Cynthia was curled up in a dark room. She had no idea about the passage of time, or any awareness about what might be going on outside. When food was pushed through a flap she would eat, and there was a toilet in the corner. That was it. Her prison was as simple as it could get. When she first arrived she had tried the door to find it was shut solidly. Being too weak to struggle she had lain down on the floor and fallen back asleep. Now, many meals later, she had recovered from the injury she had received when she was captured. Her back, while sore, was not bleeding, and didn't feel infected. Cynthia now had nothing to do but sit and think.
The Sinnoh Champion focused on two things. She was trying to keep thinking about what might be going on outside, in attempt to make sure that she wasn't disconnected. She feared that she might never be found by the Pokémon Master. But then as she reasoned, the Johto League was going on. She couldn't realistically expect him to abandon the tournament where he would expect to be seen, particularly given the efforts he had put into working on the Pokémon League. And even if he came looking for her, how would he find her? She had only found Team Rocket because Mewtwo had known where to look.
How would 'Champion' be able to compete? She admitted he was a remarkable man, but surely finding her would be beyond even him. As she thought about the Johto League she wondered who would win. And furthermore, who would lead the Sinnoh region through their league, due to start five months after Johto. She knew that she needed to be there for the League, or people would start to question her absence. But she couldn't even get out of wherever she was. Agent hadn't been particularly specific.
The other thing that occupied Cynthia's time was thinking about the chain of events that had brought her to where she was. Thinking back to her initial defeat at the World League, where 'Champion' had come out of nowhere obliterating opponents. There would be trainers who entered under bizarre names each year, after all the requirements to enter were simply to have defeated all thirty-two Gym Leaders across the four regions. It didn't have to be in a single season, it could be any length of time. This meant that there were a huge number of trainers that would enter each year.
Usually most were knocked out in the early rounds, but the man called 'Trainer' had caught attention quickly. In his first fight, he didn't say a single word, releasing a Charizard that systematically destroyed his opponents Pokémon. Cynthia, who didn't have to enter until the later rounds, had been sat with Charles Goodshow watching various battles on a series of screens. Despite the speed the noise filtered through, his opponent was already on his third and final Pokémon for the match. As they watched, Charizard had simply glared at his opponent, and promptly roasted the powerful Tyranitar that he was facing with a single Flamethrower.
It not only knocked the Armor Pokémon out in a single hit, it picked it up and threw it across the arena to land next to its stunned trainer. Cynthia had remembered watching and feeling, for the first time in her career, fear of a Pokémon. She had only seen it for a few moments and already knew that the Charizard was going to be hard to stop.
For the rest of the tournament she made sure that she was able to see something of 'Trainers' battles. He always used the same Pokémon, and it took six battles for him to actually have to issue a command. Up to that point he hadn't spoken a word. When he first gave an instruction, the reaction from the crowd was surprising; they were usually fixated on his Charizard, but all heads snapped to the man, and many missed the attack that ended that particular battle.
When she faced him herself, Cynthia had tried absolutely everything she could think of. No matter what she did, the Charizard seemed to be able to see it coming and get out of the way and return an attack with blistering speed and power. As her Pokémon had fallen with incredible speed, Cynthia had just been in awe of the team she was facing. 'Trainer' left Charizard to fight by himself for a lot of the battle, but when he gave an instruction it usually tore Cynthia's defense open and ended the fight. She remembered the feeling when her Garchomp had crashed into the ground for the final time, surrounded by smoke as the crowd roared.
Since that day, Cynthia had struggled to control events like she had used to. When she was the Pokémon Master she had always been in control. Before then, she had been the Sinnoh Champion, and before that an independent trainer. Having to accept that somebody else had control over her work had been hard for her to get used to. She hadn't been able to grasp what her successor wanted from her; to act as a buffer between him and the rest of the world.
She thought she was doing alright when she had finally managed to get the training camp done, but then came a mistake; she had kept pestering her boss to try to teach the trainers she was bringing. A good idea in theory for them, but against what 'Champion' wanted of her. She was to teach so that he didn't have to. Although she admitted she hadn't been disappointed, the teaching was on a whole new level. She had seen why nobody could even come close to the Pokémon Master.
And then came her biggest mistake of all; her intervention. Cynthia didn't know what had happened underneath Goldenrod City, but having seen the devastation that his Pokémon had wreaked underneath the city, she was very sure that she didn't want to know. When she had been dismissed from her role and returned to Sinnoh she had had a chance to think about the events, and had decided that they could have been handled better.
The youngsters that she had brought with her, that had gotten her fired, she was angry at herself for bringing them. And as to going against the instruction of the Pokémon Master, that was something that Cynthia didn't intend to repeat in a hurry.
There was a loud bang on the door that caused Cynthia to jump and look up. For the first time since she had been imprisoned, the door opened fully, instead of a space at the bottom. As light spilled into the room, causing momentary blindness for Cynthia, she allowed herself to think for a moment that she had been saved. Yet as her eyes slowly acclimatized to the bright light, she found herself looking into the pitiless face of Agent.
"I felt that I should give you a warning" the Rocket said with a sneer. "The food I am bringing now will be providing you for a long time. I will be gone for a while, and I can't have the only guarantee that Mewtwo will do as I order dying on me can I?" He turned and pulled in a large trolley, covered in plates of food. "I hope this will be to your liking Miss Shirona. There isn't much of an alternative if it isn't." With that, he turned away, and the door slammed shut behind him, plunging Cynthia into darkness once again.
Ash Ketchum stood looking out across the main stadium. He was here to watch the biggest battle in the round-robin stage, in group 7, between Misty Waterflower and Aaron Olson. Both of them had comprehensively thumped the third member of their group without losing or having to change a Pokémon. But now, the loser of this three on three match would be out of the tournament.
Ash knew that as the Pokémon Master he had to seem to be neutral, and would also be expected to appear at a battle of this magnitude. Yet he knew exactly who he wanted to win. Despite the seven years apart, and the crushing victory he had inflicted on her when she had challenged him, Ash still thought of Misty as somebody he was closer to than most humans. Yet he knew he could never go back. Years of training had changed him, just as it had changed them. He still recognized his friends, and whilst the years had meant that he didn't interact with humans as well as others, he still knew that he was no longer friends with any of them. If they found out who he was, he knew that there would be trouble. Friendship counted for little when it was so long ago. And he had set himself a job to do. He had completed his childhood dream and become the Pokémon Master, and the most powerful trainer in existence. His Pokémon could (and had) taken out legendries.
He chuckled as he remembered on particular fight just over a year previously, when Charizard had provoked and fought Entei. The Volcano Pokémon had initially been outraged that a mere Charizard would fight him, and then shocked at the power of said Charizard. It had ended with Charizard's foot stamped over Entei's throat, the legend being beaten, before Ash had finally stepped in. Charizard had wanted to savor his victory longer, and he hadn't taken kindly to his trainer's attempt to interrupt. When Entei saw the blast of flame sent at Ash deflected, he had looked on amazed, as Ash glared at his trademark powerhouse who had finally backed down.
In the aftermath, Ash had helped Entei recover, and then had a long conversation with the legendry, with Espeon helping. It had transpired that a trainer had been capturing various legendries, and it was upsetting the remaining free ones. Ash had known the trainer that was doing it, and this is what had caused him to decide to return to civilization. Ash knew that the three Regi's had willingly agreed to stay with Brandon, although he had since released them, after they had asked him to do so.
Aside from this there were only six legendries controlled by trainers. Ash had known of two under the control of Tobias, a man who had caused him to leave civilization. When he had become Pokémon Master, he knew that he would have to go through a process to find a way to release them to calm down legendries such as Entei.
As the stadium roared, Ash looked down to see Misty and Aaron step out into the field. Beside him Lance and Steven arrived, both greeting their leader with a nod. The trio settled down to watch the battle below them.
Misty took a deep breath as she approached Aaron in the middle of the field. This was the final battle of the round-robins, scheduled so deliberately to maximize the number of people who would want to see it. Both Sam and Mellanie had battled through to the victory tournament with two wins apiece, leaving Misty to have to fight past one of the strongest trainers in the tournament to join them. Aaron smiled at her, as they shook hands.
"Good luck Misty. Although I admit I'm surprised that you entered this tournament."
"Why is that?" Misty answered, cautiously, still remembering the near defeat against Gregory.
"I have no doubt that you are a great trainer, in fact I know you are." Aaron said. "Just to enter a regional tournament like this was unexpected. You are aware just how hard it is to win using only one type of Pokémon. If you beat me here today, I'll be cheering for you all the way, it would be good to see a change. Just you've got to get past me first." A final grin and he turned away, leaving Misty smiling at his back, reflecting that perhaps not all trainers were bad.
As she reached her trainers box, Misty looked up to the score-board, where the ticker started to spin around, landing on green. She looked across the field, as Aaron pulled out his first Pokéball.
"Jolteon, I think you can start us off."
Misty grinned, knowing that he thought he could win using type advantage. However, she admitted, his Jolteon looked well trained. Its fur was glossy and shiny, and it had a cute look to it, although when it fixed its eyes on her, its look turned more aggressive. A Pokémon meant to battle. She reached down to her belt and pulled out her first Pokémon. When it had come to assembling the team for this one, it had been easy. As she threw her Pokéball, Golduck appeared in front of her, flexing his muscles.
The referee stepped forwards. "The battle between Misty Waterflower and Aaron Olson will now begin. The first battle will be between Jolteon and Golduck. Begin!"
"Jolteon, Pin Missile."
"Water Gun."
The two attacks collided in the middle, giving both trainers a chance to see just how fast their opponents Pokémon were. Misty was not impressed, it meant that one of her advantages was going to be close to nullified before it even started.
"Golduck, another Water Gun." Misty commanded.
"Jolteon, dodge and Thunderbolt."
The Lightning Pokémon moved quickly to the left, before firing back an electric attack that Golduck had no chance to dodge. As it endured, it fell to its knees and then surged back up once again. Misty glared across the field, at her smiling opponent.
"You forget Misty, I was in Indigo as well. I learned just as much. Jolteon Pin Missile again."
"Golduck, dodge."
"Keep it up."
Soon Jolteon had Golduck dodging all across the field, desperate to avoid being hit once again. After a few minutes, Misty started to smile, as Jolteon started to slow slightly.
"Golduck, Hydro Pump"
"Jolteon dodge, and Thunderbolt."
Aaron's eyes widened as he realized what Misty had been planning. Jolteon wasn't able to dodge quickly enough and was clipped by the powerful water attack. As the Lightning Pokémon skidded across the field, Misty struck again.
"Aqua Tail."
Before Aaron was able to react, Golduck surged across the field and crashed into the side of Jolteon causing the victim to skid across the floor and come to a stop. Aaron raised his hand and recalled his battered electric type to give it a chance to recover after the battering it had received from Golduck.
Up in the Champion's box, Ash settled back into his seat. "Aaron made a mistake" the Pokémon Master said.
"What do you mean?" Steven asked.
"If you remember back to when I battled Misty, that Golduck demonstrated that it has a phenomenal level of endurance. It was a mistake to try to trap it with consistent attacks, there just isn't any point. It will wear out almost any opponent, it barely even seems tired."
Lance and Steven looked back down, where Golduck did indeed hardly seem tired. It made them wonder how long it could actually fight for.
Aaron looked back down at his belt, before selecting another Pokéball. He threw it, and a large bear-like Pokémon appeared with a roar. Misty smiled and instantly withdrew her Golduck, before releasing Gyarados.
"Gyarados vs Ursaring. Begin" called the referee.
"Gyarados, Flamethrower."
"Ursaring, straight through it, and Hammer Arm."
As the Hibernator Pokémon charged straight into the torrent of fire, before being thrown back, causing Aaron to raise an eyebrow, and look at Gyarados closer.
"Ursaring, Hyper Beam."
"Hydro Pump."
The two powerful attacks collided in the center of the field, exploding. As Ursaring peered through the smoke, another torrent of water flew through and caught the Hibernator Pokémon in the chest, sending it skidding backwards. Ursaring surged back to its feet and charged into the smoke.
"Ursaring, Hammer Arm."
There was a roar of pain from inside the smoke which had begun to clear. As it did, it became clear why; Ursaring had closed the gap on Gyarados, and then was clubbing the Atrocious Pokémon with its arm that was glowing white.
Misty smirked. "Dragon Rage."
"Ursaring, move!" shouted Aaron, but to no avail. As the Hibernator Pokémon backed away, Gyarados' head reared up and a huge ball of flame came pouring out burying Ursaring. As Normal-Type retreated from the onslaught, Gyarados struck again without needing a command. As a Hydro Pump smashed into Ursaring, the Hibernator Pokémon fell to the ground for the final time.
"Ursaring is unable to battle. Gyarados is the winner!" called the referee.
Aaron recalled his Ursaring with a sigh. He had clearly underestimated Misty somewhat, as her Gyarados had shown. Thankfully, he had his strongest Pokémon yet to come, but first, Jolteon was to be recalled.
Brock smiled in the stands as he saw Ursaring fall, as did Gary. The difficulty for Misty was not becoming overconfident, but with Jolteon battered and Ursaring out, Aaron was clearly on the back-foot. Although, they all knew the danger that the Pokémon that had taken him to his title could pose, Misty had planned for it. Beside him, Gary was tense, which Brock had noticed, but not drawn attention to. Unfortunately, Max wasn't necessarily so good with people.
"Gary, relax, she is winning" the youngest Maple said, causing Gary's head to snap around.
"Max, I won't be happy until she is past this battle. This is her biggest ever test, and will be a huge blow if she loses. And you know sufficiently well how quickly a battle can turn."
"Yes, but…"
"Max." Brock interjected. "You know how strong Aaron's last Pokémon is; you probably better than the rest of us. If Misty can beat him then she will become a strong favorite for the tournament, rather than somebody who has a chance."
"Yeah, I know, but Jolteon is nearly down, and Golduck and Gyarados are incredibly powerful" Max argued. "Let alone Pikachu. Misty should be able to win."
"We'll see Max." Brock said, as Gary settled down to focus on the field again. "We'll see."
"Jolteon, you're up again" Aaron called, tossing the Pokéball. Misty quickly recalled Gyarados, and sent Golduck out once again.
"Jolteon, Thunderbolt"
"Dodge, and Water Gun."
Golduck dropped quickly under the electric attack and fired a burst of water at Jolteon, causing the Lightning Pokémon to skid back across the field. Aaron glared at his opponent, who was completely focused on the battle, and clearly on top.
"Jolteon, Discharge."
Misty grinned. "I knew that was coming. Golduck, Psychic."
Aaron's eyes widened, but it was too late. As the bursts of electricity surged out, Golducks eyes glowed and Joltoen lifted off the ground, with the electricity stopping and forming a ring.
"Send the electricity away, and then Hyper Beam."
"Jolteon, break out, NOW" Aaron shouted.
As Jolteon struggled, Golduck redirected the discharge into the ground, before the gem on his head started to glow. Jolteon glowed yellow, and electricity shot out, but to no avail, as the Hyper Beam smashed straight into the Lightning Pokémon, which tossed it across the field. Aaron looked down on his Pokémon, battered and bruised, lying on its side, clearly knocked out. As he recalled his Pokémon, with the referee announcing the outcome, the stadium roared, clearly thinking that last year's champion wasn't even going to reach the Victory Tournament.
'Champion' looked thoughtfully down at the stadium. Misty's Golduck had outclassed Jolteon, despite the type-disadvantage. She had clearly improved since she last faced him. He knew that she still wouldn't be a match for him, but it was good to see her improvement. As Jolteon was recalled, he suddenly felt a presence in his mind, and leaned back in his seat before responding.
"There is a Pokémon approaching Silver Town." Espeon said. "A Salamance."
"And?"
"It doesn't seem to have a trainer with it. It is unusual behavior for such a Pokémon."
"Thank you". Ash sent, opening his eyes. "Keep an eye on it, and let me know what happens. Use the scouts. I will remain here until the battle is over."
As Espeon withdrew, Ash sat back in his seat, before looking down at the stadium once again. Beside him Lance and Steven were discussing Mistys battling, but he wasn't interested. He knew that the battle was no longer important, if his suspicions were correct.
Gary sat back, and smiled slightly, as Jolteon vanished from the field. He still looked nervous, but it appeared that he believed Misty might go on to win. Behind them, James leaned forwards.
"Guys, I know that Aaron won last year, but what are you all worried about? Misty still has three relatively fresh Pokémon, and he is down to one. Surely she should go on to win this?"
Brock smiled. "You clearly don't know what his final Pokémon is. Last year in his semi-final, he was 5-2 down, before he sent out his Absol. That Pokémon ripped through his opponent, and sent him through to the final. You'll see when he sends it out."
"I almost wouldn't mind if he won this battle, as long as he wins the tournament." Max chipped in before Gary glared at him. "What? Tell me you wouldn't want to see that Absol going up against 'Champion'."
"I would be interested." Gary admitted. "But I would rather see Pikachu."
Max thought for a moment, before nodding. "That's a good point. Assuming that Absol is just as strong as last year, then Misty will need Pikachu. That will be interesting."
Dawn leaned over to mutter to Jessie. "I don't know why they are so excited. It's just a battle. They don't understand the beauty of contests." Jessie smothered her laugh, while nodding, which received glares from the boys. They quickly shut up.
Slightly apart from the younger members of the group, Delia was talking to Samuel Oak. "Will Misty be able to win this?"
"I don't know" the Professor answered honestly. "I suspect that she will be able to come close, but if the stories of that Absol are true, then she will be up against it."
"I hope she does." Delia said with a worried smile. "It would be nice to have her keep going."
"I agree" said the Professor, as the battle restarted once again.
"Absol old friend, it's your time to shine once again." Aaron said with a smile, before releasing his Pokémon. Golduck flexed its muscles from across the field, and smirked, but Misty wasn't fooled. Golduck had been tired out slightly by his earlier battle, and then used Psychic and Hyper Beam together which would have further tired it out. She wasn't expecting him to win.
"Absol, Quick Attack into Psycho Cut."
Absol surged forwards, and Golduck leapt out of the way instinctively.
"Water Gun."
As the Duck Pokémon took flew through the air he fired a burst of water down at Absol who was still moving forwards. As the attack connected, Absol suddenly vanished, before Aaron's voice rang out again.
"Thunder."
A huge burst of electricity shot out and smashed into Golduck, who was still in the air and unable to dodge. Golduck crashed down next to Misty, and struggled to rise, before collapsing to the ground. Shakily, Misty held out her hand, and recalled her Pokémon. She was annoyed at herself; falling for such an old trick as Double Team was stupid. She apologized to Golducks Pokéball before quickly releasing Gyarados.
Aaron smiled. "Don't want to waste time eh Misty? Your haste is a weakness."
"Gyarados, Scald." Misty said, refusing to being drawn into mind games.
"Sunny Day." Aaron ordered.
As the burst of hot water surged at Absol, it leaped out-of-the-way before releasing an orb that flew into the sky, causing the sun to rapidly brighten and heat up the stadium.
"Smart." James said, with a smile. Gary had gone back into his hunched down position, staring fixatedly at the field. "Against a Water-Type trainer, that will stunt Gyarados."
"Agreed" said Max. "But still, I think Misty should win comfortably."
"I don't know Max." Brock said, distractedly as he looked down at the battlefield. "If Gyarados goes down quickly, Misty will be in trouble. I don't know how strong Pikachu is."
"I've trained with him Brock, trust me, Pikachu is one powerful Pokémon."
"And I've trained Pichu with him" James agreed. "I think Misty should be able to win, Pikachu will be too strong for Absol."
"Rain Dance Gyarados."
"Quick Attack."
Before Gyarados could complete the attack, Absol smashed into him, stopping him from removing the clouds.
"Again." Misty ordered, hoping that Absol wouldn't be able to recover fast enough. She was wrong, and the two repeated it three times more, before she gave up.
"Gyarados, Flamethrower"
"Flamethrower straight back" Aaron said with a grin. As the two torrents of flame collided in the middle of the field, they built into a growing inferno which expanded across the entire field.
"Gyarados, STOP" Misty shouted, suddenly realizing Aaron's strategy. As the Atrocious Pokémon did as ordered, the huge fireball in the middle exploded. Absol leaped high into the sky, before being sent further into the air by the explosion, and flipping around to aim to land feet first, aiming at where Gyarados had been before. Gyarados, unable to leap into the sky was hit by the inferno that surged across the field, and let out a roar of pain. Misty gritted her teeth as she looked into the fire that still obscured her vision, listening to her Pokémon in pain, knowing that Gyarados surely couldn't take much more. Absol was hitting hard, particularly given how fast Golduck had gone down, and with the damage taken against Ursaring, Gyarados was surely not going to last. If she could get one last hit in…
"Absol, Thunder"
As the attack charged, Misty decided on a plan of action. "Gyarados, this will take you out, Hyper Beam with everything you've got to try and hurt it."
There was a huge roar from the declining inferno, before being sucked in and replaced with an explosion of light, orange and yellow. In the aftermath of the explosion there was a resounding crash, which made Misty flinch. She knew that was the sound of her Pokémon going down, but what had happened to Absol?
As the smoke cleared, there were scorch marks across the field, testament to the sheer power of the two Pokémon, and Sunny Day was beginning to wear off. Gyarados was knocked out, and across the field Absol was prowling back and forth, although there were clearly a marks of battle. Misty was pleased that Gyarados hadn't gone down without fighting against Absol, but she knew the moment was upon her. She had no choice now but to reveal her greatest asset in this tournament, and she hoped the reason she would win.
"Gyarados, return, you fought really well. I'm proud of you." Misty said, smiling at her most powerful Pokémon before she recalled it, before taking another Pokéball from her belt and looking at it. It was a normal looking Pokéball, as Pikachu had never recovered his lightning-engraved Pokéball from Ash. She smiled down at it, with Pikachu having agreed to stay inside his Pokéball, to ensure total surprise. Nobody aside from her friends knew that Pikachu had agreed to fight. Aaron, looking confident across the field, clearly didn't know what she had hidden up her sleeve. With a smile, she kissed it gently, before hurling the Pokéball out towards the field.
"It vanished" Espeon said, causing Ash to straighten slightly.
"What do you mean?"
The Salamance. It's gone. It just vanished. We couldn't sense anything around it."
"Are you there now?"
Espeon sent an image of a field that Ash recognized from the outskirts of Silver Town. Ninetales was sniffing around trying to find out where the scent went, while Alakazam was sat meditating. "There is no scent at all.
"Interesting. I will…" Ash broke off, shock registering across his mind, and spreading to Espeon. She knew her trainer sufficiently well to know that it took an awful lot to surprise Ash. She probed further into his mind, and was met by a wall. Espeon recalled in shock; she had never felt such a wall in Ash's head. As she continued to press, she felt is crumble, and felt an aura of warmth and an apologetic thought straight across. Ash showed Espeon a quick look onto the field. There was a small little electric mouse on the field, a little electric mouse that Espeon recognized instantly. She immediately sent an aura of kindness straight over their bond. A quick acceptance from Ash, and she began to withdraw before there was a quick final thought sent across.
"I will come tonight. I have to watch this."
"I understand. If you need anything…"
"Espeon, I'm sorry. But, I have to do this alone."
Aaron's eyes widened. "You have…"
"Yes." Misty said with a smile. "I have more than water-types. Surprised?"
"Just a little. But it'll have to be strong to be able to defeat Absol."
"Oh don't worry. Pikachu is ready for anything."
Pikachu flexed his muscles, before grinning across the field at Absol, who looked back impassively. Both Pokémon could see the strength of their opponent. Pikachu was thrilled; his first battle back, and he was in such a big stadium, against such a powerful opponent. He turned and waved to the crowds, who roared in appreciation.
"Absol, Razor Wind."
"Agility Pikachu."
As Absols attack raced at Pikachu, the little mouse dodged, straight of the way, before grinning back. Aaron raised an eyebrow.
"Aerial Ace."
"Agility"
Absol moved even quicker than before, but Pikachu still dodged. Aaron looked surprised. "I thought that was meant to be un-dodgeable?"
Misty grinned back. "I think you'll find Pikachu is a little different to any Pokémon you've ever faced before. He has trained by himself for nearly seven years, and perfected some aspects of fighting. I'll be impressed if Absol can keep up."
"No problem. Absol, Double Team, and then Quick Attack."
"Discharge Pikachu."
As Absol split into a dozen images, before they all charged at Pikachu, before the little Pokémon sent out a surge of electricity and hit all the images. Absol was sent skidding back, before glaring across the field at Pikachu, who simply smirked back. Absol surged forwards again, before Aaron gave a command, and Pikachu moved away. As he did, Absol moved quicker back around straight at the Mouse Pokémon again. Misty grimaced.
"Pikachu, Agility again, keep ahead of Absol."
Pikachu nodded, and surged forwards but Absol kept moving faster. Misty looked on in surprise, as the two Pokémon sped up more and more, increasing until they became blurs. Looking over his shoulder, Pikachu was amazed that any Pokémon could match him for pace. As the stadium looked on, the two Pokémon continued to speed up, until there were just rings of color, until the rings merged, until the sheer pace of Pikachu was causing sparks around the arena.
"It seems Pikachu has gotten powerful." Ash mused. "And fast. I wonder how… Maybe I… no. I can't. That day… Just meeting him… No. If I'm lucky I'll never have anything to do with him again. I can't after that day."
"What do you think 'Champion'?" Lance asked with a smile. "Impressed?"
"I'm impressed with the Pikachu." Ash responded, forcibly repressing his emotions. "Miss Waterflower… no. She will lose this battle if she doesn't get a grip."
"What do you mean?" Steven asked.
"Simple. Absol is using Pursuit. No matter how fast Pikachu goes, Absol will match it. Pikachu will have to attack him, instead of dodging."
"How fast can Pikachu go?" Max asked in awe. Nobody felt the need to answer him, nobody really knew. They were amazed that neither Pokémon had injured themselves yet, but they were still racing, when there was an explosion.
Down on the field, Misty flinched. Pikachu was sent skidding back across the field, before climbing to his feet, glaring at Absol who was beginning to slow down.
"Pikachu!" Misty called. "Are you alright?"
Pikachu looked back at his trainer, before nodding, and then smiled back and then gestured to Misty before charging straight back into the field. Misty blinked. The gesture Pikachu had just used, meant that he wanted to fight alone. She smiled, and nodded, before stepping back. It was up to Pikachu, and she trusted him completely.
Across the field, Absol looked at Aaron, before nodding and leaping back towards Pikachu, twisting in the air. Aaron similarly nodded, before stepping back. Both trainers decided to leave the fighting to their Pokémon; they wouldn't be able to keep up with the battle that was about to happen.
Pikachu leapt over Absol, before firing a huge bolt of electricity that covered the field. Landed on it, before spinning and firing a torrent of fire at Pikachu, who used his tail as a spring, leaping over the attack, and firing an Electro Ball at Absol. The Disaster Pokémon rolled to the side, and fired a blue beam of ice at Pikachu who matched it with a Thunderbolt. There was a small explosion, and the two Pokémon landed glaring across the field at each other, before nodding and taking a step back.
Pikachu then jumped forwards again and fired Thunder, which Absol dodged and then shot a Blizzard at Pikachu, which caught the little mouse, freezing his tail. Pikachu skidded to a stop from his movement and looked behind him to what was slowing him down. A quick discharge of electricity and a dive to the side and he was free and on the move again, as Absol tried to press her advantage with little success. As Absol fired another Flamethrower at Pikachu, Pikachu rolled to the side and fired a Thunderbolt which caught Absol and sent her skidding across the field. Before Pikachu could follow it up with another attack, Absol was on the move once again and fired more attacks. The two trainers had given up trying to follow the action and had taken back-seat roles, just like the stadium who were utterly enraptured.
The two Pokémon continued to exchange attacks, neither managing to really get a solid hit on the other, until suddenly Absol skidded to a halt.
"Absol, Hyper Beam." Aaron ordered, seeing what his Pokémon was trying to do. As Pikachu fired a Thunderbolt into Absol, the Disaster Pokémon took the hit, before firing a Hyper Beam at Pikachu, giving the little electric type no chance to dodge. The stadium let out a collective gasp as Pikachu was lifted into the sky by the power of the attack, and when Absol fired another Flamethrower at Pikachu, he still hadn't been able to recover. The Flamethrower threw the Mouse Pokémon further into the sky, before he was hit by a beam of icy blue and frozen. As the block of ice carrying Pikachu fell to ground, Absol lightly leapt back to prowl his trainers side of the field, while the stadium looked on to see one of the two combatants frozen in a block of ice and left standing on the field.
Misty felt sick. Pikachu had been caught out, and now she faced elimination. Absol was so hard to beat, even Pikachu's speed struggled to match it. Any damage that Gyarados had inflicted would have been negated by her mistake in letting Absols Pursuit hit Pikachu. Across the field, Absol was showing signs of the battle that she had been in, bruises and ruffled fur, but nothing that made her think that she had severely weakened the Disaster Pokémon. Pikachu on the other hand, while before the flurry of attacks had seemed fine… she couldn't see through the ice, but she was fairly sure that Pikachu would show the effects of the battle. Her Pokémon was getting beaten badly, and she felt powerless to intervene. Aaron looked on, seemingly surprised by the ferocity of the battle, but still not calm. He didn't seem to think that it was over, despite how Pikachu was stuck in ice.
"Absol, end this. Fire Blast." Absol threw her head back, and started charging a fire attack, before releasing a huge blast of fire straight at the ice encasing Pikachu. Misty gasped, knowing that she was powerless. The entire stadium held its breath, as the fire crashed into the block of ice, amid a huge explosion.