Chapter 43: Nine Strikes
Mommy…
My mommy who always protected me.
My mommy who fights her hardest to save me.
My mommy who wanted me to remember her.
… was the strongest.
_
Pallet Town, Kanto Region.
"Hurry up, Bill! We need to get this to Ash!" a teenage girl cried out as she made herself comfortable in a car.
"Free!" a pink Butterfree voiced her agreement to the girl's anxious remark.
"I know, Daisy!" a young man called out before entering the vehicle and prepared to drive.
Inside the car, Daisy Oak held onto a device that had a recorded video ready to play in it. Butterfree's mate sat in the backseat, ready to go meet her mate.
"Alright, everyone. If I push this baby hard enough, we'll get there in about 10 minutes' time!" Bill grinned as he stepped on the pedal.
'Please get there in time…' Daisy prayed.
________________
{ LOOKS LIKE THIS IS THE FINAL BATTLE FOLKS! }
{ MAROWAK VS LAPRAS! }
{ WILL RED BE THE FIRST CHALLENGER TO TOPPLE DOWN AN ELITE FOUR?! }
{ OR WILL LORELEI PREVAIL ONCE MORE?! }
The cheers of the audience were quickly overwhelmed by the rain as the two Trainers continued their perpetual stare-off.
Marowak was unmoving in his stance, his two bones held firm while the eyes within the skull looked for the slightest hint of movement.
The raven-haired boy was still drained after the last battle. For specifically, after he found out he could transfer his 'strength' to Charizard.
But now was not the time to dwell at that. Once more, Ash refocused his attention towards the Lapras standing before him and victory.
Meanwhile, Lorelei was baffled at the boy's unyielding spirit despite the overwhelming obstacle she posed to him. Her thoughts drifted back to their conversation from last night.
"My dream of becoming a Pokémon Master. It was given to me by someone very dear to me."
"She gave me everything when I had nothing. She is the reason why I stand before all of you today. I'll never stop searching for her…"
"And along my journey…"
"I'll become the very best. Like no one ever was."
'Haah… What is wrong with me?' Lorelei berated herself.
'I tried to finish him off as quickly as possible. But I disregarded my opponent's feelings in favour of running away like a coward just because I don't want to see him in despair like those in the past.'
With that, she finally faced Ash head on.
"Looks like I still have much to learn, even as an Elite Four," she sighed with a smile.
"That was rude of me, Ash. Forgive me for my selfishness," she apologized to the boy.
Although he was confused at what she was apologizing for, the boy merely nodded his head, not wanting her to elaborate.
"This is the final battle. Are you ready?" the witch warned.
"Yeah!" Ash grinned in return.
And the last battle commenced.
"[Water Pulse]!"
"[Fling]!"
As a torrent of water propelled towards the skull warrior, the latter threw his weapon. The clash between the bone and [Water Pulse] resulted into a stalemate as Marowak's bone dropped to the ground and the Water type move finished.
Lorelei glanced at the reequipped Marowak and noticed something was amiss.
'Wait… Where's the othe—'
Before she could finish that thought, a whooshing sound approached Lapras from the side and hit her clean in the face.
"[Bonemerang]," Ash called out the move's name while Marowak expertly caught his mother's bone mid-air as it came back to him.
Lorelei smirked and raised an arm, signalling Lapras her intentions.
The Transport Pokémon understood and used [Surf], the wave crashed towards the skull warrior.
'Hmm? It's not that high?' Ash remarked as he noticed the move only reached about his pokemon's waist level.
'But that doesn't mean we can ignore it.'
"Marowak! The waves aren't that high so use your bones as stilts!"
The Bone Keeper Pokémon nodded and proceeded to stab both of his weapons to the ground while manoeuvering himself above them in a single movement. [Surf] finally reached the other side of the field, but Marowak was unharmed.
Although relieved nothing had happened to Marowak, Ash could not shake the feeling something fishy was going on.
'Why did she flood the fi…' Ash pondered before recalling every instance Lorelei used Water type moves.
"Wait… no! Marowak, pull them ou—!"
But the boy realized too late as Lorelei called out her second act.
"Freeze the floor with [Ice Beam]!"
Lapras let out a freezing beam of frost onto the flooded field. Within moments, the battlefield turned into a field of chilling ice.
Ash remembered his previous battle against Misty and how she took advantage of the field by turning it to her benefit. This was no different.
Marowak disembarked from atop his weapons but was shocked when he could not pull both out from the frozen ground. The skull warrior looked annoyed but was not about to give up as the young Pokémon began cracking his knuckles as if goading the Elite Four to attack him.
"Interesting. You'll still fight even without your bones or is it because of your trust in your Trainer?" the vermilion-haired woman asked Marowak.
The determined glint of the Bone Keeper's eyes gave the obvious answer.
"I see. By the way, …"
A low rumbling was felt on the icy floor.
"Do you know that [Ice Shard] can be used in this way?"
As she finished, glassy crystallized polearms birthed from the field blade-first, stabbing anything above them.
Marowak dodged an icy lance effortlessly, the skull-wearing reptilian expertly evading each extending polearms from the frozen floor.
'Seriously?! So [Ice Shard] isn't limited to the user's radius?' Ash gritted his teeth as he observed the protruding ice weapons manifesting far from Lapras' vicinity.
'As expected of an Ice type specialist. She knows how versatile her specialty can be and refined it to its utmost limit.'
"Tch! Marowak, keep evading those polearms! I'll act as your eyes!" the boy cried out to his Pokémon while unconsciously flickering his eyes brighter.
The young Marowak nodded without hesitation and avoided all the [Ice Shard] weapons that came after him. His concentration sharpened tremendously and reacted just as quickly as Ash. The two were sharing their senses with each other, but even that was pushing the already exhausted boy to his absolute limit.
'…We're not losing here,' Ash mentally prepared himself as more adrenaline pumped into his blood.
Link established.
Pokemon Academy, Kalos Region.
"What the hell, dude?! Since when was [Ice Shard] this overpowered?!" Calem shrieked.
"So, it's not limited within a certain radius but rather able to manifest wherever there's ice?" Trevor placed a hand on his chin as he absorbed the information.
Just then, a certain honey blonde rushed back to her seat to cheer for the raven-haired boy.
"Serena! Where did you go?!" Shauna exclaimed in worry.
"I sent 'something' to Red," she answered before turning her gaze to the screen.
The honey blonde was shocked upon learning Charizard had retired after a swift [Thunder] attack. Now, Marowak was unarmed but still holding on by dodging every [Ice Shard] weapons flawlessly as if he was breakdancing.
'He was right... I hope that it reaches him soon,' Serena bit her lip as she perspired heavily in worry.
"You can do it, Red!"
Blue clasped her hands anxiously as she watched Marowak danced a waltz of evasion around the rapid manifestation of icy polearms. The chestnut-haired girl also noticed her friend getting significantly drained as the battle continued.
The girl was conflicted as she wanted nothing more than to barge into the match and plea Ash to stop, but his eyes stopped her from doing so. The fire in those blood red orbs were dancing brighter than ever and she did not want them to be extinguished prematurely.
'I know how Red is like,' she thought to herself.
'Even if his body is covered with wounds or fatigued from constantly pushing himself, Red will never give up.'
'He will keep telling himself to never give up until it's over, but he will never allow himself to reach that point.'
"Please don't overdo it… Red," Blue begged silently.
"As I thought, there was nothing to worry about from the beginning."
A cross-armed Gary glared at his rival's pathetic state, the latter trying to muster every bit of strength to keep up against Lorelei.
The orange-haired boy chastised himself for getting spooked by Ash's eyes.
'Struggle all you want, Red. The results will still be the same.'
Just then, running footsteps echoed in the tunnel entrance where Gary was standing, prompting the boy to turn towards the noise.
"Wha—"
"[Dynamic Punch] on the ground!" Ash called out.
The heavy fist came down onto the field and with a heavy blow, the explosion caused the ice to shatter and with that, the bones were reunited in Marowak's person.
"Screw this. Offense is the best defense!" the raven-haired boy declared with a hint of annoyance at the amount of dodging Marowak was experiencing.
Marowak and Ash momentarily locked eyes and the former understood his Trainer's motive.
"Marowak, dash to Lapras! Full speed!"
The skull warrior obliged readily as he was getting sick of the annoying polearms that made him expend way too much energy.
"You're finally making your move, huh?" Lorelei put on a dangerous smile.
"But that's the wrong move, Ash! Riddle it with [Ice Shard] again!"
Marowak and Ash momentarily locked eyes and the former understood his Trainer's motive.
The Bone Keeper Pokémon brandished his bones, his eyes narrowed at the incoming projectiles.
Truthfully speaking, a Ground type Pokémon was no match against a Water/Ice type if only accounting their Types as the former would get demolished in an instant. Every Trainer knew this and so, they were baffled at the sight they were now beholding.
A grin appeared on Ash's face. His red eyes exuded the flames within them and enacted his next move.
"Marowak, do it!"
Every polearm of ice that reached the skull warrior by a hair's breadth were swiftly cut down.
"[Bone Rush]!"
A waltz of twin swords bloomed from the fragments of ice surrounding the dancer. And said dancer was zooming towards Lapras while mowing down every [Ice Shard] in his vicinity.
Suddenly, Marowak threw both of his weapons into the air while resuming his evades via Ash's Mind's Eye.
'He had Marowak let go of his means of fending off [Ice Shard]?' Lorelei pondered, puzzled at the boy's decision.
As soon as the bones left the skull warrior, multiple ice weapons pierced him swiftly as he was now unarmed. Ash was no longer relaying Mind's Eye to the Bone Keeper Pokémon. Rather, he was relaying another thing completely.
'Go!'
Each step, a fresh stab. And with each step, a little closer to the target.
And now, with polearms stabbed on Marowak's back, the skull warrior finally made it in front of Lapras. And he wasted no time charging up his attack.
"That's…!" Lorelei gave a surprised tone.
"I didn't make Marowak tank all those [Ice Shards] for nothing! Now, take this—" Ash cried out with a determined gaze.
The raven-haired boy was banking everything on this last attack.
"Lapras, finish it off wi—"
Just then, two bones spun towards the plesiosaur and slammed themselves onto her face, cancelling whatever move the Elite Four had in mind.
"[Bonemerang] again?!"
And Ash called out his secret weapon.
"[Counter]!"
With three consecutive attacks onto Lapras, Ash could not help but name the attack formation. But the boy was bad at naming things, and he would have hold off deciding a name for it if it was not for something forming on the tip of his tongue.
'This name fits surprising well... But how?' Ash mused; time seemingly slowed down for him to think.
'Something inside of me is begging me to call out the technique's name...'
He had no idea where it came from. But the name on his tongue felt right to him. As if he had been reunited with a lost companion.
It belonged to him yet at the same time, he did not recognize it.
The bones' magnetic attributes toward the user, alongside a third attack was a formation very familiar yet foreign to him, as far as he could tell. It was like something was missing.
But he digressed. The raven-haired boy had a match to win.
"Triple-Linked Crane Wings!"
And Marowak returned Lapras' favour with an uppercut to the chin, the accumulated damage he received converted into power. And with the amount of [Ice Shards] he had to suffer through, even an Elite Four level Pokémon was, at the very least, not getting away with just a bruise.
BOOM!
The fist landed and a shockwave exploded from the impact. The damage from the two [Bonemerangs] and [Counter] were a tad overkill in Ash's mind, but he rationalized it to win.
{ A DEVASTATING BLOW TO LORELEI'S ACE! }
{ WILL THIS BE THE FIRST TIME AN ELITE FOUR WILL FALL TO A NORMAL TRAINER?! }
"Huff…huff… Man, I hope so," Ash panted as he was on the verge of collapse.
'That was the neither the strongest nor the fastest attack I've ever created, but it was the most lethal,' he mused as he tried to discern through the obscuring smoke.
'[Counter]'s a high risk, high reward gamble move. In exchange for all the damage Marowak had taken, the more powerful the move will become.'
'This was the best move I could have done. Now, she shouldn't be able to—'
"Did you think it was over?"
A spine-chilling tone reverberated in my ears.
I gazed upon the now revealed imposing figure of a heavily wounded Lapras glaring at a stunned and exhausted Marowak.
"…Oi, oi. That wasn't enough to cinch it?" I chuckled with a cold sweat drenching my skin.
Damnit! I've gotta think of a way out!
Just then, my body finally caved in. My knees dropped in an instant after what seemed like the heaviest burdens I've ever had manifested onto my body.
Did I… go over… board? I… can't move.
This isn't looking good for me. I tried to fight through the pain by ignoring what seemed like the entire Snorlax species chilling inside every limb.
But that was inaccurate. The imagery was all wrong.
The shape was taking form within my mind. They were so vivid that I could practically taste the iron in my veins.
Across my entire body, each limb was being pierced mercilessly by…
"Sw…ord…s," I managed to mutter out.
I've always had a sneaking suspicion of my obsession with that weapon.
Blue and Green telling me about my first word being 'Sword', my own usage of [Slash (Fake)] against Giovanni, as well as [Swords Dance (Fake)] and now, Triple-Linked Crane Wings.
None of these made sense and this wasn't the time to be thinking such things.
I've a match to win, but…
I can feel that it's all connected somehow.
"Pikapi!" my partner shook my unbudging and tortured arm with a panicked expression.
"Argh…!"
I gritted my teeth to take away my attention from the overwhelming pain that would make even the worst masochist blush.
Every time I would use this strange strength, my eyes felt like they were burning, but in a good way. I wasn't too sure what the hell I am thinking since my thoughts are in disarray.
But my suffering wasn't going to make Lorelei wait. I glanced at the Elite Four, only to find her Lapras freezing everything around her.
Marowak was holding onto both of his bones, still in bewilderment at the frightening intimidation both Trainer and Pokémon were displaying.
Worst part is, I recognized what move she was pulling out next. My memories of Flint's one-sided battle came into mind.
It was a move with a 100% success rate of a one-hit KO but with abysmal accuracy. However, at Marowak's distance, it might as well be a sure hit.
My heartbeat quickened. The surge of adrenaline skyrocketed even higher.
Yes. This is what I need right now.
I wanted to scream as I struggled to stand. The phantom swords threatened to stab me even deeper, but I don't care.
Right now, Marowak's in trouble.
One road. One road. One road. One road. Ö̵̹́̾̆̓̏̕n̷̨̨͚̪̝̗̮̠͖̝̰̻͎̉̍̄̾̽͛͆̕ͅȩ̸͖̱͚̰͈̺̞̼̞̰̼̳͖͓̐̓̓̔̈́̔͘̕͠ ̵͉͇̆͂͝r̷̢̻̼̗̫̣̥͉͎̤̤̥̦̳̒͐̿̾̈̾͑́͝͝͝ǫ̷̨̺̼̤̯̬͉̪̲̭͎͋͆̕͠͝a̴͖͖̓͆͌͑̀̓̈́͐͘͘̚͝d̷̨̲͚̦̻͐̊̏̄̀͐͝ͅ. Ö̵̹́̾̆̓̏̕n̷̨̨͚̪̝̗̮̠͖̝̰̻͎̉̍̄̾̽͛͆̕ͅȩ̸͖̱͚̰͈̺̞̼̞̰̼̳͖͓̐̓̓̔̈́̔͘̕͠ ̵͉͇̆͂͝r̷̢̻̼̗̫̣̥͉͎̤̤̥̦̳̒͐̿̾̈̾͑́͝͝͝ǫ̷̨̺̼̤̯̬͉̪̲̭͎͋͆̕͠͝a̴͖͖̓͆͌͑̀̓̈́͐͘͘̚͝d̷̨̲͚̦̻͐̊̏̄̀͐͝ͅ. Ö̵̹́̾̆̓̏̕n̷̨̨͚̪̝̗̮̠͖̝̰̻͎̉̍̄̾̽͛͆̕ͅȩ̸͖̱͚̰͈̺̞̼̞̰̼̳͖͓̐̓̓̔̈́̔͘̕͠ ̵͉͇̆͂͝r̷̢̻̼̗̫̣̥͉͎̤̤̥̦̳̒͐̿̾̈̾͑́͝͝͝ǫ̷̨̺̼̤̯̬͉̪̲̭͎͋͆̕͠͝a̴͖͖̓͆͌͑̀̓̈́͐͘͘̚͝d̷̨̲͚̦̻͐̊̏̄̀͐͝ͅ.
My eyes were fluctuating with heat, as if a lightbulb turning on and off again.
With the last bit of strength that I had left, I gave my command to Marowak via our 'link'.
I'm so tired.
I knew that I was gonna pass out. I knew it was only for a few seconds, but it was terrifying, nonetheless.
Before I faded into darkness, I managed to pick up the last words Lorelei mouthed out.
"Sleep within the ice! [Sheer Cold]!"
With that, a gigantic blast of ice spikes manifested as if it was magic.
This was due to the temperature of the surrounding dropping to absolute zero in a flash. The spot where Marowak used to stand was now reduced to a coffin of freezing spikes.
{ IT'S OVER! }
{ [SHEER COLD] WAS A DIRECT HIT! }
{ THERE IS NO WAY MAROWAK COULD HAVE SURVIVED THAT! }
The announcer was hyped tremendously now that the match was seemingly over. The number of heart-racing moments between Ash and Lorelei's battles was too much for the man and he was perfectly happy to call it quits right then.
The other Elite Four members felt immensely proud of the young Trainer that stood his ground against their colleague and manged to drive her into a corner with only a year's worth of experience.
"Looks like the boy couldn't hold the end of his deal," Lance sighed but not in disappointment but rather satisfaction.
The Dragon type specialist was extremely jubilant on Ash's performance and was more than willing to acknowledge the raven-haired boy.
On the other side, the teenage girls were visibly saddened by the sight of Marowak's [Sheer Cold] coffin.
"Poor kid. To think he was the first of the three Pallet kids to go," Lisia frowned.
"But it was an amazing battle. I hope to spar with him some other time," Bea gave a smile towards the collapsed figure of Ash.
Approaching the raven-haired boy was a very distressed Brock and a sobbing mess called Sabrina.
Pokemon Academy, Kalos Region.
The students watching were visibly dejected at what was seemingly Ash's loss. The teachers were in an emotional turmoil upon seeing the raven-haired boy's unmoving body.
"His luck definitely ran out this time," Tierno commented unhelpfully.
"Shut up, Tierno!" Shauna hissed vehemently.
Froakie croaked sadly, thinking Ash had lost but once he turned to the honey blonde, his expression returned to one of hope.
"You're taking this a lot better than I thought, Serena," Calem spoke with apprehension in his voice as he was expecting the girl to lash out in anger.
"…Red's not done yet," she responded, completely immersed with the match showing.
Her completely outrageous remark caused confusion towards the honey blonde as there was no way the raven-haired boy could come back from a point-blank one-hit KO.
But Serena's expression of hope made them think otherwise and so, spun to look at what she was staring.
An exhausted Ash had regained consciousness, his head facing forward despite the racking pain on his entire physique; not that anyone would have known.
But what got everyone in Pokémon Academy awestruck was the look on the now awakened Ash.
The blood red eyes were still fierce with determination. The flames were not over yet. Ash Ketchum was too much of a sore loser to stay down and accept defeat.
"What a tough dude," Calem joked but deep down, he was overwhelmed at the indomitable spirit of Serena's childhood friend.
"Please make it in time…" the honey blonde whispered faintly, as if she was expecting something.
"Blue? Are you okay?" Skyla patted her newfound friend's back.
.
.
.
"It's not over yet," the chestnut-haired girl simply said.
Her words snapped the competitors' necks towards her and then to the raven-haired boy.
Blue's clasped hands trembled violently in worry.
She had grown up together with the raven-haired boy alongside her crush. She knew his tendency to be stubborn and not giving up. But even this was unnatural to even her.
"Red's still fighting."
The sight of a struggling Ash Ketchum with a drained expression but still trying to get up looked extremely painful but within everyone's heart, they were silently encouraging for the boy to stand.
Ash was now back from his fainted state. His pained expression conveyed the wrong message to Lorelei.
"Chin up, Ash. You did a great job against me," Lorelei praised genuinely.
However, the woman was internally cursing herself as she watched Ash's face. Even if she was getting the wrong idea.
'I did it again. This is all my fault,' she contemplated.
'I should've never indulged Ash in a long battle. It was fun but the results aren't worth it.'
Shrk!
The vermilion-haired woman turned her head towards the source of the sudden sound.
Shrk!
She could not believe her eyes as the encased prison of ice made by [Sheer Cold] began to crack.
Shrk! Shrk! Shrk!
And with a resounding shatter, a shivering Marowak emerged. The skull warrior retreated to his Trainer's side. Both shared the same body language of tiredness.
{ WHAAAAAAAAATTTTTTT?! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! }
{ GIVE ME A BREAK! MAROWAK IS STILL STANDING! }
{ I REPEAT! MAROWAK JUST SURVIVED A POINT-BLANK [SHEER COLD]! }
{ THE MATCH ISN'T OVER YET, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! }
The crowd roared even louder after the announcement.
"How in the world…?" Lorelei gasped, unclear of Marowak's survival.
A loud stomp silenced the stadium as Ash wrestled against his body's protest to stand. With slow movement, he pointed at the vermilion-haired woman and revealed the answer to her question.
"[Endure]."
Marowak nodded to his Trainer, extremely grateful towards Ash. The 'link' between them allowed the Bone Keeper Pokémon to realize just how fatigued the boy was, including the piercing agony he was experiencing; and despite that, he still put Marowak's safety above his own by relaying a final [Endure] before his body gave out.
'Well, now I know what the hell is going on with my body after passing out,' the boy mused.
As soon as he fell from extreme exhaustion, he began to feel his entire body for the phantom swords that buried themselves into his limbs.
What he felt left him speechless. He found that the agonizing pain stemmed from his veins, or more specifically something alongside his veins.
The unknown nerves ran parallel to his body's nervous system. Despite the discovery, Ash did not feel that the newly discovered 'nerves' were completely alien to him, but rather dormant as he was now aware of it for the first time.
The imagery of swords stabbing into him were even clearer now. Their blades had blocked the unknown system intentionally as if acting as improvised stopgaps so that Ash could not draw any more strength from the 'thing' that he described.
If he had to describe it, it would be akin to an artery vein that controlled the flow of blood, but unlike a normal valve, the swords were preventing the flow of his 'thing' completely. A backwards valve if he were to call it.
The boy had heard of the human's brain limiting the body's strength. This was to prevent self-harm after gathering enough data since infancy to determine the limits of one's body on a subconscious level.
However, this was on another level of limitations. The more Ash tried to push himself to further his unknown strength, the larger the phantom swords became. And soon after, the blades extended all the way into his own nervous system, penetrating the senses as if daring the boy to go any further.
At this point, the imaginary swords were holding Ash's actual nerves as hostages with the ransom being to not go any further than his current limits.
'That explains why I didn't feel this damn pain when I wore myself out previously,' he theorized.
'Every time I used this strange power, I would just get tired at the end like I overexerted a muscle, nothing major at all. But right now, it feels like I'm being chained down by these illusionary swords.'
"You still continue to surprise me, Ash," a voice broke his thoughts.
An amazed Lorelei scrutinized him carefully. The Elite Four was at a loss of words at Ash's brilliant display of resourcefulness.
'The more I corner him, the stronger he gets, huh?' she mused with a hopeful expression.
'…He won't break. He's too stubborn to give up even if the odds stacked heavily against him.'
'If it's Ash…'
"I can go all out without worry…" she said aloud without thinking, her thoughts bleeding into her voice.
With that revelation came a relieved laugh from the bespectacled woman. She was glad. Overjoyed to have found a Trainer that would not bend over in despair. Elated to battle against someone who she could use the full power of her ace without restraint.
The Transport Pokémon grabbed her attention with an excited nod. She was sharing the sentiment her Trainer was undergoing and wanted to respect her opponents by giving them their absolute best.
"I see. Then let's give them all we've got, Lapras!" the Elite Four joyfully declared.
From the other side, Ash could only smile as the sense of guilt and dread surrounding the woman around the second battle had dissipated completely. But he had no time to be glad as the woman suddenly took out a device that looked like a smartphone.
The raven-haired boy then turned to the stadium's screen to get a better look at the device as he could not see it from across the battlefield.
It was a smartphone with a light red that looked pinkish and cyan colour scheme as well as faux eyes that looked silly and finally, a rainbow-coloured gem embedded at the bottom.
"How pretty…" he blurted out, not noticing a blush on Lorelei's face due his misleading words.
All he could think was:
'It looks like a Porygon…'
"This is bad! Bruno, Agatha, we're stopping this!" Lance panicked out of the blue.
"She cannot be allowed to use that!"
"No," the other two Elite Four simply refused, not wanting to pry their eyes away from the upcoming spectacle.
"Lorelei has been holding back for too long," the old woman spoke with pity in her voice.
"To deny her this moment where she can finally let loose…"
"Are you that cruel, Lance?"
Lance bit his lip as he knew the elder woman was right.
"But…" he tried to reason but was swiftly interrupted by Bruno.
"It does not interfere with the rules," the burly man explained.
"The match specifically stated only a single item may be used for the entire match. Just like Green and Karen."
"It's no problem if Lorelei uses 'that' and the boy using a second bone. That's rather fair, don't you think?"
"Haaaahh… I suppose so," Lance conceded.
Just then, Blue approached the Elite Four, prompting the latter to look at the chestnut-haired girl's nervous behaviour.
"Umm… What is Lorelei about to do?" she asked.
Agatha then patted on the seat next to her, gesturing the young girl to sit with them. Blue obliged and waited for an answer.
"Say, dear Blue…"
"Have you ever heard of the Pasio Region?"
"Pasio?" Ash raised an eyebrow at that name.
"Yes. It's not open yet to the population as it's an artificial island," the vermilion-haired woman explained while holding onto the device.
"And this is called a PoryPhone. This gem on it is called a Sync Stone which allows the Trainer to use a Sync Move."
"Sync Move?" the raven-haired boy parroted, absorbing the information the woman was giving.
"In simpler terms, an ultimate move which scales with the bond between Trainer and their Sync Pair," Lorelei continued.
"It's still a prototype since it needs to charge up before using the Sync Move."
'Bond… Don't tell me?!' Ash gulped at the implication.
"One item can be used during the match. That is the rule of the Indigo Grand League."
"Your item is the additional bone Marowak is currently equipped with…"
The Ice type specialist held the PoryPhone in the air.
"And mine will be this."
The Sync Stone began shining radiantly, causing Ash to wince at its brightness.
"No more tricks. No more secrets, Ash."
"This will be the last attack that I unleash. Be proud that you've forced me to use this."
"Tch! Marowak, we've gotta…" Ash's voice trailed off into the wind as he finally saw his Pokémon's predicament.
"You finally noticed it," the Elite Four smiled menacingly.
What the blood red eyes laid upon was the state of Marowak and his weapons.
[Endure] had reduced the poor Bone Keeper Pokémon to a state where he could barely muster any morsel of strength. In terms of an RPG, Marowak was now clinging on to 1 HP.
Furthermore, although [Sheer Cold] failed to defeat the skull warrior, the one-hit KO move had frozen both bones together, doubling their weight. Normally, this would not have been a problem for Marowak but he was now severely weakened and even if he were to wield it now, the weight would crush him mercilessly.
The bones had been combined into a single heavy weapon thanks to the unforgiving ice.
Marowak's bone club had only half of it frozen, but the distal epiphysis and its metaphysis were encased in [Sheer Cold]'s ice. Sticking onto the top of the previously described bone parts was his mother's club. It was slightly larger than his own and was completely frozen. However, due to its larger size, the glass-like ice that trapped it had turned into a jagged blade, sharper than even Pikachu's [Iron Tail].
All in all, if not for the dire situation, Ash would have drooled over the accidental craftsmanship of the weapon. Said weapon did not resemble any type of weapon he knew of and so, unconsciously chalking it up in his mind as an 'axe-sword' due to its peculiar shape.
The raven-haired boy turned his head around the battlefield, scouring once more to use anything to his advantage.
"It's useless, Ash," Lorelei's icy tone snapped him to attention.
"A Sync Move is a guaranteed hit, meaning even if Marowak used [Dig], it will still hit."
"Additionally, Marowak is too weakened to battle now after surviving [Sheer Cold] with [Endure]."
Ash casted his eyes downwards while clutching onto his locket for some semblance of comfort.
"And finally, Marowak's weapons have been frozen together. Even if it's a rather interesting accidental weapon, your Pokémon is in no condition to wield it."
'She knows,' the raven-haired boy lost that little comfort he held.
"But even now, I'm not taking any chances. Lapras, [Perish Song]!"
A malevolent melody resonated around the battlefield before ending it on an even depressing note. Marowak had heard it and began sweating bullets.
[Perish Song] was a move that caused both Pokémon that heard it faint within 3 minutes.
"Why would you… Huh?" Ash was confused before gazing at Lapras' tightly curled ears.
"Lapras… you froze your own ears?"
"Yes. With this, there is no escape for you, Ash Ketchum," Lorelei declared with finality.
"In 3 minutes, I will have charged the Sync Move to its fullest."
"In 3 minutes, Marowak will faint without question."
"And in 3 minutes, say your final words in this tournament."
…
…
…
Ah… It's checkmate for me.
She's right, there's nothing I can do now.
I knelt once more, resigned to my upcoming defeat.
…At the very least, I had loads of fun.
I let out a small smile towards the vermilion-haired woman, so she doesn't get the wrong idea.
Thankfully, the smile did its task splendidly as she returned it with a smile of her own.
It was a smile free from the hauntings of her past.
A genuine smile of appreciation.
Thank you, Miss Lorelei.
This was fine. I did my absolute hardest.
I've got no regrets…
But…
I was a terrible liar.
…Like hell I don't.
As I awaited my inevitable defeat, the promises I've made resurfaced.
Each one sank my heart further down as I recalled them.
My promise to Blue.
"Then, I'll get stronger! Strong enough to knock some sense back into him!"
"I promise you, Blue!"
My promise to Green.
"In a years' time, the Indigo Grand League's gonna start so you better collect those badges so I can beat you in front of the whole world!"
"Heh, you got yourself a promise!"
My promise to my Pokémon.
'You guys are the coolest Pokémon in the world.'
'And so, I'll become a Trainer worthy of you all.'
'I promise to become the very best!'
And finally, my biggest one.
…My promise to Yellow.
"I promise you, Yellow."
"When I finally become a pokemon Trainer, I'll find you."
"No matter how lo—"
"Shut up, moron!"
I began hallucinating a younger me staring at me as I snapped.
"I broke that promise! I didn't find her!"
The shameful confessions came spilling out of my regret-filled mouth.
"I just went and abandoned her in this journey of mine!"
My younger self could only watch silently as I turned into a sobbing mess.
"Yellow should've been my top priority! I should've searched for her immediately!"
That statement reflected my true feelings.
"I want to see her so badly! I want to hug her tight so that I don't wake up from this dream!"
I vented.
I vented so much that even I felt pathetic.
But I didn't care. All I wanted was to get all these selfish desires out of my chest for so long.
"But instead, I went around Kanto to fulfil everyone else's promises first!"
"And look at the results! I've lost!"
"I broke my promise to Yellow only to break ALL of them!"
"So shut up, you idiot! Don't go promising things you can't keep!"
I knew this was pointless. That this was all in my head.
But these were my genuine thoughts.
I was using my younger self as a scapegoat for my frustrations.
These ugly emotions that I've bottled up were spilling out, just like that time in Saffron General Hospital.
Truth be told, I used my younger self as an outlet for my anger because I envied him.
He who had not started his journey yet.
He who was smiling as if every day was the pinnacle of his life.
He who had Yellow in his hands, frolicking around Pallet Town in bliss.
I wanted that. I wanted that so terribly.
That's why it hurts so much.
The sheer probability that I would never meet Yellow ever again terrified me to no end.
I can lose battles. I can handle insurmountable opponents.
Hell, I'd rather take on Giovanni a million times over if it meant that I could reunite with Yellow again.
But right now, I'm stuck. I can't afford to lose, but I am going to.
Breaking promises is not the core of Ash Ketchum. It cannot be allowed.
But even so, I can't win.
I woke up from my daydream to see the Sync Move was almost complete. The timer on the screen displayed a minute and a half left before either the Sync Move or [Perish Song] kickstarts my defeat.
My partner had his ears drooped down in sadness as he knew the inevitable outcome.
Instinctively, I patted his soft yellow head.
'We did the best we could.'
'We held our own against an Elite Four.'
'We forced Miss Lorelei to go all out.'
Anyone would've rationalized my current predicament with those sentences...
But not me.
I knew those were just excuses to justify my defeat.
But I can't change what was about to happen.
Ash Ketchum will be defeated here.
So close, yet so far.
Ash Ketchum will break his oaths.
Shatter your dreams.
Ash Ketchum will lose everything and gain nothing.
Chapter 43: Crushing Defeat
And thus, Fate made its decision.
…
…
…
Chapter 43: Crushing Defeat
Chapter 43: Crushing Defeat
Chapter 43: Crushing Defeat
Chapter 43: Crushing Defeat
Chapter 43: Crushing Defeat
Chapter 43: Crushing Defeat
Chapter 43: Crushing Defeat
Chapter 43: Crushing Defeat
Chapter 43: Crushing Defeat
Ç̵̡̧̗̖͙̊͜h̷̟̮̟͖͈̪͛̀͒́̀ͅa̴̛͉̘̒̾́͛̑̐̚p̵̛̺̫̣̼͓̈́̈̾̽̐̈́̈̀̂̀̕͝t̴̛̩͈̙̞͈̗̭̮̘́ͅẹ̶̭̪̜̖̘̩͚̭͓͙͐̆̏̆́̕͝r̸̼͓͗̊̈́͆ ̴̖̠̫͕̭̓̀̏̍̽͛̅̋̋̃̒̏̕͠4̸̡̬͔̻̗̰͍͚̱͊̈́̂͑͛̓͜͠3̶̧̢͍̙̹̪̝͙̻̩̻̈́̀͂͗̓̏ͅ:̷̡̧̡͓̗̖̟̮̠̝̲̳͋ ̶̞͈̗͔̃͒̀͒̄̄̃C̴̢̯̞̫̫͚̩̙̣͍̀͗͒͗͝r̵̨̜͈̜̗͇̗̫̪̟̋̏̓̌͆̋̓͆͜͝ͅư̶̧̧̯̭̬̫̰͍̬̖̪̹̒̒̽̉͑̏̏̽̉̎̓̚͘̕s̸͕̠̹̍̉̉̚͜ͅh̷̲̻̳̩͙͎̓̊̍̀͜i̷̪͓͍͓͓̬͋̿̑̐̆̒͗͠n̷̹̺̯͎͛́̐͑͊̈́͊̇̕g̴̢̗̝̦̗͚͓̫͕̺̣̓̿̓̆͝ͅ ̴̡̻̞̟̲̱͔̳̍̎̂͗͛͌̐́͜͠Ḑ̸̙͘e̴̺̥̾͗͛̔̈̋̚͝f̵̹̰̎̾̔̐͌̂̑̀̎̇͝͝e̷͔̫͍̹̝͙͇̜̊̍̿́̎̚͘͜a̷̧̨͍̣͕͉̩̳̦̱̬͙̤̋͋́̿̽͜͝t̷̨͓͖̹͍̹̲̤̝̆̑̀͋̏̀̿̀͠
̴̡̝̘͇̖̙̳̱̩͋̄͑͌̎͋̍̈́͂̍̿͝
̷͚̲͖͇͓̣̖̹̰̌̑̄̂̊̄͜͝C̵̩͉͌̾ḧ̶̡͚̤̯͎͉̪̳̭̤͓́́̍͛̈̓ä̶͈̱̲̲͉̮̯̥͑̈́͛͠͝p̴̡̩̖̺̚t̶͉̲̮̲̩͚̗̹̗̙͇̀̀̀́̀̕e̵̲̤̯̪̜̤͈͖̰̰͎̬͙͕͍̓̔͊͆͗̇̂̽̇͂͘͝͝ŗ̸͖̼̖͚̟͍̭͙̗̯̃̐͒̅͋̋̍̏́̽́̏ ̸̢̡͔̭̙̟͕̙̟̦͕̭̊̀̆̀́͒̈̇̂̇̊́̎͜4̷̨̡̛̹͖͔̟͔̞͎̼̩̦̇̈́̀̇͂͒̔̐́͒̑̓͌͠3̶̧̛͖̬̗͔̝̥͇͍̜̣̔̐̀͊̈́̆̈́̀́̌:̵̛̜̐̈́͗͗̈̆̀͑̐͝͝ ̵̧͚͖̝̳̬̳̳̏̉̿̈́̚͝Ç̷̧͇͈͚͈͔̪͒̓͊̐͊̕ŗ̸̻̟̜͔̻͎̉͐ȗ̶̹̲̟̪̼͍̞̈́͌̀̃̀͆͠s̸̛̬̬̣̲̽͂́̊̌̍̽̀̈́̿̆h̶̛̜̗́̈̈́͑̒̆͂̊̎͋͆̐̚i̵̡̢̗̫͍͚̝̹͓̬̠̭̐̇̋̃͒̑͊͝ṅ̸̜͒̀͆͑̊͑͗̈͒̓̀̓͘͠ģ̵̥͓̗̬͓͔̃̈́́̋̀͆͊́͑̎̚ ̵̨͍͍̱̦̦̗͌ͅͅD̶̨̨̢͍̥̟̻̹̖͔̉ë̶̡̤̟̘̝̱͚̣̥͎́̒͜ͅf̸̢̭͔͆͆͗͌̈̋͊̓͊̈́̕ȩ̵̛̝̯̯͙̯̝͂̽̍̈́̈ͅä̸̱̥̖́̅̿̇͛̌̍̋̚͜͝ͅt̶̡̛̯̟̲͎̜̳̱͇̥̬͒̂̓̏̍̆̈́̓̇̃̎̚͜
Ç̵̡̧̗̖͙̊͜h̷̟̮̟͖͈̪͛̀͒́̀ͅa̴̛͉̘̒̾́͛̑̐̚p̵̛̺̫̣̼͓̈́̈̾̽̐̈́̈̀̂̀̕͝t̴̛̩͈̙̞͈̗̭̮̘́ͅẹ̶̭̪̜̖̘̩͚̭͓͙͐̆̏̆́̕͝r̸̼͓͗̊̈́͆ ̴̖̠̫͕̭̓̀̏̍̽͛̅̋̋̃̒̏̕͠4̸̡̬͔̻̗̰͍͚̱͊̈́̂͑͛̓͜͠3̶̧̢͍̙̹̪̝͙̻̩̻̈́̀͂͗̓̏ͅ:̷̡̧̡͓̗̖̟̮̠̝̲̳͋ ̶̞͈̗͔̃͒̀͒̄̄̃C̴̢̯̞̫̫͚̩̙̣͍̀͗͒͗͝r̵̨̜͈̜̗͇̗̫̪̟̋̏̓̌͆̋̓͆͜͝ͅư̶̧̧̯̭̬̫̰͍̬̖̪̹̒̒̽̉͑̏̏̽̉̎̓̚͘̕s̸͕̠̹̍̉̉̚͜ͅh̷̲̻̳̩͙͎̓̊̍̀͜i̷̪͓͍͓͓̬͋̿̑̐̆̒͗͠n̷̹̺̯͎͛́̐͑͊̈́͊̇̕g̴̢̗̝̦̗͚͓̫͕̺̣̓̿̓̆͝ͅ ̴̡̻̞̟̲̱͔̳̍̎̂͗͛͌̐́͜͠Ḑ̸̙͘e̴̺̥̾͗͛̔̈̋̚͝f̵̹̰̎̾̔̐͌̂̑̀̎̇͝͝e̷͔̫͍̹̝͙͇̜̊̍̿́̎̚͘͜a̷̧̨͍̣͕͉̩̳̦̱̬͙̤̋͋́̿̽͜͝t̷̨͓͖̹͍̹̲̤̝̆̑̀͋̏̀̿̀͠
̴̡̝̘͇̖̙̳̱̩͋̄͑͌̎͋̍̈́͂̍̿͝
̷͚̲͖͇͓̣̖̹̰̌̑̄̂̊̄͜͝C̵̩͉͌̾ḧ̶̡͚̤̯͎͉̪̳̭̤͓́́̍͛̈̓ä̶͈̱̲̲͉̮̯̥͑̈́͛͠͝p̴̡̩̖̺̚t̶͉̲̮̲̩͚̗̹̗̙͇̀̀̀́̀̕e̵̲̤̯̪̜̤͈͖̰̰͎̬͙͕͍̓̔͊͆͗̇̂̽̇͂͘͝͝ŗ̸͖̼̖͚̟͍̭͙̗̯̃̐͒̅͋̋̍̏́̽́̏ ̸̢̡͔̭̙̟͕̙̟̦͕̭̊̀̆̀́͒̈̇̂̇̊́̎͜4̷̨̡̛̹͖͔̟͔̞͎̼̩̦̇̈́̀̇͂͒̔̐́͒̑̓͌͠3̶̧̛͖̬̗͔̝̥͇͍̜̣̔̐̀͊̈́̆̈́̀́̌:̵̛̜̐̈́͗͗̈̆̀͑̐͝͝ ̵̧͚͖̝̳̬̳̳̏̉̿̈́̚͝Ç̷̧͇͈͚͈͔̪͒̓͊̐͊̕ŗ̸̻̟̜͔̻͎̉͐ȗ̶̹̲̟̪̼͍̞̈́͌̀̃̀͆͠s̸̛̬̬̣̲̽͂́̊̌̍̽̀̈́̿̆h̶̛̜̗́̈̈́͑̒̆͂̊̎͋͆̐̚i̵̡̢̗̫͍͚̝̹͓̬̠̭̐̇̋̃͒̑͊͝ṅ̸̜͒̀͆͑̊͑͗̈͒̓̀̓͘͠ģ̵̥͓̗̬͓͔̃̈́́̋̀͆͊́͑̎̚ ̵̨͍͍̱̦̦̗͌ͅͅD̶̨̨̢͍̥̟̻̹̖͔̉ë̶̡̤̟̘̝̱͚̣̥͎́̒͜ͅf̸̢̭͔͆͆͗͌̈̋͊̓͊̈́̕ȩ̵̛̝̯̯͙̯̝͂̽̍̈́̈ͅä̸̱̥̖́̅̿̇͛̌̍̋̚͜͝ͅt̶̡̛̯̟̲͎̜̳̱͇̥̬͒̂̓̏̍̆̈́̓̇̃̎̚͜
Ç̵̡̧̗̖͙̊͜h̷̟̮̟͖͈̪͛̀͒́̀ͅa̴̛͉̘̒̾́͛̑̐̚p̵̛̺̫̣̼͓̈́̈̾̽̐̈́̈̀̂̀̕͝t̴̛̩͈̙̞͈̗̭̮̘́ͅẹ̶̭̪̜̖̘̩͚̭͓͙͐̆̏̆́̕͝r̸̼͓͗̊̈́͆ ̴̖̠̫͕̭̓̀̏̍̽͛̅̋̋̃̒̏̕͠4̸̡̬͔̻̗̰͍͚̱͊̈́̂͑͛̓͜͠3̶̧̢͍̙̹̪̝͙̻̩̻̈́̀͂͗̓̏ͅ:̷̡̧̡͓̗̖̟̮̠̝̲̳͋ ̶̞͈̗͔̃͒̀͒̄̄̃C̴̢̯̞̫̫͚̩̙̣͍̀͗͒͗͝r̵̨̜͈̜̗͇̗̫̪̟̋̏̓̌͆̋̓͆͜͝ͅư̶̧̧̯̭̬̫̰͍̬̖̪̹̒̒̽̉͑̏̏̽̉̎̓̚͘̕s̸͕̠̹̍̉̉̚͜ͅh̷̲̻̳̩͙͎̓̊̍̀͜i̷̪͓͍͓͓̬͋̿̑̐̆̒͗͠n̷̹̺̯͎͛́̐͑͊̈́͊̇̕g̴̢̗̝̦̗͚͓̫͕̺̣̓̿̓̆͝ͅ ̴̡̻̞̟̲̱͔̳̍̎̂͗͛͌̐́͜͠Ḑ̸̙͘e̴̺̥̾͗͛̔̈̋̚͝f̵̹̰̎̾̔̐͌̂̑̀̎̇͝͝e̷͔̫͍̹̝͙͇̜̊̍̿́̎̚͘͜a̷̧̨͍̣͕͉̩̳̦̱̬͙̤̋͋́̿̽͜͝t̷̨͓͖̹͍̹̲̤̝̆̑̀͋̏̀̿̀͠
̴̡̝̘͇̖̙̳̱̩͋̄͑͌̎͋̍̈́͂̍̿͝
̷͚̲͖͇͓̣̖̹̰̌̑̄̂̊̄͜͝C̵̩͉͌̾ḧ̶̡͚̤̯͎͉̪̳̭̤͓́́̍͛̈̓ä̶͈̱̲̲͉̮̯̥͑̈́͛͠͝p̴̡̩̖̺̚t̶͉̲̮̲̩͚̗̹̗̙͇̀̀̀́̀̕e̵̲̤̯̪̜̤͈͖̰̰͎̬͙͕͍̓̔͊͆͗̇̂̽̇͂͘͝͝ŗ̸͖̼̖͚̟͍̭͙̗̯̃̐͒̅͋̋̍̏́̽́̏ ̸̢̡͔̭̙̟͕̙̟̦͕̭̊̀̆̀́͒̈̇̂̇̊́̎͜4̷̨̡̛̹͖͔̟͔̞͎̼̩̦̇̈́̀̇͂͒̔̐́͒̑̓͌͠3̶̧̛͖̬̗͔̝̥͇͍̜̣̔̐̀͊̈́̆̈́̀́̌:̵̛̜̐̈́͗͗̈̆̀͑̐͝͝ ̵̧͚͖̝̳̬̳̳̏̉̿̈́̚͝Ç̷̧͇͈͚͈͔̪͒̓͊̐͊̕ŗ̸̻̟̜͔̻͎̉͐ȗ̶̹̲̟̪̼͍̞̈́͌̀̃̀͆͠s̸̛̬̬̣̲̽͂́̊̌̍̽̀̈́̿̆h̶̛̜̗́̈̈́͑̒̆͂̊̎͋͆̐̚i̵̡̢̗̫͍͚̝̹͓̬̠̭̐̇̋̃͒̑͊͝ṅ̸̜͒̀͆͑̊͑͗̈͒̓̀̓͘͠ģ̵̥͓̗̬͓͔̃̈́́̋̀͆͊́͑̎̚ ̵̨͍͍̱̦̦̗͌ͅͅD̶̨̨̢͍̥̟̻̹̖͔̉ë̶̡̤̟̘̝̱͚̣̥͎́̒͜ͅf̸̢̭͔͆͆͗͌̈̋͊̓͊̈́̕ȩ̵̛̝̯̯͙̯̝͂̽̍̈́̈ͅä̸̱̥̖́̅̿̇͛̌̍̋̚͜͝ͅt̶̡̛̯̟̲͎̜̳̱͇̥̬͒̂̓̏̍̆̈́̓̇̃̎̚͜
Ç̵̡̧̗̖͙̊͜h̷̟̮̟͖͈̪͛̀͒́̀ͅa̴̛͉̘̒̾́͛̑̐̚p̵̛̺̫̣̼͓̈́̈̾̽̐̈́̈̀̂̀̕͝t̴̛̩͈̙̞͈̗̭̮̘́ͅẹ̶̭̪̜̖̘̩͚̭͓͙͐̆̏̆́̕͝r̸̼͓͗̊̈́͆ ̴̖̠̫͕̭̓̀̏̍̽͛̅̋̋̃̒̏̕͠4̸̡̬͔̻̗̰͍͚̱͊̈́̂͑͛̓͜͠3̶̧̢͍̙̹̪̝͙̻̩̻̈́̀͂͗̓̏ͅ:̷̡̧̡͓̗̖̟̮̠̝̲̳͋ ̶̞͈̗͔̃͒̀͒̄̄̃C̴̢̯̞̫̫͚̩̙̣͍̀͗͒͗͝r̵̨̜͈̜̗͇̗̫̪̟̋̏̓̌͆̋̓͆͜͝ͅư̶̧̧̯̭̬̫̰͍̬̖̪̹̒̒̽̉͑̏̏̽̉̎̓̚͘̕s̸͕̠̹̍̉̉̚͜ͅh̷̲̻̳̩͙͎̓̊̍̀͜i̷̪͓͍͓͓̬͋̿̑̐̆̒͗͠n̷̹̺̯͎͛́̐͑͊̈́͊̇̕g̴̢̗̝̦̗͚͓̫͕̺̣̓̿̓̆͝ͅ ̴̡̻̞̟̲̱͔̳̍̎̂͗͛͌̐́͜͠Ḑ̸̙͘e̴̺̥̾͗͛̔̈̋̚͝f̵̹̰̎̾̔̐͌̂̑̀̎̇͝͝e̷͔̫͍̹̝͙͇̜̊̍̿́̎̚͘͜a̷̧̨͍̣͕͉̩̳̦̱̬͙̤̋͋́̿̽͜͝t̷̨͓͖̹͍̹̲̤̝̆̑̀͋̏̀̿̀͠
̴̡̝̘͇̖̙̳̱̩͋̄͑͌̎͋̍̈́͂̍̿͝
̷͚̲͖͇͓̣̖̹̰̌̑̄̂̊̄͜͝C̵̩͉͌̾ḧ̶̡͚̤̯͎͉̪̳̭̤͓́́̍͛̈̓ä̶͈̱̲̲͉̮̯̥͑̈́͛͠͝p̴̡̩̖̺̚t̶͉̲̮̲̩͚̗̹̗̙͇̀̀̀́̀̕e̵̲̤̯̪̜̤͈͖̰̰͎̬͙͕͍̓̔͊͆͗̇̂̽̇͂͘͝͝ŗ̸͖̼̖͚̟͍̭͙̗̯̃̐͒̅͋̋̍̏́̽́̏ ̸̢̡͔̭̙̟͕̙̟̦͕̭̊̀̆̀́͒̈̇̂̇̊́̎͜4̷̨̡̛̹͖͔̟͔̞͎̼̩̦̇̈́̀̇͂͒̔̐́͒̑̓͌͠3̶̧̛͖̬̗͔̝̥͇͍̜̣̔̐̀͊̈́̆̈́̀́̌:̵̛̜̐̈́͗͗̈̆̀͑̐͝͝ ̵̧͚͖̝̳̬̳̳̏̉̿̈́̚͝Ç̷̧͇͈͚͈͔̪͒̓͊̐͊̕ŗ̸̻̟̜͔̻͎̉͐ȗ̶̹̲̟̪̼͍̞̈́͌̀̃̀͆͠s̸̛̬̬̣̲̽͂́̊̌̍̽̀̈́̿̆h̶̛̜̗́̈̈́͑̒̆͂̊̎͋͆̐̚i̵̡̢̗̫͍͚̝̹͓̬̠̭̐̇̋̃͒̑͊͝ṅ̸̜͒̀͆͑̊͑͗̈͒̓̀̓͘͠ģ̵̥͓̗̬͓͔̃̈́́̋̀͆͊́͑̎̚ ̵̨͍͍̱̦̦̗͌ͅͅD̶̨̨̢͍̥̟̻̹̖͔̉ë̶̡̤̟̘̝̱͚̣̥͎́̒͜ͅf̸̢̭͔͆͆͗͌̈̋͊̓͊̈́̕ȩ̵̛̝̯̯͙̯̝͂̽̍̈́̈ͅä̸̱̥̖́̅̿̇͛̌̍̋̚͜͝ͅt̶̡̛̯̟̲͎̜̳̱͇̥̬͒̂̓̏̍̆̈́̓̇̃̎̚͜
Ç̵̡̧̗̖͙̊͜h̷̟̮̟͖͈̪͛̀͒́̀ͅa̴̛͉̘̒̾́͛̑̐̚p̵̛̺̫̣̼͓̈́̈̾̽̐̈́̈̀̂̀̕͝t̴̛̩͈̙̞͈̗̭̮̘́ͅẹ̶̭̪̜̖̘̩͚̭͓͙͐̆̏̆́̕͝r̸̼͓͗̊̈́͆ ̴̖̠̫͕̭̓̀̏̍̽͛̅̋̋̃̒̏̕͠4̸̡̬͔̻̗̰͍͚̱͊̈́̂͑͛̓͜͠3̶̧̢͍̙̹̪̝͙̻̩̻̈́̀͂͗̓̏ͅ:̷̡̧̡͓̗̖̟̮̠̝̲̳͋ ̶̞͈̗͔̃͒̀͒̄̄̃C̴̢̯̞̫̫͚̩̙̣͍̀͗͒͗͝r̵̨̜͈̜̗͇̗̫̪̟̋̏̓̌͆̋̓͆͜͝ͅư̶̧̧̯̭̬̫̰͍̬̖̪̹̒̒̽̉͑̏̏̽̉̎̓̚͘̕s̸͕̠̹̍̉̉̚͜ͅh̷̲̻̳̩͙͎̓̊̍̀͜i̷̪͓͍͓͓̬͋̿̑̐̆̒͗͠n̷̹̺̯͎͛́̐͑͊̈́͊̇̕g̴̢̗̝̦̗͚͓̫͕̺̣̓̿̓̆͝ͅ ̴̡̻̞̟̲̱͔̳̍̎̂͗͛͌̐́͜͠Ḑ̸̙͘e̴̺̥̾͗͛̔̈̋̚͝f̵̹̰̎̾̔̐͌̂̑̀̎̇͝͝e̷͔̫͍̹̝͙͇̜̊̍̿́̎̚͘͜a̷̧̨͍̣͕͉̩̳̦̱̬͙̤̋͋́̿̽͜͝t̷̨͓͖̹͍̹̲̤̝̆̑̀͋̏̀̿̀͠
̴̡̝̘͇̖̙̳̱̩͋̄͑͌̎͋̍̈́͂̍̿͝
̷͚̲͖͇͓̣̖̹̰̌̑̄̂̊̄͜͝C̵̩͉͌̾ḧ̶̡͚̤̯͎͉̪̳̭̤͓́́̍͛̈̓ä̶͈̱̲̲͉̮̯̥͑̈́͛͠͝p̴̡̩̖̺̚t̶͉̲̮̲̩͚̗̹̗̙͇̀̀̀́̀̕e̵̲̤̯̪̜̤͈͖̰̰͎̬͙͕͍̓̔͊͆͗̇̂̽̇͂͘͝͝ŗ̸͖̼̖͚̟͍̭͙̗̯̃̐͒̅͋̋̍̏́̽́̏ ̸̢̡͔̭̙̟͕̙̟̦͕̭̊̀̆̀́͒̈̇̂̇̊́̎͜4̷̨̡̛̹͖͔̟͔̞͎̼̩̦̇̈́̀̇͂͒̔̐́͒̑̓͌͠3̶̧̛͖̬̗͔̝̥͇͍̜̣̔̐̀͊̈́̆̈́̀́̌:̵̛̜̐̈́͗͗̈̆̀͑̐͝͝ ̵̧͚͖̝̳̬̳̳̏̉̿̈́̚͝Ç̷̧͇͈͚͈͔̪͒̓͊̐͊̕ŗ̸̻̟̜͔̻͎̉͐ȗ̶̹̲̟̪̼͍̞̈́͌̀̃̀͆͠s̸̛̬̬̣̲̽͂́̊̌̍̽̀̈́̿̆h̶̛̜̗́̈̈́͑̒̆͂̊̎͋͆̐̚i̵̡̢̗̫͍͚̝̹͓̬̠̭̐̇̋̃͒̑͊͝ṅ̸̜͒̀͆͑̊͑͗̈͒̓̀̓͘͠ģ̵̥͓̗̬͓͔̃̈́́̋̀͆͊́͑̎̚ ̵̨͍͍̱̦̦̗͌ͅͅD̶̨̨̢͍̥̟̻̹̖͔̉ë̶̡̤̟̘̝̱͚̣̥͎́̒͜ͅf̸̢̭͔͆͆͗͌̈̋͊̓͊̈́̕ȩ̵̛̝̯̯͙̯̝͂̽̍̈́̈ͅä̸̱̥̖́̅̿̇͛̌̍̋̚͜͝ͅt̶̡̛̯̟̲͎̜̳̱͇̥̬͒̂̓̏̍̆̈́̓̇̃̎̚͜
Ç̵̡̧̗̖͙̊͜h̷̟̮̟͖͈̪͛̀͒́̀ͅa̴̛͉̘̒̾́͛̑̐̚p̵̛̺̫̣̼͓̈́̈̾̽̐̈́̈̀̂̀̕͝t̴̛̩͈̙̞͈̗̭̮̘́ͅẹ̶̭̪̜̖̘̩͚̭͓͙͐̆̏̆́̕͝r̸̼͓͗̊̈́͆ ̴̖̠̫͕̭̓̀̏̍̽͛̅̋̋̃̒̏̕͠4̸̡̬͔̻̗̰͍͚̱͊̈́̂͑͛̓͜͠3̶̧̢͍̙̹̪̝͙̻̩̻̈́̀͂͗̓̏ͅ:̷̡̧̡͓̗̖̟̮̠̝̲̳͋ ̶̞͈̗͔̃͒̀͒̄̄̃C̴̢̯̞̫̫͚̩̙̣͍̀͗͒͗͝r̵̨̜͈̜̗͇̗̫̪̟̋̏̓̌͆̋̓͆͜͝ͅư̶̧̧̯̭̬̫̰͍̬̖̪̹̒̒̽̉͑̏̏̽̉̎̓̚͘̕s̸͕̠̹̍̉̉̚͜ͅh̷̲̻̳̩͙͎̓̊̍̀͜i̷̪͓͍͓͓̬͋̿̑̐̆̒͗͠n̷̹̺̯͎͛́̐͑͊̈́͊̇̕g̴̢̗̝̦̗͚͓̫͕̺̣̓̿̓̆͝ͅ ̴̡̻̞̟̲̱͔̳̍̎̂͗͛͌̐́͜͠Ḑ̸̙͘e̴̺̥̾͗͛̔̈̋̚͝f̵̹̰̎̾̔̐͌̂̑̀̎̇͝͝e̷͔̫͍̹̝͙͇̜̊̍̿́̎̚͘͜a̷̧̨͍̣͕͉̩̳̦̱̬͙̤̋͋́̿̽͜͝t̷̨͓͖̹͍̹̲̤̝̆̑̀͋̏̀̿̀͠
̴̡̝̘͇̖̙̳̱̩͋̄͑͌̎͋̍̈́͂̍̿͝
̷͚̲͖͇͓̣̖̹̰̌̑̄̂̊̄͜͝C̵̩͉͌̾ḧ̶̡͚̤̯͎͉̪̳̭̤͓́́̍͛̈̓ä̶͈̱̲̲͉̮̯̥͑̈́͛͠͝p̴̡̩̖̺̚t̶͉̲̮̲̩͚̗̹̗̙͇̀̀̀́̀̕e̵̲̤̯̪̜̤͈͖̰̰͎̬͙͕͍̓̔͊͆͗̇̂̽̇͂͘͝͝ŗ̸͖̼̖͚̟͍̭͙̗̯̃̐͒̅͋̋̍̏́̽́̏ ̸̢̡͔̭̙̟͕̙̟̦͕̭̊̀̆̀́͒̈̇̂̇̊́̎͜4̷̨̡̛̹͖͔̟͔̞͎̼̩̦̇̈́̀̇͂͒̔̐́͒̑̓͌͠3̶̧̛͖̬̗͔̝̥͇͍̜̣̔̐̀͊̈́̆̈́̀́̌:̵̛̜̐̈́͗͗̈̆̀͑̐͝͝ ̵̧͚͖̝̳̬̳̳̏̉̿̈́̚͝Ç̷̧͇͈͚͈͔̪͒̓͊̐͊̕ŗ̸̻̟̜͔̻͎̉͐ȗ̶̹̲̟̪̼͍̞̈́͌̀̃̀͆͠s̸̛̬̬̣̲̽͂́̊̌̍̽̀̈́̿̆h̶̛̜̗́̈̈́͑̒̆͂̊̎͋͆̐̚i̵̡̢̗̫͍͚̝̹͓̬̠̭̐̇̋̃͒̑͊͝ṅ̸̜͒̀͆͑̊͑͗̈͒̓̀̓͘͠ģ̵̥͓̗̬͓͔̃̈́́̋̀͆͊́͑̎̚ ̵̨͍͍̱̦̦̗͌ͅͅD̶̨̨̢͍̥̟̻̹̖͔̉ë̶̡̤̟̘̝̱͚̣̥͎́̒͜ͅf̸̢̭͔͆͆͗͌̈̋͊̓͊̈́̕ȩ̵̛̝̯̯͙̯̝͂̽̍̈́̈ͅä̸̱̥̖́̅̿̇͛̌̍̋̚͜͝ͅt̶̡̛̯̟̲͎̜̳̱͇̥̬͒̂̓̏̍̆̈́̓̇̃̎̚͜
Ç̵̡̧̗̖͙̊͜h̷̟̮̟͖͈̪͛̀͒́̀ͅa̴̛͉̘̒̾́͛̑̐̚p̵̛̺̫̣̼͓̈́̈̾̽̐̈́̈̀̂̀̕͝t̴̛̩͈̙̞͈̗̭̮̘́ͅẹ̶̭̪̜̖̘̩͚̭͓͙͐̆̏̆́̕͝r̸̼͓͗̊̈́͆ ̴̖̠̫͕̭̓̀̏̍̽͛̅̋̋̃̒̏̕͠4̸̡̬͔̻̗̰͍͚̱͊̈́̂͑͛̓͜͠3̶̧̢͍̙̹̪̝͙̻̩̻̈́̀͂͗̓̏ͅ:̷̡̧̡͓̗̖̟̮̠̝̲̳͋ ̶̞͈̗͔̃͒̀͒̄̄̃C̴̢̯̞̫̫͚̩̙̣͍̀͗͒͗͝r̵̨̜͈̜̗͇̗̫̪̟̋̏̓̌͆̋̓͆͜͝ͅư̶̧̧̯̭̬̫̰͍̬̖̪̹̒̒̽̉͑̏̏̽̉̎̓̚͘̕s̸͕̠̹̍̉̉̚͜ͅh̷̲̻̳̩͙͎̓̊̍̀͜i̷̪͓͍͓͓̬͋̿̑̐̆̒͗͠n̷̹̺̯͎͛́̐͑͊̈́͊̇̕g̴̢̗̝̦̗͚͓̫͕̺̣̓̿̓̆͝ͅ ̴̡̻̞̟̲̱͔̳̍̎̂͗͛͌̐́͜͠Ḑ̸̙͘e̴̺̥̾͗͛̔̈̋̚͝f̵̹̰̎̾̔̐͌̂̑̀̎̇͝͝e̷͔̫͍̹̝͙͇̜̊̍̿́̎̚͘͜a̷̧̨͍̣͕͉̩̳̦̱̬͙̤̋͋́̿̽͜͝t̷̨͓͖̹͍̹̲̤̝̆̑̀͋̏̀̿̀͠
̴̡̝̘͇̖̙̳̱̩͋̄͑͌̎͋̍̈́͂̍̿͝
̷͚̲͖͇͓̣̖̹̰̌̑̄̂̊̄͜͝C̵̩͉͌̾ḧ̶̡͚̤̯͎͉̪̳̭̤͓́́̍͛̈̓ä̶͈̱̲̲͉̮̯̥͑̈́͛͠͝p̴̡̩̖̺̚t̶͉̲̮̲̩͚̗̹̗̙͇̀̀̀́̀̕e̵̲̤̯̪̜̤͈͖̰̰͎̬͙͕͍̓̔͊͆͗̇̂̽̇͂͘͝͝ŗ̸͖̼̖͚̟͍̭͙̗̯̃̐͒̅͋̋̍̏́̽́̏ ̸̢̡͔̭̙̟͕̙̟̦͕̭̊̀̆̀́͒̈̇̂̇̊́̎͜4̷̨̡̛̹͖͔̟͔̞͎̼̩̦̇̈́̀̇͂͒̔̐́͒̑̓͌͠3̶̧̛͖̬̗͔̝̥͇͍̜̣̔̐̀͊̈́̆̈́̀́̌:̵̛̜̐̈́͗͗̈̆̀͑̐͝͝ ̵̧͚͖̝̳̬̳̳̏̉̿̈́̚͝Ç̷̧͇͈͚͈͔̪͒̓͊̐͊̕ŗ̸̻̟̜͔̻͎̉͐ȗ̶̹̲̟̪̼͍̞̈́͌̀̃̀͆͠s̸̛̬̬̣̲̽͂́̊̌̍̽̀̈́̿̆h̶̛̜̗́̈̈́͑̒̆͂̊̎͋͆̐̚i̵̡̢̗̫͍͚̝̹͓̬̠̭̐̇̋̃͒̑͊͝ṅ̸̜͒̀͆͑̊͑͗̈͒̓̀̓͘͠ģ̵̥͓̗̬͓͔̃̈́́̋̀͆͊́͑̎̚ ̵̨͍͍̱̦̦̗͌ͅͅD̶̨̨̢͍̥̟̻̹̖͔̉ë̶̡̤̟̘̝̱͚̣̥͎́̒͜ͅf̸̢̭͔͆͆͗͌̈̋͊̓͊̈́̕ȩ̵̛̝̯̯͙̯̝͂̽̍̈́̈ͅä̸̱̥̖́̅̿̇͛̌̍̋̚͜͝ͅt̶̡̛̯̟̲͎̜̳̱͇̥̬͒̂̓̏̍̆̈́̓̇̃̎̚͜
…
…
…
[ Don't give up until it's over! ]
"Huh?" Ash gasped in surprise.
He recognized that voice. He could not forget even if he wanted to.
It was a voice that had deeply etched itself into his soul.
A loud shout of a girl shouting with cracks in between her wails, resembling that of a banshee to normal onlookers.
But to the boy, her voice was like a charming bell that rung pleasantly in his eardrums.
"Ye…llow…"
[ The Red I know is stubborn to a fault! And even that is an understatement! ]
The audience watched silently as they looked onto a large screen supported by an out-of-breath Bill, the researcher who created the Kanto Pokémon Storage System.
Alongside the man was a teenage girl he knew very well, Daisy Oak. The two had driven all the way to Indigo Plateau from Pallet Town in a hurry to send the video in real time.
A series of coincidences raised alarm bells for Ash, but the boy was drowning them out as he focused his blood red eyes at the honey blonde that he missed so dearly.
[ I love the boy who was always there for me! ]
[ I love the idiot who kept putting others above himself, even if I hate it! ]
[ I love the Trainer who has fun battling with his Pokémon! ]
[ I love Red, who promised to search for me, no matter long it takes! ]
The honey blonde took a deep breath before continuing, encouraging the boy even further.
[ I will always wait for my beloved Pokémon Master to come for me! ]
[ Even if it would take years or even decades! No matter how long it takes! ]
[ I love you, Ash Ketchum! ]
Those three words made the heart of steel skip a beat.
[ That's why don't worry that head of yours over me! Because that's my job! ]
[ Your job is to become the very best! ]
The raven-haired boy and honey blonde finished those words in unison.
"Like no one ever was…" / [ Like no one ever was! ]
Ash's vision blurred rapidly. Before long, a lone warm drop of tear fell down his reddened cheeks.
He felt liberated by the girl's confession as the ends of his mouth twisted upwards uncontrollably.
Ash smiled tenderly at the heartfelt words Serena gave him. It shed away the self-loathing he casted upon himself.
[ I love you even more when you're happy. ]
[ Ash Ketchum will never break a promise. So, promise me this: ]
[ Win in the coolest way possible for me! ]
The last image of a grinning and teary-eyed Serena vanished after those final words. The timer now had a minute left before [Perish Song] took effect.
"That's no fair if you do that," Ash chuckled to himself.
With the flames reignited in his heart, Ash Ketchum swore to the entire world.
"I promise, Serena!"
Lorelei had finished charging up the Sync Move and prepared to unleash it.
"That was very cute. But you will lose here, Ash!" she howled, the stone in her PoryPhone shined brilliantly as Lapras enacted the move.
Large spikes of ice surrounded the Transport Pokémon as cold winds spiralled around her.
"[Freezing Terror Blizzard!]"
With that, huge missiles of unforgiving ice launched themselves towards Marowak.
They were massive, near impossible to miss. The gasping and cries of the onlookers trembled from the mere breeze of coldness that tickled them.
Everyone thought it was over. As much as Serena's confession warmed their hearts, they were preparing for the devastating aftermath of a defeated Ash Ketchum.
But the raven-haired boy was no longer wallowing in his excuses. He looked forward, glaring at the Sync Move that unleashed before him defiantly.
And with one step…
Ash surpassed Fate itself.
"AURA, on!"
_
____________
A month before the Grand League's opening.
______________
"Hey, Marowak," Ash called out to the youngest member of his team, taking a break from their training.
Marowak eyed his Trainer curiously, the latter scratching his cheek while trying to think of a way to explain his thoughts.
"You remember back when we visited your mom?"
The skull warrior nodded at his question.
"Well… I don't know how to put it, but I saw something when we prayed to her."
The Bone Keeper Pokémon continued listening, not wanting to interrupt his Trainer.
"It was like information started pouring into my head all at once. But thanks to that, I can condense your mother's technique into a single memory."
Marowak widened his eyes at Ash's unbelievable words.
"I saw the move she did when she saved you. And I could see from our training that you've been trying really hard to replicate it."
"I dunno why her original technique made its way into my head but I ain't complaining. I'll think of it as a parting gift from your mother to you."
Marowak gestured to his bones and pumped his fists.
"Yeah! I'll help you with the move every step of the way. My memory and your skills, we'll make your mother proud!"
The skull warrior gave a determined nod towards the raven-haired boy, and the two resumed their training.
"AURA, on!"
The phantasmal swords pierced even deeper into my body.
I wouldn't be surprised if they pop out from my body any time soon.
I don't have time to feel pain right now.
I pumped the power inside me to push out forcefully.
The swords didn't take too kindly to their victim trying to get rid of them.
The agonizing pain accumulated even more.
I could feel the heat in my body rising even further.
The pain was so excruciating.
It was like someone had replaced my skeletal system with steaming hot metallic rods fresh from the furnace. Said rods were now burning my nerves and muscles without a shred of remorse.
It was so painful. It was the most torturous experience I had so far.
But instead of surrendering, I forced the power even harder.
I don't care how much pain I gotta suffer!
Right now, I gotta win!
For my promises to Green and Blue! For my Pokémon's sakes!
"For her sake!"
With one last desperate push, the imaginary swords that I created in my mind finally cracked.
That small affirmation was far greater than the torture I was experiencing.
Familiar power flooded the foreign nerves to full capacity.
I had triumphed over the binding blades that held me back.
New information torrented into my brain like a flash flood.
It was nothing I had known before and yet, it felt right to me.
Just like the aria to activate this 'thing', a new one gave me its introduction.
My 'link' with Marowak returned and without wasting even a millisecond, strength welled back into my youngest Pokémon.
If 'AURA, on' was the aria of activation…
This would be an incantation of unleashing without restraints.
With a deep breath, I chanted:
"—Trigger, off."
The whole world widened their eyes at the miraculous display Ash and Marowak were showing.
The blood red eyes were now shining brightly with red lightning streaking from the irises.
What shocked them was the Trainer and Pokémon mimicking each other's movements.
It was if they were sharing one mind.
Marowak held onto his bone club's handle with his left arm like what Ash was currently doing.
'It's heavy,' the boy mused before clutching his left bicep with his right hand, as if to support the 'weight'.
To any normal person, Ash was merely copying Marowak's actions, and he was holding nothing in the air. But for the raven-haired boy, he felt something was manifesting onto whatever he was grasping.
But he never went further into it, instead, he chose to send Marowak's mother's memory into the Bone Keeper Pokémon, as if the latter had downloaded it.
= Transferring [Nine Strikes] to linked subject…
= Commencing handshake…
= Mutual handshake observed. Sending data: Marowak's_Mother(F) to Marowak(M).
The technique in that memory gave the Pokémon everything he needed.
The entire world watched in astonishment at what seemed like blue lines resembling circuits actualizing on Ash's left arm.
The missiles of ice were now right in front of Marowak. The Bone Keeper was still hanging onto a percent of his own health so one move could literally end the entire match.
Ash glared at the gigantic missiles, determined to destroy them without remorse. He looked like the spitting image of a berserker.
And with that, he roared out the technique Marowak inherited from his mother.
It was an unconventional move that was never recorded as one, just like many other unnamed moves.
"[Nine Strikes]!"
As soon as the move's true name was unleashed, Marowak burst into a blindingly fast dash resembling [ExtremeSpeed], leaving behind an afterimage for the Sync Move to hit.
Within a mere moment, Marowak stopped face to face with Lapras who still had not registered the young Pokémon before her.
Finally, Marowak slashed the icy axe-sword horizontally.
A single horizontal slash to the naked eye, but within that one slash were 8 powerful strikes from different angles. All performed with the speed close to that of light.
Lapras felt the full brunt of the overwhelming attacks and wailed out in pain.
But Marowak was not done yet.
"GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
The last strike came upon the Transport Pokemon with one final descent swing.
BOOOOOOOOOOM!
{ … }
{ … }
Not a single soul dared to speak.
The explosion was once more blocking everyone's view of the aftermath.
Lorelei watched the cloud of dust slowly unravel with a stunned expression plastered on her face.
She had accounted for a miraculous comeback from Ash which was why she used [Perish Song] in the first place.
From inside the smoke, a large swing dispersed the cloud in an instant. A victorious Marowak roared out in victory.
{ MAROWAK IS THE LAST ONE STANDING! }
{ I DON'T BELIEVE IT! THAT HAS TO BE THE COOLEST THING I'VE EVER SEEN! }
{ RED OF PALLET TOWN HAS WON AGAINST LORELEI OF THE ELITE FOUR! }
{ I REPEAT! RED OF PALLET TOWN HAS WON AGAINST LORELEI OF THE ELITE FOUR! }
{ A TRAINER HAS DEFEATED AN ELITE FOUR FOR THE FIRST TIME IN THE GRAND LEAGUE'S HISTORY! THIS CALLS FOR CELEBRATION! }
The timer finally reduced to 0 and with a satisfied grin, Marowak fainted in peace.
Ash hurried towards the Bone Keeper Pokémon, running towards the latter as if the boy who struggled to stand previously had been replaced.
"Good job, Marowak. Rest well, you deserve it," he praised before recalling the Pokémon into his Ball.
'You've made your mother proud…' he thought with a smile.
Lorelei walked towards the boy and his Pikachu to congratulate the former. The latter was screaming into his partner's ears, lecturing the boy for going beyond overboard.
"That was an amazing battle, Ash," she joyfully congratulated.
"You seemed really happy to have been defeated though," Ash gave a mirthful chuckle.
"You're the first normal Trainer to have ever beaten me since my time as an Elite Four as well as the first person to ever best an Elite Four in the Indigo Grand League."
"I'm anything but normal," he playfully snarked.
"Haha, that's true," the vermilion-haired woman laughed before composing herself.
"Once again, congratulations, Red of Pallet Town."
Ash could hardly believe his stinging ears. With those comforting words, an immense wave of relief washed all over the boy.
"Sorry about this, Miss Lorelei. But I'm at my limit…" the raven-haired boy apologized before collapsing onto the woman's shoulder.
Steam began emitting from the young boy's body which caused the Ice type specialist to worry. But Ash's peaceful expression said otherwise.
He was exhausted, the agony he endured just a few minutes ago had faded and his protesting body gave out after winning spectacularly.
With that, Lorelei carried the unconscious boy into a princess carry to the spectator's room with Pikachu carrying his red cap on her shoulder.
"Thanks for the fun battle, Miss Lorelei…" the boy muttered in his slumber as they made their way to the others.
His sudden words made the woman smile with a blush on her cheeks.
"That's my line…"
Chapter 43: Nine Strikes
And the curtains closed on the first match of the quarterfinals with Ash as the winner.
ΠΠΠΠΠΠΠΠΠΠΠΠΠΠΠΠΠΠΠΠΠΠΠΠΠΠΠΠΠ
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