Pokemon Fan Fiction / Pokemon Fan Fiction ❯ The Unwanted Acquaintances ❯ Sky Battle ( Chapter 5 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Recap: Ash and friends headed for Mauville City. They had to deal with Aerodactyl again along the way, but Charizard was able to knock it out of commission for a while. Upon reaching Mauville, they found an electrical nightmare. They made it to the gym and found out that something was going down at the New Mauville power plant. Ash and friends investigated, having to deal with Magnemite, Magneton and Voltorb along the way. Soon, Ash and Marshtomp found the cause of the electrical trouble to be a battle between the legendaries Zapdos and Raikou. They were able to put a stop to the brawl before the huge amount of electricity could blow the generator. Zapdos and Raikou ended up being injured pretty bad so Ash took them to be healed. Afterwards, he let them go. Raikou went into the distance but Zapdos had decided to be one of Ash's Pokemon.
( ) after Pokemon talk is the translation
( ) alone is Charizard talking
/ is Zapdos talking
(' is Pokemon thoughts
' is human thoughts

     &n bsp;                                   Chapter 5: Sky Battle

Ash and friends were continuing on their trek towards Foretree City. What happened yesterday was something that Ash would never forget. Sure it got off to a bad start with Aerodactyl making a second attempt, and having to stop an electrical crisis in Mauville City, but it turned into an extremely rare opportunity because he had caught the legendary Zapdos to be his fifth Pokemon on his journey through Hoenn.

A few hours later, Ash and friends stopped to take a rest. They were halfway through Route 118. They then let their Pokemon out. Even though Ash told May, Max and Brock about capturing Zapdos, seeing the very rare Pokemon left them awestruck. The Pokemon except Marshtomp had the same awestruck expression. Ash just laughed at his freinds' expressions.

"I know how you feel about this. I still can't believe it myself," Ash said as Zapdos landed next to him. He then scratched Zapdos's head.

Zapdos gave a happy squawk upon being scratched. Then Zapdos headed back to head hang around with the other Pokemon. Pikachu had climbed aboard Zapdos's back. Then Marshtomp also got on Zapdos's back. Zapdos smiled before taking off. Ash went over to Charizard and whispered something in its ear. Charizard nodded and leaned over. Ash got on Charizard's back before it took off. Then Swellow soon took off as well with Beautifly following. The others just smiled at Ash and the six Pokemon.

"Let's let them have their fun. They'll be back down when they're ready," Brock said.

The others nodded. Meanwhile, Charizard and Zapdos were high in the sky. Charizard then began doing stunts in the air. He looped de looped through the air to start. Then he did vertical, horizontal and diagonal spirals. Then he rotated between loops, spins and spirals through the air. Ash was just laughing the entire time. Zapdos had done aerodynamics of his own as well. Pikachu squealed in delight and Marshtomp laughed as well as Zapdos did stunts. Swellow and Beautifly did aerodynamics of their own as well.

"Hey Pikachu, do you want to continue the flight with Charizard and me?" Ash asked an hour later.

"Pika(Yeah)!" Pikachu said.

Zapdos pulled alongside Charizard, and Pikachu jumped into Ash's waiting arms. Ash put Pikachu in front of him before Zapdos put distance between itself and Charizard again.

"Are you having fun Marshtomp?" Ash asked.

"Marsh mar(Lot's of it)!" Marshtomp said happily.

"What about you Swellow, Beautifly?" Ash then asked.

"Swellow swell(I'm having fun)," Swellow said.

"Beau(Me too)," Beautifly added.

Charizard, Beautifly, Swellow and Zapdos stayed in the air doing stunts until the sky turned orange, meaning that the sun was going down. Deciding that it was stime to head back, they headed back to where the others were. To make sure that they wouldn't get too tired, Ash had given his flying friends Hyper Potions during the flight as the Hyper Potions were needed. They made it back about four hours into the night.

"I'd take it that you had a good time," Brock said.

"We had a blast," Ash said as he and Pikachu dismounted Charizard.

"Pika pika(We sure did)," Pikachu said.

"Marsh(Yeah)!" Marshtomp said happily.

"Swellow(Lot's of fun)," Swellow added as Beautifly nodded.

Then Ash and the others sat down to eat. An hour later, they prepared to turn in for the night. Ash, Brock, May and Max got their sleeping bags and put them on the ground. Then Ash's Pokemon surrounded him. Sceptile and Charizard were at his left and right sides. This time, Pikachu and Swellow were at his head while Zapdos was sleeping at his feet.   The rest of Ash's Pokemon had told Zapdos about the attempts on Ash's life. That had angered Zapdos but he managed to keep his electricity in check. The other Pokemon knew that they had another ally in the battle against Damien and Aerodactyl just from Zapdos's reaction.

"Well goodnight guys," Ash said before going to sleep.

The others said their goodnights before also going to sleep. Meanwhile, Damien was staying at the weather station that was just on the outskirts of Foretree City. Damien was headed to Foretree himself when he got caught up in a rainstorm. Route 119 was known for it sudden rainstorms so the weather station was a big asset for the people of the Hoenn region.

'I'll get Charizard back no matter how long it takes. It was mine to begin with and it should still be mine. It will be of great use to me now that it's really strong,' Damien thought. He would unfortunately find out that Ash and friends would be in Foretree City as well.

The next morning, Ash and friends sat to a quick breakfast before getting ready to continue towards Foretree City. Ash had recalled Charizard because Brock told him how a rainstorm could come up at any time. Sure enough, it started to cloud up when they got closer to Route 119. When they got to Route 119, the sky virtually opened up. The group of friends ran through the rain. A few hours later, they came to the weather station and went inside.

"I see that you and your Pokemon got caught in the storm," a little boy said.

"I knew that rainstorms could pop up anytime, but this time it really caught me off guard," Brock said.

Then the head meteorologist of the weather station came out. He smiled upon seeing Brock. "It's good to see you again Brock," he said.

"Good to see you too," Brock said.

"How have things been in Pewter?" the meteorologist asked.

"Things have been just fine," Brock responded. "So, you know when the storm's going to let up?"

"You don't have to worry about the storm much longer. It will pass in an hour. That's more than enough time for you to get dried off," the meteorologist said. "You can stay here until it does."

"Thanks," Max said.

An hour later, the storm did clear. Ash and friends thanked the meteorologist before heading back out. About two hours later, they had finally arrived in Foretree City. They went to the Pokemon Center first so they could get their Pokemon rested and refreshed. When they came out, a most unexepected person stood in front of them.

"What are you doing here?" Max asked with irritation in his voice.

"Cool it Shorty," Damien retorted. He earned a hard slap from May as a result.

"Don't you call my brother Shorty again buster," May said.

"I'll call him whatever I want Gypsy Girl," Damien retorted again. He screamed in pain from feeling Torchic's Ember attack.

"I suggest you watch your mouth. Our Pokemon don't take kindly to people who smart mouth us in front of them," Ash said. Suddenly, he was knocked down. He and everyone else looked to see a Scyther behind him. He tried to get back up, but he screamed in pain, his back was slashed open.

"I suggest that you be more on guard," Damien said smirking.

Pikachu was about to shock Scyther silly when Ash's Poke Balls opened on their own accord. Protectively in front of Ash were Charizard, Sceptile and Swellow.   But the fifth Pokemon had surprised and amazed everyone except Ash, May, Max, Brock and their Pokemon. The legendary Zapdos stood before them. Zapdos didn't look too happy either. His entire body was sparking, his anger directed right at the Scyther.

"It's a Zapdos!" one person shouted.

"But how could this boy have captured one?" another person asked.

Winona, who had come out of her gym upon hearing the commotion, looked on in awe. "I've always heard about Zapdos, but I never thought I would see one," she said. She noticed that it and the Pokemon around it appeared to be guarding something. She moved around the crowd to see what the Pokemon were standing in front of. She gasped in horror upon seeing a young boy with a life-threatening injury to his back.

Zapdos then unleashed a powerful Thunderbolt attack on Scyther. Scyther screamed in pain as the powerful attack tore through its body. Then Charizard used Fire Spin while Torchic used Ember. Pikachu then came in with his own Thunderbolt attack. The combined attacks were more than enough to send Scyther straight to the E.R. Sceptile and Swellow had spotted more of Damien's Pokemon nearby and went to take care of them. They came back ten minutes later and stood back in front of Ash. Damien returned the fainted and seriously injured Scyther but not moving an inch.

"Sceptile tile scept(Maybe this will convince you to leave)," Sceptile said before unleashing his Bullet Seed attack. He saw that Damien only moved to get out of the seeds' path. He then charged up for a Solarbeam.

Seeing Sceptile charge up for the Solarbeam did it. Damien fled like a scared little monkey. Sceptile shot the Solarbeam at Damien's feet, sending Damien flying into the air. Everyone soon heard a ping. Damien went blasting off like Team Rocket always did.

"Good riddance to you!" May yelled. She moved to recall her Pokemon when Torchic suddenly started glowing.

"Torchic is evolving," Max said in awe.

The little Torchic started to grow a bit. When the glow died down, a new Pokemon stood in Torchic's place. This Pokemon was about 3' tall. It had a whitish body with large and bulky orange legs, suggesting that it was a very powerful kicker.

"Combusken(I've evolved)!" the new Pokemon shouted.

May pulled out her Pokedex.

"Combusken, the young fowl Pokemon. Combusken is the evolved form of Torchic. A Combusken's legs are so powerful, that it can easily smash boulders just by kicking them," the Pokedex said.

May then recalled her Pokemon. Then she looked at her badly injured friend. "Oh Ash," she said worriedly.

"Let's take him back to the Pokemon Center," Brock said before returning his Pokemon as well.

Sceptile gently picked Ash up. Then Sceptile, the rest of Ash's Pokemon, May, Brock and Max headed for the Pokemon Center. Nurse Joy was very worried upon seeing blood dripping from the injured trainer's back. She immediately rushed to the group.

"Oh my, what happened?" Nurse Joy asked.

"Damien tried to kill Ash again," Max, very worried about his badly injured friend.

"What do you mean again?" another female voice then asked.

The others looked back to see a beautiful woman dressed in light blue. Her hair flowed down to her waist, except for the parts that looked like small wings. She wore a hat with little wings near the top. Brock and the others figured that she had something to do with flying-type pokemon just from her appearance.

"I'm Winona, leader of the Foretree City gym," the woman said.

"I'm Max, and these are my friends Brock, Ash, and my sister May. A Scyther trained by Damien seriously injured Ash. Ash's Zapdos, Charizard and Pikachu and May's Torchic, now a Combusken, put Scyther out for the count, and we brought him here," Max said.

"Chansey, get a stretcher pronto," Nurse Joy said.

"Chansey(Right away)!" Chansey said before quickly going to get a stretcher. She soon came back with one, and Sceptile gently placed Ash down on it. She and Nurse Joy then rushed Ash to the E.R.

Sceptile then went to the restroom and washed the blood off on his arms and hands. After finishing, he went into the waiting room. Soon, the other Pokemon joined him there.

"So what brings you here to Foretree?" Winona then asked.

"We came so Ash could battle you for the Feather Badge," Max responded.

"When he get's better, he'll get his battle. But what do you mean by Damien trying to kill Ash again?" Winona said.

May then told Winona everything about the encounters with Damien Winona couldn't believe what she heard. She never thought that any trainer would stoop so low as to actually kill another trainer. But her shocked expression then turned into an expression of anger. She found herself very glad about Ash's Pokemons' actions. Speaking of Ash's Pokemon, they were anxiously waiting for any news of their trainer's condition. They prayed for the best.

(I pray that Ash will be all right) Charizard said.

/We all do/ Zapdos said.

"Sceptile scept tile scept(He didn't do anything to deserve this)," Sceptile added.

Brock, May, Max and Winona soon joined Ash's Pokemon in the waiting room. Then an Officer Jenny came into the room. Brock didn't even think about flirting because he was much more worried about Ash.

"I heard that a trainer in here almost got killed today. Someone then told me that you could explain the situation better. Could you tell me what happened?" Jenny said.

Max told Officer Jenny everything that happened.

"I see. Well I'll do everything I can. First, I'll go and alert the other Officer Jenny's to be on the lookout for that trainer. He will be in more than hot water when we find him," Jenny said before leaving the Pokemon Center. She was determined to make sure that this wouldn't happen again. 'I've heard a lot about Ash. He's known for helping others. He doesn't deserve something like this happening to him. When I find that arrogant trainer Damien, he'll be in very big trouble,' she thought.

Nurse Joy came into the waiting room half an hour later. "Your friend is very lucky. That Scyther missed a major artery by only a couple of inches. I doubt your friend would have survived if the Scyther had struck that artery. I've got him stabilized now," she said.

"That's very good news," Winona said as the others nodded.

"May we see him?" Brock asked.

"Yes. Come with me," Nurse Joy responded before leaving.

The others followed Nurse Joy. They came to a room that Ash was placed in several minutes later. The room was a fair size so everyone could be in there. Pikachu ran to and jumped into the bed. He made sure to be careful so he wouldn't unintentionally hurt Ash more. Charizard and Sceptile pulled up chairs by either side of the bed. Swellow and Zapdos settled down by the foot of the bed.

Brock, May, Max and Winona stayed in the room with Ash for about two hours before Winona returned to her gym. Before leaving, Winona said that she would visit twice a day until Ash was released. Then Nurse Joy led Brock, May, and Max to two seperate rooms where they could settle in for the week. Nurse Joy went back into Ash's room and felt her stomach drop. Ash's condition had quickly taken a turn for the worse, and he flat lined. She saw the looks of helplessness and desperation in the eyes of all of Ash's Pokemon. She reacted quickly.

"Pikachu, Zapdos, I need you to use Thundershock on him. We have to get his heart beating again," Nurse Joy said.

"Pikachu(Here it goes)!" Pikachu said.

/I hope this works/ Zapdos siad as he combined his own Thundershock with Pikachu's.

At first, nothing appeared to be happening. But Pikachu and Zapdos kept pouring their electricity into Ash. They would not give up on their trainer. Five minutes later, Pikachu showed signs of exhaustion. But he continued nevertheless. Several minutes later, the determination finally paid off. The flat liner started showing signs of regular heartbeats again. Pikachu collapsed and would've fallen off the bed had Charizard not been behind him. Charizard placed Pikachu back on the bed. Pikachu weakly opened his eyes. He saw Charizard and Zapdos's worried gazes upon him.

"Pika(I'm all right)," Pikachu said.

/That's a relief/ Zapdos said.

"Nice job both of you," Nurse Joy said.

Things were pretty uneventful the rest of the day. That night, Pikachu slept on the foot of the bed. After putting the chairs back at the table, Charizard and Sceptile slept at either side of the bed. Swellow slept in front of bed, and Zapdos slept a few feet behind her. Brock, May and Max on the other hand had a difficult time getting to sleep. Nurse Joy had told them what almost happened, and they were out of their minds with worry right now.

"I can't believe that Ash almost died today," Max said.

"He has always had uncanny luck. But if not for Pikachu and Zapdos, he wouldn't have been so lucky this time," Brock said. "Well it's getting late. We should try to get some sleep," he added.

"Well good night," Max said.

"Good night," Brock said.

About three days later, Ash had yet to awaken. His Pokemon stayed by the bed, hoping that he would wake up soon. Fortunately, they wouldn't have to wait much longer. Charizard had been holding Ash's hand. Suddenly, Charizard had felt his hand move. He was about to shrug it off when he felt his hand move again. He immediately looked toward Ash and saw Ash stir.

(He's waking up!) Charizard said happily.

"Pika(He is)?" Pikachu asked, hope evident in his voice.

"Sceptile, scept tile(Yes, I can see it)," Sceptile said, moving closer.

A few minutes later, Ash had finally opened his eyes. He couldn't make out anything at first because his vision was all blurry. When his vision cleared, he saw his Pokemon gathered around him. "Where are we?" he asked, catching Pikachu as it jumped into his arms and hugging it before putting it down. He tried to sit up, which wasn't a good idea. "Aaahhh!" he screamed immediately afterwards.

Charizard immediately supported Ash. Then he laid Ash back on the bed.

"Well that wasn't a good idea was it?" Ash asked jokingly.

His Pokemon shook their heads, smiling as well. Then Nurse Joy came into the room. She was very relieved upon seeing a now conscious patient.

"It's good to see you conscious," Nurse Joy said.

"How long was I out?" Ash asked.

"You were out for three days," Nure Joy responded.

"Three days?!" Ash asked in disbelief.

"You had a terrifying injury that almost did you in," Nurse Joy responded before telling him what happened.

Ash looked at Pikachu and Zapdos. "Thanks you two," he said.

"Pikachu pika(Hey don't mention it)," Pikachu said.

/Yeah, we'll do all we can for you/ Zapdos added.

Just then, Brock, May and Max came into the room.

"He's awake!" Max exclaimed excitedly. He then went over to the bed.

"Thank goodness. I thought we lost you Ash," May said.

Then Ash's stomach gave a growl that could've been easily mistaken for a roar.

"I really can use something to eat right now," Ash said.

"You've got it," Brock said before him, Charizard and Sceptile headed into the kitchen.

About ten minutes later, they came out with a large assortment of food. Nurse Joy helped Ash get into a sitting position. Then Ash began to eat the food Brock made for him. Then, Winona came into the room. She was greatly relieved to see Ash awake. Ash looked at Winona in confusion.

"Who are you?" Ash asked.

"I'm Winona, the Foretree City Gym Leader. It's good to see you awake," Winona responded. She could see that Ash was still confused. "I was in my gym a few days ago when I heard a lot of commotion. I came out to investigate and I saw your Pokemon appearing to be guarding something. I got around the crowd and saw you lying on the ground with a frightening injury to your back. I watched as your Pokemon defeated the Scyther that injured you, and your Sceptile drive off the arrogant trainer responsible for your injury," she added.

Ash nodded before turning back to his meal. After he finished, Charizard and Sceptile helped Brock take the dishes back to the kitchen. Wanting some fresh air, Zapdos headed outside before taking to the air. He returned an hour later. The others could tell that he wasn't too happy at the moment.

(Let me guess. Some stupid trainers tried to catch you right?) Charizard said.

/Exactly/ Zapdos said.

"Pika, pika pi pika(Well, at least you didn't have to worry about them succeeding)," Pikachu said.

"Swellow, swell low(Yeah, you're already caught)," Swellow said.

"Sceptile, scept tile scept tile(Even if you weren't, they probably wouldn't have been able to catch you anyway)," Sceptile said.

/I have to admit. The looks on their faces when they found out that I had already been caught were priceless/ Zapdos said snickering

Other than some stupid trainers trying to catch Zapdos, things were pretty uneventful for the rest of the day. About three days later, Ash's back had completely healed. He had decided to wait another day before challenging Winona for the Feather Badge. He already knew that he was going to use Pikachu, but he didn't quite know whom else he was going to use. The extra day helped him in his decision. About mid morning the next day, Ash and Winona were atop the Foretree City Gym, ready to do battle.

"So Ash, are you ready" Winona asked.

"I sure am," Ash responded.

"Let's get started then. I choose Altaria!" Winona said, unleashing her Pokemon.

A large blue bird Pokemon came out of the Poke Ball. Some of its body appeared to be shrouded in clouds as it flapped cloud-like wings. It awaited its opponent.

"I choose you, Charizard!" Ash said, unleashing his Pokemon.

Charizard came out with a roar. He looked at his opponent and got ready to duke it out.

"Altaria, use Dragonbreath!" Winona said.

Altaria opened its mouth and unleashed a stream of green fire.

"Counter it with Flamethrower!" Ash said.

Charizard complied, and the two attacks cancelled each other out, kicking up a huge cloud of smoke as well. Winona then told Altaria to use Aerial Ace. Altaria came at Charizard very fast. Ash, Brock, May, Max and Winona saw Charizard get knocked out of the smoke. Soon, the smoke cleared.

"Now Altaria, use Twister!" Winona said.

Altaria conjured up the said attack and flung it towards Charizard.

"Fly up quick!" Ash said.

Charizard flew up with only seconds to spare as the attack sailed under him. But the attack headed straight for Ash now.

"Ash/Pikapi!" Pikachu, Brock, May and Max cried.

Charizard quickly reacted. He flew down and picked up Ash before flying back up again with only seconds to spare. The attack then fizzled out and Charizard put Ash back in the Trainer Box.

"Thanks Charizard," Ash said.

Charizard nodded before facing Altaria again. He wasn't angry with Altaria because he knew that it didn't know that its attack would head for Ash. He saw the apologetic look in Altaria's eyes and smiled at it.

"That was a close one wasn't it Altaria?" Winona asked.

Altaria made a confirmation noise.

"Use Aerial Ace again," Winona said.

Altaria prepared to strike Charizard again.

"Quick Charizard, use Fire Spin!" Ash said.

Charizard unleashed his Fire Spin attack. Altaria ended up right in the fiery cyclone.

"Get out of there with Agility!" Winona said.

Altaria was soon free.

"Use Dragon Dance Altaria," Winona said.

Altaria did so and followed up with Dragonbreath. This time, the attack came at Charizard too quickly for either him or Ash to react. Charizard was briefly knocked out of the sky. But he recovered and was soon airborne again. He wasn't in the air much longer as Altaria struck him with Aerial Ace.

"This is looking bad," May said worriedly.

"Yeah, Altaria's Dragon Dance greatly raised its speed. Ash will have to think of something fast or Altaria will just knock Charizard senseless," Brock said.

"Use Twister again, but watch your aim this time!" Winona said.

Altaria complied. This time, the attack made contact with its intended target, fizzling out a few minutes afterward. Ash looked on with worry. He could see that Charizard was getting pretty tired.

'None of Charizard's attacks are making impact now. Unless we can find a way to slow Altaria down, it's hopeless,' Ash thought desperately.

Then, a surprise move happened. Altaria suddenly found itself trapped in a Twister attack. It screamed in pain from the super-effective attack.

"Altaria!" Winona shouted in concern.

"What happened?" Ash asked.

"I'm wondering the same thing," Brock responded.

"I think I know," Max said.

"Well what do you think happened?" May asked.

"I think Charizard somehow learned Twister," Max responded.

"Because Altaria is a dragon-type Pokemon and Twister is a dragon-type attack..." Brock started.

"The Twister attack is doing some super damage to it," May finished.

In another surprise move, Charizard used Dragonbreath on the still trapped Altaria.

"Whoa, Charizard learned Dragonbreath too," Ash said.

When the Twister subsided, Altaria fell to the ground. The referee went over to Altaria and saw swirls in its eyes. The referee pointed the green flag in Ash's direction.

"Altaria is no longer able to battle. Bout to Ash Ketchum," the referee said.

Charizard gave a victory roar. Then he landed on the field. He was exhausted, but was willing to continue if Ash wanted him to. Ash could see that Charizard was pretty tired.

"Do you want to rest Charizard?" Ash asked.

Charizard nodded. ('I don't think I would last too long if the next opponent is as tough as that Altaria was') he thought.

"Well then take a rest," Ash said before returning Charizard.

"That was pretty incredible. Your Pokemon must be a really fast learner to have learned two attacks during a gym battle," Winona said.

"Thanks Winona," Ash said.

"I'll let you choose your next Pokemon," Winona said.

"All right then. You're up Pikachu," Ash said.

"Pika(I'm ready)," Pikachu said taking the field.

"I choose Pelipper!" Winona said, unleashing the said Pokemon.

"Pelipper(Let's do it)!" Pelipper said.

"Start off with a Thunderbolt Pikachu!" Ash said.

Pikachu unleashed the attack.

"Pelipper, get out of the way!" Winona said.

Pelipper easily flew out of the Thunderbolt's path.

"Now use Hydro Pump!" Winona said.

"Pelipper(You're going down)!" Pelipper said before unleashing the Hydro Pump.

"Get out of there with Quick Attack!" Ash said.

"Pika(Right)!" Pikachu said before dashing out of the Hydro Pump's way.

But Pelipper was persistent and kept unleashing one Hydro Pump after another. Pikachu kept dodging. A few minutes later, Pelipper got in a lucky shot and struck Pikachu full force. Pikachu was sent into the pole of the trainer's box. When Pelipper stopped the Hydro Pump, Pikachu fainted on the field, swirls in his eyes.

"Pikachu is unable to battle. Bout to Winona," the referee said.

Brock went onto the field and picked up the fallen Pikachu. Pikachu soon regained consciousness, but he was still pretty weak. But a trip to the Pokemon Center would fix that.

"You did your best Pikachu," Ash said. "Now it's your turn Sceptile," he added before releasing Sceptile.

"Sceptile(Let's get serious)," Sceptile said.

"Use Aerial Ace Pelipper!" Winona said.

Pelipper quickly advanced on Sceptile.

"Jump off the polel to avoid it Sceptile!" Ash said.

"Scept(Right)," Sceptile said before jumping from the poles.

"Use Hydro Pump!" Winona said.

"Counter it with Solarbeam!" Ash said.

Pelipper unleashed the powerful stream of water. Seconds later, Sceptile unleashed a Solarbeam. The two attacks met at the center, trying to get leeway over the other. The Solarbeam won out and struck Pelipper head on Pelipper got a good amount of damage done to it since it was also a water-type Pokemon.

"Bullet Seed Sceptile!" Ash said.

"Use Protect Pelipper!" Winona countered.

Sceptile unleashed his many seeds, but Pelipper's Protect warded them off.

"Now use Icy Wind!" Winona shouted.

Pelipper unleashed a blue wind towards Sceptile. Sceptile quickly dodged the attack by jumping from pole to pole. Not only that, but Sceptile had also gotten above Pelipper.

"Leaf Blade!" Ash shouted.

The leaves on Sceptile's wrists glowed and elongated. Sceptile brought his arm down and struck Pelipper. Pelipper fell to the ground, kicking up dust. When the dust cleared, Pelipper had swirls in its eyes.

"Pelipper is unable to battle. Bout to Ash Ketchum," the referee said.

"Good job Sceptile," Ash said.

Sceptile turned and gave Ash a thumbs' up before facing Winona again.

"You're a pretty good trainer Ash. But not many have been able to defeat my third Pokemon so get ready. Let's win this one Swellow!" Winona said before releasing her Swellow.

Ash and the others looked at the Swellow in awe. The Swellow that Winona unleashed looked nothing like Ash's Swellow. This Swellow was green, orange and white instead of black, red and white. It also looked bigger than Ash's Swellow was. The Swellow took to the air, ready to battle.

"All right Swellow. Start with Wing Attack!" Winona said.

The Swellow's wings glowed white, and it charged towards Sceptile.

"Quick attack Sceptile!" Ash said.

Sceptile waited for Swellow to get lower. Soon, Swellow was horizontal and still charging. Sceptile then charged for Swellow. They collided, kicking up a huge cloud of dust. When the dust cleared, Sceptile was down for the count.

"Sceptile can no longer battle. Bout to Winona," the referee said.

"Whoa, that Swellow is pretty strong," Max said in awe as Ash returned Sceptile, congratulating it for doing its best.

"Yeah, and Charizard is tired from his battle with Altaria. I just hope that he can hang out long enough," Brock said.

"I know you're tired Charizard but it's up to you now," Ash said before unleashing Charizard.

Charizard looked somewhat rested and was ready to do battle again. He took to the air and faced Swellow.

"Okay Swellow. Use Aerial Ace!" Winona said.

"Use Flamethrower Charizard!" Ash countered.

But Swellow was too quick. It slammed into Charizard before Charizard could fire. The force of the Aerial Ace knocked him into a loop. He recovered several moments later.

"We've got it on the ropes now Swellow. Use Aerial Ace again and finish it off!" Winona said.

"Quick, use Fire Spin!" Ash said.

Charizard was able to get in a Fire Spin. Swellow suddenly found itself trapped in the fiery cyclone. Ash wasn't about to let it recover.

"Now use Flamethrower!" Ash said.

Charizard fired a Flamethrower right into the Fire Spin, causing an explosion. Swellow fell from the sky but soon righted itself. Ash and Winona could see that it was pretty tired.

"Wow! What a combo!" Max said.

"I'll say. Swellow looked like it wasn't even tired when the battle started. But those two attacks seemed to have taken a big toll on it," May said.

"But it could've been Charizard who would've been almost out. If he didn't get off that Fire Spin in time, then he probably would've been close to faining," Brock said.

"Use Dragonbreath Charizard!" Ash said.

"Use Double Team!" Winona countered.

Swellow split itself into multiple images. The Dragonbreath went through a phony.

"Don't fret Charizard. Use Dragonbreath until you hit the real one," Ash said.

Charizard nodded and used Dragonbreath again. This time, he spun around in place. The phony Swellow disappeared as the attack touched them. Then a cry of pain as the real Swellow got struck.

"Quick Charizard, grab it and use Seismic Toss!" Ash said.

Charizard flew high into the air. He wound up and flew straight down for a little bit before throwing Swellow over his shoulder. Swellow slammed into the ground. When the dust cleared, Swellow had X's in its eyes.

"Swellow is unable to battle. The winner of this battle is Ash Ketchum of Pallet town," the referee said.

Charizard gave a victory roar.

Winona returned her Swellow. "You did great out there," she said as the Trainer Boxes lowered to the battlefield.&nsbp; Then she and the others descended the stairs and came out of the gym. "That was a battle that I will never forget Ash. You train your Pokemon very well," she said.

"Thanks Winona," Ash said.

"As proof that you beat me, here's the Feather Badge," Winona said before handing Ash the badge.

"All right," Ash said as he took the badge from her.

"The next gym is on Mossdeep Island," Winona said.

"Thanks Winona," Ash said.

"Well Lilycove City is on the way. There's a Pokemon Contest there," Max said.

"Let's stop by there first. I want to enter that contest," May said.

"All right May. Let's go to the Pokemon Center first though," Ash said.

Brock, May and Max nodded before they and Ash headed over to the Pokemon Center. Half an hour later, they were on their way once again. After a terrifying start in Foretree City, Ash made a great finish by earning his sixth badge. Now he and his friends were bound for Lilycove and the next Pokemon Contest.

Well, that's it for this chapter. Finally, I was able to finish this and post it. So what did you think about Charizard learning two attacks in the middle of a Gym battle. I thought that if Noctowl could learn an attack in the middle of a gym battle, any of Ash's Pokemon could do it. Moving along, preview for Chapter 6: A Legendary Battle: Ash and friends make it to Lilycove. but the Pokemon Contest will be the only enjoyable thing this day. While on their way to Mossdeep Island, the ferry that Ash and friends are on encounters very strange weather. Wallace is in the area and tells them that the haywire weather is because two very powerful legendary Pokemon have been awakened. Can Ash set things straight before the balance of the entire world is thrown out of whack? You'll have to stay tuned to find out.

One of the reasons why updates will be sporadic is because I have a job now. I work in the field of Data Entry with EDS in Downtown LA for Volt Services Group from 9am-5:30pm M-F. Between the work and the traffic, I really need time to unwind when I get home. But I do have the next chapter as well as two more chapters of this story completed and will try to update them over the next two to three weekends.