sonic thought "raichu thunder punch!"
Raichu charged but Pikachu dodged the attack and blasted raichu with another thunderbolt. Raichu once again was unfazed though Sonic did feel another small electric current cross through his body.
"Are we… connected?" he wondered in his thoughts, also recalling the time at silph co when both himself and raichu were engulfed in a bolt of lightning that somehow rejuvenated them.
Pikachu tried to use quick attack on raichu but Sonic wasn't having it anymore.
"Raichu pin it down with iron tail!"
Raichu used its tail and Pikachu was pinned down between the ground and the tail. It struggled trying to get out.
"Submit now Ash. It's over".
Ash saw Pikachu struggling to escape the predicament it found itself in.
"Pikachu! Use thunder!"
Pikachu charged its electricity ready to drop the lightning on itself and raichu.
"Not this time! Raichu! Dodge!"
Raichu immediately let go of Pikachu and jumped to the side. The bolt of lightning came crushing down on Pikachu.
Sonic observed Pikachu get engulfed in its own move wondering if it would still be standing afterwards.
The thunder stopped but Pikachu was still standing albeit it was clear a gust of wind would knock it out.
"Last chance Ash. It's over. Recall you Pikachu otherwise we will force it out".
Ash was torn. Pikachu wanted to continue and he desired nothing more than to prove Sonic wrong and beat him. But Pikachu had taken too much damage. As much as he hated to admit it, Sonic's raichu really was far more powerful than surge's. Than any raichu they had seen. Sonic and his raichu were the real deal. There was a reason they had earned the title of hero of Kanto as a team even though only Sonic was called that.
Ash finally relenting he walked up to Pikachu and picked it up as it let itself collapse.
"You did great Pikachu. I'm sorry we were not enough".
Sonic ordered his raichu to return as he was crowned victor of the round. Returning to his friends they all wondered if he had gone a bit too far.
"Maybe I did maybe I did not. But Ash had to realize his dream is not something he can achieve just because he wants to. He needs to put in the work for it. Maybe I'm being absolute when I say he can only win if he evolves Pikachu. But the fact that he didn't train enough for this tournament is undeniable" Sonic stated adamantly.
"Were you really going to strike Pikachu out of the arena if Ash didn't surrender?" Tails asked him.
"No. Pikachu would topple regardless. And also I knew Ash would surrender. He might be a bit of a moron but he has a good and brave heart. He values his pokemon and I know he wouldn't risk their health over a victory".
"How do you know?" Jet asked his brother confused.
Sonic remained silent. He knew because their adventure on New Island. But he couldn't reveal it to them. Not yet at least.
"I just know".
They looked at each other and decided not to question it further. The 4 of them them got back to witnessing the battles as they patiently waited for their friend's next fight.