Pokémon 1: Journey Of A Legend...

Chapter 20 : Ash Vs Alder Part 1

Ash was all ready for his battle against the champion, Alder, the final obstacle which he had to pass through to get to the next region. He had worked hard and even though Alder was considered to be a joke, he was a real tough trainer to defeat.

After hours of pure practice and nothing else, it was time to leave for the battlefield. After a good luck kiss from Serena, Ash headed out to the battlefield, with Pikachu giving off sparks of determination. Ash settled Pikachu down on the pedestal next to him as he waited for the champion of the Dragon region to come out and face him.

It was nearly time for the battle to commence. Ash was fiddling with the Pokeball in his hand, waiting and waiting. When the clock struck 11, the umpire blew a whistle and a pedestal rose in front of Ash. But what Ash, Pikachu and the audience saw next was a great shock.

The pedestal was empty! The referee started a countdown of 2 minutes. If the champion wouldn't appear by then, victory would be given to Ash and he would become the champion by default. Every single person and Pokemon in that stadium were shocked to the core.

The clock slowly ticked down. Ash was praying for Alder to appear more than anyone else as he didn't want this battle to go like his battles in Kanto.

"...5...4....3......2.." the crowd counted down when suddenly a high pitched scream was heard and a huge cloud of dust could be seen from the opposite hallway.

When the dust cloud got closer, people could see a long red-haired guy who was middle-aged. He had a necklace of Pokeballs which was rudimentary compared to Ash's necklace of legendaries.

He was being chased by one angry Bouffalant with its horns raring to stab the buttocks of the person in front. "Hey hey Bouffalant relax we are here in time!! RETURN!!"

Ash sighed a sigh of relief as he quietly waved at the person in front. "Heya there Ash!! I expected you here the last time you were in Unova. Even though you had a good run I was quite disappointed. I wanted to battle you as well and face you head-on without holding myself back!! Also, I'm sorry for arriving late, but I was asleep. So forgive me, people!!" yelled Alder, visibly embarrassed as the audience laughed.

"Yeah, I'm sorry Alder. But this time I have defeated everyone and you are my final obstacle in Unova. I shall defeat you and become the champion. And it's alright to sleep. Maybe not before an important battle" replies Ash with a sweatdrop and a light chuckle before turning serious with fire in his eyes.

"Haha my boy, I won't let you get my throne easily. Referee, start the match!" replies Alder while detaching a Pokeball from his necklace. "Bring it on!!" said Ash as his Pokeball was already.

"This will be a 6-on-6 between current champion Alder and challenger Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town. Please release your first Pokemon" says the referee as he drops his hand.

"GO ACCELGOR!!" says Alder as he releases the bug type. Accelgor comes out of its Pokeball with a smug look on its face as it readies itself for battle. Ash finally catches the Pokeball properly and throws it on the stadium "TALONFLAME I CHOOSE YOU!!"

Talonflame comes out with a screech and flaps its wings. It flies around menacingly around Accelgor which doesn't seem to care, before landing in front of it. "BATTLE BEGIN!!" says the referee as Alder calls out the first move.

"Accelgor start with a Focus Blast and quickly use Energy Ball as soon as it hits Talonflame" commands Alder as Accelgor starts focusing its energy. "Cancel out Focus Blast with Steel Wing and use Razor Wind on Energy Ball to get close and use Flame Charge" retorts Ash. When Accelgor lets out its focus, it immediately uses Energy Ball. Talonflame cuts out the blast by turning its wings to steel and flaps them rapidly to break the green ball of energy before flames engulf it, significantly increasing its speed and causing huge deals of damage to the nimble Bug-type.