Art of War: Game of Chess

Chapter- 41: Qualifier Round

"This is a three- on- three match between Miracle Mandi and Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town! Trainers, please send out your first Pokémon. "
"Go, Exxeggutor!"
"Very well. Go, Monferno. "
So this was the Trainer who kept bragging about everything. Ash knew that he must never underestimate this fellow, he had a Kingdra as well.
"Exxeggutor, use Psychic."
"Use... Flame Pulse."
That had been one of the new moves he had created during his training. Basically a version of any Type- based Pulse Attack (Dragon Pulse, Dark Pulse, Water Pulse), but this was different. It had a special concentrated energy- building ball in it.
"A new move! It... it just sent Exxeggutor flying into the wall!"
Unlike the other Attacks of this kind, Flame Pulse was built to melt (or Burn), with the sudden dispersion of a previously concentrated Attack. Therefore, it packed much more power than actually was shown and (dispersed) left no room for Exxeggutor to Attack.
"Now use Flamethrower. "
The burning was dangerous, and Exxeggutor got hit further.
"Exxeggutor, Psychic!"
"That’s something I can't allow, Mandi! Use Flare Blitz in front of you, now!"
Monferno blasted Exxeggutor with a Flare Blitz. Being a Fire- Type, he was able to withstand the recoil, and due to the Psychic, the Grass- Type found his own Attack falling on him in a wave of dispersion.
"Finish this! Flamethrower!"
That was the end of Exxeggutor.
"Exxeggutor is unable to battle, folks! With a devastating move, Ash turned the match on Mandi! That's one unassailable Infernape!"
"Return, Exxeggutor! Go, Kingdra!"
"Hmm... let's begin, shall we?"
"Kingdra... use Hydro Pump!"
"Alright! Intercept it with Focus Punch!"
Being a Fighting- Type Attack, it served excellently when it came to tanking the Attacks.
"Perfect! Ash and Mandi are even! None can get past the other!"
"Oh, Ketchum, I'll give it to you! Draco Meteor!"
Ash looked in horror as Kingdra shot the meteors into the air, before forming a plan in his mind.
"Infernape, use Heat Wave and then Overheat in the air!"
The meteors contained quite a lot of hydrogen. This, plus the unusually high temperature that came with a Heat Wave, was more than capable of setting the air on fire. Combined with the Overheat, the result was a screaming Kingdra... and screaming Mandi. Ash was hardly concerned about Mandi's Pokémon as his main objective was to teach the arrogant boy/ girl/ Transgender (?) a lesson.
"NO! No! Kingdra! Aaaaaaaahhh!"
"Rain Thunder Punch, Monferno. End this."
"That was brutal, but effective! And now the air is on fire! Since all other humans and Pokémon are protected, and Infernape is immune, Mandi's final Pokémon will suffer!"
Mandi's fans booed and even tried throwing things at Ash, while the rest (most of whom could barely tolerate Mandi), cheered at his defeat.
"Golbat, go, kill that Pokémon!"
Gasps of shock were heard throughout the stadium. No one had ever contemplated such a thing before. Even Team Rocket merely exploited Pokémon, and few people would actively try to kill a Pokémon.
Golbat, listening to his Trainer, lunged at Infernape. But being a Bug- Type, he forgot about Type Advantage. Infernape charged up a powerful Overheat and blasted that Golbat into oblivion. Seeing this, Mandi pulled out a gun and pointed it at Ash.
"You bastard! Damian was my best friend! YOU killed him!"
"Oh, really? Actually, you know, Damian left a Charmander out in the rain to die. I can see why you're friends. "
Well, it was actually true: Damian didn't survive, good riddance. Being naturally a coward, he couldn't fight the grave injuries Ash had landed him with. His Death had come the day after Ash left Vermillion City. Not only that, the Nurse Joys, usually kind souls, had refused to treat him beyond the bare minimum to prevent their oaths being broken.
"You killed him. Now you defeated  my Pokémon, and all three of them were critically injured. I'll avenge Damian, and I'll kill that Charmander and Monferno of yours!"
With this, Mandi (who had gone from an arrogant bitch to a Pokémon ahuser to a revenge- taking killer in two minutes) pointed a gun at Ash at fired.
However, the bullet was intercepted by an extremely powerful Flame Pulse before it reached Ash.
Infernape, not Monferno... Infernape was standing there, with a look of utter and complete fury on his face.
For the first time, Ash's Infernape used Blast Burn, absolutely vaporizing and detonating Mandi on impact.
Damian's equally evil friend had been killed, his mission of revenge thwarted.
Apart from the sound of Officer Jennys stampeding into the stadium and the MC announcing that Ash had advanced to the Last Qualifier, dead silence prevailed.
After a minute, the crowd burst into cheers as another Pokémon abuser was brought to justice by liquidation.
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(A/N: 1. Well, isn't it odd that all of Damien's 'supportive' friends didn't come help him out? This is a revenge arc primarily because I don't like Miracle Mandi.
2. This is also a plot device for Infernape to evolve, I admit it. Not all Pokémon battles can be really so interesting, can they?)