Chapter 5: The Master of Pallet Town (Part 1) Ash had been meditating for about 3 hours, less than usual for someone of his skill level. In that time, not much had changed. Ash had thought about different attack strategies he could use in upcoming battles, thought about previous battles he had just been in, and attempted to empty his mind of all the useless information that had been poured into it during his journey from Pallet Town to Concordia City. At 24, Ash had become a very powerful master not only of pokemon but also of mind, body, and spirit. Having taken time off from competing about 6 years ago, he studied with martial arts master Ikari Mazumoto. In that short time, he had gained an almost unparalleled mastery of swords and sword fighting as well hand-to-hand combat. In addition, he used what he had learned from his master about the mind and the body and used it in the training of his pokemon. When he meditates, his pokemon meditate with him. And when he trains, he trains not only his body, but his spirit as well. It's as his master once told him, "The body is nothing without the spirit to guide it." As Ash continued to meditate, he began to sense something moving around him. He saw the light flicker in front of him, creating a reflection against his eyelids. He felt the vibration of the ground underneath him, indicating movement around his current location. And finally, he heard the sound of a Katana blade being removed from its sheath and being swung at a horizontal angle toward his neck. Ash quickly unsheathed his own Katana and blocked the incoming attack with a swift and deft move toward his ear. The vibration of the two swords meeting edge to edge knocked both combatants back in opposite directions. As Ash got to his feet, he got his first glimpse of the attacker. Since his face was covered, he could not make a proper assessment of who the man was and if he was a threat. He also could not tell if he was bluffing, because his face gave nothing away. However, he did know that he was staring down the edge of a long and hand-made Katana blade and that he had to fight him, for there was no way to back out now. "Just so you know," Ash said, raising his own blade, "Don't expect me to let you get that close again." And with that, the attacker lunged and quickly came across Ash's right side with a flank cut that was blocked at the last second by Ash's quick reflexes. The Attacker, wasting no time, brought the sword quickly over to Ash's opposite side and made an upward diagonal attack followed by two defensive blocks. Ash was able to keep his opponents blade away from him using small motions with his wrist, but was unsure of why his opponent had backed off so easily. Was he setting himself up for something? All too soon his question was answered. Wasting no time, the attacker got in a crouching position, slashed at Ash's feet, and dove blade first toward Ash. Having no time to think, Ash fell to his back and kicked the man's body while it passed him in the air. The man, stunned for a moment, got back up to his feet, holding his chest in his hand. Ash took that moment to reach a pokeball from his belt and throw it at the attackers feet. "Go, Scizor!" The pokemon erupted from the pokeball and stood at attention in front of Ash. It's shiny red metal skin and it's large scissor- like hands were an intimidating sight in anyone's book. But the attacker didn't even flinch; he just stood up and grabbed a pokeball off of his back. This wouldn't have seemed so strange to Ash if he hadn't noticed that the poke-balls were blue and white rather than the standard red and white. When the attacker finally threw the pokemon he said nothing. His eye's stared blankly out at Ash and then the Pokeball, watching it travel from the air to the ground. When it finally hit the ground it split open and from out of it sprung a Tentacruel. 'This attacker's smart' thought Ash to himself, 'he was wise to send out a water pokemon against my steel pokemon, but he has no idea what to expect from Scizor.' "Scizor, Quick Attack now!" "Scizor!" And as soon as Scizor acknowledged Ash's command, he was off. Scizor had amazing speed, dodging left, right, and fainting his opponent back and forth until he was ready to rush Tentacruel. However, both the attacker and the patient Tentacruel only watched, as if waiting for the right moment to strike. When it came, the attacker didn't even have to say anything. He watched as Tentacruel instantly whipped out its tentacles and grabbed Scizor as he was traveling full speed. Tentacruel dodged out of the way, still holding on to the now helpless Scizor, and swung him around 360 degrees, letting go of him just at the right moment. "Scizor, recover!" Scizor, realizing that he was heading headfirst into a tree, quickly spun around and got his feet out in front of him. He ended up doing a flip off of the tree and recovering right in back where he had started before he had made his first attack. "Alright," Ash said to the attacker, "it's clear you are a skilled pokemon trainer. But are you ready to make the next move?" The attacker, again saying nothing, raised his sword above his head. He held it there only for a moment. And then, with one swift move, he swung it downward. The attacker's loyal Tentacruel knew what to do almost immediately and jumped into action. He began firing his water gun at Scizor, who started ducking and dodging to get out of the way of it. "Use your agility, Scizor. Don't let that water touch you." Ash watched as Scizor danced around, over, and under Tentacruel's blasts as if Tentacruel meant to miss him. Soon his shots of water weren't even coming close to hitting him. And the attacker knew that Scizor was slowly getting closer and closer to Tentacruel. "Tentacruel, Haze now!" The attacker shouted in what sounded to Ash like a feminine voice. 'What the...that voice,' Ash thought to himself, 'I know that voice.' But before he could attempt to figure out whom the voice belonged to, he found himself, Scizor, Tentacruel, and the attacker enveloped in a thick, black cloud of smoke. "Scizor, *cough*, try to *cough, cough* clear the smoke..." but it was impossible to talk with the smoke circling around his mouth, invading his nostrils. Ash tried to look around, but his eyes hurt from the haze. Instinctively, he closed his eyes and used his ears instead. Soon, he heard footsteps from behind him coming up fast. He unsheathed his sword and quickly raised it over his head, as if he new exactly how the attacker would strike him, and heard blade meet blade in one sudden instant. They both stood up straight and exchanged a set of blows. Ash, his eyes still closed, followed the sound of the blade moving through the air. He knew instantly where to put his blade and what action would follow. The attacker was stunned; she was certain that the smoke would have affected his vision. But, amazingly, Ash was able to thwart off any attack that she made. Finally, she made one finally attack that took all of her strength. "AHHHH!" The feminine voice shouted again, and Ash heard the blade coming full force at his head. He quickly blocked the incoming attack and made two short kicks at his opponent: one at her mid section, one at her head. She tried one more time to strike Ash, but it failed miserably. Before she could regain her stance, Ash did a low sweep on her feet and knocked her legs out from underneath her. The fight was over, and she had lost. As the smoke began to clear, the attacker could see that Ash was standing over her, his blade outstretched toward her own throat. "I have to admit, the haze was a very nice touch." Ash said, looking down at his fallen opponents eyes, which were staring back at him. "Nice to see you again, Misty." Misty, who still had her mask on, looked right back at Ash, who now had a big ol' "gotcha" smile on his face, let her head drop back onto the dusty ground, and muttered. "Ah, crap..."