This and following chapters contain some PG-rated material.

The Beautifly Effect

Chapter Seven -- A Winner

The following day...

The battle was tough. Ash's third opponent was no pushover. JT had already knocked out Gary Oak. If he beat Ash now, he'd probably make it to the final against Richie.

Both were down to their last of three Pokémon. JT's huge flower-bearing dinosaur was drawing in sunlight. If the blast hit Pikachu, the mouse wouldn't stand a chance.

It was all or nothing.

"Pikachu, Thunder!" Ash got an idea. "But wait for my signal."

Ash carefully read the Venusaur's body language. He decided to use the Solar Beam's power-up delay to let Pikachu build up its own charge. He had to wait as long as possible to maximize the damage Pikachu would do, but a second too long and Pikachu would be toast.

The Venusaur's petals were slowly flattening, lightening, glowing with energy. "Ready..." They began to curl forward. Too late? "Now! Pikachu go!"

"Chuuuu!!"

The crack of lightning was deafening and blinding. The Venusaur roared as every muscle in its giant body contracted... except for its petals, which were plant material and relatively immune. Nothing could stop the burst of radiant energy that they shot forth.

The solar beam struck, sending up clouds of dust and debris. When it settled, Ash opened his eyes. He saw a large round scorch mark on the ground in front of him. Next to it stood Pikachu, facing him with its paw raised in a victory sign and a huge grin on its face. It was covered in dirt, but was otherwise unharmed.

"Pi pikachu!"

The Venusaur lay on the other side of the arena, unconscious but still twiching.

Ash finished the formalities and raced out of the stadium towards the change room. The match had been a long one and he was busting.

While Ash was relieving himself, he heard someone else enter the toilet. When he finished and turned around, he saw Richie standing in front of a vending machine on the wall.

"Hey, Richie, 'dyou see my battle with JT?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah. Great match."

Ash walked up to him, took notice of what he was looking at, then looked back at Richie. A grin broke across Ash's face.

"Hey Richie, what've you been up to?" Ash asked knowlingly.

Richie glanced at Ash blankly, then put a coin in the machine.

Then Ash realised something. Who had he seen Richie with all day yesterday? His mischievous grin melded into a look of horror.

"Misty!" he whispered hoarsely.

Richie looked back at him. "Something wrong, Ash?"

"You've been fooling around with Misty!" Ash shouted.

Richie looked surprised. "Take it easy, Ash. I wouldn't call it 'fooling around'."

"So you admit it."

Richie stayed calm. "What's up with you?"

"Behind my back!" Ash shouted.

"Look, Ash, Misty never said anything about--"

"Listen here, Richie!" He spat out the name. "Meet you behind the stadium in fifteen minutes. You and I are gonna fight this out."

Richie looked horrified. "Ash, you know how I feel about using Pokémon--"

"Who said anything about Pokémon?"

With that, he stormed out. Pikachu, who had been waiting outside, ran after its trainer. "Pikapi!" it called, but Ash ran off ahead.