The All Mighty Earth - Pokemon SI Chapter 15

Asher's Team:

Lago - Rhydon
Crust - Golem
Sebastian - Nidoking
Selena - Nidoqueen
Seraph - Clefable
Barret - Dugtrio
Sonic - Sandslash
Death - Marowak
Colossus - Steelix

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Falkner felt like ice cold water had been dumped on top of his head as he stared on in complete disbelief at the blackened form of his Xatu. Coming into this battle he'd been confident that he could've won if he simply kept his distance and whittled him down slowly with ranged attacks and evasive tactics. Afterall ground-types are known to be nearly hopeless when it comes to the ranged department, he only tried a different approach with Crobat because Clefable are a species that are better as ranged attackers than close-quarters fighters, but then there was also that strange move that his Clefable used. What exactly was that! It was as though the power of gravity was somehow magnified! His Crobat, which is one of his fastest and strongest pokemon, was left practically crawling on the ground in the face of that move!

Then there's that Nidoking! That absolute behemoth took his Xatu out with just a single Thunderbolt that looked like it could have come from Zapdos itself! Asher must have been waiting for him to clear the traps set up with Defog so that he'd be locked into using a useless attack, thus giving his opponent a chance to pass on those boosts with a Baton Pass. As much as he hates to admit it, that was clever. Very clever. So clever that Falkner was actually tempted to ask who trained Asher to battle in such a way, it's like he'd thought of the perfect ways to counter flying-types.

Those very same strategies were what cornered his Xatu like that. He even used some strange move he'd never heard of, Taunt if he heard correctly, and his pokemon was unable to use Teleport after that. Clearly Asher liked to limit the moves of his opponent so that they were easier to take down, an effective way of battling. It makes him wonder if he could accomplish something similar.

He felt a bubble of anxiety build up in his stomach when he was met with the current state of his psychic-type. That Thunderbolt was dangerously powerful and Xatu, like most flying-types, aren't known to be good defenders. In fact their defence could be argued to be downright mediocre. This could mean his pokemon's condition is beyond simply unconsciousness, he could very well be-

Xatu twitched as a spark briefly passed over his fur and Falkner briefly saw the green bird's chest rise as a sign that they'd taken a breath. Seeing this Falkner felt ten times lighter and everyone else in the stadium, yes even his opponent, looked as though a massive weight was lifted off their shoulders at the confirmation that a tragedy hadn't occurred just now.

The referee almost seemed to snap back into reality as they hastily called out." Xatu is unable to battle, Asher's Nidoking is the winner!"

Falkner noticed that after the call was made Asher seemed to call out to his Nidoking in a disapproving voice." Sebastian, hold back next time. We don't want to murder our opponent do we?" In response the named Nidoking merely looked to his side and grunted in admission.

It was a surprise to see that Asher names his pokemon, it's a habit that a few trainers will take on every now and then, but most people don't bother naming their pokemon. Falkner supposes that he can see the attachment you can form to a pokemon if you name them, but he's personally never found the need for such a thing.

Regardless as Falkner withdrew his fallen Xatu he was faced with a massive roadblock in this uphill battle. Namely that Nidoking. The purple giant has so many boosts powering it up that Falkner knows very well that no pokemon he had could even hope to match the overwhelming firepower that thing can bring. Just that thing on it's own could probably win Asher this match, he needs to take it down somehow. But, how could he-

Wait, of course!

His eyes went wide with realisation as he stared down at his belt for one pokeball in particular. His hand gravitated towards the only pokemon he had who could take down that boosted Nidoking, it wasn't an option he liked, but... he had no choice.

He snatched the pokeball off his belt and threw it onto the battlefield as he let out a shout of passion." Go Delibird!"

In a flash of white the pokeball opened and reveal his ice-type partner. His pokemon resembled a red avian with white fur covering his head and chest in contrast to the rest of their body being red, they also had circular eyes and a yellow beak. They also wore a determined expression despite the monster in front of them.

"WHAT IS HE DOING?! HAS FALKNER GONE MAD?! THAT NIDOKING IS GOING TO MURDER THAT BIRD!!" The announcer screamed into the microphone so loudly that many people, him and Asher included, covered their ears and Falkner tried to get over the slight ringing which lingered inside his ears. Once that stopped he opened his eyes to find that Asher was glaring with downright viciousness at the announcer, and for once Falkner could agree with the Kantonian's sentiment. The announcer was very irritating.

But, to his surprise, instead of gaining a cocky or arrogant expression- like he had in some of his previous matches- Asher frowned at the sight of his pokemon, seemingly appearing cautious and taking a careful look at his pokemon, considering it to be a threat. Even if he's a dirty-mouthed Kantonian thug, at least he's got enough of a head on his shoulders not to dismiss a pokemon as a non-threat just because his own pokemon has a large boost in power.

Falkner felt cold sweat prickle his forehead even though they were in the middle of winter, and he spoke out to his Delibird." Delibird, we must be victorious, no matter the cost." His pokemon flinched slightly at the code words, but ultimately nodded as they prepared adjusted the sack hung over their shoulders to follow their trainers orders. Forgive me Delibird.

Without even needing to be ordered his partner took flight into the air, making a B-line straight for the Nidoking. Asher looked a little surprised by this, but he was over it in a moment. Afterall he had a pokemon boosted to the maximum whilst he had a pokemon that many deemed weak, and that wasn't entirely false. If you were an idiot. The Delibird line has access to many useful moves, though they may find them hard to learn. One of them is an exceedingly useful move called-

Asher just shrugged as he spoke." Take them down with Flamethrower." His pokemon had the power to take down any of Falkner's in just one shot. this Delibird was no exception.

The Nidoking opened it's gaping maw and in a mere moment white hot flames were gushing out of his mouth that burst forward with enough heat to take down most ice-types with just one hit. His Delibird was a goner.

But so was that Nidoking. All because of a useful move called-

Delibird's eyes hardened as a thick aura of ghost-type energy surrounded him, he then increased his speed. Almost as though he was aiming to lose. Asher's eyes widened in recognition of what move his pokemon was using.

Destiny Bond!

Asher's eyes broke character as he yelled to his pokemon with ." Shit! Abort it Sebastian, he's gonna-" It was too late though.

His Delibird was engulfed in blazing hot fire so intense that Falkner could feel the heat from where he stood, the fire soon dropped and his pokemon fell down with that attack. His feathered friend fell onto the ground with smoke leaking off of his unconscious body. But, despite appearances he wasn't done.

He'd fulfilled his job.

A ghost-type aura suddenly surrounded Asher's Nidoking, for a moment the purple Titan seemed to spasm in pain as they shivered. The tell-tale signs of Destiny Bond. Asher gritted his teeth, but could do nothing as his Nidoking slumped and fell forward. Also, like his opponent, unconscious.

Falkner had done it, he'd beaten Asher's Nidoking.

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Alright, I'll admit it. I got cocky. That one's on me.

The crowd was silent for a moment before they started to cheer in excitement at the sight of Sebastian going down to a Delibird of all things. Meanwhile I felt like shit for letting myself get arrogant. I've said before not to get cocky or it'll bite you in the ass. I didn't follow my own advice and because of that my massive advantage was pulled out from under me... shit.

I honestly overestimated how much of a fucking pokemon nerd I am. I genuinely didn't know that Delibird could learn fucking Destiny Bond. if I did then I would have put a Taunt up to make him quit that nonsense and then murder their faces off with Flamethrower. But, like they say, hindsight is 20/20.

The truth was, Sebastian didn't do anything wrong. It was me. I couldn't predict what my opponent was going to do so my entire play fell apart. That's how I do my pokemon battles, I battle so effectively because I just know so much about pokemon off the top of my head. I play like I already know everything my opponent is going to do, because most of the time I do know everything that they're going to do. That's the big difference between me and the scrubs of this dimension, I actually know my shit when it comes to pokemon. I play with extreme confidence in everything I do.

And that's what got me. I wasn't just going to cakewalk this whole tournament because I'm a nerd with metaknowledge. Because 'a wholly fuckton of pokemon trivia' does not equal certain victory. This was actually going to challenge me.

To the crowd's and Falkner's confusion I found my lips curving up into a grin that hurt my cheekbones. I found myself laughing hysterically with joy and excitement. I slipped up, my victory wasn't as certain as before, and with Seraph being down half his health this is closer to a tie than me winning, but... I was having a good time!

Falkner spoke to me after a few seconds of me just laughing, seemingly annoyed at me for some reason." Why are you laughing so much? You just lost your certain victory. So, why are you laughing like a child?" He seemed irritated at how easily I was accepting my loss of a powerhouse. What was he expecting me to be a sore loser or something?

I stopped laughing, though I couldn't stop a grin from being plastered onto my face, and answered his question from across the court." Why wouldn't I be? That was the first time in this thing that I've been surprised. If you hadn't stopped me then I would've just swept ya, so thanks for making this fun for me!" I had to hold back my laughter at the complete and utterly shocked expression Falkner sent my way when he heard my words.

The best part is that I wasn't even joking. I genuinely came here thinking that I'd just dominate the competition, maybe not consciously, but subconsciously. I came here expecting to win with ease. Now that just seems dumb. Falkner has shown me that life can throw you a few curve-balls even if you've hacked the matrix. And I was pumped!

Falkner just didn't seem to know how to respond to my words as he recalled his Delibird and I withdrew Sebastian. So, I took his silence as a cue to keep talking." I got cocky, I'm not gonna lie. I know a shitton about pokemon, but I didn't think that your Delibird was going to pull some Destiny Bond bullshit on me. Thanks for not just getting completely curb-stomped." I was completely oblivious to the fact that Sabrina heard this and smiled down at me from somewhere alone up in the stands.

Falkner's face was neutral for a moment, but he just decided to comment." You aren't too bad of a trainer for a Kantonian, just don't think that I won't win." After he said that brief comment he plucked a pokeball from his belt. Oh, wait was he one of those Johtonians that doesn't like Kantonians?

I really did not even know how the Indigo war began. I've searched for the answer, but... nobody really seems to know. I mean, really? A ton of people from both regions are constantly going at each others throats and nobody seems to know why?

People really will fight over anything.

My grin ceased slightly as I picked another pokeball off my belt and the both of us prepared to throw. When two pokemon go down at once you need to throw your pokeballs at the same time, this means that neither trainer can switch out out their pokemon to better suit the situation and lets both trainers fight equally.

We threw our pokeballs in sync and yelled the names of our respective partners.

"Barret, wreck their shit!"

"Crobat, show them what you can really do!"

Falkner once again chose his Crobat, the pokeball exploded to reveal a determined looking purple bat with four wings that is probably still reeling back from how easily I dominated him in the last round. He seemed to glare at Barret as I revealed him to the world.

Then there's Barret. My Dugtrio. His body was perpetually dug under ground and each of his three heads was incredibly tough with a smooth surface, and has brown skin, black eyes, and a large, round, pink nose. All three of his three heads seemed to glare up at the poison and flying-type he'd be facing. Not at all afraid of the fact he had a disadvantage in this fight.

"Errrr, did he run out of strong pokemon or something? Why did he send out a Dugtrio?" The annoying old fart that they let be the announcer for this battle spoke out in an underwhelmed voice. Most of the NPC's up in stands also had a similar reaction.

Morons. They don't truly understand the greatness in front of them. Barret is powerful, maybe not the strongest on my team, but he is his own brand of handy. They'll see.

And it seems that Falkner isn't nearly as much of an idiot as those noobs up in the stands. He had an eyebrow raised as he carefully examined his opponent and commented." I'm assuming that you have a reason for choosing this pokemon, I hope it's as powerful as your others have shown themselves to be." Ah, it looks like someone is learning that none of my pokemon are weak.

I grinned at him and shot him a thumbs up." Of course he is, course you aren't gonna make this easy for me. Lets have a good battle Falk." I didn't give him a chance to question my nickname as I ordered Barret." Use Ancient Power!"

Barret's heads nodded as he hummed and quickly summoned a volley of rocks that seemed to have fossils imprinted on them and seemingly shot them with random aim. Seemingly anyway.

Falkner coolly ordered his flying-type in response." Dodge it quickly, then once you're done bombard them with Sludge Bomb." Ah, but it won't be that simple.

His Crobat moved with insane speed and did some skilful manoeuvring to narrowly dodge the rocks flying their way... only for them to halt in the air and change trajectory.

Ancient Power is a weird move. Barret knew it when I caught him, and I remember that Dugtrio can get it as an egg move, and I noticed a few things that are weird about the move. For a starter it's a lot weaker than Rock Slide purely because the user has a lot less rocks to work with but, unlike Rock Slide, the user has very precise control over the rocks they summon. So, when I want Barret to go for precision more than power I'll pick this move.

Falkner's eyes widened as he yelled for his Crobat, who hadn't noticed that the attack wasn't finished to dodge the attack." Look behind you!" Crobat then looked behind him and saw several rocks flying at him much faster than they were previously. With impressive reflexes he began to dodge all the rocks, one by one, but the rocks were never destroyed, even when they missed. Eventually he found himself cornered on all side and the rocks were coming down from above. His only choice to avoid the attack was to go down.

That was a mistake.

Crobat narrowly dodged the rocks by ducking down below and getting closer to the ground, the rocks missed and crashed into each other, making pebbles rain down on the battlefield below, and Crobat, feeling safe for the moment, turned their head around to find their opponent. Only to find nothing, they weren't anywhere-

"Trio!" Three brown heads suddenly burst out of the ground with each one containing a different element. The right was electric, the middle was fire, and the left was ice. Then, all at once the attacks were released at point blank range right in the Crobat's face. The unexpected Tri Attack from Barret was enough to catch the Bat pokemon off-guard and stun them momentarily from the unexpected attack.

Falkner, however was mentally kicking himself for not noticing that the Dugtrio had dug underground earlier to spring on them so suddenly. Then again, he could have sworn that the Dugtrio was on it's side of the field mere moments ago. The only explanation was that it dug so fast that he didn't even notice it was gone until it was too late.

Meanwhile, I was smirking at how well that turned out. it was a relatively simple plan. Bait your opponent out and make them focus on avoiding your attack, get them in the position you want, and then strike them in the face with Tri Attack. Easy peasy.

Plus there's still a few rocks in the air from Ancient Power.

The few remaining rocks still levitating in the air descended onto Crobat's back for a bit of damage, not giving them any room to breath after we attacked just moments ago. The purple bat seemed to reel back and cry out in pain under the attack. Seeing his pokemon get hit made Falkner grit his teeth as he spoke." Use Double Team! Then after that use Roost!"

Oh no you don't, Barret's hard work isn't just gonna be undone like that. My eyes hardened as I yelled." Make them quit that shit, use Astonish!" Astonish has a good chance to flinch your opponent, because of that it's quite a handy little thing to have if you just want to make your opponents stop.

A few clones of Crobat appeared but were shortly cut down as Barret breathed in and yelled out." DUGTRIOOOOO!" He screamed really loudly, this caused a red wave of sound to quickly travel and destroy all of the clones as well as make the original get hit and flinch. Perfect.

I grinned savagely as I spoke with urgency in my voice." Now fuck em up with Stone Edge!" Better get that Crobat out of the way now, these things are always a pain in the ass for their speed.

Falkner was sweating bullets at this point and he yelled with panic clear as day in his voice." Quick Crobat, snap out of it and-" He was too late though, his pokemon was flinched and the sound of stones rising out of the ground cut him off.

Crobat was done.

A series of slightly blunted, but still sharp, rocks emerged out of the ground in a pattern that surrounded the helpless Crobat. Trapping and isolating them, before all at once they just exploded and sent dust flying everywhere. Falkner's blue hair covered his eyes as he stared at the floor where his beaten Crobat landed in front of him.

He was down to just three pokemon.

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Sabrina watched Asher's Dugtrio bring down the flying trainer's Crobat and felt a smile tug at her lips at the sight of Asher enjoying himself. He needed to take his mind off what happened earlier. Afterall she knows Asher, he isn't the type of person that would just shrug off when something truly hurtful is said about her. He can take insults to himself just fine, but when it comes to insulting the people close to him, well. That's where he draws the line.

It's something that she admires about him, he gets outraged for the people he cares about. He can go a little... too far at times, but she knows that he only does what he does out of the indignation that he feels for those he is close too. It's almost touching in a strange way that he can react so strongly to a few nobodies saying unsavoury words to her.

She'll admit though, at first she was scared of him, as ridiculous as that sounds. She heard once that when somebody is done being extremely angry they often need times to 'cool off'. So, she decided to give him some space and talk to him after he won his match.

She's say 'after he won'. Because she had no doubts when it comes to his ability to overcome the other trainers in this tournament. As a psychic she is very well educated in
the concept of battling tactics, however when it comes to 'thinking outside the box' this is where she struggles. She had a near photographic memory and has a mind that can process information much faster than the average human. But, when it comes to unorthodox strategies and original techniques she can struggle a lot in that department.

But, Asher has helped teach her how to best come up with such things. He told her exactly these words 'Look, if you want to come up with new moves then it really isn't difficult. You just look at a move you already know and go 'hey, maybe I can do this with this, or do that with that, hell maybe I can substitute this for that', like Rock Slide? It's just fuckin flying rocks, if you're good enough at using Psychic then you can lift rocks with your mind and boom. You've got a bunch of rocks that you can control really precisely. It's just trial and error, look at moves and certain applications they gave then whip up something new based on what you know. It's weirdly easy, plus you're a genius anyway, I'm sure that you can do it.'

She took some of his advice and it worked out for her, he may not realise it but he's taught her so much simply by talking to her. Namely, how to fight dirty. Asher has no manners in a battle, he simply relentlessly attacks his opponent with no care for sportsmanship. In the trainer community, whilst not technically a rule, it is almost unspoken that you give your opponent a chance to at least fight back. Asher doesn't abide by such ideals, in fact a lot of his favourite strategies involve shutting down his opponent and stopping them from doing anything. It's simple, but effective. She took to learning how he battles and even blatantly stole some of his moves, but he didn't care. She's sure that he noticed, but he just nods at her in silent approval whenever she battles like he does. Her father would probably dislike Asher now that she thinks about it, but that doesn't matter much to her. She hardly knows the man anymore, in fact she only contacted him so that he could substitute for her as the Saffron City Gym Leader, a position that she will reclaim after Asher has won the Indigo Conference. She briefly talked with him before she left, but that was only because she felt obliged to show him any changes that she made to the Saffron Gym since she took over at the young age of ten. Granted not much did really change in those two- nearly three- years, given that she found the design of the Gym to be satisfactory, but she still showed him anyway.

Her relationship with her father is... well practically non-existent. They went their separate ways when she was just a little girl, due to the dangerous nature of her abilities he rejected her, and she can't say that she feels much for the man. Obviously, she had a brief talk with him before she took over his Gym, she isn't sure why she wanted to at the time, but she really wanted the position. She was the strongest psychic in the city so why couldn't she become a strong psychic-type trainer? So, she trained a number of pokemon she caught and managed to beat her father before overthrowing him. Truth be told she cheated, technically, she used her own psychic abilities to sabotage her father's pokemon and her father into making poor choices in the battle. It was necessary though, no matter how talented she was, at the end of the day she didn't have the experience or the power to defeat her father in a fair fight with just her pokemon. But, regardless of how she did it, she won and usurped her father's title.

She knew that she could get it back now, she could defeat her father in a pokemon battle at the strength she is at now. Even if he refuses to give her title back in the end it means little. She's learned a lot in the short time she's been travelling with Asher, but none more so than this: There's no such thing as a fair fight. So, like the boy she loves, she won't allow someone else to claim her position.

Because, she wants to prove her strength just as badly as him.