Ash and Nessa

Chapter Four -- Blaine Meets Ash

Shortly after the match, Ash was in the foyer again. He soon found himself surrounded by a group of people all wishing to speak to him and pelting him with questions and praising his performance.

"Ash, how did you feel when you won?" "Ash, I knew you'd beat her. You're the tops." "Hey Ash, I saw you at the Pokémon League competition. Didn't you have a Pikachu following you around?" "How long have you been a gym leader?" "That's quite a sprite of a 'sprout you've got there."

Ash felt a bit overwhelmed and excused himself from the crowd. Still, the praise soaked in and he began to think that maybe things weren't really as bad as he was feeling. He decided to go outside and take his Pokémon to the Pokémon Centre in good time for his next match.

"Ah, Mr Ketchum," the receptionist called out. "Congratulations on your win. Your next competitor won his first match in five minutes," she said matter-of-factly, "so I've updated the noticeboard."

What!? Ash though, shocked. He thought he had had a quick victory. But five minutes! That unboosted his ego back to reality. He went to the noticeboard and looked for the details about his next match. He was stunned at what he read.

     3:00 pm Rock Stadium
     Blaine (Cinnabar) vs Ketchum (Cerulean)

Blaine! That brought back memories of his first Pokémon journey. Blaine was a pretty tough opponent to beat. Ash had lost his first match with him, and had found the second difficult. So Blaine was still the Cinnabar Island Gym Leader after all these years.

"Ash! So we meet again," came a soft, monotone voice from behind.

Ash turned around. There he was! Blaine had noticeably aged and was now completely bald.

"Are you surprised I still remember you? I don't give out that many badges, Ash, and I was impressed with your determination."

"Uh... Thanks, Blaine," Ash replied, not really knowing what to say.

"It's good to see you're a gym leader now. But you won't beat me this time."

"Don't count on it, Blaine," replied Ash spontaneously. "The match hasn't even begun yet." Ash felt a surge of his former courage. His mind raced, thinking about how he might try and beat this tough opponent.

"You're right, Ash," remarked Blaine with a wry smile. "We'll just wait and see."

With that final comment, Blaine walked off.

Now what did Blaine have up his sleeve, Ash thought. Ash had to come up with a strategy. What Pokémon did he have with him? What other Pokémon could he use?

After a few moments, he had formulated a plan. He walked over to the Pokémon transfer unit and dialled up Professor Oak's laboratory, where his other Pokémon were kept. There was one particular Pokémon he needed, and he hoped that Professor Oak had it in its Poké ball at the time. He entered a password and a computerized list of his available Pokémon appeared on the monitor. Bill's latest version of the Pokémon storage and transporation system was almost completely automated. Of course Ash missed talking face to face with Professor Oak, but the new system saved the Professor a lot of valuable time that he could devote to research.

Ash carefully scanned the list on the monitor. Good--it appeared that Professor Oak had thought ahead and kept all of Ash's Pokémon available for the competition. Ash decided what Pokémon to return to the lab and pressed the appropriate keys to make the exchange.

Next, Ash left for the Pokémon Centre. While he had plenty of time, he wanted to have his team checked out to be sure that they were in top condition. He also wouldn't mind something to eat after that battle.

On the way, he couldn't help thinking about Blaine's last comment. Did Blaine have something up his sleeve...a Charizard maybe? Would Ash's plan work? Or was Blaine just bluffing, trying to scare him. When Ash was struggling to regain his confidence, a scare tactic like that was the last thing he needed.