The battle I was watching was interesting. The boy that had beaten Ivy was confidently taking apart another contestant. The girl was a few years older than us, but she was doing way worse than Ivy had against him.
He had some serious skills.
“Exciting isn’t it?” Ivy asked, as she was to my surprise not bothered by the boy, although she was paying more attention to the crowd.
We were in the large main arena. This was it. Everyone that had fought now. Four wins under their belt and were facing the first round inside the main arena. The crowds had practically quadrupled since yesterday.
The streets were packed, as more and more people were coming to the conference town.
It made sense, while families might want to see their children fight, most people were just interested in the best of the best.
I was honestly only barely paying attention to the boy that I wanted to crush if we fought.
Because right after him was a match I was much more excited for.
I hadn’t seen Zelos much since the conference began, she had spent most of her time outside of the matches with her father, apparently from what little she had shared when I tracked her down, her father was hanging out with the Kanto and Johto representatives in their special box, which is where she spent most of the time.
But more importantly, it was her fight up next.
I was looking forward to cheering her on! My own match was practically the last one for the night, so I had plenty of time to relax and watch.
“Hey there you are.” A familiar voice called out and I looked over to see Morty, and to my surprise Jasmine.
“Oh hi.” Bugsy who had been standing beside me waved at the two fellow Johto Gym Leaders. “I wasn’t expecting to see you two here.”
“Why not? It’s always good to see what strong trainers are doing.” Morty offered, and Jasmine nodded, to my surprise she looked eyes with me and didn’t quite glare, but…
“When two trainers' eyes meet, a battle ensues.” I told her, and she nodded, never breaking eye contact, but it was Morty who stopped that, reaching over and pulling Jasmine back a bit.
“Easy you two, easy. This is the Conference. If you want a rematch Jasmine, you’ll need to wait.”
She blinked and then sighed. “I know. But don’t think you’ll beat Steelix so easily next time!”
“I wouldn’t think of it! You’re a strong trainer, and I know next time we battle you’ll be even stronger! It’ll be fun.” I confirmed and she nodded slowly then brightened a bit.
“I’ll be challenging you again after this conference. Officially.” She said and I blinked and just smiled because…
Was there a difference between an unofficial match and an official one?
“Sounds fun!”
“Good.”
“Vicky! Look!” Ivy called out and I smiled as the battle ended. The boy that defeated Ivy was continuing on, and then it would be Zelos up on stage!
“You wouldn’t happen to have that Ghost type of yours around, would you?” Morty asked, pulling my eyes away from the post battle cleanup.
“Oh! Mimikyu! That’s right you wanted to see him. Not with me, he’s back home. Are you going to be around all day?”
“I’m not going anywhere just yet.” He offered, and Jasmine nodded.
“Well next match is a friend of mine, so I want to watch it, but after that, how about I call home and get him transferred over?”
“I’d like that. A new Ghost type! I’m actually kind of excited.” Morty chattered, his normally cool personality shattering a bit as he started asking me questions about Mimikyu.
Heh. He was a Ghost Nerd just like Bugsy was a Bug Nerd!
“No, Mimikyu pretend to be Pikachu, because they want to be loved!”
“Are you sure? It seems like a hunting mechanic. Pretending to be something else-”
“That’s not it. Really. Mimikyu want to be loved because their ability makes them unable to really be seen. So they try their best to copy something well loved. I don’t think Mimikyu is even a carnivore.”
“Well most ghosts are Omnivores if anything.” Morty added muttering and I nodded.
“Trust me, once you meet a Mimikyu, you’ll understand them just fine.”
“And we have a special battle today! The daughter of the Unovan Diplomat here to see what Kanto has to offer! Zelos Bia!” The announcer shouted and I stood up and screamed along with the cheering crowd.
“WOOO! Zelos! Kick their ass!” I yelled loud enough to get some looks and Ivy even slammed an elbow into my side but I was too excited to stop.
The battle begun quickly even if Zelos maybe didn’t hear me? How sad. I wanted her to smile and wave at me for supporting her!
But Zelos shocked the crowd by releasing Haxorus right off.
Oooh. Zelos wasn’t going easy on her first fifth round opponent.
—--
Zelos had crushed her opponent. It was actually pretty brutal. She hadn’t shown any mercy and Haxorus overwhelmed most of her opponents quickly with strong efficient attacks.
It was super cool.
But then I realized as I was rising that Ivy grabbed me and pointed and I saw who was up next.
Ash Vs. Richie.
Oh.
I considered it all. Ash… Would likely be super late. More than enough time to go grab Mimikyu if I wanted.
But… Ash right now would be desperately racing back after Team Rocket once more fucked with him. Even if he arrived would he win? Likely not. So should I just let him have this moment of struggle to toughen him up, or would it benefit him at all, should I instead just help?
Would I even be able to find him? It’s not like I knew which direction he went.
I sighed, as I stood up. “I’ll be back.”
“What but Ash is up next!” Ivy demanded and I smirked.
“I know, but he isn’t here. See?” I pointed out where Richie was coming up on the field, but even he looked confused when Ash wasn’t there.
“Where’s Ash?”
“I’m not sure, but I’m going to look around a bit and see if there is some trouble. Morty I’ll be back when I can with Mimikyu, just stick to Ivy for now okay?”
“Sure.” He offered, and then I definitely earned some surprise as I threw Dragonites pokeball onto a clear space and watched the crowd jerk back a bit at the appearance of the large pokemon.
“Dragonite! Ash is missing, so we are going to look around a bit.” I told her, and she blinked once her cute blue eyes and then nodded. She was okay with helping people after all. I climbed on, and in a beat we were up and out of the stadium, ignoring the calls to not release pokemon in the stadium.
Where would Ash be?
At least I had a few ideas. There had been a car chase or something right? So they would be along the road. I pointed and Dragonite turned and we were off.
—--
Ash Ketchum
Hanging onto the handlebars of a bike while Pidgeotto worked hard to bring them just a little closer to the arena gave him a lot of time to think, even if that was the last thing he wanted.
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The sun was already setting, and that was his time for a match! C’mon! Just a little farther, and he’d definitely see the arena!
“Huh, what’s that?” He blinked as he looked into the distance, towards the direction he was heading and suddenly he gasped. That was a pokemon! What was it… Ummm.. Not a Charizard of course… Ummm?
What was it again? He would grab his pokedex but he wasn't balanced very well for that!
Then as it got closer and closer he noticed someone was actually riding it!
A person!
“Heeeey! Heeeelp!” He called out, unable to wave, and to his relief they were coming right for him!
Then as they got closer he recognized that girl! It was Ivy’s friend! Umm… Corey? Torey? Something like that right?
“There you are Ash!” She cheered as her pokemon flew right up to them. “Want a lift?”
“Yes! Thank you! Team Rocket-”
“Yeah I figured it was those two. C’mon let’s give your poor Pidgeotto a break. She’s such a good girl though, isn’t she!”
Ash nodded, but he was pretty sure Pidgeotto was a boy?
“Climb onto Dragonite. We need to get back, your match was about to start when I left.”
“Oh no!” He scrambled nearly fell but she managed to grab his hand and with an almost effortless pull, dragged him onto the pokemon.
“Pidgeotto return!”
“Alright Dragonite! Full speed back to the arena!”
“Preee!” She cheered and then Ash yelped as he scrambled to get a grip on the girl as the wind suddenly ripped past their face. Fast! Super fast!
Maybe he’d actually get there in time!
Dragonite. That’s right, he remembered that name! What a cool pokemon, he’d like to have a Dragonite too someday! They looked strong!
Within moments the arena was already back in view and he felt his heartbeat slow down. He wouldn’t miss his chance to battle Ritchie.
“Thank you.” He finally mumbled, even with the wind in his face, Torey turned and flashed him a smile and a nod.
“No problem!” She shouted back and then they were there, over the arena walls, and circling quickly before landing.
The crowd around him shouted in surprise, as he stepped off. A moment was all it took to catch his balance as he hit the ground, and then look up. Ritchie looked relieved that he hadn’t missed the battle.
“Miss Ferrous! This is irregular! You need to leave the arena!” The announcer yelled out over the loudspeaker.
“I got it! I got it! I’m gone. Bye!” She cheered and then in a single motion her Dragonite was far into the sky! So fast! Much faster than even Charizard when he wanted to move! That was going to be a tough pokemon to battle!
Then it was time. He turned to Ritchie, and the battle settled in. Pidgeotto wasn’t too tired, but he probably wasn't going to bring him out this time. But for now? Better trust Squirtle!
—--
By the time I made it back to the arena next to Ivy it was already over.
Charizard had once more caused Ash to lose the match. A real shame. I had sort of hoped that maybe things would change with a bit of interference.
But, Ash had his destiny after all.
I settled in next to Ivy who looked upset and she shot me a look before looking back at the arena where Ritchie and Ash were talking before finally splitting off from each other.
“He lost.” She whispered and I nodded. The announcer had called it out loud enough I had heard as I was still entering.
“I know. Sorry Ivy. Next year Ash will have more experience, and be more ready.”
“What if he stops?” She mumbled, and I laughed.
“That kid? No way. He’s going all the way.” I told her, and it was at that point that Morty finally seemed to find his words.
“Whoa. Hello, I’m Morty.” He moved forward a bit as Mimikyu peaked from my shoulder. Unfortunately I didn’t have a big hat for him to hide under right now. Mimikyu pealed himself away from his very strong hug with the side of my head, to look at Morty who was leaning in.
“KuKkUukku?” Mimikyu questioned, and I instantly saw Morty, Jasmine, and anyone sitting near enough to us to hear it shift back.
Heh. In this instance it was kind of funny, because before Mimikyu could slump at everyone reacting so badly, Morty leaned in.
“Whoa, that’s definitely a Ghost alright. Hi.” He offered a hand only after glancing at me and I nodded. Mimikyu looked from him to me, and I once more nodded because that was just my job in this meeting, and Mimikyu released a little of his death grip on me as his shadow hand uncoiled and reached out to shake.
“So… It’s a Ghost type?” Jasmine asked, from over Morty’s shoulder. “What’s up with the cute Pikachu thing?” She asked, waving at him.
“His Costume. Mimikyu have to hide their actual appearance, as it causes severe reactions in people… One researcher had like a heart attack.”
Jasmine didn’t quite flinch back, she was a good enough trainer not to do that, but I did see her recoil a bit.
“But Mimikyu are the sweetest pokemon ever!” I said and rubbed my cheek against Mimikyu which he instantly responded back wiggling happily “Hehe!”
“You have a strong bond with him.” Morty decided to say, smiling seemingly quite pleased, and then because he was a ghost nerd he continued asking questions, which Mimikyu and I tried to answer.
Even Ivy was looking like she was going to start throwing elbows when the next match finally started, and disrupted Morty’s stream of questions.
—--
My first match in the main arena. I stepped out into the bright lights, night had fallen, but the stadium lights kept it so bright it didn’t matter. Wasn’t that first battle, between the Nidoran and the Gengar a night battle too? The first battle many trainers from another world had ever seen, and I was getting to mimic it in a small way.
This was it. My first real match of the conference. No more prelims. This was it.
And I intended on going into it with a bang.
The girl I was facing was strong. She was actually someone I recognized.
Assunta. The girl that defeated Ritchie after he fought Ash. Did that mean, if I beat her here, that I would face Ritchie in the next round? Or had the entire order been disrupted?
I just didn’t know.
I found my place, and I could see the girls' focused stare locked onto me. She was scared, but trying not to show it.
I ignored the announcer as he spoke. His voice simply went in one ear and out the other. It didn’t matter. I reached for my hip. I already knew who was coming out for this battle.
My hand reached for my hip and the older girl's hand did the same. We weren’t listening to the announcer. Our eyes had met, and this was a battle between trainers.
The referee nodded and threw his hand down, as the crowd roared.
I slung my pokeball, and watched as the crowd reacted in surprise, shock, happy surprise and then confusion.
It all happened in an instant as my friend looked around at all the people, her eyes practically sparkling. I could see how this impacted her.
She was here. At this highest place, she waved her little arms in greeting first to her right, and then to her left, as she just loved how loud the crowd was at her appearance.
“And Victoria Ferrous releases her Blissey for the first time during this tournament! A strange choice from the well known healer pokemon!” The announcer called and I saw Blissey look towards the announcer booth and huff a bit. With her flippers on her hips.
Uh oh. Someone had just questioned Blisseys ability to battle.
I felt my smirk stretching, because everyone here was going to be in for a real surprise soon.
Then in a massive crash Assunta released her first pokemon. “Rhyyy!” The Rhydon roared to the sky as it slammed its rocky fists into its own chest.
I didn’t listen to the announcer hyping up Rhydon. It didn’t matter, Blissey looked at me, and I nodded. Our understanding was perfect.
One doesn’t simply fight a Goddess after all!
“Begin!” The match started, and Instantly Rhydon charged forward, ah it was using a fighting type move. I could see it prepare for a massive swing, but Blissey was already moving, a simple bounce of her legs and she went flying high into the sky.
Her fins slapped together and I could practically hear her say “Nin-Nin.” As she blurred for a second.
Substitute achieved.
“Don’t let her touch the ground Rhydon!”
“Rhyyyy!” The Rock type roared as it stomped towards where Blissey was coming in to land, but unfortunately that was what we wanted.
Blissey shifted, shooting down, as her ability to actually sort of fly kicked in, something her evolution had gained, and it was awesome!
She rocketed towards Rhydon, who reacted quickly. He was well trained, and his fist gathered energy to punch her.
But as his fist arced up it smashed into Blissey and then in a poof there was just smoke and a pokedoll taking the hit.
And Blissey appeared on the ground, crouching down under the poor rock type's outstretched fist.
And she grabbed on.
“Seismic Toss!” I called out as suddenly the Rhydon’s feet left the ground. As it then shot into the sky. As it squealed in shock at its massive bulk being lifted so casually around, and then at the apex of her jump she started spinning.
Chansey had a unique way of using Seismic Toss. As she flew up, she would grab on and use her feet to sort of spin herself, causing her enemy to spin around her as they fell to the ground and then they would hit first.
Blissey didn’t even need to do that. She could fly.
The Poor Rhydon soon became a blur as it screeched as it began spinning faster and faster and Blissey wasn’t letting go. And then suddenly it ended. Blissey, having burned off all the momentum, floated a bit higher before she started coming down, but everyone was more focused on the massive explosion as Rhydon had been thrown towards the ground so fast it had just been a blur of motion.
Blissey landed, and without waiting I noticed her heal herself. Her egg glowing yellow and then flowing into Blissey restoring the energy she had lost from using Substitute.
Finally the dust cleared, and I wasn’t surprised.
Rhydon was completely out. The poor guy’s eyes were swirling as he lay in a massive crater.
Assunta was just staring in shock at what had happened.
A single attack and her Rhydon had gone down. Sure it was a Fighting Type attack, so her Rock type was weak against it, but still.
No one was ready for the Goddess. I nodded at my own thoughts. Everyone thought Dragonite, or Arcanine were strong, but Blissey was probably the strongest of them all. She just didn’t show it much, but here, today, in front of this entire crowd, in the largest stadium in Kanto. Blissey was going to alter everyone's perspective on just what Chansey and Blissey could do.
Assunta hesitated as she stared at Blissey seemingly trying to come up with some sort of counter. Rhydon probably had been her best counter.
Then she did something that I couldn't help but feel bad for.
“Venomoth! You’re up!” That was not a good choice. Blissey had trained under Koga. We were both well acquainted with that pokemon.
“Minimize!” Assunta yelled out, and I couldn’t help but nod at the smart play. Someone had fought Koga, and decided to learn from him.
But so did I.
“Swift!” I called out in turn, and Blissey reacted. I had been stymied by evasion pokemon before. Of course I had made sure my pokemon knew some accuracy boost moves, or with Blissey Swift which always hit!
The stars shot out and Venomoth jerked left and right and then to my amusement she vanished into a Pokedoll.
Yep. Definitely someone that had learned under Koga. I flashed a Ninja hand sign, but she didn’t respond. Either not interested, or just someone that had learned from Koga through battle.
Very well.
The battle continued. Blissey countered Venomoth at every turn. It was too bad. There was just no way to do enough damage to Blissey to knock her out. The battle went relatively quickly, nothing Assunta did worked. Not her Ivysaur trying to use sleep to build up damage, not when her Tentacruel used Toxic.
Blissey simply healed through it and kept dishing out damage.
Not overwhelmingly so, most of the time. Just slow constant attacks that chunked her enemies with every strike.
Yet Blissey never once used her strongest move. The move that I knew would have won the match nearly instantly.
Sometimes Assunta’s pokemon would fly into the sky to try and avoid Blissey and in those quiet moments Blissey would turn to me, and our eyes would meet, both of us holding back inner laughter.
Blissey was here to show up, but not show everything. Not yet. Some things you needed to keep until the end.
I glanced up towards the VIP box. Towards where against the glass I could just make out a clash of red hair.
Look Lance. Look at what I can do. Look and think you have it all figured out. Make your plans, but be ready for me to crush them all.
For the Goddess might be here in the mud, but she hadn’t truly descended.
I turned back to the battle. Blissey facing off against Assunta’s last Pokemon, her Fearow. The match was over when Blissey simply followed the Fearow around, her Swift, blasting into the bird pokemon that had tried another evasion trick.
Heh. Not enough.
And then it went down, and Blissey landed with a soft puff on the ground looking around as the crowd roared at her overwhelming victory. The fact she was completely unhurt only made it better in my eyes. Practically sparkling Blissey waved this way and that towards the crowd happily basking in their cheers.