All for You

Chapter 64

Gary Oak gave Giovanni a smug grin. Even though the old man in the terrible orange suit held all the cards, he might just lose them if he was insulted enough.

Giovanni, beyond a slight tightening of his lips and clenched fist, wasn't fazed. Instead, he studied Gary's face. "Ah, yes, I remember you. You were my last gym challenger. Surely you don't think you could beat me now more than you could beat me then?"

Paul, who had landed beside Gary, raised an eyebrow at him. The meaning was clear: 'You've battled before?'

Gary brushed him off ('Not the time, Purple,') and turned his attention back to Giovanni. 

"If I correctly recall the battle, I was beating you until you sent out that freak, which you obviously don't have anymore. And besides, that was years ago. I've gotten even stronger." In reality, Gary hadn't trained his pokemon for actual battling in quite a while, but the Old Man didn't need to know that.

"Fine then. If it's a battle you want, it's a battle you'll get. But first-" He turned back to the ever-kneeling pokemon on the lower level of the roof.

"Destroy the city and anything else that gets in your way!" He shouted to the pokemon.

Immediately, it moved from its bow and started flying towards the flowing city beneath them.

Gary tried to see Ash, hoping for a battle to start between them, but was drawn back to the battle when Giovanni sent out his first pokemon; Golem.

Gary smirked. "I remember that Golem." He said, smirking. "I took him out in one shot." He threw out a pokeball of his own; Blastoise.

Giovanni smirked back. "Perhaps, but you're not the only one to have grown stronger in the last few years. Golem, use buldoze!"

"Blastoise, use hydro pump!"

Blastoise's hydro pump crashed into the bulldozing Golem, eventually winning out and forcing the opposing pokemon to slide back from the suppereffective attack.

Giovanni grinned; it had been some time since he was last in a good battle.

________........________

Giovanni was distracted by Gary, so he forgot all about the other boy and Lysandere, who was battling the Team Rocket grunts with his Ninetales. 

He was a much stronger trainer then the grunts had been expecting, and one-shoted both opposing pokemon with a single flamethrower.

Lysandere started running in the direction of the machines, probably planning to override them manually, but Paul stopped him.

"You're not going anywhere! Gastrodon, stand by for battle!"

Gastrodon, who was already out of its pokeball, moved with improbable speed to stop Lysandere from running away. 

Lysandere gritted his teeth in annoyance before turning to face Paul. "Fine, we'll battle first. I don't expect it will take long. Ninetales, hidden power!"

"Gastrodon, head smash!"

Gastrodon charged into ninetales with a powerful head smash, knocking Ninetales back and almost one shotting it. However, as Gastrodon winced from the recoil damage, Ninetales shook off the pain and took a battle-ready stance, covered in scratches.

"Gastrodon, hydro pump!"

"Ninetales, protect!"

"Power through it!"

Gastrodon tried to fire a hydrocannon at Ninetales, who was wrapped in the move protect, but for some reason, nothing happened.

Paul stared at his pokemon in annoyance and anger. "Your move failed!" He yelled.