Chapter 3

Ash and Pikachu were at the pokemon center desk, followed by their friends, Brock, Misty, May, Max, Cassandra, her Gardevoir and Lao Ping.

“Has anyone seen Black Jack this morning?” Cassandra asked.

Everyone shook their heads sideways, indicating that they haven’t seen Black Jack since his first round battle against the loudmouth, Chris Jolteon. “Would’ve been great if he gets to see any one of Ash’s matches,” Misty said. “He would’ve been so impressed.”

They looked at the big screen as it showed Ash’s first opponent. It turned out to be a boy younger than Ash. He had brown hair, a white shirt, blue jeans and brown shoes. The trainer’s name was Wally.

“Wally,” Ash said. “Never heard of him.”
“I’ve heard that he is a gutsy trainer,” Brock said. “I have a feeling that he’ll be just as determined as you, Ash.”
“Haha! Who wouldn’t be?”

Suddenly, a voice was heard from the nearby speaker. “Would Ash Ketchum and Wally walk over to the stadium please?”

“That’s us, Pikachu!” Ash cried excitedly.
“Pika!” Pikachu cried.

They all made their way to the stadium. Ash proved to the security guards that he was there to compete and was told to take a different entrance to the stadium while the others entered at the main entrance. While Ash was getting ready, the others were surprised to see Black Jack already seated as a spectator. They all sat close to him.

“Black Jack?” Lao Ping said. “When did you get here?”
“Early,” Black Jack replied. “I just hate long cues.”
“This guy’s really weird,” May whispered to Misty.
“I second that,” Misty replied.
“He’s got good ears too,” Black Jack warned.
“C’mon you guys,” Cassandra said. “Black Jack’s not all that bad.”
“Gard,” Gardevoir replied.
“Thanks, kids,” Black Jack said.

“Ladies and Gentlemen!” the announcer cried. “We are about moments away from another great pokemon match! Are you ready!?”
“YEAH!” the crowd yelled, everyone except Black Jack.
“I can’t hear you!”
The crowd yelled even louder.

“Okay! First up, from Pallet Town, he is one of the top sixteen top trainers in the Kanto Region League, the Orange League champion, the Johto League semi-finalist, and now he is hoping to become Hoenn League champion and the next pokemon master… ASH KETCHUM!”

As the crowd gave a deafening cheer, Ash nervously walked to his respective part of the field, trying to keep his focus on his upcoming match, along with Pikachu riding on his shoulder. When he reached his part of the field, he let out a small sigh of relief.

“Strange,” Black Jack said. “For a great trainer, he’s very nervous.”
“Don’t worry about that,” Misty said. “When he battles, he’s like an button. Once he starts battling, there’s no way that he’ll back down from anything.”
“I must admit… looks can be deceiving.”

As Ash waited patiently, the announcer announced his first opponent. “And his opponent, from Petalburg city, he is known as the ‘rookie of the millennium’, for the first time ever, ladies and gentlemen, please welcome… WALLY!”

As the crowd cheered, a ten-year-old boy was nervously walking down to his respective part of the field. He had green hair and was wearing a white-buttoned shirt, brown jeans and black shoes. “He must be Wally,” Ash thought.

“He’s from Petalburg city?” May said. “That’s where we live Max!”
“I know,” Max said. “I noticed that he was with this guy when they were going into a forest while you were out getting your first pokemon.”
“Oh.”

Black Jack intently looked at both trainers. “Wally must be either strong or lucky getting into this league,” he thought theoretically. “Either way, Ash will beat him easily, thanks to his experience, titles and innovations.”

“The computer will now select which trainer will release his pokemon first,” cried the announcer. The computer began circulating and randomly selected Ash to be the first trainer to pick his pokemon first.

“Sorry, Pikachu,” Ash said as he took out a pokeball off his belt. “I choose you! Sceptile!”

He tossed out his pokeball and Sceptile came out of it. He landed on his feet and placed a small twig in his mouth.

“Okay…” Wally said nervously said as he took out his pokeball and tossed it. A Gardevoir popped out of it.

“Huh!” Black Jack said in a slightly surprised way. “I never thought that a rookie trainer could find a pokemon like that, let alone catch one.”
“Hey!” Cassandra said. “It’s the same species as you, Gardevoir.”

She and her friends turned to her Gardevoir’s direction and noticed that there were sparkles in her eyes. “Uh-oh,” Black Jack teased, noticing that Gardevoir had fallen in love with Wally’s Gardevoir. “We’re losing her.”
“I just hope that she doesn’t act up like Brock does,” Misty said.

“Cassandra’s got a Gardevoir,” Ash thought to himself. “I know stuff about her but I don’t know much about this one, so I have to be careful.”

“Sceptile!” he yelled. “Slam attack!”

Sceptile leapt into the air and aimed his attack on Gardevoir.

“Um… Gardevoir! Psychic attack!” Wally yelled.

As Black Jack looked on, he knew that when a trainer attacks physically he shouldn’t attack head on; he must trick his opponent first.

Wally’s Gardevoir shot out a Psychic blast but missed as Sceptile dodged out of the way and spun his tail to whack Gardevoir across the face. It staggered backwards, trying to regain balance. Cassandra’s Gardevoir was in shock.

Gardevoir tried to regain his senses while Sceptile attempted another Slam attack.

“Gardevoir!” Wally yelled. “We can’t get hit with the same attack twice! Dodge it!”

Gardevoir barely dodged out harm’s way as Sceptile slammed his tail on floor, created a big dent in it. “Way to go!” Wally said. “Now Shadow Ball!”

Gardevoir charged up its powers. “Stand your ground, Sceptile!” Ash instructed. “Don’t move until I say so!”

Gardevoir finished charging up its powers and shot a large black energy ball at him. “Now, Sceptile!” Ash yelled. Sceptile did as he was told and dodged underneath the fireball as he ran towards his opponent.

“Now we got him!” Ash yelled. “Slam attack!”

Sceptile leapt into the air and aimed his tail again towards. His attack was coming quite close to giving it more damage. When suddenly, a black energy ball came zooming in on Sceptile, causing an explosion upon impact. This move has shocked everyone in the entire stadium, including Black Jack himself.

“How did that happen?” Ash said in astonishment as Sceptile fell hard on the floor.

“It looks like that I’ve underestimated the rookie… or more technically the pokemon,” Black Jack said. “Gardevoir must’ve unnoticeably used his psychic ability to control his attack.”
“You noticed that it was a male?” Cassandra asked. “How do you know?”
“Instincts,” Black Jack replied as he looked at Cassandra’s Gardevoir who was clapping with joy, supporting Wally’s Gardevoir.

“I can’t believe it…” Wally said as he sweated heavily. “I never thought that I could win this until Gardevoir taught me a little something. I owe him something.”

He shook his head, trying to get back to his strategy. “Okay…” he continued. “Ash’s Sceptile has been weakened and lying on the floor. And Ash is in panic mode. All I got to do now is attack with Shadow Ball and I would actually beat him!”

“I’m gonna win!!” he yelled excitedly. “Gardevoir! Shadow Ball attack!”

Seeing that there’s no reason to charge up his attack, his Gardevoir shot out a smaller sized Shadow Ball at Sceptile. But suddenly, the wood gecko pokemon glowed vigorously green much to everyone’s surprise, except Ash.

“Sceptile!” Ash yelled. “Knock that Shadow Ball away!”

Sceptile immediately stood up and whacked the attack away with his tail, sending back to Gardevoir! The energy ball was a lot bigger and faster than it was before when Gardevoir shot it out.

Gardevoir was hit by the attack and was knocked down before Wally could react. He was deeply shocked. “What’s going on?” he cried in a confused tone. “How can you attack back when your Sceptile was weakened?”

“Cos he has a special ability called Overgrow,” Ash replied. “If Sceptile is at a losing end, he’ll gain more attack strength.”

Wally looked down on his weakened Gardevoir in a defeated look. “It’s over… I surrender, Ash!” he said.
“Wally surrenders the match!” the referee cried. “Ash Ketchum wins!”
“Wha…” Ash said. “Giving up just like that?”

Gardevoir looked back at Wally with great shock. “I’m sorry, Gardevoir. I don’t want you to get hurt anymore,” Wally said as he looked down in shame. “Plus, I’m not ready for leagues like this.”

Ash walked over to him and placed his hand on his shoulder. “Don’t feel sad, Wally,” he said. “That attack you’ve pulled really had us shocked, and I can tell that you’re a great trainer.”

“Really?” Wally said happily. “You mean that?”
“Sure I do.”

They both shook hands. Every spectator stood and gave out a standing ovation, apart from Black Jack who remained seated and gave some applause.

Gardevoir walked over to Sceptile, who was still glowing, and wanted to shake his paw. Sceptile was about to accept his hand of friendship when suddenly he stopped glowing and fell on the floor holding his injured arm.

Ash turned round to see what’s going on and saw Sceptile on the floor and in pain. He quickly took out his pokeball and got him to return. Wally did the same and they both immediately ran out of the stadium, much to everyone’s worry.

“Well done, Ketchum,” Black Jack thought proudly as he and his acquaintances got off their seats and made their out.

A few hours later, Ash and his friends, apart from Black Jack, were at the pokemon center, where Ash was waiting to get his Sceptile healed. His new friend, Wally was waiting to get his Gardevoir healed. They were waiting outside the operating room.

Cassandra’s Gardevoir had a worried look on her face. Her trainer couldn’t help but notice. “You like Wally’s Gardevoir, don’t you?” she teased.

Her Gardevoir quickly shook her head sideways as she blushed a bright pink. “Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone if you don’t.”

Gardevoir let out a small sigh of relief.

Meanwhile, Ash couldn’t help but worry about Sceptile, remembering that blast Sceptile took was purely damaging. Suddenly, there was a ‘ding’ sound, signalling that the operation was over.

As Nurse Joy came out, Brock quickly zoomed over to her and gently grasped her hands. “Oh, Nurse Joy,” Brock said dreamily. “I’m suffering from a broken heart and you are only person that can fix it for me.”

Brock suddenly felt Misty’s hand tugging his ear and whimpered in pain. “You’re going to be suffering a cracked skull if you carry on like that,” she growled.

Ash and Wally quickly walked over to her, followed by their friends. “Nurse Joy,” Ash said desperately. “How is Sceptile?”
“And Gardevoir?” Wally asked.
“Gardevoir is fine and you can pick him up tomorrow. But Sceptile is in pretty bad shape and would need a long rest.”
“No way!” Ash cried.
“Yes. He has been suffering a lot of damage because of his continuous battling before the tournament. I can tell that he’s never 100% healed after recovery.”

Ash remembered the fact that Sceptile enjoyed battling a lot, but he never wanted Sceptile to be reckless in battle. “Perhaps, I was being reckless when I battle with him,” he said in a down tone as he looked down in shame. “I’m the one to blame.”
“Don’t put it on all on yourself, Ash,” Brock said. “We all make mistakes sometimes.”
“I didn’t make a mistake, Brock. I made a bad choice.”

He looked up at Nurse Joy. “Can I see him?” he asked.
“Of course, you can,” she replied.

Ash and the others entered the room where Sceptile and Wally’s Gardevoir were recovering. Ash walked over to the bed where Sceptile was lying on where while Wally walked over to his Gardevoir.

It didn’t take for Sceptile to slowly open his eyes. “Scept…”
“Sceptile,” Ash whispered. “I’m glad you’re okay.”
“Er, Ash,” Wally said. “If Nurse Joy said that Sceptile wouldn’t be able to fully recover for the next couple days during the tournament, who’s gonna take over?”

Sceptile’s eyes widened with shock. He struggled to get from his bed but he felt the aching pains in his body. “Sceptile! Calm down!” Ash said. “Just listen to me!”

Sceptile did as he was told as he tried to lie comfortably on his bed. “Sceptile,” Ash started. “I know how much you love battling. But I can’t risk your health just to win this competition, cos if I do, chances are you won’t be able to battle again. Besides, you have got to rest sometime.”

Sceptile agreed that he’d relax until he was free to battle again. “They were some strong but smooth things to say, Ash,” Brock said.
“I know,” Ash said. “But who can I think of to take over Sceptile?”

Suddenly, a loud roar was heard from outside, a roar that was familiar to Ash, Brock and Misty. “It’s Charizard!” Ash said happily, as Charizard was flying outside the window. Ash opened the window to let Charizard in and they both gave each other a great big hug. “Are you here to battle with me?” Ash asked. Charizard gave a positive growl and nodded, much to Sceptile’s disgust.

“Hey everyone,” Ash said. “Meet my old buddy, Charizard.”

Charizard let out a small growl. Everyone introduced themselves to him, except Sceptile and Wally’s Gardevoir. “Er… Ash,” May said. “If you’re allowed six pokemon on you, how are you going to get Charizard on your team.”
“Simple,” Ash said. “I’ll ask Prof. Oak to take care of Sceptile for a while and Charizard will be easy to carry. Is that okay, Sceptile?”
“Scept…” Sceptile replied tonelessly.
“Sceptile…” Ash said in a concerned tone.

Nurse Joy walked into the operating room and was shocked to see a Charizard in the operating room. “What is a Charizard doing here?” she cried.
“Nurse Joy,” Ash said. “Does Sceptile need any more medical attention?”
“No. But he needs a long rest.”
“Will it be okay if I sent it to Prof. Oak to rest?”
“You know him?”
“Yeah. Not only that he researches on pokemon, he’s good when it comes to medical stuff.”
“Well, I’ve never been in this situation. But since Prof. Oak knows a thing or two about medicine then it’ll be fine with me.”
“Thanks, Nurse Joy.”

While they were talking, Cassandra’s Gardevoir couldn’t stop staring dreamily at Wally’s Gardevoir while he was asleep.

Outside the Hoenn League village, Black Jack was lying by a tree with a straw in his mouth. He was reflecting on what has happened over the past few months after he left Team Rocket. First, he became Blaziken’s new trainer after his old trainer passed away. Then he helped Cassandra save the children of Rustboro’s Pokemon School. Then he noticed that someone or something was calling for him while he was battling Mewtwo.

He always saw himself as a tough and merciless SOB, but for some reason he always helped others in need. While he thought about it, his Nidoking came into his view. “Finished your dinner already?” Black Jack asked.
Nidoking nodded.
“Nidoking,” Black Jack continued. “Do you think that I have gone soft?”
“Nid?” Nidoking asked. Which meant, “huh?”
“Ah, forget it,” Black Jack replied, realising that Nidoking wouldn’t understand.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
More coming!! Reviews please!!