Chapter 14- The Duel
~After weeks of training under Sky
Render, I have grown tremendously in strength and skill, and learning the real
strengths of my level II body. To say the least… Sky is a tough teacher, and
personally I feel all those guys I fought in the past who were trying to kill
me seemed to go easier on me than this guy. Almost no food or rest, always
having to keep constant vigil (I’m not allowed to let myself get caught off
guard) and not to mention I’m not even allowed to go down and see Misty, but I
guess that’s because I can’t afford any distractions right now. I don’t mean to
boast, but I don’t know of anyone at a lower level than mine would be able to
survive the lessons. Every time I fall to the ground, wondering what am I doing
here, why am I torturing myself constantly fighting him… I remember the Kaisers
and I remember my friends. I don’t want anything to happen to them. If this
pain I feel now is the price for their safety, then I will endure it… I must
become strong… if not for them, then for the entire world…
-Ash
Ketchum
(Location- Whitesand Pokémon Centre)
Ebi sat down at the table; the pieces of
mechanical parts were scattered over the table. Ebi was having a difficult time
fitting the pieces together. There was a lot of welding going on and his hand
was burned a couple of times.
“Yo, Ebi” Brock walked into the room, “I got the parts
you wanted”
“Put them on the table” Ebi didn’t take his eyes
off the weapon he was crafting.
Brock and Ebi didn’t have what you’d call a good
friendship… and normally you can’t even leave them alone in the same room for
five minutes without a fight breaking out, but right now was different. Right
now they were doing this for Ash’s sake, and helping Ebi with this meant that
he will be helping Ash. “So what are you making?”
“The usual, new weapons” said Ebi
“Again? Do we really need more?” asked Brock
“I would have to say yes.” Ebi sighed, “It’s a
sad state of affairs… but we’re practically at war, and war always calls for
the development of new arms. Our enemies keep getting stronger, and if we want
to survive, we have to progress too.”
“I guess you’re right…” sighed Brock. Just the
way Ebi said this, talking like they were at war… he didn’t like that. The very
idea of war didn’t sit well with him…
Brock decided that he’d rather let Ebi get back
to work. Brock sighed as he walked outside. Brock never got along well with
Ebi… he guessed it was because before he joined Brock was always the voice of
reason that everyone turned to… but now, that Ebi’s tagged along, he lost that
position. It really made Brock feel so insignificant because of how little he
knew compared to Ebi, and moment Ebi started making weapons of his own so he
could also fight, Brock feel useless. “What am I thinking?” Brock smiled, Ebi
wasn’t using the knowledge to show off, and he wasn’t having fun doing this. Right
now that man’s hands were cut and bleeding, he was suffering for Ash’s sake,
and anyone who would go through so much to help Ash couldn’t be that bad. Brock
was starting to feel newfound respect for Ebi. “That does is!” he said, “Ash is
training with Sky Render, Ebi’s making weapons and Gary’s out training, getting
strong! I for one am not going to sit around all day while everyone else is
getting stronger! I will do what Ash did, and I shall train too!”
“Bold words” said a voice.
Brock turned around and jumped, “WHAT THE…?!”
“Not so loud! It’ll be trouble if we draw
attention!” said Cleft.
“You want to get stronger?” asked G.I. Jolt, “You
can either train yourself and get a bit stronger, or you can come with us and become
a real fighter. Your choice”
Brock stared at them. Ever since the beginning he
never really trusted the fiends, and alliances with them were usually shaky due
to pure distrust against them. However, these ones didn’t seem to be lying.
“But why are you offering to help me?”
“Because we felt like it. That a problem?” asked Cleft,
“You have the potential to grow strong, far beyond what you could imagine. So
what’s your choice?”
“Hmm…” Brock thought about it… “Yeah, I’ll do it”
“You made the right decision!” Jolt crossed his
arms. “We’ll show you the ropes, toughen you up and teach you to fight like us.
But don’t expect this to be a vacation, because hanging around with us, things
WILL get rough”
“Didn’t expect anything less” Brock nodded as the
two left, he took a pen and quickly wrote down a note, leaving it on the table.
Grabbing his bag, he went following the two fiends. He didn’t know just what
sort of things he’d have to face in order to gain strength, but the next time
they saw him, he would be a real fighter…
(Location- Above Jade Cliffs)
“DADADADADADADADA!!!” Ash punched rapidly, at Sky
Render.
Sky Render dodged left and right and ran
backwards as Ash continued swinging “Not good enough!” he shouted “Don’t think
too much when fighting, only follow your basic instincts, they won’t guide you
wrong! Ah, now you’re thinking too little! AN OPENING!” he shouted as he
slammed Ash on the shoulders and knocked him back.
“Ugh…” Ash got up. He had taken several hundred
of hits from Sky Render since he began training, and even up till now he hasn’t
gotten used to them, they were really painful. Ash got up. He knew how Sky
Render was doing this… it all had to do with focusing energy into your body to make
it react to your thoughts quicker. Though Ash knew how to do it, he just
couldn’t do it as well as Sky Render. Ash closed his eyes and relaxed himself.
Soon, he opened them, and a smirk appeared on his face.
“Huh?” Sky Render looked at Ash, “AH!” he raised
his sword…!
SMACK!
Ash darted forwards and slipped through his
guard, slamming Sky Render in the face! As Sky Render stumbled back, Ash
cheered. He had succeeded!
“Congratulations Ash” Sky Render rubbed his face.
“You finally hit me. Shall we break for the day?”
“No!” said Ash, “I’m ready for more! Let’s not
stop now!”
“Just what I was thinking!” Sky Render smiled.
Ash was an incredible fighter, and he was growing at almost a frightening pace.
Since he had begun training with him, Ash had nearly doubled in strength and
skill…!
***
(
Tracey sat down on some rocks by the sea and drew
the scenery. He read the note Brock had left. “First Ash, and now Brock.” He
sighed, “All of them are training now, and becoming so much stronger.” He
looked at one sketch he had of Ash in battle, the QuickSilver on his arm and
practically burning with energy… this was something he drew from memory alone. Ash
looked so impressive, so powerful, and Tracey felt so weak, “Even before this,
“Oh get over it,” said AntiArctic. Tracey turned
around and gasped when he saw the super fiend, “Judging by that look on your
face, you weren’t expecting to see me”
“Don’t think we’d let everyone else get stronger
and leave you behind!” said Bonsai
“What are you saying?” asked Tracey
Bonsai picked up Tracey’s sketchbook, “These are
excellent drawings.” He looked at the details in those pictures, “You drew this
very quickly, and they’re from memory alone, but they’re just as perfect as a
photograph. A quick eye and great dexterity… that’s something all the best fighters
value”
“You have some serious skills with the pen” said
AntiArctic, “There’s a saying that the pen is mightier than the sword. Why
don’t you tag along with us? We’ll show you how to really make those skills of
yours useful”
“So what’ll it be? You coming?” asked Bonsai
“I…” Tracey looked at them, “Okay… I’ll do it!”
“Very well.” Said AntiArctic, “Don’t think for
one second this is going to be easy… learning to fight like us, takes skill and
effort, and just walking around with us is dangerous. One misstep can lead you
to an early grave”
“Sounds interesting” Tracey smirked, crossing his
arms as the two moved on. “Until now, I’ve always been scared to fight, and I
always let Ash fight for us. Now’s the time to stand on my own two feet, and
show everyone what I can really do!” He clenched his fists and looked into the air,
“I’m gonna train with the best, and never again will I be a dead weight to my
friends.”
***
(Location- Above Jade Cliffs)
Yet another few days training passed by, and Ash
had successfully completed more of Sky Render’s lessons. While Brock and Tracey
were currently training in specific categories, Brock working on strength and toughness
while Tracey was working with speed and skill… Ash was learning to hone his
skills. Ash had adapted most of his skills in pokémon battle into his own
fighting, and vice-versa he had also improved as a trainer. And because of Ash
and his strange connection with his pokémon, especially Pikachu, the stronger
he gets, the stronger his pokémon would get. The current match going on between
Ash and Sky Render has been going on for seven hours. Ash was fighting
seriously, and he was using the QuickSilver and his pokémon
“DADADADADADA!!!!!!” shouted, his Ash fists were
flying non-stop.
“GRRR!” Sky Render was having a hard time
blocking them all. Sky Render swung his wooden sword and Ash ducked. Sky Render
retaliated with some fast swings
TWACK! SMACK!
Ash fell back when Sky Render’s wooden sword hit
him. “You still haven’t learned your lesson have you?”
“Like you should talk! NOW PIKACHU!” Ash shouted
“Pika…” Pikachu grinned, just as Sky turned his
head and saw him hanging onto the back of his shirt… “CHUUUUU!!!!”
BZZZZT!!!
“RRGH!!” Sky Render closed his eyes as he felt
the electricity surge through him!
“AN OPENING!!” Ash shouted as he darted forward,
swinging his right arm…
BAM!
“AH!!!!” Sky Render exclaimed when the powerful
hit sent him flying right off the ground. Before he hit, Pikachu jumped off
towards Ash…
“YEAH! WE DID IT!” Ash cheered with Pikachu,
giving each other a high-five
“Ngh…” Sky Render groaned. Ash had just let
himself get hit that time to distract him from his real intention! It was to
let Pikachu slip beneath his guard!
“Whew… you know Sky? You’re a really, REALLY great
fighter!” Ash made a peace sign with his fingers “It’s been several hundred
fights… but I’ve FINALLY done it! I’ve finally made you fall!”
“That’s true” said Sky Render as get got up,
turned around, and began to walk away
“Hey, where are you going?” asked Ash
“My intentions all along was to stay here until I
was certain you were ready… and from what you just did, I can say for sure
you’re more than ready.” Said Sky Render, “You came up with some great tactics,
and more than that you made me fall”
“Is that really such a big deal?” asked Ash
“Very. Among the many thousands of battles I’ve fought,
no matter the enemy I emerged victorious in them all. Against some of the
strongest fighters in the world, not once did I hit the ground. You managed to
make me though” said Sky Render, “Consider it an honour, to be one of the few who
had forced me to the ground.”
“But in those fights, you were fighting
seriously, and you weren’t even trying in this one!” said Ash, “I don’t think
I’m ready. Maybe we should continue?”
“No” said Sky Render, “I only wanted you to learn
how to fight and utilise your abilities, to turn you in the right direction so
you can grow stronger on your own. You no longer need my help. From here on,
you will continue to grow and mature as a fighter, following your own path” Sky
Render started leaving, “My work is done. Remember what I told you about the
Shadow of the Deceiver. Good luck in the future Ash…” he said as he jumped into
the air… vanishing from sight
“So I’m done training?” wondered Ash. He hopped
around and stretched a bit. “I don’t feel any different. Do I look any
different Pikachu?” he asked
Pikachu, who had been sitting around and watching
replied “Pi” No
“Hmm…” Ash stepped over to a boulder and looked
at it, “Only one way to see!”
“Pika?!” Pikachu exclaimed, surely Ash wasn’t
thinking of…
“HIYAAAA!!!!”
CRACK!!!!
Pikachu couldn’t bear to watch and covered his
eyes. He hesitated, but he had to make sure his trainer wasn’t injured. Pikachu
was surprised to see Ash wasn’t jumping around in pain due to a broken hand.
“Whoa…” Ash said in awe. His punch had broken the
boulder in half. He looked at his hand and could see a tiny bruise on the fist.
Pretty understandable that there’d at least be some sort of mark, but it was no
real harm. As a matter of fact, the bruise had already started fading, he had healed
already! “Have I really gotten that much stronger?” he asked “AWESOME!” Ash
cheered, “Did you see that Pikachu?!”
“Pika!” Pikachu replied, half shocked and half
excited
“Don’t forget, the stronger I get, the stronger
you get! We’re gonna show those Kaisers a thing or two next time they show
their faces!” he cheered, Pikachu as well
(Location- Below Jade Cliffs)
“
“Not bad… even though I was only gone training
for a little while…” said
“Little while? You’ve been gone for weeks!” Said
Amaebi
“Yeah, I guess… but there’s been some definite
improvements. Where’s Ash?”
“Up there” she pointed to the cliffs, “(Misty’s
over there… but be careful what you say! She’s in a bad mood!)” she added in a
whisper
Misty had been angry at Ash ever since he ran
away on account of her cooking. She was really sensitive about this. Ever since
they ran off to start training, Ash and Sky Render hadn’t come down once. “Ash
you jerk…” she kept muttering
“Hey Misty!”
“Hmph!” Misty crossed her arms, “Terrible!”
“Why?” asked
Misty got angry at the mention of Ash’s name “He
cares about nothing but fighting!”
“Don’t say that!” said
“You think?” said Misty, “Even as we speak he’s
probably doing something stupid!”
(Meanwhile)
“I wonder if I’d survive if I jumped off this
cliff?” Ash looked down
“Pika-pikachu!” said Pikachu, sitting on his
shoulder
“Oh? So you’re daring me to jump?” asked Ash, and
Pikachu nodded, “No way! I may be tough, but this’ll definitely kill me!”
“
“Oh yeah? Well I’ll just have to jump off and
prove to you how wrong you are!”
(Back at Gary and Misty)
“What was that?”
“The only thing he ever puts his mind to is
fighting…” Misty crossed her arms
“Now Misty, I know you don’t mean that” said
WHOOOOSH!!!! THUD!!!
The sound of an object falling from great height
and landing made
Though Ash had just plummeted from the sky, he
landed perfectly on his feet. “WOOOOO! WHAT A RUSH!!!!” He cheered, “That was
so cool!!!! Let’s do that again!!!!” Ash then looked down at himself, “Darn…
still alive. You win the bet…” he grumbled, forking over a bundle of dollar bills
to Pikachu, “Oh, hi Misty!” He noticed her… “…and
“Just now.” Said
“Oh yeah!” Ash flexed his muscles, “Pumped up and
ready for action! Pikachu as well!” he was referring to Pikachu, who looked a
lot more fit than before. Ash then stepped to Misty, “What’s wrong Misty?” she
was looking away from him. “Oh, I get it. Cranky because of the cooking
incident?” he asked, she didn’t respond, “Maybe this will make it up” he pulled
something out of his pockets that caught her eye
“What’s that?” she asked as Ash handed it to her
“As you know, there’s a lot of jade around here,
and every night (in the very brief amount of time I’m allowed) I spent some
time carving this. I made it just for you!!” he said as he handed her a jade he
carved into the shape of a heart. There was string that went through it and
held it like a pendant. “I hope you like it”
“Oh Ash…” Misty’s eyes sparkled, feeling her
anger melt away “I love it!” She exclaimed, hopping forward and hugging him,
“Thank you so much!”
Ash smiled as he hugged Misty back… “You can
thank me, by going out with me for dinner and a walk on the beach. What do you
say?” he held out his arm
Misty kissed him on the cheek “I think you know
the answer to that”
As the happy couple linked arms and walked off,
Pikachu following them,
“Don’t forget, Misty’s quite a fickle person, and
no matter how mad she is, she still loves him. Not to mention he DID apologize
by doing something special and giving her a gift.” Said Amaebi, “Even though
Ash is pretty clueless on matters of romance, I must say he’s a natural-born
lady-killer and did everything right. (sigh) lucky Misty… I wish I had a guy
who would give me jewellery and ask me out to a nice restaurant…” she then
turned and looked at
“Sorry. I don’t date OC’s”
“I DO! PRETTY ONES ESPECIALLY!” Brock shouted,
appearing out of nowhere and glomping her from behind
“EEEK!!!” Amaebi screamed
ZAM!!!!
“YEAAARGH!!!!!” Brock exclaimed and fell when
something hit him in the face. It wasn’t Amaebi who did it, so where did that
come from?
(Location- Whitesand)
“OH YEAH, HEAD SHOT! I PWNED U N00B! WOOT!” Ebi
shouted from the roof of the pokémon centre and patted the laser sniper rifle
he held in his hands
“Ebi, what are you doing?” a voice startled Ebi
and made him trip and fall of the roof.
“WAAA! OW!” Ebi hit the ground hard, “Ow… my
back… Ash! Misty!”
“Yeah, it’s us” said Misty, “Why are you holding
a sniper rifle?”
“This, is no mere sniper rifle!” Ebi got
up and raised his head snootily, “This is a composite Ebi-Brand Buster-Class
custom made Long Laser sniper! Made it myself!”
“And you shot Brock with it?” asked Ash “I
thought you two dropped the grudge!”
“We didn’t. I mean, we started respecting each
other not long ago, but that won’t change things” said Ebi, “I did that because
he made physical contact with my sister”
“But did you have to set it on kill?” Misty said,
referring to a certain dial on the side of the rifle, indicating the power
levels, starting at yellow for stun, up to red for kill… and even further past
red was a setting that had Brock’s picture… “Is he even alive?”
“Good question, let me see…” Ebi looked into the
sniper scope, “Yep, he’s alive. I guess I’ll have to do something about that…”
he placed his finger on the trigger… “PREPARE 4 MORE PWNAGE BY MY L33T GUNXORS!
LOL!”
“Okay, that’s enough…” said Ash as he pulled down
the barrel of the laser rifle “You’re a smart guy, and you shouldn’t be playing
with dangerous toys. And quit talking like that, it’s really freaking me out!”
“Well, we’d like to hang around and chat some
more, but we’re on a date!” said Misty. “And stop picking on Brock!” she said
as they walked off
“Dangerous toys… stop picking on Brock… HMPH!”
Ebi looked at the long laser sniper, “What am I? Four? Who are they to tell me
to be careful with a gun…?” (BANG!!!!) The sniper rifle accidentally
fired, making Ebi jump. There was the sound of glass breaking in the distance,
followed by a loud ‘thump’ and a woman’s scream. “Uh-oh!” Ebi sweatdropped,
looking left and right, as sirens started sounding in the distance. “Dammit, I
am NOT going back to jail!” he shouted and made a break for it.
***
(
“I had a great time Ash” Misty said as they
walked down the beach beneath the starry sky. Their date was perfect, and not a
single bad thing had happened. Ash had become the kind-hearted playful self
that Misty fell in love with. Misty sighed.
“Is something wrong Misty?” asked Ash
“No, nothing’s wrong” said Misty, “Everything is
great. Absolutely perfect”
“That’s good” Ash said as they continued walking.
He wrapped his arm around her and held her close. “I’m glad that you’re happy”
He said and smiled brightly
Misty sighed sadly. The way he smiled just now,
she hadn’t seen him smile like that in ages, and it always seemed to make
everything feel brighter. What she said about things being perfect, it was
true. Things were perfect, too perfect in fact. The way Ash is acting, so
innocent and carefree… why couldn’t things stay the way they are? Why did Ash
always have to fight so much? Whenever Ash fought, everything about him
changed… as if he turned into a completely different person. It wasn’t a bad
thing, but it wasn’t good either. Misty loved the playful Ash, but not the
fighter.
“Misty…” Ash spoke up, getting her attention,
“Something’s bothering you, I know it.” He said, “Please, tell me? What’s the
problem?”
“I… I don’t know how to say this…” Misty answered
“It’s okay, just try” said Ash
“I…” she looked at the ground, “I can’t…”
“Misty…” Ash spoke, “If you can’t tell me, who
can you tell?”
“That’s the problem!” Misty looked at the ground.
There was a tear gathering in her eye. How could she tell him she loved the
kind Ash, but not the fighter? She could tell this to anybody, EXCEPT Ash!
“Misty, don’t be sad” Ash said as he brushed the
tear away with his finger, “It’s okay, whatever you have to say to me, I’ll
listen and do all I can to help” She knew that what she had to say would hurt
him. She looked up into Ash’s eyes That innocent gaze reminded her of all the
happy times she’s been with him. How could she stand to hurt him?! As she started crying, Ash held her in his
arms as her face was buried in his chest, “Hey, it’s okay! Don’t cry Misty.
Tears don’t become you!”
Misty sniffed. She stopped crying, but didn’t let
go of him either, resting her head on his shoulder. If Ash really wanted to
help her, why was she trying so hard to hide it? “Ash…” she spoke slowly, she
was going to tell him exactly what was on her mind…
“HMM!” Suddenly, something clicked inside of Ash.
He quickly let go of Misty
“AH!” Misty exclaimed as she tripped after so
suddenly being let go. “What the…?!”
Ash’s expression changed completely. He was
looking left and right, scanning for something. It was his trainer instincts
that clicked in, warning him… DANGER!!!!
“KAISER SWORD!!!!!” A voice shouted and a figure
darted forwards
“WA!” Just as fast as the dark figure moved, Ash
grabbed Misty and jumped out of the way. The Kaiser sword slashed through the
sand. “It’s you…” Ash said quietly.
“Yes. It me” said Red Kaiser, sheathing his sword.
“What you humans do is just sickening! I would kill just so I no have to watch any
more!”
“Who are you to say anything is disgusting? Look
what you do to your bodies!” Ash retorted, “Cutting out your flesh and muscles
and sticking in metal and machines! You have no right to talk about
disgusting!”
“Oh really?” Red Kaiser asked, “I am gifted with sacred
body, and lose unholy flesh! You want to fight me? I show you how strong Kaiser
is compare to human!”
“Hmph… any bit of sanity left in him, he’s thrown
it all away… All right! I accept your challenge!” said Ash as he turned to
Misty, “Misty, go, quickly!”
“Ash…” Misty stood up, “No! Please, listen to me
just this once, don’t fight him!”
“I’m serious Misty, run! Hurry!” Ash pleaded for
her to run
“Ash! Last time you fought him, you nearly died!
Do you think I want that again?”
“That’s not gonna happen this time. I’ve been
preparing for this moment…” Ash said as he placed the QuickSilver on his arm,
“I will win this time.”
Misty was starting to get angry. She was no
longer talking to the kind and sensitive Ash, she was talking to the fighter.
“And how do you know?!” she shouted, “Please!”
“Misty…” Ash spoke, but Misty didn’t stop
“I’m begging you! No more fighting! If you…”
“MISTY! SHUT UP!” Ash shouted, making her jump
“GET OUT OF HERE! NOW!”
Misty was shocked. The way Ash shouted at her,
she can’t remember the last time he raised her voice against her like that.
Tears gathered in Misty’s eyes, she was right. Ash didn’t want her. He only
wanted to fight! “YOU… YOU…! IF THAT’S WHAT YOU WANT THEN I’M GOING!” she
screamed as she ran off, crying.
“Now that that unpleasantness is gone, we can
fight” said Red Kaiser
“Hey, that ‘unpleasantness’ is my girlfriend!”
said Ash
“You humans… emotions is what make you weak!” Red
Kaiser pulled out his sword, “Love, sadness, affection, all nothing but
illusions made by sinful human! When Kaisers rule world, we eliminate them all,
and create world of purity”
Ash growled when Red Kaiser said that. “(This
is exactly what Sky Render said. I’ve trained long and hard for this moment,
and I’m not going to let freak even talk like that! They want to overrun this
world… to reshape it however they see fit… but I won’t let them!)” Ash took
a fighting stance, “COME AND GET ME KAISER!”
“HAAIIIIIYAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!” Red Kaiser screamed
as he charged forwards, his Chinese sword whirling through the air, about to taste
human blood…
It’s Ash vs. Red Kaiser in the rematch of
the century! Ash has become stronger, is it enough to overcome the berserk
warlord? And just what is going on between Ash and Misty? Find out next time on
Pokémon: Shadow of the Deceiver!
►
TO BE CONTINUED