Chapter 62:
The Power of Light and Shadow
Tsukinami Village Gym
"The night calls, Arbok!"
"Shine bright with the Sun, Whimsicott!"
Arbok and Whimsicott materialized before Ash, both of them looking ready to battle. Like Aisha's Arbok, this one was also wearing a collar with a Mega Stone embedded on it, while Whimsicott had a clip on one of its horns that also had a similar stone on it. Every Gym Leader in Tandor used Mega Evolution, and the strongest of them weren't going to be an exception.
"Alright. Given that we're in the home stretch, it's time to go all out," Ash said, picking up two pokeball. "Metalynx, Archilles, I choose you!"
The capture devices opened, and Ash's two Tandorian starter Pokemon appeared before him. Upon noticing the two opposing Pokemon, they also tensed up, ready for the impending battle.
"Good choices. Archilles already gave Ash a victory and has type advantage over both Arbok and Whimsicott, while Metalynx is fresh and her typing can resist the enemy's primary typing," Clemont analyzed with a nod of approval. "And the two of them can Mega Evolve."
"And Ash still has two other Pokemon in reserve just in case these two can't finish the job," Lilia reminded.
"Yep! Ash has this in the bag!" Bonnie agreed.
"Pi, pika!" so did Pikachu.
"Nenene!" as well as Dedenne.
"Don't count your Birbie before they hatch," Sayaka interjected with a tone of disapproval. "Yes, Ash is doing well, still having four Pokemon with two of them completely fresh. But don't forget that these are Hinata and Kaito's final Pokemon, and Gym Leaders always save their best for last. Ash will doom himself if he dares to underestimate them."
"Ash knows better than to make such a mistake," Serena was quick to come to Ash's aid. "If he wins or he loses, Ash will go with everything he has without holding back."
The referee raised both her flags. "This is an official Gym Battle between the Gym Leaders Hinata and Kaito, and Ash Ketchum. The battle will be double format with no time limit. Hinata and Kaito will use one Pokemon each, while Ash will be allowed to use his whole team. The battle will be over when one side has no more Pokemon remaining. Only the challenger may make substitutions. If both sides are ready, then begin!"
~Trial of Balance~
~Challenger Ash (Archilles & Metalynx, -Dunseraph-, -Frosthra-, ?, ?) VS Gym Leaders Hinata and Kaito (Whimsicott & Arbok)~
"We'll be taking the first move! Archilles, Flamethrower!" Ash ordered.
"Ar, archi!" Archilles hissed before taking a deep breath and unleashing a stream of flames over the opposing Pokemon.
"Arbok, avoid it with Dig!" Kaito said.
"Whimsicott, raise above the ground!" Hinata said.
As Arbok quickly burrowed underground, Whimsicott slowly and gracefully elevated into the air, not by jumping, but floating as if it was as light as a bubble. The stream of flames passed both Pokemon, hitting neither.
"Now Whimsicott, Petal Dance!" Hinata commanded with a hand flourish.
"Whimsi-COOOOOOOT!" Whimsicott cried as it began to spin around, generating multiple pink petals around its body that were fired in a spiral pattern towards Ash's two Pokemon.
Ash, however, was ready. "Your turn, Metalynx! Power through that Petal Dance and use Iron Tail!"
"Me, meta!" Metalynx growled, as she leaped towards the attack head on.
Despite the harmful petals making the feline wince, the double resistance meant that the damage taken from the attack was negligible. Once close to Whimsicott, Metalynx swung her sickle-shaped tail, glowing with a silvery light, into Whimsicott's face, knocking the Pokemon backwards.
"SHAAAABAK!"
At the same time, Arbok suddenly emerged from under Archilles, hitting his underbelly and sending him flying backwards, wheezing in pain.
"Archilles!" Ash cried. "Metalynx, help Archilles! Night Slash!"
"Lynx!" Metalynx roared before turning around and dashing towards Arbok, purple and black blades growing over the claws of her metallic paw.
"Arbok, stop it with Fire Fang!" Kaito ordered.
Arbok opened its jaws, fire pouring from them, before chomping on the Armored Pokemon's claw the moment she tried to take a swipe at the cobra. Metalynx, whining in pain, tried to pull the paw back, but the force of Arbok's jaws proved to be too great.
"Archilles, Flame Impact!" Ash ordered.
Archilles, back on his feet, covered his entire body in flames before rocketing towards Arbok, slamming his burning body against the Poison-type, forcing it to release Metalynx and launching it backwards, next to Whimsicott.
Serena noticed that Clemont's scowl was slightly frowned, as if there was something that didn't make any sense.
"Clemont?" she asked. "Did you see something?"
"Petal Dance normally leaves the user all dizzy after using it," Clemont began. "But that Whimsicott doesn't seem to look any worse than before."
"Perhaps... she trained her Pokemon to withstand the aftereffect?" Lilia ventured to guess.
"Of course she did. Hinata and Kaito are incredible trainers," Sayaka interceded. "And their training doesn't limit to make their Pokemon stronger, but also more effective in battle. If a Pokemon has a weakness, it is the trainer's duty to curb it."
"Quite the good opening," Hinata commented. "But I believe it could have been better."
"Say, my love, given that, of the few trainers that prove worthy of challenging us, even fewer manage to make it this far, how about if we show our challenger the full extent of our power?" Kaito suggested.
"Yes. I believe Ash has earned such a privilege," Hinata said with a nod, as she and her husband touched the Keystones on their golden headpieces. "Whimsicott! Let's link our hearts and shine with a light so bright it will blind anybody who dares to look at us!"
"Arbok! Let our souls become one, and your power will grow to such height, it will cover the entire world in its shadow!" Kaito recited.
"MEGA EVOLVE!"
Beams of light shot from both the Keystones and the Mega Stones, merging together into tendrils of pure energy, forming a link between trainer and Pokemon that enabled the transformation of the latter, which culminated in twin rainbow helixes flashing in front of them for a fraction of a second.
While everybody watching the battle as well as Ash had already seen a Mega Arbok before during the Grand Festival, this was the first time they were seeing a Mega Whimsicott for the first time around. Its body had barely changed, being a little thicker and being a darker shade of brown. Its green downward horns were now upwards, longer in length and with thorns growing from them. The biggest change, however, was the cotton around its body, which grew more voluminous, had a pinkish tint, and was covered in pink, flower-shaped marks.
"Mega Evolution already? Guess I'll have to reply in kind," Ash said, as he held up his shuriken necklace that Serena had gifted him, and touched the Keystone on it. "Come on Archilles! Let's show them how much stronger we're when we fight together!"
The same process as before took place, only this time it was one of Ash's Pokemon the one who transformed into an enhanced form. Once the metamorphosis finished, the clouds in the sky parted once again, the sunlight shining brightly on all of them.
"Hey, how is it that they get two Mega Evolved Pokemon versus Ash's one! That's not fair!" Bonnie protested.
"You know, Bonnie brings a good point," Serena agreed with the lemon blonde, and her eyes shifted to Bonnie's older brother. "I know that some Pokemon Gym have two people sharing the position, but is it legal to use that to send two Mega Evolved Pokemon against a challenger?"
Clemont's face scrunched into a pensive scowl. "Well... Mega Evolution is still kind of a recent development and not that widespread outside of some regions, so there are some legal gaps on that issue. But if these leaders can use two Mega Evolved Pokemon at once it may not be forbidden."
"Look at you, trying to use the power of the sun against us again," Hinata said, as the increased sunlight didn't go unnoticed. "Didn't you hear me when I said that you can't use our power against us?"
"You said that, yes," Ash replied, cracking his neck. "But I did it anyway and I beat you, so why shouldn't I do it again?"
This drew a chuckle from Kaito. "He got you there, my love."
"In that case, then I'll have to prove you wrong through action," th black haired woman declared. "Whimsicott, Solar Beam!"
"Archilles, Flamethrower again!" Ash ordered.
As Archilles took a deep breath and released a stream of flames bigger and hotter than before, Whimsicott quickly gathered solar power into a greenish-golden orb of energy, releasing it in the form of a beam. The two attacks met in the middle and struggled against each other, with the Flamethrower slowly pushing the Solar Beam backwards. However, both attacks collapsed and produced an explosion before they could reach Whimsicott.
"Now Metalynx, Iron Tail!" Ash ordered.
Metalynx quickly moved forwards in quick strides, her sickle-shaped tail glowing silver for the second time in a row as she moved towards Whimsicott, still reeling from the explosion that went off near it.
"Arbok, intercept that cat with Fire Fang!" Kaito ordered, resorting to stop Ash's maneuver the same time as before.
"Oh no, you won't! Archilles, Flame Impact on Arbok! Don't let it get close to Metalynx!" Ash quickly said.
"Shaaaabak!" Arbok hissed as it lunged towards Metalynx, opening its huge mouth from where even bigger flames than before poured from it.
"Chilleeeeeee!" Archilles howled as it slammed his flame-covered body against the serpent, pushing it out of Metalynx's way and leaving the feline a free way to attack.
"Spiky Shield," Hinata simply said.
"What? Metalynx, wait!" Ash shouted.
But it was too late, as Metalynx's momentum was too big to stop now. She swung her tail at Whimsicott, but rather than soft flesh and even softer cotton, the metallic limb smashed against a green energy dome covered in sharp spikes. The Armored Pokemon whined once the attack connected, and quickly jumped backwards spurned by the pain.
"W-What!?" Clemont asked, sounding between shocked and indignant. "How is that even possible!? Spiky Shield can only be learned by a very small number of Pokemon, and I'm one hundred percent sure that Whimsicott isn't one of them!"
"And you would be right," the female Gym Leader said, before her lips curved into a taunting grin. "But let's say that my Whimsicott is cut from a different cloth. Moonblast on Archilles!"
"Arbok, Dig!" Kaito ordered.
As Arbok burrowed underground, Whimsicott raised its arms, summoning a large sphere of swirly white and pink energy and hurling it towards the Fire Raptor Pokemon.
"Dodge it with Flame Impact!" Ash shouted.
Cloaking his body in flames once again, Archilles used the enhanced speed granted by the attack to dodge the powerful Fairy-type move and que close to Whimsicott. However, before he could reach his target, Arbok burst from underground, slamming its head into the Fire and Ground-type Pokemon, abruptly interrupting his charge.
"And lock him up in place with Crunch!" Kaito said.
Arbok opened its mouth, the rows of fangs glowing white before sinking them into Archilles' flesh, followed by the smaller heads also biting him.
"A-Aaaaaaarch...!" Archilles howled at the pain caused by hundred of fangs piercing his body.
"Metalynx, help Archilles! X-Scissor!" Ash ordered.
The Armored Pokemon dashed forwards, her front claws glowing greenish yellow, before jumping at the cobra and delivering a powerful X-shaped slash strong enough to force Arbok away from Archilles. Unfortunately, the respite provided would be very brief.
"Solar Beam," Hinata stated in an almost bored tone.
Ash and his Pokemon barely had time to register what the raven haired woman said before they saw a golden beam with green edges barreling towards them, and while it only grazed Metalynx, it fully engulfed Archilles, blasting him backwards.
"Archilles!" Ash cried.
"Arbok, Fire Fang on Metalynx!"
"Shaaabak!" Arbok angrily hissed.
Before Metalynx could react, the Cobra Pokemon clamped its burning maws over Metalynx's neck, the fire quickly spreading to the rest of her body, and making a display of terrifying strength, it lifted the feline and launched her backwards towards the ground, while she let out a wail of pain.
"Metalynx!" Ash shouted next. "Are you two okay?"
Despite the harsh beatdown, both Pokemon pulled through and, even if not without some struggle, managed to get back to their feet.
"Come on guys, I know you can-" Ash was about to say, but Kaito interrupted him.
"Arbok, Caustic Breath!" the white haired man shouted.
"And Whimsicott, Moonblast" his wife added.
"Shaaaabak!"
"Whi, whims!"
Arbok opened its jaws once again, releasing a wave of blue and green flames, while Whimsicott formed a large orb of white and pink energy between its arms before tossing it forward.
"Archilles, Dig,! And Meatlynx, follow him!" Ash ordered.
The Fire Raptor Pokemon quickly burrowed underground, Metalynx following after him, allowing them to avoid the powerful attacks coming their way. Then, before the opposing Pokemon had any time to react, Archilles reemerged from under Arbok, slamming his body against the snake's unprotected underbelly, followed by Metalynx.
"Metalynx, X-Scissor on Whimsicott!" Ash ordered.
Fast as lightning, the Armored Pokemon pounced on the Grass and Fairy-type cotton ball and delivered a pair of powerful swipes in the shape of an X.
"Now Metalynx, disengage and Archilles, Flmethrower!" Ash continued, feeling like he was finally in control of the battle.
"Spiky Shield," Hinata simply said.
Feeling of control that quickly vanished as he saw how Whimsicott erected a spike-covered energy field in front of it that successfully blocked the incoming stream of fire.
"Caustic Breath! Use all your heads this time, Arbok!" Kaito ordered.
Arbok opened its jaws, unleashing a torrent of blue and green raging flames at Ash's Pokemon but this time the smaller heads also contributed to the attack by spitting fire as well, increasing the power and area of the Dragon-type move- From such a close distance, neither Archilles nor Metalynx were able to get out of the way in time.
"Solar Beam," Hinata simply said.
As the harsh sunlight slowly faded, Whimsicott gathered the last of the solar power in the ambience to quickly charge a powerful energy beam, blasting Ash's Pokemon away and culminating in a loud explosion that made the entire battleground tremble.
"Metalynx! Archilles!" Ash cried.
When the smoke of the explosion receded, Metalynx and Archilles, the latter back in his base form, were lying in a tangle of limbs on a crater formed by the last Solar Beam. Neither of them moved in the slightest.
The referee raised a flag in Hinata and Kaito's direction. "Metalynx and Archilles are unable to battle!"
Ash sighed dejectedly before recalling his defeated Pokemon. "Thank you, guys. You did your best. At the very least, you managed to soften them a tad. Splendifowl and Greninja will finish the job."
Naturally, after seeing Ash not just losing, but losing in such a crushing way the mood had dropped among Ash's friends.
"Archilles and Metalynx are so strong, yet they barely kept up with that Arbok and Whimsicott..." Serena pointed out. "Guess that's the difference two Mega Evolved Pokemon can make."
"It wasn't just Mega Evolution," Clemont interjected. "Hinata and Kaito's teamwork is excellent. They never got in each other's way and knew how to mold to the other and complement their attacks perfectly."
"Ash overplayed his hand. He should have saved that Archilles for last. Now he has to face two Mega Evolved Pokemon with none of his own," Sayaka pointed out.
At this, Serena couldn't help but smirk wryly, knowing what was coming next. "Well, I wouldn't say that Ash no longer has anything capable of matching Mega Evolution."
The ninja raised an eyebrow, clearly not following Serena. "What are you talking about?"
Serena's smirk widened. "Just wait and see," was all she said. She enjoyed the feeling of teasing Sayaka with information the ninja ignored, plus she couldn't help to see the face her former rival would make upon seeing Greninja's true power.
"Greninja, Splendifowl, I choose you!" Ash said, tossing two pokeballs forward.
The capture devices opened, and Ash's two remaining Pokemon emerged from the light.
"Gre!" Greninja said, quickly taking a fighting stance.
"Spleeee! Splendi, fowl!" Splendifowl happily whistled as he flew in circles around Greninja, clearly happy over the chance to fight alongside his idol once again.
"Ninja, gre!" Greninja croaked in a mildly chastising tone, prompting the bird to stop his happy flight and hover next to him instead, preparing to fight.
The referee raised both flags. "The battle continues!"
"Whimsicott, Solar Beam!" Hinata ordered as soon as the referee resumed the match. "Blast that Greninja!"
"Whim!" it cried. Despite the lack of harsh sunlight, Whimsicott only took a couple seconds more to charge and fire the sun-powered attack than before.
"Greninja, avoid it with Double Team!" Ash replied. "And Splendifowl, Air Cutter towards Whimsicott!"
Suddenly, a multitude of Greninja filled the battleground, the Solar Beam destroying a copy the original had left in his place. Meanwhile, Splendifowl beat his wings in order to launch several blades of compressed air at the Whirlwind Pokemon.
Kaito, however, wasn't going to stay still. "Arbok, counter that attack with Sludge Wave!"
"Shaaabak!" Arbok hissed, before opening the jaws of its main head and releasing a torrent of toxic sludge towards Splendifowl's attack, successfully blocking it, and splashing muck around.
"Whimsicott, use Petal Dance to get rid of those pesky illusions!" Hinata ordered.
"Cooot!" Whimsicott cried in agreement as it floated into the air and began to spin in place, summoning a storm of red petals that expanded outwards in a spiraling pattern, dispelling the duplicates.
"Splendifowl, blow the petals away with Hurricane! And Greninja, get close and use Aerial Ace!" Ash ordered.
"Spleeeee, fowl fowl fowl!" Splendifowl whistled loudly as he flapped his wings as strongly as he could, blowing a powerful gust of wind that not only blew the petals away before they could touch either him or Greninja, but it also buffeted Whimsicott.
"Wh-whiii!" the Mega Evolved Pokemon wailed.
It wouldn't be the end of its suffering, as Greninja suddenly appeared in front of it, his arms glowing a bright white, before delivering a pair of diagonal chops that sent the fluffy Pokemon tumbling down.
"Whimsicott!" Hinata cried.
"Arbok, Caustic Breath! Use your many heads to hit both of them!" Kaito ordered.
Arbok opened all its jaws at once, exhaling a torrent of noxious blue and green flames. The fire coming from the mín head hit Greninja, while the coming from the smaller heads burned Splendifowl, blasting them away from Whimsicott.
"Gre!"
"Splee!"
"Greninja Splendifowl, enough! Fall back and regroup!" Ash told them.
His two Pokemon did as they were told, and quickly returned to Ash's side of the battlefield while staying away from the enemy. A good call, since Caustic Breath lowered a Pokemon's defense whenever it hit, so it was better if Ash took this calmly instead of going guns blazing.
"Yes, just as I expected, despite Metalynx and Archilles managed to land quite a few hits, your Pokemon have more than enough energy to keep going," Ash noticed. "Guess that's the power of Mega Evolution for you."
"I hope you don't mean you plan to surrender," Hinata said, sounding almost offended at the idea.
"Many trainers come here thinking they can take us down, before realizing we're far bigger challenge than they anticipated," Kaito added. "Perhaps Ash thinks the same."
"Are you kidding me? These kinds of battles are the ones I enjoy the most!" Ash replied, his exuberance unabated. "I knew that this match wasn't going to be the typical full battle, which is why I tried to be as careful as possible. But the time for caution is over. Now it's time to go all out with everything I have!"
Ash crossed his arms in front of his face, while Greninja mimicked his trainer. Kaito and Hinata had a look of anticipation, while Sayaka was confused.
"Your boyfriend is a skilled trainer, I give him that," Sayaka said. "But there's no way he's winning this with his two remaining Pokemon. He should have saved Mega Evolution for last, like they did."
Once again, Serena smikred. "You shouldn't declare that a match is over until it's really over. Also, I suggest you look at Ash and Greninja closely. You don't want to miss this."
"Miss what, exactly?" Sayaka asked.
"Come on Greninja, let's do it, TOGETHER!" Ash yelled, as he and Greninja spread their arms outwards.
"GRE!" Greninja shouted, crossing his arms in front of his face as a spiraling tower of water formed around him. As trainer and Pokemon synchronized their minds and spirits, Greninja began to transform as well. The water then began to recede, condensing in the shape of a shuriken on Greninja's back, revealing the Kalosian water type's empowered form.
"There he is. The famed Battle Bond Greninja," Kaito said, excitement noticeable in his voice.
"What... what did that Greninja do!?" Sayaka asked in shock. "Did he... Mega Evolve? But that didn't look like Mega Evolution! Ash didn't use his Keystone, and Greninja doesn't have a Mega Stone! Plus the transformation was so different, and-"
"That's Ash-Greninja!" Bonnie chimed in, clearly enjoying Sayaka's reaction. "When Ash and Greninja fight as one, Greninja transforms into that!"
"It's... similar to Mega Evolution, though not the same," Clemont intervened. "It's a very rare phenomenon, so there's little information about it."
"Your Greninja has made quite a name for himself , Ash. I can't wait to test his power myself," Kaito said, licking his lips. "Arbok, Caustic Breath!"
"Water Shuriken!" Ash called.
"Ninja!" Greninja cried as he reached for the shuriken strapped to his back.
Once again, Arbok opened the jaws of all of its heads in order to expel a massive torrent of blue and green flames, while Greninja launched the watery star forward. The shuriken cut through the attack with surprisingly ease, though it dispelled before it could reach Arbok.
"Solar Beam!" Hinata called.
"Deflect it with Night Slash!" Ash ordered.
"Whiii!" Whimsicott cried, gathering ambient solar energy before releasing it in the form of a destructive energy wave.
Greninja summoned a katana of black light with purple edges, and delivered a frontal vertical chop, parrying the powerful beam and splitting it in two directions, which did nothing but slowly push him backwards.
"Splendifowl, Hurricane!" Ash ordered.
"Dodge it with Dig!" Kaito called.
"And you, Whimsicott, protect yourself with Spiky Shield!" Hinata followed.
Splendifowl flapped his wings with great vigor, producing a powerful tornado that moved towards the enemy Pokemon. However, Arbok burrowed underground while Whimsicott encased itslef inside a spiked green energy bubble, so both Pokemon weathered the powerful Flying-type move unscathed.
"Greninja, Double Team! Don't let Arbok get you!" Ash quickly said.
"Gre, gre!" Greninja cried in agreement, as the battlefield was quickly littered with illusionary Greninja duplicates.
Kaito gritted his teeth as he watched how Arbok emerged from below, predictably destroying one of the copies.
"Greninja, Ice Beam! And Splendifowl, Quick Attack!" Ash ordered.
"Spleeeee!" Splendifowl whistled loudly as he folded his wings and shot towards Arbok like a missile, slamming right under its main head.
"Ninja!" Greninja cried, cupping his webbed hands and thrusting them forward, shooting a white beam of freezing power that blasted Arbok and left it covered in frost.
"Arbok!" Kaito cried.
"Whimsicott, Moonblast, quickly!" Hinata ordered.
"Whim, cot!" Whimsicott cried as it summoned a huge orb of swirly pink and white light, before launching it forward.
Splendifowl was able to fly away from the attack, but Greninja, who had just finished casting Ice Beam, didn't have enough time to react and took the attack, which detonated and engulfed him inside a bright pink and white explosion.
"Greninja! Argh!" Ash cried, clutching his chest while his legs wobbled as if they were made of jelly.
"What's going on? Is Ash okay?" Sayaka asked. "Because he just reacted as if it was him rather than Greninja who took that move."
"In a manner of speaking, he did. When in Ash-Greninja form, Ash and Greninja's connection becomes so deep, they can even share their thoughts and see through each other's eyes. Of course, the downside is that they also feel each other's pain," Clemont explained.
"That's... quite the ability," Sayaka said, her eyes fixed on both Ash and Greninja.
"Whimsicott, Solar Beam on Greninja!" Hinata ordered.
"And Arbok, Fire Fang on Splendifowl!" Kaito added.
"Let's make sure they can't rely on those moves anymore! Greninja, Rain Dance!" Ash ordered.
"Greeee...!" Greninja began, his body glowing with a faint blue aura as he raised his arms to the sky. "Ninja!"
Dark clouds quickly gathered above the battlefield, blocking the sun, and soon rain began to fall.
"Whi...?" Whimsicott asked in confusion, as it suddenly took it much more time and effort to gather the energy needed for the attack.
Arbok, however, was undeterred, and even if the fire coming from its mouth shrunk, it continued its attack, clamping its flame-covered jaws around Splendifowl's body.
"Greninja, help Splendifowl! Aerial Ace!" Ash ordered.
"Nin!" Greninja croaked bridging the distance between him and his partner as he gathered power into his limbs, which began to glow white. A single swipe was enough to force Arbok to release the bird, and when the smaller heads tried to retaliate, a swipe of his other arm dissuaded them from trying.
As Greninja grabbed Splendifowl and moved him away from the enemy Pokemon, Arbok slithered its way back to Whimsicott, who had given up on using Solar Beam.
"Very clever, Ash, cutting Whimsicott's main offensive move, while boosting your Greninja and Spledifowl's offensive capabilities," Hinata said. "Do you think it will give you enough edge to beat us?"
Ash's mouth curved into a confident smirk. "Why don't we find out? Greninja, Water Shuriken!"
"Gre!" Greninja cried in agreement as he reached for the shuriken on his back before launching it forward. It quickly absorbed the rainwater as it flew, growing in size.
"But you should know that Solar Beam is far from the only weapon in Whimsicott's arsenal," Hinata continued, before thrusting her open hand forward. "Petal Dance!"
"Whiiiii!" Whimsicott happily cried, as the Mega Evolved Pokemon floated into the air while spinning, generating a storm of pink petals that moved in a spiraling pattern.
The rain of petals clashed against the spinning watery projectile, and while the later began to push through the former, the neverending petals eventually tore the shuriken into droplets and bits of water before continuing unimpeded towards Greninja.
"Air Cutter, Splendifowl!" Ash ordered.
"Spleee!" Splendifowl cawed, sending several blades of compressed air towards the Grass-type move.
After grinding the Water Shuriken away, the Petal Dance had no more energy to overcome a second move, much less one of a disadvantageous type, and the move was destroyed.
"Arbok, Sludge Wave!" Kaito ordered.
"Shaaaaa!" Arbok hissed before expelling a torrent of purple toxic mud at Greninja.
"Deflect it with Night Slash!" Ash ordered.
"Nin!" Greninja croaked, generating two shadow katanas, one in each hand, and used them to swat the torrent of grime away while he hopped backwards.
"Whimsicott, Moonblast!" Hinata ordered.
"Splendifowl, Flash!" Ash quickly shouted.
The Paradise Bird Pokemon's body began to glow with white light, before filling the entire area with such a bright light that forced everybody to shield their eyes. The attack caught Arbok and Whimsicott by surprise, blinding and stunning them for a few seconds.
"Now, quickly, before they recover! Greninja, Night Slash on Whimsicott! Splendifowl, Mirror Shot on Arbok!"
Opening his eyes, Greninja quickly hopped towards Whimsicott and delivered a pair of slashes with his grime-covered katanas, making the Whirlwind Pokemon wail in pain. Meanwhile, Splendifowl peppered Arbok with silvery energy beams fired from his open beak.
"What the... he's using the residual sludge on the Night Slash to cause more harm to Whimsicott?" Sayaka asked, realizing why Whimsicott was taking so badly an attack it should resist better.
"That's Ash for you. He's able to come up with really neat tactics on the fly," Serena proudly said.
"Wait, how was the Greninja able to attack so fast? He should have been blinded by the flash too!" the ninja coordinator continued. "Unless..."
"Unless Ash used his bond to mentally warn Greninja that he should close his eyes before calling for the Flash?" Bonnie cheekily finished what Sayaka was probably thinking. "Pretty much, yeah."
"It seems the odds are turning against us, my love," Kaito observed. "This Ash Ketchum is craftier than I initially believed."
"Then let's show him that far from growing meek, we become stronger in the face of adversity," Hinata replied.
"I couldn't agree more," Kaito said. "Arbok, Caustic Breath on Greninja!"
"Double Team!" Ash ordered.
As Arbok's main head exhaled a torrent of blue and green flames towards Greninja, the Kalosian starter once again littered the battleground with duplicates.
"Predictable. Arbok, use your secondary heads to destroy the illusions!" Kaito quickly ordered. "You can't use deception against master ninjas like us!"
While Arbok's main head kept the attack going, the multiple Ekans heads shot small fireballs at the fake Greninja, which were low in power but did their intended job.
"Whimsicott, Moonblast!" Hinata shouted with a hand flourish.
As the Double Team was undone, Whimsicott formed a large orb of white and pink swirly light, and tossed it at the remaining Greninja, who was busy dodging Arbok's attack.
"Splendifowl, counter it with Mirror Shot!" Ash ordered.
"Spleeee!" Splendifowl whistled, firing a silvery energy beam from his beak at the coming attack.
However, the Moonblast proved to be more powerful than expected, and tore through the bird's attack despite the type advantage, smashing against him.
"Splendifowl!" Ash cried.
"Spleee, fo!" Splendifowl whistled, reeling from the impact but remaining mid-air. However, much to his relief, the Mirror Shot had at least shaved some of the Moonblast's initial power, so it didn't do as much damage as somebody would have feared.
"Now Arbok, Dig!" Kaito said, sounding more giddy.
"Oh no, you won't catch us with that move again! Splendifowl, fly high! And Greninja, Ice Beam on the ground below your feet!" Ash commanded.
"Gre, NINJA!" Greninja croaked as he fired a beam of freezing energy to the ground he was standing on, quickly covering it in a layer of thick ice.
"What?" Kaito asked.
As soon as Greninja was finished, Arbok attempted to burst from underground, but the Mega Evolved Pokemon didn't have enough strength to both break the ground and the cover of ice, only cracking it a little at best.
"Arbok, fall back!" Kaito regretfully ordered. "Well played, Ash."
That moment, Greninja's body began to glow with a faint blue aura, which slowly became progressively brighter.
"Good. It is time," Ash said, smirking. "Splendifowl, Hurricane!"
"An astute move, but not one we didn't see coming a mile away," Hinata said. "Whimsicott, get close to Arbok and use Spiky Shield!"
The ts Splendifowl beat his wings to produce a powerful tornado with the aid of the artificial rain, the two Mega Evolved Pokemon gathered together as Whimsicott threw a spike-covered energy shield over them, so when the powerful wind attack fell upon them, they were completely protected.
However, Ash wasn't worried by this. If anything, it looked like he was expecting it. "Now let's win this! Greninja... STORM SHURIKEN!"
"Greeeeeeee...!" Greninja loudly croaked as he grabbed the shuriken on his back and raised it above his head in an horizontal position. The falling droplets began to gather and spin around Greninja, engulfing him inside a raging vortex of water. Said vortex not only did draw the rain, but the clouds themselves, clearing the skies. The water vortex then burst like a bubble, revealing Greninja holding a massive shuriken, easily thrice the normal size, made not just of water, but of storm clouds and pressurized wind.
"What... what kind of attack is that!?" Sayaka practically screamed, her eyes wide open in shock.
"NINJA!" With a mighty heave, Greninja launched the elemental disk towards the enemy Pokemon, just in time as the Spiky Shield vanished.
The Storm Shuriken hit both Whimsicott and Arbok, producing a deafening thunderclap as it exploded into a spiraling dome of torrential water, storm clouds, gale winds and lightning sparks. A powerful gust of wind blew in every direction, forcing everybody to shield themselves, almost as if they were in the middle of an actual storm.
Then, the localized storm came to an end, and a deafening silence reigned supreme.
When the effect of the attack ceased, Arbok and Whimsicott laid sprawling in the center of a massive crater, their eyes all swirly and making no attempts to move.
"Whimsicott!"
"Arbok!"
But their Pokemon neither moved nor even replied to their trainers. After a few, long seconds, the referee raised his flag. "Arbok and Whimsicott are unable to battle! This means that the challenger has passed the Trial of Balance, and thus he has completed all three trials, winning the match!"
Naturally, this drew a round of loud cheers from Serena and the rest of Ash's friends.
"Yes! Ash won!" Clemont cheered.
"That Greninja was amazing! Though Splendifowl was pretty cool too," Lilia added.
"Ash is the best!" Bonnie yelled.
"I heard of some Greninja who had a hidden power only a few trainers would be able to bring to the surface," Sayaka uttered, still dumbfounded. "But I never imagined that it would be something like this."
Serena didn't say anything, and rushed to congratulate Ash the way he deserved, with a big kiss. However, while he was halfway though, Greninja reverted back to his base form and dropped facefirst on the ground, with Ash falling to his knees as well.
Her joy quickly turned to worry. "Ash!"
"It's... it's okay, I'm okay," Ash weakly said while pushing himself back to his feet. Serena reached him and helped him stand. "That attack still takes a lot out of us. Come on Greninja, return!" Ash said, recalling his exhausted Pokemon.
"The other Gym Leaders told us that your Greninja was nothing like any other Pokemon they had seen before," Hinata began, as she and Kaito walked towards them.
"But all of them failed to mention that attack," Kaito followed.
"Well... that's because it was a recent development," Ash said, his voice carrying a little more energy. "I knew Greninja could use an enhanced version of Water Shuriken, but it took us some effort and trial and error to figure out how to make it work."
"That attack brought you a magnificent victory. Though I'm sure that you could have defeated us even without it," Hinata said, as she extended her open palm to Ash. "The Zen badge is yours."
Ash took the badge, a Yin-Yang symbol with a golden sun and a golden crescent moon in place of the black and white dots, respectively, and with some difficulty, raised it above his head. "I won the Zen Badge!"
"Pi, pikachu!"
"Splendi, spleee!"
"This makes the last badge you need to qualify for the Tandor League," Kaito said. "So another round of congratulations are in order."
"We will be sure you'll do great at the League, Ash," Hinata said.
"Thank you. And I never do nothing less than my best," Ash said.
…
An hour later, the group (minus Sayaka, who after saying her goodbyes and wishing Ash luck on the League, went back to her home) was at the Pokemon Center. Ash had left all his Pokemon there, since after the brutal Gym Battle, they needed both rest and medical care more than ever. Nurse Joy also asked to examine Pikachu, despite the fact that he hadn't fought.
Ash and his friends were sitting on a table at the lobby, having a few sodas while talking animatedly among eách other.
"Well, now that Ash has won all his eight badges and Serena no longer has to do any contests, what are we going to do?" Clemont said. "There's still more than a month until the League starts."
"The girls said that they wanted to see all the sights this village has to offer, so why don't we stay a few days here?" Ash suggested.
"That would be great!" Lilia agreed.
"Indeed! This place is so beautiful, and has so many spots of interest, I don't think I'll be able to see all of them in one day," Serena added.
"Ninja villages are cool, so I'm okay with it," Bonnie said.
"Then it's settled! We'll stay a few more days, and then, we'll see what we'll do next," Ash decided.
"Excuse me, Mr. Ketchum?" Nurse Joy shouted from the counter.
Ash quickly got up and walked towards the blue haired nurse. "Yep?"
"I read the medical history of yoru Pikachu. Apparently, he was exposed to a dangerous amount of nuclear radiation, and has been in recovery treatment since then, right?" Nurse Joy asked while reading from a clipboard.
"Yeah. I've been keeping him out of battles and only doing the lightest of training," Ash said, a little worried. "Have there been any changes?"
"As a matter of fact, yes. I believe the treatment has been a success. Your Pikachu's recovery is complete, and I can give him a clear bill of health and permission to take part in battle again!"
"Whoa! Really?" Ash practically had stars in his eyes.
"Yes. Though, I recommend taking it easy at first. Getting into intense battles from the get go might be dangerous, so make sure you slowly work your way there, understood?"
"Yes, yes, of course!" Ash took Pikachu between his hands. "Do you hear that, buddy? You're healthy again! And just in time for the League!"
"Pi, pikachu!" Pikachu squealed, just as jubilous as Ash.
Yes, today was a good day. Not only Ash had finally won his last badge, but his oldest friend was fully recovered. He couldn't help but feel that the near future was as bright as the midday sun.
…
Somewhere dark
There was something wrong. Something that, no matter how much she put her prodigious mind to it, she wouldn't find a solution.
Her child, her beautiful child, was suffering. Despite how much it was eating, despite how much it was growing, it was still suffering.
Did it need more food until it reached a point of stability? Was the problem in the child's constitution? Perhaps a third factor she wasn't aware of? Frustration built up as all her hypotheses failed to bring her closer to a solution Ugh, if she only had more people who could help her... this used to be easier when... when...
When...
...how did she know that there was a time when this was easier? She didn't remember such a time. It has always been just her and her precious baby.
"MOTHER, I HUNGER."
All her tribulations were pushed to the back of her head. Now, her baby needed her.
"Don't worry, my child. I will procure you more food soon."
Author's Note: And with this, Ash has finally all eight badges of the Tandor region! Yay!
I hope you guys enjoyed the second part of the battle, I did my best to make it as epic as possible, And I hope that those among you who enjoy weather effects liked it, given that I had use not one but two weather effects as well. And of course, I couldn't have Ash not use the Storm Shuriken for the final gym battle.
And something many of you have been waiting for: Pikachu is healthy enough to return to battling! And given what's about to come next, Ash is going to need every possible Pokemon at his side.
Thanks a lot to bige1218, Lipeghoul, Fox McCloude, beamknight87, hirowriter, MarcusDarkus87 and BrightNova169 for reviewing the previous chapter.
Next chapter, our heroes take a well deserved rest, while one of Ash's rivals show up to say hi, and absolutely nothing bad happens. What, why are you looking at me like that? Anyway, don't forget to leave a review as well!