1.Ash's Story (Part 2: Johto)

Chapter 92: The Friendly Final

The morning of the final felt different from every battle before it. Silver's battle had left a sharp weight inside my chest, but Ethan's battle made the stadium feel warmer and harder to face at the same time.

Ethan was not a shadow from Team Rocket or a wounded rival trying to understand trust after pain. He was my friend. He had walked the same roads, laughed at the same campfires, and kept chasing me with a grin even when Johto became dangerous.

Now he stood across the field from me.

Pikachu shifted on my shoulder before the referee called us forward. His meaning came through with a small spark: "This one is happy, but still serious."

"I know," I whispered. "That makes it harder."

Ethan tightened his glove, then smiled across the field.

"Ash, I still cannot believe we are facing each other here," Ethan called.

"Same here," I answered, lowering my cap. "We have seen each other through the whole journey, and now we finally settle the score."

"I wanted this since New Bark Town," Ethan said. "Even when it scared me."

The referee raised both flags.

"This will be a full battle between Ash Ketchum and Ethan Gold," the referee announced. "Each Trainer will use six Pokémon. Substitutions are allowed. The battle will continue until all six Pokémon on one side are unable to battle."

Ethan gripped his first Poké Ball.

"I trust you to go first, Sudobo!" Ethan called.

Sudobo the Sudowoodo appeared with both arms raised stiffly, pretending to be a tree even in the middle of a League battlefield. Ethan looked proud of it.

"A Rock type," I said, taking out my first ball. "Octillery, I choose you!"

Octillery landed with a wet slap and narrowed his eyes at Sudobo. His tentacles pressed into the dirt.

His meaning came through stubborn and focused: "I will not be pushed around."

"Then hold your ground," I said.

"Begin the battle!" the referee shouted.

"Octazooka straight ahead!" I called.

Octillery fired a thick blast of ink and water toward Sudobo. Ethan's eyes lit up.

"Mimic the attack back!" Ethan ordered.

Sudobo's body shimmered with strange copying energy. It took the motion, copied the force, and launched a messy Octazooka of its own. The two attacks collided and burst into dark spray across the middle of the field.

"Rock Tomb!" Ethan called before the mist cleared.

Sudobo slammed both feet down. Stones erupted around Octillery in a closing ring, sealing his escape routes and pinning him inside a narrow space. Octillery twisted, but every angle was blocked by rock.

"Do not panic," I called. "Whirlpool from inside!"

Octillery spun his body and fired water around himself. The Whirlpool tore against the rocks from within, grinding them loose one by one. He rode the swirling water upward, burst through the top of the tomb, and dropped behind Sudobo.

"Bubble Beam, spinning pattern!" I shouted.

Octillery spun on his tentacles and released a twisting stream of bubbles. They wrapped around Sudobo from three directions and struck before it could turn its fake tree pose into defense. Sudobo staggered, tried to lift one arm, then fell backward.