Chapter 7

A few moments after Black Jack defeated Cecilia in his semi-final match, he and his acquaintances waited patiently for Ash and his next opponent.

“So, who is Ash’s next opponent?” Black Jack asked.
“It’s Steven Stone,” May replied. “He won last year’s Hoenn League championship.”
“I know.”
“I hear that steel-type pokemon are his specialty,” Brock replied. “So Ash has to be very careful in this one.”
“Just a couple of Ground and Fire attacks should do the trick,” Max said.
“It takes more than that to beat strong steel type pokemon,” Black Jack said. “You’ve been with Ash for a long time, Max. You should know how he battles.”

The announcer introduced Ash to the crowd as they gave him a deafening cheer. Ash smiled as he waved to them. The announcer then introduced the Hoenn League Champion, Steven Stone.

Steven came out wearing a smart suit but his arm sleeves were each wrapped by small belts. His hair was grey but the sun made it shiny.

“Nice to see you again, Steven,” Ash said as he smiled. “I was surprised that you would be my opponent in the semi-final.”
“I, too, was surprised, Ash,” Steven replied. “I just hope that you’ve trained well, for I do not plan to lose anyway.”

They both met on separate occasions. In particular, they first met in Granite Cave just outside Dewford city where Steven was looking for some rare stones, but they were attacked Team Rocket. Luckily, Steven’s Aggron sent them flying with his Hyper Beam attack.

Everyone was anxious as they waited for the computer to select which trainer would choose his pokemon out first. It chose Steven to pick first, possibly giving Ash and advantage.

Steven took out one of his pokeballs and tossed it out. “Skarmory!” he yelled. “Go!”

The metal bird pokemon popped out and gave a loud screech, as it readied for battle. “Good thing Brock gave me some details about Steven’s pokemon,” Ash thought. He pointed his finger at Skarmory.

“I choose Pikachu!” he yelled.
“Pika!” Pikachu cried as he ran onto the battlefield.
“BEGIN!” the referee cried as he raised the two different coloured flags.

“Pikachu! Thunderbolt attack!” Ash cried.
“Skarmory! Take flight!” Steven yelled.

Pikachu charged up his electric powers and shot out his attack, but missed as Skarmory flew high in the air.

“Pikachu! Thunderbolt again!” Ash yelled.

Pikachu shot out his attack again, but missed again as Skarmory flew sideways. “This isn’t working!” Ash snarled.

“Skarmory!” Steven yelled. “Drill Peck attack!”

Skarmory dived down at Pikachu while spinning like a drill, the attack missed as Pikachu barely dodged out of the way. Skarmory used the attack repeatedly but missed each time. “Skarmory is too fast for Pikachu,” Ash thought in a frustrated tone. “Wait! I know!”

Skarmory dived his beak at Pikachu again. “Pikachu!” Ash yelled. “Jump on Skarmory!”

The metal bird’s attack missed as the little yellow rodent leapt into the air and landed on the back of Skarmory.

“Enjoy the shocking experience, Skarmory… up close,” Black Jack thought as he smiled sinisterly.

“No!” Steven yelled. “Skarmory! Shake it off!”

Skarmory flew high in the air as he attempted to shake Pikachu away. “Pikachu! Thunder attack!” Ash yelled.

“Pika… CHUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!” Pikachu cried as he let out his strongest electric attack. Skarmory screeched loudly in pain.

After feeling the pain of Pikachu’s Thunder attack, Skarmory fainted as he crashed on the ground. Before it did, Pikachu jumped off Skarmory and landed safely on his feet. “Skarmory is no longer able to battle,” the referee announced. “Pikachu wins the match!”

“Good going, Pikachu!” Ash said, congratulating his pokemon and friend.
“Pika Pikachu!” Pikachu squealed happily.

“You did your best, Skarmory,” Steven said as he called back his unocnoscious Skarmory. He took out another pokeball and tossed it out. “Go! Aggron!”

A huge Aggron came out of his pokeball and gave out a loud roar, attempting to intimidate little Pikachu but to no avail.

“Pikachu! You need to rest!” Ash yelled. “Return!”

Pikachu did as he was instructed and ran back to his trainer. Ash took out another pokeball. “Torkoal! I choose you!”

He threw a pokeball and Torkoal came out of his pokeball. Puffs of smoke came out from different parts of his rocky shell as he prepared for battle.

“Aggron! Tackle attack!” Steven cried.
“Torkoal! Flamethrower attack!”

As Aggron ran towards Torkoal, Torkoal shot a lick of flamethrower out of his mouth and was coming straight at Aggron.

“Ash might be in luck,” Brock said. “Both Torkoal and Aggron have high physical defence stats but they are low on elemental defence. We all know that Torkoal is a fire type and Aggron is a dual rock and steel type.”
“That means that if Torkoal can hit Aggron with his flamethrower attack, Aggron would be knocked out straight away because Steel type pokemon are weak against fire attacks,” Max continued.
“Good thinking,” Brock replied.

Black Jack let out a small sigh. “If they want to be smart, they should say things in every little detail,” he thought.

Back on the battlefield, the flamethrower attack was straight at the charging Aggron. “Aggron! Jump to dodge the attack!” Steven yelled.

Aggron did as he was instructed and leapt into the air, dodging the flamethrower attack at the same time. Aggron landed on top of Torkoal’s shell, attempting to cause damage but to no avail. Noticing this, Aggron immediately jumped of his shell.

“Hmm, that didn’t work,” Steven thought to himself.
“Aggron didn’t have much chance against Torkoal’s defences,” Ash thought as he smiled confidently.

“Aggron! Thunder attack!” Steven commanded.
“Thunder!?” Ash yelled in shock.

Aggron let out a small growl as electricity surrounded his body. He then let out a huge roar as a huge spark of electricity was flying at Torkoal. “Torkoal!” Ash yelled. “Dodge out of the way!”

Torkoal barely dodged out of harm’s way. “Aggron! Take down attack!” Steven yelled. But Aggron wasn’t able to attack as he felt the recoil of his electric attack as he became paralysed, much to Steven’s shock.

“I don’t get it,” May said. “Why can’t Aggron attack?”
“He used up too much electricity,” Black Jack replied. “Ever heard of power overload?”
“No. I’ve never watched Star Wars.”

Ash took his chance to make his attack. “Torkoal! Flamethrower!”

Torkoal shot out another lick of flame at Aggron. This time the move connected as Aggron felt even more pain in and out of his body, passing out in the process.

“Aggron is no longer able to battle,” the referee announced. “Torkoal wins the round and Steven Stone has one pokemon left at his disposal.”

“That was great Torkoal!” Ash yelled triumphantly. “One more pokemon to knock out and we’re in the grand final!”

Both Pikachu and Torkoal cheered happily at the announcement.

“Maybe,” Steven replied as he took out another pokeball. “But this battle is far from over, Ash.”

He tossed out his third and final pokeball. “Go! Metagross!”

Metagross came out of his pokeball.

“Steven has a Metagross too!” Ash said as his eyes widened.
“You’re my last hope, Metagross,” Steven thought to himself. “But with you, the battle has just begun.

“Things are about to get interesting,” Black Jack said as he closely observed the match.

“Let’s see,” Ash thought deeply. “Black Jack used his Metagross against Mr. Mack’s Hitmonlee in the previous round. His Metagross’s kept on missing of Hitmonlee’s dancing techniques. A lack of speed might be Steven’s Metagross’s weakness.”

“Torkoal, return!” Ash yelled as he took out his pokeball. Torkoal went back inside it. Ash took out his other pokeball and tossed it out. “Charizard! Go!”

Charizard came out of his pokeball and let out a loud roar. “Alright, Charizard!” Ash yelled. “Flamethrower attack!”

Charizard aimed and shot out a lick of flame out of his mouth at the Iron Leg pokemon. “Metagross!” Steven yelled. “Counter with Mirror Coat!”

Metagross glowed vigorously and the fire attack bounced away from and was coming back at Charizard. “Charizard! Dodge!” Ash yelled.

Charizard barely dodged out of the way as it flew high into the air.

“Ash, look out!” Misty cried as the flame attack was coming at Ash. Luckily, he dodged out of the way.

“Phew!” Max said as he wiped away some sweats off his forehead. “I thought Ash was a goner there.”
“I was worried too,” Misty said. “Ash got himself seriously hurt at times.”
“So have I,” Black Jack thought as he continued to watch the match.

“Charizard!” Ash yelled. “Knock Metagross down with your headbutt attack!”

Charizard did as he was instructed and dived straight down at Metagross like a speeding bullet that was shot out like a gun. “Why would Ash command his Charizard to use an attack that wouldn’t do much to Metagross? Black Jack thought. “Unless…”

“Aim for the leg!” Ash yelled.
“Dodge to your right, Metagross!” Steven yelled.

Charizard barely missed one of Metagross’s legs as it dodged out of the way. “Now Metagross!” Steven yelled. “Give that Charizard a headbutt of your own!”

Charizard turned around in mid-air and attempted another headbutt. But as he dived down, Metagross leapt into the air and headbutted him in the face. “Great job!” Steven yelled. “Finish with Psybeam attack!”

“No!” Ash yelled.

Metagross safely landed on the ground, which caused a small earthquake. It then aimed its eyes at Charizard and shot his two Psybeams out of them. The attack hit Charizard, knocking him out.

Charizard fell hard on the floor. Ash ran over to his defeated pokemon. “Charizard! No!” Ash cried worryingly. “Are you okay?”

Charizard let out a small growl but wasn’t able to move because of the damage Metagross caused. “Charizard is no longer able to battle!” the ref cried. “Metagross wins the round.

Ash took out his pokeball and got Charizard to return. He now has two pokemon remaining, Torkoal and Pikachu.

Ash took out the pokeball that contained Torkoal. “Torkoal! Go!” Ash cried.

Torkoal came out prepared for battle as puffs of smoke came out of different parts of his shell. “Okay, Torkoal! Tackle attack!” Ash yelled.
“Metagross! Headbutt attack!” Steven yelled.

Metagross and Torkoal ran at each at their highest speed. Metagross lowered its head, attempting to give Torkoal his attack. But the fiery tortoise ducked and tackled on of Metagross’s legs, tripping him over.

Metagross landed on his back, unable to move physically. “Metagross!” Steven yelled. “Use your psychic powers to get back on your feet!”

Metagross summoned up his psychic powers and slowly floated into the air. It turned itself sideways and landed on its feet. “I oughta catch me a Metagross,” Ash thought.

“Torkoal!” He yelled. “Tackle it again!”

Torkoal leapt into the air and tackled Metagross in the face with its shell. Metagross staggered backwards. “Metagross!” Steven yelled. “Shoot out your Psybeams!”

Metagross shot out two psybeams out of his eyes at Torkoal. “Torkoal!” Ash yelled. “Flamethrower attack!”

Torkoal shot out a lick of flame out of his mouth. The attacks collided and both pokemon had to push their powers to their limits. It was quite a struggle for both pokemon but Torkoal lost it as the two psybeams caught him, causing static around his body and knocking him out. “No!” Ash cried in a desperate tone.

“Torkoal is no longer able to battle,” the referee announced. “Metagross won the round and Ash Ketchum has one last pokemon left.”

Ash called back his knocked out Torkoal and sent out his last standing pokemon, Pikachu. Black Jack unfolded his arms and pressed his hands on his knees, he leaned slightly forward and smiled.

“What is it, Black Jack?” Lao Ping asked.
“I think Mother Nature has something planned for Steven,” Black Jack replied.

A small drop of rain fell on the field. Suddenly, it began to rain. Some people in the audience opened up their umbrellas while others covered their heads with books, bags, newspapers or hands, etc. Black Jack took no notice of the rain as he continued focusing on the match.

The rain also surprised Ash, Steven and their respective pokemon. Regardless of the bad weather, they decided to continue.

“Metagross!” Steven yelled. “Meteor Mash!”

Metagross quickly glowed vigorously as he started floating into the air. Its front legs aimed at Pikachu as he charged like a Rhydon.

“Pikachu! Dodge!” Ash yelled. Pikachu leapt into the air to dodge the attack and landed on top of Metagross.

“No!” Steven thought in shock. “If Pikachu uses an electric attack, Metagross will be knocked out because of the rain!”

“Pikachu!” Ash yelled. “Thunder now!”
“Metagross!” Steven yelled. “Shake it off!”

Metagross, still airborne, was zipping through the skies trying to shake off Pikachu while the yellow rodent was hanging on to it for dear life. Metagross finally to shake off Pikachu and Pikachu was now falling at a great height.

“PIKACHU!” Ash cried in shock.

Pikachu retaliated as he charged up his powers and shot out his Thunder attack at Metagross, shocking it until it fainted. Pikachu safely landed on his feet while Metagross fell hard on the floor. As Pikachu landed, he was breathing heavily, feeling worn out after giving out his most powerful attack, which was enough to knock Metagross out.

“Metagross is no longer able to battle!” the referee announced. “Pikachu wins the round and Ash wins the match!”

With that announced, the crowd went wild as they got off their seats and on their feet.

“He… beat me,” Steven said in a surprised tone.
“Pikachu! We did it!” Ash yelled triumphantly.
“Pi Pikachu!” Pikachu squealed happily as he held up a ‘V’ sign on his paw.

“Impressive,” Black Jack said as he stood up applauding calmingly. “Very impressive. Even I would have a difficult time battling Steven.”

Steven called back his Metagross and looked at it. “We have lost the title, Metagross,” he said with a smile. “But I am so proud of you and the others.”

Ash walked over to him. “Steven,” he said as he offered to shake his hand. “This was one great match.”
“I agree,” Steven replied as he shook Ash’s hand. “I will never ever forget this match. And I wish you and your pokemon good luck in the grand final against Black Jack.”
“Thanks.”

Dark clouds began to float away as the sun started to shine. “Looks like the future is looking bright for you, Ash,” Steven said.

“Now!” cried the announcer with excitement. “The places for the grand final have been decided! It’ll be Black Jack versus Ash Ketchum!”

Everyone in the audience gave another deafening cheer.

“The grand final will begin in two days! So finalists either rest up or train hard! Everyone wants you guys in top form for your battle!”

Black Jack started walking out of the stadium while the others continued cheering. “You may have helped me saw the error of my ways, Ketchum,” Black Jack thought deeply. “Sure, you deserve to be the champion. But just make sure your pokemon don’t get their heads smashed.”

With that in mind, Black Jack sniggered evilly.

Next episode: Black Jack gets invited to a reunion… an unexpected one.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
More coming! Reviews please!