It's been two months since I've posted a chapter of this, so here you go. Chapter five at last!
Chapter 5: The Party
Friday, August 29th, 6 PM.
Red, Blue, and Leaf approached the address that Ash had given Red. "So…what are we looking for?" Blue questioned. Red shrugged. "I don't know," he said. "Ash didn't tell me. But knowing him, we're meant to go into that old subway station there."
Blue nodded, noting the rather derelict staircase going downwards. Next to it was a faded sign reading "Vermilion Subway Transport: East Station."
At the bottom of the staircase was a large chain link fence gate. The walls of the staircase and the subway building itself were covered in graffiti, and the whole place generally had an air of 'trouble' around it.
"Yeah….I don't know about that," Leaf said, pulling at the collar of her t-shirt. "Going down there seems like trouble."
Red sighed. "Like I said, Ash's middle name is trouble," he said. "I second that," Blue said. "This could very easily get us all into a lot of trouble. But possibly a fun kind of trouble."
Leaf rolled her eyes, preparing an equally snarky reply. Only to immediately freeze when she saw two more individuals approach: Ash and Serena. Red recognized them on the spot, approaching. "You sure took your time," he said.
Ash chuckled. "I had stuff to take care of," he replied. "I thought you said that your friends would be here?" Red asked. "Where are they?"
"They'll be here," Ash said. "Well, all of them except Dawn."
Red's eyes narrowed. "Why's that?" he asked. "Because I'm right here," Dawn said, stepping out from behind Serena. "Ah," Red said. "I'm guessing that her parents didn't want her to come?"
"Right you are," Ash said. "Took some sneaking in to get her out. And then a whole lot of fast talking to pull it off."
Red nodded again. "You'll have to tell me about it later," he said. Ash laughed, thinking back to the excuses that he used to convince Dawn's family's butler to let them leave with her. "Fortunately it was just her butler," Serena said. "Her parents weren't home."
Red nodded, but quickly realized what she'd just said. "Yeah," Ash said. "She's apparently rich. Rich enough that they moved from Sinnoh to Kanto, into a vacation house the size of Pallet Town itself."
"Huh," Red said, fairly stunned. He took a double take at the blue-haired girl, noting the expensive blouse she wore, which was accompanied by some fancy looking jeans and a pair of equally expensive looking shoes.
"I told her not to dress like that," Serena said. "She's gonna get robbed dressed like that. And she's even got cash on her!"
Red sighed, nearly facepalming. "Dawn, the world's full of rough people," he said, eyeing his brother as he did so. Ash chuckled and looked away, as if to say 'I don't know what you're talking about'.
"What do you mean?" she asked, genuinely curious. Red sighed again, looking her right in the eye, "You should be dressed like Serena," he said. "You're not gonna blend in like that. Those clothes you're wearing alone are probably worth more than my house."
Dawn tilted her head to the side, still seeming confused, so Serena decided to spell it out for her. "Everything about you screams 'rich girl', Dawn," she said. "And some of the people we might run into down here are…less than scrupulous."
Dawn swallowed hard, but didn't say anything. "You're…so very sheltered, aren't you?" Red asked, trying to put it the nicest way he could think of. Dawn shot him a confused glare, not really knowing what to think.
"What Red is trying to say," Ash began, "is that you stick out. You should be dressed like Serena, for example."
Dawn nodded, but failed to see why they were saying this. Sure, Serena's outfit might be more common, but she failed to see what was wrong with hers. Serena's tank top and cutoff jeans, paired with a pair of regular tennis shoes/sneakers was not exactly her style, after all. "Yeah," Red said. "You're kind of broadcasting a big neon sign saying 'look at me, I have a lot of money', and that's not always a good thing."
Dawn finally nodded with something like understanding as Blue joined the conversation. "What are we waiting for?" he asked. "Just waiting on the others to show up," Ash said. "Shouldn't be much longer."
Blue nodded, as did Red. But neither seemed to notice that Leaf was still staring at Serena in disbelief, as if she was shocked that her old best friend was actually standing in front of her. After eight years of absence.
She fumbled for her words, but was unable to come up with a single word. So she stood there in silence, trying to come up with some sort of valuable insight. After several minutes of silence, she finally managed to get some words out.
"Serena…I…it's been so long," she said. Serena raised a hand, her eyes narrowing. "We'll talk some time later," she said. "Don't beat yourself up over what happened, Leaf."
Leaf nodded, and Red placed a hand on her shoulder. "I've got her number. You can call her later if you really need to talk," he said. "Yeah," Serena said. "Ash gave Red my number when he gave him his. We can talk later."
Leaf nodded again, though she seemed fairly apprehensive. "Just drop it for now, Leaf," he said. "Don't get into it here. Trust me, you want to do this in private- like I did with Ash. You know it, inside your head, even if you can't bring yourself to admit it out loud."
Leaf sighed, though she said nothing. Her body language conveyed it all, a begrudging acknowledgement that Red was correct. Red removed his hand from her shoulder, smiling briefly. The entire group remained silent after that, simply standing around waiting for the others to show up.
The rest of Ash's friends arrived not long afterwards, each of them dressed fairly casually, which made Dawn feel substantially overdressed. "I see the point they were trying to make," she thought, feeling a bit embarrassed.
Red seemed to notice this, chuckling to himself as he turned his attention to the group that was now approaching them. At the front of the group were Drew and May, two of the ones he'd met with Dawn on the beach the other day.
Behind them were a short red-haired boy and a dark skinned girl, neither of which Red recognized. With them was a rather chubby boy about their age, who appeared to be looking around with confusion.
"Hi, there, Red!" May said, approaching. "May," Red said evenly, a smile forming on his face. "I see you brought company."
May nodded. "That's right," she said. "You already know Drew, but not the others." Red nodded in return. "I'm guessing they're the rest of your friends?" he asked, looking over the group one last time.
"That's right," May said, as the dark-skinned girl stepped to the front of the group. "This is Shauna. And the other two are our friend Trevor, and his friend Tierno. They're going down into the old subway station with us."
Red nodded, though he flinched at the mention of going into the station. Nonetheless, he hid his reservations and spoke again. "So…Gladion's not with you?" he asked. "Nah," Ash said, preempting whatever response May was considering. "He's actually already here. Had stuff he needed to set up."
Red nodded, though he was still unsure of what they were supposed to be doing, exactly. "You said that you wanted to see my battling skill. I don't see how a party in an abandoned subway station is gonna do that," he said. Ash chuckled. "You'll see," he replied, making his way towards the stairs. "Come on down. We need to get moving. Before everything gets started."
Red nodded again, heading down after him. His friends shared a wary glance and followed. Serena chuckled, heading on down, followed by the rest of her and Ash's friends, who funneled down in a line.
Each stepped through the chain link gate and into the darkness of the subway station….
Once inside, Red took note of their surroundings. The dingy, barely lit subway tunnel seemed to go on forever. "So…does Vermilion City just have a bunch of abandoned subway tunnels around?" Blue asked, half-serious and half-joking.
"Yes, actually," Ash said. "There was, at one time, a massive system across the city. But they shut it down."
"Huh," Blue said, seeming surprised as he glanced around the area again. "Do any of them still get used?" Red asked. "The north and west ones," Ash answered. "The city shut the rest down. Something about them costing too much to maintain."
"Then why keep any of them?" Dawn questioned, noting that Ash had just said that some of them were still in use. "Because there are a lot of rich people in the northern and western parts of the city," Ash said. "They didn't want to lose their transport system, so they fronted the bill for the city to repair them. The rest of the city, not so much."
Dawn nodded in understanding as they continued onwards, eventually coming to a stop on an old train platform. "We've got a working subway car that will take us to where we need to go," Ash said. "We can't just walk there?" Red questioned. "Well, we could," Serena replied, "but that would take us a lot longer."
"What Serena just said," Ash added. "It would take entirely too long for us to walk there, even if we theoretically could."
Red nodded again as said car pulled into the station, and a thin man with scraggly hair and a large mustache stepped out. "Ah, Mr. Ketchum," he greeted, approaching Ash. "Mr. Lowe," Ash replied. The man smiled in return. "I take it that you all are going to the central station?" he asked. "Yeah," Ash said. "The club's there, after all."
Mr. Lowe, as Ash had called him, nodded yet again. "I'll take you there, then," he said. "And once we get there, you can get ready for the festivities."
Ash nodded. "Yeah," he said. "We're ready if you are."
Mr. Lowe nodded in return, gesturing for the group to board the subway car. "We can leave right away," he said. Ash smiled his way, and then stepped aboard. Serena followed him, nodding slightly. Mr. Lowe returned the nod and beckoned for the others to make their way aboard. Red moved towards the car first, following Serena inside. May and Shauna followed, stepping aboard.
Last, but not least, were Trevor and Tierno, who stepped onto the car with something like apprehension, not entirely sure if the car was safe. Once they were safely aboard, Mr. Lowe stepped on himself and closed the door.
"We're departing for the Vermilion Battle Club," he said. "Welcome to UnderTransit, the official transportation partner of the Underground League."
The assembled group seemed to nod, accepting the explanation. Mr. Lowe smiled and stepped into the driver's compartment, starting the car up. "We're heading out of the station," he said, over the intercom. "This trip will take no longer than thirty minutes. Please take a seat, and do not move whilst the car is in motion."
The teenagers within immediately did so, each taking a seat. The inside of the car was remarkably well preserved for how beat up the outside looked, and felt substantially stable. "So…where are we going?" Shauna questioned. "The Underground League's Vermilion Battle Club," Ash said. Shauna nodded as Red glared right at Ash. "The Underground League is massively illegal, Ash," he said. "Only if you get caught," Ash replied. "And I don't intend to get caught."
Red's eyes narrowed again. "That's not good enough," he said, his tone sounding more than a little annoyed. Ash chuckled, seeming to find Red's seriousness and exasperation funny. "I've never been caught down here," he said. "Yeah," Red said, rolling his eyes, "you haven't." Ash laughed again. "Relax. The police and the Indigo League have bigger problems to deal with than shutting this place down," he said. "How's that?" Red asked.
"Team Rocket, for one," Ash said. Red immediately bit his tongue, holding back a barb. "Says the active member of Team Rocket!" he thought, but chose not to verbalize. Best not to ruin Ash's friends' relationships with him. "You've got a point," he said.
"Team Rocket?" Dawn questioned, seeming a bit confused. "A group of criminals that are notorious for a lot of nasty things," Drew supplied. "They mostly operate in Kanto and Johto, though there are reports of them in Hoenn and Sinnoh."
Dawn nodded as Ash spoke again. "Yeah. They're really, really bad news. Stay away from them," he said. Red mentally rolled his eyes. "You know all about them, don't you, Ash?" he thought. "You Rocket agent, you…"
"So…what do they look like?" she asked. "You know, so I can avoid them if I ever see them."
Red immediately preempted Ash's response. "Black uniforms. Big red 'R' on their chest. Some of them wear masks," he said. "They're usually wearing some kind gloves, boots, and black hats."
"Yeah," Ash said. "They look like that. Stay away from them if you value your life, Dawn." The blue haired girl swallowed hard, nodding. "Their leader is a complete mystery," Drew said. "The League and the police alike can't figure out who he is."
"That's ominous," Shauna said. "Yeah," Drew replied. Both Ash and Red had to hold their tongues, both thinking the same thing. They shared a glance, and then a nod, collectively deciding to change the subject. "So…what are we doing down here?" Blue asked, joining the conversation. Ash smiled. "Glad you asked," he said. "We're gonna be doing some battling. The ones of us that are Trainers, that is."
The group seemed to nod, though Shauna soon spoke up on behalf of herself, Trevor, and Tierno, none of whom had a Pokemon. "So…what are the rest of us gonna do?" she asked. "We can hang out," Ash said. "I've got us a really great spot to watch, so we'll just enjoy hanging out with each other whilst we're not battling."
Shauna nodded as Red spoke once more. "So…that's why you wanted me to come down here…" he said. "That's right," Ash said. "It'll be a good way for me to gauge your strength, and there are a lot of punks down here that need to be knocked down a few pegs."
Red chuckled. "Do we bet money on the matches?" he asked. "Battlers don't," Ash replied. "But spectators can. I'll put some down on you, and we can split the winnings."
Red chuckled again. "That's awfully brave of you," he said. Ash smiled. "If you really bet May and Dawn as easily as Gladion said, then you'll do fine. Most of the people down here are not very good. They just think they are."
Red smiled confidently. "In that case, let me wipe the floor with them," he said. "That's the spirit, Red," Ash responded. "Kick their asses."
Red nodded as Blue interjected again. "Save some for me, Red," he said. "I need to battle someone that's not you, for once."
"Right. Just don't embarrass yourself," Red replied. Blue rolled his eyes, chuckling slightly as he did so. "Do you know how to properly compliment someone?" he asked, sarcastically. "You specifically? No," Red said.
Blue sighed as Red laughed. "But seriously," Red said, "you'll do good, I think." Blue nodded. "Thanks, Red," he said. Red nodded again, though he remained silent. The rest of the ride went like that- not a single one of them spoke as the subway car continued on its way.
Eventually, the car came to a stop at another platform. Mr. Lowe's voice crackled over the intercom once again. "We have arrived," he said. "The doors will now open, and you may depart at the Vermilion Battle Club platform."
"Well, I guess this is it," Red said, standing up and stretching. "That's right," Ash said, getting to his feet. "Let's go."
Red nodded as Ash stepped out through the now open door. He followed his brother out onto the platform, taking a look at their destination. The station they'd gotten off at looked just as beaten up as the one they'd entered through.
There was graffiti on the walls in some places, the tiles on the floors were cracked and broken, and most of the lights were out, except for a few near a door on the left side. Water dripped from a corner of the ceiling, underscoring just how terribly under-maintained and obviously abandoned this place was.
Leaf followed them out next, taking in their surroundings. "This place looks like somewhere you'd get robbed at knifepoint," she said. "I agree," Red said. "This place gives me an uncomfortable feeling."
Leaf nodded, stepping up beside him. Her response was soon preempted by Ash, who seemed to be laughing at them. "Don't be dramatic," Ash said. "We're perfectly fine down here. We'd get robbed at gunpoint."
Leaf's and Red's expressions immediately jumped to the highest level of alarm that they could display as Ash laughed maniacally. "You should have seen your faces…" he wheezed, barely able to speak over his laughing fit.
Leaf rolled her eyes, and Red narrowed his. "That's not funny," he said. Ash finally regained his composure as Blue and Serena approached. "I'm sorry, but it was," he said. "It was not," Red said. "And if it'd been anyone else telling that joke, we'd be fighting right about now."
"I'm sorry? What are we discussing?" Blue asked, confused. "Ash's awful joke," Red said. "So bad that it wasn't even funny."
Blue seemed even more mystified than before, but was unable to get his words out before Serena admonished her boyfriend. "Ash, you need to stop. Those jokes aren't doing you any favors," she said.
Ash sighed, rolling his eyes. "Yes, ma'am," he said, sarcastically. Serena rolled her eyes in return, stepping up to the front of the group as the others disembarked the subway car. "Alright," Serena began, pointing to the left, "we're heading through that door."
The others nodded, though Red felt the need to raise his hand. "Yes?" Serena asked, acknowledging him. "What's on the other side of that door?" Red asked in return, still wary of the whole situation. His hand clutched Pikachu's Poke Ball, which was currently sitting inside of his jacket pocket, fully miniaturized. "Our destination," Serena replied. "We'll be fine," she said. "Me and Ash have our whole teams on us."
Red sighed and nodded, removing his hand from Pikachu's ball, begrudgingly pulling his hand back out of his jacket. It dropped to his side as soon as he'd finished zipping his jacket back up. "Let's go, then," he said. Serena nodded, gesturing to the group to move on. Red found himself just now noticing the Trainer's belt that Serena was wearing. Six Poke Balls hung from it, each marked with a stylized flame drawing.
"When…did…she…?" Red thought, mystified.
He'd not noticed it before- the same thing with Ash. His brother was suddenly wearing one as well, six Poke Balls hanging from his waist- each marked with a different symbol, seemingly denoting the type of each. Red elected not to comment on it, deciding that Ash must have been carrying them in the backpack that he was wearing. But that still begged the question of when he got them out. They weren't wearing them when they entered the station. And they weren't wearing them when they got onto the subway car.
It couldn't have been on the subway car- it was too well lit to hide such a thing there. And then, they'd all been talking as soon as they got off of the car, stepping onto the mostly poorly lit platform. It made no sense, and Red couldn't really make heads or tails of it. So he decided not dwell on it, snapping back to reality just in time to move on with the group. "Are you back with us?" Leaf whispered. "Yeah," Red whispered back. "What was that?" Leaf questioned, her voice low.
"I was trying to figure out just when Ash and Serena put on those Trainer belts…." Red replied, his voice equally quiet. "Now that you mention it…" Leaf whispered. "It makes no sense?" Red posited, preempting Leaf's reply. "Yeah, that," Leaf murmured. Red nodded, though no specter of a word exited his lips. Leaf took the hint, and both stopped their whispering conversation, heading through the door with the others.
To Red's surprise, when they stepped through the door, the area was entirely pristine! Not a single part of the battle club itself looked run down or abandoned. Quite the opposite, actually- it was kept up, and mostly intact.
Not a single tile was cracked, the lights were all on, and nothing was out of place. Cameras and screens lined the walls, displaying the various matches that were going on at the moment. "This place is better looking than I'd expected," Red said. Ash nodded. "This part is actually actively maintained," he said. "How?" Shauna asked. "Considering that the rest of this place looks like it's been abandoned for a long, long time."
"The Underground League has a lot of rich backers that want to see these matches for their own entertainment," Serena explained. "They maintain the Underground League's various clubs with their wealth and connections."
"Okay, then," Shauna said. "But why not watch Indigo League matches, then?"
"That's a good question," Serena replied. "It's because most of them don't want to watch official matches, for whatever reason." Shauna nodded, accepting the answer. "But why wouldn't they?" Blue asked, seemingly slightly suspicious. "I don't know," Serena said. "It's best not to dwell on it."
Blue nodded, though his suspicion did not seem entirely quelled. Ash kept him from asking more questions, though, as he soon spoke up. "Let's get moving," Ash said, over the rather loud music that was playing in the background.
The others nodded, following Ash through the area. They finally arrived at the (thankfully soundproofed) ringside announcer's booth, which overlooked an admittedly rather impressive battlefield. "So…you finally made it," Gladion said, looking right at his friends as he did so. Ash nodded. "That's right," he said. "We made it. And I need to get everyone with a Pokemon registered for the tournament."
"Right," Gladion said. He reached for a knob on his control panel, rotating it to the left a good ways. "There," he said. "I've turned the music down for you."
"Thanks," Ash said. "We're gonna go and get you guys registered to participate in tonight's tournament. Who wants to battle?"
"I will," Red said, a confident smile appearing on his face. Ash nodded. "I figured. Who's next?" he asked. Leaf and Blue immediately raised their hands. "Count me in," Blue said. "What he just said," Leaf added. Ash nodded, turning to the group once again. "Alright. Anyone else?" he asked. "Dawn? May? Drew?"
"I'm good," Drew said. "Me and Roselia are more into Contests." Ash nodded again, turning to May and Dawn. "How about you two?" he asked. "I'll do it," May said. "It could be fun." "Alright," Ash said. "How about you, Dawn?" he asked. "I think…that I'll participate," she said, even if she did seem a bit apprehensive. "Alright then," Ash replied. "The rest will stay here with Gladion and watch."
The others nodded as Ash moved towards the door. "Me and Serena are already registered with the Underground League, so we can participate without doing anything extra. But the rest of you will have to go and register yourselves."
"What does this entail?" Red asked. "Just come up with an alias for yourself. Like a ring name, essentially. And tell them which Pokemon you're entering with," Ash said. "That's all you have to do."
Red nodded, his curiosity sated. "Then let's go and get this done," he said. "Right," Ash replied. "Come on. I'll take you guys to the registration area. It's not too far from here."
After a relatively short wait (and pushing their way through a large crowd), Ash and Serena led Red and the others to the registration desk. Behind it sat a blue haired young man wearing a suit and bowtie. "Ah," he said, as Ash approached. "You're back, Ash."
Ash nodded. "That's right," he said. "I need to get the others here registered for the tournament, Joe."
The newly-identified Joe nodded. "Right, then. Who's up first?" he asked. Red stepped forward, approaching. "I am," he said. "Alright," Joe replied. "I'm gonna need your name, your Pokemon, and your alias."
"My name's Red Ketchum, and my partner is Pikachu," Red said. "I want my alias to be 'Quest', I think."
Joe nodded, inputting that information into his computer. "Right," he said. "You're ready. Who's next?"
"That'd be me," Leaf said, moving up to the desk. "Leaf Green is the name. My partner is Nidoran, and you can put my alias down as Stinger."
Joe nodded, inputting that information into his computer as Leaf stepped back and allowed Blue to replace her as the next in line. "I'll go next," Blue said. Joe nodded again, looking up from the computer. "Alright," he said. "You can start whenever."
Blue thought long and hard, stroking his chin as he thought of a good alias. "The name's Blue Oak," he said. "My partner is Eevee, and I'd like to go by the alias 'Journey'."
Red shot his friend an annoyed look for ripping off his own ring name/alias as Joe inputted that information into his system, though Blue didn't seem to care. A smug smile remained firmly plastered across his face. He stuck his tongue out at Red in a childish display of mockery as he stepped aside to let May approach Joe's registration desk. "Alright…" Joe said, finishing up with Blue's chosen information. "I can take the next person now."
May nodded, a smile forming on her face. "The name's May Maple," she said. "And my partner is Charmander." Joe nodded. "And your alias? Everyone needs one to battle down here," he said. May nodded, seeming to be deep in thought. After a few seconds, she spoke once more. "My alias should be…Flare!" she decided, on a whim. Joe nodded again, inputting that last bit of information. "Right," he said. "You're ready. Is there anyone else that wants to register?"
May nodded, moving a couple steps to the side. "Our friend Dawn, here," she said. Joe nodded as Dawn approached the desk, seeming somewhat nervous. "I'm not sure…" she said. "I'm not really a battler…"
"Come on," May said. "It'll be fun. And you battled on the beach the other day."
Dawn still seemed nervous, despite May's attempts to reassure her. "That was different," she said. "Different how?" May questioned. Dawn was silent, unable to reply. May's logic was entirely sound. "Fine…" Dawn said, at last. "I'll participate, then." May nodded, smiling. "Alright," she said. "Then give him your information so you can register."
Dawn nodded in return and turned to Joe. "The name's Dawn Berlitz," she said. "And my partner is Piplup."
Joe nodded, quickly inputting that information. "And your alias?" he asked, his tone becoming inquisitive. Dawn bit her lip, not sure of what she wanted to give as her alias. And then May spoke up. "She'll be 'Contest'!" she said. "Since that's her interest!"
Joe nodded again, inputting that information as Dawn shot May a look that said 'Really? That's the bet you could come up with?' May just shrugged it off, going right back to what she'd been doing before. "Well," Joe said, "everyone's registered. The tournament is due to start soon, so you'd best get ready." Ash nodded. "We will," he said. "Come on, guys."
Joe nodded as the group moved to leave. "Good luck. And just so you know, this isn't even tonight's main event!" he said. Ash turned back towards him, curiosity piqued. "Oh? Gladion didn't say anything about that," he replied.
"Of course he didn't," Joe said. "Two of the Underground League's Top Ten will be here tonight. They're battling."
"Who?" Ash asked, his eyes narrowing. "None of the Royal Five, unfortunately," Joe said. "Apart from you and Gladion, that is."
Ash nodded, gesturing for Joe to continue. "We've got number eight Voldon. He's up against number six Dusty," the blue-haired guy said. "That's good…." Ash said. "I want to size up their capabilities…"
"Yeah, well, you'll get that chance," Joe said. "They've both gotten better since you thrashed them on your way up the ranks."
"They better have," Ash said, a smirk crossing his face. "Otherwise it'd be a real boring match." Joe smiled. "It'll be a good one," he said. "For sure," Ash replied. "We'd better get going." Joe nodded again. "Right. See you around, Ash."
The group returned to Gladion's booth just as the night's festivities began kicking off. The blonde Alolan was busy addressing the whole of the club, wearing a headset and talking into a microphone.
"Welcome to the Vermilion Battle Club!" he said, enthusiastically. "I'm your host, Gladion, of the Royal Five!"
The various crowds across the club seemed to stop what they were doing and pay attention as he continued. Ash smiled, moving towards the window of the booth, looking out over the edge of the balcony.
"Tonight's festivities will kick off with an open battle tournament!" Gladion said. "And then, we'll move on to the main event!"
The assembled crowd again cheered, and Gladion smiled. "And for said main event, we've got two Top Ten Underground League Trainers!" he said, pressing a few buttons on his control panel.
The massive screen that hung above the main battlefield area lit up, displaying the information about said main event. "The first of those two Trainers is Dusty, the number six Trainer in the whole circuit!"
The crowd roared as a picture of a slender man wearing a Lucario themed outfit appeared on the screen. "And his opponent? None other than Voldon, the number eight Trainer in the whole circuit!"
The crowd roared again as the muscular man's portrait appeared opposite Dusty's. His Electivire themed get up seemed ridiculous, but he was formidable. You didn't get to number eight in the whole Underground League by being weak, after all.
"The tournament will commence soon! And once it's over, we'll get started on that main event!" Gladion said. "And that's not all! The tournament is due to kick off with a rocking exhibition match!"
The crowds hollered in anticipation, even before Gladion had revealed just who would be battling in this exhibition. Gladion smiled at that, impressed by the crowd's fervor. "As for said exhibition match," Gladion said, changing the display on the screen, "we've got two more extremely talented Trainers! Ash 'Shadow' Ketchum, the number five ranked Trainer in the whole league is up against Serena 'Inferno' Gabena, the seventh ranked Trainer in the circuit!"
The crowds howled once again as Gladion smiled, watching it all from his booth. Ash himself smiled, glancing at Serena. His girlfriend returned the smile, anticipating the brawl to come with equal measure. Gladion removed his headset and leaned away from the microphone. "You guys should go on down. The match is supposed to start in ten minutes," he said.
Ash and Serena both nodded, preparing themselves for battle. "We'll give 'em a show," Ash said. Gladion nodded. "Try not to wreck the ring before we get done with the tournament and the main event," he replied. Ash smiled, glancing at Serena. "No promises," he said. Gladion chuckled. "Don't do anything stupid," he responded. Ash laughed again. "I can't. You've got all of the stupid here with you."
Gladion laughed out loud. "You're a real wise guy," he said. "Now get on down there. The two of you are my opening act."
Ash nodded, holding his hand out to Serena. "Ready?" he asked. The Kalosian girl nodded, taking his hand. "Yeah," she said. "Let's go."
Ash smiled again, and he and Serena headed for the door. Red's eyes narrowed as he watched them go, wondering just what they were going to do. Ash wasn't exactly subtle, and he was sure that Serena wasn't either. He was expecting Greninja and Delphox to make an appearance, based on comments that Gladion had made to him before, but that wasn't certain. They could (and probably would) pull out anything. It was a near certainty, and Red was confident in it.
Vermilion Club Battlefield, a short time later…
Ash and Serena stood in their respective tunnels, preparing to step out onto the field. Both were ready to brawl, considering that the match was a chance to cut loose. And it was also going to be broadcast on the UnderNet for a lot of people to see, adding extra incentive.
But their titanic full power clash would have to come later: they weren't the main event, and didn't want to upstage it. So they were intentionally limiting themselves, wielding some of their weaker Pokemon.
"Are you ready, folks?!" Gladion asked, his voice echoing throughout the stadium's speakers. The spectators all roared with anticipation, and Gladion smiled. "Then let's get on with the match!" he said, to the crowd's pleasure.
Ash and Serena stepped out into the light, taking their places at the ends of the field. Both smirked- this was the main field of the club, not the dinky practice field they'd battled on the last time they were here.
No, this was Vermilion Club's pride and joy.
The main field, comparable to an Indigo League Gym. The main tournament field used to determine the strongest Trainers in the Underground League was underneath Saffron City, but Vermilion Club was one of the larger ones. So, as such, they had a nice field. And Ash was going to do his best to not wreck it. He only hoped that Serena would do the same. He drew his Gabite's Poke Ball, preparing himself to battle. Simultaneously, Serena drew one of her own. Ash smiled in anticipation, and Serena did the same, raising her ball. He did the same, preparing himself.
Serena stood on her end of the field, watching Ash. He drew a Poke Ball with a smile, and Serena returned it. She drew Charmeleon's Poke Ball, hoping that Ash would limit himself so they wouldn't wreck the field.
Ash smiled in anticipation of the coming battle- something Serena did as well. She raised her Poke Ball, and Ash mirrored her. The battle was about to begin.
Ash and Serena readied their Poke Balls simultaneously. Both Trainers were hotly anticipating the battle, tapping the release on their Poke Balls near- simultaneously. "You're up, Gabite!" Ash shouted, deploying his partner. "I choose you, Charmeleon!" Serena shouted, sending her partner onto the field. The Underground League ref took his place on the field, eyes narrowing. Though it wasn't much like him to care, though.
The officials at Vermilion Club seemed to be fairly lax on the rules, so long as you didn't actually kill your opponent's Pokemon outright. Which tended to make them savage, brutal affairs. It wasn't like Ash and Serena's battle would be, but matches here tended to be.
The ref signaled for the match to begin as the screen above the field began displaying a timer. Five minutes. Ash and Serena had five minutes to pull off this exhibition. Seizing the initiative, Ash took the first move. "Gabite, Dragon Pulse!"
Ash's Dragon- type complied, drawing up his draconic energy. His mouth opened wide as the purple energy built up. "Flamethrower! Disrupt them!" Serena ordered, not willing to take a hit that she didn't have to.
Both moves collided with a boom, obscuring the field with smoke. Neither Trainer issued a single command for several seconds, waiting for the smoke to clear. Once it had, though, it was on. "Dragon Rage!" Ash ordered. Gabite quickly complied, easily forming the weaker Dragon- type move. Charmeleon, for his part, refused to stand still and take the hit, leaping aside just in time to dodge the attack.
A scorch mark was left behind on the field as Gabite began charging another Dragon Rage. Ash's eyes narrowed as Charmleon rushed in with a Slash on Serena's orders. He smirked, musing that that was a bad strategy. Gabite unleashed his Dragon Rage right into Charmeleon's face, leaving him stumbling backwards. "Now! Dragon Pulse!" Ash called, capitalizing. Gabite nodded, forming up the more powerful attack.
Serena winced as Charmeleon was blown back across the field by the attack, having suffered significant damage. "Now, Gabite! Bulldoze!" Ash ordered, attempting to finish the fight. Only for Charmeleon to leap to his feet and bathe Gabite in flames.
The Cave Pokemon briefly reeled from Charmeleon's Flamethrower, enabling him to connect a Dragon Claw. "Return the favor! Dragon Pulse!" Serena shouted, a smirk crossing her face. Charmeleon nodded, drawing up his draconic energy.
Gabite recovered just in time for Charmeleon to nail him with Dragon Pulse, inflicting major damage. "Dragon Claw!" Ash shouted, refusing to give up. "Dodge it!" Serena called, unwilling to tangle with Gabite's clawed arm.
Charmeleon leapt back, evading Gabite's attack by less than a hair. Gabite retaliated by loosing another Dragon Pulse, striking Charmeleon. The Flame Pokemon dropped to one knee as the Cave Pokemon began forming a Dragon Rage.
"Flamethrower!" Serena called, not willing to submit. Not yet. She looked up at the timer, noting that it read 3:28. Three minutes to resolve this with anything other than a loss, even if they couldn't actually win. Both attacks were launched at once, again obscuring the field with smoke. Ash and Serena both narrowed their eyes, preparing themselves for what was likely to be the final clash.
Up in Gladion's booth, the others were watching intently. "Ash is good," Red said, with a smile. "And so is Serena."
"Yeah," May said. "They're pulling off those Dragon type moves so easily. I wish Charmander and I had Dragon Rage mastered."
"You haven't seen anything yet," Gladion said. "This is them just playing around. If they were fighting at full power, it would be an epic match."
"I figured as much," Red said. "They seem to be using some of their weaker Pokemon." Gladion nodded. "I bet you were expecting Greninja and Delphox," he said. "I was," Red replied, his eyes still glued to the battle raging down below.
"So…this is them playing around?" Drew asked, seemingly in disbelief. "Yeah," Gladion said. Drew remained silent after that, still not sure of how to process it. Blue chuckled. "I'd like to battle them some day," he said. "So would I," Leaf said. "And I think Red does too."
Blue and Red both nodded, confirming Leaf's assessment. "Good to know that I guessed right," she said. Both of her friends smiled, before redirecting their attention to the battle. "Are all Pokemon battles this intense?" Shauna asked, seeming interested.
"Not always," Gladion replied. "But sometimes they are. And this isn't even Ash and Serena's full power. Or their full teams."
Shauna nodded, her eyes seeming full of curiosity and wonder. "Maybe we should become Trainers," Trevor said. "All three of us passed that aptitude test, after all."
"It could be fun," Tierno said, speaking for the first time since they'd arrived. "Yeah," Trevor said. "We could travel together. Just the three of us."
"You've got yourself a deal," Shauna said. "We just need to get a Pokemon somehow." Gladion smiled. "Leave that to me. Or go to Mr. Oak. I'm sure he could get you into contact with his dad for a Pokemon," Gladion said. Shauna, Trevor, and Tierno nodded collectively, excited at the possibility of getting their own Pokemon.
Down on the field, Charmeleon and Gabite continued to trade blows, slowly weakening and wearing each other down. Ash and Serena both began preparing to end the fight as Ash pulled out a secret weapon.
"Earthquake!" he shouted. Serena's eyes widened as Gabite leapt into the air, slamming his now glowing feet into the ground. Charmeleon suffered significant damage from the super-effective attack, leaving him wide open.
"Dragon Pulse!" Ash called. "Charmeleon, Overheat!" Serena ordered, not willing to lose just yet, even if it was beginning to seem inevitable at this point. Charmeleon began gathering all of the Fire power that he could muster, preparing his strongest attack.
But Gabite fired faster, stopping Charmeleon's attack and inflicting further damage. The Flame Pokemon dropped to one knee, the energy he'd built up gone. Serena swallowed hard, realizing that she'd likely just lost.
Charmeleon attempted to stand back up, but soon collapsed in defeat, entirely spent. Gabite roared his victory as the timer stopped and Serena recalled her Pokemon. The crowd roared as Ash recalled Gabite with a smirk. "Good battle, Ash," Serena said, as she and Ash met in the center of the field. "Thanks," Ash said, recalling his Gabite.
The two shook hands- the universal sign of respect among Trainers- and then departed the field. "And with that, the opening match concludes in Ash's victory!" Gladion declared over the speakers, causing the crowd to cheer once again. "The tournament will start soon, so get ready!"
The crowd again hollered with anticipation as Ash and Serena returned to the announcer's booth. Red approached them, a smile creeping across his face. "That was impressive," he said. "Thanks," Ash said. "But you should see us when we aren't holding back." Red nodded. "I'd like to see that, I think," he said. Ash smiled, though he didn't actually speak. "Just to warn you- the two of us are really good," Serena said, voicing the thought that she and Ash both had. Red nodded again. "I'd expect nothing less," he said. "I'm just ready to get on down to this tournament."
Ash nodded in response. "Right. We've got to see what the brackets are going to be like," he said. "We've probably got at least a hundred people in this thing." "Exactly a hundred," Gladion said, joining in. "So it won't be all that hard to keep the number of participants even. We'll go until only two are left standing, and then they'll face off to see who wins this thing."
Red nodded again, eager to fight. He and Pikachu could use the practice- and the excitement- battling the Trainers around Pallet was boring, and didn't really get them anywhere. But hopefully, this tournament would. He sure hoped so. Leaf and Blue seemed to be equally anticipating it as well, and Red made a mental note to watch out for the two of them. May seemed to be anticipating the battling as well, even if Dawn was nervous. Red chuckled to himself as he watched May continue to animatedly talk about how much she was going to enjoy battling like this, whilst Dawn nodded along, seeming a lot less interested and a lot more nervous.
Red chuckled again and turned to Ash, who was again staring out the window. "This'll be good, I hope," he said. "It will," Ash replied, not moving from his spot. Red smiled. "I really hope so."
A short time later…
Gladion sat at his desk within the booth, preparing to kick everything off. By this point, Ash had led Red and the others down to the waiting area, where they'd be staying between matches. They'd be back in the booth with the others for the main event, which was sure to be epic- the Underground League Top Ten didn't battle each other often. Ash returned to the booth as Gladion started up his commentary. "Here we are, folks! The beginning of our tournament!" he called, catching everyone's attention. Ash smiled to himself, ready to see Red's battle performance. "Up first, we have a new face!" Gladion called. "Give a warm welcome to Red 'Quest' Ketchum!"
The crowd cheered, obviously making the connection between Ash and Red. And if Red was as half as good as Ash, then this would be a great match.
Depending on who his opponent was, that is. Some could be too much for him to deal with, and others could be far below his level. The quality of the Underground League's Trainers was…inconsistent, at best. "And his opponent: Forrest 'Stonewall' Harrison!" Gladion declared, again to some cheering.
Red wondered what the boy would throw at him, watching his tanned opponent closely. The boy reminded him of someone, but Red couldn't put his finger on who. He shrugged his shoulders and drew up Pikachu's Poke Ball, waiting for his opponent.
Gladion smiled as he started up the commentary once again. "Time for the first match of the tournament to begin!" he said. "As usual, most anything is legal down here, so long as you don't actually kill your opponent's Pokemon outright!"
Red's eyes narrowed as he heard that, his apprehension at being down here having returned with a vengeance. The Indigo League had rules for a reason. Then again, Ash was an active agent of Team Rocket, so this probably wasn't much of a concern for him. Red sighed, but decided that he'd go through with this anyway. He was already registered, and if he thought Pikachu was going to get hurt, he'd just forfeit. His worries were assuaged slightly, though, by Gladion's next statement.
"Remember: despite our lax stance, the Vermilion Club does have rules! Violating them will result in serious punishment," Gladion said. "Security will glady deal with any rulebreakers."
The crowd seemed to collectively nod, which soothed Red's nerves a bit. Further soothing them was the fact that a referee stepped out onto the field. She seemed fairly professional for a referee of an underground battle club, which was surprising. Even if her hair was styled into a dark red mohawk.
Red elected to ignore that detail as she raised her flags and placed a whistle in her mouth. He wasn't sure why an underground battle league needed a referee, but he was grateful for it. The match soon began, though, with barely any warning.
His opponent said nothing, merely tossing a Poke Ball. A burly Sandslash appeared from it, landing on the field with a thud. Red swallowed a bit hard, realizing that he wouldn't be able to use Pikachu's best moves here, but prepared for battle nonetheless. "You're up, buddy!" Red called, sending his partner onto the field. His opponent outright laughed when Pikachu appeared on the field. "You'll need more than an Electric type rat to beat us!" he said, smirking.
Forrest looked to be younger than himself, which unsettled Red slightly. Why was he battling down here and not in the League? And why did he look so familiar to him? Red had never met the kid before. He again shrugged that off, focusing himself on the battle. He and Pikachu would win this battle just like every battle they took on. It'd be worth the trouble to wipe that smug grin off of Forrest's face. He'd just picture his opponent as Blue. It'd work wonders for his motivation. "It seems that Red is at a disadvantage!" Gladion said. "His Pikachu won't do well against Forrest's Sandslash!"
Red chuckled when he heard that. "Just watch me," he thought, amused. He'd won many a battle despite having a type disadvantage in the past. This one would be no different than those- he just had to play it smart. "Neither has made a move!" Gladion observed. "They appear to be sizing each other up! I wonder who'll make the first move?"
Red smirked to himself, readying his plan. If Forrest thought that he was going to order Pikachu with words, then he needed to think again. His hand signals would throw him off for sure, Red thought. At first, anyway. Forrest may eventually adapt, but by then it would be far too late to do anything about it. Forrest stared Red down, still waiting to see what he'd do.
Clearly, he wanted Red to make the first move. And he was more than happy to oblige. He soon began the hand signal game, ordering a Quick Attack. Forrest seemed mystified as to what Red was doing- until Pikachu took off with blinding speed.
He was entirely unable to order a counter on account of his shock that he'd been outplayed. Pikachu smashed into Sandslash's stomach, sending the Ground type stumbling back. Red smirked again as he signaled a different order.
Pikachu nodded, launching into his usual speed shenanigans. Sandslash was soon surrounded by Double Team clones, obscuring the real Pikachu's location. Forrest seemed frustrated, but he was entirely unable to determine where his opponent might be. "Sandstorm!" he ordered. "Get rid of those clones!"
"No you don't!" Red thought, signaling Pikachu. The Electric type took off like a missile, slamming into Sandslash's chest before he could perform his Sandstorm. "Slash! While it's close!" Forrest ordered. Sandslash nodded, preparing the attack.
Red smirked, realizing how ineffective that would be- clearly Sandslash was trained for power as opposed to speed. He signaled Pikachu again, leading to him vanishing with a burst of Agility. Forrest grit his teeth as he watched Sandslash strike empty air- Pikachu was long gone.
"Find it!" he called, clearly irritated by their inability to hit Pikachu. Red smirked again- his plan to throw his opponents off with speed was working. "Alright, Pikachu! Quick Attack!" Red called aloud, speaking for the first time since the battle had begun. "It's coming in! Trap it with Sand Tomb!" Forrest ordered, clearly hoping for a break.
But Pikachu was far too fast for the trap to work, and Sandslash was again sent stumbling. Forrest cursed his luck under his breath as Red rapidly signaled Pikachu with a furious chain of commands. The Electric type nodded, vanishing into his Agility/Double Team combination, avoiding an attempt at Slash from his opponent.
Forrest let out a scream of frustration as Pikachu vanished again, much to Red's amusement. The arrogant boy would be such fun to beat. And Red was going to knock him down a peg or three.
"It looks like Red and Pikachu are running circles around Forrest and Sandslash!" Gladion commentated, watching the battle closely. "And they haven't taken a lick of damage! What skill! Reminds you of someone, doesn't it?"
The crowd roared, clearly enjoying the fight. Red was pulling the same kinds of tricks that Ash did, and he was a crowd favorite. Even if Red's battle wasn't on the level of Ash's usual battles- which tended to be high power, explosive affairs.
Red and Pikachu simply lacked the power for that kind of intensity. But they were sure doing a good job of running circles around Forrest and his Sandslash. Red got the feeling that Ash would be proud, even if he wasn't sure why. He always got the feeling that Froakie would be good at this kind of strategy, given his speed. He figured that he'd have honed that capability, especially if he was as powerful as he said he was.
Up in the announcer's booth…
Ash smiled, leaning on the balcony railing. A smile formed on his face as he did so, watching the battle closely. "He reminds me of, well, me," he said. Serena chuckled. "He's got the same kind of moves," she said. "The only thing missing is Smokescreen," Ash said. "Which Pikachu can't learn," Serena said. Ash nodded. "That's true," he said. "But I don't think they need it."
"Yeah," Serena said. "Pikachu's fast enough that it doesn't matter if he's got a cloud of smoke hiding him or not."
Ash nodded again, saying nothing as Drew joined them on the balcony. "Your brother is seriously impressive," he said. "He's running circles around that Sandslash."
"Yeah," Ash replied. "He's a lot better than I thought he'd be, even if he did beat May and Dawn by himself after his partner got beaten."
Drew nodded. "Yeah. I was surprised when Gladion told us that story," he said. "His techniques remind me of you, actually."
Ash laughed in response to that, surprising Drew. "Did I say something funny?" he asked, seeming a bit lost. "Nah," Ash said, leaving the subject murky. "That doesn't help, you know," Drew said. "We were just talking about that exact thing," Serena said, clarifying. "Ash thought that the coincidence was hilarious." Drew nodded as Ash rolled his eyes. "Not exactly, but close enough," he said. "But Red really does remind me of my own style. I bet Greninja could teach them a few things, though."
Drew nodded again. "Maybe," he said. "But he seems to have the speed and misdirection stuff down. Which is impressive- he's probably self taught." Ash nodded in return. "I had the same thought," he said. "But I still think that I could teach him something."
"Right," Drew said. "I just want to see how he'll do in this tournament. He'd probably be a better Trainer than Coordinator."
"Yeah," Ash replied. "Dawn would probably be a good Coordinator, though. Possibly May, but I think she likes battling too much to ever fully devote herself to that."
Drew nodded, agreeing with Ash's assessment of the girls. "I think so too," he said. "But I think Shauna has the creative spark she'd need to become big in the Contest circuit."
Ash nodded, acknowledging his point. "Like you?" he asked. "Like me," Drew said. "Though I try to keep a low profile," he said. Ash snorted a laugh, barely resisting the urge to do so uproariously. "As low of a profile that someone who's won the Kanto Grand Festival three times can keep," he said. Drew rolled his eyes. "I don't advertise it," he replied. "People still recognize me on occasion, though."
Ash nodded, having finally stopped laughing. "Look. That's always going to happen. I've got the same kind of fame down here," he said. "And I go out of my way to avoid it most of the time. Except when it would be convenient to use it."
Drew nodded in return. "I get it," he said. "Maybe we can have a battle sometime. My team's not weak, even if we are primarily Contest participants." Ash smiled. "Sure," he said. "We can have a match sometime. Maybe when everything's done tonight. Or maybe some other time."
"Right," Drew said. "We used to do battling too, back before we left Hoenn- I've got a full set of Hoenn League Badges somewhere."
"Impressive," Ash said. Drew nodded. "That's right," he said. "We were in the Top 32 on our first try. I would have tried again, but Contests were more my thing. That and there was this kid named Brendan that was always a lot better than me."
Ash nodded again, though he didn't say anything, wordlessly redirecting his attention to Red's battle, which was still going strong. Drew did the same, figuring that they could continue this conversation later. Red was battling, after all- and the Trainer in him wanted to gauge his potential.
Back down on the battlefield…
Red and Pikachu continued to run circles around Forrest and Sandslash, their speed tricks leaving their opponents confounded. Red smirked, noting that his masterstroke was coming together. He signaled for a Thunderbolt, but also to aim it at the ground. Pikachu complied, building up electricity. Forrest smiled confidently, figuring that Red had made a mistake. "Electric attacks won't work on us!" he gloated.
No sooner had the words left his mouth than the Thunderbolt slammed into the ground in front of him, kicking up a hell of a lot of dust. At that moment, Forrest realized that he'd been played- enabling Red and Pikachu to augment their speed tricks with a makeshift smokescreen. Red rapidly signaled Pikachu, ordering a barrage of Quick Attacks.
Pikachu nodded, rushing into the fray once again. Forrest winced as Sandslash was rapidly pummeled from multiple directions by the Electric type, leaving him bruised and embarrassed. "Get up!" he called, his irritation back in full force. "Then use Bulldoze!"
Red grit his teeth, realizing that Pikachu couldn't take that attack and keep battling. It'd knock them down for the count for sure. So he signaled another Quick Attack- Sandslash was clearly no match for their speed. Forrest audibly swore as Pikachu smashed into Sandslash's chest once more, foiling his attempt at Bulldoze. Red smirked, happy that he'd averted disaster- having left Sandslash wide open for his finishing move.
"Mach Strike! End this now!" Red shouted, readying himself. Pikachu nodded, launching into the Agility/Quick Attack combination. The sheer speed meant that Pikachu's tiny fist would seriously damage Sandslash, who was clearly too slow to stop him.
Forrest seemed mystified by the command, wondering just what Red had ordered, seeing as that was not a move he'd ever heard of. "What's a 'Mach Strike'?" he thought, dumbfounded. He didn't have to wait long to find out, however.
Pikachu slammed into Sandslash with the force of a Volt Tackle, nearly sending him flying away from the field. He flipped back gracefully as Sandslash collapsed in a heap after skidding across the field for quite some time.
The referee soon blew her whistle and dropped her flag towards Sandslash upon seeing that. "Sandslash is unable to battle!" she ruled. "Which makes Quest here the winner!"
Red smiled as Forrest cursed again and recalled his Sandslash, stomping away from the field in frustration. "And Red wins the match in a stunning defiance of type disadvantage!" Gladion said, hyping up the crowd once again. Red smiled again as Pikachu returned to his side. "Good job," he said. "I'll have to get you some fresh Oran Berries for that."
Pikachu let out a happy sound as he leapt up onto Red's shoulder. The boy took one last look at the field with a smile- he hoped to be battling in an official Indigo League Gym come summer and the start of the League season.
Overcoming powerful opponents to achieve victory was a rush that he didn't know that he needed, and he wanted to experience it some more. With that, he turned on his heel and left the field, eagerly awaiting his next match.
From the announcer's booth, Ash smirked. "Red's got skill," he said. "Beating an opponent with a type advantage is no easy feat. Especially when their Pokemon is fully evolved and yours isn't, like that battle."
"It was clear that Red and Pikachu were far faster than their opponents," Drew said. "They stood no chance."
"Yeah, but speed isn't everything," Serena said. "Exactly," Ash added. "Red leveraged his speed to unleash devastating attacks. Like whatever that move he used at the end was."
"I actually saw him use that move to end the fight with May and Dawn," Drew said. "He smashed May's Charmander into unconsciousness. He said that it was a combination of Agility and Quick Attack."
Ash nodded, though he didn't actually reply. He remained leaning against the railing of the balcony, wordlessly observing the next match. Down on the field was Red's abrasive friend, Gary 'Blue' Oak.
He was up against some girl named Giselle- a Cubone wielding terror in the rookie circuit. Ash figured that she was good enough to go legitimate in the Indigo League if she tried. Yet here she was, battling down here. Drew got the hint, focusing his attention on the match as well. "Isn't that one of Red's friends down there?" he asked. "Yeah," Ash replied, still not pulling his eyes away from the field. "Isn't that girl one of the new rookies?" Drew asked, eyeing the field suspiciously.
Ash nodded again. "Yeah. She's pretty good for a newbie," he said. "I'd love to see Red fight her."
Drew nodded in reply as the referee took her place at the side of the field and began preparing to start the match. Hopefully, it would be as good as the battle between Red and Forrest. That would be a high bar to leap, but Drew had high hopes.
Blue seemed to be merely outclassed by Red, not entirely weak. Hopefully, he had some talent to demonstrate. Giselle and Cubone were tough opponents, and Blue's Eevee was not something that he'd seen battle before. This match would hopefully be a good one. Otherwise, it'd just be boring, and quite possibly, disappointing. And nobody wanted that. Especially not Blue, who seemed smugly confident and excited.
Down on the field…
Blue smirked confidently to himself as he stepped out onto the battlefield. His opponent was a brown-haired girl wearing what appeared to be some kind of school uniform. A single Poke Ball hung from her waist. He wondered what she was going to send out as he reached for Eevee's Poke Ball, preparing himself to fight. The referee began preparing herself for the start of the battle as Gladion began his commentary.
"Here we are, folks! The second match of the tournament!" he bellowed, eliciting cheers from the audience. "On one side, we've got Blue 'Journey' Oak! And on the other, we've got Giselle 'Bonecrusher' Harris!"
The crowd roared again as Gladion finished his introduction of the battlers. He smiled to himself as all of it went on, speaking up as soon as it had died down. "Both of these Trainers are rookies with something to prove, so get ready for a red-hot match!"
Again, the crowd roared in excitement as the referee raised her flags and placed her whistle in her mouth, signaling that the match was about to begin. "You're up, Cubone!" Giselle shouted, sending her partner onto the field. The Lonely Pokemon glanced around briefly before recognizing his surroundings as that of a battlefield and taking on a serious expression and raising its bone club in a threatening manner. Blue smirked, reasoning that this would be easy.
"You're up, girl!" he shouted, sending his partner Eevee onto the field. One glance at Cubone made Eevee immediately take on a determined expression, preparing herself for battle. "Alright! Quick Attack!" Blue shouted, making the first move.
Eevee nodded, taking off with a burst of speed. Giselle smirked- she and Cubone would make their opponents pay for attempting a head-on assault. "Brick Break!" she called. Cubone nodded, his hand glowing white.
Eevee failed to avert her attack in time and suffered the super-effective blow for nasty damage. "Cubone, follow that up with a Bone Club!" Giselle ordered, for further damage. Blue's partner got to her feet just in time to get smacked with Cubone's weapon, sending her skidding backwards. Blue grit his teeth in annoyance as Giselle smirked, confident in her victory.
"Well, folks! Giselle's off to an early lead, despite Blue's attempt to land the first strike! This looks to be shaping up to be an exciting match!" Gladion declared, eliciting more cheers from the crowd. He needed to keep the hype going, after all.
Giselle smirked to herself, mentally assuming that she was going to win with little trouble. "Alright, Cubone! Bone Club again!" she ordered. "Don't let them get up!"
Cubone nodded, preparing to strike again. But Blue and Eevee were far from done: constant battling against Red and Pikachu had toughened them up. "Swift!" Blue ordered, much to Giselle's surprise. Eevee mimicked her Trainer's smug smirk as her tail began glowing white. The Ground type was struck by the glowing stars produced by Swift mid-leap, and, as such, came crashing down.
His bone fell from his hand, leaving him disarmed. Blue chuckled and prepared to capitalize on his newfound momentum. He did so with a smirk on his face, issuing Eevee another command.
"Quick Attack!" he ordered. "Keep it up!"
Eevee nodded, launching herself forward with a burst of speed. Cubone failed to recover in time, taking the attack to the chest. He staggered again, allowing Eevee to follow it up with a second Swift. She leapt back with grace as Cubone staggered backward, stunned. Blue smirked and Giselle grimaced- the momentum was shifting. Gladion noticed it for sure, as evidenced by his glowing commentary.
"And would you look at that!" he said. "Blue has battled his way back and taken the advantage!"
The crowd roared, which only served to increase Blue's smugness even more. "Alright, Eevee. Let's give 'em what they want to see! Swift! And keep 'em coming- don't give them a chance to recover!" he called. Eevee nodded, preparing herself to carry out the next command, her tail glowing white.
Giselle cursed her rotten luck, muttering to herself. "This isn't good," she thought. "Cubone's not so good with ranged attacks…and he's lost his bone…"
She winced as the first volley of Swift stars struck home, inflicting more damage on Cubone. Her partner staggered, leaving himself wide open for the second (and third) Swift attack in a row. "Go for your bone!" she shouted to Cubone during the small window between attacks. Cubone nodded, running for his dropped weapon. But the Ground type was soon forced to dive for it as Eevee unleashed another Swift.
"Grab the bone! Keep it away from them!" Blue called. Eevee nodded, grabbing the dropped bone in her mouth just as Cubone got back to his feet. But Eevee had gotten a little too close to Cubone in doing so, enabling a reprisal.
Giselle chuckled smugly as she ordered Cubone to use Brick Break. Blue winced as Cubone smashed his glowing fist into Eevee's side, sending her skidding back. Cubone's weapon fell from her mouth as she cried out in pain, enabling the Lonely Pokemon to reclaim it.
"Quick!" Giselle called. "Bone Club!"
Cubone nodded, preparing to attack. But Blue and Eevee weren't done yet- the Normal type soon got to her feet, launching into a Quick Attack. Cubone stumbled backward, enabling Eevee to fire off another Swift. Cubone suffered significant damage from the attack, enabling Eevee to put some distance between herself and her opponent. Blue chuckled, ordering another Swift barrage. Eevee complied, bombarding her opponent with dozens of glowing stars.
Giselle grit her teeth, grimacing at how poorly this battle was now going for her. "Cubone!" she shouted, "use Bone Rush! Deflect those stars!"
Cubone nodded, raising his bone. It glowed blue, growing longer and larger- it now posed more of a threat than before. He then began doing his best to deflect the barrage of stars flying in, though he was finding it quite hard to deflect them all.
Blue noticed this, obviously. So he ordered Eevee to keep up the constant barrage of Swift attacks. He'd make it absolutely sure that Cubone couldn't block them all. And then they'd close in for the finisher.
Giselle realized what Blue was doing, but found herself unable to effectively counter it other than what she was already doing. It wasn't unlike Blue's poor defense against Red's Double Team strategy.
"Damn it…" Giselle cursed, watching the battle unfold. "Cubone, try to deflect them back at Eevee!" she shouted.
Cubone nodded, swinging his bone in a wide arc. He smacked most of the Swift stars away, but a few got through. That stunned Cubone long enough for Eevee to smack him with another Swift, this one undeflected. Giselle grit her teeth as Cubone staggered back and dropped his bone. His Bone Rush was gone- leaving him wide open. "Now!" Blue shouted. "Quick Attack!"
Eevee complied, taking off with immense speed. She slammed into Cubone's chest, sending him skidding backward. Again, she leapt back with grace as he did so. "Bonemerang! Don't let them win!" Giselle snarled, unwilling to lose like this.
Blue smirked, seeing no threat from the attack, to the point where he had Eevee stay still and let Cubone pick his bone back up. But he soon burst Giselle's bubble the second Cubone had thrown it. "Quick Attack! Don't let them hit you!" he shouted. Eevee nodded, banking to the left, resulting in the bone missing. She then followed that up by rushing in and smacking Cubone in the chest, leaving him stunned. With that, she again dodged Cubone's returning weapon with a burst of speed. As such, the recovering Cubone was struck by his own Bonemerang, knocking him down for the count. Mostly, anyway.
He struggled to his feet, clutching his bone tightly. By this point, it was plain to see that they'd lost. There was no point in fighting Blue and Eevee any longer. They simply couldn't win, and Eevee had the speed advantage. So Giselle recalled Cubone instead of ordering another attack, forfeiting the match. "I can't win," she said. "So I concede."
The referee nodded, blowing her whistle and dropping her flags. "Understood," she said, nodding Giselle's way. "Giselle has forfeited! The match goes to Blue!"
The crowd cheered, having apparently expected it to end this way. Blue sighed as Eevee returned to his side. "I didn't expect to win that way," he said. "But at least we won for once. Better than a loss."
Eevee nodded, and he let her up onto his shoulder, much the same as Red and Pikachu. Giselle shot him one last angry glare and stomped away, clearly annoyed with the outcome of the battle. Blue smirked at this and chuckled before departing the field himself. "And despite an early lead from Giselle, Blue forces a win by forfeit!" Gladion commentated, again eliciting a round of applause and cheering from the audience. "The next match will begin soon, so just be patient!"
The audience roared in excitement and anticipation once more, and Gladion smiled to himself. "Hold onto something, because this next one is going to be a good one!" he said. "We've got a pair of Underground League stars here today!"
The crowd again roared with anticipation as the two Trainers in question stepped out onto the field. On one side was a green haired woman wearing a purple ninja outfit. And on the other side was a silver-haired man who appeared to be wearing some sort of kimono. Gladion soon resumed his commentary, introducing the two battlers.
"One one side, we have Aya 'Toxin' Ketchum! And her opponent today is Magnus 'Pokeathlon' Darrow!" he declared, much to the enjoyment of the crowd. Said crowd roared as the battle began, both of the combatants being fairly high level Underground League Trainers.
"You're up, Nidoking!" Aya shouted, deploying a rather intimidating looking beast of a Nidoking, who hit the field with a roar. Magnus chuckled as he looked his opponent up and down. "Not bad," he mused. "But you won't beat us! Poliwrath, come on out!"
Magnus' partner soon appeared on the field, flexing his muscular arms. Nidoking locked eyes with him, and both prepared themselves for battle. Poliwrath cracked his knuckles and Nidoking stomped the ground, preparing himself for battle.
Aya soon took the first move. "Megahorn!" she shouted. Nidoking nodded, lowering his horn, which glowed green with Bug-type energy. "Ice Punch! Don't let them connect that attack!" Magnus called.
Poliwrath nodded, leaping towards Nidoking.
Both connected their attacks simultaneously, sending each other skidding back. Trainer and Pokemon alike engaged in a stare down, neither exactly pleased with this outcome. But the match was far from over- both combatants were merely warming up. Both Aya and Magnus were fairly powerful Trainers in the circuit, and would be a decent draw for a main event bout. "Nidoking, Poison Jab!" Aya called, not letting up. "Hydro Pump!" Magnus ordered. "Keep them on the defensive!"
Both Pokemon received their orders, readying themselves for battle. Nidoking's fist glowed purple as he prepared the Poison type attack whilst Poliwrath began gathering a substantial amount of water. Nidoking charged, but found himself blasted backward by Poliwrath's Hydro Pump, suffering big damage from the super-effective hit. Magnus smiled, readying himself to capitalize on the newfound momentum. "Ice Punch!" he shouted. "Don't let up!"
Poliwrath nodded, leaping into action with his fist glowing light blue as he channeled the icy energy into it. Nidoking recovered just in time to take the Ice Punch to the face, sending him staggering. "Now! Hydro Pump again!" Magnus called. Poliwrath nodded, unleashing the torrential stream of water for a second time. Nidoking again had no time to recover, suffering further damage. "Follow that up with a Focus Punch!" Magnus shouted.
Poliwrath nodded, tightening his fist and his focus. The devastating Fighting attack would end the match for sure. But Aya wasn't going to just lay down and take that, no sir. "Thunderbolt!" she ordered, catching Magnus off guard. Nidoking lowered his head, electricity crackling around his impressive horn. He fired the mighty lance of energy soon afterward, disrupting Poliwrath's Focus Punch and dealing an impressive amount of damage. "You're not the only one that use super-effective attacks!" Aya taunted. "Now, Nidoking! Poison Jab!"
Nidoking nodded, drawing back his now glowing fist for the attack. He swung in forward, striking the stunned Poliwrath. The Water type reeled and Aya smirked. She had this match in the bag if it kept up like this.
"This is shaping up to be an incredible match, folks!" Gladion declared, much to the joy of the crowd. "Magnus and Aya aren't holding back here!"
Again, the crowd roared as both Trainers readied themselves for battle. Their Pokemon charged into battle with an Ice Punch and Poison Jab, respectively. Both connected for significant damage, sending each other reeling.
Both Trainers smiled wide, enjoying the battle. "This is one of the best matches I've had in a long time," Magnus said. "Same here," Aya replied. "But that doesn't mean I'm just gonna give up!"
Magnus smiled. "Good. I wasn't expecting anything less," he said. "Poliwrath, Ice Beam!"
Aya smirked devilishly when she heard that. "Nidoking, Flamethrower!" she shouted. Nidoking nodded, opening his mouth wide.
The stream of flame poured out of his maw. It collided with Poliwrath's Ice Beam, blanketing the field in a cloud of steam. "Now, use Dig!" she called. "Keep them on their toes!"
Nidoking nodded, burrowing underground with ease thanks to his huge claws. This left Poliwrath entirely unable to tell where Nidoking was, even after the steam cloud had disappeared. "We're in a bind…." Magnus thought. "But we aren't just going to give up!"
"Poliwrath, Earthquake!" he shouted. Poliwrath nodded, preparing the attack. "Quick! Get up here!" Aya shouted. "Thunderbolt!"
Even deep underground, Nidoking's sensitive and highly developed hearing let him discern his Trainer's voice, soon bursting from the ground near Poliwrath. Electricity crackled on his horn as he did so, preparing to fire.
But Magnus was quickly able to change gears, ordering his next attack. "Ice Beam!" he called. Poliwrath loosed the icy beam of energy before Nidoking could unleash his Thunderbolt, sending the beast reeling.
Magnus smiled to himself. He'd foiled his opponent's attack, and was setting himself up for a counterattack. This match was well in hand, it seemed.
Up in the announcer's booth…
Ash continued to lean on the railing of the announcer's booth's balcony, watching the match between Aya and Magnus unfold. "So…is that woman related to you?" Drew asked. "Considering her last name, that is."
"No," Ash replied. "She's my dad's wife."
Drew remained silent for several seconds. "Your dad's married?" he asked, confused. Ash nodded. "Has been since not long after we moved to Viridian."
"Then how come I've never seen them together?" Drew asked. "Aya's a very private individual," Ash said. "I've barely spoken to her for eight years."
Drew wasn't sure what to say to that, so he said nothing at all, merely watching his friend intently. "She's not my mother," Ash said. "Just some woman that my dad married after he let his relationship with my mom fall apart."
Drew was caught off guard by that reply from Ash. "I didn't think you had a good relationship with your mom," he said, surprised. "I don't," Ash responded. "And she's barely around unless she needs something. Not like dad's around all that often, either, but still."
Drew sighed, wondering what that was about. "Where's she from?" he asked. "Fuschia City, I think," Ash said. "Don't really know. Or care."
Drew opened his mouth to say something else, but found himself interrupted by Serena. "Don't ask anything else," she said. "Testing him about this is not a good idea."
Drew sighed. "Fine. If you say so," he said. Serena nodded, returning her attention to the battle. "Stay out of this," Ash said. "This is a whole lot of pain."
Drew nodded, begrudgingly acquiescing to Ash's request. "Fine," he said. Ash nodded in return, not taking his eyes off of the battle, even for a second. "Aya is part of the reason that my parents aren't together," he said. Drew was utterly floored, finding himself utterly unable to reply to that. Ash, for his part, said nothing and allowed Drew to think that over.
This match was one he hoped that Aya would lose. Magnus was good enough to do it.
So, there we are, guys. Chapter Five at last.
I know I said that this was going to be the last prologue chapter when I posted the last one. Well, those plans have changed. This one is being split into two, becuase otherwise I'd probably have 20,000+ word chapter. As it is, this one finished with almost 13,000 words. (Twelve thousand- eight hundred something).
So, in the interest of not making this one any longer than it has to be, we're going to make it two separate chapters.
Feel free to leave a review, so long as its not fully negative. Those will be ignored- valid criticism or nothing. And if you can't be polite about it, don't bother.
As usual, signing off!
-Robbtastic01.