Missing Pieces

Chapter 13

"Ash?"

I snapped out of my thoughts to see Misty standing in front of me, waving her hand in front of my face. She had a slightly worried expression on her face.

"What's up?" I ask.

"Your battle's about to start."

"Oh, thanks for the heads up."

With that, I stood to make my way to the battlefield. I clenched my fists ignoring the looks I was sure Barry and Clemont were throwing my way.

I got to my side, took a deep breath, and reached for one of the Pokeballs on my belt. I held it front of me smiling. It'd been a while since I felt this way; adrenaline was pumping crazily through my veins, and little by little, I started feeling more and more like a kid again.

I watched as my opponent, Sawyer, happily made his way to the battlefield. He had long dark green hair, and wore some pretty formal clothes. He had on large brown shorts, a two tone brown vest, along with a white short sleeve shirt and a red bow-tie. He reached into one of the pockets on his vest and pulled out a small notebook that matched it in color. He seemed to flip through it for a bit before grabbing his pokeball of choice.

"Hey, Sawyer! Let's make this a great battle!" I shouted, tightening my grip on my Pokeball.

"Yeah!"

With that, we tossed our Pokballs into the air. "I choose you!"

A flash of blue light burst forth from our pokeballs. It dissipated, revealing our choices. Sawyer had gone with Slurpuff. I had chosen Infernape. 

The ref walked up to the side of the battlefield. "Ready? Battle Begin!" he declared with a wave of his checkered flag.

And with that, our brawl began.

"Infernape use Mach Punch!" I cried, throwing out my hand.

Without missing a beat, Infernape dashed for its target.

"Slurpuff use Energy Ball!" Sawyer's smile didn't waver as he cheerfully gave the commanded the, gripping his notebook tighter.

"Keep pushing! Don't give an inch!" I declare. Infernape continues to push forward dodging the oncoming Energy Balls before closing in on Slurpuff and repeatedly pounding on it with Mach Punch.

"SLURFUFF!" Sawyer shouted. I could see the panic in his eyes. His stance changed, as he took a step back and frantically reached for his notebook.

"Now Infernape, go into Flame Wheel!" Infernape swung at Slurpuff once more, turning his punch into a spin as he engulfed himself in flames. He rammed into Slurpuff, sending it flying back. Sawyer's eyes widened as he watched his partner hit one of the gym's walls.

"You can't hesitate," I explained. Sawyer turned from his partner to face me; his pained expression contorted into one of confusion.

"You can't doubt yourself or your commands in the midst of battle," I continued, closing my eyes. "Your Pokemon won't know what to do. On top of that, they'll start to feel your panic."

I opened my eyes looked past Sawyer to where Slurpuff had collided with the wall. Sawyer frantically turned to see his partner lying on the ground with a dazed expression.

"Slurpuff is unable to battle, so the winner is Ash," Chuck declared.

Everyone in the room went silent. The only sound that could be heard were Sawyers feet as he rushed to his collapsed partners side. Suddenly the bell rang, and people began making their way out of the class, after Chuck had dismissed us.