章 94: 70
"It certainly looks like Ash is popular," Philena said, looking around at the packed stadium. "Do you have to deal with this all the time?"
"It kind of depends," Brock replied. "I think sometimes people just find it awkward making a fuss… but in a big enough crowd, they think it's okay to be a bit of a fan, and then since everyone's doing it then people get much more comfortable doing that kind of thing."
He shrugged. "With everyone knowing Ash is going to be here at a specific time, then it's not really surprising that it's this crowded."
Philena nodded. "I see. It's good to hear that you're not constantly surrounded by crowds."
"Well… depends if you mean crowds of people or Pokémon," May hedged. "We do tend to be pretty well surrounded by Pokémon half the time."
"I suppose that's inevitable," Philena said. "You all have a lot of Pokémon."
"I've got only a couple more than a normal full team," May pointed out. "But Ash has, uh… loads."
"Shinx is sometimes all I can handle," the Professor confided. "I'm lucky she's napping at the moment – and we've agreed there are times she does have to be in her Pokéball."
"That's good," Brock said. "I remember having a tough couple of months getting my starter to accept boundaries."
May blinked. "Wasn't your starter… Onix?"
"That's right," Brock agreed with a wince. "You don't want to know what a state the windowsill was in by the time we got him to stop leaning on it."
Philena laughed. "I can just see that! And I bet he looked really sheepish, as well..."
"He did a bit," Brock confirmed.
He pointed. "Look – here we go, the battle's about to start."
"It'll be interesting to see if this works," Pikachu said.
"It worked in training," Ash replied. "...eventually."
Pikachu waved his tail. "Yeah, eventually."
"Go!" Ash said, deciding to proceed anyway, and threw the first Pokéball.
Donphan flashed into being, curled up, and then Corphish landed on top of him.
"Advance," he said, flourishing a Razor Shell, and scuttling backwards on top of the Ground-type – matching speed with Donphan's forwards roll, so he kept in position just on top of Donphan.
"You'll have to give me more specific directions," Donphan pointed out.
"Of course," Corphish replied. "I will do so as soon as-"
The other trainer sent out Wailord, which cast a shadow over half the arena grass.
"Full astern," Corphish interrupted himself. "Backwards now!"
Donphan skidded to a halt, sending up a rooster-tail of dirt, and began to Rollout backwards. The bulky Water-type slammed down just behind them, making the ground shake, and a pulse of air knocked them off course for a little before Donphan recovered.
"The other Pokémon's a Vileplume!" Ash told them. "It's on top of the Wailord!"
"Well, that's an interesting one..." Donphan said, as they swerved to take a path around the outside of the arena. "What's the plan?"
"Roll me closer," Corphish said. "I want to hit them with my swords."
"Of course you do," Donphan replied, sighing, and skidded around in a turn. A barrage of Bullet Seeds came flying at them, and Donphan jinked to one side to avoid the worst of them.
"Vwum," Corphish stated, his Shellsabers blurring, and Bullet Seeds went flying in all directions as he knocked them aside with a series of high-speed blocks and counters. "Jump!"
"Keep the Bullet Seed up!" Mike said, pointing. "They're both weak to Grass attacks-"
He stopped, then started again. "Wailord, use Body Slam!"
Wailord shifted, flexing, then jumped into the air just as Donphan arrived. The Ground-type pushed off with his trunk, launching both himself and his crustacean passenger into the air, and managed to get onto the broad back of Mike's Wailord as it soared into the air.
"Wait, now I can't see what's going on," Mike muttered to himself. "Vileplume, Giga Drain!"
There was a flash of green light, and a swish, and then Vileplume yelped. A moment later, Wailord landed again, knocking all three other Pokémon staggering.
Donphan recovered first, and peeled out forwards – headed straight for Vileplume.
"Look out!" Mike ordered. "Wailord, Water Spout! Aim for the middle of your back!"
Wailord duly fired out a blast of water, sending it arcing into the air and then falling down just where Corphish was.
Knocked backwards by the force of the water blast, Corphish staggered a bit. Then Donphan hit Vileplume, knocking him off Wailord's back, and the Ground-type bounced off his opponent and then came around for another attack.
"Block with Bullet Seed!" Mike said, trying to keep track of both engagements at once. "Splash, Wailord!"
The Water-type flexed again, this time enough to bounce Corphish into the air and knock him off – landing him on the grass a little way from Vileplume.
He immediately deactivated one shell-blade, firing a burst of Bubblebeam at Vileplume, and distracted the Grass-type for long enough that Donphan ran him over.
"Body Slam!" Mike instructed. "Quickly! Get the Corphish and Donphan!"
While Wailord launched himself upwards, Corphish and Donphan kept up their cooperative attack. The Water-type swung back up on Donphan's back, then began scuttling around to keep himself on top. Barrages of Bubblebeams and the occasional Earth Power kept Vileplume distracted, and then Mike realized he'd made a critical error.
"Look out, Vileplume!" he shouted.
Donphan sped away, carrying Corphish out of the impact zone at almost the last moment.
Vileplume wasn't so lucky.
"...uh, okay," Ash said, blinking. "I… didn't actually expect that."
He waved. "Is your Vileplume okay?"
"Wailord, roll over!" Mike ordered. "Vileplume, are you alright?"
Vileplume seemed to be largely driven into the ground like a large, plant-like nail.
"Um… what now?" Mike asked. "I guess Vileplume can't battle… I think I'm going to have to forfeit. I really screwed up..."
"What happened there?" Philena asked. "It looked like it was going well at first."
"I think he's not practiced battling with two Pokémon," May judged. "I've seen Coordinators like that – their Pokémon just aren't well coordinated, and they're too used to having just the one Pokémon to keep track of."
"Hey, do you have a moment?" Ash asked.
Mike looked around. "Oh – hey, didn't expect to see you again..."
"Yeah, I just wanted to say-" Ash began, then shook his head. "Yeah, this was going to be a lot easier in my head… am I right in guessing that you've mostly done one on one battles?"
"Yeah, that's right," Mike confirmed. "I thought that Vileplume and Wailord would work well because they have good coverage for one another, but – that kind of didn't work out for me."
"I think the mistake there's mostly just one about training," Ash said, thinking. "Not just your Pokémon, but you as well. What your Pokémon need to learn if they're in a double battle is how to support one another – how to work together, basically, not just work in the same area as one another – and what I think you could work on is how to keep track of the whole battle."
He waved back at the arena. "You might have noticed I had my Pokémon mostly doing their own thing? That's because they knew what to do to work together – and having your Pokémon able to concentrate on the small things means you can keep track of the big picture."
"Right," Mike said, brightening. "Right! Thanks – I'll try that!"
"Great," Ash replied. "Hope that goes well!"
"Is Ash going to come up here?" Philena asked. "I'd have expected him to show up by now."
Down in the arena, there was a sudden whoosh of blue flame as a Poison Gas was ignited by a Flamethrower. The combination attack knocked both opposing Pokémon aside, and the Flying-type was hit hard enough that it barely pulled out of a dive before hitting the floor.
"I think he should be on the way," Brock agreed. "Oh – and here he is. How's things, Ash?"
"Not bad," Ash replied, as Pikachu jumped down from his shoulder and sat in the empty seat. "...oh, come on, Pikachu…."
Pikachu looked up at Ash. "What? What's the problem?"
"Well..." Ash began, scratching the back of his neck. "I was planning to sit there."
"I'm not sure how that's my problem," Pikachu countered, sticking his tongue out. "I'm sure you can find another chair."
"What's going on?" Philena asked.
"Oh, Pikachu's being funny," Brock told her. "I'm not sure why, but it seems to amuse him."
"Right, mister!" Ash said, picking his Electric-type up. "You stop this or I won't let you battle Sparky!"
Pikachu paused, cheeks half-charged. "Tell me more."
"He won his final doubles match," May supplied, guessing what Pikachu meant. "So Ritchie's fighting Ash early in the last-thirty-two."
"Oh," Pikachu said. "Oh. Okay, fair enough."
Ash took his seat, watching as the Flying-type got knocked out.
"...that was quick," he said. "Who's next… oh, right, Tyson!"
Tyson expanded out both his Pokéballs. "Okay, go!"
Four Pokémon exploded out onto the field, Tyson's Hariyama and his Metagross taking position across from an Aggron and a Snorlax.
"Huh," Tyson said, interested. "A heavyweight battle! Metagross, focus on the Snorlax!"
"Keep back, Aggron!" his opponent said. "Move in when you see an opening against the Hariyama – and don't let him catch you in close! Snorlax, start Stockpiling!"
Hariyama advanced, Metagross clattering along just to his right, and took a stance. He paused for a moment, then lunged in and took Snorlax by the arm.
"Vital Throw!" Tyson ordered.
His Fighting-type strained, lifting Snorlax a few inches off the ground, then the Normal-type glowed and rose much more quickly.
"Aggron, now!" the other trainer said, as Snorlax went vertical. "And Spit Up!"
Snorlax unleashed his stored energy downwards, but Hariyama had just thrown him – so the blast of Stockpiled energy just hit the ground and dug out a crater. Hariyama turned to face Aggron, and got a Heavy Slam to the face.
"Tag in!" Tyson said.
Metagross lumbered forwards, raising one limb, and hammered a footpunch into Aggron. The impact helped Hariyama push his target backwards, and he added a Karate Chop which made the Steel-type roar with rage.
Snorlax contributed by launching a blast of flame at Metagross, forcing the Psychic-type to switch focus to defend himself, and Aggron hit Hariyama with another Heavy Slam to force him backwards before launching a Fire Blast of his own at the vulnerable Metagross.
"Hariyama, Whirlwind!" Tyson said. "Blow that fire off course!"
Hariyama complied, whipping up a storm of wind with a palm-strike, then moved forwards a few steps and kicked out at Aggron's legs.
"Back!" Aggron's trainer said. "Snorlax, Rest – then Sleep Talk!"
"Use Psychic to hold Snorlax in place," Tyson instructed. "Hariyama, you move in. Focus Punch!"
"Aggron, Thunder Wave!"
The crash and clatter of attack and counterattack rang in the air as four large, burly Pokémon went at it hammer and tongs.
"Is this what it sounds like in your gym?" Philena asked, voice raised.
"Not really," Brock replied. "We don't usually have this many big Pokémon in it at once!"
He waved a hand. "Actually, come to that, we don't do double battles. So we don't have this many big Pokémon in at once… pretty much ever."
Aggron and Snorlax both strained, lifting Tyson's Metagross into the air between them.
"Now, throw!"
Both Normal-type and Rock-type twisted, sending Metagross crashing to the ground about five feet away – making a large crater in the ground.
"Metagross, use Magnet Rise – get back upright," Tyson called. "Hariyama, get him some time – Arm Thrust!"
The Fighting-type came lumbering back into the battle, arm back and palms glowing white, and hit both his opponents with open-hand blows in rapid alternation.
"Behind you!" Tyson's opponent said. "That Metagross is getting up!"
"Meteor Mash and Arm Thrust!" Tyson said, triumphantly.
Hariyama and Metagross paused a moment, lining up their arms, then launched the attacks both at once. First Snorlax was hit by a metal fist from behind and a palm strike from the front – then Aggron – then Snorlax again, until both Pokémon were battered and wobbling on their feet.
Aggron slammed a tail strike into Metagross, knocking it backwards and making it bounce on the floor, then took a final attack from Hariyama and collapsed.
"Rest, Snorlax!" his trainer said. "We can still win this!"
Hariyama used Wake-Up Slap, knocking Snorlax out of his attempt at a nap, and then punched him clear across the arena with an almighty Focus Punch.
"...or not," the trainer added. "I guess that means you win. Good match!"
"Looks like Max is next," Norman said, looking at the chart on their wall. "And he's battling someone called Hidachi."
That should be interesting, Gardevoir smiled. I wonder who he'll use.
Maybe he'll use Roland! Kirlia suggested. I think Roland would be great at this!
Well, Roland is still quite new to battling, Gardevoir pointed out. I'm not sure if Max would want to use him here – he might use Roland for the Full Battle section – but, well, we'll see.
"Okay, here we go," Norman told them, drawing their attention to the screen.
Hidachi sent out his Pokémon. First a Golduck, who appeared high and used a pulse of psychic energy to arrest his fall, then a Hitmonchan whose first movement was to take a ready stance.
As he did, Max's own Pokémon appeared. Guy came first, Toxic Orb nearly hidden under the frills of his ruff, and then came his teammate.
"Here we go!" Roland said, determined. "Ready?"
Guy nodded a confirmation.
"Electric bullet!" Hidachi ordered.
Golduck took a step sideways to be just behind Hitmonchan's shoulder. A globe of water formed in one palm, and he lobbed it forwards – so it passed over Hitmonchan's head, ready to land just in front of him.
"Guy, look out!" Max said.
Hitmonchan's fist blurred out in a Thunderpunch, hitting the Water Pulse. Golduck's aquakinesis kept the waterglobe intact, so instead of bursting in a shower of droplets it was volleyed forwards as a single crackling sphere of high-speed electrified water.
Guy swished his tail into it, the thick muscle giving his Iron Tail enough force to smash the projectile to pieces. Some of the charge got through, and he winced – then saw them lining up another attack.
"Roland!" Max called. "Guy, Leaf Storm!"
Hitmonchan pulled back his fist, which lit with flame, then – just as he launched the attack – a pulse of Psywave hit him from behind. His punch hit off-centre, splintering the Water Pulse into tiny droplets, and Golduck kicked out at the little Ralts who'd just messed up their attack.
Roland vanished again with a flicker of light, and Guy reminded them of his presence by kicking Hitmonchan under the chin hard enough to launch him into the air.
Unfortunately for the Grass-type, however, Hitmonchan refocused fast. He met Guy's next attack with a Mach Punch, forcing them apart in the air from the force of the impact, and flipped before landing on his feet.
Guy's claws dug a trail in the ground as he braked, and Golduck followed up on the counterattack by Hitmonchan with a pulse of Psychic aimed at the Breloom. The impact made Guy stagger, then steady himself – Poison Heal washing away his injuries.
"Try and get one of them in the air!" Max instructed.
"Don't give them the chance!" Hidachi said. "Water bullet barrage!"
Golduck clapped his hands together, water splashing out from the contact point and forming a miniature lagoon around both him and his ally, and then the pond began to bubble upwards in large Water Pulse orbs for Hitmonchan to use. Hitmonchan rose to the occasion, leaning forwards slightly and unleashing a volley of punches which fired every one of the Pulses at Guy.
Some of them had electricity sparking all along the outside edge, some hissed and bubbled as they boiled en route, and some were football-sized chunks of ice flash-frozen by an Ice Punch, but most of them were simply propelled by the force of a Mach Punch.
Guy dodged to the side, escaping the first flush of the assault, then smashed one of the ice balls. "Roland!"
"Right!" Roland agreed, disappearing from his position and reappearing on Guy's head. The Ralts then began to teleport as fast as he could, appearing next to orb after orb and breaking them up with little Confusion pulses to destabilize them.
Guy charged into the teeth of the attack, relying on Poison Heal to protect him from what was no longer anything more than a kind of horizontal rain.
"Get that Ralts!" Hidachi said. "Bullet Punch!"
Hitmonchan took a step forwards, ignoring the Water Pulse orbs rising up around him for a moment, and hit Roland as he teleported in. The impact knocked Roland across half of the arena, and he landed with a pained thud.
Before that, though, Guy reached Hitmonchan.
He spun on one foot, tail smacking into Hitmonchan's side, and knocked him enough out of the way that Guy could target Golduck. He fired a point-blank Seed Bomb, the blast powerful enough to send Golduck staggering back, and switched back to Hitmonchan in order to smack him with a Facade.
"Drain Punch!" Hidachi instructed.
Roland shook his head, clearing the stars from his eyes, and refocused. Max? What now?
"Help Guy!" Max told him.
Roland turned, focusing on the battle, and saw that Guy was having trouble keeping the other two Pokémon from focusing on him.
"Right!" the Ralts said, and took a step forwards. Between that step and the next, he vanished in a teleport.
Appearing three paces behind Golduck as the Water-type readied an Ice Beam, he summoned a swirl of Magical Leaves and fired them at Golduck's back. Then he did another teleport, concentrating hard to keep his position focused in his head and appear in the right place, and used Confusion on Hitmonchan.
Going back to hit Golduck, he nearly met a Hydro Pump coming the other way and hurriedly teleported straight upwards. The perspective change was a wrench, but it gave him time to think, and he picked his position before doing yet another location change to land on Guy's back.
"You okay?" Guy asked.
"Yeah!" Roland said, shaking off the dizziness. "Kinda – can you move back a bit?"
The Breloom kicked off, getting distant just before a Water Pulse from one side hit him at the same time as a Focus Punch from the other, and braked by digging his claws into the grass. "You've got a plan?"
"Sure do," Roland confirmed. "Just give me a moment to recover..."
"Well, I'll try..." Guy promised. "Look out, though, incoming!"
"So, turns out Roland's pretty good," Norman said. "It looks like he does need an ally to do the heavy hitting for him, for now, but that teleport trick of his is pretty good at avoiding being hit."
Mostly, Gardevoir added, sounding a little upset. I wish he'd be more careful… that looked painful.
"I think he's holding up better than you'd think," Norman said. "I mean, sure, he's being hit a few times – but he's able to surprise them, so he's not actually being hit with a particularly strong attack."
Look out! Kirlia 'pathed, looking at the screen as Guy skidded to one side and Roland clung on.
"Can he actually sense you from that far away?" Caroline asked.
Kirlia paused. ...no, I don't think so…
"Even if he could, it'd just confuse him," Norman told her. "Broadcasts like this are on a time delay – it's short, but it's there in case something happens that means they need to stop broadcasting."
Oh, huh… Kirlia said. That's actually more impressive than just doing it straight away.
Humans are inventive, Gardevoir agreed.
"Are you nearly ready?" Guy asked, claws digging into the ground. "Mach Punch!"
His blow blasted a particularly large Water Pulse apart. "I don't think it's long before we start facing actual fire Fire Punches..."
"I'm ready!" Roland confirmed. "Okay, Leaf Storm!"
Guy nodded, springing back to get distance and then making a run-up. He lowered his head, using his cap to deflect the worst of the powerful attacks, and crouched before doing a backflip kick to knock Hitmonchan in the air.
This time, Hitmonchan was ready for them, and he paused before lashing out with a Fire Punch-
-and hit thin air, as Guy vanished in a flicker of light.
The Breloom reappeared, still moving, behind his opponent. Connecting with both feet, he launched Hitmonchan into the air before following with a burst of speed. Golduck lashed out at him, and he replied with a quick Seed Bomb aimed straight down – one which blew a crater in the ground, launching Guy higher and knocking Golduck backwards.
Roland shook his head to refocus, then jumped off Guy's back and vanished in another teleport. As he did, Hitmonchan spun in mid-air, ready to Mach Punch Guy away for the second time this battle.
"Look out!" Hidachi called urgently.
Hitmonchan hesitated, unsure what his trainer meant, and then Roland appeared behind him and grabbed onto his shoulder.
Down! Roland sent to his teammate.
Guy's tail coiled up like a spring, and he pulled in both legs – muscles bunching and ready to kick out.
As Hitmonchan reached up to his shoulder to throw the Fairy-type off, the world lurched around him. His perspective on the arena was suddenly off by a hundred degrees to the right and tilted so the floor was now the wall, and instead of readying a Mach Punch to hit the Breloom's fist he was looking at a pair of large feet a few inches from his chest.
Then he got kicked. Very hard. Twice.
And hit with Guy's tail, too, for good measure.
A cloud of dust went up as Hitmonchan was hammered into the floor.
Roland appeared just over Guy's head, landed on it as Guy hit the top of his arc, and looked down. "You can land okay, right? I'm kind of tired..."
"Sure thing," Guy confirmed, rolling his neck, and landed with knees bent to absorb the recoil.
Roland wobbled, nearly falling, and Guy had to catch him as he toppled off the Breloom's head cap. "Whoops!"
A Hydro Pump came blasting at them, getting both Max's Pokémon wet and sending them skidding several feet across the floor.
"Okay, you stay here for now," Guy added, putting Roland down. His claws dug into the ground, and he burst forwards.
Roland watched, slightly dizzy, as Guy dodged an Ice Beam and spun into an Iron Tail. The heavy impact from Guy's tail knocked Golduck sideways, then the Water-type recovered and summoned a great wave of water which blasted out in all directions.
A moment of droplets hanging in mid-air, and then Golduck froze the lot. His webbed foot hit the floor, and icy fragments shot out in all directions – peppering Guy with dozens of tiny ice shards.
Face set, the Ralts got up again.
Guy needed his help.
"Guy!" Max called. "Seed Bomb – straight up!"
Guy complied without question, diving past Golduck's attack and tucking into a forwards roll. At the moment he was facing straight up he fired, sending a glowing brown orb suffused with Grass-type energy into the air.
"Golduck, move back!" Hidachi said. "Make sure you're out of range of that Seed Bomb!"
Golduck backflipped, all four limbs glowing with a pulse of psionic energy, and the flip took him at least five metres away – outside the blast radius.
"Now!" Max said suddenly.
There was a flicker of light overhead, and the Seed Bomb vanished.
"Wait – no!" Hidachi said suddenly, as another flicker of light appeared next to Golduck. "LOOK-!"
Roland threw Guy's Seed Bomb right at Golduck's feet, and teleported away just as it detonated.
"...okay, that was impressive," May said, clapping, as Golduck collapsed and Guy caught his dizzy teammate. "Wow, I know he was working on that teleport thing a lot, but that was a really impressive performance!"
She looked contemplative. "I wonder if he'd be willing to take part in a Contest in Kanto..."
"Maybe," Brock agreed. "I think you're right, he'd probably be quite good at it."
"So that was at least five different uses of teleport," Philena observed. "It's a very good example of how versatile a single move can be – not only was he using it to get into attack position, he was also getting out of danger, moving an ally into an advantageous position, moving an enemy into a disadvantageous position, and even using it to deliver a completely different attack."
"Yeah," Ash agreed. "But what really makes me impressed is how well Max did. Did you see?"
Philena looked confused.
"No, I get it," May said. "You mean when he told Guy to use Seed Bomb – it meant that he knew what Roland was planning, either because Roland told him or because he thought Roland could come up with it independently, and he had Guy do something which looked like it was a different attack entirely."
Ash nodded. "That's what I mean," he confirmed. "It shows he knows his Pokémon well enough that he doesn't have to explain the strategy to them."
"Beedrill asks if you are sure you don't want to use him," Riolu said.
"Yeah, I'm pretty sure," Casey replied. "I know he's good, and I know he wants to fight, but… well, I'm pretty sure we'll need a pinch-hitter. Maybe two."
"I see," Riolu frowned. "Yes, that makes a great deal of sense."
She reached out, and tapped the button of her Pokéball – recalling herself with a flash of red light.
Casey nodded to herself. "Okay, let's do this."
"That's the baseball girl?" Johanna asked.
"I think so, yes," Dawn agreed. "It'll be interesting to see who she uses this time – her team's kind of eclectic."
"Well, who doesn't have a strange team from some point of view?" her mother said. "Even Gym Leaders have a surprise or two."
"You're right," Dawn admitted. "And I know my team's going to be quite a mix."
As they watched, there was a flash as Casey sent out both her Pokémon – Meganium, wearing her striped scarf, and her shiny Riolu who took up a ready stance.
Across the arena, the other trainer – a young man with a bandana – sent out his own pair of Pokémon. First came a Baltoy, which bobbed up and down and spun gently, and then a Whirlipede which bounced down next to it.
"So, what do you think?" Johanna said, turning to her daughter. "Who's got the best chance?"
"Hmm," Dawn frowned. "Well, the Whirlipede's got a good type advantage, and the Baltoy's pretty well set up too… but I don't think type's the only thing you have to think about. I think I remember seeing her Riolu before, and she's a really fast pitcher."
"Begin!" the announcer called.
"Vine Whip!" Casey ordered. "Try and stop the Whirlipede rolling!"
Meganium's legs extended roots into the ground to keep her in place, and she reached out with both vines to grab for the Bug-type. They reached as Whirlipede began to spindash in place, slipped, and she lost her grip as Whirlipede Steamrollered off.
"Right field!" Casey said quickly.
Riolu vaulted over her Grass-type ally, palms glowing with bright blue energy. She lashed out, palm striking the incoming Whirlipede, and swept her foot into Whirlipede as a follow-up to knock him off course.
"Keep it up, Whirlipede!" Casey's opponent called. "Baltoy, use Extrasensory!"
"Switch!" Casey told Riolu. "Fastball!"
The Fighting-type jumped backwards, shielding herself behind Meganium for a moment, then span up an Aura Sphere and jumped back out again. She hurled it with an overhand cast, sending it shooting towards the Ground-type and making it flinch back.
"Baltoy, use Rock Tomb!" the other trainer added, and Riolu – moving without needing orders – jumped up onto Meganium's head just behind her antennae. She crouched, focusing on the rocks flying towards them, and jumped – taking one and hurling it at the others with Aura-enhanced force, knocking them aside and making her paws hit the grass with a thump from the recoil.
"Leaf Storm!" Casey instructed.
Meganium shook her petals, and unleashed a barrage of sharp-edged leaves towards her opponent. Baltoy span faster, using Rapid Spin to divert them away from itself, and Meganium's vines whipped out towards him.
"Now!" Casey added. Riolu jumped, slipping neatly between Meganium's vines, then landed on the two cords of strong material with blue-glowing paws – and sprinted along them.
She was halfway there when Whirlipede hit Meganium with a Bulldoze. The impact made the Grass-type shout in pain, and her cords began to go slack – so Riolu accelerated, sliding along and launching herself at the still-spinning Baltoy.
"Explosion!" Baltoy's trainer said.
In the sliver of time as Baltoy began to glow white, building up energy for his detonation, Riolu formed a shape of blue Aura between her paws. Ramming the resultant Bone Rush staff downwards, she knocked herself away from Baltoy – meaning that, while the Explosion hit her hard, she didn't take the brunt of it as Baltoy had planned.
She skidded to a halt on the grass, panting, and glanced at Casey.
"Change batsmon!" her trainer said.
Riolu frowned for a moment, then realized what Casey meant. Diving forwards, she took the hilt of the bone staff she'd just made and hurled it at Meganium.
Meganium caught it out of the air with her vines, swung, and knocked Whirlipede hard enough that the whole Aura-crafted bone rang with the impact.
A moment later, Riolu felt herself leave the ground as Baltoy lifted her. There was a crackle of energy as he used Confusion, and she winced.
"Riolu, stay calm!" Casey said, over the sound of a Poison-type trying to get past Meganium's excellent batsmonship. "Okay, Aura Sphere – but don't throw it!"
Riolu complied, forming the blue sphere of light. Another Confusion hit her, and she gasped before steeling herself.
"Good – keep charging it!" Casey told her.
Not sure what her trainer meant, but trusting her, Riolu kept building it up – making it glow larger and larger, until it was large enough she was having trouble keeping it under control.
"Now – pitch as hard as you can!" her trainer said. "Straight away from Baltoy!"
"Pardon?" Baltoy's trainer asked. "Wait-"
Riolu pitched the unstable Aura Sphere, which detonated a moment after it left her paws. The recoil force from the pitch, coupled with the force of the explosion, knocked her backwards in Baltoy's psionic control – and directly into it.
"Now, grab him and get to home plate!" Casey shouted. "Come on, Riolu, run!"
The Fighting-type's paws touched the grass, letting her grip. She held Baltoy in both paws and sprinted, every step enhanced with Aura, and Baltoy wasted a few precious seconds struggling against her grip.
"Explode, quick!" the trainer said urgently. "Before-!"
"Home Run finisher!" Casey ordered.
Petals swirled around Meganium's open flower. Then Riolu came running right at her, and she bathed them both in an almighty Petal Storm which blasted both her and her passenger into the air.
Vines snaked out, taking Riolu's footpaw, and her Grass-type friend yanked her away from Baltoy just before it exploded again.
"I guess sometimes baseball moves are the ones which have an advantage," Philena said, interested. "So… she was using terms which her Pokémon are familiar with?"
"That's it exactly," Brock agreed. "I wonder if people who did Little League would be better at battling her..."
"Like you, you mean?" his girlfriend asked, teasingly.
"That's what Charizard needs to do!" Ash said suddenly. "To make sure that Casey doesn't beat him again – he needs to learn baseball!"
May gave him a look.
"...what?" Ash added. "It makes a sort of sense."
"Yes, only a sort of sense," Pikachu clarified. "A very unusual sort, to boot."
"Come on, Pikachu, be fair," Brock said. "Given how Ash usually operates, that only makes it more likely to work."
Ash crossed his arms. "I don't have to listen to this."
"Actually, you do, because you learned that Aura trick," Pikachu reminded him. "So it's kind of your fault."
"...yeah, but I meant that more like, stop it," Ash clarified.
"I know."
Ash shook his head. "Some trainers don't have to put up with this from their Pokémon."
"Hey, Ash?" May asked. "You okay?"
Ash waved. "Oh – hi, May. Yeah, everything's fine."
He nodded at the bulk of the stadium, some distance from where they were staying. "It's just… you know. Another League, and this time the first battle I've got in the last thirty-two is against Ritchie."
May nodded. "He's a friend, right?"
"Yeah, he is," Ash agreed. "And – it's the same as always. When I battle a friend, I think it's great that we can challenge one another – but it also means that only one of us can get through to the next round. And… well..."
The young trainer shrugged. "I just don't think Ritchie deserves that, if he's knocked out, and I'm pretty sure I'm good enough to do really well in a League tournament."
There was a swish of air from below, and Pikachu came into view. A moment later he was followed by Ivysaur, who lashed out with a Vine Whip – one Pikachu deflected with Iron Tail, driving it safely away from his body and preventing it from contacting him.
"What's Pikachu doing?" May asked, pointing. "Does Ritchie have a Grass-type?"
"He might," Ash replied. "I don't think I've seen his full team recently – but that's preparation to battle Sparky, Ritchie's Raichu."
"Right, the whip-tail thing," May realized. "Okay, I get it."
She frowned, thinking. "Well, you know – you could just look at it this way. Ritchie knew what League you were doing, and he's certainly good enough to get into another one if he wanted to. I'm pretty sure he's here so he can battle you."
After a moment, she shrugged. "Besides, he wasn't here last time."
"Yeah, you're right," Ash agreed, after some thought. "And nor was Casey, now I think of it..."
"Well, there you go!" May nodded. "See? It's like that Steve guy."
"I didn't think anything was like him," Ash said. "He's just odd."
"Ash?" Latias asked. "Do we have cocoa in the kitchen here?"
"Don't know," Ash admitted. "Try the cupboard over the sink."
"Yeah, because your life isn't odd," May chuckled. "Have you decided who to use tomorrow, then – apart from Pikachu, that is?"
"Well… I was thinking about that," Ash said. "I think it'd be good to have Glalie in the team, and Absol – actually, I think it'd be wrong of me to not use a Mega-Evolved Pokémon since Ritchie wants a good battle, and Absol's going to be the one."
He paused, thinking. "Then… well, Houndoom makes sense too, because I know Ritchie's team is pretty good at Psychic stuff… and Noctowl, and if he doesn't want me to use any Legendaries then I think I should have Squirtle along to sort out Zippo."
"Only one Flying-type?" May asked, then blinked. "Wait, no, Mega Absol can sort of fly, can't she… did you ever work out if that meant she was Flying-type?"
"Professor Oak doesn't think she is," Ash told her.
"Right," May nodded.
"You know, I think this is going to be a good tournament," Steven said, looking over the matchups sheet. "I'm pretty excited about who's going to end up challenging us!"
"Too right, boss," Sidney agreed. "Hey, did we ever work out who was going to be first?"
"Pretty sure it's my turn," Phoebe informed him. "Your turn isn't until the next challenger."
"Aw, man..."
"Sidney, this is unbecoming," Drake informed him, tapping a foot testily. "Besides, we're talking about Ash Ketchum here – I'm sure that even if Phoebe does defeat him, he'd be willing to continue to face whoever else decides to ask for a battle."
"Guess you're right," Sidney chuckled. "And yeah, that's good news."
"What do you think, Glacia?" Steven asked. "You haven't said anything yet."
Glacia waved a hand. "We'll all get a better picture of his abilities in the coming matches… but yes, from what Lance and his team have said, Ash Ketchum is a strong one. I wonder if I'll do better than Lorelei?"
"Hey, Ritchie?" Ash called, waving. "Hey!"
"Oh – hi, Ash!" Ritchie replied. "Surprised to see you now, it's only about ten minutes before we start – right?"
"Yeah, that's right," Ash confirmed. "I just wanted to check, because we have to do that kind of thing – only one Legendary or Mega each, right?"
"Right," Ritchie said. "I know you've got loads of them, but I've only found one compatible Mega Stone – and I'm not going to let you win just by using your Legendaries!"
"Makes sense to me," Ash agreed. "Well-"
Pikachu coughed. "Remember?"
"Oh, right," Ash remembered. "Pikachu wanted to have his battle at the start of our match – is that okay?"
"Sure is!" Ritchie agreed, indicating the Raichu on his hat. "Sparky was suggesting basically the same thing."
"...wait, that means he's ready for me," Pikachu said. "Can I change my mind?"
"Pikachu!" Ash laughed.
Sparky's tail flirted. "What is it, Pikachu? Wanting to back out now you see what you're up against?"
"No chance!" Pikachu retorted.
"There we go, then," Ritchie said. He glanced at his watch. "Uh, we'd… better get ready..."
"Yeah, being late to a battle sucks," Ash agreed. "You know it actually happened the first time around against you? You were the one who insisted they not disqualify me, so – thanks!"
"...kind of hard for me to feel I deserve it," Ritchie said. "But I'll take it!"
He turned, then looked back. "Oh, yeah – I won't wish you good luck..."
"I get it," Ash assured him. "So I'll wish you – have fun!"
"I like it!" Ritchie pronounced. "You too, Ash!"
"So these two have fought before at the League," Johanna said, nodding to herself. "That seems surprising – that they're battling this early, that is."
"I guess that's just the luck of the draw," Dawn agreed. "Hey, look, they're showing highlights from last time Ash and Ritchie fought one another."
While the picture-in-picture kept showing the stadium, as the last minutes ticked down before the scheduled start of the battle, what took up most of the screen was snatches from the battle between the two trainers at the Indigo League.
Two Pikachu, battling with Aura and electricity and blinding speed. A Riolu and a Kirlia, switching from fists and palms to bones and blades with ease and grace.
A battle in the air, the little Spearow moving with almighty explosions of power to face off against the much larger Pidgeot. Butterfree facing Butterfree, a subtle dance of hidden powders and effects.
Ritchie's Eevee defeating Ash's Porygon, with Eevee's earnest heart proving decisive.
And the famous finale, where one Pokémon entered the battle as a Charmander and left it as a Charizard.
"So, how do you think it's going to go?" Johanna added.
"Hm…" Dawn said, frowning. "I'm not sure – I mean, I think Ash is likely to win, but Ritchie's still good, and apparently his Pokémon have been learning cool things too."
She shook her head. "I think it's anyone's game. It could depend on something like Pokémon choice or even a move being used at the wrong time. And I don't know who Ash is going to use – just that Pikachu seems really-"
She interrupted herself. "Look, it's starting!"
"Okay, Pikachu," Ash said, and pointed. "You know what to do!"
"I certainly do!" Pikachu agreed, bounding onto the grass of the arena. His cheeks crackled for a moment, until he suppressed them to avoid wasting any energy.
Sparky came running forwards as well, his own electricity under no such constraint. It surged outwards, forming a pair of long whips which glowed with layered Electric and Psychic energy, then broke free entirely – both of them independent lightning bolts floating alongside the Raichu.
Pikachu eyed the lightning bolts for a moment, and fired out a Thunderbolt of his own at one. The faint blue corona of psychic energy around that one intensified suddenly, and a strange tug stymied Pikachu's attempt to use the connection to Lightningrod Sparky's attack – instead, the lightning absorbed Pikachu's thunderbolt and became brighter and denser.
"Huh," Pikachu said, then abandoned the use of electricity for now. He formed a pair of Aura Spheres, one in each palm, and slammed them together just as Sparky lunged.
"Future Sight!" Ash called, not as a command but as a reminder, and Pikachu dodged left rather than the easier right – meaning that Sparky caught his tail a glancing blow with one paw, but also meaning that the Future Sight attack only blasted a hole in the grass.
Pikachu quickly found himself on the defensive even as his seeker spheres dove after Sparky, as both the lightning bolts turned out to be close enough to self-controlled as made no difference. He rolled over one, smashed the other with his Iron Tail, then felt another pull on his electrical reserves as the first one connected and began siphoning it off.
"Where did you come up with that!?" Pikachu demanded, backflipping away with a burst of Agility to break the connection and firing a Thunder into the arena floor. The Electric-type attack was focused enough that it made a narrow hole, and Pikachu slammed an Electroball down into the hole to blast chunks of earth into the air.
One of the lightning bolts was hit by a large chunk and sent flying, core dimmed to near invisibility. The other wove around Pikachu's impromptu large-scale Mud Sport, and dove after him again.
"Psychic!" Sparky announced, tail glowing. He ran along some of the still-falling clods of earth, and sent two of them flying straight towards Pikachu – trying to trap him and get him beaned by at least one of the projectiles flying towards him.
In reply, Pikachu summoned a bright blue glow of Aura to his paws. Landing on the edge of the hole he'd made, he snatched up one of the broken pieces of arena and hurled it straight at Sparky – then kicked off and blew through one of the chunks aimed at him with a Volt Tackle that blew it to scattered dirt and blades of grass.
Sparky used a Psycho Cut to slice the big lump of turf apart, then found himself in a close-range Iron Tail duel with Pikachu. The smaller, faster Electric-type scored at least four glancing hits, blurring around Sparky's attacks, but Pikachu knew it was only a momentary advantage – those annoying psychic lightning bolts were on their way back.
Caroline stared. "What on earth is going on?"
Norman shrugged. "I'm more of a punch things gym leader. Psychic electricity's a new one on me."
"Incoming!" Ash called. "Both low!"
Pikachu swung his tail, charging it with electricity for a hasty Volt Tail, and his tail clanged into Sparky's own. The impact sent out a pulse of pressure, and Pikachu used the force of the clash to push himself backwards – getting over Sparky's attacks, and landing on the far edge of the crater he'd made.
"Wait..." Ash added, clearly thinking hard. "Something happened just there – hit his tail again!"
Pikachu couldn't follow the order immediately, as a powerful Psychic burst tried to blast him backwards and off his feet. Paws glowing blue, the Electric-type weathered the first rush of force, then darted out of the way as a living lightning bolt came after him.
"Now, why is it just one?" Pikachu asked himself, frowning, before having to jink to one side as the lightning bolt stabbed down at him.
He crouched, and pushed down hard enough to leave a dent as he took off. Spinning in mid-air, he lashed out with a Shockwave aimed at Sparky's long tail.
Quick as a flash, the other lightning bolt whipped up to block, drinking in the energy of Pikachu's Shockwave and glowing a little brighter – and confirming that Ash had the right idea.
"Sparky, get him!" Ritchie called. "Psyshock!"
Sparky's tail cut a curve through the air, and a pulse of almost-solid psychic energy flashed out towards Pikachu. It got to within inches of his body, then split in half as Pikachu sliced at it with his glowing Iron Tail – bursting the energy involved in maintaining it.
A moment later, Pikachu fired another Shockwave. This one was different and much more sophisticated, dozens of tiny Aura shells full to bursting with electrical energy cascading out towards his Raichu opponent.
Hidden by the cascade of luminous attacks, Pikachu landed and darted into his crater.
Sparky lifted a chunk of damaged ground and hurled it, bursting most of the remaining parts to Pikachu's amazingly persistent Shockwave, then the less-charged of his two independent lightning bolts caught the few that were left.
Taking a deep breath, Sparky reached out with his electrical senses to find Pikachu – and located him almost immediately.
"Now, Pikachu!" Ash called.
Get ready to block, Ritchie warned his Pokémon. I think he's worked out you use your tail to control the lightning.
Sparky just nodded, waving the tail in question, and both his living lightning bolts moved up to take a blocking position. He pushed down with his paws, making the ground crack and crumble around him, and a slab rose up to be used as a weapon.
A moment later, Pikachu came soaring up out of the hole he'd been in. His paws were hazed with static as he sustained Magnet Rise, and there were at least five independent rings of electricity rotating around him.
In reply, Sparky hurled the slab of arena straight at Pikachu. There was a moment when it looked like that might work, and then Pikachu used Volt Crash – twice, in quick succession.
The first one blasted Sparky's projectile to smithereens, and then the second came crashing straight into one of the living lightning bolts.
Sparky's eyes widened as the thunderbolt began to glow alarmingly, bright yellow-to-white light shining off it as it strained to hold the sheer quantity of energy feeding into it, and he quickly connected the other one – then began taking the overload into himself, as Pikachu's electric attack just kept coming.
The bolts widened to at least an inch thick, their psychic coating straining to hold them in, and then-
Containment broke.
The entire pent-up energy of the clash, the full store of two very powerful Electric-types, went blazing straight down into the ground with a crack of displaced air. Grass browned instantly in a branching-tree pattern, stabbing out in all directions from the impact point, and then the ground itself heaved up along a series of cracks.
"Ouch," Ash said, the word sounding muffled. That had been louder than he'd expected…
"Pikachu – are you okay?"
Pikachu's tail waved, then he charged forwards over the broken ground. His tail glittered with steely blue light, and he jumped into a forwards roll. "Force Iron Tail!"
Sparky lashed out with a high-powered Psychic, and Pikachu's tail sliced into it like a buzzsaw. The attack split in half, disintegrating behind Pikachu as it lost cohesion, and Ash's starter hit Sparky hard enough to knock him into the wall.
Staggering to a stop, Pikachu wobbled and sat down – hard. "Ow."
"Come on, Sparky!" Ritchie called to his Raichu. "You can still win this!"
Sparky twitched, then pulled himself to his feet. He took one step, faceplanted, and stopped moving.
After several seconds, the referee raised a flag. "Ritchie's Pokémon is no longer able to battle!"
"I'm not sure I am either," Pikachu admitted, pushing himself upright. He shook himself, then loped over to Ash – quite glad he'd have a break before the next battle.
"We're just getting started!" Ritchie said, returning Sparky. "Okay, Cid, your turn!"
The Gallade materialized on the damaged battlefield, keeping his footing easily. Taking a stance, he raised one bladed forearm and kept the other by his side – a stance which showed the Mega Stone on his forehead.
"Absol!" Ash answered, his Disaster Pokémon flashing into being opposite her opponent. She shook her coat out, tail and head blades glittering and her own Absolite shining on her breast.
Ritchie raised his Key Stone, which began to glow, and a moment later Ash did the same with his staff.
"Oh, this will be interesting," Steven said, leaning forwards in the box. "Mega evolution battles are always a treat."
"Yeah, tell me about it," Sidney chuckled. "Hey, what if Ash actually does lose?"
"Then it's going to be someone else just as strong, of course," Steven replied.
There was a sharp knock on the door.
"Champion?" someone asked, coming in. "Someone's calling for you from Mossdeep."
Cid completed his transformation first. The green colour of his torso was gone, replaced with a pure white touched only by red crystals all along the blades, and a cape swished in an artificial wind behind him. The teal crest on his head curved up, giving him the appearance of a noble knight.
A moment later, Mega Absol finished transforming – and her eyes went wide, then she reached one paw up to her head and whimpered. Her furry wings stood up straight, and after a moment she gave a yelp of surprise and pain.
"Mega Absol?" Ash asked, shocked. "What's wrong?"
She took a deep breath, shaking her head firmly, then turned to Ash – flanks heaving. "Something is very wrong – we're all in danger!"
"Attention!" came a voice over the PA. "Owing to a state of emergency, the Ever Grande conference is cancelled. Please-"
A roar of confusion and disappointment came up from the crowd, but the message was still clear. "-await further instructions and remain calm."
"What?" Ritchie asked, looking up. "Cancelled? Can they do that?"
Mega Absol ran back over to her trainer, and planted her paws on the edge of his box. "Ash, we have to do something – there's a terrible catastrophe about to happen!"
"I get that, but what?" Ash asked. "What kind of catastrophe?"
"There's something-" Mega Absol paused, frowning, then shook her muzzle. "I don't know everything about it, but it's something about a falling star and a giant explosion!"
Ash, Dexter said suddenly. Steven Stone wants to speak to you.
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