Chapter 129 - Semi Final Freight!
Firstly, I do wanna mention my new book cover. It's made by Jurassic_Legend99 and he writes a book himself aswell. Feel free to check it out.
Secondly, this chapter will be a little breather before it ultimately introduces the semi final battle. Ash and Serena will return to their homes while spending some time to think about things. Find out more as the chapter goes on.
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Important info: The commentator will be written in Italics.
League scoreboard:
Bold: Trainer/Pokemon name
Italics: Fainted Pokemon
Underline: Resting Pokemon
(Pokeball): Unrevealed Pokemon
For example - Trainer A: Poke1, Poke2, Poke3, Poke4, Poke5 (Pokeball), Poke6 (active one)
Wordcount: 6289
_______________________________________
Narrator: Last time, Ash won the quarter final battle against Sawyer, thanks to a big 6-5 win by the help of his Sceptile. Now he moves on to the semi finals along with his rival Paul.
(---)
*BOOM*
A large iron snake fell to the ground after being hit by a powerful attack.
"And Mega Steelix is down!"
"Braiiii---!" The large bird, indenting itself as Braviary cried out with spread out wings as it stood infront of its trainer, R.
The large iron snake reverted back to its original form, being out for the count and unable to battle.
"Steelix is unable to battle, Braviary wins! This means that the winner of this battle is R who will advance to the semi finals!" The referee declared.
The scoreboard displayed the state of the match.
_______________________________________
Jason: Tyrantrum, Hydreigon, Beartic, Galvantula, Emboar, Steelix
R: Braviary, (pokeball), (pokeball), (pokeball), (pokeball), (pokeball)
_______________________________________
Jason looked at the scoreboard with a saddened face. It displayed R with 'WINNER' titled underneath. He had previously beaten Jake who proved to be a powerful battler but he was no match for this R guy.
"Even against six pokemon, this guy doesn't lose one... how strong must he be?" Ash asked no one in particular as he was impressed by the onslaught that had happened infront of him.
After his victory against Sawyer, he went back to the stands, to his girlfriend, buddy Pikachu and his loved one, Serena who immediately stood up, overjoyed as she saw him. She smiled from ear to ear as she did so. As soon as he had reached them, she took him in a big and loving hug and gave him multiple kisses on the cheek as she congratulated him with the win.
Pikachu was also ecstatic with the win. This was the first time in the Kalos League that he had to watch from the stands. Actually the first time ever during a pokemon league. It was weird for him but he took it as a champ and was very happy for his best friend that he managed to get the win.
Once the match was over, the commentator announced that the semi finals would be starting in two days and that the match ups would be visible at the pokemon center at 7pm.
(---)
Ash, Pikachu and Serena, along with their friends left the stadium. From there, everyone went their separate ways, leaving Ash, Pikachu and Serena on their own.
Ash looked at Serena with a smile as he took her hand, allowing her to slip hers in his. She smiled back as they started making their way to the pokemon center.
As they walked, a peaceful silence filled the area. Both felt no need to talk as they had everything they wanted in arms reach.
After a few moments, the trio made it to the pokemon center where Ash gave his pokeballs to Nurse Joy. She congratulated Ash with his win before taking the pokeballs and got to work almost immediately.
"All done?" Serena asked, sitting on a couch while seeing him approach.
"Yeah, Nurse Joy got to work immediately and said that they would be back in perfect shape soon!" Ash smiled at her. Serena stood up and put her hands in his, facing him.
It was about to become a romantic moment between the two until Ash's stomach grumbled, ruining the moment.
Serena sweatdropped while Ash embarrassingly scratched the back of his head. "How about we get something to eat first?" She suggested with a giggle in her voice.
"Sounds good." Ash chuckled in embarrasement.
(---)
They sat down at a table near the window, allowing them to look at the lighted up stadium. Ash had a plate with burgers and fries while Serena had a lighter meal.
As they sat, Ash was staring out of the window, looking at the stadium where he was gonna battle in for the next round. No matter who his opponent was, he was gonna win, no matter what.
"So tomorrow is a day off." Serena said all of a sudden, grabbing his attention.
"Huh? Oh yeah." He said giving his girlfriend across the table a brief smile. "They release the match ups in a few minutes so we can get to know my next opponent before we go home. Then, I have tomorrow to prepare for the battle.
Serena nodded. "Sounds good." She said. She looked at him. Her eyes almost sparkled as she did. She then slowly moved her hand and gently placed it on top of his. Ash looked for a moment at their hands before looking back in her eyes. "I'm sure that whoever it is, you're gonna win!" She said, sounding confident.
Ash smiled, matching her grin and nodded. "With you supporting me, there's no way I can lose!" He said, clenching his other fist determinedly.
They stared briefly at each other contently before they started eating. Suddenly, Serena got an idea. "Hey Ash?"
"Yeah?" He asked, looking up while clearing his mouth.
"Why don't we go home tomorrow?" She said, earning a questionable look from her boyfriend. "I'm sure our parents love it and that way you can see all your pokemon in a large open space, allowing you to prepare better for your battle." She said.
Ash's mood lightened up immediately as she said that. "That's a great idea, thanks Serena!"
Serena smiled happily before she continued eating again.
"Pika-pi!"
"Pikachu!" Ash smiled happily as his electric mouse came running towards him and jumped on his lap.
"Did everything go alright buddy?" Ash asked while smiling at his best friend.
"Chu-pika!" Pikachu replied, pointing to itself while smiling contently.
"Great!" Ash grinned. But then he formed a frown. "If you're here already, where are the others?" He asked.
"Chu-chu, Pika." Pikachu said, pointing towards Nurse Joy's counter.
"Oh, she's still working on them right?" He said. Pikachu nodded before turning to Ash's plate. "Pi?"
"You can have some buddy." Ash laughed to which Serena also giggled.
"Pikaaa!" Pikachu squealed, suddenly revealing a napkin out of nowhere and putting it around its neck before digging in.
"Where did you get that napkin from?" Ash asked no one in particular to which Serena laughed a little aswell. Pikachu however kept eating. Ash noticed this and saw the amount of burgers and fries on his plate depleting quickly. "Hey wait! Leave some for me too!"
Serena looked on bewildered as an eating contest started right infront of her eyes. She shrugged while thinking; typical... as she slowly continued eating her food.
(---)
After a few moments, they finished their dinner. Serena sighed contently, taking a moment to relax and sunk a bit in her seat.
Ash and Pikachu were laying flat on their backs, petting and stroking their swollen bellies, groaning and complaining that they had eaten too much.
*DING* *DING*
"Ash Ketchum. You're pokemon are all healed up and you can pick them up at the front desk."
"Huh?" Ash said, sitting up right, allowing himself to realise it as he heard Nurse Joy's voice from the intercom. "Oh, let's get them then!" He said, standing up with Pikachu doing the same as if nothing had happened at all.
Serena was flabbergasted for a moment, seeing them change like that but giggled, covering her mouth as she stood up. "Let's give them some rewards for battling so hard!" She said. "I think I've still got some Macarons at our place." She added.
Ash's face lighted up immediately. "Let's go then!" He shouted in excitement, grabbing her hand and pulling her to the front desk. Serena was surprised but quickly complied and followed.
A few moments later, the trio arrived at the frontdesk where Nurse Joy was already patiently waiting.
"They're all in perfect shape!" She said with a heartwarming smile. She held the tray with five pokeballs on it and placed it on the counter.
"Thanks Nurse Joy!" Ash smiled as as took them all out and attached them to his belt.
"Feel free to come back any time." Nurse Joy smiled at them to which Ash her happily thanked.
He turned to Serena before speaking up. "How about we get back and give the pokemon some Macarons?" He suggested while wanting a few himself aswell.
Serena looked at him weirdly, raising an eyebrow as she did. "Don't you want to know the match ups for the semi finals?" She asked, turning slightly to her left before pointing st the big screen right above the front desk. The time displayed said that it was currently 18.55 PM. "The match ups are revealed any minute now." She said.
He took her words in consideration for a moment. It was important to know who his next opponent is but that would mean that he had to wait longer for the Macarons. He was weighing both options off of each other. He was heavily debating with himself in his head, going over the options when suddenly...
*Gbrghhh*
"Huuuhh??" Serena said in surprise as Ash's stomach made the choice for him. "Are you kidding me? We just had dinner!?" She exclaimed.
Ash chuckled lightly. "As soon as you mentioned those Macarons, my stomach decided it wants to have some of them too..."
Serena sighed. "There's really no helping you... Let's go home then, we can come back later I guess." She breathed out. Ash's face lighted up at the possibility of having Macarons and started marching towards the door already. He reached the glass doors. He was about to walk through, without paying any attention to his surroundings and...
*BAM*
The doors went open with someone walking in. This caused Ash to fall backwards, crashing with his butt on the ground. "Aahh! That hurts..." He groaned, rubbing his face to the points where he felt most of the pain.
"Ash! Are you alright!?" A worried Serena came running over, along with Pikachu.
Ash looked up at her and nodded. "Y-yeah, I think so. That was one big hit..."
A hand reached out to him, causing Ash to look up. To his surprise, it was Paul who had stretched out his arm. "Are you gonna keep staring or are you gonna take it?" He asked in his same old, cold voice.
Ash took a moment to realise before shaking his head and taking the hand. Paul immediately pulled Ash up from the ground who dusted his clothes as he stood.
As he finished, he looked at Paul and questioned, "What are you doing here?"
"I'm here to see the match ups for the semi finals. What else is there to do here?" Paul retorted with a harsh voice.
Serena was about to step up, wanting to say that he didn't have to be rude like that but she kept it to herself, watching the two carefully.
Ash was about to reply but a loud dinging noise prevented him from doing so. The large screen above the front desk turned onto a different screen while a robotic voice started speaning up. He turned towards it and so did Serena and Pikachu.
"Greetings trainers and pokemon! It is now the time that you've been waiting for. Let's count down and reveal the match ups for the Semi Finals of this year's Kalos League!"
5...
4...
3...
2...
1...
Four upside-down cards were shown. They flipped around and before shuffling in circles around the screen before they, one by one, came to a halt in the middle of the screen.
The first picture that flipped around was the face of a blond, short haired guy who seemed to be around his mid twenties. On the background of his picture were some highlights on how his Typhlosion defeated Jake's impressive Tangrowth in the quarter finals.
The next picture that turned around was a hooded figure, wearing a mask. Almost nothing could be seen of his face except for the light coloured tint on his face. In the background was a highlight of his Braviary using Crush Claw and easily wiping out Jason's Mega Steelix.
It's R... Ash thought to himself.
The next picture that flipped around was Paul's. On the background was shown how Mega Aggron impressively took down the almost undefeatable Mega Charizard X, owned by Alain.
And lastly was Ash's with his Sceptile shown int the background who jumped from high and smashing its fists into the ground, summoning a spiking barrage of giant roots and effectively taking out Sawyer's Mega Sceptile.
"The match ups have been decided!"
The cards appeared on screen in order. The top row was the first battle while underneath was the second battle.
The cards flashed up and slotted in place.
Jeremy vs R
Ash vs Paul
Ash gasped at the sight and looked immediately to his side. Paul on the other hand looked down, shadowing his eyes and smirked. He then looked up and faced Ash. "I guess they finally put us up against each other." Ash started smirking, growing more and more excited by the second.
"Looks like it." Paul faintly smiled. Even he felt excited about the match up. This was the one battle he looked forward to. "Guess it's time to return the favour and sending you back home."
"We'll sse about that..." Ash smirked back as he reached out his hand. Paul took it and the two held a firm grip while not looking away.
Serena and Pikachu looked at the two rivals anxiously, not knowing what would happen next.
"May the best trainer win!" Paul said with a hit of excitement in his voice. He sounded competitive, something Ash noticed.
"You've got it Paul!" Ash smirked with fire burning in his eyes. Macarons was now the last thing on his mind as he mote fired up than ever and wanted to start preparing right away.
(---)
The following morning, Ash and Serena woke up simultaneously. They looked at each other and smiled briefly before sharing a nice and loving good morning kiss. After that, they went out of bed and started doing their morning routine.
A hour and a half later, both had finished their routine, had their breakfast, aswell as for their pokemon.
It was still early in the morning, just about 9 am before Ash and Serena stepped outside. Pikachu was sitting back on Ash's shoulder and the electric type loved the moment.
Ash turned to Serena as he took out a pokeball and enlarged it. "Wanna walk or fly?" He asked her.
Serena thought for a moment, placing her index finger on her lower lip. "Let's walk!" She said with a bright smile. "Pidgeot deserves to have the day off aswell." She added.
Ash smiled and put the pokeball away again before reaching out his hand to her. She gladly took it and interlocked their fingers before they started walking back towards Vaniville Town.
(---)
It was around 11 am and Grace was at Delia's place. The two mothers were out in the front garden. Grace had always admired Delia's garden and Delia had taken it up on her to give Grace a few pointers on how she could grow a garden of her own like that. While telling her, Delia also showed her how she did things and now Grace was helping her out attending to the garden. They viewed this as their project together and both started to enjoy it more and more as time went on.
As they were working, Ash, Pikachu and Serena walked around the corner and entered the street they lived in. As they closed in on their homes, they saw their parents standing in the garden, working on it while not noticing anything.
They hadn't announced that they would come by so this was quite the surprise for them. Both stopped in their tracks as they stood infront of the front gate and took some time to watch their parents working together.
"Is this another one of your crazy ideas mom?" Serena asked.
Both parents immediately looked up at hearing the surprising familiar voice.
"Ash!"
"Serena!"
Both mothers shouted the names of their kids as they stood up immediately.
"That's us yeah?" Serena replied before being taken in a bear hug by Grace. Ash had the same experience but got hugged by his own mom.
"It's so nice to see you guys home again!" Grace remarked as she took a step back but still holding her hands on her daughters shoulders.
"Yeah! What a surprising visit!" Delia added as the two mothers changed place. Delia gave Serena a big hug while Grace gave Ash a firm handshake.
"Not that I'm not happy to see you guys but what are you doing here?" Grace asked before facing Ash directly. "Shouldn't you prepare for your upcoming battle against Paul?"
"How do you know that I'm battling Paul?" Ash questioned with a confused look on his face.
"We just looked on the Kalos League website." Delia winked in reply. Both Ash and Serena's face fell at hearing that. They could've known it.
"I'm here to do just that." Ash recovered quickly. "Serena came up with the idea. I've got access to all my pokemon here in a large, open space so I can work everything out perfectly."
"I wanted to see how things were here at home." Serena admitted, smiling shyly.
"You're always welcome dear." Grace smiled warmly.
"Why don't you two come inside and have something to eat? You're in luck because I started boiling some water for some tea a few minutes ago. I've even got something for you Pikachu." Delia said, pointing up with her finger.
"Pikaaa!" Pikachu squealed, imagining already what was up for him.
Both Ash and Serena looked at each other for a moment and nodded. "We'd love to!" Serena smiled warmly. "Yeah, thanks mom!" Ash added.
All of them went inside and enjoyed some nice and hot tea, along with some cookies. Delia had given a small tub with ketchup to Pikachu. A picture with Pikachu's face was on it, indicating that it was for the electric rodent.
Pikachu squealed in delight as he took the bottle and immediately started to work on it.
After some time, enjoying lunch with their parents aswell, Ash and Pikachu went to the backyard. The first one they came across was Bulbasaur who was happy to see them and was quick to greet them.
The three of them shared a small moment before Ash ordered Bulbasaur to gather the rest of his pokemon.
Multiple leech seeds were fired up in the air, exploding in the respective colours that stood for the specific regions.
Within moments, everyone gathered. From Kanto all the way to Ash's Kalos pokemon appeared infront of him. He took out his pokeballs and released the pokemon that battled against Sawyer with them aswell.
"Ash! You're Alolan pokemon are here now aswell!" Serena shouted as she came running towards him, holding four pokeballs. She had called professor Kukui to sent the pokemon that lived with him in Alola now aswell so that Ash could work with every single one and prepare as good as he could for his upcoming battle.
Serena threw them up in the air and from them appeared Rowlet, Incineroar, Melmetal and finally Lycanroc. The four of them landed infront of the rest of the pokemon.
"Alright, I'll be inside if you need me." Serena said before leaning in and kissing his cheek. "Goodluck." She said with a smile before walking away.
Ash smilingly watched her leave before turning and facing his large number of pokemon. "Ok guys!" He spoke up, getting everyone's attention.
Ash waved his arms wide before he started his speech. "Our opponent for the semi finals is non other than Paul." He said. Immediately, Infernape's eyes went wide while some of the pokemon standing around him turned to face him.
"That's right." Ash nodded to Infernape before continuing. "Paul has beaten Alain and is exceptionally strong. I think I can even say that he's on top of his game right now."
"Ninj?" Greninja spoke up, not believing that Alain's Charizard was bested by an other pokemon than itself.
"Paul's Aggron defeated it." Ash said to Greninja who was surprised that a pokemon with a type disadvantage had taken out the beast.
"Now, what I want you to do is choose your partner and I want you guys to spar with each other. I'm still deciding the team so put in your best effort and we'll see how it ends shaping up." Ash said.
Everyone let out a cheer before they started forming teams. Sceptile and Greninja quickly found each other. Infernape however was surrounded by a determined aura as it walked up to Charizard.
Charizard saw the look in the fire monkey's eyes. He understood the situation and thus accepted the challenge.
More groups were formed and soon everyone had a partner and started working on their techniques.
(---)
A few hours later, the sky started to turn into an orange colour. Ash was sitting with Serena, Grace and Delia at the dining table. They were having dinner, right after Ash cleaned himself up.
He was covered in sweat and bruises too after the intense training session they had.
"Did everything go according to how you wanted?" Serena asked, putting her spoon in the bowl of soup infront of her.
Ash swallowed his food before answering; "Yeah, everyone did great! If we work like that tomorrow, I'm sure we can beat Paul."
Serena nodded in confirmation. "Have you decided on who you're gonna use? I assume a few stood out right?"
Ash made a thinking pose as he thought for a few moments. "Infernape was really determined today and others like Swellow, Greninja and Lycanroc did really well. But I haven't decided on who to pick." He answered.
It was true. Everyone was amazing which would make the choice even more difficult.
As he was deep in his thoughts, a hand suddenly was placed on top of his. He looked up to see Serena smiling warmly at him, aswell as Grace and his mom, Delia.
"No need to rush things dear. We all know that you'll make the right decision when it matters." Delia spoke warmly.
"And we believe in you." Grace added with Delia and Serena nodding. Ash looked appreciatively at them, almost shedding a tear. "Thanks everyone." He smiled brightly.
"Now, over to something else." Serena said, standing up from her seat, causing all the attention aimed at her. She walked over to the oven and pulled it open. She then grabbed a baking tray from inside with a lot of sweets on it. "Who wants some Macarons?" She asked, closing her eyes as she smiled widely.
"Me!" "Pikaa!" Both Ash and Pikachu shouted, causing a lot of laughter among the group.
(---)
Dinner had finished and everything was cleaned up. Ash took a few steps outside and sat down on the steps infront of the house, looking up at the sky. It was now night and the moon and stars were shining brightly.
Originally, Ash and Serena were to return back to Trainers Village but after some convincing words from their mothers, they decided to stay and go back early in the morning.
Ash leaned backwards, using his arms for support as he gazed at the stars. "Who should I pick?" He mumbled to himself.
No one was with him right now. Serena was spending some time with Delia and her own mom while Pikachu was out, playing with the other pokemon.
Ash thought about which pokemon Paul could potentially use. Now that he had revealed his secret weapon, Aggron was guaranteed part of his team. Aswell as for Electivire. But the other four, he had no clue.
Suddenly the door opened. "There you are." Serena said, stepping outside while breathing a sigh of relief.
Ash looked up to her with his mouth slightly open. "Hey." He said before looking back into the distance.
"Watcha doing?" Serena asked, sitting down beside him with her face directly facing his.
Ash leaned forward, resting his head in his hands while his elbows rested on his knees. "Nothing really..." He said. "Just thinking."
"About tomorrow?" She continued asking.
Ash sat up straight before facing her and nodded. "Paul's really strong..." He said while looking up at the darkened sky. "Don't get me wrong but this is the first real battle I'm scared of losing. Sawyer, Max and Bonnie are strong but Paul is different."
Serena looked at him and could see the troubled expression on his face. She felt sympathy for him and decided to reach out for his hand. She held it, showing comfort and that she was there for him whenever he needed her to.
Suddenly something came up in her mind and she stood up, leaving Ash slightly confused. She went down the steps and stopped infront of him, spreading her hands wide. "If there's anything troubling you, look at what you can do. Making mistakes isn't a bad thing, it keeps you going and nothing you'll ever do is a waste of time!" She sparkled.
Ash looked at her perplexed before he started laughing slightly. "I feel like I've given you a speech like that before." He said.
"That's right." Serena nodded proudly. "Right before I had to choose what to do next before we parted." She said before sitting back down next to him. She laid her head on his shoulder while she held his hand. "I hope that this time, we won't be parting ways again." She whispered.
"Me too." He replied while gently stroking his thumb over her hand.
Ash thought for a moment while holding his girlfriend close. I know who I've got to pick for the battle now. Thanks Serena!
Night fell and not much later, Serena returned with her mom back home. She wanted the opportunity to sleep in her own bed again, something Ash didn't want to deny her.
Ash was laying on his bed, staring at the ceiling while his trusty buddy Pikachu was curled up in a ball, asleep at the foot-end of his bed.
Ash was subconsciously smiling to himself, growing more and more excited for the upcoming battle against Paul.
(---) - Outskirts of Lumiouse City -
It was midnight and everything was silent in a decent sized forest at the edge of town. Not even the wind could be heard, blowing through the trees.
Up on a hill was an open clearing, overlooking the city. On this hill was a shadowy, hooded figure, surrounded by six other shadows.
There was a peaceful silence between them as they focused their minds and meditated together.
"Braaii!" One of the shadowy figures cried out. The hooded figure in the middle glanced towards the other and spoke in a calm yet determined voice. "That's right. Two more battles Braviary. Just two more..."
The person in the middle was R, with his team of six around him. His mind was at ease as he spend time with the ones most precious to him. He sounded friendly as he spoke to his team. R looked up to the black sky. "I'll see you again soon..."
(---)
"Goodmorning Ladies and Gentlemen! Today, its battle time!"
The crowd cheered as the commentator started the announcement of the upcoming battle.
"On our left, we've got a trainer known for his ruthlessness, aswell as for being strategically on top of his game. Hailing from the Sinnoh Region, we have Paul!"
The crowd roared as the camera focused on the purple haired trainer. His eyes were closed and his face was straight. Typical for a person like Paul.
"And to our right, we've got a trainer who's got his origins from Kanto, currently living in the Kalos Region. He became a champion in Alola and is now here again to try and win the Kalos League! Here is Ash Ketchum!"
The crowd cheered again at the sight of Ash. Ash however didn't pay attention to it as his eyes were solely focused on his opponent.
Beside Ash stood Lucario. Standing there meant that it could finally make its league debut and Lucario surely was excited for it.
The referee walked up to his platform while the the field moved up and slotted into place. The field was mostly plain but existed out of big, round sand dunes. A few cactus were planted throughout the field. Lower parts of the field consisted out of hard, solid ground with some rocky structures were scattered around.
"This will be the first of two semi final matches. A six on six battle will be ensued with both trainers allowed to substitute pokemon. There is no time limit and once one side lost three pokemon, there will be a field change. Once all of one side's pokemon are unable to battle, the other wins. Lastly, in this battle are two gimmicks, such as Mega Evolution or Z-moves allowed. Are both trainers ready?" The referee explained the rules before looking questioning at the two trainers.
Both Ash and Paul nodded to which the referee called out. "Then release your pokemon and let the battle begin!"
"Alright, let's start off strong!" Ash shouted with excitement as he took out his first pokeball and threw it. "Torterra, I choose you!"
The pokeball flashed open and the large continental titan appeared, landing with a thud right infront of Ash. "Terraaa!" It roared powerfully.
Paul was unimpressed as he took a pokeball himself. He smirked slightly as he tossed the pokeball forward aswell. "Torterra, stand by for battle!" He shouted.
The pokeball flashed open and the white energy formed into the large continental pokemon.
Ash was surprised but his Torterra even more. He viewed Paul's Torterra as a teacher, a mentor but having to battle it was something it didn't expect.
"What an interesting choice of pokemon! Both are starting off with their Torterra!"
"Be careful Torterra. Paul's is unbelievably powerful!" Ash warned his pokemon who took a solid stance. Torterra didn't know if it was a match for its teacher but this was the time to find that out.
"Torterra, let's start things off with Leaf Storm!" Ash gestured forward with his hands.
"Counter it with your own!" Paul swiftly commanded, not moving an inch.
Both pokemon roared before the tree on their backs started glowing bright green. Leafs surrounded it before glowing green and being fired in tornado like fashion towards the other.
*BOOM*
An explosion followed, filling the area with smoke.
"Both pokemon start off with two powerful moves! But it looks like they're even."
It wasn't long before the smoke faded again. For a brief second, orange energy was visible, surrounding Paul's Torterra.
"Quick, follow up with Energy Ball!" Ash commanded quickly and right after the command, Torterra formed a green glowing orb infront of its mouth. It let out a powerful roar as it fired off the attack.
"Hyper Beam!"
"Terraa!!" Paul's Torterra roared, opening its mouth and blasting a large, orange coloured beam towards the incoming Energy Ball.
*BOOM*
Another explosion followed but what surprised everyone was that the Hyper Beam cut right through the Energy Ball as if it weren't there at all.
"Torterra, watch out!"
*BOOM*
The Hyper Beam hit Torterra square in the face. The pokemon cried out in pain as the powerful attack inflicted a lot of damage.
"Look at that! That's a devastating strike from Paul and his Torterra!"
Ash gritted his teeth in frustration. Paul's Torterra is unbelievably strong...
Over at the stands, everyone was watching with much anticipation. Gary and Shauna were sitting together with Serena, Pikachu and Sawyer. Behind them were Clemont, Bonnie, May and Max.
Everyone had excited smiles on their faces as this battle just started. They knew all full and well that Paul was strong but it surprised them to see that his Torterra was that strong.
"Hey guys! Got two places left?" Spoke a manly voice all of a sudden.
Everyone looked up to the voice, only to see Brock and Dawn standing there.
"Brock! Dawn!" May was first to cry out in excitement at seeing their friends.
"Sure thing!" Serena smiled widely as moved a bit more in her seat. Dawn went past her and sat down next to her. Brock sat down next to Gary and looked down at the battlefield with seriousness in his eyes. "So... Paul's got the upperhand already." Brock commented to which Gary looked at him. Everyone in their group was surprised at Brock's harsh and sudden comment.
"Yeah." Gary agreed, who wasn't surprised and noticed himself aswell. "That Torterra of his is visibly stronger than Ash's and it has used Stockpile aswell, increasing its defense. Ash doesn't know that still I think as Paul took that moment when they were separated by the smoke of their first collision."
"Hmm, I see..." Brock said. "It's not weird though. That Torterra was Paul's first pokemon and with his training methods, you just know it's incredibly powerful."
Everyone listened to Brock as he said that. Suddenly Dawn chimed. "No need to worry, it's still early in the battle and knowing Ash, he can always find a way!" She said in a confident voice.
"That's right!" May suddenly added. "We're talking about our Ash." She laughed.
Serena smiled at her friends as they said those things about him. Dawn looked at Pikachu, noticing he wasn't beside Ash. "I see you're not on today's team huh?" She said to the electric rodent.
"Pika..." Pikachu said, slightly passed about it as he wanted to have another go at Paul's Electivire. Dawn giggled slightly before she rumbled in her bag. "Don't worry Pikachu, I'm sure he wants to save you for the best one yet. Besides, this might help clear up your mood." She smiled as she took out a small box. She opened it and revealed some poffins.
"Pikaaaa!!" Pikachu screamed with stars in his eyes while drooling at the same time, causing some laughter among the group of friends.
Dawn gave one to him and the little rodent wasted no time as it started munching on it.
Meanwhile on the battlefield, Ash saw his opportunity. "Quick! While Torterra is recovering, strike it with Frenzy Plant!" Ash commanded fastly.
"Toorrrr---" Torterra screeched before lifting its front feet up. A green aura outlined the pokemon before it slammed the ground, making it shake and ginormous roots shot out of it. "TERRAAA!"
The roots went rapidly towards the opposing Torterra, going faster every second.
"There it goes! This could be devastating for Paul Torterra!"
"Reflect!"
Suddenly as the roots were about to strike, a pink glowing, glass like box surrounded the pokemon, completely stopping the attack.
"What!?" Ash shouted. But he quickly shook his head, not wanting to back down now. "Constrict it!" He shouted. The green aura around Torterra became stronger for a second as Torterra's eyes glowed green.
This was Paul's moment to gasp. The giant roots started to cover the whole box while wrapping itself tighter and tighter, each passing moment around it. It was as if a snake constricted its prey, giving it no option to escape.
"What's this!? Frenzy Plant is constricting the reflect! I've never seen this before!"
Cracks started to form in the pink box's wall and Paul knew it. He had to come up with a counter and just did so. "Cover yourself with your own Frenzy Plant!"
Torterra slammed its feet onto the ground, allowing giant roots to shoot out. But what was different this time was that a circle of roots shot out is if it was a medieval wooden wall inside the box.
*CRACK*
The pink box broke, allowing the roots to break through. But what happened next was that the large roots from both sides attacked each other.
The swirling roots tried to take the life out of the wall like roots who itself wouldn't budge at all and thus allowing Paul's Torterra to be safe.
It took a few more moments before both Torterra started to tire out from using the powerful yet tiring move.
At the same time, both pokemon lost their green glow and the roots dissapeared back into the ground.
Both powerful yet bulky pokemon sweated as they stared each other down. With that, the screen froze...
Narrator: The semi final battle between Ash and Paul has begun. While Paul starts off tactically, Ash goes fully for the offense. Neither is willing to give the other an inch so who's gonna win this battle? Find out in the next one...