Sam Fernandez stood facing his best friend across the field. In the quarter-finals of his first ever tournament, and he had to face the girl he had known all his life. For her part, Mellanie Rigger didn't looked thrilled with the prospect of facing Sam. The worst part was, they both knew how closely matched they were. Neither was really sure who was going to win.
Up in the stands, the rest of the group was watching nervously. They all knew how hard it was going to be for the two youngsters to fight. But one had to win; this was the risk of entering the tournament with them. Misty was just glad she didn't have to face them.
Agent was also sat in the stands, waiting for the Pokémon Master to arrive, as he did just before the battle started. Agent was still unsure if 'Champion' knew that it was him that was there. However, he had been aware of an increase in the number of Pokémon hunting. As he saw 'Champion' settle into his seat, Agent turned his attention to the field below, to keep further tabs on the youngster that had caught his eye.
"Sam Fernandez will choose his Pokémon first." The referee announced as the ticker settled on the red colour. Sam grimaced, before pulling a Pokéball off his belt. "Haunter, come on out" he called, releasing his Ghost-Type. Mellanie grimaced, and released her Poliwhirl.
"Haunter vs Poliwhirl. Begin!" called the referee.
"Haunter, Hypnosis." Sam ordered.
"Poliwhirl, dodge and use Water Gun."
Haunter's attack missed, but when Poliwhirl retaliated, the ghost-type simply floated above the burst of water. Sam smiled. "Now, Shadow Ball."
"Poliwhirl, match each one with a Water Gun."
Soon the field was awash with colliding and exploding attacks, which Sam wasn't about to let happen in a hurry. He knew that Haunter was one of his best against Mellanie, and didn't want him tired out too fast.
"Haunter, double them."
Mellanie blinked in surprise; she didn't recognize that command, yet when Poliwhirl tried to fire a Water Gun at the incoming attacks, further Shadow Balls just flew straight through the explosions. Unable to react fast enough, Poliwhirl was hit, and braced herself into the ground, as more attacks crashed in. Mellanie looked up with an annoyed expression on her face.
"Poliwhirl, roll backwards, and rapid fire Water-Guns."
As Poliwhirl did so, Sam moved again.
"Haunter, vanish and use Hypnosis."
There was a ripple of surprise around the arena as Haunter vanished into the smoke that still filled the air around the field. Poliwhirl looked up in confusion at the target that it couldn't see.
"Try firing into the smoke and see where there is an impact." Mellanie called. As Poliwhirl started firing more attacks into the air, Sam smirked.
"Now Haunter!"
The Ghost-Type appeared in front of Poliwhirl, his eyes glowing. Mellanie, unable to react was forced to watch her Poliwhirl slump to ground, asleep.
"Dream Eater." Sam ordered. Haunter glowed and Poliwhirl started to struggle in her sleep, unable to fight back. Mellanie pulled out a Pokéball.
"Poliwhirl, return" she said, recalling her battered Pokémon. Across the field Sam was smiling at his early triumph, although Mellanie had an idea as to how to upset his rhythm.
Up in the stands, 'Champion' leaned back in his seat before looking at Lance and Steven who were clearly confused about something. He coughed slightly causing the two Elites to look at him.
"I assume you're wondering how Haunters attacks got past the Water Gun?" They nodded. "There were two Shadow Balls, a couple of seconds apart. The Water Gun hit the first, moved onto the next target and then Poliwhirl didn't expect the one it had already destroyed to keep coming so couldn't move back quickly enough. A good move, although Mellanie would have been better off not trying to counter a Pokémon that had the versatility advantage that Haunter had. If you're going to counter you need to remain in control, and she never really managed it."
Lance and Steven smiled to each other, used to these comments; calmly delivered and yet containing invaluable battling advice. They had only just started to realize just how good 'Champion' was with his strategies, and always made sure they listened to him. Equally, if they didn't understand how a battler had managed something, he always seemed to understand and was able to explain. It was something that they had quietly discussed with each other; what it must have been like to train under a trainer like him.
'Champion', aware of the silent interaction going on between the two men turned back to the field. He wanted to see which of the two youngsters would triumph; he had seen so much potential in both it was clear that they would both become powerful trainers in the future, perhaps even strong enough to become regional leaders. Lance had better watch out; these two could be stronger than him given time.
"Flaafy, you're up!" Mellanie called, allowing the Electric-Type Pokémon to appear on the field. Sam's reaction was as instant as it was predictable for Mellanie; Haunter was withdrawn and replaced with Wooper. Despite the clear type-disadvantage, Mellanie left Flaafy out on the field. The Electric Pokémon was one of the ones that Sam struggled with the most, and had an excellent record against Haunter, which was why she had planned to use him. Since, Flaafy was more than capable of taking out Wooper, one of Sam's weaker Pokémon, Mellanie intended to try and get a lead before she had to really fight her friends strongest.
"Flaafy, Thunderbolt."
"Wooper, just let it hit you."
"Flaafy, charge him."
As Wooper let the electricity hit him, Flaafy surged forwards and rapidly closed the gap on Wooper.
"Water Gun." Sam ordered.
"Light Screen." Mellanie countered with a grin. The burst of water reflected straight off, and Flaafy kept advancing.
"Flaafy, Take Down." Mellanie said.
"Water Gun again." Sam retaliated.
Wooper fired another burst of water at Flaafy, but the Wool Pokémon pushed straight through it and slammed into Wooper who skidded backwards but shook off the attack. The pattern continued for a few more blows, neither side really getting in front.
"Flaafy, use Flash."
Sam instinctively shut his eyes as Wooper was dazed by the bright flash. Before he could react Mellanie struck again.
"Brick Break."
"Wooper, use Earthquake!" Sam called.
As Flaafy moved in, Wooper leapt up and slammed down into the ground. Flaafy was sent reeling backwards, and Mellanie gritted her teeth. She had hoped to avoid that.
"Flaafy, Power Gem."
Wooper was unable to dodge as the attack connected, and skidded across the field, before flipping up ready for more.
"Wooper, Rain Dance."
As the rain started to fall, Mellanie just glared at him.
"Flaafy, use Brick Break again."
As the Wool Pokémon closed the gap, Sam smiled.
"Water Gun again Wooper."
Woopers attack spat out and lashed against Flaafy, hitting the same spot as before. Flaafy pushed through it, but was noticeably slower. Flaafy connected, and Wooper fell backwards, before clambering up.
"Wooper, keep firing Water Guns." Sam ordered.
Wooper nodded and started firing, while Flaafy began to dodge. "Flaafy, Double Team."
As copies of Flaafy appeared, Wooper started shooting through them. Mellanie raised her eyebrow as Wooper began to fire quickly enough to destroy the images faster than Flaafy could recreate them. However, what Sam hadn't noticed was that the images were getting progressively closer to Wooper.
"Flaafy, duck and Brick Break again." Mellanie called.
The last image vanished and Flaafy dropped under the burst of water fired at him, stepping up and dealing blows straight to Woopers chest, causing the Water Fish Pokémon to fall backwards once again. This time however, Wooper took a lot longer to get up.
"Flaafy, finish it off when it's tired, use Power Gem again" Mellanie called.
"Wooper, I need you to keep going." Sam said, a slight edge in his voice. "Please get up and dodge that attack."
Wooper nodded, and just about managed to dodge Flaafy's attack, but it was clear that there wasn't much more that the little Pokémon was going to be able to do.
"Flaafy, keep it up." Mellanie ordered. Flaafy started shooting more Power Gems at Wooper, who was getting progressively slower until one finally connected. Wooper fell to the floor, and only an extreme amount of effort brought him back up as the rain began to stop.
"Wooper, Water Gun." Sam said.
"Flaafy, Light Screen into Power Gem." Mellanie ordered triumphantly. Woopers Water Gun hit the light screen and didn't break through, before Flaafys attack smashed the Water Fish Pokémon off its feet and knocked it out.
"Wooper is unable to battle." The referee announced as Sam recalled his defeated Pokémon.
Sam looked at the Pokéball in his hand, before quietly replacing it on his belt. Across the field Mellanie didn't look altogether pleased; although it was always good to take out an opponent's Pokémon, he knew that she would have preferred to have done it at a lower cost to Flaafy who looked tired. Smiling to himself, he decided to try a different sort of strategy.
"Pidgeot, time to fly!" he called, releasing his Flying-Type. Mellanie looked confused, and then realized that she had been fingering a Pokéball at her waist. She groaned in annoyance; she had shown Sam she wanted to withdraw Flaafy, and he had sent out a Pokémon that would stop her doing that. She considered doing so anyway, but she needed to take Pidgeot out before he could do too much damage to her team, and Flaafy was capable of doing so.
"Flaafy, Thunderbolt."
"Pidgeot, Aerial Ace."
Before Flaafy could even start to attack, she was sent flying by the force of Pidgeots attack. As she clambered to her feet, Pidgeot arced up into the sky and tore down towards the Electric-Type. Flaafy tried to fire an attack up towards the incoming feathery bullet but was unable to do so quickly enough, before Pidgeot smashed into her, sending her flying. As Flaafy bounced across the field, battered and at the point of collapse, Mellanie held up a Pokéball, recalling her Pokémon, while in a slight state of shock. The sheer speed of Pidgeot had surprised her; but then Sam had been pulling surprises out throughout the match. Only one of her Pokémon really was an option for her next choice, and she smiled as she pulled out another Pokéball, releasing Graveler.
"Graveler, Rock Throw."
"Pidgeot, dodge and get into the sky." Sam ordered.
"Keep him up there Graveler." Mellanie said, smiling. As Pidgeot circled, dodging the rocks being hurled his way by Graveler, Sam decided to show Mellanie what she was really up against.
"Pidgeot, remember what we trained?" Sam called up to the circling bird. A loud call came from above, which made Sam smile. He looked across the field. "Mel, watch this."
In the sky Pidgeot suddenly dropped like a stone. Graveler wasn't able to react fast enough to keep forcing the bird away and suddenly Pidgeot had a free shot at Graveler. The Bird Pokémon opened its beak and fired an orange beam at Graveler that caused Mellanies Pokémon to go reeling backwards. As Graveler recovered, having clearly taken a great deal of damage from the Hyper Beam, but still able to fight. Mellanie gritted her teeth; she couldn't let Pidgeot get another hit in
"Graveler, watch out for that. If Pidgeot drops be ready to adjust your aim." Mellanie said, while watching the circling Pokémon high in the sky. Graveler nodded, his eyes tracking the speck in the sky. A speck that was getting smaller. As Mellanie squinted up, she wondered what Pidgeot was going to do. "Graveler, try and bring it back down with Rock Tomb." Mellanie said, trying to see the Pokémon that was virtually invisible by now.
As more rocks flew into the sky, the tiny speck that was Pidgeot in the sky started to grow. As the entire stadium squinted up, Mellanie suddenly realized what was about to happen.
"Graveler, Dig now!" she called, as Pidgeot started to accelerate straight down at his target. Graveler responded instantly, but the speed of Pidgeot meant that Mellanie turned away. As the Flying-Type flashed down, faster than the eye could follow, there was a shouted command from across the field.
""Hurricane!"
Pidgeot pulled out of its dive, and the field instantly was covered in dust and smoke as the birds powerful wings swept up a storm across the field. Mellanie faced into the wind, before giving up and dropping to a knee to endure. She couldn't see a thing in front of her; the dust obscured absolutely everything. As she held an arm in front of her face, Mellanie heard roars from inside the storm.
Up in the stands most of the crowd were on their feet. Misty and Gary were looking at each other rather than down at the field; they couldn't see anything down there at all.
"That was an interesting use of Pidgeot." Misty said smiling. "Your idea?"
Gary shook his head. "I've never heard him mention it. This wasn't my work. Although I wish it was!"
Max leaned across. "I still reckon you should've let me come and help Gary. Sam could easily beat Mellanie if he took advantage of her weaknesses."
"The same could be said in reverse." Misty said snappily. "I helped Mellanie, Gary helped Sam. That was fair. Even if Sam didn't seem to need any help. Mellanie needs to get to grips here; she is still seeing her friend. Sam is doing a good job of focusing on the battle."
Max nodded, before looking back at the field as the dust began to reach up into the stands. Suddenly Pidgeot shot up from inside the dust cloud and started flapping his wings once again.
As the dust cleared, aided by Pidgeots wings, there was silence apart from the flapping of Pidgeots wing. Embedded in the ground, was Graveler, the hole that he had dug gone. Both of the trainers were covered in dust, and on their knees. Slowly, Graveler climbed out of his hole, on his last legs, while Pidgeot looked down, clearly also tired. The sheer power of the bird's wings had shocked the entire stadium.
"Pidgeot, finish it off. Use Aerial Ace."
Pidgeot shot forwards, and slammed into Graveler, tipping the exhausted Pokémon over and finally ending his battle. Mellanie quietly recalled him, before looking up at the imperious bird floating above. Her challenge just got a great deal harder.
She fingered her Pokéball belt trying to decide which Pokémon to use. Flaafy wouldn't stand a chance; although battered from its battle with Graveler, Pidgeot was still too quick for a tired Flaafy. Poliwhirl was similar, Machoke wouldn't work, and neither would Bellsprout. That left only... "Totodile, I choose you!" Mellanie shouted, releasing her starter.
Across the field Sam looked slightly bemused that Mellanie would release one of her most powerful so early. But then he started to smile as he realized he was presented with a golden opportunity to do some damage.
"Pidgeot, Aerial Ace." Sam ordered.
"Water Gun."
As Pidgeot arced in, Totodile fired a quick burst of water at the incoming bird, who moved out of the way before zooming at Totodile who was unable to avoid the incoming bird. However, as Pidgeot tried to move away, Totodiles teeth bit down on one of Pidgeots tail feathers. The bird screeched as it took to the sky, and started to try to shake Totodile off.
"Pidgeot, use Aerial Ace!" Sam shouted, fearing for his Pokémon as Totodile clung on. Pidgeot sped up, becoming a fast blur, but Totodile clung on. Sam watched in fury as Totodile lived up to its reputation, and no matter what Pidgeot did, he couldn't shake his opponent off.
'Champion' didn't react as Espeons voice echoed down the mental link, although he felt surprise internally. He hadn't expected any breakthrough in the hunt; Agent was too good at hiding.
"We've found something" the Sun Pokémon sent. "Not a person though. Alakazam was meditating on why they might be here when he had a thought; sabotage. We headed to the areas of Silver Town that aren't really being used at the moment and found that somebody had subtly rigged rooms under the minor stadiums. They are filled with explosives"
"You've removed the explosives I assume?" 'Champion' sent, while continuing the watch the battle below.
"In the process of it. There is a lot; enough to level each stadium completely."
"Keep working then." 'Champion' said. "I'll check under this stadium and then return to the stands."
Out on the field Pidgeot was swooping and swerving as he tried to dislodge Totodile with no luck. 'Champion' stood up, drawing a glance from the men sat on either side of him.
"I have something to take care of." The Pokémon Master said. "I'll be back."
He strode away from the box, leaving Lance and Steven to look at each other slightly confused.
Across the field, Agent hadn't failed to notice his target leaving the stadium. It was possible that it was something relatively minor, but he couldn't take the chance. He got up and exited the stands, hurrying across to try and find 'Champion'.
He caught up with him near the bottom of the stadium, where 'Champion' headed into the training rooms below the stadium. Agent, mildly confused started to follow him, into a long corridor with doors leading off it. It wasn't long before he realized what was going on. 'Champion' was checking every single room, making sure that there was nothing in them. Agent gave up following; in the area it was virtually impossible to stay near to his target, and slipped into a room, pulling out a radio.
"Check in."
"Here sir." Crackled back.
"I am below the main stadium. 'Champion' is checking the rooms, get somebody out to the other stadiums to see if they are also being checked."
"Yes Sir" came the instant response. "We will check in once we have done so."
Agent sighed to himself. He hoped that 'Champion' hadn't found out; the plan had taken so much planning it would be a shame to stop it. As he turned to leave, he wondered what had helped them discover it. He turned out from the room he was in and started to walk towards the exit. As he opened the door from the training areas, back into the public entrance, he felt something behind him. At the end of the corridor, silent, was the Pokémon Master. Although he couldn't see 'Champions' eyes, Agent knew that he had been discovered. And more worryingly, he realized that 'Champion' knew who he was. As the realization that he had made a terrible mistake hit him, he sprinted out of the door, at high speed, heading for outside.
"How close are you to finishing?" Ash asked Espeon down their mental link as he started running.
"At least fifteen minutes" came the response. "Why?"
"I've found Agent. Send Charizard to me now. Come when you are ready."
As an acknowledgement reached him, Ash burst through the door that Agent had fled through, before looking around for the escaping man. He headed for the doors outside, reflecting that Espeon was right; sensing Agent was impossible. A problem for later he decided, as he saw Agent running ahead of him, through the thankfully empty town. Everybody was watching the battle, and the shops had shut. Agent had already reached the outskirts, but the speed of his pursuer meant that he wasn't able to pull ahead. Ash sent out his aura to try to stop his target, who fell to the ground, allowing Ash to catch up. However, as he reached Agent he felt a blow to his chest that nearly sent him sprawling, and made him stop some fifty metres away. Agent was looking at him, notably at his Pokéball belt which didn't have anything on it. Smiling, Agent reached down to his own belt, and pulled off a ball, releasing a Salamance.
Salamance roared, before grinning down at Ash who looked very small. Salamance fired a Flamethrower at Ash who simply stood his ground as the attack split apart just in front of him. Although he was surprised by the power, it was nothing more than he could take. As the flames died down, Salamance blinked in surprise to see Ash still standing there, without a mark on him. Behind him there was an explosion in the stadium and a roar. Ash stepped forward once again.
"Agent, stand down. You can't beat me. And you can't escape me."
"I'm surprised to see you here 'Champion'. I thought you were done for after the Goldenrod debacle."
"No." came the curt reply. "Now stand down."
Agent grinned, as another Pokémon appeared behind him. Ash groaned inwardly; he could fight Agent and he could fight Mewtwo, but he wasn't sure he could fight both at the same time. Although, he didn't have a lot of choice.
"I think you'll find 'Champion' that you might be the one in need of help." Agent said wickedly. "Mewtwo fights for us now, as you might have guessed. And as I have noticed, all your Pokémon appear to be busy. Let me guess; they found the explosives?" Ash didn't reply, but he didn't need to. Agent knew. The Rockets voice hardened. "Come with me, 'Champion'. Now."
"Mewtwo's eyes glowed blue, and Ash felt himself being lifted off the ground. As he fought against it, he felt the increase in Mewtwo's strength from the last time they had met. Mewtwo had clearly been given time to build his strength. He started to move towards the Psychic Pokémon, still fighting with his strength. He suddenly saw a similar glow in Agents eyes and felt the force increase. Ash gave up fighting, knowing he couldn't fight the most powerful Pokémon in the world and the most powerful psychic he had ever met at the same time. He was waiting.
Over the trees around the edge of Silver Town appeared Charizard. The flame at the back of his tail was roaring, far larger than ever before. Salamance moved to try to intercept but Charizard simply fired a torrent of fire at Agents Pokémon. Salamance dodged, but was caught as Charizard swept his flame back, and sent tumbling. Agent quickly recalled Salamance, before shouting at Mewtwo to deal with Charizard. The legendary nodded and rose into the sky as Agent faced 'Champion' once again.
It was difficult for Mewtwo, having to face a man and a Pokémon that had done so much for him, but he knew he didn't have a choice. At the very least, his continued cooperation was the only thing keeping Cynthia alive. Although seeing the look on Charizards face, Mewtwo was glad that he had been able to recover his strength. He had a suspicion he would need it.
Charizard sent a Flamethrower at Mewtwo who threw a hand up to try to deflect it. The flames hit the psychic shield and sent Mewtwo flying backwards. He righted himself and glared at Charizard, who roared straight back. Mewtwo sent a Shadow Ball at Charizard who deflected it with another Flamethrower before surging straight at Mewtwo. Mewtwo dodged out of the way, and tried to bring Charizard down with a Psychic attack, but the Pokémon burst straight through. Mewtwo dodged up into the sky, Charizard pursuing.
Mewtwo felt flames approaching, and dodged to the side, before having to rapidly change direction again when another attack raced past him. Charizard settled below him, before opening his mouth and firing an enormous torrent of fire at Mewtwo. With no easy way to dodge, Mewtwo held up a hand and focused his energy into deflecting the attack. His shield shrank and shrank until it was barely big enough to fit him inside, and the fire kept coming. Struggling against the power of Charizard, Mewtwo fell slightly when the attack subsided, before diving to the side as another attack raced at him.
"Stop attacking me." Mewtwo ordered telepathically, as Charizard fired yet another attack past him. When he tried to reach out to the Pokémon's mind, he felt the anger there and realized that there was only one way to stop Charizard. Although, it wouldn't be easy to beat the Pokémon in a fight, despite Mewtwo's strength.
As Charizard fired another attack, Mewtwo responded with force. His eyes glowed blue once again, and a dark ball appeared around him while a series of Shadow Balls broke down the Flamethrower sent at him. Mewtwo kept pouring his strength into the ball around him before he surged forwards, smashing through yet another Flamethrower and into Charizard. The Flame Pokémon started to fall towards the ground, with Mewtwo right behind him. As they got near to the ground, Mewtwo saw a change in Charizard and tried to get away, but he was too slow.
As the flame on Charizards tail grew even more, Mewtwo started to move away from the raging Pokémon, but the Overheat caught up with him. The shield around Mewtwo disintegrated under the assault, leaving the legendary to be exposed to the full power of Charizards most powerful move. The force of the attack catapulted Mewtwo far into the sky, and left him slightly dazed before he saw Charizard racing at him covered in flames. Mewtwo gritted his teeth before building his shield again and pouring more strength into it, before meeting Charizard in the sky.
As the two Pokémon left them, 'Champion' stepped forwards to get closer to Agent. The Rocket looked surprisingly calm, given who he was facing. He looked up as there was an explosion above them, Mewtwo sent flying backwards. Agent looked back down, to face 'Champion'.
"I'm impressed Agent." 'Champion' said. "Not many could do what you've done."
"I'm pleased you approve." Agent said.
"I don't." came the answer. "Do not mistake me being impressed for my approval."
"Very well. I assume you're not going to let me go?"
'Champion' didn't answer, just stepped forwards once more, so he was now face to face with Agent. Agent stepped back, before looking behind him. There was nothing there, except an empty road. Agent turned to face 'Champion' once again.
Agents eyes glowed blue and he started to push against 'Champion', whose aura met the psychic attack. The two stood, unmoving, in a clash of skill and strength that seemed to drag on and on. Eventually Agent broke off, and started panting. 'Champion' stepped forwards, his grip tightening on his victim. There was a loud crash nearby, but 'Champion' didn't look around. Agent tried to throw a punch against the Pokémon Master, but it was blocked, along with its follow ups. 'Champions' aura lifted Agent off the ground, causing him to struggle against the force holding him.
"Espeon." 'Champion' sent. "I've captured Agent and Mewtwo is here. I need you and Alakazam to get here now."
"We are on our way" came the Sun Pokémons response.
Across the field was a flash as Alakazam appeared with Espeon at his side. As they looked around, Ash felt his grip on Agent slip, and the Rocket flew upwards, to be caught by Mewtwo who flew away at high speed.
Mewtwo was thrown backwards, overwhelmed by the anger in the Pokémon against him. He couldn't believe it; he knew that 'Champions' Pokémon were strong, but this was ridiculous. He was supposed to be the most powerful Pokémon in existence, and this Charizard didn't seemed to understand that. Mewtwo had stopped caring who he was fighting or why; all that mattered to him was winning. As he let a Flamethrower fire underneath him and retaliated with a Shadow Ball he smiled slightly. He hadn't been in a fight like this, ever. He was curious as to what he was truly capable of.
Charizard dropped underneath the Shadow Ball firing a Dragon Rage back at Mewtwo. The attack collided with another Shadow Ball causing a huge explosion. Far below them, Agent and Ash were stood glaring at each other, but both Pokémon could sense the power flowing around them. Mewtwo snarled as he had to rapidly climb to avoid another Flamethrower, and the follow up, before he decided that he needed to end the fight quickly.
The Genetic Pokémon's eyes glowed blue, and he poured all of his strength into one attack. Charizard was caught in it, before struggling in surprise. Mewtwo grunted as he threw his opponent; shocked at the effort it was taking him to throw a Pokémon that was fighting back against him. As Charizard flew through the air, Mewtwo put his paws together and fired closed his eyes. The air around him began to harden as it was surrounded by Psychic energy, compressing it. Charizard had recovered from being thrown, and was flying back towards Mewtwo. Charizards jaws opened, and flame started to spew out as Mewtwo struck. The air he had compressed shot forwards at high speed, crashing into one of Charizards wings, and he unleashed a devastating Psystrike. The energy smashed into Charizard at the same time as the air hit his wing. The attack Charizard had been about to fire broke off as he fell to the ground, landing with a resounding crash.
Mewtwo felt the weariness from such an exertion hit him as he looked down. He could still fight, but the clash had taken a lot out of him. On the ground Agent was slowly being lifted up by the power of 'Champions' aura. As he focused on the two men, Mewtwo felt two new Pokémon appear nearby. An Espeon and an Alakazam, both of which he could sense the strength of. From where he had crashed, Charizard had risen into the sky, battered, but clearly able to fight on. Mewtwo looked around and knew that they were beaten. He considered letting Agent fall into the League's hands, but he couldn't. He didn't know where Cynthia was and he couldn't let her die. Equally, before he had been allowed out on this mission, a device had been put into him. Agent and Giovanni both had to simply push a button and Mewtwo would have his heard penetrated by electrodes. He would die. As a result, he couldn't allow Agent to be captured, and he couldn't risk the same happening to himself. A quick decision, and he dropped under the latest Flamethrower from the resurgent Charizard. Agent shot upwards, pulled by his Psychic strength that took 'Champion' by surprise, and he caught the Rocket, before racing away from the scene of the fight, outstripping the Charizard that was chasing him.
Ash slowly walked back into the main stadium. Espeon had gone back to looking for the remaining Rockets, while trying to make sure that Agent and Mewtwo didn't return. She had thrown herself at him when it was apparent that Agent and Mewtwo had escaped, while Charizard had landed next to them, wrapping his wings around the human and the Pokémon. Ash had stood there, not feeling as tired as he thought he should. Agent, while a strong psychic was not a match for him. It was reassuring to know he wasn't facing somebody unbeatable. Although, the combination of Mewtwo and Agent was not easy to beat.
Espeon had looked at him questioningly as they finally broke away from him, and he sighed. She wanted to know why he didn't call her quicker. The truth was he didn't really know. He had struggled to keep his composure under the shock of being thrust straight into such a difficult fight. It had made him realize his own shortcomings, something that he needed to deal with. When he had finally been able to get the upper hand he then reached out for Espeon. Although the mistake meant that Agent had escaped, much to his fury. He knew that he wouldn't be blamed for letting their worst enemy escape, but he blamed himself. He could have ended the threat, but he didn't. And he now had to explain it to Lance and Steven.
As Ash re-entered the Directors box, he realized he had been gone longer than he thought. Sam had Quilava on the field, while Mellanie had her Bellsprout out. However, on the scoreboard, Mellanie had no other Pokémon aside from Totodile, and he saw that Totodile would be tired having knocked out Pidgeot and another of Sams Pokémon. Although as he watched, Quilava caught Bellsprout with a Flame Wheel, knocking out the Grass Type, and setting up what Ash had suspected would happen from when they were drawn against each other. A clash of starters. It made him smile slightly, to see two trainers protect their starters, and save them for their final Pokémon. It was a common trait amongst younger trainers, but it made for a fascinating finale to what he suspected would have been a great battle.
Ash sat back down, and Steven and Lance glanced at him, taking in the slightly worn state of his clothes and the burning smell that surrounded him. A raised eyebrow from Lance got them a brief explanation.
"Espeon found that the other stadiums were rigged to explode. I went to check below this one. When I was down there, I found that Agent had followed me. He was somewhere in the crowd, it's the only way he could have known what I was doing. I chased him to outside Silver Town, where he met me with his Salamance and Mewtwo. Charizard fought Mewtwo and I faced Agent. I had gained the upper hand, but Mewtwo managed to escape with Agent. We'll have a meeting after this battle with Tobias."
"Are you alright?" Steven asked.
"I'm fine. Charizard is battered but ok. Mewtwo was at near full strength. The only advantage of that is that it takes him time to recover his strength fully, longer than a normal Pokémon, even mine. But after the battle. Not before."
Lance and Steven turned back to face the field as Totodile avoided a Flame Wheel from Quilava. They were slightly surprised that 'Champion' seemed slightly tired; it would have taken a lot to cause that to happen.
Sam flinched as Quilava was caught by a Water Gun, even though his starter shook it off. He couldn't afford to lose.
"Quilava, use Flame Wheel again." Sam ordered.
"Totodile, let him come closer, you know what to do." Mellanie said. The Big Jaw Pokémon nodded, and settled itself, watching the wheeling, flaming Quilava coming at him. As its target got closer, Totodile threw back his head and let out a Hydro Pump that smashed Quilava off his feet and sent him sprawling across the field. Sam groaned; Quilava had probably taken more damage than Totodile before they started fighting, and a hit like that could be the end of him. Quilava struggled to his feet and fired a Flamethrower at Totodile who danced out of the way, much to Sam's annoyance.
"Quilava, get that Totodile moving." He snapped. Quilava reared up and started firing Flamethrower after Flamethrower across the field, which Totodile had to try to skip out of the way of, with decreasing success. As Totodile tried to hop over a Flamethrower, the follow up caught him and sent him rolling back towards Mellanie, where he climbed to his feet.
"Totodile, use Scary Face." Mellanie said.
"Quilava, Smokescreen."
Totodile made as scary a face as possible, but the smoke which Quilava released completely obscured him and the rest of the field.
"Quilava, Swift."
"Totodile, Water Gun." Mellanie tried desperately, but the snarls of pain she could here were clearly coming from Totodile as the Swift found its mark, despite the attempts of Totodile to deflect the attack. However, the movement of attacks did cause the smoke to start to dissipate, and Mellanie saw another opportunity.
"Totodile, Screech, followed by another Hydro Pump."
Sam clapped his hands over his ears as Totodile let out an ear-splitting screech. Quilava, with his more sensitive ears started thrashing about, clearing more of the smoke, and enough to reveal his position. Totodile closed his jaws, before re-opening them again and releasing a Hydro Pump at Quilava.
"Quilava, Eruption!" Sam called desperately, knowing that if Hydro Pump connected, he would be beaten. Quilava curled up, and then the flames on his back and head began to grow. They expanded out, growing larger and larger until fire poured out towards Totodile, crashing into the Hydro Pump and causing it to boil. The flames broke through and caught Totodile, making Mellanie gasp and the Big Jaw Pokémon to be sent sprawling into the dirt. As the smoke and steam finally cleared, the two Pokémon were clearly glaring at each other across the field, both on their last legs after their battle.
"Quilava, Flame Wheel." Sam ordered.
Quilava threw himself into the attack, spinning, while Totodile stood his ground. As Totodile fired a Hydro Pump at the incoming Quilava, Sam grinned.
"Quilava, dodge it and keep going." Sam called.
The wheel of fire changed direction so the water missed it before arcing back around towards Totodile. Totodile tried to hit out again, but the same thing happened, with Quilava getting closer. After three more attempts, Quilava surged straight at Totodile. As the two came together, Totodile was sent flying, but in the air righted himself and took aim for the last time. Quilava, coming out of his Flame Wheel couldn't see Totodile in the sky, or the Hydro Pump flying at his back. Sams mouth opened, but the attack came in too fast. Quilava took the attack in the back, and was flattened by it. As Totodile landed, tottering on his feet, but just about keeping his balance, the stadium saw Quilava, lying motionless on the ground.
"Quilava is unable to battle" the referee announced. "Totodile is the winner. The victory goes to Mellanie Rigger!"
The stadium erupted. Sam reached down to his waist and pulled out Quilava's Pokéball, before recalling his starter. "You gave it your all" he said quietly to the ball. "I'm proud of you." He replaced the Pokéball on his belt and strode across the field to shake Mellanies hand.
"Congratulations." Sam said with a smile. "That was one hell of a fight."
Mellanie accepted his hand slightly confused. "Aren't you angry that you lost?" she asked.
"Yes. But I know you earned that win. Gary spoke to me before the start about this. I promise you, I'll beat you next time."
Mellanie smiled slightly, before throwing her arms around her friend. "Thank you Sam. Support me in the next round?"
"You bet." Sam grinned.
The two friends turned and started to leave the field, heading for a Pokémon Centre. Their Pokémon needed it.
"Agent is not here anymore." 'Champion' said calmly. "He fled today with Mewtwo. Whether they will be back before the end of the tournament, I cannot say. I suspect so."
His words were greeted with silence from the three men in front of him. Lance, Steven and Tobias were all sat in chairs, having listened to a brief summary of the events during the fight.
"As for what we do now. We have to stop them returning; the worst possible outcome would be them to sneak back in without us noticing. Otherwise, we should be safe for this tournament. Afterwards, I intend to remove the threat of Team Rocket."
"Are there any more Rockets here?" Lance asked. "Anybody else we have to be looking for?"
"I don't think so." 'Champion' said. "We have only encountered Agent, and from what I've worked out about him, he works alone."