Hi! Episode 116! *CHEERS*

Disclaimer: Anybody who sues me will be persecuted, as I have stated over and over in earlier parts that I DO NOT OWN POKEMON!

Notes: <> indicates telepathy, ** indicates thoughts, italics indicates translated pokemon speaking.

Ranma – well, if Ash only relied on brute strength he wouldn’t get far in his quest.

Aragorn – laughs

Xaero – yay! *Hugging plotbunnies*

SS2 Megami –sama – Thank you! *Takes kitchen rapier* No, I’m still sick, but yes, after the elite four, the new arc begins.

Vulpix Dark Flame – Hehehehe

Digifan1 – hai! *salutes*

Jarzard – I hate Spanish too. No me gusta Espanol nada

Episode 116: Fighting Spirits

The next day…

“Hitmonchan, Thunderpunch!”

“Alakazam! Psychic!”

Hitmonchan crumpled into a little heap. Ash sighed as he recalled his pokemon card. < You did great, Alakazam. >
< My pleasure, Master Ash. >

< You don’t need to call me that, you know. >

Alakazam shrugged as it turned to white energy and vanished.

“Pretty good.” Bruno said. “Hitmonchan, return. Onix, go!”

Onix dived at Ash, who barely managed to jump out of the way. “Hey, what’s with attacking me?”

“A pokemon trainer experiences what his pokemon does.” Bruno said simply. “Onix, Rock Throw!”

Ash vaulted away and flipped onto the platform. “Okay, Vaporeon, you’re up!”

Vaporeon smirked as she appeared in a spray of water. She quickly released a Hydro Pump that shattered the flying rocks.

“Onix, use Screech!” Onix nodded and let off a high-pitched wail. Vaporeon froze as the sound reverberated through the room.

“Slam!” Onix nodded and raised its long body up into the air, before hurling itself at Vaporeon.

Ash winced. “Acid Armor!” He called urgently. Vaporeon barely reacted fast enough, she still felt some of the Slam effects, but she was mostly unhurt, still having most of her HP intact.

“Try using another Screech to freeze it.”

“Vaporeon, Surf now!” Vaporeon’s eyes lit up and she sent the wave of turbulent, foaming water straight at Onix. Onix quickly burrowed underground to hide, but Vaporeon simply increased the amount of water until Onix had no choice but to surrender.

“Return.” Bruno said. He looked impressed. “Quite good, quite good. But I still have two pokemon left…”

“Hitmonlee, go! Hi jump kick!”

Vaporeon vibrated as Hitmonlee’s foot came into contact with its head. It spun around for a few minutes, trying to regain its bearings.

“Don’t panic, girl. Use Bubblebeam.” Vaporeon opened her mouth and shot a bunch of bubbles at Hitmonlee, annoying it immensely. It began to use Rage.

“Just keep trying to hit it, Hitmonlee.” Bruno said confidently.

Ash whispered something under his breath and Vaporeon nodded. Another wave of bubbles knocked into Hitmonlee, but then, they connected and solidified into a cage of ice. The fighting pokémon was trapped.

“Hitmonlee, break out of it with your Mega Kick!”

Hitmonlee nodded and slowly dismantled the extricate prison it had been contained in.

Vaporeon was ready. An ice beam attack plowed into Hitmonlee, sending the pokemon to the infirmary.

“Return.” Bruno said slowly, in what sounded like a choked voice. “Machamp, you cannot fail me!”

Machamp immediately went into a series of punches and kicks. Fire, Ice, and Thunder punches flew every which way.

Vaporeon was hard pressed to avoid all of them. Ash shook his head. < You’re going to get knocked out, Vaporeon. You already did very well. Return >

Vaporeon looked a bit disappointed, but she allowed Ash to recall her. Ash placed Vaporeon’s poke ball back on his belt and furrowed his eyebrows. * Who should I use now? Flying or psychic… I know! *

Ash enlarged Pidgey’s poke ball. “Okay, girl, you’re up!”

Pidgey let off a high-pitched warble as she began flying in circles around Machamp’s head, annoying it to no end.

“Just swat it out of the air with a Thunderpunch.”

Machamp’s fist became encased in a bubble of hissing electricity. Ash shook his head. “Don’t worry, Pidgey. Use Whirlwind!” Pidgey clicked her beak and beat her wings frenziedly, up and down over and over, until she had generated enough power to send Machamp flying into a wall.

Machamp did not return to its feet. However, it was not out yet.

“Machamp, use Focus Energy!” Machamp nodded and charged up. It growled intimidating. Pidgey looked a bit nervous.

I’m not scared! Pidgey said bravely.

Ash nodded to his little flyer. < When and if it gets up, use Wing Attack. > Pidgey nodded and struggled to stay afloat.

Machamp pushed itself to its feet and grabbed Pidgey to prepare a Seismic Toss attack.

Pidgey beat at it angrily with her wings. But Machamp wasn’t deterred from his attack. Pidgey looked panicked.

< Pidgey! Counter! >

Pidgey nodded and let a faint glowing brown energy surround her. Machamp’s supercharged Seismic Toss took out about 9/13 of her HP.

Pidgey glowed brightly, and hit him with double the HP damage. Machamp’s eyes rolled back in its head and it fainted.

“Re…turn….” Bruno said, stunned. “I can’t believe you defeated me, Ash. But since I have lost, I have no more to say. Go face your next challenge.”

The door to Agatha’s room swung open.

Ash stepped in, nervously. Looking around, he saw that the area was filled with pokemon graves. He gulped.

Lance and Pika-chan gave him reassuring looks. Ash sighed, and resigned himself to his fate.

Pika-chan whispered something into his ear.

“Wha? No! If your idea of making me feel better is putting me in another costume, no way!”

Lance laughed. “Don’t worry, Ash. Here, take this.” She tossed Ash a glowing purple round crystal on a black leather thong.

“What’s this?”

“Good luck charm. Oh, and it keeps you from being affected by ghost attacks just in case one hits you.”

“Thanks, Crystal!”

Lance smiled. “Now go out there and win!”

“Yes ma’am!”

Agatha looked up. “Let’s do four on four.”
Ash nodded. “Fine.” He twirled a poke ball on his finger, trying to hide his faint exhaustion. He could feel all of his pokemon’s own life patterns flowing through him, as well as the steady hum of the card’s energies. It was soothing in a way, but considering that several of his pokemon were tired, he was beginning to pick up the fatigue as well. Ash didn’t want to think about how it would be if all of his pokemon were fainted. He’d probably faint himself before that point.

“Gengar, go.”

Ash closed his eyes. * Ghost/poison type. Weak to ghost, psychic, dark attacks. *

“Pidgeot, I choose you!”

Pidgeot revealed herself from the card, not as a pair of wings, but as a massive flying bird, ready and eager to engage in battle. < YES! I get to battle! >

< Yes, you do. > Ash sent affectionately.

“Gengar, use Night Shade!”
< Ghost attacks don’t do anything to normal types, so you won’t feel anything. Use mirror move. >

Pidgeot smirked as the Night Shade passed through her. Then, a little circle of energy formed in front of her beak and she threw the Night Shade attack back at Gengar. It writhed in agony, being weak to ghost-type attacks.

“Gengar, don’t give up! Use Psychic!”

“Fly!” Pidgeot shot up out of the way, before careening into Gengar scant seconds later. Gengar toppled over, completely out of HP.

“Interesting.” Agatha said. “Gengar, return. Arbok, go.”

Pidgeot looked a bit fretful. Her feathers billowed quietly as she rearranged her wings. I’m not sure about this… snakes eat birds!

“I know.” Ash said. He held out a ‘poke ball’. “Pidgeot, return.” Pidgeot surrendered to the magical pull and vanished.

“Flareon, you’re up.”

Flareon smirked as she flamed brightly.

“Arbok, use Glare!”

“Flareon, use Smog!” Flareon nodded and hid herself in a blanket of thick, toxic fumes. Then, she slammed into Arbok with a Rage Tackle.

“Poison Sting!”

Flareon breathed out a Fire Spin to take care of the annoying needles. Unfortunately, as the smog was still up, an explosion resulted.

When the smoke finally cleared thanks to Agatha’s Golbat and Ash’s Pidgey, both pokemon were lying on the ground, stunned.

End Episode 116! Almost to the end! *Dances up and down* Now remember, be a nice reader and drop me a line! Flames will be used to forge a Wand of the Water Guardian, which I’ll use to heal poor Sakura and Syaoran and all the other CCS characters that were brutally murdered in the dub.

Sorry this took so long, I was still sick and on top of that I had to go to school and work on college applications… and I’m still sick.

>.<