Remember when I had a consistent upload schedule? Yeah, me too, and I miss it ;-; Happy belated Thanksgiving, by the way!
I hope you guys will take this battle as compensation. Ash tests his strength and strategy in a training battle against Zenith. What could go wrong?
~
"The battle between Zenith and Ash is about to begin. This will be a double battle! Whichever pair goes down first loses! Battle... begin!" Clemont declared.
Zenith let her two Pokemon stand in front of her and bowed to Ash. "You may have the first move."
"Don't go easy on me!" Ash exclaimed. "Frogadier, Bubble on Espeon. Talonflame, use Flame Charge on Glaceon!"
"Espy, send it back with Psyshock, and Glacey, use Ice Beam to throw Talonflame off course!" Using psychic power, Espy sent the Bubbles flying back at Frogadier, while Glacey sent a ray of ice into the air that Talonflame, engulfed in fire, smashed through, sending ice crystals raining down from the sky. "Now, Aurora Veil!"
While the Glaceon used the makeshift hail to put up a protective barrier, Ash continued to instruct his Pokemon. "Don't let that stop you! Talonflame, keep using Flame Charge in the sky to increase your speed and Frogadier, dodge the bubbles and use your frubbles to blind Glaceon, then Bubble again!"
Zenith laughed aloud. "As if we'd let that work. Espy, blind them both with Dazzling Gleam, and Glacey, dodge!"
The bright light from the Espeon momentarily blinded both Ash's Pokemon, causing the frubble attack to completely miss its target. Frogadier still managed to use its Bubble attack, but Glacey dove under it and popped them with her tail before they could hit Espy.
"Now, combine Flame Charge and Brave Bird!" Ash called just as Talonflame began to dove. The flaming bird slammed into Espy's side before she could jump away, knocking her to the ground with her fur beginning to burn. He thought he had Zenith defeated already. (But he didn't. Seriously, Ash, don't underestimate the champion!)
"Glacey, use Heal Bell!" She called, the Glaceon summoning a huge bell that, once it chimed, put out the burn on Espy, wisps of smoke fading into the air. "Now, use Morning Sun to heal!" The Psychic-Type seemed to glow before she stood up, seeming completely unharmed. Ash's jaw dropped. "Now, combine your Signal Beams to hit Frogadier!"
Both Glacey and Espy attacked at once, their two individual moves coming together to knock the Water-Type over, doing a lot of damage. However, it still managed to stand.
"That's it, don't give up! Use Double Team, and Talonflame, Steel Wing on Glaceon!"
As dozens of copies of Frogadier appeared, Zenith had Espy and Glacey hold their ground as Talonflame neared. "NOW!" Both Eeveelutions jumped, Glacey landing on Talonflame's back while Espy landed back on the ground, unharmed. "Find the real Frogadier with your psychic power! Glacey, Ice Beam!"
The stunt had Talonflame squawking in surprise, wings flapping rapidly as it tried to get the other Pokemon off its back while staying airborne. Glaceon only further hindered it by using Ice Beam to freeze its wings, causing them both to plummet to the ground. At the last second, Espy used Psyshock to telekinetically lift the Glaceon away from the ground she was about to hit, placing her safely back on the ground. Then she shut her eyes, scanning the minds of the Frogadier copies until she found the real one.
"Destroy the copies with Dazzling Gleam!"
"Talonflame, use Flame Charge to melt your wings and use Razor Wind! Frogadier, use Aerial Ace!" Both the wind attacks made each other stronger, zooming toward the Eeveelutions.
"Ice Beam and Psyshock, now!"
The attacks all collided in midair, creating an explosion that sent all the Pokemon except Talonflame (who was now in the air again, flying just out of the explosion's range) flew back. All three got up.
"Glacey, Espy, can you still fight?" Both Zenith's Pokemon nodded. "Okay, well then... Let's do THIS! Allow our minds to connect as we feel the same passion and the same desire to win! As we battle, let's turn up the heat!" Both her Pokemon began to glow, Glacey surrounded by sparkling snowflakes while Espy was surrounded by energy orbs. When they emerged, both had transformed.
Glacey now had ice spikes on her front paws and on her back, a white diamond on her tail, and the crown on her head grew larger. The white turned to a light blue while the dark teal turned to a deep indigo. Espy's fur had turned reddish-pink, her tail was longer, and a skirt-like veil puffed up from one front paw, up and across her back, and to the other, secured to her with a tyrian pink energy orb. The singular red orb on her forehead had become a crown of seven, the middle one the largest and the others grew smaller the further out they were. The middle one was vibrant purple, but the rest were the same tyrian pink as the one on her paws. The inside fur of her ears was a bright navy blue, her eyes had turned magenta, and her cheek fur had grown out, curling as it floated around her.
"Okay, let's finish this! Psyshock and Ice Beam, put them together!"
A huge orb of energy appeared in front of Zen-Espeon, while Zen-Glaceon fired a huge beam of ice at it from her mouth. The ray of energy shot the orb, sending both of them toward Frogadier and Talonflame at lightning speed before it exploded.
"Now, Aurora Veil while the ice crystals are still spreading, and then Dazzling Gleam to blast them!"
By the time the attack was finished, the makeshift-battlefield was covered in mist and smoke, but when it finally cleared, it revealed both Ash's Pokemon with swirls in their eyes, knocked out. The boy in question was shell-shocked, even as Espy and Glacey's transformations dropped, leaving them in their normal forms again.
"Frogadier and Talonflame are unable to battle! Espeon and Glaceon are the winners, so this match goes to Zenith!" Clemont called.
"You really do have special bonds with all your Pokemon," he grumbled, returning them both to their Pokeballs.
"Yep. I told you you weren't ready to face me yet," Zenith told him, but smiled. "Still, you did better than most people I've fought. I'm sure that soon enough, we might actually stand across from each other in a fight like this for who gets the title of Kalos Champion."
Ash practically had stars in his eyes. "Really!? You think so!?"
"Maybe. It depends on whether or not you can actually beat the eighth gym leader and make it that far."
"Hey!"
~
Again, sorry for all the delays. School, covid, and family stuff has me busier than ever and I just can't find the time to write nearly as often as I'd like.
Goodbye for now,
Zenith