Chapter Text
Ash did not have the time to be starstruck.
He was being saved by the strongest trainer in both Johto and Kanto, and the only thought he could spare was 'that was a pretty cool entrance.'
With two of his opponents down, Ash rushed forward, Jessie and James were panicking, the rest of their Pokemon switching to the more immediate threat, and he had a clear path to the capsule holding Pikachu.
Hoping that Pikachu's effort had done some damage, he crashed into it with Revenge, and was immediately blasted back by literal lightning in a bottle.
It wasn't the worst he'd been shocked by Pikachu, the long unending electric attack had weakened by the time Ash got to him. But it had done its job, doing just enough damage for Ash to finally break the thing open.
The lightning stopped as soon as Pikachu realized he was free. He didn't quite collapse but he did slump, taking deep, grateful breaths of fresh air. Team Rocket hadn't thought to install air holes of course.
Then he realized he hit Ash and rushed to his friend's side, but the Zorua was already picking himself up. "Ash! I'm sorry- I didn't mean to-
"I'm fine!" He brushed off Pikachu's unneeded apology. He was already in so much pain he could barely stand, what was a little more? "You're free! Let's-"
Now it was his turn to be interrupted as Omastar hit the ground right in front of them. They both tensed, exhausted and energy spent but still refusing to go down without a fight. But there was no need.
A second Dragonite kicked the fossil away and briefly glanced down at them. Before he could follow through with Omastar, his trainer called out.
"Dragonite, help Ash and Pikachu find their team!" He nodded, immediately shifting gears to grab the two smaller Pokemon before they could fully register.
"Where's the rest of your Pokemon?"
"In a metal thing on the back!" Ash didn't waste time with any more questions. Nor did Dragonite, his wings beat and Ash got a glimpse of the battle going on behind them. It was only a glimpse, but he did see Lance punch James in the face.
Good to know the champion was willing to throw down himself.
"Stupid- Freaking- Why- Won't- You-" They landed on the other side, and found someone had beat them to the thing holding their team. And was currently beating on it.
"What in the- DIGLETT?" Pikachu was utterly flabbergasted. Ash was still surprised but he'd realized the ground-type was helping when the legs started giving out.
"HEY!" Shoot, Meowth! The Scratch Cat Pokemon was hanging from one of the control module levers. "GET AWAY FROM DAT-"
A rock sent him flying, and they turned back to the source.
"Ask questions or help rat! Pick one!" Diglett snarled and that was all the invitation they needed.
Ash and Pikachu may have been exhausted, but Dragonite was still fresh and easily tore the already damaged prison open.
All of Ash's things poured out, along with a few other appliances and items the vacuum had sucked up. It took effort, but he managed to flash into his illusion and gather up his team's Pokeballs. Each of them had some sort of weird metal locking mechanism on them. He started struggling with them but Dragonite stopped him.
"If you want to make it to your match I suggest you work on it in the air, come on!" He gestured to his back and they took his meaning. Ash put the balls in his bag and shoved everything else that was his inside with them.
He looked to Diglett, struggling to find the words. The other Pokemon found them first.
"Get Sunny out of that stupid thing." He said bluntly, pausing for a split second. "And good luck."
The ground-type vanished, sinking into the dirt again, and as far as Ash was concerned everything he had ever done to them was forgiven.
The others may not agree but they could talk it over later.
Dragonite paused as they passed Lance. A third Dragonite had joined the brawl and Team Rocket was clearly on their last legs. The fact they lasted this long was insane.
The Grand Champion spared them a glance. "I'm sorry about all this Ash, good luck with the match! Dragonite go! Twenty minutes!"
He would never tell her, but Dragonite was faster than Morningstar, wind whipped by them and Ash dug into his bag.
"I'm sorry!" He managed first. "I'm gonna break the locks! Don't come out yet we're in the air! As soon as we're on the ground I'll let you know!"
They could normally hear in their Pokeballs, at least he could as long as he was paying attention. Hopefully the locks didn't interfere with that.
Pikachu may have been out of electricity but Iron Tail didn't need any. Using his tail as a sort of crowbar, they managed to break each ball free.
"However you feel right now, you don't have long for reunions." Dragonite warned. "I can't exactly make you fight, but I highly recommend it."
"Why?" It came out a little ruder than normal, even for Pikachu.
"Aside from the fact I doubt you want to be disqualified in the first match of the finals?" Dragonite reminded them. "Let's say we have a vested interest in making sure nothing goes wrong at this conference. One of the finalists not showing up for his match because he was kidnapped certainly counts as something going wrong."
That made sense, even if it was a little bit clinical. Ash was hardly in a position to complain about motivation right now.
Dragonite dropped them off at the back of the stadium, letting them use the back entrance to the locker room.
The instant they were inside the locker room Ash gathered up and tossed out everyone's Pokeballs and collapsed against Selene as she emerged. The Clefable instantly returned the hug as he struggled to stop himself from completely dissolving into sobs.
"You're okay! You're all okay!" She rubbed his back and he felt Sunny wrap his arms around his leg.
They were okay. Everyone was okay and they were safe.
Before they could properly get into it, footsteps pounded in the hallway.
Mina all but kicked down the door and gasped. "You're here! Where have you been and what-"
She realized the state Ash was in and instantly switched from bewilderment to concern. "Are you guys okay? What happened?"
"Most of us are unharmed at least. Physically anyway." Morningstar ruffled her feathers and flexed her wings a little. "Our pride may have taken a blow."
Pride was the last thing on Ash's mind right now but it was just such a Morningstar thing to say that he instantly switched to hugging her, only pausing to rub Sunny's head as he stayed hugging his leg to verify he was there and perfectly fine.
"We got kidnapped. All of us this time. For real too." Pikachu summed up, doing a remarkable Ditto impression for Mina as he sat and turned into a blob. "I'm out. I'm sorry, I got nothing left."
"You're fine." Eve of all Pokemon told him. "This isn't on either of you. But we do need to clarify the plan. I'm certainly not about to back out now!"
"Heck no!" Sunny agreed, even as he remained attached to Ash's leg.
"I hate to rush you guys but there's only fifteen minutes left!" Mina warned. "We've all been looking for you! I'll tell the others but is there anything I can do?! And have you seen Karen?"
Ash finally managed to pull himself together a little. The pain was a bit distracting still so he focused on the positives. Everyone was fine. They were still in this, they could properly talk it out later.
Then Mina's last question caught up with him. "Karen? What happened to Karen?"
"We don't know!" Vulpix answered. "She went to check on your cottage with her team and stopped answering her messages! We thought she might have ended up with you!"
Karen definitely hadn't been with them at the clearing, so where was she?
"JUST GET DOWN TO TREE LEVEL AT LEAST!" Karen screamed at Fearow as she tried to wring the bird's neck.
'I think I can survive a fall from here!' Riolu hung from one of his talons.
'DO NOT EVEN THINK ABOUT IT!'
He hoped she was okay but at least he knew she hadn't been kidnapped like they were.
"Mina, do you have any potions? Or berries?" Storm stopped checking over Pikachu. "His illusion is hiding it but I know Ash is hurt pretty bad and I'd bet he's exhausted to boot!"
"How-" He hadn't dropped his disguise since releasing them and even if they heard what he said after getting them out there was no way they knew what was going on before.
"Because I know you, Ash Ketchum!" She spun and pointed at him. "And there's no chance you would have given anything less than your all! If you didn't fight tooth and nail to save us then you're clearly an imposter."
He laughed, feeling silly for even wondering. He gave Sunny one last head rub and he released his leg so Ash could drop the disguise. As soon as he did, Sunny gasped and scooped him right up.
"We need potions right now!" The panicked look on his face was concerning.
Ash was in a lot of pain. He had been for a while. It hadn't mattered. It still didn't. But medicine did sound nice.
"No berries but we got potions!" Victreebell pulled them from Mina's bag.
His team patched him up as best they could, Mina wished him luck, then took off, looking for a Chesto Berry to help with his exhaustion. She said she'd meet him at the arena entrance five minutes before the start.
They had ten minutes left.
As low on time as they were, Ash couldn't help himself. Now that he was healed he went from Selene, to Morningstar, Storm, Eve, and lastly Sunny. He tried to be quick about it, just a second for each of them, apology and relief both.
Despite his attempts, he almost completely broke down as he hugged Sunny.
"I'm sorry!" He got out, hugging the Charmeleon so tight he almost broke his own illusion. "I'm so sorry! I'm a terrible Dad, I couldn't keep you safe, I couldn't-"
Sunny stopped hugging back and pushed Ash away enough they could see face to face. "You don't have to be sorry for anything! You've been the best Dad I ever could have asked for."
Something in his expression flickered when he said that, and he pulled Ash back in to finish the hug. "You've always asked us to do our best and you did yours. There is not a single thing you need to apologize for."
"Maybe for not calling the cops about that box immediately, but that's on all of us." Storm tried to add some levity. "Proper reunion and kicking ourselves after we win though, Ritchie is still out there waiting for us and even if Mina gets back in time with the berry for Ash, Pikachu is still out."
"Utterly." He could barely manage a spark right now. It had taken everything he could offer, with the Light Ball on top, to even put a crack in that stupid jar.
The Light Ball was probably the only reason he had been able to.
Ash took a few deep breaths, doing his best to force down the maelstrom of emotions. His eyes flashed with Nasty Plot, the move helping him think a little straighter, at least about the battle ahead. "Same plan we made last night. Just without Pikachu as a backup. Morningstar you're up first, if he sends in Happy you're the faster, and you know what to watch out for."
"Darn straight." No way she was ever letting that happen again.
"I'm not worried about you facing any of the others except maybe Sparky. Eve, you're up next, if he sends in Grave, that Dusclops doesn't stand a chance-" The brief recap was done as quickly and accurately as he could. Talking tactics with them, knowing they were here and safe, helped him calm down almost completely. He was still a little nervous, but no more than he'd been before any of the other matches.
They were no longer at any real risk. The only thing left was to fight for their goals. They would reach the top, they'd be champions, and would do everything in their power to make sure no one like Team Rocket was allowed to tear any families apart.
Not ever again.
"-and Sunny?" He looked to the powerful lizard. There were a lot of ways to describe his role coming in as their third, assuming all went well of course. But Ash managed to find the right three words. "Bring us home."
His nostrils flared as he snorted a few puffs of smoke, fangs gleaming as he grinned. "Always! I won't let you down!"
It wasn't just Mina who met them at the field entrance.
Misty didn't hug him nearly as tight as she wanted to, but it was still pretty tight. "I'm glad you're okay. You can tell me everything after. Good luck!"
"We could use it today." Ash managed a weak smile as Mina handed off the berry.
"I'll see you and Ritchie tonight, we gotta prepare for ours." Mina offered him a thumbs up that he matched.
"You got this. We expect to see you next round!"
The Chesto Berry didn't completely erase his aches and weariness, but it sure helped. He stepped onto the field and cheers rose. None of the audience realized how close they'd come to a forfeit.
There was a little disappointment when they realized there was no entrance this time. The worst part was they had actually planned one last night. It would have to wait until tomorrow.
Ritchie's face slackened with relief once Ash was close enough for him to get a good look. "You made it. Misty told us what happened."
It twisted with concern again as he looked them over. "What happened to you guys? Are you and Pikachu okay? And the rest of your team? And what happened to your hat?"
He'd almost forgotten about his hat. It was probably still lying in pieces back by the lake. Assuming it hadn't been vaporized by Lance's dragons. He wished he had remembered in the locker room, it may not have been the same but he could have remade it with his illusion.
"We're alright." Now they were at least. "And I'll explain it later, don't even think of going easy on us!"
"We wouldn't dream of it." Ritchie set his face in a determined grin.
Ash perked himself up. They made it. Everyone was safe, and they were in the finals. It had been a close call but everything was okay now.
The referee, who somehow had not had any questions after watching their interaction, finally announced the start and the boys shook hands.
As he marched to the platform Ash nearly stumbled. It wasn't enough to make him give up, and he wasn't any less determined to win here… But he did have one more thing to worry about besides winning.
He hadn't even thought of it in the moment, but with Ritchie right there, he had been musing on the fact both trainers were Pokemon…
Pikachu noticed something was up and looked at him. "What? What's wrong?"
Ash swallowed, wondering what consequences they'd be facing after the match. The platform began rising. "Lance knows." Pikachu's eyes went wide.
Whatever that meant for them, and Ash's future as a trainer, would have to wait. They had a battle to win.
"No. I don't know. Please stop asking." Misty wanted to strangle some of the people she was sitting with.
"Please! Stop badgering Misty, if she knew she'd tell us!" Delia leaped to her defense and became Misty's favorite person in the vicinity.
"Can you blame us?" Brock took the reasonable approach.
"No! But I can be annoyed! I don't know! We didn't have time! Mina said they told her they were kidnapped! They're fine now, at least they're in a good enough state to battle, but I have no idea what actually happened!"
"Did either of them say anything about-"
"Brock. I promise if they told me they knew what happened to Karen, you would be the first to know." Misty immediately guessed the only thing he would still be willing to ask.
He settled down, looking miserable as he worried about his girlfriend.
"Well she sure looks in peak condition." Bea observed as Ash sent out Morningstar. The martial artist sat with them, alongside Giselle, Leaf, and Leaf's mother.
It hadn't even occurred to her before that moment, but Brock was the only boy, at least among the humans. He wasn't the only one as a whole though. Staryu, her most trusted knight and friend, of course sat at her side.
All the Pokemon were mixed amongst the group, notable were Red in Delia's lap, Cranidos sticking his head between the seats of the people in front of them, Leaf with all her smaller Pokemon perched on either her or her Mom, and Fanghorn at their feet, sitting comfortably.
Some of the bigger ones were sadly absent, but everyone who could wanted to watch. At least unlike the preliminaries they'd be able to watch the whole thing tonight, but seeing it live was a bit different.
Morningstar was facing Cruise, Ritchie's Pupitar, and the boy didn't look very happy about it.
Brock was staying understandably quiet, so it was left to the rest of them to provide commentary. "It doesn't look like Ritchie was expecting Morningstar, who do you think he was hoping for?"
"Selene or Storm." Giselle sounded not quite bored, but was less enthusiastic than most of the audience. "That Pupitar hits hard and has a great defense."
"Speaking from experience?" Bea guessed, oh that explained it, she knew what Cruise could do and didn't think he could win against Morningstar.
"Unfortunately." She sat up, trying to look proper and schooling her expression. "Ritchie is a very competent trainer, and very good at taking advantage of things you don't expect."
"Things you don't expect at least." Bea grinned, but acknowledged the point. "I'm in no place to talk. I should have expected more from Ash, otherwise I might be down there. But I'm not gonna waste time wondering "what if."
"Ash is good at surprising you." Delia knew very well and Red made a familiar snickering sound.
"He surprised me when you guys showed up to help me in Celadon!" Leaf remembered, "I was trying to figure out how to get out of there and bam! Suddenly Ash! Then Misty! And-"
Despite how she seemed, she was socially aware enough not to bring up Karen (even if she missed the stink-eye from her mother), cutting herself off beforehand.
But someone else was annoyed by this exception. "What am I, bird food?"
"Karen!" Brock shot up and pushed past everyone else to embrace her. "Are you okay?"
"I think I have a new fear of heights but I'll live." She hugged him and back and the pair briefly kissed. Thankfully Misty had the battle below to distract her. Cruise's ground-typing wouldn't be much help unless he could ground Morningstar, but he was making excellent use of his rock-type half.
There were no Stone Edge mountains appearing this time, but there was a literal storm of rocks being hurled into the air en masse. Not that Morningstar seemed to care, her feathers glimmering with Steel Wing.
After verifying the public display of affection was over, Misty turned to the dark-type expert. Her hair and makeup were an absolute mess, a far cry from how she looked this morning, and her yellow blouse had several new holes in it. "What happened to you?"
"We fought a bird." She gestured at herself and Riolu balancing on her shoulder. "The bird lost, did you save my seat?"
She and Brock settled back in and now it was her turn to be peppered with questions. But she had two of her own. "You found Ash then? What did you do with Team Rocket?"
It suddenly became apparent Karen somehow knew more than them.
As she was badgered with questions, the match below kept raging.
Cruise had a very good grasp on Ancient Power.
This was not good news if you were flying, and had a weakness to rock-type moves.
The mystical fossilized rocks didn’t exactly stay floating in the sky but they didn’t fall nearly as quickly as they should. Hm, maybe that was still a form of floating.
Whatever it was called, it meant that once again, Morningstar was dealing with weather conditions that were far outside of the norm. That being, cloudy with a chance of magic fossil storms.
But unlike her first experience with flying through tight spaces all those months ago against Misty and Starmie, she was a lot more skilled at maneuvering. And at least she didn’t need to worry about drowning this time.
“Hurricane!” Ash’s call gave her a good suggestion. The rocks acted more like balloons than rocks, slowly drifting to the ground. Even if they were still as solid as a normal rock, she might be able to direct them with enough windforce.
She added some additional Gusts to the beat of her wings, hoping to get a better control of the direction instead of just sending them flying in whatever direction. She wasn't able to get all the stones but at least there was now a clear cone in front of her.
An upsetting memory surfaced as Cruise used Stone Edge in response, blocking most of the falling stones from reaching him. It was nowhere near as large, but it did give him more ammunition for rock-type moves.
Which he quickly made use of. And they fell back into the same pattern.
This was a bad match up. For both of them really.
As impressive a grasp on Ancient Power as he had, it clearly took a toll to keep it up as much as he did. He seemed like he might be more dangerous at close range. Unfortunately for him, Morningstar had no such desire to get near him.
The problem was, she didn't have any good moves to put the pressure on him either, her ranged attacks were flying-type ones for the most part. And Heat Wave wasn't much better use here.
Not that it stopped her, she'd made liberal use of her fire-type move to make her opponent sweat inside his rocky carapace.
Morningstar avoided another collection of boulders launched with a mix of Rock Blast and Ancient Power combined, letting them soar much faster than the last few attempts. Rocks were not made to fly, why was she dealing with flying rocks?
It would have been nice if she had managed to get Ominous Wind worked out, but ghost-type moves were tricky. Art had tried describing how to do it once mastering Shadow Ball, and then Ash had actually described it, but even with both the helpful and unhelpful advice she hadn't managed to make her attacks any spookier.
Still, she had Twister at least. It managed to toss Cruise around a little bit. But while she was fairly certain she'd managed to do more damage to him, she had still managed to take a few minor hits from all the rocks. Just by virtue of sheer numbers.
Despite the toll it was taking on him, Cruise had more left in the tank. And now that the pattern had properly reset while she and Ash figured out their next move, Ritchie and Cruise decided to make theirs.
"Fling and get ready!" Something slipped out of Cruise's shell and was launched at her with the next collection of objects from Ancient Power.
The tiny rock missed her, but passed close enough for Morningstar to get a better look. Even with her eyes it had been hard to mark what the blue-gray speck was from up here, but now she knew for sure.
An Everstone.
Well, they were expecting surprises from Ritchie and his team.
“Cruise bring her down and use Smack Down!”
Ritchie’s shout had her immediately start performing evasive maneuvers, Ash specified the same thing regardless but they were of one mind. Quick Attack and Steel Wing.
But the rocks obeyed Cruise’s command better than her wind. It may not have been the same psychic meteor shower Art managed against Machamp, but it was still a lot of rocks trying to knock her out of the sky.
She avoided the worst of it, until an unfortunately large one bashed her on the head. She lost focus on Steel Wing for just a moment and that was enough. A couple managed to clip her right wing and sent her into a spiral.
The Pidgeot attempted to right herself before coming too close to the ground, managing to pull up before she plowed into it, and flew right into a leaping Tyranitar, arms over his head to perform a haymaker.
That was a pretty impressive jump for a Pokemon his size.
Morningstar did hit the ground now. Hard, but not enough to make a crater this time (she’d had enough of those). Her inner ear was completely throwing her off and she realized instantly how Smack Down actually worked.
She’d never been on the receiving end before, and always wondered why the flying-types hit with it did not simply get back in the air.
Now she had an answer, they couldn’t. With the ringing in her skull and the dizziness she realized there was no way she could properly fly. At least she knew this was temporary, but that could be long enough for this to end if she wasn’t careful.
Without waiting for any warning she started rolling. Good thing too, Cruise came down with Stomp right where she landed.
“Finally!” The other Pokemon cheered as she pulled herself up, unsteady but able to stand if nothing else. “Do you have any idea how much I missed having legs?!”
She actually hadn’t thought about it. “Guessing you haven’t been able to use that one for a bit?”
“We tried, but it was more of a Body Slam while I was a Pupitar.” He shrugged and spun his arms a little, stretching the new muscles. “No one gets to call me a big stone Metapod anymore!”
“No, now you’re a big stone Butterfree.” She took the ammunition and fired.
His eyes narrowed. “I’m going to hit you now.”
"Agility! Air Slash if you can!" Ash called as her opponent began Bulldozing toward her, finally allowed to get physical now that she was trapped in range.
Despite her vertigo, she found herself able to function well enough on the ground, Air Slash while not effective was a move she knew well. She slipped to the side and sliced at Cruise with it as he passed.
That was probably Ash making sure she could still fight. Really he should know better to count her out but she was glad he cared.
"Smack Down can last about two minutes! Use Heat Wave on him and keep out of his way! Quick Attack if you can manage it!" Now that he was assured he gave her some proper instruction.
"Earthquake! Show her how it feels down here!" It didn't feel great honestly, and Morningstar found herself very unhappy as she was forced to confront a hole in her capabilities.
She'd been robbed of the sky. For now at least. Maybe she'd be able to put herself back in the air but between her bruised wing and the purposeful discombobulation of Smack Down, she only needed two minutes. Slightly less.
Morningstar turned up the Heat (Wave) and found herself a lot slower on the ground. She added some Gusts and Air Slashes to the mix of attacks she threw at the Tyranitar.
She struggled with Quick Attack, used to using her wings for it, but now forced to use her legs. It was tricky but it helped a little until he managed to outmaneuver her with Bull Doze, crashing into her with a mix of Body Slam and Rock Slide.
For the first time, Morningstar was being forced to confront how reliant she was on her ability to fly. But that was hardly just her alone among flying-types, not that the excuse did her much good now. She still had a battle to win, and was grounded for the time being.
Then Ash, the tricky little fox she'd come to adore, shouted something completely insane. "Quick Attack: Full Power!"
Now a part of her was almost offended at the concept of remodeling her most powerful attack into a far inferior version. But at the same time? The theory was there. She already used Quick Attack to gain more speed with Sky Attack: Full Power.
She was just doing the same thing here, without the Sky Attack.
Time to use Quick Attack properly without flying… fun. It was better than letting everyone down though.
Cruise came back around and instead of trying to avoid him, she met him.
It was a bit rougher than she would have liked, functional or no, the world was still spinning from Smack Down. But she managed to put the full collection of moves together.
She launched off the ground, managing to gain enough air to glide at speed, that at least she could manage like this. Her wings flashed with the steel-type move and her glowing beak acted as targeting.
The two collided in a crash of limbs and pain. She knew she managed to hit him with all her attacks there, it was nowhere near the power she would have liked though.
But it was enough. Even as she was sent sprawling, struggling to pull herself back up, Cruise collapsed, not even the boost from his evolution had been enough to wholly restore all his lost stamina. And while it had been chip damage she'd done quite a lot of it.
…wait, didn't Tyranitar lose their ground-typing too? That meant Steel Wing had been super effective this time instead of just nominally.
Small victories. Or big ones technically! One opponent down! Two to go.
Morningstar could handle this. Her showing in the conference thus far left some things to be desired, in her opinion at least. She was easily one of their heaviest hitters since evolving but hadn't felt like she'd been able to properly prove it to the audience.
A part of her had hoped the effects of Smack Down would vanish with Cruise knocked out, but had no such luck. “Ash?” She called, she’d lost track of time.
“Thirty seconds at longest!” Thirty seconds, that wasn’t so bad. Almost as soon as the thought went through her head another flash of vertigo hit her. She might throw up.
Desperately Morningstar hoped Ritchie would take some extra time picking his next Pokemon. But there was no such luck today, his next star marked Pokeball was already in the air the moment Ash finished his sentence.
As if to add insult to her injury an Aerodactyl entered the sky and instantly began screaming at the top of his lungs.
“WOOOOO OPEN AIR! HECK YEAH! HEY RITCHIE THIS PLACE IS AWESOME! WHY WASN’T I HERE SOONER?!”
Never before had she hated another flying-type as much as this moment. None of her teammates ever got to call her loud again after this. Compared to her opponent’s screams her own lack of volume control was nothing.
“She’s on the ground Shout! Keep her there!” Ritchie grinned and pumped his fist.
“GOING DOWN!”
Rock Blast, Flamethrower, and a surprise Dragon Pulse forced her to keep running. He had some ranged moves then? Troublesome. Also she really needed to put more effort into exercising her actual legs. Sure she was nigh untouchable in the air, but she was supposed to be the fastest thing alive, that meant land and sky both.
Morningstar did her best to spin a Twister into existence from the ground with Ash's call. The problem with dragon-type moves is they ran on emotions like dark-type moves, fairy-type ones, and even fire-type ones (at least if you lacked the biology to spew fire from your mouth).
Specifically, dragon-type moves were drawn from the emotions of pride, satisfaction with your accomplishments, joy at a job well done, and the thrill of achievement.
She managed it of course, but The Pidgeot's pride had taken a bit of a beating, the fact she won the fight was enough for her to send Shout spinning.
And Morningstar didn't stop, not until Shout was also falling out of the sky.
"Keep your distance!" Ash warned before she could rush forward. A part of her still wanted to but she followed the more level headed direction.
Almost on cue, as Shout pulled himself together and used Dragon Claw all around him in case she had tried to get close, her headache vanished and she screeched in victory.
Her right wing still ached, but she wasn't entirely out of this yet. Shout joined her and finally she had a proper fight on her wings.
"YOU'RE FAST!" Shout declared as they raced around the air, trading blows as they went. He hit a lot harder than Butterfree had, but as long as Ritchie hadn't somehow managed to teach him Hypnosis she didn't have to fear the dreaded "Sleep Clause" again.
"Not bad yourself!" She had to admit, even if she was a bit slower with her hurt wing, he was doing an impressive job at keeping up.
Maybe she'd been wrong before about rocks flying.
No longer was this a frustrating battle of attrition, it turned into a thrilling case of claws and clashing wings. Shout still had a type-advantage over her, but she was hitting a lot harder now that she was able to think straight again. And she still had Steel Wing of course.
Unfortunately she allowed herself to get too caught up in things and missed something obvious, Ash only noticing a moment too late.
Shout had paused his attacks, and was focused only on flying and dodging. More concerningly, he'd managed to go quiet. Which could mean two things, either he was thinking, or he was charging something.
Considering Shout seemed to do most of his thinking out loud the answer was obvious.
"DODGE IT! FULL SPEED!" Before she could register what Ash was warning about, Shout's mouth opened and Hyper Beam poured out.
As the blast overwhelmed her, she was glad she at least got a proper fight in the air with a real knockout.
Even if she should have won.
Ash returned Morningstar. "You did amazing! Nice job outlasting Cruise!"
The battle had all but squashed his remaining worry about Lance and his identity. At least for now. Also they had a plan just in case things did go wrong after this.
It involved Misty breaking into a Pokemon Center again. She'd be excited about that right?
He narrowed his eyes at the screaming Aerodactyl above.
They still had a battle to win. He got a helpful reminder in the form of Shout continuing to be himself. "COME ON! I CAME RIGHT OUT! I WANNA FIGHT STILL! THE LAST GIRL WAS COOL, IS THE NEXT GIRL COOL TOO?"
Huh, he was already planning on sending in another girl next so he would get what he wanted. Ash's hand hovered between Storm and Eve's Pokeballs.
Storm was the ideal choice, theoretically at least. Except her ranged accuracy was an ongoing problem they had yet to solve and Shout had already proven capable of striking from afar. Even with her defenses it could turn into a battle of attrition she might not win.
Eve though… their opponents probably weren't expecting her here, and she had plenty of ranged tricks that hadn't been needed against Dewgong. She could bring Shout down, he knew it. And it would dissuade Ritchie from sending in Grave after Eve strutted her stuff.
She had been the plan for second anyway, no need to second guess.
Choice made, he wound up the throw. "Bring him down, Eve!"
“HEY TINY DOG-FOX THING!” Eve suddenly wished her hearing wasn’t so good. “WHAT FLAVOR ARE YOU?”
Was a desire to eat things that shouldn’t be eaten inherent in all fossils? She had thought they curbed it with Cranidos pretty quick but then he started chewing on random rocks and judging their flavors like a food critic…
“Doom!” She raised her own voice as Shout flew close to the ground, Crunch ready to come down on her.
She waited… and used Dig right before he reached her.
Or rather… she used their original version of Dig.
When they had first been trying to learn the move, neither she nor Ash had known how to turn off from the initial hole, leaving them unable to tunnel. They had found a few uses for it in battle but once they mastered the full version they had all but left the inferior one behind.
Except as they put together tactics and strategies over the last few weeks, they had realized that they could turn their opponents' expectations against them.
She kicked up a quick Sand-Attack to cover the fact she was still right below the surface. Also coating herself with it just in case. Eve took a deep breath.
There was an argument that Night Daze was only a little stronger than Dark Pulse. By some metrics at least.
It was actually a much more intensive move. While Dark Pulse was a single focused ray, Night Daze was a wave that consumed everything in its path. A Pokemon hit by Night Daze would take a lot more overall damage than one that took Dark Pulse to a specific part of their body.
Ash had warned her that of all his moves, Night Daze was the one that was the hardest to use. It took his worst, most miserable experiences, and more, to draw up the emotions needed to use it properly. He had long since mastered it, but had actually been a little reluctant to teach it to Eve, even at her request.
It took him years before he could use it without breaking down in tears.
Because before some of their more recent exploits, he just hadn’t been able to draw up the emotions from just his bad memories. Sure they were good enough to use other moves like Dark Pulse and Bite, but Night Daze needed something a bit more primal. Until recently he had never hated someone enough to be able to use it like that, meaning he had to get creative.
So he had invented scenarios. Miserable situations that would never happen, such as Ash hurting his Mom and her abandoning him. Seriously injuring Pikachu, or doing worse than just injure. Everyone he loved leaving him behind and forgetting about him in some cold, dark, hole. Being found out as a Pokemon and all the human kids he knew in Pallet Town calling him names and abandoning him.
The fact the last one had come to pass recently, at least for one of those kids, was darkly ironic.
The trouble was, Ash was able to latch onto vague what if scenarios, never actually picturing the exact circumstances, just the feelings that they would inflict, but that was harder for her. Eve had struggled with trying to think of a scenario that she hadn’t already dismissed as impossible.
Being kicked off the team due to conflict with Pikachu? Not in a million years. They’d long realized no matter how much they got on each other's nerves they’d still fight to the end to protect each other. They may be poking for reactions with the “little sister” vs. “little brother” thing, but they were family regardless.
Abandoned due to being one of their weakest fighters? Hardly. Even when the guilt of her own weakness had been getting to her on Cinnabar she had known she was still helpful, they’d only gotten to the gym itself thanks to her work with the riddles. And regardless of strength she was still one of their more skilled members.
Of course, the biggest flaw with that one was the fact Ash would never leave anyone behind because they weren’t cutting it as a battler. He’d been open from the start about that. She didn’t have to fight if she didn’t want to.
The “best” thing she could come to was something happening to one of the others, but she’d never been able to picture specific circumstances they couldn’t fight their way through. Except perhaps disease but with modern medicine the chances were fairly slim.
For a while they’d been a little stuck.
And then came Umbreontwo.
Eve despised the fact that she resented her clone. She really did. She wanted to have the relationship with her that Ash did with Red. She shouldn’t feel this way. There should be nothing about her clone that should bother her, Umbreontwo was just Eve without her memories and experiences.
Which was the problem really.
She looked at Umbreontwo, and saw the Pokemon she could have been. Without Bill, without the curiosity or lust for knowledge he had instilled in her. With eyes that shined with friendliness but none of the wonder at the very nature of the world around her. She saw a Pokemon who was perfectly content never asking questions or learning more about the things around her, happy to experience things as they were presented.
Eve saw the Pokemon she could have been and hated it.
What was worse was how well she managed to get along with the others. Even Pikachu.
Logically, she knew nothing would ever come of it. They would never trade her for her “sister” or even dream of it really. The closest thing that could happen was Umbreontwo coming along with them as well, and she seemed to have little interest in that. But she had fought against her own logical nature this time and not let herself process her feelings on the matter fully.
Her team had noticed too, and they of course worried. That worry could wait until they didn’t have a deadline. Which was specifically why she had told Ash and the others they could talk about her “issues” after the league.
They could always find another way to use Night Daze later, but she needed it now. And nothing created negativity like the idea of being replaced by a “better” version of yourself while everyone you loved left you behind.
Eve wanted to love her sister. And hopefully she would soon. But for now? They had a battle to win.
Ritchie searched the battlefield, looking for the barest hint of movement. Ash hadn’t said anything since Eve went under with Dig, and Shout had blinked the sand from his eyes by now.
He was trying to help find her too. In his own Shout way.
“PLEASE! I’M SORRY I ASKED WHAT FLAVOR YOU ARE! I FORGOT HAPPY TOLD ME IT WAS RUDE! COME ON I WANNA FIGHT YOU! DO YOU NOT WANT TO FIGHT ME ANYMORE?”
Ash was slightly wincing, Pikachu a bit more. And the referee. And everyone in the front few rows of the audience. They might need to make a public apology after this.
There were two reasons they’d kept Shout in reserve until now. One had been to unleash a surprise Aerodactyl against flying-types like Morningstar. That sadly, hadn’t gone entirely to plan, he hadn’t expected Ash to open with her again. Even if he was able to finish the job, they had lost Cruise first.
At least his mountain buddy had his legs back. He’d been very brave about holding off so long, he’d come up with the plan himself and prevented his own evolution when it started just to make it happen. And Morningstar would have been a lot more trouble if he hadn’t saved the evolution for the right moment.
The other reason was that he was loud.
Deafeningly so.
Frankly, Ritchie had worried the whole team would lose their hearing when he first joined. But it was fine, they were used to it by now.
And if they needed to speak just a little louder to hear each other no one commented on it.
The referee spoke up, pointing a flag at Ash and warning Eve needed to show herself or he would begin the same countdown he used for Pokemon buried by their opponent’s attacks.
Ash had nodded, and said nothing.
Shout still wanted a fight though, even as the referee began the countdown. He flew closer to the field, he’d spent long enough in a cave himself to recognize any telltale signs of subterranean movement. Ritchie kept his own eyes peeled ready to shout (heh) his own warning when Eve inevitably revealed herself.
He passed over the initial dig hole, and something shot out and exploded in a sphere of shadows and darkness.
“AH! THE DARKNESS COOLS!” Even over the roar of the attack and the rush of wind Shout was easily heard.
This whole time… she hadn’t moved? She’d just been waiting for Shout to get closer?
Huh, not the trick he expected. But he still should have known better. He hadn’t even thought to curb Shout’s eagerness. He’d thought Eve was setting up underground tunnels to make use of. Ash and his team were pretty tricky, Ritchie had looked for a trick and missed the trick.
But he and his friends had their own surprises left.
The Umbreon landed lightly and shook the last of the sand and dirt off. No doubt that Sand Attack had doubled as camouflage.
She called something to Shout that Ritchie no longer had the ability to hear. One of the downsides to bringing him in, but whatever it was must have been a form of Taunt.
He growled as he watched Shout fly right into the trap. "Dragon Pulse!" At the very least he could give him some direction.
Eve met it with a (Dark) Pulse of her own, then used Quick Attack to get out of the way and vanished underground again.
Not this time! "Flamethrower! Smoke her-"
She popped out behind Shout as he landed and used Night Daze again. It pressed him into the ground and she landed on his back.
Ash seemed to be mouthing something to him. What was that? Mister Decton? He wasn't good at reading human lips.
He would have to ask who Mr. Decton was later, for now Shout needed help. "Shake her off! Quick! Take Down!"
Shout went up, used Quick Attack to do a spin, and then started to dive. Eve crouched, apparently bracing for impact. Then a swirl of stars appeared around them.
Ritchie could only watch in bafflement as she used Swift to force him to pull up just enough for her to jump off without smashing into the ground. The Umbreon still took a rough tumble but nowhere near the damage Take Down would have done.
"YOU'RE MEAN FOX-DOG THING!" Shout had a crash landing himself and pulled himself back together and was immediately hit with a dozen more Swift stars.
“Ritchie… I think Shout might lose this.” Sparky whispered as he watched the battle.
He glanced at the team’s resident tactician. “You sure?” The boy’s lips didn’t move but his voice was clear.
“Mostly, Eve seems to know how to bait an opponent. She did it for Dewgong, and she’s doing it to Shout now. I think Happy might be able to stay focused but otherwise…”
They had been debating who to send in last, eventually deciding to wait until the battle to make the final call. But he could guess the point Sparky was leading to. “Want the glory for yourself then?”
“I mean.” His starter’s smile turned amused. Sparky had no interest in “glory” outside of helping the whole team reach new heights. “If I have to.”
“Let’s give Shout his chance first.” Maybe he could make this- oh that looked painful.
One Aerodactyl on the rocks. Hold the ice.
…it would be nice to have an ice-type move actually. Eve was fairly certain she missed her chance there though.
But Ritchie retrieved the downed fossil Pokemon. Taunt was a fairly useful move when some of her best tactics involved getting someone to lose their critical thinking skills.
Of course that one might have already replaced his with incredibly loud screaming.
Her ears were still ringing. A part of her wondered if Shout had been actually using the move Screech the whole time.
Speaking of… might be a good idea for her to get it off on whoever came in next.
There was no ball this time though. Just a yellow shape jumping from shoulder, to podium, to field.
"You look tired." Sparky observed as they stared each other down. "I could help with that, I'm a professional actually!"
"I appreciate the offer but I doubt I'll be going to sleep anytime soon." She'd actually gotten double the amount she had been getting last night. Almost a full five and a half hours!
Sparky charged forward and Eve leapt back as Thunder Punch slammed where she'd been standing. "You sure? I'm great at knocking people out."
"I think you should go first actually." Her eyes flashed and the dancing lights of Confuse Ray rushed at Sparky.
"Pass!" His Thunderbolt was almost as fast as Pikachu's.
Almost. And Eve had plenty of practice avoiding those. Swift stars danced around her, dispersing the follow up attack amongst them and allowing only a slight shock to hit Eve herself. Then they spun at Sparky like a barrage of shuriken.
Iron Tail clanged against them, getting most but not all. "Not bad, but you'll need to try harder!"
He shot forward and she had to backpedal, although it didn't go as she hoped. His attacks weren't quite as fast, and moving like this it was hard to tell if he was acutally faster than the Pikachu she knew, but he was definitely faster than her.
"Zing!" His eyes flashed and Eve fought a blush. Freaking Charm?! Really?
She tried to pull herself out of the mental effect and took a blow from the next Iron Tail, which is when she discovered something both interesting and concerning.
Sparky was stronger than Pikachu. Physically at least. She blasted with Night Daze and sent him tumbling away. He caught himself and a Thunderbolt lanced at her, or rather where she was going.
Clever, and despite the pain it confirmed the other half of her theory.
Pikachu (her "little brother" and greatest annoyance) had a lot more juice behind his electric attacks. His Thunderbolt hurt much more than the one Sparky just used.
It suddenly occurred to her it probably would hurt a lot more now that he had the Light Ball. Thundershock definitely would too. Maybe she should ease up on the teasing until she mastered some more defensive moves.
She was forced to use Quick Attack to avoid a Brick Break, but saw the glint of metal, wrong angle for a strike which meant…
Eve ducked under the follow up Thunder Punch and hit him with a combo Growl and Payback.
Sparky went sprawling but was back up pretty quick. "Nice one! That normally gets most Pokemon."
"It wasn't obvious but I've seen a Pikachu fight a lot, I have some ideas about which ways you can bend." She tilted her head, wondering if she'd get an answer. "Physical training right? I didn't think a Pikachu could punch as hard as you."
He flexed a little. "I like my electricity as much as any mouse, but sometimes you just really wanna put someone in the dirt."
Her ears twitched as Ash called a suggestion, and reminded her of Sunny's plan without spelling it out. "Understandable. Let me get a headstart."
She tunneled as fast as she could, hoping Ash's shout meant they'd take the bait, and behind her a small crash and the sound of an electric Spark. They'd learned their lesson from her first Dig trick.
Hopefully it was the right one.
She suddenly stopped tunneling and whirled. Sparky froze. "Were you-"
"I have good hearing too, and I was going to use this either way."
With nowhere to run, the small cave made sure Sparky got a full blast of Hyper Screech.
Hyper Voice only worked if the opponent was in front of you. Screech could be shaken off if the victim was too far away. Her plan had been to either get him into position by letting Ritchie direct him to wherever she came back up, or better yet, get him to follow her. That had been the more hoped for outcome actually. For multiple reasons.
Since he had chosen that latter, preferred, outcome, Sparky was a little stuck.
Unfortunately for her, so was she.
Some sort of Quick Attack and Spark combo slammed her into the back of her own tunnel and then a Brick Break sent her back to the surface. She tried rolling out of the way but Iron Tail came down the next instant.
It missed and she saw her chance, she finished rolling into a crouch and leapt, preparing another Night Daze.
Sparky grinned as she collided right into his oncoming Thunder Punch, she'd been the one baited this time. He'd propped himself up with Iron Tail while he wound up for the punch.
Clever mouse, Eve mused as it went dark. She hoped they could talk after this.
"He's good." Pikachu admitted as Ash returned Eve and thanked her. "He actually kind of fights like her, but he hits harder than she does."
That was probably why Ritchie had sent him out. But Ash was confident in their last choice too.
He pulled out his next Pokeball and looked at it. "You got this."
It vibrated in his hand and seemed to grow warm.
Ash grinned and sent out his favorite pyromaniac. "Sunny!"
Sunny had made a mistake.
It hadn't been today, but he'd continued it up to today.
And he hadn't realized how big a mistake it was until Ash broke down crying and apologizing.
He had a moment to gather himself as Sparky attempted to shake off some of the lingering effects of Eve's Hyper Screech.
"Oh! You're new." Sparky blinked at him, and recalled what his own team's reserve member was like. "...you're not gonna start screaming are you?"
"I prefer roaring actually." Sunny took a few deep breaths and felt the fire begin to climb up his throat.
"Eh, roaring screaming, both signs that someone needs a nap. As I was telling Eve I'm actually great at helping people take those! You can ask her when she wakes up! Want to take one too?"
The only answer he gave was a drawn out Flamethrower.
"I take that as a no!" Sparky fled the flames as he swept it across the terrain in front of him.
Sunny began to run out of fuel but D- Ash called the next move.
"Smokescreen and Dig!"
Eve had put the fear of Dig into Ritchie's team, that had actually been part of the plan.
Because they were already cautious of it, they would be looking for any tricks they might pull.
If all went well, that would be the trick.
Sunny used Ember briefly, right in the center of the tunnel he planned to make.
He came up and yelped. Sparky followed up his Brick Break with a Quick Attack boosted Facade. Sunny hit the ground and dived below again.
He made sure to pass through the first tunnel before coming up again. Coughing another Ember right on top of the first.
"What is it with you guys and Dig?" Sparky hadn't quite been waiting for this time. "You all seem to know it, I mean I guess you get a lot of use out of it but it does get predictable."
Sunny was about to reply but stopped himself. Not from an attack, although that quickly changed when Sparky fired a few Thunderbolts his way and rushed him with Quick Attack and Spark for a quicker, less explosive version of Volt Tackle.
What stopped him was a familiar glint. The same look Eve got when she was fishing for information.
Ash called for him to use Metal Claw and Fire Spin, he caught his opponent and tossed him into the vortex. With him distracted, the Charmeleon immediately dug down and added another pair of exits to his tunnel network.
As well as another Ember
Between the strength of Sparky's attacks, and the probing question he just got that was immediately followed up by a brutal attack?
He realized he was basically fighting a combined version of Eve and Pikachu.
Eve, he could beat now. About half the time anyway. He had long since learned how to react quick enough to deal with her ruthless precision assaults, but she was still able to trip him up depending on the day.
Pikachu though…
Sunny had never beaten Pikachu.
But he wasn't fighting Pikachu, even if Sparky's strikes hit as hard as Pikachu's various Thunder-themed moves, Sunny had to beat him. The team was counting on him to win this match, they were in the finals, but they weren't the winners yet. They had four more teams to beat and Sunny was in charge of beating this one.
The team trusted him. Ash trusted him.
Sunny had made a mistake.
He wasn't going to make another one now.
Sparky was more skilled and had a lot of strength. Physical strength. Sunny had some pretty hard hitting moves himself but he also had plenty of long range ones.
They had a plan, the fact Sparky hadn't tried following him down yet meant Eve had managed to play her part. All Sunny had to do was stay in the fight long enough to play his.
Thunderbolt struck him as soon as he came up, not quite as strong as Pikachu's, but still painful. Sunny rushed forward, jumping over a Brick Break, used Flamethrower to propel himself and dug down again as soon as he landed.
He used Ember again in the same spot, that central point was boiling now. Far above most ovens could reach but not quite as hot as Cinnabar.
Not yet anyway.
Flamethrower poured out of his mouth as he emerged this time, doing a spin in an attempt to surround the exit with flames.
"Yikes! You burn pretty hot too huh?" Sparky got caught on the edge, managing to avoid the worst of the damage though.
Sunny used Smokescreen as he came down again. Sparky didn't immediately turn away, still on edge.
They weren't exactly becoming predictable for their opponents, but with all the tactics they had displayed they had definitely made them cautious.
As Storm had helpfully pointed out yesterday, caution was something else they could exploit too.
Sparky had decided better safe than sorry, and was about to jump up and use Discharge to blow away the smoke, that would give him a clear few of the hole Sunny could be hiding in as well as keep him just far enough back not to be caught off guard like Shout had been with Eve.
As soon as he tensed, cheeks sparking with building power, the Charmeleon charged out of the cloud and sent him flying across the field with Skull Bash.
"Dig! Keep it up!" Ash called and Sunny quickly took advantage of his opponent being stunned.
Back through the middle, Ember, oh this must have been Eve's tunnel, and back up near where Sparky landed.
Flamethrower first, then Metal Claw, but his steel-type move rang as it clashed with Iron Tail. Sparky's eyes were narrowed. "You move pretty quick down there… but what are you really doing?"
Not good, he was getting suspicious. Something on his face might have given it away because Sparky rubbed his paws on his cheeks, smashed them together and then used a super charged Double-Hit that had Sunny reeling.
"Think I'll follow you next time." Sparky suggested and Sunny did a quick count. Twelve holes, (counting where he crossed Eve's smaller tunnel), one more once he dug back down, and plenty of places around the battlefield where the ground had been weakened by the rest of the match.
Cruise had actually been quite helpful there.
That would have to be enough.
He hoped his panicked look was convincing enough. He had been knocked a little away from that last hole so quickly went under and dug like he had never dug before.
Sunny didn't have the best hearing, but even if he couldn't hear Sparky chasing him down, he could still feel the electric charge in the air. He began building a Flamethrower in the back of his throat again. It faded as they approached the center and came upon Sunny's little project.
"What- IS THAT MAGMA?!" Sparky shouted as he saw the little pool Sunny had made by piling his already extremely hot Embers right on top of each other. The Flamethrower was almost overflowing now, a few flames escaped past his lips.
"Not for long!" Sunny got out the corner of his mouth. Then he jumped, breaking the surface right above the center. Ash saw him shoot up and made the call.
"Flame Geysers!"
Sunny unleashed the longest Flamethrower he could manage, the (now technically) lava pool exploded and a torrent of fire filled all the tunnels that had been made under the battlefield. The ground cracked and erupted in a few places where it had been weak enough.
A semi-circle of flaming columns wrapped the opposite side of the field from Sunny, one remained behind him but the force of his Flamethrower kept it from spewing right in front of him. His eyes darted between that lonely one and the others, wondering where Sparky was.
He didn't come from any of the main geysers, instead he broke through his own hole, a smaller one likely left by Cruise, scorched, in pain, but still moving.
In fact, despite all the damage, he didn't seem to be holding on by a thread, just injured and slightly on fire. Sparky coughed and hacked, even if he was still in it that had been a lot of fire and smoke. Having seen what he could do, Sunny hadn't expected Flame Geysers to be enough. But he had been hoping.
The main fire began to fade but the smoke still burned and Sparky was in between the searing, arid smoke, and Sunny.
Just where they wanted him. Ash called for him to get ready and Sunny did his best.
He had been hoping because he wasn't sure if he could do this next part right now.
Sunny planted his feet, tail lashing, and got in a ready stance. Fire began building in the back of his throat in preparation.
They had practiced it, they had trained it, and it was working perfectly the day before they left. All Sunny had to do was fill himself to bursting with the same pride he always did. Proud of being part of this team and having them all with him and…
…and proud he mattered enough that they were looking after him.
Ash's tear filled face filled his mind and his apologies echoed in his ears.
Sunny had made a mistake.
But that mistake was both the least important thing in the world, and the most important, even while Sparky began to recover.
"What *cough* is it with your line and *cough cough* FIRE?!" He spluttered. "I thought Zippo was… oh I can nev- *cough* NEVER let you two meet!"
He had tried forcing Ash to grow up so he wouldn't have to. And Ash of course had allowed him to, even though he wasn't ready and he knew it. Because he had been in Sunny's same position. Because he still was in Sunny's same position.
Which was the problem really.
Ash had been the best Dad Sunny ever could have hoped for. It was why he had started calling him that in the first place.
But Ash deserved to be a kid too. He deserved to have others worry about his safety and look after him. He shouldn't be the only one responsible for everyone else. Sunny was part of the team and needed to be responsible too.
Which meant it was time for Sunny to grow up.
He wasn't going anywhere, and nobody else was either. Ash would still love him, Pikachu would still help him out with awesome moves, Selene could still tell him stories and talk to him on colder nights. Eve and Storm would still try to convince him that he can't just use more fire and maybe they might have a point. And Morningstar could actually take him flying instead of just watching over him.
He had teammates looking up to him now too! Cranidos still wanted to learn how to breathe fire, and Red was still planning to get just as strong as he was.
And Art…
He'd never stood behind Art, never needed to. He saw Art for the first time, dropping onto Ash and challenging him to a fight and saw the (second) coolest Pokemon ever. Ready to go from the very beginning and rearing to join them.
When Art properly talked to him for the first time after introductions and seeing him practice, the Ralts had called him the (second) coolest Pokemon ever and immediately declared him a real live dragon, regardless of typing! Then began suggesting the awesome adventures they could have.
And they were awesome! And they'd already done some of them! They had found ancient ruins! They had fought giants! They were currently battling in huge tournaments! And they'd done epic battle inside a volcano against a volcano!
There was more to do though. Art was ready, but Sunny was still a few steps behind.
Sparky eyed him warily, not sure why he was getting a moment to breathe. It hadn't been long, Sunny's mind was going a mile a minute, but it was still a few seconds more than he expected.
Precious seconds. But Sunny needed to use this move to bring him down. His opponent flashed and started Charging.
Better find his pride a little quicker.
His best friend called Ash "Dash" because of Sunny, but had never needed someone to look after him. Most of the time anyway; he was fine on his own.
But he didn't have to be on his own. Sunny was already with him. It was time he stopped hiding behind Ash and the others. He wasn't the failure Damian left on a rock. He was Sunny. He was the blaze of the sun itself, he'd melted rock into lava!
Art and Sunny would dare the world to take them down. It could try, and it would lose. They would lead the charge for the whole team as equally unstoppable forces!
Ash deserved nothing less. From any of them. He had earned all their loyalties long before he nearly killed himself trying to protect them today. He would do anything for them, but Sunny would never ask that of him again.
Sparky had finished Charging and was fully recovered, if still a little crispy. He got back on all fours and started running. A familiar golden glow coated his body as he began picking up speed for Volt Tackle, charging straight at the Charmeleon.
And Sunny…
Sunny was ready to grow up.
If Art was a knight errant, the only true equal he could have was a dragon.
So he had better play the part.
Sunny's tail flame took on a purple tint around the edges, which was all the signal Ash needed.
"DRAGONFIRE!"
His mouth opened and a roaring torrent of flame poured out and coated the field. No need to spend extra time building up the fire in his throat, not with the dragon-type fuel aiding it. A river of red, orange, and purple, scouring the terrain with fire and heat. It curled up and waves, licking every rock, stone, and grain of dirt.
It was still predominantly red and orange, at its core it was Flamethrower, but with a dragon-type twist to it. Art had of course been part of the inspiration, having been quite insistent that Sunny was a dragon regardless of typing.
That added type let the flames not only burn hotter, doing more damage and giving them an edge against types that were resistant, but also let him continue on for longer, and left the fire burning regardless of what it landed on.
Burn Condition was all but guaranteed if it hit another Pokemon.
Sparky, unaware of this, was still doing his very best to avoid the unending maelstrom of pain heading his way.
The Volt Tackle had been a bluff, he'd been planning to veer to the side, use Iron Tail to help turn, and bring whatever remnants of the attack left down on Sunny's flank.
It had been obvious the Charmeleon was preparing something big, and he had no intention of experiencing something like the Ballistic Machamp special Ash's first battle had ended with.
…honestly that might have been less painful than his current situation. That one had been quick at least. It was a good thing he'd already been turning away from the ocean of fire.
But between the oncoming Dragonfire, and the pillars of smoke left from Flame Geysers, he didn't have a lot of room to maneuver.
He was forced to jump over a wave of fire, the flames licking his chest and gut, "Hot, hot, hot!"
The Pikachu landed, trying to stop drop and roll, only to jump back to avoid being caught up in roaring purple and red fire that seemed to have a life of its own. "Very hot! Ritchie, I could use a plan here!"
His partner wasn't quite as quick on his feet, but he was no slouch either, and Sparky really needed an outside perspective right now.
Ritchie couldn't hear him over the roar of the fire and the hiss of smoke escaping the underground, but his trainer's wail just barely reached Sparky's excellent hearing. "ON YOUR RIGHT!"
Sparky jumped, his back against the flame as Sunny came down on him with Fire Punch. The purple tinged fires still burned and showed no obvious signs of dissipating, even without their creator adding more fuel.
He winced at the pain and lunged forward, meeting the next blow with his own Thunder Punch. Then swung around in an attempt to strike with Iron Tail, aiming to knock Sunny into his own flames.
Both Sunny's claws glinted and he caught the strike with Metal Claw. "Sorry about this, try not to throw up!"
With that ominous warning, Sparky was taken for a spin.
Sunny swung the Pikachu around and around, clutching him by his tail and refusing to let go even as electricity started coursing down his arms. At last he released him, hurling the other Pokemon into the densest of the Dragonfire.
Sparky screamed in pain. This stuff was hotter than any other fire-type move he'd been exposed to. He shot out quickly enough but the damage was done. He wasn't limping but that was only through force of will. And he was very definitely burned now as searing heat wafted over him even in the open air.
But he wasn't about to give up. Some of the bigger fires still refused to die out but the smaller ones were beginning to smolder. He set his shoulders, gathered his remaining strength and rushed Sunny with Volt Tackle.
"Meet him! Skull Bash!" Ash called out and Sunny started his own charge, kicking off and colliding with the Pikachu with a crash and boom.
They both staggered back, agony coursing through them. But Sunny heard one last echoing call from Ash.
Rage.
He flashed red, brought up his arms, and smashed Sparky into the ground.
Strength spent, he fell to his knees, breathing hard, he blinked the painful haze from his eyes to confirm the result.
"Sparky is unable to battle!" A cheer roared as loud as his Dragonfire did. "Ash and Sunny are the winners!"
He let out a bark of joyous laughter. They did it. He did it. After the insane morning they had, they had still managed to get here, they still managed to fight, and for all his doubts and guilt, Sunny had managed to finish the job.
He'd kept his word. He hadn't let them down.
Some water-types came out and fought down the last of the Dragonfire. It took a bit of work and Sunny realized why even their default fire-fighter Storm had been so insistent they practice the move near a river while they'd been working on it.
It was pretty dang awesome though, and he enjoyed staring at the purple tinged flames for a few moments before they were completely put out. Ritchie came and retrieved Sparky, whispering that he did a great job and apologizing for the result. He gave Sunny a weak smile and a respectful nod, offering the same to Ash and Pikachu as they approached.
"Nice work you guys… We'll talk in a bit, see ya on the way out." He heard Ritchie sniffle a little as soon as he turned away and his own respect for the (believed to be) other Pokemon shot up a bit. It must have been hard to do that after losing, especially as close as things had been near the end.
"How'd I do?" Sunny still hurt all over but the high of his victory helped him keep it together. He grinned and put his hands on his hips.
"You were amazing Sunny, you always have been!" Ash congratulated him, Pikachu smiled too but was evidently still pretty out of it.
He opened his mouth, paused for a second, then decided to let himself say it one last time. "Thank you Dad."
Sunny wanted to jump into Ash's arms. He really did. He wanted to hug his dad and walk off the field victorious.
But not this time. He'd forced Ash to coddle him for long enough.
"Come on!" Rather than jump up he grabbed one of Ash's hands and started pulling.
"Wha- Sunny!" Ash stumbled a little but he wasn't being dragged too hard.
"I'm banged up but you need the Pokemon Center just as much! Maybe more! You both do!" Sunny insisted as they marched off field.
"He's got a point." Pikachu snickered but peetered out. "Ugh, I could really use a charge. Something to look forward to."
"Fine, I guess I can drop you guys off and then Mom can drop me off. Pretty sure you need it more than me right now!" Ash rolled his eyes a little but accepted the judgement. "We gotta get my bag first."
They made a slight detour, just to the locker room. There had been some remodeling since the start of the match.
"Concrete is no match for you huh?" Sunny peeked into the hole, taking a step back as Diglett popped out.
"Easier to break through than the nonsense surrounding the field. It's hard to watch when I can't get a vantage point." Sunny winced, he hadn't realized the psychic barrier went down as well as up. Probably to prevent outside interference.
"Sorry." He glanced at Ash and Pikachu. Pikachu looked grumpy but didn't say anything, and Ash sighed.
"Thank you, Diglett. I don't know what would have happened if you hadn't helped us. Maybe Lance still would have been able to save the day, but that robot almost had me before you started taking out the legs, and you made it easier to free everyone else." Ash acknowledged accomplishments Sunny knew nothing about.
He thought he'd heard Diglett as he struggled to break free of his ball. But there'd been a lot of sound and the only thing he heard clearly was Ash warning them they were in the air before it stopped feeling quite so uncomfortable inside.
"It wasn't like I could just turn around and leave. I'd been waiting for you to make your way to the field so I could see if this "match" was all the red one talked it up to be. Both the red ones. And the skull one." Diglett refused to look at them. "Not like I had anything better to do."
An amused smile grew on Sunny's face as he snickered (a habit he'd picked up from Ash and to a lesser extent Pikachu). That was technically a true statement, but Diglett hadn't had any obligation to help any of them. "Thanks for helping Diglett."
"Yes, yes, don't start getting touchy feely with me." Diglett insisted and met Ash's gaze. "This one told me that one of the reasons he didn't want me on your "team" was because he couldn't trust me to save his life."
Sunny realized where this was going and deflated slightly. He had hoped, but still, maybe someday soon. "I do believe I've proven I'd save his, and at least try to help the rest of you. But this is a two way tunnel you realize? I'd trust Sunny to save my life, but would the rest of you?"
Ash nodded, his smile taking a sad edge. "I didn't want to assume… but you're right. That said, we'll talk to the others. I can't speak for everyone, not even Pikachu, but as far as I'm concerned? All is forgiven."
"...well you weren't after my "rocks" in the first place, so I suppose I'm forced to do the same. All is forgiven you godless heathens." Diglett shook his head, or rather his whole body.
"For what it's worth? If we're not fighting next time we meet? I'm willing to talk." Pikachu didn't sound half as aggressive as Sunny expected. Was it because he was tired or actually grateful?
"We'll see. Next time we see each other we shall play checkers." Diglett vanished into his hole.
"...play checkers? Is that supposed to be a joke about talking? Or a threat?" Pikachu was lost and Ash didn't look much better.
"Oh no, he just means checkers." Sunny explained. "It's his favorite game."
"Huh." Ash clearly had no clue what to say to that, simply looking back to the hole. "Good for him. I guess it's fun, so sure, we can play."
Something to look forward to.
"Are you doing alright?" Ash checked with Ritchie, they'd met up on their way out, the hallway was thankfully empty so they got to have a proper talk without anyone bugging them.
"You're doing better I bet." Ritchie's lips twitched even as his blank eyes stayed on the resting Sparky in his arms. He'd used a potion but both their teams needed to get to a Pokemon Center.
Maybe it was imagination, but Ash thought he saw just the slightest hint of life in them for the first time as he looked as his starter with obvious concern on his face at least.
"Yeah…" It was a weird feeling. He was glad they won! Especially after everything that happened this morning, he was worried they might not have even had the chance to battle! He had been willing to live with it as long as everyone was safe obviously, but he was so glad they'd made it.
There were a few nail biting moments throughout the match itself too, Morningstar getting hit by Smackdown, trying to stay calm when the ref called them out, and of course Sunny taking a bit longer for Dragonfire.
Considering the morning they had? Ash could never blame him for taking an extra few moments to get into the right mindset to use the dragon-type infused move.
Still, he liked Ritchie, not just for the obvious two similarities they had. He was clever and witty, and seemed to have a good sense of humor, not to mention being a good trainer! They hadn't known each other long but he felt like they'd be good friends given enough time.
Gary's face flashed in his mind. Ash didn't want to lord this victory over him, especially since they'd both gotten this far. But he wasn't about to apologize to Ritchie for winning, that would be an insult to both Ritchie's team, and his own.
"I'm not sorry I won." Ash finally found the right words. "But I am sorry you lost."
"Heh, bit of a contradiction there." The other trainer teased but seemed to appreciate the gesture. He turned to Ash and once again the disguised Zorua found himself musing on the strange blank look in his eyes, whatever hint of life long gone, even with the expressiveness of the rest of his face. "But I get it though, because I'm sorry I lost, but I'm not sorry you won either."
"Thanks!" Ash said earnestly.
"Been meaning to ask though, what happened there at the beginning? What took you so long? You didn't somehow sleep in did you? There's no way you all could have, and Misty was really worried! I'm sure it wasn't overdoing it on training last night!" His eyes flickered up for a moment, "and seriously, what happened to your hat?"
"We did more planning than training, but no it wasn't that." Ash grimaced. "We got kidnapped."
Again.
And since everyone was okay he didn't feel too bad thinking that at least it wasn't just him this time.
Ritchie's brows shot up. "What!? Are you-"
"We're fine!" Ash waved him down, Pikachu coming out of his exhaustion a little bit from the jostling. "Some jerks leftover from Team Rocket, they've been chasing us awhile and finally took a shot when we weren't expecting it."
"How'd you get away?"
A bit of nervousness came back as he remembered the full series of events. Not only did Team Rocket know who he really was, but Lance had seen too. And had put together just enough to know that the Zorua he saw was Ash Ketchum the trainer.
The hall was ending soon, leading to the more populated areas of the stadium. "I had some help. Want to meet up after we get everyone healed up? I think I gotta talk to some league people too and then there's Mina and Corey's matches. Neesha's too."
He really hoped he got to see them. Well he'd make sure to do it one way or another.
"Sure, although… I think you should get yourself looked at too considering I doubt your hat just "fell" off while being kidnapped."
"Yeah, yeah, first Sunny, now you!" He laughed and marveled at Sunny's reaction. A change had come over the Charmeleon, a good one he thought. Whatever he had worked through to use Dragonfire properly there seemed to have given him a new confidence.
He'd have to ask about it later.
As for right now…
Ash was immediately swarmed by his friends and family.
"You're okay!" Red was in his arms, his eyes tracing Ash's illusionary face as if he expected to see injuries on it. "WHERE'S YOUR HAT?!"
"What happened! Did you fight someone! Karen said Team Rocket was there? Were those the weird clowns from New Island?!" Cranidos knew better than to rub against Ash's illusion in public, even if the rock-type was typically very physical with his affection.
Hmm, Leaf had been onto something. Speaking of, he got a hug from her, not as tight as the one the other day, but she backed off for another from Misty, and Mom obviously! She wrapped both of them in her arms.
"I'm glad you're okay. All of you. You are okay right?"
"Mostly." He grinned. Really, they were. Once the emotional high of the moment wore off and he was able to really get into the battle he had felt more like himself.
"We need answers though!" Misty demanded and managed to break apart the family hug. That she had been a part of. Ash definitely counted her as part of it. "Everyone has been asking me but I had no idea what was going on!"
"I managed to figure out it was Team Rocket." Karen's voice spoke up and Ash blinked at her disheveled form, good to see she was okay too. He thought back to what happened and made a guess.
"You found Fearow then?" That must have been why he hadn't rejoined the rest of Team Rocket.
"Found, fought, knocked out." She grinned, Riolu pounded his fists. "Also tell Absol to explain the next time something bad is happening!"
"Not my fault you messed things up by walking into Fearow's path." Absol lamented her frankly abysmal track record with her ability. She quickly inspected Ash. "But it looks like things worked out for you at least."
Her eyes briefly searched his head and she chuckled. "Oh so that's what it was. Well, good job preventing your team's potential disaster. It was a small chance… but it was a chance."
"You don't sense anything else right now?" Ash verified, and her good humor faded a little.
"Nothing immediate other than some indigestion for some of the audience members who had bad luck with their chosen snacks. Why?"
Ash glanced around, half expecting a squad of Officer Jennys to be marching over. Absol not picking up on anything had him hopeful though. Even if her prediction could change from a single unexpected decision. Instead he saw something else.
Ritchie and Sparky were with three people, a man with black hair, a woman with auburn, and a boy a little younger than him who looked extremely similar to Ritchie. Almost uncannily so even…
The younger boy noticed Ash staring and pulled on Ritchie's sleeve.
"You guys are good right?" Misty verified and Ash nodded. He doubted he would get the answers now, all three of them had agreed tonight. But he was a little curious if he could get some more hints.
"How'd you do it!" The younger boy who looked like Ritchie demanded. Now that they were closer, Ash would almost mistake them as twins. Ritchie was a couple inches taller though, and the younger boy had shorter hair that spiked upward more, instead of to the sides.
There was another very obvious difference. This boy's eyes sparkled with life, no faded look rendering the pupil and iris near indistinguishable. "How could you do it?!"
"Robbie, it's fine." Ritchie shook his head.
"Gonna introduce us?" Brock suggested, finally able to lightly clap Ash on the shoulder to get his attention. He received a relieved smile from the teenager he received his first badge from.
"Well I was gonna do it tomorrow morning, but since we're here. This is my little brother Robbie and those are our parents." Ritchie gestured at the two adults. Then proceeded to go through all their names for his brother.
"Who could have guess? Not like you're basically identical." Karen snarked, but Ash picked up just a hint of curiosity. She was hoping for a few answers.
"I'm actually adopted." Ritchie chuckled and Ash took his point, even as the others sent him incredulous stares.
Robbie narrowed his eyes at Ash. "You don't look like-" Ritchie stepped on his foot. "Ow!"
"I told you not to say anything." He whispered out the side of his mouth. "See if I ever tell you anything again.
Robbie crossed his arms and looked away. "You said it was just a suspicion… Sorry. But still! You should have been able to beat him!"
"Ash is pretty good." Bea thankfully did not clap Ash on the shoulder, but she still sent him a nod. "Glad you made it. Had me worried there."
"I didn't ask to get kidnapped!" Ash insisted.
"Ash." His Mom got his attention. "Are you okay? Really?"
He looked at Pikachu, then Misty, Red, and Cranidos. He felt the familiar weight of his team's Pokeballs on his belt. He shot glances at Karen, Brock, Leaf, and even Bea and Giselle.
"Yeah. I'm okay. We all are." He smiled, and his Mom relaxed.
He looked past Ritchie and Robbie, and saw a pair of figures approaching behind their parents. Absol still didn't look worried, but Ash wasn't entirely able to erase his own yet.
His smile didn't turn into a frown, but determination tightened the edges of his mouth out of the expression. "Misty. Remember what happened at the Pokemon Center Rest Stop when we met Sunny?"
"...I remember a lot of things about that." She didn't immediately grasp his plan.
"Remember when I… ran to help someone out?" He implied as the league officials came within hearing distance. "How you got my team for me?"
"...Ash?" Her relief turned to a little concern as she realized what he meant and the two men dressed in red with Indigo League Security Badges stood at attention in front of them. Ritchie and Robbie stepped aside.
Delia put a protective hand on his free shoulder, Misty and Cranidos stepped between him and them, and Red let out a small growl in his arms.
"Here we go." Pikachu muttered.
"Guys, it's fine. Really." Ash told his family and although they still looked worried, they no longer placed themselves in defensive formation around him.
"Ash Ketchum, we'd like you to come with us. You'll be allowed to drop off your Pokemon first but we need your statement on the unfortunate events of this morning."
Ash highly doubted it was just a "statement" they needed from him.