Brilliantly Blazing Battle

"Linoone is unable to battle! Makuhita and Paul win!"

As the drone announced his most recent victory, Paul sneered at his opponent as they hurried to the side of their unconscious Linoone.

Feelings and so on had no place in pokemon battles, where all that mattered was strength.

That is what he knew for a fact, and that fact that carried him this far. The only loss Paul had suffered since beginning his journey was against that damnable Ace Ketchum just earlier this morning, but that loss was negligible since Ace and his pokemon were capable of going against literal Champions.

Of course, that didn't mean Paul had accepted his loss. On the contrary, he planned to make it to finals and defeat Ace Ketchum before the entire world. All he needed to do was earn points and prepare his team, especially after he had cut out the weak link earlier.

As if to match his intentions, Paul's Makuhita then began to glow as it began to undergo evolution into a Hariyama, making it significantly stronger than it had been moments before.

"Excellent." Paul said in a tone that seemed indifferent, though internally he was very pleased. Now he just needed to evolve his Electabuzz and Nidorino, and his team would be good enough for the finals.

Just as he began debating who his next opponent would be...

"PAUL!"

"???"

Turning towards the angry sounding voice, believing it was one of the losers he had defeated today, Paul was surprised to see Ace Ketchum marching straight at him, his eyes glowing with a furious amber color that also seemd to radiate from his entire body. Not only that, but everything that he passed by was also shaking and shuddering in place, as if being affected by some kind of supernatural force.

"What do you wan-?!" Paul began, before Ace seized him by the throat and slammed him up against a nearby wall.

"You're a real fucking bastard, you know that!" Ace snarled at him while Paul struggled to draw in some air.

For the first time Paul began to feel genuine fear as he became increasingly oxygen deprived, and Ace's hold hadn't lessened in the slightest. Just as he was truly beginning to worry...

"Hariyama!"

At that moment Paul's trusty Hariyama interfered to hit Ace with an Arm Thrust that forced him to release his hold on his throat, and sent him skittering across the deck before coming to a stop while fixing them both with a glare.

"Get out of my way." He growled at the pokemon while Paul desperately sucked in air.

"Yama!"

"Have it your way!"

Undaunted at the prospect of fighting an actual pokemon, a fighting type at that, Ace charged at Hariyama while keeping his body low to the ground. In response, Hariyama adopted a defensive stance with it's arms out in order to use it's signature move, Arm Thrust.

The first time it actually tried to attack Ace though, he ducked under the attack before leaping up directly at Hariyama's head, which he hit with a Force Palm to stun it. Ace then made a follow up attack as lightning crackled down his entire arm, before punching Hariyama in the side of the head.

*KER-KRACK!*

The large fighting type pokemon went down HARD after taking the Thunder Punch, stunning Paul and every other person who had been watching, and even recording, the fight. And with Hariyama dealt with, Ace turned his attention back to Paul.

"Now where were we Paul?"

Ok, now Paul was downright terrified.

What fucking lunatic would ACTUALLY take on a fight type pokemon?! AND WIN!?!?!?!?!?!?!

So Paul did the only sensable thing, and ran away while returning his Hariyama to it's pokeball.

Unfortunately he didn't get very far, as Ace created a small aura barrier that tripped him up and sent him sprawling to the ground. Paul didn't even get the chance to try and push himself back up when Ace's hand closed around his throat yet again, before lifting him up high enough that his feet didn't even scrape the floor.

"Lets take a walk Paul." Ace said as he proceeded to march Paul back the way he had come from. And naturally the gallery that had been watching and filming followed them, though none dared to try and interfere.

Who would dare try and stop a man capable taking down a Hariyama with his bare hands?

Soon enough though they found themselves at the stern of the ship, where another group was waiting. A group that included even a Gym Leader, Falkner.

"What are you doing Ace?!" Falkner demanded when he saw Ace returning along with some trainer. But Ace just ignored him, just like he had been ignoring Paul clawing at his hand the entire time.

Ace marched Paul past Falkner and the group of onlookers as he headed straight for the railing, before holding Paul out over the water that was being violently churned by the propellers below.

"Did you even give a second thought about what was going to happen to Chimchar when you abandoned him?" Ace snarled at Paul, stunning him and spectators when they realized what this was all about. Even more so when they saw the unconscious Chimchar being guarded by a Chansey and Pidgeot, who quickly flew away under the numerous gazes.

"What was it you said to Chimchar when you abandoned it again? I believe it was something along the lines of, 'jump ship and swim to shore to all I care'. Was that it?" Ace asked loud enough that everyone could hear him, shocking Paul since he had repeated what he'd said to Chimchar word for word.

"How about YOU swim to shore instead?" Ace asked, before releasing his grip.

***

"NOOOOooooooo-!"

My expression never even shifted as Paul plummeted to what was assuredly his death. Even if he survived the drop to the water, the propellers would make short work of him.

"Ace... what did you do?" Falkner asked in disbelief, even as people rushed to the railing to look over the side.

"I'm teaching a lesson." I replied plainly, right as Pidgeot suddenly flew up with Paul in his talons for everyone to see.

He then dumped Paul onto the deck in the middle of the crowd, before flying off. The little bitch was still shaking from the near-death experience he just had, while the front of his pants were completely soaked and I could smell something pretty foul coming from him.

"You should have worn the brown pants, but it's too late now." I commented while approaching him, which was apparently enough to freak Paul out as he tried to back away from me.

"S-Stay away!" He exclaimed.

"Dude." I said while putting a foot on his shoulder, pinning him in place so he couldn't move anymore. "Stop moving, you're leaving skidmarks on the deck."

However Paul seem not to register anything I said to him, as he could only look up at me with fear.

"Hold it! What is going on here?!" Demanded a shrill voice, which belonged to none other than one of the Officers Jenny stationed on the SS. Anne.

"Officer! This lunatic tried to kill me!" Paul immediately pleaded to her.

"No I didn't I had my Pidgeot catch him before he hit the water." I told her, though she still looked at me with narrowed eyes.

"It still sounds like you and me need to have a little chat." She stated while starting towards us.

"I don't believe thats necessary Officer." Falkner said as he stepped between us, making her pause as her eyes widened.

"This man here not only abandoned his pokemon, but he also told it to 'jump ship and swim to shore'. Considering it was a fire type that was already injured, AND suffering from poisoning, I doubt it would have lasted even a minute in the water. The only reason it's still alive is because Ace here also jumped overboard to save it."

As Falkner explained the situation for me, the Officer Jenny looked between me, Paul and Chimchar with increasingly narrowed eyes.

"I see... Then it looks like YOU are the one coming with me!" She declared, prompting me to move my foot so she could take Paul with her to be questioned, wrinkling her nose as she did so due to the smell.

"I'm being taken in for letting a pokemon go?!" Paul exclaimed in disbelief, with none of his usual arrogance and disdain present.

"No. Releasing and abandoning pokemon isn't a crime, as long as it is done so properly. Had you simply found a new trainer for Chimchar, or traded it, then there wouldn't be an issue. However, you directly told it to do something that endangered it's own life. THAT is enough for us to get involved." Officer Jenny declared, leading him away.

"What do you think will happen?" I asked Falkner as we watched them go, and of course people were still filming the entire thing.

"They'll pull his records, and if this is the first time this has happened then he'll be let go with a warning while they keep an eye on him from now on. If he has a history of abandoning pokemon though, then he might get his license revoked and pokemon taken away." Falkner explained, before adding as a second thought, "If he did so around one of the security cameras though, then he may still get his license revoked if its his first offense."

"Tch." I clicked my tongue at the light punishment that Paul would receive regardless of if his license gets taken away or not, and wondered if I shouldn't have had Pidgeot catch him.

Nah, cause then I would have been hit with a murder charge. I don't need that on my record.

I forced myself not to think of Paul as I instead focused on the little Chimchar that had been the focus of this whole problem, who was now slumbering quietly after being treated. I gently picked it up and craddled it in my arms, marveling at it's soft and warm fur even as it nuzzled up to me. Thankfully the fire on it's butt went out when they were asleep.

"Think there'd be an issue if I keep Chimchar?" I asked Falkner.

"Nah. Almost all the people here saw you literally jump overboard for it. It would be a crime to let anyone else have it." He replied.

"I agree." Added another voice, which came from Blaine as he too joined us.

Though he appeared happy, I could see furious undertones in his aura. He probably heard about what Paul did.

"Just by looking at it I can see that Chimchar will become powerful someday, its better for it to have a trainer that can truly appreciate it's potential, and can fully utilize it." Blaine continued as he looked Chimchar up and down.

"Yeah, I just hope Chimchar will think so when it wakes up." I said, though I liked to think the fact that it apparently felt comfortable in my arms was a good sign.

I then pulled out a pokeball and gently tapped it against Chimchar, sucking it inside before the ball gave a couple quick jerks, and then fell still with a slight ding. I then quickly scanned it to see what I was working with.

~~~

Chimchar- The chimp pokemon.

Type- Fire

This pokemon produces a gas in it's belly that fuels the flame on it's butt. Though not even rain can extinguish the flames, they do become weaker when the pokemon is sickly, and Chimchar intentually extinguish them when they fall asleep. It is very agile when scaling trees and cliffs.

Moves- Scratch, Leer, Ember, Fury Swipes, Taunt, Power-Up Punch, Flame Wheel, Dig.

~~~

Not a bad array of starter moves, though of course we would need to work on those along with Chimchar's raw strength and fire. All that would have to wait until Chimchar actually meets me and my team though, and I can imagine there needing to be some adjustment after his time with Paul.

I then stored Chimchar on my belt instead of sending it straight back to the lab, since I planned to spend some time with it as soon as possible before sending it somewhere else.

"Now that young Chimchar is nice and secure, shall we move on to our battle Ace?" Blaine asked with more than a little eagerness in his voice.

"Sure, just let me switch up my team real quick." I answered, since they had been battling quite a bit today.

As I did that Blaine made his way to his side of the arena, before I followed suit once I had the pokemon on hand that I wanted. And as we did that, another League drone appeared to officiate the match.

"This will be an official tournament battle. Up to three pokemon per trainer may be allowed."

"Lets go for all three. No reason to just go right to main course." Blaine decided, and I readily agreed while mentally picking the pokemon I was going to use.

"The battle will now begin! Please send out your pokemon."

"Lets start with an appetizer. Go Vulpix!"

"Vuuuuuuuuul!"

I blinked as I looked down at a little Vulpix, who gave me the cutest face as she tried to mean-mug me and look as intimidating as possible.

"Alright then. Lets go, Cubone!"

"Cuuuuuuuuue!"

"Well look who it is!" Blaine exclaimed as he saw Cubone, who merely tilted his head in confusion since I'm pretty he didn't have the slightest clue who Blaine was.

"Hey Ace, were you aware that the drones recording our battles are also broadcasting them live all over the world. I told Fuji about meeting you last night, so I'm pretty sure he's watching our battle now." Blaine told me.

"You hear that Cubone?"

"Cue?"

"The old man is probably watching us right now, for your first ever real battle."

"Bone!"

He then got all fired up at the idea of Mr. Fuji watching our battle, which I decided to capitalize on completely.

'Start with Bonemerang.'

"Cubone!"

With a cry, Cubone threw his bone fragment with practiced accuracy, sending it flying right at Vulpix.

"Flame Charge."

"Vul!"

Vulpix cloaked herself in flames as she raced directly at Cubone, her speed heightening to the point where she was able to dodge the Bonemerang with ease.

'Hold....'

'Hold...'

'Now! Mud Slap!'

"Cubone!"

Right as Vulpix was about to reach him, Cubone swung around and channeled ground type energy to his tail so that it became coated in a brown mud-like substance, which was then sent right into Vulpix's face.

"!!!"

"Vulpix!"

The little fox cried out indignantly from the mud in her fur and face, which also worked to obscure her vision and smother the fire that covered her body.

"Now, Bone Rush!" I commanded out loud, right as Cubone's bone came flying back to him.

It hit Vulpix on it's way back, before Cubone caught it and delivered a flurry of attacks to the fox with it.

"Cue-bone! Bone! Bone! Bone!"

"Vulpix! Vulpix! Vulpix!"

Both cried out as Cubone delivered attack after attack, and Vulpix was unable to break free from the chain.

"Vulpix, use Disable!" Blaine commanded, still seeming calm in the current situation.

In an instant Cubone's assault ended as he became unable to use Bone Rush for a short while, long enough to potentially cost the battle if we weren't careful.

"Now follow with a Fire Blast." Blaine commanded with a smirk, to which Vulpix immediately summoned a mass of fire from her mouth that took a shape reminiscent of a star.

I quickly gave Cubone a command right before Vulpix unleashed the attack, which evolved into a raging inferno that bathed the entire arena in a sea of flames that made several of the spectators flee for cover. If she was this strong now, I couldn't help but to wonder how strong Vulpix will be once Blaine evolves her into a Ninetails.

But no matter how strong an attack was, it was worthless if it didn't hit.

As the flames cleared away we all saw a hole in the middle of the arena, where Cubone used Dig to escape the worse of the Fire Blast. Now he was burrowing under the arena surface, and there was no way of knowing exactly where or when he would appeared. Unless one was psychic or an aura user that is.

'Now.'

"Cubone!"

With a cry, Cubone launched himself up out of the ground at Vulpix, taking the red fox by surprise as he slammed his bone into her head as hard as possible.

"Now, finish her off with a Headbutt."

"Bone!"

With a declaration of affirmation, Cubone slammed his own head against hers. The skull helmet, combined with his Rock Head ability, did a number on Vulpix as she became visibly dazed and unsteady on her feet, before collapsing.

"Vulpix is unable to battle! Cubone wins!" The drone declared, prompting Cubone to raise his bone up high in celebration of his first victory.

I could tell he was basically saying to the old man back in Lavender town, 'look at me now!'

"That there is an excellent little Cubone. You've raised him well." Blaine said in appreciation, even as he returned his Vulpix to her pokeball.

"The same can be said about your Vulpix. I can only imagine the monster she's gonna be when she evolves." I replied.

"Well thank you very much! But now it is time to move on from the appetizer to the next course!"

There was a gleam in Blaine's eyes as he grabbed his next pokeball, giving me a pretty good idea of what was probably inside. And I was immediately proven right as he tossed it out.

"Go Magmortar!"

"MAAAAAAAG!"

A Magmortar standing nearly seven feet tall appeared in the middle of the arena, radiating pure heat that rivaled the flames of Vulpix's Fire Blast.

"WAHAHAHA! If you can't take the heat, then stay out of the kitchen!" Blaine declared, seeming completely unbothered by the heat his pokemon was putting out.

"Or you just put out the fire." I responded with a smirk, before sending out my next pokemon as well.

"BLAAAAAAAAAST!"

Blastoise roared as he appeared in the arena, priming his cannons as he pointed them right at Magmortar.

"WAHA! EXCELLENT!" Blaine roared in excitment for battling against Blastoise, who towered over Magmortar due to his being an alpha.

"Begin the batttle!"

"Magmortar, use Lava Plume!" Blaine immediately ordered.

"MAAAAAAAAAAGMOOOOOOOOOOR!"

At his command, Magmortar directed both of it's 'hands' at Blastoise, which shifted into cannons that began to glow as they filled with magma.

"Hydro Pump."

"BLAAAAAAAAAAAAASTOISE!"

Blastoise barely had time to plant himself before both pokemon unleashed their attacks at one another, one firing cannons of pure concentrated magma while the other blasted pressurized water.

*PSHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH-!*

An explosion of steam blanketed the entire stern of the SS. Anne as the two attacks collided, forcing everyone to cover themselves as they protected their faces. All the while the two continued pumping out their attacks.

"More water Blastoise!"

"Turn up the heat Magmortar!"

Blaine and I cried out as we urged our pokemon to overwhelm the other.

"BLAST!"

"MAG!"

Both pokemon responded as they continued applying the pressure to the other, neither wanting to give in from this stand-off.

Steam continued to explode outwards and even flow off the back of the ship to the sea below, giving the area an ambiance of mystery and foreboding. Or it would have if there weren't two large and powerful pokemon duking it out for dominance.

"Keep going Blastoise! You can do it!" I encouraged him as the stand-off continued, willing him to outlast and overpower Magmortar.

Thankfully of the two, it was significantly easier for Blastoise to produce water than it was for Magmortar to produce magma. Already I could feel Magmortar reaching the end of it's energy, as it struggled to continue spewing lava at the same rate.

Slowly but surely Blastoise's Hydro Pump began to push back on Magmortar's Lava Plume, gaining more and more ground with each passing second, before Magmortar's attack gave out entirely.

"MAAAAAAAAAAG!"

It's roar of pain could be heard as the water from Hydro Pump hit it, dousing it's flames and severely injuring it on top of it's already exhausted state.

"That's enough Blastoise." I said to my pokemon, who readily ceased the attack while remaining on guard in case he needed to continue. But I could tell that wasn't necessary.

"Magmortar, return." Blaine said, recalling his pokemon and forfeiting this round.

"Magmortar has been recalled and forfeited! Blastoise wins!" The drone announced, which normally would have caused a flurry of muttering and discussion amongst the gallery, if not for the drastic change that the arena had undergone during our battle.

Originally just a stretch of ground that had been transferred to the SS. Anne, now the arena had numerous spires of twisted volcanic rock from Magmortar, already hardened thanks to Blastoise. But each and every one of the spires was still incredibly hot, as indicated by the visible waves of heat rolling off of them.

"Isn't it interesting what two pokemon can acccomplish under the right conditions?" Blaine suddenly asked as he too admired the vocanic spires.

"You know, I've heard that Camerupt are able to even turn a little spit of land into an actual island within a few short years. A barren island, yes. But an island none the less. Add a grass type pokemon though, and you would have a brand new lush paradise for numerous pokemon to call home."

As Blaine spoke, the spectators of our battle were giving him their utmost attention, their auras showing awe and realization at the truth of his words.

We were all so used to pokemon being around us, training them, working with them, or simply keeping them as pets, that people naturally forgot just how much change a single pokemon was capable of. And not just the evolutionary kind either.

"Enough of my rambling now. Its time for the main course!" Blaine said suddenly, seemingly realizing that he was just going on.

"I expect you to give your all this time young man, as I and my pokemon will." Blaine said in an exceptionally serious tone, his aura radiating excitment as the moment of truth finally arrived.

"I expect the same as well." I told Blaine while returning Blastoise, and grabbing the only pokeball on my belt that I never rotated.

""GO, CHARIZARD!!!""