Art of War: Game of Chess

Chapter- 37: Ash Against Anabel

Anabel had a powerful Pokémon team, and considering that winning the Battle Tower was basically for the Champions or the first- class Elite Four members and Frontier Brains, he knew she would use her strongest team.
"Very well. Send out your first Pokémon. "
Saying that, she sent out an Espeon. Ash was barely fooled. No way.
"Salamence... get ready to rumble."
Salamence snarled as he spotted the Espeon.
______________________________________

Ash watched in horror as his team was utterly liquidated. Salamence managed a Double Knock- out with the pure power behind a Hyper Beam. But after that, things went downhill.
Anabel had a colossus of a Metagross. That was her ace Pokémon, and he took out Ash's main Metagross. Ash used Explosion but only weakened Metagross.
Then Anabel did something strange: she "Mega Evolved, " as they said. Metagross took on an entirely new, more powerful form.
Charizard had a Type Advantage, and so did Garchomp. With the Sandstorm and constant bombardment, they and Aerodactyl weakened Metagross.
______________________________________

"You're my last hope, Hydreigon! Take down that Metagross!"
He knew he wasn't winning.
But he'd be damned if he didn't take out that Metagross.
And so, Hydreigon made his second public appearance.
Anabel looked shocked.
So did everyone else watching on camera.
______________________________________

"A... Hydreigon? How?" Asked Karen Lee, Elite Four and the Seventh Level, final opponent.
Steven Stone, who had dropped by, looked equally dumbfounded. Cynthia had warned him, but he couldn't believe that.
Anabel looked taken aback as she prepared her Metagross for battle.
______________________________________

"Metagross, Explosion!"
"Hydreigon, no!"
The Blast shook the floor, and when the dust had settled and the debris had cleared, both Pokémon were lying unconscious.
Hydreigon had defeated Metagross, and Anabel, following the Battle Tower creed of defeating the challenger by any means, resorted to the extremely underhanded tactic.
Both of them recalled their Pokémon, but Ash's was far slower, more purposeful.
The cold glare that Anabel received made her shiver, and he walked out of the Gym without another word.
______________________________________

Ash stared hopelessly at his Pokémon, who looked saddened at the Trainer, because a morose and grumpy Ash was really bad. How badly had Ash screwed up, to deserve a fate this terrible? This was what the Pokémon wondered, even Hydreigon. Thinking wasn't usually high on his list.
"What have I done? Why is this happening?" He thought: this wasn't how he'd be able to face Mewtwo. He had an year, which meant Kanto and even at most, Johto. Even though Mewtwo didn't look like the type to give him even more time to prepare.
He knew, as soon as Anabel pronounced her name, that he wouldn't win.
But he couldn't have lost this badly.
He was perfectly capable of underhanded strategies, but Anabel, despite being a stronger Trainer, had resorted to such methods.
Hydreigon had been hurt badly. Considering the evil criminal teams and League inquiry, there wouldn't be any option to take Hydreigon to a Pokémon Center. He had to provide the required medical assistance to Hydreigon.
And he learnt a lot about Hydreigon, particularly the mental part, with Metagross translating.
Each head of the Hydreigon has one brain. This makes Hydreigon the smartest Pseudo- Legendary after Metagross. Each of the two 'side brains' are connected to the main brain and handle the functions of what humans call the 'right brain ' and the 'cerebellum'. This means that creativity and locomotion are managed by these two brains.
Being a Dark- Type, Hydreigon has natural mental defenses. Being naturally resilient and a Psychic- Type, Metagross are similarly strong. Hydreigon have, on the other hand, a lone Mightyeana mentality, even within the 'nest ' (possessing an eerie similarity to the 'Hive ' of the Metagross). In crisis period, Hydreigon tend to stay together. But dominance and Empire- building tend to play a key role at any point in a 'nest,' and this tends to differentiate their mental constitution from that of a Metagross.
The main point of Conflict is the female. The female is the most important piece of property in a primarily patriarchal society. Since males are in a minority, courting more females and breeding more offspring increases the size of a 'sector' (technical quote) or 'house' (Hydreigon term) or 'family ' (layman's language). More individuals would mean expansion: territory, food and all.
However, in another point do Hydreigon and Metagross look similarly- minded. Both species are indoctrinated from a young age to prevent things like 'morality ' getting in the way of their objective. Only the rare few Hydreigon can really throw off such brainwashing.
Writing this, Ash got up: when his compendium on Hydreigon was finished, it would make him rich. This would help Finance his travels after he retired from active Battling. As of now, he vowed to defeat every single Champion of every single region, World Champion Leon included.
______________________________________

(A/N: 1. The information you're getting on Hydreigon is purely made up. It doesn't have any basis in fact, but the popular (and canon) portrayal of Hydreigon prompted me to draw these conclusions (along with some exaggerating).
2. Ash vs Anabel isn't the focus of the story, at least now. Her presence signifies a defeat, Ash isn't invincible. And Scott himself said in canon that Frontier Brains are as strong (or stronger) than Agatha. Which people tend to forget, like a lot.
3. Hydreigon finally makes a public appearance. Besides, that was a long time coming. Sorry to say... it was a loss: Hydreigon's appearance was hyped because Hydreigon IS a tyrant- level Pseudo- Legendary. )