Yeah, it's here. Enough said.
He walked slowly through the open wooden door as the man with the shaved head held it open for him. The chilly air of the night smacked his face as a gentle cold wind caressed it, numbing his face. He looked around at his surroundings as soon as the man closed the door behind him. The match floor was lit brightly from the fluorescent lights of the lanterns that were hung up high in the trees. The tree branches loomed over the room as if they were spider webs as the bushes covered the wall like moss. Everything was still and quiet and Ash looked around the silent match floor searching for the reason he was in this room along with Pikachu and Misty who were both by his side. Finally a familiar pink and green haired girl stepped out from behind the tall bushes onto the match floor and smiled brightly at him. Misty’s stomach lurched at the sight of her and she rolled her eyes as Tamara blew Ash a kiss. He merely returned it with a weak smile and a wave of his hand.
“Well if you haven’t figured it out yet Ash, I’m the Gym leader for this town!” she yelled enthusiastically jutting her thumb onto her chest.
“Really?!” Ash blurted out, his eyes practically bulging out of his head. Misty lowered her head in shame and Pikachu slipped off of Ash’s shoulder as he held onto his stomach, attempting to control his laughter.
“Ummm… yeah, I am…” Tamara replied quietly, her eyes shifting from side to side in disbelief. “Anyway, let’s get this match started!” She then pulled a pokeball out from behind her belt and held it out in front of her as her hand rested on her waist. She then reared it back and threw it in front of her as Ash and Misty stared anxiously at the spinning ball. The pokemon from inside the ball escaped its capsule in a flash of bright white light and it revealed its identity
.
“A BUG?!?!?!” Misty screamed as her skin crawled up and down her arm and she jumped behind Ash. The tan smooth skinned pokemon gazed at her curiously as he reared his head up at her.
“What’s your problem?” Tamara asked a bit offended at her attitude towards her pokemon. She looked towards Ash who was already checking the information of the pokemon on his Pokedex.
“Dermadril, the Mud Muncher Pokemon. 6’ 5” Bug/Ground: The skin on this pokemon can withstand the friction of rubbing vigorously against solid rock therefore its skin is very tough. The skin is also very elastic and can twist and turn at will making it able to dig through the ground easily. The fleshy part of this pokemon’s midsection is very sensitive to vibrations so it can sense whatever is walking on the surface of the ground. This pokemon also carries a very unique ability: it can switch between each head on the other end of its body so the pokemon can avoid taking as much damage as it would if it were struck on the head. Its main diet consists of dirt and rock and it can effectively spit out chunks of mud at high speed.”
He looked up at the pokemon as he stared right back at him. He had black beady eyes with thick tan skin and a soft brown segment that divided his body in half. Each side of his body was so strikingly similar that it would be impossible to recognize which side his head was on had he not been looking directly at Ash at that moment. Misty peered nervously from behind Ash to glance at the pokemon then hid behind Ash after Dermadril looked back at her.
“Seriously, what is your problem?” Tamara asked now very annoyed with Misty.
“I can’t STAND bug pokemon! They’re the most disgusting things in the world! Next to carrots, peppers, and Ash’s table manners!”
“Hey!”
“What are you talking about?! Bugs are the most precious, loveable things in the world! Isn’t that true my Dermy-wermy?” She wrapped her arms around her pokemon’s head, gently stroking it then giving it a kiss. Misty made a gagging noise and Tamara scowled back at her.
“I think it’s time we start this Gym battle before you two have another fight and I end up with another black eye!” Ash said half-jokingly passing his hand over his still bruised eye.
“Fine. But she has to go up to the balcony if we’re going to start this match. She’s too distracting down here,” Tamara said crossing her arms with a scowl on her face.
“That’s fine by me. The smell of your bug breath is making me sick,” Misty said pinching her nose as she turned around. Tamara clenched her fists in anger and she called for the man with the shaved head.
“Yes...?” the man said appearing out of nowhere from behind Misty. She jumped in fright as he walked slowly towards Tamara. She whispered into his ear as he simply nodded in response while Ash and Misty stood there waiting for her to finish. She leaned back after finishing what she had to say and stared him in the eye to see if he understood. He paused for a second then finally nodded. He disappeared into the bushes and Tamara waited for him, tapping her foot. Ash was strategizing with Pikachu on their battle plan and Misty stood over them listening in on their plan during the brief pause.
“Ash, are you crazy?! Why would you send-” He jumped up and covered her mouth with his hand as he shushed her.
“Shhhh! You’ll give away my pla-AHH!” They both jumped in fright as the shaved man had snuck from behind them and was looming over them with a solemn look in his eyes.
“If you would Miss…” He placed a cold hand onto Misty’s shoulder. She stared back at him with a bewildered look as he led her through the bushes on the side of the Gym. They disappeared into the foliage and Ash gave Tamara a suspicious look. She smiled back at him and he grew even more suspicious of her until he caught a glimpse of a familiar redhead moving over the green trees. She leaned over the balcony and looked down at Ash and Tamara as they took their positions.
“Looks like we’re all alone now Ash…” She winked at him and he shifted his feet uneasily. Misty was extremely tempted to just pull out a pokeball out of her pack and pelt it at her discolored head, but she sat down on the sole wooden chair on the dark balcony that the bald man had brought up for her and bit her tongue as a vein throbbed in her head. “Come on Ash tell me how you really feel about me… Now that that loudmouthed redhead isn’t here anymore…” she said with a sly grin on her face. She felt something whiz past her ear and she looked around curiously as to what it was. She looked up at a red-faced Misty who was now leaning over the edge of the balcony as her chest heaved up and down with a scowl on her face. What she didn’t know is that Misty was standing up because one of the legs on the wooden chair she was sitting on had “mysteriously” disappeared…
Ash was thinking over his strategy in his head. He knew he had a type disadvantage if he sent Pikachu out against a Ground Type, but there was something that was driving him, something he hadn’t felt in ages… He cocked his head up with a confident smile that ran from cheek to cheek, staring nonchalantly at Tamara who was waiting for his pokemon to join hers on the field.
“Alright then,” he smiled flicking his nose with his thumb as he grinned. “Let’s go Pikachu!” Pikachu jumped onto the field and the man with the shaved head took his place on the match floor as referee. Misty slapped her forehead in frustration.
“Why did he send Pikachu out?”
“The 2-on-2 match between the Gym leader of Conifer Town, Tamara, against Ash will begin as soon as the trainers are ready.” The referee glanced at them both then raised his arms into the air. “BEGIN!!!”
“Pikachu use Quick Attack!” The yellow mouse swiftly leapt towards Dermadril at breakneck speed as the worm pokemon awaited Tamara’s command.
“Substitute into Dig!” What was Dermadril’s head fell limply to the floor in a bight blue flash as the other end of his body burrowed into the ground as Pikachu missed his target by an inch. Dermadril disappeared into the ground and Pikachu stood still, searching for his adversary who was somewhere underneath him.
“Surface now!” He burst out of the ground in front of Pikachu and dived after him at full speed.
“Use Agility!” Ash yelled desperately. Pikachu disappeared as Dermadril crashed into the ground, digging into it once again. Pikachu appeared in front of Ash for a brief moment only to be launched upwards as Dermadril sprung suddenly out of the ground.
“How did he find where Pikachu was so quickly?” Misty thought worriedly.
“Wrap your body around him now!” Tamara smiled confidently. Her pokemon leveled himself with Pikachu and wrapped his long body around him as he squeezed him mid-air. Pikachu struggled to be set free, but Dermadril squeezed even tighter as they begin to descend back to the ground.
“Pikachu you’ve got to free yourself!” Ash screamed with worry in his voice. Pikachu sent electricity through Dermadril’s body to try and get him to release his grip on him, but to no avail since Ground types are immune against Electric attacks.
“That’s not going to work Pikachu! Try biting him or something…” Ash said growing anxious as they neared closer to the ground. If Dermadril crashed into the ground while still holding onto Pikachu, his pokemon would be crushed and that would be the end of the match… Pikachu winced in pain as Dermadril squeezed even tighter and he sunk his teeth into the Mud Muncher Pokemon’s skin. The pokemon was unaffected and Pikachu released his bite on the worm’s skin as his teeth throbbed in pain. He then spotted the fleshy midsection of Dermadril’s body and he quickly bit into it. The pokemon screamed in pain and Pikachu was released from the grip as soon as they made contact with the ground. Pikachu landed safely onto the ground panting in exhaustion as Dermadril quickly recovered from the attack.
“We can’t give them a break! Use Iron Tail!” Pikachu leapt towards Dermadril’s head and flipped forward as his tail glowed a bright white.
“Substitute and Dig into the ground!” Tamara yelled as soon as Pikachu came close to her pokemon. His body turned a bright blue and he switched ends yet again as Pikachu slammed into Dermadril’s tail. He yelled, but he quickly retreated into the ground as Pikachu attempted to grab him by the tail before he could get away.
“Alright Dermy, let’s end this now! Substitute again quickly and surface out of the ground!” In a quick flash of blue, Dermadril had surfaced from the ground once again to crash into an unsuspecting Pikachu. “Now use Mud Shot!” As Pikachu was flying back towards Ash, Dermadril spit out chunks of mud at Pikachu at a high speed knocking Pikachu past Ash and slamming him into the wall. He slid down unconscious and the referee raised Tamara’s red flag into the air.
“Tamara is the winner of this round!” She jumped into the air in joy and hugged her pokemon around the neck while Ash picked Pikachu off the ground gently.
“Don’t worry you did just fine buddy…” he said smiling warmly as his battered and beaten Pikachu returned his smile. After leaving Pikachu on the sideline he took his pokeball off his belt and released his only pokemon left. Virgel stretched his wings as he called his battle cry, startling Tamara and Dermadril. She stood up and smirked at him.
“So Ash are you feeling nervous yet? You’ve only got one pokemon left and I still got two ready to go.” He smirked back at her, his cocky attitude returning.
“We’ll see how much pokemon you’ll have left once Virgel is through with you…”
“Don’t get too caught up with yourself Ash! You’ll always lose with that cocky attitude of yours if you don’t quit it!” Misty yelled from the balcony down at Ash. Tamara raised her hand to her ear.
“For a second I thought I heard someone speaking. It must be my imagination or something… I’ve never heard a voice so annoying in my life before…” This time the whole wooden chair came flying from the balcony towards Tamara’s head and she quickly ducked to avoid it. “WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO DO, KILL ME?!” she yelled, her face a bright red. Misty merely stuck her tongue out at her and hid behind the trees. Tamara growled in anger and she turned to the referee in the white robes. She nodded silently with her fist clenched and he calmly returned it and he quickly retreated into the bushes. After a few moments, he was back out and took his place on the sidelines as Misty sat back down on the replacement chair the referee had brought in. This chair was different than the other one she had thrown though; the wood was colored orange and had a strange scent to it… The referee raised both of their flags into the air and yelled,
“BEGIN!!!”
“Go Virgel, use Comet Punch!” Virgel shot off in a burst of speed with his fist aiming towards Dermadril as his opponent awaited orders from his trainer. Tamara was waiting for Virgel to get closer before she could pull off her counterattack. He was a couple of inches away from her pokemon when she yelled,
“Alright Dermy, duck and then use Wrap!” Dermadril fell flat on the floor in the shape of a ring as Virgel passed over him, missing his target. He then coiled around Virgel and squeezed his body tightly against Virgel’s, trapping the winged pokemon.
“Come on Virgel, you’ve got to get out of that grip!” Ash yelled encouragingly to his pokemon. Virgel tried opening his wings, but Dermadril’s wrap around him was too tight. He stretched his arms, legs, and wings as Dermadril struggled to keep the pokemon in his grasp. The coil around Virgel was slowly opening and he pushed himself harder until he finally had enough space to escape. He shot out of the constricting spiral and into the air where he looked down upon his target.
“Use Wing Attack!” Virgel dove after him with intense speed as Tamara screamed,
“Quickly, use Dig!” Dermadril dove into the ground as Virgel swooped just above him, missing him completely.
“Go in after him Virgel and pull him out,” Ash said with a confident smirk on his face.
“Ash, what are you thinking! Use your head for once, you dimwit!” Misty screamed from the balcony, but Virgel was already in the ground searching for Dermadril blindly in the tunnel the earthworm had just made.
“You make this too easy for me Ash…” Tamara replied with a quick shake of her head. “Substitute then Mud Shot!” A bright blue flash emanated from the tunnel then after a brief yell Virgel came spurting out of the ground completely covered in mud as he fell harshly onto the ground. He stood up unaffected from the Ground attack, but the amount of mud in the white feathers of his wings were weighing him down, preventing him from flying. Dermadril came out of the tunnel with a devilish smirk on his face with Tamara sharing a similar grin on her face.
“Alright Dermy, you can finish him off now!” Tamara yelled pointing towards a mud drenched Virgel. Dermadril came slithering towards Virgel ready to drag him underneath the ground when Ash yelled,
“We gotta fight him off Virgel, use Wing Attack!” With a quick swipe, Virgel aimed his heavy wing towards Dermadril and from the force of the attack the mud came off of his feathers and smack dab into Dermadril’s face, catching him by surprise. The Guardian Angel pokemon stretched his now weightless wing effortlessly since the mud was free from his feathers and Ash smiled enthusiastically and clenched his fist.
“Alright Virgel, now with the other wing!” Virgel looked with fierce intent at Dermadril and the worm pokemon gazed back at him fearfully. He threw his mud ridden wing towards Dermadril with mud instantly releasing from the feathers. The Mud Muncher pokemon quickly ducked and avoided the attack and the flying mud came into contact with Tamara’s face. Misty burst out laughing as Ash stifled his laughter. Even the referee cracked a smile which only made Tamara even angrier.
“Let’s go Dermy back into the ground!” she screamed at her pokemon wiping the mud off her face frantically. He quickly followed her orders and dove into the earth as Virgel took to the air.
“You’re pokemon will never be able to find mine!” Ash yelled across to her, smiling.
“Well I doubt your pokemon can see through dirt either…” Tamara yelled back at him. They stood still for a moment, realizing that they were at a stalemate… That is, until Tamara made a discovery that tipped the battle in her favor… She smiled coyly and she looked towards Ash.
“How about we make a bet Ash… If my pokemon is able to find yours, you have to promise me to a date…”
“DON’T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT ASH KETCHUM…OR ELSE!!!” screamed a voice all the way from the balcony. Tamara glared towards the balcony and she could see that Ash wasn’t going to cave in after a threat like that.
“Fine then, Dermy, go get him!” As Virgel flew in a circle around the arena, the ground from underneath him exploded and a tan snake-like animal came flying upwards, yelling his battle cry. Virgel was taken by surprise as Dermadril wrapped himself tightly around his leg and he tried to shake him off. He wasn’t budging though and he continued to climb up Virgel’s leg.
“Come on Virgel, just swat him off!” With a quick swipe of his white wing, the worm-like pokemon came stumbling down to the floor in pain. He quickly burrowed into the ground again after shooting Virgel a dirty look and Ash was faced with this puzzling dilemma.
“How is her pokemon able to sense where Virgel is even though he’s flying in the air?” Ash thought as he looked closely at Virgel then at the ground where Dermadril lurked beneath. As Virgel flew close by Ash, dust began to scatter from the ground and it hit Ash in the face. He shielded his eyes until he came to a startling revelation. “Every time Virgel flaps his wings, the wind hits the ground, which is what allows Dermadril to see him, sort of like radar…” Ash grinned slyly having discovered Tamara’s plan and looked closely at the ground. The dust on the ground slowly scattered as Virgel was floating above it which confirmed Ash’s suspicions. He signaled for Virgel to come closer and then he whispered something in his ear as Tamara looked on with a confused expression. His pokemon smirked back at him and nodded as Ash returned his smile. He took to the air again and circled very close to the trees that surrounded the match floor.
“Enough! Let’s end this right now Dermy!” Tamara shouted as she pointed towards Virgel. Ash glanced over at his pokemon and saw that he was following the plan by floating underneath a tree branch. As expected Dermadril appeared right from underneath Virgel. He quickly dodged and smacked him into the tree with his wing. Dermadril slammed into the firm tree and fell onto the floor, fainting from the attack.
“Dermadril is unable to move. Ash and Virgel are the winners of this round!” Ash jumped into the air and cheered in joy as Virgel pumped his fist into the air. Tamara ran to her pokemon with despair in her eyes.
“Don’t worry Dermy, you did just fine…” she whispered gently to her pokemon as she returned him back to his pokeball. She stood back up and picked another pokeball from behind her belt.
“Go Neffy!” The pokemon escaped from his pokeball and revealed his fearsome identity
.
“THAT’S NEFFY?!” Misty screamed as she backed away from the railing of the balcony in fear. Ash was also a bit intimidated by the pokemon too. His head which rested on a long neck was colored midnight black with two pairs of long pincers that ran from top to bottom and side to side. His armored body was colored a yellowish orange and he had three pairs of skinny legs that ran through his body, ending with a pair of sharp tiny prongs on his rear. He glared up at them and at first it wasn’t apparent, but his eyes were on the top of his head, tiny beady pitch black eyes that blended in perfectly with his head. Ash pulled out his Pokedex and pointed it towards the new pokemon. It opened up and the tiny black screen blinked on as the mechanized voice began to speak.
“Neferex, the Grapple Pokemon. 6’ 7” Bug/Dark: These pokemon find themselves most comfortable in thick forests where they live clinging upside down on trees. They attack their prey by latching their oversized claw onto its target while hanging upside down on a tree branch and then dragging their victim into its home. Because they live in dark forests and only come out at night, many humans and their pokemon have been attacked or gone missing due to this pokemon which has earned it the nickname ‘The Midnight Reaper.’ The mandibles of this pokemon are very powerful and can easily crush a solid rock while the six legs of this pokemon work together giving it enough power to pull a two ton truck.”
Ash glanced up at the pokemon as he opened his mouth and closed it all the while staring down Virgel who was now looking at him uneasily. Ash started to grow nervous, but he quickly snapped out of it as the referee took his position back on the sidelines.
“BEGIN!!!”
“Alright Neffy take to the trees!” Tamara yelled. Her pokemon scurried backwards quickly up a tree and rested upside down on a tree branch as he hid himself amongst the leaves. Misty had goose bumps all over her arm as she watched the bug pokemon crawl back into the tree.
“Disgusting…” she whispered to herself as she rubbed her arms. She then felt a faint breath of hot air on the back of her shoulder and she quickly turned around only to discover that there was nothing behind her. She glanced around nervously until she was certain there was nothing there. “I wonder what that was all about…” she muttered as she turned to look towards Ash’s match. He was already in trouble as Virgel attempted to free one of his wings from the grasp of the Grapple Pokemon because Neferex had managed to counter his Wing Attack. She shook her head once again as she said to herself, “Ash when are you going to start using your brain for once?”
Virgel flailed his legs frantically as Neferex continued to hold him in his powerful jaws, applying more force.
“Try hitting him in the face Virgel!” Ash yelled desperately as he watched his struggling pokemon. Virgel pulled himself up to Neferex’s level by using his wing and landed a quick punch on his face. He quickly let go of him and Virgel stumbled onto the ground in severe pain. His left wing was unnaturally bent inwards and the lightest touch would send him in excruciating pain. He retracted his wing behind his back carefully and punched the tree that Neferex was hiding in anger. The pokemon toppled out from within the depths of the green tree and fell harshly onto the ground, but he quickly recovered. They stared each other down until Tamara bellowed,
“Hit him with a Shadow Ball!” Neferex reared his head back and launched a sphere of dark energy towards Virgel who was in close range of the attack. He was carried off with the attack and was sent flying backwards. He fell onto his injured wing and he screamed in pain. Tamara smiled confidently.
“This isn’t going to take long…” She then yelled, “Alright Neffy, back into the tree!” Her pokemon retreated back up the tree as Virgel picked himself up off the ground, his knees shaking.
“Come on Virgel, we can still beat her!” Ash called out to his pokemon. Virgel turned around and Ash nodded at him encouragingly while giving him a confident smile. His pokemon returned his smile and he turned around and charged towards the tree that Neferex was hiding in. His fist was reared behind him as it glowed a bright white as he was charging for a Mega Punch. As he approached the tree he thrust his fist forward and was about to make contact with the trunk of the tree when a jet black claw clamped onto his fist from above the tree.
“Use Crunch,” Tamara called grimly. The claw closed tighter and tighter as Virgel struggled to be set free as he was slowly being dragged up the tree. He screamed louder and louder in pain as Neferex’s jaw closed upon his hand even tighter.
“Try attacking him back!” Ash yelled in shock at seeing his pokemon in such severe pain. Virgel concentrated on his attacker and started striking him with quick jabs from his free hand and powerful blows from his large wing. After her pokemon endured a flurry of Comet Punches and a few Wing Attacks, Tamara yelled out,
“Alright Neffy, use Seismic Toss!” The claw hanging from the tree swung him forwards then backwards then forwards again like a swing until he finally let go tossing Virgel onto the match floor. Neferex then fell onto the floor and struggled to pick himself up. Virgel stood up slowly as his left arm fell limply to the side after having just been in the powerful jaws of the Grapple Pokemon. He was unable to attack with the whole left side of his body now since his wing and arm were severely damaged and now that Neferex was back to standing up straight, things were going to be a lot harder on his part.
“Your opponent’s weak Neffy so finish him off with a Shadow Ball!” He charged up yet another dark energy ball and released it at Virgel as it flew towards him at full speed. He dodged it in the nick of time, but the energy ball had caught onto his healthy wing and it exploded as it made contact. This time Virgel picked himself up quickly only to show that he wasn’t going to give up even though both of his wings were damaged, his left arm was crushed slightly, and he was very tired. Ash’s mind was running at a thousand miles per hour trying to come up with a solution to what seemed to be an impossible situation. He couldn’t come up with anything else and he felt like giving up, but his pokemon turned towards him and encouraged him with a fierce yell. Ash looked up at Virgel and saw that he was willing to go out fighting no matter the cost. Ash smiled at his pokemon’s bravery and nodded.
“Alright Virgel charge a Mega Punch and run towards Neferex!” Virgel took off with an amazing amount of speed as his good arm was reared behind him, ready to charge for another powerful attack.
“Oh no you don’t! Neffy use Shadow Ball!” Her pokemon once again aimed towards Virgel and shot another ball of energy towards his attacker. Virgel quickly dodged it, but had to regain his energy to charge up another attack as well as Neferex. They stood still looking at each other until Virgel shot off with a burst of unbelievable speed as his fist glowed a sky blue.
“That’s definitely not a Mega Punch; it looks more like a Mach Punch!” Misty thought excitedly as Virgel darted towards Neferex in a beeline as his opponent charged up yet another Shadow Ball attack. As Neferex charged the Shadow Ball in his jaw, Virgel came close to him and he threw his fist forward in an explosion of speed. His fist collided with the Shadow Ball and the energy ball exploded sending both pokemon reeling backwards. As the dust cleared, both pokemon were lying still on the ground without any movement.
“Both pokemon have fainted at the same time; this match has been declared a DOUBLE KNOCKOUT!” Ash, Tamara, and Misty were all encased with utter shock and dismay as they stared at the referee.
“How are you so certain, the field was completely covered in dust!” Tamara screamed.
“Yeah and besides it’s obvious that Tamara’s pokemon was the first one down…” Misty yelled matter-of-factly from the balcony.
“How would you know Red? You’re obviously as blind as a bat since you can’t see how much Ash loves me,” Tamara stated as she held her nose high up in the air. Misty’s face turned red as she yelled back,
“You’re the one that’s taken too many blows on the head from practicing Kendo!” Tamara glared back at her until the referee ended the brief dispute by simply crossing his arms and solemnly declaring,
“That’s my final verdict.” They both stared at him and then lowered their heads in defeat once they saw that he stood firmly by his statement. Ash broke the silence by asking a simple question,
“So now what do we do?” Tamara quickly perked up and she responded by pulling out another pokeball from her belt.
“Easy; we settle the draw with another pokemon battle!”
“But I don’t have anymore left!” Ash exclaimed in exasperation. Tamara stared at him blankly and could see that he was quite serious.
“Well I’m sorry Ash, but according to the ‘Official Muntein League Rule Book,’ if in a Gym battle the ending pokemon designated from the beginning of the match result in a double knockout, each trainer must provide another pokemon to do battle for a tie-breaker and if a pokemon is not provided then the trainer must forfeit,” she said, reciting the rule book from memory.
“WHAT?!” Ash yelled in disbelief. He quickly took out his copy of the rule book from the back pocket of his green backpack and skipped to the page of the thick rule book that explained the rules of a Gym battle. He quickly read the part that explained double knockouts and found that what Tamara had stated was written in exactly the same words as it was in the rule book. He closed the book in disbelief and shock as his mouth hung open.
“…I should really start reading this book…”
“Well I don’t know what to tell you Ash, but… seeing as how you don’t have any other pokemon to do battle with…”
“Well he can always use one of mine, can’t he?” Misty interrupted from the balcony. Tamara glanced up at her and shot her a dirty look.
“No he can’t because that would be breaking another one of the rules in the book.”
“Yeah right…” Misty muttered sarcastically as her back faced Tamara and she looked at her from the sides of her eyes.
“Why don’t you take a look for yourself?!” Tamara retorted back as she threw the heavy rule book at Misty’s head. She quickly ducked and turned around to yell and threaten her with her mallet when she felt something unusual stroke her bare calf. She turned around sharply as she tried to catch what had touched her, but what was behind her was now gone. She shivered slightly as she only imagined what could have been touching her leg… “Maybe it was a tree branch or a rock… Yeah…probably a tree branch,” she thought with fear. She shuddered in fear again and leaned over the balcony again every once in a while glancing over her shoulder, still suspicious of what was lurking behind her.
The referee raised both of the flags into the air to declare the end of the match, but before he could say a word, a green blur came flying out from the trees behind Tamara and landed onto the match floor, skillfully landing its front flip. As the figure stood up straight, everyone could see that it was one of the Shogra from the dojo and upon closer inspection, that it was the leader of the class as he looked around at all of them. His eyes stopped as they passed over Tamara and he gave her the iciest glare that he could muster as she looked at him unemotionally. He then walked towards Ash and slapped him on the knee with the twig in his hand as he began to speak to him in his language. He pointed the stick towards himself then at Ash and finally swiped the stick in midair across Tamara, emphasizing every word he spoke with a brief grunt as he moved the twig about. Ash gave him a confused look as he attempted to decipher what the tiny grass imp was trying to say.
“Are you trying to say that you want to fight for me or you want to fight me?” Ash said faltering in confusion.
“He said that he’s willing to fight for you so he could help you win this match,” Tamara said, still unemotionally moved by the treachery of her pokemon, willing to fight against his master. The pokemon quickly nodded and turned towards Tamara. They both stared at each other with fire in their eyes as everything else seemed to fade away in their minds and the only thing that remained was them.
“So you think you can fight me now do you?” Tamara asked with a grimness in her voice that matched that of a gravedigger. He quickly nodded in response and began to speak in his native tongue that translated to this:
“I’m sick of the way you treat us. You make us train for long hours, scream and yell at us, then let us go at the end of the day so you can go to your precious bug pokemon as if you didn’t care about us.”
“I don’t,” she stated quickly. “The only reason I’m actually training you guys is just because my dad needs you guys for his business. Once you evolve, you guys are supreme cutting machines…”
“So that’s it? We’re just a bunch of machines for your benefit?” he asked with an underlying coldness. She simply nodded and he turned away from her with a fiery anger so hot that it could set the leaves that covered his body in flames. Everything else came back into focus as he walked slowly towards Ash. He turned to him once more and said something briefly before quickly turning around and facing the field.
“What did you say?” Ash asked in confusion.
“He said he’ll only fight for you for this one match and then that’ll be the end of it,” Tamara replied as she threw her pokeball into the air. It landed directly in front of Shogra and the pokemon that had come out of his pokeball quickly ate the twig in Shogra’s hand
. She had red massive scissor-like jaws that extended wider than her head with a pair of similar black miniature pincers over her mouth that were quickly shredding the twig she had stolen from Shogra into tiny splinters as she ate the splinters coming from the twig. Shogra merely turned away and walked towards the bushes on the side of the wall and ripped out another twig to his own liking. As the tiny bits and pieces of the twig came into Thermai’s body, she glowed a bright orange until flames shot out from her mouth. Ash exclaimed in wonder and he immediately pulled out his thin Pokedex.
“Thermai, the Furnace Pokemon. 4’ 4” Bug/Fire: This pokemon is a living furnace, which lies in its belly. It relies solely on that said furnace, which is really a flame sac that acts as a second stomach, for self-defense against the bigger predators it faces on a day to day basis for living in volcanic forests. It eats any kind of wood, no matter how hard or old, by cutting the wood into manageable portions with its big pincers then cutting them into even smaller sizes with the smaller pincers that lie in front of its mouth. After ingesting the wood, its flame sac glows brightly as it burns the splinters of wood into a fierce fire that it spews out of its mouth. Because of this ability, its main diet consists of wood and the underside of this pokemon is charred a dark black from the ever-burning flames in its belly.”
At that moment, Misty let out a scream that pierced the air. Everyone looked towards the balcony until she came to the balcony, her hair in a mess with a despaired look on her face, as she leaned over and began to scream at Tamara,
“You think this is some kind of joke?!” as she held up what was the wooden chair that she was sitting on only to be snapped in two by a pair of Thermai that were leaping in the air to consume the delicious timber that she held in her hand.
“Didn’t you want the finest kind of lumber that I could supply so you could sit on?” Tamara said innocently though she couldn’t help, but grin as Misty attempted to get the bug pokemon as far away from her as possible. With a devilish grin, she whispered to Ash, “What she doesn’t know is that that specific kind of wood is the kind that Thermai enjoy the most!” He shook his head wearily with a sigh as Misty finally gave up and threw the chair as far away from her as possible as she rested her head on the palms of her hands while her elbows rested on the wooden railing of the balcony.
“Ash is going to have a tough battle against Tamara if he’s going to use a grass type against a Bug and Fire type, two of its main weaknesses…” Misty thought to herself as she gathered herself together. They began to prepare themselves for battle then nodded towards the referee as he raised both of their flags into the air as he declared in his official voice,
“The tiebreaking match against Tamara and Ash will now…BEGIN!!!”
Shogra immediately took off without waiting for Ash’s orders, the stick sheathed by his side as he prepared to swipe it across Thermai’s head.
“Use Fury Cutter before he can get to you, Thermy!” She extended her pincers until they were completely open and waited for Shogra to get in a closer range.
“Shogra, jump in the air to avoid her attack!” Ash yelled. However, he kept charging straight towards his opponent until she clamped her jaws shut across his chest, knocking him back to the middle of the match floor. He got up as he winced in pain, grasping onto his green chest as Ash yelled from behind him, “Come on Shogra, we’ve got to work together as a team! You’ll never beat Tamara that way!” He lowered his head knowing he was right so he gave up his actions and waited for Ash’s next order attentively. Ash smiled and raised his hand as he said,
“Alright Shogra, go in for an airborne Cut attack!” He jumped up into the air and had the twig reared above his head as he began to descend upon Thermai. Tamara shook her head and said,
“You’ll never beat me that way Ash! Go Thermai, use Flamethrower!” Her pokemon aimed towards Shogra and aimed at Shogra and fired her attack.
“Quick, dodge it!” Ash yelled. Shogra tilted to the side, barely missing the attack, but his landing onto the ground was shaky. He rolled over and he quickly recovered as Ash yelled out,
“Use Tackle!” He quickly slammed into Thermai by using his shoulder, sending her flying back. She slammed into the tree as Tamara yelled words of encouragement to her. She shook her head and was back onto the ground as Ash tried to make a plan in his head.
“How am I going to be able to defeat Thermai? She’s resistant to Grass attacks and could easily knock out Shogra with another Flamethrower… Think, Ash, think!” he thought to himself as he slammed his fist against his head. He finally looked at where Thermai was standing and realized that she was underneath a tree. “That’s it!”
“Shogra use Razor Leaf-”
“Have you lost your mind Ash? Thermai use Flamethrower!”
“-on that tree branch over Thermai!” Ash yelled pointing towards the branch that was hanging over Thermai, exactly as he had planned.
“What?” Tamara exclaimed in confusion. Before she knew what was happening, Shogra had sent a flurry of razor sharp leaves towards the tree branch, quickly removing it from the trunk of the tree causing it to fall on top of Thermai as she let her fire attack loose. Shogra quickly jumped to the side, narrowly missing the flame attack once more as Thermai lit the tree branch sitting atop of her body on fire. She quickly yelled as she ran from side to side in panic as she tried to put out the fire raging on top of her.
“Let’s go Shogra, add more fuel to the fire!” Ash said with a wide smile. Shogra sent another flurry of leaves from his body towards Thermai, setting the fire ablaze even more. She ran faster from side to side as Tamara attempted to calm her down until she rolled over on her side, completely burnt from the flames, lying still.
“Thermai is unable to battle! The winner of this tiebreaker and of the Bark Badge is Ash Ketchum!”
“Alright!” Ash yelled as he jumped into the air pumping his fist up. Shogra smiled happily having finally given Tamara a taste of her own medicine and he sat down cross legged onto the floor in exhaustion. Ash walked up to him and patted him on the back.
“You fought really well today,” Ash said smiling as he looked him straight in his eyes. He smiled back before hitting him again on the knee with the twig as he began to speak in his pokemon language.
“Now what is he saying?” Ash replied scratching his head as Shogra began to point the twig from him to Ash repeatedly.
“He’s saying you’re a great trainer and even though he fought for you in this match, he won’t be a part of your team unless you do it the right way by facing him in a battle,” Tamara said as she walked up to him slowly.
“How did he even know I was thinking about that?” Ash said scratching his head surprised by how Shogra was able to read his mind. The Shrub pokemon grinned and tapped his head as he looked at Ash.
“YEAH!!!!!” Misty yelled after coming down from the balcony startling everyone. She got close to Tamara’s face as she jutted her on the chest with her finger. “I think its time that you gave Ash his badge now that you’ve lost!” she said with a smirk on her face. Tamara turned away as she huffed angrily.
“Well first, Ash is going to have a battle against Shogra then I’ll give him his badge and you guys can leave,” she said crossing her arms with a hint of jealousy in her voice.
“That’s fine by me!” Misty exclaimed happily. “So…where’s the battle?” She turned to Ash and he lowered his head as he suddenly realized he had no pokemon left… until Pikachu came limping from the sidelines. He pulled on Ash’s pant leg, volunteering himself to battle against Shogra even though he was very tired.
“There’s no way you can battle, buddy…” Ash replied gently, but his pokemon didn’t waver. He stood in front of Shogra and waited for Ash’s orders. He gave up trying to persuade Pikachu and took his place behind him as Shogra prepared himself for battle.
“You know you’re just as stubborn as me Pikachu…” Ash said smiling as Misty stood in the middle of them, taking her place as referee.
“The match between Shogra and Pikachu will start…NOW!”
“Use Quick Attack now!” Ash yelled. Pikachu took off at a blinding speed tackling into Shogra. He fell back, but quickly attacked back with a quick swipe of his twig. Pikachu took the blow to the face, but he quickly got up as Ash yelled,
“Iron Tail into Volt Tackle!” Pikachu front flipped as his tail emitted a bright light until he struck Shogra on his head, knocking him down. Pikachu then jumped backwards and charged towards Shogra as electricity began to run through his body. He tackled him head on and then collapsed onto the ground in exhaustion as Shogra flew back ten feet from the powerful attack.
“Pikachu!” Ash yelled, but Misty nudged him on the shoulder and pointed towards an unmoving Shogra who was lying on the ground. Ash quickly took an empty pokeball from his belt and threw it at Shogra. The ball opened up and it withdrew Shogra into it in a flash of red light. It fell onto the ground and began to move from side to side as Ash, Misty, and Tamara watched it anxiously. After a few moments of dead silence, the ball finally stopped moving and Ash walked towards it as he picked it up. He yelled in excitement as held the pokeball high into the air, having acquired another pokemon for his party. He then walked towards Pikachu and picked him up.
“You fought really well today Pikachu, better than I had expected. You deserve a nice long rest…” Ash said gently as Pikachu looked back at him and smiled appreciatively before falling into a deep slumber. Tamara then walked towards Ash with her left hand clenched tightly.
“Well Ash, you battled like a professional today. I’m sad to see you go, but I know maybe one day you’ll return back to me.” She winked at him and he laughed uneasily as Misty glared at her from behind Ash. “I proudly to present you this badge as a token of fighting so well today.” She opened up her hand and revealed a small brown badge that was in the shape of a piece of a tree that seemed as if it was ripped from the trunk of the tree with jagged edges on the top and bottom. Ash gladly took the badge and was about to do his pose when Tamara leaned towards him and whispered something in his ear.
“I also carved something special on the back of the badge so you can remember me by.” She smiled as he flipped the small brown badge over. Carefully carved on the back of the badge were the initials TT + AK carved inside of a heart. Ash laughed nervously before quickly hiding it into his pocket as Misty approached closer to them. If she would’ve seen what was written on the back of the badge, he was certain that there wouldn’t be much left of him and Tamara to speak of once she was done with them…
I had to cut up the post so...
Chapter 13-Barking up the Wrong Tree
He walked slowly through the open wooden door as the man with the shaved head held it open for him. The chilly air of the night smacked his face as a gentle cold wind caressed it, numbing his face. He looked around at his surroundings as soon as the man closed the door behind him. The match floor was lit brightly from the fluorescent lights of the lanterns that were hung up high in the trees. The tree branches loomed over the room as if they were spider webs as the bushes covered the wall like moss. Everything was still and quiet and Ash looked around the silent match floor searching for the reason he was in this room along with Pikachu and Misty who were both by his side. Finally a familiar pink and green haired girl stepped out from behind the tall bushes onto the match floor and smiled brightly at him. Misty’s stomach lurched at the sight of her and she rolled her eyes as Tamara blew Ash a kiss. He merely returned it with a weak smile and a wave of his hand.
“Well if you haven’t figured it out yet Ash, I’m the Gym leader for this town!” she yelled enthusiastically jutting her thumb onto her chest.
“Really?!” Ash blurted out, his eyes practically bulging out of his head. Misty lowered her head in shame and Pikachu slipped off of Ash’s shoulder as he held onto his stomach, attempting to control his laughter.
“Ummm… yeah, I am…” Tamara replied quietly, her eyes shifting from side to side in disbelief. “Anyway, let’s get this match started!” She then pulled a pokeball out from behind her belt and held it out in front of her as her hand rested on her waist. She then reared it back and threw it in front of her as Ash and Misty stared anxiously at the spinning ball. The pokemon from inside the ball escaped its capsule in a flash of bright white light and it revealed its identity
“A BUG?!?!?!” Misty screamed as her skin crawled up and down her arm and she jumped behind Ash. The tan smooth skinned pokemon gazed at her curiously as he reared his head up at her.
“What’s your problem?” Tamara asked a bit offended at her attitude towards her pokemon. She looked towards Ash who was already checking the information of the pokemon on his Pokedex.
“Dermadril, the Mud Muncher Pokemon. 6’ 5” Bug/Ground: The skin on this pokemon can withstand the friction of rubbing vigorously against solid rock therefore its skin is very tough. The skin is also very elastic and can twist and turn at will making it able to dig through the ground easily. The fleshy part of this pokemon’s midsection is very sensitive to vibrations so it can sense whatever is walking on the surface of the ground. This pokemon also carries a very unique ability: it can switch between each head on the other end of its body so the pokemon can avoid taking as much damage as it would if it were struck on the head. Its main diet consists of dirt and rock and it can effectively spit out chunks of mud at high speed.”
He looked up at the pokemon as he stared right back at him. He had black beady eyes with thick tan skin and a soft brown segment that divided his body in half. Each side of his body was so strikingly similar that it would be impossible to recognize which side his head was on had he not been looking directly at Ash at that moment. Misty peered nervously from behind Ash to glance at the pokemon then hid behind Ash after Dermadril looked back at her.
“Seriously, what is your problem?” Tamara asked now very annoyed with Misty.
“I can’t STAND bug pokemon! They’re the most disgusting things in the world! Next to carrots, peppers, and Ash’s table manners!”
“Hey!”
“What are you talking about?! Bugs are the most precious, loveable things in the world! Isn’t that true my Dermy-wermy?” She wrapped her arms around her pokemon’s head, gently stroking it then giving it a kiss. Misty made a gagging noise and Tamara scowled back at her.
“I think it’s time we start this Gym battle before you two have another fight and I end up with another black eye!” Ash said half-jokingly passing his hand over his still bruised eye.
“Fine. But she has to go up to the balcony if we’re going to start this match. She’s too distracting down here,” Tamara said crossing her arms with a scowl on her face.
“That’s fine by me. The smell of your bug breath is making me sick,” Misty said pinching her nose as she turned around. Tamara clenched her fists in anger and she called for the man with the shaved head.
“Yes...?” the man said appearing out of nowhere from behind Misty. She jumped in fright as he walked slowly towards Tamara. She whispered into his ear as he simply nodded in response while Ash and Misty stood there waiting for her to finish. She leaned back after finishing what she had to say and stared him in the eye to see if he understood. He paused for a second then finally nodded. He disappeared into the bushes and Tamara waited for him, tapping her foot. Ash was strategizing with Pikachu on their battle plan and Misty stood over them listening in on their plan during the brief pause.
“Ash, are you crazy?! Why would you send-” He jumped up and covered her mouth with his hand as he shushed her.
“Shhhh! You’ll give away my pla-AHH!” They both jumped in fright as the shaved man had snuck from behind them and was looming over them with a solemn look in his eyes.
“If you would Miss…” He placed a cold hand onto Misty’s shoulder. She stared back at him with a bewildered look as he led her through the bushes on the side of the Gym. They disappeared into the foliage and Ash gave Tamara a suspicious look. She smiled back at him and he grew even more suspicious of her until he caught a glimpse of a familiar redhead moving over the green trees. She leaned over the balcony and looked down at Ash and Tamara as they took their positions.
“Looks like we’re all alone now Ash…” She winked at him and he shifted his feet uneasily. Misty was extremely tempted to just pull out a pokeball out of her pack and pelt it at her discolored head, but she sat down on the sole wooden chair on the dark balcony that the bald man had brought up for her and bit her tongue as a vein throbbed in her head. “Come on Ash tell me how you really feel about me… Now that that loudmouthed redhead isn’t here anymore…” she said with a sly grin on her face. She felt something whiz past her ear and she looked around curiously as to what it was. She looked up at a red-faced Misty who was now leaning over the edge of the balcony as her chest heaved up and down with a scowl on her face. What she didn’t know is that Misty was standing up because one of the legs on the wooden chair she was sitting on had “mysteriously” disappeared…
Ash was thinking over his strategy in his head. He knew he had a type disadvantage if he sent Pikachu out against a Ground Type, but there was something that was driving him, something he hadn’t felt in ages… He cocked his head up with a confident smile that ran from cheek to cheek, staring nonchalantly at Tamara who was waiting for his pokemon to join hers on the field.
“Alright then,” he smiled flicking his nose with his thumb as he grinned. “Let’s go Pikachu!” Pikachu jumped onto the field and the man with the shaved head took his place on the match floor as referee. Misty slapped her forehead in frustration.
“Why did he send Pikachu out?”
“The 2-on-2 match between the Gym leader of Conifer Town, Tamara, against Ash will begin as soon as the trainers are ready.” The referee glanced at them both then raised his arms into the air. “BEGIN!!!”
“Pikachu use Quick Attack!” The yellow mouse swiftly leapt towards Dermadril at breakneck speed as the worm pokemon awaited Tamara’s command.
“Substitute into Dig!” What was Dermadril’s head fell limply to the floor in a bight blue flash as the other end of his body burrowed into the ground as Pikachu missed his target by an inch. Dermadril disappeared into the ground and Pikachu stood still, searching for his adversary who was somewhere underneath him.
“Surface now!” He burst out of the ground in front of Pikachu and dived after him at full speed.
“Use Agility!” Ash yelled desperately. Pikachu disappeared as Dermadril crashed into the ground, digging into it once again. Pikachu appeared in front of Ash for a brief moment only to be launched upwards as Dermadril sprung suddenly out of the ground.
“How did he find where Pikachu was so quickly?” Misty thought worriedly.
“Wrap your body around him now!” Tamara smiled confidently. Her pokemon leveled himself with Pikachu and wrapped his long body around him as he squeezed him mid-air. Pikachu struggled to be set free, but Dermadril squeezed even tighter as they begin to descend back to the ground.
“Pikachu you’ve got to free yourself!” Ash screamed with worry in his voice. Pikachu sent electricity through Dermadril’s body to try and get him to release his grip on him, but to no avail since Ground types are immune against Electric attacks.
“That’s not going to work Pikachu! Try biting him or something…” Ash said growing anxious as they neared closer to the ground. If Dermadril crashed into the ground while still holding onto Pikachu, his pokemon would be crushed and that would be the end of the match… Pikachu winced in pain as Dermadril squeezed even tighter and he sunk his teeth into the Mud Muncher Pokemon’s skin. The pokemon was unaffected and Pikachu released his bite on the worm’s skin as his teeth throbbed in pain. He then spotted the fleshy midsection of Dermadril’s body and he quickly bit into it. The pokemon screamed in pain and Pikachu was released from the grip as soon as they made contact with the ground. Pikachu landed safely onto the ground panting in exhaustion as Dermadril quickly recovered from the attack.
“We can’t give them a break! Use Iron Tail!” Pikachu leapt towards Dermadril’s head and flipped forward as his tail glowed a bright white.
“Substitute and Dig into the ground!” Tamara yelled as soon as Pikachu came close to her pokemon. His body turned a bright blue and he switched ends yet again as Pikachu slammed into Dermadril’s tail. He yelled, but he quickly retreated into the ground as Pikachu attempted to grab him by the tail before he could get away.
“Alright Dermy, let’s end this now! Substitute again quickly and surface out of the ground!” In a quick flash of blue, Dermadril had surfaced from the ground once again to crash into an unsuspecting Pikachu. “Now use Mud Shot!” As Pikachu was flying back towards Ash, Dermadril spit out chunks of mud at Pikachu at a high speed knocking Pikachu past Ash and slamming him into the wall. He slid down unconscious and the referee raised Tamara’s red flag into the air.
“Tamara is the winner of this round!” She jumped into the air in joy and hugged her pokemon around the neck while Ash picked Pikachu off the ground gently.
“Don’t worry you did just fine buddy…” he said smiling warmly as his battered and beaten Pikachu returned his smile. After leaving Pikachu on the sideline he took his pokeball off his belt and released his only pokemon left. Virgel stretched his wings as he called his battle cry, startling Tamara and Dermadril. She stood up and smirked at him.
“So Ash are you feeling nervous yet? You’ve only got one pokemon left and I still got two ready to go.” He smirked back at her, his cocky attitude returning.
“We’ll see how much pokemon you’ll have left once Virgel is through with you…”
“Don’t get too caught up with yourself Ash! You’ll always lose with that cocky attitude of yours if you don’t quit it!” Misty yelled from the balcony down at Ash. Tamara raised her hand to her ear.
“For a second I thought I heard someone speaking. It must be my imagination or something… I’ve never heard a voice so annoying in my life before…” This time the whole wooden chair came flying from the balcony towards Tamara’s head and she quickly ducked to avoid it. “WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO DO, KILL ME?!” she yelled, her face a bright red. Misty merely stuck her tongue out at her and hid behind the trees. Tamara growled in anger and she turned to the referee in the white robes. She nodded silently with her fist clenched and he calmly returned it and he quickly retreated into the bushes. After a few moments, he was back out and took his place on the sidelines as Misty sat back down on the replacement chair the referee had brought in. This chair was different than the other one she had thrown though; the wood was colored orange and had a strange scent to it… The referee raised both of their flags into the air and yelled,
“BEGIN!!!”
“Go Virgel, use Comet Punch!” Virgel shot off in a burst of speed with his fist aiming towards Dermadril as his opponent awaited orders from his trainer. Tamara was waiting for Virgel to get closer before she could pull off her counterattack. He was a couple of inches away from her pokemon when she yelled,
“Alright Dermy, duck and then use Wrap!” Dermadril fell flat on the floor in the shape of a ring as Virgel passed over him, missing his target. He then coiled around Virgel and squeezed his body tightly against Virgel’s, trapping the winged pokemon.
“Come on Virgel, you’ve got to get out of that grip!” Ash yelled encouragingly to his pokemon. Virgel tried opening his wings, but Dermadril’s wrap around him was too tight. He stretched his arms, legs, and wings as Dermadril struggled to keep the pokemon in his grasp. The coil around Virgel was slowly opening and he pushed himself harder until he finally had enough space to escape. He shot out of the constricting spiral and into the air where he looked down upon his target.
“Use Wing Attack!” Virgel dove after him with intense speed as Tamara screamed,
“Quickly, use Dig!” Dermadril dove into the ground as Virgel swooped just above him, missing him completely.
“Go in after him Virgel and pull him out,” Ash said with a confident smirk on his face.
“Ash, what are you thinking! Use your head for once, you dimwit!” Misty screamed from the balcony, but Virgel was already in the ground searching for Dermadril blindly in the tunnel the earthworm had just made.
“You make this too easy for me Ash…” Tamara replied with a quick shake of her head. “Substitute then Mud Shot!” A bright blue flash emanated from the tunnel then after a brief yell Virgel came spurting out of the ground completely covered in mud as he fell harshly onto the ground. He stood up unaffected from the Ground attack, but the amount of mud in the white feathers of his wings were weighing him down, preventing him from flying. Dermadril came out of the tunnel with a devilish smirk on his face with Tamara sharing a similar grin on her face.
“Alright Dermy, you can finish him off now!” Tamara yelled pointing towards a mud drenched Virgel. Dermadril came slithering towards Virgel ready to drag him underneath the ground when Ash yelled,
“We gotta fight him off Virgel, use Wing Attack!” With a quick swipe, Virgel aimed his heavy wing towards Dermadril and from the force of the attack the mud came off of his feathers and smack dab into Dermadril’s face, catching him by surprise. The Guardian Angel pokemon stretched his now weightless wing effortlessly since the mud was free from his feathers and Ash smiled enthusiastically and clenched his fist.
“Alright Virgel, now with the other wing!” Virgel looked with fierce intent at Dermadril and the worm pokemon gazed back at him fearfully. He threw his mud ridden wing towards Dermadril with mud instantly releasing from the feathers. The Mud Muncher pokemon quickly ducked and avoided the attack and the flying mud came into contact with Tamara’s face. Misty burst out laughing as Ash stifled his laughter. Even the referee cracked a smile which only made Tamara even angrier.
“Let’s go Dermy back into the ground!” she screamed at her pokemon wiping the mud off her face frantically. He quickly followed her orders and dove into the earth as Virgel took to the air.
“You’re pokemon will never be able to find mine!” Ash yelled across to her, smiling.
“Well I doubt your pokemon can see through dirt either…” Tamara yelled back at him. They stood still for a moment, realizing that they were at a stalemate… That is, until Tamara made a discovery that tipped the battle in her favor… She smiled coyly and she looked towards Ash.
“How about we make a bet Ash… If my pokemon is able to find yours, you have to promise me to a date…”
“DON’T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT ASH KETCHUM…OR ELSE!!!” screamed a voice all the way from the balcony. Tamara glared towards the balcony and she could see that Ash wasn’t going to cave in after a threat like that.
“Fine then, Dermy, go get him!” As Virgel flew in a circle around the arena, the ground from underneath him exploded and a tan snake-like animal came flying upwards, yelling his battle cry. Virgel was taken by surprise as Dermadril wrapped himself tightly around his leg and he tried to shake him off. He wasn’t budging though and he continued to climb up Virgel’s leg.
“Come on Virgel, just swat him off!” With a quick swipe of his white wing, the worm-like pokemon came stumbling down to the floor in pain. He quickly burrowed into the ground again after shooting Virgel a dirty look and Ash was faced with this puzzling dilemma.
“How is her pokemon able to sense where Virgel is even though he’s flying in the air?” Ash thought as he looked closely at Virgel then at the ground where Dermadril lurked beneath. As Virgel flew close by Ash, dust began to scatter from the ground and it hit Ash in the face. He shielded his eyes until he came to a startling revelation. “Every time Virgel flaps his wings, the wind hits the ground, which is what allows Dermadril to see him, sort of like radar…” Ash grinned slyly having discovered Tamara’s plan and looked closely at the ground. The dust on the ground slowly scattered as Virgel was floating above it which confirmed Ash’s suspicions. He signaled for Virgel to come closer and then he whispered something in his ear as Tamara looked on with a confused expression. His pokemon smirked back at him and nodded as Ash returned his smile. He took to the air again and circled very close to the trees that surrounded the match floor.
“Enough! Let’s end this right now Dermy!” Tamara shouted as she pointed towards Virgel. Ash glanced over at his pokemon and saw that he was following the plan by floating underneath a tree branch. As expected Dermadril appeared right from underneath Virgel. He quickly dodged and smacked him into the tree with his wing. Dermadril slammed into the firm tree and fell onto the floor, fainting from the attack.
“Dermadril is unable to move. Ash and Virgel are the winners of this round!” Ash jumped into the air and cheered in joy as Virgel pumped his fist into the air. Tamara ran to her pokemon with despair in her eyes.
“Don’t worry Dermy, you did just fine…” she whispered gently to her pokemon as she returned him back to his pokeball. She stood back up and picked another pokeball from behind her belt.
“Go Neffy!” The pokemon escaped from his pokeball and revealed his fearsome identity
“THAT’S NEFFY?!” Misty screamed as she backed away from the railing of the balcony in fear. Ash was also a bit intimidated by the pokemon too. His head which rested on a long neck was colored midnight black with two pairs of long pincers that ran from top to bottom and side to side. His armored body was colored a yellowish orange and he had three pairs of skinny legs that ran through his body, ending with a pair of sharp tiny prongs on his rear. He glared up at them and at first it wasn’t apparent, but his eyes were on the top of his head, tiny beady pitch black eyes that blended in perfectly with his head. Ash pulled out his Pokedex and pointed it towards the new pokemon. It opened up and the tiny black screen blinked on as the mechanized voice began to speak.
“Neferex, the Grapple Pokemon. 6’ 7” Bug/Dark: These pokemon find themselves most comfortable in thick forests where they live clinging upside down on trees. They attack their prey by latching their oversized claw onto its target while hanging upside down on a tree branch and then dragging their victim into its home. Because they live in dark forests and only come out at night, many humans and their pokemon have been attacked or gone missing due to this pokemon which has earned it the nickname ‘The Midnight Reaper.’ The mandibles of this pokemon are very powerful and can easily crush a solid rock while the six legs of this pokemon work together giving it enough power to pull a two ton truck.”
Ash glanced up at the pokemon as he opened his mouth and closed it all the while staring down Virgel who was now looking at him uneasily. Ash started to grow nervous, but he quickly snapped out of it as the referee took his position back on the sidelines.
“BEGIN!!!”
“Alright Neffy take to the trees!” Tamara yelled. Her pokemon scurried backwards quickly up a tree and rested upside down on a tree branch as he hid himself amongst the leaves. Misty had goose bumps all over her arm as she watched the bug pokemon crawl back into the tree.
“Disgusting…” she whispered to herself as she rubbed her arms. She then felt a faint breath of hot air on the back of her shoulder and she quickly turned around only to discover that there was nothing behind her. She glanced around nervously until she was certain there was nothing there. “I wonder what that was all about…” she muttered as she turned to look towards Ash’s match. He was already in trouble as Virgel attempted to free one of his wings from the grasp of the Grapple Pokemon because Neferex had managed to counter his Wing Attack. She shook her head once again as she said to herself, “Ash when are you going to start using your brain for once?”
Virgel flailed his legs frantically as Neferex continued to hold him in his powerful jaws, applying more force.
“Try hitting him in the face Virgel!” Ash yelled desperately as he watched his struggling pokemon. Virgel pulled himself up to Neferex’s level by using his wing and landed a quick punch on his face. He quickly let go of him and Virgel stumbled onto the ground in severe pain. His left wing was unnaturally bent inwards and the lightest touch would send him in excruciating pain. He retracted his wing behind his back carefully and punched the tree that Neferex was hiding in anger. The pokemon toppled out from within the depths of the green tree and fell harshly onto the ground, but he quickly recovered. They stared each other down until Tamara bellowed,
“Hit him with a Shadow Ball!” Neferex reared his head back and launched a sphere of dark energy towards Virgel who was in close range of the attack. He was carried off with the attack and was sent flying backwards. He fell onto his injured wing and he screamed in pain. Tamara smiled confidently.
“This isn’t going to take long…” She then yelled, “Alright Neffy, back into the tree!” Her pokemon retreated back up the tree as Virgel picked himself up off the ground, his knees shaking.
“Come on Virgel, we can still beat her!” Ash called out to his pokemon. Virgel turned around and Ash nodded at him encouragingly while giving him a confident smile. His pokemon returned his smile and he turned around and charged towards the tree that Neferex was hiding in. His fist was reared behind him as it glowed a bright white as he was charging for a Mega Punch. As he approached the tree he thrust his fist forward and was about to make contact with the trunk of the tree when a jet black claw clamped onto his fist from above the tree.
“Use Crunch,” Tamara called grimly. The claw closed tighter and tighter as Virgel struggled to be set free as he was slowly being dragged up the tree. He screamed louder and louder in pain as Neferex’s jaw closed upon his hand even tighter.
“Try attacking him back!” Ash yelled in shock at seeing his pokemon in such severe pain. Virgel concentrated on his attacker and started striking him with quick jabs from his free hand and powerful blows from his large wing. After her pokemon endured a flurry of Comet Punches and a few Wing Attacks, Tamara yelled out,
“Alright Neffy, use Seismic Toss!” The claw hanging from the tree swung him forwards then backwards then forwards again like a swing until he finally let go tossing Virgel onto the match floor. Neferex then fell onto the floor and struggled to pick himself up. Virgel stood up slowly as his left arm fell limply to the side after having just been in the powerful jaws of the Grapple Pokemon. He was unable to attack with the whole left side of his body now since his wing and arm were severely damaged and now that Neferex was back to standing up straight, things were going to be a lot harder on his part.
“Your opponent’s weak Neffy so finish him off with a Shadow Ball!” He charged up yet another dark energy ball and released it at Virgel as it flew towards him at full speed. He dodged it in the nick of time, but the energy ball had caught onto his healthy wing and it exploded as it made contact. This time Virgel picked himself up quickly only to show that he wasn’t going to give up even though both of his wings were damaged, his left arm was crushed slightly, and he was very tired. Ash’s mind was running at a thousand miles per hour trying to come up with a solution to what seemed to be an impossible situation. He couldn’t come up with anything else and he felt like giving up, but his pokemon turned towards him and encouraged him with a fierce yell. Ash looked up at Virgel and saw that he was willing to go out fighting no matter the cost. Ash smiled at his pokemon’s bravery and nodded.
“Alright Virgel charge a Mega Punch and run towards Neferex!” Virgel took off with an amazing amount of speed as his good arm was reared behind him, ready to charge for another powerful attack.
“Oh no you don’t! Neffy use Shadow Ball!” Her pokemon once again aimed towards Virgel and shot another ball of energy towards his attacker. Virgel quickly dodged it, but had to regain his energy to charge up another attack as well as Neferex. They stood still looking at each other until Virgel shot off with a burst of unbelievable speed as his fist glowed a sky blue.
“That’s definitely not a Mega Punch; it looks more like a Mach Punch!” Misty thought excitedly as Virgel darted towards Neferex in a beeline as his opponent charged up yet another Shadow Ball attack. As Neferex charged the Shadow Ball in his jaw, Virgel came close to him and he threw his fist forward in an explosion of speed. His fist collided with the Shadow Ball and the energy ball exploded sending both pokemon reeling backwards. As the dust cleared, both pokemon were lying still on the ground without any movement.
“Both pokemon have fainted at the same time; this match has been declared a DOUBLE KNOCKOUT!” Ash, Tamara, and Misty were all encased with utter shock and dismay as they stared at the referee.
“How are you so certain, the field was completely covered in dust!” Tamara screamed.
“Yeah and besides it’s obvious that Tamara’s pokemon was the first one down…” Misty yelled matter-of-factly from the balcony.
“How would you know Red? You’re obviously as blind as a bat since you can’t see how much Ash loves me,” Tamara stated as she held her nose high up in the air. Misty’s face turned red as she yelled back,
“You’re the one that’s taken too many blows on the head from practicing Kendo!” Tamara glared back at her until the referee ended the brief dispute by simply crossing his arms and solemnly declaring,
“That’s my final verdict.” They both stared at him and then lowered their heads in defeat once they saw that he stood firmly by his statement. Ash broke the silence by asking a simple question,
“So now what do we do?” Tamara quickly perked up and she responded by pulling out another pokeball from her belt.
“Easy; we settle the draw with another pokemon battle!”
“But I don’t have anymore left!” Ash exclaimed in exasperation. Tamara stared at him blankly and could see that he was quite serious.
“Well I’m sorry Ash, but according to the ‘Official Muntein League Rule Book,’ if in a Gym battle the ending pokemon designated from the beginning of the match result in a double knockout, each trainer must provide another pokemon to do battle for a tie-breaker and if a pokemon is not provided then the trainer must forfeit,” she said, reciting the rule book from memory.
“WHAT?!” Ash yelled in disbelief. He quickly took out his copy of the rule book from the back pocket of his green backpack and skipped to the page of the thick rule book that explained the rules of a Gym battle. He quickly read the part that explained double knockouts and found that what Tamara had stated was written in exactly the same words as it was in the rule book. He closed the book in disbelief and shock as his mouth hung open.
“…I should really start reading this book…”
“Well I don’t know what to tell you Ash, but… seeing as how you don’t have any other pokemon to do battle with…”
“Well he can always use one of mine, can’t he?” Misty interrupted from the balcony. Tamara glanced up at her and shot her a dirty look.
“No he can’t because that would be breaking another one of the rules in the book.”
“Yeah right…” Misty muttered sarcastically as her back faced Tamara and she looked at her from the sides of her eyes.
“Why don’t you take a look for yourself?!” Tamara retorted back as she threw the heavy rule book at Misty’s head. She quickly ducked and turned around to yell and threaten her with her mallet when she felt something unusual stroke her bare calf. She turned around sharply as she tried to catch what had touched her, but what was behind her was now gone. She shivered slightly as she only imagined what could have been touching her leg… “Maybe it was a tree branch or a rock… Yeah…probably a tree branch,” she thought with fear. She shuddered in fear again and leaned over the balcony again every once in a while glancing over her shoulder, still suspicious of what was lurking behind her.
The referee raised both of the flags into the air to declare the end of the match, but before he could say a word, a green blur came flying out from the trees behind Tamara and landed onto the match floor, skillfully landing its front flip. As the figure stood up straight, everyone could see that it was one of the Shogra from the dojo and upon closer inspection, that it was the leader of the class as he looked around at all of them. His eyes stopped as they passed over Tamara and he gave her the iciest glare that he could muster as she looked at him unemotionally. He then walked towards Ash and slapped him on the knee with the twig in his hand as he began to speak to him in his language. He pointed the stick towards himself then at Ash and finally swiped the stick in midair across Tamara, emphasizing every word he spoke with a brief grunt as he moved the twig about. Ash gave him a confused look as he attempted to decipher what the tiny grass imp was trying to say.
“Are you trying to say that you want to fight for me or you want to fight me?” Ash said faltering in confusion.
“He said that he’s willing to fight for you so he could help you win this match,” Tamara said, still unemotionally moved by the treachery of her pokemon, willing to fight against his master. The pokemon quickly nodded and turned towards Tamara. They both stared at each other with fire in their eyes as everything else seemed to fade away in their minds and the only thing that remained was them.
“So you think you can fight me now do you?” Tamara asked with a grimness in her voice that matched that of a gravedigger. He quickly nodded in response and began to speak in his native tongue that translated to this:
“I’m sick of the way you treat us. You make us train for long hours, scream and yell at us, then let us go at the end of the day so you can go to your precious bug pokemon as if you didn’t care about us.”
“I don’t,” she stated quickly. “The only reason I’m actually training you guys is just because my dad needs you guys for his business. Once you evolve, you guys are supreme cutting machines…”
“So that’s it? We’re just a bunch of machines for your benefit?” he asked with an underlying coldness. She simply nodded and he turned away from her with a fiery anger so hot that it could set the leaves that covered his body in flames. Everything else came back into focus as he walked slowly towards Ash. He turned to him once more and said something briefly before quickly turning around and facing the field.
“What did you say?” Ash asked in confusion.
“He said he’ll only fight for you for this one match and then that’ll be the end of it,” Tamara replied as she threw her pokeball into the air. It landed directly in front of Shogra and the pokemon that had come out of his pokeball quickly ate the twig in Shogra’s hand
“Thermai, the Furnace Pokemon. 4’ 4” Bug/Fire: This pokemon is a living furnace, which lies in its belly. It relies solely on that said furnace, which is really a flame sac that acts as a second stomach, for self-defense against the bigger predators it faces on a day to day basis for living in volcanic forests. It eats any kind of wood, no matter how hard or old, by cutting the wood into manageable portions with its big pincers then cutting them into even smaller sizes with the smaller pincers that lie in front of its mouth. After ingesting the wood, its flame sac glows brightly as it burns the splinters of wood into a fierce fire that it spews out of its mouth. Because of this ability, its main diet consists of wood and the underside of this pokemon is charred a dark black from the ever-burning flames in its belly.”
At that moment, Misty let out a scream that pierced the air. Everyone looked towards the balcony until she came to the balcony, her hair in a mess with a despaired look on her face, as she leaned over and began to scream at Tamara,
“You think this is some kind of joke?!” as she held up what was the wooden chair that she was sitting on only to be snapped in two by a pair of Thermai that were leaping in the air to consume the delicious timber that she held in her hand.
“Didn’t you want the finest kind of lumber that I could supply so you could sit on?” Tamara said innocently though she couldn’t help, but grin as Misty attempted to get the bug pokemon as far away from her as possible. With a devilish grin, she whispered to Ash, “What she doesn’t know is that that specific kind of wood is the kind that Thermai enjoy the most!” He shook his head wearily with a sigh as Misty finally gave up and threw the chair as far away from her as possible as she rested her head on the palms of her hands while her elbows rested on the wooden railing of the balcony.
“Ash is going to have a tough battle against Tamara if he’s going to use a grass type against a Bug and Fire type, two of its main weaknesses…” Misty thought to herself as she gathered herself together. They began to prepare themselves for battle then nodded towards the referee as he raised both of their flags into the air as he declared in his official voice,
“The tiebreaking match against Tamara and Ash will now…BEGIN!!!”
Shogra immediately took off without waiting for Ash’s orders, the stick sheathed by his side as he prepared to swipe it across Thermai’s head.
“Use Fury Cutter before he can get to you, Thermy!” She extended her pincers until they were completely open and waited for Shogra to get in a closer range.
“Shogra, jump in the air to avoid her attack!” Ash yelled. However, he kept charging straight towards his opponent until she clamped her jaws shut across his chest, knocking him back to the middle of the match floor. He got up as he winced in pain, grasping onto his green chest as Ash yelled from behind him, “Come on Shogra, we’ve got to work together as a team! You’ll never beat Tamara that way!” He lowered his head knowing he was right so he gave up his actions and waited for Ash’s next order attentively. Ash smiled and raised his hand as he said,
“Alright Shogra, go in for an airborne Cut attack!” He jumped up into the air and had the twig reared above his head as he began to descend upon Thermai. Tamara shook her head and said,
“You’ll never beat me that way Ash! Go Thermai, use Flamethrower!” Her pokemon aimed towards Shogra and aimed at Shogra and fired her attack.
“Quick, dodge it!” Ash yelled. Shogra tilted to the side, barely missing the attack, but his landing onto the ground was shaky. He rolled over and he quickly recovered as Ash yelled out,
“Use Tackle!” He quickly slammed into Thermai by using his shoulder, sending her flying back. She slammed into the tree as Tamara yelled words of encouragement to her. She shook her head and was back onto the ground as Ash tried to make a plan in his head.
“How am I going to be able to defeat Thermai? She’s resistant to Grass attacks and could easily knock out Shogra with another Flamethrower… Think, Ash, think!” he thought to himself as he slammed his fist against his head. He finally looked at where Thermai was standing and realized that she was underneath a tree. “That’s it!”
“Shogra use Razor Leaf-”
“Have you lost your mind Ash? Thermai use Flamethrower!”
“-on that tree branch over Thermai!” Ash yelled pointing towards the branch that was hanging over Thermai, exactly as he had planned.
“What?” Tamara exclaimed in confusion. Before she knew what was happening, Shogra had sent a flurry of razor sharp leaves towards the tree branch, quickly removing it from the trunk of the tree causing it to fall on top of Thermai as she let her fire attack loose. Shogra quickly jumped to the side, narrowly missing the flame attack once more as Thermai lit the tree branch sitting atop of her body on fire. She quickly yelled as she ran from side to side in panic as she tried to put out the fire raging on top of her.
“Let’s go Shogra, add more fuel to the fire!” Ash said with a wide smile. Shogra sent another flurry of leaves from his body towards Thermai, setting the fire ablaze even more. She ran faster from side to side as Tamara attempted to calm her down until she rolled over on her side, completely burnt from the flames, lying still.
“Thermai is unable to battle! The winner of this tiebreaker and of the Bark Badge is Ash Ketchum!”
“Alright!” Ash yelled as he jumped into the air pumping his fist up. Shogra smiled happily having finally given Tamara a taste of her own medicine and he sat down cross legged onto the floor in exhaustion. Ash walked up to him and patted him on the back.
“You fought really well today,” Ash said smiling as he looked him straight in his eyes. He smiled back before hitting him again on the knee with the twig as he began to speak in his pokemon language.
“Now what is he saying?” Ash replied scratching his head as Shogra began to point the twig from him to Ash repeatedly.
“He’s saying you’re a great trainer and even though he fought for you in this match, he won’t be a part of your team unless you do it the right way by facing him in a battle,” Tamara said as she walked up to him slowly.
“How did he even know I was thinking about that?” Ash said scratching his head surprised by how Shogra was able to read his mind. The Shrub pokemon grinned and tapped his head as he looked at Ash.
“YEAH!!!!!” Misty yelled after coming down from the balcony startling everyone. She got close to Tamara’s face as she jutted her on the chest with her finger. “I think its time that you gave Ash his badge now that you’ve lost!” she said with a smirk on her face. Tamara turned away as she huffed angrily.
“Well first, Ash is going to have a battle against Shogra then I’ll give him his badge and you guys can leave,” she said crossing her arms with a hint of jealousy in her voice.
“That’s fine by me!” Misty exclaimed happily. “So…where’s the battle?” She turned to Ash and he lowered his head as he suddenly realized he had no pokemon left… until Pikachu came limping from the sidelines. He pulled on Ash’s pant leg, volunteering himself to battle against Shogra even though he was very tired.
“There’s no way you can battle, buddy…” Ash replied gently, but his pokemon didn’t waver. He stood in front of Shogra and waited for Ash’s orders. He gave up trying to persuade Pikachu and took his place behind him as Shogra prepared himself for battle.
“You know you’re just as stubborn as me Pikachu…” Ash said smiling as Misty stood in the middle of them, taking her place as referee.
“The match between Shogra and Pikachu will start…NOW!”
“Use Quick Attack now!” Ash yelled. Pikachu took off at a blinding speed tackling into Shogra. He fell back, but quickly attacked back with a quick swipe of his twig. Pikachu took the blow to the face, but he quickly got up as Ash yelled,
“Iron Tail into Volt Tackle!” Pikachu front flipped as his tail emitted a bright light until he struck Shogra on his head, knocking him down. Pikachu then jumped backwards and charged towards Shogra as electricity began to run through his body. He tackled him head on and then collapsed onto the ground in exhaustion as Shogra flew back ten feet from the powerful attack.
“Pikachu!” Ash yelled, but Misty nudged him on the shoulder and pointed towards an unmoving Shogra who was lying on the ground. Ash quickly took an empty pokeball from his belt and threw it at Shogra. The ball opened up and it withdrew Shogra into it in a flash of red light. It fell onto the ground and began to move from side to side as Ash, Misty, and Tamara watched it anxiously. After a few moments of dead silence, the ball finally stopped moving and Ash walked towards it as he picked it up. He yelled in excitement as held the pokeball high into the air, having acquired another pokemon for his party. He then walked towards Pikachu and picked him up.
“You fought really well today Pikachu, better than I had expected. You deserve a nice long rest…” Ash said gently as Pikachu looked back at him and smiled appreciatively before falling into a deep slumber. Tamara then walked towards Ash with her left hand clenched tightly.
“Well Ash, you battled like a professional today. I’m sad to see you go, but I know maybe one day you’ll return back to me.” She winked at him and he laughed uneasily as Misty glared at her from behind Ash. “I proudly to present you this badge as a token of fighting so well today.” She opened up her hand and revealed a small brown badge that was in the shape of a piece of a tree that seemed as if it was ripped from the trunk of the tree with jagged edges on the top and bottom. Ash gladly took the badge and was about to do his pose when Tamara leaned towards him and whispered something in his ear.
“I also carved something special on the back of the badge so you can remember me by.” She smiled as he flipped the small brown badge over. Carefully carved on the back of the badge were the initials TT + AK carved inside of a heart. Ash laughed nervously before quickly hiding it into his pocket as Misty approached closer to them. If she would’ve seen what was written on the back of the badge, he was certain that there wouldn’t be much left of him and Tamara to speak of once she was done with them…
I had to cut up the post so...
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