Chapter 4
“An everstone! But what- Ash what is the meaning of this?” asked Cynthia confused. Her Garchomp had the same look of surprise on her face as her trainer’s.
Ash and Garchomp looked at each other and smiled; Garchomp nodded, and Ash said, “About three months ago, Garchomp here-Gabite at the time- was about to evolve after an intense training match with my Charizard. However, much to my surprise, he forced himself to stop evolving and then promptly collapsed. Once he regained consciousness, all he said to me was ‘Ash, I’m not ready yet.’ He didn’t explain any further than that, but I didn’t care. I fashioned that pendant for him and attached an everstone to it so he wouldn’t have to worry about evolving. For over two months he refused to tell me his reason why. He only just told me a few days ago. Apparently, it was because of her.” Ash pointed at Cynthia’s Garchomp.
“What do you mean Ash? What does my Garchomp have to do with this?” asked Cynthia looking even more confused than before.
Ash chuckled before continuing, “Everything. Garchomp refused to evolve before facing yours in battle. He refused to evolve for any other opponent, saying it was the least he could do to show his gratitude to her for all she’s done for him. He simply would not evolve for anyone else, no matter what. That’s why we challenged you to a battle. My Garchomp here has been waiting to see your Garchomp for almost three months now, and who am I to make him wait any longer?” Ash shrugged as he finished. Cynthia was stunned. Her Garchomp even more so, although equally touched.
“Is this true Gayle?” asked Cynthia’s Garchomp. (A/N: Gayle is obviously Ash’s Garchomp’s special species only name)
“It is,” answered Gayle. “I sensed that I was close to evolving several months ago, however, our trainers split before I had the chance. You’ve done so much for me Gia. You’ve always been there for me, you helped me grow, you helped me get so much stronger than I could have ever imagined, remember how I used to struggle with Draco Meteor?” Gia winced as she remembered Garchomp’s horrible attempts at Draco Meteor when he was still a Gible. Gayle continued, “And you were the one who made me evolve into a Gabite after pushing me to my limits and beyond. You’re the most amazing pokemon I’ve ever met Gia. Waiting to battle you before I evolved was the least I could do to express my gratitude towards you. From the bottom of my heart Gia, I thank you for everything you’ve done for me.”
Gia blinked twice, she was shocked! She could hardly believe that this proud Garchomp in front of was once the small and cute little Gible that she once trained. ‘Gayle, you’ve grown up so much, I’m proud of you.’ she thought. Suddenly, Gia felt a strange emotion that she’d never felt before stir in her heart. Recognizing it for the natural instinct all pokemon- even legendaries- felt, and understanding its implications, she blushed. ‘I’ve decided, he’s the one. But first I want to test him. Let’s see how much stronger my little baby student has become.’ she thought.
Gia flashed Gayle the sweetest smile the huge, pseudo-legendary pokemon could.“Well well, I’m flattered Gayle. Seems my little Gibby has grown up to be quite the man,” she teased, winking at him.
Gayle blushed and stared resolutely at the ground. “I’m not a little Gible anymore Gia,” he said embarrassedly. “Could you please stop calling me that? It’s embarrassing.”
“Oh I’m well aware,” replied Gia. “You’ve grown into quite the Garchomp now, but I’m afraid you will always be ‘little baby Gibby’ to me. That’s the thing about teachers, I’m afraid. Old habits die hard, as they say. Now, are you ready for the toughest battle of your life little Gibby?” Gia asked, flashing him another dazzling smile.
Gayle was distracted by her smile for a few moments before snapping back to his senses and saying with a grin, “Of course! What do you think I’ve been doing these past few months?! I’ve become a lot stronger since the last time we met Gia.”
“Good, then come at me with everything you’ve got,” said Gia, smiling back at him as she got into her battle stance.
Garchomp growled in affirmative. “And the same to you Gia,” he said as he adopted a battle stance of his own.
She smiled at Gayle one more time before turning to her trainer, nodding, and putting her battle face on.
“Looks like these two are all ready to go now Ash!” shouted Cynthia.
“Yep, time for a rematch- student vs. master. Let’s make this a fight to remember Cynth,” said Ash with a smile and a wink.
Cynthia blushed for a second before shaking it off. ‘Focus on the match!’ she mentally scolded. “Who has the first move?” she asked.
“You’re the champ Cynth,” answered Ash.
Cynthia nodded, then called her first move. “Alright, let’s start things off with a bang. Garchomp, use Dragon Rage!” she screamed. Gia roared and let loose a blob of dragonic-blue fire at her opponent.
“Garchomp, reply in kind,” said Ash calmly.
Gayle fired a Dragon Rage of his own and the two attacks collided in midair before setting off an explosion cancelling each other out. Cynthia raised her eyebrow.
“Brick Break!” she cried. Gia rushed towards Gayle at blinding speeds, arm glowing white, but Ash was ready for it.
“Garchomp! Charge in, slide under, and use Dragon Claw!” he screamed. As Gia approached, Gayle charged at her too, but instead of meeting the attack, he slid on his knees and ducked under the blow, then quickly spun around as he got up and slashed at Gia with his Dragon Claw. The force of the impact added to the extra momentum of Gia’s speed sent her straight to the ground.
“Garchomp!” cried Cynthia, as Ash’s Garchomp jumped out of harm’s way, waiting for his opponent to stand back up. Sure enough, Gia rose back to her feet, a little winded, but even more fired up than before.
Cynthia could hardly believe it. ‘Just what kind of training has that boy been doing these past few months?!’ she thought to herself in shock. ‘The last time he fought Garchomp he wasn’t able to land even a single blow! How did he improve so much, so fast?!’ Cynthia snapped out of her trance. ‘Focus on the battle!’
“Not bad Ash,” she said with a smile. “Dragon Pulse! Then charge in with Brick Break” she cried.
“Dig!” ordered Ash. Gayle dove into the Earth, letting the Dragon Pulse pass harmlessly over his head, and stopping Gia in her tracks.
“Garchomp, use Swords Dance. Then wait for him to emerge and use Stone Edge,” said Cynthia.
Ash smiled. “Draco Meteor!” he called.
“What?! Draco Meteor while underground?!” she screamed.
All of the sudden a ball of yellow-orange dragonic energy flew out of the hole and into the sky before bursting into beams of dragonic energy that raining down on Gia.
“Gaaarrrrrr!!!!” Gia cried, as the Draco Meteor collided with her, sending dust everywhere.
“Grrrr!!!” growled Cynthia, with her hands balled into fists and grinding her teeth, mentally cursing herself for underestimating Ash. ‘I forgot how unpredictable Ash can be. This is going to be harder than I thought.’
The smoke cleared. “Garchomp! Flamethrower into the hole!” Cynthia ordered.
Ash grinned again. “Bad move Cynth!” he shouted. “Garchomp, Dragon Pulse, then go behind her and use Brick Break.”
“Gaaaarrrrr-chomp!” cried Gayle as he came out from behind a tree and let out a beam of dragonic energy at Gia. Since she was firing the flamethrower she was unable to defend against the beam of energy and it hit her head on. When she opened her eyes after the blast, Gayle was behind her, and he attacked her with a powerful Brick Break, sending her flying into a tree.
“What?! But how did he get over there?!” exclaimed Cynthia.
“Simple,” said Ash. “He used the smoke from the Draco Meteor as cover so he could get above ground and behind that tree without being seen.”
Cynthia’s mouth was hanging open in complete shock. She could hardly believe it! She hadn’t landed a single blow the entire match. Ash has been completely owning her this whole time. That’s not the way things are supposed to be. She’s the Champion of the Sinnoh Region, and she’s being destroyed by her student!
“How are you doing this Ash?! I haven’t landed a single blow the whole match!” exclaimed Cynthia.
Ash let out a quick laugh and said. “Well, what do you think me and Garchomp have been doing for the past three months? It’s not like we went away on vacation.”
“Yeah, but still, I’m being completely outmatched,” she replied.
Ash laughed again. “Hehe, true, but it helps that Garchomp just evolved. If he was still a Gabite, he would’ve lost by now.” he said.
Cynthia chuckled nervously. “True,” she said, smiling nervously. “Time to step things up a notch! Garchomp, Dragon Pulse!”
“You do the same,” said Ash calmly. The two dragons let out a beam of dragonic energy which collided midway and exploded. The two dragons’ attacks were equal in strength.
“OK, try this then. Garchomp, Draco Meteor!” screamed Cynthia when the smoke cleared.
“Quickly Garchomp, use Dragon Claw as she’s firing, then shoot down that Draco Meteor with Dragon Rage!” cried Ash.
“What?!” was all Cynthia had time to say before her Garchomp was sent flying into another tree courtesy of Gayle’s Dragon Claw. Gayle then fired a Dragon Rage at the Draco Meteor, hitting it seconds before it went off, causing a mid-air explosion and rendering the move harmless to him.
“UNBELIEVABLE!!!” screamed Cynthia. Slowly, her Garchomp managed to get back to her feet. ‘Good, Garchomp can still fight,’ she thought.
“Dragon Claw!” she ordered, and Gia rushed in again with her fin glowing.
“Dodge, then get behind her and use Shadow Claw!” countered Ash. Gayle sidestepped Gia’s Brick Break, then swiped at her with his Shadow Claw.
“Twirl around it, then Brick Break!” screamed Cynthia. Gia twirled around and dodged Gayle’s Shadow Claw, then she smashed Gayle over the head with her Brick Break causing him to drop to one knee. However, this battle was far from over.
“Garchomp, Dragon Rush! End this!” cried Ash, and immediately Gayle was surrounded by dragonic energy.
Cynthia’s eyes widened in shock. ‘Dragon Rush? At point blank range? Not good!’ she thought.
“Garchomp!” she cried as Gia was sent flying into a tree for the third time. Slowly, but surely she managed to stand back up, although she was panting heavily. ‘Phew, Garchomp is alright,’ Cynthia thought. ‘But one more attack and she’s done for. I guess it’s time for our secret weapon.’
Cynthia smirked. “Attract!” she called out. Gia smiled and winked at Gayle as little hearts were sent towards him.
“Garchomp, get out of there, now!” screamed Ash, starting to get worried for the first time during the match. But it was too late. The attack had already hit its target.
Cynthia smiled even wider. “Now finish this with Giga Impact!” she screamed.
Gia wrapped herself in the purple and white energy, tucked in her arms, and charged at Gayle like a rocket.
“Garchomp!” cried Ash, worried for his friend.
However, he had nothing to fear. Right before the attack hit, Gayle stepped to the side, spun around, and countered with a Dragon Claw, slamming his attack right into Gia’s back. With the added momentum of her Giga Impact, Gia was sent flying into a tree for the fourth time that match, but with even greater force than ever before. Not letting up, he rushed in with another Dragon Claw, did a backflip, and immediately fired a Dragon Pulse at Gia.”
This time however, Gia did not rise. When the smoke finally cleared, it revealed a female Garchomp sprawled out on her stomach under a tree with swirls in her eyes.
“Cynthia’s Garchomp is unable to battle which means the victory goes to Ash’s Garchomp,” announced Delia.
“Garchomp, wow!” said Ash in surprise.
Gayle ignored them and simply walked up to his former master, with worry in his eyes. “You ok Gia? Sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt you so badly. I think I overdid it with that last Dragon Pulse,” he said, offering her his claw.
Gia smiled as she took Gayle’s claw and used it to help herself stand back up. “Don’t worry Gayle, I’m fine, I’ve taken much worse before. But more importantly, that was amazing Gayle! That’s the first time you’ve ever defeated me in battle! Congratulations!” said Gia as she gave Gayle a giant hug. “You’ve grown into quite the Garchomp, little Gibby.” she whispered into his ear before pulling out of the hug.
“Garchomp how did you do that? She hit you with attract, how were you still able to use all those moves?” asked Ash in wonder.
Gayle turned to his trainer with a smile and said, “Oh please Ash, you should have more faith in me than that! I already love this girl to death, do you really think something like Attract will affect me at all?” said Gayle, crossing his arms.
“Garchomp,” said Ash in awe.
“Hey buddy, you do realize what you just said right?” asked Pikachu with a devilish smile on his face.
“What do you- OH CRAP!” screamed Gayle, twirling around to face Gia, who had her head down and was blushing a so deeply it put Cynthia’s to shame.
‘Like trainer, like pokemon,’ thought Pikachu with an evil grin. The little mouse couldn’t wait to tell the others, they were going to have so much fun teasing the stuffing out of him! I mean, he just admitted he loved Cynthia’s Garchomp for the first time, and in front of her no less!
“Gia, I-I-um, well I just, um, you know,” stated the nervous wreck. Gia put her fin up to Gayle’s lips to stop him and looked up into her eyes. ‘Wow, Gia’s blushing. Wait, why is she blushing?’ thought Gayle.
“Gayle?” Gia said softly.
“Uh, y-yes Gia?” replied Gayle nervously. Gia smiled before saying nine words that would change his life.
“I’ve decided. I want you to be my mate,” she said. Gayle’s jaw dropped.
“S-Sorry, I think I may have misheard you there, what did you say?” he asked nervously. Gia chuckled, then looked at him dead in the eyes.
“I want you to be my mate Gayle. I want my children to be strong and you are the only Garchomp that has ever managed to defeat me in battle. Even as a Gible, I have never lost once, until now. You are the first Garchomp who has ever managed to defeat me in battle and therefore, the only one I will ever recognize as my mate.”
Gayle was shocked. “But what if someone else manages to beat you?” he blurted out before he could stop himself.
Gia gave him a look.
“Right, sorry, stupid question,” he said.
Gia smiled. “So what do you say Gayle? Will you do me the honor of being my mate?”
Gayle laughed and pulled Gia into a tight embrace. Then he looked into her eyes and said, “Of course I will Gia, I love you.”
“Gayle,” she whispered, smiling. She nodded and fell into his embrace again. “I love you too.”
Everybody else was crying tears of joy from watching the two Garchomp’s. Even Pikachu was getting a little teary-eyed, despite his usual devilish behavior. Not wanting to disappoint however, he turned to Ash and said, “Like trainer, like pokemon, eh Ash? I’m willing to bet an entire year’s supply of Ketchup that if you told Cynthia you loved her right now, she’d be your mate too.”
“Pikachu!” exclaimed Ash mortified. Fortunately, Cynthia didn’t hear them, she was too busy gazing misty-eyed at the two Garchomps in front of her, lost in her own little world.
‘I’m so happy for her. She deserves to be with Ash’s Garchomp. Those two makes such a cute couple.’ Cynthia thought. ‘I wonder if Ash loves me like that. Wait, Ash! Why did I just think that?!’ She turned to look at Ash with a dazed expression on her face, as if she were trying find the answer to a complicated question.
Noticing Cynthia looking at him, Ash smiled at her and said, “Well Cynth, as heartwarming as this is, our match is still going on. Let’s leave the two lovebirds alone for now, ok? Time for our next pokemon.”
This was exactly what Cynthia needed to shake her out her stupor. “Wha- oh, right, the match!” she said grinning at Ash. “I won’t lose this round Ketchum!” she teased. ‘Worry about this later. For now, focus on the match,” she mentally scolded herself.
“Hehe, we’ll see about that. Come on out Lucario!” Ash called out as his Lucario emerged in a flash of white light.
Cynthia smiled. She knew what he wanted. Time for another heartfelt moment. “You’re little baby boy has come to see you,” she whispered to the pokeball in her hand. then she threw the pokeball into the air and cried, “Come on out Lucario!”
New Chapter!