Slightly delayed but hopefully not too late! Here I present you Chapter 111, Kalos League, Here We Come... Again!
This is the first of the series of chapters that will be focused on the Kalos League Tournament in which Ash is participating. Throughout the Kalos League, I'm planning to get some break and amour chapters in so that it will not be to heavily focused on battling but also on nice lovey dovey stuff that we as amourshippers love so much.
Also what I want to add, I'm writing this story for around a year now and I want you to know that i still enjoy it as much as I did when I started. Thanks for sticking with me until now and let me know when you joined our story!
Now without further a do, don't forget to vote, comment and maybe even follow if you like the chapter. And certainly do not forget to enjoy the chapter!
Wordcount: 6387
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"Alright guys! Here we go!" Ash shouted on top of his lungs with full excitement. He clenched his fist infront of his chest as he looked at the large group of pokemon standing infront of him.
Narrator: It's been a few days since the prom. The school year has ended and Ash was now preparing himself for the Kalos League.
"Do you know anything about the format already Ash?" Gary asked, standing beside him with Shauna hooked onto his arm as they watched Ash and his pokemon getting ready.
"I've heard that things are a bit different since last time so I don't have a clue." Ash said proudly to which everyone sweatdropped and fell in anime style.
"I think I might know something!" Serena pointed out, standing closely next to her boyfriend as she was the first to recover. She pulled out her rotom phone and started reading the information.
"Appearently the league has never had so many participants so you're starting with preliminary rounds that are in a total of three battles. They say that the first two are one on one battles but the third one is special in some kind of way. If you win them all, you qualify for the main tournament. The preliminaries are meant to narrow the total amount of opponents down to 256." She explained as she continued.
"Also, this says that you first have to win the preliminaries that will be held on practice fields around the stadium before you go to the main tournament. There, you will have to battle on four different fields, in four different stadiums before you reach the final tournament." She finished before putting her rotom phone away again, back into her skirt pocket.
"Thanks Serena!" Ash said as he gave her a lovely smile which she immediately answered with a little giggle and a kiss on his cheek. "I'm confident that you're gonna mop the floor with anyone that comes in your way!"
Ash smiled as he pulled her close, having his arm around her shoulders while stroking her arm with his hand, up and down.
"So Ashy-boy! Three preliminary rounds. Which pokemons are you gonna use?" Gary questioned.
"Hmm... Good question..." Ash said, placing his indexfinger under his chin as he started thinking about it. Then, he looked up and grinned sheepishly. "I'll figure it out when the moment is there!"
Gary and Shauna shook their heads in disapproval as Serena laughed. "Typical you..."
Ash laughed once more before turning back to his pokemon. "Okay guys! Once more from the start!"
Everyone of his pokemon roared their signature cry in agreement.
"I'm gonna make some pokepuffs for them." Serena suggested, kissing his cheek. Before walking back inside. "I'll help you out Serena!" Shauna exclaimed before following her inside.
"Let me help you out here Ash." Gary suggested. "It's always good to have a training partner!" He added.
"Yeah! Thanks Gary!" Ash said happily, agreeing to his help. Gary grabbed a pokeball from his belt and took it out before throwing it up. "Umbreon! You're up!" He shouted.
The pokeball opened and a white flash appeared which materialised into the dark type. "Now Ash, I want you to use the pokemon that you're gonna use during the preliminaries!" Gary said.
"Right!" Ash replied with a smirk, ready to train as hard as ever. He needed to win the Kalos League and he knew it. There was nothing that was gonna stop him and get in between him and Serena.
(---) Monday, 6AM, 1 week after prom.
"Guys! Today is our first battle in the preliminary round! We've been working hard all week and with how amazing you've been working, there's no doubt in my mind that if we give it everything we've got, no one can stop us!" Ash chanted infront of his group of pokemon.
It was completely quiet around residence Ketchum. Serena was still peacefully sleeping as Ash started off his last practice session before the Kalos League. Gary and Delia were also sleeping but Ash knew that he needed this last session in order to be in tip top shape. He and his pokemon.
The day before, Serena had told him that the first round of preliminary battles would be at 1PM. Then, if he won, the second would be at 3PM and the last one would be at 5PM. They had agreed to leave early so that they could have breakfast in one of the restaurants at trainers village.
"Let's keep it light today. I don't want any of you to get injured before the league. That would be a disaster so lets start off with a few laps!" Ash said to his pokemon. Everyone agreed. The pokemon who were able to run, started running. The pokemon who could fly, flew and then the likes of Glalie started floating. They all worked hard as a large group, together.
A few hours later, Serena woke up. She rubbed her sleepy eyes as she sat up straight. She looked to her side and saw that Ash wasn't there anymore. Hearing a collision outside, she stood up from the bed and walked to the window that gave her a view over the backyard. There, as she looked through it, her suspicion proved to be right.
She sighed before she let out a soft giggle. He sure is determined to win. She thought as she was grabbing some clothes so that she could take a shower. She felt special that he put all this work and effort in for her. He had changed back to his old self after their little argument. After her shower and getting dressed, she walked downstairs. Noticing that Delia and Gary weren't there and probably still sleeping, she walked over to the oven. "They should be perfect now!" She said to no one in particular as she opened it. "I let them cool off all night." She added with a smile.
She took out the Macarons that she had made and put them into her picnic basket. She had made a lot of Macarons so that Ash and his pokemon all could join her little treat.
After finishing getting the Macarons, she took the basket with her and happily hopped her way into the backyard. "Hey Ash!" She shouted with a large smile plastered on her face.
Ash turned his head around and immediately smiled as he saw who was coming his way. "Hey Serena!" He said as he took her in her arms and kissed her forehead. "Did you have a nice sleep?"
"Yeah I did!" She said, placing her free hand on his chest. "Until I found out that you left the bed early..." She pouted in a teasing tone.
Ash laughed before he said: "Let me make up for that." As if she was reading his mind, she closed her eyes as he leaned in and kissed her gently on the lips while having her in his arms.
After breaking the kiss, they stared into eachothers eyes for a while with a soft smile on their faces. Then, Ash noticed the basket. "What's in there?" He asked curiously.
"Oh right! I almost forgot!" Serena said as she looked down to the basket she had in her hand. She pulled off the cover and revealed the inside. "You guys are working really hard so I figured yesterday that I'd make some Macarons for all of you."
Ash's eyes widened in surprise for a second before his mouth curved up in a childish smile. "You're the best!" He shouted as he pulled her into a tight hug and pulled her up in the air. Serena blushed as he surprised her with his sudden actions. But she quickly melt into it as she placed her palms onto his shoulders while he was still holding her up.
He put her back down before turning around and shouting to his pokemon. "Guys, it's time for a break. Serena made something for you!"
Every single of Ash's pokemon roared as they started to make their way back to their trainer and his mate.
Serena started giving each of the pokemon a Macaron, along with the help of Ash and Bulbasaur. Every pokemon had one, aswell as her own except for Ash and herself. But there were two left so both of them took theirs.
"Hmm! These are amazing!" Ash exclaimed as he took another bite. Serena giggle softly as she took little nibs of the Macaron herself. "It is quite good, I have to say." Serena said in a humble voice.
"Quite good? The best ever!" Ash shouted in pleasure, putting what was over of the macaron in his mouth before chewing it down and swallowing it. He petted his belly afterwards in satisfaction.
Serena stared at him as he did that while the words were sinking in. She nodded a little as a small smile came on her face.
"How about you get ready so that we can leave in a few minutes?" Serena suggested as she took her picnic basket and held it in her hands.
"Yeah, I'll be right back!" Ash said was he stood up, kissed her on the cheek before walking back indoors.
"Training is over guys, take a rest!" Serena exclaimed, facing Ash's pokemon. Everyone relaxed their bodies and started conversing and complimenting each other.
Serena breathed a small sigh as Delphox walked up to her, along with Sylveon. Serena looked at her pokemon and smiled. "Do you two want to come along to the Kalos League and cheer for Ash today?" She asked.
"Del!" "Veon!"
"Good! Let's fetch Ash and get going!" Serena said in a cheerful tone as she walked back inside.
(---)
"This is it guys..." Ash said as he, Serena, Pikachu and Lucario stood infront infront of the pokemon center on top of the large hill that towered over Lumiose City. The pokemon center was located in trainers village and Ash wanted to do some final check ups on his pokemon. Or atleast the one, up to three pokemon he was gonna use today. His match was in a hour so he had some time left before he had to go to the fields that were specially pointed out for the preliminaries.
As they were traveling towards trainers village, Serena had explained to him that there were five stadiums. Stadiums A, B, C, D and then there was the main stadium where the final tournament was held in. There were also a lot of practice fields located throughout trainers village bur most of them were close by the pokemon center.
Ash and Serena stepped inside, followed by Lucario. They looked towards the front desk where not one, not two but three nurse Joys were standing, ready to take on injured pokemon.
"How can I help you?" One of the nurses asked as Ash and Serena closed in on the counter.
"Nurse Joy, can you look at my pokemon before the match starts?" Ash asked, taking out four pokeballs while Pikachu and Lucario were eagerly waiting her her reply.
"Sure thing! Please place your pokeballs on here." Nurse joy said, holding a tray in her hand. Ash placed the four pokeballs on it. He grabbed the fifth and returned Lucario before placing it on the tray aswell. Pikachu hopped lastly on the tray, much to Nurse Joy's amusement before she walked into another room.
"Now the only thing we can do is wait..." Ash sighed as he sat down on a couch next to Serena.
"Are you feeling nervous?" Serena asked, raising her eyebrow as she developed a concern for the boy she loved so much.
"Maybe a little bit." Ash answered truthfully. "After all, there's just a lot more on the line than all the other leagues I've participated in." He added, staring deep into Serena's eyes.
Serena placed her palm on his knee and squeezed it gently. "I believe in you. You've trained so much for this, there's no one who can beat you!" She said. The words left her mouth and Ash could feel them sparking and burning in determination. "Besides, never give up until it's over right?" She added with a sweet smile.
Ash looked at her with a genuine smile. "You're right. I shouldn't be so worked up about it." He chuckled as he relaxed his body.
"Good." Serena grinned before she put her head on his shoulder. "That's the Ash I know." She added softly.
They waited for a small while until nurse Joy called for Ash.
"Pika-pi!" Pikachu shouted as he jumped from the tray into Ash's arms.
"Hey buddy! You look well, are you ready?" Ash asked the small electric rodent.
"Pika!" Pikachu shouted, flexing it's muscles.
"You're pokemon are in perfect shape! I wish you good luck for your battle Ash." Nurse Joy said with a sweet and gentle smile as she held the tray with pokeballs infront of Ash.
"Thanks nurse Joy!" Ash thanked as he took the pokeballs from the tray. He placed them back on his belt and smiled. "All set!" He exclaimed, pumping his fist. "Let's win this!"
"That's the Ash I know!" Serena giggled at his behaviour, covering her mouth as she giggled. It was a habit of hers to do when she giggled, something Ash thought was nothing short of cute.
Ash grabbed her hand and smiled at her. "Let's get searching for battlefield 3!" He smiled as he gently pulled her along, walking out of the pokemon center.
As they were walking, someone shouted their names all of a sudden. "Ash! Serena!"
"Huh?" Both Ash and Serena said, turning around to where the voice came from.
A young black haired trainer with glasses, a green shirt and shorts came running towards them, along with a lemon haired girl. Both were all to familiar for Ash and Serena as they saw Clemont and May running behind them.
"Slow down Max!" May shouted, running behind her little brother.
"P-Pleeasssee B-Bonnie!" Clemont shouted, gasping for air as he was lacking behind the group.
"Max! Clemont!" Ash shouted in happiness.
"May! Bonnie!" Serena added aswell, calling out the other two.
"Hey guys!" Bonnie said as she finally came to a halt infront of them with Max beside her.
"Are you ready Ash?" Max said with determination, in a way of calling him out.
"You bet!" Ash clenched his fist infront of his chest. His eyes were on fire as he exacly knew the reason why no one was gonna be able to stop him from winning.
"Good! Because when you reach the tournament, I'm gonna beat you!" Bonnie chimed in. Her eyes also burned with a fiery passion.
"Turn it down you three, it's getting way to hot here." May said, finally catching up with them as Clemont finally came to a stop, almost fainting as he did. "N-Never ever do t-that again!" He breathed.
"Hehe sorry...." Both youngsters chuckled back at their brother and sister.
"So on what field are you battling Ash?" Clemont asked as he finally caught his breath.
"Battlefield three! Against someone named Lary." Ash answered with a grin that showed he was ready to face anything.
"Cool! I'm battling on field four!" Max said excitedly, clenching both of his fists and pumped them down. "And I'm battling on field two!" Bonnie added.
"Let's get there then. Before you guys are too late and getting disqualified. " Serena suggested, pointing towards the large complex where the fields were.
"What!? Let's go!" The three shouted as they started sprinting towards the fields, leaving a large trail of dust behind them.
"Kids..." Serena sighed as she shook her head in a disapproving manner. Then she felt a hand on her shoulder and saw it was May. "Let's go to them and support them." She smiled friendly. Serena nodded to her as she, May and Clemont walked towards the fields.
Once they arrived, Ash, Bonnie and Max were already standing on their fields with their opponents across of them. The referees were standing on the sides of the battlefields, explaining the rules of the battle.
Ash stood on a field, inside a fenced perimeter that also had a scoreboard in it.
"This will be a one on one battles with no time limit. When either side's pokemon is unable to continue, the other wins! Furthermore, either mega evolutions or Z-moves aren't allowed during the preliminary rounds. Understood?" The referee said.
"What!? No Z-moves or Mega Evolution?" Ash exclaimed in shock. These preliminaries aren't a joke. Ash thought to himself as he gripped his belt.
"Now, one the count of three, release your pokemon!" The referee said. "One... two... three!" He shouted as both trainers threw their pokeballs.
"Go Flareon!"
"Go Glalie!"
"Flaarrr---!" Flareon exclaimed, landing infront of her trainer Lary.
"Glalie---!" Glalie screeched. Glalie was very determined to battle since it had been a while for him. Seeing Flareon, a fire type infront of him made his icicle inside grow only colder as it felt a freezing sensation, wanting to overcome it's weakness and taking down this pokemon.
"This doesn't look good for Ash..." Serena mumbled to no one in particular. May, who stood next to her but facing the opposite side of her heard it and looked at Ash and Glalie. "Ash got this, type advantages don't matter for him." May said, earning Serena's attention.
"I know, but still..." Serena said with some worries on her face. She held her hands on her chest and placed one hand over her wrist that had the blue ribbon on it.
Ash however was smiling. "Great! A perfect challenge for our first battle. Now Glalie, how about we take our first step towards winning the Kalos League!" Ash exclaimed clenching his fist infront of his chest as he made a sideways stand while facing his opponent with a determined smile.
"We'll have to see that!" Lary shouted, not too pleased by Ash being so arrogant. "Flareon, Fire Spin!"
"Flaaaa----!" Flareon shouted as she bellowed and fired a circling stream of fire towards Glalie who just floated in place.
"Glalie, use Ice Beam while spinning round clock wise!" Ash countered quickly, pointing straight forwards as he gave the command.
"Glaaaa----" Glalie chanted as it started to charge the energy to use Ice Beam. Then, it started rotating faster and faster, keeping its face still towards the incoming Fire Spin. "Lieeeee!!!" Glalie roared, releasing the multiple beams of powerful ice towards the Fire Spin.
The Ice started swirling around each other as it connected, making one large beam that was about to clash right into the Fire Spin.
*BOOM*
The moves collided, leaving a large explosion as the powers of Ice and fire collided.
That's one powerful Ice Beam if it can take on my Flareon's Fire Spin like that. Lary thought, gritting his teeth as he saw that his type advantage wasn't gonna help him much during this battle and that Glalie was at an higher level than he had expected.
Ash smirked. Seeing that Glalie was able to tie with a super effective move proved that their training wasn't for nothing. He knew that he now had to move fast while Lary was still disorientated. "Glalie, let's go for the offence now, use Headbutt!" Ash commanded fiercely.
"Go you guys!" Serena was cheering as she did a few punches infront of her while moving actively. She felt as she was battling on her own and therefore she gave it everything she got.
As Ash's battle with Lary raged on, another was about to finish.
"Sceptile! Leaf Blade, let's finish this!" Max shouted, adjusting his glasses as his Sceptile launched forward with its blade like leafs shining brightly.
"Phanpy noo!!!" The tall, muscular opponent shouted in his low sound voice. Phanpy looked at the incoming Sceptile with widened eyes.
"Scep---TILE!" Sceptile screeched as he held his arms and sharp blades in an X shape before it slashed into shocked Phanpy.
*BOOM*
A large smoke cloud rose up into the air while Max and his opponent Kiegan went silent, waiting for the smoke to dissapear. Sceptile had already retreated back infront of his trainer, ready to jump in again if needed.
The smoke faded, revealing the inevitable. "Phanpy is unable to battle, this round goes to Max from Petalburg City!" The referee exclaimed, raising the flag that pointed to Max up high.
"Alright!" Max jumped in the air, along with Sceptile happy as ever. Just as Max won his battle, Bonnie walked over to him. "Nice job Max!" She exclaimed.
"Thanks Bonnie!" He said but then he realised something. "Wait, are you done already?"
"Yup! My opponent used a Swanna against Dedenne. One electric attack and it was over." She explained while sweatdropping.
"Good job you two!" May smiled at them but then turned around, seeing that Ash and Glalie were in a difficult spot. Max and Bonnie noticed this aswell while Clemont was already watching. Max returned his Sceptile, thanked his opponent before joining in on watching Ash's battle aswell.
"Flareon, let's get this over with and use Fire Blast!" Lary shouted, pointing straight at Glalie.
"Not gonna happen! Glalie use Dark Pulse to counter!" Ash answered quickly with a counter attack.
"Glalie!" Glalie exclaimed as it released released a dark purplish stream of rings towards Flareon who shot itself a stream of fire that formed into a 大 shape.
*BOOM*
The moves exploded as they collided in the middle. A large smoke cloud came up and Ash was gonna use this to his advantage. "It's time we take this battle back in our hands! Glalie, use Ice Beam on the field!" Ash commanded.
"Glalie!" Glalie roared as it focused energy infront of his head, between its horns. It let out another screech as it fired off multiple crackled beams of ice, covering the whole battlefield with an icy layer.
As the smoke dispersed, Lary's eyes widened in shock, and so did Flareon's. He gritted his teeth at seeing that Ash quickly froze the field in the time that the smoke was up. "The ice won't stop us!" He exclaimed in frustration as he gave Flareon its next command. "Use Quick Attack!"
"Flaa---!" Flareon exclaimed as she started running. But as she did, she felt that her feet didn't have any grip on the ground and it slipped flat on its face.
"Flareon!" Lary shouted in worry.
"Gotcha now!" Ash smirked, clenching his fist infront of his face before making it a flat hand and moving it sideways as he called out his next attack. "Glalie, get in close with Headbutt!"
Flareon, unable to get any grip on the ground saw Glalie closing in faster and faster. Then, suddenly, she felt a smack to the face as Glalie crashed into her. Her trainer was worried as he saw the battle slip away from him. But what scared him the most was Ash's next command.
"Glalie, finish this with Sheer Cold now you're close!" Ash shouted, raising his hand triumphantly into the air.
Glalie's body became surrounded by a blue aura and the inside of its mouth shined white. The ground around Glalie began to freeze and closed in rapidly on the immobile Flareon.
Lary knew that Sheer Cold was dangerous and that any opponent standing in its way are frozen and instantly knocked out. "Please get out of there!" He shouted in a last attempt to save it.
But it was to no avail.
*Crack*
The ice made a cracking sound as it immediately froze Flareon to the bone. Then, the ice exploded and Flareon dropped motionless on the ground.
"Flareon is unable to battle! Glalie wins! Therefore the winner of this battle is trainer Ash Ketchum of Vaniville Town!" The referee declared, waving his green flag up high in Ash's direction.
"Alright!" Ash cheered, jumping in the air as he threw his fist up high.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu exclaimed mimicking his trainers actions. "Glalie-Gla---!" Glalie cheered. The happiness the ice type felt was displayed in it's eyes.
"Go Ash!" Serena cheered happily, punching the air while smiling brightly.
Ash walked over to Lary with Pikachu on his shoulder and Glalie floating beside him. Lary was on his knees, just returning his Flareon as he looked up and saw a hand extended towards him. He smiled and grabbed it. "Thanks! Great battle Ash!" He said with a small smile. No one could deny that he was sad as his journey was already over in the Kalos League but he was still happy that he could participate.
"You were great too Lary. That Flareon of yours is really strong!" Ash said to him.
"Thanks!" He lary said. Both trainers shook hands before leaving the battlefield. Just as Ash walked through the gate, Serena jumped onto him, hugging him tightly. Pikachu could narrowly dodge as he jumped on to Glalie's head.
"You were amazing Ash!" Serena squealed in happiness. Ash chuckled as he returned the hug. Once separating from the hug, but still having each other in each others arms, they smiled and Ash said: "But I'm just getting started. The next battle is in one and a half hour from now!"
"I know but battling with a type disadvantage is not easy." Serena commented.
"That was a really smart move Ash! Using the field to your advantage and then finish it off with a close range Sheer Cold!" Clemont chimed in.
"That's the Ash I learned battling from!" Max admired his idol.
"Thanks guys!" Ash chuckled, adjusting his cap with one hand before putting it around Serena again. He looked at Glalie as he continued. "But you should praise Glalie. If it didn't endure that Flamethrower, we wouldn't get to the next round. His endurance sure has become amazing!" Ash praised his loyal pokemon.
"Glalie!" Glalie screeched in happiness, hearing the praise from its trainer.
"You're so cute Glalie, I wanna hug you!" Bonnie said as she ran towards the large face pokemon and hugged it.
"Bonnie, calm down!" Clemont lectured while Ash, Serena, Max and May laughed about it.
After their battles, they went to the pokemon center and healed their pokemons. On the way, they talked about their battles. Max had usually grabbed a notebook from his bagpack and made some notes on the tactics Ash used. He loved Ash's battling style and knew that Ash was better than ever. He wanted to be that good and writing everything down he had ever done was the best way to learn Max thought.
"So Ash, which pokemon are you gonna use in your next battle?" Bonnie asked as the six of them say down at a booth.
"It's a secret!" Ash smiled proudly, pointing his finger up. "It's true. He won't even tell me." Serena added with a giggle.
"No fair..." Bonnie pouted.
"Hey, what's the fun in it when you know it all before hand?" Ash said with a smile.
"That's true. If you get a birthday gift and you already know what's inside of it. There is no fun of receiving the gift anymore." Clemont agreed with Ash's logic.
"Now you three need two more wins to get to the main tournament!" May spoke out in confidence. She believed that all three could do it. She had seen that Max's pokemon were top notch for the league and Max told her that Bonnie's pokemon were equally strong. So far, whenever they battled, Bonnie managed to beat him. But this time was different he assured her.
"Right! And we're gonna support you all the way!" Serena said as she took Ash's hand and faced him, both smiling at eachother.
"Now with that support, how can we lose? Right guys?" Ash said, looking back at the group.
"Right!" Max and Bonnie agreed.
The pokemon were nursed back to full health again and Ash, Bonnie and Max were standing on their own fields again, facing their opponents.
The referee stood in the middle, holding his two flags while behind him was the scoreboard that showed a picture of Ash and his opponent. Ash's opponents name was Antonio.
Antonio looked like he was around his thirties and had brown, shoulder length hair. He wore a green barrette on top of it. As for its shirt, it was white with black horizontal stripes on it. He wore a green scarf around his neck, matching his shirt. Antonio also had dark bluish pants that had brakes on it that stretched over his shoulders. He had classic black shoes and he talked with an Italian accent as he resembled one.
"My name is Ash and I'm here to win!" Ash announced his presence. He clenched his fist infront of his chest with a confident and determined smile.
"You sure have the big talk but now let's see if you can walk the walk!" Antonio smirked, gripping the pokeball he had in his hands.
"The battle between Antonio Terkees from Humilau City and Ash Ketchum of Vaniville Town will now get underway. Both trainers are allowed to use one pokemon and if either side's pokemon is unable to battle, the other wins. There is no time limit. Understood!" The referee announced.
Both Ash and Antonio nodded. "Alright then, release your pokemon on the count of three! One... two... three!" The referee shouted as both trainers threw their pokeballs forward.
"Torkoal, I choose you!"
"Let's get them Heatmor!"
"Heatmor!" Heatmor exclaimed as it landed infront of its trainer, releasing some fire from it's nostrils.
"Torkoal---!" Torkoal roared terminally as it blasted thick black smoke through its nostrils and the hole on its back.
"Two fire types..." Serena mumbled under her breath. Aah smirked. He liked the challenge that was put infront of him.
"Battle begin!" The referee announced.
"Flamethrower!" Both trainers exclaimed simultaneously.
Both pokemon breathed a stream of fire. The two moves collided in the middle, cancelling eachother out.
"Torkoal..." Torkoal smirked as it bellowed itself. That Flamethrower was only to test out the strength of Heatmor who smirked back at the fire turtle.
"Let's turn it up a notch Torkoal! Use Body Slam!" Ash commanded, pointing his finger straight forward.
"Don't let them Heatmor! Fire Lash into Brutal Swing!" Antonio countered quickly.
Torkoal ran as fast as it could towards Heatmor. It jumped up as it was close enough and made its body as big as possible, ready to crush the Anteater pokemon.
Just as Torkoal was about to land on top of Heatmor, Heatmor created a fiery whip in its hand and swiped it across, slapping it straight into Torkoal's belly who gritted his teeth in pain. But the pain wasn't over yet. Heatmor grabbed Torkoal by the head and started swinging it around before throwing it away.
"Torkoal!" Ash shouted in worry as Torkoal flew in a straight line past Ash, into the fence behind him.
Torkoal landed with a thud in the ground. It had a few damage marks on it's body but was still roaring to go.
"Good." Ash breathed a sigh of relief. That Heatmor is no joke. Ash thought to himself, gritting his teeth as Heatmor released another string of fire through its nostrils.
"You can do it Ash!" Serena cheered. She saw that Heatmor was a powerful opponent and not defeated easily. But she believed in Ash and Torkoal. They specifically had trained hard and needed to show what they were capable of.
"Heatmor, go in and use Slash!" Antonio called out. Heatmor's claw started glowing brightly as it ran at high speed at Torkoal.
"Iron Defense, quick!" Ash called out. Torkoal immediately withdrew in its shield that shined bright for an instance. Then, right after the shine dissapeared, Heatmor lashed out with its claw, scratching onto Torkoal's shell.
"That's it Heatmor, keep going!" Antonio encouraged its fire type as it kept on slashing.
Serena grew worried, seeing Torkoal getting scratched up like that. "Ash! You've got to do something!" She cried out desperately as the damage became more and more.
Ash heard Serena's call but what she didn't see was that he was smirking. Just a little bit more Torkoal. They're guard should be completely dropped about now. Ash thought.
And sure enough, Antonio felt confident that the battle was in the bag. Ash's suspicion was confirmed with Antonio's next call out. "Finish it off with one more Slash!"
"Now Torkoal, use Smog! Quick!" Ash shouted quickly, feeling completely in control of the battle. Antonio gasped as Torkoal suddenly shot out of its shell. "Get out of there!" He tried desperately.
"Torrr--KOAL!" Torkoal exclaimed as it released thick black smoke from its nostrils and shell. But this time was different than usual. There was a toxic layer in the cloud.
The smoke surrounded Heatmor who started coughing heavily immediately. A faint purple colour appeared on Heatmor's face as it cried in pain and agony.
"Now Torkoal, let's use our new move! Use Superpower!" Ash threw his hand sideways. He knew that Heatmor was still close to Torkoal which gave the fire turtle the chance to take it down.
"TORKOAL----!" Torkoal roared as it glowed brightly orange. Torkoal swung it's head in a swinging motion and slammed it straight into Heatmor's gut.
Heatmor's eyes widened and its pupils dilated as soon as Torkoal's head made impact. With one flash, Heatmor flew from the place where it stood to flying past Antonio in the iron fence behind him. The fence made a cracking noise but managed to hold on as Antonio gasped. Seeing his Heatmor being tossed around like that.
"Now, let's finish this Torkoal!" Ash shouted in excitement as he wanted to finish the battle. He knew that Heatmor wasn't down for the count yet. "Use Overheat!"
"Heatmor Fire Blast!" Antonio shouted quickly, much to Ash's surprise as he saw Heatmor sitting with its back against the fence. Its eyes shot open immediately as it fired a 大 shaped stream of fire from it's trunk towards Torkoal.
"Torrr----" Torkoal exclaimed as it charged up. Its body glowed bright as it retracted it's head backwards. He opened his mouth as the fire was seen boiling inside. "KOALLL!!!" Torkoal roared shot it's head forward, blasting a white orange stream of massive flames towards the incoming Fire Blast.
The moves crashed into eachother, battling hard for dominance. Both trainers gritted their teeth as they stared at the stalemate. Sweat ran down their heads.
"Gooo!!" Antonio shouted. Heatmor's Fire Blast increased slightly and grew bigger as it started pushing the Overheat back.
"Oh no you don't! Torkoal, give it all you've got!" Ash shouted on top of his lungs, making his famous horse stance while pumping his hands down and facing the air.
"TorKOAAAL----!" Torkoal roared even louder. The Overheat grew not twice but trice in size as it completely overpowered the Fire Blast, taking it over completely.
*BOOM*
A large cloud of dust and smoke rose up as debris flew everywhere. It was silent as Ash and Antonio were carefully watching the could of dust. They were sweating, waiting to see the outcome of their collision.
Who was sweating aswell was Serena. She watched from the side, gripping the iron fence tightly as she didn't dare to blink.
The smoke slowly dispersed and what was visible first were two standing shadows which soon revealed to be Torkoal and Heatmor. Both pokemon were pretty scratched up and breathing heavily.
Suddenly, Torkoal fell through his left knee which was heavily bruised up. Ash and Serena's eyes widened as time slowed down very fast.
Then suddenly, with a last ditched effort, Torkoal replanted its feet into the ground. "TORRR!!" Torkoal exclaimed determinedly. Ash could swear that he saw its eyes open up for the first time ever. Fire was burning inside of it.
Then, all eyes were focused on Heatmor who gave a brief nod. It let off a small smile as it's body gave in. In slow motion it fell forward. It hit the ground with a thud, followed by another one. Antonio gasped as his star battler couldn't anymore. Swirls formed in Heatmor's eyes as it was laying motionless on the ground.
"Heatmor is unable to battle, that means that the winner of this battle is trainer Ash Ketchum and his Torkoal!" The referee announces, raising his flag towards Ash's side.
"Alright!" Ash pumped his fist high into the air. "Pika!!" Pikachu cheered with his trainer, mimicking his actions. However, Torkoal was acting different compared to them. "Toorrr!" Torkoal cried as tears of joy streamed down its face while releasing thick black smoke from its nostrils and shell.
Ash walked over to Antonio and thanked him for the battle. Just when he was about to walk away from his opponent, he was tackled into a big hug. "You did it!" Serena shouted, overcome with happiness and joy.
Ash put her arm around her and smiled as both of them were on the ground now, thanks to Serena's rugby tackle. "One more before the tournament starts!" He said cheerfully.
Narrator: Now Ash has gotten past two of his three preliminary rounds, one more round is in his way to reach the tournament. The only thing that will come in his way to get there is this mysterious challenge for the third and final battle. What will it be? Find out as the journey continues!