Conveniently, just about every Pokemon Center had a battlefield of its own, for trainers to duke it out whenever they wanted to.
It was more than common for this to be taken advantage of, as many trainers would make use of these battlefields throughout the day. Whether it be to settle grudge matches, get some sparring sessions in, or even just to have some friendly competition.
Ash wasn't sure what category his and Paul's battle fell under, though. Grudge match sounded a bit too intense, although it was probably the most fitting term that he could think of at the moment. Either way, a small audience had gathered as the two Trainers took up their positions, Ash could spot Rick and Emily in the small crowd, which consisted almost exclusively of young rookie Trainers. A couple of staff members were also among them, most likely either on their break or just simply being off duty after hours.
Paul and Elekid stood on the other end of the battlefield, the new, mysterious trainer's arms crossed as he eyed Ash carefully. The intense look in his eyes could probably match that of a seasoned veteran, and was absolutely far beyond anything that Ash himself was even remotely capable of mustering up at the moment.
But he knew that he couldn't just let intimidation tactics get the best of him. It was what had previously almost cost him against Brock before. And so, he did his best to return Paul's glare with one of his own. No matter how little confidence he had that he was actually doing a good job of it, at the very least he needed to try to.
The machines had turned on, the barriers at the ready, prepared to intercept any and all attacks. The battlefield was of a rather serviceable size, perfect for the upcoming match between the two rookie trainers.
Paul's voice called out from the other side. "So, are those three your only ones?"
Ash turned to his team. Pikachu and Nebula were standing side by side behind him, while Valiant was behind them. All three of them returned their new trainer's determined expression with steel gazes of their own.
Turning back to Paul, Ash called out in response. "Yes, they are!"
Paul nodded in understanding, before unclipping a Poke Ball from his belt. "Three on three, then. I'd prefer to do more, but I'll take what I can get."
Ash looked back to his team one last time. "Nebula, you go first, okay?"
Nebula had been the one that Paul had singled out. She deserved to prove herself, especially after the incident with Brock.
Letting out a determined chirp, Nebula flapped her way to the battlefield, standing upright as she landed and eying Paul with a dangerous glint of determination.
Behind him, Ash could hear Pikachu let out a call of encouragement, while Valiant crossed his arms and nodded towards the bird.
Grinning a bit, Paul lightly tossed his Poke Ball towards the battlefield.
Out of a bright flash of light emerged a small, bear cub like Pokemon that Ash almost immediately identified as a Teddiursa.
"This was my first catch." the purple haired boy said matter of factly. "Let's see how your bird stacks up to him."
Ash sadly didn't know much about Teddiursa, outside of how widely feared their evolution was. Ursaring were some of the fiercest Pokemon around, which could be part of the reason why Paul had chosen to have a Teddiursa on his team. If he was really that concerned about potential, no doubt he also considered a Pokemon's evolved forms.
The Teddiursa looked disarmingly cute, but the adorable expression on his face was accompanied by a fierce glare that Ash never would have expected from such a cute looking creature. Clearly, this little cub was battle hardened, regardless of its cute and cuddly appearance. Who knew what it was going to be capable of?
"Careful, Nebula." Ash warned aloud. "I'm not sure what that bear can do just yet."
As the young Starly nodded, Paul crossed his arms as Elekid took a few steps forward, stopping by it's Trainer's side, most likely to observe the upcoming battle better.
"Alright then, Ash, let's begin."
Ash nodded, and immediately called out his first command.
"Wind Blast, Nebula!"
If they didn't know what they're opponent was capable of, then they would just have to go all out before they had a chance to find out. It didn't matter if they already had a badge. Ash wasn't taking any chances with this guy.
Something about Paul made him feel quite uneasy. Uncomfortable.
Was it really just because he disagreed with him? Ash didn't want to think that his reasoning for such was so petty.
Maybe it was that Paul's ideology was essentially a better thought out version of the stuff that Gary had told him back at the lab? Something that actually presented a point of view that vindicated such a way of thinking?
Maybe it was just the mysterious boy's demeanor. Ash had never met a child his age quite like this before. He reminded him more of Brock (or, at the very least, Brock's "act" according to what Elacia had previously said to him) than just another kid.
Did it really get under his skin that much?
Ash cursed himself for being put off so easily. He knew he couldn't help himself, but that was part of the problem.
But it didn't matter right now. He needed to focus on the battle.
Nebula had the advantage of flight, but he doubted that that alone would be what decided to fight. Paul certainly didn't seem too nervous about it.
But Ash believed in his bird like companion. Nebula was still probably sour about how the fight with Brock's Geodude had ended. She wanted a second chance, and now she got it. Ash wouldn't let it go to waste.
They were going to win this battle and rectify what had happened with the battle with Brock from before.
Ash grinned proudly as Nebula quickly took to the air, the young Starly wasting no time to let out a battle cry, and wasting even less time to use her attack.
The blast of wind came sailing downwards towards Teddiursa.
Paul remained stoic at this. And Teddiursa certainly wasn't scared.
But Ash also refused to be as he observed.
Behind him, Pikachu's cheeks sparked with determination as Nebula launched her attack at Teddiursa.
Valiant looked on encouragingly.
Teddiursa suddenly bolted to the side, the blast slamming into the ground and kicking up dirt, but harming nobody in the process.
Nebula had missed her mark, but she wasn't done just yet.
Ash's grin grew as she bolted forward with her wings cloaked in metallic feathers and aura.
Nebula shrieked fiercely as she charged forward towards her opponent. Quick Attack boosted her already great speed even further.
Teddiursa may not have been a Rock Type Pokemon, but Steel Wing was still a very strong attack nonetheless.
Unfortunately, it still wouldn't be that simple for them.
On the other end of the battlefield, Paul's grin grew as Teddiursa responded. It left Ash feeling somewhat deterred by what happened right after that.
Teddiursa prepared himself before crossing his arms in front of his chest, his body glowing with a deep red aura that radiated off of his fur.
Nebula found her Steel Wing slamming into the bear cub's crossed arms, the impact pushing him back slightly and tipping him over a bit, but having very little long lasting effect as the bear cub immediately regained his footing after only a few seconds of minor wobbling at most.
Ash blinked in surprise. He had never seen a Move like that before…
"Endure." Paul spoke simply, as if sensing Ash's confusion.
Ash's eyes widened at that. Endure was a powerful defensive technique that, instead of creating a barrier like Protect, Reflect, or Light Screen, reinforced a Pokemon's body in order to make them more durable against an attack.
And Paul's Teddiursa already knew such a technique…
Paul was grinning again. "Like I said, I'm proving my point to you this way." his voice began to raise. "Now then, Teddiursa! Focus Energy! Channel it into your feet!"
Once again, Teddiursa crossed his arms, this time his body becoming bathed in glowing white light. Almost immediately after the bear cub had become encased in the brilliant pale energy, the light began transferring down to his feet, the muscles in his legs beginning to bulge slightly from the growing power.
Ash immediately realised that the young bear cub was probably going to launch himself upwards.
"Nebula! Wind Blast again!"
Nebula began flapping her wings furiously yet again, but Teddiursa was already getting to work, pressing his legs firmly into the ground before launching himself upwards.
As the Wind Blast struck the spot that Teddiursa had just been at, the bear cub was rocketed upwards, suddenly soaring a few feet above Nebula, much to the startled bird's shock.
Nebula raised a metallic coated wing to defend herself as Teddiursa's claws began to glow a fierce, dark, blackish purple. Raising the claw upwards, Teddiursa swung the powerful Night Slash down onto Nebula's now raised wing. Raising her wing to meet the attack in hopes of blocking it, Nebula suddenly found herself being pushed downwards by the surprisingly immense force.
As the two attacks met, the loud impact sounded across the battlefield. However, after a brief struggle, the two Pokemon pushing their Moves against each other as hard as their bodies allowed them too for a few seconds, Teddiursa began pushing Nebula downwards, propelling the small bird away with shocking force as she plummeted painfully down to the ground with a loud THUD. Nebula's surprised shriek had been interrupted by the forceful impact, knocking the wind out of her.
The metallic coating of Steel Wing had prevented her wing from sustaining any damage from Teddiursa's attack, but the amount of pain inflicted onto her back from the fall was definitely a different story.
And the amount of brute strength that Teddiursa had just showcased was more than concerning. He hadn't even been using Focus Energy in order to enhance that attack, having concentrated the entirety of the Move into his jump. And yet… the amount of strength that it must have took to do what he did. Nebula had been rocketed down to the ground like a blur…
The moment Teddiursa had propelled the young Starly down to the ground, Paul had called out another order.
"Body Slam and Metal Claw!"
As his claw began glowing with a strong, metallic coating, much like Nebula's Steel Wing, Teddiursa rocked downwards. Ash could only cry out as the small bear cub attempted to drive the Metal Claw right down into his bird companion, but thankfully, a frantic Nebula ignored the pain in her back and relied purely on adrenaline and fear to roll away from the fierce blow.
Teddiursa rocketed down into the ground with a loud crash, but his Metal Claw easily broke his fall.
'Apparently, Pikachu wasn't the only one with that idea.' Ash immediately realized. They should probably teach Nebula how to do the same with Steel Wing, just in case she ever got knocked out of the sky again.
This Paul guy seemed pretty ruthless. If that Metal Claw had hit, striking straight down onto Nebula while she was vulnerable, along with Body Slam enhancing the blow…
Her injuries wouldn't have been modest.
Hearing Pikachu and Nebula let out deep sighs of relief (not to mention letting one out for himself), Ash called out to Nebula again as she picked herself up and launched herself back into the air.
Her flight speed was considerably slower now. She was already badly hurt…
"Whirlwind, Nebula!"
Teddiursa had demonstrated the agility necessary to dodge Wind Blast, and Endure had allowed him to tank a Quick Attack empowered Steel Wing with such ease. They needed to find a way to knock him off balance first…
It occurred to Ash that this was the exact same strategy that they had used against Brock's Geodude, except they weren't using Wind Blast this time. The overuse of that strategy had horribly backfired on them before, but right now, Ash really couldn't think of any other options than this...
He just hoped that Nebula would be able to pull it off with her newfound back pain…
Thankfully, Nebula successfully complied, although Ash couldn't hear her winces of pain over the powerful gusts of wind as she flapped her wings as furiously as possible.
Teddiursa struggled against the fearsome gale, and, to his credit, was doing so quite well. However, Ash could already see him being pushed back little by little, trying to dig his feet into the ground as the Whirlwind continuously pushed him backwards with increasing speeds as Nebula continued to keep up her assault.
Great, just a little bit more…
"Steady yourself with Endure!"
Teddiursa's fur returned to its bright red glow at Paul's order, and the bear cub began to put up more resistance against the wind as he crossed his arms against his chest once again.
Ash gritted his teeth in frustration, but Nebula did not let up.
It was a war of attrition at this point, but Ash wasn't too sure if Nebula could win. Maintaining Whirlwind for this long was already difficult, due to how much furious wind flapping that it required to be done in such great consecutive use, but with a sore back, there was no way that Nebula wouldn't be reaching her limit soon. She was probably torturing herself just by trying to.
At the same time, however, Ash doubted that Teddiursa could maintain Endure easily, especially with the constant pressure from the Whirlwind fighting against it.
Several moments passed by as the conflict continued. From the corner of his eye, Ash could see the crowd exchanging murmurs. Pikachu was shouting out encouraging towards Nebula, while Valiant looked on with something akin to nervousness.
Finally, Teddiursa gave out, the red glow of his body fading away as he began to lose his footing from the wind.
Cupping his hands to ensure that he was heard, Ash called out to Nebula as Teddiursa was knocked back painfully onto his butt.
"Double Team, the Steel Wing!"
The young Starly split itself into two copies. Although only the real nebula's wings glowed with the metallic energy of Steel Wing as both of them blitzed forward with Quick Attack, Teddiursa was in too much of a confused state of panic from the tactic to process it.
BAM!
Teddiursa cried out in pain as the force of the blow knocked him onto his back. The bear cub was sent skidding across the battlefield as Nebula circled back around again.
However, Ash's triumphant grin was short-lived as he began to see Nebula slowly descending.
Suddenly noticing the young Starly panting from exhaustion, Ash realised that she could no longer keep up her flight. The pain in her back had only been greatly bolstered by the excessive use of Whirlwind, and now the force that she had put into that Steel Wing attack had done the rest of her endurance in.
As Nebula slowly descended to the ground in a heap, her clone disappearing in the process, Paul grinned as Teddiursa picked himself back up. As the small bear cub rose to his feet, Ash took note of the rather large bruise on his face.
Clearly, Nebula's Steel Wing had done a number on him, but it was already too little, too late.
The small bear cub was also panting slightly, most likely because of the endurance contest between Endure and Whirlwind, but he was still very clearly in much better shape than Nebula currently was at the moment.
"It looks like the bird can't keep this up anymore." Paul stated matter of factly, taking note of the exhausted Nebula's panting as he pointed forward. "Teddiursa! Finish it up with Brick Break!"
At full speed, Teddiursa bolted forward as he raised an orange, glowing fist. The grounded Nebula attempted to raise a Steel Wing to block, but the metallic wing was easily pushed away, Nebula's exhaustion and back pain easily overcome by Teddiursa's brute strength, and suddenly, Teddiursa's other fist glowed, with the same exact, powerful, orange aura, and was swung right into Nebula's forehead.
CRACK!
Ash winced as Nebula cried out and was sent flying into the barriers in front of him, Pikachu, and Valiant, her already sore back crashing into them as she slid down to the ground in a heap.
Nebula did not get up, and, after a few moments of attempting too, passed out from the pain. Her head had a giant bruise on it, and her eyes were shut as she lost hold of her consciousness.
Ash's face was glum as he returned Nebula to her Poke Ball.
"Sorry." he let out with a sigh. "Again…"
It was her second loss in a row. And it had happened a lot more quickly and easily than against Brock's Geodude.
That Teddiursa was strong. And not just in an above average manner, either. His physical strength was practically surreal for such a young Pokemon, and his moveset complimented that perfectly.
Looking over at the small bear, Ash could tell that he had been fazed by the battle, but not by much, as he was still perfectly raring to go regardless of his minor fatigue and painful bruise to the head.
Paul had kicked off this battle with a very clear advantage in numbers, and given how the rest of his team was probably going to be just as bad as this Teddiursa was, Ash regrettably had no idea how they were supposed to turn it around right now.
"Well, that didn't take very long." Paul commented. His voice didn't have the same smugness of Gary's. Instead he sounded like he was just… stating a simple fact. As though it were completely obvious. And, Ash realized, it probably was.
He could hear some murmerings in the crowd again, as some of the audience members commented on the battle and how it was going so far. He could especially here some people (such as Emily) gawking over Teddiursa's amazing strength.
Feeling a light tugging on his leg, Ash looked down to see Pikachu looking up at him with a steel gaze.
The communication between Pokemon and trainer was clear. Ash could see the anger in the mouse's eyes.
"Are you going to continue?" he heard Paul's voice call out.
"Of course we are!" Ash called back as he pointed forward. "Alright, Pikachu, I choose you!"
Pikachu sprinted on over to the battlefield, and Paul eyed the mouse carefully.
Between Pikachu and Valiant, Ash wasn't entirely clear about who would be the best matchup against that Teddiursa. Not that it mattered, however, as Paul quickly raised his Poke Ball and returned the bear cub-like Pokemon.
"So you're using your Electric Type now, huh?" Paul remarked, clipping his Poke Ball back to his belt. Turning his head to his Elekid, he pointed forward. "Elekid, your up!"
Making its signature whirring noise, Elekid stepped forward onto the battlefield, locking its eyes with Pikachu intensely as a sadistic smirk spread across its face.
Pikachu, now having gotten on all fours, growled back at the bloodthirsty Electric Type opponent, his cheeks sparking madly with electricity.
It was hard to deny the fire in either of their eyes.
Ash kicked things off as quickly as possible. "Brick Break!"
"Block with your own!" Paul countered.
Pikachu bolted forward, speed enhanced with Quick Attack as his raised fist glowed a bright orange. In response, Elekid raised a glowing fist of its own, Pikachu's attack striking against Elekid's own fist.
With the added force behind Pikachu's Brick Break due to Quick Attack, Elekid's defenses should have toppled over easily. Elekid were a naturally more bulky species than Pikachu were, for sure, but they were also no Onix.
However, to Ash's surprise, Elekid proved to be surprisingly sturdy. Although it was struggling against the force of Pikachu's blow, it was getting pushed back very slowly, the bulkier Electric Type Pokemon attempting to grind its heels into the battlefield as Pikachu pushed it back gradually.
Changing his tactics, Ash called out. "Iron Tail! Propel yourself off of the ground!"
Pikachu coated his tail in metal, pressing it against the ground as he and Elekid continued to struggle. Up until now, this tactic had only been used to save Pikachu from a fall, but the idea to adapt it to be used offensively had suddenly occurred to Ash in the heat of the moment.
This Elekid was definitely stronger than Pikachu, not to mention bulkier. They would have to use their wits for this. Ash just hoped that Pikachu was still also faster than Elekid was too, otherwise strategy would be their only tool. For now, they could only hope that this tactic would work. Otherwise he wasn't sure what else to do.
Launching himself off the ground with his now-metallic tail, Pikachu angled his fist as it continued to press against Elekid's, using it to launch himself further. Performing a somersault over the opposing Electric Type Pokemon's head, Pikachu swung downwards as he crashed his tail painfully into his rival.
Elekid was sent skidding backwards as the blow collided with his chest. As he came to a halt, he lurched backwards on one foot, but righted himself quickly. Pikachu was already on the offensive, however, bolting forward with another Quick Attack as he yet again coated his tail in metal.
Paul acted quickly "Charge Beam!"
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Elekid raised its hands, quickly collecting electrical energy in his palms as he prepared to fire. With Pikachu rushing forward, the opposing Electric Type only had enough time to fire a relatively weak beam, a small, narrow blast of lightning, but it was still one that Pikachu needed to avoid.
As the mouse dashed to the side, Elekid made its next move, bolting forward with a Quick Attack of its own as he raised a fist, now coated in electricity.
Although Elekid wasn't as fast as Pikachu, it also wasn't too far off, and before Pikachu could react, Elekid drove the Thunder Punch painfully right into his abdomen.
Ash and Valiant winced as Pikachu was sent flying backwards, the pain in his gut preventing him from catching himself with Iron Tail just long enough for his back to slam into the ground. After bouncing off from the landing, however, Pikachu righted himself just in the nick of time, coating his tail in metal and driving it into the ground to break his fall.
Both combatants had landed a clean hit, and although Ash was certain that Elekid had dealt more damage, neither of them showed any signs of stopping any time soon.
But Paul was at it again, and before Pikachu could even launch himself off of his tail, another order was shouted. "Electro Ball!"
Once again holding out its hands, Elekid began gathering more electricity into its palms. Ash's eyes widened as he took in just how much more easily that the Electro Ball was formed compared to whenever Pikachu attempted it.
And when the ball was fired, it was held together a lot better, too. Its stability was almost perfect.
This Elekid had much better control over its electricity than Pikachu currently did at the moment. Definitely not a good sign.
Pikachu dashed around the ball, leaving it to slam into the barriers as he raised yet another metallic tail. But Paul countered yet again.
"Dual Chop!"
Ash blinked at the mention of the dragon type move, Elekid's now raised fists glowing a distinct shade of purple, as Pikachu's rival put them together, meeting the Iron Tail head on with a well placed block.
"Brick Break!" Ash reacted quickly.
Pikachu launched himself upwards, using the Iron Tail-still clashing against the Dual Chop- to launch himself upwards, preparing a raised, orange glowing fist.
Elekid had pretty solid reflexes, however, and Pikachu's Brick Break was met with a Thunder Punch. As the two attacks clashed, Pikachu winced in pain as he was propelled upward, now clutching his fist somewhat painfully.
As Pikachu landed, Paul quickly followed up yet again. "Brick Break!"
"Iron Tail!" Ash countered.
Elekid ran forward, once again bolstering its momentum with Quick Attack (Ash wouldn't be at all surprised if he learned that it was pretty much a universal tactic among Trainers and their Pokemon for speed attacks to be used regularly to get around the battlefield faster and also increase the force behind blows) as it raised an orange, glowing fist. Pikachu dashed forward as well, ducking under Elekid's punch as his tail became coated with metal, before swinging it painfully into Elekid's chest.
Elekid lurched backwards, teetering a bit before righting itself, and, on Paul's command, fired a second Charge Beam. At Ash's immediate orders to dodge the attack, however, Pikachu quickly drove his still metallic coated tail into the ground, propelling himself upwards in a backflip to avoid the blow.
"Thunder Shock, now!"
At Ash's command, Pikachu gathered electricity into his cheeks while sailing into the air, before firing the bolt of lightning into Elekid. Elekid strained against the blow, but was mostly unfazed. Electric Types could sometimes absorb other Electric Type Moves into their bodies if they were skilled enough, but it most often took time to do so, and the effort that Elekid was putting into it was leaving it wide open.
Ash wasn't going to give it that needed time as he immediately followed up. "Brick Break!"
As Pikachu hit the ground, he immediately sprinted forward as he drove an orange fist into Elekid's gut. The opposing electric type wheezed as he was driven back, clutching its stomach painfully as Pikachu raised a metallic tail.
"Quick Attack!" Paul called out.
Ignoring the pain in its stomach, Elekid rocketed forward and barreled straight into the mouse. With its bulk colliding with Pikachu's body, its attack sent the mouse painfully flying backwards as Pikachu let out a cry from the impact.
As Pikachu prepared to catch himself with Iron Tail, Ash was already responding. "Double Team! Then Brick Break!" Changing up tactics, never using the same strategy too consecutively.
Neglecting the importance of that had cost them dearly against Brock. But the same thing would not happen here.
After landing, Pikachu split himself in two, beginning to run circles around the now confused Elekid.
Both of them would rush it from different directions. It would have no way of knowing which one to block.
But Paul was grinning now. "Clever, but it won't save you. Elekid, use Protect!" If Ash didn't know better, it almost sounded like Paul was actually starting to enjoy this…
As Pikachu rushed forward, along with his clone, his orange, glowing fist was met with a green, spherical barrier. Much like Rhyhorn's barrier, this Protect was far from a mastered one, but it was still just barely strong enough to stop the young mouse right in his tracks.
As his clone fizzled out, the electric mouse took a few steps backwards while clutching his aching fist. Glaring up at the Elekid, Pikachu saw his rival dispel its barrier as the opposing Electric type grinned sadistically, showing minor signs of fatigue but no signs of quitting. Pikachu met its vicious expression with an even fiercer glare, the competitive spirit in his eyes stronger than ever as Ash and Valiant both looked on.
The young Ralts was staring intently between the two, and if Ash had looked down to observe his news companion, he would have probably noticed the rather analytical expression on Valiant's face.
Valiant didn't spend quite as much time with Pikachu and Nebula as they did with each other, often sticking closely by Ash's side instead, but the young Ralts was sure that he knew his mouse companion well enough to understand his personality quite a lot. And yet he had never seen Pikachu quite this worked up before. Not even in regards to the Gym Battle.
It was almost as though this was… personal for him, and as he continued to observe the ongoing battle between the two combatants in full, Valiant couldn't help but wonder if it was simply due to their mutual typings. Was it natural for a Pokemon to become so competitive when facing off against an opponent of the same exact typing? Would he be experiencing these same exact emotions if he went up against one of his own Typing as well? Nebula had shared one of her typings with that Teddiursa from before, and yet she hadn't acted quite like this…
"Dual Chop!"
Purple fists raised and glowing, Elekid went on the assault, but Pikachu, ignoring the pain in his fist, sidestepped the blows as best he could, before attempting to drive a Brick Break into Elekid's stomach.
His rival took a small leap backwards, however, and after ducking under a Thunder Punch, Pikachu once again went for another Brick Break. Elekid caught the blow with a Brick Break of his own, however, and with no Quick Attack to boost his momentum, Pikachu was pushed back easily, crying out in pain as the opposing electric type's blow easily overpowered his own and grinded against his fist.
Slamming an Iron Tail into the ground to save himself from falling onto his back, Pikachu was suddenly forced to roll to the side to avoid an Electro Ball. Before Ash could call out any more orders, however, Elekid was already upon him again, this time with yet another order from Paul.
"Low Kick!"
The opposing Electric Type reared its leg back before sadistically driving it into Pikachu's face, the mouse somersaulting through the air with a cry of pain. Unable to ignore the pain in his face, he plopped down onto the ground, paws clenched into the pavement as he looked up and grit his teeth at the rival electric type.
To Pikachu's credit, however, Ash quickly took note of Elekid's own condition. Despite its obvious physical superiority, the opposing electric type was still beginning to more clearly tire out. Pikachu's blows had not been for naught, and the Elekid's light pants were becoming increasingly noticeable, and the bruises on its body from pikachu's successful blows were also hard to ignore.
On the opposite end, however, Pikachu was currently more banged up than Elekid was, and at least just as tired.
Their disadvantage was clear.
But the mouse was determined, and so was he.
Picking himself up, Pikachu growled at the rival electric type, who met the glower in the young mouse's eyes with one of his own, his face twisted into something akin to an angry grin.
The mutual animosity between the two had become palpable, as the two gave each other a silent challenge with the nonverbal exchange, the murmuring in the crowd restarted.
At this point, both of them were beginning to reach their limit, and although Pikachu was closer to his, Elekid and Paul were in no position to relax, and both of them knew this.
It was now or never. Either they turned the tide of this fight, or lost in the attempt.
"Iron Tail!"
"Brick Break!"
Putting everything that they had into Quick Attack, both Pokemon shot forward, Pikachu's tail encased in metal and Elekid's fist glowing orange.
BAM!
The attacks both slammed into each other head on, Pikachu's metallic tail shielding him from damage and Elekid's fist pushing against the powerful Steel Type attack. Both Pokemon's faces were clenched as they continued to put their all into the assault, desperately trying to overpower one another.
"You can do it Pikachu!" a female voice.
"Come on Ash!" a male voice.
The trainer blinked as he and Valiant turned to the side to see Emily and Rick, the former cupping her hands across her mouth and the latter holding his fists out in front of him with a determined look on his face.
Being cheered on in a battle… had that ever happened before? Not for him, at least.
The warmth in his chest was nice, but he couldn't focus on it right now, unfortunately. Turning his gaze back to the battlefield, he shouted out his own words of encouragement, while Valiant did the same.
But Paul was already back at it. "Elekid! Use your other arm to hit it with Thunder Punch!"
Ash growled. A clever tactic. He wasn't sure if Pikachu would be able to deflect Brick Break and manage to do so in time to intercept the incoming Thunder Punch.
But he believed in his starter. And he had another idea.
"Thunder Shock! Then keep Iron Tail going!"
Pikachu let out a jolt of static from his tail, causing the fist that Elekid was using to strike with Brick Break to painfully recoil backwards as the opposing Electric Type let out a growl of pain and frustration. This didn't stop it from swinging its other fist, however, but Pikachu quickly spun around and rammed the metallic tail against the electrical fist.
In fact, since Elekid was still reeling from the slight, yet painful jolt of electricity that Pikachu had suddenly hit him with, the Thunder Punch didn't have quite as much force behind it, and Ash grinned triumphantly as Pikachu's full force Iron Tail began slowly yet increasingly pushing it back. As Pikachu continued to push against it, its progress slowly but surely became faster, before completely deflecting the blow away, leaving Elekid's arm outstretched, and the growling Elekid itself vulnerable.
This was their chance. And they were going to take it.
"NOW!"
Not giving Paul any chances to react, Ash let out his order at the top of his lungs, and with a loud battle cry, Pikachu spun himself around yet again, this time ramming his still full power Iron Tail right into the Elekid's gut.
The opposing electric type Pokemon recoiled in pain as it let out a pained cry of anger, Pikachu's tail digging into its stomach with all of the force that the electric mouse could muster.
Both Pokemon were gritting their teeth as the struggle continued, the two rivals snarling in mutual defiance of one another. Neither would give in, but Pikachu was continuing to drive his opponent back with the force of his powerful blow.
But Paul wasn't giving in any more than Elekid.
"Fight through it and end this with Brick Break!" the tone in his voice was final, as though he wouldn't accept any other result than triumph, but Ash could have sworn that he had detected a hint of desperation in the other boy's normally callous voice.
With seemingly newfound adrenaline, Elekid let out an angry battle cry as it suddenly lurched forward, its voice becoming even more pained as it leaned against Pikachu's Iron Tail even further in order to attempt to drive in the blow. The tenacity was amazing, but also quite concerning.
Its fist glowing a bright orange, Elekid roared with anger as it swung the fist downwards, taking aim right at Pikachu's face. Before Ash could even react to the attack, the blow had already connected. Pikachu's cry of pain was immediately silenced as Elekid's fist drove him face first into the ground, the Brick Break grinding violently against the young mouse's cheek.
The crunching noise was audible, and was enough to make Valiant lurch backwards with a scared flinch, and Ash's eyes widen in terror.
Lifting its fist off of the mouse, Elekid stumbled backwards a bit, forcing a hand to clutch its now bleeding stomach as it painted in exhaustion, before looking down at its opponent.
Pikachu was still, the side of his face that had been struck by the Brick Break somewhat swollen, and Ash couldn't see the other side, as it was planted firmly into the ground, but he doubted that it would be pretty.
Ash tried not to think about how painful it had been. How brutal it had been. He didn't even want to know what Pikachu had felt in that moment, and he highly doubted that Valiant did, either.
Some things were just better left unsaid.
Paul and Elekid were ruthless. They were concerned only with winning the battle, now with how merciless that their tactics were. Professional Pokemon training was tough, and, above all else, without relent. What had happened to Pikachu was hardly the worst to ever come out of the profession.
Nevertheless, that didn't stop the queasiness in his stomach, as Ash tried and failed to fight off the thoughts of what his Starter had just gone through. The urge to have the events continuously replaying through his mind.
This was at least as bad as what had happened to Nebula against Brock.
Sparing a glance at Valiant, Ash could see the young Ralts shivering lightly, yet attempting to keep his expression steel. Reaching down, Ash lightly patted him on the head, getting his attention.
"It's okay." he said soothingly. "I'm a bit disturbed myself."
That seemed to ease the young Ralts up just a little bit, and as the Feeling Pokemon returned his gaze to the battlefield, Ash very quickly took out Pikachu's Poke Ball, returning his Starter and putting him in stasis.
"Excellent work buddy." he spoke with genuine praise. "You were amazing out there, like always."
But as he clipped the Poke Ball back onto his belt, he felt the disappointment creeping back up yet again.
Where had they gone wrong? They had learned from past mistakes. Constantly changing up tactics, responding quickly to their opponents' orders and Moves as often as possible, never freezing up under the pressure. Could it have possibly gone differently-
Quickly shaking the thoughts out of his mind, Ash quickly dismissed the notion. This hadn't been like when Pichu had battled against Gary's Squirtle. Or like when Nebula had battled against Brock's Geodude. They hadn't made any mistakes. No fatal errors that cost them the match. Paul and Elekid had simply been stronger than the two of them. And that was all the motivation that he needed at the moment.
Paul's voice caused him to look up, and Ash could detect a hint of relief in the other boy's voice. Had he been paying attention, he also would have taken note of Paul sighing in relief as well.
"He hasn't gone through a battle like that in a while…" a light hint of acknowledgement found its way into Paul's tone of voice as Elekid sank down onto one knee, still clutching his bleeding stomach. Lifting up a Poke Ball, Paul returned the creature. Muttering a few words (Ash thought that he might've picked up on "You stayed strong") to the Pokemon as he now rested safely into the orb, Paul quickly returned it to his belt before looking back up and locking eyes with Ash. The boy from Pallet Town still flinched slightly from his gaze, but steeled himself as quickly as possible. "Alright, you have my attention. Bring out your final teammate and let's get this over with."
Somewhat reluctantly, Ash turned his gaze down to a slightly nervous Valiant. The young Ralts had just watched both of his friends be defeated back to back, and was now expected to fight next. Surely, the Feeling Pokemon wasn't feeling anymore confident than he currently was.
"Hey…" he said lightly, earning the Pokemon's attention. "I know this battle's tough. Are you up for this?"
He wanted to think that winning was still possible. Elekid was on the verge of defeat, to the point where Paul hadn't even bothered waiting to call him back, and Teddiursa had at least been roughed up from Nebula. There was only Paul's third Pokemon to worry about, as Ash was confident that Valiant could easily defeat Elekid, and hopefully take out Teddiursa without too much trouble, in the condition that both of them were currently in.
But of course, Paul probably knew this, and would use his third Pokemon instead. So it was a matter of defeating whoever that was, and ensuring that they were still in a comfortable position afterwards in order to hopefully finish off the rest.
But that was easier said than done at this point, and although Ash tried to ensure himself, he knew that this wouldn't be easy. Teddiursa and Elekid had both been beyond fearsome opponents, and whoever this final Pokemon was would undoubtedly be no different form either one of them.
But nevertheless, Ash felt a slight sensation of inspiration surge through his chest as Valiant pumped an arm up with a determined glare, before looking away from his new Trainer and making his way onto the battlefield.
Ash wasn't sure how he would be able to ensure himself at this point, but that didn't matter. What mattered was that Valiant was still ready to fight now. And so he would be too.
As Valiant made his way onto the battlefield, Paul took out one final Poke Ball.
In a bright flash of light, Valiant's opponent appeared.
Ash blinked in surprise.
More murmurs from the crowd.
Standing before the young Ralts was a large, bulky, quadruped Pokemon with light green skin and a large, yellow shell covering its back. Curiously, two bush like trees were growing out of the shell.
Although it took a bit for Ash to process what this Pokemon was, it eventually clicked with him:
This Pokemon was a Grotle… the evolved form of a Turtwig, the grass type Sinnoh Region starter.
Ash highly doubted that Paul could have found a Turtwig in the wild, which meant that…
"You're from Sinnoh?" his tone was a bit incredulous.
"So? What's it to you?" Paul's voice was back to its usual blunt tone.
"Why did you choose to come here?" Ash was curious. Although the vast majority of trainers usually stayed in their homeland, it still wasn't too uncommon for them to compete in foreign territories. What was quite uncommon, however, was for a trainer to leave their homeland on their first year. Most trainers waited two, maybe even three years before even considering such a thing.
And yet this… Paul had left his homeland mere moments after starting out. He supposed that it was realistic for Paul to be here in time for the beginning of the Season, as Sinnoh had started out earlier than usual this Season, so Paul could have theoretically hopped on a cruise ship to indigo the moment that he got his starter and trainer's license, and potentially used the teleportation service when Indigo's Season began, but… why would he even bother?
Paul crossed his arms stoically. "Personal reasons that don't concern you. Now then," he looked down towards the bulky grass type Pokemon. "Alright, now, Grotle, it's time for us to break in your evolution."
The Grass Type nodded. As stoic as it's trainer, it gazed at Valiant with an intense glint in its eyes. Valiant flinched a bit as the two combatants made eye contact, but very quickly steeled himself, glaring back into his opponents pupils.
Ash felt a bit guilty for asking. Paul was right. He had no business butting himself into whatever reasons that Paul had to be here. He had let his curiosity get the best of him.
But for now, they would just focus on the battle.
"Psybeam, Valiant!"
"Withdraw!" Paul quickly countered.
As quickly as Valiant had fired off the rainbow beam, Grotle had already retreated into its shell. Much to Ash's dismay, the psychic attack did nothing as it collided with the exterior, bouncing off of the grass type's superior defenses with ease.
The boy from Pallet Town flinched. He was suddenly getting Gary flashbacks from this. If Valiant couldn't even put a dent into Grotle's defenses, then…
"Stockpile!" Paul called out.
Grotle remained inside of its shell, which began to slowly but surely glow a vibrant white. Ash had never heard of this Move before, but it sounded like some sort of charge up technique.
The word 'Stockpile' gave him the impression that Grotle was in the midst of gathering power…
He could have Valiant erect a barrier, or go into Shadow Sneak, but doing either one of those too soon would use up too much energy. As much as the young trainer hated it, the best course of action would probably be to wait for Grotle to fire, or make whatever move that it was probably going to make, and then block it, or Teleport away at the last second.
It made him feel sick to his stomach. They were both battling on Paul's terms now, and that meant that they were both at a fundamental disadvantage…
"Get ready, Valiant."
As the young Ralts braced himself, the glowing of Grotle's shell began to get somewhat blinding, and just as Ash was about to shield his eyes, Paul called out his order.
"Spit Up!"
Suddenly, Grotle was out of its shell, its mouth open wide as a glowing, bright, white orb formed inside of it.
Before Ash could even think about what was happening, Valiant yelped out loud and quickly erected a Light Screen barrier, boxing himself in just in time for a condensed beam of pale energy to come rushing into it.
The explosion was loud and intense, and Ash flinched as he saw Valiant skidding backwards, body reeling from the shockwave, and the Light Screen completely shattered.
Although the Light Screen had absorbed the brunt of the impact, Ash quickly took note of the bruises on Valiant's body. That blast had been strong for sure. Enough to completely eliminate the Feeling Pokemon's defenses while still damaging him just from the shockwaves alone.
A direct hit from that would have been the end for sure.
Looking over to Grotle, Ash could see the bulky grass type Pokemon taking a few moments to catch its breath, before righting itself and immediately going back to its stoic expression.
A powerful blast like that most certainly would take its toll on the Pokemon, which means that Paul probably wasn't going to be using it excessively.
But that hardly mattered when there was no reliable way to damage Grotle. If Psybeam wouldn't work then Magical Leaf certainly wouldn't, as the green tortoise had a natural resistance to it. So what would they do then?
He wasn't sure how effective that Confusion would be. Hypnosis would be helpful to keep Grotle's guard down. Confuse Ray was a wild card, they hadn't practiced it that much-
"Bullet Seed!"
Ash snapped out of his thoughts as a barrage of powerful seeds erupted from Grotle's mouth.
Bullet Seed, much like Rock Blast, was a rather useful rapid fire styled attack. And this one seemed to be even stronger than the Rock Blast that Brock's Rhyhorn had used. Grotle's Bullet Seed easily put cracks into Valiant's now erected Reflect barrier, wearing it down far faster than Rhyhorn had.
It was only mere moments before the seeds got through Valiant's defenses, the young Ralts crying out in pain as they pelted his body, and Ash could have sworn he saw some minor drops of blood.
"Tackle!" the moment Grotle had ceased firing, another order had been called out, and the beast charged forward far faster than its size would make it seem to be capable of.
With grotle's massive bulk, if it crashed right into Valiant now, it would all be over…
But Valiant was already on it, eyes glowing a very deep shade of purple as he desperately tried to stop Grotle in its tracks with Confusion.
But much like with Rhyhorn before it, he could only slow the ambitious Grotle down. Immediately noticing that his technique wasn't going to be too effective in the long run, due to the massive strain of trying to maintain it, Valiant immediately ceased using Confusion and teleported to the other side of the battlefield, just in time to prevent the charging Grotle from slamming right into him. Ash breathed a sigh of relief, but knew that they weren't out of the woods just yet.
This Grotle had the defenses to render all of Valiant's attacks useless, and the raw power to break through Valiant's own defenses with ease. At this point, they were short on options.
Bracing himself, Ash called out his last resort. "Get in close! Confuse Ray!"
Valiant immediately sank into Shadow Sneak, but Paul was already countering.
"Razor Leaf! Protect yourself!"
Paul and Grotle must have known that Valiant making use of Shadow Sneak was how the young Ralts planned on getting in close to use Confuse Ray at point blank, because when Grotle fired out the razor sharp leaves, they, to Ash's shock, swirled around it like a makeshift barrier.
Was this… another modified technique?
Realizing that he could no longer get in close without being cut up by the leaves surrounding his opponent's body, Valiant rose back up from the ground, out of ideas.
"Fire!"
A yelping Valiant immediately erected Reflect as the leaves shot out toward him, but it wasn't too long before they had broken through, the ongoing barrage carving right through the silver cube and into the screaming Ralts' skin.
And the moment they had subsided, the now bloodied and cut up Ralts had looked up just in time to see Grotle looming over him, rearing up a leg and smacking him down on the back of the head.
As Valiant plopped down onto the ground and didn't get up, Ash didn't even bother checking the young Ralts' condition before he returned him. He was too afraid to look.
That had… hardly even been a battle. They hadn't even gotten a chance to do anything…
Not even Pikachu's fight with Skorupi had been that one sided. This was on the level of Pichu's fight with Squirtle…
But Ash quickly shook the comparisons out of his head. Unlike that particular battle, he and Valiant had actually been in sync. They were just… hopelessly outclassed.
Ash hadn't lost to another Trainer since Gary, but he found himself finding this loss far less unfulfilling as that one had been.
He was still shaken from the brutality of the fight, and from how one sided the fight with Grotle had ended up being, but… the battle didn't feel like an embarrassment. It certainly wasn't the complete mess that the battle with Gary was.
But he was still disappointed. The harshness of defeat still filling his heart as he registered the loss.
But he was quickly snapped out of it as he heard Paul's voice, the purple haired boy approaching him, flanked by his bulky Grotle.
"Perhaps that was a bit of a mismatch." the boy admitted out loud, looking Ash in the eye. "I knew that my starter had gotten a lot stronger since evolving, but I wanted to test him out to see just what his gains were. He hadn't gotten the chance to properly put them to work yet."
Ash inwardly snorted. Grotle certainly had gained a lot. It was easily the strongest Pokemon that they had fought so far…
"Now then…" said Paul, taking out his Pokedex. "I believe you owe me some winnings."
Nodding, Ash tried to hide his disappointment as he took out his own Pokedex. In addition to physical cash, he could also transfer some of his own stored money to Paul's account.
After the process was over, the mysterious Trainer locked eyes with him, stashing away his Pokedex.
"Perhaps you see what I mean, now. My Pokemon all have natural talent that I've honed from their already stellar starting points. They had the potential, and that's why they won. Still though…" he turned away slightly. "A Ralts with Shadow Sneak borders on being unheard of. You at least have that going for you." turning back to Ash, he added. "I'll admit, you're not half bad compared to the other rookies that I've wasted my time on since coming here." he said begrudgingly. "But I'd recommend being a bit more careful about your team's additions in the future." without another word, he turned to Grotle. "Let's go."
The Grass Type spared Ash a momentary glance before following his trainer back into the Pokemon Center. The small crowd immediately made way for them, a few people in the crowd dispersing now that the battle was done.
Ash was broken out of his stupor as Emily called out to him.
"Hey, Ash!" looking over to see her and Rick making their way over to him, Ash raised his hand slightly.
Emily's face had a hint of concern on it. "Are you okay? That battle was harsh." she seemed a bit shaken, but eased up a bit as Rick put a hand on her shoulder.
"That guy really meant business." the taller boy commented. "Wasn't expecting him to be a foreigner, but that Grotle was a freak of nature. I think you got robbed."
Ash shook his head, still slightly bewildered by the last part of the fight, but still shaking it off nonetheless. "No… we would have lost anyway. I'm sure of it. He was just… on a higher level than me."
It pained him to say such a thing, but it was true.
Could he have been… right? Maybe he had a point about a Pokemon's starting point. And did that mean that… Ash's starting point…
The image of the Boulder Badge flashed into his mind, and he quickly found himself shaking his head, his eyes clenched a bit.
No! They had already proved themselves against Brock! He wasn't going to just go back to doubting himself just because of one, single loss. Trainers lose battles all the time. It was a fact of life. Just because he had won a badge didn't mean that he should be surprised that there was another Trainer who was still far above him.
It just meant that they needed to keep on training harder. Ash already knew that they couldn't just relax just yet, but if he hadn't known it then, he definitely knew it now. This battle had been the perfect reminder for him.
"Ummm… Ash?"
He blinked to see Emily's brown eyes staring into his in concern. Realizing that he had been lost in thought, he flashed her a quick grin to settle her worries.
That seemed to satisfy her, so he nodded to them. "I just need a minute. I'll be in soon."
Emily nodded, gesturing towards Rick and leading him back inside. The taller boy spared Ash one final glance before following her, and Ash could hear him saying something about that Grotle being a monster.
Letting out a deep sigh, Ash looked down to his belt, running his hand along his Poke Balls.
"I'm sorry that I came up short again, you guys. You all did great, really. But we haven't hit our peak just yet. And Paul and his team haven't seen the last of us yet."
Ash Ketchum had no idea just how true that last statement would end up being.